BRAIDED STROMBOLI

I fall in love with it.. I love making it more than eating it.. my DH loves it, so it's worth it.. I made it several times and yesterday I made the most beautiful one and I want to share it here

BRAIDED STROMBOLI

We need pizza dough, any kind of pizza dough, store bought is fine too...

My favorite pizza dough is:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 and 1/2 tsp of yeast
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 3 cups of flour

for brushing: egg white, beat with a bit of salt

as for filling, whatever you desire, I like hard salami or pepperoni, cheese and a bit of green veggies

- 16 slices hard salami
- 1 cup of mozzarella / Italian blend cheese
- 1 cup of chopped broccoli, I used frozen, thaw and squeeze dry
- jalapeno pepper, chopped
- chopped hard boiled egg

for pizza dough:


- dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water, stir until foaming, let it sit while preparing the others ingredients

- mix salt and flour, add olive oil, then add in the yeast mixture, mix and blend well

- place the wet dough on a floured surface, knead with hands until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 6 minutes, add flour if needed, little by little

- after we have a smooth dough, place it in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, let it rise for 1 hour

- deflate, then roll it on a floured surface, roll to form a thin rectangle, about 18" and 12"

- lay salami on the center of the dough, about 4" wide

- to form the braid, starting at the edge of the filling, cut horizontal toward the end of the dough, about 1"

- then start braid them, lay 1 strip from the right dough to the center, cover the filling, then overlap it with the strip from the left side, do it till the last strip

- gently pick the braid up and transfer it to a floured pan

- cover and let rise for 30 minutes

- brush the top of with beaten egg white mixture

- bake in a preheated oven, 350'F for 30 minutes until golden brown, take out from the oven, immediately brush the top with butter, lightly

STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

It's cooler here in AZ, much nicer and comfortable, we don't need to turn on the cooler all day now., and outdoor activities are much more fun.. we hiked some times, I don't get my routine morning walk though, my neighbor hurt her foot and can't walk too much, and that's my excuse for not going out for my walk as well :)

Today I cleaned my kitchen, scrubbed and scrubbed, by the time I finished, I was exhausted and did not want to do much.. so I rummaged my fridge, found some cooked sausage, some cooked orzo pasta.. I had cheese and I had some frozen chopped broccoli, on my counter I had a butternut squash I bought last weekend.. an idea got in my head, STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH..

My DH loves squash most of them, I don't, I bought this squash for him only, and fortunately he liked the way I cooked it today, it's so easy as most of the ingredients have already been cooked..

We need:
- 1 butternut squash, wash, cut in half, clean out the seeds
- 1 cup of cooked sausage
- 1 cup of cooked orzo pasta, we can use cooked rice too
- 1 cup of chopped broccoli
- red jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
- garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
- chopped green onion or other favorite herbs
- cheese

Method:
- bake squash for 10 to 15 minutes  in a preheated oven, 350'F
- mix the rest of ingredients
- stuff in the squash, spray with cooking spray
- bake for another 15 - 20 minutes
- sprinkle more Parmesan cheese

BEEF BURGERS WITH CIABATTA BUNS

Today we had American favorite meal as our dinner.. one of my DH's favorite foods.. actually we just went to this cowboy place to have burgers last Friday, the burgers were huge, but too greasy, I could not finish mine.

My homemade burgers were not too much fat as most of the fat ran down the grill, they were juicy enough.. I baked some Ciabatta bread to go with,. and some frozen fries that I baked the oven

- 1 and 1/2 lbs of ground beef, 20% fat
- 1 small onion, minced and sauteed until caramelized
- 1 tsp of salt
- bunch of freshly ground black pepper
- some chili flakes
- 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
- some chopped green chili relish ( optional)

- mix all the ingredients, divide to 6 portion
- form medium size patties
- grill to the desired doneness
- cut the buns in halves, toast with a bit butter
 other toppings: sliced cheese, sliced tomato, dill pickles, and some lettuce wedges with my homemade dressing: 1 part of plain yogurt + 1 part of Mayo + salt + black pepper + a dash of chili sauce/Tabasco, a bit of sugar and some favorite herbs, I used cilantro, topped with bacon bits

KOREAN GRILLED PORK CHOPS.. my style

While I'm in my writing mood, here is another recipe I want to share, and I need it for my future reference

Korean foods are so popular now, I went to eat at Korean restaurants several times, not too often and I love them, esp the grilled and BBQ meat, I don't know for sure how the real authentic taste of them, all of the restaurants claim they have authentic taste.. I tried to cook some of them, in my way, yes I browsed the net to get the ideas and put them together, here is one of the delicious ones

I used pork chops as they are much cheaper than beef short ribs

- 4 bone in pork chops, I like them with fat and lots of marbling
- for the marinate: 1 Korean/Asian pear, pureed, add shallot, some Thai chilies, ginger, garlic, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar/honey, some rice wine, blend well
- marinate the chops for a few hours, covered in the fridge
- grill to perfection

serve with rice or lettuce leaves with shallots, garlic and whatever desired

EASY PEASY CHEESY EGG MUFFIN

It has been ages since my last post, I actually have so many ideas and pictures for recipes to post, but haven't got around to post them.. read.. I'm so lazy and not in my writing mood

Today I woke up with my stomach growling, demanded some foods, but I knew I did not have any good leftover for this purpose, I imagined myself dunked my nutter butter in my coffee like I usually did for my easy breakfast, no problem for me, but I was thinking about delicious breakfast for my DH, I've seen these egg muffin pics on the net and thought about making them. I had leftover sausage, I had plenty of eggs and cheese.. so here they are, easy, simple and yummy

for the ingredients, I used whatever I had handy
- 1 cup or more brown sausage, I used my leftover Jimmy Dean sausage, browned with shallots and red bell pepper ( I used them for my favorite pizza topping)
- 1 cup of shredded Mexican Blend cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of milk ( I used 2% milk)
- 2 tbsp of potato flakes ( for instant mashed potato)
- salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes
- for 9 muffins

- generously greased the muffin tin with baking spray
- add 1 tbsp of sausage
- add bunch of cheese
- in a big measurement cup, mix milk with potato flakes, stir well, then pour in the milk, mix well, sprinkle with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes
- pour the milk mixture onto the meat/cheese
- bake in preheated 400'F for 12 to 15 minutes
- set the oven to broil, add another 2 minutes to brown the top
- let them cool a bit before taking them out of the pan

Enjoy those beauties

with a dash of Tabasco

LOBSTER/SHRIMP ROLLS

Starting yesterday.. Lenten season began.. in our family tradition, among other things we choose to give up meats except seafood.. and this year I promise myself to stay away from potato chips, I don't know why, lately I love snacking potato chips, it's always on my counter, one gone, and one more came ( from the stores )

Today we'll talk about lobster rolls.. I saw it on a food website and right away I was determined to make some, I found 1 lobster tail in my freezer, a 5 oz, no way it would be enough for the 2 of us, so I decided to add some shrimps, I have bought the veggies I liked for the salad.. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, no meat day for us, and this rolls were on my mind since last week, here was our supper

Ingredients needed:
- 1 lbs of lobster/shrimp meats
- 2 tbsp of butter, 1 tbsp of roasted garlic oil, salt, pepper, chopped cilantro
- 3 stalks of celery, small diced
- 1 red bellpepper, small diced
- 1/2 half medium onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
- bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
- 3 inches of cucumber, small diced

butter, garlic oil, salt and pepper

for the sauce:
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp of mustard
- 2 tbsp of tomato ketchup
- 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp of chili sauce ( tabasco or others..  I used my homemade chili sauce )
- 1 tbsp of sweet chili sauce ( from Thailand, for the sweetness, or can be substituted with 1 tbsp of honey )
- pinch of salt and freshly ground peppercorns

- 4 hot dog buns

Method:
- mix all ingredients for the sauce, save 1/4 of it for the meat, add the rest in the chopped veggies, mix well, let them sit for a few hours in the fridge

- 30 minutes before serving them... place lobster/shrimp meat in a bowl, add butter, garlic oil, salt and pepper, microwave them on high for 3 or 4 minutes until the meats turn pink, do not overcook them, roughly chopped them, mix well with the juice, add in the 1/4 dressing sauce, chopped cilantro, mix well, set aside

- just minutes before serving:  heat a pan, add a bit of butter, then add heat/grill the buns

- assemble them as you wish

microwave

chopped and cilantro added

dressing sauce added

lobster shrimp roll

Thailand sweet chili 

BANANA BREAD/CAKE

I'm not good in baking and I hate baking, esp baking cakes, cookies, pies, though I'm getting better in baking various breads, but I still suck at baking cakes, even sometimes I failed in making muffin or cupcakes :) .. but once in a while I was challenged when I saw  interesting recipes and was willing to try again..

Today is a lazy Sunday, we woke up late, had a glass of fruit smoothie for breakfast then we went to the store and bought some reduced bananas, they looked so bad on the peels, but the flesh were still good, still smooth and clean.. I immediately  peeled them and stores them in bags for my frozen smoothies.. my DH suggested a fresh banana bread too, so I thought, why not, I have my favorite recipe and have tried it several times with good results.. 

Here is a Banana Bread recipe by Martha Stewart with a bit of modification by me.. oh BTW.. I love watching Martha Stewart cooking shows.. I must admit I learn a lot of cooking/baking tricks from her :)

banana + avocado + mango smoothie 

Banana Bread/Cake ( I prefer calling it cake, I think the texture is closer to cake than bread )

- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 cup granulated sugar ( I used 3/4 cup sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup sour cream ( I use plain yogurt )
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

overripe bananas

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside.

-  In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy ( I used my hand mixer)

-  Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream/yogurt, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
- Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

- NOTE: I added 1 tsp of cocoa powder and mixed it with 2 tbsp of cake batter, then added it on the middle of the batter, gently swirled with chopstick, then topped with the rest of the batter.. 

cocoa swirl in the middle