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Recipes

Cheap Eats: Impromptu Swiss chard toss-together

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Nothing that tastes this wonderful can possibly be good for you.

Grazing from the chard patch this evening, I accidentally created the following chef d’oeuvre:

You need:
-A handful or two or three (depending on the number of diners ) of Swiss or red chard
-A fistful of walnuts
-Olive oil
-Frying pan with lid

Cut the any tough stems from the chard. Wash the chard leaves in cold water. With no overly enthusiastic effort to dry the leaves, slice them crosswise into half-inch strips (or so). Set aside.

Skim the bottom of the frying pan with some olive oil. Place the pan over medium to medium-high heat. Toss in the walnuts. Allow these to toast in the oil, stirring occasionally.

When the walnuts are toasted, place the cut-up chard leaves in the pan. This will cause some spattering, so pay attention lest you get zinged with hot oil. Cover the pan immediately and turn the heat down to medium low. When the spattering dies down, lift the lid and stir the leaves around a bit.

Stir one or two more times over the next few minutes as the chard cooks down nicely and softens a bit. Cook until done to your taste.

Season with pepper and salt, if desired.

Turns out that chard and walnuts make an amazing combination. Enjoy!

Quickie potato recipe

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A large, ditzy, difficult freelance project was still parked on my desk this morning, maybe a third finished, due March 2. Along about midmorning, I snapped out of my stupor and realized hey! March 2 is tomorrow!

So, the entire day was consumed with copyediting this thing—at 11:00 p.m., I just wrapped it up. I’d already put six pieces chicken to marinate, planning to grill them, have one piece for dinner, and freeze the rest. Wanted to cook up some of the lifetime supply of potatoes to go with it, but given the size and awesomely time-consuming nature of the paying work at hand, whatever was to be done with the potatoes had to be accomplished a) without a trip to the grocery store to buy milk or anything else, and b) as simply and as fast as possible.

Enter an ancient Sunset Magazine cookbook, dating back to 19 and aught-90. Inside said historic document, virtually an incunabulum, I found one of those late 20th-century recipes better called “throwing food together” than cooking. But it met the standards above, and it turned out to be pretty tasty.

Baked potatoes and yam

You need:

-about 2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
-about 2 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, cut into 1-inch chunks
-1 yellow or white onion, cut into small strips or roughly diced
-6 or 8 garlic cloves, chopped
-1/4 cup melted butter
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/2 cup hazelnuts (I substituted pecans)

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Toss the onions, garlic and cut-up tubers in a large baking dish (about 9 x 6 or larger, at least 2 inches deep) with the butter and olive oil.

Bake these in the oven for about 15 minutes. After this period, stir them gently, as they will start to brown around the edges of the pan. Continue baking another 15 minutes.

Then stir in the nuts and bake another 15 minutes. Total cooking time should be around 45 minutes; potatoes are done when they’re soft. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Once I got this to the table, I found it lacked something. Adding a bit of honey seemed to give it just what was needed. Not a bad little side dish, and probably something that would be satisfying for breakfast or, with some leftover beef added, as the basis for a hash dinner. I think it will freeze nicely, too. 🙂

And so, to bed…

Cheap Eats: Grilled pork tenderloin

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During the late, great stockpiling expedition, I picked up one of Costco’s vast packages of pork tenderloin: two connected freezer-wrapped packets that, when opened, each disgorge two large tenderloins, for a total of enough food to last one old lady about three weeks. I also bought enough potatoes to feed the population of Ireland for a week or two.

With a good two or three months’ worth of meat in the freezer, it seemed like a good opportunity to invite friends to dinner. I decided to scallop a couple handfuls of the potatoes and to marinate and then roast the two of the four tenderloins on the grill. Leftovers could go into the freezer. La Maya and La Bethulia brought over an incredible salad, and I unearthed some of the brussels sprouts I bought fresh at Thanksgiving, blanched, and froze. It worked pretty well. Check this out:

Grilled Pork Tenderloins

You need:

dcp_2362-1 or 2 pork tenderloins
-lemon juice or wine vinegar (about 1/2 c for one tenderloin)
-olive oil (about the same amount as juice or vinegar)
-salt & pepper to taste
-fennel seeds
-garlic (one clove per loin)
-fresh rosemary or sage sprigs (optional)

Mix olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar, about 50-50. I used a cup of each for two tenderloins; this was more than needed. It can be refrigerated or frozen and used to marinate a future portion of chicken, beef, venison, or more pork. Add some salt and pepper to the marinade, to taste.

Slice the garlic into slivers. With a sharp knife, poke holes into the meat and stuff them with garlic slivers.Take about a tablespoon of fennel seeds and spin them in a blender or, if you have one, a coffee grinder reserved for grinding spices. Rub the ground fennel into the meat.

Place the meat in an enameled or glass dish and pour the marinade over it. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Turn the meat over once during the marinating process.

Start a charcoal fire or turn on a propane grill. If you have some hardwood chips, soak these in water for at least 20 minutes before starting the meat.

dcp_2365Push the charcoal to the outside edges of the grill, so you will have a place to set the meat that is not directly over the fire. Toss on the hardwood chips, and then put several springs of rosemary, sage, or both onto the fire. Set the grates in place, and then place the meat on the grate so that it’s not directly over the hot coals. You actually want the meat to roast rather than barbecue—olive oil dripping on burning coals will cause a flare-up, which you’d like to avoid. Close the lid.

Allow the meat to cook about 30 or 40 minutes. Turn it once during the cooking process. My friends ran a little late, and so these tenderloins cooked about 45 or 50 minutes—they came out just fine.

Slice the meat across the grain, into medallions. Serve with rice, pasta, or potatoes, a nice green veggie, and some salad. Toooo excellent!

Scalloped potatoes

I haven’t scalloped a potato since I was a young thing: it’s a very old-fashioned dish. La Bethulia was thrilled: “No one makes these anymore,” she exclaimed—and she loves them. They did come out pretty tasty.

You need:

-four to six potatoes, depending on the number of diners and your mood
-about two cups milk
-a lot of butter
-salt and pepper
-some fresh parsley, chopped (optional, I think)
-a handful or two of shredded Parmesan cheese

Wash the potatoes; slice them about 1/8 inch thick. (I used a mandoline, a very handy little gadget—you also could haul out the food processor, if you have one. A sharp knife, however, will do the trick). Drop them into a bowl of icy water as you’re working.

Butter a flat baking dish well. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

dcp_2363Dry the potato slices on a clean dishrag or paper towels. Lay down a layer of slices in the pan; dot these with butter, season with salt & pepper, and sprinkle a little parsley over them. Repeat until you run out of potatoes. Dot the top layer with still more butter, and pour in enough milk to just cover the potatoes. Then sprinkle a nice layer of Parmesan cheese over the top.

Place this lash-up in the oven and allow to bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked to your liking. The result is comfort food at its best.

Easy Brussels Sprouts

You need:
dcp_23661-frozen Brussels sprouts
-butter
-tarragon
-nutmeg

Melt some butter in a frying pan—more than enough to just cover the bottom of the pan. You’re going to braise these sprouts, which will cause them to take up some of the butter into their little sprout bodies. Provide enough for the purpose.

Place the sprouts into the pan with the melted butter. Roll them around to coat them well. Sprinkle on some dried tarragon and a little nutmeg. Turn the heat fairly low and cover the pan tightly.

Depending on how large the sprouts are, it takes about eight to fifteen minutes to cook. Stir occasionally, to be sure they don’t scorch on one side.

La Maya made the salad. I don’t know how she made it. All I know is she showed up with a dressing made of 18-year-old balsamic vinegar, which was pretty amazing.

dcp_2367
🙂

Sweet potato-carrot soup

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It’s supposed to rain (but won’t, because I dumped fertilizer on the citrus and left it there for the rain to water into the ground: I have arcane powers). Nice evening for something hot and comforting, like fresh homemade soup.

For the past week, I’ve had nothing to eat but soup and ice cream. I’m mighty tired of soup and ice cream. Especially soup that comes out of a package or a can. I’d like some real food, but doubt that would be a wise thing to consume just now. So, I decided to see what I have in the house that can be reduced to a soup-like form but still taste…well…real.

A survey of the premises revealed the following (yes, the cupboard’s a bit bare just now: I have $152 to last till the 13th; will need to buy gas and dog meat before then, and so am treading lightly in grocery store aisles):

From the pantry: yam, a few carrots, an onion, a box of Target’s finest gourmet chicken broth
From the backyard: an orange, some parsley, some thyme

I chopped up the onion and sautéed it in a little olive oil. While it was percolating away, I decided to sweeten the pot—literally—with some turbinado sugar, added to the cooking onion. Peeled the thyme leaves off their stems and put them into the pot after the onion was nearly done. Meanwhile I cleaned and cut up the yam and carrots, then squeezed the orange.

When the onion was nice and translucent, it was into the kettle with the yam, carrots, orange juice, and chicken broth. The parsley, I reserved until later. Testing this brew led to a couple of afterthoughts:

Added a capful of bourbon and a generous dash of tarragon (about 1/2 tsp?). The result was good and mellow.

And so, to simmer:

When the vegetables were tender all the way through, I puréed the whole mess in the blender. The result was so smooth there was no need to run it through a strainer.

Another few afterthoughts occurred. I added a small amount of vanilla—about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon—some fresh-ground nutmeg, and a dash of cumin.

With the parsley added for garnish, dinner was served. And it was not too poisonous at all. All things considered.


😉

Hoppin’ John: Black-eyed peas for New Year’s luck

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My father, being a Texas boy (he used to say the best thing about being from Texas is being as far from it as you can get), loved black-eyed peas. I was never nuts about them, because Southern recipes overcook them to an unappetizing state of sogginess. But in my grown-up incarnation, I learned that they lend themselves to butter-braising very nicely. If you buy them fresh or frozen and cook them to just the far side of al dente, they can make a nice side dish. But first…in honor of New Year’s Eve, when black-eyed peas are said to bring luck to the celebrants, below is an authentic Hoppin’ John recipe, along with the best corn bread I know how to make.

Hoppin’ John

You need:
2 cups dried cow peas or black-eyed peas
1/4 pound salt pork or one meaty hamhock
2 cups cooked rice
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp butter

Ideally, you should soak the peas overnight. But if you’re getting a late start, cover the peas with water in a large pot; bring the water to a rolling boil and hold it there for one minute. Then turn off the heat and allow the beans to soak for one hour. (Skip this step if you’re starting with fresh or frozen black-eyed peas.)

Drain the soaking water and cover the softened peas with fresh water. Cook with the pork until the peas are tender, but be careful to keep them whole. Only a small amount of liquid should be left. When the beans are done, add the cooked rice and season to taste with salt, pepper, and butter; simmer another 15 minutes to combine flavors.

Serve with cornbread and butter. Add a nice green salad and you’ll have a full, healthful meal.

Cornbread

You need:
1/2 cup white flour
1 1/2 cups yellow or white corn meal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 up milk
1/4 cup cream
1/3 cup melted butter
more butter to oil the pan

Butter a 9 x 9-inch or 8 1/2 x 11-inch baking pan generously. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the pan into the oven to warm it while you’re combining the cornbread ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, stir all the dry ingredients together to combine well.

In another bowl, beat the eggs well with a wire whip or hand mixer. Mix in the milk and butter. Using a wooden spoon or the wire whip, mix these liquids into the dry ingredients; stir to combine thoroughly. Add the melted butter and combine well.

Pour the batter into the hot buttered baking pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the cornbread pulls away from the surface of the pan. Serve with lots of butter and honey. Yum!

Yuppified Black-Eyed Peas

Here’s how I like them…

You need
1 bag of frozen black-eyed peas
a tablespoon or two of butter
herbs (fresh or dry) such as marjoram, oregano, or thyme: to taste
a little green onion
fresh parsley, if you have some around
salt and pepper, to taste
cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce, to taste
water

Bring a pan of water to the boil. Dump the frozen peas into the water and allow to cook a minute or two. Drain the peas in a colander. Toss the butter into the hot pan. When the butter’s melted, return the peas to the pan. Add some herbs, as desired; stir to combine. Cover the pan and allow the peas to simmer gently over low heat until they’re cooked to your taste. I like mine softened but not soggy. At the end of cooking, stir in a chopped green onion and, if you happen to have it, some chopped fresh parsley.

To serve, season with salt, pepper, and (if desired) cayenne or Tabasco sauce.

Christmas dinner plans

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What are you doing for Christmas dinner? I’m expecting five to seven people, which should be great fun. Since I like to enjoy my friends, my plan is to make a home-cooked meal that entails as little work as possible. Two work-avoidance strategies: make things ahead, and use the oven with maximal efficiency.

Here’s the tentative menu:

Roast prime rib
Yorkshire pudding; OR delicious gravy
Baked potatoes with sour cream & chives
Yam casserole
Brussels sprouts
Green salad or Waldorf salad
Ice cream or store-bought pie
Wine; iced tea, water, or good coffee for nondrinkers

Nothing could be easier than roast beef: no stuffing. 😀

One standing rib roast
Two or three cloves of garlic
A little olive oil
Salt & pepper

Slice the garlic cloves lengthwise into slivers. Take a knife, poke holes into the roast, and stuff a piece of garlic into each hole. Rub a little olive oil over the outside of the roast. Season generously with pepper and salt. If you’re planning to make Yorkshire pudding, place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan. Otherwise, just set it in the bottom of the pan.
Preheat the oven to about 350 degrees and roast the meat according to the doneness you prefer.

Baked potatoes: Well…baked potatoes could be easier than roast beef.

One fine Idaho potato per diner

Wash the potatoes. Stab each potato all over with a small sharp knife—you want to puncture the skin so none of the potatoes will explode in the oven. About an hour before the meat is done, place the potatoes directly on the rack in the oven.

Serve with a bowl of good sour cream (organic seems to taste best) or, if you’re the fat-free type, a decent organic yogurt mixed with juice of half a lemon. Also provide a bowl of chopped chives or green onions.

Yorkshire pudding is really just popover batter cooked in the drippings from your roast. A blender makes preparing this stuff extremely easy.

1 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

About a hour before the meat is done, put the eggs in a blender and mix on “high” until lemon-yellow. Add the flour and milk in alternate batches of about 1/3 cup at a time. Toss in the salt while you’re doing this.

Pour this batter into the drippings that have collected beneath the roast. If there’s not enough drippings to cover the bottom of the pan, put a half a cube of butter into the pan and allow it to melt before adding the batter.

Alternative: Delicious brown gravy. I’m not nuts about Yorkshire pudding…it soaks up all the drippings and leaves you with no gravy. If you like popovers, you can use the batter above to make your bread serving for this dinner—just generously butter a muffin tin and fill the cups about a third full. Really, popovers should be cooked at 450 degrees for about 40 minutes. So unless you have a second oven or you’re willing to let the roast rest that long, substitute store-bought French bread or rolls and make yourself a wonderful gravy.

Pan drippings from roast beef
flour
red wine
possibly a little beef or chicken broth

If the pan drippings are mostly fat: place the pan over a burner on the stove. Remember to use a hot pad, because the pan will be hot. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of flour over the drippings and stir briskly over high-medium heat. As the flour starts to brown a bit, add wine and broth, ad lib. Stir well, scraping up the drippings, until the gravy thickens. Add more wine or broth to achieve the consistency you like.

If the drippings contain a lot of liquid: skim off most of the fat and discard. Take about a cup of wine or broth and add a tablespoon or two of flour to it. With a fork, whip these together so no lumps remain in the liquid. Bring the drippings to a fast simmer or slow boil over medium-high heat. Pour the flour & wine into the simmering roast drippings and stir briskly until the gravy thickens. Allow to simmer for a few minutes to cook out the “raw” taste of the flour.

Cashew-Yam Casserole: This is a fix-ahead dish that bakes unattended with the roast.

About 2 1/2 pounds yams or sweet potatoes, whole or halved
Boiling water
about 1/4 cup sugar, to taste
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
About 1/4 cup pineapple or orange juice
About 1/4 cup water or rum or bourbon
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup salted cashews, coarsely chopped

AHEAD OF TIME: Cook the yams in boiling water until very tender. When cool enough to handle, peel them.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cooked yams until mashed, and measure. You should have about three cups. Add cinnamon, salt, egg, juice, and sugar. Beat until fluffy, adding more fruit juice if the mixture seems dry. Taste and add more sugar or salt, if needed. Mix in two tablespoons of the butter.

Spoon into a one-quart casserole or soufflé dish (you can cover and refrigerate, if desired).

Add the cashews to the remaining one tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan. Heat, stirring, until lightly toasted. Sprinkle over the casserole.

About 40 minutes before dinner is served: bake, uncovered, in a 350-degree oven.

Et voilà! Add a nice green salad and have your friends bring dessert, and you’ve got a large dinner with little work.