Bean Dip

Hey,
  I had made some pinto beans earlier in the week. As is always the case, I usually have more than I can eat. So, I made some bean dip. It really is a treat, so here it is.
   About 3 cups cooked pinto beans ( cooked soft and mashed )
   1/2 small onion chopped
   1 Roma tomato diced
   1-4.5 oz. can diced green chills
   3 diced chipotle peppers
   2 Tbs. chopped cilantro
   1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
   salt to taste
  Put all ingredients into a  mixing bowl and stir till well mixed. Place in a microwaveable dish and microwave till thoroughly heated through. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy

What more sausage?

   So it was sausage on Sunday, sausage on Monday, and with this new kick on my mind I had to try sausage poached in white wine, then cut into bite sized pieces and used in risotto with shrimp and basil and parsley. Pretty good, though not quite as full flavored as sausage poached in red wine.
   Just so you don't think one can live on sausage alone, Monday evening we had some chicken breast sauteed with garlic, rosemary, sliced green olives, capers, some lemon and white wine. That was a very enjoyable dish.
    Ciao for now,  Garlichut

Sausag dish # 2

With the leftover sausage, and the rest of the ingredients already on hand, what was I to do? This is the follow up dish to yesterdays red wine braised sausage.
   4 red potatoes cut into chunks
   1 red bell pepper cut into chunks
   1/2 yellow onion 1 inch dice
   1 bunch broccoli rape cooked as you like it, sauteed or shallow poached
   5-6 links of the red wine braised Italian sausage cut into 1 inch pieces
   1/2 pound fontina cheese shredded or cut into small chunks
   Pecorino romano cheese
   I put the potatoe pieces in an 8+8 glass baking dish and drizzled with just enough olive oil to coat when tossed. Put in a 400 degree oven and stir occasionally to keep from sticking. When the potatoes are lightly browned, add the red pepper pieces and onion. Cook, stiring occasionally till the peppers and onion are soft and slightly browned. Add the sausage pieces and cook till heated through. About 10 minutes. Then add the broccoli rape and cook another 10 minutes. Srir the ingredients and top with the two cheeses and bake for another 5 min.. We had this dish for lunch with crusty bread and a liberal dose of chopped  hot pepper. Woah, I know that I'll be making this dish again.

     Cioa for now, Garlichut

New Jersey food

Well I got to Jersey yesterday early, after an all nighter. 500 mi. I pulled some sweet Italian sausage from the freezer. As it sat thawing, I was contemplating how to do something different with it. I saw a half full bottle of red wine on the counter and it reminded me of the chicken and sausage dish. I also saw a little leftover tomato sauce in the fridge. So the wheels start to turn and I figured, how about sausage braised in red wine with peppers and onions. That was sounding pretty good, but the dilemma came from the direction of a lot of greens and vegetables that needed to be used up. Escarole that was definitely on its last leg if it wasn't used, broccoli I had brought up from my fridge and broccoli rape that they also had. As my limited energy began to fade, the meal turned into a compromise. I poached the sausage in water, then put it into a saucepan with enough wine and tomato sauce to cover the sausage. I added a little sage, but I think some rosemary would have been just as interesting. Next time. The sausage simmered for at least 2 hours to make it fork tender. The broccoli rape didn't get used. I cooked the escarole as a side dish. I made some penne and broccoli and just served the sausage as the protein portion of the meal. It was all really good, but the sausage was especially noteworthy. It had a really rich flavor.
  So, now this new flavor is itching for a dish of it's own. One possibility that came to mind, and I think that I'm going to have to try some time, is sausage, roasted potatoes and red bell peppers, and  broccoli rape topped with some pecorino Romano and fontina cheese. Could be a dish to remember

Holiday Food

  The menu for Sundays food at the Olsons' house was, Salad, Homemade bread, Potato salad, Cole slaw, Crab stuffed flounder, and Fresh berries and Sabayon
   Cole slaw:
   1 head finely sliced cabbage
   1/2 red onion thinly sliced 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
   12 oz. diced green chilies
   1 Tbs. salt
   juice from 2 limes
   4 diced garlic cloves
   1/3 cup olive oil
   1 oz. sesame oil
   Combine first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then in a small saute pan, heat the oils and garlic over med. heat. Cook till garlic simmers about a minute. Do not brown garlic. Then add to slaw. Mix thoroughly and chill.
   Very interesting flavors

   Potato salad:
   10 each small red and purple potatoes, boiled till tender
   1 rib celery thinly sliced
   1/4 red onion thinly sliced
   3 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
   1/3 cup chopped parsley
   1 tsp. dry mustard
   2 chipotle peppers finely chopped
   1 tsp. salt
   1/3 cup mayonnaise
   Mix all ingredients thoroughly and chill.
   This dish also had good and unusual flavors
  

Pizza party

Hi all,
   So far no one is able to comment on the meal we have had. Too full to comment. The various pizzas prepared were delightful... each and every one. Never had sage on a pizza before but it was great. All of the pizzas were prepared right before our eyes with fresh rolled crust. Bob is a culinary genius.

Beef Paprikash

   I made this dish because I had a bunch of sirloin tips leftover from trimming out a couple of whole sirloins. The sirloin is certainly nice stuff to work with, but regular stew meat would work just as well. I picked this dish probably because I've been making Beef Bourguignone a little to much and I was looking for a different flavor. Mission accomplished.


    3 oz. veg oil
   1 green pepper diced
   2 yellow onions diced
   3 cloves garlic
   chicken stock or water, enough to just cover all ingredients
   4 TB. paprika
   3 lbs. beef  stew sized pieces
   flour for dredging
   Salt and pepper to taste
     
    In a heavy bottomed braising pan or stock pot heat 1 oz. veg oil, add the green pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and  cook till onion is softened and slightly translucent. Add stock or water and reduce heat to simmer.
   In a separate saute pan, over med. heat just enough oil to cover bottom of pan and brown the dredged pieces of beef. It will take about 4-5 batches to cook it all. After each batch is browned on all sides, add to pepper and onion mixture. when all the beef has been cooked and added to the pot, cover and simmer for about 2 hours or until beef is very tender.
   I first served this dish over egg noodles. Since then I've had it over rice. It can also be served with mashed potatoes. Feeling ambitious?  It would be great over gnocchi.
   Well this dish, that I don't make often enough, was so enjoyable, I don't really know what to say, except, try it and enjoy.

   Ciao for now, Garlichut
  

Just for kicks

So, Ever since the Super Bowl party that I went to, I've wanted to make the breaded chicken tenders that I made in the place of traditionalchicken wings. I particularly enjoyed the tenders with Franks Redhot sauce. So, what pops into my mind? Well I just finished having the breaded chicken fingers on a tortilla with a little melted Monterey jack cheese, sliced avocado, some citantro, a little lettuce and a liberal splash of hot sauce. It might not exactly be health food, but OMG it was good. Try it and enjoy.

   Ciao for now,  Garlichut

     

Easter is coming

  With Easter coming this week, I've turned my thoughts towards the flavors of the Easter feast. The main portion of Easter feasts often being the great stand alone flavors of turkey, ham, or lamb, I started to think about complimentary flavored side dishes.
  Some of the side dishes I've made to complement holiday meals are:
   String Beans with olive oil garlic mushrooms and thyme
   Brussels sprouts lightly browned and simmered in chicken stock
   Broccoli blanched with some melted butter and bread crumbs
   Sweet potatoes baked peeled sliced and glazed
     A glaze can be simply some brown sugar and balsamic vinegar simmered to thicken. Or add one of your favorite spirits to the glaze, such as cognac, Bourbon, jack Daniels or whatever
   Scalloped potatoes are one of my favorite sides

  Whatever your holiday meal consists of, always remember to keep it simple and enjoy
  Have a great holiday and Ciao for now,   Garlichut
 

Spinach and feta

   Some neighbors were over for dinner last night. I made spinach and feta stuffed mushrooms as an app.. I had more filling than I needed, so as usual, I put it into a ramekin and saved it for today.  Today while I was heating up some leftover potatoes in the toaster oven, I put the Spinach and feta mixture in the oven also. I enjoy that little dish of spinach and feta so much, I decided that I had to share it with whomever might want to make it. It would make a great and unusual vegetable to accompany just about any main course.

   1 bag cleaned and washed spinach
   1/2 bunch green onions, white part only finely chopped
   1 clove garlic minced
   1 tsp. olive oil
   4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
   1 egg lightly beaten
   1/4 cup romano cheese
   fresh ground black pepper to taste

   Cook spinach in a pot with a little water till wilted. Set aside in a colander to drain and cool. In a small saute pan heat the oil, onion, and garlic until softened.  Squeeze out as much moisture from the spinach as you can.Transfer the spinach to a cutting board and chop it fine.  Put the spinach, onion mixture and the rest of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Divide the mixture evenly in 4 small ramekins. Bake for 20- 25 minutes at 350. If you need more servings or want to cut down on the cheese just either add another bag of spinach at the start, for more or, use only 2 oz. of feta. You could use frozen chopped spinach, but there's no substitute for fresh. It's like OMG. Enjoy

      Ciao for now,    Garlichut


  

Chowder cookoff

   Well, I was a judge over the weekend for the Oriental Womens club anual chowder cookoff. My fellow judges were, local TV personality, meteorologist Skip Waters, and food writer Eddy Browning. Samples of chowder were tasted blindly, with the only identification being letter association. ABCD.  It was fun to analyse and discuss all the different flavors and textures.
   There was certainly a wide variety of styles. Most were cream based. Afew were southern style with clear broth.  About half of the entries had a specific dominant flavor, be it tarragon, dill, sherry, bacon, red pepper. allthough there were some good examples, all judges agreed that there wasn't any that clearly stood out.
   In the course of conversation, I mentioned a corn salad that I used to make. So for Eddy Brownings' interest in it, here is the recipe.
  
   Mexican Corn salad

   2- 15 oz. cans corn drained - or
   4 cups fresh cooked corn, cut off the cob
   4 oz. diced green chilis
   1/4 tsp. ground cumin
   2 tbs. lime juice
   1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
   1 clove garlic, sauteed in 1 tbs. olive oil to soften the flavor
   salt and pepper to taste

   Combine all ingredients and mix well

   Enjoy

  Ciao for now,  Garlichut

New flavor search

Hello Foodies,
   During this past week,  I was having trouble getting into my freezer, because it was so stuffed. So I took a good look and realized I had two containers of tomato sauce and three containers of chicken stock taking up most of the space. The solution: use something up. Easiest way, make some risotto and get rid of one of the containers of stock. So, yesterday, on my way home, I stopped at the market and stood in the vegetable isle trying to figure out what to put in my risotto. Mushrooms were sounding good, but what to combine with them. I've kind of done mushroom spinach to death, so I wanted something else. I stood there looking and looking, but nothing was hitting me. Then I thought about things I had at home that I might use. Then it hit me. Pancetta, mushrooms, parsley, and fresh basil was the flavor of the day. With a plan in mind and my mushrooms in the bag, I was on my way.
  
   1/4 cup olive oil
   1/4 cup diced pancetta
   8 oz, cremini mushrooms
   1 small onion diced
   1 cup arborio rice
   3 cloves garlic minced
   1 cup white wine
   3 cups simmering chicken stock (approx.)
   1 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
   1/4 cup chopped parsley
   2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil

   In your favorite risotto pan, heat 3 Tbs. olive oil. Add onion and rice and heat through till the edges of the kernels of rice begin to turn slightly translucent. (about 3-4-min.) Add the wine and stir frequently. Keep cooking till almost all of the liquid has been absorbed. Then add a ladle full of stock and stir occasionally till it also has been absorbed. In the mean time in a separate saute pan, in the remaining oil, heat the pancetta and cook till golden brown. (just like bacon) Then add the mushrooms and cook till the mushrooms have softened. (You might need a little more olive oil if the mushrooms seem too dry) Finish adding stock to the risotto a ladle full at a time till the rice is cooked through, but kernels are still a little firm. Usually this takes about 30-35 min.. Add the pancetta and mushrooms and heat through. Remove from heat and remaining ingredients . Stir well and serve.
   The result was a great dish of risotto.
   Try it and enjoy.
   I had a little Montepulciano D'abruzzo to go with it. Delightful!!!

     Ciao for now,  Garlichut

Why Sirloin?

Why sirloin?
     I chose sirloin steak for Sundays meal for several reasons. The primary reason, of course, is the flavor. It just seems to have a lot more flavor than, say, tenderloin, New York, T-bone. That might just be my preference, but because I was able to get the sirloin for only $2.72 per #, there is certainly a little more incentive to explore it's possibilities.
     I bought a whole sirloin from Sam's club. Then, I took some time to break the whole piece of meat down into single muscle sections, which I then trimmed of all silver skin and fat  and gristle. At that point you have the option of cutting any size steaks you want. I cut very thick steaks, almost what would be called a baseball cut. The reason for that is that it's easier to cook a thick cut of meat to rare or medium rare, than a thinner piece of meat. Next, to avoid toughening the meat by charring the outside too much, I grill the meat over very high heat only enough to get the outside browned. Then, I finish the steaks in the oven. 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes. The result is a very tender and flavorful steak, from what otherwise might be considered a secondary cut of meat.
     Now, since not everyone has the time or skill to butcher their own steak, when you buy sirloin, buy a sirloin roast as opposed to thinner sirloin steaks. Then you can cut the roast into large individual pieces and cook the same way. Give it a try. I hope you enjoy the results.
     Ciao for now,   Garlichut

Good looking asparagus around

I've been seeing some good looking asparagus around. It brought to mind this pasta dish that I used to make.
  Penne with asparagus and mushrooms
     1/4 cup olive oil
     8 oz. white mushrooms
     5-6 cloves garlic finely chopped
     1 bunch asparagus, tough stems removed, blanched and cooled, and cut into 1 in. pieces
     1/2 pound penne pasta
     Juice of half of a lemon
     1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
      Romano cheese to taste
      Fresh ground black pepper to taste
   Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the penne and stir occasionally. Heat a medium sized  saute pan over med. high heat. Add olive oil and mushrooms and cook about 2-3 min.. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Put the asparagus in and heat through. Drain the pasta, put into a large serving bowl, add asparagus and mushroom mixture, the lemon juice, parsley, romano, and black pepper, Toss well and serve.
     Ciao for now,    Bob
  
   

Shrimp with mushrooms and spinach

At dinner last Sunday, we ran into difficulty publishing an entry on the blog.
    So, this was the main course.
       2-3 Lbs. shrimp coarsly chopped
       1/4 cup olive oil
       1/4 cup finely diced pancetta
       6-10 cloves garlic finely chopped
       12 oz. white mushrooms thinly sliced
       A bag of spinash washed and stemmed
       1 cup chicken stock
       Black pepper to taste
       1 cup + gratted romano cheese
   Saute shrimp in a pan till not quite cooked through and set aside.
   In a pan or pot large enough to hold all ingredients before the spinach gets wilted, heat olive oil and pancetta till the pancetta just starts to turn golden brown. Then add mushrooms and cook till soft, add garlic and cook for about another minute or two. Add the stock and spinach and cook covered, tossing occasionally till spinach is wilted. Add shrimp and heat through. Toss with a pound  cooked pasta, the romano cheese and black pepper.

Salad continued

Hi,
    Yesterday I tried to explain my reasoning for how I arrived at the combination of flavors that make up my balsamic vinaigrette. In my second blog I talked about stepping out of my comfort zone and coming up with new flavors. Mostly all I did was reduce my reliance on balsamic vinaigrette and used red wine vinegar, lemon, combinations of herbs, and other flavorful ingredients to produce some great flavor combinations,
     This was one of the salads,
    Boston lettuce, arugula, spinach, red leaf lettuce, blanched fennel, red onion, finely chopped parsley, chopped fresh basil, a little romano cheese, and a red wine vinegar vinaigrette.
     Then to offer up a slight variation, another day I made:
    Boston lettuce, red leaf lettuce, red onion, tomato, cucumber, sliced green Sicilian olives, capers, a little dried oregano, fresh copped parsley copped fresh basil, some grated cheese, and a red wine vinegar vinaigrette.
    I used all kinds of variations of ingredients to keep things interesting.
       Ciao for now,   Garlichut

Moving along,

Hey  Cyberspacers,
         In order to move along  with my earlier reference to salads taking center stage when I was in Co, . I've got to give you some background on my approach to salads.
          A previous refrence to a balsamic vinaigrette needs a little clarification. I'm not sure how it happened, but soon after I got out of culinary school, probably when I was working in a corporate office, I was full of ideas and decided that a straight balsamic vinaigrette, made with just balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil produced a vinaigrette that was very heavy. So my solution was this.
          Balsamic vinegar vinaigrette
            1 Tbls. dry mustard
            Dash of granulated garlic
            1/4tsp. each of salt and pepper
            1 1/2 oz. rice wine vinegar
            1/2 oz. red wine vinegar
            2  oz. balsamic vinegar
            4 oz.  olive oil
OK so why did I come to this observation? When I tasted balsamic vinaigrette, they were to heavy tasting. So I added rice wine vinegar for sweetness, a little rtd wine vinegar for tartness, and balsamic for the dominant flavor.  Also, I use only pure olive oil for my vinaigrette because virgin olive oil, to my mind comes across as very heavy for American tastes. The result is a refreshing and bright vinaigrette.

         I guess that's all for today. I' ve got more insights on salad for tomorrow.   Ciao for now  Bob
           

Something New

This weekend I'm going to try something new. I'll be at a friends house on Sunday cooking one of my favorite new dishes. I'm going to see if one of the guests attending will enter a post on the blog while the party is in progress. They'll be able to write anything they want, but hopefully you'll get the recipe of the main course. Beyond that, maybe we can also give you the whole menu, wines being consumed, and comments. That should be interesting. 
         Ciao for now,  Bob

Holy Cyberspace

OK OK, Last week All I was doing was writing recipes and putting them on my blog with no viewers. Now it seems that with the help of my brother, (The king of contacts) I might have some interested acquaintances. Since I consider myself technologically deficient, all viewers should realize that there are certainly a number of limitations.
     I went to a super bowl party and brought Homemade crocodile bread and breaded pieces of chicken tenders. I made a bbq sauce, chipotle mayo and had some hot sauce. (big hit) (Go giants)
    Since I had extra BBQ sauce, this week I made BBQ chicken. It was a little different version. I took a whole chicken and simmered it with some onion and garlic for about an hour and a quarter. Then cooled it, pulled the meat and shredded it and added BBQ sauce. Just like pulled pork, but in this case pulled ckicken. I was pretty happy with the results.
     BBQ Sauce
       1 cup sugar
       1/2 cup finely chopped onion
       3 cloves finely chopped garlic
       1cup red wine vinegar
       1 Tbls. dijon mustard
       15 oz. can tomato sauce
       1/2 cup worchestershire sauce
       1 tsp. black pepper
       1/3 cup molasses
   Heat sugar in 3 qt. saucepan over medium high heat, stirring frequently until sugar melts and turns light brown. Immediatly add the onion and garlic Stir for 10 to 15 seconds, then add vinegar and stir till mixture dissolves. Add the rest of ingredients and simmer to reduce and thicken.
   If you'd like to spice it up add 3 finely chopped  chipotle peppers.
         Ciao for now Bob

Szechwan Asparagus

I remember writing this recipe one day after looking at a bunch of asparagus and wanting a different flavor for it.
      1 bunch asparagus (blanched and cut in 1 in. pieces)
      1 Tbls. veg. oil
      1 Tbls. sesame oil
      1 Tbls.finely chopped garlic
      1 Tsp. finely chopped ginger
      2 Tbls. rice cooking wine
      1 Tsp. soy sauce
      1 Tsp. chili paste
      2 Tbls. chopped fresh cilantro
   In a saute pan, heat oils over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger. Heat   
   till garlic just starts to brown. About 1 min.. Add next three ingredients  and heat through. Add asparagus and heat through. Add cilantro, toss, remove from heat and serve.
    Ciao for now
 

Untitled request from my brother

For now this dish will be called ( Italian Chicken and Sausage Stew ). Need help on this one.
          2 Whole onions sliced
          4 Cloves garlic minced
          2 Cups + red wine
          3 Beef bullion cubes
          2 Tbls. dried rubbed sage
          1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
          4 Tbls. veg oil
          2 #s Sweet or Hot Italian sausage cut into 1 in. lengths
          2 #s chicken breasts cut into 1 in. cubes
          all purpose flour for dredging
          water to cover
   Saute onion and garlic till soft. Add red wine, bullion, sage, and pepper.       Brown sausage in 2 Tbls. oil. Add to onion mixture. Next, dredge chicken pieces in flour shake off excess. Brown pieces in remaining oil and add to other ingredients. Add enough water to just cover. Cover pot with lid and simmer for abput 2 hours or till very tender.

          Great dish with good crusty bread
              Ciao for now  R


  

Back in action, Maybe.

Well it's about time,
      After quite an absence, maybe I'm ready to consistently share insights and recipies. Last year served up some very interesting dishes and experiences, I spent a week in California, the summer in New Jersey, and to start this year, two weeks cooking for Larry in Colorado. Salads seem to have taken a staring roll. I've started to think beyond my comfort zone. The result was some great new flavors.
      This salad kind of kicked things off.
      French spinach salad,
          Spinach, avocado, feta cheese, artichoke hearts, red onion, sliced kalamata olives, a little romano cheese, a little dried oregano, and a balsamic vinaigrette.
      Try it. I hope you'll enjoy it.
                        Ciao for now  Bob