Love 'em both.
My mother never cooked any dark leafy greens other than (rarely) spinach, so I had no idea how delicious I would find them in adulthood. I also love most legumes; my husband hates them, however, and has no love for anything green, so beans 'n' greens is a treat I cook for myself alone.
Here's how to make the combo delicious. I got this from Rachael Ray, who got it from her Italian grandpa. They did it with escarole and cannellini beans, but I do it with pretty much any greens and often use chickpeas.
Heat some olive oil in a deep saute pan or pot (don't skimp for this one...use at least a couple of tablespoons if you have a bunch of greens). Add lots of minced or sliced garlic (several large cloves) and cook it for about 30 seconds until it is sizzling and fragrant. Dump in your sliced greens...bitter greens like dandelion or turnip and/or any miscellaneous cabbage-family greens like the kohlrabi tops I used today (mixed with dandelion). Kale is probably too tough, but you can use it if you cook long enough. I don't usually use chard or beet greens, however; they are too mild and sweet for this treatment.
Let the greens cook down a bit (they will shrink a lot as they wilt), then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, add a can of cannellini beans or chickpeas (well rinsed to minimize unfriendly gastric disturbances) and a can of low-sodium chicken broth or equivalent volume of your own chicken stock (1 1/2 to 2 cups).
Cook until greens are done to your liking, then serve it with grated cheese and good bread. You can keep your pizza and spaghetti; this is my favorite Italian food.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
What to do after you roast a chicken
I've finally figured it out, although only within the past year or so. It was not part of the kitchen lore passed down to me from my mother; in fact, I had to teach her.
Cookbooks will tell you to make a pan sauce after you roast a chicken, but I've done this maybe twice in my life. We're not a gravy kind of family. So if you don't make a pan sauce, there's a big greasy mess to clean up after you roast a chicken. Here's how to reduce the mess and get more out of your chicken.
After the meal, remove as much meat as you can from the bird and refrigerate it. Break up the carcass and throw it into a 3-quart pot along with all the skin and the gnawed-on drumsticks from dinner. Add all the accumulated juices from platter and roasting pan. Finally, add water to the roasting pan (about 2 cups), scrape up any bits remaining in the pan (heat it briefly if necessary to get them up), and pour this into your saucepan. Add more water if needed to cover the bones. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer it for several hours (until bedtime approaches).
In the meantime, you can wash your roasting pan. Then, about a half-hour before you go to bed (or after at least 2 hours), pour the contents of the saucepan through a strainer, discard the bones and skin, let the broth (yes, now it's broth) cool a few minutes, then refrigerate it uncovered overnight. The next day you can remove the hardened fat and you will have chicken broth to use in cooking.
My next project is to begin saving all veggie scraps for broth, as recommended by Jacques Pepin. I'll keep you posted.
Cookbooks will tell you to make a pan sauce after you roast a chicken, but I've done this maybe twice in my life. We're not a gravy kind of family. So if you don't make a pan sauce, there's a big greasy mess to clean up after you roast a chicken. Here's how to reduce the mess and get more out of your chicken.
After the meal, remove as much meat as you can from the bird and refrigerate it. Break up the carcass and throw it into a 3-quart pot along with all the skin and the gnawed-on drumsticks from dinner. Add all the accumulated juices from platter and roasting pan. Finally, add water to the roasting pan (about 2 cups), scrape up any bits remaining in the pan (heat it briefly if necessary to get them up), and pour this into your saucepan. Add more water if needed to cover the bones. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer it for several hours (until bedtime approaches).
In the meantime, you can wash your roasting pan. Then, about a half-hour before you go to bed (or after at least 2 hours), pour the contents of the saucepan through a strainer, discard the bones and skin, let the broth (yes, now it's broth) cool a few minutes, then refrigerate it uncovered overnight. The next day you can remove the hardened fat and you will have chicken broth to use in cooking.
My next project is to begin saving all veggie scraps for broth, as recommended by Jacques Pepin. I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Fajitas
Blogging two days in a row! Flo is on a roll. Actually, Flo's family has left the building and she is able to keep a thought in her mind for more than 10 seconds. OK, let's lose the third person. Flo finds it hard to keep it up any longer...
Actually, I often (being fairly food-obsessed) think of writing something here, as I often think of so many other things I want to do or ought to do, but I usually get distracted and forget. At least the Internet has made it possible to answer -- before I forget them -- some of those interesting random questions that pop up during the day. (I would give examples, but since the last random thing I looked up was Antonio Banderas' birthday, maybe I'm not the best person to do so. I'll get my son to do it. Oh no, maybe not -- he's moved off of obscure facts about the French and Indian War and on to obscure facts about Disney Cruises.)
Wait, this was supposed to be about fajitas...and the reason I'm writing this down is that they were good, best I've ever made, and I don't want to forget what I did. Basically, this is a modified version of the recipe in that old reliable, The Joy of Cooking.
Cut 1 lb. beef into strips (it's supposed to be skirt steak or flank steak, but I used round because I had it). Mix together about 3 Tbsp lime juice, 1 Tbsp corn oil, a minced garlic clove, 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper, and 1/4-1/2 tsp ground cumin. Stir the beef in, and let it marinate at room temperature for half an hour, mixing occasionally.
Cut 2 medium onions into strips, along with some peppers, any combination of colors. I used pieces of green, red, and yellow, totalling about 1 large pepper in quantity.
Heat a little oil in a skillet on medium heat until quite hot. Lift the beef out of the marinade and sear it in the skillet until no longer pink. Pour the marinade into the pan with the beef and let it cook briefly while you wash out the bowl. Dump the beef and marinade back into the bowl.
Add a little more oil to the pan, and saute the peppers and onions, along with a goodly amount of salt and black pepper (I think JOC said a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper; I used half that much). When the veggies are tender, add the meat and juices back to the pan and heat briefly. I also added some chopped cilantro at this point, because I had it.
Serve with warmed flour tortillas (to wrap the meat), salsa of choice (I will boast that I had my own homemade salsa that I canned last summer!), sour cream, and, if you like, shredded cheese. Guacamole is good too, but I didn't make any.
Actually, I often (being fairly food-obsessed) think of writing something here, as I often think of so many other things I want to do or ought to do, but I usually get distracted and forget. At least the Internet has made it possible to answer -- before I forget them -- some of those interesting random questions that pop up during the day. (I would give examples, but since the last random thing I looked up was Antonio Banderas' birthday, maybe I'm not the best person to do so. I'll get my son to do it. Oh no, maybe not -- he's moved off of obscure facts about the French and Indian War and on to obscure facts about Disney Cruises.)
Wait, this was supposed to be about fajitas...and the reason I'm writing this down is that they were good, best I've ever made, and I don't want to forget what I did. Basically, this is a modified version of the recipe in that old reliable, The Joy of Cooking.
Cut 1 lb. beef into strips (it's supposed to be skirt steak or flank steak, but I used round because I had it). Mix together about 3 Tbsp lime juice, 1 Tbsp corn oil, a minced garlic clove, 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper, and 1/4-1/2 tsp ground cumin. Stir the beef in, and let it marinate at room temperature for half an hour, mixing occasionally.
Cut 2 medium onions into strips, along with some peppers, any combination of colors. I used pieces of green, red, and yellow, totalling about 1 large pepper in quantity.
Heat a little oil in a skillet on medium heat until quite hot. Lift the beef out of the marinade and sear it in the skillet until no longer pink. Pour the marinade into the pan with the beef and let it cook briefly while you wash out the bowl. Dump the beef and marinade back into the bowl.
Add a little more oil to the pan, and saute the peppers and onions, along with a goodly amount of salt and black pepper (I think JOC said a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper; I used half that much). When the veggies are tender, add the meat and juices back to the pan and heat briefly. I also added some chopped cilantro at this point, because I had it.
Serve with warmed flour tortillas (to wrap the meat), salsa of choice (I will boast that I had my own homemade salsa that I canned last summer!), sour cream, and, if you like, shredded cheese. Guacamole is good too, but I didn't make any.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Cottage pie
I had some leftover mashed potatoes and some ground beef that needed to be used, and thought, "Aha! I will now make shepherd's pie for the first time ever!" However, it turns out that shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb and the same dish, when made with ground beef, is called cottage pie. Either way, it's not exactly a favorite of mine, but I thought perhaps the assembled multitudes might eat it. I ended up with the leftovers for lunch the past two days, and it wasn't half bad. Of course, the pouring rain today made it easier to eat British.
As best I can recall, here's the way I made it, after perusing about 6 recipes, no two alike.
Brown 1 lb. ground beef in a bit of oil. Pour off fat. Add a chopped onion, a large carrot in small dice, and a parsnip, also in small dice (just happened to have this on hand). Saute until veggies are slightly tender. Stir in a couple teaspoons dried thyme, about 1/8 tsp sage, a pinch of cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons flour (this is because I intended to use beef broth in the next step, not beef gravy). Add a generous glug of Worcestershire sauce, a squirt of ketchup, a can of beef gravy (if, like me, you don't have the broth that you thought you did), and a little water because if you added the flour in the last step your mixture is now too thick. Cook this a little longer (or until thick, if you did use broth). Dump into 9" square baking pan or similar. Heat 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes in the microwave and spread them on top. Sprinkle with about 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar and bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.
Some recipes include peas. I served peas on the side. If you have a stiff upper lip, I suppose this is a pretty good meal.
As best I can recall, here's the way I made it, after perusing about 6 recipes, no two alike.
Brown 1 lb. ground beef in a bit of oil. Pour off fat. Add a chopped onion, a large carrot in small dice, and a parsnip, also in small dice (just happened to have this on hand). Saute until veggies are slightly tender. Stir in a couple teaspoons dried thyme, about 1/8 tsp sage, a pinch of cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons flour (this is because I intended to use beef broth in the next step, not beef gravy). Add a generous glug of Worcestershire sauce, a squirt of ketchup, a can of beef gravy (if, like me, you don't have the broth that you thought you did), and a little water because if you added the flour in the last step your mixture is now too thick. Cook this a little longer (or until thick, if you did use broth). Dump into 9" square baking pan or similar. Heat 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes in the microwave and spread them on top. Sprinkle with about 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar and bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.
Some recipes include peas. I served peas on the side. If you have a stiff upper lip, I suppose this is a pretty good meal.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Gail's special salad
This has been my mother's go-to salad since the Cretaceous period. She makes it slightly differently but the following is my way. Amounts are variable according to your taste and what you have around.
For one very large serving (this is something to really fill you up without a lot of calories):
Lettuce (cut or torn bite-size; I use red leaf lettuce and plenty of it)
Several scallions, chopped
A chunk of cucumber, seeded and sliced
Several large radishes, sliced
Half a large tomato or a whole small one, cut in chunks
A hard-boiled egg, mashed with a fork (salad is still good without this)
A 3 oz. can of Italian chunk light tuna in olive oil, flaked but not drained
White wine vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all of the above in a bowl. Eat it.
For one very large serving (this is something to really fill you up without a lot of calories):
Lettuce (cut or torn bite-size; I use red leaf lettuce and plenty of it)
Several scallions, chopped
A chunk of cucumber, seeded and sliced
Several large radishes, sliced
Half a large tomato or a whole small one, cut in chunks
A hard-boiled egg, mashed with a fork (salad is still good without this)
A 3 oz. can of Italian chunk light tuna in olive oil, flaked but not drained
White wine vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all of the above in a bowl. Eat it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)