There's Gold in Them Thar Taters!

Here's a very simple but delicious side dish for a winter dinner. Take six to eight medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, and slice them longways in quarter inch thick slices (after washing them thoroughly). Slice thinly one medium sized white or yellow onion. Peel and cut in half eight to ten cloves of fresh garlic. In a round, four quart baking dish with lid pour three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Place the onion slices around the bottom of the dish until it is covered evenly. Then place the slices of potato around the dish in even layers while dispersing the pieces of garlic clove evenly around the layers of tater. When all the potato and garlic have been placed into the baking dish, drizzle some basil infused olive oil over the top of the taters. Finally, cover the dish with a generous layer of coarsely grated parmesan cheese. Sprinkling in a little oregano, sea salt or black pepper is optional, and I chose not to add any of those seasonings (I wanted to let the garlic be the star).

Cover the dish with the lid (preferably a clear glass lid), and bake the casserole at 400 degrees for about an hour (until the cheese is brown and crispy on top). Remove from the oven and let it sit for five minutes. Serve with a beef, pork, chicken or fish main dish and a salad or green veggie and you have a superior and scrumptious meal that will satisfy the most demanding and finicky eaters. I imagined this dish as I was making it a couple of hours ago, and then I cooked it! It's amazing how good a simple dish can be with the right combination of flavors and quality ingredients. The best part of cooking is that the huge number of ingredients available to us provides a seemingly limitless number of combinations for our vivid imaginations to conceive. So put those imaginations to work people!

This Chili is a Turkey

I love chili. Every year, usually in the colder months, I make some form of chili. I've made it with diced sirloin tips, hamburger, saugsage, chicken and no meat at all (bland). As big football watching time is upon us, I decided it was time to once again assemble a batch of chili. Alas, there was no hamburger, sirloin or sausage to adorn my diced tomatoes and beans, so something new and creative had to provide the protein for my brew. Nothing warms the body and fills the belly quite like a good bowl of chili.

As I perused the freezer, two frozen possibilities stared back at me. I chose both. I had a two pound package of ground turkey and a one pound package of ground venison from a hunter friend of mine. I sauteed the ground meats along with a large, chopped onion and six cloves of finely chopped garlic. Once the mixture was simmering, I added a tablespoon of Penzey's chili spice, a teaspoon of crushed red pepper, and of course the obligatory tablespoon of Sriracha sauce. After the spiced meat mixture is nicely browned, I put it in the handy dandy crock pot along with two one-quart cans of Brooks Chili Hot Beans, and two quarts of Dei Fratelli diced tomatoes. I added a little more chili powder and some garlic powder and set the crock pot on low. You might be thinking that three pounds of any kind of meat is too much for a batch of chili, but this was a six quart batch, and the meat proved to be just the right amount. Lucky guess on my part I suppose, but then I do have a sixth sense about all things foodie.

After several (four or more) hours of crock pot simmering, the flavors of all the ingredients had meshed sufficiently for the chili to be consumed. This particular chili was destined to be chili mac, so pasta of some kind had to be prepared. I chose regular old spaghetti and cooked it until it was, as they say, al dente. I grated some two year aged Tilamook cheddar cheese onto the steaming pasta, and ladled a generous amount of the spicy chili on top. The sharp and tangy cheese melted between the hot pasta and chili and added even more zest to an already zesty dish. If this doesn't warm the cockles then nothing will. Chili, as I have demonstrated here, is most definitely a dish that qualifies for the if you can imagine it, somebody can cook it phrase. In this case, my turkey and venison chili provided a fresh, relatively low fat and very tasty slant on an old favorite.

One chicken two meals

There are times when the budget is tight, time is at a premium, but you still need to put dinner on the table. Carry-out isn't economical, nor is eating out. You want something that can be prepared quickly, yet a meal that is tasty and healthy. Here's an idea to make two meals that fit into any budget, are healthy and nutritious, and both can be made from one 3-4 pound roasting chicken.

Not to be a brand name dropper, but Sam's Club sells packages that contain two whole roasting chickens for 87 cents per pound. That means you can get about eight pounds of chicken for just over seven dollars. One chicken will easily serve two people for both meals. The only requirement is that you have an electric crock pot. If you don't have one, you can pick one up for about 25-30 dollars for the large version. Given the wide variety of meals that you can cook in a crock pot, it is well worth the nominal expense.

Okay, so you have your roasting chicken and your crock pot. Rinse the chicken thoroughly in cold water and place it into the crock pot. Add five to ten cloves of fresh garlic depending on how aromatic you want to be the next day. Sprinkle a healthy pinch of sea salt and a heaping teaspoon of black pepper or lemon pepper onto the chicken. Of course, I add a teaspoon of Sriracha sauce to kick things up a notch (I know I've heard that expression before). Place the cover on the crock pot and turn it on "low" before you head out the door to work. Total preparation time is 5-10 minutes depending on how quickly you move in the morning.

Seven to ten hours later, when you drag your tired butt in the door, a fall-off-the-bone, tender and flavorful chicken will be waiting for you. Make some rice or couscous (Near East is the best for me), and a nice green vegetable and you have well-rounded dinner number one.

Place the left-over chicken, and there should be quite a bit, into tupperware for the next day. On day two, separate the chicken meat from the skin and bones and set the meat aside. Saute a couple of your favorite fajita-type veggies in a little olive oil and add the chicken meat before the vegetables are fully cooked. Add some Sriracha, Tabasco, tandoori spice or whatever you like to spice up the veggie/chicken mixture. Take some of that left-over rice or couscous (if there is any), or make some fresh. Take some large flour, corn or whole wheat tortillas, and place a healthy pinch of shredded cheddar cheese, a heaping tablespoon of salsa, a couple tablespoons of the cooked rice and as much veggie/chicken mixture as you like into the tortilla.

Two of these burritos will satisfy even the most voracious appetite. And who do you have to thank for these two very different, yet delicious meals? That one little 'ol chicken from yesterday's crock pot dinner. Of course you can make your two chicken-based meals according to your taste because we all know by now that if you can imagine it, somebody can cook it.

Help the Haitian relief effort

I hope I never have to stray this far from the subject of food on my blog, but I feel compelled to make a plea to anyone who reads this post to help the millions suffering in Haiti as a result of the earthquake there on January 12th. I'm seeing stories about infants and small children having limbs amputated with rusty hacksaws and without anesthesia, and other kids who have lost their entire family. Other stories recount the abhorrent lack of drinking water, medical supplies or any semblance of organization in the relief effort. Yes, people from this country and many others are doing what they can to assist the people of Haiti, but the total absence of infrastructure is making relief efforts almost futile. I say "almost" because there are stories of life-saving miracles, but those stories are far too few.

As a testament to the spirit of the Haitian people, I will retell a story I heard on the news this evening. It is the story that moved me to write this post. A man from a small town several miles down the coast from the capital of Port Au Prince was desperately searching for his wife in the rubble that had been an apartment building in which they lived. Keep in mind that he was holding out hope for her rescue six days after the earthquake had occurred. While bulldozers were scraping debris away from the collapsed building, a cry came from under the rubble. It was, as the man had hoped, his wife calling out for someone to come to her aid. Within three hours, firemen from Los Angeles had cleared enough debris to pull the woman out from the pile of gnarled cables and concrete dust. She emerged largely unhurt, save some broken fingers, and to everyone's amazement she began to sing a Haitian song that declared she was not afraid of dying.

When I saw this story, I was so moved that I felt it was my duty to write this plea to all who stumble across my obscure blog. I have only made a single ten dollar donation personally, but if my post can cause even one other person to make a donation, then this entry was worth the effort. I wish I could do more, and I intend to make additional donations as I am able. Until then, please click on the link to the Red Cross relief effort and make your ten dollar donation. So when you are chowing down on dinner tonight, or snuggling into your warm bed, please think of the poor Haitians who have no dinner, no bed, no water, and have lost one or more of their loved ones. Please help those who cannot help themselves.

Grill the chill away

We're halfway through January, and most of us in the midwest are starting to experience the stifling crush of winter cabin fever. One way to shrug off winter's doldrums is to throw something associated with summer onto the grill. In my case, that something is a robust thirty pounds of expertly trimmed, center cut pork steaks.

I went to the local farmer's market (I always try to support locally owned mom and pop type businesses whenever possible), and asked the butcher to trim most of the fat off of approximately thirty of his best center cut pork steaks. The center cut is the leanest and meatiest cut of pork steak, and properly cooked can yield a delicious, tender and affordable break from winter's endless series of soups and stews. James the butcher was happy and enthusiastic about the challenge I had laid in front of him, and several hours after my call to request the porcine treats he had them ready. In his enthusiasm though, James cut an extra five steaks to bring the total to thirty five. In the case of mid-winter barbequed pork steaks you really can't have too much of a good thing.

Delighted with my bounty, I rushed home and placed the steaks in various baking pans and dishes until all thirty five slabs were contained. I drenched the meat with a cheap yet flavorful raspberry vinagrette salad dressing to marinate overnight. The blend of spices and vinegar in the salad dressing tenderizes the meat and leaves a delicately sweet and tangy flavor. Obviously, finding room in the fridge for four large containers of meat is a challenge, but where there's a woman, there's a way, and my wife is a master at making room in the fridge.

Saturday is game day, and along with AFC and NFC playoff games, it is also time to sharpen my grilling utensils and scrape the crud off of the dormant grilling surface. Once the grill is nice and hot, I place as many of the thoroughly marinated steaks on the grill as will fit (about a third of the total). I grill the steaks about 8-10 minutes on each side until the meat is mostly cooked and the thin rim of fat is crisped. After all thirty five steaks have been similarly cooked, I place them into a huge roasting pan and douse them with barbeque sauce. Doctoring the barbeque sauce according to your taste is as personal and unique as the way you brush your teeth, and everyone who grills has their own favorite additives for their sauce. For me, it's a couple tablespoons of Sriracha sauce (I love the stuff), three or four ounces of what's this here sauce (also called worstershire), a few dashes of low sodium soy sauce and a teaspoon each of black pepper and garlic powder. Keep in mind that those amounts are added to a gallon of Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce to cover those thirty five tasty pork steaks.

Finally, I bake the sauce-laden pork steaks in the covered roasting pan at 325 degrees for two and a half to three hours. When the steaks are completely done and ready to serve, I usually pour off the excess grease and barbeque sauce into a bowl so that the steaks aren't swimming. For those who love their sauce, they can ladle the excess back onto their individual steak. Upon serving, you will find the steaks to be extremely tender and a wonderful respite from winter's chill. Throw in some brown rice and a crisply chilled salad, and you've got another beautiful example of if you can imagine it, somebody can cook it.

Soup with a sizzle

It's January 9, 2010 and mother nature is breathing her icy breath across the midwest. What better dish to serve up on an eight degree day than a steaming bowl of soup? I make soup all the time, but today I tried something a little different. One of my favorite soups at a restaurant is the sizzling rice soup at Yen Ching on Brentwood across from the Galleria. I had some left over fried rice I made a couple of nights earlier, and it occurred to me that spreading the rice on a baking sheet and baking it until dry and crispy could serve as the basis for my own sizzling rice soup.

I began by making a stock soup in the crock pot. I chopped celery and carrots into small pieces and added two and half quarts of low sodium, no MSG chicken broth. A teaspoon of Sriracha sauce and a few dashes of bon herbes from Penzey's spices and the stock soup was ready to begin simmering. I then sauteed a couple of chicken breasts in some fresh garlic and couple teaspoons of low sodium soy sauce. Once the cooked chicken had cooled, I cut them up into small cubes and added it to the soup stock. The addition of bamboo shoots and diced water chestnuts is optional, and since my fried rice already had water chestnuts in it, I elected not to add more water chestnuts or any bamboo shoots.

I then spread the fried rice on a baking sheet in a quarter-inch thin layer and baked it at 300 degrees for 55 minutes until the rice was dry and crisped. I set the pan aside until the soup had simmered for five to seven hours in the crock pot. A half hour before the soup was ready to serve, I added several large shrimp that I cut into three or four pieces each. Upon serving the soup, I added a half cup of the baked rice to each bowl. While the soup is very basic and simple to make, it warms the cockles and has a delicate yet flavorful taste.

However, unless you are a very light eater (which I obviously am not), or you eat a huge bowl of soup, a side dish would seem appropriate. In the case of soup, a bread is the perfect companion. I happened to have a whole grain baguette handy, and cut the loaf in half long way. I drizzled some basil-infused olive oil onto the bread and covered it with a mixture of parmesan and asiago cheeses (or substitute whatever you have on hand). I baked the bread until the cheese was golden brown and served it with the steaming soup. Dipping the edge of the crusty bread into the soup proved to be a delicious maneuver. The soup and bread combination was an easy, tasty and thoroughly warming meal. The crispy rice in the soup was a nice twist and yet another example of if you can imagine it, somebody can cook it.

The Pie

As promised, and I try to be a man of my word, here is a picture of a deep dish pizza I made a few weeks ago. I must modestly report that it was more delicious than it looks. My wife had just returned from a short trip to Chicago, and I was salivating over her description of a Pizzeria Uno deep dish pie. I figured I'd give it a shot because I just had to have me some that night! Here's the recipe:

First of all, my wife made the pizza dough in her Breadman bread maker. It was a basic white flour pizza dough recipe. The hard part was getting the rather thin dough to stick to the sides of the spring form pie pan we used. I decided to put the dough in the pan and roll it around the edges until they were coated. Then I put the pan in the oven which had been preheated to 400 degrees. I cooked the dough for a minute or two and then repeated rolling the liquid dough mixture around the edges until I had a nice layer of dough coating the sides.

Now comes the fun part. I made a homemade marinara sauce beforehand using fresh garlic, homemade jarred tomatoes, Dei Fratelli tomato sauce, precooked Italian sausage which was fresh made on the Hill (the Italian neighborhood in St. Louis), sauteed onion and a dash of salt, black pepper and a quarter cup of sugar. I simmered this sauce on the stove at a low heat for over an hour.

With my marinara sauce made, I placed a layer of thinly sliced provolone cheese in the bottom of the pie pan right on top of the crust. Then I added a healthy layer of the nice, thick marinara sauce with the sausage in it. Another layer of provolone and then a thinner layer of sauce on top of that. I finished the pie with a top crust of grated asiago and parmesan cheeses, and then sprinkled garlic powder and fresh oregano on top.

Last it was time to cook the pie in the 400 degree oven for about an hour or until the cheese crust on top was golden brown. I will be the first to admit that this recipe is not low fat or heart healthy. However, if you are looking for some seriously self indulgent comfort food, baby this is it! This was my first attempt at deep dish pizza, and I must say that I cannot imagine it being better anywhere. I've had several of the best deep dish pies Chicago has to offer and none were better in my unbiased opinion!

Yes, I lucked out, but a few things are necessary to pull off such a fabulous pie. Obviously, as I always say, fresh, high quality ingredients help a lot. Second, cooking the marinara until it is nice and thick helps keep the pie from falling out of the crust when you serve it. Finally, making sure you get a good crust layer on the sides of the spring form pan is paramount. Also, let the pie cool for twenty minutes before serving. Yet another example of if you can imagine it, somebody can cook it.