Cookbook Challenge #4 - Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking

This week, there was a bit of a delay in my post…but for good reason. We are spending the weekend in a rental apartment in Syracuse, NY. Everything was covered in a picturesque layer of snow and the moment we arrived, a welcoming flurry greeted us with a cool February smile.

Being away from home, I thought this would be a great opportunity to think outside my kitchen. I decided that the semi-homemade style of Sandra Lee was perfect for cooking in a kitchen I’ve never cooked in before and wasn’t even sure what supplies were there.

 

With a kitchen full of only pots, pans and salt and pepper, Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade Cooking cookbook is perfect for when you don’t have a pantry to pull from. Semi-Homemade cooking is described as 70% store-bought ingredients and 30% fresh-food to make foods that were prepared in minutes and taste like they were made completely from scratch. I found two recipes that made a hefty dinner – Curried Bow Tie Salad and Lemon Turkey Cutlets. And better yet, the only things I’m taking back home with me are my new containers of curry powder and dried onion flakes.

 

 Curried Bow Tie Salad

Adapted from Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade Cooking

3/4 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons curry powder*

16 oz (2 small cans) pineapple chunks, drained

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed

1 medium red apple, cored and cubed

8 oz bowtie pasta/farfalle (about ½ a box)

Salt and pepper to taste

*Curry powder is not a hot curry. This made for a VERY mild curry – which is a great introduction to curry if you have not had it before, but we added extra to the leftovers and think it’s going to be much better when we have it for lunch today. If you want more curry taste – double it.

Follow instructions on box to prepare pasta to firm. Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix sour cream and curry powder to blend. Fold in avocado, pineapple, apples and pasta. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to 1 day.

After tasting, we felt this salad would be an excellent summer all-in-one salad if you add cooked and cubed chicken.

Serves 4 

 

 Lemon Turkey Cutlets

Adapted from Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade Cooking

1-1 1/2 pounds boneless and skinless turkey cutlets

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)

1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs**

1 teaspoon dried onion flakes***

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

** The recipe called for 2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion, but I thought that onion flakes would be a more economical choice for us this trip. Add more if you like more onion flavor. My hubby isn’t a big fan.

*** The recipe called for 1 cup of breadcrumbs, but as you can see in the pictures below, there was almost ALL of it left. I cut it in half for the recipe above, but I’m sure you can use 1/3 of a cup like the flour with no problem also.

Rinse cutlets with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper each cutlet and set aside.

In a shallow bowl, put the flour. In another bowl, mix the egg and the lemon juice. In a third bowl, mix breadcrumbs with onion flakes.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, dip cutlet in flour then egg mixture, then into the breadcrumbs, making sure to cover all the meat and tap off the extra of each mixture before adding the meat to the next one. Place cutlet in hot oil and cook until brown, about 3 minutes per side. When done, take out cutlets and place on clean paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

Serves 4

 

before dipping

after dipping - looks like I didn't do anything

To make this a complete dinner, I made the salad first and while it was in the fridge, I had plenty of time to do the cutlets. They are not listed as 2 recipes that need to go together in the cookbook, but we found that they complimented each other very nicely.

 

An Irish Stout and a Diet Coke make it a dinner for two

 

*****

 

Some highlights from Syracuse and the Finger Lakes

 

Day 1 - Arriving and settling in - oh, and making dinner...

 

Having a coney dog (pronounced "coo-ney") from Heid's for lunch 

 

 

Day 2 - Beer and Cheese tastings in the Finger Lakes

 

3 Brother's Winery complex in Geneva, NY

We checked out War Horse!

Thanks Andrew for the Cincinnati - 1/2 lager, 1/2 root beer - YUM!! 

 

 

Amazing cheddars and more at Miranda Cheese Company

in Waterloo, NY 

 

 

 Tasting pint of a Amber Lager at Naked Dove Brewing Company

in Canandaigua, NY 



 

 And we found this in Geneva also - Red Jacket Orchards, an

Union Square Farmers Market staple. It's closing it's outlet for a bit

so we got some great deals. 

 



#52cookbooks

The Last Few Days of September...

When I think of September, a bright red apple comes to mind.  There is a slight crispness in the air and school is back in full swing.  The leaves haven't turned yet, but football is in the field and on the TV and chili is on the stove.

But in recent memory, September is just as balmy and hot as August.  The AC is still on overnight and it's way to hot to make apple pie in my kitchen (aka The Hot Box).  Grrr...where have my cool September days gone?

This weekend, even though it was 80 degrees in my area of New York, I was able to catch a breeze (aided by an electric fan) and curl up on my couch and break open a fall harvest book with a warm cup of cider and imagine what I would be doing for October (the time when it will get really crisp and chilly).  My book of choice this weekend?  Homemade Harvest by Gooseberry Patch.

Gooseberry Patch was founded in 1984 by Vickie Hutchins and Jo Ann Martin, two women who loved sharing recipes.  They have created a wonderful line of cookbooks (mainly) that are compilations of submission from others who love to share their recipes from all over the country.  They each carry a theme, memories and stories about that theme and/or recipe along with tips and tricks from the staff at Gooseberry Patch.

My first encounter with Gooseberry Patch was Homemade Harvest.  This beautifully simple spiral bound book has beautiful illustrations and fall inspired recipes and crafts.  It covers soups and breads, suppers and a section that focuses exclusively on Halloween.  There is a chapter called Fall Festival Favorites, but it's mainly Friday Night Lights and tailgating friendly recipes and stories and another section that prepares you for a camp out or your next night beside the fire pit (for those of us that don't camp).  There is also a section on fall breakfasts full of eggs, sausage and pumpkins - YUM!

I spend the later half of Saturday afternoon reading this book from cover to cover.  If definitely put me in the fall mood, even if the thermometer was trying to convince me it was still Summer.  I'm sure that everyone could find at least one recipe or craft to try at home.

The First Annual NYC Honey Festival - An Afternoon in Rockaway

So I pick up my most recent edition of Edible Queens and I see an ad for the First Annual New York City Honey Festival on September 17th.  What fun!  I love honey and it would be awesome to spend the day at Rockaway Beach and taste local honey.

I think a lot of people had the same idea we did.  We showed up at about 2:30pm and the place had almost run out of honey already.  Sad, but we did each get a small jar of local honey before the supplies were depleted.  We checked out the vendors which included the likes of NY Bee Keeping advocates and local farmers.  There was a pickle vendor (Horman's Best Pickles), a HOT honey vendor (Mike's Hot Honey), two honey based craft beers (Six Point Brewery) and screen print your own bee hive t-shirts.  There was also a tasting/ranking of your favorite honeys.

We ate at Ode to the Elephant (Thai food) and AND Coffee (the BEST Hot Chocolate I've had out in a while, though they were out of marshmallows) both located in the Rockaway Beach Club (aka the NY State Park pavilion on the boardwalk).

The weather was perfect, the location was beautiful, the festival was educational and fun but the only thing missing was Stella, my sister's pup.  She would have had a blast with all the sand, surf and bees.

These hard workers didn't stop to wave to the crowds.

NY State has approved bee keeping the the boroughs -
roof tops of Brooklyn, here they come!

This poor little guys just didn't want to let go!

Honey Extraction - scrapping the wax from the comb to
get that beautiful golden liquid from its caves

The difference between a dark, amber looking honey (late season)
and a pale, golden honey (mid summer).  You can see the light color
on the top of the light wood and the dark combs in the metal racks.

No rest for these busy bees...haha...get it?

Special Diet? No Problem! No Special Diet? Not to Miss! Pala Pizza

Vegan and gluten free are not restrictions in my diet. I'm a NY style extra cheese slice kind of girl, but my recent meal at Pala Pizza just might turn me.

Pala Pizza, located on Allen Street just south of Houston, is a modern rustic style pizzeria catering to both the gluten free and vegan communities. The atmosphere is one of clean lines and warm tones. Exposed brick walls and dried herb centerpieces the industrial looking open kitchen area.

My dinner mates each had different restrictions - one vegan, one gluten free and all three vegetarian. As the only bread eating carnivore at the table, I can tell you, I wasn't want for a thing.

We started the meal with the handmade potato chips (simple but truly tasty) and also tried the zucca antipasto, a oven roasted mix of butternut squash, onions, green peas, basil and raisins (though my taste buds tell me they were cherries - yummy non the less).

Then came the pizzas. They offer gluten free crusts and go as far as to not use the same oven to bake their wheat based brethren. First I will answer the question that all gluten consuming readers are asking - what is a gluten free pizza base? It’s a mix of garbanzo beans, tapioca, fava beans, potatoes, rice, and white sorghum flours and it’s amazing. The crunch was reminiscent of the perfect thin crust pizza but it didn't carry any of the dryness that can so easily come with achieving that crust. Another bonus - where the sauce was, the crust wasn't soggy. The gluten free crust doesn't soak up the moisture of a fresh sauce/tomato that ordinary yeast based crusts do.

We ordered a romana and an arrabiata. The romana included field mushrooms, tomato sauce, daiya cheese (soy and dairy free “cheese” made from plant based (cassava) ingredients) and fresh parsley. The second "pie" was fresh cherry tomatoes, hot pepper, garlic, and more daiya cheese.  

A simple glass of Syrah served in a casual stemless glass rounded out the meal for the perfect pizza night out.

So, maybe I won't turn on my carnivorous and gluten full lifestyle, I would recommend Pala to anyone looking for a great atmosphere and an even better pie.

Pala Pizza

198 Allen Street

New York, NY 10002

212-614-7252

Hours:

M-Th 4pm-12am

F 4pm-1am

Sa 12pm-1am

Su 12pm-12am

www.pala-ny.com

Over 100 Years of the Hamburger Sandwich

 

New Haven, CT, is the home to Yale University, Peabody Museum of Natural History, and more importantly, Louis' Lunch.

Since 1895, Louis' Lunch has been making the Hamburger Sandwich. This historic sandwich consists of a medallion of prime meat, cooked to medium rare perfection, sandwiched between two pieces of white bread, toasted in toasters also original to the kitchen. Though simple in construction, it was one of the best “fast food” burgers I had tasted. The flavor was fresh and reminiscent of burgers that came off the backyard BBQ, cooked with love by my father, the man who taught me what medium rare really means.

You, of course, can customize your burger. They are willing to cook it a little longer and add onions, cheese and/or tomatoes, but one thing they will not do for you…add ketchup! Louis’ Lunch has been a no ketchup zone for over 100 years and they are very proud of it!

The original hamburger sandwich – burger and cheese only (pictured)

The rest of the menu is just as simple and straight forward as the burgers. You can add a soda, water, or one of the local brew flavors from Foxan Soda. There are bags of potato chips to accompany your burger or a Styrofoam cup full of amazing housemade potato salad.

Potatoes, hard boiled eggs, a touch of mayonnaise, chives and the perfect amount of salt

Their menu lists desserts, but, honestly, after the burger and the potato salad, there wasn’t room for me for their tempting treats (a list of which includes homemade pie). This is rare, so next time…I promise!

Louis’ Lunch is open Tuesday through Saturday. Get there anytime between 11:00 am and 3:45 pm Tuesday and Wednesday, and feel free to be a bit lazier Thursday through Saturday since they are open noon – 2:00 am.

Louis’ Lunch
261-263 Crown Street
New Haven, CT 06511-6611
(203) 562-5507
www.louislunch.com