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 Culinary
Secrets with The Hills
March Menu
St. Patrick’s
Day Leftovers, Cocktails & Spirits, and Frozen Foods
By Maralyn Hill and Brenda Hill
Corned Beef Hash
Cooking with Frozen Foods
Drinks
This month’s focus
is on St. Patrick’s Day meals, cocktails and spirits, and cooking
with frozen foods. The March 23rd
Eat Drink
& Be Merry Blend radio program will focus on
delicious, healthy, and earth friendly foods. Trying to cover a
little of each, we will start our column with St. Patrick’s Day
leftovers.
During my
childhood, St. Patrick’s Day always called for corned beef and
cabbage, which was not my favorite meal. What was a treat was corned
beef hash with eggs the next morning or, just as good, grilled
Reuben sandwiches made with corned beef, sauerkraut and Thousand
Island dressing on dark rye.
Corned Beef Hash
Ingredients:
3
tablespoons butter
2-3 cups cooked corned beef, finely chopped
2-3 cups cooked potatoes, chopped
3-4 tablespoons onion, minced (green onion works)
2-3 tablespoons parsley, minced
1/3 cup of cream (or broth for those wanting to keep this healthier)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
Dash of paprika
Salt and pepper (You won’t need a lot of salt, as corned beef is
salty by nature)
4 eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in skillet over low heat and
sauté onions and parsley until tender.
Add chopped potatoes, chopped corned beef, seasonings
and cream or broth (just enough to moisten—don’t overdue
it).
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and place it in a pie plate
or 8” or 9” square casserole dish.
Put the corned beef hash mixture on top and pack it
down.
Bake at 450 degrees for 14-18 minutes (if adding eggs,
only cook for 10 minutes now).
Remove from oven and cut into four servings or if using
eggs see the following:
Use a spoon or push down the bottom side of glass to
make 4 indentations in the top of the hash before you
remove it from the oven.
Break an egg into each indentation (you may want to salt
and pepper them).
Return the hash and eggs to the oven at 350 degrees for
15 to 20 minutes until the eggs are done.
Now you can remove from oven and slice into 4 servings
and garnish with parsley sprigs.
Enjoy this great brunch dish. |
|
 Cooking
with Frozen Foods – March is National Frozen Food Month
Since Brenda goes to the market to buy fresh every day, this is my
category. I buy some frozen and also freeze – so here are some tips:
When purchasing, ask if it’s been flash frozen and sealed, as that
preserves freshness.
When thawing fish, poultry or meat; do it in the refrigerator.
If fish or poultry, it is best to place it in a bowl or pan of cold
water in the refrigerator.
If you are in a hurry, put it in a pan of ice water in the sink.
Remember, food can be cooked from a frozen state. For fish, add 4-5
minutes, for a steak or chop, 7-8 minutes and for chicken, 10-12
minutes.
When you freeze leftovers, wrap well in a cling wrap and label with
date. I have some glass containers I freeze in, but I put cling wrap
over top, so as to be sure it is sealed tightly.
If something in your freezer looks dry around the edges, it is. That
is called “freezer burn.” Throw it out.
When freezing berries, freeze on cookie sheet first, then put in
airtight container or zip lock bag.
When freezing vegetables, blanche first for 1 minute in boiling
water, drain and put in airtight container or zip lock bag.
 Now
on to Brenda’s part—Drinks!
Maralyn and I, The
Tandem Tasters, just returned from eating and drinking our way
around Lyon, France.
We also honed our
food judging skills with a private lesson in the art of food judging
with French Master Chef, Hervé Laurent. After a hard day of tastes,
we longed for one light and refreshing cocktail –the Kir Royale.
Kir Royale
Ingredients:
2/3
glass of sparkling wine or champagne
4-5 drops of crème de cassis (Kir)
Directions:
Fill
2/3 of champagne flute glass with cold, sparkling wine or champagne.
Add four to five drops of crème de cassis (Kir) for taste and
brilliant red color.
Sip slowly and dream of Paris. Voila!
Our next drink
falls in the “healthy” category and is easy. This sports drink was
passed on to Dr. Paul Donahue, who recommends it for those who work
out. That would be Maralyn and Norm, not me.
|
Sports Drink
Ingredients:
7
ounces of cold water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar (Maralyn would use a pinch of Stevia)
Pinch of salt
Directions:
Get an
8 ounce glass and add lemon juice, sugar and salt.
Fill with cold water.
Drink and be energized.
We
hope you enjoy this month’s column. Early March, we are
off to Oregon to judge chocolate at the Oregon Chocolate
Festival. How rough is that?
Anytime you have questions about our recipes or tips,
please let us know.
Culinarily yours,
Maralyn Hill and Brenda Hill
The Tandem Tasters |
|
|
 Maralyn
D. Hill and Brenda C. Hill: Maralyn
Hill and Brenda Hill, (not related) have been
working together as friends for over twenty
years. They have shared joys, sorrows, and
worldwide adventures and married men with the
same last name. They are the authors of ‘Our
Love Affairs with Food & Travel - Recipes & Tips
from Chefs Around the World’, Master Chef Hervé
Laurent’s ‘Cooking Secrets—The Why and How’, and
their new book '$uccess, Your Path to a
Successful Book'. Read more about
Maralyn D. Hill and Brenda C. Hill. |
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