Chicken Marsala with incinerated new potatoes, ha!



Chicken Marsala with grill-roasted potatoes

 Yesterday afternoon  just before I left work, it occurred to me that I had mushrooms in the refrigerator that I needed to use, so I stopped by the grocery store on the way home, picked up some chicken tenders and threw together some Chicken Marsala.  I didn’t get home until after 6:00, so I wanted to put this meal together quickly.  I usually make risotto with anything a la Marsala, but it’s too time-consuming and labor intensive for a week night, and we didn’t have any homemade chicken broth in the freezer, so roasted potatoes would have to do.  I decided to try roasting the potatoes using my new-found grill roasting method, and if I had watched them more closely, they would have been perfect.  Alas, I didn’t and some of them were incinerated.  Nevertheless, enough were salvageable, and with some fresh broccoli, it was a passable Tuesday dinner.

For the Chicken Marsala:  Pat the chicken tenders dry with a paper towel and season them with salt and pepper.  Dredge them in flour, being sure to shake off any excess.  I’m crazy about the white whole wheat flour that’s become popular.  It’s a bit healthier, but it also browns more quickly without losing its thickening power.  Brown them in a pan on medium high heat in a couple of tablespoons of hot vegetable oil.  When they’re browned on both sides, put them in a warm (170 or so) oven while you make the sauce.  Sometimes I use pancetta in this recipe if I have it; yesterday I used some smoked pork jowl that I had left over from a pasta dish.  It adds just a little extra flavor to the dish, but it’s certainly not necessary.  After browning the pork and putting it on paper towels, I sautéed some fresh thinly sliced mushrooms on medium high heat, just until the mushroom liquid had been cooked out.  If you’re not using any pork, just sauté the mushrooms in a little butter.  You want them to be screeching when you put them in the pan so they’ll get a good roasted flavor.  Add a couple of tablespoons of minced shallot and cook until soft and translucent; add one finely minced toe of garlic and cook until just fragrant.  I threw in a half teaspoon of tomato paste at this point, but again, it’s not really necessary.  Add ¾ C of Marsala and be sure to scrape all the yummy bits off of the bottom of the pan.  Turn the heat down to simmer and reduce the sauce until it’s velvety and slightly thickened.  Off heat, add a tablespoon of butter to finish the sauce and garnish with fresh parsley.  It’s a beautiful thing!

Pork is Yummy!

Carnitas

It’s my turn to cook tonight and I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do.  I really hadn’t thought much about it, to tell you the truth.  I’m usually good about planning meals in advance because I’m not particularly good at improvising; that’s Derek’s area of expertise.  I don’t know what happened to me today, but I figured that since I have no ideas, I’d talk about the Carnitas Derek made last night.  Carnitas means “little pieces of meat” in Spanish, and that’s exactly what they are.  Carnitas are typically served with tortillas, sometimes soft and sometimes on a tostada, which is a “toasted” tortilla.  Almost every cuisine has its special pork preparations; the Italians have many, including prosciutto, pancetta, and the lesser known guanciale, which is the salt cured meat used in the traditional version of Pasta Carbonara.  The Spanish have Jamón Serrano and Ibérico, as well as their dry cured version of chorizo.  Cajun cuisine favors andouille and tasso, while the traditional French pretty much eat any part of an animal that doesn’t eat them first!  One of the better known pork preparations in Mexico is chorizo, but tacos al pastor and tacos de carnitas are very popular as well.  When I lived in Cozumel, pork was the best meat you could get on the island, as they brought live pigs over every day on the car ferry, so the pork was as fresh as it gets.  I’ve never found pork in the U.S. that compares with that of Mexican pork, but Derek has found a way to make me believe I’m in Mexico, at least during dinner.  He uses a foolproof recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, which is our bible for all things food.  I can’t begin to describe the perfection of that pork, with its thin crunchy exterior, and moist porky interior, but maybe the pictures will help.  He served the Carnitas  with fresh corn tortillas from our Mexican grocery store down the street, black beans and a beautiful salsa made from our gorgeous Juliets and Poblano peppers, which he roasted and peeled.  I could have eaten those little nuggets of joy 'til my head caved in.  Derek stopped me.

A hunk of grilled bread, a glass of wine and....a dozen grilled oysters!

Grilled Oysters

Last night was a delightful preview of autumn here in Indianapolis, so we ate grilled oysters outside, a la Drago’s Restaurant in Fat City, near where I grew up.  Fat City is a little area of Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, that’s mostly restaurants and bars.  I’m not sure if it’s still called Fat City, or why it ever was so named, but anybody that grew up in New Orleans knows the part of town I’m talking about.  Drago’s is famous for their char-grilled oysters, which have become a menu item de rigueur in The Big Easy.   I experimented with the recipe years ago, and now have my own version of it, which we do occasionally as a treat, since Derek is batpoo crazy about oysters.  I’m so lucky that we can get fresh oysters at our neighborhood Kroger, and that Derek is willing and able to shuck them if I make the sauce. 

A few months ago, we had some friends over for dinner and they brought their 13-year-old daughter with them.  Poor darling; her plans for the night had gone awry and I’m sure she was not thrilled to be spending her precious Saturday evening with her parents and a couple of old geezers she had never met.  The menu had not exactly been designed with a teen in mind and I was a little worried she wouldn’t like anything I had prepared, although her mother assured me that August was not a picky eater.  Grilled oysters were the first course, and to my surprise and delight, August was more than game to try them.  As it turned out, she loved them as much as Derek and I do, which tickled me to death.  It’s a great pleasure and a compliment to introduce a new dish to someone who really enjoys it.  A few days later I was pleasantly surprised to receive a thank-you note in the mail from her mom – when was the last time someone sent you a handwritten thank-you note for dinner? 

This is how you prepare two dozen grilled oysters (my measurements, as always, are approximate):  First you have to find someone who will shuck them  - and good luck with that!  I’ve tried using shucked oysters and putting them in muffin tins on the grill.  That was a drastic error; the muffin tins were too deep and the oysters ended up steamed instead of grilled - not appetizing at all.  I suppose you could save some old oyster shells, clean them really well and re-use them, and I’ve often thought about doing just that, but there’s something very special about just-shucked oysters. I'm a big believer in delaying gratification.

Mince 5 or more large toes of garlic, a handful of fresh Italian parsley and about half a teaspoon of fresh rosemary – the rosemary should be barely detectable and just add a mysterious depth of flavor to the oysters.  Grate about a cup of Parmigiano Reggiano; it’s important to use really good quality cheese in this dish, as there are so few ingredients – please do not use that sawdust in a green can!  Heat the garlic in a combination of ¼ stick (2 Tablespoons) of butter and an equal amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, just until it’s fragrant.  I usually do this in a glass measuring cup in the microwave, but you can do it on the stove as well.  If you have any of the mixture left, it’s great on grilled bread, which is what I did last night.  Spoon about a teaspoon of the garlic/butter/olive oil mixture over each shucked oyster, still in its shell.  Sprinkle with a little fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano, a little parsley and just a tiny sprinkle of rosemary.  Place the oysters in their shells on a metal cookie sheet and place on a super hot grill.  Close the grill and cook them for just a few minutes, until the oysters are just ruffled on the edges.  With a green salad, some bread (I prefer warm New Orleans French bread) and a cool crisp white wine, you have a meal made in heaven.

Sinful Sunday morning treat

Waffle with powdered sugar and toasted pine nuts

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is a hot crispy waffle with melted butter and powdered sugar, accompanied by a cup of really good tea. I used to make my own waffles from scratch, but I’ve found some really good frozen ones that are healthier than what I could make.  Last night I made a salad with toasted pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and lemon vinaigrette.  This morning I realized that I had left a handful of pine nuts out all night; those things are really expensive, so I decided to toast them up a little more and put them on my waffle.  It was so good I nearly wept.  If you’re a mom who needs to trick her kids into eating healthier, try a multi-grain frozen waffle spread with Nutella or some other nut butter and sprinkle it with toasted slivered almonds.  They’ll think it’s Christmas!

Pork chops, Pork chops, tough and greasy!

Pan-sautéed Pork Chops and Roasted Cauliflower

Disclaimer: They weren't really greasy, but it sounded good.

Last night was my turn to cook, after Derek took my Tuesday stint for me.  I had bought a package of good-looking 1-inch pork chops and thought I’d do some easy pan-sautéed chops with a pan sauce of white wine, chicken broth, the drippings and fond, of course, and herbs.  In this case, I used fresh thyme, sage and parsley.  They looked good and it was a good idea in theory, but for some reason, they turned out pretty tough.  I think I may have cooked them on high for too long in an attempt to get them nice and browned – that part worked, but I don’t like tough chops.  Blecchhhhhhh.  The sauce was very tasty, though, and the roasted cauliflower I served with the chops was perfect.  I roasted the cauliflower on the grill and that has been my single best discovery this summer.  I love roasted vegetables, but most of the time it’s just too hot to turn the oven on in the summertime.  One day a couple of months ago, when we were experiencing the worst of our heat wave, I decided to try cooking chicken on the grill, but on a cookie sheet instead of directly on the grill.  I just didn’t feel like having to watch the chicken constantly to make sure it didn’t flare up on the grill.  I’ve seen way too many burned-on-the-outside, raw-on-the-inside chicken parts for one lifetime.  Anyway, it worked like a charm and I’ve been doing it all summer.  We have a gas grill and it works out just as if you were roasting the chicken in the oven, but I’m not sure how it would work on a charcoal grill.  If anyone cares to experiment and let me know, I’d be tickled. 

So…last night I decided to try grill-roasting vegetables, and I’m delighted to report that the cauliflower was divine.  Nicely browned on one side and cooked just enough to stick a fork in it.  If you think you don’t like cauliflower, try roasting it, and I’ll bet you develop a craving for it like I have.  Bonus: it's really easy!  Look for an unblemished  head of cauliflower with fresh-looking green leaves.  Cut it in half lengthwise and remove the core.  Then cut each half into medium-sized pieces with a flat surface; don’t cut them too small, or you risk overcooking.  Toss the pieces in olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a cookie sheet with the flat side down.  Roast in the oven at 400 – 500 degrees, depending on your oven, until they’re nicely browned on the flat side, and tender but still firm.  If you’re doing it on the grill, use a high flame.  You can always sprinkle the cooked cauliflower with a little fresh-grated Parmesan or Romano cheese if you’re scared, but it’s delicious just as it is.  Let me know  if it changes your mind about cauliflower! 

Meatballs and Spaghetti

Last night the Best Boyfriend Ever! made meatballs from scratch with tomato sauce made exclusively from our garden’s tomatoes.  He used mostly the Juliets, which are perfect for sauce even though they’re labor intensive due to their diminutive size.  He went to a great deal of trouble to make the sauce.   I don’t remember all the steps, but I know it involved peeling tomatoes, using a food mill and hand crushing some of them.  I love meatballs and spaghetti so much it borders on sacrilege.  This particular batch was just perfect: tender, tasty meatballs about the size of an apricot, bathed in a youthful tomato sauce that was fresh, tangy, light and uncomplicated, with just a hint of cinnamon.  Suffice it to say that he earned even more brownie points than he had already accumulated.  I did buy him a couple of shirts, but I think I probably still owe him. 

Meatballs with homemade organic tomato sauce

By the way, I just bought my own camera so that I can play without any risk to Derek’s pictures, or having to wait for him to download them.  I’m really excited! 

For all my dear, patient friends who have been so great about reading the blog, I made some adjustments so that it should be easier to post comments.  I don’t know why this particular blogspot makes it so difficult.  Maybe it’s time for me to get a domain name.  At any rate, thank you all so much for making the time to read my ramblings.  I know how difficult that is these days and I appreciate your loyalty and interest.  I’ll cook for you anytime, and so will Derek.

Best Boyfriend Ever!

Fried Green Tomatoes with Shrimp Remoulade

Derek has been making some fantastic meals lately, offered to make dinner tonight, which is my night to cook, and he brought me Casablanca lilies yesterday (my favorite!)  What do you think he’s up to?  Ha!  I think he’s trying to be a perfect boyfriend and I'll take it!  A few nights ago, he made fried green tomatoes with Shrimp Remoulade; the green tomatoes were from our garden and he made the remoulade sauce from scratch.  We both use my friend Rob’s recipe for boiled shrimp, and it’s better than any professional chef’s recipe I’ve ever found.  You put the shrimp in plain boiling water for a teeny couple of minutes, or just until they turn pink, and then you drain them and throw them in a pot of room-temperature water with all the seasonings.  I like to use Rex Crab Boil when I can find it, because I grew up with it and it was my maternal grandfather’s company, New Orleans Imports.  Use twice as much as you think you’ll need and add plenty of salt, some cayenne pepper and a few lemon slices (optional).  Let the shrimp soak in that mixture for an hour or so; if you don’t have that much time, use even more seasoning.  The amount is really a matter of taste, but I use about ½ C for two pounds of shrimp, and I usually throw in some liquid crab boil, too, but that’s almost impossible to get in Indianapolis.  I like my boiled shrimp cold, but again, that’s a matter of personal taste.

Boiled shrimp are one of my favorite things to eat in summer.  They’re cold and spicy, relatively healthy, easy to peel,  and very versatile.  Derek didn’t make enough for leftovers the other day, but I love to make spicy shrimp potato salad.  Shrimp and potatoes: two of the best foods on the planet!

Sunday Summer Supper

Grilled Eye Round Roast with Warm Potato Salad and Grilled Baby Eggplant

Tonight I’m making what I had planned to make last night, but Derek ended up working really late, so we had a pizza.  I love pizza - and I love the fact that on pizza nights there's no heating up the kitchen and no cleaning.  Anyway, this meal is better suited to a nice Sunday dinner and we can have leftovers tomorrow.  I’m doing a grill-roasted eye round roast that has been wrapped in Saran Wrap with salt and pepper and garlic and rosemary for two days.  I start it out on the hot side of the grill to get it nice and brown, then put it in a disposable aluminum roasting pan with holes punched in the bottom.  That goes on the cool side of the grill for about 45 minutes to an hour.  If you're using charcoal and/or wood chips, make sure that you position the vent opening so that the smoke moves over the meat.  It turns out tender and juicy and outrageously flavorful.  The leftovers are delicious just plain, but they also make great sandwiches and salads.  I’m contemplating making Romesco sauce because Derek loves it, but I’m not sure I have all the ingredients and I’m certainly not going to the store at this point.   A good fresh horseradish sauce would be good, too. 



Green salad with artichoke, pine nuts and Parmesan

 Our accompaniments tonight include a French-style warm potato salad with olives and tomatoes dressed with its own very special dressing of Olive Oil, Champagne vinegar, lemon juice, garlic mashed with salt, Dijon mustard, freshly ground black pepper and the secret ingredient: freshly ground fennel seeds.  I use a Krups coffee grinder to grind spices, and the flavor is significantly better than spices that are already ground.  I would have preferred to put some grilled fresh fennel bulb in the salad, but alas, we didn’t harvest our fennel in time and it’s gone to seed.  It sounds like an odd combination of ingredients, but it's really tasty and a perfect hearty side dish for grilled beef.  I also had a leftover fresh artichoke that I had cooked earlier in the week, so I sliced up the heart in thin slivers and I’m going to have it in a green salad with a fresh lemon vinaigrette, toasted pine nuts and curls of Parmigiano Reggiano - tomatoes, too, since we have so many right now.  I have some fresh cauliflower that I’d love to serve roasted, but it’s just too damned hot to turn the oven on.  Ha!  Serendipity.  I just found a handful of tiny baby eggplants that our neighbor gave us, so I’m going to brush them with olive oil and salt and pepper and grill them while the meat’s resting.  Now what kind of wine should we have?



Welcome Home, Wiki!

It’s hard to believe it’s been over two weeks since my last post.  Between the new job and my sister’s visit to Indianapolis, the time has flown like a bat out of hell.  Our girls’ night was great fun and it turned out to be a comfortable number of people for my small house – even though I was disappointed by the number of no-shows.  One of my girls brought white sangria - Delicioso!   Everyone enjoyed the vichyssoise, the gazpacho and the Shrimp Scampi Pasta Salad, and everything was cold and refreshing.  Shawn and I ate leftover gazpacho with spicy boiled shrimp and grilled Ciabatta the next night and it was a perfect light meal for two girls on a hot summer night.  Derek really enjoyed his trip to Montana, but I’m glad to have him back.  It was nice having a few nights to myself without having to cook or clean up if I didn’t feel like it, but I missed my big ole hunka burnin’ love.

"Veal" Saltimbocca

Last night I made “Veal” Saltimbocca, which is one of my very favorite dishes, and a great use of the vast quantities of fresh sage in our herb garden.  I use pork loin or country style pork ribs for this; veal is much too expensive and besides, I always feel a little guilty eating it.  We had a scrumptious salad of mixed baby greens (some of which were purple!) with roasted pecans and a Blue cheese/ red wine vinaigrette made with some beautiful Gorgonzola Dolce Latte I picked up yesterday as a special welcome home treat for my honey.  A steamed artichoke and some whole wheat orzo completed the meal, along with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc.  I think a robust red wine would be good with this dish, too.

Gorgonzola and Roasted Pecan Salad

I’ve gotten some feedback about the blog and I’d be interested to hear what you think: some folks think I should write less about the food and more about my life.  Others think I should include more recipes, and still others think I should make it funnier (I’m kind of a twisted sister in real life).  Most agree that I should keep it shorter.  Any thoughts?