Jägerschnitzel and Hasselback Potatoes

Folks-

I've been meaning to add this to my blog for a while. It's really one recipe and a couple of instructions.

So, what is Jägerschnitzel? Imagine country-fried pork chops smothered in mushroom gravy and you're pretty darn close. It's a German or Austrian dish that just happens to be freaking delicious. I don't remember where I first heard about it, but I found my base recipe at Quick German Recipes, and then modified it. The full recipe here is just for the Jäger Sosse or mushroom gravy, and the added instructions are for the schnitzel and Hasselback Potatoes.

You may notice there's no sausage in this recipe. If you're from the U.S., like me, that might be a surprise, but yeah, schnitzel is basically any kind of fellet breaded and fried. Der Wiener schnitzel is a hot dog chain in the U.S., and an actual Wiener schnitzel is a veal fillet that's been breaded and fried.

Yeah.

So, what are Hasselback Potatoes? They're fancy baked potatoes. Here's the method:

Take your clean potatoes and slice a flat spot on the bottom of each. One at a time place the potatoes between two chopsticks and using a sharp knife start at one end and make thin slices in each potato, about 2-4mm wide, across the potato. The chopsticks should prevent you from cutting all the way through. Fan your accordioned potato out and wash off the starch. Once all of the potatoes are cut up this way, cover them in olive oil or butter, getting it in between the slices. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. In the last 10 minutes of baking or so you can place cheese between the slices, or cover them in bread crumbs, or top with Parmesan cheese. Yum!

So start that first.

So, I recommend getting all of the ingredients for everything set up before continuing.

For the schnitzel, you'll need at least four cutlets, these can be boneless pork chops, boneless chicken breasts and/or thighs, veal, beef, whatever strikes your fancy. If it's more than a quarter inch thick, pound it evenly until it's at or under that point. Dredge in flour, dip in scrambled egg, then press into bread crumbs and start frying them. Keep the finished ones warm on a rack in the oven at it's lowest setting until ready to serve.

At the same time, start making the Jäger Sosse.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

3 strips bacon, diced

1 onion, diced

1 lb sliced mushrooms 

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 

2 cups beef broth or stock

1 tablespoon paprika 

1 teaspoon ground black pepper 

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 

2 tablespoons corn starch in 2 tablespoons water (if needed to thicken)

1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt 

In a skillet over medium high heat, cook the onions and bacon in the butter until the onions are translucent and the bacon fat has rendered. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Use the vinegar to deglaze (optional). Stir in the tomato paste, broth, and seasonings, bring to a boil, reduce temperature and allow to simmer for about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. If gravy is too thin at this point, add enough of the cornstarch mix to thicken to desired consistency. Stir in parsley and sour cream. Serve hot over schnitzel.

Note: I added some fresh thyme and chopped fresh basil with the parsley tonight, and it was quite good.

Easy Apple Butter

Folks-

It's apple season again, and after posting my version of the Apple Fritter recipe, I figured I should post this Apple Butter recipe I found from Life as a Strawberry. What makes this recipe different is that it's fairly quick, easy, and uses maple syrup as a sweetener instead of brown sugar, meaning that if you're like me and always have real maple syrup in the fridge, you're probably ready to make this with what you already have once you have the apples.

In case you're wondering, I often post these modified recipes here both to record my changes, as well as avoid just how bad and slow the originating websites are. Both this site and Preppy Kitchen from my last recipe have that issue, so I'm sorry to both of those sites if they're not getting as much advertising revenue, but they keep crashing my tablet as I'm cooking. Blogger doesn't.

So here is my variation of Easy Apple Butter!

Ingredients:

About 3lbs apples, cored, peeled, and diced (about 5 medium apples)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp lemon juice 

3 tbsp apple juice or cider

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice 

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Stir all ingredients together in a medium pot, cover, and simmer over a low heat for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally until apples have softened and reduced. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes, then blend using an immersion blender or stand blender until smooth. If too thin afterwards, return to a low heat and allow to reduce further, stirring often.

Apple Fritters

 Folks-

It's Fall. (Or Autumn. You do you.) That means it's apple season, which means it's time for our annual trek to Gizdich Ranch to pick too many apples, enjoy apple cider slushies, have a slice of Gizdich pie (they come in so many flavors!) bring home some unfiltered apple cider, then stop at the Freedom Meat Locker for lunch and some delicious meat for the barbecue. (It's located in Freedom, CA. It's name is not a political statement.)

We make this trek maybe a couple of times a year, once for berries, once for apples. But every time we do, we come home with way too much fresh fruit. I have to do something with it, so I usually end up making jams and desserts. So far this week I've made apple dumplings, cranberry apple sauce, apple butter, dried apples, and apple fritters.

For the fritters I made for breakfast I needed a simple recipe. I found one at Preppy Kitchen and then modified it (surprise!) using the experience I got from making the Apple Butter and Apple Dumplings. I'll try to post those recipes later today, if I have the time.

In the meantime, here's my version of Apple Fritters!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon allspice (can add nutmeg and/or cardamom here as well)

3/4 cup milk

2 whole eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or 3 tablespoons sugar added to dry ingredients)

2 large apples, finely diced or shredded 

Fresh lemon juice (to keep diced apples from browning).

Vegetable oil for frying

Bring about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a frying pan to 350 degrees F. Whisk together dry ingredients. Fold in wet ingredients. Adrian, then fold in apples. Use a large spoon or scoop to portion the batter out (about 1/4 cup) into the hot oil, and deep fry about 2 minutes on the first side, flip, then another minute on the back. Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove hot fritters from the oil, and let them cool on a wire rack over parchment paper or paper towels for a few minutes. Glaze or coat in cinnamon sugar.

Note: So...uh...Zhenie ate most of them. Yeah. Turns out these are her favorite donuts now. I'm quite surprised. She doesn't usually go for sweets. Like, ever. By her instructions I'm to try this with bananas next time. I will probably also make them with peaches.

Baked Oatmeal

Folks-

I first made baked oatmeal over ten years ago, using a standard recipe from Allrecipes. It's a great morning cake or cereal if you're gluten free. I have found the recipe adapts very well to being lactose free as well. Both came in handy when I brought it to work for everyone to enjoy, as I have coworkers who are allergic to both lactose and gluten (no, really allergic, as in tested and everything, not "gluten adverse".)

Some people take a hunk of this, crumble it in a bowl, add milk and eat it like a cereal. I don't. I eat it like a crumbly cake because if I want a cereal made of oats I just skip a few steps and make oatmeal.

But you still have the option there if you want it.

The Allrecipes version of the recipe calls for dried cranberries, but I usually make it with blueberries, and peaches and strawberries have also come out quite good. I suspect I may make it with strawberries and banana chunks eventually just to try it.

Here's the Allrecipes Baked Oatmeal recipe with my notes.

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats (or old fashion oatmeal, or quick oats)

1 cup brown sugar or to taste

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (can add 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, cardamom, and/or allspice)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

2 large eggs (I have not tested a vegan substitute at this time)

1 cup milk (oat, almond, or soy milk also work, but I prefer oat milk for this)

1/2 cup melted butter (vegan butter or margarine both work)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

3/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins, or currants, or 1 cup whole fresh or frozen blueberries, or raspberries, or sliced strawberries, or diced peaches, or diced mango, just try something.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Gather all ingredients. Mix together dry ingredients (except fruit). Beat in eggs and stir in wet ingredients and fruit. Spread evenly in a 9x13" baking pan and bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls

Folks-

I was just going through my old recipes, and noticed in my recipe for Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls, I mentioned that I also make Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls, and that I would post the recipe later.

Well, more than 10 years later, here it is.

A pie crust cinnamon roll is more like a coffee cake. I often make one along with a fruit pie out of the leftover pie crust dough for breakfast the next day. Unlike bread-dough cinnamon rolls, you don't slice this until after you've baked it. You also don't frost these. That would be gilding a lilly. They're pretty rich and filling on their own, so you don't want to add anything on them. Just slice the finished cinnamon roll into little cookies and serve with coffee!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp ground Cinnamon 

1/4 to 1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 of a pie crust recipe like my mom's Foolproof Pie Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Wisk together the sugar and cinnamon. Roll out the pie crust to about 4-6mm thickness (a bit less than 1/4"). Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the pie crust all the way to the edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the butter, trying to get it no more than 1mm thick. You don't want dry piles of cinnamon sugar. It should all be in contact with the butter all the way to the edge. Roll the pie crust up into a roll and lightly pinch the ends closed. Place in a baking dish/pie tin/casserole dish/jellyroll pan (something with sides) and bake at 350 F for about 20-40 minutes just until it's starting to turn a bit golden, or until the pie you're baking it with is done. This should be finished roughly at the same time as any pie you're making it with, and they make great "oven buddies."

Allow to cool until it's just warm to the touch or even room temperature before slicing. Slice into 1-2 cm disks, like cookies, and serve with coffee or tea.

Note: Do not slice before baking. The cinnamon sugar and butter will run out while it's baking and burn on the pan.

Honey Hibiscus Gelatin

Folks-

This is something I cobbled together on a lark a couple of nights ago that turned out pretty good. Think of it as that Jello flavor you never had in your youth. It's super simple, but I was afraid I might forget it if I didn't write it down.

I may try to make hibiscus Knox Blocks or gumdrops next.

Here it is!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin powder or 2 packets Knox unflavored gelatin 

4 cups Hibiscus (sometimes called Jamaica) tea, divided

1/2 cup honey, or 1/3 cup white granulated sugar

1/8 Tsp or less "lite" salt, optional (see notes)

In a small bowl, pour 1/2 cup cool hibiscus tea, and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it to bloom. While the gelatin sits, in a large bowl, add the honey and "lite" salt. Heat up or make the rest of the tea to just below boiling. Pour the hot tea into the large bowl and stir together. Add the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Pour into dessert cups and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or until set.

Notes: I make hibiscus tea (hot and iced) from bulk hibiscus flowers I buy at Smart and Final. You can often find them with other Mexican goods (cinnamon sticks, brown sugar cones, dry corn husks and dry peppers) in the produce section of the store. Just rinse the amount of flowers you want to use under cold water, place it in some kind of tea infuser, and experiment with it. I never use the last centimeter in the bottom of the teapot because of the sediment it holds.

Morton's "Lite" Salt is a 50/50 blend of potassium chloride and sodium chloride (regular table salt) meant for people trying to keep their sodium levels in check. I find a little bit added to cold drinks like iced tea or Kool Aid type drinks reduces the amount of sugar I want to add while improving the flavor profile. I don't like it much for anything else, but I find it indispensable for cold drinks. One container has lasted me 15 years of this use case, and I still have a lot left. Just get a small container and try it.

Ed's Baked Chili (Work in Progress)

 Folks-

I was struck with the idea of making a fairly different chili at work a few days ago, so I started with my dad's chili recipe, and just went to town with it. I know my dad will look at this and say "It's too complicated," and I don't care.

What makes it especially different is instead of simmering on the stovetop for hours, I decided to bake it in a Dutch Oven for even longer than his recipe. In addition, this one is more of a stew, with beef chunks and stewed vegetables.

This is very much a work in progress, but I didn't want to lose my place, so here's the current status.

Ingredients:

1 lb dry pinto or black beans

1 bay leaf

1 lb stew meat, or chopped up chuck roast or similar, fat left on

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 fresh Jalapeno pepper 

2 fresh chili peppers 

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

3 cloves garlic, crushed, or 1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 strips bacon

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons Chili powder 

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 15 oz cans tomato sauce

Up to 8 cups water

1 cup diced yellow squash

1 cup chopped broccoli 

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

The night before: rinse and clean the beans, picking out any pebbles, then soak them for an hour with at least 2 inches of water covering them. Drain the beans, rinse them, then soak them overnight with at least an inch of water covered them.

The next day: drain and rinse the beans again, and soak them again for at least an hour. After the final soaking, drain and rinse the beans, then put them in a big pot covered with at least an inch of water, throw in the bay leaf, and bring them to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and stir them every 15 minutes while doing all of the prep work for the rest of the recipe.

Set the broiler to 450-500 degrees and set the rack to the top position. Place the Chili peppers and jalapeno on a baking sheet and roast them just until black blisters from, about 5 minutes. Move the rack down low in the oven and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees in a baking mode to preheat the oven.

While the peppers are cooling, pat the stew meat dry and season it with the salt and pepper, then set aside. Chop the onion and crush the garlic and set aside. Measure out the seasonings and set aside. Chop the carrots and set aside. Chop the other vegetables and set aside. Chop the parsley and cilantro and set aside. Chop the peppers and set aside (remove seeds for a milder chili.)

Bring out the Dutch Oven, set it over a medium heat, and heat the vegetable oil. Just before it smokes, stir-fry the carrots until they just start to get a bit tender, then add the onion and stir-fry until it starts to turn glassy, and add the garlic until it becomes fragrant. Remove the stur-fried vegetables and set aside. Bring the heat under the Dutch oven to high, then when it just hits the smoke point, fry the bacon until crispy and the fat renders. Remove from the pot and immediately add the stew meat and brown it. 

By this time, drain the beans but save about 2 cups of the water.

Stir the seasonings into the stew meat, and add the reserved water from the beans, stirring to form a roux. Add the beans, two cans of tomato sauce, stir-fried vegetables, crumbled bacon, and just enough water to make it a little bit soupy. Cover the pot, and move it to the oven.

Check it at least every hour. At the 2 hour point, add the remaining vegetables and peppers, and return to the oven, baking for another hour before removing the cover of the Dutch Oven, and baking for another hour uncovered. Stir in half the fresh herbs and bake for another 30 minutes before removing from the oven.

Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, and the remaining fresh herbs.

Butter Pound Cake

Folks-

I saw both strawberries and pound cake in Costco today, and thought the combination sounded good, but I wasn't willing to pay $7 for strawberries and $8 for a pound cake when I was pretty sure I had the ingredients at home. I looked up a recipe on Allrecipes, and tried the suggestion in the comments to make it moister. Here's my version.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened 

1 cup white sugar

3 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 

1 tbsp milk

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. 

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugars, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. 

Scrape down and mix in flour and baking powder. 

Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down between each, adding the milk with the second egg. 

Scrape batter into the loaf pan, roughly level it, and bake for 1 HR to 1 HR 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let it cool in the pan for five minutes, then lift it out using the parchment paper and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Good topped with strawberries.

Notes: I may reduce the sugar and vanilla next time, or replace vanilla with rose water.