Weds. 30 May
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Holt brought home some perfectly good but already cooked hamburgers from the Memorial Day picnic, and this was all we could think of to do with them.
This dish was named for Dr. James Henry Salisbury, a 19th-century American physician who believed that it was good for you to eat chopped beef three times a day. We could not find a single recipe in any of our regular cookbooks, not even the 1960s Betty Crocker; but luckily my old friend and American-food-fan Joan had done one for our grad-student-communal-household publication, the Frost Street Cookbook. She used Durkee brown gravy mix for hers, but Holt and I had to make do with fresh ingredients.
So brown a chopped onion in oil until it's transparent, and add about a half pound of sliced mushrooms. Fry them until they're dark and give off their liquid. Then add about a cup of meat broth: we used nine ice-cube-tray-cubes of our homemade veal stock, and when they melted, we nestled the hamburgers among them, adjusted the seasoning, covered the pan, and let it go on a low simmer for about 20 minutes. Ideally, the burgers should soak up the sauce a bit, so it couldn't hurt to poke a few holes in them to encourage that. By the end, there was a good amount of sauce to moisten the dry meat, and it actually tasted pretty good.
We served this with Cajun potato salad that Holt made for Memorial day. It was actually based on our previous New Orleans potato salad but used regular russet potatoes (boiled as unpeeled cubes, with a splash of Zatarain's in the water) instead of whole little redskins, added chopped red onion, and had an oil-vinegar-and-grain-mustard dressing rather than mayonnaise, since it was going to sit out on a warm picnic table for a while. Both were damn tasty, though cubing the potatoes before you boil them makes them break up a bit too much.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Fettucine with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Cream
Tues. 29 May
This is an outgrowth of our Sausage Alfredo recipe, due to the fact that we had some standard white button mushrooms as well as a leftover half a pound of bulk (hot) sausage.
Still very easy. While the pasta is cooking, crumble and brown the sausage in a large pan. When it gives off enough oil, throw in about half a pound of sliced mushrooms and stir them about until they darken and give off their liquid, and until the sausage is no longer pink. Add up to a cup of heavy cream, with some minced fresh sage leaves if you have them, and a pinch of crushed red pepper if the sausage wasn't hot. Let that simmer and thicken (adding grated parmesan or romano, if you want to get it thicker faster) until the pasta reaches your ideal state of al-dentitude. Toss the pasta in the pan with the sauce, and serve it forth.
This is an outgrowth of our Sausage Alfredo recipe, due to the fact that we had some standard white button mushrooms as well as a leftover half a pound of bulk (hot) sausage.
Still very easy. While the pasta is cooking, crumble and brown the sausage in a large pan. When it gives off enough oil, throw in about half a pound of sliced mushrooms and stir them about until they darken and give off their liquid, and until the sausage is no longer pink. Add up to a cup of heavy cream, with some minced fresh sage leaves if you have them, and a pinch of crushed red pepper if the sausage wasn't hot. Let that simmer and thicken (adding grated parmesan or romano, if you want to get it thicker faster) until the pasta reaches your ideal state of al-dentitude. Toss the pasta in the pan with the sauce, and serve it forth.
Creamy leek soup
Mon. 28 May
This appeared in the May issue of Gourmet.
It differs from our standard vichyssoise-style recipe in containing just a small amount of potato, in having several other vegetables instead, and in being served warm. Made it more interesting, and savory. We skipped the additional onion, thinking that it would interfere with the leek flavor; and instead of the dollop of whipped cream, Holt lovingly marbled the surfaces of the bowls with unwhipped cream. But you could just throw a blob of sour cream on top, if you so chose.
This appeared in the May issue of Gourmet.
It differs from our standard vichyssoise-style recipe in containing just a small amount of potato, in having several other vegetables instead, and in being served warm. Made it more interesting, and savory. We skipped the additional onion, thinking that it would interfere with the leek flavor; and instead of the dollop of whipped cream, Holt lovingly marbled the surfaces of the bowls with unwhipped cream. But you could just throw a blob of sour cream on top, if you so chose.
Biermetts and onions
Sun. 27 May
The Saturday before Memorial Day, and at Findlay Market, Kroger's Sausages was under siege. Still, we managed to get some andouille for potato salad for the Classics Dept. cookout (see above) and some Biermetts for that night's dinner. Just browned them in the pan with the onions, which are done low and slow, with a little oil, and covered. First the onions get transparent, then limp, and finally they caramelize - you can open the pan for the last stage, and even give them a shot of paprika to make them browner.
Dinner was accompanied by - what else?- cold German beer.
The Saturday before Memorial Day, and at Findlay Market, Kroger's Sausages was under siege. Still, we managed to get some andouille for potato salad for the Classics Dept. cookout (see above) and some Biermetts for that night's dinner. Just browned them in the pan with the onions, which are done low and slow, with a little oil, and covered. First the onions get transparent, then limp, and finally they caramelize - you can open the pan for the last stage, and even give them a shot of paprika to make them browner.
Dinner was accompanied by - what else?- cold German beer.
Pain perdu with 'Murkin sausage
Sat. 26 May
A quickie before going out to the opera (Iphigénie en Tauride, set in a sort of post-apocalyptic basement--and it was a better setting than Chicago's black box). Yes, it's our old, old, old friend, the challah menorah, making one last (non-kosher) appearance as French toast, with a side of American hot breakfast sausage.
A quickie before going out to the opera (Iphigénie en Tauride, set in a sort of post-apocalyptic basement--and it was a better setting than Chicago's black box). Yes, it's our old, old, old friend, the challah menorah, making one last (non-kosher) appearance as French toast, with a side of American hot breakfast sausage.
Keema Alu
Friday 25 May
This is a recipe from New Joy. Indian food is now officially American. "Keema" कीमा is the same as modern Greek "kima," (κιμάς) for ground-meat, and both are from Turkish "kıyma" (verb kıymak 'chop, mince'). After all, Turkic food terms (and rulers) were everywhere from the Ganges to the Danube.
So: heat oil in large pan and sauté:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Add and stir-fry for a minute:
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground chile
Add 1 lb ground beef and sauté until it's no longer pink.
Throw in 1/2 cup or more chopped tomatoes, not drained (this is different from New Joy, as they tell you to drain them, add back a little juice, and later add an extra cup of water!!) and 1/2 lb. boiling potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until potatoes are tender (ca. 20 minutes), adding a bit of water if the level looks too low.
Add salt to your taste, sprinkle with a handful of fresh chopped cilantro, give it a stir or two, and serve.
This is a recipe from New Joy. Indian food is now officially American. "Keema" कीमा is the same as modern Greek "kima," (κιμάς) for ground-meat, and both are from Turkish "kıyma" (verb kıymak 'chop, mince'). After all, Turkic food terms (and rulers) were everywhere from the Ganges to the Danube.
So: heat oil in large pan and sauté:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Add and stir-fry for a minute:
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground chile
Add 1 lb ground beef and sauté until it's no longer pink.
Throw in 1/2 cup or more chopped tomatoes, not drained (this is different from New Joy, as they tell you to drain them, add back a little juice, and later add an extra cup of water!!) and 1/2 lb. boiling potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until potatoes are tender (ca. 20 minutes), adding a bit of water if the level looks too low.
Add salt to your taste, sprinkle with a handful of fresh chopped cilantro, give it a stir or two, and serve.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Coconut-lime chicken with scallions
Thursday 24 May
A new adaptation of our basic Thai-style green curry.
2 chicken bosoms, skinned and boned (deskinned and deboned?) for a change, and cut into 1" cubes.
Lots of scallions (say 12) cut on the diagonal into inch lengths, with the white and green parts separated.
1/2 can coconut milk
healthy pinch of laos powder
1 1/2 tsp green curry paste (we use Mae Ploy brand)
1 tsp nam pla
4 kaffir lime leaves, if you've got them (they freeze well)
1 limesworth of lime juice
Using the top coconut milk as your fat (this was, in fact, a leftover half can in the fridge, so solid and completely uniform in texture) stir fry the dollop of green curry paste (to your liking and heat-tolerance - taste-testing along the way is a good idea) for 2 minutes or so, until busted-up, dissolved, and fragrant.
Add the scallion whites and stir fry for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken, the rest of the coconut milk, laos powder, a splash of nam pla, the lime leaves, and finally the lime juice.
Cook for 10 minutes. Add the scallion greens.
When the scallion greens are tender and the chicken is done, eat it.
Since this has abundant sauce like most Thai dishes, you can serve it with rice to sop it up. We licked our plates clean—literally.
A new adaptation of our basic Thai-style green curry.
2 chicken bosoms, skinned and boned (deskinned and deboned?) for a change, and cut into 1" cubes.
Lots of scallions (say 12) cut on the diagonal into inch lengths, with the white and green parts separated.
1/2 can coconut milk
healthy pinch of laos powder
1 1/2 tsp green curry paste (we use Mae Ploy brand)
1 tsp nam pla
4 kaffir lime leaves, if you've got them (they freeze well)
1 limesworth of lime juice
Using the top coconut milk as your fat (this was, in fact, a leftover half can in the fridge, so solid and completely uniform in texture) stir fry the dollop of green curry paste (to your liking and heat-tolerance - taste-testing along the way is a good idea) for 2 minutes or so, until busted-up, dissolved, and fragrant.
Add the scallion whites and stir fry for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken, the rest of the coconut milk, laos powder, a splash of nam pla, the lime leaves, and finally the lime juice.
Cook for 10 minutes. Add the scallion greens.
When the scallion greens are tender and the chicken is done, eat it.
Since this has abundant sauce like most Thai dishes, you can serve it with rice to sop it up. We licked our plates clean—literally.
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