Okay, so I'm moving this weekend and I just got hit by Denver's "Blizzard of 2006." This creates two (culinary) problems: All my dishes are packed and all my food is at it's bare minimum, and I can't go out and buy anything as all the supermarkets have been closed down.
Last night we had a little less than a half chicken breast and some assorted foods, and we wanted to make some warm soup to get through the night. We really didn't have enough broth, but we have a fridge full of wine from a going-away party earlier in the week, so I thought I could make a tasty liquid. As I'm cooking I realize that I have a can of crushed tomatoes, and I realized that I'm saved. Yes, saved.
While watching her show makes me want to die, Rachael Ray usually has some recipes that can be easily changed to fit your situation so that you, too, can have a tasty meal with some pantry staples (and really, we're down to just the pantry duct tape at this point!).
So, one of our favorite Rachael Ray recipes is her *sigh* Italian Sub Stoup. We had recently altered the recipe to make an Italian sausage stoup for an appetizer party, so I decided to save the day and make a delicious concoction that I probably wouldn't have thought of without her.
I took the 3/4 of a box of broth, juice-box sized box of stock, some leftover wine, and the crushed tomatoes to create a hearty base. I then added some cooked chicken, two carrots, garlic, half an onion, and bit of green pepper to create a "stoup." We added the last of our croutons and parmesan cheese and had a delightful and healthy meal (when our alternative was about 1000 crackers). It's not so much Rachael Ray's exact recipes, but really her methods that will come in handy in a pinch.
But please, do yourself a favor and DON'T watch her talk show.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
The Usefulness of Rachael Ray, and other Snowbound Thoughts
Friday, November 03, 2006
Sweet potato pizza with gorgonzola and onion
In the past two years that we've lived together, my husband and I have made pizza pretty much every Friday night (with a few exceptions). Most of the time we just have plain cheese, though we have been known to go Hawaiian (frozen pineapple chunks and prosciutto/bacon/ham) on occasion. Red onion and roasted red pepper is another favorite combination. But tonight I went a little crazy - sweet potato, onion and gorgonzola cheese. Mmmm.
Preheat the oven to 500°F (or as close as you can get it). Slice two medium sweet potatoes into 1/4" thick slices, toss with olive oil and salt, and 'roast' on a cookie sheet about 10 minutes, as the oven is preheating.
Stretch out your dough - homemade or premade will do - on a cookie sheet, or if you have a pizza peel, use that instead. Spread out the half-baked sweet potato, half an onion (red is preferable but either works) cut into rings, and about 1/4 c. of crumbled gorgonzola. Bake about 15 minutes in the lower rack of the oven, until the dough has browned. Let cool a couple minutes before slicing and enjoy.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
African Apricot Turkey
Tonight I decided to experiment with a recipe featuring apricots, since they are supposedly perfectly in season. I found this recipe for "African Apricot Chicken." I didn't want to do the overnight wait/grilling the chicken thing, so I adapted the recipe to my own lazier method instead.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 very large onion/2 medium [we used an enormous Vidalia]
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
pinch cinnamon
1 lb. chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes [we used turkey instead]
1 Tbsp. brown sugar [could be omitted to reduce sweetness]
juice of 1/2 lemon, about 1 Tbsp.
3 Tbsp. apricot preserves [might also reduce this]
1/2 c. water
4 apricots, pitted and sliced
cornstarch or flour, to thicken sauce (optional)
Directions:
Heat up the olive oil (enough to coat the pan) in a large saucepan over medium heat. Slice the onion into large wedges, add salt and saute it in oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and curry powder [the original recipe calls for cardamom as well, we didn't have any on hand, so I omitted it] and cinnamon and stir until well incorporated.
Move the onion to the edges of the pan and add the turkey cubes to the center (you want contact between the meat and the pan). Brown the turkey for a few minutes, then add the "liquids": brown sugar, lemon juice, apricot preserves, and water. Stir until preserves are fully incorporated. The liquid should more or less cover the meat so it is poached through, if not add a little more water. Add the apricot slices, cover and cook 10 minutes or so.
Uncover and stir. Check the doneness of the meat. It should be white all the way through - cover and cook a little bit longer if it isn't. If the sauce is still very watery, as ours was, thicken it with a little bit of cornstarch or flour - clear a little spot in the middle of the pan and add a pinch to the sauce, whisk until dissolved. Cook uncovered until sauce is at desired thickness and meat is definitely done; serve over rice.
The verdict: I really liked the combination of the curry with the sweetness of the apricots, but overall the recipe was way too sweet - sweet onions, tons of sugar between the brown sugar and the preserves, and then the apricots themselves (which totally disappeared into the sauce). Next time I'll probably cut the sugar entirely, and reduce the amount of preserves if we use a sweet onion. It also might have been nice to add some other vegetables, but overall I was happy with how it turned out.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Technique: How to slice an onion (and a cantaloupe)
Knowing how to cut various fruits and vegetables quickly and with little mess/fuss/waste is a great life skill to have, and essential if you want to cook often. So, here's the first in a series of photo posts on how to cut stuff up [clicking on the pictures will take you to a larger version].
Note that I'm not talking specifically about "knife skills" because mine are horrible (please don't copy my hand position), but more of a "how to approach vegetable/fruit X" sort of thing.
Today I'm doing two: starting off with the onion, because nearly every recipe I make has onion in it somewhere, and then doing a cantaloupe, because I happened to buy one today.
( Read more... ) The halves should look like this when you're done:
Remove the papery outer layers of the onion at this point. Now, cut each half into small wedges, but don't cut all the way through to the root. Leaving a little space between the cut and the root will hold the onion together while you're cutting and make your life much easier.
If you want larger wedges of onion, for a curry or stir fry or something, cut the root end off now. Otherwise...
Cut across the onion as in the pictures. You can vary the size of the cut as appropriate; this particular onion went into some delicious salsa.
Next up: cantaloupe. Since melons are supposedly very much in season, we picked one up at our grocery store today. I eat most fruit raw, so I just cut the cantaloupe into chunks.
The first step is to cut the melon in half, starting at the 'bellybutton' at the top. Then, using a sharp-edged scooping device (like a measuring tablespoon or an ice cream scoop), remove the seeds. Next, cut the cantaloupe into wedges - I find it helps to tilt the melon a bit so you don't have to hold the knife at too much of an angle.
Once you have all your wedges, cut notches into the flesh of each one - down to the rind but not through it. This lets you sort of spread the wedge flat. Now, slide your knife along the rind, and voila! Perfect chunks of cantaloupe.
You can, of course, skip this step if you like the wedges.
I have to say, there's really something to this 'peak season produce' thing. This was definitely one of the best cantaloupes I have ever had (tip for identifying a ripe melon - smell its bellybutton! If you are overwhelemed by melon scent, it's ready to go). I might have to go back tomorrow to get another; perhaps a cold soup is in order? It's been friggin HOT here lately.
