WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS, BABY

Oh yes, finally my oven is working again. After weeks waiting for the precious electronic control panel, out of the blue, and right before the storm gets into full gear, I received a phone call from the technician announcing that he got the piece and that he'll come to install it in a few minutes. Oh how happy I was to hear that. Just in time for Thanksgiving. I was already making alternative plans and thinking of ways to cook the turkey without an oven. Of course frying it was out of the question, but I had other ideas. I might explore them later, when I have the time and when we finish all the leftovers from the big day. Of course I started using it right away, just to make sure that it worked properly. So the first day we had pasta al forno, then I cooked some sweet potatoes. I still have to broil something. But that's not urgent. Yesterday, I cleaned the freezer and dug out the fish fillets that I've been harassing my husband about: I was sure we had them in the kitchen freezer, he kept opening it and insisting that we did not have any fish at all. We had cod, salmon and tilapia fillets. The choices are multiple, so I chose the tilapia.

TILAPIA FILLETS WITH VEGETABLES

                                                          

Growing up, we used to have this dish a lot, especially on Fridays, when we had the famous fish meal that included several kinds of fish, grilled, fried and "in a pan", as we used to call it. I was not very fond of it. Maybe because I couldn't digest the idea of having fish and veggies in the same dish? Maybe because they usually made them with whole fish, and I didn't like the fact that I had to fish out the bones? Or was it because they usually used a lot of oil in it? As a matter of fact, I discovered that I did not like a lot of dishes as a child simply because they had a lot of fat in them. Now that I can cook, I discovered that by reducing the fat content, I actually love these same dishes. I remember that I used to pick up the potato slices from the pan. I loved them, they were lemony, crispy on the outside and tender inside. Well, today I'm in control, I have clean fillets of fish and I can do whatever I like with the dish. You'll need:

3 whole fillets of tilapia

1 medium onion

5 medium potatoes (I used red ones)

! large carrot

3 stalks celery

2 medium cloves of garlic

3 to 4 sprigs dill

1 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp lemon juice, plus round slices of lemon or lime (optional)

2 tbsp white wine or water

Salt, pepper and cumin to taste

Sprinkle salt, pepper and some lemon juice over the fish, and let stand. Peel the potatoes, the carrot and slice them in 1/4 inch slices. Put each vegetable in a pot, add some salt,cover with water and bring to a boil. The idea here is to cook them until al dente so that they would take the same time as the fish in the oven. Remove from heat and drain the vegetables. Peel the onion and thinly slice it. Also slice the garlic and chop the celery. In a non-stick rectangular pan, drizzle some oil and turn it around to cover the bottom. Arrange the onion slices on the bottom of the pan, add celery and garlic. Sprinkle some salt, pepper and cumin. Now arrange the fish fillets, drizzle another drop of oil and sprinkle some cumin. Top with the carrot and potato slices. Alternate with lime slices if you are using them. I prefer adding only the lime or lemon juice. Sprinkle salt, pepper and cumin, and add the dill. Sprinkle the rest of the lemon juice, the wine if using it, or water. Cover with foil and cook in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and give it 10 minutes more.

FISH EN COCOTTE

You can use the same recipe if you are cooking for one, or two, to have individually wrapped fish. Just cut a rectangle of foil, arrange the ingredients the same way, close the foil to make a pouch, and cook it in the oven as above. Just be careful when you open the pouch, it usually has a lot of steam. Cod fillet is best for this recipe: they are thicker and will not flake easily when you transfer the content into a platter.

                                                       

Lazy and bored? That's not an excuse.

In a previous entry I told you that I was feeling lazy and bored lately. I still feel the same. I guess it's a phase that will take it's time and eventually I will go back to my usual creative self. The oven is not fixed yet, we are still waiting for the piece that the technician had to order twice because the first time, against my advice, he ordered the wrong one. I hope it will come soon, because the holiday season is approaching very fast, and, lazy or bored, I have to take care of business, so I must have an oven ready. Still, we have to eat, and we do. I thought I should tell you, as I usually do, how we are doing, how we are getting through this phase. Actually I am not that upset about it. I am taking my time. If I want to cook I do, if not, I just find some easy solution. Of course the hurricane that hit New York made things easier for me. I know, I hate to admit it, but we were from the lucky few who did not lose power, so we were glued to the TV all the time and did not think about food. How could we? 

Today I took my time having breakfast and reading the papers, then, before I ask my usual question, I got an idea. What if we try something new? I had some chicken defrosting in the fridge, so I decided to cook them in a completely different way. I decided to make 

CHICKEN STROGANOFF

                                               

Why not? We make it with beef, so why not with chicken? Is it going to taste bad? How could that be? It's chicken, mushrooms and a creamy sauce..how can that be bad? With that thought,I went to the kitchen and started cooking. It turned out to be one of the easiest meals I ever made. I started by putting a pot of water to boil for the pasta. In the mean time I prepared the chicken. Everything was ready by the time the pasta was cooked. You'll need:

10 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless, visible fat removed

1 pint of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

2 tbsp flour

1/2 container (16 oz) sour cream

1 or 2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

With a sharp knife cut the chicken in strips, about the size of your finger (2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide). Transfer all the chicken strips to a large non stick skillet. Drizzle the chicken with the lemon juice, add the onion/garlic mixture, salt and pepper, and sprinkle 1 tbsp of flour over it. Mix to coat. Start cooking the chicken on high, turning frequently so that it doesn't brown too much, but allowing it to cook through. When the chicken strips are no longer pink, add the mushrooms and stir until they welt down. Reduce heat, continue cooking until it's almost done. Mix the remaining tbsp of flour with the sour cream and add it to the skillet. Stir to mix and adjust seasoning if need be. Let it cook for a couple of minutes more and you're done. Serve over pasta.

You may have noticed that I did not add any oil or butter, that's because I think that thighs, even with all the visible fat removed, still have some more fat left in them. The addition of the sour cream is fat enough for me. 

                                                     

A FEAST FOR THREE

A year has gone by and here we are back at the big "meat day": Eidul Adha. We celebrate the day God asked Abraham to sacrifice his first born, then gave him a big ram to sacrifice. In this day, we do the same thing: every family starts the day with this ritual, then divide the meat into three parts: the first part to be given to the poor, another to friends and the last third to feed the  family. Growing up, this was a very big thing, all the family would come to our house early in the morning and after the prayers celebrating the Eid, we would all start cooking, eating or playing, depending on who is doing the activity and when. Of course I have kept the tradition as much as I could, gathering  all the family on this day and cooking different kind of meats and organs. Don't say ewww, some are really delicious, you just have to know how to cook them and have an open mind about "bizarre foods". But this year we decided to have a quiet celebration just for the three of us. Actually the oven is still not fixed, I have to go to work during the week, and everybody is somehow busy traveling, or doing something very important! So I decided to go with the flow and have a quiet dinner with the least possible effort. It has to have a meat dish, preferably a healthy version of something we usually have, with some vegetables and minimal work. The best choice was a beef round cooked in the slow cooker with a side of veggies. It can be the easiest meal you can cook, it even almost doesn't need a recipe: you can make it with what you have, and the quantities depend on what you like and the combination of colors that you prefer. I usually go for a mix of whites, greens and reds: potatoes, celery and carrots.

You'll need:

1 whole beef eye round, about 3 1/2 lbs, fat trimmed

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced

5 to 6 medium potatoes (I used red ones), peeled and diced

10 baby carrots cut in 3 pieces

2 stalks of celery, sliced

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp canola oil

1 cup stock (or granules dissolved in hot water)

Salt and pepper to taste (I use Adobo seasoning)

All you need to do is to slice and dice the vegetables; it will take you about 15 minutes max. Put the vegetables in the slow cooker, add seasoning and mix to distribute it.

                                                    

Season the meat with salt and pepper, and sear it on all sides in a nonstick skillet in one or two tbsp oil. Make some space for the meat in the cooker and let it rest over the veggies, add  the stock, cover and set it on high and let it cook for 4 hours undisturbed.

                                                

In the mean time you can cook some orzo in the same skillet where you seared the meat, adding stock until it's tender.

Slice the beef and arrange it on a serving platter with the vegetables on the side. You can use the remaining liquid in the pot to make gravy: just melt a small slice of butter in a sauce pan, add a tbsp of flour, stir to cook the mixture for a couple of minutes then add the liquid, stirring frequently to avoid lumps. Let it simmer and reduce to the desired thickness. 

You may also keep the liquid to use later as a base for soup or any other dish.

                                       

                                            

Really, nothing to eat?

I was very lazy lately..we went through a period of "whatever and anything" as answer to the age old question:"what are we going to eat today?" So it was a multiple repeat performances of everyday recipes, nothing special: a pasta dish today, some salad tomorrow and take out after that. Maybe it had to do with the oven still being broken.  I usually don't use it that much to cook everyday. But it's still a good excuse. Anyway that was our life for two or more weeks. Now I am back to work and this gave me some energy to think of something extra to have ready for when I come home. A good home cooked meal. I didn't go shopping for a while during the lazy period, but I am sure I have something in my freezer and my pantry to help me whip up something nice. Actually I found a beautiful cut of beef and some veggies...this could be the beginning of a delicious meal.

BEEF WITH CARROTS AND OLIVES

                                               

                                               

I remember cooking this dish years ago when I first got married and was trying to reduce my husband's intake of red meat. He ate it, probably to be nice to me, but then he gently made it clear that he prefers his steak big, in one piece, and medium rare. But lately he's been open to suggestions, so I thought maybe he will not object to it anymore. I like it because it has some vegetables in it and you can have it as a complete meal. Also when you cook beef on low heat you end up with moist and tender beef cubes that everybody will love, children and grownups alike. You'll need:

2 lb beef top round steak, 3/4 inch thick

1 medium onion cut into wedges, (or a large one if you love onions)

12 to 15 baby carrots, cut in half
1 garlic clove crushed and thinly sliced

1 can (6 oz) black pitted olives

1 to 2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup red wine (optional) + 1 cup water, or 2 cups water or stock

Chopped parsley for garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the beef in 3/4 inch cubes and sprinkle them with salt and pepper and flour to lightly coat.
In a nonstick skillet cook the beef cubes in the oil on medium high heat until well browned on all sides. Add the garlic, stir and then add the wine if using it and the water (or stock). Stir and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and let simmer for about 50 minutes. Add the onion wedges, the carrots and the olives. Let cook for another 40 minutes until meat and veggies are fork tender. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley. (Sorry, we were so hungry, they didn't give me time to do this last step. We're lucky I got to take a picture of the end result!!)
I served it with some bow-tie pasta with asparagus, mushrooms and carrots.

                                                   

It's very simple: cook the mushrooms in a drop of oil with 1/2 tbsp onion/garlic mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the mushrooms welt down, add the asparagus cut in the pasta size. Stir, then add 1 tbsp of water. Meanwhile cook the pasta in boiling salted water, and before it's done add the carrots. (You may want to slice them lengthwise). Drain the pasta, add it to the veggies, mix and transfer to a serving bowl.

Week-end meals.

Once again, we'll have recipes that some may consider elaborate or time consuming, but let me assure you, the result is worth the trouble, if you consider a little more time spent preparing your meal trouble.

As a rule, I try to simplify my ways of cooking, and this is what I usually call week nights meals. But sometimes you have to accept the fact that a dish needs a little bit more time to prepare. These are the dishes I try to make on week-ends. They are not difficult nor exceptionally elaborate, they simply need more time to cook, not your usual 30 or 45 minutes.

STUFFED POTATOES

I don't remember when or where I first had this dish, I only know that I love it. But since it requires some effort, I don't make it as often as I should. In fact, I made it once, and it immediately became a favorite in our home. When I make it, people feel they are getting a special treat; and I like to make it because it's a one dish meal, all I have to do is serve it with a salad. Also it's basically meat and potatoes which everybody loves, but everybody agrees that we should not limit ourselves to meat and potatoes and should try to diversify our meals, eating more vegetables and less meat. But, hey, this is meat and potatoes with a twist, it has tomato sauce and ground meat.. so maybe it's healthier? Yeah, maybe.

Some people boil the potatoes first before frying them, I think that's an extra step I can do without. Maybe we can boil them and not fry them at all, but that will make them very mushy when cooked in the sauce and they will not hold their form. If we ultimately have to fry the potatoes, so be it, and this is enough treatment.

You'll need:

About 30 small white potatoes (the size of a ping pong or golf ball)

3 cups browned ground meat

1 (15 0z) can tomato sauce

2 tbsp tomato paste (1/2 of a 6 oz can)

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for frying

If you cannot find the small potatoes, or just happen to have bigger ones at home, no problem: just cut the potatoes in pieces as big as a golf ball, this will also help keep them in place when you arrange them in your pan, since their base will be flat. Get a big bowl, fill it with water and add some salt to it. This will keep the peeled potatoes from turning brown while you carve them. With a vegetable peeler, the one like a knife with a slit in it, not the large one, carve each potato from the top to get a big enough cavity that you will fill later with meat (if you used bigger potatoes, you'll have something  shaped like a mini volcano). You will also get small cones of potatoes, keep them, they will be used as well. Just be careful not to pierce the potato while carving it.

I always keep some browned ground meat in my freezer or refrigerator, and we've done it before: mix ground meat with 2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mix, add salt and pepper and cook stirring with a wooden spoon to separate the meat chunks until it browns and all the liquid is absorbed. Set aside for later.

Heat the oil, drain the potatoes and fry them until they become light yellow. Don't over cook them. Keep them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the extra oil. Make sure that you empty the cavity of the potatoes from the frying oil before you remove them. Also fry the small cones, they are a nice snack or you can add them to your dish.

In a large pan, pour the tomato sauce, rinse the can once with water, add it to the pan, add the tomato paste and dissolve it in the sauce over medium heat. When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat.

Stuff each potato with meat and arrange in the pan. You can arrange them in 2 layers. If you have some leftover meat, sprinkle it around the potatoes as well as the small fried cones to fill the spaces in your pan. Cook over medium high heat, covered at first, and then remove the cover. They don't need too much time, since all the ingredients are already cooked.
TIP: This dish is traditionally cooked in the oven, so if you choose to do that, simply assemble the potatoes in an oven safe dish big enough to hold them in one layer, putting some sauce on the bottom, then arranging the stuffed potatoes in it, and finally covering the whole thing with sauce. Bake in a 350 degrees oven until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

THREE CHEESE PASTA

                                                           

There is maybe a thousand ways to make pasta al forno, or baked pasta. Some people make it with beshamel sauce, which is already an elaborate step, others add more cheeses. You've definitely heard of 5 cheese pasta. They are all good, but sometimes I feel that this is overkill: because either you choose cheeses that have somehow similar taste, which is redundant, or completely different taste, and risk that they may clash. Being an "accidental cook" which means that I don't necessarily stick to the rules, assuming of course that I know them  all, I opted for the middle road to get a cheesy, creamy and delicious result. It's basically fat free, since there is no substantial amount of extra fat added. The cheese is enough. You get the good result because you'll give it some time to properly mix the ingredients, that's why I tend to make it on week-ends. You'll need:

1 and 1/2 cup parmigiano cheese, grated

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/3 of a 48 oz  tub of ricotta cheese (I buy in bulk and freeze it)

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 2 oz can anchovies in olive oil

3 garlic cloves 

1 lb penne rigate cooked according to package directions

In a nonstick skillet cook the drained anchovies on medium heat  to dissolve them (the drop of oil that is left in them is enough). Use a garlic press to smash the garlic into the pan. The pulp will come out of the holes on one side, and it is easily dissolved in the sauce. Add the tomato sauce and cook until it bubbles. Remove from the stove. Start adding some of the ricotta cheese to the sauce and stir. Keep adding until you have no more ricotta. In a baking dish, pour some sauce, add some of the cooked pasta and some parmigiano. Mix. Keep adding sauce, pasta and parmigiano and mixing until all the pasta is mixed with the sauce and 2 cheeses. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top. If you still have some sauce left in the skillet use a spatula to pour it in the center of the dish over the mozzarella. Bake in a 375 degree oven until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.                                                        

                                                  

THE REFRIGERATOR MADE ME DO IT

It's a man thing. It must be. Have you ever noticed that men open the refrigerator door looking for something, and immediately declare that it's not there? Of course it's not there. If the item is not on the first shelf, halfway on the edge, almost falling off of it, it's definitely not there. This is our daily problem: when I ask my husband to hand me something from the refrigerator, it's almost never there, unless I give him the right coordinates, or I go get it myself. For this reason I must take inventory of the contents of our fridge every couple of days. It's just to make sure that there are no "hidden treasures" here or there, or that an item that I thought was consumed or in the freezer, is still lingering around. This inspection is very helpful: what I find in our refrigerator helps me determine what we are going to eat tonight.

FRAGRANT RICE

                                              

                                             

The easiest side dish you can make may come from what you have in your refrigerator. In my last raid of the refrigerator I came out with a box of brown rice from Chinese take out and a bunch of fresh herbs. As I told you last week, I had made a good amount of chicken Milanese to keep for the week, so my find will be the best side dish for it. It's very simple, all you need is some fresh herbs to reinvigorate the leftover rice you have. You'll need:

Brown rice, cooked

Fresh herbs: parsley, dill, cilantro

Scallions, about 3, white parts and some green 

1 carrot

1/2 tbsp canola oil

In the food processor, or the small chop chop, pulverize the carrot, then add the scallions and after a few pulses, the herbs. There is no rule for these: I used what I had, and actually what I like. You can do the same, and it's safe to assume that you have around some fresh parsley and dill that you used in a previous dish and still have some sprigs left. They become fragrant when you cook them and give a nice aroma to your dish. In a non stick pan cook the mix of herbs, scallions and carrot in the 1/2 tbsp oil until tender and fragrant. Add the cooked rice, stirring frequently to make sure that there are no lumps and that all the veggies are incorporated. When the rice is heated through, remove from heat and serve.

GARDEN PASTA

                                                    

We had some guests yesterday. I had a nice menu prepared, but something unexpected happened. The day started with a storm that brought us torrential rains flooding my kitchen and basement. Luckily I had some help for the cleanup, so it was done quickly and efficiently. But I had no time to cook for the guests. The only solution was to order some Italian food from the neighborhood restaurant. It came quickly, was good and plenty, and everybody was happy. Today, my husband declared that there was no need for me to cook anything and that we had enough leftovers for dinner. Yes we had a couple of pasta side dishes that nobody touched, but I was sure that, with all good intentions, my husband and mom, will eat a couple of penne and that's it. I told him that we are going to have pasta, but my way. I knew that I had all the necessary ingredients in my fridge to make a new dish out of the pasta that the restaurant sent as a side dish for the main course. You can choose what you like, and what you have in your fridge, and the ratio to the pasta that you have. You'll need:

2 cups broccoli florets

1 medium zucchini

1 carrot

1 whole turkey kielbasa

About 3 cups of cooked pasta with marinara sauce

1/2 tbsp canola oil

Bring two small pots of water to a boil. Salt the water. Peel the carrot and cut it the size of the pasta (I had penne, if you have spaghetti for example, you can cut it in bite size cubes). Cook the carrot in one of the pots. Cut the broccoli florets, if they are large, to a size closer to the pasta and cook in the other pot, covered, for 3 minutes. Slice the turkey kielbasa in 1/8 inch slices and cook them in a non stick pan in the !/2 tbsp oil. While the turkey slices are browning (about 3 minutes), slice the zucchini also the size of the pasta. Add the zucchini to the browned turkey slices and stir until tender. Drain the broccoli and carrot and add them to the pan. Stir to combine and to make sure that all liquids are absorbed. Add the pasta with its sauce. Mix and stir until completely reheated. You can serve it with some grated cheese on the side.

                                                 

WEEK NIGHT DINNER MADE EASY

When I cook for the week I have to make sure that the food does not seem "old" or reheated to my family, they would never eat it. I always end up eating the leftovers, if I cannot find a way to serve them in a new form, in a way that they seem to be just cooked today. This made me think of  many ways to cook for the whole week, especially when I am working. The only rule is that the food must seem freshly cooked. The best way to achieve this result is to prepare the meals, cook them, but stop just before the last step.

The easiest example is pasta: you can prepare the sauce and even cook the pasta in advance, refrigerate them, then assemble and finish cooking the dish when you need it. This is why I always keep some tomato and meat sauce in my fridge or freezer to be able to whip up a quick pasta dish when I need it. I mix the pasta with the sauce, add some ricotta cheese and grated mozzarella and/or Parmigiano, mix and put the dish in the oven until the cheeses melt and form a nice golden crust. Another safe bet is chicken Milanese: Sunday, you marinate the chicken cutlets, bread them and keep them refrigerated in layers separated by wax paper. I usually keep a meal worth of breaded chicken in the freezer, get them out in the morning before I go to work and fry them as soon as I get home. While they are frying, I make a salad or a pasta dish, or both. In minutes I have a home cooked meal that everybody saw me cooking from scratch!

Of course I noticed that this kind of chicken is one of the family favorites, it's one of the rare dishes that they can eat at any time, fresh or day old, even longer. So I always make extra.

                                   

CURRIED CHICKEN

                                                        

When you serve a lot of chicken, you have to be creative, you have to be always prepared to serve the chicken in so many different ways that your family will love and avoid the feeling that you are serving the same things over and over again. I also noticed that, because I cook with very little salt and fat, from time to time it's mice to have something out of the ordinary, maybe something spicy to shake things up a bit. When I do that, my mom finishes her plate, which is really rare. Today is one of those days: I needed something extra. I thought of going Indian. The spices and curry will be a good departure from the same old chicken dishes. I use little curry, and no hot pepper at all. You may use more and make it as hot as you like. You'll need:

5 Drumsticks and 4 to 5 thighs (I used skinless pieces and the thighs boneless)

2 tbsp onion/garlic frozen mixture

1 tsp Garam Masala (Indian spices)

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp curry powder (more to taste)

A dash of cumin

1/3 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk

1 cup chicken stock

1 tbsp Canola oil

1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped parsley for garnish

Marinate the chicken pieces in the onion/garlic mixture with salt and pepper. In a non stick skillet large enough to hold the chicken pieces in almost one layer, start cooking the chicken in the tbsp oil. When the chicken is well browned, add all the spices and stir until fragrant, on medium heat. Add the stock, bring to boiling, cover and let simmer to reduce. If you are cooking this dish for later, you should stop now, let it cool and refrigerate for when you need it. Add the coconut milk to the pan, stir to combine. The liquid should be a bit thick. If not, add the corn starch dissolved in water and stir until the sauce is thickened. Transfer to the serving platter, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with white rice. I had some fried cauliflower,  so I added it to my plate.