Easy easy marinara sauce. I've been rethinking the red sauce. I still like the idea of the crock pot sauce but it doesn't always deliver the texture and flavor I want. So I tried a few new ways. The first was good the second was outstanding.
Method 1:
Get a large can of whole peeled roma tomatoes and drain them. Cut them in half and dump the seeds. Crush them with your hands an dump in a pot. Drain and add one can of diced tomatoes. Add one clove of garlic crushed, 1 tsp of dried (or fresh) herbs. Simmer for 20 minutes or so and you are done.
Method 2:
It's a bit counter-intuitive, but it is awesome. You want 15-20 good Roma tomatoes or 10 beefsteak. Cut all of them in half and remove the seeds and all of the liquid goop. Place skin down in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with dried or fresh herbs. Slice up 2 garlic cloves thinly and put at least one slice in each tomato. Sprinkle each tomato with a pinch of salt and drizzle with olive oil. Roast all the tomatoes at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. You want them looking wrinkled when you take them out. Now you have a choice, you can peel & puree or run them through a food mill. This sauce is ready to go it's smooth and mellow and has that smoky roasty flavor. On Pizza, pasta or a dipping sauce for fried calamari or cheese nothing beats this.
OK just did this with beefsteak tomatoes. Great flavor but way too watery. I need to simmer it way down. Keep to the Romas they work so much better. Peace Love Pasta
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Why is the Ketchup Red? It saw the salad dressing....
Ok I remember that from first grade but salad dressings can make or break your veggies. My favorite is the vinegrette which is a mix of an acid, oil, an emulsifier (optional) and seasonings. It's flexible fast and fun (oh yeah and yummy too).
Basic recipe is 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar 1/2 tsp of mustard (emulsifier to keep the dressing from breaking into component parts) and 1 tsp of dried herbs. What herbs do you say? Basically anything that you like from the historically classical Italian seasoning mix to any single herb or combo that you like. You can also easily substitute fresh herbs if you have them (thanks to the deck garden we do). My secret is that if you use dried herbs soak them in the vinegar for about 10 minutes pre mixing. This will both perfume the vinegar and hydrate the herbs.
Now I am sure you have seen a cooking show where they slowly drizzle (not a Snoop Dog refrence here) the oil in and whisk furiously at the same time. You so don't need to do that. Just add the oil in three parts and beat it in between. If you use a blender like the Magic Bullet (love that little critter) or an immersion blender then ignore the stages part. The most awesomest part is that this is also one of the worlds best bread dips.
I did mention that the emulsifier is optional before, if you don't add it in then your dressing will slowly break into it's component parts as vinegar like water doesn't like oil all that much. If this is OK with you then it's OK with me. I do it both ways depending on my mood and how much bread I have handy for dunking.
Oil is importaint here. You will be tasing the raw oil so pay attention to flavor. Olive is the standard but nut oils like hazelnut or pecan can be wonderful as well. For a totally neutral flavor try safflower or grapeseed oil. I usually like olive oil because I can get good oil from the bulk food store at a reasonably good price.
My Balsamic Vinagrette
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tblsp Extra Virgin Olive oil, (balsamic vinegar is sweeter than most vinegars so you don't need as much oil just remember when in doubt taste). 1 tsp fresh herbs finely chopped (oregano, rosemary and thyme), pinch sugar, salt & garlic powder. 1/2 tsp dijon style mustard (the fancy brown stuff). Test by dipping in a piece of lettuce. Adjust as needed, you should be able to taste everything but the mustard which should dissapear under the other strong flavors. Enjoy.
Basic recipe is 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar 1/2 tsp of mustard (emulsifier to keep the dressing from breaking into component parts) and 1 tsp of dried herbs. What herbs do you say? Basically anything that you like from the historically classical Italian seasoning mix to any single herb or combo that you like. You can also easily substitute fresh herbs if you have them (thanks to the deck garden we do). My secret is that if you use dried herbs soak them in the vinegar for about 10 minutes pre mixing. This will both perfume the vinegar and hydrate the herbs.
Now I am sure you have seen a cooking show where they slowly drizzle (not a Snoop Dog refrence here) the oil in and whisk furiously at the same time. You so don't need to do that. Just add the oil in three parts and beat it in between. If you use a blender like the Magic Bullet (love that little critter) or an immersion blender then ignore the stages part. The most awesomest part is that this is also one of the worlds best bread dips.
I did mention that the emulsifier is optional before, if you don't add it in then your dressing will slowly break into it's component parts as vinegar like water doesn't like oil all that much. If this is OK with you then it's OK with me. I do it both ways depending on my mood and how much bread I have handy for dunking.
Oil is importaint here. You will be tasing the raw oil so pay attention to flavor. Olive is the standard but nut oils like hazelnut or pecan can be wonderful as well. For a totally neutral flavor try safflower or grapeseed oil. I usually like olive oil because I can get good oil from the bulk food store at a reasonably good price.
My Balsamic Vinagrette
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tblsp Extra Virgin Olive oil, (balsamic vinegar is sweeter than most vinegars so you don't need as much oil just remember when in doubt taste). 1 tsp fresh herbs finely chopped (oregano, rosemary and thyme), pinch sugar, salt & garlic powder. 1/2 tsp dijon style mustard (the fancy brown stuff). Test by dipping in a piece of lettuce. Adjust as needed, you should be able to taste everything but the mustard which should dissapear under the other strong flavors. Enjoy.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The last of the Bread.....
For a while.
I posted about my asiago bread fiasco but I really love asiago bread so I just couldn't leave it like that. So I made the bread finally.
I used the pizza dough (double recipe) and added about 1/2 to 3/4ths of a cup of cubed asiago cheese to the dough. Let it rise for two hours and turn it out on an oiled (olive oil of course) pizza stone (you can use a baking pan or sheet tray). I pushed & stretched it into a rectangular shape to the edge of the stone. I brushed the top with olive oil and let it rise for about an hour.
Place the bread into a 450 degree oven on the stone/pan for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. This will be a 1-2 inch high focaccia with golden brown asiago bits in the crust that smells divine and tastes better. It's great for sandwiches, as a bed for a salad or just to devour as a snack.
Tonight we are going to have pizza as we just got in a new crop of roma tomatoes.
I posted about my asiago bread fiasco but I really love asiago bread so I just couldn't leave it like that. So I made the bread finally.
I used the pizza dough (double recipe) and added about 1/2 to 3/4ths of a cup of cubed asiago cheese to the dough. Let it rise for two hours and turn it out on an oiled (olive oil of course) pizza stone (you can use a baking pan or sheet tray). I pushed & stretched it into a rectangular shape to the edge of the stone. I brushed the top with olive oil and let it rise for about an hour.
Place the bread into a 450 degree oven on the stone/pan for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. This will be a 1-2 inch high focaccia with golden brown asiago bits in the crust that smells divine and tastes better. It's great for sandwiches, as a bed for a salad or just to devour as a snack.
Tonight we are going to have pizza as we just got in a new crop of roma tomatoes.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Whoops....
Ok after reading this for a while I bet you all imagine a Rachel Ray type kitchen and a handsome man in a well pressed apron flawlessly performing edible acrobatics while flawlessly pumping our delicious meal after meal to the amazement of all.
Survey says X! While I am devilishly handsome, no aprons and not nearly that amount of space. We suffer from a common syndrome of too much stuff, too little space. We've got most of the rest of the house whipped into shape and have the kitchen and sunroom left to finish. We (mostly my lovely wife) has done a TREMENDOUS job of getting things in order so far, we jet need the energy and drive to finish (now that it's 100 degrees, humid, I'm working and we have 3 kids under two) we just don't have the energy at this time.
So we come up with expediencies like I use the oven to raise dough. We don't keep most of our appliances (small ones like crock pots) in a ready to operate positioning etc... Which brings me to a goof I made the other day.
I was frying some catfish (flour, eggwash, flour method) and some baked french fries (bagged) for the evening meal.
First dry dredge 1/2 cup of flour lightly salt & peppered.
wet dredge 2 eggs 1 cup of milk or buttermilk
second dry dredge 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of hush puppy mix. Season lightly and option add 1/2 tbsp of curry powder and a similar amount of chili powder (add some cayenne pepper if you like the heat)
I like the dry-wet-dry method as you end up with a crisp crunchy crust that adheres well, works on anything and is not too doughy so what you are frying still tastes like what you are frying and not a giant doughball like at the county fair (other than the shape there's not much of a difference between a corndog and a funnel cake there).
So I preheat the oven to 450 for my fries and batter up my catfish (if you like it a bit less fishy try tilapia if you think you have the skills try flounder which is much flakier when cooked). I set the catfish aside and add about 1/2 inch of oil to a straight sided frying pan. Just when I am about to start the oil I notice a smell. It smells like a malfunctioning dryer. I check the oven... my asiago bread is in there!!!! Yes I made up a batch of dough to rise and bake after dinner and forgot about it. Fortunately no fire but the alarms went off after I opened the oven door. I soaked the towels I used to cover the dough and set the whole mess aside to cool and deal with later.
Now I was down a side dish unless I wanted my french fries to taste like scorched cotton. Idea flash!!!. I mixed my wet dredge with my final coat until I got a nice loose batter. I was going to make impromptu hush puppies. When the oil was at temp (meaning it fried up a piece of my hush puppy batter fast and not greasy) I put in my hush puppies to cook. they fried for about 1.5 minutes a side (a deep golden brown) and then I set them aside.
I did test one by cutting in half and they were cooked through.I then cooked the fish for about 2 -3 minutes a side until they were a light although no less golden brown. When they were done I set aside to drain. Serve all with cocktail sauce.
So I'm not perfect. I funk up just as much as the next person. The rule is to not get flustered and not to give up because you still have mouths to feed. I was really bummed about the asiago bread though... I LOVE asiago bread.
Survey says X! While I am devilishly handsome, no aprons and not nearly that amount of space. We suffer from a common syndrome of too much stuff, too little space. We've got most of the rest of the house whipped into shape and have the kitchen and sunroom left to finish. We (mostly my lovely wife) has done a TREMENDOUS job of getting things in order so far, we jet need the energy and drive to finish (now that it's 100 degrees, humid, I'm working and we have 3 kids under two) we just don't have the energy at this time.
So we come up with expediencies like I use the oven to raise dough. We don't keep most of our appliances (small ones like crock pots) in a ready to operate positioning etc... Which brings me to a goof I made the other day.
I was frying some catfish (flour, eggwash, flour method) and some baked french fries (bagged) for the evening meal.
First dry dredge 1/2 cup of flour lightly salt & peppered.
wet dredge 2 eggs 1 cup of milk or buttermilk
second dry dredge 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of hush puppy mix. Season lightly and option add 1/2 tbsp of curry powder and a similar amount of chili powder (add some cayenne pepper if you like the heat)
I like the dry-wet-dry method as you end up with a crisp crunchy crust that adheres well, works on anything and is not too doughy so what you are frying still tastes like what you are frying and not a giant doughball like at the county fair (other than the shape there's not much of a difference between a corndog and a funnel cake there).
So I preheat the oven to 450 for my fries and batter up my catfish (if you like it a bit less fishy try tilapia if you think you have the skills try flounder which is much flakier when cooked). I set the catfish aside and add about 1/2 inch of oil to a straight sided frying pan. Just when I am about to start the oil I notice a smell. It smells like a malfunctioning dryer. I check the oven... my asiago bread is in there!!!! Yes I made up a batch of dough to rise and bake after dinner and forgot about it. Fortunately no fire but the alarms went off after I opened the oven door. I soaked the towels I used to cover the dough and set the whole mess aside to cool and deal with later.
Now I was down a side dish unless I wanted my french fries to taste like scorched cotton. Idea flash!!!. I mixed my wet dredge with my final coat until I got a nice loose batter. I was going to make impromptu hush puppies. When the oil was at temp (meaning it fried up a piece of my hush puppy batter fast and not greasy) I put in my hush puppies to cook. they fried for about 1.5 minutes a side (a deep golden brown) and then I set them aside.
I did test one by cutting in half and they were cooked through.I then cooked the fish for about 2 -3 minutes a side until they were a light although no less golden brown. When they were done I set aside to drain. Serve all with cocktail sauce.
So I'm not perfect. I funk up just as much as the next person. The rule is to not get flustered and not to give up because you still have mouths to feed. I was really bummed about the asiago bread though... I LOVE asiago bread.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Great Pizza experiment phase 2....
My pizza dough recipe ( http://cookingwiththedaddy.blogspot.com/2010/06/topless-is-not-for-pizza.html ) makes enough dough for 2 pies. Making only one at a time I decided to freeze half. Never having done that before I was wondering how it would turn out. No need to wonder any more it works great. I de-thawed the dough ball (lightly oiled and sealed in a zip top bag) overnight in the fridge. You want to keep it cold to prevent the yeast from waking up too early. I also treated it differently this time. I took my pizza stone out of the over and lightly oiled it, placing the dough ball directly on the stone, I used my fingers to press it into a rectangular shape. I then used my marble rolling pin to roll the dough out to the limits of the stone. Now... to the toppings.
We picked our first 5 tomatoes off of our deck this week and they were ripe and ready so I sliced & seeded them. I covered the top of the dough as completely as possible with the tomatoes and salted each one. I lightly covered the whole top with some granulated garlic and spread on one half some fresh oregano. On the other half I used a thyme, oregano and rosemary mix finely chopped. On the mixed half I placed two thinly sliced meatballs. I lightly covered the entire pie with cheese and did a light olive oil drizzle over the whole thing. I set the oven at 450 and waited for the preheat to finish (I did not preheat immediately on starting as I wanted the extra time for the dough to rise and the wife was taking a much needed & well deserved nap). I cooked the pizza at 450 for about 17 minutes where the cheese was starting to brown as well as the crust. I removed the entire stone to the top of the stove and put the pizza on my largest cutting board. 12 slices later and we were in heaven. The freshness of the tomatoes came through and the crust was thin, slightly puffy and that combo of crunchy and chewy that a good pizza crust should have.
Technically the pizza was sauceless but the fresh tomatoes and olive oil made up for it. The best part the entire pizza cost less than 1$, ok the real best part was the yummy noises we all were making, but the low price really added to it.
We picked our first 5 tomatoes off of our deck this week and they were ripe and ready so I sliced & seeded them. I covered the top of the dough as completely as possible with the tomatoes and salted each one. I lightly covered the whole top with some granulated garlic and spread on one half some fresh oregano. On the other half I used a thyme, oregano and rosemary mix finely chopped. On the mixed half I placed two thinly sliced meatballs. I lightly covered the entire pie with cheese and did a light olive oil drizzle over the whole thing. I set the oven at 450 and waited for the preheat to finish (I did not preheat immediately on starting as I wanted the extra time for the dough to rise and the wife was taking a much needed & well deserved nap). I cooked the pizza at 450 for about 17 minutes where the cheese was starting to brown as well as the crust. I removed the entire stone to the top of the stove and put the pizza on my largest cutting board. 12 slices later and we were in heaven. The freshness of the tomatoes came through and the crust was thin, slightly puffy and that combo of crunchy and chewy that a good pizza crust should have.
Technically the pizza was sauceless but the fresh tomatoes and olive oil made up for it. The best part the entire pizza cost less than 1$, ok the real best part was the yummy noises we all were making, but the low price really added to it.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Mastering the Sale dinner...
I may have mentioned it before but I'm cheap. One word in our vocabulary that is sure to excite us at the store is sale. We have three pretty nice grocery stores really close to our house and we hit all three regularly. Why three? Because each has different sales pegged to the loyalty cards. I'm not going to spend an extra dollar per pound for ground beef at store A when I am picking up my sale soda there just to save a 2 minute drive. So what to do when you haven't thawed anything and dinner time is approaching? Well unless you are sure of the store don't plan the menu before you go, pull something from the freezer for tomorrow and hit the grocery store.
Hit the proteins first as they are the center of the meal. There is a very good chance that there is going to be a sale item in chicken, fish, pork and beef at any given time you go to the store. Other good options for a central protein include raw and cooked sausage as well as stuffed pastas. Settle on the item that will fit with what you are cooking tomorrow (you don't really want to do pork chops 2 nights in a row, right?) and your cook/prep time. Then head to the fresh produce.
This is where the art comes in. Sale produce also goes on every week but it's hard to match some times. You want to think about your main protein and how it would taste with the the veggies you have arrayed before you. Let me walk you through last night's meal.
At the fish counter I saw some amazing scallops 1/3rd off. regularly around 12 dollars they were on sale for 8$ a lb (sounds a tad pricey I know but compare to McDonalds prices that is less than 2 meal deals (size large)). Next I hit the veggies and saw some really nice oyster mushrooms on sale for 2$, then picked up some nice small roma tomatoes (89c) and finally artechokes 1/2 off at 2 for 4 dollars. So to add it up with one small lemon I spent 15.50$. Compare that to any instant food and decide which you would rather eat.
Now for the prep. Cleaned and soaked the artichokes in lemon water (they blacken faster than apples) then boiled them in lemon water (salted) for about 5 minutes and let them hang there for a bit. Next I cut and seeded the tomatoes, sliced the mushrooms and let the scallops dry on a paper towel (top and bottom). Prep work is done. Heat a skillet and add a small amount of olive oil. You want the pan pretty hot but not hot enough to smoke up the oil. Cook the scallops for two minutes a side (if they look cooked then they are over done). They ended up being lightly brown on each side (also season to taste, salt and whatever you like). When done remove to a plate. Cook the mushrooms in the same pan, when they become tender and start to exude liquid, add in the artechokes and tomatoes. Hit the pan with the juice of one lemon and deglaze the pan (that means use the boiling liquid to scrape up the yummy bits of scallop juices that are sticking to the pan), you can use a touch of white wine and butter here too, hit it with a touch of salt to taste and you are done. I combined the veggies into a sauce for the scallops so you can serve them on a bed of the veggies or just put the veggies on the side and placed the scallops next to them. Cooking time was 7 minutes and it was very yummy. This will serve three to four depending on size and appetite. Figure on 4-5 big scallops for an adult portion and 1-3 for the kids. We are lucky in that our toddler will eat or at least try anything and he does love seafood.
Hit the proteins first as they are the center of the meal. There is a very good chance that there is going to be a sale item in chicken, fish, pork and beef at any given time you go to the store. Other good options for a central protein include raw and cooked sausage as well as stuffed pastas. Settle on the item that will fit with what you are cooking tomorrow (you don't really want to do pork chops 2 nights in a row, right?) and your cook/prep time. Then head to the fresh produce.
This is where the art comes in. Sale produce also goes on every week but it's hard to match some times. You want to think about your main protein and how it would taste with the the veggies you have arrayed before you. Let me walk you through last night's meal.
At the fish counter I saw some amazing scallops 1/3rd off. regularly around 12 dollars they were on sale for 8$ a lb (sounds a tad pricey I know but compare to McDonalds prices that is less than 2 meal deals (size large)). Next I hit the veggies and saw some really nice oyster mushrooms on sale for 2$, then picked up some nice small roma tomatoes (89c) and finally artechokes 1/2 off at 2 for 4 dollars. So to add it up with one small lemon I spent 15.50$. Compare that to any instant food and decide which you would rather eat.
Now for the prep. Cleaned and soaked the artichokes in lemon water (they blacken faster than apples) then boiled them in lemon water (salted) for about 5 minutes and let them hang there for a bit. Next I cut and seeded the tomatoes, sliced the mushrooms and let the scallops dry on a paper towel (top and bottom). Prep work is done. Heat a skillet and add a small amount of olive oil. You want the pan pretty hot but not hot enough to smoke up the oil. Cook the scallops for two minutes a side (if they look cooked then they are over done). They ended up being lightly brown on each side (also season to taste, salt and whatever you like). When done remove to a plate. Cook the mushrooms in the same pan, when they become tender and start to exude liquid, add in the artechokes and tomatoes. Hit the pan with the juice of one lemon and deglaze the pan (that means use the boiling liquid to scrape up the yummy bits of scallop juices that are sticking to the pan), you can use a touch of white wine and butter here too, hit it with a touch of salt to taste and you are done. I combined the veggies into a sauce for the scallops so you can serve them on a bed of the veggies or just put the veggies on the side and placed the scallops next to them. Cooking time was 7 minutes and it was very yummy. This will serve three to four depending on size and appetite. Figure on 4-5 big scallops for an adult portion and 1-3 for the kids. We are lucky in that our toddler will eat or at least try anything and he does love seafood.
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