If you've been a regular reader of this blog, thanks! I just wanted to say that I'll be blogging somewhere else (though, actually still from my own home) for 30 days, starting October 8th. I'm doing a 30 day dinner challenge, that I've started with a couple of friends. They will all be starting tomorrow (I think), but our family is going out of town tomorrow for 5 days. I've decided to delay our start one week because I can't actually be cooking us dinner while on vacation (I'm not that ambitious, even if we have a hotel kitchenette!), and I need 2 days upon returning to prepare.
So, visit the other blog: http://30dinners.blogspot.com. I will not be the only writer, so there should be plenty of recipes, cooking tips and techniques, and what not there for you to read! Enjoy, and happy eating!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Chili
OH. MY. GOD. I've run out of onions in the house! I can't believe it. I haven't had to buy onions all summer long, and at long last, I've run out. We've been getting them in our CSA box all summer long. Spring onions. Walla Walla sweet onions, & red onions. Suddenly, no more.
Luckily, I had shallots and scallions from the grocery store on hand.
1 cup carrots, 1/4" dice
1 cup celery, 1/4" dice
1 cup scallions, chopped
1 shallot, rough chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
1/2 cup of bacon, diced
1 lb ground beef
beef stock, as needed
1/2 cranberry beans, fresh (or other beans are fine, too)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 cups roma tomatoes, *peeled & chopped
-Render the bacon pieces in a pan. Add the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and sweat until they just start to become tender.
-Brown the ground beef in a pot with a little olive oil. Add the spices, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine the spices & meat.
-Add the vegetables and bacon to the ground beef, and cover with beef stock.
-Add the cranberry beans. If you are using canned beans, do not add them yet.
-Add the tomatoes, and any additional stock if needed.
-Cook for two hours.
*A popular way to peel tomatoes is to remove the core stem, score the opposite end in a small "x" with a paring knife, and boil them for 15 seconds. After boiling, plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking. The scored end will have loosened the skin, and the tomato is ready to be peeled, ready to be chopped to desired shape. This blanching method may also be used with peaches and nuts. Also known as concasse tomatoes.
This is just what I did for my chili. I feel like everyone has a chili recipe they like. I actually don't, not that I think any are bad. I'm just not good at sticking to a particular one. I picked one out of a chili recipes book, a friend bought for me with her Marlboro cigarette points, just as a reference. I encourage you to do tweak my recipe all you want. I know I probably will in the future!
Luckily, I had shallots and scallions from the grocery store on hand.
1 cup carrots, 1/4" dice
1 cup celery, 1/4" dice
1 cup scallions, chopped
1 shallot, rough chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
1/2 cup of bacon, diced
1 lb ground beef
beef stock, as needed
1/2 cranberry beans, fresh (or other beans are fine, too)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 cups roma tomatoes, *peeled & chopped
-Render the bacon pieces in a pan. Add the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and sweat until they just start to become tender.
-Brown the ground beef in a pot with a little olive oil. Add the spices, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine the spices & meat.
-Add the vegetables and bacon to the ground beef, and cover with beef stock.
-Add the cranberry beans. If you are using canned beans, do not add them yet.
-Add the tomatoes, and any additional stock if needed.
-Cook for two hours.
*A popular way to peel tomatoes is to remove the core stem, score the opposite end in a small "x" with a paring knife, and boil them for 15 seconds. After boiling, plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking. The scored end will have loosened the skin, and the tomato is ready to be peeled, ready to be chopped to desired shape. This blanching method may also be used with peaches and nuts. Also known as concasse tomatoes.
This is just what I did for my chili. I feel like everyone has a chili recipe they like. I actually don't, not that I think any are bad. I'm just not good at sticking to a particular one. I picked one out of a chili recipes book, a friend bought for me with her Marlboro cigarette points, just as a reference. I encourage you to do tweak my recipe all you want. I know I probably will in the future!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Campagne
David and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary tonight (even though our actual anniversary is on Thursday). We had dinner reservations for 7:30pm at Campagne. We dropped my dad off at the airport, which was much quicker than we had expected. We got to Pike Place Market at 6pm, and decided to see if they could squeeze us in early. No problem.
Dinner was fantastic! Here's what we had:
David - Beef tartare with slices of potato fried in duck fat & arugula & parmesan salad; Veal sweetbread with curry carrots.
Anny - charcuterie plate with house cured duck proscuitto, bresaola, country-style pate, and rillette; sea scallops & gulf prawns with halibut brandade & sauteed Chinese spinach.
For dessert, we shared a lemon-ginger creme brulee.
It was all so delicious!
Dinner was fantastic! Here's what we had:
David - Beef tartare with slices of potato fried in duck fat & arugula & parmesan salad; Veal sweetbread with curry carrots.
Anny - charcuterie plate with house cured duck proscuitto, bresaola, country-style pate, and rillette; sea scallops & gulf prawns with halibut brandade & sauteed Chinese spinach.
For dessert, we shared a lemon-ginger creme brulee.
It was all so delicious!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Marsala Wine Braised Chicken Legs with Shitake Mushrooms
*may use chicken thighs as well/instead
**if using dried mushrooms, reconsistute them in hot water first
Sear chicken, on all sides, in a hot saute pan with oil.
Deglaze pan with 1/2 cup marsala wine & allow to reduce slightly.
Add the mushrooms with the soaking liquid.
Bring to a boil.
Transfer to an oven proof dish, cover with foil, and cook in 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
*hang on to the saute pan
Pour the liquid back into the saute pan and reduce by half. Whisk in a teaspoon of butter into the reduction, and pour the sauce back over the chicken and mushrooms.
**if using dried mushrooms, reconsistute them in hot water first
Sear chicken, on all sides, in a hot saute pan with oil.
Deglaze pan with 1/2 cup marsala wine & allow to reduce slightly.
Add the mushrooms with the soaking liquid.
Bring to a boil.
Transfer to an oven proof dish, cover with foil, and cook in 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
*hang on to the saute pan
Pour the liquid back into the saute pan and reduce by half. Whisk in a teaspoon of butter into the reduction, and pour the sauce back over the chicken and mushrooms.
What do I do with these chicken legs?
I did a freezer pull earlier this week. In that pull was a pack of 3 chicken legs. They sat in the fridge, thawing. Then, they thawed. And, they continued to sit in the fridge some more.
The truth is, I had cooked 5 nights straight, and I was a bit burned out. Wednesday morning I woke up and said to my husband & dad, "We're eating out tonight." But, by that afternoon, I suddenly felt inspired, and those lettuce wraps made it to the table. So, yesterday was Saturday, and I had successfully gotten dinner on the table for all of us 5 nights in a row. I looked at those chicken legs and annouced, "Sushi tonight?"
Guilt ridden by a full day of eating out for the last four meals, mostly junk (Crossroads foodcourt food for lunch yesterday, Japanese for dinner dinner last night, Top Pot Doughnuts this morning, and Subway for lunch today), I felt that I needed to check out those chicken legs.
Fresh? YES! Gotta love the Foodsaver !
Here's what made it to the table:
-Marsala wine braised chicken legs with shitake mushrooms
-a HUGE salad with lettuce, lemon cucumbers, green bell peppers, & spiced pecans from Trader Joe's, with this blackberry vinaigrette my inlaws got us from Snoqualmie
-corn on the cob
-Red Baron French bread pizza boats
-leftover lettuce wrap filling
Weird variety of foods, but everything go eaten! I was delighted. I do have to admit that my dad, husband, and son seem to eat most things. Well, maybe not my son, but neither my dad or husband are that picky...especially not my dad.
The truth is, I had cooked 5 nights straight, and I was a bit burned out. Wednesday morning I woke up and said to my husband & dad, "We're eating out tonight." But, by that afternoon, I suddenly felt inspired, and those lettuce wraps made it to the table. So, yesterday was Saturday, and I had successfully gotten dinner on the table for all of us 5 nights in a row. I looked at those chicken legs and annouced, "Sushi tonight?"
Guilt ridden by a full day of eating out for the last four meals, mostly junk (Crossroads foodcourt food for lunch yesterday, Japanese for dinner dinner last night, Top Pot Doughnuts this morning, and Subway for lunch today), I felt that I needed to check out those chicken legs.
Fresh? YES! Gotta love the Foodsaver !
Here's what made it to the table:
-Marsala wine braised chicken legs with shitake mushrooms
-a HUGE salad with lettuce, lemon cucumbers, green bell peppers, & spiced pecans from Trader Joe's, with this blackberry vinaigrette my inlaws got us from Snoqualmie
-corn on the cob
-Red Baron French bread pizza boats
-leftover lettuce wrap filling
Weird variety of foods, but everything go eaten! I was delighted. I do have to admit that my dad, husband, and son seem to eat most things. Well, maybe not my son, but neither my dad or husband are that picky...especially not my dad.
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