Hellzapoppin

If the name doesn't grab you, I don't know what will.



I'm not sure the derivation of the name, but I do know the author of the dish, Peg Braken. She wrote a famous cookbook in the 1960's called I Hate To Cook. "The book came about when she and some other working-women friends "pooled their ignorance" and came up with a core of recipes strong on ease of preparation", (wikipedia). I hear it was long on humor and short on cooking know-how, but the recipe for Hellzapoppin Cheese rice is a sure fire winner.

I encountered it first at a potluck for my book group. Wary of any casserole type dish, I took a small slice to be gracious. Let's just say I went back for more. That' would be the polite way to put it. I meant to ask for the recipe, but was lucky enough to find it online. Now I share it with you.

Hellzapoppin Cheese Rice
4 cups cooked rice
4 eggs
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce2 teaspoons salt
1 pound grated sharp Cheddar
small pinch each of thyme and marjoram
1 package chopped frozen spinach1 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter

"This is copied verbatim from Bracken's book. She is referring to the woman, Sugar Belle, who gave her the recipe. She beats the eggs till they're light. Then she adds the milk and all the seasonings. Finally, she folds in the cheese, spinach and rice and pours the whole works into a greased casserole. After she pours the melted butter over it, she sets it in a 375 degree oven to bake for thirty-five minutes and she takes off her apron."
http://www.slashfood.com/2007/10/30/peg-brackens-hellzapoppin-cheese-rice/

Cucumber Margaritas

Truth be told, I didn't make these. I had my husband do it.


He's the true mixologist in the house. I have very little interest in making drinks, but I do have a strong interest in drinking a fabulous cocktail. The man also has quite a collection of drinking glasses. In the past I've had to actually disallow people from purchasing glasses for my husband as gifts because we have so many! A whole sideboard full. Some in the basement, perhaps. Truly, he has a glass for any occasion. He didn't pull out the fancy stemware for the Cucumber Margaritas. He didn't need to. It was love at first sip.

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=24

Summer Margarita
Makes four 6-ounce margaritas
Recipe from Season 5 Mexico - One Plate at a Time
Ingredients
1/2 of an 8-ounce (6-inch-long) cucumber, peeled and cut into thin slices
3/4 cup good-quality blanco tequila (we use Milagro blanco for this margarita at our restaurant)1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup simple syrup Cucumber slices for garnish

Directions
In a blender, combine the cucumber, tequila, lime and simple syrup. Blend until the mixture is as smooth as you can get it. In a cocktail shaker, combine half of the mixture with 8 to 10 ice cubes, cover and shake for a full 15 seconds. Strain through the shaker's top into 2 martini glasses. You can also blend the ice cubes in.
Garnish with cucumber slices (I usually cut a slit in each slice and impale one on the side of each glass). Repeat the shaking with the remaining margarita mix.

Eggplant sliders

Seems many people have a love it or leave it attitude about eggplant. I never ate it much growing up, probably because it wasn't very fashionable in the 80's. In the 90's eggplant seemed to enjoy increased interest, albeit briefly. Back then I worked in a restaurant/cafe in Santa Cruz to pay for my party lifestyle during college.

Really, though, I loved the free sandwich I got each day while on shift. I was also a vegetarian back then (since reformed), so I had to delve into a new world of sandwiches. We had three on the menu: Provolone and avocado (this is what I had when I first started working there), egg salad, and grilled eggplant. Eventually I say the true light that is eggplant, and haven't turned my back on it since. The cafe is no longer there, but the sandwich is imprinted on my mind. The only tweak I have made is to sometimes sub pesto for tapenade, as I did here.



Grilled Eggplant:
2 medium sized eggplants, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

heat grilled pan to medium high, brush with a bit more olive oil. Place sliced eggplant in large bowl with other ingredients and toss to coat. Grilled each side of eggplant about 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Cook in batches.

Assemble sandwich with either tapenade or pesto, roasted red pepper, jack or provolone cheese, eggplant, on a ciabatta style roll.

Chile Rellenos with a Cinnamon Tomato Sauce

I'll use any excuse to make something special. Holidays, I will have to admit, are more about the food that accompanies them than anything else. Call me a heathen, call me unpatriotic, but don't call me hungry.



Cinco De Mayo means chips, guacamole, and margaritas. I like to set it up a notch or so higher with Chile Rellenos. My dear husband first started making this recipe years back and it has become one of my Top 10 recipes of all time. The sauce turns it from average to sublime. Something about the cinnamon and cloves really makes it shine. Leftovers are even better than the day of. Any recipe that tastes better as leftovers is a keeper, in my book.


CHILES RELLENOS DE QUESO

8 chiles, roasted and peeled
6-8 ounces cheese, Monterrey jack cut into 1/8ths
oil, for frying
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups flour, all purpose
Tomato Sauce:
1 large can diced tomatoes
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chicken broth1 teaspoon salt
1-2 dried chiles, ground
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
pn cloves, ground

Prepare tomato sauce (see below).
Cut a tiny slit in one side of each chile to remove seeds, leaving stems on.
Dry the chiles on paper towels.
Cut cheese into long thin sticks, one for each chile.
Place one stick in each chile, using more if chiles are large.
If chiles are loose and open, wrap around cheese and fasten with wooden a wooden toothpick.
Pour oil 1/4" deep into large heavy pan.
Heat oil to 365 F.
Beat egg whites in a medium bowl until stiff. Beat egg yolks lightly in a small bowl and fold into the beaten egg whites, gently but thoroughly.
Roll chiles in flour, then dip in egg mixture to coat. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, turning with a spatula.
Drain on paper towels.
Serve immediately topped with tomato sauce.


For the preparation of the tomato sauce, combine tomatoes, onion and garlic in blender or food processor and blend to a puree.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan, add tomato mixture.
Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add broth, salt, chiles, cloves and cinnamon.
Simmer gently 15 minutes.

Alabama Cobbler

I'm back in action, mostly. I've been off the hook culinarily due to knee surgery. I didn't leave the house for a week, drive, cook, clean, nothin'. Nice in a way, but torture in another. I wanted to cook! It was interesting, in a way, when I couldn't get around and had very little to distract me, I found my sense of taste and smell to be heightened. I hope it stays that way, but I'm sure daily life will drags me down again.



I received some lovely Mexican organic peaches from a friend while on convalescence. I couldn't eat them fast enough so I decided to cobblerize them. Strawberries were an amazing $4.88 for 4 pounds at the store, so they were added to the mix. This cobbler recipe is my husband's grandmothers recipe, with one exception. Over the years we have reduced the sugar in the recipe. Southerners seem to have a higher need for sweet than the rest of the country. Someone should study why; I'd be curious.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 stick butter
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar for batter, 3/4 cup sugar for fruit.
2-3 cups fruit (preferably peaches)

1. Melt butter in 8 inch square Pyrex baking dish
2. Slice fruit and mix with 3/4 cup sugar and set aside.
3. Combine remaining sugar, baking powder, flour and milk together to form batter.
4. Spoon 1/3 of the batter over melted butter, add fruit, then top with remaining batter.
5. Bake for 45 minutes.
6. Serve hot or room temperature with vanilla ice cream, if desired.