Shortcut stuffed peppers. Or, another post without a photo.

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:

Shortcut Stuffed Peppers
6 mild peppers (poblano or bell), halved lengthwise, seeded
Olive oil (about 2 Tablespoons)
1 large onion
3 large cloves garlic
1 lb ground beef (or ground chicken or turkey, or fake ground meat if you are veggie)
Long-grained white rice
1 bottle of prepared taco sauce, as spicy as you prefer (stop cringing at the word "prepared")
1 medium jar of prepared salsa, also as spicy as you prefer (there's the "p" word again)
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
Cumin
Salt
Water
1 bottle of beer
Half a bunch of cilantro, rinsed, spun, and chopped 
1 package cotija cheese (I get it in a square about the size of my palm and a couple of inches thick)


Preheat the oven to 375.

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.


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.


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. 


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.


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.


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.

Back in the kitchen

OK, 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.

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.

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. Let Aarti show you how.

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.

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.

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!

In 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:

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup flour

Equipment

1 shallow 3- or 4-quart baking dish or No. 12 cast-iron skillet (I use the skillet)

A countertop blender, hand mixer or stick blender

1 large mixing bowl (if you're not using a countertop blender)

How-to

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. 

Squash soup and a formula for success

My 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:

Ingredients

1 medium winter squash

4 medium leeks

4-6 cups chicken or veggie stock

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Spices you prefer (we use curry sometimes, star anise at other times. Experiment!)

Toasted nuts of choice, chopped (we've used toasted almonds, toasted spiced pecans, etc.)

How-to

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.

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.

Finally, a savory post

I'm making good on my promise to post about something other than a dessert. Voila, Rice and Spinach Soup, which I found in one of my favorite cookbooks, From Biba's Italian Kitchen. 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:

Rice and Spinach Soup

(minestrina di riso e spinaci)

1 lb fresh spinach, stems and bruised leaves discarded

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 quarts chicken broth

3/4 cup rice (arborio preferred)

3 large eggs

salt to taste

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

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.

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.

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.

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.

More bakery blather

I'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). 

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.

As promised, my failure at mint ice cream

A 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. 

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.