CFS!

We say "pop" in Buffalo, therefore we are midwestern. We also have the world's finest cuisine like the Chicken Finger Sub, when you want that franks-bleu-chicken combination in sammich form. Jim's Steak Out, a late night fast food establishment, offers 12-inch subs, but since their expansion in the last decade, their prices have risen over 200%. As with any fast food chain, one wonders about the quality of their ingredients. Finally, when one visits Jim's, it will undoubtedly be overrun by drunks which is at best annoying and time-consuming and at worst, dangerous.

In my years away from home, my friends and I have been experimenting with this recipe. I will share with you how to make a CFS "cake," as we have on special occasions, such as the birth of Our Lord or of This Blogger.

From Wegmans:
-a few pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs, or breasts if you are feeling healthy
-chunky bleu cheese dressing*
-frank's hot sauce*
-a big crusty round bread
-sliced cooper cheese*
-buttermilk
-few eggs, whisked
-coarse bread crumbs (like Panko)
-butter
-garlic cloves, chopped
-tomatoes, chopped
-torn crispy iceberg lettuce*
-red onion, chopped

*stick with this kind even if you like real bleu cheese or don't think iceberg is nutritious enough. TRUST ME.

So, if you are like me and bought the thighs, you will need to shape them a bit (thighs are a bit rounder and don't lie flat in sammiches like breasts do). After you wash them and place them on a cutting board, cover them in saran wrap and get your rolling pin or tenderizer. Be careful not to splash chicken juice everywhere as you flatten them to your liking. After, place them in a bowl of buttermilk-seasoned-with-Franks in the fridge and leave them for at least a few hours (this part is optional because we're not deep-frying and we have the eggs to make the crumbs stick, but definitely soak the chicken beforehand if you must use breasts because they are dry).

While you wait, you can prepare everything else. With the bread, slice a big round hole in the top, and then tear out most of the bread as we will build the sammich inside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and set up an assembly line:
1) chicken in bowl with milk
2) dish with eggs
3) dish with bread crumbs
4) baking dish with butter and garlic

Try to let the excess milk drip off the chicken, dip it in the eggs, then cover in crumbs, then place flat in pan. You might have to do multiple rounds depending on how much chicken you have. If you prefer, toast the bread at this point.

When the chicken is done, unscrew the top of the Franks bottle and pour liberally over chicken. Line the inside of the bread bowl with slices of cheese. Place Franks-drenched chicken on top so it lies flat. Follow with dressing, then lettuce, tomato, and onion. Slice and serve like a pie!

Execution and photography by T-bone (http://spicylentilcandles.blogspot.com/)

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies!

'Tis the season go be jolly, which means a smorgasbord of desserts and other holiday goodies. And there is no perfect treat like a soft, chewy, delicious chocolate chip cookie! This recipe is an adaptation of an adaptation of a Jacques Torres recipe that was published in the New York Times, and is undoubtedly the perfect chocolate chip cookie - the sea salt is really the difference maker!

Ingredients:
-3 2/3 cups of flour (minus two tablespoons)
-1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
-2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
-1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
-1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
-2 large eggs
-2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
-1 1/4 pounds semisweet/bittersweet chocolate chips
-Sea Salt

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop chocolate chips in and mix into dough thoroughly. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. THIS IS CRUCIAL - YOU MUST CHILL THE DOUGH (NO MATTER HOW TEMPTING IT IS TO SEE IT IN YOUR FRIDGE FOR AT LEAST 36 HOURS FOR ALL THE FLAVORS TO KICK IN! Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop mounds of dough, the size of generous golf balls, onto baking sheet, sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes to cook. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches .

5. Eat warm! You can always warm it up in the microwave before serving, if made in advance!

Hearty Beef Stew

It's Fall and the weather has cooled off considerably (it has in Chicago... today at least, and on top of it, it's raining) and football is in the air. What better food to make than beef stew? This recipe is a particular favorite of mine and is rich, filling and delicious and just perfect for this time of the year.

Here's what you need (makes 8 very full servings):

• All purpose flour
• 3/4 sticks of butter
  
• 3 pounds of stew beef, with the fat trimmed
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1/2 can of tomato paste
• 3 cups of red wine (I prefer a Cabernet, whatever you do, don't use cooking wine because good wine just adds to the flavor, so use what you'd usually drink)
  
• 3 1/2 cups of beef broth
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 pounds baby red-skinned potatoes, quartered
• baby carrots (I use about 30-45)
  
• 1 zucchini, cut into medium sized pieces (the recipe calls for baby pattypan squash, which I've never even heard of, let alone seen or used)
  
• 1 pound of mushrooms, thickly sliced (the recipe calls for shiitake, but I use the white/cremini mushrooms)
  
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram or 1 tablespoon dried

Season flour with salt and pepper and then lightly coat the beef with flour. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy large Dutch (emphasis on large; any pot will do, but if it's not large you will get spillage) oven over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in butter and then remove from pot.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, and then mix in tomato paste. Add wine and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add broth and sugar, then beef and and the beef juices. Bring to boil and then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for a couple of hours.

Add potatoes and carrots and simmer uncovered. When meat and vegetables are almost tender, add mushrooms and 3 tablespoons marjoram. Continue to simmer until mushrooms are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with french bread.

This stew is best made a day in advance - I guess letting it stew (pun intended) in its juices overnight makes it taste better. Also, it freezes unbelievably well, so I always make a huge batch because it takes so long, but is not extra work to increase volume. Word of caution: this recipe is not slow cooker adaptable, from my experience.

Buckwheat Crepes with Sauteed Vegetables

Buckwheat Crepes:

1 cup lowfat milk

1/3 cup water

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Mix together the dry ingredients and set aside. Whisk together the milk, water, eggs. Fold in the dry ingredients, stirring slowly. When all dry ingredients are incorporated, mix in the vegetable oil. Cover, and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

While the batter is chilling, chop up the vegetables that you would like to add to your crepe. Sautee vegetables over a medium-low heat until cooked through. For our crepes we used ramps and asparagus from our first CSA delivery of the year.

Heat up a crepe pan and brush with oil or butter. If you don't have a crepe pan, a non-stick skillet works well too. When the oil is heated, pour in about 1/4 cup of the batter. Tilt pan so the batter spreads all around. Cook the crepe until the sides come up easily with a spatula. Flip and cook for about another 30 seconds. Add a couple of spoonfuls of vegetables from your sautee pan, covering half of the crepe. Crack an egg over the vegetables, and flip the other half of the crepe over the egg. Place on a pan in the oven at 250 degrees while you cook your other crepe. Your egg will cook through!

Serve with a side salad, and you've got a tasty nutritious spring meal!

Au Gratin Fish & Potatoes

Syttende Mai is an important holiday for me to celebrate, and every year I like to try something new, while sticking to some of the favorites. This last year I was reminded by my mother that our good friend from Sweden used to make the most amazing creation for Midsommar every year. It was made from pie crust shaped to be a fish, then filled with smoked salmon and other delicious ingredients and baked. I decided to try a variation on the theme: Pie crust shaped like a fish and filled with au gratin salmon and potatoes. What a hit! I couldn't believe how fast we went through this one. The process was a bit lengthy, but I promise it was more than worth the time put into it!

For the crust, I used a typical Pate Brisee:

2 1/2 cups white flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 cup butter, chilled

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Mix the flour salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut the butter in to the bowl until the flour and butter mixture has a sort of sandy grainy texture. Add the ice water, 1/4 cup at first, and then more as needed to form a workable dough.

For the filling I used a recipe for potatoes au gratin:

4 cups peeled baking potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 cups salmon, poached and then flaked into pieces

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 3/4 c milk

1 1/4 shredded cheese (a combination of Gruyère and Jarlsberg works great)

3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dill

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 clove garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Boil potatoes to tender, drain. Melt butter in sauce pan, stir in flour until absorbed. Using a whisk, stir in the milk, cook, stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in 3/4 cup of the cheese, 2 tbsp of Parmesan along with the dill, salt, pepper and garlic. Layer potatoes and salmon with the sauce and top with remaining cheese. Bake in the oven 30-40 minutes. When the au gratin is removed, it will need to cool completely before forming the fish, or the butter in your dough will melt. To make the process go even more easily, both the dough and the au gratin can be prepared and then refrigerated one day in advance.

Assembling the fish:

Divide the dough in half. Roll one half of the dough into an oblong shape on a sheet of parchment paper. Making sure to drain any excess liquid from the au gratin fish and potatoes, spoon it onto the middle of the dough, and shape to look like a teardrop. Roll out the other half of the dough into a teardrop shape, and press down on top of the fish. Press down the edges. When you have finished these steps, it should look like this:

Then, trim the outside of the dough so that a small margin remains, approximately one half to one inch. Crimp the edges together with a fork. From the remaining dough, roll out pieces and shape fins, etc for the fish, whatever sort of embellishments you would like to add! Here's how my fish looked before I put it in the oven:

Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the outside of the fish is brown and crisp, around 45 minutes. Garnish with dill and lemon slices and serve! I promise, your guests will be impressed.

A note: A quick way to speed up this recipe would be to buy ready made pie dough, along with some quick au gratin potatoes. If you choose this method, add some extra milk and cheese in order to incorporate the salmon!

Update

It's been over seven months and no posts! It was a busy season for the Midwestern Women, but it is time to begin again! Spring time always brings to mind thoughts of renewal, growth and nourishment. What better time to talk about great food? Please readers, expect to see more in the coming days....

On that note, how is garden planning going for everyone? I'm getting mine mapped out, some seeds started (indoors), and looking forward to getting outside for some planting! This year my new vegetable that I'm going to try to grow will be the artichoke. Has anyone tried to grow them in Minnesota before? We're a few zones north of normal, but I think with some extra TLC it might just work out!

Chicken Korma

I recently received a slow cooker as a wedding present and had been eagerly waiting to use it, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself. Coupled with the new, improved and extensive spice rack that I also received as a wedding present, I decided on Saturday that I would try a favorite chicken korma recipe. The results were delicious and the process a breeze, since I didn't have to constantly check on the stove and stir to keep the ingredients from sticking.

Ingredients
* 1/4 C canola oil
* 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
* 2 t minced garlic
* fresh ginger, peeled and grated
* cinnamon stick
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 T ground coriander
* 1 t ground turmeric
* 1/2 t cayenne pepper
* 1/2 t ground cumin
* 1 1/2 C chicken broth
* 1 C (8 oz) canned tomato sauce
* 1 T sugar
* 1 t salt
* 2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts/thighs cut into bite size pieces
* 1/2 C buttermilk
* 1/2 C roasted cashew nuts
* 3 T chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Heat the oil in a large, non-stick pan. Fry the onions till they are translucent. Add the garlic, ginger (I find that using a ginger paste makes it more flavorful), cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and cumin and coat the onions in this mixture of spices. Sautee the onion and spice mixture for a few minutes and then add chicken broth, tomato paste, sugar and salt and stir to blend thoroughly. Bring to a boil and then transfer broth-spice mixture to slow cooker. Stir in chicken and make sure pieces are nicely coated in the mixture. Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender and the sauce is thickened, approximately 3 hours on high heat and 6 hours on low heat.

Combine buttermilk and cashews in a food processor and puree until the nuts are finely blended with the buttermilk. About 10 minutes before the chicken is done, pour buttermilk and cashew mixture into slow cooker and stir to blend with the chicken and sauce. Let it cook for the remainder of the time to bring out the flavors of the cashews.

Serve over hot basmati rice and garnish with chopped cilantro.

You can freeze leftovers for later use. It heats up well in the microwave.

Canning Tomatoes

I planted a garden this year, and with all the tomatoes getting ripe, it was time for canning! It may seem like a daunting task, but there is really nothing better than delicious flavorful tomatoes for sauces and soups in the dead of winter! Don't have a garden? No worries, just pick up some tomatoes at your local farmers market, and get to work!

I like to refer to the University of Minnesota's extension website for information on all the different ways you can preserve your delicious tomatoes. http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ1097.html. Another great resource is the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. Put it all together, and voila! Delicious tomatoes, any time of the year.

Pasta and Vegetables with Béchamel Sauce

A sauce named after its inventor, Louis de Béchamel, steward to Louis XIV, this a traditional white sauce. I've made the recipe both as written, or sometimes I substitute some 1% or some half and half for the heavy cream. But if you want a dreamy sauce, follow it as is!

Béchamel Sauce
3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir in the flour slowly, and cook for two to three minutes until the mixture is smooth and golden. Remove from the heat while you add the broth, stirring vigorously. Return the pan to the heat and stir with a spatula or wire whisk until the sauce is smooth and thick. Simmer for ten minutes at a low heat. Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add the heavy cream, and keep the mixture just below the simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

Meanwhile, put a pot of water on to boil your pasta. While your sauce is simmering, chop up some vegetables to add to everything. I like to use some grape tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, onion, and a handful of herbs from the garden (sage, basil, oregano, thyme and a touch of rosemary). Saute the vegetables in some olive oil, adding the grape tomatoes, garlic and herbs at the very end.

Note: this is a good dish to use up some kale--simply chop up the leaves and add to the pasta and water in the final 2-3 minutes of boiling!

When your pasta is cooked, drain and toss with the vegetables and sauce, and serve with a sprinkle of parsley on top for garnish.

Zucchini Patties

I learned over the summer that I hate zucchini. We got a ton from the CSA, and I have to admit I threw away more than a few after they spent too long in the fridge. But Midwestern women know that if you don't like something but you have to eat it, the best thing to do is to fry it. This recipe is one of the few ways I really like to eat zucchini. Oh, just a note: I'm not too big on that thing called "measuring," as you'll see. With this recipe, it doesn't matter.

Ingredients
2-3 medium zucchini
1 tsp salt
1 bunch parsley, Italian parsley or cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
any other fresh herbs you have on hand, chopped
1 egg
1/2 - 1 cup flour or 1/4 cup corn starch
4 tbsps cooking oil

Equipment
Grater or food processor with grating attachment
mixing bowl
nonstick pan
thin spatula

Wash, trim, and grate the zucchini into a large mixing bowl. Salt the zucchini and mix it, letting it sit and release its water for several minutes. Using a colander or strainer, press the water out of the grated zucchini, and return it to the mixing bowl. I've found that carrots also go well in these patties, so if you want to throw in some grated carrots, do that now. Chop and add the fresh herbs and onions. Mix well and add the egg, mixing until the zucchini is coated. Add the flour a little at a time until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat with 2 tbsps oil, reserving the rest of the oil until you need more.

Use a spoon or your hands to scoop some of the batter and form a ball. Fill the pan with 3-4 small patties and fry them without touching for a few minutes. When they are somewhat firm and golden brown on the bottom, flip them and fry for several more minutes. Remove to a plate covered with paper towels.

These go great with a fresh yogurt and herb sauce, and they are surprisingly filling.