Studio Living During A Pandemic: Hot Stuff for a Hot Day: Sous Vide Chili

(special equipment used: Immersion circulator, food processor)

I have to confess, when first confronted with the sous vide method in my home I was skeptical that it was worth the time. Sometimes it takes me a while to get used to an idea, to the consternation of select people.

The building where I live was built in 1929 and used to be a hotel. Its kitchen is built into the entryway. Amazingly for a Manhattan apartment, it fits all my stuff, which is why I'm here (well that and my previous building got bought and they decided not to renew leases). The thing is, the electric stove is quite small. In fact it's so small that my Dutch oven does not fit comfortably on a burner. I can't get the center of the pot on the center of the burner.

So we adjust. I haven't made chili in a while, and our friends at Will It Sous Vide? have a recipe where I stole the method and a few ingredients. I adjusted for what was in my cupboard and fridge, and opened a bottle of beer. So what we have is:

• I pound of beef chuck stew meat
• 2 poblano peppers
• 2 large onions, quartered  (I used vidallia and they were slightly smaller than your average pink grapefruit)
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of habanero powder (I still don't remember buying the jar of Dave's Insanity, and I can't find it on the company website. If you gave this to me, thank you)
• 2 dried chiles--the kind you buy in the spice aisle at the grocery store. (Remember, this is what I had in the house)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Liquid Smoke
• 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, plus 2  teaspoons of the sauce
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili oil.
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of beer (optional). I used Abita Amber.
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• the juice of two limes
• grated cheddar cheese for topping
• sour cream for topping
• rice, tortillas, pasta, whatever you like with chili

Lifehacker used a kitchen torch to char the vegetables and the meat. I don't own one of those, so I improvised. I put two of the onions, one poblano, one and one jalapeno in the oven for a broil, and then put the other half of the vegetables and the garlic in a dry non-stick pan. Half an hour later, I had some nice char. I didn't brown the meat because I didn't want to add any more oil to the mix, since I had the chili oil already and I generally don't add fat to sous vide dishes.

The broiler gave me more char on the peppers than the pan, but I got better browning on the quartered onions and garlic from the bad. Total time on the heat was about 30 minutes.

Next up, a trip to the food processor. I blended everything in two batches (my food processor is small, it's an accessory to my stick blender). I ran the blades until everything was a uniform color.

I used two vacuum bags. I stared with adding a serving spoon full of the blended vegetation, then the meat, which I cut into bite-sized pieces. About halfway through adding the meat, I added another spoonful, finished adding the meat, added one more spoonful, then sealed the bags.

The bags went into a water bath at 149 degrees F for eight hours Because I often go nocturnal on the weekends, this meant it was finished at 1:30 in the morning. I considered a late supper, but opted for finishing touches on the following day.

That was pretty easy. I opened one of the bags into a medium saucepan, added one can of diced tomatoes and green chiles, a can of rinsed black beans, and the juice of a lime. I let that simmer together, uncovered for a bit while I grated some cheese and made some rice.

The first serving wasn't that great. A bit soupy, probably because I was impatient. Then I figuratively gave myself a Gibbs slap. I still had leftover pepper/spice mixture. I mixed that in for the next serving and it was much better.

The meat wasn't quite where I wanted it, though. There was a little more chewiness to it than I wanted. I was looking more for a braise where it would fall apart if you put a fork or your teeth in it.

Definitely worth the experiment. I have the other half of of the batch in the freezer for the next time, and I think we'll be seeing this again. 

Studio Living and I Refuse to Make Boring Salads

I got out of the habit of eatings salads when I had braces years ago. The greens would get caught in my teeth, which was a bit embarrassing and made it a bit hard to eat.

I almost always have a deficiency of vegetables in my diet. One of the ways I get them if by putting things on a bed of spinach. Today, I went for a spinach salad with steak. I complicated things and expanded cooking time, by using the immersion circulator, but I"ll skip that part until almost everyone has their own way to sous vide. A lot of InstaPots have that attachment, for example..

Ingredients for one serving:

• 3 or 4 handfuls of raw spinach, washed, drained, dry, washed again. If it's adult spinach, tear it a bit. If you have a clamshell package, about half will do.
• 4 oz steak, cooked to your liking (you can serve it warm or cold)
• 3 large mushrooms, sliced (I used crimini, white ones work just fine)
• 5 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 2-3 Tablespoons of thinly sliced red onion or shallot
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon of your favorite vinegar. Balsamic doesn't work here, it will overwhelm the bacon. I used a white tarragon vinegar that needed to be used up
• 1 teaspoon mustard. I used dijon.
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste

Cut/slice/chop your vegetables first. This will make assembly easier. Once that's done, set them aside and start cooking your bacon Move it to paper towels to drain. Reserve one Tablespoon of the bacon fat. Put the bacon and the fat in whatever container you use to make salad dressing (I recommend a glass jar  like one for pasta sauce or wide-mouthed tea bottle).

Cook the steak to your liking (I go for rare). Let rest while you make the dressing.

In your dressing vessel (say that five times fast), add the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and sugar. If you're using a bowl, whisk thoroughly. If you're using a jar, cover the jar with its lid tightly and shake it for 30-60 seconds. Taste and adjust as needed.

Arrange spinach on a dinner plate. Slice your steak and put it on top of the spinach. You can serve deconstructed (egg, onion, and mushrooms set in little piles on top of the spinach) or add the other ingredients with layers. Or just scatter everything about. Give the dressing another whisk or shake, and pour on the salad. 

I don't make this often, but I really should. It's filling, it's tasty, there are lots of different textures, and it's full of produce. Win all around!

Variations on a Theme: Chipotle Chicken Salad

Hi everyone,

I hope you're coping okay with the stay-at-home and mask restrictions. I've noticed a lot of people these days have been keeping themselves busy in the kitchen. I completely applaud this for a couple reasons. 1) I love it when I can geek out with people who share my hobbies. 2) When the activity you're engaged in uses your senses in a big way, it's therapeutic. Cooking uses all of them.

Now that I see chicken breasts at the store on a regular basis, I've been cooking them a bit more. I make chicken salad because that way when I have the leftovers, I don't even have to worry about heating something up. Here we go

• 2 cooked and chilled chicken breasts (average chicken breast these days is 5-6 ounces), chopped.
• 2 green onions, chopped (I use the white and green parts; if you prefer just the green, use 3)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano (I will be adjusting this next time I make it)
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce from a can, chopped, smooshed, or run through a processor) (look here for other things you can do with the rest of the can). 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Mayo to taste
• Ripe avocado (if you can find one) cut into chunks for topping

Makes 3 generous main-dish servings. 

I cook chicken breast sous vide these days because it's so easy, at 145 degrees F (62.78 C). However you cook your breasts, I recommend putting them in the fridge for at least a couple hours before you make the salad.

Combine the chicken, onions, oregano, and peppers in a bowl. Stir 3-5 times to spread the adobo sauce around. Use a fork and press down a lot. Now the rest is up to your taste. Me, I don't like tons of may, so I tend to use just enough to hold everything together. You might like a little more because the cooling ability of the mayo will balance the adobo. I might try part mayo part plain yogurt next time. Continue stirring and pressing until the mayo is blended. You're going to get a pinkish orange tint when you're done.

Add salt & pepper to taste, more oregano if you like.

For serving, I went with yet another attempt at arepas, which I still don't have down, also some butter lettuce on the side. I just dropped the salad on the arepa. You could also use warm corn tortillas or the bread of your choice, or even pita chips.

My avocados, alas, were underripe. One of these days I'll be able to ripen them at home properly. I know the best tricks, it's my judgement that's off.

If you try this, please let me know. I'd love some feedback. I was massively happy with it, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to tweak.

Cheers everyone. Stay safe.

Balls revisited.

Back in (holy cat!) 2010, I made a recipe of Greek Meatballs with Feta and Orzo. I got lucky, not only to find meat in this time of hoarding, but to find lamb, which is usually less expensive at this time of year.

I don't now why I waited so long to do this again. It's a fabulous recipe. I did cut the garlic down like I said would. I still didn't get any hint of cinnamon, but there is a warmth to these that I like quite a bit. 

The only other thing I changed was more feta upon serving, because feta.

Hope you're all coping with the various isolation and other Covid 19 precautions. Some of the next few entries will be dependent on what ingredients are either available or in the freezer. 

Since I'm staying home, I'm cooking. Arthichoke and Spinach Pasta

Hi everyone,

It's been a while yes. Many things have happened since I last post. Let me explain. No, that would take too long, let me sum up. My apartment building was purchased and nobody's lease was renewed, so after an exhausting search complicated by issues at work, I grabbed an apartment not far from the United Nations. One of its attractions is there was enough room in the kitchen to handle all my stuff.

Then there was losing the old job (long store, this isn't the place), the stress of finding a new one. Fortunately, I managed to do both of those in the same month, so things could have been a lot worse. The  new place is fabulous.

And now, social distancing due to Covid 19. I'm an introvert most of the time, so being by myself or working from home isn't a hardship. It's also an opportunity.

When I went to the store recently, they were out of meat except for chicken wings and sausage. There was plenty of cheese and vegetables, though, so here's three of my lunches for this week.

Ingredients for 1 pound of pasta:

Pasta Sauce 

• 6 cloves of garlic (alternately, roast a bulb)
• 1.5 cups of minced onion, or a combination of onion and shallot
• 1 14-ounce can of artichoke hearts in water
• 5 oz of spinach
• 4 oz of whipped cream cheese
• 2 cups of milk
• 5 oz fresh spinach
• 6-8 ounches Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt (eliminate if you're using salted butter)
• 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence 
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons butter

Warm Tomato Salad (side dish)

• 1/2 to 3/4 Cup grape or cherry tomatoes per person
• Olive oil to coat (spray is also good here)
• Salt
• Balsamic vinegar to taste

Drain the artichokes well, then chop them half-inch bits or run them through the electric toy of your choice. Put back in the colander and smush the water out of them. Set aside

Melt the butter on low heat in a sauté pan. Add the raw chopped garlic (if you roasted it, add it after the cream cheese is melted), onions (and shallots if using) and cook, stirring constantly until the onions are translucent. This may take longer than you think, but the idea is to have them mostly melt into the sauce. Low and slow is the way to go here.

Add the cream cheese and let it sit in the pan for a few minutes before it starts to melt. This will be a touch annoying since, but it's mitigated by using the whipped cream cheese instead of a block. Slowly stir in 1 Cup of the milk until everything is of the same consistency.

Add the artichokes, the lemon zest, the herbs, and the salt & pepper. Stir until everything is combined. Slowly add the grated cheese. Taste to see if you'd like more pepper or herbal flavor and adjust accordingly. 

Let simmer. Stir occasionally while you do the below

Side dish time: This sauce is an awful lot of richness, so I put a side together with acid to cut that, and it's pretty easy. Turn the oven on to 425 F. 

Cut your tomatoes in half and arrange them in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you have an olive oil spray, spritz them a couple times and toss in the dish to ensure they're oiled all over. If not, start with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, and stir. Put in the oven,, uncovered, set your timer for 25 minutes.

Back to the sauce. Stir in the other cup of milk until it is incorporated fully. Add your spinach a handful at a time. Once all the spinach has been added, start your pasta water and cook your pasta according to your taste and/or package directions.

I used baby spinach and it took a while to completely wilt and get fully engaged in being part of the sauce. After the timer goes off on the tomatoes, check them. You should be able to smell them, and they should look a little dried and wrinkly. If they still look like you just cut them, put them back in the oven and check them every 5-8 minutes.

When your pasta is ready, drain well and slowly stir into the sauce. Let simmer while you put the tomatoes on a plate and put a little balamic vinegar on them.

Season to taste while eating with black pepper. Or red pepper, if you'd like a little bite.

I only used 8 ounces of pasta so I could play later. After I put aside two dishes' worth for lunches later this week, I still had sauce left over. Plans for this include a package of mushrooms and possibly a quarter pound of pancetta. 

Enjoy!

In which Kate Halves a Protein

So it's still summer, even if it is after Labor Day for the last few months that's often meant cool or cold meals, partly because who wants to heat up the kitchen and run up the air conditioning bill?

I forget how I came across this recipe, but I've been eating olives a lot and this recipe didn't have leafy greens. It's not that I don't like leafy greens, It's that I had braces from 2011 to 2013 and I didn't eat them for two years because I didn't want to pick them out from under the wires and brackets. This means now I only have them occasionally becaues I don't digest them light I used to. Arugula and spinach seem to be okay, at least.

I figured this would be good for light dinners, since during the week my biggest meal of the day is lunch, but then I looked at the recipe. Take a look:

• 2 (5-ounce) cans oil-packed tuna, drained (or use tuna in water and 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup peeled, diced cucumbers
• 1/4 cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Toss all ingredients into a large bowl until well mixed

T

This seemed to me to be not enough vegetables to tuna. You'd barely get enough to flavor the fish. I love briny things, so I wanted the olives pretty strong. I also love lemon. So I cut the tuna in half but left the vegetables and spices as listed. 

I'm really happy with it. I think I can boost the flavors with more lemon juice (or maybe some lemon zest), and I may up the vegetables and the spices by 50%. Capers have also crossed my mind.

I got three main dish servings out of the salad; I ate them with pita chips to throw in some more variety to the textures. If you're looking for adding other vegetables, putting this on a bed of shredded romaine would likely serve you very well. 

If you try it, let me know how you like it!

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!