I like to multi-task. Right now I'm on my way to a wedding rehearsal barbecue dinner. Now don't panic: I'm not driving. Like I'd blog and drive. And I'm still trying to figure out what exactly we're rehearsing. Especialy when the bride told me she's wearing a baggy shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. And growing up, we used to call that particular type of footwear 'thongs'. After a rather embarrassing encounter, I now call them flip-flops (though my instinct is still to call them thongs). I hate when people change vernacular on me.
Well that was a tangent. This was a recipe my mom made us because it was so darned good and so darned fast. You basically chuck everything in a big pot and heat it up. What could be more attractive about a dish? And it's fairly healthy (at least healthier than, say, a cheeseburger and fries). This is her version:
Taco Soup
a Jones family recipe
1 lb hamburger, ground
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
4 14 ounce cans stewed diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, not drained
1/2 packet taco seasoning
A couple pinches of Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp salsa
Sour cream
Grated cheddar cheese
Sliced black olives
Tortilla chips
In a big pot, brown the ground beef. Then add the chopped onions and green pepper and cook until the onions start to turn transparent. Then add the tomatoes, beans, corn, and seasonings. Cook it until it simmers. Look! it's ready to eat. When serving, add sour creamcheese, olives, and/or crushed chips, whatever your heart's dearest wish is. Beware: you'll probably want seconds.
I'm almost to my barbecue.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Fresh Cherry Cake --- a Swiss recipe
For some reason, this year has been a boom for cherries. The last month or so, I've seen the prices for cherries drop to a dollar a pound. ONE dollar. Naturally, the prudent financial person I am, I immediately bought 6 pounds of cherries, ate a bunch, and then decided I needed to do something else with them before they wasted away in the fridge. I found this cake recipe in my Swiss cookbook, and because it called for two pounds of pitted cherries, I thought that'd be a good way to use some of the excess I'd purchased. And this time, I actually ended up using them all before the mold demons killed them.
Just a note: When I was making this cake, some of the things it asked me to do seemed really strange. I wasn't quite sure why it asked me to do them, but I decided, what the heck, and voilà! it ended up pretty dang tasty.
Fresh Cherry Cake
from Culinary Art and Traditions of Switzerland
500 grams white bread rolls (I used Wal-mart brand hamburger buns, and 11 1/2 buns was exactly enough)
200 ml milk (my pyrex measuring cup has milliliters, but if you don't have one (which you should!) use a little more than 3/4 cup milk
120 g butter, softened -- 1 full stick. Remember, margarine is nasty. Use real butter for cooking.
200 g sugar (1 cup sugar)
7 egg yolks (keep the egg whites, you'll need them later)
100 g almonds and hazelnuts (whole) -- this equates to about 2/3 cup of nuts. I used a full cup of nuts because, well, I like nuts.
pinch of cinnamon
7 egg whites stiffly whipped
10 g baking powder (2 1/2 tsp)
900 g black cherries, stoned --- I used 2 lb 8 oz of unstoned fruit, and ended up with about 100 grams too many (which I used anyway). I'd say about 2 1/4 lbs of cherries should give you about 2 lbs of stoned cherries.
20 g flour (about 3 Tbsp)
100 g sponge crumbs (I used those little sponge cakes they sell for individual strawberry shortcake servings---I used 4 of them.)
First you soak the bread rolls in the milk for at least 2 hours. I tore up the bread into big chunks, and kinda stirred it around every half hour or so. (This is one of the bizarre things I wondered about, but trust me, it all works out.)
Next I stoned the cherries. I learned the hard way that you should not use a shirt you particularly care for while stoning them unless you really enjoy red flecks all over your best clothes. Also, do not keep works of art in the general vicinity--- the cherry juice splatters. Look under my Cherry Clafouti recipe for directions on stoning cherries --- it's really rather easy once you get the hang of it.
At this time I also crumbled up the sponge cake and decided to toast it so it wouldn't be soggy, it'd be more crumbly. I popped it in the oven at 250 for about 10 minutes. Make sure you watch them, you don't want burned crumbs in your cake, I'm sure it wouldn't enhance the flavor. You'll want to make sure to change the temperature of the oven to 350, in preparation for the baking.
Next, I creamed the butter and sugar, and added the egg yolks, one at a time. When I was separating the whites from the yolks, I just set aside the whites for a little bit, and let the whites warm up to room temperature. Apparently when you whip the whites at room temperature they stiffen better. After creaming the yolks with the sugar and butter, I dumped in the nuts and mixed those in (with the beater). I then mixed the dry ingredients together, and beat those into the batter.
Now came the weird part. I put the big pile of soggy bread into the mixing bowl. I sat there and wondered, how do I mix this in? Just put the mixer right in the middle, and start on slow, but mix it all together until the dough is this kind of thickish pasty stuff. The soggy bread will mix in completely and you won't have weird chunks. After that, the recipe splits. If you are making an actual cake, save about half of the sponge crumbs, if you're just making muffins, dump all the sponge crumbs in and mix them all together. Next, *stir* the pitted cherries into the mix (don't use the beaters anymore, you want to keep these whole).
The dough is going to be pretty thick, but that's what the egg whites are for -- to lighten them up. Whip the room temperature egg whites until they are stiff, and fold them into the dough. I couldn't get them to fold very well, it ended up being a mix between folding and stirring, but the egg whites made the batter a lot more fluid once I got it all stirred/folded in. Now you're ready to bake.
If you're doing muffins (it'll make around 24-28), just put the batter until it's slightly over the top of the muffin pan. The batter really doesn't rise a whole lot, so if you only fill it halfway full, you'll get these tiny muffins. Bake that at 350 for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. You could use the paper, but I got this really nice muffin tray that is silicon, and I love it, because they just pop out. Let them cool, and enjoy!
If you're making the cake, I'd use an 8-10 inch springform pan, make sure the bottom and sides are fairly well greased. I used butter. Then put the sponge crumbs you saved in the bottom of the pan as a sort of base crust for the cake. pour the batter in to a depth of about 1 1/2 - 2 inches (not super thick or it'll take 3 days to cook), and pop it in the 350 degree oven. The book said it would take 30 minutes to cook, but mine took over an hour--- I just kept checking it with a toothpick until the batter was cooked. Let the cake cool, and then run a knife or what not around the edges, so it doesn't stick (it can stick sometimes). When I made the cake version, I ended up using a little more than half of the batter for the cake; that's when I discovered that the muffins ended up being a bit easier to make and handle. So in theory, you could do both.
These ended up being pretty dang good. The cherries tasted super good, against the delicious baked almonds and hazelnuts--- all in all it tastes like a good European type cake. I think they make really good muffins, and I'd make this recipe again.
Just a note: When I was making this cake, some of the things it asked me to do seemed really strange. I wasn't quite sure why it asked me to do them, but I decided, what the heck, and voilà! it ended up pretty dang tasty.
Fresh Cherry Cake
from Culinary Art and Traditions of Switzerland
500 grams white bread rolls (I used Wal-mart brand hamburger buns, and 11 1/2 buns was exactly enough)
200 ml milk (my pyrex measuring cup has milliliters, but if you don't have one (which you should!) use a little more than 3/4 cup milk
120 g butter, softened -- 1 full stick. Remember, margarine is nasty. Use real butter for cooking.
200 g sugar (1 cup sugar)
7 egg yolks (keep the egg whites, you'll need them later)
100 g almonds and hazelnuts (whole) -- this equates to about 2/3 cup of nuts. I used a full cup of nuts because, well, I like nuts.
pinch of cinnamon
7 egg whites stiffly whipped
10 g baking powder (2 1/2 tsp)
900 g black cherries, stoned --- I used 2 lb 8 oz of unstoned fruit, and ended up with about 100 grams too many (which I used anyway). I'd say about 2 1/4 lbs of cherries should give you about 2 lbs of stoned cherries.
20 g flour (about 3 Tbsp)
100 g sponge crumbs (I used those little sponge cakes they sell for individual strawberry shortcake servings---I used 4 of them.)
First you soak the bread rolls in the milk for at least 2 hours. I tore up the bread into big chunks, and kinda stirred it around every half hour or so. (This is one of the bizarre things I wondered about, but trust me, it all works out.)
Next I stoned the cherries. I learned the hard way that you should not use a shirt you particularly care for while stoning them unless you really enjoy red flecks all over your best clothes. Also, do not keep works of art in the general vicinity--- the cherry juice splatters. Look under my Cherry Clafouti recipe for directions on stoning cherries --- it's really rather easy once you get the hang of it.
At this time I also crumbled up the sponge cake and decided to toast it so it wouldn't be soggy, it'd be more crumbly. I popped it in the oven at 250 for about 10 minutes. Make sure you watch them, you don't want burned crumbs in your cake, I'm sure it wouldn't enhance the flavor. You'll want to make sure to change the temperature of the oven to 350, in preparation for the baking.
Next, I creamed the butter and sugar, and added the egg yolks, one at a time. When I was separating the whites from the yolks, I just set aside the whites for a little bit, and let the whites warm up to room temperature. Apparently when you whip the whites at room temperature they stiffen better. After creaming the yolks with the sugar and butter, I dumped in the nuts and mixed those in (with the beater). I then mixed the dry ingredients together, and beat those into the batter.
Now came the weird part. I put the big pile of soggy bread into the mixing bowl. I sat there and wondered, how do I mix this in? Just put the mixer right in the middle, and start on slow, but mix it all together until the dough is this kind of thickish pasty stuff. The soggy bread will mix in completely and you won't have weird chunks. After that, the recipe splits. If you are making an actual cake, save about half of the sponge crumbs, if you're just making muffins, dump all the sponge crumbs in and mix them all together. Next, *stir* the pitted cherries into the mix (don't use the beaters anymore, you want to keep these whole).
The dough is going to be pretty thick, but that's what the egg whites are for -- to lighten them up. Whip the room temperature egg whites until they are stiff, and fold them into the dough. I couldn't get them to fold very well, it ended up being a mix between folding and stirring, but the egg whites made the batter a lot more fluid once I got it all stirred/folded in. Now you're ready to bake.
If you're doing muffins (it'll make around 24-28), just put the batter until it's slightly over the top of the muffin pan. The batter really doesn't rise a whole lot, so if you only fill it halfway full, you'll get these tiny muffins. Bake that at 350 for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. You could use the paper, but I got this really nice muffin tray that is silicon, and I love it, because they just pop out. Let them cool, and enjoy!
If you're making the cake, I'd use an 8-10 inch springform pan, make sure the bottom and sides are fairly well greased. I used butter. Then put the sponge crumbs you saved in the bottom of the pan as a sort of base crust for the cake. pour the batter in to a depth of about 1 1/2 - 2 inches (not super thick or it'll take 3 days to cook), and pop it in the 350 degree oven. The book said it would take 30 minutes to cook, but mine took over an hour--- I just kept checking it with a toothpick until the batter was cooked. Let the cake cool, and then run a knife or what not around the edges, so it doesn't stick (it can stick sometimes). When I made the cake version, I ended up using a little more than half of the batter for the cake; that's when I discovered that the muffins ended up being a bit easier to make and handle. So in theory, you could do both.
These ended up being pretty dang good. The cherries tasted super good, against the delicious baked almonds and hazelnuts--- all in all it tastes like a good European type cake. I think they make really good muffins, and I'd make this recipe again.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Ceviche de tilapia --- a Venezuelan delicacy
I learned a great lesson tonight. When chopping up really spicy peppers, you might think you've washed your hands good enough, but you'd probably be very wrong. Oh, when you rub your eyes, you'll find out VERY quickly. The burn eventually goes away--- give it a couple of hours. Also, watch what you eat after chopping them up. Cherries that you think would taste really fresh end up burning your tongue. Super special.
Painful burning aside, this tilapia dish is super DELICIOUS and really quite healthy --- no processed foods, it's all vegetables and fish. Be aware that it's not a spur-of-the-moment dish. It takes a good 24 hours to complete, but is WELL worth the wait. And it's SUPER easy to throw together. The 24 hours is required because the lime juice needs the time to fully cook the fish. The fish comes out quite tasty, and really tones down the sourness of the limes, making a good delicious mix of sweet from the tomatoes, avocado-ish, and tart from the limes.
Ceviche de Tilapia
a Friderici family recipe
10 tilapia filets (approximately 4-5" in length)
15 limes (yes, you need this many, and it's not going to taste like fish swimming in limeade)
2 large garlic cloves, finely diced (I just squish mine through a garlic press, easier)
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 Tbsp cilantro, finely diced
2 large serrano peppers, finely diced (this ingredient was the source of my pain for the evening)
1/4 cup orange juice
5 large tomatoes, diced
3 large avocados, diced
salt to taste
Make sure to clean and dry the fish thoroughly. I like the tilapia filets from costco, though this time I just got some frozen ones and thawed them in the sink. After drying the fish, you chop up into 1/2 inch cubes. Mine ended up being more like 1/4 inch cubes, but that's because I get overzealous and kept chopping them just a tad smaller. I also wanted more bite-sized pieces, and wanted to make sure the lime juice cooked the fish all the way through before I served it.
After I chopped up the fish and put it in a bowl (make sure it's a GLASS or PLASTIC bowl--- the lime juice may corrode a metal bowl), I used a lime press (definitely worth the 5 bucks) and squeezed the limes (yes, 15 limes) into the bowl. Add the garlic, yellow onion, cilantro, serrano peppers (make sure to dice them finely--- I'm not a fan of a gigantic piece of hot pepper myself) and the orange juice. Cover with plastic, and put it in the fridge overnight.
Right before you serve it the next day, add the tomatoes and avocados. Add salt to taste. It can be served with chips like a dip or a salsa, or served up in bowls. Everyone will be amazed that you produced a great tasting dish, and you can secretly smile at how easy it was.
Painful burning aside, this tilapia dish is super DELICIOUS and really quite healthy --- no processed foods, it's all vegetables and fish. Be aware that it's not a spur-of-the-moment dish. It takes a good 24 hours to complete, but is WELL worth the wait. And it's SUPER easy to throw together. The 24 hours is required because the lime juice needs the time to fully cook the fish. The fish comes out quite tasty, and really tones down the sourness of the limes, making a good delicious mix of sweet from the tomatoes, avocado-ish, and tart from the limes.
Ceviche de Tilapia
a Friderici family recipe
10 tilapia filets (approximately 4-5" in length)
15 limes (yes, you need this many, and it's not going to taste like fish swimming in limeade)
2 large garlic cloves, finely diced (I just squish mine through a garlic press, easier)
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 Tbsp cilantro, finely diced
2 large serrano peppers, finely diced (this ingredient was the source of my pain for the evening)
1/4 cup orange juice
5 large tomatoes, diced
3 large avocados, diced
salt to taste
Make sure to clean and dry the fish thoroughly. I like the tilapia filets from costco, though this time I just got some frozen ones and thawed them in the sink. After drying the fish, you chop up into 1/2 inch cubes. Mine ended up being more like 1/4 inch cubes, but that's because I get overzealous and kept chopping them just a tad smaller. I also wanted more bite-sized pieces, and wanted to make sure the lime juice cooked the fish all the way through before I served it.
After I chopped up the fish and put it in a bowl (make sure it's a GLASS or PLASTIC bowl--- the lime juice may corrode a metal bowl), I used a lime press (definitely worth the 5 bucks) and squeezed the limes (yes, 15 limes) into the bowl. Add the garlic, yellow onion, cilantro, serrano peppers (make sure to dice them finely--- I'm not a fan of a gigantic piece of hot pepper myself) and the orange juice. Cover with plastic, and put it in the fridge overnight.
Right before you serve it the next day, add the tomatoes and avocados. Add salt to taste. It can be served with chips like a dip or a salsa, or served up in bowls. Everyone will be amazed that you produced a great tasting dish, and you can secretly smile at how easy it was.
Alton Brown's brussels sprouts delicious-style
About a year ago, I had a roommate named Jesse. He and I would watch the Food Network sometimes. One of our favorite shows was called Good Eats, hosted by Alton Brown. Alton is a bit of a nerd (probably why I feel an affinity to him), but really knows his stuff, and makes the foods he talks about really interesting. I'd recommend watching --- it's kinda fun to see how cheesy goofy he can be.
One week, Alton did a show on brussels sprouts. I don't know that Jesse had ever had them before, but the first time I had sprouts was when I was living in Belgium. Kinda funny that I had to basically go to Brussels to find brussels sprouts. I liked the slightly bitter flavor they give, and enjoyed them in the many ways they cooked them. However, after Jesse made this recipe, and I tried it, I much preferred them this style. Jesse didn't find them that great, but I thought the flavors Alton had combined really brought out the good flavor brussels sprouts provide. I'd recommend at least trying them out if you are a decent vegetable eater. If you're picky about anything leafy that you put in your mouth, you might want to just go to McDonald's and get some Chicken McNuggets or something.
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Cheese
Alton Brown, Food Network
6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small onion, julienned (this just means long strips)
1 tsp salt
1 small Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
1 lb cooked brussels sprouts (see below for how to do those)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 oz blue cheese, crumbled
pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Just a note: when I make this again, I'm going to have all my ingredients cut right before I make the dish. I thought I could chop them while I was cooking it, and it turned into a big rush to try and make everything work out right. It'd just be easier to have everything ready to go before you start making the dish.
Cook the bacon in a 10-inch sauté pan with straight sides until it's crispy and brown. Remove the bacon and most of the grease, leaving about 1 Tbsp of the fat in the pan. Turn the heat to low, and put the onions, cooking them until they're almost translucent (about 3-4 minutes). Add the salt and the apple, and cook for another minute or so. Then add the cooked brussels sprouts, heavy cream, and mustard, and I basically simmered it for a minute or two, until everything was heated through. Remove from heat, and stir in the nutmeg, bacon, and blue cheese --- serve right away.
in cooking the brussels sprouts, I prefer to steam them. I got a small stainless steel steamer that just slips into any size pan and fans out or in to fit the pan. I think I paid 4 bucks for it. It really helps when you're cooking vegetables--- I rarely boil vegetables anymore, I prefer steaming them. Anyway, I tried Alton's method for cooking these, and I ran out of water and started charring the bottom of the pan, so next time I'll steam them. I would clean and prepare the sprouts the same way though. His method:
1 lb brussels sprouts, rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
Cut off the stems and remove any yellow outer leaves. Cut each brussels sprout in half from top to bottom. Place the brussels sprouts, water, and salt in a 3-4 quart saucier and cover. Place over high heat and cook for 5 minutes or until tender.
I thoroughly enjoyed this dish--- combines some really good flavors for a unique taste. I think it would go really well with grilled steak or chicken as a good tasting vegetable side.
One week, Alton did a show on brussels sprouts. I don't know that Jesse had ever had them before, but the first time I had sprouts was when I was living in Belgium. Kinda funny that I had to basically go to Brussels to find brussels sprouts. I liked the slightly bitter flavor they give, and enjoyed them in the many ways they cooked them. However, after Jesse made this recipe, and I tried it, I much preferred them this style. Jesse didn't find them that great, but I thought the flavors Alton had combined really brought out the good flavor brussels sprouts provide. I'd recommend at least trying them out if you are a decent vegetable eater. If you're picky about anything leafy that you put in your mouth, you might want to just go to McDonald's and get some Chicken McNuggets or something.
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Cheese
Alton Brown, Food Network
6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small onion, julienned (this just means long strips)
1 tsp salt
1 small Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
1 lb cooked brussels sprouts (see below for how to do those)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 oz blue cheese, crumbled
pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Just a note: when I make this again, I'm going to have all my ingredients cut right before I make the dish. I thought I could chop them while I was cooking it, and it turned into a big rush to try and make everything work out right. It'd just be easier to have everything ready to go before you start making the dish.
Cook the bacon in a 10-inch sauté pan with straight sides until it's crispy and brown. Remove the bacon and most of the grease, leaving about 1 Tbsp of the fat in the pan. Turn the heat to low, and put the onions, cooking them until they're almost translucent (about 3-4 minutes). Add the salt and the apple, and cook for another minute or so. Then add the cooked brussels sprouts, heavy cream, and mustard, and I basically simmered it for a minute or two, until everything was heated through. Remove from heat, and stir in the nutmeg, bacon, and blue cheese --- serve right away.
in cooking the brussels sprouts, I prefer to steam them. I got a small stainless steel steamer that just slips into any size pan and fans out or in to fit the pan. I think I paid 4 bucks for it. It really helps when you're cooking vegetables--- I rarely boil vegetables anymore, I prefer steaming them. Anyway, I tried Alton's method for cooking these, and I ran out of water and started charring the bottom of the pan, so next time I'll steam them. I would clean and prepare the sprouts the same way though. His method:
1 lb brussels sprouts, rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
Cut off the stems and remove any yellow outer leaves. Cut each brussels sprout in half from top to bottom. Place the brussels sprouts, water, and salt in a 3-4 quart saucier and cover. Place over high heat and cook for 5 minutes or until tender.
I thoroughly enjoyed this dish--- combines some really good flavors for a unique taste. I think it would go really well with grilled steak or chicken as a good tasting vegetable side.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Grandma Gubler's lemon chicken
I just spent an awesome evening talking with my Grandma Gubler, and watching the rain fall in the desert heat. She's 89 years old, and has led a life that frankly amazes me. She raised 11 children, was a registered nurse, and still managed to create what was my childhood fantasy land in her orchard. The orchard is gone now, but she still lives in the 3-story house that my mom grew up in. We just sat and talked on the swing under the back porch, listening to the wind and the rain as they gently came and went. It brought back one of my favorite memories.
I was visiting Grandma, alone, and I must have been eight. There was a terrible storm that blew in that day. We had gone to some fast food restaurant, I forget which, and midway through the power went out. We then went to the store, and I thought it was so weird how some of the lights were on, and some were off. (Coming from a small town, with no backup electrical plan, I thought it was SO strange how the store was powered by two separate power boxes. I had bizarre ideas for the world back then.) We went back to grandma's house, and we sat on her front porch, watching this massive rainstorm blow through the valley, with lightning and thunder everywhere, eating her homemade banana slush.
I don't have the recipe for the banana slush, but when I get it, I'm going to post it. In the meantime, I'll post one of my favorite recipes that she has given me. I don't know where she got it, but I got it from her, so...
Lemon Chicken
from Ella Gubler
3-4 chicken breasts, cubed (I usually cube it into about 3/4" cubes)
1/4 cup butter (please don't cook with margarine. It's not the 80s anymore.)
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp terragon (very important, I bought terragon just for this dish and have never regretted it)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cube chicken bouillon (I use the Knorr powered bouillon, and just add it by taste)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is by FAR the best)
Cube the chicken, and cut off the excess fat. Preheat the pan, and melt the butter in it. cook the chicken in the butter until it's done. I like to fry it a bit after it's cooked in the butter, just to brown the chicken a bit. I then mix the flour, terragon, and salt in a small ramekin until that's blended, then I sprinkle it over the chicken. I coat the chicken with it, and cook it for just a minute, to brown the flour and get a good crust on the chicken cubes. Then add 3/4 cup water to the bouillon and dissolve it to make a chicken broth (I just pour the water in the chicken pan, and then sprinkle the powdered bouillon on until it tastes good), and add the juice. Cook it a few minutes, until you get a really nice gravy going. I love serving it with my really good rice recipe (to follow soon)--- makes a delicious dinner, easy to make, and takes very little time.
Grandma gave me this dish when I asked her for a simple, good meal I could impress a date with. It's never failed. Now I can toss the receipt from Target that I wrote the recipe on.
I was visiting Grandma, alone, and I must have been eight. There was a terrible storm that blew in that day. We had gone to some fast food restaurant, I forget which, and midway through the power went out. We then went to the store, and I thought it was so weird how some of the lights were on, and some were off. (Coming from a small town, with no backup electrical plan, I thought it was SO strange how the store was powered by two separate power boxes. I had bizarre ideas for the world back then.) We went back to grandma's house, and we sat on her front porch, watching this massive rainstorm blow through the valley, with lightning and thunder everywhere, eating her homemade banana slush.
I don't have the recipe for the banana slush, but when I get it, I'm going to post it. In the meantime, I'll post one of my favorite recipes that she has given me. I don't know where she got it, but I got it from her, so...
Lemon Chicken
from Ella Gubler
3-4 chicken breasts, cubed (I usually cube it into about 3/4" cubes)
1/4 cup butter (please don't cook with margarine. It's not the 80s anymore.)
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp terragon (very important, I bought terragon just for this dish and have never regretted it)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cube chicken bouillon (I use the Knorr powered bouillon, and just add it by taste)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is by FAR the best)
Cube the chicken, and cut off the excess fat. Preheat the pan, and melt the butter in it. cook the chicken in the butter until it's done. I like to fry it a bit after it's cooked in the butter, just to brown the chicken a bit. I then mix the flour, terragon, and salt in a small ramekin until that's blended, then I sprinkle it over the chicken. I coat the chicken with it, and cook it for just a minute, to brown the flour and get a good crust on the chicken cubes. Then add 3/4 cup water to the bouillon and dissolve it to make a chicken broth (I just pour the water in the chicken pan, and then sprinkle the powdered bouillon on until it tastes good), and add the juice. Cook it a few minutes, until you get a really nice gravy going. I love serving it with my really good rice recipe (to follow soon)--- makes a delicious dinner, easy to make, and takes very little time.
Grandma gave me this dish when I asked her for a simple, good meal I could impress a date with. It's never failed. Now I can toss the receipt from Target that I wrote the recipe on.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon
Today I had a kitchen fire.
I've never had one before. It was somewhat exciting. Actually, it was more annoying than exciting, because no matter how much I blew on it, to put out the fire, it kept popping up. I guess it didn't help I poured a bunch of butter/oil down into the burner well--- aparently oil ignites fairly easily. Only after I realized the burner was on HI did I figure that turning that off would help as well. I'm just glad I didn't overreact and spray fire retardant all over my meal. That does a lot to dampen the flavors of anything you make.
Michelle is coming over tonight, and I thought I'd make my pièce de résistance--- Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. The day after I'd gotten Julia's cookbook for Christmas (and watched the movie), I just HAD to try it. The fanciest beef dish I'd had before that was our weekly dinner, Boeuf de Sunday Roast, which after 15 years had gotten a trifle old. Boeuf Bourguignon sounded, well, better. And BOY was it ever.
WARNING: This dish should not be done as a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. It takes a good 2 hours to prepare--- even with help--- and it'll be done about 4 hours after you start. You'll also need some kitchen supplies. Most important is a good pot that you can use both on the kitchen top and in the oven. The first time I made it, I used a Dutch oven, which worked pretty well (except the clean-up was hard). Knowing it would be a dish I'd make more often, I invested in a really nice porcelain Dutch oven (about $60 bucks at Wal-mart). It was pricy, but I LOVE my new Boeuf pan. It works *perfectly*.
On with the recipe. It's involved, so follow it pretty closely.
BOEUF BOURGUIGNON
by Julia Childs, Mastering the Art of French Cooking
ingredients:
6 oz bacon lardons (see below)
1 Tb olive oil
3 lbs lean stewing beef cut into 2 inch cubes
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tb flour
3 cups of a full-bodied wine -- see next paragraph for types
2-3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 Tb tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 tsp thyme
crumbled bay leaf
Julia Child recommends the following wine: "a full-bodied, young young red wine, such as Beauolais, Côtes du Rhone, Bordeaux-St-Émilion, or Burgundy. I used one I found at the local wine store-- a 2007 Côtes du Rhone-Villages wine by Louis Bernard, costing me about 11 bucks. I think a wine in any of the classes above in the $10 range should be ok. I wouldn't go with the cheapest, but that's just me.
Pre-heat the oven to 425°. First you need 6 oz "lardons" which are like 1/4" x 1/4" by 1 1/2" pieces of bacon. I got the thickest cut bacon slices I could find, and just sliced the bacon into 1/4 inch strips. You *MUST* gently boil them for 10 minutes--- I found out later that American bacon is smoked, while French bacon is not, and if you don't boil the bacon pieces, your bourguignon will be compromised by the overwhelming taste of smoked bacon.
While the bacon was boiling, I dried off the pieces of stewing meat. I just got the meat at the grocery store, and tried to find the best and biggest pieces of meat. Try to avoid the small ones--- you will understand later on in the cooking process. The bigger the better. I just used paper towel to dry them off. Again, this is an important step--- if they're not dry, they will not brown, and you won't get the crispy sides that just add a lot of dimension to the final dish. After the meat was dried, the bacon was ready to cook.
The olive oil goes into the big dutch oven, on the stove, and I cooked the bacon in it, just barely browning it, not crisping it. I took it out, and then came the worst part of the whole process: browning the meat. It pretty much splattered grease all over everywhere--- but trust me, it's worth it. I definitely used more oil than Julia stated in her recipe, but I wonder if it's because the meat soaks up some of it, or more likely it splattered all over the stove. In any case, I got the meat browned, and cut up the carrot and onion, and got them browned too. Then I dumped the meat and bacon back in. I mixed the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, pepper), and tossed the meat in it. Itmade a nice paste looking coating on the meat. I then put the whole pot in the oven for 4 minutes on the middle rack (to brown the flour --- helps get a nice crust on the meat). I took it out, tossed again, and then put it in the oven again for 4 minutes (browning it again). IMMEDIATELY turn the oven down to 325°.
Then came the fun part. You get to pour 3 cups of the wine in the pot (make sure to measure, you'll want the rest for the onions), then poured in enough beef stock in to barely cover the meat (I flattened out the meat too, so I wouldn't get too much gravy to have to reduce). Then throw everything else in (I used fresh thyme--- I think it tastes better, and it's cheap to get if you have some growing in your garden) and simmer it. Once it's simmering, it goes in the oven for 2 1/2 hours on the bottom rack --- I just removed the top rack and put it on the very bottom rack. Once it's in, it just simmers until it's done.
While it was simmering, I made the brown-braised white onions and the fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter. Those go in right before you serve it and make this dish really shine. Those recipes will follow on this blog.
After the meat is simmered and is really tender (a fork should pierce it easily), I removed the dish, and poured the meat into a colander and strained the sauce into a pan. I heated the sauce and reduced it just a bit until it was fairly thick --- enough to coat a spoon lightly. There was a bit of oil on the top, but I just skimmed it off. I put the meat back in the pot, put the onions and mushrooms on top of the meat, and then poured the sauce over the meat and vegetables. After bringing it to a simmer again, I simmered it for a couple of minutes, letting the flavors mix a final time. And now it's ready to serve.
I'd better go try to get the burnt smell out of the house. She'll be here in an hour.
I've never had one before. It was somewhat exciting. Actually, it was more annoying than exciting, because no matter how much I blew on it, to put out the fire, it kept popping up. I guess it didn't help I poured a bunch of butter/oil down into the burner well--- aparently oil ignites fairly easily. Only after I realized the burner was on HI did I figure that turning that off would help as well. I'm just glad I didn't overreact and spray fire retardant all over my meal. That does a lot to dampen the flavors of anything you make.
Michelle is coming over tonight, and I thought I'd make my pièce de résistance--- Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. The day after I'd gotten Julia's cookbook for Christmas (and watched the movie), I just HAD to try it. The fanciest beef dish I'd had before that was our weekly dinner, Boeuf de Sunday Roast, which after 15 years had gotten a trifle old. Boeuf Bourguignon sounded, well, better. And BOY was it ever.
WARNING: This dish should not be done as a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. It takes a good 2 hours to prepare--- even with help--- and it'll be done about 4 hours after you start. You'll also need some kitchen supplies. Most important is a good pot that you can use both on the kitchen top and in the oven. The first time I made it, I used a Dutch oven, which worked pretty well (except the clean-up was hard). Knowing it would be a dish I'd make more often, I invested in a really nice porcelain Dutch oven (about $60 bucks at Wal-mart). It was pricy, but I LOVE my new Boeuf pan. It works *perfectly*.
On with the recipe. It's involved, so follow it pretty closely.
BOEUF BOURGUIGNON
by Julia Childs, Mastering the Art of French Cooking
ingredients:
6 oz bacon lardons (see below)
1 Tb olive oil
3 lbs lean stewing beef cut into 2 inch cubes
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tb flour
3 cups of a full-bodied wine -- see next paragraph for types
2-3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 Tb tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 tsp thyme
crumbled bay leaf
Julia Child recommends the following wine: "a full-bodied, young young red wine, such as Beauolais, Côtes du Rhone, Bordeaux-St-Émilion, or Burgundy. I used one I found at the local wine store-- a 2007 Côtes du Rhone-Villages wine by Louis Bernard, costing me about 11 bucks. I think a wine in any of the classes above in the $10 range should be ok. I wouldn't go with the cheapest, but that's just me.
Pre-heat the oven to 425°. First you need 6 oz "lardons" which are like 1/4" x 1/4" by 1 1/2" pieces of bacon. I got the thickest cut bacon slices I could find, and just sliced the bacon into 1/4 inch strips. You *MUST* gently boil them for 10 minutes--- I found out later that American bacon is smoked, while French bacon is not, and if you don't boil the bacon pieces, your bourguignon will be compromised by the overwhelming taste of smoked bacon.
While the bacon was boiling, I dried off the pieces of stewing meat. I just got the meat at the grocery store, and tried to find the best and biggest pieces of meat. Try to avoid the small ones--- you will understand later on in the cooking process. The bigger the better. I just used paper towel to dry them off. Again, this is an important step--- if they're not dry, they will not brown, and you won't get the crispy sides that just add a lot of dimension to the final dish. After the meat was dried, the bacon was ready to cook.
The olive oil goes into the big dutch oven, on the stove, and I cooked the bacon in it, just barely browning it, not crisping it. I took it out, and then came the worst part of the whole process: browning the meat. It pretty much splattered grease all over everywhere--- but trust me, it's worth it. I definitely used more oil than Julia stated in her recipe, but I wonder if it's because the meat soaks up some of it, or more likely it splattered all over the stove. In any case, I got the meat browned, and cut up the carrot and onion, and got them browned too. Then I dumped the meat and bacon back in. I mixed the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, pepper), and tossed the meat in it. Itmade a nice paste looking coating on the meat. I then put the whole pot in the oven for 4 minutes on the middle rack (to brown the flour --- helps get a nice crust on the meat). I took it out, tossed again, and then put it in the oven again for 4 minutes (browning it again). IMMEDIATELY turn the oven down to 325°.
Then came the fun part. You get to pour 3 cups of the wine in the pot (make sure to measure, you'll want the rest for the onions), then poured in enough beef stock in to barely cover the meat (I flattened out the meat too, so I wouldn't get too much gravy to have to reduce). Then throw everything else in (I used fresh thyme--- I think it tastes better, and it's cheap to get if you have some growing in your garden) and simmer it. Once it's simmering, it goes in the oven for 2 1/2 hours on the bottom rack --- I just removed the top rack and put it on the very bottom rack. Once it's in, it just simmers until it's done.
While it was simmering, I made the brown-braised white onions and the fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter. Those go in right before you serve it and make this dish really shine. Those recipes will follow on this blog.
After the meat is simmered and is really tender (a fork should pierce it easily), I removed the dish, and poured the meat into a colander and strained the sauce into a pan. I heated the sauce and reduced it just a bit until it was fairly thick --- enough to coat a spoon lightly. There was a bit of oil on the top, but I just skimmed it off. I put the meat back in the pot, put the onions and mushrooms on top of the meat, and then poured the sauce over the meat and vegetables. After bringing it to a simmer again, I simmered it for a couple of minutes, letting the flavors mix a final time. And now it's ready to serve.
I'd better go try to get the burnt smell out of the house. She'll be here in an hour.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Swiss carrot cake
Years ago, when I was a new student at BYU, I really wanted to learn German and move to Switzerland. My ancestors on both sides are Swiss, and I had been enamored with the country since I could remember. I joined a Swiss-American organization, and saw that they had this English version of a cookbook featuring authentic Swiss recipes. I jumped on that immediately. The book arrived--- a very nicely published and illustrated volume. There was one problem: all the measurements were in METRIC. Like I knew what 300 grams of something translated into "real" American measurements would be. I was so disappointed. The cookbook sat unused.
Fast forward a few years. My good friend from Switzerland, Regina, had come to visit me for a few weeks in the states, and we had decided to do an ethnic Swiss dessert selection. I whipped out the scale that I had purchased since college, and Regina went to work. The result? Pure deliciousness. So I decided that when the time arose, I would make it again.
I invited my cousin Michelle and her brood to dinner tomorrow night, and decided to make this carrot cake for dessert. As I didn't want to cook ALL day tomorrow, I made it tonight. The recipe book maintains that the cake is better the next day because the carrots keep the cake moist. I don't know about that, but I do know it's really yummy.
I've attempted to provide *rough* estimates to the American equivalents of the measurements of this recipe. NOTE: I am not responsible for any cooking mishap that results in the use of these equivalents, because I MUCH prefer to measure the ingredients out as outlined in the book. Any serious cook should have a digital scale in the house, with the ability to measure in both ounces and grams.
Carrot Cake, Aargau recipe
from Culinary Art and Traditions of Switzerland
5 eggs, separated (this is the same in both metric and American)
300 grams sugar (this is between 1 1/3 and 1 1/2 cups of sugar)
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 2 lemons, grated
300 grams ground almonds (about 1 2/3 cup *AFTER* they are ground)
300 grams finely grated carrots (between 1 1/3 and 1 1/2 cups *after* they are grated --- I ended up using 4 average sized store-bought carrots)
75 grams corn flour (I'm assuming this is corn meal, and it was right between 1/3 and 1/2 cup in my pyrex cup measure)
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
10 grams baking powder (approx. 1 Tbsp)
a pinch of salt
apricot jam (for glazing)
50 ml kirsch --- this measurement will be on your pyrex cup measure as well
fondant icing (I didn't use this)
marzipan carrots (I didn't use this either, but they are really good with it-- Regina spent a couple of hours and made some really awesome looking marzipan carrots with marzipan, red/yellow food coloring, and green food coloring. At this point, the available effort in my body was too low to begin that task. I'd recommend if you are taking this dish to a fancy party, or if you really like marzipan.)
THANKFULLY I have a food processor (another must in my kitchen gadget repertoire). I did the almonds first because they wouldn't get as wet as the carrots, so I'd only have to wash the thing once. I just weighed out the 300 grams of almonds (again, LOVE the digital scale) and dumped them in the processor with the knife blade attachment. I turned it on. Don't be alarmed at the sound, the almonds will calm down and be quieter when they are more finely ground. I kept going until it began to coagulate. I don't recommend grinding it that much--- it just started to make a paste which was a bit harder to work with. I'd just grind them down to very fine particles but it's not going to be a true powder.
I then grated the carrots with the cheese grater attachment first, then put them in with the knife blade attachment. They came out perfect --- very small pieces but still pieces, it wasn't a soupy mess. I weighed out 300 grams and set it aside. I then separated the eggs, putting the whites in my mixer (another kitchen appliance I completely LOVE) and set aside for later.
The egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest are all to be beaten together until it's all the same pale yellow color. I used my AWESOME zester I got for about 10 bucks (I will never use another zester again, it works like velvet). I then dumped the ground almonds and carrots in the mix, and blended those together. I read somewhere that you're supposed to mix all dry ingredients together, so I mixed the corn meal, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, and salt in a bowl before adding it to the batter. It makes sense to me--- before I started doing that, I'd just dump each dry ingredient in and then beat it. Besides saving a buttload of time, it also means you're not going to get a big mouthful of unmixed cinnamon. or cloves. or worse yet, baking powder. It's just a good idea, I recommend it. Then I beat in the kirsch. I flipped the switch on my mixer, and in a few minutes (with NO effort on my part), I had some really lovely looking egg white foam, which I folded in the batter. It was ready to go into the oven.
The pan I used for this dish is an 8 inch round springform pan. I would recommend this, as it makes it easiest to remove it from the pan, for presentation. The cake really is not supposed to be served from a cake pan --- I suppose you could do it, but it seems SO anti-Swiss to do such a thing to a really beautiful dessert. These aren't terribly expensive, and if you have a friend who bought a few once and then never used them (or got them for wedding gifts), you might luck out like I did and get them for free.
The book claims that baking it at 350 for an hour will produce the cake. Mine was done in 40 minutes. I'd probably just check it with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, it's done. Popped mine out--- and make sure to use a knife to loosen the edges before you remove it from the springform pan, or part of it might cling to it. Just a note--- I can't figure out why mine collapsed in the middle. I'm kinda bummed about it, but it still tastes great. Don't go into a depression spiral because of it--- things aren't supposed to work *all* the time, unless you are Emeril or something. If that is you, you probably should stop reading this blog, and start cooking at high end restaurants and/or start your own TV show.
I just used homemade apricot jam (heated) to glaze the cake (which is a fancy way to say I frosted it with the stuff). I didn't use the fondant--- I wasn't sure what that was supposed to be but I'm guessing from the picture it's not the nasty stuff they put on wedding cakes. I basically just served it as is.
The cake is DELICIOUS. Moist, almondy, the flavors just really pop out. Children don't seem to enjoy it because it's not your typical Betty Crocker cake mix texture--- this one is a bit more dense, but tastes... I dunno... more real. Now that I can operate in metric, I will be making this cake when I want to impress my guests with how international I can be.
Fast forward a few years. My good friend from Switzerland, Regina, had come to visit me for a few weeks in the states, and we had decided to do an ethnic Swiss dessert selection. I whipped out the scale that I had purchased since college, and Regina went to work. The result? Pure deliciousness. So I decided that when the time arose, I would make it again.
I invited my cousin Michelle and her brood to dinner tomorrow night, and decided to make this carrot cake for dessert. As I didn't want to cook ALL day tomorrow, I made it tonight. The recipe book maintains that the cake is better the next day because the carrots keep the cake moist. I don't know about that, but I do know it's really yummy.
I've attempted to provide *rough* estimates to the American equivalents of the measurements of this recipe. NOTE: I am not responsible for any cooking mishap that results in the use of these equivalents, because I MUCH prefer to measure the ingredients out as outlined in the book. Any serious cook should have a digital scale in the house, with the ability to measure in both ounces and grams.
Carrot Cake, Aargau recipe
from Culinary Art and Traditions of Switzerland
5 eggs, separated (this is the same in both metric and American)
300 grams sugar (this is between 1 1/3 and 1 1/2 cups of sugar)
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 2 lemons, grated
300 grams ground almonds (about 1 2/3 cup *AFTER* they are ground)
300 grams finely grated carrots (between 1 1/3 and 1 1/2 cups *after* they are grated --- I ended up using 4 average sized store-bought carrots)
75 grams corn flour (I'm assuming this is corn meal, and it was right between 1/3 and 1/2 cup in my pyrex cup measure)
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
10 grams baking powder (approx. 1 Tbsp)
a pinch of salt
apricot jam (for glazing)
50 ml kirsch --- this measurement will be on your pyrex cup measure as well
fondant icing (I didn't use this)
marzipan carrots (I didn't use this either, but they are really good with it-- Regina spent a couple of hours and made some really awesome looking marzipan carrots with marzipan, red/yellow food coloring, and green food coloring. At this point, the available effort in my body was too low to begin that task. I'd recommend if you are taking this dish to a fancy party, or if you really like marzipan.)
THANKFULLY I have a food processor (another must in my kitchen gadget repertoire). I did the almonds first because they wouldn't get as wet as the carrots, so I'd only have to wash the thing once. I just weighed out the 300 grams of almonds (again, LOVE the digital scale) and dumped them in the processor with the knife blade attachment. I turned it on. Don't be alarmed at the sound, the almonds will calm down and be quieter when they are more finely ground. I kept going until it began to coagulate. I don't recommend grinding it that much--- it just started to make a paste which was a bit harder to work with. I'd just grind them down to very fine particles but it's not going to be a true powder.
I then grated the carrots with the cheese grater attachment first, then put them in with the knife blade attachment. They came out perfect --- very small pieces but still pieces, it wasn't a soupy mess. I weighed out 300 grams and set it aside. I then separated the eggs, putting the whites in my mixer (another kitchen appliance I completely LOVE) and set aside for later.
The egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest are all to be beaten together until it's all the same pale yellow color. I used my AWESOME zester I got for about 10 bucks (I will never use another zester again, it works like velvet). I then dumped the ground almonds and carrots in the mix, and blended those together. I read somewhere that you're supposed to mix all dry ingredients together, so I mixed the corn meal, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, and salt in a bowl before adding it to the batter. It makes sense to me--- before I started doing that, I'd just dump each dry ingredient in and then beat it. Besides saving a buttload of time, it also means you're not going to get a big mouthful of unmixed cinnamon. or cloves. or worse yet, baking powder. It's just a good idea, I recommend it. Then I beat in the kirsch. I flipped the switch on my mixer, and in a few minutes (with NO effort on my part), I had some really lovely looking egg white foam, which I folded in the batter. It was ready to go into the oven.
The pan I used for this dish is an 8 inch round springform pan. I would recommend this, as it makes it easiest to remove it from the pan, for presentation. The cake really is not supposed to be served from a cake pan --- I suppose you could do it, but it seems SO anti-Swiss to do such a thing to a really beautiful dessert. These aren't terribly expensive, and if you have a friend who bought a few once and then never used them (or got them for wedding gifts), you might luck out like I did and get them for free.
The book claims that baking it at 350 for an hour will produce the cake. Mine was done in 40 minutes. I'd probably just check it with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, it's done. Popped mine out--- and make sure to use a knife to loosen the edges before you remove it from the springform pan, or part of it might cling to it. Just a note--- I can't figure out why mine collapsed in the middle. I'm kinda bummed about it, but it still tastes great. Don't go into a depression spiral because of it--- things aren't supposed to work *all* the time, unless you are Emeril or something. If that is you, you probably should stop reading this blog, and start cooking at high end restaurants and/or start your own TV show.
I just used homemade apricot jam (heated) to glaze the cake (which is a fancy way to say I frosted it with the stuff). I didn't use the fondant--- I wasn't sure what that was supposed to be but I'm guessing from the picture it's not the nasty stuff they put on wedding cakes. I basically just served it as is.
The cake is DELICIOUS. Moist, almondy, the flavors just really pop out. Children don't seem to enjoy it because it's not your typical Betty Crocker cake mix texture--- this one is a bit more dense, but tastes... I dunno... more real. Now that I can operate in metric, I will be making this cake when I want to impress my guests with how international I can be.
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