Wait, I'm trendy? How did that happen?

My first exposure to anchovies was on a Domino's pizza when I was in college. I didn't care for them at all, and generally avoided them except in a Caesar salad for decades. Several years ago on a very snowy day, a friend served me a salad nicoise with anchovies I enjoyed quite a bit. This past Christmas at East Harbor Seafood Palace, (a delightful Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn), one of the dishes passed around was fried salt & pepper anchovies. These were deep fried anchovies and in the basket were some delicious salted chili pepper slices. I do plan to make salted chiles soon because how could I not?

Fast-forward a bit and I'm trying to a) live on a tighter budget than normal b) eat more fish.  I had recently become a fan of Trader Joe's smoked trout, and wanted to branch out a bit and use other types of tinned fish. So I found myself putting phrases like, "things to do with tinned fish" into search engines, not realizing just how popular tinned fish has become of late. One example is here on TikTok. 

I started with this recipe from the Food Network, and while my results weren't perfect, they were damn tasty, though this was fairly time-consuming. 

First and foremost, the artichokes went into a colander and I gave them a serious shaking and blotting with paper towels. Leaving them to drain,  I made the breadcrumbs.

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 flat anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, drained and finely chopped (this is probably not news to many of you, but chopsticks are great for getting tightly-packed anchovies out of a jar)
• 1/4 cup panko  (I used rice cracker crumbs because my dinner guest is gluten-free. If I do this again, I will use 3 Tablespoons and use the coarsest setting on the grinder instead of a medium one)
• Zest from 3 lemons

Put the butter and anchovies in a small nonstick pan and cook over medium-high heat, swirling the butter and stirring the anchovies until the butter starts to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the panko and cook, stirring continuously and tossing, until the breadcrumbs are golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, stir in the lemon zest and set aside.  Easy peasy.

From there, I put the pasta water on to boil and while waiting for it, I grated the garlic with a microplane and chopped the anchovies for the sauce (full ingredient list below). Then I zapped the arichokes on one side in a sautée pan with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Notes for next time include a) more draining and blotting of the artichokes and b) more olive oil. 

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 flat anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, drained and finely chopped 
• 5 cloves garlic, finely grated 2 lemons, juiced (I also quartered a lemon to serve alongside, and I'm glad I did so)
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley, optional

The artichokes got a bit scorched because I stepped away a little too long, so I deglazed the pan with some Pinot Grigio before I put the butter, anchovies, and garlic into the pan to complete the sauce. Once the pasta was cooked, I grabbed half a cup of the liquid (should have put in more) and threw that in the pan as well as the drained pasta.

This was rice/quinoa pasta and it soaked up that sauce like it was a premium two-ply paper towel in a television commercial, so while the flavors were there (it needed more lemon), the smooth velvety texture you get from a good emulsified sauce wasn't. I was a bit chagrined, but it still tasted pretty good, especially with extra squeezes of lemon and some red pepper, the latter of which was nowhere in the recipe.

You'll be seeing more from me with tinned fish. How do you like yours?

Sauce is Done aka Another Cheat Sauce

Hi everyone,

I wasn't going to blog this one because the list of ingredients are pretty vague. I also did a long, slow cook on it and I know there's a lot of people out there with InstaPots. I'm not going to diss them, but I'm not in a hurry to get one. One, I live in a Manhattan apartment and my kitchen storage is already over capacity. Two, when it comes to low and slow, I am really fond of my immersion circulator. Give me a kitchen with three times the storage, and I will load up with an Instapot, a wok, and a tagine. And a food mill. Which, if I owned, today's recipe would be from fresh tomatoes. 

Anyway, on to this adventure in cheat sauce. I use a sauté pan and here's what went in this batch:

• 2 cloves of garlic--actually, it was three small ones, but some of the cloves were unusable, so I'm going to call it two. Sometimes when you order groceries things aren't perfect. On the other hand, someone carries the big, heavy, and awkward stuff.
• 1 large shallot--a large shallot takes up most of the palm of my hand, and it at least 2 inches from its longest points
• 2 onions about the size of baseballs. If sports comparisons aren't your thing, this is approximately one cup chopped into about 3/4-inch pieces
• Olive oil as needed
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 12-oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1 large can tomato paste (or two of those little ones)
• 2 6-oz packages of sliced mushrooms (because sometimes I'm downright lazy)
• About 5 ounces of wine because it all didn't get drunk over the last few nights
• One pound 85/15 ground beef
• The last bit of parmesan found in the fridge, shredded
• dried oregano to taste
• dried basil to taste
• crushed red pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• black pepper (preferably freshly ground) to taste.

Like I said, it's a bit vague. Trust yourself and taste a lot.

• in a sauté pan, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Throw in the garlic, and stir constantly until the garlic turns light brown so you get a nice toasty flavor
• stir in the onions, make sure they're well coated with the olive oil. Shake dried herbs and red pepper over the veggies and stir some more.
• in a separate pan, turn your burner up to medium-low, add 1/2 T of olive oil, add your ground beef, sprinkle it with salt and black pepper, mush it out of the shape it came in, alternate stirring between your pans until the meat is browned with minimal pink spots.
• Add the mushrooms to your garlic and onions.
• Add  your meat (fat and all) carefully to your sauté pan and stir. There is a lot of splash potential here. Your mushrooms will absorb some of the beef fat and juices. Yum!
• Add your diced tomatoes (do not drain them), then your cans of sauce, and stir until everything looks evenly distributed.
• Stir in the shredded cheese.
• Time for the tomato paste. Scrape out the can(s) and add carefully because your pan is likely getting full
• Add the wine to the can of tomato paste, swirl it around, and stir in.

At this point, it's stirring, adding spices, and tasting until you get what you like. I typically simmer for a couple hours (and strongly recommend buying a splatter guard). I've always liked a really thick sauce, but as you wish.

How thick do you like yours? Send pictures!

Blame the Millennials or Kate Makes Tomato Soup

A couple weeks ago, several of my friends posted this link on Facebook. The TL:DR of it is, millennials are killing canned tuna. Sales are down about 40%. I'm pretty surprised at this. As one of my friends pointed out, this is cheap, filling protein, and it's reasonably good for you. You'd think a generation that doesn't have a lot of money for groceries would jump all over it.

Anyway, it got me in mind of tuna melts, and since it's cold and often dreary outside I decided I also should make tomato soup to up the comfort food quotient. I did my usual thing of reading a lot of different recipes and came up with the following:

• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (these happen to be roasted, but it's not necessary)
• 3 strips of bacon
• 1 T unsalted butter (it's probably okay with salted, this is what I had in the fridge)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 generous teaspoon of dried thyme (in other words, don't level it) or 1 Tablespoon fresh
• 1 generous teaspoon of parsley (or 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh)
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon of salt. Keep some handy to add to your taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Keep some of this handy to taste as well
• 1 Tablespoon cream for serving (optional)

In a large pot (a 2-quart saucepan is probably doable, but it will be pretty tight. I used my largest pot), cook the bacon on low-to-medium-low heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and do with as you will. Eat it. Save it for tomorrow's eggs. Put it on a salad. I put mine in the tuna salad. 

Melt the butter in the pan on medium-low heat and stir in your onions. Cook until they are translucent, then stir in your herbs. When the herbs are evenly distributed, add your tomatoes, including the juice in the cans. Stir well. Slowly add the broth, and then bring to a low boil.

I originally simmered, partially covered, for about twenty minutes and then used my stick blender on the low setting to give it a slightly rough texture. Feel free to go all the way to velvety. I happen to like my tomato soup with small chunks in it.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle cream on top if desired. 

Twenty minutes of simmering wasn't enough, I determined later. It was merely okay. For my next serving the following day, I simmered for an hour with the lid off. The difference was amazing. 

I ran out of tuna (this melt had Gruyere on it and was eaten on top of a crumpet) before I ran out of soup, so to add some protein to the third meal, I chopped up some Jarlsberg to add while I ate. Provolone also works here.

For my next time, I think I'll add a bit of garlic and maybe some lemon zest, possibly some additional herbs. More research is needed.

How do you like your tomato soup?

More things to do with things in jars

Hi everyone,

I've been planning to post about this recipe for a while. It's pretty easy, needs just one sauté pan and is absolutely delicious.  It's from the folks at Bon Appetit. Here's our ingredients list:

• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 8 chicken thighs (The recipe calls for bone-in, skin-on, but I've made it without either and it came out just fine)
• Kosher salt
• Fresh-ground pepper
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (which works out to about half a cup.)
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (you can also use a couple teaspoons of jarred chopped garlic)
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste. (read the ingredients when you're shopping, some have salt and/or sugar, and who needs extra of those?)
• 1/4 Cup harissa paste (more on that below)
• 1/3 Cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (which I always seem to forget to add)
• Lemon wedges for serving. I recommend at least one lemon per person.

About harissa. It's a chili paste that originates from Tunisia. Naturally, it's going to vary in intensity according to exactly where in the region you're getting it. The good news? You can get prepared harissa in a jar from Amazon just use 1/2 a cup or more to taste. This is the brand I use: 

Preheat your oven to 425 F. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper (I sometimes use garlic salt in place of kosher salt here). In two batches, cook chicken until browned, about 5 minutes a side. Remove chicken to a plate.

Here the recipe says to drain off all but 1Tablespoon drippings out of the pan. I am not that exact, but if that's what makes you feel comfortable, go ahead and measure. 

Add onion and garlic to the pan, stir frequently (as in don't leave it to sit more than 10 seconds at a time) until the onions are softened (almost translucent and a bit yellow), about 3 minutes:

Add tomato paste and cook until it darkens, about one minute. Add chickpeas, harissa, and chicken broth, bring to a simmer. 

Nestle chicken, skin side up in the chickpeas, transfer skillet to the oven. Roast until chicken is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Top with parsley, and serve with lemon wedges.