RogueChef
“It IS all about the TASTE”
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Hearty food for wet weather … Sausage and Pepper
It’s cold, wet, rainy, just out and out miserable. I want hearty food, but I’ve done so many stews, soups, Asian noodles, etc that I want to yark at the thought.
So let’s look at some pub favorites, sausages are good, bangers and mash is a start, as is Toad in the Hole, but I do want a good mix of veggies, and something that is less fattening… Maybe Sausage and peppers, but for a kick I’ll mix them 1/2 sweet Italian, and 1/2 hot Italian. with a good mix of red and green bell, as well as sweet vidella onions, perhaps add a bit of broccoli or zucchini. To kick this up a bit, and move it from the street cart and into the Bad Wolf Lair’s kitchen, I’ll server it on plates with a nice garlic cheese bread and a side salad. Serve it hot, and wash it down with a cold beer.
Background
A sausage sandwich is a sandwich containing cooked sausage. Outside the United Kingdom, it generally consists of an oblong bread roll such as a bagette or ciabatta roll, and sliced or whole links of sausage, such as hot or sweet Italian sausage, Popular toppings include mustard, peppers, onions, and tomato sauce. -
Spring Chicken – Roasted That is..
This recipe is based on a demonstration at a local Italian restaurant. I was drooling for the oven until this recipe came out, and then I had to leave before I mugged someone for the chicken. The concept was to spatchcock a chicken, and roast it over veggies and Italian sausage. Served with a fresh home made bread, (did I tell you the oven also does a wonderful job of baking bread), and a fresh salad, (Sorry the oven does not do salad well), this is a heavenly dish.
Since I was told my allowance would NOT cover the cost of the oven, I’ll have to do this the old fashioned way. It is a good thing I have my large oven with the massive 1″ pizza stones in it, so I can approximate the cooking environment of a real brick oven….
I’ll start with two young spring chickens, free range if possible, boned, flattened, seasoned and lubed with a butter and herb mixture worked into and under the skin. Then add some sweet Italian sausage, (one can exclude this, and replace the butter with olive oil. in case of kosher allergies), some garlic, some fresh herbs from my aero garden, new red potatoes, zucchini, celery, Perl onions, fresh carrots, all tossed in olive oil, garlic and chopped fresh herbs. As a finishing touch, fresh lemon and more fresh chopped herbs.
BTW: If some reader out there wishes to gift me one of those ovens…. Forno Bravo is the name.
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Flaky Biscuit
One of my all time favorite things. Biscuits, even better home made biscuits, but the best are light flaky, buttery biscuits.
Those topped with butter and jelly, or gravy, or a small piece of ham and an egg, or with cheese and herbs mixed in are a true delight. Trouble is that make them flaky and tender takes a bit of technique. One idea that showed up while watching a cooking show was a fold method which is similar to making ciabatta.
A biscuit is an short bread, usually portioned to a single serving size. While biscuits derive their name for being “twice baked”, the American biscuit is baked once.
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Cold Weather Comfort Food – Beef Stew
The cabbage stew was a hit, so much so I am faced with nothing left from the meal. That leaves me with a bit of a challenge as to what to make. Looking back at my posts, I’ve not done a real beef stew in several years, so I think I will revisit that and see how all the new techniques I’ve learned will affect the dish.
So some comment elements of Stews :
- A stew is a combination of solid ingredients that have been cooked (braised) in liquid.
- The cooking liquid is usually thickened and served as a gravy
- The sauce may be thickened by reduction or thickened with flour
- Stews can include a combination of vegetables, meat, poultry, sausages and seafood.
- Seasoning and flavorings may also be added.
- Water, wine, stock, and beer are common stew-cooking liquids
- Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature (simmered)
- Stewing is suitable for the less tender cuts of meat that have marbling and gelatinous connective tissue
- Stews have less liquid than soups, are much thicker and require longer cooking over low heat.
- Stews usually are thick enough to be served on a plate with the gravy as a sauce over the solid ingredients
Hmmm.. Less tender cuts of meat, cooked slowly…. As I said prior in A Roast for All Seasons:
Then moisture from the cooking liquid will accumulate between the fibers of the meat and as the roast is cooked through to an internal temperature of 200 degrees, the bonds between the protein and water actually rupture, and the meat will literally fall apart.
So may be simmering is NOT the answer, I’ll assemble the stew and bake it in the oven. As for meat choice, I’ll use chuck steak, it is cheap, and it has LOADS of flavor, it just needs to be cooked properly. Maybe I’ll cube it up, marinate, toss in flour and sear. But I want I really good sear, so that means very high heat, and that means a wok!. (I’ll use some of the seasoned oil, from the chicken chop suey to add a bit of flavor as well)
I have a number of veggies in the fridge and pantry so I’ll wak those up and add them as well. Carrots, potatoes, onions, shallots, celery, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, peas, corn, they all become part of the stew. (harder veggies go in first, softer veggies get added later).
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“Amerasian” Cuisine – Chicken Chop Suey
I polled the denizens of the lair to see what they might like as a end of lunar new year feast, (Yes, I know I am a day late.)
Funny thing is the winner was chop suey, this connotes “leftovers” in Chinese. It is usually a mix of vegetables and meat in a brown soy based sauce. That is fine, as I am always looking for ways to serve “leftovers”. This will work just fine, as I have a number of fresh veggies that need to be used as well as some of the veggies left from last night’s “Pizza and a Flick” event.
The ironic thing is that one of the world’s greatest cuisines, (Chinese) should have been represented by a dish that did not even originate in China itself, but half a world away in San Francisco.
As usual, American Chinese food typically treats vegetables as garnish while cuisines of China emphasize vegetables. Native Chinese cuisine makes frequent use of Asian leafy vegetables and puts a greater emphasis on fresh meat. As a result, American Chinese food is usually less pungent than authentic cuisine.
American Chinese food tends to be cooked very quickly with a great deal of oil and salt. Many dishes are quickly and easily prepared, and require inexpensive ingredients. Stir-frying, pan-frying, and deep-frying tend to be the most common cooking techniques which are all easily done using a wok.
One supposes, I will need to play the part of the unwashed American barbarian, It matters not as I am sure the food will be good…
I’ll start with a mixture of white and dark meat for flavor and texture. I have 3 chicken breasts and 6 thighs, (which I will debone), all of which I will chop down to “strings” approx 1/2″ wide by 3-4 long. These will then be marinated in butter milk over night. (This helps the moisture content of the breast, and does a bit to soften the tissues of the thighs.)
Once marinated I’ll drain, and Velvetize, (oil blanch). See my article Velvetizing (Oil Blanching) Meat. I have an updated photo gallery of this process
Chop Suey also utilizes a component called seasoned oil. Vegetable oil can be some rather rough stuff, and especially if you are using oil that has been used prior. Seasoning the oil helps to add flavor and cover the “foreign taste”, as I’ll be using fresh oil for this I want to add flavors. So I’ll Julianne some ginger, shallots, chili’s, and garlic to fry and steep in the oil. The heat from the fry will “crack” the spices and allow the oils and aromatics to seep into the oil, adding flavor.
A gallery for this is here.
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Flakealypse Now! – Chicken Paprikash
I managed to make it to my office this morning, and on my way back to the lair through the steadily increasing wind and snow, I did stop by one of the more upscale grocery stores. (Not because I wanted upscale, because they were on the way back to the lair…). I was amazed at the poultry they had there, a most impressive array. They had a special on boneless breasts, (not my favorite cut, but the price was right), and so several (2) were purchased.
As these are boneless and skinless, they will be very low in fat, and very easy to dry out in a dry heat cooking method, so I’ll need to to braise or a stew. As an added insurance against “Sahara or Firestone Farms Chicken”, I’ll marinate them in buttermilk, for a tender, juicy chicken. The buttermilk helps to tenderize the flesh and replaces the moisture lost due to the removal of the bones and skin.
Of course, I’ll add a little flavor by way of some garlic, ginger, salt, paprika, and pepper added to the buttermilk. As I’ve done a good bit of comfort food lately, I wanted something a bit different so I asked the butcher, (YES, THEY HAD A BUTCHER!), and he suggested a paprika chicken.
Paprikás csirke, or “paprika chicken,” is one Hungary’s most famous dishes. Chicken is simmered in a paprika-flavored sauce until tender and sour cream is stirred into the sauce to enrich it. Chicken paprikash, as it is often called, is served with buttered noodles. Use real paprika for this dish… (by real I mean a good paprika, not the usual spice factory garbage)
If two or three tablespoons of paprika powder is used for spice and a generous amount of sour cream and heavy cream is added to the chicken stew in the end, it will become what the Hungarians call a Paprikás. Topping the dish with fresh chopped herbs (Parsley/ Cilantro) gives the paprikás a signature flavor.
I’ll serve this over noodles, with fresh bread and a side salad
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Breakfast Bowl
As fate would have it, the one morning, I decided to sleep in, one of the denizens flew in from Europe. Of course, he flew in on the “Red-Eye”, and the food was less than expected, even of Airline food. His entire comment was “Feed me, I’m starving, I’m dying for a good cup of coffee, and something other than poor attempts at commercial gourmandry”.
So having NOT planned on doing a Brunch, I was faced with Bacon, Eggs and Biscuits… But I really wanted to do this with a bit of a flare. So maybe individual ramekins with biscuits, an egg some pancetta, and grated cheeses.
Now a normal person will eat two eggs, two biscuits and a rasher of bacon. I’ll use that as my guide line on the individual serving.
With this I’ll serve some good coffee, with half and half and sugar.
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Bourbon Steak Au Poivre
CyberMonday, and I am sooooo freaking sick of turkey, dressing, gravy, roux, and canned cranberry crap.
Time for something different, say beef or better steak, and say takes not more than 20 minutes to cook.
Background
Steak au poivre (pepper steak) is a French dish that consists of a steak, (usually filet mignon), coated with loosely cracked peppercorns and then cooked. The peppercorns form a crust on the steak when cooked and provide a pungent but complementary counterpoint to the rich flavor of the high-quality beef. The peppercorn crust itself is made by placing the steak in a bed of cracked black peppercorns, and sea salt. The steak is seared in a hot skillet with a small amount of butter to cook it, at a high temperature that cooks the outside quickly and forms the crust while leaving the interior rare to medium rare. The steak is then rested for several minutes and then served.
Often accompanied by a pan sauce consisting of reduced cognac, heavy cream, and the fond from the bottom of the pan. A classic side dish to steak au poivre would be pommes frites (small fried shoestring potatoes).
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