Another christmas dinner

Ok, this was actually Christmas Eve.  But the sentiment was there.

Nothing fancy; just meat, salad, and bread.  Well, ok, maybe a little fancy.

First, a compote to go with the meat (and the bread the next day).  In a small sauce pan I combined:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1 cup cranberries
• 2 meyer lemons (yeah, I still had some left over)
• Generous amounts of allspice

Reducing that all together took about 45 minutes.  A bit of arrowroot got it to the proper consistency.

The salad was fairly simple: red chard, cilantro, sesame seeds, cranberries, and mandarin oranges.  If nothing else it was quite pretty.  Dressing went like this:

• White wine vinegar
• Olive oil
• Honey
• Garlic
• Black pepper
• Cayenne (not too much; just a slight bite to offset the cranberries and complement the honey)

That all went together with a very simple flank steak served after slicing on a bias.

Pretty and festive.  And delicious.

Mediterranean fun

A few weeks ago I ran across a huge sale on meyer lemons (and chicken thighs) and was left with very little idea as far as what to do with them.  So it was experiment time.  In this case I decided to look around the Mediterranean area and see what I could pull together.

First, the lemons.  I took two, sliced them thin, and brushed them with olive oil.  They went on a baking sheet with half a head of garlic and then in to the oven at about 325 for half an hour.  The lemons ended up slightly browned and the garlic was wonderfully mellow and mushy.

In the meantime, I dredged the chicken in flour, cayenne, paprika, and allspice and then browned it in an olive oil butter combination.

Once the lemons and garlic were ready, I chopped them along with kalamta olives and capers.

I added all the leftover flour to make a roux around the chicken then added everything in with a bit of chicken broth and simmered it down until the sauce was fully integrated and the chicken cooked through.

This worked wonderfully over pasta and would have done just fine on couscous as well.

Nice to have a slightly different flavor profile once in awhile.

Split pea soup

Another in the series of "well, I have this laying around and by the way it's cold": split pea soup.

Having been informed that maybe lentils again might be overkill and that it definitely wouldn't kill me to dial back the capsaicin for a change it was time to find a new legume to play with.  Luckily, split peas were available by the pound from none other than the kitchen cabinet.

But of course there was no ham hock.  So at least I got to improvise a bit:

First, a 1:1:1 mirepoix in olive oil.  Nothing fancy.  A bit of salt helped to draw out the liquid and speed the process and several rough-chopped garlic cloves finished it off.

In another pan, I browned half a pound of chopped bacon which quickly joined the mirepoix, grease and all.  A pound of kielbasa, chopped, joined everything just before the pound of peas, 8 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, and pepper.

Forty minutes, more salt, and a generous amount of lemon juice later and the whole thing was actually better than the more traditional method.  Thank goodness for spare bacon in the freezer....

Lentils

Sometimes I just end up craving lentils.  Not sure why or how, but it just has to happen.  This time of year that means a more western lentil soup; in the spring for whatever reason that tends to be dal instead.

This time I just went 'sperimenting (again based on what I had around the house).  Worked like a charm, kept in the refrigerator, and reheated perfectly.

Any good lentils should start with bacon.  In this case, six slices, chopped and then crisped in a stock pot.

To that, add about six stalks of celery, chopped and the same amount of carrot.  Onions would be traditional here but, well, I didn't have any.  Or any garlic; powder had to do there.

And then the fun starts: melt all that together along with two diced jalapenos and one red bell pepper (slightly larger bits are fine here).

In a separate pan, brown a pound of kielbasa and add to the stock pot when maillarded properly.

Retain the fat, though, and roast another sliced red pepper (and two more jalapenos; why not) in it before adding that all in together.

Add:

• about 3/4 pound of lentils
• chicken broth
• water if needed
• balsamic vinegar
• one can of tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with fresh parsley or mustard greens on top and a dense bread on the side.  Perfect for a slightly chilly day.

Chili con carne take 2

It's that season again.  And when the pantry is relatively empty it's easy enough just to go with what you have.  This worked out fine and basically proves that con carne is just one of those things you can do just about anything to without messing it up too badly.

This time, sweat two smallish white onions in olive oil until nice and tender.

Add in one to 1.5 pounds ground beef (70-30 if you can get it of course; 80-20 works though I wouldn't go much lower than that).  When that's mostly cooked through, throw in (of course) cumin and oregano along with cayenne in relatively equal parts.  Don't worry, the bulk of the heat will come later.

To that, add:

• 1 can black beans, half drained
• 1 can pinto beans, half drained
• 1 can great northern beans, half drained
• 2 cans tomato paste
• 1 can chipotle in adobo, chopped

Mix that together adding water as needed.  Garnish with cilantro (or parsley as that's what I had and it worked fine) and cheese of your choice.

Relatively quick, dead simple, and quite hardy.  Plus, well, hot.  Chipotle in adobo tends to lend itself to that quite well.

Mmm zuchini season

Just stir fry them.  Trust me.  And make them as hot as you dare; sriracha and mongolian hot oil, I'm looking at you.

That is all.  Off to play with porks.  More later, methinks.

Simple bean/chicken salad

Well, mostly simple.  The actual prep is just a tiny bit time-consuming (if half an hour counts) but it's very good.  Especially for coming out of a can.

Basic idea: throw together some beans.  Make them taste good.  Make sure you have plenty of protein going so it's a full meal or more.  And make sure it's a complete protein or two.

Basic salad

And I mean really basic.  Five cans.  Oil.  Vinegar.

First, drain a can of diced tomatoes; retain the sauce in a bowl.  You're going to have the colander out anyway; just drain the juice into the bowl.  Crush the tomatoes by hand a bit.

Combine in a large bowl:

• 1 can black beans, drained and washed
• 1 can great northern beans, drained and washed
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and washed
• 1 can corn, drained (no washing needed)
• 2 celery stocks, finely cubed
• Chopped parsley; flat leaf if you have it
• Tomatoes without the juice
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar

 And that's your basic bean salad.  Get that in the refrigerator.

Chicken

I used two breasts to balance this and it seemed to work.  Marinate in:

• Red wine vinegar
• Orange juice
• Red pepper flake

After about half an hour, toss that in a pan, cover, heat, and more or less poach it.  When done, cube/shred and add to the salad, tossing well.

Rice

Prepare rice as normal, except:

• Use the reserved tomato juice to replace some of your water
• Add coriander
• Add one bay leaf

Very hearty.  Best served cold.  Makes a great summer meal.