A fresh food rant.

I was just reading Michael Ruhlman's post about Americans being too stupid to cook, which is a reflection of this article from the NY Times about appliances that are appearing with one touch buttons (ie; expanding the idea of the "popcorn" button on microwaves to other kinds of foods). Michael implies that it is insulting to the average American for appliance people to put these features into play.

Sadly, I have to say that more and more I am confronted with people who don't even possess basic cooking skills like emulsifying a basic salad dressing, or making a properly cooked piece of meat. Baking cookies from scratch seems to be a passe activity anymore with the plague of cut and bake, preservative laden dough in the supermarkets. Personally, I am appalled, and until I started throwing dinner parties, thought that everyone at least possessed basic skills. One touch appliances are hardly surprising, albeit completely disheartening.

Unfortunately society at large is consumed with fast foods, both outside and inside the home. Now, I won't lie and say that I never ever grab fast food, but 95% of the time I cook at home and fast food is never as satisfying as the experience of "real" food. So many times I see people's idea of cooking as how many cans and boxes of whatever they can combine to make a thing, using ingredients that keep food shelf stable and come in mass quantities, consistently forgoing quality for quantity. There is a total disconnect between where the food comes from and how it gets to your table. Most times people don't know where the food was even farmed, or the quality of life your meat had before it landed in your shopping cart. I've seen sad situations where I have offered a delicious, from scratch meal with real terroir to someone, and had it turned down in favor of boxed, canned, high-preservative food. It is saddening to know that pasteurized, dumbed down, canned, and boxed "no-think" food is more popular than cooking from scratch in this country. Frankly, when you taste the difference between freshly grated Parmesan, and the stuff in the green container, it really makes you wonder how you could not put in a touch of extra effort to grate the real stuff for yourself instead. The list goes on.

This is a crime.

Forget about health care reforms. Let's go back to our roots, so to speak. Ditch the boxes, the cans, and the injected meat. Take funding away from the meat factories, and give it to the local farmers. Spend money teaching people how to eat and cook real food. Forget cooking with one finger, and learn to cook for real.

My first 2010 Finish!

This is the Grateful Heart Band Sampler from Jan-Apr 2009 Just Cross Stitch, stitched on 28 count hand dyed Jobelan "Clay" and worked with Gentle Art Sampler Threads and Gentle Art Simply Shaker Threads.

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb and Chicken Roll Ups

I think it has been a while since I last blogged. I've started a new part time job, and now I am sick,  and well... you know... life just happens right?

I don't know about anyone else out there, but we are being teased with spring here. I'm so done with the lack of available tasty produce. I definitely prefer a warm weather diet... I like light and bright flavors in my food, so this whole cruciferous and root veggies are starting to irritate me. I'm ready for new flavors!! Most of all I wish we weren't land locked because I prefer fish to meat. :-(

So in the last few weeks, I've made a couple of spring and warmer-weather inspired dishes. The first, a leg of lamb, is a classic spring meat, and is traditionally served on Easter (at least in the North East where I am from)(and this is a one dish meal so you have fewer things to clean up). Yum! The second was thrown together on a whim - chicken roll ups. I needed something fast and I used what was on hand. No pictures because the food disappeared to fast to take a picture of it!!

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb

Recipe Courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten)

• 12 large unpeeled garlic cloves, divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (6-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and tied
• 4 to 5 pounds small unpeeled potatoes (16 to 20 potatoes)
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven so the lamb will sit in the middle of the oven.

Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Toss the potatoes and remaining unpeeled garlic in a bowl with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the lamb on top of the potatoes and roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the lamb is 135 degrees (rare) or 145 degrees (medium). Remove from the oven and put the lamb on a platter; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow the lamb to rest for about 20 minutes. Slice and serve with the potatoes.

Chicken Roll Ups

This is an incredibly easy dish. You can make substitutions to this dish, but since I just threw this one together I'm really thrilled with how the flavors balanced. If you do make substitutions, you will want to make sure that you don't have one ingredient that will overpower the others.

You'll need one boneless skinless chicken breast per person

1/2 lb of thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma (Harmon's has started to import directly from Italy and it's so good I almost ate the whole thing without saving some for dinner!!)

Baby Arugula

Freshly grated Parmeggiano Reggiano

2 cups of chicken stock

Juice of two lemons

First, set a 10-12" sautee pan on a medium high heat, adding 2 tbs of butter and 2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil to your pan.

Beat your chicken breasts to about 1/4" thickness between two pieces of wax paper. On each breast, put two layers of Prosciutto, a layer of arugula, and then a thick layer of Parmeggiano (the more the better with the cheese so that it stands up in taste to the Parma and the arugula, both of which have strong tastes.

Once  you have assembled your layers, roll your chicken breast up tightly, and secure with kitchen twine. Salt and Pepper the outside of your roll, and then brown your rolls in the pan on all sides. Once all sides are thoroughly browned, remove from the pan, and set aside. 

To your pan, add 2 cups of chicken broth and the juice of two lemons (three if they aren't very juicy), and then scrape the fond (the brown bits) from the pan. Bring your liquids to a boil, and then add your rolls back into the pan. Cover and let simmer until your roll is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. 

Serve with pan juices, and enjoy!

Parmesan Chicken

 

Another recipe from the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten).

This was delicious, and I used arugula instead of the mesclun mix that Ina's recipe called for. I would also urge you to definitely beat your chicken breasts, because it does affect your cooking time. Since you are coating the meat, it will burn if you cook it as long as you need to cook it through without beating it.

• 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• Unsalted butter
• Good olive oil
• Salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry
• 1 recipe Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts. Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra grated Parmesan.

Lemon Vinaigrette:

nocoupons

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

This is a recipe from The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten). I can't eat mushrooms, but my husband's reaction was "WOW". Also, you will need a solid 2 hours to make this soup, although it definitely makes for leftovers.

• 5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms
• 5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

 

To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot.

Cinnamon Buns with Mascarpone Cheese frosting

This recipe was adapted from a recipe by Giada DiLaurentiis. We always enjoy these in our home! 

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (1-pound) loaf purchased frozen white bread dough, thawed in the fridge
• 1.5 cup powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 2 tablespoon buttermilk

Brush 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. (I didn't use nuts as I don't prefer them, but you would put in 1/3 cup of nuts here if you like) Mix the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll out the thawed dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Brush 1 tablespoon of butter over the dough. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the top and bottom sides. Starting at 1 long side, roll up the dough jelly-roll style, forming a log. Pinch the seam to seal. Cut the log into equal pieces. Arrange the rolls, cut side down, in the prepared baking dish, spacing evenly. Cover the dish with plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise in a warm draft-free area until puffed, about 45 minutes.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

Bake the cinnamon rolls uncovered until the tops are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the powdered sugar, mascarpone cheese, and buttermilk in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy.

Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over the baked cinnamon rolls and then drizzle the cheese mixture over top. Serve warm.