Cheesy Beef Dip in a Bread Bowl

Cheesy Beef  Dip in a  Bread Bowl

More food for the Super Bowl. This doesn’t follow my food philosophy; I mean I am suggesting you buy meat in a jar. HOWEVER, this is so good. I kept the leftover bread bowl and wrapped it in foil then heat it, sliced it up and ate the bowl!

Chipped beef is a dried, pressed, salted meat that is sliced very thin. It was a common dish in the US Army during World War II. The fact that it was inexpensive and did not need refrigeration made it a popular depression era food. It is still served in diners thought out the United States. You can find chipped beef on the aisle with canned tuna. I prefer Amour.

Chipped beef is insanely salty. Salt lick salty. To make it more palatable, I pour boiling water over the beef in a bowl. After allowing the beef to soak for 10 minutes, I discard that water and repeat the process. If you don’t mind very salty snacks, you can skip this step.

Time:  Active time: 15 minutes; cooking:  25 minutes, crunchy goodness in 45 minutes (an hour if you are removing the saltiness)

Hardware: Knives and a cutting board, a saucepan, measuring spoons and cups, a mixer, a mixing bowl, a silicone spatula, a large serrated knife, parchment paper or foil, and a baking sheet

Ingredients:

• Large (1 pound) round sourdough loaf
• 2-2ounce jars chipped beef
• 8 ounces of softened cream cheese
• 8 ounces of shredded cheddar
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup mayo
• 2 green onions
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. To make clean up easier, line the cooking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2. If you desalted the beef (and you should) dry it. Roughly chop the beef. This is easiest to do, if you roll it up. Slice the green onions into thin rings. Use the white and the green parts. Set aside.
3. Mix the remaining ingredients with the mixer. Then fold in the beef and onions.
4. Use the serrated knife to make a bread bowl. Cut down into the bowl at an angle. Make sure to not cut down too far. Save the top of the bowl for dipping. You can scoop out more bread if needed. See the illustration below.
5. Fill the space that you created with the beef mixture. Place the bowl onto the baking sheet.
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the bread is crunchy. Serve right away with the reserved pieces of bread, crackers or soft pretzels.

Mojo Drummies

Mojo Drummies

Every year around the Super Bowl, I try to come up with a new wing recipe. This year I found chicken drumettes on sale and decided to make Mojo Drummies. You could use this same marinade and technique to make regular wings. Just separate the flaps from the drumettes with kitchen scissors. Also, snip the points from the flaps.

Mojo sauce is popular throughout the Spanish speaking world. The sauce I made is based on Cuban Mojo. You could  make an extra batch of this sauce and marinate pork over night or fish or shrimp for 30 minutes.

Sour orange or bitter orange is an ingredient that can be found in the Hispanic food aisle of your grocery store. If you cannot, then you can order it from Amazon. I like Badia.

Servings:  1 dozen wings

Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, a knife and cutting board, food prep gloves, a plastic container with a lid that is large enough to hold all the wings, a small plastic container with a lid, a whisk, paper towels, a plate, tongs, a baking sheet, a cooling rack (optional), foil

Time: Active time: 10 minutes Cook time: 50 minutes, Marinating time: 2-24 hours, wings in variable time

Ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds chicken drumettes (or a dozen wings)
• 2 sticks of butter at room temperature
• 20-ounce jar sour orange
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 green onion
• 1 jalapeño
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray

1. Dice the garlic cloves. Slice the green onion as thin as possible, both the white and green parts. Cut the jalapeño into thin rings. Mince the herbs. Pour the sour orange and oil into the large plastic container. Whisk the veggies, herbs and salt together until the oil and water are as mixed as you can get it. Set aside ¼ cup of the sauce, making sure to get some veggies and herb. Place the reserved sauce in the fridge until you need it.
2. Place the drumettes in the mojo sauce, making sure they are all covered in sauce. Cover with a tight lid and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. I refrigerate them overnight
3. When you are ready to make the drummies, preheat the oven to 400°. Remove the butter and the reserved sauce from the fridge.
4. Line the baking sheet with foil. If you have a cooling rack place it over the foil-lined sheet. Spray with cooking spray.
5. Put on the gloves. Pour the sauce off the drummies and discard. Dry each drummy as much as you can and place it on the plate. This takes lots of paper towels but is important to get a crispy skin on the chicken. Rub each drummy in softened butter, making sure they are thoroughly covered.
6. Lay the chicken in a single layer on the cooling rack. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Flip and roast for 20 more minutes. If the skin isn’t crisp enough for you, place the chicken under the broiler. If you do this make sure to watch them so that they do not burn.
7. Remove the chicken from the oven and toss it with the reserved sauce. Serve warm.

Preserved Lemons

Preserved Lemons

Are you looking for an inexpensive, tasty gift to give for the upcoming holidays? Make some Preserved Lemons. They are popular in Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. A quick Google search will turn up many wonderful recipes (hint: Chicken Tagine.)

When creating your gift, make sure that you use organic lemons. Usually, I don’t worry about organic citrus fruit, but you are eating the peel. We have a lemon tree, so this was no problem for me. Also, make sure to sterilize the jar. While conducting research, I read some recipe that said because this was in lemon juice, you could skip this step. Why take chances?

If you are giving the lemons as a gift, buy a pretty jar. I used a Ball Twist jar. You can also tie the jar with a pretty ribbon or raffia and include a few recipes the recipient can make using the Preserved Lemons.

Servings: 1 jar of preserved lemons

Hardware: A cookie sheet, foil, a sharp knife, sterilized 28 ounce canning jar, a juicer, a strainer, a wooden spoon and a sharpie

Cooking time: Active time: 10 minutes; Sterilizing time; 10 minutes Fermenting time; 1-3 months

Ingredients:

• 5-7 organic Meyer lemons
• ¾ cup kosher salt, maybe more
•  Freshly squeezed lemon juice, if necessary

Optional

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 star anise
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary OR thyme
• 1 bay leaf

 

1. Wash and air dry the jar and lid. Preheat the oven to 250˚F. Line the cookie sheet with foil. Make sure you move the shelves of the oven so that the jar will fit into the oven. When the oven is hot place the jar ad lid, open end up, into the oven. Turn the heat down to 225˚F. Make sure that the jar is in the oven for 10 minutes without opening it. This will sterilize the jar. Allow it to cool completely. Wash the lemons.
2. Place about ¼ of the salt into the bottom of the jar.
3. Pick the 4 best, blemish free fruit. Work with one lemon at a time. Quarter the lemon without cutting all the way through. Pack the inside of each lemon with salt, making sure that all the exposed lemon is covered.  Reshape and force the lemon into the jar. Squish it down with the wooden spoon. Sprinkle on some peppercorns, herbs, and a star anise if you are using them. Continue this with the other 4 lemons, squishing as you go.
4. Juice the other lemons. Strain the juice of these lemons into the jar. The lemons need to be covered in freshly squeezed lemon juice. Don’t add water or store-bought juice. So, squish and squeeze, using the spoon. Nestle in the cinnamon stick and bay leaf around the fruit(optional.) Make sure that there is a little space at the top of the jar. Write the date you preserved the lemons and ‘ready for use in 30-90 days’ on the lid.
5. Place the lemons in a cool, dark place and allow to ferment for 30-90 days. Shake every couple of days. After you open the lemons, there is no need to refrigerate them. Most recipes only require the peel, but you can use the pulp, as well. To use, scrape the pulp into a bowl and rinse the peel.