It has been a little while since I've had the chance to post so this might seem a little out of date but, well, too bad.
I, myself, am not a mother but I do have 2 mothers in my immediate family. My own mother, of course, and my sister, who is the amazing mother who made me an aunt and I love being an aunt.
My sister lives in South Africa and my mother lives across the country from me so in lieu of seeing them on Mother's Day, I decided to honor them in the food I prepared:
When we were growing up, my mother made this amazing peanut chicken dish that we really liked - until we found out it had anchovies in it. My sister and I refused to eat it even though there was no way we could actually taste the anchovies in it. Ultimately, rather than fight us on it, my mother began preparing it without the anchovies. I remember not really trusting her on this at first. For all I knew she was still putting anchovies in there so I watched her prepare it one time just to make sure no little weird fish went into it.
I'm not even sure why it was such a big deal. I liked fish and one of my favorite snacks as a 3 year-old was smoked oysters so I have no idea why the thought of anchovies in that dish made me so adamant about not eating.
Anyway, I haven't had it since I was living at home and since it is an African recipe, I figured that was the perfect meal to honor these two women in my life. My mother's recipe and a nod to my sister's (South) African life.
I did want to add a vegetable or salad of some sort to cut the creaminess and richness of the chicken so I created a shredded cabbage and spiced mango salad to go with it.
Anyway, here are the recipes:
African Chicken:
My mother got this recipe when she was in college in Europe from a student from Africa. Sadly, I have no idea where in Africa that particular student was from. Regardless, it's delicious!
I serve this over bulgur, but it's great with rice, quinoa, or couscous as well.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 - 3 lbs of chicken pieces (quarters, thighs, wings, etc. - with bones and all)
1 cup hot water
2 Tblsp. tomato paste
1 16 oz can of whole tomatoes
1 medium onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp - 1 Tblsp chili flakes (depending on how much heat you want)
1/2 tsp. grated ginger root (feel free to use powdered ginger, it will work just fine)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
Directions:
1. In a large Dutch oven or any large, deep pot with a lid, heat a little oil and brown the chicken on all sides. About 15 minutes total. (You may have to do this in batches and that works just fine too).
2. Remove the chicken & drain the fat from the pan.
3. Add water, tomato paste, tomatoes (with liquid), onion, garlic, chili flakes, ginger, chili powder, and salt. Bring it to a boil.
4. Once it has begun boiling, reduce the heat, give it a good stir, and cover the pan . Simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken back to the pan, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
6. Put the peanut butter in a medium bowl and ladle a few spoonfuls of the simmering cooking liquid into it, stir.
7. Add the liquid peanut butter to the chicken. Turn the chicken to coat it in the sauce.
8. Cover and cook another 10 - 15 minutes.
9. Serve with rice, couscous, quinoa, or bulgur.
Shredded Cabbage & Spicy Mango Salad
Ingredients:
2 - 3 cups shredded cabbage
1 - 2 red endives, chopped or shredded
1/2 cup of spiced dried mango, sliced finely
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3 - 4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped up
1 handful of slated roasted peanuts
4 Tblsp. olive oil
1 Tblsp. lemon juice
1 Tblsp. spiced rice vinegar (or any other vinegar you like)
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
a pinch of salt & some ground pepper
Directions:
1. Shred, chop, slice all of your vegetables
2. Dump them all into a bowl.
3. In a separate, small bowl, mix up the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper into a vinaigrette.
4. Pour the vinaigrette over the veggies and toss.
5. Sprinkle with peanuts & serve.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
French Country Mussels
I adapted this recipe from one I found on food.com by Tebo.
Ingredients:
4 lbs of mussels
2 cups of dry white wine
1 Tblsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 16oz can of diced tomatoes
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped (I use my food processor for this, it's much easier and quicker than doing it by hand)
Directions:
1. Prepare your mussels:
- Keep your mussels cold. If you get farm raised mussels, you'll not have to do much cleaning or de-bearding but you'll want to check each one for signs of life.
- Put the mussels in a large colander in your sink and run cold water over them as you work on them. If they're dirty, scrub them clean. Make sure you check each one to make sure they are all tightly closed. If you come across a mussel that is open, tap it a few times and set it aside. There's a good chance it will close by the time you get done with your pile of mussels. Mussels are still alive when you prepare them. They should be tightly closed. If they're open and don't close after tapping them, they are dead and therefore BAD. Throw any open mussels that do not close away.
- If you get farm raised mussels they likely won't have many beards but you'll want to check them anyway. If any of them have a beard (it's a little tuft or string of what looks like coarse hair), tug it down toward the hinge part of the mussel and it should come right out. Toss any beards you find.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot with a lid to medium high and cook garlic and onion until they are browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the cilantro and cook for another 2 minutes.
4.Add the wine and bring it to a quick boil, reduce heat to let the wine simmer for about 4 minutes.
5. Add the mussels, toss well, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until they open up.
6. Remove the mussels to a serving dish and pour the liquid over them.
7. Enjoy with some crusty french bread to soak up the juices.
Ingredients:
4 lbs of mussels
2 cups of dry white wine
1 Tblsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 16oz can of diced tomatoes
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped (I use my food processor for this, it's much easier and quicker than doing it by hand)
Directions:
1. Prepare your mussels:
- Keep your mussels cold. If you get farm raised mussels, you'll not have to do much cleaning or de-bearding but you'll want to check each one for signs of life.
- Put the mussels in a large colander in your sink and run cold water over them as you work on them. If they're dirty, scrub them clean. Make sure you check each one to make sure they are all tightly closed. If you come across a mussel that is open, tap it a few times and set it aside. There's a good chance it will close by the time you get done with your pile of mussels. Mussels are still alive when you prepare them. They should be tightly closed. If they're open and don't close after tapping them, they are dead and therefore BAD. Throw any open mussels that do not close away.
- If you get farm raised mussels they likely won't have many beards but you'll want to check them anyway. If any of them have a beard (it's a little tuft or string of what looks like coarse hair), tug it down toward the hinge part of the mussel and it should come right out. Toss any beards you find.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot with a lid to medium high and cook garlic and onion until they are browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the cilantro and cook for another 2 minutes.
4.Add the wine and bring it to a quick boil, reduce heat to let the wine simmer for about 4 minutes.
5. Add the mussels, toss well, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until they open up.
6. Remove the mussels to a serving dish and pour the liquid over them.
7. Enjoy with some crusty french bread to soak up the juices.
Mussels in beer
I adapted this recipe based on a recipe by SarasotaCook that I found on food.com
I serve these with any kind of thick crunchy bread for dipping in the sauce and a simple green salad.
Ingredients:
4 lbs mussels (I like to use PEI because they're a small-ish size and have good flavor but use whatever is available and fresh)
2 - 3 cans of beer (any lager will do)
3 shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp - 2 Tblsp. red pepper flakes (depending on how much heat you like)
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped (I throw it in the food processor to chop it up)
4 Tblsp butter
1 Tblsp. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Prepare your mussels:
- Keep your mussels cold. If you get farm raised mussels, you'll not have to do much cleaning or de-bearding but you'll want to check each one for signs of life.
- Put the mussels in a large colander in your sink and run cold water over them as you work on them. If they're dirty, scrub them clean. Make sure you check each one to make sure they are all tightly closed. If you come across a mussel that is open, tap it a few times and set it aside. There's a good chance it will close by the time you get done with your pile of mussels. Mussels are still alive when you prepare them. They should be tightly closed. If they're open and don't close after tapping them, they are dead and therefore BAD. Throw any open mussels that do not close away.
- If you get farm raised mussels they likely won't have many beards but you'll want to check them anyway. If any of them have a beard (it's a little tuft or string of what looks like coarse hair), tug it down toward the hinge part of the mussel and it should come right out. Toss any beards you find.
2. In a large sauce pan with a lid, add olive oil over medium high heat and add the onion and garlic. Saute for 4 - 5 minutes.
3. Add the red pepper flakes if you are using them.
4. Add the beer and bring to a simmer (about 5 to 7 minutes)
5. Once the beer is simmering, add the mussels, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until the mussels have opened up.
6. Turn the heat off, remove mussels to a large serving dish.
7. Add the butter & the parsley to the sauce and bring back to a simmer until the butter is melted.
8. Pour the liquid over the mussels and serve.
I serve these with any kind of thick crunchy bread for dipping in the sauce and a simple green salad.
Ingredients:
4 lbs mussels (I like to use PEI because they're a small-ish size and have good flavor but use whatever is available and fresh)
2 - 3 cans of beer (any lager will do)
3 shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp - 2 Tblsp. red pepper flakes (depending on how much heat you like)
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped (I throw it in the food processor to chop it up)
4 Tblsp butter
1 Tblsp. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Prepare your mussels:
- Keep your mussels cold. If you get farm raised mussels, you'll not have to do much cleaning or de-bearding but you'll want to check each one for signs of life.
- Put the mussels in a large colander in your sink and run cold water over them as you work on them. If they're dirty, scrub them clean. Make sure you check each one to make sure they are all tightly closed. If you come across a mussel that is open, tap it a few times and set it aside. There's a good chance it will close by the time you get done with your pile of mussels. Mussels are still alive when you prepare them. They should be tightly closed. If they're open and don't close after tapping them, they are dead and therefore BAD. Throw any open mussels that do not close away.
- If you get farm raised mussels they likely won't have many beards but you'll want to check them anyway. If any of them have a beard (it's a little tuft or string of what looks like coarse hair), tug it down toward the hinge part of the mussel and it should come right out. Toss any beards you find.
2. In a large sauce pan with a lid, add olive oil over medium high heat and add the onion and garlic. Saute for 4 - 5 minutes.
3. Add the red pepper flakes if you are using them.
4. Add the beer and bring to a simmer (about 5 to 7 minutes)
5. Once the beer is simmering, add the mussels, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until the mussels have opened up.
6. Turn the heat off, remove mussels to a large serving dish.
7. Add the butter & the parsley to the sauce and bring back to a simmer until the butter is melted.
8. Pour the liquid over the mussels and serve.
Shredded cabbage & mango salad
I created this salad to go with the African chicken recipe. I wanted something that connected to the chicken but was fresh and tangy to balance out the creamy richness of the chicken.
Ingredients:
2 - 3 cups shredded cabbage
1 - 2 red endives, chopped or shredded
1/2 cup of spiced dried mango, sliced finely
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3 - 4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped up
1 handful of slated roasted peanuts
4 Tblsp. olive oil
1 Tblsp. lemon juice
1 Tblsp. spiced rice vinegar (or any other vinegar you like)
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
a pinch of salt & some ground pepper
Directions:
1. Shred, chop, slice all of your vegetables
2. Dump them all into a bowl.
3. In a separate, small bowl, mix up the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, dijon mustard, salt & pepper into a vinaigrette.
4. Pour the vinaigrette over the veggies and toss.
5. Sprinkle with peanuts & serve.
Ingredients:
2 - 3 cups shredded cabbage
1 - 2 red endives, chopped or shredded
1/2 cup of spiced dried mango, sliced finely
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3 - 4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped up
1 handful of slated roasted peanuts
4 Tblsp. olive oil
1 Tblsp. lemon juice
1 Tblsp. spiced rice vinegar (or any other vinegar you like)
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
a pinch of salt & some ground pepper
Directions:
1. Shred, chop, slice all of your vegetables
2. Dump them all into a bowl.
3. In a separate, small bowl, mix up the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, dijon mustard, salt & pepper into a vinaigrette.
4. Pour the vinaigrette over the veggies and toss.
5. Sprinkle with peanuts & serve.
African Chicken
My mother got this recipe when she was in college in Europe from a student from Africa. Sadly, I have no idea where in Africa that particular student was from. Regardless, it's delicious!
I serve this over bulgur, but it's great with rice, quinoa, or couscous as well.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 - 3 lbs of chicken pieces (quarters, thighs, wings, etc. - with bones and all)
1 cup hot water
2 Tblsp. tomato paste
1 16 oz can of whole tomatoes
1 medium onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp - 1 Tblsp chili flakes (depending on how much heat you want)
1/2 tsp. grated ginger root (feel free to use powdered ginger, it will work just fine)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
Directions:
1. In a large Dutch oven or any large, deep pot with a lid, heat a little oil and brown the chicken on all sides. About 15 minutes total. (You may have to do this in batches and that works just fine too).
2. Remove the chicken & drain the fat from the pan.
3. Add water, tomato paste, tomatoes (with liquid), onion, garlic, chili flakes, ginger, chili powder, and salt. Bring it to a boil.
4. Once it has begun boiling, reduce the heat, give it a good stir, and cover the pan . Simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken back to the pan, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
6. Put the peanut butter in a medium bowl and ladle a few spoonfuls of the simmering cooking liquid into it, stir.
7. Add the liquid peanut butter to the chicken. Turn the chicken to coat it in the sauce.
8. Cover and cook another 10 - 15 minutes.
9. Serve with rice, couscous, quinoa, or bulgur.
I serve this over bulgur, but it's great with rice, quinoa, or couscous as well.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 - 3 lbs of chicken pieces (quarters, thighs, wings, etc. - with bones and all)
1 cup hot water
2 Tblsp. tomato paste
1 16 oz can of whole tomatoes
1 medium onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp - 1 Tblsp chili flakes (depending on how much heat you want)
1/2 tsp. grated ginger root (feel free to use powdered ginger, it will work just fine)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
Directions:
1. In a large Dutch oven or any large, deep pot with a lid, heat a little oil and brown the chicken on all sides. About 15 minutes total. (You may have to do this in batches and that works just fine too).
2. Remove the chicken & drain the fat from the pan.
3. Add water, tomato paste, tomatoes (with liquid), onion, garlic, chili flakes, ginger, chili powder, and salt. Bring it to a boil.
4. Once it has begun boiling, reduce the heat, give it a good stir, and cover the pan . Simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken back to the pan, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
6. Put the peanut butter in a medium bowl and ladle a few spoonfuls of the simmering cooking liquid into it, stir.
7. Add the liquid peanut butter to the chicken. Turn the chicken to coat it in the sauce.
8. Cover and cook another 10 - 15 minutes.
9. Serve with rice, couscous, quinoa, or bulgur.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
A comfort food kind of night
I make dinner basically every Sunday and have been doing it for a long time now. Generally, everything goes just fine but every once in a while I screw something up. It doesn't happen that often but when it does, it really happens. And then it becomes an endless source of hilarity for all of the regulars. They take every opportunity to mention it in their (usually futile) attempts to get a rise out of me.
The most memorable screw up as of late - and apparently everyone's current favorite - was the gravy incident. It was the Realtor's birthday and he had requested a German meal. I made Sauerbraten, red cabbage, and Spaetzle. If you've ever had Sauerbraten, you know that the gravy makes the meal.
A good Sauerbraten takes time (days, actually) and the gravy to me is the final piece of a long puzzle. The gravy is, in my opinion, the most important part of the Sauerbraten. It adds the sweetness and spice to the sour and savory meat and, well, it's delicious. Sauerbraten gravy calls for old fashioned, dark ginger snap cookies. For the occasion of the Realtor's birthday, I decided to make the cookies from scratch. I made the cookies the day before so they would be perfect for the gravy. That Sunday, I spent the day cooking and prepping and when the meat had been cooking for hours and was getting lovely and tender, I started on preparing for the gravy. I cooked tons of beautiful veggies in the broth with the meat to really flavor it and once we were almost ready to eat, I was going to finalize the last steps of the gravy - adding the cookies and thickening the gravy: After you remove the meat to a platter, you get rid of the veggies (put a colander in a bowl in the sink), reserve the precious liquid, then you add the cookies, etc...
So, I put a colander in the sink and at the very moment when I dumped the veggies and all that broth in, I realized I had forgotten the bowl as I watched all of that glorious liquid for the gravy go down the drain. NOOOO!!! I tried to reach in and scoop it up but it was still near boiling hot and, lets face it, how much was I going to save with my bare hands anyway? Yeah, that didn't work. All I could do was watch it all go away.
The meal that night was still good but it was certainly not the same as it should (or could) have been.
Since that night, every time I make anything that has any type of gravy, somebody - or everybody - says something along the lines of "do you need a supervisor to save the gravy?" or "uh oh, we're not going to have gravy tonight."
I have never again lost gravy like that (and I have since been vindicated by the Realtor doing a similar thing that involved the loss of pasta water that was meant for a sauce) but I definitely tend to shy away from meals that involve gravy.
This past Sunday, however, I made gravy. There was no mishap or incident, although that didn't stop The Boys from making their usual gravy-related comments. It wasn't even a necessary part of the meal but it made me remember the Sauerbraten story so there you have it.
This Sunday was a raincheck meal. If you recall, the Professor had a birthday recently and although he had originally requested meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans, we decided to go for Greek food instead because we had had the very meat-heavy Southern Fried Sunday the week before. So, the Professor suggested we go back to the meatloaf idea this weekend. And we did.
I decided to go for a traditional style meatloaf but I tweaked it a bit. I used 3 types of meat (beef, pork, and veal) and I used carrots, celery, and onion instead of just onion. I also decided to go with the free form loaf rather than a loaf pan. The meatloaf turned out well. It was moist and flavorful and the (s)mashed potatoes were creamy enough that they didn't even really need gravy.
Here's a before pic of my meatloaf (2 loaves, actually)
And, since I forgot to take a picture when they came out of the oven, here's a version of an after picture:
Creamy mashed potatoes:
I use waxier potatoes than the traditional russets. I use baby gold potatoes or red potatoes, depending on the look I want. I also don't peel the potatoes.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. potatoes (unpeeled but washed)
2 to 3 Tblsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (add more if they are too dry)
salt
Directions:
1. Cut the potatoes into quarters and put them in a large pot of cold water.
2. Salt the water and bring it to a boil.
3. Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are very tender.
4. While the potatoes are boiling, combine the butter and the cream in a microwave safe dish (or a pan on the stove) and warm it a little, just enough to start the butter melting in the warm cream.
4. Strain the potatoes and put them in a large serving bowl and add the cream/butter mixture.
5. With a potato masher or a sturdy large fork, smash the potatoes until they are a fairly creamy consistency. I like mine to have some potato lumps but that's up to you.
6. Add a little salt at the end if it's needed but since you already salted the water earlier, you probably won't need much additional salt.
Lemony green beans:
Ingredients:
1 to 2 lbs of green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2 garlic cloves (crushed/minced)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 small lemon
Directions:
1. In a large skillet, bring the chicken broth and the garlic to a boil.
2. Add the green beans and simmer, stirring occasionally, until they are bright green and tender (I like it when they're still a bit firm but that's up to you).
3. While the beans are cooking, slice up the lemon into thin slices.
4. Remove the green beans to a serving dish and drizzle with the olive oil.
5. Dump the lemons on top and give the whole thing a good stir. Enjoy!
- You can use the leftover chicken broth from the beans to flavor any gravy you might be making, just don't dump it out if you're intending to use it. :-)
The most memorable screw up as of late - and apparently everyone's current favorite - was the gravy incident. It was the Realtor's birthday and he had requested a German meal. I made Sauerbraten, red cabbage, and Spaetzle. If you've ever had Sauerbraten, you know that the gravy makes the meal.
A good Sauerbraten takes time (days, actually) and the gravy to me is the final piece of a long puzzle. The gravy is, in my opinion, the most important part of the Sauerbraten. It adds the sweetness and spice to the sour and savory meat and, well, it's delicious. Sauerbraten gravy calls for old fashioned, dark ginger snap cookies. For the occasion of the Realtor's birthday, I decided to make the cookies from scratch. I made the cookies the day before so they would be perfect for the gravy. That Sunday, I spent the day cooking and prepping and when the meat had been cooking for hours and was getting lovely and tender, I started on preparing for the gravy. I cooked tons of beautiful veggies in the broth with the meat to really flavor it and once we were almost ready to eat, I was going to finalize the last steps of the gravy - adding the cookies and thickening the gravy: After you remove the meat to a platter, you get rid of the veggies (put a colander in a bowl in the sink), reserve the precious liquid, then you add the cookies, etc...
So, I put a colander in the sink and at the very moment when I dumped the veggies and all that broth in, I realized I had forgotten the bowl as I watched all of that glorious liquid for the gravy go down the drain. NOOOO!!! I tried to reach in and scoop it up but it was still near boiling hot and, lets face it, how much was I going to save with my bare hands anyway? Yeah, that didn't work. All I could do was watch it all go away.
The meal that night was still good but it was certainly not the same as it should (or could) have been.
Since that night, every time I make anything that has any type of gravy, somebody - or everybody - says something along the lines of "do you need a supervisor to save the gravy?" or "uh oh, we're not going to have gravy tonight."
I have never again lost gravy like that (and I have since been vindicated by the Realtor doing a similar thing that involved the loss of pasta water that was meant for a sauce) but I definitely tend to shy away from meals that involve gravy.
This past Sunday, however, I made gravy. There was no mishap or incident, although that didn't stop The Boys from making their usual gravy-related comments. It wasn't even a necessary part of the meal but it made me remember the Sauerbraten story so there you have it.
This Sunday was a raincheck meal. If you recall, the Professor had a birthday recently and although he had originally requested meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans, we decided to go for Greek food instead because we had had the very meat-heavy Southern Fried Sunday the week before. So, the Professor suggested we go back to the meatloaf idea this weekend. And we did.
I decided to go for a traditional style meatloaf but I tweaked it a bit. I used 3 types of meat (beef, pork, and veal) and I used carrots, celery, and onion instead of just onion. I also decided to go with the free form loaf rather than a loaf pan. The meatloaf turned out well. It was moist and flavorful and the (s)mashed potatoes were creamy enough that they didn't even really need gravy.
Here's a before pic of my meatloaf (2 loaves, actually)
And, since I forgot to take a picture when they came out of the oven, here's a version of an after picture:
 |
| I know it looks like it is burned but it's not. That part is actually caramelized and freaking delicious! |
So, here are the recipes:
(I adapted this from a Martha Stewart recipe called "classic meatloaf")
Ingredients for one meatloaf:
1/2 a medium onion
2 cloves of garlic (crushed or minced)
1 carrot (peeled)
1 celery stalk
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 lb ground beef (I use 85% lean because that fat adds juice and flavor)
1 lb ground pork (I use spicy but you can just use plain)
1/2 lb ground veal
1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of dried breadcrumbs
1 egg
about 1/3 cup of ketchup (plus another 1/3 cup for later)
1 Tblsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Put the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and parsley in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
3. Put your meat in a large mixing bowl, add the veggies, breadcrumbs, egg, 1/3 cup of ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and a generous pinch of salt & pepper.
4. Get in there with your (clean) hands and mix it up but just mix it until it's all combined. You don't want to over-mix it - that tends to make it tougher than you want it to be.
5. Form the loaf on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish (baking dish is good if you want to capture the juices to make a gravy).
6. Brush the top with the remaining ketchup. (Lots of recipes call for a ketchup, brown sugar mixture here but I think ketchup is sweet enough as it is.)
7. Bake at 375 for about an hour. Check the internal temperature (you want to be get to about 160 - 165). If you don't have a thermometer, you can cut into the meatloaf and take a look. If it's too pink or too mushy, keep it in the oven a little longer.
8. Once you remove it from the oven, transfer it to a serving plate and tent it with foil while you finish up the rest of the meal.
Creamy mashed potatoes:
I use waxier potatoes than the traditional russets. I use baby gold potatoes or red potatoes, depending on the look I want. I also don't peel the potatoes.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. potatoes (unpeeled but washed)
2 to 3 Tblsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (add more if they are too dry)
salt
Directions:
1. Cut the potatoes into quarters and put them in a large pot of cold water.
2. Salt the water and bring it to a boil.
3. Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are very tender.
4. While the potatoes are boiling, combine the butter and the cream in a microwave safe dish (or a pan on the stove) and warm it a little, just enough to start the butter melting in the warm cream.
4. Strain the potatoes and put them in a large serving bowl and add the cream/butter mixture.
5. With a potato masher or a sturdy large fork, smash the potatoes until they are a fairly creamy consistency. I like mine to have some potato lumps but that's up to you.
6. Add a little salt at the end if it's needed but since you already salted the water earlier, you probably won't need much additional salt.
Lemony green beans:
Ingredients:
1 to 2 lbs of green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2 garlic cloves (crushed/minced)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 small lemon
Directions:
1. In a large skillet, bring the chicken broth and the garlic to a boil.
2. Add the green beans and simmer, stirring occasionally, until they are bright green and tender (I like it when they're still a bit firm but that's up to you).
3. While the beans are cooking, slice up the lemon into thin slices.
4. Remove the green beans to a serving dish and drizzle with the olive oil.
5. Dump the lemons on top and give the whole thing a good stir. Enjoy!
- You can use the leftover chicken broth from the beans to flavor any gravy you might be making, just don't dump it out if you're intending to use it. :-)
Lemony garlicky green beans
- I don't remember where I originally found this recipe but it's so simple that I make it fairly often.
Ingredients:
1 to 2 lbs of green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2 garlic cloves (crushed/minced)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 small lemon
Directions:
1. In a large skillet, bring the chicken broth and the garlic to a boil.
2. Add the green beans and simmer, stirring occasionally, until they are bright green and tender (I like it when they're still a bit firm but that's up to you).
3. While the beans are cooking, slice up the lemon into thin slices.
4. Remove the green beans to a serving dish and drizzle with the olive oil.
5. Dump the lemons on top and give the whole thing a good stir. Enjoy!
- You can use the leftover chicken broth from the beans to flavor any gravy you might be making, just don't dump it out if you're intending to use it. :-)
Ingredients:
1 to 2 lbs of green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2 garlic cloves (crushed/minced)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 small lemon
Directions:
1. In a large skillet, bring the chicken broth and the garlic to a boil.
2. Add the green beans and simmer, stirring occasionally, until they are bright green and tender (I like it when they're still a bit firm but that's up to you).
3. While the beans are cooking, slice up the lemon into thin slices.
4. Remove the green beans to a serving dish and drizzle with the olive oil.
5. Dump the lemons on top and give the whole thing a good stir. Enjoy!
- You can use the leftover chicken broth from the beans to flavor any gravy you might be making, just don't dump it out if you're intending to use it. :-)
Creamy (s)mashed potatoes
- I use waxier potatoes than the traditional russets. I use baby gold potatoes or red potatoes, depending on the look I want. I also don't peel the potatoes.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. potatoes (unpeeled but washed)
2 to 3 Tblsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (add more if they are too dry)
salt
Directions:
1. Cut the potatoes into quarters and put them in a large pot of cold water.
2. Salt the water and bring it to a boil.
3. Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are very tender.
4. While the potatoes are boiling, combine the butter and the cream in a microwave safe dish (or a pan on the stove) and warm it a little, just enough to start the butter melting in the warm cream.
4. Strain the potatoes and put them in a large serving bowl and add the cream/butter mixture.
5. With a potato masher or a sturdy large fork, smash the potatoes until they are a fairly creamy consistency. I like mine to have some potato lumps but that's up to you.
6. Add a little salt at the end if it's needed but since you already salted the water earlier, you probably won't need much additional salt.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. potatoes (unpeeled but washed)
2 to 3 Tblsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (add more if they are too dry)
salt
Directions:
1. Cut the potatoes into quarters and put them in a large pot of cold water.
2. Salt the water and bring it to a boil.
3. Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are very tender.
4. While the potatoes are boiling, combine the butter and the cream in a microwave safe dish (or a pan on the stove) and warm it a little, just enough to start the butter melting in the warm cream.
4. Strain the potatoes and put them in a large serving bowl and add the cream/butter mixture.
5. With a potato masher or a sturdy large fork, smash the potatoes until they are a fairly creamy consistency. I like mine to have some potato lumps but that's up to you.
6. Add a little salt at the end if it's needed but since you already salted the water earlier, you probably won't need much additional salt.
Meatloaf
(I adapted this from a Martha Stewart recipe called "classic meatloaf")
Ingredients for one meatloaf (this is easily double-able):
1/2 a medium onion
2 cloves of garlic (crushed or minced)
1 carrot (peeled)
1 celery stalk
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 lb ground beef (I use 85% lean because that fat adds juice and flavor)
1 lb ground pork (I use spicy but you can just use plain)
1/2 lb ground veal
1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of dried breadcrumbs
1 egg
about 1/3 cup of ketchup (plus another 1/3 cup for later)
1 Tblsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Put the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and parsley in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
3. Put your meat in a large mixing bowl, add the veggies, breadcrumbs, egg, 1/3 cup of ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and a generous pinch of salt & pepper.
4. Get in there with your (clean) hands and mix it up but just mix it until it's all combined. You don't want to over-mix it - that tends to make it tougher than you want it to be.
5. Form the loaf on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish (baking dish is good if you want to capture the juices to make a gravy).
6. Brush the top with the remaining ketchup. (Lots of recipes call for a ketchup, brown sugar mixture here but I think ketchup is sweet enough as it is.)
7. Bake at 375 for about an hour. Check the internal temperature (you want to be get to about 160 - 165). If you don't have a thermometer, you can cut into the meatloaf and take a look. If it's too pink or too mushy, keep it in the oven a little longer.
8. Once you remove it from the oven, transfer it to a serving plate and tent it with foil while you finish up the rest of the meal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)