Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Aush
I’m the first to admit that the ingredients don’t sound appetizing at all, but damn, this is good soup!
Aush
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| dandy tastin’ |
6 cups water
3 Tbs Dill
1 pound egg noodles, medium width
4 oz lean ground beef or lamb
1 pound bag California bled vegetables (broccoli, carrots and cauliflower)
1 tsp ground cayenne
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs minced garlic
unflavored yogurt
dried mint
Directions
Bring water to a boil. Add the dill and continue boiling for five minutes. Add your noodles and continue boiling until noodles are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
While the noodles are boiling, brown the ground meat in a separate pan and drain off the fat. Add the ground meat to the noodles along with the vegetables, then add the cayenne, salt and garlic. Simmer for another 15 minutes or so.
To serve, stir about 2 tablespoons of yogurt into each bowl of soup and top with a sprinkle of mint.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Chicken and bean stew
Chicken and bean stew
Ingredients:
2 Tbs olive or canola oil
2 strips bacon, chopped (optional, but if not using, you may need to add a skosh more oil))
3 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 package boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 or 2 pounds)* cut into bite sized pieces
2 cans diced tomatoes (flavored is okay)
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 can chicken stock
1 or 2 cans cannelini or garbanzo beans, drained
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| yummy |
Heat oil over medium-medium high heat. Add chopped up bacon and saute until the bacon renders it’s fat. Add the garlic and vegetables and saute until the onion is translucent.
Add the chicken. Stir occasionally until the chicken pieces are opaque outside but not cooked through; about five minutes or so. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf, and let return to a bubble.
Add chicken stock, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the beans and simmer until they are warmed through. Remove bay leaves and serve.
Alternately, turn the heat down until you’re ready to eat, and add a bit of water if it gets too thick.
*Yeah, I know that boneless, skinless breasts are the darling of the health-conscious, but in a recipe like this? Trust me on the thighs. They’re much more tender, flavorful and less dry than breasts.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tutti’s fruited porkette
Yet another fine recipe from White Trash Cooking; Tutti’s Fruited Porkette, a veritable tower ‘o’ southern goodness.
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Ingredients:
1 Sweet potato
2 slices canned pineapple
1 slice bacon, halved
1 pork chop
1 Tbs brown sugar
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Select a sweet potato that will make a nice pork chop sized slice. Peel and cut a one inch thick slice, then boil for 10 minutes. Place each chop between slices of pineapple, then place the slice of sweet potato on top of the pork-pineapple stack.
sprinkle sweet potato with brown sugar and top with the bacon in a criss-cross pattern. Bake at 375 for about an hour, depending on how thick they are and how done you like your chops.
Note: A thinner cut, boneless porkchop would probably be better than the bone-in one I used, but be prepared to soak and scrub whatever you cook this in. I mean, we’re talking baked-on bacon grease and brown sugar here, kiddies. the bottom of the platter was gooey and black when it got out of the oven.
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| It’s dinner! |
Friday, March 07, 2008
Not quite au gratin potatoes
This has a similar mouth feel to regular au gratin potatoes but without all the cream and butter.
Sorta potato gratin
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Ingredients
3 Tbs olive oil
3 lbs Yukon gold or other similar potato
1/2 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp dried herbs of your choice (I used Penzey’s italian herb mix), or to taste
minced garlic (if desired)
Kosher salt and pepper
Canola oil cooking spray
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 and spray the inside of a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
Peel the potatoes, then slice them about 1/8 inch thick. Rinse, then place in a bowl of cold water for about a half hour.
Drain the potatoes and dry with paper towels or dishcloths. Arrange the first layer in the baking dish, sprinkle with herbs and garlic (if using) and repeat until potatoes are used up.
Bring the broth to a simmer and remove from heat. Add the olive oil and whisk together. Pour over potatoes, then press with the back of a spatula to distribute the liquid. The broth mixture doesn’t need to cover the top layer, but it should come close. Add some additional broth if you feel it’s needed. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove foil, press the potatoes with the spatula again to redistribute the liquid and return to the oven, uncovered.
Repeat every fifteen minutes until the potatoes have cooked for at least 90 minutes. When done, the potatoes should be soft (a paring knife should easily slide into them) and should be nicely browned on top.
When done, remove from oven and let cool for 20-30 minutes before serving.
Pork medallions with mustard cream sauce
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Pork medallions with mustard cream sauce
Ingredients
2 true pork tenderloin roasts*see note below*
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup apple cider
1 Tbs prepared dijon mustard
2/3 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Place the tenderloins in a 375 degree oven and roast until a meat thermometer reads 155 degrees. Remove from oven, loosely cover with foil and set aside to rest. Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a large skillet over med-low or medium heat. Add garlic and saute gently for about 5 minutes.
Remove the garlic from the pan, add the wine and cider and bring to a boil until the liquid is reduced to about 1/3 of it’s original volume. Add the mustard and cream, stirring to combine. Give it a taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Cook about 5 minutes, then remove from heat for 3-4 minutes (sauce will thicken up a bit).
Slice the tenderloin into medallions and arrange on plates, drizzling with cream sauce.
Notes:
Many people (and grocery stores) call the boneless pork loins that are used to make boneless pork chops ‘tenderloins.’ While delicious, this is the porcine equivalent of calling a New York Strip steak a beef tenderloin. They’re both damn tasty, but they aren’t the same thing by a longshot. I’m assuming that y’all know what a beef tenderloin roast looks like. What you’re looking for is the pork equivalent of that. Long, narrow, dark-colored and about as big around as the bottom of a beer bottle. Unless you’re buying from a butcher case, they’re usually sold 2 to a package with a total weight of 2-3 pounds, max and sometimes come premarinated. You could easily make this with a pork loin roast and it’d taste pretty good, but it would take significantly longer to get done in the oven.
Mozzarella Pie
Years back, the food nazis declared war on unhealthy chinese restaurant food and dared to call Fettucine Alfredo “heart attack on a plate’ due to its use of cheese, cream and, well, many of the things that make life worth living.
Well kids, I found a recipe that does the same thing for mashed potatoes. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…
Mozzerella Pie!
Ingredients
3 pounds potatoes
6 ounces salami, finely diced
1 pound mozzerella cheese, shredded
6 Tbs butter, plus a scosh more for buttering the pan
8-10 ounces ricotta cheese
3 eggs
3/4 tsp pepper
1 medium red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
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| potatoey, cheesy goodness |
Add the diced salami and mozzerella. Stir until the cheese makes thin, melty threads. Add 4 Tbs of the butter and stir in until melted. Stir in the ricotta, then add the eggs one at a time; stirring the whole mess till around. Add the pepper and onion, and keep mixing until everything is well distributed.
Butter bottom and sides of a large baking dish, or several smaller ones. Add 2 Tbs of parmesan to the bread crumbs, then place them in the baking dish, shaking to coat bottom and sides before discarding the excess.
Add potatoes to the dish, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and dot with the last 2 Tbs butter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. You’ll need to do this so that it sets up… unless you want to serve it with a soup ladle and I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to do that one bit.
Serves… alot. Say 6-8
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Corn and chili casserole
Ingredients
2 cups whole kernel corn (thawed if using frozen)
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup cornmeal
4 ounces fresh green chiles, diced
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 1 qt casserole
Puree one cup of the corn along with the butter and eggs.
Mix the remaining ingredients together, add the puree and blend well. Pour into the pan and bake (uncovered) for 50 minutes to an hour.
Note: for some reason this turned out to be not too casserole-like. It had more of the consistency of a crustless quiche, which I rather liked since it could be cut into squares and eaten like cornbread.
Somewhat southwestern pot roast
Ingredients
3-4 pound chuck roast
1 T oregano
1 T cumin
1 t ground cayenne pepper
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (10 oz)
3 T Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
Brown the roast on all sides in olive oil.
Rub the spices into the surface of the roast and bake at 300 degrees for 2 to three hours.
Turn the roast over in the pan. mix the tomatoes and the chipotle’s in adobo and pour over the roast. Bake for another one or two hours until the roast is tender.
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Not-so-wild-boar ragout
Not So Wild Boar Ragout
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| Oink! |
Go figure.
That’s the major, but not the only substitution in this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 large red onion, chopped
2 Tbs olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork, cut for stew
28 oz can chopped tomatoes*
3 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3 dried chili peppers, crushed
1 stick cinnamon
5 cloves (not to be confused with the cloves of garlic)
3 sun-dried tomatoes, cut up randomly with a knife or scissors
3 anchovies, or 1 tsp anchovy paste
fresh or dried oregano, basil and sage
1 T or so balsamic vinegar**
salt and pepper to taste
pasta (fettuccine works best)
grated percorino, myzrithia or other hard sheep’s milk cheese
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent.
Bump the heat up to high, add the pork and sear on all sides. Do not cook it through. Turn/stir it frequently just until it’s cooked on the outside.
Stir in the tomatoes and bay leaves, followed by the wine.
One ingredient at a time, stir in the garlic, crushed chilis, cinnamon stick, cloves, sun dried tomatoes, oregano/basil/sage and balsamic vinegar.
Put a lid on the pot loosely and reduce the heat enough to keep the whole mess just at a low simmer. keep it simmering for a minimum of two hours (adding water if necessary)and stir occasionally. The idea here is to get the meat to be falling-apart tender, and the longer it simmers, the more tender and broken apart it’ll be.
When the meat has pretty much lost all definition and most of the liquid has either evaporated off or been absorbed by the meat, it’s done. It’ll kinda resemble the consistency of pulled pork barbeque, but not so long and stringy because it’s been chunked up for stewing (see note below).
Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves, ladle over the pasta and garnish with the grated cheese. Make sure to have some good crusty bread around to mop up the sauce too.
* I used a can of whole stewed tomatoes that I cut roughly with kitchen shears while they were still in the can. Fresh tomatoes would be exponentially better, of course.
** The original recipe called for red wine vinegar, but I’m a sucker for the depth that balsamic gives.
Note: This would also make an awesomely simple pork stew. Just add the vegetables of your choice and don’t cook so long that the meat disintegrates
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Peperoncini porkchops
Peperoncini Porkchops
Ingredients:
1 12 oz jar Peperoncini peppers, undrained
4-5 cloves, garlic (more or less depending upon your fear of vampire attack)
Olive oil
2-4 Thick cut porkchops, preferably bone-in
1-2 shots brandy or balsamic vinegar
1 loaf french bread
Directions:
Take 8 peppers from the jar and cut off the stems. Half or quarter them, remove the seeds and set aside. Leave the jar of peppers out. If you’re going to be suing brandy in this dish, now is also the ideal time to pour yourself a snifter to sip on.
Chop the garlic as finely as you can. Heat up a big frying pan and just enough oil to cover the garlic over low heat. Add the garlic and be careful to not let it burn.
Add the chops to the garlic and oil and sear on both sides. Don’t let them cook. You just want them white on each side. When both sides are seared, turn them over onto the original side.
Scatter the peperoncini peppers over the top of the chops. Now reach for that jar of peppers and pour a big helping of peperoncini juices in there. Not enough to cover them, but enough to get the liquid maybe about halfway up the sides or a little more. About a half the juice in the jar usually works out well. Throw your shot or two of brandy or balsamic vinegar in.
Cover the frying pan and let them cook, making sure to turn the cops at least once. Thick chops can go for about 4-5 minutes; allow less time for thinner chops.
Unless you like a really messy plate, serve the juices on the side as a sauce along with hunks of the bread for dipping.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Easy Stuffed Peppers
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 45 min 350°
1/2 lb Ground Beef
1/2 lb Italian Sausage (mild or hot, depending on your taste)
4 large bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped onion
Various Seasoning (Garlic Salt, Season Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning, etc.)
Cut your peppers in half the long way (top to bottom) and hollow, clean and rinse out the seeds. Pat them dry and set aside.
Mix the meat with whatever spices you like and the onion. I use about 1 teaspoon each of Garlic Salt, Season Salt, and Pepper, and about 1/2 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning.
Spoon the meat mixture into each pepper. Place peppers, meat side up, in a cake or baking pan. Pour in 1/2 cup water and bake for 45 minutes at 350°. Drain liquid and serve with mashed potatoes and brown gravy.
An Italian variation I make is like this:
Make as above, however, pour 1 can of tomato sauce over peppers, sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and bake as directed. Serve with buttered noodles (cook noodles/spaghetti, etc) and toss in 3 Tbs Butter and 1 Teaspoon of Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Pasta with fresh tomato sauce and field greens
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Ingredients:
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2 pounds Ripe, juicy, unpeeled tomatoes
2 Tbs Olive oil
1 Cup Chopped onion
2 tsp Minced garlic (add more or less depending on how you like garlic
1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
1 Pound Pasta (small rigatoni, or penne would work best)
3/4 Cup Grated Parmesan spring for the good stuff, not the crap in the green can
2 Tbsp Unsalted butter
4 Cups Field greens or whatever non-iceberg lettuce you have on hand
Put on your cooking music (I chose Brian Wilson’s Smile because great summertime food deserves great summertime music) and pour yourself a beer. Or a glass of wine. Or other drink of choice.
Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally. give each half a firm squeeze to get rid of as many seeds as possible. If you’re really anti-seed, you can pick out the pulpy, seedy portion with a thin knife, but you still won’t get them all anyway. Chop into medium sized (3/4 inch) hunks and put in a large bowl.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent and a little soft (about 4 or 5 minutes). Add the garlic and saute another minute or two. Add the tomatoes and any liquid in the bowl, about 3/4 tsp salt, and the red pepper flakes.
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| Mmmm… melty |
Divide into pasta bowls, sprinkle with reserved cheese and enjoy. Serves four.
Notes:
Juicy tomatoes are a must. If they aren’t ripe and juicy, you’ll probably have to add water when making the sauce. I used an heirloom variety from my garden called Rutgers, but try a farmers market or the organic section in a pinch. Not peeling the tomatoes also adds a to the texture of the sauce.
The sauce can be made a day or two ahead and warmed up in a pan before adding to the pasta. It’s tasty enough that you’ll want to eat it with a spoon though.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Southwest style pork stew
This spicy stew tastes much better than you’d think for how simple it is to prepare. If you want to further save some time canned, diced tomatoes can be substituted for all but the one cup added at the end but it does change the texture of the stew a bit.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 lbs Boneless pork roast or thick cut pork chops, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt
4 tomatoes, chopped and divided (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup
plus 4 Tbs water
1 (4-oz.) can diced jalapenos
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup sliced green onion tops
Heat oil in Dutch oven or tall sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sautee for two minutes. Add cubed pork; cook and stir until browned. Pour off drippings.
Combine oregano, cumin, red pepper and salt; sprinkle over pork, onion and garlic, stir to coat evenly and saute 5 minutes longer. Add 3 cups of the tomatoes and 1/2 cup water, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil, then educe heat; cover tightly and simmer two hours or until pork is tender, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary.
Drain the can of jalapenos. Reserve liquid, adding the remaining 4 Tbs water. Add them to the pork mixture. Combine cornstarch with the reserved jalapeno juice and water. Slowly add to the stew and stew and cook, uncovered, until thickened. Stir in remaining tomatoes.
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| Ole! |
Serves: 4
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Salmon loaf with lemon dill sauce
Along with a penchant for blasphemy and a distaste for religious tchotckes, my tragic catholic upbringing left me with an eternal loathing for tuna-noodle casserole and most other recipes that call for canned fish. This one’s pretty tasty though. Must be the lack of noodles and cream of mushroom soup.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 Cups leftover cooked salmon, or 3 six ounce cans boneless skinless salmon, drained
1 Cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Chopped yellow onion
1 Egg, beaten
1/4 Cup Whole milk
1 Tbs Lemon juice
1 tsp Lemon zest
3 Tbs Chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp Dried dill
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp pepper
For lemon dill sauce
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1/4 Cup Sour cream or plain yogurt
1 Tbs Lemon juice
1/4 tsp Dried dill
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp sugar
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all ingredients but those for sauce in bowl and mix well. Place into a oiled 9x5 loaf pan and pat down. Bake for 40 minutes or until the loaf is firm and the top is becoming browned. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before removing from pan and slicing.
While the loaf is cooking combine ingredients for sauce and stir until smooth and all lumps have disappeared. Serve at room temperature.
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Friday, March 23, 2007
Tracy’s Awesomest Chicken & Salsa
I may be biased but this is the bestest ever chicken concoction I have ever concocted…
6-8 chicken breasts
1 jar of salsa
2 - 3 cups shredded cheese (don’t matter what kind)
A NOTE BEFORE CONCOCTING:
Now this may just be me, but chicken breasts are icky unless you put them in a pot of water and boil them a bit to get all the ickyness out of them. So yeah, that’s what I do before baking.
DIRECTIONS:
Place chicken breasts (pre-cooked or not, that’s up to you) in an 9x13 oven pan. Pour salsa over the top of the chicken breasts, to cover. Top with shredded cheese.
Cover lightly with foil.
Bake at 300 for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
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