Avocado Caesar Salad

Here's a Caesar salad with a bit  of a twist...an avocado dressing. 

Dressing:

• 1 avocado
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more in needed
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1- 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise. Remove the pit from the avocado and discard. Remove the avocado from the skin and place the avocado flesh in a food processor or blender.
2. Add the olive oil, Parmesan, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic cloves, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Pulse until smooth and creamy.  
3. Thin the dressing, if you need to, with more olive oil.
4. Use immediately or refrigerate for several days. 

Salad:

• 3 hearts of romaine
• 12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• Parmesan cheese, shredded
• croutons, avocado slices (optional)

1. Place lettuce into a large mixing bowl. 
2. Add dressing and toss to combine. (Use only enough dressing to lightly coat the lettuce.)
3. Transfer lettuce to individual serving plates and top with Parmesan, bacon, croutons and avocado slices.

Lemon Parmesan Coins

A friend posted a family favorite recipe for homemade crackers on her blog some time ago and I bookmarked it.  Today I'm sharing my adaptation, since I changed it up a wee bit.  She used rosemary...I used dill.  She used the food processor...I did it without. We quite enjoyed these crackers...having them as an pre-dinner appetizer with guests on several occasions.  The best part is the pastry can be made in advance...even stored in the freezer.  Thanks, Lorrie!

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1-2  tablespoons fresh dill, rosemary or thyme, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup butter, cold and hard
• 1 egg yolk
• juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)

1. In large bowl, combine flour, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  
2. Using a large holed grater, grate the butter.
3. Add grated butter to the dry ingredients, and toss to create  pea-sized pieces.
4. Combine egg yolk and lemon juice. Drizzle over flour mixture.
5. Stir to combine.
6. Turn mixture onto work surface and work the dough until it sticks together.
7. Shape into a log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
8. Wrap in plastic wrap.
9. Chill for at least one hour.
10. Slice 1/4 inch think and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
11. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until golden.

Mason Jar Lid Pies

 Everyone loves mini-pies, it seems...

but not everyone has mini-pie pans at their disposal.

Or do they?

Who doesn't have Mason jar lids in their cupboard?

They work fabulously as a wee pie pan.

The mason jar lids are like a little spring-form pan...

and the wee pies pop right out.

They are the perfect little hand-pie!

The rhubarb in the garden is ready for the picking...

so I decided do see for myself if the Mason jar lids really doubled as pie pans.

And yes...they do.

Ingredients:

• 6 Mason jar lids and rings, wide-mouth size
• 1 box refrigerated pie crust or pastry for a double-crusted pie.
• 2 cups rhubarb, chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

1. Wash and chop rhubarb quite fine
2. Combine rhubarb, sugar, flour and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Place 6 wide-mouth mason jar rings on the baking sheet. Place 6 lids inside the rings with the rubber seal facing down and the top of the lid facing up. Spray the lids and rings with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Roll out pastry for one pie crust (or use refrigerated pastry). Using a mason jar ring as a guide, create a bottom crust by cutting a circle about 1/2 inch around the lid.
6. Carefully fit the crust inside a jar lid on the prepared pan. The crust should hang over edge of ring a bit.
7. Repeat until you have 6 bottom crusts. (You will need to re-roll the scraps.)
8. Place filling into each crust.
9. To make the top crusts, roll out the second sheet of pastry and use a jar ring to cut 6 more circles.
10. Place the top crusts over the filling. Try to pinch the top and bottom pastry together to seal. (As you can see, my seal never quite held!)
11. Prick upper crust with fork in several places.
12. Bake the pies in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden.
13. Cool on a wire rack. 
14. Run a knife along the edge of the mason jar ring to release the pie.

Serves 6

* The mason jar lids wash up beautifully in the dishwasher!

Easter Egg Nests

Over the past decade, we have made wee bird's nests in my kitchen every year about this time. From the oldest to the youngest, the grands have all participated.  Usually, we make the nests from rice krispee treats and add little peeps and eggs.  This year we tried something different as well.  The nests are made using a 'Chinese Noodle Cookie' recipe. 

• 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 3 cups chow mein noodles

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper.
2. Place chocolate and butterscotch  chips in large glass bowl. 
3. Heat in microwave at full power, stirring every 30 seconds until chips are melted (about two minutes).
4. Stir in chow mein noodles until fully coated.
5. Drop by large scoops onto prepared baking sheet, forming a nest shape with your fingers.
6. Place a few 'birds eggs' in the center of each nest.
7. Chill for 30 minutes to harden. 

To make the nests of Rice Krispee Treats...press scoops of the mixture into greased muffin pans and shape into nests.  Or simply forms balls of the mixture and create free-form nests with well-greased hands on a lined cookie sheet.  Then call the wee grands...

...and let them fill the nests with 'peeps and eggs'.  It's a fun Easter project for kids in the kitchen!

This year Lucy, the youngest grand (upper right), came to help me fill the nests.  Some went home with her.  Others are the place-cards for our family dinner this Easter.

If you are in need of some bird's nests for your Easter table...there is still time.  Both methods are simple...and can be created in short order. 

Happy Easter from my kitchen to yours!

Vegetable Noodle Soup

Here is a quick and delicious noodle soup which is perfectly delicious as a vegetarian dish. But if you happen to have cooked chicken handy...that is also a good addition.  It started with a vegetable soup recipe on the back of a 'fine egg noodle' package and evolved from there.  Since we like things zippy around here...I add Sambal Oelek (a chili paste) but a hot sauce of any kind would do the trick as well.

• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2-3 cups chopped cabbage
• 8 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
• 1 cup fine noodles, uncooked
• 1 cup green peas (small)
• 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek (hot chili paste), optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

1. Heat oil; cook onion, carrots and cabbage for 5-6 minutes.
2. Stir in chicken stock.  Bring to a boil; then simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add noodles, peas, soy sauce and salt (along with hot sauce, if desired).  Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until noodles are tender.
4. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Serves six.

 

Oven Baked Bacon

Who knew 'frying' bacon could be this simple?  I used to dread cooking bacon...simply because I disliked the mess left behind. Some time ago...I learned that there was a mess-less method of baking bacon in the oven.  We now have bacon often...cooked to perfection without any mess.  Just in case you have not yet discovered it...I'll share the method with you today. Try it. The bacon lovers in your family will thank you!

• 1 pound bacon

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with foil or parchment paper (for easy clean-up).
3. Lay the bacon slices on the baking sheet in a single layer.
4. Place the sheets in the oven for 17 - 20 minutes.  (If you are not using a convection oven...rotate the baking sheets after about 10 minutes.)  Cook to desired crispness.
5. Remove from oven and use tongs to transfer bacon slices to a paper lined platter to drain.
6. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later use.

No splatters.  Easy clean-up.  Flat slices.  Simple...and ready to use in your favorite dishes.

Bacon isn't just the perfect partner for eggs. Who knew that it paired so nicely with maple frosting on top of a doughnut?  Or that it could be added to the platter of dippers at a chocolate fondue.  Have you got a bacon story for us today?  We'd love to hear it!

 

Manitoba Rolls ~ White Dinner Buns

This well-used handwritten recipe in my files is one that came from my mother-in-law.  Since she originally got the recipe when she lived in Manitoba...they became known as Manitoba Buns.  When I bake buns, I always make it worthwhile and freeze those that aren't eaten fresh.  If you prefer to work with a smaller batch of dough, try cutting the recipe in half.  Truth be told, I usually do 1 1/2 times the recipe, since my Bosch mixer gladly handles up to 18 cups of flour.

• 4 cups warm water
• 1/3 cup potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)*
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 10 cups flour, plus more as needed
• 2 Tablespoons instant yeast

1. Combine very warm water, potato flakes, sugar, salt, butter and oil.
2. Add eggs to other liquids and mix thoroughly.
3. Combine yeast with 5 cups flour.
4. Add to liquids and beat until very smooth.
5. Continue to add flour until dough leaves sides of pan....and dough is soft but not sticky.
6. Knead until smooth and elastic.
7. Put dough into a large, greased bowl. 
8. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about one hour). 
9. Grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper. 
10. To make the buns, roll a small piece of dough in your greased hand to form a smooth ball. Alternatively, you can form the buns by pinching off egg-sized pieces of dough (my method). 
11. Place on prepared cookie sheets...leaving an inch or two between buns.
12. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
13. Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 15 minutes or until golden.

Yield: About 4 dozen large dinner rolls

*The original recipe called for 'potato water'.  I add instant mashed potatoes to the water instead.