Mike McDaniel's recipes

 

Mike McDaniel’s Recipes

Maldashya (onion dumplings)
• 3-4 sticks butter
• 8 cups Vidalia onions, shredded lengthwise
• 6 slices bread, cubed
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. water
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. oil

Melt 1 stick butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook until browned. Add bread cubes to thicken.
Combine flour, egg, water, salt and oil and knead in a non-reactive bowl for about 5 minutes. Let rest 1 hour, covered with a towel.
Peel off pieces of dough and roll/stretch on a flour-covered board into 4-inch squares ¼ inch thick. Spoon on onion mixture, fold and crimp shut.
Lower dumplings into boiling water, where they will float to the surface after several minutes. Lift cooked dumplings out and place on a deep platter.
Slowly brown several sticks of butter in a skillet. Pour over dumplings and warm in a low oven. Serve as a main or side dish.

Sicilian Spaghetti Sauce
• 2-3 tbsp.s olive oil
• 2 large white onions, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 pound hamburger
• 1 pound pork (Neck bones are cheap and flavorful, but you sometimes get bone chips. Ribs or ground pork work very well.)
• 1 ½ quarts canned tomato juice
• 12-ounce can tomato paste
• 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 16-ounce can peeled, boiled tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. thyme
• 1 tbsp. rosemary
• 1 tbsp. summer savory
• 1 tbsp. sage
• 1 tbsp. black pepper
• 1 tbsp. crushed red pepper, dried
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 1 tsp. basil
• ¼ cup dried parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large can sliced mushrooms
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 3 tbsp.s sugar
• 1 cup wine—Burgundy or Chianti

Ingredients are listed in can sizes, but fresh is preferable. Start out with a 4-6-quart saucepan or pot and a 10-12-inch skillet.
Heat olive oil in skillet and add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Add meats and brown.
While the meat browns, place tomato juice, tomato paste, tomato sauce and tomatoes in the saucepan or pot, crushing the whole tomatoes by hand.
Add thyme, rosemary, summer savory, sage, black pepper and crushed red pepper, oregano, marjoram, basil, parsley, bay leaves and mushrooms.
Once meat has browned, add contents of skillet to saucepan and bring to a strong boil. Reduce heat to a low boil for 1 ½-2 hours, stirring frequently to keep from sticking.
Add baking soda. An orange or yellow foam will appear; it’s a chemical process neutralizing the excess acid in the tomatoes.
After the foaming stops, add sugar. Return to a strong boil and add wine. Reduce to low boil, again stirring frequently for another 45 minutes.
Add cooked meatballs or sausage to the sauce to heat while the spaghetti cooks. Serves 20-25.

Soft meatballs
• 1 pound hamburger
• Oats
• ½ tsp. basil
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• ½ cup parsley, dried
• ½ cup parmesan or Romano cheese
• 3 eggs
• Olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, add hamburger and an equal amount by volume of oats.
Add basil, garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, parsley and cheese.
Add the eggs and hand mix thoroughly. Form meatballs slightly larger than golf balls and brown in the olive oil. Drain well.
These freeze well, transferring directly from the freezer to the sauce for heating.
Makes 15-17 meatballs.

Scalloped oysters
• 1 ½ pints oysters
• ½ cup oyster liquor (from oyster pint containers)
• ½ cup half and half
• ¼ tsp. Tabasco sauce
• ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups crushed saltine crackers
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 tsp. celery salt
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Drain oysters, reserving ½ cup of liquor. Mix liquor with half and half and add the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Combine cracker crumbs and bread crumbs with the melted butter.
Butter a 1 ½- or 2-quart casserole dish. Spread one-third of the crumbs on the bottom. Layer ½ of the oysters on the crumbs and sprinkle with ½ of the celery salt, paprika and pepper. Add ½ the liquid mixture. Repeat, then cover with remaining 1/3 of the crumbs, with a shaking of paprika.
Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. Serves 10-12.

Chestnut dressing
• ½ cup onions, chopped
• ¾ cup butter
• 8 cups dry cornbread crumbs
• 2 cups roasted, chopped chestnuts
• 2 tsp.s poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¾ cup hot water

Brown the onions in butter. Add the cornbread crumbs and remaining ingredients. Place in a greased pan and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. Serves 10-12.