Most of my relatives on my mom’s side of the family belong to a Yahoo! Group so we can share updates and stories. The most recent conversation has been about cooking disasters, and it’s been quite entertaining. I thought I would share a few of my favorites. (Don’t miss the recipe at the bottom of the post)
From my Aunt Maria:
Last week Nick was coming to dinner and I set out to make his favorite: Chicken Pot Pie. In the morning, I lovingly baked some boneless, skinless chicken breasts, wrapped them in foil, and refrigerated them. About 5 pm I set out to make that CHICKEN Pot Pie.
I chopped up celery, carrots, broccoli florets, onions, etc; made the sauce, combined it all. Then I rolled out the pie crust. As I filled up the pie crust in the pie plate, I noticed that it seemed the 12-inch pie plate was too big for the job; the filling ingredients just did not fill up the crust like it should. Oh, well, I was in a hurry, and I went on and rolled out the top pie crust, lovingly placed it over the ingredients, fluted the edges. Beautiful.
An hour later or so later, the cooked CHICKEN pot pie sat on the counter about 10 minutes to cool a bit. We finished slurping our cups of homemade asparagus soup and I got up to slice the CHICKEN Pot pie.
As I sliced it, I looked at Nick who was looking at me as I sliced, and I must have had a stupid, duh! look on my face as I had a grim realization. He said, "What?"
"I forgot to put the (expletive deleted) chicken in this." (Unbelievable!!!)
Oh, that was okay with him; "We can have a vegetable pot pie."
Unwilling to do that I made a quick recovery. I yanked the foil-wrapped chicken from the fridge, unwrapped one & sliced it at warp speed, lifted up the top crust on the slices, and tucked some chopped chicken in. The filling was still very hot and everything was ok. Very yummy, CHICKEN pot pie, indeed.
From my Uncle Jim:
I had decided that instead of cooking the traditional turkey for dinner, I would barbeque a duck. I of course considered myself to be pretty good at this sort of thing. I put the duck, a big fat one, on the rotisserie, basted it with orange sauce, and started cooking. When I went to check on it, not knowing it was overloaded with grease, the thing had caught on fire, blown the glass out of the barbeque and pretty well destroyed the whole thing. The duck came into the house burned to a crisp. It was totally black from one end to the other.
From yours truly:
All the cooking disasters I've been privy to recently had to do with spice mix-ups - mostly because I'm not very good about labeling spices. A few months ago my mom volunteered to make curry for dinner. She accidentally put paprika in the dish instead of turmeric. When we realized what happened we added a little turmeric and it was just as good as usual.
Then I made paprika chicken at Chris's house and ran out of paprika. No problem, he said, he had more in the cupboard. We realized later that he'd given me cayenne pepper instead of paprika. Luckily it was edible but it was REALLY spicy! (the recipe for this – sans all the cayenne – is below)
The worst, though, was when I put a tablespoon of dried mint in lasagna instead of parsley. We ate it that night but I threw the rest of it away. Chris tried to make me feel better by saying, "Hey, usually when you eat lasagna you smell like garlic. With this one your breath is minty fresh!"
Chicken Paprikash
Makes 8 servings
3 T. flour
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1/2" strips
1 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced
1¼ c. chicken stock
2 T. Hungarian sweet paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 c. sour cream
Cooked egg noodles for serving
Toss chicken in flour. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Brown chicken in oil, about 4 minutes. Add onion, red pepper, green pepper, garlic, celery and mushrooms and cook about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften. Add chicken stock, paprika, pepper, salt and pepper (make sure stock mostly covers chicken; if it doesn’t, add a little water). Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and let simmer for one hour or until chicken is very tender. Stir in sour cream and heat through (do not boil). Serve over cooked egg noodles.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
A Dinner Too Good Not To Share
When my favorite cooking magazine came in the mail over the weekend I was inspired by a salmon salad that promised to be light, springy, and packed with good-for-the-brain omega-3’s. Who can’t use some extra brain power on a Monday? Magazine in hand, I charged off to work this morning, planning a quick shopping trip for the ingredients.
Those of you who know me well won’t be surprised to hear I somehow lost the magazine over the course of the day. Luckily I could remember some of the ingredients, and the more I started thinking about it, the more I thought the salad needed something fruity to compliment its purported springy-ness.
Not all my last-minute dinner experiments turn out so well, so I had to share this one right away. The fruit dressing was a great compliment to the salmon, as was the fresh spinach salad. Walnuts added another dose of omega-3 fatty acid, and avocados provide a dose of “good” fat.
No salmon meal is complete without rice pilaf, in my opinion, so I’ve included my recipe for that as well. The complete meal also came together in about an hour. So in addition to all the health benefits, you can enjoy a time benefit with this delicious meal!
Rice Pilaf
Makes 4 servings
1 T. butter
¼ c. orzo
1 ½ c. wild rice
2 c. chicken stock
½ t. pepper
¼ t. salt
¼ t. dried thyme
¼ t. dried parsley
Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add orzo and cook, stirring occasionally, until orzo begins to brown. Add rice and stir well. Add chicken stock, 1 c. water, pepper, salt, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil, then cook until liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile….
Salmon with Spinach Salad
Makes 4 servings
2 oranges
¼ c. blueberries
2 T. white wine vinegar
1 t. honey
½ t. Dijon mustard
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
¼ c. canola oil
1 t. poppy seeds
1 lb. salmon fillets
9 ounce bag baby spinach
¼ c. walnuts
1 avocado, cut into cubes
Supreme both oranges, reserving juice. Put orange juice, blueberries, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper in a blender; pulse to combine. While blender is running, add oil in a slow, steady stream until well combined.
Brush 1 T. dressing over salmon fillets. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Place spinach, oranges, walnuts and avocado in a bowl. Stir poppy seeds into remaining dressing. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss until spinach is well coated (you may not need all dressing).
Serve salmon with salad and rice pilaf.
Those of you who know me well won’t be surprised to hear I somehow lost the magazine over the course of the day. Luckily I could remember some of the ingredients, and the more I started thinking about it, the more I thought the salad needed something fruity to compliment its purported springy-ness.
Not all my last-minute dinner experiments turn out so well, so I had to share this one right away. The fruit dressing was a great compliment to the salmon, as was the fresh spinach salad. Walnuts added another dose of omega-3 fatty acid, and avocados provide a dose of “good” fat.
No salmon meal is complete without rice pilaf, in my opinion, so I’ve included my recipe for that as well. The complete meal also came together in about an hour. So in addition to all the health benefits, you can enjoy a time benefit with this delicious meal!
Rice Pilaf
Makes 4 servings
1 T. butter
¼ c. orzo
1 ½ c. wild rice
2 c. chicken stock
½ t. pepper
¼ t. salt
¼ t. dried thyme
¼ t. dried parsley
Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add orzo and cook, stirring occasionally, until orzo begins to brown. Add rice and stir well. Add chicken stock, 1 c. water, pepper, salt, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil, then cook until liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile….
Salmon with Spinach Salad
Makes 4 servings
2 oranges
¼ c. blueberries
2 T. white wine vinegar
1 t. honey
½ t. Dijon mustard
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
¼ c. canola oil
1 t. poppy seeds
1 lb. salmon fillets
9 ounce bag baby spinach
¼ c. walnuts
1 avocado, cut into cubes
Supreme both oranges, reserving juice. Put orange juice, blueberries, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper in a blender; pulse to combine. While blender is running, add oil in a slow, steady stream until well combined.
Brush 1 T. dressing over salmon fillets. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Place spinach, oranges, walnuts and avocado in a bowl. Stir poppy seeds into remaining dressing. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss until spinach is well coated (you may not need all dressing).
Serve salmon with salad and rice pilaf.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Paella Lessons From A Master
Last Christmas my boyfriend received a paella pan from his brother’s partner, Alex Province. Even better, Alex gave him detailed instructions on how to make this traditional Spanish dish. Although Alex was raised in the United States, he was born in Madrid and went to graduate school in Spain. Today he is a manager for a wine company, owner of a Spanish wine import company, and a paella connoisseur.
“Paella (pah-EY-uh) is designed to be a peasant dish,” Alex explained to us. “It’s a philosophy and a cooking style more than a formula.” The basic idea is to combine rice, veggies, and meat or seafood in a shallow pan and cook it until it becomes major comfort food. The following are some tips for making great paella at home.
First is the pan. A paella pan, which is large and shallow, helps but is not absolutely necessary. A large frying pan is a decent stand-in. Alex recommends measuring out the volume your pan can hold by pouring water into it before you get started. You can measure how much the pan will comfortably hold and make adjustments to your recipe from there.
Next is the rice. It’s important to use Valencia rice, which is intended for paella. “Make sure you don’t put too much rice in the pan,” Alex advises. “You want a nice, thin layer.” No matter how much paella you cook you’ll want to stick to a ratio of two cups of hot stock per one cup of rice.
Your goal with paella is to make sure all the liquid has absorbed by the time the rice is tender. You’ll want to carefully monitor your paella while it’s on the stovetop to make sure it doesn’t burn, but don’t stir it while it’s cooking. It will make the rice mushy. Finishing the paella in the oven is possible if you can’t get even heat on the stovetop. If you think you might do that, make sure your pan is oven safe before you get started. Also, tenting your paella with foil at the end of the cooking process will help the rice suck up the extra liquid, so it’s okay for there to be some liquid in the pan when you take it off the stove.
Use high quality stock for paella. Saffron is one of the things that makes this dish special, and you’ll want to put the saffron in the stock before it’s added to the rice.
When Alex makes paella he makes sofrito first (although that’s not included in my recipe). Sofrito is basically tomatoes, onion, garlic and bell peppers cooked to a mushy paste. If you want to use sofrito you can make it in advance and store it in the fridge. Leftovers are delicious with eggs, beans, or on steak.
Once you have all the ingredients (and the pan) squared away you can start thinking about what kind of meat to put in your paella. Seafood is a classic. So is rabbit and bacon, or chicken and chorizo (a spicy Spanish sausage). Alex says a combination of seafood and meat is his favorite. That being said, this is an easy dish to make vegetarian.
The recipe for Basic Paella is the one my sweetie tried when we got home, but it’s just something to get you started. Please take the elements of paella described here and play with them until you have something that suits your family’s tastes.
And don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t turn out perfect the first time. “Paella takes practice,” Alex says. “As long as the rice is cooked right you’ll end up with an edible treat that will wow your friends.” Even the master confesses, “I’m still, to this day, trying to recreate paella as good as my mother’s.”
Basic Paella
Makes 8 servings
4 chicken thighs
4 t. smoked Spanish paprika
Salt and pepper
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
3 T. olive oil, divided
1 8-ounce can chopped tomatoes, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. Valencia rice
1 c. white wine
4 c. chicken stock
Pinch saffron
1 c. frozen peas
Season chicken with paprika, salt and pepper. Cook in paella pan until chicken is browned and beginning to caramelize. Remove chicken and keep warm. Add chorizo to pan and cook through. Remove chorizo and keep warm.
Heat 1 T. oil in paella pan. Add tomatoes, onion, peppers and garlic and cook until very soft and mushy. Remove vegetables.
In the meantime, heat stock in a saucepan. When stock is simmering, add saffron. Cover and keep warm.
Heat remaining 2 T. oil in paella pan. Add rice and stir until well coated and transparent, about 2 minutes. Add wine and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Return vegetables to pan and pour in stock. Stir gently to evenly distribute ingredients. Taste paella and add additional salt and/or pepper if necessary. Nestle chicken thighs and chorizo in rice.
Bring paella to a gentle boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has been absorbed. (If necessary, heat water in the same pan as the stock and add ½ cup at a time) Do not stir paella while it is cooking, and do not let the bottom scorch. Add peas about 5 minutes before the paella is done cooking.
To finish, tent with foil for 10 minutes.
NOTE: If liquid has not absorbed after 20 minutes, consider finishing the paella in the oven. Cook at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
“Paella (pah-EY-uh) is designed to be a peasant dish,” Alex explained to us. “It’s a philosophy and a cooking style more than a formula.” The basic idea is to combine rice, veggies, and meat or seafood in a shallow pan and cook it until it becomes major comfort food. The following are some tips for making great paella at home.
First is the pan. A paella pan, which is large and shallow, helps but is not absolutely necessary. A large frying pan is a decent stand-in. Alex recommends measuring out the volume your pan can hold by pouring water into it before you get started. You can measure how much the pan will comfortably hold and make adjustments to your recipe from there.
Next is the rice. It’s important to use Valencia rice, which is intended for paella. “Make sure you don’t put too much rice in the pan,” Alex advises. “You want a nice, thin layer.” No matter how much paella you cook you’ll want to stick to a ratio of two cups of hot stock per one cup of rice.
Your goal with paella is to make sure all the liquid has absorbed by the time the rice is tender. You’ll want to carefully monitor your paella while it’s on the stovetop to make sure it doesn’t burn, but don’t stir it while it’s cooking. It will make the rice mushy. Finishing the paella in the oven is possible if you can’t get even heat on the stovetop. If you think you might do that, make sure your pan is oven safe before you get started. Also, tenting your paella with foil at the end of the cooking process will help the rice suck up the extra liquid, so it’s okay for there to be some liquid in the pan when you take it off the stove.
Use high quality stock for paella. Saffron is one of the things that makes this dish special, and you’ll want to put the saffron in the stock before it’s added to the rice.
When Alex makes paella he makes sofrito first (although that’s not included in my recipe). Sofrito is basically tomatoes, onion, garlic and bell peppers cooked to a mushy paste. If you want to use sofrito you can make it in advance and store it in the fridge. Leftovers are delicious with eggs, beans, or on steak.
Once you have all the ingredients (and the pan) squared away you can start thinking about what kind of meat to put in your paella. Seafood is a classic. So is rabbit and bacon, or chicken and chorizo (a spicy Spanish sausage). Alex says a combination of seafood and meat is his favorite. That being said, this is an easy dish to make vegetarian.
The recipe for Basic Paella is the one my sweetie tried when we got home, but it’s just something to get you started. Please take the elements of paella described here and play with them until you have something that suits your family’s tastes.
And don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t turn out perfect the first time. “Paella takes practice,” Alex says. “As long as the rice is cooked right you’ll end up with an edible treat that will wow your friends.” Even the master confesses, “I’m still, to this day, trying to recreate paella as good as my mother’s.”
Basic Paella
Makes 8 servings
4 chicken thighs
4 t. smoked Spanish paprika
Salt and pepper
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
3 T. olive oil, divided
1 8-ounce can chopped tomatoes, drained
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. Valencia rice
1 c. white wine
4 c. chicken stock
Pinch saffron
1 c. frozen peas
Season chicken with paprika, salt and pepper. Cook in paella pan until chicken is browned and beginning to caramelize. Remove chicken and keep warm. Add chorizo to pan and cook through. Remove chorizo and keep warm.
Heat 1 T. oil in paella pan. Add tomatoes, onion, peppers and garlic and cook until very soft and mushy. Remove vegetables.
In the meantime, heat stock in a saucepan. When stock is simmering, add saffron. Cover and keep warm.
Heat remaining 2 T. oil in paella pan. Add rice and stir until well coated and transparent, about 2 minutes. Add wine and stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Return vegetables to pan and pour in stock. Stir gently to evenly distribute ingredients. Taste paella and add additional salt and/or pepper if necessary. Nestle chicken thighs and chorizo in rice.
Bring paella to a gentle boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has been absorbed. (If necessary, heat water in the same pan as the stock and add ½ cup at a time) Do not stir paella while it is cooking, and do not let the bottom scorch. Add peas about 5 minutes before the paella is done cooking.
To finish, tent with foil for 10 minutes.
NOTE: If liquid has not absorbed after 20 minutes, consider finishing the paella in the oven. Cook at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
