Tag Archives: food

Scrambled, please.

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I’ve been taking more care when scrambling eggs these days. I don’t like them runny, but I do like them soft. I definitely try to avoid overcooking them even by a few seconds. It’s a delicate thing, scrambling eggs, if you want to get it right.

First I thoroughly heat a nonstick pan with a bit of butter. While that’s happening, I crack the eggs into a bowl, add a pinch of Kosher salt, a grind of black pepper and a splash of the fattiest milk I have in the fridge. Then I beat them with a fork–but only enough to make them uniform. The more you beat them, the tougher they become when cooked.

Then the eggs go into the hot pan. Extra ingredients go in at this point–Chihuahua cheese last time. With a spatula, begin bringing the eggs in from the sides, scraping them up from the bottom, keeping everything in the pan moving and letting the heat do its thing.

Before the eggs are completely set, while there is still some wetness showing, I shut off the burner. The residual heat in the pan will finish up any undercooked areas. I gently flip the eggs once in large clumps with the spatula to finish them evenly.

Plate and eat. I added a few generous shakes of Cholula hot sauce and ate it all with warm corn tortillas from Panos, the local Mexican grocery.

Scrambled eggs is a simple thing, but it really can be sublime.

Simple chili recipe

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Sauté…

2 cups chopped onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
6 cloves minced garlic (2 tbsp)

1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

…in Dutch oven over medium heat with a bit of oil until thick, brown and onions are caramelizing. 10 min. Add a little water if it starts to scorch.

Turn up to medium high and add 2 pounds of 85% lean ground beef in two batches. Cook until no longer pink. Add 2 (15-ounce) cans rinsed red kidney beans, 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice and 1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree.

Cover and simmer on low for 1 hour, stirring as necessary. Uncover and cook for 1 more hour, stirring as necessary, until chili has thickened.

Notes: I didn’t have coriander, I forgot the garlic entirely and I used black beans. Also, I bet you could omit the cayenne and mince a fresh jalapeño pepper instead. Tasted great. Highly seasoned. Probably a bit spicy for kids.

Things you should know: Kitchen edition

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Since we’re on the subject of kitchens, here’s my idiosyncratic list of Things You Should Know. What’d I miss?

How to dice an onion.
How to slice garlic.
How to cook a steak like Alton Brown.
How to make an omelet like Jacques Pépin.
Which oils tolerate higher heat than others.
How to deglaze a pan and make a simple pan sauce.
How to roast a chicken like Thomas Keller.
How to make a beef stew.
How to bake no-knead bread.
How to make an Asian stir-fry.
What al dente means.
How to care for cast-iron, nonstick and stainless steel cookware.
How to care for knives.

Zen and the art of outfitting your kitchen

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Suppose you were a young adult just establishing your own place. Suppose further that someone offered to completely fund the outfitting of your entire kitchen. What would you buy? Assuming major appliances are already in place, here are my suggestions:

Service for 4 or 8, depending on your needs. Dishes, glassware, flatware, wine glasses, coffee cups and steak knives.

Two spatulas, two turners, two serving spoons and two tongs. A ladle. A whisk. A countertop container to keep these handy near the stovetop. A can opener, a bottle opener and a corkscrew. A couple of trivets. A colander. Three or four assorted-sized mixing bowls. A couple of cutting boards. A vegetable peeler. A box grater. A salt server from which to pinch kosher salt. A set of measuring spoons. A couple of large serving plates and bowls. A dish rack with a drain.

A dozen kitchen towels.

A chef’s knife and a paring knife–two of each if there’s more than one cook. A large serrated knife. Kitchen shears.

Heavy aluminum or stainless steel cookware with lids: a 12-inch skillet, a 2-quart saucepan and a 6-quart pot. One 10-inch nonstick skillet. One 12-inch cast-iron skillet. One 6-quart enameled, cast-iron Dutch oven. Two heavy half-sheet baking sheets with wire cooling racks. A Pyrex lasagne pan, brownie pan and pie plate. Glass measuring cups, 2- and 4-cup sizes. A set of graduated prep bowls for Zen-like mise en place.

A water pitcher with a filter. A food processor. An electric kettle. A rice maker. A slow cooker. A coffee maker in the style of your preference. A coffee grinder. A restaurant-style sugar pourer. Two glass bottles with pour-spouts for cooking oil. A pepper mill. A toaster. A butter dish or bell.

Things you probably do not need. A blender. A mixer. A garlic press. A pizza wheel. An electric grill, griddle or panini press. A large set of assorted pots and pans–or any cookware with plastic handles that aren’t oven-safe. Potholders of any kind. Cheese slicers, apple corers. A big block of assorted knives.

Less is more. That innocent little mellon baller may look beguiling, but do not succumb! Think hard before you let it into your kitchen and your life, lest one day you wake up and realize you can’t find anything, let alone cook, in your overcrowded kitchen. It can happen. I’ve seen it before and it’s not pretty.

A note about plasticware for the storage of leftovers, etc. I’m in favor of a small number of pieces. Maybe a couple small ones for taking to work for lunch, a couple of mid-size containers and a couple of large ones. The number and variety of these pieces should be kept to a minimum. If you don’t heed this warning, you’ll forever after be sifting through a pile of lids to find the one that matches the container in your hand. Nothing will disturb your Zen-like peace of mind faster. In actual practice I buy those light-gauge, semi-disposable ones from the supermarket. You can wash and reuse them many, many times, but if you happen to lose one at work it’s no big deal. I know this isn’t necessarily the most environmentally-friendly solution, so your mileage may vary.

Jambalaya

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In completely non-healthcare-related news, I made jambalaya. I don’t know how to make jambalaya. So I just made what I thought jambalaya should be. I guessed.

I figured you had to start with the holy trinity: sautéing some green pepper, onion and celery. Then I threw in some garlic. Then a can of diced tomatoes. Just for grins I added some frozen okra and a handful of frozen corn. I seasoned this whole mess with a generous amount of cumin and a lesser amount of cayenne.

Once this was heated, I added sliced andouille sausage. Once that was hot, I added some frozen shrimp: peeled, deveined, tail-on. When they were pink, I salted to taste and served over rice.

How’s that sound to you? Is that jambalaya? Whatever it was, it was pretty good.

I should read some actual jambalaya recipes. Also, I learned that I don’t like picking shrimp tails out of my dinner. Next time I’ll know better.

Blackened chicken

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I didn’t have much in the house for dinner last night, but I had thought to thaw some frozen chicken breasts earlier. What to do with them? Boneless, skinless chicken breasts aren’t very flavorful. They definitely need help.

I googled “blackened chicken,” scanned the first recipe that came up, and hit the kitchen.

1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Coat baking sheet with cooking spray and heat in 350 degree oven.

Mix spices in a shallow dish. Pat chicken dry, spray both sides with cooking spray, then coat with the spice mixture.

Heat cast iron skillet on high until smoking. Put chicken in for 1-2 minutes a side, or until the coating is sufficiently blackened. Remove from skillet and place in the oven on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes or until done. Let rest for 2-3 minutes before serving.

The verdict? It definitely has promise. The chicken had a lot of flavor, as you’d expect. Sensitive pallets thought the cayenne could be cut back a bit, but I thought it was just right. Also, this recipe is fast, lean and doesn’t require any fresh ingredients that you might or might not have on hand. Quick, healthy, flavorful and convenient. That’s hard to beat.

Chicken Fricassee

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I really enjoy cooking, even if I don’t do it as much as I’d like. One of the things that really helps me is the TV show America’s Test Kitchen. America’s Test Kitchen is also the name of the parent company which owns, among other things, Cook’s Illustrated magazine. I tried subscribing to Cook’s Illustrated, but I find having a paid membership to their web site more useful than the magazine itself.

Whatever you call them, I’ve made many of their recipes. The “Perfect French Omelet,” “Our Favorite Chili” and more. All of these recipes seem to have more steps and ingredients than you’d imagine, but the results are absolutely worth it.

Yesterday it was Chicken Fricassee. It caught my eye on the TV show because it seemed very similar to my usual chicken with mushroom sauce recipe. Maybe I’ll try to combine them to get the simplicity of my old recipe with some of the better results of the new one.

Here’s the recipe. Note that they prompt you to register, but if you don’t want to you can just click “watch the video.” I recommend doing that anyway.

Roast Chicken

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Everyone knows how to throw a chicken in the oven and most of us probably get pretty good results. On the culinary skills difficulty-o-meter it’s not exactly rocket surgery. Still, I was so pleased with the one I cooked up yesterday that I thought I’d share it with you.

I basically did it just like Thomas Keller does in this episode of No Reservations. My bird was at least 4.5 pounds, I threw half a lemon and a handful of fresh thyme in it and my truss job was basically just tying the legs together with twine, but otherwise the same. Let it come up to temperature, pat it dry, liberally season it, then right into the oven on a sauté pan. I love the wishbone trick. I think I’ll do that every time now.

Chili recipe

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A week ago I entered a chili cook off at work. I lost, but it wasn’t the recipe’s fault, it was mine. I chickened out, tried to make it milder, thinking that my audience might blanch at a chili with some heat. Not only was I wrong (the winning chili definitely had some burn), but I ruined my chili. It’s just no good without the heat. So by all means, check out this amazing recipe–but don’t try to make it milder. You have been warned.

On to the recipe itself. I ripped it off from another web site and simplified it a bit. I think it’s every bit as good as the original but takes less time. Different cuts of meat may be used. Anything that’s good for beef stew will probably work.

INGREDIENTS

salt

2 (16-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

6 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed, and torn into pieces

2-4 dried árbol chiles, stems and seeds removed

3 tablespoons cornmeal

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

2.5 cups chicken broth

2 medium onions (2 cups)

2-3 jalapeño peppers, stems and seeds removed, cut into pieces

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 4 teaspoons)

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons light molasses

4-pound chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

2 (12-ounce) bottles mild lager such as Budweiser, Pacifico, Amstel, Molson, Miller High Life, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place ancho chiles in 12-inch skillet over medium heat; toast until fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to food processor and cool.

2. Add árbol chiles, cornmeal, oregano, cumin, cocoa, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to food processor with toasted ancho chiles; process until finely ground, about 2 minutes. With processor running, add 1/2 cup broth until smooth paste forms, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Transfer paste to small bowl. Place onions and jalapeños in processor and pulse until roughly chopped like chunky salsa.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion mixture and cook until softened, 7 to 9 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chili paste, tomatoes, and molasses; stir until chili paste is thoroughly combined. Add remaining 2 cups broth, bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Pat beef dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Add half of beef and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer meat to Dutch oven. Add half the beer to skillet, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits, and bring to simmer. Pour beer into Dutch oven. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil, beef, and beer. Once all the meat has been added, return pot to a simmer.

5. Cover pot and put in oven. Drink second bottle of beer at this time. Cook until meat is fully tender, about 1.5 hours. Stir well and season to taste with salt. Let chili stand uncovered 10 minutes. Serve with whatever you like: diced sweet onion, grated cheese, sour cream, corn chips, cilantro, etc.

Chili Checkin

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I’ve been working on the perfect pot of chili. Here’s where it stands to date. What do you think?

Ingredients:

2 cans of beans, rinsed (pinto, black or a combination)

6 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn up into pieces

3 tablespoons cornmeal

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 medium onions, chopped (2 cups)

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons molasses

4 pound chuck roast, well-trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1 can of Budweiser

Directions:

1. Stem, seed and tear up chiles. Put the pieces into a medium skillet, shaking occasionally until hot and fragrant. Place them into the food processor with the corn meal, oregano, cumin, cocoa and 1/2-teaspoon of salt. Pulse until well combined. Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock and pulse until a thick paste.

2. Chop the onions and the jalapeno. Saute on medium heat in large Dutch oven with a tablespoon of oil for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add the tomatoes. molasses and 2 cups of chicken broth. Simmer on low.

3. Dry the pieces of meat with paper towel. Brown half of the meat in a medium-high skillet with a little oil. When browned, dump them into the Dutch oven with the other ingredients. Deglaze the skillet with half of the Budweiser. Dump that in, too. Repeat with the other half of the meat and the other half of the beer.

4. Add the rinsed beans. Stir, bring to a simmer.

5. Cover the Dutch oven and put it into a 300 degree oven for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.

6. Let the chili rest uncovered for 10 minutes. Serve topped with fresh cilantro and sour cream. Or grated cheddar. Or whatever.