Friday Fun: Gifts from the Kitchen

I make no secret of my love for food – buying it, cooking it and especially serving it to the people I love. I read about it, watch it on tv, and would talk about it all day long if my boss would write “carry out intense food conversations” into my job description.  I look forward to the day when I can cook for and serve my Savior, but, knowing Him, He’ll probably want to serve me instead. I look forward to that as well.

Yesterday, while I was in the middle of a very long mail merge, Tracy Terrill, Executive Director of Shepherds College, called me with what I thought was going to be a marketing question or a request for a website update. Imagine my glee when I heard this on the other end of the line, “Susan, everything that comes out of Chef McCarthy’s kitchen is outstanding, but there are two things that he’s made with the students recently that I can’t stop thinking about. I think you should ask him for the recipes and post them on the blog.”

He didn’t have to ask me twice! The mail merge could wait.

This recipe is proof that, most of the time, simple food is best. Mr. Terrill said, “I don’t know that I’ve ever had better stuffing.”

Stuffing:

·         18 oz. (one loaf) of cut up fresh white bread (hearty, white bread works best)

·         1 stick of butter

·         ¾  cup or about three stalks (leaves and very ends of stalk removed) of very finely chopped celery (be sure to wash your celery well)

·         ¾ cup or one small onion, finely chopped

·         2-3 cups of hot chicken broth (homemade is best, but Swanson works well, too.)

Toast bread cubes in a hot oven (375°-400°) for about 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° and keep oven on after removing bread cubes.

Meanwhile melt butter in a large sauté or wide mouth sauce pan.

Add onions and celery and cook out on low heat until onions are translucent.

Add toasted bread cubes and stir.

Turn off heat and slowly add hot chicken broth, turning bread cubes as you add the hot broth.  Add just enough broth until the bread cubes start to stick together and are moist, but not wet or soggy.

Place stuffing in a casserole dish and spread evenly and flat. 

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until stuffing is brown and slightly crispy looking, but not dried out on top.

Chef McCarthy served this stuffing with sliced turkey and gravy poured over the top. Try it for a holiday meal.

The next recipe would be a wonderful addition to your Christmas cookie platter.  Mr. Terrill LOVED them and thought they were “to die for.” And yes, he really said that. That’s just how good they are.

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• ½ cup butterscotch morsels
• ½ cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and coconut.

Scoop out cookie dough using a small 1 ounce ice cream scoop or a heaping teaspoon. Place three across and four down on a standard, ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 325° for 10-14 minutes until well-spread and golden brown. Be careful not to over bake!

Cool for two minutes before eating. Or sharing. Or eating half and sharing the rest.

Merry Christmas from the Culinary Arts kitchen ... and Mr. Terrill!

 

 
Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Friday's Top Five: Recipes from the College Kitchen

We all love the Culinary Arts department at Shepherds College. Amazing things come out of that kitchen! Many days, the students offer their yummy creations to the staff for sampling.

Nurse Melba enjoying some hot Tempura Chicken.

Turkey sandwiches with homemade mayo! Yum! See the mayo recipe below.

Those are my favorite days.

I asked Chef McCarthy for a couple of his recipes to share with everyone. I thought he’d say, “No, they are highly protected family secrets.” Instead, he sent me about two dozen of them.

After glancing through each delicious-sounding recipe, I pulled out five that looked fun to serve this weekend - the first official weekend of football.  

“White Castle” Cheeseburger Calzones

1 lb. of ground beef, 80/20

1 lb. of pizza dough, proofed and ready to roll out

6-8 slices of your favorite cheddar cheese, pre-sliced thin

1 medium onion, diced

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375°.

Sprinkle ground beef with salt and pepper. Cook until completely brown. Drain. Place the cooked beef on a sheet pan in an even layer. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Sauté the onions in the same pan used to cook the ground beef. Cook until translucent. Mix cooked onions with cooled beef.

Roll out the pizza dough. Place slices of cheese on the dough in an even layer, leaving a one-inch border around the perimeter. Spread ground beef evenly over the cheese, again leaving the one-inch border around the perimeter.

Roll the dough into a large cylinder and pinch the ends closed. Place calzone on a sheet pan and place in preheated oven. Bake until well-browned and cheese is bubbling out.

Place calzone on a cutting board, cut into 4 sections using a serrated knife and serve.

Here’s a homemade mayonnaise recipe that would be wonderful on those foot-long subs:

Homemade Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. powdered mustard

1/8 tsp. sugar

Pinch cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce

2 to 3 tsp. lemon juice

¾ c. vegetable oil

4 tsps. hot water (for blender version only

Beat egg yolk, mustard, and 1 tsp. lemon juice in a small bowl until very thick and pale yellow. (Note: If using an electric mixer, beat at medium speed.)

Add about ¼ cup oil, drop by drop, beating vigorously all the while. As the mixture starts to coagulate, add another ¼ cup oil, a little faster this time, beating vigorously all the while.

Add cayenne or Tabasco, remaining lemon juice, salt and sugar. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Cover and refrigerate until needed.  Lasts one week.

Blend or Food Processor Version:

Place yolk, mustard, and 1 tsp. lemon juice in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade. Using low speed, buzz for 15 seconds.

With motor running on medium-high speed, slowly drizzle in ¼ cup oil. As mixture begins to thicken, continue adding oil in a fine, steady stream, alternating adding hot water and remaining lemon juice.

Stop the motor and scrape mixture down from the sides as needed.

Add cayenne or Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Yield: 1-1/2 cups

Baked Spinach and Shrimp Artichoke Dip

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped

1 box (9 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain

½ c. chopped red bell pepper

1 c. shredded Monterey jack or mozzarella cheese

1 c. pre-cooked salad shrimp or lump crab meat, thawed if frozen

Naan bread – toasted and sliced in triangles

2 scallions, cut thinly on the bias for garnish

Heat oven to 350°. Mix mayonnaise and parmesan cheese. Stir in artichokes, spinach, bell pepper and shrimp.

Spoon mixture into a 1-quart casserole. Sprinkle with Monterey jack cheese. Cover and bake about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Garnish with scallions and serve with toasted naan.

Thai Peanut Sauce/Dip

While most western versions of peanut sauce are made with peanut butter, this Thai peanut sauce starts with real peanuts – and you’ll taste the difference! At the same time, it’s super easy and quick to make. This peanut sauce can be used as a dip for veggies or as a sauce for your beef or chicken satay. Or pour it over a cold noodle salad!

½ c. dry roasted peanuts

¼ c. crunchy peanut butter

1/3 c. coconut milk

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. fresh ginger, minced

½ tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. curry red chili sauce

1 tsp. fresh lime juice

Crush peanuts using a mortar and pestle. Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. If you prefer a runnier peanut sauce, add a little more coconut milk.

Taste for salt and spice. Add more fish sauce if not salty enough. Add more red chili sauce if not spicy enough.

Beignets

2 c. flour

¼ tsp. salt (scant)

3 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. sugar

¾ c. + 2 Tbsp. whole milk or buttermilk

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Mix dry ingredients. Add milk all at once. Knead dough gently and allow to rest for a few minutes. Roll out on floured surface until ¼ inch thick; cut into small squares or triangles. Fry in hot oil, turning to cook both sides. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

 

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Fridays Top Five: The Shepherds College Fitness Plan

I don’t know about you, but at my house it gets pretty crazy this time of year.  There is so much to do to get ready for college!  You need to make sure all your family and friends are following you on Facebook, you need to update your cell phone with new phone numbers, you need to make sure your desk lamp matches the cute bedding you just bought, and you definitely have to get highlights to compliment that golden tan you’ve been working on all summer.

I’m only half kidding. I just gave you my daughter’s to-do list.  My son actually received a lengthy training book from his football coach. By routinely following the carefully designed plan over the summer, he’ll be able to maintain a certain fitness level required by the team.  He won’t get out of shape while he’s away from school.

Shepherds College students received a “training book” too. Each student was emailed a packet that will help them make the transition from home to college.  For new students, this packet will help them “get in shape” for their life on campus. For returning students, this packet will help them “stay in shape,” without forgetting all they’ve learned the previous year.

The transition packet contained five key documents for the students to work on, so I’m going to highlight them today for my Friday’s Top Five:

1.                   A Chore Chart.  Parents thank us profusely for including it.  This chart assigned chores such as personal hygiene, making the bed, cleaning the microwave, washing the laundry - every day of the week! Even on Sundays! Gotta love it.

Ray cleaning the windows

2.                   S.M.A.R.T. Goals. These are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. Students have to choose either volunteering, reading a book, planning and doing a regular family activity, or Bible reading. Of course, since this is college-related, the student has to write a paper on their goal and complete a goal journal.

Brian helping with yard work as a service project

3.                   A Letter.  Students, how’s your summer so far? Tell us all about it in a letter and send it to Mrs. Konopasek. She’s looking forward to hearing about all the fun you’re having without her.

Do you think Kyle is writing Mrs. K a letter?

4.                   Recipes.  This one is my favorite! The students have to make dinner for their families. They each received five recipes - Barbecups, Crock Pot Chili, Pita Pizza, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and Pasta with Spaghetti Sauce – and must cook three of them, on their own, over the summer. 

Katy in Intro to Culinary Arts

5.                   A FIT Challenge Tracking Sheet.  You know what this means, don’t you?  Exercise. Just what everyone wants to do when it’s 95° outside.  The students have to walk, run or bike and then record their time on the tracking sheet.  To encourage the students to actually torture themselves in this way, the college has decided to turn this exercise into a competition between the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd year students.  The class that accumulates the most amount of time exercising wins an ice cream party!  Then after eating all that yummy ice cream, we’re going to make the students exercise some more to burn off those hefty calories.

Daniela, Kelsie, Linday and Mrs. Vauters Movin' To The Groove

And there you have it – The Shepherds College Fitness Plan, the perfect way to get in shape for school.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.