Category: House Made

From standards to radical departures, homemade is always best

Semi-Greek


Ok, so we suddenly have, shall we say, a whole pantload of cucumbers! What to do, what to do… Can’t preserve much of them, can’t give them all away, so gotta get cookin’. first thing that comes to mind for me is Tzatziki, just ’cause I do love it so. Secondly, we wanted something cool, ’cause it’s bloody 100+ outside and we neither need a bunch of cooking heat nor hot food on days like this, eh?

So off to the market, with a vague idea of a Greek themed dindin. I saw no lamb, so I settled on pork and beef, both USDA Choice, which they had as a Buy-1-Get-3-Free deal, so I bought three of each, of course. Snagged some very nice Greek yoghurt and some flatbread. No Retsina in sight, so a dry white wine, and back to the kitchen I went. I decided to make the protein as Greek-Like as a could and work from there. Here’s what I came up with.

Kinda-Greek Sausage
50%-50% cuts of beef and pork
Basil
Rosemary
Oregano
Thyme
Granulated Garlic
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Note: I did this as sausage ’cause I have an attachment for our Kitchenaid – If you don’t, fret not – Just cut stuff to about 1/2″ and go with that, it’ll be fine – You won’t need to freeze/chill the flesh if you go this route, but limit its time outside the fridge strictly for food safety considerations.

Remove meat from packages, cube to about 1.5″ and throw them into the freezer for about 15 minutes. Throw another stainless bowl in there too, to catch the finished product. When making sausage, or really, any forcemeat, keeping your ingredients really cold all throughout the process is critical: This is necessary first and foremost to keep the proteins under 40°F and thus out of the Food Temperature Danger Zone. Secondly, it helps make a more homogenous end product with better taste and texture.

I grabbed the herbs from the garden, of course, (Which you should do too, by the way…) Field strip herbs and chiffenade/mince. Remove protein from freezer, coat liberally with oil, add herbs, garlic, salt and pepper, mix well.

Process through grinder with the wider of the two plates provided. Use chilled bowl for catching the finished sausage and return finished product to the fridge ASAP.

I cooked off the sausage in a saute pan, and M came home as I was doing so – I knew I’d done OK when the first words out her mouth were “Oh that smells soooo good!”

Now for the magic ingredient…

Tzatziki

1 8 oz container of Greek Yogurt, (You can use regular too)
1 med cucumber
2 tbspn olive oil
Juice from 1/2 to 1 lemon, (As you like it)
1 tspn dill, chopped fine, (You can sub spearmint)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt to taste

If you don’t have Greek Yoghurt, plain will do, but find Greek if you can; it is richer, tangier and thicker, all of which are good things when it comes to Tzatziki.
Line a colander or strainer with paper towel and drain the yogurt for 15 to 30 minutes; this is critical in avoiding a runny final product.

Peel, seed and grate cucumber. We used Armenian from our garden, which have wonderful taste and nice, firm flesh. Any decent cuke will do, but make sure it is nice and firm!

Combine everything and mix well by hand, as blending or processing will make your yogurt break down.

Place in a non-reactive bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Let the sausage cool along with the Tzatziki.

Cut up veggies of your choice for garnish – We went with yellow bell pepper, tomato, cilantro, lettuce, onion, and pimento stuffed green olives – Talk about yummy!

Grill or toast flatbread. I wanted flatbread we could open and stuff like a Gyro, but the stuff I found wouldn’t do that, so we just cut grilled wedges and called it good. If you like cheese, then Feta or Mizithra would rock with this – We didn’t want to cloud the wonderful Tzatziki, so we left it off of ours.

Pile everything on and απολαύστε – εύγευστος!
(Enjoy – Delicious!)

Serious Mac & Cheese


OK, have had a ton of requests for more detail on comfort food faves and mac and cheese as I do it in particular, so here ya go!

If and when we do a restaurant, mac & cheese will be a mainstay, and I’ll guarantee in advance that, while it likely will never be the same twice, it’ll always make you come back for more. Here’s my secret, honed over decades of serious research…

The Roux

3 Tablespoons unsalted Butter.
3 Tablespoons Flour.
3 cups Milk.

Roux is the key to sauce, as far as I am concerned. I have an idiosyncrasy about roux making that was shown to me many moons ago by a French Chef in a French kitchen, and it was sooo durn good, I’ve done it this way ever since. The bottom line is this; never break the roux. What I mean is this: You’re adding fat and starch, (Well, gluten), to liquid to make the resultant sauce thicker. Therefore, you want the chemistry that adds those qualities maintained. The how-to is simple: As you mix flour with butter, and then add liquid, do it slowly enough that you start with almost a paste, and maintain that stretchy, thick consistency throughout your mixing. Add milk slowly, a little at a time, incorporate, allow it to get back up to heat and repeat until all the liquid is added – In other words, do not mix butter and flour and then just dump in milk – Doing that defetas the purpose of the roux completely, for my mind… The other consideration is the shade of your roux. The beauty of roux to me is the simplicity. When roux is cooking alone, it’s that sweet, bready, rich theme we want to exploit. Personally, I like my roux for stuff like this to be nut brown, the color of done shortbread, before I start adding milk. You do what smells, looks, tastes and feels best to you! Hopefully, this series of pics will illustrate my ramblings adequately…

The Cheese

2 to 3 cups of your choice, shredded.

Here’s where that statement above about my stuff never being quite the same twice comes to fruition. Put simply, I open the fridge and use what’s there and floats my boat at the moment. If you buy and eat good cheese, you quite simply cannot fail in this regard. And frankly, why do the same old thing all the time? variety is the spice of life, so mix it up! If you come upon a really spectacular blend, (And you will), write it down, take pics and do it again, by all means, but first, ya gotta discover!

Tonight, I found a bunch of candidates and decided upon a four cheese blend. I went with Swiss and Jack as dominant notes, (About a cup each), and extra sharp yellow cheddar with 2 year old WSU white Cheddar as minors, and there’s your cheese chord!

Add cheese about a half cup at a time and allow to incorporate and heat thoroughly before ya throw in more.

Once that’s all in, it’s seasoning time. Here again, other than salt and pepper, there are no hard and fast rules. Do what smells, looks, feels and tastes right! Tonight, salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika and a shake of dried Tabasco chile was the stuff. Blend well and then take your sauce off the heat, and start into pasta.

Pasta

Use roughly 12 ounces of what you like

Yep, that’s it. We don’t use long and skinny stuff, for obvious reasons, but you could if you like it! We like shells a lot because they act like little boats for the sauce, but macaroni, fusilli, rotini, bowtie, radiatori, ruote, whatever floats your boat, throw it in!

Make sure your water is well salted, (As in about like seawater) and lightly oiled. Boil pasta to firm al dente, then drain and toss to remove al excess water.

Throw your pasta into a lightly oiled baking dish, add the sauce and mix well. Don’t put so much pasta in there that things will be dry. Mac and cheese needs to be luxurious, decadent, rich and creamy, not dry and pasty! I top with something, again, whatever floats my boat, but I always top. The nice, crunchy crust is a great addition and it helps seal in the casserole too. I’ve used everything from panko bread crumbs to crushed jalapeno potato chips and everything in between; again, it’s about what you have and that feels good!

To bake or not to bake; there ain’t any question…
Bake, plain and simple. 350 F for 30 minutes, preheat your oven first, of course. Baking infuses and blends flavors, textures and smells. Do it – Eating something like this without doing so is like taking the middle out of an Oreo, throwing it away and just munching the wafer – Good, but not right…

See? doesn’t that look incredible?!
Yes. Yes it does…

Pair It

Now, I am the first to say that stuff this good don’t need nuthin’ to help it, but that would be wrong. Pair your mac with a nice, light salad. That will provide a counterpoint to the incredible richness, help clear your palate, let you eat and appreciate everything more, and that’s good! Monica did a beautiful job with fresh greens, onion, pickled radish, homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers, dusted with dill, and tossed with a light balsamic vinaigrette – Perfect counterpoint!

And there you have it – The cat’s outta the bag – Bon appetit!

Serious Mac & Cheese


OK, have had a ton of requests for more detail on comfort food faves and mac and cheese as I do it in particular, so here ya go!

If and when we do a restaurant, mac & cheese will be a mainstay, and I’ll guarantee in advance that, while it likely will never be the same twice, it’ll always make you come back for more. Here’s my secret, honed over decades of serious research…

The Roux

3 Tablespoons unsalted Butter.
3 Tablespoons Flour.
3 cups Milk.

Roux is the key to sauce, as far as I am concerned. I have an idiosyncrasy about roux making that was explained to me many moons ago by a rather famous French Chef, and it was sooo durn good, I’ve done it this way ever since. The bottom line is this; never break the roux. What I mean is this: You’re adding fat and starch, (Well, gluten), to liquid to make the resultant sauce thicker. Therefore, you want the chemistry that adds those qualities maintained. The how-to is simple: As you mix flour with butter, and then add liquid, do it slowly enough that you start with almost a paste, and maintain that stretchy, thick consistency throughout your mixing. Add milk slowly, a little at a time, incorporate, allow it to get back up to heat and repeat until all the liquid is added – In other words, do not mix butter and flour and then just dump in milk – Doing that defetas the purpose of the roux completely, for my mind… The other consideration is the shade of your roux. The beauty of roux to me is the simplicity. When roux is cooking alone, it’s that sweet, bready, rich theme we want to exploit. Personally, I like my roux for stuff like this to be nut brown, the color of done shortbread, before I start adding milk. You do what smells, looks, tastes and feels best to you! Hopefully, this series of pics will illustrate my ramblings adequately…

The Cheese

2 to 3 cups of your choice, shredded.

Here’s where that statement above about my stuff never being quite the same twice comes to fruition. Put simply, I open the fridge and use what’s there and floats my boat at the moment. If you buy and eat good cheese, you quite simply cannot fail in this regard. And frankly, why do the same old thing all the time? variety is the spice of life, so mix it up! If you come upon a really spectacular blend, (And you will), write it down, take pics and do it again, by all means, but first, ya gotta discover!

Tonight, I found a bunch of candidates and decided upon a four cheese blend. I went with Swiss and Jack as dominant notes, (About a cup each), and extra sharp yellow cheddar with 2 year old WSU white Cheddar as minors, and there’s your cheese chord!

Add cheese about a half cup at a time and allow to incorporate and heat thoroughly before ya throw in more.

Once that’s all in, it’s seasoning time. Here again, other than salt and pepper, there are no hard and fast rules. Do what smells, looks, feels and tastes right! Tonight, salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika and a shake of dried Tabasco chile was the stuff. Blend well and then take your sauce off the heat, and start into pasta.

Pasta

Use roughly 12 ounces of what you like

Yep, that’s it. We don’t use long and skinny stuff, for obvious reasons, but you could if you like it! We like shells a lot because they act like little boats for the sauce, but macaroni, fusilli, rotini, bowtie, radiatori, ruote, whatever floats your boat, throw it in!

Make sure your water is well salted, (As in about like seawater) and lightly oiled. Boil pasta to firm al dente, then drain and toss to remove al excess water.

Throw your pasta into a lightly oiled baking dish, add the sauce and mix well. Don’t put so much pasta in there that things will be dry. Mac and cheese needs to be luxurious, decadent, rich and creamy, not dry and pasty! I top with something, again, whatever floats my boat, but I always top. The nice, crunchy crust is a great addition and it helps seal in the casserole too. I’ve used everything from panko bread crumbs to crushed jalapeno potato chips and everything in between; again, it’s about what you have and that feels good!

To bake or not to bake; there ain’t any question…
Bake, plain and simple. 350 F for 30 minutes, preheat your oven first, of course. Baking infuses and blends flavors, textures and smells. Do it – Eating something like this without doing so is like taking the middle out of an Oreo, throwing it away and just munching the wafer – Good, but not right…

See? doesn’t that look incredible?!
Yes. Yes it does…

Pair It

Now, I am the first to say that stuff this good don’t need nuthin’ to help it, but that would be wrong. Pair your mac with a nice, light salad. That will provide a counterpoint to the incredible richness, help clear your palate, let you eat and appreciate everything more, and that’s good! Monica did a beautiful job with fresh greens, onion, pickled radish, homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers, dusted with dill, and tossed with a light balsamic vinaigrette – Perfect counterpoint!

And there you have it – The cat’s outta the bag – Bon appetit!

Green Chile & Pork Enchiladas


Green Chile & Pork Enchiladas

There’s not much more seminal Tex-Mex than a nice enchilada. My fave combo for this is pork and green chile, hands down – There’s something about it that’s juuuuust right.

Chile sauce is something we make and can for later on; you need to pressure can to do that, but it is well worth it and another great way to take advantage of the annual Hatch chile release! This sauce goes great with enchiladas, tacos, burritos, chimichangas, huevos, and on and on…

Classic Green Chile Sauce

5 – 7 Hatch green chiles, roasted, field stripped, skinned and rough chopped.
1 cup diced sweet onion.
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced.
1-2 sprigs cilantro or ½ teaspoon coriander.
2 cups chicken stock.
1 teaspoon flour.
1 teaspoon butter.
Salt and pepper to taste.
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil.

Heat oil to medium high in a deep sauté pan. Sauté onion until it start to become translucent. Add garlic and briefly sauté. Add chiles, cilantro, and stock and simmer for about half an hour. Remove pan from heat. Pour mixture into blender and blend until you hit the consistency you like. Heat flour and butter in sauté pan. When roux is well blended and heated through, pour blended mixture back in and allow to blend and thicken. Remove from heat and allow to sit covered.

For the enchilada filling, I cut the pork thin and then diced it. That went in to a deep sauté pan, was lightly browned, and then doused with enchilada sauce and allowed to simmer for about ½ hour on low heat. I diced up more onion, black olives, some of our tomatoes, and shredded some jack cheese. I used lovely flour tortillas from a local tortillaria, since I was too lazy to make my own today… I also did up some plain red beans and rice, with no seasoning other than a little salt.

Finally, I put everything in a production line, did some assembly and off we went.

I left plating to your imagination, because I was way hungry. I assure you that none of those poor things survived the night! (FYI, we like to bed these on shredded lettuce tossed with a little more cilantro, salt and pepper.)