Category: Recipes (Page 24 of 26)

I’m not a huge fan of Macaroni and Cheese (Ok, Ok, I don’t like it) but Mike loves it and, predictably, Mika does as well. I hate the idea of her eating that stuff that comes from a box (what is it, anyway?) so I’ve finally decided to make my own. Someone in craigslist recommended this Macaroni and Cheese recipe by Alton Brown, and as it got quite a lot of good reviews I tried it. I wasn’t sure if Mika would like the sharp cheddar, and I found that 10 oz of cheese was just not enough taste, so I ended up using 14 oz of combined medium cheddar, white cheddar and jack cheese. Next time I’ll try the sharp cheddar instead. The original recipe also called for 1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce, but I didn’t have any so I ommitted it. In any case, Mika is so weary of anything slightly spicy that I wouldn’t have wanted to tempt fate. I’m sure it makes a difference, though, so if you don’t have picky kids around, by all means add it.
The results were good. Mika didn’t like it at first (but she may have been put off it ’cause it was hot – I have to remember to wait until the food is tepid before serving it), but later she had a bowl with her dad and asked that we send some for lunch at school today. My friend Desiree loved it and Mike said that it was very good, it tasted better than the boxed stuff, but he still prefers it out of a box. *sigh*
My version of the recipe:

This recipe for ginger scones is from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Bread Bible” and was posted on the Craigslist food forum by “claymonkey”. It got well-deserved raves. It’s easier to make than it appears at first and simply delicious. The original recipe called for unsalted butter, I used lightly-salted European style butter and that worked well enough. I made this recipe for the tea I hosted at my house and served it with a variety of butters & jams.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• a dash of salt
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 12 tbsp. butter, cold
• 3/4 cup whipping cream, whipped
• 2/3 cup crytallized ginger, chopped
  ground ginger – 1 tsp

• 2 tsp. whipping cream
• 1 tbsp. sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Oil and flour a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, ground ginger, salt and lemon zest. Cut the butter into pats, add them and mix by hand until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix in the crystallized ginger.
Make a hole in the center and add the cream. Mix with a rubber spaturla until the flour is moistened. Knead the dough inside the bowl until it holds together and then turn it onto a lightly floured working surface. Knead it into a smooth ball and chill it.
Remove the dough from the fridge, divide in two and shape each half into a ball. Press each ball into a disk, about 3/4″ high and 6″ across. Wrap with plastic wrap and freeze for 15 minutes.
With a sharp knife, cut each disk into 8 wedges. Brush with the cream and sprinkle with sugar. Place the wedges onto the baking sheet. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake until the edges start to brown, about 15 minutes.

I made this chicken salad for the sandwiches I served at the tea party I threw last weekend. It was wonderful and I’m planning to make it again. All of the quantities are approximate, so modify them to your taste. I cooked the chicken breasts on my George Foreman, but you can cook it anywhere you want.
-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
-2 large celery ribs, chopped
-2 green apples, peeled, cored & chopped
-3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
-1 cup mayonnaise
-1 tbsp. lime juice
-1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
-salt & pepper
Combine the chicken, celery, apples and walnuts. Add mayo, a little bit at a time, just enough to join all the ingredients. Add the lime juice and vinegar, salt and pepper, tasting to make sure the proportions are to your liking.

I had a pork tenderloin left over after I made the pamplona a couple of days before and I wanted a quick and easy way to make it. I got this suggestion from a user of the craigslist food forum who uses the moniker “Voltaire”.
Marinade the pork tenderloin in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, with some chopped garlic and rosemary. I didn’t have rosemary so I ommitted it but I did add a tablespoon or so of hoisin sauce to the marinade. Then we grilled it over medium-low heat until done. It was very good, in particular the outside part that had caramelized with the marinade. Next time I’ll butterfly the tenderloin so as to maximize the caramelized area.

A couple of nights ago I made this very easy recipe for pork roll, an Uruguayan classic I took from the Barbecue Bible cookbook. The recipe below serves 4, I halved it for the two of us. Note that pre-packaged pork tenderloins usually come two to a package. I served this with a salad and leftover grilled corn.

Yesterday I wanted to make something French to celebrate Bastille day and as it’s summer we are grilling. I looked into my dear Barbecue Bible for something French and came up with this extremely simple recipe which, according to Steven Raichlen at least, can be found all over Provence. It was very good, so much so that my 3 yo asked me to make them again tonight.
Basically, mix 1/4 cup of olive oil with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice (I didn’t bother measuring anything). Baste the lamb chops with the mixture, season with salt and pepper and herbs de provence. Let rest for 10 minutes at room temperature and then grill on a high until done, 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. You can baste the lamb while grilling but we didn’t bother to.

I wanted to make something Mexican for Cinco de Mayo and Carnitas came to mind. I found this incredible recipe at Epicurious.com. It’s super easy and delicious and will likely become part of my repertoire.
As it turned out, we went to Pee Wee’s instead (that’s where our friend Percy wanted to go) so I made the carnitas the following day.
I made the recipe according to the instructions, though I used bone-in short ribs. The bones they had were very small in any case, I just cut them out, added them to the meat and removed them before serving. I found the recipe too salty, next time I’ll start with 1 tsp of salt and add more later if needed. I did use regular salt rather than the “sea salt” it asked for. You can also use chicken broth instead of water, if so you may want to use even less salt. You can also substitute good quality tequila or possibly another liquor for the brandy, and you can use pork shoulder or another (somewhat fatty) cut instead of the short ribs.
Carnitas

When I saw “All About Braising“, the new cookbook by Molly Stevens, at the library I had to check it out. I LOVE braised meats, but I haven’t had that much experience making them. I figure this would be an opportunity to learn.
There were so many wonderful choices in the book that I couldn’t make up my mind as to what to make so I had to let Mike decide. He decided on this recipe here and a leg of lamb recipe I’m currently cooking and that I’ll post soon.
I made the recipe pretty much according to the instructions, though I didn’t use bay leaves as I had misplaced them (ok, ok, they’d fallen behind the stove – sheesh!). I also wasn’t very dilligent about spooning off the fat, making the braising liquid fatter than it should have been. In any case, the results were very good and worth all the work. Mike loved it and would definitely like it again. I liked it too, but I think I like short ribs braised in wine better. Still, its certainly a dish you can serve to family and friends and make them happy. I would use about 1 lb of short ribs per person.
As usual, the recipe below is what I made.

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Last night I made Pomegranate & Spice Braised Pork, a recipe I’d seen in the Wine section of the Chronicle a couple of weeks before. I had actually meant to make it Monday night, but I miscalculated when I had to start on the recipe so I left it for dinner last night.
I followed the original recipe quite faithfully, though I used regular anise seeds instead of the star anise, I chopped rather than pounded the garlic (misread it) and used a good quality cab instead of the fruity wine (I wasn’t serving it with wine any way, and wanted to use what I had open).
The results were quite good, the sauce was sweet but not overwhelmingly so and complimented the pork quite well. Mike liked it, but he found the pork a little dry. I don’t know if somehow I failed in cooking it, or this is related to how lean pork nowdays is (and I may have messed up by cutting off the lawyer of fat on the outside of the pork shoulder). I thought the pork was fine – though the fattier parts were definitely tastier – but I found the sauce to be too one-dimensional. It was just there, tasting good but with no complexity to it. It bore me. I served the dish with couscous (always a good choice for any sweet sauce) and I do have to admit that it went wonderfully with it – the couscous much better than the pork set off the different flavors within the sauce.
It was an easy dish to make, though as with any braise dish it takes quite a while to cook. Pork shoulder is relatively cheap, but beware that a bottle of pomegranate juice cost me $6, the hoisin sauce was another $3 – so this dish can get expensive. Another caveat is that it smells just like cinamon rolls while it’s cooking, it may give you a craving 🙂
Recipe

• 3 1/2 to 4 lbs bone-in pork shoulder roast
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tsps.. vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 6 slices fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp. anise seed
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 2 cups unsweetened pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tsps. fish sauce
• 2 tsps. hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar, or to taste

Instructions
Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Season all sides of the pork with salt and pepper. Brown all sides of the pork in the oil. Remove and set aside.
Fry the onions until transluscent. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic. Add the ginger, anise seed, cinnamon andn peppercorns and stir. Add the pork, wine, pomegranate juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and hoisin sauce.
Stir, bring to a boil, turn down the heat to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Check the level of tartness and if needed add the brown sugar.
Continue to simmer for 1 hour, turn the roast, and simmer for another 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is tender.
Remove the meat and set aside. Bring the sauce to a hard boil, uncovered, and boil until it’s reduced by 1/2 to 1/4th. Meanwhile, slice the meat. When the sauce has reduced, strain it, discard the solids and return the liquid to the pot. Add the pork to the liquid and simmer it for a few more minutes until it gets warm. Serve.