Pork, Pumpkin, and Apples
I knew this morning that I was making pork chops with a pumpkin sauce of some sorts. It wasn't until this afternoon that I figured apples should play a part, as well. And Elizabeth brought me in some baby sweet potatoes from her garden. Sweet and savory. Mentally, dinner was done.
The weather is absolutely gorgeous. Perfect for the contractors out there fixing the dry rot and the painters painting the house. We could not have planned this any better. But painters and contractors mean everything is in disarray. And I hate disarray. But somewhere out there, there is a grill - and a grill and beautiful weather means grilled pork chops with pumpkin and apples. It's a rule.
Pumpkin Apple Sauce
- 1/2 cup shallots, chopped
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 small apples, cored and sliced
- shot of dark rum
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper, to taste
Wilt shallots in a bit of olive oil. Add apples and brown a bit. Add sugar and spices. Add pumpkin and rum. Heat through.
Check thickness of sauce and add chicken broth to thin to desired consistency.
On the pork chop, I sprinkled a bit of garam masala, garlic, boonie pepper (for heat), and salt and pepper. Cumin and cinnamon in the pumpkin and apples called for a bit of an Indian flair.
I oven-roasted the sweet potatoes with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. They didn't need anything else! Steamed broccoli finished the plate.
Hot Soup Cold Day
It was cold today. And wet. One of my favorite weather combinations. I like cold, wet, and windy, too. That icy wind that penetrates right to the marrow, no matter how many layers one is wearing. Ah, yes. My kind of weather.
Actually, I think weather like that really is just fine - provided I don't have to go out in it, there's a roaring fire in the fireplace, plenty of oil in the tank, and a nice soup or stew on the stove.
The weather wasn't really that bad, today, but it was the first really cold day we've had - a perfect excuse for a pot of simmering something on the stove.
I had taken some stew beef out of the freezer this morning, but I really wasn't sure until I got home whether it was to be stew or soup.
Soup won.
Ingredient-wise, I could do either, but a thin-broth beef and bean soup was really calling my name. I had made a sausage and bean soup at work for the crew today which whetted my appetite, so to speak.
As one of six kids, I was raised on soups, and like my mother, I find cooking them to be a natural. Unless I'm making a very specific soup recipe - like a Mulligatawny or something - I don't go to the store to buy ingredients to make a soup; I open the cupboards and refrigerator to see what I can throw into the pot. 9 times out of 10 they're clean-out-the-refrigerator concoctions, using up stray bits of this and that.
The local grocery store had canned beans on sale several months ago and over the course of a couple of shopping trips, I probably bought a dozen assorted cans or more. There were 6 left in the cupboard this afternoon and I've been on a kick to use up what's in the house before going out and bringing in more. Now there are only 2 - I can almost justify that trip to the new Wegmans this coming Monday!
Beef and Bean Soup
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound stew beef
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes in juice
- 6 cups beef broth
- 4 cans assorted beans, drained and rinsed (I used canellini, garbanzo, black, and pinto)
- 1 tsp French herbs
- salt and pepper
Wilt onion, celery, and garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add beef and brown.
Add red wine and cook to reduce by about half.
Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil, then simmer, covered, about an hour or so.
Taste for seasoning and serve with a crusty bread.
Speaking of Wegmans, the cupboards are getting a bit bare around here since we were in DC and I didn't do my normal weekly shopping ... We've received LOTS of circulars, coupon books - all sorts of freebie-goodie-come-ons to get us into the new Collegeville store that opened last Sunday.
The goal is to spend a couple of hours walking the aisles, resisting all of the things I flat-out don't need, and make it out of the store under $200.00.
I can do it.
I am a professional.
(Famous last words?!? I'll let ya know Monday afternoon!)
Grilled Turkey Breast with Corn Peach Salsa
It's officially Day One of our weight-loss-and-smaller-portions regime. I started my recipe search over at Words to Eat By - a great food blog written by Debbie Koenig. Debbie is a great cook, a wonderful writer, and the wife of Victor's sister-in-law's sister's son, Stephen. We're almost like cousins - or something. Okay - that's pretty much a stretch, but Debbie is the person responsible for me writing this blog. It was Thanksgiving 2005 that they were here for the festivities. Debbie was writing Words To Eat By and pretty much convinced me that I should write one, too. That weekend I installed a blogging program on my recipe website.
The rest, as they say, is history.
So... fast-forward to this morning... I had been on WtEB yesterday looking for ideas and had found a great-sounding recipe for Grilled Chipotle-Lime-Tequila Chicken. While that in and of itself sounded great, the Corn and Peach Salsa she served along with it was the deciding factor. The only problem was, I had already pulled a big ol' bone-in turkey breast out of the freezer. (It had been there since Easter - Victor's mom got it as a freebie from one of the local grocery stores.) But I wanted that salsa... Tonight's dinner was born!
I decided that I was going to BBQ the turkey breast. Had I roasted it in the oven, I would have been compelled to make gravy, mashed potatoes, probably sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, a small batch of dressing... You do see where this is going... Turkey in the oven pretty much requires all of the traditional accompaniments. A turkey on the grill can become anything at all.
So... I dusted the breast with chipotle powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. I put it on the grill with briquettes around the side and slow-cooked it with lid for about 2 1/2 hours. Perfect.
I had been to Gentile's earlier in the morning for my weekly produce binge, so while the breast was cooking, I made the corn salsa.
Corn-Peach Salsa - from Words to Eat By
Serves 6
Kernels from 2 ears extremely fresh corn (if it’s not perfectly fresh, you’ll have to cook the corn first, then cool it)
1 ripe peach, peeled and diced fine
½ small red onion, diced fine
10 pappadew peppers, diced fine [I used pappadews because the chicken it’s going with is quite spicy—if you want a spicy salsa, too, substitute one small jalapeno, minced]
Juice of ½ lime
8 mint leaves, chopped
Fleur de selCombine all ingredients except fleur de sel in a bowl and stir. Refrigerate for ½ hour or more to let the flavors meld. Just before serving, sprinkle with fleur de sel.
This salsa should probably have some cilantro in it, so if you’re crazy enough to like that dirty-dish-water-tasting weed, go right ahead and swap it for the mint.
I made it pretty much just as stated - with fresh uncooked white corn and the mint. While I am a huge fan of that dirty-dish-water-tasting weed, cilantro, the idea of mint in a spicy salsa intrigued me. I'm glad it did. I swapped out the pappadew peppers for Goya Aji Picante Hot Pickled Peppers because I just happened to have them in the cabinet.
The salsa rocked. I'm a huge fan of fruit salsas to begin with, but the fresh corn and perfectly ripe peaches really went well together.
Since I hadn't marinated the turkey, but still wanting that kinda boozy, citrusy, smoky flavor, I decided I'd make a bit of a sauce out of the marinade. Alas, I had no tequila and no limes in the house! I had every other liquor in the world as well as lemons and oranges - but no tequila and lime. A bit difficult to make a chipotle tequila lime sauce without two key ingredients, right? Right. So I didn't. I made a chipotle orange sauce, instead.
Chipotle Orange Sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- juice of 1 large orange
- 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo, finely minced
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with about 2 tbsp water
Mix first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and reduce to about 1/2 cup. Thicken with cornstarch to desired consistency.
Brown rice cooked with cumin, chili powder, and cherry tomatoes, and zucchini waffle-cut on the mandoline and then put under the broiler.
The portions were smaller than in days (weeks/months/years) past. We ate without going back for seconds, and we have leftovers for some fun lunches! We were both on the treadmill this morning and will be going back on tonight.
All-in-all, a successful first day!
Masala Salmon and Squash Blossoms
Masala, Mango, and Mayo. A great combination - especially when salmon gets included.
The masala was masala tandoori naan - the bread base for... the mango was the mango ginger chutney that was mixed with... the mayo - which became the sauce covering the masala tandoori naan.
I dusted the salmon with garam masala and popped it into a 350° oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, I cooked a half-cup of Israeli couscous and set it aside. I diced a shallot and half a small zucchini in a drizzle of olive oil, added a diced tomato, garlic, and a pinch of S&P.
I mixed that all with the couscous, some chopped fresh basil, and about 3 ounces of feta cheese.
It was stuffed into squash blossoms and then into a hot skillet with a dab of butter. I turned down the heat, put a lid on the pan and let them cook for about 2 minutes.
Everything totally rocked. I think I could have eaten a dozen of the squash blossoms.
And there's gonna be a homemade cherry cobbler for dessert!
More Sumptuous Summer Salads
'Tis the season!
Our bountiful bevvy of beauties tonight consisted of:
- Mixed baby greens
- Arugula
- Asparagus, marinated in balsamic and lemon pepper
- Hard cooked eggs
- Nectarines
- Tomatoes
- Gorgonzola cheese
- Avocado
- Grilled chicken
and a dressing made of balsamic, olive oil, honey, champagne mustard, and garlic.
And we had more of that wonderful chocolate cake for dessert.
Sumptuous Summer Salads
I've been a bit remiss in my salad-making this summer. It's strange because I've probably been buying a lot more produce than in years past - it's just not ending up on a plate with a dressing. It probably has a bit to do with the charcoal grill vs the old gas grill, too. It was easier to toss something on the gas grill and then use it to top a salad. Now... if I'm starting a fire, I want something a bit more substantial. Trade-offs....
But... the coals were lit tonight for a couple of chicken breasts sprinkled with a bit of garlic, olive oil, S&P. I also grilled some Belgian endive - excellent on the grill!
I also added tomatoes and avocado, and served it atop fresh arugula.
Victor made a vinaigrette with orange juice, balsamic and olive oil, with garlic and herbs from the garden.
I'm going to have to do these more often. (Except tomorrow... I have a couple of steaks that are ready for the charcoal...)
Chicken Salad Salad
Tonight's dinner started with my weekly trek to Gentile's this morning. Sunshine, blue skies, minimal traffic... It was the perfect drive down. I had the wiondows open, the radio blaring. What's that expression... "Dance like no one is looking"? Well... that was me singing in the car. It was rather fun. Wendy Wadsworth and I belting out "I'm Guilty" and me, Dolly Parton and Vince Gill doing a great rendition of "I Will Always Love You". (Eat your heart out, Whitney!) Who knew 8 miles could be so much fun?!?
My timing was perfect, too! The store wasn't crowded and I had time to actually browse around a bit. The very first thing I saw was my oblong watermelon - with seeds! I'm psyched! I have to figure out how to carve it into a Hawai'ian outrigger or something for Saturday! I picked up a lot of fruit that should be perfect on Saturday to chop and fill it up.
One thing I picked up for today was a bunch of long hot peppers for Victor to fry. I like having them in the 'fridge to add to things. And these guys have been pretty hot.
Victor said he would actually grill them this time around, so I got the fire going and cooked off a couple of chicken breasts for salads. Victor was still working, so i charred them nicely, placed 'em in a bag to sweat, and then peeled and seeded them. They smelled fantastic and tasted fantastic. At that point, all I really wanted was a chicken sandwich with peppers, but I also wanted a salad. The salad won - but with a twist.
I made a quick chicken salad with the cubed grilled chicken, a couple of the peppers, diced, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, juice of a lime, salt and pepper. Tart, creamy, spicy. Perfect.
I also had an avocado that needed eating tonight. It was r-i-p-e. It was actually a little too ripe to just slice into the salad, and as I stood at the island, I saw those deep red, vine-ripened tomatoes and thought "Stuffed Tomatoes"! I made a quick guacamole with the avocado and a couple of tablespoons of picante sauce, hollowed out the tomatoes and filled.
Foe the dressing, I added 2 tbsp of mayonnaise to the bowl I had made the guacamole in (there was a tiny-tad left in there), juice of a lime, a tablespoon of picante sauce, and a bit of S&P. Instant Mexican Thousand Island!
Diced green onions, grapes, and apricots finished the plate.
And tonight's dessert will be ice cream.
Strawberry BBQ Sauce
I knew at 7:30 this morning I was making a Strawberry BBQ Sauce tonight. What I didn't know was how I was going to make it.
I was looking at 2 full pallets of absolutely beautiful strawberries... "The possibilities are endless", thought I... I must have had a dozen or more ideas going through my head simultaneously - such is the curse of a cook. Of course, half the fun of being surrounded by food all day long is figuring out fun things to do with it, and being presented with "an ingredient" really is fun.
The barbecue sauce came together really easily, and was perfect atop grilled pork chops.
Strawberry BBQ Sauce
- 1 pound strawberries, hulled and roughly sliced
- 1 small bell pepper, diced
- 1 8oz can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup lingonberry vinegar
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- salt and pepper
Add strawberries and bell pepper to saucepan and cook until strawberries release theiur juices and peppers soften.
Add brown sugar and then lingonberry vinegar. Add tomato sauce and remaining ingredients.
Bring to boil and then simmer.
Blend everything with an immersion blender until smooth.
Continue simmering until thickened.
I used the smooth sauce to grill the chops, and then added some sliced strawberries to about a half-cup of the sauce to serve over the chops after they were cooked.
And a whole fanned strawberry on top because, well... it's all about the picture, right?!?
And the cooking continues... We're having a Salad Throwdown at work tomorrow, so I decided a Whole Wheat Salad was in order.
Whole Wheat Salad
- 1 pound whole wheat grains
- 1/2 yellow squash, diced
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 2 large radishes, diced
- 6 green onions, diced
- 1/2 small bell pepper, diced
- 8oz dried mixed berries, plumped with sour apple schnapps
- 1/4 cup lingonberry vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped assorted fresh herbs
- salt and pepper
Cook wheat in salted water about 45 minutes, or until chewy-tender. Drain and cool.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Serve cold or at room temperature.
And right now, there's an angel food cake in the over awating more strawberries and some whipped cream.
Angel Food Cake
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup sifted cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 11 large)
- 2 teaspoons warm water
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt into medium bowl. Beat egg whites in large bowl until foamy. Add 2 teaspoons warm water and cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1 cup sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff but not dry. Sift sugar-flour mixture over whites 1/4 cup at a time and gently fold in.
Place batter in an ungreased 12-cup angel food cake pan with removable bottom (do not use nonstick pan).
Bake until cake is light golden, top springs back when touched lightly and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 45 minutes.
Remove cake from oven. Turn cake pan upside down; place center tube of pan over a funnel and cool completely.
I think I'm going to split the cake into three layers and add a bit of whipped cream and a lot of strawberries...
We shall see.....
I split individual slices... I also made strawberry whipped cream. It was yum.
Fresh Fruit Salsa
I am lovin' the produce market, right now! All my favorite fruits are arriving - fresh and ripe! Peaches and plums have been really good, thus far, although a decent apricot still alludes me. Don't know what happened to the apricots, but they have been disappointing me for years, now. Oh well...
Tonight I made an Asian-inspired salsa (Asian, because I used sambal oelek instead of jalapeños to spice it up) and grilled a plantain that had been sitting around for a while. I probably could have left the plantain for a few more days - it was a bit starchier than I would have preferred, but a bit of honey and allspice helped cure that.
The salsa went atop a chicken breast I had marinated in Moore's Teriyaki Marinade and then grilled. Rice on the side and dinner was served.
Fresh Fruit Salsa
- 3 cups diced fruit (I used 3 peaches and 2 plums)
- 1 cup diced onion
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp sambal oelec (or diced hot peppers of your choice)
- pinch of salt
Mix and enjoy.
Amounts are approximate. You can make salsa with one peach if you like - just adjust the other ingredients to your liking.
And ANY ripe fruit will work. Use your imagination and have fun with it!
Multi-Meat Tacos and Canned Salad
The cabinet and freezer clean-out continues.
I tend to buy whole beef or pork loins, whole chickens, etc. I have a couple of knives and know how to cut steaks or chops, quarter a chicken - whatever. I portion-and-vacuum-pack everything with my food saver, and into the freezer, it goes. I sometimes end up with a single thin chop, an end to a beef tenderloin, the odd piece of chicken here and there. Things that on their own aren't much use. Victor always throws them into his sauce when he makes it, but I can buy more than he can cook! I get tired of moving them around the freezer. At some point, they all have to get used.
Tonight was that night.
I made beef, pork, and chicken tacos.
I took the reasonably-thawed meat and put it into a pot with half a bottle of Mojo Marinade (a real citrusy Cuban marinade) and a can of chipotle sauce. Covered it and let it simmer for several hours. I drained it, shredded it with two forks, and then put it into a dry skillet. IAs it was heating, I added a can of chipotle sauce and it was ready.
Served it with fried corn tortillas for me and soft flour tortillas for Victor, along with guacamole, sour cream shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomato, green onions, and shredded cheddar cheese.
And canned salad... I just made this one up to clear out some of the cabinets, as well...
Canned Salad
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 can white beans, drained
- 1 can corn, drained
- 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 small jar pimentos, drained
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish
- 4 radishes, diced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup malt vinegar
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper, to taste.
Mix, chill, and eat!
It's really colorful and really went well with dinner, tonight.
And, in keeping with my clean-out mode, tomorrow night's dinner is going to be sloppy joe's made with tonight's leftover meat.
Eating weird and loving it!
Canard avec l'orange et la sauce à chipotle
Yep. You read that right - Duck with an Orange and Chipotle Sauce. Can we say WOW boys and girls?!?
I've had a duck breast in the freezer for a while, and it just seemed time to use it. At lunch today, I went to the Epicurious site and this recipe jumped out at me. It was totally no-brainer easy, and REALLY had a great flavor!
I used an 18 ounce moulard breast and followed the cooking time fairly closely. The sauce just rocked! I strained it about half-way though and then cooked it down to about a half-cup. Hot, sweet, and smoky.
Broiled Duck Breasts with Orange Chipotle Sauce
Gourmet | October 2005
Adapted from Mark Miller's Indian Market Cookbook
Duck breast is a sadly underrated meat. Served rare to medium-rare and sliced on the diagonal, it has the mineral tang of beef. This southwestern version, with its slightly spicy sauce, elicits every ounce of flavor from the bird. And it's so easy!
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Active Time: 25 min
Total Time: 1 hr
ingredients
For sauce
2 1/2 cups fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons maple syrup (preferably dark amber or Grade B)
1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1 (3- to 4-inch) cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon saltFor duck
3 (1-lb) boneless Muscovy duck breasts with skin or 6 (7- to 8-oz) Long Island (also called Pekin) duck breast halves with skin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepperSpecial equipment: an instant-read thermometer
preparation
Make sauce:Boil all sauce ingredients in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, skimming foam occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to about 1 cup, 30 to 40 minutes. Let stand while duck broils.
Prepare duck:
Remove rack of a broiler pan, then add 1 cup water to broiler pan and replace rack. Preheat broiler with pan 5 to 6 inches from heat.
Pat duck breasts dry and score skin at 1-inch intervals with a sharp knife (do not cut into meat), then sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Broil duck breasts, skin sides down, 4 minutes for Long Island duck or 8 minutes for Muscovy, then turn over and broil until thermometer inserted horizontally into center of a breast registers 130°F (see cooks' note, below), 8 to 10 minutes more for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. Add any juices accumulated on cutting board to sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
Holding a sharp knife at a 45-degree angle, cut each duck breast into thin slices and serve with sauce.
The sauce is a real keeper. I can see lots of variations and uses with this!
I made my own Rice-A-Roni with angel hair pasta, rice, garlic, broth... And the zucchini was sliced with this wavy-knife-thing that lives buried in the back corner of the utensil drawer... (It was easier to dig it out than break out the mandoline for one zucchini...) and sauteed with a bit of butter, salt and pepper.
And there's more of that mixed fruit crisp for dessert tonight!
Ziti and Zucchini
I had a craving for fried zucchini - what can I say? I don't think I've had it in years. It was on every menu everywhere in the 70's and 80's - and then disappeared.
I just flouerd, dipped in egg, and then dipped in panko breadcrumbs mixed with a bit of Italian seasoning. It was yum.
The ziti was in a simple meat sauce. Ground beef, onion, garlic, oregano, basil, a bit of rosemary... a can of crushed tomatoes... It was pretty good, too.