Thursday, August 5, 2010

Tortilla Soup



For the last two weeks, I was fighting off a cold, and yesterday I lost the battle. So when I got home from work today, I whipped up a batch of spicy tortilla soup. Felt like I needed more than a traditional chicken soup. Here's what I did.


2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chipotle chili powder
1 tbsp ancho chili powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 zucchini, diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 can stewed tomatoes (check labels - some have high fructose corn syrup)
6 chicken thighs, seasoned with salt and pepper
8 cups chicken stock or water, or combination of both
Salt
1 avocado
tortilla chips
Mexican crema



  • saute onions, carrot, celery, and garlic in olive oil in a heavy soup pot till soft, about 8 minutes.  
  • add chipotle and ancho chili powders, and tomato paste and cook about a minute.
  • add zucchini, corn, tomatoes, chicken, and stock.  season with salt
  • bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook for about 45 minutes.
  • remove chicken thighs, shred meat, and return to pot
  • ladle into bowls and garnish with tortilla chips, avocado, and Mexican crema.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Coconut Curry Chicken



The other night, I made a tilapia "en papillot" with some coconut milk instead of wine.  Came out really well... but I forgot to take a photo!  So, I had about 3/4 of a can of coconut milk leftover and decided to try and make a coconut curry chicken.  Been on this Indian food kick lately.... it came out pretty well for a first attempt, and I have a bunch of leftovers to take to lunch this week! Here's my "rough" recipe.


1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size cubes.
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 cinnamon stick
4 dry red chiles
2 potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
3/4 (or 1) can coconut milk
1 28 oz. can tomatoes, chopped
water or stock as needed
salt
pepper

  • Heat olive oil in a wide heavy skillet.  Add onion and saute until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add ginger and garlic and cook another minute or two.
  • Add chicken to skillet and brown over high heat.
  • Add curry powder, paste, cinnamon and chiles and cook for about a minute.
  • Add potatoes, coconut milk, tomatoes, and extra water or stock if it seems like it needs more liquid.  Season with salt and pepper.
  • Simmer until chicken and potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Serve with plain or coconut rice.

Coconut Rice

This simple, tasty rice is a great side dish for Indian food (see my Coconut Curry Chicken recipe).



olive oil
2 cups basmati rice
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
6 oz. water
salt
4 scallions, thinly sliced
toasted sliced almonds

  • Heat oil in pan.  Add rice and toast for about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add coconut milk, water and salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
  • Remove lid, fluff with fork, and add scallions.  Cover for another 5 minutes
  • Serve topped with sliced almonds

Latin American Ingredients



I recently "discovered" a great store in the Mission that carries all sorts of imported Latin American products.  It was all I could do not to buy everything there!  They have all sorts of packaged foods, fresh meats, and vegetables.  I'll definitely be going back there to check out more stuff.  The store is called Evergreen Market.
Pictured are two of my purchases.  The one on the left is Aji Amarillo, which is a Peruvian Yellow Pepper (in paste form).   This is used in many Peruvian dishes, including my last recipe, Aji de Gallina.  So happy to find it, as I've been searching for the paste form for quite a while.  Should have known to look in a small Mission store all along!  
On the right is Dulce de Leche, from Argentina.  Takes me right back to my childhood.  This has recently become a little more known here, as it is now a Haagen Dazs flavor, but this is the real thing!  I will try to find a good recipe for Alfajores, the Argentine cookies that my grandmother used to make.  An Alfajor is a sandwich cookie consisting of two shortbread cookies with Dulce de Leche in the middle, and the whole thing is covered in powdered sugar.  Yum!
They also have Empanada shells - I will be sure to make those soon (they're in my freezer for now) and will post the results here.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Aji de Gallina


Today I decided to try making this typical Peruvian dish.  I've had it before in restaurants, and always wanted to try making it.  After researching some recipes, and finding dried Aji Amarillo (not an easy task - I finally found it at Rainbow Grocery. I've heard it's also available at some Latin markets in the Mission) this is what I came up with.  It turned out well, although I didn't add enough of the Aji Amarillo, as I was worried I'd make it too spicy... but bring on the heat!  It was very mild, and I'll be adding more spice to my leftovers.

Aji de Gallina

1 whole chicken, cut up
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1 onion
1 bay leaf
salt
black peppercorns
about 6 slices of white bread
1 cup milk
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
2-3 tbsp Aji Amarillo
1 tbsp tumeric
¼ cup walnuts
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
4 hard boiled eggs
4 boiled potatoes

  • ·      Make a chicken stock using whole chicken and gizzards. (Place chicken, carrot, celery, onion, bay leaf, salt and pepper in a large pot of water – bring to a boil – reduce to simmer – cook for about 45 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises to the top)
  • ·      While chicken cooks, soak bread in milk.
  • ·      Meanwhile, sauté diced onion with a little salt in olive oil in a large pot till soft, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic, cumin, and tumeric and cook for another minute.  Add the soaked bread and Aji Amarillo and cook for a couple of minutes.
  • ·      Transfer mixture to a blender, add walnuts, and blend till smooth (you may need to add some of the stock).
  • ·      Return to pot.
  • ·      Strain chicken, reserving stock.  Discard vegetables and shred chicken.
  • ·      Add chicken and about 4 cups of the stock to the pot.
  • ·      Add Parmigiano, season with salt and pepper, and heat through.
  • ·      Serve with quartered potatoes, quartered eggs, and white rice.

Monday, May 31, 2010

The "Fruits" of my labor

I spent the day in my garden today, putting in some new plants and thinning out my herbs. The oregano and sage were growing so much that I trimmed, pruned, whacked, and still there is a lot left. I guess some good has come from all of the rain this month!

Anybody have any favorite recipes using sage and/or oregano? For the sage, I'm contemplating a pizza with caramelized onions, w/ sage and goat cheese. Mmmmmmmmm! Who wants to come over tomorrow?


Saturday, May 29, 2010

Savory Bread Pudding

Once again, I've neglected my blog... but now I'm feeling inspired again so here's a new recipe. I made this last night and it was soooo good! Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo, but might try to get one of the leftovers later today. Stay tuned! So here's the recipe for a savory bread pudding. You can add pretty much anything you want to it. My inspiration was the bread pudding at Serpentine, which is to die for. They change the ingredients depending on the season, and so should you. You can easily make this vegetarian by omitting the sausage, but I'm afraid there's just no way to do this vegan or carb-free. The first bread pudding I made was in my class at Tante Marie (we made one with wild mushrooms) and I was hooked. It's really very easy to do, just takes a bit of time. This one I made with some Acme bread, but you can also use challah or brioche, in which case you could leave the crust on.


SAVORY BREAD PUDDING

1 acme bread sweet batard, crust removed and cut into 1” cubes
1 italian sausage
1 leek, chopped
1 large fennel bulb, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup white wine
8 asparagus spears
½ bunch swiss chard
1 cup swiss cheese, grated
1 cup fontina cheese, grated
½ cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 cups milk
thyme
rosemary
salt
pepper
small grating of nutmeg
chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  • Toss bread cubes with olive oil and some chopped thyme and rosemary. Spread on a baking sheet and put in oven for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
  • Meanwhile, remove sausage from casing and sauté in some olive oil till browned. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  • Add leeks, fennel, and red pepper to pan with a bit of salt and cook till softened, about 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, blanch asparagus in a pot of salted water for about 2-3 minutes till just tender. Remove and spread out in one layer to cool. Remove stems from swiss chard and blanch in same water. Drain and chop, add to leek mixture.
  • Add wine to leek mixture and cook till reduced.
  • In a large bowl, whisk eggs, add cream, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, chives, swiss, fontina, and half the parmigiano. Chop asparagus and add. Add leek mixture. Add bread cubes and stir well, press down and let soak for 10-20 minutes so that milk is well absorbed into bread, pressing down every now and then.
  • Butter 6 ramekins and set into a baking dish with high sides.
  • Fill each ramekin with bread mixture, pressing down and doming a little at the top. Top with a sprinkle of parmigiano.
  • Bake in water bath for about 40 minutes, till set and the top is golden brown and crunchy.
  • Remove from water bath, let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

  • Tuesday, January 26, 2010

    Celery Root!


    Celery root - my new favorite vegetable!! this gnarly looking thing, once peeled and cooked, is really yummy. My experimentations so far: mashed with potato and a yummy cream of celery root soup, which was even better the next day. I plan to try lots of other preparations, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here's my recipe for the soup. (and send me any suggestions you might have)

    Cream of Celery Root and Potato Soup

    1 onion, diced

    1 carrot, diced

    2 ribs celery, diced

    4 strips of bacon

    4 large celery roots, peeled and cut into 1” pieces

    1 potato, peeled and cut into 1” pieces

    6 cups chicken stock

    1 tbsp chopped rosemary

    1 cup milk or cream

    Olive oil

    Sat & pepper

    1/4 tsp cumin


    Coat the bottom of a heavy pot with olive oil. Turn on medium heat and

    add onion, carrot and celery. Cook till softened, about 8 minutes.

    Add bacon and cook about 2-3 minutes.

    Add celery root, potato, stock and rosemary. Season with salt & pepper.

    Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes, till

    vegetables are very tender.

    Turn off heat and put soup through a food mill to remove any fibrous

    pieces.

    Return to soup pot, add cream and cumin, and blend with an immersion

    blender till smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.

    Serve with garnish of crispy bacon bits and/or garlic croutons.



    Sunday, January 17, 2010

    Chili


    Drizzly winter days call for warm foods, like Chili! I decided while at Whole Foods that I needed to make chili, even though, surprise, I've never made it before. I knew I had all of the appropriate chili powders at home, since I do use those fairly often, so it was off to the meat counter to chat with the butcher. I had him cube some beef chuck for me and I also got some ground buffalo, for a different texture. I searched FoodNetwork.com, and combined a few recipes (a lot of Bobby Flay plus some others) and came up with this. It was a big hit! I served it with the guacamole on the side, and topped it with a heap of cheddar, and a swirl of cumin flavored sour cream.

    Chili

    Olive Oil
    2 pounds beef (chuck), cut into ½ - 1 inch cubes
    ½ pound ground buffalo
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    1 large onion, diced
    1 red bell pepper, diced
    2 ribs celery, diced
    4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
    3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
    ½ tablespoon chipotle chili powder
    ½ tablespoon chili powder
    1 tablespoon ground cumin
    ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    8 ounces dark beer
    2 cups homemade chicken stock, or canned low-sodium or water
    1 (28-ounce) can san marzano tomatoes, with their juice put through a food mill
    1 tablespoon chipotle pepper puree
    1 tablespoon honey
    1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
    1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
    1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained


    Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper, and saut̩ until browned on all sides. You may have to do this in batches Рdo not crowd the meat or it will steam instead of browning. This should take about 8-10 minutes per batch. Transfer the meat to a plate. Add ground buffalo, season w/ salt and pepper and cook 3-5 minutes till browned. Transfer to the plate with the meat.

    Add the onions, pepper and celery to the pan and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ancho powder, chipotle powder, chili powder, and cumin and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the beer and cook until completely reduced (about 15-20 minutes). Return the meat to the pot, add the chicken stock, tomatoes, chipotle puree, honey and chocolate, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan, and simmer for 2 hours. Add the beans and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lime juice, and adjust seasonings.

    Serve with a swirl of Cumin Crema, guacamole, grated cheddar and corn bread.

    Cumin Crema:

    1 pint creme fraiche, Mexican crema or sour cream
    1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted & ground
    1 tablespoon fresh lime
    Salt and freshly ground pepper

    Whisk together ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place in a squeeze bottle. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

    Guacamole:

    2 ripe avocados
    ½ - 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
    ½ red onion, finely diced
    juice of ½ lime
    1 tsp chipotle chili puree
    Mash the avocado in a bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients.

    Thursday, January 14, 2010

    A New Year

    First cooking class of the year: Winter Roasting. Of course, nobody remembered to take photos, so you'll just have to take my word that the food looked great! It tasted great too, and everyone had a good time. We had a full house, 6 people, which is always fun. Good conversations, 3 regular students, and 2 new ones. I hope that this trend will continue and will try to do two classes a month this year.

    Here are the recipes from last night's class:

    Herb and Lemon Roasted Chicken


    Serves 4-6. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.


    1 5lb organic chicken

    1/4 stick butter, softened

    1 tbsp chopped sage, plus one bunch whole

    1 lemon, sliced

    1/2 onion, quartered

    Salt

    Paprika

    • Preheat oven to 450°
    • Combine butter, sage, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl
    • Pat chicken dry with paper towels
    • Sprinkle inside and out with salt
    • Loosen skin on the chicken breast and put some of the butter underneath
    • Spread remaining butter all over the chicken
    • Put sliced lemon, whole sage, and onion inside chicken cavity. Tie legs together with twine.
    • Place on roasting rack in a shallow pan. Sprinkle with a little bit of paprika.
    • Roast for 40 minutes, then baste, reduce oven temp. to 375° and continue cooking, basting every 15 minutes until internal temperature taken at thigh reaches 165 or juices run clear. (about 45 minutes – 1 hour more for a 5 lb chicken – 15-20 minutes per pound)
    • Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

    Roasted Cauliflower


    Serves 4. Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 45 minutes.


    1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets

    1 head of garlic, broken into cloves

    Olive oil (just enough to coat cauliflower)

    1 tsp chopped rosemary

    Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

    Salt to taste

    1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano

    • Preheat oven to 375°
    • Preheat baking dish while you prepare the cauliflower
    • Toss all ingredients except the cheese in a large bowl
    • Arrange in baking dish into one layer
    • Cook for about 15 minutes, stir, then sprinkle parmigiano reggiano over top
    • Continue cooking for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly

    Roasted Pears with Mascarpone Cheese


    Serves 6. Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 30 minutes.


    3 Bosc pears

    1 container mascarpone cheese

    1/4 cup sugar

    juice from one lemon

    1/4 cup honey

    1 cup pomegranate juice

    1/2 cup port

    1 vanilla bean, halved

    2 cinnamon sticks

    peel from one lemon

    leaves from one sprig of rosemary

    • Preheat oven to 375°
    • Peel the pears, slice in half, scoop out core with a melon baller. Toss pears in lemon juice to prevent discoloring.
    • Combine juice, port, vanilla bean (scrape the inside of the bean), cinnamon sticks, lemon peel, rosemary and honey in a bowl.
    • Toss pears in the mixture, then arrange in a baking dish. Pour remaining mixture over the pears.
    • Bake pears, turning once halfway through, for about 30 minutes, or until tender. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
    • Meanwhile, pour cooking liquid into a small saucepan and simmer to reduce.
    • Combine mascarpone and sugar. Serve one pear half with a dollop of mascarpone on each plate. Drizzle cooking liquid over top.