Record Time

Last night, I cranked out dinner in record time! We had somewhere to go, and we weren't going to eat until late if I didn't get something on the table before we had to go. I had defrosted burgers, but a plain burger on a plain bun wasn't all that appealing to me at the time...so I worked somethin' out!!

I started by throwing some bacon slices into a cast iron pan, allowing them to start cooking while I gathered some other ingredients from around my kitchen! I pulled out a bag of chopped cabbage slaw mix, some very ripe (over-ripe? maybe.) avocados, a shallot, and two rogue slices of provolone cheese that I had left over from the Cubano I made last week. While I was gathering these things, my husband went outside and harvested some arugula from our garden! Okay, that's what I've got. Here's what I made:

I crumbled some of the bacon into the mixture of cabbage slaw and tossed it with a light ranch dressing - instant side dish of flavorful cole slaw! I put the burgers in the pan that I cooked the bacon in, allowing the meat to soak up some of that bacon flavor while it cooked. Meanwhile, I placed the buns under the broiler to toast, and mashed up those "very ripe" avocados with a minced shallot. I used the avocado mixture on each side of the bun, topping it with the burger (topped with melted Provolone), bacon slices and arugula leaves. 

The prep was minimal, the idea was simple, and the outcome was delicious! There's always something to be made with what you've got lying around the house, so put your thinkin' caps on and get cookin'! Dinner was literally on the table in under 15 minutes, and I have to say, I think I even impressed my husband. "Dinner's ready...already???" he yelled from the garden in our backyard. Haha, yup!

Classic Cooking

Sometimes a classic is a classic for a reason. That old movie never really gets old, and that song that you've listened to over and over since you were 4 is still your favorite, but what about recipes? There are a lot of recipes that are mentioned, with the connotations of being old-fashioned, or out-dated. They get shoved to the back of our repertoires, and are glanced over on menus, but don't you think recipes can be classics for a reason, too?

Last night, I made Steak Diane. Yea, old school, right!? I mean, it's an entree that's been on every old-fashioned steakhouse's menu since the 50's, or earlier! It's got it's OWN Wikipedia page, for goodness sake! Well, I don't think I'd ever tried it before, either eaten or cooked, because of it's old-fashioned connotations. Yes, I am one of those always looking for the newest thing out there, the most outrageous techniques and the craziest ingredients. That's just how I roll!

So, while planning my menu this weekend, I happened upon a recent rendition of the recipe, printed from one of my email newsletters from Tasting Table. I gathered my ingredients, mostly on-hand before the weekly shopping, and got to work. This promised to be a quick dinner, so I looked forward to a bit of Monday evening relaxation after the job was done! There's very little prepwork to be done for this and sometimes that's refreshing. The only knifework necessary involved slicing some crimini mushrooms (my favorite kind of mushroom) and finely chopping some shallots. Done and done. I gathered the rest of the ingredients (Worcestershire sauce, Brandy, butter, parsley, lemon juice, mustard, and green peppercorns) and seasoned my steaks with salt and pepper.

This recipe definitely goes quickly, and it's totally simple to prepare, as well! The steaks cooked on either side for about 3 minutes each, and then were removed from the pan to rest, while I made the sauce. This was a delicious meal! The steak was a little undercooked when I finally sliced it, but what I loved the most was that as I poured the velvety sauce over the slices of meat, they were brought to the perfect doneness by the heat of the sauce. This recipe is written very well, and quite self-explanatory. Anyone could make this classic dish a meal to remember!

I decided to pair the heavy entree with a light side dish: Tomato and Haricot Verts Salad. Like our main course, this was a very simple recipe to prepare! I simply had to slice some haricots verts and tomatoes, blanch the beans, and then mix it all up with some sundried tomato slices, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, chopped basil and salt and pepper. What a lovely summer salad! We know what I'll be serving at every party this summer brings my way! It was easy, pleasing to a crowd and would even travel well because it's delicious at room temperature!

Healthy and Fresh

I finally got my act together and planned a menu for the upcoming week. It was a necessary evil, as I just found out we'll be having my in-laws in house for Christmas Eve, as well as Christmas Day, so I had to have a plan! While I was at it, I planned out the rest of the week as well. Be sure to click over to the Current Menu tab to check it out. With all the holiday plans and get-togethers, it's been hard to find time to eat a meal at home. I'm looking forward to a whole week's worth of them!

I really wanted something healthy, and full of fresh ingredients for tonight's dinner, but I had some chicken breasts in the fridge that I needed to use, so I built my meal around that. I opened Tender by Nigel Slater, knowing I'd find exactly what I was looking for, and in fact, I did.

This simple recipe of warm chicken, served over a bed of swiss chard, green beans and tomatoes is as fresh as fresh can be! I didn't open a single jar, or bottle, aside from the olive oil...everything came from the produce department! My first order of business was to get a few pots of water boiling on the stove, and then I set to prepping my ingredients. I purchased rainbow chard, because it's just so pretty, and I separated the leaves from the stems, chopping both in anticipation of cooking. I also trimmed the green beans while the water was beginning to boil.

I finely minced a small shallot, and mixed that with some lemon juice, chopped mint, a pinch of salt and olive oil in a container with a top. I shook it all together until it was emulsified, and set it aside to dress the salad.

As the water in my two pots began to boil, I heated my grill pan and seasoned my chicken breasts. A little salt, a little pepper, and a little chopped rosemary goes a long way! I cooked the chicken quickly, until both sides were golden with wonderful-looking grill marks, but I left it a bit undercooked. Instead, I placed the meat on a plate, and covered it with a bowl to keep the heat in, allowing it to continue cooking as it rested. 

While the chicken rested, I cooked the green beans in one pot, and the chard stems in the other, for about 3 minutes. With 30 seconds left, I added the chard leaves to the pot while I drained the green beans. The beans and the chard (stems and leaves) got tossed in a bowl with the tomatoes, and the dressing I made earlier. At this point, I sliced the chicken breasts into about 4 slices each, and placed them atop the salads, with a bit more dressing. It made for a beautiful plate of healthy, fresh food. Sometimes, it's wonderful to sit down to a summery meal on a cold winter's day, and while I used more wintery vegetables, the resulting dish was bright, light and made me wish for spring!

Now that dinner is done, I can tuck into Chapter 3 of The Professional Chef, and write about that a bit later tonight. 

I also want to remind everyone that there's still time to win a case of Popchips! I've only got one entry so far, and you can't win if you don't enter! Be sure to scroll down to the prior post, entitled Share the Health! and comment in order have a chance at winning! The contest ends on Wednesday night, so be sure to comment ASAP!!

A Mexican Fiesta ... in the Dark

Well, Irene really came through this weekend! I would have written yesterday, and also worked on the website, but we didn't have internet for most of the day! So, while we did take an imaginary journey across the border to Mexico, there was no internet to relay it to you, my faithful readers. But the internet is back, the power is back, and ... I'm back! My thoughts go out to all who are still recovering from the storm, and fingers crossed that everyone gets their power back as soon as possible!

While the power was out yesterday afternoon, I made some guacamole to start off our fiesta. You don't need any heat to make this, and it was a nice snack to munch on while we did a crossword puzzle in the most well-lit room of our home. Guacamole is totally easy to make and I have a few secrets that you won't find in many recipes. Most recipes call for avocados, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lime juice, some salt, and optionally, some cilantro and jalapenos. A few weeks ago, we had friends over for some grillin', and I didn't have an onion for guacamole, so I used a shallot. Oh my goodness, what a wonderful addition of flavor. Shallots are a sweeter, more mild form of onion, and I loved the way it changed the flavor of the dish. That's my new secret, I will always use shallots instead of regular white onions in my guacamole from now on! I have a flavored salt that has red chili pepper flakes mixed into it, so I used that to season the guacamole because I love the spice that it adds, without having to chop up a jalapeno. Once all of the ingredients are in a bowl, just mash 'em together with a fork...just mash it all up until it's a consistency that you like. I tend to like mine a bit more on the chunky side. If you want it totally smooth, put it into a food processor for a minute!

I waited a bit to cook the main course since I wanted to have light to cook. We do have a gas stove, and I could have cooked in the dark, but...I figured I'd give it a little time and hope that the lights came on...and they did! I got down to work cleaning my shrimp. I bought them with the heads on because they were $5 cheaper per pound than the cleaned shrimp, and I really don't mind the little bit of extra work. I was making a shrimp dish with a creamy almond sauce, accompanied by some jasmine rice. I squeezed some lime juice into the water I added to the rice cooker to give it a little zing, and set the rice to cook. Meanwhile, I had some onions, and garlic sweating in a pan. Once they were softened, I added tomatoes that I had peeled, seeded and chopped, as well as some minced jalapeno to the pan. After it had cooked for about 10 minutes, I pureed the mixture in a food processor, and returned it to the skillet. I added some ground almonds, and then stirred in some creme fraiche. My cooked shrimp was then stirred into the mix and I heated everything through together.

from Flickr - by kyle tsui

This was a very good representation of traditional Mexican food. It wasn't the greasy, Americanized version of Mexican food, but a really hearty, filling and flavorful meal that didn't leave me feeling heavy and gross. I served it with the lime-infused rice, and topped it all off with a bunch of yummy, crunchy scallions. I think I would have benefited from making a nice salad of some sort. Something with corn kernels would have complimented nicely. While the menu mentions a Cafe con Leche for dessert, it was a bit late for coffee by the time dinner made it to the table, so I opted to skip it this time around.

Potato Pillows

Well, tonight I decided to make some gnocchi, using my new (old) potato ricer, as well as this gnocchi board that my brother bought me a few months ago. Making the actual gnocchi was about as far ahead as I had planned for tonight's meal, however, so this was going to be a "fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants" type of dinner!

from Flickr - by Samer Farha

I got the potatoes in a pot to cook, and then focused my attention on what I could do to make this ingredient into a meal! You've seen the gnocchi process before, so I won't bore you with it again. I do have to apologize however, because I was so engaged in making this dish up as I went along...that my camera got left behind. I have a picture of the finished dish...but nothing along the way. Don't worry, we can always rely on Flickr for some pretty images. :)

My husband was running to the store for something, so as he ran out the door, I yelled to him to get some pancetta. Pancetta makes for a nice, salty component in a pasta dish, so I started with that. Okay, what else do I have? A shallot, some garlic cloves, some greens left over from the CSA share (I'm pretty sure they were baby bok choy), some frozen peas...and some butter and white wine. Okay...I can totally do this!

from Flickr - by Patent and the Pantry

Once the gnocchi was made, and boiled, I started sauteeing some minced garlic and shallots with some butter. Once they had a nice aroma, I added the pancetta to the pan and allowed it to simmer and brown for a few minutes. I added some white wine, and another pad of butter...and the gnocchi. While everything was browning together, I added the greens (allowing them to wilt) and the peas (allowing them to thaw quickly). The final touch was some grated parmesan, and some salt and pepper. A quick taste...and YUM! I worked it out!

I served the gnocchi alongside an artichoke, because we all know that I love artichokes! :) It was a totally delicious and fulfilling meal, and I was so psyched that it came out as well as it did! No recipe required - although, feel free to give this a go - because goodness, it was hearty and delicious!

Hug Your Closest Sri Lankan!

Sri Lanka

The other day, I received an invitation to an event on Facebook. The event in question is "Hug a Sri Lankan Day," and it takes place on February 4th. That's FRIDAY! Sri Lanka is located off the southern coast of the Indian sub-continent. It is an island nation. In honor of this day, and my friend Ladali, who is Sri Lankan, I decided to make a fitting dish, complete with how-to instructions, just in time for you to cook dinner on Friday. I chose a Chicken Curry dish, also known as Chicken Dopiaza. The original recipe can be found here. I'm sure that you could make this with other types of meat as well, and for you vegetarians out there, I have a feeling that these flavors would work very nicely with some tofu (you'll have to adjust times a bit, that's all). Now, let's start with what you'll need:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 small onions/shallots, halved

2 bay leaves

8 green cardamom pods

4 cloves

3 dried red chilis

8 black peppercorns

2 big onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

4 tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped (I used canned, diced tomatoes)

1/2 cup water

8 chicken pieces, skinned

plain rice, to serve

This seems like a lot of ingredients, I know, but it's actually a very simple dish, and it's delicious. I happened to have these spices on hand, but if you don't, you can find them at your local grocery store, or order them online if you have a few days before you plan on cooking this dish. Now, of course, the first step is your mise en place. But, for mine, I combined the ingredients for each step into separate bowls, to make it easier for me. If you want to do it that way, this is what should be in each bowl:

Bowl #1: Shallots

Bowl #2: Bay leaves, cardamom pods, cloves, chilis and peppercorns

Bowl #3: Onions, garlic, and ginger

Bowl #4: Coriander, cumin, turmeric, chili powder and salt

Bowl #5: Tomatoes and water

Bowl #6: Chicken

We're ready to begin cooking! Before I start with the main part of this dish, I put the rice and water into the rice cooker since that usually takes about a half an hour to cook. Rice cookers are a fabulous invention. All you have to do is press the cook button, and it turns off when the rice is done. When I cook rice, I always use the ratio, 1:2. If you use a cup of rice, you should pour in 2 cups of water. That goes for any measurement of rice...double it for the water. Then, set it...and let it go!



Now, on to the main course, right? It's about time! I promise things are going to go quickly from here! I made this dish in a wok, but you can also use pretty much any large pan. Be sure that it's large enough to fit all the things you are going to put in it.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the wok, or large pan, and fry the halved small onions/shallots until soft (I used shallots). Remove and set aside. Make sure those shallots are really soft, because otherwise, they are going to be a very overwhelming flavor in the finished product. Shallots get sweeter as they cook.



Add the remaining oil and fry the bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves, chilis and peppercorns for 2 minutes. Be careful here...as the cardamom pods get hot, they can pop. One almost knocked my EYE out!



Add the big onions, garlic, and ginger. Fry for 5 minutes.



Add the spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric, and chili powder) and salt and cook for 2 minutes.



Add the tomatoes and water to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.



Add the chicken pieces and cook for 15 minutes more. Once I added the chicken and it had begun to cook, I found that the sauce needed a little bit more water because it was evaporating quickly. Don't be afraid to trust your instincts and add something if you feel it needs it.



Add the reserved shallots back to the pan, and then cover and cook for another 10 minutes until the chicken is tender. I cut about 4 minutes off this time because I found that my chicken was done, and I didn't want to over cook it. However, it all depends on the size of your pieces, the parts that you choose to use and the temperature of your pan, so you be the judge. Once it looks tender and cooked through, take it off the heat so that the meat doesn't get chewy. Serve over rice.

This was a delicious meal, and I found it to be an educational experience. I have friends from all over the world, and it is always a treat to learn about their cultures and cuisines. It's not every day that you see a Sri Lankan restaurant, or even think about cooking a Sri Lankan meal, so I'm very happy that I took this opportunity to learn about this fascinating cuisine. I will definitely be trying more in the future, and I'll be on the lookout for a restaurant too. I'm intrigued! And a great big thank you goes out to Ladali for pointing me in the right direction for this post. I will be giving her a GREAT BIG HUG on February 4th!