Weekend in the kitchen: Baking and Sunday Dinner

R

richard-in-cincy

Well-known member
Yesterday I baked:

Blueberry Muffins

Chili-Cheese-Red Pepper Muffins

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Marble Gugelhupf

Lemon Pound Cake

Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies

All wrapped tightly and stowed in the freezer for the big November brunch.

Today I made:

For this week's lunch box meals:

(breakfast)

Cathy Z's Smoked Salmon Cheesecake (crustless, of course)

(lunch)

Creamy Parmesan Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Celery (will be put into 2-carb wrap with fresh spinach)

Rose Tea & Cherry Gelatin

Wasabi Dressed Eggs

Sunday Breakfast:

Spinach and Mozzarella Omelettes

Fried Avril Mettwurst stuffed with Emmentaler

Garlic Naan

And today's tasty dinner:

Egyptian Spice-Infused Lamb Shanks (Kawara Lahma Dani)

Fried Eggplants with Garlic Dressing (Bittingan Ma'li bil Toum)

Biryani Rice

Baby Mixed Lettuces Salad with the Penultimate Ripe Tomato from this year's crop.

Tonight:

Masterpiece Theatre with Popcorn and Cupcakes.

(Yes, it is a carb day smileys/wink.gif

 
REC: Egyptian Fried Eggplants with Garlic Dressing

Bittingan Ma'li bil Toum:
3 long slender Japanese eggplants 8x3.
salt
12 garlic cloves
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon each of parlsey and cilantro

Slice eggplants, salt, and drain in colander for an hour. Rinse and dry.

In a large heavy skillet or deep-fryer, heat oil to medium high (325F) and fry eggplant slices 3-5 minutes per side.

Remove to paper towel-lined platter.

Dressing: Mince garlic and saute in 1/4 cup olive oil for 60 seconds. Add coriander and vinegar. Bring to a simmer.

Arrange eggplant on serving platter, drizzle with garlic dressing, sprinkle with parsley and cilantro to taste.

 
REC: Egyptian Spice-Infused Lamb Shanks

Kawara Lahma Dani

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 lamb shanks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout*
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 stalks celery, chunked
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
12 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups lamb stock (or chicken, or beef, or whatever you have)
2 tsp. anise seeds
juice of 1 lemon or orange
root vegetables (potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, carrots) to taste (optional)

In a large skillet, heat oil and sear lamb shanks all over. Place in large lidded ceramic casserole. Distributed the vegetables over the lamb shanks and sprinkle with the spices. Pour the stock over all, cover, and place in 350F oven for 1.5 hours.

Sprinkle with anise seeds and lemon juice. If using Root Vegetables, add them around the lamb shanks. Stir in, cover and continue baking until vegetables are done and shanks are fall off the bone tender.

Arrange on platter and allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with rice or pilaf: Mound of Rice, lamb shank, spoon the chunky sauce in the casserole over the top.

I served with Biryani rice that I used a premix pack of spice that I get from the Indian grocery. The packet is from India and contains a sealed pouch of fresh (as in not a dried powder): onion, garlic, oil, ginger, cilantro, mint, green chili, red chili, tomato, coriander, fennel, Fenugreek, curry leaf, and turmeric.

*Ras el Hanout--Arabic spice blend containing black pepper corns, cinnamon bark, saffron, cloves, hibiscus, rose buds, and cardamon

 
REC: Chili Cheese Red Pepper Muffins

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne red pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 beaten egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup bacon drippings (or oil)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/4 cup finely minced red bell bepper

Grease 12 cup muffin pan.

Heat oven to 400F.

Combine liquids, beat to combine. Dump in dry ingredients. Stir to combine, but leave lumpy with clumps of flour.

Fill muffin tin, bake for 20-25 minutes,set on rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto rack, set upright, serve warm.

Note: These don't rise as much as lighter muffins; therefore you can fill the cups slightly more than 2/3 full.

 
Sunday nite birthday dinner for a dear friend, not nearly as exotic as Richard's

post above. I almost think I should put it in a different thread because it is quite ordinary!! But, in an case a delicious fall birthday dinner:

home made crackers with pecans, pumpkin seeds, flax, raisins and more served with local goat cheese and some of my apple butter

sweet potato ravioli with brown butter and sage (thank you Marg, it worked perfectly!)

Pork tenderloins dressed with grainy mustard and sage and then wrapped in proscuitto roasted on a bed of apples

sauteed green beans with garlic chips and a friend brought a bunch of fresh herbs so we used the dill and sprinkled the beans with fresh dill, YUM!

Rosemary roasted red and white potatoes

homemade rosemary and roasted garlic sourdough bread

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

http://www.ouichefnetwork.com/oui_chef/2012/06/deep-dark-chocolate-and-peanut-butter-layer-cake.html

 
Richard these sounds delicious as does everything on your list!!

Very impressive list too! That's a lot of work for one weekend. But, I know how much fun it is for me to be in the kitchen all weekend just making everthing I want!! We had beautiful weather and all the doors and windows were open and the cool air made it wonderful to be cooking. It is a labor of love for sure smileys/smile.gif

 
Oh Yum! We have been eating a lot of soups recently and these

sound perfect. I just made a butternut squash and carrot soup that these would be perfect for. Thanks.

 
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