Chase!

Beate's Poppyseed Cake

1 Duncan Hines Deluxe Cake mix

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup Crisco oil

1/2 cup sugar

(Mix these ingredients)

4 eggs (put this in one after another, stir well after each one.)

1/4 cup poppy seed

(Add last)

Grease cake form well, sprinkle with sugar. I always made this with a bundt pan, but I imagine you could bake it in any pan it would fit in.

Bake 45 - 60 minutes (normally 55 to 60)

Side note: I believe the poppy seeds can affect urine drug tests.

Croque Monsieur

When I was at my sister's a few weeks ago, we had lunch in a little French restaurant, where I ordered this dish. At first, I was disappointed by its plainness, but then enchanted by its flavor. This is a glorified ham sandwich, but well worth the extra few minutes to fix. I would also call it the ultimate comfort food.

Prepare a cream sauce:
Melt 1 T. Butter
Blend with 1 t. flour
Slowly add 1 c. cream, stirring (OK, ok, this is not low cholesterol)
Add 2 T. swiss cheese (I used parmesan)
Stir over low heat until thickened.

Cut crusts off off white bread, stick a slice of cheese (Swiss or American), and a piece of ham in the middle.

Dip bread in beaten egg
Saute sandwiches in butter until golden on each side.

Pour sauce on top.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka
½	teaspoon ground cumin
½	teaspoon ground coriander
¼	teaspoon cayenne pepper
1	teaspoon table salt
2	pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts , trimmed of fat
1	cup plain whole-milk yogurt (see note above)
2	tablespoons vegetable oil
2	medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1	tablespoon grated fresh ginger
	Masala Sauce
3	tablespoons vegetable oil
1	medium onion , diced fine (about 1¼ cups)
2	medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
2	teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1	fresh serrano chile , ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced (see note above)
1	tablespoon tomato paste
1	tablespoon garam masala (see note above)
1	(28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2	teaspoons sugar
½	teaspoon table salt
⅔	cup heavy cream
¼	cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.

In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside.

2. FOR THE SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.

Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler.

Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture.

Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce).

Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.

Best & Easiest Sauce Ever

This sauce would be good on fish, vegetables like green beans, steaks, and what I used it on--lomo fino de chancho--aka tenderloin of pork. I found this in Julia Child's book, My Life in France, and it takes less than 5 minutes to make.

Boil 1/4 vinegar along with 1/8 t. pepper and salt until reduced to 1/2 tablespoon.
Remove from heat and whisk in 2 T. butter. Keep whisking until you've whisked in about 3/4 to 1 cup butter pat by pat. You may need to put the pan back over the lowest heat so the butter melts.

Voila!

The sauce should be thickish.

Don't Throw Away Your Old Slouch Socks!

We're so glad we didn't! They protect us from the little bugs here that we call ankle biters.

Pumpkin Soup from My Favorite Italian Cookbook

This soup is easy, quick, and cheap. What more can you ask? The original recipe calls for spaghetti in the soup, but that just sounds horrible to me. To give the soup a little texture, I don't blend the finely chopped onions.

1 lb. peeled pumpkin (I buy it already cubed, which is what makes the recipe so quick.)

1/4 cup butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 cups milk

pinch of grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese, if desired, to sprinkle on top

Cook onion in butter until it softens, stir in pumpkin, cook for a few minutes more, add chicken stock and cook until pumpkin is soft. Puree in blender. Return to pan and add milk and seasonings. Ta da.

I've used another method for this. Steam the pumpkin and then mash, blend, or use beaters to get it smooth. You can freeze the pumpkin if you want at this point. Then to finish soup, cook onions in butter and then add rest of ingredients. This way you can cook up a bunch of pumpkin at once and have it on hand for super quick soup.