Grilled Quiche

When it gets this hot (94 today) you'll do anything to not turn on any heat generating appliance, so for dinner tonight I baked a quiche in our gas grill on the back porch.

I just made the quiche recipe as I would for the oven. Instead of my usual glass pie pan, I poured the filling into a heavy square metal baking pan that fits my grill top.

I got out the oven thermometer, lit one side of the grill, and placed the pan on the unlit side, so it wouldn't be directly over the flame.

It took about the same amount of time as it would in the oven and it turned out great! I'm thinking brownies might be the next experiment. :)

Basic Quiche:

6 eggs
1/2 cup cream or whole milk (whatever I have around)
pepper and salt
1 cup chopped fillings (veggies, bacon, etc.)
1 cup grated cheeses

Beat the eggs, cream, and seasonings together, and pour the mixture into a buttered baking dish. Arrange the veggies and cheese over the egg mixture, and bake at 350F for about 45 min.

Chicken Curry with Chopped Carrots and Tomatoes

I made this tonight to try something different. It's based on a recipe in _1,000_Indian_Recipes_ by Neelam Batra, and tailored to our dietary requirements. Serves 4 (or 2 really hungry people).

1 lb chicken pieces, cooked and diced
2 Tbsp coconut oil
4 carrots, sliced
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in 1/2
6 cardamom pods
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp ground cumin seed
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp dried Kasoori methi (fenugreek) leaves ground fine
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt

saute the carrots, cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks in the oil until the carrots are tender (about 5 min)

add the tomatoes, and the remaining spices, salt, and water.

cover the pan and cook for about 20 minutes.

uncover the pan and cook down the liquid to a desirable level for the gravy.

remove the cardamom and cinnamon, and stir in the chicken pieces to heat them up.

remove from heat and stir in the yogurt just before serving.

To make this vegetarian you could sub in paneer for the chicken, or anything you like really..tots, beans, potato kefte, etc.

You could also use onion in place of the carrots, and add some garlic and ginger for more flavor, but we're avoiding onions and garlic right now so that's why the carrots are there instead.

Triple-Threat Chocolately Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

No that title does not have any extra "Chocolate" in it...they are all in there I promise. I made these yesterday, and man oh man, they are the best thing I have ever baked...warning! you may not be able to stop eating them!

Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies
(from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 teasoons instant coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 Tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
16 oz semisweet (~60% cacao) melted and cooled
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

2 baking sheets
3 bowls (2 med, 1 lrg)

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment (or use a silicone liner which I did and it worked fine)

Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a med bowl.
Whisk the eggs, coffee, and vanilla in another med bowl, until the coffee is disolved.

In the large bowl cream the butter and sugars with a mixer (set on med-ish speed), until light and fluffy (3-6 min).
Beat in the egg mixture, until just combined, about 30 sec.
Beat in the melted cooled chocolate, until just combined, about 30 sec.

With mixer on low speed slowly add the flour mixture, until just combined.
Stir in the chips (I could not get my mixer through the dough much less get any chips into it at this point so I just added them to inidivdual cookie balls later).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cover the bowl of dough and let stand at room temp, for about 30 minutes, until the dough is the consistency of scoopable fudge.

Working with 3 tbls of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls (and squish in the choc chips), lay them on the baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
(The shape doesn't change much during cooking, so I would recommend flattening them just a bit, and you can lay them a bit closer together.)

Bake for 10-15 min (I needed 15) until the edges of the cookies are set (and a cooked crust is formed on top).
(The cookies will not bake through but remain raw inside until cooled.)

Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes (moving them will be impossible because they are practically liquid inside).
Eat them!

If you want just a few fresh cookies at a time, spread out over a few days, you can freeze the rolled cookie dough balls and bake them frozen whenever you feel a craving (they just need a few extra minutes in the oven). I did this for breakfast this morning and it was delightful!

Shepard's Pie

In winter I'm a big fan of one pot meals, and this one (adapted from a Shape magazine recipe) fits the comfort food craving without being too heavy.

Turkey Shepard's Pie

Serves 4

2 lbs potatoes (3-4 med size), peeled and cut into small pieces
1/4  c low fat sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 c low fat milk
2 scallions, chopped
4 tsp olive oil
small onion, 2 small carrots, and 2 celery stalks, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 tsp each, dried thyme and oregano
28-oz can diced or crushed tomotoes, with juices
salt and pepper


1. boil and mash the potatoes with the sour cream and milk, then blend in the scallions. they should be thin enuogh fo spreading over the top of this dish...if not, add more milk. set aside.

2. heat 2 tsp of the olive oil in a large skillet, and saute the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until tender. remove and set aside.

3. preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

4. heat the reamining olive oil in the skillet and brown the turkey meat. as it cooks add the seasonings.

5. return the veggies to the skillet, and add the tomatoes and bring to simmer. cook until the liquid is nearly evaporated.

6. pour the turkey mixture into a deep 9-inch pie pan or casserole, spread the mashed potatoes on top, and bake until the top is slightly browned and the filling is bubbly, about 12-15 minutes.

Slow-cooked BBQ Brisket and friends

Before I get on to topics in the new year, I need to disgorge some old year items that have been waiting around.

Christmas itself was quiet, and we stuck to our go-to-the-movies/eat-Asian-food tradition. We got ourselves a couple of new Wii games (Sports Resort and Super Mario Brothers). Sports is more enjoyable, and my favorite game is Frisbee golf right now. I would like to appreciate table tennis more, but our TV is too small to handle the split screen in 2 player mode.

Being the Golden Globe nomination season, we saw a bunch of movies toward the end of the year. Among them were Precious, Up in the Air, and Avatar 3D. Precious was bleak but uplifting, and had a realness about it that gave it its power, rather than being emotionally manipulative. Up in the Air was a hope tease but had a great script and great acting. Avatar was visually stunning but sort of dumb (what would you expect from James Cameron).

Before leaving for our NYE vacation we got to cat sit a couple of new furry friends for a few days. They are very cute and friendly, but they move much too fast for photos. However we have many photos of our own guys enjoying the holidays here:

For NYE we met up with my parents and Texas relatives for a couple of days in colonial Williamsburg. I LOVED this place as a kid and I was very excited to see it again. Of course everything seemed much smaller this time, and being winter it was pretty cold and the gardens were not pretty. But with the gray skies and fog you felt like you were transported back in time in a Brigadoon kind of way. Plus, this time around I appreciated the history lectures from the tour guides much more. I'm looking for a fun to read American Revolution history book if anyone has recommendations.

(these swords and hundreds more, and LOADS of guns, decorate the walls in the governor's palace-more pics)

After Williamsburg, Dave and I spent the weekend in Charlottesville, trying our best to be tourists in the bitter cold. Dave was very excited about finding items with my name on them everywhere. Fortunately we had a very nice hotel room, because the morning of our departure I became violently ill and we had to stay an extra day.

On that note, here is some excellent food I made earlier last month:

Slow-cooker BBQ Brisket

1 whole brisket, trimmed of fat
1 cup chicken or beef broth
bay leaf

BBQ sauce ingredients:
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp dried basil
fresh ground pepper (about 1/4 tsp)
(liquid smoke and cayenne pepper would be nice additions that were not available to me at the time)

1. Brown the meat on all sides.

2. Pour the broth in the cooker and place the bay leaf and brisket in it (you might have to cut your meat in 1/2 if you have a small cooker).

3. Mix the sauce ingredients and pour on top of the meat, leaving a nice thick coating.

4. Add some cut up potatoes on top if desired (they absorb sauce and taste rather yummy).

5. Cook for 6-8 hours on Low until the smell is driving you mad with desire, and the meat is pull-apart tender.

6. Bribe your mate with BBQ to get him eating sauteed kale on the side.

Images of the Season

Hanukkah-mobiles are seen all over Squirrel Hill during the holidays:


Big breakfasts keep us warm:



Egg Nog French Toast With Blueberry Syrup

Syrup:
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup

Simmer over med-low heat while cooking the toast.


French Toast:
4 eggs
1/3 cup egg nog
1/2 tsp each, cinnamon and nutmeg

4 slices stale bread (or toast it very lightly to dry it out)
1-2 tbsp butter

Mix the eggs, nog, and spices thoroughly, and soak the bread in the batter. Then fry the bread in butter until the bread is cooked through.

The Littlest Potato

More on that little potato in a moment. First I want to do a recap on happenings around here:


Thanks, New Jersey, for welcoming us for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and for sending us home with a car-load of leftover food.

Turkey Soup:
1/2 onion chopped and sauteed in olive oil, then add
2 celery stalk, 2 carrots, 2 potatoes, diced
2 cups chicken broth + 1 cup water
1 tbsp dried parsley, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp thyme
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1 cup cooked wild rice

I cooked the sauteed onions, herbs, and veggies in the broth until the veggies were tender (about 20 minutes), then stirred in the meat and rice to heat them up.

Mr. M helped me inspect my winter gear before the cold descends. Unfortunately, it still isn't cold enough to get really bundled up.


Today I'm slow cooking the remaining tiny white turnips and carrots from the final CSA delivery of the season, and a chuck steak and bag of fingerling (literally finger-sized) potatoes from this month's Penn's Corner Farm Alliance farm stand.

This tiny little purple potato was in the bag:



In the cooker today we have:
1.5 onions, chopped
1 lb bag fingerling potatoes (yellow, red, purple)
1 lb bag baby white turnips
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 lbs chuck, cubed, trimmed, browned
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
lots of fresh ground pepper
1 cup broth + 1 cup water
2 tbsp dried rosemary liberally sprinkled on top

I'm letting that cook for about 6-7 hours on low, and when it's done, scoop out the meat and big veggie chunks, leaving the onions, little chunks, and juices to puree for sauce.

Chicken and Roots

This slow cooker experiment came out pretty good:

5-ish lbs carrots, baby turnips, and red-skinned potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
ground pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried ground thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried ground sage
1/4 tsp dried ground marjoram
1 cup chicken broth
1 chicken cut into pieces (with skin on)
olive oil
2 cups tomato puree

I placed the veggies on the bottom of the cooker, sprinkled them with all the herbs, salt and pepper, and poured the chicken broth over that.

Then I rubbed the chicken pieces with olive oil, and placed them on top of the veggies. The breasts I left together connected to the sternum in one large piece and put it in skin side down.

Last I poured the tomato puree over top of the chicken and cooked it on Low for 8 hours.

I removed the chicken and veggies from the liquid, and reduced it to make about 2 cups of gravy to serve with the meal. This could go well with some sauteed greens, or other green veggies.

Slow Cookin'

It's the first slow cook of the season!

2 lb chuck roast
5-10 sun-dried tomatoes chopped
handful dried oregano and basil leaves
bay leaf
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic, cloves sliced
3 cups tomato puree (from our own vines)

1) seared the roast in the pan, and put it in the bottom of the cooker

2) sprinkled sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, basil, bay leaf, salt and pepper over the meat in the cooker

3) fried the onions and garlic, poured that over the meat in the cooker

4) deglazed the pan with tomato puree and reduce by 1/3, pour over meat in the cooker.

5) cooked on low for 8 hours

6) OMG I'm losing my mind WFH while slow-cooking smells fill the house....when can we eat!

Curried Zucchini and Tomato Soup

Are you sensing a trend? Well I had some veggies left from the last CSA box and I got a new one yesterday so I had to deal with the veggie overflow. This turned out pretty good.

1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon curry powder (Madras blend)
1 lb zucchini, chopped
1 lb tomatoes, peeled and chopped*
3-4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until softened.

2. Add the curry powder and toss to blend. Saute it for a bit to marry it into the onion.

3. Toss in the zucchini and coat it with the curried onions. Saute for a few minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, broth, and salt.

5. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

6. Puree the soup, and enjoy it topped with some chevre or yogurt.

* Peeling tomatoes is not too cumbersome. Just make some small cuts into the skin at the bottom, and cut all the way around the stem end. Toss them into boiling water for a minute until you see the skin begin to pull away. Take them out and let them cool a bit before slipping the skins off.

Curried Carrot and Fennel Soup

I hate licorice, and fennel has a mild flavor like that so I'm not a fan. However I hate to let food from the CSA box go to waste, so I came up with something palatable after a Google search for recipes.

1 onion, chopped
2 fennel bulbs, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp curry powder (garam masala)
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk or cream
salt and pepper

1. In a large pot saute the onion, fennel, and carrots in the olive oil

2. Add the spices and saute a little bit to marry the flavors.

3. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Puree the soup, and add salt and pepper as needed.

5. Just before serving whisk in the milk/cream.

Pickles

I've been getting a bunch of cucumbers lately from the CSA box, and I'm not a big fan of cucs, but I love dill pickles (and they're so easy to make):

First, slice the cucumbers lengthwise into spears (I like mine pretty narrow so I make 8 spears out of each cuc).

Then stuff as many as you can into a glass jar. If you're using a jar about the size of a pasta sauce jar (about 20 ounces), add the following ingredients to the jar in these amounts:

Salt: 1 tablespoon
Garlic: 2 chopped cloves
Dill: a whole bunch chopped up (about 2 teaspoons of dried dill)
Vinegar: 1/4 cup

(make adjustments if your jar is a different size)

Last, fill up the remaining room in the jar with boiling water. Let it cool down before putting on the lid and marinating in the fridge for at least 2 days.

Little Meats

So I found myself with 4 lbs of pork shoulder butt in the freezer, left over from a Penn's Corner Farm Alliance "Yard Sale" this winter, and I knew it had to be enjoyed before it got freezer burn and too warm to use heat indoors.....Carnitas!!

3-4 lbs pork shoulder, de-boned, all fat left ON, cut into 4" chunks
1 pint bottle of Coke
1 pint bottle of orange juice
1 cup salsa verde
1 cup tomato salsa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup or more rendered bacon fat (or lard) (basically just grab as much pork fat as you can for this dish)

1. Put everything (except the bacon fat) in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours (until the meat is just completely falling apart).

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the meat from the liquids, spread it all out on a large baking dish, and pull it apart to desired bite size chunks.

3. Dollop bacon fat all over the meat. Also you can separate the fat from the cooking liquid and pour that fat on too. (I also reduced the strained, non-fat liquid in a separate pan for gravy).

4. When the oven is hot, put the uncovered dish of meat in for 10-15 minutes, or until browned to the desired level of crispiness. Turn meat over and brown the other side.


5. Serve with warm tortillas and other south-of-the-border accoutrements.


6. Stuff yer face!

Eat Your Greens!

I know that leafy greens are some kind of magical power food that we're supposed to eat every day for the rest of our lives, but let's face it, unless you're a rabbit, greens are pretty boring and some of them (KALE!) are downright tough and nasty.

I decided that I had to try to like them a couple of years ago, and I looked for healthy recipes, but the health nuts only want you to gently steam or saute the greens, maybe with a little garlic and ginger, leaving them still bitter, tough and nasty (and boring).

Well I had an AHA moment last night when we ordered in some Indian food. I always get some kind of saag dish because what better way to eat greens than cooked to mush in butter. MMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Oh Hey! I could totally make this at home. :)

So here's my chicken saag-ish recipe:

1 5-lb chicken, quartered and brined (soak the chicken parts in salty water in the fridge for at least 3 hours before cooking. This tenderizes the meat and helps it retain some moisture), or use 2 breasts, 2 thighs, and 2 drumsticks on the bone.
2 Tablespoons virgin coconut fat (get the unrefined stuff if you can find it)
1 inch ginger peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 cloves garlic minced
2 bunches of greens, chopped (I used chard, but spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens, etc., would probably taste good too. Also, I only used one bunch, but I would use more next time.)
1 cup chicken broth
1 summer squash, chopped (I found a yellow zucchini that gave the dish some nice color.)
1 large tomato, peeled, cored, and diced
1 teaspoon garam masala (or whatever curry powder you have around)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1. Remove the chicken parts from the brine and dry thoroughly, leaving the skin on.

2. In a wide, deep pan heat the coconut fat over medium-high, and brown the chicken parts on all sides in the fat. Remove the chicken and set aside.

3. saute the ginger and garlic in the fat for a couple of minutes, then add the greens and saute until wilted.

4. Add the broth, squash, tomato, spices, and butter, and bring to a boil.

5. Put the chicken back into the pan, nestled among the vegetables.

6. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

7. Once the chicken is done (about 30 minutes), remove it from the pan, remove the skin, and debone the meat. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and set aside.

While you're working with the meat, turn the heat up high and boil the vegetables to reduce the liquid in the pan until thickened into a sauce.

8. Once you have the sauce reduced to the desired level, add the chunks of meat to the pan and stir to heat it thoroughly. Correct the flavor with salt if needed.

This goes great with basmati rice, and we had some leftover naan from the Indian food last night. This would probably be good with other meats like chunks of lamb or beef that were previously braised in another recipe.

Cooking With Fire

I finally got up the nerve to try the gas grill yesterday. The house we're renting has a nice little BBQ grill in the back, but I've never used one of these things, and I found it a bit intimidating. Also I'm afraid of blowing things up.

Last night my first attempt was lamb burgers and grilled eggplant. I found local pasture raised ground lamb at the East End Co-op. I made the patties with an adaptation of the keftedakia (meatballs) recipe in my Greek cookbook. It has lots of fresh parsley, mint, and a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg which smells and tastes fantastic. I kinda winged it with the eggplant, cutting them into discs, weeping them for awhile, then dousing them in balsamic vinegar, garlic and olive oil. I burned the patties a bit, learning that once the grill is hot you have to turn the gas down to low for the cooking, esp when the lid is closed. Oops!

Tonight I cut up a whole chicken, rubbed olive oil into the skin, and threw the pieces on the grill. I also sliced up a zucchini and halved some tomatoes that were gifted from our neighbor's garden, sprinkled them with salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and placed those on once the chicken was up to 100 degrees. Next time I'll try marinating the chicken ahead of time to keep it from getting so tough, and put some grated parmesan on the tomatoes just before the meat's done.

This grilling thing is awesome for keeping the house cool in the summer. I hate to cook when it's hot, and normally I would insist on going out to a restaurant any time it's over 79 degrees indoors, but the grill takes away that excuse. Also things cook way fast. I really need to get a wireless meat thermometer so I don't have to keep going out back every 5 minutes to check on the temp.