bolognese

naturally, i had none of the better shapes on hand to eat this with, so i settled for whole sheat spaghetti. still nom.

this is one of the three things i've been able to cook since FOREVER (the other two are shortbread and mac & cheese) and, frankly, it's some of the best food there is. not to toot my own horn.

ingredients:

• olive oil
• chopped garlic
• mire poix
• (mushrooms)
• one package of "meatloaf meat" -- a combination of beef, pork and veal-- or just beef, or beef and pork, but i think the veal really adds something.
• 2 cans (32 ounces each?) of crushed tomatoes
• salt & pepper
• basil, oregano, etc. to taste (don't overdo it)
• (heavy cream/half & half, etc.)

prep:

• you may need to chop your own mire poix if tj's was ALL OUT
• (and your mushrooms, which aren't part of mire poix, but work nicely)
• and your garlic if you don't get it out of a jar

actual cooking:

• cover the bottom of a large pot over medium/high heat with olive oil
• add garlic, cook about 1 minute
• add mire poix (& mushrooms), cook until softened slightly
• add meat and cook until nothing's pink, stirring constantly
• (pour off fat if there's lots)
• add crushed tomatoes, herbs & salt & pepper
• allow to simmer for a good long time-- an hour or so, at least you can't really overcook it unless you're trying very hard
• add a splash of cream just before serving

obviously, this is most often served over pasta, go for something that will grip the chunks like corkscrews or shells.

savory shortbread experiments: basil & sun-dried tomato

this recipe has been adjusted for what i think mine lacked, namely, SALT. i've added scratch cheese and sea salt to this recipe, but i can't make any promises. they were good but... eh. they needed salt.

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomato (NOT packed in oil) chopped fine
• 1 tbs scratch cheese
• 1 tsp ground sea salt
• 1 tbs fresh basil, chopped fine or 1/2 tbs dried basil, chopped fine
• 1 1/4 cups flour

prep:

• allow butter to soften
• preheat oven to 350*
• butter 2 baking sheets

actual cooking:

• beat butter until lightened in color (about 1 minute)
• add tomato
• add basil
• add cheese
• add salt
• add flour until just combined
• shape into 2 5" logs (mine were rectangular, which helped)
• wrap in plastic and chill IN THE REFRIGERATOR (not the freezer, not not not the freezer) for 1-4 hours until firm
• slice 1/8-1/4" thick bake until edges are golden brown

fruit-filled shortbread

this is a variation on one of my new favorite recipes: chocolate-raspberry filled shortbread.

short bread-- along with macaroni & cheese and bolognese sauce-- was one of the first things i learned to cook by myself. it also happens for be favored by a lot of people i know: daddy, j, aunt diane and mrs. bender, my high school latin teacher (salvete, maestra!) (that's probably wrong, i got a c in latin), probably because it's awesome and delicious and crumbly and perfect. probably. j also favors blueberries, and he's coming over for salmon and leffe blonde tonight, so i made these blueberry.

ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 3/8 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• about 1/3 cup jam (blueberry, here, or seedless raspberry)
• (2-4 ounces of finely chopped white or semi-sweet chocolate)

prep:

• allow butter to soften very slightly
• reserve 1 tbs of butter for greasing the pan-- and because this recipe actually needs 7/8 cups butter
• preheat oven to 300*

actual cooking:

• beat butter on low about 1 minute
• add sugar
• add vanilla & salt
• add flour and beat until just combined
• line a tart pan with plastic wrap
• divide dough in 2 equalish parts

• pat half into the lined tart pan and chill in the freezer until it (and its plastic) can be removed in one piece-- leave the dough in the freezer until called for, but take out the pan because you need it now

• grease the tart pan with remaining tbs (or less) of butter
• pat the other half of the dough into the pan
  

• add your filling
  

• spread it to about 1/2 and inch from the edge

• remove other dough from the freezer, carefully removing the plastic and laying it fingerprints down on top of the filling

• allow dough to soften for 5-10 minutes until you can press the edges together without damaging the dough (i got distracted when my volunteer gig called to see if i could work 12-2 tonight)
• bake for 45-55 minutes until golden
• allow to cool most of the way
• slice with a thin, sharp knife

kitchen klutz

"next aloe plant we see, we're buying!"





i have to admit, he's got a point. one might think a compulsive drive to buy potholders would prevent burns like the heart-shaped one at the base of my thumb (above, ironically displayed on my "le cordon bleu" oven mitt), the long-scarred 1 1/2 inch on the back of my left hand, the 1/2 inch puckered line on my right wrist, the currently sloughing (ew, only a little bit) result of attempting to remove hot shortbread from a tart pan on the inside of my right wrist, and so many fingertips and knuckles along the way.

i'm careless. and a danger to myself.

i'v had cuts, too, of course. little nicks from overzealous chopping and long, paper cut-like ones from a razor-sharp utility knife that i could swear didn't even touch my flesh. more often than not, i slam a drawer on my hand trying to clean as i go.

but the best-- the best EVER-- was the time i injured my rotator cuff mashing potatoes on a stove top that just a little too high for me in stocking feet. i shit you not, i was in agony for a week.

savory shortbread experiments: cheesy rosemary slices

i know, i know, i'm three weeks behind on shortbread recipes! what can i be thinking posting an unscheduled shortbread recipe? mostly, i'm thinking, oooh, yum.

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup + 1 tbs butter
• 1/2 cup scratch cheese
• 1 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped fine or 1/2 tbs dried rosemary, chopped fine
• 1 1/4 cups flour

prep:

• allow butter to soften
• preheat oven to 350*
• butter 2-3 baking sheets

actual cooking:

• beat butter until lightened in color (about 1 minute)
• add cheese
• add rosemary
• add flour until just combined
• shape into 2 5" logs
• wrap in plastic and chill IN THE REFRIGERATOR (not the freezer, not not not the freezer) for 1-4 hours until firm
• slice 1/8-1/4" thick
• bake until edges are golden brown

these... are not perfect. but they are damn good. with a beer. maybe golden monkey? that may or may not be what happened to all but the six i packed for daddy's official taste-testing.

braised mediterranean chicken with tomatoes, zucchini & polenta

happy blogiversary!



with this dinner i accomplished some long-ignored goals:

• i made a dish found in one of the three cooking magazines i subscribe to (everyday food)
• i used beer in food (bud american ale-- which isn't TOO too bad)
• i cooked something from scratch that i normally buy (polenta)
• i used a recipe that involved careful timing & "meanwhile"-ing
• i actually used some of the fresh herbs i grew from seeds (oregano)
• i got this gorgeous creature to come over for dinner, after a mere 17 months absence:

ingredients:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (5 from TJ's)
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp crushed garlic (or 2 cloves, chopped)
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved width-wise
• 1 tbs fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/2 cup beer (or dry white wine)
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 3 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 4 1/2 cups water

prep:

• chop oregano (& garlic)
• cut veggie to size
• measure beer, broth, water & cornmeal (do it)
• season chicken with salt pepper

actual cooking:

• heat olive oil in a heavy pot
• put water on to boil in a saucepan with 1 1/2tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper
• cook chicken in olive oil about 6-8 minutes, until browned on all sides
• transfer chicken to a plate
• add garlic, tomatoes & oregano to olive oil
• cook about 30 seconds until fragrant
• add beer to tomatoes
• slowly, whisking all the while, add cornmeal to water
• reduce heat on polenta to medium-low; whisk often
• add chicken broth to tomatoes
• return chicken to the pot
• bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover & cook 15 minutes
• add zucchini
• season with salt & pepper
• cover and simmer 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through
• serve chicken and veggies over polenta

anti-climax

so... you know those people who celebrate their birthdays from the weekend before it happens to the weekend after and they're all "it's my birthday week!" and if their birthday actually falls on a weekend, they have two weeks of birthday week?

let's pretend my blog is one of those people.

yes, friday was my blogiversary. i had some big damn plans. i considered going full out with something i'd intended to do all along: a restaurant review. specifically, i was planning on discussing my favorite restaurant, beau monde, from soup to nuts-- or crepe pizza (i'd planned to go with the pate platter, actually, not that bill would ever kiss me again if i did) to nutella & banana dessert crepe, as it were, complete with a hearty chuckle at the clever name of my favorite beer, a canadian belgian called "the end of the world" and a poetic wax regarding the buttery delight that is roasted leeks. but i didn't make plans.

then i planned to cook something fantastic and celebratory like cornish game hens! or a whole fish with eyeballs! lobster! boeuf bourguinon! i was unstoppable! but i didn't pick a recipe or buy ingredients.

i did consider a cake, but do i really need a cake? (yes. i always need a cake. pound cake with buttercream frosting. the good stuff, please.)

tonight i celebrate my blogiversary. and then, i think, some changes will be coming.