CASE: Use up the leftover roasted chicken, but do something besides chicken and dumplings. Now, I have never made Brandon my chicken and dumplings, but I just felt like doing something different.
Chicken Paprikash is a Hungarian comfort dish. I used to have Hungarian paprika, which is different from US paprika, but I just used regular paprika in this dish and added some red pepper flakes to up the hotness. The chicken is really supposed to be melty and gooey with the onions, but since I was using leftover chicken, I had to adapt. This is a great cold weather dish b/c it is just so spicy and hot and warming. Brandon loved it!
CHICKEN PAPRIKASH
Make chicken stock from scratch, but I suppose canned stock will be fine.
3 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 cups of chicken pieces
1 1/2 onions
2 T paprika
1 t red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
garlic salt
oil
butter
fresh dill
sour cream
Fry onions in olive oil and a pat of butter. Add all your spices, and more than I did if you like it spicy! Cook over medium to low heat until the onions are almost dissolved. Should take at least 10 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the chicken pieces and dumplings and cook for at least fifteen minutes. Serve with fresh dill and sour cream, stir together and enjoy!
DUMPLINGS
2 cups flour
3 eggs
salt
pepper
1 T paprika
Make a well and then add the eggs. Drop by the teaspoonful into the broth, cook at least 15 minutes in the broth. Kind of dunk them in at one point, so that they cook evenly.
NOTE: The dumplings were dry and heavy. They really need a bit of milk and baking powder or something. They were not fabulous. Other than that, though, the dish was delicious!
VERDICT: Hung Jury. Soup...fabulous. Dumplings...hockey pucks. Just use different dumplings and you'll get your guilty verdict!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas Eve Burgers with Truffle Cheese
CASE: Use truffle cheese to perfection. A work mate and I went to Surfas in Culver City, which is like a restaurant emporium, but tres gourmet. She got fancy puff pastry, demi-glace and foie gras. (!) For her family Christmas dinner. I got truffle cheese, Fox Hills black currant hard cider, and truffle honey. (Which, by the way, I have a fun use for. We're spending New Year's weekend with my friend Judd's family, and I'm planning to make a cheese plate. To serve the honey, I am going to pour it over a wedge of mild, hard cheese and then sprinkle nuts on it. I am also planning on getting blueberry jam, which I think really really goes well with mild hard cheese and truffle honey. With some kind of multi-grain cracker.) Anyway. I wanted to make a really perfect burger since this was our first Christmas eve alone together. Gotta keep up the romance somehow!
I found a recipe out of a United Kingdom paper that suggested putting anchovies in the burger patties when serving with truffle cheese. No kidding. She suggested gem lettuce and tomatoes with the burger. So I decided to try the addition of anchovies, but keeping in line with the James Beard burger recipe (see old blogs). Apparently Grace restaurant here in Los Angeles also does an amazing truffle burger, which is served with a milkshake. Well well. That certainly upped the stakes! So we paired our burgers with fresh raspberry milkshakes (vanilla ice cream, rice milk, and fresh raspberries), frozen waffles fries that we baked in the oven, and of course, the hard cider.
PATTIES
1 package ground sirloin (made us 4 burgers)
2 anchovy fillets finely chopped
1/4 c half and half
2 t finely chopped parsley
salt
pepper
Mix the ingredients up, then fry in a bit of butter. Add your truffle cheese at the very end and put the lid on so it melts. DO NOT MELT TOO MUCH! It loses the delicate truffle flavor. I served our burgers with thinly sliced red onions, mayonnaise and yellow mustard on a kaiser roll, sliced plum tomatoes and romaine lettuce. It was juicy, salty, pungent, sweet and savory, all at once. Truffles...
NOTE: Leftover idea. I took one of the leftover burgers and cooked it with some onion and olive oil. Added leftover spaghetti sauce, and voila, easy Bologonese sauce.
VERDICT: GUILTY! OF BEING DELICIOUS! This was really a great burger! I'm always on the lookout for a good burger recipe, but the James Beard recipe is truly is my favorite. I can only say that this burger was perfect with the cheese.
I found a recipe out of a United Kingdom paper that suggested putting anchovies in the burger patties when serving with truffle cheese. No kidding. She suggested gem lettuce and tomatoes with the burger. So I decided to try the addition of anchovies, but keeping in line with the James Beard burger recipe (see old blogs). Apparently Grace restaurant here in Los Angeles also does an amazing truffle burger, which is served with a milkshake. Well well. That certainly upped the stakes! So we paired our burgers with fresh raspberry milkshakes (vanilla ice cream, rice milk, and fresh raspberries), frozen waffles fries that we baked in the oven, and of course, the hard cider.
PATTIES
1 package ground sirloin (made us 4 burgers)
2 anchovy fillets finely chopped
1/4 c half and half
2 t finely chopped parsley
salt
pepper
Mix the ingredients up, then fry in a bit of butter. Add your truffle cheese at the very end and put the lid on so it melts. DO NOT MELT TOO MUCH! It loses the delicate truffle flavor. I served our burgers with thinly sliced red onions, mayonnaise and yellow mustard on a kaiser roll, sliced plum tomatoes and romaine lettuce. It was juicy, salty, pungent, sweet and savory, all at once. Truffles...
NOTE: Leftover idea. I took one of the leftover burgers and cooked it with some onion and olive oil. Added leftover spaghetti sauce, and voila, easy Bologonese sauce.
VERDICT: GUILTY! OF BEING DELICIOUS! This was really a great burger! I'm always on the lookout for a good burger recipe, but the James Beard recipe is truly is my favorite. I can only say that this burger was perfect with the cheese.
Injajikian Salad Dressing
CASE: Mimic Brandon's Aunt Aghavni's salad dressing. Every time I have dinner with his family, their salad is just amazing. Pungent and salty and citrusy. Very acidic, I guess, but I'm literally SCRAPING the bottom of the salad bowl. Anyway, I tried to re-create it for Brandon because he likes it so much. Apparently Aghavni makes it the best, so the Injajikians always make her make it. I spied and here's what I got. I think the secret is the lemon juice AND vinegar. Also, salt and pepper...so few people salt and pepper their salad and bread. I don't get it! It tastes better! You salt and pepper your food, so why not your carbs and veggies?
INJAJIKIAN STYLE SALAD
3 T red wine vinegar
juice of one lemon
4 T olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
garlic salt
dried herb, like oregano
thinly sliced onions
thinly sliced celery
additional veggies, like carrots, tomatoes or even broccoli
Ready-Pac salad, any kind is fine
Put all the veggies in the salad bowl. The onions and celery are key to the flavor. (I don't know why, they just are! Stop bothering me!) Sprinkle your lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. IN THAT ORDER. THEN, and only then, do you sprinkle your seasonings to taste. (I have an answer to this one: the liquid must go on first, otherwise, the dried herbs won't stick.) Once you've sprinkled your seasonings, mix the salad WELL. Really toss it. I mean, really. You have to make sure each leaf is coated with each ingredient. Serve immediately.
NOTE: This is great b/c you don't have to mix the dressing in a separate bowl, thereby necessitating a truly pointless dish-washing later. Make that a truly pointless greasy dish-washing. With this recipe, you only have your salad dish to wash. Love it!
VERDICT: GUILTY! OF BEING DELICIOUS! (OBVIOUSLY!)
INJAJIKIAN STYLE SALAD
3 T red wine vinegar
juice of one lemon
4 T olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
garlic salt
dried herb, like oregano
thinly sliced onions
thinly sliced celery
additional veggies, like carrots, tomatoes or even broccoli
Ready-Pac salad, any kind is fine
Put all the veggies in the salad bowl. The onions and celery are key to the flavor. (I don't know why, they just are! Stop bothering me!) Sprinkle your lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. IN THAT ORDER. THEN, and only then, do you sprinkle your seasonings to taste. (I have an answer to this one: the liquid must go on first, otherwise, the dried herbs won't stick.) Once you've sprinkled your seasonings, mix the salad WELL. Really toss it. I mean, really. You have to make sure each leaf is coated with each ingredient. Serve immediately.
NOTE: This is great b/c you don't have to mix the dressing in a separate bowl, thereby necessitating a truly pointless dish-washing later. Make that a truly pointless greasy dish-washing. With this recipe, you only have your salad dish to wash. Love it!
VERDICT: GUILTY! OF BEING DELICIOUS! (OBVIOUSLY!)
Turkey Soup, Mexican style
CASE: I had this really great chicken soup at this Mexican restaurant that I really liked. It was a plain old chicken soup, brothy with few vegetables, but it was how they dressed it up that made it shine. They added fresh chopped onions, fresh chopped cilantro, lime wedges, advocado and warm flour tortillas to put into the soup. Spectacular. Really, spectacular.
Brandon was feeling sick on Christmas day, and so the next day I wanted to make him soup. We had brought home some ham and turkey from his parents' from Christmas day, so I decided to make him Turkey soup but with the nice extra stuff. This is so fabulous. Honestly, if you really don't have the interest or energy to do anything special for dinner, these simple side-ingredients really add interest and pizzazz (to use an eighties word) to rather boring soup.
TURKEY SOUP
STOCK
1 turkey leg, bone in
1 large slice of ham
1 onion (any kind)
2 large pieces of celery
salt to taste
Boil the above ingredients for at least 20 minutes in a can of water and a can of chicken stock. Fish out all the ingredients and then put back in just the turkey meat and ham.
SOUP
6 baby tomatoes chopped in half
2 stalks of celery, chopped in bite-sized rings
1 carrots, chopped in bites-sized half-moons
1/2 red onion chopped in bite-sized squares
5 large slices of turkey meat, chopped in...you guessed it...bite-sized pieces
To taste: red pepper flakes, paprika, pepper
Toss all the ingredients in the stock and bring to boil. No herbs in this dish.
SIDE INGREDIENTS:
Advocado
chopped onion
chopped cilantro
lime wedges
Serve with side ingredients so that each person can add to taste.
VERDICT: GUILTY! OF BEING DELICIOUS! It turned out great! He really liked it! He kept saying "Feed a cold, Starve a fever," over and over again which was driving me crazy. That is to say, since he had a fever he felt he should starve himself. I mean honestly, do you really think while you're sick that you should be starving yourself? Anyway, he did have a big bowl of this soup and it made me very, very happy that he was eating.
Brandon was feeling sick on Christmas day, and so the next day I wanted to make him soup. We had brought home some ham and turkey from his parents' from Christmas day, so I decided to make him Turkey soup but with the nice extra stuff. This is so fabulous. Honestly, if you really don't have the interest or energy to do anything special for dinner, these simple side-ingredients really add interest and pizzazz (to use an eighties word) to rather boring soup.
TURKEY SOUP
STOCK
1 turkey leg, bone in
1 large slice of ham
1 onion (any kind)
2 large pieces of celery
salt to taste
Boil the above ingredients for at least 20 minutes in a can of water and a can of chicken stock. Fish out all the ingredients and then put back in just the turkey meat and ham.
SOUP
6 baby tomatoes chopped in half
2 stalks of celery, chopped in bite-sized rings
1 carrots, chopped in bites-sized half-moons
1/2 red onion chopped in bite-sized squares
5 large slices of turkey meat, chopped in...you guessed it...bite-sized pieces
To taste: red pepper flakes, paprika, pepper
Toss all the ingredients in the stock and bring to boil. No herbs in this dish.
SIDE INGREDIENTS:
Advocado
chopped onion
chopped cilantro
lime wedges
Serve with side ingredients so that each person can add to taste.
VERDICT: GUILTY! OF BEING DELICIOUS! It turned out great! He really liked it! He kept saying "Feed a cold, Starve a fever," over and over again which was driving me crazy. That is to say, since he had a fever he felt he should starve himself. I mean honestly, do you really think while you're sick that you should be starving yourself? Anyway, he did have a big bowl of this soup and it made me very, very happy that he was eating.
Roasted Chicken in a Staub Roaster!
CASE: I got Ann a Staub roaster for Christmas (well, technically it was from me and Brandon to Ann and Thomas, but we all know that it's the girls that did all the work), and we were both jones-ing to try it. I really didn't want to give it to her. As soon as I saw it, I thought--I want this thing. But it was the last one, it was so French and so beautiful that I knew I had to give it to Ann.
If you don't know what a roster is, Thomas calls it "speculum cooking." It's like a dish with a poke up the middle that the chicken sits on. All the grease falls to the dish below. Which is why you put potatoes, carrots and mushrooms in the dish so that it cooks in that chicken fat.
Anyway, we tried it out last night and we had uneven results. First of all, I bought an Empire kosher chicken which was waaaaay bigger than the chicken that the French eat, I think. It was too big! We thought it would stand up on the roaster, or at least sit on it, but it fell right down to the bottom. We propped him up best we could with the vegetables but he was just too darn fat. Anyway, we put the guy in oven, but the result was a bit dry in the breast, which was at the top of the roaster. Ann has an old-fashioned Merrit and Keefe stove, so maybe part of the problem is that it a small space, so the top got inordinately hot. I don't know...We decided we would turn the chicken the other way mid-way. I think another solution might to just tent the breast.
On the plus side, the skin was amazing! Crackling and delicious. Ann buttered up the chicken 10 minutes before "go" time, which made it oh-so-buttery and crispy. Really good. The vegetables also turned out fabulous. Ann used fresh shittake mushrooms, and cut the carrots rather long, which made for a great presentation.
ROASTED CHICKEN WITH POTATOES, MUSHROOMS AND CARROTS
1 Staub verticle cast iron roaster
1 chicken
1 1/2 cups shittake mushrooms
1 potato
2 carrots, chopped into 2-3" sections
butter
salt
Heat oven to 450. Generously salt the inside of the chicken and outside. Force melted butter between the skin and the chicken. Place vegetables in the dish. Cook chicken for 20-30 minutes then bring temperature down to 350. Continue cooking until done. Intermittently baste the vegetables in the dripping fat to keep them moist. Also baste the chicken. If you wish, 10 minutes before finished, butter up the chicken, by taking the stick of butter and rubbing it all over the chicken.
VERDICT: GUILTY! Of being delicious! Honestly, there is something to be said for these old-time cooking utensils. I really think the whole process of cooking made it taste better. That is, the neatness (one-pot!) and comforting (roast chicken is the ultimate comfort) nature of what this roaster is meant to cook. It's such a luxury cooking piece, made for one thing and one thing only. I loved it!
NOTE: I think Ann was less impressed with the results, but I don't think either of us walked away believing we couldn't master this. I mean, that's the thing right? Do it a few more times, and then you will have your recipe down p-a-t. Then, Ann will be able to make this with her eyes closed and not even have to think of it during the hour that it cooks. I know, I know. The rotisserie chickens at the gorcery store are cheap and also delicious, right? Why bother with this? Well, lots of reasons: 1. If you have children, then b/c then you know EXACTLY what you're feeding your kids, and you can feed them hormone-free free-range hippie chickens. 2. You get to have the oogey googie buttery vegetables on the bottom that are totally better than the chicken anyway. 3. Nobody ever gets tired of roast chicken. Ever. 4. Once the cooking method is perfect, this is such a great presentation! You could serve this to hubby, girlfriends or even a small dinner party. And when everyone knows YOU roasted it in your Staub roaster, they will be jealous. 5. IT TASTES BETTER THAN THE STORE BOUGHT CHICKENS.
If you don't know what a roster is, Thomas calls it "speculum cooking." It's like a dish with a poke up the middle that the chicken sits on. All the grease falls to the dish below. Which is why you put potatoes, carrots and mushrooms in the dish so that it cooks in that chicken fat.
Anyway, we tried it out last night and we had uneven results. First of all, I bought an Empire kosher chicken which was waaaaay bigger than the chicken that the French eat, I think. It was too big! We thought it would stand up on the roaster, or at least sit on it, but it fell right down to the bottom. We propped him up best we could with the vegetables but he was just too darn fat. Anyway, we put the guy in oven, but the result was a bit dry in the breast, which was at the top of the roaster. Ann has an old-fashioned Merrit and Keefe stove, so maybe part of the problem is that it a small space, so the top got inordinately hot. I don't know...We decided we would turn the chicken the other way mid-way. I think another solution might to just tent the breast.
On the plus side, the skin was amazing! Crackling and delicious. Ann buttered up the chicken 10 minutes before "go" time, which made it oh-so-buttery and crispy. Really good. The vegetables also turned out fabulous. Ann used fresh shittake mushrooms, and cut the carrots rather long, which made for a great presentation.
ROASTED CHICKEN WITH POTATOES, MUSHROOMS AND CARROTS
1 Staub verticle cast iron roaster
1 chicken
1 1/2 cups shittake mushrooms
1 potato
2 carrots, chopped into 2-3" sections
butter
salt
Heat oven to 450. Generously salt the inside of the chicken and outside. Force melted butter between the skin and the chicken. Place vegetables in the dish. Cook chicken for 20-30 minutes then bring temperature down to 350. Continue cooking until done. Intermittently baste the vegetables in the dripping fat to keep them moist. Also baste the chicken. If you wish, 10 minutes before finished, butter up the chicken, by taking the stick of butter and rubbing it all over the chicken.
VERDICT: GUILTY! Of being delicious! Honestly, there is something to be said for these old-time cooking utensils. I really think the whole process of cooking made it taste better. That is, the neatness (one-pot!) and comforting (roast chicken is the ultimate comfort) nature of what this roaster is meant to cook. It's such a luxury cooking piece, made for one thing and one thing only. I loved it!
NOTE: I think Ann was less impressed with the results, but I don't think either of us walked away believing we couldn't master this. I mean, that's the thing right? Do it a few more times, and then you will have your recipe down p-a-t. Then, Ann will be able to make this with her eyes closed and not even have to think of it during the hour that it cooks. I know, I know. The rotisserie chickens at the gorcery store are cheap and also delicious, right? Why bother with this? Well, lots of reasons: 1. If you have children, then b/c then you know EXACTLY what you're feeding your kids, and you can feed them hormone-free free-range hippie chickens. 2. You get to have the oogey googie buttery vegetables on the bottom that are totally better than the chicken anyway. 3. Nobody ever gets tired of roast chicken. Ever. 4. Once the cooking method is perfect, this is such a great presentation! You could serve this to hubby, girlfriends or even a small dinner party. And when everyone knows YOU roasted it in your Staub roaster, they will be jealous. 5. IT TASTES BETTER THAN THE STORE BOUGHT CHICKENS.
Scalloped Potatoes
CASE: I needed to bring a potato dish to Brandon's family potluck. I wanted to patatas bravas, but really didn't have time to experiment, besides, I needed to cook enough for 20 people and was concerned not everyone would want spicy potatoes. Okay. What to make...I then wanted to do a roasted potato dish but then I would have to make it the night before b/c we were expected to be there all day. I jsut didn't think it would hold up. So what did I decide to do? Scalloped potatoes! Fool-proof, I thought. (Wrong!) I didn't want to bake it the night before, b/c I was worried it wouldn't taste good, and I figured I could easily pop it in the oven for an hour and then be done with it. Wrong again! The recipe I followed is below. I used pancetta and used gruyere (what a waste), but otherwise followed it to a T. I had to double the cooking time and then it came out...curdled. There's no other word for it. The half-and-half separated and CURDLED. It looked so gross. Everyone was so kind, and there was nothing to do but serve it, as everyone insisted. This was such a bad experience, I NEVER WANT TO MAKE SCALLOPED POTATOES AGAIN.
SCALLOPED POTATOES
3 Tbsp butter
2 lbs (about 4 medium sized) Russet potatoes, peeled, sliced
1/8-inch thick1 large yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives (optional)
2 thick slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
2 1/2 cups grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces)1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
2 1/2 cups to 3 cups of half-and-half (half milk, half cream)Salt and pepper
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a large casserole dish with 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter. If you use a casserole dish that is about 9x13 (bigger than the one shown) you'll have more surface area, more of the potatoes will brown, and the cooking time will be faster.
2 Layer the bottom of the casserole dish with 1/3 of the potato slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer on 1/2 of the sliced onions and 1/2 cup of the Swiss cheese. Layer on 1/2 of the bacon, 1/2 of the parsley and chives. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan.
Repeat by layering on 1/3 of the potato slices, sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Layer on the remaining sliced onions, 1/2 cup of the Swiss cheese, the remaining bacon, parsley and chives. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan.
Top the casserole with the remaining potato slices. Add the half and half. Dot the potatoes with the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter.
3 Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for one hour. After an hour, remove from the oven, remove the foil, sprinkle on the remaining Swiss and Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for an additional 30-40 minutes. When done, the potatoes should be tender, but not mushy, and the liquid should be mostly absorbed.
Serves 8.
VERDICT: NOT GUILTY! This was horrible. I was embarrased to serve it.
SCALLOPED POTATOES
3 Tbsp butter
2 lbs (about 4 medium sized) Russet potatoes, peeled, sliced
1/8-inch thick1 large yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives (optional)
2 thick slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
2 1/2 cups grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces)1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
2 1/2 cups to 3 cups of half-and-half (half milk, half cream)Salt and pepper
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a large casserole dish with 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter. If you use a casserole dish that is about 9x13 (bigger than the one shown) you'll have more surface area, more of the potatoes will brown, and the cooking time will be faster.
2 Layer the bottom of the casserole dish with 1/3 of the potato slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer on 1/2 of the sliced onions and 1/2 cup of the Swiss cheese. Layer on 1/2 of the bacon, 1/2 of the parsley and chives. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan.
Repeat by layering on 1/3 of the potato slices, sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Layer on the remaining sliced onions, 1/2 cup of the Swiss cheese, the remaining bacon, parsley and chives. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan.
Top the casserole with the remaining potato slices. Add the half and half. Dot the potatoes with the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter.
3 Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for one hour. After an hour, remove from the oven, remove the foil, sprinkle on the remaining Swiss and Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for an additional 30-40 minutes. When done, the potatoes should be tender, but not mushy, and the liquid should be mostly absorbed.
Serves 8.
VERDICT: NOT GUILTY! This was horrible. I was embarrased to serve it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
