There's no food! There's just ingredients!

I'm sure more than a few of you have yelled that more than once. I do it frequently and this weekend I decided to do something about it. I considered making sous vide egg bites, but a) I am running low on room in my fridge and b) I wanted to stuff the freezer for the future and the jarred bites really should be eaten pretty quickly.

So, why not breakfast burritos? I first came across a breakfast burrito in 1989 in Albuquerque. I was moving for a job from Long Island to Prescott, Arizona. My friend Jason drove with me. He was great company. We mooed at a lot of cows, noted the frequent number of Yellow trucks, and I swear every time we changed states and found a new Top-40 radio station, the Bangles' Eternal Flame came on.

Anyway, our comment at the fast food joint was something along the lines of, "What the f*** is a breakfast burrito?"  Then I was in love. Warm, comforting, convenient, cheesy.

While I'm looking for a job, I'm keeping expenses down, so while I would have loved some chorizo, that will be for a later time. Instead, I grabbed a can of black beans. The whole ingredient list:

• 8 8-inch tortillas (mine came from The Tortilla Factory, and were bog-standard white flour)
• 6 eggs--taken out of the fridge a couple hours before I got going. Cooking with room-temperature eggs just works better.
• 1 can of black beans
• 6 ounces of cheddar, grated. Next time with the black beans, I will get pepper jack
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup green salsa that I found in the fridge
• 3 few shakes of Dave's Habanero Powder (I still don't remember buying this or getting it as a gift)
• 3 shakes of oregano  It might not have been Mexican oregano, but I don't think the Oregano Police are a thing.
• 2 shakes chili powder

A lot of the recipes I looked at had potatoes in them, but I've recently learned how to make Spanish Tortilla  (and I still need to blog about it) and right now, if I'm doing potatoes with eggs, this is how.

I drained the black beans and put them in the largest bowl I had, followed by the green onions, then the salsa, then the spices. Stirred well with a rubber scraper. I started the eggs and alternately kept an eye on the eggs (I always start my eggs in a cold pan on low, gradually increasing temperature to medium-low), and grated the cheese.

When I make scrambled eggs, I do my initial stirring with a whisk once they've been on a the heat for a few minutes. That will usually pull some nice big curds off the bottom. When the mix is about 50/50 curds and runny egg, I switch to a silicone scraper and gently fold them over once in a while. You don't want to scramble them too much. Once I felt they were done, they got stirred into the bowl with all the other goodies.

If you look away from this blog entry when you're making it, please make sure you read this part: Use warm tortillas. They are much more flexible. I zapped mine individually in the microwave for 30 seconds between paper towels. No tearing whatsoever. 

Also this: use a little water (just brush it on with your fingertip) to make the parts of the tortilla stick together when you're folding and rolling.

I spread out my silicone baking mat, lay down a tortilla and put about 1/3 cup of the mixture on the bottom third, and pulled up the bottom like a tab (there's only one of me, I can't take pics of me folding a burrito). Then just like wrapping the sandwiches  I used to make for my school lunches, I folded the sides over so all the filling was kind of in a pocket and then rolled, wetting the top  before I finally sealed it. I let them sit seam-side down while they cooled, then individually wrapped them in parchment paper before bagging and freezin.

My most sincere apologies. I did take pictures, but they came out twelve kinds of terrible.  The burritos themselves are kind of cute and rather trapezoidal. I had enough for 8 burritos and one taco, which was breakfast.

If you try this, please let me know!

Another Nifty Guest Post: Not quite carnitas

It's been a while since I've had a guest post from Ny  and I've been meaning to post this one for a while.  I haven't tried this one yet, but chuck roast goes on sale every so often, and I'm considering doing this on a smaller scale and making some fat quesadillas with it. 

On with the guesting!

So a friend gave me boar loin

I have the world's most awesome friends, I really do. Because of one them, I got to try a boar loin for the first time and I was delighted once I figured out what to serve with it.

When I went cruising for ideas, there were a lot of recipes with a fruit sauce. Black currant and red wine was tempting. I've done that with duck and it came out quite nice. After a lot of searching, I found a recipe and promptly forgot to bookmark it. All I could remember is it contained two kinds of whiskey (and I had both some bourbon and a bottle of Seagram's 7 in the cabinet), mushrooms, and cream. After checking that butter & cream were okay to serve my guest, away I went.

Everything that went in the meal:

In the vacuum bag

• 1.5 pounds of boar loan
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lots of fresh thyme

In the sauce:

• 6 oz crimini mushrooms
• One shallot, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon butter
• Bourbon
• Seagram's 7 (a straight whiskey, more on that later)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Thyme
• Cream
• The juices from the sous vide bags

In the oven:

• a 9x9 casserole dish with a layer of cubed rutabaga
• Salt 
• Papper
• Olive oil  finished with 
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Parsley

Also on the stove

• 8 ounces trimmed green beans
• these would be blanched in boiling water for about 3 minutes--start testing when they're bright green, then tossed with a little butter & lemon zest.
• 
  

This is going to get long, but it was so delicious, I forgot to photograph it.

More research was needed before I got started as I've cooked pork loin before, but not boar, which is a bit leaner.  If you'd like a good reference for time & temp for pork sous vide, I suggest this page from Serious Eats. Yes, if you keep pork cooking long enough, even at a much lower temperature than you're used to, it will pasteurize just fine. I decided to go for 135 degrees F for two hours. I seasoned the boar with salt & pepper and vacuum-sealed it in a bag with a lot of fresh thyme. Then I got to cutting things up.

I cut up a few small rutabagas into approximately 1-inch (2.6 cm) cubes and set them aside. A little later, I would roast them in olive oil and roast at 425 F (218C, 491K) for about an hour, then toss with a little apple cider vinegar and sprinkle with parsley. 

Next up, the slicing of a 6 oz package of crimini (the ones they now call baby bellas) mushrooms, and the fine dicing of a shallot. I threw the mushrooms into a non-stick pan and turned the heat to medium-low. 

You might have noticed that I didn't add any oil or butter or any other liquid yet. I forget where I picked this up, but I have learned if you sweat your mushrooms when they are dry, they will give you some delightful liquid and their flavor will also be nicely concentrated. Once the mushrooms were reduced in size by half, I set them aside to melt half a tablespoon of butter in the pan. Once melted, I added the shallot, stirring constantly until it was golden brown. Once I hit that point, I added the mushrooms back in, and then a bit of salt & pepper.

Time for the booze! This recipe would be lovely with cognac, but I was low on it, and I had plenty of bourbon and a big bottle of Seagram's 7. If you aren't familiar with the types of whiskey, you can either borrow one of my favorite people or you can read this quick overview. Either one will be educational, though the human factor is much more entertaining.

I started adding the booze one Tablespoon at a time, tasting here and there. I ended up with a 3:2 ratio of bourbon vs straight whiskey. I added enough to cover the mushrooms, turned the heat down, and added cream to cover, and got the heat down to low. Then I set aside 3 Tablespoons of bourbon & 2 Tablespoons of straight whiskey into a measuring cup.

When the sous vide cooking was done, I cut open the bags, removed the loins to a cooling rack that I had prepped on the counter with paper towels underneath it. The juice from the bags got stirred into the sauce. I gently patted the loins dry with a paper towel and heated some safflower oil in a pan on medium-high until it started smoking. 

The loins got seared for a scant minute on each side, then put on a plate and covered with foil to rest. I deglazed the pan with the booze I'd set aside, scraping all the brown bits into the liquid, the poured in the rest of the sauce and turned the heat down.

The beans cooked while the meat rested, which gave me time to pull the neeps out of the oven (I love saying neeps and have it mean something). They got tossed with vinegar and parsely.

From there, it was slice, serve, and enjoy with a bottle of Bordeaux. 

Studio Living: My dishwasher is small, but this was worth it

I have a thing about poultry skin. Generally speaking, I think it's icky. The only exception I delightfully make is for Peking Duck. If I am offered fried chicken, I'm as likely as not to pull off the skin and give it to someone who appreciates it.

I'm not going to argue that cooking with the skin on will make for juicier meat. I also have friends who love poultry skin, so when I found this recipe, the cabbage and bacon and braising intrigued me, I invited one of them over for dinner. Conveniently, he arrived early and I got some assistance, which was much needed due to space constraints, which I'll get into in a bit.

The ingredients are all things I find tasty, though I did make a few adjustments: (I also capitalized Tablespoon in this list)

• 2 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (6 to 8 thighs; 1.15kg) (I ended up with 8, which didn't all fit in my sauté pan, I'll get to that in a bit)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil
• 8 ounces (225g) slab bacon or salt pork, cut into 1/2- by 1/4-inch lardons
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (about 6 ounces; 170g)
• 1 pound finely shredded cabbage (about 1 medium head; 450g)
• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) whole-grain mustard (I added another Tablespoon)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) apple cider vinegar (I added another 2 Tablespoons)
• 1 cup (235ml) homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
• 3 Tablespoons sugar (I cut this down to 1)
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs thyme (more like a dozen)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I completely forgot about this and didn't really need it)

Tasty Blender Tricks: Romanesco Pasta Sauce

Credit for this one goes out to my friend Hilary. Hilary and I worked together at two separate companies. We initially bonded after a pot luck at the first company. She'd brought some utterly fabulous horseradish cheddar and I was the only one who was interested in taking home the leftovers.

So when she sent me this recipe a few weeks ago, I gave it a good read. I am not fond of most squash, though I will occasionally stuff a zucchini boat with meat sauce and top it with a ton of cheese. Generally, I avoid the stuff, preferring other vegetables. 

But the sauce was intriguing. So I made it and I am delighted. Also worth noting: this is vegan and can easily be made gluten-free.

• 2 spaghetti squash (ignored and replaced with  chick pea pasta)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil (I didn't need the 2 T)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 garlic clove, sliced (might add a bit more next time)
• 16 oz roasted red peppers, drained (some jars are only 14 oz, it's perfectly okay)
• 1 slice of bread, toasted (it's to thicken the sauce and give it body. If you're serving a gluten-free person, some rice crackers would probably do the same thing. If you're not a carb person, I suspect you can either leave it out or throw in a touch of xanthan gum, if you're a person who has xanthan gum in the pantry)
• 1 red pepper flake packet (or 1/2 teaspoon) (I did much more than this, which will be of no surprise to anyone who knows me)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (same as above, especially considering that I think I bought the paprika at least two apartments ago)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Fish for breakfast

Fish for breakfast is hardly a new concept. People all over the planet have been doing it since time immemorial, though unless you count lox on bagels, it has never been a regular thing for me.

My first exposure to the concept was from my father, who occasionally liked to fish. He would sometimes zap some smelt in a pan to have along with his fried eggs and toast. I didn't care for smelt when I was a rugrat. 

Now, older and wiser, I do try new things here and there. I also consume a lot of British media, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I tried kedgeree, if only out of curiosity. I mentioned I was thinking of trying it, and my friend Marybeth provided this recipe from the BBC. 

• 475g/1lb 1oz undyed smoked haddock fillet, cut in half  (I didn't have access to haddock, the grocery said they had trout, but ended up substituting salmon, so see the additional instructions below for that).
• 2 bay leaves
• 200g/7oz basmati rice, rinsed in cold water and drained
• 4 free-range eggs
• 100g/3½oz frozen peas (optional) (I plan to us a bit more next time. I adore curry and peas together)
• 40g/1½oz butter
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil (there's a history of sunflower allergy in my family, so I used safflower. Avocado would also do. Light and neutral is whats needed)
• 1 onion, finely chopped (as with the peas, there will be more next time)
• 1 heaped tbsp medium curry powder
• 3 tbsp double cream
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
• ½ lemon, juice only
• freshly ground black pepper

Place the haddock in a large frying pan, skin-side up. Pour over 500ml/18fl oz water, add the bay leaves and bring the water to a gentle simmer. Cook the fish for 8–10 minutes until it is just done and flakes easily. Drain in a colander set over a bowl, reserving the cooking liquor, and discard the bay leaves.

Pour the cooking liquor into a saucepan and stir in the rice. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the rice very gently for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the rice covered for 3–5 minutes more. By this time it should have absorbed all the fish liquor.

While the rice is cooking, bring some water to the boil in a saucepan. Add the eggs and cook for 8 minutes. Drain them in a sieve under cold running water and when cool enough to handle, peel them carefully and set aside. Cook the peas, if using, in a small saucepan of boiling water and drain.

Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion over a low heat for 5 minutes until well softened, stirring occasionally. Add the curry powder and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly. 

A word about the curry powder. I am quite fond of spicy heat, but I have to say that the extra-hot curry powder I had in the house was a bit much. I will be getting a milder one for the next batch. If you want an assortment to choose from, I am happy to recommend Auntie Arwen's (this is not a paid endorsement, but I'll happily take money for it).

Place the cooked rice into the pan and stir into the onions. Add the peas, cream, parsley and a few twists of ground black pepper.

Flake the fish into chunky pieces and add these to the pan. Gently stir in the lemon juice and cook for 1–2 minutes. Cut the eggs into quarters and place them on top of the rice. Cover the pan with a lid and heat through for 2–3 minutes or until the eggs are warm, then serve.

If not serving immediately, tip the kedgeree into a warm dish and dot with a few cubes of butter. Cover with kitchen foil and keep warm in a low oven for up to 20 minutes before serving.

The instructions I followed at the first step:  To make this dish using hot smoked salmon, swap in 500ml/18fl oz light chicken stock in place of the cooking liquor from the fish. Stir in the hot smoked salmon with the peas.

Raiding the Freezer

I blame the friends who brought carnitas to New Year's Eve. Tender and juicy and then I remembered I had a pork loin in the freezer. I had also made huevos rancheros this week so I had tacos to use up.

So I went poking around the internet, like one does, and found a recipe that intrigued me.  I scaled everything down because my pork loin was much smaller, but kept the proportions the same:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 lb. pork loin
• 1 cup chicken stock (I had low-sodium in the pantry, so I went with that)
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 7 oz. can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste 

There are very few recipes where I feel the need to change something. Ask anyone I've ever lived with and they'll tell you I put salt on my salt. I thought I'd be adding some garlic salt to this after it came out of the oven, but nope, nothing needed.

The instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over a burner turned to medium-high heat.
• Sear the pork loin on each side, about 4 minutes per side, until a crust has formed. (I don't really care for my meat crunchy on the outside, so I seared for 3 minutes a aside to get it a brown shade. As you wish) 
• Turn the burner off and add the stock, orange juice, lime juice, and the can of chipotles to the Dutch oven, or transfer the seared loin to a casserole dish and top with the ingredients listed above. (I went for the casserole dish because I didn't have so much pork that I thought it warranted such a huge vessel #StudioLiving)
• Place the lid on the Dutch oven, or cover the casserole dish with foil, and place in the preheated oven for 2-3 hours. When you can pull apart the pork with a fork, it is done. (I went for the full three hours and flipped it halfway through, although keeping it covered kept it plenty moist)
• Taste and add salt and pepper if desired, but I often find that the canned chipotles add enough seasoning. None needed! How delightful!
• If a crispy carnita is desired, spread the pork out on to a sheet pan and turn the oven to high broil.
• Broil for 2-3 minutes, until a crust has formed on the meat. Watch carefully so the pork doesn’t burn.
• Serve in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or on taco salad.

My carnitas went in a couple of tacos topped with black beans, a bit of salsa verde, sharp cheddar, green onions, and sour cream. I didn't have enough room for the avocados, so those got eaten at the end with everything that dripped out of the tacos. I call that a win. 

Prefolding pic because nobody was handy to hold a folded taco while I took the shot.

This is definitely being made again.

If you try these, let me know. It's rare I have so little commentary on a recipe. This just works!