Pepper Steak
Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook: Kitchen Library Containing Good and Easy Cookbook and New Cookbook (Everything You Need to Know to Cook)
This is another dish I’ve never cooked before. It’s from Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook again. There are still so many recipes there waiting to see the light of my kitchen.
I have no idea what origins this dish has. I’d ask Betty Crocker if she was a real person, but she’s not. (Sorry, Virginia…there is no Betty Crocker….)
From the sound of it, I always thought it was one of those black pepper-encrusted steaks you get in a steak house. But looking at the recipe and seeing “ginger” listed as an ingredient – it sounded more Asian than anything.
I had a good tri-tip steak package in my freezer and was debating on a stew, a steak or sinigang. Good thing I decided to go with this Pepper Steak. As usual, I made a few changes to the original recipe. It was delicious….another keeper!
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Buttermilk Pancakes
I have never made pancakes so fluffy and light before!
This is a pancake recipe from my Betty Crocker New Cookbook. The recipe is a simple one but this time, I tried the buttermilk variation and was surprised at the results. I don’t keep buttermilk in my fridge so I used a substitute of whole milk with a tablespoon of vinegar and it seemed to work very well.
This was served with Olivio margarine, a drizzling of maple syrup and thawed, frozen raspberries.
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Spinach Cannelloni with Fontina
This was my first time to cook Cannelloni. My first taste of this was when my cousin had just come back from studies in the US and prepared it for one family gathering during our teens. My cousin is really a gifted man in the kitchen. It’s a trait he got from his godmother I was told…umm… by his godmother…. who happens to be my Mom.
Back then, everyone swooned over how good this was since most of us hadn’t tasted it before. I’ve had it a few times since then, but never thought of making it myself because I was intimidated. Cannelloni sounds like a lot of work but isn’t really. There’s a lot of steps in the preparation, but they’re not at all delicate or difficult in anyway. Besides, the results are worth it.
The combination of the ricotta with the spinach, tomato sauce with basil and rosemary and fontina cheese was excellent. There’s a delicate sweetness to this dish I only tasted once before in a stuffed pasta shell dish of one restaurant.
It’s a home-style Italian restaurant in Cheyenne, Wyoming called Avanti Ristorante Italiano. They serve excellent Italian food, never touted as authentic, just home-style. If you find yourself passing through the Cowboy State in the future, make a stop at Avanti. I guarantee, it will be worth it.
For planning purposes, I made one full recipe and have another dish sitting in my refrigerator for another day. It should keep about 5 days. Freezing is not recommended because the Bechamel Sauce will separate.
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Muffuletta of Central Grocery in New Orleans
It was more than 2 years ago when Spouse and I went to New Orleans on a day trip from Biloxi, Mississippi. I fell in love with the city even before we set foot in it.
On our approach to the city, the car radio was tuned to a local station that was playing the music of the city, jazz. Driving on Interstate 10 to cross the now world-infamous Lake Ponchartrain, I was struck by the beauty of the many bridges, the city and the beautiful waters of the lake and the mighty Mississippi beyond.
Aside from being the home of jazz and the blues, New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine.
My target on that summer’s day was the Muffuleta of Central Grocery. I first heard of it in the PBS special, “Sandwiches You Will Like” that Spouse and I watched just a few weeks before our trip. Central Grocery is located in the French Quarter, on Decatur Street. If you are not looking for it, you can easily miss it. But I was a woman on a mission that day….my radar was up and my tummy was leading the way.
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