Well-Seasoned

My kitchen was still largely in chaos last night, the new homes for my favorite kitchen tools not yet decided. Still, I managed to make a delicious dinner when we got back from running around exploring. I accompanied seasoned, sautéed chicken breast with fingerling potatoes roasted on a bed of bay leaves, rosemary sprigs, and thyme and a selection of veggies to dip in a from-scratch buttermilk chive dip. The potatoes & dip are adapted from Emeril's Farm to Fork cookbook. I keep the seasoning mix, adapted from Bon Appetit, on hand for all kinds of things, from chicken to pork chops to steamed veggies. 

Four Seasons Mix

Combine 1/2 c. salt, 1 tbsp. pepper, 1 tbsp. garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp. cayenne. Store in container with tight-fitting lid and use for anything you'd use a seasoning rub on.

Roasted Potatoes with Bay, Thyme, & Rosemary

1 lb. baby potatoes, halved lengthwise

1/8 c. olive oil

1 tbsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

Pepper to taste

3 bay leaves

3 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs rosemary

1 tbsp. room temperature butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss with oil, salt, paprika, & black pepper. Cover baking sheet with bay leaves, thyme, & rosemary. Roast 20 minutes. Toss in large bowl. Roast another 15-20 minutes.  Toss, in the same bowl, with the butter until it's melted and coats the potatoes. Remove hard bits of stem and bay leaf before serving. Serves 2. 

Buttermilk Chive Dip

1/2 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/4 c. sour cream

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. chopped chives 

Salt & pepper, to taste

Mix well & serve with veggies, crackers, chips...

It's Getting Cozy in Here

Just in the last couple of days, fall has begun nibbling at the edges of our days and I have started wanting to make casseroles and pork chops and stews. Jeannene was delighted with tonight's dinner, saying it made her feel secure, like when she was 7 years old and her mommy would make Johnny Marzetti (in our family, it was called "goulash"). I served the pizza casserole I made with veggies (baby carrots, celery sticks, green pepper strips) & dip (I like to get the multi-pack of the Marzetti minis) and fruit salad.

Pizza Casserole

16 oz. 90% lean ground beef

1/2 c. finely chopped onion

1/2 c. finely chopped green pepper

15 oz. can pizza sauce

15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes 

1/2 c. parmesan

A good shake of Italian seasoning

16 oz. macaroni, penne, or other smallish pasta (whole grain is good), cooked

4-6 oz. turkey pepperoni (you can use regular, but I think turkey's just as good & lots healthier)

1 c. shredded 2% mozzarella 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray. Likewise, coat a skillet & heat it. Brown the meat, with the veggies, in the skillet. Add sauce, tomatoes, parmesan, and Italian seasoning. Add the pasta & pepperoni. Top with mozzarella. Spread in the 13x9 and bake 1/2 hour. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Serves 10-12. (You could halve this & cook it in an 8x8)

A Riff on Fruit Salad

1 container cubed pineapple

2 kiwis, peeled & cubed

2 bananas, peeled & chunked

A handful of grapes, halved

A bit of Maple Grove Farms Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Toss everything gently together in the bowl your grandmom used to make Jell-o. Try to keep your wife from eating all the bananas out of it before anyone else gets any.

Zinged-Up Baked Beans

I'm so excited about the start of fall! For our first dinner of the season, I tried a new, quick baked bean recipe, served alongside cheddarwurst & sweet corn. It came from Gooseberry Patch's Quick & Easy Autumn cookbook. The gingersnaps crumbled on top add a nice zing and a little sweetness, without being overbearing. Here is my adaptation:

Gingersnap Baked Beans

2 slices bacon, cooked until crisp & then crumbled (I used a handful of pre-cooked turkey bacon crumbles)

16 oz. pork & beans

A good shake of onion powder (or 1 tbsp. chopped onion, if you're up for chopping)

1/8 c. dark brown sugar, packed

1/8 c. ketchup

4 small gingersnaps, crushed (I used Newman's Own)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix everything together & put in a 1.5 qt casserole that's been sprayed with Pam. Bake 1/2 hour or until hot & bubbly. Serves 3-4.

Cozy Supper for Our First Night Home

Due to Jeannene's super new job, we have relocated to a lovely home called Butternut Hall in Southeastern Michigan. She started a little over a month ago and loves it, but has been living in the Days Inn this whole time while I finished my time pastoring in Dayton and got our Columbus household ready to be moved. Over the last several weeks, we have both been subsisting largely on restaurant meals and easy meals at home (whatever home has meant for each of us) that don't require much/any cooking. 

Jeannene was away for work the first several days of our Butternut Hall life. Last night, I went to fetch her from the Detroit airport. It would be her first real home-cooked meal in over a month, so I wanted it really to taste (& smell!) like coming home. I opted for an old-fashioned beef stew and our favorite salad, Robyn's Tuscan Kale Salad, which I have posted previously. I even baked a cheater dessert, those break-and-bake chocolate chunk cookies. I'd rather do homemade, but most of my kitchen is in boxes and the rest in shambles right now. The stew was delicious on a drizzly November night and the house smelled marvelous when we stepped inside. I hope you have more room in your kitchen than I did, and don't have to rest your cutting board and cookie sheets across the sink, but even if you have a tiny bit of space, this meal is doable!

Homecoming Beef Stew

2 lb. boneless beef chuck steak, fat    trimmed, cut into largish chunks

1/2 c. flour

Salt & pepper

3 tbsp. butter

1 onion, chopped

24 oz. beer*

1 lb. tiny red potatoes, halved (you could dice regular-sized ones, too)

3 carrots, peeled and cut in very thick rounds

1 turnip, peeled and cut into large dice

(I would have also added a large parsnip, but the delivery did not arrive at the grocery, so I was out of luck there. You should add one, though, peeled and cut like the carrot.)

Dredge the beef, in batches, in the flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. In your favorite stew pot, melt the butter on medium-high heat. You can use olive oil, instead, if you like. Brown the meat on all sides, which will take about 10 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the beer and deglaze, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the crispy bits incorporated. Add the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 2 and a half to 3 hours, stirring every now and again, until everything is very tender. Serves 4-6.

* I used a Tecate and a Dieselpunk IPA because that's what was on hand. Use whatever you like, but I don't recommend light beer in stew, ever. I toyed with using some hard cider and may very well do that next time. 

November 2013 Dinners

Today, I spent some time planning dinner menus for November. I am not sure when we'll be in our new home in Michigan, but I figure I should only miss a night or two due to the move. Here's what I have it in mind to cook in the coming month. Now that I'm my own boss, I will have more time, perhaps, to blog about what I'm cooking and eating. Tonight, it's popcorn.

-Cuban cabbage stew, rolls, avocado & onion salad
-Teriyaki pork chops, broccoli stir-fry, jasmine rice
-Tambor de picadillo, green salad, fruit
-Hot cereal with apple butter & walnuts, cheddar cheese, fruit
-Artichoke chicken pasta salad, green salad, fruit
-Chicken fried rice, clementines, green salad
-Curry cheddar melts, brussels sprouts with goat cheese, apples, and hazelnuts
-Brunch casserole, salad, boozy fruit
-Mediterranean peasant soup, spinach feta melts, fruit
-Thanksgiving in a pan, herbed mashed potatoes, salad
-Bean thread soup, lumpia, fruit
-Ditalini with salami, green salad, fruit
-Almond lentil burgers, lemony broccoli slaw, fruit
-Burgers, broccoli cheese casserole, Iowa pea salad
-Pumpkin soup, prosciutto & apple salad, rolls
-Chili skillet, salad, fruit
-Pimiento cheese sandwiches, chips, veggies & dip
-Peppery steaks with mushrooms, baked potatoes, parmesan pignoli green beans
-Gambas al ajillo, rice, avocado & onion salad, maduros
-Provencal tuna salad on greens, sauteed green beans with pepitas, grainy bread, fruit
-4-Seasons chicken, bay/thyme/rosemary roasted potatoes, veggies with buttermilk dip
-Au gratin potatoes & ham, lima beans, salad
-Mexican pork tenderloin, flour tortillas, corn, salad
-Spinach soup, rolls, fruit
-Thanksgiving dinner!
-Peanut butter kiss cookies
-Mini apple hand pies
-Tuscan rice salad
-Benedictine sandwiches
-Almond crunch

Riffing on the Cheeseburger

Last night, as we were eating dinner, Jeannene said, "The dinners you've been making this week remind me of being a kid." I said, "It's fall! Time for comfort food." The chicken & asparagus casserole I made Tuesday night was an enormous disappointment to me, although she loved it, but last night's dinner was yummy! I made cornbread cheeseburger pie, served with Lima beans & a salad. This is my take on Naomi Costales' upside-down hamburger pie from the Gooseberry Patch cookbook, The Harvest Table:

1 lb. lean ground beef (96% lean worked great)

1/2 onion, chopped

8 oz. tomato sauce

Salt & pepper

Ketchup-mayo, just a squirt or two

Mustard squirt

Dollop pickle relish

Handful shredded cheddar

2 (8.5 oz each) boxes cornbread mix (although I will use one next time, I think)

2 eggs

2/3 c. 2% milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown beef & onion in cast iron skillet. Drain. Add tomato sauce, s&p, condiments, & cheese. Mix well and spread evenly in skillet. Prep cornbread batter as instructed on box, with eggs & milk. Spread atop the beef mixture. Bake 1/2 hour. Serves 4-6.

Latin Flair, Easy Dinners

Last night, prompted by the gorgeous ripe plantains at the local Mexican grocery, I made a Cuban dinner of Bistec de Palomilla, black beans & rice, avocado salad, and fried plantains (maduros). I think the plantains are best when the skin is completely black. I just slice them on the diagonal and fry them. They can also be baked. 

Bistec de Palomilla

3 cloves garlic

Salt & pepper

1/4 c. sour orange juice (or half regular orange juice, half lime juice, and a splash of olive oil)

1 lb. thinly sliced steak

2-3 tbsp. oil

1/2 c. finely-chopped onion

Finely-chopped parsley

Lime wedges 

Mash the garlic, salt, and pepper into a paste. Mix with sour orange juice. Pound the steak lightly and cut in 4. Marinate in garlic/orange juice mixture half an hour. Blot dry with paper towels & pan-fry in oil until golden brown on each side. Remove to paper towel-lined plate. Add marinade to pan and bring to a boil. Drizzle over the steaks & top each with onion & parsley. Serve with lime wedges.

Tonight, we moved significantly to the west of Cuba for a Mexican-inspired burger plate. I mixed half a cup of Newman's Own Farmer's Garden salsa with a pound of extra-lean ground beef, made it into 4 patties, and pan-fried them. I smashed an avocado with a splash of key lime juice and some garlic salt and served the guac with multi-grain tortilla scoops. The salad was romaine, black beans, diced tomato, and diced bell peppers (yellow, orange, & red). We had some salsa verde in the fridge, so I topped the burgers with that.