Braised Chicken
Fresh tomatoes from the garden, zucchini from our neighbor down the street, fried peppers in the fridge, a chicken just waiting to be braised... A dinner was born!
I knew last night that I was making a braised chicken today. I even had the recipe pretty much figured out. Basic, throw-in-the-pot stuff.
I chopped an onion and sauteed it in a bit of olive oil. I added the cut-up chicken, garlic, and red wine and let it cook down a bit. I then added about 4 fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes, chopped, chunks of zucchini, and about a cup of hot and sweet fried peppers. On went the lid and into the oven for about 45 minutes.
I added some basil and oregano form the garden, salt, and pepper. That was pretty much it.
I cooked up some mini rigatoni and called it dinner.
And there were plenty of leftovers for Victor's lunch.
The peppers were really spicy and added a nice amount of heat without being overpowering. And I baked off the last loaf of the Olive Oil Bread .
It was a bit unseasonal, but we're still living under air conditioning.
I think tomorrow might be stuffed zucchini.
Moroccan Chicken on the Barbie
The temperature has dropped 30 degrees. It's almost bearable outside. Time to do some more grilling.
Earlier, when it was a mere 95° outside, I decided to do something Moroccan. It was feeling like the fringes of the Sahara outside... Well... a Sahara with a lot of humidity, that is. Time to visit Northern Africa.
I marinated the chicken in a Moroccan-inspired marinade...
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tbsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
And then grilled...
Side dishes were green rice and green peas with garlic and thyme. I'm doing the weekly shopping tomorrow so we're using up what's here...
But the semi-star of the show was a lovely loaf of bread.
I've been making the no-knead breads for a while now and finally got the book. There was one recipe that really jumped out at me - Olive Oil Bread. It's the exact same recipe - except it uses 1/4 cup olive oil for 1/4 cup of the water.
What A Difference!
I'm hooked. I now have a new go-to recipe that I'll be playing with and tweaking as time goes by.
The crumb is much more tender. It just made an overall better loaf in my never-humble opinion!.
Olive Oil Bread
- 2 3/4 cups lukewarm water
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp yeast (2 packets)
- 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
- 6 1/2 cups flour
Mix all ingredients. Let proof about 2 hours.
Refrigerate. (Dough is ready at this point but handles better when chilled.)
Preheat oven to 450°.
Form grapefruit-sized ball of dough into loaf.
Let rise about 30 minutes.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Cool before slicing.
I can see a lot of variations on this theme coming up!
7月愉快的四 (Happy Fourth of July)
What Fun!
Tradition flew right out the window, today. While the vast majority of the country was setting up their grills and barbecues, we had the steamer baskets filled with pork buns, dumplings,, and an assortment of Chinese goodies.
We decided that since the Chinese had invented fireworks, we would celebrate China this 4th of July. Did I mention how much fun it was?!?
We did a combination of store-bought frozen items and some things we made ourselves. We had spring rolls, shu mai, and the dumplings above for appetizers, along with a myriad of home made dipping sauces.
We had more steamed buns - pork buns, chicken and vegetable buns, along with fish and scallops wrapped in banana leaves and grilled, sweet and spicy chicken with peppers and pineapple, and rice and potstickers... There were eight of us. We ate a goodly amount.
We all know that I'm not a huge prepared-food-purchaser, but the frozen Chinese stuff is unbelievably good. It's all stuff I definitely couldn't begin to make myself, plus it all has clean ingredients. Win-Win!
In typical Tim-and-Victor-shopping-style, we bought way more than we could have even tried to cook or eat, so we have several more meals in the making!
Family, Friends, and Food. Who can ask for more?!?
It really was a fun spin on the holiday.
Pork Chops with Italian Salsa
I've almost gotten into a rut with pork chops. If they're not braised with pears and red onions, they're topped with spicy fruit salsa of some sort. Really good, but been there, done that. A lot.
So as I'm planning which salsa I'm going to make (apricot or peach) I see two tomatoes that are getting riper as I look. And there's some endive in the fridge I didn't use last night. In my mind, dinner starts taking on a bit of an Italian theme... I had already baked some bread. Pork chops. Italy. Let's do it.
I marinated the pork chops in red wine, garlic, and dried Italian seasoning.
For the salsa, I basically made a chopped tomato salad:
Italian Tomato Salsa
- 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- splash olive oil
- basil, oregano, and parsley, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
Mix and chill.
I'm a west coast boy. If you chop stuff up and mix it together, you make salsa. But this really was just like a bruschetta or tomato salad. Really simple and no-brainer, but really flavorful.
I braised the endive in a hot skillet with just a splash of olive oil and pat of butter, salt and pepper. After it browned for a minute, I covered it and lowered the heat and let it cook about 6-7 minutes. I then topped it with just a tiny bit of shredded Locatelli.
The rice was lazy-man's Risotto. I cooked a cup of sticky rice (I picked up a 5-pound bag at the Asian grocery store on Sunday) and after it was cooked, stirred in some shredded Locatelli. Lazy. But good. And just different enough that we didn't have just plain ol' white rice with dinner.
A little later on, there's chocolate banana pie.
It's 74° outside, windows are open and a breeze is blowing through the house.
Life really is good!
Risotto
Let's see... It's hotter 'n hell outside, humidity like you wouldn't believe. Perfect for baking bread and making risotto!
Reality is, the house is closed up, the air conditioning is running, it's nice, cool, and comfortable in here, and I have some veggies that have seen better days.
During the winter, I make clean-out-the-refrigerator soup once a week. But comfortable house or not, soup was not what I was looking for tonight.
Risotto started calling my name.
Into the skillet went half a diced onion, garlic, a chicken breast, broccoli rabe, broccoli, radicchio, a cup of arborio rice, white wine, and chicken broth.
I cooked it fairly traditionally, adding a ladle of broth, stirring it in - for about half of it. I then added the rest of the already hot broth, stirred it well, put on the lid, and baked it for 25 minutes at 350°.
When it came out, I stirred in the cheese, fresh herbs, and a bit of salt and pepper.
The fresh bread finished the meal.
As I've been saying, Mother Nature's Proofing Box has been perfect for bread-baking! All the heat and humidity has been helping to make some stellar breads and rolls.
I may not be able to do anything about the weather, but I can certainly utilize it to my advantage!
Not Your Normal Nachos
I had planned to do something with a couple of pork chops tonight. On the grill, whatever. I didn't give it a lot of thought when I pulled them out of the freezer this morning.
Everything changed, however, when I got home and found a present from our friend Luigi - a bottle of Gates Kansas City BBQ Sauce! No way could I grill chops tonight. I have Gates Kansas City BBQ Sauce! I need to plan using this. The chops went back into the 'fridge. I needed another plan tonight.
Pseudo-Mexican!
Mexican is my go-to style of cooking when I don't know what I'm going to cook. I was thinking tacos of some sort - I had the necessary stuff to pull it off. Victor came in and said something about Nachos. The mind started creating...
Our tastes are remarkably similar, but when it comes to tortillas, Victor is more of a flour tortilla kinda guy and I'm definitely of the corn persuasion. I like fried and crunchy, he's more soft.
So... how to combine two different tastes into one dish?!? Fry up some corn tortilla wedges and bake some flour tortilla wedges. Pile one type on half the plate, pile the other type on the other half of the plate.
Simple.
The filling (or is it topping?) was strictly clean-out-the-refrigerator. I fried up some ground beef with an onion and then added some sofrito sauce and a bit of chipotle powder. I heated up the leftover polenta from the other night. Tamales are made with corn meal. Polenta is corn meal. 'Nuff said.
Fresh corn. I cut the kernels off an ear. Pinto beans. And those fried peppers from the other day. Lots of them. And some of the cucumber salad from last night. Diced tomatoes. Cheese.
It was one of those dishes that just screamed YUM!
It was messy to eat and every bite was slightly different. Each chip had a slightly different combination of filling. It was a lot of fun. It would make a great communal party dish.
Fun food.
And speaking of fun food.....
I'm thinking a mixed grill of sorts tomorrow. I have pork chops and pork ribs. Maybe some steak tips, as well. Corn on the cob and a salad.
I can't wait!
Open Sesame
Tonight's dinner is brought to you by the letter 'S'. For Sesame Seeds.
I took a couple of eye of the round steaks out of the freezer this morning, thinking I would just grill them when I got home. Simple. Basic. And eversoslightlyboring. Can't have that!
All the reminiscing about Singapore had me thinking satay which pointed me towards all of the Asian spices and condiments in the house - and the black sesame seeds that I seldom use. A recipe was born. I thin-sliced the steaks into strips and marinated them in soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil, mirin, garlic. sambal oelek, ginger, and black pepper.
After an hour, they went onto the grill.
Still using charcoal. I came *thiiiiiiiiis* close to getting a gas grill this weekend, but practicality won out over convenience. For now, at least. It takes a bit more planning and the spontaneous hot dogs just don't happen, but I'm not in a hurry to change. That, and I'm just not ready to spend a couple hundred bucks on something I really don't need. I can be so cheap at the strangest times.
But back to dinner...
I also had a batch of no-kneaad dough in the 'fridge, so I made some sesame rolls to go along with the sesame beef.
I made six small rolls (about 3/4 the size of a tennis ball) and after forming them, rolled them in the sesame seeds. I let them proof outside - 80° with 85% humidity is Mother Nature's perfect proofing box - and then baked them for 25 minutes at 450°. They came out really crispy-crunchy with a really tender interior.
Japonica rice and asparagus and cherry tomatoes - with just a bit of garlic and rice wine - finished the plate.
I could have just eaten rolls with butter and the beef. As it was, I ate two of them. I could have kept going, but reality set in there, as well.
Besides, this way Victor has something for lunch tomorrow!
Singaporean Salmon
Some of the best, most wonderful, flavorful, fun, and unique food I have ever eaten was in Singapore.
I was a 20 year old military boy when I was in Singapore 38 years ago. Even the vast quantities of alcohol and drugs I consumed while overseas in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club can't dim the memory of one of the best omelettes I have ever eaten - cooked on wood-fired wok on a street corner by an ancient gold-toothed man. Or the spicy rice dishes and seafood dishes I'd never be able to pronounce, let alone replicate today. Almost every meal we ate was from a street vendor. Fast Food - fresh and cooked right in front of us. Fabulous and cheap.
Fast-forward to today. I received my first-in-many-years issue of Cooking Light magazine and they had an article on Singapore and the fabulous foods that blend so many cultures. Malay, Indonesian, Chinese, Indian, Thai... It's the ultimate melting pot. It really did bring back some fond memories.
The magazine had lots of recipes, but nothing that was really calling out to me - until I saw a headline that stated "Cooking food in banana leaves offers diners the joy of opening their own individual packets."
I was planning salmon for dinner, and I had banana leaves in the freezer. (Of course!) The recipe was for a fish quenelle that sounded pretty horrible, but it got the little gray cells working...
Singaporean food is a mixture of cultures and I had a goodly amount of the 26 items listed in their "Ingredient Guide" so I decided to just go for it. I've paid off the Food Police so many times that they don't even bother to show up any more when I play footloose and fancy-free with the cuisines of the world. I now have a lifetime pass...
Singaporean Salmon
- 2 banana leaves
- 2 salmon fillets
- 4 scallions, shredded
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 1 zucchini, julienned
- 1/4 small bell pepper, julienned
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1/4 cup honey
- zest from 1 lime, shredded
- juice from 1 lime
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- splash sesame oil
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
- splash fish sauce
- 1 tsp sambal oelek
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 6 fresh basil leaves, shredded
Place banana leaves on table. Top with salmon. Season salmon with a bit of salt and pepper.
Mix remaining ingredients together. Top each salmon fillet with half of the mixture. Wrap in banana leaves, folding ends under package to seal.
Grill with cover closed over indirect heat for about 15 minutes.
I have cooked en papillote for more years than I care to admit to, but this may be the first time I have ever cooked with banana leaves on my own. I've assisted others, but I don't really recall buying them, before... They are just too much fun! They impart a very subtle flavor that would work with any number of things. The fish was perfectly cooked, the crunch of the almonds played off the steamed zucchini. The honey added the slightest hint of sweet while the sambal oelek did the same for the heat.
The beauty of cooking like this, of course, is there is no added fat. And as I type that I'm thinking coconut would be really good in there, as well. Just a little. Well... a little shredded coconut and a little thick coconut milk, that is. It's also a great way to cook when you're dealing with people who have different dietary restrictions. They can be individually tailored to each person.
We're doing a Chinese 4th of July this year in honor of the Chinese inventing fireworks. I'm thinking banana leaves are going to have to get worked into the menu!
Substantial Scampi
Victor comes through, again.
I pulled a bag of shrimp out of the freezer this morning, thinking I'd do a bit of a pasta and vegetable dish with it. Substantial Scampi. Just a simple this-'n-that dish.
Victor had the same idea - what a surprise, there - and when I got home, said he would take care of dinner.
No need to ever say that to me twice. I love to cook, but when someone else is cooking, I'm eating. I know how to vacate a kitchen. Fast. Before second thoughts can take root.
I was outta there.
Dinner was brilliant in its simplicity... shrimp quickly sauteed in a bit of olive oil and lemon dill butter. He then added an orange bell pepper, garlic, peas, fresh herbs from the garden, sliced heirloom cherry tomatoes, some shredded parmesan cheese, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
He then added the cooked mini cheese ravioli, added a bit more cheese, and dinner was served!
He also baked off the last of the no-knead bread dough in the 'fridge.
Shrimp and pasta with warm homemade bread. Creamy, rich, flavorful, and just what I wanted.
I'm spoiled.
And I love it!
Raspberry Scrippelle
I've gone from never hearing about a crepelle or scrippelle in my life to getting several sweet and savory recipes in a matter of a couple of weeks.
The first came from La Cucina Italiana magazine - a Raspberry and Apple Crepe, and the second from Lidia Bastianich's latest book Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy.
I knew after making Lidia's Crepelle with Spinach that the crepes would be wonderful as a sweet as well as a savory.
Tonight was the night to put it to test.
This is definitely in the category of "Wing-It Recipes".
I made the crepes from Lidia's recipe, cutting it in half.
For the filling, I took about 3/4 cup of ricotta and mixed it with a teaspoon of sugar and about a tablespoon of marsala.
I spread a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each crepelle and sprinkled on fresh raspberries and then folded them into quarters.
For the topping, I mixed about a half-cup of sour cream with a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. I topped each plate with some, added more raspberries, and then sprinkled cocoa powder on top.
They are thicker than a French crepe which is good for holding up to the fillings and folding.
I see a lot more possibilities.....
Tuna on the Barbie
It is absolutely perfect weather here. Perfect. 72°, slight breeze, no humidity. Did I mention perfect?!? It's perfect.
Of course, perfect weather requires dinner cooked outdoors on the grill. And what better thing to grill than Asian-inspired tuna steaks?
I marinated the steaks in a bit of soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Onto the barbie they went.
Meanwhile, I made a bit of a spicy fruit compote for the top. I often make cold fruit salsas for seafood, pork, chicken, whatever, but rarely cook it. Tonight, I cooked it.
I sauteed a shallot in a bit of butter and added one diced peach, and one diced plum. I cooked them for a bit and then added some rice wine and cooked it down. I had about a third of a pint of raspberries, so they went in as well. Finally, I added some sambal oelek for kick. When the tuna was done, I spooned it on top.
I really like sweet and spicy combinations, and this one worked really well. And it played well against the slightly soy-salty tuna marinade and the crunchy toasted sesame seeds.
Very simple black japonica rice and cauliflower and broccoli steamed with a bit of soy sauce in the water finished off the plate.
Pork chops are definitely on the menu for tomorrow night. Grilled with grilled potatoes.
Thursday, I think I'm going to grill scallops. I need to think of what do do with them...
Mexican Spaghetti Pie
A while back I picked up a package of corn noodles at the Asian grocery store. I had no idea what I was going to do with them - corn noodles really aren't something I associate with the Far East - but I picked them up, anyway. I think they may have been 99¢. Inexpensive and different. Two of my favorite things. Into the shopping cart they went.
At home, they went into the cabinet. And stayed there, languishing amongst the other things I've picked up here and there but have yet to use.
Until today.
Last night, while taking inventory for my grocery shopping this morning, I saw them and took them down. I decided they were going to be a part of dinner tonight. I wasn't sure what, but they were going to be dinner.
As I said, corn noodles don't immediately shout out Asia to me, but corn screams Mexico. I was trying to envision some sort of Mexican spaghetti dish but all I was seeing was tamales. Then the idea of spaghetti pie hit me. It's like a tamale pie but with corn noodles instead of masa. How could it be bad?!?
The answer, of course, is "It wasn't!".
I dirtied several pots and pans making the "one-pot" dinner, but the end result was worth it. And I sliced it almost immediately after taking it out of the oven instead of waiting for it to set up a bit, so... no pictures of the plate. It wasn't exactly photo-quality. But it sure did taste good.
Mexican Spaghetti Pie
- 8 oz corn spaghetti noodles
- 4 oz cheddar cheese
- 4 oz quesso fresco or ricotta salada
- 1/2 cup ricotta, drained
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 jar Sofrito sauce
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- butter
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter 10" pie plate.
Cook corn noodles according to package instructions. Drain and cool. Mix 1 pat melted butter into noodles. Add two slightly beaten eggs and the shredded cheddar cheese.
Mix well and place in pie plate, working it up the sides to create a "crust".
Saute onion in a pat of butter or oil. Add cumin and chipotle powder and cook until fragrant. Add pork and cook completely.
Spread cooked pork mixture over noodles, staying within the noodle crust.
Mix the ricotta with the quesso fresco. Spread on top of the pork mixture, covering it completely.
Spoon one jar of Sofrito sauce on top, covering the cheese mixture completely.
Top with sliced tomato.
Bake at 350° for about an hour.
I suppose I should have let it set longer and tried to take out smaller slices.
It didn't look that great falling apart, but it had all the flavors I was looking for!
I can see a few different variations on this.
And who knows... maybe I'll even find a Vietnamese recipe for the corn noodles.
It could happen!