Spiced Beef Cornbread Cobbler

 

 

I thawed some burger yesterday, but didn't want any of my basic burger dishes.  I hit epicurious.com and found this:

Spiced Beef Corn Bread Cobbler

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 pound ground beef chuck
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 ounces coarsely grated sharp Cheddar (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a 9 1/2-inch (6-cup capacity) pie plate.

Cook onion in 2 tablespoons oil in a deep 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until edges are golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beef and cook, breaking up large lumps, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Add sugar, spices, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and briskly simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes.

While beef simmers, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together milk, egg, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl, then stir into cornmeal mixture until just combined. Fold in 1/2 cup cheese.

Spoon cooked spiced beef into pie plate with a slotted spoon, reserving juices in skillet. Skim off and discard fat from juices if desired, then pour juices over beef in pie plate.

Spoon 4 mounds of corn bread batter over beef, then sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons cheese over batter. Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of corn bread comes out clean, 15 to 25 minutes.

Serve cobbler warm.

It was actually pretty good!  I used a quarter teaspoon of some really great Guamanian hot pepper we got from Marie's nephew, Jay, and it was juuuuust this side of fire.  It was most excellent!

beef-pie-2

 

It took a lot of willpower not to keep going back for more - and more - and more!  perfect comfort food on a cold night!


Leftover Soup

Leftover... Repurposed... whatever the name, the meaning is the same.  And what a better way to deal with leftovers than to repurpose them into soup?  It's definitely a great winter food fest and exactly what I did tonight.

I had about 3 cups of turkey stock from last Tuesday's roasted turkey breast.  I had about 2 cups of pot pie filling left from Friday's pot pies (that were made - in part - with gravy that was left over from a roasted chicken made back on December 30th.)  I had my basics covered.

I sauteed a diced onion in a bit of olive oil, thenm added one diced boneless, skinless chicken breast.  (I didn't have any more turkey.  The last went to sandwiches yesterday whilst watching the game.)

I added 2 tablespoons of Thai Yellow Curry Paste, the broth, a can of diced tomatoes in juice, and a can of coconut milk.  Next, a cup of uncooked brown rice.  Finally, I added the leftover pot pie filling and let the rice cook and the soup simmer.

I was going for a variation of Mulligatawny Soup.  I had the flavor profile down.  The ingredients were all going to be pulled together with the curry paste and the coconut milk, so I could add just about anything I wanted.  Adding a strong base is a great way to pull a few otherwise disconcordant foods together.

I just let it simmer as the rice broke down a bit and added yet another layer of creaminess.

I added a dollup of sour cream more for the picture than the soup, itself.  it was rich enough without it, and - unlike my Mulligatawny - it was made without any heavy cream!

We ate it with more of Victor's great French bread from yesterday.

Yum.


Pork Chops and Pears

I didn't realize just how often I make this dish until I went to upload the picture.  I have quite a few variations on a theme, here!  It is such a quick and easy dinner that I can get it on the table in under 30 minutes.  It's also fancy enough to be a company dish!  Ya gotta love it!

This is Lidia's recipe.  I usually tweak things around a bit, and it's dinner for two, not four.  She's a lot more exacting than I am...

Lidia’s Pork Chops with Pears and Caramelized Red Onions

  • 2 cups balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 4 center-cut pork rib chops, each about 12 ounces and 1 1/4 inches thick
  • 1 large red onion, cut into 8 wedges
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 2 ripe but firm Bosc pears, peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey

In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over high heat. Adjust the heat to a gentle boil and boil until the vinegar is syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet with a flameproof handle over medium-high heat. Whack garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and scatter over oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until brown, about 2 minutes. Lay the pork chops in and cook until the underside is browned, about 6 minutes. Remove and reserve the garlic cloves if they become more than deep golden brown before the chops are fully browned.

Turn the chops, tuck the onion wedges into the pan and continue cooking until the second side of the chops is browned, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. About halfway through browning the second side, tuck the pear wedges in between the chops.

Stir the red wine vinegar and honey together in a small bowl, until the honey is dissolved. Pour the mixture into the skillet and bring to a vigorous boil. Return the garlic cloves to the skillet if you have removed them. Place the skillet in the oven and roast until onions and pears are tender and the juices from the pork are a rich, syrupy dark brown, about 30 minutes. Once or twice during roasting, turn the chops and redistribute the onions and pears. Handle the skillet carefully — it will be extremely hot.

Remove skillet from the oven. Place a chop in the center of each warmed serving plate. Check the seasoning of the onion-pear mixture, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Spoon the pears, onion and pan juices around the chops. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar reduction around the edge of the plate.

Makes 4 servings.

So tonight I used a really fun Lingonberry vinegar I bought at Ikea.  And I used red pears - unpeeled.  (Like I'm going to peel pears...)  And the balsamic reduction was just a drizzle of really good 15 year old balsamic.  It really was fun flavors.  That's pretty much the beauty of Lidia's style of cooking - a few really good ingredients speaking for themselves.

30 minutes.  I have to admit I was lazy and didn't cook brown rice tonight.  Oh well.  I ate all of my spinach, though.  Actually, I cleaned my plate.   I almost took a picture of that, but decided that would be silly and I really didn't need to go quite over the top.  Tonight.  Who knows what tomorrow might bring!


Empanadas especial

 

Empanada basically means "to wrap in bread" and that's pretty much what I did tonight.  A simple dough, a simple filling, simply fried.  A simple dinner, indeed! There are as many "traditional" fillings as there are countries where empanadas can be found, so that pretty much left me free to create my own.  I had leftover turkey in the 'fridge, so it was pretty automatic that turkey was going to be a main ingredient! I found the dough recipe online...

Empanada Dough

* 3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup cold water
* 1 egg
* 1 egg white
* 1 teaspoon vinegar
* 3 tablespoons shortening (I use lard)

Preparation:
1. In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.

The Filling

  • 1 cup diced cooked turkey
  • 1/2 jar Happy Hal's Black Bean Bruschetta
  • 1/4 cup chipotle sauce
  • 1/2 cup diced roasted red pepper
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix.  That's it.  Really. To make empanadas, take dough and divide into 10 pieces.  Roll into balls and then roll out to about 6" circles.  Fill with a couple of tablespoons of filling.  Fold over and crimp edges with a fork to seal. Fry in a bit of hot oil until browned.

These were really a lot of fun - and the filling was about as non-traditional as you can get.  It's okay, though, because eating is supposed to be about fun and flavors, not rigid rules.  Granted, if I were making these for someone from a country where they are native, I would probably be a bit more exacting, but this is me, Victor, and the stuff already in the house.  The food police are not coming over, tonight. I can tell that I'm getting older...  Once upon a time, I would have insisted that everything be exact, that ingredients all be authentic.  I would have driven myself (and everyone around me) crazy. Not any more.  Food Fun.  Fun Food.

The rice was brown jasmine rice that I added a couple of tablespoons of sofrito sauce to the cooking water.  Not exactly traditional, either, but dayum, it was good! A smiling stomach and leftovers for lunches. Life is good!


Turkey

I was doing the weekly shopping yesterday and lo and behold, the local grocery store was selling bone-in whole turkey breasts for 59¢ a pound!  All-natural, minimally processed, not full of crap, fresh breasts.  I bought two - one for the oven and one for the freezer.  For less than 10 bucks I have LOTS of dinners, lunches, sandwiches, and snacks!

We postponed a dinner date with a friend tonight because of the icy weather, so into the oven this little guy went!  8 pounds of joy!

I've cooked a bazillion turkeys in my life and always just eyeballed them, did the poke, the leg-movement, the clear-running juices and usually ended up with a pretty good bird... but ever since I got my first digital thermometer some 10 years ago, I rely on it.  And I have had perfect turkeys every time!

Rule number one is NOT to overcook them!  Those websites and places that say to cook the bird to 180° are a sure recipe for failure.  You are guaranteed a dried-out bird.  No two ways about it.  If you pull the bird out of the oven at 155° and let it sit for at least 15 minutes, it will continue cooking to 165° and you will have a perfect, moist turkey - every time!

So time to start working on some new turkey recipes.  We have lots!


Sunday Brunch

Today was our Annual Christmas Get-Together with Linda and David.  Linda and Victor have known each other since grammar school.  Ours was the first house Linda ever handled as a new real estate agent.  And they both love food like we do.

And they love to talk like we do... six conversations going on simultaneously.  They're great fun.

We started off with coffee and lox and bagels, cream cheese, onions, tomatoes, capers... The basics...

We consumed our requisite amount of appetizers while I was busy pulling the main course together.  Of course, everyone stayed in the kitchen.  We didn't even bother trying to move them out to the living room.  They're definitely kitchen-friends.  We were talking about designing our "dream home" and figured all we really needed was a big kitchen, a bed and a bath.  Really. And if I had the money, I'd do some serious wall-rearranging...

The most wasted space in our house is the dining room.  It's too small to be of any real use.  Knock down a couple of walls, relocate a stairway...  Piece of cake.  But I digress...

We're all chatting away and I'm cooking away.  Actually, at this point I was merely poaching eggs and trying to pull it all together...

The main course was our version the Eggs Benedict we had at Maverick in San Francisco this past November.  Andouille Sausage and Langostinos with a jalapeño hollandaise.  Downright good!

This is what putting four plates together simultaneously looks like!

(I want a bigger kitchen for my birthday.)  The plate was finished off as the last time with cubed fried potatoes.  It works.  What can I say?

The finishing touch was individual Panettone Bread Puddings.

This was out-of-this-world-good!   I make a lot of bread pudding, but this one was over the top!

  • 1 large loaf panettone, cut into cubes
  • 8 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.
Butter 6 individual 10 oz souffle cups (or a 9x13 pan.) Whisk the eggs, cream, milk, and sugar to blend and then add bread cubes. Press the bread cubes gently to submerge.
Let stand for 30 minutes, occasionally pressing the bread cubes into the liquid.
Spoon into prepared cups, filling to rim. (An ice cream scoop works well.)
Place filled cups into a deep-rimmed pan and add boiling water to fill about halfway up side of cups.

Bake until the pudding puffs and is set in the center, about 55 minutes.  If using 9x13 pan, omit water bath and bake about 45-55 minutes.

It really came out good!

And here are Linda and David enjoying dessert!

We finally retired to the living room and opened presents!

Our next big meal together will be in at their house in July for my and Linda's birthdays.  More presents!!  And more good food!


Pork, Puff Pastry, and Pumpkin Polenta

It seems that the custom of eating pork on New Year's is based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress. The animal pushes forward, rooting itself in the ground before moving.  The Pennsylvania Dutch add sauerkraut and mashed potatoes to the pork for luck - but - according to tradition - it's supposed to be the first meal eaten in the new year for it to be lucky.

I'm not superstitious, nor am I Pennsylvania Dutch (although my father's mother's Irish grandfather was born somewhere in Pennsylvania in the 1830's...  But I digress...)

I wasn't raised with the idea of eating certain foods at New Year's and really didn't even hear of the tradition until I was in the Navy living with all those Southerners...  Black-eyed peas were de rigueur whilst I was in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club, along with greens.  I don't recall the first time I had Hoppin' John - black-eyed peas and rice with ham hocks.  Probably in Boston in the early 1980's with our landlady who had roots in the South and the Caribbean.  Maureen and her sister Evelyn were great cooks.

But that has nothing to do with tonight's dinner...  I decided on pork because it was already in the house.  Actually, the whole menu was already in the house.  It's cold outside and I wasn't leaving for nothin'!

Last week when we met David, Martha, and Harriette for dinner, Martha gave us jars of cranberry chutney and a pear conserve that she had made and canned.  Outrageously good.  I thought the pear would go really well with the pork.

I chopped it up a bit finer and added a bit of chipotle sauce to cut the sweetness and add a bit of heat.  I did a quick sear on the pork chops and chilled them. When they were cold, I covered them with the sauce, wrapped them in puff pastry and placed into a 425° oven for about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, I made Pumpkin Polenta - one of my more favorite dishes.  I got the original concept out of Today's Diet and Nutrition magazine.  (I was very bad - we were at Victor's foot doctor's office and while I was waiting, I was thumbing through the magazine.  I saw the recipe and cut it out.  I then went home and subscribed...)  I digress, again...

Pumpkin Polenta

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 can pumpkin puree
  • 2/3 cup polenta
  • salt and pepper to taste

Bring milk, cream, butter, salt, pepper, and pumpkin to a boil.  Slowly stir in polenta.  Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked - about 30 minutes. (I used a really coarse polenta that takes up to 45 minutes.  Finer-grained polenta will take less time.)

I had leftover chicken gravy from Tuesday night, so I took some of it and added  a couple of tablespoons of Sofrito sauce to tweak it towards a more latin sauce.  It worked really well!

And then spinach - greens for money, I think the saying goes.

In a couple of hours there are brownies for dessert.

Happy New Year, indeed!


Happy New Year

ny-breakfast-4 ny-breakfast-3 ny-breakfast-2 ny-breakfast

New Year's Breakfast!  What a treat.  And it is a treat because there's not going to be a lot of these happening in 2009.

It's time to get serious about a bit of weight-loss.  I was doing really good until I stopped smoking - and then the weight just piled on.  My portion sizes piled on.  A lot of clothes just flat-out don't fit anymore, and I'll be damned if I'm going out and buying a new wardrobe!

The plan is to actually just eat smaller portions.  I spent too many years working in Nutrition and Dietetics to know that "diets" don't work.  We won't be buying "lite" foods.  We won't be buying "lowfat" foods.  We will eat REAL food - just less of it.  And we'll make smarter choices when it comes to meals.  That, and I have to slow down on eating at work.  It's rough cooking and serving food all day and not constantly munching, but those calories really add up.

One pound a week would be perfect for me.

Starting January 6th.  I still have one brunch and one lunch where I'm going for it! :)


Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Peas

I thought when I got up this morning - looking out the window and seeing gray - that it was going to be a beef stew dinner.  And then I went outside.  65° was definitely not stew weather.  Plan B was Meatloaf.

Meatloaf is and will always be one of my favorite foods - and this particular combination is Victor's favorite meal.

There's no such thing as a recipe for meatloaf.  It's ground beef with onions, bread crumbs, some catsup, splash of mustard, worcestershire sauce, garlic, S&P and an egg or two to bind.  Bake until done.  If you want to get fancy, you can buy the ground beef/pork/veal mixture, but I'm usually a ground beef purist.

The gravy is mushrooms, butter, flour, red wine, and broth.  Funny that I will use every and all fat from every and all birds, fowl, and animals, but I never use the fat from meatloaf to make gravy.  I can't think of a reason why not - other than I just don't care for it.  Oh well.

I ate way too much and am now on my way in to make more cookies.  At least it will keep me from eating cookies for a while.  I'm stuffed.


Chipotle Brisket

 

I picked up a brisket at the market this morning and immediately started thinking "Mexican" tonight.  Brisket with Chipotle Sauce, slow-cooked in the oven.  Yum.  Definitely not your Bubbe's Brisket!

Since the local Super Fresh became a PathMark, I've noticed some new Mexican items on the shelves (they may have always been there, but I'm now noticing them because of their remerchandizing...) But whatever the reason, I picked up a can of La Morena Home Made Style Chipotle Sauce and decided to give it a try.

Can we say nice and tasty, boys and girls?!?  Great smoky-spicy flavor.  I put a bit in the bottom of a shallow covered casserole, added the brisket, poured the rest of the can of sauce over it, put on the lid, and into a 250° oven for about 4 1/2 hours.  The smells were wafting through the house.  It was great.

Tender, rich, spicy... all of the above.  I thickened the juices with a bit of cornstarch - it didn't need anything else at all.

I did use about 1/2 cup of the juices to add to the rice.  I also had refried black beans, handmade tortillas, buttered corn, and Happy Hal's Black Bean Bruschetta.

And... there's leftovers

.


WOW Eggs Benedict

Victor just christened this the best breakfast I have ever made.  He may be right.  WOW!  is all I can say!

When we were in San Francisco a few weeks ago, we had brunch at Maverick with Renee, and we had these excellent Eggs Benedict.  I've been dying to make my own version ever since.  Today was that day.

Maverick made theirs with andouille and crayfish.  I made mine with andouille and langostinos.

Now... cooking breakfast is not for the faint-of-heart.  It can be one of the most difficult and time-consuming meals to pull off.  A good breakfast cook is worth his weight in gold - and can make some seriously good money at the right place.  It's all timing.  Well... and lots of pots and pans. (And, hopefully, someone else to clean up!)  I know.  I cooked a LOT of breakfasts in my day.  And was paid well for it.

For breakfast today I started by lightly toasting the English muffins.  I then started the poaching water with a splash of white vinegar to keep the eggs from spreading.

I sauteed the diced andouille sausage in a bit of butter and at the last minute, added the langostino.  It only takes a second to cook.  There's enough spice in the sausage that I didn't need to add anything else.

Meanwhile, I had diced a potato and had it cooking in a bit of grapeseed oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Hollandaise is extremely easy to make, and Maverick made theirs with jalapeno.  I had Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish in the fridge and used it.  Fantastic!

Blender Jalapeno Hollandaise

  • 3 egg yolks
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish
  • 1 cup butter, melted and hot
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Place egg yolks, salt, Happy Hal's and heavy cream in blender, blend for a few seconds at high speed. Add hot butter in a thin, steady stream.  Add vinegar about half-way through and then add the rest of the butter.  Enjoy.

To make a traditional hollandaise, substitute a pinch of cayenne for the Happy Hal's.  You may also use lemon juice in place of the vinegar. (I didn't have any lemons in the house this morning.)

So... English muffins on the plate, topped with andouille and langostinos.  Atop that went the poached eggs.  Careful here... the eggs will not sit flat upon the andouille.  I almost lost one egg to the floor.  Cybil was extremely bummed that I saved it.  Make a bit of a nest, if need be.

Potatoes on the plate, hollandaise on the eggs, and breakfast was served.

This is definitely one to share.  It is outstanding!


Thanksgiving is Officially Over

The last of the turkey was consumed tonight.  Considering I bought such a (comparitively) small bird this year, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.

Hot turkey sandwiches were the appropriate finishing meal.  Unfortunately, I forgot the cranberry sauce.

Oh well...

I just had a memory of Turkey Dinner when I was in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club.  Christmas Day, 1972... Gulf of Tonkin.

I was a baker and five of us made something like 700 pies, while the cooks in the galley cooked off something like 500 BRT turkeys. (BRT=Boned, Rolled, and Tied.)  Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, dressing... The forward bakeshop made 5000 or so dinner rolls.  Gourmet, it was not.

So after baking all those damned pies, I got to serve them, as well.  I don't remember who sent the Santa outfit to me - one of my sister's probably - but there I was dressed as a pretty lame Santa in a flannel Santa outfit serving those thousands of slices of pie.

The ice mold on the counter there was also a thing to behold. My best buddy Tim - who later became my brother-in-law - and I filled up a small mixing bowl with water and floated plastic holly, tinsel, and lord knows whatever other holiday-type stuff one could find while floating off the coast of Viet Nam.  Into the freezer it went, and we had instant holiday ice sculpture.  They loved it.

The only thing I really remember well - 36 years after the fact - is just how uncomfortable and hot I was.  I think I actually weighed about 150 pounds in that picture and had tons of padding on me. (I wouldn't need the padding, today!)  The galley and the bakeshops were always incredibly hot to begin with - and there I was dressed in layers and layers.

And how about those Navy-Issue glasses?!?  What a stud.