FoodB

About three weeks ago I bought some berries in the store because tis the season, and when I got home had to figure out what to do with them. Being as that I haven't baked anything in awhile I decided to try and make a fruit tart. Shere is the recipe that I got from one of our cookbooks:

Free Form Summer Fruit Tart

Dough
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
2 Tbsp Ice Water
1 Cup All-purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Cornmeal
2 Tsp Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt
7 Tbsp Butter, cut into 1/2 pieces

Filling
3 Cups Mixed Berries or Pitted Stone Fruit cut into 1/4 inch slices
2-3 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 Tbsp Water

1. For the Dough: Stir the sour cream and water together and refrigerate until needed. Process the flour, cornmeal, sugar and sale in a food processor until combined. Scatter half of the butter pieces over the top and process until the butter is the size of small peas (about 4 pulses). Scatter remaining butter over the flour mixture and continue to pulse until most of the butter is incorporated yet some pea sized bits remain. Add the sour cream mixture and continue to pulse until the dough comes together around the blade. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough between two large sheets of parchment paper into a 13-inch round. Place the parchment papers onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
3. For the filling: Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and pile the fruit in the center of the dough leaving 2-3 inches from the edge. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar over the fruit and dot with the butter.
4. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit. Brush the top of the tart with water and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.
5. Bake until the crust is golden brown and crisp and the fruit is bubbling, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool for 10 minutes.

The outcome was okay and if I make it again I will use some sweeter fruit. The berries I used were raspberries, blackberries and blueberries which are all pretty tart and there needed to be a little more balance. Also I rolled the crust to thin so I had difficulty folding some of the edges and the bottom ended up melting away once it was cooked.

Posted by Gordon at 06:24 PM | Permalink

I've been sick for 6 straight days now and have successfully gotten my wife sick. So with that in mind I had to make a menu for the week that included food that was: 1) easy to make and 2) comfort food. I figured that soup was a good bet but I'm really sick of the same old chicken/vegetable type soups that you find in a can. In comes Alton Brown to save us.

Squash Soup

6 cups (about 2 large squash) seeded 2-inch wide chunks butternut squash
Melted butter, for brushing
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon minced ginger
4 ounces heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. On a sheet pan lay the squash flesh side up. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is nice and soft.
3. Scoop the flesh from the skin into a pot and add the stock, honey, and ginger. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

I have to advise that if you make this recipe use a stick blender. If you don't have one, go out and buy one! I thought that I could replace the stick blender with my regular blender (which is usually true) and found out otherwise. I had to use the food processor to mush it up and then put it in the blender to puree it but the consistency of the squash doesn't work well with a blender. The results were still good but I now have a crap load of dirty dishes (that I don't want to do because I'm sick) and it added about a half an hour to the whole process.

That being said though the soup was really good and made up for all the extra work. I added a lot more nutmeg than what was asked for and I think it really helped. Jenn wished there were some pine nuts to go with it but since I'm allergic to nuts, I didn't miss them much.

Posted by Gordon at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This one is a fan favorite and alone changed my view on pork and pork related products. It was another lazy Saturday watchin ATK when they decided to take on making a better pork chop. I liked everything that they used and the end result looked really good so I asked Jenn if she would make up a batch just to see how it would be. This recipe makes me very happy that I don't eat kosher and has more than just me as a fan!

Stuffed Pork Chops

4 bone-in rib loin Pork Chops, 1 1/2 inches thick (about 12 oz. each)
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
6 Tbsp. Morton Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

Stuffing

3 Tbsp. Butter
1 Small Onion, diced
1 Rib Celery, diced
1/2 Tsp. Salt
2 Garlic cloves, minced
2 Tsp. Fresh Thyme, minced
1 Tbsp. Fresh Parsley, minced
2 Cups Bread Cubes from 1 Baguette
2 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
1/8 Tsp. Black Pepper

1. FOR THE CHOPS: Cut a small pocket through the side of each chop. Dissolve the sugar and salt in 6 cups of cold water inn a gallon-size, zipper-lock plastic bag. Add the pork chops and seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour.


2. FOR THE STUFFING: Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until the foaming subsides. Add the onion, celery, and salt and cook until the vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and herbs and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the bread cubes, cream, and pepper, and toss well to combine. Using a rubber spatula, press the stuffing lightly against the sides of the bowl until it comes together.


3. TO STUFF, SEASON, AND COOK THE CHOPS: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the chops from the brine, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels. Place one quarter of the stuffing (about 1/3 cup) in the pocket of each pork chop. Season the chops with pepper.


4. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over high heat until shimmering. Lay the chops in the skillet and cook until well browned and a nice crust has formed, about 3 minutes. Turn the chops over with tongs and cook until well browned and a nice crust has formed on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer.


5. Using the tongs, transfer the chops to the preheated pan in the oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the stuffing registers 130 degrees, about 15 minutes, turning the chops over once halfway through the cooking time. Transfer the chops to a platter, tent loosely with foil, and let rest at least 5 minutes. Check the internal temperature; it should register 145 degrees.

Notes From the Mrs: The pork chops we get are usually so big that we have to usually double the stuffing. Also we used dark brown sugar this last time and left it in the bag for four hours and it came out sweeter and more tender.

Posted by Gordon at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This last week Jenn and I have been slacking in making a menu and actually going out and buying groceries. It all came to a head Monday when neither of us knew what to do for dinner and she ended up eating some bad rice and I ate hard boiled eggs. I guess inspiration comes and goes.

Last week I had mashed potatoes on the menu and Jenn decided to experiment a little with the recipe. The unfortunate thing was that she was also making pork chops (future post, I promise) and needed another baguette because the one we had could have been used to make bricks out of. So I had to run to the store and the potatoes which had already been cooked sat in the pot. Once I got back and she tried to mash the potatoes the result kind of looked like potato soup and we had to abandon the experiment.

So learning a valuable lesson that potatoes continue to take on water, she tried again on Sunday when we had some friends over. Here is the recipe she came up with:

Parmesan-Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2-1/2 lbs. Red Potatoes
1 Garlic Bulb
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
3 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp Heavy Cream

1. Take the cloves of garlic and remove the skin. Peel the potatoes.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add potatoes and garlic cloves. Boil until the potatoes are soft and you can stick a fork through them.
3. Remove the pot from heat and drain into a colander.
4. Transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl.
5. Add butter and use a blender to break the potatoes apart. Add the cream and continue to blend (you can add more depending on what kind of texture you want).
6. Add the parmesan cheese and lightly fold into the potatoes
7. Add salt to taste and serve.

I have to say that I really enjoyed these potatoes and I'm kinda pissed because it over shadowed my kabobs. That's what I get for trying to compete with someone that can kick the crap out of me cooking-wise. Another thing is that we have discovered how much better it is to grate your own parmesan cheese. We have always bought pre-shredded parmesan and never thought anything of it until the day I couldn't find it in the store and I bought a hunk of it and promised to grate it myself. I always thought parmesan was kind of bland until that night and will never buy pre-shredded stuff again.

On an aside, sorry about the lack of posts. I'm behind the gun right now at work and Battlestar Galatica season 2.5 came out on DVD so my free time seems to be becoming less and less. I've got about 3 or 4 posts rolling around in my head right now so I hope to get those out soon because I hate when things roll around in my head.

Posted by Gordon at 08:44 AM | Permalink

While making the menu for one for these weeks Jennifer asked for a challenge. Basically she told me to find a recipe that I wanted her to make that she had never done before. That's like taking a kid to a store and saying "go nuts".

I remember way back in the little Gordon days that my mother made leg of lamb for Christmas one years and being a picky eater I thought I was in for a long night. Living in California my whole life, I've noticed that lamb is not something you find in the supermarket very easily. That night was an eye opener. Its was one of the first times that I can remember opening up to a new form of food and the meal was really great. There have been a lot of Christmas dinner before and since but I will always remember that one especially.

So it's always been in my mind to see what Jenn could do with a leg of lamb. And now that I found the Mecca that is Plowboys we have a good butcher that can get us any meat we desire. Jenn purchased the lamb and they even deboned it for us (another mark of a good butcher). Below is the recipe I decided on. I figured since lamb is a heavily used in Greek cuisine I would try and find a recipe that leaned that way without having to grill it.

Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Tapenade

We were going to make this for Sunday dinner but after further reading the recipe we found out that it needed to marinade for one to two days, which they forgot to mention at the top in prep time. So we ended up having it on Tuesday instead. The meat turned out really well and the only thing that I can say went wrong was we ended up cooking it 50 degrees higher than we were supposed to. It ended up leaving the meat a little dry but the tapinade made up for that.

And if you are reading this mom, I said I would try to get the recipe that you used for lamb so be prepared to cough it up because I know where you live!

On a side note: I've been meaning to post about a fruit tart that I made on Sunday but keep forgetting to write down the recipe. I finally have something I can put under my baking category and I keep dropping the ball. It's been a long week and I hope you'll forgive me.

Posted by Gordon at 09:24 AM | Permalink

This here is an actual picture of what we cooked last night. My digital camera has been crapping out the last couple of months and I haven't broken down and started shopping for new ones. Thankfully, Jennifer's mom is loaning us her's while we help her out on some e-bay stuff so I was able to take a picture of the most-requested dish from my wife.

Back in the day when we were living in Oregon, Jenn started to go through a food renaissance of sorts and she started experimenting with recipes she found with ingredients that we had never even heard of and this is how orzo pie was introduced to me. Orzo is a rice shaped pasta that is used in a lot of greek recipes, as I found out later, and to me was always one of those pasta noodles that wasn't spaghetti or macaroni. The recipe seemed very similar to lasagna (spinach and ricotta being the main ingredients) and me not being a big fan of lasagna I was skeptical the first time she cooked it. Boy was I wrong. Here's the recipe:

Orzo Pie
1 cup of dry Orzo
1 Large Egg
1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan
16oz. Ricotta Cheese
1 Box of Frozen Spinach (Thawed & Drained)
1/2 Tspn. Nutmeg
1 Can of Spaghetti Sauce (We prefer the Hunts Spaghetti sauce in a can)
1/2 cup of Fontina or Mozzarella Cheese

1. Cook the Orzo according to the directions on the box. Rinse the noodles with cold water twice and set aside to dry. Once it dries transfer it to a mixing bowl and add in beaten egg and parmesan cheese and mix well.
2. Get a pie pan or pie casserole dish and lay the orzo at the bottom smoothing out evenly and up the edges (forming a pie crust)
3. In another small bowl mix together Ricotta Cheese, Spinach & Nutmeg. Lay the mixture evenly in the center of the orzo pie crust, leaving the edges to show, just like you would a real pie.
4. Cover the edges of the orzo pie crust with foil (keeping the edges from burning in the oven). Add about half a cup of Spaghetti sauce on top.
5. Put in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take out of the oven and put the fontina or mozzarella cheese on top. 1/2 a cup should do it but you can add more if you'd like.
6. Put back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Take out of the oven and let it cool for a couple of minutes.
7. Cut & serve it just like you would a regular pie. Tip: You take the rest of the Spaghetti sauce left over heat in a small sauce pan on the stove and add more sauce onto the slices once served. More sauce is always a good thing.

Like I said above, it does resemble lasagna yet it tastes a lot different. The orzo noodle crust of the pie is really what does it for me. The crust is think and keeps the pie together yet is also made of cooked noodles so it is really soft when you eat it. Really good stuff and I hope you try and make it and see why I ask my wife for this about every three weeks.

Posted by Gordon at 08:30 AM | Permalink

I'm starting to get yelled at if I don't post around here. According to Guttermouth we should all be getting along better with food.

Sunday, Jenn made chicken spanakopita which is more than just a mouthful to say. We were watching 30 Minute Meals once (which is pretty rare because neither of us can stand Rachael Ray but enjoy her recipes) and she made up this recipe with ground chicken. Ground chicken is not something you can usually find in the store so we were curious and after she made it we just had to try it out. So I marched off to Plowboys and asked if they had ground chicken. They didn't have it on hand but were willing to grind up some boneless chicken breasts for us. I guess ground chicken doesn't have a very good shelf life so I imagine it is an item you can only get if you ask them to grind it for you. Here's the recipe that we use:

Chicken Spanakopita Burgers

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, plus some for drizzling
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, 2 chopped, 1 crushed
1 red onion, 1/2 chopped, 1/2 thinly sliced
1 box, 10 ounces, frozen spinach, defrosted
2 teaspoons dried oregano, lightly crushed in the palm, divided
1/4 pound feta crumbles
1 1/3 pounds ground chicken
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1/3 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced lengthwise
Salt and pepper
1 cup Baby Spinach
4 Kaiser Rolls

Topping:
2 roasted red peppers, drained
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful
1/4 cup 10 to 12 pitted kalamata olives

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. To one side, add a little extra-virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. When butter melts, add the chopped garlic and chopped red onion and cook 5 minutes. Transfer the onions and garlic to a bowl to cool. Return pan to heat.
2. Wring the defrosted spinach dry by twisting it in a clean kitchen towel over your sink. Separate the spinach as you add it to the bowl with cool onions, garlic and season with 1 teaspoon of oregano. Add in feta crumbles then chicken, grill seasoning and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Mix and form into 4 patties, 1-inch thick. Raise heat on pan to medium. Add patties and cook 6 minutes on each side.
3. Season the sliced cucumbers and tomatoes with salt and pepper. Toast rolls, if you prefer.
4. Place red peppers, parsley and olives in food processor, season with salt and pepper and process until a paste forms. Place cooked burgers on roll bottoms. Top the burgers with sliced cucumber, tomato, reserved red onions and baby spinach. Slather roll tops with red pepper and olive paste and serve.

The burgers are really good and I usually don't like tomatoes on anything but for some reason I think that the burgers don't taste as good without them. We also tried the recipe with ground turkey once but it didn't taste as good. As for the grilling spices it asks for you can use any pre-packaged spice rubs from the store or make your own up. Also make sure you have plenty of napkins because these are big burgers and can be very messy.

Posted by Gordon at 12:51 PM | Permalink

We've been doing really good this last couple of weeks on not going out to eat. This week I made a menu featuring mostly items that we already had in the freezer and cupboard so we didn't have to shop that much. One of our favorite items to cook when we have a week like this is meatloaf because we always have plenty of ground meat in the freezer and my wife has memorized the recipe.

When Jenn and I were dating, we both enjoyed Boston Markets meatloaf because neither of us had ever had a good meatloaf when we were growing up. When we moved in together, I looked up their recipe on the internet and it's become a staple of our menu the last few years. Jenn has also changed the recipe a few times and it seems to get better every time. Here is the basic recipe we use now:

Meatloaf
1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1/2 lbs. Ground Pork
1/2 lbs. Ground Veal
6 Tbsn Flour
1 Tspn Onion Powder
1/2 Tspn Garlic Powder

1 Can Tomato Sauce
1/4 Cup BBQ Sauce
1 Tbsn Sugar

1. Combine all three meats in a bowl. Add onion powder, garlic powder and flour and mix together.
2. Heat the Tomato Sauce with the BBQ sauce and sugar in a small pot until it come to a slight boil. Remove the pot from heat. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the meat mixture and combine.
3. Place the meat mixture in a loaf pan and press the meat down so it is compact in the pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
4. After 30 minutes remove from oven, uncover and drain the fat. Cut across the meat into sections going width wise and pour a small amount of sauce over the top so it can seep through the cracks (don't spread it in, just pour). Put the pan back into the oven uncovered and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the top has a nice crust.

You can just use all ground beef for this recipe but it tends to be a lot fattier and falls apart easier. Last night Jenn put some pancetta strips on top of it and we both really enjoyed how that added to the flavors as well. Pancetta is slowly becoming one of my favorite foods as you might be able to tell if you have seen my waist line recently.

Oh and I can't stress enough that when you pour the sauce on the loaf midway through the cook to go easy on the amount of sauce you put on. I cooked this recipe once when Jenn wasn't feeling well and drenched it and the results were pretty nasty. Think high grade dog food and that was about how it tasted.

Posted by Gordon at 02:08 PM | Permalink