The Return of the Grill

After 5 long months, my grill has returned. I was forced to relinquish it for a time due to the constraints and "rules" of apartment living. But that is past and now I can thankfully put large quantities of meats and vegetables over an open flame.

I currently have a gas grill, which I enjoy because of its ease of use and enormous surface area. I have cooked on all types of grills (gas, charcoal, and wood), and though I do miss grilling over mesquite, I realize that any of the three will lead you to a good meal. The first thing that went on the grill was chicken. I love grilled chicken, but it can easily taste and feel like rubber. I turn to my friends at Cook's Illustrated for some tips with this, and now grill all of my poultry this way. Not only does it lead to great flavor, but it helps keep the meat moist and avoid most flare-ups.


This recipe uses a similar sauce and marinade, mostly because reusing marinade is NOT safe. I prep the two side by side, cutting down considerably on time.

Lemon-Garlic Grilled Chicken

Marinade
5 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Sauce
3 tablespoons lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon pepper

In a small bowl, combine ingredients for marinade. If chicken breasts are thick, pound to about 1 inch thickness. Place marinade and chicken in zip-top baggie, combine, and let marinade for about 1 hour. Combine ingredients for sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

If using gas, turn on 2 of the three burners (or just leave about 1/3 of your grill without direct heat) to high (you will want to reduce the heat of the burners to medium-high when you place the chicken on the grill). If using charcoal, place your coals on one side of the grill and heat until ashed over. Remove chicken from marinade and place on hot side of grill. Cover and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the chicken gets browned on one side. Flip chicken over sear on grill for about 1 minute more. Move to side of grill with no direct heat. Cover and cook until interior of chicken registers about 160°F on a thermometer, about 10 minutes. Chicken should spring back and not be mushy when you poke it with a finger. Remove from grill, let rest for about 5 minutes, and cut into slices. Serve with sauce over top or to dip in. Enjoy!

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Stuffed Chicken

I currently reside in an apartment (for about another day, yay!) so I am limited with the amount of green I am able to grow. My current large garden consists of two tomato plants in pots and a small herb box. I know, high society there. I just have to comment, one of my tomato plants is a giant. The thing is totally massive, if it was a kid at school, it would be the 7 foot center of the basketball team. I have NO idea what I did to it.

My herb box was planted for budget reasons, mainly because grocery stores like to charge crazy amounts of money for herbs that are extremely perishable. No thank you. So I currently grow chives, basil, thyme, and oregano. I did parsley last year which was also nice, but I have since found a good source for it. However, sometimes the box likes to do its own thing, such as grow crazy amounts of basil. Pesto is always an option, but since I'm moving next week I am trying to avoid making containers of things. Instead I opted for a stuffed chicken breast.



The idea of stuffed chicken breasts (French style) I got from Cook's Illustrated, with their neat approach to using pieces of the chicken for the stuffing instead of bread, adding to the texture but not drying the whole roll out. Swap out some ingredients for what I have on hand; make the preparation a bit easier for time, and boom, dinner. I paired it with some really awesome fresh tomatoes and green beans that I just drizzled with balsamic vinegar and some salt, pepper, and sugar.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (3-4 breasts depending on where you get them)
1 shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup white wine
½ cup basil leaves
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ tablespoon + 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

If the chicken breasts have tenders (the loose piece on the back the size of your finger), cut it off and reserve for the stuffing. Using a very sharp knife, butterfly the chicken breasts. Open up the breast so it is flat on the counter (still one piece), cover with plastic wrap, and pound to about ¼ inch thickness. It should be slightly larger than 6"x8". Trim the outside to make a 6"x8" rectangle, and add the trimmings to bowl of your food processor. You should get about 2 ounces of trimmed meat from each breast. Repeat with the other breasts and then set aside.

In the bowl of your food processor chop all of the breast trimmings in pulses, about 10 seconds. Transfer to bowl. Over medium heat place a large skillet and ½ tablespoon vegetable oil. Add the garlic and shallot and cook until soft. Transfer to the food processor. Return pan to heat and add wine, scraping up any stuck bits. Reduce wine to about 2 tablespoons and pour into a small bowl. Set aside.

To the food processor with the shallot and garlic, add the basil leaves and salt and pepper. Process to chop the basil. Add to the bowl with chicken and mix to combine. Next, lay out the chicken breasts. Spread the filling even over all of the breasts, leaving about ½ inch room on one long end of the breast. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the breasts. Using the long side, roll the chicken into a tight roll, using the side without filling as somewhat of a seal. Tie each breast with 3-4 pieces of kitchen twine.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the rolled breasts and brown on all four sides, about 2 minutes per side. Make sure to redistribute the oil in the pan to prevent sticking. When browned, add the chicken broth to the pan and cover, reducing heat to medium and cooking until the middle reads 160°F, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken breasts and cover to rest. Return pan to heat and add the remaining wine. Reduce the sauce to about ¼- ½ cup. Turn off heat and whisk in butter and lemon juice. Slice chicken breasts and serve sauce over top. Enjoy.

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Romesco Sauce

There is a pub here in Lafayette called the Black Sparrow. They serve a delicious romesco and goat cheese dip that I have had quite a few times. However, during this past weekend the pub was not an option, so I went about making my own. I started with a recent recipe from Bon Apetit magazine that dealt with a good paring sauce for pork. I made the pork (delicious) but the romesco sauce was a little heavy on ingredients that I do not usually have around in the kitchen, such as Spanish salted almonds or fresh marjoram.



This posed a problem, but nevertheless, I was determined to make something (and if that failed, there was always take-out). Thanks to a few substitutions, some alterations, and the labors of my food processor I was soon rewarded with a thick sauce that was really really good. And not only does it keep well, but I have started putting it on all kinds of things. Burgers, crackers, rice (oh yeah, that makes a good lunch), stuffed in pita bread, all kinds of things. This sauce will now probably take a place next to fresh salsa as something I always try to keep on hand.

The sauce itself is a bit non traditional (as I do not live near a supermarket that carries some of the more exotic ingredients). But I find it fully rewarding and pretty easy to make.

Romesco Sauce

15-16oz jar roasted red peppers (about 4 peppers)
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 ripe plum tomato, chopped or 1/2 can diced tomatoes drained
2 T olive oil
2/3 cup roasted almonds (see below)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 T sherry or red wine vinegar
pinch dried oregano
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 425°F. Place red peppers in pie dish, sprinkle garlic and chopped tomato over. Drizzle with olive oil. In a seperate pie dish add the almonds and a bit of salt (you can use peeled or unpeel almonds, it does not really matter). Place both dishes in the oven. Roast the almonds for about 20 minutes, the peppers for about 30-40. Remove and let cool slightly.

Combine the now roasted almonds and the breadcrumbs in a food processor, chop until fine. Add the contents of the pie plate with peppers, the vinegar, the oregano, and some salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, season with salt and pepper.

Alternatively, if you make this dish with roasted meat, put the pan you roasted the meat in over a burner over medium heat. Add 1 cup sherry to the pan and reduce down to 2 tablespoons, scraping up the bottom bits. This will replace the vinegar.

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Bolognese (that has nothing to do with bologna)

Pasta has, and always will be a great comfort food to me. I love eating it, and I love having an easy sauce to throw together (along with carbonara) to smother it in. This recipe is one I have adapted over the past few years and is my primary red sauce. I prefer the turkey simply because it lets the tomatoes and the body of the sauce shine through more. So beef is totally an option for you if you prefer. The sauce also freezes very well for a rainy day.



Turkey Bolognese (Inspired by Emeril Lagasse)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups finely chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 pound ground turkey (at least 90% lean)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
½ teaspoon red pepper flake
2 teaspoons salt
2 bay leaves
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup milk

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions to the pot and sauté until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Stir the celery, carrots and garlic into the pot and cook until the vegetables are slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Next add the ground turkey to the vegetables, breaking up the meat, and cook until starting to brown and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add thyme, oregano, red pepper, and salt, to taste. Add all remaining ingredients except the milk, lower the heat and simmer uncovered until thickened, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring from time to time. If the sauce reduces quickly add a bit more stock and continue to reduce

About 10 minutes prior to serving, add the milk to the sauce and stir well to incorporate. Season to taste.

Serve over cooked pasta, such as spaghetti or rigatoni. Serves four.

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Hollandaise Again

After adjusting the recipe slightly (way too much butter), and in honor of Mother's Day, here is the post for Hollandaise once again. So be nice and make eggs Benedict for your mom :)

Hollandaise sauce is the bane of my existence. There is no other way to put it. I love it, I love putting it on food, but I hate making it. No, it's not that hard or time intensive, but it breaks. All the time. And I get so frustrated! Probably not a good thing that I mostly make it at breakfast (I'm probably cranky). I tried clarified butter, cold butter, warm yolks, and ancient rain dancing, but nothing worked. But alas, I think I have finally figured it out. Water! Yes, as I was flipping through all of my cookbooks, I found that the Joy of Cooking calls for some water to be added. This thins out the sauce a little bit and relaxes the strain on the egg proteins. And it was amazing. The sauce held quite nicely and even stayed together on the stove for when people came asking for seconds. Success! Now something else can be my bane.

Hollandaise Sauce (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

3 egg yolks
1 1/2 T lemon juice
salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 stick butter, melted
4 T warm water

First step, make a double boiler. Take a glass or stainless steel bowl and find a pot that the bottom just fits into. Fill the pot about half full with water and place it over medium high heat until it is just simmering. If you do this sauce over direct heat I can almost guarantee you it will be a disaster.


In the bowl whisk the egg yolks until slightly light and frothy. Whisk over heat and add 1 T water until the eggs just start to thicken, 3-5 minutes. Add the rest of the water 1 T at a time letting the eggs thicken in between. If you feel the eggs are getting too hot, pull the bowl out of the heat. Add the lemon juice. Remove the bowl from the heat and very slowly add the butter, stirring constantly until all the butter is incorporated (if you need to warm up the sauce while doing this place over the boiler for a few seconds). Leave the white solids from the butter (milk solids) out if possible. Whisk in the cayenne, season with salt. If the sauce is too thick, add a few drops of water. Serve immediately. To keep the sauce warm, place your mixing bowl in a larger bowl with some warm water and cover.


Note- If you want to boost the flavor even more, reduce ½ cup white wine to about 2 T and mix with the lemon juice before adding to the sauce.

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Pan Seared Pork Chops

I had a blog post written about hollandaise sauce until I made dinner last night. Then things changed. As I have written before, I make pork chops on a frequent basis because of their ease and consistency in the taste category, but I do not usually venture outside of that recipe. However, in this month's Cooks Illustrated, there is a curious recipe about pan seared pork chops that intrigued me. Intrigue turned out to be a great thing, because these chops were better than Lost last night (and that's saying something).

The key with these chops is the salting. I have spoken before on brining meat, and pork is probably the biggest in need of a good salt water soak. But if you try this with a pan seared chop, the meat does not really develop a crust. So instead it was suggested to salt the meat, leave it sitting on a rack for about an hour, baking it shortly, and then finishing the pork in a hot pan which also yields a pan sauce. Too many steps says you? Suck it up, say I. You can make this dish (and sides) pretty easily as most of the steps involve the meat lying prone on a rack or in an oven.

I altered the recipe very little, because frankly there is no need to. Since I am trying to eat butter in moderation at the moment, instead of using 3T of butter in the pan sauce, I used 1T and instead saved a few tablespoons of the chicken broth and mixed them with 1t cornstarch. I am listing this method in the recipe, but if you would rather the butter, scratch the cornstarch and reduce the sauce a bit further before adding the butter.

Pan Seared Pork Chops

4 1 ½ inch thick pork loin chops (bone in or bone out)
Salt
Pepper
1T vegetable oil

Sauce

1 shallot minced (or ¼ cup finely minced onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 t chopped fresh thyme (or ¼ t dry chopped)
½ cup white wine
¾ cup chicken stock
¼ t white wine or rice wine vinegar
1 T cold butter
1 t cornstarch
Salt
Pepper

Pat chops dry with paper towel. Salt each chop all over with 1 t kosher salt (or ½ t table salt). Place on wire rack over a baking sheet and leave at room temperature for 45 minutes (no less!). Heat oven to 275°F. Season chops with pepper and place in oven to bake, 35-40 minutes or until the middle of the chops reads 120°F on an instant read thermometer. Remove from oven.

Heat 1 T vegetable oil in large skillet over medium high heat until almost smoking. Place 2 chops in pan and sear on each side until browned, about 2 minutes each side. You might have to lift chops once to redistribute oil and prevent burning. Remove chops to plate and repeat with other 2 chops. Reduce pan heat to medium low. Using your tongs (see the picture), sear the chops on their ends until golden brown and the interior of the chops is 140-145°F. Place on plate, cover with foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

Drain off all but 1 t of remaining oil. Return heat to medium. Add shallot and garlic, stirring often until softened, about 1 minute. Reserving 3T chicken stock, add the stock and wine to the pan to deglaze, scraping up any bits on the bottom. Cook until reduced to about ¾ cup remains, abut 5 minutes. Mix corn starch and chicken stock and add to pan. Stir until thickened. If too thin, reduce sauce slightly, and if too thick add a few more tablespoons chicken stock. Turn off heat and add thyme and vinegar. Stir in butter, season with salt and pepper. Serve with chops.

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Baked Rigatoni

I have always found that the best time to write blog posts is soon after I have eaten the dish I want to write about. In this case, I am currently feeding my face of this stuff. Because it's tasty and I like food. This dish is getting fast tracked into the blog thanks to something my better half said last night, that she would order it in a restaurant. Never has she said that, and I make a big deal out of it because it’s a huge compliment and its not "maybe we should get pizza" (I get that every other month or so when I make something off the wall). Now, on to the cooking!

This recipe makes use of the tomato sauce from the last post. It also takes inspiration from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, a fantastic Italian cookbook that I would recommend to anyone. So what is this baked pan of pure love? Pasta, cheese, and two sauces. Traditional Italian dishes such as lasagna call for two sauces, a red and a white, which allows a creamy texture and still lends itself to full flavor. The red sauce is usually a tomato or Bolognese sauce. In this instance I went with tomato. If you do not have home made tomato sauce, try this instead. Take a jar of tomato sauce from wherever you buy it, and taste it. If you are content with it, use as is. If not, adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, basil, and oregano are good places to start) until you are satisfied. People often just take bottled sauces at their word and find them to be flat once used. If I ever use any kind of pre packaged sauce or something, I always taste it first and adjust its seasonings. This will save you a lot of heart ache in the end.

The white sauce that is used is a béchamel, which is equal parts flour and butter combined with milk. It’s the same sauce I used with my ron con con. However, since we want some of the sauce to be absorbed by the pasta, this sauce will be a bit thinner and contain no cheese. This recipe multiplies nicely and is also my new favorite for pot lucks. It can be prepared in under 15 minutes, which is an added plus.

Baked Rigatoni

2 cups red sauce (tomato or Bolognese)
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 cups milk, heated
½ cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 pound rigatoni

Preheat oven to 400°F. On stove, heat a large pot of water to boiling with a copious amount of salt and about 1T olive oil.

Meanwhile in a medium sauce pot over medium heat add butter until melted, whisk in flour and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Add milk a little bit at a time, whisking to make a sauce (adding the milk hot will allow the sauce to come together quickly and prevent lumps). Cook sauce for a minute or so, it should have a creamy but not extremely thick consistency. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Boil pasta until still chewy, about 3 minutes under recommended time. Drain and place in large bowl. Add the white and red sauce and half of the cheese, toss to combine. Butter a baking dish and add pasta mixture. Top with remaining cheese, bake for about 15-20 minutes until top starts to brown. Let the pasta sit for about 10 minutes after removing from oven to absorb the rest of the sauce.

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Red Everywhere! (Easy Tomato Sauce)

With the plethora of good ingredients to be found at my local farmer’s market, I am often looking for ideas on how to prolong the fresh (and cheap!) flavors I come across. The problem lies within what exactly to use an ingredient for that will yield multiple uses. Items like corn can be frozen directly, potatoes store for a while on their own, and apples can be made into pretty much whatever you want. But what about tomatoes? With long term storage, you have a few options. You can make a lot of salsa and preserve it, you can stew them and use them as an addition for dishes, or you can make sauce. When I was handed a large bag of tomatoes over the weekend, I opted for the last option, sauce making. I delved into a few cookbooks for some inspiration and found some common themes, though some did not really follow what I wanted out of this sauce. I wanted something that was unlike what’s in the can (though I use that stuff and it’s perfectly fine). I wanted rustic texture, full flavor, and something I could just add to pasta or pour over chicken and be happy with it. But first, some prep needed to be done.

Tomatoes have one part that is overall undesirable in sauce. The skin. Getting rid of it is quite easy. All you will need is a medium or large pot of water, a bowl, some ice, a slotted spoon, and a knife. Got it? Good. Heat the pot of water over high heat until almost boiling. Wash the tomatoes and score and x along the bottom side of the tomato, piercing the skin but not cutting deep into the flesh. This will allow the skin to pull back when in the hot water. Lower (use the spoon to avoid splashing and blisters) the tomatoes in the water, being careful not to overcrowd, and cook for one minute. Remove from the water and shock in a bowl filled with some ice and water. When the tomatoes are cool (about another minute), peel away the skins using your fingers or a small knife and place in a bowl to hold until they are needed. I prefer to use larger tomatoes for this, as they have a better yield of flesh. You can also use an equivalent weight in crushed tomatoes for a nice alternative at other times during the year.




Some people might say “wait, what about the seeds”? Contrary to some beliefs, the seeds do not make the sauce bitter, so I say leave them in. If you have a food mill, by all means, strain out the seeds using a larger setting. Since I don’t have a food mill, I attempted running my tomatoes through a mesh strainer and then realized all the good stuff I would be leaving out (namely the juicy pulp surrounding the seeds). No good. So I opted instead for my immersion stick blender once the sauce was finished. This gave my sauce a slightly coarse texture, which I prefer. You can also use a blender or food processor, but make sure to cool the sauce slightly before letting it rip. It also works well chunky.

One last point. This sauce is made from mostly tomatoes. Which are acidic. So use a non reactive pan such as anodized aluminum or enamel coated cast iron. Non stick will work too, just pay attention to it. This also means that simmering this sauce for hours will make it taste like gross. Try to limit the timing, though if you want your sauce thicker you can reduce it down slightly or add a thickening agent (such as corn starch and water).

Rustic Tomato Sauce

1 c onion, diced
½ c celery, diced
½ c carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, skins removed and chopped (or 1 1/2 pound crushed, canned tomatoes)
3 T + 2T olive oil
¼ c red wine
Salt (at least 2 T)
Pepper
2 T fresh basil, chopped fine
1 T fresh parsley, chopped fine
2 bay leaves
1 T tomato paste

In a large pot, heat 3 T olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes (you can brown them, it adds more flavor depth to the dish). Add the celery, carrots, and some salt, sauté until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the bay leaf and wine, allowing the wine to mostly bubble off. Add the tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer. Once it reaches this, simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the 30 minutes is up, add the basil, parsley, and tomato paste. Cook for another 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to your liking, blend to a coarse sauce if desired, cool, and use. Can be stored in the refrigerator or frozen for future use.

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Macaroni and Cheese (Ron con con)

Wow, I have been writing a food blog for almost 9 months and I have yet to put this recipe up? Chalk that one up to some serious memory impairment. Sheesh. This dish is the first savory dish I ever made on my own. I was 7 and I was hungry, and as any child, I went to my mother and asked her what was for dinner. She replied "whatever you make". Being the hungry kid that I was, I set about trying to make macaroni. Meaning, I got out the ingredients on the counter and asked my mom what to do next. With a little bit of help I turned out a pretty good side dish for dinner (we made pork chops to go along with it). To this day I have altered this recipe very little. In fact, the only change is the cheese split, I used to use all Colby jack (melty) until I discovered how awesome cheddar was in this.

The recipe is straight forward. Make a béchamel sauce (roux + milk), add cheese, add pasta, bake. The secret, super amazing part I credit to my father, who for the longest time mysteriously made better macaroni and cheese than my mom but no one knew why. Turns out he just added a cube of chicken bullion. You know, the stuff I don’t like to use as a substitute for my chicken stock. But it has many other uses. Such as making amazing mac and cheese. That and the fact that this stuff is under a buck for eight cubes gives it a place in my spice cabinet.

One last note is the pasta. I like rigatoni way more than elbows because of the bigger tube that can pick up more sauce, but its totally a preference thing. Oh, and it is sometime referred to as "ron con con" because my girlfriend called it that when she was a baby. No idea why, but it is what it is.

Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound rigatoni noodles (or elbows or some kind of short tubular pasta)
3 T Butter
3 T flour
3 C milk
1 cube chicken bullion (if you have a smaller cube, use two, if large, go one)
8 oz Colby jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
6 oz sharp cheddar, shredded (1.5 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir, cooking the roux for about 3 minutes. Slowly add the milk and bullion cube, whisking to combine (if you want it to cook faster, warm your milk before hand). Reduce heat to medium low. When the sauce thickens, add the cheese a little at a time, switching to a wooden spoon and stirring constantly. Add all of the cheese and mix until cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, boil pasta (making sure to heavily salt the water and add a small amount of oil) until al-dente, cooking it a little under (it will absorb sauce). Drain (but do not rinse) and add pasta to a 9x12 baking dish (or something that will hold a pound of pasta and can go in your oven). Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix well, cover with foil, and bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and delicious.

UPDATE: Feel free to leave comments below, you don't even need to be signed in :)

UPDATED UPDATE: I altered the recipe a bit above, as I mistakenly listed the amounts of each cheese needed.

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