Chipotle Chicken
We've been having a lot of food fun the past few days... Our friend Dorrie and her son Jordan are down visiting from Boston - and that means getting to cook even more food than we usually do!
We had planned on going over to Victor's brother's house for the 4th - they're out of town and have a pool - but the weather just wasn't cooperating, so... we just BBQ'd at home. Hot dogs, burgers, ribs, three different types of sausages... It was yummy. Of course I cooked a bit too much... So...
Last night I decided to just do a bit of a clean out the 'fridge dinner... I took the leftover sausages - andouille, chorizo, and spicy Italian - and sliced them up. I fried up a bunch of onions and mixed peppers, and added tomatoes and lots of chipotle pepper and cumin. I then grilled a couple of chicken breasts and added them to the pot.
Boiled up some egg noodles, and voila! Dinner was served!
It was spicy hot without being 5 alarm, and we had some crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Simple and satisfying.
Dessert was a snap... We just got in puff pastry at work, so I baked off a sheet and after it came out of the oven, i split it in two. Earlier, I took some raspberries and sprinkled a bit of brandy over them.
I whipped up some cream, spread half on the pastry, added the raspberries, more cream, and then the top. Can we say "Yummy" boys and girls?!?
I have a whole chicken marinating in the 'fridge for tomorrow.....
Herb Grilled Chicken
That few minutes yesterday really paid off today! Dinner took 15 minutes from start to finish!
The herb-marinated chicken came out great! All of the herbs - and the wine - were present, but none of them overpowered the flavor of the chicken. Starting with good chicken is the key. It seems that most times when one buys that massed produced commercial chicken nowadays, it's so flavorless that if you don't marinate or add some sort of sauce, you end up with a blah bird on your plate. A free range organic bird may cost more, but it's the difference between eating at McDonald's or eating at Le Bec-Fin. It's worth it.
To round out the dinner was a tortellini dish that tomorrow will make a great cold salad. While cooking up the tortellini, I cooked up some onions, garlic, Italian peppers, and mushrooms, and then added roasted tomatoes in oil, kalamata olives, and roasted red peppers. I then mixed the tortellini in with the veggies and called it good!
Who says they don't have time to cook?!?
Advance Planning
10 minutes in the kitchen this morning will save me lots of time today and tomorrow... I made a couple of simple marinades! (Well, actually, I put some chicken and a brisket into ziplock bags and added some stuff.) Really easy!
At yesterday's grocery shopping spree, I bought 4 chicken breasts and a small beef brisket. I love bbq'd brisket, and chicken is a mainstay in our house - so many things to do with it. And since it's hotter (and muggier) than hell outside, grilling is the only way to go.
I bought a 4-pack of avocados the other day and want to use them up before they turn into guacamole on their own, so I thought grilled chicken on a bun with sliced avocado and tomato would make a lovely lunch. (I also bought a packageof ww buns, and wanted to use them up before they turned into hockey pucks...) A nice Mexican-inspired marinade would work well with the avocado... So... into the ziplock went a bit of safflower oil, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and chipotle powder, salt and pepper. Done.
I had originally thought simple BBQ sauce would be fine for the brisket, but since I'm doing Mexican for lunch, Asian would be better for dinner. Into the next baggie went soy sauce, safflower oil, a bit of sesame oil, star anise, szechuan peppercorns, chopped garlic, and rice wine. Also done.
For tomorrow's chicken, I went out to the herb garden and picked fresh basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and parsley. Into the baggie it all went with more fresh garlic, olive oil, and some white wine. It should make a pretty good addition to a big green salad.
10 minutes, three meals, and I'm now ready to lounge around the pool. Oh. Wait. i don't have a pool. Maybe I'll start grilling that chicken for lunch!
A couple of hours later and I'm feeling juuuuust fine! the chicken sandwich came out most excellent! I made an adobo mayonnaise by adding a bit of adobo sauce from the canned chipotles in adobo that were in the 'fridge. A bit of avocado and we had great, sloppy sandwiches!
About 3pm I'll put the brisket on the grill to s-l-o-w cook!
Burgers on the Barbie
I've had a hankerin' for a burger, lately. One of my most favorite meals in the world is a good, greasy burger - and I mean a real burger, not one of those microwaved things you get at a {urp} drive-thru with clowns or crowns...
So, having the fixin's at home, I set out to create...
I had a package of meatloaf mix in the freezer - the ground pork, veal, and beef mixture - and figured I'm not going to be making meatloaf any time soon (it was another scorcher with high humidity, today) so time to get creative.
I minced half an onion and 3 cloves of garlic, added chipotle powder, a bit of cumin, and a bit of cheddar and caramelized onion cheese, salt and pepper, and formed into patties. (I froze four for another day and time...)
I quartered some baby purple and yukon gold potatoes, added some olive oil and S&P and set them on the grill. When they were about 3/4ths done, on went the burgers... A couple of slices of cheese on top and voila! Dinner!
The buns were dressed with mayonnaise, thinly sliced onion, yellow tomatoes and avocado. I came thiiiiiiis close to cooking up some bacon to add, but resisted at the last minute. The burgers didn't need it!
They were properly gooey and juicy, with avocado and tomato sliding all over the place, making a mess of everything.
I have a theory that the more napkins one needs when eating a burger, the better the burger. We both went through several...
I'm trying to think up something fun for the 4th of July... Our friend Dorrie is coming down from Boston with her 13 year old son to stay with us for a week, and I'm thinking an all-day food fest while lounging around the pool is definitely in order. I'll keep ya posted! :)
More Salads
Salads. ya gotta love 'em. Greens mixed with whatever... Just lots of fresh produce put on a plate. As Tony the Tiger said... "They're Grrrrrreat!"
I put a small piece of London broil on the grill and proceeded to overcook it a bit. We were out front gossiping with our new neighbors - much more fun than standing over the grill!
But the salad was great, nonetheless. The plates were a Goodwill find many years ago right after we bought our home in San Leandro, CA. Victor went away for three days on a business trip, and when he came back, I had put a table in the back yard, painted each of the four chairs the same colors as the plates... Matching tablecloth. It was so festive and gay... What was I thinking?!?
But the plates are fun - and they do remind me of summers past. And I think I paid 25 cents a piece for them.
What a deal!
Turkey on the Barbie
No, I haven't stopped cooking. in fact, I'm probably cooking more than ever. It's just that I haven't been making the time to 1) take pictures, and 2) actually sit down and write here.
I've been pretty busy updating websites, lately. After finally learning the basics of CSS, I'm redoing a whole slew of sites. It keeps me off the streets.
So... yesterday during my weekly shopping excursion, I picked up a turkey breast. It's called a "hotel" breast, because it just has the top part of the carcass - breast and wings - and all bone-in. I put it on the grill.
I heated the grill, and then turned off the center heat. After wrapping the bird in bacon I placed it in the center, turned down the other two knobs, closed the lid, and walked away. About three hours later, we had a GREAT bird!
I was craving a good ol' turkey sandwich, so...
- Whole wheat bread slathered in mayonnaise...
- Sliced heirloom tomatoes
- Sliced avocado
- the aforementioned bacon
What a taste treat!
I served them with a manchego and apple salad I found in Bon Appetit a while back:
- 1 chopped apple
- 1 cup cubed manchego cheese
- 1/2 cup marcona almonds
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Dinner was yummy - and now I have all sorts of turkey to play with!
Tonight... salads...
Porterhouse Steaks and Stuffed Peppers
Having a huge steak is quite a rarity in our house. We're both carnivors and definitely eat our share of beef, but big ol' slabs of beef do not often make it to the table. It's expensive to get the good cuts for one, and... well, I usually like to know where my food comes from. I'm funny that way...
So... off on my weekly shopping trek, I came across a couple of porterhouse steaks that looked fantastic, and priced just right. (Okay, they weren't that cheap, but I didn't have to take out a second mortgage to buy them...) Grass fed, no hormones... They fit the criteria.
No idea yet what to do, but it was definitely going to involve open flame. These guys were screaming for the grill!
It didn't matter that by the time I got home the weather had turned from 84 degrees and sunny to cloudy, windy, and thunderstorms. The grill is in a covered area - I can (and do!) grill in a snowstorm. So... I lit the fire and got ready!
A good steak needs a minimum of enhancement, so all I did was add a bit of salt, pepper and a rub of fresh garlic - just a tad. I let them sit for a moment while figuring out what to serve with them...
A couple of red potatoes and some shallots, a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper were all it took. We have some great fresh herbs growing in the garden, but I think I mentioned thunderstorms. It was pouring rain - Biblical Rain. I wasn't going to get totally soaked for a few sprigs of rosemary. Simplicity.
Onto the grill they went.
Another thing we had were several long Italian peppers. I've been on an Italian pepper kick for a while - I love 'em. So... I cut off the top, cut out the membrane and seeds, and keeping bthem whole, stufffed them with Roquefort cheese. These, too, went on the grill, keeping the top slightly raised to keep the bubbling cheese from spilling out.
Dinner took about 20 minutes from start to finish. And even less time to eat. I sliced the pepper on top of the steak so the cheese would pool on the rare meat. It was heaven!
Needless to say, neither of us finished those huge steaks. Cybil got a nice after dinner treat.
Pumpkin Gnocchi
We spent a lovely day in the yard - trimming bushes, getting a few more annuals out, planting the (heirloom) tomatoes... I washed the truck... It was a productive morning. Victor headed back inside to catch some of the Saturday PBS cooking shows while I finished the truck.
I came walking in just in time to see Christina Pirello of Christina Cooks making Pumpkin Gnocchi! My mouth immediately began watering... I wanted some. So... off to the kitchen I went. I had already pulled out a couple of pork chops from the freezer, thinking I'd grill them with something. I had no plan this morning, but one was quickly formulating!
One of the great joys in life is being able to walk into the kitchen on the spur of the moment and make something you just saw... I had all the ingredients necessary right in the cabinets!
The recipe is quick and easy:
Pumpkin Gnocchi with Basil Oil
What You'll Need
pasta dough:
- 1-2 cups semolina flour
- 1 cup cooked white rice, pureed until smooth
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup pureed cooked butternut squash or canned pumpkin
- spring or filtered water
basil oil:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- Pinch sea salt
- 6-8 leaves fresh basil, left whole
- Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
Make the pasta. Sift flour onto a dry work surface. Make a well in the center of flour and add rice, salt, oil and pureed squash. Mix gradually, kneading into a smooth, soft dough by drawing small amount of flour in from the edges as you knead. Add more flour if the dough seems too sticky or more water if it feels too dry--but in both cases, add small amounts very slowly so as not to jeopardize the quality of the dough. Continue kneading until dough is a soft, workable ball, about 10 minutes. Set aside. Makes about 1 pound of dough.To make the gnocchi, flour a fork. Pinch off 1-inch pieces of dough and roll into balls between your fingers. Run the pasta ball on the fork to create ridges. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet that has been sprinkled with semolina. Repeat until you have made the desired amount of gnocchi. (The balance of the dough can be frozen.)
Bring a pot of water to the boil, with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the gnocchi until just tender, about 2 minutes. The gnocchi will sink to the bottom of the pot. When it rises, it is done. Drain, but do not rinse.
While the pasta cooks, make the oil. Place all ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat and cook for 3-4 minutes to develop the flavors. Strain the oil and toss with cooked gnocchi. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs and serve immediately.
As I said... Easy. Granted, my gnocchi didn't look as good as my Italian Grandmothers... Then, again, I didn't HAVE Italian Grandmothers! It takes a bit of practice to get those gnocchi to roll off the fork perfectly formed. I wasn't worried about perfection, though. I just wanted them to taste good!
I marinated the pork chops in a bit of olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasoning - same with the zucchini - and onto the grill they went. I added tomato halves drizzled with oil and sprinkled with salt. The pork chops were lookinga bit bare, so I added the grilled peppers from the 'fridge. (It was a toss-up between grilled peppers and roasted tomatoes in oil. The peppers won.)
I made the basil oil (basil from the garden, of course!) and put the chops, zucchini, and tomato on the grill just as the water was getting ready to boil. Everything came off the grill just as the gnocchi was ready to drain.
The gnocchi itself took about 20 minutes to make - and I have enough dough left over for another full meal - at least. It will be going into the freezer. Dinner took less than an hour to complete - start to finish.
Thanks, Christina!
Spring Means Salads
Okay. I've had it with this weather. The latest "storm of the century" is slated to hit in a few hours with rain, freezing weather - and maybe even some snow. Hasn't Mother Nature noticed that the calendar reads April 24th?!? Sheesh! Enough, already!
On an intellectual level, I know I can't fight Mother Nature. I can do nothing to stem the wind, the rain, or the temperature. But that doesn't mean I still can't fight back.
And I'm fighting back with SALADS! Mid-April means fresh produce in my house, and fresh produce, it is. Dinner Salads are now the rule - regardless of what the weather outside may be.
Tonight we had a great salad of mixed greens (lots of arugula!!) and a dressing of strawberries, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Simplicity.
The salad itself consisted of the aforementioned greens, roasted red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, kalamata olives, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, cucumber, and a few ounces of perfectly cooked london broil that Victor marinated.
I love the balance of sweet fresh fruit and savory vegetables and meats. It's easy to prepare and every bite becomes a new taste sensation. The salads are colorful and as yummy as they are eye-appealing.
So do your damnedest, Mother Nature. You're not going to win!
Thanksgiving Dinner - in March
During my normal shopping trek on Wednesday, I spied an organic fresh turkey - at a great price. I thought "Why not do up a mini-Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday?" I picked it up, grabbed a few more fixin's, and home I went. We called Victor's mom to come over Saturday, and I proceeded to make a feast...Turkey, gravy, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans... Oy! The food for three people! Oh - and I made a pear clafouti for dessert.
We sent mom home laden with food for a week, the carcass went into the pot for soup, everything else nicely tupperware'd and into the 'fridge.
I definitely can't eat like this often, but it's fun more than just once a year!
Chinese Take-Out at Home
I picked up a piece of skirt steak at the store the other day. Besides being ridiculously inexpensive - comparatively speaking - it's one of my favorite cuts of meat to marinate and grill. I didn't have a clear idea of what I was going to do with it - so what else is new - but it was only a couple of bucks. I knew I could figure out something...
Skirt steak is not the most popular of meat cuts. It's the diaphragm muscle, and has a reputation for being fatty and tough - and improperly cooked, it definitely is. But it's one of the best pieces of meat to marinate, and it's the only meat to use for fajitas! It picks up flavors extremely well, and as long as it is cut against the grain - as with flank steak - it can be as tender as tender can be.
So this afternoon I pulled it out of the 'fridge and did a marinade of soy sauce, rice wine, chili paste, garlic, sesame oil, and a bit of pepper. I held off on the salt because of the soy sauce... Asian BBQ, here we come!
My first thought was just to do some rice and veggies, but as I thought about it, I thought Chow Mein would be perfect. Naturally, I didn't have any Asian noodles, hoisin sauce, or any of what one would term traditional ingredients, but not having a few ingredients has never stopped me before!
I had spaghetti, I had broth, I had rice wine, I had plenty of vegetables. Tim's Chow Mein, it is!
I cooked up about 1/3 pound of noodles, rinsed, drained, and drizzled a bit of peanut oil on top. I then fried it up in the wok, getting it barely crispy. Off to a plate to keep warm.
I chopped up an onion, bell pepper, carrots, broccoli, brocolli rabe, mushrooms, and garlic and tossed it all into the wok. In the meantime, i made a sauce of about 1/2 cup of beef broth, 1/4 cup rice wine, 1 tbsp chili paste, 1 tsp sesame oil, and about 3 tbsp cornstarch mixed with water.
When the veggies were almost done, I added the sauce, and as it started to thicken, I added the noodles, and mixed everything together.
I put the steaks on the grill, and just as the noodles were ready, the steaks came off. The chow mein went onto the platter, the steak was sliced and set on top, and voila! It was dinner.
Naturally, I made enough for the neighborhood, but leftover Chinese food is mmm-mmm-good - even if there's no carry-out carton to eat from, standing by the 'fridge!
Chorizo and Rice
It's just like the old Grateful Dead song, Cold Rain and Snow... After a couple of days of toying with us, Mother Nature is back with a chilling vengeance. I decided dinner tonight had to suit the season, so into the freezer for more of that sausage I've been stockpiling.
I had about 3/4 pound of Spanish chorizo, so I quartered and chopped the links and into the pot they went. I chopped a medium onion and 2 Italian peppers and then added a couple of cloves of garlic. I let it all brown nicely, then added some smoked paprika and some Spanish paprika, a bit of salt and black pepper and cooked the spices a bit.
I then added a can of diced tomatoes with their juice and a can of tomato sauce. I let it all simmer while I made a pot of brown rice, and voila! Dinner was served!
It definitely took the chill out of the evening.
Now to see if we really do get the 4" of snow they're forecasting....
I am sooooo ready for Spring!