Egg rolls that aren't so bad for you

I've always been kind of grossed out by the frying process when it happens in my home. The first time I made egg rolls, I fried them in vegetable oil on my stove top in a college apartment, burned half the wonton wrappers, and had to live with the odor of burnt oil for what may have been weeks. Plus the oil splattered all over the stove, which was not fun to clean up, and probably got a few dirty looks from my roommates. Oops. To my disappointment, I really like both making and eating egg rolls, so I searched far and wide (google) for a solution.
I found it! Instead of frying the egg rolls, I bake them! The first attempt involved brushing the egg rolls with vegetable oil and then baking them. The result was OK, but not great. They were not very crispy and tended to fall apart. Plus, still covered in oil and probably not that great for you. My search continued (google). Finally I came across a recipe that involves baking the egg rolls, but instead of brushing them with oil, you brush them with an egg wash. They do not turn out as crispy, nor do they give you the satiety produced by a crispy greasy mouth full of fat. But again, going for a little health here. They do, however, maintain a solid wrapper for the tasty innards of your egg roll.

You can pick from a variety of items for egg roll stuffing. My recipe usually involves ground turkey, shredded cabbage, grated carrots, and some kind of peanut sauce. I cook the ground turkey first with some chopped onions and pressed garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.

The cabbage and carrots are easily sliced and diced using the appropriate food processor blades. Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl, add pre-made peanut sauce (or, if you have your own recipe for peanut sauce, please let me know).

Egg roll wonton wrappers are usually pretty readily available in the produce section of the grocery store. I am not even going to try to explain how to wrap these things, there is a really good visual aid on the back of the wrapper packaging.

Arrange the egg rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet. Whisk one egg in a small bowl, brush liberally over the tops of the egg rolls. Use another egg if necessary. It is ok if some of the egg mix collects under the eggrolls, it adds a little scrambled egg taste that is pretty familiar in stirfry or fried rice. aka, yum.

I baked these at 350 for about 15 minutes. The finished egg rolls have a shiny appearance and are good to eat.

I have to confess that these things do not keep as well in the fridge as fried egg rolls do, so try to eat them all in one sitting or have a party or something.

Ginger Pumpkin Bread

Thanks to Everyday Food Magazine for winning me all sorts of compliments on this tasty fall-flavored bread.

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1.5 sticks), melted, plus more for pan
2.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger (I usually use the prepared kind that is in a tube in the produce section, fresh grated ginger works too)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375. Butter and flour two 8.5 x 4.5 inch (6 cup) loaf pans, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pumpkin, melted butter, and eggs; add flour mixture, and stir until just combined (If using fresh ginger, mix with 2nd bowl of ingredients).

Divide batter between 2 prepared pans. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test. Let cool 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with sugar glaze (below).

Sugar Glaze
In a small bowl, mix 1.5 cups powdered sugar with 2-3 tablespoons water until mixture is smooth but thick. I have also tried this with milk for a creamier texture. Drizzle over loaves and let dry for 15 minutes before serving.

Pets

Most people probably know that Steve and I are proud owners of the cutest dog on the planet, Dr. Cornelius Gibson. Here is the best picture I have ever taken of him.


And here is a picture of his cousin, a Grizzly Bear at the Minnesota Zoo.

Did I ever tell you how to make Margherita Pizza on the grill?

I thought not. I made this during the height of the tomato onslaught of '08, and was quite good.
Start with one of those Betty Crocker "just add water" pizza crusts. Make it according to directions (by adding water, I presume), and roll it out on a floured surface. I put mine on this metal grate-thing that is supposed to be for grilling vegetables that would otherwise fall through the grates of the grill. Help with a name, anyone? Or, if you are feeling brave, you can just paint some olive oil on the surface of the crust and toss in on the grill, oil-side down. Grill for a few minutes; long enough for the crust to be done on the outside, but not cooked all the way through. Brush the top of the crust with oil and flip it over. This was the hardest part for me, I think because I didn't have enough oil on the crust. Once flipped, top the pizza with round cuts of fresh mozzarella cheese, about 3 chopped tomatoes, a few handfuls of chopped fresh basil leaves, maybe 1/3 cup chopped red onion, and salt and pepper. Grill until the cheese melts, which is not very long.

"It's Delicious!" --Steve McPherson

Best Brownies. Ever.

Steve says these brownies are like high school cafeteria material: a nice flaky top but still half-baked and gooey in the middle. Excellent. This recipe is from Everyday Food Magazine (thanks, Martha), which includes nom-ular variations such as cream cheese, mocha, chocolate chip, and nut. I opted for mocha.
Ingredients:
8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350.
Brush 9x9 inch pan with butter and line with parchment paper (leave edges hanging over so you can pull it out of the pan easily when you are finished. Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Place butter, chocolate, and espresso powder in a large heat-proof bowl and set over a pan of boiling water. Stir occasionally until smooth (2-3 minutes), remove bowl from pan. Add sugar, mix to combine. Add eggs, mix to combine. Add flour mixture, mix just until moistened. Transfer to prepared pan, smooth top.
Bake until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes (if you can stand it). Lift brownies from pan using overhanging parchment paper.

Supposedly you can keep these in an airtight container for 2 days, but let's be honest, these things are not lasting that long.

Roast Chicken with 49 Cloves of Garlic

Hooray! The Joy of Cooking arrived at my house and all is well. I made an all-Joy meal the other night, which included Roast Chicken with 40 (technically there were 49) cloves of garlic, and roasted peaches. I was pretty pleased with the chicken roasting process, as I have never done it before and it seems a little intimidating. Turns out it is really easy. The only part that I found, um, disgusting was removing the spine from the chicken. The recipe doesn't actually call for this, but my dad suggested it so that the chicken could actually be stuffed, so to speak. It worked out really well but was gross.

Chicken with 40 (49) cloves of garlic, From The Joy of Cooking:
One 3.5-4 lb Chicken
Rub the skin with Olive Oil
Mix:
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp black pepper
Rub mixture on the skin and in the cavity.
Place 1 quartered lemon in the cavity.
Place the chicken, breast side up in a casserole, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (up to 24). Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in center.
Add:
3 garlic heads, separated but not peeled.
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
Bring to a boil on the stove, when boiling cover and place in the oven. Cook at 375 for 25 minutes, then increase heat to 450 and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes. Add chicken stock or wine as needed to keep liquid in the bottom of the pan.
Optional: Remove 6+ garlic cloves, peel and mix with2 tbsp minced fresh parsley or finely shredded basil. Mix paste in with the sauce.

I used extra garlic cloves to make garlic mashed potatoes...yum yum.


And then dessert! Baked Stuffed Peaches.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Halve 4 peaches.
Mix 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup powdered sugar until sugar dissolves. Toss peaches in juice mixture until evenly coated.
In a food processor, mix 1/3 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar. Pulse until almonds are small pieces. Add 1 tablespoon cold butter and pulse until crumbly (I forgot to add the butter so ended up just putting small pats on top of each peach). Divide the almond mixture among hollows of peaches. Bake until pan juices are bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.

Pot Roast

I have had a hankering for some pot roast since the first day it started to feel like fall. Here's how it went down:

Ingredients:
2 lb beef chuck Shredded/chopped/minced carrots, onions, and garlic
Various spices
Red Wine

Brown the beef on all sides w/ butter and a little flour. Add shredded carrots (I used 2, do not grate your fingers), 1 chopped onion, and 3 minced garlic cloves. Fill pot with water up to about 1/4 of height of roast. I added about a cup of red wine. This smells amazing. As for spices, my dad suggested thyme, and other recipes suggested marjoram and bay leaf. I have bay leaves but never have actually used them in cooking, so this was a must. Remember to remove bay leaf when you are finished, they are not totally edible. Dashes of thyme and marjoram. Also smells amazing. Cover and cook for about an hour, flipping the beef once. Keep the heat low so the juice doesn't boil like crazy. After an hour, scoop some of the juice/water/wine mix out into a small bowl and whisk in some flour to the thickness of your liking. Think gravy. Return this concoction to the pot. Chop up some potatoes, carrots and onions and add them to the pot. I may have added way too many potatoes, but hey, I'm Irish. Cook until the meat is tender and the potatoes are done.