Garlic Truffle Mashed Potatoes

This is not healthier eating, but it's the mashed potatoes I made tonight. It's all a bit estimated in terms of quantities, but close enough.

Wash, peel, and cut into cubes about 3 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes. Boil the potatoes and 8 peeled cloves of garlic in salted water for 30 minutes or so (or until very tender). Reserve 1/2 C. of potato-boiling water before straining. Drain potatoes and garlic, return to pot, and add 1/2 stick of butter (salted or not, whatever turns your crank), about 1/3 C. room temp half-and-half, 1/4 C. of reserved water, and mash the crap out of them. Then add about tsp. truffle oil, bit of fresh ground smoked peppercorn, and a pinch of salt. Add more half and half and reserve water as necessary.

If in season, add 1 C. chopped fresh oyster mushrooms.

enjoy.

Also, the Peruvian chicken recipe (via Cook's Illustrated) is one of THE best things we eat. We made it for Christmas dinner tonight (with the above mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli) and I was swearing it was so good. So frakking good.

Healthier Eating?

Okay, I'm trying to start eating a little healthier. I'm probably not going to post any new recipes until after Thanksgiving as I'm trying not to go grocery shopping until after we get back from WI. But be prepared for quinoa and bulgur. Or something.

Two new recipes soon

I don't have them in front of me so I'll post them soon, but a few nights ago we made trout with chili sauce and tonight we made Nigerian fiery stick meat. BOTH were very good. So I'll post those recipes soon. Summer or no summer.

Ahh, summer

Now that summer is over and I'm back in the swing of the semester (actually, we're past midterm), it's hard for me to be cooking anything new or exciting or, if I am, to be posting about it. I made gnocchi a few times, but haven't quite gotten them to turn out how I want (they're good, but not great), so no posting on that. I'm obsessed with potstickers lately, but they're from a bag. Not post-worthy. Right now I'm eating chili, but chili is easy, so nothing to see here. I made this mushroom spaghetti sauce from Cook's Illustrated, but it was pretty much as good -- maybe not even as good -- as the mushroom and sundried tomato recipe on here, and it was WAY more time and work.

SO. If I make something good and interesting, I'll post it. But don't hold your breath.

Peruvian chicken, with photos

I might be a little obsessed with this Peruvian chicken, but with good reason. Beej and I made it again the other night and it was just as good as the first time. So good, in fact, that we both, while eating, would feel the need to stop and exclaim aloud how good it actually is. We also made some homemade chips for a side. This time, though, I snuck a few pictures. For to enjoy.

I mean seriously, how good does that look?

I know that it looks a bit burned here, but it's just some of the rub. In reality, it's not burned at all.

Juicy tender wonderfulness. 

These pictures don't do it justice. Insanely juicy & amazing.

The chips, while simple, were also really delicious.

Billy's Broccoli Rigatoni

I'm sorry for the blurry pictures, but I don't have the patience lately. Especially when there's a big plate of Billy's Broccoli Rigatoni waiting for me. I've posted the recipe here before, but here are a few (albeit blurry) pictures of the seriously-garlicy delish dish that I called dinner tonight.

Indonesian-Style Fried Rice (aka Nasi Goreng)

I'm cribbing this almost directly from Cook's Illustrated. I love love love Cook's Illustrated. I'm going to let you know what I did differently, too. Let me say up front, though, that you need leftover basmati or jasmine (or just long-grain white) rice. It needs to be in the fridge overnight. I'm one of those people who tends to have leftover rice, though, so this is not a problem for me. The original recipe was double this (give or take) and was for 4-6 people. I halved it here.

Ingredients

• 2-3 green or red Thai chilis. [If you don't have Thai chilis available, a jalapeno will work. If you want to reduce the heat, you can take the seeds and ribs out. I actually partially seeded one Thai chili and I used 2 instead of 3. I'd kick it up to 3 next time, or leave all the seeds in. 2 Thai chilis, one seeded, was a bit of heat, but only a bit.]
• 3 shallots, peeled* [1 of these shallots is for crunchy garnish. If you don't want to do the crunchy garnish, you only need one shallot, a bit less oil, and you can skip step 4. The crunchy garnish is really good, but if you want to cut back a little bit on the oil or on the onion breath, you could skip this.]
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp light or mild molasses [I only had dark molasses. This might actually be better with light, but dark was just fine.]
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• table salt
• 2 large eggs [I don't like eggs, so I didn't use these. I skipped steps 3 & 5. That's your call, though.]
• 1/4 C. vegetable oil
• 6 oz large shrimp
• 2 large scallions, sliced thin [If you want to cut back on the onion, you could omit these.]
• 1 lime, cut into wedges [I didn't use the limes. I just forgot. I'm not sure I'd want to squeeze a lime over this, but feel free to try it.]
• 2-2.5 cups leftover basmati or jasmine rice

As the editor/authors note, this dish progresses fast, so make sure you have your ingredients ready and prepped before you start. You'll need 2 small bowls for prep, one medium bowl for prep, and one small bowl to pour cooking oil into after frying shallots. Also paper towels.

1. Pulse chilis, 2 shallots, and garlic in food processor until course paste is formed. I don't know that I ever would have called what I had "paste," but it's close. Transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside.
2. In second small bowl, stir together brown sugar, molasses, soy sauce, fish sauce, and pinch of table salt. Set aside.
3. If you're using eggs, whisk eggs and pinch of salt together in medium bowl.
4. Thinly slice remaining shallot and place in 12 inch nonstick skillet with oil. Fry over medium-low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until shallots are golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. using slotted spoon, transfer shallots to paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste. Pour off oil into small bowl and reserve. Wipe out skillet with paper towels.
5. Heat 1 tsp reserved oil in now-empty skillet over medium-low/medium heat until shimmering. Add half of eggs to skillet, gently tilting pan to evenly coat bottom. Cover and cook until bottom of omelet is spotty golden brown and top is just set, about 1.5 minutes. Slide omelet onto cutting board and gently roll up into tight log (like a fruit roll-up). using sharp knife, cut log crosswise into 1-inch segments (leaving segments rolled). Repeat with another tsp reserved oil and remaining egg.
6. Remove rice from fridge & break up any large clumps with fingers. Heat 3 Tbsp reserved oil in now-empty skillet over medium-low to medium heat until just shimmering. Add chile mixture and cook until mixture turns golden, about 3-5 minutes.
7. Add shrimp, increase heat to medium-medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until exterior of shrimp is just opaque, about 2 minutes. 
8. Push shrimp to sides of skillet to clear center; stir molasses mixture to recombine and pour into center of skillet. When molasses mixture bubbles, add rice and cook, stirring and folding constantly, until shrimp is cooked, rice is heated through, and mixture is evenly coated, about 3 minutes.
9. Stir in scallions, remove from heat, and transfer to serving platter. Garnish with egg segments, fried shallots, and lime wedges; serve immediately.

This is one of those meals that I loved immediately. And then I craved more about an hour later. Not because I was hungry, but because I was thinking about it. And it's good leftover and cold. And while it seems a bit complicated, if you skip the egg part, it only takes about a half an hour total.

A close up of the crispy scallion garnish. And the deliciousness under the crispy scallion garnish.

Sweet and Spicy BBQ

I put out the call to Braden over at Cooking Three Times for a good sweet & spicy BBQ sauce. I'd been trying quite a few out of the BBQ Bible (a book I love) but nothing was quite right. Mostly I was trying to approximate Famous Dave's Devil's Spit. Braden sent me a recipe his dad likes, and Braden's dad is well-known for his grilling expertise.

And with good reason. I tweaked this recipe a bit, but the basics are from Braden's dad. So thanks to Braden, and to his dad.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a non-reactive sauce pan. 

Add 1 cup onions, minced  & saute until soft. 

Add

1/2 cup water 

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce 

1/4 cup lemon juice 

about 2 tsp pineapple juice

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tsp molasses 

1 cup Heinz chili sauce 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

2 tsp sriracha

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp curry powder

dash chipotle powder

approx 1 Tbsp strong strong coffee

1 teaspoon paprika 

1 teaspoon yellow mustard 

2 teaspoons chili powder

Simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.

Quick pasta

This is hardly a recipe, but I've been digging bowtie pasta with homemade pesto, some white truffle oil, and pink Himalayan sea salt. I don't think the kind of salt matters, nor do I think it needs to be homemade pesto, although homemade pesto is lovely. Bowtie pasta, pesto, white truffle oil, and salt = yum.

Popcorn experiments

Those who know me know that I pride myself on making good homemade popcorn. None of that microwave or airpopper bullshit; honest to goodness in a pan on the stove homemade popcorn. And not to toot my own horn too much, but it is damn good. Ask anybody who has had it.

I'm not gonna go into how to make popcorn here. It's hard to explain verbally and I imagine you can look it up on YouTube if you don't already know how to do it. But last night I made a triple batch and separated it. I left one-third of it as my standard butter and salt (still Beej's favorite). The other 2/3 were an experiment. A lovely one, at that.

On 1/3 of the already popped popcorn, I drizzled white truffle oil and then salted it. It was very good. It was even better, though, when I added some melted butter, too. I needed more truffle oil than I thought I would, so you'll want to keep tasting it. I do think it needs a bit of butter to sort of bring out that taste, and maybe for texture. And, as I sit here eating left-overs, I'd say it might be better the second day.

The real gem, in my opinion, was rosemary-chipotle popcorn. Clearly I'm on a bit of a rosemary kick, but who can blame me? And really, who would complain? For this one, I chopped maybe 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary and added that to melted butter, then poured that mixture over the popcorn. I then sprinkled maybe 1/8 tsp of chipotle powder and a generous amount of table salt.

FanFREAKINGtastic. As I said, Beej still prefers the classic, and it is darn good, but the rosemary-chipotle is a wonderful discovery.

Spicy Rosemary Cashews

I got this recipe from my friend David (& then tweaked it a bit) and they've been a favorite Christmas present idea. They're best warm, it's true, but they certainly don't have to be served warm. Even so, they tend to work best if you warm the cashews in the oven first, as it seems to help the mix adhere. In a pinch, though, just throw the cashews into the coating and mix. Done!

Mix about 1 lb cashews (whole or pieces) with

• 3 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper
• 2 tsp dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp melted butter

* If you're not big on spice, cut down on the chipotle pepper, or just use just under 1/2 tsp cayenne and no chipotle.

If you're warming the cashews:
Preheat oven to 375. Place about 1 lb of cashews nuts on ungreased baking sheet & bake about 10 minutes, or until warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the mix in large bowl. Toss warm nuts with rosemary mixture until completely coated. Adjust salt & spice levels to taste (if too spicy, add a smidge more brown sugar). Serve warm, if possible.

Rosemary simple syrup

Thanks, Braden, for this idea.

Rosemary simple syrup:
Add 1 C. sugar (white works better than raw)
to 1. C water
and add 6 fresh rosemary sprigs (rinsed)

Bring to a boil & dissolve sugar into water. Let simmer for another minute or so. Then take the pot off the burner and let it sit for a good 20 minutes. Remove rosemary sprigs and any stray rosemary.







I used this to make rosemary lemonade for summer beer. I wish I could give you the recipe, but I was eyeballing. Something like the juice from 10 lemons with some of the pulp, maybe 1/4 cup of this rosemary simple syrup (more to taste?) and a 1/4C - 1/2 C water (or you can use 3/4 can of lemon sparkling water), almost all of a Corona Light and a 1/2 C. vodka or so. Just mix these things, adding more of some stuff or other until it tastes good. :) Oh, and serve over ice.

Grilled pizza

I think I posted about this before, but, if not, we've been making grilled pizzas. I use the olive oil bread dough from this book. Generously oil a large sheet of aluminum foil and spread dough out to flatbread shape/size. Oil the top of dough generously as well. Prep your toppings. Then you'll put the dough directly on the grill. Wait for it to start to bubble on top at which point you should be able to flip the dough with tongs and a spatula. Top the pizza and close the lid to help the cheese melt.

A few photos:

The dough on the grill, pre-flip.

This is Beej's: fresh cherry tomatoes, red onion, fresh mushrooms, green & kalmata olives, fresh basil (with pesto as the sauce) and fresh mozz. It got a bit on the crispy side, but was very good.

And here's mine. Pretty much the same as Beej's, sans tomatoes.

Peruvian chicken update

Sorry, no pictures. Should have taken some, though, as it was a glorious sight on the grill's rotisserie. And holy o'golden was it wonderful. I mean, really really wonderful. I think the 20 hour marinade was key. I wonder if we could inject the rub into the chicken? Honestly, though, we didn't actually need to do that as it had good flavor all the way through and the rotisserie made it really (I hate this word, but it's true) moist and juicy. The skin was, of course, the best part, as skin always is.

And the chicken went really nicely with the cilantro rice. When I do the rice again, though, I think I'll cut back just a smidge on the lime. I tripled the recipe (for at least 3 cups of rice) and I think I could double the recipe for 3 cups of rice.

Plus, we made summer beer: rosemary lemonade, vodka, Corona light, and rosemary simple syrup (over ice). Sound weird? Maybe, but it's delicious.

Overall, a stunning meal. We will a) absolutely make this again and b) use our rotisserie on the grill more often.

Oh, also, I wasn't a huge fan of the dipping sauce. It wasn't bad and, as Lisa mentioned, it would probably be a good veggie dip, but it didn't really enhance the chicken much, nor was it needed. I'd skip it.

Peruvian chicken recipe

We still haven't technically tried the Peruvian chicken recipe. I did, however, make the rub for the chicken so I'm posting a quick picture of the rubbed chicken, as well as the recipe.

Messy? Sure. Something a smidge dirty looking about this picture? Kinda. Fun anyway? For totes.













Here's the recipe, ala Cooks Illustrated.

Peruvian Chicken with Garlic and Lime
Combine in a food processor or blender until paste forms, 10-20 seconds.

• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 C. lightly packed fresh mint leaves
• 2 Tbsp kosher salt
• 6 medium garlic cloves, peeled & roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp finely grated zest and 1/4 C. juice from 2 limes
• 1 tsp minced habanero chile

Using fingers or handle of wooden spoon, carefully loosen skin over thighs and breast of a 3.54 lb whole chicken. Rub 1/2 of paste beneath skin of chicken. Spread rest on entire exterior. Tuck wingtips underneath chicken. Place in gallon-sized zipper-lock bag and refrigerate for 6-24 hours. 

The rest of the recipe calls for roasting the chicken b/c the authors wanted an alternative to rotisserie. We're trying it on the rotisserie on our grill. But here's the roasting recipe. You'll either need a vertical roaster or a half empty beer can sprayed on the outside with cooking spray.

2. Adjust oven rack to lowest position & heat oven to 325 degrees. Place vertical roaster on rimmed baking sheet. Slide chicken onto vertical roaster so chicken stands upright and breast is perpendicular to bottom of pan. Roast until skin just begins to turn golden and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 140 degrees, 45-55 minutes. Carefully remove chicken and pan from oven and increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.

3. When oven in heated to 500 degrees, place 1 C. water in bottom of pan and return pan to oven. Roast until entire skin is browned and crisp and instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees inserted in thickest part of breast and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, about 20 minutes (replenish water as necessary to keep pan from smoking), rotating bird 180 degrees halfway through cooking. 

4. Carefully remove chicken from oven and let rest, still on vertical roaster, 20 minutes. Using kitchen towel, carefully lift chicken off vertical roaster and onto platter or cutting board. Carve chicken and serve, passing Spicy Mayonnaise separately.

Spicy Mayonnaise? Here you go

Process in food processor until finely chopped, about 5 seconds. 

• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp minced onion
• 1 Tbsp juice from 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp canned pickled jalapeno, minced
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press
• 1 tsp yellow mustard
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Wish machine running, slowly drizzle in 1 C. vegetable oil in steady stream until mayonnaise-like consistency is reached, scraping bowl down as necessary. 

Moroccan Chicken

I've posted Lisa T's Moroccan chicken recipe earlier. Here's a not-very-good picture of the chicken on jasmine rice. So freaking good.

Peruvian chicken and cilantro rice

When I was visiting Billy and Anna in Madison, we ate a few times at the food trucks on campus. I had this Peruvian chicken and cilantro rice that I LOVED. When I got home, I noticed that there was a recipe in my Cook's Illustrated for Peruvian chicken, so I'm going to try it tomorrow night. I don't have the recipe in front of me (I'm at a coffeeshop), but I'll post it soon, especially if it turns out. I'm also going to try this cilantro rice recipe that I found online:

Make rice as usual. I'm going with basmati.
Blend in food processor (or blender)
2/3 cup cilantro, loosely packed
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped scalions
1 jalapeno (or to taste)
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp olive oil


This is for each cup of rice, so I'll need more than this, but I like the idea. I'll post after we try it. 


I've also been doing basmati with basil butter and it is, just fyi, very good.

Jerk rice

One of our favorite things in the summer is jamaican jerk salmon. We made it on Monday night with some wild sockeye (and it was delish). We had rice on the side and, as will happen, some of the jerk topping mixed with the rice. It got me thinking that the jerk seasoning intentionally mixed with some basmati might be wonderful. I haven't tried it yet, but I mixed some of the left over salmon in with some basmati tonight and think this has great potential. I'll update when I actually do try it.

SOBA

I don't know why I haven't been eating cold soba noodles all summer. They are delicious. The downside is that the Memmi that you dip them in is SO high in sodium. You mix it with water, but 2 Tbsp of Memmi is something like 86% of your daily sodium intake. I wonder if there's something else I might do with the cold soba? Even just tossing it in soy sauce would be less sodium.

Bought some gorgeous wild sockeye salmon at the grocery store last week and did it again today. Jamaican jerk salmon is on deck for Monday night. Maybe I'll take pictures.

Couscous

A while back I bought about a pound of Israeli couscous. I've had it in restaurants and I've made that Far East pre-seasoned box stuff enough, but I knew that the Israeli was better, so I thought I'd try it.

It is better. Easy and delicious. These are hardly recipes, just ideas. Delicious ones.

Also, I'm sorry about the HUGE picture at the top. I can't seem to shrink it, so I either need to a) accept it, b) get a new template that accepts pictures, or c) get rid of it.

Last night for dinner I made Israeli couscous with basil butter. Easy enough: chop fresh basil, smash into unsalted butter. Pref. let sit in fridge overnight, but whatevs (If you've not done this before, the best way to store it is to get some parchment paper, spoon the butter into the middle of it, and roll it up and twist the ends like an old-school candy wrapper. It'll keep in the fridge for a good week, but it can also go in the freezer for a loooooonnnnnng time.) Cook couscous, add generous pat of basil butter. Sprinkle with some salt or garlic salt. Enjoy.

For lunch today, I sauteed a clove of garlic just until fragrant (45 seconds?) and two handfuls of fresh baby spinach. Let that go until wilted. Tossed about a cup of cooked couscous with that and added a pinch of salt. Absolutely wonderful (and a good way to use the slightly limp spinach that was left in my fridge).

Found a recipe for toasted couscous with grilled veggies that I'd like to try, but need to go to the grocery store first. I also wish I liked zucchini more than i do. Maybe I'll just do the asparagus and bell peppers.

New postings?

I haven't really been here in awhile, and I know there's not really anybody checking/using this blog, but I'd like to start posting some ideas again. Right now I'm on the hunt for the perfect BBQ sauce recipe. While it's not popular with "real" BBQers, I love Famous Dave's Devil's Spit and have been trying to make a similar sauce with no real luck. I've used a few recipes out of Raichlen's BBQ Bible (and his sauces book) and I've not really loved any of them. Too sweet, too vinegary, too bland. I've tried building two of my own from scratch and they've been fine, but not great. So maybe I'll post a few recipes here in the upcoming days and if anybody happens upon this, they can give me some suggestions. If not, at least I'll have a record of what I've done, what I've liked, and what I haven't liked.

Herbed Chicken Tenders

Biz sent this recipe link to me in a random email and I just made the chicken tenders today. I didn't make the sauce, but the chicken tenders were absolutely delicious. Here's the link, but I pasted the recipe below, too.

Herbed Chicken Tenders with Tomato Sauce Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Chicken Tenders

• 2 lbs chicken tenders (about 12 pieces)
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk*
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning herbs**
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted

Tomato Dipping Sauce

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

*You can make a substitute for buttermilk by adding a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 1/2 cups of milk and letting the mixture stand for 10 minutes.

**A mixture of dried herbs often used in Italian cooking such as marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil

METHOD

Sauce

1 Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions, stirring often, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

2 Add the tomato paste, mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes more. The tomato paste should darken to a brick-red color.

3 Add the tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Cook this for 5 minutes if using tomato sauce, 10 minutes if using crushed tomatoes.

4 Put the sauce into a blender and purée until smooth. Hold your hand over the blender lid to keep it from popping off, and start the blender at a low setting and work up to the highest.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

The Tenders

1 Soak tenders in buttermilk for 15-30 minutes. While the tenders are soaking, make the sauce (see sauce directions above).

2 Mix together the breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, and salt in a shallow bowl.

3 Heat oven to 500°F. Line a roasting pan with foil. Brush the top of the foil with vegetable oil to help prevent sticking, or use a Silpat sheet. One by one, remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and place in the bowl with breadcrumbs, coating them on all sides with the breadcrumbs. Place on the roasting pan.

4 Drizzle a little melted butter over each chicken tender. Place in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, and the pieces are lightly browned.

Serve with a bowl of the sauce for dipping.

Serves 4-6.