Clean-Out-The-Refrigerator Risotto

The end of the culinary week is here.  Grocery shopping (and Pasta Monday!) is tomorrow.  That means I should really use up the things that are in the house...

It's actually pretty easy to do.  If it's hot out, I make salads.  If it's cold, soups and casseroles.  It's really nothing more than taking a disparate bunch of items and uniting them with a common item, be it a salad dressing, a spice, a broth, sauce, or gravy.

And yes, it really is that basic.

Risotto, at it's most basic form, is rice and liquid.  Add some cheese.  Add some vegetables. Add some meat or seafood.  Add all of them.   The end result is still rice and liquid - sometimes with stuff mixed in with it, as well.

And that is how I approached tonight's dinner.

I started by dicing a couple of carrots and about 8oz of mushrooms.  Into my most-favorite Le Creuset braiser with a bit of olive oil.  The pan is getting close to 30 years old.  It is perfect for so many things, but it is stellar for risotto.  It's flat-out one of my most favorite cooking utensils.

Next into the pan was  about 10 ounces of diced ham.  I added a pat of butter and a cup of Vialone Nano rice.  I had heard that both Vialone Nano and Carnarioli rices were superior to arborio in making risotto, so I picked up a box of each to see.  I've only used the Vialone Nano thus far, and yes, it's really good - but not worth three times the price of the arborio.  Granted, I haven't made a classic risotto dish with it, yet, but my discerning palate isn't discerning three times the price.

I stirred the rice, cooked it until it was translucent, and then started adding broth.  I made it the traditional way, adding a ladle of broth, letting it absorb, adding another...  It took about 25 minutes.  I added a cup of frozen peas, an ounce of grated parmesan, and a couple ounces of grated cotija cheese.  As I said earlier, this was a clean-out-the-refrigerator dish.

It was all the things it was supposed to be... creamy and flavorful with lots of different textures.  It was definitely a good cruise-into-fall dish.

Tomorrow is Pasta Monday.  Victor has already made a fresh pasta - tagliatelle - for tomorrow's dinner.

Maybe I'll bake some bread.....


Cranberry Pumpkin Pork

The curse of being a cook.  Or, rather, of having a knife and three minutes of time.  And an active imagination.

The basis for tonight's dinner came about after seeing bags of diced butternut squash.   They looked beautiful - bright orange, fresh-looking...  The mind started playing all sorts of recipe-games.  It's fun to play the "what if I did this..." game.  The mind can really start racing with ideas.  As I was contemplating what I could do, I espied whole butternut squash.  Immediately I knew I was bringing home a whole squash.  Try as I might, I just can't justify someone else cutting my vegetables for me.  I know that packaged, pre-packaged, pre-cut/chopped/diced everything is the wave of the future.  I know that there are many people out there who believe that pushing a button on a microwave is too much work.  And I know that not everyone likes to cook.

I just don't happen to be one of them.

I plan on being a cranky old man when I grow up spouting things like "When I was your age I used to get lemon juice from a natural container - a lemon!"  Or...  "I remember when we used to buy fruits and vegetables that looked like fruits and vegetables.  Before they were all genetically modified."

I think it will be fun.

But back to dinner tonight...

The squash was easy.  I peeled, seeded, and diced the squash and drizzled it with maple syrup, sage, salt, and pepper.  Into a 375° oven it went for 20 minutes.  I used the same timer for the rice.

I heated the pumpkin puree (I still have lots!) and then added a handful of fresh cranberries, salt, and pepper.  Very simple.  I wanted the flavor of the pumpkin to predominate.

I cut a small pork tenderloin into about 1/2" slices and covered them in a mixture of flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil, and after flipping them over, added the pumpkin and cranberry mixture and simmered everything for about 6 or 7 minutes.

The timer went off and everything was ready!

Butternut squash with maple syrup is a natural combination and a hint of sage balanced the sweetness.  The tart cranberries balanced the sweetness of the pumpkin and the garlic in the flour added that little bit more of a savory edge.

It worked on every level.

I love Fall.


French Onion Soup

It's fall.  daylight savings time os over.  It's been really cold.  I decided it was time to make a big batch of French Onion Soup.

Sunshine, blue skies, and otherwise glorious weather.

Go figure.

But I made the soup, anyway.  I like onion soup.  Besides, I had almost 10 pounds of onions.

It's a rather easy soup to make.  I make it as a beef and onion soup.  Very non-traditional.  I'm not sure why or when that happened, but it's been going on for years.

First, you start with the onions.  This batch was the aforementioned 9 1/2 pounds of onions.

Slice them and put them in a big pot with a stick of butter.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until they brown and caramelize.  This batch took about 1 1/2 hours to reach the right color.

At this point you need to be stirring a lot more often and really scraping the bottom of the pot to get all that good caramelized flavor.

Meanwhile - and this is where I defy tradition - I brown beef cubes (today I used about 1 1/2 pounds of tri-tip I cut up) and after it was browned, deglazed the pan with about a half-cup of sherry.

All of that went into the pot with the onions.

I then added 2 quarts of beef stock.

I added a bay leaf, about a teaspoon of French herbs, salt and pepper.  I then brought it to a boil and covered and simmered it for about 45 minutes.

Neither of us are crazy about cheese-encrusted croutons floating (or glued) to our soup bowls, so I just added some grated cheese to the top.  They are really a pain-in-the-ass to eat.  I'd rather just dunk some french bread.

I used a blend of onions; 6 pounds of Mayan sweet onions and 3 1/2 pounds of white onions.  The soup was definitely on the sweet side.  In a good way, though.

And there's lots of leftovers.  A bunch for us and a big container to bring over to Victor's mom tomorrow.

She really likes my onion soup!


Moroccan Beef Meatball Tagine

I planned on making hamburgers tonight.  Somewhere along the line, I got sidetracked.

Actually, my thought process was quite simple.  Burgers mean potatoes, whether they be fries, chips, or salad.  I didn't have any potatoes and wasn't about to leave the house to get one.

I had rice, couscous, polenta, and just about every other grain imaginable, so I thought I'd find something that would go with one of them.

A Bon Appetit magazine came to the rescue.  A cold day calls for something saucy and out of the oven. Besides, I had most of the ingredients  and figured I could fake it with the ones that were missing.  I didn't have the spinach or any fresh cilantro.  I added parsley and a pinch of coriander.

It worked.

The meatballs themselves were nice and spicy.  The half-teaspoon of cayenne was a perfect amount.  Anything more would have been too hot.  I also added a bit of harissa paste to the sauce.  The sauce was slightly sweet with a hint of heat that offset the meatballs perfectly.

I had couscous but decided on serving it over white rice.  It would have gone well with anything!

Moroccan Beef Meatball Tagine

Meatballs:

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1/3 cup coarsely grated onion
  • 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 large egg, beaten to blend
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Stew:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 1/2 cups chopped onions
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins
  • 2 cups 1/2-inch-thick carrot slices (cut on diagonal)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus additional for garnish
  • 1 5-ounce package baby spinach leaves

preparation

For meatballs:

Line large rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Gently mix all ingredients in large bowl. Using moistened hands and scant 2 tablespoonfuls for each, roll meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Arrange meatballs on sheet.

For stew:

Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté about 15 minutes. Add garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, and saffron; stir 2 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with juice, and raisins.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring stew to simmer. Stir in carrots. Carefully add meatballs to stew; gently press into liquid to submerge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cilantro over. Cover pot; place in oven. Bake until meatballs are cooked through and carrots are tender, about 35 minutes. Sprinkle spinach over stew. Cover and bake until spinach wilts, about 5 minutes longer. Gently stir to mix in spinach, being careful not to break meatballs. Remove cinnamon sticks. Season tagine with salt and pepper. Spoon couscous into bowls; top with tagine. Garnish with cilantro and lemons.


Crispy Gnocchi with Peas and Bacon

This was a two-person-in-the-kitchen dinner!  My favorite kind.

Victor was perusing the internet looking at different gnocchi ideas when he came across a recipe for Crispy Gnocchi with Fresh Peas and Bacon.  The minute I heard about it (yesterday) I knew I had to have it (today.)  I shopped on a Saturday afternoon - stood in line - just to bring home the bacon.

We're talkin' dedication.  Or something.

It was worth standing in line.  I'd do it again.What a great idea!

Victor used gnocchi he made and froze last month.  The recipe is really simple - and you can cut back on the butter considerably!

Crispy Gnocchi with Peas and Bacon

  • ¼ pound bacon or pancetta, diced (1 cup)
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 cups shelled fresh peas (frozen works in a pinch)
  • 12 fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (left whole)
  • 6 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1lbs gnocchi fresh or frozen

For the sauce, cook the bacon in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy, about 5 minutes. (Pour off some of the fat if your pork is especially greasy. You’ll want about 2 tablespoons of fat.) Add the shallot and garlic, sweat for 1 minute, and then add the lemon juice.

Increase the heat to medium, add the peas, and sauté just until the peas brighten in color. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the parsley and 2 tablespoons butter. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary, though you shouldn’t need much, if any, because the bacon adds a natural saltiness to the sauce. Turn off the heat and set aside while you sauté the gnocchi.

To finish the gnocchi, heat 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat in a sauté pan large enough to accommodate all of the gnocchi without crowding. When the butter becomes brown and fragrant, add the gnocchi to the pan and cook, turning as necessary, until they’re browned and crisp on all sides, 5 or 6 minutes.

Pour in the pea and bacon sauce, turning to coat. Add the remaining tablespoon butter, the parmesan, and the 2 tablespoons of water while turning the gnocchi. Allow the sauce ingredients to emulsify and form a silken coating, 1 to 2 minutes. The sauce should cling to the gnocchi. Spoon the gnocchi and sauce into shallow bowls and serve immediately.

I made a swiss steak of sorts.  Beef round steak sliced thin and pounded, floured, and sauteed with onion and mushrooms.  A bit of beef broth and the final container of  mushroom soup.

I covered it and put it into a 275° oven while Victor made the gnocchi.

So...

Did you notice the plate that tonight's dinner was on?  It's from Teatro Zinzanni - a show that plays in Seattle and San Francisco.

Click for a large detailed picure.

The concept pretty much is a 5-course dinner served in a circus tent - and the diners being a part of the show.  It's non-stop fun and possibly one of the best three hours you'll ever spend.  It's fantastic.

They bill themselves as Love, Chaos, and Dinner.  They are so right.  We were so enthralled with everything that after the show, we went into the gift shop and bought 4 plates - two oval and two round.  I think they were something like $40.00 a piece.  We were flush back in those days.

Go to the website and click on the videos to see some of the show in action.

And then...  if you're ever in San Francisco or Seattle - GO SEE IT!


Mushrooms and Cheddar

The concept for this sandwich was a mushroom, caramelized  onion, and cheddar sandwich at one of the local pubs - Kildares, I think.   Ruth made it up using mushrooms and a caramelized onion cheddar cheese.  On ficelle rolls.

I have made it a score of times, sometimes playing with it, and other times making it as it was originally intended.  It pretty much rocks the casbah no matter how it's made.

The concept is quite simple - and pure brilliance.  Sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onion cheddar cheese melted into them after they're browned really well, and then stuffed into a roll.

Did I say brilliance?!?

Two variations on a theme have been cooking the mushrooms with some ground beef, and adding in some slices of chicken breast as I did last night.

With sweet potato fries.

It really is a simple dish and the mushroom and cheese combination with the onions just makes everything right with the world.

If you don't have a cheddar cheese that already has the caramelized onions in it, just cook up a handful and add it in with the 'shrooms.

Rock your casbah.


Beef Stew and Stormy Weather

I love cold, gray, wet, and dreary days.  They're the perfect excuse to bake some bread, make a soup or stew, light a fire in the fireplace, and, generally, be a slug.  All of my favorite things to do.  Especially the slug part.

And today was the perfect cold, gray, wet, and dreary day to do a couple of the above.  I got home too late to make bread, but I had plenty of time to make stew and be a slug.  And the fireplace is being lit as I type.

Life is good.

When I make soups and stews, I somehow think I'm still cooking on an aircraft carrier.  I don't know what it is, but small amounts just do not compute.  There are two of us.  I do not need several pounds of meat, and even more potatoes, celery, carrots, etc...  But I break out the pot and need to fill it.  And we then have enough to feed the neighborhood.

My solution tonight was to just use a smaller pot.  (I know...  what a concept, eh?!?)  I've tried it before with other pots - and ended up dumping everything into a larger pot.  I decided to make a go of it one more time.  And tonight, it worked!  A manageable amount!

I also cooked the onions in bacon grease - and then because there just happened to be three slices of bacon in the refrigerator - I sliced up the bacon and added it to the onions, then browned the mushrooms and the beef.  I generally don't use bacon in my beef stew - I save it for making Julia’s boeuf bourguignon - but it was there.  And I'm really glad it was.

I wasn't vying for the complex flavors of boeuf bourguignon.  I just wanted to add a bit more flavor to a Thursday night beef stew.

It worked.

Potatoes, celery, carrots, a quart of beef broth and a pinch of herbs d'Provence.

That was it.

Another thing I did differently was thicken it with rice flour.  I picked up a box of it a while ago because it is especially good at thickening things that are going to be frozen.  It keeps things from separating when they thaw.  I added the same amount nixed with water as I would have with wheat flour and it worked just fine.

And warm cheese focaccia to dunk.

Time to slug.


Chicken and Pumpkin

What to do when you have lots of pumpkin puree in the house?  Start using it in fun and creative ways!  Like a Pumpkin BBQ Sauce.

I really went international with this one...   I started with the pumpkin puree and added a bit of Banana Sauce  from the Philippines and Matouk's Calypso Sauce from Trinidad and Tobago.  To round things out, I added a bit of Gate's BBQ Sauce from Kansas City.

It was spicy hot.  The Calypso Sauce is a scotch bonnet mustard sauce, the Banana Sauce is a sweeter-than-ketchup sauce but with a similar flavor profile, and the Gates BBQ Sauce is just good BBQ.  It made for a great combination.

I schmeared it all over the chicken and then oven-roasted it for about 30 minutes at 425°.  They were big breasts.

Brussels sprouts - the last of the stalk - were oven-roasted with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  They were perfect in their roasted simplicity.  Red whole-grain rice finished the plate.

The sauce really was good.  Even with the heat of the calypso sauce, the pumpkin came through.

It's given me an idea about a pumpkin chipotle bbq sauce.

Stay tuned.


Cauliflower and Bean Soup

I was at the store yesterday shopping for Victor's mom when I espied a display of cauliflower.  Humongous heads of cauliflower.  Cauliflower on steroids heads of cauliflower.  For 2 bucks.  I had to get one.

A head of cauliflower this size is like those huge stalks of brussels sprouts - a serious commitment for two people.

Not being commitment-shy, I grabbed one.

I think when I first saw it I thought "soup" although a dozen or two recipe ideas have filtered through the little gray cells.  Au gratin to cheese sauce and everything in between...

Soup won.

But I did do a slightly different spin on it.  I soaked a pound of cannelini beans last night to make a bean and cauliflower soup, because, well...  gee...  that 900 pound head of cauliflower definitely wouldn't feed the two of us...  (I do wonder about myself, sometimes...)

But I digress...

I actually wanted a bit more substance than mere cauliflower and I didn't want to add a ton of cheese or cream - my two normal go-to ingredients for cauliflower soup.  And that bag of cannelini beans was right there sitting on the shelf...

Cauliflower and Cannelini Bean Soup

  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 links good-quality andouille sausage, diced
  • 1 pound cannelini beans, cooked and drained
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • 1 huge head cauliflower
  • 1 8 oz brick light cream cheese
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Saute onion and diced andouille until onion is translucent.  Add stock and bring to boil.  Add cauliflower florettes.

Cover and simmer until cauliflower is cooked and mushy.

Add drained beand and coarsely puree using an immersion blender.  Make it as smooth or chunky as you like.

Add cream cheese and mix until smooth and cheese is melted.

Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if deseired.

The soup was t-h-i-c-k and really filling.  Perfect cold-weather fare.  Bread still warm from the oven finished the meal - and me.

The andouille added all the spices the soup needed.  The main reason I recommend a good-quality andouille.  You don't need to add anything else.  The beans (and the cream cheese) added the silkiness a plain cauliflower soup would lack, but the cauliflower flavor still came through loud and clear.

It was the best of all worlds.

So we now have soup to last us for days/weeks/months.  I'm glad the freezer has been getting emptied.

Time to add a few more containers.....


Sweet Potato Latkes and Portobello Mushroom Gravy

It's amazing that dinner ever made it from concept to reality tonight.  I had too many concepts.

Sunday tends to be a bit of a clean out the refrigerator day in preparation for the Monday Shopping Trek.  I had a lot of choices and a lot of ideas today.  I have a single pie crust left from making the pumpkin pie the other night that would have gone great on my Mom's Steak Pie.  But I needed to use brussels sprouts.  And that yam.  And those last few mushrooms.

There is chicken in the freezer - and several varieties of sausage.  A pork tenderloin...

Leafing through the latest copy of Wegmans magazine, I saw a recipe for Apple Almond Yam Cakes.  A sweet potato latke by any other name...  That set the tone for dinner.  Sweet potatoes go great with brussels sprouts, and tri-tip roasts and mushroom gravy go with everything.

A dinner was born.

The tri-tip went into the oven at 425° along side the brussels sprouts.  I halved the sprouts, put them into a casserole dish with about a half-cup of chicken stock and just let 'em cook down.  About 5 minutes before they came out of the oven I added dried cranberries and pine nuts.

While the roast was resting, I made a pan gravy using the drippings, a handful of sliced baby bella mushrooms, a splash of brandy and a carton of condensed portobello mushroom soup.  Really.  Condensed soup.  Me.

It was something new and I thought I'd give it a try.  I have to admit that the last time I used condensed soups in anything was back in the '70s when I lived at Lake Tahoe.  I used to make a stuffed chicken breast dish with a champagne mushroom sauce for crowds (we always had crowds at that house!) but over the years just stopped using them.  Since Victor just said my gravy is better, I probably will continue to stop using them.

The sweet potato latkes were good.  Nice balance of potato with apple and onion.  I used sliced almonds as the recipe stated, but will use probably use slivered almonds next time I make them for a bit more pronounced crunch.  The recipe makes a dozen large potato cakes, so be forewarned.  We'll have a couple for breakfast tomorrow and more are going into the freezer.

Apple Almond Yam Cakes

  • 1 1/4 lbs yams, peeled, coarsely grated (about 7 cups)
  • 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, coarsely grated
  • 4 oz Chopped Onions
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Sour Cream
  • 4 large Eggs, lightly beaten
  • Salt and ground white pepper to taste
  • 1 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

Directions:

  1. Combine yam, apple, and onion in a large mixing bowl. Add sour cream and eggs; season to taste with salt and white pepper. Stir to combine. Slowly fold in flour. Stir in almonds. Mix well. Form yam mixture into patties by scooping up portions with ice cream scoop (about 1/2 cup) and pressing firmly with hands. Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high, 1-2 min, not allowing oil to reach smoking point. Reduce heat to medium.
  3. Add yam patties to pan (pan should hold 5 patties). Cook, 7-8 min until edges begin to brown. Gently turn patties over. Cook 5-6 min until browned and tender. Drain on double thickness of paper towels.
  4. Repeat with remaining yam patties, heating additional vegetable oil if necessary.

Can be made a few hours ahead and reheated in a 350 degree oven for 20 min.

It was an easy dinner to put together, but I did seen to dirty an awful lot of stuff.  Fortunately, we have a great system.  When I cook, Victor cleans and when Victor cooks, Victor cleans.

It really is a great system!


Pork Tenderloin and Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts.  The greatest little vegetable in the whole wide world.

Really.

I loved brussels sprouts back when the only way I ever saw them was from a frozen square box.  Even over-cooked and mushy they were great.

And then one day I found them fresh.  Brussels sprouts could actually have a crunch  when cooked!  What a revelation!  My love affair deepened.  I tried them any number of different ways.  And I liked them all.

Boiled, broiled, roasted, steamed, or fried... no matter how you do 'em, I'm there.  For years, I was hooked on brussels sprouts in a mustard sauce.  Then I went into a rut with balsamic vinegar.  Lately, I've been slicing them really thin and sauteing them.

Tonight, I cut two slices of bacon into matchsticks and fried the shredded/sliced brussels sprouts with the bacon - and a pinch of salt and pepper.  They were outrageously good.

For folks who aren't huge brussels sprouts fans, slicing/shredding the sprouts turns them into a much sweeter vegetable.  They lose a lot of that bitter cabbagy taste that many dislike.

And, of course, the fresher the better...

And speaking of fresh...  Did you know that brussels sprouts grow on stalks?!?   The picture above is about half the stalk I started with. With easily 3 1/2 pounds of sprouts on a stalk, it's a bit of a commitment for two people.  I may just blanch and freeze some.

And here's what a cup of Brussels Sprouts will give you:

Only 60 calories without anything on them.  Bacon does add calories and fat.  Go figure.

Nutrient

Amount

%  RDV

Nutrient Density

vitamin K 218.80 mcg 273.5 80.9
vitamin C 96.72 mg 161.2 47.7
folate 93.60 mcg 23.4 6.9
vitamin A 1121.64 IU 22.4 6.6
manganese 0.35 mg 17.5 5.2
dietary fiber 4.06 g 16.2 4.8
potassium 494.52 mg 14.1 4.2
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) 0.28 mg 14 4.1
tryptophan 0.04 g 12.5 3.7
vitamin B1 (thiamin) 0.17 mg 11.3 3.4
omega 3 fatty acids 0.26 g 10.8 3.2
iron 1.87 mg 10.4 3.1
phosphorus 87.36 mg 8.7 2.6
protein 3.98 g 8 2.4
magnesium 31.20 mg 7.8 2.3
vitamin B2 (riboflavin) 0.12 mg 7.1 2.1
vitamin E 1.33 mg 6.7 2
copper 0.13 mg 6.5 1.9
calcium 56.16 mg 5.6 1.7

As for the rest of dinner...

I took a small pork tenderloin and cut it into six pieces.  I dipped them in an egg and then rolled them in chopped pecans.  Into a skillet they went and I browned one side, flipped them, browned the other a bit, and then put thye skillet into a hot oven for about 10 minutes.

Perfectly cooked.

The potato was a yellow sweet potato mixed with a bit of melted butter, brown sugar, and a pinch of allspice.  Into a hot oven for about 25 minutes.

No baseball tonight.  It's a travel day to Texas.

Maybe I'll get to bed at a decent hour, tonight.  But not before the peanut butter cookies Victor made for dessert.

More on those later.....


Baseball Food

 

Giants baseball.

Words I do have to admit I'm not used to saying in late October.  But I'm saying it loud right now!  Damn, this is fun!

We had season tickets to the Giants for years - from Candlestick to Pac Bell Park and loved going out to the games.

So now we're 3000 miles away, watching on TV - seeing our former season ticket seats on the telly - and wishing we were there in person to root on the home team.

But we aren't.

So...  next best thing is to make up some San Francisco Ball Park food for dinner.

And the perfect excuse to use our new french fry/appetizer holders from our friends Kate and Lori!

The Giants are famous for their Garlic Fries.  There is not a vampire around that ballpark for miles and miles.  And miles.  And what else says San Francisco Ball Park Food like the Stinking Rose's 40 Clove Garlic Chicken Sandwich?!?  I don't know the exact ballpark recipe, but I have the restaurant's recipe, so I adjusted it for putting between bread.

The Stinking Rose 40 Clove Garlic Chicken

You heard it right. 40 cloves! But don’t let that number scare you, because they add just the right amount of zest and aroma to make this one of The Stinking Rose’s most popular dishes!

  • 1 Tbsp. Butter
  • 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2-3 lbs. Roasting Chicken, washed and cut into pieces
  • to taste Salt and Freshly Ground White Pepper
  • 4 Tbsp. Fresh Rosemary
  • 1 Cup Flour
  • 40 Cloves Garlic, Peeled
  • 1 Cup Dry White Wine
  • 4 Cups Chicken Stock
  • 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a deep, heavy skillet.

2. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary. Toss in flour.

3. When the pan is hot, but not smoking, add the chicken, skin side down.

4. Sauté chicken until golden brown on both sides. Remove from pan.

5. Add garlic cloves and sauté until light brown.

6. Add white wine and chicken stock. Return chicken to pan.

7. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

8. Remove chicken and keep warm, turn heat to high and reduce liquid by 66%. Remove to blender, add cream and puree sauce. Adjust seasoning and serve over chicken.

I did it slightly different...

I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips.  I browned them, took them out of the pan, added the garlic, then chicken broth, cooked it down, added the cream, cooked it down, added the chicken, put it on rolls.  I didn't need to add the flour and didn't add any wine, either.  It was for a sandwich.

For the fries, I bought frozen garlic fries.  Cheating to a degree, I'll admit, but we don't really care for the garlic seasoning that comes with them, so I minced garlic, sauteed it with a bit of olive oil and when the fries were done, coated them with the homemade garlic.  It wasn't nearly as gooey, sticky, and smelly as the ball park version, but they worked.

And the fry holders worked really well, too!  They are also deceptively large!  You can fit a lot of fries in one of those cups.  They're a lot of fun!

So it's minutes away from the start of game 2 of the World Series.  Last time the Giants won a World Series was 1954.  I was only a few years old and they were still in New York.  They have never won as a San Francisco team.

This is their year!

Go Giants!