Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Easiest Ever Garlic Bread
We’ve all been there. The soup, sauce, or whatever it is you’re making is almost ready and you have completely forgotten about the garlic bread. You madly dash to turn on the broiler and then realize that the soup, sauce, or whatever will be cold by the time the garlic bread is done. A wave of disappointment overtakes you as you realize what you will be missing. But it would be so much better with garlic bread!
The following quickie garlic bread is made for situations such as these. As long as you have a toaster, some olive oil, and a clove of garlic, you’re good. Of course it’s not the same as oven-roasted, butter, garlic, and herb-infused, Parmesan-crusted garlic bread. If you have the luxury of time, by all means go for the fully monty. But if not, or if you just want a few slices of toasted bread lightly touched with garlic to go with your meal, then this recipe is made for you.
Easiest Ever Garlic Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 to 4 slices of rustic bread
- A drizzle of olive oil for each slice
- One large fresh garlic clove
Method
1 Toast one or two slices of bread.
2 Drizzle or brush a little olive oil over one side of the toasted bread.
3 Cut a garlic clove (peel still on) in half, on the diagonal. Gently rub the cut side of the garlic clove over the olive oil-brushed toasted bread.
Alternatively, you can brush the toast with the garlic first, and then drizzle with olive oil or spread with butter. Both ways work.
Tip: If you have leftover slices of garlic bread, cut them up into squares for croutons. Store in an airtight bag or jar at room temp for a day or two. You can also process them in a blender or food processor for garlicky breadcrumbs.
Pork Roast with Cardamom Mushroom Sauce
There are two, no make that three, secrets to making an excellent pork roast. The first is to brine the roast; brining helps the roast retain moisture when it cooks.
The second is to not overcook the pork. Take the roast out at 140 to 145°F; the internal temperature will still continue to rise 5 or 10 degrees. Much higher and you have shoe leather. The third tip is to pair the roast with a wonderful sauce, as pork is rather mild and fares well with a good sauce.
Okay, now that we’ve established the fundamentals, this pork roast with a cardamom onion crust and mushroom sauce is I think, the best pork roast I’ve ever had.
Much of this has to do with the fact that the pork was brined overnight and it was cooked to a perfect temperature, the inside still a little pink. But the sauce really takes this roast out of this world. Creamy, mushroom-y, cardamom-y.
The recipe is (barely) adapted from one in an old Bon Appetit. Normally cardamom is used with Middle Eastern dishes, often with desserts. Who knew that cardamom would work so well in a mushroom cream sauce? This savory sauce is one that I will be making again soon, perhaps next time over chicken breasts.
Pork Roast with Cardamom Mushroom Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Brine:
- 3/4 cup coarse kosher salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 gallon cold water
- 1 tablespoon pepper
Roast:
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium sized onions), divided into 3 x 1/2 cups
- Olive oil
- 2 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom, divided, 2 and 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 4-pound center-cut boneless pork loin roast
- Salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups chicken broth, divided, 1 cup and 1 cup
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 Tbps butter, room temperature
Method
1 Brine the pork roast: Whisk together the salt, sugar, and water until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved. Add the pepper.
Submerge pork in the brine solution and chill for 1 to 2 days. Note that thick, gallon-sized freezer bag is great for brining; if you use one, you probably only need half as much brine solution. Even if you are using a bag, place in a bowl just in case the bag leaks.
Rinse the roast thoroughly of the brine solution before cooking, pat dry.
2 Preheat oven to 350°F.
3 Make onion garlic cardamom rub: Purée 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 teaspoons ground cardamom, and garlic in a food processor or blender.
4 Rub roast with onion purée, surround with mushrooms and onions in roasting pan: Toss remaining 1 cup of chopped onion with mushrooms and 4 Tbsp olive oil in a bowl. Place pork roast in the center of the roasting pan. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper. Rub roast with onion garlic purée. Surround the roast with mushrooms and onions.
5 Roast pork, remove mushrooms, add broth and water: Roast pork 1 hour at 350°F. Remove from oven after one hour and remove the mushrooms, placing them into a large saucepan.
Add 1 cup broth and 1/2 cup water to roasting pan.
Return roast to oven and roast pork until thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 140°F-145°F, about 15-20 minutes longer. Transfer pork to platter; tent with foil.
6 Make mushroom cream sauce with pan drippings: Scrape the drippings from the roasting pan into the pan with the mushrooms. Add the cream, remaining cup of broth, and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom to pan; bring to boil. Blend flour and butter in small cup; mix into mushroom sauce.
Cook the sauce, stirring often, until reduced enough to coat spoon. Season sauce with salt and pepper; serve with pork.
Corned Beef Hash
Have corned beef left over from making corned beef and cabbage? (Yes I know, it’s a stretch, but one can hope.) Make corned beef hash! Chop it up and fry it up with boiled potatoes and serve with runny fried eggs for breakfast.
Or don’t wait (hope) for leftovers, making this hash is a good enough reason to make corned beef in the first place.
It’s easy too. All you do is sauté some onions, add chopped boiled potatoes and chopped cooked corned beef, and let them sizzle in the pan until browned and crispy at the edges. So good!
Do you like to make corned beef hash? If so and you have a different way than described here, please let us know about it in the comments.
Updated from the recipe archive, first posted 2009.
Corned Beef Hash Recipe
If you have leftover cabbage from corned beef and cabbage, feel free to chop that up as well and add that to the hash.
Ingredients
- 2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2-3 cups finely chopped, cooked corned beef
- 2-3 cups chopped cooked potatoes, preferably Yukon gold
- Salt and pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley
Method
1 Sauté onions in butter: Heat butter in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium heat. Add the onion and cook a few minutes, until translucent.
2 Add potatoes and corned beef: Mix in the chopped corned beef and potatoes. Spread out evenly over the pan. Increase the heat to high or medium high and press down on the mixture with a metal spatula.
3 Cook until browned, then flip: Do not stir the potatoes and corned beef, but let them brown. If you hear them sizzling, this is good.
Use a metal spatula to peek underneath and see if they are browning. If nicely browned, use the spatula to flip sections over in the pan so that they brown on the other side. Press down again with the spatula.
If there is too much sticking, you can add a little more butter to the pan. Continue to cook in this manner until the potatoes and the corned beef are nicely browned.
4 Stir in parsley, black pepper to serve: Remove from heat, stir in chopped parsley. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and add salt to taste.
Serve with fried or poached eggs for breakfast.
Friday, September 8, 2017
Caponata, Eggplant Relish
Revised and updated, from the recipe archive. Original recipe posted in 2005. ~Elise
Tucked away in funky Bernal Heights, my old neighborhood in San Francisco, used to lie an Italian trattoria which served exceptional Italian food. The restaurant is long gone, but I still remember fondly the eggplant caponata condiment they served with bread sticks that accompanied every meal. I have no idea if this is even close to the same recipe that the restaurant used, but it is certainly in the right direction.
There are as many recipes for caponata as there are cooks, and there are two main presentations—chopped fine and used as a relish on bread or polenta, or chopped coarse and served almost like an Italian version of ratatouille.
The only apparent constants in caponata are eggplants, onions, olive oil, vinegar, and some sort of tomato product, either tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes or both. Other common ingredients include pine nuts, raisins, capers, olives, celery, basil, bell peppers, garlic, parsley and oregano.
If you don’t eat all your caponata at one sitting, it keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days, and is even better on the second or third day, after the flavors have had a chance to meld.
Caponata, Eggplant Relish Recipe
Our version of caponata is diced fine, like a relish. Serve it on toasted or grilled bread, or with pasta or polenta.
Ingredients
- 1 globe eggplant – about 1 lb, diced
- Salt
- 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1 celery stalk, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4-6 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted green olives, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 2 to 3 Tbsp small capers, drained
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 to 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
Method
1 Toss the diced eggplant with about 2 tablespoons salt and put into a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate that just about fits the bowl and weigh it down with a heavy can. Let this sit for 1 hour. Drain the eggplant, rinse with fresh water and pat dry with paper towels.
2 Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery, season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to soften – about 5 minutes. Add the garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes more. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
3 Wipe the pan with a paper towel, turn the heat to high and add the remaining olive oil. Let this heat until the oil is nearly smoking. Add the eggplant and spread it out in as thin a layer as you can in the skillet. Let this sizzle for 1-2 minutes before stirring, then let it sit for a full minute before stirring again. Cook like this for 5-6 minutes.
4 Add the onion-celery mixture, the tomatoes, olives, pine nuts, capers and red pepper flakes. Stir well. Add the vinegar, sugar and tomato paste and stir once more. Cook, stirring occasionally until eggplant is very soft, about 8 minutes.
5 Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Mix in the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Caponata can be refrigerated, covered, up to 5 days.
Sesame Noodle Salad
Is it hot where you are? We’ve had an unseasonably cool several days, but the weather reports assure us that that’s about to change.
This sesame noodle salad is a perfect cold noodle salad for a hot day. Make the noodles and the dressing ahead of time and let the noodles soak in all the flavor from the dressing (sesame oil, honey, soy sauce).
Then toss it with green onions, cilantro, bell pepper and peanuts right before serving. Yum!
You can also add cubed cooked chicken to the salad to make it a more substantial meal, or some tahini for a creamier sesame flavor. If you take it to a potluck picnic, double the recipe! This one is a crowd pleaser.
Recipe and photos updated, first published 2006
Sesame Noodle Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Honey Soy Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 3 Tbsp dark sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper or chili powder (optional)
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce (less if using tamari which is more concentrated than soy sauce)
Salad:
- 12 ounces of vermicelli, thin spaghetti, or angel hair pasta
- Salt
- 2/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Method
1 Prepare the dressing: Put the dressing ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
2 Cook the pasta: Put the pasta in a large pot in salted boiling water (1 Tbsp salt for every 2 quarts of water). Cook al dente, according to the directions on the pasta package. Drain.
3 Toss with dressing, chill: Stir together the cooked pasta and the dressing in a large bowl until the pasta is well coated. Cover and chill for several hours.
4 Stir in cilantro, peanuts, green onions, bell pepper: When ready to serve, mix in the cilantro, peanuts, green onions and bell pepper. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Spicy Chicken Drumsticks
We often cook all drumsticks or all thighs when we prepare chicken. We love the more flavorful dark meat and the fact that the chicken pieces all get done around the same time. The following recipe is based on one for jerk chicken that my father found in Fine Cooking magazine. Wonderful flavor and the drumsticks cook up quickly.
Spicy Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 green onions (scallions), white and green parts, chopped
- 1/2 habanero or Scotch Bonnet chile (or 3 serrano chilies), seeded and chopped
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for additional seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 10 chicken dumsticks (3 1/2 lbs)
- Olive oil, grapeseed oil, or other high smoke point cooking oil
Method
1 In a food processor, purée the green onions, chilies, vinegar, garlic, thyme, allspice, salt and pepper into a thick paste.
2 Put the drumsticks in a large bowl and coat with the chili paste. Let stand for 10 minutes.
3 Position the oven rack in the center of the oven and set the broiler to high. Coat the bottom of a broiler pan (under the perforated top part of the pan) with oil. (Note that a broiler pan really works best here. A regular baking pan may warp under the high heat of the broiler.) Arrange the drumsticks on the pan and sprinkle generously with salt.
4 Broil chicken, turning once after about 10 minutes. Continue broiling until cooked through (juices run clear when poked with a knife tip) and nicely browned, about 20 minutes total. Note that some pieces may cook faster than others, in which case remove the pieces that are done and continue to cook the rest until cooked through.