Once Upon a Tine
Saturday, August 12, 2006
The Week end's culinary thoughts.
Monday is back to school, so I am concentrating on feeding the soul. Both for my family and for myself. I am thinking of the new year, fresh start and planning foods to fuel them on their way. But I am also concentrating on bulk cooking, healthy menus and easy fare to afford me the much needed time off this week. So, here are my thoughts:
SUNDAY BREAKFAST / BRUNCH
I will make tuscan eggs and serve blueberry muffins (in the recipes below).
The chicken salad can be an easy lunch that people can grab when they are hungry. Pared with a baguette or croissent, this is a good lunch. (Make sure paper plates are handy for easy clean up. And then Sunday night - simple - simple.....
STEAK AND FRIES.
Homemade Fries. This is my mom's recipe. Her fries are legendary and we can eat batches and batches in one sitting. It's not unusual for mom to park us around her table while she fries batch after batch and serves each one hot as it is ready.
The rule for fries is approx. 1 russet potato per person.
Make ahead: Clean the potatoes - peel. Slice as thin as you can. This is where a good knife come in handy. Heat vegie oil in a big ole' pot. When it it slightly bubbling, drop in the first batch of fries (a handful or so, depending on the size of your pot.) Cook them for 3-4 minutes, until firm, no longer mushy, but not browned. Remove and lay out on paper. (A paper bag with paper towels on top soaks up the grease nicely). Sprinkle them with sea salt while hot. Let cool. Do all of the fries like this. Let cool. Just before dinner, re-heat the oil and fry the potatoes in batches for a second time - until golden. This 2 fry method make the perfect fries!! Soft inside, crunchy outside and will rival and french fry you have ever eaten!
My family prefers ribeye - bone in. One rib-eye is more than enough for one hungry person. Set the table with sharp steak knives.
Fire up the grill:
When the fire is hot, sprinkle both sides of the steaks with the salt. Grill the steaks on one side for 5 to 6 min. Turn the steaks and finish cooking on the second side for 3 to 4 min. They should be rare to medium rare at this point.
Serve steak with fries piled high on the side and witness satisfaction around the table!
CHICKEN SALAD
There are a few things that distinguish this chicken salad recipe from a standard version. First, we use plum preserves in the dressing. You can use any berry preserve, but as we have gallons of homemade plum preserves in the freezer waiting to be used, we use the plum. Second, the recipe includes green olives. Like capers, chopped green olives give the salad an interesting bite. Finally, we use chicken that has been roasted or broiled with the skin on, and we use the skin. This makes a huge difference in flavor.
3/4 lb (2-3 cups) of cooked chicken meat, skin on, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4-6 green olives, pitted and minced
1/4 cup of chopped red onion
1/2 to a whole apple, cored and chopped
1/3 head of iceberg head lettuce, sliced and chopped
5 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp plum preserves, or any sweet berry preserve (or a lesser amount of honey)
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juiceS
alt and pepper to taste
1) Prepare all of the salad ingredients and combine them in a large bowl.
2) Prepare the dressing separately. Combine the mayonnaise, preserves, and lemon juice. Taste for proper balance. The dressing should not be too sweet nor too sour. Adjust the ingredients until you have achieved the balance you want. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3) Mix the dressing in with the salad ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serves four.
Tuscan Scrambled Eggs Recipe
Taken from "Tuscany: The Beautiful Cookbook" we've called them "Tuscan Eggs". They are very easy to prepare; the trick is to simmer the tomato and onion sauce for at least a half an hour before adding the eggs. Delicious with toast.
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 1/4 lb (600g) plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped or 1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
6 eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper.
1) Heat olive oil on medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Add the onions and cook until translucent, just starting to turn golden in color, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook over low heat until the liquid evaporates, about 40 minutes.
2) Whisk the eggs in a bowl until well blended. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add the eggs to the tomato and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, and scraping from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat as soon as the eggs begin to set, but are still moist, about 3 minutes. Turn out onto a serving plate. Serve immediately.
BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Muffins are not as easy to get right as one might think. Too dry, to dense, to sugary - these are all problems that one can encounter when trying to bake the perfect muffin. This recipe however, adapted from The Best Recipe cookbook, makes them just right - light, fluffy, and full of blueberries.
3 Cups of all purpose flour (I use unbleached)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks of butter (leave out to soften)
1 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp flour (for defrosted frozen berries)
1 Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2 Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. 3 In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the grated lemon peel. 4 Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat. Fold in the berries. If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, drain the excess liquid, and then coat them in a light dusting of flour. 5 Use a standard 12-muffin muffin pan. Coat each muffin cup lightly with olive oil or grapeseed oil using a pastry brush, or with a little butter. Or use one of those convenient vegetable oil sprays. Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick (we use a thin bamboo skewer) to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve slightly warm.
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Friday, August 11, 2006
This is a blog in progress. Expect daily culinary updates. Bon Apetit'
