Mill Brook House Recipes

Quiche with Lox and Onions

My husband grew up loving Lox, Eggs and Onions, a deli specialty.  This recipe combines two culinary traditions.

Make or buy your favorite piecrust.  If you don’t have one, use the recipe below:

5 T butter

1 cup flour

¼ t salt

2.5 T water

Add the salt to the flour; cut in the butter; sprinkle the water and mix lightly.  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and line a pie pan with it.

Mix:

4 large eggs

1.5 cups milk or cream

1.5 T flour

¼ t salt

1 T sherry

pepper, cayenne, nutmeg to taste

Grate:

6-8 oz. cheese (gruyere or cheddar)

Sauté 1 medium to large onion.  Spread it in the bottom of the pie pan.  Tear 3 oz. of smoked salmon (lox) into bite-sized pieces and spread them on top of the onion.  Scatter the grated cheese on top, and pour the egg mixture over everything.

Bake for 45-55 minutes at 375°.

 

 

Afghan Lasagna

This recipe is modified from one that appeared in the New York Times in 1973.  For most Americans at the time, Afghanistan held next to no significance whatsoever, but someone at the Times was moved to share a recipe that may have been loosely connected to Afghanistan.  It seemed exotic.  An officemate urged me to try it, which I did, and it has travelled around in my recipe box ever since, a go-to favorite for special occasions.

Drain 1 quart plain yogurt in cheesecloth (or a dishtowel) overnight.*

Mix the resulting curds with 3 cloves chopped garlic and ½ t salt.  Set aside.

Boil ½ lb. lasagna noodles.  Drain and line the bottom of a 9x14 baking dish with the noodles.

Slice 3-4 large leeks and sauté in 2 T olive oil along with ½ t red pepper flakes.

Sauté 1 lb. ground lamb until most of the pink is gone.

Chop 1 onion and sauté it in 1 T olive oil.  Lift the cooked lamb from the frying pan, leaving most of the grease behind, using a slotted spoon and add it to the onion mixture.  Add 12-14 oz. tomato sauce, ½ t ground black pepper, and ½ t salt.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the mixture thickens.  Add 2 T fresh mint.

Spread the sautéed leeks over the lasagna noodles.  Spread the yogurt mixture over the leeks and the lamb sauce over the yogurt.  Sprinkle another 1 T mint over the top and bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes.  Serves 4.

*Place the fabric in a colander, add the yogurt, and suspend it over a bowl.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

 

These make a fancy breakfast or a light supper.

  Pancakes 

  1.5 cups flour

  ½ t BP

  ½ t baking soda

  ¼ t nutmeg

  ½ t salt

  2 T sugar

  1 cup ricotta cheese

  2 eggs

  juice and grated rind from 1 lemon

  1.5 cups milk

  Beat the wet ingredients by hand in a large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until just moist. Fry on both sides in a lightly greased frying pan.

   Lemon sauce 

  Juice and rind from one lemon

  2 T cornstarch dissolved in

  1 cup water

  sugar to taste (3-4 t) 

  Heat the lemon rind and juice, add the sugar, pour in the water and cornstarch and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.

  Divide the pancakes onto three or four plates and top with powdered sugar.  Dribble the lemon sauce over them and top with fresh berries. (For a richer dish, brush each pancake with melted butter before serving.)

 

 

Fruit-Stuffed Pancakes

This recipe works best with applesauce or frozen fruit.  If using frozen fruit, thicken 2 cups of it on the stove with 2 T cornstarch.  Mix the cornstarch with c. ½ cup of water, bring the fruit with its juice to a boil, add the cornstarch and water and allow the mixture to boil until the liquid is clear and not milky.

Prepare your favorite pancake recipe, adding enough milk or water to make it slightly runny, or use the recipe below.  Your pancake should cover most of the bottom of a large frying pan.  Place your pancakes in a warm oven until all are cooked.  On a large serving plate or on individual plates, roll up each pancake with c. 1/3 cup of fruit, placed along the diameter, with 1-2 T of crème fraise on top.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Pancakes

Mix together:

2 eggs

1 T canola oil

1 cup milk

1 cup buttermilk

Sift into the wet ingredients and mix lightly:

1.5 cups of flour

½ t baking soda

½ t salt

1 T sugar

Heat a large frying pan, adding 1 T. of oil.  Pour c. ¾ cup of batter into the pan and swirl it around until it covers most of the pan.  Let the pancake bubble and turn glossy on the edges before you flip it.  (Pancakes made with sour milk or buttermilk are very tender and will break apart if you flip them too soon.)  Cook the second side for only a minute or less. Makes 6-8 pancakes.

Crème fraise

If you don’t regularly keep crème fraise in your refrigerator, here’s how to make a light version: mix together 1 pint of light cream and 2-3 T sour cream, pour it into a glass jar and let it sit at room temperature for about 36 hours.  If your oven has a “proofing” setting, leave the cream in your oven at 85°; it will thicken faster at this temperature.  Once the cream has thickened, give it a stir, cover, and refrigerate.

 

 

Chicken Thighs in a Miso Marinade

Whisk 1T hot water with ¼ cup white miso.  Add 3T honey and 1T sesame oil.  Marinate 8 chicken thighs in this mixture for 2 hours or more.  Place the thighs and the marinade on a baking sheet and bake at 425° for c. 35 minutes.  Plate the chicken, pour the marinade from the baking sheet over the chicken and garnish with 2 thinly sliced green onions.

 

 

Favorite Soups for Cold Winter Nights

This delightful harvest soup will dress up a dinner party or warm up a cold winter night. It can be vegan if made with vegetable broth.

Butternut Squash Soup with Curry 

2 T olive oil

2 large onions, chopped

2 t curry powder

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks

2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

6-8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup apple cider or orange juice

Sauté the onions in the olive oil until soft and add the curry powder. Add the squash, apples and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the squash and apples are tender. Separate the solids from the stock and puree in a food processor.   Add the puree back into the pot with the stock and add the juice. (Orange juice will yield a very different flavor from the apple cider, but it’s good!) Heat the soup through, while adding salt and pepper to taste.

* * * * *

Light and hearty at the same time, this easy-to-make, low fat chowder is a great winter dish.

Easy Corn Chowder

2 slices bacon, chopped

1 T olive oil

2 large onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock or a combination of both

16 oz. frozen corn

3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups milk

pinch of thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Chop the bacon and fry it out in a small frying pan. Heat the olive oil in an 8 qt. stock pot; fry the onions until golden; add the garlic and fry for 1 minute. Scoop the fried bacon bits out of the bacon grease with a slotted spoon and add them to the stock pot along with the potatoes. Toss the potatoes briefly, then add the corn and the stock. Add the thyme, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes). Add the milk and bring to a very low boil, adjust the seasonings, and serve.

Avocado Chicken

 

Easy and delicious!

Chicken Breasts with Avocado Dressing

Cut 1-2 lbs of chicken breasts into thick strips.  Sauté them, then set them in the middle of a large serving plate. While the chicken is cooking, make the dressing and pour it over the chicken after it is plated. Garnish with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and green peppers.   

Avocado Dressing

 2 ripe avocados, peeled and mashed

3 green onions, chopped

¾ cup buttermilk

2 T sour cream 

2 T mayonnaise

1 T lemon juice

¼ t ground cumin

¼ t salt

black pepper to taste

dash of cayenne pepper

Blend all of the ingredients until smooth.  (This can be done by hand.)

 

 

Maple Salmon

 

Add the orange juice to this recipe if you enjoy a hint of orange flavor in your food.  Leaving out the OJ out will preserve more of the pure maple flavor.

 Maple Salmon

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

¼ cup maple syrup

1 T brown mustard

2 T orange juice, opt.

* * * *

1 lb salmon filet

salt, pepper to taste

Mix up the marinade, pour it into a baking dish or shallow plate, and place the salmon, skin-side up, in the marinade.  Let it rest there for at least 20 minutes.  Then place the salmon in a broiling pan, skin-side down, pour the marinade over it, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake at 375° for 7 minutes, then broil for c. 12 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.  Open the oven and spoon the marinade back over the salmon from time to time while it is cooking.  To serve, place the broiled salmon on a plate and pour the remaining marinade over it.

 

 

Chicken and Peanuts

A simplified version of Kung Pao Chicken, this is a fast, easy, and incredibly delicious dish if you keep the right ingredients on hand.

¾ pound chicken breast, cubed

2 dried hot chilies

***

2 T water

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T sherry

1 T hoisin sauce

2 T brown bean sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

***

¾ cup water

1 T cornstarch

***

½ cup unsalted peanuts

Cube the chicken breast and set aside.  Mix the 2T water, vinegar, sherry, hoisin sauce, brown bean sauce and crushed garlic together and set aside.  Mix the ¾ cup water and the corn starch and set aside.  Measure out the peanuts and set aside.

Add 2 T cooking oil to a wok.  When it is hot, crumble in the hot peppers.  Add the chicken and stir fry until it loses its pinkness.  Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil.  Give the water and cornstarch a stir and add to the wok; bring it to a boil.  When the sauce has thickened, add the peanuts, heat through and pour the mixture into a serving dish.  Serve with rice.

 

 

Easy Corn Chowder

 

Both light and hearty, this easy-to-make, low fat chowder is a great winter dish. 

 

2 slices bacon, chopped

1 T olive oil

2 large onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock or a combination of both

16 oz. frozen corn

3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups milk

pinch of thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Chop the bacon and fry it out in a small frying pan.  Heat the olive oil in an 8 qt. stock pot; fry the onions until golden; add the garlic and fry for 1 minute.  Scoop the fried bacon bits out of the bacon grease with a slotted spoon and add them to the stock pot along with the potatoes.  Toss the potatoes briefly, then add the corn and the stock. Add the thyme, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes).  Add the milk and bring to a very low boil, adjust the seasonings, and serve.

 

Pad Thai

This popular dish takes some concentration but is pretty easy to make at home.

 

Pad Thai

8 ounces of flat rice noodles*

Soak these in warm water for at least 15 minutes and drain.

 

½ lb. chicken or shrimp or a combination of both

Peel the shrimp and/or chop the chicken into small pieces.

 

4 T fish sauce

2 T white or rice vinegar

3 T sugar

1 T catsup

½ cup water

Combine these into a sauce.

 

1-2 eggs (optional)

cayenne pepper to taste

4 scallions, cut in 1.5 inch lengths

12 ounces of mung bean sprouts, washed and drained

1/3 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped

8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed or minced

Place these next to your stove, ready to use.

 

Begin cooking: Heat a wok and add 2 T oil.

Add the garlic and stir-fry briefly.

Add the chicken and/or shrimp and stir-fry briefly.

Add the sauce and bring to a boil.

Add the noodles, toss them in the sauce, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed.

Crack the eggs over the noodles and stir them in if you are using them

Sprinkle the noodles with cayenne pepper to taste. 

Add the scallions and cook briefly.

Stir in the bean sprouts and 1/3 cup peanuts, and you’re done!

 

Serve the pad thai with the following condiments:

lime wedges

Another 1/3 cup chopped peanuts

chopped cilantro or mint (optional)

 

*Rice noodles are available in Asian markets, usually in 16 oz. packages, so use half a pkg.  For Pad Thai, buy noodles that are about the width of linguine.