Corn and Bacon Stuffing

A recipe from one of my mother's cookbooks, "Harvest of American Cooking," by Mary Margaret McBride (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1956).

Mary Margaret McBride writes: "I would rather show my appreciation of American food by eating it than by writing about it. But because I have a weakness for trying everything once, I finally did begin the well-nigh impossible task of writing the history of America in its foods."

Corn Bread Stuffing

Ingredients

6 slices bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
4 cups cooked corn
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk

Directions

Cook bacon until crisp; remove bacon and dry on absorbent paper. Cook onions and celery in bacon drippings until tender. Add remaining ingredients and bacon; mix lightly. (I then put it in a greased baking dish and baked for about 30 minutes.).

I served it with roast chicken, cranberry relish , and Brussels Sprouts (via Molly Hazen.) Susan, her mom and I ate all the stuffing.

~~~

Heartbreaking Dawns Jalapeno Pineapple Hot Sauce Baked Panko Crusted Scallops with Israeli Pearl Couscous and Craisins Infused with Blueberry Juice

Cooking for me is all about love. Love for friends and family. Healthy, simple, inspired recipes for everyday celebrations.

This is very similar to a recent recipe I posted, but better--much better. The spicy Heartbreaking Dawns Jalapeno Pineapple sauce  complimented with the sweet craisins in pearl couscous resulted in an experience that I wish I could have shared with you the night Susan and I sat down to dinner. This, the photo and the recipe, will, I hope, inspire you. So go online and get some hot sauces from Heartbreaking Dawns and get cooking!

Heartbreaking Dawns Jalapeno Pineapple Panko Crusted Scallops from Bruce's Kitchen.

 Scallops

1 pound sea scallops
1/3 cup Panko crumbs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper
1/4 cup Heartbreaking Dawns Jalapeno Pineapple Hot Sauce, gently warmed

Combine lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and Panko crumbs. Lightly grease baking dish. Add scallops. Sprinkle Panko mixture on top of scallops. Cook in a 425 pre-heated over for 15 minutes.

I served the scallops on top of the couscous and I drizzled the Jalapeno Pineapple Sauce on top of the scallops.

___

Turkey Date Meatballs with Orange Mint Yogurt Sauce

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Ingredients

1. 1 pound ground turkey
2. 2 cups fresh bread crumbs (I used 1 cup dry)
3. 6 dates, pitted and finely chopped
4. 2 large eggs, beaten
5. 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
6. 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
7. Salt and freshly ground pepper
8. 1 cup French green lentils
9. 2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
10. 2 thyme sprigs
11. 1 cinnamon stick
12. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
13. 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
14. 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
15. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I used fresh orange juice)
16. 1 tablespoon chopped mint
17. 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (I used orange zest)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey with the bread crumbs, dates, eggs, sesame seeds, sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cover the lentils, garlic, thyme and cinnamon stick with 2 inches of water; bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat until the lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. Drain the lentils and transfer to a bowl; pick out and discard the seasonings. Stir the olive oil and vinegar into the lentils and season with salt and pepper.
3. Form the turkey mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Spread the meatballs on a lightly oiled large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned on the bottom and cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, blend the yogurt with the lemon juice, mint and lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper. Serve the meatballs with the lentils and yogurt.
   ~Food & Wine, 2004

Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Fast and easy! And delicious!

Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps. Photo by Bruce Barone.

Serves 2.

Gently and briefly saute 1 small carrot (diced), 1 small celery stalk (diced), 1 small onion (chopped), 2 cloves garlic (smashed and minced). Push to side of pan and add 1/2 package ground turkey. Cook till done breaking up with fork. Add 1/2 teaspoon each of Soy sauce, Fish sauce, and Oyster sauce. Mix turkey together with vegetables. Meanwhile, cook 1/2 cup Basmati rice. Add cooked rice to 4 leaves of romaine lettuce. Add turkey. Sprinkle some Heartbreaking Dawn's Jalapeno Pineapple Hot Sauce on top. Roll it or fold it and eat it and YUM!

Meatballs the Marcella Hazan Way

Different from the meatball recipe I posted here, but just as delicious! In fact, I made them two weeks in a row!

Meatballs with Capanelle. Photo by Bruce Barone.

Ingredients (serves four)

1/3 cup milk
1 slice firm, fine-quality white bread, crust removed
1 pound lean beef, ground (I used ground turkey.)
1 tablespoon finely chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 egg
A tiny pinch of nutmeg or marjoram
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Vegetable oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper, 3 to 4 twists of the mill
Fine, dry unflavored bread crumbs
1 cup canned Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice (I made a simple tomato sauce.)

Directions

1. Put the mil and the bread in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Mash the bread with a fork and blend it uniformly into the milk. Set aside and let cool before proceeding with the next step.
2. In a mixing bowl put the chopped meat, onion, parsley, egg, nutmeg or marjoram, grated Parmesan, 1 tablespoon of oil, the bread and mil mush, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper. Mix everything thoroughly but gently by hand.
3. Gently, without squeezing, shape the mixture into small round balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Roll the meatballs lightly in the bread crumbs.
4. Choose a skillet large enough to hold all the meatballs in a single layer, with a cover. Pour in oil until it is 1/4 inch deep. Turn on the heat to medium high, and when the oil is quite hot slip in the meatballs (Sliding them in with a broad spatula is a good way of doing it. Dropping them in will splatter hot oil over you and your kitchen floor.) Brown the meatballs on all side, turning them carefully so that they don't break up or stick to the pan.
5. When well browned turn off the heat, tip the pan slightly, and remove as much of the fat that floats to the surface as you can with a spoon. Turn on the heat to medium, add the chopped tomatoes (I added a simple sauce I made with olive oil, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste.) with the juice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and turn the meatballs over once or twice with care, so that they don't break up. Cover the skillet and cook until the tomato sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes. While cooking , turn the meatballs over from time to time, and taste for salt.

~recipe from The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan

And what's better than a meatball sandwich the next day!

Meatball Sandwich. Photo by Bruce Barone.

And what about a meatball pizza the day after!

Meatball Pizza. Photo by Bruce Barone.

Thank You, Marcella!

Buon Appetito!

Baked Panko Crusted Scallops with Spinach and Paprika Syrup

This meal was so good, I said to Susan, "I am going to give you a bill for $37 when we are finished eating."

It is based on a recipe in Cooking Light (April 2011). I made two changes. I baked the scallops rather than fried them. I used a smoky paprika from Spain that has a color, flavor and aroma more intense than any other paprika. And I cooked the spinach separately.

This is a dish you do want to make for friends and family!

Baked Scallops with Paprika Syrup and Spinach from Bruce's Kitchen.

Paprika Syrup

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon paprika(I used a wee bit more!)
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Bring these ingredients to a boil in a saucepan; cook 4 minutes or until mixture thickens. Cool slightly.

Scallops

1 pound sea scallops
1/3 cup Panko crumbs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper

Combine lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and Panko crumbs. Lightly grease baking dish. Add scallops. Sprinkle Panko mixture on top of scallops. Cook in a 425 pre-heated over for 15 minutes.

Spinach

Stir fry 1 bag baby spinach with 1 clove garlic, minced and 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts.

Divide the spinach among plates. Divide the scallops over spinach. Drizzle paprika syrup evenly over scallops.

Please let me know if you make these and what you think!