Category: Main Course

Main Course

Food Memories – Mofongo

by Wendi6 Comments on Food Memories – Mofongo

My Mofongo

Christine of Christine Can Cook provided this Food Memory.  She said, “Mofongo is a typical Puerto-Rican dish. It’s not something my family made growing up, it was more of a special dish to be had at restaurants and ordered for special occasions. It definitely isn’t an everyday meal- it can be super heavy and starchy and needs to be fried to enjoy the crispy textures. However, it’s one of my favorite meals and is extremely versatile. It can be done with stewed chicken, beef, vegetables, or as I made it here, with shrimp.” Continue reading “Food Memories – Mofongo” →

Main Course, Soup

Flashback Friday – What’s Cooking?

by Wendi4 Comments on Flashback Friday – What’s Cooking?

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 11/5/07 at Exit 51.

What’s Cooking?

This past weekend saw more kitchen action as I hosted a small brunch. Not sure which I enjoyed more…the food or the time with friends. The combination of good food and good friends is always a winner.

We dined on:

Butternut Squash Soup
Mixed Green Salad with Carrot Ginger Soy Dressing (this is similar to the dressing that comes on your salad in a Japanese restaurant…yum)
Pie

The food was easy to pull together in advance. Try it yourself, you’ll see. Continue reading “Flashback Friday – What’s Cooking?” →

Main Course, Pasta

Ragu

by Wendi12 Comments on Ragu

Penne with Mushrooms

Would it surprise you if I said that for most of my life, I thought ragu meant the spaghetti sauce that came in the jar with the picture of a gondola?  Tragic, I know.  It’s a wonder that I have any kitchen skills after years of being exposed to high levels of prepackaged food radiation.  I have since come to appreciate that a ragu is traditionally a sauce of ground beef, tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, white wine, and seasoning.  But I struggle with homemade pasta sauces, maybe because I’m so accustomed to eating the jarred stuff, after making a few modifications of course.  So instead of trying to master a traditional ragu, I decided to give mushroom ragu a try. Continue reading “Ragu” →

Chicken, Main Course, Soup

Chicken With Wild Rice Soup

by Wendi9 Comments on Chicken With Wild Rice Soup
image from http://www.istockphoto.com

Earlier this year I had sinus surgery.  For whatever reason, I completely underestimated how completely wiped out I would feel after my little procedure.  I had figured that a couple of days later I would be bouncing around full steam ahead.  The reality was quite different.  It was all I could do to take a shower and get dressed.  Darvocet became my best friend.  We spent quality time together camped out on the sofa.  We drank Diet Coke and lots of smoothies.  We watched crappy daytime television.  And we discovered that bad haircut aside, Holden Snyder looks almost exactly the same in 2010 as he did in 1995 when we last caught an episode of As The World Turns.  Cooking was the last thing on my mind.  But since mine is not the only mouth in this house, and the food doesn’t just magically appear, I had to come up with something for The Mistah to eat besides peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Continue reading “Chicken With Wild Rice Soup” →

Chicken, Main Course

As Seen On…

by Wendi10 Comments on As Seen On…

Barefoot Chicken

I watch a lot of tv.  I blame it on The Mistah.  He’s the one who thought it was a good idea to bring Tivo into our relationship.  In the six years since we got Tivo, I’m convinced that my reading comprehension skills have dwindled because I spend my free time watching whatever shows I’m into at the moment.  Lost, Gilmore Girls, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, Absolutely Fabulous, you’ve all contributed to my downfall.

However, because of Tivo, I can free myself from the chains of the Mad Men’s advertisements.  No longer must I sit through 30 second infomercials proclaiming the virtues of Crazy Glue (strong enough to hold a man suspended in mid air!) or Nu Finish (the once a year car polish!).   My brain will not be washed into handing over $9.99 for a blanket with sleeves.  Maybe Tivo isn’t the devil I make it out to be after all.

My cooking often reflects the intersection of the cooking shows I watch and the blogs I follow.   That’s how Ina’s Indonesian Ginger Chicken came to be sitting on my dinner plate.  I’ve got a Season Pass for Barefoot Contessa, so Ina and I hang out regularly.  And then The Kitchen Witch blogged about Ina’s chicken. While it may not do anything to improve my reading comprehension, this recipe will free up about an hour of time that I can use to plow through my list of shows Now Playing on Tivo.

Ina’s Indonesian Ginger Chicken

Adapted from Ina Garten

BAH Note:  Ina’s original recipe calls for two chickens.  When I made this, I had neither the freezer space nor the appetite for 7 pounds of chicken.  So I cut that in half.  If you’ve got a crowd to feed, or space in the deep freeze, go ahead and make a big batch.

  • 1 chicken, approximately 3 1/2pounds, quartered (or 3 1/2 pounds of chicken parts)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup grated fresh ginger
  • Dash of sriracha hot sauce (optional)

Combine the honey, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and grated ginger in a small sauce pan.  Heat over low to melt the honey and stir well.  Taste for seasoning and add 1 to 2 tablespoons more soy sauce if desired.  If using sriracha, add a few drops and taste.  Add more if desired.

Place the chicken skin side down in a baking pan and cover with the sauce.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Approximately 30 minutes before you’re ready to cook, pull the pan out of the refrigerator and let the pan sit at room temperature.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the covered pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Then carefully remove the foil, turn the chicken skin side up, and raise the temperature to 375 degrees.  Bake  for another 30 to 45 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce turns a deep, dark brown.

{printable recipe}

Main Course, Pasta

Tyler’s Bolognese

by Wendi7 Comments on Tyler’s Bolognese

Bolognese and Parm

Have you ever printed out a recipe to try because it looked so good when you saw it made on tv?  And have you ever let so much time lapse between when you saw it on tv and when you made it that you don’t remember what it was supposed to look like?  I do.  That’s the problem with printing recipes out and putting them in folders and then forgetting about them.  I forget everything about them.  I forget what the chef said about texture and thickness, how he described the final dish, and I’m kind of flying blind. I’ll be honest with you, I get mixed results when I’m flying blind.  Sometimes I stick the landing.  Other times I fall flat on my face.  And sometimes, in my best interpretation of Kerri Strug’s 1996 Olympic vault, I get both feet under me just long enough to complete the exercise and then hobble off the competition floor with the assistance of a burly Romanian coach.

So with my apologies to Tyler Florence, this probably isn’t exactly what you’d get if he made you his Bolognese Sauce.  Because I know he totally sticks that landing and I’m only just starting to work on mine.

Bolognese Sauce

Adapted from Tyler Florence

BAH Note:  I’d never actually had Bolognese sauce before I made this recipe so I don’t know how thick or thin the sauce was supposed to be.  I wish I would have cooked it longer so that the liquid had reduced even more because even after 90 minutes of simmering, it was a bit soupy.  Also, I’d start off with 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon first and see how you like it.  You can always add more to get a more pronounced flavor, but you can’t take it out once it’s in there.

  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
  • 2 large or 4 small carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 pounds ground beef, pork, and veal mix
  • 1 28 ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed (by hand)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • grated Parmesan
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon butter
  • salt and pepper

Puree the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in a food processor until smooth.  Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add vegetables and cook for five minutes.  Add the ground beef mixture to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the meat is brown.  Once the meat browns, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato juice, milk, broth, and cinnamon to the pot.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 90 minutes until the sauce reduces and the meat is quite tender.  Stir in the butter and season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Serve over your favorite pasta garnished with grated Parmesan.

{printable recipe}

Main Course

Cooking Light Thyme Coated Pork

by Wendi7 Comments on Cooking Light Thyme Coated Pork

Pork and Beans

Cooking Light called this a simple recipe, and I agree.  But I can’t quite figure how they based it on a one pound pork tenderloin.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a one pound tenderloin and the packages I buy always have two pieces packaged together.  So instead of cussing out Cooking Light and going hungry, I decided to roll with it and scaled the recipe a bit to work with what I had.

What you see in that photo may not be your grandmother’s breaded pork with green beans, and it certainly isn’t my grandmother’s, but I like the retro vibe that my kitchen is giving off these days.  Sometimes old school simplicity is what it’s all about.

Thyme Coated Pork Tenderloin

Adapted from Cooking Light

BAH Note: I really don’t recommend using bread crumbs from a can for this recipe.  I think their texture is too fine for the coating.  I break up a loaf of sourdough into chunks and blitz them in the food processor until they are coarse crumbs.  These breadcrumbs can be stored in a zip top bag in the freezer.  Just let them warm up to room temperature before using them.  Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your tenderloins.  Mine ran kind of large and took about an hour to reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees.  I recommend that you check yours starting after about 30 minutes or use an oven safe instant thermometer with a temperature alarm.

  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 3 large egg whites, beaten
  • 1 package pork tenderloin, halves tied together with kitchen string
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Heat the oven to 400 degrees, line a sheet pan with aluminum foil, and place an oven safe cooling rack inside the pan.

Combine thyme, onion flakes, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.  Place egg whites in a second shallow dish and beat lightly, adding about a tablespoon of water if necessary.

Dry pork with paper towels and dip into the egg whites.  When completely coated, dredge the pork in the breadcrumbs, patting them on firmly.

Place the pork on the rack set inside the sheet pan and cook until the pork registers 155 degrees on an instant read thermometer.

{printable recipe}

Main Course

Ladies Who Lunch

by Wendi1 Comment on Ladies Who Lunch

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp

Four times a year, I am a Lady Who Lunches.  I get together with two friends and we spend hours engaged in chit, chat, and chow. We started out with three dates per year to celebrate our birthdays.  But that left a gaping hole in our calendar from June to January.  So we decided to add a Very Merry Unbirthday Brunch in the fall.  In addition to being an Unbirthday get together, it’s the only one that we don’t go out for.  Birthday Brunch always involves a buffet…how else could we spend hours at a table without getting the evil eye from a server?  But VMUBB is a home cooked affair. Continue reading “Ladies Who Lunch” →

Fish, Main Course

Salmon with Ginger Soy Butter

by WendiLeave a Comment on Salmon with Ginger Soy Butter
image from http://www.istockphoto.com

If you were to poke around in our freezer on any given day, you would most likely find a bag of salmon fillets.  We tend to be a little predictable here at BAH.  When we like something, we stick with it.  Over time that can get a bit mundane so I’m always looking for ways to put new flavor into our favorite dishes.  Our latest salmon entree was inspired by The Kitchen Witch and her take on a Men’s Health Magazine recipe.  The Mistah used to get Men’s Health.  Actually, someone gave him a gift subscription.  Honestly, I was a little disappointed that it didn’t come with a free gift like a football phone, but if I had put my disappointment behind me and peeked between the covers, I might have discovered Salmon with Ginger Soy Butter.  It may not be a football phone but then again, I bet I could get one of those on eBay along with the complete series of Time Life Home Improvement books, all for about what I spend on a bag of salmon fillets.  See, it all works out in the end.

Salmon with Ginger Soy Butter

The Kitchen Witch and Men’s Health Magazine

  • 4 salmon fillets
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tablespoon minced chives
  • 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

Place the butter in a ramekin and melt carefully in the microwave.  Add the chives, ginger, lemon juice, and soy sauce and whisk to combine.  Set aside.

Dry the salmon fillets and season with salt and pepper.  Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan or grill pan until just smoking.  Add the salmon (skin side down if using a fillet with skin) and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.  Carefully turn the fish over and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.

Serve the salmon with about a tablespoon of butter sauce spooned over the top.

{printable recipe}

Main Course

Saturday Cooking

by WendiLeave a Comment on Saturday Cooking

Saturday is when I tend to do my big cooking.  By big, I mean recipes that take more time than I have on a weeknight.  Monday through Friday, recipes are of the quick and easy variety.  Sunday usually involves a little more time.  But Saturday, Saturday is when I hunker down and spend an entire day cooking.  Sometimes, I’m focused on just one recipe.  Other times, there are multiple dishes going.

What kinds of things am I likely to be cooking on a Saturday?  Slow roasted beef, short ribs, roast chicken, and oven pulled pork have all come out of my kitchen on a Saturday.  Most recently, I dug into the pile of recipes I haven’t made in a while for Cooking Light’s Beef Bourguignon.

This was one of the first recipes I was successful with when I decided to stop eating from cans and boxes.  It was a huge confidence builder to create a “fancy” meal from my apartment kitchen.  And then, I don’t know why, but I filed it away as a special occasion recipe.

I don’t know about you, but with the exception of birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, I don’t have a ton of special occasions on my calendar.  So what sense is there in holding on to a recipe that you don’t make?  I find that I have to remind myself that it makes absolutely zero sense.  So Beef Bourguignon and I got reacquainted.  And we turned an ordinary Saturday into a special occasion.

Beef Bourguignon

Adapted from Cooking Light

BAH Tip: Although pre-cut stew meat is convenient, it’s not always the best value.  I bought a boneless chuck roast and cut it down myself.  It’s a little messier and a little more work to remove the fat and connective tissue, but I made the beef cubes as big as I wanted and saved a few bucks at the store.

  • 2 1/4 pounds beef stew meat, cubed
  • 3 slices bacon, chopped and divided
  • all purpose flour
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup sliced carrot
  • 1 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
  • 8 cups mushrooms, halved (about 1 1 /2 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (optional)
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper

Cook half of the bacon in a dutch oven over medium high heat until crisp.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a medium sized bowl.  Add half of the cubed beef to the pan with the bacon drippings, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook until well browned on all sides.  Remove the browned beef from the pan, add it to the bowl with the cooked bacon, and cover to keep warm.

Repeat the process with the remaining bacon and beef cubes, sprinkling two to three teaspoons of flour over the second batch of beef after it is added to the pan.  Remove beef from the pan and cover to keep warm.

Add chopped onion and carrot slices to the pan and cook for approximately 7 minutes until the onion just starts to brown.  Add the tomato paste and cook for two minutes more.  Stir in the red wine and beef broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add bacon, beef, 1 teaspoon salt, mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes.  Uncover and cook 1 hour or until beef is tender.

If your juices have not cooked down, carefully remove beef and vegetables with a slotted spoon, place in a large bowl, and cover to keep warm.  Increase heat to high and cook until the juices reduce.  Taste for seasoning and add one to two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, if desired.  Return beef and vegetables to the pan and serve.

{Printable Recipe}