Week 12 - Skillet Skillz

This week I picked another recipe from my new favorite book and YUM. I loved this one - it's probably a new rival for my favorite so far.

After reading the recipe I feared it would be pretty bland, but the chili powder and cilantro really gave it a surprising amount of flavor and the cornbread added a touch of sweetness that brought it all together.

All I can really say is make this. Or come over to my house and I'll make it for you.

SKILLET TAMALE PIE

Source: The Best 30-Minute Recipe (From the Editors of Cook's Illustrated)

2 T. vegetable oil - 1 onion, minced - 2 T. chili powder - Salt & pepper - 2 garlic cloves, minced - 1 pound 90% lean ground beef - 1 can black beans, rinsed - 1 can diced tomatoes, drained - 1 package cornbread mix - 1 C. shredded cheddar cheese - 2 T. minced fresh cilantro

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium  heat until shimmering. Add onion, chili powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in ground beef, beans and tomatoes, and bring to simmer, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, mix cornbread batter according to package instructions.

5. Stir cheddar and cilantro into filling and season with salt and pepper to taste. Dollop cornbread batter evenly over filling and spread into even batter.

6. Bake until cornbread is cooked through in center, 10-15 minutes. Serve.

Week 11 - Suck it, Shallots

I have yet another cook book from the library that I love. This one so much that we actually bought a copy. It's a Cook's Illustrated book so it gives tons of basic tips and tricks and you know the recipes are all going to be good.

So what better guide to use to make my first sauce. This was probably one of my weaker dishes - partially because I had zero faith in it from the get go and partially because I just didn't find it very remarkable. 

Oddly enough my biggest problem was that the grocery store was out of basil. Basil! I didn't believe it either, but, alas, they were. So I bought a pre-pureed tube of basil that saved me from doing the puree step of this recipe but ended up being part of my confidence problem. I had some trouble making it thicken, too, but Brian came to the rescue and it eventually gummed up nicely.

On a bright note, it was my second run-in with shallots and I did a smidge better. I think if I had had to cut a second one I would have been in trouble, but at least I can pretend I can handle them now.

PASTA WITH GARLIC-BASIL CREAM SAUCE

Source: The Best 30-Minute Recipe (From the Editor's of Cook's Illustrated)

1 C. packed fresh basil leaves - 1.5 C. half-and-half - 1 C. chicken broth - 1 T. cornstarch - 2 T. unsalted butter - 1 shallot, minced - Salt & Pepper - 2 garlic cloves, minced - 2 T. minced fresh basil - 1 pound linguine or spaghetti

1. Bring 4 quarters water to boil in large pot.

2. Puree basil leaves, half-and-half, chicken broth, and cornstarch together in blender until completely smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Briefly re-blend half-and-half mixture to dissolve cornstarch, then stir into saucepan and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove sauce from heat, stir in minced basil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Cook and drain pasta. Reserve 1/2 C. cooking water, then drain pasta and return pasta to pot.

5. Stir sauce into pasta and add reserved pasta cooking water as needed to loosen sauce. Serve immediately.

Week 10 - Atonement

I felt REALLY guilty about wimping out last week so this week I made a main dish and a side to try and make amends.

I'm really enjoying learning some of these classic American dishes that I love in restaurants and have always been too lazy to make. KFC eat your heart out. Fried chicken and potato wedges is still one of my favorites and, even though I can appreciate how easy they are to get at the grocery store deli, these recipes had surprisingly excellent flavor and weren't as difficult as I feared. The ingredients were also inexpensive which I like.

Halfway through this meal I wasn't sure how it would come out. I kind of forgot to put rosemary on the rosemary potatoes and I still have issues fully coating stuff that needs to be fried (my fingers get all gunky and the flour mixture gets all gunky and it just doesn't work right) but I was very pleased with the outcome. 

(Side note: I did cheat a little... I'm not ready to cut up a whole chicken yet so I bought pieces. It worked just fine and I don't feel guilty cause why would they sell pieces if they really expect people to cut up whole chickens?)

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN

Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style

2 chickens, cut in 8 pieces each - 1 qt. buttermilk - 2 C. flour - 1 T. kosher salt - 1 T. freshly ground black pepper - Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

1. Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1 inch and heat to 360 degrees.

3. Working in batches, place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown. Remove the chicken from teh oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve hot.

BAKED "CHIPS"

Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style

4 large baking potatoes, unpeeled - 4 T. good olive oil - 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt - 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper - 1 tsp. minced fresh garlic - 1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes and cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half in thirds lengthwise. You'll have six long wedges from each potato. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together, making sure ht potatoes are covered with oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with one cut side down.

2. Bake the potatoes for 30-35 minutes, turning to the other cut side after 20 minutes. Bake until they are lightly browned, crisp outside and tender inside. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

Week 9 - Easy Street

OK, so this week I really went half-a**. It's not my fault, though, I had every intention of making corned beef and cabbage for my Irish potluck at work. But then I saw this really cute dog online and on the night I was supposed to cook I drove to Kent and bought a dog instead.

So this was an easy "green and white" dish that was quick and delicious. I can see a lot of this getting made this summer at BBQs.

CUCUMBER YOGURT MINT SALAD

Source: nytimes.com

2 C. whole-milk yogurt - 1 tsp. minced garlic - 2 T. olive oil - 1/2 tsp. salt - 1 long seedless cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/4-in thick - 12 mint leaves, cut in thin ribbons

In a bowl, mix yogurt, garlic, oil and salt together until smooth. Chill until ready to serve. Just before serving, mix in cucumber and sliced mint. Add salt to taste if necessary.

(Author's Note: I just used regular cucumbers and cut the seeds out. I also chopped the mint and that worked fine, too.)