I require constant stimulation, so when my work is boring me to bits, I like to listen to documentaries and talk radio in the background. My usual routine is something like this:
Daily Show
Colbert
Democracy Now
PBS programming
Not food related you say? Well lucky me, I just came across this section of PBS's video!
Julia Child!
Not that any of her food is appetizing (eggs, butter......more eggs, more butter...yuck) Nevertheless, the French Chef serves its purpose as a workplace distraction :)
Showing posts with label Chefs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chefs. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Pasta Salad Season
One of my favorite things about a summer BBQ or Picnic are the side dishes. Chip and dip platters, roasted veggies, kabobs, cole slaw, your almost full before you even dig into a burger or dawg. My new summer side dish love is the versatile pasta salad. I'm not talking about the stuff you buy at the deli that is drenched in Wish Bone Italian Dressing; I'm talking about these bad boys:
Changes in Recipe:
Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad w/Artichoke Hearts & Orzo Feta and Tomato Salad w/Marjoram Vinaigrette
Now these are the Pasta Salads I'm looking to scarf down this summer.
I saw Barefoot Contessa make a yummy Lemon Fusilli Salad with Arugula so I found the recipe online, tweaked it a bit and ended up with a tasty Pasta Salad that I would be proud to present at my next Picnic.Changes in Recipe:
- I didn't have arugula so I just added extra broccoli
- Swapped the Fusilli for some Bow Ties
- Added the lemon juice at the end, I didn't want the taste to get bitter while simmering on the stove but I still added the zest at the beginning
- Substituted half of the cream with vegetable stock to cut back on some of the richness, but I had to simmer it a little longer to get the right consistency
- NOTES: I know this recipe calls for the broccoli florets, but I happen to really enjoy the steam. If you peel off the outer tough ends, the inside is nice and tender. Also this recipe works great cut in half
Here is my finished product, it's fine served warm or at room temperature. I would love to hear some other Pasta Salad recipes that you Crows are cooking up!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Pack your knives and go
Feminist hero and possible historical crow Susan B. Anthony once said "failure is impossible." I highly doubt that Susan ever tried to make hollandaise sauce.
If there are two things that I have learned from obsessively watching "Top Chef" on Bravo, they are:
1. If you can't cook eggs, you can't cook.
2. If you can't make a good hollandaise, you aren't a good chef.
I, apparently, am neither of these things. Last night I felt genius burn and I decided to embark on the deceptively simple mission of creating a twist on Eggs Benedict; a poached egg served on top of a thick slice of sourdough bread, fresh asparagus and smothered in hollandaise sauce. Sounds Delicious, right? "Simple," I thought. "Quick," I mused. Innovative! New! Challenging, but in a good way! "Get out there," I told myself, "try something new!"
To be fair, I have never in my life poached an egg or made hollandaise. But I was determined. So, armed with a hollandaise recipe from Food and Wine, I set forth into the kitchen.
The hollandaise, was, frankly a disaster. I think the double-boiler method recommended by F&W made the bowl too hot, and the yoke basically cooked on contact. Second reading of the recipe suggested I should have held the bowl over the steaming water while whisking and slowly adding ingredients. WHO HAS THAT MANY HANDS??? I added the butter too fast. The sauce never thickened, only sorta curtailed, despite my most furious whipping.
The egg poaching started off promising but ended in ruins; I am without egg poaching tools, but I cam up with the what I still believe to be genius idea of cooking the egg inside silicone muffin wrappers, which I have always regarded as silly. It worked fabulously for the eggs, they kept their shape and would have come out perfectly. However, I completely over-cooked the eggs. The yoke was solid. Not the soft clouds I wanted perched on my benedict. Hard white masses.
So will overdone eggs and not-smooth hollandaise sauce I admitted early defeat. But, to be honest, it wasn't half bad when all together. The overdone egg was much more of a travesty since it just sat awkwardly on top of the asparagus and make it difficult to eat and break apart. Plus there was none of that gooey inner egg that softens the bread and makes the Benedict so rich and good. The hollandaise, although without the correct texture, wasn't bad tasting; it's difficult to screw up the taste of something that's ingredients include butter, egg and lemon.
And the meal was quick, if nothing else. And although you may have bested me this one time General Benedict, I will return to battle once again.
Pictures to come.
If there are two things that I have learned from obsessively watching "Top Chef" on Bravo, they are:
1. If you can't cook eggs, you can't cook.
2. If you can't make a good hollandaise, you aren't a good chef.
I, apparently, am neither of these things. Last night I felt genius burn and I decided to embark on the deceptively simple mission of creating a twist on Eggs Benedict; a poached egg served on top of a thick slice of sourdough bread, fresh asparagus and smothered in hollandaise sauce. Sounds Delicious, right? "Simple," I thought. "Quick," I mused. Innovative! New! Challenging, but in a good way! "Get out there," I told myself, "try something new!"
To be fair, I have never in my life poached an egg or made hollandaise. But I was determined. So, armed with a hollandaise recipe from Food and Wine, I set forth into the kitchen.
The hollandaise, was, frankly a disaster. I think the double-boiler method recommended by F&W made the bowl too hot, and the yoke basically cooked on contact. Second reading of the recipe suggested I should have held the bowl over the steaming water while whisking and slowly adding ingredients. WHO HAS THAT MANY HANDS??? I added the butter too fast. The sauce never thickened, only sorta curtailed, despite my most furious whipping.
The egg poaching started off promising but ended in ruins; I am without egg poaching tools, but I cam up with the what I still believe to be genius idea of cooking the egg inside silicone muffin wrappers, which I have always regarded as silly. It worked fabulously for the eggs, they kept their shape and would have come out perfectly. However, I completely over-cooked the eggs. The yoke was solid. Not the soft clouds I wanted perched on my benedict. Hard white masses.
So will overdone eggs and not-smooth hollandaise sauce I admitted early defeat. But, to be honest, it wasn't half bad when all together. The overdone egg was much more of a travesty since it just sat awkwardly on top of the asparagus and make it difficult to eat and break apart. Plus there was none of that gooey inner egg that softens the bread and makes the Benedict so rich and good. The hollandaise, although without the correct texture, wasn't bad tasting; it's difficult to screw up the taste of something that's ingredients include butter, egg and lemon.
And the meal was quick, if nothing else. And although you may have bested me this one time General Benedict, I will return to battle once again.
Pictures to come.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Back in the Bean
Well hello hello my lovely ladies
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Heat the olive oil in a large (10-to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9x12x2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one third of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.
To make ahead, refrigerate the assembled, unbaked lasagna. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until bubbly.
I am reporting to you live from McBride after weeks away in the great North (QC) and the wild west (Denver) for my debut blog. (hold applause)
While in CO celebrating my littlest sister's 21st birthday, she and I decided to make my mom's new lasagna recipe (I think an Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa) recipe. This recipe is great because first of all, it uses goat cheez...mmmmmm....and second third and fourth turkey sausage, home-made sauce, GREAT noodle cooking technique. details to follow.
the recipe is:
LASAGNA WITH TURKEY SAUSAGE
serves 8
serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Heat the olive oil in a large (10-to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9x12x2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one third of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.
To make ahead, refrigerate the assembled, unbaked lasagna. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until bubbly.
After making this recipe for the second time I have several suggestions. There never seems to be quite enough sauce for the incredibly huge and awesome amount of chzzzz mixture you end up with, so I would suggest just dbl'ing the sauce mixture. You could also easily substitute you're favorite sauce recipe. A great way to really AMP up this dish is adding layers of spinach or roasted (or raw) veggies of your liking. I definitely plan to try the spinach myself next go around, I'll let you know how it goes ;) Also want to comment on the noodle cooking method, IT'S AWESOME. Because you don't technically "cook" the noodles before assembling the lasagna, the sauce finishes them off nicely while in the oven and you end up with perfectly al dante layers every time. Really adds a nice texture to the soft ingredients of the lasagna. Even if you don't end up trying this recipe, I would strongly suggest trying the noodles.
Glad spring has sprung and summer is around the corner. Paul's grilling marinades to follow (i promise)
cheers!
Riane
Monday, April 27, 2009
My Debut Caw
I need to play some catch-up with these posts- great Intro VBAR!
Lemon Thyme Chicken
Riane and I first made this for a BBQ a month back when the weather wasn't as warm but the food was just as tasty. We got the recipe from a Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, but i will modify it in my own words. The marinade calls for:
1 shit ton* of minced garlic, lemon juice and fresh thyme.
Whisk in some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
If you have some white wine kicking around that is also yummy to add in, especially if you are making a larger batch.
* in future posts this measurement will be abbreviated s ton- basically this is when you don't need exact measurements, just add how much flavor looks good to you. If you're like me and love alot of flavor than a shit ton seems like a fitting measurement.
Lemon Thyme Chicken
Riane and I first made this for a BBQ a month back when the weather wasn't as warm but the food was just as tasty. We got the recipe from a Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, but i will modify it in my own words. The marinade calls for:
1 shit ton* of minced garlic, lemon juice and fresh thyme.
Whisk in some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
If you have some white wine kicking around that is also yummy to add in, especially if you are making a larger batch.
* in future posts this measurement will be abbreviated s ton- basically this is when you don't need exact measurements, just add how much flavor looks good to you. If you're like me and love alot of flavor than a shit ton seems like a fitting measurement.
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