A Recipe from Seattle's (And My Mom's) Past

My mom was cleaning out their guest room, and brought me some boxes of things that were mine, or that she didn't want any longer and thought I might enjoy.  Among stuffed animals and pieces of coral were a few cookbooks.  One was a comb-bound yellow book called 'Scandinavian American Recipes'.





From the inscription on the title page of the book, it was given to my Mom (Janice) back in 1966 by her Aunt Marion, Uncle Bruce, and cousin Jill.



Later in the book I discovered it was put together by the 'Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church' in Ballard.



Feeling nostalgic, I asked Dan to find a recipe in it to include in our meal plan this week.  He picked a Swedish Baked Salmon recipe.  I normally don't include photos of the recipes themselves, but had to prove just how bad this recipe was.  No offense intended to Mrs. Robert N. Pearson, but I think she dialed it in a bit when she submitted her recipe for the book.



The first issue is that there are no measurements for ANY of the ingredients, unless you count the very specific '1 can' indication for the salmon.  Next problem, no indication of the size of casserole dish to use.  We decided to use an 8 x 8 Pyrex baking dish.  Next up in the train wreck of a recipe, there's no mention of what to do with the onions listed in the ingredients.  Given that the potatoes were listed as thinly sliced, we did the same with the onions and included them on top of the potato layers.  The sudden appearance of 'enough milk' in the instructions was surprising, but we thankfully had 'enough' around.  It wasn't specified whether to cover or leave uncovered when baking, so we opted for uncovered.  But then we realized there was no indication of the temperature at which to bake it.  Seriously Mrs. Pearson?  I took my queue from her note to 'bake slowly', and went with the default temp of our oven: 350 degrees F.  Salt and Pepper?  Nah.

Swedish Baked Salmon
1 can salmon
flour
olive oil
raw potatoes
raw onions
butter

Shred salmon, retaining juice.  Place a layer of salmon in a buttered casserole and sprinkle with a little flour and olive oil.  On this place thinly sliced potatoes.  Repeat three layers.  Add to salmon juice enough milk to make a liquid sufficient to cover the layers.  Dot with bits of butter and bake slowly, 1 hour.

Despite a lot of guesswork, we ended up with something edible, if a little bland. According to the back of the book, you can get a copy yourself for the very reasonable price of $2.35, and your order will receive their immediate attention.


 

Indian Mac & Cheese

Inspired by Aarti Sequeira to add a little Indian to any dish, tonight we adapted our standard Mac & Cheese recipe to make it decidedly more Indian.



In addition to adding Garam Masala, coriander, curry and all sorts of spices to the sauce, I also cooked some coriander pods, cumin seeds and brown mustard seeds with the butter that I mixed into the panko bread crumb topping. And, like when we made a spicy Thai curry version, we used coconut milk in place of standard milk for the sauce.



And in addition to some white & sharp cheddars in the sauce, I added cubed paneer before baking.

Chicken Taco Casserole

Lasagna

Tonight we made up a big lasagna, and plan to enjoy it for lunches and dinner for a couple days... given the holiday week and some holiday baking that'll be taking up our evenings. We made it using our usual recipe, but tossing in some extra herbs (well, seeds, actually) and including both spicy chicken sausage and spinach.

Triple Birthday Feast

Surimi (Krab) Enchiladas Verde

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Taco Casserole

Using leftover filling from the crab & corn enchiladas we made the other night, plus leftover chicken, leftover tortilla chips, some cheese and black beans, plus butter lettuce and heirloom tomato from the market, we made up a mixed-up leftover version of taco casserole.

Spinach Lasagna

Although not quick, we decided lasagna would be an easy dinner option this week, and give us a wealth of leftovers for lunches. We made a simple spinach lasagna using no-cook noodles, which I spiced up by adding some red pepper flakes and fennel seed - though it could use even more.

Carolyn's Birthday

We Can Always Have Popcorn...

Tonight we made a comforting tuna noodle casserole - perfect to combat the dreary weather we've had. In it were some fresh peas from the market, that Dan shucked when he got home today, tuna and milk from the market, plus a can of cream of celery soup, cheese, and chips from the grocery store.



We used our usual recipe, but switched to a new type of noodle, based on both Carolyn & Lisa saying it makes the best tuna noodle casserole. Two Demibiczak women can't be wrong! Found in the kosher/Jewish foods section, Mrs. Weiss' Kluski Enriched Egg Noodles lived up to their reputation. They also bulk up a lot - an 8 oz bag is plenty for a big casserole, though I went for 12 oz and nearly overflowed the dish.



Dan skipped lunch today, so despite the hearty dinner, he was still hungry. When we're not sure what to eat, or we think dinner might not be filling enough, our joke has become 'We can always have popcorn', though we rarely actually do.



Tonight, my ravenous husband needed his popcorn, so I made up a big batch with butter and (a bit too much) salt. I just pray the kernels don't get stuck in my teeth and embarrass me at the dentist tomorrow morning.

Beef Enchiladas

We've made enchiladas many times, but usually either vegetarian or seafood (oddly enough). I'd never made beef enchiladas, and actually don't usually order ground beef in Mexican restaurants, because I have a weird aversion to the texture of the loose meat. (I also don't usually like ground beef in pasta sauce, for the same reason.)

I flipped through all my Mexican cookbooks, but none had any guidance for me. What I did know is that you usually cook the filling first, as the time spent in the oven baking is more about heating the sauce and melting the cheese, and is not really intended to cook any meat. So with that limited knowledge, I winged it and made up the recipe as I went along. Here's what I came up with, which both Dan & I enjoyed quite a bit (while hiding out in our basement to beat the heat).

Beef Enchiladas
2 Tbsn oil
3 dried red thai chilies, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb ground beef
1 tspn cinnamon
1 Tbspn Mexican spice blend
1/2 tspn salt
Juice of 1 lime
8 corn tortillas
1 jar of tomatillo salsa
1/2 lb cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chilies, onion, and garlic and cook until onion is translucent and has reduced in size. Add beef and mix well, chopping the beef up with your spatula to make the pieces small. Add cinnamon, spice blend, and salt and mix to combine. Cook until beef is browned. Add lime juice and cook until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Warm tortillas in a small pan, or in the microwave just until softened and pliable. Add a generous spoonful of meat filling along the middle of each tortilla, then roll the tortilla up. Place in a 8x8 baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese on the tortillas. Cover with the salsa, and then top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. If cheese is not browned to your liking after 20 minutes, increase heat to 'broil', watch the dish, and remove when browned. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

"Casserole" of Prawns

Dan found a recipe called 'Casserole of Prawns' in Chefs of Aloha: Favorite Recipes from the Top Chefs of Hawai'i. It's a cookbook we picked up while on the Big Island together for the first time back in October of 2007. We were driving from the Leeward to the Windward side of the island, along the Southern road, and stopped to use the restroom in the town of Punalu`u, at a bakery.

This was one of those serendipitous moments when you find yourself somewhere for a one reason, but discover something - or in this case, somethings - wonderful in the process. It turns out the Punalu`u Bake Shop isn't just any small town bakery. They make AMAZING breads and cookies that are highly regarded on the islands, and around the world. Thankfully, we picked up some sweet bread to have for breakfasts - and were very glad we did.

And while Dan was in the restroom, I poked around the gift shop and found the Chefs of Aloha cookbook, and decided to buy it based on the beautiful photos and interesting recipes. It's a collection of recipes from chefs of many of the high end restaurants and resorts around the islands. This particular recipe is from Jeff Wind of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa.

To be honest, it turned out a little odd. I wouldn't consider it a casserole, since it doesn't include any noodles or rice or other binding agent. It's essentially prawns, coated in sauce, with a lot of panko sprinkled on top. The flavors were good (despite me forgetting to season it with salt & pepper - Logan would be horrified), but it wasn't satisfying by itself, so we ended up making some flavored popcorn later (inspired by another cookbook called simply, Popcorn). I sorta assumed the 10 prawns called for in the dish were much larger than the ones we got, so I actually used about 30 prawns... and still it didn't seem like enough food. I suspect this is normally a course in a multi course meal.

Casserole of Prawns

1 cup panko
2 Tbspn melted butter
1 Tbspn chopped garlic
1 tspn paprika
1 tspn chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients and blend well. Spread mixture on a baking sheet and bake until light brown.

1 Tbspn olive oil
1/2 Tbspn chopped garlic
1/2 Tbspn chopped shallots
1 tspn paprika
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup clam juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 Tbspn butter
1 Tbspn flour
Salt & Pepper to taste
10 prawns

In a skillet, heat olive oil and saute garlic and shallots until transluscent. Stir in paprika and white wine; reduce by half. Add clam juice and heavy cream; reduce by half. In a small skillet, melt butter and stir in flour. Blend until smooth, creating a roux. Add roux to sauce mixture and cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet and saute prawns until done. Place in a serving dish, pour a little sauce over the prawns, and sprinkle with panko topping. Serve immediately.

Sausage Lasagna

Tonight, we made our usual lasagna recipe from Cheap & Easy, but adding an extra cup of ricotta cheese (since it comes in 4 cup, not 3 cup containers) and adding uncooked chicken sausage to the ricotta filling before baking. We intended to put spinach in it, as well, but I'm kinda glad we didn't - as the result was much more delicate than it would've been. Although we didn't use a white sauce, it almost reminded me of a white lasagna, due to the amount of ricotta, I suppose.

Bacon Mac & Cheese

Tonight, Dan & I worked together to whip up a mac & cheese using our usual recipe, but adding a little bacon on top. Actually, we used a little bacon fat in the recipe, too - cuz I cooked down the bacon (cut into rough lardons) in the same pan I was going to make my roux in, so I just left the bacon fat in the pan, added a little butter, cooked up the onion, tossed in flour, milk, then cheese for the sauce.

Chicken & Dumplings

Dan gave his Mom a call tonight and we got a refresher on how to make her Chicken & Dumplings recipe (which she'd outlined for us on Saturday, but neither of us remembered well enough to execute). The dish turned out great, and Dan & I both had to slow ourselves down when eating it to enjoy every bite.

Chicken and Dumplings
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs)
1/2 cup water
Salt & Pepper
2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cups all purpose flour
3 1/4 tspn baking powder
2 1/2 tspn sugar
1/4 tspn salt
6 1/2 Tbspn shortening
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place the chicken and water in a baking dish with a lid, and season with salt & pepper. Bake covered for ~25 minutes, or until chicken is mostly done. In the meantime, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until well combined and mixture is crumbly. When chicken is mostly done, remove from oven and add soup to baking dish and stir well. Return to oven, uncovered, turn heat up to 350, and cook until soup begins to bubble - about 10 minutes. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the milk. Toss with a fork just until combined. Form dough into 8 loose balls and place on the top of the soup. Cover and return to oven for another 15 minutes.