Bechamel Sauce

Posted on March 5, 2012 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

This is a standard bechamel, with a small twist: I use a leek in place of an onion, though a half onion works fine. Bay leaves should be adjusted; a fresh bay leaf is worth a half dozen dead ones.

  • Slice large section of leek, long-ways, to expose the center of the leek.
    • pin a bay leaf to the outside of the leek using three cloves;
    • place the bundle into 1 1/4 cups of milk, and simmer over low heat, for fifteen minutes; meanwhile –
  • In double boiler, make a two and two roux; quite simply, melt two tablespoons of butter in the double boiler, and slowly whisk in two tablespoons of all purpose flour;
  • Strain the milk, and whisk into the roux, slowly;
    • when all the milk is added, simmer, over low heat, with constant attention for about 8 minutes, until thickened considerably.
    • touch-off with salt and pepper (gently)

That’s it. You have a base sauce for innumerable variations, and fantastic as it is.

 

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Roasted Steamy Chicken with Carrot Gravy

Posted on February 27, 2012 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

This roasted chicken took a little more attention than our standard roasted chicken, but the result was excellent. The skin was light and crusted, the meat was moist, and the gravy worked beautifully.  Also, I have found a substitute for home-made stock that is good enough to work with; it is the new Knorr Homestyle Stock Concentrate – while not as good as home-made, it is rich and way better than the box stocks.

To prep the chicken, I did a simple garlic and rosemary mince, that I worked under the skin all around the chicken, along with kosher salt and good pepper. I cut-up a couple of small HG lemons, that I placed in the cavity of the bird, along with a few rosemary branches, put the chicken on a rack in a quarter sheet, with a little butter and olive oil on the skin.

  • Roasted the chicken uncovered at 375°f for 30 mins; took the chicken off the rack, and poured out the fat that had dripped into the qaurter sheet pan.
  • I put 3 carrots, sliced, in the quarter sheet, with a touch of olive oil, and a cup of chicken stock;
  • Put the chicken and rack back in the pan; covered the sheet tightly with foil, and returned the chicken for another 30 mins;
  • Took the chicken back out, and strained the carrots out, and the juice from the pan into a separator;
  • Put the carrots in a skillet with a bit of butter and a pinch of sugar; then added the now separated stock juice from the pan; simmered very low;
  • Changed the oven to broil; broiled the chicken for 10 mins – until brown with a touch of really brown;
  • Removed the chicken, and covered tightly in the same quarter-sheet pan, while I boiled down the carrots over high heat – just until the gravy had thickened a bit, and the carrots were still al dente

Served it over with peas, over white rice. It was fantastic.

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Simple Skillet Pork Chops

Posted on January 20, 2012 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

I have become a fan of really good salt, ever since one of my students gave me some of her home-made Hawaiian salt (literally, made in Hawaii by her in-laws). With simple, few-ingredient recipes, quality salt in the prep makes a huge difference; so, if you do not have super salt, at least use good kosher salt, if possible; if not, you will still have a great meal at the end using table salt. I have cooked these pork chops with the bone-in, and boneless. I prefer boneless, largely because they are easier to eat – you do not have to cut around that damn bone; that said, boneless requires a touch more care, as they dry faster than bone-in. The pan sauce is totally variable; you want a basic beginning (onion and garlic) and some liquid; beyond that, use anything you want, but keep it simple.

  • Prep one chop per person: rinse, pat dry, and rub salt into the meat; add pepper, and oregano (I really like Greek oregano that you buy on the stalk, but any works), let sit while you prep for the pan sauce.  14227067384_0afe835dee_m[1]
  • For the sauce:
    • Onion, chopped – amount is by your pan size, and number of eaters – a half onion per person is plenty.
    • Garlic: about a tablespoon per onion, minced
    • Fluid: a half cup of stock, and a quarter cup of port for two chops is a good guide, but, this is not baking; you can be very liberal in interpretation the point is, that you still want a very fluid sauce when you return the chops to the pan.
    • you will be adding a pinch of oregano to the sauce, along with: a dash of Worcestershire, a dash of Tabasco (totally optional), and a dash of balsamic.
      • optional: sliced mushroom

Pre heat the pan with olive oil and a touch of butter:

  • Cook the chops, in sets if need be so that you do not crowd the pan, for four minutes the first side, and one minute the second side;
  • Remove from the pan;
  • Add a touch of fluid – the port here is good, and scrape up the frond (the good sticky stuff);
  • Add the onions and probably a touch more olive oil; cook until softened – about five to seven minutes;
  • Add the garlic until fragrant; about a minute
  • Add stock – enough to fully cover the onions, and Worcestershire, Tabasco (if using), a pinch of oregano, and a touch more port;
  • Taste and adjust salt and pepper;
  • Return the chops to the pan, browned side up, and cook, partially covered (almost completely covered), until the chops read 150°f in the center; remove the chops and boil down the sauce to thicken.

Plate the chops: I like them sitting on top of a starch, be it pasta, rice, or mashed potato, and spoon the sauce over the chops.

Green: Pork chops are such a strong flavor, that roasted vegetables (e.g. broccoli and carrot) go very well.

From start to finish, the entire meal can be done in slightly more time than it takes to cook the starch, and the result is very good.

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Pork: Barbecued Spare Ribs

Posted on January 14, 2012 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

This recipe is no fail, and leads to the best ribs I have ever eaten, seriously.  I stumbled into this recipe by accident; I was fixing ribs with flavor, but the wrong texture; hence, finishing the ribs, covered, in the oven. The variable is the rub. Keeping the rub simple is best; find whether you prefer paprika or cumin, and let that be dominant.

  • Rinse and pat dry a rack of spare ribs. It is not necessary, and I think a mistake, to ask for St. Louis cut.
    • Rub with good quality salt, and let sit for about a half an hour.
    • Rub with your rub (a simple mix of herbs and spices; stores have good rubs, but it is so simple to make it fresh, and so much better, that I strongly recommend it)
    • wrap and refrigerate while you prep the barbecue.

The trick to prepping the barbecue lies in what barbecue you own. You want the heat source away from the ribs, with the smoke washing over the ribs; that means having the ribs under your vent, and the charcoal away from the vent. Soak wood chips in water to maximize the smoke. Never let the barbecue get hot; 275°f is optimal; it is not hard to keep the temp very close with a little monitoring. Once you have the charcoals settled, and the temp stabilized, it is time to put the ribs on the grill. The total grill time is 2 hours.

  • Scrape and oil the grill grate; place the ribs, fat side up, on the grill with a loose foil cover; add the wet chips to the coals, and close the lid.
    • after one hour, rotate, and flip, the ribs; with the meat side now up, brush with barbecue sauce; cover, very loosely, with the foil.
    • cook another hour on the grill, as close to 225°f as possible, adding wet wood chips a couple of times if you want, but not vital.
    • remove from the grill.

At this point, you can wrap the ribs and put them in the fridge over night, which really makes this recipe manageable for a backyard party. The last step is in the oven, which you can time perfectly, while you barbecue simple things for the crowd.

Pre-heat the oven to 350°f.

  •  Put the rack of ribs on a perforated rack for a half-sheet; place the perforated rack with the ribs on a half sheet; pour a bottle of beer into the sheet. Cover the ribs tightly with foil over the baking sheet, and put in the oven for 2 hours.

Remove from the oven, place the ribs on a cutting board, and let sit; they are done. Eat with the barbecue sauces from this site; they are easy, and good.

Boston baked beans are a great accompaniment.

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