I've been on vacation for the past two weeks...it's great. And it's been vacation on all fronts...work, blog, gym, etc. But I have been cooking some. I've documented most of what I've done and thought I would share as my official vacation comes to a close...back to the grind on Monday.
I had some left over red sauce that I wanted to use in some way, but didn't want pasta. So, I took one small chicken breast and diced it up finely. I sauted it in olive oil with some Italian seasoning. When cooked through, I poured in about 1/2 a cup of red sauce. The sauce had thickened in the fridge, so I added a little water to thin it out a bit. Seasoned with salt and pepper and served over rice. It was filling, warm and very easy.
For Christmas I received Claudia Roden's
Arabesque; a taste of Morocco, Turkey & Lebanon. There are several recipes that look wonderful, but one I wanted right away.
Daoud Basha (meatballs with pine nuts in tomato sauce). These meatballs are easy to throw together and spiced with warm spices such as cinnamon and allspice. The tomato sauce is simple tomatoes with a little sugar. I made one change to the recipe, I used a meatloaf blend of ground meat (beef, pork, veal) instead of all lamb, which I am not fond of. Then I made a mistake, I used 1/2 the amount of ground meat and the full quantity of spices. The flavors were a little off. I might try this again, or I might stick with a
similar recipe by Lidia.
Another Christmas gift was Nigella Lawson's
Nigella Express. This book looks at a series of Nigella recipes that are simple, easy and delicious. I've made two! The first was a chicken cutlet with bacon and a wine sauce. Based on that description, is there anything wrong with this dish? Chicken; ok. Bacon; nice! Wine Sauce; awesome!! This was a great savory dish that really only took minutes. The part that took long was me making my own pasta side; orecchiette.
Last night I made pork chops with a mustard sauce. The thin cut pork chops cook in a matter of minutes and the sauce is done moments later. The sauce is a savory blend of mustard, hard cider and cream. Divine. I paired the chops with Nigella's suggestion; gnocchi. So I
made my own and tossed them in the sauce just as I served the dish with some blanched green beans. Both of these Nigella dishes will be prepared again. Either as is, or with simpler sides.
I had some left over red sauce that I wanted to use in some way, but didn't want pasta. So, I took one small chicken breast and diced it up finely. I sauted it in olive oil with some Italian seasoning. When cooked through, I poured in about 1/2 a cup of red sauce. The sauce had thickened in the fridge, so I added a little water to thin it out a bit. Seasoned with salt and pepper and served over rice. It was filling, warm and very easy. 
For Christmas I received Claudia Roden's Arabesque; a taste of Morocco, Turkey & Lebanon. There are several recipes that look wonderful, but one I wanted right away. Daoud Basha (meatballs with pine nuts in tomato sauce). These meatballs are easy to throw together and spiced with warm spices such as cinnamon and allspice. The tomato sauce is simple tomatoes with a little sugar. I made one change to the recipe, I used a meatloaf blend of ground meat (beef, pork, veal) instead of all lamb, which I am not fond of. Then I made a mistake, I used 1/2 the amount of ground meat and the full quantity of spices. The flavors were a little off. I might try this again, or I might stick with a similar recipe by Lidia.
Another Christmas gift was Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express. This book looks at a series of Nigella recipes that are simple, easy and delicious. I've made two! The first was a chicken cutlet with bacon and a wine sauce. Based on that description, is there anything wrong with this dish? Chicken; ok. Bacon; nice! Wine Sauce; awesome!! This was a great savory dish that really only took minutes. The part that took long was me making my own pasta side; orecchiette.
Last night I made pork chops with a mustard sauce. The thin cut pork chops cook in a matter of minutes and the sauce is done moments later. The sauce is a savory blend of mustard, hard cider and cream. Divine. I paired the chops with Nigella's suggestion; gnocchi. So I made my own and tossed them in the sauce just as I served the dish with some blanched green beans. Both of these Nigella dishes will be prepared again. Either as is, or with simpler sides.
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