ad hoc dinners

We’ve been crunched for time recently, so I’ve made three ad hoc meals in row. All were more or less out of cans, and all had the consistency of paste. Also, all turned out very well. The salmon and the beans and chicken I would call excellent, even. The pasta and chicken, though tasty, may improve with better seasoning.

curried canned salmon

• 14 oz diced tomatoes
• 14 oz lite coconut milk
• 6 oz canned salmon
• sweet curry powder, Penzey’s (about 1 tsp?)

refried beans with chicken and tomatoes

• 14 oz diced tomatoes
• 14 oz refried beans
• 10 oz canned chicken
• ground cumin
• smoked paprika

pasta w/ peas and chicken tossed with cheese and egg

• 14 oz pasta
• 2 oz cheddar
• 2 eggs
• 2 chicken breasts
• smoked paprika
• oregano

crepes

• sauteed bananas, HCE, p 386

We got this recipe from a cooking demo at our local Williams-Sonoma store:

basic crepes

1 c milk
1 egg
1/2 c plus 1 T all-purpose flour
1 t melted butter
1/2 t salt

Blend together milk, egg, flour, butter, and salt. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Melt a little butter in a nonstick pan. Lift pan at slight angle and pour 2 T of batter into the center, tilting pan to spread batter. Cook until golden underneath, about 1 or 2 min. Flip and cook 1 to 2 min more.

Freezing or refrigerating the crepes worked spectacularly. Some fillings that were particularly tasty:

• grilled chicken breast and brie (good w/ mustard)
• grilled chicken breast and Dubliner (good w/ barbeque sauce)
• sauteed bananas w/ cheese (both brie and Dubliner were very good)

notes from the kitchen – 2009 09 25

We’ve tried a few stir fries with mixed success and a few crepes with stunning success. We’ve decided we like baking. This is a summary post, with (slightly) more detailed notes to follow in subsequent posts.

• chicken and broccoli stir fry with orange sauce (cook’s illustrated)
  – very good
• olive oil salt bread (bittman)
  – dry, but just as fast at bittman claims
• biscuits (bittman)
  – w/ lard
• crepes (williams sonoma)
  – with chicken breast and brie
  – crepes with bananas
• crackers (bittman)
  – whole wheat and cheddar
  – whole wheat and parmesan
  – garlic
• ginger chicken (bittman, thailand)
  – too strong
• onion confit (slow cooker recipe book)
  – no prunes
  – need to stir
• banana bread pudding and caramel sauce (slow cooker recipe book)
  – made in little pans
  – in oven instead of slow cooker
  – need sauce because of pasty color
  – caramel sauce a pain
• mexican rice (bittman)
  – lard as fat
  – no onions
• beans and kielbasa
  – 16 bean soup beans w/ seasoning
  – bay leaves
  – kielbasa
  – soy sauce
• arepas (bittman)
  – runny w/ dubliner. use instant corn meal
• honey spice cake and rum raisin coffee soak (bittman)
  – triple soak volume: 1 recipe rum variation, 1 coffee, 1 spice
  – many holes and cuts in order to soak cake
• chocolate chip cookies (cook’s illustrated)
• bran and oat sandwich bread (bittman)
  – dense and tasty
• grilled beef skewers with bay leaves (bittman)
  - mushy meat from Omaha Steaks
  - milder bay leaf flavor than expected

portobellos and pork chops on the BGE

pork chops

rubbed 2 chops w/ mustard and curry powder paste, seasoned other 2 with only salt and pepper

350F
• 2m, flip
• 2m, flip
• 1m, rest

portobellos

broke off stems and put them on skewers. cut each in half. rubbed all of it with olive oil and garlic.

400F
• 3m, flip
• 5m, flip
• 5m, flip
• 3m

baked plantains

BRW, Caribbean and Central America, p 623

I followed the recipe exactly w/ 3 plantains. The sugar and the butter didn’t penetrate or coat the plantain as well as I’d hoped. Next time, I think I’ll gash the flesh many times horizontally, in addition to the large split down the middle.

cinnamon-raisin swirl bread

rich golden bread, HCE, p 861-862
cinnamon swirl bread, NBR, p 730-732

I made dough as described in HCE. I rolled, sugared, and shaped the dough as described in NBR (including a half cup of raisins into the cinnamon sugar). I baked at about 375F until the temp hit 200F.

barbecue/salsa chicken pizza

We used the wheat pizza dough (made w/ 1:1 whole wheat:bread flour ratio) that had been refrigerated for a week. It didn’t rise much, but that could be because of its age or because of the wheat.

cheese: Manchego and cheddar cheeses
toppings: sauteed onions and roast chicken breast
sauce: half barbecue sauce, half salsa

We have only one major comment about this pizza: the sauce makes a huge difference to the character of the pizza. The salsa half was a completely different pizza from the barbecue half, even though everything else was identical.

baked garlic cheese grits

I made cheese grits following Paula Deen’s recipe, found here and copied below (because I’m not sure that the link is a permalink).

I chose this recipe, because I knew that the cheese grits I wanted to make had milk and eggs and plenty of garlic and were baked like a custard or casserole. Paula Deen’s fit the bill. Also, her food tends to give good Southern-style results. I did go a little heavy on the very strongly flavored vegetable broth, but I think that’ll be fine, especially since no one at the potluck I’m taking this to has had cheese grits before.

• 6 cups broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cups regular grits
• 16 ounces Cheddar, cubed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 8 ounces grated sharp white Cheddar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 4-quart casserole dish.
2. Bring the broth, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in the grits and whisk until completely combined. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the grits are thick, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cubed Cheddar and milk and stir. Gradually stir in the eggs and butter, stirring until all are combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with the white Cheddar and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until set.

yogurt

Prompted by Harold McGee’s article, I made yogurt last Saturday. It turned out a little thin, but perfect for cereal.

pasta with butter and parmesan

HCE, p 506-607

Another slam dunk for the Minimalist. I’m constantly impressed by how delicious such simple preparations can be, and I never would have realized it if I hadn’t started cooking hardcore out of Mark Bittman’s books.

Boil water. Add pasta. Strain. Add butter and Parmesan. Eat!