Lemon turkey meatballs

The sun came out today.Whilst you may think that is not too out of the ordinary, here in Oregon  - where we are all preparing to build Arks, and are developing trench foot from the incessant rain and gloom , it is a really big deal.  People start to emerge from their homes,squinting at the big yellow thing in the sky,and don the national clothing of Oregon....shorts...!!!! Well my way of greeting our long lost friend was to pick a light spring like dish ,flavored with lemon and rosemary, smelt fab as it was being prepared!!

1 medium onion, cut into chunks
2 large cloves of garlic,smashed and peeled
2 teasp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 lb ground turkey
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 teasp salt, divided
1/4 teasp pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 teasp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1 14 oz can chicken stock
4 teasp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter

Put the onion,garlic,lemon zest and 1 tbsp rosemary in a food processor and pilse until finely chopped ,but not mushy.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix in the turkey,breadcrumbs,parmesan,1/2 teasp salt and pepper,and stir until combined.

Use a generous 2 tbsps each to shape into 12 meatballs,about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the flour in a shallow dish and roll the meatballs in it to lightly coat ....reserve the remaining flour.
   Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the meatballs, turning once until brown, perhaps 5 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate.

Add the wine to the pan,scraping up any browned bits,until almost evaporated, 1-3 minutes. Add  the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer,and return the meatballs to the pan. Cover and cook with the remaining 1 tbsp rosemary ,until the meatballs are cooked through. Takes about 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs at this point and place in a serving dish.

Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce it down to 1 cup. Whisk in the lemon juice and 1 tbsp of the reserved flour, and cook until smooth. Add the butter and season to taste. When its thickened, sieve the sauce and pour over the meatballs.

There are the little beauties. Light,lucious and spring like. Now if the rain would only stay away and we could have some more of this gorgeous sunshine...........

Caramelized carrot risotto

I have to admit that when  Travelling man asked what was for dinner and I told him carrot risotto, his face did drop a little...expecting his meat and two veg ,he thought this was going to be a bit of a let down. (I didn't even tell the Teenager what we were having....best just to present I've found....). However.....this turned out to be spectacularly good -even though I say so myself - and we didn't mourn the absence of meat one little bit. This is creamy,unctuous , comforting, warming...need I go on.

2 tbsp veg oil,divided
3 tbsp butter,divided
6 medium carrots,diced small
1/2 teasp salt
1 tsp sugar
5 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup minced onion
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup Parmesan ,finely grated, divided
2 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley,divided
1 tsp roughly chopped thyme leaves
black pepper to taste

Heat 1 tbsp oil and the same of butter in a large pan,and add the carrots, then stir until well coated. Add 1/2 cup water,salt and sugar ,cover and cook until tender,about 5 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook,stirring occasionally ,until the water evaporates and the carrots are just starting to go brown. Reserve half of the carrots. Put the other half in a blender with 1/2 cup hot water ,and whizz to a puree. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter in the same - unwashed pan, and cook the onion until translucent,about 3 minutes . Add the rice,stirring around to coat well with the butter and oil, then add the wine,and cook until that has been absorbed.Add the carrot puree and cook,stirring , until it no longer looks soupy.

Add your hot chicken stock, 1/2 cup at a time, cooking until absorbed until you add the next  quantity.This will take about 20 minutes.....very relaxing work-sitting at the stove and stirring something delicious!!.  There will be about 1 cup  stock left by the time  the rice is tender. Fold in the remaining carrots, the cream,1/4 cup Parmesan, 1 tbsp parsley and the thyme. Add to this any leftover stock if the risotto is thicker than you want it to be, and season with salt and pepper. Divide the risotto between serving plates and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1 tbsp parsley.

Travelling man ended up liking it so much he took the  leftovers to work the next day for lunch. Result.

Lemon bars

Thank goodness lemons keep so well. I bought a big bag over Christmas thinking I was going to use them....and I didn't. I always do this at Christmas...in England I used to buy the most ridiculous things like pickled walnuts and candied orange slices...which I believed I might just need over the holiday...and of course never did. Why do I do it......

 I'd been looking at this recipe for a while and wondering how they would turn out...so this was my opportunity...what I should have done however was read the recipe all the way through before I started it as it make a huge amount of lemon bars....I have enough to last us until March....should have halved the recipe probably.....


For the crust.
4 cups flour
1 cup powdered sugar
4 1/2 sticks butter

Preheat oven to 350.   Grease a 17 by 12 inch baking pan ( that should have given it away I suppose,as to how may this was going to make....but I'm still not good at inches...I had to use 2 pans as none of mine are this big) .In a food processor mix the flour and sugar together,then add the butter,cut into cubes,and pulse until it begins to stick together. Remove from the processor and flatten the dough with lightly floured hands. Press into the bottom and 1/4 inch up the sides of the prepared tin. The dough will be about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake 12 -15 minutes,until light brown but not quite done.Set aside while you prepare the lemon filling.



Filling.
3 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teasp baking powder
7 eggs, lightly beaten
grated zest and juice of 4 lemons


Mix together the sugar,flour and baking powder in a bowl. Mix the eggs,lemon zest and juice in a separate bowl,and whisk until well blended. Sift the flour mixture in to the eggs and beat until you have a smooth mixture.

Pour the filling on top of the crust and bake for about 30 minutes,or until set. Cool before cutting as its quite delicate.

There she is in all her glory.


Just as well the Teenager likes them as we will be eating these for a while....

Sichuan pork noodles

You could file this recipe under any number of headings....porky,peanutty,spicy,quick,easy....the list goes on. I've made this dish loads of times and I love it....especially as you can rustle it up in about 20 minutes....!

1 lb ground pork
3 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp asian chili-garlic sauce
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 lb noodles or linguine
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

In a large skillet,fry the pork in the oil until no longer pink..takes about 5 minutes. Add the ginger to the pan and cook for a further minute. Combine the rice vinegar,soy sauce,chili-garlic sauce,chicken stock,oyster sauce and peanut butter together and add this to the pork. Cook for about 10 minutes,until cooked through and is slightly thickened. Meanwhile cook the noodles or linguine.  When they are done,add to the spicy pork mixture and sprinkle with the cilantro . Yum.

salsa verde chicken with herbed cornmeal dumplings

I am such a sucker for dumplings!! I will put them into anything I possibly can.....they make everything so homey and soak up all the lovely juices of whatever it is you've thrown them into........So when I saw this recipe which includes Salsa verde,another fav of mine,there was no discussion. It had to be done .Today. It turned out to be so successful that my photographs got kind of forgotten as I went along ...that and the teenager on my back telling me how hungry he was every 10 seconds...clearly I never feed the child......
   So apologies for the absence of a finished look photo...you'll have to make it yourself now!!


Serves 6 or 4 with a teenager.

1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
I can -14.5 oz chicken broth
1 jar-16 oz salsa verde
1 5oz can evaporated milk
1 large rotisserie chicken,the meat cut into large chunks

Dumplings.
I cup milk
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 teasp salt
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro



For the CHICKEN,.

Heat the butter in a large oven proof casserole,and whisk in the flour to make a paste, then add the broth ,salsa and evaporated milk and whisk like crazy until you have a nice smooth sauce. It will thicken as you cook it. Add the chicken,then get on with your dumplings.

Heat the milk and butter in a pan until steamy.
 Mix the cornmeal,baking powder,salt ,scallions and cilantro together ,then add the milk and mix together to form and smooth firm dough. Pinch off ping pong ball sized pieces of dough and drop them into the chicken mixture. Return the chicken to a simmer on the hob,then cover and cook in a 400 oven for about half an hour.

It has a slightly spicy feel to it,which we all love.....wish I had a picture of the finished dish to tempt you with......

At home Peking Duck with scallion pancakes

This recipe really is a labour of love.....it would be quicker and easier to go to Panda Express...or any other Chinese take-out....but where is the satisfaction in that!!  The main thing to remember with this recipe is that you need to start preparing your duck the day before you want to serve.....
    The Teenager went into ecstasies with this....he used to love this dish in England, back in the day when you could but it ready prepared from Tesco or Marks and Spencer....why don't those stores come to Portland??
  Here goes ...you are in for a long haul!!



I duck ...mine weighed 4 lb
1/4 cup dry sherry
salt
3 tbsp honey
1 cup water
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 teasp ground black pepper
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 scallions,white bulb and 3 inches of green ,cut into julienne strips
1 cucumber,seeded ,peeled and cut into thin strips
1 cup hoisin sauce

In the morning of the day before you plan to serve,rinse your duck and remove all excess fat. Place the duck in a colander and pour boiling water over the skin until the skin turns white. Pat it dry and rub the skin - inside and out ,with the sherry and salt. Place it breast side down on a wire rack,and refrigerate it,uncovered, overnight.
     The next day, turn ducky breast side up and brush it with 1 tbsp of the honey...then refrigerate all day .

When you are ready to cook,preheat the oven to 350.  Place the duck breast side up on a wire rack over a shallow roasting tray. Pour the water in the tray,and cover with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour.  Remove the duck from the oven and pour off the liquid from the tray. Prick the duck all over with the tines of a fork. Combine the ginger,pepper,1 tbsp of the soy sauce ,and the sesame oil, and coat  the duck with this mixture.

Bake again, uncovered for 30 minutes. Lots of fat starts to drip out at this point. Raise the oven temp to 500.Combine the remaining 2 tbsp soy  and honey,coat your duck again and return him to the oven,cooking for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.Slice the duck into slices and serve with the pancakes,cucumber,scallions and hoisin sauce. Each person  spreads a pancake with hoisin,tops it with some cucumber and scallions,and adds some duck  Roll it up like a crepe and eat with your fingers.
Now for the pancakes......

1 cup flour
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup  milk
3 eggs
pinch salt
2 tbsp butter , melted
2 scallions white bulb and 3 inches green, thinly sliced lenghtways ,then cut diagonally into 1/4 inch pieces

Combine the flour,water and milk in a food processor and mix for 15 secs. With the motor running, add the egg,salt and butter  and mix until well blended.  Refrigerate for an hour. Fold the scallions into the batter. Heat a non stick crepe pan and melt  a knob of butter , then add 3 tbsp of the batter ,tilting the pan so the batter spreads evenly. Cook until the underside is lightly browned,about a minute, then flip and cook for another 15 secs. Stack the pancakes as they are made between sheets of waxed paper. If  you make them in advance, remove the waxed paper and wrap the pancakes on foil and heat in a 350 oven for 10 minutes.  Makes about 10 pancakes.

All ready to go!!   Worth the effort?????? You bet.