SILK TIE EGG COLORING

I found this unique way of coloring eggs on the internet. http://jackiewilson.blogspot.com/2010/04/dyeing-easter-eggs-using-silk-neckties.html and also http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/silk-dyed-eggs.html

You use silk ties to color your Easter Eggs. The pattern from the ties will come out and be on your eggs. I HAD to give this a try. I went to my local thrift shop and bought the ties for $1 each.
I cut the ties open and made approx 7" squares with the fabric. I did the same with white fabric to use as my 'cover' to the ties. I boiled them in a water/vinegar mix for 15 minutes...
then I put them on a plate to cool off. I couldn't wait to see the end result so i didn't wait too long to open them up. And the final result was.......
Wha-La! For a first timer, I think they turned out pretty good.
Silk Dyed Easter Eggs
Tutorial by www.ourbestbites.com

Materials and Tools
-Raw Eggs
-Glass or enamel pot (but pretty much any non-aluminum pot will be fine)
-Silk ties, blouses, or boxers, cut into pieces large enough to cover an egg
-An old white sheet, or pillowcase, or tablecloth, or random fabric, cut into pieces to cover silk-wrapped eggs
-Twist ties or string
-4 tablespoons of white vinegar
-Warm water
-Vegetable oil
-Paper towels
-Tongs or spoon

1. Remove seaming from ties and any lining on the inside. You just want a piece of the silk. Cut silk into a square (or a piece) large enough to wrap around a raw egg.

2. Wrap an egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn't fit perfectly around egg. Just try to make as much smooth contact with the fabric to the egg as you can. The pattern will transfer better if it is right up against the egg. Any part that is folded or wrinkled will leave kind of a tie-dyed pattern (which is a good thing, it’s pretty that way) Secure with twist-tie or string.

3. Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of white sheet, pillowcase, or old tablecloth and secure tightly with another twist-tie or string.

4. Place the egg(s) in the pot. Fill pot with water to cover eggs completely. Then, add the 1/4 C of white vinegar.

5. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

6. Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool on a pile of paper towels or in a colander.

7. When eggs are cool enough to handle, you can remove the fabric.

8. To add a little bit of luster to your eggs, put a dab of vegetable oil on a paper towel and rub onto the egg.

EDITED to add picture of completed pork (above). My photoshop is not working so I couldn't get rid of the brightness.

During the storm that whipped through the area last week causing massive power outages, I went to free cooking demos at a Garden center with one of my friends to pass the time. They had local chefs come in and do demos with a vegetable or herb theme. I guess they expected us to then purchase the plants. At the end of the demo, we all got to sample the food that was made. On the first day of demos, the featured chef was Leisa Dent of LL DENT. http://www.lldent.com/
Leisa was a very charismatic person. She has us laughing the entire time. She made
Fried Green Tomatos and Pork Shoulder with Garlic and Rosemary. BOTH were delicious! I'm going to be cooking it tomorrow so I made the marinade today and injected it so that it will have time to really develope the flavors. It should sit in the refrigerator overnight for the best flavor.

LL DENT'S PORK SHOULDER with GARLIC and ROSEMARY

1 pork shoulder approx 7 lbs.
Marinade:
In a blender add:
- 8 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 big sprig of Rosemary, leaves taken off and minced
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup of water, added slowly

Blend together and fill an injector with the marinade. Inject all over the pork, as much as you can. Using what's leftover, slather all over the pork. Wrap it up and refrigerate it over night.
Dry the outside of the marinade. If it's wet, you won't get a crispy crust on the pork. Cover and bake approx 2 hours (remove cover during last 1/2 hour), paying attention to the temperature of the pork. It should reach 155 before taking out of the oven.
Let it sit for 10-15 minutes before you start slicing off pieces. **You can cook this in a smoker for approx 10 ours. I have one for outside but bought a smoker bag to use in the oven to give it that smokey flavor.

This is how much Rosemary I used

Finely chopped Rosemary and Garlic


I used a Magic Bullet instead of a blender

I have 2 injectors. This one works good because the openings are large and the pieces of garlic and rosemary can pass through without getting clogged

inject the marinade all over the pork

Tomorrow I will put pics of the finished product. I can't wait!

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

This 'salad' is delicious! It's light and very tasty! I read the reviews and most of them said to double the dressing so that's what i did. The recipe is the original one though. I used Israeli Couscous because I like the texture better.

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked couscous 1 1/4 cups chicken broth 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

8 green onions, chopped 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2.	In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.
3.	Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.

I just made 2 coffee cakes last night. You can read about my disasters in todays blog update:http://mamazuke.blogspot.com/2010/02/yesterday-was-not-good-day-for-baking.html
I have to say though that this recipe is very good and also very easy. It was given Last night just wasn't a good baking night!

Jewish Coffee Cake
CAKE INGREDIENTS
1 stick of margarine, creamed
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 ts. baking soda
1/4 ts salt
1 ts. baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 ts vanilla

TOPPING INGREDIENTS
Mix together:
1/2 cup chopped nuts such as walnuts
1 ts. cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

Mix all of the cake ingredients together beating well. Put 1/2 of the batter into an ungreased tube pan. Spread 1/2 of the topping on that. Then pour the rest of the batter in top of that and finish with the rest of the topping mixture. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 F. Let it cool for 15 minutes before taking it out of the pan.

SZECHUAN CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS

Alyssa and I had this for lunch today and LOVED it!. I actually threw it together on Sunday so today was easy. The first time I made it I thought it was way too hot. This time I didn't use the szechuan sauce and just added about 1/4 cup of a low salt Chinese stir fry sauce that I had in the fridge. I'm always substituting! I also used leftover chicken so I just diced the chicken and added it to the veggies and spices. That made it real easy. So today, I just heated up some and then we rolled it in lettuce leaves like egg rolls. It was so good and also healthy.

Spicy Szechuan Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Recipe courtesy Aaron McCargo Jr.
Level:
Easy
Yield:
6 servings

Ingredients
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup shredded daikon radish
2 carrots, shredded
1/4 cup bean sprouts
3 stalks (1/2 cup) scallions
1/4 cup Szechuan sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil, for frying
2 tablespoons butter
1 lemon, juiced
1 head Bibb lettuce leaves

Directions
Split boneless chicken in half. If too thick, pound out to make thinner.
In a medium bowl, mix together radish, carrots, bean sprouts, and scallions. Add Szechuan sauce.
In a small bowl, mix together five-spice, cayenne, salt and pepper. Season chicken breasts lightly with rub. Cut the chicken into strips.
In a large skillet over high heat, add the grapeseed oil. Once hot, sear the chicken breasts for 4 minutes on each side. Add butter and lemon to pan and baste the chicken for another minute. Remove chicken to a platter to let cool. Once cooled, dice or shred the chicken.
Place a spoonful of the vegetable mixture and the shredded chicken onto each leaf of lettuce. Roll and serve.

WHO DAT~ POBOY!

In honor of The New Orlean's Saints playing in last night's SuperBowl, we decided to support them by having Shrimp PoBoys for dinner. They were delicious! Alyssa even commented that "these taste better than the ones we had in New Orlean's"! I don't know about that but hey, i'll take the compliment! The recipe is from Tyler Florence. It calls for Shrimp AND oysters but we passed on the oysters. We also had the Sweet Potato Matchsticks on the side. That recipe is also below. I did all of the prep work before the game. At 1/2 time, I made the shrimp and matchsticks.

Shrimp and Oyster Po' Boys
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Show: Tyler's UltimateEpisode: Ultimate Po Boys
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Yield:
4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
24 medium-sized oysters, shucked
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons hot sauce, plus more for sandwich
2 cups fine ground cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons onion powder
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Pinch cayenne
Peanut oil, for deep-frying
Kosher salt
2 soft sub or hoagie rolls
Creole Mayonnaise, recipe follows
Finely shredded iceberg lettuce
Tomato slices
Lemon wedges

Directions
In a large bowl, soak the oysters and shrimp in a mixture of buttermilk and hot sauce for 20 to 30 minutes. In a shallow dish, whisk, together the cornmeal, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne.
In a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, heat enough oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 375 degrees F.
Drain the oysters and shrimp and toss them in the seasoned cornmeal. Working in batches, fry the oysters and shrimp until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with salt, to taste.
Split the rolls and smear with Creole mayonnaise. Line with plenty of shredded lettuce and tomato slices. Top with fried oysters and shrimp. Cut each roll into 2 to 3 pieces. Serve with hot sauce and a wedge of lemon.

Creole Mayonnaise (Remoulade): (I cut in half which was still too much!)
2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup roughly chopped cornichons
1 tablespoon creole mustard
2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Yield: about 3 cups

Sweet Potato Matchsticks
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Show: Tyler's UltimateEpisode: Ultimate Po Boys
Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (2)
RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(2)
Cook Time:
15 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
Peanut or vegetable oil, for deep-frying
3 to 4 sprigs rosemary
3 to 4 sprigs fresh sage
6 sprigs fresh thyme
4 to 6 cloves garlic, separated but unpeeled
2 to 3 large sweet potatoes
Cajun Seasoning, recipe follows

Directions
Begin by putting the oil, herbs and garlic in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Bring the oil up to 365 degrees F, then remove the herbs and garlic with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. They should be nice and crackly at this stage. Reserve for garnish.
Using a mandoline, cut the sweet potatoes into matchsticks. Put in a large bowl of ice water to remove any starch. Soak for a few minutes and rinse with fresh cold water until it runs clear. Drain the matchsticks and pat dry in a kitchen towel, to remove as much water as possible. Fry in 365 degree F oil, in small batches, until crispy and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to paper cones, resting in cups, and season with Cajun spice mix. Peel the garlic cloves and sprinkle over the matchsticks along with the fried herbs before serving.
Cajun Seasoning:
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Pinch cayenne
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

TOMATILLO SALSA

Today I decided to make my favorite Tomatillo Sauce. I could just eat this by the spoonful! I use it for when I make my Chicken Enchilada's in Tomatillo Sauce. To make my life easier, I make the sauce one day, the chicken another day (sometimes using leftover chicken) and throw it all together on the day I want to serve it. The sauce freezes very well also. So today is all about the sauce. I will post the enchilada recipe at the bottom though even though it's already on the blog, but hard to find.

We start with one of my favorite fruits, the Tomatillo. It's related to the cape gooseberry and NOT the tomato like it sounds. It has a husk, which must be removed before cooking. I roast the tomatillo's, onions, garlic, jalapeno's and I also add some red peppers.

When it's finished roasting, I throw all of the veggies and the juice that came out of them into a food processor. I then all the rest of the sauce ingredients and I end up with a beautiful, tasty and HEALTHY sauce!

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence


Directions
Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
Ingredients
1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, storebought
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 large flour tortillas
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups sour cream
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
For the salsa:
On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.
Enchiladas:
Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.