Dark Days Challenge Week 2 Pork Schnitzel

Gotta love deadlines. This post is due by 5pm Tuesday and here I am Monday evening 8:30 whipping up something to feed myself and husband that qualifies for this challenge. After baking 48 loaves of bread (for a market tomorrow) we decided on Pork Schnitzel (isn't it just too much fun saying Schnitzel?).

Ingredients:
2 pieces of Pork Loin Cutlets (Chestnut Farms Hardwick, MA)
1/4 cup of flour (Champlain Valley Westport, NY)
1 egg (local farm Rutland, MA)
1/2 cup of bread crumbs (homemade)
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
3 tbsp of olive oil
3/4 cup of Chicken Stock (homemade)
1/2 cup of sour cream (Cabot- VT)


Directions:
Dredge the cutlets through the flour (add your salt and pepper in here), then egg, and lastly bread crumb mixture.
Heat up a cast iron skillet with olive oil and cook each cutlet about 5-7 minutes on each side, till crispy.
Remove the Schnitzel and place on plate.
Add the chicken stock in your skillet and scrape up of those yummy brown bits.
Next add the sour cream and stir till it thickens (but not boiling). Serve with the Schnitzel and enjoy!

Curried Pork Empanadas

Curried Pork Empanadas

This is one fantastic recipe that I came across. I found it at Simply Recipes and have made it several times since. You can make these for dinner, to freeze, for parties, etc... The recipe also allows you to be creative with whatever you want to fill the Empanada with.  The Pastry recipe is incredible and very versatile. 

Pastry Ingredients 
8 ounces cream cheese (do not use light), room temperature
4 ounces (1 sticks, 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.5-2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten, for pastry egg wash
Directions
Beat together the cream cheese, butter, and  salt, until well blended. Slowly add in the flour, mixing until incorporated. Form two balls (it will be easier to work with 2 separate pieces of dough), then flatten each into a disk. Dust with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Filling Ingredients

• Salt
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 Tbsp sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped

Directions:
While dough is chilling, heat a large frying pan on medium high/high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon or so of salt on the bottom of the pan and add the pork. Once the pork is nicely browned, reduce the heat on the pan to medium, and remove the pork to a bowl.

Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the pan. Then add the chopped onion. Let onions gently cook on medium heat for a few minutes until translucent. Add the minced garlic. Cook until fragrant.  Add the curry powder, ground coriander, and cardamom to the pan. Mix the spices in with the onion mix. Add the ground pork back to the pan, mixing in the seasoned onion mix. Add the raisins. Add the sherry, soy sauce, sugar, and corn starch, mixing well.  Remove from heat, and chill until time to stuff the pastries.

Stuffing the Pastries:
Preheat oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured, smooth, clean surface, roll out one of the dough rounds to a thin 1/8-inch thickness. (If refrigerated for more than an hour, you may need to let it sit for 10 minutes to soften it enough to roll it out more easily.) Use a wide-mouthed jar (about 3 inches wide) to cut out rounds. Place them on a baking sheet.

During this and the next step, if the dough becomes too soft and therefore difficult to work with, put whatever you are working on in the refrigerator to chill for 5 or 10 minutes.

Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the inside edge of the rounds with egg wash (to help the empanadas seal). Place a teaspoon of meat inside each round. Fold the round over to and press the edges to seal shut. Use the tines of a fork to flute the edges. Place standing upright on a baking sheet, spaced an inch apart. (You can also lie them down, but with them upright, you'll fit more on a pan.) Use a pastry brush to brush the sides (not the bottom) of the empanadas with more egg wash.

Working in batches, cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Makes 3 dozen empanada turnovers.

Dark Days Challenge #1 Burritos

My friend Rachel forwarded me a link to the 5th Annual Dark Days Challenge.

The challenge runs from Sunday, November 27th, 2011 to Saturday, March 31st, 2012.
So what's the challenge? Cooking once a week a meal that is SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) and posting about on my blog.
Local means about 150 mile radius with a few minor exemptions that are set up ahead of time (i.e. oil, spices, coffee, and chocolate). I am ready and this will keep me posting weekly recipes (I've been slacking).
My exemptions will include: spices, citrus (who can go all winter without Oranges or Grapefruit?), olive oil, yeast, baking powder/soda, and salt.

Who doesn't love Mexican food? Only if I had tequila to make some Margaritas would make this meal perfect (although not local).  The Homemade Tortillas really make the Burrito.  It has been a really long time since I have bought pitas, flat bread, or tortillas from the grocery store. They always are bland tasting and stale. I can guide you on making very simple, but delicious tortillas to go with your favorite style Burritos.

Ingredients:
Homemade Tortillas
2/3 cup of water
~2 cups of flour (Mt. Marcy Organic Flour from Westport, NY)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of soften butter (Cabot, from VT)

Directions:
Mix together your flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.  Place your water and flour mixture into your Kitchen Aid mixer and add in the butter.  Knead with a dough hook until dough is soft and does not stick to the sides of the bowl. Add in additional flour if needed. Cover with a towel for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 6-8 balls. Roll out each one with flour while heating up a griddle. Cook each one a couple minutes on each side till you get some lightly brown spots. If you cook them too long they will get hard and not really good for the next day. As you are cooking the next ones, place the cooked ones on a plate and keep covered with a kitchen towel. 


Ingredients:
Burritos
1 lb of ground beef (Chestnut Farms CSA Hardwick, MA)
1 medium onion diced (from our garden)
3 cloves of garlic diced (from our garden)
Chili Powder -to taste
~ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Butter

Directions:
Heat a tablespoon of butter in a skillet and add in your onions and garlic. Saute till tender and the beginning stages of caramelizing.  Add in your beef and cook till the pink is almost gone. Next add in your Chili Powder, Worcestershire sauce, and salt to taste. Cook till the meat is all brown.

Now it's time to create and layer your Burrito. My Favorite starts with sour cream, next comes the beef, then the Cabot cheese, and lastly the home canned peach salsa.

Lemon Curd

It was about a couple years ago when I first discovered Lemon Curd. It called for it in a bread/pastry recipe I was making. Trader Joe's (one of my favorite stores) fortunately carried it and I was hooked. I would try to stock up when I went every couple of months, but there would be a time when I needed it and there was no way I was driving 45 minutes one way for it. So I searched and searched recipes online till I came across one that I liked. The Joy of Cooking website seemed to have the best method and ingredients. After following it a few times, I of course had to tweak it. Who wants to do a double boiler or strain it? I have the recipe down to using one pot.

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
~1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice ( 1-2 large lemons)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon zest ( basically the zest from the lemons you use- I don't measure)
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Directions:
Melt the butter and sugar in a sauce pan, stir till blended. Let the mixture cool down, so when  you add the eggs they aren't cooked. Beat in one egg at a time. Next, stir in the lemon juice and zest and cook on medium heat. Keep stirring the curd till it thickens.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups. 
It will last about a week in the fridge. Use with pies, tarts, pastries, muffins, etc.

Apple Butternut Squash Soup

This is seriously one of my all time favorite soups (next to French Onion). It's a super quick and easy soup that can be done during the week. Throw in some fresh hot bread from the oven and you're all set.

Ingredients:
1 onion chopped or leeks
3 ribs of celery chopped
3 carrots chopped
1 tbsp of butter
1 butternut squash (or whatever kind you have on hand) roasted
1 apple (the tarter the better ... say that three times fast!) peeled, chopped, and cored
***You are looking for about a 3 to 1 ratio of Squash to Apple***
3 cups of chicken or veggie stock or whey (from when you make cheese)
cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder, and salt

Directions:
Cut up the squash, place face down in a pan with some water and roast in your oven at 350F till tender (about an hour). Scoop out the flesh (once cooled) and place in a separate bowl. 
Saute the onions, celery, and carrots in butter till tender in the pot you're cooking the soup in. Add in the stock, squash, and apple. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Blend all the ingredients and add the spices to your liking.
Enjoy with some fresh hot bread and good company!

Apple Cranberry Oat Crisp

Besides apples, cranberries is one of the fruits I really look forward to in the fall. When I used to live in Westford there was this land behind the house where we hiked everyday. My landlord showed us this random spot where wild cranberries grew. I have no clue how they started there, but it was fantastic.  So for three years in a row I went out there to pick cranberries.  This also included last year when I was no longer living there and they also had "developed"  this beautiful land so my friend Amy and I had to sneak through to get to the trails. It's a bit tedious picking cranberries, but also relaxing. And no, you don't have to wade through a bog to pick them. These cranberries are much tarter than your store variety, but oh so tasty.  I would use them to make cranberry vodka or gin, cranberry apple jam, Thanksgiving stuffing, or put a twist on the classic apple crisp.


Apple Cranberry Oat Crisp

Topping
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup of melted butter

Filling
6 medium apples sliced, peeled, and cored
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of tapioca
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup of cranberries

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 and butter the dish your cooking it in.
Prep your apples and place them in a bowl. Mix in the rest of the filling ingredients and place in your buttered dish.
Mix all of your dry topping ingredients together before you add in the melted butter. Crumble the topping over the apple mixture and place in your oven. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the fruit is tender.

Squash Ravioli w/ Sage Butter Cream Sauce

I know I'm a bit behind, but that wicked October snow storm knocked us out of power for five days. We are fortunate to have a wood stove so Miss Rosalie would not be too chilly.  Even without power we are stubborn enough to cook (thank you gas stove).  We made pizza and potato wedges for dinner one night.  The storm brought 18" of snow and luckily our neighbor lent us his smaller generator. Chris made a snow fridge to keep our food cold and the chest freezer remained frozen as long as our generator ran every so often.  Central, MA has been kicked around by mother nature really recently- tornadoes, hurricanes, and early snowstorms (snow days in October?), so we are overdue to purchase our own generator that can run at least our well, freezer, boiler, and a few other amenities. 
Anyway back to the recipe.

Squash Ravioli w/ Sage Butter Cream Sauce 

Ingredients:
Your favorite squash
1-2 eggs
Ricotta Cheese
Parm Cheese
Homemade Pasta
Cream
Butter
Sage
Flour/Corn Starch
Salt

Directions:
Take your favorite kind of squash (acorn, butternut, buttercup, etc..) cut it in half, scoop out the seeds (save these), place upside down on a pan w/water and roast it at 350 F until soft.  Scoop out the squash once it has cooled a bit and puree it in a food processor.
Next add in 1 or 2 eggs, 1 cup or so of Ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of Parm, and some cream until you get a nice consistency- not too watery, not too thick.
Roll out your pasta (see pasta recipe on previous post) to nice thin sheets ( I go to number 5 on my pasta machine).
Add a teaspoon of you squash mixture onto the pasta sheets going down the line. I typically will fold it over and cut them into nice squares.
Make sure to press the pasta down around the pocket to seal in the squash. Use a fork to press around the edges. Then place the ravioli on a rack to dry (about 30 mins at least).
Get your water up to a boil (don't forget to add some salt to make it boil faster) and add in the ravioli.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes. You can see the past turning a lighter color.  Take out the pasta and place on a plate.

Sauce:
Melt about 3 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan. Next add in some sage (about 1 teaspoon).
Pour in some cream (1- 1 1/2 cups of cream) and bring to a simmer. Add a teaspoon of flour or corn starch to a separate cup with a tablespoon of water and mix together.  Combine with the sauce and continue to cook till thickened.

Serve the pasta with cream sauce and enjoy! I'll be posting some recipes soon on making your own Ricotta and Mozzarella.
****Squash Seeds**** Take your seeds, rinse off the squash gunk and place them in a bowl. Add olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and Franks Red Hot sauce. Place on a cookie sheet and cook for about 20 minutes at 350 F until crispy. Make sure to stir every so often.