Category Archives: Food Photography

April 11, 2016 · 2:04 pm

Stand Up Pork Roll Ups

3loafs
Well, back to cooking. Here’s something for real pork carnivores.

Our friends the Kings on Chesapeake Bay, sent us a recipe for Shrimp and Grits which eventually became ramekin Shrimp and Quinoa in the new book. They recently sent one of their daughter’s recipes for Pork Meatloaf which they had tried as a ramekin dish. I thought I would work on it to develop a stand up ramekin dish, so here’s my version. The Kings probably get a more flavorful grade of ground pork from their local butcher. My first try, made with super market pork, was a little bland, so I added 3 chopped up strips of raw bacon and some garlic to favor it up a bit. We also flattened out a large meatball sized chunk, put dried fruit in the center, rolled it up and inserted the roll into the tortilla. Kind of like a fruit stuffed pork tenderloin. This was much better, our pork needed the sweetness of the fruit. Don’t try to pack too much mix into the tortilla cup as they will just tear. I didn’t think the egg on top added anything to it, so it’s your choice. Myself I’d just place a thick slice of egg on top after cooking. If you’re not a pork fan this should also work with hamburger. Some one could even work out a tofu version! You could also make this as a single mini meat loaf in a cocotte, just pack the egg or the fruit into the center.  It would make for an interesting presentation. Makes  3 servings.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. pork sausage stuffing
1 egg Hard Boiled and shelled, cut in thick slices, optional
3 strips of bacon coarsely chopped
1/4 cup diced onion
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 tsp. Herbs de Provence
1/4 tsp. crushed garlic
couple of dashes of salt and pepper to taste
1/2 – 4oz.  jar of chopped pimentos
small amount of dried fruit, apricots or prunes
1 Grande flour burrito

Directions:

TortillaPreheat oven to 350° f.
Boil the egg before needed as they should cool before using. I like them a little on the soft side, boil about 6 min. Cut into thick rounds
Mix the meat, bacon,onion, beaten egg, bread crumbs, spices and pimentos together.
Add the fruit to the center if you wish. Cut a grande burrito in half and pin the ends together with a toothpick, place this in a PAM sprayed ramekin. Gently fill the ramekin with the mixture about 2/3 full.

1loafBake for 25 – 30 min. until the tortilla browns on the edges. Pick the tortilla up using two forks, one on each side and place it on a plate. Place the slice of egg on top if you want.

You can make an interesting presentation by cutting them in half length wise like below.
Enjoy!

3longloafs

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March 30, 2016 · 11:11 pm

The New Book Is Finished

AppleRU

It took us awhile but the new book is finally finished and in print. Above is one of the desserts, Apple Roll Ups, kind of like a small stand up apple strudel. 33 new recipes including desserts, as well as the original 17 from the first book. We think it’s a tour de force of ramekin cooking. Just $19.95 on Amazon, click on the image to the right. To create more interest, we’re treating the old book as an introduction to ramekin cooking and we’ve reduced the price to $10.95, we won’t make much but we think people should try this process out. Now at least we can get back to cooking!

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January 12, 2016 · 1:59 pm

And Now “The Big Book of Small Foods”

CoverSmallWe’ve been working away on the next version of “Small Foods”and here it is. Right now it’s only the Kindle version but soon it will be a beautiful printed book as well. Kindle has some limitations as far as books with lots of photos and artistic layout are concerned, but they do adapt to any tablet or phone so I guess there is some value to it. I would think for RVers it would be great as it removes the need to carry around a cookbook in a limited space. Homes, apartments, RVs, boats with ovens, there are tons of places you can use a small foods cook book. (In a boat you might want to use a large muffin pan as ceramic ramekins could roll around due to the boat rocking). I myself prefer a hard copy book, but I’m sure there are some who prefer to get their recipes digitally.

The new book has the original 17 recipes and 33 more, including desserts! Many of these dishes have been featured here and some have not. Just $3.95 (U.S.) on Kindle.

 

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In the meantime, starting tomorrow, we have reduced the Kindle price of the “Small Foods” book to $2.99. We feel that this is a good introduction to the small foods process and we’d like everyone to try it.

More recipes to come here on BillsEntree so keep checking for new food treats.

 

Enjoy!

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December 15, 2015 · 4:16 pm

Beef Stroganoff in a Cup

Bstroweb

 

Warm, with beef, noodles and cream, what could be better on a cold winter night. I like to use precooked, beef tips, they just melt in your mouth. You’ll probably find them in the ham and hot dog area of your market. We like it with a nice salad and a good Beaujolais. Life is good!

Ingredients

1 15 oz. pkg. precooked Beef Tips
1 4 oz. can Mushrooms, drained
3 pats of Butter
¼ cup diced onion
1 10 oz. can Beef Broth
1 Tbs. Flour
1 cup Medium Egg Noodles
Dash of Catsup, Garlic Powder, Dijon Mustard and Worcester Sauce
Pepper to taste (there’s usually enough salt in the broth and beef)
¼ cup heavy whipping Cream
1 Flour Tortilla
Sour Cream for the top or use Creme Fraiche (50/50 Heavy Cream and Sour Cream)
PAM cooking spray

Directions

Spray 3 eight to ten ounce ramekins with PAM. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

Boil the egg noodles in salted water until they are slightly softened (about 3-4 min.), rinse, drain and reserve. Sauté the onion in the butter and when it has softened a little add the tablespoon of flour and stir it in well to coat all of the flour. Add about ¾ cup of the of broth, the mushrooms and dashes of catsup, mustard, garlic powder, pepper and Worcester sauce. Pour it into a medium sized bowl.

Separate the beef from most of the gravy in the box (you will need a little of it and they give you way too much) and add it to the bowl. Now pour in the whipping cream and the noodles and stir it all together. Cut the tortilla into thin strips and rough them up a little between your hands to form noodles. Fill the ramekins with the mixture and place a mound of the tortilla noodles on top. Bake for about 30 min. until the liquid is bubbling and the tortilla noodles have browned.

Serve in the hot ramekin with a dab of sour cream on top and a dash of paprika for color.

 

 

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September 3, 2015 · 3:55 pm

French Toast in a Cup

3AshevilleWe had the pleasure of staying at the Asia Spa and Bed in Asheville NC. It is a cozy little B&B just six bedrooms, but all beautifully decorated and very, very comfortable. We went there to visit the River Arts district, a very large collection of galleries and working studios in Asheville, most are open to visitors, only how they ever get any work done is a mystery to me with all the visitors. Asia serves a breakfast every day and on our first day we had French Toast in a ramekin! Imagine my surprise, I’ve written a book about ramekin cooking and here’s some one actually doing it. I haven’t thought of French Toast in a ramekin. It was great, so I asked the manager, Nicolette, if I could use the recipe, she said yes, so here is my version. Like French Toast it’s very simple and this one you make the night before. Double or triple the mixture and make four or six… and feed an army! They are all done at once so no waiting. We told her she should write an Asia Spa cook book.

Makes two

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
4 slices of bread, not Wonder bread
2 dashes of cinnamon
PAM spray
Two eight ounce ramekins (2 – 11oz. ones)
Confectioner’s sugar
2 pats of butter
Peach or Apple sliced thin (optional)

Directions

FT1In a small bowl beat the eggs well, then add the half and half and cinnamon. Cut the bread into quarter slices that will fit into the ramekin.  Spray the ramekins with PAM. Dip the cut bread into the egg mix four times or so  and put the slices in the ramekin with the bread standing up until it is full. Our friends like to put a thin slice of fruit between each slice of bread. Leave some of the crust showing as it will brown and create eye appeal. Place a small dab of butter and then a little cinnamon on top. Put them into the fridge and allow them to rest overnight.

Next day – Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

Put the ramekins into the oven and bake for 30 min. or until they brown a little on top. Cut around the sides of the cup with a butter knife and using a fork and the butter knife on either side, carefully lift the toast out of the cup. Dust them with a little XXX sugar. Serve with some maple or other syrups on the side and some fresh fruit. At Asia we had a berry mix; blueberries, strawberries and black berries. Very yummie! PS they do freeze well, just defrost for about an hour and pop them into the toaster oven.
FtoastSM

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July 14, 2015 · 1:05 pm

Artichoke and Spinach Pie

WebSA

We usually have this dish as a side for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. I thought it would make a good entrée as well, so I worked up this version. Small size, no meat, it makes a perfect light dish for summer with a salad. If you need a larger, casserole style for a big dinner, just double or triple the ingredients, skip the Filo dough and just put some bread crumbs on top to brown. We like to add some fresh cilantro to it, that brightens the taste and adds a little zing. Makes about three 8 oz. ramekins.

Ingredients

1 14 oz. can of whole Artichokes
1 Pkg. frozen Spinach
4 oz. Cream cheese
4 Tbs. of Butter, warmed
¼ cup of bread Crumbs
¼ cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro leaves (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
1 pkg. frozen filo dough
PAM spray
Cilantro or flat parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f. and spray two or three ramekins with PAM

Defrost the spinach and cook it in the microwave until it is hot. Then put it into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Press the water out of the spinach. Rinse and drain the artichokes, cut off the stems if they have any. You want these to stand up in the cup. You can add the stems to the spinach mix, if you wish for flavor. Press the water out of the artichokes between paper towels.

Cream the spinach, onions, chopped cilantro, butter, bread crumbs and cream cheese together.

Place two sheets of Filo in each ramekin and let the sides droop over the top. Stand up enough of the artichokes in the ramekin to cover the bottom of each. Put a layer of of the spinach butter combination on top. Fold the filo dough over on top of the ramekin. Bake for 30 min. or until the top browns well. Pick the package out of the dish using two forks, plate it and I like to put a leaf of cilantro or flat parsley on top as a decoration, a slice of a small tomato works well too.

Serve with a salad and a good Pinot Grigo, Enjoy!

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January 13, 2015 · 5:00 pm

Veggie Pile Up

Veggie Pileup

My wife has been trying for years (maybe even decades) to get me to eat more vegetarian dishes. This is one that I really like and over the years she has refined this recipe so I like it even more. It utilizes all kinds of vegetables and occasionally I can even get her to put some meat in it like left over smoked turkey sausage or a little cooked hamburger. Unless we’re cooking this for company, we use something like a 9 or 10 inch CorningWare dish. That’s more than enough for dinner for two and leftovers to use as a side dish a few days later. It will keep in the fridge for a few days, but it doesn’t freeze well.  If you need more for a party or big family just double or triple the recipe.

I am going to put this one in the next “Small Foods” book, but first I have to figure out how to reduce the vegetables down to fit in a ramekin. The problem is I never see small eggplants in our store. So even though eggplant is relatively cheap, I’d hate to throw out a half one. They don’t keep after being cut.  I guess since it’s vegetarian you could use a larger ramekin. I have ten and eleven ounce ones that would fill the bill.

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, skinned, cut into 1/2” slices
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup Olive Oil for frying
1 large chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 each sliced green & red peppers
1 green zucnini, sliced
1 yellow zuchini, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes (15oz) (we like the Hunt’s Fire Roasted)
1/2 Tbs. basil
1 Tbs. Oregano
A couple of dashes of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
A dash or two of Spike or seasoned salt
Salt and pepper – to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded

Directions:

1) Dip eggplant slices in beaten egg, coat in bread crumbs, cook in oil in skillet until browned and tender. Set aside.

2) Saute onion, garlic, peppers, and zucchini in olive oil. Add tomatoes and spices. Cook until liquid evaporates.

3) Layer eggplant and tomato mixture in shallow casserole, sprinkling parmesan and mozzarella in between layers. Top with tomato mixture and cheeses.

4) Bake 350F, 45 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is browned a little and melted.

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December 16, 2014 · 6:26 pm

Mini Chocolate Soufflés

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Don’t fear the soufflé! It is not a guaranteed flop. The trick is to keep your mixing bowl and beaters grease and oil free. Even the smallest amount of oil can result in the egg whites not stiffening up.

In keeping with the portion control aspect of the book, we are offering small soufflés. The idea is to cook them in micro muffin pans, one or two of these is more than enough for a dessert. They might even make an interesting appetizer. They cook quickly, just 15 mins. or so, and they don’t deflate like a larger scale soufflé. We replace the sugar in the recipe with Splenda. We will be placing this recipe in the next version of my book, “Small Foods”.

You can also make larger ones in ramekins. Put them in the oven when you serve the dinner. They cook in about 30 mins. so by the time you are done they’ll be ready. They need to be served hot from the oven as they do begin to shrink very quickly as they cool.

Ingredients

¼ cup of Splenda (1/3rd cup if you desire a sweeter soufflé)
1 Tbs. Cornstarch
1/8 Tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 Tsp. salt
½ cup milk
½ Tsp. vanilla
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate (Baker’s Chocolate)
2 egg yolks (split the whole eggs into yolks and whites)
1 Tbs. melted butter
2 egg whites

Directions

Makes 12 minis or two 7 oz. ramekins

Heat oven to 350 degrees f.

Measure the chocolate carefully. Look at the weight of the bar on the package and figure out how many blocks will make an ounce or use a postal scale. Melt the chocolate in a microwave, double broiler or one small pot in a big pot of boiling water .

Mix the Splenda and cornstarch in a small pan. Gradually add the milk stirring to dissolve the dry ingredients, then stir in the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Boil and stir until all is dissolved. Set aside to cool a little.

Separate the egg yolk from the white into separate bowls. Beat the egg yolks in a small mixing bowl. I use a whisk for this and beat until the yolks are thickened. Beat the chocolate mix into the yolks. Beat for about a minute and let stand until it cools.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl on high, adding the crème of tartar and salt. You will need to beat these for a while as you want the whites to form stiff peaks approx. 5 min. Stir about half of this mix into the chocolate mix, then gently fold the remainder in.

Spray a mini muffin pan with PAM and then fill the cups to the brim. Cook for about 15 min. They will rise up and a toothpick inserted will come out clean when they are done. These can cool and be served as needed, they don’t deflate much.

If you are going to make ramekin sized soufflés, spray two ramekins with PAM and fill them about ¾ full. Cook for about 30 mins. (same note for being done as above). Serve immediately in the cup (warn your guests that the crockery is hot!) as they do deflate rapidly.

I like to add a dollop of whip cream to the top to dress them up.

P.S. I’ve placed these in the fridge for a couple of days and warmed them in the toaster oven. They come out just fine. I’ve frozen them too and that works as well.

Enjoy!

ThumbnailSmallFoodsCoverMy book “Small Foods” available on Amazon, has lots more recipes, sorry no desserts or sauces, just Entrees and all of them ramekin sized. We will add the desserts section in the next book.

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November 15, 2014 · 7:34 pm

Black And White Stuffing

T day is coming up so i’m reposting this.Stuffing
I’m continuing with the Holiday theme for a little longer. I’ve made this stuffing for a very long time and it seems to be a tradition now with our family. It’s basically just a bread stuffing, but using pumpernickle and Italian bread. Don’t worry if you don’t like the taste of pumpernickle the turkey kind of overrides all the other flavors. I buy it in the bakery department of our food store and if it’s not sliced, I have them slice it.

BreadCut1

That way, you save one step and have nice uniform squares for your stuffing. I slice it again the long way, usually one half loaf at a time and then slice it the other way into 1″ cubes.

Put it all into a big bowl and let it dry out for 24 hrs or so. That way it won’t absorb too much liquid from the bird. My wife likes it baked outside of the bird, so add some chicken stock to the stuffing. I like it in the bird, you won’t need the stock. One loaf of both breads will do a 12 lb. or so bird.

Ingredients

1 Loaf Crusty Italian Bread chopped in 1″ cubes
1 Loaf Dark Pumpernickle chopped in 1″ cubes
1 large onion chopped
1  sweet apple peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup Celery stalks and leaves chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/2 Tsp. each Salt and Pepper
1 Tsp. crushed Sage
1 Tsp. crushed Thyme
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock if baking the stuffing

Directions

I get out a large soup pot, kind of like a lobster pot or a giant bowl, to hold all of the bread. Chop the bread into 1″ cubes. Leave them sit at least over night (two is better) to dry out a little. The drier they are the less mushy the stuffing will be when done. Add the seasonings to the bread and mix.

Saute the vegetables in the margarine until softened. Add the apple and raisins (if you don’t like raisins use Crazins (sweetened cranberries, or dried apricots), the wine (and the stock if you’re not baking it in the bird). Mix it all up and stuff the bird (or a large baking dish, cover and cook for about an hour at the end of the bird).

Enjoy!

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November 2, 2014 · 8:47 pm

Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce

T day is coming up so i’m reposting this. I’ve been out sick for the past couple of weeks, Flu, Cold, Infected Tooth, who knows? Any way I was in no mood to Blog so no Blog.

Csauce

It’s the season so I decided to add a couple more of our Holiday favorites. Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce is not totally sugar free. It does have some orange juice in it and cranberries do have a little sugar in them. This is a whole berry sauce (not jellied). We used to make it with tons of sugar, now we use Splenda. One batch makes enough for about 6 people, so if it’s only you and one other, cut everything in half. Ideally you want to make this ahead of time so it has time to thicken in the fridge. The day before is good but at least 4-6 hours ahead.

Ingredients

2 12 oz. bags of fresh cranberries
1 good sized orange
1 cup of Splenda
2 cups of water
2 Tbs. of White Wine
1 Tbs. of Lime juice

Directions

Wash the cranberries in a strainer and drain. Put them in a medium pot with the two cups of water, the wine and lime juice. Make zest out of the orange skin using a zester. It’s a tool you can buy at the grocery store that cuts thin strips out of the peel, leaving the white pith on the orange.

Put the zest into the pot and squeeze the juice from the orange and add it to the pot. Add the cup of Splenda and stir it all together.

Cover and boil for about 5 min. or so. Then turn down the heat to low and simmer for about ten minutes. Let it cool on the stove and then in the fridge.

Enjoy!

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My book “Small Foods” available on Amazon, has lots more recipes, sorry no deserts or sauces, just Entrees and all of them ramekin sized. We will add the deserts section in the   next book.

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