d Constitutional Cooking: November 2006

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

A Restorative Soup

At least that's what the cookbook said! This is a very simple soup, good for when one has on hand a LOT of peeled garlic that is starting to look peaked. As I did on Sunday. It's rather sweet, so I dump a handful of salty Parmesean on top to serve.

Garlic Tomato Soup
Serves 6, probably

  • 4 heads (not cloves) garlic, peeled
  • 1 med. yellow onion, diced
  • 42 oz. chicken broth
  • 6 oz. tomato paste
  • 1 t salt, or to taste

Toss everything in a slow-cooker. Turn it on low heat for 6-7 hours. After it's done cooking, puree everything. I found my immersion blender easiest for this task.

I liked the flavor better when I let the flavors blend for another 24 hours in the fridge. Serve with Parmesean, as noted, and toasted ciabatta (which I purchased from a fancy [sort of] restaurant after my abs class at the gym - meaning I stood at the upscale bar and waited for my bread in slightly smelly condition, wearing biker shorts and a gigantic sweatshirt, hair falling out of my inadequate band, while the actual, dressed and non-sweaty [mostly] patrons tried to avoid eye contact. It was definitely a pretty princess moment, but dammit I wanted that bread!).

And tune in on Thursday or Friday - I'll have a Constitutional Cooking Special Report on the MRE, Meals Ready to Eat, served our armed forces around the world. Complete with photos.

posted by ek at 2:37 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Lizzi's Lemon Mustard Chicken

This dish is really flavorful, with barley any work. Slow-cooking the chicken made it very easy for me to start and finish steamed asparagus and cous-cous in perfect time. I think it took me all of 20, 25 minutes. Thanks, Lizzi! This is definitely going in the recipe book. Here's the recipe.

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced/crushed
  • 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast
  • flour (if we're being fancy)
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme (If we're being un-fancy, substitute the herbs for McCormick's All-Purpose Seasoning Blend, which is fantastically salt-free)
  • 1/3 c. lemon juice
  • 1/4 c. dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp capers (again with the fancy)
  • Salt and Pepper
1) Cut the boneless chicken breast with kitchen scissors into smaller pieces -- about 4-5 pieces per breast.
2) Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant.
3) Reduce heat to medium low. Add chicken pieces. As chicken is cooking, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over chicken. You're looking to thicken up what will eventually become the sauce. Throw in those herbs.
4) Pour the lemon juice into the pan. The pan should still be hot enough that the lemon juice sizzles, thereby searing into the flavor of chicken. Keep letting that chicken cook.
5) Add the dijon mustard and the capers.
6) Reduce that heat again, keep it low. Cooking chicken longer and over lower heat keeps it moist and tender. Partially cover the skillet (when I had an un-stocked kitchen, I covered my skillet with a dinner plate.)
7) Serve the chicken over pasta or rice, with white wine and a salad. Mmm.
Oh, and if that sauce is looking too thick, feel free to add more lemon juice (I like it super-lemony), white wine (the bottle is open already, isn't it?), or chicken stock. And if it's too runny, go with more flour.

posted by ek at 7:43 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Cheater's Choice: Butternut Squash Ravioli

No, I'm not talking about plagiarism. That's another topic for another blog.

The focus here is easy! (Not that kind of easy. Still another topic for yet another blog).

I was at Sam's Club the other week poking around. And eating a hotdog, as they have the best hotdogs on earth for some reason. (Seriously. Try them. With enormous fountain drinks where I mix Cherry Coke with Coke Zero. MMMM.). And buying a giant bottle of wine for Grey's Anatomy night.

In addition to a giant inexpensive container of organic baby spinach, in the deli section there were also giant packages of butternut squash ravioli, not frozen ones for about nine bucks. While they seemed expensive at the moment (9.00 for pasta!?), I reasoned with myself that as I never go out to dinner here, it's okay to splurge on deliciousness that's also easy to fix.

Tonight I boiled some water and plopped half a package into the pot (so, 1/4 of the entire purchase). After 4-5 minutes the ravioli were done. I browned a little pat of butter in the meantime. After draining the ravioli, I swirled them around in the butter. The raviolis were reasonably healthy (5 grams fat/serving) so a little butter never hurt anyone (RIGHT?). And turns out about 4 raviolis and a little leftover sweet potatoes on the side are plenty for dinner. So, what I originally thought was expensive for pasta, turned out to be very reasonable as there are 5 million servings in the two packages (or so it seems). I froze the other half of the package and will eat some of the cooked ones for lunch tomorrow with a spinach salad. And there's a whole other package in my fridge.

Time spent in the kitchen? 6 minutes.

Now, I have a TON of spinach to use now. E, want me to mail you some?

posted by mg at 6:49 PM 3 comments

Monday, November 06, 2006

Lentil Surprise

Big shouts out to blue-eyed girl, senior clerk extraordinaire. She answered the call for recipes via email. I think her suggestion is great for a starter recipe book because it's got only a few ingredients, but it takes just enough effort to give practice in things like sauteing garlic so that it doesn't burn. The lentil aspect of it may very well be off-putting to my brother, but I've decided to include the recipe to push his culinary boundaries. So here it is:

  • one can Progresso lentil soup (it's very lentil-ey)
  • one can diced tomatoes (substitute Ro-tel for more of a spicy kick)
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1/2 C chopped onion, or to taste
  • 2 cloves garlic, or to taste
  • about 1/3 of a box of pasta, cooked (BEG suggests elbow; I had rotini and it was also good)
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or large saucepan. Add garlic and onion, saute until fragrant. Add lentil soup, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Stir frequently, being conscious that the lentils WILL stick to the bottom of the pan if left alone to, say, watch Top Chef for too long. Add tomatoes, simmer for another few minutes. Stir in pasta, cook until heated through.

Voila! I paired with some sort of greens, it makes a very well-rounded wintertime dinner. It's very hearty and so easy to keep all ingredients on hand. Clearly, it also lends to making vast quantities and freezing for future eatin'.

Lizzi: your lemon chicken suggestion is on the menu schedule for later this week!

posted by ek at 8:03 PM 0 comments

Spinach and Goat Cheese Frittata

My local supermarket, Weis, disappointed me profoundly yesterday. First, I found out to my extreme frustration that it does not sell Dutch process cocoa. I was hoping to buy some to get started on my pre-holidays baking, but apparently that project is not in the cards for this week. Second, my local Weis is no longer stocking spinach. At all. Or at least until further notice.

Now, this store has been inexplicably out of (what I consider) staples before - but it's only been one item on my list or something I knew I could get it at the farmer's market soon. But two in one trip was just too much. Weis, just off of 15 at Holy Spirit Church - you are dead to me.

Which is a long introduction to the recipe - it calls for spinach, but I made it with the equivalent amount of broccoli, which is quite tasty. So here's the second in what I'm sure will be a continuing theme for me - make-ahead, carry-with breakfast protein.

Spinach and Goat Cheese Frittata
(serves 4 - I made it in a 12-in. skillet and doubled the recipe to get eight solid slices)
  • about 8oz. red or white new potatoes
  • 3 large whole eggs, 2 large egg whites
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/2 t pepper
  • 1/2 t oregano
  • 2 T olive oil, separated into 1/1
  • 1/2 C chopped onion (I used purple onions and they are delish)
  • 9oz raw spinach (about 9 C) (or about 3, 3 1/2 C cooked broccoli, if your grocery store is utterly ridiculous)
  • 2 oz. goat cheese

Preheat broiler.

Cut unpeeled potatoes into 1/4-in. slices. Place potatoes in a saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 3-4 mins or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes in a colander; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk whole eggs, egg whites, salt, pepper, and oregano. In a 9-in. skillet (cast iron, MG!, or one with an oven-proof handle), heat 1T oil over high heat. Add onion; saute for one minute or until translucent. Add spinach, if your grocery store is not completely whackadoodle, or broccoli if it is, and saute two mins. or until leaves are just wilted. Add potatoes and mix well; spread evenly in skillet.

Drizzle the remaining oil around the sides of the skillet. Pour in egg mixture. Cook two mins. or until eggs just start to set at the edges. Sprinkle goat cheese over the top.

Place the skillet in the broiler, about 4 ins. from the heat for 1-3 mins., or until the top is puffed and golden. Use a paring knife to separate the outer edges of the frittata from the pan.

posted by ek at 7:45 PM 0 comments

Thursday, November 02, 2006

The Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary Edition


...is not so good, according to Slate. It may be better than the 1997 version but, according to the reviewer, it fails to resonate with current American home cuisine. Cf. The United States of Arugula (noting culinary trends but failing to address home cooks).

In a paragraph late in the Slate piece, the reviewer identifies How to Cook Everything as a cookbook that has its finger on the pulse of our ambitious home kitchens. I have to say, though - I've tried one recipe for poached chicken from HTCE, and it was flavorless and slimy. As a rule, I eat what I cook, even if it doesn't turn out the way I anticipate. But I threw out that chicken. It had to be done. I'm going to try other things from HTCE, but my trust in the book is shaken.

posted by ek at 1:01 PM 3 comments

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Sweet Potato Delights


My mother gave me a large sack of delicious homegrown sweet potatoes from a family at our church. I was going to post it on here, but in the interim I decided to go where all smart people go for advice on what to do with certain pantry fillers... Kim O'Donnel's WP chat.

And besides, as the general inspiration for this blog endeavor, it's time we take a moment and nod our head to this delightful woman. Not only did she singlehandedly get ATP and me through professionalism, she's a wealth of great cooking ideas. Go read the chat archives & her blog and be inspired.

The chat is also helpful because Kim's readers are keen on sharing their own ideas and recipes, and they really responded with sweet potato goodness! The relevant list is below, but you should go read the full text anyway because she and her readers are so interesting.

___________

Sweet Potatoes: I just got a passel of homegrown North Carolina sweet potatoes with the red dirt still stickin' to 'em, and I need some good ideas. And my mama's sending me some more later. There's always the pie/cobbler/baked with adobo/roasted bit. Any other good ideas out there? Freezer ideas? [This is my question!]

Kim O'Donnel: Make soup, dearie. I wrote in my blog recently about how easi it is to do an impromptu weeknight puree of sweet potatoes . Enjoy!

__________________

Readers wrote in about:

  • sweet potato fritters
  • roasted with chilies and coriander
  • sweet potatos simmered with sauteed garlic and onions, sage, parmesan, and chicken stock served over pasta
  • mashed with maple syrup or savory mashed with garlic, shallots, red pepper, and horseradish

_______________________________________

Now, for tonight's dinner: I 1) roasted mushrooms (first time, and certainly not the last, with only a touch of olive oil) and 2) also roasted old supermarket sweet potatoes (to get the out of the way so I can get to the Stokes ones), then 3) made some polenta (also first time). I added some light cheddar cheese to the polenta as it was finishing up. Expect an entire post on polenta in the near future. I love cornmeal anything.



posted by mg at 7:25 PM 0 comments

Battle Margaritas: Halloween and Beyond




Last night for Halloween, we had a "progressive" party where we "trick-or-treated" between four houses and ended up at our local smoky oldpeoplebar.

Other drinks on the stop included porch crawlers (lemonade, beer, and vodka), sangria, and jello shots (helpful hint from B: double the jello packages for a firmer and less messy shot!). It was relatively tame, so if you're looking for crazy stories, I can't help you there.

I served Battle margaritas (thanks K, for the time-honored recipe), along with the requisite chips and salsa. Last night was the first time I've ever had just one, but we were on a schedule... Usually the crazy comes out after about 1.5 of them. Don't worry, Mom, that's when I stop. Also, add salt, as these are particularly sweet. Yet yummy. I forgot to put a beer in the pic.

In blender, add

  • Ice
  • 1 can frozen limeade
  • 1/2 limeade can of beer (cheap beer like Miller Lite)
  • 1/2 limeade can of triple sec
  • 1/2 limeade can of tequila
  • blend
  • drink

Then... hide from the crazy.

posted by mg at 6:43 PM 0 comments