tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63510296357744521862024-02-19T15:20:45.132-08:00Lavender Basil Vanilla ThymeWhy write when you can natter on about food and cooking?Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-26513363725921305892012-01-02T21:19:00.000-08:002012-01-02T21:19:33.539-08:00Things I learned while making chili tonightToday while I was grocery shopping, I spied a bag of masa flour and, on a lark, I pitched it into my cart. I planned to make a white chili for dinner and determined to make corn tortillas to go with it. Nearly instantly, I started jonesing for a tortilla press. I had visions of perfectly round disks of masa dough baking up on my cast iron griddle pan. I went to 3 places trying to find a dang tortilla press. I couldn't believe I was so passionately on point for a dreaded uni-tasker. I transitioned to visions of Alton Brown frowning in my general direction. Still, I persisted until it was clear I wasn't going to find a tortilla press and, moreover, I started feeling kind of ridiculous. So I went home. I mixed 2 cups of masa flour with a pinch of salt and a cup and a halfish of water, mixed it up into a dough, divided it into 16 little balls, and flattened each between two cutting boards. Then I used my trusty rolling pin to flatten the discs further before tossing them onto the hot griddle. My tortillas may have had raggedy edges, but they were darned tasty. And that's all the tortilla recipe (or gadgetry) I have to give. Here's my recipe for white-bean chili. Instructions for purists will be included alongside the instructions for those who have less time.<br />
<br />
<b>White Bean Chili</b><br />
1 Tablespoon canola oil (or less. As little as you can get away with, actually.)<br />
1 large white or Spanish onion<br />
4 large cloves garlic<br />
About half a teaspoon of salt<br />
4 cans (15 oz) of white beans (white navy or canellini), drained and rinsed.<br />
(or 1 smallish package of dried white beans, soaked overnight, drained, then simmered until tender and drained)<br />
2 small cans of roasted hatch or ortega chiles<br />
(or 4-6 hatch or ortega chiles, roasted over a gas burner, sweated inside a paper bag, then skinned, seeded and chopped. Scrape the skin off; don't rinse. Rinsing will wash away flavor.)<br />
Vegetable broth (I use boxed veggie broth. Make our own if you have time and inclination.)<br />
Beer (lager, or another light-colored brew)<br />
White wine vinegar<br />
Masa flour<br />
cumin<br />
White or green pepper<br />
Chopped fresh cilantro<br />
Lime wedges<br />
Jack or pepper jack cheese if you want it. Grated.<br />
Tortilla chips, you saucy thing.<br />
<br />
Chop the onion into fairly small pieces. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add the onion, stir, and cook until translucent. Meanwhile, mince the garlic with the salt to make a paste. Add the garlic-salt mixture to the onion in the pot. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the beans and peppers. Stir to combine. Then add veggie broth and beer until the chili is fairly liquidy. Add a splash of vinegar -- the acid will brighten up your chili. Season with cumin and pepper. Now take a heaping soup spoon of masa flour and place it in a small bowl. Add enough water to make a loose batter, and stir until smooth. Add this to your chili in the pot, and stir thoroughly to combine. Bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for about half an hour. The masa will thicken your chili nicely. Meanwhile, make your tortillas according to the recipe on the masa flour package. If you've never made tortillas before, don't be intimidated. They are super-simple.<br />
<br />
Turn off heat under chili pot. Stir, then ladle into bowls. Top with chopped cilantro. I was in a vegan mood so didn't top with cheese, though the thought did cross my mind. So: if you have some jack or other white cheese, grate it up and toss some on top of your chile along with the cilantro. If you're really feeling dietarily naughty, throw on a crumbled up tortilla chip or 20. Serve with lime wedges and a beer.<br />
<br />
Here's what I learned:<br />
- You rarely need the gadgets you think you need to cook good food.<br />
- This chili tastes great without the cheese and chips<br />
- But nobody will judge you if you add the cheese and chips<br />
- Beer always makes soup better (thanks to my dear friend Jim H. for the reminder)Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-83416350998134801242011-11-20T22:13:00.000-08:002011-11-20T22:13:51.661-08:00Sourdough Win!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigc34dzCIS1EltTYNdmslDctHmPLqqKkE6jEVJcmlPBE2TYz1EPtt7of_i9ksMkIDrPx1IrrMmr5J8FpQY39qUWsZG5Hb1c7u0z3_goJj9xsdbXFm4Vye1_kei-94-ilgA-YHPZppiufI/s1600/SourdoughVictory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigc34dzCIS1EltTYNdmslDctHmPLqqKkE6jEVJcmlPBE2TYz1EPtt7of_i9ksMkIDrPx1IrrMmr5J8FpQY39qUWsZG5Hb1c7u0z3_goJj9xsdbXFm4Vye1_kei-94-ilgA-YHPZppiufI/s320/SourdoughVictory.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot out of the oven.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I made sourdough bread again this weekend. It was my fourth effort, and this one was a winner!<br />
<br />
I followed the recipe from Cooks Illustrated, tweaking it only very slightly. I tried the recipe once before, and ended up with loaves that had the correct sourdough taste and texture, but a very low profile. This time, I kneaded the heck out of the dough and let it proof for an hour longer on the second rising. Minor tweaks for next time: refresh the starter for one more day (the recipe calls for 3 feedings, starting two nights before you begin making the dough), and remember to drop the oven temperature from 500 to 450 after putting the loaves in. These cooked lickety-split and I nearly burned the bottoms.<br />
<br />
Last week's bread attempt was sourdough pumpernickel, which had the same slumping problem I described above. I'll manhandle another batch of that dough this coming weekend and see if it makes for a prettier finished product.Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-82503252888718321252011-11-02T20:46:00.000-07:002011-11-02T20:53:07.069-07:00Sourdough Bread Fail Equals Bread Pudding Win<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigc7i1w08yFbvru_ZXH7zWzXUl2rfO1EPiMzUmGX5QcT6kvvXODnujX90X2gX5R15Ob9P6UfCIidCde_jjiGLUvGirtcxyMQE2oLT_w3zdYHjIFhXFf98_eOjP6KC_FeHbY4qcZNWT9oU/s1600/SourdoughFail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigc7i1w08yFbvru_ZXH7zWzXUl2rfO1EPiMzUmGX5QcT6kvvXODnujX90X2gX5R15Ob9P6UfCIidCde_jjiGLUvGirtcxyMQE2oLT_w3zdYHjIFhXFf98_eOjP6KC_FeHbY4qcZNWT9oU/s320/SourdoughFail.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You, sir, are not a winning sourdough.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>My first attempt at sourdough bread resulted in a dense, flat loaf, rather than the chewy, nutty-sour, lofty, crusty loaf of my dreams. After two days' worth of labor, this was a frustrating outcome. The bread was not bad -- it just wasn't what I wanted. But it did make up into excellent French toast, as well as wonderful bread pudding. This is my late mother's recipe, one I grew up eating. The baking pudding fills my entire home with the scent of warm milk and vanilla.<br />
<br />
<b>Jevine's Bread Pudding</b><br />
15 slices stale French bread, cubed<br />
4 cups whole milk<br />
4 Tablespoons butter<br />
4 eggs<br />
1/2 cup of sugar, plus 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (separate)<br />
1 pinch of salt<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
<br />
Adjust the oven rack to the middle and heat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. Butter a deep Pyrex bowl or a bundt pan and add the bread cubes to the buttered container. Heat a large saucepan of water to boiling, then turn heat down to just below the simmer.<br />
<br />
For the custard: Put the milk and butter into a sauce pan and scald over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally to keep the pan from scorching. While the milk is heating, whisk the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and place the bowl next to the stovetop. When the milk comes to just before a simmer, turn the heat off. Dip a ladle-full of hot milk and very slowly, in a thin stream, add it to the egg mixture, whisking briskly all the while to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Add a second ladle-full in the same manner. If you're nervous about the eggs, do this one more time. With your egg mixture thoroughly tempered, you can now pour the rest of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking gently to mix thoroughly. Turn the heat under your pot of water to high, and bring to a boil.<br />
<br />
Fill a tea pot or separate large sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Poured the hot custard mixture over the bread in the buttered Pyrex bowl or bundt. The bread will rise to the surface. Dunk all the cubes so that none remain dry. Sprinkle the bread and custard mixture liberally with cinnamon sugar.<br />
<br />
Place the bread pudding container into a large roasting pan, and place the whole assembly into the oven. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, until it reaches halfway up the sides of the pudding container. If your roasting pan isn't deep enough to achieve this water height, don't fret. Just close the oven and set the timer. Bake the pudding at 325 degrees fahrenheit, in a bain marie, until a skewer inserted into the center came out clean (about 45 minutes). Let cool slightly, then serve.<br />
<br />
This pudding is wonderful warm or cold. In my family, we always made sure the pudding had a high ratio of custard to bread, so if you don't have 15 slices of bread sitting around, don't worry. Use half that amount and you'll end up with a grand custard that has a nice bread pudding crust on top.Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-22361100650714775542011-11-02T20:03:00.000-07:002011-11-02T20:03:30.537-07:00Shortcut Moussaka<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupIZ06dzTXs-ZjUIf4yj9azYHj_4VECjiOazanQkTNEaLStuYU3UOgnlb34yjf5DLuvDdLNp8dh36Hd6DAjNansKq7k4zzhX-IgO7ljIVu4wDJgLaohzL6C1scM6pgc0NlnmSWid7WXA/s1600/MoussakaProgress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupIZ06dzTXs-ZjUIf4yj9azYHj_4VECjiOazanQkTNEaLStuYU3UOgnlb34yjf5DLuvDdLNp8dh36Hd6DAjNansKq7k4zzhX-IgO7ljIVu4wDJgLaohzL6C1scM6pgc0NlnmSWid7WXA/s320/MoussakaProgress.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Epicurious is the source for the moussaka I make most often. <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Shortcut-Moussaka-1432" target="_blank">Shortcut Moussaka</a> has all the goodness but takes a lot less time to prepare than non-shortcut recipes.<br />
<br />
The only changes I make in this recipe is to add more cheese to the custard topping, and more oregano to the meat sauce. A tip for consistently good results with this recipe is to slice the eggplant as thin as possible.<br />
<br />
I have tried this recipe with ground beef (my favorite) and ground turkey (very good). I haven't yet tried it with ground soy, but that will be my next attempt. If I'm successful, I'll make vegetarian shortcut moussaka for my meat-shunning neighbors.<br />
<br />
This dish is perfect for cooking on Sunday, portioning into containers, and taking for lunch during the week.Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-29869316871955926962011-10-22T13:59:00.000-07:002011-10-22T13:59:54.904-07:00A week's worth of cookingWe had a house guest, Ron, for nearly a week. The visit prompted much cooking, much eating, and loads of walking around the city. The first bout of cooking involved making another batch of <b>sourdough flapjacks</b>. Mein gott, those are tasty. They were good fuel for a day's worth of walking around downtown San Francisco, Chinatown, and the Haight. Ron had frozen four Montana-sized <b>steaks</b> and brought them with him on the plane. We marinated them in wine and garlic for a couple of hours before heaving them onto the grill. They were an inch and a half thick and the size of most of a dinner plate. I ate about a third of mine before giving up. Ron wanted surf and turf, so I grilled some prawns:<br />
<br />
<b>Easy Grilled Prawns for 4</b><br />
2 pounds fresh prawns<br />
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and minced<br />
Sprig of fresh mint, leaves removed from stem and minced<br />
Juice of 2 limes<br />
1 tablespoon olive oil (plus more for grill pan)<br />
Salt and pepper to taste<br />
<br />
Shell and de-vein the prawns. Rinse them and place in a small bowl.<br />
Toss prawns with minced garlic and mint and a small splash of oil. Toss and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.<br />
When you are ready to grill the prawns, remove bowl from refrigerator and string 5-6 prawns each onto metal or wooden skewers.<br />
Place lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper into a small bowl and whisk. Set beside stove along with a pastry brush for basting.<br />
Place grill pan, ridges side up, onto stove and heat over medium high flame. Oil well. When the grill pan is searing hot, baste the prawn skewers with the lime juice mixture and put them onto the grill pan. You can do all of this on the barbecue grill if it's not occupied with steaks, as ours was.<br />
<br />
Grill skewered prawns, basting a few times as you go, until they have a slight crust and grill marks, then flip and do the same on the other side. Don't cook them too long, or they'll become tough. Remove skewers to a platter, taste one prawn and adjust seasoning if necessary.<br />
<br />
Ron also made a <b>ripe tomato salad with feta, tarragon, and arugula.</b> He dressed it with lemon and olive oil. It was quite a feast!<br />
<br />
Later in the week, when my husband the hunky scientist asked for dinner that would result in lunchable leftovers, I made a <b>couscous salad</b>. You can hardly go wrong with a couscous salad: Cook the couscous according to package directions. Toss and set aside if you want a warm salad; otherwise refrigerate until cool and then toss again. Meanwhile, prep whatever veggies you want to include. I was making a warm salad, so I chopped 6 scallions, minced 2 garlic cloves, and washed, stemmed and tore up 2 bunches of of kale. I sauteed the onion and garlic until the onion was slightly soft, then tossed in the kale, stirred and turned until the kale was coated in oil, and let it cook down until it was tender but still a bit crispy. I removed the veggie mixture from the pan and tossed it into the bowl with the couscous. Then I added a couple handfuls of dried cherries, chopped up some almonds and pecans and added that to the bowl, crumbled some feta and tossed that in as well, and seasoned with salt and pepper. It made a good dinner. It's great for breakfast, too -- just hard boil an egg, chop it, and toss it into the couscous salad for a protein boost.<br />
<br />
I've nearly caught you up on my cooking for the week. I'll finish by giving you the recipes for one of my favorite weekend breakfast dishes, and one of our favorite ways to use leftover chicken breasts for a lovely lunch or light dinner. Like the recipe for couscous salad above, these are "formula" recipes, so you can use your own discretion when putting them together.<br />
<br />
<b>Buckwheat Porridge with Fruit, Nuts, and Yogurt</b><br />
Water<br />
Buckwheat groats<br />
Salt<br />
Fresh and dried fruit<br />
Nuts<br />
Plain or flavored yogurt<br />
Maple sugar or honey<br />
<br />
For each serving of buckwheat porridge...<br />
In a saucepan, heat 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of buckwheat groats and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Stir, lower heat, and simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until buckwheat is tender and water is absorbed.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, chop up whatever fruit you might have on hand. This morning, I went with white peaches and apples. Place portions of chopped fruit into serving bowls. Add any dried fruit you might desire. I love using golden raisins or dried cherries or cranberries. Roughly chop whatever nuts you'd like, and sprinkle into each bowl. Now portion out the cooked buckwheat on top of the fruit and nuts in each bowl. Top with a dollop of yogurt and some maple syrup or honey, if you'd like. If you're using flavored yogurt, you'll likely not need any sweetener. <br />
<br />
This breakfast always fuels me for a good half a day. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<b>Curried Chicken Salad</b><br />
2 chilled chicken breasts<br />
Crisp veggies of choice <br />
Apples<br />
Dried fruit of choice<br />
Nuts of choice <br />
Mayonnaise<br />
Apple cider vinegar<br />
Sweet curry<br />
Salt, sugar, pepper to taste<br />
<br />
<u>For the salad</u><br />
Cut chicken breasts into medium dice and place in a large bowl.<br />
Chop vegetables into small dice; shred cabbage if using (today I did use red cabbage, along with radishes). Add to chicken in bowl. Chop apple into small pieces and add to the small mountain of ingredients in your bowl. Throw in a couple handfuls of nuts (today I used salted pistachios). Add dried fruit (today I used golden raisins).<br />
<br />
<u>For the dressing</u><br />
Scoop about half a cup or so of mayonnaise into a bowl. Add enough apple cider vinegar to make a dressing that has the consistency of cream. Add enough curry to make the dressing a deep golden color, plus a pinch of salt and a smaller pinch of sugar. Stir and taste. You'll want the dressing to have a strong curry taste, so add more curry if the dressing is bland. Once you have the dressing the way you want it, pour it over the salad, toss well, and serve.Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-54186367465980867932011-10-09T22:29:00.000-07:002011-10-09T22:29:18.224-07:00Sourdough victory<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Two posts ago, I wrote about having made sourdough starter. Well, this morning, I made my very first sourdough product from the starter: pancakes. They were fluffy and tasty. Not as tangy as I like, but it's a very young starter and as it matures I'm confident it will lend a lively tang to pancakes, waffles, rolls, and bread loaves.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's fun to work with sourdough. To make this morning's pancake batter, I mixed flour, buttermilk, and the starter and let it sit for 45 minutes. What resulted was basically a thin sponge. To that I added some eggs whisked with milk and oil. Then I added a mixture of sugar, baking soda, and salt, and the action began. After five minutes, the batter was actively bubbling with happy sourdough beasties! The recipe made six pancakes each for three happy breakfasters. Then I warmed a half cup of milk and added it, along with a half cup of flour, to the remaining starter. I mixed it well and set it on top of the refrigerator, then went off to run errands. When I returned several hours later, the starter was bubbling merrily away. It's back in the refrigerator waiting for next week's baking adventure.</span>Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-56952028798689737402011-10-06T21:03:00.000-07:002011-10-06T21:03:53.529-07:00Shortcut stuffed peppers. Or, another post without a photo.<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Tonight I made my kick-ass shortcut stuffed peppers, which really are more like a casserole. Which is why I didn't take a photo. A photo would just turn you off to this fine effort. This is one of my least "gourmet" recipes, but it is consistently good, and it's a workhorse dish: good for dinner, makes great leftovers, and doesn't require a lot of fussing. I will give you the recipe -- but be warned: it's a recipe that reads like my late grandmother's... "Take a handful of this, and a pinch of that..." Here goes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Shortcut Stuffed Peppers</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">6 mild peppers (poblano or bell), halved lengthwise, seeded</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Olive oil (about 2 Tablespoons)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 large onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3 large cloves garlic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 lb ground beef (or ground chicken or turkey, or fake ground meat if you are veggie)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Long-grained white rice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 bottle of prepared taco sauce, as spicy as you prefer (stop cringing at the word "prepared")</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 medium jar of prepared salsa, also as spicy as you prefer (there's the "p" word again)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 large can of chopped tomatoes </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cumin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 bottle of beer </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Half a bunch of cilantro, rinsed, spun, and chopped </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 package cotija cheese (I get it in a square about the size of my palm and a couple of inches thick)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 375.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fill a large pot with hot water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onion. Then peel and mince the garlic, or put it through a press. When the water comes to a boil, add the pepper halves and blanch for 4 minutes. Drain, shock with some cold water, drain again, and put them cut side down on a towel. Take out two large, rectangular casserole pans and oil them. Set aside.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Put the oil in a very large skillet or a dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, stirring frequently with a large spatula. Add the garlic and stir long enough to cook the garlic a little, a minute or so. Then push the onions and garlic to the periphery of the skillet, and add the ground beef. Break the meat up with the spatula. Blend in the onions and garlic; cook until the beef is no longer pink, stirring frequently. To the beef mixture, add 1.5 cups of rice. Stir to combine thoroughly and to coat the rice with the oil. Cook a few minutes longer, until the rice looks a bit chalky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To the beef and rice mixture, add the full jar of salsa, half or 3/4 of the jar of taco sauce, and the can of tomatoes. Fill the can halfway with water, swirl to capture stray tomato bits, and add to the skillet. Fill the salsa jar halfway with water, put the top back on, shake, and add that to the skillet. Sprinkle in some cumin. Open the bottle of beer and set by the stove. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Stir the ingredients in the skillet and bring to a simmer. Sip some beer. Stir as the mixture simmers; it will want to stick to the bottom and you will want to keep it from doing so. You can clean up your kitchen between stirs -- just come back to the pan often and use your spatula to scrape the bottom of the skillet and redistribute the contents. As the rice absorbs the liquid, the mixture will thicken. Add beer a bit at a time as the mixture gets too thick (you want it to be stirrable, but not soupy), testing a grain of rice or two from time to time between your teeth. The mixture will simmer for about 20 minutes until the rice is al dente. This is a bit like making risotto. Taste-test for salt and add a little if needed -- but not too much. Remember you have the cotija, and that's salty. Stir in the cilantro. Turn off the heat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Place the pepper halves in the casseroles, cut side up. Six halves will fit in each casserole. Spoon the filling over the peppers, covering completely. Crumble the cotija cheese and sprinkle half of the resulting amount evenly over each casserole.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cover the casseroles loosely with foil. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover, and serve with slices of avocado and a salad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-4812665336669250172011-10-02T21:17:00.000-07:002011-10-02T21:44:40.203-07:00Back in the kitchenOK, I never really left the kitchen. I just left my enthusiasm for writing about being in the kitchen somewhere, and recently found it. I'll try not to lose it again.<br />
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Cooking this weekend was marked by the need to accommodate my husband, who broke his wrist and therefore is unable to cut his meat. Tonight he grilled some steaks (which can be done one-handed) while I caramelized a bunch of onions. Once they were nice and brown, I added some slivered garlic, some small florettes of broccoli, and one chopped red bell pepper to the pan, and sauteed them until they were crisp-tender, then put them into a large bowl. Meanwhile, I simmered some egg noodles until they were al dente, drained them, and added them to the veggies. Then I cut the porterhouse into chunks and tossed those into the bowl, sprinkled some sea salt and ground pepper over, and tossed. I served the medly in pasta bowls with a glass of Spanish white wine (Pazo Senorans Albarino 2008, which kicks ass). It was an easy summertime meal for a lovely Indian summer day. Dessert was Sharlyn melon.<br />
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On Saturday, I made some paneer, because in the coming week I plan to make saag paneer again. Homemade saag paneer beats restaurant saag paneer until it cries for its mommy. Making saag paneer is easy. <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/saag-paneer-spinach-with-indian-cheese-recipe/index.html">Let Aarti show you how</a>.<br />
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Another cooking adventure for the weekend: I made a sourdough starter. I got the recipe from Sunset Favorite Recipes II, which was my mother's cookbook. Heat 1 cup of lowfat milk to somewhere between 90 and 100 degrees fahrenheit. Add to that 3 tablespoons of plain, full-fat yogurt (make sure it has live cultures). Pour this into a sterilized jar, cover tightly, and let it set in a warm place for 8-24 hours, until it's cultured (thickened up). If clear liquid precipitates out, stir it back in (if the liquid is pink, your fledgling starter has gone to the dark side. Throw it out and start again). Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, a little at a time, stirring between added spoonfuls until the batter is smooth. Cover it again and let it sit in a warm place for 2-5 days, until it's bubbly and sour-smelling. Again, if your starter turns pink, it's become evil and shouldn't be used. Try again, grasshopper. Once your starter has succeeded, you can store it, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. For the first 6 months, your starter is only strong enough to be used in pancakes and waffles. After 6 months, you can start using it for bread. Let the starter come to room temperature before you use it (take it out of the fridge the night before you make pancakes, for example). And every time you use it, you need to replenish it with 1/2 cup of warm milk (90-100 degrees) and 1/2 cup of flour. Stir them in, let the starter sit in a warm place for 1-2 days, and then stick it in the fridge again.<br />
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The problem with having a sourdough starter is that you need to use your sourdough starter. If you don't use and replenish it, the sourdough beasties die off and your starter will be kaput. I'm not sure what to do if I have to go traveling and am not able to use and replenish my starter. Maybe I'll need to find a starter sitter. But I'm getting ahead of myself. In 2-5 days, I'll check my starter to see if it's a going concern, and I will report back.<br />
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In other news: Today I visited TJ Maxx and got some Dansko clogs for $49, which is half the price Dansko clogs normally sell for. Who cares if they are a scary snake print? Chocolate making time is just a month away, and now I have a pair of shoes that will ensure I won't be an achy mess at the end of each long chocolatiering day. Yahoo!Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-80148782903965692162009-01-25T15:25:00.000-08:002009-01-25T15:38:56.325-08:00In the kitchen again.I had foot surgery on Jan. 12, and have been off my tootsies or on crutches since then. Cooking was pretty much out of the question. But this morning I felt well enough, and could put enough weight on my right foot, to hobble around for short periods on just one crutch. That meant I had one arm free. And that meant I could cook again. What to make? One of my favorite Sunday breakfasts, a "Dutch baby" pancake. These are easy and so delicious. Here's the recipe:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients</span></div><div>1/4 cup butter</div><div>3 eggs</div><div>3/4 cup milk</div><div>3/4 cup flour</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Equipment</span></div><div>1 shallow 3- or 4-quart baking dish or No. 12 cast-iron skillet (I use the skillet)</div><div>A countertop blender, hand mixer or stick blender</div><div>1 large mixing bowl (if you're not using a countertop blender)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">How-to</span></div><div>Heat your oven to 425 degrees F. Once it's at temperature, put the butter into your baking vessel of choice and put it in the oven. Then break your eggs into the mixing bowl or blender and whip at high speed until quite frothy. Add the milk in a thin stream while still blending. Then add flour, 1/4 cup at a time and mixing thoroughly after each addition. Blend 30 seconds or so longer to be sure ingredients are thoroughly incorporated and your batter is foamy. Check the pan in the oven. When the butter is melted and a little foamy, pull the pan out and tilt it around so the butter coats the entire bottom of the pan. Then pour the batter into the pan, and return it to the oven. Bake for 20 or 25 minutes (check at 20), until the pancake is puffy and golden on top. Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as breakfast, and 1 if you're a pancake piggy like me and do not plan to eat again until dinner anyway. Here are some topping ideas: dust with powdered sugar and then squeeze a lemon over all; good ol' maple sugar; stewed fruit; fresh fruit and honey. For a brunchier pancake, here's another idea: Just before the pancake is done, place very thinly sliced apples over the top, then sprinkle cheese over that, and lay strips of ham over all. Continue baking until cheese is melted. For a dessert pancake, dot with chopped chocolate (which should semi-melt on contact), then drizzle with some creme anglaise. Sorry there's no photo; I ate the pancake before I thought to post. </div><div><br /></div>Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-66532474179356121612009-01-14T17:55:00.001-08:002009-01-14T18:06:31.864-08:00Squash soup and a formula for successMy husband and I have come up with a can't-fail squash soup recipe that's tweakable, simple, and a joy at the dinner table. You can use any kind of winter squash, and any onion in the onion family (we tend toward leeks). Here's how we do it:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients</span></div><div>1 medium winter squash</div><div>4 medium leeks</div><div>4-6 cups chicken or veggie stock</div><div>Olive oil</div><div>Salt and pepper</div><div>Spices you prefer (we use curry sometimes, star anise at other times. Experiment!)</div><div>Toasted nuts of choice, chopped (we've used toasted almonds, toasted spiced pecans, etc.)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">How-to</span></div><div>Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Halve the squash and scoop out the innards. Cut each half into quarters, and peel them with a paring knife or veggie peeler. Cut into 1-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and toss to coat well. Arrange in a single layer on 1 or 2 baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place baking sheets in oven and roast squash until it is very tender, turning once or twice with spatula. Remove from oven and set aside.</div><div><br /></div><div>While the squash is roasting, clean leeks, then chop coarsely. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil into a soup pot and heat. Add leeks and saute them until they are golden and tender. Add roasted squash to the sauteed leeks in the soup pot. Cover with chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Blend the soup with a stick blender or in a regular blender (in small batches so you don't blow the blender lid off) until it is smooth. If you used a regular counter-top blender, return soup to pot and season with spices you've chosen. Simmer 10 minutes longer. Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle into mugs or bowls, top with chopped nuts, and serve.</div>Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-16074533163576449632008-07-20T18:58:00.000-07:002008-12-08T21:38:57.838-08:00Finally, a savory post<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmvPJ28sghlUi_KSTkNv4O02oj5IC-gMMYHZMmHZTH5jxUR5gpky9P_Fr7mJwCzhOPKQAK9raLvICrUNFChRMMIgldIr28vsMYrQyN5Rg5uYKqtmGAfsEgwrYoPg6HGzNG71kf9YgkSE/s1600-h/SpinachRiceSoup.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmvPJ28sghlUi_KSTkNv4O02oj5IC-gMMYHZMmHZTH5jxUR5gpky9P_Fr7mJwCzhOPKQAK9raLvICrUNFChRMMIgldIr28vsMYrQyN5Rg5uYKqtmGAfsEgwrYoPg6HGzNG71kf9YgkSE/s320/SpinachRiceSoup.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225286783084904114" /></a><br />I'm making good on my promise to post about something other than a dessert. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Voila</span>, Rice and Spinach Soup, which I found in one of my favorite cookbooks, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688138659/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img">From Biba's Italian Kitchen</a>. The ingredients are few, fresh and uncomplicated, but the resulting soup is rich and satisfying, without being heavy. I have a feeling I'll be making this soup a lot this winter. The only departure I made from the methods in the original recipe is that I tempered the egg mixture with some of the hot broth, so that the eggs wouldn't curdle when I added them back into the main soup pot. I recommend you go buy this book, because every recipe I've made from it has turned out wonderfully. Without further blather, here is the recipe:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Rice and Spinach Soup</span></div><div>(<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">minestrina di riso e spinaci</span>)</div><div><br /><div>1 lb fresh spinach, stems and bruised leaves discarded</div><div>pinch of salt</div><div>2 tablespoons unsalted butter</div><div>2 quarts chicken broth</div><div>3/4 cup rice (arborio preferred)</div><div>3 large eggs</div><div>salt to taste</div><div>pinch freshly grated nutmeg</div><div>1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese</div><div><br /></div><div>Wash the spinach thoroughly under cold running water. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil over medium heat. Add pinch of salt and the spinach and cook, uncovered, until tender, 5-6 minutes. Stir a few times during cooking. Drain the spinach and squeeze out any excess water. Chop the spinach with a large knife or in a food processor pulsing the machine on and off. Do not puree the spinach.</div><div><br /></div><div>Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, add the spinach and mix quickly. Place spinach in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bring the broth to a boil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the rice and cook until tender but firm to the bite, about 15 minutes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Beat the eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Season with salt and nutmeg, and add the cheese, blending thoroughly. Stir the egg mixture into the spinach. To temper the eggs, slowly add 2-3 ladles full of hot broth to the egg-spinach mixture, pouring in a thin stream and whisking quickly. Add the tempered egg-spinach mixture to the soup pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 2 to 3 minutes longer, stirring. Taste and adjust seasoning, and serve hot.</div><div><br /></div></div>Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-36874949693751606342008-07-13T23:09:00.000-07:002008-07-13T23:20:03.195-07:00More bakery blatherI've made my second batch of chocolate chip cookies using roasted pistachios instead of walnuts. This may seem like a small thing. It's not. These cookies kick major ass. Another chocolate chip cookie variation: use milk chocolate chips and chopped crystalized ginger. You can add nuts to this, too (pistachios work, as well as pecans--toasting makes all the difference). <div><br /></div><div>A tip from my random kitchen experimenting: when you use vanilla beans in your cooking, don't discard the pods after you've scraped out the seeds. Instead, cut the pods into 1- or 1.5-inch pieces and drop them into a small, covered jar that holds about a cup of vodka. Keep the jar in the pantry where you'd normally keep your vanilla. Shake it gently every other day or so, and in 2 months or so you'll have a nice jar of homemade vanilla extract. As you use your vanilla, just keep dropping in more scraped pods and adding dashes of vodka. If you want, you can just split a pod, chop it without scraping the seeds, and add that as well. That'll power-pack your extract. You'll never need to buy vanilla extract again. If you want to give it for a gift, just strain it through a super-fine sieve or some cheesecloth into a small, decorative jar.</div>Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-70993922959050862362008-06-30T01:15:00.000-07:002008-06-30T01:31:34.163-07:00As promised, my failure at mint ice creamA while back I got a head of steam up to make fresh mint ice cream with chocolate chips. I'd had great success making coffee ice cream by steeping whole coffee beans in a milk-and-cream mixture, then proceeding to the custard-making stage, and finally to freezing, adding a bit of powder-ground espresso just before it was done. Heaven in a bowl! My attempt at mint chocolate chip brought me and the hunky scientist (who's the world's foremost ice cream addict) right back down to earth. I followed essentially the same steps: Combine milk and cream, heat until just before the boiling point, add fresh mint leaves and leave to steep. This yielded a lovely green-colored ice cream base. I made a custard out of it, then cooled it and gave it a sip. It did taste of mint--but it also had a vegetal overtone that was really disconcerting, and none of the zippy tang of good mint ice cream. I scrounged in the spice cabinet for some peppermint oil and added a few drops of that to the mix. That punched up the zip factor, but didn't diminish that bothersome vegetal taste that was muddying the works. I cooled and froze it anyway, adding shaved chocolate at the end. Verdict? OK. Definitely not a success. I won't bother posting photos. In my next attempt at this flavor of ice cream, I'll just go with high-quality mint essence for flavoring, leave the ice cream white, and add a bit more chocolate--more finely shaved this time--and forego the custard step. The warm richness of the custard base interferes with the clean coolness of mint I'm going for. <div><br /></div><div>On a completely unrelated food topic: I am having a strong craving for my dear friend Jim's anchovy-stuffed olives. They are the smoothest, most wonderful appetizer olives I've ever had (and that's saying a lot, considering I'm half-Greek). I believe they are from Spain; Jim gets them from a cooking-supply site online, and whenever I stop to visit he puts some on a plate and serves them with crackers or bread and cheese and always a glass of wine. Recalling this makes me miss Jim a hell of a lot more than I miss his olives. <br /></div>Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351029635774452186.post-28327290314436335802008-05-31T22:25:00.000-07:002008-12-08T21:38:57.994-08:00Mother's sugar cookies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvlJmU663fl-PkrDt1OdBfjYvf_x5_LFyD2aW5h1rONFdAiHeTGv2wJj4EbrJFWx8Qp3YkRSAbQyl__UAJCisFETJiKPkB_If15ilCPOcObRiBizjWpuN4MFfVy_d-yTEULDOFHnYUJC8/s1600-h/MmmmCookies.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvlJmU663fl-PkrDt1OdBfjYvf_x5_LFyD2aW5h1rONFdAiHeTGv2wJj4EbrJFWx8Qp3YkRSAbQyl__UAJCisFETJiKPkB_If15ilCPOcObRiBizjWpuN4MFfVy_d-yTEULDOFHnYUJC8/s320/MmmmCookies.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206783952755256850" /></a><br />Because I have been having fond memories of home lately, plus severe cravings for baked items redolent of vanilla, I decided to dig out my New England Yankee Cookbook. This treasure, published in 1938, is a collection of recipes collected by Imogene Wolcott, others contributed from her fellow New Englanders, and reprints of articles about New England life from <span style="font-style:italic;">Yankee</span> magazine. My favorite among the recipes is one called Mother's Sugar Cookies. It was contributed by Mrs. Jennie Duke, then of 53 Ferry St. in Everett, Mass. (Each contributor's street address was listed along with her or his recipe.)<br /><br />I used to make these cookies when I was in high school and take them to track workouts. I always had to make a double batch, because they disappeared almost as quickly as I could get them out of the oven. These are plain, cakey vanilla cookies, with no dusting of sugar over the top. I've modified it in a few of ways: I use butter instead of shortening; I use vanilla-infused sugar to intensify the wonderful taste and aroma of this classic flavoring; and now I use a KitchenAid instead of killing my arms with all the creaming of the butter. Last thing about vanilla: in this recipe I used vanilla I'd made myself by soaking vanilla-bean pods in pure vodka for a couple of months.<br /><br />Tonight this recipe had the same effect it always has: The Hunky Scientist and I polished off eight of them right when they came out of the oven. I've baked two double-pan batches, and I've got two more to go.<br /><br />Mother's Sugar Cookies<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(I've added notes in parentheses.)</span><br />1 cup shortening (I use butter)<br />1 teaspoon salt<br />1 teaspoon vanilla<br />1/4 teaspoon soda<br />2 cups sugar<br />1 egg, well beaten<br />5 cups flour, sifted<br />4 teaspoons baking powder<br />1 cup milk<br /><br />Combine shortening, salt, vanilla and soda. Add sugar gradually and cream well. Add beaten egg and mix thoroughly. Sift flour with baking powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, mixing well. Drop from teaspoon onto baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment). Let stand a few minutes, then flatten cookies (I use a spoon dipped in water to do this). Bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees F.) for 12 to 15 minutes (I make large cookies, so it takes 16 minutes to bake mine). Makes about 8 dozen cookies.<div><br /></div><div>Next up: My first attempt at mint chocolate-chip ice cream.</div>Call Me Lorettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11661699178382279660noreply@blogger.com0