Veal Chops with Smashed Potatoes

 I looked for recipes for veal chops for the instant pot or crock pot - because I was feeling lazy. After reading a ton of recipes, I decided to just do what they suggested and cook them on the stove.

This recipe is adapted from Yummly's Delmonico's Chef's Veal Chops Hongroise.

4 veal chops - I used two very large, thick (1 inch) chops I bought on a whim at Fresh Market

Fry the veal chops after seasoning with some salt, pepper and about 1 tsp. paprika on both sides. Add one chopped onion to the pan. Cook them to your desired color. Remove from the pan and place on plates with smashed small Yukon Gold potatoes. Or mashed potatoes. Or orzo. Whatever.

To the pan with onions and butter, add 1 cup of cream, 2 chopped tomatoes, thin slices of red/orange/yellow peppers and some fresh thyme leaves and heat. 

Cover the potatoes and veal chops with this creamy mixture and sprinkle some fresh lemon juice on top! Garnish with fresh sprigs of thyme. 

Delicious. 

Eggplant Parmesan

I used to saute slices of eggplant (after salting and letting stand to get the moisture out.) This was after dipping in an egg mixture and breadcrumbs. It was always delicious and I often added browned sausage meat the sauce. I learned this technique watching my then mother-in-law.

After visiting our yummy produce market here in our Florida community of Verandah, I took home a beautiful fresh eggplant. I decided to look up a recipe online and happened upon Martha's. I was skeptical, but it is delicious and I've adapted it somewhat. My next trip to Produce Buddies,  I bought two medium eggplants and used the same amount of ricotta, sauce, cheese, etc. You want a full, rich eggplant dish! (You can use two large.)

First, cut the stem end off the eggplants and slice lengthwise into 1/2" slices. Brush with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper each side and place on a grill sheet or cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, turn over and bake on the other side another 10-15. Watch them - you don't want them drying out. I don't peel the eggplant. 

Place slices of the eggplant in the bottom of a baking dish and then cover with a large jar of your own or store-bought favorite marinara (mushrooms might be yummy!) Then cover with the ricotta mixture below. Repeat and place sliced provolone or mozzarella in the middle. Repeat the first and second layers for four layers of eggplant. Cover with a bit of sauce and a few spoonfuls of ricotta mixture. Cover with an Italian blend of cheeses or just parmesan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20-30 minutes until bubbling.

Ricotta Mixture:

1-1/2 to 2 cups ricotta

3-4 T  fresh oregano or 2 T dried

1/2 tsp pepper and 1-1/2 tsp salt (to taste)

3-4 eggs, beaten

For Martha's recipe, click here and search for Eggplant Ricotta Bake

Curried Meatballs with Brown Basmati Rice and Peas

Here's a recipe for ground lamb that's delicious. Serve with brown basmati rice (cooked with a few star anise pods) and fresh or frozen just-cooked peas on the side. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Makes a pretty plate. You can serve this with Egg Curry with Potatoes and warm Naan.  This recipe is adapted from Six Spices by Neeta Saluja. 

I've been trying many Indian recipes using the instant pot - this one does not. 

Meatballs:

2 pounds ground lamb

2 eggs

6T chickpea flour

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp garam masala

6 dried apricots (quartered)

Make the meatballs (Kofta) by kneading the meat with the eggs, flour and spices. Wrap the meatball mixture around a quarter apricot. Makes 24 meatballs. 

Place the meatballs on a greased baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Discard the fat and cover the meatballs until the sauce is ready.

Sauce:

1 finely chopped large white onions (or two small)

4 T finely chopped fresh ginger

4 large cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped

Make a paste with 4 T water and the onion, ginger and garlic by using an immersion blender or food processor.

Place 10 T cooking oil in a medium hot pan and add onion paste when oil is hot. Stir and roast the onion paste until the oil is oozing on the sides of the mixture - about 5-10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add:

2 tsp. cumin and coriander powders

1 tsp. red chili and turmeric powders

Stir well and add tablespoons of water 5-6 times during a few minutes of cooking. The mixture should easily make a thick mass in the middle of the skillet. Add 2 tsp. salt

Stir in 2 cups (or a 15 oz can) of tomato sauce and 1 cup yogurt. 

Cook 5 min. on medium heat. 

Add meatballs and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Do not boil. These can sit until rice and peas are ready.

Cover all with chopped fresh cilantro. 

Baked Pears with Mascarpone Cheese Cream

I've made roasted pears with mascarpone cheese twice this fall and each time they have been perfect.  Any kind of pear works. Nice red ones on the holiday!

The great thing about this is that the pears can be somewhat unripe. A bit crunchy to the bite. But perfect baked.  

Cut pears in half. Leave stem in or out. Cut out (or if very ripe, scoop out) the seeds and core. You want a good soup spoon hollow in each pear.

Place them cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a buttered dish. Fill cavity with honey and butter or brown sugar and butter. Add some nuts if  desired. Place a cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom pod next to the pears if you want. Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees until the juices are flowing and you have a caramelized run-off.  Make sure they aren't mushy, so test after 15 minutes to see how nicely a knife slices through. Then bake another 5-10 minutes cut side down.   

Take about 1/8 cup mascarpone for each pear and whip with a little cream to make a whipped topping. (I use an immersion blender. Mix with a little honey and the caramelized juice.  Maybe a little lemon.  Vanilla or other extract (coffee?)Or a liqueur.  Get creative. Spoon some of the caramelized juice on the plate, place a dollop of cream into each pear. Sprinkle with sweetened sugar (vanilla sugar or lemon sugar, for instance) and chopped nuts (pistachios?) Or serve with the cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom on the plate.

Delicious!

Goda's Masala

Goda Masala (Grandmother’s Spice Blend) 

I double and quadruple this recipe to make small jars for friends. 

1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut; 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds; 1 tsp. sesame seeds; 1 tsp. poppy seeds; 3 whole cloves; 1 stick cinnamon; 1dried red chilis; 3 cardamom seeds. All toasted briefly in a scant 2 tsp. oil, cooled and ground. 

 Toss a pinch into cooked rice or grains, or steamed vegetables. Delicious sprinkled on cakes, sweets, ice cream.

This recipe is from Urvashi Pitre's Indian Instant Pot® Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast

Roasted Pumpkin 5-Spice Ice Cream

I love pumpkin ice cream. Other pumpkin flavors don't really turn me on, although I do like a slice of pumpkin bread or pumpkin pie every so often. This recipe is not sweet, but has wonderful, rich pumpkin flavor. The 5-Spice gives it just the right touch of spice. I garnished a scoop with chopped pecans and a drizzle of our honey.

 I decided to make Jeni's Roasted Pumpkin 5-Spice Ice Cream last weekend. I had what I thought was a Kabocha pumpkin. I apparently didn't! It must have been a Pie pumpkin - lots of dark orange meat with a very dark orange skin. I roasted it and had plenty for the ice cream. The base is very different from the other ice creams, so I will list all the ingredients here:

1 small pie pumpkin, Kabocha, or other dark, savory squash 

2 cups whole milk 1 T plus 1 tsp. cornstarch

1-1/4 c. heavy cream 

1-1/2 oz. cream cheese, softened 

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt 

1/4 c. honey 

2/3 c. packed light brown sugar 

2 T. light corn syrup 

1 T. Chinese 5-spice powder 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and membranes. Place cut side down on a bakin sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes, until soft when pierced with a fork. Let cool slightly. Scoop the flesh into a food processor and puree until completely smooth. It should not be watery; if is is, let sit in a sieve for an hour or until it is thick like that that comes in a can.

Measure out 3/4 cup for the ice cream and reserve the rest for another use. Mix about 2 T of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth and add the pumpkin puree and the honey and whisk until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Heat the milk and cream on low heat. Add the brown sugar, light corn syrup, turn up the heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring so that it does not burn for four minutes. Turn off heat or remove pan from electric burner. Add the Chinese 5-Spice powder and stir. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and stir until dissolved. Boil for one more minute. Take off heat. Take one cup of the hot custard and stir with the pumpkin, honey, cream cheese/salt. If it is lumpy, use an immersion blender and add another cup of custard. Stir all together and pour into a cold pan that sits in the large bowl with ice water. Cool for about an hour. Process as ice cream.

Honey- & Fig Balsamic Roast Lamb Shanks

 I found some lamb shanks we had had in the freezer since we moved from Norwood. Walden Meat had triple-wrapped them, so they were still perfectly-frozen and nice and meaty.

I used  this recipe by Rachel Hanawalt from Simple Seasonal and adapted it somewhat. Instead of plain balsamic vinegar, I used Fig Dark Balsamic from LeRoux Kitchen.   

SimpleSeasonal.com

Mix 2 T flour with 1/8 tsp each of cumin, rosemary and thyme, and 2 dashes of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. sea salt. 

In the crockpot, place the shanks and cover with flour mixture. Turn shanks over and cover with any flour on the bottom.  Pour over the shanks: 1 cup of chicken broth, 1/2 c red wine, 1 Tbp. honey and 1/4 cup of the fig balsamic.  Toss 1 large yellow onion cut into large chunks. Place the lamb on top and grind salt and pepper generously over the top. Place fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs on top (if you have them. Place the potatoes on top of the meat.

Cook 5 hours on high in the crockpot. Mix the potatoes into the juices for the last hour.

• 2 Tbsp flour
• ⅛ tsp cumin
• ⅛ tsp rosemary
• ⅛ tsp thyme
• 2 dashes of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 C chicken broth
• ½ C red wine
• ¼ C fig-balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2-4 small lamb shanks
• 1 sweet yellow onion cut into sixths
• Fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs
• Several yellow potatoes cut into wedges