This is just the kind of recipe I hate. I’ve been cooking for 3 days. Now granted you could do it in one day, if you had nothing else to do. I felt it would work out wonderfully as I wanted to work on my painting on Friday and go to the Baltimore Craft Show on Saturday. So you have read phases 1 and 2 to see the parts I did each of those days. Today, I went to a Pampered Chef Party. It’s the new Tupperware party. It is also the end of the month so I had bills to pay before leaving.
I arrived back home at about 4:30 PM. I pealed and organized all the vegetables and fed the dog. Here is the finale of the dish.
2C, 1/2” cubes, peeled yam
5 oz. snow peas
4C, ½” wide crosswise slices cored Napa cabbage
5 oz. slender carrots
10 oz. Udon noodles
1C sliced green onions
¼ C matchstick-sized strips peeled fresh ginger
6 oz.firm Tofu, cut into 1/2 “cubes
Bring a pot of boiling salted water to a boil. Have bowls ready for each of the 4 vegetables and also the noodles. Remember the sliced mushrooms from last night and get them out of the refrigerator. After the salted water comes to a boil, cook the yams, 5 min. Remove and place in a bowl each veg. as you cook it. (Next the snow peas, 30 sec; cabbage, 1 ½ min., and the carrots 2 minutes) Bring the reserved cooking liquid to a simmer and add the green onions, matchstick ginger, salt and pepper. Finally cook the Udon noodles in the salted cooking water. Drain and place in a bowl.
When ready to serve, place 1/4th of all the ingredients in a bowl and spoon the hot broth over. If you need more salt, add soy sauce. I thought it needed some pizzazz. I added Sambal Oelek which is a hot sauce; very wrong. We used chop sticks, Chinese soup spoons and bowls to make it more festive.
Bottom line, if you want to make a Japanese Noodle dish, uses a Japanese Cookbook. Jim ate it and said he liked it, but felt it took a lot of work to eat. That is his way of saying, don’t make this again. I would attach the word boring. Unfortunately we have left over’s. I am going to look through a hot pot book that I have to figure out a way to make it better. It seemed the perfect vegetarian meal or for meatless lent days. I will nto be serving it tomorrow, but stay tuned to see how I fix it.
A 2007 Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir was a good accompaniment to this dinner assuming you did not put hot sauce on the dish. Jim did not use the hot sauce.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Japanese style noodle soup, day 2
Day 2 of the Japanese-style noodle dish. Last night Jim and I went out to dinner at the Olive Garden. We had a gift certificate. I remember going there a long time ago in IN. Talk about supersized portions. I ordered tomato brochette and Jim ordered Calamari. We were served about 10 loaves of bread prior to the appetizer arriving. When the appetizers came we just looked at each other. Jim said to the waiter, can you hold the main course; this is a lot of food. I had 2 brochette and knew not to eat more which was about enough to have as an appetizer for a party. My individual pizza arrived; easily pizza for 2. Jim had a huge bowl of Chicken Alfrado. He ate it all. We took most of my meal home and about ¼ of Jim’s appetizer. We went to the Baltimore Craft Show today and had leftovers for dinner tonight as we didn’t get back until 7:00 PM. McDonald’s has nothing on the Olive Garden in terms of the word, supersized.
After dinner I started phase 2 of dinner tomorrow.
10 C Light Vegetable Broth (They said you should get 11 to 12 cups, I only got 10)
3C water
1 ½ C coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 ½ oz. dried shitake mushrooms
¾ C thinly sliced fresh ginger
2 lemon grass stalks, outer dark layers removed, 4” of the large bulb end used.
2 6” strips dried kombu seaweed, rinsed
2t. tamari soy sauce
1t. unseasoned rice vinegar
Put the first 6 ingredients in the pot and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add the kombu for a minute. Just an aside it will grow and look like that stuff on the beach. Strain the broth again and save the mushrooms. Toss the rest. Add the soy sauce and rice vinegar to the strained broth. Cut out the stems of the mushrooms and cut each in 3 to 4 slices.
After dinner I started phase 2 of dinner tomorrow.
10 C Light Vegetable Broth (They said you should get 11 to 12 cups, I only got 10)
3C water
1 ½ C coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 ½ oz. dried shitake mushrooms
¾ C thinly sliced fresh ginger
2 lemon grass stalks, outer dark layers removed, 4” of the large bulb end used.
2 6” strips dried kombu seaweed, rinsed
2t. tamari soy sauce
1t. unseasoned rice vinegar
Put the first 6 ingredients in the pot and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add the kombu for a minute. Just an aside it will grow and look like that stuff on the beach. Strain the broth again and save the mushrooms. Toss the rest. Add the soy sauce and rice vinegar to the strained broth. Cut out the stems of the mushrooms and cut each in 3 to 4 slices.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Japanese-style noodle soup
February’s Bon Appétit has an Udon with Mushroom Broth, Cabbage and Yams recipe that is a Japanese-style noodle soup. I am starting the process today by making the Light Vegetable Broth. I am using all organic vegetables so the carrots and parsnips, I just washed and did not peel. The ingredients are simmering now and smell heavenly.
3 ½ qts. Water
2 whole large leeks, halved lengthwise and sliced (Wash in a colander after chopping before adding to the water)
1# carrots sliced
2 medium potatoes scrubbed and cut in cubes
2 large unpeeled onions cut in l” cubes
3 large celery stalks, sliced
2 large parsnips, sliced
1 C fennel stalks and fronds. (Reserve the bulb for another use)I added all the fronds as they smelled wonderful.
1C coarsely chopped parsley
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
1t dried thyme
1 t. sea salt
1t. whole black peppercorns
Mint (optional) I did not have any so I added a portion of a left over yellow hot pepper
Basically put it all in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft and the broth is pale golden. Stain roughly in a colander and then again through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard the vegetables.
Tomorrow I will make the mushroom broth before we go to the Baltimore Craft Show.
3 ½ qts. Water
2 whole large leeks, halved lengthwise and sliced (Wash in a colander after chopping before adding to the water)
1# carrots sliced
2 medium potatoes scrubbed and cut in cubes
2 large unpeeled onions cut in l” cubes
3 large celery stalks, sliced
2 large parsnips, sliced
1 C fennel stalks and fronds. (Reserve the bulb for another use)I added all the fronds as they smelled wonderful.
1C coarsely chopped parsley
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
1t dried thyme
1 t. sea salt
1t. whole black peppercorns
Mint (optional) I did not have any so I added a portion of a left over yellow hot pepper
Basically put it all in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft and the broth is pale golden. Stain roughly in a colander and then again through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard the vegetables.
Tomorrow I will make the mushroom broth before we go to the Baltimore Craft Show.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas from Cooking Light May 2009. I think it is from a reader from TX who wanted to lighten up a favorite recipe of theirs. I served it with a salad and vinaigrette dressing. Unfortunately I put too much salt in the dressing for me. No one else objected, but I seem to be very salt sensitive. It says that each serving is 454 calories per serving. Mine might be a little different. I only had 4 8” tortillas but I had 8 6” ones. The last ½ cup of cheddar cheese was real, not reduced fat. I had a very good one called Beemster from Holland. Notice there is no salt in the recipe as they used canned soup. I stopped taking Cooking Light as they tend to use a lot of what I call plastic food. There is a saying that you should not put anything in your body that your Grandmother would not recognize as food. For my nephew, I would extend this to his great-grandmother as my Mother actually embraced TV dinners. Also because I used smaller tortillas, I used a 7.5” x 13” pan. I have very unusual sizes of Pyrex pans that I got from my Mother’s house when I cleaned it out. I would advise you to just make sure you have the 8” tortillas if you make it. My neighbor is coming for dinner. We went to the movie this afternoon. I made this in the AM through the first cooking before we left.
2 ½ C chopped cooked chicken breast (I defrosted and used 1# uncooked. I did not measure it in cups)
8oz. preshredded reduced-fat-4 cheese Mexican blend cheese; I have always wondered what this blend of cheese was for.
1 2/3 C plain low-fat yogurt I used Greek non-fat as it tastes better. I’ll save you some measuring; it is most of a 16 oz container of yogurt. I would have just added it all but Max has yogurt on his food every evening, so I saved some for him.
1/3 C melted butter
¼ C chopped onion
1t minced garlic
¼ t black pepper
1 10 ¾ oz can condensed reduced-fat, reduced sodium cream of chicken soup. Don’t you wonder what it is made of? I was afraid to read the can.
1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chilies, drained
8 (8”) flour tortillas
Spray oil
½ C finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
¼ C chopped green onions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Combine the first 9 ingredients. Remove 1C chicken mixture and set aside.
I heated a grill pan and cooked the tortillas one at a time putting nice grille marks on them.
Spray your pan. I put the mixture in the tortillas. I did not measure ½ C per the recipe, just divided equally, and folded and put in the pan. You then spread the reserved chicken mixture on the top. I then covered it and placed in the refrigerator until we were ready to eat. I also precut the green onions and shredded the cheese getting it ready to go.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let the mixture warm to room temperature before you start baking it. After 20 minutes, uncover and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese and green onions. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese melts. I actually thought it was too creamy, oozy, gooey. I have made enchiladas’ there were more meat with green sauce and some cheese that I liked better. But I have to remember this was a reduced calorie version of a family favorite. The magazine recommended a Chardonnay and Jim served a Fox Run Vineyards from the Finger Lakes. It was very good.
2 ½ C chopped cooked chicken breast (I defrosted and used 1# uncooked. I did not measure it in cups)
8oz. preshredded reduced-fat-4 cheese Mexican blend cheese; I have always wondered what this blend of cheese was for.
1 2/3 C plain low-fat yogurt I used Greek non-fat as it tastes better. I’ll save you some measuring; it is most of a 16 oz container of yogurt. I would have just added it all but Max has yogurt on his food every evening, so I saved some for him.
1/3 C melted butter
¼ C chopped onion
1t minced garlic
¼ t black pepper
1 10 ¾ oz can condensed reduced-fat, reduced sodium cream of chicken soup. Don’t you wonder what it is made of? I was afraid to read the can.
1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chilies, drained
8 (8”) flour tortillas
Spray oil
½ C finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
¼ C chopped green onions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Combine the first 9 ingredients. Remove 1C chicken mixture and set aside.
I heated a grill pan and cooked the tortillas one at a time putting nice grille marks on them.
Spray your pan. I put the mixture in the tortillas. I did not measure ½ C per the recipe, just divided equally, and folded and put in the pan. You then spread the reserved chicken mixture on the top. I then covered it and placed in the refrigerator until we were ready to eat. I also precut the green onions and shredded the cheese getting it ready to go.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let the mixture warm to room temperature before you start baking it. After 20 minutes, uncover and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese and green onions. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese melts. I actually thought it was too creamy, oozy, gooey. I have made enchiladas’ there were more meat with green sauce and some cheese that I liked better. But I have to remember this was a reduced calorie version of a family favorite. The magazine recommended a Chardonnay and Jim served a Fox Run Vineyards from the Finger Lakes. It was very good.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Do you remember the scene in Julie and Julia where Julia is having her first French meal and is going on and on about the fish? That is exactly what will happen to you if you fix this dish. Tonight I made Sole with Spinach from My French Kitchen. Unfortunately I could not find sole, so I substituted Tilapia. I bought 3 and cut them in half to be able to do the twisting. The twisting just adds looks to the dish. As it was only Jim and I, I just made half the following recipe. I would definitely serve this to company.
Serves 6
8T butter
4 shallots
Drizzle of olive oil (for the broiler rack. I used non-stick aluminum foil)
12 sole fillets
2 # spinach
1/3 C heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon for serving
I did not use a broiler pan as the recipe directed. I covered a flat pan with non-stick foil and put it under the broiler for a few minutes to heat. I chopped the shallots and with 1T butter cooked them slowly for 10 minutes. Do not burn or brown, just soften. Twist the fillets and place on the hot pan. Place under the broiler for 5 minutes. Mine took 6 minutes to get done. Place the spinach in a pot with 3T of water, sprayed to prevent sticking. Cook for 3 minutes. Place the spinach in a lightly buttered baking dish and arrange the sole fillets on top. Place them under the turned off broiler to keep warm.
To the shallots add the cream, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cut the remaining butter into small pieces and whisk a few pieces at a time into the simmering cream. Pour the sauce over the fish and spinach and finish with a squeeze of lemon.
We had a 2007 Bourgogne Chardonnay by Pierre Andre au Chateau de Corton Andre, a Vin de Bourgogne. This crisp, dry chardonnay is a great way to experience a white Burgundy at a reasonable price. This was a Wine of the Month selection by the Opera House Gourmet in Manassas, VA.
Meryl Streep was not acting if they really served her a meal like this. It was a natural reaction to the food.
Serves 6
8T butter
4 shallots
Drizzle of olive oil (for the broiler rack. I used non-stick aluminum foil)
12 sole fillets
2 # spinach
1/3 C heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon for serving
I did not use a broiler pan as the recipe directed. I covered a flat pan with non-stick foil and put it under the broiler for a few minutes to heat. I chopped the shallots and with 1T butter cooked them slowly for 10 minutes. Do not burn or brown, just soften. Twist the fillets and place on the hot pan. Place under the broiler for 5 minutes. Mine took 6 minutes to get done. Place the spinach in a pot with 3T of water, sprayed to prevent sticking. Cook for 3 minutes. Place the spinach in a lightly buttered baking dish and arrange the sole fillets on top. Place them under the turned off broiler to keep warm.
To the shallots add the cream, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cut the remaining butter into small pieces and whisk a few pieces at a time into the simmering cream. Pour the sauce over the fish and spinach and finish with a squeeze of lemon.
We had a 2007 Bourgogne Chardonnay by Pierre Andre au Chateau de Corton Andre, a Vin de Bourgogne. This crisp, dry chardonnay is a great way to experience a white Burgundy at a reasonable price. This was a Wine of the Month selection by the Opera House Gourmet in Manassas, VA.
Meryl Streep was not acting if they really served her a meal like this. It was a natural reaction to the food.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Celery Soup with Apples and Blue Cheese (Sunset Magazine, Feb. 2010)
Serves: 4
This soup was excellent and very filling. Jim needed some meat so we had Nathan’s hot dogs with it.
1 ½ # celery, stalks separated and cut in 1” chunks
½ small onion, chopped
1 qt. Chicken or Vegetable broth (I used the broth that I made Saturday)
2T butter
1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled and finely chopped
½ C half and half
¼ t salt and pepper. (I used about 1t each)
¼ C chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ C crumbled blue cheese.
Put the celery, onion and broth in a pan on the stove with a cover. The recipe said cook for 25 min. My celery needed about 45 minutes. I used an immersion blender to then purée. In a small skillet cook the butter and apple to caramelize the apple. This for me took about 15 minutes.
After puréeing the soups add the half and half.
Ladle the soup in the bowl and top with the parsley, apple and cheese.
I really liked this soup and Jim did not complain.
Serves: 4
This soup was excellent and very filling. Jim needed some meat so we had Nathan’s hot dogs with it.
1 ½ # celery, stalks separated and cut in 1” chunks
½ small onion, chopped
1 qt. Chicken or Vegetable broth (I used the broth that I made Saturday)
2T butter
1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled and finely chopped
½ C half and half
¼ t salt and pepper. (I used about 1t each)
¼ C chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ C crumbled blue cheese.
Put the celery, onion and broth in a pan on the stove with a cover. The recipe said cook for 25 min. My celery needed about 45 minutes. I used an immersion blender to then purée. In a small skillet cook the butter and apple to caramelize the apple. This for me took about 15 minutes.
After puréeing the soups add the half and half.
Ladle the soup in the bowl and top with the parsley, apple and cheese.
I really liked this soup and Jim did not complain.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Mussels
We went grocery shopping late and upon returning home, I decided after smelling the soup I was making, that it did not go with my mussel dish. We had the mussels and the soup is stored for later.
I made Beer-Steamed Mussels with Salted Black Beans from Williams Sonoma’s Eat Well Cookbook. In our market, mussels come in 2# packages so I doubled the recipe. The recipe says 2 main or 4 starter servings. So four main is just what I need with Jim. I would describe this dish as piquant and hot. It is definitely different from Moules Mariniere as we experienced in Brussels. Jim really liked this dish. I hope he also likes Chinese lager beer (Tsingtao) as we had to buy a six pack for the bottle to do the dish.
Mussels, 1#
Red Fresno chilies-2-3 (They were called red cherry peppers in our market. There is a picture in the cookbook so I knew they were the same)
Chinese salted black beans, 1 ½ T
Peanut Oil, 1T
Fresh ginger, 1T minced
Garlic, 2 cloves minced
Chinese lager-style beer, 1C
Lime juice, 2T
Salt
Cilantro sprigs for garnish
Heat the oil in a sauté pan with a tight fitting lid. Add the ginger and garlic, cook stirring for a minute, Add chilies and black beans stir for another minute. Add the beer and the mussels and cover the pan. Cook for 4-8 minutes shaking the pan occasionally. Mine took about 6 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and salt. Top with cilantro sprigs. I served this with the Cinco de Mayo bread that I gave you the recipe earlier.
I brought the mussels home on ice. Before cooking I scrubbed the mussels and put in ice water with a little corn meal. They will eat it and expel the beards. These were exceptionally clean mussels.
Jim served a 2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ. If we had cooled the Chinese beer, we could have served that.
I made Beer-Steamed Mussels with Salted Black Beans from Williams Sonoma’s Eat Well Cookbook. In our market, mussels come in 2# packages so I doubled the recipe. The recipe says 2 main or 4 starter servings. So four main is just what I need with Jim. I would describe this dish as piquant and hot. It is definitely different from Moules Mariniere as we experienced in Brussels. Jim really liked this dish. I hope he also likes Chinese lager beer (Tsingtao) as we had to buy a six pack for the bottle to do the dish.
Mussels, 1#
Red Fresno chilies-2-3 (They were called red cherry peppers in our market. There is a picture in the cookbook so I knew they were the same)
Chinese salted black beans, 1 ½ T
Peanut Oil, 1T
Fresh ginger, 1T minced
Garlic, 2 cloves minced
Chinese lager-style beer, 1C
Lime juice, 2T
Salt
Cilantro sprigs for garnish
Heat the oil in a sauté pan with a tight fitting lid. Add the ginger and garlic, cook stirring for a minute, Add chilies and black beans stir for another minute. Add the beer and the mussels and cover the pan. Cook for 4-8 minutes shaking the pan occasionally. Mine took about 6 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and salt. Top with cilantro sprigs. I served this with the Cinco de Mayo bread that I gave you the recipe earlier.
I brought the mussels home on ice. Before cooking I scrubbed the mussels and put in ice water with a little corn meal. They will eat it and expel the beards. These were exceptionally clean mussels.
Jim served a 2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ. If we had cooled the Chinese beer, we could have served that.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunday dinner for two
This was a great day. It started with my brother taking his computer to Brentwood where my mother resides in the Memory Care Unit. We had set up Skype on both our computers and we wanted to see if I could talk to my Mother. We did talk although she refused to believe it was me until Jim came into the picture. It was good to see her and I have to say if I live to be 90, I hope I look that good.
After we signed off, Jim and I drove to Woodberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, VA to see a pastel exhibit by my current instructor. It was very impressive. On the way back we stopped for lunch in Culpepper, VA in their restored Old Town at a restaurant called Foti’s. Upon returning home we found out that the chef-owners had been trained at the Inn of Little Washington. Our lunch was divine. We want to go back for dinner.
Dinner tonight was “leftovers” newly cooked. Over Christmas we bought tenderloin of beef that was too large for the amount of people we were serving. I had cut off the end and put it in the freezer. I also had a port wine sauce left over from another meal that I got out of Gourmet or Bon Appetite and froze the leftover sauce. Earlier, I blogged about my green beans with almonds; I froze half. Every now and then you have to get the things you put in the freezer out. Tonight was the night. I first brazed the beef on top of the stove. I put veg. oil in a pan and salted and peppered the beef. After it was brown on all sides, I put it in a 400 degree oven to 135 degrees, medium rare. We established tonight that Jim has to place the probe in the meat. I am a loser at placement of the probe. When it reached temperature, I covered it with foil for 15 minutes before carving. I also served a twice baked potato. I kind of followed a Paula Deen Recipe, but this recipe was for 6 and I was just using 1 potato. So here is my version of twice baked potato for two when the beef gets done before the potato.
I was baking the potato in the oven with the beef, but the beef got done too fast. It had to set for 15 minutes so I put the potato in the microwave. When it was done, I scooped out the middle in a bowl with butter, crème fraiche, salt and pepper. Instead of the mixer, I used my ricer as it was a small amount. Before I reloaded the potato I sprinkled the shell with a little truffle oil. I did not add parsley per her instructions but did sprinkle with paprika, and then put it in the microwave under reheat one serving. All was done in the 15 minutes I had remaining. It was good.
The one thing good about serving beef in this house is Jim brings out the good wine from the cellar. Tonight’s was stellar. He served a 1998 Reserve Viansa Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma. It was a well balanced luscious wine with a predominant aroma of blackberries.
After we signed off, Jim and I drove to Woodberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, VA to see a pastel exhibit by my current instructor. It was very impressive. On the way back we stopped for lunch in Culpepper, VA in their restored Old Town at a restaurant called Foti’s. Upon returning home we found out that the chef-owners had been trained at the Inn of Little Washington. Our lunch was divine. We want to go back for dinner.
Dinner tonight was “leftovers” newly cooked. Over Christmas we bought tenderloin of beef that was too large for the amount of people we were serving. I had cut off the end and put it in the freezer. I also had a port wine sauce left over from another meal that I got out of Gourmet or Bon Appetite and froze the leftover sauce. Earlier, I blogged about my green beans with almonds; I froze half. Every now and then you have to get the things you put in the freezer out. Tonight was the night. I first brazed the beef on top of the stove. I put veg. oil in a pan and salted and peppered the beef. After it was brown on all sides, I put it in a 400 degree oven to 135 degrees, medium rare. We established tonight that Jim has to place the probe in the meat. I am a loser at placement of the probe. When it reached temperature, I covered it with foil for 15 minutes before carving. I also served a twice baked potato. I kind of followed a Paula Deen Recipe, but this recipe was for 6 and I was just using 1 potato. So here is my version of twice baked potato for two when the beef gets done before the potato.
I was baking the potato in the oven with the beef, but the beef got done too fast. It had to set for 15 minutes so I put the potato in the microwave. When it was done, I scooped out the middle in a bowl with butter, crème fraiche, salt and pepper. Instead of the mixer, I used my ricer as it was a small amount. Before I reloaded the potato I sprinkled the shell with a little truffle oil. I did not add parsley per her instructions but did sprinkle with paprika, and then put it in the microwave under reheat one serving. All was done in the 15 minutes I had remaining. It was good.
The one thing good about serving beef in this house is Jim brings out the good wine from the cellar. Tonight’s was stellar. He served a 1998 Reserve Viansa Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma. It was a well balanced luscious wine with a predominant aroma of blackberries.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Lucky me, going out to dinner tonight, but I still had things to do. I made up next week’s meals and shopping list. I am making chicken broth today. I keep a baggie in my freezer for all chicken bones unwanted for that night’s dish. When it reaches 3# I put it in a pot with carrots, onion, celery and cover with water. Cook for 4 to six hours. Drain through a colander after it has cooled. Cool further to remove the fat. Put in 1qt. containers and freeze until needed. It’s almost free.
Cinco de Mayo Bread
Homemade bread seems to just disappear in this house. I have a book called Electric Bread. If you have a bread machine, you definitely need to get more bread recipes. This one that I made yesterday morning for sandwiches was another great hit. The one thing nice about Electric Bread is it is written for both the older machines like mine that just make the one pound loaves and the later ones that make a larger loaf
2/3 C water
2C White Bread Flour
2t sugar
½ t salt
2t olive oil
2/3 C Corn meal
1/3C creamed corn (I used frozen corn and added a little cream into the 1/3 cup)
2T green chilies
1 t Jalapeno Peppers (I did not have canned green chilies so I just chopped up 1T jalapeño peppers)
1t dried Cilantro
1 ½ t. fast rise Yeast
Measure all into the pan of your machine and let it rip. Had a great tasting bread by lunchtime.
Cinco de Mayo Bread
Homemade bread seems to just disappear in this house. I have a book called Electric Bread. If you have a bread machine, you definitely need to get more bread recipes. This one that I made yesterday morning for sandwiches was another great hit. The one thing nice about Electric Bread is it is written for both the older machines like mine that just make the one pound loaves and the later ones that make a larger loaf
2/3 C water
2C White Bread Flour
2t sugar
½ t salt
2t olive oil
2/3 C Corn meal
1/3C creamed corn (I used frozen corn and added a little cream into the 1/3 cup)
2T green chilies
1 t Jalapeno Peppers (I did not have canned green chilies so I just chopped up 1T jalapeño peppers)
1t dried Cilantro
1 ½ t. fast rise Yeast
Measure all into the pan of your machine and let it rip. Had a great tasting bread by lunchtime.
Friday, February 19, 2010
If you haven’t been to China Moon in San Francisco, go the next time you are there. It is owned and operated by Barbara Tropp. I loved the restaurant before we lived there and ate there a few times after moving. San Francisco is one of those towns that you say so many places to eat and so few days to do it. I have their cookbook. Not the easiest cooking you will ever do, but definitely the most tastefully rewarding. This dish was like sweet, sour and hot all in one. I served it over rice. I did all the chopping early in the day when I marinated the chicken.
Stir-Fried Spicy Chicken with Orange Zest and Crispy Cashews
Velvet Marinade and Chicken:
1 large egg white
1T Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1t kosher salt
1T cornstarch
1# boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
I cut up the chicken and placed in a plastic bag. I mixed the other ingredients and poured over the chicken; placed in the refrigerator. Mine marinated for about 6 hours. You can do this from 3 to 24 hours.
Aromatics:
1T finely minced fresh ginger
1T finely minced garlic
1T thinly sliced green and white scallion rings
¼ dried red chili flakes (remember mine are really hot, add more if yours are store purchased)
Grated zest of 1 orange.
I am going to assume that you all have a metal raspier by now that makes this part a breeze.
Sauce:
1 ½ C chicken stock
2T hoisin sauce
2 t dry sherry or rice wine
2 t soy sauce
2T freshly squeezed orange juice from the orange you zested
1T balsamic vinegar
1T cider vinegar
All of these vegetables I chopped and put in plastic bags
1 small broccoli cap
Baby corn in a can cut in half
1 small yellow onion cut in ¾ inch cubes
1 red pepper cut in cubes
½ head of Napa Cabbage cut in cubes
1Fresno chili cut in paper-thin rings, seeds removed
½ yellow wax chili cut in paper thin rings, seeds removed
To start the cooking process you can do this before or now. I did it all while doing the finish. I really made a mess and I really should have baked the cashews ahead of time as they were too brown.
So, first bake 1/3 cup cashews in a 350 degree oven for less than 20 minutes.
Put on a pot of boiling water and blanch the broccoli for a minute and the corn for another minute. Cool immediately in ice water and drain. Then add the chicken to the simmering water and cook for another minute. Drain it also.
Next, heat 2T of peanut oil in your wok. When hot add the Aromatics for 30 seconds. Be careful, it really pops. Next add the onion and bell pepper and stir fry for 3 minutes.
Next in the pot is the baby corn for a minute, followed by the cabbage, broccoli and chilies. Toss for a minute and add the sauce. Raise the heat and cover to bring the liquid to a boil. Add 1T of cornstarch that has been mixed with 1T chicken stock. Stir to thicken and add the chicken. Toss for 30 seconds and serve over rice. Garnish with the cashews.
We had a 2005 Beaulieu Vineyard Zinfandel which took the heat of the chilies and complemented all the flavors in the stir fry.
It actually took me less time to type this than it did for Jim to clean up.
Stir-Fried Spicy Chicken with Orange Zest and Crispy Cashews
Velvet Marinade and Chicken:
1 large egg white
1T Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1t kosher salt
1T cornstarch
1# boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
I cut up the chicken and placed in a plastic bag. I mixed the other ingredients and poured over the chicken; placed in the refrigerator. Mine marinated for about 6 hours. You can do this from 3 to 24 hours.
Aromatics:
1T finely minced fresh ginger
1T finely minced garlic
1T thinly sliced green and white scallion rings
¼ dried red chili flakes (remember mine are really hot, add more if yours are store purchased)
Grated zest of 1 orange.
I am going to assume that you all have a metal raspier by now that makes this part a breeze.
Sauce:
1 ½ C chicken stock
2T hoisin sauce
2 t dry sherry or rice wine
2 t soy sauce
2T freshly squeezed orange juice from the orange you zested
1T balsamic vinegar
1T cider vinegar
All of these vegetables I chopped and put in plastic bags
1 small broccoli cap
Baby corn in a can cut in half
1 small yellow onion cut in ¾ inch cubes
1 red pepper cut in cubes
½ head of Napa Cabbage cut in cubes
1Fresno chili cut in paper-thin rings, seeds removed
½ yellow wax chili cut in paper thin rings, seeds removed
To start the cooking process you can do this before or now. I did it all while doing the finish. I really made a mess and I really should have baked the cashews ahead of time as they were too brown.
So, first bake 1/3 cup cashews in a 350 degree oven for less than 20 minutes.
Put on a pot of boiling water and blanch the broccoli for a minute and the corn for another minute. Cool immediately in ice water and drain. Then add the chicken to the simmering water and cook for another minute. Drain it also.
Next, heat 2T of peanut oil in your wok. When hot add the Aromatics for 30 seconds. Be careful, it really pops. Next add the onion and bell pepper and stir fry for 3 minutes.
Next in the pot is the baby corn for a minute, followed by the cabbage, broccoli and chilies. Toss for a minute and add the sauce. Raise the heat and cover to bring the liquid to a boil. Add 1T of cornstarch that has been mixed with 1T chicken stock. Stir to thicken and add the chicken. Toss for 30 seconds and serve over rice. Garnish with the cashews.
We had a 2005 Beaulieu Vineyard Zinfandel which took the heat of the chilies and complemented all the flavors in the stir fry.
It actually took me less time to type this than it did for Jim to clean up.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Today was class day and we are having leftovers, but I thought you’d enjoy this wonderful scallop meal I have made before. It comes from the April 2009 Cooking Light Magazine.
Soy Citrus Scallops with Soba Noodles
3T low-sodium soy sauce
1T orange juice
1T rice vinegar
1T honey
½ t grated fresh giner
1/4 t chili garlic sauce
1T dark sesame oil
1# large sea scallops at least 12
6 oz. uncooked soba noodles Cook according to package directions
1/8t salt
¼ thinly sliced green onions
Combine the first six ingredients and 1t oil in a shallow dish and add scallops in a single layer. Marinate 4 minutes per side.
Heat remaining 2t of oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Remove scallops from dish reserving marinade. Add scallops to pan; sauté 1 minute on each side. Remove scallops from pan and keep warm. Place remaining marinade in pan and bring to a boil. Return scallops to pan and cook an additional minute. Toss noodles with salt and green onions. Place 1C cooked noodles on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 3 scallops and drizzle with 1T sauce. As Jim eats for 3, this served Jim and I. I served with steamed snow peas.
Soy Citrus Scallops with Soba Noodles
3T low-sodium soy sauce
1T orange juice
1T rice vinegar
1T honey
½ t grated fresh giner
1/4 t chili garlic sauce
1T dark sesame oil
1# large sea scallops at least 12
6 oz. uncooked soba noodles Cook according to package directions
1/8t salt
¼ thinly sliced green onions
Combine the first six ingredients and 1t oil in a shallow dish and add scallops in a single layer. Marinate 4 minutes per side.
Heat remaining 2t of oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Remove scallops from dish reserving marinade. Add scallops to pan; sauté 1 minute on each side. Remove scallops from pan and keep warm. Place remaining marinade in pan and bring to a boil. Return scallops to pan and cook an additional minute. Toss noodles with salt and green onions. Place 1C cooked noodles on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 3 scallops and drizzle with 1T sauce. As Jim eats for 3, this served Jim and I. I served with steamed snow peas.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Yum O
What a busy day. Believe it or not Jim ate both French bread loaves that I made yesterday. So, when I got up, I reloaded the bread machine so we had bread to make lunch sandwiches. I know a lot of you have bread machines and they sit in the cupboard. Get them out; it is so easy. Today I made Pomegranate bread. I was looking in the book and there was a recipe for Cranberry juice bread. I didn’t have cranberry juice, but Pomegranate is red also. Just use your bread machine recipe and split the water to juice ratio half and half. I also added ¼ C of grape nuts. It was quite good. I made tuna sandwiches with it.
For dinner, I made mac n cheese. Once a year, I always desire mac and cheese and not the kind that comes in the blue box. If you want a really good standard mac and cheese, go to Martha and get the recipe for Macaroni and Cheese 101 as she calls it. Tonight’s mac and cheese was anything but standard and wonderful. It came from Rachael Ray’s Big Orange book. She calls it Austin Mac ‘n’ Cheese Suizas. She says serves 6. Tomorrow is my class day so I wanted leftovers for dinner tomorrow.
1# Cavatappi or other short-cut pasta. I had and used Ziti
1T EVOO
12 tomatillos
1 med onion
3 garlic cloves
2 Jalapenos
1t ground cumin
2 t honey
Handful of fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
3 T butter
3T flour
1 C veg stock I had chicken stock left over and used it
2C whole milk Jim drank it all so I used 1C cream and 1C skim milk.
Salt and pepper
1C shredded Swiss cheese
1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2C crushed flax seed tortilla chips (Available at Trader Joe)
1 C shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
1 C crème Fraiche (I forgot to serve)
Put on the pasta pot and bring salted water to a boil. Add the pasta when it is ready.
I used my Cuisinart for all the prep. I put the onions, garlic and jalapeno in and chopped. To a pan with the EVOO I added this mixture and cooked for 5 min. Next I chopped the tomatillos. Add them, cumin and salt, pepper and honey to the pot. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes and stir in the cilantro and lime juice. I chopped the cilantro in the Cuisinart also.
Melt butter in a second pot; add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk, stock, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the Swiss and Monterey jack cheese which I also chopped in the Cuisinart. Pour the cheese mixture over the cooked drained pasta in a bowl.
Spray a 9 x 12 baking dish. Add ½ the pasta cheese mixture. Top with ½ the tomatillo mixture. Next, add the second half of the cheese pasta mixture and the remaining tomatillo mixture. Top with the crushed tortilla chips and the pepper jack cheese. Brown the top under the broiler. Serve with the crème fraiche, which I forgot to serve.
This is the best Macaroni and cheese I have ever tasted. If I didn’t have a million more recipes to try, I’d make it again.
Jim served a Beachaven Riesling as it was in the refrigerator. It was definitely the wrong wine for this dish. An icey Pinot Grigio would have been better.
For dinner, I made mac n cheese. Once a year, I always desire mac and cheese and not the kind that comes in the blue box. If you want a really good standard mac and cheese, go to Martha and get the recipe for Macaroni and Cheese 101 as she calls it. Tonight’s mac and cheese was anything but standard and wonderful. It came from Rachael Ray’s Big Orange book. She calls it Austin Mac ‘n’ Cheese Suizas. She says serves 6. Tomorrow is my class day so I wanted leftovers for dinner tomorrow.
1# Cavatappi or other short-cut pasta. I had and used Ziti
1T EVOO
12 tomatillos
1 med onion
3 garlic cloves
2 Jalapenos
1t ground cumin
2 t honey
Handful of fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
3 T butter
3T flour
1 C veg stock I had chicken stock left over and used it
2C whole milk Jim drank it all so I used 1C cream and 1C skim milk.
Salt and pepper
1C shredded Swiss cheese
1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2C crushed flax seed tortilla chips (Available at Trader Joe)
1 C shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
1 C crème Fraiche (I forgot to serve)
Put on the pasta pot and bring salted water to a boil. Add the pasta when it is ready.
I used my Cuisinart for all the prep. I put the onions, garlic and jalapeno in and chopped. To a pan with the EVOO I added this mixture and cooked for 5 min. Next I chopped the tomatillos. Add them, cumin and salt, pepper and honey to the pot. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes and stir in the cilantro and lime juice. I chopped the cilantro in the Cuisinart also.
Melt butter in a second pot; add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk, stock, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the Swiss and Monterey jack cheese which I also chopped in the Cuisinart. Pour the cheese mixture over the cooked drained pasta in a bowl.
Spray a 9 x 12 baking dish. Add ½ the pasta cheese mixture. Top with ½ the tomatillo mixture. Next, add the second half of the cheese pasta mixture and the remaining tomatillo mixture. Top with the crushed tortilla chips and the pepper jack cheese. Brown the top under the broiler. Serve with the crème fraiche, which I forgot to serve.
This is the best Macaroni and cheese I have ever tasted. If I didn’t have a million more recipes to try, I’d make it again.
Jim served a Beachaven Riesling as it was in the refrigerator. It was definitely the wrong wine for this dish. An icey Pinot Grigio would have been better.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Deviled Eggs
I do have a recipe for you today, but it is one from the past. It is actually a request from a follower who tasted it here. I thought I had lost it, but with a big search, today I found it. Yesterday after working all morning to put multiple photos of the Valentine’s Day dinner into the blog, I found out you can only post one each post. The afternoon was spent at the dentist and quite frankly, sucking juice (as in fermented grape) through a straw was about all I was up to. As it is the Chinese New Year celebration, we had pot stickers and left over appetizer. I have made pot stickers before, but these came from Wegman’s. Jim thought their sauce was too vinegary. Tonight we are having leftover Cassoulet. I am looking forward to it. Jim finished off all the French bread last night so I made a couple loaves this AM to serve with the dish and I will make a salad. Simple dinner, but I have supper plans for after this little hiatus. By the way, my French baguettes are very easy. Put flour, water, and salt in the bread machine. Add the yeast in the top. Turn on to dough setting. Take it out and put in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap for 30 minutes. Divide the dough in two, shape each ball into a flat rectangle and roll up in a long tube. I place these in a French loaf molding pan and let rise. Before baking I put a couple long cuts in it and baste with egg white. You can sprinkle anything on top. I am going to do one with sesame seeds and the other with Hawaiian salt.
Following is a recipe that I made to serve with soup for a lunch with friends before a DC adventure back in December. It is from the Rachael Ray Show.
Smoked Salmon-Stuffed Eggs
12 eggs
5 thin slices smoked salmon, I think I bought a 2 or 4 oz. package and just put it all in.
3T finely grated onion
¼ C plus 2T mayo. I currently have mayo made with olive oil. I’m not too excited about it.
2 T finely chopped dill
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
A few dashes hot sauce
Salt and pepper
Yield is 24 halves
This gives perfect eggs every time, no matter the quantity. Place the eggs in a pan and cover with water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and cover with the lid. Sit for 10 minutes. Dump the hot water and run under cold water to cool and peel. The shell never sticks and you do not have the green around the yoke.
Take the yokes and mash up with all the other ingredients. Put the mixture in a plastic bag and cut off the tip to fill the white halves.
I didn’t do it, but you can decorate with salmon roe if you’d like.
Following is a recipe that I made to serve with soup for a lunch with friends before a DC adventure back in December. It is from the Rachael Ray Show.
Smoked Salmon-Stuffed Eggs
12 eggs
5 thin slices smoked salmon, I think I bought a 2 or 4 oz. package and just put it all in.
3T finely grated onion
¼ C plus 2T mayo. I currently have mayo made with olive oil. I’m not too excited about it.
2 T finely chopped dill
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
A few dashes hot sauce
Salt and pepper
Yield is 24 halves
This gives perfect eggs every time, no matter the quantity. Place the eggs in a pan and cover with water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and cover with the lid. Sit for 10 minutes. Dump the hot water and run under cold water to cool and peel. The shell never sticks and you do not have the green around the yoke.
Take the yokes and mash up with all the other ingredients. Put the mixture in a plastic bag and cut off the tip to fill the white halves.
I didn’t do it, but you can decorate with salmon roe if you’d like.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Julia's Cassoulet
A toast to Julia
The table all set and we are almost ready to start the party. Jim has his wine bar set up and ready to go. I am very excited and pacing the floor. Finally everyone is here, we enjoyed appetizers and then we sat down to dinner. I am so nervous. I have worked very hard and am hoping my efforts are worth it.
The salad course was delicious. However, I had to use my blow torch on the cheese. Under the broiler the bread was getting too brown and the cheese was not yet bubbling. Next came what we had all gathered to taste, Cassoulet de Porc et de Mouton. Everyone thought it was delicious, but none present would take three days to make it. I thought it was worth every bit of time and energy it took. This is truly the most delicious dish I have ever made. The highlight of the evening was the chocolate cups; it was so easy it is almost criminal. We forgot to take a photo.
Jim served the following wines: 2008 Old Moon Zinfandel with the appetizers and a 2008 Thorn Clarke Shotfire Barossa Shiraz with the Cassoulet and the dessert. We decanted both wines to smooth out the tannins in these young red wines.
I’d like to thank our guests for coming and for their long and enduring friendship. No one enjoyed the evening more than me. I love serving good food to my friends. I love it more when they enjoy eating it.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
This is before the guests arive
Happy Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year.
This is the year of the Tiger. Jim and I are a horse and a dog, so we have to look and see how the Tiger will affect our year. Today is the day I have been waiting for. I am so excited. Weeks of planning and days of preparation and today we find out if it has been worth it. I have found 8 volunteers (guests) who are willing to eat something I have never made or tasted.
The Menu
Appetizers
Mousse Royale au Sauternes
Grand Marnier infused Brie
Gorgonzola Dolce
Garlic Crostini and Whole Wheat Petite Toast
First Course
Warm Goat Cheese Salad
Main Course
Cassoulet de Porc et de Mouton
French Baguette
Dessert
Chocolate Cups with whipped Cream and Strawberries
The salad comes from a book called My French Kitchen by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde. This was given to me by Chef Thomas as a gift when I completed his cooking course. The recipe serves 6, I doubled it.
10 oz log-shaped goat cheese
6 baguette slices
8 cups mixed salad greens
4 oz black nicoise olives pitted
2 oz walnuts
For the dressing
2T cider vinegar
1t grainy mustard
1 t Dijon mustard
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1/3 C plus 1T EVOO
Pour the mustards, vinegar and salt and pepper in a jar, shake vigorously. Add the EVOO and shake again. Pour the dressing in the salad bowl and add the greens, walnuts and olives. Toss.
Heat the broiler. I toasted the back side of the baguette slices first until they looked golden. Then turn over all the baguette slices and top each with a slice of goat cheese. (Do you know to slice your goat cheese with dental floss instead of a knife? You get nice clean round slices. I learned this from my dear friend Cynthia.) Broil on this side for about 2 minutes until the cheese is coloring and bubbling I had to use my kitchen tourch to get the cheese bubbly looking without brrning the toast. Serve on the bed of greens.
All the appetizers came from Wegman’s wonderful gourmet cheese department. We’ve been talking about the main course all week and yesterday I gave you the recipe for dessert.
And the verdict is??????????????
This is the year of the Tiger. Jim and I are a horse and a dog, so we have to look and see how the Tiger will affect our year. Today is the day I have been waiting for. I am so excited. Weeks of planning and days of preparation and today we find out if it has been worth it. I have found 8 volunteers (guests) who are willing to eat something I have never made or tasted.
The Menu
Appetizers
Mousse Royale au Sauternes
Grand Marnier infused Brie
Gorgonzola Dolce
Garlic Crostini and Whole Wheat Petite Toast
First Course
Warm Goat Cheese Salad
Main Course
Cassoulet de Porc et de Mouton
French Baguette
Dessert
Chocolate Cups with whipped Cream and Strawberries
The salad comes from a book called My French Kitchen by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde. This was given to me by Chef Thomas as a gift when I completed his cooking course. The recipe serves 6, I doubled it.
10 oz log-shaped goat cheese
6 baguette slices
8 cups mixed salad greens
4 oz black nicoise olives pitted
2 oz walnuts
For the dressing
2T cider vinegar
1t grainy mustard
1 t Dijon mustard
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1/3 C plus 1T EVOO
Pour the mustards, vinegar and salt and pepper in a jar, shake vigorously. Add the EVOO and shake again. Pour the dressing in the salad bowl and add the greens, walnuts and olives. Toss.
Heat the broiler. I toasted the back side of the baguette slices first until they looked golden. Then turn over all the baguette slices and top each with a slice of goat cheese. (Do you know to slice your goat cheese with dental floss instead of a knife? You get nice clean round slices. I learned this from my dear friend Cynthia.) Broil on this side for about 2 minutes until the cheese is coloring and bubbling I had to use my kitchen tourch to get the cheese bubbly looking without brrning the toast. Serve on the bed of greens.
All the appetizers came from Wegman’s wonderful gourmet cheese department. We’ve been talking about the main course all week and yesterday I gave you the recipe for dessert.
And the verdict is??????????????
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tomorrow is the big day, Valentine Cassoulet
Well it is 4:40 in the afternoon, the day before Valentine’s Day. I have finally finished assembling the Cassoulet. It is resting in the refrigerator per Julia’s instructions. Tomorrow after the guests arrive it will go in the oven and I will at last be able to tell you what it tastes like. Julia’s advice to take three days was difficult. I think if I made it again, I’d use four days. Getting the lamb done and then cooling the stock so you could reduce the fat before re-cooking the beans in it would have been impossible without the freezing temps and piles of ice and snow outside. I should have cooked the lamb yesterday, but I was too tired.
My final task today was to make dessert. I’ve made this before. It is divine and so easy. I got this recipe from the Rachael Ray Show in 2008. I multiplied by 3 as we are having 10 people. However, I made it in 3 batches so as not to overload the blender.
Pots de Creme
4 demitasse cups
2/3 C whole milk
1 egg
2 T sugar
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
2 T Frangelico
Pinch of salt
Heat the milk. In the blender put all the other ingredients and blend. When the milk is warm, pour into the blender and process for 1 minute. The warm milk will cook the egg.
Tomorrow I will whip heavy cream and will top the chocolate cups. I bought strawberries to decorate the top.
That is it for today. We are going out to dinner. Tomorrow, I will tell you about the salad and appetizers. Most importantly, is Cassoulet de Porc et de Mouton worth the time? We shall see.
My final task today was to make dessert. I’ve made this before. It is divine and so easy. I got this recipe from the Rachael Ray Show in 2008. I multiplied by 3 as we are having 10 people. However, I made it in 3 batches so as not to overload the blender.
Pots de Creme
4 demitasse cups
2/3 C whole milk
1 egg
2 T sugar
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
2 T Frangelico
Pinch of salt
Heat the milk. In the blender put all the other ingredients and blend. When the milk is warm, pour into the blender and process for 1 minute. The warm milk will cook the egg.
Tomorrow I will whip heavy cream and will top the chocolate cups. I bought strawberries to decorate the top.
That is it for today. We are going out to dinner. Tomorrow, I will tell you about the salad and appetizers. Most importantly, is Cassoulet de Porc et de Mouton worth the time? We shall see.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Phase 2 for Valentine's Day
I have a trainer to try to get me in shape without ruining another part of my body. Donna was here this morning. After she left, I started on dinner and another phase of the Valentine’s meal. There is another cooking blog called A Year of Slow Cooking. As I had so much to do, I used her Slow Cooker Chicken with Apricots and Dates recipe. I served it with rice and asparagus. It was delicious beyond words and just the easy thing I needed today. If you want to make it, goggle her site and plug in the recipe name. Her name is Stephanie O’Dea. She has a book called Make it Fast, Cook it Slow. Unlike me that just follows recipes, she actually makes them up.
Again, the 2008 Old Moon Zinfandel was served with the dinner; a perfect wine to accompany this chicken with apricots and dates.
After setting up dinner, I went back to Julia and cooked the marinated pork. When it finished we hide it from Max in the microwave while we went to the store to buy the fixings for the salad and the appetizers for Valentine’s Day. The pork smelled divine. It is now cut in chunks and I have saved the cooking juices for tomorrow. While I write this, Jim is cleaning up. We have decided that we will work tonight on expanding the table and setting it. Expanding our table is not an easy task as we have a fixed glass table. However I had a pl counter made the exact same size with legs. So we will bring it up from the basement and have a large square table to seat the 10 of us. Tomorrow I will get up and finish the Cassoulet to the baking point and make dessert. We are busy, but having fun.
Again, the 2008 Old Moon Zinfandel was served with the dinner; a perfect wine to accompany this chicken with apricots and dates.
After setting up dinner, I went back to Julia and cooked the marinated pork. When it finished we hide it from Max in the microwave while we went to the store to buy the fixings for the salad and the appetizers for Valentine’s Day. The pork smelled divine. It is now cut in chunks and I have saved the cooking juices for tomorrow. While I write this, Jim is cleaning up. We have decided that we will work tonight on expanding the table and setting it. Expanding our table is not an easy task as we have a fixed glass table. However I had a pl counter made the exact same size with legs. So we will bring it up from the basement and have a large square table to seat the 10 of us. Tomorrow I will get up and finish the Cassoulet to the baking point and make dessert. We are busy, but having fun.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Valentine Odyssey Part 1
Today I started working on my Valentine’s Day dinner. Dinner was inspired by the Cassoulet in Fine Cooking, but I did not use that recipe as they wanted you to make Duck Confit. I would have loved to do that but could not find 3# of duck fat. So I guess every time I make duck from now on, I will have to save the fat.
I reverted to Julia. I am making her Cassoulet De Porc et De Mouton . I started reading and rereading the recipe about 2 weeks ago. Each week I have also been finding out what I could find locally and what was impossible in the day of remote butchers. I can’t imagine that a lot of you will actually make this so I will not list ingredients in detail. If you do want to attempt it after experiencing my odyssey, it is on page 401 of Volume One of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. You really need to get this directly from Julia. Finding the ingredients to make this was like a treasure hunt. She recommends that in order to preserve your sanity that you make it over 3 days. She calls it “A Note on the Order of Battle.” I started by making a dry marinade of salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, allspice and garlic. You rub it all over the pork and refrigerate overnight.
Next I started on the beans. I had to resort to some of her variations list, as some ingredients I just could not find. So instead of fresh pork rind, I am using ham hocks. No one sells uncut bacon so I am using a chunk of salt pork. I chose not to make homemade sausage cakes, which are a substitute for Saucisse de Toulouse. Instead I am using Polish sausage. So all this assembled soaked and boiled, I am spending the rest of the day on the beans.
Dinner has to be simple tonight so I am making Quinoa and Avocado Salad as shown on page 47 of Feb/ Mar issue of Fine Cooking Magazine. So Jim doesn’t complain about his lack of protein, I am cooking up some chicken apple sausages to go with it. He has to see meat to believe he is getting protein.
Serves 4
3T Raisins, I only use golden as that is the only kind I like
2T dried apricots thinly sliced
1C Red or White Quinoa. I found both red and white in the gluten free aisle at Wegman’s.
1 Lemon
3 T EVOO
¼ t ground coriander
¼ t ground cumin
¼ t sweet paprika
2 ripe avocados
2 scallions
3 T coarsely chopped toasted almonds
Pepper
Soak the raisins and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes, Drain
In a 2 qt. saucepan, bring 2 C of water, the quinoa and ½ t salt to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10-15 minutes, mine took 20. Fluff with a fork and turn out on a sheet pan to cool to room temperature.
Zest the lemon and combine the zest, 1T of lemon juice, the EVOO and the spices. Toss the dressing with the quinoa, fruit, nuts and avocado.
About an hour before dinner I went downstairs to tell Jim what we were having for dinner and to ask if he needed buns with his sausage. His nose wrinkled up and the look on his face said, “She’s trying to kill me.” At dinner, he said this is cold. I explained that it was a salad. He had 2 large helpings and did not complain that it took too much chewing. He even pronounced it good. I have to say it was really good and a refreshing taste. I looked up quinoa on the internet. It has a 12-18% protein value and is considered a complete protein. It is also easy to digest. Jim said, “Why didn’t you tell me that the quinoa has lots of protein.”
We had a 2007 Le Altane Montepulciano d’Abruzzo available at Wegman’s. It is a well balanced, flavorful red wine.
I reverted to Julia. I am making her Cassoulet De Porc et De Mouton . I started reading and rereading the recipe about 2 weeks ago. Each week I have also been finding out what I could find locally and what was impossible in the day of remote butchers. I can’t imagine that a lot of you will actually make this so I will not list ingredients in detail. If you do want to attempt it after experiencing my odyssey, it is on page 401 of Volume One of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. You really need to get this directly from Julia. Finding the ingredients to make this was like a treasure hunt. She recommends that in order to preserve your sanity that you make it over 3 days. She calls it “A Note on the Order of Battle.” I started by making a dry marinade of salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, allspice and garlic. You rub it all over the pork and refrigerate overnight.
Next I started on the beans. I had to resort to some of her variations list, as some ingredients I just could not find. So instead of fresh pork rind, I am using ham hocks. No one sells uncut bacon so I am using a chunk of salt pork. I chose not to make homemade sausage cakes, which are a substitute for Saucisse de Toulouse. Instead I am using Polish sausage. So all this assembled soaked and boiled, I am spending the rest of the day on the beans.
Dinner has to be simple tonight so I am making Quinoa and Avocado Salad as shown on page 47 of Feb/ Mar issue of Fine Cooking Magazine. So Jim doesn’t complain about his lack of protein, I am cooking up some chicken apple sausages to go with it. He has to see meat to believe he is getting protein.
Serves 4
3T Raisins, I only use golden as that is the only kind I like
2T dried apricots thinly sliced
1C Red or White Quinoa. I found both red and white in the gluten free aisle at Wegman’s.
1 Lemon
3 T EVOO
¼ t ground coriander
¼ t ground cumin
¼ t sweet paprika
2 ripe avocados
2 scallions
3 T coarsely chopped toasted almonds
Pepper
Soak the raisins and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes, Drain
In a 2 qt. saucepan, bring 2 C of water, the quinoa and ½ t salt to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10-15 minutes, mine took 20. Fluff with a fork and turn out on a sheet pan to cool to room temperature.
Zest the lemon and combine the zest, 1T of lemon juice, the EVOO and the spices. Toss the dressing with the quinoa, fruit, nuts and avocado.
About an hour before dinner I went downstairs to tell Jim what we were having for dinner and to ask if he needed buns with his sausage. His nose wrinkled up and the look on his face said, “She’s trying to kill me.” At dinner, he said this is cold. I explained that it was a salad. He had 2 large helpings and did not complain that it took too much chewing. He even pronounced it good. I have to say it was really good and a refreshing taste. I looked up quinoa on the internet. It has a 12-18% protein value and is considered a complete protein. It is also easy to digest. Jim said, “Why didn’t you tell me that the quinoa has lots of protein.”
We had a 2007 Le Altane Montepulciano d’Abruzzo available at Wegman’s. It is a well balanced, flavorful red wine.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
We are snow over this weather! We are buried again. We are 0.5” from a record that has stood since the 1800’s and only 5” behind Buffalo, NY! The wind is blowing creating blizzard conditions. Jim is not even shoveling as the wind will just blow it back. I did some work on my painting and read a book.
Tonight’s dinner was chosen as it has my favorite foods in it, baby artichokes and fava beens. I really missed these when we moved out of CA. When Jim would go back on business, I’d have him go to the store to see if there were any to bring back. Wegman’s had baby artichokes this week, so I am making Fettuccine with fava beans, artichokes and asparagus. Finding fresh fava beens is next to impossible here. I use canned, which is a poor substitute. This is from a Williams-Sonoma Eating by Color Cookbook. Our color tonight is green.
1 lemon
1 ¼ # baby artichokes (My box said 2#, but by the time you remove the dead stems and the hard leaves I am sure it was back to this weight)
1# fresh fava beans, shelled (We can only get canned here. If you buy canned, notice that they show the “red” bean on front. This is the shell. The canned will shell without steaming.) Fava beans would be a lot more popular if you could get them shelled and fresh.
8 thin spears asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 2” pieces. (I used ½ #)
3T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced lengthwise
¾# whole-wheat fettuccine (Actually I used Penne as Jim does not like to roll up the pasta when there are big chunks in the sauce. I also just used ½#)
¼ C grated pecorino cheese
First put on the pasta water, be sure and salt it. Next squeeze the lemon into a large bowl and add the halves of the lemon and 2 cups of water. Cut the top off of each artichoke and stems if dry. Take all the outer leaves until light green and trim the base. As you finish each add to the lemon water. Drain and peel the fava beans. When all the artichokes are trimmed put the lemon water in a steamer and steam with the asparagus on a rack about 6 minutes, mine did not look good until 12 minutes. After all is steamed and drained, cut the artichokes in half. Jim felt they should have been in quarters. Heat oil in a large skillet and start the pasta cooking in the boiling water. Add the garlic to the oil and sauté about 4 minutes. Next add the artichokes for 3 minutes and finally add the fava beans and asparagus for 3 minutes.
Put the pasta in a large shallow bowl, add the vegetables on top, and sprinkle with the cheese.
How was this meal? Boring! If I were to make it again, I would boil the artichokes and asparagus in salted boiling water. I think because they were steamed they absorbed too much of the olive oil and you felt like there was no sauce. We added more olive oil, salt and cheese.
Jim served a wonderful Chardonnay. He thinks he got it through the Opera House Gourmet in Manassas. It is VINTJS, from Mendocino County, 2007. It was the best part of the meal.
Tonight’s dinner was chosen as it has my favorite foods in it, baby artichokes and fava beens. I really missed these when we moved out of CA. When Jim would go back on business, I’d have him go to the store to see if there were any to bring back. Wegman’s had baby artichokes this week, so I am making Fettuccine with fava beans, artichokes and asparagus. Finding fresh fava beens is next to impossible here. I use canned, which is a poor substitute. This is from a Williams-Sonoma Eating by Color Cookbook. Our color tonight is green.
1 lemon
1 ¼ # baby artichokes (My box said 2#, but by the time you remove the dead stems and the hard leaves I am sure it was back to this weight)
1# fresh fava beans, shelled (We can only get canned here. If you buy canned, notice that they show the “red” bean on front. This is the shell. The canned will shell without steaming.) Fava beans would be a lot more popular if you could get them shelled and fresh.
8 thin spears asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 2” pieces. (I used ½ #)
3T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced lengthwise
¾# whole-wheat fettuccine (Actually I used Penne as Jim does not like to roll up the pasta when there are big chunks in the sauce. I also just used ½#)
¼ C grated pecorino cheese
First put on the pasta water, be sure and salt it. Next squeeze the lemon into a large bowl and add the halves of the lemon and 2 cups of water. Cut the top off of each artichoke and stems if dry. Take all the outer leaves until light green and trim the base. As you finish each add to the lemon water. Drain and peel the fava beans. When all the artichokes are trimmed put the lemon water in a steamer and steam with the asparagus on a rack about 6 minutes, mine did not look good until 12 minutes. After all is steamed and drained, cut the artichokes in half. Jim felt they should have been in quarters. Heat oil in a large skillet and start the pasta cooking in the boiling water. Add the garlic to the oil and sauté about 4 minutes. Next add the artichokes for 3 minutes and finally add the fava beans and asparagus for 3 minutes.
Put the pasta in a large shallow bowl, add the vegetables on top, and sprinkle with the cheese.
How was this meal? Boring! If I were to make it again, I would boil the artichokes and asparagus in salted boiling water. I think because they were steamed they absorbed too much of the olive oil and you felt like there was no sauce. We added more olive oil, salt and cheese.
Jim served a wonderful Chardonnay. He thinks he got it through the Opera House Gourmet in Manassas. It is VINTJS, from Mendocino County, 2007. It was the best part of the meal.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Soutwestern Success
When planning my week’s meals, I grab different cookbooks and look through them. I usually come up with more than a week. I then cull until I get it to 7. One of the meals that really appealed this week was Barbara’s Fruitwood-Grilled Trout with Blueberry Salsa en Burrito. I had seen these wonderful looking trout in the market last week and I love fish tacos. In fact they are the only tacos I do like. So tonight I made them, but I was terrified to serve them to Jim. You never know how he will react when you are serving something that has all things that are good for him. He loved them! The wine he picked was perfect with them, as listed on the back it said it went with Thai food. It was a California Viognier called Honey Moon that he found at Trader Joe’s today. This wasn’t Thai, but what they were saying is it holds up to heat and it did. The cookbook is one that Jim brought me from a business trip to New Mexico. It is called Southwestern Kitchen by Jane Butel.
4 whole trout, ready to cook. This means the guts and bones are gone.
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper
1 C fresh Blueberries
1 C chopped onion
2 fresh jalapeno chilies, minced (I use canned that I get at Harris Teeter. They have the same intensity as the ones in CA. The ones we get “fresh” here in VA are complete wimps.)
2 garlic cloves minced
8 -10” flour tortillas
I had to improvise a little as our grille is buried under 30” of snow and between the back door and the grille is all the snow Jim shoveled off the deck. It looks like we have a mountain in the back yard. So I cooked the trout in the Speedcook oven. You sprinkle it with the juice of one lime and salt and pepper. In the recipe you grilled it. If you have an indoor grille or no snow, go for it. The remaining ingredients are all combined for the salsa. I used my grille pan to grille the tortillas for a few seconds per side to put marks on the tortillas and heat them. Don’t put too much in each tortilla as they break and are more difficult to eat. Roll like a burrito.
Serves 4
4 whole trout, ready to cook. This means the guts and bones are gone.
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper
1 C fresh Blueberries
1 C chopped onion
2 fresh jalapeno chilies, minced (I use canned that I get at Harris Teeter. They have the same intensity as the ones in CA. The ones we get “fresh” here in VA are complete wimps.)
2 garlic cloves minced
8 -10” flour tortillas
I had to improvise a little as our grille is buried under 30” of snow and between the back door and the grille is all the snow Jim shoveled off the deck. It looks like we have a mountain in the back yard. So I cooked the trout in the Speedcook oven. You sprinkle it with the juice of one lime and salt and pepper. In the recipe you grilled it. If you have an indoor grille or no snow, go for it. The remaining ingredients are all combined for the salsa. I used my grille pan to grille the tortillas for a few seconds per side to put marks on the tortillas and heat them. Don’t put too much in each tortilla as they break and are more difficult to eat. Roll like a burrito.
Serves 4
Monday, February 8, 2010
Super Bowl Sunday
Before I start with dinner tonight, I have rethought the Caribbean dinner from Thursday. I think it would be much better with sweet potatoes instead of the Plantains. Plantains may be very good when you have them in the hemisphere where they grow, but as they are probably picked and shipped raw, they just taste like cardboard.
Today was Super Bowl Sunday. Even though we grew up in football territory, we did not inherit the football gene. Jim did ask that I make him pre-dinner chicken wings for the game even though my meal was basically French. We loved the Letterman, Leno and Oprah commercial.
So, the wings, I made Adobo-seasoned baked chicken wings by Bobby Flay. I made ½ of the recipe but what follows is the whole one.
½ C mango nectar ( I just used Major Grey Chutney)
¼ C honey
1-2 T hot sauce
Salt and ground pepper
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
2 t turmeric
40 chicken wings
2 T canola oil
2 T chopped fresh oregano
I mixed the garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric and 1 T salt and 1t of pepper in a bowl. Next I mixed the honey, mango nectar and hot sauce in a bowl. Due to Elaine (our neighbor) and Jim’s sensitivity to hot sauce, I used one tablespoon. I had the wings in a baggie. I added the dried herbs and oil and mixed in the bag. I put them on a sheet pan with release aluminum foil. Baked for 20 minutes. Then spread the honey/mango mixture on top and baked for 10 more minutes. After they cooled I sprinkled the fresh oregano. If you like hot wings, add the second tablespoon of hot sauce. We enjoyed these as they were.
I also cut up carrots and celery and served with an artichoke/cheese dip from Wegman’s. In addition I sliced some sausages.
Dinner came from my Williams-Sonoma Paris cookbook. The main course was a pork roast with fennel and red peppers.
Roti De Porc Aux Parfums De Soleil.
One 3.5 to 4 lb boneless pork shoulder roast cut flat, rolled, and tied. I could not find this roast rolled and tied at Wegman’s, and the boneless loin pork roast that I bought was too lean. You need a nice amount of fat mixed with the lean. I thought mine turned out too dry even though it was not overcooked and still pink the way I like pork. The cookbook says this cut is sometimes called Boston Butt. I also had to cut mine to make it flat to stuff. This is very easy. Look at the end of the roast, go down about 1/3 from the top and slice to about ½ inch thick along the whole length. Turn it over and from the other side of the roast again go 1/3 down and slice to about ½ inch thick along the length on this side. You now have a Z-shaped piece of meat. Pull the sides out to flatten it and then pound it flatter.
To make the stuffing, I used the Cuisinart. I put in the following and turned it on.
5 garlic cloves
Hand full of Italian Parsley, about 3 T chopped
Fresh sage, enough leaves that would look like 2 T chopped
Fresh Rosemary leaves, again the equivalent of 2 T chopped
Large pinch of salt
¼ t pepper
3T dry white wine
3T Extra-virgin olive oil
¼ t Herbes de Provence
¼ t fennel seeds
Rub this mixture all over the meat, roll up it up and tie it with string. Place in a large roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast until the center registers 120 degrees. This was supposed to take 1 ½ hours. Mine took about 45 min. At this point you were to quickly spoon the juices from the pan bottom into a bowl. I had no juice because it was so lean. So I added chicken stock and placed the one fennel bulb and red pepper, both thinly sliced, around the meat. You were then to cook to 140 degrees for about 30 minutes. The entire cooking time for me was 1 ½ hour to 140 degrees. I removed the pork to a platter and covered it with foil. I then add 3 shallots, chopped, to the pan on top of the stove and cooked the vegetables a little more. Then I removed the vegetables and added ½ cup of wine but no stock as called for in the recipe, as I had already added stock. This I cooked down pour over the meat. I should have added some butter to the stock. This is the perfect day to be a Monday morning quarterback.
I also made
Piree De Celeri-Rave (Celery Root Puree)
1 large celery root about 2 #
1 large russet potato
About 3 C chicken stock
4 T butter
6 T heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T chopped chives
Truffle oil for drizzling
Peel and chop the celery root and potato. Place in a pot with enough chicken broth to cover. Cook until tender and put through a ricer or food mill fitted with a fine disk. Return the puree to the pan and add the butter, cream, salt and pepper. When serving drizzle with the truffle oil.
I should mention that both recipes serve 6.
Jim served a very nice Pinot with the meal and also a delicious Chardonnay. The first was Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate Grown. The Chardonnay was a 2006 J. Lohr from the October Night Vineyard. Our neighbor Elaine came over for dinner and the game. Elaine is one of those unlucky people who can’t drink red wine. I know I should have rooted for the Indiana team, but I rooted for the Saints as PARADE magazine said that if an NFC team wins, the stock market will probably go up; there are statistics to support this!
I chose this meal as the cookbook says the flavors would remind you of the south of France. I’ve never had celery root before and really liked it. I’d say that if you can’t find a pork shoulder or Boston Butt cut as they say in the recipe, skip this one.
Today was Super Bowl Sunday. Even though we grew up in football territory, we did not inherit the football gene. Jim did ask that I make him pre-dinner chicken wings for the game even though my meal was basically French. We loved the Letterman, Leno and Oprah commercial.
So, the wings, I made Adobo-seasoned baked chicken wings by Bobby Flay. I made ½ of the recipe but what follows is the whole one.
½ C mango nectar ( I just used Major Grey Chutney)
¼ C honey
1-2 T hot sauce
Salt and ground pepper
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
2 t turmeric
40 chicken wings
2 T canola oil
2 T chopped fresh oregano
I mixed the garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric and 1 T salt and 1t of pepper in a bowl. Next I mixed the honey, mango nectar and hot sauce in a bowl. Due to Elaine (our neighbor) and Jim’s sensitivity to hot sauce, I used one tablespoon. I had the wings in a baggie. I added the dried herbs and oil and mixed in the bag. I put them on a sheet pan with release aluminum foil. Baked for 20 minutes. Then spread the honey/mango mixture on top and baked for 10 more minutes. After they cooled I sprinkled the fresh oregano. If you like hot wings, add the second tablespoon of hot sauce. We enjoyed these as they were.
I also cut up carrots and celery and served with an artichoke/cheese dip from Wegman’s. In addition I sliced some sausages.
Dinner came from my Williams-Sonoma Paris cookbook. The main course was a pork roast with fennel and red peppers.
Roti De Porc Aux Parfums De Soleil.
One 3.5 to 4 lb boneless pork shoulder roast cut flat, rolled, and tied. I could not find this roast rolled and tied at Wegman’s, and the boneless loin pork roast that I bought was too lean. You need a nice amount of fat mixed with the lean. I thought mine turned out too dry even though it was not overcooked and still pink the way I like pork. The cookbook says this cut is sometimes called Boston Butt. I also had to cut mine to make it flat to stuff. This is very easy. Look at the end of the roast, go down about 1/3 from the top and slice to about ½ inch thick along the whole length. Turn it over and from the other side of the roast again go 1/3 down and slice to about ½ inch thick along the length on this side. You now have a Z-shaped piece of meat. Pull the sides out to flatten it and then pound it flatter.
To make the stuffing, I used the Cuisinart. I put in the following and turned it on.
5 garlic cloves
Hand full of Italian Parsley, about 3 T chopped
Fresh sage, enough leaves that would look like 2 T chopped
Fresh Rosemary leaves, again the equivalent of 2 T chopped
Large pinch of salt
¼ t pepper
3T dry white wine
3T Extra-virgin olive oil
¼ t Herbes de Provence
¼ t fennel seeds
Rub this mixture all over the meat, roll up it up and tie it with string. Place in a large roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast until the center registers 120 degrees. This was supposed to take 1 ½ hours. Mine took about 45 min. At this point you were to quickly spoon the juices from the pan bottom into a bowl. I had no juice because it was so lean. So I added chicken stock and placed the one fennel bulb and red pepper, both thinly sliced, around the meat. You were then to cook to 140 degrees for about 30 minutes. The entire cooking time for me was 1 ½ hour to 140 degrees. I removed the pork to a platter and covered it with foil. I then add 3 shallots, chopped, to the pan on top of the stove and cooked the vegetables a little more. Then I removed the vegetables and added ½ cup of wine but no stock as called for in the recipe, as I had already added stock. This I cooked down pour over the meat. I should have added some butter to the stock. This is the perfect day to be a Monday morning quarterback.
I also made
Piree De Celeri-Rave (Celery Root Puree)
1 large celery root about 2 #
1 large russet potato
About 3 C chicken stock
4 T butter
6 T heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T chopped chives
Truffle oil for drizzling
Peel and chop the celery root and potato. Place in a pot with enough chicken broth to cover. Cook until tender and put through a ricer or food mill fitted with a fine disk. Return the puree to the pan and add the butter, cream, salt and pepper. When serving drizzle with the truffle oil.
I should mention that both recipes serve 6.
Jim served a very nice Pinot with the meal and also a delicious Chardonnay. The first was Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate Grown. The Chardonnay was a 2006 J. Lohr from the October Night Vineyard. Our neighbor Elaine came over for dinner and the game. Elaine is one of those unlucky people who can’t drink red wine. I know I should have rooted for the Indiana team, but I rooted for the Saints as PARADE magazine said that if an NFC team wins, the stock market will probably go up; there are statistics to support this!
I chose this meal as the cookbook says the flavors would remind you of the south of France. I’ve never had celery root before and really liked it. I’d say that if you can’t find a pork shoulder or Boston Butt cut as they say in the recipe, skip this one.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Dinner from the first night snow bound
Our snow bound dinner was Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter from the Barefoot Contessa. This recipe serves 2. Actually I think it serves 3, but if it really served 2, Jim would be starving. Jim really liked this meal. I have actually served this meal before as a first course. As a first course it makes a very generous serving for 4. When I made it for 6, I just doubled it. Tonight I served it with a small side salad. Jim appreciated the smallness of the salad.
Kosher salt
½ C heavy cream (I had run out of heavy cream. I mixed two big spoons of yoghurt with some milk to make the 1/2 cup. Like I said I have made this before and this worked and I think tasted better.)
3 oz. truffle butter
Ground black pepper
1 8.82 oz package of Cipitani tagiarelle dried pasta. (I actually found this at Wegman’s and it is delicious)
3 T chopped fresh chives (I used 1 T dried)
3 oz. Parmesan, shaved thin with a vegetable peeler
Boil the pasta to directions with salt in the water
In a large skillet put all the remaining ingredients except the parmesan cheese and warm. When the pasta is done add to the skillet and after mixing add the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
This is not low fat, but it is really good. As Julia used to say, everything in moderation, and this was a great meal for Jim after being out with that snow blower for hours.
Jim served a 2006 Viansa Prindelo, which is a blend of 67% Primitivo, 22% Zinfandel, 11% Teroldego from Sonoma.
My brother and I set up Skype tonight. I love seeing people who live far away. It is a free download, you all should try it.
Kosher salt
½ C heavy cream (I had run out of heavy cream. I mixed two big spoons of yoghurt with some milk to make the 1/2 cup. Like I said I have made this before and this worked and I think tasted better.)
3 oz. truffle butter
Ground black pepper
1 8.82 oz package of Cipitani tagiarelle dried pasta. (I actually found this at Wegman’s and it is delicious)
3 T chopped fresh chives (I used 1 T dried)
3 oz. Parmesan, shaved thin with a vegetable peeler
Boil the pasta to directions with salt in the water
In a large skillet put all the remaining ingredients except the parmesan cheese and warm. When the pasta is done add to the skillet and after mixing add the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
This is not low fat, but it is really good. As Julia used to say, everything in moderation, and this was a great meal for Jim after being out with that snow blower for hours.
Jim served a 2006 Viansa Prindelo, which is a blend of 67% Primitivo, 22% Zinfandel, 11% Teroldego from Sonoma.
My brother and I set up Skype tonight. I love seeing people who live far away. It is a free download, you all should try it.
Vanentine's Day
I have been asked by a follower to suggest a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner. Our dinner this year will involve 6 couples. February 14th is also the Chinese New Year. But I am going to give you two different menus that I made previously and really liked. I checked and the recipes are still available on FoodTV.com.
The first is by Michael Chiarello
Mixed Green Salad with Whole Citrus Vinaigrette
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter and Bittersweet Chocolate
Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa Spice Rub
Tiramisu Bon Bons
Another meal that I made for Valentine’s Day is by Sandra Lee. Sandra always has a drink with her meals.
White Knight-tini
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Beef Stew with Chocolate
White Chocolate Polenta
Spinach Salad with Mangos, Dried Cranberries and Chocolate Vinaigrette
Creamy Chocolate Pudding Parfait
I hope this helps. Bon Appetite!
The first is by Michael Chiarello
Mixed Green Salad with Whole Citrus Vinaigrette
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter and Bittersweet Chocolate
Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa Spice Rub
Tiramisu Bon Bons
Another meal that I made for Valentine’s Day is by Sandra Lee. Sandra always has a drink with her meals.
White Knight-tini
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Beef Stew with Chocolate
White Chocolate Polenta
Spinach Salad with Mangos, Dried Cranberries and Chocolate Vinaigrette
Creamy Chocolate Pudding Parfait
I hope this helps. Bon Appetite!
Record Snow in the DC area
So what do you do when you have 27” of snow out your door and expect to receive another 9” before it ends, you cook. Jim used the snow blower before we went to bed last night and has been out most of the morning doing our driveway and two neighbors. While he was out I made him oatmeal and blueberry muffins. The muffins are from Fine Cooking and are called good-for-you blueberry muffins from Ellie Krieger. They are indescribably delicious, no saturated fat and low in sugar. I didn’t have any applesauce, but cut up 2 apples and cooked them in apple cider. When soft, it all went into the blender and I had the required cup of applesauce.
It yields 12 muffins. I actually got 12 full size muffins and 12 more mini muffins
Non-stick cooking spray
1C all-purpose flour
1C whole-wheat flour
2 t baking powder
½ t table salt
¼ t baking soda
2 large eggs
¾ C granulated sugar
¼ C canola oil
1 C natural unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ t finely grated lemon zest
1 t pure vanilla extract
¾ C low-fat buttermilk (I have powdered buttermilk on hand all the time)
1 ½ C fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the center. In a small bowl mix both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl mix the eggs, sugar and oil until pale and frothy. Whisk in the applesauce, lemon zest and vanilla. I added the blueberries to the flour before I added the flour and buttermilk to the egg mixture. I read somewhere that if you do this it keeps your blueberries from ending up all on the bottom and indeed mine are throughout the muffin. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Mine were done in 22 minutes. Cool on a rack and enjoy. Also you can wrap them individually and freeze.
I started the dishwasher and our power keeps going on and off. I just realized that each time the power goes off the dishwasher starts all over again. These are going to be the cleanest dishes in town. Tonight’s party was postponed until spring. That is about how long it will take for us to dig out. So I now have to decide what I want to fix for dinner. I have ingredients for several options.
It yields 12 muffins. I actually got 12 full size muffins and 12 more mini muffins
Non-stick cooking spray
1C all-purpose flour
1C whole-wheat flour
2 t baking powder
½ t table salt
¼ t baking soda
2 large eggs
¾ C granulated sugar
¼ C canola oil
1 C natural unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ t finely grated lemon zest
1 t pure vanilla extract
¾ C low-fat buttermilk (I have powdered buttermilk on hand all the time)
1 ½ C fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the center. In a small bowl mix both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl mix the eggs, sugar and oil until pale and frothy. Whisk in the applesauce, lemon zest and vanilla. I added the blueberries to the flour before I added the flour and buttermilk to the egg mixture. I read somewhere that if you do this it keeps your blueberries from ending up all on the bottom and indeed mine are throughout the muffin. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Mine were done in 22 minutes. Cool on a rack and enjoy. Also you can wrap them individually and freeze.
I started the dishwasher and our power keeps going on and off. I just realized that each time the power goes off the dishwasher starts all over again. These are going to be the cleanest dishes in town. Tonight’s party was postponed until spring. That is about how long it will take for us to dig out. So I now have to decide what I want to fix for dinner. I have ingredients for several options.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Chicken Pad Thai
Tonight’s meal comes from the Flat Belly Diet cookbook. I make a lot of recipes out of this and the original book, as I really have never had something I did not like. I love Pad Thai, but it can be high in oil. This one is not and just divine tasting. They say the lime wedges are optional; I do not think so. Also, if true to the diet itself, as I found out at the last minute that Jim had eaten all the peanuts, I used dry roasted sunflower kernels. Technically I should have doubled the sunflower seeds. I did not. To tell the truth, I thought the Sunflower seeds were better than the peanuts would have been.
4 oz. flat rice noodles
4T ketchup
1 T fish sauce
1 t sugar
1 T peanut oil, divided
1 egg, beaten
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut in 1 ½ long strips
2 cloves garlic
3 scallions cut in 1” pieces
1 c bean sprouts
½ cup peanuts (or the sunflower seeds I mentioned)
Lime wedges
This is a stir fry. With any Chinese meal, read ahead and chop and assemble all ingredients before starting. First I put on a kettle of water for the noodles. I salted the water.
Next I mixed the ketchup, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl. I then broke an egg and beat it in another small bowl. Plus I got out a small plate to put the finished omelet on. Next I cut the chicken breast crosswise in slices and cut each one in 1/3 slices to give the long strips. I then cut the scallions and minced the garlic.
Add the noodles to the boiling water. Mine cooked for 8 minutes and I drained. Next heat the wok with ½ the oil. Toss in the egg and cook like an omelet. Put the omelet on the small plate and cut in strips. Add the remaining oil to the wok and add the chicken strips. Cook about 4-5 minutes and add the garlic. Stir a couple of times and then add in the cooked noodles. Cook about a minute and add in the ketchup mixture. Toss for a minute and add in the scallions and the egg slices. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the bean sprouts and in my case the sunflower seeds.
The recipe serves 4 or in our house, Jim and me; there is none left. Sitting down to dinner Jim said, “Aside from the worm looking things (bean sprouts), what else is in it?” Lord help me!
We had a 2008 Fairvalley Chardonnay from South Africa which complemented the dinner. We ate with chop sticks. Fun evening.
4 oz. flat rice noodles
4T ketchup
1 T fish sauce
1 t sugar
1 T peanut oil, divided
1 egg, beaten
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut in 1 ½ long strips
2 cloves garlic
3 scallions cut in 1” pieces
1 c bean sprouts
½ cup peanuts (or the sunflower seeds I mentioned)
Lime wedges
This is a stir fry. With any Chinese meal, read ahead and chop and assemble all ingredients before starting. First I put on a kettle of water for the noodles. I salted the water.
Next I mixed the ketchup, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl. I then broke an egg and beat it in another small bowl. Plus I got out a small plate to put the finished omelet on. Next I cut the chicken breast crosswise in slices and cut each one in 1/3 slices to give the long strips. I then cut the scallions and minced the garlic.
Add the noodles to the boiling water. Mine cooked for 8 minutes and I drained. Next heat the wok with ½ the oil. Toss in the egg and cook like an omelet. Put the omelet on the small plate and cut in strips. Add the remaining oil to the wok and add the chicken strips. Cook about 4-5 minutes and add the garlic. Stir a couple of times and then add in the cooked noodles. Cook about a minute and add in the ketchup mixture. Toss for a minute and add in the scallions and the egg slices. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the bean sprouts and in my case the sunflower seeds.
The recipe serves 4 or in our house, Jim and me; there is none left. Sitting down to dinner Jim said, “Aside from the worm looking things (bean sprouts), what else is in it?” Lord help me!
We had a 2008 Fairvalley Chardonnay from South Africa which complemented the dinner. We ate with chop sticks. Fun evening.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Crock pot night
It’s been cold and today was a class day, so I decided to do Sandra Lee’s Caribbean Nights Dinner from her Slow Cooker Recipes 2. I will start this blog by saying I did not like it. I thought it was very dull. Jim did like it, but it had beef, what can say. As this involved a crock pot that I could set up before leaving for class it seemed ideal. When I arrived home it smelled wonderful.
3 plantains, peeled and sliced ¼ “thick
1 c chopped onion, red and green pepper. This is where you have to be careful with Sandra Lee recipes. She does a show called Semi Homemade. I spent hours in Wegman’s looking for Pictsweet frozen seasoning blend. Came home looked on the internet and found out it was equal amounts of onion, green and red pepper. Took less time to shop than I spent looking.
2 -15 oz cans of black beans, drained.
1 ½ # flank steak, patted dry and sprinkled with salt and pepper
3 t Jamaican Jerk blend. I used Penzeys
1-8 oz can crushed pineapple in juice
1 c beef broth
In my case, chop the onion and peppers and add with the cut up plantains and black beans to the slow cooker. Season the flank steak with salt, pepper and 1 t of seasoning and place the flank steak over the beans. In a bowl mix the pineapple, beef broth and remaining seasoning. Pour over the steak. Set the slow cooker on low for 6 hours.
Jim served a 2006 El Felino Malbec by Vina Cobos of Argentina. Unfined and unfiltered, it was a big, luscious red with lots of flavor.
My flank steak virtually fell apart, but we tried to cut it across the grain. I have never tasted plantains before and found them dry and tasteless, kind of like dried up old potatoes. Could be the distance they travel to our stores. In the Caribbean they could have a whole different taste. There is nothing in this dish that Max cannot have. Bon Appetite, the leftovers, Max.
3 plantains, peeled and sliced ¼ “thick
1 c chopped onion, red and green pepper. This is where you have to be careful with Sandra Lee recipes. She does a show called Semi Homemade. I spent hours in Wegman’s looking for Pictsweet frozen seasoning blend. Came home looked on the internet and found out it was equal amounts of onion, green and red pepper. Took less time to shop than I spent looking.
2 -15 oz cans of black beans, drained.
1 ½ # flank steak, patted dry and sprinkled with salt and pepper
3 t Jamaican Jerk blend. I used Penzeys
1-8 oz can crushed pineapple in juice
1 c beef broth
In my case, chop the onion and peppers and add with the cut up plantains and black beans to the slow cooker. Season the flank steak with salt, pepper and 1 t of seasoning and place the flank steak over the beans. In a bowl mix the pineapple, beef broth and remaining seasoning. Pour over the steak. Set the slow cooker on low for 6 hours.
Jim served a 2006 El Felino Malbec by Vina Cobos of Argentina. Unfined and unfiltered, it was a big, luscious red with lots of flavor.
My flank steak virtually fell apart, but we tried to cut it across the grain. I have never tasted plantains before and found them dry and tasteless, kind of like dried up old potatoes. Could be the distance they travel to our stores. In the Caribbean they could have a whole different taste. There is nothing in this dish that Max cannot have. Bon Appetite, the leftovers, Max.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Busy Monday and More Snow
I was very busy today working on my latest pastel, so I decided to make Savory Barley Soup, partially due to the snow. Jim started the day without breakfast as we had snow all night, and he went out with the snow blower to do our space as well as for the two ladies in the next two houses. We were awakened early by other neighbors that don’t have a life, but feel they need to get rid of the snow very early. I knew we had Aidells Chicken Apple Sausage in the freezer so I decided to have a big breakfast ready when he came in. We bought the sausages at Costco, and I had not divided them before freezing, so we had more than needed and decided that they would be a good accompaniment to the dinner soup.
Here is the recipe from again Eat Well:
Dried porcini mushrooms, ½ oz
Dry white wine, ½ c
Shallots, ½ c chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves minced
Fresh cremini mushrooms, 8 oz.
Thyme, ½ t dried
Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken broth 3 c.
Pearled barley ¾ c
Tomato paste, 1 T
Lemon juice 2 t
Jim called this a good hardy soup to have on a snow day. I called it a little dull. Anyway here is how you make it.
Rinse the dry porcinis to remove any grit. I used the microwave to heat the wine one minute and added the mushrooms to soak 15 minutes, drain and reserve the wine. In the mean time, I chopped the shallots and garlic. They also wanted the cremini mushrooms chopped but I missed that part and added them sliced, as purchased, but not chopped. Heat the oil and add the shallots and garlic. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add cremini, thyme, ¼ t salt and ¼ t pepper. Cook stirring constantly until the cremini release their juices and begin to brown. Four to five minutes was about right as stated in the recipe. Add the reserved wine and boil 1 minute. Add the broth, barley, tomato paste, 3 c water and the chopped porcini. Cover and simmer about 45 -50 minutes. Remove 1 cup and put in the blender, puree until smooth. Add it and the lemon juice to the soup. It really does need additional salt and pepper in my opinion. Serve.
We had the additional Aidells sausages with the soup.
Jim served a 2006 Black Mountain Zinfandel from CA, available at Trader Joe’s.
In the cook book they say that barley helps to regulate cholesterol.
Here is the recipe from again Eat Well:
Dried porcini mushrooms, ½ oz
Dry white wine, ½ c
Shallots, ½ c chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves minced
Fresh cremini mushrooms, 8 oz.
Thyme, ½ t dried
Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken broth 3 c.
Pearled barley ¾ c
Tomato paste, 1 T
Lemon juice 2 t
Jim called this a good hardy soup to have on a snow day. I called it a little dull. Anyway here is how you make it.
Rinse the dry porcinis to remove any grit. I used the microwave to heat the wine one minute and added the mushrooms to soak 15 minutes, drain and reserve the wine. In the mean time, I chopped the shallots and garlic. They also wanted the cremini mushrooms chopped but I missed that part and added them sliced, as purchased, but not chopped. Heat the oil and add the shallots and garlic. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add cremini, thyme, ¼ t salt and ¼ t pepper. Cook stirring constantly until the cremini release their juices and begin to brown. Four to five minutes was about right as stated in the recipe. Add the reserved wine and boil 1 minute. Add the broth, barley, tomato paste, 3 c water and the chopped porcini. Cover and simmer about 45 -50 minutes. Remove 1 cup and put in the blender, puree until smooth. Add it and the lemon juice to the soup. It really does need additional salt and pepper in my opinion. Serve.
We had the additional Aidells sausages with the soup.
Jim served a 2006 Black Mountain Zinfandel from CA, available at Trader Joe’s.
In the cook book they say that barley helps to regulate cholesterol.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Tuesday, Tuesday, snow day
If you ever want to buy a cookbook that is fool-proof and easy to follow, make sure it is written by Jacques Pepin. He has written two fast food cookbooks, and I have them both and about a dozen more. No not everyone in France spends the whole day cooking. On TV, he claims that most of these recipes are his Mother’s. Tonight’s meal was all from More Fast Food My Way.
We had fish, broccoli and squash.
Onion-crusted fish with Anchovy Butter
Anchovy Butter
2oz. anchovy in oil
1 large garlic clove
4T butter
¼ t pepper
1T dry white wine (when I need small amounts like this, I use dry vermouth)
Just put it all in the food processor until smooth, then put it in a bowl in the refrigerator.
Of the three items, the squash was going to take the most time, so I did it first.
Butternut squash Sauté
1 1/2 # butternut squash (I bought mine pealed and trimmed)
1 C diced onion, ( ½ onion)
1T canola oil
3T butter
¾ t salt
½ t sugar
1c apple cider
2 t cider vinegar
2 T chopped fresh parsley (garnish)
Put everything in a pot with a lid, cover and boil for 6 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the squash looks caramelized. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve. I just turned down the heat and kept watching it while I attended to the broccoli and fish.
Skillet Broccoli (I made ½, remember Jim thinks he is allergic to all veg.)
1 1/4 # broccoli
¼ cup water
2T olive oil
½ t salt
Cut the broccoli in florets and peel any skin on stems. Put everything in a skillet with a lid, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the cover and cook on high for about 2 more minutes until the water is gone. I then recovered and held it until the fish was done.
Onion –Crusted Fish
2 large eggs
4 fillets of a white fish about 6 oz each. I used catfish
½ t salt
6oz. can of French fried onions
3 T canola oil
1 lemon, quartered
Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl until well combined. Pat the fillets dry and sprinkle with salt. Put the onions in the food processor and process until powdery. Mine did not get powdery. In fact they got a little gummy. So I took them out of the processor and spread them out on a plate. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Dip the fish in the egg and then the ground onion. Cook the fish about 2 minutes each side. The catfish was a little thick so I did 3 minutes a side. Serve with the Anchovy butter and a wedge of lemon.
Jim really liked this meal. He even used the anchovy butter. Usually, if it looks like a sauce or topping, he skips it. But he even put on more after he first tasted it. I don’t think I have ever had better broccoli. I bet even George Bush Sr. would eat his broccoli if his chef had cooked it this way. The squash was divine.
Jim served a 2008 Terrazze della Luna Pinot Grigio (Trentino, Italy). I’m lying low writing this blog until the kitchen is clean. You wouldn’t believe the amount of dishes and mess this meal created. One great thing about being head chef, you don’t do dishes!
We had fish, broccoli and squash.
Onion-crusted fish with Anchovy Butter
Anchovy Butter
2oz. anchovy in oil
1 large garlic clove
4T butter
¼ t pepper
1T dry white wine (when I need small amounts like this, I use dry vermouth)
Just put it all in the food processor until smooth, then put it in a bowl in the refrigerator.
Of the three items, the squash was going to take the most time, so I did it first.
Butternut squash Sauté
1 1/2 # butternut squash (I bought mine pealed and trimmed)
1 C diced onion, ( ½ onion)
1T canola oil
3T butter
¾ t salt
½ t sugar
1c apple cider
2 t cider vinegar
2 T chopped fresh parsley (garnish)
Put everything in a pot with a lid, cover and boil for 6 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the squash looks caramelized. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve. I just turned down the heat and kept watching it while I attended to the broccoli and fish.
Skillet Broccoli (I made ½, remember Jim thinks he is allergic to all veg.)
1 1/4 # broccoli
¼ cup water
2T olive oil
½ t salt
Cut the broccoli in florets and peel any skin on stems. Put everything in a skillet with a lid, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the cover and cook on high for about 2 more minutes until the water is gone. I then recovered and held it until the fish was done.
Onion –Crusted Fish
2 large eggs
4 fillets of a white fish about 6 oz each. I used catfish
½ t salt
6oz. can of French fried onions
3 T canola oil
1 lemon, quartered
Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl until well combined. Pat the fillets dry and sprinkle with salt. Put the onions in the food processor and process until powdery. Mine did not get powdery. In fact they got a little gummy. So I took them out of the processor and spread them out on a plate. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Dip the fish in the egg and then the ground onion. Cook the fish about 2 minutes each side. The catfish was a little thick so I did 3 minutes a side. Serve with the Anchovy butter and a wedge of lemon.
Jim really liked this meal. He even used the anchovy butter. Usually, if it looks like a sauce or topping, he skips it. But he even put on more after he first tasted it. I don’t think I have ever had better broccoli. I bet even George Bush Sr. would eat his broccoli if his chef had cooked it this way. The squash was divine.
Jim served a 2008 Terrazze della Luna Pinot Grigio (Trentino, Italy). I’m lying low writing this blog until the kitchen is clean. You wouldn’t believe the amount of dishes and mess this meal created. One great thing about being head chef, you don’t do dishes!
Monday, February 1, 2010
McDonald's Monday
If you have been reading my blog, just want you to know that I have added my 1978 photo of Paul Bocuse and me to my profile. I’d like it to show up each day; working on that. Is anybody reading my blog? No one comments. Tonight is our equivalent of going to McDonald’s. We started the day taking Max to the Vet for his annual checkup. Our regular Vet is on maternity leave and the new Vet was astounded at not only my feeding regime, but how great his teeth look for an 8 year old dog. So he got an A- as he has gained 5 pounds since his last visit. However, we looked at his weight history and he consistently has weighed 5# more in the winter than in the summer. Also, I thought he was looking really thin around Christmas so I had increased his breakfast. I guess Max is going back to just 2 scoops in the AM and fewer treats. We are going to have one unhappy puppy.
Back to dinner, I started by getting out my bread machine. I have a very old cookbook called Electric Bread. I have the original bread machine that was only available at Sharper Image at the time. I put the ingredients in for light Rye, my favorite. I set it on dough only. The ingredients are
¾ c water
1 ½c white bread flour
½ c rye flour
1 ½ T sugar
¾ t salt
1T butter
2 t cornmeal
1 T Charnushka
1 ¼ t fast rise yeast
After the bread machine finished making my dough, I punched down the dough and divided into 4 pieces. I shaped them into rounds and set on a cookie sheet covered with non-stick aluminum foil. I think I let them rise for 2 hours, but since I was also paying bills and doing the wash, who knows.
You are probably asking what is Charnushka and where in the world do I get it. I actually call it black caraway seed and like it better than the regular caraway seed especially in bread. But if you are interested in it and want to order it from Penzeys, you have to know this name. When we lived in CA, there was an Indian grocery store on my way home that carried it. You can definitely get it in India food specialty shops.
So after they rose, I baked them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Our burgers tonight were made out of two 6 oz. Buffalo steaks which I ground in the Cuisinart. Cut the meat in squares and pulse about 8 times. It is very lean and I like the taste grilled medium rare, about 8 minutes. I sprinkled it with Chicago steak seasoning also from Penzeys. I was excited to see that Wegman’s carries Buffalo meat. I used to have to order it. This makes 2 burgers.
Our fries were “fried” in the oven. For this I am using Rachael Ray’s Oven Fries with Herbes de Provence. Herbes de Provence is one of my favorite herbs. I just have 2 potatoes and adjusted accordingly. Here is her recipe exactly that serves 4. Don’t cut the potatoes too thin or they will burn.
3 all purpose potatoes, scrubbed and dried
2 T EVOO
1T +1t Herbes de Provence
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cut potatoes into thin wedges and place on a cookie sheet. Coat potatoes with EVOO and sprinkle very liberally with the herbs. Toss to coat evenly. Roast for about 25 minutes but keep your eye on them, as it depends on the size you cut them as to when they will look crisp and golden at the edges. Remove and sprinkle with salt.
I also made a salad using small mixed greens, spinach, artichokes and tomatoes left over from yesterday and “horrors,” store bought light dressing.
Jim served a 1998 Chateau Labory de Tayac, a Grand Vin from Margaux.
Everything was delicious. It sure beats going to a restaurant for burgers and fries.
Back to dinner, I started by getting out my bread machine. I have a very old cookbook called Electric Bread. I have the original bread machine that was only available at Sharper Image at the time. I put the ingredients in for light Rye, my favorite. I set it on dough only. The ingredients are
¾ c water
1 ½c white bread flour
½ c rye flour
1 ½ T sugar
¾ t salt
1T butter
2 t cornmeal
1 T Charnushka
1 ¼ t fast rise yeast
After the bread machine finished making my dough, I punched down the dough and divided into 4 pieces. I shaped them into rounds and set on a cookie sheet covered with non-stick aluminum foil. I think I let them rise for 2 hours, but since I was also paying bills and doing the wash, who knows.
You are probably asking what is Charnushka and where in the world do I get it. I actually call it black caraway seed and like it better than the regular caraway seed especially in bread. But if you are interested in it and want to order it from Penzeys, you have to know this name. When we lived in CA, there was an Indian grocery store on my way home that carried it. You can definitely get it in India food specialty shops.
So after they rose, I baked them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Our burgers tonight were made out of two 6 oz. Buffalo steaks which I ground in the Cuisinart. Cut the meat in squares and pulse about 8 times. It is very lean and I like the taste grilled medium rare, about 8 minutes. I sprinkled it with Chicago steak seasoning also from Penzeys. I was excited to see that Wegman’s carries Buffalo meat. I used to have to order it. This makes 2 burgers.
Our fries were “fried” in the oven. For this I am using Rachael Ray’s Oven Fries with Herbes de Provence. Herbes de Provence is one of my favorite herbs. I just have 2 potatoes and adjusted accordingly. Here is her recipe exactly that serves 4. Don’t cut the potatoes too thin or they will burn.
3 all purpose potatoes, scrubbed and dried
2 T EVOO
1T +1t Herbes de Provence
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cut potatoes into thin wedges and place on a cookie sheet. Coat potatoes with EVOO and sprinkle very liberally with the herbs. Toss to coat evenly. Roast for about 25 minutes but keep your eye on them, as it depends on the size you cut them as to when they will look crisp and golden at the edges. Remove and sprinkle with salt.
I also made a salad using small mixed greens, spinach, artichokes and tomatoes left over from yesterday and “horrors,” store bought light dressing.
Jim served a 1998 Chateau Labory de Tayac, a Grand Vin from Margaux.
Everything was delicious. It sure beats going to a restaurant for burgers and fries.
Sunday, Finely we had Spaghetti and meatballs
We were supposed to have company Saturday evening; the weatherman announced at least 2 “ of snow. I started dinner which was on the cover of this month’s Bon Appétit, i.e., Spaghetti and Meatballs All’Amatriciana. This was an interesting way to make Sauce and Meatballs and it smelled divine. This is one dish that you can hold or freeze, as the flavors will just get better and better. After making the meatballs (50) I looked at the serving amount and discovered it serves 8. No problem; whatever we have left, I will freeze for a class night or when my trainer works me to death.
Meatballs:
6oz. uncured apple wood-smoked bacon, diced
2 large garlic cloves
2# ground beef. I never use ground beef from the store anymore. If you want to know why, rent the movie Food Inc. I bought rib-eye steak and ground it myself.
2/3 c chopped, drained roasted red pepper from a jar.
2/3 c panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 large eggs
½ cup coarsely grated onion (I used ½ onion)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1T minced fresh marjoram
2t dried crushed red pepper
½ t kosher salt
½ t black pepper
If you noticed, the roasted peppers, onions, bacon all have you chopping and dicing. I put my meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer and ran it all through with the beef I was grinding. So now all the beef, onion, pepper and bacon, is in a big bowl to which I add the remaining ingredients. There is no way to combine all this without using your hands. For this I get out a pair of throw away sterile latex gloves that I buy in the drug store. Don the gloves and mix, toss the gloves. The recipe says let sit for 15 minutes. During this time I cleaned up the mess I had made and put 2 cans of diced tomato with 2 large garlic cloves in the blender and turned it on to puree as needed for the sauce. After 15 minutes you are to make meatballs of approximately 2 T or 1- 1/2” dia. Now if I was Martha, I would have a 1 ½“ ice cream scoop that would make this a lot easier. Since I am not, I just took a large spoon out of the drawer and eyeballed it. I also donned a new set of latex gloves as I had to shape the 2 T of meat into 1- ½” dia. meatballs. I ended up with 50 meat balls. These were placed on a large cookie sheet that I covered in plastic wrap.
Next you take another 6 ounces of the bacon, cut in strips cross wise and cook in a large pot until crisp. I used a 14” skillet. Remove the bacon to a small plate or bowl. To the bacon fat add 1T of olive oil and start cooking the meatballs. I am not sure what size pan the BA cooks had, but with my huge 14 “skillet, I had to cook in 4 batches. Remember, Julia says do not crowd the pan. Each batch was 9 minutes at a fairly low setting. You do not want to burn the outside and have the inside raw. The idea is to cook them through.
Sauce:
After you finish cooking all the meatballs, you place them on a second tray that I lined with stick proof aluminum foil. Then I added 3 c of diced onions and 1 ½ t of dried crushed red pepper to the pan and cooked for 6 minutes. To this add 2 c of white wine and boil for 8 minutes. Make sure the white wine you use is drinkable. This was indeed drinkable; I personally attest to that. Next add the puréed tomato/garlic mixture and 1 T diced fresh marjoram to the pan. Boil for 8 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and add back the bacon.
This was Saturday, and at this point I stopped as our guests were not coming because of the increasing snow storm and icy roads. We cooled it all and refrigerated it. We ended up with 6 to 8 “of snow depending where you lived.
Our guests came today, Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 4:30 PM. I put about 1/3 of the meatballs in the freezer and cooked 1# of organic whole wheat pasta for the sauce with another T of marjoram and salt added to the water. We started with antipasto of 2 different Italian sausages, Snow White Goat cheddar cheese and Ricotta Salata. Also included in the hors d’ oeuvres were Nicoise olives, artichokes, and Viansa tomato basil spread. Un-Italian, but we had pate with black peppercorns also. This was all served on butter garlic crostini from Wegman’s. Jim offered a 2003 Grosso Sanese Chianti Classico and a 2003 Viansa Thalia (Sangiovese) to accompany the antipasto.
We ate family style. I cut wedges of ice berg lettuce. I made Green Goddess Dressing using a mix from Penzey’s Spices and Greek yoghurt. I chopped Campari tomatoes to sprinkle over the dressing. I made large crostini with garlic and olive oil to accompany the spaghetti.
Both Mike and Jim said that the meatballs and spaghetti were very spicy hot. I thought it was fine, but if you are subject to hot, reduce the amount of dried hot pepper. However, keep in mind that I make my crushed dried hot pepper from whole hot peppers that I buy in the Chinese grocery. I thought of cutting back but felt the quantity of product could handle it. I had no problem with the hotness, but the others thought it was too hot. This recipe indeed feeds 8, especially as we had hors d’oeuvres and a salad. We have 2 servings leftover for us on a weeknight and additional meatballs. So if you are only having 4 and one of the 4 is Jim, you will be ok to cut this recipe in half. Jim served a 2001 Aglieta Brunello di Montalcino with this course.
For dessert I coated half of each biscotti that I bought at Wegman’s with homemade fudge sauce. I should have made the Biscotti; Wegman’s were crumbly. We served this with chocolate Ice cream and a 2003 Apollonio Copertino (70% Negroamaro, 15% Montepulciano, 15% Black Malvasia). Jim likes red wine with his chocolate.
Meatballs:
6oz. uncured apple wood-smoked bacon, diced
2 large garlic cloves
2# ground beef. I never use ground beef from the store anymore. If you want to know why, rent the movie Food Inc. I bought rib-eye steak and ground it myself.
2/3 c chopped, drained roasted red pepper from a jar.
2/3 c panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 large eggs
½ cup coarsely grated onion (I used ½ onion)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1T minced fresh marjoram
2t dried crushed red pepper
½ t kosher salt
½ t black pepper
If you noticed, the roasted peppers, onions, bacon all have you chopping and dicing. I put my meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer and ran it all through with the beef I was grinding. So now all the beef, onion, pepper and bacon, is in a big bowl to which I add the remaining ingredients. There is no way to combine all this without using your hands. For this I get out a pair of throw away sterile latex gloves that I buy in the drug store. Don the gloves and mix, toss the gloves. The recipe says let sit for 15 minutes. During this time I cleaned up the mess I had made and put 2 cans of diced tomato with 2 large garlic cloves in the blender and turned it on to puree as needed for the sauce. After 15 minutes you are to make meatballs of approximately 2 T or 1- 1/2” dia. Now if I was Martha, I would have a 1 ½“ ice cream scoop that would make this a lot easier. Since I am not, I just took a large spoon out of the drawer and eyeballed it. I also donned a new set of latex gloves as I had to shape the 2 T of meat into 1- ½” dia. meatballs. I ended up with 50 meat balls. These were placed on a large cookie sheet that I covered in plastic wrap.
Next you take another 6 ounces of the bacon, cut in strips cross wise and cook in a large pot until crisp. I used a 14” skillet. Remove the bacon to a small plate or bowl. To the bacon fat add 1T of olive oil and start cooking the meatballs. I am not sure what size pan the BA cooks had, but with my huge 14 “skillet, I had to cook in 4 batches. Remember, Julia says do not crowd the pan. Each batch was 9 minutes at a fairly low setting. You do not want to burn the outside and have the inside raw. The idea is to cook them through.
Sauce:
After you finish cooking all the meatballs, you place them on a second tray that I lined with stick proof aluminum foil. Then I added 3 c of diced onions and 1 ½ t of dried crushed red pepper to the pan and cooked for 6 minutes. To this add 2 c of white wine and boil for 8 minutes. Make sure the white wine you use is drinkable. This was indeed drinkable; I personally attest to that. Next add the puréed tomato/garlic mixture and 1 T diced fresh marjoram to the pan. Boil for 8 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and add back the bacon.
This was Saturday, and at this point I stopped as our guests were not coming because of the increasing snow storm and icy roads. We cooled it all and refrigerated it. We ended up with 6 to 8 “of snow depending where you lived.
Our guests came today, Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 4:30 PM. I put about 1/3 of the meatballs in the freezer and cooked 1# of organic whole wheat pasta for the sauce with another T of marjoram and salt added to the water. We started with antipasto of 2 different Italian sausages, Snow White Goat cheddar cheese and Ricotta Salata. Also included in the hors d’ oeuvres were Nicoise olives, artichokes, and Viansa tomato basil spread. Un-Italian, but we had pate with black peppercorns also. This was all served on butter garlic crostini from Wegman’s. Jim offered a 2003 Grosso Sanese Chianti Classico and a 2003 Viansa Thalia (Sangiovese) to accompany the antipasto.
We ate family style. I cut wedges of ice berg lettuce. I made Green Goddess Dressing using a mix from Penzey’s Spices and Greek yoghurt. I chopped Campari tomatoes to sprinkle over the dressing. I made large crostini with garlic and olive oil to accompany the spaghetti.
Both Mike and Jim said that the meatballs and spaghetti were very spicy hot. I thought it was fine, but if you are subject to hot, reduce the amount of dried hot pepper. However, keep in mind that I make my crushed dried hot pepper from whole hot peppers that I buy in the Chinese grocery. I thought of cutting back but felt the quantity of product could handle it. I had no problem with the hotness, but the others thought it was too hot. This recipe indeed feeds 8, especially as we had hors d’oeuvres and a salad. We have 2 servings leftover for us on a weeknight and additional meatballs. So if you are only having 4 and one of the 4 is Jim, you will be ok to cut this recipe in half. Jim served a 2001 Aglieta Brunello di Montalcino with this course.
For dessert I coated half of each biscotti that I bought at Wegman’s with homemade fudge sauce. I should have made the Biscotti; Wegman’s were crumbly. We served this with chocolate Ice cream and a 2003 Apollonio Copertino (70% Negroamaro, 15% Montepulciano, 15% Black Malvasia). Jim likes red wine with his chocolate.
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