Chicken Stock
March 13, 2011
Simple and delicious
Lots of great meals start with a good stock. While it’s perfectly respectable to use the ready made stuff you buy from the super market (preferably organic), with a few minutes of prep on a weekend afternoon you can create your own fantastic stock.
There are very few rules to making stock so use your imagination and impart whatever flavors you like. For me I start with whatever root veggies I have on hand, some fresh herbs, and of course some free range organic chicken from the butcher. The carcass/bones of a whole chicken is ideal (and cheap!) but a few legs will work just fine.
Get yourself a big pot. The one in the picture above is 8 quarts and typically yields approximately 4 liters of stock.
- 2 chicken legs, or the bones from a whole chicken
- 1 sweet potato
- carrots
- celery
- 1 red onion
- few sprigs of fresh rosemary
- few sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2-3 dried bay leaves
- 1 tsp whole pepper corns
Put all the ingredients into the pot and fill with cold tap water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to the lowest possible simmer and cook for at least 3 hours.
Stock will keep in the fridge for a few weeks or several months in the freezer. Hint: freeze the stock in ice cube trays and then store in a big zip lock bag for convenient access later on.
Hot and Sour Soup
March 12, 2010
Hot and sour and so tasty.
When I lived in the north end of Toronto, I used to frequent a restaurant called Peking Man for lunch. They served the best Hot and Sour soup. Since moving south, I’ve been searching for an equal alternative with very little success.
The missus gave me a Thai cook book for my birthday “Thai Cooking: The Food and the Lifestyle” (ISBN 978-1-4075-4923-1) and the Hot and Sour soup recipe had the right flavor but lacked the right texture. Then I picked up another book “Thai & Asian” from a Costco in Vegas which introduced some great elements but lacked the right taste.
What follows is an amalgamation of the two recipes. It’s awesome.
- 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 4-6 fresh green chili’s, seeded and finely chopped
- 6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 4 ounce pork fillet, cut into fine strips
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp corn starch
- 6 cups good quality stock (I use chicken, but any will do)
- 2 lemon grass stalks, cut in half
- 4 ounces canned water chestnuts
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of brown sugar
- juice of 1 lime
- 5 ounces fresh firm tofu
- 1 tbsp oil (any will do)
Preparation
The first few times I attempted this dish I used a semi-thick aluminum wok (medium sized). Then I picked up a large mild steel thin wok and the dish seemed to suddenly turn out much better. Keep that in mind.
- Place the dried mushrooms in a large bowl. Boil some water (or use a kettle) and pour over the mushrooms just to cover. Hint: use something to weight down the mushrooms while they soak. Soak until the mushrooms are fully hydrated, about 1 hour.
- Combine the chili’s and vinegar and soak.
- Drain the mushrooms (keep the water) and slice thinly.
- Dust the strips of pork with some of the corn starch.
- Mix the remainder of the corn starch with 2/3 cup of the water used to soak the mushrooms.
- Heat the oil in the wok and fry the onion until soft over medium heat.
- Increase the heat and fry the pork until it changes colour.
- Add the stock, mushrooms, lemon grass, water chestnuts, soy sauce, lime juice, and sugar.
- Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the chili and vinegar mixture.
- Stir in the corn flour mixture to thicken.
- Add the tofu and cook for 1-2 minutes.
As-Good-As-Restaurant Butter Chicken
March 12, 2010
Steaming butter chicken on a bed of basmati rice
Butter chicken has to be my absolute favorite Indian dish in the restaurant. It took several recipe attempts, but I think I have found one that has to be as good as the restaurant and maybe even better!
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- salt
- 1/2 cup plain unsweetened yogurt
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1″ piece of fresh ginger
- 2 tsp tandoori masala
- 1 ½ tbsp butter
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 4 cardamom pods (green)
- 1″ piece of cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 large tomatoes, pureed
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2-3 green chili’s, finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
Preparation
Whenever a recipe calls for tomatoes and sugar, the sugar is usually intended to counter the acidity of the tomatoes. The amount of sugar needed is often relative to the awesomeness of your tomatoes. If you plucked the tomatoes from the vine in the middle of summer, you might not even need any sugar. If you buy tomatoes from the grocers in the middle of winter, you might need a lot more sugar. What it comes down to is taste. Add the base sugar amount and taste. Then adjust accordingly.
- Smash the ginger and garlic into a paste using a mortar and pestle.
- Wash the chicken pieces well and cut into bite size pieces.
- In a mixing bowl combine the lemon juice, 2 tsp of the ginger and garlic paste, tandoori masala, red chili powder, pinch of salt and yogurt.
- Add the chicken pieces, cover and marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours (ideally over night).
- Place the chicken pieces on a baking sheet and cook under the broiler (top rack) for 5-7 minutes per side. Time may vary depending on broiler intensity, distance to rack, and size of chicken pieces.
- In a medium size sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat (careful not to burn the butter).
- Add the cardmom, bay leaf, and cinnamon. Fry for about a minute.
- Add 2 tsp of the garlic and ginger paste and fry for about 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes and green chili’s and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer on low for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes have reduced almost to the desired consistency.
- Add the sugar and mix well.
- Add the chicken pieces and cream. Mix and bring to boil.
- If the consistency is good, take it off the heat and serve. Otherwise, reduce until the desired consistency is reached.
Birthday Timpano
March 11, 2010
Several months back I had a birthday; the perfect occasion to attempt a dish of magnificent proportions.
Full of so much awesome it makes you want to cry a little.
Normally I like to keep my posts short and sweet with just the bare essentials for preparing the dish. Timpano is different. It deserves (requires) much more attention. Read on for all the nitty gritty details, plenty of pictures, and some tips based on what we learned preparing this feast.
Read the rest of this entry »
Ancho Chocolate Short Ribs with Chile Rellenos
November 15, 2009
Ancho Chocolate Short Ribs
I made this for dinner last night. Quite labour intensive, but delicious!
1. First, put 5lbs of short ribs, 1 tablespoon of peppercorns, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 bay leaf, 10 smashed garlic cloves, and 1 of the quartered onions into a large pot. Cover with water, and simmer for 2 hours.
2. Put 2 tomatoes and 1 quartered onion on a sheet pan, and drizzle with olive oil. Chop the top off a head of garlic, wrap it in tinfoil, and toss it on the sheet pan. Put it in the oven for 1 hour at 400 F.
3. Seed and de-stem 15 dried ancho chiles. Tear the chiles into pieces. Wear gloves. Seriously.
4. Once the tomatoes, onion and garlic done, toss the tomatoes, onion and garlic in the blender (squeeze the head of garlic, and all the goop will come out). Puree. You may need to add a splash of water to make it come together. Also, don’t bother to clean the blender after this step. You’ll use it again for the same sauce.
5. When the meat is done, remove it from the pot and put aside. Strain the cooking liquid and discard the rest of the stuff from the pot.
6. Add 3 cups of the cooking liquid to the chiles and let sit for 15 minutes.
7. Put the mixture in the blender and puree.
8. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pot on medium heat. Add the chile puree and stir until heated through. Add the tomato puree and 3 cups of the cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer, then put the meat back to the pot. Simmer on low-medium heat for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.
9. Add one 110 gram bar of Mexican chocolate, finely chopped, to the sauce at the very end. Stir until melted. Voila!
I served it with sweet potato mash. No recipe. Just boil chopped sweet potato until soft, mash, add butter, salt, pepper and milk to taste.
Chile Rellenos
Tyler Florence makes it look so easy. It was not.
1. Broil 6 poblano peppers in the oven (or roast over an open flame) until blistered.
2. Put peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap for a couple of minutes. Rub the skins off very gently.
3. Make one long slit down the length of the peppers. Open up the peppers very carefully to de-seed and remove the ribs. This is really hard, so do it slowly. I even made extra peppers because I assumed that I would mess this up.
4. Fill the peppers with crumbled queso fresco. Stick a toothpick through the peppers to close the seam.
5. Dredge the peppers in flour.
6. Beat 6 egg whites until stiff peaks form, then dip the peppers into the mixture.
7. Heat a pan with 1/4 inch of oil at the bottom on medium/high heat (depending on your stove – mine is really hot). Fry the peppers until golden, then put on paper towels.
8. Put the peppers in a 350 F oven for 10 minutes to heat the cheese through.
Voila!
Tomato Sauce From Scratch
November 14, 2009
Mouth watering spaghetti
A good meat based tomato sauce is the staple of dozens of recipes. Until recently, I made my sauce from a mixture of crushed tomatoes and canned spaghetti sauce until I was introduced to this recipe. It’s relatively simple and the end product is awesomely tasty.
Yields ~8 cups.
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 3-5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- 1 cup fresh basil, diced
- 1 cup red wine
- 2x 28 oz can of whole tomatoes
- 2-3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes, or chili powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 lb ground beef
Tomatoes
I suppose if you want to consider this a truly “from scratch” recipe, then you should start with some good fresh tomatoes. Blanch them in boiling water until the skins are loose and wrinkled. Throw them into cold water to cool. Remove the skins and dice. I have yet to try this so your millage may vary.
If you use canned tomatoes, splurge and buy the good stuff! Trust me, it makes all the difference in the world. The tomatoes I use I get from a local butcher, imported from Italy; “Solania – San Marzano” tomatoes. At $4 CAD per can, they aren’t cheap but well worth it.
The amount of sugar needed is relative to the acidity of your tomatoes. Better quality tomatoes will require less sugar. I like to start with 2 tbsp of sugar mixed with the spices and add more later if needed.
Preparation
- Crush fennel seeds, chili, and oregano into a powder in a mortal and pestle. Then add the sugar and grind until combined (spices courtesy of another drunkard).
- In a large pot sauté onions in the olive oil over low heat, covered, for 10-12 minutes.
- Add garlic and basil and re-cover for ~5 minutes.
- Add the wine and reduce by about half (uncovered).
- Add tomatoes, spices, and a teaspoon or two of salt.
- Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Turn down the heat to a low simmer. Periodically check the flavour. If it’s too sour, add more sugar.
- Continue cooking until the desired consistency is reached. The further you reduce the sauce, the more intensified the flavours become.
Just before the sauce is ready, fry the ground beef and add it to the sauce. I like to finely chop one shallot and 1-2 cloves of garlic and throw them into the frying pan before adding the beef. Give the beef a good mashing with side of a wooden spoon while frying to ensure there are no large chunks sticking together.
Tip: You know all that liquid you usually dump down the drain after frying beef? Well, if you buy good quality meet don’t drain it! Dump the whole lot into the sauce… that’s tasty stuff in there. Just don’t tell anyone you did that.
About leftover risotto
November 8, 2009
May I suggest stuffing leftover risotto in a hollowed-out tomato, topping it with a mixture of bread-crumbs and herbs, then baking in the oven for 30 minutes? No?
How about I suggest forming the risotto into balls, rolling in egg-wash, dredging in bread crumbs then frying until golden brown? No again? Well forget you. You can just throw your leftover risotto in the garbage then.
Risotto with squash and truffles, and Robiolo Fonduta
November 4, 2009
I saw this recipe in the Globe and Mail a couple of weeks ago, and the author was Massimo Capra from one of my favourite fancy restaurants, Mistura. Naturally, I had to try it, but first, I needed to make some stock as I had recently run out. Lucky for me, I had a turkey carcass leftover from the turkey we smoked over the summer. Check out this bad boy!
Homemade Smoked Turkey Broth
1 Turkey carcass, cut up in chunks
1 Onion, skin left on, quartered
2 Carrots and 2 ribs of Celery, cut up in chunks
Pour a little olive oil in a big pot (or two, if you, like me, don’t have a stock pot), and sweat the veggies for a couple of minutes. Add the turkey pieces, and brown a little. Toss in a splash of white wine, and let it evaporate. Then cover with water and simmer until your whole house and wardrobe smells like soup.
Risotto
Method
Sweat the onion in the oil until golden, using a heavy-bottom pot, add the squash and cook for a minute, add the rice and let toast a few minutes, then add the wine, let evaporate well and add enough stock to cover the rice by an inch.
Simmer gently, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add more stock as needed. I didn’t use the full 8 cups.
When the rice is cooked, turn the fire off and add some butter and the truffle paste.
For the fonduta
In a saucepan at medium heat melt the butter and then add the flour, stirring well to eliminate lumps. Add the milk and continue heating until it reaches the boiling point. Remove from heat and add the cheese. Whip it well to melt the cheese. Keep warm and do not overheat.
Place a scoop of fonduta on the bottom of a flat plate and spread to the edge of the bowl. Place the risotto in the middle on top and voila! You’re big pimpin’.
roasted pepper soup w/ an orange nose
October 24, 2009
This soup is an exercise in making the most of the ingredients you have on hand. For instance, I had an abundance of peppers – yellow, orange, red & purple – from the local farmer’s market since it was a slow day. (I typically shop the Saturday market at the end of the day, when prices drop in a push to move produce.) It is inspired by Matthew Drennan’s SOUP simply sensational book, which has a cold roasted red pepper soup recipe with orange zest and juice in it. My homage includes roasted peppers and a hint of orange in the aroma or bouquet of the soup. The citrus I use is an extra virgin olive oil infused with blood orange, made by the Grapevine Trading Company.
roasted pepper soup w/ an orange nose
- 6 peppers, varied colours
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 cooking onion, quartered
- 1 head of garlic
- extra virgin olive oil, blood orange
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- salt & pepper to taste
SOUP:
1> Preheat the oven to 400’F.
2> In a bowl, cover one head of garlic cloves (broken apart but not peeled) in oil. Toss and let sit while preparing the peppers. Core, seed and roughly quarter peppers. Spread them out on a baking sheet, along with the onion. Scatter the garlic cloves on the sheet. In the bowl formerly used for the garlic, toss the tomatoes with a drizzle of oil and salt to taste. Scatter the tomatoes on the sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
3> Remove from the oven, and pick out the garlic cloves. Squeeze garlic from the paper casing into a heavy bottom soup pot. Transfer the roasted veggies into the pot, ad the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the water, and leave simmering for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4> Remove from heat. Using a hand blender on low, puree the entire soup. Increase blender speed while moving in a circular pattern through the soup to achieve desired consistency.
Enjoy!
A note on God’s Lamb Chops
October 16, 2009
I’m getting some from Phil! He’s ordering another box, and we’re going in on it with him. I’ll save you a pack of two, my friend!
jiggak
ggellner
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