Pastina

An elderly Italian woman I used to know taught me how to make this dish after I passed out at her house from low blood sugar and when I felt a little better on the couch, she brought me a bowl of pastina.  When I asked her what it was, she said, "Just eat it.  My mama used to make it for me when I was not feeling well.  It's an Italian remedy broth, a comfort food." 

I wasn't sure, but I ate it and it was good.  It's very simple to make because it's mostly water and pasta.  It does make you feel better when you don't feel well. 

To make 2 servings, you will need:

3 c. water
1 c. pastina, acini de pepe works best
1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
salt to taste
1 small bunch fresh, flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 eggs, scrambled in a bowl

In a small sauce pan, bring the water to a boil with the butter, oil, salt and parsley.  The parsley will color the water greenish.  Drop the pasta into rapidly boiling water (slowly so it doesn't over boil), and stir.  When the pasta is just about al dente, drizzle the egg into the boiling mixture slowly, stirring to make egg rags in the broth.

Boil softly for another 2 or 3 minutes to make sure the egg is done.  Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes.  Serve in large bowls when someone feels under the weather, or needs a little comforting.  I'm hooked on it now and don't even make chicken soup for those days anymore.

Chicken Farfalle in a Lemon Cream Sauce with Grape Tomatoes, Green Beans and Red Bell Peppers

We loved this dish last night!  It was inspired from David's sister who said she makes a lemon cream pasta and tosses in veggies and sometimes chicken.  I thought I'd see if I could make something similar.  It has a light, citrus flavor.  It's a bright dish with plenty of healthy nutrients.

You will need:

2 t. olive oil plus extra for coating
2 shallots, fine minced
1 clove garlic, fine minced
2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 c. heavy cream
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1 c. chicken broth
1 cleaned and julienne cut red bell pepper
2 c. steamed cut green beans
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
salt
pepper
1 T. parsley
1 lb. farfalle pasta, al dente

Brush the chicken breasts with a light coating of olive oil, then dust with salt and pepper on both sides.  On a hot grill, cook about 3-5 minutes on each side, until done.  (Depends on size of breasts.)  Let them rest and cool for handling.  On a non-porous cutting board, slice the breasts very thin, almost shaving them into small bites.  Reserve in the refrigerator.

Steam your green beans and julienne peppers in the same basket, careful  not to overcook them.  You want them somewhat firm, but cooked.

Boil water with salt for the pasta.  When it's ready, drop your pasta and cook it according to the box.  Drain, reserve with a slight coating of olive oil to prevent sticking.

In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 t. olive oil.  Add the shallot, then the garlic, and stir on medium heat until transparent.  Deglaze with the chicken broth, then add the cream, zest and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, it will intensify as it reduces.  Add parsley.  Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer until it reduces in volume by half and it coats a spoon.

When the sauce is just about done, add in your chicken pieces and let them finish cooking off and absorbing the lemon flavor for a few minutes.

In a large pasta bowl, assemble the pasta entree.  Pasta first, then the steamed veggies.  Toss, then add the cream sauce with the chicken, and add the cherry tomatoes.  Toss again to mix all ingredients well.  Dust with more parsley if you like, and some grated Romano cheese if you prefer it.  Garnish with fresh lemon wedges.

Serve in individual pasta bowls with crusty bread or alone.

Birthday at Jose's

I've reviewed Jose's before so I won't do it again, except to say it was good last night and the service was perfect.  I had steak tacos, David had a combo taco and enchilada, and we had birthday flan and margaritas.  All were great.

Here's the picture to prove it.

Pastorelli Sauce

I haven't done a product review on my blog before, but I'm going to start today.  I haven't cooked in a few days so I have nothing to add.  It was my birthday and we went out, but I already reviewed the restaurant.  Today's my dad's birthday, so I will be eating at my parents' house.  I thought I'd write about the putanesca sauce I'm using in my lunch.

I'm making spaghetti putanesca and I could make it from scratch easily, but today I went with the jar and a quick boil of pasta.  Easy, fast, and good.  Pastorelli sauce is sold more widely than when I first used it.  I first found it at a specialty Italian food store, Tenuta's in Kenosha, for about $3 a jar.  It's so good, like I made it homemade, and nobody can tell the difference in a pinch.

This jar is called "zesty putanesca" and it lists the ingredients.  What I like about the sauce, other than how great it tastes, is that the ingredients are natural and I can read them and know what they are.  Literally:

Tomatoes, tomato puree, onion, artichoke hearts, black olives, capers, extra virgin olive oil, portabello mushrooms, sea salt, sugar, garlic, basil, spices and crushed red chili pepper.  That's it!  No weird gums or colors or preservatives or things I can't pronounce.  It's made in Chicago.  Go figure.  I love Chicago Italian food, and I love my Chicago Italian too.  No surprise I love their sauce.

I've used their other sauces too.  David likes the Garden Marinara when he makes himself dinner.  I love the Spicy Sicilian Arabiata, and I use it for baking pastas.  It all bakes well, coats the pasta well, and doesn't need a thing to doctor it up.

It only has 70 calories in a half cup too.  Great stuff.  Grocery stores around here are starting to carry it for over $5 a jar.  If you can get to a specialty store, you might get it cheaper.  I still pay $3.19 at Tenuta's.

P.S.  I viewed the website to get the photo, but then I got lost in the story of the company history, which is a family history.  Amazing story.  These folks are responsible for Roma tomatoes, Contadina (though they sold it off years ago), jarred sauce after WWII when brides were still working, and several other food icons in America.  Shows what a little passion and ambition can get you.  

Chicken & Andouille Jambalaya

I usually make my Jambalaya all in one pot, cooking the rice into the dish to absorb all the flavors, but this time I tried a new way.  I cooked everything but the rice together in the crock pot for several hours and then served it all over steamed rice at the end.  I wanted a way to cook it ahead, and this worked very well.

You will need:

Olive oil
1 lb. Andouille sausage, sliced in rounds
1 lb. chicken breast, or chicken pieces trimmed and cubed
2 large bell peppers, any color
2 large sweet onions, rough chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup chicken or beef stock
1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, sliced up -  and the juice
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
couple dashes of hot pepper sauce to taste
2 cups rice, steamed
6 green onions, sliced in rounds for garnish

In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil on high then reduce heat to medium high and add sausage, searing it on the outside but not cooking it through entirely.  Remove into a clean bowl.  Then put the diced chicken into the Dutch oven and do the same, sear it without cooking it entirely through, remove to a separate clean bowl, not the bowl it was in when it was raw.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and stir, then add the garlic and bell pepper and cook on medium, stirring until they all wilt some, about 5 minutes.  Add the meat back into the pot and stir.  Add the tomatoes and juice and stir.  Add the stock and stir again.  I season everything with a dash of salt and pepper as I go, but now you want to season with salt, pepper, cayenne and hot pepper sauce and stir.

Transfer to a large slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6  hours or high for 3 hours.  You can also cook it on high for an hour, then switch it to low for several hours.

When it's ready, either mix in the steamed rice to make a one dish meal, or serve ladles full over steamed rice.  Garnish with green onions.

Note:  If you prefer to make this dish all in one Dutch oven and be done cooking on the stove because you don't have a slow cooker or you prefer to just make it in an hour, here is what you do to make it the traditional way:

At the step where you would add the meat back into the pot, also add 2 cups of rice and stir and let the rice cook a bit in the mixture, a few minutes.  Then add the tomatoes and the stock, but add two extra cups of stock so that the rice will steam all in one pot.  Continue the rest of the recipe, stir, bring to a slight boil, then reduce the heat to simmer and cover the pot.  Do not keep stirring, do not lift the lid.  Just let it go, on simmer for approximately 45 minutes.  This is how I usually make it, but I want it to be done and ready to eat whenever we want to eat today.

It will be David's first time having this dish.  I haven't made it the entire time we've dated because he seems to think it won't be good.  He doesn't know what he's missing.  Today I'm making it without letting him know what's coming.  I sure hope he likes it.  He loves spicy food and he loves rice dishes, so I think he will.

Pureed Cauliflower Soup with Croutons

I bought cauliflower and forgot to use it the day I bought it as a side dish, so, today I'm making a cauliflower soup, pureed with thyme, lemon, nutmeg and croutons.

You will need:

A head of cauliflower, washed, trimmed and cut up
1 T. olive oil
1 bay leaf
Water
1/2 t. thyme
1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
1 T. parsley
1 sweet onion, rough chopped
1 clove garlic
salt
pepper
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 c. croutons

In a small Dutch oven, heat the oil and then lightly sautee the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper.  Add the cauliflower, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, zest and stir.  Just cover the cauliflower with water.  Salt slightly to flavor the veggies.  On med to high heat, bring to a boil and then drop to simmer until the cauliflower is fork tender, probably 10 minutes or so.  Remove the bay leaf and any sprigs you may have dropped in if you used fresh herbs.

Using an immersion blender (boat motor, as I like to call it), puree the ingredients until you reach a nice consistency.  This is really a preference thing.  I like mine creamy.  Taste and adjust with the lemon juice (which balances out the flavors and adds depth) and salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls, dust with nutmeg and top with three or four croutons for garnish and texture.

Enjoy alone or with your favorite half sandwich on a cold day.

Scalloped Potatoes Emeril

I got this recipe out of my new From Emeril's Kitchens book that David bought me this Christmas.  On New Year's Eve, I made us the ribeyes from the recipe below and these scalloped potatoes, both out of the book.  I have to tell you, I think these potatoes are the best potatoes I've ever had, no exaggeration, but they are not low fat!  You can't eat these every day.  Here is my version of the recipe:

You will need:

1 quart heavy whipping cream or whipping cream.
3 lbs potatoes, peeled and sliced a little thick
8 oz Swiss cheese, grated
2 T butter
salt
pepper

Peel the potatoes and then slice them thicker than if you were going to fry them.  Place them in a medium sauce pan and pour the cream over them.  Set the flame to medium and slowly bring them to a light, rolling boil.  Simmer them on a low boil until they are slightly fork tender. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a deep, oven proof casserole with nonstick spray.  Crisco spray doesn't leave a film on your cookware.

Transfer a ladle full of potatoes to the casserole, creating a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the dish, about 1/3 of the potatoes and cream.  Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese evenly on top.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Repeat another layer of each, and then another layer until you use up all the potatoes and cheese.  Finally, dab little pieces of butter over the top of the casserole for nice, bubbly browning.

Transfer the dish into the oven for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and brown on top.  Remove from the oven and cover with foil to set up for 5-10 minutes before serving.  It will remain hot for some time.

All I can say is OMG.  The other bonus is they reheat well.  I reheated them for breakfast and made a side of eggs with them, and then the next day I made another breakfast of Tortilla Espanola with them to use them up.  This is a new guilty pleasure or a "sometimes food".

Delmonicos for Two on the Indoor Grill

I made David ribeyes for New Year's Eve, and we had a very rich scalloped potato side dish that I will include in another post and link back here.  I also made steamed asparagus wrapped in prosciutto on the side.

For the steaks you will need:

2 good quality, thick cut ribeye steaks
olive oil
peppercorns
granulated garlic
salt
butter

Rub the ribeyes with a light coating of olive oil, then sprinkle a heavy coating of coarsely ground black pepper, a light dusting of granulated garlic and a pinch of salt on each steak.  Turn and do the same on the other side, because as Emeril would say, "You don't want one sided tasting steaks, do you?"  This is an Emeril inspired recipe, so it's fitting.

Let the steaks stand in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours but up to 24 hours.  An hour before cooking, take the steaks out of the frig and let them come up to room temperature.  This will prevent them from toughening on the hot grill and losing all their juices.  Meanwhile, heat your indoor grill to high.  You want it very hot.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Sear the steak on the grill on both sides for 3-4 minutes depending on thickness, for a medium rare steak.  Adjust a minute or two for each temperature down the scale to your liking. 

Remove the steaks to an oven proof dish or pan and place them in the preheated oven for another 3 minutes for a medium rare steak.  Then remove the steaks and turn the oven to broil, leaving the door open slightly while you rub a pat of butter on each steak.  When the oven is at temperature, place the steaks in the broiler for 2-3 minutes to finish off, then pull them and let them rest for another 3-5 minutes under foil.  Resting the meat will retain the juices and bring the meat to its resting temperature for serving.

You should have a very nicely flavored, tender and juicy steak for you and your sweetie with a nice outer sear and some charred edges.  Enjoy.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I don't seem to make my stuffed cabbage rolls the way most recipes call for it.  Mine is pretty close to the Polish recipes I see, though.  My best friend is from Poland and when we were kids she said my mom made it like her mom does.  She actually said, "How do you know how to make Golabki?"  We had no idea what she was talking about.  I think that somehow my family got the Polish recipe from someone somewhere a few generations ago, and I've added a touch to mine.  They are very good, the cabbage is done just right so that it has flavor and is the right texture, and they do not dry out because they are submersed entirely in tomato juice throughout cooking.

You will need:

1 head of cabbage as large as you can find

1 lb. ground beef
1 c. long grain rice
1 egg
1/4 c. parsley
salt to taste
pepper to taste

1 full sized can of tomato juice
hot sauce to taste
Hungarian Paprika

Fill a large pot halfway with water, then add the raw cabbage and steam it slowly, if you wish, use a steamer basket to keep most of the nutrients in the cabbage.  When the cabbage gets slightly fork tender, gently cut the leaves off one at a time and pull them aside onto a plate until you have eight or ten large leaves.  If your leaves are smaller, just make more rolls with smaller amounts of meat in them.

While the leaves cool, in a separate bowl, mix ground beef with the rice, parsley and egg until it is completely combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Depending on the size of your leaves and how much meat it takes to fill them, form balls of meat large enough to fill your leaf without any oozing out when you fold both sides in and then roll them over to completely cover the meat.  Do this with every leaf and gently place them inside a Dutch oven or crock pot layered until they are all filled and rolled.

Slowly pour the entire can of tomato juice over the rolls making sure they are covered.  If need be, gently push the rolls under the juice with a wooden spoon.  Add salt, pepper, a few shakes of Hungarian paprika and a dash of hot pepper sauce if you don't mind a hint of heat and flavor.  Do not stir or you will upset your rolls.

Turn the heat on medium low until you bring the liquid to a slight, simmering boil.  Continue the simmering boil for 10 to 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to the simmer setting for at least 90 minutes before serving.  Some people simmer these all day or cook them all day in a slow cooker, which you may also do.  However, the longer you cook them, the more disintegrated your cabbage leaves will become.  I like them to be firm and sweet, so I only cook them a couple of hours total.

To serve, you may want to make a side of mashed potatoes and I know it's another starch but I have to have corn with my stuffed cabbage rolls.  Then I ladle the tomato juice (which will have thickened a bit) over my meat and potatoes and enjoy.  It's a very hearty meal for cold winter days, and it feeds an army.

John Barleycorn - Schaumburg

We have been to this new upscale Irish pub (I think it's a chain, or a local chain in Chicago) at Woodfield in Schaumburg a few times now.  It's in a stand alone building near the mall off of Route 72.  There is plenty of parking, a valet if needed, and the inside is decorated in traditional dark woodwork with generous booths, plenty of intimate fourtops, and just the right lighting.  There are flatscreens plastered all over, which makes it a great place if you're looking to keep an eye on the game, and the bathrooms are new, clean and stocked.

The first time David and I ate there we had the full rack of ribs for $12.95.  You can't beat that price, and you couldn't beat the dinner either.  The ribs were perfect, fall off the bone with just the right amount of BBQ sauce on them.  The sauce is tangy and smoky, and seemed just right.  The meal comes with a nice salad of romaine and iceberg mixed with some cherry tomatoes and large slices of cucumber, and we both ordered bleu cheese.  Much better than most lackluster salads of plain iceberg you get as a side with the meal when eating out...which is rare nowadays anyway.

The ribs also come with fries, or you can request mashed.  We both had fries, and they are done just right and come out fresh and hot.  It wouldn't be complete without the coleslaw, which was also very good, traditional coleslaw.  Not too finely shredded, not too soggy, just the right flavors and consistency.  It was delicious and so worth the $12.95.  Where else can you get GREAT ribs (a full rack) with sides for that reasonable nowadays?  Oh, and the waitress was on top of it.  I recommend trying it out if you're in the area.

The second time we visited we just stopped in for appetizers in the middle of shopping season.  We ordered the classic nachos thought that'd be plenty, but we were disappointed when they arrived because they were just chips with a so-so chili and some jalepenos dumped on top and they could have been much better.  So we ordered the calamari, thinking we couldn't go wrong with that.  Wrong.  Unfortunately, the heat must not have been right on the fryer.  The calamari was tough and greasy.  This means the temperature wasn't high enough when they were fried.  Besides that, they had very little flavor, so it was a complete bust.  I guess it's not an appetizer stop.

Third visit, we stuck with the ribs but started with soups too.  The French onion soup is to die for...just the right amount of crouton, onion and cheese, bubbly and oozy, and perfectly seasoned.  Many restaurants get it wrong.  This was right on, and not too salty.  The clam chowder (one of my favorite soups) was fishy and a little thick.  I didn't finish it.  Clam chowder, like any other fish, shouldn't be fishy.  The salads were great again.  The ribs came and looked wonderful.  David loved them.  I noticed some changes.  The ribs seemed to be a little tougher, and David even noticed that mine were when he finished his (meatier and melt-in-your-mouthier) and they were slathered heavily with tangy BBQ sauce.  I don't know if it was something about what I was in the mood for that night or if they changed it, but the BBQ sauce was over the top this time...too much of it to enjoy the ribs and too piquant for me.  I scraped most of it off to enjoy the meat and still had a hard time cleaning the ribs off.  I ate half the rack, David finished them.  I may be a little nitpicky, but my grandmother makes the best coleslaw ever.  They changed the coleslaw this time, I thought.  I wonder if the chef is just playing around making it and doesn't really have a recipe to follow.  It was a bit vinegary and not enough mayo this time.  I'd stick with a winner and stop messing with it.  Basic traditional coleslaw is good.

The manager did come out and ask us how everything was.  It was good overall, I just thought my ribs weren't as good as the first time we were there.  I'll give them another shot because I know the ribs can be great and the French onion is superb.  I love the atmosphere, and the waitress shared the same name as me, plus it's really reasonable.

Happy New Year!

I have changed the theme for the new year, new decade really, and look forward to sharing new adventures in cooking with you in 2010. I have cooked a few things already this year, but David has the photos on his camera. I'll ask him to email them to me so I can share with you.

I saw the movie Julie & Julia this Christmas and I was inspired to try new recipes from the cookbook my sister bought for me, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," by Julia Child, as well as from the other cookbooks I have on my shelves.  I'll give it a shot to add as many new recipes as I can in 2010, maybe a handful a week, including all three daily meals, and a few restaurant reviews too, if I'm lucky!  Until then, happy eating!