Kae's Baked Pears

This is a very rich and elegant but fall-off-the-chair easy to prepare dish. They key is to cook the pears until the sugar browns. Serve a pear per person topped with a the sauce. At first, the amount of powdered sugar may seem excessive but its is needed in order to form the resulting caramel sauce. Pears are one of the few fruits that sweeten and ripen after they are picked, turning their texture from dry and gritty to juicy and smooth. Buy the fruit ahead, allowing the hard pears to ripen 2 days.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

4 Firm Bosc pears

¾ Cup powdered sugar

3 Tablespoon cold butter, cut up to small pieces

½ Cup heavy cream, heated

Sprigs of mint for garnish

Peel, and half pears. Remove core with a spoon or melon baller. Using a very sharp knife tip, v-cut the woody stem and remove. Place in buttered glass Pyrex baking dish just big enough to hold pears flat and dome side up. Sprinkle with plenty of powdered sugar, dot with butter. Bake in 400 F oven for 40 minutes or until soft and sugar is dark brown. Half way through, baste the butter over the top as the pears. Add hot cream¹ and cook another 10 minutes.

Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Note:

1. I heat the cream in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave until it just begins to boil.

2. If using sweet butter, add a shake of salt to help bring out the flavor of the pears.

Pork Fajitas

 Allow guest to garnish and prepare their own fajitas to taste by offering bowls of garnishes. See text below.

Fajita Sauce (see recipe) Re-warm just before serving

2 ½ pound Pork Boston butt, sliced into thin strips

¼ cup lime juice

2 Tablespoons sweet paprika

2 Green and 2 red bell peppers, sliced into thin strips lengthwise

1 Large white onion, peeled, sliced into wedges

Peanut oil

20 Fajita-size flour tortillas

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes:

Crumbled Queso fresco cheese

1 Bunch of cilantro, chopped

6 scallions, chopped

2 Ripe, seeded tomatoes, chopped, topped with

½ Red onion, minced

1 clove garlic, finely minced

2 Avocadoes, skinned and sliced length-wise (do this last to avoid oxidation)

2~3 Limes, quartered

Small bowl of sour cream

Small bowl of remaining fajita sauce

Cut meat into uniform strips trimming away excess fat. Refrigerate and marinate pork strips several hours (or more) in a plastic Ziploc bag with lime juice and paprika.

Prepare bell peppers and onion slices. Once prepared, set aside until needed.

Prepare garnishes that go into bowls so guest can customize the assembly of their own fajita. Chopped tomatoes; put in bowl mix with minced red onion and mince garlic. Chop scallions and place in their own bowl. Chop cilantro in another bowl. When slicing avocados, do this just before serving to avoid oxidation discoloration. Quarter limes in a bowl. Prepare a bowl of crumble Queso fresco cheese. Prepare a bowl of sour cream. Cover bowls with plastic wrap, then refrigerate until needed. (Cheese is removed from refrigerator at least an hour before serving.)

Slice avocadoes. Set out garnishes on side table.

Heat wok until very hot. Add two tablespoons peanut oil. Cook bell peppers and onion slices until al dente, tossing continuously. Add a tablespoon or two of fajita sauce. Remove from heat and empty wok into a large bowl.

Reheat wok until very hot, add more oil, add ½ the pork. Cook until browned while tossing continuously. When done, turn out into bowl and repeat to cook remaining pork. When done, add back balance of meat and vegetables, Heat in wok with a tablespoon or more of fajita sauce. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, serve remaining fajita sauce aside the garnishes.

Insert tortillas in a fresh and clean folded cotton towel. Place in microwave and heat on high 2 minutes or until these are hot. Allow these to rest a minute before using. Fold towel back over unused shells.

Fajita Sauce

This suace has a mild flavor, the chipotle contribute a slightly smoke undertone. Just enough cumin is added to give fajita's a tradition flavor without being overbearing.

2 Small dried chipotle peppers
2 Dried new Mexico pod
1 Tablespoon flour
1 ½ Tablespoon lard
1 Clove of garlic, minced
½ small onion, minced
1/2 Teaspoon brown sugar
½ Cup chicken stock
Pepper and hot red pepper to taste
Cumin to taste
Pinch of oregano (Optional)

Soak chipotle and New Mexico peppers in hot water until soft. When soft, pull off stems and add to blender glass. Add chicken stock and blend until very well blended. Strain paste through a fine strainer while scrubbing paste with a wooden spoon. Melt lard in a sauce pan then add flour. Cook on medium for 4 minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon. Add sugar, garlic, and onion and cook on low for 20 minutes or more add additional chicken stock if sauce gets too thick. Correct seasoning with a pinch or so of cumin, salt and hot pepper to taste. Set aside until needed.

Vicki’s Potato Salad

This is a delicious potato salad made with russet potatoes or another variety and is perfect for summer outings, camping, the barbecue, or potlucks. It is one of my family's favorites. You can make this one or two days ahead. It is better the second day.

Boil with skin on - Test with fork for doneness

The main star is the potato so getting good ones is the start of a great salad. When selecting potatoes, use ones that are hard, firm, smooth and clean. Avoid those with wrinkled or wilted skins, soft dark areas, discoloration, cut or bruised surfaces, signs of greening or sprouting. Freshly dug new potatoes should be well washed and lightly scrubbed with a bristle brush. Leave the skins on when boiling for less water absorbtion.

The decision to peel the skins is a matter of personal preference. Presentation is improved if they are peeled. Red or new potatoes are often used in salads to avoid peeling as these potatoes have a thinner skin. Russet potatoes are the ideal potato salad maker as they are dense and suck up flavor and liquid substantially better than other potatoes. Because of this tendency, it is important not to over boil these in the least amount, strain them very well in a very large colander. The residual heat will help drive off moisture in the form of steam so do not rinse. If you buy small potatoes, you can easily cook them with their skins on; only peeling them when they are nice and cool. You can buy small potatoes and bake them but just make sure you are testing for doness frequently enough that the potato is not over done. Baking or microwave requires that the potatoes be pierced with a fork. Trying to bake large potatoes is too difficult as the out­side tends to be over cooked while the inside is still excessively hard.

If you have skins on, you can quench the potatoes with water to prevent the potatoes from continuing to cook, which they will do from their own residual heat. Any potatoes not quite done can go into the microwave for a minute at a time, until they are done. A potato is done when it can be just pierced easily with a fork. If the fork runs in with no resistance, a potato is over-done. To make a perfect potato salad the potatoes need to still have a bite to them – no one will like potato mush. If peeling potatoes and boiling them, cut them into large but equal size pieces so they cook at the same rate and will be done at the same time. Larger pieces tend to absorb less water.

8 Large or 16 small Russet potatoes or another variety

3 Ribs of chopped celery

Good Season’s Zesty Italian Salad Dressing, 6-Ounce Packet

Olive oil (per directions on Salad Dressing packet)

Fine red wine vinegar (per directions on Salad Dressing packet)

Water (per directions on Salad Dressing packet)

1 Chopped red onion

6 Scallions, chopped

8 Hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped

4 Chopped dill pickles

4 Tablespoons dill pickle juice

Best Foods (Hellmann’s) mayonnaise as required, see instructions

3~4 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 Tablespoon dill

1 Small can chopped black olives (optional)

Salt

Ground black pepper

Prepare the Good Season’s Zesty Italian Salad Dressing per directions.

Cook unpeeled potatoes until pierced easily with a fork. When cool, peel them and cut them into bite sized pieces with a small pairing knife. Put potatoes in a large non–reactive bowl. Pour in the salad dressing mix, toss and refrigerate for an hour or 24 hours.

Dressed for a marinate in the refrigerator

Remove from refrigerator and combine all ingredients with the marinated potatoes adding enough mayonnaise to make sure the salad is well lubricated, adding salt and a generous amount of black pepper to taste and stir gently to combine.

Refrigerate several hours before serving.