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You’re probably wondering by now why Nicooks isn’t baking up a passel of holiday goodies.
This year I was really looking forward to sharing my great-grandmother’s Christmas cookie recipe (it’s the bomb!).
Alas, the baking is on hold until the new year, because … Nicooks is relocating to the Windy City!
When I blogged about my Chicago trip last month, moving there was an extremely remote possibility … now this Southern girl’s going Midwest!
I can’t wait for 2011. Lots of cooking is in store!
I love Sundays because I have time to try out new recipes and get my fill of cooking for the week. Last weekend, it was this Indian-inspired meal.
It started with this recipe in the December issue of Bon Appetit, which let me use up homemade curry powder from a co-worker and the last of my garden carrots. The soup may not look pretty, but it’s easy and super healthy because it uses pureed chickpeas as a thickener.
A search of AllRecipes.com led to this take on naan, the garlicky, sweet flatbread that is my No. 1 reason for visiting any Indian restaurant. The recipe was a good one, but it made way too much for two people (my freezer is holding 14 remaining dough balls right now).
Finally, I improvised on some yogurt-marinated chicken, which turned out to be my hubby’s favorite part of the meal.
Yogurt-marinated chicken
1 whole chicken breast (or 2 chicken cutlets), cut into 1-inch cubes
3 oz. plain Greek yogurt
Handful of chopped fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley and oregano
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt, pepper
Place chicken chunks in sealable plastic bag with yogurt, herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Seal bag, then massage marinade into chicken. Place in fridge for a couple hours.
Heat cast-iron grill pan over high heat. Brush with vegetable oil. Remove chicken from bag and place in pan. Saute 2-3 minutes per side, until chicken has grill marks and is cooked through. Serve with lemon wedges.
I enjoyed the naan slathered with the thick soup and topped with chicken and a squeeze of lemon. Voila — Indian tacos!
One of my favorite cocktails is the Ruby Red. And I discovered last Christmas that candied grapefruit peel is an acceptable substitute when I can’t have vodka. They’re the homemade equivalent of Sour Patch Kids.
A kind reader delivered this treat and shared the recipe with my workplace last holiday season, and I decided to recreate it this year. It’s quite simple; it just takes a couple hours.
Candied grapefruit peel
8 ounces grapefruit peel (from about 1 large grapefruit), cut into thin strips
68 ounces water, divided
12 ounces sugar, divided
1/8 tsp. red food coloring (optional)
In heavy saucepan, combine peel and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook another 10 minutes. Drain off water. Repeat boiling and cooking three more time. This removes the bitter taste in the peel.
In same saucepan, combine 8 ounces of sugar and 4 ounces of water over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add grapefruit peel and red food coloring, if using, and cook until syrup is absorbed and peel is transparent. Do not cook over high heat or peel will caramelize.
Tumble fruit strips in remaining 4 ounces of sugar. Spread on a cookie sheet and cook in a low oven (under 200 degrees Farenheit) for a few hours until dry.
Now, I wonder what I’ll do with all the leftover juice …
No fancy stuff here. I spent three days in Chicago chowing down on affordable, accessible and (mostly) American eats. Betcha can’t guess which one was my favorite!
This is another family recipe my husband didn’t want me to share. But it’s so easy and adaptable. You can add extra veggies for a chunky soup. Or you could serve with grated cheddar, bacon crumbles and green onions and call it baked potato soup.
Potato soup
8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter, divided
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
5 Russet potatoes, cubed (I like Russets for thick and creamy soup, but Yukon Golds work if you want a more crisp texture)
Liberal amount of salt and pepper
Water
1 can evaporated milk
Melt 2 tbsp. butter in heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Saute until onions are clear, 3-5 minutes. Add potatoes, salt and pepper (remember, you are flavoring not only the potatoes but also the veggies and broth — so don’t be shy!). Add water to pot until it just covers the veggies. Bring to boil and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes. Then, add remaining 6 tbsp. butter and evaporated milk. Stir and simmer at least another 30 minutes. It gets better the longer it sits, especially overnight in the fridge.
This is probably my favorite broth-based soup. Its real name is too long, so I’m calling it Dream Soup because it combines four of my favorite ingredients: Sweet potato, sausage, beans and garlic.
This week we got some great kale in the Produce Box. I’ve never eaten kale any other way, but I think it was made just for this soup. It’s so hearty and delicious.
Here’s the recipe (adapted from MyRecipes.com):
Dream Soup
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
One onion, diced
1 tsp. salt, divided
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 links hot Italian sausage, casings removed
3 medium sweet potatoes, skinned and cubed
3 cups water
5 cups chicken stock
1 lb. kale, washed, trimmed and torn
1 can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Heat olive oil in heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, 1/2 tsp. salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Saute 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add sausage and break up with spatula. Cook until sausage is brown, about 8 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, water and stock. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in kale and the other 1/2 tsp salt. Cover pot and cook another 10 minutes, until kale is wilted and bright green. Stir in beans. Serve immediately or let simmer as desired.
One of my colleagues has a weekly cooking show. I enjoy editing his recipes for the website (and by editing, I just mean for grammar, style and consistency. I’m not a professional recipe tester — yet). But the best part about his show is I get to taste nearly everything he makes. When I tasted his Jerk Chicken, I immediately knew it was one of his best. (The Seafood Pot Pie and Brunswick Stew are neck-and-neck, too).
A few weeks later, I had three habanero peppers on hand, and they were the inspiration for making Ken’s jerk marinade at home. Most of the other ingredients are pantry staples around my house — allspice, cloves, cinnamon. I put the jerk marinade on chicken *and* baby back ribs … because what’s better than pork?
The ribs marinated for two days before they took a trip to the oven and then the smoker. What was left of the marinade was boiled down, then pureed. It made a nice dipping sauce in contrast to its caramelized counterpart on the ribs.
I highly recommend serving the ribs with applesauce (if you read my last entry, you know where that came from). It may not be island authentic, but the applesauce really cools down the heat from the jerk. And the combination of pork + apples never gets old.
The apples were multiplying in the fridge. Despite taking one for lunch nearly every day, I just couldn’t use them up.
So how do two people use up 10 apples in one day? The answer was in The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook, a frequent source of inspiration. I made an Apple Pizette. The recipe calls for ‘good quality’ applesauce. What better quality can one get than homemade? So, on Sunday morning, I set to work on Ina Garten’s Homemade Applesauce, halving the recipe and using six various types of red apples.
Later that day, I rolled out the puff pastry, spread it with the applesauce, and topped it with 4 sliced green apples.
Here’s where I found out why bakery treats are so yummy: They seriously overdo it on the good stuff. Let’s just say even *I* had a hard time drenching the pastry in more than 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and a half-cup of strained apricot jam. But when I bit into the pizette I knew — more really is, well, more!
I knew the husband liked it before he even went back for seconds; it was when he said “It tastes like a really good Toaster Strudel …” Good, then it’s a perfectly suitable breakfast, right?
Apple Pizette
Adapted from The Sono Baking Company Cookbook
1/2 pound frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup good-quality applesauce
4 green apples, cored and sliced (my green apples were locally grown and smallish. If you buy Granny Smith in the store, you could use about 2)
2.5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup apricot jam
On floured surface, gently unfold and run rolling pin over puff pastry, to get rid of creases. Transfer to a baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes.
Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 425. While dough is chilling, slice apples and melt butter.
Pour the applesauce onto the center of the dough and spread over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping rows across the dough. Brush (or drizzle) with melted butter, then dust heavily with confectioners’ sugar.
Bake 25-30 minutes, rotating sheet after about 15 minutes. While the pastry is baking, heat the apricot jam. Strain through a fine strainer.
Remove pizette from oven, and while it is still warm, brush apricot liquid over the top. Using a pizza wheel, cut into squares and serve warm.
Give me a bowl of chili and some tortilla chips, and I can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This chili went quite far, giving us a couple lunches, a couple dinners and many random snacks.
I don’t want to get into all the chili arguments, such as beans vs. no beans, veggies vs. no veggies, etc. This is how *I* like it — take this recipe and adjust it to your liking.
Chili
Extra virgin olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
Assortment of peppers (I used jalapenos, green bell and dried cayenne), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt, pepper
1 can beer
Packet chili seasoning
1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds
3 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans tomato soup
Heat drizzle of olive oil in heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat. Add beef, onions, peppers, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute 2-3 minutes. While meat is still pink, add can of beer. Let liquid finish cooking meat. Add seasoning, coriander, kidney beans and tomato soup. Fill empty tomato soup cans with water, and add it to the pot. Mix everything together well. Bring chili to boil, then reduce heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Simmer at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.
Baked corn tortilla chips
6-10 corn tortillas
Canola oil
Salt, pepper
Preheat oven to 350. Brush corn tortillas lightly with oil. Cut tortillas into quarters. Space chips 1/4 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper while chips are still warm.
You might’ve heard Wilmington got a wee bit of rain the last week of September. 22 inches in five days, to be exact. This soup was extremely comforting during the sogginess.
Most of the ingredients were leftovers stored in the freezer/fridge: chicken stock, noodles, shredded chicken. Add in some chopped vegetables and dried herbs, and you’re good to go.
Chicken noodle soup
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
2 teaspoons dried herbs, such as parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme
1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Salt, pepper
1 mason jar (12 ounces) chicken stock
4 mason jars water
About 1 pound shredded chicken
1/2 pound fresh or frozen egg pasta (I used bucatini)
Over medium heat, saute vegetables in butter until soft, about 15 minutes. Add spices, and cook another two minutes.
Add stock, water and chicken. Simmer 15-20 minutes. When ready to serve, bring soup to a boil, drop in pasta and boil until al dente. Serve hot.
Nicole M. Markle 