Mom’s Flounder in Zucchini Sauce

Recipe found in mom’s recipe book ❤

Mom’s Porcupine Meatballs

Remember these? ❤

Boiled Dinner for William

Because William was waxing nostalgic about boiled dinner (ha ha not really, more the opposite) here is a recipe adapted from Cabot Creamery https://cabotcreamery.com/blogs/recipes/new-england-boiled-dinner. As a further bonus, here’s “In Praise of the New England Boiled Dinner” from Yankee Magazine: “And when it comes to eating plain and square, we in the northeastern part of the United States have everyone else beat. We’ve got the plainest, squarest, clunkiest, and most wonderful meat and potatoes meal in America — the New England Boiled Dinner.” Read their full homage to boiled dinner here: https://newengland.com/food/main-dishes/new-england-boiled-dinner/#_

• 3-5 pound corned beef, plain beef brisket or smoked picnic ham shoulder
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns or 1 tablespoon pickling spice
• 6 large carrots large, peeled and chopped into 2” pieces
• 2 yellow onions peeled and quartered
• 6 medium potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
• 2 cups cubed turnip, rutabaga or parsnips or combo
• 1 medium head green cabbage core removed, cut in 6 wedges
• chopped parsley
• salt & pepper
• optional- apple cider vinegar, horseradish, Cabot Salted Butter

1. Place the hunk of meat of your choice  and peppercorns or pickling spice in a LARGE pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce temperature to a simmer and cook for 3-4 hours or until the meat is tender, skimming the foam on occasion and adding more water to keep the meat covered.  Once cooked, remove the meat and keep in a warm oven until ready to slice and serve.
2. Add onions and root vegetables and cook for at least ½ an hour. Add wedges of cabbage and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes. Slice and plate the meat, surround with vegetables, top with parsley and serve with the optional accompaniments. 

With the leftovers you can make corned beef hash for breakfast the next day or cook up some beets to go along with the boiled dinner tonight and then you can make Red Flannel Hash: Place cleaned and trimmed beets of similar size on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Drizzle beets with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and bake in a 375ºF oven for approximately 45 minutes or until you’re able to pierce the beet easily with a skewer.  Remove from oven, and peel skin when cool enough to handle by using a paper towel and “rubbing” the outer skin off.  Serve with boiled dinner or use to make Red Flannel Hash.

Dad’s Savory Crepes

These savory crepes have been a family favorite for years. Crepe recipe is from Fannie Farmer (since 1930) pg 497 (sugar omitted for savory crepes), filling by Greg (since the 1990s).

Crepes

• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 2 canola oil

Beat eggs well, then beat in the other ingredients. Let stand for at least 30 minutes. Heat 7″ frying pan until moderately hot, then lightly film it with butter using a brush or paper towel. Using a ladle or 1/4 measuring cup batter pour in batter then quickly tilt pan so batter is spread thinly and evenly. Cook for a few minutes until the bottom is lightly browned and the edges lift easily from the pan. Flip over and cook for a few minutes until browned. Repeat, until batter is used up. Stack until ready to roll the crepes. Thin the batter with a little milk if it starts to thicken up towards the end.

Filling

• Seafood like shrimp or scallops
• Veggies like peppers, onions, mushrooms or artichoke hearts
• A roux ( 1T butter, 1T flour, 1 c milk, salt and pepper to taste)

Fry up the seafood and or the vegetables. Make a roux. Mix them together and that is the filling.

Roll generous spoonful of filling into each crepe snuggling them together in a rectangular baking pan as you work. Bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees until browned and bubbly.

Our Basic Stuffing

This is our traditional bread stuffing, basic no-frills and delicious every Thanksgiving since my childhood. This is the vegetarian version baked outside of the turkey or chicken but there is always the option to stuff the bird – just don’t pack it! Adapted from Fannie Farmer pg 278 where it is described as “A pleasant basic stuffing.” –Deb

1 stick butter
1/2 c olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1c finely sliced celery heart (use the part with greens)
8c day old bread ripped into small chunks (save up old bread in the freezer and or check out the reduced price bakery shelf at the market)
1 t dried sage (heaping)
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t salt
1/2 c vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in large pot, add olive oil, then the onion and celery and sauté until soft. Stir in spices and sauté for a few more minutes. Add bread and quickly toss together to mix well. Transfer stuffing to a lightly oiled casserole dish and sprinkle broth evenly over the stuffing. Bake, covered for 30 minutes, then take the cover off and bake for 15-20 minutes more until lightly browned.

Chili – vegetarian or con carne

I view chili as a way of using up extra ingredients, so there’s a lot of flexibility here and it’s never the same twice. This can be vegetarian or con carne. – Deb

vegetarian ground “beef” or ground beef
olive oil
an onion, chopped
1 or 2 sweet peppers, any color, chopped
hot pepper chopped very fine (optional)
6 cloves garlic
1 T chili powder
2 t cumin
2 t coriander
1/4 t cayenne (optional if you include a hot pepper)
pinch red pepper flakes (optional if you include a hot pepper)
salt and pepper
28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes roughly chopped
1 can kidney beans
1/4 c red wine
3 bay leaves

More options, any assortment:
2 T molasses
fresh cilantro chopped
artichoke hearts
zucchini or summer squash
corn
black beans
a peach, chopped
carrots
what else you got?

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Saute ground beef or “beef” in olive oil over medium high heat until browned. Set aside.

In a heavy soup pot heat more olive oil, add onions and saute until softened, add peppers and garlic and cook another couple minutes. Add spices and cook a minute or two more to blend the flavors. Add beef or “beef”, tomatoes, kidney beans, wine, bay leaves and whatever else you want to throw in.  Cut up tomatoes with kitchen scissors and stir well.

Reduce heat to simmer once the mixture chili to bubble. Simmer for at least 45 minutes. Longer is fine.  Serve over brown rice topped with grated cheddar or other cheese of your choice with cornbread and salad on the side.

Greek Yogurt Marinade

The following is a recipe that can be used for most meats or fish, just use a little less if you have fish. From a friend of mine in college who adapted it from a youtube video we can no longer find. -William

2c plain greek yogurt
8 cloves garlic
1 tsp of:
cumin
sumac
cinnamon
allspice
coriander
1 small onion, chopped fine
salt + pepper to taste

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl and coat the protein of your choice in the full marinade. Leave in the refrigerator for at least two hours. When ready, heat the oven to 350-425 ºF (depending on your protein), and bake until cooked. Serve with fresh pita, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, and tzatziki for toppings.

Pork Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Onion

This was my favorite hello fresh meal yet. Restaurant quality tacos at the cost of finding a few odd ingredients. -Connor

1 large red onion
5 tsp vinegar
4 tsp sugar
2 poblano peppers
2 smallish tomatoes
1 lime
1.5 lb ground pork
2 packs concentrated chicken stock (2-3 tbsp, Swanson probably preferred)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
4 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp or more chipotle powder to taste (yes, it must be chipotle powder, not chili)
a bit of fresh cilantro
12 small flour tortillas
mild cheddar or monterey jack cheese, grated

Step 1: Chop onion – one half gets diced small, the other half gets chopped into slivers. Core, seed, and chop poblano peppers into 1/2 inch squares. Chop cilantro. Dice tomatoes into 1 cm pieces. Halve lime.

Step 2: Pickle the onion sliver half by mixing the 3 TBSP vinegar, 4 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 2 TBSP water in a bowl. Toss occasionally during the other steps.

Step 3: Cook the pork in a pan with olive oil and salt and pepper until browned.

Step 4: Cook poblano and the diced onion half on high with olive oil, salt and pepper 3-4 minutes. Add the pork mix, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp chili powder, stock concentrate, 2 TBSP tomato paste, and 2 tbsp water. Cook until thick, 2-3 minutes.

Step 5: Combine sour cream, chipotle powder, and the lime juice from the lime. Add some salt and pepper. Microwave the tortillas covered with a towel for 30 seconds.

Step 6: Put everything in the tortillas duh

Chili

Its pretty surprising we didn’t have a recipe for chili on this site. This, and the fact that chili recipes online seem to be pretty weird and/or annoying to make and find the ingredients for most of the time, made me go out and build my own recipe, which turned out well after try 3. The nice thing about this recipe is you can make it without any fresh ingredients except the pepper, which really you could freeze as well. Resist the urge to add tomato paste, but it would probably do well with an additional hot ingredient like chipotle powder or a hot pepper if you like that. — Connor

2 lb ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
2 cups chicken or beef stock, or two bullion cubes and water
1  15 oz can corn
2  15 oz cans pinto beans
1 28 oz can diced tomatos
salt and pepper

Step 1: Cook the beef on high with salt and pepper. Make sure you put in a lot of salt, probably a 1 tablespoon or a little more is good. Once the beef is cooked through and a little crispy, pour out most of the fat and move to step 2.

Step 2:  Add the onion and pepper and cover, stirring somewhat frequently until the vegetables get soft and some are slightly crisped.

Step 3: Add everything else, draining the corn and beans before adding, but not the tomatoes. Yes, the garlic and spices come after adding the liquid ingredients. When the pot starts boiling again, you can finally turn it down to medium heat. Cook for like 30 minutes or whatever.

Serve with olive oiled pasta and sharp cheddar.

 

Trojan Carnitas and Avocado Salsa

This is a delicious and massive recipe I got from my roommate in Troy. It was a new style of cooking for me and cooking it by the book taught me a lot. Serves six hungry college students. You could also make the salsa by itself for a great dip for chips etc. -Connor

Carnitas
3-4 pound boneless pork butt, shoulder or loin
2 cups water
1.5 cups orange juice
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp salt
1 tsp grated orange peel (optional)
3 tbsp whole peppercorns (optional)
1/4 cup brandy or wine (preferably marsala)

Also:
Tortillas
Cheddar or mexican cheese blend
Regular tomato salsa

Cut the pork into thirds. Put pork, water, orange juice, garlic, salt, orange peel, and peppercorns into a large pot. Bring to boil, then turn down heat somewhat and simmer, covered, for about an hour and a half. stir occasionally and add more water if needed to keep the pork mostly submerged.

Between these two stages is a good time to start the salsa. (see below)

Uncover and boil pork until water is reduced by half. Stir in the alcohol and boil until liquid evaporates. Stir often while meat browns and crisps. Tear meat into strips with tongs (this can be done during the final stage of cooking or, if you’re a chicken, after the meat has cooled a bit)

Salsa
3 ripe avocados, peeled and coarsley chopped
6 oz fresh tomatillos, husked, rinsed, coarsely chopped
2 fresh serrano chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped white onion
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (optional)
1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
salt to taste

Put all ingredients into a food processer or blender. process until a chunky puree forms.

Serve the meat and salsa over warmed tortillas with grated cheddar or a mexican blend of cheese.