History:
My cousin sent this recipe with Christmas. I have used it twice now... LOVE IT. Easy, fun, quick, and good for class. I still think fresh olives go well with it.
What you need:
1.5 cups quinoa
1.5 cups black beans (rinse if canned)
1.5 cups corn
1.5 tablespoons (22.5 mL) red-wine vinegar
1 chopped green pepper
2 minced jalapenos
Coriander
Dressing:
5 tablespoons lime juice
1 t salt
1.25 t cumin or to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
Mix the top. Whisk the dressing together and toss. Chill and enjoy.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Chocolate Ice Cream (JG)
Yup. We have not done this in a long time. Rotation became very busy. And then Clark and I quit the kitchen. I'm trying to get back. New knife. New recipes. All that good stuff. So I don't think I'm going to post every recipe, but then again we have been reusing some of the old ones. Hence less posting.
History:
Ice cream is fun. Ice cream is good. I have never made it. I've wanted to make it for some time... again with the lack of cooking. I thought home made ice cream would be good for starting back to school. A nice way to relax.
What you need:
11 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
226 grams of sugar
pinch of salt
180sh grams of 60% dark chocolate
Strainer
Ice bath
Ice cream maker
Heat half the sugar, milk, cream, and salt on the stove until maybe a slight simmer, but steam is rising. Cover and sit for about 5 minutes. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale yellowish. Temper the warm milk solution into the eggs. Continue to mix the milk into the eggs until about 1/3 of the liquid is in the egg mixture. Combine everything and heat on low-medium.... mixing continuously. Melt the chocolate on a double boil. Heat the solution slowly until when you can coat the back of a wooden spoon and run a finger through it is stays. Bad description? Sorry. Take off the heat, mix in the chocolate, and then strain into a bowl in the water bath to start to chill. Chill in the water bath for about 1 hour, then put it in the refrigerator for about 12 hours. Use the ice cream maker and then freeze.
Enjoy.
Pre ice cream maker
In ice cream maker
Notice the awesome color change!
History:
Ice cream is fun. Ice cream is good. I have never made it. I've wanted to make it for some time... again with the lack of cooking. I thought home made ice cream would be good for starting back to school. A nice way to relax.
What you need:
11 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
226 grams of sugar
pinch of salt
180sh grams of 60% dark chocolate
Strainer
Ice bath
Ice cream maker
Heat half the sugar, milk, cream, and salt on the stove until maybe a slight simmer, but steam is rising. Cover and sit for about 5 minutes. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale yellowish. Temper the warm milk solution into the eggs. Continue to mix the milk into the eggs until about 1/3 of the liquid is in the egg mixture. Combine everything and heat on low-medium.... mixing continuously. Melt the chocolate on a double boil. Heat the solution slowly until when you can coat the back of a wooden spoon and run a finger through it is stays. Bad description? Sorry. Take off the heat, mix in the chocolate, and then strain into a bowl in the water bath to start to chill. Chill in the water bath for about 1 hour, then put it in the refrigerator for about 12 hours. Use the ice cream maker and then freeze.
Enjoy.
Pre ice cream maker
In ice cream maker
Notice the awesome color change!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Stir Fry
I'm sure everyone here knows how to do stir fry. It really is just about the simplest thing you can cook. The key is cutting everything to uniform, small size so that it cooks quickly. You're cooking on high heat for a very short amount of time, so you want everything sufficiently cooked through, without the outside being overcooked.
The second thing to remember is to add ingredients into your wok/pot in order of what will take the longest to cook first. Once again, this is so everything cooks uniformly.
When making stir fry, the prep should take you more time than the actual cooking. It might take a little time to chop everything up, but once it is all ready, meal time is in minutes.
You can marinate your meat ahead of time to help impart flavor. Everything else is then cooked and you can add a sauce or seasonings towards the end for flavor. It's very simple, quick, and healthy. Me likey.
Today I did a simple chicken and veggie stir fry and I used some pre-made (yes, I bought it at a store) Hoisin sauce for the flavor. It's a really good, mildly spicy and kind of thick plum sauce.
I used:
Chicken
carrots
broccoli
green onions
Cut up the chicken and marinate in rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little fish sauce. Let it marinate while you prepare everything else. Twenty minutes is good. An hour is plenty of time.
Get your wok/pot hot on at least med-high heat. Toss in that chicken and cook for few minutes til just done.
Transfer to another dish with juices and keep warm. Wipe the wok clean, add sesame oil, get it hot, and throw in your veggies.
Once they're pretty close to done, add the chicken, with juices, back in and toss around to mix. Add a few healthy globs of Hoisin sauce and toss til everything is coated. Add your green onions towards the end. You can add some toasted sesame seeds, too, if'n you want.
Maybe not the most exciting post, but this blog isn't titled exciting adventures in food. It's called what we made to eat and this is what we made to eat.
The second thing to remember is to add ingredients into your wok/pot in order of what will take the longest to cook first. Once again, this is so everything cooks uniformly.
When making stir fry, the prep should take you more time than the actual cooking. It might take a little time to chop everything up, but once it is all ready, meal time is in minutes.
You can marinate your meat ahead of time to help impart flavor. Everything else is then cooked and you can add a sauce or seasonings towards the end for flavor. It's very simple, quick, and healthy. Me likey.
Today I did a simple chicken and veggie stir fry and I used some pre-made (yes, I bought it at a store) Hoisin sauce for the flavor. It's a really good, mildly spicy and kind of thick plum sauce.
I used:
Chicken
carrots
broccoli
green onions
Cut up the chicken and marinate in rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little fish sauce. Let it marinate while you prepare everything else. Twenty minutes is good. An hour is plenty of time.
Get your wok/pot hot on at least med-high heat. Toss in that chicken and cook for few minutes til just done.
Transfer to another dish with juices and keep warm. Wipe the wok clean, add sesame oil, get it hot, and throw in your veggies.
Once they're pretty close to done, add the chicken, with juices, back in and toss around to mix. Add a few healthy globs of Hoisin sauce and toss til everything is coated. Add your green onions towards the end. You can add some toasted sesame seeds, too, if'n you want.
Maybe not the most exciting post, but this blog isn't titled exciting adventures in food. It's called what we made to eat and this is what we made to eat.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Psari Plaki (or awesome baked fish recipe with veggies if you don't speak greek) and Spinach Rice
So it hasn't quite been a month since my last post. I'll try and make up for it with a quick barrage. Hopefully it will be entertaining for anyone still reading.
So, I've got a really good fish recipe. It's really easy and you can do it in about 40 minutes. Sound good? Good. Here goes.
You need:
White fish. I use tilapia cause it's cheap and available. Snapper, cod, or some other flaky white fish will work just as well.
Cup or two of breadcrumbs
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 carrots, diced
1-2 sticks of celery, diced
1 can of diced tomatoes or some fresh tomatoes, diced
juice of 2 lemons
a little sugar
parsley, chopped
garlic, oil, s/p
Fry the onions in oil til translucent. Add the carrots and celery and cook til softened, bout 8-10 min. Add the garlic and let cook for 2 min then add the tomatoes and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Let it cook down til it reduces some. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F and lay the fish in a baking dish. Add the lemon juice and parsley to the sauce and season to taste.
Layer the sauce over fish. Cover with breadcrumbs and drizzle with oil.
Bake the fish til done, about 15-20 minutes.
This dish is light, healthy, and surprisingly good. It also reheats very well. Typically, I don't really like reheated fish, but this works very well. I like it with the following rice dish...
Spinach Rice
This is a good rice dish that complements the flavor of the fish well.
You need:
rice
spinach (I use fresh, I guess you could use frozen)
1 large onion, chopped
garlic
juice of 1-2 lemons
fresh dill, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped
vegetable stock (or chicken or water)
Fry the onion and garlic in oil for a few minutes til soft. Add the rice, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.
Add the spinach, ~tbsp of lemon juice, and the herbs. Season well with s/p, add the stock and bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce heat to low until rice is cooked.
Remove from heat, add remaining lemon juice and season to taste.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Have I really never posted my Chili recipe?
Jake did a venison chili recipe earlier. I didn't read it but I haven't posted anything in forever so I hope my chili recipe is different enough to make this worth it. I typically do a beef chili but I substituted chicken this time per Anita's request.
What goes in it? Really anything you want to put in it. And I make a lot. It tends to go fast. Here we go.
couple pounds of meat (beef, chicken, venison...whatever)
1 large or 2 medium onions
1 green and red pepper and maybe a yellow one too if you're feeling it
other options: jalapeno/habanero, poblano, cubanelle, or banana pepper. Really just any peppers. I'm limited by how spicy I can get depending on who I'm feeding.
a couple of tomatoes (I always put fresh tomatoes in anything I put canned tomatoes in)
a lot of garlic
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
I like 3 cans of beans. You can sub red beans or pinto beans for one.
1 can of corn
And now the spice:
at least a tablespoon of chili powder
equal amount of ground cumin
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp ground coriander
some granulated garlic if you think you didn't put enough garlic in
some onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt
Dice up chicken or shred your ground beef. Season with salt, pepper, and a little chili powder and cumin. Brown the meat.
Dice up all the veggies. Fry the onions in olive oil til softened. Add the bell peppers and cook til soft. Add the fresh tomatoes, meat, and any other hot peppers. Cook til heated and then add all the spices. Cook for about 1 minute.
Add the canned tomatoes and corn with juices. Go ahead and turn up the heat. Add the beans. Add your liquid. About 3 cups should do it. You can use water. I like beer. Darker, hoppy beers work well, but not anything as dark as a stout. That would be too bitter. Bass works well. I don't really like the hoppy beers, but wheat beers do tend to do well in a chili or stew. Whatever your choice, add the liquid and get that heat up. You can also add some hot sauce at this point.
Once it starts to boil turn it down and let it cook for a while on a low heat. Check the seasoning. Enjoy.
I said enjoy.
Do it.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Lacquer-Roasted Pork Ribs
Here's one from the Professional Chef.
You need:
Rack of ribs
tbsp dark soy sauce
tbsp sherry
for the marinade:
60 mL Hoisin sauce
45 ml black bean sauce
90 ml ketchup
minced garlic
minced ginger
a little white pepper
green onions, sliced
15 ml rice vinegar
10 ml sesame oil
salt
sugar
Lacquer Coating:
30 ml honey
tsp sesame oil
Combine the soy sauce and sherry and brush over the ribs.
Combine marinade ingredients and pour over the ribs. Massage the marinade into the meat, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Turn occasionally.
Take the ribs out of the fridge at least an hour before ready to cook them to allow them to come up to room temp. Remove the ribs from the marinade and wipe off excess. Place on a wire rack in a roasting pan.
Fill another pan with water and place it in the oven on 325 degF.
Roast the ribs for ~ 1.5 hours.
Combine the honey and sesame oil for the coating. During the last 20 minuts of roasting, brush the ribs with the mixture. At this point you can crank the oven up to broil for a couple minutes to give a nice, crisp outer skin. Remove the ribs and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
This recipe doesn't call for a sauce, but you may want to reduce the drippings in the roasting pan to make one.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Ratatouille Pasta
History:
Continuing with the pasta kick. Later with be spaghetti and meatballs. This is a great summer dish, and may be the one Clark is talking about. I was surprised how much I liked this.
What you need:
2 pounds zuchinni
2 pounds squash
1 onion, diced small
1-2 pints of cherry tomatoes
6 oz of arugula
Oregano
salt/pepper
olive oil
Parmeseano cheese
Dice a la ratatouille style the zuchinni and squash. Toss in oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss in the onion and tomatoes as well. Set the oven to 400, spread about 1/4 of the arugula on a cookie sheet and cover with the other vegetables. Bake until caramelized. I ended up putting it on broil for a bit as well. Toss in with the pasta and fresh cheese on top.
Enjoy.
Continuing with the pasta kick. Later with be spaghetti and meatballs. This is a great summer dish, and may be the one Clark is talking about. I was surprised how much I liked this.
What you need:
2 pounds zuchinni
2 pounds squash
1 onion, diced small
1-2 pints of cherry tomatoes
6 oz of arugula
Oregano
salt/pepper
olive oil
Parmeseano cheese
Dice a la ratatouille style the zuchinni and squash. Toss in oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss in the onion and tomatoes as well. Set the oven to 400, spread about 1/4 of the arugula on a cookie sheet and cover with the other vegetables. Bake until caramelized. I ended up putting it on broil for a bit as well. Toss in with the pasta and fresh cheese on top.
Enjoy.
Braised Cabbage with Fennel and Anita's Cream Corn
So we made some more barbeque. Anita and I took a week-long trip to Asheville, NC to visit some family and we developed a bbq addiction. I've posted previous bbq recipes so I'll just put the sides on this one.
Braised Cabbage with Fennel [CL]
This is a really simple recipe that I made up. Chop up cabbage and a fennel bulb or two. Get some garlic frying in oil or butter. Add the fennel and cook til it softens. Then add the cabbage and do the same. Add about 3 cups chicken stock, salt and pepper. I also poured in the drippings from the pork butt. Bring to a boil and then cut the heat down to a simmer, cover and stir occasionally. Let it cook til done. I think I let it go for about 30-40 minutes.
Cream Corn per Anita
You need:
a few ears of corn
heavy cream
honey or butter (optional)
This is also very simple and delicious.
cut the kernels off the cob and throw in a pot with the cream. Bring to a boil and then cut the heat and let simmer. The longer it goes the better. If you need to make it quick then adding the butter or a little honey helps, but it is pretty good with just the corn and the cream. Make sure and stir occasionally to keep the cream from scorching.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Pesto Noodles with Chicken
(Clark note: This stuff is really good)
History:
I'm in a pasta kick. Something I can make a bunch of that will last for lunches at work/school. I was at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens on Thursday and they had a recipe for Arugula pesto.... So I wanted to make pesto, but went with that I have on hand.
Pesto Notes:
A pesto really is a sauce you make from grinder your ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Yes, we have a few. No, I did not use.... I was a bit lazy...
Recipe:
4-5 cloves of garlic
Fresh [but I used dried] basil... I tend to also use oregano
Lemon juice
olive oil
olives [yes I added olives. I like them, and wanted their saltiness]
Diced chicken
Noodles
Parmasiano Cheese
Fresh tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes
Blend the garlic, herbs, and olives. Add in the lemon juice, and slowly add the olive oil until you create a paste. Take 1/5 of the sauce and cover the chicken and then cook on the stove giving a nice golden color. Cook the noodles. Once the noodles are done toss the on the stove with the rest of the sauce. Add both tomatoes. Toss in the chicken. Cheese.
Enjoy.
History:
I'm in a pasta kick. Something I can make a bunch of that will last for lunches at work/school. I was at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens on Thursday and they had a recipe for Arugula pesto.... So I wanted to make pesto, but went with that I have on hand.
Pesto Notes:
A pesto really is a sauce you make from grinder your ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Yes, we have a few. No, I did not use.... I was a bit lazy...
Recipe:
4-5 cloves of garlic
Fresh [but I used dried] basil... I tend to also use oregano
Lemon juice
olive oil
olives [yes I added olives. I like them, and wanted their saltiness]
Diced chicken
Noodles
Parmasiano Cheese
Fresh tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes
Blend the garlic, herbs, and olives. Add in the lemon juice, and slowly add the olive oil until you create a paste. Take 1/5 of the sauce and cover the chicken and then cook on the stove giving a nice golden color. Cook the noodles. Once the noodles are done toss the on the stove with the rest of the sauce. Add both tomatoes. Toss in the chicken. Cheese.
Enjoy.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Pies!!!
History:
I love apple pie, and do not know what I have not been making them... So this is my quest for the perfect apple pie.
Clark likes cherry pie so I have made that as well.
We have two parts to our pies.... crust and filling. I like this crust. Sturdy... tasty.... good. I've done two different fillings for the apple so far... #1 was good, #2 better.
Crust:
2 sticks of butter diced up
343 grams of flour (AP works well... I have mixed in some cake)
5 tablespoons of water
1/8 cup shortening
Fold in the fats with the flour. Use your hands and really roll it in together. Add the water and mix until a ball. Divide into two parts one bigger then the other. Make into a rectangle and then wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Filling:
2 granny smith
3 fuji or other sweet apple
2 ounces apple cider
1 lemon juiced
159 grams of sugar
28 grams of corn starch
salt
cinnamon
allspice
nutmeg
Cut up the apples however you want. I like to have extremely thin cuts. Mix everything together... I do this by hand and ensure everything is coated.
Pie:
Grease the bottom of the pan. Roll out the larger half and cover the bottom of the pan with it. Brush the inside with milk or beaten egg. This puts a protective covering on the dough so it will not become soggy. Put your filling in. Roll out the smaller dough and put on top. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes then 375 for 30-40 minutes.
Enjoy. I found that this is better chilled...
Monday, July 26, 2010
My new favorite pizza
Yeah, I like to make pizza. I made the dough from memory and didn't measure any ingredients. This made for a very thick, soft crust. As I was getting ingredients for the toppings an idea struck me and I decided to do something completely different. It turned out pretty good and is now my new favorite pizza.
So what's on it? Minced pork, caramelized apples, and goat cheese with garlic butter. Damn tasty. Here goes.
You need:
~1 lb boneless pork chops
1 apple, skinned and diced
1 lemon
goat cheese
butter and garlic
to season the pork:
cayenne pepper
chili powder
ground ginger
onion powder
ground nutmeg
thyme
ground rosemary
salt
You can check out the original pizza post for the dough recipe.
Diced up the pork, mix the spices well and season. Don't be shy. Fry the pork up in a pan. Done.
To caramelize the apples:
There are several ways. Here's one. Dice em up. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon over them to keep them from oxidizing. Squeeze the other half into a pan. Pour a bunch of sugar in the pan. Turn the heat up to med-high to high. Once it starts to caramelize, toss in the apple pieces. Mix them around for a minute or two and transfer into a bowl. Viola. Caramelized apples.
While doing everything else, you should have some butter with a lot of chopped up garlic warming on the stove. Don't get it too hot. Just warm enough that the garlic infuses into the butter.
Toss out your dough. Throw the pork and apples on it. Break up a bunch of goat cheese on it. Pour the garlic butter all over it. Bake. Eat. mmmmmmm
Friday, July 16, 2010
Clark's Asian-ish kinda style Pork Chops!!
Hey! Remember me? Check it out. Anita got us a camera. Thanks, Anita!
So this is one of my favorite recipes and I actually made it up myself. This was one of those 'just make something out of the ingredients currently in the house' recipes, and it turned out great. It's also really simple and quick. I actually went for a run, took and shower, and cooked this meal in less than an hour.
You need:
Boneless pork chops (or whatever kind you want)
I never measure so let's say
3 parts soy sauce
2 parts apple cider vinegar
1 part sesame oil
a lot of minced ginger
a little minced garlic
crushed red pepper
brown sugar (or honey)
Mix together and marinate the pork chops in it for at least 4 hrs. I usually let it marinate overnight. You can grill them in about 8 minutes. Baste after turning. Or cook them in a pan. Delicious.
I made fried rice and some potatoes with it since it was quick and that's what I had. Do what you will.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Our Saturday Cookout
History:
So yes, Clark and I have not been cooking that much. And it does make us sad, but Clark was off this past weekend, the girls were coming up, and the weather is nice. So why not cook out and invite people over? This is a joint cooking adventure [like most are], and so I'll try to write up what I was in charge of.
Kabobs
I've been waiting to post this recipe for so long and now I'm doing it when it's hidden among a bunch of other stuff and I'm adding it in about 2 months after when we actually did it. Gee, I'm sure everyone will appreciate this. This is one of my favorite recipes. The flavor on these things is fantastic.
You need:
on the skewer
a couple lbs of meat. It should be made with lamb, but Anita won't let me live my life the way I want to and lamb is kind of expensive, so I always use beef. I generally by a large cut and cut it into somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 inch cubes.
red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper, chopped
cherry tomatoes
red onion, chopped
anything else you want on the skewers
Marinade
1 onion, thinly sliced
fresh mint, parsley, ~1/2 cup each and tbsp thyme
juice of 2 lemons
cumin
paprika
pinch of chili flakes
garlic
Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate the meat overnight. If using wood skewers, make sure and soak them in water for several hours (just do it in the morning when you get up) to keep them from burning on the grill.
Remove the meat from the marinade. Skewer it with your veggies. Grill. Eat.
Hamburgers
*see previous post*
Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus
*see previous post*
Roasted Corn and Pablano Salsa
Roast the 3sh ears of corn and 2-3 pablano peppers on a grill. Chop up and put with one onion, 5-7 tomatoes, salt, pepper, tablespoonish of sugar, and 1/2 lime juice. Chill until ready to eat. Enjoy... this really is good, and makes great nachos days later.
Raita
I don't know that this is a true raita, but that's what I'm calling it. Very simple, delicious yogurt sauce you can use to cut the heat on some spicy food, or just to add some flavor. Make it up at least an hour before serving.
You need:
about 1 cup of yogurt
1 cucumber, small dice
1 onion, small dice
a little salt and white pepper
pinch of paprika
mint and parsley, chopped
Mix all the ingredients together and chill for at least 1 hour. Goes great with the kabobs and the flatbread recipe
Coffee Ice Cream
*See previous post on ice cream*
Chocolate Pie
*See previous post*
A Jake/Reinhart/Clark Loaf of Bread
Stuffed Tomatoes
Guess what. These are awesome.
You need:
about 5 tomatoes. The vine ripe ones do really well. I wouldn't use roma as you kind of need the round shape, although I guess you could cut them long ways.
Fresh oregano, basil, and parsley
breadcrumbs
garlic
olive oil
Slice the tomatoes in half along the equator. Scoop out the seeds and insides and place in a roasting pan.
Add minced garlic to the bottom of each. Chop and add fresh herbs. Fill the rest of the way with breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and bake on 350 for about 30-40 min. You're done.
Goes great with fresh bread.
Sweet Potatoes Chips
Use a mandolin or food processor with attachment to finely slice up a couple of peeled sweet potatoes. Fry until crispy, s/p. Enjoy.
Lemon Bars with Meringue [TK]
This was my highlight of the night. The presentation was awesome... I should have torched on the table.... Great taste, I think Clark and Jenny ate about 1/2 between themselves. I really enjoyed making this.
Crust:
5.25 onces of butter (10.5 tablespoons)
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1.75 cups of ap flour
Cream the butter and sugar with the vanilla. Slowly add the flour... this should form a mass, but not be a sticky dough. Roll into a rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and then chill for at least 30 minutes. Use a rolling pin, and roll it out to fall into a probably 9 x 6 baking dish... TK calls for 12 x 16... whatever size dish you have because the filling will go in this. Keep the dough on parchment paper when you put it in the dish. Chill again, and then bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes... at about 5 minutes poke the dough with a fork to let the steam out so it does not puff up.
Filling:
1 cup fresh lemon juice [add squeeze this... it is worth it for the extra flavor]
6 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
1.25 cups of sugar
4.5 ounces (9 tablespoons) of butter
Combine everything, but the butter, in a double boiler and cook until thick. Add the butter in parts off the heat until it is all in. Strain the curd into the crust. Place a oil-sprayed parchment paper on top, and then wrap in plastic wrap. Put in the freezer for many hours [until at least frozen]. I did this the night before.
Prior to serving cut the edges with the crust off to ensure the presentation is spot on.
Meringue:
1.25 cups of sugar and 2.3 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup of water
3 large egg whites
Combine the 1.25 cups of sugar and water in a pot and heat until boiling. Whip the egg whites until foaming, then add the 2.3 tablespoons of sugar, and continue until you have soft peaks. While mixing slowly add the simple syrup and continue to whip until the bowl is cool and stiff peaks are formed. Place this in a gallon bag like we do our eclairs to pipette onto the lemon bars. Do little rows of spirals.
And now pictures (thanks anita for getting us a camera again):
The Finished Product!
So yes, Clark and I have not been cooking that much. And it does make us sad, but Clark was off this past weekend, the girls were coming up, and the weather is nice. So why not cook out and invite people over? This is a joint cooking adventure [like most are], and so I'll try to write up what I was in charge of.
Kabobs
I've been waiting to post this recipe for so long and now I'm doing it when it's hidden among a bunch of other stuff and I'm adding it in about 2 months after when we actually did it. Gee, I'm sure everyone will appreciate this. This is one of my favorite recipes. The flavor on these things is fantastic.
You need:
on the skewer
a couple lbs of meat. It should be made with lamb, but Anita won't let me live my life the way I want to and lamb is kind of expensive, so I always use beef. I generally by a large cut and cut it into somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 inch cubes.
red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper, chopped
cherry tomatoes
red onion, chopped
anything else you want on the skewers
Marinade
1 onion, thinly sliced
fresh mint, parsley, ~1/2 cup each and tbsp thyme
juice of 2 lemons
cumin
paprika
pinch of chili flakes
garlic
Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate the meat overnight. If using wood skewers, make sure and soak them in water for several hours (just do it in the morning when you get up) to keep them from burning on the grill.
Remove the meat from the marinade. Skewer it with your veggies. Grill. Eat.
Hamburgers
*see previous post*
Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus
*see previous post*
Roasted Corn and Pablano Salsa
Roast the 3sh ears of corn and 2-3 pablano peppers on a grill. Chop up and put with one onion, 5-7 tomatoes, salt, pepper, tablespoonish of sugar, and 1/2 lime juice. Chill until ready to eat. Enjoy... this really is good, and makes great nachos days later.
Raita
I don't know that this is a true raita, but that's what I'm calling it. Very simple, delicious yogurt sauce you can use to cut the heat on some spicy food, or just to add some flavor. Make it up at least an hour before serving.
You need:
about 1 cup of yogurt
1 cucumber, small dice
1 onion, small dice
a little salt and white pepper
pinch of paprika
mint and parsley, chopped
Mix all the ingredients together and chill for at least 1 hour. Goes great with the kabobs and the flatbread recipe
Coffee Ice Cream
*See previous post on ice cream*
Chocolate Pie
*See previous post*
A Jake/Reinhart/Clark Loaf of Bread
Stuffed Tomatoes
Guess what. These are awesome.
You need:
about 5 tomatoes. The vine ripe ones do really well. I wouldn't use roma as you kind of need the round shape, although I guess you could cut them long ways.
Fresh oregano, basil, and parsley
breadcrumbs
garlic
olive oil
Slice the tomatoes in half along the equator. Scoop out the seeds and insides and place in a roasting pan.
Add minced garlic to the bottom of each. Chop and add fresh herbs. Fill the rest of the way with breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and bake on 350 for about 30-40 min. You're done.
Goes great with fresh bread.
Sweet Potatoes Chips
Use a mandolin or food processor with attachment to finely slice up a couple of peeled sweet potatoes. Fry until crispy, s/p. Enjoy.
Lemon Bars with Meringue [TK]
This was my highlight of the night. The presentation was awesome... I should have torched on the table.... Great taste, I think Clark and Jenny ate about 1/2 between themselves. I really enjoyed making this.
Crust:
5.25 onces of butter (10.5 tablespoons)
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1.75 cups of ap flour
Cream the butter and sugar with the vanilla. Slowly add the flour... this should form a mass, but not be a sticky dough. Roll into a rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and then chill for at least 30 minutes. Use a rolling pin, and roll it out to fall into a probably 9 x 6 baking dish... TK calls for 12 x 16... whatever size dish you have because the filling will go in this. Keep the dough on parchment paper when you put it in the dish. Chill again, and then bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes... at about 5 minutes poke the dough with a fork to let the steam out so it does not puff up.
Filling:
1 cup fresh lemon juice [add squeeze this... it is worth it for the extra flavor]
6 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
1.25 cups of sugar
4.5 ounces (9 tablespoons) of butter
Combine everything, but the butter, in a double boiler and cook until thick. Add the butter in parts off the heat until it is all in. Strain the curd into the crust. Place a oil-sprayed parchment paper on top, and then wrap in plastic wrap. Put in the freezer for many hours [until at least frozen]. I did this the night before.
Prior to serving cut the edges with the crust off to ensure the presentation is spot on.
Meringue:
1.25 cups of sugar and 2.3 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup of water
3 large egg whites
Combine the 1.25 cups of sugar and water in a pot and heat until boiling. Whip the egg whites until foaming, then add the 2.3 tablespoons of sugar, and continue until you have soft peaks. While mixing slowly add the simple syrup and continue to whip until the bowl is cool and stiff peaks are formed. Place this in a gallon bag like we do our eclairs to pipette onto the lemon bars. Do little rows of spirals.
And now pictures (thanks anita for getting us a camera again):
The Finished Product!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Raisin Bran Muffins [KA]
History:
Cards rotation.... I am there around 6-6:15 am.... and I like my breakfast. Apparently, though, I am pregnant, because all week I was getting nauseous after eating a bit of breakfast.... so I have been eating at the hospital. I wanted to make some muffins that would last the week, give me something to snack on. Avid readers know my traditional muffins.... so I wanted to break out the King Arthur cookbook and see what they had going on in the muffin department, and found these.
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses [I used honey]
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup oats
1.5 t cinnamon
0.5 t salt
1.25 cups whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 cup raisins
What to do:
Combine the milk, oil, eggs, molasses, brown sugar. Then add the bran and oats and let them soak for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425. Whisk in the rest of the dry. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Enjoy.
PS- The KA book does have a break down of fat, sugar, etc... if anyone wants that info let me know.
Cards rotation.... I am there around 6-6:15 am.... and I like my breakfast. Apparently, though, I am pregnant, because all week I was getting nauseous after eating a bit of breakfast.... so I have been eating at the hospital. I wanted to make some muffins that would last the week, give me something to snack on. Avid readers know my traditional muffins.... so I wanted to break out the King Arthur cookbook and see what they had going on in the muffin department, and found these.
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses [I used honey]
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup oats
1.5 t cinnamon
0.5 t salt
1.25 cups whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 cup raisins
What to do:
Combine the milk, oil, eggs, molasses, brown sugar. Then add the bran and oats and let them soak for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425. Whisk in the rest of the dry. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Enjoy.
PS- The KA book does have a break down of fat, sugar, etc... if anyone wants that info let me know.
Ropa Vieja
History:
As Clark said on top there is not much cooking going on. I made some muffins last week... nothing new. I wanted to do this recipe awhile ago, but we had been eating so much beef I decided to hold off. This is another traditional Cuban recipe with a bit of variation.
Cook time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Why three hours? You are going to tenderize the meat. Take about 1.5-2 pounds of flank steak and boil in water flavored with s/p and maybe some chicken stock for about 2 hours. This is just like making a stew... we are breaking down the collagen in the meat to make it tender. Ideally, you are going to do this until you can shred the meat into noodle-like ribbons with your hands or some forks.
Saute 1 onion, 1/2 green pepper, and garlic in some oil. Toss in the meat, and some tomatoes. I ended up using 1 can of diced tomatoes and some tomato paste. I have a recipe that says use tomato sauce, but I feel like that is a bit over powering. I like canned with a some paste, and smooth out the sauce with white wine. Let this simmer for about 15-20 minutes until everything combines, and the flavors mix. Put this over rice and enjoy.
As Clark said on top there is not much cooking going on. I made some muffins last week... nothing new. I wanted to do this recipe awhile ago, but we had been eating so much beef I decided to hold off. This is another traditional Cuban recipe with a bit of variation.
Cook time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Why three hours? You are going to tenderize the meat. Take about 1.5-2 pounds of flank steak and boil in water flavored with s/p and maybe some chicken stock for about 2 hours. This is just like making a stew... we are breaking down the collagen in the meat to make it tender. Ideally, you are going to do this until you can shred the meat into noodle-like ribbons with your hands or some forks.
Saute 1 onion, 1/2 green pepper, and garlic in some oil. Toss in the meat, and some tomatoes. I ended up using 1 can of diced tomatoes and some tomato paste. I have a recipe that says use tomato sauce, but I feel like that is a bit over powering. I like canned with a some paste, and smooth out the sauce with white wine. Let this simmer for about 15-20 minutes until everything combines, and the flavors mix. Put this over rice and enjoy.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Mom's Chocolate Pie [mom]
So, my mom makes awesome chocolate pie. She's got it down. She's been making them probably as long as I've been alive, if not longer. The crust is awesome. It is the 'super-flake' crust. She makes them every holiday and usually around a birthday or any time someone asks. I got her to show me the technique Thanksgiving, I think, 2 years ago. Anita was introduced to the deliciousness sometime around then and recently asked me to make one for her. Since I finally had someone compelling me to make one, I did. My crust was good. Mom has still got me on that one. I might have opened the door to improving the filling, though. Not that it needed improvement. I'll sit down and eat an entire one of those things if the rest of the family would let me. I just had to tweek it a little due to some lacking ingredients, and it just might have turned out for the better.
I actually don't have the recipe with me now so I will post it later. I just happened to have some internet access and thought I'd start. Will finish soon. I promise.
....Ok, 4 days later.
So start with the crust. Yes, you can buy pre-made pie crusts, but that's lame as hell, they're easy and cheap to make, and they taste way better.
You need:
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
sift together
1/4 cup shortening
use a pastry blender or a fork to roughly blend into the flour
1/4 cup cold water
fluff the water into the mixture
The idea is to be as light and gentle with this stuff as you can while still incorporating everything together. This will give it that flaky texture. Mom is great at that. Mine was a little on the dense side.
Knead lightly on a floured surface and roll out til large enough to overlap the pie pan. Once again, don't get too rough with it. Lay it into the pan so that the edges fall over the sides.
Cut the edges and crimp using your fingers. Prick the dough a few times with a fork. This keeps air bubbles from forming.
Bake the crust in a 450F oven for 10 minutes. About halfway through, stab any other air bubbles forming with a fork. Do not over bake!
Let the crust cool while you prepare the filling.
For the filling you need:
1 cup of sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
dash of salt (leave out if you use salted butter, but you shouldn't use salted butter)
6 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla (I probably use a little more)
Those are the traditional ingredients. I made a slight twist. I only had about 3 tbsp of regular cocoa powder and the other container I had, which I thought was more of the same, turned out to be dark chocolate cocoa powder. I like dark chocolate, but I wasn't sure I wanted a dark chocolate pie. I did, however, have some ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. So I ended up using ~3.5 tbsp regular cocoa powder, 2 tbsp dark cocoa powder, and a handful of milk chocolate chips. The chips made for a smoother, fuller, and creamier pie filling and the touch of dark chocolate gave the flavor a nice little tweek. I think more melted chips would have made it too heavy. As it was, it was a very good combination. Mom, if you don't try it before I see you (and I'm not sure when that will be) we'll have to make one together.
So, add the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa in a small pot. If using the chips, hold off til later.
Stir together til no lumps. Gradually add milk while stirring.
Turn on the stove to high heat.
Cook and stir constantly. Add the chips, if using. Keep stirring til it thickens. You will know when this happens. There will be no doubt. It might start popping at you. Keep stirring.
Once it thickens, we're almost there. Remove the pot from the heat. Temper your eggs with some of the mixture. Mix well, and add it back to the pot. Return the pot to the heat for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla.
Stir well. Pour into the pie crust. Let it cool for and hour or two at room temperature and then place in the fridge to finish cooling.
Eat all of it in one sitting.
I actually don't have the recipe with me now so I will post it later. I just happened to have some internet access and thought I'd start. Will finish soon. I promise.
....Ok, 4 days later.
So start with the crust. Yes, you can buy pre-made pie crusts, but that's lame as hell, they're easy and cheap to make, and they taste way better.
You need:
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
sift together
1/4 cup shortening
use a pastry blender or a fork to roughly blend into the flour
1/4 cup cold water
fluff the water into the mixture
The idea is to be as light and gentle with this stuff as you can while still incorporating everything together. This will give it that flaky texture. Mom is great at that. Mine was a little on the dense side.
Knead lightly on a floured surface and roll out til large enough to overlap the pie pan. Once again, don't get too rough with it. Lay it into the pan so that the edges fall over the sides.
Cut the edges and crimp using your fingers. Prick the dough a few times with a fork. This keeps air bubbles from forming.
Bake the crust in a 450F oven for 10 minutes. About halfway through, stab any other air bubbles forming with a fork. Do not over bake!
Let the crust cool while you prepare the filling.
For the filling you need:
1 cup of sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
dash of salt (leave out if you use salted butter, but you shouldn't use salted butter)
6 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla (I probably use a little more)
Those are the traditional ingredients. I made a slight twist. I only had about 3 tbsp of regular cocoa powder and the other container I had, which I thought was more of the same, turned out to be dark chocolate cocoa powder. I like dark chocolate, but I wasn't sure I wanted a dark chocolate pie. I did, however, have some ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. So I ended up using ~3.5 tbsp regular cocoa powder, 2 tbsp dark cocoa powder, and a handful of milk chocolate chips. The chips made for a smoother, fuller, and creamier pie filling and the touch of dark chocolate gave the flavor a nice little tweek. I think more melted chips would have made it too heavy. As it was, it was a very good combination. Mom, if you don't try it before I see you (and I'm not sure when that will be) we'll have to make one together.
So, add the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa in a small pot. If using the chips, hold off til later.
Stir together til no lumps. Gradually add milk while stirring.
Turn on the stove to high heat.
Cook and stir constantly. Add the chips, if using. Keep stirring til it thickens. You will know when this happens. There will be no doubt. It might start popping at you. Keep stirring.
Once it thickens, we're almost there. Remove the pot from the heat. Temper your eggs with some of the mixture. Mix well, and add it back to the pot. Return the pot to the heat for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla.
Stir well. Pour into the pie crust. Let it cool for and hour or two at room temperature and then place in the fridge to finish cooling.
Eat all of it in one sitting.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Picadillo
History:
This is a traditional Cuban dish. When people talk about Cuban food, at some point Ropa Vieja [Old Clothes] and Picadillo will come up. We are going to do a Ropa Vieja later this week, but Thursday night I was craving good old Cuban food. We served this with black beans and rice, another Cuban tradition. This is mi Abuela's version. The olives and raisins trend to freak people out, but trust me... the sweet tanginess of it is great.
And an ode to Clark:
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
Olive oil, 1 onion, 1 green pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, 1.5-2 pounds lean ground beef [lean is important here], 3-4 tomatoes [deseeded and chopped], cumin, salt, pepper, ~1/3 cup of raisins, ~1/3 cup of Spanish olives
Heat the oil, then saute diced onions, diced pepper, and garlic. Add the cayenne pepper. Add the beef and brown. Add the tomatoes, cumin, raisins, and olives [cut into 1/3rds]. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Enjoy.
This is a traditional Cuban dish. When people talk about Cuban food, at some point Ropa Vieja [Old Clothes] and Picadillo will come up. We are going to do a Ropa Vieja later this week, but Thursday night I was craving good old Cuban food. We served this with black beans and rice, another Cuban tradition. This is mi Abuela's version. The olives and raisins trend to freak people out, but trust me... the sweet tanginess of it is great.
And an ode to Clark:
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
Olive oil, 1 onion, 1 green pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, 1.5-2 pounds lean ground beef [lean is important here], 3-4 tomatoes [deseeded and chopped], cumin, salt, pepper, ~1/3 cup of raisins, ~1/3 cup of Spanish olives
Heat the oil, then saute diced onions, diced pepper, and garlic. Add the cayenne pepper. Add the beef and brown. Add the tomatoes, cumin, raisins, and olives [cut into 1/3rds]. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Enjoy.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
East-African Roast Chicken, Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Vegetable Biryani
I had to get my exotic spice on. I've been missing it.
There is a lot of spice involved with the chicken but don't let that bother you. It's very flavorful and it is very easy to make. You just throw it all together, marinate it for a day, and roast it. Nothing to it.
Doing this from memory so I might make revisions tomorrow.
East African Roast Chicken
1 whole chicken (mine was about 5 lbs)
4 tbsp thick coconut milk (don't know where you would get this. I considered reducing some regular coconut milk and then just decided to use 1/3 of a can as is)
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 tbsp tomato paste
chili powder
ground cumin
ground turmeric
dried thyme
minced garlic
good bit of chopped cilantro
salt
Remove the innards from the chicken, rinse, and pat dry.
Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl. Ease the skin from around the chicken and stuff some of the mixture under the skin. Cover the rest of the chicken well in the spice/herb mixture. Place in a roasting pan, cover loosely with foil and let marinate in the refigerator overnight.
The next day pull the chicken out of the fridge 1.5 to 2 hours before ready to cook so it can come up to room temp. Truss the chicken with butcher's twine.
Bake in the oven at 375F for ~1 hour. Baste with more butter at about 45 minutes and then flip the chicken over at the 1 hour mark. Baste with pan juices and let cook for another 20 minutes. Flip the chicken again and baste with pan juices. Let it go for another 15-20 minutes for a total of about 1 hour 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove twine if using, and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
Ginger mashed sweet potatoes [PC]
These are really good, a little different, and very easy to make. The longest part is baking them in the oven. You can do this while the chicken cooks.
You need:
3-4 sweet potatoes
about a thumb of ginger, minced
120ml heavy cream
butter
s/p
a dash of sugar
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Stab them a few times each with a paring knife or something and place them on a rack in the oven at 425F. Let them cook for about an hour, til soft. Obviously, the cooking temp is different from the chicken. If doing them at the same time, just leave them in for longer.
Once they are done, remove from the oven. Place the other ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Do not scorch the cream.
Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh. Place in a food processor or blender and puree.
Transfer the potato puree to a mixing bowl and pour the other ingredients over them. Stir well to mix. Eat.
Vegetable Biryani [CL]
Ok, this isn't actually a vegetable biryani. This is just some rice dish I came up with from eating a lot of indian food. It is similar, but I've never actually looked at any biryani recipes, so this is my imitation.
You need:
basmati rice (I got that part right)
normally you would use ghee or clarified butter-I just use olive oil, cause I always use olive oil
1 small onion, minced
~1.5 cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, beans, carrots)
curry powder
garam masala
fennel seeds
golden raisins
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
s/p
Ok, I'm pretty sure in a normal biryani, you cook everything together. I've just never done it that way. There's something about boiled/steamed spices that doesn't do it for me. So I cook the rice separately, then the vegetables with spices, then I add them. Here we go.
For the rice:
fry the onions in oil. Toss in the bay leaf and cloves and let cook for about a minute. Add the rice and stir fry for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Add the water, a pinch or two of salt, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
When that's getting close you can start your veggies:
Have your veggies already pulled and thawed. I usually run some water over them in a strainer.
Heat the oil/ghee/butter in a pan. Add the fennel seeds and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the garam masala and curry powder and fry for another 30 seconds.
Add the veggies and stir fry til heated and mixed well with the spices.
Add the golden raisins for just a few seconds and cut your heat down to low.
Transfer the rice to the pan and mix well on low heat til the flavors have combined.
To be honest, this is best made the day before because the flavors really develop later on. Still good with the chicken, though. I really considered using some of the pan drippings as my liquid, or even using the rest of the coconut milk and tomato paste in the rice, but I wanted to have something different yet complimentary. I was also saving the coconut milk for a flat bread recipe that I've been wanting to make for a while now. It would have gone quite well with this meal also. I usually make it when I make dhaal or chana masala. Maybe I'll post it for you tomorrow. It's a very simple recipe. The only time consuming part is frying the pieces of bread. good eats. good night.
There is a lot of spice involved with the chicken but don't let that bother you. It's very flavorful and it is very easy to make. You just throw it all together, marinate it for a day, and roast it. Nothing to it.
Doing this from memory so I might make revisions tomorrow.
East African Roast Chicken
1 whole chicken (mine was about 5 lbs)
4 tbsp thick coconut milk (don't know where you would get this. I considered reducing some regular coconut milk and then just decided to use 1/3 of a can as is)
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 tbsp tomato paste
chili powder
ground cumin
ground turmeric
dried thyme
minced garlic
good bit of chopped cilantro
salt
Remove the innards from the chicken, rinse, and pat dry.
Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl. Ease the skin from around the chicken and stuff some of the mixture under the skin. Cover the rest of the chicken well in the spice/herb mixture. Place in a roasting pan, cover loosely with foil and let marinate in the refigerator overnight.
The next day pull the chicken out of the fridge 1.5 to 2 hours before ready to cook so it can come up to room temp. Truss the chicken with butcher's twine.
Bake in the oven at 375F for ~1 hour. Baste with more butter at about 45 minutes and then flip the chicken over at the 1 hour mark. Baste with pan juices and let cook for another 20 minutes. Flip the chicken again and baste with pan juices. Let it go for another 15-20 minutes for a total of about 1 hour 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove twine if using, and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
Ginger mashed sweet potatoes [PC]
These are really good, a little different, and very easy to make. The longest part is baking them in the oven. You can do this while the chicken cooks.
You need:
3-4 sweet potatoes
about a thumb of ginger, minced
120ml heavy cream
butter
s/p
a dash of sugar
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Stab them a few times each with a paring knife or something and place them on a rack in the oven at 425F. Let them cook for about an hour, til soft. Obviously, the cooking temp is different from the chicken. If doing them at the same time, just leave them in for longer.
Once they are done, remove from the oven. Place the other ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Do not scorch the cream.
Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh. Place in a food processor or blender and puree.
Transfer the potato puree to a mixing bowl and pour the other ingredients over them. Stir well to mix. Eat.
Vegetable Biryani [CL]
Ok, this isn't actually a vegetable biryani. This is just some rice dish I came up with from eating a lot of indian food. It is similar, but I've never actually looked at any biryani recipes, so this is my imitation.
You need:
basmati rice (I got that part right)
normally you would use ghee or clarified butter-I just use olive oil, cause I always use olive oil
1 small onion, minced
~1.5 cups frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, beans, carrots)
curry powder
garam masala
fennel seeds
golden raisins
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
s/p
Ok, I'm pretty sure in a normal biryani, you cook everything together. I've just never done it that way. There's something about boiled/steamed spices that doesn't do it for me. So I cook the rice separately, then the vegetables with spices, then I add them. Here we go.
For the rice:
fry the onions in oil. Toss in the bay leaf and cloves and let cook for about a minute. Add the rice and stir fry for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Add the water, a pinch or two of salt, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
When that's getting close you can start your veggies:
Have your veggies already pulled and thawed. I usually run some water over them in a strainer.
Heat the oil/ghee/butter in a pan. Add the fennel seeds and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the garam masala and curry powder and fry for another 30 seconds.
Add the veggies and stir fry til heated and mixed well with the spices.
Add the golden raisins for just a few seconds and cut your heat down to low.
Transfer the rice to the pan and mix well on low heat til the flavors have combined.
To be honest, this is best made the day before because the flavors really develop later on. Still good with the chicken, though. I really considered using some of the pan drippings as my liquid, or even using the rest of the coconut milk and tomato paste in the rice, but I wanted to have something different yet complimentary. I was also saving the coconut milk for a flat bread recipe that I've been wanting to make for a while now. It would have gone quite well with this meal also. I usually make it when I make dhaal or chana masala. Maybe I'll post it for you tomorrow. It's a very simple recipe. The only time consuming part is frying the pieces of bread. good eats. good night.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
London Broil with fried Leeks and Sage and Home Fries with Bacon
Simplicity at its finest. We threw this one together in about 30 minutes and it was one of the best meals we've had. I think we had about 5 ingredients in the entire meal and 4 spices. For those of you who don't like the more complicated excursions, pay attention to this one....
London Broil [CL]
We had a ~1.5 lb london broil cut. That's beef for those not in the know. Very tender cut. Makes a great roast or even stew.
Pull it out of the fridge 1-2 hrs before cooking so it can come up to room temp. Season with salt and pepper and go do something with yourself. We went to the gym.
Heat the oven to 350F and heat a skillet large enough for the meat on high. Season the meat again with granulated garlic and onion powder. Could you have done this before when you seasoned with s/p? Yeah.
Once the skillet is hot (you'll know) sear the meat on each side, bout 2 minutes each side.
Place in a roasting pan and put in the oven for 10 minutes. This will give a great medium doneness for a 1.5 lb cut. You may need to go a little longer on a larger one, but not much.
Remove the meat from the oven and LEAVE IT ALONE for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat some oil on med-high to high heat and finely chop some leeks (or onions/shallots if you've got 'em) and torn sage leaves for just a minute or two.
Slice the meat and garnish with fried leeks and sage.
Home Fries w/ Bacon [JG]
You should know how to make these, but we'll tell you anyways.
Diced onions, diced bacon, diced potatoes, s/p.
Throw the potatoes and onions together in a bowl and season well with s/p.
Fry up bacon, add onions and potato mixture with more oil if you need to. Or, if you happen to have some more reserved bacon grease in a jar next to your stove, use that. It's really healthy for you. (disclaimer: it is NOT really healthy for you. It is, however, delicious)
Do all this on med-high heat and toss frequently to keep from burning. you can also cover the pan to speed up the cooking process. Also, the smaller the potato cut, the quicker it will cook. Let them go til they start to get a nice crisp, just before they start to burn.
You're done. We made a huge salad to go with it.
And yes, we have been on a meat, potato, something green kick for a while. What do you want. We're busy.
London Broil [CL]
We had a ~1.5 lb london broil cut. That's beef for those not in the know. Very tender cut. Makes a great roast or even stew.
Pull it out of the fridge 1-2 hrs before cooking so it can come up to room temp. Season with salt and pepper and go do something with yourself. We went to the gym.
Heat the oven to 350F and heat a skillet large enough for the meat on high. Season the meat again with granulated garlic and onion powder. Could you have done this before when you seasoned with s/p? Yeah.
Once the skillet is hot (you'll know) sear the meat on each side, bout 2 minutes each side.
Place in a roasting pan and put in the oven for 10 minutes. This will give a great medium doneness for a 1.5 lb cut. You may need to go a little longer on a larger one, but not much.
Remove the meat from the oven and LEAVE IT ALONE for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat some oil on med-high to high heat and finely chop some leeks (or onions/shallots if you've got 'em) and torn sage leaves for just a minute or two.
Slice the meat and garnish with fried leeks and sage.
Home Fries w/ Bacon [JG]
You should know how to make these, but we'll tell you anyways.
Diced onions, diced bacon, diced potatoes, s/p.
Throw the potatoes and onions together in a bowl and season well with s/p.
Fry up bacon, add onions and potato mixture with more oil if you need to. Or, if you happen to have some more reserved bacon grease in a jar next to your stove, use that. It's really healthy for you. (disclaimer: it is NOT really healthy for you. It is, however, delicious)
Do all this on med-high heat and toss frequently to keep from burning. you can also cover the pan to speed up the cooking process. Also, the smaller the potato cut, the quicker it will cook. Let them go til they start to get a nice crisp, just before they start to burn.
You're done. We made a huge salad to go with it.
And yes, we have been on a meat, potato, something green kick for a while. What do you want. We're busy.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Chicken Fricassee with Risotto alla Milanese
Once again, I'm a day late posting. I'm starting this tonight just so I can post what we had tonight separately on tomorrow's post. Yes, we've actually cooked 3 nights in a row now. We just don't have time to type this stuff up.
Both of these recipes were from the Professional Chef. I had some chicken and I wanted something different. I came real close to making my Chicken Parmesan, which is wicked awesome by the way, but I decided to try something new. Don't worry. You'll get the chicken parm recipe eventually.
To be honest, the chicken was alright. Nothing great. The sauce was pretty good and I was very happy with the risotto. It was my first time making risotto and I thought it went pretty well. It was exceptionally good with the sauce from the chicken.
If you don't know what risotto is, it is rice made with a very specific technique. It ends up with a very creamy, porridge like consistency without being at all mushy or clumpy. It is really very good and if you ever watch cooking show competitions freakin everybody makes them.
The chicken is braised in a white wine and cream sauce with chicken stock. I think if I would have followed the recipe better and used dark meat it would have turned out better. I had chicken breasts and when you braise with breasts they tend to dry out, get tough, and lose flavor. I also didn't measure crap and since the PC makes everything in a billion portions my ratios could have been off. I will give you the recipe per PC and you can scale down as you see fit.
Chicken Fricassee
You need:
5 chickens, cut into 8 pieces each
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
4 oz clarified butter or oil
1 lb diced onions
2 tsp minced garlic
2 oz AP flour
8 oz white wine
16 oz chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp thyme
8 oz heavy cream
1 lb small-dice carrots, blanched
1 lb small-dice leeks, blanched
1/2 oz chives or parsley, chopped
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large pot and saute chicken til they stiffen slightly, but do not brown. Transfer chicken to a pan and reserve.
Add onions and garlic to the pan and cook til onions are translucent.
Add the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the wine to the pan, stirring to release any drippings. Let the wine cook for at least a minute to burn off some of the alcohol. Add the stock, bay leaves, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken along with any juice to the pan. Cover and cook over low to medium heat til chicken is fork tender, ~30 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a pan and moisten with some of the cooking liquid. Keep warm while finishing the sauce.
Add the cream to the sauce and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly. Skim to degrease and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Strain the sauce and return to the pot.
Return the chicken to the sauce along with the leeks and carrots and simmer for another 2 minutes. Serve with chives/parsley.
Risotto alla Milanese
I'll give you the PC recipe as is but then discuss what I did. Once again, you can scale down as you see fit.
Both of these recipes were from the Professional Chef. I had some chicken and I wanted something different. I came real close to making my Chicken Parmesan, which is wicked awesome by the way, but I decided to try something new. Don't worry. You'll get the chicken parm recipe eventually.
To be honest, the chicken was alright. Nothing great. The sauce was pretty good and I was very happy with the risotto. It was my first time making risotto and I thought it went pretty well. It was exceptionally good with the sauce from the chicken.
If you don't know what risotto is, it is rice made with a very specific technique. It ends up with a very creamy, porridge like consistency without being at all mushy or clumpy. It is really very good and if you ever watch cooking show competitions freakin everybody makes them.
The chicken is braised in a white wine and cream sauce with chicken stock. I think if I would have followed the recipe better and used dark meat it would have turned out better. I had chicken breasts and when you braise with breasts they tend to dry out, get tough, and lose flavor. I also didn't measure crap and since the PC makes everything in a billion portions my ratios could have been off. I will give you the recipe per PC and you can scale down as you see fit.
Chicken Fricassee
You need:
5 chickens, cut into 8 pieces each
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
4 oz clarified butter or oil
1 lb diced onions
2 tsp minced garlic
2 oz AP flour
8 oz white wine
16 oz chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp thyme
8 oz heavy cream
1 lb small-dice carrots, blanched
1 lb small-dice leeks, blanched
1/2 oz chives or parsley, chopped
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large pot and saute chicken til they stiffen slightly, but do not brown. Transfer chicken to a pan and reserve.
Add onions and garlic to the pan and cook til onions are translucent.
Add the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the wine to the pan, stirring to release any drippings. Let the wine cook for at least a minute to burn off some of the alcohol. Add the stock, bay leaves, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken along with any juice to the pan. Cover and cook over low to medium heat til chicken is fork tender, ~30 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a pan and moisten with some of the cooking liquid. Keep warm while finishing the sauce.
Add the cream to the sauce and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly. Skim to degrease and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Strain the sauce and return to the pot.
Return the chicken to the sauce along with the leeks and carrots and simmer for another 2 minutes. Serve with chives/parsley.
Risotto alla Milanese
I'll give you the PC recipe as is but then discuss what I did. Once again, you can scale down as you see fit.
46 oz chicken stock
3/4 tsp saffron (do you really need this? no.)
salt
pepper
3 oz minced onions
7 oz olive oil
14oz medium grained white rice (Arborio rice to be strictly italian, but I don't know where you'd get this)
2 oz dry white wine
5 oz butter
6 oz grated parmesan
Let's talk technique.
Risotto takes pretty much constant attention and stirring. This is not a bring to the boil, cover, and walk away type of rice dish. It is typically made with a medium grain rice. Longer grain will take longer to cook and probably more liquid. I'm not sure, but a short grain rice might be a little mushy if you try to use it for a risotto. A medium grain rice should take about 20 minutes to cook. The liquid in risotto is added a bit at a time, about 1/4 to 1/3 at a time and stirred constantly until all the liquid absorbs. Since you are not covering, the rice:liquid ratio should be somewhere around 1:3. Keep adding and stirring until the liquid is absorbed and the rice develops a creamy consistency.
So first off, heat up your stock over low heat and add the saffron to it. Sweat the onions (I actually used leeks since I had some left over) in the oil til soft and translucent. Add the rice and stir constantly til you get a toasted aroma, a minute or two. Add the wine and cook til dry. Add 1/3 of the stock and cook, stirring constantly til the liquid is absorbed. Repeat, adding the remaining stock in 2 more portions, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next. Stir constantly and once you've gotten to the end you can actually start tossing the risotto in the pot to help incorporate air into it and make it creamier and fluffier. At this point, the rice should be just tender, most of the liquid absorbed, and very creamy.
Finish it by stirring in the butter, parmesan, and a little oil. Adjust seasoning and add any fresh herbs if you want. Serve.
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