Category: Pasta and Rice

Improvisation Can Be A Good Thing

I wasn’t planning on being home tonight , nor cooking.My catering job was cancelled due to water main break. Certain Someone had to fend for himself the night before with his favorite ‘Cluck, cluck’,Harold’s Fried Chicken. I bet you he was anticipating it tonight too. No such luck. I took some frozen beef cubes and placed in the Dutch oven to roast a few hours until he came home.I knew I wanted to use these spices I picked up at World Market the other day.And this beautiful Swiss Chard that screamed healthy! I have a zillion cookbooks but still find myself referring to Internet searches for ideas .I love the look of Star Anise , but feared it due to bad experience with Chinese 5 Spice once. Chef uses it quite a bit in passed appetizers and seared tenderloin.So I wanted to revisit this spice. The meat was roasting nicely and called me to do something. I ground the Star Anise and threw it in. I saw on searches that cinnamon , star anise, and beef seemed to be a popular theme. I threw in some Sherry, vinegar, Soy Sauce, Thai Chili’s,onions,and water to the pan. The result was a slow cooked caramelized melange of aromatic spices and tender beef. Certain Someone came home and sniffed the air. The one drawback was that he wanted his noodles and more of a sauce. No to worry. Although I said I was trying to avoid his ‘Big Ass Food'( ie: noodles).He retorted who was I calling Big Ass! I added more water to the roasting pan to deglaze, and boiled up some noodles. The result was this.A rather good improvisation if I do say so myself. Even Certain Someone agreed.

Coco’s Asian Style Beef with Red Swiss Chard
* this recipe was improvised so measurements were approximated.
1 lb beef cubes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2-3 ground Star Anise
1 cup sliced onions
1 bunch Red Swiss Chard
1 cinnamon Stick
2 Thai Chili’s
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 Sherry
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups of water
Asian noodles

Roast beef cubes in oiled covered Dutch Oven seasoned with salt and pepper for 1 hour. Add sliced onions , spices,Soy Sauce, Sherry, Vinegar, sugar, garlic and continue to roast covered for another hour. Check pan periodically and add water as needed . You want a small amount of broth /sauce in the final product.
Wash and stem the Swiss Chard. Roll leaved and slice like chiffonade. Oil fry pan. Saute Swiss chard until just wilted. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Prepare noodles.
Assemble beef atop noodles. Top with Swiss Chard and drizzle with juices from the roasting pan.

Chicken,Leek ,and Wild Rice Soup

This is not a pretty soup, but its a pleasing soup. I love wild rice, and what better to pair wild rice with than some chicken? I’ve had my share of great chicken and wild rice soups on buisness trips to Minnesota. I decided to play on my own and come up with my own version. The thing about soup is that you can follow a recipe, but sometimes the best ones are ad lib.

I essentially took five chicken drumsticks and roasted them with a few strips of cut of bacon. Something about bacon used in cooking that just imparts a wonderful flavor and aroma. I cleaned and sliced one leek and added it to the roasting pan.I used my enameled Le Creuset dutch oven so it can go from oven to burner. I roasted the chicken and leeks for approx 1 hour to get a nice brown carmelization. I then transferred to pot to the burner and deglazed my pan with Sherry.I added dried shitake mushrooms,that had been soaking for the past hour and sliced,water, spices( herbs de Provence,ground sage,salt,pepper,a dash of sugar,etc.).I let it simmer for about another hour, with periodic stirrings from Certain Someone for his proclaimed magic touch.Around the last half hour I added heavy cream mixed with cornstarch for thickening.It didn’t get as thick as I would have liked , but it was fine just the same.Certain Someone ate two bowls and was happy. I’m not a big soup person but he seems to like my soup concoctions. Now if they only looked as good as they tasted..

While Certain Someone is Away…Seasonal Bounty Angel Hair Pasta

Certain Someone asked me in a email while waiting for takeoff, why don’t I make him a pasta dish like this. I had told him I was roasting veggies and tossing them with angel hair pasta. I replied that if I said we were having veggies and pasta for dinner,he’d ask me to cook him a sausage!As I mentioned in a earlier post when he’s gone, I tend to lean towards less meat.And without having to worry about his likes and dislikes, I was free to cook. Hyde Park Produce had some excellent Oyster mushrooms that were begging me to take them home. I chose some assorted zucchini, squash, oil/salt cured black olives, carrots, onion, and big sprigs of fresh basil.

Courtney’s Seasonal Bounty

Angel Hair Pasta
zucchini sliced very thin
yellow squash
onion
several cloves of garlic
carrots
oyster mushrooms
cured black olives( use according to taste as flavor is strong)
capers ( according to taste)
fresh basil for a chiffonade
truffle oil to drizzle
salt
pepper
olive oil
oregano
balsamic vinegar

Thinly slice veggies with a mandolin. Toss veggies and garlic cloves with salt, pepper, olive oil, oregano, and balsamic vinegar.Roast in a cast iron pan at 375 degrees for approx half hour or until tender and juices have mostly evaporated.
Boil water for pasta and prepare. Cut pits out of the olives,and add both olives and capers to mixture of veggies.Toss pasta with veggie mixture.Roll basil leaves and slice for a chiffonade to top the pasta. Add grated Parmesan , and drizzle with truffle oil.

Busy Body (Interesting Obits, Rissoto Balls, and Bread.)

I’m one of those nosey, morbid people that always reads the obituary section of any paper. So while browsing through the NY times on line today,I noticed two obits with a American Culinary angle. Two people passed this week that either reflected or influenced the way most Americans ate for a period. I wouldn’t say they are household names,but very significant. Both were near in age and attitude towards food. Peg Bracken wrote a book I never heard of, but seemed to be a sentiment of many woman called I Hate To Cook. Seems Peg was a modern woman and go getter in the advertising world who hated the expectation of domesticity. Ironically she wrote a tongue in cheek cook book for those who were like her. Kind of like the Sandra Lee (Semi Homemade) or Rachel Ray (30 Minute Meals)of her day. Love them or hate them,they make a impact. She’s the total antithesis of today’s trends. The other departed was man named Vincent De Domenico, the creator of Rice-A-Roni. Most Americans have had this leading processed convenient food at one time or another. It was interesting to read about his influence and activities in Napa as well. Peg and Vincent were quite in sync.

Well I love to cook, but don’t always have the time as I work a full time job and two part time.As well as take a class.I’m not adverse to leftover and convenience. Reading many blogs , I have discovered many things I want to try.Above are some my adventures this week. I give full credit to Deborah at Taste and Tell for inspiring me to make a risotto( but I added butternut squash puree purchased from Williams and Sonoma) and Rosa at rosas-yummy-yums for making a pumpkin challah( of which I didn’t take a photo, topped with Pepita’s, and devoured). They both turned out excellent and I served it alongside my improvised Coq Au Vin for dinner last night. Certain Someone and I gobbled it up.I then took the leftover risotto , rolled it in some leftover panko /pecan breading, and made fried rice balls.So good!See convenience, inspiration, and creativity.

Courtney’s Coq au Vin

Chicken Breasts

country bacon

sweet onions( I used a variety called Candy Onions)

Herbs de Provence

Bay leaf

1/2 bottle of red wine or more depending on amount of chicken( I used a cheap Merlot hanging around)

salt

pepper

garlic cloves

*I didn’t have mushroom, but they are a traditional component

Chicken Stock

Cut up bacon and brown in a heavy duty casserole. Drain most fat and add chopped onion, and spices, and herbs. Add chicken and brown the skin on all sides. The bottom of the pan should start to caramelize. De glaze with red wine. Add chicken stock and cover to simmer, stirring occasionally. This dish takes approx 45- 1 hour depending on cuts and amounts of the chicken. Cook till tender. I like to do this in a slow cooker as well. The chicken will fall of the bone.