microwave corn

Ahh, this one is easy and Oooo so good. Instructions on the plate, seriously, buy some fresh corn, bring it home, cut ends to fit microwave and cook three minutes, cut corn off cob. That's it, butter, season, eat.

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Pulled "Orient Express Breast", slathered with Mambo Sauce, Microwave Corn, Tabouli, Black Eyed Peas, Sliced Tomatoes and Bodacious Biscuits

salt & vinegar potatoes

These potatoes, "Salt and Vinegar Potatoes", are great for a fast side or just snacking. If you like salt and vinegar chips, you will absolutely love these taters. You can use any type of potatoes, pictured above is yellow potatoes, cut in small wedges, 5 pounds for $1.99 from Aldi's. A smaller yellow (gold) potato cut in half gives a better presentation. A larger grain salt looks better, I used Bolivian Rose, Kosher salt is good. I haven't experimented with different types of vinegar, I bet malt vinegar
would be good.

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds potatoes cut in small wedges

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

black pepper to taste (fresh ground if you have it)

Red onions chopped small and fresh lemon thyme or whatever you have for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Cut potatoes with skin on, combine with vinegar and salt in a medium saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, 25 minutes or so. Drain and pat dry.

Heat butter in large skillet over medium high heat add potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown. For a little more zing drizzle a little more vinegar over potatoes. Serve topped with red onions and lemon thyme or your favorite garnish.

Cuban Pork, Yams, Salt & Vinegar Potatoes

Louis Dina's "Filet Mignon with Peppercorn Sauce"

Reader's Recipes 

I've decided to add readers recipes, if they look good to me. This one "Filet Mignon with Peppercorn Sauce" is a winner.

Is this the real Luigi, I think it is. Luigi Dina! Please, leave a message.

Printed Recipe

Filet Mignon with Peppercorn Sauce

This dish is a bit on the spicy side due to the cracked pepper, but fabulous! It is normally

made with "let mignon, but can also be made using pork tenderloin or chicken. With chicken,
I’d probably substitute chicken broth in place of beef broth.
Ingredients
• 2 filet mignon steaks about 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick
• 1 Tbs butter
• pepper and salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup chopped shallot
• 1 Tbs peppercorn blend (black, white, green, red, whatever you can "nd)
• 1/2 cup beef broth (you can use beef bullion cube in 1/2 cup water)
• 1/3 cup of heavy cream
Instructions
1. Melt butter in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly season both sides of
the "let mignon with salt and pepper. Cook beef steaks 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare.
Transfer to plate, cover and keep warm, or place in a 150°F oven to rest and stay warm. (If
cooking pork tenderloin or chicken, make sure you cook it until done, approximately 160°F -
170°F inside. I like to hammer chicken breasts #at to about 1/2” thick before cooking.)
2. While steak is cooking, use mortar and pestle to crack peppercorns. If you don’t have one,
you can place the peppercorns in a plastic ziplock bag and pound them with a mallet or
bottom of a frying pan. You don’t want them too small, just cracked. It’s okay if some of the
peppercorns remain whole.
3. In the same pan that you cooked the meat, add 1 tsp olive oil and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3
minutes. Add shallots and cook 1 minute more. Add beef broth and peppercorns and bring to
a boil. Reduce heat, and slowly whisk in heavy cream. Allow to simmer for about 3 minutes or
until thickened. If you use beef or chicken bullion cubes for your broth, you won’t need added
salt. If you use a low salt broth or stock, you may wish to add a little extra salt to taste.
4. Transfer steak to a serving platter. Pour peppercorn/shallot/mushroom sauce over the top.
Serve immediately.
Serve with warm bread to soak up sauce, salad and/or side vegetable. Delicious.

powerful pound cake

Printable Recipe



I've been baking this Pound Cake for five years or more, when I first discovered it, the pound cake was called "Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake". I've seen it called Presley's Delight,  Best Pound Cake, Old Fashion Pound Cake........, no matter what you call it, it's POWERFUL! I usually bake in a bundt pan. Like the one to the right, however I needed something real good to give as gifts and decided to use disposable aluminum pans for this bake. The larger pan had to cook a little longer for obvious reasons, it's bigger. It's OK, the big one is mine and I like a crunchy crust.

Here's the deal on this Powerful cake, you must use cake flour and sift at least three times and contrary to my hyperbole in other post you must mix with a stand mixer, immersion mixer or hand mixer. Yes mix until fluffy! I have used half cake flour, half bread flour. I have used half cake flour, half all purpose flour. I've mixed with a fork and on and on, all were good but....if you want "Powerful Pound Cake", you must follow directions. Glad I got that off my chest. I've made a few changes, improvements to this age old recipe, the Persian (Peruvian if you can find) limes is the secrete. Please, don't tell anyone.

 After you put cake in oven, 350 degrees

INGREDIENTS

Batter

3 cups three times sifted cake flour
3/4  tsp salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 cup sugar
7 eggs, room temperature (it's best to get out night before)
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
1 Persian lime, about 1 tbl
Get your eggs and butter out of the refrigerator before you start, better at room temperature.

DIRECTIONS

Sift together cake flour and salt, sift three times, this is important. 

Mix together, beat together, sugar and butter, medium high until fluffy. Add eggs, one egg at a time, mix well after each egg, then add Vanilla and Lime juice. Mix batter on med-high for five minutes or so, until it's creamy and satiny.

Pour batter into your sprayed pan or pans and lightly tap, remove air bubbles. Place in cold oven and turn temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown, always use toothpick test in middle of cake, it's done when pick comes out with a few crumbs. Depending on size of pan and oven, cook time is one hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Cool on rack, flip out and invert to correct side and completely cool. 



 

tabouli

Tabouli is a Levantine vegetarian dish traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgur, and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Some variations add garlic or lettuce, or use couscous instead of bulgur. Some say it should be spelled TABBOULI, I don't know, for this recipe we will use one B. Again, I have fused a little, I am using White Quinoa, as you know it is high in protein and other essential goodies and it is goood. Tabouli is great mixed with Microwave Corn, I use Tabouli as a salad for anything and everything.

Microwave corn is fast, easy, fresh and will impress your taste buds and all who
try it. The fresh taste of this corn blends well with Tabouli. I started cooking fresh corn in the husk on the pit every time I Bar-B-Qed, but on those rainy or lazy days, I microwave it. I cut it on each end to fit in my microwave and cook on full power for three minutes. Adjust to the power of your oven.









Tabouli as a salad for any meal is great. I do cook Falafel, tabouli is fantastic with a falafel pita sandwich or a falafel plate. I use Tahini Sauce, Aji Sauce or Mumbo Sauce to top my Falafel and a big serving of Tabouli. I will have recipes for Falafel and Tahini Sauce soon.

Pictured above is pulled Orient Express Breast (smothered with Mumbo Sauce), Microwave Corn, Tabouli, Black Eyed Peas, Sliced Tomatoes and Bodacious Biscuits. I always mix my Tabouli and Microwave Corn and add a little Aji Sauce.






Print Recipe 

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup fine bulgar wheat or white quinoa (I'm using Quinoa)
4 firm Roma tomatoes
2 bunches parsley
12-15 fresh mint leaves
1 bunch fresh green onions
4 TBLS lime or lemon juice
4 TBL extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS 

Put your Quinoa on to cook, it's better to cook ahead of time, so it can cool. Chop tomatoes, parsley (finely chop), mint (finely chop) and green onions (finely chop). See pictures. Add all ingredients including lime juice and olive oil, mix well, refrigerate. Much better the next day.

bodacious biscuits

Grandma never cooked biscuits this good.....this here is BODACIOUS BISCUITS, Iron Skillet Bodacious Biscuits. Make some today! Someone gave me this recipe years ago, I think it had something about a restaurant (maybe "Tupelo Honey") serving them. Somewhere in the text it said something about Bodacious, hence the name "Bodacious Biscuits". Of course I've tinkered with it, I hope you do the same. Make it your own!

Print Recipe

400 degree oven

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter or shortening (cut into small pieces)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
melted butter to top biscuits

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt. Snap the pieces of shortening or butter with your fingers until the pieces are no larger than peas. make a well in the mixture and pour in the cream and 2/3 cup buttermilk. Using your hands and/or a rubber spatula, mix in the flour and and turn the dough until the dry ingredients are moistened and the dough resembles cottage cheese, adding more buttermilk if needed. 

Sprinkle your work surface with flour, turn the dough onto surface and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Fold dough in half, add flour, press into a round, repeat until you have a good consistency. Do not over work. Work dough into a one inch thick round Cut biscuits with a two inch biscuit cutter, do not twist cut. Makes 15-16 biscuits.

Place biscuits in pan or iron skillet, sides touching. Brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, golden brown. Remove from oven and brush the biscuits again with melted butter.
Bodacious Biscuits freeze well.

Corn, wonderful, versatile, tasty corn. Shuck and all in the microwave for 3 minutes, cut off cob, walla, veggie for Dinner.

Pulled "Orient Express Breast with Mambo Sauce", Micro Corn, Black Eyed Peas, "Tabouli", sliced tomatoes and "Bodacious Biscuits. 

apple walnut bread

This is fast becoming my favorite bread, "Apple Walnut Bread". I use Gala apples when I can find them, they are sweetest of  all the apples to me, walnuts are my favorite but pecans are good too.

Print Recipe

300 degree oven

INGREDIENTS

Batter

3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) melted or (oil- shortening)
2 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 large apples or 6 small (4 cups)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/4 tsp cardamom (optional)

Get your eggs and butter out of the refrigerator before you start, better at room temperature. I like to lightly toast the walnuts.

DIRECTIONS

Mix flour, salt, soda in large mixing bowl, add apples and walnuts and combine. In smaller bowl wisp sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and butter, as I have stated in cookie post, you can blend, fluff with emersion mixer or regular mixer or with a fork (the old fashioned way); add to flour mixture and mix until apples and walnuts are evenly distributed and batter is moist. Evenly divide between two 5x9 greased loaf pans. I made one 5x9 loaf pan and four mini pans. These make great gifts.


Bake in 300 degree oven until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 60 to 90 minutes, depending on oven, convection, etc. Cool in pans for 10 15 minutes and turn on wire racks and allow to cool completely, I wrap mine in plastic wrap, it helps the marinade. OK, cut a small piece and taste, then cut a large piece and enjoy! As with all fruit bread it is much better the next day and the next if it last that long.