Swine Carnitas

Outbreak! Pandemic! Swine Flu! All scary stuff. Make sure to wash your hands, stay home if you or your family are sick. And if you get sick, go to the doctor. Common sense right? Right!

All that being said, please note that pork is still safe to eat when cooked properly! So please, eat pork. It's the other white meat!

Again, from the recent issue of Everyday Food, I made Pork Carnitas for dinner. Very tasty, Very easy, Great mild flavor, a wee touch dry and a really funky recipe...don't let it wig you out.

The pork is cooked in water, with garlic. Drain it, then add to a pot with some olive oil and a combination of milk and orange juice. Well, surprise, the milk curdles. GROSS!!!!! I wasn't totally freaked out because I have cooked meat with milk before and it works, it's just funky as all get out. Allow the pork to cook in this liquid combo until reduced. I re-worked one part of the recipe, using the same pot I boiled the pork in, for the simmering with milk/OJ step. If you have a non-stick pan, use it!!! I should have.


The pork is served in tortillas with avocado, sliced white onion, lime juice and cilantro (if you have it! I didn't).

Very filling and very satisfying. Give it a try. Next time I might add some more spice to the pork, furthering the depth of flavors.

Pork Carnitas
from Everyday Food

Serves 6

2 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, smashed
Salt/Pepper
1 TB olive oil
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup milk

For serving:
Tortillas
Cilantro leaves
Thinly sliced onion
Diced avocado
Lime wedges

1) In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, combine pork, garlic and 8 cups water and season with salt & pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until pork is tender, 40-45 minutes. Drain well.

2) In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add pork, orange juice and milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and pork is browned, 8-12 minutes.

Serve in tortillas with accompaniments.

Official Trailer

I've never been excited about a Nora Ephron film in my life...now I can't wait!!!!


Click here for the Official Movie Trailer

1000th Post

Happy 1,000th Post Day!

Woo hoo.

I wanted to something big and fancy and exciting...but instead of big and fancy, we're going to have easy, delicious and sort of healthy!

There are two parts here. The salad/veggies and the chicken. Both came from the recent issue of Everyday Food. Both are simple and anyone can do them!!!

To start, we have the salad, an Asian Cabbage Slaw:

The non-cabbage components; lime juice, rice vinegar, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, pepper, cilantro, scallions, carrot and jalapeno.

We then prep half of a head of cabbage. Slice thinly.

Toss them all together, taste and adjust seasoning if needed; keep in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

Part two of the dinner is chicken. Honey-Teriyaki Chicken:

Start with the sauce/marinade/glaze; honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt & pepper. Coat the chicken, marinade it if you have the time.

I had boneless, skinless thighs, so they didn't get the crispy skin and awesome color that we saw in the photo in the magazine. But the flavor!!! Dang. Also, make sure to line your rimmed baking pan with foil, so you don't have to scrub that burnt sugar mess.

Serve together! Bosom Buddies! An Asian-style BBQ dinner. You have the slaw, you have the sticky, sweet chicken. I came very close to actually grilling the chicken, but I'm avoiding the outside until the pollen washes away. But next time I make this, they chicken will be grilled.

Honey-Teriyaki Chicken
1/2 cup honey
2 TB rice vinegar
2 TB soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 TB peeled and grated fresh ginger
Salt/Pepper
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or use what you have!)

1) Preheat the oven to 475. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, mix honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, 1 TB salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat. Transfer chicken and sauce to a baking sheet.

2) Bake chicken, skin sude up, basting occasionally with pan juices, until well browned and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve chicken drizzled with pan juices.

Note: I allowed my chicken to sit for an hour in the marinade. It was great. I would say you could soak the chicken up to overnight if you like. I wouldn't do it much longer than that.


Asian Cabbage Slaw
2 TB fresh lime juice
2 TB rice vinegar
1 TB vegetable oil (I think you can skip this if you want, I will next time)
2 tsp sugar
Salt/Pepper
1/2 small head of Savoy or Green cabbage, shredded
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped.
4 scallions, cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, grated
1/2 jalapeno, minced

Mix the first five ingredients until blended. Toss the remaining ingredients until coated. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill briefly before serving.



Both recipes serve four. I said in the beginning that these are sort of healthy. There's no additional fat in the chicken, so if you were to sub in boneless/skinless chicken breasts, you'd have a very lean protein. There is a small bit of oil in the salad, but I'm going to skip that next time. Plenty of good veg and fiber in the salad. And then there is the honey. At least it's honey, a natural sugar! I wouldn't skip the little sugar in the salad though, it helps sweeten an otherwise tart/little bitter salad. So in my eyes, there's very little fat, no butter, no cream, a tiny bit of processed sugar; kind of healthy!



And thanks for indulging me for all these 1,000 posts!

999-Salad Days

I recently saw a salad that had chicken and fennel in it. That sounded interesting, but I wanted to take it a step or two further. So I decided to make a fancy salad.

Chicken, Apple & Fennel salad with Tarragon Lemon Vinaigrette

1 cooked boneless/skinless chicken breast, sliced or pulled
1 cup sliced fennel
1 sweet, firm apple, thinly sliced
1 head green-leaf lettuce, washed & chopped
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Toss these ingredients with the vinaigrette. Enjoy.

Tarragon & Lemon Vinaigrette
1 small shallot finely diced, about 1 TB
1 TB fresh, chopped Tarragon
pinch of sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1-2 tsp Chardonnay vinegar
2-4 TB olive oil
salt/pepper to taste

Mix the first five ingredients together, whisk in olive oil. Season with salt & pepper.

Here are the pecans. They added a great earthy crunchiness.

The leafy greens, chopped fennel and apples!

Here's the dressing. I used a touch more olive oil, but it became super creamy. Lovely.

The final salad. It was beautiful. The tarragon was present, but subtle. It paired amazingly with with fennel. The fennel and apples also played really nice together. Overall, this was a very pleasing dinner.

Indian Butter Sauce

This past weekend was a Cooking Without Borders adventure; featuring Indian Butter Chicken.

Delish.

I made a jumbo batch of sauce...enough for at least four meals. Two batches were packaged up and placed in the freezer. One was for dinner with C&S. The rest was made for a work potluck. The batch for dinner tonight was altered slightly and it was super tasty!

Let's begin.

You start by sauting onions in olive oil.

Add jalapeno, ginger and Garam Masala spice blend.

When you add the spice, the pan will start to dry out.

Add tomato sauce, stir to incorporate. Then the mix is blended until smooth. Chicken broth is added.

Butter and heavy cream are added to the sauce.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced up, are added to the sauce and simmered until cooked.

Here are my two packages of sauce, heading to the freezer for dinner at a later time.

As I mentioned, I wanted to try something special this go around. So I marinaded some chicken in lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and some Balti spice blend. This was some tasty chicken on it's own!!! But, I chopped it up for the Indian Butter Sauce.

The grilled chicken simmered in the sauce, sharing some of it's grill essence with the sauce. A very pleasing dinner!!!

I know Lady B made this. She shared her comments elsewhere, but I want to share them here as well:

We made this Tuesday night last week and LOVED it so much we called ScottE that night to thank him. Here are my notes:

We had tomato paste on hand, but didn't realize until it came time to put it in that it was "Italian Herb" tomato paste. I don't think it made a bit of difference in the taste of the final dish, it was just something that was kind of funny.

We used salted butter because that's what we had on hand.

We served it with a side of fresh spinach sauteed in olive oil and garlic. This is what I always serve when I make chicken with one of the Trader Joes Indian simmer sauces. We like it.

I had beer with it (I always like beer with Indian food), Lord B had his usual rum and coke. I think beer and Indian food are a great combo.

After our first helping, we got seconds, and the seconds tasted even better. It had kind of cooled a little on the stove and I guess it had more time to sit and absorb the flavors because our seconds were YUM.

One thing I'm glad we did by the recipe, though I was tempted to do differently, was just cooking the outside of the chicken bits and then letting the rest cook in the sauce. It was tempting to fully cook the chicken first then put in the sauce, but I think because I followed the instructions, the chicken was a lot more tender than it would have been had I cooked it fully before.

We are totally ruined on the Trader Joes simmer sauces now... which is a staple in our household for a quick meal. Well, I guess we'll continue to buy them, but every time we eat them I'm sure we'll be like "wow, this does not come close to ScottE's butter chicken."

My mom came over the next day and split the leftovers with me and she LOVED it. And, I know it's authentic, because my brother lives in India, and my mom has visited him there several times, and she said she ate a lot of butter chicken while in India... and this was just as good as what she had over there. A great compliment!!!

Thank you ScottE, we are in love with this recipe and think it would be great for when company comes for dinner. A+++++

Thanks for sharing Lady B! And thanks for the great comments. I had my dinner with beer. Very good. Refreshing. I did make this batch extra mild, again, it's going to be part of a potluck at work, so I wanted to make it accessible for as many people as possible.

Looks Like Delicious!

Have you ever wondered what wine looks like? I'm not talking about golden Chardonnays, or garnet Merlots. I'm talking about what the wine flavors look like. I haven't either, but I am always looking at ways to grow my wine knowledge and really start to grasp the concept of describing a wine.

Click Image to Embiggen

This website allows you to click on a few varieties of red and white wines and take a visual look at how those varietals taste. I love it! The predominate flavors jump out right away, but then you can start to see the more subtle flavors and characteristics that linger or take more concentration to identify. I think this is a great tool and have been using the idea of it to help me with my wine tastings.

Wine Flavor Visualization

Quick Chili

In continuing my anti-grocery shopping spree...at least until Friday. Last night I had some work stuff, same for tonight. So it's all worked out!

But...on Monday night, I was cold. The heat wasn't working at the office and it was rainy and dreary, so something warm and comforting was necessary.

A quick, fast chili would work wonders. I had no intention of stretching the few ingredients I had in the fridge into a fairly large pot of chili, but it worked, was tasty and filling and even left some for lunch the next day.

To start I did something a little naughty. I chopped and browned up three strips of bacon. When the fat was rendered out and the pieces were crisp, I removed the bacon and poured out the fat. Then I added about a 1/4 pound of ground beef, and browned that up. Add some onions. Spices...use your favorite chili spices. I had some fresh tomatoes, so I used those up, plus a can of diced tomatoes. Some left over bell pepper and frozen corn. Simmer a bit. Added some broth and pasta to cook up. Taste and adjust for seasoning and spice. I stirred the bacon pieces in at the very end. They brought a nice flavor profile to the party and made this simple chili a little special.

YUM!

Sorta Curry

I've been avoiding the grocery store again. If I am not in the mood to be there, it's my own personal H-E-L-L. Get me out!!!!

But I have to say, I'm starting to run out of stuff to make and will soon find ourselves eating pasta with butter & salt (Mmmm) if I don't go soon.

So last night I figured we were going to have fried eggs, toast and bacon. But I really wasn't in the mood for eggs. And I didn't think I wanted to make dinner. But after foraging through the freezer I had a protein in hand and the beginning thoughts of something else.

I had a package of pork chops frozen solid. Knowing I wouldn't be able to thaw them complete to fry them up, I decided on a braise. But what flavors? Why not something new? We recently had a visit to Penzey's in Rockville, where I picked up a small jar of Balti Seasoning. A wild, highly spiced, but not spicy, curry blend. And it worked Good!

Balti Spiced Braised Pork with Potatoes

Sear your chops (seasoned with salt & pepper) in a deep pan or dutch oven with olive oil. When browned, but not cooked through, remove to a plate and quickly saute one cup of shallots.

When the shallots are translucent, add 1 TB of the Balti seasoning and 1 TB of tomato paste. Stir for one minute.

Add about two cups of chicken broth, stirring and scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the chops into the seasoned broth.

Add three chopped potatoes. They should be mostly submerged in the liquid. Bring to a simmer, cover and place in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove the cover and cook for another 15 minutes.

Pierce the potatoes with a fork or knife to make sure they are tender. Scoop out to a plate, leaving the liquid in the pot. Bring the sauce to a boil and allow to reduce by a third. Swirl in one TB of butter, optional.

Spoon some of the enriched sauce over the chops and potatoes.

This was delicious. The pork played very well with the sweet, fragrant spices of the Balti seasoning. The potatoes were light, tender and a perfect complement to the sauce. All very good. I'll make this again and probably throw some more veg in there, when I have them from the store.

Handle With Care

HAPPY EARTH DAY


"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of earth are never alone or weary of life."

--"Silent Spring" author, Rachel Carson

Click over to last year's Earth Day entry to learn about some easy Green tips you can try at home.

108 Days and Counting

I seriously can't take it anymore!


Only 108 days until August 7, 2009 and the release of Julie & Julia!

Meryl & Chicken

Julia & Chicken, or is that a turkey?

OMG!

Cooking Without Borders

Next month will be the 4th Birthday of Eat With Me. In the early years I wanted to try some interactive cooking activities for us all around the country and world. So with a little input from some folks, I created Cooking Without Borders. *Yes, the logo above is stolen and altered. Thank you Lawyers Without Borders, please don't sue.

The Cooking Without Borders events were fun, but I seemed to have trouble keeping them in regular rotation. We had the first event, Cashew Chicken. The second, Chicken & Leeks and later Coconut Chicken Curry. I leaned heavily on chicken, as it was the most accessible for the most people. I'll be doing the same today.

What is the purpose of Cooking Without Borders? This is an opportunity to cook the same meal together on the same night (or within a few days if that night doesn't work for you) and then we all come back together and post comments on what we liked or disliked, etc.

When I started this, many of the readers of this blog were located outside of the Washington DC area and as much as I wanted to cook and invite them over for dinner, logistically that wouldn't work. Terri in WI, did give me the idea...cook together, eat together and maybe even watch a movie together...but from different locations! Voila!!!


The “rules of engagement” are such:

-I'll provide a full grocery list for easy shopping
-Buy your groceries prior to the event date
-Event date--prepare your meal
-Enjoy your meal, hopefully
-Following the meal, submit feedback to the EAT WITH ME blog and if you have the ability, send a photo to share your meal.

The feedback will be the most important part of the event.

-Where are you located?
-Did you follow the recipe as written?
-Did you change the cooking process or ingredients?
-Would you have liked to try something different?
-What did you drink? Wine, Beer, other? How did it pair with the food?
-Overall, how did you enjoy the meal?

After a few days, I’ll compile all the comments and add my own feedback into a new blog entry for easy reference. If I receive photos, I’ll post those as well.


So, for this Cooking Without Borders, I've decided on another Indian dish; Indian Butter Chicken.


The event date will be Saturday, April 25.

I've chosen Indian Butter Chicken because I find it to be a fairly easy recipe, with great flavor. The recipe also increases very easily. I often make at least double, or more. And the extras freeze very well! And once you have the main spice, it's a fairly economical dish.

Here is your shopping list:

1 medium/large yellow onion
fresh ginger, about a two inch knob
jalapeno, about medium size, depending on your tolerance for the heat.
1-1 1/2 pounds, boneless/skinless chicken breast
6 ounce can of tomato paste
One can of low-sodium Chicken broth*
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
Unsalted butter**
Garam Masala spice blend***
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

For Serving:
Rice
Fresh Cilantro


*The recipe calls for 2 cups, which is 16 oz. One can of chicken broth is 14 oz. You don't need to buy two cans.

**Being that this recipe is called Indian Butter Chicken, I ask that you use real butter and not margarine. If you don't want to use butter, skip it all together.

***Garam Masala is becoming easier to find. You might have to look around your store. Sometimes it's not going to be with the regular spices, but it will be in the International Food aisle. If you have a Whole Foods nearby, they have it and the blend is really tasty. I buy mine online from Penzey's.


One final note on this event: This recipe does call for using a food processor to make the final simmering sauce smooth. You can also use a blender if you have that. If you don't have either, you can still make this recipe, you just need a little more patience to finely dice your ingredients and you'll have a more rustic version of the sauce. No problems!

Alright folks. See you on April 25.

No Knife Tomato Sauce

Sometimes I am in no mood to cook. I don't want to pull out pans, I don't want to pull out and fresh onions, garlic or herbs, I don't want to chop anything. But yet I'm famished and need to make something for dinner.

I have a variety of ways to make my tomato sauce. This is one. It's all pantry goods. Canned tomatoes (diced and sauce), olive oil and herbs and spices. For about a dollar, I had tasty sauce for two large servings of sauce and pasta and one smaller serving leftover for a later lunch. The sauce was done before the pasta water even came to a boil.

Not bad for no desire to cook!

No Knife Sauce
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1-2 TB olive oil
1 TB "Pasta Sprinkle"
1/2 tsp dried onion flake & dried garlic
Salt & Pepper

In a medium pot, bring the olive oil to a light simmer, add the diced tomatoes and sauce. Stir. Add the seasoning, salt and pepper. Taste & adjust. Simmer until your pasta is cooked.

Hello Lover

After a long winter sitting in storage, the grill came out on Saturday for some burger action.


Cheeseburgers! So tasty and satisfying to cook over flaming hot coals. Woo hoo.

Beefy

Last week I saw a recipe for Mongolian Beef on the blog Love & Olive Oil. I was immediately taken with the simplicity of the recipe and wanted to try it as soon as possible. So let's get started and I'll share more at the end.

Start with garlic and ginger in a little oil. Get that shimmering and fragrant.


Add soy sauce, water, brown sugar and some red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and reduce.


Saute strips of beef, then add onions.


Return the sauce to the pan, simmer.


Serve with rice. Not a great photo, but it was tasty!

I really liked this and will make it again, but there will be some changes...

1) Oil. There is a lot of oil. The original recipe called for one cup, which the blog hosts recognized as too much and suggested less. I used 1/4 cup and next time I might go to just a tsp or so. There's something about vegetable oil and beef that I'm not fond of, I can't quite place it, but I can tell when beef is cooked in oil. Can't describe what I'm tasting, but I don't enjoy it. So less oil will be better.

2) Heat. I added the red pepper flakes last night. They were listed in the recipe, but I wanted a counter point to the extra sweet sauce. I didn't use enough, I couldn't taste it. I will probably go to 1 tsp next time, instead of 1/2 a tsp.

3) Protein. Yes, the recipe is called Mongolian Beef. I think it would be really tasty with chicken as well. So I might try that too.

4) Veggies. I skipped the green onions, because I didn't have any. Next time I'll try to have some. I also want to add carrots and maybe some strips of bell pepper. I used to work in a Chinese restaurant many years ago, as a waiter. HA! Well, they served a Mongolian Beef and it was my favorite dish to order. There were carrots and peppers. It was served on crispy rice noodles. I can do without the rice noodles now, but I think the extra veg would be nice.

5) Sauce. There was a lot of extra sauce. Next time I will try changing the quantities of the ingredients for the sauce. I will keep the 1/2 cup of soy sauce. I will cut the water to 1/4 cup and only 1/2 cup of brown sugar, instead of 3/4 cup.

That said, I look forward to round two of the Mongolian Beef experience.


Mongolian Beef
Recipe from Love & Olive Oil by way of Recipe Zaar

2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp ginger, minced
1 TB garlic, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup)
1 lb flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 large green onions

Make the sauce by heating 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4″ thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

Heat up one cup of oil in a wok or large skillet until it’s nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. You don’t need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet.

Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it. Add the onion and saute for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions. Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate, leaving the excess sauce behind in the pan.

Using up some Easter Ham

I wanted something easy to use up some of the extra Easter ham. So I made a "hash."

This is three small potatoes, cut into cubes and fried in a tablespoon of olive oil until tender and crispy. Season with salt/pepper, and any other spice or seasoning you like.

Add about 2 cups cubed ham, 1/2 of a diced green pepper and 1/2 of a small, diced onion. Saute until the ham is warmed thru and starting to caramelize and the veggies are just approaching soft.

Top with fried eggs.

Gooey and yummy. Breakfast for dinner!

Hello, I'm a Geek. Hi Geek.

Image Source

I think I've just about hit the pinnacle of low-tech geekdom.

Yesterday was our monthly bookclub meeting. Our bookclub meets at restaurants, something that might be connected to the theme of the book. But more often, just affordable and accessible.

Last night we went somewhere new to me, so I was checking out the restaurant's website and looking at the menu. It looked pretty nice, but then I clicked to the restaurant's wine selections. I saw what I thought I would want.

Soon I found myself googling the wines and printing tasting notes for those wines. Yes, I printed the notes to bring with me to the restaurant to compare while tasting the wine. I'm nuts. Really I am. I fully admit it.

I will say, it was great to have someone's professional tasting notes while I was spending some time with the wine. I was able to look for flavor notes that I wouldn't have known to look for and I was able to point to personal contradictions between my impression and the professional notes; if that makes any sense.

So it was a fun experiment and if the opportunity presents itself again in the future, I will do the same thing.

The Wines:

Tangent
Sauvignon Blanc
Edna Valley, California

Notes from the winemaker: It highlights grapefruit, passion fruit, green apple and lemon, and has a good grassy structure of minerals and lively acidity.

My Thoughts: I certainly got the green apple and minerality, but not much else. I felt the nose was so very subtle, it was hardly there. It was a tasty wine, but not very complex to me.

Benzinger
Sauvignon Blanc
Sonoma Valley, California

Notes from the winemaker: Stainless steel fermentation preserves the bright, crisp character of our Sauvignon Blanc. Grassy aromas introduce flavors of lemon, melon and grapefruit. Generous fruit is enhanced by a refreshing acidic structure and harmonious mouthfeel.

My Thoughts: This wine seemed to have more personality to me. Well, it's personality was more up-front and very extroverted. The grapefruit was the prominent flavor for me, preceeded by a lovely warm grass aroma.

I preferred the Benzinger over the Tangent. As I shared with my dinner guests, I don't think my palate is refined enough to pick up the subtle, introverted notes of the Tangent wine, so I preferred the more in-your-face bright, acidic, crisp flavors of the Benzinger.

On the price scale, the two wines have the same suggested retail price, however the restaurant had the Tangent as the more expensive wine. So yippee for me, the cheaper one was my favorite!

Haming It Up 4 Easter

Here are some photos from our Easter Dinner.

I made a Caramelized Onion Marmalade to accompany the ham. It's very tasty and simple to make. The onions start like this and end up looking like a little pot of jam.


Here's my finished ham. I like calling this my Cherry Coke Ham. The first half of the cooking is done in cola. The second half of the cooking happens with a Cherry-Orange Juice glaze. Very tasty. I couldn't stop eating the ham. It was my Easter Crack!


To pair with the ham I have my Rosemary Parmesan Au Gratin Potatoes. Rich & delicious. Perfect.

The recipes for the onion marmalade, glazed ham and potatoes can all be found here.


With all the rich foods, we needed something light, crisp and with enough clear flavors to cut the fat of the ham and cream of the potatoes. The Orange Fennel Salad does the trick.


And of course we had some lovely flowers from the garden. They certainly brightened up the room and offered up some lovely fragrance. Check them out here.

Chicken Provencale sans Basil

I had plans the other evening to make one of our favorite stand by meals. Chicken Provencale. It's simple and lovely. But there is one important requirement. Fresh Basil. Without it, the dish just doesn't have the depth of flavor required and it basically looses all it's appeal.

Well, wouldn't you know it. I spend the day talking about how excited I am to be making this and the fresh basil will be so awesome, that when I get home to start prepping...the basil? It is black, moldy and down right disgusting.

Boo hoo. I basically gave up right there. I was defeated. But I continued...we needed to eat dinner.

The veg are based on the colors of the Italian flag...Roma tomatoes, Green peppers and White onion...all diced to the same size. Don't forget to seed the tomatoes.


The chicken gets a light coating of seasoned flour. This serves a few different purposes. 1) It helps the process of the chicken cooking until golden brown and delicious. 2) Bits of the flour will stay in the pan and help to add some body to the final sauce. 3) It will also provide a tiny bit of protection to the chicken, giving a little bit of a window to save the cook from over-cooking the chicken to the point of being dry and nasty.


Lovely color and nice flavor.


After the chicken cooks, the onions, pepper and garlic.


Add the tomatoes and white wine. Simmer.


Add cooked angel hair pasta, toss and serve.


I used dried basil to substitute for the fresh. It didn't work. Sad. Also, after the over-salting fiasco of the other night, I must have felt gun shy and didn't use enough salt either.

Oh well, we still ate it and it was still pretty good, just not great.

Ask Eat With Me

Naturally Dyed Eggs Image Source

Wishing everyone a Happy Passover & Happy Easter.

This past week I received a few questions that I thought I would answer here on the homepage of Eat With Me.

Catherine asked...

I am looking for the perfect Easter dinner menu...Which is your personal favorite--ham or lamb? And what appeals to you in the way of dessert? A wine suggestion would also be most welcome.

I have to say, I don't remember Easter dinner in my family. I know I spent time with my grandparents and would often dye eggs with my grandmother. She always had dozens and dozens of eggs. Lots of fun! But I don't remember the food.

As an adult, I tend to make the same Easter dinner and will be doing so this Sunday. I am a ham person; I'm not fond of lamb. So I will be doing a glazed ham and rosemary parmesan au gratin potatoes. I usually also serve an orange fennel salad, which pairs very nicely with the rich ham and potato dishes.

I'm not sure about wine, but with the ham, I might try a Beaujolais or Pinot Noir for red or an extra dry Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc for the whites. Catherine, I hope this helps.

Megan asked...

So I've been reading your blog for almost a year now, and I don't think I have ever commented. I was wondering where you are from originally because I have a huge debate with a friend of mine over Chicken and Dumplings. I grew up primarily in WV, but my mom always made what I now know to be considered Yankee Dumplings - Who knew right? Southern Dumplings are much denser etc. At least according to my friend, and what I've read online. Your first dumplings pictures looks like southern dumplins but the new one looks similar to mine, but I make mine very very differently. (I think mine are probably easier to make).

My response to Megan: I am originally from Wisconsin. I never had Chicken & Dumplins like this back home. My grandmother made Chicken & Dumpling soup, which is delicious, but those dumplings are more dense and firm, made with flour & eggs. These are very light, made with flour and butter.

Megan followed up with her own recipe for dumplins and you can find it in the comment section here. Thanks!

SteRfanie asked...

Hey -- I have 2 questions for you.

1. When a recipe calls for a "dry white wine," what does that mean? What are some examples of what I could use?

2. I've gotten a few new pans recently -- what is the difference in how would you use a stainless frying pan vs. non-stick? What is each one better for, or are they interchangable?

And my response: Dry is not sweet or soft/floral wines...sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio are the best. chardonnays can work. I would stay away from rieslings, gewerts, chenin blancs, viognier, etc....as those sweeter wines reduce during the cooking process and they become too sweet. As most chefs will tell you, if you're not willing to drink the wine because it has gone bad, don't cook with it.

For the pans, it really depends on what you're cooking. If you plan on making a pan sauce, the non-stick doesn't work as well. I use my two skillets almost interchangablly, so it really doesn't matter...you can still get good results. Non-stick is good for more delicate things...eggs, fish, veggies. I like to make my skillet potatoes in the non-stick, I can get a better crust on them and they don't fall apart. The stainless steel...best for hearty cuts of meat that can take the abuse from the heat and things that you want to get a solid sear/crust on, and again, if you're planning a pan sauce, the stainless still will hold onto bits of the meat. All those little bits that stick to the pan (called fond), those can dissolve into the liquid (wine/broth) of your sauce enhancing the flavors.

Hope this helps, pans aren't really an area of expertise for me. But the two that I have work well for my needs. Also, if you're buying pans, buy something that is oven safe, so no plastic or heat proof handles. With an oven-safe pan, you can make start something on the stove top and move it to the oven to finish cooking. This is great for braises and egg dishes like frittatas.



Thanks for the questions, keep them coming and I'll answer when I have the time.

Chianti, Vinho Verde & Finish

Your wine lessons for today from Karen MacNeil:

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Dear Karen: I am interested in trying wines from the Chianti region of Italy, but when I visit retail stores, I see that some labels say Chianti and others say Chianti Classico. What’s the difference?

Dear Reader:The Chianti area in Tuscany was once much smaller than it is now. When the wines of Chianti gained recognition around the world, the Italian government decided to take advantage of their growing popularity. In 1932, the original Chianti region was enlarged to include neighboring villages and vineyards. Thereafter, the original area was designated the classic zone, or Chianti Classico. Wines produced in the Chianti Classico region have stricter regulations regarding grape growing and winemaking.

Many believe that the Classico wines are the true rich and age-worthy versions that elevated Chianti to its world-famous status. There are, however, good Chiantis made outside the original zone. Traditional aromas and flavors include dried cherry, orange, plum fruit, a dusty earthy character, cedarwood, chocolate, spice, and a distinct minerality.

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OENO FILE: The name Vinho Verde means “green wine,” a reference not to the color of the wine but to the fact that the grapes are picked early in the season.

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Finish: There are few absolutes in the world of wine, but here’s one: The longer a wine’s finish, the better the wine. The finish is the lingering flavor of a wine after you’ve swallowed. Some people use the word aftertaste as a synonym, but for many wine pros, aftertaste has a negative connotation and thus the term finish is preferred.

Interestingly (and luckily), only really good wines have a finish, and great wines have a finish that can go on for many seconds (wine judges have been known to take out stopwatches). Conversely, a poor-quality wine often ends tasting of nothing. Obviously, a long finish enhances the pleasure of a wine by prolonging the flavors and sensations it provides. So remember, when it comes to wine, great ones finish last.



**MORE Ask Karen Tips & Notes here.

Coffee

It's funny...I always considered Starbucks to be the answer to bad coffee of the days gone by. Then other fine coffees started coming out and I always found Starbucks to be tasting more and more like burnt tar. Now, we have a small cafe in my work place that serves coffee and when I want something other than the free swill we have in the office, I end up with a Starbucks. I don't love it, but I doctor it up enough that I can make due.

Well, for those of you who love Starbucks and don't know what you would do without it, I think there's an interesting option available to you. See, Starbucks recently launched their version of instant coffee. Funny right...Starbucks gained its fame as being THE coffee you go to a cafe for and not the Folgers or Maxwell House or Taster's Choice. Now they have their own instant coffee, Starbucks VIA.

When they launched the product, they had an offer for free samples, and I had to get my hands on some, to see what it was all about. Again, knowing I don't love Starbucks, but do drink it pretty regularly, I have to say, this is a pretty good product. It's not perfect by any meals, but as a substitute to the real deal, it works.


I received two small packets. One is Italian Roast and the other was Colombian. High grade Colombian! If you've seen the small packets of Crystal Light drink mix, these are the same shape and size. Perfect for traveling or storage in small spaces. They can also be purchased for about $10 for twelve 8 oz servings.

With the fine powder poured into my mug. The aroma was their, not really strong, but a good solid coffee aroma. If you don't want to drink the instant coffee, I think it might be a nice addition to baked goods, if you want some coffee flavor??? I don't know, that just came to me, but I could see adding it to some rich chocolate cookies for a rich mocha flavor.

Since the packets are measured out, you need to carefully add the water, so you don't dilute the coffee. 8 oz per packet. The color was there, as was the taste. Like I said, it's not the same as the fresh brewed Starbucks, but when you don't have that, this is/was a good substitute.

For those who know me, you know that I ruin my coffee with lots of cream and sugar. LOTS of cream & sugar. This instant coffee doesn't require as much of either for me, so that's a good thing. With Starbucks, I feel I'm adding those things to mask the bitterness that I don't like.

When all was said and done, I preferred the medium roast Colombian to the dark roast Italian Roast. I'm not going to run out and search for Starbucks VIA, but if it's presented to me, I wouldn't pour it down the drain either.

Chicken 'n' Dumplins

WOW...I have a handful of posts that I never finished...this one was started on February 9. So I guess now is better than never.

Chicken 'n' Dumplins
(here's the recipe, if you can call it that.)

Mix the flour and butter together in the food processor until...

the mix looks like corn meal and sticks together a little when pinched. Later you add water and process until it just pulls together, carefully roll out and cut.

The base of these chicken 'n' dumplins is made with a roux...butter and flour cooked together, turning broth or stock into a beautiful texture.

The dough is rolled out and the dumplins are cut. Placed into a gently simmering mix of chicken, carrots, onions, corn and herbs.

The dumplins cook and puff up. So soft and tender. Perfectly comforting.

Thai one on

Last night's dinner was good...except for one mistake...I over salted the dish. But minus that mistake, it was really good! Restaurant quality!

Thai Basil Chicken
The chicken is coated with egg whites and corn starch, similar to a few other recipes I've made.

See here for examples:
Sweet & Sour Chicken
General Tso's Chicken
Sesame Chicken
Sweet & Sour Pork

Don't forget to add some onions. I do think the next time will include some bell peppers for more body, texture and flavor.


Saute for a few minutes, then add some jalapeno peppers.


Add sauce and stir in the basil. Enjoy over rice!

Thai Basil Chicken
-a new version, slightly altered and based on this previous version of the recipe.

Ingredients:
For the sauce
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 1 1/2 TB brown sugar
• 2 tsp Thai chili sauce, or more to taste
• 1 tsp finely minced garlic
• 1 tsp finely minced ginger root

For the chicken
• 1 large egg white
• 2 TB cornstarch
• vegetable oil for cooking
• Fresh black pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup packed basil leaves, torn or sliced into smaller pieces-if leafs are large
• 1 medium-large jalapeno pepper stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced

Directions:
For the sauce: Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

For the chicken: In a medium bowl, combine the egg white, cornstarch, and the white pepper. Add the chicken and mix well; set aside.

Heat a skillet over high heat. Add 1-2 TB of oil and add the chicken pieces, one at a time, don't crowd the pan; fry for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Work in batches, as necessary, remove cooked chicken to a plate while finishing the remainder of the chicken. When all done, add the chicken back to the pan. Add the onion and stir-fry for a few minutes; the onion will not soften thoroughly. Add the jalapeno pepper and saute for one minute.

Add the sauce, cook for 1-3 minutes, the sauce will reduce and thicken slightly. Turn off the heat. Add the basil, stirring to combine.

Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.


Notice there is no salt in the recipe? Yep, that's where I made a mistake. I add a bit too much salt to the rice, which for most recipes, isn't life or death. Then I added salt to the egg white/cornstarch mixture, again good if you are not making this dish. Why? Because we then add these salty components of the sauce...soy sauce and fish sauce. Both have enough sodium to flavor the dish, the excess salt just presents its self as a nuisance.

Long Beautiful Hair

We had a spontaneous trip to New York on Saturday to see HAIR, enjoy some food and drink and spend some time with a friend. HAIR was amazing. So was the food and drink.


We started our dining adventures at 5 Napkin Burger. I had this beer and it was tasty!

After the beer, we ordered a plate of Pork Taquitos that were mighty tasty. The pork tasted almost exactly like my slow braised pork I use for tacos and enchiladas! Sorry. I just realized I never did the post for the braised pork...and I don't think I have the recipe to share...I'll see what I can find...I'm probably more bummed than you, gentle readers. I have to recreate something I have no notes on!!!

Then there was the burger. First note. If you normally eat a burger cooked medium, you might ask that it go to medium-well. The medium was a bit more rare than I would enjoy. That being said, I still ate the whole dang thing and had no regrets. The fries were great as well. Thin and crispy and extra salty.

5 Napkin Burger
630 9th Avenue
(corner of 45th & 9th)
New York, NY
212.757.2277

UPDATE: 4/10/09
5 Napkin Burger was voted The Best New Burger by Time Out New York.
That pretty much rocks.

That was lunch.

Then we saw HAIR. I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats! We then hung out at some hotel's lounge/bar, which was great. Very relaxing and inebriating.

After the lounge, we had dinner.

We'd been to Bond 45 before. I had the lasagna last time and again this time. The recipe seemed to change, but it was still very tasty.

But the main reason we went to Bond 45 was for the profiteroles.

We ate them all!

Bond 45
154 W 45 Street
New York, NY
212.869.4545

After dinner we made our way to Heaven & Hell, a bar we've spent some time at as well. As with last time, we had a blast! After a few hours our one day adventure in New York came to an end. We slept, got up and came home. I'm looking for information on the bar. Google isn't providing me with the address or web...I'll get it...

Take a Leek

Last night's dinner was so easy! SO EASY. And fast. I think dinner took 15 minutes to make.

Chicken with Leeks

You start with some chicken. I did a quick dredge in some seasoned flour for flavor and to help the final sauce have some body. After the first side of the chicken cooked in some butter until is was golden brown, I flipped the chicken topped with two large leeks which had been sliced and washed. After about two minutes, I poured in some white wine, covered and simmered for about five minutes. The chicken was cooked through at this point, so while I waited for my rice to finish cooking, I turned the heat to low and took cover off. This let the wine reduce lightly.

Served on a bed of white rice. Wonderful.

This is a version of a Rachel Ray recipe we've made a ton of times before. But I like this version a little more. I think the butter and the flour-dredged chicken enhance the final flavor. Enjoy.