Okay, I'll forgive you. ;-) But scrolling down is practically
the only exercise some of us get! ;-)

Kate

Becca wrote:
> Thanks for the recipes, I would love to try the Garlicky Kale. <Please
> pardon my top posting, I didn't want to delete the recipes or make
> everybody scroll down.>
>
>
> Becca
>
>
> Kate Connally wrote:
>> I made Tourtiere for Xmas eve. I also had some extra
>> kale left over from when I made my Portuguese Turkey,
>> Potato, and Linguica Soup earlier in the month with my
>> leftover T-day turkey carcass, so I cooked the kale with
>> garlic, olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and red wine
>> vinegar.
>>
>> ORIGINAL CANADIAN TOURTIERE
>>
>> 1/2 lb. ground pork
>> 1/2 lb. ground veal
>> 1/4 c. chopped onion
>> 1/4 c. water
>> 1/4 tsp. white pepper
>> 1 tsp. salt
>> 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
>> 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
>> 1/4 tsp. celery salt
>> 1/4 tsp. savory
>> 1-2 potatoes, boiled and mashed
>> 1 pastry for 8" double-crust pie
>>
>> Preheat oven to 425F. Place pork, veal, onion, and water in a
>> saucepan. Simmer until color changes. Adding seasonings; simmer for
>> a little longer. Thoroughly drain meat. Mix in mashed potatoes. Fit
>> bottom pastry into 8" pie plate. Fill with meat mixture. Cover with
>> top crust. Seal edges as desired and vent top to allow steam to
>> escape. Bake for 10 minutes; lower oven temperature to 400F and bake
>> for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is hot.
>> Serves 6. Note: If you prefer a spicier tourtiere increase seasonings
>> to your taste. (From Good Friends Cookbook)
>>
>> Since I have 10" pie plates I doubled this recipe. Also, I sort
>> of combined it with a couple of other recipes as far as cooking
>> technique was concerned. I basically briefly sauteed the onion
>> in my large skillet and then added the meats and the seasonings
>> and some water and cooked it until the meat was done. Then I
>> mixed in the mashed potatoes and let it cool before putting it in
>> the crust. I used sage instead of savory (one of the other recipes
>> called for sage and I was out of savory).
>>
>> For the crust I used my usual Betty Crocker recipe. This crust
>> turned out to the be the very best crust I have ever made. The
>> texture was perfect, beautifully flaky. I'm now afraid to ever
>> make pie crust again as I don't see how I can ever live up to this
>> crust! I usually make very good pie crust! I'm very picky about
>> pie crust and almost never like anyone else's and especially not
>> the crap you get in bakeries and restaurants. However the last
>> couple of years, for some unknown reason, I have been coming up
>> with less than perfect crusts, even when using Betty Crocker's
>> recipe, which is our family standard. (Although, even my *bad*
>> pie crust is better than most!)
>>
>> So the Tourtiere was excellent! And the kale was a nice
>> accompaniment.
>>
>> GARLICKY KALE
>>
>> 2 pounds kale (~ 2 bunches)
>> 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
>> 4-5 cloves garlic
>> pinch red pepper flakes
>> splash red wine vinegar
>> salt to taste
>> freshly ground black pepper
>>
>> Remove stems from the kale and chop the leaves coarsely. Wash and
>> drain well but do not dry. Heat a large saute pan, add 3 tablespoons
>> of the olive oil and enough kale to cover the bottom of the pan, and
>> cook over high heat while stirring to rotate the leaves. Add more
>> kale as the leaves wilt. When all the kale has been added, season with
>> salt, cover, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring
>> occasionally; the cooking time will depend on the maturity of the
>> kale. Young kale will be tender after 4-5 minutes. It may be
>> necessary to add a splash of water if the leaves begin to scorch.
>> When the leaves are tender, remove the lid and allow any excess water
>> to cook away. Remove the kale to a warm bowl and set aside. Add the
>> remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan along with the garlic and
>> red pepper. Saute just until you smell the aroma of garlic. Sprinkle
>> the garlic and red pepper over the kale and toss with a splash of
>> vinegar. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room
>> temperature.
>>
>> For dessert I made my Baklava (recipe was recently posted) which
>> is made with pistachios and an apricot syrup.
>>
>> For Xmas day brunch I made Egg and Grits Breakfast Casserole.
>> I think I got this recipe on rfc or maybe on rfr. I've made this many
>> times, it's one of my favorite recipes.
>>
>> EGGS AND GRITS BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
>>
>> 3 1/2 cups milk
>> 3/4 cup old-fashioned grits
>> 3 lg. eggs
>> 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
>> 1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
>> 4 tbsp. butter, cut up
>> 1/3 lb. sausage, browned and drained well
>> 1 med. onion, chopped
>> 4 oz. diced green chiles
>> 1/2 tsp. salt
>> 1 tsp. pepper
>> 1 tbsp. cilantro, dried (2 tbsp. if fresh)
>> 1 tsp. cumin
>> 4 12" tortillas
>>
>> Heat milk in a saucepan until almost boiling. Slowly stir in grits
>> and stir. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally,
>> until thickened, about 15-20 minutes. While grits are cooking preheat
>> oven to 350F. Beat eggs and mix well with cheeses, cut up butter,
>> sausage, onion, green chile, salt, pepper, cilantro, and cumin. Mix
>> this into cooked grits completely. Pour into a buttered 9"x13" pan.
>> Place tortillas over top evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 50
>> minutes. Serve with fresh salsa. (I don't bother with the tortillas.
>> Also,
>> I usually use a lot more sausage. I put in at least 1/2 lb., sometimes
>> a whole lb. Also, you can use instant or quick-cooking grits.
>> It doesn't really matter. I often just buy a package of Mexican
>> 4-cheese blend of shredded cheeses. That's what I used this time.
>>
>> I usually have Mimosas with my Xmas brunch but this year I made
>> Bellinis. I used Freixenet instead of Prosecco as the Prosecco
>> was too expensive. I used frozen peaches. It was pretty good.
>>
>> My aunt made Xmas dinner. We had Greek - moussaka, spanakopita, and
>> pita and hummus. For dessert she made apple dumplings. My aunt makes
>> the world's best apple dumplings.
>>
>> On Saturday I made my Grittibanz (recipe recently posted) and Pear
>> Honey. I used the Pear Honey recipe Barb Schaller sent me since I
>> have lost my old recipe. It's pretty good but very different from
>> the recipe I used to use. It's just pureed pears and sugar. It
>> turned out great. I gave a Grittibanz and a jar of pear honey to
>> a friend and one of each to my aunt. I was going to give some to
>> another friend whom i could not reach and since I didn't have room
>> in the freezer to save the bread for her I have to eat it all myself,
>> in addition, of course, to the one I made for myself. Damn! What
>> a pain! ;-)
>>
>> Yikes! I haven't been this prolific at Xmas for quite a few years
>> now. I can't believe I did all that cooking. Well, actually I could
>> when I was doing all the dishes! It took me all week to get the dishes
>> done! ;-)
>>
>> Happy New Year!
>> Kate
>>


--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?