At home . . . cooking

Yesterday, made ricotta.  Yes - ricotta.  Even though I cheated and used 2% milk instead of whole, it is still so creamy and smooth.  Am hoping to make the companion recipe: Lemon-Ricotta Souffles.  Here's the link:  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/creamy-ricotta

Lovely, chilly morning. Just browned up some Boulder sausage, tossed in the leftover fingerling potatoes after roughly chopping them. Added eggs well whisked with the leftover whipping cream. Added chopped parsley and some finely grated sharp Vermont cheddar.  Breakfast casserole with a quiche consistency. See you all in about 20 minutes! Now all I need are some croissants or a baguette!  By the way, it had such a nice flavor from the parsley being layered just under the top layer of cheese.

Ok, just conquered the artichokes that have been glaring at me all week. Glaring - just because they wanted their turn! Now have artichokes simmering with leftover BBQ chicken, pearl onions, bay leaf, garlic, red wine vinegar and a bit of olive oil. Will season with fresh basil when done. It smells so good! Just requires a side salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Yum!  Note to self:  use smaller ones next time.  The inner leaves were still a little tough, so will trim and toss them.  The rest - so very good.

Paris Eats . . . coming soon

Just back from Paris and have lots of pix to share of the food we had while there.  Once I am well over jet-lag, I'll post an update - soon!

Cooking Class with Terry: Pomegranate Chicken with Walnuts

We were looking for a simple, easy chicken dish.  This fits the bill and it's straight from the Rachael Ray website.  The only change we made was to add a bit of cold water and corn starch slurry to the sauce at the end to thicken it a bit.  The flavor was very good, but could be made a bit more tart with a splash of lemon juice at the end.

Pomegranate Chicken with Walnuts

INGREDIENTS:

1. 2 cups rice
2. 5 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 pound), cut into quarters
3. Salt and pepper
4. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
5. 1 large onion, halved and sliced
6. 1 clove garlic, smashed
7. 3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
8. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
9. 1 1/2 cups cranberry-pomegranate juice
10. 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the rice and 2 1/4 cups water to a simmer. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the water has evaporated and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until browned, about 7 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the onion, garlic and walnuts to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon, scraping up any browned bits. Return the chicken and any juices to the pan, add the cranberry-pomegranate juice and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes; transfer the chicken to a serving platter. 
3. Cook the sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 3 minutes; stir in the parsley and pour over the chicken. Serve on top of the rice.

Cooking Class with Caleb: Grilled Pork & Tomato, Basil & Cheese Baked Pasta

Another after-school marathon to get dinner out the door.  But, the nice thing about grilled pork is that once it is seasoned and on the grill, it's one hour with little attention.    The pasta turned out well.  Used pesto from King Soopers (my frozen was all gone a victim of the kitchen remodel) - California Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto 8.5 oz for $3.99 (on sale) in the produce section.  The flavor was great!  Instead of tearing the basil, we made cigar rolls by stacking the leaves, rolling them up and then cutting them into shreds.  It's so much easier.  Make this dish in a metal pan so that you can broil it at the end to melt the cheeses.  Don't forget, you can always buy ricotta ahead and freeze it.  Defrost in fridge overnite.

The recipes:  Grilled Pork - coat the tenderloin in olive oil. Sprinkle with BBQ seasoning.  We used Grill Mates Barbecue.  Grill Mates 25% less sodium Montreal Steak is also good.  Place on preheated grill.  Cook at medium-high for about an hour.  Turn meat over with meat fork every 10-15 minutes.  Watch when grilling the fat-side down - flames can flare.  Grill to 130 degrees.  Remove from grill and tent with foil.  Let rest 15-20 minutes.  This allows it to finish cooking - the temp will rise and keeps the juices in the meat.

Next make the pasta:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/tomato-basil-and-cheese-baked-pasta-recipe/index.html

It will be done in time for you to carve the pork.  Dinner on the table in about an hour and fifteen minutes!

Sunday Scones

So it was time to get back into the kitchen and cook!  So on Sunday I made Emeril's Rosemary Buttermilk scones and the very complimentary Orange Curd.  I had bought a rosemary plant for the dual purpose of planting and using it to bake.  The Orange Curd used some leftover oranges that were very ready to be juiced.

For the scones, I did sift the ingredients together . . . the black pepper is a definite yes.  It gives a subtle kick.  Be sure to use all of the Rosemary. For working the butter, I didn't hesitate.  I put the ingredients into the food processor then dumped them into a bowl to add the buttermilk.  Don't forget to shake up the buttermilk before measuring it!  

For the curd, start it before you start the scones so the juice has time to reduce.  The timing worked out perfectly!  At the end, I didn't bother to strain the curd.  I left it 'rustic'.  Oh and the flavor is amazing.

Rosemary Buttermilk Scones

Serve With Orange Curd  From the Kitchen of Emeril Lagasse    Servings: 12

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1½ sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl sift together the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, the baking soda, the salt and the black pepper. Add the zest and the rosemary to the sifted mixture and combine with a fork. 

Add the butter and work it into the flour with your fingers, a pastry blender or a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  A few large flat pieces of butter coated with flour in the mixture are okay, it contributes to flakiness. 

Add 1 cup of the buttermilk and stir with a fork until the ingredients are just moistened. Gather the dough together and press gently into a rough ball.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat together (with lightly floured hands, if necessary). The dough may still be a crumbly mass. Knead the dough gently 6 to 7 times then shape it into a rectangle about 7-by-4 inches with your hands. 

With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10 1/2-by-7 inch rectangle, 3/4-inch thickness. With a knife, divide the dough into three sections by cutting it at roughly 3 1/4-inch intervals along the length. Cut each rectangle in half.  You will have 6 squares. Cut each square into a triangle. Set each of the scones on the prepared baking sheet and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Bake in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes until golden brown and puffed. Serve warm. 

Yield: 12 scones 

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, from Emeril's Farm to Fork,
HarperStudio Publishers, New York, 2010, copyright MSLO, Inc. 

  

Orange Curd

Perfect With Rosemary Buttermilk Scones

From the Kitchen of Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
6 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces 

Directions

Set a small heatproof liquid measuring cup next to the stove.
Reduce the orange juice in a small saucepan set over medium-high
heat to 1/2 cup. Use the measuring cup intermittently to check
your volume. Set aside to cool slightly. 

Fill a small pot one-third of the way with water and bring to a
boil. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, sugar and orange
zest. Slowly add the reduced orange juice while whisking
continuously until completely incorporated. Set the bowl over
the pot of simmering water. Reduce the heat to medium low.
Whisk constantly for 6 to 7 minutes, or until curd thickens and
holds its shape when stirred. Remove the curd from the heat and
stir in the butter. 

Strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a metal bowl set
over a bowl of ice water. Stir the curd occasionally until cool,
about five minutes. Transfer the curd to a small container,
cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled. Use
within one week. 

Yield: 2 cups 

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, from Emeril's Farm to Fork,
HarperStudio Publishers, New York, 2010, copyright MSLO, Inc. 

Cooking Class with Caleb: Beef Stroganoff

For this cooking class, we were making a main dish to serve 10.  We chose to make Beef Stroganoff.  The recipe:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/beef-stroganoff-recipe/index.html

The specified four servings per recipe are extremely generous, but we doubled the recipe, using 3 pounds of beef and adding a bit more broth to stretch the recipes.  Another change we made was to add a splash of sherry to each finished sauce to round out the flavor.  We did use pre-sliced mushrooms for expediency since this was an after-school class.  In our final seasoning we used both Murray River Flake Salt (a pink salt) and a bit of smoked sea salt (a black salt).

Caleb did an awesome job learning to cut an onion, using the boning knife to trim fat off the beef and kept pace with me as we each cooked one recipe of the stroganoff.  He also did a great job of clean-up, being careful to return the kitchen to it's clean state.  His dinner received rave reviews from his family as they gobbled it up!

Impromptu dinner last nite

Looking into the freezer, I found some cooked shrimp.  I put a pot of water on to boil and cooked some fettuccine florentine - half are spinach noodles.  In a skillet, I put one lonely frozen pre-cooked piece of bacon that I had chopped up with scissors.  Next I added a bit of butter then flour to make a roux.  Since I hadn't added any salt, I added some Murray River Flake salt (my current fave) and a bit of California Citrus Rub (both from Savory Spice Shop).  Then I added about a cup of milk, making a nice white sauce.  After tasting it (it had a nice bite from the citrus rub), I added the thawed shrimp and a generous sprinkling of parsley and some frozen, shredded parmesan.  I put the lid on it to meld flavors until the pasta was done.  A nice tidy dinner with leftovers for tonite.