I’ve made this salsa twice before (once for last year’s superbowl), and I plan on making it again for tomorrow’s superbowl. It’s unbelievable. It take some time though, but I assure you it is well worth it.
Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category
Superbomb Salsa
February 7, 2010Earthbound Farms Delivers
January 25, 2010My new Earthbound Farms cookbook delivered last night. It was a simple French dish, the kind of dish I’d been trying to find for quite some time. It was shrimp, simmered in butter and white wine, tossed with linguine. Some of the nice touches included:
- A shrimp stock which you made by boiling the shrimp shells and tails for 15 minutes ahead of time.
- Diced tomatoes and basil, which gave the dish a touch more flavor and complexity.
- Lemon juice, which added a subtle vinegary layer.
My issues with the recipe were similar to that of the other recipe I’ve cooked from the book. The proportions were off again. 1 pound of shrimp for 4 people? That’s enough for 2 people. 1 pound of pasta? That’s enough for about 3-4 people. And 1 whole lemon juiced into the dish? It gave it a hell of bite. I’d cut that in half.
In the end, complaints with proportions aside, the dish was money.
A Full Day of Cookery
January 11, 2010Anne and I moved into a new house that’s about 3 minutes from a PCC Natural Market. I’ve never lived that close to a grocery store, and now I know I’ll have a hard time living further than this. Why? Yesterday I went to PCC three times for a day full of cooking (instead of skiing sadly, which absolutely blows right now in the PNW) and loved it.
The day started with trip to PCC in the morning to pick up ingredients to make waffles. I cooked damn tasty waffles on our new Presto Waffle Maker courtesy of my brother Eric and his wife Pamela. I stole the recipe, like most, from Food Network. I was surprised that waffles, unlike the pancakes and french toast I’ve made in the past, contain butter. But maybe that’s why I like them so much. They did take more effort than their breakfast brethren, but they’re worth it to me.
I then spent the next hour figuring out what I wanted to make for dinner. I settled on a Mexican meatball soup from the Earthbound Farms (you know, the guys that make the boxed lettuce) cookbook. I was in a soup mood, a Mexican mood, and a mood to finally make two scratch supplements to then use in the recipe: stock and chili powder. So back I headed to PCC for round two of groceries.
I first tackled the stock. I pulled out the two bags full of chicken and duck bones I’d been saving in my freezer, tossed them into the largest stock pot I own, filled water over the top of them, and set the stove on high. After ten minutes scum from the bones rose to the top. I ladled it off for about ten minutes, then threw in some leeks, carrots, celery, onion, and a cheesecloth bag full of tasty herbs. I then spent the next five hours micromanaging the burner which couldn’t achieve Alton Brown and Julia Child’s directive of only a few bubbles on the surface at time. The end result was delicious, however. It tasted fresher than boxed stock, but to me, the jury is still out on whether it was worth the effort.
While the stock was simmering away, I tackled the chili powder. After I saw Alton Brown’s show about creating your own chili powder, I knew I had to make it for I’d hated store bought chili powder longer than I’ve been watching Good Eats. The problem is that I couldn’t find the chilies he recommended at any store in Seattle, and I didn’t feel like ordering the chilies online. But I was feeling lucky yesterday (even though the Patriots had already gotten whipped), so I headed to PCC a third time to try my luck. Sure enough, this time I found two of the three recommended chilies, so I winged it on the third one. (Thank you PCC manager for being kind enough to print off a description of the Cascabel chili so that I could find a similar one in your store.) Now the actual process of making the chili powder is pretty easy. De-seed and de-stem the chilis, throw them plus some cumin in a non stick pan, heat them for about 5 minutes, let them cool, put them in a blender with some paprika, oregano, and garlic, grind the shit out of them, let ‘em settle, and then bottle them. The flavor it gave the soup was phenomenal. I needed to use way less powder and got way richer and more complex flavor. I was absolutely sold, and I will never buy pre-made chili powder again.
The culmination of the day’s cooking was the Mexican meatball soup, which in hindsight, was the least exciting part of the meal. Making the meatballs was fun as I got to use my stand mixer and ice cream scooper (insanely clutch), but the end result was the standard run of the mill soup that you get from the standard run of the mill cookbook, in this case the Earthbound Farms cookbook. That is, the soup was good, not great. It definitely had a fresher taste thanks to the homemade stock, but it didn’t blow me away. In fact, I think I’d prefer my chicken tortilla soup. But I would take the meatballs from this recipe, which were delicious, and use them in a pasta dish.
I also made some good homemade cornbread. I have no idea why people buy the boxed stuff. It is so easy (maybe takes 5 more minutes) to make healthier, scratch cornbread (or any kind of bread).
Hearty Lamb and Lentil Stew
December 7, 2009***Forgot I never posted this.***
Not sure why I felt like making a stew in the summer, but I attempted another Food Network recipe on Sunday, this time the hearty lamb and lentil stew. I liked the recipe because I liked the flavors it created. But I did not like the ultimate balance of food at the end. Here’s what I learned (and what I would change):
1. I used lamb shoulder, which included bone. It added tremendous flavor and the gelatin created a nice texture in the liquid. The problem, however, is that the recipe called for only 1/2 a pound of lamb. I’m no meat lover, but there were a ton of lentils (which I love) and a few bits of lamb. Next time, I’d include maybe 2 lamb shanks for flavor and then another pound of lamb stew meat.
2. I’m not a fan of french lentils. I’ve been into orange lentils recently, I’d like to try those on the next go around.
3. The combination of spices was perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing.
4. I’d cut down a bit on the diced tomato (maybe around 20 oz) and increase the tomato paste. I wanted more tomato flavor but less chunks of tomato.
5. Salt the lamb and then add about 1/2 to 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt prior to cooking. It’ll turn out much tastier.
I enjoy recipes where I learn something, and this one was no different. I’ll be making it this winter, and I’m hoping these changes bombify it.
Jambalaya a la Gut Bomb
November 10, 2009It dawned on me after I purchased 3 pounds of salty pork and 2.5 pounds of dark chicken that I would be getting in touch with my inner Geico Caveman on Saturday night. Target painted; gut bomb drop confirmed.
The recipe comes from a Throwdown with Bobby Flay episode and had fantastic reviews on www.foodnetwork.com. It started well, as I browned the sausage in a my dutch oven. But then came the chicken. At one point I thought my 5.5 quart dutch oven was going to barf from meat overload. Just kidding.
I threw in the onions and garlic (standard) and then the spices. When all the browned goodness had taken on the flavor of the sausage (that’s what it’s supposed to do, right???), it was time to add the rice and chicken stock. I covered it for 45 minutes, and Bob’s your uncle.
In all seriousness, I hope my sarcasm doesn’t steer you away from this recipe. It holds a lot of promise. But unfortunately, when you cook 5.5 pounds of meat, it does feel slightly like goldfish shots. So the meal didn’t sit entirely well with me (literally and figuratively). So here’s what I’d tweak to make it better:
1. Cut the portions of meat down. 1 pound of sausage and 1 pound of chicken would be plenty for a 4 or 5 people.
2. Replace the tasso with some basic cajun seasoning.
2. Less chicken stock and more rice. Mine was pretty soupy.
3. If you’re inclined, since you’ve removed the tasso, throw in some shrimp at the last minute if you want a more gumbo (that isn’t shorthand for gut bomb) type meal.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
November 10, 2009Wow, did I really make a Rachel Ray recipe tonight?!? Say it ain’t so! But yes, I did. I made her Chicken Tortilla Soup. And it was damn good. Even more shocking was the fact that it actually was a 30 minute recipe! It was super simple and tasted like liquified nachos. It was also cheap. I will cook it again, and I will remember to set aside some red onions.
Beer and Brats
November 3, 2009
Normally, I cook sausages on my grill. Tonight, it was freezing out. Time for a new recipe.
Hello cast iron. Hello bosshogg. You brown things well. Thanks. Ever taken a beer bath? Negative. Ok, good night and good luck.
I started by heating the cast iron pan until a drop of water hopped off it. I then squirted in some olive oil and dropped the sausages in. I browned them on each side and then set them in a plate to rest while I julienned a yellow onion. The onions made their way to the cast iron where they were treated with a similar browning party to the sausages. When they were golden, I added the sausages and half a bottle of hefeweizen to the pan. 15 minutes later I smeared the sausages and onions with hot peppers and ketchup.
Hello Lee Corso and tailgate crew!
Bobby Flay’s Meatloaf
October 26, 2009
My Dicing Skills on Point
So I’m becoming a big fan of Bobby Flay’s recipes. The dude is kind of a chief on TV, but the mofo’s recipes have been a hit every time I’ve cooked them. The latest winner was his Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze. Yes, the title does make it sound kind of disgusting.
The cooking began with a true test of my dicing skills, and, setting modesty aside, they were on point. (Guy Fieri lingo rules!) But beyond the dicing, it didn’t require much skill as this recipe was made for a stand mixer. This was my second time using the stand mixer, and it did not disappoint. It took two pounds of meat, a boatload of diced vegetables, a cup of breadcrumbs and ketchup, a few eggs, and some other stuff and mixed it in about 20 seconds. From there I threw it into a baking sheet, cooked it for an hour, and then inhaled it.
Halibut Soup
September 20, 2009For the two years I’ve been cooking full time for myself, I’ve always thought it ideal to buy precisely what I needed to cook whatever I planned on cooking. I’m now realizing that while that makes fiscal sense, it doesn’t provide any opportunities for creative cooking. Lucky for me, the other night I did have a few scraps floating around: frozen halibut, a walla walla onion, some baby carrots, cream cheese, fresh thyme, and chicken broth. I’d been craving soup, so it was a pleasant coincidence when I discovered those ingredients.
Homemade halibut soup
I started by sweating the onion and carrots in a bit of olive oil and salt. I then tossed in the halibut and gave it a quick sear. Finally, I put in the chicken broth that I’d had warming up in a pot nearby, plus the cream cheese and fresh thyme. I mixed the cream cheese in, threw the lid on, and cooked the puppy for about 30 minutes.
While the soup was cooking and I was steaming broccoli, Anne came up and said, why don’t you put the broccoli into the soup? ”Genius,” I said! The result was money.
All said in done, it was one of the best soups I’ve ever made (and I think I make some damn good soups), and I was darn proud of myself for finally concocting a creative, homemade dish.
