Cook's Christmas in February

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but my LCB doesn't like to cook. She can, she's good at it, but she doesn't like it. I, on the other hand, LOVE to cook. And I'm continually making my family nervous with my latest / greatest experiment from the kitchen / lab.
One of the things I really like about being here in Maryland, is that last year I was able to keep an herb / vegetable garden just outside the kitchen window. Fresh peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, all just outside the door for the picking. As much as I loved living in California, I could never keep a plant alive there.
Well, my LCB, while she doesn't like to cook, does like to surprise me with new stuff for the kitchen. Honestly, if she didn't, I'd still be making pie crusts by hand with a pastry cutter. My LCB bought me a KitchenAid stand mixer, which I thought was just outrageously priced. But now I wouldn't want to be without it.
True to form, this weekend, she surprised me with two more items. She's a bit of a QVC fan. I can't watch the channel for very long at a clip, but she could watch it all day long. So, the other day I saw yet another QVC Package on the porch, and brought it in to her. She said "That's for you". (?) So opening it, I found she'd bought me a brand new Japanese Kohaishu chef's knife!

My chef's knife had lost it's edge a few months ago after 20 years of faithful service. (It's getting sharpened this weekend) But you know, in the kitchen, you can never have too many knives.
The second surprise just arrived this evening. Since it's not quite spring yet, never mind what the groundhog said, I'm still not able to plant my herb garden yet. It'll be another month or so. So to fill in the gaps, she bought me an AeroGarden Kitchen Herb Garden!

I haven't set it up yet, but I'm looking forward to doing so tomorrow. I'm quite anxious, because I haven't been able to snip any fresh oregano since Thanksgiving.
I really do have the best wife ever.

Beef Heart and Burgundy Chili

Chili is one of those things that most people love, and nobody makes it the same way. This is my favorite chili recipe. I'll try to get some pictures taken next time I make it. This time, it didn't hang around long enough!

1 lb. Ground meat. (beef or turkey)
1 1/4 lbs. cubed beef heart
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, freshly minced
1 can Kidney Beans
1 8 0z. can Tomato Sauce
16 oz. Burgundy
1/3 cup Masa Flour
1/3 cup chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne (more or less to taste)
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste


Brown the ground meat and heart along with the onion and garlic in a stock pot. While you're browning the meat, put some worcestershire sauce in with it. I usually go 3-4 turns around the pot with it. This is also where I add about a good pinch of coarse salt, and a few turns of fresh ground pepper.
When the meat's cooked through, drain it, and return it to the stock pot. Add:
chili powder, cayenne, tomato sauce, burgundy, and Kidney Beans. Stir all of this together, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, mix the masa flour with some warm water until it makes a thin paste. (It should kinda glob off a fork) Mix this paste in with the chili to thicken it up some. Then let everything simmer about 5 more minutes. After I add the masa, I usually have a bowl, and let the rest of it simmer for the rest of the day.

Muffuletta

I'm pretty sure this isn't an "East Coast" recipe, but I first encountered it when we moved back here, so I'm labelling it that way.
One day when I was taking lunch to my LCB, I stopped at a local deli in Havre de Grace, called St. John's Gourmet. When I go into a place and everything (or at least more than 50%) of the menu looks terrific, I usually ask someone who works there, "If you were taking lunch right now, and could have anything on the menu, what would it be?". Well, on this day, the cook told me he'd get the Muffuletta. So that's what I got.
That was one of the best surprises I've had. The sandwich was stuffed with good deli meats, and had a very distinctive olive taste, due to the relish they use. (Actually, the St. John's calls it an Olive Salad, I call it an olive relish.) Apparently it's a creole creation, and I've since seen it on Emeril and also saw Giada feature it on a superbowl snacks spot on one of those morning shows.
The Muffuletta sandwich is a fairly straightforward sub sandwich. The key points are, the olive spread, a lot of layers, and compress the finished sandwich. Here's how I built it:
Muffuletta spread on the bottom and top rolls. Then two layers each: Peppered Ham, Mortadella, Hard Salami, Pepperoni, Provolone cheese. Then some romaine lettuce. Put everything together and either smush it down, or wrap it really tight in plastic wrap, and let it sit in the fridge for a while to let all the flavors meld.
It's difficult for me to find the relish around here, and when I do, it's very pricey for a small jar of it. So here's a recipe for it that makes a fair amount of it. (I've been using it on a number of things beyond just sandwiches.)
So here's how you make the muffuletta spread:

1 1/2 cups chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
1 cup chopped Kalamata olives
2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp horseradish
1/2 cup fire-roasted red bell pepper (chopped)
5 anchovy fillets, mashed
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp lemon juice
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Mix all this up in a bowl, and let it set for a while in the refrigerator.

This recipe made enough to fill two olive jars with a bit left over.

Artichoke and Olive Frittata with Gruyere

I love frittatas. They're one of those "clean out the fridge & pantry" dishes. The other day I happened to spy a couple cans of artichoke hearts, and thought they'd be good in a frittata with some olives. I didn't have any whole or sliced olives around, so I used the olive relish I made for the muffuletta, and it worked out pretty good. Next time I might use a different cheese, something with a bit more flavor, like gorgonzola. I love gruyere, but it didn't add much to this experiment, and basically got lost in the other ingredients.

4 Eggs
1/4 cup chopped Artichoke Hearts
1/4 cup crumbled Gruyere
1 Tbsp muffaletta spread

Scramble the eggs in a bowl, along with the Muffaletta spread.
Melt a Tablespoon of margarine in an 8" cast-iron skillet.
When the skillet is hot, pour the eggs in and cook until they begin to firm up.
Add the artichoke hearts and gruyere.
Move the skillet from the stovetop and put it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.
Once the eggs are well-cooked, pull the pan out, (using a good hot pad or oven mitt) and transfer it to the plate. A Frittata this size should serve 2 people. (Assuming they both have appetites like mine.)

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Friday was my daughter's 16th birthday. So naturally, she got to choose what she wanted for dinner. Ever the California girl that she is, she wanted Chicken Enchiladas and Artichokes. I told her the enchiladas we could do, for sure. The artichokes were a bit iffy. But she did spot some nice-looking artichokes at the grocery, so she had her California birthday dinner after all. In this post, however, I thought I'd cover the Enchiladas.
Enchiladas are amazingly easy to make, and very versatile. They do take some time, but you can make them ahead, and just pop them in the oven when you're ready. The filling can be whatever you like. Chicken, beef, pork, and cheese are all common, and I've seen shrimp and fish enchiladas too. Various places serve enchiladas with a red or a green sauce. My daughter likes the red sauce, which you can make yourself, or make from a seasoning blend, or simply pour from a can. (her favorite is the canned sauce.) And it's the sauce that provides almost all the flavor. We don't season the chicken at all, (although you certainly could) we just let the sauce season everything.
Another thing about enchiladas, you have to cook the tortillas. I've seen some folks try to make them without frying the tortillas first, and it's not a pretty result.
Now my daughter just likes chicken and cheese in her enchiladas, but if I were making these for myself, there would also be some diced chiles and sliced black olives mixed in with the chicken. Maybe some onions too. But following is how we did it for my eldest's sweet sixteenth.

2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless Chicken breasts
20-25 corn tortillas
1 - 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar & monterey jack works well)
1 19 oz can of enchilada sauce. (Better to have too much than too little of this)
Vegetable oil.

We start by boiling the chicken breasts until they're cooked through. Then put them in a bowl and run some cold water over them. When they're cool enough to handle, shred the chicken by hand. (As an alternative, we've been known to put them in chunks in the KitchenAid with the paddle, and let it mangle the chicken.)

When your chicken is shredded, set it close to your workspace. We tend to set up an assembly line. From left to right: a stack of corn tortillas on the left side of the stove, Oil on the left front burner, enchilada sauce on the right front burner, casserole pan next to the stove, chicken and cheese next to the casserole pan.
Get your oil and enchilada sauce heating in a deep skillet. About 1 1/2 inches of oil, and however much enchilada sauce you're using, the whole can for sure, more if you choose.







When the oil's hot, take one tortilla, and put it in the oil, as soon as it floats, turn it over, then transfer it to the enchilada sauce, turn it over so both sides are coated, then transfer it to the casserole pan. Put your chicken and cheese down the middle of the tortilla, and fold one side over, then fold the other side over that. I should mention, I suppose, that the best way I've found of transferring the tortillas from oil to sauce to pan, is by using two forks. The tortillas get pretty soft by the time you get them to the pan, and sometimes tear. So if you end up throwing 2-4 of them away, don't be discouraged. We always allow for some of them to be tossed.
Once the pan is full, set it aside, and if you have more, start over with a new pan. We usually get 18-20 enchiladas, so I usually use two pans. Once they're all made, pour whatever remaining sauce you have down the middle of the enchiladas, and sprinkle some more cheese on top, along with some sliced black olives, or whatever you like for garnish. Then put them in the oven at about 375 long enough to let the cheese melt. If you made them ahead, you'll want to go a little longer in order to let everything get up to temperature, probably 10-15 minutes should do it.

Oyster Stew

Julie, over at Kitchenography, said something the other day that I'm sure most of us on the Eastern Seaboard have been thinking. She said "The making of soup is almost mandatory on snow days." This is part of the prelude to her amazing Carrot and Ginger soup with Lime Creme Fraiche. I must admit, I didn't even know that there was such a thing as Creme Fraiche before reading that recipe. Now I have to go out and find some. I got all the rest of the ingredients this morning.
Anyways, I had a hankerin' for soup as well, and since the kids wanted cheap-o sandwiches, I swung by the grocery and picked up a pint of select oysters. There are precious few "comfort" foods that are more comforting to me than oyster stew. The biggest gripe I have with either store-bought or restaurant oyster stew is that they seem to use so few oysters. This is a very simple, but very focused soup. The oysters are the only substantive ingredient, so don't skimp on them.
It seems a little weird telling someone how to make oyster stew, because around here, it's kind of like telling someone how to make toast. I think everyone in this part of the country knows how to make it. But I'm listing it anyway. It's one of my favorites.

1 pt. select oysters (with the liquor)
1 cup milk
4 Tbsps margarine

First, you'll want to pour off some of the liquor, and save it.
Bring the milk and margarine to a low boil, just until the margarine's melted. Then turn it down to a simmer.
Add about 2 good pinches of salt, (I use kosher salt, but use what you have) and a few turns of fresh ground pepper to taste.
Now add your oysters. Stir all this gently, and taste the broth. If it's real milky, add some of the liquor, a little at a time, until it's got a good oystery flavor. You'll want to simmer this until the edges of the oysters begin to curl.

That's all there is to it! Put it in a bowl, sit in front of the window, and enjoy a good hot bowl of oyster stew while you're watching the weather do it's thing. You really can enjoy winter around here.

Home-made Flour Tortillas

I didn't get out today, or very much yesterday. Thank goodness for the internet, I was able to get my LCB a Valentine's day gift. But I never made it down to the card shop to get a card. We've been in the midst of a snow-rain-sleet-ice storm the last couple of days, and the roads weren't passable. It's been really cold, and windy, and when it gets like that around here, I start thinking about sunny, warm, dry places. Places like Tijuana, or Tecate. Two border towns in Mexico I used to love to visit.

One of the greatest things about spending the day in Mexico, is the food. My daughters and I loved getting fresh tortillas from the tortillarias down there, and "street tacos" from the vendors. Nothing can compare to a freshly made tortilla with a little butter. Of course, tortillas are a staple in Mexico, and they're used for tons of different dishes, but they're also delicious by themselves when they're right off the griddle. Around here, we can find some commercial corn and flour tortillas, but it's nearly impossible to find un-cooked tortillas. And sometimes, that's what I want, so I can cook the tortilla myself. If you try that with store-bought tortillas, they'll either burn, or get over-crisp, like a cracker.

So I headed to an old standby of mine, Allrecipes.com and found exactly one (1) recipe for Whole wheat flour tortillas. Looking that over, and remembering what I saw those wonderful Mexican ladies do, I adapted the recipe for regular flour tortillas which were surprisingly easy to make. Some of these, hot off the griddle, with a dab of butter, and some mariachi music in the background, and for a few minutes, I was able to forget about the wind, snow, ice etc... Felt like being back in Mexico for a bit. Here's the recipe:

5 cups flour
1/2 cup lard
2 tsps salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Put the flour, lard, and salt in a big mixing bowl. With your hands, rub the mixture until it's the consistency of a coarse meal. (when I say "rub the mixture", I took it between both hands and just rubbed it together in the bowl until I couldn't feel any more lard.)
Make a loose mound with a well in the center. Once the water's boiling, pour it into that well, and with a wooden spoon, mix it all together until the dough is smooth.
Roll the dough into golf-ball size balls, and set them on a tray. Once all your dough is rolled, flour your surface, and take one of the balls, and pat it flat. (the original recipe says to let them sit for an hour or so, but I wasn't that patient) With a well-floured rolling pin, roll the tortilla out as thin as you like, I like them to be almost paper-thin. You'll have to keep changing direction with the pin, in order to keep the tortilla round. Another thing I've learned, is you'll want to start in the center of the tortilla and roll towards the edges. Otherwise it'll wrap around the pin. You have to keep flouring the pin too.
Once you have the size you want. Take it right over to a hot, cast-iron skillet, and let it sit there until little bubbles start to form. Once they do, turn it over and cook it for about 30 seconds, then turn it again and cook 30 seconds on that side. Move it to a plate or a tortilla warmer, and start on the next one.
I cooked about 6 of these, and rolled out the rest. The un-cooked ones I put in a zip-lock bag and into the fridge to use later. Now we'll be able to have fresh tortillas anytime we like. I'm just beside myself.

I think I should probably apologize, as I didn't take pictures of this as we did it. But it turned out so well, that I guarantee we'll be making them again, and I'll get some pics posted then.