Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

For the most part I am considered to be a maker of "fancy" food. Ask my mother. Even though I think that my food is fairly simple to prepare (there's a growing selection of slow cooker meals), and uses ingredients that mostly I can find out here in rural Ohio, I still get labeled as an elitist in the food department. I apparently don't cook for the people. This alone has been troubling, but this past week, some good friends of our family had a death in the family and I wanted to send over a casserole.

Yeah, yeah, you're thinking. Big whoop. This was actually a fairly difficult job. First, I had to think of a "farmer food" casserole. The patriarch of the family isn't particularly fond of vegetables. About this time, a classmate of mine told me that farmers like potatoes (or noodles), meat, and cheese. She was an expert because her dad wouldn't eat vegetables. (I should also make the disclaimer here, that I'm sure farmers exist who eat vegetables and this is probably a mere stereotype, but the patriarch of the family I was cooking for does not in general.) So the task to make a meat, cheese, and potatoes casserole, was a little daunting because there's a lactose intolerance problem in our happy little family, so for the most part I don't cook with cheese. Or at least not large proportions of it. I finally came across this delicious Scalloped Potatoes and Ham recipe from my trusty St. Columban's Catholic Church cookbook. I also came to the conclusion that we'd be having ham steak for dinner, not extra casserole.

Then the delivery of this casserole posed some more problems. See I had class the night that I made this. And unfortunately, by the time I finished it, the family was at the viewing. So it went in the fridge for the night. The next day, I tried to call and deliver it before I left town, but that happened to be right in the middle of the funeral. I was having no luck. Fortunately, the Brain is a wonderful husband. He took it over after he got home from work. He's also friends with the couples children. I really hope they enjoyed it and that they are receiving some comfort in this sad time.

On a thoroughly happier note, I went up to Michigan this weekend to see my family and because the 2008-2009 season opened at the Michigan Opera Theater. The season opener was the opera Margaret Garner based on a true story of an escaped slave. The libretto is written by Toni Morrison and is incredibly powerful. My best friend T. and I came out of it marveling at the symbolism, thankful for waterproof mascara, and a little annoyed that Black History wasn't included more in our education. The opera has left the Michigan Opera Theater, but the entire cast is going to Chicago to perform at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University November 1-9. If you can get the chance, go see it!

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

adapted from the St. Columban's Catholic Church Cookbook submitted by Rudolph York

1 1/2 lb. ham, cubed

1 large onion, diced

10 raw Yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced

4 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups grated mild cheddar cheese

2 cups milk

4 Tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In greased 9x13" casserole arrange half of the ham cubes. Top with half of the onion and half of the potatoes. Sprinkle with half of the flour, salt, pepper, and cheese. Repeat with remaining half of everything. Meanwhile, heat the milk with butter until butter melts and pour over all. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer or until potatoes are done.

Ma'aloobi

Maybe I was craving some food to remind me of home, or maybe I had an eggplant in the fridge and some ground lamb frozen from last time I was in Michigan, I'm not telling. But when I looked in my A Taste of Lebanon cookbook I found the perfect recipe, Ma'aloobi. It's packed full of vegetables and potatoes and then has a wonderful filling of ground lamb and toasted pine nuts. And it's fun to say too! I did tweak the recipe some to make it a little healthier. I promised the Brain that I wouldn't make any dinner that had over 500 calories per serving. I figured this recipe on 4 servings, but really it could have served 6.

What resulted was a warm and delicious meal to cheer Marissa and Tony on Dancing with the Stars. And the leftovers were a great lunch today. Especially because it's darn cold outside and we might get snow. grrr.

I really wish the fighting in the Middle East would stop because I would love someday to visit. I love the warming spices and the beautiful dishes. Perhaps I'm fortunate that I grew up in the Detroit area and was exposed to a lot of Middle Eastern culture. I think it's a terrific and old culture and it really saddens me that on one end it seems no one can get along and that we seem to be messing up the other end.

Ma'aloobi

adapted from A Taste of Lebanon

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 pound ground lamb

1 medium onion (half finely chopped)

1 tsp salt (divided)

1/2 tsp pepper (divided)

1 large eggplant

2 large potatoes

2 large tomatoes

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 cup water

Toast pine nuts in skillet until nuts are golden brown. Add meat and chopped onion. Saute until meat changes color. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Set aside.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel eggplant and potatoes. Cut both into 1/2 inch thick slices. Cut tomatoes 1/4 inch thick. Slice remaining onion 1/4 inch thick. Divide the vegetables into 2 groups.

Layer the first group by alternating the four vegetables in a casserole dish. Sprinkle the meat filling evenly over the vegetables. Layer the remaining vegetables over the filling. Add the remaining salt and pepper, and cinnamon. Mix the tomato paste and water together in a small bowl and pour on top. Cover with lid and bake for 1 hour or until the vegetables are tender.

Approximate nutritional information per serving (4 servings): 432.4 calories, 19.8g fat, 50.3g carbohydrates, 9.6g fiber, 17.2g protein, 3.7g sugar, 767.9mg sodium, 41.2mg cholesterol

Cabbage and Potato Bundles

Just to mess with your heads, today's recipe features no alcohol. Yep, that's right. No beer, no whiskey, no wine. None. And it's still tasty. Really really tasty. Even though I resisted the urge to alter the recipe by throwing in some bacon. So to sum up... No booze, no bacon and still damass good.

It's Cabbage and Potato Bundles! I have been eyeing this recipe for several years. It's mashed potatoes that I had a hard time resisting licking right off the spoon, mixed with buttermilk, cheddar and horseradish. And there's cabbage that has been sauteed with onions and garlic that are all yummy and caramelized, which I have to admit I was snitching while waiting for the potatoes to be done. And those mashed potatoes and cabbage are layered in a dish lined with a cabbage leaf. Then there are these really good garlic breadcrumbs sprinkled on top and it's stuck in the oven to warm up and get the outer cabbage leaf all roasty in it's goodness. The only problem was that I think I used a remarkable amount of dishes. Note, I am remarking.

It's a far cry from the humble boiled corned beef and cabbage that I've had pretty much every year for about as long as I can remember. I happen to love boiled corned beef and cabbage, or as my mom calls it a "boiled dinner". And I came surprising close to having it again tonight. The only problem was I couldn't find a corned beef brisket that was less than 3 pounds. 3 pounds of corned beef is a LOT for 2 people. And although I really like a boiled dinner, it's not one of those dinners that I like enough to eat day after day after day. Although that would have been only one pot.

Fortunately they are also pretty filling. Otherwise I could eat them all. And color me happy, Dancing with the Stars is back on!

I should also point out that the lamb on the dish with the bundle was not raw. It actually was medium and it tasted great. Thank you Trader Joe's and your pre-marinated lamb leg.

Potato and Cabbage Bundles

from Gourmet

1 medium onion, halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise (1 cup)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 large head cabbage

1 clove garlic crushed

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2/3 cup water

2 lb large boiling potatoes

1 cup well shaken buttermilk

3 oz extra sharp Cheddar (grated)

2 Tbsp bottled horseradish

3/4 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp crushed garlic

Cook onion in oil in a 10 inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. (6 to 8 minutes).

Bring a 6 to 8 quart pot of salted water to a boil. Core the cabbage and remove any damaged outer leaves. Carefully lower the cabbage into the boiling water.

Boil the cabbage and gently remove 4 leaves being careful not to tear them. Continue to boil the head of cabbage and the loose leaves for 5 minutes. Then remove them to a colander and let sit under running icy cold water. Drain and coarsely chop half of the head of cabbage (save the rest for a future use). Pat the loose leaves dry. Butter 4 dishes that are approximately 1 cup in size. (Giant muffin tins work well for this). I don't have any of those, so I use small Pyrex dishes. Then place a strip of parchment in each dish to help remove the bundle when it's done cooking. Once the dishes are prepared, line each dish with a cabbage leaf.

Add the chopped cabbage to the onions in the skillet with the crushed garlic clove, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, and water and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until cabbage is tender and browned, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes, then cover with cold salted water by 1inch in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan and bring to a boil.

Cook potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain in a colander, then set potatoes in colander over saucepan to steam0dry, uncovered, 5 minutes. Mash potatoes in a large bowl, then stir in buttermilk, cheese, horseradish, 1/2 stick butter, and remaining 1.2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper until combined well.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a 10 inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook bread crumbs and garlic, stirring frequently until golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

Fill each cabbage leaf with 1/8 potato mixture, then with 1/4 cabbage mixture. Top with remaining potato mixture and then sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. Finally fold edges of cabbage leaves in over filling, but do not cover completely.

Bake until heated through and edges of cabbage are well browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

Transfer stuffed leaves to plates using parchment overhangs.

Lamb Chops in Beer

Finally I have cooked something delicious in the slow cooker! Yippee!

You see, I may or may not have sneaked into the Borders last time I was in the next county. It's the only Borders in a 50 mile radius. And I had a coupon. A 25% off coupon. Borders Rewards is a wonderful thing. So while I cannot confirm (because I may spend more than I possible should there) that I was in the Borders, I can tell you that I have this cookbook I really like so far. It's called Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two. And whoa, there's some nice looking recipes in there.

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I have a small food hoarding problem. We're also buying a quarter of a cow in the next couple weeks. So getting some of the food out of the freezer would probably be a good idea. We could buy a deep freeze, but chances are we would probably fill that if we had it. Anyhow, I was poking around in the freezer and came across 4 little lamb chops. Not the Frenched fancy kind, but the more choppy kind.

So here I was with 4 little meaty pieces of lamb and a slow cooker book that didn't belong to my momma. OK, my momma never used a slow cooker and my only childhood memories of a slow cooker were for grandma's baked beans on a buffet and my Hungarian aunt's oh so delicious cabbage rolls. So I pulled out my little 2 quart crock pot. Which I'm guessing may have been a wedding present, because it still had the plastic thing on the plug. I know we got a mammoth one as a wedding present, but I can't use that with a slow cooker book for 2 people. We don't eat THAT much. Well, we could probably try, but that would be gluttony. Interestingly enough gluttony in food isn't considered one of the seven deadly sins anymore.

OK I'm off topic again. Sorry. I had my book, my little slow cooker, my lamb chops and a cold Michelob Light. And I had the perfect recipe. Lamb Chops in Beer. I popped the vegetables and chops in the slow cooker poured a beer on top and off we went to church and then to Walmart. Church in the middle of the early afternoon because after the double whammy of 14 to 18 inches of snow and daylight savings weekend, we simply didn't wake up early enough to dig ourselves out for morning mass.

After we cleaned Walmart out of a sizable chunk of groceries, we came home to a delicious smelling house and some of the best lamb chops I've ever had. And I'm entering this into a fun food blog event called Weekend Cookbook Challenge (WCC) which this month is being hosted by the oh so lovely Lisa at La Mia Cucina. The theme is Crock Pots, Dutch Ovens and Pressure Cookers.

Lamb Chops in Beer

from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two

1 medium sized onion, sliced

2 medium sized carrots, sliced

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/8 tsp dried thyme

4 lamb chops

2 Tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

cooking spray

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 Michelob Light

1. Combine the onion carrots, potatoes, garlic, parsley, and thyme in the crock. Sprinkle the chops with the flour and season with salt and pepper.

2. In a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, heat the chops over medium high heat. Sear both sides, about 2 minutes total. Place them in the crock, laying them side by side. Add the tomato and pour the beer over the top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until the meat is fork-tender.

Potato Pancakes

As a young girl, my mother used to make us eat potato pancakes. She would put the potatoes in the blender and mix the potato puree with flour and salt and fry it up. I would moan and groan and call up my best friend Beth and see if I could have dinner over at her house. My mom's potato pancakes weren't exactly my favorite thing for dinner.

In college, in Ann Arbor, I worked at a mostly authentic German Restaurant. The potato pancakes there were crispy and bore an interesting similarity to McDonald's hashbrowns. The chef tried to teach me how to make them, but my newly minted legal drinking status usually overuled and the chef, the other waitstaff and I would usually end up having a couple rounds of Jagermeister instead. Once thoroughly drunk we'd snack after hours on Lungajager (I really have no idea how to spell it, but it's a tasty German sausage) and potato pancakes.

I remember telling my mom about how delicious these pancakes were and how they were totally unlike hers. See my mom's didn't even look like they had potatoes in them. My mom then shared with me the secret reason why she made her potato pancakes the way she did. It's because when she was a girl there was always blood in the potato pancakes from someone grating some finger with the potatoes and onions. Although the reasoning is sound, I sort of shrugged it off as silly.

So today I made my own potato pancakes for the first time. I found a delicious recipe in the book Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You). I really enjoyed them with some applesauce. They didn't taste like my mom's and they didn't taste like a McDonald's hashbrown. They were just right and I'll definitely be making them again.

And although I didn't grate my fingers until I was doing the dishes, I understand why Mom put the potatoes in the blender.

Potato Pancakes

from Healthy Cooking for Two

2 servings

2 medium baking potatoes

2 large egg whites

2 Tbsp coarsley grated onion

1/2 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

2 Tbsp flour

2 tsp Canola oil

Peel the potatoes and coarsley shred them with a grater onto 2 paper towels. Gently twist the towels and the potatoes over the sink to wring out excess liquid, thenplace the potatoes in a mixing bowl.

Beat the egg whites in a small bowl until foamy and add to the potatoes along with the onions, salt, and pepper. Toss gently to blend, sprinkle with the flour and toss again.

Brush a heavy 10" nonstick skillet with 1 teaspoon of the oil and preheat for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat. Drop in the potato mixture by 1/2 cup measuring cup to make 2 pancakes. Flatten them out with the back of a pancake turner (spatula) and cook for about 7 minutes flipping to the other side halfway through the cooking time. Pancakes should be crisp and browned. Repeat with remaining batter to make 2 more pancakes. Serve with applesauce.

Per serving: 162 calories, 5g total fat, 0.4g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 589mg sodium, 4.6g protein, 26.2g carbohydrates, 2.8g dietary fiber