Creamed Greens With Shallots - Yum!

It's HERE!  It's officially crunch time.  Today is Festivus ( you know, for the rest of us) and tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  Do you celebrate on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or both?  I mean presents, you know. We usually do presents on Christmas Eve so our children can do "Santa" on Christmas morning with their children.  We will have dinner tomorrow evening at our daughter's home.  She is preparing traditional Lebanese food and I am so excited.  If you have never eaten Lebanese food, it's so good. Christmas dinner will be at our house on Christmas Day.  Our youngest son is bringing several friends who could not go home for Christmas.  It should be pandemonium and so much fun.

On Thanksgiving, I tried a Martha Stewart recipe for creamed greens that was simply spectacular!  It was a major hit so we will be having it again on Christmas Day by request.  Do you like greens?  You know, turnip greens, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, spinach?

Growing up there was always a controversy in our house.  My dad loved turnip greens and my mom didn't.  Mom liked spinach and dad didn't.  We were just confused.  No kid can understand why anyone would like greens of any kind.  Seriously?  Yuck.

Things change when you get older - hopefully.  I happen to love greens of all kinds, especially with some vinegar added and some hot sauce, braised with some bacon, ham, or fatback.  Yummmmm!

Kale seems to be the new food darling right now and it is so good for you - full of antioxidants and nutrients.  The only thing with kale is it is kind of chewy if not cut in really small pieces before cooking.  Other greens wilt down a little more and are easier to chew.  The upside is all greens are full of iron and vitamin B12 which are hard to get in most other foods.  We benefit from eating as many greens as we can, unless you are on medications to thin your blood.  Then  you should consult your doctor.

Here is what you need to make this recipe:

2 large bunches turnip greens
1 large bunch kale
1 large bunch collard greens
6 TBSP butter
2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 TBSP)
2 TBSP AP flour (I substituted 1 TBSP cornstarch for gluten free)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of nutmeg
pinch red pepper flakes
3/4 cup dry white wine or chicken stock
coarse salt

First, remove the stems from the collard greens and kale.  Chop the leaves into bite sized pieces.
Heat a large saute pan over high heat (I used my electric skillet to saute the greens).  Add kale, collard, and turnip greens, 1 tsp salt and wine or chicken stock.  Cover and cook until greens wilt, about 2 minutes turning occasionally. (You will start with a huge mound of greens and will end up with what looks like a small amount.  Don't be alarmed.)   Reduce to medium and cook, turning greens until almost tender - about 15 minutes.  I used long tongs to turn the greens.  Remove cover and transfer greens to a bowl.

Add 4 TBSP butter to pan, melt on high heat.  Add shallots and garlic.  Saute until softened, about 3 minutes.  Return greens to saute pan.  Remove from heat.

Melt remaining 2 TBSP butter in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Add flour (or cornstarch) and whisk to incorporate.  Add milk and cream, slowly whisking until sauce thickens slightly and coats back of a spoon - about 2 minutes.  Add nutmeg and red pepper flakes.  Season with salt.

Stir sauce into greens and cook over medium heat until warmed through.

If not serving immediately, cool completely then refrigerate.  Reheat over low heat before serving. Transfer to a bowl and serve.  Double Delicious is all I can say.

A minor Christmas miracle occurred today.  I actually have all my Christmas gifts wrapped before Christmas Eve for the first time EVER!  Miracles do happen every day.  Now, it's time to begin preparations for Christmas dinner.  

We are having Cornish Game Hens and roast beef for the carnivores and spinach stuffed manicotti for the vegetarians.  Sides are yet to be decided.  I know there will be creamed greens and wild rice.  Desserts are always a toss up.  Have you set your menu yet?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you one and all.  Thanks for reading my blog and I will return after Christmas.  Let the fun begin.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

It came upon a midnight clear,
That glorious song, of old
Of angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold.

Grilled Chicken With Lemon, Thyme And Some Other Good Stuff

Wow, it was a lovely day today.  Sunny, 80 degrees, balmy breeze - perfect weather.  We ran errands all afternoon and got home later than usual.  This is what we have been waiting for all winter.  These are the nights I don't mind cooking a late dinner because we can grill.  Oh yeah.  It was so lovely out of doors.   We ate on the deck and I really didn't want to come inside.

For dinner I made these delicious grilled chicken breasts that are marinated with fresh lemon juice and thyme with some red pepper flakes for a little heat and garlic for depth of flavor.  All of this is added to some good extra virgin olive oil.  Yum.  The recipe is from foodandwine.com.  The lemon and thyme give the chicken such a nice, bright citrus flavor which is perfect for warm weather.  It would be fabulous sliced and served on a beautiful green salad if you are watching your calories.  It would also be wonderful sliced and served as a sandwich.

Here is what you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I zested one lemon and added the zest to the marinade)
1/4 tsp dried thyme (I used 5 sprigs fresh thyme)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (add more if you like more heat)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Put the chicken breasts in a gallon sized zip lock bag and add all the marinade.  Squish it around until all the chicken is coated in the marinade.  Put the bag in a bowl in case it leaks and put in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour.  I moved it around a few times to make sure everything was good and coated with the marinade.  After 1/2 hour, remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until the juices run clear and there is no pink in the middle of the chicken.  Remove from the grill.  Let sit for a few minutes before serving.  Delicious.  If you don't have an outdoor grill, you can use a stove top grill also.

I added a twist of fresh lemon slice to the top of each breast when serving so that we could add a little more lemon flavor by squeezing some fresh juice over the cooked breast.  It's not necessary, but it also looks pretty.

Now is the time to start building up some new recipes for summer grilling season.  Give this one a try.  It's quick, easy, no unusual ingredients and it is SOOOOOOOO good.  It is also pretty low calorie.

Don't know about you, but I am beyond happy for this weather to finally make its appearance.  It was a long winter.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“Never throw away squeezed lemon, but keep them for the day by the sink. Then you can use them to remove fish, onion or garlic smells from your fingers. Or you can stick them on your elbows while you are reading a book, to soften and whiten your skin.”   Jennifer Paterson, Two Fat Ladies Obsessions

Midwestern Stromboli Pizza King Style - EverydayDonna's Recipe

Do you get tired of cooking sometimes?  All the time?  Never?  Some of the above?  None of the above?  I love to cook, but sometimes on Friday evening I like to take a break and make something easy.  We have had a guest staying with us for the last two weeks.  By Friday evening, I was shot.  I had been cooking up a storm and I needed a break, but of course we had to eat.  So, I decided to make one of our favorites - strombolis.

Do you like strombolis?  Ever had a stromboli?  Don't confuse them with a calzone.  They are not the same.  We LOVE these sandwiches, but we like the midwestern style stromboli.  We are from Evansville, Indiana, and there is a pizza shop that has been in operation as long as we have been married which is 43 years.  Yeah, I know, forever.  The shop is called Pizza King and my research showed that there are Pizza King's all over Indiana, but I could not find if they were franchised or owned by the same company or just had the same name.  Looked like the original Pizza King started in northern Indiana somewhere.  Interesting.  Anyway, besides awesome pizza they have fabulous sandwiches - hot ham and cheese, strombolis, and Texas barbecue.  They are always wrapped in aluminum foil and baked.  You can get the stroms and Texas barbecues anywhere from mild to "blow the top of your head off" hot.  But, they are SOOOOOOOO good.  I miss them here in good old Nashville.  So, what did I do but create my own.  Sure, why not?

Here is a little history on the stromboli.  They are an American sandwich (which we all think is Italian, but isn't) usually made in a pizza type dough with Italian meats and cheese, layered and rolled, baked and then sliced.  Midwestern style strombolis are not like that.  They are made in a crusty roll like a baguette, or on a deli style roll which is what I used.  Mine has sausage, pepperoni, onions, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, delicious.

Why are they called strombolis?  Good question.  Here is what Wikipedia has to say.

Stromboli is a type of turnover filled with various cheeses, typically mozzarella, Italian meats such as salami, capicola and bresaola or vegetables. The dough traditionally used is Italian bread dough.

A stromboli is made with a square shaped pizza dough that can be topped with any pizza toppings and is then rolled into a log and baked. Many American pizza shops serve a stromboli using pizza dough that is folded in half with fillings, similar to a calzone.

There are some theories regarding the origin of the stromboli in the United States. Romano's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria claims to have originated it in 1950 in Essington, Tinicum Township, just outside of Philadelphia, by Nazzareno Romano. According to Romano, a friend suggested he name it after the then recently released movie, Stromboli.^[1] Another claim is that the stromboli was invented in 1954 by Mike Aquino at Mike's Burger Royale in Spokane, Washington. Aquino is also supposed to have named the sandwich after the movie.

So, we don't really know exactly where this sandwich originated, we just know we are happy that it originated somewhere even though ours isn't made this way.  Ha!  Now, about making these delicious sandwiches.  They are really super easy and I guess you could use your favorite ingredients, but here is how I made mine which is very close to the Pizza King stromboli.  Here is what you need.

1 pound milk bulk sausage
1 pound hot Italian sausage (casing removed if using links)
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's tomato basil)
about 30 pepperonis chopped (stack and chop, makes it easier)
1 8 ounce block mozzarella cheese, grated
3 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
6 deli type rolls
olive oil
6 sheets of aluminum foil, about 12-14 inches long

1 baking sheet

Brown the sausages and onions in a saute' pan.  Drain any fat from the pan.  Add the garlic and chopped pepperoni when the sausage is browned.   Add the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes.  Stir until thoroughly mixed and heated through.

Brush the top and bottom of a deli roll with some good olive oil.  Put the sliced deli roll in the middle of a piece of foil, fill with sausage mixture.  Put several heaping hands full of cheese on the sausage.  Bring the edges of the foil together and roll down to the sandwich and roll the ends up.

When all the rolls have been filled and wrapped, place them on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree  oven for about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.  Unwrap and enjoy.

There was enough meat left for another 6 strombolis.  It could easily be frozen and used another time.  I used it in a bolognese sauce later in the week.  Yum.

This sandwich is "just right" spicy as Dan said.  Not too hot, not too mild.  Goldilocks would approve. Look at all that yumminess.  If you like really spicy food, use all hot sausage and add all the red pepper flakes you want.  If you like bell peppers, add some to the sausage mix while cooking.  You can add what you like, it's your choice but this is the traditional  "Evansville" way.

When the strombolis are unwrapped, the rolls will be crusty and crunchy on the outside and the filling is spicy and cheesy good.  So easy, so good.  If you have never had one, now is the time to try making these.

 The West Side Nut Club sponsors THE Fall Festival in Evansville every year during the first full week of October.  (Google it, it's so interesting)  There are hundreds of food booths which all raise money for non profits.  Thousands of people attend every year.  One of the most popular booths year after year consistently is the Tau Kappa Epsilon Stromboli booth from the University of Southern Indiana.  Everyone is willing to stand in line for some time just to snag a few of their delicious strombolis which are made this way.  Many people go day after day during the week to eat these stroms because they just can't get enough.  Now, you don't have to wait until the first week of October, or even have to go out to Pizza King to enjoy one of these fabulous sandwiches.  Wait, what am I thinking?  You may not have anywhere that makes this type stromboli.  If you don't live in Indiana, if you don't have a Pizza King, you can now make your own extraordinary midwestern style stromboli.  Now you will know what you have been missing all these years.  Enjoy!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Every region of the country has their own food specialties that you grow accustomed to and love.  This is one of ours.  What is something you love from your area?  donna