I need a second opnion

While the weather outside is not necessarily frightful, it's still nice to have a hearty soup or stew to enjoy on a cold dark knight. A friend of mine on G+ posted a harira recipe that got my attention. Tomatoes, lentils, chick peas, Middle Eastern spices . . . this had Kate written all over it, or so I thought.

Let's get into the ingredients before I give you my take on it.

• 1/4 pound dried chickpeas
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices
• 1 1/2 quarts rich chicken stock
• 1/4 pound dried green lentils
• 1/2 cup long-grain rice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Cilantro sprigs, for garnishing

Another attractive thing about this recipe is it's pretty inexpensive, unless you need to refresh your entire spice cabinet. I'm running low on nutmeg, which is normal for this time of year because where there are winter holidays there is nog and I must have my freshly ground nutmeg over eggnog laced with good booze.

Anyway, the only changes I made to the recipe was to put in more chickpeas that strictly called for, and I used chicken tenders. I added additional olive oil to make up for the fat that would have been there had I used thighs. Maybe this was my mistake.

Pick over the chickpeas, cover with cold water, and soak overnight at room temperature. Drain chickpeas and rinse well with cold running water. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken in batches, and cook until well browned, about 4 minutes per batch. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Add the onions and celery and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Return the chicken to the pan and add the tomatoes and their juices, stirring well. Stir in the chicken stock, lentils, and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook at a gentle simmer for 1 hour.
Add the rice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and return the soup to a simmer. Cook covered for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, add the cilantro, parsley, and lemon juice and cook, uncovered for 5 minutes.
Ladle into warmed soup bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs. 

The recipe was easy to follow, and everything smelled delicious, but when it all came together, I didn't have that little rush of excitement that told me, "Kate, you did well." It was warming, smelling more of the cinnamon than anything else, but I didn't feel like the chicken had absorbed much of the flavor from the spices and the onions were totally lost.

My sweetie, however, had a different opinion. We've both been a little sick, and he found the stew very enjoyable, and also reasonably easy to digest, which is always a plus when you aren't feeling well.

So, I'd like to throw this out to y'all. If you make this, would you please let me know your opinion? Did you get layers of flavor, did you get a beautiful gestalt? That gestalt is what I look for in a soup or stew, and if it's here, I'd like a road map.

Questions? Comments? A recipe for me to try? I'd love to hear from you!

coming up:  a southern favorite I found myself missing. Stay tuned!

Make Mine Mild--Variations on a theme of chili

Among my hobbies are role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. I have two groups I meet with pretty regularly, one hosted by Austin the minimalist. Austin frequently makes stew for us, or in the summer, marinates and grills some delicious steaks or chicken.

I thought I'd make chili for this group, but I was asked to make it a little milder for those in our group with more delicate palates (and stomachs). It took some consideration on my part. Anyone can make bland food, but I wanted both flavorful and mild. My final ingredient list ended up like this:

• 3 pounds of stew meat
• 4 cans of black beans
• 2 small cans tomato paste
• 6 cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 3 tomatillos chopped
• 2 T vinegar
• two large white onions chopped (these were the size of small grapefruit)
• 3 heaping T cumin
• 2 heaping T chile powder
• four squares of Lindt dark chocolate with chiles
• 1 bottle of Guinness

There was so much liquid from the tomatoes that I could only fit one bottle of Guinness in the Dutch oven. I kept the heat pretty low, and it took its sweet time thickening. I stirred it pretty freqently, but I did end up with some of it sticking to the bottom.


Everything was in the pot by around 6:30 p.m. I stayed up until about 1:00, stirring every half hour to forty-five minutes or so. My sweetie, bless his heart, got up at 6 a.m., put the heat back on under it and did some stirring until we turned the heat off around noon.


Transporting it wasn't as difficult as I might have thought. A while back, I bought a large Rubbermaid tub with a locking lid, so there were no disasters on our way north. We also brought some accessories for further doctoring: some smoked gouda with jalapenos, some sharp cheddar, additional chopped onions, a few jalapenos and two kinds of hot sauce. 


I was very pleased at the reception. Second and third helpings were had in several instances, and one compliment was slightly incomprehensible because the giver had his mouth full. I'll take it. The heat built underneath at a very low rate, not so much that it would put anyone off. I call it success.


Questions, comments? Let's hear them!

Variations on a theme--Peppercorn Quick Bread

Not that I don't love the Irish soda bread I've made in past years, but I wanted something a little different for Thanksgiving with my family this year. After a lot of searching, I found a great recipe that lent itself to a few different variations.

From when I was born until I was about fourteen, I spent at least two Sundays a month at my Nana's house. To this day, I can navigate directly there from I-95/Rte 128, though if you asked me to write directions down, I'd probably have to go to Google Maps. Anyway, Nana was a great cook. Sunday dinners were often turkey, but occasionally she made roast beef (which I have yet to be able to duplicate, darnit). Either way, there was mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy.

Now Nana had a heavy hand with the black pepper, so when I found the recipe, I knew I had struck gold. Check out the ingredients:

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• .75 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• .5 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp black peppercorns, cracks (I crunched them a bit with a mortar and pestle. I really need to get one of these of my own and give the one I'm using back to my friend Vivian)
• 1.5 tsp fresh rosemary
• .75 cup peccorino romano cheese, grated or shredded
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of milk
• .25 cup extra-virgin olive oil

I liked that it used olive oil instead of butter, as well as employing whole wheat flour, which gave it a nice chewy, but not off-putting texture. Don't ask me to eat whole-wheat pasta, for example, but I digress.

The instructions are simple:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, pepper, rosemary and cheese. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and olive oil. Pour your wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine until it is evenly moist.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for five minutes, then move to a rack to complete cooling.

My sweetie and my youngest cousin (she's in her teens) thought the pepper was a little heavy-handed. My aunt and uncle loved the pepperyness.

I made three of these. One per the above recipe. Another with rosemary, fresh sage (left over from the chicken marsala of a few weeks ago) and some dried thyme (no parsley, only my uncle and I got the joke), which is what got served at dinner. The third, I made with dried marjoram, just for something different. Everyone was eager to take the leftovers home, so I had to promise my sweetie I'd make another one. 

I did make a yeast bread a while back, that will be coming up in a future post. Additional plans include shrimp & grits and a chicken tikka marsala. I'm also due to make chili for one of my gaming groups. I hope three pounds feeds the lot of us.

Happy holidays whatever you're celebrating!

Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear from you.

This was too easy

Before I get into the quickbread post, I wanted to post about our pre-Thanksgiving dinner. We spend a lot of Thanksgiving driving to Massachusetts to visit my uncle, aunt and some cousins. I thought it would be a nice treat to have a bird for just the two of us the night before.

I lucked out in finding a special on duck breast--it was about $10, which is less than  half of what I usually see duck going for in a fine restaurant. I pounced. 


For my next trick, trying to find a duck recipe that did not involve cooked fruit. While my sweetie makes exceptions for cranberry sauce, and the occasional mince or apple pie, he generally doesn't like cooked fruit. He also tends not to eat meat with fruit (or cheese with fruit, but I'm working on that).


I found this week's recipe at the Food Network. I couldn't believe how easy it was. Plus, Emeril's Essence is a cinch to make and if you make it yourself, you can control the amount of salt in it. Bonus.


First, your spice mix, and I'll be most of you have these items already:

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients, store in an airtight container.

Now for your duck. Gotta love the ingredient list:

3 duck breasts (I thought breasts came in sets of two. That's what I purchased. Maybe Emeril has mutant ducks)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Essence, as above.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the entire duck breast with Essence. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the duck breast, skin side down. Sear for 6 minutes. Flip the duck breast over and place the pan in the oven. Roast the breasts for 8 to 10 minutes for medium rare. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the duck breasts to rest 2 to 3 minutes before slicing. 

This tasted fantabulously succulent. My hat is off to Emeril for making a gourmet out of anyone who can read with this one. Tender, juicy, rich. This is food porn at its finest.

Happy Holidaze

Ah, the insanity that is November and December. The cooking frenzy in many a kitchen. I started on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving with a variation on last year's cranberry sauce recipe. I figured a day for the flavors to meld into a whole would be a good thing and as it turns out I was right. Our ingredients:

• 2 12-ounce packages whole cranberries
• 2 cups sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons orange zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 generous teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 6 Tablespoons Gran Mariner

Preheat the oven to 350F. Rinse the cranberries in cold water and drain. Put in a glass baking dish in one layer. Stir in sugar, zests and cinnamon until well blended--the cranberries will be coated with sugar, but you shouldn't see the spices. Cover and  bake for sixty minutes. After removing from the oven, stir in orange juice and Gran Mariner. Remove spoon from sweetie's hand so he doesn't eat it all. Let cool and store in the fridge in an airtight container.

My thirteen-year-old cousin was a little confused at the appearance. "How did you get the stuff in the can to look like that?" To her credit, she tried some and said she liked it. I can't say I'd have done the same at that age. 

Next week: Variations on an herbed quickbread!

Questions, comments? I'd love to hear from you!

What to do with leftover cabbage

When we last left our intrepid heroine, she was serving fish tacos with a lovely cabbage slaw. Now that recipe only required 4 cups of cabbage, so I had a ton left over, even after removing the outer leaves. 


One of my favorite dishes on an Indian buffet is curried cabbage. It's not a creamy recipe like many curries, but vinegar-based. This one has quite a bit of mustards. Here's our ingredient list:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard (I used a beer mustard that I picked up on my last trip to New Orleans)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 12 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add mustard, curry, and turmeric; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in cabbage and remaining ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.

.................
I think this one needs a little bit of tweaking, even as I enjoyed the results. The mustard was a little bit overwhelming to me, though my sweetie liked it quite a bit. I'm thinking a touch more curry and tumeric, perhaps another teaspoon each.


Some news on a personal level. I just recently had some braces installed on my teeth, so my posts are going to be changing slightly. There may be a few more soft foods than usual, as quiche and soups are easier on my mouth than say, lamb or beef. Next post will be my first attempt in over ten years making a yeast bread. Flatbread, specifically, cooked in a dry pan on the stovetop.


I will be going away for a week next month on a cruise and also participating in Nanowrimo, so I may be a bit distracted. Okay, I'll be a lot distracted and living mostly on coffee, tea and red wine in approximately equal amounts. Fortunately, vanilla protein powder makes a semi-decent coffee creamer.


Until next time, thank you for reading and your comments are always welcome!

Weeknight dinner--Easy fish tacos

Weeknights can be a challenge. After eight or so hours at my desk (I am lucky enough that my day job lets me work from home), the last thing I feel like doing is a lot of chopping, dicing, julienne or mincing.


On the other foot, sometimes a meeting goes so well that spending my lunch hour destroying a vegetable can be downright therapeutic. When I found the below recipe on Cooking Light, I decided to make the slaw at lunchtime and I think the meal was the more enjoyable for it. Slaw generally is made better a day before so the flavors have a chance to blend anyway

• 4 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 1 cup chopped plum tomatoes (this turned out to be 2)
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 T fresh lime juice (I used the whole lime, a small one a little bigger than a golf ball. It yielded about 3.5T)
• 5 T extra virgin olive oil (there's a bit of a math problem in the recipe)
• 1/2 t salt, divided
• 1 pound tilapia filets (I used cod. Partly because I try to buy local when I can, partly because it has a little more flavor than tilapia)
• 1 t chili powder (I was a little more generous, see below)
• corn tortillas

• Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add juice, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; toss well to combine. (I added a t of cumin as well)
• Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish evenly with chili powder and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat, and cut fish into bite-sized pieces.
• Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/4 cup cabbage mixture down the center of each tortilla. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; fold in half. Serve tacos with remaining cabbage mixture.

--------------------------------------------
I used two T of oil to cook the fish, and next time I'll do it on medium heat. Even in a non-stick pan, my fillets stuck. I also just shook the chili powder onto the fish until it was nicely coated. 


I love the way this turned out. Corn tortillas are definitely the way to go, partly for their sturdiness, partly for the texture adding to the overall mouthfeel. I also added sliced avocado to my tacos, which added a creamy element without taking away from the flaky fish or the crunch of the cabbage.


For a contrast, I served with black beans. I ate some of the leftover cabbage in the remaining tacos (we had three apiece) for lunch the following and it was delicious on its own.


Now, what to do with all the leftover cabbage? Tune in next time!


Questions? Comments? Recipes you'd like to see? Let's hear them!