Market Street Clam Chowder

Ingredients:
1 cup potatoes, diced ½ inch
1 cup celery, diced ½ inch
1 cup onion, diced ½ inch
1 cup green pepper, diced ½ inch
1 cup leeks, diced ½ inch
¾ cup chopped clams (canned or fresh)
¾ tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon salt
¾ tablespoon whole thyme
6 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Tabasco
¾ cup sherry wine (optional)
2 cups water
¾ cup clam juice (drained from canned clams or purchased separately in can)
¾ cup butter, melted
1 cup flour
2 quarts half-and-half 

Method:
Combine melted butter and flour in oven-proof container and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. In large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients except half-and-half. Simmer until potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Stir butter-flour mixture into chowder and stir until thick. Mixture will be slightly less thick than cookie dough. Remove chowder from heat. Stir in half-and-half until blended. Heat to serving temperature, stirring occasionally.

Serve immediately.

Mongolian Beef

Serves 2 (can easily be doubled to serve 4)
From Elly Says Opa who adapted from Pink Bites

Note: Toss in broccoli, snow peas, or any veggie of your choosing during the last five minutes of cooking, making this more of a wholesome one pot meal. 


FORMULA:

• 2/3 lb. flank steak, sliced across the grain
• 3 Tbsp. corn starch
• 3 tsp. canola oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. (heaping) red pepper flakes
• 2-3 large scallions, sliced

PROCESS:

1. Pat the steak pieces with a paper towel to get rid of any moisture. Toss the steak and cornstarch together; shake of excess cornstarch using a fine strainer.
2. Mix together the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and red pepper flakes in a small bowl or large measuring cup.
3. Heat half the oil in a wok or large fry-pan at medium-high heat and add the ginger and garlic.  Cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant, then add the soy sauce mixture. Cook for about 2 minutes and transfer back to the bowl or measuring cup.
4. Turn the heat up on the wok and add the remaining oil. Add the beef and cook, stirring until just browned.
5. Pour the sauce back in and let it cook with the meat. Simmer for around 5 minutes or until thickened. Place beef mixture on top of a bed of brown rice and garnish with scallions. Serve with a side of steamed veggies dolloped with leftover soy sauce mixture (or see note above).

Easy Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos

I'm always look for a good slow-cooker recipe that doesn't call for a can of "Cream of ..."  I adapted this from a Serious Eats recipe.

FORMULA:

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/3 cup cider vinegar
Kosher salt
1 pound pork butt
1 carrot
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium onion, quartered
3 tablespoons bottled or homemade barbecue sauce
1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, minced, plus extra sauce

 
PROCESS:
 
Mix together brown sugar, ground coriander, vinegar and 1 ½ tablespoons salt in bowl large enough to fit pork. Add pork, toss to combine, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Add half of carrot, garlic, and onion to bottom of slow cooker. Add pork and 2 tablespoons juice from marinade. Pour ½ cup water over pork. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for about 8 hours. Pork should be very tender and shred easily. Transfer to bowl, leaving vegetables behind. Shred with two forks. Add ½ teaspoon salt, three tablespoons broth, and barbecue sauce. Stir in minced chipotle and adobo sauce to taste. Season to taste with salt.

Cashew Chicken

This is a good, quick weeknight meal...and a bonus is that it is pretty healthy.

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FORMULA:

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4 chicken breast halves, diced

3 tbsp soy sauce, divided

1 tbsp cooking sherry

1 tbsp corn starch

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp white vinegar

¼ cup oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

3 green onions, sliced diagonally

2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tsp of jarred minced garlic)

¼-½ cup cashews, unsalted

toasted sesame seeds

hot cooked rice (we used brown)

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PROCESS:

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In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce with the cooking sherry. Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes, about 1/2 inch, and place chicken pieces in soy sauce/sherry mixture. Let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

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In a small bowl, whisk remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, corn starch, sugar, and vinegar until well combined. Set aside. Slice the green onions, and measure out the red pepper flakes and minced garlic.

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Heat oil in a wok over high heat. (Make sure it is very very hot. I didn't have mine hot enough and my chicken didn't turn out brown and crispy on the outside like it should have. Hot hot hot!) Add red pepper flakes and stir for 10 seconds. Add chicken all at once - it will sizzle and spatter quite a bit in the hot oil - stir quickly to brown all sides of chicken. Cook for 2 minutes until chicken is browned on all sides. Remove chicken from wok. Add sliced green onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are slightly cooked (about 1 minute). Return chicken to wok. Slowly pour in reserved corn starch sauce, stir to coat. Continue cooking on high, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens. Remove from heat, stir in cashews. Serve over hot cooked rice with toasted sesame seeds on top.

Beef And Grape-Tomato Kebabs

FORMULA:

1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak (about 1 1/4 inches thick)

24 grape tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grilling

2 tablespoonds grainy mustard (I used Grey Poupon instead)

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves

Coarse salt and ground pepper

PROCESS:

1. Slice beef into cubes. Assemble 4 long skewers, alternating 5 beef cubes (threaded perpendicular to the cut) with 6 grape tomatoes on each. Arrange skewers in a nonmetallic dish.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, mustard, vinegar, and thyme. Pour marinade over skewers; turn to coat. Cover and let stand at least 2 hours in refrigerator, turning periodically.

3. Heat grill to high and lightly oil grates.

4. Season skewers with salt and pepper and place them on grill. Cover grill and cook, turning occasionally, until grill marks are visible and meat is cooked to desired doneness, 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium rare.

Beth's Meatloaf

FORMULA:
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons onion
3/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
6 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup ketchup

PROCESS:
Mix ground beef, sage, salt, bread crumbs, onion, milk, and eggs and form into loaf pan. Mix brown sugar, prepared mustard, nutmeg, and ketchup and spread on top of meat mixture. Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes.

Stuffed French Toast

This recipe could bring world peace, seriously. We borrowed this from the red America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and we would like to thank them greatly for this little diddy. Oliver tasted this after a stressful day at work and told me that it saved his life. He is still talking about it 3 months later. It is that good.

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FORMULA:

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch nutmeg

8 slices high-quality white sandwich bread

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup whole milk

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

PROCESS:

1. Microwave the cream cheese in a large bowl on high power until just softened, 5 to 10 seconds. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the cinnamon, and nutmeg until smooth. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.

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2. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Arrange the bread on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and bake until slightly dry, about 15 minutes.

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3. Spread the seasoned cream cheese evenly over 4 pieces of the bread, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edges. Lightly press the remaining slices of bread over the top to make 4 sturdy sandwiches.

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4. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and whisk it together with the milk, egg, vanilla, salt, and bowl. Slowly whisk in the flour until smooth. Pour the batter into a large shallow dish.

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5. Slide 2 sandwiches into the batter and soak both sides, about 1 minute per side. Meanwhile, melt 1 more tablespoon of the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until beginning to brown, swirling to coat the pan. Remove the bread from the batter, allowing excess batter to drip back into the dish, and lay in the hot skillet. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer the French toast to the wire rack and keep warm in the oven. Repeat step 5 with the remaining butter, sandwiches, and batter.

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Serve with maple syrup or with just a pat of butter and a dusting of confectioners' sugar.

Mama's Meatballs

From Chef Rocco Dispirito's mama. These are wonderful to make ahead and freeze, that way you have them on hand for pastas and sandwiches.

FORMULA:

1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped fine
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

PROCESS:

Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic, and parsley in a blender or food processor and puree.

In a large bowl, combine the pureed stock mix, meat, bread crumbs, egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, red pepper flakes, and salt. Combine with hands until mixture is uniform, do not overmix.

Put a little olive oil on your hands and form mixture into balls a little larger than golf balls.

Pour about 1/2 inch of extra virgin olive oil in straight sided, 10-inch-wide saute pan and heat
over medium-high flame. Add the meatballs to the pan, working in batches if necessary, and brown meatballs, turning once. This should take about 10-15 minutes.

Swedish Meatballs

Serve over egg noodles or rice.

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FORMULA:

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Meatballs:
1 large egg
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large slice high-quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed and bread torn into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces ground pork
1 small onion , grated on large holes of box grater (about 1/4 cup)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon packed brown sugar {we omit this because we prefer it to be slightly less sweet}
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 ounces 85 percent lean ground beef
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

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Sauce:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar {we only use 2 teaspoons}
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
Table salt and ground black pepper

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PROCESS:

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For the meatballs - Whisk egg and cream together in medium bowl. Stir in bread and set aside. Meanwhile, in stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain; add mixture to mixer bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Using moistened hands, form generous tablespoon of meat mixture into 1-inch round meatball; repeat with remaining mixture to form 25 to 30 meatballs.

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Heat oil in 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until edge of meatball dipped in oil sizzles (oil should register 350 degrees on instant-read thermometer), 3 to 5 minutes. Add meatballs in single layer and fry, flipping once halfway through cooking, until lightly browned all over and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.) Using slotted spoon, transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.

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For the sauce - Pour off and discard oil in pan, leaving any fond (browned bits) behind. Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is light brown, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add brown sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and return to simmer.

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Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, turning occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

General Tso's {Ozzy's Favorite}

This is a lighter version of General Tso's, but it is just as delicious. We prefer to add a little extra red pepper for a little extra kick.

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FORMULA:

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 pound snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled
3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
2 large egg whites
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Rice for serving

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PROCESS:

Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add snow peas, garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, and red-pepper flakes; toss to combine, and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.

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In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg-white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken, and set aside (reserve skillet).
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Add snow-pea mixture to skillet. Cover; cook until snow peas are tender and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat. Serve with rice.