Muffaletta!

I usually make some weird piece of crap... er, food, and since Nick is coming over for supper tonight, I thought I'd make something that actually tastes good (for a change).  On tonight's menu: Muffaletta, sweet potato fries and mixed berry cobbler. First, the fries.


I peeled and sliced two good-sized sweet potatoes.

I poured on a tablespoon or two of olive oil, about a tablespoon of cumin, paprika and curry powder, mixed them by hand in the bowl, then in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. They came out looking like this:

 

Not overly crisp since they were baked in the oven, but still pretty good.

Now: the muffaletta. 

First is an olive salad; a cup of green olives, a cup of black olives, a cup of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), a tablespoon or so of parsley leaves,  three minced cloves of garlic and about a half a cup of white wine (the nasty wine I used a few entries back). Terrible to drink, but dandy to cook with. I made this last night, and let it sit overnight.

 

A loaf of sourdough bread. I added a can of the worst soda on the face of the planet for a size comparison.

(Honestly, if you ever get the chance to taste Moxie, run the other way. Really. I'm not kidding.)

I cut off the top third and removed a lot of the bread to make room for the innards.

I poured some of the liquid off the salad and into the bottom part of the loaf.

A layer of cotto salami, then a layer of provolone.

Then some ham, more provolone, more salami, etc.  Then I added most of the olive salad.

Ta-dah!!

And what about dessert, you ask?  Oh, you didn't ask? Hum. Well, I'll just pretend someone asked about desert. 

Mixed berry cobbler. Here's the recipe:

1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. milk
2 c. berries (or more, if desired)
1/4 c. sugar, or to taste
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar

Melt the butter in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Layer berries over the butter. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup of sugar.

Mix the baking powder, 1 cup sugar and the flour together and add the milk to make a thin batter.

Pour the batter over the berries and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Do not stir the mixture.

It's best right out of the oven with some ice cream.

 Nick and I were both stuffed before dessert, but that's no reason to skip something as tasty as this.

Anyway, in case you thought all I ever ate was bad, old recipes found in an old Milwaukee Power and Light cookbook, I actually do eat some pretty good stuff.

Next time, however, I'll be back to some other gastric disaster.

Until then, bon apetit!

Bean salad and Tuna Tomato Polenta

Four Bean Salad

• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Servings: 10
  

Ingredients

• 1 (19 ounce) cans chickpeas
• 1 (14 ounce) cans green beans
• 1 (14 ounce) cans wax beans
• 1 (19 ounce) cans red kidney beans
• 1 red bell peppers ( any colour can be used)
• 1 small red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• ½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  

  DRESSING

• ²⁄₃; cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup canola oil
• ½ cup granulated sugar ( use less if desired)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  

Directions

1. Drain a 19-oz tin of chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinse well, then drain again; place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Drain a 14-oz tin of green beans and a 14-oz tin of wax beans well and then add to bowl.
3. Drain a 19-oz tin of red kidney beans, rinse well then drain again; add to bowl.
4. Dice up a coloured bell pepper (red, orange or yellow, I don't use green as I don't like them much) and add to beans.
   

5. Peel a small red onion and slice into very thin strips and add to bowl.
6. Lastly, add about 1/2 cup of chopped fresh flatleaf parsley.
7. Now make dressing: in a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegars, oil, sugar (I use a scant 1/2 cup), minced fresh garlic, worcestershire, and salt and pepper.
8. Pour dressing over salad ingredients and toss.
9. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally (before serving, taste, as it may need more salt).
10. When ready, spoon bean salad into a serving bowl using a slotted spoon, to drain off most of the dressing before serving.
    
    
    
    Tuna Tomato Polenta
    
    
    3/4 cup cornmeal
    1/4 cup cold water
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
    1 1/2 cups boiling water
    1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
    2 cans (6 1/2 ounces each) tuna, drained and flaked
    1 medium stalk celery, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
    1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
    3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    Sliced ripe olives
    Mix cornmeal, cold water, salt and garlic salt thoroughly in 1 quart saucepan. Stir in boiling water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Spread cornmeal in ungreased baking dish, 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 1 3/4 inches. Refrigerate until firm, about 8 hours.
    Heat oven to 350°. Mix tomato sauce, tuna, celery and basil. Spread 2/3 of the tuna mixture in ungreased baking dish, 12 x 8 x 1 3/4 or 13 1/3 x 8 3/4 x 1 3/4 inches. Cut cornmeal into 10 parts; place on tuna mixture in dish. Top cornmeal with remaining tuna mixture; sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 25 minutes. Garnish with olives. 10 servings.
    
    
    
     
    The bean salad picture looks about as boring and bland as it possibly could. I found a different recipe and followed it pretty close, but I cut back on the sugar. The original recipe called for hard-boiled eggs, and I'd recently read that eggs that are baked are creamier than if they're boiled.
    Let me tell you, it's not worth the bother. They're really hard to peel, and after a couple of days in the fridge they look more like an animal left them behind (if you know what i mean).
    Here are the beans, bell peppers and red onion.
    
    
    And the dressing. I poured it all together last night to let the various flavors blend.
    
    
    While that's blending, let's get the Tuna Tomato stuff going. I made the polenta last night.
    
    
    
    Here's the tuna, tomato sauce, etc.
    
    It smelled kind of... well, not great, so I added some garlic.
    Here it is spread on the bottom of my new dish (thanks, Lori).
     
    Polenta on top:
    
    And a little more tuna/tomato mixture, and some parmesan cheese. Then into the oven.
    
    
    
     Out of the oven, and I added the last of my black olives.
    
    
    Let's serve it up!
    
    
    
    Hmmmm.... It doesn't look like much.
    
    How is the musical fruit? Let's find out.
    
    
    Wow! It doesn't suck!
    
    
    
    How about some tuna?  It smells about like I figured it would.
    
    
     It tastes....
    
    
    Actually, it's not too bad. Of course, if you don't like tuna, you won't like this stuff. But if you're observing Lent, you could do worse than this stuff. At least I think you could.
    
    
    Okay, so I got lucky this week. My biggest concern is the effect the beans may have on me tomorrow. Makes me wish i had a window in my office.
    
    Until next week, bon appetite!
    
    

Wiener Casserole

Who wants a wiener?

 I found this, but no recipe. It doesn't look too bad... well, better than my last two attempts.

How hard can it be? I'll make it up as I go.  Hot dogs, hash browns, baked beans and sharp cheddar cheese.

Add the beans.

 And some sharp cheddar.

In the oven for, oh, let's say 30 minutes.

The finished product.

 Ugly as homemade soap, isn't it?

 It looks even worse on a plate.

How's it taste, you ask?

Kind of bland, actually. The beans are pretty good, the rest...

Next time (if there IS a next time) I'll spice up the hash browns with some onions and green pepper.

Until next time, bon appetite!

Sardine Pastry Roll and Pow!

I thought this combination looked sorta weird, so I might as well give it a shot.

 

Sardine filled pastry roll 

 

Convenient tinned luncheon sardines combine with hard-cooked eggs to make a tasty filling inside a quickly prepared flaky pastry. Serve in slices with or without a dollop of sour cream.

For 8 to 10 appetizer portions you will need:1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup creamed cottage cheese
1 to 2 Tbsp. ice water

Filling:

2 cans (8 oz each) luncheon sardines, drained
3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and sliced
1 green onion,finely minced
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. dried dill weed
1 tsp. salt

Glaze:
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk
Sour cream optional

Preparation:

1. To prepare pastry, measure flour into mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the size of split peas.

2. Add the cottage cheese and stir with fork until it is evenly mixed into the flour. If necessary, sprinkle with enough water to make pastry hold together in a ball. (Amount varies depending on moistness of cottage cheese you use.) Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill 20 min.

3. Roll pastry out to make a 12-by-16-inch oval. Transfer onto greased baking sheet.

4. Position the filling lengthwise on one-half of the pastry. Layer sardines, eggs and onion, making 3 layers of sardines with eggs between. Sprinkle with lemon juice, dill and salt.

5. Fold other portion of pastry over filling, making a half-oval-shaped pie. Trim edges and seal.

6. Roll out trimmings and cut into strips using a fancy cutter. Mix egg and milk. Brush over pie. Place trimming strips over pie. Brush with egg mixture.

7. Bake at 400°F for 25 min. To serve, cut into slices. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

(This is supposed to be an appetizer, but it's just me, so I figured it might as well be the main dish.)

Tonight's appetizer:

POW!

2 cans (10 1/2 ounces each) condensed beef broth (bouillon)
1 cup water
1 1/4 teaspoons horseradish
1/4 teaspoon dill weed

Heat all ingredients to simmering, stirring occasionally. Serve hot with green onion “swizzle sticks.” 6 servings (about 1/2 cup each).

 The ingredients:

Putting it all together.

 I rolled it over and sealed it (mostly), poured on the egg and milk,

and into the oven it went.

While that's cooking, I should treat myself to an appetizer. Hmm, a glass of Pow! sounds good. 

The ingredients:

 It's hard to screw up a combination like this one (no jokes, please). I didn't see the need to make 6 servings of this stuff, so I cut it in half.

How did it turn out? Let's see.

 Time to enjoy some Pow!

 

Meh. Pow! is certainly not accurate. Just sorta tastes like broth. I think I would have named it Broth! or Brown Liquid! The most accurate name would be Waste of Time!

 And the main course:

That's a great cross-section, don't you think? Has it got your mouth watering yet?

Enough of that nonsense with the Pow! appetizer. Let's get on with it.

Umm...

  Tastes like dough, mostly. There is some sardine taste, but the eggs and green onions don't really make their presence known.

   Not a lot of taste going on. I may dry out the green onion swizzle stick, roll it up and smoke it. I'm sure that would come closer to being a Pow!

   Conclusion? Well, it's just sorta there. Nothing special, and it's not at crappy as it looks, which is a good thing because that'll be supper tomorrow night, too. Maybe I'll put some ketchup on it.