Recipe For Homemade Buttermilk Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

I've read in more than one blog, "Never buy salad dressing.  Make your own."  I agree.  The benefits of making your own salad dressing are numerous.  It's easy to make, you can adjust the ingredients to your taste, and you know what goes into it.  It's often, though not always, cheaper to make your own dressing.   When it's more expensive it's only because you're using better quality ingredients than the bottled stuff.  This is the recipe I made after looking at several different recipes to decide on the combination of ingredients I wanted to use.

Buttermilk Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

2 1/2 ounces good quality blue cheese
3 tablespoons buttermilk
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon granulated toasted onion powder (available from Penzey's -- you can substitute garlic powder)
Tabasco sauce to taste (a couple shakes)
salt and freshly ground black pepper


In a small bowl, mix the blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until the mixture is semi-smooth.  Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, onion powder, and Tabasco until well blended.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cute Little Party Sliders With Puff Pastry Buns and Homemade Ketchup

Sliders

2 1/2 pounds ground beef
5 slices bacon, finely chopped (bacon is easy to chop if you pop it into the freezer for a while first)
1/2 cup roasted garlic
1/4 cup sweated chopped onions
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
5 anchovy filets, mashed with a fork before mixing with ground beef
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
splash of worcestershire sauce
splash of tabasco sauce

Mix everything together with the tools that God gave you. Don't bother trying to mix with a spoon; it's a lost cause; get your hands in there!

Put muffin liners in a muffin tin. Press out part of the slider mixture, pastry dough style, onto a clean counter or a cutting board that can be sterilized. Use a cookie/biscuit cutter to cut equal/even sliders. Make sure that all sliders are the same thickness by judging according to the height of the cutter you're using. Place each slider into a muffin cup. As you fill the muffin cups, place new liners on top and continue filling with sliders. You can freeze any extra stacks of sliders to cook later.

To cook sliders:  Heat a skillet to medium-hot.  Sprinkle well with freshly ground black pepper.  You don't need to add any extra salt to this recipe.  Cook each slider for several minutes on each side.  Serve on puff pastry "buns" with homemade ketchup and any other condiments you like.


Puff Pastry "Buns"

1 package of puff pastry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the "buns," roll out a sheet of the puff pastry to a roughly 13" by 15" square. Use a cookie/biscuit cutter one size larger than you used for the sliders to cut round "buns" from the puff pastry.  Place on a cookie sheet and cook until puffy and golden.  Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry.

When I prepared this recipe the first time I made some faulty assumptions: I used the same size biscuit cutter for the sliders and the buns, thinking that the sliders would shrink more than they actually did and thinking the puff pastry "buns" would shrink less than they actually did. I recommend using a biscuit cutter one size larger for cutting the puff pastry than for cutting the sliders.

When the puff pastry "buns" cool, you can easily slice them in half to form top and bottom buns for your sliders.


Homemade Ketchup

 (This amazing recipe is from Jamie Oliver on the Food Network.  It takes a little time to make, but it's not difficult and it's absolutely worth making as it adds that "something special" to your sliders.)

Bizarrely enough for a chef, I really do take my hat off to Heinz, who have become the global brand of quality in the ketchup world. It's such an everyday cupboard product that you've probably never thought to make your own. But if you're growing tomatoes in the garden, or you catch sight of some really beautiful ones at the market in summer, just think how much of a treat it would be to offer your family or guests homemade ketchup. It's great fun to make. And you can make different colors of ketchup using just yellow, orange or green tomatoes - simply exchange the cherry and canned tomatoes for the same amount of your chosen colored ones.

Ingredients

1 large red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 bulb fennel, trimmed and roughly chopped
1 stick celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
Olive oil
Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/2 a fresh red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
Bunch fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks chopped
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 cloves
Sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound amazing cherry or plum tomatoes, halved plus 1 pound canned plum tomatoes, chopped or 2 pounds yellow, orange or green tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soft brown sugar

Place all the vegetables in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with a big splash of olive oil and the ginger, garlic, chili, basil stalks, coriander seeds and cloves. Season with the pepper and a good pinch of salt.

Cook gently over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until softened, stirring every so often. Add all the tomatoes and 1 1/2 cups of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the sauce reduces by half.

Add the basil leaves, then whiz the sauce in a food processor or with a hand blender and push it through a sieve twice, to make it smooth and shiny. Put the sauce into a clean pan and add the vinegar and the sugar. Place the sauce on the heat and simmer until it reduces and thickens to the consistency of tomato ketchup. At this point, correct the seasoning to taste.

Happy Birthday USA!

Happy birthday to the greatest nation on the face of the planet.  We're so blessed to live here.  Fireworks, pool parties, and burgers on the grill, that's pretty good; living in a democratic society, free of governmental or religious oppression, now that's something to celebrate!  Happy 4th of July, everyone.

Smoked Salmon Dip

This is a great way to finish up any leftover home-smoked salmon you have, if you have any left over, that is.  Purchased smoked salmon works too!

Smoked Salmon Dip

2 cups shredded smoked salmon
1/4 cup finely minced red onion or shallot
Juice of 2 lemons
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Tabasco sauce to taste

Mix all ingredients until well combined.  Smoked salmon is very salty, so no need to add extra salt. 

Serve with sliced baguettes, crackers, or veggie sticks.  This dip is even better after it's been refrigerated for a couple of hours to let the flavors meld. 

In the photo at the top of this post, the smoked salmon dip is served on flatbread crackers from Central Market, and sprinkled with a little Green Goddess dressing mix from Penzey's.

Smoked Salmon Recipe

Don't you love Alton Brown's show Good Eats on the Food Network?  He reaches out to my inner food geek with his brilliant analysis and explanations of the chemistry of food.  We recently tried his recipe for smoked salmon, and it's terrific.  It's sort of like a cross between the smoked salmon you get in the supermarket, which isn't truly smoked, but is actually cured, and warm smoked salmon that you make at home in your backyard smoker.

This should be made with salmon fillets with the skins on.  We purchased some beautiful salmon to prepare this recipe and didn't realize until we unpackaged it at home that it didn't have the skin.  I recommend using salmon with skin, or if you use skinless salmon reduce the amount of salt/sugar/peppercorn rub significantly because skinless salmon absorbs so much more of the rub.

So from Alton Brown's Good Eats on the Food Network, here's the recipe:

Smoked Salmon

Ingredients
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
2 large salmon fillets or sides, pin bones removed

Directions
In a bowl, mix together salt, sugar, brown sugar, and peppercorns.  Spread extra-wide aluminum foil a little longer than the length of the fish and top with an equally long layer of plastic wrap.  Sprinkle 1/3 of the rub onto the plastic.  Lay 1 side of the fish skin down onto the rub.  Sprinkle 1/3 of the rub onto the flesh of the salmon.  Place second side of salmon, flesh down, onto the first side.  Use the remaining rub to cover the skin on the top piece.  Fold plastic over to cover, then close edges of foil together and crimp tightly around the fish.

Place wrapped fish onto a plank or sheet pan and top with another plank or pan.  Weight with a heavy phone book or a brick or two and refrigerate for 12 hours.  Flip the fish over and refrigerate another 12 hours.  Some juice will leak out during the process, so make sure there's a place for the runoff to gather.

Unwrap fish and rinse off the cure with cold water.  Pat salmon with paper towels, then place in a cool, dry place (not thre refrigerator) until the surface of the fish is dry and matte-like, 1 to 3 hours depending on humidity.  A fan may be used to speed the process.

Smoke fish over smoldering hardwood chips or sawdust, keeping the temperature inside the smoker between 150 degrees F and 160 degrees F until the thickest part of the fish registers 150 degrees.  Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Serve with the traditional salmon accoutrements:  creme fraiche or sour cream, capers, diced hardboiled egg, diced red onion, fresh dill, thin lemon slices.

If you have any left over after a day or two, make smoked salmon dip.  That recipe is next.

Mushroom, Leek, and Goat Cheese Phyllo Triangles

I'm experimenting with lots of little yummies lately.  I've always been partial to appetizers, tiny flavorful cuties.  Along the same lines, I like the "small bites" concept and hope to experiment a bit with that, and I also like the "deconstructed" concept, reducing familiar foods to their individual components and showcasing the ingredients.

Sometimes I get inspired by the idea of a food combination that I think will be really tasty and I'll Google search the ingredients I'm interested in until I find some recipes that seem promising, then combine components of the recipes, hoping to create the masterpiece that I envision.  Of course, sometimes my idea falls flat; however, sometimes my inspiration produces exactly what I hoped to achieve and it's scrumptious.

I wanted to create an unctious, crispy appetizer featuring assorted mushrooms, leeks, and goat cheese wrapped in crispy phyllo dough to serve at a recent birthday celebration.  I combined ideas from a couple of recipes and here's what I came up with.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I hope you will too ...

Mushroom, Leek, and Goat Cheese Phyllo Triangles

2 pounds assorted mushrooms (I used creminini, shiitake, and oyster)
Oive oil to coat pan
2 leeks
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
Healthy splash of sherry
8 ounces goat cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Phyllo dough (number of sheets needed will vary according to volume of filling, but phyllo is typically packed in two bags per box and you'll probably not quite use up one of the bags)
1 stick butter

Clean up mushrooms.  I know some people say to just brush them, but I prefer to gently rinse them.  It's up to you.  With a paring knife trim away the very ends of the mushroom stems.  The exception is the shiitakes.  Their stems are virtually inedible, so completely detach the stems from the shiitake caps.  (Remember to put your mushroom trimmings and all your other veggie trimmings into a ziplock bag and pop it into the freezer so that you can simmer up some veggie broth later.  It's liquid gold, I tell you.)  Roughly chop all the mushrooms.

Prepare the leeks.  Look at your leeks and find the point where the leaves start "branching out."  Cut just below that branch-off spot and toss the upper, darker-colored leafy leek parts into your veggie freezer bag.  Trim away the root ends from the leeks.  Cut the leeks into quarters lengthwise.  Put them in a very large bowl of cold water and separate them into individual leaves.  Rinse very well, draining the water and refilling the bowl as necessary.  Leeks can be very sandy and you need to be sure to clean out all the grit.  Clean very, very well.

After draining the leaks, slice them very thin.  Coat a large nonstick saute pan with olive oil.  Heat to medium.  Add leeks to pan, sprinkle with a couple healthy pinches of kosher salt (to help draw the moisture out of the leeks), and sweat until softened but not browned.  Remove leeks to a sieve or collander placed over a mixing bowl.  Place a bowl over the leeks in the sieve or collander and weight it down with a heavy can from your pantry to press the extra moisture out of the leeks.

While leeks are draining, again coat your saute pan with olive oil.  Add chopped mushrooms to pan and sprinkle with a couple healthy pinches of kosher salt to help draw the moisture out of the mushrooms.  Saute until the mushrooms are cooked through.  Add a couple healthy splashes of sherry  and several grinds of black pepper and continue cooking until all the sherry is absorbed.  Remove from heat and add the fresh thyme.

Cool the cooked mushrooms a little, then transfer to a food processor and pulse to a coarse puree.  Scrape the puree into a medium mixing bowl, add leeks, and add goat cheese.  Mix well.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.   Melt the stick of butter in the microwave or in a small pan over very low heat.  Don't let the butter get hot.  Prepare a couple of baking sheets or cookie sheets by wrapping them with aluminum foil for easy cleanup later.

Lay one sheet of the phyllo on a clean work surface.  (I use my kitchen counter.  I clean it well with antibacterial wipes, then clean away any soap residue with a damp paper towel, then dry with a dry paper towel.)  Keep the rest of the phyllo covered with damp paper towels.  Using a silicone brush or a pastry brush, brush the phyllo sheet with melted butter.  Cut it lengthwise into 3 long, even strips.  Place 1 level tablespoon of the filling in a corner of one of the strips, about 1/2 inch from the top.  Fold the corner down to form a triangle.  Continue folding the triangle onto itself, across and down, until you have a neat phyllo triangle.

Two tips:  Using a "cookie scoop" makes measuring a tablespoon of filling easier.  If you've ever folded an American flag Boy Scout style, that's the technique you want to use to fold the phyllo into triangles.  It's also the same technique you used in junior high when you made little paper triangle footballs that you thumped over the student in front of you in class to "score" a touchdown.

Place the triangles on the baking sheet or cookie sheet.  Brush the top of the triangles with some of the melted butter and bake for about 20 minutes, or until browned and crisp.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

This recipe is pretty simple, but produces an elegant little pastry.  I hope you'll give it a try.

Baked Stuffed Shrimp With Remoulade Style Sauce

These shrimp make a very tasty tapas-style appetizer.

Technique:  when you devein the shrimp, then cut all the way through the middle of the shrimp, so that you leave a hole in the middle, then you can lay the shrimp out flat on a baking dish with the body of the shrimp lying nice and flat and the tail facing up for a pretty presentation.  You can then "stuff" the body of the shrimp without the stuffing falling out of the shrimp.

Baked Stuffed Shrimp


25 fairly large shrimp, heads removed and shells removed except for last segment and tail, deveined and cut as described above
1/4 cup red bell pepper, very small dice
1 Korean pepper, very small dice (if you don't have Korean pepper available, just increase the amount of red bell pepper a bit)
1/2 cup shallots, very small dice
2 tablespoons garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
zest of 1 lemon (Meyer lemon if available) (use a microplane)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon paprika (if you use only red bell pepper, then use Hungary half-sharp paprika; if you use a combination of red bell pepper and Korean pepper, then use regular paprika)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup panko crumbs

Mix all ingredients with a fork.  Place the prepared shrimp on a baking sheet.  Scoop up the filling with a standard teaspoon, press it slightly with your hand into a ball, and place on a shrimp.  Continue until each shrimp is "stuffed."  Make sure each shrimp tail curves up and over the stuffing for a pretty presentation.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until shrimp are pink and stuffing is golden brown.  Serve with remoulade style sauce.

Remoulade Style Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lemon (Meyer lemon if available)
1/3 cup spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
2 tablespoons shallot, very small dice
2 tablespoons capers, rough chopped
splash of port wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
splash of Tabasco sauce

Mix ingredients well and serve with baked stuffed shrimp or any other seafood.