1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
1 clove garlic smashed
3 thyme sprigs
Place all of your ingredients at the bottom of the cheese cloth and fold long ways
Then fold the sides over and roll up the rest of the way. Tie up the sides and viola.
Monday, April 25, 2011
THOMAS KELLER SACHET
A simple combination of thyme, bay leaf, pepper and garlic rolled up to flavor sauce but not to actually BE in the sauce....
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
1 clove garlic smashed
3 thyme sprigs
Place all of your ingredients at the bottom of the cheese cloth and fold long ways
Then fold the sides over and roll up the rest of the way. Tie up the sides and viola.
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
1 clove garlic smashed
3 thyme sprigs
Place all of your ingredients at the bottom of the cheese cloth and fold long ways
Then fold the sides over and roll up the rest of the way. Tie up the sides and viola.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
STOVETOP PORK CHOPS
No, no, no, not THAT stove top...literally, just some simple pork chops in a pan and finished with a rosemary, thyme sauce. Along side are some zucchini, squash, green beans and cherry tomatoes and some brown rice for a nice well rounded weekday dinner for mama and baby.
4 bone on pork chops
1 zucchini diced
1 squash diced
1 handful of green beans trimmed and blanched
1 handful of cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup of brown rice
thyme and rosemary for seasoning
1 cup of chicken stock
1 tbs butter
1 shallot
canola oil
Get your pork chops out of the fridge about forty minutes before you are ready to cook them. Once you are ready to go, make sure you pat them dry with some paper towels to get a good sear. If you leave them sweaty, they will steam in the pan rather than char and sear. Season with salt and pepper and onto a medium hot pan.
Get your veg prepped by slicing up the zuch and squash. These are the seed membranes from the squash which I've just recently started removing. They are a little slimy and mushy and don't add much flavor or nutrition.
MEDIUM HEAT. It makes sense to think that the hotter the pan, the better the sear. But this is not the case. You want the meat to have some time on the pan to get a nice deep sear. If the pan is too hot, the surface of the meat burns quickly and is very difficult to recover from. If you start medium, you can really monitor and coax your sear.
Blanche the beans for just a few minutes, until they begin to become tender since they will still cook a little in the saute pan with the other veggies. No ice bath needed either, I just scoop them out of this pot, and into the pan with the other veggies.
Medium-low heat with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Take a bite of one of the veggies to check your seasoning. Add the tomatoes at the end and cook until just plump.
Nice golden sear without burning will allow me to make a sweet sauce once these babies are done. About 4-5 minutes per side then onto a plate to rest while making the sauce.
Shallots into the pan for 2 or 3 minutes, then add the stock and start reducing.
Reduce the sauce down for five minutes add the herbs for the last minute along with a tablespoon of butter to finish off the sauce.
Put some rice down, then the chop on top. Surround with your veggies and sauce the chop and rice. Yum.
4 bone on pork chops
1 zucchini diced
1 squash diced
1 handful of green beans trimmed and blanched
1 handful of cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup of brown rice
thyme and rosemary for seasoning
1 cup of chicken stock
1 tbs butter
1 shallot
canola oil
Get your pork chops out of the fridge about forty minutes before you are ready to cook them. Once you are ready to go, make sure you pat them dry with some paper towels to get a good sear. If you leave them sweaty, they will steam in the pan rather than char and sear. Season with salt and pepper and onto a medium hot pan.
Get your veg prepped by slicing up the zuch and squash. These are the seed membranes from the squash which I've just recently started removing. They are a little slimy and mushy and don't add much flavor or nutrition.
MEDIUM HEAT. It makes sense to think that the hotter the pan, the better the sear. But this is not the case. You want the meat to have some time on the pan to get a nice deep sear. If the pan is too hot, the surface of the meat burns quickly and is very difficult to recover from. If you start medium, you can really monitor and coax your sear.
Blanche the beans for just a few minutes, until they begin to become tender since they will still cook a little in the saute pan with the other veggies. No ice bath needed either, I just scoop them out of this pot, and into the pan with the other veggies.
Medium-low heat with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Take a bite of one of the veggies to check your seasoning. Add the tomatoes at the end and cook until just plump.
Nice golden sear without burning will allow me to make a sweet sauce once these babies are done. About 4-5 minutes per side then onto a plate to rest while making the sauce.
sauce side bar: Season the sauce
with salt and pepper and taste it.
Make sure you are tasting this BEFORE
its all over your pork chop.
Just a little taste will do,
if it doesn't taste good on a spoon,
it won't be any better on your plate.
Put some rice down, then the chop on top. Surround with your veggies and sauce the chop and rice. Yum.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
COOKING FOR 5
Well....really we have three adults and two little babies happily roasting in their mommy's tummies waiting for some delicious nourishment...and since as a husband, I can do very little that actually impacts the child...cooking the meals has been an absolute honor...this meal was no exception.
1 chicken, about 3 1/2 lb., cut into 10 pieces (2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, 4 breast portions)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 bay leaves
2/3 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp. each coarsely chopped fresh tarragon and chervil or flat-leaf parsley
1 lb. dried pappardelle
Get your chicken out of the fridge about an hour before cooking to let it come to room temperature. This allows for even cooking throughout. I love to butcher me some chicken, so go ahead and cut up the bird into 10 Pieces. Get the oil and butter into the dutch and start heating at about medium.
Fill a bag with the one cup of flour along with a healthy pinch of salt and pep. Pat the chicken dry with some paper towel and dredge each piece into the flour shaking off any excess. The oil should be hot and rippling a little, start to brown the chicken in batches, about 2-3 minutes per side. JUST LET IT SIT THERE...DON'T MESS WITH IT!
Did not take a picture of this first step, but I was listening to this Black Keys album...check it out...it's rad!
1 chicken, about 3 1/2 lb., cut into 10 pieces (2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, 4 breast portions)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 bay leaves
2/3 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp. each coarsely chopped fresh tarragon and chervil or flat-leaf parsley
1 lb. dried pappardelle
Get your chicken out of the fridge about an hour before cooking to let it come to room temperature. This allows for even cooking throughout. I love to butcher me some chicken, so go ahead and cut up the bird into 10 Pieces. Get the oil and butter into the dutch and start heating at about medium.
Fill a bag with the one cup of flour along with a healthy pinch of salt and pep. Pat the chicken dry with some paper towel and dredge each piece into the flour shaking off any excess. The oil should be hot and rippling a little, start to brown the chicken in batches, about 2-3 minutes per side. JUST LET IT SIT THERE...DON'T MESS WITH IT!
Did not take a picture of this first step, but I was listening to this Black Keys album...check it out...it's rad!
Chicken is browned and veg goes into the pot for 5 - 10 minutes to soften up
Once the veg is soft, get your liquid in, just combine the white wine and the chicken broth nobody will ever know.
Everybody back in the pool and into the oven!
As with any proper creamy pasta dish, one ought to have some nice crispy bread to go along side it. This is 100% whole wheat with olive oil salt and pepper, into a 350 degree oven till crispy
Mise en place the herbs, tarragon, parsley, lemon zest
This is going straight to your booty...but sometimes it's just ok to do these sorts of things
Chicken all done...I love the way roasted meat colors the inside of the pot
Get the chicken out, let it cool for a few minutes. After taking a nibble or two of skin, discard it and shred the meat off of the bone using two forks
Add your cream, then the herbs and lemon and let it sauce up a bit while getting your noodles going.
Don't strain the noodles, just use your tongs to move them right from the water to the pot. That way some of the starchy pasta water can mix in an thicken the sauce a bit. Mix in your chicken and make sure every piece has some sauce on it.
This was a nice comfort food meal with my two mommy's in training. I've never really had tarragon and it turns out to be a delicious anise or black licorice flavor that makes this dish unique.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
BASIL PESTO PASTA WITH BRIGHT VEGGIES
So we decided that we had to do some pasta that we could have one night, then heat up for the next night real quick due to our new-found excitement and after work fun (baby classes). I threw this dish together with some asparagus, onions, tomatoes and garlic, along with some roasted chicken. Pesto is cheap in the store, but sooooo easy to make as long as you have a food pro.
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese (we used parmigiano reggiano)
1 lb of whole wheat shells
1 bunch of asparagus
1 white onion
1 handful of cherry tomatoes
2 bone on chicken breasts
Ok, not shown here, but get your chicken started first. 400 degree oven, leave the skin on and douse with some olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Into the oven for 40.
Put the basil, garlic, and pine nuts into the food pro. Pulse pulse pulse until coarsely chopped.
With the pro running add in your olive oil to emulsify the pesto.
Take the pesto out of the pro or if you have the mega 16 cup mama, take your bowl out and add your cheese. Mix together and add salt and pepper to make sure this pesto is tasty.
So the pesto is done. Get the onions into the pan first and saute for 10 minutes or so, then add the tomatoes until they get shiny and plump...toss the asparagus in and saute a little longer, then cover it and take it off the heat until the chicken is done. This will allow it to steam without over cooking everything else.
Pasta is done aldente. I did not use a strainer. If you have a spider or a slotted spoon take the pasta right from the pot into the pan of veggies, the starchy pasta water is good to thicken the sauce...
Mix everything together so the pesto gets into the nooks and crannies of the shells.
Take your time and enjoy all of the elements. Don't put your fork into the tomatoes, scoop them up and when you bite into them, they are little explosions of juicy tomato goodness.
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese (we used parmigiano reggiano)
1 lb of whole wheat shells
1 bunch of asparagus
1 white onion
1 handful of cherry tomatoes
2 bone on chicken breasts
Ok, not shown here, but get your chicken started first. 400 degree oven, leave the skin on and douse with some olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Into the oven for 40.
Put the basil, garlic, and pine nuts into the food pro. Pulse pulse pulse until coarsely chopped.
Take the pesto out of the pro or if you have the mega 16 cup mama, take your bowl out and add your cheese. Mix together and add salt and pepper to make sure this pesto is tasty.
side bar: I chose to salt the pesto AFTER
the cheese since it is a fairly
salty and delicious cheese.
Once something is
over salted, it's hard to go back.
So the pesto is done. Get the onions into the pan first and saute for 10 minutes or so, then add the tomatoes until they get shiny and plump...toss the asparagus in and saute a little longer, then cover it and take it off the heat until the chicken is done. This will allow it to steam without over cooking everything else.
Chicken is done and if you can let it rest for at least 10 minutes do it. Let the juices sit, plus you won't burn your fingers when you peel the skin off and take the meat off the bone. Don't resist the temptation to eat some of this right out of the pan... this chicken is simple and delicious. off the bone and cut against the grain into little chunks.
Pasta is done aldente. I did not use a strainer. If you have a spider or a slotted spoon take the pasta right from the pot into the pan of veggies, the starchy pasta water is good to thicken the sauce...
Mix everything together so the pesto gets into the nooks and crannies of the shells.
Take your time and enjoy all of the elements. Don't put your fork into the tomatoes, scoop them up and when you bite into them, they are little explosions of juicy tomato goodness.
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