Bacon-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Herb Stuffing

Troy prepared Bacon-wrapped Beef Tenderloin for our 2009 Christmas Eve dinner, accompanied by scalloped potatoes, carrots, rigatoni with sausage and mushrooms (see that recipe), and more.  He followed the recipe exactly, but he found that the meat was slightly undercooked.  After slicing it, he put the meat under the broiler for a few minutes and the result was perfection.  The smaller ends of the tenderloins were fairly well done and the thickest end was a dark pink.  Everyone’s preferences were met.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from French bread, crust removed
2 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley (from 2 to 3 large bunches)
2 2 1/4- to 2 1/2-pound center-cut beef tenderloin roasts
20 to 24 bacon slices (about 1 1/2 pounds)(thin, not thick cut bacon)
Canola oil

Note:  Some reviewers on Epicurious.com recommend applying a rub to the meat before wrapping with bacon.

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add breadcrumbs. Sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in parsley. Season stuffing with salt and pepper. Cool completely.

Starting at 1 long side, cut each tenderloin lengthwise almost in half, stopping about 1/2 inch from opposite long side. Open tenderloins like books. Sprinkle cut sides with salt and pepper. Pack half of stuffing on 1 side of each tenderloin. Fold plain side over stuffing.

Slightly overlap half of bacon slices on sheet of parchment paper, forming rectangle equal in length to 1 tenderloin. Place tenderloin at 1 edge, across bacon ends. Using parchment as aid, roll up tenderloin in bacon. Using kitchen string, secure bacon around tenderloin, tying at 1 1/2-inch intervals, then tie once lengthwise. Repeat with remaining bacon and tenderloin. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap tenderloins and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Pour enough oil into large skillet to coat bottom; heat over high heat. Add 1 tenderloin. Sauté until bacon is brown, turning often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with second tenderloin. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of each registers 130°F to 135°F for medium-rare, about 30 minutes. Transfer to platter. Let stand 15 minutes. Cut off strings. Cut tenderloins into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Source:  Bon Appétit  | December 2004

Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Mushrooms

Troy prepared this as a side dish (!) for our 2009 Christmas Eve dinner.  This, coupled with the Swedish Meatballs, was the principal reason I grossly over-ate (3 helpings).  This dish has a deep, rich and marvelous mushroom flavor that is instantly addictive.  We took some leftovers home and had them for lunch on Saturday . . . wow.  This is a keeper!  Indeed, Carolyn and I made it this evening!

Note:  This recipe is for 25 servings.  Remember to cut in half unless you are making it for a crowd.

4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
4 cups hot water
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 large onions, finely chopped
5 pounds hot Italian sausages, casings removed
4 pounds button mushrooms, sliced
4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups dry white wine
4 bay leaves
2 14-ounce cans beef broth
4 cups half and half
4 pounds rigatoni
6 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Additional grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh rosemary sprigs (for garnish)

Rinse porcini mushrooms. Place in medium bowl. Add 4 cups hot water, cover, and let stand until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Chop porcini.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in each of 2 heavy large pots over medium heat. Divide onions between pots; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Divide sausage between pots. Increase heat to high and cook until no longer pink, breaking up into small pieces with back of fork, about 12 minutes.  Divide button mushrooms and chopped rosemary between pots and stir until mushrooms begin to soften, about 8 minutes, covered. Divide porcini, wine, and bay leaves between pots and boil until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Using a ladle, remove 1-1/2 cups of the liquid (not needed).  Divide porcini soaking liquid between pots, leaving sediment behind. Divide beef broth between pots. Boil until sauce is syrupy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Divide half and half between pots; boil until thickened slightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. (Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and chill. Rewarm before continuing.)

Brush four 3 1/2-quart glass or porcelain baking dishes with oil. Cook pasta in 2 large pots of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Divide pasta between sauce in pots; stir to coat. Mix 3 cups cheese into each pot. Season pasta with salt and pepper. Divide among prepared baking dishes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cover dishes with foil. Bake pasta just until hot but not bubbling, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with additional cheese. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve with additional cheese.

Note 1: We made 1/2 of the recipe, however, we used 2 tablespoons of oil to sauté the onions. 

Note 2: The wine adds a considerable amount of liquid.  Next time, I plan to use 1/2 of the wine.

Note 3: After baking, we removed the foil, returned the pan to the oven and broiled for 3 minutes.

based on a Bon Appétit  | December 2004 recipe

Swedish Meatballs

Every year, the weekend before Christmas, Carolyn and her daughters get together to make Swedish Meatballs.  I have a standing invitation to finely dice the onions and to get out of the kitchen so production can take place unimpeded. (12025013 update: I have been invited to roll meatballs too!) We’ve never actually counted, but the outcome must be about 200 meatballs.  The recipe is based on a recipe passed down by Carolyn’s mother, Martha.
5 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ginger
2-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup bread crumbs
¼ cup dried or fresh parsley
3 lbs. ground beef
1-1/2 lbs. ground pork
1 lb. ground veal
3 eggs
½ cup half & half 
2 medium yellow onions, very finely diced (about 3 cups)
Butter
Knorr’s vegetable or beef bullion
Mix the first 10 ingredients together and set aside. Mix the eggs, half+half and onions (the "wet ingredients"); set aside. Add a beef bullion, a half teaspoon of allspice, and a cup of water to a large pot.
Add all the meat to a large bowl and add the 10 dry ingredients, as well as the parsley. Mix, with your hands, until thoroughly blended. Add the wet ingredients to the meat and mix with your hands thoroughly.
Form the meatballs by rolling about one tablespoon of the meat between your palms. The meatballs should be small; no larger than 2.5 cm in diameter.
When you have about 20 meatballs ready, melt 2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet and brown the meatballs over a medium heat, turning occasionally. Once well browned, remove to the large pot and add another 20 or so meatballs to the skillet(s). After all the meatballs have been browned, deglaze the skillet(s) with 1 cup of water and add the liquid to the meatballs. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until Christmas. After reheating, drain off most of the liquid and prepare a gravy with cornstarch.
Leftovers freeze nicely.



Yes, smell that butter!  

Strozzapreti

Strozzapreti are simple pasta noodles that are easy and very quick to make.  The word, in Italian, means “"priest strangler.”  Don’t know why, but several reasons come to mind why someone might want to strangle a priest.  :)

It took three tries to get this simple noodle right.  The first time I used two eggs and a cup of flour.  The resulting noodles were tough.  Too tough.  I watched a couple of videos on You Tube and decided to experiment be substituting one egg with water, adding salt and a bit of olive oil.  The dough was dry.  I made one noodle and boiled it as a test.  Tough.

Third try:  I cranked up the liquids and the pasta turned out very nicely.  The recipe follows.  Search this blog for the “Roasted Tomato Sauce” recipe to serve with the noodles. 

1 large egg
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 T tepid water

Start heating a deep pot of water.  Place plates into a warming drawer.

On a suitable work surface (I use the kitchen counter), place the flour in a pile and sprinkle with the salt.  Using the back of a tablespoon measure, form a deep well in the center. Pour the water, olive oil and one egg into the well.  Using an ordinary fork, break the yolk and slowly mix the egg/water/oil with the flour.  Work carefully so the liquid stays within the confines of the flour.  Eventually, as all the flour is incorporated, the dough will attain a dry consistency.  Flour your hand and begin to knead the dough into a round shape.  Knead until the dough is smooth.  Flour the surface and the dough and begin rolling it with a rolling pin.  Turn over frequently and sprinkle with flour to keep it from sticking to the work surface and rolling pin.  Roll it out until it is very thin; perhaps 1/8" thick.

Using a knife or pastry cutter, cut the dough into 1" wide strips.  Wet your left palm with a bit of water, pick up a strip and roll it between the palms of both hands. The strip should stick to itself.  Pull it apart and drop it on the counter.  Continue until all the noodles are formed.  Sprinkle with flour to keep them from sticking.

Once the water is boiling furiously, drop all the noodles into the water.  Be careful that they do not stick together.  They will fall to the bottom of the pot of water and soon rise.  They are finished cooking as soon as they rise.  Remove them to warm plates and serve with Roasted Tomato Sauce and red wine.

The egg, with the water and olive oil, in a well made in a cup of flour.

A video in which I demonstrate the technique for rolling the dough into the correct Stazzopreti shape.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Carolyn and I attempted to make Strozzapreti (a type of pasta noodle) this evening, but failed.  Strozzapreti is a noodle that is made by placing the dough around a bamboo skewer.  I simply could not do it. In the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, we decided to make tallerines, which are simply flat, wide noodles.  But the noodles turned out too tough.  Not inedible, but a bit more chewy that we wanted.  But there is a silver lining.  The tomato sauce recipe is a keeper!  It’s easy to make and it has a wonderful flavor.  It would go well with fusilli, although we will try making the Strozzapreti another time.

Update:  We made Strozzapreti (see the separate recipe post) the following evening.  Actually, we made it twice.  On the final try I increased the water and oil, and achieved good results. 

12 ounces (about 22) cherry tomatoes or 6 medium tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
1/4 cup, firmly packed, fresh basil leaves
salt & black pepper
hot pepper flakes, optional

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil and 4 minced garlic cloves. Toss well, then arrange tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut sides up.  Salt and pepper lightly. Roast until soft and collapsing, about 45 minutes; do not allow to dry or brown.

Combine remaining minced garlic, cheese, and basil in a food processor.  Process until very finely chopped.

When tomatoes are roasted, remove them from the oven, place on serving dishes and immediately sprinkle cheese-herb mixture on top and lightly mash with a spoon so cheese melts. Serve over pasta. Drizzle each serving with a tablespoon of olive oil.  

2 servings.

Before

After . . . right out of the oven.

Albondigas

Carolyn and I first enjoyed albondigas (Mexican meatballs) at a restaurant on Lincoln Avenue.  We went back again and were stunned to find that they removed them from the menu.  Big mistake.  Soon they went out of business.  This recipe is the result of gathering information from a half dozen different recipes, with the hope of recreating the albondigas we enjoyed on Lincoln Avenue.  I first prepared this recipe for a Cinco de Mayo office lunch in 2006. This batch made 39 meatballs and required three baking dishes; enough for 19 servings!  It's a lot of work, but the albondigas freeze nicely and are great to have on hand.  Of course, you can always make 1/3 or 1/2 of the recipe.

Meatballs:

3 lbs. ground beef
3 lbs. ground pork
3-4 medium onion, finely diced
3 medium zucchini, peeled and finely diced
3 tablespoon dried oregano
5 tablespoons minced garlic
3 cups plain, dried bread crumbs (I use a coarse variety)
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
6 large eggs
2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce:

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 to 8 canned chipotle chiles in adobo (7 oz can), stemmed and seeded (I used 10 the first time: too hot!  I used 5 the second time plus 1 T. of the adobo sauce; too mild.)  note: Add the adobo sauce.
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
3 cups white rice (prepared makes about 6 cups)
1-1/4 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450 deg. F. and begin preparation of rice.

In large bowl, mix the first eight ingredients until well blended.   In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the cumin, salt and black pepper.  Add to the meat and mix well. 

With wet hands, shape meat into 2-1/2 inch balls and place into a 9” x 13” baking dish, spaced apart.  Bake until lightly browned; about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove seeds from the chipotle peppers and add to a blender or processor.  Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, oregano and cumin.  Puree until smooth.  In a separate bowl, combine the puree, tomato sauce and rice.  Stir well.

When the meatballs are ready, spoon on the tomato-rice mixture, spreading it to fill the spaces between the meatballs.  Bake another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and place meatballs, without the tomato-rice mixture, on warmed plates.  Add one cup of chicken broth to a baking dish and mix well.  Serve with the meatballs.

Dice the zucchini fine

Work in process . . . ready to combine with the sauce.

Forgot to defrost the butter? @&%$!

Okay, so you are a dupa (boludo, in Spanish, in Argentina), like I was, and forgot to remove the butter from the refrigerator (or freezer) to bring it to room temperature.  If you going to mix the butter for cake, there is a simple solution that will immediately bring your butter to room temperature:  Simply grate it.  Instant gratification!

Note: if you don’t have a grater, I imagine that a vegetable peeler would work too.

Crumb Bottom Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is a perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea. I have made it with blueberries, raspberries, and no berries at all. It keeps well, lightly covered with waxed paper, for nearly a week.

2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 egg
2 tsp. of vanilla extract
1/2 sour cream (or 1/2 cup of buttermilk or milk)
1 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries (optional)

Crumb bottom:
5 tbs. of cold butter, cubed
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp. of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. of salt

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8×8 square pan or bundt pan with non stick spray (or even better, some butter!).

Use a hand mixer, starting out at low and gradually working up to medium speed. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, until light in color and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix for an additional 2 minutes. Add salt, baking powder and flour. Add the sour cream and mix an additional 3-5 minutes. Batter will be quite thick. Carefully fold in fresh blueberries (or whatever) and spoon batter into the pan. Set aside.

Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add crumb topping mixture to the cake pan and gently press everything down, slightly pushing the crumb mixture into the batter.

Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes. Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.. Invert onto a plate. Garnish with powdered sugar.

Couscous

This is a flavorful couscous.  I like the large “pearl couscous,” which seems difficult to find.  Fortunately, the Ziyad brand Maftoul couscous (see image of package below) is available at the Oakton Market in Skokie.  (Ignore the instruction on the package.)  I serve this with the Moroccan Style Chicken Tights, accompanied by lightly sautéed zucchini slices. 

جيد جدا  (which translates to “muy bien”)

1 cup couscous
Water (1-1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced (2 onions dices, if caramelized)
one (Knorr’s) vegetable bullion
¼ teaspoon (or more) of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 tablespoons butter
1 carrot, finely diced

Lightly brown couscous in 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the carrots.  Cover and cook over low heat until couscous is tender, but with a slightly firm center, turning occasionally.  Add additional water if necessary.  Add the carrots shortly before the couscous is fully cooked.   Next, remove cover, increase heat to medium and sauté over moderately high heat until slightly browned, stirring often.

Note:  This recipe works perfectly well following the instruction above, however, I urge you to first caramelize two onions as follows:  Dice the onions.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a 10 or 12-inch skillet, add the onions, add 2-3 tablespoons of water, and raise the heat to medium.  Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the onions are thoroughly limp and caramelizing.  Remove the cover and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until all liquid is evaporated and the onions are nicely caramelized.  Add these to the couscous for an even better dish.

 

Olive Oil Cake

 

8 to 10 servings. 

This coffee cake is very easy to make and lasts several days.  It’s terrific for breakfast, with some fruit. 

1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk (1% works fine too)
½ cup olive oil (mild flavor)
2 -3 teaspoons finely grated orange peel (I used 1 Mandarin orange)

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F.  Oil and flour a 9x5x3 inch metal loaf pan (i.e. bread pan).

Whisk together the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, olive oil and orange peel.  Gradually add egg mixture to dry ingredients, whisking continuously.  Whisk until well blended.  Pour into the loaf pan.

Bake cake 60 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove pan from oven and cool a rack for 20 minutes.  Use a cake knife or other tool to loosen cake edges from pan.  Invert pan to remove cake.  Place top side down on a serving dish and allow to cool completely.

Classic Potato Salad

Gluten free – serves 8

It’s takes a little bit of advance planning and work, but home made potato salad is so far superior to store-bought.  I encourage you to make this.  It keeps well for days, covered with plastic wrap.  (Potato salad accompanies ribs in the photo above).  First prepared 8-1-09 for a dinner with Catherine Severson and Chris Hurn.

8 medium red potatoes (~2.5” diameter), peeled, boiled, cooled (room temp) and diced
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (real mayo; not Miracle Whip)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 cup diced red onion
5 hard-boiled eggs, sliced and halved
Paprika

Place diced potatoes in large bowl.  Mix next 7 ingredients in another bowl, add to the potatoes, and mix.  Add celery and onions and mix well.  Stir in the eggs.  Sprinkle with paprika.

Tip:  Boil the potatoes in moderately hot water; not a violent boil, or the potatoes will crack open.  Once the potatoes are done (fork tender), pour out the hot water and replace with cold and two or three large handfuls of ice cubes.  This will cool the potatoes quickly.

Variations:  Although I have not tried any variations, yet, I have had potato salads with chopped gerkins, diced red peppers, crumbled bacon, capers, green beans (cooked), diced ham, chopped green onions, etc.  Experiment . . . that’s the joy of cooking!

Grandma’s Babka

Babka, which means grandmother in Polish, is a coffee cake that is traditionally baked for Easter.  Babka's are made in molds, typically, from yeast dough and contain raisins and/or currants.  They are topped with a sugar syrup and flavored with rum. The rum adds a bit of moisture, but Babka is a relatively dry coffee cake . . . hence the need to have coffee with it.

There is a legend that Polish King Stanislas Leszczynska (1710–1774), the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, was deposed and exiled to Lorraine, where he found the traditional kouglhopf too dry, so like any good Pole, he dipped it in rum.  Evidently he was out of vodka.  His chef refined the recipe, using brioche dough and raisins. The king, pleased with the results named it Baba, after Ali Baba, a hero in the book A Thousand and One Nights. Somewhere, along the way, the name was changed to Babka.  My guess is because "baba" is an unkind word for a woman.  Sort of like "bag," as in "the old bag."  Babka, on the other hand, references the person who in many families was likely the one who most often made the cake.  The photo above is a typical Babka, although it appears that it’s not soaked with rum.  I remember, as a kid, enjoying the inside of the Babka because it was soaked with rum.

I came across the sheet of paper below while searching for another recipe. It's my mother handwriting and contains two recipes for Babka. The other recipes appear to be cookie recipes.

1/8 kg. flour
8 egg yolks
10 dkg. sugar
4 dkg. yeast
1/4 liter milk (whole, I'm sure)
1/16 liter clarified butter
pinch of salt

These are the ingredients for the first recipe, but she did not include any instructions what to do with them!  I will have to ask and update this posting later.  Meanwhile, I think I will have some rum . . .

Moroccan-Style Chicken Tights

Serves four

Let me admit right away that this recipe is not Moroccan at all. It’s not based on a Moroccan recipe, but rather, it’s an invention rooted in how I imagine a Moroccan cook might prepare chicken. I haven’t actually ever had chicken prepared by a Moroccan, but it doesn’t really mater . . . this is one tasty chicken dish.

You probably noticed that the name of this dish refers to “tights.” I refer to the chicken thighs as “tights” as an homage to my immigrant Polish mother who, notwithstanding her quite good English, and to everyone’s amusement, always pronounced “thighs” as “tights.”  I love the mistakes that people make when trying to speak a non-native language. It leads to a great deal of hilarity, confusion and discussion; all highly desirable outcomes. Otherwise, you would simply get your question answered or point across and that would be that.  Boring, eh? Case in point: When Carolyn and I made our second trip to Buenos Aires, we came prepared having learned a few Spanish words and phrases. Among these was the phrase “mas despacio,” which means “more slowly.” We had had plenty of experience hearing fast-spoken Spanish, which we found impossible to understand and planned to say mas despacio, por favor often, to slow people down. Instead, we wandered around Buenos Aires politely insisting “mas espacio, por favor,” which means “please, more space.” Of course, this lead to all sorts of confusion. But, it did slow people down because they recognized that we really had little grasp of their language.

A technical note:

I am not a fan of chicken fat and trim as much from the chicken as possible. The first and second photos (below) show the before and after trimming. I prefer that the little pile of fat ends up in the trash rather than in our veins.

Another technical note:  Turn on the exhaust fan.  If you have a recirculating kitchen fan, open a window.  This recipe is aromatic and can generate a bit of smoke.

The final technical note:  I’m not sure what sort of wine to suggest with this meal.  Perhaps a harder liquor is in order.  Although alcohol is not permitted in Muslim households, I know they have alcohol in Casablanca, since I saw the movie at least a couple of times.

The recipe . . .

8 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
salt
garlic powder
black pepper
cinnamon
cardamom
paprika
cumin
ground red pepper (cayenne)
sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil

What?  No quantities?  No, just sprinkle the chicken evenly with spices. Be generous. The quantity of each spice is about the same, except be sparing with the cayenne pepper. Arrange the chicken, spiced side facing the pan. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet to medium heat and sprinkle more spices over the bare side chicken. Sauté until the chicken is browned (nearly blackened in appearance; five or six minutes), reduce heat to medium and turn chicken. Cook another five or six minutes.

Serve with couscous and a side of steamed and lightly buttered carrots OR slices of zucchini. This is how I imagine I would make chicken tights if I was Moroccan.

Leftovers: This dish is ideal for leftovers. Simply place into a skillet with the couscous, add a couple tablespoons of water, cover and heat on low heat until warm. Remove cover, turn up the heat to medium and cook until the liquid has evaporated.

Couscous

I like to use the large “pearl” couscous. Lightly brown couscous in 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add one diced onion and water (or chicken broth)(quantity per instructions on package), one (Knorr’s) vegetable bullion, ¼ teaspoon (or more) of garlic powder, salt, 1-1/2 tablespoons butter, and one finely diced carrot. Cover and cook over low heat until couscous is tender. Remove cover, increase heat to medium and sauté over moderately high heat until slightly browned, stirring often.

Zucchini

Slice ¼” thick on an angle. Push aside chicken once it is near the end of the cooking time and arrange zucchini slices in skillet. Cook for 4 minutes per side.

Chicken, ready to be cleaned of fat

Chicken, cleaned of fat.  Note the 2 tablespoons of fat removed (circled)

Black Bean, Corn & Tomato Salsa

Carolyn made this for her birthday party, 7-12-05. It was a hit.

2 cans black beans
1-1/2 cups chopped seeded tomato
¾ pkg. frozen corn
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus springs for garnish
1 red onion, diced
1 lemon (juice)
1 lime (juice)
½ cup olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoon salt

Drain the beans and tomatoes and in a bowl combine them with the corn, red onion, and the minced coriander.

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, the lemon juice, and the salt, pour the dressing over the and stirring to mix. The salad may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Serve the salad, garnished with the cilantro sprigs, at room temperature or chilled slightly.  Keeps for several days.

White Trash Nachos

We first discovered White Trash Nachos at the Silver Cloud Bar & Grill (1700 N. Damen Avenue), in Bucktown.  The recipe is very simple and devilishly tasty.  I first prepared this for Carolyn’s 7-12-09 birthday party using our End of Millennium Chili recipe.

2 bags Fritos
1/2 lb. shredded “Mexican cheese” (50/50 Colby and Monterey Jack)
Chili (about 4 or 5 cups)

Place contents of 1-1/2 bags of Fritos into a 9 x 12 baking dish.  Top with chili, spreading evenly with a spoon.  Cover with cheese.  Place under a broiler, just long enough to melt the cheese.  Serve.

Below, the Redneck Fire Alarm

BBQ Ribs

I first made these ribs for a July 4, 2003 lunch for Carolyn, Natalie and Julia.  This year I served them for Carolyn’s birthday party, accompanied by White Trash Nachos, and Black Bean, Corn & Tomato Salsa.  As you can see in the photo, I like to cut the ribs up and serve them on a platter.

2 to 6 slabs of baby back pork ribs
Can of spray olive oil

Rib Rub

2 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoons ground chipotle chili pepper

Basting Sauce

1-¾ cups apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Tabasco
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup (warmed, or it won’t mix)
2 tablespoons ketchup

Remove ribs from refrigerator and allow them to reach room temperature.

Spray ribs with oil and generously sprinkle with the dry rub.  Turn and repeat.  The point is to get as much of the rub mixture to stick as possible.  With the concave side facing down, spray the ribs with olive oil and apply another coating of rub.  And repeat a third time.

• Set the grill to high for 10 minutes
• Carefully place the ribs on the grill, concave side facing up. Reduce heat to lowest setting (on my DuKane grill this means turning the right burner off and setting the left burner to "low") and close cover. Cook 45 minutes.
• Open cover and baste. Carefully turn the ribs, baste this side, cover and cook another 30 minutes.
• Baste again. Cover, but this time keep the cover slightly open to vent some of the heat (about an inch or two). Cook another 30 minutes and baste.
• Again cover, leaving the lid slightly open and cook 20 minutes.

Remove from grill, cut into individual pieces and serve.  Wet sauce is optional.

Coddled Eggs

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, but we're taking the mom in this house out for brunch.  Since there will be no elaborate breakfast served and as a consolation prize, I made Coddled Eggs for Carolyn this morning (eve of MD).  I had never made coddled eggs before, so this was somewhat of an experiment (that turned out beautifully).  The egg yolks were wonderfully runny and the whites soft but cooked through.  I served the eggs with hashbrown potatoes and naan (Indian flat bread) with butter and jam.

Before I get to the recipe, let' ask ourselves the question I did, before making breakfast:  "What are coddled eggs?"  In short, these are eggs that are very gently cooked, in water that is just below the boiling point.  See Wikipedia's description HERE. 

In my version, I used two small ramekin dishes in a covered pan.  I coated one with vegetable oil, but not the other.  The result of that experiment was that the eggs were identical.  You will find, after turning out the eggs, that bits of egg remains stubbornly attached to the sides and bottom of the ramekins.  Don't despair.  Simply use a soapy abrasive cleaning pad (i.e. one of those green pads) and the egg matter will come off easily.

There are other options beside ramekins:  Special coddling dishes (see photo below), although I just view this as just more stuff you don't know cluttering up your kitchen. 

4 eggs
vegetable or olive oil (optional)

Place ramekins in a pot and add water to 1/2" below the rim of the ramekin.  This is done just to correctly guage the amount of water to use in the pan. Remove ramekins.

Crack two eggs into each ramekin. (You can add salt and pepper at this point, or even herbs or spices, but I did not.)  Heat the water to boiling and reduce heat somewhat.  Add the ramekins with eggs and cover.  Cook for 6 (to 10) minutes.

Carefully remove the ramekins (careful! They will be hot) and turn out on pre-warmed plates.  Served with toast and whatever accompaniment you desire. 

Side note:  The 100 pleats on a French master chef's toque (hat) represent the 100 different ways that he knows to prepare eggs.  I have a long way to go.

Eggs ready to be placed in barely boiling water.

Special coddling dishes, if you have money to burn and space in your cabinet.

Carolyn liked it!

Chicken Tetrazzini

Click on images to view larger version.

This recipe makes use of lots of butter.  Not for the faint of heart.  On the flip side, it makes 12-servings.  You can always opt cut everything by half, but it takes just as long to prepare this meal.  The dish is almost creamy in texture and deliciously rich and flavorful.  Of course it is . . . it has more than a stick of butter in it! 

1 lb. cooked thin spaghetti
4 cups rotisserie chicken (i.e. one chicken), pulled off the bone and cut into bite sized pieces
1 lb. fresh mushroom, cleaned and sliced (an extra half lb. won't hurt)
9 or 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. black pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground if possible)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon parsley (dried or fresh, finely chopped)
1 tablespoon thyme, dried
4 cups    whole milk
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Butter a large (9" x 12") casserole dish.

In a 12” skillet, over medium heat, saute sliced mushrooms lightly in 1 or 2 tablespoons butter.  Mushrooms should be slightly limp.  Remove mushrooms from skillet, including any liquid.

Melt remaining butter in pan and stir in the flour.  Cook on a medium flame, stirring constantly.  Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Cook until bubbly.  Stir in the milk and continue cooking until the liquid thickens (stirring constantly).  Bring to a boil for one minute (turn up heat if necessary), stirring constantly.  Stir in the wine, chicken, and mushrooms and mix well.  Pour into casserole dish and cover with the cheese.  Bake in a 400ºF oven for 25 minutes and conclude by broiling so the top browns slightly.

Serve with garlic bread and a side dish of vegetables.  Or just eat it straight out of the casserole. 

Note:  Instead of garlic and onion powder, an option is to use 1 large onion, finely diced (or grated) and 5 cloves of garlic, minced.  Add at the end, with the mushrooms.

 

Slice mushrooms medium thickness.

Cook in 1 or 2 tablespoons butter until limp

Butter mixed with flour in skillet.  Stir continuously until bubbly.

12 servings.  Good for a crowd or lots of leftovers.  Reheat in microwave.  About 1.5 minutes for a serving or two.  Even better, melt a bit of butter and reheat in a skillet, covered.  At the end, crank up the heat to caramelize the bottom. 

Ensalda con Lima

Read the back story HERE.

serves four

1/2 cup vegetable oil
juice from 4 limes
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
soft lettuce greens (i.e. Boston lettuce); enough for 4 servings
handful of medium size white mushrooms (i.e. about 12), cleaned and sliced paper thin

I remove the stems before slicing the mushrooms. Mix ingredients and shake well to thoroughly mix ingredients. Toss with the greens and mushrooms.

Blackened Tilapia

This recipe is not too spicy, but very flavorful.  It's pleases everyone, every time and is simple to prepare.  Paired with small, boiled red potatoes (or fingerlings) and a green vegetable (green beans, broccoli, asparagus), it's elegant and quick.  We usually use Tilapia for this dish, but it was intended for Swordfish by chef Jacques Pepin.  Grouper would be another good alternative.  (Photo above, taken 3-7-09, shows tilapia with Potato & Bacon Gratin and green beans, which we served to guest We serve this dish to Curt and Jennifer Finfrock).

serves four

4 fillets of Swordfish (3/4-1" thick) or Tilapia (6-8 oz. each)
1tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 tablespoons Canola oil

Trim away and discard the skin (if using Swordfish).  Mix the herbs and spices and spread on a plate or piece of waxed paper. Press fillets into the herb and spice mix, coating the fillets completely; bottom, top and edges, using 1/2 of the mix.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet until hot.  Add the fish, seasoned side facing the oil.  Sprinkle with the remaining herb and spice mix.  Sauté for three minutes, turn and sauté three to four minutes.  Serve immediately on warm plates.

Mustard, Herb and Garlic Encrusted Beef Tenderloin

Carolyn and I first prepared this dish for New Years Eve dinner (2001) accompanied by onion mashed potatoes, green beans, and caramelized shallots. It's a simple yet elegant entrée. The fresh herbs, I think, are essential. I doubt that the same flavor would emerge from dried herbs. -JB 1-7-2001.

I can't believe it's been eight years, but I prepared this for our dinner with Paul and Tom this past weekend at Killasonna Lodge. -JB 3-5-09


3 tablespoons olive oil
salt
black pepper
4 1/2 lb. beef tenderloins (fillet mignon), preferably cut from the thick end (ask butcher for "choice" rather than "select"; Black Angus if available)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
2-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Mix the garlic, thyme, rosemary and mustard in a small bowl.

Season all sides of the meat with salt and pepper. Place 2-3 tablespoons of oil in an oven-proof skillet (cast iron is best) and brown the meat for five minutes. Generously coat the top of each filet with the mustard and herb mixture. Place in oven and roast for 30-40 minutes (or until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125º F for medium-rare).

Potato & Bacon Gratin

A gratin, which originated in France, is a dish in which the ingredients are allowed to form a crust. Either the ingredients form the crust or the ingredients are topped with something that will make a crust. Gratins typically are topped with a mix of butter and breadcrumbs or with cheese. The most basic and well known of gratins are scalloped potatoes. This recipe is an off-shoot of the basic recipe. It's virtually fool-proof and amazingly delicious. We paired this with Mustard, Herb and Garlic Encrusted Beef Tenderloin. All I can say is WOW.

Some recipes call for soaking and draining the sliced potatoes, twice, to remove excess starch. I don’t do that, so I can’t comment on whether it’s worth the extra work.


Serves 6

8 slices smoked bacon, rind removed, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
20 or more whole sage leaves
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 lbs. potatoes, scrubbed (Yukon Gold or Charlotte are preferred, but not essential)
10 oz. double cream or crème fraiche (I use a mix of 5 oz. 1/2+1/2 or heavy cream and 5 oz. milk)
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup smoked mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Fry the bacon in the oil for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Remove from heat as you add the sage and garlic. Cook one or two minutes and remove from heat. Set skillet aside.

Arrange enough sliced potatoes (not peeled) to cover a large cutting board (or cookie sheet or whatever) and season evenly with salt and pepper. Place potatoes into a large bowl. Repeat until all the potatoes are seasoned and in the bowl. Add contents of the skillet. Add the cream to the bowl. Mix and place into a shallow baking dish or casserole (~ 9” x 13”). Cover with aluminum foil and place in the bottom third of the oven for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and cook an additional 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and cook an additional 5 minutes. Feel free to broil it for two minutes to give it a nice crust.

Coffee Cake with seasonal fruit

 

Any seasonal fruit can be used in this simple coffee cake.  Blackberries were used in the cake in the photo above.  My favorite version is with peaches and blueberries.  Although I haven't tried it, I think this cake would be perfectly good without any fruit at all, but the fruit adds a bit of moisture to an otherwise dry cake.

The dough is incredibly sticky.  Use a bowl with curved sides, if possible, and a spatula to get all the dough transferred into the springform pan.  Slightly press the fruit into the dough.  The cake will rise around it as it bakes. 

note:  when I set the oven to "convection bake," it slightly overbaked the bake.  Use the regular bake setting.

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
zest from one fresh lemon
1-1/4 cup self rising flour
2 peaches & handful of blueberries (or other fruit)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat ½ cup of butter in a large bowl until fluffy.  Add ¾ cup sugar and beat until blended.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then the lemon juice and the lemon peel.  Beat in flour until smooth.  Spread batter evenly in buttered pan.

Arrange peaches in circles and lightly press in blueberries between the peaches.  Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of sugar over the cake and bake until cake is golden, about 40 minutes.

Optional:  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

note: photo at top taken 1-23-10 during a visit by Diane, Troy, Rachel and Kevin.  This cake was made with peaches and blueberries.

 

John & Carolyn's End of the Millennium Chili

There is a story that a friend of mine, Terry Jackson, told me about his entry into Pepper Construction Company's annual chili contest. Terry takes cooking seriously and he took the chili contest very seriously. He prepared for a week in advance. He bought pork shoulder, seasoned it lovingly and cooked it in a low oven for 8 or 10 hours. He bought a beef sirloin, salted it nicely and cooked it for 8 hours. And then he spent a couple of hours finely dicing the meat by hand before adding it to a pot with ground beef. His recipe listed an entire page of spices and seasoning. He literally spent days preparing the winning entry. On the contest day, Terry shmoozed with the judges and basked in a winner's confidence. A woman who decided, the night beforehand, to enter the contest, using ordinary hamburger, tomato sauce from a can and a package of chili seasoning won. Terry renamed his recipe "Loser's Chili." I still have it, but I can;t imagine undertaking to make it. Carolyn and I concocted the following relatively simple recipe in and make it at least a couple of times each winter. We made it a couple of night ago, but didn't have any smoked chipotle sauce, so I added another tablespoon of chili powder.

Serves 8 to 10

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions, diced
All the cloves of a bulb of garlic, crushed
1-1/2 pounds ground round
1-1/2 pounds ground chuck
4 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoon smoked chipotle sauce
OR 1 tablespoon ground chipotle chili pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
(or any canned tomatoes plus a small can of tomato sauce)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 can (14 oz.) black beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 tablespoon salt

Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat and add onions. Sauté onions over fairly high heat, stirring often, until they are translucent and starting to caramelize; about 10 minutes.

Add the ground beef and sauté until brown, breaking up meat with back of spoon; about 5 minutes.

Add all the spices and mix well. Mix in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, and beans (drained). Stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, 45 minutes. Thin with beer or chicken broth, if needed (unlikely).

Serve with cheddar goldfish crackers.

(Re-heat over low heat before serving, to prevent burning.)

Corn and Wild Rice Soup With Smoked Sausage

“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living.  For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.”    ~Louis P. De Gouy, The Soup Book (1949)

 
This is a hearty winter soup that is very simple to prepare, and even more simple to eat.  It's truly a Midwestern dish because it's made with wild rice.  Northern wild rice, called manoomin by the Ojibwa (which means "good berry"), grows wild in the shallow water of small lakes and streams.  Native Americans harvested the rice by pulling their canoes into stands of wild rice grass and bending the stalks into the boats to knock off the grain.  Wild rice is packed with protein and fiber.   It smells awful when it's cooking, but don't let that discourage you. The final product smells good and is tasty.  Add cream or half & half to create a potage, but I prefer to keep it thin.   Approximately 12 servings

64 oz. chicken broth
8 ox. Northern wild rice
1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fully cooked smoked sausage (such as low-fat turkey kielbasa), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 medium-large carrots, peeled, diced
2 medium onions, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Optional (if not concerned about calories or arteries):

1/4 cup cream or half and half, at the end, and whisk vigorously.
OR
a dollop of sour cream

Bring 4 cups broth to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add wild rice, cover and reduce to a low heat. Simmer until all liquid evaporates and rice is almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 60 minutes.

Sauté onion and carrots for 7-8 minutes in the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook another 5 minutes. Add remaining chicken broth, cooked rice, corn, salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and cook until wild rice is very tender and flavors blend, about 15-20 minutes longer. Add half and half, if desired.

Sea Bass

This is a simple but elegant dish with wonderful flavor. Unfortunately, Chilean Sea Bass is terribly over-fished and the population in the South Pacific is threatened with extinction. The Chilean Sea Bass is not technically a bass at all and was tagged with this name to overcome the fact that it's actually a rather prehistoric looking fish called "Toothfish." Alternative choices are black cod, grouper or hake.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (6-oz) fillets Chilean sea bass, black sea bass or striped bass, skin removed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon tri-color pepper, freshly ground
2 Meyer lemons, sliced thin slices
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
20 cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons drained bottled capers

Pat fish dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Place olive oil and sliced garlic into a 12" skillet. Heat over a medium heat until aromatic. Cook another 5 minutes, careful not to burn the garlic. Remove and discard garlic, but retain the oil.

Cut the tomatoes in halves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Immediately arrange the lemon slices in the skillet, covering the entire bottom, and place tomatoes and capers around the edge of the skillet (see photo). Quickly place the fish over the lemon slices and sprinkle with thyme. Cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid and cook the fish on a fairly high heat for 6 -8 minutes.

Spoon the tomatoes, caper and lemons, with the pan juices, over the fish. Serve the fish on a warm plate with a green vegetable (green beans, asparagus, broccoli, etc.) and small red or heirloom potatoes.