Meal plan: pot roast, soup, veggie burgers

Monday: pot roast, pressure cooked in the instant pot while we were at the neighbor's cookie decorating party Sunday evening.
Tuesday: kale and cranberry bean soup (recipe from many moons ago!)
Wednesday: leftovers/freezer cleanout
Thursday: Dr. Praeger's veggie burgers on English muffins with balsamic-thyme roasted carrots
Friday: TBD/takeout. I've got a bao bao craving creeping up on me, but we'll see if there's room in the budget for takeout.

It's cottage pie week! (Meal Plan Post)

Here's the fridge as of yesterday mid-naptime! I hadn't yet cooked the cabbage for Wednesday night but it's done now. This week we are having:

Sunday: dinner out with family at the Marliave (I had prosciutto wrapped rabbit, Adam had pan seared trout, and Josie had.... french fries. And bread. Sigh.)
Monday: cottage pie (shepherd's pie but made with beef instead of lamb) for A+J, I have a work dinner
Tuesday: Peter Berley's lemon-thyme tofu, farro with peas and parmesan, roasted kuri squash
Wednesday: lamb chops, cabbage sauteed with horseradish and caraway seeds, roasted beets (and let's be honest, I'mma cover the whole mess with sour cream
Thursday: fridge clean out/leftovers/soup from the freezer if need be because
Friday: ALL THE TEX MEX TUCSON HAS TO OFFER

....ahem. We're going to a wedding! It's gonna be fun.



Here are my two cottage pies - I made two because we had friends move in next door (hooraaaaay!) and I was being neighborly. I had thought we'd eat ours Saturday but we went to a different neighbor's early afternoon halloween party and gorged on cheese and crackers and pudding cups. It is more veg than meat, but: sauteed (in batches) 2 onions, 4 big carrots, 3 medium turnips, 2 packages cremini mushrooms, then 2 lbs ground beef, seasoned with worcestershire sauce, s+p. Spread in baking dish, cover with (total 5lbs) mashed potatoes. Topped with a little (not enough) shredded cheddar. Easy enough and food for days!



This is my friend Elana's favorite lemon thyme tofu, a recipe from Peter Berley's "The Flexitarian Table" that I cribbed from here. I snagged a couple peaces for QC before it got packed into the fridge and I like it but think it may warrant a sauce of some sort. We'll see.

Pizza! Beef Stew! Takeout! (Last Week's Meal Plan)

Meal plan for the week of October 19th!

Sunday - pizza night, kale salad
Monday - beef stew (made Sunday)
Tuesday - takeout
Wednesday - sausage, greens (washed the greens on Sunday, added potato wedges because I had time to make them Tuesday night)
Thursday - tomato soup (made Sunday), roasted delicata squash (made Sunday), broiled zucchini and cheesy garlic bread
Friday - beans and egg sandwiches (slow cooker beans, Adam made the egg sandos)



Sunday was pizza night: I used the crust from Vegetarian Cooking for everyone that I make with 50% white whole wheat flour, but instead of making two thin crust pizzas I just put the whole blob of dough on a sheet pan and made a focaccia style pie with red sauce, mozz, and parm. Also kale salad. Delicious, but thick crust pizza doesn't reheat very well.



Beef stew: I made it on Sunday afternoon, we ate it over farro on Monday. Tasty. Provided lunches for most of the week. Here is a picture of Sad Josie Pondering Stew. She had a rough day.



Takeout! Adam had to go to North Carolina for work, so while he enjoyed BBQ (and then had to work overnight, poor guy), Josie and I ordered take out from the South American joint around the corner. I say South American because the menu is vaguely Brazilian, but also Salvadorean and Mexican. ANYWAY that horchata was so on point. I want to be drinking more of it right. now. Chipotle Milanesa (essentially a fried chicken) sandwich, YUM, Josie coveted but I foisted the mediocre tostones off on her instead (mean mommy!). Coxinhas (croquettes with chicken and cheese) were delicious but sat heavily in my tummy. Good beef empanada, meh vegetable side ordered out of guilt. I want to try the tamales.



Sausages, greens, and potato wedges: exactly what it sounds like. I made the potato wedges the night before and Adam just reheated them, plus TJ's chicken sausages and some sauteed broccoli raab. A solid and reliable meal.



Tomato soup, roasted delicata squash (surprising toddler hit!), broiled zucchini (sorry, mommy, still not interested in green foods). Last minute addition of cheesy garlic bread was appreciated by all. Tomato soup was approximately: 1 onion, sweated in butter, a couple garlic cloves, diced red pepper, and a can of tomatoes. Simmered for ten mins and blitzed with the immersion blender. Seasoned it with some Bragg's aminos, salt and pepper. It was fine, but if I had any cream it could have used a lick to round out the acidity some. I always forget how much red pepper comes forward in a soup.



Friday beans and egg sandos! True confessions: this was my second egg sandwich that day. I regret nothing.




On Sunday I also made this pasta "pie" in a greased springform pan: leftovers, layered into the pan with shredded mozz and topped with parm, baked at 375 till brown on top (like 20-30 mins). Fun to eat!

Slow Cooker Beef and Lamb Chili

I know I'm not very good at consistent blogging anymore, but I do often post pictures of dinner over on instagram. I'm a fan of the near-instant posting, and since most of my photos are taken on my phone these days (who wants to carry around a DSLR when an iPhone fits in your pocket?), that particular social media has won out of this one. I like that the pictures are usually sort of messy and un-styled, too (note chili splash marks and chipped bowl). Unfortunately, iPhone keyboards are not so excellent for typing out entire recipes, so here I am again! Let's talk chili.

I make a big batch of chili at least once each winter. It's a fantastic recipe that I got from my friend Kristen, and I will certainly bring it out at some point during football season, but man, is that sucker a project: there's lots of chopping and hours of simmering, and it feeds twenty (twenty!) people. I needed to make some room in the freezer this week, and the weather has turned cool again, but I didn't have hours to tend to a pot - in fact, I threw this in the crockpot in about 30 minutes after Bones the other night and dinner was done before I even woke up the next day. This version is a slimmed down, use-what-you've-got interpretation of my old stand by, so there's a little bit of pre-cooking and a little bit of finishing, but the batch was perfect for dinner for two and a few lunches worth of leftovers.

Slow Cooker Beef and Lamb Chili
Serves 6-8, or 2 with plenty of lunches for the week

By all means, use all beef if that's what you've got (or what you like) but we really enjoyed the added flavor from the ground lamb. And a note on fat: Adam doesn't eat pork on principle, but we do have bacon once a year (New Year's Day, when we have guests for brunch), and I save the fat and cook with it from time to time when it seems like a good fit. If you don't save bacon fat, you could certainly use olive oil, or a combination of oil and butter as in the original, or any other interesting fat you feel like cooking with that day. Or you could cook some bacon with your breakfast and use the fat to start slow-cooker chili that you'll eat for dinner that night. I used home-canned tomatoes from my #crazycanninglady frenzy of Labor Day weekend, but I'm sure store bought would work just fine. 

about 2 tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil, divided

2 stalks celery, cut into half moons about 1/2" thick

2 jalapenos, seeded, minced

2 green peppers, diced into 3/4" pieces

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium white or yellow onions, diced into 1/2" pieces

1 lb ground lamb

1 lb stewing beef, cut into 1 1/2" pieces

2 14.5 ounce cans beans, drained and rinsed (I used dark red kidney beans and pink beans, but use what you like)

1 28-32 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 14.5-16 ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 tablespoon* cumin

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 tablespoon red chili flakes

1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning as you go

kosher salt

*I happen to have a 1/2 tablespoon measure, but if you don't, it's equivalent to 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Heat 1-2 teaspoons fat in a cast iron or other large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add the green peppers, celery and jalapenos and saute for 5-7 minutes until just starting to soften. Add the garlic, season with a big pinch of kosher salt, and saute for one minute more. Scrape the vegetables into the slow cooker.

Add another 1-2 teaspoons fat in the same skillet, and add the onion. Saute for 5 or so minutes, or until the onion is just starting to get translucent. Add the lamb to the skillet, breaking it up with your spatula, and season with a big pinch of salt. Cook until the lamb is no longer pink, stirring and breaking up the meat as it cooks. If your lamb gives off a fair amount of fat as it cooks, tilt the skillet and spoon out most of the fat before scraping the lamb and onions into the slow cooker. (Pro tip: I used one of the empty bean cans as a place to put the fat before it solidified and I could throw it out - never put fat down the drain!)

Add another 1-2 teaspoons fat to the skillet, then add half the beef. Turn the pieces occasionally, trying to get a good dark golden crust on at least two sides of each piece. When the first batch is golden brown on a couple of sides, scrape them into the slow cooker and repeat with the second half of the beef. If your skillet is very large you won't need to work in batches, but mine isn't huge, and crowding the meat will cause it to steam instead of developing the golden brown crust you're after.

So now you've got partially cooked vegetables and meat in the slow cooker. Add the beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce, then add all the spices - you can use more or less chili powder or chili flake to adjust the heat level, or you could add hot sauce if you like. For me, this amount of seasoning amounted to a medium heat level - I didn't add any additional fire power to my bowl, but Adam added pickled jalapenos to his. Anyway, add another large pinch of salt, stir the whole thing together, then put on the lid and turn the slow cooker to low.

Cook on low for about 8 hours or overnight (it is kind of weird and awesome to wake up to a house that smells like chili). When you get up, take the lid off the slow cooker but let it keep simmering, stirring occasionally, for about an hour to thicken slightly (totally ok to skip this if you don't have time, it'll just be a little more soupy). Taste the chili for seasoning - it may need more salt depending on how aggressive you were when seasoning during cooking. Serve hot, with all the fixins if you've got 'em: sour cream, grated cheese, extra hot sauce, sliced green onion, cornbread, fritos, etc, etc.

Meat, Starch, Veg

Do you ever sit at work and get immediate and urgent cravings for a particular type of food? For example: Dang, polenta sounds good. Ok, now I want polenta. GIVE. ME. THE. STARCH. And then instead of going home to immediately eat the polenta, you go out and try to get a new phone except the one you want is apparently popular and therefore not available to you for weeks, thus increasing your frustration level and elevating the need for starchy goodness? Here is what you can do about that when you get home:

Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil. Whisk in 1 cup polenta (aka medium or coarse cornmeal) and turn down the heat. Whisk occasionally while it simmers for 30-40 minutes. Add a tablespoon of butter and a hearty scoop of mascarpone or cream cheese and stir.

Meanwhile, defrost something labeled "BBQ Beef 8/17". Try to remember what recipe you used three months ago. Fail.

Realize that you should put a vegetable on the plate too. Cut some brussels sprouts in half. Heat up a cast iron skillet over a medium flame and put some bacon fat in it to melt. Put the sprouts in, cut side down. Cover it for 5 minutes. Take the cover off. Add half a cup of water, it'll boil off really fast but your sprouts will stop just shy of burning. Flip them over and shut off the heat.

Text your husband and demand he bring home ice cream.

Enjoy.

Chimichurri!

Chimichurri! Such a great word. It sounds like an order to have fun, doesn't it? If you haven't heard of it, here's the story in brief: it's an Argentinean condiment used sometimes as a marinade and sometimes as a sauce (and sometimes both, woo!). It is extremely delicious with steak, and that is how we ate it yesterday. Traditionally chimichurri includes parsley and oregano, garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil. My fresh oregano plant is put away for the winter but we got parsley and cilantro in our CSA share so, here's what I stirred together:

3/4 cup very finely chopped parsley (one big bunch)
3/4 cup very finely chopped cilantro (two smaller bunches)
5 cloves garlic, minced into a paste with a pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, or more to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, more if you want a thinner consistency
salt and pepper

Then I let the chimchurri sit and mingle for a bit while I steamed some potatoes and pan seared two tasty steaks (we like New York Strip). The potatoes were tossed with harissa that I thinned out with some olive oil. The chimichurri was spooned generously onto the steaks and then greedily slurped up. If you're looking for a spot of green, garlicky brightness in your winter meal rotation, try chimichurri.

Ropa Vieja

Two weeks ago I made this Cuban Style Ropa Vieja from Saveur, and I can't stop thinking about it. I think I'm going to have to make it again.

Oh and PS, I used skirt steak instead of flank steak and it was like $6 less per pound. Just a tip.

Pasta with asparagus, bresaola and smoked gouda

Aaah, asparagus. Is there any more longed for harbinger of spring? I made pasta with asparagus last year, but I went slightly heavier this year - no pea shoots and lettuce, this time we're using smoked cheese and cured beef! Mmmm, charcuterie...





This is a riff on a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis that I used to make all. the. time. I even suggested it to an old house mate as a simple and delicious meal to impress a date. From what I remember, he was impressed. I, however was NOT impressed when she left the resulting dishes in the sink for three days, but that's a story for another time. Anyway, I couldn't find smoked mozzarella at the store, so I used smoked gouda. Mozzarella is meltier, but gouda worked fine. For the sake of pork avoidance, I used bresaola, a cured beef salumi instead of prosciutto. It's not the same; bresaola is distinctly beefy, but it filled the salty fatty meaty hole left by prosciutto.



I got the bresaola at Dave's Fresh Pasta right in Davis Square, which is also where I picked up this, uh, fresh pasta. This made an obscene amount of food, much more than we needed. When I bought the fresh pasta, the woman at the shop suggested 1 1/3 pounds for 4 people (I wanted dinner for two + leftovers), but we got 7 (admittedly not enormous) servings out of that much pasta. It was good enough for us to eat for a few days later, but it certainly was not as good reheated as freshly cooked. If you do use that much pasta, use two bunches of asparagus and a bit more cheese.



Pasta with Asparagus, Bresaola and Smoked Gouda
I originally found this recipe in one of Giada's cookbooks and she suggests you make it with penne or ziti to mimic the shape of the asparagus. I think it's very good with penne, but I liked it with fresh pasta quite a bit. She would also have you saute some minced garlic in olive oil and toss the whole mess in that pan, but I skipped garlic and drizzled olive oil on at the end. If you have fresh basil or parsley on hand (I didn't), a tablespoon or two of slivered herbs works very well, toss it with the pasta just before serving.

1/2-3/4 pound fresh pasta (I used a variety with black pepper in the dough)
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed, cut into 1 1/2 inch long pieces
scant 1/4 lb bresaola (or prosciutto) cut into strips
3 oz smoked gouda (or smoked mozzarella), cut in small (1/4 inch) cubes
olive oil
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the fresh pasta, then 1 minute later add the asparagus pieces. When fresh pasta is cooked through (taste to check, it should only take another two or three minutes after you add the asparagus), and the asparagus is crisp-tender, reserve a cup of the cooking water, then drain pasta and asparagus.

Return to pot, add strips of bresaola and cubed cheese, toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and 8-9 grinds black pepper). Remember that the meat is quite salty, and if you've salted your pasta cooking water well you shouldn't need much salt at this point. Taste, add more salt or pepper if necessary or pasta cooking water if it seems dry, then serve.

Flank Steak with Potato and Artichoke Hash and Aleppo Aioli

Apparently I'm on a meat kick. You haven't really seen it here because I've posted two meatless, brunch-y recipes in a row, but I have been eating burgers and Reubens and steak like it's my JOB this past week. And I'm usually such a vegetable girl!

That said, I try to listen to my body when it tells me to eat certain things like greens or beef, because I tend to be borderline anemic. Red meat and leafy greens are the most delicious sources of iron I can think of!

It also helps that steak makes Adam very, very happy.

So when I happened across Flank Steak with Artichoke-Potato Hash and Aleppo-Pepper Aioli in the April issue of Bon Appétit, I knew it would be on the menu in short order.

Have I mentioned that I've rediscovered my cast iron pan? I bought it at a yard sale in Vermont four years ago, used it twice, and hid it away in the cupboard. A few months ago I took it out again and it's perfect for things that need to be seared.... and now have noticed the correlation between the cast iron pan and eating more steak lately. Hmmm.

And now I must admit I've never prepared an artichoke before. The recipe calls for eight baby artichokes, which makes sense now that I've done it, but I used three grown-up specimens. More work, pricklier, still delicious. Basically, you lop off the top and start pulling/cutting the leaves off until you get to the pale yellow ones underneath. Since they were big, I cut them into twelve wedges each instead of 8.

I also used Yukon Gold potatoes cut into bite size pieces instead of searching out Russian Banana potatoes because let's face it, we make do with what we have. Oh, and one more thing - see how clear the grain of the meat is in that raw steak photo up there? It is VERY important that you slice it perpendicular to the grain ( + not = ) or the meat will be unpleasantly chewy, not the tender deliciousness you've been anticipating.

Flank Steak with Potato and Artichoke Hash and Aleppo Aioli
adapted from Bon Appetit

Aioli
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (can sub sweet paprika + chipotle powder 4:1)
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Sherry wine vinegar

Steak + Hash
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1 1/2- to 2-pound flank steak (mine was 1.25 lbs and plenty for 2 with leftovers)
1/2 lemon
8 baby artichokes, stems trimmed
1 1/4 pounds unpeeled small yellow potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup water
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons cream
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Start with the aioli. Mash garlic, Aleppo pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt to paste in mortar with pestle or in small bowl with back of spoon. Whisk in remaining ingredients and set aside. (If you're making this ahead of time and refrigerate it, you'll want to give it some time at room temperature to loosen up so it's more drizzle-able.)

Mix thyme, Aleppo pepper, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in small bowl. Rub seasoning mixture into steak (both sides, now!); set aside

Squeeze juice from lemon half into medium bowl of water. Cut 1/2 inch from tops of artichokes. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, break off dark outer leaves until only pale yellow leaves remain. Cut artichokes lengthwise in half; cut each half into 1/2-inch wedges. As you work, place artichoke wedges in lemon water to prevent browning. You may want to rub the cut surfaces with the other half of the lemon, too, before you put them in the water.

Place potatoes in heavy large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover; sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-high and boil until potatoes are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. (Mine took less than that, just start checking around 5 minutes if you've cut them small) Drain and set aside. Now would be a good time to preheat the oven to 400.

Drain artichokes; pat dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add artichokes and sauté until browned, about 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, thyme sprigs, and garlic. Cover skillet and simmer over medium heat until artichokes are tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and boil until no liquid remains, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and potatoes; stir to coat. Add cream and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes are heated through and browned in spots, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Season hash to taste with salt and pepper.

While the artichokes are browning, heat vegetable oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet (cast iron does a BEAUTIFUL job) over high heat. Add steak and cook until bottom is brown, about 2 minutes. Turn steak over; transfer to oven and roast until cooked to desired doneness, about 7 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer steak to work surface; tent with foil to keep warm. Let rest 10 minutes, while you're finishing the hash.

If needed, rewarm artichoke-potato hash gently over medium heat. Stir in chopped chives. Thinly slice steak perpendicular to the grain. Divide steak and hash among plates. Drizzle some aioli over steak. Serve, passing remaining aioli alongside.

In which I finally participate, or, Paper Chef 38

I have not been blogging for that long. Well, there were those four or five misguided months freshman year of college during which I thought everyone and their mom wanted to know about who sneezed in my English lit class, but let's save that for another time, shall we? This blog has been up and running for almost a year (note to self: think of something tasty for blog-o-versary) but I have yet to participate in any of the popular blog events that come around every weekend, or every Tuesday, or every Friday. But when I stumbled across the Paper Chef phenomenon, I was intrigued.

So here's the story. The first full weekend of every month is Paper Chef weekend. On Wednesday, the previous month's winner randomly selects three ingredients from a list of suggestions, and a fourth of their own choosing. Then you have to use them all in one dish. Hmmmm.

This month's chosen ingredients are fig, mint, anchovy, and polenta. Again I say, hmmmm.

First I thought of tapenade: figs, olives, anchovies, mint, all mashed together on a fried polenta crudite would be easy enough.

But then I remembered that meatloaf I made a while back that had prunes finely chopped and mixed right in. And I love mint in savory dishes - I sometimes confuse the flavor with basil, actually. Oh and anchovies are a great base for tomato sauce (no, mom, they don't taste like fish, they taste... nutty) and then I ended up with this:


Here are some things I would do differently: I wish the polenta had been creamier, so next time I'll use more water (and more butter!). I wish the tomato sauce had been less watery (though I think it looks ok) but I only had diced tomatoes, not pureed, and I was too hungry to let it reduce a lot. I LOVED the meatballs. Seriously. Mint and fig set off the savory beef and onion very well - I'll make these again, maybe to put in fresh pitas with a sauce of mint, yogurt and lemon.

Fig and Mint Meatballs with Anchovy Tomato Sauce over Creamy Polenta
serves 4

For the Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef (I used 90/10 which was just lean enough for me)
1/2 cup dried mission figs, finely chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 a cup)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 large clove garlic, minced or grated
3 tbsp basil, finely chopped
2 tbsp mint, finely chopped
1/8 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper, about 1/2 tsp each

For the sauce:
6 anchovy fillets (packed in oil, rinse them first if you got salt-packed)
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1 tbsp butter
1 28 oz can good quality diced tomatoes (or pureed tomatoes, see notes)
2 tbsp basil, finely chopped
1 tbsp mint, finely chopped

For the polenta:
1 cup polenta, not pre-cooked, but instant (5 minutes cooking time) is fine
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt

For garnish:
basil chiffonade
whole mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 375. Then, while you chop the herbs and onion for the meatballs, soak the finely chopped figs in some hot water, just to soften them up a bit. Let them sit for five minutes or so, then drain them thoroughly. Combine with all the other meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix, with your hands, until combined. Spread a tablespoon of olive oil on a baking sheet, and form the meatball mixture into about 18 balls, 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake for 12 -15 minutes until cooked through, turning once if you like, and until there are some brown crispy bits on the tops.

While the meatballs bake, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a wide skillet over medium high heat, and add the anchovy fillets. After a minute or so, you can start smushing them with a wooden spoon; they will eventually "melt" into the sauce. After two more minutes, add the grated or minced garlic, and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until you can smell it. Add the can of diced tomatoes and let simmer for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes soften. Begin smushing the tomatoes with the wooden spoon, you're going for a sauce, but a chunky one. The meatballs are probably done now - just set them aside, it will all come together in a couple of minutes. Tent them with foil if you like, to keep them warm. Add the basil and mint to the sauce, stir, taste, and season with salt and pepper.

While the tomatoes simmer, prepare the polenta according to package directions. The brand I found said to bring four cups of salted water to a boil, then add one cup of polenta in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then whisking for 5 minutes over low heat until it thickens. It thickens FAST and it's so thick that the bubbles are violent. Whisking constantly is not a recommendation, it's a must, and it helps to have another person in charge of whisking. After five minutes, add the butter and parmesan to the polenta, taste, and add more salt if necessary.

To plate, lay the polenta in a circle in the middle of a wide bowl or dish, top with tomato sauce, and put 3-4 meatballs on top, garnish with chiffonade basil and a mint leaf.

Note: I was going for something sort of pretty, but if you've gotten the timing off a little, you could add the meatballs back to the tomato sauce and simmer for a few minutes to warm them up.

Kristen's Chili

Ok, I know! I know the Superbowl was last Sunday and maybe chili season ends with football season. But it's really, really good... Maybe you can serve it at your, um, Grammy watching party this Sunday? And honestly, I don't think you'll blame me. How can I be blogging about chili when this little love muffin is running around distracting me from chopping up peppers??


And the dog ain't bad either! (ba-dum!) I kid, I kid. We're puppy sitting for Megan's cousin this week and Mimi has been an absolute joy to have around. Look at how she snuggles during super bowl prep! And please note my t-shirt: I'm wearing it with irony.

Where was I? What were we making? Aaah yes. Kristen's Chili. I think it's proper name would actually be Kristen Iverson's Award Winning Chili since she won the Great WGA Chili Cook-Off of 2008.
Pardon the slightly crappy photo of the ingredients. Also, I didn't photograph the meat because frankly, ground beef is not lovely in any way. But it tastes so. good. In fact one of the best things about this chili is that it contains both ground beef and chunks of stew meat. It also contains beans and tomatoes, which may offend some purists but I think it's delicious. And here, I think, is why:

I love the way the recipe is written: "at least 2 tbsp each: crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, white pepper, black pepper, salt, cumin, dill weed, hot chili powder, regular chili powder, celery salt, parsley, 3 tbsp garlic powder." But that's not quite the way I did it. I ran out of garlic powder, but I added Aleppo pepper. I didn't have any celery salt at all but I added some chopped chipotles. I didn't want to use a beer I would drink, so I bought a teensy weensy can of Bud Light, and since I cut the recipe down (I made a 3/4 batch or so) I used heaping tablespoons instead of 2 tablespoons of the spices.

All's I'm sayin' is feel free to take some liberties. Kristen never makes it the same way twice but it always turns out delicious.

It's spicy, so have some sour cream and cheese around to cool it down a bit for the wimps (me) and some hot sauce to crank it up for the crazies (ahem, you know who you are). It's GREAT in bread bowls, but I got so excited I forgot to take pictures of them. This is the last serving of leftovers.

Kristen Iverson's Award Winning Chili
parenthetical notes are from Kristen, not me-acb

For the Vegetables:
olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large green peppers, chopped
3-4 small Hungarian yellow peppers, chopped with seeds
2 -3 jalapenos, chopped with or without seeds (I also buy a couple more random peppers and throw them in)

Beef:
2.5 pounds ground sirloin
1 tbsp butter
1 small white onion, peeled, chopped
1 pound beef stew meat
olive oil
5-6 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
celery salt and pepper

Tomatoes/spices/other:
3 cans beans (I use an assortment- light and dark red kidney, white cannelini, whatever)
2 cans green chilies (hot or mild)
3 cans (28 oz each) diced tomatoes
1 can (28 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (28 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz) zesty diced tomatoes
at least 2 tbsp each: crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, white pepper, black pepper, salt, cumin, dill weed, hot chili powder, regular chili powder, celery salt, parsley
3 tbsp garlic powder
hot sauce (I use Frank's, Tabasco, and one other one we have in our house) (I skipped this-acb)
1 12 oz beer

In a large skillet, heat however much olive oil is needed and saute red onion, celery, green pepper, jalapenos, and Hungarian peppers (or whatever peppers you buy) until softened. Remove from skillet and set aside.

In a large stock pot, the one you are going to cook all the chili in, saute the white onion and garlic in olive oil and butter for a minute or two. Add the ground sirloin, some celery salt and pepper and brown the ground sirloin leaving the fat in the pot. In a large skillet (I spooned all the sauteed veggies into another bowl and then threw the beef in the original skillet) heat some more olive oil and brown the beef stew meat.

Pour the stew meat (with the liquid) and sauteed vegetables to the large stock pot with the ground sirloin. Add all the canned stuff (tomatoes, beans, chilies) and spices (once everything is in the pot I just start dumping all the spices in, you don't have to measure everything out exactly)

Bring to boil and then reduce to low heat, let simmer uncovered, stirring often, until desired thickness. I let it simmer about 5-6 hours, the longer the better.

ta-dahhhhhh! serves 20.

Blue Cheese Risotto (and a Large Piece of Meat)

Given that photo, I think you may be surprised to hear that steak is not the star of this post. Nope. I marinated it (and it's twin) in some red wine and garlic, dried it thoroughly, seasoned it thoroughly with salt and pepper, and cooked in a cast iron skillet on high heat: rare for Adam, medium-rare for me.

Ooooh, hey, here we go. Risotto! That's the star here. Isn't it crazy how rice and broth and a little bit of olive oil can go from just a pile of grains to something smooth and creamy and, say, the perfect bed for a delicious steak?

It's creamy, starchy, slightly stinky-in-a-good-way from the blue cheese. Add a little steamed spinach to make you feel virtuous, and you will have a meal your boyfriend might just say is one of his favorites you've ever made. I'm just sayin'.

Blue Cheese Risotto
adapted from Bon Appetit, December 1997

4-5 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 medium shallot, diced
1 cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice
salt and pepper
1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 2 ounces)

In a medium pot, bring the broth to a simmer; you'll want to keep it warm but not boiling. Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep saute pan over medium heat and add the diced shallot. Saute for a couple of minutes until the shallot is softening, then add the rice and toast it, stirring. After a couple of minutes the rice should be starting to show a few spots of golden toastiness. Now add about a cup of the warm broth and stir.

You don't actually have to stand right near the stove and stir constantly, but you should stir frequently. When you drag a spoon through the rice and the liquid doesn't rush back in to fill the space, add more liquid, a half cup at a time. Keep stirring, and after about 20 minutes to half an hour, the rice will release its starch and become creamy. You might not use all the broth, but if you run out before the rice is done, just keep going with water. Taste it, the grains should be al dente, not mushy, but definitely cooked through. At this point, crumble in the blue cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over spinach and under steak.

Serves 2 with leftovers.

Monday Meatloaf

So, it's fall. Ok. I addressed that the other day so you know how I feel about it. I am trying to cook my way out of this malaise using cold-weather favorites. At Hugh's request this week, we had Meatloaf Monday.

We also had Martini Monday, but that's another story.

[Aside: Look at my pretty new knife! It made all the chopping so much FUN. That boy knows just what makes my heart go pitter pat... cutlery, apparently. Thank you!]

Knowing we would be at the supermarket Monday evening, I perused epicurious for meatloaf recipes Monday morning. When you search "meatloaf," this one from February's Gourmet is the second 'loaf listed, and the reviews are mostly favorable. Though I was hesitant about the prunes, it seemed this was the meatloaf for me. I started when we got home from the store and the groceries were put away around 6:30, so we ate quite late, but we were entertained! T^2 was around and... there were martinis. With garlic stuffed olives. Mm hmm.

ANYWAY. I didn't take very good pictures of this meatloaf, because frankly, it's hard to photograph a lump of meat. A delicious, slightly sweet and tangy, pleasantly chunky lump of meat it may be, but photogenic it is not.


Some notes: It is a slightly crumbly loaf. That may be because I didn't chop anything too finely, even the prunes. (The original recipe says to chop them in a food processor, but I just chopped finely with a knife.) It was MUCH easier to slice the next day out of the fridge, and might I suggest that you save it for meatloaf sandwiches? Because WOW. And might I also suggest that you wait a few days on the sandwich, because my next post is going to be about the most delicious sandwich bread ever? Because YOWZA.

The final note is about loaves and is prompted by some confusion in the epicurious reviews. Some meatloaves (meatloafs?) are cooked in an actual loaf pan, but this one is formed into a loaf shape and then baked in a rectangular baking dish. This ups the surface area to the max, so you get that delicious crunchy crust on more of the meatloaf. It stands to reason that the ends are the best part.


Monday Meatloaf
adapted from Epicurious

feeds 4-6 or 2-4 with leftovers for sandwiches

1 cup fresh bread crumbs
(Stale bread + food processor = fresh bread crumbs. Make them when you have stale bread, keep them in the freezer)splash of milk3-4 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped3 garlic cloves, minced1 celery rib, chopped1 carrot, chopped2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce1 tablespoon cider vinegar1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
salt and pepper1/2 cup pitted prunes, finely chopped1 1/4 ground beefscant 1 lb ground pork (not lean)2 eggshandful finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 350.

Add milk to breadcrumbs in a large bowl, just enough to get them wet, and set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high, and add the chopped bacon. Saute until cooked through (or crispy, if you like), then add bacon to breadcrumbs in bowl. Drain all but a tablespoon of bacon renderings from pan, then add onion, celery, carrot and garlic and saute 5 minutes. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook 5 minutes more or until carrots are tender. Turn off the heat and add the Worcestershire sauce vineger, allspice, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Stir to combine, then add to breadcrumbs and bacon.

Add finely chopped prunes, beef, pork and chopped parsley to bowl and mix it all together with your hands until combined. Form it into an oval loaf approximately 9 x 5 in a 13 x 9 baking dish. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 155 in the center of the loaf. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. And don't be scared of the liquid in the pan.

Don't be afraid to make this if you are only cooking for two, because the leftovers make amazing meatloaf sandwiches.