January 13 - Three Cheese Garlic Bread

Jestem nauczycielem

So I just got home (4:30 p.m.).  I've been at school since 9 a.m. testing out my Polish cake and cookie recipes for the dinner next Saturday.   At school we have a Fine Dining Series that is open to the public.  It's $40, five courses, and BYOB.   Every month is a different theme and next month is...you guessed it...Polish cuisine.  And it's perfect, since I Polish.  Only problem is, I don't cook Polish....ever!  So, I went in today to try out some cake recipes I found on the internet.   (Yeh, I forgot my camera.  I'll bring it with me next weekend). 

In Novemeber, I went up to Wisconsin to visit my parents and my mom gave me the recipes/showed me how to make a majority of the food that will be on the menu.   Only problem is we never got to the desserts.  I did get one cookie recipe from her, but I'm flying blind on the rest.  So to satisfy my need to always be prepared, I went in today and did a test run on the pastries.   And...it wasn't too shabby!  I'm pretty proud of myself.  (Pat..Pat)  Although I realized that 90% of the pastry doughs have sour cream in them.  Who would have thunk it?

Here's the menu (just in case you were wondering):

Institute of Culinary Arts

Kuchnia Polska (Polish Cuisine) - Fine Dining Series

Saturday, January 23, 2010

APPETIZER

Babcia’s Pierogi Kartofel (Grandma’s Potato Pierogi)

Grandma’s traditional Polish dumplings stuffed with a potato onion mixture, boiled and then lightly fried. Served with sour cream on the side.

SOUP

Zupa Grzybowa z Uszkami (Wild Mushroom Soup with Pillows)

A typical Christmas Eve dish, this soup consists of tiny mushroom filled pillows floating in a delicate wild mushroom broth

SALAD

Salatka Buraczki Marynowane z Mizeria (Pickled Beet and Cucumber Salad)

A composed salad of pickled beets, mixed greens, and cucumbers tossed in a dill sour cream.

ENTREE

Bigos (Polish Hunter’s Stew)

The national dish of Poland, a savory braised stew of cabbage, meat, fruit, and vegetables served with dill potatoes

DESSERT

Ciastko (Assorted Cookies and Cake)

Kolaczki (jam pastry), Placek (Polish bobka), Rogaliki (almond cookies), Makowiec (poppy seed roll), & Chrusciki (fried bowtie cookies)

Okay as well as not cooking Polish, I do not speak Polish, so I'm sure that there are a lot of spelling mistakes in there.  And yes, I was lazy and didn't put all the squiggles in.  I know...BAD POLISH BOY, BAD POLISH BOY! 

So, thankfully the recipe today was easy and quick because I'm tired of baking/cooking today.  I just want to veg out in front of the T.V. with a bottle of wine.

The Recipe

 Ingredients:

Mayo: (Had)

Butter: (Had)

Garlic:  (Had)

Feta Cheese: $1.86

Parmesan Cheese: $2.45

Monterey Jack: $1.99

Green Onions: $0.67

Bread: $1.89

Total: $8.86

To kind of repeat what I said yesterday, you should really check out what your local grocery store has in their deli case.  I ended up getting the Feta cheese there instead of buying it pre-packaged and saved myself $3.  And, in my opinion, it tastes much better.

I also wanted to show you how to cream garlic.  Its a technique I learned in culinary school and show my students all the time.  It's great for those times when you don't want chunks of garlic in things (like garlic bread).

First, begin by rough chopping up your garlic (make sure you peel it first).  Then take some salt and sprinkle it over your garlic pieces.  Finally, using the side of the blade mush the garlic into your cutting board.

The salt helps to break down the garlic into a paste.  Notice how I have my left hand (My right hand is not in the picture.  It is holding the handle of the knife).  It is providing firm pressure on the knife to help mush the garlic.  Then I smear the garlic on the board by bringing the knife towards me.  Be sure to keep your fingers away from the blade edge! Keep doing this until it makes a paste! 

In the future, I'll try recording videos of different techniques.  That might be easier then me trying to describe it to you.

So once you cream your garlic, you basically take all the ingredients (except for the bread) and mix it into a paste.  Top it onto the bread and bake for 12 minutes.

The Results

Fast:  Took maybe 18 minutes total (including baking time).  I shredded the cheese myself so that took a couple of minutes.  I don't care too much for pre-shredded cheese.  To me it seems a lot drier than freshly grated/shredded cheese and doesn't melt as well.

Easy:  If you choose to cream the garlic, that may make this recipe a little difficult (especially, if you've never done it before).  Otherwise this is a snap.

Fresh:  Yes...surprisingly.  I didn't think cheesy garlic bread could taste fresh.  However, the combination of the feta cheese and green onion really takes this recipe from drab to fab!  You like that?  Drab to fab?  Can you tell I watch way too many home decorating shows?

Overall:  I like this recipe.  I would use it as an appetizer.  Cut the bread into smaller pieces and crumble a little cooked bacon on top (after it comes out of the oven) and presto...you're ready for cocktails!

Speaking of which...I'm ready for my wine.

Tomorrow = Hungarian Goulash!

January 12th - Striped Bass with Moroccan Salsa

Sorry, today I am not going to start off with a cute, non-related, life story.  Instead, we have a much more important issue to discuss.  THIS RECIPE!   Mama Mia!  I have died and gone to culinary heaven...and BTW Julia Child says "Bonjour"!

The Recipe

First off, I didn't use striped bass.  It was too expensive. $13.00 a pound??  To quote my father: "Do I look like I'm made out of money?" I ended up finding some frozen basa fillets instead.  Basa is a type of Southeast Asian catfish.  According to the website fishnsteaks.com basa is "a pretty tasty fish, with a delicate texture and nice white flesh."  Whatever.  It was less than half the price of striped bass and was spelled almost exactly the same.  (Maybe I'll splurge for the striped bass when I finally have a full-time job again?  In the meantime, that'll do fish..that'll do.)

Tip:  Don't buy your Kalamata olives from a jar, go to the deli counter.  They were much cheaper and better tasting.  (You just need a small half pound container size.)  And spring the extra 20 cents for the pitted kind.  It'll save you time.



Ingredients:
Olive oil: (Had)
Cumin, Cinnamon, and Cayenne: (Had)
Roasted Red Bell Pepper: $0.99  It was on sale!  Score!
Kalamata olives:  $1.93
Red onion: $0.53
Cilantro: $0.33
Golden Raisins: $2.95
Lemon: $0.33
Mint: $1.99
Orange: $0.43
Basa: $5.35

Total $14.85

I absolutely love this Moroccan salsa.  I am gorging myself on it and the fish as I type this. The fish is excellent as well (for being a last minute stand-in). The description says it would be great with roasted lamb, but I think it would also be great with chicken or pork.  Oh Bon Appetit, you outdid yourself this time!

The Results

Fast:  Couldn't get faster.  Except for the part where you toast the spices (only an extra minute or two), the rest of the recipe is basically chopping stuff up and mixing it together.  I was done with this recipe (and had it plated) in about 12 minutes. 

Easy:  Can you chop?  Can you stick a piece of fish in the oven to broil?  Then, I suggest my friend that you walk...nay, run...to the store and pick up these simple ingredients and impress someone with the simplicity and ease of this recipe.  Make sure you tell him or her that you "just whipped it up".  (Preferably with a half-full cocktail glass in your hand.)

Fresh:  This is the epitome of fresh.  It's like a Fresh Prince concert in my mouth.  All of the ingredients work off of each other to give you a taste of Moroccan Deee-Lite.  Color Me Bad, but you need to bring on the Spice Girls.  It could use a little more Salt N' Peppa and some Red Hot Chili Peppers! (How many more 1990's musical artists can I mention?  Me = dork) 

Overall:  So far my absolute favorite recipe of 2010!  I will be putting it in my dinner party recipe rotation for sure!    The only thing I would add to it would be some fresh jalepenos or serrano peppers.  (The cayenne doesn't satisfy my need for heat.)  I think the fresh hot pepper would round out this salsa beautifully. 

Seriously.  Try the salsa recipe on either fish or chicken and tell me what you think!  Go do it.  DO it NOW!  QUIT READING AND GET THEE TO A GROCERY STORE!

Monday 11th - Tip Day

Tip #3 Sometimes Being Nice Is Worth It

I woke up today in a ho-hum mood.   Maybe ho-hum isn't the word I'm looking for.  I wasn't in a bad mood, but I wasn't in a good mood.  I guess I would describe it as...meh.  I was just in a meh mood. 

As I am sitting waiting for the train this morning inside the train station, a bunch of people start gathering around me.  (There is very limited seating in the train station and everyone just stands around once the seats are filled up).  There was a lady who had two bags in her hands.  She seemed like she could have used a seat.  I was going to offer her my seat, but....meh.  I didn't.  Normally, I would, because I'm a gentleman, but I didn't feel like being nice today.  She just stared at me.

As I am on the train, I put my bag on the seat next to me and my chef coat over it.  The train was packed today and everyone around me had someone sitting next to them.  As we stopped at more stops and people got on, the new passangers would walk up to me, stop, and then walk on.   I was going to move my bag, but...meh.  I didn't.  Normally, I would because I would be the one stuck with no seat.  But, again, I didn't feel like being nice today.

At the grocery store, this evening,  I started putting my stuff on the checkout conveyer belt.  I was shopping for the week (yeah, I peeked at the recipes for this week.  I'm done with the multiple visits to the grocery store). As I finish, I look at the guy behind me and he only had four items.  I was going to let him go ahead of me, but...meh.   I didn't.  Normally, I would because I really am a nice guy on other days.  But, not today.  He just stared at me.

So I get home, put the groceries away, and head into the bedroom to change into my jammies.  Lo and behold, my zipper had been down the entire day!  Ain't karma a bitch.

January 9 & 10 - Pear Gingerbread Upside-Down Cake

STRANGERS AMONG US

Let me first start off by saying "Howdy" to all you Swap Bot people and that I am SOOO sorry you got partnered with me!  I don't have a follow button (I don't know what that is) and I'm not artsy at all.  I can't make cute envelopes or bottlecaps with pictures in them.  I just know how to cook.  So if you like food, some sarcasm, and an occasional laugh or two, then you can follow along.  (I understand if you're just doing this to boost up your ratings too.  I don't blame you.)  But feel free to contribute your comments if you'd like and welcome to my time-consuming hobby for 2010.

For all of my friends and family who've been reading along since the beginning, I will let you in on a little secret "guilty-pleasure" I sometimes indulge in. It's called swap-bot.com  (the hyphen is needed).  It is a great place to "swap" things with people.  I've done two so far.  Recipes and blogs.  But the things you can swap run the gambit of homemade stuff to store bought stuff (or technical things like e-mails and blog sites). 

I will warn you though that you should not get over-zealous and join a bunch of them right away.  This site (and the people you deal with) will rate you as you go.  If you don't complete a swap..that's very bad!! You will get a bad rating that people will check out.  If you do a half-hearted swap, people will call you out on it and rate you as such.  So my suggestion is to start off with one swap at a time to get the feeling of how they work.  (That's why I started off with the recipe one over e-mail).  It is a lot of fun!  Plus, you get to deal with people from different parts of the country (even different parts of the world).  So go, all my crafty friends, and check it out.  I think you'll like it.

THE RECIPE

Okay,  I knew this day was going to come.  Having had a Bon Appetit magazine subscription, I knew that some of their recipes use ingredients that even I have a hard time finding!  Case in point = the ginger preserves for this recipe.   They even give a brand name, "Robertson's".  Okay.  I checked 2 major grocery stores and 2 not so major grocery stores.  NO LUCK!  So, what does a resourceful chef do?  He makes his own!   I found a bottle of quince jam and heated it up with about 2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh ginger, then cooled it off in the fridge.  Tastes like ginger preserves to me.

Other substitutions/laziness

I don't know if it was me not reading the recipe fully or just being lazy, but I had to substitute some ingredients I didn't have in the house.  I just didn't want to go to the grocery store AGAIN!

Self rising flour:  You can make your own self-rising flour (if you don't want to go buy an entire bag for just one recipe).  Here's how.  Makes 1 cup "self-rising flour":

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Mix well before adding to recipe

Pumpkin Pie Spice:  Makes about 1 Tablespoon

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/8 tsp (almost 1/2 tsp) ground allspice
3/8 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of clove (optional) too much clove can overpower everything!  use sparingly

Light Molasses = Honey
I only had dark molasses and it would have overpowered the recipe, so instead I used honey.  (Because I threw away all the corn syrup and will never use corn syrup again!  Corn syrup is bad...real bad!!)

Ingredients:

Butter: $1.89
Brown Sugar: (Had)
Anjou Pears: $1.48
Honey:  (Had)
Eggs: (Had)
Quince Preserves: $2.49
Ginger: $0.89
Self-Rising Flour:  (Made/Had)
Pumpkin Pie Spice: (Made/Had)

Total $6.75

THE RESULTS

Fast:  No.   It took a while since it's a cake.  Baking was about an hour and prep was about 25 minutes (It'll take you about the same amount of time even if you have all of the real ingredients).

Easy:  No.  I base this solely on the ginger preserves.  They are hard to find, but necessary for the recipe.  If you don't add it, your cake batter will be messed up.  I suppose you could substitute some other flavor, but since this is suppose to be "gingerbread" you need the ginger flavor.

Fresh:  Surprisingly, yes.  I can really taste the fresh ginger flavor and the pears.  This cake is uber sweet!  (Lots of sugar in it..sorry diabetics).  Slightly undersweetened whipped cream goes great with this cake as it will cut the sweetness and balance out the tang of the ginger.

Overall:  This is a keeper recipe.  I definitely will stick to the honey as it plays well with the other flavors of the cake.  I think molasses would be too "in your face".  I will still search for ginger preserves for the rest of the year, but in the meantime stick to my creative substitution. 

Tomorrow is Tip Day!  And welcome again Swap-botters!

January 8th - Spiced Cherry Cider with Kirsch Cream

Snow, Snow, and More Snow!

Got up again this morning to snowblow.  I was much quicker at it this time!  Came back in, freezing, so it was pretty exciting to see the recipe today was spiced cherry cider!  I've been looking forward to cocktail time all week.  Bring it on!

The Recipe

Cherry/Apple Juice $1.99

Cinnamon sticks: (Had)

Whole Cloves: (Had)

Sugar:  (Had)

Heavy Whipping Cream: $1.79

Krisch:  (Had)

Chocolate:  (Had)

Total: $3.78

Woah, wait a minute.  There is no booze in this thing.  Well there is, but it's in the whipped cream.  I really shouldn't have the whipped cream because I'm lactose intolerant.  (I know, kid from Wisconsin can't have dairy.  If that isn't a fine how-ya-do).  Well, I suppose I should stay true to the recipe and make it the way it was suppose to be.  I'll just chase it down with two lact-aids.

Okay.  At first I was a little skeptical, but this stuff is really good.  The whipped cream and chocolate shavings do add a lot to the drink.  Although, adding cold whipped cream to a hot drink makes it dissolve almost instantly.  But, even though I have the lact-aids, I don't want to be paying for this for the rest of the day.  Plus, it's not boozy enough for me (expecially at 10:00 a.m.).

So, I skimmed off all the whipped cream and got out my trusty friend, bottle of brandy.  I figured this mulled cherry juice would make a good hot toddy.  Oh yes, I was right. 

Fast:  Heck ya!  Except for making the whipped cream, this recipe should take you no more than 15 minutes.

Easy: If you can put stuff in a pot to boil, it's easy.  If you have a hand mixer or a kitchen-aid mixer to make the whipped cream, it's easy.  If you don't, you'll get a good work out for the whisking arm!

Fresh:  For the first time, I'm going NO on this one.  It's a fresh idea, but not fresh tasting.  It's really only as good as the juice you get. 

Overall:  I like this; especially with the regular brandy inside of it.  The whipped cream and chocolate would be nice for company, but, today, I ain't fancy.  I'm going to go curl up on the couch with my hot steaming cup of brandy loveliness and just enjoy not doing anything for the next 3 hours. 

January 7th - Chicken Cacciatore with Marsala and Capers

13th Day of Christmas

So yesterday marked the official end of Christmas!  I'm kind of sad because Brian went to all the trouble of putting up our decorations all by himself and now he's got to take them all down.  He did a very good job this year; our house looked very nice.  (Some years he goes overboard with the chachkis)

Here's a picture I took yesterday when I came home from school.  I liked the way the light was coming through the windows.

But besides the decorations, I am SO GLAD Christmas came and went fast this year!  This was the first year I wasn't working in a restaurant, so to pick up some extra money I worked retail.  Oye Vey!  I don't get how people can get so worked up over material things?  People were literally flipping out over that fact that we ran out of stuff at the store.  Seriously, they were doing back flips in the store. (Brian hates when people misuse the word literally.) And I'm like...It's a jar of gravy...quit freaking out and go learn how to make it from scratch.  Oh, retail...you pain in the ass.

SNOW DAY!

I got up early this morning to do some snow blowing.  Never used the snow blower before.  I know. How do you grow up in Wisconsin and never use a snowblower??  It's called laziness, my friend.  If I didn't have to shovel, I wouldn't.  But...that's the fun thing about owning your own home.  You get to shovel (or snowblow) your driveway and the sidewalks, or risk the wrath of your neighbors.  I really don't want to be "that house" on the block (like the neighbors across the street). 

First attempt at snowblowing went okay.  Still getting used to spinning the shooter hood around... (Tee hee)...but other than that, I think I like it.  I'm sure I'll be out there again in a few hours the way the snow is piling up. 

So after I dug my way out of the house, I walked to the grocery store because I forgot to buy onions!  Wah wah wah wah...waaah.  We live really close to a grocery store and I didn't want to have to drive, so I thought I'd take a nice stroll. Yep,  you guess it.  On my way there, slipped and fell right on my ass.  Luckily no one saw.  (Isn't funny how when you fall you immediately look around to see if anyone saw you?)  Luckily whoever shoveled didn't do a good job and there was a good amount of snow to break my fall.  Bad part, walking around the grocery store with a wet butt.  Stupid onions!

THE RECIPE

When I looked at this recipe today, I saw one of my arch-enemies on the list of ingredients, GREEN PEPPERS.  Since I sinned and added raisins to brownies, I figured Bon Appetit owed me and I could substitute red peppers for the awful green variety. 

Ingredients:

Whole chicken:  $3.43

Olive Oil: (had)

Mushrooms:  $1.59

Red Peppers:  $1.58

Onion: $0.78

Garlic:  (had)

Dried Oregano: (had)

Marinara sauce: (had)

Chicken broth: (had)

Marsala:  (had)

Capers:  (had)

Total: $ 7.38

Since this recipe makes you cut up a whole chicken, it actually has a bonus to it.  I took the carcass and made stock with it, which I will freeze and use for other recipes!  Score.  Cutting up a chicken is pretty easy once you do it a couple of times.  The key is to be confident and to get in there and crack the bones (it will make cutting easier).

At first I thought the use of purchased marinara sauce was a little "low brow" for Bon Appetit.  Then I remembered this was Fast, Easy, and Fresh.   It does save you a ton of time.  And, since you're adding vegetables, marsala, and capers to the sauce, it can be pretty cheap.  (Although, watch the sodium and sugar contents on the cheap marinara sauces; they can get awfully high).

To develop more flavor for the sauce, I let the mushrooms brown on their own.  (Ever since I made Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon, I now know the value of properly sauteed mushrooms.)  Otherwise, I feel the mushroom flavor wouldn't develop fully if you followed the instructions exactly.

RESULTS:

Fast:  This recipe took me an hour.  Browning the chicken pieces took 15 minutes and the simmering of the chicken in the sauce took about 25 (to make sure it was fully cooked).  That is were you'll spend the bulk of your time.

Easy:  If you don't know how to cut up a whole chicken, then this recipe won't be so easy.  I suppose you could just use already fabricated thighs or breasts (but you wouldn't get the bonus of making your own chicken stock).  Otherwise, everything else for the recipe is just cutting, sauteing, and throwing it all together.

Fresh:  Yes.  It would be a lot fresher tasting if you skipped the marinara sauce and used a good can of imported tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes, but that's later on in the year).

Overall:  I'm pleased with my substitution.   The red peppers made this recipe a lot sweeter, which I like, because it couter-acts the dry Marsala.  I would definitely recommend getting a good loaf of crusty French or Italian bread because the sauce is really good.  I'm actually going to keep this recipe and try it during the summer with fresh tomatoes. 

I peeked ahead to tomorrow and it's cocktail time!!  It couldn't come soon enough!!

January 6th - Green Beans with Walnuts and Walnut Oil

Today, I have come to the realization that I have officially become an old fogie.

Brian always jokes around that I'm like an old man because I'm always peering out of the front-room window wondering what is going on outside.  (And I do that.  Yes, I admit it.)  But the kids in the neighborhood are always up to no good!  No good, I say!  They are the reason why I had to put our lawn jockey in the witness protection program.  (He is safely living at a friend's house now, after several attempts of jockey-napping.)

Yes, I'm way out of touch with the music of today.  Apparently Dee-Lite hasn't been popular since the early 1990's.   And I can remember a time when The Real World was real.   But, I didn't realize how out of touch I am until my conversation with a few young whipper-snappers this afternoon.

So, I had to go into school to get a few things done.  I decided to stop and talk to some students about this cooking contest I'm organizing at school (which I'm really excited about) in order to get the word out.

They (seriously) asked me if the were able to get extra credit for doing it!!!  Amazed, first off because you shouldn't need extra credit in culinary school (??), I told them no, but said there would be prizes.

Upon hearing this they asked, "What kind of prizes?".

I responded, "What does it matter?".

Their response, "That's the motivation for doing it".

And then, as naturally as a breath, I muttered "Well back in my day we didn't care what kind of prizes there were.  We were lucky to have a cooking contest at all."  I stopped.  Horrified, as if I told them to all go *bleep* off, I couldn't believe what I had just said.  God, did I sound like an old person.

Driving home (quite slow and with my left blinker on the whole time), I contemplated what had happened.

At first I struggled with the generational issue:  Yes, this current generation is really about instant gratification.  Yes, there has to be some sort of monetary or material motivation for them to do things (it can't just be about self-improvement).  When did it become uncool to do things just for the sake of experience?  Does everything have to have a price?

But then I began to grapple with the real issue:  When did I become the uncool adult preaching about what is really important in life?  Sigh.  Growing up sucks.

The Recipe

Okay.  There really is nothing to this recipe.  As far as ingredients:

Green Beans : $2.08

Butter: (Had in the house)

Walnuts: (Had in the house)

Walnut Oil:  (Give me a second, I'll rant about that after this)

Parsley:  (Had in the freezer)

Total = $2.08

The Walnut Oil

Honestly, you don't need it in the recipe.  It does nothing.  I, knowing from experience how useless walnut oil is, borrowed some from a chef friend (Thanks, Tommy).  It's nice to have chef friends.  Walnut oil is expensive and, because it comes from a nut, goes rancid a lot quicker than olive or vegetable oil.

Basically you take the green beans and blanch them (cook in boiling water for 5 minutes) and then shock them (put them in ice water to stop the cooking process).   Then you combine the butter and walnut oil in a pan, saute the (dried off) green beans, and then toss with toasted walnuts and parsley.  That's it!

The Results

Fast: The recipe took me about 10 minutes (including blanching and shocking time).  While the beans were getting the hot-tub treatment, I toasted the walnuts in a fry pan.

Easy:  Probably the easiest recipe so far.

Fresh:  Yeah, I'd say so.  As long as the green beans are fresh.

Overall:  I'd rather have made the green beans with pecans instead of walnuts.  The recipe is pretty ho-hum with walnuts.   Now back in my day we'd have to go out to the fields and pick the green beans fresh.  We didn't have "grocery" stores.  Why, I had to walk 20 miles just to take a stagecoach to the fields and....

January 5th - Roasted Garlic Beef Stew

Thank You Sweeet Jesus for Meat!

I am so glad I am not a vegetarian.  I don't know how people can do it.  Of all the meats, I love pork the most.  Ham, bacon, and a stuffed pork loin.  Yummy!  Yes my Jewish friends, it is a dirty animal, but it is SOOOO GOOOD!  Chicken would be my #2.  I love a good roast chicken.  Beef would be my #3.  I don't normally crave steak, but love the hamburger.  Miscellaneous meats would be my #4.   I really don't eat much buffalo, venison, or dog.  Plus, they're really hard to find at your local grocery store.

Something I don't understand is the vegetarian pseudo-meat.  I have a friend and she is a vegetarian.  She used to bring in vegetarian "meats" to work for her lunch all the time.  I suppose, a vegetable mash formed to look like meat can have the same protein benefits of meat, but it's not the same.  Chickpeas made to look like barbecued ribs don't taste like the real thing.  There is just something about having a bone in your hand that speaks to the primal part of your humanity.  (...Tee hee)

And can we all agree that turkey bacon is no where near as delicious as regular bacon?  Healthy schmealthy...Life isn't worth living without bacon!

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Garlic: (Had at home)

Butter: (Had at home)

Beef: $ 3.92

Parsnips: $1.94

Carrots: (Had at home)

Potato: $0.34

Rutabaga: $1.34

Beef Broth: $1.59

Red Wine: (Had at home..Surprise, surprise)

Thyme and Sage:  (Had at home)

Total: $9.13

Okay, so I'm glad to finally be making a "main dish".  However, I already screwed up.   Yeah, even chefs screw up!  (Sure, I could own up to the fact that I really didn't read the recipe closely before I started; however, I blame it on the two glasses of wine with no lunch.)  The recipe calls for 16 cloves of garlic that apparently should be seperated and put into a dish with the butter.  I, however, just put a whole clove of garlic in a dish with butter on top.  It's the same flavor.  Just took a little more time than the 15 minutes it said in the recipe (35 minutes to be exact). 

The meat was simple.  Cube it, toss it with salt and pepper, and coat it in flour.  Brown it in some butter then set aside.  Try that with Tofu...I think not!

Basically the rest of the recipe is peeling and chopping root vegetables (parsnips, carrots, potatoes, rutabaga)and boiling it in a mixture of beef broth, wine, sage, and thyme.  Then adding back the meat and cooking a little longer.  And, you will need to season with lots of salt and pepper 'cause it's blah if you don't.

The end of the recipe calls for a "mont au beurre" which is a fancy french term meaning adding a butter/flour paste to thicken the sauce.  It didn't need it.  The consistency was perfect.

Results:

Fast:  If you read the recipe correctly before you begin, this whole thing should take you only 40 minutes.  If you start off drinking a little red wine on an empty stomach, then it will take you about 1 hour 15 mintues. 

Easy:  It's roasting garlic, browning meat, peeling and chopping root veggies, and boiling it all together.  Yeah, it's easy.

Fresh:  Root vegetables are pretty blah.  I suppose if you used fresh sage and thyme it would be a little more flavorful.  But, when dealing with an open bottle of red wine, personally I think fresh is the last thing you care about.

Overall:  Ah, beef!  I will consume you with great pleasure.   Even though this stew is throw together, it's actually not that bad.  I think it will develop even better flavor overnight.  Also, I'm going to have to make the recipes during the day as the artificial light in the kitchen does not make for good pictures.

Bring it on Wednesday!!!

January 4th - Tip Day

So, on Monday's this calendar presents tips that will help with the coming week's recipes.  That's cool...I guess...but they're boring.  For instance:

"When roasting the garlic for the beef stew on Tuesday (guess I'm making beef stew tomorrow), roast some extra to use later in the week (so you can smell like garlic for 7 days instead of 2).  It is delicious spread on toasted bread for a snack or appetizer..."

Yawn...  Really, Bon Appetit? 

So, I've decided on Monday's I'm going to share my personal tips with you:

Tip #1  Make sure your IPod is charged up before getting on the train to head into the city.

Every Monday, I teach in downtown Chicago (but live in the south suburbs).  Since I have no hair to rip out in traffic (cause I'm bald), it makes no sense to drive into the city.  Instead, I've decide to go green and take the train in.  This way, I don't have to deal with rush hour traffic, paying for parking, or getting the urge to hit pedestrians. It's just easier...on my sanity.

This morning I had, what I like to call, a "Wah wah wah wah...waaah" morning.  Have you ever seen the Price is Right?  You know when the contestant loses?  You know the music that they play?  It goes...wah wah wah wah...waaah.  That was my morning.  I left the house late, hit every red light on the way to the train station, and had to park what seemed like 2 blocks away from the platform. 

So the train finally comes,  I get on, I get a seat to myself, which is quite rare since the train gets packed, and turn on my IPod.  Wah wah wah wah...waaah.   Out of juice.  (I listened to it yesterday and must have left it on all day.) As I shake my IPod hoping that maybe by magic it will start playing, the last of the empty seats in front of my are taken...by 4 ladies...who work together...and talk...loud...for the rest of the train ride...which is 50 minutes.  Wah wah wah wah...waaah.  I won't bore you with the details, but I learned that getting your roots done is not the same as getting your hair colored and the ladies loved the movie "It's Complicated" (which I no longer need to see since they pretty much relayed to everyone in the train car the plot of the movie).

Tip #2  Just because it's called food, doesn't mean you should eat it.

The lab I was teaching today was all about sandwiches.  They had to make 6 in all (a turkey club, southwestern grilled cheese, an openfaced turkey sandwich with gravy (called a hot brown), vegetable wrap, reuben sandwich, and  monte cristo).  They also made potato chips, french fries, potato salad, and coleslaw. 
Please note: I absolutely love this class.  They are hard workers, they know what they are doing, and follow directions very well.   Almost too well. As an instructor it is my responsibility to taste everything they make in order to critique it.  BUT, I have learned that you shouldn't try everything.

A monte cristo sandwich is a ham and cheese (sometimes turkey) that is battered and deep fried.  Battered...and deep fried.  Now in my head the warning bells should have been going off.  Caution...Caution!  Cause I saw the oil it was fried in and it was an odd brown color.  Looked at the sandwich and it looked odd.  Bit into the sandwich and it oozed oil.  Spit out the sandwich, but ate some of the french fries (fried in the same oil).  Both sandwich and fries had an odd taste.  Fast forward two hours later and, yep, you guessed it...sick.  Wah wah wah wah...waaah.

Guess I'm making stew tomorrow.

January 2 & 3 - Brownies with Chocolate-Covered Raisins

I about had a heart attack when I tore off the January 1st page and saw the recipe for Jan 2 & 3.  Brownies with chocolate covered raisins????? 

People who know me know that I cannot stand three things when it comes to food:

1.  The combination of mint and chocolate together... (the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up)

2.  Green peppers...(my stomach is feeling a little queesy)

3.  RAISINS!!  (I just threw up in my mouth a little).

So when I saw a recipe for brownies (one of my most favorite things in the world) with the addition of raisins, I got enraged!  That's like going to ceiling of the sistine chapel and adding a picture of Charlie Brown to it.

RAISINS ARE EVIL!!

I hate oatmeal cookies with raisins in them.  I hate bread pudding with raisins in them.  I hate chocolate covered raisins.  So while I am blasting the people at Bon Appetit for their lack of respect to the brownie and cursing their very existance, Brian asks me why I hate raisins.  I stop and stare at him while the steam bellows out of my ears.  The camera clicks on in my brain and we are sent to a flashback:

There I am in third grade, sitting in the lunchroom of the Catholic Grade School I attended for 8 years.  Dressed in brown corduroy pants and a gold polo shirt, I am happily eatting my peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich with all the rest of the boys.  To my right is one of my friends, Robert.  He is eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as well.  We are talking and eating when Robert puts his hand into his brown paper bag.  {Cue Slow Motion}.  He slowly pulls out one of those really small boxes of sunmaid raisins.  He opens it up.  {Cut to me} My face still has a smile on it.  {Back to the action} The raisins come out as one big block.  He begins to pull the raisins apart and begins to stuff them up his nose. {Cut to me} My smile falls into a look of utter shock.  {Back to the action} After stuffing the entire box of raisins up his nose, Robert laughs.  The kids around him laugh.  I am still gaping at him with a horrified look on my face.  {Cue the Organ Chords}  Robert blows the raisins out of his nose.  They land on the table top in slimy little masses.  He picks one of them up and proceeds to place it into his open mouth.....

I CAN'T....I CAN'T...  As I write this, I can't go there.  I can't finish.  It's too traumatic.  Happy place...Happy place.

So the only things I bought for this recipe were the raisinets, the bittersweet chocolate, and a pound of butter.  Luckily I had everything else in my pantry.

Raisinets = $3.39
Chocolate = $2.99
Butter = $1.99

Total = $8.37

Warning:  Snobby Chef Talk Ahead
Whenever I have the option, I always use bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet.  I prefer the dark taste of bittersweet, especially in things like brownies, truffles, and chocolate ganache in general.  It slightly lowers the sugar content of the recipe as well.

Also, I highly recommend using the Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract (which can be found at your local Williams-Sonoma).  I never used to be an ingredient snob; I used whatever was the cheapest I could find in the store.  But after years working with pastries and desserts, I discovered that you want to use a really good vanilla extract when adding it to chocolate. It will help bring out the chocolateness (made up word)  in your recipe.

Oh..and use really good chocolate that helps too. End snobby chef talk.

So I got a complaint that my blog about the guacamole was too involved, so I won't go into too much detail about the process of making the brownies.  Instead, I'll focus on the highlights and give you some tips

Basically you take your unsweetened and bittersweet chocolates and melt them with butter.  Then you cool it.  I like trying brownie recipes that use real chocolate rather than cocoa powder.  Using real chocolate, however is very tricky.  It adds more "liquid"component to your recipe, so you have to compensate with more dry ingredients.  Also, you have to watch the baking time.  If you over bake your brownies by even 5 minutes, you'll get that bitter burnt chocolate taste. 

Isn't that scale cool.  I love it. That's why I took the picture. (Shameless plug) Oxo Brand!

So while that's all melting you add the sugar to the eggs and beat them for three minutes until they are thick

Before

After

                    

TEACHER/FOOD NERD TALK:  I love the whole beating the eggs with sugar process; it's so cool.  There is this chemical reaction that occurs that not only changes the color of the eggs but the texture as well.  This process allows you to add more air to your final product!

Alright so then you mix your dry ingredients while thats going.  Then bing bang boom, you add the cooled chocolate to the egg mixture, then the dry ingredients to that.

Next you add the most evil of ingredients to the batter and place it all in a butter 8" square pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 (or in my case 365 cause my oven sucks).  

And then Viola!  You have an unholy pairing of the angelic brownie to the devil raisin.  Mischief...mischief... I say!!

THE RESULTS:

Fast:  Realtively.  With baking time and chocolate melting time, the whole recipe took me maybe 45 minutes.  While one part of the recipe is going, you can start working on another part so the prep goes pretty quick.

Easy:  Yes.  Although it was hard for me emotionally to dump those raisinets in at the end. 

Fresh:  Meh....  Can you call brownies fresh?  I guess adding chocolate covered raisins would be a fresh take on the classic brownie.  Okay, Bon Appetit I gave you this one...but you owe me.

Overall:  The brownie recipe (minus the raisins) is good.  Just watch your baking time.  Also, if you stick a toothpick in the middle to test the recipe, be aware that you might hit a chocolate covered raisin and it will make the tester come out looking like it's still raw.  The 30 minutes is pretty much right on the nose.  Plus I like more of a fudgy brownie anyway so undercooking it is alright by me.  Brian, my unbiased tester, loved the recipe.  I, however, will be giving these demon brownies away. 

Monday = tip day = rest day!  Yee haw!  Maybe I'll write a little something...otherwise, see you Tuesday!

January 1st, 2010 - Guacamole with Roasted Tomatillos

Happy New Year!!  Woo Hoo!!  We've entered another decade.  Exciting.  I can't wait to start watching " I Love the Aughts" on VH1 next month!

So, I began my day bright and early running to the Jewel-Osco, which (I'm sure you all know) is open on New Years Day.  Surprisingly, there were people in the store shopping.  I guess I wasn't the only one in bed before midnight last night (yeah, pretty pathetic).   Anyway....So I bought all of my ingredients:

Tomatillos:  $2.79
Serrano peppers:  $0.15
Cilantro: $0.50
Limes: $.54
Avocados: $5.37
Onion: (Had at home)

Total $ 9.35 

And headed home to start the first recipe!!  How exciting!!!

Step 1.  Roast the tomatillos.

If you've never used tomatillos before they are little green tomatoes covered with a papery husk.   Under that paper husk is a sticky (glue-like) substance that should be washed off.  (Yeah, it's kind of wierd to feel).  I found it easier to just remove the husk while rinsing them under the water...they seem to come off easier.  Tomatillos shouldn't be used raw.  You can either steam them, roast them, or even boil them.   Roasting brings out the best flavor; although, tomatillos have a pretty acidic taste even when roasted!  The tip in the recipe says "the acidity of the tomatillos and the lime juice helps prevent the guacamole from turning brown".

So I put them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (for quick clean up) and popped them into the oven.  Recipe said it takes about 8 minutes on each side.  "Each side" meaning top and bottom.  Overall, it took about 15 minutes for them to roast.

Step 2.  Chop up all the rest of the stuff.

So while the tomatillos are roasting, I chopped up the onion, cilantro, and chiles and squeezed the lime.  Now, I only put in two chiles because I'm living with someone, Brian, who does not like spicy guacamole.  The recipe says to use 4 whole serranos that are seeded, but I used 2 (one seeded and one not seeded).  It added a touch of heat to the guacamole which was good and counter-acted the acidity of the tomatillos.

 Step 3.  Prepare the avocados.

So here is the method I learned for peeling and pitting an avocado from the guys at the restaurant.

Start by cutting the avocado in half length wise.  And remove the two halves from each other.  You may have to give one side of the avocado a slight twist to release it. 

Next, CAREFULLY, take the heel of your knife and wack it into the pit of the avocado.  (Do not hold the avocado in your hand when you do this or you will get hurt!) Once the knife is lodged in the pit, pick up the avocado with the other hand and carefully twist the knife and the pit should pop right out.  To dislodge the pit I wack the pit on the side of the counter and it should come flying right off.  (It will fall on the floor and roll under a table, but that's better than hurting yourself trying to take it off with your hands.)

Now you can either take a spoon and scoop out the avocado goodness (which I do) or carefully remove the peel.  The recipe says to coarsly chop the avocado, but that seems like a waste of time since you'll be mashing it anyway.

Step 4.   Mash the crap out of it.

So now that you have everything chopped, roasted, and peeled, put it all in a big bowl and mash away.  The recipe says to add the roasted tomatillos and "any juices from baking sheet".  In retrospect, I would NOT add those juices.  It makes the guacamole a little too loose/watery which does not make for good chip dipping.   Also, I didn't like the big chunks of tomatillo skins in the guacamole.  I would have chopped up the roasted tomatillos a little before beginning the mashing.

Step 5.  Season with salt and eat.

You definitley need to add salt.  I used maybe 2 Tablespoons.  I really didn't measure.  I did it to taste.  Keep in mind that your tortilla chips will usually have salt on them as well!

RESULTS:

I decided I will rate each of the recipes on how this calendar was advertised.  1. Fast  2. Easy 3. Fresh

Fast:  It took about 25 minutes (including roasting time) to complete the guacamole.

Easy:  If you can chop, roast, and mash, I'd say it's really easy.

Fresh:  Definitely.  I lucked out finding some good produce today.  In the end it all comes down to the avocadoes.  They are the key to this recipe.  Good avocadoes = good guacamole.

Overall:  It's good, but after a few bites it gets kind of old.  Also, its a little too acidic which could be counteracted by either adding some sugar or a little more heat.  Brian came up with a good suggestion to use this guacamole as a topping for a tex-mex cheeseburger with pepperjack cheese.  The acidity would definitely cut the greasiness of a burger and play well with the cheese.  I will definitely keep this recipe for the summer and try it, as Brian suggested, for my next BBQ. 

Woo Hoo!!  First Recipe Down!  Exciting.  As this blog evolves I'm sure I'll get the hang of this and learn how to post this without it taking 2 hours.   Yeesh!

Tomorrow = Dessert!!

My Christmas Gift

So for Christmas I got a 2010 Daily Calendar...

No wait...don't go.   I promise this will be interesting.  You can resume your google search for "cuddly kittens" or "hacksaw accident" in a few minutes. 

So for Christmas I got a 2010 Daily Calendar.  Only it's no ordinary daily calendar.  It's the Bon Appetit (sorry, I'm too lazy to put the fancy accent on the "e" in Appetit) Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook Calendar.  Now my first thought was "yikes..this is so going to stay in the box and I'll probably find it when I clean out my garage in 2012".   But then as I am looking at it, another thought occured.  "I could totaly do a rip-off of the whole Julie & Julia thing and cook my way through the entire year".   Yes..yes this could work.  I could make each of the recipes, take pictures of them, and blog about the results.  And I wouldn't be doing it to ultimatley write a book about the whole experience.  No, I would be doing it to battle sheer boredom!!   What an ingenious (and quite sad) plan.

And who knows... Maybe I'll learn a thing or two?  Or find some new recipes?  Or end up making myself sick?

So as I greedily rip the box open and extract the calendar, I already hit my first hurdle...the welcome page!

Here's what it says:

Welcome to 2010!  (Glad to be here).  Thanks to this calendar, it promises to be a delicious year. (Still to be determined).  Loaded with recipes featured in the best-selling Bon Appetit Fast, Easy, Fresh Cookbook (Hmm..suspiciously sounds like a plug).  This calendar is your gateway to ease in the kitchen, every day of the year.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays you will find simple and smashing main courses (Hmm...that could work); Wednesdays put the spotlight on easy side dishes (Okay..keep talking); Fridays deliver either a fun cocktail or stylish appetizer that's simple enough for after-work entertaining (Oh, Thank God for Fridays!); the weekend pages offers luscious desserts that are ready in a snap (Sat and Sun are together on one page, looks like I can procrastinate until Sunday); and Mondays provide helpful hints, tips, and techniques for the week's recipes (Mondays are Free Days!).  It all adds up to a year's worth of fast and fresh cooking.  Just turn the page and get a taste of what's to come...

And as I turn the page the first recipe is.... Guacamole with roasted tomatillos.  Shit, where the hell am I going to get tomatillos on New Years Day?  Are grocery stores even open?  I don't remember.  This is the first year I'm not working in a restaurant on New Years...I'm so out of touch with the normal world.  Guess this diversion will prove to be a little more work than I thought.  Thank you Bon Appetit for starting off the year with a recipe using ingredients I don't have in the house.    So much for easy...

Well this, my friends, begins my 2010 project.   Let the weight gain begin!

Julia Child is Awesome

Just re-read "My Life in France" by Julia Child. What an amazing woman. I read it a year ago and was amazed. Since I saw the movie Julie and Julia, I thought I would read it again. I am just fascinated with "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Yeah, some critics will say its not the best cookbook and the recipes are so-so, but making the same recipes Julia spent years developing to me is a humbling experience as a chef.

For those of you who have not read "My Life in France" I highly recommend it. For those of you who are are like me and lazy, I recommend getting it on audio CD from your local library (although since the movie Julie and Julia it's almost impossible to get).

So I then picked up my copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and made the beef bourguignon recipe and the chocolate mousse recipe. The beef was okay...a bit putsy. The mousse, on the other hand, was SO GOOD!! I usually don't like chocolate or mousse, but this has to be my new favorite guilty pleasure.

God bless you Julia for such a wonderful, sinful chocolate mousse!