Those of you who read this column with any regularity know that I am an avid proponent of advanced planning when you cook. Planning is what makes cooking fun instead of just hard, repetitive work. It’s that, “Oh dear, it’s almost dinnertime and what shall we have?” or, “I am too tired and too hot to cook anything—maybe we’ll just pick up fast food,” that makes cooking seem like such a tedious chore.
It doesn’t have to take a lot of time to plan and with a plan in hand, everything from grocery shopping to the actual cooking is easier. Think cheaper and cooler as well.
A wonderful friend I met when I was in married housing on a college campus in Oklahoma was from New Orleans and a Creole woman. It was really hot where we were living and there was no air conditioning in those little apartments. She taught me how to cook—New Orleans style—in several ways; particularly making everything you could in the morning. From fried chicken to rice and beans, everything was started very early in the morning and either put on the back of the stove to simmer all day or completed right before dinnertime.
Now when the weather is too warm for really cooking, I make everything ahead that I can—that is cut up all the ingredients, fry or cook meat, cool, refrigerate and than reheat right before the meal. Salads can be prepared and then tossed with dressing at the last minute. Vegetables are prepped and ready to sauté or grill or simmer. All desserts can be made ahead in the cool of the evening or the pre-dawn.
Of course, the regular warm weather foods are always good choices and don’t require very much cooking, but one tires of salads, sandwiches, smoothies and out-of-hand foods and occasionally craves real cooked foods. With advanced planning, the slow cooker and pressure cooker, outdoor barbeque or indoor electric skillet can keep your kitchen cool as well. Here’s a great dinner to try:
New Orleans-style Red Beans and Rice
Refrigerator rolls
Green salad with grape tomatoes and avocado slices
Frosty lime pie with strawberries
New Orleans-style Red Beans and Rice in a slow cooker.
2 cups dry Pinto beans
Ham hocks or seasoned ham pieces or a meaty ham bone (about ½ pound)
Polish sausage (about ½ pound)
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup green bell pepper (chopped)
2 or 3 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Bacon drippings
Hot cooked rice
Night before: Wash beans and soak in deep 4-qt. pot with enough water to cover beans. Let sit over night.
Morning: Fry ham in bacon drippings; set aside. Fry sliced sausage in same pan; set aside. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper to pan and sauté until medium brown. Add 1 cup water to this mixture and bring to a boil. Pour mixture into crock of slow cooker and add drained and rinsed beans. Add 2 quarts water. Cook on low setting for 8 hours. Add meats and set on high and cook 2 more hours. Season with salt and pepper and pour over hot rice. This is a very hearty dish and will serve at least 8 people.
Refrigerator Rolls
¼ cup butter
¼ cup 0 trans-fat vegetable shortening
¼ cup sugar
¾ tsp. salt
½ cup boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1 pkg. active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 egg, beaten
2 ½ cups flour
1 egg
1 tsp. half and half
Combine butter, shortening, sugar and salt with boiling water and stir until shortenings melt; add rolled oats and let stand until mixture is lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water; add with egg to oatmeal mixture. Add 1 cup flour and beat thoroughly in mixer. Add remaining flour gradually, blending well. Knead dough with dough hook for 8 minutes or until satiny. Cover with plastic wrap and then cover with tea towel. Let stand overnight in refrigerator. To bake, shape into rolls; place in sprayed pan, cover and let stand in warm place 1 ½ to 2 hours until doubled. Combine egg and water; brush over rolls and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in 450 degree oven 15 minutes. Makes 24 medium rolls or 30 small.
Mix a green salad by using a bag of mixed spring greens or make your own combination of lettuces (cheaper). Put into refrigerator ready to pour into salad bowl. Make a simple vinaigrette and refrigerate. At serving time, pour lettuce into large salad bowl. Slice avocados and pour in as many grape tomatoes as you like. Pour vinaigrette over and toss.
Frosty lime pie with strawberries (adapted from Cooking With Love by Florence K. Hirschfeld)
1 quart lime sherbet, softened
1 9-inch Graham Cracker Crust
1 pint strawberries, sliced thick
In morning: Pour sherbet into bowl of mixer and beat until fluffy and aerated. It should stand in peaks. Turn into prepared crust and place in freezer several hours to refreeze. To serve, border with overlapping sliced berries that have been sprinkled with sugar ahead of time. Serves 6 to 8.
It doesn’t have to take a lot of time to plan and with a plan in hand, everything from grocery shopping to the actual cooking is easier. Think cheaper and cooler as well.
A wonderful friend I met when I was in married housing on a college campus in Oklahoma was from New Orleans and a Creole woman. It was really hot where we were living and there was no air conditioning in those little apartments. She taught me how to cook—New Orleans style—in several ways; particularly making everything you could in the morning. From fried chicken to rice and beans, everything was started very early in the morning and either put on the back of the stove to simmer all day or completed right before dinnertime.
Now when the weather is too warm for really cooking, I make everything ahead that I can—that is cut up all the ingredients, fry or cook meat, cool, refrigerate and than reheat right before the meal. Salads can be prepared and then tossed with dressing at the last minute. Vegetables are prepped and ready to sauté or grill or simmer. All desserts can be made ahead in the cool of the evening or the pre-dawn.
Of course, the regular warm weather foods are always good choices and don’t require very much cooking, but one tires of salads, sandwiches, smoothies and out-of-hand foods and occasionally craves real cooked foods. With advanced planning, the slow cooker and pressure cooker, outdoor barbeque or indoor electric skillet can keep your kitchen cool as well. Here’s a great dinner to try:
New Orleans-style Red Beans and Rice
Refrigerator rolls
Green salad with grape tomatoes and avocado slices
Frosty lime pie with strawberries
New Orleans-style Red Beans and Rice in a slow cooker.
2 cups dry Pinto beans
Ham hocks or seasoned ham pieces or a meaty ham bone (about ½ pound)
Polish sausage (about ½ pound)
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup green bell pepper (chopped)
2 or 3 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Bacon drippings
Hot cooked rice
Night before: Wash beans and soak in deep 4-qt. pot with enough water to cover beans. Let sit over night.
Morning: Fry ham in bacon drippings; set aside. Fry sliced sausage in same pan; set aside. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper to pan and sauté until medium brown. Add 1 cup water to this mixture and bring to a boil. Pour mixture into crock of slow cooker and add drained and rinsed beans. Add 2 quarts water. Cook on low setting for 8 hours. Add meats and set on high and cook 2 more hours. Season with salt and pepper and pour over hot rice. This is a very hearty dish and will serve at least 8 people.
Refrigerator Rolls
¼ cup butter
¼ cup 0 trans-fat vegetable shortening
¼ cup sugar
¾ tsp. salt
½ cup boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1 pkg. active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 egg, beaten
2 ½ cups flour
1 egg
1 tsp. half and half
Combine butter, shortening, sugar and salt with boiling water and stir until shortenings melt; add rolled oats and let stand until mixture is lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water; add with egg to oatmeal mixture. Add 1 cup flour and beat thoroughly in mixer. Add remaining flour gradually, blending well. Knead dough with dough hook for 8 minutes or until satiny. Cover with plastic wrap and then cover with tea towel. Let stand overnight in refrigerator. To bake, shape into rolls; place in sprayed pan, cover and let stand in warm place 1 ½ to 2 hours until doubled. Combine egg and water; brush over rolls and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in 450 degree oven 15 minutes. Makes 24 medium rolls or 30 small.
Mix a green salad by using a bag of mixed spring greens or make your own combination of lettuces (cheaper). Put into refrigerator ready to pour into salad bowl. Make a simple vinaigrette and refrigerate. At serving time, pour lettuce into large salad bowl. Slice avocados and pour in as many grape tomatoes as you like. Pour vinaigrette over and toss.
Frosty lime pie with strawberries (adapted from Cooking With Love by Florence K. Hirschfeld)
1 quart lime sherbet, softened
1 9-inch Graham Cracker Crust
1 pint strawberries, sliced thick
In morning: Pour sherbet into bowl of mixer and beat until fluffy and aerated. It should stand in peaks. Turn into prepared crust and place in freezer several hours to refreeze. To serve, border with overlapping sliced berries that have been sprinkled with sugar ahead of time. Serves 6 to 8.
No comments:
Post a Comment