If you’re not in / from Minnesota, you may not be familiar with “hot dish”. A cultural staple here, no potluck is complete without one. Here’s my favorite take on the tradition:
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Archive for July, 2009“Midwest goes Southwest” HotdishSunday, July 19th, 2009
If you’re not in / from Minnesota, you may not be familiar with “hot dish”. A cultural staple here, no potluck is complete without one. Here’s my favorite take on the tradition: Cilantro ChickenSaturday, July 18th, 2009
There’s this tiny Indian restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, called “Bombay Bistro”. They make a ridiculously good, highly addictive dish called “chicken cilantro”. After a whole lot of googling, research, and experimentation, this is about the closest I’ve come to making it at home. SO good, but still not *quite* exact.. if you’re even in MN, you’ve gotta try this restaurant out! If not..: Crab TrianglesFriday, July 17th, 2009This recipe ended is the result of warping my crab dip recipe, and deciding to bake it in phyllo dough to be fancier last new year’s eve. Always a favorite! Filling: —— In saucepan, heat cream cheese until soft and creamy, stirring frequently. Add onion, garlic, red pepper, chili powder, and crushed chilis, mixing well to incorporate. Add crab, shrimp, and mozzarella. Continue to cook and stir until cheese is melted and smoothly incorporated. Remove from heat and cool completely. Preheat oven to 450. Carefully separate 2 sheets of phyllo dough from the rest. This can be an infuriating process. Cover the remaining phyllo dough. Lay one sheet out flat, lightly brush it with melted butter. Top it with the other sheet, then cut it into 5 equal widths (the shorter side of the long sheet becomes the length of the strips). Spoon a tbsp or so of filling onto one end of a strip, then fold it up: fold the short edge to match up with the side (covering the filling), the fold that over so it matches up with the same side, etc – flag style. Repeat with remaining strips, then make a new set of strips. Continue till you run out of either dough or filling – which depends on how many sheets you destroyed in the process, and how generously you filled the triangles. Arrange triangles on a lightly greased baking sheet, and brush the tops with melted butter. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden and flaky. Savory Mushroom-Chestnut StuffingMonday, July 13th, 2009This is BY FAR my favorite stuffing recipe. Definitely one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving and the Christmas season! As with many of my recipes, there is a certain aspect of “to taste” in this one. I’ve never bothered to measure the bread, chicken stock or savory, for example.. I just tend to toss things in till it looks/tastes great! Bread – french loaf or sourdough Cook the onions & garlic in olive oil, add mushrooms and celery. Add a bit of chicken stock, Cook till everything is soft. Rip the bread up into small chunks, toss in a few handfuls of savory. Toss till the savory is spread out through the bread,then add the pine nuts & chestnuts. Add as much pepper as you figure you’d want, but don’t go overboard! Pour the mushroom mix over the bread mix, and toss. If it’s a bit dry, add more soup stock. Stuff into the bird and roast as usual. Mushroom-Brie TurnoversMonday, July 13th, 2009Be forewarned – doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling this recipe is a very wise idea – HIGHLY addictive! Also, these taste awesome as a cold snack the next day. Dough: Filling: — Small piece of Brie (Can use Mozzarella), cut into ½ x ½” x 1″ strips Beat butter and cream cheese until well mixed and soft. Slowly add flour. Once all flour is added, turn out and knead until well incorporated and smooth. Form a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 mins. In food processor (or by hand, ew) chop mushrooms, onion, and garlic together, until mushrooms and onions are small, fairly uniform sized bits. Put in frying pan with olive oil, and cook down until mushrooms are very soft – almost mushy. Add thyme and sea salt, remove from heat, and stir in the ½ cup cheese. Put aside and allow to cool a bit. Preheat oven to 450. Roll chilled dough out to about 1/4″ thick. Use a large glass or cookie cutter (about 3-4″ in diameter) to cut out rounds. Put a scant 1tbsp of filling in the center of each round, along with a strip of cheese. Whisk the egg and water in a mug, brush a small amount along ½ the edge of each round. Seal, using the egg mix like a glue. Arrange turnovers onto a baking sheet, pressing down firmly around the edges to seal completely. Brush the tops of turnovers with egg wash, then pierce each with a fork a few times. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Cilantro PestoSunday, July 12th, 2009I LOVE cilantro! I was blessed to not have the “Cilantro tastes like soap!” gene, and I feel so bad for those that do. They won’t get the enjoyment from this recipe that the rest of us can! 3 cups cilantro, large stems removed, and packed well. Chop it all together in a food processor. Makes a great dip for tortilla chips! Marie’s Favorite MojitoSaturday, July 11th, 2009
I admit it, sometimes I get weird about my recipes. Sure, there are tried and true ways to do some things – like Mojitos – but when it comes down to it, personal taste has to rule over what’s considered “proper”. I’ve done countless traditional mojitos.. muddling the lime, sugar, and mint.. but when it comes right down to it, I’m not a fan of carbonated water. (AKA club soda, soda water, etc). It just tastes like baking soda to me, not pleasant at all. Of course, fresh mint and lime are hard to resist in the heat of summer, so I knew I’d have to tweak the recipe a little. Here’s MY tried and true version of the mojito!
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