roasted vegetables

one of the best ways too cook vegetables you have on hand it to roast them. Easy preparation.

On a stoneware sheet pan diced and bake what have you in a medium oven till tender about an hour or so.

 

 

Here we have white onion, mushrooms, tomato, red pepper, and garlic. Season to your taste

with salt, pepper, and herbs. When completed, spoon on a bun, top with grated cheese.

Delicious !

 

Store the remainder for many uses, over pasta or when you need a side of vegetables with your meals, or a filling.

Quichza

sort of a cross between a quiche and a pizza. since it’s been awhile since I baked pizza, I wanted something simple and different.

obtain or make your favorite pizza dough and form it into a deep cast iron skillet. Push it up the sides.

 

Let it rise….

Sauté some white and sweet onions in butter, slowly not to brown…

add some greens, in this case from the Brussels sprout plant in the garden, some leafy greens from the stalk.

clean , dice add to the onions… a bit of salt and pepper to taste… That’s all …

cook the onions and greens over low heat to wilt and soften them, the dough should rise… a thick crust and billowy sides to hold the mixture..  just a touch of smoked hot red pepper flakes….added to the onions and greens for background…..

3 eggs and some milk…whisk together…..

spoon the  sautéed onion and Brussels greens in to the crust, pour in the egg mixture ……

  

That’s it ! Keeping it simply for this recipe….

500 degrees for about 13 minutes…

 

Tick …Tock… Tick ….Tock……. Tick…..Tock    Tick…. Tock   DING !….

DONE !

What a meal !!!

how about a dollop of sour cream for garnish !!!!!!

Ok, so I could have added things like cheese, sausage, some other type of meat and herbs, that’s right, there was no garlic in this recipe!!! BUT , this was sort of a test recipe to keep the flavors basic. It was a success. Yes, maybe the next time around I’ll add the garlic, cheese and meat, but for now the greens and onions were excellent to taste. And the crust bountiful, to hold it all together.

Tomato Vegetable soup/sauce base

Similar to Tomato Sauce with Pasta and Veggies

Checking the contents of the fridge, and since I haven’t made a soup type meal in a while, It would be a good idea to start with a vegetable based soup/sauce to use during the week. So I started dicing to a small, about 1/4 inch dice….. 

 

green bell  pepper, celery, onions, red bell pepper, mushroom, under the knife, (I peel the onion after slicing). You can geek it up and arrange the diced veggies on a plate like a pie graph. (Learning to use the camera on a mini tripod and setting the timer to take the picture.)

Close up view, isn’t digital photography wonderful ! Theirs no lack of film ! Instant gratification!

  

I chose the stainless steel fry pan with about 2 tablespoons butter. The pan is hot but once the veggies are going turn down to a simmer just to soften as they will later cook  in the sauce.

 

Started the base with frozen stock and there was about 1/2 can of tomatoes in the fridge, added, and set to a simmer.

While everything’s percolating along, empty the dishwasher, gotta get my exercise!

Added the sautéed veggies to the pot, I shaved about 1/2 of a frozen hot Italian sausage and diced for a bit of flavor. I don’t want to add any other meat to keep this sauce as flexible as possible for future use, lets say with chicken, sausage, beans or compliment with pasta or on a pizza shell . Hmmm over morning eggs would be great too. Just some crusty bread would be good right about now.

 

 Are you ready for this ! How could I forget garlic!

The final product, like they say you should be here to smell this.

I sweetened it with some simple syrup, then salt and pepper, a bit of herbs and a pinch of spices, just a dash of a dry rub.

It’s somewhat on the thin side but could be simmered down depending on it’s use. Would make a hearty stew don’tcha think?

Potage Parmentier

This morning and afternoon a pot of soup base was prepared, A version of Potato and onion (or leeks) soup. This was the first time I made a soup such as this.  The original recipe is from Julia Child and was posted on http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/leek-or-onion-and-potato-soup. After checking my cookbooks I found the expanded and updated recipe for Potage Parmentier from Child.  There was some misgivings about making this soup as the thought of just boiling up some potatoes and onions wouldn’t result in much of a soup.  Using the slicing side of a four sided grater the slicing of the peeled onions and potatoes was quick. I add a bit  of stock,  but the recipe from Child warns that you should use water to let the flavor of the vegetables show through. So on it simmered for at least an hour and a half. It tasted bland. I pureed it in an electric blender and with some seasoning of salt it finally gained my acceptance ! Voila ! It’s good alone, but I plan on using it as a base and adding broccoli etc.  I have other recipes in queue which I will publish later.

sausage and apple stuffing

Adapted from : simply recipes.com/recipes/crown_roast_of_pork

This recipe can be modified and used for other uses such as poultry etc.

cube (about 3/4 inch dice) day old bread enough for 4 cups.

 

In a large cast iron skillet, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, add the cubed bread, stir, let the cubes toast and brown. Set aside.

 

In a four quart pan, with a bit of salt on the bottom, de case sausage, about 1/4 pound hot and 1/4 pound sweet, in about 1 inch pieces, sauté till brown and flip, browning the other side. Remove  with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Augment the pan drippings, the sausage meat did not render that much fat, with rendered bacon fat. Add 1/2 cup diced  onions and 1/2 cup diced celery with diced celery leaves. Cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Dice up about 2 cups Granny Smith Apples, add to the mix, and cook a few minutes.

Add to the mix, 1 Teaspoon chopped  fresh sage ,1 Teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley.

Return the sausage and bread cubes to the pan, toss and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Store (refrigerate) stuffing till needed, if made ahead of time.

Tomato Sauce with pasta and veggies

I’ve come to the point where I’ve read way to many recipes and blogs, books, and watched countless cooking shows over the years………so………. My posts are going a more descriptive route rather than a standard measured ingredients and directions format…..  and most likely I’ll refer to them in the future for repeats of some of the dishes I love with variations. Reading other peoples blogs  and cookbooks have influenced me also to go the more narrative style, better a little story of the actual  meal preparation. Thanks to all the bloggers I follow, excellent work!

Blogging right after eating has it’s advantages….

Two sausages from the the freezer along with frozen peeled whole tomatoes,  frozen prepared garlic cubes, frozen vegetable stock. On the fridge side, some defrosted tomato juice, carrots and onions, a bit of bacon fat, 1/2 a can of tomato paste, prepared pasta dough. Frozen sausage goes in the fry pan with 2 cubes of  frozen stock and brought to a boil covered,and then simmered, till sausage is defrosted and stock evaporates, brown the sausage,  I now have a small black and Decker food chopper that was orphaned, now  a new addition to the kitchen, I f*** with it, as adding too much carrots at once  causes it to jam and the blade lift and stop rotating , so some of the carrot is removed till the little chopper does the job and I add the rest of the carrots incrementally ,no problem with it processing  the onions ,add the diced onions and carrots,  and garlic with a dab of bacon fat. More of a tomato vegetable sauce, as one of the Frug’s recipes I recalled. If i have veggies like this available ,celery, green pepper etc., they can be sautéed and added to bulk up the sauce, a good way to get veggies into the meal.

Now in the garden a large green plant that is either broccoli or most likely, looks like Brussels sprouts, when I started them from seeds I didn’t keep track exactly what they are and where they were planted, but one of them is forming a small cauliflower,  frost is forecasted towards the end of the week ,maybe they will survive . The one I picked from closely resembles Brussels sprouts as the stalk is covered with small leafy projections that tightly formed would be Brussels Sprouts only these are less dense but have the definite taste of sprouts. Crisp, green and earthy.

Out of the frying pan goes the sausage to a pot, add tomato paste to the fry pan with the semi defrosted whole tomatoes and than some more frozen stock and season to taste, some thyme purchased for thanksgiving , dried basil and dried oregano . Now it gets poured in the pot with the sausage, simmered and sweetened with a touch of simple syrup and a splash of apple cider vinegar for balance.

Boil water for the pasta and roll out with the machine to noodles, boil and plate them. With the greens in a small pan pour out the pasta water over  the greens  to blanch, drain and plate next to the pasta. Spoon tomato sauce over pasta and greens,(take a photo) top with one half of a sausage, grated cheese.

Eat…………………………E X C E L L E N T ……!……. OOPS, no wine for now.

Now I’m thinking of Brussels sprouts pasta or ravioli after I finished my plate, a good meal, but that will be another kitchen encounter. Christmas looms ahead….

Chicken Leg Vegetable bouillabaisse

 

At least two servings depending how it’s served.

Items on hand:

2 chicken legs (drum sticks only, no thighs)

stock

green pepper

onion

garlic

celery

diced tomatoes

mushrooms

frozen assorted fish (paella) mix *

herbs, as desired

proportions : you want to highlight the vegetables (garden fresh if possible) and mushrooms in this dish.

*this is a warehouse club item, frozen assorted pieces of fish, shrimp, crab etc.

 

With a sharp knife cut the thick lower portion of the chicken leg parallel to the bone and flatten somewhat (leave attached to the bone for flavor).

In a medium stock pot with oil, butter,etc, brown the chicken legs, season with salt and pepper if desired.

Now remove the legs from pan and sweat onions, celery, for several minutes. Season and add oil if needed.

Add tomatoes and cook for several minutes, then add green pepper, garlic and hot stock with about an inch to cover.

Simmer, covered, about ten minutes, taste and adjust per your taste.

Add fish and simmer a couple of minutes and add a good amount of sliced mushrooms to bulk out the mix.

Add additional stock if needed to immerse all the ingredients. Again, season to taste and simmer till all is completely heated through and melded.

Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.

Now how you eat it is up to you, alone it’s similar to a bouillabaisse, you can slice the chicken and remove the bones or leave them as is and serve in a bowl and eat the meat from the bones a la caveman.

Other suggestions:

Additions:

• cooked pasta,rice,diced potatoes,dumplings

Garnishes:

• small diced green onion tops
• cheese,grated
• smoked,dried hot pepper flakes
• dill seed, sesame seeds, etc.
• fresh herbs

sides:

• bread, biscuits, fries, clam cakes, flat bread

beverage pairing : your suggestion?

Adapted from an Avec Eric recipe

Valdalia onion deep dish pizza

Valdalia Onion Deep Dish Pizza

I sliced two large valdalia onions, one white onion, and garlic (to taste) and layered in an small oven proof covered casarole with salt pepper and butter. Then roasted in a 350 oven covered for about 20 to 30 minutes. I let the onion mixture cool and placed it in the bowl that I made the dough in (with a few bits of dough remaining) with the liquid rendered from the roasting then I added some American cheese and season to taste with cilantro, dill etc. Now I crisped some diced bacon and added some of the rendered fat to the onion mixture and a few smoked hot red pepper flakes

Having prepared my favorite dough recipe and pressed it into a deep cast iron skillet,

as soon as the pizza dough was risen and ready, I beat two eggs, and added to the onion mixture and poured into the deep dish crust, garnished with the crisped diced bacon

and  baked at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes and then at about 375 degrees  for 15 additional minutes till the filling set. It cooled slightly, then cut and served.

Baked Beans, Boston

Boston baked beans are easy to prepare and are a hearty meal, without hotdogs, it’s a meatless (if you don’t count the salt pork used mostly for flavoring) satisfying meal. With the small amount of time invested in preparation the payout is enormous. There are many recipes and a history around Boston Baked beans . Enjoy !

1 pound of white (dry) Navy Beans

Salt Pork

Onions, thinly sliced , 2 large

Garlic, mashed and diced (or granulated)

Brown sugar, preferably dark

Molasses

Dry or prepared Mustard

The day before, soak the beans over night in water. Gently boil them to prevent splitting for a couple of minutes to get them started. Score the top of a small piece, about 4 square inches, of salt pork down to the rind spacing the cuts in a 1/4 inch grid. The salt pork will eventually break into small pieces. Add about 1/3 of the simmered beans (drained) to a crock pot or heavy oven proof pot , preferably ceramic or stoneware, ideally a bean pot with a cover. Place the piece of salt pork ,some of sliced onions, a bit of garlic, sprinkle with dark brown sugar, dry mustard, and drizzle with molasses. Repeat with 2 more layers of beans and ingredients. Your total should be about 1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup molasses. Depending how sweet you like the beans, the sugar and molasses can be adjusted later. Add water to cover. I add about a inch over the top of the beans.

In a slow cooker electric crock pot, set it on low heat, if using the oven baked method, go low and slow about 300 or less degrees and bake gently several hours or overnight, covered of course. The beans will start to turn brown, add water if necessary. Now how long you bake them them is up to you and how you finish the consistency. You can uncover and raise the heat for a thicker gravy or slightly keep the lid ajar during the last hours to your preference, usually the beans will thicken when cool and are one of those meals thats better reheated following a cool down. When the beans turn a dark color, cool a sample and taste to correct sweetness if necessary.

Usually served with fresh baked parker house style rolls that you bake along with the beans when finishing. (Bean-z-buns) and/or with (hot)dogs. With a thin gravy finish , mop your plate with the rolls.

Baked Beans and Franks, November 24th 2010

In the day Baked Beans were served once a week as a way to eat a mostly non-meat economical meal.

breakfast

http://twitpic.com/2wf8ih

breakfast yesterday, scrambled eggs, with green onions,tomatoes and chili peppers, hot !