Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Think you can't entertain in a tiny kitchen? 

Check out Chef Sam Reed from Portland's Hop & Vine as he shows me how he makes his addictive Bacon Wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates in his VERY tiny kitchen.

When in Portland Oregon be sure and stop in at  The Hop & Vine and say "hi" to Sam!

 Ingredients: 

12 Dates Pitted and Scored

1/2 Cup Rogue Oregon Blue Cheese

12 Slices Pepper Bacon

Method:

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375F, lay the bacon out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. While bacon is cooking fill each date with blue cheese, pinching edges closed to seal. Wrap each date individually with one slice bacon, securing with a toothpick or skewer. The dates can then be grilled, baked, or pan roasted till the bacon is hot and crispy and the cheese is melted. Serve with balsamic vinaigrette. (1 part vinegar, 3 parts oil, salt and pepper to taste)

 Pairing: Delicious with Cardamaro Amaro

Note:  These can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven or on a grill.

Moroccan Poached Eggs

Moroccan Eggs, fabulous anytime, anyplace.

This week we've invited ourselves abaord the Alcyone and created a fabulouse brunch in a very tiny galley with our host Arleen!

Rembember, you can watch full epesodes son Rollin' On TV.

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Eggs Poached in Moroccan Style Pepper and Tomato Sauce

Serves 4-8                  

Prep Time: 10 minutes      

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

This recipe makes a nice meal paired with a green salad for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 large yellow onion, sliced

1 Pasilla chili pepper, seeded and sliced*

2 Anaheim or Poblano chili peppers, seeded and sliced*

2 red or yellow bell peppers, seeded and chopped

1 28-oz. can crushed fire roasted tomatoes or 4 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup water

1 - 2 Tsp. Harissa (dry spice mix)  Frontier Ethnic Seasoning or 1 Tbls. Harissa paste

Kosher salt to taste

8  free-range eggs

olive oil

4-8 thick slices of artisan bread

4 oz. crumbled Feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped parsley, cilantro or mint (or a mixture)

 * You can substitute chilies with what are available. Inquire to see what kind of heat they have. Pasilla, Anaheim and Poblanos are usually mild to medium heat. Removing the seeds takes away a considerable amount of heat. When handling chilies, it is wise to wear gloves or thoroughly wash hands, knives and cutting boards so as to not spread the chili oil. Do not touch your eyes after preparing chilies.

Heat a heavy bottomed sauce pan on medium high heat and add olive oil. Add onions and peppers with 1 tsp of salt and sauté until onions begin to turn golden and the peppers become very soft. Add tomatoes, water and Harissa. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until it begins to turn into a sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and Harissa. While sauce is cooking use a cast iron pan to grill bread in olive oil. Alternately, you can toast the bread and drizzle each piece with a little olive oil afterwards. Place toast on individual plates. Crack each egg into a small bowl before gently sliding it into the simmering sauce. You may need to cook the eggs in two batches, depending on the size of your pan. Place a cover on the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to simmer and spoon sauce over the eggs to cook evenly. If you prefer runny yolks, you will want to only cook your eggs until the whites are set, for harder yolks, cook until the yolk is firm when gently pressed with the spoon. Scoop eggs and sauce onto grilled bread and garnish with feta and chopped herbs.

 Encores:

When tomatoes and peppers are in season, make a double batch and use it on pasta, with meatballs, shrimp or sausages. You could also pair it with polenta or use it on a sausage sandwich. It freezes well and you can change it up by using different seasonings. Instead of Harissa, try 1 Tbls. dried oregano, 1/2 tsp chili flakes and 1 tsp. cumin for a Mexican flavor. Substitute a handful of torn fresh basil leaves and a few cloves of sliced garlic for an Italian twist. Get creative and experiment with flavors you enjoy. The combinations are endless!

 

Zupa Kapusta, Polish Cabbage Soup

   Meet my best girl Maria Lisieski, who stopped by the Airstream Argosy set to share her family's special winter cabbage and pork soup.

    This soup is hearty like a stew and is full of comforting and nourishing flavors. It's something you'll want to have on hand to get through those bone chilling, breath sucking, dark winter nights. It's easy to whip up and the servings are generous so there will be plenty to share with your other small footprint neighbors for a lovely communal dinner. 

    

Still can't believe we both showed up sporting the colors of Poland!  

Polish Cabbage Soup (Zupa Kapusta) 

Serves 4 to 6

Prep time: 15  to 20 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

From stove top to table in 1 1/2 hours

Kitchen Equipment:

• large soup pot
• medium saucepan
• colander
• cutting board
• kitchen knife
• vegetable peeler
• ladle
• soup bowls and spoons

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. pork stew meat,  (pork shoulder cut into bite size pieces)

1 small head cabbage, chopped

1 pint (16oz) sauerkraut, lightly rinsed under cold water and chopped, sauerkraut juice reserved  

1 onion, chopped

1 apple, peeled and chopped fine

1 to 2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon whole allspice

1/2 teaspoon whole white peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For Serving

8 to 12 fingerling potatoes or other small waxy potato such as Yellow Fin or Red Bliss, boiled with skins on and set aside

fresh dill, chopped fine

sauerkraut juice or apple cider vinegar

Dark Rye Bread with butter

Cooking Instructions:

Put all ingredients in a large soup pot.

Cover ingredients with water.

Cover soup pot with lid and bring to a quick boil over high heat.

Reduce to a simmer, uncover, and let cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While soup is simmering, prepare potatoes for serving by boiling them with skin on in a medium saucepan.

Drain in the colander when done, return to the saucepan and cover to keep warm until soup is done.

Taste soup and adjust seasonings to your liking. Add more sauerkraut juice, salt, and fresh ground black pepper accordingly.

To serve, place warm potatoes in soup bowls, then ladle soup over potatoes.

Sprinkle fresh dill on top.

Accompany soup with thick slices of dark rye bread and generous slatherings of butter.

Cook's Note:

I feel comforted and fortified every time I dig into a bowl of this sweet, tart, salty, and peppery soup my mom cooked for me and her mom before that. It is my "go to" meal for fall and winter and very economical too. I've taken to some variations using what I have on hand in my kitchen. I often skip the potatoes all together and add a large peeled, chopped turnip to the soup pot instead. Sometimes I add 4 to 6 leaves of chopped Swiss chard, stems included, to enrich the broth and delight in the visual punctuation of the darker greens. No sauerkraut on hand ? No problem. Just balance the sweet notes of the soup using apple cider vinegar after it is done cooking.  Want to adapt it to a Vegan and Vegetarian diets? Skip the pork and substitute 1oz. chopped dried Shiitake mushrooms  and 8oz. chopped fresh Crimini or 2 giant Portabello mushroom caps. Britta and I discovered that a Barbera d'Alba wine from Italy complements this meal quite nicely.

This soup can be stored in the refrigerator covered up to 5 days, or frozen in plastic containers (without potatoes) up to 2 months. If freezing, remember to leave 1/2 inch space at the top of the container for the expansion of the liquid.

Quick Chicken in Mole

This is my all time favorite mole recipe - easy to prepare in small spaces and a big hit on camping trips. It's full of authentic flavors without all those hours at the stove.

Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5)

1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 Tbls. coconut oil, Refined Spectrum Organics divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbls. Ancho chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground allspice

1 ½ tsp. dried oregano

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth(for the best flavor we like homemade or Pacific Natural Free Range Chicken Broth)

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ Tbls. almond butter or natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (see Note)

Preparation:

1. Season chicken with ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat ½ tablespoon oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. You may need to cook the chicken in two batches, so that it is not crowded in the pan. Transfer to a plate.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining ½ tablespoon oil, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, oregano and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to the pan. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce, broth, chocolate chips and almond (or peanut) butter; stir to combine. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, return the chicken (and any accumulated juice) to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 6 minutes more. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.

We served the chicken mole with plain steamed rice. You can also serve it with warmed corn or flour tortillas.

Note: Toast regular sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over low heat, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes

Encore

For an encore you can shred the chicken and use it for taco or enchilada filling with the mole sauce. It is also delicious warmed and served over grilled polenta or even a bowl of soft polenta. Top it with finely diced sweet onions, cilantro and sesame seeds for a simple meal. It's also delicious in scrambled eggs for a quick breakfast.

French Press – The Small Kitchen Leatherman

Every trailer chick knows that it’s not how many kitchen tools you have that matters, but the versatility in each of them. Each kitchen gadget has to function like a Leatherman. When space is at a premium, it’s important to make sure every kitchen tool does more than one job. My rule is that every tool has to do double duty before it’s brought on board my land yacht. My French press does just that.

Rarely is such a work horse able to do so much and still sit beautifully on a counter top. Since most French presses are made with a glass cylinder (highly recommended) they are ideal for hot and cold applications and won’t trap strong and lingering flavors like garlic or ginger. Cleaning is a cinch; the plunger unscrews to quickly rinse out the screen. You can go from coffee to colander in under 10 seconds.

For the most versatility, get an eight cup press. Then, consider it for some new tasks:

§  Straining pasta

§  Soaking beans

§  Washing rice

§  Infused teas

§  Cocktails

§  Sangria

If you have never used a French press, Bodum has some easy directions for use and maintenance.