I made this tomato tart from Baking Illustrated last Thursday, and I've been thinking about it ever since. My parents came in on Friday and just left today, and I am going to make this tart tonight. Its easy (relatively speaking for ATK) and what I really want is a slice of the tart and some salad.
First, a sidenote. Do your parents overtake your house when they visit? My mom pretty much takes over my kitchen. It begins with us both in the kitchen, but then slowly she takes over -- loading the dishwasher, making coffee, rinsing dishes. Its not bad, but when she leaves, there are always tools misplaced in various drawers. She also leaves things cleaner than I do. I thought that when I hit a certain age or stage of life, she would just sit back and let me do the work. But I guess when it comes to the house, she will always be the mom. And I appreciate it.
Onto the tart. Beth gave me the book Baking Illustrated for my birthday a couple of years ago. Let me just say that the book is 95% awesome and fool-proof. That's my assessment for all things America's Test Kitchen. I have mixed feelings about ATK. There are times that I am ready to tackle an ATK recipe. I am ready to read the detailed descriptions of why a certain pan or technique works, and then to follow the recipe exactly as it is written. I would say that most times, the recipe turns out as promised. Green Bean Casserole and Steak Au Poivre, and most things from my Best Chicken Recipes book come to mind.
And sometimes, ATK is too prescriptive for me, too stuffy. I rebel at their carefully worded and daunting instructions. I get annoyed when they call for an ingredient or a tool that I don't have, and I don't see the need for. A tagine pot, for instance. I honestly don't see why I need that. But I digress....my point is that when a ATK recipe does not turn out (I made a thoroughly disgusting chicken stew last year that was so bad -- Josh and I went to Jack in the Box for dinner that night) I am beyond bummed out. I am near inconsolable. I am plain pissed I just spent time and brain energy making something that is gross. And it makes me question ATK in general. Its like ATK's failure (or let's be honest, it was probably my recipe failure) makes me question the meaning of life. How they be wrong? How could they work so hard at this recipe and be wrong???? AHHHHH WHAT IS THE MEANING OF IT ALL?? ..... I probably need to take it down a notch.....
I go cold turkey from ATK for a while and start cooking from my other books, or blogs, and then I slowly wind my way back to my tried and trusted recipes. I am adding the tomato tart to this list.
My favorite (or two favorite things) about this recipe is the use of roma tomatoes and puff pastry. Roma tomatoes are the bastard children of grocery store tomatoes. They are usually so mealy and tasteless that its not even worth buying them. For this reason, I usually stick to buying cherry tomatoes or something similar. But, the romas are also the cheapest of the grocery tomato, and for the newly employed, that is something to pay attention to. This recipe transforms the roma into a delicious tomato. My other favorite is the use of puff pastry. Puff pastry is delicious. 'Nuff said.
Short of writing it all down, I say crack open your Baking Illustrated book to page 247 to see the detailed description of how to form the puff pastry, and how to salt tomatoes. It is well worth it. I'll take a picture tonight and post it.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Dinner in a Hurry
So my theme for this week has been: What are your quick fixes for when you need dinner, and fast, but haven't had time to plan or prepare?
This week has been hectic - I've been busy with work, as has Michael, and we have family in town, so between cleaning our house and keeping an eye on the baby, it's been hard to get much done as far as dinner prep. We try to keep our fridge & pantry stocked with the basics - chicken broth, onions, garlic, spices (and in our house, staples also include tortillas and chips & salsa. And beer. Frequently also cookies). And we usually have frozen chicken, pork chops, and steaks on hand for just such occasions, but, unless they're thin cuts, you really have to be mindful enough in the morning before work to get them out of the freezer. Especially with the chicken breasts. We eat those all the time, but I'm convinced that the big bags of quick-frozen individual chicken breasts are really "chicken" "breasts" (or "tenders") but they're the only chicken that defrosts quickly, so, they'll have to do. Fortunately, we had some thin-cut steaks on hand, so one night, Michael defrosted those right after work, threw them on the grill with some peppers we had, added some salsa & voila! Instant fajitas. And then the leftovers from that became quesadillas the next night.
The next night, family was in town & tired from travel, so we went out for pizza. But when it's just me & Michael, we've been known to do pb&j, a quick salad with quick-sauteed chicken tenders on top, or soup. And when there's really, really nothing?Cookies. Chips & salsa. You guys?
This week has been hectic - I've been busy with work, as has Michael, and we have family in town, so between cleaning our house and keeping an eye on the baby, it's been hard to get much done as far as dinner prep. We try to keep our fridge & pantry stocked with the basics - chicken broth, onions, garlic, spices (and in our house, staples also include tortillas and chips & salsa. And beer. Frequently also cookies). And we usually have frozen chicken, pork chops, and steaks on hand for just such occasions, but, unless they're thin cuts, you really have to be mindful enough in the morning before work to get them out of the freezer. Especially with the chicken breasts. We eat those all the time, but I'm convinced that the big bags of quick-frozen individual chicken breasts are really "chicken" "breasts" (or "tenders") but they're the only chicken that defrosts quickly, so, they'll have to do. Fortunately, we had some thin-cut steaks on hand, so one night, Michael defrosted those right after work, threw them on the grill with some peppers we had, added some salsa & voila! Instant fajitas. And then the leftovers from that became quesadillas the next night.
The next night, family was in town & tired from travel, so we went out for pizza. But when it's just me & Michael, we've been known to do pb&j, a quick salad with quick-sauteed chicken tenders on top, or soup. And when there's really, really nothing?
Monday, January 23, 2012
So I have been waiting to post until I have made something, ANYTHING, and preferably something that tasted good. The weather and my general mood conspired to make this near impossible. We went skiing twice this past weekend. The first day I took a header into the snow, and while I'm sure I wasn't concussed (is that an appropriate usage of that verb?), it sure felt like it. Then, to get over my fear of skiing because of my fall, we went skiing on Saturday night, as it was dumping snow. Skiing was actually fun. It was sort of blind skiing, because of the blizzard-like conditions. We were both happy and talking about how much fun it was! And then, the roads down to our house closed for avalanche control. A mere 4 hours later, we returned to our house. So....no cooking until yesterday.
The jury is still out on these peanut butter cookies. It is Baking Illustrated's recipe for peanut butter cookies. I did not have enough roasted peanuts for the recipe, so I subbed in half hazelnuts (of course, its determined by what's at the house...) Now, to be honest, the peanuts may have been really old. I don't remember buying them....but whatever, right? Anytime I am faced by this conundrum while cooking, I imagine that whatever mistake I am making, or substitution I am forced to make, will turn out similar to the creation of penicillin. Totally wonderful, but unplanned. Alas, I think the old peanuts may have won out in this recipe. Josh says they are good, I am undecided. I see what you mean about the greasy cookie recipe.
Perhaps my next post will be about my total faith in all things America's Test Kitchen, and the deep disappointment I feel when ATK fails me.
So let me just say -- your post about what's on DirecTV made me laugh out loud. I am shocked EVERYDAY when I turn on the TV to find many channels featuring shows about butts. There is more than one show. Titled Brazilian butts, or perfect booty. How many do we need??? None is the right answer for me.
Onto the larger questions raised by your post. What to name this? I have no new ideas. Although I really loved your riffing on suppository. Repository always made me think of that too. Archives is over used. We are both historians. But we both dreamed of being biological anthropologists....something about bones? Or maybe something more obvious? "Graduate School did not teach me how to cook." "Graduate School led me to be poor." I don't know, all bad. I'll keep thinking.
And the issue about including recipes, and grammar, and style and what not. I think we should include recipes so they can be re-created if wanted. I've been wondering about the protocol of including recipes from sources. In some ways, other recipe blogs that are out there are basically a mish-mash of their own recipes and riffs off of other's books and blogs sometimes. I feel like as long as we give credit where credit is due, its ok to include the recipes of others. It is a rare day when I cook something just as it was written, so in some ways, its like we're creating new recipes.
Thoughts?
The jury is still out on these peanut butter cookies. It is Baking Illustrated's recipe for peanut butter cookies. I did not have enough roasted peanuts for the recipe, so I subbed in half hazelnuts (of course, its determined by what's at the house...) Now, to be honest, the peanuts may have been really old. I don't remember buying them....but whatever, right? Anytime I am faced by this conundrum while cooking, I imagine that whatever mistake I am making, or substitution I am forced to make, will turn out similar to the creation of penicillin. Totally wonderful, but unplanned. Alas, I think the old peanuts may have won out in this recipe. Josh says they are good, I am undecided. I see what you mean about the greasy cookie recipe.
Perhaps my next post will be about my total faith in all things America's Test Kitchen, and the deep disappointment I feel when ATK fails me.
So let me just say -- your post about what's on DirecTV made me laugh out loud. I am shocked EVERYDAY when I turn on the TV to find many channels featuring shows about butts. There is more than one show. Titled Brazilian butts, or perfect booty. How many do we need??? None is the right answer for me.
Onto the larger questions raised by your post. What to name this? I have no new ideas. Although I really loved your riffing on suppository. Repository always made me think of that too. Archives is over used. We are both historians. But we both dreamed of being biological anthropologists....something about bones? Or maybe something more obvious? "Graduate School did not teach me how to cook." "Graduate School led me to be poor." I don't know, all bad. I'll keep thinking.
And the issue about including recipes, and grammar, and style and what not. I think we should include recipes so they can be re-created if wanted. I've been wondering about the protocol of including recipes from sources. In some ways, other recipe blogs that are out there are basically a mish-mash of their own recipes and riffs off of other's books and blogs sometimes. I feel like as long as we give credit where credit is due, its ok to include the recipes of others. It is a rare day when I cook something just as it was written, so in some ways, its like we're creating new recipes.
Thoughts?
Thursday, January 19, 2012
What to Name This Thing?
You may enjoy the line of reasoning words that came into my brain last night as far as what to name our recipe blog. So, without further ado, my stream of consciousness:
Recipes, recipes. What is some of the phrases that come up again and again with baking? Well, not baking per se, because we both bake, but we also have to cook from time to time, as families cannot live by cookies alone. Mmmm. Cookies. Maybe I should go get another one of those Peppermint Patty cookies. Ok, so recipe names. Right. Hmm. Season to taste, pinch of salt, unsalted butter. This is getting me nowhere.
Brazilian Butt? Butt Lift? Really, DirecTV?! THIS is what's playing on most of my 300 channels?? It may be 3 a.m. but C'MON ALREADY!
Oh, right. Blog names. Well, we both came from museums. I do like "two disillusioned museum workers" but yeah, a little long. And we're both historians. We should do recipe histories! Oh, F*ckit. That takes research & stuff. And Four Pounds Flour is pretty awesome, anyway. And I'm sure there are others. But what are other things that imply that? Hmm....recipearchive, reciperepository (UGH! I HATE that word - it sounds too close to suppository). Recipeimprov, recipeproof. Yeah, I'm gonna have to go ahead and punch down that idea. Ok, you can just go ahead and kill me now. (Sorry for the puns!). Scratch baking? I dunno. Probably sounds too much like that awesome French restaurant here that we both love. There's all sorts of fancypants baking terms but neither of us is fancypants. Even though I do love the word profiterole.
OMG, there is a baking term "retarding." And tunneling! Tee hee!
Ok, I'm getting off track here. It's not just baking, it's not just baking. Proof positive - both of our first posts were about savory cooking. Recipe files, recipe trade, recipes from reformed museum employees...Hmmm.
Something that expresses more of what the blog is - a recipe trade loosely based on a theme. Note to self: we need to lay out the ground rules, probably so we're consistent. For example do we write out the recipes, or only when they come from a printed cookbook and aren't also available online from the original source of the recipe? So, for instance, the Double Chocolate cookie recipe from America's Test Kitchen that uses dutch processed cocoa that I referenced in yesterday's post *is* available at the ATK website, but only for subscribers (Booo!). However, one can find it online but not by ATK, so I feel weird about linking to someone else's re-posting of proprietary content. Though I don't feel weird about typing out the very same recipe from my ATK cookbook. Or do we provide links to the original recipe online whenever possible and note only substitutions & improvisational riffs? And PS - yes, I know we're a bad, bad food blog for not posting pictures of every step along the way but aside from my kitchen being butt ugly, here's how my baking went yesterday: Ok, so I've got the butter and sugar creamed. Oh no! I'm coming Millie, stop crying! Whew. She's all better. Where was I? Oh sh*t almighty. Is she trying to chew on my laptop power cord?!?! etc.So forgive me for no pictures at least at this moment in time.
Or something that reflects who we are. We're reformed museum-ers, we're historians, we are sarcastic bakers, we were both transplants to Arizona. Yeah, nothing coming to mind here that's concise enough for a proper blog title.
WHY IN THE HELL AM I GETTING POP UP ADS FOR AARP?!?! That is IT, people. I'm offline now. More thinking offline...
Recipes, recipes. What is some of the phrases that come up again and again with baking? Well, not baking per se, because we both bake, but we also have to cook from time to time, as families cannot live by cookies alone. Mmmm. Cookies. Maybe I should go get another one of those Peppermint Patty cookies. Ok, so recipe names. Right. Hmm. Season to taste, pinch of salt, unsalted butter. This is getting me nowhere.
Brazilian Butt? Butt Lift? Really, DirecTV?! THIS is what's playing on most of my 300 channels?? It may be 3 a.m. but C'MON ALREADY!
Oh, right. Blog names. Well, we both came from museums. I do like "two disillusioned museum workers" but yeah, a little long. And we're both historians. We should do recipe histories! Oh, F*ckit. That takes research & stuff. And Four Pounds Flour is pretty awesome, anyway. And I'm sure there are others. But what are other things that imply that? Hmm....recipearchive, reciperepository (UGH! I HATE that word - it sounds too close to suppository). Recipeimprov, recipeproof. Yeah, I'm gonna have to go ahead and punch down that idea. Ok, you can just go ahead and kill me now. (Sorry for the puns!). Scratch baking? I dunno. Probably sounds too much like that awesome French restaurant here that we both love. There's all sorts of fancypants baking terms but neither of us is fancypants. Even though I do love the word profiterole.
OMG, there is a baking term "retarding." And tunneling! Tee hee!
Ok, I'm getting off track here. It's not just baking, it's not just baking. Proof positive - both of our first posts were about savory cooking. Recipe files, recipe trade, recipes from reformed museum employees...Hmmm.
Something that expresses more of what the blog is - a recipe trade loosely based on a theme. Note to self: we need to lay out the ground rules, probably so we're consistent. For example do we write out the recipes, or only when they come from a printed cookbook and aren't also available online from the original source of the recipe? So, for instance, the Double Chocolate cookie recipe from America's Test Kitchen that uses dutch processed cocoa that I referenced in yesterday's post *is* available at the ATK website, but only for subscribers (Booo!). However, one can find it online but not by ATK, so I feel weird about linking to someone else's re-posting of proprietary content. Though I don't feel weird about typing out the very same recipe from my ATK cookbook. Or do we provide links to the original recipe online whenever possible and note only substitutions & improvisational riffs? And PS - yes, I know we're a bad, bad food blog for not posting pictures of every step along the way but aside from my kitchen being butt ugly, here's how my baking went yesterday: Ok, so I've got the butter and sugar creamed. Oh no! I'm coming Millie, stop crying! Whew. She's all better. Where was I? Oh sh*t almighty. Is she trying to chew on my laptop power cord?!?! etc.So forgive me for no pictures at least at this moment in time.
Or something that reflects who we are. We're reformed museum-ers, we're historians, we are sarcastic bakers, we were both transplants to Arizona. Yeah, nothing coming to mind here that's concise enough for a proper blog title.
WHY IN THE HELL AM I GETTING POP UP ADS FOR AARP?!?! That is IT, people. I'm offline now. More thinking offline...
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Peppermint Patty Cookies
Still inspired by having seen Mari last week, and finding a little time on my hands at home this afternoon, I decided to embark on a cookie experiment in honor of her. She loves York Peppermint Patties. As do I. Thanks to Mari me, my baby's first food was actually York Peppermint Patty, but I'll save that story for another time.
When I was with Mari last week, she made Monster cookies. We didn't have any M&Ms on hand, though the cookies did not suffer as a result. But it got me thinking: M&Ms are fine and all, but there are all kinds of similar candies you could use. M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, hey wait! Aren't there York Pieces?! The wheels were already turning.
I decided to put my idea to the test and see if some York Peppermint Patty cookies could work. I had made chocolate peppermint cookies at Christmas, and while the peppermint was delish, the cookie vehicle for the peppermint was only so-so. Not as much chocolatey flavor as I wanted. But at least I had a head start on how to make that combo even better and incorporate these York pieces.
I used Mark Bittman’s excellent Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk cookies, with the following changes:
Instead of the 1 ounce each semisweet & unsweetened chocolate, I decided to use 1 oz. of a Theo dark chocolate mint bar that was in my Christmas stocking and 1 oz semi-sweet dutch processed cocoa. Why the substitution? Two reasons. One, I had the Theo bar on hand and it would've taken me a year to eat the whole thing, so I'd been looking for a way to use it. And since it had mint, I figured it would be a way to balance the York Pieces I would be using in lieu of chocolate chips. And two, though I did want some hint o' minty in the cookie itself, I also wanted it to have a richly chocolatey base. And I knew from an America's Test Kitchen episode that they had extracted extra chocolatey flavor in their chocolate cookies by using dutch processed cocoa. (As always, the tipping point of the decision was that I had it on hand, too).
The other substitution was instead of 2 cups of chocolate chunks, I used 1 c. of the York Pieces and 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips. I decided to start with 1 of each because I wanted to do this as a test run to see just how choco-minty these cookies turned out to be so that I could tweak the recipe as needed for the future. By using only 1 c of the York Pieces, I could save the rest for a future iteration of this recipe. And you can never go wrong tossing in a few chocolate chips in a chocolate cookie. Side note: the York Pieces are yummy, but NOWHERE NEAR as delectable as the real thing. Stick to the real thing. Preferably the snack size, which have the ultimate ratio of dark chocolate to minty goodness. Ok, back to the cookies.
The cookies turned out pretty damn near spot on. The York Pieces don't bake quite as well as I'd like - the dye on the Pieces bleeds a bit, and there's not a whole lot I can do about that. The cookie has almost exactly the right amount of rich chocolate without being overpoweringly dense, the chocolate chips are nice little gems of melted chocolatey goo hidden in the cookie crumb, and the Pieces (along with the Theo mint chocolate) provide the minty flavor I wanted.
The bad news is (1) I didn't have this really kick ass cookie scoop that Mari has, so dropping the heaped tablespoons onto the cookie sheet has suddenly become a total drag. And (2) making the Peppermint Patty cookies doesn't make me miss Mari any less. Though these cookies might be good enough to momentarily distract me from that.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Southwest Sweet Potato, Chard, and Black Bean Chili
Have I become my mother? My mother uses her freezer all the time, and is constantly pulling tupperware containers and bags out of it, saying "Look, its not that old, I made it (insert date that is at least three months ago)" I have given her grief for years about that line...why would I want to eat something that is slightly old? Oh yes, that sounds so appetizing, especially as I have watched her scrape freezer burn off the surface of whatever frozen block she is handling, and repeat, "really, Mari, its fine." I have been against extensive freezer use for a long time, for absolutely no good reason except that she is and was such a prolific freezer user. Much like I am against marathon running and long-distance biking; again, both perfectly great things to spend time doing, but they happen to be deep loves of both of my parents, and thus, something I cannot do. Ah...daughters. See what you have to look forward to!!
Now, in the sake of being completely honest, I would be a wonderful, caring and excellent cook if I turned out like my mother. I should be so lucky. She is silly, thoughtful, and looks better than any woman I know in her natural graying hair. And especially now that I feed more than just me everyday, I can fully appreciate how convenient it would be to pull something delicious out of the freezer instead of coming up with yet another meal. She made dinner for me and my dad every night after a long day of work, year in and year out. I now see that as the feat it was.
Today, I froze three containers of the following chili, and it totally fits the bill as something delicious to pull out of the freezer. The recipe made a gargantuan amount, so I'm editing down the proportions. Or, if your husband will eat this (mine would not due to the presence of sweet potato), feel free to double. I'm also editing some of the methods, because holy lord, it took WAY more pans and time than I like to use or expend.
I'm also calling this 'southwest' in ode to my former hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. I miss you, Phoenix. It is spicy as is, and is delicious with a smattering of tortilla chips on top, and would be especially good with a lime squeeze.
Southwest Sweet Potato, Chard, and Black Bean Chili
Adapted from Chili Madness, by Jane Butel
Serves 4 (I think)
For the broth:
1 15 oz cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped (I always use less garlic than a recipe calls for)
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1/2 teaspoon dried chipotle power (I used a smoked ancho chile chipotle powder and it was awesome)
sprinkle of cinnamon
For the chili vegetables:
1 pound peeled and cubed sweet potato or butternut squash (I could have written a complete post on how dangerous and annoying I think it is to deal with a raw, whole squash)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 small bunch of Swiss Chard, stemmed and sliced into 1 inch wide ribbons
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
For serving:
lime
tortilla chips
Heat a small stockpot or dutch oven without oil (use oil if you only have a non-stick pan). Char the onions and garlic -- you want a smoky flavor -- over medium-high heat. Add the broth, cinnamon and chili powder, and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the canned tomatoes and continue simmering for 10 minutes, or until ready to serve. Add salt if you want.
To prepare the chili vegetables, bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the sweet potato and oregano, cover, and simmer until tender or about 10-15 minutes. Add the black beans, garbanzo beans, chard, and cumin, and cook, uncovered, until the chard is limp and tender, about 10 minutes. You can drain the vegetables here, or not ( I did not because I am lazy and that seemed like a lot of work).
Divide the vegetables between individual bowls, and ladle the broth over the vegetables. Top with lime and tortillas.
Now, in the sake of being completely honest, I would be a wonderful, caring and excellent cook if I turned out like my mother. I should be so lucky. She is silly, thoughtful, and looks better than any woman I know in her natural graying hair. And especially now that I feed more than just me everyday, I can fully appreciate how convenient it would be to pull something delicious out of the freezer instead of coming up with yet another meal. She made dinner for me and my dad every night after a long day of work, year in and year out. I now see that as the feat it was.
Today, I froze three containers of the following chili, and it totally fits the bill as something delicious to pull out of the freezer. The recipe made a gargantuan amount, so I'm editing down the proportions. Or, if your husband will eat this (mine would not due to the presence of sweet potato), feel free to double. I'm also editing some of the methods, because holy lord, it took WAY more pans and time than I like to use or expend.
I'm also calling this 'southwest' in ode to my former hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. I miss you, Phoenix. It is spicy as is, and is delicious with a smattering of tortilla chips on top, and would be especially good with a lime squeeze.
Southwest Sweet Potato, Chard, and Black Bean Chili
Adapted from Chili Madness, by Jane Butel
Serves 4 (I think)
For the broth:
1 15 oz cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped (I always use less garlic than a recipe calls for)
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1/2 teaspoon dried chipotle power (I used a smoked ancho chile chipotle powder and it was awesome)
sprinkle of cinnamon
For the chili vegetables:
1 pound peeled and cubed sweet potato or butternut squash (I could have written a complete post on how dangerous and annoying I think it is to deal with a raw, whole squash)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 small bunch of Swiss Chard, stemmed and sliced into 1 inch wide ribbons
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
For serving:
lime
tortilla chips
Heat a small stockpot or dutch oven without oil (use oil if you only have a non-stick pan). Char the onions and garlic -- you want a smoky flavor -- over medium-high heat. Add the broth, cinnamon and chili powder, and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the canned tomatoes and continue simmering for 10 minutes, or until ready to serve. Add salt if you want.
To prepare the chili vegetables, bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the sweet potato and oregano, cover, and simmer until tender or about 10-15 minutes. Add the black beans, garbanzo beans, chard, and cumin, and cook, uncovered, until the chard is limp and tender, about 10 minutes. You can drain the vegetables here, or not ( I did not because I am lazy and that seemed like a lot of work).
Divide the vegetables between individual bowls, and ladle the broth over the vegetables. Top with lime and tortillas.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Home Sweet Home
Today is my first day back from Salt Lake City from visiting Mari & Josh, and it's one of those rare overcast days in Phoenix. On my last afternoon in Salt Lake, Mari & I were talking about how yummy soup & grilled cheese sounded for dinner, but because we had a big lunch, we ended up not making it. So between the clouds and wanting to just lounge around at home all day and bask in being back home, I decided to find a recipe to quench my craving for soup. When I stumbled on the recipe for "Homey Chicken Stew" in Slow Cooker Revolution by America's Test Kitchen, I knew that was gonna be it. Why? Homey! Right there in the name! Stew: close enough to soup. And, perhaps most importantly, I already had everything on hand - no need for a trip to the grocery store.
I love most everything by America's Test Kitchen, but especially Slow Cooker Revolution these days. With a 6 month old, it's hard to find the time to make a home-cooked meal, nevermind man the stove for the amount of time required to make some things, so the slow cooker has been a godsend. And until Slow Cooker Revolution, I thought my slow cooker was utter crap. Between the roasts that came out overdone and the recipes that called for more prep time than time stewing in the slow cooker, I was ready to toss it out as junk. Luckily, America's Test Kitchen tackled these problems and have transformed this former piece of sh*t into an appliance I now use weekly. So tonight I will finally quench my craving for flavorful, hearty, homemadesoup stew.
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, seasoned with salt & pepper
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 onions, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 T tomato paste
1/2 t dried thyme
1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c dry white wine
4 c chicken broth
12 oz red potatoes (2-3 medium), scrubbed & cut into 1/2" pieces* - I had only russet, so while I understand the reasoning for red, I substituted peeled russets here
4 carrots, peeled & sliced 1/4" thick
2 bay leaves
1 c frozen peas
1/4 c fresh parsley* - I had only dried, so I used that
Brown chicken in skillet (with 2 T veg oil) over medium-high heat on both sides, 5-8 minutes. Heat 1 T more oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, tomato paste, and thyme and cook until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. (Here, my onions weren't browned yet but my garlic was already about to burn, so I truncated this step). Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in 1 c broth, smoothing out any lumps, then transfer to slow cooker. It smelled AMAZING by this point.
Microwave potatoes and carrots with remaining T oil in covered bowl until vegetables are nearly tender, about 5 minutes, transfer to slow cooker. (This is another hallmark of this cookbook, urging cooks to use the microwave to give vegetables a head start or make the most out of aromatics to get spices to bloom before adding them to your slow cooker. It is GENIUS).
Stir remaining 3 c broth and bay leaves into slow cooker. Nestle browned chicken and any accumulated juice into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours on low. (Another tip from the cookbook is to disregard your slow cooker manufacturer's directive to cook chicken for 8-10 hours or on high; it's simply too hot to result in anything other than chicken that is rubbery and overcooked).
Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, and shred into bite-sized pieces. Remove fat from surface of stew using large spoon and disregard bay leaves. Stir shredded chicken and peas into stew and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
In honor of Mari & Josh, who love great beer as much as Michael does, I will be serving this with a warm beer bread.
I love most everything by America's Test Kitchen, but especially Slow Cooker Revolution these days. With a 6 month old, it's hard to find the time to make a home-cooked meal, nevermind man the stove for the amount of time required to make some things, so the slow cooker has been a godsend. And until Slow Cooker Revolution, I thought my slow cooker was utter crap. Between the roasts that came out overdone and the recipes that called for more prep time than time stewing in the slow cooker, I was ready to toss it out as junk. Luckily, America's Test Kitchen tackled these problems and have transformed this former piece of sh*t into an appliance I now use weekly. So tonight I will finally quench my craving for flavorful, hearty, homemade
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, seasoned with salt & pepper
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 onions, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 T tomato paste
1/2 t dried thyme
1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c dry white wine
4 c chicken broth
12 oz red potatoes (2-3 medium), scrubbed & cut into 1/2" pieces* - I had only russet, so while I understand the reasoning for red, I substituted peeled russets here
4 carrots, peeled & sliced 1/4" thick
2 bay leaves
1 c frozen peas
1/4 c fresh parsley* - I had only dried, so I used that
Brown chicken in skillet (with 2 T veg oil) over medium-high heat on both sides, 5-8 minutes. Heat 1 T more oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, tomato paste, and thyme and cook until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. (Here, my onions weren't browned yet but my garlic was already about to burn, so I truncated this step). Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in 1 c broth, smoothing out any lumps, then transfer to slow cooker. It smelled AMAZING by this point.
Microwave potatoes and carrots with remaining T oil in covered bowl until vegetables are nearly tender, about 5 minutes, transfer to slow cooker. (This is another hallmark of this cookbook, urging cooks to use the microwave to give vegetables a head start or make the most out of aromatics to get spices to bloom before adding them to your slow cooker. It is GENIUS).
Stir remaining 3 c broth and bay leaves into slow cooker. Nestle browned chicken and any accumulated juice into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours on low. (Another tip from the cookbook is to disregard your slow cooker manufacturer's directive to cook chicken for 8-10 hours or on high; it's simply too hot to result in anything other than chicken that is rubbery and overcooked).
Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, and shred into bite-sized pieces. Remove fat from surface of stew using large spoon and disregard bay leaves. Stir shredded chicken and peas into stew and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
In honor of Mari & Josh, who love great beer as much as Michael does, I will be serving this with a warm beer bread.
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