Marla Swoffer
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Tuna Egg Salad

2/28/2017

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I love tuna salad. I love egg salad. Rather than choose between them, put them together, and you've got a marriage made in tastebud heaven. The ingredient that holds it together is the sweet pickles. I first made it with sweet and spicy pickles, and have since used a combination of bread and butter pickles (sweet) and spicy dill pickles. I am not exacting with amounts, since different palates prefer didn't pungencies - I will say that I like strong flavors, which means lots of pickles and onions :) 

Tuna Egg Salad

1 can of albacore tuna, flaked
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
chopped pickles (sweet & spicy), to taste (I use about 3-4 tablespoons)
onion, finely chopped, to taste (I use about 1-2 tablespoons)
mayonnaise, to taste (I use about 2-3 tablespoons)
dried dill weed (optional)
black pepper (optional)

Mix it all up, folding in the chopped eggs last.

Serve as is, in a sandwich, or my favorite way (as pictured) - on crackers...specifically Trader Joe's whole grain seed crackers and Ak-Maks (also whole grain, also sold at TJ's).

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Deconstructed Cobb Salad

2/16/2017

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Deconstructed Cobb Salad was tonight's no cook dinner. Okay, I fried the bacon, but I used pre-roasted turkey breast (from Costco) and I made a batch of hard boiled eggs earlier. Everyone took a base of lettuce and added the toppings (or sides) they wanted. #corn #avocado #olives #blackolives #mushrooms #beets #redonion #bluecheese #bacon #turkey #boiledegg #ranchdressing #romaine #lettuce #salad #cobbsalad #saladbar #saladfordinner #familydinner #nocook #colorfulfood #redplate

A post shared by Marla Swoffer (@marlainmarin) on Feb 16, 2017 at 9:20pm PST

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How I Make Steak

2/9/2017

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​On my monthly Costco shop, I always buy a package of flap meat. It makes the best steak for the best price ($8-9 per pound - used to be $6!). It's a splurge but we get two "fancy" meals out of our $25 purchase. It comes in two pieces, so I put them in the freezer individually in gallon bags (I usually thaw by submersing the meat - still in the sealed bag - in a bowl of hot water for about twenty minutes).

To make this delicious steak, I heat up butter (or bacon fat) in our cast iron pan on medium high, turn on the fan, and cook it on one side for 5-7 minutes. I flip it and repeat. Sometimes I have to flip it one more time to get it perfectly medium to medium rare. I let it sit for a few minutes before slicing against the grain. 
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If I am cooking onions (usually red), I cook them  in the (greased) pan for about 5-10 minutes and then add the steak, cooking them both together until the onions are nicely charred (I take them out before the steak). Sometimes I add mushrooms, but if I do that I usually cook it all before I make the steak, so as not to overcrowd the pan and because mushrooms are liquidy. 
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This is one of our favorite family dinners - steak, mashed potatoes, and salad (the kids don't have the onions and blue cheese - more for us!).
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Turkey Spinach Artichoke Chowder

1/8/2016

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How I concocted last weekend’s Turkey Spinach Artichoke Chowder - definitely a rough draft (speaking as a writer), but it was delicious (husband raved) and I will be making a final version the next time I have turkey gravy (may be a while):

I wasn’t paying attention to amounts (I rarely do), but the base of this soup was leftover 
turkey gravy (from Christmas dinner) and chicken broth.  

I made the meatballs out of ground turkey, frozen chopped spinach (defrosted in the microwave), parmesan (the canned stuff, I admit it), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and - here’s the weird part - cream cheese. Next time I would soften the cream cheese and thoroughly mix it with the seasonings before adding it to the meat, but this time I got away with putting it in the mixture in random chunks (I tried to distribute evenly) and letting them melt into the soup.
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So basically, I brought the base (gravy/broth) to a boil, added in roasted red potatoes I had frozen (you could use fresh, but just cook longer), reboiled, lowered to simmering, and added the meatballs (making them as I went - plop, plop, plop).

Then I added some quartered (or maybe it was halved) canned 
artichoke hearts (that I had frozen, but I don’t think that matters).

After ten minutes or so, I thickened it by adding 
potato starch and sour cream (next time I will dissolve the potato starch into the sour cream - or a cupful of soup - to avoid glops).

Cooked for another five minutes and it was done. 

Yum!

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The Dip that Launched a Thousand Ships

10/22/2015

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 A long while ago, although perhaps not quite as far back as ancient Greece (despite the title), I discovered a unique dip recipe on food.com. I made it, tweaked it to my taste/texture preferences, and brought it to a party. It got so many compliments that I started to taking it to all the parties. And when I say parties, I mean church potlucks, moms night outs, baby showers, etc. Despite being an introvert, I am, as it turns out, a total partier, in the best sense of the word. I love food and I like people. Sometimes. The people always want to know WHAT IS IN THIS DIP?  Before trying it, they are wary of the bright yellow color ("Is it French's mustard?" Heck no, but that has its place, like on a hot dog). I tell them the key ingredients and they either eagerly take the plunge or move right along. Once they've tasted it, they want the full recipe for this magical concoction that sweeps you away to the terrace of a villa overlooking the serene, sparkling Mediterranean sea, with all those pretty, deep blue-domed white buildings and pastel cottages decorating the coastline. 

Curry Garlic Feta Dip
4 oz feta cheese
4 oz cottage cheese
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 C sour cream
1/4 C mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves
1 t yellow curry powder 
1/2 t dried dill weed 
1/4 t dried oregano (optional)
1/8 t ground black pepper (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor (I like the Ninja) or blender until smooth. Taste and see if it needs any more curry or dill.  Chill in the refrigerator for several hours. Serve with crackers, veggies, sweet potato fritters (that was an accidental discovery at a party - love it when two potluck dishes find each other and fall in love!), whatever you like...
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    My recipes on Food.com (4.6 star average rating)

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