Recently in Cooking Category

I recently had a party for a bunch of friends, and while I like pasta salads they have in the past gone largely untouched. This makes me sad, so I decided to throw together a different kind of pasta salad, thinking that possibly that was the problem. (Not everyone likes the typical mayonnaise-coated pasta salads, though I admit to being similarly picky.)

i decided on something vaguely mediterranean themed, but without the olives (because I can't stand them). The ingredient list I came up with was:

• Orzo
• Olive Oil (Good quality extra virgin)
• Garlic, minced
• Basil, chiffonade
• Salt and Pepper, ground
• Artichoke hearts, sliced
• Feta, sliced (a good feta, please)
• Prosciutto, sliced into thin strips
• Lightly Roasted Pine Nuts
• Optional: Olives, also sliced.

Chop the garllic and basil and dump into a bunch of olive oil and let sit as you cook the orzo per the directions. You can work on prepping the artichokes, the feta, the prosciutto, and shudder the olives while the orzo is cooking. (Honestly, I also did the olive oil, garlic, and basil while the pasta was cooking as well.) Pour the hopefully seasoned olive oil, with all the seasonings over the orzo and stir. Use a big bowl with lots of room, think of it as similar to making sushi rice where you want to get it nice and fluffy. Add more olive oil and basil chiffonade as appears reasonable. Dump in the artichoke hearts and stir through. Salt and pepper some, remember that there the feta and prosciutto are going to add to the flavors. Once the orzo has cooled sufficiently (this may be aided with a refrigerator) add the feta and the prosciutto, again stir through. Do a final taste and season with salt and pepper, and if anything else in the spice rack looks like it should be added feel free to improve(-ize). Chill for a couple hours and serve.

Collect the following ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter (mmmm)
1 tsp mustard
salt and pepper
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 cups elbow macaroni
3 cups water
2 cups of cheddar, grated

In a large saute of frying pan, melt the butter. Add onion and green pepper and saute for until soft. Add salt, pepper, mustard, salt, and pepper, then stir to combine. Add macaroni and fry in butter for 3 to 5 minutes making sure to stir and coat with butter. Pour in 2 cups of water, cover, let boil. Stir occasionally until the water is almost gone and then sample. Use additional water to keep boiling/steaming macaroni as needed until the pasta is cooked. Remove from heat and add cheese, stir through and serve.

Optional: Add 1 to 2 cups of cubed cooked ham to macaroni a few minutes before removing from the heat.

Takes approx. 15 to 20 minutes and serves up to 6 depending on portion sizes :)

12-16 oz elbow pasta
4 Tbs flour
4 Tbs butter
2 cups milk
16 oz cheese (2:1 Monterrey Jack:Cheddar but use whatever you like) grated

Preheat oven to 400^F
In large pot of boiling water cook pasta until super al-dente, drain set aside pasta

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. When the bubbles start to subside, whisk in the flour and cook until golden brown and there is a distinct nutty aroma. Whisk in milk and cook until thickened. (This is a good time to add additional seasonings such as white pepper, Tobasco sauce, cayenne pepper, dijon mustard etc etc etc). Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and slowly mix in the grated cheese, reserving some for topping the final dish. Mis together the sauce and the pasta and pour into an oven-safe casserole. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake until the top is brown and crisp. Remove from oven and allow to set for 5-10 minutes and serve.

[Alas no pictures, I really should fix that]

Words to the wise from The Ethicurean:

Ideally, the flour is whisked into the liquid and thickens it, but does not clump. If you see clumps of flour, you have too much flour. A little butter will thin the mixture, but don't overdo it, or you will enter a vicious cycle of butter- and flour-adjustment. I once ended up with three gallons of turkey gravy through just such a mistake, having started with a mere quart of liquid.

Ah, fall. When a young woman's fancy lightly turns to... soup. Lots of hot, hearty soup. And sex, of course, but that doesn't really require saying. The days are getting chillier, and the winter squashes and root veggies are starting to come into season, which make excellent soups.

Butternut Bisque

This hearty squash soup is savory, not sweet, but with a hint of spice.

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash
1 apple
14 oz can of chicken broth
2 oz white wine
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp chives, fresh chopped

Directions
1. Halve, peel and clean squash.
2. Slice and core apple.
3. Place squash in ziploc almost completely closed.
4. cook squash in microwave for 7-10 minutes, or until completely soft.
5. cook apple ziploc in microwave for 1 minute or so.
6. Place squash, apple, and enough broth to moisten in blender, and blend until smooth.
7. Pour blended mixture into a medium sauce pan, and add rest of broth, wine, ginger, cinnamon, and red pepper.
8. Bring to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes or so.
9. Ladle into bowls, and garnish with chives.

Duck-Leek Soup

I love leeks.  And garlic.  And shallots. Really, I love the whole allium family.  This is a nice low calorie soup, but the duck fat makes it taste very rich and satisfying.
Ingredients
18 oz chicken broth
1 leek
1/2 tbsp butter
1/4 chicken or duck, smoked, diced
1 tbsp white flour
Directions

1. Wash leek thoroughly
2. Thinly slice entire leek, bulb and leaves.
3. Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
4. Toss leek in butter, and cook until limp and slightly transparent.
5. Add flour to pan and toss thoroughly to coat leek.
6. Add broth slowly, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
7. Add duck and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
8. Serve with a nice german rye bread, or other hearty bread.

Cassoulet

Ingredients
28 oz baked beans
1 lb lamb
4 oz turkey kielbasa
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/8 cup garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
2 tbsp rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 tsp herbes de provence or fines herbes
Directions
1. Lightly brown lamb and kielbasa in a large skillet, spraying with cooking spray to keep it from sticking.

2. Add onion, celery, rosemary, herbes d' provence, and half of the garlic. Stir over medium heat until celery and onions are softened.

3. Transfer meat and veggies to large saucepan, and add all remaining ingredients.

4. Simmer over low heat until flavors are well blended or you're dying of hunger. 15 minutes is the bare minimum, but an hour will blend the flavors better.

5. Serve hot, with crusty bread for dipping.

I made another stew last night, fastest stew I've made, and quite possibly the best as well.

I figure now that i've talked it up that much, you'll want a full disclosure of what exactly I did to make it taste so great.

First, I got a new kitchen tool, and I can't believe that I haven't gotten one of these before. A pressure cooker. The direct application of PV=nRT on food. Such gloriousness shouldn't have been missing from my kitchen before. Just remember, read the instructions for your pressure cooker, make sure it's behaving or it can become a very dangerous bomb on your stovetop. This recipe may fill your pressure cooker more than you are comfortable with, reduce ingredients in proportion as appropriate.

In a measuring cup, combine the liquids and first guess at appropriate spicing, including bay leaves.

Start by mincing about 3 cloves of garlic and mincing the 1/2 onion, and making sure the meat is cubed and as defatted as you want it. (The pressure cooker said no fatty meat.) Heat the pressure cooker (open, of course) and put a little olive oil in, toss in the garlic and onion and sautee for a couple minutes. Throw in the meat and brown it some, pour in the liquid and one of the bags of tomatos, turn up the heat and seal the pressure cooker. Once it's at pressure, cook for 20 minutes.

While this is cooking, rinse the fingerling potatos and cut any that are bigger than about an inch square if you desire. When the 20 minutes are up, depressure the cooker, taste the broth and reseason as needed, add the potatos and repressurize the cooker, then cook for 4 minutes. Depressurize and add the carrots and final set of tomatos, pressurize again and cook for 2 minutes. Depressurize, stir, taste, final season and serve.

Hopefully, you've been smart and have a batch of noodles cooking to keep this stew company.

Warning: This will probably server 10 - 12 people easily.

Ingredient List:

1.5 lbs cubed lamb
2.5 lbs cubed beef
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
Salt, Pepper, Thyme, Basil to taste
2 bags cherry tomatos
2 bag fingerling potatos
small bag baby carrots
1/4 cup Worchestire sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of a tasty red wine (that's been left on the counter for the last week or so, corked)
1/2 cup of beef broth

I like to cook, and I cook frequently, but there are some things it occurs to me that I've never cooked though I really enjoy eating them. For example: Roast Beef

So this week I made my first (that I can recall) Roast Beef. It was pretty good, stabbed it and stuffed 5 garlic cloves into the holes made in a 3 lb roast, rolled it in a grind of rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cooked it with a digital thermometer in it until it got to 140 at the core... then let it rest for a bit as the core kept coming up in temp.

When I cut through the nice crunchy crust through the nice pink insides I knew I'd cooked it just about perfect.

And as cold leftovers, I think it might have actually gotten better.

Apple Peanut Butter Caramel Bars that I found on Post Punk Kitchen. Don't they just look yummy? Now the recipe is vegan, but since I can't stand soy milk, I suspect that this will quickly become non-vegan friendly in my house.

I read a lot of food blogs. The perils of currently being unemployed. Several folks have asked me for the list of what I read, so I've collected them into an OPML file for easy importing into the RSS aggregator of your choice. Post your favorites (especially if they are ones I don't already have) in comments.

[Update: I've also made it available as an html file, complete with descriptions and links.]

My local grocery store often carries a pre-packed sampler of gourmet mushrooms. I've eyed them wistfully before, but always postponed buying them. However, when my organic veggie delivery service (Planet Organics, if you're curious) sent me fresh thyme the same week my local grocery store started carrying truffle oil, I knew it was fate.

If all you've ever had is Campbells, you may not be aware of how good real mushroom soup can taste. A real mushroom soup starts with cream, and fresh herbs, and chicken stock, and winds up being a rich, savory concoction with about as much relation to Campbells as a duck billed platypus has to a duck. It's delicious when made with the little bland white button mushrooms that everyone carries. It's decadent when made with truffle oil, oyster, pioppini and nameko mushrooms, and fresh thyme.

Cream of Mushroom soup
5 cups sliced mushrooms. The more flavorful, the better.
2 Tbsp butter
Splash white wine or sherry
1 tsp fresh thyme, or equivalent amount of dried thyme.
a few drops of truffle oil (optional)
1 14 oz can chicken stock.
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup heavy cream, light cream, half and half, or milk.

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add sliced mushrooms, thyme and splash of wine (and truffle oil if desired), and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms begin to release moisture, about 3-5 minutes. Remove mushrooms from heat and place in blender with chicken stock. Blend thoroughly.

In the same saucepan, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat, and mix thoroughly with flour. Add cream or milk all at once, and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly.
Add mushroom mixture to soup and heat through.

Serves 4 as a side dish, or 2 as a lunch. Garnish with chopped hazelnuts or fresh thyme.