Flo's Standbys

Dynamite Fried Rice a la Hudson

Servings: 6

1 T margarine	6 Chopped scallions
1/2 lb Coarsely ground pork	1 T soy sauce, plus more as needed
2 Eggs, slightly beaten	2 c Lightly salted cooked rice

Melt margarine in large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and stir and cook. Add meat and soy sauce. Continue cooking until meat is done. Turn up heat and add eggs. Stir briskly, coating meat with egg. Add rice and more soy sauce to taste. Stir until well mixed. Serve with an offering of more soy sauce.

© Flo Leighton 1993

Dutch Potatoes

Servings: 4

4 T Butter or margarine	3 Medium potatoes
1 t Salt	1 t Poppy seeds
1/2 t Ground pepper	2 Small tart apples
1 T Fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in the oven in a shallow 2 quart baking dish (watch it does not get too brown). Slice potatoes about 1/8 inch thick. Add the potatoes, salt, poppy seeds, and pepper to the dish. Toss to coat the potatoes with butter. Bake 30 minutes, tossing and stirring the potatoes twice. Meanwhile peel and slice apples and toss with lemon juice. Set aside.

2. Add the apples to the partially cooked dish and toss to mix. Continue to bake just until the apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Serve hot dusted with cinnamon and sprinkled with parsley.

When I tripled the recipe I found I had to increase the baking time. I also cut butter in half only adding more if the potatoes appear dry. This is a recipe Ceci brought me. It is from the San Francisco Examiner. - Flo Leighton 1993

Potato and Sweet Red Pepper Gratin

Servings: 6

2 lb Baking potatoes	2 Sweet red peppers
1 t Salt	1/2 t Coarse black pepper
2 t Dried thyme	1/2 c Parmesan cheese
2 T Olive oil	1/3 c Dry white wine
1/3 c Chicken stock

Potatoes are peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices. Peppers are stemmed, seeds and membranes discarded, and cut into 1/4 inch julienne strips.

Spray large oven to table baking dish with non-stick spray. Place 1/3 of potatoes in overlapping rows in dish. Sprinkle 1/2 of peppers over potatoes.  Mix salt, pepper and thyme in small bowl and sprinkle 1/3 of mixture over potatoes and peppers in pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of cheese over vegetables and drizzle with 1/3 of oil.

Repeat with 1/3 of potatoes, remaining peppers, 1/3 seasonings, 1/3 cheese and 1 /3 oil. Make final layer with remaining potatoes. Combine wine and stock and pour over potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining seasonings, cheese and oil.

Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. Potatoes should be tender and brown on top. 

This is a Betty Rosbottom, Los Angeles Times recipe. -  Flo Leighton 1993

Jessie Hutton Leighton's Spiced Gooseberries

Servings: 10

3 qt Gooseberries	4 lb Sugar
1 c Vinegar	1 T Cinnamon
1 T Cloves	1/2 T Allspice

This recipe has no directions with it, so I assume you mix ingredients and cook until jam consistency. Grandmother always served a fruit condiment with meat. The one I particularly remember as being non-traditional was apple rather than orange with duck. Betty probably remembers others, including these gooseberries. - Flo Leighton, 1992

Nord's Spaghetti with Clam Sauce

Servings: 4

2 cans Chopped or minced clams, juice reserved	4 Garlic cloves
Several sprigs parsley	Olive Oil
Cooked spaghetti or linguine

Heat enough olive oil in saucepan or frying pan to cover bottom and part way up the sides of the pan. Very lightly brown the garlic in the olive oil. Do not burn. Add just the juice from the two cans of clams to the pan with the olive oil and garlic. Allow to thicken by boiling 5 to 8 minutes. Turn down heat to medium. Add clams and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Right before serving add minced parsley and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve over regular spaghetti or linguine.

Recipe from Nord Zeidner. - Flo Leighton 1992

Couscous Risotto

Servings: 6

1 Large onion	5 Medium garlic cloves
1/2 c Butter	2 1/2 t Cumin
1/2 t Curry powder	2 c Couscous
5 c Chicken stock	1 t Salt(to taste)

Chop onion and mince garlic. In a heavy pot, saute onion and garlic until transparent. Add spices and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add couscous and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Begin adding chicken stock in one-half cup increments, stirring until stock has been absorbed. Continue adding stock by half cups. Add salt and pepper to taste.

© Flo Leighton, 1992

Beth's Black or Red Beans and Rice

Servings: 6

2 T Olive oil	1 lb Hot Italian sausage
1 Poblano pepper	1 Garlic clove
2 Medium onions	1/2 c Tomato puree
1/2 t Salt	1/2 t Thyme
1/8 t Hot pepper flakes	1 1/2 c Chicken broth
1 lb Can black or red beans	3 c Rice, cooked al dente

Cut sausage in 1/4 inch slices. Core, seed, and dice pepper (the Poblano pepper is the long, light green one). Mince garlic and chop onion. Brown sausage in olive oil and drain on paper and reserve. Add pepper, garlic, and onion to pan. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, until soft (don't brown). Add tomato puree, salt, thyme, pepper flakes, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add rice and beans. Fluff. Place sausage slices on top. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Let stand until liquid is absorbed. Taste for seasoning.

Beth says this is excellent served with blackened fish. Beth got this recipe from a co-worker, Donna Pierson, at UST. - Flo Leighton, 1992

Betty's Minnesota Wild Rice

Servings: 6

2 T Butter	1 c Chopped onion
1 c Sliced fresh mushrooms	1 c Wild rice, rinsed
3 Stalks celery	3 c Chicken broth

Melt butter and cook onion until soft. Add mushrooms and cook until just  warmed through. Combine with remaining ingredients in 2 quart casserole. Taste for salt and pepper. Cover and bake until rice is plumped  and fluffy.

Betty taught me how to cook wild rice. This is a slight variation on her original recipe. (Betty taught me a lot about keeping house when we spent summers together at Spectacle Lake.)
- Flo Leighton, 1992

Orzo Pilaf with Mushrooms

Servings: 4

2 T Olive oil	1 Onion, chopped
8 oz Mushrooms, sliced	2 c Chicken stock
1 c Orzo (rice shape pasta)	3 T Pine nuts
2 T Minced parsley

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan and saute onions and mushrooms until golden. Add broth and bring to boil. Stir in orzo, reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until orzo is tender and has absorbed all liquid. Stir occasionally. This takes about l5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

This is a Bon Appetit recipe. - Flo Leighton, 1992

Vegetarian Fried Rice

Servings: 4

3 T Olive oil	1 1/2 t Chopped garlic
1 c Small broccoli florets	3/4 c Sliced onions
2/3 c Sliced snow peas	2/3 c Diced tomatoes
1/4 c Diced fresh mushrooms	1/4 c Julienned carrots
1/4 c Diced celery	1/4 c Diced red bell pepper
4 c Cooked brown or white rice	2 T Oyster sauce
1 1/2 T Thai fish sauce	1 t Black pepper
2 T Diced scallions	1/4 c Thinly sliced leeks

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and saute until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add broccoli, onions, snow peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, celery and bell pepper; stir fry 1 minute. Add rice, oyster sauce, fish sauce,and black pepper; cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with scallions and leeks.

You may wish to cut back on the pepper. Also I seldom have all the vegetables indicated. This recipe is from the Taste section of the Minneapolis newspaper. - Flo Leighton, 1992