Chicken Pot Cobbler (and Vegetarian Alternative!)

Here's your first remix for leftover roast chicken. 

A thick chicken and vegetable stew cooked with some kind of dough is my idea of a perfect meal.  I think Mark Bittman's cobbler crusted version is quite inspired--I'll take a biscuit over pie dough any day.  No more introduction necessary.  See the note at the bottom for changes to make this vegetarian. 

Chicken Pot Cobbler
(adapted from Mark Bittman on "The Minimalist")
serves 6
for the chicken stew

   2-3 cups roughly chopped, cooked chicken (light and dark meat)
   1 large onion, chopped
   3 ribs of celery, diced
   2 carrots, diced
   a bunch of fresh or a teaspoon of dried herbs, thyme, sage, rosemary all work
   salt and pepper
   chicken stock
   1 tablespoon cornstarch
   cup of frozen peas
for the biscuit topping
   1 cup all purpose flour
   pinch of salt
   1/4 teaspoon baking soda
   3/4 teaspoon baking powder
   1/2 cup sugar
   3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
   1 egg
   1/2 cup buttermilk

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  In a large pot combine the chicken, onion, celery, carrot, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add chicken stock to cover.  Turn heat to medium and simmer while you but together the biscuit.

3.  You'll remember these instructions from my peach cobbler recipe:  In a food processor (or a bowl if you insist on doing this by hand), give the flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and sugar a couple of buzzes.  Add the butter and egg and process just until lightly lumpy.  Add the buttermilk and process until just combined.

4.  Remove whole fresh herbs from chicken mixture and add the frozen peas.  Spoon a bit of the broth into a bowl and whisk in the cornstarch.  This is a slurry, it keeps you from making a lumpy gravy if you were to add the cornstarch straight into the pot.

5.  Stir the slurry into the simmering chicken mixture.  Let it simmer until it starts thickening a bit, a couple minutes.  Turn off the heat and let stand a minute.

6.  Pour the chicken stew into a baking dish and spread the biscuit dough as evenly as possible to cover the stew--don't drive yourself crazy with this.

7.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top browns to your liking.

If you prefer to make this vegetarian or your desire for pot pie and roast chicken leftovers don't converge, substitute the chicken with some diced potatoes and mushrooms and the chicken stock with vegetable stock.  Thanks to Sarah for the inspiration.

Roast Chicken and Beyond

I think I make roast chicken more often than any other dish.  It's delicious and, don't tell, really easy.  Despite taking little prep time and next to no technique, a golden bird tends to impress people.  That and the fact that it's as easy to make two birds as one, roast chicken is great for dinner parties.  Depending on your kitchen squeamishness, it might be "hard" to bring yourself to touch the raw chicken as much as is necessary--get over it.

Chicken is also great for a remix--the recipes are endless.  Even if it's just me and Jeremy for dinner, I'll make two chickens.  After we've stuffed ourselves, I'll set to pulling the rest of the meat from the bones and skin.  Over the next few days I'll make chicken salad, chicken casserole, chicken pot pie (or the new one: chicken pot cobbler!), Thai green curry, chicken enchiladas, chicken biryani, etc.  The list goes on, and I'll post them all, in due time (I know, I know, at my post rate, you won't be holding your breath).  Today, let's just talk about the chicken, and what's left after you've pulled all the meat off the bones--that's right, the makings for stock!

Basic Roast Chicken and Vegetables
serves 2 with leftovers for several more meals, or 8
   2 roughly 5-pound chickens, you want even weights, too
   fresh herbs, e.g. thyme, sage, marjoram, etc. (optional) 
   kosher salt (Specifically, it sticks better).
   pepper
   8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted
   4 tablespoons olive oil
   your choice root and bulb vegetables, any winter squash, all cut into 1-2 bite pieces.  E.g. yukon gold potatoes, fennel, and half of a kabocha squash

1.  Position your oven racks at the very bottom, and middle, making sure there's clearance to get a baking pan on the bottom rack.  Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

2.  Unwrap your chickens and pull out all the bits inside.  You'll find the neck, and various internal organs, the largest of which is the liver.  Label a freezer bag "Chicken Livers" and toss in the liver.  You'll freeze these and add to them as you make more chickens.  When you have about a pound, use these to make pate--it's delicious and also deceptively impressive (i.e. easy).  Put the rest of the parts in a freezer bag labeled "Chicken Parts."  Clever, right?  You're saving these for stock.  Whatever you do, don't include the livers with the stock parts, it'll make the end product taste bitter.

3.  Rinse the chickens under cool water and pat dry inside and out with paper towels.  Place the chickens side by side in a big baking dish.  Use a couple lengths of cotton or linen kitchen string to tie the legs together.  Fold the wings back behind the chicken, so it looks like it's relaxing--rather uncomfortably.  Take a look at the photo to see what I mean.  It'll feel like you're about to snap the wing clean off, but it'll work, trust me.  The point of this tying and bending is to pull the chicken together so it cooks evenly.  Most cookbooks and Martha will give you various, complicated ways to truss up a chicken with one long length of string.  You can try it, but you'll come back to my method.

4.  Separate the skin from the breast meat from the leg end and the neck end.  If you are using fresh herbs, stuff them in the pocket between the skin and meat, and put any extras in the cavity.  That's marjoram under the skin below, not bruises.

5.  Liberally salt and pepper the backs of the chicken.  Flip over, pour half the butter over, use your hands to evenly coat it, but do it quickly because it will start to solidify right away.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

6.  Place the cut vegetables in a half sheet pan.  Drizzle with the remaining butter and olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat evenly.  Just use your hands; this whole meal is about you getting over your fear of touching stuff in the kitchen.

7.  Put the chickens in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees.  You're going to cook the birds for 18-20 minutes per pound.

8.  At about 45 minutes, rotate the pan, to account for any unevenness in the oven heat.

9.  At about an hour and 20 minutes, stick a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh of the largest chicken, without touching the bone.  You want to cook until it reaches 165 degrees; trust me, the USDA wants you to eat dry chicken.  If you're worried, cut into the breast; it's done when the juices run yellow, not pink.  It's OKAY if there are pink juices in the joints.  YOU WILL BE FINE.  And you'll enjoy your moist chicken.

10.  Take out the chicken and tent with some foil.  Stab some of the veggies with a fork to test for tenderness.  If they aren't quite done, leave them in.  You have time because the chicken should rest for at least 8-10 minutes, up to 15 or 20, heck chicken is good at room temp.  Take out the vege when they're ready and set aside while you carve up the chicken.  Carving is hard to explain in text only and I don't have step-by-step action photos, so I'll let you look that up elsewhere.

There are a lot of ways to make a roast chicken more complicated, salting and refrigerating overnight,  propping up in a roasting rack, starting back-side up and flipping partway through the cooking process.  All these methods are for ensuring a crispy skin.  If you like some good chicken skin, you'll want to employ these methods, just modify my instructions.  Personally, I love a nice bit of skin, but it's VERY bad for you, so I make my chicken so the meat is delicious and I'm only tempted by the skin on top--not all of it.  Hence, my super-simplified instructions.

If you use a roasting rack, put water in the pan.  It'll keep the meat moist, prevent the drippings from burning, and give you some liquid to make into gravy.

When you've stripped the bones of the leftover meat, save what's left of the carcass in your "Chicken Parts" bag in the freezer.  When you have 3-4 pounds, you're ready to make stock.

Chicken Stock
makes a giant pickle jar full of stock
   3-4 pounds chicken parts, including raw and cooked bits, no need to defrost if frozen
   2 carrots, diced
   3 celery ribs, diced
   1 onion, chopped
   a whole bunch of fresh parsley
   2 tablespoon dried thyme
   1 tablespoon ground sage

1.  Combine all ingredients in, guess what, a stock pot.  Cover by an inch or so, with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to a simmer.  Cover and let it go for at least 2 hours, up to 4.  The meat should fall away from the bones.  Taste any meat bits, if they taste like paper, you're done.  If the water level gets low, just top it up with more water.

2.  Place a colander in a big bowl and strain the contents of the pot.  Press the bones and veggies, to get out all the juice and compost the lot.

3.  You can put this straight into your storage container of choice, but there's still some stuff floating in there, so if you have the tools, prop up a small mesh strainer in a canning funnel (see photo, I used a wine bottle as an extra hand).  Dump the contents of the bowl through the strainer.

4.  The stock is bound to be super hot, so let it stand with the lid off until it has cooled considerably.

5.  You'll notice a layer separating to the top, that's the fat, and you'll have to skim that off.  Don't throw it away.  That's some quality schmaltz and you'll want to use it.  Sure, chicken fat is about the worst animal fat for you, but a little bit every now and then won't kill you.  If you're getting your dose in the form of matzo balls, it might even cure you!  Millions of Jewish moms and grandmas can't be wrong.

6.  Storage:  You can refrigerate the whole mess, as long as you boil it every three days.  That's a lot of work, so consider either filling freezer bags for defrost as needed, OR fill a cookie tray with all your tiniest containers.  Measure out 4 or 8 ounces (1/2 or 1 cup) of stock into each one.  Place the tray in the freezer.  When solid, remove each stock block from the container and keep them all in a gallon freezer bag, or two.  If you find it difficult to remove the stock from a container, fill a bowl with hot water and stick the frozen container in it for 30 seconds.  Should do the trick.

Note:  If you keep the stock in the fridge, don't be surprised when it congeals into a meat jello.  That's perfectly normal--it's all the collagen from the bones making it set up.

Another note:  Remember that we haven't seasoned (i.e. salt and pepper) the stock.  That's so you have control over the seasoning in the final dish.  Don't forget to salt!



As a bonus, I'll tell you the secret recipe for the best matzo balls; not too fluffy, not too dense, just right.  You might be surprised by this, but, the secret is in the box.  I hope I'm not outing her, but my soon to be Jewish mother in law told me this herself!  "It's a well-known fact amongst many Jewish grandmothers (Bubbes)."  This is good news because, you don't have to experiment to get it just right.

The best matzo balls I ever made were from the Streit's brand box.  Unfortunately, since, I've only ever seen the Manischewitz brand--good, but not as good.  So, keep an eye out and let me know where you see Streit's.  Below are the quantities from the Manischewitz box; if you manage to find Streit's just go with their instructions.

Secret Recipe for Matzo Balls
serves 2
   1 packet matzo ball mix
   2 eggs
   2 tablespoons schmaltz
   4 cups chicken stock
   salt
   1/2 cup diced carrots (optional)
   1/2 cup diced celery (optional)
   a handful or two egg noodles (optional)

1.  Follow the box instructions, just replace the oil with schmaltz (pre-melted, if you take it out of the fridge).

2.  Heat the stock, with salt and vege if you like, to simmer and until the vege have softened.

3.  When the matzo balls have finished cooking in the SEPARATE salted water, add to the stock.  If you're using the noodles, cook them in the matzo ball water and add to the stock when finished.

There you have some of the most comforting soup you'll ever eat, whether you're Jewish or not!

Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs

I didn't invent this Remix idea, you know.  Hash is the delicious epitome of a Remix and has been around forever.  The basic recipe is 1 part chopped leftover meat plus 1 part chopped cooked potatoes, fry, and serve.  You can dress it up in any number of ways, but it's great at its simplest.  I looked around at a bunch of recipes and it's always gussied up in some way or another, but I kept it simple as you'll see below.  For my beet loving readers, you know who you are, I learned in my hash research that if you substitute half the potatoes with cooked beets it's called "Red Flannel Hash."  I've had this at one of my favorite SF brunch places, Just For You Cafe, and it's super tasty.

I used Yukon Gold potatoes, carrots, and onions because those were the leftover veggies from my slow-cooked corned beef meal.  No need to pick through for just potatoes.  And, I corrupted the classic ratio and used about 1 part corned beef to two parts potatoes, etc., because those were the proportions of what I had left.  What can I say?  I couldn't get Jeremy to stop eating the corned beef the first time around.

There's no reason to limit yourself to corned beef.  Roast beef is another classic, but you can use sausage or bacon and make a pretty fantastic hash.  Add some cheese and peas and you have a lovely British breakfast or late night snack a la my idol, Nigella Lawson.  LOVE her.

Finally, a tip: don't go crazy when you're cutting up the meat; leave it in big chunks.  I can't tell you how many times I've had hash at a restaurant and the meat is so finely chopped it's absolutely unidentifiable.  Maybe they're calling it "corned beef" hash but I'm certain it's Spam hash, which wouldn't be so bad if I knew in advance.  That little trick is the ONLY reason anyone would mince the meat.  I think I've made my point.

My all-time favorite restaurant hash is at my favorite diner, Breakfast at Tiffany's in the Portola neighborhood of SF.  I interrogated the waitress as politely as I could to determine (a) has it been ruined by bell peppers ("Definitely not!") and (b) is the meat in tiny bits ("Oh no.  It's in big chunks.").  She did not let me down.  You couldn't even get potato and corned beef in your mouth at the same time--their rough chop resulted in mouthful-size pieces of meat.  Yeah, I know what I said; please resist the urge to joke about a mouthful of meat.  :P

Corned Beef Hash

serves 2

   Half of a small onion, minced

   2 tablespoons butter

   2 cups roughly chopped corned beef

   4 cups roughly chopped cooked, cold waxy potatoes

   2 tablespoons liquid from cooking the corned beef, or stock

   1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce--mine is Crystal's, which is pretty mild, so beware if you like something hotter

   Big pinch of salt

1.  Fry the onions in the butter over medium heat, just until they start to brown on the edges.

2.  While the onions fry, stir the beef, potatoes, juice/stock, hot sauce, and salt together.

3.  Add the meat/potato mixture the frying pan and stir to incorporate the onions.  Then mash it down and don't touch it for 10 minutes.  You'll be able to smell when 10 minutes have passed and it's nicely browned--it smells like delicious.

4.  Flip it all over however you're comfortable doing it.  I'm sure Jeremy would flip the whole thing in the air and stick it, but I don't have the chutzpah to do it, so I just use a flipper and turn it in about 4 sections.  Then leave it alone for another five minutes or so, or until it smells so good you just can't stand it.

5.  Serve with eggs any style.  My favorite is poached, so I'll show you how to do that next.

Eggs, Poached Soft
serves however many eggs you make
   1 of the freshest eggs you can find for each person
   water
   1 splash of vinegar, any kind
   Big pinch of salt

1.  Fill a medium saucepan or a deep skillet with just enough water to cover eggs, roughly the width of an egg in shell, or about two knuckles deep if you stick your finger in.  Add the vinegar and salt and bring to a boil.

2.  When the water has reached the boil, reduce the temperature enough so that the bubbling is reduced to a few bubbles running up the sides of the pan.  You can hold it here for a bit so you can time the eggs to be done with the hash--put them in a minute after you turn the hash over--but don't keep it here for too long or you'll lose water and have to add more.  I brought it to the limit.  You can't really see in the photos, but the eggs were just BARELY submerged.  Wow, all that just for turning down the heat.

3.  Crack the eggs into individual ramekins.  Don't think you can just crack them straight into the pot and skip this!  If you go with the ramekin you can dump the eggs in almost simultaneously, rather than having 30 seconds in between, and you avoid uselessly poaching a broken yoke if you accidently stick your finger through when you're cracking them.

4.  Gently tip the eggs into the water.  Gently dip whatever utensil with which you're most dexterous in the kitchen (I use a wooden spoon), other than a knife or fork, into the water and gently scoop the white over the yolk.  Gently is the operative word here.  You don't want to disturb the water and spread out the yolk.  But you also have to do this quickly because the whites start to set immediately.  Don't worry, you can do it.

5.  After a few minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs.  If you're not serving them immediately, you can hold them for about 30 minutes in a bowl of warm water.


Yes, this is an annoyingly detailed instruction for two eggs, but poaching isn't as intimidating as people often think if you pay attention to the details.  Poaching does not work for grocery store-bought eggs.  Sorry.  Just don't bother.  I'm going to be boastful and tell you that I have two lovely hens in the backyard and they each lay an egg about every 26 hours.  I collect them each day, thanking them for their considerable effort and give them each a little scratch between the wings.  It's super easy to keep hens and very rewarding; I highly recommend it.  If you are not lucky enough to have your own chickens, only plan on poaching eggs if you get your eggs from the farmer's market.  No promises, but they are bound to be fresher than the grocery store eggs that can be up to 2 months old when they arrive at the store, and the expiration date is 30 days from "packaging," so you could be eating a 3-month old egg.  It's not BAD, you can certainly eat eggs older than that, but the structural integrity of the egg breaks down as it ages and that's why you get wispy, trailing egg whites and a naked yolk when you poach a store-bought egg.  End diatribe.

Just to point out that I'm not totally prejudiced against store-bought eggs, I will tell you that the older the egg is, the better it is for hard boiling.  It's quite hard to peel a hard-boiled fresh egg because the membrane has not separated from the shell.  You end up with a gouged up surface.  No deviled eggs or sho-yu tamago (soy sauce eggs) for me.  Plus I can't do this.

Not Timely, but Decidedly ON TIME

I know it's been weeks since the last post, but I'm going to selfishly say, No Apologies.  I've been collecting material for a couple posts about meal components, and those take awhile to build.  Anyway...

I know today is St. Patrick's Day, so you probably can't make this delicious corned beef meal on the actual day, but Saturday is not to late to celebrate, and I'll post a corned beef hash remix in time for your Sunday breakfast.  I promise.

 Notice the "centerpiece" of Christmas candy.  Oops.

Now, corned beef and cabbage is rather ubiquitous this time of year, but I'm betting most of you have never made it yourself.  Well, it's easy and delicious so no excuses, time to make it.  Easiness aside, I use a LARGE slow cooker to make mine and not everyone has one.  You can still make it if you have a Big Pot that fits in the oven.  Okay?  Moving on.

Just a note on my presentation of recipes: Not only am I blogging to share recipes with my friends and family (and whomever else happens by), it's a way for me to preserve my recipes for myself.  So, if you pay attention, I will give directions in the recipes that don't look like the pictures.  I've used my pictures but included corrections to the recipe that I feel will improve the recipe (e.g. below the cabbage is in huge, floppy wedges, but the recipe says cut in roughly 2"x2" pieces).

I also can't say it enough, cabbage is SO good and good for you.  So eat it!

Corned Beef with Cabbage
(taken with some changes from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook)
serves 3 people with leftovers, or 4 hungry people
   6 medium waxy potatoes (e.g. red or Yukon Gold), quartered
   4 medium-sized carrots, cut into 2" chunks
   1 medium-sized yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges
   1 3-4 pound corned beef brisket with seasoning packet, rinsed (key!)
   3 whole cloves
   1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
   2 teaspoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
   1 12 ounce can of beer (recommended: Guinness)
   water
   1 medium-sized head of white cabbage, cut up in 2"x2" pieces
   Your favorite mustard for serving (dijon or a super grainy brown are both awesome)

1.  Load up your crock (or your Big Pot) with the veggies.

2.  Lay the brisket across the veggies and sprinkled with included seasonings, cloves, peppercorns, and brown sugar.

3.  Pour the beer around the brisket, then fill the crock with water to cover the brisket with just a film of water.

4.  Cover and put the crock in the cooker, set to Low, and walk away for 9-11 hours--possibly go to work or a parade or a last minute road trip to Stockton California to keep your friend company while she adopts a doggy (very good use of several hours).

4a.  Somewhat more complicated directions for Big Pot: Preheat oven on LOWEST temperature setting that is not "Low," usually 200 degrees.  Meanwhile put the loaded up Big Pot, now covered, on the stove on high heat and bring to a simmer.  Immediately remove from stove and place in oven.  You can't walk away entirely; I'd say you should check on it every couple of hours, in case it does something (?), and [I think] it'll cook in about 4-6 hours.  So you can do the laundry or have some quality gardening time if you don't mind washing your hands each time you come in to check your meat.

5.  When time is up and you can smell the yummy, long-simmered vapors of brined meat and veggies, remove the brisket and veggies to a platter and cover with foil.  Add the cabbage to the crock and replace in the cooker on High.  Let it go for 20 minutes.  (Big Pot: Just do this part on the stove on medium heat).

6.  When the cabbage is ready to come out, lay it next to the veggies and slice the corned beef across the grain (remove any excess fat first).

Tada!  And guess what, if you're reading this by 10:30 AM today, you can still make it in time for a late St. Patrick's Dinner.  And, in case you noticed, those Yukon Gold potatoes are a bit greenish--Trader Joe's gets no points from me for its produce.  Anyway, it doesn't hurt, and it's a little festive, right?

Peach Cobbler
(I made this up for the most part.  The biscuit topping is roughly adapted from a savory dish Bittman did on The Minimalist, except with sugar)
serves 4-6, but serve 3, what's better than peach cobbler for breakfast?
   4 cups peeled and pitted peaches, frozen works great (mine were frozen, but from my tree!)
   juice of 1/2 lemon
   1/2 cup of sugar
   pinch of salt
   few grates of fresh nutmeg (or 1/8 teaspoon)
   1 cup all purpose flour
   pinch of salt
   1/4 teaspoon baking soda
   3/4 teaspoon baking powder
   1/2 cup sugar
   3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
   1 egg
   1/2 cup buttermilk

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In medium saucepan over low heat, combine the peaches, lemon juice, sugar, and one pinch of salt.  Bring just to a simmer, remove from heat, and stir in the nutmeg.

3.  Pour the peaches into a greased 8"x8" baking dish and set aside for a moment.

4.  In a food processor (or a bowl if you insist on doing this by hand), give the flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and sugar a couple of buzzes.  Add the butter and egg and process just until lightly lumpy.  Add the buttermilk and process until just combined.

5.  Dump the batter as evenly as sanity permits over the peaches.  Bake for 40-50 minutes, keeping an eye out for a perfectly golden biscuit top.

Note:  If you put the cobbler in the oven when you take the cabbage out, it'll be pretty good timing for your mini dinner party dessert.

Sorry no pic of the cobbler, guess I was too excited to eat to photograph it.  I served it with homemade vanilla whipped cream, but you are allowed to cheat and use store-bought, as long it's RediWhip and NOT Coolwhip.

Roasted Salmon and Pea Greens with Remixed Polenta

I'll tell you a secret.  Even foodies like convenience foods from time to time.  It's true.  Some of it is actually good.  Now don't tell anyone I told you.  On the topic of convenience foods, there are also convenience ingredients, meaning, an ingredient with some of the prep work done for you.  Now, I'm no Sandra Lee (thank god); I'm not going to make a Margherita Pizza out of store-bought biscuits and get you to eat it because you're blitzed on a mysterious blue cocktail I made up.  No.  What I am going to share with you is my favorite weeknight convenience ingredient:  individually-frozen, boneless, skinless salmon fillets.  You thought I was going to say chicken breasts, huh?  Boring.  Get them at Costco and you can choose between the cheaper farm-raised Atlantic salmon or the wild-caught sockeye.  I won't hold it against you if you go the obvious cheaper route--I do.  This Costco purchase is completely worth the freezer space.

I love salmon, and so does Jeremy, and fish is fast and EASY to cook--much easier than anyone will have you believe.  One of my favorite recipes is a Korean one-pot dish called Bibimbap.  It's easy, but takes a little more than an hour from start to finish.  I'll share that later.  Today, though, I'll share with you a freakin' awesome 30 minute meal you'll actually want to eat (sorry R.R., those "stoups" are less than appetizing).

You'll find the salmon recipe below, but let me tell you a little about the remixed part of the meal.  The blog is called Mix and Remix but heretofore I haven't given you any remixes.  That all changes now.  A remix is taking leftovers and changing it into a new meal or meal element.  It's good and makes your life easier.  A few nights before the salmon meal in question, I made Coq au Vin (chicken, red wine, mushrooms: yum) and I made it because I wanted something saucy to go with a recipe for a creamy polenta (like cream of wheat, but with corn and a generous amount of grated parmesan).  I forgot to mention one more recipe source in the last post.  I have a subscription to Cooks Illustrated Magazine (the BEST bridal shower present; seriously, keep that in your back pocket for the future).  The difference for me, though, is that with CIMag, I start with the recipe, rather than the ingredient.  They make some great food and know what they're doing.  Anyway, they came up with a polenta recipe that requires almost no stirring and about half the cooking time.  Trust me, getting perfect polenta before this recipe meant an hour of almost constant stirring.  No fun.  Unfortunately, CIMag is SUPER proprietary and you have to subscribe to either the magazine or their site.  Because I like them and want to continue a relationship with them, I'll have to say subscribe, or make polenta otherwise, but I can't give you the recipe here.  ANYWAY, the deal with polenta is that leftovers in the fridge solidify.  It's not bad, it's just not going to be a creamy porridge when you reheat.  If you try, it'll be lumpy and yucky.  Thus, the remix below.  Finally, done with the babble.

Butter Roasted Salmon with Broiled Polenta and Pea Greens (adapted from Bittman's How to Cook Everything)
serves 2
   3 tablespoons butter
   2 boneless, skinless, salmon fillets (about 4 ounces each)
   kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
   leftover, cold polenta
   cooking spray or oil
   pea greens, or your fave fresh greens
   a couple good squeezes of lemon juice (~2-3 teaspoons)
   2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1.  Preheat broiler.  Slice your solid polenta into about the size of your palm, or the size of the salmon fillets, and to a little less than an inch thick.  Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and lay the polenta on the sheet, salt lightly keeping in mind how much you salted the original dish.  Most people have a combined broiler/oven.  However, if you're like me and they are separate, you can cook the polenta and fish at the same time.  As I'm assuming you have a combined apparatus, we'll continue as such.  Broil (SUPER hot heat, applied only from the top) the polenta for 4-5 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn't get more than a couples dark spots.  Flip the slices and broil for another 4-5 minutes.  Remove to two plates.  The outside will be lightly crisped, while the inside is soft and creamy.

 

 

2.  Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  (Cooking anything at over 400 degrees is considered "roasting,"  while anything less is "baking;" incidentally 350 degrees is considered the "universal baking temperature.")  Put the butter in a baking dish just large enough to fit the fish with space around each.  Stick the dish in the oven while it preheats.  While you continue with the next steps, keep your nose and ears open.  You'll know to take the dish out of the oven when you hear a bit of crackle AND you start to smell the butter (hot butter is one of my favorite smells).  As it melts, the butter will "foam" and this is the milk solids separating from the fat.  When the foaming has stopped, that's technically when you should remove the dish from the oven--but I think the nose/ears test is pretty solid.  Whatever you do, don't let the butter burn.  It's okay if it starts to brown around the edges before you take it out, but any black will just make the dish taste bitter; if this happens it's worth it to wipe out the dish and start over with new butter.  Phew, all that just for melting butter.  :)

 

3.  Remove the fish from the packaging, rinse under cool water, and dry with a paper towel (remember to wash out your sink with soap and hot water, we don't want food poisoning from later contamination).  Place on a plate and salt and pepper both sides.  When the oven is preheated, place the fish in the baking dish and cook for about 5 minutes.  Turn the fillets and cook for another 3 minutes or so--until you reach the doneness you like.  Salmon is really great medium-rare.  The above time will get you there, as long as you IMMEDIATELY remove it from the pan when it's finished cooking, and serve right away.  Adding just a minute more for each side will get you to a nice moist medium.  Salmon is too good to cook anymore, so don't do it.

  

 

4.  While the salmon cooks, rinse and dry the greens and remove any tough stems.  Toss with a couple squeezes of fresh lemon juice, oil, and a bit of salt.  Pea greens are super trendy right now, I picked them up at the farmers market after seeing them mentioned in a food blog.  They have a nice chew to them and a very light fresh pea flavor.  I actually dressed them with a shallot vinaigrette (see recipe below), but it overwhelmed the flavor of the greens.  If you can't find these (and unless you are doing the SF farmer's market thing regularly, you won't), use your favorite green.  I love arugula (aka rocket, in some places), and the vinaigrette would be more appropriate for this strongly flavored green.

5.  To plate, place the broiled polenta in the center of the plate, stick the fish on top of the polenta and place a large fistful amount of the dressed greens on top of the fish.  The heat of the fish will lightly wilt the greens; this is what we're going for and is really pleasant.  But if you don't like a wilted green, just serve the greens on the side.

Check out those flowers.  Who says you can't buy happiness?  I love whomever decided carnations were unpopular, makes my happiness cheap.  :)

A basic vinaigrette is really simple: 1 part acid, 2 parts mustard, 3 parts oil.  The acid can be anything from vinegar (balsamic, rice wine, apple cider) to citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange, or go wild and squeeze several dozen kumquats, etc.).  I typically go for dijon mustard, but you can use any kind you like, even mustard with whole seeds.  The oil will usually be extra virgin olive oil with its clean fruity taste, but you can use specialty nut oils; I love hazelnut oil (find it on the cheap at TJMaxx, no kidding).  Or, to make a creamy vinaigrette you can use mayonnaise as the oil.  Then you can add aromatics to vary the flavor.  Try garlic, onion, shallots, or any kind of herb.

Shallot Vinaigrette
dresses enough salad for 2-3 people
   3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
   2 tablespoons dijon mustard
   1 tablespoon white balsamic or white wine vinegar
   1 tablespoon minced shallots
   2-3 generous pinches of kosher salt
   1-2 grinds fresh pepper

Put all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until emulsified with a fork.  Taste and add more salt or a pinch of sugar, if you like.  Done.  Now you'll never have to buy salad dressing again, nor will you want to.

 

  

That's it.  A really easy, tastey dinner.  Please leave your comments.  Tell me what you're making, or if you have ideas for how I can improve my food.  Also, let me know if there's a particular dish or inspiration ingredient you want to see.

The Creative Process (Meets Tempeh)

We're not vegetarians in our house (though I used to be for a few years).  But we love variety, and the occasional vegetarian meal fits in with that love.  That said, the way I cook usually starts from one ingredient.  I'll pick up the usual pantry items at the grocery store and then get a few inspirational ingredients, usually things I haven't had for awhile.  This trip I picked up tempeh.  If you're not a vege, you've probably never heard of it--it's even "weirder" than tofu.  To fill you in, it's a vegan protien source made from fermented soybeans.  In that way it's like tofu, but instead of a smooth uniform texture, the beans are roughly chopped and pressed together in a slab.  The kind I got this time has added grains: rice, barley, and millet.  Those are just some extras added to this particular variety, not part of the basic recipe.  I read that grains are sometimes added to cut the strong flavor of tempeh.

Once I've got my ingredient motivation, I'll check out the indices of my favorite general cookbooks: Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking and recently Bittman's How to Cook Everything.  I was shocked in this case to find tempeh in Joy and not TCE.  Mark Bittman usually mentions every ingredient at least in passing, but nothing in this case.  Joy had two recipes: a moo shu and a cold noodle dish.  I wasn't interested in either this time.  So, the next step is to do a few website searches.  My go-to's are Food Network, Epicurious, and All Recipes (although, this one can be unreliable; you MUST read and take into account the reviews for every recipe).  But in the case of a vegetarian meal, I'm all about Super Natural Recipes.  It was there that I searched "tempeh" and saw a recipe for Tempeh Reubens.

This is the point at which my creative drive really kicks in.  Once I've found what I want to make, I don't stop.  I find several other versions of the recipe and either pick my favorite or take what I like from each and make my own.  That's it, then I cook.  This time I was a bit dissatisfied that all these vegetarian recipes didn't even try to give the tempeh typical corned beef flavor, so I actually looked up what spices go into the "pickling spice" that is synonymous with corned beef and made a little brine/marinade.  And I bring you:

Tempeh Reubens
makes 2 sandwiches
   1 cup water
   1/4 cup soy sauce
   1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
   1/4 cup brown sugar
   1 tablespoon mustard seeds
   1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional)
   1 tablespoon minced garlic
   half a cinnamon stick (just snap it in half)
   4 whole cloves
   8 ounces tempeh, cut into 1/4" slices
   oil to coat the bottom of your frying pan
   1/4 to 1/2 cup sauerkraut, drained
   alfalfa sprouts or lettuce, rinsed and dried
   1 tomato, sliced
   sliced swiss cheese
   Russian dressing or mayo and grainy mustard
   rye or whole grain bread, sliced and toasted if you like it that way

1.  In a sauce pan mix the water, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, caraway seeds, garlic, cinnamon, and cloves.  Bring to a boil, simmer about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and cool.  Add tempeh and allow to marinate at least 30 minutes, up to several hours, refrigerated.  Turn in the marinade a few times.

2.  Blot dry the tempeh with paper towels (will prevent excessive splattering).  Heat oil over medium heat and fry the tempeh on both sides until crisped, about 3 minutes per side.  Remove to paper towel lined plate.

3.  Assemble the sandwiches with the tempeh and remaining ingredients.

As a bonus, I'll tell you my secret recipe for coleslaw.  This is coleslaw for people who have never liked coleslaw.  I'm not kidding.  I'm very picky about my slaw and Jeremy has been a life-long slaw-phobe.  The thing is, I LOVE cabbage.  It has that great spicy-bitterness and is loaded with fiber and vitamins (including B vitamins which can be hard for vegans to get, take note).  So, it's great for you, it tastes good, AND it's cheap--all very good reasons for getting it in your belly in any way possible.  That's why it appears TWICE in this meal (see sauerkraut above).  /End cabbage rant.  Anyway, my coleslaw is pink.  It's not a gimmick, it just has to be, given the secret ingredient.  Trust me, this is good stuff.

Pink Slaw
serves 4-6
Dressing:
   1/4 cup mayonnaise
   1/4 cup balsamic vinegar*
   1/2 teaspoon celery salt**
   kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
   +/- 2 teaspoons of sugar
Slaw:
   1/2 small head of green cabbage, shredded
   1/2 small head of purple cabbage, shredded
   1/2 large sweet onion, grated

Mix the dressing, tasting as you add sugar until it's just right for you.  Toss it with the vegetables.  Chill at least 30 minutes and serve with Tempeh Reubens.  If you're going to a barbecue and are charged with bringing a salad, you can easily double this to serve 10-12.

*That's it.  That's the secret.  The flavor the balsamic gives is awesome and cannot be substituted.  If you don't want your slaw to be pink, you can try using "white balsamic."  I've gotten it at Trader Joe's and it's good.  BUT, the flavor is not nearly as intense as the regular old garnet-colored stuff, so I recommend just accepting that Pink Slaw is the best slaw.

**Celery salt is the runner-up secret ingredient.  Don't skip it.  Besides, it's one of my favorite spices, so you'll see it in future recipes.  :)  It's worth having in the cabinet.

Intro: obligingly slog through, or feel free to wait for the first real post

As you'll come to find from reading my posts, I have very strong preferences about food, including how it's grown, the style in which it's cooked, and the individual ingredients.  I am by no means picky, I just know what I like and I'm an adult, so I have the power to make my food decisions.  My friend Aaron says I'm a food snob, but that's not true either.  He just imagines himself a non-snob and we frequently conflict in our tastes.  Thus, I'm the de facto snob.  Anyway, neener, Aaron.  (He has a music blog, tip of your tongue, top of my lungs, so I imagine he won't respond to my teasing.  I get the last word.  Ha.)

But in the interest of full disclosure, I will always tell you why I have included or excluded an ingredient or chosen a particular method over another, if it strikes me as relevant.  I am not a food expert of any kind.  I just know what I've picked up along the way.  In the end, you just have to decide what you like and make your food in accordance.  This isn't gospel people.  Food is about getting full, but you should feel happy about it, not bored or resigned.

To give you an idea of where I'm going with this, take a look at the photo below.  My fiance, Jeremy, took a nicely composed photo of me smashing the heck out of some chicken breasts for my Chicken Pepperoni dish (like Cordon Bleu, but with mozzarella, pepperoni, and basil instead of the swiss and ham).  In the foreground you can see a plate of veggies that became a lovely Ratatouille.  I brought it to a potluck with my buddies, but there was a LOT, so I brought a bunch home.  We ate the leftovers a couple times, then I used the rest with some stock, applied an immersion blender (bridal shower gift, thank you!), and had an awesome veggie soup.

For the most part, you can expect to read about delicious, but usually not fancy, food.  I'm a pretty good cook, but like everyone, I have occasional kitchen failures, and I'm my biggest critic, so I probably think they happen more often than those with whom I share my food.  I'll let you know when I think I've failed, why, and how I might change things in the future.  And I want your comments too.  If nothing else, cooking and eating is about sharing.