These were supposed to be "sweet & spicy" chicken fajitas, but we forgot to add the sweet and the original recipe is incomplete and counter-intuitive. So here is how WE did it. The marinade is actually pretty fantastic.
Peri-Peri Merinade
two or three fresh hot chile peppers (hot red peppers are typical; jalapeno peppers and poblano peppers are also good), chopped
4 Tbsp lemon juice or lime juice (or cider vinegar)
4 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper or red pepper (or one Tbsp dried red pepper flakes)
1 tsp minced garlic (or garlic powder)
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp salt
dried or fresh oregano or parsley (optional)
Combine all ingredients. Grind and mix the ingredients into a smooth paste. (we probably should've used a food processor, but it worked fine enough without). Adjust the ratio or pepper and paprika to taste. Rub marinade onto meat and allow to marinate in a glass bowl for at least thirty minutes; overnight if possible.
While the chicken was marinading, Sasha and I started preparing some of Robert Rodriguez's Homemade Tortillas. The fajitas themselves were kind of tossed together. We cut the chicken into slices and set them grilling in a pan while we set an onion and two bell peppers saute-ing in butter. We added a splash of tequilla to the chicken before combing the vegetables to our meat.
Serve with Spanish Rice and either a Pinot Noir or Chardonnay (or both). Enjoy.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Spicy Aromatic Chicken
This recipe is from a Greek cookbook that I got from my sister, it's the first one we've tried and has sufficiently inspired me to try more.
Chicken (either 1 or 2 lbs breasts or a whole chicken cut into pieces and skinned)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
pinch sugar
1 med sized onion, coarsely cut
14 oz. can boiled tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
14 oz. can artichoke hearts (peeled, cut, ready for action), or okra
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 lemon cut into wedges
8 black Greek olives, pitted
This is truly easy to make.
Rub the lemon wedges on the chicken (in lieu of having lemons we just soaked the chicken in lemon juice)
Heat up a few tablespoons of oil in a lidded skillet, a large pot, or a lidded casserole dish. Toss in the garlic and onion and heat until the onions are soft. Add the chicken to the pot and brown (if you're doing this in a skillet it will be easier, suffice to say just make sure the chicken is cooked on all sides before proceeding to the next step). Add the white wine during this step.
Add the tomatoes, spices (including salt and pepper), and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. When you've got about 10 minutes left, add the olives and artichoke hearts.
We served this over basmati rice with some turmeric and a chilled Sauvignon Blanc. Enjoy!
Chicken (either 1 or 2 lbs breasts or a whole chicken cut into pieces and skinned)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
pinch sugar
1 med sized onion, coarsely cut
14 oz. can boiled tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
14 oz. can artichoke hearts (peeled, cut, ready for action), or okra
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 lemon cut into wedges
8 black Greek olives, pitted
This is truly easy to make.
Rub the lemon wedges on the chicken (in lieu of having lemons we just soaked the chicken in lemon juice)
Heat up a few tablespoons of oil in a lidded skillet, a large pot, or a lidded casserole dish. Toss in the garlic and onion and heat until the onions are soft. Add the chicken to the pot and brown (if you're doing this in a skillet it will be easier, suffice to say just make sure the chicken is cooked on all sides before proceeding to the next step). Add the white wine during this step.
Add the tomatoes, spices (including salt and pepper), and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. When you've got about 10 minutes left, add the olives and artichoke hearts.
We served this over basmati rice with some turmeric and a chilled Sauvignon Blanc. Enjoy!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Carnitas Guisado
(Stewed Little Meats)
I had a lot of roast pork left over from my birthday luau and a need to cook mass quantities of it before it went bad. I made one version of this stew but truly nailed it on the second go. Here's what you need.
3 lbs pork (mine had already been roasted, but you could toss in uncooked pork butt and still get a good stew out of it).
3-4 potatoes (experiment with this, I tried reds the first time around and yukon golds the second)
1 c carrots, chopped
1 c celery, chopped
2 cubanelles
1/2 c minced garlic (I'm not crazy, you're the one who's crazy, you're driving me crazy!)
2 Tbsp course ground black pepper
1 qt chicken stock
2 c spicy tomato base (when I got my roast pork from the market, they included about a pint of hot sauce. I'm not sure what goes into it, but I suspect it's a combination of tomatoes, water, jalapenos, garlic and vinegar - experiment with your own or just find a spicy, tomatoey - that's a word! - alternative).
1 Tbsp Cilantro
1 Tbsp Thyme
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano
Toss all ingredients into your 6 qt crockpot and set a course for stew. About 7-8 hours on low should cook all the ingredients, soften the harder vegetables, and get the smells mixing around in there really well. The second time I made this it was for a potluck at work and I did it for 4 hours on high. The flavor was great, but the potatoes were harder than I prefer. I like them to completely break down and thicken the liquid. Enjoy.
I had a lot of roast pork left over from my birthday luau and a need to cook mass quantities of it before it went bad. I made one version of this stew but truly nailed it on the second go. Here's what you need.
3 lbs pork (mine had already been roasted, but you could toss in uncooked pork butt and still get a good stew out of it).
3-4 potatoes (experiment with this, I tried reds the first time around and yukon golds the second)
1 c carrots, chopped
1 c celery, chopped
2 cubanelles
1/2 c minced garlic (I'm not crazy, you're the one who's crazy, you're driving me crazy!)
2 Tbsp course ground black pepper
1 qt chicken stock
2 c spicy tomato base (when I got my roast pork from the market, they included about a pint of hot sauce. I'm not sure what goes into it, but I suspect it's a combination of tomatoes, water, jalapenos, garlic and vinegar - experiment with your own or just find a spicy, tomatoey - that's a word! - alternative).
1 Tbsp Cilantro
1 Tbsp Thyme
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano
Toss all ingredients into your 6 qt crockpot and set a course for stew. About 7-8 hours on low should cook all the ingredients, soften the harder vegetables, and get the smells mixing around in there really well. The second time I made this it was for a potluck at work and I did it for 4 hours on high. The flavor was great, but the potatoes were harder than I prefer. I like them to completely break down and thicken the liquid. Enjoy.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Eliachi Gosht (meat cooked with cardamom)
I recently had a birthday and received a fair number of cookbooks. One of them is a wonderful cook/history/philosophy book called "50 great curries of india" by camellia panjabi. In this book she tells the reader about the background of indian cooking from different regions with the idea in mind that someday you will be making your own curries at home. Half the book is preparing you for improvising your own recipes so that you can cook just like the regional cooks.
Here's one that sasha and I tried last night. The flavors are subtle, but definitely there. Not satisfied with the rules, we started making changes in the middle. We were satisfied with the results:
Serves 6
2.25 lbs of lamb (on or off the bone)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
35 green cardamoms
1/2 cup oil (any kind will do, according to the book. We used Sesame Seed Oil)
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chile powder (we used traditional chile powder, I think next time we'll try to use a more traditional Asian pepper or birdseye pepper)
2 tsp coriander powder
3 medium tomatoes, sourish variety, finely chopped (the author talks a bit about tomatoes in the beginning of the book "Even when ripe the Indian tomato is slightly sour in taste, compared to European or American varieties. Its acidity level is also much higher. When using tomatoes for curry-making, avoid sweeter Italian tomatoes." (p. 38))
salt
1. If the lamb is on the bone, wash it in warm water. Whisk the yogurt with a fork in a bowl.
2. Grind the whole green cardamoms in a blender with a little water, or in a coffee grinder without water and then mix with a little water to make a paste. (we went the coffee grinder route with the cardamoms, coriander seeds, and black pepper. It was so cool. sasha laughed at me and called me a dork.)
3. Heat the oil in a cooking pot. Add the cardamom paste and the pepper, and fry over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the meat and the turmeric, chile, and coriander powders, and saute for 10 minutes, stirring all the time to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot, adding water if necessary. The secret of success with this dish lies in making sure that the meat and spices are fried for a full 10 minutes without allowing the spices to burn. Therefore it is essential to keep the heat low and use the recommended amount of oil.
4. Lower the heat and add the yogurt, tomatoes, and salt to taste, and continue to saute for a further 5 minutes. Add about 4 cups of water (we only used 2, this is supposed to be a "thin gravy" but we were worried about diluting our mixture too much), cover the pot, and leave to simmer over a low heat until the meat is tender.
The recipe suggests serving it with chipatis or rice. We chose the latter, since it was less work (but the chipati recipe in the back of the book looks remarkably like a certain director's tortilla recipe). This was pretty easy, took us about an hour to prepare and maybe an hour to simmer (at the end of step 4). The leftovers look great, I'm staring at them right now.
Here's one that sasha and I tried last night. The flavors are subtle, but definitely there. Not satisfied with the rules, we started making changes in the middle. We were satisfied with the results:
Serves 6
2.25 lbs of lamb (on or off the bone)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
35 green cardamoms
1/2 cup oil (any kind will do, according to the book. We used Sesame Seed Oil)
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chile powder (we used traditional chile powder, I think next time we'll try to use a more traditional Asian pepper or birdseye pepper)
2 tsp coriander powder
3 medium tomatoes, sourish variety, finely chopped (the author talks a bit about tomatoes in the beginning of the book "Even when ripe the Indian tomato is slightly sour in taste, compared to European or American varieties. Its acidity level is also much higher. When using tomatoes for curry-making, avoid sweeter Italian tomatoes." (p. 38))
salt
1. If the lamb is on the bone, wash it in warm water. Whisk the yogurt with a fork in a bowl.
2. Grind the whole green cardamoms in a blender with a little water, or in a coffee grinder without water and then mix with a little water to make a paste. (we went the coffee grinder route with the cardamoms, coriander seeds, and black pepper. It was so cool. sasha laughed at me and called me a dork.)
3. Heat the oil in a cooking pot. Add the cardamom paste and the pepper, and fry over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the meat and the turmeric, chile, and coriander powders, and saute for 10 minutes, stirring all the time to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot, adding water if necessary. The secret of success with this dish lies in making sure that the meat and spices are fried for a full 10 minutes without allowing the spices to burn. Therefore it is essential to keep the heat low and use the recommended amount of oil.
4. Lower the heat and add the yogurt, tomatoes, and salt to taste, and continue to saute for a further 5 minutes. Add about 4 cups of water (we only used 2, this is supposed to be a "thin gravy" but we were worried about diluting our mixture too much), cover the pot, and leave to simmer over a low heat until the meat is tender.
The recipe suggests serving it with chipatis or rice. We chose the latter, since it was less work (but the chipati recipe in the back of the book looks remarkably like a certain director's tortilla recipe). This was pretty easy, took us about an hour to prepare and maybe an hour to simmer (at the end of step 4). The leftovers look great, I'm staring at them right now.
Monday, August 13, 2007
BBQ Chicken Pizza
I'll admit, when Wife first told me about this one, I was skeptical. After all, my fist exposure to the concept of BBQ chicken pizza was in the East Quad cafeteria, not exactly the place to go for fine cuisine (or really any cuisine actually...). However, Wife changed this skeptic's opinion, and it's one of my favorites now!
What you need:
Boneless chicken, 2 breasts, cut into ~1inch cubes
Pizza crust (your option here, make your own, or buy it from the store... this is one area where we are lazy)
two onions, one diced, one cut into strips
BBQ sauce (again, your option, store bought is just fine here, provided it isn't the sickly sweet stuff)
Monterrey jack cheese
cheddar cheese
chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, red pepper flake
How you do it:
In a large pan, sweat the diced onion in some olive oil. Cook it just enough to get some of the flavor opening up, then toss in the chicken. Add the spices to taste (the cumin gives it a nice smokey flavor), and let the chicken cook for a few minutes. It's going to cook more in the oven, so don't over do it...
Meanwhile, prep your crust, a cookie sheet works OK, but a pizza stone is even better. If you are using a stone, toss it in the oven while the oven is pre-heating (to 400deg F), that way it will be ready when the oven is. Smear out some BBQ sauce on the crust (again, quantity to taste) and put down a layer of cheese (either one). Now, spread out the chicken on the pizza and the sliced onion (and any other toppings you want, jalapeno would probably go well...) and smother it with another layer of cheese. Bake for about 20-25 minutes and enjoy!
What you need:
Boneless chicken, 2 breasts, cut into ~1inch cubes
Pizza crust (your option here, make your own, or buy it from the store... this is one area where we are lazy)
two onions, one diced, one cut into strips
BBQ sauce (again, your option, store bought is just fine here, provided it isn't the sickly sweet stuff)
Monterrey jack cheese
cheddar cheese
chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, red pepper flake
How you do it:
In a large pan, sweat the diced onion in some olive oil. Cook it just enough to get some of the flavor opening up, then toss in the chicken. Add the spices to taste (the cumin gives it a nice smokey flavor), and let the chicken cook for a few minutes. It's going to cook more in the oven, so don't over do it...
Meanwhile, prep your crust, a cookie sheet works OK, but a pizza stone is even better. If you are using a stone, toss it in the oven while the oven is pre-heating (to 400deg F), that way it will be ready when the oven is. Smear out some BBQ sauce on the crust (again, quantity to taste) and put down a layer of cheese (either one). Now, spread out the chicken on the pizza and the sliced onion (and any other toppings you want, jalapeno would probably go well...) and smother it with another layer of cheese. Bake for about 20-25 minutes and enjoy!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Chicken Long Rice
This past weekend I threw my first luau with "Wife" (of Adventures in Newlywedland fame). We are both Leos and thought that this would be a fine time to celebrate our birthdays (which are so close together) with a massive pull-out-all -stops party. As often happens with these gigs, we ended up with a lot of leftovers which have started making the trip into work. Co-workers have asked questions (after hearing reports) and upon seeing this recipe in its Tupperware state have asked that I post it.
Original from here.
Ingredients
Directions
1. Soak long rice in warm water for one hour.
2. Soak mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes, drain, then remove stems and slice caps.
3. Pour chicken broth into large pot, add chicken and ginger and simmer for five minutes.
4. Add onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms and simmer for another 4 to 5 minutes.
Drain long rice and cut into 3-inch lengths.
5. Add green onions and long rice to pot and cook five minutes or until long rice becomes translucent.
A few words, my friends.
1. Do not arbitrarily double this recipe without checking to see if you have pots that can accommodate the extra food. Sasha and I thought we should make extra and found that we'd prepared more food than could be cooked in one pot (everything except the rice and green onions fit into my 6 qt. crock pot). We ended up dividing the noodles into two 4 qt. sauce pots and dumping half of the crock pot's contents into them.
2. The recipe does not tell you to cook the chicken first - but you really should. I don't believe that the simmer time is sufficient to fully cook everything. We grilled the chicken before cubing it and found that this saves a bit of time (but again, we were cooking 4lbs at a go).
3. I went looking for this recipe because my sister and I enjoyed it at a luau in Hawaii. The first time I had it, there was less "stuff" in it. It was just chicken & ginger flavored noodles. To duplicate that recipe, I would remove most of the "stuff" and drain the chicken stock prior to serving the noodles.
If I were to make this again, I still might drain the chicken stock. As served, this was more like a ginger, chicken noodle soup. Though very good and I'm glad to continue eating it - not like the experience that sent me looking for this recipe in the first place. It's a win, but a different kind of win.
Original from here.
Ingredients
Directions
1. Soak long rice in warm water for one hour.
2. Soak mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes, drain, then remove stems and slice caps.
3. Pour chicken broth into large pot, add chicken and ginger and simmer for five minutes.
4. Add onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms and simmer for another 4 to 5 minutes.
Drain long rice and cut into 3-inch lengths.
5. Add green onions and long rice to pot and cook five minutes or until long rice becomes translucent.
A few words, my friends.
1. Do not arbitrarily double this recipe without checking to see if you have pots that can accommodate the extra food. Sasha and I thought we should make extra and found that we'd prepared more food than could be cooked in one pot (everything except the rice and green onions fit into my 6 qt. crock pot). We ended up dividing the noodles into two 4 qt. sauce pots and dumping half of the crock pot's contents into them.
2. The recipe does not tell you to cook the chicken first - but you really should. I don't believe that the simmer time is sufficient to fully cook everything. We grilled the chicken before cubing it and found that this saves a bit of time (but again, we were cooking 4lbs at a go).
3. I went looking for this recipe because my sister and I enjoyed it at a luau in Hawaii. The first time I had it, there was less "stuff" in it. It was just chicken & ginger flavored noodles. To duplicate that recipe, I would remove most of the "stuff" and drain the chicken stock prior to serving the noodles.
If I were to make this again, I still might drain the chicken stock. As served, this was more like a ginger, chicken noodle soup. Though very good and I'm glad to continue eating it - not like the experience that sent me looking for this recipe in the first place. It's a win, but a different kind of win.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Awesome Cornbread
At our wedding, we had some amazing cornbread muffins. Since then, Jess and I have been craving cornbread of the same caliber - soft, moist, sweet, and not gritty.
Today I may have stumbled upon the solution. Last week we tried the recipe off the back of the cornmeal bag. Blech. Gritty. Dry. NOT what we wanted. We looked at Alton Brown's recipe (in his I'm just here for more food book), picked up a few hints, and then modified his even further. The result was outstanding. It was very cakey- not very gritty.... and nice and sweet (though to get to the level of sweetness of the muffins at my wedding, we'd need even more sugar!)
Ingredients:
3/4 c buttermilk
3/4 c cornmeal
1/2 c cakeflour (you could also use all-purpose flour, just use about a tablespoon less).
2 Tblspn butter, melted
pinch salt
1/3 c sugar (1/2 cup if you want it to be sweeter- more like a dessert muffin)
1/4 c vegetable oil
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
Add 3/4 cup buttermilk and 3/4 cup fine cornmeal to a mixing bowl. (If you need to, blend or food process your cornmeal to get it finer - this will help keep it from being gritty).
Let your buttermilk/cornmeal mixture reast for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425.
To the soggy cornmeal mixture, add the beaten egg, the oil, and the butter. Whisk it all together.
Add the sugar, then the dry ingredients.
Once everything is mixed well, PAM a 7" round cake pan... or double this recipe and use a 9" round, or use a bunch of muffin tins... who cares. The 7" round should be checked at 15 minutes, and will probably need another 3-5 minutes. We settled at 20 minutes for a beautiful golden brown. It yielded what would have been about 8 muffins, and they were DELICIOUS!!!! I'd have taken a picture, but... there aren't any left!
Today I may have stumbled upon the solution. Last week we tried the recipe off the back of the cornmeal bag. Blech. Gritty. Dry. NOT what we wanted. We looked at Alton Brown's recipe (in his I'm just here for more food book), picked up a few hints, and then modified his even further. The result was outstanding. It was very cakey- not very gritty.... and nice and sweet (though to get to the level of sweetness of the muffins at my wedding, we'd need even more sugar!)
Ingredients:
3/4 c buttermilk
3/4 c cornmeal
1/2 c cakeflour (you could also use all-purpose flour, just use about a tablespoon less).
2 Tblspn butter, melted
pinch salt
1/3 c sugar (1/2 cup if you want it to be sweeter- more like a dessert muffin)
1/4 c vegetable oil
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
Add 3/4 cup buttermilk and 3/4 cup fine cornmeal to a mixing bowl. (If you need to, blend or food process your cornmeal to get it finer - this will help keep it from being gritty).
Let your buttermilk/cornmeal mixture reast for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425.
To the soggy cornmeal mixture, add the beaten egg, the oil, and the butter. Whisk it all together.
Add the sugar, then the dry ingredients.
Once everything is mixed well, PAM a 7" round cake pan... or double this recipe and use a 9" round, or use a bunch of muffin tins... who cares. The 7" round should be checked at 15 minutes, and will probably need another 3-5 minutes. We settled at 20 minutes for a beautiful golden brown. It yielded what would have been about 8 muffins, and they were DELICIOUS!!!! I'd have taken a picture, but... there aren't any left!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Walnut Pesto
This recipe for pesto is fairly basic - nothing fancy here. Of course, that's the trick; prepare a really easy, basic dish that tastes like you slaved over it for hours, not minutes. The original comes from The Joy of Cooking, with only a few little tweaks. Avi suggested I use walnuts (I hate pine nuts), and I use the fresh basil from our garden, which is particularly yummy, but of course store-bought would be fine.
Ingredients:
2 cups densely packed basil leaves (about 3 good girl-sized handfulls)
1/3 cup walnuts (smallest bag size at grocery store)
2 cloves garlic
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (NOT the stuff in the can! Buy a wedge and grate it!)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Combine the basil, walnuts, garlic and cheese in your food processor and process thoroughly. Through the feed tube, pour in the olive oil slowly as the machine runs. This can be pretty messy, and you may need to add more oil to get the right consistency, depending on just how densely you packed your basil into those two cups. Add the salt and pepper to taste (I use a fair bit of pepper). Cover immediately with saran wrap to keep it from turning brown, and refrigerate until serving.
See? Quick and easy. I like to cook some fettuccine and pan fry some chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper (and maybe dusted with a little grated Parmesan) to accompany my pesto, but you can serve it just about any way you like.
And the best part? Leftovers make an awesome lunch with a small loaf of crusty bread.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Schadenfruede Pie
I've not posted a new recipe or cooking experiment in a little while. To tide anyone over who has been disappointed, I direct you to science-fiction author John Scalzi who has come up with a tastefully tangible example of what the titular confection would taste like.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Fajitas: Multi-blog Spectac-u-larrrr
For this recipe I am expecting you to have followed the entire blog. We're going to combine components of previously posted recipes into this meal. Watch me as I link.
This is a marinade that I made up for the steak portion of the fajitas. I think it would work better with chicken, these flavors seemed to be at odds with what the steak wanted to taste like. It still made for an interesting meal.
Steak Marinade
4 Limes
2 lbs steak (skirt steak will work best, but you have to let it soak in this for at least 24 hours)
a splash of the best tequila you can find
pepper (I like to grind black and white pepper into the bag until my hands don't work anymore)
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp cilantro
4 cloves garlic
1 cup white vinegar
2 Serrano peppers, sliced
Cut up the limes and squeeze out some of the juice into a gallon sized ziplock bag. Add ingredients and let sit for 24 hours. Make sure that the entire steak is covered by the
sauce.
*time passes*
Okay, let's make some fajitas!
Chicken & Steak Fajitas
You've had chicken & steak brining and marinading for the last 1-2 days, and now you're very hungry. Pull those bad boys out and fire up your grill. We're going to cook the meat whole and then slice it into smaller pieces later; this way you have more control over the done-ness of your steak. Also, I think everything tastes better after being exposed to charcoal.
Remove steak from bag. Remove chicken from bag. Get ready to transport them to the grill.
Save the marinade from the steak's bag. This is going to turn into fajita sauce.
For the sauce -
Marinade
bell pepper (yellow & red), sliced
Spanish onion, sliced
This is so easy I hesitate to mention it. Heat the sauce until it boils, reduce to a simmer and add the onions and peppers.
Grilling
For the time being I'm going to assume the reader knows how to grill and understands how they want their steak cooked. I tend to use a high heat so that the steak is rare to medium rare. I'd throw the chicken on first and give it a 5-7 minute head start on the steak. Don't worry about that chicken - after brining it for a day it's not going to overcook. It's dummy proof.
Remove meats from grill and cut into slices.
You're ready to enjoy.
Take your sauce, assembled meats, add some guacamole, and roll them up in your homemade tortillas. Thanks for playing.
This is a marinade that I made up for the steak portion of the fajitas. I think it would work better with chicken, these flavors seemed to be at odds with what the steak wanted to taste like. It still made for an interesting meal.
Steak Marinade
4 Limes
2 lbs steak (skirt steak will work best, but you have to let it soak in this for at least 24 hours)
a splash of the best tequila you can find
pepper (I like to grind black and white pepper into the bag until my hands don't work anymore)
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp cilantro
4 cloves garlic
1 cup white vinegar
2 Serrano peppers, sliced
Cut up the limes and squeeze out some of the juice into a gallon sized ziplock bag. Add ingredients and let sit for 24 hours. Make sure that the entire steak is covered by the
sauce.
*time passes*
Okay, let's make some fajitas!
Chicken & Steak Fajitas
You've had chicken & steak brining and marinading for the last 1-2 days, and now you're very hungry. Pull those bad boys out and fire up your grill. We're going to cook the meat whole and then slice it into smaller pieces later; this way you have more control over the done-ness of your steak. Also, I think everything tastes better after being exposed to charcoal.
Remove steak from bag. Remove chicken from bag. Get ready to transport them to the grill.
Save the marinade from the steak's bag. This is going to turn into fajita sauce.
For the sauce -
Marinade
bell pepper (yellow & red), sliced
Spanish onion, sliced
This is so easy I hesitate to mention it. Heat the sauce until it boils, reduce to a simmer and add the onions and peppers.
Grilling
For the time being I'm going to assume the reader knows how to grill and understands how they want their steak cooked. I tend to use a high heat so that the steak is rare to medium rare. I'd throw the chicken on first and give it a 5-7 minute head start on the steak. Don't worry about that chicken - after brining it for a day it's not going to overcook. It's dummy proof.
Remove meats from grill and cut into slices.
You're ready to enjoy.
Take your sauce, assembled meats, add some guacamole, and roll them up in your homemade tortillas. Thanks for playing.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Brined Chicken
I've got a two step recipe for y'all to follow. Here's the thing, though. Brining is a process best left to sit for at least several hours - even better if it's a day. I'll get you started on the brine and then return tomorrow with the rest of the recipe.
You need:
1 gallon sized plastic bag
1 buncha salt
1 working faucet
1 amount of chicken
1 lotsa citrus (lemon or lime - juice in a bottle or fresh doesn't really matter)
1 bit of flavor you want to infuse in the chicken. I like pepper, so we'll use a pepper combo.
There are a few reasons why you should brine. First, brining chicken makes it very, very moist. It's nearly impossible to burn a piece of chicken once it's been brined. Second, it's a great way to introduce flavor to the inside of your meat. The food science is simple and I'll use language that reflects that. The chicken absorbs the good flavor in the water and locks it in because of a process I invented called osmosis (someone else might've come up with a better term for it, that's just what I call it ;-) The salt water is the key to flavor country. Don't skimp.
I've done it with other meats, but chicken seems to be the most versatile.
Get your bag, fill it with water. Add enough salt so that the water itself tastes salty. Add your chicken and citrus. Lemon juice is easiest to come by, but lime gives you a slightly better flavor. I tend to add about a cup of citrus but you can eyeball it. If you're using fresh lemons, you're going to want to use at least 4, cut into large pieces.
Now add your pepper. I like a cayenne, black and white pepper mix. The pepper will be somewhat diffused by the water, so think Tablespoons not teaspoons when you're doing this (consider how much chicken you are preparing when judging how many Tbsp of your peppers to add). Toss in some minced garlic, a tsp of cilantro, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon - just to make things interesting.
Seal the bag, shake it up a bit and make sure that there's enough liquid to completely cover all pieces of chicken. Now - sit tight. I'll be back tomorrow with part deux of the Brined Chicken Adventure!
You need:
1 gallon sized plastic bag
1 buncha salt
1 working faucet
1 amount of chicken
1 lotsa citrus (lemon or lime - juice in a bottle or fresh doesn't really matter)
1 bit of flavor you want to infuse in the chicken. I like pepper, so we'll use a pepper combo.
There are a few reasons why you should brine. First, brining chicken makes it very, very moist. It's nearly impossible to burn a piece of chicken once it's been brined. Second, it's a great way to introduce flavor to the inside of your meat. The food science is simple and I'll use language that reflects that. The chicken absorbs the good flavor in the water and locks it in because of a process I invented called osmosis (someone else might've come up with a better term for it, that's just what I call it ;-) The salt water is the key to flavor country. Don't skimp.
I've done it with other meats, but chicken seems to be the most versatile.
Get your bag, fill it with water. Add enough salt so that the water itself tastes salty. Add your chicken and citrus. Lemon juice is easiest to come by, but lime gives you a slightly better flavor. I tend to add about a cup of citrus but you can eyeball it. If you're using fresh lemons, you're going to want to use at least 4, cut into large pieces.
Now add your pepper. I like a cayenne, black and white pepper mix. The pepper will be somewhat diffused by the water, so think Tablespoons not teaspoons when you're doing this (consider how much chicken you are preparing when judging how many Tbsp of your peppers to add). Toss in some minced garlic, a tsp of cilantro, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon - just to make things interesting.
Seal the bag, shake it up a bit and make sure that there's enough liquid to completely cover all pieces of chicken. Now - sit tight. I'll be back tomorrow with part deux of the Brined Chicken Adventure!
Fermented black beans? WTF?!?
Who would have thought that fermented black beans would give a dish such great flavor? Who would have thought that black beans are not just confined to Mexican cooking? (ok, people more culinarily enlightened than myself) And who would have thought I would have learned about black bean and stir-fry from guys named Ken and Curt? Seriously, WTF?!?
Ken and Curt are current and former coworkers of mine, respectively, and these two Chinese guys have started to show me the real way to do stir fry, fast, hot, and with tons of flavors. Curt introduced me to black bean stir-fry one day at lunch, and not long afterwards I tried making it on my own based on his recipe. I thought I was hot shit cooking with an ingredient that only had the nutrition information in English on the label, that is until Ken saw me eating it for lunch. After some mocking of my technique, he started letting me in on little secrets of the actual stir-fry technique, and supplying me with proper ingredients! So, after much learning, here is how to make some killer black bean stir-fry…
What you need:
Beef for stir fry, cut super thin (we use top round, because we buy it in bulk from Costco) ~1 lb
One onion cut into strips, again, thinner is better, ~1/4” wide
One red bell pepper, did I mention stuff should be cut thin?
Snow peas, these you don’t have to cut
Fermented Black Bean Paste (more on this later)
For the marinade
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2-cup soy sauce (go for the real stuff from an Asian grocery store that was actually made from fermented soy beans, so much more flavor!)
Garlic (~2-3 cloves diced fine)
What you do:
Mix up the marinade, and drop in the beef for at least an hour. Remember, slice the beef super thin. Start some rice cooking, and the clock is ticking at ~20 minutes, just enough time to bring it all together. Slice up the pepper and onions and set them aside for easy access.
Now, get your wok out and get it going at full blast, turn up the burner to 11, 10 just isn’t going to cut it. At this point you will want to turn on an exhaust fan, open a window and take the battery out of your smoke detector. Stir-fry is all about cooking food really fast, on super high heat. It keeps the meat from overcooking, and it gets the veggies hot, but they stay crisp.
Put some olive oil in the wok, and when it’s hot, drop in some of the black bean paste (a teaspoon full to start), break it up into the oil and let it cook for half a minute. This helps open up the flavors of the black bean. You can add it later, but it doesn’t taste as good. Now start cooking the meat, a little at a time, keep it moving in the wok, and as soon as it is almost done, dump it out into a bowl for holding for later (if you have a big arse wok, you don’t need to do this, but ours is small, and too much food in it drops the heat too fast). Each handful of meat should only take a minute or two. Cook up all the meat, adding oil and black bean as necessary to make sure all the meat gets seasoned.
Now, toss in the onions with whatever oil is left in the wok (shouldn’t be much), as soon as they are broken up in the pan, toss in the snow peas. Like the beef, keep them moving around in the wok, sitting=burning. The onions and peas will take 3-4 minutes to cook, but the peppers only need about 1-2 minutes tops, so… After 2 minutes with the onions and peas, toss in the pepper, and keep tossing in the pan. The rice should be just finishing up now, so toss the meat back in the wok and toss everything together. Serve it up and enjoy!
Black Bean paste:
You have some options here… We started out with pre-made paste, just scoop some out of the jar and you’re good to go. It tasted fine, but it had MSG in it. Then Ken gave me a package of just the fermented black beans, and suggested we make our own paste. It’s pretty easy, just take the black beans, and put them in a food processor and blend them with some olive oil, ginger and garlic. There is no precise ratio of the ingredients, so just go by feel, keeping in mind that the goal is to taste the black bean, not to mask it with garlic or ginger! You should be able to get either at a good Asian grocery store.
Ken and Curt are current and former coworkers of mine, respectively, and these two Chinese guys have started to show me the real way to do stir fry, fast, hot, and with tons of flavors. Curt introduced me to black bean stir-fry one day at lunch, and not long afterwards I tried making it on my own based on his recipe. I thought I was hot shit cooking with an ingredient that only had the nutrition information in English on the label, that is until Ken saw me eating it for lunch. After some mocking of my technique, he started letting me in on little secrets of the actual stir-fry technique, and supplying me with proper ingredients! So, after much learning, here is how to make some killer black bean stir-fry…
What you need:Beef for stir fry, cut super thin (we use top round, because we buy it in bulk from Costco) ~1 lb
One onion cut into strips, again, thinner is better, ~1/4” wide
One red bell pepper, did I mention stuff should be cut thin?
Snow peas, these you don’t have to cut
Fermented Black Bean Paste (more on this later)
For the marinade
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2-cup soy sauce (go for the real stuff from an Asian grocery store that was actually made from fermented soy beans, so much more flavor!)
Garlic (~2-3 cloves diced fine)
What you do:
Mix up the marinade, and drop in the beef for at least an hour. Remember, slice the beef super thin. Start some rice cooking, and the clock is ticking at ~20 minutes, just enough time to bring it all together. Slice up the pepper and onions and set them aside for easy access.
Now, get your wok out and get it going at full blast, turn up the burner to 11, 10 just isn’t going to cut it. At this point you will want to turn on an exhaust fan, open a window and take the battery out of your smoke detector. Stir-fry is all about cooking food really fast, on super high heat. It keeps the meat from overcooking, and it gets the veggies hot, but they stay crisp.
Put some olive oil in the wok, and when it’s hot, drop in some of the black bean paste (a teaspoon full to start), break it up into the oil and let it cook for half a minute. This helps open up the flavors of the black bean. You can add it later, but it doesn’t taste as good. Now start cooking the meat, a little at a time, keep it moving in the wok, and as soon as it is almost done, dump it out into a bowl for holding for later (if you have a big arse wok, you don’t need to do this, but ours is small, and too much food in it drops the heat too fast). Each handful of meat should only take a minute or two. Cook up all the meat, adding oil and black bean as necessary to make sure all the meat gets seasoned.
Now, toss in the onions with whatever oil is left in the wok (shouldn’t be much), as soon as they are broken up in the pan, toss in the snow peas. Like the beef, keep them moving around in the wok, sitting=burning. The onions and peas will take 3-4 minutes to cook, but the peppers only need about 1-2 minutes tops, so… After 2 minutes with the onions and peas, toss in the pepper, and keep tossing in the pan. The rice should be just finishing up now, so toss the meat back in the wok and toss everything together. Serve it up and enjoy!
Black Bean paste:
You have some options here… We started out with pre-made paste, just scoop some out of the jar and you’re good to go. It tasted fine, but it had MSG in it. Then Ken gave me a package of just the fermented black beans, and suggested we make our own paste. It’s pretty easy, just take the black beans, and put them in a food processor and blend them with some olive oil, ginger and garlic. There is no precise ratio of the ingredients, so just go by feel, keeping in mind that the goal is to taste the black bean, not to mask it with garlic or ginger! You should be able to get either at a good Asian grocery store.
Friday, June 29, 2007
10 minute cooking school meets 50 minute movie deadline
When I was in the 4th grade, I got my first set of glasses. When I left the doctor's office I was astonished to see individual leaves on trees and little bumps in the sidewalk. I didn't really think about how the world was supposed to look. Last night I had another eye opening experience, thanks to youtube, Troublemaker Studios, and Robert Rodriguez's "10 Minute Cooking School."
With a movie showtime hanging over my head, I and a friend tried to squeeze this meal's square peg into a 1 hour 10 minute "prep + cook + enjoy" round hole (later we discovered it was more like an oblique spheroid, so it nearly fit).
You will never buy store bought tortillas again. I promise you.
Robert Rodriguez's Homemade Tortillas
2 cups flour
1/4 cup fat (either butter or lard, in his video he uses 1/8 cup of each)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup warm water
Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and butter (this is what I used) in a mixing bowl. Mix.
The powder will get a little clumpy, but not terribly so. After the ingredients are mixed, slowly start adding the water until it gets doughy. Fool around with this, as I still haven't gotten it quite down.
When the dough looks like it's going to hold a shape, start pulling small handfuls out to roll into golf ball sized bits. Roll them up and set them down for a few. This made about 1 dozen little balls for me. If they aren't sticking together well enough, get your hands wet while rolling them.
Now it's time to start on your filling as these sit.
Mrs. Renfro's Salsa meets Mr. K's chicken
1 jar Mrs. Renfro's jalapeno salsa (green)
1 lb chicken
freshly ground black pepper
chili flakes
1 cup rice
You can get the same effect but making your own salsa (or just adding some diced tomatoes, and spices to the rice - but I was short on time). Cut up your chicken into bite sized pieces, pepper them, add a little salt, and toss them all in a pot with your cup of rice and about 2 cups of water. Turn to high heat. You folks know what's going to happen here. When the water boils, add anywhere from 6-8 oz. of the salsa to the rice + chicken mixture. Cover, reduce heat to low, and set a timer for 20 minutes. Now let's get those tortillas goin'.
Your flour balls have sat long enough, time to roll those suckers out. Get a clean flat surface, some flour, and a rolling pin (don't have a rolling pin? Neither do I. Wash off a beer bottle and cover the outside with flour - it works just as well). Get a griddle or large skillet heated up (med-high heat).
Squish the flour balls into discs and lightly dust both sides with flour. Also, make sure you throw a little flour down on your surface - you don't want them sticking. Roll them out into flat tortilla shapes and set aside. If your griddle is ready, grease it up with some butter and toss them on. You want them to get brown on both sides, RR says "watch them bubble up, that means your baking powder is working. Flatten them out and flip. When they're done toss them in a tortilla holder and cover them up."
I just used paper towel and a 9 x9 cake pan; worked fine.
Your tortillas should be done, your chicken and rice should be finished, all you need now is to throw a little cheese or sour cream on there and you have yourself a quick, decent meal. It was pretty fantastic. We even made it to the movie on time.
What's really great about the tortillas is that they are surprisingly easy to make and they taste noticeably better than their store-bought counterparts (mostly the texture, they aren't rubbery at all). I can't wait to try homemade hardshell tacos with these guys.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
This was my breakfast
We were walking through Meijer last night and saw the most interesting thing in the produce section. It was a brightly colored fruit with little spines poking out of it. I picked one up to examine it and thought "This looks more like a dog toy than a piece of fruit." Of course, I had to buy it.
I didn't know what it was at the register, and so I u-scanned it as if it were an ugli fruit, even though it clearly wasn't. I came in to work this morning, cut it open, and this is what I found.
It's tart like a kiwi, messy like a tomato, and apparently only contains 25 calories. A co-worker did some research while I was in the kitchen making a mess and found out that it was called a "horned melon", that it comes from Africa, and that there are all sorts of ways one can use it.
I scrubbed it out so my co-workers could get a good look at it. The inside of the rind is similar to a pumpkin after the fruit has been scrubbed away. When I get the opportunity, I'll totally get some more in order to try some of the recipes that my "horned melon" google search turned up. One involving beef. Sweet, right?
I didn't know what it was at the register, and so I u-scanned it as if it were an ugli fruit, even though it clearly wasn't. I came in to work this morning, cut it open, and this is what I found.
It's tart like a kiwi, messy like a tomato, and apparently only contains 25 calories. A co-worker did some research while I was in the kitchen making a mess and found out that it was called a "horned melon", that it comes from Africa, and that there are all sorts of ways one can use it.
I scrubbed it out so my co-workers could get a good look at it. The inside of the rind is similar to a pumpkin after the fruit has been scrubbed away. When I get the opportunity, I'll totally get some more in order to try some of the recipes that my "horned melon" google search turned up. One involving beef. Sweet, right?
Shrimp & Asparagus Pasta Toss
We found this recipe after an incident in which I burnt the top layer of my tounge off because I'd been eating too much spicy food. Having been told to "tone it down a bit" by my doctor, we faced the challenge of making something tasty, soft and flavorful without depending on spiciness. Granted, this will probably only make seafood lovers happy, but it IS a tasty sauce even without the seafood.
6 oz uncooked angel hair pasta
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. chicken flavor instant bullion
1 1/2 c. milk
2 oz (1/2 c.) shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. fresh or frozen uncooked shrimp, deveined
1/2 lb- 1 lb fresh uncooked sea scallops
1 bunch of fresh asparagus, cooked, drained and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 oz. (1 c.) sliced fresh mushrooms
Cook pasta to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain, rinse with hot water and keep warm.
Melt butter in medium saucepan. Blend in flour and bouillon; cook until it's smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk; cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add cheeses; stir until smooth. Stir in shrimp, scallops and mushrooms; cook until thoroughly done. Add cooked asparagus. Serve over pasta.
6 oz uncooked angel hair pasta
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. chicken flavor instant bullion
1 1/2 c. milk
2 oz (1/2 c.) shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. fresh or frozen uncooked shrimp, deveined
1/2 lb- 1 lb fresh uncooked sea scallops
1 bunch of fresh asparagus, cooked, drained and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 oz. (1 c.) sliced fresh mushrooms
Cook pasta to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain, rinse with hot water and keep warm.
Melt butter in medium saucepan. Blend in flour and bouillon; cook until it's smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk; cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add cheeses; stir until smooth. Stir in shrimp, scallops and mushrooms; cook until thoroughly done. Add cooked asparagus. Serve over pasta.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Potato Salad checks out of the Mayo Clinic
I blame this recipe for my general dislike of most potato salads. It seems that a lot of people think of potato salad means of getting mayonnaise to your stomach (hmmm... someone tell Rodger!). Now, to me, mayo has it's place, on a burger (only a bit) and a turkey sandwich, and in tuna salad. However, it doesn't belong anywhere near potato salad!
My folks don't like gloopy potato salad either, so my mom came up with this recipe years ago. What sets this potato salad apart is its distinct lack of mayo. Instead, the salad is dressed with oil and vinegar to keep it nice and light, while giving it a tasty zing without the goopy nastiness! So, here's how it's done...
What you need:
4-5 Yukon Gold Potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 onion, julienned (or diced, your choice)
salt and pepper to taste
What to do:
- Boil the potatoes for ~15 minutes with the skin.
- Make the dressing by combining the remaining ingredients.
-Peel and slice the potatoes into ~1/4 inch slices
-Toss it all together and serve!
Yes, you can make this with Idaho potatoes, but they tend to fall apart really easily, so a more waxy potato like the Yukon Golds are HIGHLY recommended. Keeping the potatoes roughly the same size means they will all cook through at about the same time making life easier. Take care not to overcook them, otherwise they will turn to mush later when you mix everything.
We've found the julienned onions tend to stand out little more and don't get quite so lost in the salad, giving it more crunch. Also, this can be served warm or cool depending on your preference. I think it's best when it's just made and still a little warm. Enjoy!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Spicy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Sasha and I initially got interested in making an Alfredo sauce when some pepper steak we did nearly killed us (ok, when some pepper steak I did nearly killed us). The steak had a rub that was way out of control and we needed a way to cut down the spicy. When we discovered how easy Alfredo sauce was to make, we gave it a shot. It worked great, but leftovers without that pepper steak were disappointing. Here's the second attempt:
Spicy Chicken (I've determined to stop mislabeling things "Cajun" just because they have cayenne, maybe I'll just go with Ragin?)
Chicken breast, boned and skinned (figure 1/2 breast to each serving and do the math yourself)
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
I usually eyeball my spice distribution, and as it can plainly be seen I prefer more pepper/garlic to less - adjust according to your own preferences but generally a 1:1 ratio is good, maybe 2:1 ; pepper: everything else. I'm also of the opinion that there is no such thing as too much garlic.
Alfredo Sauce
1 stick butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream or half & half
1 cup grated Asiago cheese (I prefer this to parmesan, but it's slightly saltier, remember that when doing your seasoning)
When pacing your meal, I'd start the water boiling when you start the chicken and then start the sauce halfway. Make sure your cheese is grated before you start because it takes longer than you'd think to grate a cup of cheese (if you're using a cowbell grater, and why wouldn't you?).
Get your skillet out and cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat your pan for about a minute (med-high heat) and then drop enough olive oil in the pan to coat it and add your chicken along with all the pepper, oregano, and thyme. I usually add a few pinches of kosher salt, too. You want the chicken to have color from the spices by don't get too ridiculous. When the chicken is cooked almost through on once side you can flip it.
Small saucepot, med-low heat meet stick of butter. When the butter is completely melted slowly add the cream and mix it well each time. Check your chicken and noodles. The chicken will probably be done and the noodles still need a few minutes. Turn the chicken to a low heat if it's done (just to keep it warm) and add your cheese.
If you want your sauce to be a little thicker, you can turn the heat up on the pot. It'll bubble and spit (so make sure it's covered) and keep stirring it occasionally so that it doesn't burn. Don't give it longer than a minute or two.
Your noodles should be done at this point, so drain them and prepare them for serving. If your chicken is done put it on your noodles. Douse all plates with the sauce and enjoy!
Serve this with bread, as the sauce is going to outlast the noodles and chicken. I would recommend a white wine for this (although it'd also be good with a spicy red like a Sangiovese).
Spicy Chicken (I've determined to stop mislabeling things "Cajun" just because they have cayenne, maybe I'll just go with Ragin?)
Chicken breast, boned and skinned (figure 1/2 breast to each serving and do the math yourself)
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
I usually eyeball my spice distribution, and as it can plainly be seen I prefer more pepper/garlic to less - adjust according to your own preferences but generally a 1:1 ratio is good, maybe 2:1 ; pepper: everything else. I'm also of the opinion that there is no such thing as too much garlic.
Alfredo Sauce
1 stick butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream or half & half
1 cup grated Asiago cheese (I prefer this to parmesan, but it's slightly saltier, remember that when doing your seasoning)
When pacing your meal, I'd start the water boiling when you start the chicken and then start the sauce halfway. Make sure your cheese is grated before you start because it takes longer than you'd think to grate a cup of cheese (if you're using a cowbell grater, and why wouldn't you?).
Get your skillet out and cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat your pan for about a minute (med-high heat) and then drop enough olive oil in the pan to coat it and add your chicken along with all the pepper, oregano, and thyme. I usually add a few pinches of kosher salt, too. You want the chicken to have color from the spices by don't get too ridiculous. When the chicken is cooked almost through on once side you can flip it.
Small saucepot, med-low heat meet stick of butter. When the butter is completely melted slowly add the cream and mix it well each time. Check your chicken and noodles. The chicken will probably be done and the noodles still need a few minutes. Turn the chicken to a low heat if it's done (just to keep it warm) and add your cheese.
If you want your sauce to be a little thicker, you can turn the heat up on the pot. It'll bubble and spit (so make sure it's covered) and keep stirring it occasionally so that it doesn't burn. Don't give it longer than a minute or two.
Your noodles should be done at this point, so drain them and prepare them for serving. If your chicken is done put it on your noodles. Douse all plates with the sauce and enjoy!
Serve this with bread, as the sauce is going to outlast the noodles and chicken. I would recommend a white wine for this (although it'd also be good with a spicy red like a Sangiovese).
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Asparagus with Cream Sauce
2 pounds fresh asparagus spears
1 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Cook asparagus, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Keep warm.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth.
Gradually whisk in chicken broth and half and half. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly, about 1 minute. Whisk in mustard, lemon juice, and pepper. Spoon sauce over asparagus. Serve immediately.
When we made this, I added extra dijon mustard to give it a little more flavor (more like 3 Tbsp). I also feel this recipe needs something a little more, but can't quite put my finger on it. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
1 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Cook asparagus, covered, in a small amount of boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Keep warm.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth.
Gradually whisk in chicken broth and half and half. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly, about 1 minute. Whisk in mustard, lemon juice, and pepper. Spoon sauce over asparagus. Serve immediately.
When we made this, I added extra dijon mustard to give it a little more flavor (more like 3 Tbsp). I also feel this recipe needs something a little more, but can't quite put my finger on it. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
Kickin' Jambalaya
This is a recipe I've been adjusting for about a year and a half. It rose out of a desire to cook spicy foods and take my time doing it. I'm quite confident when making this recipe and enjoy sharing it with others (it makes a lot of food) as an introduction to the kind of foods I make. I apologize in advance for linking to Wikipedia for some of these definitions, it just seemed easier (the historian in me protests, but the lazy slob in me wins).
1 lb spicy sausage (andouille is perfect but hard to find sometimes, I usually go with a 'hot italian brat' or the good old Bob Evans 'spicy italian sausage' in a tube)
1 lb chicken, cubed
1 lb shrimp peeled and de-veined
"cajun seasoning" (2 tsp Cayenne, 1 tsp Black Pepper, 1 tsp White Pepper, 1 tsp Oregano, 1 tsp Thyme)
2 cup rice
8 oz can tomato paste
8 oz can chicken stock
14 oz can diced tomatoes (I like the getting the kind with the jalapenos inside for this, but do as you will)
Trinity
-1/2 cup celery, chopped
-1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
-1 yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbsp garlic
1 Tbsp chili flakes or red pepper flakes
Start by browning your sausage in a 10 inch skillet (med high heat). Let the grease collect in the pan and when you're satisfied that the sausage is mostly done, transfer it to a 12 inch 'meat' skillet on low heat (you're going to keep the sausage and chicken warm here while you saute the trinity).
After you've transferred your sausage, add the chicken to the greasy pan. Salt to taste, and add your chili flakes. When the chicken is white and cooked through transfer to the large skillet holding the sausage. Now you're ready for the veggies.
Still using our first skillet, we're going to add the garlic and maybe some olive oil if there isn't enough grease left over from our first two steps. When the garlic is looking a little brown it's time to add the onions, bell pepper, and celery. Wait until the onions are clear and the celery is soft before adding the tomato paste. Now you're going to let it brown in the skillet for awhile, and you should get out a large sauce pot (at least 4 quarts, 6 might be better).
Heat the tomatoes and chicken stock in the sauce pot with the rice until it boils. Now...you ready? Add everything to the sauce pot: meat, veggies, spices, and shrimp. Cover that sucker up and let it simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes (or until the rice is done). If you're worried about over cooking the shrimp you can wait until the rice is 1/2 way done to add them, but I've never had a problem with it.
When this comes off the stove it's going to be hot and practically overflowing out of your sauce pot (that's why 6 quart may be better than 4). I've served this with beer but I prefer a Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. Hope you enjoy.
1 lb spicy sausage (andouille is perfect but hard to find sometimes, I usually go with a 'hot italian brat' or the good old Bob Evans 'spicy italian sausage' in a tube)
1 lb chicken, cubed
1 lb shrimp peeled and de-veined
"cajun seasoning" (2 tsp Cayenne, 1 tsp Black Pepper, 1 tsp White Pepper, 1 tsp Oregano, 1 tsp Thyme)
2 cup rice
8 oz can tomato paste
8 oz can chicken stock
14 oz can diced tomatoes (I like the getting the kind with the jalapenos inside for this, but do as you will)
Trinity
-1/2 cup celery, chopped
-1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
-1 yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbsp garlic
1 Tbsp chili flakes or red pepper flakes
Start by browning your sausage in a 10 inch skillet (med high heat). Let the grease collect in the pan and when you're satisfied that the sausage is mostly done, transfer it to a 12 inch 'meat' skillet on low heat (you're going to keep the sausage and chicken warm here while you saute the trinity).
After you've transferred your sausage, add the chicken to the greasy pan. Salt to taste, and add your chili flakes. When the chicken is white and cooked through transfer to the large skillet holding the sausage. Now you're ready for the veggies.
Still using our first skillet, we're going to add the garlic and maybe some olive oil if there isn't enough grease left over from our first two steps. When the garlic is looking a little brown it's time to add the onions, bell pepper, and celery. Wait until the onions are clear and the celery is soft before adding the tomato paste. Now you're going to let it brown in the skillet for awhile, and you should get out a large sauce pot (at least 4 quarts, 6 might be better).
Heat the tomatoes and chicken stock in the sauce pot with the rice until it boils. Now...you ready? Add everything to the sauce pot: meat, veggies, spices, and shrimp. Cover that sucker up and let it simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes (or until the rice is done). If you're worried about over cooking the shrimp you can wait until the rice is 1/2 way done to add them, but I've never had a problem with it.
When this comes off the stove it's going to be hot and practically overflowing out of your sauce pot (that's why 6 quart may be better than 4). I've served this with beer but I prefer a Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. Hope you enjoy.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Guacamole
Not being that big a fan of guacamole in general, I was a little skeptical about making it. This recipe is pretty great though and managed to convert me into a fan.
Guacamole
4 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded
1 tsp ground cumin
1 ripe, medium Roma tomato, seeded, diced
1/2 cup minced sweet white onion
2 serrano chilies, seeded, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Hot pepper sauce, sea salt, white pepper to taste
Cut avocado in large chunks and mash coarsely in large bowl with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and blend gently-leaving some small chunks is fine. Taste and adjust seasoning with more pepper sauce, salt and pepper if desired.
Guacamole
4 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded
1 tsp ground cumin
1 ripe, medium Roma tomato, seeded, diced
1/2 cup minced sweet white onion
2 serrano chilies, seeded, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Hot pepper sauce, sea salt, white pepper to taste
Cut avocado in large chunks and mash coarsely in large bowl with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and blend gently-leaving some small chunks is fine. Taste and adjust seasoning with more pepper sauce, salt and pepper if desired.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Arrabiata Sauce (The Angry Sauce)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/8 cup red wine
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Italian sausage (optional)
Sliced mushrooms
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes.
Stir in wine, sugar, basil, red pepper, tomato paste, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, black pepper, tomatoes, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes.
Stir in parsley. Ladle over the hot cooked pasta of your choice.
This is truly fast food and tastes just as good as leftovers as it does when first made. When we've made it, we usually get the diced tomatoes with peppers added for that extra kick, but for those that want it a little less spicy, get the regular tomatoes. Also an excellent meal for clearing the sinuses if you're sick:)
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/8 cup red wine
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Italian sausage (optional)
Sliced mushrooms
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes.
Stir in wine, sugar, basil, red pepper, tomato paste, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, black pepper, tomatoes, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes.
Stir in parsley. Ladle over the hot cooked pasta of your choice.
This is truly fast food and tastes just as good as leftovers as it does when first made. When we've made it, we usually get the diced tomatoes with peppers added for that extra kick, but for those that want it a little less spicy, get the regular tomatoes. Also an excellent meal for clearing the sinuses if you're sick:)
Coconut Curry Chicken
Coconut Curry Chicken
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped roasted garlic
7 ounces canned coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
*Note: we added 6 redskin potatoes (cut into 1/8ths), about a Tbsp of curry, used 13.5 oz of coconut milk, substituted minced garlic for roasted, and upped our crushed red pepper flakes to two dashes.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). In a large skillet, fry chicken breast in vegetable oil until the chicken just begins to brown. Stir onions, green bell peppers and red bell peppers into the skillet with the chicken.
*Note: we put our potatoes into the oven early with about 6 oz of the coconut milk, a healthy dose of olive oil, and some salt & pepper to get them started.
Saute until the onions are translucent. When the vegetables are translucent, stir in the garlic and coconut milk. Let the mixture cook 5 to 8 minutes before removing the skillet from the heat. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (and 1 Tbsp of curry). Transfer the mixture to a 9x13 inch baking dish and bake in a 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables cook down and the chicken is tender.
I thought this went really well. We served it over Saffron Rice (a store-bought package we got from Meijer). I think in the future I'd add more curry, and maybe some spices that compliment curry (I was thinking cumin, but sasha suggested tumeric). We didn't have it in the oven for 45 minutes either, it was closer to 30.
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped roasted garlic
7 ounces canned coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
*Note: we added 6 redskin potatoes (cut into 1/8ths), about a Tbsp of curry, used 13.5 oz of coconut milk, substituted minced garlic for roasted, and upped our crushed red pepper flakes to two dashes.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). In a large skillet, fry chicken breast in vegetable oil until the chicken just begins to brown. Stir onions, green bell peppers and red bell peppers into the skillet with the chicken.
*Note: we put our potatoes into the oven early with about 6 oz of the coconut milk, a healthy dose of olive oil, and some salt & pepper to get them started.
Saute until the onions are translucent. When the vegetables are translucent, stir in the garlic and coconut milk. Let the mixture cook 5 to 8 minutes before removing the skillet from the heat. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (and 1 Tbsp of curry). Transfer the mixture to a 9x13 inch baking dish and bake in a 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables cook down and the chicken is tender.
I thought this went really well. We served it over Saffron Rice (a store-bought package we got from Meijer). I think in the future I'd add more curry, and maybe some spices that compliment curry (I was thinking cumin, but sasha suggested tumeric). We didn't have it in the oven for 45 minutes either, it was closer to 30.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Mexican Rice
This goes really well with tostadas or enchiladas but it also is quite tasty just on its own. Make sure to use decent rice (Meijer's own doesn't work well with this) and the tomato sauce IS essential.
Olive oil
1 cup uncooked rice your choice
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
2 cups cold water
Coarsely chopped small roma tomato, chopped into about 4 pieces
Hot pepper of your choice, sliced lengthwise
Tomato sauce (I'd say a little less that 1/4 cup)
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt, to taste
Put a little olive oil (Tbsp or so) into a medium-sized pan and heat to a medium temperature, add the rice, uncooked, and brown in the oil. Make sure all the rice is lightly coated with the oil. You do not have to stir the rice around very much at first, while browning, but as the rice becomes browner you want to be stirring it around to make sure it all browns evenly and doesn't burn. It will turn brown, but it's not burning unless it's turning dark/black. Towards the end of the browning, add the garlic so that it is sort of sauteed/browned.
Next, dump the water on the rice (it will steam up loudly) and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well and cover (with a small air escape). Reduce heat to medium-low to medium, and let cook for 20-30 minutes. (Cooking time and temperature varies with your stove. Check after 20 minutes to make sure you don't burn.)The essential rule of this recipe is "Do Not Peek" while the rice is cooking. When it is ready, all the water will be absorbed, the rice will fluff, and each grain will be "split open" because of the browning. It should be dry, not saucy. You can adjust the spices/peppers to your taste. The recipe can be changed by keeping with the 1 cup rice/2 cups water ratio, and adjusting remaining ingredients.
Olive oil
1 cup uncooked rice your choice
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
2 cups cold water
Coarsely chopped small roma tomato, chopped into about 4 pieces
Hot pepper of your choice, sliced lengthwise
Tomato sauce (I'd say a little less that 1/4 cup)
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt, to taste
Put a little olive oil (Tbsp or so) into a medium-sized pan and heat to a medium temperature, add the rice, uncooked, and brown in the oil. Make sure all the rice is lightly coated with the oil. You do not have to stir the rice around very much at first, while browning, but as the rice becomes browner you want to be stirring it around to make sure it all browns evenly and doesn't burn. It will turn brown, but it's not burning unless it's turning dark/black. Towards the end of the browning, add the garlic so that it is sort of sauteed/browned.
Next, dump the water on the rice (it will steam up loudly) and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well and cover (with a small air escape). Reduce heat to medium-low to medium, and let cook for 20-30 minutes. (Cooking time and temperature varies with your stove. Check after 20 minutes to make sure you don't burn.)The essential rule of this recipe is "Do Not Peek" while the rice is cooking. When it is ready, all the water will be absorbed, the rice will fluff, and each grain will be "split open" because of the browning. It should be dry, not saucy. You can adjust the spices/peppers to your taste. The recipe can be changed by keeping with the 1 cup rice/2 cups water ratio, and adjusting remaining ingredients.
First entry: black & bleu burgers w/ mango chutney
I know a few folks who've threatened to start a food blog for awhile. Today is the day I provide momentum for the great amateur cooks I know and say "here is your forum."
Never content to sit idly by, I will kick off this guy by providing a few recipes from over the weekend. One was quite good, the other needs work:
Black and Bleu Burgers (needs work)
Freshly ground pepper
kosher salt
Gorgonzola cheese
Hamburger Meat
This is real simple, you wrap the hamburger around a serving of the cheese and add salt and pepper to the outside. I like to put a ring of pepper around the outside of the burger, too.
The problem with this recipe is that the cheese bleeds out before the burger is done. The burgers are moist, but you barely taste the cheese. Of course, you could add the cheese to the top of the burger, but that's a lot like giving up.
Mango Chutney (the good) - originally from Good Eats
4 lbs mangoes (ripe but not too soft)
1 large red onion
1 bell pepper
1/4 cup ginger root, peeled & minced
Vegetable oil
8 oz unsweetened pineapple juice (we've found this is hard to find, so we usually get crushed
pineapple chunks and use the juice and a few pieces of pineapple to make up the difference)
1 tsp chili flakes
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
4 oz cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup golden raisins
kosher salt and fresh ground white pepper
Peel and pit the mangoes, it's a pain. The mango pit is a very hard obelisk in the center of the mango, you'll cut around that and discard. The pieces should be small bit sized chunks, you want this to look like relish at the end. Cut up your onions, peppers, and ginger root.
In a bowl combine the sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice, and curry.
Heat up the oil (about 3 Tbsp, but you can eyeball it) and add the chili flakes. Let those go for about a minute on a medium to low heat and then add the onions. After the onions have been coated and softened, you can add the ginger and bell pepper. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes and then add the mangoes.
After another minute or two add the mixture from the bowl and simmer for about 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced (stirring often). Add salt and pepper to taste (I usually go heavy on the pepper). Add the raisins and chopped nuts to the chutney and transfer to an ice bath. Serve cold as a side dish or use as a topping for burgers.
Never content to sit idly by, I will kick off this guy by providing a few recipes from over the weekend. One was quite good, the other needs work:
Black and Bleu Burgers (needs work)
Freshly ground pepper
kosher salt
Gorgonzola cheese
Hamburger Meat
This is real simple, you wrap the hamburger around a serving of the cheese and add salt and pepper to the outside. I like to put a ring of pepper around the outside of the burger, too.
The problem with this recipe is that the cheese bleeds out before the burger is done. The burgers are moist, but you barely taste the cheese. Of course, you could add the cheese to the top of the burger, but that's a lot like giving up.
Mango Chutney (the good) - originally from Good Eats
4 lbs mangoes (ripe but not too soft)
1 large red onion
1 bell pepper
1/4 cup ginger root, peeled & minced
Vegetable oil
8 oz unsweetened pineapple juice (we've found this is hard to find, so we usually get crushed
pineapple chunks and use the juice and a few pieces of pineapple to make up the difference)
1 tsp chili flakes
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
4 oz cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup golden raisins
kosher salt and fresh ground white pepper
Peel and pit the mangoes, it's a pain. The mango pit is a very hard obelisk in the center of the mango, you'll cut around that and discard. The pieces should be small bit sized chunks, you want this to look like relish at the end. Cut up your onions, peppers, and ginger root.
In a bowl combine the sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice, and curry.
Heat up the oil (about 3 Tbsp, but you can eyeball it) and add the chili flakes. Let those go for about a minute on a medium to low heat and then add the onions. After the onions have been coated and softened, you can add the ginger and bell pepper. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes and then add the mangoes.
After another minute or two add the mixture from the bowl and simmer for about 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced (stirring often). Add salt and pepper to taste (I usually go heavy on the pepper). Add the raisins and chopped nuts to the chutney and transfer to an ice bath. Serve cold as a side dish or use as a topping for burgers.
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