Has it really been five years since the Food Guide made its transformation into the Good Eating section?
Hundreds of recipes have been tested and tasted in that time. To celebrate, we are reprinting five of the best, voted on by staff members from a list of 50 favorites.
DOUBLE-T BLT
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
This sandwich is doubly blessed with tomatoes: the fresh slices and the oven-dried tomatoes chopped into the mayonnaise. It’s yummy. It was developed in the Tribune test kitchen for a cover story in August on the history of the tomato. In the winter and spring, you’ll probably have to buy the pricier vine-ripened tomatoes to approximate the locally grown summer beauties.
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped oven-dried tomatoes, see note
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil or cilantro
Pinch ground red pepper or dash hot pepper sauce
12 slices thick-sliced smoked bacon
8 slices sesame semolina or other firm bread
4 leaves lettuce, such as leaf or Bibb
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
8 fresh basil leaves or cilantro sprigs
1. Mix mayonnaise, dried tomatoes, shredded basil and ground red pepper in small bowl.
2. Cook bacon in large skillet or on a foil-lined sheet in a 375-degree oven until crisped as desired. Drain well.
3. Spread mayonnaise mixture over each bread slice. Top four of the slices with a lettuce leaf; divide tomato slices over lettuce. Top each with 3 strips of bacon and 2 basil leaves. Cover the top slice of bread and serve.
Note: For oven-dried tomatoes, heat oven to 200 degrees. Cut 2 pints of cherry tomatoes in half through the stem end. Lightly oil a foil-lined baking sheet. Place tomatoes on sheet, cut side up, in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Put into the middle of the oven and check occasionally until tomatoes are dried as desired, usually about 6 hours for cherry tomatoes, 8 hours for small plum tomatoes and up to overnight for the round tomatoes. Cool and pack in covered container and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to several months.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 740 Fat ……….. 53 g Saturated fat .. 15 g
% calories from fat .. 65 Cholesterol .. 70 mg Sodium ….. 1,470 mg
Carbohydrates …… 40 g Protein ……. 25 g Fiber ……….. 3 g
SPICY CABBAGE SALAD WITH CHILI-RUBBED FLANK STEAK
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
For a summer picnic story, we gathered several recipes with an upscale bent. This lovely Asian salad from “Lettuce in Your Kitchen,” by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby, was the best of the bunch. If you’re not inclined to fire up a grill in January, the steak can be prepared in the broiler.
Dressing:
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 piece (1-inch) fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons each: sugar, fish sauce or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped roasted peanuts, preferably unsalted
Salad:
1 fresh chili pepper or more to taste
1/4 cup cracked white or black pepper
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 pounds flank steak or top round
1/2 head napa cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup each, loosely packed: basil leaves, cilantro leaves
1/3 cup mint leaves
1. Prepare grill or heat broiler. Whisk together all dressing ingredients in small bowl; set aside.
2. Combine chili pepper, cracked pepper and salt in second small bowl. Mix well. Rub both sides of steak with chili mixture, pressing down into meat. Grill or broil steak 6 minutes; turn. Cook to desired doneness, 4-6 minutes. Remove from grill; set aside.
3. Combine cabbage, bell pepper, basil, cilantro and mint in large serving bowl. Slice steak across grain into very thin strips. Cut strips into bite-size pieces; add to cabbage. Stir dressing; add enough to moisten ingredients. Toss to coat.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 390 Fat ………… 20 g Saturated fat .. 6 g
% calories from fat .. 47 Cholesterol … 80 mg Sodium …. 2,550 mg
Carbohydrates …… 17 g Protein …….. 35 g Fiber ………. 4 g
GIANT CINNAMON ROLLS
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Rising time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 16 rolls
“We are tired of frozen food, dinner out of a box, meals from a package. No matter how many ways food companies devise to sell us home-style food, nothing beats the real McCoy,” Kristin Eddy wrote in a February cover story. These rolls were developed in the Tribune test kitchen. They come together faster if you use quick-rise yeast.
Dough:
8 to 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups warm milk (105-115 degrees)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 packages quick-rising dry active yeast, see note
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted, cooled
Filling:
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Frosting:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Combine 2 cups of the flour, milk, sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl; mix well. Add eggs and butter. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as needed to form soft dough. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough, adding flour as needed, until smooth and elastic, 5-8 minutes. Transfer to large greased bowl; turn to coat both sides. Cover with towel, place in draft-free area and allow to rise until double in volume, about 1 hour.
2. Punch dough down with fist. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead 10-15 times. Cover with towel and let rest 10 minutes. Roll out dough to 24- by 15-inch rectangle.
3. For filling, combine brown sugar, butter and cinnamon in small bowl; stir well. Spread onto dough to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up tightly lengthwise, pinching edges together to seal. Cut into 16 slices with serrated bread knife. Place rolls onto two greased 13- by 9-inch baking pans. Cover with towel; let rise until doubled, about 15 minutes.
4. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let cool slightly. For frosting, stir together confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla in small bowl. Mix until smooth. Drizzle frosting over rolls.
Test kitchen note: If using regular dry active yeast, double each rising time. Also, you can freeze unfrosted baked rolls up to 1 month in freezer bags. Thaw rolls and reheat. Frost as in Step 4.
Nutrition information per roll:
Calories ………… 550 Fat ……….. 20 g Saturated fat .. 12 g
% calories from fat .. 32 Cholesterol .. 90 mg Sodium ……. 360 mg
Carbohydrates …… 86 g Protein …….. 9 g Fiber ……….. 2 g
KOLACHY
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Chilling time: 4 hours or overnight
Cooking time: 15 minutes per batch
Yield: About 25 cookies
This recipe comes from Suzy Crofton of Crofton on Wells restaurant. It appeared in a March story titled “Butter, come back.” These cookies are very tender and melt in your mouth. If mascarpone is unavailable, regular cream cheese can be substituted.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces mascarpone or cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon each: salt, sugar
1/2 cup preserves
Confectioners’ sugar
1. Put butter in bowl of electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until butter is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add mascarpone; beat until smooth and well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour, salt and sugar just until most of flour is combined. Stir by hand until all flour is incorporated. (Do not overbeat or kolachy will be tough.) Flatten dough into disc; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 4 hours or overnight.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half; return one half to refrigerator. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough into 3-inch squares with sharp knife. Put squares on ungreased cookie sheet; place 1 teaspoon preserves in center of each square. Fold each corner to center of square; press lightly into preserves. Repeat with remaining dough.
3. Bake in batches until very lightly browned, 14-16 minutes. Let sit on cookie sheet 5 minutes. Remove cookies to cooling rack. Generously sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar while still warm.
Nutrition information per cookie:
Calories ………… 125 Fat …………. 9 g Saturated fat .. 6 g
% calories from fat .. 65 Cholesterol … 25 mg Sodium ……. 30 mg
Carbohydrates …… 10 g Protein ……… 1 g Fiber …….. 0.3 g
KENTUCKY BUTTER CAKE
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/4 hours
Yield: 16 servings
This extremely moist, buttery cake was sent in by Gertrude Baker of Crystal Lake and was printed in our “You’re the Cook” column in August, 1998.
Cake:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon each: baking powder, salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk or sour cream
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Beat sugar and butter in bowl of electric mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine buttermilk or sour cream with vanilla. Add buttermilk and flour mixtures alternately in thirds, ending with flour mixture, beating well after each addition.
3. Spoon batter into greased tube pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours.
4. For sauce, heat sugar, butter, water and vanilla in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and butter has melted, about 10 minutes. Do not boil.
5. Prick cake with wooden pick immediately after removing from oven. Pour hot sauce over cake; let stand until completely cool (cake is fragile when hot). Run knife around edge of pan. Invert cake onto serving plate; sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 415 Fat ………… 19 g Saturated fat .. 11 g
% calories from fat .. 41 Cholesterol .. 100 mg Sodium ……. 425 mg
Carbohydrates …… 57 g Protein ……… 5 g Fiber ……… 0.6 g
