Martha A. Cheves's Blog, page 99

Cabbage Rolls

This dish is so good.  The original recipe called for 2 egg whites as well as the 2 whole eggs, I left them out.  It called for basil and dill which I also left out.  Also, the cheese in the original recipe was cheddar, I wanted a little heat so I used Pepper Jack which gave this a wonderful taste!  I just decided to "Think With My Taste Buds."
See the full recipe by going to Martha's Recipe Cabinet

Tips on Pumping Gass

This was sent by a friend from a friend from a friend, etc.  It has nothing to do with food, unless you think about the gas you spend going to the grocery store, but it is something we all need to know.   It's from a guy who works for the Kinder Morgan Pipeline so he should know what he's talking about.

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are paying up to

$3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon:

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.
Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold.

Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.
A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.

Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Portabella Spaghetti

Whether you are a vegetarian or just want to try something different, this dish is perfect and of course, simple.  Here is what I did:

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, covered a baking dish with foil sprayed with non-stick spray, placed 4 large portabella top side down on the foil.  Bake about 20 minutes.  You want them to still be slightly firm.  Cook enough spaghetti to serve 4 and heat up a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce.  Place a serving of spaghetti into an oven proof serving dish, top with sauce, place portabella top side down over the sauce.  Top the portabella with your favorite shredded cheese and oregano.  Place under a broiler until cheese melts.

Due to the meaty flavor of the portabella, you will never miss the meat.  But...if you must have meat, brown some up and add it to your sauce or use a sauce that has the meat included.  This dish is mmmm mmm good!

Dirty Rice and Shrimp

The original recipe called for regular rice, I wanted the different textures so I used the wild and long grain rice.  I also had a list of 6 different seasonings but I had just bought a jar of Zatarain's Jazz it Up Seafood so decided to try it instead.  I used 1 Tbsp. but wanted just a bit more heat so I added an extra teaspoon which is optional.  I also bought my shrimp already cooked which saved time.  All-in-all, it turned out wonderful!


Think With Your Taste Buds - Use Polish Sausage or chicken instead of the shrimp.

View the recipe by going to Martha's Recipe Cabinet

Pork Chops with French Fried Onions

I've seen the recipe for chicken battered in French fried onions and have even made it.  It's delicious!  But why stop with just chicken.  I worked up a recipe using mustard and mayo as my liquid batter and flour, Panko and French fried onions for my dry crust.  These are simply wonderful and so easy to make.
See the full recipe by going to Martha's Recipe Cabinet.

Scallops Over Rice

I LOVE scallops so when I found them at a fresh seafood market for $10.00 a pound I bought a pound.  Now, I wanted to do something a little different so while at the same market I bought some Tempura just in case I decided to fry them.  After getting home I put my thinking cap on and decided to "Think With My Taste Buds."  Here is what I used and did.

1 lb. scallops
1/2 cup Tempura
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 bag Boil-in-the-Bag rice
salt to taste

Cook rice according to package.  Drain.  In a large frying pan melt butter on medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for about 2 minutes (don't brown). Batter the scallops in the Tempura.  Fry in the hot butter about 2 minutes on each side or until slightly browned.  Remove scallops.  Add rice to butter & garlic.  Mix well.  Toss scallops into rice.  Serve immediately.

Think With Your Tastebuds - Desserts

Thank you to everyone who participated in helping me select the cover for my new cookbook Think With Your Taste Buds - Desserts which will be coming out in June, 2011.  This is the cover that received the most votes.  It's beautiful!  Thank you to all of you.

Ground Beef Balls

One night this week I was trying to come up with something different to do with ground beef.  Then it hit me.  I like sausage balls, why not make ground beef balls.  This is what I did.

1 lb extra lean ground beef, browned and drained
1 Tbsp. dried onions
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend)
1 1/2 cups biscuit mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together.  Form in to golf ball size balls.  Bake 20-25 minutes.  I made up a little white milk gravy to serve over mine.  They sure are good!  Makes about 12-15 balls.

Mobile Phone Emergency #

This tip was sent to me and I want to pass it along.  Some of you may already know this but I didn't and I'm sure there are others out there that are unaware of the use of 112.

The Emergency Number worldwide for mobile is 112.  If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.

Stuffed Red Peppers

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Perfect for Valentine Dinner.  Who said stuffed peppers had to be green?!

4 red peppers
1 box wild rice mix
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup
shredded cheese
French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook rice according to package.  Remove tops and seeds from peppers.  In a sauce pan, cover with water and boil 5 minutes.  Remove from water and place in baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Brown beef and sausage.  Drain meat.  In a large bowl combine rice, meat and soup.  Spoon into peppers.  Spoon remaining mixture around peppers.  Cover with foil and bake 1 hour.  Remove foil.  Sprinkle with cheese and French fried onions.  Bake until cheese melts.