Oven-roasted peppers (p. 292) and Muffuletta (p. 181)

So roasting a red pepper is not officially a recipe but I took pictures of the process, so I might as well post about it! Oven-roasted peppers (p. 292). I ended up with extra so mom wrapped it up and saved it. She recently told me that it was amazingly delicious and wanted to know the secrets to making TJOC roasted red peppers. Believe me--there is no mystery.

You start with a red bell pepper. Brush it down with olive oil. Since I adore olive oil (and recommend you never look at the calorie count for a tablespoon of it) I smeared it all over.




Broil the pepper until it's blistered and black. I imagine it will eventually catch on fire--make sure to stop before that point.



Cut the top away and slip the skin off. Your extra will look like this:



The rest is your roasted red pepper! Pretty easy. Red peppers are relatively expensive though--I think it would be a great idea to plant a pepper plant in the garden, roast a bunch of them, and save them in a giant vat of oil (would that work?).

What did I need the red pepper for? Muffuletta (p. 181)! When I finished my Master's degree, my best friend Rachel and I went for an awesome trip to New Orleans. In between ghost tours in the morning and staying out all night on Bourbon street we managed to gorge ourselves on the awesome New Orleans specialties (muffuletta, beignets, po'boys, gumbo, etc.). I actually remember eating the muffuletta at a little place in the garden district after traveling down there on the cable cars and we trying to listen to the Anne Rice tour guide (a tour that we were not officially on and only had two people...hard to be inconspicuous!).

I really wanted this to be a delicious sandwich...especially since it was so time-consuming. Because of all the wait periods in the recipe, I hope that nobody ever makes this when they have a serious craving.

The first part of TJOC's muffuletta is to make an olive salad.

Mix together chopped black and green olives, olive oil, parsley, oregano, garlic, a little lemon juice, and the roasted red pepper. Since I don't like bell peppers, I decided to split the mixture in half and only add the red pepper to one container. The mixture then has to be refrigerated for at least eight hours.

I think the olive salad is incredibly pretty!




My olive salad looked like this:




The recipe calls for a round loaf of Italian or French bread. For some reason this was extremely difficult to buy at mom's local grocery store. I ended up buying some expensive organic bread because it was my only choice. It's split in half (essentially, making an enormous sandwich).



I see now, rereading the recipe, that I was supposed to hollow the sandwich out a little. I totally didn't do that and it worked fine (although it was a big sandwich and that step would have probably made it easier to eat). The recipe says to drain the olive mixture and spread the marinade on the bread...but there was no marinade! So I didn't do that step either...

The olive mixture spread on the bread:



The next step is a layer of salami (mmmm....)



And then a layer of ham....



And a layer of provolone cheese...are you hungry yet? I certainly am!




TJOC calls for shredded lettuce but we didn't have any...so it got a very light sprinkling of lettuce.



Finally, the other half of the olive mixture is added. I had to be careful about this and get the sides matched up--otherwise that would have been a total waste of time!



And the top of the loaf is put on:




It looked like a huge, drippy (but tasty) sandwich.


The sandwich was then wrapped in plastic...since we didn't have any Saran we put it in a loose bag (actually the bag the bread came in--nothing else was big enough) and wrapped it tight with foil.



The sandwich then was placed on a plate, covered with another plate, and weighted down in the refrigerator...TJOC says to weight it with cans but I used mom's exercise weights. It stays there for at least thirty minutes but could stay for up to six hours (and would probably be much flatter if you did the longer time).




I was starving at this point so it only got to crush for about an hour.

The final product?




Close up:



It was AMAZINGLY good. The olive salad would be terrific by itself...or with some hummus for a vegetarian sandwich (mmm...I may have to try that). The sandwich was extremely tasty. I can't say it was easy, or cheap, but it sure was good. Since my last muffuletta was over three years ago, I can't vouch for it's authenticity, but at least it didn't include mayo (my Lousiana friends tell me that's the worst thing you can do to a muffuletta!).

Green peppers and onions (p. 292) and White Bread (p. 596)

Don't forget the contest!

Also, for those of you who are following my vegetarian and vegan tags--well, I'm not tagging everything that is vegetarian or vegan because I forget and I don't think I have any veggies reading the blog. Let me know if I'm wrong!

My goal when I see my mom is to make the foods that Josh and I don't like--but she does (anything heavy in peppers and/or onions, for example). So I made a dish that mom really likes but I think is incredibly disgusting (even the smell)--Green peppers and onions (p. 292).


The first step is to heat up the olive oil (or butter or bacon fat) in a pan. Then add 6 sliced onions. Now I don't know if you've ever sliced six onions...but it's a LOT of onions. I even chose small onions and it was a huge amount. The onions are cooked until softened.




Three sliced green bell peppers (sliced, cored, and cut) are then added.



This mixture is then cooked down....






It seemed like a really strange proportion of peppers to onions--a LOT of onions and not very many peppers. It horrified me the entire time (from cutting [and crying over] the onions and peppers) to cooking--I really really dislike both bell peppers and onions. Onions are really cheap though, so if you like them, this is totally the recipe for you. Mom thought it was really really good and happily ate the entire pot over a few days (although she later added sausage).


I also made a recipe that I really wanted my mom around for--White Bread (p. 596). My mom makes excellent bread but I have never made it from scratch. TJOC says that this recipe has been in every edition of the cookbook since the first version in 1931.


The first step is to mix milk, sugar, Crisco, butter, and salt.



This step was annoying...it makes a big deal about the temperature of this mix. By the time the Crisco and butter melted it was at way too high of a temperature and I had to wait for it to cool down.



The yeast and water are then mixed. I find yeast stressful. Creepy little living things that determine the success of my bread...it did smell yeasty though. And little bubbles started to form...apparently, that is a good thing.





The milk mixture is then added to the yeast and the first three cups of flour are added...




The bread is then beaten for a minute. Mom had no idea what this meant so we just stirred it (actually, I cheated here...this is mom beating it). Obviously, it worked because it started coming away from the sides of the bowl.



And you get a little ball...



At this point more flour is added until it no longer sticks. This was a bit of a problem because the bread wasn't sticking in the first place--it really didn't want to accept all of that flour.






The bread was then put in an oiled bowl:



And covered:



Mom and I were worried about the bread because winter in Iowa is very very cold and bread likes it hot...

So it went in the warmest place in the house...

The bathroom, with the door shut. Perfect place!

And the bread grew! It probably didn't quite double but it did grow a lot.




It got punched down:



And was allowed to rise again.


The bread dough was then separated and put into two loaf pans and allowed to rise for a third time. I chose not to braid them, although braiding bread was one of my favorite activities as a child.




And into the oven...





They came out great! Although they were tiny. In fact, they were so tiny that they looked as if they had been baked in an EasyBake oven (okay, that's an exaggeration, but not by much). Nice and brown.







The final product:



I think they are beautiful! The texture of the bread was really great although it is a little "cakey"--which is undoubtedly due to all the milk and butter. The crust was crisp and tasty. I brought one of the loaves home to Josh and it didn't last a day :)

I have to say, I'm still terrified to try to make it at high altitude. I know you have to use different yeast and the bread rises much faster--but I still find it scary. Does anyone have any experience with bread baking at high altitude?


EDITED! The recipe in TJOC is incorrect and is updated in the edits. The printed recipe leaves out an extra cup of water, which would have made all of the difference. Make sure to update your copy of TJOC.

The best North American foods meme

The best North American foods meme!

If you do this, post it in a comment (or post the link to yours!)--at least tell me your thoughts!

I will bold the foods I've eaten, strike out the ones I refuse to eat, link to those I've already TJOC'd. I think most of these are in TJOC but I haven't made them yet (which makes sense because TJOC is such an American classic). Don't think about the underlining because I picked that up from the blog I found the meme on...and couldn't figure out how to undo it :)


1. New York pizza--I would say you can only count this if you've actually eaten it in New York!
2. Hoppin' John--surprisingly good!
3. New Mexico green chile
4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
5. Tasso
6. Whole Maine lobster
7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies (I've had hushpuppies but not the shrimp)
8. Kansas City barbecue ribs--in KC, of course :)
9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme--not a huge fan though--I like yeast doughnuts better than cake doughnuts.
10. San Diego fish tacos
11. Cheese curds (in the holy land of cheese curds...Wisconsin!)
12. Key lime pie (Florida!)
13. Philly cheese steak--I've never had one because I don't like Cheez-Whiz or onions.
14. Memphis pork barbecue sandwich--obviously I've had a pork barbecue sandwich but not a "Memphis" one
15. Lowcountry boil
16. Huckleberry pie
17. New England clam chowder
18. Boiled peanuts--although I'm not sure why...I don't think they are particularly good
19. Buffalo (Bison) burger
20. Eggs Benedict
21. Pastrami on rye
22. Corned beef and cabbage
23. Pancakes with maple syrup
24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato
25. Thin Mints
26. Frito pie -- I don't care for Fritos
27. Potato knish with mustard
28. Silver Queen corn on the cob - good chance I've tried it, but I'm not really up on my various corn varieties (this was the previous blogger's comment but I totally agree)
29. Soft pretzel from a street cart
30. Fresh-picked blueberries--Yum!
31. Sourwood honey
32. State fair funnel cake
33. Chesapeake crab cakes
34. Candied yams
35. Oyster dressing--this IS in TJOC though
36. Snow cone or snowball
37. Wild Alaskan salmon
38. Sautéed more
39. Persimmon pudding
40. General Tso's Chicken
41. Frozen custard
42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun
43. Chili dogs--I went through a 15-year no hot dog era so I don't think I ever have had a chili dog
44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese
45. Spam musubi --I should have eaten this in Japan! I certainly saw it
46. Saltwater taffy--both 46 and 47 are thanks to Jennifer and her family :)
47. Fluffernutter sandwich on Wonder Bread
48. Black and white cookie
49. Frybread
50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon
51. Baked beans
52. Pumpkin pie
53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sautéed peppers
55. Fried green tomatoes--in TJOC
56. Succotash --in TJOC
57. Shrimp and grits (in TJOC)
58. Hot water cornbread--what is this?
59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions--I think this is in TJOC
60. Chicken fried steak--my favorite hangover dish! And in TJOC!
61. Carnitas burrito
62. Apple butter
63. Geoduck
64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell--A Dairy Queen specialty, although I don't care for the hard shell
65. Pecan pie--my uncle made a particularly delicious version!
66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station
67. Oysters Rockefeller--I learned I don't like Oysters Rockefeller when Rachel and I ordered it at the Court of the Two Sisters in New Orleans :)
68. Homemade cranberry sauce--Of course! What American hasn't?
69. Pimento cheese
70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola--I've had both, but not together
71. Pickled watermelon rind
72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game
73. Smithfield ham
74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at diner
75. Chicken and waffles
76. Po'Boy with many napkins --in New Orleans
77. Green bean casserole with French's fried onions
78. Stuffed sopaipillas
79. Turducken
80. Shad roe on toast--not on toast
81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
82. Cioppino--nope, although I should have had it when I was in San Francisco
83. New York cheesecake
84. Pan-fried river trout
85. Jambalaya
86. North Carolina pig pickin'
87. California rolls--in both the US and Japan
88. Burgoo--in TJOC
89. Penuche fudge
90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich
91. Scrapple or livermush
92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction
93. Muscadine grapes
94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue
95. Open-face turkey sandwich
96. Chicago deep dish pizza
97. Cobb salad--the least healthy "salad"
98. Peach pie a la mode
99. Macaroni and cheese
100. Root beer float

TOTAL
Eaten: 54
Won't Try: 0
Left to try: 46

Braised Lentils with Sausage (p. 258) and Hoppin' John (p. 356)

First things first--don't forget about my contest--it's almost over :) Win a copy of TJOC!

Happy New Year's everyone! I hope this is an excellent 2009!

I was home in Iowa with my mother for the holiday (we spent New Year's Eve traveling from Florida to Iowa--I think I went to bed at around 9:30) and I decided to make two dishes that TJOC specifically points out as New Year's dishes.

The first dish was Braised Lentils with Sausage (p. 258). The intro to the recipe says that it is a New Year's dish that is popular in Northern Italy.

I immediately ran into a problem. Although I could probably get cotechino or andouille sausage in Colorado at Whole Foods or something, I was having NO luck in Iowa. And I'm not going to use expensive sausage in a lentil (yes, I'm saying lentil with a sneer) dish. So I decided to use (locally made) Italian sausage.

(We aren't going to mention that this looks rather icky)



I'm not sure what the point of boiling the sausage was. As mom kept pointing out, all the fat leeches out when you boil the sausage and it doesn't really brown.

The lentils are boiled in a large saucepan until partially cooked. Apparently that means rather mushy...but not too mushy.




I don't typically like lentils so I had no idea what "partially cooked" meant. I undercooked them (according to mom) so that got corrected later in the recipe. The lentils were drained and put to the side (I think, optimistically, that everything should be done at once, but it wasn't even close).



The next step is to sautee some onion, carrot, and celery (along with a bay leaf) in olive oil. Unfortunately, this is what mom's celery looked like...



(Going to refrain from the obvious joke)



Fortunately, it didn't matter when it was all cooked...





Garlic, oregano, a can of tomatoes, and a cup of chicken stock was added to the veggie mixture and it was cooked until "very thick".




The lentils, sausage, and veggies are then added together (or piled on top of each other like TJOC recommends). It seemed like a very low amount of sauce for such a large amount of food...




So how was it? Great! And surprising...again, I don't usually like lentils...although it makes a TON of food. If I made this again, I wouldn't boil the sausage, I would cut it up and pan-fry it. I think browning the sausage and maintaining the fat in the sausage would make the dish even better. I did feel extremely healthy while eating it, though.


The second dish was Hoppin' John (p. 356), something that actually showed up on a best American foods list or meme I saw not too long ago (by the by, while searching for that list, I found other hilarious American food blog lists). Apparently, black-eyed peas are considered lucky to eat on NY's Day(I think this is a Southern thing).


First things first, I had to quick soak the black eyed peas.



I never pick the dried beans over. One day I'm sure I will bite into a rock but until that day comes, I'm pretty happy with just dumping them into the pot.

At this point, every burner was being used...




The peas are then drained, rinsed, and added back to the pot. Garlic, onions, a couple bay leaves, several cups of water, thyme, red pepper, and ham are added to the pot. This mixture is simmered for almost an hour (this recipe isn't difficult but it is really time consuming--so be prepared).





The mixture was drained. Enough chicken stock was added to the cooking liquid to make two and a half cups.




The pea mixture WAS looking tasty...I like ham and there was quite a bit of it...



At this point, we got to the most delicious combination of foods I've ever smelled. Wow...


What was this mind-blowing mix?

Diced bacon in BUTTER!

Start with this:



And end up with this:



Diced bacon? In butter? Mmmmmm.....

This smelled SOOOO good....who needs peas? I almost just ate the bacon (but I managed to refrain). I think if you wore a perfume of bacon/butter to the bar, you would be the most popular person there.


When most of the fat is rendered out of the bacon, rice is added. My mother was highly confused by this step and the fact that the rice never actually gets cooked on the stove (I'm often confused by TJOC so it didn't faze me).



The peas and the cooking liquid are then added to the rice/bacon/butter mixture.



I ran into a problem at this point. The way the recipe reads, it seems obvious that TJOC expects that you've made this in an over-proof pot. My mom doesn't have an oven proof pot (nor does the recipe mention one). So it was going to have to be transferred into something over-safe. Unfortunately, the recipe says to only stir the mixture once and pouring it from one dish to another has to be considered stirring...



But there was nothing be done about it.

The pilaf is covered, baked, and fluffed.



So how was it? Really good--but it makes an ENORMOUS amount of pilaf. So be ready to eat Hoppin' John for an EXTREMELY long time. It was good though--and it heated up really nicely. Plus my mom really likes freezing food for the future so she was particularly happy.

Let's hope the combo adds up to luck--I could really use it this year (I'm still sick, I should be graduating with my PhD this year, and I'm getting married in 2009--and those are just the MOST major items).