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For Garlic-Lovers Only

On a recent trip to Maine Mrs. Dragon & I had a roasted garlic dip from an Italian restaurant in Portland, Maine. We liked it so much we wanted to see if we could replicate it at home. Here's the first experiment, less a recipe than a set of steps:

First, peel two large heads of garlic and place the cloves in a single layer in a small baking dish. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and roast the garlic in a 350° oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

While the garlic is cooling, drop into the bowl of your food processor the following:
1/4 cup Ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons each Grated Parmegianno Regianno and Grated Asiago Cheese
3 tablespoons Shredded Smoked Provolone Cheese
1 tablespoon Bread Crumbs

Add the cooled roasted garlic cloves to the cheese mixture in the food processor & pulse until the mixture forms a smooth paste. You should have about half a cup. Remove to an oven-safe dish, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and bake at 350° for about 10-15 minutes.

This has intense, voluptuous, wonderful garlic flavor! For an added kick, add a pinch of red pepper flakes. YUMMY!!!
PenDragon679's profile
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Brunswick Stew

This is a traditional southern barbecue stew, usually made with smoked chicken and/or pork. There are as many recipes for it as there are cooks. Here's my version, with a few notes. . .

Brunswick Stew

1/2 Pound Andouille or Smoked Sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 Pound Bacon, finely chopped
1 3.25 lb. Chicken, cut up
2-4 Tablespoons Essence©
4 Cups Water
1 Head Garlic, halved
1 Carrot, cut up
2 Ribs Celery, cut up
1 Small Red Onion, quartered
Salt & Pepper, to taste

2 Tablespoons Dry Mustard
1 28-ounce can Diced Tomatoes
1 Medium Red Onion, chopped
1 Cup Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Cup Apple Cider or Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup Barbecue Sauce
1-2 Teaspoons Hot Sauce
1 15-ounce can Cream Style Corn

Rinse chicken and trim excess fat. Pat dry with paper towels, season with salt, pepper & Essence and set aside.

Brown sausage in a small amount of olive oil and set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven set on medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Remove crispy bits from the pan & set aside for later. Brown the seasoned chicken on all sides in the bacon fat; then add water, garlic, carrot, celery & red onion. Bring this a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover & cook 45-60 minutes to make stock. Remove chicken and set on a plate to cool. Strain the stock and return it to the pot.

Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer & cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove skin from the chicken and strip the chicken from the bones. Finely chop the skin & cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Add to the pot with the browned sausage. Bring to a boil once more, reduce heat to a simmer again, and cook, covered, 20-30 minutes. Correct seasoning if necessary and serve with Maple Bacon Corn Bread and your favorite adult beverage.

I made this in a 5-1/2 quart enameled cast iron pot, similar to the Le Creuset pots you see on television cooking shows; mine is made by Calphalon & was a fantastic buy at the outlet store. The finished product is a bit acidic (I added 4 tablespoons of turbinado sugar at the end) and has a very mild "heat;" you could punch it up with more hot sauce or some cayenne. I used Tabasco brand chipotle hot sauce and a sweet barbecue sauce with a bit of bourbon. For future batches I'm thinking some whole kernel corn would help. The sausage used in this batch was a chicken andouille from Costco; a more traditional pork andouille might be nice, maybe some cooked hot Italian sausage. . . I may try using pulled pork instead of sausage at some point; we're also thinking of using turkey this winter. . .
PenDragon679's profile
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Iron Chef Recipe

Dark Chocolate Yeast Bread

2 Packages Dry Yeast or Fast-Acting Dry Yeast
1-1/4 Cups Hot Water (110-115°)
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Godiva brand Chocolate Liqueur
4 Cups Bread Flour
2/3 Cup Dutch Process Cocoa
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Vegetable Oil, or Melted
Butter
2 Tablespoons Honey
1/2-3/4 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (optional)

Combine water, milk & liqueur in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add yeast & stir vigorously to combine (I use the whisk attachment on low speed). Let this mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to allow yeast to bloom.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, brown sugar & salt. Add about half this mixture to the yeast mixture and, using the dough hook on low speed, combine thoroughly. Add the rest of the flour mixture by spoonfuls until a soft, sticky dough forms. Add oil & honey. You may need to add water to bring the dough together. Continue to mix on medium-low speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and climbs the hook.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 10-15 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. If using chocolate chips, this is the time to knead them in. Form dough into a large bowl & place in a lightly oiled bowl to proof. Turn dough over to coat with oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to rest until doubled in size.

When dough has risen (about 1 hour), punch down & knead for another 5-10 minutes. Form into loaves & cover with a damp kitchen towel. When loaves have doubled in size again (about 45 minutes), bake in a 375° oven for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, coat liberally with butter, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and allow to cool completely. Store bread in an airtight container.

Use this bread to make French Toast for the kiddies (they'll love ya to death), the most awesome peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, or killer bread pudding!
PenDragon679's profile
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Cocktail of Love

I know it's a little out of season for pomegranates, but here's a cocktail I "invented" not long ago that should be wonderful for all you lovers out there. I call it a Pom-A-Rita. . .

Start with:

2 ounces Golden Tequila
1 ounce Sweet & Sour Mix
1 ounce Pama brand pomegranate liqueur

Prepare a chilled martini or margarita glass by running a lime wedge along the rim and dipping it into granulated sugar.

Add ice to a cocktail shaker & combine all ingredients. Shake, shake, shake your bootie until the beverage is thoroughly chilled and strain it into the prepared glass. Garnish with a few pomegranate seeds.

Repeat until no further testing is required. . .
PenDragon679's profile
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Experimenting with Bread. . .

As regular readers of this group may know, I've been playing around with bread quite a bit lately. To date, I've developed recipes for basic white, basic wheat and oatmeal breads. I've also come up with an Irish wheat bread (uses a whole bottle of Guinness), a maple/oatmeal granola bread, a peanut butter yeast bread (tastes great toasted on cast iron), and an awesome cinnamon swirl bread. Today, I'm experimenting with rye. Since Mrs. Dragon isn't crazy about rye bread & I don't eat as much bread as I did before I got sick; I'm playing around with the flavor profile. Here's what I've got so far.

To the 1:2 mix of bread flour to rye, I've added 1/4 cup of molasses and 1/4 cup of bourbon. A package of fast-acting yeast and another 1/2 cup of hot water makes it rise. Add a couple scant teaspoons of carraway seeds to the dough (gotta keep it traditional), then into the oven. Will let y'all know how it turns out. . .
PenDragon679's profile
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Baked Beans, New England Style

For redsun & anyone else who craves these tender morsels of love. . .

Baked Beans, New England Style

2 Cups Dried beans
1 Medium-sized White Onion
1/3 Cup Molasses
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
2 Teaspoons Dry Mustard
1/2 Teaspoon Ginger
1 Piece Salt Pork, about 1/4 –inch thick (about ¼ pound)
1/4 Cup Cooked, Crumbled Bacon (Optional)

Rinse & pick over the beans, removing any broken or discolored beans & pebbles. Soak in 3 cups cold water overnight.

Drain the beans, reserving any remaining liquid, and transfer to a 2-quart bean pot or other ceramic cooking pot. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, and add the reserved soaking liquid. Add enough fresh water to just cover. Place the salt pork on top & cover. Bake in a 300° oven for 6-8 hours, checking the water level occasionally. Replenish as needed. Beans should be firm but not hard, and have a slight creamy texture, when done. Remove from the oven & stir gently. Cool slightly before serving.

NOTES: Baked beans are a staple in the New England kitchen. This is my take on a traditional Boston recipe. While Navy (or pea) beans are traditional in the New England kitchen, I prefer a bean with a little more substance and a slightly more assertive flavor, like yellow-eyes or Jacob’s cattle. Great Northern beans or Kidney beans are also good cooked this way. These are typically served with baked potatoes, and re-heat nicely on top of the stove. For a yummy New England breakfast, try leftover beans on buttermilk pancakes with a side of crisp bacon. To do it Southern style (or Midwestern style) serve leftover beans over biscuits.

We used to have these every Saturday night when I was growing up in Maine & I still get nostalgic whenever I make a pot of these. I think I must be the only one here who actually BAKES beans from scratch; really, there's nothing else that compares. For a true New England variation, get about Jordan's natural casing frankfurters, cut them into bite-sized pieces & toss them into the pot with the beans during the last hour of cooking. YUMMY!!!
PenDragon679's profile
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Chickens, chickens, chickens. . .

Why did Mozart get rid of all of his chickens?

They kept squawking, "Bach-Bach-Bach-Bach!"

. . .ducking & running. . .
PenDragon679's profile
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Kitchen Confidential

Just finished Anthony Bourdain's book, "Kitchen Confidential."

I may never eat in a restaurant again. . .

It's a wildly entertaining romp, though; I heartily reccomend it. Just don't eat the fish special on Monday. . .
PenDragon679's profile
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Turkey Day

It's crunch time hear at the Dragon household as we get ready for the big feed. This'll be the first year since my surgery that I'll be able to enjoy a real Thanksgiving meal; Mrs. Dragon & I are going all-out. . .

Bought an 18-pound bird this year, the biggest we've ever cooked. Since there's only 2 of us, y'all probably think we've lost our minds; but the name of this game is LEFTOVERS!! Mrs. Dragon & I both love turkey sandwiches (and we've got home-baked bread for 'em this year); then there's turkey tetrazinni, turkey soup, turkey pot pie, turkey croquettes, etc., etc. I'm playing around with an idea for something I call "Thanksgiving Pie" that I'll post after I've made it & if it works as well as I hope it will.

Stuffing this year will be special. We decided to forget about buying the ready-made, dried-out, cardboard-tasting stuffing cubes at the local Kroger. I baked white & wheat bread Sunday. Added some poultry seasoning to the wheat bread; then, after it sat on the counter overnight, I cut both loaves into 3/4" pieces & dried the pieces in a 325-degree oven. We now have a huge bowl of stuffing cubes on the table waiting for the onions, celery, carrots, etc. And, no, stuffing is NOT evil!

The turkey gets brined this year, a first at the Dragon home. Birdzilla gets a cold-water bath later today to thaw, then he'll get soaked in sweetened salt water Wednesday night before he gets his dry sauna Thursday.

Can't forget dessert. . . This year it's pie, two pies. There'll be the all-American apple pie for me (Mrs. Dragon doesn't do apples), and a bourbon sweet potato pie for both of us. Thanks to the Food Network's Alton Brown for that one. And, no, we don't do pumpkin pie; I'm sure my Pilgrim ancestors will forgive.

Dinner will be early this year; we're aiming for mid-afternoon, right after the dog show or thereabouts. Then, after we both wake up form the turkey coma, the PenDragon turkey-fondling festival commences, followed by the feast of leftovers.

Cranberry sauce gets made tomorrow. . .

Gobble, gobble, gobble. . .

PenDragon679's profile
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Iron Chef

This isn't strictly speaking a "mushroom" recipe, but. . .

Midwestern Risotto Americano

1/2 Pound Smoked Sausage or Kielbasa, finely diced
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Pound Crimini Mushrooms, finely diced
1-1/2 Cups White Onion, finely diced
3-4 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Cups Arborio Rice
12 Ounces Stale Beer (Yes, I said “STALE”)
1 Quart Chicken Stock
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg, freshly grated
3/4 Cup Half & Half
1/2 Cup Parmegianno Regiano Cheese, freshly grated
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Start by lightly sautéing the sausage in a tablespoon or olive oil until just browned. Set the sausage aside & reserve the oil. Bring the chicken stock to a slow simmer over low heat.

Melt butter in a large (3-quart) pan or Dutch oven over medium heat & add the reserved oil. Add the onions & garlic, toss in a pinch of salt, and sweat until the onions become translucent. Do NOT allow the onions to brown! When the onions have given up their liquid and started to go soft, add the rice & sauté lightly. When the rice begins to smell “nutty” and the pan is almost dry, slowly pour in the beer. Bring to a fast simmer & continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the pan is almost dry again. At this point, begin adding the chicken stock by ladle-fulls, and continue cooking the rice until the broth is nearly all used and the pan is, again, nearly dry.

Stir in the mushrooms & sausage and stir to combine. Now add the dried parsley & black pepper, and stir thoroughly. Add the half & half and nutmeg, still stirring. Just before serving, grate a generous portion of cheese over the whole dish and stir it through. Serve piping hot.

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