Boston Chef

Broccoli Rabe (rapini)

2012-02-02T09:36:00.000-05:00

Broccoli Rabe with quinoa, brown rice and cranberries

Broccoli rabe, aka rapini, is a member of the turnip family and is a common Italian sidedish. It has a slightly bitter quality and it reminds me of a mix of spinach, broccoli and kale. A bunch of Andy Boy brand rabe ($2.39) from the market is enough for 4 servings. It packs a good dose of Vitamins A & C as well as calcium and iron. Cooking it in the correct manner (blanching it before sauteing) will eliminate a majority of its bitterness.

What you need:

Broccoli Rabe
1 shallot, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flake
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Trim the ends and rinse the rabe to remove any dirt.
Blanch in boiling water for 3-4 minutes.
Rinse under cold water or use an ice bath to stop the cooking.
Sautee shallot and red pepper flakes in olive oil for 1 minute.
Add rabe and continue sauteeing for about 8 minutes until to stalks are just tender.
Season with salt and pepper.

Serve as a sidedish or mix it up with some quinoa and cranberries for a little salad! A super healthy dish!

Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread

2012-01-31T10:24:00.000-05:00

I was recently lent an issue of Fine Cooking magazine - and immediately decided that I had to make every single recipe in it. I haven't made them all yet, but I started out with this one that really spoke to me. Ellie Krieger is a nutritionist who hosts a show on the Food Network. I've always loved her healthier recipes, so this one for olive oil pumpkin bread made my mouth water!

I'm not a baker, but this recipe was simple and easy. I'm also watching my carbs, so the addition of whole wheat flour was particularly enticing.

Cooking spray
3-1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) whole wheat flour
3 oz. (2/3 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. table salt
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbs. unsalted pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas; optional) -- I didn't have any!

Put a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk both flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, oil, and honey until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir with a large spoon just until evenly incorporated.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to settle the batter. Sprinkle the top with the pumpkin seeds (if using), pressing them down lightly. Bake until the top is browned and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. (If the bread begins to brown too much before it’s fully baked, lay a piece of aluminum foil on top.)
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer the bread to a rack to cool completely before slicing.
Enjoy cool or re-warmed for 10 seconds in the microwave!

Garlic Scapes

2011-07-09T08:51:00.008-04:00

Garlic scapes? You're probably asking yourself, like I did... "what on earth?!?" On Saturday mornings at Klem's in Spencer, there is a cute little farmer's market - don't you just love buying local in season produce?! Makes me feel, well, healthy.

So back to the scapes... They are a new discovery for me and now I can't even fathom that I ever threw them away!! They are the green flower stalks that grow up from the garlic bulb and are cut off in the spring so that the plant can focus on the garlic bulb itself. They have a very mild garlic flavor and have a good green bean crunch. Cut it up for a salad or make some pesto with it! I opted to make a quick pasta dish with some rainbow chard that I also got at the farmer's market.

Real simple:
1. Boil some whole grain pasta and reserve a cup or so of the pasta water when it's almost done.

2. While the pasta is cooking separate the stems from the chard leaves, chop 'em and start sauteing in some olive oil. After 4 minutes, add your 1 inch chopped scapes (you will have snapped the bulbous top off them as this is not good eats.) At this point I also add some red pepper flakes.

3. Throw in your already grilled and sliced up turkey kielbasa...oh did I forget to mention the MEAT? Well, this was an afterthought and not essential to a light early summer pasta dish, but hubster wanted meat, so VOILA.

4. Then add your chard leaves and continue cooking until just wilted...add some pasta water and some freshly grated parmesan cheese and cook until thickened.

5. Add pasta and toss -- check for salt and pepper and that's it!!!

Devilish Eggs

2011-02-06T10:42:00.005-05:00

I hard cook my eggs by covering them with cold water, bringing them up to a boil and then covering them and taking them off the heat. I let them sit like that for 12 minutes and then rinse with cold water.

After they are cool, slice them lengthwise and scoop out the yolks. Mash them with a splash of rice wine vinegar, a splash of w'shire, and a 2:1 ratio of mayo to dijon. Season with salt and pepper. Place the yolk mixture into a plastic baggie and cut the bottom corner to use it like a pastry bag to fill the eggs that are waiting to be deviled! Top them off with a sprinkle of smoked Spanish paprika and you have a classic appetizer that will be gone before the Superbowl even begins! Tastes better chilled in the fridge for a coupla hours!

Shoyu Chicken

2010-08-16T15:12:00.006-04:00

In the fleeting moments I get to myself while the twins are delving into MegaBloks, stickers, or spinning around and falling down, I sometimes spy a recipe on TV that inspires me. I was flipping around the food and decor channels, and saw a sticky Asian chicken dish on Ask Aida. (I don't really get the concept of this show...why do people email or call her, only to wait for weeks or months to have their food-related question answered. Can't they just Google it and get their response instantaneously? Is this their 15 seconds of fame?)

Anyways, I missed what all the ingredients were, so I just looked up her recipe online. I didn't have any mirin, but I didn't sweat it. I just added a few dashes of w'shire sauce as well as some dry sherry and that was that. My one misstep was not slowly whisking in the cornstarch slurry. I ended up with a very sticky and yummy, yet clumpy sauce.

One other trick I learned...you can freeze ginger! Always nice to have some on hand!

Kiss my Quiche

2010-08-03T12:57:00.012-04:00

We're trying to ramp up our food blogging once again after our year-long absence, due to our now 20-month old BostonTwins.

Juggling childcare between both parents and a part-time nanny proved to be detrimental to our foodie blog - but since our move the Mom is now staying at home. This does not mean that I have more time for food-blogging - caring for these 2 buggers is hard work...most times harder than going to work believe it or not. But, here and there, I'll find some time in between naps and diaper changes to post some new recipes!

I had never made a quiche before, but I thought, hey, I'm a happy little homemaker now! I just put on my apron and got to work!

Bring 1 refrigerated pie crust to room temp and preheat oven to 350F. Sautee one small onion (diced) in some olive oil for 6-8 minutes until translucent. Set aside to cool.

Beat 8 eggs in a large bowl until frothy.

Fold in the following: 1 tsp fresh thyme, 1 tsp fresh chiffonade of basil, 6oz of well drained thawed frozen spinach, 6oz. shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup grated parmesan, and your cooled onions. I got to use fresh herbs that I have growing outside in containers...we were too late moving into our new house to start a garden -- next year!

Season with 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper and just a pinch of salt.

Place crust into 9" pie plate, trim edges and pour in egg mixture.

Bake for 50-55 minutes until top is just starting to brown and a toothpick comes out clean in the center.

This quiche was fabulous. Or at least I think it was! I really haven't eaten tons of quiche, so I'm unsure as to how it was supposed to taste -- but it was certainly a new favorite of mine. One thing that did happen was all the green stuff floated into the top 2/3...not sure why...if you know, leave a comment! Serve with a field green salad or some fruit!

Oh hello...

2010-07-26T08:26:00.004-04:00

We're still here. Cooking again - but in a new location. Got some new tricks and recipes. Hoping to start posting here with some regularity again...

Grilled/smoked chicken leg quarters with couscous and an avocado/cuke/tomato/corn/red onion/lime salsa.

Hope you're all well and cooking!

Lobster

2009-08-25T17:22:00.005-04:00

We boiled him (her?) for 6 minutes.

Had the lobster with clarified butter (simmer butter until foam bubbles up to the top and fat particles drop to the bottom - you want the clear stuff in the middle so skim the foam and pour off the clear stuff... that's clarified butter) and a chardonnay.

Miss blogging about food! When we get our lives back in order we'll be back! Promise!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

2009-03-17T09:12:00.004-04:00

Hey we're here! Hope you've been checking out Boston Twins... That kinda explains what we've been up to. But we're still here! We're still cooking when we can! And we look forward to being able to return to the cooking we love (and posting on here) in the coming months now that Ava and Colin are sleeping more (10 hours at a time!).

Corned beef and cabbage - we look forward to it every year. We got a nice, lean-looking 4lb flat cut corned beef and sliced off the layer of fat on the one side. That was key, in the past we've had corned beef that was too fatty, or the results too greasy from the fat. This one came out nice and lean.

We put the trimmed beef into our dutch oven with some halved boiling onions, a few garlic cloves, a bunch of tellicherry peppercorns, some mustard seeds, and three big bay leaves. We topped that with a can of Guinness and then filled in to above the beef with cold water. Heated that to a low boil, then covered and simmered for 3.5 hours.

Towards the end we started our veggies - first turnips, then carrots, then potatoes, and finally cabbage into a boiling pot that we had augmented with a couple scoops from that cooking liquid in the corned beef pot. When the veggies are ready, cut the beef against the grain, scoop out some veggies and apply some salt and margarine, dollop a dollop of dijon mustard next to the corned beef, and enjoy!

We loved how this lean version came out - VERY flavorful with little of that grease. PERFECT for leftover sandwiches!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Slàinte!

Pan Roasted Herb Chicken

2008-11-11T16:36:00.008-05:00

Chicken is our thing. We love cooking fish, and pork, and beef roasts, and steaks. But chicken is our go-to dish, the meat we do the most, and the one at which we are probably the best. And roasted chicken is our proverbial bread and butter.

We keep fine-tuning our methods - we tried this Julia Childs-sourced version, which came out fantastic. We've done Beer Can Chicken a few different times - comes out nice and juicy. We've done Grilled Whole Chicken - can't go wrong. All of these are great, but when we saw the method Cook's Illustrated used for their chicken (we were suckered into a subscription) - it made perfect sense.

The key to this one - remove the backbone so the chicken lays flat, stuff herb-butter-garlic mixture under the breast skin, and sear it first before moving it to the oven. Brilliant.

So that's what we did. Cut out the backbone on either side of a small broiler chicken (4lbs or less if you can get it) and lay it down, pressing it as flat as possible. For down the road: get some butter (1/2 stick) softening, preheat your oven to 450, and put a big skillet on the stovetop.

While that gets acquainted with room temperature for a few minutes - make the herb-butter-garlic by slicing and dicing up 2 garlic cloves, then dicing some fresh herbs - we used tarragon, oregano, and flat leaf parsley... a nice handful of all those. Then dice up some scallions (green parts) real thin and pile that all up on the cutting board. Sprinkle some kosher salt over that pile and a few grinds of pepper - and dice, dice, dice it all together. You'll know you have something good when you smell the results of your knifework.

Get that wonderful mixture into a bowl and add about 4 tablespoons of softened butter - and combine all of that into a paste with a fork. After combined, remove HALF of that mixture and throw that in a small bowl and leave it in the fridge until later.

Now, back to that chicken. Loosen the skin covering the breast from the "bottom" of the chicken with your fingers, and run your finger under the skin to separate from the meat. Then, take a nice sized dab (1tbls) of that herb butter and shove it under the skin on one side, pressing it down so it is spread evenly. Repeat on the other side.

After that, give the outside of the bird a salt-and-peppering, and then breast side down into your best, biggest, pre-heated-with-olive-oil skillet for a 6-minute sear.

After that, into your preheated oven as-is for 15 minutes, then take it out and turn that chicken over. Get that reserved herb butter out of the fridge, and rub it all into the seared up-side, including into those thigh and leg slices. Get it good and coated and then back into the oven breast side up for probably 20 minutes, but check your temp (looking for breast 165, thigh/leg 175).

And that's it... crispy, seared skin, really flavorful meat - buttery and herby! We made a pan gravy (we are big into perfecting gravy right now) and had it with some mashed potatoes.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2008-10-02T09:23:00.004-04:00

Ever wonder what to do with leftover chicken? Need a meal that gives you some warmth in these cooler autumn evenings? Chicken Tortilla Soup to the rescue! In the past, we’ve made good use of leftover chicken by making burritos or pot pies or chicken salad sandwiches. We’ve also made some soups before - but never this south of the border spicy soup!

Again, most of our recipes are to taste, so taste as you go and add spices when necessary. If you don't have all the spices, so be it... substitute something else or just leave it out.

Sweat 1 medium chopped onion in some olive oil over med low heat for about 10 minutes until translucent – no browning! Add 4 cloves of minced garlic and cook a couple minutes more. Add 8 cups of chicken broth along with at least 2 cups shredded cooked chicken and a 28oz can diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Add the following spices: 1 tbsp dried cilantro (not coriander – and if you have fresh cilantro add a handful at the end of cooking), 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tsp chili powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp Mexican oregano, 1/4 tsp ground chipotle, the juice of 2-3 limes and some salt and pepper of course! Let that simmer for 20 minutes to get the chicken infused with all the flavors.... then add about 16oz of corn and 32 oz of rinsed canned black beans. Let that come back up to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.

To serve, place some tortilla chips in the bottom of your bowl and ladle the soup on top. Garnish with some fresh cilantro, sour cream, cheese or avocado. The chips will get soggy and starch (and salt) up the soup nicely... Reserve some chips for crisp dipping too! If you have the time, instead of chips, you can slice up some soft corn tortillas and fry up some strips in canola oil for a fresh and crunchy garnish. Cheers to a new life for leftover chicken!

New England Clam Chowder

2008-09-18T11:35:00.010-04:00

Why did we wait so long to make this chowder? No idea, but we're glad we finally went through with it. This New England Clam Chowder was easy to make and absolutely delicious!

We researched many recipes online before settling on a version of this one for The Cliff House Clam Chowder from The Cliff House in Ogunquit, Maine. How could we go wrong with that one, right? It had all the elements we saw on the other recipes - smokey bacon and sweet onions, cubed potatoes, clam juice and cream, and chopped clams, of course!

We altered the recipe only slightly by adding a couple stalks of minced celery and increasing the recipe by half - so 1.5 of the measurements in that recipe - but not exactly 1.5 of each ingredient...

And yes, we made the full-on "Cliff House Spice Blend" with these measurements: 2 tsps oregano, 2 tsps dried parsley, 1 tsps marjoram (we didn't have marjoram, so we added some Turkish Oregano instead), 1 tsps dill, 2 tsps thyme, 2 tsps basil, 1/2 tsp sage, 2 tsps rosemary, 1 tsps tarragon, 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour, crushed in a makeshift mortar. Stored in a resealable plastic bag to refrigerate, there is WAY more than you'd need for the clam chowder, but this makes a nice spice blend for anything savory you're making...

Boil the potatoes before hand... We diced the potatoes to 1/2-inch cubes and added those and the minced celery to COLD water, covered, and brought it up to a boil, then uncovered and they're ready in 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

For the chowder, our updated ingredient list looked like this:

3 slice hickory-smoked bacon, minced
1 teaspoon butter
2 cups onion (one really nice-sized onion), minced
2 medium garlic clove, minced
1.5 teaspoon The Cliff House Spice Blend (see below)
1.5 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 can clams (6-1/2 ounces) - WITH the juice reserved!
1 cup bottled clam juice
2.5 cups Half and Half
1 teaspoon white pepper
3 medium potatoes AND two stalks of celery, peeled, diced, and boiled.

This candle did nothing to stop the tears caused by that onion...

Then, we just followed their directions, our comments in bold:

In a heavy-bottomed dutch oven sauté bacon, butter, onion, garlic and The Cliff House Spice Blend over low heat. Do not allow to brown - very important! Even if it does brown a little, don't scrape those brown bits up like you would in other deglazed sauces!.

Drain clams and set aside, reserving the juice. Slowly stir the flour and clam juices in the sauté mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Add Half and Half and simmer 20 minutes. Carefully watch the temp during this time - getting just the right simmer is tough with the 1/2-n-1/2. Add white pepper, potatoes and clams. Add the potatoes first, wait a couple minutes, then finally add the clams! Heat to serving temperature. Do not allow to boil, as this toughens the clams. Serve at once.

Absolutely delicious - the sweet, sweated onions and the salty clams with the smokey bacon is perfect. The creamy texture with the soft potatoes is great with a piece of crusty bread - or oyster crackers! Best part is that it's even better the next day... but what soup isn't?

Chicken Pad Thai

2008-08-27T18:59:00.009-04:00

Ever been intimidated by all the ingredients that go into making Pad Thai? Yeah, so was I. Finally I gave it a shot this week; and even though I couldn't find one key ingredient at the store (tamarind paste), I did not give up on the dish. I found that tamarind paste provides the dish with a sour tang that can be mimicked with some lime juice, white vinegar and a bit more brown sugar than was planned. Crisis averted!

My recipe is not precise as far as the sauce goes, but taste as you go and remember that the sauce needs to be a bit strong since it will coat a ton of rice noodles. I added roughly 1/2 cup lite soy sauce, 1/2 cup H2O, juice of about 3 limes, a splash of white vinegar, 1 tsp or 2 of Sriracha chili sauce, 1/2 tsp garlic powder (too lazy to chop fresh stuff), 1/2 tsp of low sodium chicken bouillion, and about 1/2 cup light brown sugar.

Whisk those ingredients together and set aside while, in another bowl, covering the rice noodles with very hot tap water and let sit for 15 minutes - according to my noodle package's directions. They will still be al dente and ready to finish cooking later...

Coat a hot wok (or large pan) with oil and then add some raw thinly sliced chicken breast that you marinated in about 2 tsp cornstarch and some soy sauce. Brown for about 6-8 minutes until done. Remove from wok and add some more oil. To this add about 8oz shredded carrots and 1 bunch of sliced scallions. Throw in 2 scarmbled eggs as well. After 2 minutes, add your SAUCE! Let this cook down for about 3 more minutes and then add your al dente rice noodles. Allow this entire mixture to absorb some of the sauce for 3 minutes, add the chicken back, and then throw in some bean sprouts. Traditionally, uncooked sprouts are put on top of the dish during plating, but apparently this poses a slight risk for pregnant women so we heated ours through.

Serve up the Pad Thai with another lime wedge, some cilantro and some peanuts, and more hot Sriracha if you are like Michael! Honestly, I was amazed at how much this tasted like Pad Thai from a resto and I didn't need to buy that $5 jar of pre-made sauce from the market!

Aroostook County Bounty

2008-08-06T19:10:00.008-04:00

We were up in northern Maine last weekend and we quickly discovered that the abundance of rain they'd received in June had flooded the riverbanks and allowed the reeds to grow up to forest-like proportions. This meant that even with waders, we just couldn't get past the reeds in order to cast even with just a spinner rod. Walking around these reed forests in the mud in waders is no fun when you're over 18 weeks pregnant with twins!! Alas, this meant that no fishing was to be had unless we had a boat, which we didn't even think to bring.

As sad as Michael, the fishing addict, was - I knew that all the rain also meant that as long as the farmers wore their mudding boots, they'd be able to pull out some mid-summer crops. Specifically I was on the hunt for new white potatoes and string beans. New potatoes just taste so darn good, and since I'm biased coming from a potato-farming family from Aroostook County, I think new MAINE potatoes are the best around.

Simply wash off the dirt from the potatoes and place them in a pot with the trimmed string beans. If some potatoes are a bit larger, just halve them. No need to peel the tender peels off, they are quite edible and rather tasty! Cover the veggies with water, bring to a boil with the lid on (it's faster that way!!), and keep a close watch on them though because once at a boil it'll froth up and over due to the starch in the spuds. Boil for about 20 minutes until fork tender.

I know that the beans will look way overcooked, more so than we usually like, but for this dish, that's what I intend! Serve up with a smidgeon of margarine or butter on the spuds and some salt and pepper and you're good to go. I like my served up with a simple steak with a dollop of A1 sauce on the side, but clearly the stars of the show come from the Crown of Maine.

In Memory

2008-08-05T11:42:00.003-04:00

We are very sad to learn that one of our favorite food bloggers, Sher at What Did You Eat?, has passed away.

Sher had a great blog and we loved to read about her adventures with food and small animals - two things we also love. We would regularily visit her blog to read her updates and find out what she was up to...

Sher would leave many encouraging comments on our posts that we always looked forward to and enjoyed receiving.

Our thoughts are with her family and we hope she rests in peace.

Fluke Florentine

2008-07-29T14:17:00.011-04:00

I had an opportunity to go offshore fishing from Newport, Rhode Island with some old high school friends. We caught a few bluefish and a bunch of fluke - aka Summer Flounder. This fish is delicious simply pan-fried with a little salt and pepper, which we had the night I returned from the trip. The next night, we decided to do something a little more elaborate with these sweet whitefish fillets...

The victim.

This Florentine is very simple - sautee one small diced onion, then add a can of petite diced tomatoes, a little white wine, and a little salt and pepper. Add that to a bowl of de-thawed frozen spinach and mix togther. Pour it over the fillets, cover with aluminum, and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. That's it!

This came out wonderfully, the fluke is a great, versatile ocean fish. We also made some bluefish cakes with those fillets... we'll post that later! Here's one of the Blues we caught!

Don't forget to check out Boston Twins!

Big Messy Salad

2008-06-25T11:04:00.003-04:00

Head over to Boston Twins to read about an old favorite of ours - the Big Messy Salad.

Welcome to Boston Twins!

2008-06-20T11:41:00.002-04:00

We have a pretty good reason why our posts have been so few and far between these days – morning sickness! Or should I say all-day sickness..? Yes, we at Boston Chef are pleased to announce that we are now also Boston Twins!

That’s right, our little comfy twosome will be doubling by year’s end, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Aside from ravioli, nothing was appetizing to me for the first few weeks, but I’ve hopefully crossed into at state of just being hungry all the time. M still needs to prepare the raw meats for me, because raw meat is pretty gross.

For anyone going through morning sickness, some of the things that helped alleviate the nausea for me were saltines, ginger ale, carbonated water and ginger snaps. I keep crackers on my nightstand due to the fact that I will wake up in the middle of the night with a pit of hunger in my stomach! I'll post some more morning sickness remedies in the near future.

I am already putting on some weight but hopefully I won’t get too Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man-y, and instead I’ll have nice thick long hair, perfect nails, a healthy glow and will look super-cute in a sundress. I’m already measuring 16 weeks plus even though I’m just 12 weeks, hence none of my clothes fit. It’s a shopaholic’s dream to have to buy a whole new wardrobe, yet remain on a budget! Also more on maternity clothes - and shopping - soon...

And for the important part, here’s a picture of our last ultrasound taken at 11 weeks!

Poached Brook Trout and Fiddleheads - Caribou, Maine

2008-05-28T11:41:00.011-04:00

We headed North for our yearly Memorial Day trip to Caribou, Maine to visit with family, help around the house, and do some Aroostook River trout fishing.

After a cool and rainy Saturday of fishing, the weather cleared and was absolutely beautiful on Sunday. We spent the morning and again later in the evening on the riverside; walking around in our waders in the water, hunting fiddleheads for photos, seeing otters jump in the water beside us, and fishing for trout around the currents and inlets feeding the vast, swollen river.

All fish were safely released, save for this 16-inch, 1.75-pound, absolute beauty of a Brook Trout - which we kept for dinner.

We cleaned the trout by removing the head, making a slit up it's belly and removing the guts, scoring and scraping out the blood vessel on the underside of the spine, and rinsing inside and out really well.

After drying with a paper towel, we rubbed a thin layer of olive oil inside and out, followed by a Lemon Pepper seasoning mix. A few lemon slices and chopped chives in the cavity, and we folded it all up in an aluminum foil pouch, leaving one end open. Into that open end we poured about a 1/3-cup of white wine, then we sealed it up tightly.

That beautiful trout poached on a medium-high grill for what should have been 10-12 minutes (we went too long by accident, 10-12 minutes is the right time). Then, remove carefully and slide that fresh trout meat right off the little bones. So fresh and delicious - on the table just an hour after it was caught.

With our wonderful local Brook Trout, we had locally harvested, riverbed-grown Fiddleheads - par-boiled for 10 minutes and then sauteed with butter until soft and delicious. A very local meal, thanks to the Aroostook.

We had a great trip and can't wait to head up again in September for some end-of-the-season trout fishing.

Sweet Potato Chips

2008-05-08T15:10:00.007-04:00

We sure do love our Sweet Potatoes!

We've grilled them, we've roasted them, we've mashed them, and we've baked them. But up until now, we haven't "fried" them!

Well, we hadn't in a long time, at least. We decided to revisit this old favorite when the oven was occupied (at too low a temp) and the grill was covered in the rain. How could we cook our sweet potatoes? Thinly sliced and fried in canola oil!

So we brought a thin layer - about 1/3 of an inch - of canola oil up to about 350 degrees in a big pan and we peeled a nice-sized sweet potato. Then we sliced it up as thinly as possible. The thinner the better - thin slices crisp up nice and evenly when frying, while thicker slices will still be a little mushy in the middle (which isn't bad, either!). Using a mandolin might help here...

Into the oil they go in batches - leave plenty of room! Depending on their thickness they'll go 5-7 minutes total, turning once or twice, or until they are just getting a nice tan color and begin to stiffen up. Don't go TOO long, they'll crisp up as they dry. Use your first batch as a test batch (trust us, they'll be eaten well before dinner, anyway).

When the batch is ready to come out, lay them down on some paper towels and dab dry the top with some more towels, then immediately season. We went with some kosher salt and cajun seasoning - but you could go any direction here: parsley and herbs, salt and pepper, garlic and onion, parmesan, or even go sweet with some cinnamon.

These came out great! At least 1/2 of them didn't even make it til dinner time - you have to test for doneness, yaknow!

Stuffed Green Peppers

2008-05-04T11:42:00.013-04:00

We really can't believe that we haven't posted this recipe before - as we have made it many times! It all stems from a dish my Mom used to make that involved chopped up peppers and onions with ground beef, rice and a tomato sauce. We do like to stuff food, especially when you can eat the container it's served in! In the past we've stuffed acorn squash, chicken, pork chops - among other things - and tonight we shall stuff green bell peppers.

I must admit, I kinda cheated with this time because I did not make the rice part from scratch. Instead I used a box and a half of Rice-a-Roni Whole Grain Spanish Rice which saved time and tasted pretty good! So as this takes roughly 25 minutes, I started this first.

In another large pot, I brought some water up to boil in order to parboil our green peppers, from which I removed the tops and the inner membranes and seeds. Boil 4 peppers for 5-10 minutes until they are just fork tender, but not overcooked.

While all this was happening (many burners needed although if you are well prepared, trust me, it's not too chaotic!), I browned 1.25lbs ground turkey. After browned, I removed and began to sweat 1 medium diced onion over lowish heat for about 10 minutes. Then I added 15oz petite diced tomatoes and 8-16oz of tomato sauce depending on your tomato-y preferences. The turkey was added back along with a pinch of saffron, 1/2tbsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder (I had forgotten the fresh stuff), and 1 tsp Mexican oregano. Now I had made 2 boxes worth of the rice, but only added about 75% of what I had made... it just depends on how ricey you want this dish. After a stir, I gave it a taste and added salt and pepper to my liking.
Spoon the mixture into the peppers which are now in a 9 x 13" baking dish. Top it off with some shredded cheese and put into a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown. Another option is to put chunks of cheese into the turkey rice mixture when you've taken it off the heat before spooning into the peppers... this way you'll have cheesey goodness all thoughout the pepper.

Pickles x 2

2008-04-27T18:44:00.007-04:00

This post is a 2-fer - I was saving up the first recipe until I tried another bright idea. Last year I made pickled pink beets & eggs and not only were they pretty, but also extremely delicious. Again this year for Easter I whipped up a batch of these beauties and they did not disappoint!

To revisit... fill your pot with half water, half cider vinegar and bring to a simmer with 1 can whole beets and their juices, 1/2 to 1 cup brown sugar (taste it and add to your liking!), and a dash of cinnamon. After simmering for ~10 minutes, turn off the heat and add your already peeled and hard cooked eggs. Let that sit out at room temp until cool. Transfer to your fridge liquid and all where they will keep for at least a week.

Bright idea #2 came to me the day I made the picked eggs, but it took about a month to implement. We love giardinera in our house... if you are unfamiliar with this super yummy jar of goodness, it is a mix of spicy and pickled veggies like carrots, peppers and cauliflower. So I thought, what if I culd recreate this at home and add EGGS? Genius? Probably not, but I felt like one at that moment! I kind of came up with this on the fly, so bear with me.

Same as above - pot with half water, but this time I used half white vinegar instead of the cider vinegar. I used white sugar instead of brown and added some Kosher salt as well. At this point, I tasted as it's important to have the sour salty and sweet nicely balanced. I'd say about 1/2 cup white sugar and 2 tsps of salt, but it depends of how big a a pot you use (mine holds 8 cups).

Then I added at least 1 tbsp of crushed red pepper flakes, about 15 whole black peppercorns, 1 tsp mustard seed, and a couple of jalapeno rings for garnish. Most of the spicy flavor will come from the flakes. Follow the recipe from above, simmer 10 minutes, turn off heat then add your eggs and veggies. For veggies, I used frozen crinkle cut carrots and cauliflower. If you want to use fresh veggies, steam or parboil them first.

These were superbly tangy with a kick of hot in the aftertaste...perfect little pickles for your next soon-to-be-summer BBQ!

Apple Cornbread Stuffed-and-Grilled Pork Chops

2008-04-22T19:12:00.009-04:00

This one is a keeper... the crumbled cornbread is mixed with diced apple sautéed in butter and - while the pork chops are grilling - the juices combine with the cornbread stuffing and make such a great sweet, grilled flavor. Yum - we'd like to serve this for guests sometime soon... anyone free this weekend???

We start off by making our Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread. Although we had to use lowfat milk instead of buttermilk and didn't go with the bacon this time, still came out sweet and corny (ha). The great thing about this recipe is that we'll only use maybe 1/4 of that skillet of cornbread - the rest is for us to enjoy!

This recipe was cribbed from notes of an Alton Brown preparation of some Stuffed, Grilled Pork Chops, and you'd never believe it - but he brined them first! (He brines everything.) So, so did we - in cold water, kosher salt, about a cup of cider vinegar, maybe a 1/4-cup of brown sugar, and some Tellicherry peppercorns. Combined well, we added our bone-in pork chops - about 1" thick - and they took a swim for a couple of hours.

After the brine the pork chops will have taken on a little gray color on the very outside, just as you would see on a brisket or other cut of meat that you are brining with vinegar (unless you add nitrates to keep it pink). Don't even worry about that gray color - that just means you did it right.

So, 1" bone-in pork chops brined and cornbread cooling... the final piece of this puzzle is one diced Braeburn apple, sautéed in about a 1/3 stick of butter along with a little sprinkle of brown sugar and a pinch of salt. When cooked soft, add that apple-butter mixture to 1/4 of your cornbread that has been crumbled into a bowl - and mix together to make your stuffing.

Assembly: cut an incision into the "top" meaty part of your pork chops with a sharp-tipped knife and cut through the middle of that meat to make a pocket for your stuffing. Then, stuff. As much apple cornbread mixture you can fit, and flatten it down in the chop to distribute evenly. Repeat.

A simple salt and pepper and sweet paprika sprinkle on the outside of your pork chops and onto a hot medium-high grill for 3 minutes, then "twist" (or rotate) 90-degrees to create the grill cross marks (thanks, Alton) and go 2 more minutes. Then flip, 3 minutes, rotate 90-degrees, 2 minutes, done. After a few minutes cooling time, you're ready to eat.

We had ours with some sautéed swiss chard with raisins. Remove the red ribs from the chard, dice them up and add to a large pan that already is warmed with some olive oil. Sautée for just a couple of minutes and then add a handful of raisins and 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and add the greens which you have roughly chopped. Let those wilt for about 5 minutes, and some salt and pepper to taste and you have a great healthy sidedish. The sweetness of the raisins balances out the slight bitterness of the chard.

The pork chops with their cornbread and apples and paprika crust came out so wonderfully charred and sweet, so moist, and so flavorful... we were in love. Along with the swiss chard with it's sweet, plumped raisins and a little slice of cornbread, this meal is definitely a keeper. Come on over!

Pig Trotters

2008-04-15T09:16:00.012-04:00

As we've learned from some of our favorite Food television personalities - Anthony Bourdain, Mario Batali, Andrew Zimmern - and the worldwide Michelin Star chefs that they visit with on their shows, some of the best and most-flavorful cuts of meat are often the ones generally left unused. The offal, the cheeks, the tails, the gizzards, the marrow, the entrails, the feet - these life-long, 80-hour-a-week chefs swear by them and seek them out. Despite the "Boston Chef" name, we are not chefs. But we do like to learn from chefs and experiment with that knowledge.

So, pigs feet. $.99/lb at the grocery store, split in half and pointing at us - beckoning us to give them a shot.

This occasion is one of many in which we buy something at the store with no idea of how to cook it, then we furiously scan the internet for ideas and recipes when we get home. We decided we'd do an amalgamation of a few recipes we ended up finding, chiefly from these wonderful new blogs we've discovered: Slurp & Burp and In Praise of Sardines.

So we first blanched our trotters for 5 minutes in boiling water as a preliminary cleaning, then added them back to the rinsed pot along with an onion and a few stalks of celery cut into 1" chunks, a few peeled cloves of garlic, a big bay leaf, a handful of peppercorns and a few whole dried cloves - and covered all of that with cold water.

We brought that back to a boil, covered tightly, and let them go for 3.5 hours. Although the recipes we referenced noted we'd have to skim the fat during that simmer time, we never had much fat boil up to the top - so we just let those trotters go! After that time, we removed the now falling-apart pig's feet and let them cool until they could be handled.

Then we picked them apart. The skin was peeled off and set aside, and everything else - the meat, the tendons, the cartilage, the gelatine - was removed from the bones and placed in a bowl. Everything that wasn't bone was going back in to be eaten.

After the bones had been cleaned of meat, we cut up part of the skin and added that back to the meat mixture - maybe 1/8 of the final product consisted of the skin. Then we chopped all of that mixture together into a sort of ground meat consistency and put it in a bowl. To that, we added the chopped green ends of a baby vidalia onion (the "onion" part of which was being used elsewhere), kosher salt and ground black pepper, and about a tablespoon of dijon mustard.

After mixed together, we packed our concoction into two oven-safe ramekins...

...topped them with a thin layer of breadcrumbs, and placed the ramekins in a larger pan for handling's sake.

And we put them into a 450-degree oven. After about 10 minutes, the pork mixture was bubbling up and the bread crumbs were beginning to cook. We wanted that topping toasted and crunchy, so we fired up the broiler and moved the ramekins right up under the blue-hot flame and watched closely. Another couple of minutes and they were done.

To counteract the meaty dish, we prepared a briny "salsa" of capers, a diced pickle (it's LIKE a cornichon!), some leftover onion greens, a dab of anchovy paste and a dab of dijon, some olive oil and some red wine vinegar. Then, we topped a bed of baby arugula with the salsa and - after the trotter dish had cooled just a little - ate it.

The pigs feet were very good - much as noted over at In Praise of Sardines, the resulting meat is unctuous. It has a gelatine consistency that alone would not stand up but - when combined with a little crunchy breadcrumb crust, a crisp arugula leaf and the briny salsa - has a deep mellow pork flavor that was wonderful. Getting that balanced fork-full of pork, crust, arugula, and salsa resulted in a perfect bite - and there were those few bits of very dark meat/marrow that were the real prizes in the hot little ramekins.

Would we do it again? Maybe, maybe not - it was alot of work. But what we WILL do is look for Pig's Trotters - and cheeks, and offal, and marrow, and tails - when we're out at our favorite restaurants!

Sausage Stuffed Chicken with Braised Endive

2008-04-11T08:40:00.005-04:00

We were watching Food Trip with Todd English on WGBH here in Boston - which is now in HD! - one lazy Saturday morning. This morning was the first time we'd seen this show, Todd English goes on road trips around the U.S. checking out local cuisine with chefs in different areas of the country. On this episode he was in the Southwest learning about eating cactus and which greens grow in the desert - plus, he visited a local chef who made sausage-stuffed quail. We though that was a great idea, we've always stuffed chicken "roll-ups" with ham and other items - but never sausage.

So we gave it a shot - we butterflied and pounded flat some 1/2 chicken breasts and seasoned inside and out with salt, pepper, and an Italian seasoning mix (basil, oregano, fennel). Then, we simply added a couple of tablespoons of sweet Italian sausage (rolled sort of lengthwise) and a sage leaf to the middle of the flattened chicken. No need for toothpicks, you can just fold the chicken over the sausage and form it back into a half breast.

To cook - our new favorite method of pan sauteeing to brown over pretty high heat, then into a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. These came out pretty good, the less sausage the better - so it can keep up with the cooking time of the chicken. We'll certainly be trying this one again. With this we had braised Belgian endive...

Belgian endive reminds me of my time living in France when I was a young college girl. My French mother introduced me to a plethora of new foods and new ways to eat foods that I already loved. Madame Chesneau was my Julia Child -- she gave me the ideas and tools that will forever be a part of my kitchen experience. For the endive, she would serve a raw leaf with cheese and dried fruits. Or perhaps it would be sliced in a salad or braised. When braised, it is an interesting light veggie that is slight sweet and bitter.

At the store pick endives that have their leaves intact, not bruised and that are creamy white with yellowish-green tips. Slice it lengthwise without removing the root end. In a heavy bottom pan, melt 1-2 tbsp of unsalted butter and when bubbly, add the endives cut side down. Let that sautee/carmelize for about 5 minutes on that side, and then turn for a few minutes more. Return the endive to the first position and add some chicken stock (want the liquid to be at least 1/2 inch deep) salt and pepper, some lemon juice and a little bit of sugar. Cover, turn to medium low and let braise for 20 minutes. The liquid will actually turn a bit milky in its appearance, and that's ok.

The endive came out tangy and sweet and really tasty! Still a little firm at the "ends", was a great side with rice and the chicken...

Lamb Chops and Mint Mashed Potatoes

2008-03-28T12:53:00.005-04:00

These free range Australian lamb chops were easy - they were tiny little T-bones of lamb loin chops (not shoulder, which is much tougher) which only needed to be pan-sautéed for a couple minutes on each side for to be done medium rare.

After a simple hour-long marinade in olive oil, ground pepper, and fresh mint and parsley - these went into a hot, oiled pan. Three minutes on side A, turn and two minutes on side B and then take them out and let them rest... Make sure your mashed potatoes are ready to go, because this tender, flavorful lamb won't last long after a few minutes rest! And - the only way to eat these was to pick them up and gnaw all the meat off - down to the bone!

I admit that I saw this on 30 Minute Meals avec Rachel Ray. She gets a bad rap, but once and awhile she has very cool recipe ideas - and this was one of them. Simply put some peeled and cubed Yukon Gold potatoes into some cold water, and bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. After draining, in the same pot I melted some butter and sautéed a couple cloves of garlic until soft, then I added some thawed frozen green peas.

After those were warmed through, I put the potatoes back in the pot, added some milk (you could get decadent with cream!), S&P and some chopped up fresh mint and flat-leaf parsley (about 1/2-cup of each) - and mashed it all together with my potato masher!

These mashed potatoes had such a Spring-like fresh quality to them, and they went very well with the lamb. Welcome, spring! We're ready!

Puffy Oven Pancake

2008-03-24T15:35:00.009-04:00

We couldn't believe that we hadn't posted our Puffy, Fluffy, Oven-Baked German Pancake before! This recipe is a favorite of ours going back a few years - a great brunch item, easy to make and VERY tasty. We usually make this oven pancake in a glass baking dish but decided to try the cast iron skillet this time - it didn't really work out (stuck to the bottom, didn't fully "puff") so we'll be using the glass dish going foward. Same exact recipe, but we'd recommend using the glass dish or pie pan.

First, oven goes to 400 degrees. When getting close to being preheated, throw 2 tbls of butter into that glass pie dish and let it preheat in the oven - to get it the butter all melted and everything heated up.

Lightly beat 2 eggs in a bowl, then add 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of milk, and a little pinch of salt. Combine until just smooth. Also, cut up a good baking apple (Golden Delicious, for example) into thin wedges or rounds.

Take the hot pan out - with potholders! - and brush the butter around so it fully coats the dish. Then sprinkle about 2 tbls of brown sugar and some shakes of cinnamon onto the bottom of the dish and lay down your apples in one layer.

Finally, pour the batter over the apples.

Into the oven for 25 minutes and your puffy and golden brown and delicious! Carefully flip it out and over onto your plate so the brown apple bottom is facing up - a little sweet with the flavor of baked apple... like a pastry! We like ours with an egg over easy and a cup of coffee.

Corned Beef and Cabbage and Turnip and Carrot and Potato

2008-03-17T10:33:00.010-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Although today is actually St. Patrick's Day, we celebrated along with the rest of the city of Boston yesterday - a day early. We were up having breakfast and watching the Annual St. Patrick's Day Breakfast (it is kind of a political "roast" they have every year in Southie - check out some pics) and then we watched some of the parade - from the comfort of our warm, dry kitchen! It was pretty cold and damp yesterday...

Following a couple of Guinnesses after lunch, we started up our Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner by placing our 4lb flat cut corned beef in our dutch oven, along with a cut-up onion, six garlic cloves, a bunch of peppercorns and corriander and mustard seeds, and bay leaves... and yet another big pint of Guinness Stout. We topped that with cold water and brought it up to a boil, then covered and reduced to a simmer - for 3.5 hours.

Towards the end of that process, we started another pot going - in which to boil our veggies - with water, a big scoop of the cooking liquid from the corned beef pot, some low sodium beef stock powder, more pepper and mustard and corriander. First into that boiling flavored liquid went big turnip chunks, then 5 minutes later carrots, then 10 minutes later potatoes, then 5 minutes later cabbage. After maybe 15 more minutes we were ready to go.

We didn't get many good pics because we dug right in to this tender, flavorful meat too quickly. The flat cut we bought this year didn't have nearly the fat that the point cut from last year had - and we agreed it was MUCH better this way! The meat was still delicious and buttery - without all THAT MUCH fat mixed in.

As we ate we decided that - next year - we'll try to corn our own beef brisket!

Check out previous St. Patrick's Days:
* Last year's Corned Beef
* Lamb Stew from 2006

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Cead Mile Failte!

Catching Up

2008-03-14T09:09:00.037-04:00

Catching up with a few things while wondering what could be better than the crispy wing tips off a just-roasted chicken...

The beautifully roasted chicken seen here came out perfectly - VERY juicy white meat, buttery dark meat, and yummy crispy skin. We are on the constant hunt for recipes that turn out the perfect roast chicken - as you can see from all our previous attempts. The latest recipe we tried - with much success - was this one from... Molecular Solutions? The recipe is from 1967 Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child and it involved cooking the chicken on it's sides - which I still can't figure out. However, as they say on their site, if you follow the recipe "the chicken will, indeed, be perfect."

WE WON! WE WON! We won the Cool Beans contest over at Just Braise! We beat the 1-in-8 odds (a 12.5% chance!) and received our prize of a shipment of Cool Beans Dips at our doorstep this week! As you might expect, these were opened immediately and enjoyed with some chips and crackers. These blended, flavored Northern Beans-and-olive oil dips are delicious, they taste just like something we'd blend up in the food processor ourselves. The Hot and Spicy was just that - with a nice spicy kick. The Roasted Garlic had a great mellow roasted garlic and a little salt and lemon flavor - we had this spread on a ham sandwich with yummy results. The Carmelized Onion is the only one we've yet to crack - I don't think we'll hold out long. THANKS to Stacey at Just Braise and the Cool Beans Guys. We see that you can get them at our old grocery store - Foodie's Urban Market - in the South End of Boston on Washington, in addition to many other locations...

We received an email from old friend Jaye at Butta Buns letting us know that there is a Dessert Tasting Fundraiser being held on Saturday, March 29th at the Vietnamese American Community Center in Fields Corner, Dorchester. How can you go wrong when you're raising funds AND having dessert??? Check out her Attention Boston Area Bakers and Dessert Lovers post for more details - we may have to take the T over for some of those Bacon Peanut Butter Muffins she's making!

Finally, we were away for a while in Sunny Rochester, NY visiting with the Brother and Sister-in-Law of Boston Chef. While there, Brother Chef made a yummy Texas-style (no beans!) chili that had great smokey ancho flavor - which we ate over some cornbread. He ALSO made a very nice shrimp-and-chicken pad thai...

But the REAL reason we went was to hang out with our little nephews! Jack made a visit to Boston back in May of 2006, but - as you can see below - he's grown up a little since then. Here he is enjoying his 3rd Birthday Cake!

Plus, he's got a new little brother who ALSO enjoys cake - perhaps even moreso!!!

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Wonton Soup

2008-03-03T11:25:00.004-05:00

These wontons were delicious and the soup was JUST what the doctor ordered on a cold New England night... plus, we were able to freeze a few dozen wontons for later consumption! We were inspired after seeing the Wonton Soup over at Just Braise.

For the wontons, we cut a wedge of cabbage (maybe 1/8th of the head), about six baby bella mushrooms, 1 peeled carrot, 4 stalks of scallion/green onion, two cloves of garlic, and an inch-long wedge of fresh ginger.... and threw ALL of that into our little mini food processor and chopped them up good.

Then, we added those diced veggies to 1lb of ground pork and threw in a couple tablespoons of soy sauce and some liberal sprinkles of crushed red pepper. We folded all of that together until combined.

To make the wontons, we had our refrigerated wonton wrappers, a small bowl of water, a plastic cutting board, and our mixture. Take a wrapper, dip your finger in the water and moisten the four edges, scoop a spoonful of mixture into the middle of the wrapper, fold over and press to seal the edges. Then, indent the bottom and twist around to pinch the edges together with a little more water.

Or, just watch this!

Repeat 50 times.

Steam these for 6 minutes and set aside. Then, you can add them back to your near-finished soup to reheat. Next time, we'll probably just boil them in with the soup. Later, dethaw some of the wontons that you froze and pan-fry them!

For the soup, we brought about 10cups of chicken and veggie broth to a slow boil and further flavored it with 1tsp dried basil, 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 1 tsp Penzey’s Lemon Pepper, 1/8 tsp Chinese 5 Spice, juice of 1 lime and 1 tsp Sriracha. To the broth, I added half a head of shredded green cabbage, 1 bunch of scallions sliced on the diagonal and 7 sliced baby bella mushrooms.

As soon as the cabbage was wilted, and we had added the already cooked wontons to the soup to let them heat through and that was it! Wonderful, and - as usual - even better reheated the next day!

Braised Beef Roast with Puréed Veggie Gravy

2008-02-28T13:20:00.009-05:00

This puréed veggie gravy - sweet and tangy, thick and flavorful - MADE this dish. The "gravy" is really nothing more than the veggies that cooked with the beef roast - red peppers, carrots, and onion - blended with the roast beef juice and deglaze sauce from the roasting dish. So easy and SO delicious.

First, season a 4lb beef/pot roast with black pepper and smoked paprika (save the salt for now, it'll dry out the meat) and brown on high heat in a big, oiled skillet on all sides. When all sides are browned, move to your roasting/braising dish or slow cooker. Also, get that oven to 300 degrees if you plan on cooking everything in there...

Have your sous chef cut up a big red bell pepper, a couple of carrots, and a nice-sized onion in to chunks of ~1 inch - and just peel and barely break-up a few cloves of garlic. Add those raw veggies to your roasting dish. If you do not have a sous chef, give us a call and we'll come over to help you make - and eat - this meal.

Pour one cup of red wine - along with two tablespoons of red wine vinegar - into the skillet you used to brown the beef and deglaze, stirring up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add 1 can (8oz) of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a good amount of salt and pepper. Continue to stir and bring up to a nice hot temperature.

Pour that mixture all over the meat and veggies, cover tightly, and add to the oven. You're going to be looking at ~45 minutes/pound of slow and low cooking, and probably 3 hours in an actual slow cooker. This cooking length will cook the meat thoroughly - we're going for a real braised, pull-apart doneness with this one - but you could certainly go for ~20 minutes/pound for a more medium-rare doneness, remove the beef, and then keep cooking the veggies...

Take out your roast and set aside, covered. Next - if you have a hand blender, remove half of the veggies AND half of the liquid from the pan and add to a smaller saucepan and give those veggies a whir until they are combined. If you don't have a hand blender, you could do this in a food processor. Or, you could get that sous chef to mash everything up with a potato ricer and combine!

Taste the "gravy" for seasoning and add more of your liquid if too thick, more veggies if too thin. Pour over some of your beef roast and add some of the other half of veggies and enjoy! We also had boiled some turnip and cabbage to have along with the beef and veggies.

Ours came out great - the veggie sauce/gravy was sweet from the peppers and carrots and tangy from the vinegar and delicious. Where this REALLY shined was the next day, when we sliced some of the beef real thin and warmed it up on the stovetop IN the gravy.... then we plated it on a piece of bread, open-faced sandwich style! Yum!

Buttermilk Bacon Skillet Cornbread

2008-02-26T09:57:00.014-05:00

Our first attempt at cornbread came out tasting unfamiliar to us - it was dry, it wasn't sweet, it was crumbly... we were like eh? what happened to this?

Little did we know - there is a difference between Northern (where we're from) and Southern (where we're not) cornbread. Unfortunately, we only discovered this AFTER we got our cornbread recipe out of the otherwise-fantastic Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. This invaluable recipe resource was a wedding gift to us from my cousin Emily and her family - and it's been used quite a bit.

However, this Southern cornbread recipe - one tablespoon sugar? Shortening, not butter? We gave it a shot and later - through online research - learned that Southern cornbread is more of an everyday bread so it's less sweet and more like actual bread. The cornbread WE were looking for was the denser, sweeter cornbread we were used to - being, youknow, from the North and all...

So we gave it a second shot and scored a homerun with this Northern Bacon Skillet Cornbread... It was sweet and smokey and delicious.

4 bacon slices, cooked and bacon fat preserved
1 cups corn meal
1 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened

Preheat your oven to 425 and cook up your bacon. Drain the bacon pieces on paper towels and pour out the bacon drippings into a small bowl. When cooled, break up the bacon into ~1/4 inch chunks.

Take your cast-iron skillet and pour in the ~2 tablespoons bacon drippings (or just use a 13x9x2-inch metal or glass baking pan). Tilt skillet to coat bottom and sides of pan with bacon drippings. (Or, if cooked earlier and the bacon drippings have congealed, you can use a paper towel and just "grease" the skillet as you would with shortening.) Place skillet in oven until bacon drippings are hot, about 6 minutes.

While that's heating, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into large bowl - and add the cornmeal. Stir in sugar. Whisk eggs and softened butter in another bowl to blend, then add to dry ingredients along with the buttermilk. Stir - "creaming" the butter in with a fork - just until blended. Before your very last stir, throw in the bacon chunks and perform the final stir...

Transfer batter to that prepared hot baking pan - batter should sizzle when it hits the pan. Bake corn bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean and top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool as long as you can stand, but best warm! Cut corn bread into wedges - or squares - and enjoy.

Dense, smokey, sweet, crispy edges, cakey inside... We enjoyed ours with a great field greens salad with beets and oranges, and a nice piece of one of two chickens - hot off the grill outside! Grilled chickens, cornbread, and salad - our own version of Southern Cooking!

Fondue 2008

2008-02-25T13:18:00.007-05:00

It’s time for our yearly installment of melted cheese - our Valentine's Day tradition. Last year, we said we were going to try smoked gouda for this year's cheese selection, but we got sidetracked. Michael was in Milton trying to find some Kirsch - we had run out last year and our local package stores didn’t carry the firewater.

Across the street from a liquor store, he spied a cute little wine and cheese shop called Esprit du Vin, so he thought he’d check it out. After explaining to the cheese purveyor what our plan was, she said no no no, you must try Comté along with your Gruyere. Comté is a French Gruyere that is very mild in flavor, very reminiscent of a baby swiss, it’s light and fairly neutral thereby balancing out the stronger Swiss Gruyere.

So that’s what we went with this year folks – you can find exact recipes in some of our old posts. And as per usual, we dunked steamed broccoli, grilled kielbasa, Fuji apples, French bread and some raw red peppers. Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Perfect Pork Chop

2008-02-21T10:19:00.007-05:00

Boneless pork chops are just so tempting when you're browsing the meat department at the local mega-grocery store, trying to think of something to make. They are the perfect serving-size, they look easy to cook (sans bones), they are healthy (pretty much), and they hint at being tasty (they ARE pork, after all).

But then you grill them, or pan-saute them, or bake them (shake-and-bake or otherwise) and you end up with DRY, flavorless pork. Your cuts of meat have turned into warm styrofoam and you - at least WE! - are disappointed with our choice, once again.

But wait! What is the method that we see in open kitchens in restaurants we visit and on the chef's stations of cooking shows we watch? Browning, then moving to the oven to finish. This method of cooking SEEMS daunting - at least to US! - because you are sending your quick-cook cut of meat off to the dark regions of the oven. We normally reserve oven introductions for long, slow visits... covered, with liquid or not. But, there's a reason you see this method in professional kitchens - and that reason is juicy, flavorful meat!

Not only that - once you get past the initial fear of sending your boneless pork chop off to the oven - it's easy, too! This may all seem elementary to some, but it took us a while to figure everything out. Here's what we do:

Take 4 boneless pork chops, maybe 3/4" inch thick, and season both sides with salt, pepper, and something else... we keep going with this oregano/basil/thyme/fennel mixed seasoning we have, but you could try smoked paprika, garlic-and-onion, maybe crushed red pepper - whatever you fancy. Also, get the oven preheated to 350.

Then heat a little olive oil - maybe 2 tablespoons - in a pan on pretty high (preferrably a non-non-stick pan... so, a stick pan. but definitely an oven-safe pan) and start browning your pork chops. After about 3 minutes on side #1, turn and brown side #2 for 1 minute and then turn off the heat and pop that pan into the oven. Since it's uncovered, it helps if you have a wire splatter screen to put over the top or you'll get some mess in your oven.

8 to 10 to mayyybe 15 minutes later (depending on the thickness of your pork chops) you're done! Pop them out, make a little incision if you want to make sure there is barely any pink left (this isn't poultry, but get to the doneness you want), and then let them sit for a minute or two.

If you want to go one final step - remove those pork chops to a plate to sit and put the pan back on high heat on the stovetop, then splash some wine into the pan - white or red, whatever you're having. Stir and let that cook for two minutes and you've got a great little pan sauce.

Voila! Juicy, flavorful boneless pork chops in less than 1/2 an hour! A quick side of rice, or couscous, steamed asparagus, or even just a piece of bread and some heated frozen veggies... pour some of that pan sauce on your pork chops and dinner is served - in less than 1/2 hour!

Roasted Garlic and Cauliflower Soup

2008-02-15T13:28:00.009-05:00

I still can’t believe that I didn’t use any cream in this recipe - it turned out really thick and creamy solely from the veggies! This cauliflower soup serves as my next installment of "let’s make blended soups in all the colors of the rainbow." Of course white is not actually in the rainbow, but who's counting? Let’s get started...

For the garlic, slice the tops of the cloves while keeping the head intact and also peel off any loose paper from the head. Set it on a square of aluminum foil, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and fold up the sides leaving a little steam chimney up top. Throw this in a 400F degree oven for 45 minutes. After this, the garlic will have sweetened and mellowed and it ready to be squeezed right out of the bulb!

In the meantime, sautee 1-2 ribs of diced celery and the white part of some scallions in some olive oil for 5 minutes. I then diced up 2 small potatoes and added those (not too much --- this is just to give the soup more bones). Then add your cauliflower! I used an entire head that I had chopped up, but it was kinda scrawny so I added a few florets that I had in a frozen bag –shhhhhh! After the cauliflower browned a bit, I added stock to the top of the veggies and the roasted garlic, 5-6 cloves.

Along with some S&P and thyme, that was it for seasoning! I just let that simmer for 30 minutes and then gave it the ol’ blendaroo!

What’s next? A brown soup?? Mmmmmmm... mushrooms...

Bacon Toffee

2008-02-07T17:30:00.003-05:00

Yup, bacon candy!

As we stumbled across blog posts for Bacon Toffee, we looked at each other and said "bacon candy?!?!" and laughed... but as we read the various rants and reviews and posts around the web - we decided we had to make some to bring to our Super Bowl party! Get it - pigskin? At least the Toffee was a bigger hit at the Super Bowl than the Patriots were... grumble, grumble.

The bacon toffee is similar to the Peppermint Bark we make around the holidays, but this candy is made FROM SCRATCH (oh, and this candy has bacon in it).

We started by crisping up 5 strips of good Boar's Head bacon (and saving the drippings for a Cast Iron Bacon Cornbread...) and set the cooked bacon aside. Then, we started 1/4 cup water in a small-ish, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat. To that, we added 1 stick of butter and let that start to melt, breaking it up a little bit. Then, we added a big pinch of kosher salt and 1 cup of sugar. Then we stirred.

And we stirred. And we stirred. Keep the heat pretty high and keep stirring as the sugar melts and it all becomes a liquid, then starts bubble and turn sort of candy-like (kind of a sticky gel) and begins to turn tan. About 10-12 minutes of stirring later, you'll have a nice tan-brown "toffee" color and a sticky consistancy and you'll be ready to make your candy.

Quickly stir in the broken-up bacon pieces (I said to break them up, right?) and pour all of your stuff out onto a very-lightly greased cookie sheet. And that's it. No refrigeration needed, just wait as long as you can for it to harden up (maybe 2 hours) and then break it up and eat it!

(While you're waiting, fill that saucepan with water and start it on high to boil along with any utensils you used to clean off that hard candy residue).

Surprisingly - or not - excellent! Sweet candied toffee with just a hint of smokiness and a little meat mixed in! Not overly "bacon-tasting" at all, and certainly addictive.

Black Bean Dip

2008-01-30T06:50:00.004-05:00

I think this dip definitely qualifies as a SuperBowl winner. Super easy, super healthy, and super yummy...who doesn't love a good bean dip...it's the musical fruit!

Sautee 1 small to medium diced onion and one diced red bell pepper in 1 tbsp olive oil. Reserve 1 tsp of the uncooked red pepper and dice even finer for the garnish. Sweat the veggies for 10 minutes and then add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic and more oil if needed. Sautee for 5 more minutes.

While veggies cook, place the following in a food processor:

2 16oz cans drained black beans
2 diced plum tomatoes
juice from 2 limes and 1 lemon
1 tbsp cumin
1/8 tsp-1/4 of cayenne
a handful of chopped cilantro

Give those items a whirr, then add the cooked veggies and puree until smooth with some S&P. You may have to add a drizzle of olive oil and more citrus and more spices but it depends on your palate. Garnish with the reserved pepper and a sprig of cilantro. Refrigerate for 2 hrs and serve with tortilla or pita chips!

Go Pats!

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

2008-01-19T18:42:00.004-05:00

Let's hear it for another installment of blended soups!! As you know, we're trying to hit all the colors of the rainbow, and red was on our list today! The intent for the soup was for the peppers to have the starring role, but I added one too many tomatoes to the pot! And these San Marzano plum tomatoes have such a wonderful intense flavor that it masked some of that bell pepper taste. With that being said, it was still a pretty kick butt soup!

As with all my soups, I started out sweating 1 diced onion, 3 sliced carrots and 3 ribs of celery in some olive oil and 2 tbsp butter. Let that sweat over lowish heat for 15 minutes, then add a few cloves of minced garlic. I had intended on roasting fresh red peppers, but they didn't look so hot at the store, but I lucked out in finding a 32oz jar of fire-roasted red peppers which looked better, were already roasted and were no more expensive than the fresh ones. I roughly chopped up those and into the pot they went. I opened up a 32 oz can of those wonderful San Marzano tomatoes, and put in about 2/3 the can with juice. Trust me, the soup was great, but perhaps only add 1/4 to 1/3 the can if you want the peppers to shine.

After a few minutes warming through, I added chicken stock to the top of the veggies, some S&P and a few tsp dried basil. That's it! Let it simmer for 15 minutes until all veggies are soft, reseason if necessary, and perhaps add a bit of butter to smooth out the flavor. Blend away and of course add more stock if it's too thick!

Check RED off my list!

Chicken with Prunes & Olives

2008-01-13T15:31:00.004-05:00

M of course was skeptical as to the prune section of this recipe. Prunes do get a bad rap, but it was my duty to prove to M that they are not only edible, but delicious.

We started off by browning thighs and legs in some olive oil, only seasoned with some S&P. After they were browned on both sides, we transferred them to our Dutch oven along with: 12oz dried pitted prunes chopped in half, 1/3 cup capers with juice, 12oz green olives, a few tbsp of brown sugar, some fresh thyme, oregano and a bay leaf.

We then added a few cups of chicken stock, put the cover on the pot, and put it into a 350 degree oven for about an hour. We gave it a stir about halfway through the cooking process to make sure that everyone had equal time under liquid.

I probably could've added a tad more brown sugar, but I wouldn't have changed anything else! We served it with some whole wheat couscous and a field green salad that we dressed with some of the sauce. The dish was sweet and salty and briny and made M, maybe not a prune lover, but definitely a liker!

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2008-01-05T15:42:00.003-05:00

Simple cooking techniques can make you look like a pro at your next dinner party, and it helps if you have not only the know-how, but the right tools as well. Bostonchef #1 received a 13" All-Clad French skillet for Christmas from Bostonchef#2, however, #2 knew that he would try to claim it for himself. Very sneaky Xmas buying if you ask me!

Our cookware was either nonstick or enameled cast iron, so we desperately wanted a pan that we could sear meat on and get some nice browning to occur. This one fit the bill, and it has nice sloped sides which make it easy to flip stuff.

We've made variations of this dish several times, and it hasn't failed us yet. Butterfly your chicken breasts by placing the fat side of the breast facing your knife and then slice through the breast without going through all the way so that it opens like a book. Hope that makes sense! Put a thinly sliced piece of prosciutto (or ham!) inside with a couple slices of edam cheese (or fontina or cheddar!). Fold the chicken back up and secure with a couple of toothpicks. We seasoned the outside with some Penzey's Lemon Pepper and their salt-free Tuscan Sunset. Preheat your oven to 400F.

Heat your skillet up and add a couple of tbsp olive oil to the pan. Brown the chicken on both sides, probably about 5 minutes per side. Finish the chicken off in the oven about 10-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through but not dry!

Remove chicken from the pan, and put the pan back on the cooktop with a couple of splashes of white wine, 1 tbsp dijon and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Reduce on high heat and scrape up all that browned goodness from the chicken. Serve the pan sauce over the stuffed chicken breasts...add some rice and veggies and your meal is complete!

And here's #2 with his new apron...he's a messy cook, folks...several shirts have been ruined due to his chaotic cooking technique!

2007 Year in Review

2007-12-28T11:01:00.002-05:00

Another year gone, a new one to dawn. We had an interesting 2007... some ups and downs, a great summer, more camping and fishing, visits with family, a new nephew, and lots of cooking. There is no doubt that 2008 will be a much more interesting year on many fronts - including in the kitchen.

We did a Year in Review last year with each of our Top 5 blog posts, so we thought we'd do it again!

Stacey's Top Five!

5. Butternut Spinach Gratin
We love butternut squash - and this was a delicious, inventive use for it!

4. Pickled Pink Eggs
These were awesome - if you like pickled beets, you'd love this.

3. Beer Can Chicken
Our juiciest, most smokey, most tender, most flavorful chicken yet!

2. Enchiladas with Cuke Salsa
Delicious with mole sauce and the fresh veggies - great leftovers...
And, with video!

1. Blended Soups!
Green Soup, Carrot Soup, Butternut Squash Soup, Black Bean Soup - we love delicious fall soups made with our new handblender! Can't wait to try more...

Mike's Top Five

5. Fiddleheads and Fishing
My top five are of posts that remind me of things I enjoy in life - this post reminds me of fishing!

4. Corned Beef and Cabbage
St. Patrick's Day in Boston is one of our favorites... this corned beef was delicious.

3. Boston's South End Restaurants
I enjoyed putting this post together - it reminds me of our old apartment in the South End. Now I'm craving some B&G Oysters!

2. Mojitos and Fish Tacos
The quintessential summer time meal, reminds me of long days in the sun on the back deck, relaxing after playing a game of tennis.

1. Cucumber Salad
This recipe and this post reminds me of my youth and my family... plus the cuke salad is delicious!

We are thankful for another year and looking forward to more posts in 2008. Have a Great New Year and happy eating! See you then...

Boston Chef

WCB - Blogging our Cat on the Weekend

2007-12-09T09:35:00.002-05:00

It's still the weekend, so we're joining in the Weekend Cat Blogging at one of our favorite food blogs - Sher's What Did You Eat!

From our earlier post, you can see that this is his favorite spot:

And here is Osiris and his new toy, a q-tip that he found on the floor wayyyy on the other side of the house. He brought it over to that favorite spot in the kitchen.

Bonus picture:

Green Soup

2007-12-07T06:59:00.002-05:00

How do I love my hand blender? Let me count the ways…

I think I’m on a journey and that journey involves creating blended soups in all the colors of the rainbow. The color of the day is GREEN. And seeing that it is the holiday season, perhaps the next one I shall create will be RED! This soup is heavy on the spinach and zucchini, hence the green color. It’s full of veggies and vitamins and good stuffs, so if you can’t get your hubbie or kids to eat their veggies, this might be the way to go.

Sautee 1 diced onion and 3 sliced carrots in 2 tbs butter on lowish heat just so they sweat and don’t burn. Soon add 2 ribs of diced celery, and let that get happy for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, defrost your frozen spinach and zucchini. Now, if this were the summertime, I would have used fresh zucchini, but they didn’t look too good at the store, so I opted for frozen. You’ll need roughly 1 16oz bag of zucchini, and perhaps the same amount of spinach ( I honestly just eyeballed it).

After about 10 minutes of sweating, I added 4 peeled and cubed Yukon Gold potatoes to the pot. After that simmered for 5 minutes, I added the green veggies, and then topped that off with stock just to the top of the veggies. For seasoning: a big handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped up. Then about 1 tbs dried basil, 1 tsp dried thyme and 1 tsp Penzey’s Shallot Salt, along with S&P to taste.

I let that simmer (low boil) for 30 minutes and then I blended it all up! You know the drill by now, if it’s too thick, add more stock! Wow, even M was impressed at how delicious this soup was. One night we had it with grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches, and the next with grilled up some Cajun seasoned chicken breasts. The potatoes added some thickening starch to the soup that would even satisfy a meat and potatoes guy!

Coming soon, red soup…

And here's my little helper:

Pumpkin White Chocolate Cookies

2007-11-25T16:42:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! We just got back from spending a wonderful holiday weekend in upstate New York with family. I thought I'd share a cookie recipe that I've now made 3 times in the last month since they've been such a hit! If you don't like chocolate chips, you could fold in nuts, raisins, or nothing at all! But I think that hidden surprises in cookies are delightfully fun.

Sift the following (this recipe makes about 30 cookies):
1 2/3 c. flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. In a separate bowl, cream 1/3 cup softened unsalted butter with 1 cup of sugar. Then add in 2/3 cup canned pumpkin, 2/3 of an egg (silly, I know!) and 3/4 tsp vanilla extract. After that is incorporated, add to the dry ingredients. After all the flour is mixed in, fold in some white chocolate chips (about 1 cup).

Plop down the dough in about golfball size rounds onto a greased cookie sheet and then flatten down a bit since they will fluff up during baking as these cookies do take on a cake-like consistency (but not as bad as some other recipes I've tried). Bake in the upper third of your oven for 14-18 minutes depending on your oven and then transfer to a cooling rack with paper towels underneath the rack.

While cookies are cooling prepare a light icing that consists of lots of powdered sugar with a bit of ground ginger and cinnamon with a little bit of milk. I've never really measured, but you don't want it too thin or it won't adhere to the cookies! Drizzle on, let harden about 10 minutes, and you're good to go. For a more decadent icing, you can add melted butter.

Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

2007-11-16T18:58:00.005-05:00

I have to make this dish at least once a year, not only because it's yummy, but the presentation is really cool. Acorn squash are very easy to find even in your local market. They are a "winter squash" that has an orange flesh, and is aptly named since they do resemble acorns. You can simply cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, sprinkle with brown sugar and some butter and then bake them!

I had made marinara sauce a day before since I had the time to simmer it for a long time -- I froze half and set aside the rest in the fridge for the squash the next night. The first thing to do is pre-heat your oven to 375. Wash the squash (2 of them), and then cut it in half lengthwise (not around the equator) and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish flesh side up. Put a little bit of water in the dish and cover with foil. Bake for 40-55 minutes or until the squash is just fork tender (not mushy!)

While the squash was baking, I sauteed up some spicy turkey sausage (a little over a pound), and then added my sauce to the pan to reheat. While that was simmering away, I cooked up some whole wheat rigatoni just al dente. When the squash were done, I removed them from the dish, dumped out the water and then returned them to the dish. In went some rigatoni (extra pasta went around the squash). Then came the sausage/sauce mixture, and to top it all off, some mozzarella cheese. Back into the oven at 400 for 20 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown on top.

The spicy sausage pairs well with the sweetness of the acorn squash -- another fall delight! Oh, and this would serve 4 if served with a side salad!

Curried Carrot & Parsnip Soup

2007-11-06T19:33:00.004-05:00

Yup, another soup post. Why? Because soup is good. It can be the starter of a multicourse meal or the star of the show with a crusty loaf. Truth be told -- my new hand blender is just so damn cool.

So we've done a butternut and a black bean, and I'm sure a potato, pea, green veggie, tomato and corn will soon be following. However, tonight I turn my attention to the carrot and the parsnip. The funny thing is that I don't think I've ever eaten a parsnip -- maybe out at a restaurant, but I've certainly never purchased one at the market. According to wikipedia, parsnips have higher nutritional value than carrots, and apparently wild parsnips are often confused with hemlock. So unless you're an expert forager, I'd either grow them myself or stick to the store.

I usually put carrots in all of my soups, but never has it been the star! I started out by sweating 1 small diced onion in a couple tbs butter. During this time, I diced 5 large carrots and 2 large parsnips. When all were cut up, I tossed them in with my onion in the soup pot. I then diced up 2 celery ribs and threw them in as well with a drizzle of olive oil. After about 10 more minutes, I tossed in about 5 cups of stock (just over the top of the veggies) and let them come up to a boil with some salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp ginger, 2 tbs curry powder and 1/2 tsp HOT curry powder. I also threw in about 8-10oz diced canned tomatoes and let everything simmer for about 25 minutes.

Then you know what happens -- out comes the blender. After pureeing, check the consistency and taste and adjust with more spices and more stock if necessary. Garnish with either some plain yogurt or some low-fat sour cream and you have yourself a satisfying soup. We paired ours with a field green salad with roasted chicken, but the soup certainly could have stood on its own!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2007-10-23T12:16:00.002-04:00

On the evening that we first got our new handheld blender (my birthday) we didn’t have any fresh butternut squash in the house - but, really by chance, I had some frozen squash with which we whipped up some squash soup. That soup came out great, but I wanted to try the real thing - including roasting the squash first to bring out its earthy sweetness. M and I went pumpkin and mum hunting this past weekend, and we happened upon a little nursery that was selling all those items, plus some lovely butternut squash. We quickly scooped them up and brought them home with the hope of turning them into a fall soup.

As you know by now, we really make things to taste, so I can only give you approximate measurements, but as long as you don’t go overboard on anything, you could tailor this recipe to your liking!

I started out by peeling 1 large butternut squash, taking the seeds out of the belly and cutting it all up into 3/4-inch cubes. Onto a baking sheet with a bit of olive oil and into a 420 degree oven for 15 minutes, then give them a toss and throw in for another 10 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, fine dice 1 onion, and put that into your soup pot on medium heat with 1.5 tbs butter. While the onions are sweating, fine dice either 2-3 normal size carrots or about 12-15 baby carrots. Throw those in when you finish cutting. Now on to 2 ribs of celery really fine dice as these take awhile to cook, and throw them in the pot too! These veggies may take 15-20 minutes to really sweat down without burning. When they are all adequately tender, throw in your fork tender squash, 1/2-cup of cranberry apple cider (the tartness of the cider balances the sweetness of the squash and carrots – you could also just use apple juice or throw in a diced apple when you are cooking down the veggies) and pour in enough chicken stock to just cover the veggies (you can always add more stock later to thin it out)...

Let that come to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer for at least 15 minutes along with 1/4-tsp ground ginger, 1/4-tsp nutmeg, 1-tsp ground sage, 1 more tbs butter and some salt and pepper to taste.

After that has had time to get all happy, it’s time to turn to your trusty hand blender. Word of warning, once blending has begun, do not lift the blender above the surface of the soup unless you want an orange splattered kitchen! Turn it off first! And here we go...

The soup turned out a bit too thick after the initial puree, so we just added more stock and tasted to adjust the seasonings as it did need some more S & P. This soup is so filling, and it made enough for 8 bowlfuls! Roasting the butternut squash really is divine, but take my word for it, frozen would work too and no one would know!

Spicy Black Bean Soup

2007-10-19T19:13:00.003-04:00

The latest addition to our kitchen is a mighty powerful Cuisinart handheld blender. I think it may change my life! It could make me crazy – I can imagine myself trying to puree everything from steak to eggplant parm... but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I have yet to exhaust all the normal recipes that are floating in my head, in cookbooks, and on the internet.

I knew I had always had black beans in my pantry for a reason – healthy, full of protein and a long shelf-life! Plus this soup kicked butt.

This is a what-do-I-have-in-my-crisper-drawer kind of soup, and you really can’t go wrong. I had half a red onion, half a green bell pepper, 10 baby carrots and 2 ribs of celery, all of which I diced pretty small so they would cook quickly. Into my soup pot went 1 tbs butter, and then the onion, followed by all the other veggies and 3 cloves minced garlic. I would add the onions, chop the next veggie, put that in and repeat. After about 15 minutes of sautéing, I added 2 16 oz cans of rinsed black beans and just enough stock to come up to the top of the beans... less is better because you can always add more after pureeing.

After letting that come up to a boil, I turned down the heat and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes with 1 tbs cumin, 1/8 tsp ground chipotle, 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano and S&P to taste. Then the fun began!! This blender is like a mighty boat motor - it demolished the soup in five seconds flat! I chose to blend the entire pot, but if you like yours chunky, you can always remove maybe a cup of veggies, puree the rest and then add the intact veggies back to the pot.

Finished the soup off with a dollop of sour cream, but you could also do crushed tortillas, cilantro, or cheese!

Beer Can Chicken

2007-10-10T09:59:00.002-04:00

We wish we could share the sweet, smokey smell...

This beer can chicken is, in my opinion, the best chicken we've ever made. It is our crispy, buttery, smokey, succulent, sizzling chicken masterpiece and it literally stands on it's own. The perfect chicken.

We had tried Beer Can Chicken once before but we rushed it and hadn't done enough research. It came out kinda dry and none-too-flavorful. It was ok, certainly not great.

This time, we did it right and followed all the necessary steps, starting with brining the chicken (1 roaster chicken - ours was 6.5 lbs.) in a brine of ~2 quarts water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, a few big tbls of sugar, a bunch of ground black pepper and crushed bay leaves, a long pour of soy sauce, and many shakes of Texas Pete's hot sauce. Certainly that could have brined overnight, but we only had the day to do it - so it got a few precious hours in the bath.

An hour before we were ready to put the chicken on it's perch, we prepped some hickory chips to add that wonderful smokey flavor to the gas grill... a few big handfulls (maybe 2-3 cups) of the wood chips got a soak in a bowl-full of 1/2 beer and 1/2 water.

Additionally, we made a "rub" of sorts that would be multi-purpose... The rub consisted of pretty much equal parts: ground black pepper, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and a mix of dried oregano/basil plus a little bit of cumin. To that, we added much MORE than an equal part of smoked spanish paprika.

After an hour we drained that beer/water, added the chips to two separate small aluminum trays and placed those trays under the grill grates - on top of the burner-protectors. Then we fired up the grill, started melting a stick of butter in a saucepan on low, and took out the chicken.

After draining the brine, we thoroughly rinsed the chicken with cold water. Then, after using paper towels to dry inside the cavity, we squeezed in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and tried to swirl the juice around as best as possible. Then we scooped in a couple spoons of that pre-made rub... and dried off the exterior with paper towels, prepping it for a massage.

On a big plate, we began brushing on some of the melted butter (be sure to save at least 1/3 of it!) all over the chicken - top, bottom, back, front. Then we sprinked and rubbed in that spice mix - spreading it all over the buttered chicken as best as possible. We ended up shaking on a little extra salt/pepper/paprika on some spots that needed extra attention. Then we got out a beer can...

A 16oz Miller High Life can, to be exact! After washing the outside of the can, about 2/3 of it went into a frosty glass for the chef, leaving 1/3 of the beer in the can. I used some scissors to cut away most of the top of the can, leaving a large opening. The last of the rub (a couple big spoons), the rest of the butter, and the juice of the other 1/2 lemon were then added to the beer in the can and swirled together. This left the can about 2/3 full of liquid - you wouldn't want to go any higher than that with the liquid.

Finally, put the can on the plate, and slide that chicken right down onto it. Et voila!

By now the grill is HOT and the wood is smoking, so we reduced the heat on the two outer burners and turned the middle burner OFF - and placed that chicken right down onto the grill, supported like a tripod by the beer can and the two legs. Monitor the temperature to try to bring it down and hold at 350. Eventually, after lots of playing with it, we had it steady at 350 but you'll have to watch it at first as everything adjusts. Yer looking at about 18-20 minuts/pound of chicken - but really the important thing is ~170 for the breast and ~180 for the drums.

We left that cover on and took maybe one little peek halfway through - we wanted that smoke to be stuck in there (as much as possible on a gas grill) and we knew we'd be rewarded... from about an hour in, the smell of the smoke and the chicken cooking right on the grill and the beer/butter/lemon was wafting through the air and tempting our appetites.

Ours was ready in just under 2 hours and we carefully removed it to a platter, still standing up, with two sets of tongs for it to rest for ~15 minutes. After that, with one set of tongs holding the chicken and the other gripping the bottom of the beer can, we slid that sucker off and onto a cutting board to be carved.

It was delicious... like we said, smokey and sweet, a little lemony, crispy skin. The extra paprika had burned in the places where it was a little too thick (as you can see by the before and after pics), but no big deal. TENDER breast meat, hints of lemon and sweet smoke - possibly the best we've had. Dark meat that had that dark-red smoked appearance and the texture of butter. Crispy skin and meat falling off the bones... Wonderful! Can't wait for leftovers tonight!

Butternut Squash and Spinach Gratin

2007-10-09T13:19:00.002-04:00

Yay, fall is here! This is our favorite time of year, because it denotes the beginning of cool weather foods. From stews to braised meat to all things pumpkin – this is such a special season!

Epicurious had some top autumn recipes on their site, and I found this one for Butternut Squash and Spinach Gratin which looked wonderful and completely unlike anything I’ve ever made!

First, fine dice a small onion and a few cloves of garlic and sweat them out over lowish heat in 3 tbs butter for about 8 minutes... do not let them burn! While that is going, peel 2 butternut squash, chop the neck off from the belly. I scooped out the seeds from the "belly", but in the end, I only needed the "necks" of the squash. I cut the necks in half lengthwise and tried to use this slicer we had, but that really didn’t work, so M just sharpened the Santuko knife for me, and I sliced them crosswise no thicker than 1/8". Just be careful of your fingers!

Then I folded the onion/garlic/butter mixture into 30 ounces of thawed frozen spinach (which we had thoroughly dried via hand-squeezing with paper towels.) Also going into the mix was 1.5 tsps salt, 3/4 tsp black pepper, rounded 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1 cup of heavy cream.

Now it’s time to contruct! I sprayed some Pam on my shallow ceramic 9 x 13 baking dish (epicurious says not to use glass, although I’m not sure why?). Then layer squash, spinach mixture a sprinkling of grated Parmesan (this is another deviation from the original recipe), then repeat, ending with squash and some more cheese. Wax or parchment paper on top and then throw it into the top third of your 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Then remove paper and put in for 12 more minutes.

When we took the dish out to remove the paper, the cheese on top was all stuck to the paper and I was out of Parm, so I threw some Jack cheese on top. Perhaps tenting foil instead would have prevented this outcome.

Overall, this dish was AMAZING…the only thing different next time would be a bit more salt and perhaps some crushed red pepper. The funny thing is how much the butternut squash looked like peaches the way I cut them! Each time I took a bite, I expected some sweet juicy fruit, but instead got a slightly sweet earthy flavor – food trickery!

Asian Chicken Stew

2007-09-28T20:16:00.003-04:00

Two nights ago, I cracked open some newly purchased Penzey’s spices and sautéed some chicken breasts and some veggies in a flurry of Asian flavors. That night we served everything over rice and it was quite good, but last night I had something more inventive in mind...

I had saved 2 chicken breasts, leftover veggies (onions, peppers, celery, shredded carrots, shredded iceberg lettuce b/c I had no cabbage!) and some of the sauce which consisted of stock, soy sauce, ginger powder, dried mustard, MSG, and garlic. I chopped up the chicken and put that and the veggies/sauce into 4 cups of stock and 4 cups of H2O. I added 2 tsp more of ginger, some more dried mustard, garlic, dried sweet California basil, 1/8 tsp MSG, dash of cayenne, and the juice of 2 limes. I slowly brought that to a boil while I prepared the DUMPLINGS!

I did not intend these to be Asian-style meat-stuffed dumplings, but more like the dumplings my Mom taught me how to make for her chicken and dumpling stew. One cup of flour, 1 tsp baking powder, some garlic powder, 1 tsp Penzey’s Lemon Pepper, and some more dried sweet California basil, mixed thoroughly. Slowly add in 1/2 cup cold water. Don’t add it all at once, add about half, then stir. Repeat until it’s a sticky, but not too wet consistency. Drop them into the now boiling soup, in about 3/4 inch balls... they fluff up! I then shredded some more lettuce, threw that in, and let it continue on slow boil for 25 minutes at which time I threw in some chopped fresh flat leaf parsley. Take a dumpling out, cut in half to make sure it’s cooked through and then you’re good to go!

The soup turned into something more akin to a stew b/c it thickened up from the bits of flour that came off the dumplings. The dumplings themselves had such a nice lemony-garlic flavor and reminded me of wonton soup! But the highlight for me was that it tasted something like a hot and sour soup which is the dish that I judge the quality of an Asian restaurant by! My nose was running, I had a tangy tongue and I was in heaven!

Roasted Cauliflower

2007-09-25T16:04:00.003-04:00

Something about this dish makes me forget about carbs - since the only thing we had with it were M’s delicious boneless pork chops (brined, then seasoned with salt, pepper, and italian spices and seared, finished in the oven, and eaten with a little pan sauce/gravy... yummm!) and a glass of wine.

I took 1 ginormous head of cauliflower and cut it up into smallish florets. Into a 9x13 baking dish with the following: 1 sliced tomato (slices then cut into quarters), juice of 1 juicy lemon, 4 cloves of garlic cut into thick slices so they won’t burn to a crisp, some white pepper, several drizzles of olive oil, salt and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, remove and stir everything up, put it in for 30 minutes more or until fork tender.

This is a super easy dish... I love how the tips of the florets get a bit carmelized, bringing out the earthy sweetness in the cauliflower.

Who needs carbs?

Smothered Pork Chops

2007-09-21T10:00:00.003-04:00

Thank you, Summer! We've had a great one - we camped, went to the beach on Cape Cod, played tennis, canoed and fished, took long weekends and trips, got tan, grilled alot, and generally enjoyed Summer. But, as of this Sunday, you bid us adieu and we welcome in your long-lost cousin, Autumn.

Perhaps our favorite time of the year here in New England, we love all things Autumn... the weather turns cool and crisp (no more humidity!), the maple and oak leaves turn brilliant colors and the leaves eventually fall (and we get to rake them), we visit the pumpkin farm and pick out some nice ones to carve into jack-o-lanterns for Halloween (and we get to watch cheesy horror movies!), we get to enjoy the last days before the harsh New England winter rolls in and shutters us up until April, and we get to make comfort food!

And what could be more "comfort food" than gravy-smothered pork chops? This idea popped into our heads and - after a little research, this easy recipe was new for us - we were ready to get comfortable... Along with some leftover yellow tomatoes and some long grain/wild rice, this was a very easy meal to make on a cool, late-summer night.

We helped some frozen ~3/4" thick, bone-in pork chops dethaw by adding them to a brine (after sitting in the fridge overnight) of water, salt, sugar, bay leaves, worchestershire, and hot sauce and letting them hang out for most of the day. When ready, we took these out and rinsed and dried them thoroughly, then added them one-at-a-time to a big freezerbag that was full of all-purpose flour seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

When all were rinsed, dried, and seasoned/floured we got our big enamled-cast-iron pan nice and hot and added a good amount of olive oil to the bottom of the pan, then browned each of the pork chops for maybe 3 minutes per side. We took those out and added a little more oil to the pan, and then added a tablespoon or so of all-purpose flour (a little goes a long way) and stirred the flour into the oil until we had something like a roux. Then, we stirred in about a cup of chicken broth and scraped up all the burnt bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon, just like we're told to do! Finally, we added some chopped (from a can!) buttom mushrooms for an additional touch.

Not the prettiest picture...

We gave that gravy about 5 minutes of simmer time before adding the pork chops back in and letting them go for 4-5 more minutes. We chopped up some tomatoes and plated our rice, then a nice, big pork chop, and then smothered everything in that delicious gravy... came out great - the perfect comfort food to kick off Autumn!

Crazy Chicken Curry

2007-09-18T14:47:00.002-04:00

Cool September winds remind us of hearty meals that warm us from the inside out. I’m not sure where I got the inspiration to make this, but the recipe is solely my own and you’ll have to bear with me on my ingredients list since I really was just slinging things in the pot! The star of the show is the spice – Penzey’s Hot Curry Powder along with some Cinnamon and Tandoori Seasoning. Their spices are nothing to sneeze at (har har) – we had started running out of garlic powder and hadn’t ordered anymore, so I had to grab some from our local supermarket. We did a smell test and we both turned our noses up to chemical smell of the market bottle... quality and freshness really does make a difference!

I cut up 2lbs chicken breast into 3 inch chunks, seasoned with salt and the above spices. I browned them briefly in some olive oil, and then removed from the dutch oven. In went 1 medium onion, and 5 carrots (both sliced thin). After 10 minutes, I deglazed with 1/4 cup chicken stock. At that point, I threw in 2/3 of medium sized eggplant that I had peeled and cubed. I had to add more olive oil at this point because eggplant just soaks it right up!

In another pot, I brought up some chicken stock to a boil and blanched 1/2lb green beans for 3 minutes. After that, I parboiled (8 minutes) 4 white potatoes which I had cubed. After removing the potatoes, I reserved some of the starchy broth to add to my curry as needed.

After the eggplant sautéed for 5 minutes, I added 1cup of the reserved broth and a 32oz can of diced tomatoes with their juices. More of the star spices went in with some salt and the green beans. After bringing up to a boil, I added the chicken back to the pot and simmered covered for 15 minutes. At that point, I added the potatoes, and chcecked the liquid level which should come to the top of the meat and veggies, but not quite covering it. Add the reserved stock if you need more! When the chicken was cooked through (make sure not to overcook!! No one like tough chicken!), I stirred in 1 cup of low fat sour cream and it was finished! You could add plain yogurt or coconut milk, but sour cream was what we had on hand!

The aroma in our house was completely divine, and this was really enough for 3 nights.

Oregano Steak with Grilled Sweet Potatoes

2007-09-10T10:52:00.004-04:00

Oregano has rocketed to the top of our favorite-herbs list... we love the tangy, slightly-spicy, and a-little-bit-bitter flavor it adds to savory dishes - both in fresh form (growing out on our deck) and in dried form. Obvious oregano uses are in sauces and on pizzas, but we decided to add a healthy amount of dried oregano to a dry rub on a big boneless top sirloin - to see how the flavor went with a grilled steak.

Along with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, we rubbed in a good deal of dried Mexican Oregano (less sweet, more spicy than Medditeranean Oregano) all over our steak, then wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap and let it hang out in the fridge for a couple of hours. The steak was then removed from the fridge to come close to room temperature, and we started the grill.

When the grill was good and REALLY hot, that steak went right in the middle and cooked for 4 minutes/side. We removed the steak to a cutting board to rest - and sprinkled some fresh oregano leaves over the top. The heat woke that fresh oregano up and - combined with the grilled oregano in the rub - it smelled fantastic.

Along with the steak we grilled some sweet potato wedges and mixed up an onion-and-chive dipping sauce to go with them: 1 cup low fat sour cream, 1/4 cup mayo, 1 tbs Penzey's Fox Point Seasoning, some white pepper, salt, and some garlic powder, and dried chives.

This sauce - and some sliced cukes - added to the Greek feel of the oregano steak, which was tangy and spicy and delicious! Now, where will we apply oregano next??

Yellow Tomato Salsa over Grilled Chicken

2007-09-08T19:56:00.003-04:00

Along with the tons of cucumbers my parents gave us from their northern Maine garden, they also gave us 10 smallish green tomatoes. We asked them what kind they were, but they couldn't remember the exact name other than they've planted them before -- or had they!?!?! When they started to turn yellowish, we started drooling --every day we would watch them, but they weren't turning red! What was going on?? One started getting soft too, so I gave Mom a call to find out what was up! Did they not like being in Boston? Nope, Mom said, I think your father bought yellow tomato plants by mistake! Well, that gave us the go ahead, and boy were they delish. In this dish they remind me of mango or yellow pepper b/c for us, it is rare to have a yellow tomato! This was a very simple Friday night meal, but it was full of flavor!

For the salsa, I chunked up 2 yellow tomatoes, 1 avocado and a quarter of a red onion. Some salt and pepper and the juice of 2 limes, et voila that's it! M brined some chicken breast earlier in the day, and topped them with some Penzey's Cajun Seasoning. Grilled to perfection with a side of couscous and topped off with the yellow tomato salsa, a great summer night meal!

Cucumber Salad at Grandma's House

2007-08-27T14:12:00.002-04:00

Grandma's House

I remember eating dinners in the small kitchen in Lisbon Falls, Maine - six of us around the table in the middle of the room, my Brother and my Father sitting across from my Mom and I, Grandma at one end and Grandpa at the other. The kitchen often smelled like fresh baked bread back then - Grandma was still baking her own in the antique oven - and the old, white cabinets and light linoleum floor and table made the kitchen relatively bright in the otherwise dark, small home.

My Dad grew up in that house and we'd visit twice a year, in the summer to go with the whole family down to Old Orchard Beach, and in the autumn to visit for Thanksgiving. My Brother and I would play with my dad's old vibrating football game or bang tunelessly on the piano in the living room as the adults watched the old television set in the family room. It was a long drive, but we liked going up there... the house had a mysterious quality to it that made it feel adventurous for my brother and me.

Those dinners were a highlight. Typical New England boiled dinner - meat, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions - all boiled until they were all the same soft consistency. My Dad would take all of those items and mash them up together in his bowl until they became "mush" while my brother and I laughed at him goofing around. Grandpa Andy, eating quietly and deliberately at the end of the table, was not as amused.

But our favorite part of dinner may have been the accompaniment of our Grandfather's favorite side dish - cucumber salad. The memory of this concoction has stayed with us years later, and my brother and I have recently breathed new life into the recipe by starting to make it again - just like it used to be made:

Very thinly-sliced cuke rounds single-layered in the bottom of a big glass bowl, salted heavily, then topped with 1/4" sliced white onion rings to seperate from the second layer of thinly-sliced cuke rounds, heavily salted, layer of onion, cukes, salted... Maybe three layers from 2-3 cukes works well.

That bowl sits covered at room temperature for an hour for those salt crystals to go to work breaking down the cellular structure of the fresh veggies (I don't know if Grandpa knew that was what was happening - but I know he liked it). After an hour, the cukes and onions are limp and have given off alot of water. We dumped that water out and gave them a rinse or two, then took handfuls of the cukes/onions and squeeeeeeezed all the water out that we could - adding the then-squeezed handfuls to a new bowl, and repeating with another handful until all were drained of their water.

A big TBLS of sugar, ground black pepper, and a couple of splashes of apple cider vinegar are then added - and just a enough water (not much) so all the cukes are barely immersed. Stir and taste the liquid and make sure you like the flavor, then pop them in the fridge until you are ready to eat them. Tastes great right then, even better the next day.

As I took the cuke salad out of the fridge to plate with a grilled piece of salmon with some dilled sour cream over top and a little couscous on the side, I caught the smell of the cukes and onions and sugar and vinegar - such a unique scent! It whisked me back to that small kitchen in Maine and to that dinner table where we'd sit and eat and laugh before Grandma washed all the dishes by hand as we ate dessert.

Grandpa died over 20 years ago and Grandma still lives in that same house in Lisbon Falls. We try to visit her once or twice a year - she doesn't cook anymore so we'll pick up a pizza from down the street and eat it at that small table in the middle of the kitchen and we'll talk and laugh.

Tomato!

2007-08-24T13:56:00.002-04:00

If you plant it... suprisingly it will grow, albeit at an extremely slow pace. We planted a brandywine tomato plant in a 5 gallon bucket and set her on our back deck – plenty of sun. The plant itself grew extremely fast - and to huge proportion - with plenty of flowers and big, sticky leaves. But then the flowers died off soon after and nothing happened. So we waited... And waited. We wondered if we would ever see a tomato – what could we be doing wrong? Perhaps it was the fairly mild summer we were having in Boston – although one day it could be 65 degrees, and the next 90, so perhaps it was the temperature swings that we stunting our pretty little tomato plant.

Then suddenly, there was one tiny little green tomato making its way into the world. It took maybe 2 weeks for it to get up to size and then another 1.5 weeks for it to ripen on the vine. We took it off and let it ripen a bit more on the kitchen counter. And then last night, we could wait no longer. Whatever we were having with dinner, we were going to have a tomato to go along with it!

Obviously, the star of the show is Brandywine herself with a touch of kosher salt. Her backup singers were Miss Parmesan Couscous and Mr. Oregano-tarragon Chicken Thighs who happened to be lounging in a red wine mushroom sauce. The dinner was magnificent! We can only wait for the other little green tomatoes to come up – they seem to all be growing faster than our first!

Grilled Trout

2007-08-14T10:40:00.002-04:00

Gearing up for another weekend of camping, hiking, and fishing, we thought an appeal to the Fishing Gods was in order in the form of grilled whole trout. Similar to last year's grilled trout, we bought some cleaned trout and some fresh herbs and a lemon, brought it all home, and warmed up the grill.

We rubbed a thin layer of olive oil inside the trout cavity - and on the outside of the fish - and sprinkled in and out with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Then we added thinly sliced lemon rounds and a stack each of fresh dill and chives. We wrapped our trout in a few pieces of bacon - which will add some smokey flavor and self-baste the fish throughout the grilling process... Grill hot, ready to go!

We added the fish to the grill that already contained some soaked corn on the cob (husks peeled back, silk removed, husks replaced, wrapped in string, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes, onto the grill and turned for ~25 minutes) and let those trout go for 10 minutes before flipping and cooking for 10 more minutes. Corn off, fish off, grill off, let's eat!

Delicious fish with lots of flavor from the lemon, herbs, and bacon. Comes right off the bones - just pick it off. And grilling the corn is the only way to go - we'll never boil again! Hopefully this meal will bring us luck on the lakes and rivers of New Hampshire this weekend!

Grilled Eggplant with Basil Tomato Salad

2007-08-06T13:17:00.005-04:00

Our basil is out of control this year - which we really don’t mind, but we are always having to find new ways of using it! We were trying to come up with a twist on a Caprese Salad, and we think this did the trick...

We started out by making the salad so that it had at least 30 minutes to chill out in the fridge. Diced 2 medium tomatoes, added 1 16oz can of garbanzo beans, a couple tbsp capers, the juice of 1 lemon, some salt, white pepper, olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. Then, out to the deck to harvest about 12 BIG basil leaves which I chopped up and added to my salad. Into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but the longer the better!

Now on to the base of this dish. We sliced 1 medium eggplant into half inch thick rounds and brushed those rounds with olive oil, and just put some salt on for seasoning. We grilled the eggplant over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side. At the last moment, I placed some sliced fresh mozzarella onto each eggplant round just to get it melting slightly... then off the grill.

A scoop of the tomato salad onto the eggplant and mozz finishes this super simple and yummy sidedish. Personally, I don’t eat the skin of the eggplant, but I keep it on while grilling to hold it together. It’s easy to remove after you have it on your plate - the eggplant "meat" comes right out!

Now we're trying to find ideas for the next basil recipe!

Mojitos... and Fish Tacos

2007-08-01T11:22:00.005-04:00

Summertime is in full swing... how about a delicious, refreshing beverage and a light, coastal meal?

I really do love the concept of fresh herbs in drinks... whether you make lemonade with some lemon thyme in it, or perhaps a basil bloody mary martini. This time for me it was the mojito that was calling my name. I really didn’t want to use all that sugar in my drink though since I’m supposed to be following somewhat of a low-carb diet right now. So I just used Splenda instead, and I was quite happy with the results. 1 teaspoon of Splenda, 2 wedges of limes and several mint leaves (more than you think) into a glass which I quasi-muddled with a wooden spoon. I then added ice, some Bacardi and a few splashes of raspberry lime club soda (that’s all I had). It came out refreshing, light and truly summery!

After that, we went for an EASY fish taco salad. Last time we had fish tacos, we included tortillas and beans - this time we decided to go REALLY light and just go with fish and veggies. We marinated a fresh fillet of cod in white wine, lemon pepper seasoning (which includes lemon zest, pepper, salt), and chives for ~30 minutes... then added the fish to a hot grill pan. Maybe 3 minutes on side A, then flipped and after 2 more minutes on side B we were ready to go.

A bed of iceberg lettuce, chopped very ripe tomatoes, and sliced black olives... a couple of BIG chunks of that delicious cod... and top it with our fish taco sauce: 1/2 tartar sauce mixed with 1/2 medium taco sauce.

Delicious! Happy Summer!

Summer Chicken and Basil Soup

2007-07-24T15:09:00.003-04:00

“Soup?!?! But it’s 75 degrees outside!” M says. I said trust me, this will be a nice light brothy soup with a lilt of herbal delight. We had grilled up several split chicken breasts the other night and had plenty of tender white meat leftover. Chilling out in the crisper were 3 little zucchinis that would also star in the show.

Half a thinly sliced onion went into the pan to sautee with some olive oil for a few minutes. I quartered the zucchini, chopped up about 10 baby carrots and then threw them all in for a quick sautee with the onion. After that went in 2 cloves of minced garlic, and shortly thereafter 5-6 cups of chicken stock. After that came up to a slow boil, I added in my chopped up chicken from the other day along with some black pepper.

After letting that get happy for 20 minutes, I took out about ¾ cup of the zucchini with some stock and pureed that in my blender. CAUTION! When putting hot stuff in a blender, take care to hold down the lid as it expands and splatters! Pour blend back into the pot. I really wish I would have pureed twice that amount to give the soup more of a potage feel, but that will be for next time!

After another 5 minutes, I added about 15 basil leaves that I had chopped up, let that simmer for another 5 minutes, et voila, a light chicken soup avec zucchini et basil!

Grilled Pork Chops and Roasted Asparagus

2007-07-03T10:42:00.003-04:00

This plate of meat dedicated to Martin!

We made a marinade (not a brine) for these bone-in shoulder blade pork chops consisting of: olive oil, white wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper. Into the freezer bag and squished around to evenly distribute that delicious sauce, then the pork chops spent a relaxing day in the fridge getting to know their new flavor.

When we were ready to go, we preheated the grill to medium-high AND the oven to 425. We chopped a bunch of asparagus (asparagi?) into 2-inch long pieces, added them to a baking dish, and combined them with the juice of an orange, soy sauce, chopped scallions, garlic powder, salt, and some crushed red pepper. Those asparagi would take a total of 15 minutes roasting time...

These pork chops were maybe 3/4" thick, so we pre-set a time of 6 minutes on the first side, 5 on the other. Chops on, 1/4 spin after 3 minutes, flipped after another 3, and back off after 5. Sit and rest, done and done.

And they came out wonderfully... a very flavorful marinade that - for once - didn't impart "too much!" of anything (salt, pepper, hot sauce are the usual culprits). Very tender - perfectly cooked. And that meat right on the bone??? Yum!

Tangy, still-slightly-crunchy asparagus and some whole wheat mac-and-cheese made for great accompaniment. Plus.... leftovers!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Swiss Chard with Raisins

2007-06-28T11:20:00.002-04:00

When my Mom told me that her vegetable garden started sprouting, it reminded me of my childhood when that garden seemed like a vast forest to me. I could get lost in the corn and tomato plants, dig for worms, and eat peas right out of the pod. While recently visiting my parents, I remarked to my father that the garden used to seem so much bigger to me when I was 5 than it does now, as do most things (snowbanks, adults, bumblebees). And then he said, “Don’t tell your mother, but I have been making it smaller and smaller over the years by letting the grass grow in a bit closer each season. It’s easier to take care of, and we always have too much as it is.” So it really was smaller now, but my memories haven’t faded one bit. Especially when it comes to greens. Swiss chard was one of my favorites even when it was boiled beyond belief as many Acadians of that time prepared the chard. I prefer wilting it as I do with spinach, and I think even my Mom would like my version!

Separate the stems from the leaves and slice the stems up. I prefer using my big paella pan so I have lots of room to work in…I added about 2 tbs olive oil to the pan and then the sliced stems. After sautéing for a couple minutes, I added about ¼ cup of raisins and half a cup of chicken broth and a few red pepper flakes with the cover on. After 5 more minutes, I removed the cover, added about 6 quartered mushrooms, a dash of nutmeg, some salt and some Penzey’s garlic powder. After a few more minutes, I added the chopped chard leaves along with 6 chopped basil leaves and then covered the pan and let wilt for 5 more minutes.

I just love how the raisins plump up and cancel out any bitterness in the greens! For next time, I may add some olives for some briny flavor as well!

Twin Grilled Whole Chickens

2007-06-13T09:20:00.002-04:00

Exactly like the title says - twin whole chickens, roasted on the grill. Why not? We try to avoid running the oven for long periods of time during the summer, so we're grilling everything. This time, we wanted to make something that would stretch a few nights (and would be inexpensive, as well) so we spotted these twin-packs of ~4.5lb chickens on sale for $.99/pound! SOLD!

We determined right away that we'd try roasting them whole on the grill at the same time, using the outer burners to maintain the 350-degree temp and leaving the middle burner - over which the chickens would sit - turned off. Like most grills, ours has a thermometer that we'd be monitoring closely and adjusting those burners accordingly. Other than that, we'd treat it just like any other roasted chicken.

So.... we brined them overnight in a solution of water, salt, sugar, bay leaves, spices, hot sauce, and soy sauce. About an hour before they were to meet the grill, we took them out and rinsed them down and threw them back in the fridge. Shortly after, we went out to preheat the grill and grabbed a bunch of fresh herbs from the back deck - basil, tarragon, rosemary, lavender, and oregano are all growing happily out there.

Finally ready to go, we melted some butter and pulled the chickens out. Salt and pepper the inside and stuffed a big handful of herbs in each, then tied the legs together. Brushed on some melted butter on the outside and added the final spices - salt and pepper and smoked paprika - to the outer skin.

Grill at about 400, we popped the two chickens on (can't believe we didn't take pics of them on the grill! next time..) and shut that grill up. We could hear the skin popping and crackling as soon as they hit the hot grates! The temperature immediatly dropped to about 360, so we let that go. At about 4.5 lbs each, we'd be looking at 1.5 hours but we'd start checking the temp at 1 hour.

An hour later we opened the cover for the first time and they were happily cooking away! Took the temp and it seemed that we'd be on schedule for that 1.5 hours... sure enough, a half-hour later, all temp readings came back "ready" and the twins came off to sit under some foil for a resting period.

The chicken came out wonderfully... perfectly cooked, not uneven at all, some grilled flavor but not overly smokey, just juicy and flavorful! To accompany our twin birds (we only ate part of one, and have lots leftover!) we made a ratatouille with eggplant, tomatoes, onions, green pepper, tossed with some olive oil, dried thyme and basil, salt and pepper - and roasted that in a 400-degree oven for ~45 minutes. Delicious!

Grilled Salmon with Spinach Alfredo Pasta

2007-06-07T11:01:00.002-04:00

What do you get when you mix 2 cups of cooked spinach with 1 cup of alfredo, lots of garlic and a handful of whole wheat pasta? A super bed of yummy goodness on which to rest a nice piece of grilled salmon of course!

We simply marinated a couple of salmon filets in white wine, chopped chives, and some salt for about 30 minutes, and then grilled them to perfection on a hot grill for 4 minutes on each side. To plate, make a thick pool of your creamed spinach mixture, top with a bit of whole wheat angel hair pasta, and set the cooked salmon on top. Super easy dish to make (especially for a crowd!!)

We’re off to go fishing again this weekend, but this time up in New Hampshire. Hopefully we’ll catch something to put on our table!

Fiddleheads and Fishing

2007-05-30T10:44:00.003-04:00

UPDATE to our last post...! We made a trek up to Northern Maine to visit the Boston Chef parents over Memorial Day Weekend, and we decided to do some fishing along the Aroostook River. Lo and behold, what was growing wild along the banks of the river, but... fiddleheads!

We didn't catch much more than some little guys, but we had fun out there!

Fiddleheads on the Roof

2007-05-25T21:16:00.003-04:00

...or should I say fiddleheads in my belly? That's where they'd all end up even if I had 20 lbs of them. Such a treat since they're only in season for a few short weeks every spring. I actually had been wondering why I hadn't seen any around when my father who lives in Maine informed me that the season was running about 3 weeks behind due to late snow in northern Maine. You see fiddleheads can't be cultivated, although I'm sure some farmers have tried. They come to the consumer via foragers, much like certain mushrooms do. They generally grow on steep riverbanks (or at least that's where I used to pick them) in late April and early May. They are the young coiled version of a Ostrich Fern, and have a sort of earthy mushroomy asparagus taste to them. Their preparation is simple -- soak in some water to remove some of the scales, then blanch for 2 minutes and dump out the water thereby removing more of the scales. Bring some fresh water up to a boil and then add the fids for 13-15 minutes more. Serve warm tossed in some butter and salt. That's it!

We served ours up with some roasted sweet potatoes and pork tips...super yummy, and I already can't wait until next year!

Chicken Enchiladas with Cuke and Corn Salsa

2007-05-21T09:55:00.003-04:00

Same delicious Enchilada with Mole Sauce and Cuke and Corn Salsa recipe that we made last month - with the same delicious results - but this time we ended up playing around with our new camera with video and our video editing software!

So, without further ado... our premiere Boston Chef video!

Roasted Summer Squash with Tomatoes

2007-05-20T18:42:00.002-04:00

I love those quick and easy sidedishes that take maybe 5 minutes to prep, and then all you do is pop it in the oven and forget about it. M was grilling on the deck, so after I put this dish in the oven, I could join him and enjoy the sites and smells of spring with a glass of chardonnay.

I sliced up 3 good sized summer squash into half moons, and threw those into a baking dish along with 3 diced plum tomatoes, a couple cloves of chopped garlic, a handful of chopped parsley (if I would have had fresh thyme, that would have been my first choice), some olive oil and some balsamic vinegar (S&P too!). I tossed it all together and put it into a 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Halfway through, I took it out for a little stir and put it right back in.

This is a nice light summer dish, and you could easily substitute zucchini and basil instead of the yellow squash with parsley!

Three Bean Salad

2007-05-18T15:01:00.003-04:00

Unbeknownst to me, M LOVES 3 bean salad! (Ed note: we've been together for 7.5 years) And why wouldn’t he... it’s flavorful, healthy and full of protein. My only problem with it is that recipes for 3 bean salad call for lots of sugar, but I figured I could make my own version of this classic using a little sugar and a little Splenda and still get a delicious salad out of the deal.

1 can of red kidney beans and 1 can of garbanzo beans were rinsed and added to 1 can of green and wax beans. I thinly sliced (super thin!) some red onion – about a quarter of the onion, and also threw in some finely diced celery for some added crunch. I used 1 rib, but next time, I may use 2 and a bit more onion. I also chopped up about a handful of flat-leaf parsley and added that to the salad as well.

On to the dressing. I really just eyeballed everything, but here are some approximates…1 tbs sugar, 3 tbs Splenda, 1 or 1.5 cups cider vinegar, 1 tsp celery seed, 1 tsp dill weed, a few pinches of salt and some cracked peppercorn. Mix this up with a couple splashes EVOO and throw over the salad to marinate. Although it can be eaten right away, much better after a couple hours in the fridge, and even super tastier overnight!

We had ours with some grilled corn and marinated steak tips - a great summer dinner!

Shanghai Choy and Steak

2007-04-20T08:23:00.002-04:00

Going to Super 88 - the Asian supermarkets in various locations around Boston - is always an adventure. They've got LIVE tilapia, catfish, eels and Dungeoness crabs - all of which they'll gladly make un-live for you. They've got neverending aisles of teas, sauces, and candies - as well as dried everything! In the meat section, you'll find jellyfish, rooster testicles, head-on poultry, entire roasted baby pigs, and just about every other part of any edible animal.

We love going there, especially for produce because you can find almost any veggie out there and usually you get better prices than at your supermarket. This time around, we picked up some nice sirloin strips for an unbeatable price, and then hunted for a sidedish.

I was immediately drawn to the choy section... near the Bok Choy which I was familiar with was something called Shanghai Choy - and it looked awful cute - so we took a bunch home and decided to look it up later. Apparently, Shanghai Choy is lighter green than Bok Choy and has less moisture, but to be honest I don't know if I could tell the difference. They key to cooking choy is rinsing it very well. I chopped off roughly 1 inch of the bottom of the bulb (I had 3 bulbs), thereby separating all the leaves. After several rinses and water changes, I spun them in my salad spinner and cut the leafy parts of the stems. I thinly sliced the stems, and coarsely chopped the leaves.

I started some olive oil in a large pan and sauteed some garlic with the stems for about 5 minutes after which I added about 1.5 cups of chopped portabello mushrooms to the pan with a few squirts of fish sauce, 1 dash of five spice, some squirts of Sriracha, and half a cup of veggie stock. After another 5 minutes, in went the leaves and a cup and a half of bean sprouts with a couple dashes of soy. I finished it off by cutting of little bits of Chinese chives into the pan (milder than run-of-the-mill chives in my opinion).

(can you tell we like this stuff?)

And that was it! I served it up with that steak that we had marinated in white wine, sriracha, and some red pepper flake and then quickly grilled. Wonderful flavors, very easy to make, and - as always - an adventure!

Pickled Pink Eggs & Beets

2007-04-15T09:27:00.003-04:00

My Mom used to grow beets in the garden and then pickle and can them. Our basement was full of pickle jars, and I used to pretend that I was the shop owner and purveyor of the cellar pickles - such good memories! (what a strange kid! - ed) And this post on A Chicken in Every Granny Cart brought it all of these memories back to me! In honor of Easter, I decided to follow her cue and pickle some eggs with beets to give the eggs a pinkish, purplish Spring-time hue and pickled flavor.

I simmered one can of whole small beets (I threw in some of their juice too) in equal parts water and cider vinegar. I threw in at least a half cup brown sugar, a couple shakes of cinnamon and a couple shakes of allspice. Cinnamon sticks and cloves would have been a better choice, but I was without. After simmering, I removed from the heat and added the already hard-boiled and deshelled eggs to the pan. I let them sit at room temp all day before putting them in the fridge. After 24hrs, the pink color hadn't penetrated to the yolk yet, but after a few days, it certainly did. The beets were lovely too, but beware of the beet juice -- it likes to leave stains everywhere!

For breakfast yesterday, I put some mayo on some whole wheat toast, 1 sliced pickled pink egg with some S&P, and a bit of baby romaine. Tasty... and pink!

Boston's South End Restaurants

2007-04-09T19:30:00.010-04:00

Boston's South End was our home for many wonderful years and, although we relocated just over a year ago, the South End will always hold a place in our hearts - and stomachs. We especially loved the many restaurants of the South End that were available just a short walk away. To be honest, many of the restaurants in this neighborhood are certainly NOT cheap eats these days, so we'd try to only go out on special occasions... but it was always nice to know they were there! Lots and lots of people are coming to Boston this upcoming weekend for the Boston Marathon, and the South End is perfect for a visit - just south of Boylston Street, which is the main finish line area - so we thought we'd help out with our own little guided tour!

Here is a quick Boston primer - the major neighborhoods of Boston Proper (not including Roxbury, East Boston, or Dorchester in this pic):

North End - Great Italian Restaurants! Old North Church! Pizzeria Regina is a must for a big, flat, crispy, brick-oven-cooked pizza...
Back Bay - Newbury Street shopping - and the bistros - are the place to see-and-be-seen in Boston. Tapeo on Newbury is GREAT for tapas... but we usually end up in the bars and steakhouses on Boylston Street!
Beacon Hill - this beautiful old section is the home to the Capital and all the government buildings... Sevens for home-brewed beer, Grotto for a romantic Italian dinner, and Silvertone near Boston Common for great upscale comfort food.
Theater District/Chinatown - world-class shows early, certainly good for an adventure later... stay in groups down here late at night and you'll have fun! Penang is good and Shabu Zen for shabu-shabu!
Financial District - most bustling during Happy Hours, more bars opening all the time... Lots of great sandwich shops (the Mediterranean) here during the day and lots of trouble to get into down here at night!
Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market - big tourist destination, not really a "neighborhood" but I had to include it in here. You can find anything along the row of booths in the Quincy Market Food Colonnade - also a great place for a St. Patrick's Day pub crawl!
Cambridge - where 1/2 of us work... MIT, Harvard, great Squares with fun restaurants to visit along the Red Line of the T (Boston's subway). The 2nd Street Sandwich shop has killer sandwiches and the Similans for awesome Thai food.
BU Allston/Brighton - a fun neighborhood for the young and young at heart, great place to find a beer and some grub (Sunrise Grill)!
South Boston - more great bars and restaurants are popping up there, certainly lots to do in Southie! Salsa's is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.
The Fens - Fenway Park, obviously... this area is a sports-lover's dream with the new Game On and the re-done Cask and Flagon, as well as Boston Beer Works.
Charlestown - where the other 1/2 of us work... Old Ironsides and Todd English's Olives, plus great boatyards and views of Boston.

And finally, the South End. Historic brick rowhouses that run along avenues and tiny side streets, a diverse population of all ages walking the uneven brick sidewalks, and many, many great restaurants. We cannot lie - the price point of many of these is high. Again, we were only going to these great places on special occasions... but - as we are known to do - don't be afraid to treat yourself, you're only alive but for a blink. Wikipedia says: "The South End is one of Boston's main restaurant districts offering a diverse mix of cuisines, many at a relatively high price point. Tremont Street is often called "Restaurant Row." The South End's range of restaurants include American southern "Low Country", French, Ethiopian, Brazilian, Indian, Italian, Korean, Greek, Middle Eastern, Cuban, Thai, and Japanese among others."

So on to those restaurants... this list contains but a small selection and we're leaving off GREAT places like Ethiopian food at Addis Red Sea, hot dogs and ice cream at Code 10, Mike's Diner for breakfast (THE best - period.), the romantic South End Dish, Bob the Chef's for bbq and jazz, Icarus and Masa over by Bay Village, Mistral, Sibling Rivalry, Jae's, Flour, South End Buttery, Tremont 647 and Sister Sorel... on and on and on - can you tell there are alot of restaurants? Additionally, cheese shops, bakeries, butchers, and other fun places to find - all within walking distance.

(this map doesn't represent the ENTIRE area of the South End, and that top, left corner above Columbus is Back Bay - but you get the idea...)

Hamersley's (these are in no particular order) - famous chicken, oxtail, great cheaper bar menu, wonderful location in the BCA plaza, very expensive. $$$$$
B&G Oysters - great place for.. go on, guess.. oysters! Local and West Coast Oysters available, plus some great other seafood dishes like HUGE lobster rolls and fresh-made seafood stew. Fun to sit at the bar and watch the open kitchen. $$$$
The Butcher Shop - sister restaurant to B&G (both by Chef Barbara Lynch), this place has a full case of meat available to buy and take home along with a great menu to eat in the store/restaurant. They also have a great butcher block table where they are always doing something fun. $$$$
Aquitaine - classic French bistro and wine bar, we've spent St. Valentine's Day here. $$$$
Metropolis - Another great place along Tremont Street, upscale comfort food but known for brunch. $$$
Franklin Cafe - very small but very fun place for drinks and dining, almost impossible to get into as the night goes on. $$$
Union - Very upscale new restaurant, great to treat yourself. The 10K Tuna is perfect. And you get cornbread in it's cast-iron skillet at the table - yum! $$$$$
Pho Republique - our old Friday Night haunt! A great place for a martini or a drink off of their menu - or share a scorpion bowl - and some traditional Pho, or something more non-traditional. Very hip and the bar becomes more and more crowded as the night goes on. $$$
Stella - a little more off the beaten path, wonderful Italian food. $$$$
The Red Fez - traditional Middle Eastern food like hummus plates, meat pies, and chicken livers. Big place can pack in alot of people, service (and the food, frankly) can be hit-or-miss. $$$
Anchovies - wonderful cheap Italian food with beer and wine, BIG plates in this old divey joint. $$
Clery's - just like many, many other Irish bars in Boston... can be fun, can be crowded, can be rowdy, and certainly worth a visit. Try to get in here after the Marathon this weekend, I dare ya! $$$

Like we said, this list comprises just a fraction of the available bars and restaurants in the area. The perfect Friday evening for us to eat our way through the South End would be to get off at the Back Bay T stop (circled on the map) and walk South down Dartmouth on the brick sidewalks. Take a detour across our favorite street, Appleton Street (if anyone knows of 2-bed, 2-bath all-new condo with a roof deck and parking on Appleton for, say... $400K - let us know! hahaha) over to Clarendon and down to B&G Oysters for an appetizer of a couple of local oysters and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

After that, a quick walk over to Franklin Cafe to sit either at the bar or a cozy booth for dinner and one of their beers on tap (after a quick stop by Formaggio, the cheese store right next door, to drool). Follow dinner with a stroll southwest to Washington Street to get a martini or other fun dessert beverage at Pho Republique (and to talk to Peter or Big Mike behind the bar). Finally, if we are still up for it, stop by to meet a few friends at Clery's for a pint and some late-night pub grub before taking the T (or a cab) back home.

Certainly let us know if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments on the restaurants in our adopted home of the South End, and if you're coming to Boston to visit, don't miss this wonderfully historic and gastric neighborhood!

Mixed Grill Mole Enchiladas with Cucumber Salsa

2007-04-08T11:54:00.003-04:00

We craved authentic Mexican food - the kind we'd get at La Paloma in Quincy or Salsa's in Southie... smooth textures, a little spiciness, cheesiness, and a hint of chocolate lingering in the background, mole-style. We thought we'd try a new one (for us) to satisfy this craving and make Baked Enchiladas.

We had to construct this one from the outside in - so here's what we knew: we wanted the filling to be comprised solely of beans and meat, we wanted some fresh green salsa-type topping to offset the meat and beans, we wanted to make our own enchilada sauce, and we wanted that sauce to be mole-style - with a little chocolate flavor mixed in with just a hint of spicy chipotle.

That left us with questions - firstly, what kind of meat? We knew we'd be making dinner with leftovers in mind (as usual) so we came to the conclusion - we got the room, why not TWO kinds of meat? Why not, indeed. So we picked up an inexpensive steak (top round, about 1lb) and a package of boneless/skinless chicken thighs that were on sale (also about a lb).

Second question - beans. We wanted to make our own refried beans because we know what texture and flavor we like in our beans. Refried beans aren't actually RE-fried - they are only "fried" once. So, what kind of beans? Ummmm.... how 'bout RED!

What kind of fresh salsa? Cuke-and-corn. How do you make enchilada sauce? With a roux, raw tomato sauce, and mucho gusto. What to drink with this enormous meal? Margaritas, of course! Plus we can use some tequila in our mixed grill marinade.

So we did just that - we allowed the chicken thighs and the steak to marinate in separate freezer bags consisting of some healthy splashes of tequila, some good-old American lager (these were some drunk meats), olive oil, cumin, chili powder, and salt. They stewed in their liquor for an hour or so before they were ready to meet the grill.

At the same time, we prepared our Cuke-and-Corn salsa in advance so it would be given time to settle in the fridge: into a bowl went an English cucumber partially peeled and chopped into quarters, two vine-ripe tomatoes cut into chunks, one 8oz can of corn (drained), the juice of 2 limes, 1 tbps olive oil, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro and a few pinches of salt. The salsa needed some heat, so we took out a jar of sliced jalapenos and added four minced little rings. After adding a couple of splashes of cider vinegar, it was ready to go in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Back to the meat - since we'll be shredding these and cooking them again in the oven, cooking times seemed less important - so all the meat went on a hot grill and got flipped and smoked and grilled for a while, we lost track of how long. When they appeared ready (and were tasting deliciously tangy and spicy), they came out for a rest - later to be chopped up into little pieces - and we soldiered on...

We were ready to start the final two componants - the sauce and the beans. We started a roux in one pan with a couple tbls of canola oil with a couple tbls of flour. When that was a nice tan, we added a bunch of chili powder and slowly mixed in one 8oz can of tomato sauce, then about a cup-and-a-half of water. That got to a great consistancy right away, so we added some cumin and a little salt and let that come up to a simmer.

In the other pan, we started sauteing some garlic and onion, and then we added two cans of drained red beans. Then Stacey got out her masher and went to work. After the mashing was complete, we added some liquid that we mixed from some of that enchilada sauce combined with water. When that liquid combined with the mashed beans achieved the texture we were looking for, we added some of those same old Mexican spices until the beans were the exact flavor we were looking for.

The final touch on the sauce - some semi-sweet chocolate chips (only about a dozen or so of them, a little goes a long way) and a few shakes of ground chipotle to LIVEN things up.

Oven to 400-degrees, we were ready to assemble. First, we spread a little enchilada sauce across the bottom of a glass baking dish. Then, wheat tortilla in hand, we spread some beans on the bottom and topped with the now-shredded meat, rolled the tortilla up, and placed seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat for a total of four times with chicken and four times with steak.

(we need a new camera)

Over that? All that mole enchilada sauce... poured over it and spread out so everything gets moist. And over that? What do you think - cheese! A good amount of shredded "Mexican" cheese.

Into the oven for ~25 minutes, the cheese on the top browned up nicely (we actually finished it by firing up the broiler for 5 minutes) and the bubbly concoction came out. We plated one steak and one chicken for each of us and topped with some healthy scoops the cool cuke salsa (cool? spicy!)...

Absolutely delicious - such a great texture and the tortilla edges had crisped up a little... just a hint of chocolate (you can smell it more than taste it) and a touch of spicy chipotle, all cooled down with the cuke and cilantro. Wonderfully authentic-tasting - and with two kinds of meat! We enjoyed these with a margarita and the Red Sox night game and thought about warmer summer temperatures to come.

Turkey Sausage & Kale Soup

2007-04-07T10:48:00.002-04:00

It has cooled back down this week in Boston, giving me the need to have something to warm my bones. I don't know about you, but the easiest way to warm me up is a nice bowl of soup. I had some sweet turkey sausage on hand and some frozen kale, so I knew I had what I needed as the base of the recipe.

The sweet Italian sausage was in links, so I browned them whole in the Dutch oven until all sides had crisped up. After removing from the pan, I added some olive oil with thinly sliced onion a celery (3 ribs) and 2 cloves-worth of chopped garlic. After cooking down for 10 minutes, I deglazed with a little white wine, threw in 2 bay leaves, salt, black pepper, a tsp of dried thyme and a 1/2 tsp of ground chipolte. I then added 8 cups of chicken stock, the now sliced sausage, 32 oz of rinsed chickpeas and 1 cup of small diced rutabega. After bringing that up to a simmer, I added 2 cups of thawed kale and let the somewhat thick soup simmer for another 30 minutes. In less than 1 hour, I had some great tasting soup that will fill my belly for days.

Although fresh greens like spinach and kale are best, you can't knock the versatility of having the frozen versions on hand. yum!

Braised Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

2007-04-02T09:48:00.003-04:00

The salad bar in my cafeteria at work has played host to brussel sprouts for the past few months and I scoop them up whenever I don’t pack a lunch. I’m not sure of their cooking method, but however they do it leaves hardly a trace of bitterness. The only way that I’ve ever had them at home was frozen, and then I would just thaw them and sautee them in a bit of butter or oil. This time, I decided to buy them in the raw and see if I could master the art of the sprouts.

I rendered about 3-4 strips of diced bacon in our dutch oven, adding 1 small diced onion about 10 minutes in. After the onions softened, I removed both the bacon and the onions from the pan and wiped out most of the drippings. I had about a pound of brussel sprouts which I had rinsed, trimmed the stems and halve lengthwise through the stem.

I added some olive oil to the pan and sautéed the sprouts for a few minutes before adding 2 cups of chicken stock (not quite covering the tops of the sprouts), a bay leaf and some S&P. I returned the bacon and onions to the pot and let everyone simmer for about 15 minutes.

They weren’t mushy and even my husband liked them enough to eat several! The only thing I would’ve done differently would be to reserve some crunchy bacon to serve on top after they’re plated. We had some DELICIOUS grilled ribeye steaks along with some grilled sweet potato fries with the sprouts. The sweetness of the fries and the slight bitterness of the sprouts played off each other really well!

Spinach Meatballs

2007-03-31T18:55:00.002-04:00

In the past, we've made meatballs by frying them in a pan which was messy and somewhat tedious - since we need to be making some sort of marinara at the same time. I then remembered seeing an episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown bakes the balls of meat instead of frying them. Why hadn't we tried this before? And you can make more meatballs at the same time as well, and more is always better!

We mixed a little over a pound of ground turkey with 1.5 cups of thawed and well drained spinach. I added about 1/4 c. parmesan, 1/2 tbsp Worchestershire, some dried oregano, basil, S&P and some Penzey's Cajun Seasoning. I mixed that together and added roughly 1/3 c of breadcrumbs until the mixture was no longer gooey. I did not add an egg to this, but in retrospect, that would've bound everything together a bit better.

After forming 1.5inch balls, I placed them on a greased pan and stuck them at 400F for 20 minutes, turned them and cooked for 5 minutes more. After plunking them into the marinara for a few minutes more, we served them up over some whole wheat angel hair pasta.

And what to do with leftovers...meatball sandwiches of course!

Chicken with Olives & Artichokes

2007-03-27T11:06:00.003-04:00

A little while ago I purchased an obscene amount of chicken thighs and threw them in the freezer knowing they would work their way into our bellies soon enough. I was having a craving for salty, briny olives and thought how wonderful they would be with those chicken thighs. As with most of our recipes we kinda just invented the recipe as we were doing it, which is the fun of it!

After cutting off excess fat/skin from the thighs, we rinsed and patted them dry and seasoned them just with salt & pepper and a bit of smoked paprika. In our dutch oven, we seared them in batches (don’t want to crowd them!) in some olive oil. After wiping out the excess oil (but keeping some of the brown bits of goodness), we added some fresh olive oil and sauteed one frenched onion and 5 chopped garlic cloves. After cooking for 5 minutes, we added roughly 8oz of sliced mushrooms, and let those cook down.

Now come the stars of the show in my opinion!! About 40 olives (half Kalamata and half giant green ones) are halved and thrown in with ¼ cup of capers, a few sprigs of thyme and a small bunch of oregano.

We then deglazed the pan with about 2 cups of chardonnay, and cooked that for about 5 minutes more. We returned the chicken to the pan with 5 cups of chicken stock. We topped off with 2 16 oz cans of drained quartered artichokes, brought it up to a low boil and threw it into a 350 degree oven for an hour.

We served this delightful Mediterranean dish over some Pecan and garlic couscous, and toasted with a glass of Chardonnay as well! Bon apetit!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

2007-03-19T10:54:00.002-04:00

Last year, we made a traditional Irish Lamb Stew for St. Patrick's Day - one of our favorite holidays of the year. This year, we went traditional again - but in a different direction... the traditional Irish-American St. Patrick's Day meal: Corned beef and cabbage (and turnips and carrots and celery and onions...)

We trimmed much of the fat off of a 4lb flat-cut corned beef and then added it to our dutch oven along with alot of water, a 16oz Guinness (yum!), a chopped-up onion, about 5 crushed cloves of garlic, three BIG bay leaves, a handful of whole tellicherry peppercorns, and some kosher salt. After finally coming to a boil, we covered it tight and set it to simmer... and forgot about it for 3.5 hours.

3.5 hours later, we warmed up the oven to ~200 degrees and removed our now-red and tender corned beef from the liquid. We wrapped it in alumninum foil and let it rest in the warm oven in order to boil up our veggies in the corned beef's flavorful broth.

After bringing the broth to a nice boil, we added a turnip, about a dozen carrots, and a bunch of celery ribs - all cleaned, peeled, and chopped to around the same size. Back to a boil and give those guys a head-start, then we finally added a head of cabbage that had been cut into 8 wedges.

20 minutes later and we were eating. The corned beef was SO tender it is hard to describe... it was almost like jelly - although that not the most flattering description, trust us it was good. Along with some dijon mustard, the flavor was delicious. And the veggies had absorbed the wonderful broth left behind by the corned beef. We enjoyed this delicious meal with the last of many, many Guinness pints from the weekend and are looking forward to the leftovers - and sandwiches!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Shrimp Alfredo Pizza

2007-03-14T13:44:00.003-04:00

We have pretty much perfected our homemade whole wheat pizza dough - one packet of yeast in 1 cup of very warm (110-degree) water and a drop of honey allowed to "wake up" for about 15 minutes, then into a bowl with 3 cups whole wheat flour, lots of garlic powder, salt, and some basil and oregano, combined and kneaded until doughy and then allowed to rise near the warm oven (covered) for an hour. This recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas, and it freezes well too.

The champion of this particular pizza creation is the bag of frozen shrimp we always have on hand. Whether in fajitas, pasta, or grilled cajun-style over a salad, these frozen wonders are great for easy and quick weeknight cooking.

As usual, we pre-cooked our dough on our stone in a very hot 500-degree oven for 4 minutes. In the meantime, we cooked up the shrimp 2/3 of the way in some olive oil and seasoned them with some garlic powder, oregano, and basil. We removed the dough and topped it with some store-bought alfredo sauce, some big slices of tomato, fresh basil leaves, the shrimpies and topped it with some shredded mozzarella and fresh-grated parmesan. We popped that back in the oven for 7 more minutes, and then we had ourselves a nice creamy shrimp pizza with a divinely thin crispy crust!

The Good Shepherd

2007-03-07T11:42:00.002-05:00

Another casserole-type dish?!? Two in a row - you ask? You bet. And you’ll see why in a sec! It’s been cold here in Boston – demonically so, and therefore we wanted comfort food that'll keep your insides warm. We decided on a kicked up version of shepherd's pie that would be topped off by mashed sweet potatoes and sharp cheddar cheese.

We browned up some “meatloaf mix” in some olive oil. This is just ground veal, pork and beef to give a nice depth to our pie. Once browned, we removed from the pan and started sautéing diced carrots and onions. After 10 minutes we added a couple cloves of chopped garlic and some chopped mushrooms. The spicing for this dish consisted of salt, thyme and lots of freshly ground Tellicherry black pepper.

At this point we boiled up 2 diced sweet potatoes, and once tender, we mashed them with S&P, 1.5 TBS Promise, and ¼ cup milk. Returning to the veggies: we deglazed with ¼ cup red wine and 2 cups of beef stock. We returned the browned meat to the pan and added a cup each of frozen peas and chopped spinach.

After most of the liquid had cooked off, we turned off the heat and spread the mashed sweet potatoes over the top of the veggies and meat, topped that with a sharp cheddar and threw the cast iron pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes.

This pie was so delicious, it made great leftovers for days! As you can tell, we LOVE one pot dishes – so if anyone has some fantastic one pot suggestions, let us know!

Chicken Eggplant Casserole

2007-03-02T11:15:00.002-05:00

I spied some nice shiny aubergines aka beautiful Italian eggplants at the store the other day, so I scooped them up immediately. The poor things sat in the fridge for a couple of days before I remembered them, but they were good to go when M and I came up with a crazy-off-the-cuff-I-hope-this-is-edible-recipe.

We browned some ground chicken with some olive oil, sage, basil and S&P. Once browned, we removed from the pan and sautéed some onion, garlic and diced green pepper for about 10 minutes and then we added the star – half moon slices of our eggplants. We let that go another 5 minutes and added some sliced baby bella mushrooms to the pan. After deglazing with about a cup of chardonnay, we added a 32 oz can of diced tomatoes, some cream and we returned the chicken to the pan.

After reducing the sauce for about 15 minutes, we topped it with some mozzarella cheese and some bread crumbs and set it under the broiler for about 8 minutes. Came out with a great crust on top and tasting delicious! Real comfort food... this tasted like Eggplant Parmesean, but without all the lenghty process that goes into making Egg Parm... made excellent leftovers, too. This recipe is a keeper!

Roasted Fennel & Sweet Potato

2007-03-01T10:45:00.003-05:00

I’ve been hunting for months now for fennel bulbs, but the local supermarket hasn’t been carrying them. Well they used to, but under the name anise which got me all confused!!! But now that I’m in the know, they were without. Finally I decided to hit the supermarket early on a Sunday morning and lo and behold – fennel! I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, but I HAD to buy it. That night M wanted to grill a steak and make some herb butter (see below), so I thought some roasted veggies would work nicely.

I cut the bulb into eighths, but I would recommend doing them slightly thinner as they’ll take less time to cook and will be on the same schedule as the sweet potatoes which were cut into quarter inch half moons. Everything was tossed with some EVOO, balsamic vinegar and S&P. Into a 380 degree oven for 45 minutes. The fennel was a bit too crunchy for M, but I liked it anyway and threw some in my weekday lunch salads as well!

Along with those roasted veggies, we applied a dry rub - kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper - to a big steak and then grilled it up... We thought we'd try something easy but nice to have on top, so earlier in the day we took out a 1/2 stick of unsalted butter (the real stuff, of course) and let it soften. When good and soft, we added LOTS of herbs - both fresh chopped (oregano, parsley) and dried (more oregano, basil) - and combined with a fork. Then we added the mushy herbed butter to plastic wrap and fold over lengthwise... and then roll along the counter holding the two open ends to form a tight butter roll!

Pop this back in the fridge and it rehardens - ready to be mined for little slices of herb butter for use on the steak and whatever else you can think of!

Cheese = Love

2007-02-18T09:02:00.002-05:00

Lots of couples dine out on Valentine’s Day, relishing in the dimly lit, romantic atmosphere of that cute little bistro that just opened up. M and I used to partake in this ritual when we were first dating, and we certianly loved it. But everyone does it, and maybe someday we’ll go back to that old standard, but for now we’ve invented our own Valentine’s Day tradition – fondue.

This is our 4th installment of V-Day fondue, and this time we thought we would try something a bit different. In the past, we usually make our fondue with Emmentaler, Gruyere and Kirsch Brandy which is a dry clear (very potent!) liquor distilled from black cherries! Unfortunately, this year we ran out and none of the liquor stores in the area carried it! What to do?? We saw some fondue recipes on the internet that used cognac instead (and a bit of Dijon!), so I brought home some Hennessey as a substitute.

We rub a warm pan with a garlic clove and then added a cup or so of chardonnay to a simmer and then slowly added our chopped up cheese (this year we went with Gruyere and Gouda…next year we’ll try Emmentaler and smoked Gouda) that we had coated with some corn starch. When the cheese is all melted, we add in some cognac and a tbsp of Dijon. Wisk away until you have a good melted consistency – add more wine if it’s too thick. We then transfer the cheese to a mini crockpot that we can set at the table.

For the accoutrements, we had steamed broccoli and asparagus, red bell pepper, apples, bread and some grilled kielbasa. Another traditional heart day down!

Pork & Black Bean Tacos

2007-02-13T11:20:00.002-05:00

We made a wonderful braised pork shoulder this past weekend, and we knew this 7lb monster (well, maybe 6lbs after all the skin and fat were trimmed) would create a foundation for many weeknight meals to come!

This is such an easy weeknight meal that involves little preparation, and that’s what I like after commuting an hour on the subway to get home after a long day. I started by bringing 3-4 cups of veggie stock to a boil and adding some Mexican oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and some ground chipotle to it. I then shredded up maybe just-under a pound of leftover pork and threw that in to simmer with the broth and spices for at least 20 minutes, longer if you want!

When you feel like you’re ready to eat in about 10 minutes, start a sautee pan over medium heat with a couple tbs olive oil, and add half of a smallish onion that has been chopped, along with some green chiles if you want some heat. Let those cook for about 5 minutes and then add a can of rinsed black beans to the pan. Season with some salt and then after a couple minutes, coarsely mash the beans right in the pan, and let that warm through.

We served our tacos up on some multigrain soft tortillas with some lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa. These tacos came out great on the plate, as well as all over the front of my shirt, but oh well!

Funnel Cake, Buffalo Wings, and Fried Oysters

2007-02-09T10:58:00.004-05:00

Funnel Cake, Buffalo Wings, and Fried Oysters - must be Super Bowl fare! Since the Patriots had been eliminated, we got to focus on the food on Super Bowl Sunday - and we wanted to do something different. We dug out an old gift we had received a few Christmases ago - an electric fryer - and decided to put it to use.

We started with fried oysters. We drained one of those small 1/2-pint containers of oysters and dried them pretty good, then added salt and cayenne pepper to them before rolling them in a mixture of 1/2 white flour and 1/2 corn meal, seasoned with salt and more cayenne. Allowed to sit in the fridge to solidify the "batter", we loaded up our fryer with canola oil and heated it up to 375. Took the oysters back out and it seemed some moisture had broken through the batter, so we panicked a little and rolled them one more time in corn meal before frying them up for about 3 minutes. Despite the extra layer on the outside (that was probably unnecessary) they came out really good! Ate these with some tartar sauce...

We moved on to Wings by halftime... We air-dried our little chicken parts with some kosher salt on them as long as we could - then we threw them in the 375 oil as-was. After about 8/9 minutes, they were ready to come out (the frying-noises had pretty much stopped). Let them cool for a minute and then tossed them in Buffalo sauce. We had pre-made Frank's buffalo sauce as someone had seemed to buy out all of Stop and Shop's hot sauces - but we've made buffalo sauce before. It's really easy, 1/2 melted butter and 1/2 hot sauce.

We ate these with a big iceberg/cuke/celery salad with blue cheese dressing - dipping the wings in the dressing as well. These came out so good - there is really no substitute for that texture you get from frying the wings instead of baking them.

Finally - Funnel Cake! We made a simple batter of white flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, egg, milk, and a little salt. We made sure to make it extra liquidy to be able to squeeze it out into the oil. Added the batter to a ziplock bag and cut out the corner and squeezed the batter in - and it CAME TO LIFE! It was fun to watch these cook, after a minute or two we used tongs to flip them over. Out they came for a pat-dry, then we added some powdered sugar.

So good! None of the flavors from the other foods are transferred, as we feared. We ate these cakes warm with a little iced cream... DELICIOUS!

Chicken & Sweet Potato Layered Tortilla

2007-01-31T13:48:00.002-05:00

I love getting inspiration from other food bloggers... I get an idea, then poof, I run with it! Today’s inspiration comes from Sher at What Did You Eat?, and her stacked enchilada. By the way, Sher, I thought your enchilada looked great!

We had roasted another chicken the other day, and with that we had some mashed sweet potatoes (mashed with Promise, some light cream cheese and a splash of milk). These lovely leftover containers were beckoning to me from inside the fridge and so I decided to get cooking!

I thinly sliced a small onion and started it sweating in a pan in some olive oil. While that was going, I shredded up some chicken, about 2 cups, and set aside. I then thawed 1.5 cups frozen spinach and ½ cup frozen bell peppers. Once thawed, I added that to the onions and also threw in some salt, chili powder, cumin and Mexican oregano. I just let that warm through and then took off the heat.

Time to assemble the layers! First down is a 10” whole wheat tortilla, then I slathered it with the leftover sweet potatoes which I topped with the spices from above. Then comes the shredded chicken!! Top that with another tortilla and spread the spinach mixture on it and top with 1 diced tomato, some cilantro and shredded cheese and place the last tortilla on top. I started this off in a dry pan on medium low heat with the cover on, but that wasn’t having the desired effect, so I transferred it to a 400 degree oven sans lid for 10 minutes. This fed the 2 of us with enough for lunch leftovers! We served this up with some sliced jalapenos and a dollop of sour cream…the sweet potato gave us the impression that there were refried beans inside... what a great way to use up your leftovers!!!

Chicken Tagine

2007-01-28T19:00:00.002-05:00

While searching for a good new one-pot/two-night dish on Epicurious.com, I came across Chicken Tagine. Wikipedia then informed me that a Moroccan Tagine (or Tajine) is the name for clay pot that the dish known as "tagine" is traditionally cooked in - as well as the dish, itself. Although we are lacking the clay pot, hopefully we can replicate the Tagine as best as possible with what we got!

I started out by coating bone-in chicken thighs, wings and drummies with hot curry powder and browning them in a hot oiled pan, after which I removed them and set them aside. I then added a large onion (thinly sliced), and cooked that on medium low for 5 minutes, at which time I added about 6 cloves of minced garlic and about a tbsp of minced ginger. After cooking that for 5 minutes more, I added in my spice mix (1 ½ tbsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp cayenne and 1/8 tsp cinnamon.) In goes a little more than 2 cups of water, 2 15oz cans of rinsed chickpeas, ¾ cup canned diced tomatoes and their juices, 1 couple tbsp chopped cilantro stems(!), 2 tbsp lemon juice and some very thin slices of lemon. Bring that up to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

At this point, I returned the chicken to the pot for 20 minutes. In another pan I put 1 ½ cups of water, ½ cup chopped dried apricots and some cinnamon…bring to a boil and keep on simmering until liquid becomes glaze-like. After 20 minutes, add the apricot mixture, 2 cups of frozen peas and about 1 cup frozen carrots to the tagine. Also, add some salt to your liking and some ground pepper. Let all the flavors meld for another 5-10 minutes et voila! Garnish with some freshly chopped mint and you have a winner!

The only thing I would omit the next time would be the slices of lemon…although I had sliced them very thin, I still got a little bitterness from the rind. Just add more lemon juice instead!

Braised Beef Brisket with Root Vegetables

2007-01-25T11:38:00.002-05:00

You know how much we like to braise – this time we put our dutch oven actually IN the oven to cook a lovely 3lb flat cut beef brisket. Although we would have preferred a point cut, alas the butcher had none so we went flat.

After giving the brisket a good rub down of flour, salt, and mignonette pepper, we seared each side in a pan with some olive oil. After browning, we removed it from the pan and began sweating 2 thinly sliced onions. After 5 minutes, we tossed in about 8 cloves of garlic (minced), and cooked for 5 minutes more. Then, we pour in a couple cups of cabernet while scraping up the lovely goodness on the bottom of the pan. Tossed in ¼ cup tomato paste, several sprigs of fresh thyme and 2 turkish bay leaves and brought this wonderfully-smelling concoction to a boil.

We cooked that until it was reduced by half, then added about 6 cups of beef stock and brought it back to a boil - then finally we nestled the browned brisket back into the pot. We covered pot with a piece of foil and then put the cover on top to seal it tightly. Placed the pot in the lower third of the oven at 325 degrees for about 2.5 hours.

We served ours up with some rutabaga, celery and carrots along with some of the delicious broth that the brisket was braising in. How could this once-tough piece of meat come out so tender you ask?? Braising. Yup, unbelievable what this technique can do for even the tough guys. Tender and delicious!

Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa

2007-01-22T10:35:00.002-05:00

We made a pilgrimage to Penzey's in Arlington, Mass on Saturday - to stock up on some spices and get a feel for what the whole store would be like beyond the catalog. We certainly had a good time smelling all the spices and mixes - they have glass jars with samples of each so you can experience the aroma (warning: avoid deeply inhaling the powdered jalapeno!), although we also had our nit-picks with the store and it's location, etc. Mr. Penzey, if you read this, call us up for some advice on how to improve your business here in Boston!

We stocked up on a few necessities: cumin, fennel, tarragon, sage, chili powder, and others. We also picked up a bag of chipotle peppers - totalling about 10 of the smoked, dried jalapenos. So we naturally decided to make chipotle salsa!

We decided to try for the "real" stuff - no chunky, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salsa... we wanted authentic chipotle salsa. So we picked up some tomatillos to make our salsa with - like little tomatoes with a husk, you char the outside to get to their tart, lemony flavor. Along with some limes, garlic, and salt - we'll bolster the volume with just a few spoonfuls of canned/stewed tomatoes - and that's it.

So first we had to rehydrate the chipotles by boiling three of them in water for 20 minutes. By the end of that time, the dry, shriveled peppers had re-grown to full jalapeno size and shape. We let those dry and then sliced them open to remove all the seeds and any water left inside.

Next, we husked the tomatillos and then charred each of them over the stove burner using tongs until the outer skin is just barely starting to blacken. You can feel the water inside the tomatillos starting to boil as they heat up on the hot flame!

Peel a couple of garlic cloves and cut two limes in half and we're ready to go! Into our little food processor: the three split chipotles, the eight charred tomatillos, two cloves of garlic, the juice from one lime, and a healthy pinch of salt. Chop, chop, chop... Blend, blend, blend... it almost instantly became a watery consistancy. A little taste tells us that it is SPICY and smokey, and that we need more lime, more salt - and to fill it out with some of the stewed tomatoes.

So we added a few big spoonfuls of the tomatoes and more lime and salt and chopped it up some more. Then it was into a container and into the fridge for a good sit.

An hour later, we gathered some tortilla chips and we were finally ready to taste the result - so smokey and spicy and delicious! It tasted like the salsa from one of our favorite authentic Mexican restaurants - Salsa's in South Boston. Stacey believed it was a little TOO spicy for public consumption - but just right for us. This stuff was ADDICTIVE, we had to physically remove it from the table after a while because we couldn't stop eating it! A cold beer helped wash it down and quenched our burning lips. Awesome stuff!

Italian Wedding Soup II

2007-01-16T09:19:00.003-05:00

We finished off our Sunday by making Italian Wedding Soup. We've made Italian Wedding Soup before and we did it up very similarily this time - turkey meatballs, lots of onions and celery and parsley, carrots, spinach, and some good broth are all you really need.

Veggies, Ready To Go

Making Meatballs

Brown the meatballs first, add the veggies (hold the spinach) to the chicken broth/stock, then add the meatballs. When you're near-ready to eat, add your spinach and pasta and cook until the pasta is done. We crushed up some penne with a hammer in a paper bag to have some smaller pasta bits more suited to Italian Wedding Soup!

Simmering Away

The Final Product

A delicious end to a great Sunday - the Patriots won in a very tight and exciting game - so they are on to Indy to play in the AFC Championship on this upcoming Sunday... Sounds like we have another Sunday of food-and-football coming up!

Herb-Sour Cream Stuffed Eggs

2007-01-14T16:45:00.002-05:00

Stacey here, interrupting Michael's Sunday Football Live Food Blog thingie! I've been watching my carbs this month trying to melt away the holiday cheer that took up residence in my thighs, so this past week it has been no cereal - even though what I generally eat is Barbara's Multigrain Shredded Spoonfuls. So my breakfasts have been eggs, eggs and more eggs, and if I don't cook them just so, they make me feel icky. So today I thought I'd try a new approach. I was reading through our Southern Living Cookbook (a wedding present from Michael's southern-ish cousin Emily.) Now deviled eggs are one thing, but WHOA, herbed stuffed eggs??? Let me get my apron on and start cooking!

I hard-boiled 6 eggs and let them cool. After de-shelling them, I sliced 'em lengthwise and scooped out the yolks. I mashed them with a little over 1/3 cup of low-fat sour cream, 2 tsps white vinegar, 1 tsp dried dill, 1 tsp Fox Point Seasoning, 3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley (or chives as the recipe says), some salt and black pepper. Although the recipe called for 3 slices cooked and crumbled bacon, I was forlorn b/c I had none! However I did have some "real" bacon bits in a jar some I tossed a tbsp in as well.

Well, mmm, mmm, mmm, I stuffed those eggs with my herby mixture and refrigerated them for an hour, et voila mes oeufs sont bons? Okay my French has really deteriorated, but whatever. These are great, and great for a party! Oh la la!!!

A Tour of Our Kitchen

2007-01-14T15:13:00.002-05:00

The view across the island to the sink/prep/cooking area, you can see the deck right outside those windows...

When we bought this place over a year ago, an obvious selling point was the kitchen. We were cooking more and more and knew that we liked spending time in the kitchen, so we wanted a comfortable, warm place with room to sit and eat and as much counterspace as we could fit. That's a tall order in Boston, but we definitely got what we wanted in our Orange Kitchen - where we spend most of our non-sleeping hours while at home. And, in the spirit of other bloggers showing their kitchens, here are some pics of our kitchen!

So, how to explain how we're watching football in the kitchen all day...? Knowing how much time we like to spend in the kitchen - and knowing the amount of sports/cooking shows/nature shows/home improvement shows we like to have on WHILE cooking - we decided to hang a television on one wall across from the sitting area of the kitchen. We used a cantilever to hang the TV and we can swivel it over towards any area of the kitchen. Here's the view across the kitchen towards the TV:

Here's Stacey in the sitting area, working on the laptop - our blogging center!

So that's where all the magic happens! Back soon with more!

Bloody Mary

2007-01-14T14:42:00.003-05:00

We finished brunch, cleaned up all the dishes, folded some laundry and even gave a cat a bath! Time to relax with a beverage that is certainly unique to Sunday Brunch - and a tradition for us on football Sundays.

We actually mixed up the Bloody Mix earlier this morning - sans Vodka. That way, the flavors get a chance to mellow/mature/mix in the fridge for a little while - enhancing the taste considerably.

So! A bunch of V8 (see, it's healthy!) goes into a big pitcher, then several liberal dashes of worcestershire (maybe 10 big ones), many liberal dashes of Texas Pete's Hot Sauce, a big spoonful of horseradish, a little "dirty" oil from a jar of olives - and a couple olives, too - many shakes of celery salt, plenty of fresh ground pepper, and a big squeeze of lemon.

Take a taste and add more of anything there ain't enough of - and then get the pitcher into the refrigerator for a good sit.

The Bar

Put some ice and then a few fingers of the cheap, frozen vodka of your choice (Gordon's - the "Smoothest, Most Mixable!") in a pint glass and fill with the Bloody mix, then pour into another, larger glass and back into your original glass to mix. Add a lemon wedge and some celery and you're happy... We like 'em as spicy - but NOT bitter - as possible. Cheers!

See, a cat fresh from the bath!

Eggs Benedict

2007-01-14T12:59:00.002-05:00

We needed a hearty breakfast to get us going because today is a great day!! It is Sunday in January and that means we get to do one of our absolute favorite things - sit in the kitchen and watch football all day while cooking and drinking our way through the games! Not only that, but our beloved PATS are playing at the San Diego Chargers in the later game (4:30) - in the most anticipated matchup of the weekend... It is rainy and miserable out and we're still in our pajamas in the kitchen, and we'll be BLOGGING ALL DAY! A few cups of coffee and this Eggs Benedict has us ready for the full day ahead.

Let's get it started!

It's almost 1:00 and the first game is coming on - Seattle at Chicago - so we are ready to eat. We started toast in the toaster oven and added some breakfast ham slices to a hot pan. Then we started poaching our eggs in a big saucepan of simmering water with a few splashes of white vinegar added (to keep the egg white from spreading out). We crack each egg into a small glass bowl and add them to the water one-at-a-time as gently as possible.

Those eggs will be ready in 6 minutes so we crack two more eggs for the hollendaise - for the yolks alone. Break up those two yolks and squeeze in a half a lemon's juice. Add that to the double boiler and start wisking and adding 1/2 stick of butter, a little at a time and constantly whisking to melt the butter.

Additionally, we sliced a big, red tomato into pretty thick rounds and sprinkled on some kosher salt and a little squeeze of that lemon.

Ok! Toast out, ham slice on the toast and tomato slices on top of the ham, the egg (that has been sitting temporarily on a paper towel to get rid of all that water!) goes on top of the tomato and on top of ALL that is a ladle-full of your hollandaise. DELICIOUS - love the lemony-buttery sauce mixed with the soft-cooked yolk of the egg! We ate these hungrily with a glass of OJ and we are ready to go.

WE'LL BE POSTING ALL DAY AND WE HAVE LOTS PLANNED, SO COME BACK AND SEE WHAT ELSE WE'RE UP TO!

Juicy Turkey Meatloaf

2007-01-13T18:05:00.002-05:00

I have previously blogged on Turkey Meatloaf, but I wanted to take it up a level (And I already have ideas for a Cajun Meatloaf for the next go-around!)

This time we made a loaf that smelled like we were preparing Thanksgiving stuffing, and that’s a good thing! Into our mini-Cuisinart went a coupla ribs of celery, a small yellow onion and a handful of fresh parsley. I pulsed this very well until it was a fine chop, but not quite a paste. In the meantime, Michael chopped up 3 slices whole wheat bread and mixed that with a few splashes of milk and some seasoning. The bread and the veggies get tossed in with the roughly 1.3 lbs of ground turkey along with several shakes of Worchestershire sauce, a tsp of Dijon, several shakes of Fox Point Seasoning, a beaten egg, and about ¼ cup grated parmesan.

If the mixture seems a bit too moist, add some bread crumbs, but no more than ¼ cup. We placed the loaf in the oven at 375 for 1 hr. This was by far the juiciest meatloaf in the history of loaves! Smelled and tasted like proper comfort food. We served it up with a saute of spinach, peppers, and small-diced rutabegas.

The next time we want loaf, we'll try a Cajun-style one...until then, happy eating!

Tandoori Chicken (or Chicken Tikka)

2007-01-12T09:56:00.001-05:00

One of the Penzey mixes we have is Tandoori seasoning, so we thawed two boneless/skinless chicken breasts (well, one "breast" i guess... is it one or two?) and then mixed 1 cup of plain yogurt with the juice of a lemon and many, MANY shakes of tandoori seasoning. We cut the chicken breast(s) into big chunks and put the chunks into the bowl and made sure they were covered well with the tandoori-yogurt mixture. And into the fridge for the whole day long, they went...

We researched Tandoori Chicken and found that it is traditionally cooked in a hot earthen oven (i.e. tandoor) on skewers without searing or anything like that. We also found that - since we were using boneless chunks - we were actually making Chicken Tikka. Tikka, tandoori - it's all good. Next time, we'll make it with bone-full chicken.

So, trying to keep with that tradition, we decided to skewer our chicken and cook them in a hot (400-degree) oven. So we skewered the chunks and suspended them over a baking dish, thusly:

Along with the chicken, we prepared Curried Vegetables by chopping up a green pepper, a medium onion, and a few mushrooms into ~1" chunks. We also added some chopped tomato and some olive oil. Then we stirred in several healthy shakes of curry powder, some salt and some Cajun seasoning. That went in the 400-degree oven first, and 15 minutes later the chicken went in. 45 minutes total time later, everything came back out and was ready to be plated!

Also with that, we made some 10-minute brown rice, adding in a little butter and a few shakes of the tandoori seasoning in there, as well.

Came out really good! The tandoori seasoning isn't "hot" by any means, but it is nice and subtle. Next time, we'll probably just throw the chicken on the grill to add some more flavor. The VEGGIES came out ridiculously delicious - we'll try many more combinations like that. Overall, a pretty good first attempt at Indian cooking.

Penzey's Fox Point Seasoning

2007-01-09T16:57:00.002-05:00

Let's be clear right from the beginning - we have no money invested in Penzey's, Penzey's LLC, PenzCorp, Penzelino's Importing and Exporting... or whatever the company is called. We are not being paid by PenCo., Mr. Penzey, or the P.B.B. (Penzey Boosters of Boston). We are merely fans and customers of Penzey's spices, so please know that our intentions are completely pure and unsolicited!

We learned about Penzey's through other food blogs (Kalyn's Kitchen, specifically) and knew we needed to update our old spice rack with some newly-bought essentials from a well-known and somewhat reputable source.

Well, Santa came through this year (Stacey's Parents, actually) with a great gift box containing several Penzey's containers and bags full of spices! Mexican Oregano, ground cumin, sea salt, etc. Plus a bunch of pre-mixed blends, including:

Fox Point Seasoning INGREDIENTS: salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion and green peppercorns. It is very garlic-and-chivey with certain saltiness, it includes freeze-dried shallots, chives, and scallions, making it fresh-tasting and light, and very green. It probably most resembles a dry vegetable dip packet - indeed they've got a recipe for a vegetable dip right on the container.

We made a different version of the dip for our Ulitmate Veggie Platter at our New Year's Eve Party - 1 Cup sour cream with about/almost/not quite 3/4 cup mayo, a bunch of fresh chives and fresh parsley chopped up real good, and many, many shakes of Fox Point. After a couple hours in the fridge, it came out nicely seasoned and very fresh.

But that's just the beginning... we've put it on turkey sandwiches, as a chili topper, on nachos, in salads, part of the seasoning for burgers, etc. It is great on anything on the light side, but also works with more heavy, meaty stuff if bolstered with some ground black pepper and other spices.

One of our favorite applications is Scrambled Eggs: 4 eggs beaten up and a few splashes of milk, then many, many shakes of Fox Point, and mix again. Start a medium-sized pan on medium heat and add a little butter and, after a minute, some shredded deli-sliced ham - preferably smoked. After a few minutes head start for the ham, in goes the egg mixture and stir/fold gently until the eggs start to come together and they are about 50% of the way there.

Add a handful of shredded cheddar cheese and continue to fold. Take the eggs out as soon as they're ready for you and eat with whole wheat toast - delicious! The Fox Point acts as all the seasoning and the eggs come out great.

ENJOY! And if Mr. Penzey reads this - SEND MORE SPICES, PLEASE!

Chicken Chili

2007-01-08T10:19:00.002-05:00

Last night we were reminiscing about winters past and how we'd be holed-up in our old apartment on freezing, snowy Sundays, watching football and venturing out to walk to the store for "supplies" and maybe to clear the car of snow. Both of us having been brought up in some very snowy regions of New England, we certainly love the snow - so we'd always enjoy getting bundled up to head out and otherwise being "snow-bound" on those December and January weekends. For example, here is a picture of our old street in the South End of Boston from the evening of December 6th, 2003:

This weekend, January 6th, 2007? We played tennis at the park and sat out on the back deck in the sun wearing shorts and t-shirts. It was nearly 70-degrees on Saturday! We've had a TOTAL of .5" of snow so far this winter, and - on the Boston Common - the trees are sprouting flowers and the tulips are starting to come up. WHERE ARE YOU WINTER? WHERE ARE YOU SNOW? COME BACK TO US!!! (why do I think I'm going to regret asking that...?)

Regardless, it's still technically winter and playoff Patriots football is on, so we decided to do what we've done for years and make Chili. Chicken Chili, to be exact, but something a little different than our old White Bean and Chicken Chili. This Chicken Chili was going to be meatier - with two different "types" of chicken, breast chunks and ground chicken - and more traditionally "chili"...

We started some water boiling and cut up 1.6lbs of boneless/skinless chicken breast into big chunks before dropping them into the boiling water for ~10 minutes - until they were simply poached and cooked through - then just take them out and let them rest. At the same time, we started our dutch oven on medium-ish heat and browned 1lb of ground chicken.

As that was finishing and after drained, we seasoned with our collection of chili spices that we'd use throughout this recipe: Ground Cumin, Mexican Oregano, Chili Powder, (a little bit of) Cayenne Pepper, Smoked Paprika, and salt and black pepper. The Cumin, Mexican Oregano, and Smoked Paprika were all from the recent Christmas Gift of Penzey's Spices that we received from Stacey's Parents - greatest gift ever!

The now-seasoned ground chicken comes out, we gave the dutch oven a wipe and started some fresh oil and in went a couple of medium onions chopped to 1/2" pieces - to sweat it out for almost 10 minutes on low-ish heat. Then a green pepper and a red pepper - all chopped to 1/2" pieces - joined the party for another 10 minutes. Finally, we added a couple cloves minced garlic and let this all come together for 5 more minutes. We then seasoned with the same combination of spices that went on the ground chicken... and turned up the heat.

When the veggies were cooked down and getting very tender, we added about a cup of chicken stock and used our wooden spoon to rub off all of the cooked bits in the bottom of the pan - getting all those spices and flavor into the new liquid. Then we immediately added 2 32-ounce cans of diced tomatoes and 2 small cans of tomato sauce and got all of that up to temperature.

As that was heating up, we shredded that poached chicken breast with our fingers and add it piece-by-piece into the chili. Finally, the cooked-and-seasoned shredded chicken gets added back in. We decided we needed some more liquid, so we had an extra cup of chicken stock on hand, of which we added another 3/4. An initial taste and addition of seasoning and then it was set phasers to simmer and see-how-long-we-can-wait time!

After about 20 minutes, we were ready to add the final ingredient - beans. We knew we had about 20 minutes left total cooking time, so in went a 32 oz can cannelini beans and a 16oz can pinto beans.

After that final 20 minutes, we were back in tasting and re-seasoning... just a little more of that wonderful oregano and a little salt and it was tasting spicy and delicious. Scoop out a nice, chunky spoonful into a bowl with a dollop of sour cream and we were ready to eat.

With great smoky flavor from the paprika and cumin, spice from the cayenne and chili powder, and lots of meat from all the chicken, this Chicken Chili came out wonderfully spicy and really hit the spot on a Warm Winter's Day. The flavor was almost "buttery" from all the spices and the liquid... The leftovers will certainly be even better and a big ziplock bag of this Chicken Chili will end up in our freezer for when the REAL cold weather comes!