Kopy Kat Recipes - Z

Zinfandel's Barbequed Ribs

2 slabs pork spareribs
1/2 cup Zinfandel's Rib Rub
2 cups Zinfandel's Barbecue Sauce

The night before grilling (or at least several hours before), rub the Rib Rub into the spareribs, covering both sides. You may or may not need to use all of the rub.

About 3 hours before serving, build a charcoal fire, using about 2 quarts of good quality hardwood charcoal. When coals are covered with gray ash, but are still burning fiercely, spread them out and push them against two sides of the grill. You want to cook over indirect heat, not directly over the coals.

Place marinated ribs, bone side down, on the cooking rack and position the rack over the coals so that the ribs are in the middle of the grill, not directly over the coals. Cover the grill, adjust the top vents to open and walk away for 30 minutes.

After a half hour, lift the cover and take a peek. The ribs should browning nicely, and your neighbors should start wandering over to see what you are doing. Flip the ribs over to cook meat side down, replace the cover and wait another 30 minutes.

After an hour, the ribs should be dark brown, crispy and pulling away from the bone. At this point, pull them off the grill, cut between the bones and enjoy with warm Zinfandel Barbecue sauce. Serves 4.

Zinfandel Rib Rub

1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika

Makes 1/2 cup, enough for 2 slabs of spareribs. Combine all spices. Use to rub into spareribs several hours to a day before grilling.

Zinfandel Barbeque Sauce

1 tablespoon corn oil
1 1/2 cups red onion, finely chopped
3 cups chopped canned tomatoes with juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
1 teaspoon pure chile powder (not a blend)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup orange juice

Heat oil in saucepan and sauté onion until translucent. Add remaining ingredients, except orange juice, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool and add orange juice. Purée sauce in a blender or food processor. Makes 4 cups

Tip: This sauce will keep, tightly sealed in the refrigerator for about a week. It can also be frozen for later use.

Zinfandel Skillet Cornbread

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Buckwheat-Honey Butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put a dry, well-seasoned 9- to 9 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet in middle of oven to heat. Stir together cornmeal, baking soda, and salt, crushing any small bits of baking soda.

Whisk eggs in another bowl until blended and whisk in buttermilk. Remove hot skillet from oven carefully and add butter, swirling gently to coat bottom and sides of skillet. (If butter begins to sizzle and brown around edges, so much the better.)

Whisk hot butter into buttermilk mixture and return skillet to oven. Stir cornmeal into buttermilk mixture just until moistened.

Scrape batter into hot skillet and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Invert skillet over a platter and cool bread at least 3 minutes. Serve with Buckwheat-Honey Butter. Serves 8.

Buckwheat-Honey Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened unsalted butter
2 tablespoons buckwheat honey (or pure maple syrup)

Combine both ingredients.

Zio's Italian Kitchen Chicken Pepperoni

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-6 ounces good quality sliced pepperoni
1 jar Bertolli Marinara (if you double this recipe, use 3)
1 pound penne pasta
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced thick
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 small can black olives, drained and sliced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Olive oil
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Grated Romano or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Put 4 quarts water on to boil in a 6-quart pot. When water is boiling, add pasta. In hot skillet, add 2 teaspoons olive oil, then sauté onions, peppers, mushrooms and pepperoni until vegetables start to sweat.

Add garlic, olives and chicken, stirring often. When chicken is white and onions are translucent, remove from heat (be careful not to overcook vegetables or everything will be too soft)

Drain pasta when done. In large bowl add pasta, meat mixture, topped with grated mozzarella, covered with marinara and tossed lightly. Top with grated Romano or Parmesan to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

Zachary's Creole Cuisine Famous Fried Chicken

1 fryer chicken (cut into 8 pieces)
Egg wash (2 raw eggs scrambled with 1 cup water)
3 cups all-purpose flour
Oil for deep-frying
Baquet's Brand Seasoning Spice

Wash and drain chicken pieces and season with seasoning spice. Pass through egg wash, draining off excess wash. Coat with white flour. Deep fry in oil heated to 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Drain and serve.

Zachary's Creole Cuisine Homemade Hot Sausage

2 pounds fatty ground pork
2 pounds fatty ground beef
3 small onions, chopped fine
1/4 head garlic, chopped fine
2 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons paprika
3 bay leaves, crumbled
5 teaspoons salt
5 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons parsley flakes
5 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 to 1 cup water

Mix all ingredients together blending seasonings and spices throughout meats. Add water to moisten sausage to tender consistency. Form into patties. Grill or fry in a pan until cooked through. Leftover patties freeze very well.

Zachary's Creole Cuisine Jambalaya Pasta

1/4 cup green onion
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 stalk celery
1/4 cup green bell pepper
1/4 cup cooked smoked sausage
1/4 cup trimmed cubed ham
3 ounces peeled shrimp
4 ounces tomato sauce
16 ounces bow tie pasta

Sauté vegetables and seasonings in oil-coated pan. Add all meat and sauté for a few minutes. Add tomato sauce and toss in pre-cooked pasta.

Zachary's Creole Cuisine Potato Salad

3 pound Irish potatoes (peeled, diced and boiled)
6 hard-boiled eggs (peeled and diced)
1 cup finely chopped green onions
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup yellow mustard

Into a large bowl, place potatoes, eggs, green onions, salt and pepper and toss well. Add mayonnaise to desired consistency. Add mustard to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Zingers

Cake:
1 (18.25 ounce) box Duncan Hines devil's food cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup oil
3 large eggs

Filling:
2 teaspoons hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups (7 ounce jar) Marshmallow Creme
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup Hershey's chocolate syrup
2 tablespoons shortening
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt

Prepare the cake batter following the directions on the box. If you use Duncan Hines brand, you will need 1 1/3 cups of water, 1/2 cup of oil and three eggs. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare the cake pans that will make cakes the size of Zingers, tear off 20 pieces of aluminum foil that are each about 8 inches wide. Fold the foil in half and then in half once more so that you have a rectangular piece of foil. Wrap this piece of foil around a small prescription medicine bottle.

Tuck in the ends and take the bottle out, leaving the foil open at the top. This will form a little pan. Flatten the bottom so that the mini pan stands up straight. Place this into a baking pan and repeat with the remaining pieces of foil.

When you have arranged all of the foil pans in a baking pan, spray the inside of all the pans with nonstick cooking spray. Fill each little pan about halfway with cake batter. Bake cakes for 15-17 minutes or until a wooden pick stuck in the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely.

To make the filling, combine the hot water with the salt in a small bowl and stir until the salt is dissolved. Let this mixture cool.

Combine the Marshmallow Creme, shortening, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and mix well with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add the salt mixture to the bowl and mix.

To make the chocolate frosting, combine all the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well with an electric mixer until smooth.

To assemble your snack cakes first poke three holes with a wooden pick or skewer in the top of a cake and swirl around inside the holes making little caverns for your filling.

Use a pastry bag with a small tip to squeeze some filling into each hole. Be careful not to overfill, or your cake will burst open.

Once the cake is filled, use a butter knife to spread frosting on top of the cake over the holes. Drag a fork lengthwise over the frosting making groves. Makes 20 snack cakes.

Zinfandeli's Tortilla Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic, fresh, chopped
8 corn tortillas, chop coarse
2 cups onion puree
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons cumin powder
3 bay leaves
3/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoon chicken base
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cilantro, fresh, chopped
2 tablespoons epazote, chopped
1 salt to taste
1 white pepper to taste
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 chopped avocado
1 corn tortilla strips, fried
1 shredded monterey jack

In large Dutch oven, heat vegetable oil. Add garlic and 8 chopped corn tortillas. Saute until tender. Add onion puree, tomato puree, cayenne pepper, cumin, bay leaves, tomato paste, chicken base and water. Simmer 20 minutes. Add chopped cilantro and epazote. Remove Bay leaves. Blend mixture briefly in food processor. Strain through colander.

Adjust seasoning if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, spoon a portion of soup in individual serving bowls. Garnish with diced chicken, avocado, fried tortilla strips and cheese. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings