lunch – Page 20 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

10-14: Lamb on Skewers

Jamie Martin Group 10: Lamb & Veal, Section 2: Main Courses May 29, 2016July 6, 2020appetizers, barbecue, basil, blender, boneless, broiled, celery, chicken, chilled, chopped, cubed, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, food processor, garlic, gluten-free, Greek, green bell peppers, grilled, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, kebabs, lamb, leg of lamb, lunch, marinated, mushrooms, olive oil, party food, pork, red bell peppers, rice, shallots, skewered, tomatoes, untested, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, white wine, yellow onions

Lamb and veal were not big in my house growing up, but I’ll eat a bit of lamb every so often these days. I’ve only covered one other lamb recipe so far–10-12: Basil-Baked Lamb. This recipe, 10-14: Lamb on Skewers, actually was made in tandem with that one, since my cut of boneless leg of lamb was too large for that recipe. These skewers can be made with pork, chicken, or just veggies–making them great for a party or event where you have a lot of different dietary preferences.

Making skewers/kebabs is a really good way to use up an extra (or oddly shaped/not pretty) cut of meat, as well as a way to make tough cuts of meat easier to eat. Another benefit: those who have a difficult time eating large pieces of meat (like old people and little kids) might have an easier time with smaller pieces (be careful of choking, though). One more benefit: you cook your vegetables at the same time as your meat–add some rice and you’ve got the whole meal.

5-6: Cheese Soufflé

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 28, 2016April 29, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, Béchamel sauce, black pepper, breakfast, butter, Cheddar, cheese, cornstarch, creamy, dinner, egg whites, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, French, Gouda, grated, Gruyère, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, lunch, melted, milk, Monterey Jack, party food, salt, shredded, side dish, soufflés, stand mixer, untested, vegetarian, whipped

Soufflés are one of the stereotypical fancy foods–a harried chef attempting to keep one from falling due to its delicate, temperamental nature used to be a common comedy trope.

The two most common variations are the dessert version (like a chocolate one) and the savory version (like this recipe, 5-6: Cheese Soufflé). I’ve covered one savory soufflé dish already from this book: 4-11: Potato Soufflé with Onions.

This would be a good recipe to add some green onions or chives to–I think it would add some nice color to the soufflé without weighing it down. Simply Delicious shows this recipe in individual ramekins, but I’m going to make it all in one big soufflé dish–I have to justify its existence in my cabinet.

3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 26, 2016March 14, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, bacon, black pepper, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, crab, creamy, croutons, dinner, easy, egg yolks, eggs, grated, green onions, half-and-half, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, leeks, lunch, melted, milk, parsley, roux, salt, sautéed, shredded, shrimp, side dish, soups, Swiss, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, whipping cream

Here’s a question for you: is cheese soup really soup? To me, it’s essentially the sauce from macaroni and cheese, thinned down and maybe dressed up with some onions or bacon. Often potato or broccoli gets added as well, in an attempt to “healthify” it. No matter what, it just seems…indulgent. I was on my own to make and eat 3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup, so I kept this one simple.

Don’t get me wrong–I do enjoy broccoli cheese soup (and make one every few months or so for work), but leek & cheese (which this one is) doesn’t excite me as much. This one was a bit leek-y for me, but maybe I just lack appreciation for the leek.

9-24: Tangy Double Meat Patties

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses May 26, 2016July 6, 2020all-purpose flour, anchovies, barbecue, black olives, black pepper, breakfast, burgers, butter, chili sauce, chives, chopped, deglazed, demi-glace, diced, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, eggs, garlic, green olives, green onions, griddle, grilled, ground beef, ground meat, ground pork, ground turkey, ham, horseradish, inexpensive, ketchup, lunch, mushrooms, pan-fried, parsley, party food, pickles, salt, sautéed, shiitake, stuffed, tangy, untested, yellow mustard, yellow onions

We’ve covered the fact that burger patties are a common recipe for using ground meat–9-25: Juicy Grilled Meat Patties, 9-44: Wok-Fried Beef Patties, and 9-31: Savory Turkey Patties are just a few of the methods outlined by Simply Delicious. 9-24: Tangy Double Meat Patties are another variation, this time with a flavorful filling of your choice.

Snappy is such a great adjective for describing food. I don’t think anything past about 1988 has been described as such, but if you dig into the 1950s-60s era of cookbooks (of which I have a ton), it’s all over the place.

1-28: Picnic Tuna Sandwiches

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 15, 2016February 5, 2020appetizers, avocados, black pepper, breads, butter, celery, cheese, chilled, chopped, diced, easy, eggs, hard-boiled, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, lemon juice, lunch, mayonnaise, paprika, party food, Pepper Jack, pickles, picnic, radishes, red onions, salt, sandwiches, sour cream, tuna, untested, whole wheat bread, yellow mustard

Leave it to Simply Delicious to try to make tuna sandwiches sound fancy. 1-28: Picnic Tuna Sandwiches is a basic method for constructing a sandwich, using tuna fish, presumably for a picnic. It’s really all in the title.

I suppose you have to learn how to make tuna salad somehow–maybe you grow up with parents who don’t like it and you never learn. That’s not what happened in my case (my mother adores tuna salad), but I suppose it’s the case for some people, and so recipes like this must exist. Reminds me of this xkcd comic.

4-34: Italian Roasted Vegetables

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 14, 2016October 13, 2020appetizers, asparagus, black pepper, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, eggplant, favorites, gluten-free, green beans, green bell peppers, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, Hutton house, inexpensive, Italian, lunch, mushrooms, olive oil, pared, party food, red bell peppers, revisited, roasted, Rozie house, salt, side dish, snacks, tender-crisp, Thanksgiving, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow bell peppers, zucchini

This one’s short and sweet. I’ve made 4-34: Italian Roasted Vegetables a few times before, once as part of a big dinner party I cooked for when I was about 13 (6-22: Crispy Chicken Drumsticks and 9-20: Meat Roly-Poly were part of that as well) and Thanksgiving 2000 based on my mother’s notations on the back of the card. I know I’ve used the concept multiple times in other instances, even if I wasn’t following this exact recipe.

This is more a method than a particular recipe–you can use pretty much whatever vegetables you want with this one. Now’s a perfect time for this recipe–farmer’s markets are open and there’s lots of good stuff out there to roast. 🔥

9-10: Lean Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses May 13, 2016July 5, 2020appetizers, basil, black pepper, boiled, bread crumbs, canola oil, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, diced, dinner, dried herbs, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, garlic, ground meat, ground turkey, herbs and spices, Italian seasoning, lunch, meatballs, minced, olive oil, panko, parsley, party food, salt, sautéed, tomato sauce, untested, veal, white bread, white pepper, yellow onions

Here’s another one of those 1980s attempts at “healthy”. 9-10: Lean Meatballs with Tomato Sauce calls for the use of veal, which doesn’t immediately resonate with me as being “healthy”. A quick and dirty Google search comes up with veal having less calories than pork but more cholesterol than beef. Calories were the enemy in the 1980s, so I suppose that’s part of their justification for deeming veal meatballs “healthy”.

I’m not a huge fan of veal, and considering there’s a whole lamb & veal section to this book that I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of, we’re going to keep these meatballs “healthy” and swap veal for turkey. My mom was (and still is) a huge proponent of ground turkey, so this is probably a swap she or I would have made if we’d made this before.

17-38: Olive Bread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods May 12, 2016September 20, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, baked goods, basil, black olives, breads, breakfast, brushed, buns, cheese, chipotle, crescents, crispy, dairy-free, dinner, dough, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, garlic, Greek, herbes de Provence, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, inexpensive, kalamata, kneaded, lunch, olive oil, oregano, parchment paper, Parmesan, party food, proofed, revisited, rolls, rosemary, salt, sandwiches, side dish, Silpat, sliders, snacks, Tarzana apt, vegetarian, yeast

Here’s one I’ve made a couple of times before. 17-38: Olive Bread is a nice, easy bread to make, especially if you don’t have a ton of experience with the process. I think sometimes yeast doughs can be intimidating to beginners, but this one hasn’t failed me yet–even when I was still just beginning to make bread. If you’re looking for a more “plain” type easy bread, check out 17-6: Best Ever White Bread. However, if you like those olive batard breads from the bakery section of the market, you’ll love this one.

I’ve made this twice before, once in its intended form (but with more olives because I LOVE olives) and again soon after, but in a smaller bun-size with chipotle peppers & garlic instead of olives. I used them for slider buns for burgers intended for a New Years’ party, judging from the date on the card. What will I change about this recipe this time?

12-5: Greek Rice

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses May 12, 2016July 27, 2020almonds, black pepper, blanched, boiled, chopped, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, Greek, green bell peppers, inexpensive, long-grain, lunch, minced, nuts, olive oil, party food, pine nuts, red bell peppers, rice, sautéed, side dish, sweet peas, tomatoes, untested, vegan, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

Here’s a healthier option–some of the last few have been more on the indulgent side. Don’t get me wrong–there’s plenty more indulgence to come. 12-5: Greek Rice is a nice vegetarian option for a party, picnic, or just an everyday meal. I’m not entirely sure what makes it “Greek”, but we’ll go with it.

What else can I say–it’s just not that exciting. The final dish actually ends up similar to what Americans call Spanish rice, but with more veggies and a somewhat tangy flavor. If that interests you, read on.

9-20: Meat Roly-Poly

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses May 1, 2016July 5, 20201998 dinner, all-purpose flour, baked goods, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, bread crumbs, breakfast, butter, canola oil, corn oil, diced, dinner, dough, egg wash, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, green bell peppers, ground beef, ground meat, herbs and spices, Hutton house, kneaded, lunch, melted, milk, mushrooms, panko, paprika, pared, party food, proofed, red bell peppers, revisited, salt, sautéed, sesame seeds, Silpat, vegetable oil, vegetables, vegetarian, yeast, yellow onions

Here’s one I’ve made before. In one of my previous entries (6-22: Crispy Chicken Drumsticks), I mentioned doing all the cooking for a family dinner party when I was 12-13 years old with a similarly-aged family friend of mine. 9-20: Meat Roly-Poly is another one of the recipes I remember making for that party.

Another memory from this dinner party: I had just gotten a new CD (Version 2.0 by Garbage) and we were listening to it on my parents’ GIANT 1970s hi-fi stereo system over and over as we spent the day cooking. Gives you an idea of how old I am, and how long I’ve been cooking from this book.