Sautéed Summer Squash with Ginger, Garlic, and White Wine

Ingredients:

• Summer squash
• Minced ginger
• Minced garlic
• Sea salt
• Cracked pepper
• White wine
• Butter

Directions:

[This is another Myrtle-doesn't-measure recipe that I wanted to remember because I forget the things I like to eat, that I know how to cook, and this bit of inspiration turned out rather tasty to me.]

Wash the summer squash, cut off both ends back to the seeds, and slice into rounds.  I think of a summer squash per person as a serving.  The photo below shows one cooked.

Toss the slices into a large frying pan with butter, salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger.  I used, perhaps, a tablespoon of butter for the squash, but I would not use a tablespoon per squash.  By this I mean, when I am doubling or increasing quantities, I measure by eyeballing coverage of the bottom of the pan.  It should not dry out, but neither should the squash drown in everything.

I have linked to my favorite way of using garlic and ginger, specifically the rather convenient product by Gourmet Gardens.  So, my measuring is squishing out measurements of minced tubes.  In this case, I did about an inch or what might be a rounded teaspoon of both garlic and ginger.

Salt and pepper to taste.

I added the wine after the butter, salt, pepper, ginger, and garlic were all mixed around in the pan.  I had left over Savon Blanc and poured in a generous dumping from the bottle, knowing the alcohol would burn off as the squash cooked.  Somewhere between an 1/8 to a 1/4 cup, I would guess.

Sauté on medium heat, turning frequently until nicely browned.

Peanut Butter and Nutella Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (15 cracker sheets; Keebler is best)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Nutella
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Directions:

Line an 9x9 pan with foil (to easily remove bars after cooking), grease the foil, and set aside.

Crush 2 cups of graham crackers, preferably with a food processor, and put in a small bowl.  Add sugar, salt, and butter and thoroughly mix everything together.  Then press the crust evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake crust until set, approximately 12 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla, and beat until combined. Pour half of the cream cheese mixture into a separate large bowl and set aside. Add Nutella to the remaining half of the cream cheese mixture. Beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Clean your wire beaters. Add the peanut butter to the reserved half of the plain cream cheese mixture. Beat until smooth and creamy.

Spread the peanut butter cheesecake mixture carefully over the cooled crust. Next, gently pour the Nutella cheesecake layer on top of the peanut butter layer and spread evenly.  When spreading the Nutella cheesecake layer on top of the peanut butter layer, it’s helpful to gently drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the layer in various spots and then smooth using a spatula. This prevents pooling in the center and ensures that both layers are even in thickness.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the center jiggles slightly when the pan is gently nudged. Cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before cutting into 16 bars.

Myrtle's Note:  I am not an Oreo fan, so I switched the crust base to graham cracker.  In fact, whilst making this with my friend Marie, we made the base half Oreo and half graham cracker.  If you wish to use Oreos, mix 2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (about 2 full rows of cookies in a standard package) with 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted.  We were also not interested in cooling our dessert for 3 hours, so we put the bars in the freezer to finish setting.

Yield 12-16

Source:  http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2013/02/17/peanut-butter-and-nutella-cheesecake-bars/

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Cheese and Lime

Ingredients:

• 4 ears corn
• 1/4 cup crema (or half mayonnaise/half sour cream)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 
• 3 ounces cotija (or feta)
• Lime wedges

Directions:

Pull the husks back from the corn and clean off all the silk.  Put the husks back in place and immerse in water to soak for 10 minutes. Drain well.

While the ears are soaking, lightly grease the grill and pre-heat to medium-high.  Cook the corn for 10 minutes with the husks still in place.  Then, pull back the husks and cook an additional 5 minutes to brown and finish cooking the corn.  Turn at least once during the final 5 minutes.

While the corn is grilling, whisk together crema and cayenne pepper.  After removing the corn from the grill, spread the corn with the crema mixture.  Then crumble cotija on top of the ears.  Serve with fresh lime wedges.

Yield:  4


Source:  The Gourmet Cookbook, Ruth Reichl, p. 536

Ritz Summer Squash Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups sliced summer squash
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium skillet or saute pan over medium-low heat. Add squash and garlic and cook until tender.

To a large bowl, add eggs and lightly whisk. Add cheese and milk and whisk into egg until well-combined. Add cooked squash and onions to egg mixture and stir well to combined. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in skillet used to cook squash and onions. Add to squash casserole mixture. Add cayenne pepper, if using, along with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray and pour squash casserole mixture into the baking dish. Top evenly with crushed Ritz crackers. 

Place in preheated oven and bake 45 minutes, or until top has lightly browned and casserole does not “jiggle” when the dish is moved.

Allow to sit for about 3 minutes before serving.

Myrtle's Note:  It is often hard to at least halve recipes, for the single person, but this one worked.  Since I do not like onions, I omitted the medium chopped onion that was to be cooked with the squash and substituted garlic.  I also added a couple of dashes of onion powder.  I actually browned/sautéd the squash instead of just cooking it until it was soft (translate that, my slices had brown crispy spots).  I also wondered about the "sleeve" of Ritz crackers because the only boxes I could find were squatty, not tall.  I ended up using about 2/3 of a sleeve for my halved recipe to have a nice thick coating.  Finally, I added extra cheese.  What could it hurt, right?  I cooked the halved recipe in a 6x6 Corning Ware casserole dish that I had.  

PS  I would LOVE a lesson on how you measure out cups of sliced summer squash

PS2  I happen to think "does not 'jiggle'" is the BEST cooking direction I have ever come across!!

Yield:  6-8

Source: http://addapinch.com/cooking/2013/02/16/squash-casserole-recipe/#.Uip46xaBjFK

Raspberry Chipotle Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

• Boneless chicken breast
• Heavy cream
• Flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Archer Farms Raspberry Chipotle Grilling Sauce

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees


Directions:

In a dish, combine flour, salt and pepper.  In another dish, pour a bit of heavy cream into a small bowl and coat the chicken breast.  Then dredge the chicken breast.  Generously sprinkle cinnamon over one side and then sprinkle a bit of nutmeg.

Place the chicken in a single serving baking dish (I use Corning Ware French Ovals 15-B-F), cinnamon and nutmeg side down.  Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top.  Place two pats of butter on top of the chicken.  Put the dish in the oven and bake 25 minutes.

Remove the dish and baste the chicken with the sizzling butter.  Then generously coat the chicken with Archer Farms Raspberry Chipotle Grilling Sauce.  Bake another 10 minutes.

Yield:  1


Myrtle's Note:  Being single, I made just one, when I was thinking up how I could use the sauce I discovered at Target.  If I had company, I would still make each serving in individual dishes.  That way, everyone could push each bite of chicken around in the sauce filling the bottom of the pan.  Bliss.

Source:  Myrtle's head. That's why there are no specifics.  I just sort of eyeball things.

Southern Fried Corn

Ingredients:

• 4 strips bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 ears corn, cleaned
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Fry the bacon pieces until they are all browned.
2. Cut corn off of ears into the frying pan.
3. Scrape milk from corn cob into the frying pan.
4. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and milk.
5. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring often for about 20 minutes.
6. Add in butter and cook another minute.
7. Serve warm.

Yield:  4 Servings


Myrtle's Note:  I cut the recipe in half, but used three slices of bacon, since it was thinly sliced, and used 1/2 cup milk, because the original 3/8 cup reduced down rather quickly.  Were I making a whole recipe, I would probably also increase the milk a tad and definitely add the extra bacon.

Source:  http://addapinch.com/cooking/2011/08/25/southern-fried-corn/#.UiFTbRaBjFK

Double Chocolate Dr Pepper Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 cup Dr Pepper (real thing, not diet)
• 1/2 cup oil 
• 1 stick butter
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

• 1 stick butter
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 6 tablespoons of cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar

Preheat the Oven to 350 Degrees.

Directions:

Cake
In a saucepan, mix Dr Pepper, oil, butter and cocoa and bring to a boil. 

In another bowl, combine the sugar, flour and salt. Pour the boiling Cola mixture over the flour mixture and beat well. 

Add the eggs, buttermilk, soda and vanilla and beat well. 

Pour mixture into a greased and floured 10 x 15 inch baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pan. Cool for about 10 minutes before frosting.

Frosting

In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and milk. Heat until the butter melts. Beat in the remaining ingredients and spread on the cake while it's still warm. 

Myrtle's Note:  I changed the recipe from Coke to Dr Pepper, obviously!  I also had to cook the cake for 33 minutes and it still needed a bit more time.

Source:  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201010132644054&set=a.2833984097273.2150154.1489298694&type=1&theater