Tag: Journal

There were not one, but two things that led to the recipe I selected for today’s “Tasty Tuesdays” post. The first of these was going through “my” freezer and creating an inventory of everything in it. In doing so, I noticed that I had several packages of beef that were quickly reaching their “use by” dates. The second was an advertisement for Hardee’s (or Carl’s Junior, as the restaurant chain is better known to me) that I found in a “package” of junk mail I receive in my P.O. Box far too often. While perusing the various ads for fast food restaurants, I spotted Hardee’s “New Philly Cheesesteak Menu”, which had a picture of something that reminded me of the “original Philly Cheesesteak — a sandwich (or san’ich, as I like to say) with shredded beef, sauteed green peppers and onions, slices of cheese all on a French roll. This reminded me that I had some beef in the freezer that could be cooked and shredded for this purpose. In addition, I already had the cheese, green peppers, and onions on hand since they’re two of the most-often-used ingredients in my kitchen. The only thing I needed was the French rolls.

Other than not having the French rolls, the only other problem that remained was I wasn’t quite sure how to cook the beef I had in the freezer, so I started thumbing through some of my cookbooks (in search of another recipe, actually). Fortuitously, I came across a recipe for “Easy Beef Sandwiches”, which was basically what I had in mind when I was thinking about my Philly Cheesesteak san’iches. This recipe includes the beef, cheese, and rolls, but not the main thing that I think makes it a “Philly Cheesesteak” — the green peppers and onions! So, I used this recipe as a starting point (i.e. the directions for cooking the meat I have in the freezer) and then added the grilled green peppers and onions when assembling the Philly Cheesesteak san’ich.

Without further ado, here’s the original recipe for “Easy Beef Sandwiches”:

Easy Beef Sandwiches

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 boneless beef bottom round roast (about 3 to 5 pounds)
• 1 cup water
• 1 package (about 1 ounce) au jus gravy mix
• French rolls, sliced lengthwise
• Provolone cheese (optional)

• Place onion slices in bottom of CROCK-POT slow cooker, top with beef. Stir water into gravy mix in a small bowl; pour over beef. Cover; cook on LOW 7 to 9 hours.
• Remove beef from CROCK-POT slow cooker; shred meat using two forks. Serve on French rolls, topped with cheese, if desired. Serve cooking liquid on the side for dipping.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

To turn this recipe into one for Philly Cheesesteak san’iches, simply saute some green peppers and onion slices in your preferred fat. I tend to use olive oil, but you can use “regular” oil (canola, etc.) or even butter. Once the veggies are done, add some of the shredded beef and the Provolone cheese. While the cheese is melting, take a moment to toast the buttered rolls (3 to 5 minutes in a 400 degree F oven). At this point, mix the melted cheese into the mixture and then transfer onto the toasted rolls. Serve with the cooking liquid from the CROCK-POT as a dipping sauce.

By the way, serving the cooking liquid (the “au jus”) with the san’ich reminded me of some fond childhood memories of mine: On special occasions, my family and I went to a restaurant called “Sam’s Hof Brau” in Sacramento. The san’iches that I remember most from there were the “French Dip” san’iches that were served with “au jus” for dipping — though it was usually Dad and my sister who got those san’iches. I can’t really remember what Mom and I would order, but I do remember standing — plate in hand — in front of a man wearing the tallest white hat I’d ever seen and holding two knives in his hands. After I told him what kind of meat I wanted (probably either corned beef, ham, roast beef or turkey), he got to work slicing up the big chunk of meat in front of him, his knives moving so fast I didn’t see ’em again until he had plunked some juicy slices of meat on my plate. After thanking him (as my parents taught my sister and I to do), the man with the tall hat and knives would smile and wink at me before I left the head of the line — probably nudged forward by either Mom or my sister. So many wonderful memories were made at Sam’s Hof Brau — a restaurant that is STILL in business AND back in the hands of the family of Sam Gordon, the man who founded the restaurant back in 1959, who is determined to maintain its authenticity. The next time I’m in the Sacramento area, I’ll have to make a point to stop in, so I can recreate those childhood memories.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got another Philly Cheesesteak san’ich to make!

I am including Dutch recipes as part of my “Tasty Tuesdays” journal posts because I’ve become enamored with “all things Dutch” ever since I started researching the history of New York City, which arose from New Amsterdam, a settlement in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (once comprised of portions of the following “modern day” states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and, of course, New York). The more research I did for my second “finished” novel, the more fascinated I became with the colony of New Netherland and the Dutch in general. Because I want to represent this culture as historically accurate as possible, I’ve been studying everything I can find about the Dutch, including their cuisine. Consequently, I thought my “Tasty Tuesdays” journal posts would be a good (delicious?) way to share some of my research with you.

The first Dutch recipe I’ll be sharing with you is called “Patatje Oorlog” (which translates to Dutch “War Fries”. I came across it on a Web site called “Tara’s Multicultural Table”. As it turned out, the Dutch love “french” fries, too, as “patatje oorlog” is popular street fare in the Netherlands. Now, I doubt any of my Dutch characters will be enjoying “patatje oorlog” any time soon since I don’t think potatoes would have been available to any of them given the time period and location in which my stories are set. However, you can bet I’ll be enjoying them quite often, especially since I’ll be using my “InstaPot” to make the fries (recipe to follow). I was intrigued by the toppings the Dutch put on their fries, especially after enjoying “wet fries” from a restaurant chain called “The Hat” back in Southern California AND “poutine” up in Toronto, Canada. I guess I seem to like my fries topped with virtually anything but ketchup. I hope you give “Patatje Oorlog” a try and then let me know what you think about the Dutch version of “french” fries.

A now, without further ado, here’s the recipe for this Dutch street fare — along with a variation for making the “fries” part of this recipe. Eet smakelijk… OR Bon appétit!

Patatje Oorlog (Dutch War Fries)

Saté Sauce:

• 1 Tablespoon peanut oil
• 1/2 onion, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (something made from red hot chilis)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
• 1 Tablespoon kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
• 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar

Fries:

• 4 large ruusset potatoes
• vegetable oil for frying
• salt to taste

For serving:

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• freshly ground black pepper

To make the saté:

• In a medium saucepan, drizzle the peanut oil over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir in the garlic, sambal oelek, and ginger and cook just until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Once fragrant, add the peanut butter. Stir to combine, then add 3/4 cup of the chicken brothe, the kecap manis, and dark brown sugar. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add more brothe if the mixture becomes too thick. Remove from heat. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use on top of the fries.

To make the fries:

• In a fryer or large pot, add 2-3 inches of oil and heat to 325 degrees F. Peel the potatoes and cut into fries. Soak the fries in cold water to remove any excess starch and pat dry with a towel.
• Add the fries to the hot oil in batches, being careful not to overcrowd (keep the extra fries soaking in the water until their turn to cook). Fry until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining fries.
• Allow the first batch of fries to rest while the others cook, then fry again in 375 degrees F oil until crisp and golden, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining fries.

To serve:

• Sprinkle the fries with salt and serve immediately topped with the saté sauce, mayonnaise and chopped raw onions.

Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes

• 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (optional)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon wedge, for serving
• Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

In a large bowl, toss potatoes with oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Cajun seasoning, if using. Season with salt and pepper.

Place potatoes in basket of air fryer and cook at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Shake basket and stir potatoes, and then cook until potatoes are golden and tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Squeeze lemon juice over cooked potatoes and garnish with parsley before serving.

So, there you have ’em: the recipe for “Patatje Oorlog” (which I found on “Tara’s Multicultural Table” Web site) AND the recipe for Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes (which I discovered at the back of the January/February 2023 issue of Mountain Telephone’s “Connection” magazine. I’m sure I’m going to be making both of these recipes often in the future! Just have to get the timing right for the homemade kecap manis since I boiled it FAR TOO LONG the first time and ended up with a solid mess that refuses to dissolve!

One of the things that occupies my time when I’m not writing is being in the kitchen — and, NO, NOT only for the cleaning AND “counter creep”! I love to cook (and bake), especially trying out new recipes. Consequently, I also love collecting cookbooks and finding new-to-me recipes. So… Last year, I asked my family if they had any recipes that they’d like to share with me. At first, I didn’t get much of a response to this request, but that changed when I picked up a package from the post office recently. Not expecting anything (except bills, of course), I checked my P.O. Box and spotted one of the keys that indicated I had a package waiting for me in one of the post office’s larger boxes. When I retrieved it, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a package from Auntie Pat (the eldest of Mom’s two younger sisters). I was even more surprised to discover that she had responded to my call for recipes — in a BIG way! She sent me not one, but TWO wooden recipe boxes! (Don’t see those boxes anymore! I’m old-fashioned, so I absolutely love ’em! Thanks, Auntie Pat!) Anyway… These boxes were chock full of recipes, and there were also a bunch of recipes that wouldn’t fit into the boxes. I’m telling you… It felt like Christmas that day!

Enthralled by the sheer number of recipes in that package, I started going through the recipes one by one. Some of them were handwritten on scraps of paper now yellowed and creased with age while others were typed (not printed) onto index cards — complete with mistakes, too. A veritable treasure trove of recipes! I don’t know how long I spent sifting through many of those recipes, but I suspect that doing so was what solidified my desire to resurrect the “Tasty Tuesdays” feature from back in my LiveJournal days. Because of Auntie Pat’s very generous gift, I’ve decided to share one of Auntie Pat’s recipes with y’all each month. The first one I’m going to share with you is one called “Eggless Spice Cake”, and eventually you’ll be able to see a photograph of the original recipe below.

It was the first word of this recipe’s name that immediately caught my eye, especially after having paid a veritable fortune for eggs during my last trip to the grocery story. (Talk about “sticker shock”!) Given the fact that the price of eggs continues to skyrocket these days, I thought I’d share the recipe for a dessert that does NOT require eggs.

As I’m sure you’ll be able to tell by the photo of the original recipe, I’ve had to modify it slightly — mostly by adding directions for baking. I’ve actually read somewhere that this kind of information was often omitted from recipes since it was just assumed that everybody already knew how to “bake”. Sadly, I don’t think that’s as true today as it was in “the good ol’ days” when this recipe was written. Because of this, I many need to “tweak” more of the recipes from Auntie Pat a bit in order to clarify the directions.

Here’s the first recipe from Auntie Pat’s VERY generous gift:

Eggless Spice Cake

• 1/2 cup butter or “short’n”
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 teaspoon cloves
• 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Grease and flour two baking pans. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Pour into the prepared baking pans. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean — for about 45 minutes; cool. Frost, if desired.

NOTES:

Since I don’t have a 1/3 teaspoon measuring spoon or any cloves, I used 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.

Because I don’t like raisins, I omitted them from “my” Eggless Spice Cake”.

I hope you give this no-eggs-required recipe a try, and if you do, I hope you’ll take a moment to let me know how your “Eggless Spice Cake” turned out for you.

With this first “Tasty Tuesdays” post coming out on the 14th of February, the first recipe I’m going to share with y’all is going to be something sweet in honor of Valentine’s Day. A member of my family absolutely LOVES Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but he has been grumbling A LOT about “shrink-flation” when it comes to his beloved sweet treat. Every time he purchases any size package of ’em, he never fails to show me the size of ’em — “They’ve shrunk… AGAIN!” he’ll complain, adding “AND the price has gone up on ’em, too!”

Well… After hearing this so many times, I decided to give him a homemade version of his beloved sweet treat for Valentine’s Day — as a surprise AND With the hope that they’ll save us some money in the long run. So… I did a quick Internet search and found not one, but two recipes for homemade peanut butter cups. Because I liked part of one and a different part of the second one, I decided to combine the two. Without further ado, here’s “my” recipe for homemade peanut butter cups:

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound good quality dark or milk chocolate
• 1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Bottom:

• Melt chocolate at 50% power in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. The chocolate doesn’t have to be completely melted; as it sits, little pieces will melt into the mixture. Be extra careful not to overheat the chocolate.
• Place about a teaspoon of chocolate into each well of a silicone mold, and with the back of a spoon, “pull” the chocolate up the sides, ensuring that the bottom and sides are completely covered.
• Place in the freezer for about 30 seconds to stiffen up the chocolate. Afterwards, you can “re-pull” more or fill in any gaps.
• Place into the refrigerator until cold.

Filling:

• Mix together peanut butter, powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and salt in a bowl until well blended and free of any large clumps.
• Using a tablespoon-sized cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon, scoop up some of the peanut butter filling, roll it into a ball with your hands, and then flatten it slightly into a disk.
• Place the disks into each of the wells in the silicone mold that have already been filled with chocolate.

Top:

• Spoon enough of the melted chocolate on top of the disks of peanut butter filling to completely cover them.
• Once all of the wells have been topped off with the melted chocolate, put the filled silicone mold into the refrigerator to set for at least 30 minutes.
• Enjoy!

NOTES:

I used a silicone mold that I purchased a while ago because I knew I was going to be making these eventually (also bought a silicone egg mold for a spring holiday), but one of the recipes stated that you could use cupcake liners — the foil ones, if I remember correctly, since they’re stronger than the regular paper ones.

When I made a batch for myself, I melted one of the Dollar General’s (“Literacy”) dark chocolate candy bars, and I was definitely pleased with the results. In fact, I much prefer melting the candy bar and then eating it as opposed to eating it straight out of the wrapper. Go figure…

After the success I had with the homemade peanut butter cups, I went on to use the same molds to make MY favorite kind of candy: dark chocolate nonpareils! Had to use rainbow nonpareils since I couldn’t find any of the all-white kind that is use predominately in commercial products. No biggie… Now I’ve just got to figure out how to drop the chocolate, so I can replicate “Sno Caps” (my favorite “movie” candy) at home! If you’ve got any ideas about how to do this, I’d love to hear from you!

Well… This concludes my very first “Tasty Tuesdays” post since my LiveJournal days. I hope you give this easy recipe a try, and if you do, I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know how it went for you!