The April/May 2013 Cook's Country: The Best of All Time

When people ask me to name the greatest issue of Cook's Country magazine ever published, I have one answer: April/May 2013.  Yup, the one with the Chocolate Sugar Cookies on the cover.  Need I say more?

I shall. It has the most recipes that quicken the heart and please the crowd.  One could almost stop at the cover and know all one needs to know.  But that one would be a fool.

There will be those who will say that the charter issue with the Green Apples on the cover (and one has to specify because Cook's Country issued at least three undated issues to try to lure people away from - on the one hand - the black-and-white actuarial frigidity of its cousin Cook's Illustrated - and on the other hand - from the thick and glossy supermarket degradation of Cooking Light), but that is a tent pole issue, held up merely by the transcendent weeknight classic Creamy Shells with Peas and Bacon.  Easy Tortilla Casserole may be easy, but it ain't that great to eat.  I digress.  How does one get children to eat peas?  Hide them inside shells, and cover those shells with ricotta cheese and fleck the whole assemblage with crispy bacon bits.  So props to that recipe.

Others pipe up then and say, "Good sir.  Prithee explain why thou dost not view October/November 2015 as the apex of Cook's Country's studied casual charm?"  To that argument, I must concede that any magazine issue that doth bequeath on the humble home chef recipes for both Wisconsin Butter Burgers and Bourbon Balls is a strong issue indeed.  And while those burgers do call forth the drool and those boozey squishies convey upon one most-favored-party-guest status when one shows up with a tray thereof, O/N '15 (as it is called when it is at home) has the same faults as many an NBA team - only two superstars.  If you start talking about the 2019-2020 Lakers, I shall retreat for the consumption of bourbon straight without the formalities of grinding up the vanilla wafers or even getting out the cocoa powder.  This issue, however, has a long tail of single-instance recipes for our household - corn meal drop biscuits = Alex Caruso.  Better than a punch in the gut, but that's damning with faint praise.  This paragraph brought to you by awkward transitions from the King James to...er...King James.

Overhearing that dismissal, a Jack-come-lately might bring up ol' deep bench itself, June/July 2012. Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps, Nebraska Beef Buns, Macaroni and Cheese Casserole. Dinners to keep a middle-class household going, no doubt, but we haven't made a single dessert out of that issue.  Also, these are solid Monopoly board orange and red recipes.  Not a Boardwalk (or even a North Carolina Avenue) among them.  On a desert island with a well-stocked grocery store and some sheet pans, this would be my runner up.

But thankfully, this is America, even now. 

America has given us A/M '13, featuring six recipes that we have recorded making a total of 21 times.  In truth, because we don't record our desserts as well as our entrees, we've probably made the cover star Chocolate Sugar Cookies more than the recorded nine times.  Anyway, it's quality over quantity here.

• These dark, flavorful cookies combine a delicately crispy sugar topping with a tender but toothsome crumb.  Are they better than a good chocolate chip cookie?  No.  I am no a madman. 
• I defy you to find a crowd that won't be thrilled by Sheet Pan Pizza for a Crowd.  It's been a beach house dinner staple since we discovered it; the dough can be frozen and toted in a cooler.  
• A growing family grow on casseroles like Chicken Noodle and the virtuous-sounding Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese.  
• Pulled BBQ Chicken didn't wow us, apparently, but it's good to have a recipe for everyone's third-favorite pulled meat.

    

Greatest Cook's Country Issues Ever

Recipe	Year	Issue	Instances
Chocolate sugar cookies	2013	Apr/May	9
Sheet pan pizza for a crowd	2013	Apr/May	4
Chicken Noodle Casserole	2013	Apr/May	3
Skillet Broccoli Macaroni & Cheese	2013	Apr/May	2
Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken	2013	Apr/May	2
Crock Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken	2013	Apr/May	1
Creamy Shells with Peas and Bacon	apples	Charter	19
Shanghai Chicken Salad	apples	Charter	2
Easy Tortilla Casserole	apples	Charter	1
Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps	2012	Jun/Jul	6
Easy Summer Vegetable Pasta	2012	Jun/Jul	5
Nebraska Beef Buns	2012	Jun/Jul	4
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole	2012	Jun/Jul	3
Beef & Bean Taquitos	2012	Jun/Jul	2
Creamy Cucumber Salad	2012	Jun/Jul	2
Wisconsin Butter Burgers	2015	Oct/Nov	14
Bourbon Balls	2015	Oct/Nov	8
Roasted Chicken Thighs with Creamed Shallots & Bacon	2015	Oct/Nov	2
Baked Mustard Chicken	2015	Oct/Nov	1
Corn Meal Drop Biscuits	2015	Oct/Nov	1
Penne with Butternut Squash & Browned Butter Sauce	2015	Oct/Nov	1
Pork & Ricotta Meatballs	2015	Oct/Nov	1

Impossible Ham & Cheese Pie

If you, like us, have even more leftover ham than after a normal easter, here's one thing we like to do with ours. It's almost a pantry recipe, save for the Half & Half (unless you're a baller) and the scallions.

The beauty for the trepid cook is that you get something like quiche without making a pie crust. I believe the recipe has its roots with Betty Crocker, but this variation comes from Cook's Country magazine.

"Impossible" Ham & Cheese Pie

From Cook's Country February/March 2013

Serves 8

Use a rasp style grater or the smallest holes on a box grater for the Parmesan.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons melted 

3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

8 ounces Gruyère cheese (or any cheese - we mixed Gruyėre, cheddar, and parmesan), shredded (2 cups)

4 ounces thickly sliced deli ham (read: leftover Easter ham) chopped

4 scallions, minced

1 cup (24 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 cup half-and-half 

4 large eggs, lightly beaten 

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch pie plate with softened butter, then coat plate evenly with Parmesan.

2. Combine Gruyère, ham, and scallions in bowl. Sprinkle cheese and ham mixture evenly in bottom of prepared pie dish. Combine flour, baking powder, pepper, and salt in now empty bowl. Whisk in half and half, eggs, melted butter, mustard, and nutmeg until smooth. Slowly pour batter over cheese and-ham mixture in pie dish.

3. Bake until pie is light golden brown and filling is set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Slice into wedges. Serve warm.

Finger Food variation:
To serve our "Impossible Ham and Cheese Pie as an hors d'oeuvre at your next party, forgo the pie plate and Instead bake it in an 8-inch square baking dish. Slice it into 1 inch squares and serve warm or at room temperature:

Seasonally Appropriate Flashback: Casserole Week

Now that the weather in Pittsburgh has turned definitively cold and nasty, it feels like the right time to repost the recipes from casserole week.  I posted these originally in early May last year because I'd had a conversation with a friend who asked for favorite casserole recipes.  But given that we were about to shift into cooking things that focus on fresh produce and not turning on the oven, it was a funky time to post them.  That did not stop me.  So, if you're feeling casserole-ish, as I am, here's a refresher:

Sausage, Polenta and Tomato Layers - More people request this recipe from us than any other.  Of any kind.
Slow Cooker Baked Ziti - easy and tasty
Mexican Tortilla Casserole - good, easy, includes make-ahead instructions
Macaroni and Cheese Casserole -yum
Italian Easter Pie - OMG

Casserole Week: Italian Easter Pie

It's hard to believe casserole week has already drawn to a close.  Some may not believe that the dish below is a casserole.  I've never been one for angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin philosophical discussions, so I won't feel the need to defend it as a casserole.  But it has meat, squishy cheese, a green and top and bottom starch layers.  That sounds like it fits somewhere in the casserole genus.

Apparently Italian Easter Pie has been a thing for years.  We just found out about it through the April May 2014 issue of Cook's Country magazine.  The guy at the fancy cheese section of my local grocery store knew about it.  Of course, I bragged about how we planned to use the sharp provolone I was buying.  Mmmmmmm, sharp provolone.

Shopping tip: some places call broccoli rabe "rapini".  Also, the one time we made this (the week after Easter, it turned out), we toned down the spiciness by using sweet Italian sausage and a mix of hot and mild capicola.  There's a lot of gooey cheese and starch to stand up to the spice, so we might ratchet that back up the next time out.  Our friends to whom we served it mentioned a sausage that gets its kick from black pepper as a possible alternative.

This recipe might seem intimidating, but it's actually a bunch of easy steps.  We created some of the filling stages - sauteeing the broccoli rabe and sausage and mixing the ricotta/pecorino mixture  - the night before, baked it in the morning and served it in the evening.  As the recipe says, it could be baked on Good Friday and stored until Easter in the fridge.

before the top crust

before baking

baked

come and get it

ohhhhhh yeeeeeeahhhh

Masthead image from Flickr - user: JillPyrex, photo: small pyrex casserole.  Used under Creative Commons license

Casserole Week: Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

If there's one thing we've learned so far in the 21st century, it's that there are a zillion ways to make macaroni and cheese.  Just as newly industrialized and urbanized Londoners turned to the demon gin for comfort in the mid 19th century, we who are living through the disruptive effects of the Internet (not to mention interleague baseball) turn to elbow shaped macaroni, a variety of cheeses and other fats and bread crumbs to soothe our jangled nerves.  If you want to go deep and enrich your comfort food with eggs, look no further than Cook's Country's Macaroni and Cheese Casserole.  It's tastier than a gin-soaked rag in a flophouse...and better for you. 

Masthead image from Flickr - user: JillPyrex, photo: small pyrex casserole.  Used under Creative Commons license

Casserole Week: Mexican Tortilla Casserole

I got this recipe from Lynn Rossetto Casper's enewsletter called Weeknight Kitchen, but it comes from a sexist cookbook called the Mom 100.  Although this blog does not endorse knee-jerk sexism in book titles, the recipe is nice because it concludes with a note about how kids (It's a wonder it doesn't say "girls") can help with this recipe.  Weeknight Kitchen is a reliable source for pantry recipes that can, indeed, be cooked after work on a weeknight.

According to my personal recipe database, I have apparently cooked this once a year in April for the past three years.  It's a good and easy recipe. It even features make-ahead instructions, which is always nice to have as an option.
    

Mexican Tortilla Casserole

From The Mom 100 Cookbook: 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in Her Back Pocket by Katie Workman (Workman Publishing, 2012).

Serves 4 to 6

Essentially a lasagna with tortillas standing in for noodles, this is one of those dishes that can miraculously be on the table in short order, made from things you most likely have in your pantry and fridge. If you don't like, or you don't have, one of the ingredients, skip it. Or, if you have something else that you think might be appealing all layered in (like slivered bell peppers to sauté with the onions, kale, chopped, cooked broccoli -- whatever the people in your home will eat), then fling it on in.

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon olive, vegetable, or canola oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 can (14 ounces) chopped tomatoes, drained, with 1/3 cup juice reserved
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 cans (15.5 ounces each) white, black, or kidney beans (or a mixture of any two), rinsed and drained
• Kosher or coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can (15 ounces) sweet corn kernels, drained, or 1-1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 3 cups coarsely chopped spinach
• 4 medium-size (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
• Chopped fresh cilantro (optional), for garnish
• Sour cream (optional), for serving
• Salsa (optional), for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan, springform pan, or baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cumin, chili powder, and garlic and cook until you can smell the spices and the onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with the 1/3 cup of reserved juice and the tomato paste, then stir in the beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the bean mixture simmer until everything is hot, about 3 minutes. Add the corn and spinach and stir until the spinach has wilted and everything is well blended and hot, about 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper as necessary.

3. Place 1 tortilla in the prepared cake pan. Spread one fourth of the bean and vegetable mixture evenly over the tortilla, then sprinkle 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese evenly over the top. Repeat with 3 more layers, ending with the last quarter of the bean mixture and then the last 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

4. Bake the tortilla casserole until it is hot throughout and the top is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let the casserole sit for about 5 minutes, then cut it into wedges using a sharp knife and serve it with a spatula or better yet a pie server. Sprinkle the top with cilantro, if desired, and serve with sour cream and/or salsa on the side, if you like.

Cooking Tip: You can make the tortilla casserole a day ahead of time, cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and put it in the fridge overnight; just take it out and let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 400°F. Bake the casserole uncovered. You can also reheat the cooked casserole at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until warm.

What the Kids Can Do: They can layer the tortillas, bean mixture, and cheese. Encourage them to distribute the filling evenly across each tortilla and portion everything equally over all four layers.

 

Masthead image from Flickr - user: JillPyrex, photo: small pyrex casserole.  Used under Creative Commons license 

Casserole Week: Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

Casserole Week continues with a relatively new recipe in our rotation.  Cook's Country published a tasty and elegant update to baked ziti in the June/July 2013 issue.  Their version gets cooked in a slow cooker.  We enjoyed it.  The one thing it's missing is the crispy browned cheese on top, which is no small part of the enjoyment of a baked ziti.  I will trade it when necessary, though, for the ease of a slow cooker recipe.

Masthead image from Flickr - user: JillPyrex, photo: small pyrex casserole.  Used under Creative Commons license

Casserole Week: Sausage, Polenta and Tomato Layers

It's like Shark Week, but more badass.

This is the wrong time of year to run Casserole Week on my blog, but a) I lacked the discipline to do it in the early winter when I should have b) I'm afraid if I don't run it now, I may never and c) This late cold, wet part of the spring lasts way longer than we think, and that's doubly true this year.

So, this week must be Casserole Week.  The idea for this came when I posted a facebook status in November 2013 about the beginning of Casserole Season.  A friend asked if I would post some of my favorite recipes.  

If the Cooking Authorities passed a law that we could keep only one casserole recipe, Sausage, Polenta and Tomato Layers would be our family's choice. It's our go-to meal for those who have just had a baby.  One of my favorite quotes about it was around-seven-year-old Charlie saying to his around-eight-year-old cousin at a Christmas week meal, "It looks really terrible, but it tastes good."  I think it's beautiful and delicious.  The recipe comes from the New Basics by Julee Rosko and Sheila Lukins, possibly better known for the Silver Palate.

Please leave feedback if embedded Google Doc PDFs are the best way to share these recipes with you.  They're not the best for viewing on screen, but it's way easier for me to scan them than retype them, and they're good for printing and putting in your recipe file.



Masthead image from Flickr - user: JillPyrex, photo: small pyrex casserole.  Used under Creative Commons license

Recipe: Homemade Cheezits (TM)

One of my favorite 40th birthday gifts was a cookbook of crackers and dips.  Those who know me or have been reading since the Tell-a-Friend cracker contest will know that I like to bake crackers and make dips.  My good lady wife knows me so well that she bought me Ivy Manning's Crackers & Dips.  So far, I've made spelt pretzel rounds (meh) and paper-thin semolina cracker sheets (yummy crowd pleaser) and, um, homemade Cheezits.  Also, I bought a dual-head pastry wheel with a straight wheel and a crimped one.

When I posted a photo of the homemade Cheezit recipe on facebook (ugh, I make my own self sick typing that sentence), a friend responded "recipe or it didn't happen".  So here it is.  They're pretty habit-forming, so those with addictive personalities, take note.

Some notes: I got the anatto paste (aka achiote paste) at my favorite Mexican grocery.  I also actually went to my local crunchy food coop and bought nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening.  Don't know if that made a difference.  The thinner I rolled these, the better. 

Saving money deliciously in four minutes

If there's one appliance sitting unused, gathering dust and guilt in your kitchen, chances are it's a bread machine.  If that is so, chances are it looked fantastic on the wedding registry.  It's like an American tradition to receive one and not use it.

Actually, bread machine owners seem to  either use them all the time or not at all.  Ever since we got ours for our wedding (thank you, college roommate!), I've faithfully used it.  Paige has made a loaf here and there, but mostly I have contributed bread to the household.  For your information and inspiration, I videotaped myself making a loaf of bread.  Having done it at least once a week for over sixteen years, I now know the recipe by heart, which speeds up the measuring and dumping a little bit.  It doesn't speed it up as much as it looks on the video; I sped up the video to double-time so that it would be a more Internet-appropriate two minutes long rather than an old world four minutes.

I have wondered for a while how much I have saved over the years by making bread at home.  I have bought sandwich bread almost never, maybe a loaf a year at most.  I therefore do not know how much it costs.  Also, I could have but didn't want to sit down and do the math about how much my home bread costs.  Then I read in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by the insufferable Barbara Kingsolver that a homemade loaf costs about 50 cents.  Let's say sandwich bread costs $2.50 at the grocery store.  With those simple variables and assuming some growth in bread baking as our family has grown, I posit that I've saved us about $2,000 in 16 years, all while eating superior bread.

If you do have one, dust it off and commit to making a loaf a week for four weeks.  Then at least you'll know and can decide whether to keep it or give it to someone else so they can keep it in their basement.

Sunday Haiku: the Zen of Grilled Cheese

 

Great grilled cheese starts with
low heat.  And watch: the second
side grills up faster.