Ho Hum, Another Boring French Farm Wife Braise - Not!

In some ways, I wonder if it might have been more fun to learn Thai or Spanish formal cooking than what I learned at Le Cordon Bleu. One of my classmates there, Nuriam, was Thai, and what she prepared at school was beautiful, but a bit bland. However, when she prepared her own food and shared, it was far from bland.

However, I was in London, and French was as avant-garde as I could manage. The plus side is that because of Julia Childs' example, all cooking shows and cook books are formatted for French style.

This recipe hails from Provencal, an area of southern France known for perfumed herbs and wines, and well outside of the Parisian butter based cooking. Olive oil is the normal cooking fat and olives and citrus are common ingredients. After the 17th century, tomatoes took hold as well.

This recipe is very Mediterranean and blurs the lines between Spanish, French and Italian. Serve it over polenta for gluten free. Serve it over spaghetti squash for carbohydrate free, and serve it over noodles or rice for other options. Literally, you cannot go wrong with this.

Enjoy!

Chicken Provencal

(Editors Note: This recipe draws heavily upon the September 2003 Cooks Illustrated recipe. If a person were to pick only one cooking magazine to purchase, Cooks Illustrated or Cooks Country would be my first two suggestions.)

Ingredients

4 to 8 bone in chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and salted and peppered well

1 small onion diced small

1/4 cup thin leek rings

6 to 8 garlic cloves, minced fine

1 anchovy fillet, minced

1 can, 14.5 ounce, drained diced tomatoes

2.5 Tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup sliced Nicoise or Kalamata olives

zest of 1 orange

1 Tablespoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

1 teaspoon Penzys Sunny Paris

1 bay leaf

1 inch square of parmesan rind

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock

1 large splash Sriracha

minced parsley

Method

Adjust oven rack to middle and preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven to the shimmering stage. Place the seasoned chicken thighs, skin side down, in the hot oil. For 5 minutes, do not move the chicken and allow a brown crust to develop. Turn them over and brown the underside. Remove the chicken to a bowl. Pour off the fat and reduce the heat to low.

Saute the onion and leeks in the dutch ovens, stirring to avoid browning. When the onions are translucent, add the tomato paste and the herbs and stir well to mix. Cook another minute, then add the garlic. cook until fragrant. Add the cup of wine, the cup of chicken stock, and the splash of Sriracha. Cook 1 minute and then remove the skins from the thighs and add them plus their juices to the mixture in the dutch oven. Stir well and spoon a bit of the liquid on the thighs. Bring the dutch oven contents to the boil and cover. Place the dutch oven in the oven and bake for 75 minutes.

Remove the dutch oven from the oven and take the thighs to a separate bowl and cover with foil. Place the pan over low heat and add the zest. Cook 5 minutes, stir, and add the olives. Heat until warm and serve over the chicken and your choice of base.

Fantastic Fish Pie!

Nancy and I lived in London for a while. Until you do, you cannot begin to understand how different they are from us. Some easy examples:

1. Their newspapers have pictures of nude women on page three.
2. Snooker is a prime time television event.
3. At the grocery, the chips aisle is full length on both sides.
4. They serve baked beans at breakfast and corn on their pizza.
5. They congregate outside their pubs and drink in large groups on the sidewalk.
6. Both men and women wear black suits to work, every day, but their shirts are every hue of the rainbow.

Nonetheless, we adapted and learned to enjoy any number of things. I miss Biggles, the sausage shop we patronized. I wish I could find a local Borough Market substitute - an open air twice weekly market that featured the finest produce, meats, fish, cheeses, and wines you could imagine. I want to go back to the Kew Gardens during azalea season!

One thing we learned to love were the British versions of cooking shows. Not nearly as Hollywood as what you see here in the US. The people actually cooked. The showed local prices for the ingredients. They actually drank spirits on the show. Among those we watched were Gary Rhodes, Anthony Worrall Thompson, Nigella before she was here, and a young chef from the River Cafe in London called Jamie Oliver. Before he came to the US, he really was charming and innovative.

One show of Jamie's that we watched featured a kind of shepards pie made with smoked haddock. We tried it at our home. It was fantastic. We make it regularly to this day. Unfortunately, here in Arkansas we can't get smoked haddock. Instead I use walleye I catch in Tablerock Lake across the street.

My name is Randolph Stainer, and I endorse this recipe:

Ingredients

5 russet potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 inch cubes

2 eggs

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 large double handful fresh spinach

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 to 1.5 cups of cream

juice of 1 lemon

1.5 teaspoons English dry mustard (optional: plus .5 teaspoon curry powder)

1 handful parsley, finely chopped

1 pound of bite size pieces of walleye, cod, or smoked haddock (optional: half fish and half shrimp; half fish and half smoked salmon)

fresh grated nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

extra virgin olive oil for frying and for mashing with the potatoes

They were small and had bad spots so I did extra.

Method

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rack at middle shelf level.

Add the potatoes and eggs to boiling, salted water and bring back to the boil. After 10 minutes, remove the eggs and plunge in ice water to stop the cooking (This also prevents that nasty purple outside of the yolk from forming.)

While the potatoes and eggs cook, put the spinach in a colander and pour a teakettle of boiling water over it. When the spinach cools, squeeze the water from it and chop it.

Check the potatoes, and if done, drain them and put them back in the hot pan to steam. Add salt, pepper to taste and two tablespoons of olive oil. Mash the potatoes, adding olive oil and dairy as need. Do not whip the potatoes. 

After 10 minutes in the ice water, peel and quarter the eggs.

Fry the onions and carrots in a Tablespoon of olive oil until they soften but do not turn brown. Stir in the the dry mustard and lemon juice and then add the cream. Bring to cream to a simmer (not a boil) and add the spinach and cheese. Gently melt the cheese. Adjust the mixture for salt and pepper.

Use spray grease to coat your casserole.

Place the fish and eggs in the casserole and cover them with the hot cream and cheese mixture. Grate the nutmeg on top of the mixture. Cover the casserole with the mashed potatoes. Place the casserole on a try in case of overflow and place, uncovered, in the oven. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

Nancy did not want any of the potatoes to go to waste!

Beef, Barley, and Mushrooms Mean Soup

I was in the store last week and as I passed the meat counter, I noticed beef shank bones had been marked down to move them. I could not resist.

I took the bones home and placed them in a roast pan with a halved onion, a stalk of celery, and a carrot. The pan went in a 375 oven for over an hour. By that time the bones and vegetables were very brown.

That night I put them in a large slow cooker with the scrapings from the pan. I added a few peppercorns and three cloves of garlic plus some parsley. I covered everything with water and set the cooker on low. The next morning, I removed the solids from the stock and removed the small amount of meat from the bones to add back to the liquid. That pan went in the refrigerator to form a fat cap I could remove.

For the soup itself, dice a small onion, a carrot, and one or two stalks of celery. Dice six baby portabella mushrooms. Measure out 1/3 cup pearled barley and 1/2 cup frozen green peas.

Use some of the beef fat removed from the stock and make a roux using a 1/4 cup of flour. Work a heaping Tablespoon of tomato paste into the roux as it cooks. When the roux is cooked and beginning to turn brown, add 1/2 cup of dry white or red wine. Stir well and immediately add the stock.

Be sure the meat chunks are included.

Add the fresh vegetables shown above as well as the barley and two minced garlic cloves. Add three splashes of Worcestershire sauce and three splashes of fish sauce. Add 1 Tablespoon of Herbs de Provence. Bring the soup to the boil and reduce the heat to low simmer for three hours. 

Twenty minutes before service, add the frozen peas. At time of service, adjust the seasoning and serve with crusty bread.

Pasta Fazool!

Dean Martin had a pop hit in the early 1950's that became his signature song. In 1987 Norman Jewison used the song repeatedly in his hit movie, Moonstruck. The song to which I refer is, "That's Amore."

In that song, one line reads, "When the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool,
That's amore."  

Pasta fazool is Sicilian slang for  pasta e fagioli, an Italian farm wife soup that features both beans and pasta. Often, the soup is prepared as a meatless dish, but the version I will post in this blog entry is decidedly full of chicken.

Ingredients

Four chicken thighs
Two small onions diced
Two ribs celery rough chopped
One large carrot sliced in bite size pieces
Four baby bella mushrooms chopped
28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
19 ounce can cannelini beans
Double handful baby spinach
2/3 cup dry ditalini or other small pasta
Five garlic cloves sliced
Six cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
salt and pepper

Secret Ingredient 

2 inch cube Romano cheese rind

Method

Season and brown the chicken thighs.

Add all the other ingredients except the spinach and pasta to a slow cooker. Crush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Submerge the browned thighs in the raw soup.

Set the slow cooker to low and simmer for six to eight hours. After cooking, taste test the soup and add salt as needed. Once well seasoned, remove the skin and bones from the chicken thighs and discard. Tear the meat into bite size chunks and return to the crock. Add the spinach and the pasta and continue to simmer until the pasta is al dente, about 20 to 30 minutes more.

Serve with crusty bread and a simple salad.

Enchilada Casserole (Mexican Lasagna)

As I have focused the last two posts on Latino flavors, I thought I would change pace - not.

You start with this:

From this point you make a Rick Bayless style Pico de Gallo. You dice the onion and rinse it well in cold water to remove the sting and burp. Seed, pith, and dice the Serranos (1 or 2 depending on heat preference) Next you seed and dice the tomatoes. I always throw the seed bundles in a strainer and strain the tasty juice back into the salsa. Crush a clove of garlic and mince it very finely. Add two generous pinches of salt and quarter teaspoon of the chili powder. Juice the lemon. Mince a small double handful of the cilantro and combine everything.

Once you have made the Pico de Gallo, use a small amount to make guacamole.

Use the guacamole to sustain you as you prepare the rest.

Make the filling:

Ingredients

1/2 onion, diced

1 pound ground chuck

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

salt to taste

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup Pico de Gallo

Olive Oil

Method

Fry the ground beef and onions, with the spices, in a non stick skillet until the meat is brown and the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and fry another two minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the beans and corn, the salt, and the Pico de Gallo.

Next we assemble the casserole.

More Ingredients

18 corn tortillas, cut in half (Do not use flour tortillas. They turn gummy in this casserole.)
1 large can mild red enchilada sauce.
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded.

Method

Coat the bottom of a greased 9 X 13 baking dish with enchilada sauce.
Use 12 pieces of tortilla to cover the sauce on the bottom of the dish.
Place 1/2 the filling on the tortillas. Sprinkle a handful of the cheese on the filling.
Working in the opposite direction, layer another 12 pieces of tortilla over the first layer of filling.
Add the rest of the filling and another handful of the cheese.
Add one more layer of tortillas, again alternating the direction you lay them.
Cover the dish with the remaining enchilada sauce.
Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the surface.

Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.
Let rest 10 minutes before cutting and spooning the results to bowls. I promise you will love this.

Travel and freezing:
I have never done it but I bet the dish can be assembled and frozen for later thawing and baking. I know it travels well in an insulated carrier for reheating.

Family Classic - The Sequel

Mexican Surprise

When I ask my lovely wife about something that happened when the children were little, quite often her response is simple. She will tell me, "That was the 80's. I don't remember the 80's." However, one evening in the 80's has become memorable.

One Tuesday or Thursday evening, she picked up the girls from after school care and arrived home to discover the refrigerator and pantry were nearly bare. Children become really grumpy if they don't eat, so she took what she found and went to work. She used frozen pre-made hamburger patties, taco seasoning, rice, salsa, and Velveeta to make a one pot meal. When the girls asked, "What are we having for dinner?" she answered,"It's a surprise." When I got home from rugby practice I asked what was left from dinner. She gave me the same answer.  It was really good.

Over the last thirty years we have collaborated to change the recipe to something a bit more elegant, but it remains a one pot comfort food that everyone likes.

Ingredients

1 and 1/3 cups of uncooked basmati rice

1 pound ground beef

one can drained corn

one can drained and rinsed black beans

one large onion diced

one small or half of a large jalapeno diced

1 cup mild chunky jar salsa

2 teaspoon high quality chili powder

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

2 large pinches of salt

2 cups water

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Velveeta or Queso

Method

In a dutch oven over medium heat saute the onion and jalapeno in olive oil with the spices added. When the onion is nearly translucent, add the ground beef and continue to cook until the meat is browned. Add 1/2 cup of water and continue to cook until water evaporates.

Add the rice and continue to cook until the rice begins to look chalky. Add the salt and the salsa and stir to combine. Cook for two or three minutes until the steam begins to rise, then add the water.

Bring the mixture to the boil, reduce the heat to simmer and cover the dutch oven. Simmer for 20 minutes. Leave the pot covered and turn off the heat. Allow the dish to rest at least 20 minutes. If no queso is available, slice Velveeta in thin slices and scatter over the casserole to melt before serving. If queso is available, serve the Surprise and pass the queso separately.

Variation: If you need to take a potluck dish and it needs to be vegetarian, make this recipe without the ground beef. Transfer it to a preheated slow cooker for the simmer stage, add the cheese, and switch the setting to warm. Call it Cheesy Salsa Rice.

A Family Classic

Bless their hearts, my mother's side of the family was interesting. My grandmother had two sisters and a brother that survived to adulthood. They were Cantwells from the Fort Smith/Jenny Lind area of Arkansas. At different times in the 1940's my grandmother and both her sisters moved to El Paso, Texas. Eventually, both of my mother's sisters moved to Texas as well.

That circumstance meant that family vacations involved two day road trips from Tulsa to El Paso in my father's Dodge. It also meant the visits were loud and chaotic. I first met and grew to love Eberle during those visits. Eberle was my mother's aunt and actually the one who primarily raised her. Somehow she was Mer Mer to me and she always seemed to have time for me, even during the circus of the family gatherings.

When she first showed me this recipe, I had to drag a chair to the stove to watch. Yes, I have fiddled with it since then, but what I will show you here has all the basics she showed me. My mother, my sisters, all of my cousins, and all of our children make their own version of this dish.

One last bit to explain the importance of this recipe in our family. When Nancy and I lived in London, we would ask visitors from the states to smuggle in the ingredients we could not find in England. Who knew Velveeta and mild green chilies would be so hard to find there?

Queso

Ingredients

one 2 pound brick of Velveeta Queso Blanco or Original, cubed into about 32 pieces

one onion, diced small

one small jalapeno or 1/2 large jalapeno, seeded, pithed, and diced small

one 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

one small tin chopped mild green chilies

one rounded 1/4 teaspoon high quality chili powder
salt to taste
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Method

In a large, heavy bottom sauce pan over medium low heat, saute the onion with the jalapeno and chili powder in the olive oil until the onions turn translucent. Add the green chilies and the tomatoes and the large pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to the boil and add 4 or 5 of the cheese cubes. Stir frequently as the cheese melts to avoid scorching the cheese.

As each addition of cheese melts add the next and continue to stir frequently. As soon as the last cheese cubes are added and melted, remove the queso from the heat. To store, cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin from forming.

These are good examples of spice to use. The chipotle is the hot one.

There is no substitute

This is the mix just before you start adding the cheese.

Properly cooked, you should be able to recognize all the different flavors.

I believe if you try this version, you will never again use rotel. If you want more heat, use the chipotle spice and more jalapeno. It will shame any rotel based heat from cayenne.

For a Super Bowl dip that will make the neighbors talk, fry two pounds of chorizo, drain the fat, and add the cooked meat to the queso.