Fish and Sausage Stew

It wasn't jambalaya and it wasn't cioppino.  A Jamppino?!?  A rose by any other name...

I had a boatload of ingredients but none of them were really authentic for either dish.  But I really wanted a spicy fish-type stew. So I decided to just go for it and create something using the things that I had.  It's how I cook most of the time, anyway...

It's actually been many years since I made a real cioppino.  The fisherman's stew of olden days is now quite expensive to make.  Years (and years) ago when I worked at the Riviera Dinner House in San Francisco, one night a year we made Crab Cioppino - and that night it was the only thing on the menu.  Folks would line up for it.  I don't recall what we charged for it, but I do know that in 1974 dollars, it was rather expensive.  It was really good stuff.  As with just about everything at the Riviera, there was no written recipe.  Actually, in all my youthful cooking, I don't recall written recipes, anywhere.  Someone showed you how to make something and yelled at you if you didn't make it right the next time.

Fear is a great motivator.

And that early training is probably why I have such a difficult time writing or explaining recipes, today.  My method of cooking is put it in the pot, taste, and adjust as necessary.

Funny how that doesn't always translate.  Most people want just a little bit more direction than that.

Fish and Sausage Stew

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 6 oz mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 smoked sausages, sliced (I used Hungarian)
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 qt chicken broth
  • 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 3/4 lb cod chunks (I first wrote cod pieces but didn't want to seem unseemly...)
  • 4 oz shrimp
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp Guamanian boonie pepper (substitute cayenne or red pepper flakes)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Saute onion and bell pepper in a bit of olive oil.  Add mushrooms and cook until lightly browned.  Add minced garlic and cook a minute or two longer.

Add sausages and cook until lightly browned.

Add red wine and cook until it's reduced by about half.

Add broth and canned tomatoes with juice.  Add herbs and spices and simmer.

Add fish and shrimp and cook just until cooked through.

Serve in bowls over rice with crusty bread.

We're heading home to San Francisco next month - and we're staying at the wharf.  I have a feeling cioppino is in my very near future!


Sweet and Spicy Soup

Several years ago, my friend Jess created a great soup at work.  It was a huge hit and one I've made at home several times.  Jess is a great cook and is also a personal chef and instructor.  Creativity abounds!

I've been thinking about this soup for a couple of weeks, now, and the colder it got outside today, the more I knew I was making it tonight!  While this is a great anytime soup, it is especially good on a cold night.

There's no question that this is a good Chinese restaurant-quality soup. It is great as a side course or as the main course with spring rolls or pork buns.

I decided to make it our main course tonight, so I added a few more ingredients.  It is perfect as originally written, but I wanted a bit more substance tonight.  I had a few things lying about so into the pot they went.

I made enough for dinner tonight and leftovers for Victor's lunch...

Sweet and Spicy Soup

  • 1 1/2 qts chicken broth
  • 1 btl Sweet Chili Sauce
  • 1/4 cup black mushroom soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup rice wine
  • 1/2 tsp sambal oelek (chili paste)
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 small can baby corn
  • 1 small can water chestnuts, sliced
  • 1 small can bamboo shoots, shredded
  • 1 pkg pork shu mai
  • 6 oz uncooked shrimp
  • 4 scallions, shredded (for garnish)

In a medium saucepan, heat together the broth, chili sauce, soy sauces, rice wine, sambal oelek, sesame oil, baby corn, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots.  When it comes to a boil, add the shu mai and heat through.  When the shu mai are heated, add the shrimp and cook just until done.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with shredded scallions.

I added the sambal oelek because the sweet chili sauce didn't have the kick I remember and I definitely wanted a bit of a kick tonight.  I heated up some spring rolls to go along with the soup.

It really was the perfect dish for a cold winter night.


Asparagus and Mushroom Flan

Tonight's dinner is brought to you by a grocery store magazine.  Well...  they came up with the concept, anyway...

I received a copy of the Wegmans magazine the other day and one of the recipes that caught my eye was a Mushroom Flan.  It just sounded like something I would like.

The recipe as printed serves 8 people.  Even the way we eat, that was excessive, so I cut it way back, substituted asparagus for the gourmet mushrooms and used 10 oz souffle cups to bake them.

They came out great! The browned and lightly-crisped top and edges contrasted perfectly with the light, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth interior.  It almost floated off the plate.

Here is the Wegman's recipe.  I made about a third of this.

Mushroom Flan

  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided
  • 1 pkg (5 oz) sliced shiitake mushrooms
  • 1 pkg (8 oz) Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms
  • Salt and cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp chopped Fresh Thyme
  • 2 Tbsp White Wine
  • 4 cups Heavy Cream, divided
  • 1 pkg (4 oz) Gourmet Blend Mushrooms
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 1 Tbsp Cornstarch

You'll Need: 8 (3 1/2-inches each) ramekins, nonstick cooking spray, rimmed baking sheet, food processor
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

1. Add 1 Tbsp oil, shiitake and baby bella mushrooms to skillet on HIGH. Cook, stirring, about 5 min, until mushrooms are golden and no moisture remains. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Reduce heat to MEDIUM; add thyme and wine. Cook 1-2 min, until wine is reduced to almost dry. Add 1 cup heavy cream. Cook, stirring, 6-8 min, until mixture is thick and reduced by two-thirds.

3. Transfer mushroom mixture to food processor; puree until almost smooth (some mushroom bits should remain). Transfer to large bowl; refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

4. Wipe skillet with paper towel.  Add remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and gourmet mushrooms to skillet on HIGH.  Cook, stirring, about 4 min,  until mushrooms are golden. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

5. Spray ramekins with cooking spray and place on rimmed baking sheet. Spoon gourmet mushrooms into bottoms of ramekins, portioning evenly.

6. Make custard: Whisk together eggs, remaining 3 cups heavy cream, and cornstarch into bowl. Add to cooled mushroom mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Divide custard evenly among ramekins.

7. Bake 45-50 min, until knife inserted 1-inch from edge comes out clean and tops are lightly browned and custard is set. Serve in ramekins or cool about 15 min to unmold. To unmold, run knife around inside edges of ramekin. Cover ramekin top with small plate; invert. Invert again onto serving plate.

Chef Tip(s):
# Can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat in 350 degree oven 20 - 25 min.
# Can be baked in 3-quart shallow (at least 2-inches deep) baking dish directly on oven rack for 50-60 min or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

This is something that is going into the repertoire.  There are a billion-and-one variations that can be made with this.

The main course was a veal marsala.  Veal scallops dusted with a mixture of flour, sage, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  About 4 oz mushrooms, sliced and a half-cup of marsala to deglaze the pan.

When the wine cooked down, I added about a cup of chicken stock and then about a half-cup of heavy cream.  I let it boil until it was thick.

Served over noodles...

I used veal stew meat for the scallops.  Just pounded them thin.  They were about half the cost of pre-cut scalloppini...


Super Sunday Sustenance

The game is on the TV.  I'm not actually watching it.  It's been painful.  Not the football itself, the musical performers.

Pardon me while I rant for a moment...

I am not a rah-rah-flag-waver but... The Star Spangled Banner is not a pop song.  The notes should be sung as written.  It is the NATIONAL ANTHEM and is not open to your personal off-key interpretation.  And...  If you're going to sing the national anthem in front of a few bazillion people. please try and remember the words.  Sheesh!  That was bad.

So enough of that...  for the moment...

The Super Bowl.  Yawn.

I'm not a fan of either team, but I am rooting for Green Bay.  I dislike them less than Pittsburgh.  It's really hard to get excited about the big game when your team isn't playing.  I usually just care about the pool points, but I'm not even in a pool this year.  Double yawn.

But, we did have to eat, so I decided that we should at least have some Festive Football Food today.

We started this fun food-fest with cocktail franks wrapped in puff pastry.  Really.

One sheet of puff pastry topped with a bit of yellow mustard and one package of little cocktail franks.  Into a 425° oven for 20 minutes.

Next was focaccia.  Victor made this one.   He makes the Better Homes and Garden's Pizza Dough.  It comes out great every time.

Better Homes and Gardens Pizza Dough

Ingredients

  • 2-3/4  to 3-1/4 cups  all-purpose flour
  • 1  pkg.  active dry yeast
  • 1/2  tsp.  salt
  • 1  cup  warm water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)
  • 2  Tbsp.  cooking oil or olive oil

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl combine 1-1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Lightly grease a large bowl; place dough in bowl and cover with a damp towel (make sure the towel does not touch the dough). Let dough rise in a warm place until double in size (30 minutes).

3.  Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 16×12-inch rectangle. Place in a greased 16x12x1-inch baking pan.  Let rise 20 minutes.

4. Top with toppings of choice and bake at 375° about 25 minutes.

This time around he topped it with sun-dried tomatoes and fried peppers.  I served it up with bowls of Friday's Mulligatawny.

As the day wore on, so did we.  Time for more snacking...

This time it was nachos.  I mean...  what's football without the ultimate in junk food, eh?!?

These were extremely gooey-good!

The first thing I did with these was fry my own tortilla chips.  I have a deep-fryer.  I have to use it now and again...

I fried up a half-pound of ground beef and then added a can of chili.  Yes.  A can of chili.  Hormel Hot Chili, to be exact.  I had bought it for when Victor was in Dallas, but since I had made a batch... It's been on the shelf collecting dust.

So I put half of the chips in the pan, added half the beef and chili mixture, and then a heaping helping of shredded Mexican blend cheese.  Another layer of chips, chili, and cheese, and it went into the oven for about 20 minutes at 350°.

When it came out, I topped it with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and sliced black olives.

It was a total mess.  I loved every sloppy bite of it!

It's getting towards the end of the game, both sides are trading touchdowns...  Time to get serious and watch the end.


Sunday Breakfast

What do you do when you have a sheet of puff pastry in the 'fridge?  Make little danish pastries, that's what!

While I was in the office cursing at a database that has been giving me grief (I finally got it working properly!!!)  Victor headed to the kitchen...

He cut the sheet into fourths and added a different filling to each one...

  • goat cheese and lemon curd
  • goat cheese and apricot jam
  • lemon curd
  • apricot jam

Two sweet and two sweet and savory.  He sealed them, brushed with egg wash and then sprinkled demerara sugar on top.  Into a 400° oven.

We cut each of them in half and got to share in all of the various flavors.  I love sweet and savory combinations and I especially love them when they include a nice, tart goat cheese.

We're heading into a bit of a fun-food-eating-frenzy today.  It's tradition, except we're 3000 miles away from where we should be.

We always used to fly home for Pop's birthday - February 4th - which just happened to coincide with Superbowl Sunday.  There was never any doubt that we would all be there when Pop was there, but somehow it's not quite as high on the importance list now that he's gone.

So it will be a bit quieter t0day but come March 19th - Look Out San Francisco!  Six weeks later than usual but all six of us will be together for a bit of fun.

Coming from a large family really is fun.  I miss the chaos.

And we're staying down at the Wharf this trip.  Around the corner from Cost Plus.  It's gonna be fun playing tourist in my home town!


Stuffed Pork Chops

Saturday is rapidly becoming my favorite day of the week.  Since I now work until 4pm on Saturday, Victor has been cooking dinner.  It's been a gastronomic pleasure every week!

Last night was stuffed pork chops - with a Victor-twist.

The chops were just under an inch thick - perfect for making an open-faced-stuffed chop!

He sliced them almost all the way through, keeping sides and bottom intact.

The stuffing started with pancetta!  He sauteed it until almost crisp and then added chopped carrots, celery, and onion.  When the vegetables were almost done, he added about 3/4 cup of chicken stock to deglaze the pan.  He let it reduce to almost nothing.

Into the bowl it went with handfuls of bread crumbs and then just enough chicken stock to moisten.  Salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste.

Before adding the stuffing to the chops, Victor added a layer of goat cheese into the cavity!  What a flavorful surprise!

They went into a 350° oven for about 25 minutes.

The green beans were sauteed with balsamic vinegar and the potatoes roasted with the pork chops - olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Everything worked together perfectly.  The crispy pancetta with the goat cheese was brilliance.  It was a totally unexpected flavor which made it all the better.

Fun food, indeed.


Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny Soup

By 10am this morning I knew I wanted Mulligatawny soup for dinner.  I was talking soup and recipes with a woman at work and Mulligatawny came up and didn't leave.

Mulligatawny is an Anglo-Indian soup with as many variations as there are people making it.

First time I remember having it was while working at the Hyatt Lake Tahoe.  It was one of our winter-rotation soups - and a really popular item.

The Hyatt version was rich and really, really thick.  You could stand a spoon up in the bowl.  I don't know where the recipe came from and I've never found a recipe quite like it.  Damn, it was good!

But not knowing that recipe didn't stop me from coming up with a version of my own.  This is one of the few soups that I actually almost use a recipe for.  I like the way this comes out.

I also almost always make this with a fresh whole chicken and boil everything down.  This is the streamlined version...

Mulligatawny Soup

  • 1 large chicken breast, diced
  • 2 qt chicken broth
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 leek, chopped
  • A couple of garlic cloves, chopped
  • A few ribs celery, chopped
  • A few carrots, chopped
  • 1 small bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 granny smith (or other tart apple) peeled and chopped
  • 1 tsp to 1 tbsp Curry powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 cup uncooked rice
  • 1 pt heavy cream
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • S&P to taste

Add onion and leek to pot with a bit of oil or butter.  Saute until slightly translucent.  Add chicken.  Cook.

Add carrot and celery and cook a few minutes more.

Add the spices and cook until they are all very fragrant.  This gets rid of the 'raw' taste curry and cumin can sometimes have.

Add the broth and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, cook the rice separately.  When done, add the rice and let it cook about 15 or so minutes, stirring once in a while so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.

Add the coconut milk and  heavy cream.  Keep simmering.

Add the apples and raisins.  Taste.  Add more curry, S and/or P if desired.

Thicken with a flour and water mixture, if desired.

Cook a bit longer, stirring occasionally (don’t want it to stick!!)

A great garnish is some chopped pistachios sprinkled on each bowl as it’s served.

I used oyster crackers.

It really is an easy soup and really, really flavorful.  I like it on the thick side so I make a flour and water paste to add to it.  if you're in the mood for a bit of a thinner soup, leave it out.

You can also cook the rice right in the soup (before adding the cream and coconut milk) and let the rice starch thicken it a bit.

Any way you do it is going to be good!

Enjoy!


Meat and Potatoes

 

This was something I just knew was going to be good.  Tri-tip steaks, mashed potatoes, braised arugula...  all with a twist...

This started as a mashed potato idea yesterday...  A variation on a Duchess Potato with a big dollop of goat cheese in the center and then baked.  I had thought of several different cheeses, from brie to cheddar and just about everything else, but the goat cheese just kept calling my name.  In time, I may try different cheeses, but for tonight, the goat cheese won.  And it really was a winner!

I didn't make a classic duchess... I made my normal lumpy skin-on mashed potatoes but used creme fraiche instead of milk.

I used an ice cream scoop and put a couple of hefty scoops of potatoes on a baking sheet and then placed a thick slice of garlic and herb chevre right in the center.  I put them into a 425° oven for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, there were tri-tip steaks to pan-fry.  Tri-tips are great.  Tender and juicy.  They have finally started appearing on eastern shelves.  They've been a western cut forever... Salt, pepper, and garlic.  They didn't need anything else.

The arugula went into a skillet with a pat of butter and a bit of salt and pepper. It didn't need anything else, either.  Cooked arugula is one of my most favorite vegetables.  Yes, boys and girls, it can be used for more than salads!  It's just like spinach - only better.

And then the Bearnaise...

I cheat.  I make blender bearnaise.  But it is still really good.

Béarnaise Sauce

  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 tsp dry tarragon (or 1 tbsp fresh)
  • Pinch black pepper
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 stick butter
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp tarragon vinegar

Place shallot, tarragon, pepper, and wine in small saucepan.  Reduce to about 1 1/2 tablespoons of liquid.  Strain.

Melt the butter, keeping it hot.

Add egg yolks and tarragon vinegar to blender.  Mix.  With blender running at high speed, slowly dribble in the hot butter.  When butter is all added, whirl in the wine reduction.

I make blender hollandaise, as well...

It just worked on every level.  Besides being really visually appealing - I love layering things - the flavors all worked well together.

I can see lots of variations on this with chicken breasts or pork tenderloins...  a mushroom sauce...

Yeah...  the old gray cells are working overtime on this one...


Macaroni Bake

Leftovers are a good thing - especially when Victor is working with them!

I had planned a totally different dinner tonight, but when I got home realized I had no potatoes.  I bought a 5 lb bag at the local PathMark on Monday and ended up throwing most of them away.  I'll get my money back next Monday, but for tonight, it put a crimp in the dinner plan.

While I am lamenting my potato woes, Victor says he'll cook dinner. He actually was looking to use the pasta sauce he made the other day and who am I to argue if he want to cook dinner?!?  Mrs. Dineen did not raise a dummy!

So out comes the sauce, the pork, the meatballs...  repurposing with a purpose.

He cookd up odds and ends of the various pastas we always seem to have in the cabinet and layered it all with sauce, fontina cheese, peas, the meatballs and the pork.  More cheese on top and into the oven it went.  350° for 30 minutes.

Simple and outstanding.

These are the types of foods I can eat all night.  It's comfort-food.  I did practice restraint - not something I do very well.

One helping with several slices of Italian bread.  I sopped up every last bit of sauce and savored that very last bite of crusty bread with sauce, the teeniest bit of meat and one lone pea.

Perfection.


Beef Stew

Mom's Recipe

I've said it many times that my mother was queen of the soups and stews.  She knew how to stretch a pound of meat to serve six kids and the two of them.  No question about it.  And there's a lot of things she made over the years that I make similarly, today.  Her potato salad...  The Olive appetizers...  And her stew.

Mom's stew was pretty basic and simple.  Lots of potatoes and lots of gravy.  Sop it all up with bread.

It doesn't get any better.

Fast-forward a few years and you find me in the kitchen making a similar stew.  There's a few differences...  I use fresh onions because I wouldn't know what to do with onion soup mix and I use beef broth in place of the bouillon cubes - another non-ingredient in our house.  But the concept is the same.  Coffee and worcestershire sauce are definitely in there.  As is garlic powder.

In reading the recipe above, I think she inadvertantly left out celery.  And Kitchen Boquet.  I kinda think she always had celery in her stew.  I know I always add it to mine.  It's a natural.

I don't recall when she started using coffee in her beef dishes - soups, stews, gravies and the like.  I do remember that she was kind of proud of how the dishes came out, though.  Coffee does add a richness to beef.  I use it a lot.

I'll also add frozen peas or mixed vegetables if I happen to have any in the house.  And unlike mom, I rarely peel my potatoes or carrots.

But even though I tweak it here and there, it is her recipe that it's based upon.

And if she were still here to make a pot of it, I'd be standing in line for seconds - onion soup mix and all.