Two recipes today: Italian Crescent Roll Squares and Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins!

 

This morning as I opened the editor to decide on a recipe I thought to myself "I wonder what recipes I posted on this day in the past?"  So I quickly just opened up an old random page and found a post from May 10th.  It just happened to be 2007 which is kind of neat considering it's now 2017.

So todays post is a blast from the past archives - originally posted on this day in 2007.  Re-posting 10 years later for 2017.  A hot Italian Sandwich made with crescent rolls - and a recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins!


Italian Squares


2 pkg. crescent rolls

14 oz jar roasted red peppers (drain)
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
4 T Italian dressing, prepared
1/4 lb. pepperoni
1/4 lb. ham, sliced thin
1/4 lb. Genoa or Hard Salami, sliced thin
1 small can sliced black olives
1/4 lb. Provolone Cheese
1/4 lb Swiss cheese
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs


Spread 1 roll of crescent rolls into the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan and seal the edges to make a crust. Layer the Ham, artichokes, Swiss cheese, Salami, Provolone, olives and Pepperoni over crescent roll bottom. Spread well drained peppers over top of the meats and sprinkle with black olives. Beat the eggs and cheese together pour over the top of the olives.

Use the 2nd container of crescent rolls to lay out on a piece of plastic, seal the edges and then lay it over the top, pressing seams to seal. Cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before cutting.




Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins


2 cs (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1 T poppy seeds
1/2 t (3.5 grams) salt
1/2 t (2.5 grams) baking soda
1/2 c (113 grams) unsalted butter
1 c (200 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 c (240 ml) plain yogurt (do not use non fat yogurt)
1 t (5 grams) pure vanilla extract
Zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or else spray with a vegetable spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, poppy seeds, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the yogurt, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat until well blended.

By hand, stir in flour mixture until just moistened. Do not overmix. Spoon batter using either two spoons or an ice cream scoop into greased or paper lined muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool muffins on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from pan and serving.


For The Glaze:
1/2 c (60 grams) powdered sugar
1 T fresh lemon juice

Stir together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. The mixture will be runny. Once the muffins are removed from the oven, wait five minutes, and then drizzle the glaze over the muffins with a spoon.

Homemade Bloomin' Onion and Bloomin' Onion Sauce

I had been craving an Onion Blossom (Blooming Onion) for about 2 weeks so made sure to pick up a couple extra onions during the last grocery shopping trip specifically for this recipe.  We go through a lot of onions and I wanted to make sure I had enough for all our dishes.  I posted an Onion Blossom recipe once previously, back in 2008 and I still make it basically the same except this time I didn't add cumin to the mix and I fried it both upside down and right side up.

I absolutely love these, but I rarely make them (maybe once a year - twice at most) because they are rather messy and the frying oil smells up the house (LOL).  It's much easier to quell the craving by ordering them at your favorite steakhouse restaurant.  However, I will say that I don't order them myself because I find they are usually too greasy.  The home version tends to be less greasy and you can always drain it and squeeze it a bit with paper towels to even get more of the oil out.

When it comes to cutting your onion you can use an onion blossom cutter or do it with a knife.  You just slice 16 times to make the petal without a guide.  

The Southwestern Bloomin Onion Sauce: Prepare ahead of time so it has time to chill

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons ketchup
2 tablespoons cream-style horseradish sauce (I use Kraft)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
Dash ground black pepper

Prepare the dipping sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Keep the sauce covered in your refrigerator until needed.

Blooming Onion  (or Onion Blossom)

1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/4 t dried oregano
1/8 t dried thyme
1 giant 'sweet' onion like a Vidalia

Vegetable oil for frying

Beat the egg and combine it with the milk in a medium bowl big enough to hold the onion. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, peppers, oregano & thyme.

To slice the onion - First slice 3/4 inch to 1 inch off the top and bottom of the onion. Remove the papery skin. Use a thin knife to cut a 1-inch diameter core out of the middle of the onion. Using a large knife you will now slice all the way across the onion but not down to the cutting board. You need to only cut 3/4 of the way through the onion so the bottom holds it together. You need to make 16 slices, or as many close to that number as you can to make the petals. Spread the "petals" of the onion apart gently, you'll want to separate them to make coating easier and to get the flour and seasoning mixture down into the onion base.

Dip the onion in the milk mixture, and then coat it liberally with the dry ingredients. Double dip your onions - wet, dry, wet and dry again. Then let the onion rest for at least 15 minutes to 'set' the breading.

Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep pot to 350 degrees. Make sure you use enough oil to completely cover the onion when it fries. Fry the onion upside down for about 6 minutes then right side up in the oil for 6 minutes or until it turns golden brown and the petals are done. Remove it from the oil and let it drain on a rack or paper towels.  Salt and serve with the sauce for dipping.

You can slice it without an Onion Blossom Cutter but it's tricky

After slicing 16 slices not all the way through, I flip it over and open the petals

Dry, wet, dry, wet and set 15 minutes

Frying in a deep fryer or a deep pan

Beer Batter for Fish (You can substitute for the beer)

When I was very small, I remember the taste of fish was beer battered walleye and catfish.  That's the only fish I knew of for years until I was in elementary school and my Mom started to buy us fish sticks sometimes.  Before that however, the only fish I had for the first 7 or 8 years of my life was always fresh caught in the heartland of America.

After I was a teenager and into adulthood, I didn't really like the taste of Walleye anymore but to this day I still love catfish - as long as they aren't too large, where they've acquired that muddy taste.  I like grilled catfish best but a good beer batter recipe is nice to have on hand and this is a good one.  Light American beers work best if you don't know that you love a good, heavy beer flavor.  If you love a nice rich, heavier beer, then use whatever beer you have on hand; Guinness, etc.  You can also substitute seltzer water or even regular water for the beer.  If it has a lemon flavor to it that's ok but don't use a water that has sweeteners in it.


Beer-Battered Fish

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 can beer

Combine the dry ingredients large bowl. Whisk in the beer.

Dip your fish fillets or pieces into the beer batter, letting excess batter drip back into bowl. Fry 3 to 4 minutes for average sized fillets - longer if you have large pieces of fish.  Done when golden brown and crispy on all sides. Drain on paper towels.  Season with salt.