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Simple Pleasures

23 Mar

Sometimes I just want feel-good food.  On Wednesday, that consisted of Gruyere Macaroni and Cheese.  Mike added yummy chicken dumplings to the mix from Trader Joes, poured a bottle of wine, and we had ourselves a carb loaded feast!

The Mac and Chee was pretty good, but it was missing the bite I wanted from the gruyere.  Perhaps next time I’ll eliminate the cheddar altogether and just go hog wild with the gruyere.



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Gruyere Macaroni and Cheese (thank you to Ina Gardner at Food Network)

Ingredients 

  • Kosher salt
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
  • 1 quart milk
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
  • 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small) – We went sans tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed) – We used regular bread crumbs from the store

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it.
  4. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk.
  5. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth.
  6. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.
  7. Optional: Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top.
  8. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top.
  9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

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Hearty Home Cooking

19 Mar

On Saturday night, I was in the mood for a hearty meal.  Mike and I decided to make pot roast and roasted red potatoes.

I pulled a recipe off of AllRecipes.com (I just love consumer ratings!) and it looked good with wine and brandy in the recipe.  I did some replacing, such as taking out the celery (since I’m not a fan), and adding turnips.  We also coudn’t find a prime boneless beef chuck roast, so we got a boneless beef top round roast (which may have been a problem, since I believe it’s less fatty).  We also missed a part of the directions that said we should turn down the temperature of the oven, so that may have dried it out.  I also noted there was just something missing.  I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but it just didn’t have the depth of flavor I like.  I think next time I’ll use less thyme and add more acid (such as a balsamic vinegar or coca cola).




As for the potatoes… WOW!  They were amazing.  I kind of made them up as I went along after looking at a few recipes.  They were like delicious, home fries.


Update: I had the pot roast sauce with the root vegetables as leftovers over noodles.  I stirred some balsamic into the sauce and it was perfection.

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Pot Roast

Ingredients:

  • 1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • All-purpose flour
  • Good olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
  • 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
  • 2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks) – we substitued for 1 white turnip
  • 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks)
  • 5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy
  • 2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
  • 1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • 3 branches fresh thyme
  • 2 branches fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • Balsamic Vinegar to taste (we didn’t add this the first time, but proved necessary)
     

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper.
  3. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends.
  4. In a large Dutch oven (we used a large cast iron pot and fashioned a lid out of foil), heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.
  5. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
  6. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery (we used turnips instead), leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned.
  7. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil.
  8. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. (I’d also add the balsamic here)
  9. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. (I made a spice ball out of cheese cloth) 
  10. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover.
  11. Place in the oven for 1 hours, Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer. Cook another 1.5 hours until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally.
  12. Remove the roast to a cutting board.
  13. Remove the herb bundle and discard.
  14. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. (we had none)
  15. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth.
  16. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer.
  17. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened.
  18. Taste for seasonings.
  19. Remove the strings from the roast (if there are any), and slice the meat.
  20. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.

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Roasted Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • About 8 Roasted Red Potatoes (washed and cut into quarters or smaller)
  • 1 stick of buter
  • Your selection of spices (I went with rosemary, basil, italian seasoning, and a hint of thyme)
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Put butter and all spices into a microwave safe dish
  2. Melt butter in microwave and taste for your likeness, add salt and pepper as desired (I put kosher salt over the top in the end as well)
  3. Add a dash of olive oil to the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking
  4. Mix potatoes and butter in a large bowl until thoroughly coated
  5. Place in a roasting/baking pan so there is a single layer of potatoes
  6. Roast for about 40-50 minutes until potatoes are browned and tender

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An easy and delicious evening meal

11 Mar

Mike and I decided to cook last Friday night.  Originally I intended to make my famous Kasha Varnishkas, however, the grocery store near me didn’t have any Kasha, so we had to make new plans. 

We opted for a menu of “Awesome Honey Glazed Pork Chops” (recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com), roasted butternut squash with chestnuts, and a simple, yet delicious Rice-A-Roni Long Grain & Wild Rice.  The entire meal took about 15 minutes to prep, however, the roasting of the squash and the cooking of the Rice-A-Roni made the entire meal cookable in a little over an hour.  If you need a good meal and don’t want to put too much effort into it, I highly recommend this combination! 

The hardest part was the squash, which had to be cut up into little pieces.  Thankfully my brandy new pealertook the skin off the squash with ease.  The problem, however, became cutting the slippery squash! 

It all worked out in the end, however:

The leftover squash and chestnuts with the honey pecan sauce were absolutely incredible the next day.

Without further ado, here are the recipes:

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Awesome Honey Pecan Pork Chops (check the link to see it and the comments on allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

  • 1 1/4 pounds boneless pork loin, pounded thin (we used thin cut pork chops)
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans (we doubled this to 1/2 cup since it didn’t look like enough)

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a shallow dish, mix together flour, salt and pepper. Dredge pork cutlets in the flour mixture.
  2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chops, and brown both sides. Transfer to a warm plate.
  3. Mix honey and pecans into the pan drippings. Heat through, stirring constantly. Pour sauce over cutlets.

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Roasted Butternut Squash and Chestnuts
(This was originally a recipe for Sweet Potatoes that I revised slightly. Thanks to Aunt Linda for the inspiring original recipe)

Ingredients:
Squash or Sweet Potatoes
Steamed/cooked Chestnuts (I buy them in a box from Trader Joes and Asian Markets usually sell them)
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Directions:

NOTE:  Start them in a cold oven, it has something to do with getting them warm, but not too quickly
 
Cover a cookie sheet with foil.  Spray with Pam.
 
For squash: Peal it.  For sweet potatoes: Scrub potatoes well.  Dry with a paper towel. Cut off skinny ends.

Slice into pieces about ½ inch thick.
 
Dump into bowl and add some salt and pepper.  Not too much.  Then pour about 1 ½ tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil into you hands and rub both sides of each round. (I stirred them all in a bowl and made sure it was evenly coated… it turned out fine)
 
Place in single layer on the cookie sheet.  Cover tightly with foil.  Put into cold oven.    Turn oven to 425.  Bake for 30 mins.
 
Remove from oven and remove the top layer of foil.   Return to oven for another 15-25 mins, until the bottom edges of the rounds are golden brown.
 
Remove from oven and flip over each round.  Return to oven for another 15-18 mins.

Throw the chestnuts in with the squash and roast another 3-5 minutes until bottoms of the squash are golden brown and chestnuts are warmed.
 
Try not to eat them all before sitting down to dinner.

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Rice-A-Roni

Buy.
Read.
Follow directions.
Eat.

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Happy Nomming!

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