Baked Pumpkin Seeds

Baked pumpkin seeds are the first of three recipes featured in this blog that can be made from a pumpkin like the one in the photo below. Considering the low cost of this delicious and nutritious squash, (I bought this one for $3) you should try a few dishes featuring pumpkins.

You can eat the entire seed. With a little salt, they make a great snack. They are also a good source of zinc, protein, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, and phytosterols and other vitamins. They are also believed to lower cholesterol.

Ingredients:
kosher salt
1 medium to large pumpkin


Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
   
2. Cut the pumpkin in half.
3. Remove all of the seeds.
4. Spread the seeds evenly across a baking pan.
5. Lightly salt the seeds with kosher salt.
6. Put pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
7. Serve with cold beer.

United States

Eggplant Lasagna Recipe

This recipe for Eggplant Lasagna is classic comfort food. The eggplant, porcini mushrooms, onion, and garlic combine to provide a perfect complement to the rich taste of the three cheeses in this dish.

It is best to cook eggplant lasagna on the weekend since it involves alot of steps that are simple but time consuming. Eggplant lasagna takes about 2 hours to prepare.

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
2 eggplants
1 yellow onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced
2 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms, diced
3 ounces pancetta, diced
1 tspn red pepper flakes
1 tspn basil
1 tspn oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 box lasagna noodles
ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese
1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce

Preparation:

1. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise. Make cross cuts into the flesh of the eggplants (see photo below). In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Cook eggplants for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides. You will probably only be able to cook 1 or 2 halves of the eggplant at a time. After cooking the egg plants on both sides, remove them from the heat and set them aside to cool.
   
2. Scoop the flesh from the eggplants and place it in a large bowl.
3. While the heat of the skillet is still at medium, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the diced pancetta. Brown the pancetta and then add the red pepper flakes and diced onion. Cook the onions until they become clear and translucent.
4. Add the eggplant, porcini mushrooms, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Cook for about 4 minutes.
   
5. Add diced garlic to the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove skillet from the heat.
6. Grease a lasagna pan with olive oil.
7. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until al dente.
8. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Cover the bottom of the lasagna pan with lasagna noodles. This will probably take 3 to 4 noodles.
10. Cover noodles with a thin layer of ricotta cheese.
    
11. Add a thin layer of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese on top of the ricotta.
12. Top the mozzarella and the parmesan with 1/3 of the eggplant mixture.
13. Next, top the eggplant with 1/4 of the tomato sauce.
14. Top with another layer of lasagna noodles.
15. Repeat steps #10 through #14 two more times.
16. On the top layer of lasagna noodles, apply another layer of tomato sauce and some Parmesan cheese.
17. Bake the lasagna for 1 hour at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
18. Remove pan from the oven and let it cool for about 20 minutes before cutting the lasagna.

If you like this recipe, try Cinghiale

Italy

Walnut Cookie Recipe

With the holidays right around the corner, I wanted to post a few recipes for cookies. This recipe for walnut cookies has its origins in Germany. These cookies have alot of flavor but they're not too sweet. Try them with Cafe Noir.

Ingredients:
dough
10 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
6 egg yolks
1 tspn vanilla
pinch of salt
50 ground walnuts

glaze
2 tbsp apricot jam
halves of walnuts for garnish
1/8 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla
1 tbsp milk

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
   
2. Using a stand mixer, mix together the butter, powdered sugar, egg yolks, egg, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract.
3. Add walnuts and flour.
4. Make balls of dough that are walnut sized and place them on a greased baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove the cookies and brush them with the apricot jam.
   
7. Construct the glaze by combining the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk in a sauce pan. Stir these ingredients over medium-low heat until they form a white, clear glaze.
8. Brush the glaze on each of the cookies and top them each with a half of a walnut.
   

Germany

Carnitas Recipe

The first time that I tried carnitas was in Chicago. There was a "super mercado" a couple of blocks from my apartment that sold them from a counter in the back of the store. Since then I have preferred carnitas over similar dishes that feature beef. Although this recipe takes a few hours to prepare, it's worth the wait. Carnitas have alot of flavor and they are inexpensive to make. For this recipe, I used corn tortillas (heated in the microwave for 30 seconds), the carnitas, salsa, cilantro, and diced red onions. Here is how you make them:

Recommended Equipment:
slow cooker

Ingredients:
2 tbspn kosher salt
2 tbspn ground cumin
2 tbspn garlic powder
1 tbspn oregano
2 tspn coriander
1/2 pork shoulder
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup chicken stock
corn tortillas
+ salsa, shredded cheese, diced red onions, sour cream, and/or other toppings.

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients to create a dry rub.
2. Make several deep cuts into the 1/2 pork shoulder.  The idea is to create alot of surface area on the pork to apply the dry rub.
3. Rub spice mixture from step #1 onto the pork.
4. Place the pork in a large, covered bowl.  Refrigerate overnight.
5. In the morning, place the pork into the center of the slow cooker.
6. Pour the chicken stock around the pork. Try to avoid pouring the stock directly on the pork so that the spices stay adhered to the pork.  Drop in the bay leaf into the chicken stock.
7. Place cover on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Shred the pork into smaller pieces, place them on a baking pan.  Pour some of the broth from the slow cooker over the shredded pork (about a cup) and then bake the pork in the oven for 30 minutes. This will create a bark on the carnitas.
10. Remove pork from the oven.  Heat the tortillas (10 at a time).  Wrap them in a damp paper towel and heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
11. Serve with rice, Cuban Black Beans, tortillas, guacamole, salsa, cilantro, diced red onions, shredded cheese and/or whatever toppings you like.  

Mexico

Torta de Maça Recipe (Apple Pie)

For this Torta de Maça Recipe, you can use two store bought graham cracker crusts or make two crusts from scratch if you like your crust less sweet.

Fresh apples are the key to this recipe so we usually make this dish during the Autumn months. For this pie, we bought a half peck of grade 2 McIntosh apples from a nearby orchard, Iron's Fruit Farm.

This recipe departs from a standard apple pie recipe in that it uses condensed milk to give the apple filling a sweet, creamy texture. I also use a modified pie crust recipe to make the sweet, crumbly topping.

This recipe for Torta de Maça makes two tortas (pies).

Ingredients:
2 store bought graham cracker crust pie shells or make your own pie crusts.

Filling
8 McIntosh apples
1/2 cup sugar
2 tspn cinnamon
3 tbsp condensed milk
1/4 cup flour

Topping
1 1/4 cup flour
pinch salt
3 tbsp condensed milk
1/2 cup butter, cut into 1/2 tbsp pieces
1 egg
2 tbsp brown sugar

Preparation:

1. Peel and core each of the apples and slice them into very thin slices.
   
2. Place apple slices in a large bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon, condensed milk, and flour. Mix these ingredients together so that all of the apple slices are well coated.
3. Pour the apple mixture into the pie crusts so that they are distributed equally.
   
4. Next, bake another pie crust similar to the recipe in the previous post. Follow this recipe and add 3 tablespoons of condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the dough and then bake.
   
5. After 20 to 25 minutes, remove the crust and let cool. Pour the crust into a large bowl and break up the crust into smaller pieces.
6. Top both of the two pies equally with these pieces.
7. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
   
8. Remove from oven and let cool.
   
9. Top with whip cream with ice cream on the side.
   

Brasil

Basic Pie Crust Recipe

This basic pie crust recipe is simple and versatile. It should work with most fruit fillings providing a crust that is buttery with a hint of sweetness. This recipe can also be modified slightly to create a unique sweet, crumbly topping for pies as well. (See my recipe for Torte de Maça).

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
2 tspn sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg, beaten

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
3. On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a circle big enough to cover a standard pie dish.
4. Place dough in dish so that it covers the entire dish.
   
5. Cover in plastic wrap and place in freezer for 1/2 hour.
6. Remove from freezer and remove plastic wrap. Put a layer of aluminum foil over the crust so that the foil is touching the dough. Place some dry beans on top of the foil to keep the foil pressed upon the dough during baking.
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Remove foil and dry beans from the top of the foil and bake the crust for another 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Let crust cool before adding pie filling.
   

United States

Boston Baked Beans

Baked beans are usually served at cookouts in North America and are also an important component in a Full English Breakfast in the UK. When you are making this recipe, it's OK to use canned baked beans that already contain some brown sugar and pieces of bacon as a starting point.

Ingredients:
28 ounce can baked beans
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 strips bacon

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix all ingredients except the bacon in a casserole dish.
3. Put the 3 strips of bacon on top of bean mixture and place casserole dish in the oven.
4. Bake for 1 hour.
   

United States Massachusetts