American Favorites

Subtitled "All American Cooking for a New Generation", this is the perfect book for a slightly more-experienced chef who hasn't yet made the transition into full once-a-month cooking. These are just recipes, as you would find in any other general cookbook, but Betty has been kind enough to let you know in the sidebar of each page which are freezer-friendly and which can be prepped ahead. And not all of them can, so choose wisely if your goal is to stock the freezer! No matter which you try, though, you're pretty much guaranteed a tasty meal. The author has totally revamped the classics, from Silver Dollar Crab Cakes (page 12) served with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (delicious!) to Baked Butternut Squash and Apples with Maple Syrup (page 213 -- this will melt in your mouth), to Hot Leek and Basil Bread (page 296, and really, do I need to say more?) and managed to update them without losing any of the simplicity that made us loves these dishes to begin with. The recipes are simple enough not to become overly fussy, but still manage to get to the table looking beautiful and tasting just as good. Highly recommend this one.



(blogger's note: sadly, my little fork-rating jpegs are on another computer, so I can't add them to this review just yet. But I give this one an 8 out of 10. Yum!)

Mama's Tip of the Day (part 2)

When NOT to use flour as a thickener:

The basic rule of thumb is simple; use flour (or Wondra) to thicken dishes with meat, and switch to cornstarch for fruits and vegetables. There's a slight taste and consistency difference between the two, so in the end it's really up to you. One of the nice things about cornstarch is how readily it dissolves in water, so it's pretty easy to avoid lumps. Just mix equal parts cornstarch and water, stir until completely dissolved, THEN add it to your sauce. See? No lumps!

(Oh - and if you're kind of a newcomer to the sauces-and-gravies world, go lightly. Generally, about a half-tablespoon or less is enough to do the trick, and the longer you cook it, the thicker the sauce will become. Last thing you want is a gorgeous sauce that's become all gluey because you've gone overboard with the thickener at the last minute.)

Mama's Tip of the Day

What the heck is Wondra??!

Well, basically, it's flour. It's fine-milled, quick dissolving flour that's GREAT when you're making sauces and gravies. Two if the biggest problems people run into when making homemade sauces are lumps and chalkiness. Wondra helps eliminate these two.

Lumps come from adding too much flour too quickly and not giving it enough time to absorb the moisture in your sauce before mixing it in. Since the Wondra dissolves quickly and comes in it's own fancy-schmancy little shaker (therefore going into your sauce in smaller particles), it doesn't lump up the way regular all-purpose flour can.

Chalkiness come from not cooking the sauce long enough after flour is added (or cornstarch, if you're going that route instead). Because of Wondra's small particle size, it doesn't need to cook as long (hardly at all, really) before the chalky consistency and taste disappear.

Lemon Dill Chicken

In addition to the ingredients for this recipe,

to freeze it you'll need:

two gallon-sized freezer bags

two quart-sized freezer bags

On-hand the day of cooking:

light olive oil or vegetable oil

Wondra flour

a little lemon juice

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1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders pieces (tenders, drumsticks, or thin-cut breasts will all work well)
one small onion, finely chopped
zest & juice of one medium lemon
1 1/2 tsp dried dill
3/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
3/4 tsp pepper, plus more to taste
1 cup reduced-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)

• Place chicken, onion, lemon zest and juice, dill, salt & pepper in one of the gallon-sized bags. Seal, pressing as much air out as possible.
• In the quart-sized bag #1, place the chicken stock. Seal, pressing out air.
• Repeat with flour.
• Place all three bags in the second gallon-sized bag and freeze the whole thing.

To Finish:

• Defrost chicken completely
• Toss the chicken pieces in flour to lightly coat, reserving the marinade that's left in the bag.
• Heat a large, heavy pan over medium-low heat, with just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
• When the oil is hot, cook each of the chicken pieces, turning occasionally to cook each side thoroughly. (It's fine to do a few pieces at a time, but make sure not to over-crowd the pan. If you have too many pieces going at once, you'll lower the temperature of the oil and end up stewing the chicken rather than pan-frying, which we don't want to do here.)
• When each piece has browned lightly and the chicken feels slightly firm, remove it to a platter and start the next batch, until all of the pieces have been cooked.
• Add a little more oil as needed, making sure to bring it up to temperature again after each addition.
• Once all of the chicken is done, pour the stock into the pan and stir it with a whisk to make sure all the yummy brown bits are incorporated. Pour in the remaining marinade and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat and simmer about 5 minutes.
• Gradually whisk in a little Wondra until the sauce has thickened slightly (you'll probably end up using about a tablespoon, but it's totally up to you how thick you want your sauce to be.
• Squeeze in a little fresh lemon juice
• Add salt & pepper to taste
• Return the chicken to the pan, making sure both sides are coated with sauce, and cook a few more minutes until heated through.

Mama's Tip of the Day

What's a girl to do with all that extra chipotle in adobo??

Most recipes that call for chipotle in adobo only ask for 2-3 peppers, plus a little sauce, but of course you can't buy them that way. You have to buy a whole can. So what the heck do you do with the rest of it?

Well, the obvious answer is "find more recipes that need chipotle in adobo". Duh. But if you're not in the mood for spicy food every day for week, there's a much simpler answer. These freeze beautifully! Pop 2-3 peppers and a little sauce into individual snack-sized storage bags, then toss the whole bunch of bags into one larger freezer bag to keep out frost. Next time you need it, just defrost one baggie, and you'll have the perfect individual portion.

Pomegranate Chipotle Slow-Cooker Pork

The basic marinade for this pork would work well with any red meat - ribs, pot roast, game meats, whatever. It has a mildly smokey flavor from the chipotle peppers, and the fruit adds just the right amount of sweetness without making it too syrupy. Broccoli (or any other green veg, cooked al dente) and a baked sweet potato are the perfect sides.

Serves 4

1 lb pork loin*, all visible fat discarded
1 bottle Pom pomegranate juice(plain, no other fruit added)
1 small can of sliced mangoes, in their own juice
2 chipotle peppers, diced, plus a heaping spoonful of the adobo sauce
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 pinch allspice

Throw all in a crock pot on low, 4-6 hours.

If you're freezing: Put all ingredients together in a large freezer bag and freeze. (Don't worry if it takes a little longer to freeze than you expect - the high sugar content of the juice slows down the freezing process, but it will get there.) Defrost completely before popping into the crock pot.


*The pork shrinks significantly during the cooking process. If your "serves 4" is four people with pretty healthy appetites, I'd add a second 1-lb loin as long as your pot will accommodate the extra volume, but there's no need to increase the rest of the recipe; there's plenty of sauce to go around!

Mama's Tip of the Day

If a recipe calls for ingredients that tend to be fatty or high in calories, like the sour cream used in the Chicken 'n Stuffing, below, evaluate your own nutritional needs before just blindly following the recipe. Most recipes are perfectly fine if you substitute lower-cal, lower-fat-content versions of those ingredients, especially when the rest of the recipe if rich in flavor so that little bit of fat isn't even missed. For example, I always use low-fat, reduced sodium chicken stock if I haven't made my own. (Pacific and Swanson's both make great broth.) I rarely use cream cheese or sour cream that isn't fat free or reduced fat. In this kind of recipe, you won't even notice the difference, but you'll still get the creamy texture and hint of sharpness that you're looking for.