A few years ago (before I had this blog), I started compiling some recipes, thinking I was going to put it into a binder by month, so I could have something to refer to yearly. I found the September folder while I was cleaning up, so I’m putting everything here. No pics though (except for one), unless I do a repeat-performance this year.

a Chocolate Gelato made with cornstarch instead of eggs – not authentic, but I was looking for an eggless recipe for my boy who’s allergic to eggs — this fit the bill and was quite good.

Here’s a recipe for a one-pot Jambalaya — I kept a copy of the recipe because the family enjoyed it, but unfortunately I didn’t take note of the source. Tried to find it online so I can give proper credit, but didn’t find it. If you happen to know, please drop me a line so I can edit this post. Thanks.

Jambalaya

� cup olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 jalape�o chili, chopped
1 tablespoon creole seasoning ()
� teaspoon ground cayenne peppers
� teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound andouille sausage
� pound ham or shrimp or chicken
2 14 �-ounce cans chicken broth
1 16-ounce can plum tomatoes, diced, with liquid
3 cups long grain rice

Put everything in pot and bring to boil. Stir, lower heat, and stir occasionally until meats are cooked and rice is tender.

A recipe for baked apples. Again, no credits — I must have rewritten this one, seeing as I’ve got “expeller-pressed canola oil” on it, which is what I put down on my recipes — for my kids’ reference. Might have come from The Best Recipe or one of my other cookbooks (sigh).

Baked Apples

6 baking apples such as Gala, Golden Delicious or Granny Smith
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons expeller-pressed canola oil
6 tablespoons apricot jam, or apple jelly, or other fruit preserve that will go with apple flavors
4 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
� teaspoon allspice
� teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut apples in half lengthwise, remove core and slice apples crosswice thinly, keeping slices together. Place apples in baking dish, fitting apple slices snugly. Combine the rest of the ingredients, and pour evenly over apples. Bake for 30 minutes, basting occasionally.

I must have been looking for something to do with my green olives when I made this recipe: (VERMICELLI WITH SAUCE ALLA SOFIA).

Sorry, can’t find the source for this one either. I’m sure I got it *somewhere*, as I couldn’t have come up with a Cuban recipe on my own, but… here you go.

Cuban Home-Style Red Beans with Pork

7 cups cold water
3 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 bay leaves
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped (1 � cups)
1 pound dried red kidney beans, picked over and rinsed
� cup canola oil
2 pounds meaty spareribs or pork chops, or a combination, trimmed of all visible fat, spareribs cut into individual ribs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce (1 cup)
� cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
� teaspoon miced rosemary
Hot sauce, for serving

1.In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, combine the water, carrots, bay leaves, half of the chopped onions and the beans and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the casserole and simmer the beans gently until they are just tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the spareribs and/or pork chops, season generously with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Add the remaining � cup of chopped onions to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, cilantro, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary to the skillet and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
3. When the beans are tender, add the spareribs and their sauce to the casserole and stir gently to mix well. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the meat is tender, about 50 minutes.
4. Discard the bay leaves. Using a large fork or tongs, remove the meat from the casserole and discard all of the bones. Return the meat to the casserole and stir it into the beans. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls, with hot sauce for sprinkling.
5.Serve with rice.

Citrus-Flavored Broiled Chicken

2/3 cup soy sauce
� cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 boneless chicken breast halves, pounded gently until evenly flattened to about � inch thick

Whisk soy sauce, orange and lime juices and garlic in a bowl large enough to accommodate chicken breast halves. Marinate in refrigerator for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to broil. Transfer chicken breasts skin side down into shallow roasting pan, pouring marinade on top. Broil 5 inches from heat source for about 8 minutes. Turn over and roast for 6 minutes more. Transfer to serving dish and let stand 5 minutes. Slice diagonally and pour sauce over. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Oven-Fried Chicken

1 cup dried bread crumbs
1 � teaspoon salt, divided
� teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
4 tablespoons expeller-pressed canola oil
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 fryer chicken, cut up into 8 pieces, skin discarded if desired

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 450 degrees F. Mix bread crumbs with 1 tsp salt and � tsp pepper. Stir together oil, mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder, and remaining � teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Brush mixture all over chicken, then transfer chicken to bowl of crumbs to coat evenly on both sides, pressing crumbs to help adhere. Bake chicken (if using chicken with skin, put them skin sides up), in baking pan, until well browned and cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes. Let chicken stand 5 to 10 minutes (do not cover).

Well, this one I had to rewrite as I’m posting, as I found that I typed “exposing clothes” instead of “exposing cloves”. That would have been funny on a food blog! Must have come up with this recipe to get “dairy-free”. Ha! I remember my kids loving this because the orangey color from the sweet potato made them think “cheese”.

Garlic Mashed “Cheesy” Po-tah-toes

1 head garlic, left whole with skin
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 large Yukon Gold potatoes
1 large sweet potato
� cup chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Butter, cream, half-and-half, or milk, to taste, if you’re not allergic to dairy

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 450 degrees F. Cut off and discard top � inch of head of garlic, exposing cloves. Rub garlic all over with 1 teaspoon oil and season with salt and pepper, then wrap in foil. Roast garlic until tender when center of clove is pierced with tip of a paring knife, about 40 minutes. Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces, then cover with cold salted water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, 8-10 minutes. Pour off water, then add remaining olive oil and peeled roasted garlic cloves. Mash with a potato masher together with chicken stock (and milk/cream/butter if using) to desired consistency and season with salt and pepper.

This must have been inspired by a trip to the farmer’s market. I remember the aroma in the kitchen as the tomatoes were roasting in the oven. Pasta with Spicy Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce

2 � pounds ripe tomatoes, really ripe heirlooms if you can find them, sliced thinly
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil or other fresh herb to go with tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
� cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons full-bodied red wine
� teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1 pound dried pasta, cooked to al dente stage
freshly grated cheese if desired

Toss everything except pasta and cheese in a large bowl. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast in 400 degree F oven until tomatoes are cooked to desired doneness. Cook pasta while tomatoes are roasting. Toss tomatoes with pasta (and cheese if using) and serve hot.