Friends of 37 Cooks

Doesn't this look incredibly delicious? I'll answer that for you. Yes, it does! We'd like to welcome our first Friend of 37 Cooks, Maurita Plouff. Maurita is an excellent cook, an excellent friend, and an excellent blogger. Check out her blog called Get the Good Stuff. We're so glad Maurita decided to join us in our latest food challenge, Carrie's Pie Challenge. We'll be featuring Maurita's recipes today and tomorrow. Enjoy! And consider joining us in our next food challenge!

37 Cooks

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For the pie challenge! I have wonderful heirloom tomatoes that were just begging to be used.

Large Tart: Leek/Artichoke/Tomato Tart

Small Tartlettes: Gruyere/Leek/Tomato Tartlettes

by Maurita Plouff

1) Pastry: I used a standard 3:2:1 pate brisee for the pastry, blind-baked at 325˚.

2) Assembly instructions: Slice 2 large tomatoes (I used one red and one yellow) and lay the slices on several thicknesses of paper towels. Salt the slices lightly and top with more paper towels. Let these slices drain while you blind-bake the tart shells.

FILLING (LARGE TART):

Combine: 

1 1/2 c dry ricotta 

1/4 c chopped artichokes

1/2 c sauteed leeks 

1-2 tsp pesto, to taste

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Spread this evenly in the bottom of the tart. Top with the drained slices of tomatoes. Spray with a bit of olive oil, or drizzle the oil on top. 

Bake at 425˚ 15-20 min, until the filling is hot and the edges of the tomatoes just beginning to brown. Let stand 15 min, sprinkle with herbs (I used fresh oregano) and serve. 

Also good at room temperature. 

FILLING (SMALL TART):

Drain tomatoes as above; using smaller tomatoes (I used green and red varieties)

sprinkle 1/4 c shredded gruyere on the bottom of the tart shells

top with 1/4 c sauteed leeks 

top with drained sliced tomatoes 

sprinkle with just a few more shreds of cheese

Bake in 400˚ oven 10 min or so, until tomatoes are wilting, and the cheese is beginning to brown. Let stand 10-15 min before serving.

Slap Ya Mama's Sweet & Spicy Empanadas

Slap Ya Mama's Sweet & Spicy Empanadas

by Rachael Tanis

1 pound ground pork
1/2 seranno pepper, minced
1 teaspoon chili power
2 teaspoons Slap Ya Mama Hot Cajun Seasoning
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups habanero chipotle salsa
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon honey
1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Cook pork over med-high heat until no pink remains, drain. Add next 7 ingredients and mix well. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup salsa, almonds, 1 Tablespoon honey, and 1/2 cup sour cream. Cool mixture. 

Separate 8 biscuit dough and flatten out to form a circle. Place a spoonful of pork mix in center of each circle, fold over, and press edges with a fork to seal. 

Put on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 18-20 mins, or until golden. Cool about 5 minutes. 

Mix remaining 1 cup salsa and 1/2 cup sour cream to make a dipping sauce to serve with the empanadas.

Pounded and Slapped Chicken Sandwich

Pounded and Slapped Chicken Sandwich
by Mary Makowski

Take a chicken breast as cut it in half like you would a bagel. You now have two chicken breast of equal size. Some stores sell this already split for you and designated Chicken Milanesa. Here’s to you HEB.

Now put some plastic wrap down and top it with your two breasts. Cover with more plastic wrap and pound it to within 1/8 inch of its life. I mean reeeallly thin. Sprinkle liberally with Slap Ya Mama Original Cajun Seasoning.

Grill 3 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Add to your favorite bun and top with your favorite sandwich fixins.

Slap Ya Mama's Cat and SYM Okra

Slap Ya Mama's Cat
by Judy Dawson

4 catfish filets
1 Tablespoon Slap Ya Mama Original Cajun Seasoning
6 corn tortillas
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
½ cup shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake tortillas until crispy and slightly brown (about 10 minutes). Let
cool. Pulse in food processor until fine.Mix ground tortillas with SYM, flour, and Parmesan. Dip catfish in milk, then in tortilla mixture. Line a shallow baking pan with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Place catfish on foil and drizzle with olive oil, or use mister. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

SYM Okra

1 pound Okra, sliced
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup flour
1 Tablespoon Slap Ya Mama Original Cajun Seasoning
½ cup buttermilk
1 beaten egg
oil for frying

In large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour and SYM. Set aside. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and
egg. Stir okra into buttermilk mixture to coat, then place in bowl of cornmeal mixture to coat. Fry in
hot oil either in a cast iron skillet or a deep fryer until golden brown.

Ed’s Mama’s Rice & Sausage – SYM style!

Ed’s Mama’s Rice & Sausage – SYM style!

by Mary Polovinuk

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound smoked kielbasa – cut into small dice
1-2 Tablespoons Slap Ya Mama Hot Cajun Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Sweet Hungarian Paprika
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup rice – brown or white, whichever you prefer

In a medium saucepan, sauté the onions & garlic in the olive oil until the vegetables begin to sweat. Add the sausage & saute until lightly browned. Add the seasonings & cook for about 2 minutes. Add the rice & water, cover & cook for about 25 minutes for white rice & 45 minutes for brown rice. Remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork & serve.

This is a Czech recipe that my husband Ed’s mom has been making since he was a kid. SYM seasoning is perfect for this! Be careful with the Hot seasoning though...I initially added 3 Tablespoons of the seasoning to the first batch & Ed swore he’d never recover!

SYM Whole Wheat Onion Rings

SYM Whole Wheat Onion Rings
by Mary Polovinuk

The only thing I had on hand was whole wheat pastry flour...I gave it a shot!

Onion Rings:
4 cup oil – put in saucepan over high heat
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Milk – enough to cover onions

Place onions in a bowl & cover with milk. Let sit for an hour.

Seasoning:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tablespoons Slap Ya Mama Original Cajun Seasoning
Mix together in plastic bag.

Take onions out of milk & drain slightly, put into plastic bag with flour & shake until flour mixture evenly coats onions. Lay out on wire rack to ‘set’ coating. Fry in hot oil until brown & crispy. Drain on paper towels, salt lightly.