Meatballs 2.0

I've revamped my meatball recipe. Recently, I made these in a large batch and froze most of them. One batch (below) will yield about 12 meatballs if you make them golf ball sized. That is what the cooking time is based off of as well. For smaller meatballs, I'd check them 5 minutes earlier, and for larger ones, give them an extra few.

You will need:

1lb meatloaf mix (50% ground beef, 25% ground veal, 25% ground pork)... you can use 90/10 (or higher) ground beef as well, but this mix is delicious.

1 large egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (Italian season or plain)

2 tsp salt (sometimes I do 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp soy sauce)

1.5 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder (cut back the salt if you use garlic salt)

1 tsp onion powder (I use this because it is quick and those who don't like onion don't complain when they can't see it... you can saute a finely diced, small onion)

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1/2 - 1 tsp (crushed) red pepper flakes (I usually lean towards the 1/2, but my husband likes them spicy, and if I'm using a non-spicy sauce, I'll put in a whole tsp. I don't always use crushed, I use what I can find in my cabinet first.)

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the cheap stuff you find in the pasta aisle that comes in the green canister is fine for this)


Preheat oven to 350.

Take all that and dump it into a large bowl. Mix it together with your fingers. Once well-blended (but not overworked), roll into golf ball sized balls. Place on a baking sheet (I line mine with aluminum, as it makes clean up MUCH easier) and bake for 20 minutes. I check mine around 15 minutes to see that they are still slightly pink on the inside. They should not be gray all the way through. If they are slightly pink in the middle, pull them out! Not only will they cook in the sauce, but they will continue to cook outside the oven (just like taking a steak off the grill).

You can pan-sear the meatballs first, then bake for an additional 10 minutes, or throw them right into your sauce from the pan for 15 minutes. I bake mine because more of the grease comes out, and we try to be healthy. (I know I'm topping carbs with meat, but they are baked meatballs! That makes it somewhat better! AND tomato sauce is very good for you.)

I usually make 2 or 3 batches and freeze most of them. These are very versatile, so you can use them in a variety of sauces, or even soup (but you might want to make them smaller for soup, and do pan-sear them).

Some people cook their meatballs right in their sauce. I do not recommend this, as you will have soggy balls (if they even hold up at all), and nobody wants that. Add them to the sauce right before you eat - about 10-15 minutes before - and they will flavor the sauce without making ragu out of your pomador sauce. I also freeze them plain so that I can use them in many things, not just 20 servings of sauce and meatballs.

If you do freeze them, put the balls you would like to use in the refrigerator in the morning, and they will be ready for dinner. If, like me, you can't remember your name before you have had some coffee and the likelihood of planning for dinner at 6:45am as you rush out the door is slim to none, the microwave defrost or some time on the counter before dinner works just fine, too.

Lastly, have fun. You can add different spices to these, add more or less breadcrumbs, change things around... this is just a base recipe. Try different things out and see what you like best!

Eye Round Roast for the weeknight (and week!)

Yesterday, after much confusion, I found myself standing in front of the meat counter at Whole Foods having absolutely no idea what was for dinner.

I must have stood there for a while because a clerk approached me and told me that eye round roast was what was for dinner.

Here is what I knew about eye round roasts at that moment in time:

1) It is beef.

2) It is delicious.

3) It takes hours to cook because as a tough piece of meat, it needs to relax.

I usually marinate eye round in an acid (balsamic, red wine...) over night and then cook it for 500 degrees for 10 minutes before turning off the oven and threatening anyone who thinks about opening the oven over the next 2.5 hours with their lives, as the roast cooks in the residual heat.

I didn't have the energy or time for that, but I couldn't think of anything better. I took the 1.5 lb slab of beef, grabbed some asparagus and lettuce and trudged out of the store.


I let the roast come to room temperature while the oven preheated to 450.

Then I rubbed the roast with some salt and pepper. When the oven came to temp, I tossed the roast into the middle and cooked it for 10 minutes (uncovered). I then cut the heat down to 350 and let the roast cook for 35 minutes more. After that I let it sit for 15 minutes before slicing it into thin rounds.

During that time, I roasted the asparagus at 400 degrees while making a glaze of butter, balsamic, maple syrup, and soy sauce.

The roast was medium on the ends, medium-rare in the middle (very little red), and delicious both right then and there with the salad and glazed asparagus and for lunch, cold, over salad dressed with glaze.

Not to mention, I cooked it on foil, so clean up was as easy as making it.

Corn Chowder

Dan had some friends coming over to work on a project this afternoon. When I asked what he and his friends would like for lunch, Dan suggested corn chowder.

Oddly, I've never made a corn chowder before. I've made soups with corn, I've made corn bisque, but not corn chowder. I did a little research to figure out what I wanted this chowder to include without consuming the majority of my morning in prep work.

It is a cold, drizzly day in North Carolina; perfect corn chowder weather.

This makes a large batch - I used my 7.5qt dutch oven, and had a little room at the top.

I over-spiced this (we all had runny noses by the end...), so I've adjusted the recipe below. If you find the heat too weak for your taste, add more pepper or Dinosaur by the half teaspoon until you are satisfied.


You will need:

about 8 strips of smoked bacon, diced
1 large vidalia onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 large red pepper, diced
6 large Yukon Gold or white potatoes, peeled and cubed (these are less starchy than Idaho or baking potatoes)
1 large or 2 smaller sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth if you are opting for a vegetarian soup)
2 cups heavy cream
32 oz (big bag) of frozen corn
(I added an additional cup of fire-roasted corn to cut the heat, and it is terrific. I've only seen fire-roasted corn at Trader Joe's.)
2 tsp(ish) dried thyme
1 TBS soy sauce
1/2 TBS cayenne pepper and 1 tsp crushed red pepper OR 1 TBS Dinosaur Foreplay (which is preferred, and a staple in my kitchen)

In dutch oven (or thick pot) saute diced bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside.
In bacon drippings (drain some off if you have more than a few TBS), saute onion, carrots, celery, and red pepper until onions are caramelized and veggies are softened (about 8 minutes).
Add broth, soy sauce, thyme, and Foreplay (or peppers) and potatoes to the pot and simmer, covered, for 10+ minutes, until potatoes are softened. (I walked away from this for about 20 minutes, and all turned out well.)
Add corn, cream, and bacon to the pot.
When the corn is cooked, it is ready! I let mine cook for about 30 minutes, just because we weren't ready for it right away.

I served these with some Trader Joe's Chili & Cheese Puffs (similar to Ina Garten's cheese puffs with the addition of diced mild chilies and the convenience of being pre-made.)

Holiday Bark

My mother makes a holiday bark that I'm fairly certain had something to do with why Dan married me. It has all the best things: salt, chocolate, sugar, butter, carbs.

I don't love all bark. I don't love white chocolate bark, and I don't appreciate peppermint bark like most people do (unless it has a dark chocolate base). But I love this bark.

I had a staff celebration coming up and a great deal of leftover Halloween candy. I combined my mother's basic bark with the idea of topping it all with a variety of delicious candy leftovers.

About half way through execution I started to think that perhaps I had overdone the candy. If you run into this problem, plow through. It will all work out in the end. Feel free to substitute your favorite candies for anything else here. You may not use all the candy bits... the best thing to do in that case is to put them over ice cream. You wouldn't want them to go to waste.

One batch makes one cookie sheet... I made two to share with 30-40 people, but should have made more. If it were a Get Fat night, I'm sure 5 of us girls could have done justice to one batch.

I'm sorry there is no picture... I was so excited to eat and share this that I completely forgot to take one.

You will need:

1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar (packed)
about 25 Saltine crackers (1 sleeve should do the trick)
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 full-sized Butterfinger bar (or a bunch of small ones), chopped into chunks
2-3 Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, chopped into chunks
1/2 cup(ish) candy corn
1/2 cup(ish) M&Ms
1/4 cup roasted (unsalted) peanuts


Preheat oven to 350.
Line a jelly roll sheet (cookie sheet with sides) with aluminum foil & spray with nonstick spray.

Cover the bottom of the cookie sheet with Saltine crackers so that there is no space between them.
Melt 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar together, and bring to a boil.
Pour boiling sugar over crackers.
Bake in oven for 5 minutes - toffee will spread in the oven, so don't worry if the sugar isn't covering the crackers.
Let rest for 1 minute outside of oven.

Spread the chocolate chips over toffee. When they get good and melty, spread them with a spatula or knife.

While the chocolate is still gooey, top with the candy. You may need to gently press some of the candy corn down.


Refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until the chocolate has set.

Break into small, uneven pieces.

Chicken and Rice

Lately I've been in the mood for some one-dish comfort food. Out of my normal realm of cooking, I always feel like I'm cheating when I make one of these... like I should be putting more effort into a healthy dinner.

Dan knows how to cook few things. His go-to dish is chicken, boil-in-bag rice, and steamed broccoli. This is a good meal, but I can't imagine eating it all the time. (Dan would be fine with having that 3 times a week.) Being me, I like to spin things. So, for my husband and my need for something more than boiled, steamed, and baked, I decided we would have some chicken and rice tonight.


You will need:

1 cup uncooked rice (not instant)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2/3 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast (or about 9oz. pre-cooked chicken breast, diced)
5 oz Vermont sharp white cheddar (I used Cracker Barrel), shredded
2/3 can heart healthy Campbell's Cream of Celery condensed soup
2 c. broccoli florettes (frozen is fine - I used 1 bag of Bird's Eye Deluxe, because they are small)
1 c. lima beans

Preheat oven to 375.

In a 2qt sauce pan, combine rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
While the rice cooks, lightly salt and pepper chicken. Dice raw chicken, and saute in a pan.

Combine rice (with liquid), chicken, broccoli, lima beans, cream of celery, and cheese in a glass pan. I was going to add diced zucchini, but I ran out of room.


Bake for 35 minutes covered, and 5 minutes uncovered if there is a lot of liquid in the pan (otherwise just leave it covered for the additional 5 minutes).

Enjoy!

Weekday Coq Au Vin

Coq au vin (chicken in wine) is typically a slow-cooked, time-consuming dish. You may remember my "Sunday version"... but what if you want coq au vin on a Tuesday? Or Thursday?

I frequently want delicious food mid-week that I didn't have the good sense to prepare on Sunday when I had the time. Yesterday, the weather turned damp and cold and I wanted a nice, hearty chicken dish.

I went to Trader Joe's (one of my favorite stores) and started collecting the ingredients for what I knew would involve chicken, carrots, and wine. I hadn't thought all the way to coq au vin until I tasted their sample of the dish, which (for a frozen heat-and-eat meal) wasn't too shabby.

I was off and running, determined to make a coq au vin as delicious as my Sunday version in under 2 hours. After 15 minutes of prep work, I left my kitchen at 5:30 pm, and could have eaten at 6:30pm. I chose to let the chicken cook an additional 30 minutes while I finished some lesson plans, and everything turned out perfectly. Even better - today I put the dutch oven of leftovers into the oven, and in 20 minutes had dinner ready.


Quick Coq Au Vin

You will need:

chicken pieces, bone in, skin on. I used 2 breasts with rib meat and 4 drumsticks. Use any combination that you like - enough to feed 4 people.

1/2 bottle of French red wine - I prefer bordeaux. Burgundy would work well, too. Don't go too cheap (quality-wise) on the wine (don't cook with wine you wouldn't drink), especially because you are only using half a bottle. Serving the chicken with a glass of the same wine is always a nice touch, and you can get decent table wines for under $10 if you know where to look (like Trader Joe's).

2 - 3 pieces of smoked bacon (I used applewood smoked uncured bacon), diced

1/4 cup pearl onions (frozen)

about 6 oz condensed cream of mushroom soup - I highly highly highly recommend Trader Joe's condensed portabella mushroom soup... the quality is far superior to Campbell's cream of anything.

3 carrots

about 6 small red potatoes

salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 375.
Salt and pepper chicken generously.
Over medium-high heat, warm some olive oil in the bottom of a dutch oven. Place as many pieces of chicken as you can without them touching into the pan to brown. Turn the chicken once and then remove to a plate, cooking the second batch (or however many more you have to brown all the chicken). You just need it in there long enough to brown up the skin a bit, not to cook the chicken. While the chicken browns, dice up your bacon, clean and cut the carrots into large pieces, and quarter the potatoes. (Reserve carrots and potatoes for later - you won't actually need them until about 30 minutes before eating.)

Once the chicken is brown and removed from the pan, saute the bacon. Once done, drain the pan and add the chicken, onions, cream of mushroom soup, and wine. Cover and put it into the oven.

Cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes (or 30 minutes before you would like to eat - this can cook for as long as you like) add in the carrots and potatoes.


That is it. Coq au vin in under 2 hours.
You can serve this over egg noodles if you wish, but it is delicious and filling as-is.
Either way, enjoy!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

I love a multitude of foods. Delicious, quality stuffing is somewhere near the top of the "Foods I Love" list.
I also love roasting a bird, but I don't always have the time, patience, and/or crowd to eat stuffed poultry.

When I got home tonight, I was craving stuffing. Being home alone, I started to think "What can I stuff that won't leave me with a whole bird minus a leg?"

Then I remembered the acorn squashes on the counter. I thought "Yes, those are stuffable."


The stuffing itself is versatile. You can use turkey sausage, veggie sausage, tofu, or no protein at all. To create a gluten-free meal, leave out the croutons.

Serves 4**

You will need:

2 medium - large acorn squashes, halved and gutted
1/2 small onion diced (a little less than 1/4 cup)
1 celery rib, diced
1/2 small granny smith apple, peeled and diced
a handful of dried cranberries
1/2 cup sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Sage)
handful of croutons (a little less than 1/4 cup), cut in half if they are large
salt, pepper, and sage (if you do not use sage sausage)
2 tsp maple syrup divided in half


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roast squash, cut side up, for 45 minutes. (I find a loaf pan works well for holding both halves.)

While those bake:
Saute the onions, celery, and sausage over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 tsp sage. Once the sausage is cooked, add the apples, cranberries, and croutons. Mix well. If stuffing is dry (will depend on the meat you used and how much croutons you put in) add chicken broth or vegetable broth by the Tablespoonful. You can also add a small amount of butter to add moisture.
Season stuffing with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the squash has roasted for 45 minutes, remove from oven, fill halves with stuffing (stuffing will be mounded on top), drizzle maple syrup over the top, and continue to bake for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

*Stuffing can be made beforehand and frozen. You could also use leftover stuffing if that exists in your home. Stuffing tends to be eaten the first time around in these parts...
This would also be great with some toasted sliced almonds, which can be quickly toasted in the pan before browning the onions, and would make a great vegetarian protein option or crunchy add-in.

**I edited this to include 2 acorn squashes after trying to stuff my own halves and finding I had an abundance of stuffing left over. I dumped all the extra stuffing into the pan to bake, but it could have easily fit into 2 squash.

Roasted Chicken

(Yes, this chicken is upside down.)

You can go into any grocery store and buy a rotisserie chicken for about $7. However, it doesn't come close to a chicken you roast at home. Sure, roasting a chicken takes time, but it isn't hard.

Here is a fail-proof way to make a delicious, crispy-skin chicken.

After much research, I have found a way to make crispy-skin chicken. It is one of those "I'm trying very hard not to eat all the tasty skin off this chicken because it might clog my arteries instantly, but it just might be worth it." chickens.


First, you need a chicken. A 3 lb fryer will feed 4 people (2 for dark meat, 2 for light) and you will have some leftovers.

The secret to crispy skin is to salt the chicken and let it sit for a while. You can either season your chicken in the morning, refrigerate it, and then roast it at night, or season the chicken and let it sit on the counter for 30 - 45 minutes. (No longer than an hour.)
When you season a chicken, rub seasoning and olive oil all over the chicken, inside and out.

For tonight's chicken I used salt (about 2 tsp), black pepper, rosemary, onion powder (about 1/4 tsp), and the juice of half a lemon. In the body cavity I put a bay leaf and the squeezed out lemon.

There are many seasons that go well with chicken. I usually use thyme, but was out. You can use French basil, savory, white pepper, sage, celery salt... try different combinations to find what you like. You can also put celery, half an onion, a piece of orange, carrots, fresh herbs... into the bird cavity.

Put the chicken into your roasting pan breast-side down and let it sit, either in the refrigerator for a day or on the counter for up to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450.

Roast the chicken breast-side down in the oven for 20 minutes.
An excellent way to cook a chicken is to roast veggies along with it. While the chicken is roasting for the initial 20 minutes, you can prepare veggies. On nights I'm running short on time, I throw baby carrots into the pan. Peeling and dicing (into 1 inch cubes) fresh beets, carrots, turnips, white potatoes, parsnips, celery root, butternut squash... is a great addition and side to chicken. I also like to get small red potatoes and peel one stripe around the middle and stick those into the pan. Fingerling potatoes (poked with a fork) work well, too.

After 20 minutes of roasting, flip the chicken so that it is breast-side up. Add the veggies around the chicken, tossing them in any pan juices.

Roast the chicken and the veggies for an additional 25 minutes.
Once the chicken has been in the oven for 45 minutes, take the chicken's temperature. Insert a meat thermometer into a thick part of the thigh, being careful not to hit any bones. The internal temperature must read 160 degrees. If the chicken is at 155 +, turn off the oven and let the chicken sit for 10 minutes. If the temperature is lower than 155, continue roasting, checking the temperature in 6-10 minutes (depending on how close it is or is not to 155).
While you are in there, give the veggies a stir.

Once the chicken is done, remove to a cutting board and let the chicken rest breast-side down for a few minutes before turning over and carving.

While waiting, you can remove the veggies from the pan and heat the pan on the stove top with some chicken broth (a cup is more than enough... or you can use a little water, a little white wine, any combination of the above...) and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and let it boil for a few minutes (while you carve your chicken). You can enjoy this pan sauce as is or thicken this with a roux (or Wondra) for more of a gravy.

Enjoy!Chicken served with acorn squash (which you can roast in a separate pan at the same temperature for about 40 minutes, cut side down, with a little water in the pan), mashed russet potatoes and celery root, and (overly) roasted baby carrots. (I've adjusted the time above so that this does not happen to you.)

Now I'm ready for some FOOTBALL!

I have been a slacker in the kitchen as of late. After a summer of morning sickness, traveling, and starting up the school year, I'm back at it... or at least, my crock pot is. I'm still trying to balance teaching, pregnancy, and trying to clean after a month of being gone, so time for making delicious, healthy food is limited.
I digress.


Happy football season, everyone! It is still muggy down here in the south (today it wasn't bad - 75 - but the rain made it a bit sticky) but that can't stop me from enjoying some of the best things about football season: chili.

(Let's be honest... at every football gathering you can always find at least one person more excited about the food than the sport. Chili and football were made for each other.)

This is crock pot chili. You can make it the night before (start it late Saturday if you want to make it for a 1 p.m. Sunday game) or Monday before work for Monday night football. Or you could make it any other time you like.

This makes hot chili. If you want to tone it down, use Ro*Tel's Original tomatoes with chili peppers (for medium) or mild for, well, mild. Don't skip the chilies, though.

If you find, after cooking, it is too hot, add more tomatoes.


You will need:

1 sweet onion, diced
1 - 1.5 lb ground beef
2 large cans (14-16 oz) tomato puree
2 8 oz cans Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with chilies (hot)
2 4 oz cans fire-roasted diced green chili (mild) - I get mine at Trader Joe's
1 large can (or 2 regular cans) dark red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can great northern white beans
onion & garlic powders
salt
smoked paprika
chili powder (I use Penzey's Chili 3000 - it is fantastic)
something to eat your chili over - I like elbow pasta

I use my standard sized crock for this. If you have a little crock, cut it in half.


Brown the beef and caramelize the onions. Put into crock with the next 3 ingredients. Add 1 TBS salt, 4 TBS chili powder, and 1 tsp smoked paprika.
Cook on low for 6+ hours (or, if you are in a rush, high for 3)

1 hour before serving (ish... 30 min - 2 hours, really):
Add beans (drained), 1 TBS smoked paprika, onion and garlic powders to taste (if you don't know where to start, add 1.5 tsp of each and go from there), and salt if needed. If it isn't as hot as you would like, stir in some crushed red pepper.
Simmer on low.

If there is too much liquid, remove the lid while it simmers.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade

A few days ago I polled some Facebook friends for ideas of what to do with an excess of strawberries. One of my friends, Robin, suggested strawberry lemonade. In this heat, can there be anything better? Now, you can make this with frozen berries, but fresh is best.

I'm going to tell you the recipe I envisioned, and then the recipe I actually used, to help use up what I had. Both will be tasty, I promise.

First, the all-from-scratch strawberry lemonade:

You will need:
The juice of 6 lemons
water
1 pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced
sugar (you can substitute Splenda in this recipe!)

Lemonade is very subjective. Some love it tart, some can't get enough sweet. I err on the side of tart.
Remember, the strawberries will add some sweetness, and again, how much sweetness they bring is dependent on the berry.

Place your hulled berries into a saucepan with 1/3 cup sugar and a few TBS of water. Melt sugar over medium heat, and cook berries down into sugar. When your berries look like melted jam, they are done.

If you want your lemonade to be pulp-free, put a fine meshed strainer over the mouth of your pitcher.

Pour in your lemon juice. Next, pour in your strawberry. If using a strainer, you will want to pour your water over the top of the berries while mashing every last bit of juice out of them!

Add water, stir, and taste. If it is too tart, add more sugar. If it is too sugary, add more water and lemon.



Now, the "cheater" version I made:

I had a whole container of Simply Made Lemonade in my refrigerator. Although I don't think it possible to have too much lemonade, my refrigerator is limited on space, and making more wasn't an option.

You will need:
A gallon of Simply Made Lemonade
A pint of strawberries, hulled and sliced


I should start with saying that I was specific with the lemonade brand for a reason. I don't generally push one brand over another, but this line of juices I feel are closest to homemade. Many manufactured lemonades are overly sweet (I even think this one is a bit sweet... but I eat lemons, so it might just be me), and if you add strawberries to the mix, you will have a sugar headache in no time. If you love overly sweet, go for it. Just don't lose the fact that you should taste lemons!

Cook the strawberries in a sauce pan over medium heat with a several (5ish) tablespoons of lemonade and a tablespoon of sugar. When the strawberries have broken down and the juices are flowing, they are ready.

Like in the above, if you want a pulp-free lemonade, run everything through a strainer. Put the berries in first, then add the lemonade to taste.


Chill and serve. This drink tastes especially delicious on the back porch or at picnics.

Smoking a Boston butt...

I have several recipes in draft form, waiting for me to put pictures with them and post them for your cooking pleasure.

For now, I bring you a tasty dry rub.

Today, we are using this rub on the outside of a Boston butt, to make pulled pork. I would recommend using this rub on any pork - ribs, chops, shoulder - and then wrapping the meat in plastic wrap (twice wrapped, tightly) and letting it marinate at least 4 hours... over night or all day is even better.

Dry rub for pork:
This makes a lot, more than enough for our 5.6 lb butt, so combine ingredients in an air-tight container, and don't cross contaminate when marinating.

6 TBS dark brown sugar
4 TBS salt
3-4 TBS smoked paprika (depending on how much you like)
1.5 TBS white pepper
1/2 TBS black pepper
5 TBS chili powder
2.5 TBS garlic powder
2 TBS onion powder
1 TBS dried mustard
1 TBS dried thyme
1 TBS lemon pepper
1/2 TBS cumin

For heat: add ground Cayenne (red) pepper I put a teaspoon (?) into ours.

Blend well and rub on to the next piece of pork you will smoke or grill!

Enjoy!



PART 2: The Finishing Sauce

One of the most debatable topics in the culinary world is whether true BBQ sauce is better with a tomato base or a vinegar base.
For my own reasons, I chose to side with the vinegar camp when it comes to pulled pork. I'm in the right place here in North Carolina.

After using the above rub (which was delectable) and smoking our pork shoulder for 8 hours (reaching the internal temp of 195), I needed a finishing sauce that would compliment the pork, not overpower it, and that my North Carolina family would like. (The bar is set high!)

First, I should state that pulling pork is nothing like pulling chicken. It takes a lot more than a few forks to get a pork shoulder apart! I did it once, and likely will not do it again. Since then, I have relied on the magic of Cuisinart to chop my pork for me. Chopped is traditional (as my Mother in Law taught me today), and so this is an acceptable method. That, and I feel that the meat better absorbs the sauce when fine chopped.

As I chop, I mix a little finishing sauce in with the pork... about 3/4 - 1 cup total. Just enough to give it a little flavor. The rest of the finishing sauce is served on the side, for each person to add on their own.

I tinkered around with this a bit, and finally got it right. If you don't have all of the vinegars, just use half cider and half white vinegar. Rice vinegar is traditionally used in sushi rice. It is known for being milder and sweeter than other vinegars. In a dish where vinegar can quickly take over, it is nice to have an option that is less acidic, but maintains flavor.

Ideally, you should make the sauce a few hours (or up to a day) ahead. It can remain at room temperature. If you make it when you throw your pork in the smoker, you will be in great shape.

Finishing Sauce:

1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2.5 TBS kosher fine ground salt
2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper (ground red)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

This makes a mild/medium spiced sauce, depending on the strength of your peppers. Taste it. If it is too hot, add more vinegar (in equal parts, if possible) and if there is not enough heat, by all means, add some more!

Put all these ingredients in a container and shake it up!

Enjoy!

Dinner on the grill: Shrimp, broccoli, and new potatoes

"Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it." - Bubba, Forrest Gump

This was my Memorial Day cookout, but it would be a tasty grilled dinner any day of the week.

For the shrimp:

You will need:
about .5 - .75 lb cleaned head-on shrimp per person (depending on how much you like shrimp. You could get away with less, but I love shrimp, and ate the whole bowl myself.) - you could also use just tails. If they are small, skewer them.

1 lb new potatoes (red or white) for about 3-4 people

broccoli... you can decide how much per person. I ate a whole crown myself, but again, I love broccoli. I used crowns and quartered them.
salt
pepper
olive oil
fresh rosemary - about 3 large sprigs
fresh thyme - 5 - 8 pieces
citrus olive oil (or a little lemon)
chopped cayenne pepper
garlic

For the shrimp:

Mix about 2 TBS olive oil (use a mix of citrus EVOO and regular, or add lemon), 1 tsp chopped garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (I'd use about 1 tsp, but some like it super hot - use your judgment).

Once the shrimp are cleaned, add to the EVOO mix, and let marinade for 1-5 hours. Give a good shake every once in a while, when you pass by the refrigerator.


For the potatoes:
Slice potatoes in half down the length, so you have thin, oval pieces.
Fine chop the rosemary and thyme. Put in a bowl with about 1 TBS EVOO and 2 pinches of salt.
Toss the potatoes in the EVOO and let rest for at least 5 minutes, up to 30 minutes.


Brush the broccoli with EVOO. You can even use the leftover EVOO from the potatoes.

Grilling:
Everything for this meal is cooked over direct medium heat.

Get the grill warmed up. Spray or brush with grill spray (Pam) or olive oil on a paper towel.

Place the potatoes cut side down on the grill. Do not attempt to move them for at least 10 minutes. They may stick at first. If they start to burn, turn the heat down. 8-10 minutes after the potatoes are on, put the shrimp on the grill. (8 for bigger shrimp, 10 for skewered shrimp tails.) Next, add the broccoli.
Turn the potatoes, and close the lid. When the shrimp start to turn pink, flip them. Turn the broccoli when it begins to char.
Cook potatoes and broccoli to preferred doneness. Shrimp is done when it is pinkish red, or looks like boiled shrimp does. (See first picture.)

There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger...

Thanks to Bubba in Forrest Gump, we know of the versatility of shrimp. Who doesn't recall the scene where he ticks off the multitude of shrimp dishes?
(If you just answered "I don't...", stop reading this and go watch Forrest Gump. Come back when you are done watching and crying, please.)
There are dozens of kinds of shrimp. Krill are shrimp. Sea monkey pets are shrimp. Big shrimp, little shrimp, shrimp with horns (that seriously hurt...)....
Personally, unless I'm making some Louisiana gumbo, I prefer fresh North Carolina shrimp. There is no shrimp sweeter. (Stay with me, Louisiana Faithful...) Thanks to my husband's family, I have been immersed in NC shrimp, and stand by what they taught me. Regardless of which shrimp you use, there are a few things you should consider.

1) Fresh vs. frozen. Shrimp, raw or cooked, does not freeze well. It will come out mushier or mealier than it should. In the event never frozen shrimp can not be found, use frozen. Try and get it from a place with a good turn-over, or from a local fishmonger who can likely tell you when it was caught and frozen.

2) Head-on vs. no head. The heads of shrimp impart a delicious flavor on any dish, which is why you see their heads sticking out of true paellas. That, and it looks cool. If you do not intend on cooking with the head, you can twist them off (very simple, like opening a bottle) and use them in any fish broth, stock, or dish you may be making. They will freeze just fine, so don't be afraid to save them up (pre or post cooking) and keep them waiting for the day you want to make shrimp bisque or clam chowder. In some Asian dishes, you eat the head as well. I'm uncertain how this works, but it is supposedly delicious. If you are in a hurry, don't want to deal with heads, or they creep you out, get just the tails. Tails are especially good for cocktails.
Please note that pre-peeled shrimp is not listed. It is worth it to buy the shrimps in the shell and peel them yourself. The shell helps to keep the shrimp moist and flavorful.

3) Size. The number listed shows how many you get per pound. 20-25 is a great size for cocktails and most dishes. 30-35 are great for pasta dishes. I used 15-18 head-on shrimp (pictured above), which will go on the grill without skewers. Head-on 15-18 shrimp are about the same as head-off 20-25. Obviously, without heads, you get more per pound, which is why they cost more.
Now that you know the basics, we get to the very old debate: Devein, or not devein... that is the question.
If you watch food network, you have probably seen someone on some competitive cooking show lose points here or be disqualified there for leaving the vein in a shrimp tail.
This is because the vein is really the intestine, and some people don't want to eat shrimp poo.

Do I think it absolutely necessary to clean a shrimp every single time? No. That said, the only time I do not clean shrimp is when we have shrimp throw-down cocktail on the Outer Banks. I know where the shrimp came from, and I don't have the patience to clean 40+ shrimp. Besides, why mess with perfection?
Deveining makes a nice slit in the back of the shrimp that allows marinade to seep into the shrimp while keeping it moist during cooking, and the added bonus of having the head packs a flavorful punch.

For all others, especially as they get up there in size (larger shrimp = larger intestines...), clean as follows:


Set-up: I have the bag the shrimp came in, ready to take any garbage and be tied up and tossed out. Lesson #1: Shrimp parts left out will waste no time in making your house smell like a dead raccoon.

Also, a container for the shrimp, paper towels, and a sharp paring knife. I have never used a shrimp deveiner, but they exist, and I hear are delightful.
Once you get into a rhythm, this will go faster than you expected.You can usually see the dark vein of the shrimp through the shell:
Step 1: Hold the shrimp as pictured above. Starting at the base of the tail, make a shallow slit down the back of the tail. I do this by holding the paring knife blade side up (don't get your face too close to your hands) and opening as if you would an envelope or lobster tail.

Step 2: Use the knife blade to remove the vein.You found orange, you say? Congratulations! It's a girl!


Your shrimp are clean and ready for whatever you have planned!

(See what I have planned for these shrimp in my next post!)

Keep your veggies crisp!

I went to the grocery store today in search of broccoli. Broccoli is one of my most favorite vegetables, and I wanted some to accompany my shrimp on the grill tonight. I am still upset that the caterpillars have desecrated my delicious broccoli plants.

The broccoli crowns in the store were limp. What is a broccoli-loving girl to do?


Here's the thing:
When you go to the store and the veggies look limp, it isn't because they aren't being refrigerated properly. It is because they are dehydrated. Now, this obviously will not work for some veggies, but for a good number, it works wonders.

Vegetables like broccoli, heads of lettuce, bundles of herbs, greens, asparagus, cauliflower, and rabe are all to be treated like a bouquet of fresh flowers.
When you get home, trim the bottoms, and stand the vegetable up in some water. I usually use a container or bowl. I've used vases for endive, greens, and romaine. It doesn't matter. Just get the cut side in the water. Just like flowers, once in water, they should perk right up.

You can put this in the refrigerator, vase and all, or you can simply stand it on the counter. You wouldn't put your flowers in the refrigerator, after all. All veggies are best fresh, but if you do not use them all immediately, refresh the water every day.
My once-limp broccoli is now green and glowing, and ready to be grilled.

coq au vin

I'm not certain how this recipe has remained unwritten on this blog (or I didn't tag it properly), but I am here to redeem that today.

My husband is visiting this weekend, and requested this dish. I am happy to oblige. It is a great "Sunday dish", when you have time to really take your time enjoying making this beautiful dish. Like making sauce, this is cooking therapy.
First, you need to prepare the chicken. I marinated mine 7 hours in advance. You could marinade the chicken up to 12 hours in advance, especially if you have a light wine.


For marinade, you will need:

1 whole chicken, cut up (Frenched) - remember: save the neck, wing tips, and backbone for stock!
3 cloves of garlic, crushed or rough chopped4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper (with all recipes, always assume kosher salt and fresh pepper unless specified)about 2/3 bottle of red wine.
Choose a light-bodied red, such as pinot noir, burgundy, or chianti. I went with a pinot blend. Use actual wine, not cooking wine, even if you choose a cheap real wine, such as two buck chuck. For a nice touch, marinate the chicken in a wine you will serve with the chicken, or at least use the same berry wine. It is fine to use a pre-opened bottle you didn't quite finish.

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towel. Generously salt and pepper both sides of chicken. Lay into a tupperware (preferably in one layer). Add thyme, garlic, and wine (to cover). Marinate for at least 4 hours, and up to 12. Any longer may overpower the chicken. Shake or flip the chicken every once in a while. The marinade serves the purpose of making the chicken moist, not saturating it.

Next step:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
You will need:

4 slices of bacon, chopped
1/3 bag pearl onions (no sauce)about 10 button or baby bella mushrooms (if larger, slice)
a "pat" of butter
about 1-2 tsp EVOO
a large dutch oven (one that all the chicken can fit into in one layer, even if it is a crowded layer)
a saute pan
Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Let drain while fixing the bacon.
In the dutch oven, over medium heat, brown the bacon. (Tip: Add bacon to a cool pan, give plenty of space, and don't rush. It will brown evenly and crisp without burning this way.)
Once the bacon is brown, remove to a bowl and pat the chicken dry. Brown the chicken in small batches (I usually do one thigh, drum, and breast at a time - overcrowding will steam the chicken, and you won't get the golden sear you are looking for), about 5 minutes on each side.

Once all the chicken is browned, return all chicken and bacon to the pot along with about 1/2 of the marinade - enough to go 1/2 way up the chicken - not cover.
Cover, and place in the oven.
Now, get out that saute pan.
Melt butter over medium heat. Add EVOO, and do not let brown. Once the butter is melted, add the pearl onions.
The trick with pearl onions is to not break up their delicate layers. You can gently flip them with a spoon, but the more fun way is to flip them in the air. If you do not know how to do this, pearl onions in a slew of butter is about as easy as it gets, so go ahead and try. I found this lovely tutorial in the event you would like to try. I tried for an action shot, but it ended badly.

Don't flip them too frequently, as they will never get the chance to brown. Since I love to flip food, I usually need to walk away for 3-5 minute intervals, to ensure I don't over-flip.
This is a great time to flip your chicken.
Once they are browned - and don't expect an even brown (10 - 15 minutes), remove to a bowl (use a slotted spoon, or try and keep the juices in the pan), and saute the mushrooms in the same manner, adding more EVOO as needed.
Once the mushrooms are sauteed, return the onions to the pan, and add the rest of the marinade along with any garlic and thyme that may remain. Add a bay leaf to the pan. Throw a little salt and pepper into the pan. Let this simmer over medium heat until you've reduced the sauce to a thick glaze. It should look like this:

It should smell amazing and then some.


Once the sauce is reduced, flip your chicken and add the onions, mushrooms, and glaze into the dutch oven. Cover, and let cook for 45 minutes or longer.


After cooking, the juices will have reduced more than in the above picture. (This was right after adding in the glaze.)

This is the most basic, pure form of coq au vin. Tonight, I stuck to the classics, but there are many things you can do from here.

For a health boost, peel carrots and cut them into 4 or 5 pieces (at an angle, so they look fancy) and add when adding the glaze. This will also impart a sweetness to the dish, which is excellent if you used a dry or tart wine.

If you add too much liquid and your chicken is swimming, or you like more of a thick gravy, you can either reduce the liquid on the stove (like you did with the onions) or make a roux and whisk that into the juices after removing the chicken from the dutch oven (over medium heat on the stove top).

On colder nights, add fingerling or small white potatoes. Depending on the size, either halve or quarter the potatoes, or (for the very small), peel a strip around the potatoes and set on top of the chicken.

To make this a heartier dish (also great for cold nights), serve over egg noodles. This is also great for leftovers.

Enjoy!

Hatteras-Style Clam Soup

I love soup. However, when the thermostat reads 97 degrees, I am not always in the mood for a delicious chowder, a tomato and pasta minestrone, or a creamy bisque. I enjoy a clear, clean, light soup.

One of my favorites is Hatteras clam soup. It is frequently referred to as chowder, but the lack of a cream base makes it soup in my eyes.
Whatever you call it, like a rose, it is not changed by what you call it.

I have enjoyed this soup many times while at Nag's Head, NC. The best, in my opinion, comes from Austin's Fish Market. Today I am 3 hours away from Austin's.

Since this soup has few ingredients, I decided to try my own version. It is not the same as Austin's, but it is delicious in its own right, and is, at the core, Hatteras Clam Soup.


The version I made will feed about 4 if you have really big bowls or appetites.

First, lets talk clams. There are many options for clams, and almost all will do. I recommend fresh clams you steam yourself over pre-diced clams in juice, and pre-diced clams (which you can find in your fish department) over canned clams (which I've never used, so I'm not sure how it would turn out).

I used regular steamers. There are larger clams, which would mean you need less, but get more clam stomach. You can use teeny little clams or long necks, as long as you remember to take the necks off of them.


You will need:

about a dozen clams
4 oz. clam juice
about 2 oz. white wine
1 tsp minced garlic
3 pieces thick cut bacon
1 small onion, diced
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery (or the center of the bunch) with green leaves, diced
1 Idaho potato, peeled and diced.
water
salt
pepper
fresh thyme (3 sprigs- ish)

Steam the clams in a soup pot. To steam, use about 8oz water, the white wine, and garlic. Small clams should take 7-10 minutes to steam. Discard any clams that do not open.
Remove clams from shells, reserving juice. Place the shucked clams in the freezer. This will help later, when you dice them.

Strain the broth (a funnel with a coffee filter works well) and wash the pot out. Return strained broth to pot along with clam juice and 3 cups of water, celery, thyme, potato, and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.

In a small fry pan, cook the bacon. Dice, then add to the pot. Saute the onion in the drippings from the bacon. Add to pot.


Add about a teaspoon of salt. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.

Dice clams and add to pot.

Cook for about 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Enjoy!

Chicken in a pouch dinner

Since my husband will be in Boston for the summer (and I will not), I have told him he can have whatever he wants for dinner this week.

He chose chicken in a pouch dinner.

I have only made food in foil pouches when throwing them into coals in the woods, but my mother-in-law used to make foil pouch dinner when she was short on time.

I felt like I was cheating, putting food in foil whilst surrounded by such beautiful cookware.

But it was so tasty.


We used Dan's (and Lynn's) base recipe with a kick. Obviously, this is easily modified, and if you want to make this Cherith-style (like we do in the woods), use a serving of lean ground beef per pouch in place of chicken, and season with worchestire instead of Italian dressing.

Preheat oven to 375.

Tear off a large piece of foil for each pouch. Fold in half, then crimp up two sides, so you have an envelope.

In the center of each pouch place one chicken breast, half a peeled, sliced potato, a quarter of a medium onion, a sliced carrot, a sprinkle of celery salt and some pepper, and a tablespoon of Italian dressing.

Fold up the pouch and bake for about 45 minutes (for medium to large-sized chicken breasts) and enjoy!

Grilled Lamb Leg Sirloin, Roasted Potatoes, and Spring Salad

For ground or stew beef and chicken, I generally visit Harris Teeter. They have decent meats that are hormone free and that you won't have to take out a loan to afford. However, when looking for something a bit more special, say, a decent piece of fish, a gigantic brisket, steak, or lamb, I try to visit a grocer where the meat is not prepackaged.

When Dan said he wanted to grill tonight, I knew I should head on over to Whole Foods to see what I could find.

In the end, shopping at stores with butcher counters saves, because I don't buy as much as we would get in a package. When it is only 2 people, you don't need much. Nice meat for dinner is generally under $10.

When I saw the boneless lamb leg sirloins being placed in the case, I knew precisely what we were going to have for supper.

Realistically, this recipe feeds 3-4. We only ate about 1/2 the meat, or about .4 lbs.

For the lamb:

2 lamb leg boneless sirloins, butterflied, about .8 lbs
about 1.5 TBS red wine vinegar. (I was out, so I used red wine and cider vinegar.)
1/2 large shallot
1 tsp chopped garlic
salt
white pepper
fresh rosemary (dried will do, but isn't the same)

Combine the above (except the lamb) in a blender, or crush it into a paste.
Place lamb in a nonreactive container and rub with paste. Allow lamb to come to room temperature before cooking. This is important with any red meat, as if the muscle is cold, it will seize up and make the meat tough. Do NOT let chicken, pork, or fish come to room temperature.

While the lamb is marinating, prepare a charcoal grill. Dump the coals on one side of the grill.

Once the meat is ready, cook over indirect, uncovered heat for the first 6 minutes (3 minutes on each side), and finish over the coals for 5 more minutes, covered (at least 3 minutes on one side, and 1 or 2 on the other). This will give you medium rare results - a warm redish pink center, depending on the thickness of your sirloins. For less, shorten direct heat time. I wouldn't cook much more than this, though, as lamb is most flavorful cooked no more than medium-rare.


For the potatoes:
Preheat oven to 450.

Dice red potatoes into bite-sized pieces. I used about 10 potatoes (I always choose small reds, as I love skin on the potatoes) which made about 4 servings.

Mix potatoes with 1/2 large shallot - diced, rosemary, salt, and 1.5 TBS EVOO. Toss well, and spread out on a non-stick cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, turning once during cooking.


Salad:

This salad had baby romaine, diced basil, cucumbers, kidney beans, goat cheese, beets, and dressing.

Dressing:

2 parts citrus EVOO
1 part balsamic
1 part mustard


To make this meal:

1) Marinate meat. 1-2 hours is ideal.
2) 40 minutes before eating, preheat oven.
3) Prepare potatoes and start coals.
4) Assemble salad, minus dressing.
5) Put potatoes in the oven. Place lamb on grill.
6) Stir potatoes. Dress salad. Remove lamb from grill and potatoes from oven.
7) Enjoy!

Local, organic foods

This morning, for the first time in months, Dan and I ventured out to the Carrboro Farmers' Market. This is an extensive, year-round market that has everything from farm fresh eggs (for which there is no substitute... unless you have chickens...) to coffee and donuts. It is smaller than the farmers' market I grew accustomed to as a child living in Rochester, NY, but the quality is more intense. This market puts an emphasis on local, organic farming.

This morning we found such treasures as grass-fed, free roaming, organic beef, organic breakfast sausage (without casing), and a long-needled pine sappling one man was handing out for free, as part of a "support native plants of NC" inititive. I'm always happy to plant a tree.

We brought our delicious treats (and the pine tree) home, and planned what to do next. We traveled to Weaver Street Market to find the most perfect rolls (also local) for our soon-to-be burgers. In just forming the burgers I could tell it was going to be good. Meat that fresh smells differently than the stuff you buy in stores. Just the other day I bought a local poulet, and I have never smelled chicken like that. It was earthy and organic smelling, and not like what I have come to know chicken to smell like at all. If you've ever noticed how the freshest fish (sushi is the easiest example) doesn't smell fishy, you know what I mean.

The burgers were divine. I lightly seasoned the beef with some salt and fresh pepper. Any more would have been too much; the meat didn't need any help.

Why do I share this? Certainly not to brag about my fantastic burger experience, but to tell you how you can have your own fantastic foods.

One of my personal, major campaigns is to eat local and organic whenever possible. When it comes to meat, I prefer them to be free range and grass or grain fed, not corn fed, as are most animals raised for food in this country.

First of all, eating local supports your local farms. In this economy, keeping the small business in business belongs to everyone.

Secondly, many local farms (especially if you go to a farmers' market and ask the growers) are USDA approved organic. This means they do not use pesticides or growth hormones. This is especially important when dealing with tubers, thin-skinned fruits and vegetables, and meats. Each of those absorb chemicals, and no amount of washing, scrubbing, or cooking will eliminate these harmful chemicals. Some of the most popular chemicals used to promote vegetable growth, mancozeb, and chlorothalonil, have been labeled as known carcinogen.

Third, the quality is superior. A farmer who cares more about raising food like we used to, and not all for mass profit, picks their vegetables when they are ripe, and doesn't overload them with growth chemicals that dilute the flavor. If you've ever had a garden, you know this to be true. Nothing tastes better than a homegrown strawberry or a perfectly ripe tomato.

Like myself, you may not be able to afford organic all the time, especially when these foods are not in-season locally. If you must pick and choose, go for grass-fed beef over organic, free-range chicken (you can generally find chicken without growth hormones or nitrate for the same price as other chicken), and organic tubers (beets, carrots, potatoes) and thin-skinned fruits and veggies (tomatoes, grapes, berries, peppers, celery, apples, pears, summer tree fruit) over those with thicker skin (melons, onions, and tropical fruits such as avacado, mango, papaya, and bananas).

Join a co-op (csa, farmshare). This will not only ensure healthy, local food at an affordable price, but give you a wide variety of food week to week. To find a csa close to you, check out this website.

Check out your local farmers' market. The above website will also help you find a local market.

Research. See what eating organic can do for you.
There are many decent books explaining the benefits of eating local. A good place to start is The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It is dense and technical, so if you are looking for a summer read, there is a Young Reader's addition that does not detract from the main idea of the original.

If you are interested in seeing the ramifications of the way we eat, particularly our children, check out Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Sign the campaign. Get our country on the right track to eating healthy!

Happy eating!

Scones for a serious crowd.

In the spirit of the breakfast that comes before our monthly equity meeting at work, I tried to come up with something delicious and simple enough to whip up in mass quantity. I originally considered croissants, which, thankfully, a co-worker talked me down from.

After throwing around ideas of rice pie and eggs, I settled on scones. But only only ONLY if I could have clotted cream. And tea. Let's face it; scones are nothing without tea and clotted cream. Additionally, these will be served at 7.30am Eastern time. That means in England it will be 12.30pm. An early tea time, if you will.

Clotted cream is easier to find in Chapel Hill than one would think.

This recipe made 32 homemade-looking scones. Don't make these if you are concerned with appearances. Do if you are concerned with authentic, delicious tasting scones that are not from a mix.

This dough will freeze. In the case of freezing, I would cut, lightly flour, and then freeze the scones. All you will have to do is pop them out of the freezer and into the oven. Delightful!

Here is what you will need:

6 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 TBS baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt, which I forgot until it was way too late. (agh!)
1.5 cups unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces. Do not let them get soft!
1 c. sour cream
1/4 c. Greek yogurt (you can use sour cream for this as well if you prefer)
3 eggs

add-ins:
nuts, berries (frozen or dried), extracts, zest

Preheat the oven to 400.

In an extremely large bowl, blend the first 5 ingredients. Next, add in the butter. Now for some fun. Use your fingers to work the butter into the dough. It will be chunky, like rough cornmeal.
In a seperate bowl, blend the next 3 ingredients until smooth. Add the cream mixture into the flour mixture, first mixing with a fork, and then your fingers, until a sticky dough forms.

Turn the dough out on to a floured surface.

At this point, I divided the dough into thirds, reserved 2, and made one batch of plain scones. The next two batches I made were blueberry (petite, frozen berries) and orange cranberry pomegranate (orange extract and berry mix from Trader Joe's). The quantity you fold in is completely preference. Remember, frozen, melt-y, and liquid add-ins will make your scones more loose. You may need to add a little extra flour to the cutting board.

For each batch, form dough into a rectangle that is about 3 inches across, 1-1.5 inches high, and however long you need it to be to reach the other two measurements.

Cut from the bottom of the first corner up, at about a 45 degree angle. You will have one triangle scone. continue cutting at a right angle and then at a 45 degree angle until you have reached the end.

Move the scones to a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet. If you are using a higher and lower rack (as opposed to one in the center of the oven), rotate scones half way through cooking.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes (checking after 12), until golden brown around the edges.

Serve with clotted cream, jam, marmalade, and tea.

Charoset

There are about a million different recipes for charoset. Most include a base of apples, sweet wine, and nuts. Some involve fruits such as raisins, cranberries, cherries, dates, chopped dried apricots, figs, pears, grapes, pomegranate, ginger, and many include walnuts, almonds, pecans, chestnuts, sesame seeds... any and all of the above. Some get quite involved.

Charoset is an important part of the Seder plate and meal, representing the bricks and mortar the slaves built Egypt up with. It is delicious mixture used to build hillel sandwiches. Some also believe it has Biblical roots, refering to a list of fruits and nuts listed in the Song of Songs. One charoset version (which I'd like to make some day) includes all of the listed ingredients... all 40+ of them.

My mother-in-law's charoset was the first I ever had, and the one I prefer. It is more of the Ashkenazi or Easter European version of charoset. It has few ingredients that shine when balanced properly.

In addition, some will turn charoset into a paste. If you like it that way, don't worry so much about the dice on your apples, and dump the mixture into a food processor at the end.

You will need:

2 large or 3 medium apples - I used braeburn. Use a heartier variety, such as gala, pink lady, empire, mcintosh... stay away from mealy, less sturdy apples such as golden or red delicious, which tend to disintigrate. If you like a little tartness, use 1 or 2 granny smiths.

Manishevits sweet red wine (about 3 TBS)

1/2 tsp cinnomon (this might be conservative, as I don't measure... try this, and if you want more, add more)

1/2 TBS honey

1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (more or less... I didn't measure these either. Use the food processor to make them teeny. I like a lot of almonds.)


Mix your wine and honey in a deep bowl. Peel, dice, and mix your apples in one at a time, so that they don't brown waiting to be chopped up.
Get as fine of a dice on your apples as you can. I did this by cutting the apple into 8 pieces. I took each piece and sliced it into 3 or 4 slices, stacked the slices (to look like the wedge they once were), and cut them vertically (3 or 4 times the long way) and then horizontally. Once you get the hang of it, this won't seem so arduous. After each wedge is diced, mix into the wine to prevent coloring.

Once all your apples are diced, add in the cinnomon and almonds. Refrigerate. This can be made the day before, and only gets tastier sitting in the wine and cinnomon.

Matzoh Brei

Pesach is one of my favorite Jewish holidays. It has a great story, deep tradition, and the food is always good.

Dan gets excited because Pesach means someone (me) will make him matzoh brei. (Pronounced Mat-zo brI)

I've tried matzoh brei two ways - both are good. Dan prefers one way, which turns out matzoh brei like scrambled eggs, since that is how his parents made it when he was a kid. I like it because it is fast. The second way, which makes little pancake-like rounds, has a little more texture and flavor.

You will need:

2.5 - 3 sheets of matzoh, broken into tiny bits - you can do this by wrapping the matzoh in a towel or cloth napkin and rolling it with a rolling pin, or you can buy matzoh farfel.

2 eggs, beaten

salt & pepper

water

EVOO or salted butter


Whichever type of brei you want, you start with the same base. Put your broken matzoh in a large bowl. If you have a little while, as in you want to eat in 20-30 minutes, add about 2 TBS of water to the crushed matzoh, mix, and then add the egg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let the egg and matzoh sit for 15-20 minutes. This gives the matzoh a little more flavor than the fast way. You could also choose to cook this after 5 minutes, which leaves the matzoh a little more crunchy.

If you are in a hurry and do not want to have crunchy matzoh, cover the bits with water. Let it sit for 5-8 minutes (get out your skillet and start heating it over medium-high heat). Take the matzoh by handfuls and squeeze out the water. This is very mushy and somewhat fun. Mix in the eggs and some salt and pepper.

Whichever you choose, you now have a bowl with egg, matzoh, and some seasoning. Excellent. Moving on.

If you want scrambled matzoh, heat your pan to medium-high and put in a little EVOO. Cook as you would scrambled eggs, stirring and flipping frequently.

If you want crispy rounds, melt about 1/6- 1/4 inch of a butter stick into your pan over medium-high heat... the bottom of the pan should be coated. (You can use EVOO or vegetable oil as well, but butter is tastier, and requires less heat.) Do not burn the butter. Drop the brei into the pan by heaping tablespoonfuls into the hot butter. Flatten the rounds out slightly. When they are golden and crispy (about 2-3 minutes, depending on your pan and heat) on one side, flip and repeat.
Remove to a plate lined with paper towel.

Serve both ways hot with tobasco or ketchup.

Happy St. Epaphroditus Day! Corned Beef Hash

The truth to Happy Saint ____ Day is that every day there are many saints being celebrated and feasted. The Catholic Church has so many saints, everyone has to share a day with 5 or 10 other miracle workers. A few (un?)lucky saints were caught up in the commercialism of today, and their celebrations have gone wild, complete with signature drinks and cheap paraphernalia. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy this... I'll take any excuse to eat truffles or make a crockpot full of corned beef. But look into the heart of a Saint's day. For instance, did you know that St. Patrick was born in Scotland (gasp!) from two Roman citizens? That's right... he's an Italian by blood and a Scot by birth. I love history and humans.


So, like a good quarter of the globe, you've made a crockpot of beef, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Unless you were one of the lucky few that got a reasonably sized brisket, corned your own brisket that was cut to size, or you have a small army to feed, you've been eating corned beef leftovers for lunch or dinner every day for 3 days now, hoping to make a dent in the crazy side of cow you purchased and crammed into your crockpot.

Enter Sunday Morning. No waking up early and grabbing a handful of granola before running out the door. Now, I love lots of food, and hash is no exception. A good hash is not only a delicious and hearty start to the day, but is great for using up leftovers.

You will need:

leftovers - My favorite is corned beef, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Most holiday leftovers beg to be made into hash. Meat, potatoes, veggies. You can use mashed potatoes, but diced roasted potatoes are preferable. Whatever it is, try to get the liquid out. Beef stew works well for hash.
If you lack depth or like onion, add some diced onion.

some butter
a cast iron skillet
a heavy dish or a dutch oven lid that will fit into the skillet.
If your dish was well-seasoned to begin with, you likely won't need any more spices, but spice to taste after a bite or two. Don't salt before cooking!


Melt the butter in the pan over medium high heat.
Dice all the leftovers. Once the butter has started to brown slightly, add diced leftovers and press down with lid or plate. Let this cook for 6-8 minutes. You want it to get nice and brown, so don't stir it yet!
After 6-8 minutes, stir it up. Try to flip as much as you can over. Put the lid back down on the hash and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
If you would like it to be crispier, repeat this process.


I love hash with some ketchup and perhaps a sunny-side up egg. But I love hash, period, and will eat it as is, straight out of the pan.

Quick and tasty pasta with pancetta and artichoke hearts

One of my favorite things to do for a quick, tasty dinner is to toss some pasta with some EVOO, sauteed veggies, and quickly cooked meat.

This time it was pancetta (which inspired me not only because of its mild taste, but because I found it finely diced in the cheese case at Harris Teeter!) and sauteed artichoke hearts.

(for 2 people with leftovers for lunch)
You will need:

1/2 box thin spaghetti
EVOO
about 1 cup diced pancetta or ham
1/2 tsp or 1 clove finely chopped garlic
1 jar/can of artichoke hearts, quartered (12 oz.) and drained well
about 1/4 cup white wine
lemon juice
salt
fresh Parmesan

Start water boiling for pasta. Start the process below while the pasta cooks. Make sure you do not overcook the pasta.

In a very large saute pan over medium-high heat, saute pancetta. Once lightly browned, move to the edge of the pan. About 3 minutes.
Pour about 1.5 TBS EVOO into the center of the pan. Raise the heat (to about an 8 out of 10). Heat for about 1 minute, or until you can start to smell the oil. Toss garlic and artichoke hearts into the oil and saute until artichokes start to turn golden on sauteed sides. About 5 minutes. You may want to check the pasta if you haven't done so.

Add white wine into pan and let reduce for about 1.5 - 2 minutes. When pasta is done, add to pan. (Turn pan down to warm if pasta is not done.) Add lemon juice (about 1 tsp) into the wine sauce. Salt to taste. Add more EVOO if necessary.

Serve with fresh Parmesan. Enjoy!

Arroz con Pollo

This would be very simple to make for 2 or for 20. It is by no means traditional; I loosely based it off a recipe in an authentic Mexican cookbook.

This will feed 6 people or 4 absolutely starved people. Plan on 4 with the bonus of lunch the next day if they aren't famished. It takes about an hour, start to finish, most of which is time away from the stove. This could have been reduced to 40 minutes at the very most, but I dawdled.

This recipe calls for a whole chicken, cut up. You can cut up your own chicken, which is a handy skill that saves money, but do make sure you have a good knife and shears. Our grocer sells chickens already cut with the giblets and backbone for a reasonable price. On a weeknight, it is more than worth it.

Save the backbone, neck, wing tips (which you may need to cut off), and any bones after you eat the chicken for broth. Saute and dice up the heart and liver, and give it to your favorite kitty. (Brady cries when he smells chicken giblets cooking.)


You will need:

One 2.5 - 3.5 pound chicken, cut up, bone in, skin on.
1 large onion, diced
1 large green pepper, diced (you can add colored peppers, too, for more color...)
1 can/jar pimento peppers, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 (12 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, no salt added, or 6 Roma tomatoes, diced and seeded
3 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine (2 buck chuck chardonnay is just fine)
about 3/4 teaspoon (a generous pinch) of saffron needles
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipolte (smoky... if you don't have any, use Spanish smoked paprika. Then get some.)
salt
pepper
1/4 cup EVOO
2 cups long grain, white rice. Do not use instant cook.


Heat 1 cup of chicken stock in microwave or pot until warm to hot. It does not need to be boiling. Add saffron to stock and let soak.

Salt and Pepper chicken.
In a heavy skillet, heat EVOO over medium-high heat.
Carefully place chicken in oil. Do not crowd the pan. I did mine in 2 batches, and I have a very large (9 qt) dutch oven. Let chicken cook, undisturbed, for 2-3 minutes on each side. You want a nice gold color.

Remove chicken to a plate and drain off all but 2 TBS of oil. Place onions, green peppers, pimentos, and garlic into pot. Saute until onions are transparent. Lower heat if they start to smoke or char.

Add all ingredients EXCEPT chicken and rice to the pot. Use about 3 generous pinches of salt. Stir well, to incorporate all spices, and then add chicken. Mostly cover and bring to a boil.

Here is where you can stretch out the time or shorten it. Once the broth is boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Let cook for, at the very least, 15 minutes. I let mine go for about 30.

Add rice to pot, making sure that it is submerged. It may be easier if you remove some large pieces of chicken temporarily. Cover and cook on medium-low for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, check rice for doneness and seasoning. Add salt and pepper as necessary. I let mine cook for 25 minutes, to get rid of some more liquid.


I served this with peas, and mixed in, they were quite good. Dan prefers them separate. It is up to you!

The seasoning is mild. If you over season, you will not taste the saffron. As is, the spices all shine, but do not compete.

Chilean sea bass served over baby spinach with mango

This not only took literally 12 minutes to make, but is very healthy and absolutely delicious.

If you haven't tried citrus olive oil, you are missing out. Do yourself a favor and get some. It makes the recipe, and many other recipes. I recommend:

Cobram Estate citron extra virgin olive oil with lemon oil.


For this recipe you will need:

Baby spinach (you can decide how much you like)
1 filet of skinless Chilean sea bass (you can use any sturdy white fish, but I think this has the best flavor)
a ripe mango
a lime
salt
pepper
balsamic vinegar
citron EVOO
Cajun seasoning - I used Dinosaur Foreplay... that's my favorite.

You can add diced red onion to the mango salsa if you like.

Set the broiler on high, with a rack that will leave your fish about 5 inches from the surface.

Pour a thin strip of EVOO down each filet. Follow with a thin strip of Cajun seasoning. Because sea bass is a light flavored fish, a little will go a long way. Rub the seasoning around to barely cover the fish. Turn fish over and repeat.

Place fish on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler, leaving the oven cracked a little. While filet cooks (about 5 minutes - watch closely) dice up mango. (How to cut up a mango.) Squeeze a little (about 1/2 tsp) lime juice over mango, and follow with a (literal) pinch of salt. Stir.

Turn the fish after 5 minutes, or when the top is golden, but not burned. Put back under broiler.

Mix salad dressing:
I like a 2:1 ratio of EVOO to balsamic. With the citron EVOO, this is rather acidic (which I like), so if you don't like a more acidic favor, use a 3:1 ratio.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix.

The fish is done when it flakes when lightly pressed with a fork. Be careful not to overcook.

Plate the spinach. Lightly dress with balsamic dressing. Place fish on the spinach, and top with mango.

Enjoy!

PS - Sea bass, leftover or otherwise, makes delicious filling for fish tacos, as does mango salsa.

Bolognase for you and 20 of your closest friends.

In the spirit of Purim, where one tradition is to give 2 different ready-to-go foods to 2 or more people, I decided to make two of my team members some food. (I haven't made the hamentashen cookies, and I may not get to it. Coworkers may get store bread instead. Shared food does not need to be homemade.)

Influenced by an article in a magazine, I decided I would make bolognase. I love bolognase, and Sunday is a great day to make bolognase.
Bolognase is also a good dish to have going while you clean the house. It takes some time, but then you let it simmer forever.

This bolognase was made with the thought of feeding many people without going broke. If you are making bolognase for a smaller crowd, are looking for a more traditional recipe, or want to treat your guests to a dish equally impressive as it is expensive, you can use my authentic recipe, and double it to feed however many people you need.

Bolognase is a Tuscan dish, best for hungry people on a chilly night. It is heavy and serious, and delicious.

As I made it, this recipe has filled my 9 qt. Le Creuset. It will feed at least 12 hungry people when put over pasta. That is, if I don't eat it all first.

Save time by chopping veggies in a food processor. I did not put the onions into my food processor, but I was being silly.

You will need:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 medium and 1 large onion, fine chopped
5 carrots, fine chopped
1 small head or 1/2 large bunch celery, fine chopped
EVOO
5lbs ground beef (I recommend not using anything above 90/10. The fat adds flavor, and can be removed later. Because our store was out of family pack meats and 90/10, I did 3 lbs 85/15 and a pack of 93/7.)
1.5 lbs HOT Italian sausage, removed from casing
3 cups WHOLE milk (don't try to save yourself now...)
12 oz. tomato paste
3 cups of a dry white wine... this leaves just enough in the bottle for you to have a glass.
salt and pepper

Melt butter in a large, heavy dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add veggies and allow them to sweat, but not brown (about 10 minutes). While they are doing their thing, decase the sausage. Add all meat and raise the heat to high, breaking the meat up as it cooks. If you need, add some EVOO to keep from burning stuff to the bottom. (I needed about 2 TBS)

Once meat is mostly cooked (little bits of pink are okay), add wine, milk (stir this in slowly, so that it does not curdle), and then work in tomato paste. I sometimes add some heavy cream if I have it, just to make it that much better for our arteries.
Add in salt. Use disgression, and remember you can correct later. Seasoning will depend heavily on your sausage. I started with 1/2 TBS. I added a pinch more later. Remember, you aren't supposed to be able to taste salty when you eat this, but if you don't taste the tomatoes, the meats, the veggies, then salt will help bring their flavor out.
Allow mixture to come to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 1.5 hours more, or until sauce has thickened up. I stir this about every 30 mintues, and take sauce out to skim each time, letting it settle and then returning it to the pot.
After about an hour of cooking, taste, add pepper, correct salt, and allow to thicken a little longer.

Serve over a thick pasta (either something short, like rigatoni or rotini, or something like fusili bicate (long fusili, which are very fun to eat, if you ask me) or pappardelle, an egg-based noodle from Tuscany, intended to be eaten with hearty, gamey* ragu or bolognase.

Top with fresh Pecorino. I like to serve this with bread. What better to soak up the goodness?

* Outside the big cities of Italy are small towns, where Nonas still cook with whatever meat happen to be caught that day. For a Tuscan treat, you can cook this bolognase version or the smaller one mentioned in the beginning substituting the beef for wild boar, venison, or hare meat.

Fancy pants egg cups that take about 2 minutes to make.

My workplace will occasionally have a breakfast or salad bar to which staff contribute various foods. This is always a fun event. Although I frequently am the one to show up with a jar of artichoke hearts, when I do remember to sign up for something I like to go big or go home.

When the sign up sheet came around at a recent meeting and the only thing left was casserole, I put my name on the line.

Then I remembered that breakfast casseroles and I have a very hairy track record, and my failures outnumber my successes. It is frequently the simple things that take me out at the knees.

Using my Google-fu, I came across this idea on Rachael Ray's website. The concept is a quick and impressive looking breakfast in one neat little package.

The idea is this:

Get a muffin tin. Put meat in each tin. Add a veggie and an egg, and bake for 15 ish minutes, or until the egg is done to your liking, at 375 degrees.

Tip: I used an oversized muffin tin - the kind with 6 big pots. In Rachael Ray's recipe she counts 2 normal sized egg muffin things per person. I served these up as 1 per person, a little larger, but it wasn't the only thing people were eating for breakfast. That said, when I made them for Dan and myself, I only made 2, and that included 2 pieces of bacon, 2-3 TBS of spinach, and 1.5 eggs each. It was enough, and is a good way to control portion size, if that is something you are going for.

The first time around (for the staff breakfast), I used deli ham, sauteed spinach and onions, and topped with an egg, untouched, as it came out in Benedict fashion. Once baked, I removed each from the tin and placed atop an uncooked English muffin half. Had I been serving these immediately, I would have toasted the English muffin. I refrigerated these overnight, and in the morning, popped them in the oven (which I had set much higher), covered, for 15 minutes. The eggs turned out a little more done than I'd like, but it worked out rather well. The muffins became slightly toasted, and the whole thing was a quick, individual breakfast.

The second time I made these, Saturday morning, I took into account that I was out of deli ham and that Dan does not eat sunny side up eggs. Instead, I used bacon, which I cut down to size, and in retrospect, would have kept longer, as bacon shrinks when it cooks. I placed some spinach in the bacon cups and baked those while I scrambled up some eggs on the stovetop. I left the eggs slightly runny, pulled out the bacon in the muffin tin from the oven, drained the fat from the tins, put egg on top of the spinach, and returned the bacon cups filled with stuff to the oven. I topped this all with cheese, and baked until the cheese was melted.
Baking the bacon first gave me a chance to drain the fat, and the bacon turned out a little more crispy.

You could do this with any combination of meat, eggs, and veggie. I recommend not salting the ingredients, as the salt in the meat will season the rest of the dish fairly well.

Rachael Ray makes hers with procutto, which I love, but feel it would be entirely too salty, and a waste in this dish.

I think fire roasted peppers (buy a jar at Trader's) would be wonderful in this dish. Also, I am curious to try and make the cup out of a potato base, such as latkes would be. It may take a little more work to keep it all together, but it would be delicious.

If you use spinach, make sure it is well drained before using. I used frozen spinach (2 - 10 oz packages) which I thawed, drained, squeezed, then sauteed.


I didn't take a picture of the first ones, sadly, but the picture above is version 2, which was delicious.