HAPPY EASTER

Very Happy Easter to you all. This has been a stress-filled week.

First, I got good news. I'm a semi-finalist in the Taste of Home Branson Great American Pie Show Contest, April 24-25. Twelve of us will be competing for the grand prize of $2,500. A panel of 10 judges (including Al Roker of the Today Show) will pick the winning pie. My recipe is "Marshmallow Cream-Almond-Topped Key Lime Pie." As can be expected, there's been a lot of activity generated from this -- emails, phone calls, and the like back and forth with the Branson Chamber of Commerce and Taste of Home. That would be enough, but....

My computer started acting up. I won't go into the morbid details. We bought an external hard drive, backed up all our files and reformatted. The reformatting was more complicated than expected because we were missing some important files. Our younger son helped us but at a certain point he remotely controlled our computer and he inadvertently formatted our external drive in addition to the computer hard drive. We lost everything, and I mean everything. Besides being tied up all week with this project, we became totally frustrated, and Guy went out yesterday to Staples and bought a new computer......

The new operating system is Vista, so we have some learning to do....

Of course, this all happens when there is no time for it. I was heavily involved in some contests and trying to send recipes in. But without Word, I can't send recipes in very easily. So I'm at a standstill with only a few days left.... and if that isn't enough......

Guy is recovering from a 3-hour wrist fusion surgery on March 11 that was supposed to be 1-1/2 hours. He's usually very fast to recover, but he has had a really tough time, with a lot of pain, swelling, discomfort, and not to mention, the loss of use of his right hand/arm. So I'm doing double duty around the house, in addition to going down to Wilmington (1-3/4 hours) a lot for his doctor visits. He's still got several weeks to go before he'll be able to use his hand/arm....

And, I'm supposed to be practicing my recipe, because I have exactly 2 hours to make it when I get to Branson. But I haven't had time. ...

Luckily, my posts were done through May 2, because I knew I'd be busy during March/April. But I have a stack of new posts to put into blogger with no photos because we lost them....

The really bad news is that Guy will not be going with me to Branson. He wanted to drive, I wanted to fly, and we couldn't seem to come to an agreement. Before I retired, I traveled quite a bit with my job -- that is until I got hit really bad with Meniere's disease. It will be interesting to see how I fare alone with several health challenges facing me. I'm a polio survivor with weakened muscles and nerves that have been impacted by a car accident injury; I have myriad food and other allergies, chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia and Meniere's disease and I'm pre-diabetic. These are the exact reasons I've avoided any contests where you have to bake on-site. Don't ask me why I entered this contest. And really don't ask me how I intend to pull it off....

But today is Easter, a day of rebirth, new beginnings and hope. So I am hoping for the possibility of something glorious awaiting me in Branson. A chance to be redeemed from some of the despair I've been living with for the past 5 years -- the despair of not wanting to leave the house because I might have a Meniere's attack and be flat on my face with vertigo and nausea, and the despair of not being able to sleep because the room is too hot or too cold or too noisy or I ate the wrong thing. Today is Easter, and I am hopeful for something new and wonderful. I am not giving up. I am going to Branson.

CHEESE STEAK SANDWICHES BETTER THAN PHILLY'S

Last night, Guy and I enjoyed our first two aged steaks from our dry-aging experiment. Simply rubbed with sea salt and black pepper and grilled to medium-rare, they

momentarily transported us both back to Trenton, New Jersey,

where we always ate good aged beef. Earlier in the day, when we cut the whole rib and froze it, we had a few scraps left over. They were from some of the steaks that were just a bit too big. I butterflied the scraps, then pounded them thinner with my meat mallet, and had enough for two steak sandwiches.
I cooked the steaks in a skillet with some onions. When I turned them to cook the other side, I placed slices of horseradish cheddar cheese on them. Topped with salsa, these steaks were amazing. Even though the rolls were not Trenton rolls from Italian Peoples Bakery,(just the very best bread and rolls in the whole world) they were fresh and pretty decent.

The only problem that Guy and I will have now is that, no matter what I cook, no matter how good it is, it will pale in comparison to the steaks we ate last night and today. Dry-aging of beef at home is not only doable, it's a must.

DRY AGING OF BEEF -- EXPERIMENT #1, DAY 14

With our tongues hanging out in anticipation of a juicy flavorful aged steak, Guy and I trimmed the darkened, moldy covering on the meat. Next, we cut straight through to separate out a roast. We were surprised to learn that there was no bone in the meat. Duhh. Why didn't we know that? We further trimmed off the cap (the thin strip of fatty beef that surrounds the eye). This will be reserved for braising.

And here's what we wound up with: a 3-1/2 lb. boneless rib roast, 9 beautiful rib eye steaks, and a little over a lb. of rib caps for braising. We reserved 2 steaks for tonight's dinner, and froze the rest with our vacuum sealer. First, I weighed the steaks and made sure that we froze what would be typical for us -- between 12 and 14 oz. This yielded 5 steak dinners for us, counting the 2 steaks for tonight; 1 company dinner using the roast; and 1 braised rib dinner most probably with leftovers for lunch or another dinner.

And our dinner tonight was heaven for sure. Just salt and pepper on these beauties; nothing else is needed when you have aged beef steaks. They went on the grill and were cooked to medium rare -- we savored every tender, juicy, flavorful bite.

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED KEY LIME BARS, ADAPTED

Cook's Illustrated closely guards its online recipes. They're only available to members. But sometimes, another blogger posts them. That's how I got this recipe. Mac & Cheese, a neat blog with loads of restaurant reviews and recipes, posted this recipe in 2006. When my local Harris Teeter had a bag of Melissa's key limes on clearance for $.89, I thought it was a great opportunity to try key lime bars. Boy, am I glad I did. These are so-o-o-o-o-o good. The filling is nicely tart with a full tablespoon of lime zest and 1/2 cup of juice. But it's mellowed out just enough by an animal cracker crust and a slightly sweetened whipped cream topping. CI says the best topping is toasted shredded coconut, which you could sprinkle on top of the whipped cream, if you want. I left mine plain. These bars are divine. The sweetened condensed milk makes them creamy, smooth and delicious. A real keeper.

Key Lime Bars
Adapted from macandcheesereview.blogspot.com and Cook's Illustrated
Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
Non-stick cooking spray

5 oz. animal crackers

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

pinch of sea salt

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

4 oz. cream cheese, softened,

1 Tbsp. minced zest from key limes

Big pinch salt

1 can (14.5 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1 large egg yolk

½ cup juice from key limes

½ cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar (10X)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Optional: 1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut

Heat oven to 350F. Position oven rack in center of oven. Line an 8x8 baking pan with tinfoil, with overhanging ends. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Pulse animal crackers in a food processor until finely crumbled. Add sugar, salt and butter and pulse until combined. Press crumbs firmly into bottom of baking pan. Bake until golden, 18-20 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Wipe out work bowl of food processor with damp paper towel. Combine 4 oz. cream cheese, zest and salt in work bowl and pulse till smooth and fluffy. Scrape bowl on sides and bottom. Add condensed milk and pulse till lumps are gone. Scrape bowl on sides and bottom. Add egg yolk; pulse briefly. Add lime juice; pulse till mixture is smooth. Scrape bowl on sides and bottom to be sure no lumps remain. Pulse again if needed. Pour mixture into cooled crust. Bake 15-20 minutes, or till edges are set. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours. Refrigerate, covered, overnight to blend flavors.

Before serving, beat cream with powdered sugar on medium speed of electric mixer in medium-sized bowl till thick. Add vanilla and continue to beat on high speed till very thick. Spread over bars with spatula. If desired, sprinkle with toasted flaked coconut. Cut into 3 rows by 3 rows.
Refrigerate or freeze leftovers. Yield: 9 servings

DRY AGING OF BEEF -- EXPERIMENT #1 -- DAY 10

Today is day 10 of our beef aging experiment. Here is the beef on day 1:
Here it is again on day 5:

And, finally, here it is on day 10:

You can see how much darker the meat is. You can also see some mold growing on it. This is the dry-aging process working on the meat. In four more days, we're going to be eating a steak from this rib.

Each night at dinner time, Guy changes the cloth and checks the humidity and temperature of the fridge, which have been holding steady at 36F temperature, and 75F humidity.

So far, the experiment is going well.

LOBSTER RAVIOLI WITH SHRIMP CREAM SAUCE

My son says his favorite Italian restaurant serves lobster ravioli with a plain cream sauce as the star item on its menu. I wanted a cream sauce, but with shrimp. And I only buy local fresh shrimp, not the easy-peel which is farm-raised shrimp. Farm-raised shrimp and fish are fed antibiotics and pellets for food, so I avoid them. And the taste difference is amazing. Fresh local fish and shrimp are so--- well --- fresh tasting. While the Monterey Pasta Company declares that their ravioli has no preservatives, it has to make you wonder how they can stay in a package for so long without deteriorating. Oh, well, half the meal was fresh.



A cream sauce was the right choice for this meal. Tomato sauce would have overpowered the lobster. A mild cream sauce played in with the shrimp and lobster flavors and just accented them. We both enjoyed this detour from our normal entrees, and thanks to Sam's Club, the ravioli was a decent price. One-half of the double package was 15 oz. I cooked the half package, leaving us another package for later.

Probably because I added shrimp, we had plenty left over for a second meal and we're eagerly looking forward to reheating it on another night, very soon. Served with a green leafy salad, this meal was completely satisfying, and is quick to prepare. The ravioli cook in 5 minutes, and the sauce cooks alongside it. Easy peasy.





Lobster Ravioli with Shrimp Cream Sauce
Source: Judy's Kitchen
Rating: 10 out of 10
Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS:
1 package (15 oz.) Lobster ravioli
2 Tbsp. Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend
1 large garlic clove, grated or minced
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup drinking-quality dry white wine
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 lb. shucked and deveined shrimp
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. When it's ready, add the ravioli and off the heat. You can cover the ravioli. Do not let it boil for an extended period. It's ok if it boils in the beginning, but when you off the heat, it should die down. If you cover the pan, it should cook gently in the very hot water while you prepare the sauce.

In large heavy saute pan, saute the garlic in the SB over medium heat briefly. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper, then the wine. Let the wine bubble up, then add the broth and stir till everything is mixed well. Add the shrimp and let it cook about 2 minutes, then stir in the cream, parsley, and cheese. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt if necessary (If sauce is too thick, add more broth.) Don't worry about the shrimp being cooked enough. Off the heat, put the lid on and let the shrimp sit till the pasta is cooked and drained and ready for the sauce. Check the shrimp before serving to be sure it's done, but shrimp doesn't take long to cook. I used the 21-30 size which was perfect for this dish.

If desired, top with additional Parmesan cheese when serving, but don't overpower the seafood by adding too much.  Serve this with a nice green salad, if desired.

Yield:  2-4 servings  (For us, 4 servings because we are not big eaters.)

DRY AGING OF BEEF -- EXPERIMENT #1 -- DAY 5

Here's our meat on day 1. Guy changed the cloth every day around dinner time. It's simple: just take the old cloth off and wrap the clean cloth around the meat. Finis. Back in fridge.

(The old cloth will have blood on it. Guy rinsed the old cloth well, hung it to dry and kept it in a clean bucket until all the cloths were ready to be put in the washer.)

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Here's the meat on day 5. It's gotten darker. Not too much mold, at least not yet. The humidity was at 75F before the meat went in the fridge. After the meat went in, the humidity rose to 85F, which is still ok, but Guy wanted to keep it to 75F. So he bought two rechargeable silica gel canisters ($17.73 incl. shipping) and put one in the fridge. The humidity came down to 78F, which made him happier. He also put an open box of baking soda in the fridge to keep it fresh-smelling.

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Here's the other end of the meat. So far, everything is going well. Every time he takes the meat out, we start drooling. Soon we'll be tasting these delicious steaks.