Greek Salad For a Crowd

First find a big platter for the salad. BIGGER!

Rinse and drain the lettuce the day before you make the salad.

Add in the order listed (or whichever way you prefer):

About 2 heads Iceberg Lettuce
1 large or 2 small Unwaxed Cucumbers
4 - 8 Tomatoes, depending upon the size
1 Vidallia Onion, sliced
8 ounces Feta Cheese
Green olives
Black olives
Italian Herb Seasoning
Greek Salad Dressing

On the day you plan to serve the salad tear (do not cut) the lettuce into bite size pieces and arrange it in a mound on the platter. Slice the cucumber into thick slices (do not peel) and add it to the lettuce. Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add them. Thinly slice the onion and break it into rings. Put the rings on top of the salad. Crumble the Feta Cheese and add it to the top. Lavishly sprinkle with Italian Herb Seasoning. Garnish with Green and Black Olives.

Just before serving, pour on Greek Salad Dressing.

Enjoy!

Greek Salad Dressing - The Easy Way

How many empty Good Seasons Salad Dressing Mix bottles do you have? I must have half a dozen. I find they are very useful measuring tools for any vinaigrette dressing so I use one to measure the ingredients for Greek Salad Dressing.

Vinegar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Water
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 clove garlic (pressed or finely chopped)
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Italian Herb Seasoning
1/4 tsp Cavender's Greek Seasoning
Oil

Using a Good Seasons bottle, pour vinegar to -V- line
Add Worcestershire Sauce
Add water to -W- line
Add garlic, sugar, herbs and seasoning

Cover with lid and shake

Add oil to -O- line

Shake again. Refrigerate overnight before using so flavors will meld.


Coming next: Greek Salad

Hollandaise for Beginners

So many cookbooks assume we know a lot more than we do. They give us a recipe but leave out the details involved in the process, then we wonder why we failed. Herewith, a hopeful guide to a simple Hollandaise for the beginner.

Hollandaise is famous because it's tasty, it's fattening, and it's supposedly difficult to make. The first two points are true but the last one is not. British home cook Nigella Lawson refers to Hollandaise as "a kind of hot mayonnaise" because it's composed primarily of eggs and butter, with a little lemon juice or white vinegar, and pepper for vital flavoring. The difficulty lies in cooking it so it's neither runny nor curdled. If it's runny, it means the eggs were not cooked sufficiently. If it's curdled it means you don't have a nearly pudding-like emulsion because the butter has separated from the other ingredients. Making it properly is simplicity in itself, but it takes practice. First, I recommend dispensing with the double boiler most recipes demand. You don't need it. Secondly, I find using lemon juice and white vinegar together gives the sauce a piquant vibrancy, without being too lemony or too sour. Since that is a matter of taste, though, you will want to experiment.

2 eggs yolks
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and white pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons white vinegar
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, cut into half-inch pieces

Turn an electric burner onto medium-low, or gas onto low, and drop the egg yolks* into a small saucepan** along with the lemon juice and vinegar, cayenne pepper, salt and white pepper. Immediately start whisking the eggs. It should take two or three minutes of careful attention before they start to cook. As soon as the eggs start to thicken, turn the burner down one notch, otherwise they are likely to turn into scrambled eggs. If they start to solidify instead of thicken it means the heat was too high and you will just have to start over. If they don't thicken it means the heat isn't high enough, so turn up your burner a notch.

As soon as the eggs start to thicken, begin adding the butter a little at a time, whisking continuously. If the sauce starts to thin out, it means you're adding the butter too fast; either your butter chunks are too big or you're adding them too quickly. Either way it means too much butter at once, so adjust. After about five minutes of whisking, you should have a nice pudding-like Hollandaise. This is a good time to taste it, then adjust the seasonings. I find a nice fat pinch of cayenne is perfect, along with small pinches (or a couple of shakes) of salt and pepper. It's best to use white pepper, because then you don't have black specks in your sauce. As soon as the sauce is complete, take it off the burner. If you leave it on the heat it will almost certainly overheat and curdle. It will cool rapidly off the heat and thereby maintain it's consistency. It's best used as soon as possible, however.

Leftover Hollandaise can be successfully frozen, something nice to know since it's touchy and a bit time-consuming to make. It's also economical and convenient for a small household to make up a batch, knowing there will be some left for another meal. Heat frozen Hollandaise slowly on a very low burner, whisking or stirring constantly. Alternately, it will heat up nicely in the microwave. Again, a low setting is the key. Try the defrost setting for one to two minutes. If it's still partially frozen, then stir it and try heating for an additional 30 seconds at a time on an even lower setting, followed by a quick stir each time, until it reaches the proper consistency.

This is wonderful over asparagus, broccoli or salmon.

Perfect Microwave Rice

1 cup long grain rice
1 3/4 cups water or stock
3/4 teaspoon butter or oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper


Put all ingredients in microwave safe bowl. Remember, the rice
will be expanding during cooking, so pick a large enough bowl.
Microwave on HIGH uncovered for 5 minutes. Microwave on
MEDIUM LOW, uncovered for 7 1/2 minutes. Do not stir during
the cooking process. Season with salt and fluff with a fork
just before serving.

Serves 4

Creamy Homemade Chicken Stew

1 cup lowfat evaporated milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 lbs chicken leg meat
3/4 lb small fresh button mushrooms
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups pearl onions
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
2 1/4 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley


In a small bowl stir together milk and flour until smooth.
Place chicken, mushrooms, potatoes, onions, carrots and
peas in crockpot. Pour in milk mixture and broth. Season
with salt, pepper, marjoram and rosemary. Cook on LOW for
6 hours. Stir in parsley just before seving.

Serves 4
Refrigerate remainder
Can be reheated in microwave

Crockpot Basic Meatloaf

2 lbs lean hamburger
2 eggs
2 slices of bread, cut in small cubes
1 small onion, chopped
milk
salt and pepper
catsup


Beat the eggs and add the bread cubes. Add enough milk to
moisten. Add hamburger and onions. Squish everything well
together with your(WASHED!)hands. Place in crock pot, flatten
and shape to fit. Cover completely with catsup. Cover and cook
on LOW 9 to 12 hours. Always remember to wash your hands
before and after handling raw meat.

Serves 4 to 5
Refrigerate remainder
Can be reheated in microwave the next day

Rock Shrimp On Toast

1/4 pound butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
dash of pepper
1 pound of rock shrimp, peeled and deveined
(you can use kitchen scissors to cut open the)
(back of the shell and remove the meat)
4-6 slices of toast


Put butter, lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper
in casserole dish and microwave on HIGH for 1
minute. Stir well. Add shrimp and microwave on
HIGH 3-4 minutes, stirring once. Serve shrimp on
toast, pour sauce over shrimp.

Serves 2 to 3
Does not reheat well. Shrimp will become rubbery.

Au Jus Gravy for Roast Beef

That almost burnt gunk on the bottom of the roasting pan makes the best gravy. And it's easy too. Less than 5 minutes from simmer to serve.

While the roast beef is being carved, add some water to the roasting pan. How much? It's a judgement call. Probably at least 1/2 cup, maybe a full cup. It all depends upon the amount and quality of your pan drippings.

If there are lots of drippings and not much looks burned, start with 3/4 cup and add more if needed. If there isn't a lot of drippings or if it looks badly burned, start with 1/2 cup and increase if necessary.

To make the Au Jus, you simply place the roasting pan on a stove top burner and turn the burner on high. Scrape the drippings with a wooden spoon. Avoid drippings that are burned black and dry. When the Au Jus starts to boil, sprinkle all purpose Aromat once lightly all over the pan.

Continue boiling until the Aromat is disolved and the Au Jus tastes perfect.

Strain into a gravy boat and serve immediately with the Roast Beef below.

Roast Beef

This recipe will work no matter what size roast you have.

Rump Roast or Eye Round Roast
Aromat (preferably for meat but all purpose will work)
McCormick garlic powder
Pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the oven shelf below the center. Line your roasting pan with double layers of heavy duty aluminum foil for easy clean up.

IMPORTANT: USE A ROASTING RACK in the pan!

The roast will be cooked fat side up, so sprinkle the seasonings on the bottom and ends first. Place the roast in the roasting rack. Then sprinkle the seasonings on the top (fat side).

Insert a meat thermometer horizontially in the center of the roast. Be sure it goes in at least 2 inches.

Place pan in the oven with the meat thermometer facing the front. Immediately decrease temperature to 350 degrees.

Cook until the meat thermometer reaches 138.5 degrees for a nice medium rare. Adjust accordingly to suit your taste.

[Tip: When the thermometer reaches 135, the roast begins to cook very fast, so watch it closely.]

Remove from oven and let the roast sit for 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Slice thinly and serve with Au Jus gravy or your preference.

White Chilli

8 oz. dry pinto beans (1 1/4 cups)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 cups cooked)
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups water
3 chicken boullion cubes
1 clove garlic (pressed)
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup onion
1 cup Monterey Jack or low fat Mozerella cheese
Lime Tortilla chips

Boil pinto beans in a large pot for 1 hour. Remove bad beans. Drain.

Cook chicken in water (braise). Cut into bite size pieces. Add pepper (if desired -- some don't like it hot) and other seasonings. Set aside.

Add water, bouillon cubes, garlic, salt and onion to the beans; return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer till beans are done, about 1 hour.

Add the chicken and spices to the beans and simmer 15 minutes more.

Top with cheese and serve lime tortilla chips on the side (optional).

Greenhouse Greek Potato Salad

1 qt. potatoes (cooked in salted water, chilled and peeled)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (Judy says, "A little onion goes a long way.")
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. Greek Salad Dressing

Toss together, cover, chill at least 8 hours (overnight is best).

When ready add:

1 chopped apple
7 hard boiled eggs (peeled, halved and sliced)
Tomatos, cut to suit (I prefer chopped, but quarter or eights are OK)
Chopped Olives to taste
3/4 cup Greek Salad Dressing or use Helman's Mayonaise if you absolutely must.

Mix all ingredients

Add mayo or more mayo if needed
Chill until ready to serve

This is like spaghetti - it always tastes better the second day.

This is enough for a crowd. Cut the recipe in half if necessary.

Coming Soon: Greek Salad Dressing -- The Easy Way

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