Random Access

Steel Cut Oatmeal

So, for a variety of reasons I have been making steel cut oatmeal a part of my morning breakfast routine.   I have come up with what I think is a wonderful  recipe for a single serving. [For those counting carbs, this is aproximately 3 servings (45g of carbohydrates)].

• 1/4 cup steel cut oatmeal
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 dried apricot halves chopped
• 1 tbs raisins
• 1 tsp mollasses
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp butter (optional)
• cinnamon and/or nutmeg (optional)

Combine the Oats, milk and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 25 to 30 minutes or until the oatmeal has reached the desired consistency.  Meanwhile, chop the apricots and measure out the remaining ingredients.

When  the oatmeal is completed, pour the oatmeal into a serving dish.  Stir in the vanilla and molasses.  Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and butter according to your tastse.

Go-To chicken Dinner

So, I was asked by one of my Facebook friends what the recipe I used was when I made the chicken for my dinner last friday.  It is absurdy easy to do and had become my Go-T0 recipe for all things that may be fried, but are rather baked.

The “Secret” (if you can call it that) lies in the bread crumb mixture.  For this kind of chicken I use a blend of:

➢ 2 parts breadcrumbs to
➢ 1 part grated parmesan cheese.
➢ Assorted spices*
➢ Canola oil

bread crumbs

Based on the amount of chicken you are going to be cooking , set up your breading mixture. I generally start out with 2 cups of breadcrumbs, 1 cup of cheese.

* For the spices, I add some Mrs. Dash blend depending on my mood. [My current favorite is the Tomato, Basil & Garlic. ] Add any other spices that you like at this point.

Preheat the oven to 375〫

Dip each piece of chicken into a some canola oil and dredge in the breadcrumb/spice mixture.  place on a baking sheet.
For bone-in chicken it should bake for about 45-50 minutes, for bone-les/skinless chicken about 40 minutes.

That’s it. Pretty simple, eh?

For any unused breadcrumb mix, I generally store it in the freezer until the next time I feel like making the chicken.

Note: I have used this recipe with store bought breadcrumbs as well as Panko bread crumbs with success. It depends on your preferences so far as texture goes.  I prefer the plain variety if I use store brand ’cause I like to control the salt and seasonings myself. I have also used the same technique on pork chops and I imagine in could work with fish…

Possibly the easiest soup I have ever made. Potato & Leek soup

Potato Leek Soup

Late in the game, I admit but I have just started reading cook books by Julia Child, and received my first one in the mail 10 days ago: “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom“.
The very first “Master Recipe” in the book is Potato and Leek Soup, a remarkably simple recipe with only 4 ingredients (including water)! I couldn’t resist the chance to give it a shot; how hard could it be?

So the basic recipe:

• 3 cups sliced leeks(white and tender green parts)
• 3 cups peeled and roughly chopped “baking” potatoes (russet)
• 5 cups of water
• 1 ½ tsp salt.*

Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a 3 or 4 qt. sauce pan.  Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes of until the potatoes and leeks are cooked through and the vegetable are tender. Taste and correct seasonings.

at this point a note about salt. I used the 1½ tsp of salt called for in the recipe. I should have used only 1 tsp, and tested and I did not. for me 1 tsp of salt would have been enough.
I then pureed the soup with my Kitchenaid stick blender (thank you God), and tasted the soup again. Much better with it pureed. I added ¼ tsp of white pepper blended in a ¼ cup of heavy cream.

The photo above is the pureed soup with a little bit of dried dill added. It could not have been easier.

Note: It turns out that 3 average sized leeks yields about 3 cups of sliced leeks, and 2 good sized baking potatoes yields 3 cups of chopped potatoes.

Colcannon, Irish comfort food.

6 tablespoons butter *
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
3-4 lbs. potatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt & freshly ground black pepper.
1 bunch of scallions, chopped *
[ 1 teaspoon chopped garlic] *
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in large pan over moderately low heat. Add the shredded cabbage and toss to coat with the butter. Let the cabbage cook slowly in the butter for 30 minutes, add the scallions about 3/4 of the way through the cooking process.

Heat the remaining butter and the cream in a separate sauce pan.

While the cabbage is cooking, peel and quarter the potatoes. Boil them in salted water until tender. Drain the potatoes and mash them until smooth. Add the heated butter and the cream and mix well.

When the cabbage is soft, fold into the mashed potatoes. Season with salt & pepper, add the chopped parsley and serve.

* I almost always uses more butter that the recipe calles for, and yellow/yukon gold potatoes. I added garlic to the cabbage mixture and added the scallions halfway through the cooking process. Seriously Great Recipe!!

testing some wordpress plugins on bitfiddler. “Socialite” for posting to facebook.

Spencer after a tuff day.

So, after months of checking the pet store where the Rescue folk come on weekends, last weekend I stopped by to see if they ever get small dogs. As luck would have it, there sat a little Chihuahua/ Dachshund mix alone in his cage. Well, i think i fell in love with him after about an hour. He sat curled up in my lap and we chatted for several minutes and I knew I had to adopt him!

I had to have someone help me fill out the paperwork … try as I might my fine motor skills are still shot from the MS. After about 90 minutes, I was walking/carrying my new family member home. It took me several days to come up with a name that I thought suited him…. anything but Chi-Chi-Wa which is what the poor guy had been saddled with! I considered Tully, Winston, Ernie, Bismarck and others before I finally came up with Spencer. A big name for a little dog (9 lbs.). He i anywhere from 3 – 7 months old depending on whom you listen too; the vet who did his shots, the rescue people et.al. I tend to believe that he is on the young side and about 3 or 4 months old. It is unlikely that he will grow much more based on his genetics. So, a little pup for the house. Both of the cats outweigh him 2 to 1! It will be interesting to see how this all pans out!

Something for dinner. I have a small cut of meat that says “pot roast” on it, if you can believe that…. I am gonna try braising it with some root veggies – Turnips, beets and a bulb of fennel. All of which I have never cooked with before. That should be interesting. I also have a head or 2 of garlic I could add to it and some potatoes and onions …. I’ll wind up with enough to feed 4, and it’s just for me.

Change the bed linens …. already done
Fold the laundry — TBD

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince … is my reward for being domestic.

Don’t ask me why it’s called this, but it is. My sister gave me this recipe more than 15 years ago and it is simple to prepare…

1 whole chicken cut up
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup good quality honey
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 tsp curry powder

Preheat oven to 375〫

Melt butter, honey, mustard & curry in saucepan.
Dip Chicken in mixture; coating both sides

Bake 1 hr or until done, basting once in a while with leftover sauce.

Serves 4.

NOTE: I always double the amount on the sauce because I like to serve the extra with dinner. I also almost alway serve this with West African Geelrys, already posted here on RA.
West African Geelrys

lots to do today. Big dinner planned and I need to get started fairly early. Gonna be making Bubby’s Turkey Meatloaf, cucumber salad, mashed potatoes and some string beans (if they are any good). Last night I made a bundt cake with an orange glaze for dessert. So, I’m gonna do all the prep work done early and the salads started.

Too, need to check the cocktail situation.

House cleaned as much as it is going to be… that’s the day.

Hi All,

John suggested that I stop telling him all the details of my dinners and start posting them here. I’m not sure if he is tired of reading my over-sharing emails, or if he thinks they’re so great that I need to share them with the world (I’ll have to assume the latter.).

Two nights ago, in Mexico City, we went to this über-trendy “Spanish restaurant”, whose walls were covered in all things Castilian, making it a cross between a bohemian dive bar and TGI Fridays.

Michael and I lived in Madrid until this summer, and now a few months later, our shared opinion of “if I never ate Spanish food again it would be too soon” was starting to wear off, and we nostalgically ordered my two Madrid faves: pan con tomate and tortilla española.

Oh how bad they were.

I won’t go into the details of the oily and overcooked omelet or the CANNED tomato on the pan con tomate, but it was bad.

Since Best Friend Jenny, who is visiting, had never had Spanish food before, Michael suggested I make some examples last night, to put her straight and to show her that what we had at that restaurants who name shall not be mentioned was no Spanish food!

So, to make a long story short, last night I made a meal of tortilla española, pan con tomate and a green salad. It was heavenly.

I have compiled a tortilla Española recipe from various roommates, friends (thanks, Natalie.) and smittenkitchen.com to make one that is delicious, authentic, and a little less oil heavy. Remember that even though tortilla española has some tricky instructions (including flipping a pan of half-cooked eggs onto a plate), you needn’t worry about messing it up. If it falls on the floor, breaks ot spontaneously combusts, wipe your hands off, throw it back in the pan and cook it back together again. So without further ado:

Tortilla española

Ingredients

Six eggs

About two medium onions, or one large onion, chopped.

About a tablespoon of salt (don’t be shy people, this is where the magic happens.)

About two medium sized potatoes, sliced thinly, with a mandolin, or sharp knife or food processor. Some people peel their potatoes. I don’t.

Lots of fragrant olive oil. If you use a good olive oil the dish will have a taste of olives. Dreamy.

Instructions:

1) Throw potatoes into a pot of salted water and boil until just tender. Drain well.

2) Meanwhile, whisk the life out of the eggs and throw in the salt. You don’t HAVE to use a full tablespoon, but definitely taste the batter before you throw it in the hot pan to make sure it’s salty enough. Salt is what makes this dish. Without it you’re nothing.

3) Sautee the onions in some olive oil on a medium heat until they are translucent and just beginning to brown. At that point, throw in the potatoes and cook for a few minutes, just to make them a little less boiled-tasting.

4) When the potatoes and onions are cooked enough, throw them into the egg mixture and don’t be afraid that they are mega hot and may cook the egg! I learned this from my Very Spanish Roommate. Taste the mixture if you are not afraid of uncooked eggs and set it aside for 10 minutes.

5) Heat a pan up with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until the oil just begins to smoke.

6) Throw in the egg mixture, flattening out the potatoes on the top to give it a flat-ish top. Eggs will immediately cook around the edges, so run a spatula around and under the edges to let the looser egg filling flow out and cook.

7) Wait about 5-7 minutes until the top center is very wet but not completely loose.

Now the fun part. Take a plate or a big pan lid with a handle. Lay it directly onto the frying pan and hold it tight. Now, flip the frying pan so that the plate is underneath and the tortilla is sitting on the plate. Return the pan to the flame and gently slide the tortilla, wet side down, back into the pan.

9) Let the bottom of tortilla cook for about 2 minutes (no more, the beauty of a tortilla is a hot gooey inside.) and then slide it out onto a plate.

10) Serve. ¡Ándale!

Pan con tomate

Ingredients

Fresh or toasted delicious baguette, French bread or ciabatta.

Very ripe tomatoes

Good olive oil

Salt

Instructions

1) Grate tomatoes, throwing out the skins.

2) Add a teeny bit of olive oil and salt to the mixture and drain it to get rid of excess liquid.

3) Slather tomato mixture on delicious bread.

4) Pour on olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. (I like how the olive oil makes little pools in the tomato sauce dimples.)

5) Devour. Compliment the chef (that’s you.)