A Confession

I have a confession to make.  Yesterday, I made brownies from a BOX.  I know!  How could I?! 

We had some weather yesterday, and I was, well, under the weather.  So while the rest of the fam shoveled us out, I whipped up some brunch, including brownies.  I did spruce up the box mix with some chocolate chips though. 

How did they taste?  Well, like brownies from a box.  They lacked the rich chocolaty goodness of my standards, and the texture was a bit puzzling, with the outside crisp and chewy, but the middle gooey and fudgy.  They got us through brunch though, and I didn’t have to feel like such a slacker for not shoveling. 

Beef Stew

Last week, the average low temperature around these parts was 28°F. Not absolutely frigid, but not exactly warm either. This, my friends, is stewing weather.

 

I will confess up front, however, that I did not make any stew this past week. Nope. Not me. But I did eat some! Big T. made it, and he declared it his best beef stew in a long while, and perhaps his best beef stew ever. I will also confess right here and now that these pictures are not from Big T.'s best ever beef stew of last week, but rather from a beef stew I made last year. Yup, this post has been waiting a year to be written, and here I am.

 

And, I guess while I’m pouring my heart out, I should further confess that I really don’t like beef stew all that much.  Yeah.  Sorry, Big T.  Beef stew is a little too rich, too hearty, too…..masculine for me.  I just can’t appreciate the in-your-face meat-and-potatoes heaviness of it.  I like all of the ingredients on their own and in various combinations, but it seems when they are all dumped into the same pot, I just don’t enjoy it.  Therefore, when I’m making beef stew, I do a few things to cut the richness and overwhelming beef flavor.

 

I don’t really have a recipe for beef stew.  I think any logical combination of meat and vegetables works in some way, and I still haven’t found any amazingly earth-shattering mélange.  However, there are a few ingredients and a few techniques that I will apply to every beef stew I make. 

 

I start by trimming any excessive or hard fat from the meat.  The longer I plan on stewing, the bigger the pieces of meat.  I want them tender, but not stringy and devoid of all texture.  What kind of meat?  Ideally, chuck roast, but almost anything will work.  Then, I heat up some oil in a heavy Dutch oven (oven-safe).  I season the meat with salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic powder, and flour it lightly.  I brown it until it looks delicious and perfect, working in as small of batches as is necessary to accomplish this task.  Sometimes the browning alone takes nearly an hour.  I remove all the meat from the pan and then sweat some onion, garlic, carrot, and whatever other aromatics I plan on using for my broth.  Next, it’s time to brown the tomato paste.  Yep, tomato paste.  Always tomato paste.  There is no better way to add dimension to a stew or braise than with tomato paste.  It does some umami magic and stew without tomato paste isn’t worth eating.  (Again, sorry Big T.)  Once the tomato paste is a gloriously rusty shade of brick, I deglaze with some red wine.  This is essential.  It adds acidity and brightness to the overall dish, and a great fruity quality.  Yum.  The meat goes back in, and I add beef stock or, much more likely, water to cover.  Not too much!  Just cover the meat.  I add a bay leaf and maybe some thyme and bring to a simmer.  Then it goes in the oven.  You preheated your oven, right?  I like a temperature of about 250-275°F.  It doesn’t matter as long as it’s not too high.  I figure the stew will simmer at an internal temperature of 212°F-ish, but the oven needs to be a little warmer.  The great thing about stewing in the oven is that you don’t really need to stir.  I still do, every hour or so to make myself feel important, but there’s not really any risk of burning and the heat is infinitely more even than you can achieve on the stove.  I let the stew simmer in the oven for 2 hours or until the meat is just about at the desired level of tenderness. 

 

While the stew is….erhm…stewing, I cut up the vegetables I want in the stew.  The aromatics I added earlier will basically be mush and have given all their flavor to the broth.  I don’t really strain them out, but I do add some fresh stuff for textural reasons and for brighter flavors.  I pretty much always do carrots and potatoes, but sometimes add corn, string beans, peas, etc.  Put the vegetables in the pot when the meat is nearly done, add more liquid if necessary to just cover everything, and put the pot back in the oven. 

 

Next, and this is a requirement for me, fill a big ole pot with water and set it on high heat.  This, my friends, is for the EGG NOODLES.  Stew, for me, is mostly an excuse to eat egg noodles.  By the time the water boils and the noodles cook, the vegetables you added to the stew should be just about done.  If you want larger chunks of vegetables, you may need to adjust your timing for the egg noodles, but whatever you do, don’t forget the EGG NOODLES!  Big T. forgot the egg noodles.

 

If you wish, thicken the stew with flour or cornstarch dissolved in cold water.  Just mix a tablespoon or two with the water and slowly add to boiling stew.  Make sure to stir as you add your starch of choice.  I bet blending some potatoes would thicken the stew up too.  I should try that. 

 

Anyway, put a little butter on your noodles and then pour on a ladle of stew.  Have a glass of red wine and compliment yourself on your delicious stew.  Then, declare it the best you’ve made in a long time, and perhaps your best stew ever.

 

 

Test

This is a test post.  If it works well, exciting things will be on the horizon!

Perfect Roast Chickens

Throughout my childhood, Sundays always meant roasted meats. Every now and again, we'd have a pork loin, but usually we had either roast beef or chicken. I'm not roast beef's biggest fan -- I prefer my beef ground and grilled with a slice of cheese on top -- but until recently, I vastly preferred roast beef to roast chicken. Roast chicken was dry, tough, tasteless. The only good thing about it was gravy and the Stove Top usually paired with it. Mom would buy eight pound Purdue oven stuffer roasters and cook the hell out of them. In her defense, it's nearly impossible to properly cook a bird that big. It's the turkey paradox -- by the time the thigh is done, the white meat has the texture of saw dust.

Nowadays, though, I friggen love roasted chicken. I've discovered good quality chickens that are the perfect size for even roasting. I now exclusively buy and roast Murray's or Bell & Evans chickens, with Murray's as my bird of choice. They're a bit more money than Purdue, and for Sunday dinner, one is definitely not big enough for my family, but they are unbeatable when cooked properly. They taste like football and family and love and all that crap. Oh, and they taste like chicken!

I do most of my grocery shopping at King Kullen. They usually sell Murray's chickens for $2.59 per pound. For the three to four pound birds I love, that translates to $8-10. For two birds, the $16-20 yields more than one meal. We don't eat all the meat, and small chickens make the best stock.

I don't exclusively buy "organic" or "natural" products. I don't trust these labels. However, I do like the idea of regional (if not local), sustainable, healthy foods that are raised, grown, or otherwise produced without manufactured products (like antibiotics, chemical fertilizers, processed feed, etc.). Murray's is doing this great thing where they label the birds with a code that allows the customer to look up the farm on which the chicken was raised. I think this is kind of cool. I like knowing where my food is coming from.

This chicken is from Pennsylvania! It grew up on either the Brubaker Farm in Middleburg, PA or the Wertz Brothers farm in Danville, PA.

Like all Murray's chickens, this one was grown and processed without antibiotics, hormones, growth stimulants, animal by-products, artificial ingredients, or preservatives.

Murray's also claims that the birds are humanely raised and handled. There's a lot of information about this on the Humane Farm Animal Care web site. Look for this label if you care about farm animal welfare.

For a great Sunday dinner, it's not only important to buy the best chicken, but to cook it the best way. Start by drying it thoroughly with paper towels. Then season aggressively, especially inside the cavity. I used salt, fennel seed, celery seed, poultry seasoning, cayenne, and black pepper. (See the end of this post for amounts).

This was a more complex seasoning mix than I usually use. In general, I like salt, fennel seeds, and cayenne pepper. I tried out the celery seed here just because it sounded good, and I used a little poultry seasoning so I have less to throw away. We seem to have purchased excessive amounts of this blend during the 2008 Thanksgiving season. Really, the most important seasoning of all is the salt though. I use about a tablespoon per chicken.

I season the outside of the birds evenly and then season the cavity. I probably use two thirds of the seasoning on the inside of the chicken and the remaining third on the outside. I roasted the birds side by side in a V-rack breast side up. My technique has changed now, however. I start the birds breast side down and roast for the first half of cooking that way. If I'm just roasting one bird, I like to put cook it in my 12" cast iron skillet. It's the perfect size. If I care about presentation, I will put a small piece of parchment on the bottom of the pot so the skin does not stick and break. Usually, I don't care though.

I don't truss the birds. I usually tuck the wings under and put the ends of the drum sticks in slits in the skin at the tail end. The skin shrinks as it cooks and pulls the legs in tight to the body, helping everything cook evenly. It also leaves the cavity open by pulling the skin away. This allows the heat to flow into the cavity so the bird cooks from the outside and inside. I NEVER stuff the bird. No lemon. No garlic. No onions. No herbs. Just dry seasonings.

I like to roast at 400F. They take around an hour, but I always use my thermometer to cook to 160F. I let the birds rest, but I don't cover them with foil. Then I usually just split the bird at the joints. Don't forget to eat the oysters and the Pope's nose! They are the chef's treats. On rare occasions, I will make gravy, but it usually comes out too salty. I'd rather a perfectly seasoned bird than gravy.

Check out that perfectly browned skin!

Perfect Roast Chicken Recipe
Adapted from Adam Roberts

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 3-4 lb chickens
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 to 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
  

METHOD:

Remove chicken from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature (1-2 hours).

Mix salt, fennel seeds, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a roasting pan with parchment. Choose the smallest possible roasting pan that will accommodate both chickens.

Thoroughly dry chickens, inside and out, with paper towels. This will create a crisper skin.

Place the birds in the pan and season the cavities VERY aggressively. You should use about 2/3 of the seasoning mixture. Then, season the breast and wings of the bird, putting more seasoning on areas where the meat is thicker. Flip the birds so they are sitting breast sides down in the pan and season the backs. Focus on the legs and thighs. All your seasoning should be used up.

Roast for about 30 minutes breast side down at 400F. Flip and roast another 15 minutes. Check the temperature of the breast and thigh in EACH bird. They should be 160F. If not, cook another 10-15 minutes and check again. Repeat until the birds are done. If it takes more than 1 hr 20 mins, something is wrong. The birds were not room temperature, or your oven and/or thermometer are broken. You can cut the skin between the thigh and the body and the juices should be clear or just slightly pink. Allow to rest, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Then carve as you like.

Serves 6-8.

Lemon Chicken with Pasta

Speaks for itself, no?

Four Months Without Me, Or, Julie/Julia

So, uhm...it's been a while. What's my excuse for neglecting G//P for, oh, FOUR MONTHS!? This little thing called Life got in the way.

What was that...? OH! I know! It was a shock to me too! I. Have. A. Life. Yup. Been travelin' and attendin' soirees an' practicin' musical instruments and seein' movies. Aren't I all full o' culture?

Speaking of seeing movies, I saw this little film on Friday night called Julie & Julia. Perhaps you've heard of it? [Nice transition, right?] I didn't follow the Julie/Julia Project blog when Julie Powell was writing it. She began on August 25, 2002 and made it through all of Julia Child's recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year -- an impressive feat. And she wrote about it. And got a book deal. And a movie. Wow.

So what did I think of the movie?

It was a good, solid movie. Glad I saw it, probably worth the $10 admission, but I don't think I'll be buying it on DVD. It really built Julia Child up to god-like status, which she probably deserves. She was an incredible woman with amazing personality and talents.

Julie Powell was convinced Julia could do no wrong, and Julia was portrayed as such. The movie emphasized Julie a bit more than Julia, but I think that was appropriate [yet not necessarily desirable]. Julie was a needy, whiny brat of a woman, although still somehow likeable. Julia was bold, confident, and awesome, so, well, they were nothing alike. I like how timing was handled -- with Julia's life as she began cooking up to her book deal, and Julie's parallel experience. Both stories end kind of abruptly though. Possible SPOILER: I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I get it, I really do. And I know that's sort of how the real story ended. But seriously? This movie was not about subtlety, and that's how they end it?! I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars. It was a good food movie, although it really wasn't about the food. I was hoping for more food.

I did take a look at the original blog that Julie Powell wrote, thinking it would be fun to read it through. Not happening. I, without a doubt, HATE it. I have no desire to read through. It's laden with profanity, whining, and political gripes. I NEVER would have followed the project because I just can't stand the real Julie Powell. Kind of unfortunate, really.

Food & Films 2009: Chili Dip

One of my favorite snack foods, something that begs for a beer and a football game, is chili dip. It is terrifically unhealthy and a bit repulsive if you think about it for more than a few seconds, and would just about kill any natural food junkie. Every now and again though, I break down and eat a few dozen chips' worth. And don't regret it a bit.

This photo stinks, and it probably still wouldn't look good even with the best photograph possible, but it's really a delight to devour. The dish has only three ingredients, plus three recommended accoutrements to properly enjoy. Ingredients: cream cheese, a can of chili, and some shredded cheddar. Optional accessories: tortilla chips, football, and beer.

Tackle, Cotton, and I scarfed down the tray you see here in about 5 minutes. This was more or less lunch for us for Food & Films 2009. There really wasn't even time to take a decent shot of the dip fresh from the oven...it was gone that quickly.

My former boss told me she wooed her husband with a similar dish. It involves Fritos, cream cheese, cheddar, Stagg chili, and chopped onion. And is always microwaved, never baked. I'm not sure how the ingredients fit together, but I do know the Fritos are an ingredient, not a dipper.

I urge you to try this dip, or my former boss' variation, the next time you've got a hankerin' for a coronary. You won't be disappointed.


Chili Dip Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
• 14 oz chili (Amy's Organic Spicy Chili is great!)
• 1 c shredded sharp cheddar

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9" x 13" pan. (I always use a disposable aluminum pan, which I don't spray because I don't have to wash it!) Spread the cream cheese over the entire bottom of the pan. This is tricky if you grease the pan, so make sure the cream cheese is thoroughly softened. Next, spread the chili over the cream cheese in an even layer. Then sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top and place in the oven for around 20 minutes or until bubbly and gently browned. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips. Garnish with herbs if you're trying to impress. Won't matter much after the first taste.