Good Eats Revisited

This year will be, legen...wait for it, wait for it...dary!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:30:00 +0000

Well cats and kittens, it's officially 2013. Last year's goal to blog more didn't quite pan out, as it's been 2 months since we last posted. Fear not, the goal is back with a vengeance in 2013!! This year is an important one for us, we're getting married, combining our finances and living the whole year by ourselves (well... and our cats). The biggest change for 2013 is our budget, since we're getting married we've decided to start saving for a down payment on a loveshack of our own. As you may know, in the SF Bay Area even a shack runs you $400-900k, so saving a 20% down payment given sky high rental costs is quite a challenge. We're selling a well maintained 2008 BMW and trading down to a scooter for our second "car". Trying to pare down our stash of stuff. All while living a fun and exciting life with cats, family and friends.

The scooter and our motorcycle safety course endorsement :)

Since, we like a good challenge and as good little beavers, we set out a strict budget beginning on Jan 1 of this year. Our biggest variable expense of course is food. According to the USDA, feeding a family of 2, aged 19-50 should cost between $350 and $696 per month, which is more like our weekly spending... OUCH!! So we've set a goal, $300 per week or $1200 per month, I know this sounds like a lot, but we've cut down substantially from before and maybe if we can master this we'll lower it again.

In the red and still 3 days to go!

As I write this it is January 28th at 5pm and mint.com says we're over our budget by $8... whoops! So today we get creative, using only things we already have on hand and try to squeeze enough for two dinners, two lunches and dessert out of our pantry, fridge and countertops, let the adventure begin!!!

But first a break for this important cat yoga session!!

Jesse's Cook What You've Got Freekeh & Shrimp Jamboree
Serves 4 (or makes 2 servings and leftovers)

Ingredients:

8oz Freekeh (this is a green wheat, aka an ancient grain, you can get it at Whole Foods, we happened to have a package in our cabinet so in the pan it went)- you could use quinoa, rice, or whatever other grain you have on hand, just cook according to package directions
2.5 cups of liquid (we used a cup of leftover veggie broth and water, you can use whatever you have on hand)
2 eggs (added to give a creamy texture, add more if you want a traditional fried rice texture)
Shrimp (we had a half package of TJ's frozen precooked shrimp on hand, saves on the deveining and cooking time)- just run under luke warm water for a minute or two in a bowl to knock off the ice crystals before cooking
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil (get this dirt cheap at the asian markets)
1 tbsp sesame seed (get this dirt cheap at the asian markets)
1 tsp five spice powder (get this dirt cheap at the asian markets)
As many veggies as you want/have on hand, we used 3 carrots, 2 green onions, 1/2 head of cabbage and half bag of "stir fry greens" from our CSA

The Hardware:

a clean veggie only cutting board
a medium sized bowl to catch the veggies
a small bowl to defrost the shrimp then to mix the eggs in (reuse the bowl to save a dishwashing!)
a large pan
a medium pan (or a medium bowl to hold the grain in while you saute the veggies and shrimp)
a sharp knife

And now the adventure begins!!
We began as usual by gathering our ingredients in a mis-en-place.

Once all the ingredients are gathered, I suggest starting the grain to cook. Freekah takes about 25 minutes to soak up all the liquid, so get that started and you can prep veggies while it simmers away on the stove. To give it a nice toasty flavor, I first heated the grain and tossed it in a tbsp of olive oil for a minute or two and then added the liquid and brought it to a boil. Once a rolling boil begins, drop down to a simmer (your low setting) and leave covered for 25 minutes.

Toasty grains

Now the fun begins, start prepping your veggies, ideally everything should be in bite sized pieces (remember the smaller/thinner the faster it cooks. Since carrots take much longer than greens to cook, I used a bowl to separate out the quick cook from the slow cook veggies.

Once the veggie prep was done, it was on to defrosting the shrimp. This was easy, just grab a small bowl, fill with your frozen shrimp and just run under luke warm water for a minute or two in a bowl to knock off the ice crystals before cooking.

When the 25 minute timer has about 5 minutes left, toss the carrots and other long cooking veggies in a warmed sauce pan with 1tbsp olive oil, stir and cover over medium heat. This will simultaneously steam and caramelize the carrots, YUM!!

When your 25 minute timer dings, go ahead and turn off the burner and give your grain a stir. You should see a dry pan under the grain, if not set it back on to cook for 5 minutes.

Now back to your carrot pan, open the lid and dump in the rest of your veggies, give them a few minutes to soften up on the heat.

Now toss your veggies, egg, sesame oil, five spice powder, lemon juice and sesame seeds in the big pan with the grain and give it a good mix. Once you see the egg bits cooked, you're ready to serve (about 3-5 minutes). Grab a bowl, and dig in!!

The Verdict:

Jesse: This was ok, I think some more egg and maybe an onion would've been good additions to kick the flavor in to high gear. But when you're strapped for cash or have an overabundance of good food at home, this kind of dish is great.

Home cooking: 13, Restaurants: 2

Naris: I thought that was great, I'd definitely eat it again. In fact, I'll be eating it for lunch tomorrow.

Home cooking: 14, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

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Cost Breakdown:
We had all of these ingredients on hand, so costs for those are estimated.

- 5 eggs ~ $0.66
- freekeh -$2.40
- shrimp - $2.50
- veggies (1/5 of our CSA share) - $3.00

TOTAL: $8.56 for 4 servings, or $2.14 per serving

a bad case of the mondays- Jamie Oliver Spinach & Feta Filo Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Well everyone, it was a cold (because our apartment is a cold, dark dungeon) Monday night (two weeks ago when I began this post...) and there was nary an excuse not to cook. So, we did what all reasonable people would do, watched a TV chef and then went to Whole Foods and got ingredients to make the episode's signature dish. And without further ado, Jamie Oliver's Spinach and Feta Filo Pie appeared before us.

Photo credit: Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals

Jamie Oliver's Spinach and Feta Filo Pie
Serves 6 (we scaled the recipe to 4 servings when cooking, since there are only 2 of us and we don't like eating too many leftovers)

Ingredients: (using a kitchen scale will really help in converting a recipe written in metric units)

100g (~2/3 cup) pinenuts (you can buy these in the bulk bins at most high-end grocers)
5 eggs
300g (~1 1/4 cup) crumbled feta cheese
50g (~1/3 cup) cheddar cheese
1-2 tbsp dried oregano (adjust to your taste preference, could sub rosemary or parsley too)
1 lemon
A knob of butter (~1-2 tbsp of butter)
400g (~1 lb) prewashed baby spinach
1 pack of filo pastry (usually found in the frozen section--> defrost in the fridge for a few hours or on the counter for 30 minutes before baking)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like things hot)
1 whole nutmeg, for grating (we finally found this at Whole Foods in the bulk spice aisle, you could sub 1-2 tsp of ground nutmeg)

The Hardware:

a medium sized (~8-10 in) ovenproof frying pan
a medium mixing bowl
a box grater
a rasp/microplane (or just buy ground nutmeg)
parchment paper (we love this one because it's bleach free)
a kitchen scale

And now on to tonight's main event!!
We began as usual by gathering our ingredients in a mis-en-place.

Turn the oven on to 400°F and place a medium sized (~8-10 in) ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat. We use our handy Lodge Cast Iron Frying Pan for just about everything! Just don't ever put it in the dishwasher .. (Jesse slaps her head).

Put the pinenuts into the dry ovenproof frying pan to toast, tossing occasionally. They cook really fast, so be prepared to take them off the heat when you start smelling a nutty smell.

Next, crack 5 eggs into a medium mixing bowl and crumble in 300g (~1 1/4 cups) of feta. Then, grate in 50g (~1/3 cup) of cheddar (you can usually find really good quality end bits of cheddar in the cheese section at high-end markets).

Add a pinch of pepper, a couple of pinches of dried oregano, zest of 1 lemon and about a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the nuts are light golden and smell delicious, add them to the egg mixture and mix well.

Put the empty frying pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil and a tbsp of butter and pile in half of the spinach. Gently push and move it around and add more as it wilts down, until you have the whole pack in the pan.

Meanwhile, take the filo out of the fridge (hopefully you defrosted this earlier). Lay a large sheet of parchment paper, approximately 4 inches larger than your pan on each side, on the counter, rub a little olive oil all over it, then scrunch it up and lay it out flat again. Arrange 4 filo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges, so they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a salt & pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers. Remember to keep stirring the spinach.

Once the spinach is really nice and dense, take the pan off the heat. Add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture and grate in ½ a nutmeg (found in the green boxes in the spice aisle at Whole Foods). Mix well.

Carefully move the parchment paper and filo into the empty frying pan so the edges spill over. Push it down into the sides of the pan, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out. Fold the filo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will.

Put the pan back on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to get the bottom crisped up, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

The Verdict:

Jesse: This was quite delicious and not too hard to make, but at $4.20 per serving I'd probably skip a few ingredients if I made it at home to bring the cost down.

Home cooking: 12, Restaurants: 3

Naris: {trail of filo dough crumbs} I like it but there's a taste I don't like
Jesse: Could it be the nutmeg?
Naris: Maybe, I've never tasted nutmeg before.
Jesse: Well you like spinach, eggs and cheese, so I think it's probably the nutmeg.
Naris: Ok, next time add less nutmeg.
Jesse: Well, you were the one who added it.
Naris: :-/

Home cooking: 13, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

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Cost Breakdown:
We had some of these ingredients on hand, so costs for those are estimated.

-5 eggs ~ $1.66
-100g pinenuts - $3.85
- feta - $3.50
- cheddar ~ $2 (got a small hunk of the good stuff at Milk Pail Market)
- lemon - $0.89
- butter ~ $0.40
- filo dough - $4.69
- whole nutmeg - $0.75
- cayenne pepper ~ $0.15
- dried oregano ~ $0.75
- baby spinach - $6.59

TOTAL: $25.23 for ingredients to make a 6 serving pie

the one in which i express my undying love for Jamie Oliver

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 05:35:00 +0000

Hey Kids & Kittens,

I know, it's been a LONG time since we've blogged. Well you know life just got in the way. Here's a quick rundown of life since our last post.... on 4/23/2012 (I don't count the message about writing more posts and then not doing it as a post):

we adopted another amazing little man, Bender Bending Rodriguez, the adorable hell raising kitten found in the gate area of our last apartment.

photo credit: Benders Aunt Linda :)

we moved out on our own, into an apartment that is shaded on all sides at all times and perpetually 40 degrees colder than outside.

we got the mac-daddy of VitaMix blenders, and use it almost everyday!!

oh yeah, we got engaged too :)

Photo credit: Eric Nguyen's Creeper Photography

and we went to Cancun!!

oh yeah, work it out, sexy beast :-P

And finally, our good friend Emily started an awesome (and much more frequently updated) food/lifestyle blog over at the http://thepigandquill.com/. You should absolutely check it out.... now.... then come back here and read on!!

And now on to the food!

So.... since we moved in to the aforementioned darkest apartment ever and decided to ditch cable in favor of faster, cheaper internet, I have been at the mercy of Naris' (and Hulu of course) procurement of various TV shows. This has forced me to branch out a bit in my show selection, and spend less time watching TV. This system has it's pluses & minuses:

+Jesse watches less TV

-Naris is in control!!

+Jesse gets to demand things of Naris

-Naris can vote no on TV shows

+Fry loves the quiet living room

-Bender is a monster and is never quiet

But the one biggest plus is the discovery of a new show, Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals. This show has really got our cooking butts back on track. Jamie shows how to combine store bought ingredients with fresh to make quick, healthy and tasty meals, and shows you the ropes in 30 minutes or less. Each meal consists of a salad or side, an entree and a dessert. Now, one reason I've been slacking on cooking is simply time, lack of it and the amount of it needed to cook great food. But we've stocked up a recipe list from this new show and are working our way through it.

First up, the Portuguese Egg Tarts featured in the show's premiere episode (Recipe, Video)

Photo credit: Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals

Now, we've made these twice in the past week and can vouch for their utter deliciousness and serious ease of making. So let's fire up that stove and get cracking!

The Ingredients:

Plain flour, for dusting (we only had gluten free flour, but for dusting it worked just fine
1 pack of pre-rolled puff pastry (usually found in the freezer aisle, check out Good Eats episode "Puff the Magic Pastry" for guidance on defrosting)
2 tbsp Ground cinnamon
2/3 cup creme fraiche (Safeway doesn't carry this, so we used whipping cream)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract (vanilla paste is $13 at William-Sonoma, invest in it kids... it's amazing!)
5 tbsp sugar- split into 1 tbsp and 4 tbsp (we're trying to kick white sugar, so we used coconut sugar, but you could use any sugar you want)
1/2 orange (zest first before beginning)

The hardware:

microplane or box grater for zesting
whisk or fork for mixing
large clean cutting board or counter top
small pot or saucepan
wire cooling rack (preferably sitting on top of some paper to catch the caramel drips, trust me you'll thank me later for this one)

Time to tart it up!!

Preheat your oven, setting it to 400°F. Get your mis-en-place ready, make sure you zest your orange now.

Left to Right: Cream with vanilla paste, 1 tbsp sugar & orange zest; egg; zested orange

Defrosting the puff pastry

Dust a clean cutting board or your countertop with flour. Place the sheet of puff pastry on the board and sprinkle over half of the ground cinnamon, then flip and repeat.

mmmmm, cinnamon

Now comes the tricky part, roll the dough into a log and cut into 6 pieces (or 12 if you only own a mini muffin pan like we do). Then press each slice of your log into a greased muffin tin well and press the sides to coat.

one slice down, 11 more to go

Time to bake, place your muffin tin in to the preheated 400°F and bake the tart shells for 8 to 10 minutes.

While those are baking, it's on to the the filling and caramel. Take your pan and put it on medium-high heat. While that is heating up mix together your cream, vanilla paste, 1 tbsp sugar and orange zest in a small bowl/measuring cup. Set aside your cream mixture to fill the tart shells

Once your pan is heated, toss in your 4 tbsp remaining sugar and juice your 1/2 orange directly in to the pan.

world's most sophisticated orange juicer

Now, carefully back away from the caramel... I said BACK AWAY, do not stir, do not stick your finger in to taste, etc. Just leave it be to cook, trust me you do not want to risk getting any hot caramel on yourself.

Right about now, your oven timer should be dinging and when they come out they will have puffed up a bit.

To make room for your tart filling, it's best to use a spoon for this, as your fingers will get burned.

Now, pour in some tart filling to each shell, being careful not to overfill. You will likely have some left over filling. C'est la vie! Place your filled tarts back in the oven for 8 more minutes.

And back to the caramel. In the past few minutes your caramel will have cooked together a bit and be a nice syrupy consistency.

mmmm, caramel sauce!!

Ding, that was your oven, the tarts are now cooked and ready to come out.

awesome dual layered tart

yum, almost ready for action

Transfer your tarts to the wire cooling rack. Drizzle carefully with your caramel sauce.

After a few minutes of cooling, you will have delicious and beautifully rustic tarts.

these don't last long once you have one :)

The Verdict:

Jesse: These were really easy to make and only required a few ingredients. They were the kind of thing I would pay good money for too but can make them at home for cheap!!

Home cooking: 12, Restaurants: 2

Naris: Mmmmmm

Home cooking: 13, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

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Cost Breakdown:
We had some ingredients on hand, so their costs are estimated.

- egg ~ $0.50

- sugar ~ $0.20

- vanilla paste ~ $0.66

- orange ~ $0.75
- puff pastry - $5.99 (only used 1/2 of carton)
- whipping cream - $3.49 (only used 1/3 of carton)

TOTAL: $6.86 for 6 large or 12 mini tarts

busy life = no posts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:51:00 +0000

so, life has been crazy the past few months.
-we adopted a new kitten
-we're moving both home and work
-we got engaged

but, I few recipes I came up with that I plan to share in the coming weeks, so stay tuned :)

-Jesse

there are ants in our kitchen!!! - S14E22

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:21:00 +0000

So, we've been a bit lax on blogging lately, but I wanted to bring you this delicious dish from Good Eats, called "Ants in Trees". Sounds appetizing, right? Despite the quirky name, this recipe turned out a fantastic meal. The name comes from the way the ground meat sticks to the noodles, looking like Ants climbing tree branches.

Since we chose to halve the recipe for our first go round, there were no leftovers at all, which means we'll have to make it again soon!! This recipe uses ingredients available either at the local Asian market (hello Ranch 99) or at larger specialty grocers (Whole Foods and the like). It was a bit more labor intensive than simple baking or roasting dishes, but no more so than a Pad Thai. Without further a do, let's get cooking!

Ants in Trees
Makes 4 entree servings

Ingredients:
- 4 1/2 ounces mung bean noodles (these are in the International section of Whole Foods)
- 2 ounces soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine (we used Rice Wine Vinegar instead)
- 1 tbsp sambal chili paste
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 10 ounces (a little over 1/2 a pound) ground pork (we used ground turkey thigh instead)
- 1 tsp canola oil (we prefer peanut for Asian dishes)
- 4 green onions, chopped, divided
- 1/2 cup chicken broth

Let's get those Ants in our Trees!!We began as usual by gathering our ingredients in a mise-en-place, which I didn't manage to capture a picture of...

Once you have all your ingredients, it's time to soak the mung bean noodles in enough hot water (about 110 degrees F) to cover by 1 inch for 20 minutes.

While those are soaking, grab a medium sized bowl and combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and chili paste, whisking until smooth. Add the cornstarch and whisk until that is incorporated into your mixture. Once you have your marinade mixture prepared, add the ground pork/turkey and mix with your hands until the liquid coast the meat (about 2 minutes). Set that mixture aside for 30 minutes in a saran wrap covered bowl in your refrigerator (no need to get your dinner companions sick with improperly handled meat!)

When your noodle soaking timer dings, use kitchen shears to cut the noodles into 3 to 4-inch pieces and drain thoroughly in a colander for 10 minutes. About 1/8-1/4 cup of liquid will come out and your dry noodles will stick better to your ants (meat).

Place a 12-inch saute pan over high heat for 1 minute. Once heated, add your preferred high heat oil and swirl the pan to coat the bottom and sides. Once the oil shimmers*, then add your marinated meat mixture. Stir constantly for 2 minutes, breaking the meat up into very small pieces you will get some splatter, we recommend using a splatter shield over your pan (Naris got some oil in his eye a month ago and it was quite scary!!).

no eye burning here!

Next, add 2/3 of the green onions and continue stirring until the meat is well browned and in very small pieces (approximately 2 minutes). Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the 1/2 cup chicken broth. Cook until reduced (it won't be syrupy but should be slightly thickened), approximately 3 minutes.

note the broth is now more of a gravy consistency

Slowly add handfuls of the noodles to the pan (tongs are great for this, we like these rubber tipped ones), tossing with the meat mixture until combined and the pieces of meat cling to the noodles and no liquid remains (I switched to the tongs to stir, so I didn't have multiple implements lying around). Serve immediately with the remaining fresh cut green onions, you can go for normal sized bowls but it can be fun to chow down out of a communal bowl too!

nom nom nom, just need a bit more mixing

super blurry photo, but delicious noodles!

The Verdict:

Jesse: This was a pretty straight forward noodle dish, by only gripe was the quantity of bowls used to make it and the spice level. But I loved the taste (washing the spice out with a glass of milk) and it would make a great leftover dish! And at $6.36 for a half batch, this is definitely a win over restaurant noodles!

Home cooking: 11, Restaurants: 2

Naris: Aside from the spiciness, I enjoyed coming home to this meal :)

Home cooking: 12, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

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Cost Breakdown:
We ended up going to Whole Food and Ranch 99, but you could get all the ingredients at one store, if you weren't crazy and didn't try to get the lowest price on everything!

- mung bean noodles - $2.19
- soy sauce - on hand, price unknown
- rice wine - on hand, price unknown
- sambal chili paste - $0.40 (for portion used)
- cornstarch - on hand, price unknown
- ground turkey thigh - $3.44
- peanut oil - on hand, price unknown
- green onions - $1.29 per bunch (use 1/4 of the bunch)- $0.33
- chicken broth - on hand, price unknown

TOTAL: $6.36 for ingredients to make a half batch
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*Heating your oil to a shimmering state helps prevent sticking in your pan, wondering how to check for the proper temperature?!? See more details at ReluctantGourmet.com

i swoon for macaroons!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:48:00 +0000

Well kids, it's that time of year. The birds are out, the sun is shining through the rain, the damned flowers everywhere are making me sneeze and Easter is just around the corner. Now, my family doesn't do the whole Easter dinner shebang, but I love this time of year because the blogs are abuzz with yummy spring dessert recipes!! One such recipe I spied recently was on FitSugar.com for Almond & Coconut Macaroons, yum! I tested out this recipe last week and loved the results, so I made it again last night and had Mr. Photographer snap some shots to share. The best things about this recipe: you probably already have half of the ingredients in your pantry and it takes 30 minutes from start to finish (15-20 of that in the oven).

Almond and Coconut Macaroons- originally from MarthaStewart.com
Makes 16-18 2 inch cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (either use a food processor or buy pre-ground almond meal)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (to be completely kosher for Passover, replace with 1 teaspoon lemon zest)

Deliciousness on the double

This 5 ingredient recipe takes 5 minutes to put together, 15-20 minutes to bake and 5 minutes to cool!! So let's get started.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next, in a medium sized mixing bowl separate 2 eggs and keep the whites (you could save the yolks to make a nice lemon curd, but I'm lazy and didn't). I like to whip these a bit before adding sugar to them. Once the whites have doubled in volume add 2/3 cup of sugar and beat until you see soft peaks (I used Turbinado sugar as its large crystals don't integrate completely and help you get crunchy macaroons).

Once you've incorporated your sugar, dump in your coconut, vanilla extract and almonds (I had almond meal on hand, so I used that instead of chopping whole almonds in the food processor). Mix with a flat bladed spatula until combined (it will look quite a bit like tuna salad).

Using a handy cookie scooper, dollop 1-2 inch balls on a baking sheet lined with either parchment or a non-stick silicon mat (thanks to Naris for getting me a new mat!!). Set these in the oven for 15 minutes, after 15 minutes check for even browning and bake for an additional 5 minutes if needed.

Once your cookies have reached their desired browning level, let them sit on the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes before enjoying (this allows them to cool a bit and the egg protein structure to set harder). I like to top these with a drizzle of melted chocolate but they are lovely by themselves as well.

Picture actually taken by Jesse!!!

The Verdict:

Jesse: These are simple to make, require only a few ingredients and are ready in less than 30 minutes, that's a win in my book! Also, the cost of ingredients for one batch is less than the cost of a single macaroon at a bakery!!!

Home cooking: 10, Restaurants: 2

Naris: Mmmmm (says with mouth full of macaroon!)

Home cooking: 11, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

Fry says tata faithful readers :)

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Cost Breakdown:
Everything in this recipe we had on hand, but here is what I think it would cost from the store.

-Eggs (2) ~ $0.63

-Coconut (1/3 of package) ~ $1

-Almonds (1/2 cup) ~ $1.50

TOTAL: $3.13 for ingredients to make a single batch

Oh My, Meat Pie - S12E6

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:05:00 +0000

Anddddddd we're back! Sorry for the absense, but we were both too busy (too lazy?) to post anything. But never fear, we are still cooking up a storm. For our welcome back meal, Jesse decided to keep it going with the lamb, so we will be making Shephard's Pie. Also known as "cottage pie", shephard's pie is basically a poor man's pie with a lamb/mutton stew as its base and mashed potatoes as its crust. Looks and sounds pretty simple, so let's dive in.

Ingredients:
For the potatoes:
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1/4 cup half-and-half
2 ounces unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
For the meat filling:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas

Directions:

First thing is to prepare the potatoes. Peel and dice the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes, place in a pot, fill with water to cover the potatoes. Bring bring to a boil then decrease the heat and maintain a simmer for 10-15 minutes. The potatoes are ready when they can be easily crushed with tongs.

Drain the potatoes when done. Then place the half-and-half and butter in the microwave for about 35 seconds to melt. Then mash the potatoes using a hand blender set to low and slowing added the half-and-half, butter, salt, and pepper. Finally, work in the egg yolk until you get smooth looking mashed potatotes.

For the filling, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the canola oil into a 12-inch cast iron saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.

Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish.

Top with the mashed potatoes, spreading it evenly over the "pie" to create a nice seal. The seal will help from having the stew boil over. Then place the pan on middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Make sure to keep a foiled lined cookie tray underneath on another rack in case you sealing technique wasn't up to par and the liquids start to ooze out. As a customization, Jesse added shredded cheddar cheese to the top of the mashed potoatoes.

Once the top is nice and brown, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes, then serve!

Doin' it and Doin' it and Doin' it Rice - S1E19

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 05:24:00 +0000

I'm a simple gal... ok, that's a lie, I wish I were simple but I have fancy tastes. I like my coffee brewed just for me, my food organic and my chocolate dark. So, making something as elegant as risotto was both exciting and scary. I mean chefs have nightmares about making this stuff, so it's a daunting idea but wo does't like a challenge. Also, Naris hadn't ever had risotto before so his expectations were low.

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto - serves 6-8
Ingredients
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine (didn't have any so we subbed more broth)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 cups Arborio rice
5 oz wild mushrooms, cooked and coarsely chopped, approximately 3/4 cup
7 oz asparagus, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces, approximately 1 1/2 cups
2 oz grated Parmesan, approximately 1/2 cup
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (we subbed preground)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Time for a stirring experience

First step, as always was to get my mise-en-place... in place. Since my mushrooms were dried, I started them soaking in hot water. I also weighed out many of my ingredient on my scale.

Once I had located all the appropriate ingredients, I began to defrost my handy dandy chicken broth cubes (Naris and I freeze unused broth in these silicon ice cube trays).

Note: I only made a half portion of the recipe, so we just needed 3.5 cups of broth.

While that melted, I got my pan heated up to medium and began to sweat my onions in the butter. A few minutes and some translucent onions later, then I added the rice and cooked it until it began to turn translucent on the edges. Then it was time to begin adding the liquid and stirring, each time adding just enough to cover the rice and keep it moist.

The first liquid addition, as you can see I burned a few of the onions :)

With each addition of liquid I continued to stir and/or shake the pan to absorb the liquid in to the rice. About 40 minutes and 4 liquid additions later it was time to add the finishing touches. I added the chopped asparagus, lemon zest, parmesan and nutmeg.

Less than an hour, a bit of an arm workout and there was our fancy dinner.

The Verdict:

Jesse: Although I was happy with the way this turned out, it never got as creamy as at a restaurant. I'd definitely say the restaurant had me beat on this one. Hopefully practice makes perfect, especially at $15.87 for 2 with leftovers.

Home cooking: 8, Restaurants: 2

Naris: This was tasty, I've never had risotto before so I don't really have anything to compare it to.

Home cooking: 9, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

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Cost Breakdown:

-Rice - $2.79
-Chicken broth - free, leftover from cooking a whole chicken a few weeks ago
-Onion - $1.24
-Butter - $0.10

-Mushrooms - $5.99 (had some leftover)

-Asparagus - $1.17

-Parmesan - $3.99 (had a bunch leftover)

-Lemon - $0.59, just used the rind
TOTAL: $8.79 for ingredients used in a half portion ($15.87 out of pocket)

Sacre Bleu, It's Crepe Time! - S1E9

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:24:00 +0000

Picture this: You are strolling along the Champs-Elysee hand in hand with your love when you are struck suddenly by a smell... no it's an aroma, much classier than a smell. It is sweet, but not too sweet; doughy but not yeasty; buttery but not like a bad diner. You follow your nose, not able to concentrate until you find the source of this intoxicating aroma. You look left and see a bunch of tourists taking photos, right and see a swanky eatery whose prix-fix menu is more than your weekly salary, and finally you look straight ahead and the crowd parts to expose a street vendor peddling his delicious wares. You are mesmerized, you walk zombie like up to the man and ask in your broken high-school French: "Qu'est-ce que c'est? (What is that?)". "Why a crepe my dear!" the kind man reply's, "would you like one?" You ponder the list of possible filling he presents you with: butter/lemon/sugar, banana, nutella, whipped cream, preserves, ham & brie, the options continue... You decide on a simple, decidedly French filling of butter/lemon/sugar, as they say "when in Rome." As you continue your stroll, ignoring the hoards of people, the endless loop of cars and even the magnificent Arc De Triomphe, you realize the magic that can be brought forth with a bit of flour, sugar, butter, eggs and water.

Today ladies and gentlemen, we will attempt to bring this little bit of heavenly French cuisine stateside. Please note that these crepes were not created by professionals and are smaller and thicker than their French counterparts. If you'd like to bring a true little bit of France to your party, please contact a professional (I can gladly offer recommendations).

Crepes (serves 2 as a meal or 4 as a snack)

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour (I only had whole wheat, but I recommend you use all purpose)
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

Savory Variation:
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs

Sweet Variation:
2 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp of your favorite liqueur (can be omitted)

Let's get crackin':

Begin by setting aside all your ingredients for a Très français mise-en-place.

Since you want smooth, not lumpy crepes, I recommend sifting your flour. I find this cheap plastic lever sifter by Kaiser Bakeware to do the trick quite nicely.

Once you have assembled your brigade, dump everything in to your handy blender and let it spin for 10 seconds.

Now, the key to nice smooth crepes is the rest, this allows all the air bubbles introduced by blending to dissipate. So chill your blended mixture for at least 1 hour, up to 48 hours, in the fridge.

Once your batter has rested, it's time to get to cooking. Heat a small non-stick skillet on medium heat. Once hot, add butter to coat the pan and drop in 1/8 cup (1 oz) of the batter directly in the center of your pan. Working quickly, take the pan by the handle and lift and swirl it until the batter for a thin coating over the entire surface. Continue cooking for 30 seconds then flip carefully. Cook an additional 30 seconds on side 2.

Continue making crepes until you run out of batter (about 20 crepes). If you aren't serving crepes right away, stash them in a very low oven for up to 30 minutes. Or, stack them (separating each layer with wax paper) and freeze for up to a month.

To enjoy your crepes, fill them with a filling of your choice. Since we are sugar crazy, Naris and I went with a banana/Nutella and strawberry/Nutella combo choice, but your options are truly endless.

The Verdict:

Jesse: I love crepes, they are delicious, versatile and plentiful. Although it's hard to achieve the paper thin results of a professional at home, you can still create some fancy eats from the comfort of your own kitchen. And for ingredients costing less than $1.50!!

Home cooking: 7, Restaurants: 2

Naris: I liked this, but again Jesse bought whole wheat flour and I didn't like it's grittiness or the way it didn't spread right in the pan. Next time, we're getting regular flour!

Home cooking: 8, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

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Cost Breakdown:

Unfortunately, my purse was stolen the week we made this and it had the receipts for this meal's ingredients, but I will try to remember most of it off the top of my head so here is the estimate.
-Flour - $3.99/5 lb, apx. ~$0.25
-Eggs - ~$0.63
-Milk - ~$0.50
-Butter - $0.10
TOTAL: $1.48

Flat is Beautiful - S8E3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:48:00 +0000

Privyet (pree-vyet)! That's "hello" in Russian. Today's meal, chicken kiev is a popular Russian dish, though not originally Russian. Chicken kiev, was invented by a Frenchman since the Empress of Russia at the time preferred French foods. But the name "kiev" was actually coined by New York restaurant owners that were trying to please the many Russian immigrants. It's very similar to chicken cordon bleu, but instead of ham and cheese wrapped inside chicken, it is compound butter on the inside. Let's get started!

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning chicken
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large whole eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
2 cups Japanese bread crumbs (panko), plus 1/4 cup for filling
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

First we need to make the compound butter. This can be done at any time before the dish is made, so I made it in the morning before dinner. It's pretty simple, place the butter (make sure its at room temp so its semi soft or else your stand mixer won't be happy) in the stand mixer along with the herbs and teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

Once blended, gather up the butter on some parchment paper and roll it tightly, almost like you would salt water taffy, and place it in the fridge to chill and harden a bit. Next, if you bought whole chicken breasts, you will need to butterfly them. I thought I'd save some money by doing this myself, but you can buy chicken breast scallopini, which are pre-flatten chicken breasts. After butterflying them, pound them with something flat until they are no more than 1/8 an inch thick. A trick that AB suggests is to cover the breast with plastic wrap and spritz some water on top of the chicken and on top of the plastic wrap. This way, when you pound it, the "mallet" will slide, letting the chicken flatten and expand rather than tearing.

When you are done flattening all your chicken, place some of your compound butter and some panko crumbs in the middle of breast. Then tightly roll/wrap the innards, using the plastic wrap to help you. Twist the plastic wrap at the ends to maximize tightness, this will eliminate the need to use twine. Then place the chicken wraps in the fridge so they can "stiffen". AB says you can do this the night before, I did this the morning of.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, beat 2 eggs and a teaspoon of water into a pie tin. Then dip your chicken wraps in the egg bath first and second into a tray of panko crumbs. Make sure to cover the wrap entirely with crumbs.

Heat about a 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a pan until the oil reaches 375 degrees. Carefully place the breaded wraps into the pan and let them sit for about 10 minutes each (internal temperature should be 165), slow turning them over to brown the roll during this time. When they are done, place them on a draining rack and let them sit for another 5-10 minutes to allow the oil to drail.

When completed, the compound butter will have melted and flavored the inside of the wrapped to deliciousness! I was very surprised by the flavor, it was subtle, but enough to drown out the "fried" taste.

This was a fairly simple dish to create with great results. Next time I think i'll add some garlic to the compound butter and buy pre-butterflied chicken breasts so I don't have to waste time pounding the chicken for an hour.

-Naris Out!

My Big Fat Greek Sandwich - S8E20

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:40:00 +0000

Hi Internet! It's been a week since our last post, but don't worry, we've been busy cooking!

Here's a dish that I love to eat but would have never thought that I would be making it at home. Plus, it was very easy to make and can serve all your friends or just yourselves for dinner and left overs for lunch. It's the gyro (pronounced YEER-OH). The gyro is traditionally known to us Americans as roasted meat, generally lamb, wrapped in pita bread and garnished with tzatziki sauce and feta cheese. Good Eats uses this same formula to create our gyro.

So lets get cooking! Please note, the following ingredients list provided is suppose to serve 8 people. We didn't want to create too much for fear of not liking it, so we only used a 1/2 pound of meat rather than the requested 2 lbs. Along the same lines, we scaled the seasonings accordingly. One last note, when we to purchase the ground lamb meat, the butcher had already started cleaning to close for the day and didn't want to put lamb stew meat in his just cleaned meat grinder. Instead, he recommended ground goat which had already been ground and ready to go. So this is our first time trying goat as well!

Ingredients
Gyro Meat:
1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground lamb
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Tzatziki Sauce:
16 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced
Sandwich:
Pita bread
Feta cheese crumble
Julienne red onions
diced tomatoes

Cooking:
First, take your chopped onion and process it in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and then put it in a paper towel (I used a couple of coffee filters) and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed and return it to the food processor. Then throw in the ground up meat and the rest of the seasonings. Run it for about 1-2 minutes until the mixture looks past like.

Traditinally, a gyro is "roasted" meat on a revolving skewer, but since I don't have one handy, AB gives an alternative to cook the meat as a sort of meatloaf in the oven. So preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Then place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Apparently our loaf pan has a meatloaf insert to help drain the juices out while its cooking...who would have known (Jesse did obviously)? Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Then take the pan out and let it rest with some foil over it until the internal temp reaches 175.

Pre-oven mixture

Cooked goat "meatloaf"

To make the tzatziki, you can either get plain greek yogurt that has most of the moisture already taken out, or we used plain yogurt and grabbed some scoops and put it in some coffee filters and hung it to let the liquid drain for about 15 minutes. Ideally you would want to drain it for 1-2 hours. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients and its ready to go!

Yogurt draining in the fridge

Home made tzatziki

Finally, warm up the pitas in the oven or microwave, slice off some of the lamb/goat in the strips and lay it down on the pita along with some sliced onions and feta and top it off with the tzatziki. It was DELICIOUS! I think we'll be making this dish again, maybe for a group of friends and make the whole 2 lbs the next time around :)

The F Word is here...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Hey y'all, don't worry the F Word I', talking about is FOOD!

So, in addition to watching Good Eats, Naris and I have been following a British show hosted by Chef Gordon Ramsay called "The F Word". In the show Chef Ramsay cooks for a restaurant of 60 people using local and seasonal ingredients to make dishes you can replicate in your own kitchen. During the course of the meal, there are vignettes featuring Chef Ramsay and his associates, one of the most controversial is a bit where Chef Ramsay encourages women Britons to get back in the kitchen! To facilitate this, he visits the home of one woman each episode and helps her cook a meal for her family or friends. While Chef Ramsay is often course in his demeanor and has been criticized heavily for his movement to get women back in the kitchen, I think that the tips, tricks and recipes he provides are useful to time crunch mean and women both.

The recipe for Crab Pasta was one of the recipes from series 1 of the show that really resonated with me as a quick and delicious dinner idea. If you are a member of Amazon Prime, you can watch the episode online for free, otherwise it costs $1.99 to stream (or set your Tivo for BBC America and see if you can catch it). You can catch the instructional for the recipe at 27 minutes. Since there aren't many measurements quoted in the show and the recipe is no longer on the Channel 4 (UK) website, here is the best approximation I could make.

Crab Pasta - serves 2

Ingredients:
4oz fresh pasta (tagliatelle, linguine or spaghetti)
1-medium-hot red chilli de-seeded and finely chopped (Whole Foods didn't carry red, so we bought green)
1- garlic clove, finely chopped (we like garlic in everything, so added this)
1- lemon
1/4 lb freshly cooked white crab meat
1 small bushel flat leaf parsley (about a 1/4 cup of leaves)olive oil for pan
salt for seasoning

Modus Operandi:

First, place a large pot on the stove to heat and fill it up with water, then add about 1/2 tsp salt. Once the water has boiled, add pasta and cook for 6 minutes, then check for an "al dente" texture. Your pasta should have a firm bite, but not be uncooked in the center. Once pasta is cooked to your liking, drain using a colander and toss with a bit of oil oil to prevent sticking (as you'll see in the picture below, I need to take my own advice better!). Set pasta aside for later incorporation.

Boiling the pasta

Draining pasta in colander, remember to rub it with oil after this!

Set a large skillet on your stove and set to medium-high heat. Grab your chili and a small knife. Rub chili between your hands before cutting to release seeds and membrane from the skin, then skit down the side and remove seeds using your finger or by scraping the inside with a spoon. Once the seeds and stem have been removed, chop your chili in to a brunoise* (a 1/16" square chop), set aside. Chop your garlic very finely, set aside. Finally, chop the leaves of your parsley (omit the stems) into small shreds, set aside.

Place 1-2 Tbs of olive oil in your pan and wait for it to shimmer**. Once the oil is hot, add the chili, garlic and parsley and saute for 1 minute.

Then add the crab meat and saute until warmed through. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the crab meat mixture.

Add your drained pasta back to the pan and stir to coat the pasta with the crab mixture. Once incorporated, split the pasta in to two bowls and dig in!

The Verdict:

Jesse: I thought this was a delicious dish, next time I will oil the pasta and use a thinner noodle, but aside from that I loved it! At $9.04 per serving, this isn't an everyday dish, but it is certainly worth making from time to time.

Home cooking: 4, Restaurants: 2

Naris: I liked this, but the pasta Jesse bought was whole wheat and I prefer regular. I would make this again.

Home cooking: 5, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

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Cost Breakdown:

Unfortunately, my purse was stolen this week and it had the receipts for this meal's ingredients, but I will try to remember most of it off the top of my head so here is the estimate.
Fresh Pasta- $5.99
Chili ~ $0.30
Garlic ~ $0.15
Lemon ~ $0.80
Crab - $8.84
Parsley ~ $1.99
Total: $18.08 or $9.04 per serving.

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* Check out this picture gallery of knife cuts at CulinaryArts.about.com.
** Heating your oil to a shimmering state helps prevent sticking in your pan, wondering how to check for the proper temperature?!? See more details at ReluctantGourmet.com

Que hay para la cena?- S10E11

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:07:00 +0000

Hola and welcome to "What's for dinner?"

Today we're going to address a growing problem here in American kitchens... leftovers. That's right, those darned leftovers, never as good as the first time, always sitting in your fridge, waiting for the trash bin. Well today's Good Eats recipe deals with this issue and may I say it's been a long time coming.

After our so-so experience a few nights ago with a roasted chicken, we were left with, you guessed it, leftover chicken. Now we could eat this by itself or alongside some vegetables, but where's the excitement in that?

So, Naris began trolling the interwebs, looking for a bit of guidance to help take care of our little issue and he stumbled upon a Good Eats episode all about leftovers! The episode is titled "Tortillas Again" and sees Alton Brown (AB) faced with a striking crew, picketers outside his kitchen and an enormous stack of leftover tortillas. When Naris spotted the recipe for Enchilada Lasagna, he knew it was the right vessel for our leftover chicken (we also had many of the other ingredients on hand).

So, the adventure began...

Off I went in search of the missing puzzle pieces. Fresh & Easy held most of what we needed, chili powder, onions and corn tortilla's, but they were missing two crucial ingredients, the queso fresco and the chipotle peppers. Now, we could have substituted monterey jack cheese, but what fun would that be?!? So, off to Chavez Super I went searching high and low for queso fresco, unfortunately, they were loading in a bunch of refrigerated stuff so I couldn't get to the case myself and I had to ask a nice young women who worked there to help me out. I told her I needed 3 cups of crumbled queso fresco and she went off and returned with a small wheel of cheese, ensuring me that once broken up it would increase in volume. Now, she was quite nice and seemed to know what she was talking about, unfortunately when I got home and we crumbled the cheese, it only filled up about 2 scant cups but we went with it anyways. They also only had chipotle pepper powder, so I went with some fresh serano peppers instead.

The sad queso :(

Next, it was time to get our mise en place set to go, out came the cheese, tortilla's, chili powder, peppers and onions.

Gathering ingredients

Mincing the garlic

Dicing the onion

Per AB's suggestion, we toasted up some whole cumin seed (low heat, just until you begin to smell it) and then tossed it in our handy Cuisinart Smart Power Blender* and ground those sucker to a powder. Time and effort were minimal, results were excellent, I highly recommend you take this step.

Toasting the cumin seeds

Grinding the cumin to powder

Keeping with our leftover theme, we used some tomato sauce and canned tomatoes we had on hand instead of buying new stuff just for this recipe. They wouldn't have expired until 2013, but it meant less stuff in our crowded pantry.

Finally, it was time to begin the sauce. Now, other times that I have made enchiladas it has always been with premade sauce in a can or jar, but for this little adventure that just would not do. So, out came the stock pot and in it went the serano chiles, 3 of the garlic cloves, chili powder, tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and some leftover chicken stock we had frozen in to cubes (we do this whenever there is a chicken carcass, it means we always have stock on hand and we make use of the whole bird and some vegetables that might not otherwise get eaten).

Giving the sauce a whirl

Since we substituted some chopped tomatoes for the tomato sauce, I whipped out our handy Cuisinart SmartStick Immersion Blender** and smoothed out the chunks to make our enchilada sauce nice and smooth.

While the sauce was reducing (cooking the excess water out), Naris set out to make the filling. He placed some vegetable oil in a heated skillet and reheated our chicken medium heat and then set it aside. Next, in that same skillet, he added a touch more oil and sauteed the onion with a bit of salt, reducing the heat to medium low and sweating some of the water out of the onions. A few minutes later, in went 1 garlic clove and the oregano, which were given a minute to come together. And finally, back went the chicken to meld the flavors, then off the heat it went and we were ready to begin assembly.

Since we didn't have a 13"x9" glass pan, we split this in to two dishes, if you do have the right pan, jsut double the ammounts. In went a quarter cup of the sauce, then 2 tortillas dipped in the sauce, then a layer of the chicken filling, a coating of queso fresco and a final topping or two more sauce dipped tortillas.

First layer of chicken filling and queso fresco

First complete layer

We repeated this process until we had exhausted our supply of filling (about two layers in each pan) and then spread the remaining queso fresco on top of the dishes and covered them with aluminum foil.

Oven ready

Into our preheated 350 degree oven they went and after 30 minutes we removed the foil coverings. Then the lasagnas got 10 more minutes to melt the cheese on top and they were ready for dinner.

Final product, ready for chow time

Once this cooled for a few minute on our handy Joseph Joseph Expandable Trivet***, it was time to dig in. This recipe made about 6 large portions and cost a whopping $14.11 total (including leftovers used), which works out to $2.35 per serving!!

The Verdict!

Jesse: I thought this was a great way to use up leftovers and next time I would definitely get more cheese and perhaps add some more vegetables and a sour cream or guacamole topper. At 1/5 the cost of a usual enchilada dish at a restaurant, this is a steal and some really good...

Home cooking: 3, Restaurants: 2

Naris: I would definitely make this again, but it needs more cheese.

Home cooking: 4, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

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Cost Breakdown!

Purchased:
-Chili powder - $0.99
-Organic onion - $0.89
-Tortillas - $1.99 (have 3/4 of pack leftover)
-Queso Fresco - $3.89
-Serano Chiles - $0.09

Had on hand:
-Oregano ~ $3 for whole box of organic (used about 1/9 of box)
-Cumin ~ $3 for whole box of organic (used about 1/9 of box)
-Chicken ~ $3.50 for portion used - non-organic
-Garlic ~ $0.60 for portion used of organic
-Tomato Sauce/Chopped ~ $3 (got once can on clearance and both were organic)

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*We use this blender because it has multiple cups to make individual portions of smoothies, or whatever you want to blend (the cups also serve as travel mugs!, which means less dishes to wash). It also has a handy chopping/grinding blade and small cup that we use for small amounts of spices and nuts. The Coup de grâce, it takes up about as much counter space as a Costco sized jar of Peanut Butter and after mail in rebate cost us about $28.
**This blender serves a bit of a different purpose, it can handle hot liquids, goes directly in to whatever vessel you need. It is also great for mixing emulsions that you don't want to aerate, like molecular gastronomy experiments!
***We got this trivet not long ago, and man is it useful. It stores away to the half size of a normal but expand to hold 2 pots/bowls or one large pan. It also comes in fun colors, which I love!

A Bird in the Pan - S1E5

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:08:00 +0000

Whenever poultry needs to be pan fried, sauteed, seared or anything else that requires the stove top, that's my specialty. Whenever a whole bird needs to go in the oven, that's Jesse's specialty. But tonight is my turn to change that: I'm going to attempt AB's Broiled, Butterflied Chicken.
<Jesse: Yes, I touch the raw meat but once per year, the Thanksgiving Turkey is mine, the rest is all his.>

Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 lemon, zested
Extra virgin olive oil
Onions, carrots and celery cut into 3 to 4-inch pieces
3 to 4-pound broiler/fryer chicken
1 cup red wine
8 ounces chicken stock
2 to 3 sprigs thyme
Canola oil

AB suggests that we use a mortar and pestle to coarsely grind the peppercorns, salt, garlic and lemon zest. Since we don't own one (yet?), we decided to use our Cuisinart Smart Power Blender chopping cup to do the grinding...err..chopping and then added some olive oil to make it into a paste like texture.

Next you need to butterfly the chicken. I just followed along how AB did it in the episode: first remove the back bone with some kitchen shears by cutting through the ribs on both sides of it. Next flip it over and remove the keel bone so that the chicken will lay flat. Now that the chicken has been butterflied, take the seasoning paste and shove some of it under the skin and rub it over the breasts and thighs. Finally pour some olive oil over the skin and rub it in all the nooks and crannies to so it will brown nicely.

We happen to have some bags of "past their prime" carrots and celery stalks and an onion and potato, so we used them to create the bed for the chicken to lie. We don't use a rack so that way the chicken won't stick to it and the vegetables will add more flavor to the bird.

We set the oven on "broil" and placed it in on the bottom rack. After 10 minutes, I check the browness of the skin...it looked good so I flipped the bird and put it in there for another 15 minutes. Finally I checked the tempurature, chicken should be about 165 to 167 for doneness. Once that's all set, cut and quarter the chicken and serve!

Due to our oven being very uneven, I actually ended up cooking the chicken for almost 20 extra minutes since the breasts were only at 130 degrees when the recipe time was done. Because of the extra time, I didn't even bother with making the roux since I was hungry at 9PM! With this amount of time and work, I don't think I'll be doing this again when I can just buy a whole rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for about $7. Nonetheless, the food was still good, but I think i'll leave cooking birds in the oven to Jesse.

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Price breakdown to come.

Salmon Fillet en Papillote - S7E8

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:12:00 +0000

Ever wanted that quick healthy, home cooked dinner within 30 minutes? Are you always having trouble finding recipes to serve one? Well look no further, for I have found it: Salmon Fillet en Papillote (French for "in pouch") from Good Eats Season 7 Episode 8, The Pouch Principle.

This simple recipe takes just 5 minutes to cook in the microwave (if you feel uneasy about cooking fish in the microwave, you may do so in the oven instead as well) and introduced me to some new vegetables I've never had.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup julienned fennel bulb

1/3 cup julienned leeks, white part only
1/3 cup julienned carrots
1/3 cup julienned snow peas
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon whole coriander seed, ground fine
1 (8-ounce) salmon fillet, pin bones removed
1 orange cut into wedges with white, pithy membrane removed
1 tablespoon dry vermouth

First, the prep work. Start by julienning the vegetables, which I learned how to do from our Sur La Table Essentials Knife Skills class. I had never had leeks or fennel before this, so I was unaware of what to expect for the flavor, let alone know what they look like when I was at the grocery store. Well, leeks look like giant green onions, literally, GIANT GREEN ONIONS ON STEROIDS. Fennel looks like a green colored onion with thin celery stalked sprouting from the top of it and it smells like licorice.

When cutting the leeks, use on the white part at the bottom as the green parts are bitter. When cutting the fennel, only the bulb in necceary. You can save the rest of these unused parts to flavor your stocks or as aromatics in other dishes. P.S. I purchased my first knife as you can see on the left, a Global 5 3/4 inch Narkiri.

Next, roll out about 18"-24" of parchment paper and fold it in half like a book. Then cut out half of a heart in the folded parchment paper so when you unfold it, it looks like a heart. Lay down the julienned vegetables on one half to make a bed for the salmon.

Season the vegetable bed then lay salmon filet and orange slices on the bed. Season the salmon and drizzle some dry vermouth over everything. Finally fold over the other half of the heart and start crimp/folding the edges to create a makeshift seal.

Final assembly before oven

The purpose of this dish was for a quick meal, so AB recommends using a microwave to cook the pouch on high for 4 minutes. Since I was making 2 pouches simultaneously, he also said we could use the oven set to 425 degrees for 12 minutes.

When completed, the salmon is cooked perfectly--flakey and tender. The vegetables are soft and very flavorful. At first I didn't think this was going to be enough to fill me up, but this turned out to be plenty.

I would gladly make this again as the cook time is very short and there is minimal cleanup at the end, which I'm sure everyone will be happy about, chefs and patrons alike.

As for cost, if you don't buy at Whole Foods, you can probably save there, but it'll still cost about $5-$7 per fillet. You could also use any vegetables you'd like or have on had at the time. I would probably skip the fennel since it cost about $4 for 1 and I only used about 3/4 of it. This time around, the dish cost about $12 per person, due to the vermouth. But next time, substituting the fennel for another vegetable and already having the vermouth on hand, it would cost about $8 per person, so not too shabby for a quick and healthy meal.

-Naris

--------------
WholeFoods:
1 organic leek - $0.84
1 organic fennel - $3.98
2 6-ounce salmon fillets - $13.98
2 manderin oranges - $1.07
1 375ml extra dry vermouth - $4.99

On Hand:
parchment paper - $5.99
bag of organic carrots - $5.99

Essential Knife Skills

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:52:00 +0000

Hi Internet,

Today Jesse and I took the fundamental knife skills class offered at Sur La Table. The course description stated that they would be teaching and allow the practicing of fundamental cuts for vegetables--mince, dice brunoise, batonnet and julienne--as well as some advanced techniques.

Just like our date night class, this one was set up for 16 people. Again it was a bit tight and cramped, but at least we all recieved out own equipment to use. Each student was presented with an 8 inch chef's knife, a paring knife, a composite cutting board, a bar mop, a bench scraper and an apron.

For the main cutlery we'd be using, you were either given a European style chef's knife, in my case, the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Profection 8-Inch Chef Knife (pictured on left), or a Japanese style chef's knife, which Jesse used, the Miyabi Morimoto Edition 9-Inch Slicer (pictured on right).

The difference between the two come down to weight, thickness and blade angle, with the Japanese knife being lighter, thinner and having an acuter angle. I really didn't like the Henckels, at least not this model, but I was still able to complete all the cuts with it.

The instructor guided us through varying sizes of dices and juliennes on a bell pepper, celery, carrot, potato and an onion. She also provided some tips on how to best approach these cuts on each vegetable, which really helped in performing the cuts.

Carrot - julienne, medium dice, small dice and brunoise

Onion - julienne and diced

Next we learned a super easy way to mince garlic. Basically, you take a flat object, such as your bench scrapper or knife blade, lay it on a peeled glove parallel to the cutting board, and....WHAM, smash it with your fist. Then do some small chopping if necessary, but if you gave it a good whack, it should be. You can then sprinkle some salt on it and grind down the garlic in to a paste if so desired.

Want to garnish your dished with some basil or another leafy herb? Just roll them up horizontally like a cigar, then slice off sections like you would a carrot and when they unroll, you got yourself a chiffonade.

To end the class, we learned how to supreme a citrus fruit. Basically, the goal is to produce an attractive, skinless citrus section without the rind or the pith (the white stuff in an orange or other similar citrus fruit). I've always wondered how people do that, I just thought there was some super secret orange peeling technique I never heard of.

Unlike the cooking class, I really enjoyed this 2-hour hands-on class. It was worth being able to just slice and dice away without any care while the instructors would constantly come around and check how you were doing and clean your cutting board of the results of your practice. I would recommend this class to to anyone who wants to learn the proper way to use a chef's knife in the kitchen. I will now leave you with my opinion on kitchen knives until I buy my own set.

1. A sharp knife is MUCH more useful and efficient that what you have in your kitchen

2. Not everyone will like the same knife

3. Expect to pay over $100 for a good chef's knife

4. The french have a name for EVERYTHING

5. A sharp knife is REALLY sharp

-Naris

But what's a meal without dessert :)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:13:00 +0000

Since it was Valentine's Day yesterday, I wanted to make a special dessert for Naris, so I busted out the old favorite, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries!! I use a few tricks to get stellar results each time, so read on for my secrets.

Software:
One dozen long stemmed Strawberries - 8.99
2 chocolate bars (71% Whole Foods Brand) - 5.28

Hardware:
Metal bowl
Pot with about 1" of simmering H2O
Silpat - Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, 11.6 x 16.5-inches, Half Sheet Size
Baking sheet
Trivet - Joseph Joseph Stretch, Expandable Silicone Trivet, Green

Once you have assembled your arsenal, it's time to get down to business. First, place a pot with about 1" of water on the stove and bring to a simmer. The break apart your chocolate bar into the metal bowl and place it on top of the simmering water pot (see image below, from wikipedia):

You might wonder, why does she bother with a chocolate bar versus chips. Well my dears, there's science behind it! Chocolate chips keep their pointy shape due to a reduction of cocoa butter solids in their formula, this means they look wonderful in chocolate chip cookies, but produce sub par melted chocolate. If you want silky smooth chocolate covered strawberries, stick with good quality chocolate bars and melt them over very low heat. Keeping the heat low will help keep your chocolate in temper, saving you the hassle of tempering yourself and giving your strawberries a nice snappy, shiny coating!

So, now that we have our nice melted, in temper chocolate, we're ready to dip! Since it's Valentine's Day, I sprung for the fancy (and pricey) long stemmed strawberries and just held their stems and twirled them in the bowl then set them down on my trusty Silpat. But, when I don't have those nice long stems, there are two ways I do this. Sometimes I just grab the tiny leaves on top and use them to control the strawberry, other times I drop in the berry and use a fork to move it around in the chocolate and fish it out (this works great with truffles too!).

Here are some shots of the final product, you can see my metal bowl resting on a trivet to save the table from heat, the chocolate bar I used and my Silpat with the delicious strawberries. If you aren't patient enough to wait for the chocolate to harden at room temperature (or if it's hot in your kitchen), just slide the Silpat on to a baking sheet and pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes, or the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes, depending on how cold your fridge is and how well tempered your chocolate is.

This recipe was a bit pricier than usual because of the long stemmed strawberries, coming out to $14.27, but Godiva charges $5 for small ones and $7 for larges, so we definitely came out ahead on this one. Also, I bought 2 bars of chocolate and had left over (which I sprinkled with the leftover peanuts and made in to a bark), you can usually get away with 1 bar but these looked skinny so I erred on the side of caution. No one wants to be disappointed on Valentine's Day!! Also, good quality chocolate can be obtained for pretty low cost at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and even Target, so do yourself a favor and don't skimp on it, if you're going to eat chocolate, treat yourself to the good stuff!!

Verdict:

Jesse: Restaurant 1, Home cooking 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

Your Pad (Thai) or Mine - S9E20

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:11:00 +0000

One of my favorite things about Good Eats was the exposure to recipes I would never imagine cooking at home. Case in point, Pad Thai. When we go out to eat at Thai restaurants Pad Thai is almost always on the table, with Panang Curry (Kaeng phanaeng), Three-Flavors Fish (Pla sam rot) and Crab Fried Rice (Khao phat pu). And what better to top off a spicy Thai feast than some sweet and creamy Thai Iced Tea (Cha yen), Thai Iced Coffee (Oliang) or an ice cold bottle of Chang Beer, but we'll cover making those another time.

So, what better for our first culinary experiment than Good Eats Pad Thai (Season 9, Episode 20). Our resident Thai* pointed out that this was a very Americanized version of Pad Thai, but you've got to start somewhere!

Off to the market we went, in search of ingredients from a far off land! We were mostly successful, but salted cabbage and dried shrimp eluded us, so we substituted fresh shrimp and left out cabbage altogether (the lack of these ingredients may have contributed to the final taste of this recipe). You can find a breakdown of our costs and where we located our ingredients at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients:
6 ounces extra-firm tofu, not silken
1 1/2 cups soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1-ounce tamarind paste
3/4 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
4 ounces rice stick noodles
6 ounces Marinated Tofu, recipe follows
1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 cup chopped scallions, divided
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 whole eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons salted cabbage
1 tablespoon dried shrimp
3 ounces bean sprouts, divided
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, divided
Freshly ground dried red chile peppers, to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges

Let's get cookin'!!!

Our first step was to boil a bit of hot water in the handy dandy electric kettle: Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfecTemp 1.7-Liter Stainless Steel Cordless Electric Kettle***. We poured a cup of this over the 1 oz. tamarind paste and the rest over the 4 oz. rice noodles. Next we mixed the 2T fish sauce, 2T grated palm sugar and 1T rice wine vinegar in a small bowl.

Then, as AB** suggests, we did a bit of mise en place, which you can see below. Pictured from left to right, top then bottom: rice noodles, tamarind paste in water, eggs, peanut oil (yellow), fish sauce/palm sugar/rice wine vinegar (green), green onions (red), garlic (blue), peanuts, marinating tofu, bean sprouts and limes.

Although Naris does own a wok, our kitchen is quite overloaded and we weren't able to locate it, so in place we use a saute pan with high sides. In to that we added 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and heated it until shimmering, then in went the marinated tofu (which had been chopped in to 1" by 1/2" strips) and the shrimp. Once the tofu and shrimp were done, out they went, to be added in later.

Another tablespoon of peanut oil went in to the hot pan, as did the green onions and garlic, which were cooked for 15 seconds until softened. Then in went our beaten eggs. Once the eggs setup (about 20 seconds), they were scrambled and it was time to begin building our glorious dinner.

Back in went the rice noodles, then the tamarind and fish sauces. Since we weren't using a wok, it took a few minutes to get the sauce soaked in to the noodles. Also, our noodles has been soaking for about 15 minutes before we added them, so they were almost mushy. Note to self, next time drain noodles after 5 minutes!

Once the sauce was integrated with the noodles, the bean sprouts and peanuts went in to the pan. AB's recipe doesn't specify the amount of bean sprouts to use, so we just went with a nice sized handful, and that worked nicely. You can see Mr. Blurrycam's capture of our pan handling skills below:

Now that everything had come together, it was time to eat! We plated up the Pad Thai and topped it off with some additional peanuts and a squirt of lime juice and dug in!

Our out of pocket for this recipe was $29.14, but we didn't use all of every ingredient so to repeat it we would only need to spend about $9 for new ingredients. We got 4 servings out of the recipe, if you served this as a side dish, you could certainly stretch this to 8 servings.

The verdict!

Jesse: Considering Pad Thai at our local restaurant is $9.95 and the taste is far superior, I would vote to leave this recipe to the professionals. Our noodles were over cooked, the flavor was too muted and I missed the dryness of restaurant Pad Thai.

Tally: Restaurants 1, Home cooking 0

Naris: Now that we have a handle on how to make this, and if we can locate the wok, I think that this recipe would be better next go around.

Tally: Restaurants 0, Home cooking 1

À tout à l’heure!

Well, I know my inaugural post has been lengthy, so I will stop here. I hope you had fun reading about our culinary adventures, tips, tricks and conclusions. And I hope that we've inspired you to try your own culinary experiments.

Until we cook again,
Jesse
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

99 Ranch (local Asian market):
1lb roasted peanuts - 1.79
24 fl ozFish Sauce - 1.29
2 limes - 0.87
green onion bunch - 0.49
palm sugar - 1.99
soy sauce - 3.69
med firm tofu - 0.99
bean sprouts - 0.99
peanut oil - 4.69
14 oz rice stick noodles - 1.49

Whole Foods:

tamarind paste - 4.99

shrimp (fresh) - 5.09

Had on hand:

garlic ~ 0.15

2 eggs ~ 0.63

rice wine vinegar - cost unknown
chinese five spice powder - cost unknown

Unable to locate/left out:

salted cabbage

dried shrimp
thai peppers (left out on purpose to keep this mild)

---------------------

*Naris :)

**Alton Brown, host and creator of Good Eats --> Alton's Blog
***This kettle is one of the most utilized appliances in our kitchen, it features variable temperature control, perfect for tea, coffee or boiling water. Saves us from turning on the stove just to make a cup of hot water, you wouldn't heat up the oven to make one piece of toast, so why waste energy heating up the stove for one cup of water?!?! And heats up almost 2 liters of water to start a broth or pasta pot with. It is highly recommended!

Date Night: Valentine's Dinner for Two

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:25:00 +0000

Before the idea of Good Eat Revisited came up, I was interested in taking some cooking classes. I scoured the internets and found cooking courses offered at the community college, Whole Foods, and Sur La Table. The community college courses required I apply, Whole Food's classes were just demos where you sat and watch,while Sur La Table offered hands on learning, so we went with the later.

I signed Jesse and myself up for the "Date Night" series cooking classes, tailored towards couples, and what better way to start it off than as a Valentines day event. On the menu was a Frisee and Apple Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette, followed by Rack of Lamb with Mustard-Hazelnut Crust and Truffled Mashed Potatoes, and finally Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Ganache for a dessert.

The setup in the store was a little cramped, but workable. For the amount we paid, I would have expected to not have to share the workspace with another couple. There are times when one couple is just watching the other couple putting seasoning on the lamb or chopping apples and shallots or mashing the potatoes. I would have liked to do it all rather than share. Then while the lamb goes into the oven to cook, they allow a "break-time" where we are urged to wonder the store.

But all in all, we had a good time, the food was good and the atmosphere was friendly. I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon...or at least I'll pick a class that is harder than just searing the rack of lamb and mashing some potatoes.

Jesse gearing up at our work station

The Champagne Vinaigrette with Julienne Apple Salad

Mashed Potatoes with Truffle Salt and Garlic

Final Dish

Salted Caremel Ice Cream with Chocolate Ganache

Our Mission

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:11:00 +0000

My girlfriend, Jesse, and I have decided to take on culinary education and experimentation via television cooking shows. We have chosen Chef Alton Brown from "Good Eats" as our guide and mentor.

"Good Eats" started airing in 1999 and ended its last show in 2011 after 14 seasons with 249 episodes on The Food Network. The show explores the science and technique behind the cooking, the history of different foods, and the advantages of different kinds of cooking equipment. Focus is done on familiar dishes that can easily be made at home, and also features segments on choosing the right appliances, and getting the most out of inexpensive, multi-purpose tools. I like to think of it as Bill Nye the Science Guy teaches cooking!

Our mission is to cook 3-5 meals each week, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or desert, from one of the recipies shown on either Good Eats. Think "Julie and Julia" but with modern day chefs and I don't plan on having a change of career.