by Bruce Zabov
I originally began baking this bread as a holiday gift for the neighbors at Christmas until I sampled it for myself, and thought “This is really good!!” The other good thing in addition to its appealing flavor is you don’t need to wait for holidays to make it. You can treat yourself to it any time you like.
With its eggs, butter and milk, it freezes beautifully. Just slice it, and place in a large plastic freezer bag with a small sheet of waxed paper or food wrap between the slices. Freeze and pull out as many slices as you like and place in the toaster or microwave it for 30-45 seconds before you enjoy it. It’s good with or without butter or jam. Its golden color with bits of orange peel in gives it lots of visual appeal, too.
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Filed under: Bruce Zabov, Cooking Corner on March 7th, 2010
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by Bruce Zabov
I would be very surprised if this main dish does not immediately become one or your favorites.
It’s a recipe I’ve had for most of my adult life and is a main dish that appears at our table with some frequency.
It came from a book called Beer and Good Food that a relative gave me when I was in college. Recipes either included beer as an ingredient or went well served with beer — no better cookbook for a college kid learning to cook for himself. Plus it’s fun and easy to put together and is always well-received.
bIt called for a pound of bulk breakfast sausage for the meatballs which is largely unavailable here, but you do have some options. You can buy a one-pound package of sausage links and squeeze out the filling. Another is the buy a pound of ground pork and season it with 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon each of thyme and sage, and some salt and pepper. Or use the same seasonings in a pound of ground beef. The recipe seems to taste best made with pork, though. (more…)
Filed under: Bruce Zabov, Cooking Corner on February 20th, 2010
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by Bruce Zabov
Now that the holidays are over and their traditionally rich, heavy (but so good) flavors with them, our taste buds and digestive tracts can benefit from lighter fare. Waistlines probably can, too. Coconut Curry Shrimp has the light sweet but not-so-sweet texture and flavor of shrimp enhanced by the piquancy of a hint of curry and the smoothness of coconut milk that gives a rich flavor without adding calories.
Aside from peeling the shrimp, prep and cooking time are minimal, and the dish can be cooked, set aside and reheated just before serving time. Ideal for guests. With its colors and aromas it looks grandly elegant presented at the table and the tastes meet all your expectations. (more…)
Filed under: Bruce Zabov, Cooking Corner on January 19th, 2010
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by Bruce Zabov
With the North American winter holiday season upon us I thought this would be a good time to go over a couple of possibilities for using the leftovers from what will likely include turkey as the featured main course in at least one of the dinners. Problem is the bird is rarely available here, when you do see it it is in limited supply and outrageously expensive though it is raised in the country. That aside, it can be a welcome variation and treat.
If you have freezer space, there are a couple of ways to compensate for this scarce availability. One is to buy as many birds or parts as you have space for and freeze them for periodic future use. Another is to prepare two or more birds, and cut up and freeze them for finishing up in various dishes later on. (more…)
Filed under: Bruce Zabov, Cooking Corner on December 6th, 2009
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by Bruce Zabov
With North American Thanksgiving holidays and Christmas coming up I thought this would be a good time to go over a basic stuffing recipe you can individualize as you wish. Too, the availability of the packaged stuffing mixes can be pretty variable and being able to whip up your own reduces your dependency on its being available or not. And YOU get to decide on its fat and salt content as well. This is the season weight tends to increase as we feast and it can help to be aware of what we’re feasting on.
You can make stuffing ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you stuff the bird and put it in the oven — but don’t stuff the bird more than a few hours ahead of roasting time. Plan on about 3/4 cup of stuffing for each pound of poultry– for example, 9 cups of stuffing for a 12-pound turkey, or 4 cups for a three-plus pound chicken.
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Filed under: Bruce Zabov, Cooking Corner on November 15th, 2009
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by Bruce Zabov
Before I forget again to mention it, a friend took one look at the recipe a few months back for Tuna Pie and immediately thought it could be made using leftover chicken or shrimp instead of the tuna. Either of those variations of the original sound terrific to me, too!
To move on to this issue, this one-dish dinner is a variation of the red-cooked dishes so popular in all regions of China. They all have in common the seasoning of soy sauce as one of the ingredients central to them, but there are also some regional variations. In Shanghai they contain sugar, in Peking just the soy sauce is favored and in Szechwan they are made hot and rich, full of garlic, ginger and scallions or green onions with a flash of hot red pepper.
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Filed under: Bruce Zabov, Cooking Corner on September 27th, 2009
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