justpigs

May 23, 2010

Easy Peasy: Mac & Cheese with Peas & Bacon

A few years ago I decided to come up with my own version of macaroni and cheese and stopped using the boxed stuff. I came up with something that is just as easy to make as the processed version, but much tastier. We eat this fairly regularly. You can make it with just the two cheeses and some salt and pepper or you can add all--or some--of the extras. We had fresh peas and scallions this week and we love both so I used them. We also love bacon, but you knew that already.

Mac & Cheese with Peas & Bacon

4 servings

1 lb of tubular pasta

2 TBS unsalted butter

3 striped of bacon, diced

1 lb fresh peas, shelled

2 scallions, including green tops, chopped

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

salt & pepper to taste

Set a pot of salted water to boil. Put 1 TBS of butter in the water. Boil pasta according to package instructions.

Put the diced bacon into a sautee pan and cook over medium heat until some of the fat has rendered. Add the peas and scallions and cook for about 5 minutes.

Drain pasta, then return it to the warm pot. Toss the pasta with the other TBS of butter. Add the bacon, pea, and scallion mixture. Add the ricotta and the parmesan. Sprinkle in a small amount of salt and a bit more pepper. Mix well. Serve.

Filed under // bacon can be vegetarian easy peasy pasta

Comments [2]

May 12, 2010

Pizza!

Yesterday afternoon I actually got myself together enough to think ahead a little (which reminds me that I haven't given any thought to tonight's dinner) and made dough in time for the girls to have homemade pizza at their usual early dinner hour (and for us to have our own later).

The kids typically like a margherita-style pizza--ok,ok, cheese pizza. So I made one for them.

For us old people, I experimented a little and was happy with the results. Our veggie box last week included broccoli rabe. Porky, green, and spicy sounded good, so I got out the homemade guanciale (pancetta or bacon would work too), some garlic, and red pepper flake and had at it.

Even though I like making pizza I'm not fanatical about getting the PERFECT crust. I've tried a couple of recipes that I like all right, a couple I don't like and one that I like enough to use regularly. I don't have a pizza stone and I'm not worried about getting the temperature in the oven super-crazy-hot (like the guy Tim told me about who cooks his pizza on the oven's self-cleaning setting and the first time he tried that he exploded the oven's window glass--cover the window with foil if you're nuts enough to try that). I use a cheap-o pizza pan with holes in the bottom and a 500F oven with the rack set on the very lowest rung.

Pizza Dough

--adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (you will probably need up to 1/4 cup more at the kneading stage, plus more for dusting)

1/4 cup warm water

1 TBS all purpose flour

1 pkg active dry yeast

1-1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup warm water

2 generous pinches of kosher salt

Put 1-1/2 cups flour in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl or glass measuring cup put the yeast, 1 TBS flour, and 1/4 warm water. Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes. By the end of 5 minutes it should look creamy on the top. If not, discard and start over.

Add the yeast mixture, olive oil, 1/2 cup warm water, and salt to the flour. Stir until combined. It will probably be a little sticky, that's ok. Lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough on the floured surface for 8 minutes--adding flour as needed--until the dough is smooth.

Cover the dough and put it in a warm-ish place to let it rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until it has doubled in bulk.

Stretch the dough out onto a 12-14" pizza pan, brush lightly with olive oil and top as desired.

Easy Tomato Sauce

1 TBS olive oil

1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 -14 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes

salt to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and the oregano and heat, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Drain the juice from the tomatoes into the pan and turn the tomatoes onto a chopping board and cut mince. Add tomatoes to the pan along with the salt and cook down for about 20-30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened somewhat and is not watery.

Spread the sauce over the pizza dough (this type of sauce will have a full tomato flavor but will not provide a thick "blanket" of sauce, just spread it as evenly as possible).

For Margherita Pizza:

Top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 500F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and top with freshly grated parmesan and freshly torn basil leaves.

For Spicy Broccoli Rabe Pizza:

Top the tomato sauce with mozarella cheese.

Saute 2 TBS chopped guanciale or bacon over medium heat until some of the fat has rendered but the pork is not crisp. Add 1-2 cloves, peeled and minced garlic along with red pepper flakes to your taste. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat down slightly (so the garlic and bacon don't burn) and add the rabe. Cook until it is just wilted. Distribute the mixture over the pizza and cook at 500F for 10-12 minutes. Top with freshly grated parmesan and additional red pepper flake if desired.

Filed under // can be vegetarian pizza

Comments [5]

February 13, 2010

Lemon Crab Risotto

Friday nights have become my favorite night of the week. Whenever we can, a group of us get together for a Friday play date. That means pizza party for the kids and low-key supper and end-of-week wind down for the adults.

Last night, the cupboards were pretty bare, but I still had the crab, lemons from our tree, and some risotto in the pantry. Enough for a casual meal that would warm our tummies.

Lemon Crab Risotto

(Enough to comfortably feed 5 adults)

5 cups chicken stock

2 cups risotto

4 TBS butter

3 TBS diced shallots

1/2 diced red pepper

white wine

Zest of 2 meyer lemons

Juice of 2 meyer lemons

2 cups crab

3 TBS chopped parsley

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Bring stock to a boil, then turn it down to the lowest setting and cover.

Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add shallots and red pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add risotto and lemon zest and sauté, stirring, for a couple more minutes. Add enough white wine to come just to the top of the rice without covering it. Stir constantly until the wine is absorbed. Add about a cup of warm stock and stir until it is absorbed. Add salt to taste. Continue adding stock, about 1/2 cup at a time until rice is cooked. This will take between 20 and 30 minutes (start tasting for doneness at about 15 minutes). When the risotto is done, remove it from the heat, add the crab and parsley. Squeeze the juice of two lemons over everything. Grind some fresh pepper over it as well. Violà! Dinner.

You could very easily make this without the crab and it would still be delicious.

Filed under // can be vegetarian crab lemons risotto

Comments [1]

February 5, 2010

The Homemade Fried Rice Smackdown

When it comes to fried rice I am not a purist. In fact, Asian cooking intimidates me a bit and, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of rice in general. I would, however, like to be able to whip up a hot, fragrant, satisfying dish of fried rice now and again. For some reason, I especially like it on rainy days.

I recently posted this recipe from Mark Bittman's Minimalist column in The New York Times. My friend Stephanie got to the recipe before I did. She liked it, but only one kid out of three gave it the thumbs up. She noted that the crispy garlic and ginger looked appealing, but were not so tasty, especially for the kids.

With Stephanie's feedback in mind I made the dish. I tweaked a couple of things along the way: I added a couple of julienned carrots for color.

I was really careful about browning the garlic and ginger. Still, when I tasted it right out of the pan, I was overwhelmed by that acrid burnt-garlic flavor. Ick! I drained the garlic & ginger on a paper towel anyway and pressed on.

I fried 3 eggs in the ginger and garlic pan and begin frying the rice with the leek and carrot. Instead of putting the fried eggs on top of the finished dish, I broke them up and mixed them into the rice. I also added the sesame oil and soy sauce directly to the pan. Finally, I stirred the toasted garlic and ginger in with the rest of the ingredients.

The reaction: Eh.

We had to add a lot of soy sauce for flavor. The kids didn't love it. They ate it, but reluctantly. Rob added even more soy sauce than the girls and I did. We discovered that once the garlic sits for awhile the acrid flavor dissipates, but so does any discernible garlic flavor or aroma, leaving only the textural crunch.

While I was making Bittman's recipe, I remembered reading about fried rice in John Thorne's most recent book Mouth Wide Open. I couldn't resist. I made his recipe too. I fudged around on a couple things as usual. Thorne says a wok is essential, but I got rid of my wok ages ago, so I had to make-do with my frying pan. He also uses peanut oil and I just used canola oil. He uses day-old rice, I made mine an hour or two ahead of time. I also changed the proportions a bit. Here's my version:

Fragrant Pan-Fried Rice

2 c. cooked rice

2 TBS canola oil

2 scallions, cut in slivers

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TBS fresh ginger, minced

2 TBS chopped prosciutto

2 eggs, beaten

a pinch of salt

toasted sesame oil

dry sherry

a little bacon fat or lard

soy sauce

red pepper flakes

Heat the bacon fat or lard in a medium skillet. Add a pinch of salt and a drizzle of sesame oil into the beaten eggs, mix. Pour the eggs into the hot skillet and cook quickly as you would an omelette, flipping once. Chop the egg up with a spatula and dump into a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add scallions, garlic, ginger, and prosciutto. Quickly sauté and allow the aromas to release.

Add the rice and stir, flipping the rice over in the pan constantly. Add a generous sprinkle of sherry and a few dashes of soy sauce. When these have absorbed, add red pepper flakes to your taste. Add the scrambled egg and flip the rice around a bit more. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding soy sauce, sesame oil, or red pepper as needed. Eat immediately.

The reaction: Yum.

The whole family devoured this rice without hesitation. It was delicate, aromatic, flavorful, and satisfying. No one needed to add extra soy sauce (there wasn't much added to begin with). It was very easy to prepare, literally ready in minutes.

These two recipes are so very similar. I love the fact that simply changing one or two things can so dramatically alter the character of a dish!

Do you have a favorite fried rice recipe? Share it with us!

Filed under // Chinese can be vegetarian rice

Comments [3]

January 16, 2010

Weekender: Savory Breakfast Pie

"Pies needn't be confined to dinner, either. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great American essayist and philosopher who was dubbed a "hopelessly confirmed pie-eater" by his biographer, hewed faithfully to a diet of pie for breakfast. Why not take his cue and try a riff on the classic English wake-up: a pie of caramelized, chopped tomatoes, browned mushrooms, thick-cut bacon and hard-cooked eggs? Or maybe a mash-up of spiced pears sautéed with leeks and country sausage?" -- "The Savory Pie," LA Times, January 13, 2010

This week in the Food pages of the LA Times I noticed an article about savory pies. The writer had me when she mentioned Emerson was a "hopelessly confirmed pie-eater " and that he "hewed faithfully to a diet of pie for breakfast."

I have often had leftover fruit pie with my morning coffee. I was intrigued with the writer's suggestions for savory breakfast pie. So this morning I took her advice and tried my own "riff on the classic English wake-up."

I made a batch of pie dough and set it to chill in the refrigerator while I worked on the filling. When I saw the word "caramelized," my mind also read the word onions, even though "onions" does not appear in the sentence. I decided caramelized onions couldn't hurt anything so that's how I started. I then sliced and cooked about a pound of mushrooms; fried some lardons of bacon; drained, chopped, and cooked down some canned whole peeled tomatoes. I mixed all these things together and bound them with a lightly scrambled egg and freshly grated parmesan cheese. I seasoned the mixture with salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. I wasn't sure if the filling would fill a regular pie or tart dish, so I made it as a galette. I made a depression in the center and cracked an egg into it and cooked the whole thing in a hot oven for 45 minutes. The results were delicious!

I would do a couple of things differently in future. Instead of slicing the mushrooms, next time I will chop them a bit smaller. I also will add the egg later, about 25 minutes into the cooking. I like an egg that's a bit runny. If you like a more hard boiled quality, as is described in the article, go ahead and leave it in for the full time. I could also see increasing the filling by another 50% and filling a pie pan, putting on a top crust with a small hole in the center for the egg and creating a sun design around the hole made of dough scraps. That would be a pretty presentation for guests.

Here's my recipe:

Pie Dough

2 cups flour

a pinch of salt

12 TBS cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 c ice water

Quickly mix together the salt an flour. Add the cubes of butter. Using your hands (or a pastry cutter or fork) work the butter into the flour until it feels like coarse meal. Leave a few larger chunks of butter. Add almost all of the ice water. Using a fork, and then your hands bring the dough together. If you need more water, add it 1 TBS at a time.

Separate into two equal portions and form into balls. Wrap the dough balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Makes a top and bottom crust for a standard pie plate.

Wake-up Pie

1 recipe pie dough

1 large onion sliced

2 TBS unsalted butter

3/4 lb. mushrooms, chopped

3 thick slices of bacon, cut into lardons

1-14oz can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped

2 eggs

2 TBS grated parmesan cheese

2 TBS chopped parsley

salt

freshly ground pepper

1 TBS heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Caramelize the onion slices in 1 TBS of butter and a pinch of salt. When finished remove the onions from the heat and put them in a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 TBS butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms until they have released all of their liquid and it has evaporated. Meanwhile cook the lardon. When they are lightly browned, remove them from the pan and drain on paper towels.

When the mushrooms are done cooking season them with salt and pepper and add them to the onions. Put the chopped tomato in the pan you've just removed the mushrooms from and cook until all of the water is evaporated and the tomatoes just begin to stick to the bottom of the pan and brown a bit. Remove the tomatoes from the heat and add them to the mixing bowl with the onions & mushrooms. Add the lardons and the parsley to the mixing bowl as well.

Lightly scramble one egg. Add the parmesan and some salt and pepper and combine it the onion mixture.

Roll out the pie dough, making a circle of approx. 12 inches. Transfer the dough to cookie sheet.

Spread the filling in the center of the dough, leaving roughly 2 inches of dough around the edge. Fold the edges of dough up and over the top of the filling, leaving the center open. Make a depression in the center of the filling.

Brush the heavy cream over the exposed pie dough to glaze.

Cook the pie for 25 minutes. Pull it out at 25 minutes and crack the second egg into the center. Cook for another 20 minutes or until the crust in golden. Remove from the oven, cut into 8 slices and serve.

Filed under // bacon baking breakfast can be vegetarian eggs mushrooms pie weekender

Comments [0]

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can be vegetarian

Easy Peasy: Mac & Cheese with Peas & Bacon

Pizza!

Lemon Crab Risotto

The Homemade Fried Rice Smackdown

Weekender: Savory Breakfast Pie