EMPTY YOUR FREEZER MEALS

Summer is almost over. Today was really hot in New York, we had a thunderstorm that started early in the afternoon, and the whole day was grey, hot and humid. After two weeks of a vacation spent at home, tidying things up around the house, I decided it was time to clear up the freezer to get it ready for the new season. Since I was going back to work on Tuesday, after Labor Day, I thought that the chances of grilling outside were rather limited, it is getting dark earlier in the day, and during the week-ends I will have other duties to take care of for the coming week. So, before retiring for the day, I asked my husband to check the downstairs freezer for any summer leftover meats. He found a couple of Cornish hens and got me a package of chicken pieces. When I asked what pieces he found, he just said "it's one of those five piece pouches". That was not very helpful of course to prepare a menu, but I was going to use whatever I had in the pantry to cook the chicken anyway, so I didn't push it further. We'll see tomorrow when I go into the kitchen, I thought.

CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS, ARTICHOKE AND OLIVES

                                         

When I looked at the chicken my husband had defrosting, I was really disappointed. From what he told me the night before, I was expecting skinless boneless thighs. I was already thinking of making something close to a chicken stroganoff. I knew I had canned mushrooms and sour cream in the fridge. But I was surprised to find that he defrosted a package of chicken drumsticks. I didn't let it get to me. We are still having chicken tonight. But I have to change the menu. You'll need:

5 chicken drumsticks, skin removed

1 (7 oz) can sliced mushrooms

6 to 8 artichoke hearts cut in half, I used the ones that come in a jar preserved in water, drained

5 sprigs fresh thyme, and one rosemary, whole

1 cup black olives, pitted and sliced

1 (15.5 oz) can tomato sauce

1 tbsp oil

A sprinkle of flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and flour to lightly coat. In a deep non stick skillet heat the oil, then add the chicken to brown on high heat. Turn the chicken pieces once or twice to brown on all sides and make sure that there is no more blood coming out of the joint. Add the tomato sauce, rinse the can with water and add it to the pan. Add the herbs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add the mushrooms and olives, cover and let simmer. If you are using a different kind of artichoke, frozen for example, you can add it now with the other ingredients. Since the artichokes I was using were almost done and didn't need cooking, I kept them for last. When the sauce is thick enough and the chicken pieces are done, fold in the artichoke hearts. Stir once or twice in incorporate, cover the pan, then remove from heat after a couple of minutes. Remove the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Serve over some cooked pasta.

                                 

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MAKE AHEAD EASY DISHES

Today I am giving you some ideas about very easy dishes that you can prepare in advance, a day in advance of a dinner party, so that you can enjoy the company of your guests, or even days ahead of a busy working week. They are also a crowd pleaser, if you have young children you are sure that they are going to gobble them up. You can also consider them your go to dishes when you have little time to cook dinner. I made the chicken dish for the same event I made the mahshi, stuffed vegetables. I even made it the same day, after I started cooking the veggies that were stuffed the day before. But as I said, it helps if you cook it the day before and be ready to enjoy yourself with your guests.

CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE

                                                 

This particular dish was easier than expected. It also was very well liked by the kids, even those who try to be finicky and make their moms miserable. Yes, every family has those. I used thighs, they are more tender and if cooked without adding fat, oil or butter, they don't become as dry as the breasts. Still you can use breasts if you want, or if your kids really don't eat thighs. But trust me, if you simply say it's chicken, they will not even notice which part of the chicken they are eating. I made a lot, since I had to feed 10 people, but you can make half the quantity, or even less, for just two. You'll need: 

15 skinless, boneless chicken thighs fat trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch strips

2 mushroom containers (24 oz each), white and brown

3 to 4 tbsp flour

2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp poultry gravy powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

In a large bowl mix the chicken, onion/garlic mixture, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Let stand until you clean and slice the mushrooms. I usually don't rinse the mushrooms, but simply wipe them with a damp paper towel, then slice them. This prevent them to become mushy from excessive water.

Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and toss to coat. Heat a non stick skillet large enough to hold the chicken almost in one layer. Add the chicken and let brown on one side before you start stirring. Each time you do that, give the chicken some time to brown. Add the mushrooms, and don't worry if they seem too much for the skillet, they will wilt down. When they start to do, stir the contents of the skillet once or twice, until all the mushrooms are browned too. At this point the chicken is done, but we need to add some sauce to the dish. Dissolve the gravy powder in a cup of hot water and add it to the skillet. Stir to incorporate, reduce the heat and let it simmer until the liquid is reduced and you have a thick brown sauce. You're done.

RABBIT CACCIATORE 

                                                

Last week, I went to the butcher's and my husband insisted on coming along. There, he can be like a child in a toy store: he wants to buy everything in huge quantities even though he doesn't eat as much any more. It took me effort and time to convince him that what I was ordering was more than enough, and we somehow managed to compromise. At the end I asked for rabbit, so he said " but I don't eat rabbit", I do, I answered quietly. Needless to say that he was waiting to see how I will handle this rabbit thing. It is too big for me to eat alone, and too little to invite someone over to share it with, let alone the fact that not everyone eats rabbit. Once at home, I started dividing our loot into portions for two. I also divided the rabbit in portions of two pieces each. That will be more than enough for me. When I decided to cook it, I didn't need any more stock, we had just made it with veal neck. I thought of making it with veggies in white sauce, but I had celery and no carrots. Luckily I had some leftover veggies from the mahshi party: two small peppers and some mushrooms. So I thought can I make rabbit cacciatore? Sure I can. You'll need:

2 pieces of rabbit, a thigh and a waist

1 tbsp onion/garlic mixture

A sprinkle of flour

2 small peppers, yellow and orange, (or 1/4 bell pepper) cut into strips

12 to 15 mushrooms, depending on the size, cleaned and sliced

1/2 cup green olives with pimento, sliced

1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 sprig rosemary

1 tbsp oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the rabbit pieces, remove the membrane that you may find on it. It will come out easily if you just pull it. Sprinkle salt, pepper and flour over the rabbit to lightly coat. Heat the oil in a non stick skillet, and add the rabbit pieces. Let brown undisturbed on one side, then turn to brown on the other side.

Add the onion/garlic mixture and stir for a couple of minutes til fragrant. Add the mushrooms with a sprinkle of salt. Let cook stirring from time to time, to let the mushroom wilt and brown. Add the pepper strips, a dash of salt, stir until tender. Add the olives, the tomatoes and the herbs. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let it simmer. Check on the rabbit, and keep adding water or stock, 1/2 cup at a time, until the rabbit is tender and the sauce reduced. Remove the sprigs of the herbs if you used them whole. Serve with a side of pasta or rice. I served it over cooked orzo. 

                                            

STUFFING VEGETABLES

This Sunday the whole family gathered at our place to celebrate two birthdays. It was just in time before the kids would go back to school or leave for college.  I had to feed 10 people ages from 3 to us! The kids going to college asked for "mahshi", stuffed vegetables. I promised I would make it for them, depending of course of the vegetables I could find in the market. Why did I say that? Well, lately I couldn't find the right eggplants to stuff. I usually use the white ones, they sometimes come with some light color, but mainly white. They said I could do it with the dark ones. They seemed determined to have their mahshi.

                                                   

STUFFED EGGPLANTS, PEPPERS and GRAPE LEAVES

I found these beautiful small black eggplants fresh in the local market. I had never seen them before. I am used to the long black ones, but these were new to me, so I decided to try them. It was a very good decision. Their size was just right, short and almost round, so they were easy to carve and stuff. I got 15 eggplants. I thought it would be enough with the small cute peppers I had and a whole jar of grape leaves. It is easy to make stuff vegetables, but it is very time consuming. I prepared everything the day before, so that I could be free and enjoy the company. So be prepared and don't say I didn't warn you. The black eggplants I got were about 2 inches, the perfect size. If you find the long white ones, they usually are much longer, so try to get them straight as much as possible and cut them in half. In this case, don't cut the stem, but peel it off and leave the solid tip, it will be the base of the stuffed eggplant. For the whole batch, you'll need:

15 small black eggplants, or white if you can find them

1 lb small peppers, different colors

1 (16 oz) jar grape leaves

2 large tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

1 bunch each: flat leaf parsley and dill, finely chopped

4 cups rice

1 onion finely chopped

4 garlic cloves finely chopped, more sliced, optional for the grape leaves

1 to 1 1/2 lb ground beef

4 tbsp butter, ghee or clarified butter (this time I used ghee)

2 tbsp cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preparing the veggies:

Cut off the top of the peppers and remove the seeds and white membranes inside. Set aside.

Cut off the top of the eggplants. Fill a big bowl with tap water and add some salt and lemon juice to it.

On the surface of the counter roll each eggplant with the palm of you hand, and put some pressure with the heel of your hand on the eggplant while you roll. You will feel the flesh breaking inside under pressure. Do not push hard or you'll risk breaking it. With a small peeler, make small incisions  around the cut top, then insert the peeler, turn it around and remove the first part of the flesh. Continue carving the inside with the peeler, removing all the seeds and flesh, but being careful not to pierce the skin. Transfer the cleaned eggplant to the bowl filled with water and salt. It will keep them fresh until you are ready to stuff them.

                                        

In the mean time, brown the ground beef in a large skillet with the onion, garlic salt and pepper. No need to add butter or oil. The fat in the meat is enough. Stir from time to time, making sure that you don't get big lumps of meat. Turn off the heat when all the liquid in the pan has been absorbed. Set aside to cool, until you are ready to prepare the stuffing.

To prepare the grape leaves, remove the leaves from the jar, dip them for a minute or two in boiling water, then rinse them thoroughly under cold running water. Transfer to a colander until you stuff them.

For the stuffing use a large pan, where you combine rice, browned beef, chopped parsley, dill and tomato. Add cumin, salt,pepper and ghee. Mix to combine. 

                                  

To stuff the veggies, start with the easiest, the peppers, followed by the eggplants. Make sure you are using your regular rice. You will know how much liquid it will need and how big it will be when fully cooked. Don't fill the veggies to the rim, exactly because the rice will grow in size when cooked, and might break the skin of your vegetables. Use small pans or sauce pans to arrange the stuffed vegetables, and cook them separately. Each vegetable has its own taste. When you roll the grape leaves make sure that you don't roll them too tight, or else they will explode. Actually today I was tired towards the end and I did just that, so some rolls were torn. They were delicious nonetheless and were devoured without anyone even noticing the mistake. When you arrange the stuffed grape leaves in the pan, you may sprinkle some garlic slices 

between rows, some people do that, I don't.

Add water, or stock, to the pans to fill them up to half the height of the vegetables. If the rice you are using needs 2 cups of liquid for each cup of rice, still add less liquid because the veggies will render their liquid too. Also you can always add liquid if need be. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer covered until the rice is done and all the liquid absorbed. Of course you have to check from time to time in case you have to add some more liquid.

Arrange each vegetable on a separate serving dish. I prefer to serve them like that, it keeps each taste separate and if someone doesn't like one vegetable, he doesn't need to have it close to what he's eating. If you have a large round platter, put it over the pot with the grape leaves and turn it upside down. It will come out like a cake. I managed to take the picture after someone got to grab a couple of mahshis! But you get the idea.

For a detailed "how to stuff grape leaves" go to my previous blog dated 3/8/12.