Matthew's Recipes

A Month of Meals

2011-05-10T10:43:00.008-05:00

Here are the meals that we made in May, 2011.

We had fish/seafood 7 times, poultry 5 times, beef 5 times (counting chili once), lamb twice, pork twice (counting split pea soup), and sausage once.

We had a lot of asparagus, but it was spring. I think we need to eat more quinoa.

Moors & Christians

2011-04-13T10:29:00.007-05:00

I make a lot of these one-pot rice dishes. The recipe is basically the same for all of them and they are endlessly variable. I don't always add a legume, but it is a nice addition. I like lentils in particular. The black beans in this one makes it "Moors & Christians."

Start to finish is half an hour.

Chop a bell pepper, a couple celery sticks, and an onion. A red or orange pepper provides nice color contrast, but green works just as well. this is the "Cajun Trinity" and is a variation on the classic mirepoix, which uses carrots instead of peppers. The volume ratio should be 1:1:2 - twice the onions since they wilt.
Saute in butter and/or olive oil in a sauce pan. Or, fry up a little bacon d saute in that. Or maybe some sausage.
Add a cup of rice and saute a couple more minutes until the rice browns a little.
Drain a can of black beans, reserving the liquid. Add to pot and mix. Maybe mix in some chilies or garlic.
Add two cups of stock (or water), including the reserved bean juice, to pot. Bring to boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Or you could stick it in a 350F oven for thirty minutes.
Turn off heat and let rest for about 10 minutes.

At various stages you can add meat products. Smoked sausage, browned chicken thighs at the beginning, leftovers - whatever you happen to have.

Scotch Eggs

2011-02-08T09:03:00.002-06:00

We made Scotch Eggs for the first time. I adapted a recipe from the New York Times, and they turned out great.

Crush some garlic, mix with salt and prepared horseradish
Mix with bulk sausage (we use Italian), 1/4 lb per egg
Dredge hard boiled eggs in flour
Wrap sausage around eggs
dredge in flour
Dredge in a beaten egg
Roll in Panko bread crumbs
Fry in 350F oil for 4 minutes per side
Cool, slice in half, and eat

Tenderloin

2009-11-16T08:55:00.002-06:00

Image via Wikipedia

I made the beef tenderloin is a salt crust twice now. Both times it turned out great. The crust need about a half cup more water and it never quite turned out like Alton Brown’s did, but it is a great way to cook a tenderloin.

Make sure that you have a meat probe. You do not want to over cook it. 125F with a thirty minute resting time works perfect.

Tenderloing is surprisingly inexpensive. We always go to our local butcher shop (Bunzel’s on Burleigh) and it regularly $6.99/lb. This week it’s on sale for $4.99! I will get one for steaks and one for Thanksgiving.

Beef Tenderloin in Salt Crust

2009-11-05T07:35:00.002-06:00

Image via Wikipedia

This recipe is from Alton Brown on Good Eats. I haven't made it yet, but I will over the next couple of weeks because I think we're going to do it as the "second meat" for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients

* 5 cups all-purpose flour
* 3 cups kosher salt
* 3 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
* 5 egg whites
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, and/or sage)
* 1 (6 to 7-pound) whole beef tenderloin, trimmed
* 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Place the flour, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and water and add to the dry ingredients along with 2 tablespoons of the herbs. Combine with a potato masher until the mixture begins to come together. Then knead with your hands for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large zip-top bag, seal, and let stand at room temperature for 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll out to 3/16-inch thickness, approximately a 24 by 18-inch rectangle. Trim away extra dough, if necessary. Sprinkle the remaining herbs on the center section of the dough and gently press down.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In order to achieve uniform cooking, fold over slender tail end of tenderloin and tie with kitchen twine. Set a large electric griddle at its highest setting; brush the tenderloin with the olive oil and sear on all sides until well browned, approximately 10 minutes. Rest the meat for at least 5 minutes or until it is cool to the touch so as not to melt the dough.

Place the tenderloin in the center of the dough. Fold top part of dough over, flipping back about 1-inch of dough onto itself. Repeat with the bottom half of the dough. Press together the 2 flaps of dough and seal. Make sure the dough is not too tight around the tenderloin. At the ends of the tenderloin, press together dough to form a seal and cut away any excess. Transfer to a sheet pan, place in the oven and roast to an internal temperature of 125 degrees F, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. The tenderloin will continue to cook 10 to 15 degrees more. Cut salt crust at 1 end and extract meat by pulling out of dough tube. Slice and serve immediately.

CSA

2009-06-12T07:50:00.000-05:00

I will be posting the newsletter that we get from our farm on my CSA blog. At least I will for a while, mostly as an archive for recipes, etc. Find it here.

Testing a Link

2009-06-11T16:00:00.000-05:00

Eat Your View
Matthew J. Piette, P.E. - Thursday, 11 June 2009

Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

2009-06-04T08:03:00.001-05:00

Cooking is difficult with this den remodeling project going on. Everything is dusty and there's no table to use. As a result we've been cooking pretty simply and, believe it or not, even went out to dinner last night!

On Monday I made Sloppy Joes. The SI (secret ingredient) really is secret and makes it great!

3lb ground chuck
2 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 gloves garlic

8oz tomato sauce
8 oz diced tomatoes
3T tomato paste
Worcestershire sauce about 1T
Hot sauce about 1T
1/2 cup Sriracha sauce
2T red pepper flakes

Brown beef and remove from pan to drain. Saute onions, celery, and peppers (a mirepoix) with salt. Add garlic and saute for another minute.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer until thick. Add S&P to taste. Taste frequently to adjust seasonings.

Serve on good buns.

If you know that the Sriracha is in there, it will be obvious. If you don't, it will be tricky to identify.

Flatiron Steak with rice pilaf

2009-02-10T13:47:00.000-06:00

I made a flatiron steak yesterday. It was the first time I did so and it turned out great.

The flatiron comes from the top blade roast and is very tender. It is not a flank steak, which comes from the belly, is used in fajitas, and is much more toothsome.

I prepared it quite simply: Salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder,sear in in a very hot skillet for about five minutes per side and let rest. Deglaze the pan for some au jus.

Cut the steak into thin strips and serve.

At about $6/lb this is a great beef deal.

Roast Lamb with Burnt Onions

2009-01-05T07:55:00.000-06:00

Gus made this recipe for us in November when we were up there for a Packer game. It's from the cookbook 5 Spices, 50 Dishes by Ruta Kahate.

I'll provide more details if anyone is interested, but it's basically a cubed leg of lamb roast, marinated in yogurt with spices and peppers. We used habeneros.

Caramelized onions are mixed into it, along with milk and the dish is baked covered for 90 minutes, then uncovered for another 30.

We made chapittas with it (see a few entries back). We made these inside in a cast iron skillet. Once cooked about a minute per side, I put them directly over a flame and the puffed up nicely.

Prime Rib

2009-01-02T10:35:00.000-06:00

I like prime rib, or, as it's called when the bones are still in (as they should be), standing rib roast. We don't cook it often as it's more of a holiday meal. It's expensive only because a small one, three ribs, is a lot of meat. This one is 6.5lb and was $12/lb.

It's simple to cook:
Age it for 5 days in the refrigerator
Brown it on all sides (rule #2!)
Cook at 200F until it reaches an internal temp of 130F
Let it rest about 20 minutes before carving

A funny thing happened with this. As usual, I was following the Cook's Illustrated Best Recipes recipe for this. It said that it will take about 30 minutes per pound to reach 130F when started from room temp.

This roast should have taken 3.5 hours, but in fact only took 2. Had I not had a probe in it while cooking, I'd have ruined an $80 piece of meat.

All came out well, however. We were scrambling to get the sides ready.

Another interesting thing - while I was looking up prime rib cooking techniques, I came across this site. I did not use this recipe, but it included this statement:
Convection Oven: If you use a convection oven, the temperature of your roast can rise as much as 30 degrees - so remove roast from oven at 110°F on your meat thermometer for rare, 115 degrees F to 120 degrees F degrees for medium rare, and 125 degrees F for medium doneness.

The only reason I can come up with for this is that in a standard oven, there is a significant temperature gradient from bottom to top so that when the meat is removed, the cooler top doesn't contribute as much energy to the rest of the roast during the resting period. I don't know if I believe that, though.

I will do some experiments with chicken. I'll cook one using the convection setting, another with the standard.

Perhaps that's why my cooking time was off.

Ham Salad

2008-12-29T08:40:00.000-06:00

I like ham. Laurie buys them when they're on sale - something like $0.89/lb - and we'll cook one on a weekend then make sandwiches for the week.

This weekend we made one and I made ham salad with about half of it.

This time I added three pickled eggs as a secret ingredient and it made it extra delicious.

I make my pickled eggs with habenero peppers so they are quite spicy and that flavor came through in the ham salad.

Delicious!

Quinoa

2008-12-02T13:29:00.000-06:00

Last night we made quinoa. It's been a while since we made it; I'm not sure why because it's quick, easy, and delicious.

Take a cup of quinoa and rinse it a couple of times. It has a natural pesticide on it that needs to be removed. I just do one cup in a two cup measurer and change the water several times.

Saute some aromatics - carrots, onions, celery - in a sauce pan. Add a lot of water or stock (not the good stuff - about 6:1) and a cup of quinoa.

Boil for 15 minutes. Do not stir!

Pour through a sieve and let rest for a few minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Postings

2008-11-19T09:12:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted for a while, not because we haven't been cooking, but because I've been distracted - Chris, Keith, and Rachel had been taking up my time.

But look for more nightly recipes shortly!

Porterhouse Steaks & Chapatis

2008-08-19T18:58:00.001-05:00

As always, steaks from Bunzels are great. We didn't have a chance to age these, however.

The chapatis are from Mark Bittman's recipe in the NY Times from last week. They were simple to make, pretty good, although they cried our for yogurt sauce, which we did not have.

The salads were made with produce from our farm.

Chicken & 3 Vegetable Stir Fry

2008-08-12T19:10:00.000-05:00

Cook's Illustrated has long argued the use a cast iron pan instead of a walk. The heavy, flat surface is more conducive to reaching and maintaining the high temperatures needed to quickly fry things.

I've used our Dutch oven before and decided to try it with our new, 13" i.d. skillet. It worked great!

Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into little pieces and marinade in dark soy sauce, pepper flakes, oil, and a little salt and sugar for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the pan until very hot, add oil, swirl, and toss in the meat being careful not to crowd it. If the pieses are two close together the pan will cool off too much and there won't be space for the excess liquid to boil off. The result will be a simmer, not a stir-fry. Stir occasionally and cook till done, about 3-4 minutes. Remove and reheat pan.

For the vegetables I used carrots, onion & shallots, and summer squash. Peel and cut into bite sized pieces. Repeat the stir fry process, starting with the longest cooking item (carrots in this case) first. Successively add the others, removing done ones if necessary.

I added some oyster sauce at this point.

Recombine and heat through. Serve with rice and light soy sauce on the side.

Chicken Breasts with Okra

2008-08-06T21:23:00.000-05:00

Although an easy and tasty meal, we don't cook boneless-skinless chicken breasts all that much. The classic dry-wet-dry method is one of my favorite ways to prepare them.

Cut the halved breasts in half the long way by pressing it on a cutting board with the palm of your hand and running the knife parallel to your hand. Prepare three containers with flour, beaten eggs, and corn meal. Season to taste.

Dredge the breasts in order, flour-egg wash-cornmeal then saute in a cast iron skillet with a little oil for about four minutes per side, under golden brown.

Rest five minutes before serving.

We steam a lot of vegetables. Today we steamed okra and broccoli together.

Pork Chops & Grilled Vegetables

2008-07-15T18:58:00.000-05:00

These pork chops are from the quarter hog we bought through our farm. They are not nearly as lean as commercial pork so you need to be sure to watch for flare-ups as the fat renders.

Remember the Fourth Rule Of Cooking: Brine your poultry. Brine your pork. With pork, I usually add something sweet to the brine. Today I used honey. I brined this for about 10 hours but that's very flexible. Adjust your salt content up or down depending on the time.

I used Penzey's Ozark Seasoning as a rub on these.

Grill over low heat for 6-8 minutes per side. Let rest for at least five minutes.

Peel & slice zucchini into medallions.

Skewer, rub with olive oil, and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Grill until done, turning frequently, about 15 minutes.

Ribs

2008-07-14T20:11:00.000-05:00

We don't make ribs all that often, but I love them. They're pretty straight forward to make.

Rub the ribs with a rub. Usually I blend our own, but this time I used Penzey's BBQ 3000 rub. I'm generally suspicious of pre-made rubs since you don't know the quality or freshness of the ingredients, but I've come to trust Penzey's.

Grill over indirect, low heat for a long time - 2-3 hours. Since we have a gas grill, I put a pan of soaked wood chips over a lit burner for that good, smoky flavor.

When they look almost done, remove from heat, wrap in foil, and put into a paper bag for one hour. Don't skip this step; it make them moist and tender.
Add your favorite home-made sauce to the ribs and cut into two-rip pieces.

Laurie made this shreadded beet salad, although we both agreed that roasted beets are better.

The bread we got from Parthenon Foods, a Greek grocery on the south side. It's a great little store.

Acacia Cutting Board

2008-07-04T14:15:00.001-05:00

We picked up this cutting board from Lowe's, of all places. It's made of acacia wood and is quite heavy.

3Qt All Clad Saute Pan

2008-06-24T20:33:00.000-05:00

I had to replace our 3 quart saute pan. You can see that the non-stick coating is failing.

I brought the pan to William Sonoma and they did give me some resistance. They said that the damage was typical of excessive heat.

Thinking about it, there's a possibility that that may be true because we've now been cooking with gas for about eight months, whereas our old electric cook-top did not seem to give off that many BTUs.

I've had to replace various pans before, both All Clad and Calphalon. Laurie thinks I may be scamming the manufacturers, but I figure a lifetime guarantee is a lifetime guarantee!

Kebabs and Skate

2008-06-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

I've been working like a slave's dog lately and haven't had time to post some recipes. Hopefully things will get back to normal next week.

Last week we cooked beef and vegetable kebabs...

...and skate with capers. If you've never had skate, try it. It's fantastic. It tastes a little like scallops, only a bit sweeter.

Ham salad

2008-06-15T12:41:00.001-05:00

Ham salad is and interesting food. It doesn't taste a lot like ham to me, but I like it.

Grind up ham in a food processor until it's at the consistency it should be. You'll know it when you see it.

Add mayonaise and blend till smooth, scraping down the sides with a rubber policeman as needed.

I put in a pickled egg (and some pickled onions and beets too) to give it that unique ham salad taste.

It's delicious!

Ham

2008-06-15T09:54:00.000-05:00

I don't know why we don't cook ham more often. It's cheap, simple, and delicious - way better than the deli ham we usually get at the grocery.

Score the surface of the ham and cook to an internal temperature of 140F. That's it.

Tenderloin & Vegetable Kebabs

2008-06-11T18:52:00.000-05:00

We like kebabs a lot. Generally I prefer ground meat to chunk because you can be more creative with flavors, but chunk is tasty with the benefit of being simple.

Today we used beef tenderloin.

Cut the meat into chunks and skewer along the long axis, counterintuitive to what you'd normally be inclined to do. Oil, salt, and pepper them than grill for three minutes per side for tenderloin.

Don't grill vegetables with meat. Their cooking times are different.

Skewer the vegetables and season with olive oil and whatever else you like. Grill for about 12-15 minutes, flipping occasionally.

Grilled Rainbow Trout & Egg Plant with Pesto

2008-06-10T18:49:00.000-05:00

I like grilled, whole fish a lot, although Laurie is not too keen on them. Something about the eyes, I think.
Slit the fish perpendicular to the spine. Stuff the body cavity with herbs - I used chives and rosemary for this trout.

Oil the grate of a hot grill and gently put the fish on it. Let it sit for five minutes, then gently move it so that it's loose from the grill. Let it cook for another three minutes and gently roll it over.

Cook on the flip side for eight more minutes.

I have mixed results with egg plant and want to master it this year. Egg plant has a very high water content which makes grilling a good technique and is also very porous, causing it to soak up oil like a sponge.

Peel and cut the egg plant into disks. Liberally salt in put into a colander to draw out the moisture. Let it sit for at least fifteen minutes, then shake off the water or blot with a towel.

Right before putting it onto the grill, coat with olive oil. Grill with indirect heat to prevent charring: easier said than done.

Orange Roughy & Shrimp

2008-06-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

Lightly bread the fish in cornmeal and season. I used cajun seasoning and salt. Saute 2 - 3 minutes per side until golden brown.

Season the shrimp with olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes. Cook in olive oil and butter a couple of minutes per side and on their back. Smaller shrimp would take less time.
(Have you noticed that vertebrates have a nerve column on their backs and digestive track on their fronts, while arthropods have it reversed?)

I made the rice as a simple pilaf with shrimp stock. After it was done, I quickly tossed it in the pan where the shrimp cooked.

Outstanding!

Zappa Family Spaghetti Sauce

2008-05-27T08:16:00.000-05:00

We made this sauce on my birthday.

Noey was down for the weekend and Amy & Sara came over for dinner as well.

That day Sara & Amy had a rummage sale. They hadn't met Noey before, so she went over there unannounced and bought a couple of things.

When The Girls came over, Noey showed them her purchases from earlier that day.

A good laugh was had by all.

Braised Cod in Romaine Leaves

2008-05-20T18:41:00.001-05:00

I got this recipe from Mark Bittman. See how to do it here.

It took longer than expected to blanche the lettuce and I did have to remove the lower part of the stalk.

I haven't tried frozen cod in years and figured I'd give it a shot. It's convenient and readily available. Unfortunately, it's also tasteless. Still, this dish was good, easy, and pretty fun to make.

Next time I'll go with better fish.

Roast Chicken

2008-05-19T07:52:00.000-05:00

Roast chicken is one of my favorite things to cook. Not only does it taste great, but it looks great as well.

This is one of the chickens that we got from our farm. It's the first time I cooked one, so I did not brine it. As expected of a free-range chicken, it was more toothsum than a caged bird and would have benefited from brining. It would also be good in some longer, slow-cooking dish.

Rub the chicken with butter and season generously with salt & pepper. Cut up some celery, carrots, and onions and stuff some into the body cavity and the rest in a roasting pan with a little water.

Lay the bird on its side in a roasting rack and roast at 350 for 20 minutes. Turn to the other side and repeat for another 20. Turn the chicken breast side up and roast for 20 minutes more until done.

Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

First Delivery

2008-05-14T08:19:00.000-05:00

We got our first delivery from our CSA, Springdale Farm, this week.

Through another farmer they offered pork, chickens, and beef. We ordered a quarter hog and five chickens.

We got pork chops, hams, pork roasts, brats, pork sausage, pork steaks, and bacon – lots and lots of bacon. It was a total of 41 lbs of organic pork for $190.

The chickens average 6 lbs (at $2.50/lb) apiece and are free range.

Our freezer is pretty full right now. I can’t wait to start cooking this stuff

Braised Lamb Shanks

2008-05-13T07:54:00.001-05:00

Lamb shanks are delicious and a lot of fun to make. Like any braised meat, it takes a while to cook.
Brown the shanks in a little oil in a Dutch oven. Remove shanks and drain out most of the fat, Saute carrots, celery, and onion in the same pot, scraping up the fond from the bottom of the pan.
Return the shanks and add a couple of cups of red wine and a couple of cups of chicken stock to the pot. The meat should be nearly, but not quite covered.
Cover pot and braise at 350F for 90 minutes.
Uncover and turn shanks over. Cook uncovered for another 30 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Pork Chop & Pasta

2008-05-06T21:44:00.001-05:00

Normally I brine pork chops that are this thick, but I didn't have time this time. But, that reinforced that it is important to.

Laurie made the pasta for dinner the night before, using a couple of Italian saussages that we had. Quite delicious!

Shrimp Stir Fry

2008-04-24T18:35:00.001-05:00

Cook's Illustrated magazine has a tip to "throw out your wok." They arhue that a cast iron Dutch oven works better for home stir frying because most home cooktops do not have the BTU output necessary to stir fry. That certainly has been my experience, but I never tossed the wok I bought some 20 years ago. The electric stove that we used to have never had the output and "stir frying" was something that never really happened. We also did not have a hood, so when I tried, our smoke alarm went off.

Now, however, we're cooking with gas, and 18,000BTUs to boot!

Marinade peeled shrimp in olive oil and sriracha sauce. I add pepper flakes as well. Saute briskly in a hot non-stick pan for 1-2 minutes/side and set aside.

In the same pan, add cooked rice and heat thoroughly, absorbing all the leftover juices from the shrimp. You could serve the rice separately, but I had leftover rice so this worked out nicely.

For the stir fry I cut pea pods, red pepper, and green onions, about a cup each, into a small/medium dice. heat the wok until very hot, about 8 minutes. Add a little oil then toss in the pea pods, followed by the peppers. Keep tossing those for about five minutes, then add the onions and continue to cook until tender, a couple minutes more. Taste for doneness.

Add the rice and shrimp and toss.

Serve with soy sauce.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

2008-04-21T06:22:00.001-05:00

I adapted this recipe from Cook's Illustrated's book, Italian Recipes. Their recipe calls for 3:1 ground chuck to ground pork, but I did 2:1, for no good reason. I made 100 meatballs out of 3lb meat. They make their meatballs about twice the size I do.

Soak two slices of white bread, sans crusts, in buttermilk. Stir to form a paste. Add salt & pepper, a couple tablespoons of chopped parsley, 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (I used BelGioso our standard cooking Parmesan), a minced clove of garlic, and some red pepper flakes. Mix in 2/3lb ground chuck and 1/3lb ground pork. Form into balls, being careful to not pack them very tight. You should have about 30.

Refirgerate for a couple of hours, then brown in hot oil on all sides.

Dump out the oil. To the same pot, add some oilve oil and garlic, sauteeing for about 30 seconds. Add 28oz of crushed tomatoes, scraping up the fond from the pan. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the meatballs for the last five. Stir in a chiffonade of basil leaves.

Serve over pasta with Parmesan cheese.

Pork Tenderloin with Broccoli and Bean Thread Noodles

2008-04-14T18:57:00.000-05:00

Once again, pork tenderloin is a meal we cook frequently. Rub the meat with oil and sprinkle with a rub. I used 'Tosa City Blend from The Spice House for today's entree. Brown it well (Rule #2) on all sides over medium high heat, then put it a 425F oven until the internal an internal temperature of 155F. Let rest for 10 minutes. We made a light gravy with the fond and chicken stock (Rule #3).

The broccoli is just steamed until tender.

We like these Chinese bean thread noodles. Soak in cold water for about ten minutes then add to boiling water for around four more.

We usually get the Pearl River soy sauce shown in the photo.

Crawfish Etouffee

2008-04-08T13:12:00.001-05:00

I hadn’t made Crawfish Etouffee in a long time so I looked at several recipes. This is a simple dish: sauté some aromatics simmer in stock, add crawfish, and you’re done.

Still, I found myself a little confused since the recipes were all over the place as far as the base was concerned. Namely, do you start with a roux or not? Most of the recipes said not, some called for a “light” roux, others for a standard roux. The aromatics were also inconsistent. Some called for the “Cajun Trinity” of bell pepper, onions, and celery, others just for green onions.

In the end I decided to go with what I thought best, a roux and the Trinity.

Melt a stick or so butter in a black iron pot. Slowly add about ¾ cup offlour, whisking constantly to ensure that it doesn’t burn. This process takes about 20 – 30 minutes at least.

Add chopped onions, bell pepper, and celery (1:1:2/3) and sauté about 10 minutes.

Add 3 cups shrimp stock, paprika, salt, pepper, and Cajun spices to taste. and simmer to blend, about 15 minutes. Add 2lb crawfish tails, adjust liquid as necessary, and heat through, another 10 minutes.

Serve with white rice. I use Basmati.

Pizza at Tessa's

2008-04-02T08:25:00.000-05:00

We went to this new pizza place on 50th & Vliet. The pizza was pretty good, although I thought that the crust could be a little crispier and we all thought that they were a bit stingy on the green olives. Why skimp on green olives?

That didn't bother me too much. I love green olives on pizza, much better than black, but they cause me digestive issues.

The deep fried eggplant was excellent, but the mozzarella stick that Laurie and I split had no cheese in it. It reminded me of those sand tubes caused by lightning strikes. What are those things called?

There were four of us (we went with Amy & Sara), so we ordered 2, 14" round pizzas.

I have mentioned my pizza rule of thumb before: you need to order 50 - 75 square inches of pizza per person. People regularly argue with me about that ("what about toppings?" "what about deep dish?" Get your own stinking rule, then!) but it works pretty well.

A 14" pizza is about 150 sq. in. so we knew we'd have leftovers. A 14" & a 12" would have been perfect.

Be sure to ask if the pizzas are round or rectangular in order to calculate accurately.

Chicken Thighs with Rice Pilaf & Bonus Recipe

2008-03-28T07:36:00.000-05:00

Boneless, skinless thighs are a good thing, but I still prefer the bone-in, skin on variety. They are more flavorful.

What we do for this dish is season trim the excess fat, and season the thighs with salt & pepper. Brown in a dutch oven with a little oil, skin side down until well browned, maybe ten minutes. Don't move the thighs for at least five minutes. Turn and brown the other side.

Remove from the pot and dump out all but a couple of tablespoons of the fat/oil. Brown the vegetables, some combination of peppers, carrots, onions, celery, leeks, tomatoes, etc. The "Cajun Trinity" of onions, bell peppers, and celery is always a good complnation. I always make sure I have some bright red and bright green vegetables. It looks nice.

Remove the skin from the thighs and discard.

Add the rice and saute for about two minutes. Toss in some garlic for another thirty seconds or so, then add chicken stock and thighs, along with any accumulated juices.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let rest for another 15 minutes. Don't peak!

Fluff & serve.

Bonus Recipe

My brother-in-law Frank sent us this Brussels sprout recipe. It's similar to Laurie's Posh Brussels Sprouts with an added flair. Enjoy.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Apples and Onions, with Balsamic Glaze

1 lb Brussels sprouts
6 slices bacon
1 T mustard seeds
1 medium onion, peeled, cut in crescents
1 tart crisp apple (I used a Granny Smith), peeled, cored, cut in crescents
3 T brown sugar
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 C dry white wine
1 T Dijon mustard
olive oil
salt, hot sauce to taste

Trim the root ends of the sprouts, remove dried outer leaves and cut each sprout in half. Toss with a tablespoonful or so of olive oil and roast uncovered in a preheated 325º oven about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove when the sprouts are cooked through and starting to brown and char along the edges.

Meanwhile, in a pan large enough to contain all the ingredients, sauté the bacon until just starting to crisp at the edges and remove to drain on paper towel. Pour all but 1 T of the bacon grease from the pan and discard. Add the mustard seeds to the pan and stir over medium high heat until they start to pop. Add the onions and apples, lower the heat to medium and sauté , stirring occasionally, until starting to turn soft, about 5 or 6 minutes. Stir in the sugar, wine and vinegar, raise the heat to medium high and cook, stirring, several minutes until the liquid is reduced to a syrup. Remove from heat and stir in the mustard.

Chop the bacon and add it to the pan, then add the sprouts to the pan and stir and toss to combine. Correct seasoning. May be served immediately or at room temperature.

Note: to make ahead, slightly undercook the sprouts so they will finish cooking when reheated.

Salmon with Agrodolce Sauce

2008-03-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

Laurie is not a salmon fan, but I really like it. She wants to like it, and she decided to make this recipe for me since it contains a lot of flavor combonations she likes, viz. balsamic vinegar.

Cut the salmon filet into 1 1/2 inch sections. Sesaon with salt & pepper. Saute in a hot, non-stick pan, skin side down for ten minutes. Turn the fish and cook for another three until down.

For the agrodolce sauce, saute a red onion in a medimum skillet until wilted.

Add 3/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and a little sugar and reduce to a syrup, about 10 - 15 minutes. Serve over the salmon.

We also had broccoli and somen noodles as sides. It was quite delicious!

Chicken breasts & rice pilaf

2008-03-23T12:28:00.000-05:00

Place the boneless, skinless breasts flat on a plastic (because plastic is easier to sanitize) cutting board and put your palm flat on top. Cut the breast in half, parallel to your palm. Season as desired. I used Ruth Ann's seasoning from The Spice House.

Saute in a little oil for about three minutes per side. I use this All Clad grill pan, but any non-stick pan will do.

NB: Don't pre-heat a non-stick pan dry. The coating begins to evolve fumes at about 500F and starts to break down at 600F.

I used red perrer, carrots, and onions in this pilaf.

Were I using thighs instead of breasts, I'd have finished them off in the rice, but that dries breasts out too much.

Corned Beef Hash sans Corned Beef

2008-03-19T13:49:00.000-05:00

We ended up eating the corned beef on Sunday and fininsh the leftover meat in sandwiches on Monday and Tuesday. But that didn't stop me from making the hash with the remaining vegetables.

Drain the leftover cabbage, potatoes, etc., well. Saute a green pepper in a pan with some butter. Add the vegetables and cook a little to get rid of most of the remaining liquid. Spread the vegetables evenly.

Take a lid from a smaller pan and push down hard on the mix. Leave the lid on and cook for about ten minutes. Remove the lid, stir the vegetables, and repeat the process.

The mix turned out great! The vegetables carmalized up nicely (remember rule #2).

Corned beef & cabbage

2008-03-17T18:12:00.000-05:00

I never corned a beef brisket before and did not this year. Maybe next year I will. I got this excellent piece of meat from Bunzel's butcher shop on Burleugh.

Remove excess fat. Put brisket in a large stock pot and cover with water. Add salt, pepper, allspice, and a couple of bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for two and one half hours.

Dice vegetables, carrots, celery, onions, and waxy potatoes. Add to pot, making sure that there is enough liquid, and continue simmering for fifteen minutes.

Core and cut cabbage in a lagre dice. Add to pot and simmer for another fifteen minutes.

Serve in bowls with rye bread, Guinness, & Irish whiskey.

See all pics here.

New York Strip & Potatoes a la Holstein

2008-03-16T09:37:00.001-05:00

I was at Bunzel's today to get a corned beef brisket for dinner tomorrow and picked up some New York strips that were on sale. I usually don't have have time to age steaks, and didn't this time, but it's worth it if you can.

Season the steak with salt & pepper to taste. Sear over high heat for about 30 to 60 seconds per side. Turn the heat down and cook until done. Remove from heat, top with blue cheese, tent, and let rest for about ten minutes.

The potatoes are my standard, fried potatoes. Dice, saute over medium heat in a little oil for 30 - 45 minutes. Add diced onion half way through.

This time I added the "a la Holstein" twist: i.e., crack a couple of eggs over the potatoes, cover, and cook until done.

Everything's better a la Holstein!

Pork Medallions, Rice Pilaf, & Green Salad

2008-03-13T20:38:00.000-05:00

Cut the pork loin into quarter inch medallions and pound flat.
Dunk them in milk and dredge in corn meal. Saute in canola oil over medium high heat, about two minutes per side. Take care to not over-crowd the pan.

We usually get Parmigiano-Reggiano, but I picked up a Wisconsin Stravecchio Parmesan , which is also excellent. A little creamer, but quite tasty. Pick some up if you can; it's worth a try.

It was my brother Chas who first pointed out to me that "Parmesan cheese does not come in green cans." Maybe that should be a Rule.

Moules & Frites

2008-03-09T16:32:00.001-05:00

Is there anyone who doesn't like moules and frites?
Get 1 -1.5 lbs of moules per person. Throw out any that don't close when you tap them. Scrub them clean and de-beard them.
Saute some celery and shallots in unsalted butter in a pot until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the moules, about a cup and a half of white wine, some thyme, parsley and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes.
Scoop the moules into a bowl. Add blue cheese to the sauce and stir until melted. Ladle over the moules and serve with crusty bread and frites.

Now doesn't that look delicious?

That's Laurie's famous aioli.

See all the photos here.

Fried eggs

2008-03-09T09:40:00.001-05:00

Fried eggs with toast, large curd cottage cheese, and grape juice.
Heat butter in a frying pan. When ready, add eggs. Cook over medium low heat until they almost look done. If they look done in the pan, they're overcooked. I think that's one of the rules of cooking. Plate.

This is a pizza dough blowing up like a football. I had to poke a bunch of holes in it. We made an Italian sausage, onion, and fontina pizza.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2008-02-21T19:45:00.001-06:00

I usually make this recipe with a white cheese such as fontina or grueyer, but I had some curds that were getting in my way, so I used them. Maybe not so good a choice as they are a bit oily.

Mix breadcrumbs with some herbs and spices, cheese, and tomato juice to make a stiff paste. Allow it to sit for about ten minutes.

Pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a uniform thickness.

Form the stuffing into an oval and cover with the chicken. Salt & pepper to taste.
Bake at 375 for 30 - 40 minutes.

Let rest for ten minutes before serving.

Pesto Pizza with Shallots and Peppers

2008-02-13T06:40:00.000-06:00

Our grocries now sell pizza dough. We've grilled pizzas several times before, but tonight we made a pesto with shallots and red pepper pizza in the oven. It was great and very simple to do.

Preheat the oven to 435F with the pizza pan or stone. We use a pan with vent holes in it. Roll out the dough on a floured cutting board. Saute shallots and peppers.
When oven is hot, put dough on pan and cook for about 4 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add toppings in layers: pesto, vegetables, fontina. DO NOT overload the crust! Bake for about 10 minutes or until it looks done. Let the pizza rest for 5 - 10 minutes before cutting.

Pork Roast with Beets & Mashed Potatoes

2008-02-12T06:27:00.001-06:00

Pork roasts in general take on sweet flavors well. I use maple syrup in this recipe.

Let roast warm up to room temperature. Oil lightly and rub with a herb blend.
Brown roast well – you know the second rule! Brown food tastes better! Put roast on a v-rack over a baking pan.

Mix cumin and cayenne pepper into maple syrup. Baste over roast, coating all sides.

Cook in a 325°F oven until it reaches and internal temperature of 150°F, about an hour.

Sara made the gravy out of the fond in the pan. Amy did the carving.

Laurie handles the beets and mashed potatoes. The roasted beets with blue cheese are a nice accompaniment to the pork.

Pickled Eggs

2008-01-30T19:43:00.000-06:00

I can't remember if I made pickled eggs since moving to Milwaukee, or just buying the spices and planning to. The last time that I remember making them was when in college. My nephew Eric has been making them recently so I figured I'd make a batch.

Boil water. Bring your eggs to room temperature by heating them in the microwave on low for 5 seconds per egg plus five seconds. Add eggs to the water being careful not to drop them. Boul for 13-14 minutes. Remove from heat, dump the water and quench the eggs in cold water.

Boil white vinegar and add pickling spices. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes then allow the solution to cool.
Put eggs into the pickling container with a selection of other vegetables: onions, garlic, peppers, beets, etc. Cover the solution with the vinegar.
Refrigerate for at least two weeks before eating. I usually wait a month.

The loaf of bread is Cook's Illustrated's "No-Knead" bread recipe.

Carbonnade a la Flamande

2008-01-28T07:41:00.000-06:00

This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated. I made it along with their “no-knead bread” and broccoli and a cabernet. We had Amy and Sara over to eat with us.

Top blade steaks (also called blade or flatiron steaks) are our first choice, but any boneless roast from the chuck will work. If you end up using a chuck roast, look for the chuck eye roast, an especially flavorful cut that can easily be trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces. Buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes make excellent accompaniments to carbonnade. The traditional copper-colored Belgian ale works best in this stew. If you can't find one, choose another dark or amber-colored ale of your liking.
INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 pounds blade steaks , 1 inch thick, trimmed of gristle and fat and cut into 1-inch pieces (see illustrations below)
Table salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds yellow onions (about 3 medium), halved and sliced about 1/4 inch thick (about 8 cups)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 cups beer (12-ounce bottle or can)
4 sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 300 degrees. Dry beef thoroughly with paper towels, then season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke; add about one-third of beef to pot. Cook without moving pieces until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes; using tongs, turn each piece and continue cooking until second side is well browned, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer browned beef to medium bowl. Repeat with additional 2 teaspoons oil and half of remaining beef. (If drippings in bottom of pot are very dark, add about 1/2 cup of above-listed chicken or beef broth and scrape pan bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits; pour liquid into bowl with browned beef, then proceed.) Repeat once more with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining beef.
2. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty Dutch oven; reduce heat to medium-low. Add onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and tomato paste; cook, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, until onions have released some moisture, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and stir until onions are evenly coated and flour is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in broths, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits; stir in beer, thyme, bay, vinegar, browned beef with any accumulated juices, and salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to full simmer, stirring occasionally; cover partially, then place pot in oven. Cook until fork inserted into beef meets little resistance, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
3. Discard thyme and bay. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste and serve. (Can be cooled and refrigerated in airtight container for up to 4 days; reheat over medium-low heat.)

Meatloaf & Rice Pilaf

2008-01-24T19:01:00.000-06:00

I like meatloaf. I remember that there used to be a lot of funny papers jokes about it and I could never understand why.

Take equal parts of ground chuck and ground pork. Throw in some ground veal if you'd like. Mix in herbs and spices of your choice: Oregano, thyme, pepper, parsley, tarragon all work. Add one egg for every pound of meat and enough bread crumbs to make a reasonably dry mix.

The big difference between meatloaf and the other two common ground meat foods, hamburgers and meatballs, is density. Meatloaf is much denser than either. Of course, the error usually goes the other way: hamburgers and meatballs are usually made way too dense from over-kneading.

Form the meat into a loaf. Brown thoroughly on all sides (remember the 2nd Law: Brown food tastes better!) in a hot skillet then cook in a 375F oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 160, about 45 - 60 minutes.Let the loaf rest for about ten minutes and slice with a serrated knife.

I'm really liking arborio rice these days. Remember the 3rd Law: Water is for washing!

Shrimp cooked on a block of Himalayan salt

2008-01-20T15:54:00.000-06:00

My brother Dan first told me about these Himalayan salt blocks. I orderd one and it arrived last week. It's very heavy and very cool. I heated it in the oven at 500F for about 30 minutes then put it on a burner. We cooked the shrimp for about 90 seconds per side. There was enough sensible heat in the salt to to two batches. Actually, there was enough to do more, but two was all we had. They were delicious!
Shrimp cooking

Steaks and Shrimp for Laurie's Birthday

2008-01-18T07:33:00.000-06:00

One of the best tips I’ve gotten for cooking steaks is to allow them to dry in the refrigerator for a couple of days before cooking. The key to an excellent steak is the crust. Allowing the surface to desiccate will help for that perfect surface. Unfortunately, we usually don’t plan steaks that long in advance so we’re not always able to do it.

Unwrap the steaks and place them on a wire rack in the refrigerator. Turn them every 12 – 24 hours. Two or three days is enough. The surface will look shriveled and unappealing but this is the look you’re looking for. Rub the surface with oil then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Start the steaks in a very hot pan for about one minute per side then turn the heat down and cook to the desired temperature.

A nice way to test for doneness it to use the “heel-of-the-palm” method. Touch your index finger to your thumb. If the meat feels like the heel of your palm, it’s rare. Your middle finger gives medium rare (maybe medium), ring fonger equals medium well, and pinky is well done. Nice. Demonstration here.

Chicken Paprikash

2008-01-14T13:27:00.001-06:00

This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated. It turned out great and was a lot of fun to make. I would increase the cooking tome to about 40 minutes, however. Some of the thighs were a little too pink near the bone.

The stew can be made in advance through step 2. To keep the sour cream from separating from the sauce, it’s best added to the reheated stew just before serving. Rice or mashed potatoes are good accompaniments, but buttered egg noodles were tasters’ favorite. If you want to try them, cook 8 ounces of egg noodles, then drain and toss them with 2 tablespoons butter.

INGREDIENTS
8 bone in chicken thighs (about 3 pounds), trimmed of excess skin and fat
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 large onion , halved and sliced thin
1 large red bell pepper , stemmed, seeded, halved widthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 large green bell pepper , stemmed, seeded, halved widthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch strips
3 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes , drained
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 300 degrees. Season both sides of chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Add 4 chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook without moving them until skin is crisp and well-browned, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer; transfer to large plate. Repeat with remaining chicken thighs and transfer to plate; set aside. When chicken has cooled, remove and discard skin. Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan.

2. Add onion to fat in Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add red and green peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned and peppers are softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons paprika, marjoram, and flour; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, scraping pot bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits; stir in tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt. Add chicken pieces and accumulated juices, submerging them in vegetables; bring to a simmer, then cover and place pot in oven. Cook until chicken is no longer pink when cut into with paring knife, about 30 minutes. Remove pot from oven. (At this point, stew can be cooled to room temperature, transferred to an airtight container, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring to simmer over medium-low heat before proceeding.)

3. Combine sour cream and remaining 1/2 tablespoon paprika in small bowl. Place chicken on individual plates. Stir a few tablespoons of hot sauce into sour cream, then stir mixture back into sauce in pot. Spoon enriched sauce and peppers over chicken, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

Oven Fried Chicken and Potatoes with Beets

2008-01-07T07:50:00.000-06:00

This is basically the same as Chicken and Crunchy Potatoes but after brining the chicken, dredge it in corn meal (I prefer that more than flour), and fry it in a hot skillet until the breading is golden brown. Do not burn!

Boil the beets until tender, about an hour. That giant one took longer. Let them cool and remove the skins. Serve with salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar to taste.

Split Pea & Ham Soup

2007-12-27T08:00:00.001-06:00

This recipe is close to that found in Best Recipes.

Add a ham bone with a lot of meat on it and a couple of bay leaves to a soup pot with 3 quarts of water. Simmer for 2-3 hours.

Remove ham and add 1 lb of split peas. Shread ham into bite sizes bits when cool.

While ham is simmering, sauté carrots, onions, and celery over low heat until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

After peas have simmered for 45 minutes, add ham, vegetables and some cubed potatoes to the soup. Simmer until potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes.

Serve with balsamic vinegar and diced red onion.

This recipe is very adaptable for volume and quantity of ingredients. Everyone likes a lot of ham.

Rice pilaf with ground chuck

2007-12-15T12:48:00.000-06:00

Another rice pilaf recipe? Sheesh!

Brown ground chuck. I used a couple of hamburgers that we had frozen. Strain out fat.
Saute vegetables - I'm using onions and carrots.

Add meat to vegatables. Add rice (I usually use arborio) and garlic and saute until nutty smelling, a couple of minutes.

Add stock, bring to simmer, and cook for 15 minutes in a 350F oven. When done, let rest another fifteen before opening.

Grilled turkey & cheese

2007-12-13T12:40:00.000-06:00

Heat a cast iron skillet. Add butter.
Put cheese (I used cheddar) on heavy bread. Top with turkey meat and another, buttered slice of bread.
Grill over medium heat for 2-2.5 minutes, until toasty brown.
Turn the sandwich over and repeat on second side.
Let sandwich rest a couple of minutes before cutting.

Frittata and Brussels Sprouts

2007-12-05T18:38:00.001-06:00

We make frittatas frequently. Its a great way to use left over pasta.

The technique is quite simple. Take pasta, mix with eggs and bake. Everything else depends on what you like and have available. We had left over spaghetti with a meat sauce.

Saute a leeks or onions and some chorizzo in a cast iron skilled. Bring the pasta to room temperature in a microwave and add a couple of beaten eggs. Mix in the sausage and leeks.

Pour the mixture back into the pan, pushing it into the corners. Top with some cheese and raw onion or leek.

Cook on stove over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. The goal here is to form a socarrat like you have with a good paella.

Bake in a 350F oven for 15 minutes. Let it rest for at least five minutes before removing from pan.

Trim the Brussels sprouts. Put about an inch of stock in a sauce pan and boil, covered, until tender, about 8 minutes.

Baked Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots

2007-12-03T13:09:00.000-06:00

Cut a 3-4lb chicken into pieces. Remove the backbone, wing tips, and ribs. Bring chicken for several hours.

Gravey: Saute onions and carrots in a pan. Add chicken parts and brown. Cover and sweat for about twenty minutes. Add water and simmer for about four hours. Strain out solids and thicken with corn starch (I'm assuming you know how to do this).

Rinse and dry the chicken. Season to taste. Brown well in a hot skillet being careful to not overcrowd the pan.

Peal potatoes and carrots and put them in a baking pan with garlic. Season to taste.
Put browned chicken onto vegetables. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Amy's Chili

2007-12-03T09:16:00.000-06:00

3 large organic free-range chicken breasts
3.5 cups organic chicken broth
3 cans 15ish oz. each Cannelini (white kidney) beans
1 half green pepper, 1 half red or yellow or orange pepper
1 medium onion
mushrooms if you like
1 small can green chilies (like, a really tiny can) half-n-half (a couple smidgens added after everything is mostly cooked)
1 t cumin
1/2 t. ground oregano
salt & pepper
something spicy like Cayenne if you like it that way - I like to let people throw on what they like after it's cooked to please the different tastes

Sautee chicken breasts (I usually throw in minced onion and use a Chili/Lime seasoning on it). Drain and rinse the beans, then throw chicken in with rest of the ingredients except for the half-n-half. Use the spices to your liking. Cook in 3.5 quart crock pot on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Or cook on stove for 2-3 hours. After it's mostly done its cooking (maybe hour before serving), use holy spoon (spoon with holes) to strain out beans and chicken into small/medium mixing bowl. Use a whisk or masher or fork to mash up a bunch of the beans and chicken and add it back in to thicken it up. Then 'bout 30 minutes before serving pour in some half-n-half to finish the thickening (about half cup?).

xo

Turkey Italian and Left Over Rice

2007-11-27T16:30:00.000-06:00

Brown turkey Italian sausage in a Dutch oven. Regular Italian works well, too.

Remove, drain some of the rendered fat and saute onions and red peppers until wilted.

Add back sausage, tomato sauce, stock, and a left-over starch. We had some rice.

Add oregano and crushed red peppers to taste.

Let flavors meld and dish to thicken, about 30 minutes.

Greens and mother liquor

2007-11-21T08:49:00.000-06:00

Trim the stems off of your favorite greens and wash thoroughly.

Put a couple of inches in a pot and add something smoked such as turkey legs or smoked butt. If you're want a lot of meat, go with the butt, but turkey has an excellent flavor.

Add the greens and bring to a simmer for 40 minutes or until greens are tender. We sometimes toss in another vegetable such as broccoli at the end.

Cut the meat into bits and serve with greens and plenty of the mother liquor. That's where the flavor is!

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, pilafed arborio rice with carrots and onions

2007-11-20T15:39:00.000-06:00

Brown well-seasoned thighs well in a Dutch oven. Remove to a platter.

Saute onions and carrots until tender, about 6 minutes. Add rice and garlic and brown until nutty, a couple of minutes.

Return chicken and accumulated juices to pot. Add chicken stock (about 2:1 by volume of rice) and bring to a simmer.

Cover and put into a 350 oven for 15 minutes. Remove and keep covered for another 15 minutes.

Chicken breasts with pesto & pasta

2007-11-14T07:46:00.000-06:00

Prepare boneless-skinless chicken breasts in uniform pieces. Either pound them to a uniform thickness or cut off the tenderloin and slice in half the flat way.

Coat with your favorite rub - I used 'Tosa City Blend. Dredge in corn meal. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and saute breasts, about 3min/side. make in several batchs so as not to crowd the pan.

Laurie makes the pesto with basil, garlic and pine nuts (I think).

Pasta with meat sauce w/ fritatta leftovers

2007-11-10T08:30:00.000-06:00

Brown 1lb of Italian sausage. Drain meat in a colander.

In same pan, saute an onion. Return meat to pan, add tomato sauce. Add herbs and spices of your choice - oregano and red pepper flakes is nice. Simmer for about one hour. Serve over pasta.

Frittata:
Mix eggs with leftover pasta. Press into a non-stick pan, and heat on cook top for about ten minutes. Put pan in oven pre-heated to 350. Cook for 15 minutes.

Turn over on cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Pork Roast and potatoes

2007-11-09T08:10:00.000-06:00

Liberally season an pork roast with a rub. Brown well on all sides. Cook in an oven pre-heated to 375F to an internal temperature of 160F. I use a temperature probe because I can. Let rest for 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan on cook top with chicken stock. I usually toss in some dried shallots. The roast cooks quickly, maybe 30 minutes.

Peel and cut potatoes to a medium dice. Add a couple of table spoons of oil to a saute pan and cook until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Sometimes I add onions.

Ribeyes, broccoli, and squash

2007-11-07T07:37:00.000-06:00

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets. Steam for about 8 minutes.

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds and other stuff from the cavity. Bake for bout 45 minutes or until tender.

Season the ribeye steaks with salt and pepper to taste. I much prefer bone-in steaks. Turn the oven on broil. Heat a cast iron pan on the cook top until very hot, about five minutes. Sear the steaks on both side, about 1 - 1.5 minutes.

Place steaks in broiler. Turn steaks after 2-3 minutes and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Use the "thumb & finger" test to check for doneness, or use a thermometer.

Place blue cheese on steaks and tent with foil for 5 minutes.

Sauteed Spinach

2007-11-06T07:46:00.000-06:00

Clean and stem the spinach.

In a very large sauté pan, actually I use a wok, add a little chicken stock and heat. Add the spinach and stir. A tongs will work nicely. The spinach will reduce in volume tremendously. Add a little grated nutmeg (a little goes a long way) at the end.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Blaise's Pot Roast and Mashed Potatoes

2007-11-05T07:52:00.000-06:00

This was fun to make. Brother Dan has the recipe from Cook's Illustrated posted here. I only used about a 3lb roast as there were just the two of us and no dog.

Laurie specialized in mashed potatoes. Normally she puts bleu cheese in them, but we didn't have any. The potatoes we get from our farm are delicious in this!

Pork chop & boiled potatoes with acorn squash

2007-10-31T18:27:00.000-05:00

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until tender. I bake the seeds with it for about 10 minutes. Don't wash them.

Season the bone in, thick cut chops. Brown on both sides and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 150. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Deglaze the pan w/ the potato mother liquor.

Peel and cube the potatoes. Boil in enough chicken stock to cover until tender, about ten minutes. Season with S&P. Mash them and ladle on the mother liquor.

Chicken & Crunchy Potatoes

2007-10-30T15:06:00.000-05:00

Season bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts with salt, pepper or a rub of some sort. I used Aleppo pepper & chili powder.

Peel & cut potatoes in a medium dice.

Brown chicken well in a dutch oven. This cooktop did a great job.

Remove chicken to roasting pan, drain most of the rendered fat.

Toss in potatoes and sauté for about 6 minutes, scraping up the brown bits. Season with salt, pepper and garlic to taste.

Add potatoes to roasting pan and roast for about 30 minutes at 385F.

Let rest before serving.

Total time: < 1 hour