Cabbage Rolls

This year, I planted cabbage for the first time. Now, I have four cabbage heads ready to harvest so I looked through Mom's recipe box for a new cabbage recipe. When I told MDS that we were having cabbage rolls, he gave me a skeptical look. Then I told him to think of the rolls as meatballs wrapped in cabbage. It worked. He really liked the cabbage rolls. This recipe will have to make it into our rotation.

When I made these rolls, I just used ground pork and no ground beef just because I had ground pork on hand and pork pairs well with cabbage. This recipe is a bit time consuming to make. I found peeling the cabbage leaves from the head of cabbage difficult to keep the leaves intact. For this reason, I made eight rolls rather than twelve. But despite the challenge of getting complete leaves, this recipe is worth the effort.

Cabbage Rolls 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 3/4 cup cooked rice
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
• 12 large cabbage leaves
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine meat, salt, pepper, rice, onion, and 1 can tomato sauce. Cover cabbage leaves with boiling water for four minutes to soften; drain. Place portions of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf. Roll up by folding ends over. Place seam side down in skillet. Mix remaining tomato sauce with brown sugar, and lemon juice. Pour sauce over rolls. Simmer covered for one and a half hours. Baste often. Enjoy!

Pan Con Tomate

In light summer, my garden produces so many tomatoes, I am always looking for new recipes to use them. Last December, my brother Chris took me to Jaleo for a delicious Spanish lunch. One of the dishes we tried was a Pan Con Tomate that I have re-created here.

This year, my garden has cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, and big bertha tomatoes. When I made this recipe, I used a big bertha and a roma to make the tomato pulp. Many types of tomatoes could work, so use what you have on hand. I also recommend using a better olive oil. When I made this recipe, I used a small French loaf. Other hearty breads, such as ciabatta, would work well.

Pan Con Tomate 

• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 loaf of bread
• olive oil
• 1 clove garlic

Slice the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a bowl and grate off the pulp of the tomato into the bowl, discarding the skin. Slice the bread lengthwise, then into one to two inch slices. Brush olive oil onto each slice of bread and place on a baking sheet. Place under a broiler for two to three minutes. Remove from broiler and rub cut garlic clove on each  slice. Spoon tomato pulp onto each slice. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Golden Girls Birthday Cheesecake Squares

For Mom's 80th birthday, we had a fun celebration. Joe and Holly hosted, and so many cousins were able to attend. The weather cooperated so we were able to spend time outside while catching up with the extended family. Of course that was an amazing birthday cake that John and Laura brought. So I thought these cheesecake bites would be a nice compliment to the dessert table.

This recipe comes from the Golden Girls Cookbook. MDS and I recently completed our rewatch of the Golden Girls, so we have been testing out their cheesecakes. The recipe explains that it comes from one of Blanche's 40th birthday celebrations. I think an 80th birthday is an even better reason to celebrate. The original recipe called for making these 2x2 inch squares, but I made them smaller so that it would be just a small taste of cheesecake among the various desserts and birthday cake available. 

Golden Girls Birthday Cheesecake Squares 

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 Tbsp. butter, melted

Batter

• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 tsp. vanilla
• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp butter, softened
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsp. sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter. Line a 8x8 inch square pan with parchment paper. Press the crust into the pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes and cool while making the batter. Lower the oven temperature to 325.

To make the batter, stir together the egg and yolk, sour cream, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl. Using a mixer,  beat the cream cheese, sugar, butter, corn starch, and salt until creamy and lump-free. Beat in the egg mixture until well-blended. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the sprinkles. Scrape the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sprinkles over the top. Bake for about 25 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven with the door open for an hour. Chill the cake in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy!