Monday, April 2, 2007
Content Monster/Dinner Monster
It just occurred to me that blogging has that same desperate "gotta keep up with it" feel that cooking dinner for the family sometimes takes on. So maybe it wasn't such a good idea to start this... one more obligation! But I'm committed now. I'll try to keep up as best I can. Maybe I'll even do more than 2 or 3 entries for April!
Passed Over
(Okay, 17 entries since the beginning of the year... at this rate, it will take three or four years to get to 365 nights of dinner!)
No seder tonight, but I did make a couple of traditional Passover dishes: my own version of Charoset (because I could neither remember exactly what it was called or exactly what was in it, but mine came out good); some bitter greens (thank you, Trader Joe's); and parmesan-crusted chicken.
Close enough.
AUDREY'S CHAROSET
1/2 cup roasted almonds and cashews
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
1 tbsp. honey
squirt of lemon juice
Pulse all ingredients in food processor until finely chopped but not a paste.
MIXED BITTER GREENS
1 bag Trader Joe's Mixed Southern Greens (mustard, turnip, and collard greens)
2 large green garlic stalks (got these at the farmer's market)
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup thin tomato sauce
2 tsp. sugar
pinch of dried marjoram and savory
Chop green garlic and sautee in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add water, tomato sauce, sugar, and herbs. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add greens. Cover and simmer 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally, then turn off heat and let sit for 30 minutes.
PARMESAN-CRUSTED CHICKEN
1 lb. white meat chicken tenders
1 egg
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup non-fat yogurt (or use 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt)
1-1/2 cups substantial but finely ground breadcrumbs (I make my own from stale whole wheat crusts cut off before making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids)
1/2 cup commercially ground parmesan cheese
pepper, turmeric, other spices if desired
Mix egg, milk, and yogurt. Mix in chicken. Mix breadcrumbs, parmesan, and spices in a shallow baking dish or on a large dinner plate. Transfer one piece of chicken at a time to the crumbs. (I use a "clean hand" and a "dirty hand" so the crumbs don't get stuck to my hand -- that is, one hand I use to retrieve the pieces, the other to cover a piece with crumbs and pat it firmly until it's well coated.) Transfer chicken pieces to a greased baking sheet. Spray with cooking oil spray. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes, then turn over and bake 5 minutes more until outsides are lightly browned and chicken is cooked but still juicy.
No seder tonight, but I did make a couple of traditional Passover dishes: my own version of Charoset (because I could neither remember exactly what it was called or exactly what was in it, but mine came out good); some bitter greens (thank you, Trader Joe's); and parmesan-crusted chicken.
Close enough.
AUDREY'S CHAROSET
1/2 cup roasted almonds and cashews
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
1 tbsp. honey
squirt of lemon juice
Pulse all ingredients in food processor until finely chopped but not a paste.
MIXED BITTER GREENS
1 bag Trader Joe's Mixed Southern Greens (mustard, turnip, and collard greens)
2 large green garlic stalks (got these at the farmer's market)
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup thin tomato sauce
2 tsp. sugar
pinch of dried marjoram and savory
Chop green garlic and sautee in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add water, tomato sauce, sugar, and herbs. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add greens. Cover and simmer 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally, then turn off heat and let sit for 30 minutes.
PARMESAN-CRUSTED CHICKEN
1 lb. white meat chicken tenders
1 egg
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup non-fat yogurt (or use 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt)
1-1/2 cups substantial but finely ground breadcrumbs (I make my own from stale whole wheat crusts cut off before making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids)
1/2 cup commercially ground parmesan cheese
pepper, turmeric, other spices if desired
Mix egg, milk, and yogurt. Mix in chicken. Mix breadcrumbs, parmesan, and spices in a shallow baking dish or on a large dinner plate. Transfer one piece of chicken at a time to the crumbs. (I use a "clean hand" and a "dirty hand" so the crumbs don't get stuck to my hand -- that is, one hand I use to retrieve the pieces, the other to cover a piece with crumbs and pat it firmly until it's well coated.) Transfer chicken pieces to a greased baking sheet. Spray with cooking oil spray. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes, then turn over and bake 5 minutes more until outsides are lightly browned and chicken is cooked but still juicy.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Early Spring Grill
A run of nice weather here led me to fire up the grill for no particular reason on a random Thursday evening. Older son spent the day home with some virus that has been going around, so it was particularly nice to get outside in the mild spring air and look up at the just-budding trees as I waited for the burgers to cook. I could almost believe summer would come again someday, although I feel foolish even thinking such things in a climate in which, truth be told, one could grill on any old January day.
Served this with grilled eggplant, sliced avocado, lettuce leaves, and, being who I am, assorted condiments.
TURKEY "PIZZA" BURGERS
1.5 lbs. lean ground turkey
3-4 slices of day-old bread (I used sourdough), crusts removed, chopped
1 large onion, pulsed in the food processor
1/3 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. tomato sauce
1 tsp. each dried basil and oregano
Mix all ingredients. Form into patties. Spray with oil to keep from sticking. Heat grill to medium-high. Grill until cooked through and nicely charred on the outside, about 15 minutes altogether for fat burgers.
Served this with grilled eggplant, sliced avocado, lettuce leaves, and, being who I am, assorted condiments.
TURKEY "PIZZA" BURGERS
1.5 lbs. lean ground turkey
3-4 slices of day-old bread (I used sourdough), crusts removed, chopped
1 large onion, pulsed in the food processor
1/3 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. tomato sauce
1 tsp. each dried basil and oregano
Mix all ingredients. Form into patties. Spray with oil to keep from sticking. Heat grill to medium-high. Grill until cooked through and nicely charred on the outside, about 15 minutes altogether for fat burgers.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Chicken Twice as Nice
One of the easiest things to make is a roast chicken. Throw a sliced onion and a few lemon slices and garlic cloves, plus a handful of fresh herbs, in the cavity. Pat the outside dry. Put it on a rack in a roasting pan and let 'er rip. I'm constantly experimenting with time and temp. This week I tried 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then 275 for about 1-1/2 hours, and raised it to 375 for the last hour when I wasn't sure dinner would be done on time. It was perfect. (This was about a 3-1/2 lb bird.) And don't forget the resting time (for the bird, not you, though that's nice too). I add a few minutes to the process and make a nice pan gravy: Scrape the drippings into a saucepan, add about a cup of water, then thicken with cornstach (you have to put the cornstach in liquid before you add it or it will lump up; use about 1 tsp. per cup of water).
It was one of those nights when nobody was much interested in eating. A lucky thing, as it turned out, since all I was serving was the chicken and some steamed broc (a staple around here). Lucky, too, because I took all the leftover meat off the bones and used it two nights later.
CHICKEN STIR-FRY QUICKLY PLEASE
Chopped meat leftover from 1 roast chicken
2 cups sugar snap peas (with edible hulls) or other stir-fry worthy vegetable(s)
Pan gravy leftover from roast chicken
1/4 cup soy sauce (I think)
1/8 cup rice vinegar (I think)
1/4 cup brown sugar (I think)
Some water or chicken broth
1 tsp. cornstarch
Stir fry veggies in a little oil until tender-crisp (I love that term!) and maybe a little charred in places. Lower the heat to medium. Mix remaining ingredients and stir into veggies to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes to thicken. Add chicken and heat through. Serve over rice.
It was one of those nights when nobody was much interested in eating. A lucky thing, as it turned out, since all I was serving was the chicken and some steamed broc (a staple around here). Lucky, too, because I took all the leftover meat off the bones and used it two nights later.
CHICKEN STIR-FRY QUICKLY PLEASE
Chopped meat leftover from 1 roast chicken
2 cups sugar snap peas (with edible hulls) or other stir-fry worthy vegetable(s)
Pan gravy leftover from roast chicken
1/4 cup soy sauce (I think)
1/8 cup rice vinegar (I think)
1/4 cup brown sugar (I think)
Some water or chicken broth
1 tsp. cornstarch
Stir fry veggies in a little oil until tender-crisp (I love that term!) and maybe a little charred in places. Lower the heat to medium. Mix remaining ingredients and stir into veggies to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes to thicken. Add chicken and heat through. Serve over rice.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Simple Sauce in Hope of Simpler Times
Yes, I am still here. Just overwhelmed with work and life. If I have to choose between actually cooking and blogging about cooking, I will choose actually cooking, although some of my efforts in the last weeks have been mighty canned. Still, I try to do something interesting no matter what. Tonight's delight:
DOCTOR OF SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH MEATBALL AND SAUSAGE
2 16-oz. cans of S&W organic tomato sauce (or equivalent)
2 16-oz. can of garbonzo beans
1 large onion
clove of garlic
dash of sugar
dash of red wine
pepper
dried basil and/or other herbs
Puree one can of garbonzos and one can of tomato sauce in blender until smooth. Mince onion and garlic. Sautee in olive oil until translucent and just starting to brown. Add puree and remaining ingredients. Simmer 1/2 hour to 45 minutes until flavors blend. Serve over spaghetti or other pasta with grated parmesan and a meatball and sausage on the side (which you have retrieved as the sole representatives of their meat classes from the depths of the freezer).
DOCTOR OF SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH MEATBALL AND SAUSAGE
2 16-oz. cans of S&W organic tomato sauce (or equivalent)
2 16-oz. can of garbonzo beans
1 large onion
clove of garlic
dash of sugar
dash of red wine
pepper
dried basil and/or other herbs
Puree one can of garbonzos and one can of tomato sauce in blender until smooth. Mince onion and garlic. Sautee in olive oil until translucent and just starting to brown. Add puree and remaining ingredients. Simmer 1/2 hour to 45 minutes until flavors blend. Serve over spaghetti or other pasta with grated parmesan and a meatball and sausage on the side (which you have retrieved as the sole representatives of their meat classes from the depths of the freezer).
Monday, February 12, 2007
Tortilla Emergency!
As dinner took shape, I visualized... some leftover cooked chicken, defrosted and chopped. A few Santa Sweets tomatoes, chopped. Shredded lettuce. Beans (okay, kidney beans because I for some reason have a bunch of them and no pinto beans or black beans). Grated Monterey Jack. Guacamole. Salsa. Voila: tacos.
Disappointment #1: The taco shells I was sure I had purchased were nowhere to be found (they vanished along with the fine-mesh strainer I was SURE I had purchased once from Ikea, but then never saw again after leaving the store, and the sundry other items I THINK about buying but then change my mind about, which, the mind being the funny thing that it is, become imprinted as having been bought).
Disappointment #2: The enormous bags of flour tortillas I usually have somewhere in the freezer had been depleted and not replenished. The only tortilla-like item to be found was some ancient ones of the corn variety, which the kids don't like, and which separated into layers when I tried to heat them. Yuck, as the kids would say.
So, with 20 minutes until dinner was to be served (in a hurry, as husband needed to rush off to a meeting), I did what any self-respecting suburban cook would do: I made flour tortillas from scratch. It's easy. Really.
EMERGENCY TORTILLAS
1-1/2 cups of flour
1-2 tbsp. oil (vegetable, corn, or olive)
water
salt
Mix flour and salt. Add oil and enough water to make a firm but pliable dough. Knead gently until it holds together, about 2 minutes. Cut dough into 6-8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball and flatten. Roll on a floured surface with a rolling pin until very thin. Fry on medium heat in an oiled cast-iron skillet until bubbles begin to appear and bottom is lightly browned. Turn and fry about 30 seconds more, until second side is browned. Remove and cover with a towel until ready to serve.
Disappointment #1: The taco shells I was sure I had purchased were nowhere to be found (they vanished along with the fine-mesh strainer I was SURE I had purchased once from Ikea, but then never saw again after leaving the store, and the sundry other items I THINK about buying but then change my mind about, which, the mind being the funny thing that it is, become imprinted as having been bought).
Disappointment #2: The enormous bags of flour tortillas I usually have somewhere in the freezer had been depleted and not replenished. The only tortilla-like item to be found was some ancient ones of the corn variety, which the kids don't like, and which separated into layers when I tried to heat them. Yuck, as the kids would say.
So, with 20 minutes until dinner was to be served (in a hurry, as husband needed to rush off to a meeting), I did what any self-respecting suburban cook would do: I made flour tortillas from scratch. It's easy. Really.
EMERGENCY TORTILLAS
1-1/2 cups of flour
1-2 tbsp. oil (vegetable, corn, or olive)
water
salt
Mix flour and salt. Add oil and enough water to make a firm but pliable dough. Knead gently until it holds together, about 2 minutes. Cut dough into 6-8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball and flatten. Roll on a floured surface with a rolling pin until very thin. Fry on medium heat in an oiled cast-iron skillet until bubbles begin to appear and bottom is lightly browned. Turn and fry about 30 seconds more, until second side is browned. Remove and cover with a towel until ready to serve.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
In Sickness and in Health
Thankfully, I have not succumbed to the miserable flu making the rounds (yes, I got a flu shot). My neighbor, however, was not so lucky. It also happens that she and I were co-chairing a major event at school which occurred over the weekend. She came down with the flu the week before. Selfishly, I made her some special soup to help her recover in time for the big event. I don't know whether the soup did the trick (she was able to attend the event after spending five days in bed), but she said it went down well when nothing much else would.
GINGER LEMON GRASS CHICKEN MISO FLU SOUP
1 large knob of ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass, cleaned and sliced on the bias into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 tbsp. white miso paste
1 quart chicken broth (homemade or boxed -- use low sodium if you use boxed)
OPTIONAL
slivered carrots or other vegetables
diced cooked chicken
cubed tofu
rice noodles
Saute onion in olive or vegetable oil until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and lemon grass and cook another 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Whisk a little of the chicken broth with the miso paste to thin. Add, along with remaining chicken brith, to the pot with the onion etc. Simmer on low for 1/2 hour until flavors blend. Just before serving, add optional ingredients and heat through.
GINGER LEMON GRASS CHICKEN MISO FLU SOUP
1 large knob of ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass, cleaned and sliced on the bias into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 tbsp. white miso paste
1 quart chicken broth (homemade or boxed -- use low sodium if you use boxed)
OPTIONAL
slivered carrots or other vegetables
diced cooked chicken
cubed tofu
rice noodles
Saute onion in olive or vegetable oil until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and lemon grass and cook another 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Whisk a little of the chicken broth with the miso paste to thin. Add, along with remaining chicken brith, to the pot with the onion etc. Simmer on low for 1/2 hour until flavors blend. Just before serving, add optional ingredients and heat through.
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