Birthday Dinner

Posted on August 26, 2011 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

I marked another year north of the topsoil on Wednesday, and my father and his wife took my wife and I out to a restaurant here in San Carlos last night called Rumi; it was fantastic. The waitress came to the table with salmon mousse on bruschetta (bloody good); we had olives and feta for an appetizer, my wife had gnocchi, the old people had a lamb skewers, and I had braised beef short ribs. We drank a $36 Syrah that was perfect.

On my actual birthday, I worked late, but came home to my wife’s Czech cooking- I have grown to love Czech food- we had Chezeck (no idea how to spell it; this is an approximate, phonetic recreation); it is breaded chicken, dipped in egg, and sauted in a skillet. As usual (or, classically), it came with potatoes, and we had brussel sprouts. All in all, two days of great eating.

Not sure what we will make this weekend. We have a new cookbook- the America’s Test Kitchen Book- will probably poke through it and find a starting point. Will post after we shop.

Peace,

DB

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Roasted Chicken- rosemary and garlic

Posted on August 22, 2011 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

This is a simple, very good recipe.

Preheat oven to 400ºf;

Rinse and pat-dry a whole chicken. Loosen the skin over the breasts, starting from the open cavity end of the bird. Don’t be afraid to push your hand well under the skin; even loosen the skin down to (and including) the thighs.

Salt and pepper the bird generously, under the skin and outside the skin. Tuck generous amounts of rosemary and minced garlic under the skin.  Rub olive oil and butter all over the bird. In the cavity of the bird, place a lemon, quartered, and a few sprigs of rosemary. The bird is now ready for the oven.

You can put the bird onto a roasting pan (or a sheet, but try to get the bird up off the bottom of the sheet; if all else fails, a few chop sticks make a great rack), and straight into the oven; it will cook for just under an hour, until the breast is 165º.

We have a system that we love: we use a simple, foldable rack , placed on a rimmed baking sheet. We start with the chicken, breast-side up, and then rotate it every twenty minutes- three rotations making an hour; we then put the bird back to breast-up position, cover the breasts with foil, and cook for another ten minutes. The rotation spreads the natural juices throughout the bird- the result is a beautiful, brown-skinned, juicy chicken.

Let it sit for a while (at least 20 minutes) and carve however you like.

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Mid August Weekend Food

Posted on August 22, 2011 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

I had my sister over for lunch on Friday; roasted a chicken- simple rosemary and garlic roast  (I will post the recipe tonight)- is great for company: easy, not painfully expensive, looks great, and everybody* loves chicken.

The chicken was a lucky call; we planned to make a Belgian Stew on Saturday, but by the time we made it home, and looked at the stack of dirty dishes, and the fact that I still had to make the stock for the stew, the leftover chicken started looking better and better. That way, I could put the stock on the stove, let it simmer while we ate and such, and have stock ready for the stew tonight.  We made a simple mushroom sauce, just mushrooms in butter and oil (I think a started with onions, chopped very small, in the butter) a scoop of the simmering stock, a handful of fresh oregano- salt and pepper.  I poured that over Uncle Ben’s rice, and cold breast cut from the roasted chicken- happy days.

We are about to start the Belgian Stew.  We consulted the butcher at Lunardi’s, and are ready to tackle the stew. Will post the results later.

8/21  7:15 p.m.

Midnight: stew cooking, pasta almost ready. results tomorrow.

Wow! the stew was fantastic- simple, onion based, beer sauce, and two and a half hours in the oven (in a Dutch oven, after browning the meat chunks). Had it over wide egg-noodle pasta (Di Cecco).

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Pot Roast

Posted on August 15, 2011 by SlowDownAndCook with Meals not So Fast

We have reached a state with our pot roast that we can repeat it with (mostly) consistent results. The sauce/gravy is damn good. The piece of meat seems to make an enormous difference. A Diamond Jim Cross Cut Roast is good; the Kobe Roast is fantastic. The marinade time is important- overnight is good.

  • Rinse and pat dry the roast. Put it in a bowl that holds the following ingredients nicely around the roast:
    • About a half a bottle of good red wine
    • A Cup each of:
      • carrot, sliced thin
      • onion, sliced thin
      • celery, large slices
    • Garlic- two or three cloves, halved
    • Thyme- a grab
    • Bay Leaves- a couple
    • Parsley- fresh, handful
    • Allspice Berries- a few
    • Olive Oil
    • Sea Salt and Black Pepper, course
  • Cover and leave in fridge over night

Remove the roast from the marinade, and keep the marinade handy; let the roast sit and dry at room temperature (3o mins, give or take) Heat a dutch oven with a good shot of olive oil, and a dollop of butter.

  • Brown the roast in the Dutch Oven, turning, browning once a side
    • pour off the fat
  • Put the meat back in the Dutch Oven
  • Pour in the marinade, and boil down over high heat to half
  • Add enough beef stock (home made makes all the difference), to cover half the roast
  • Bring to a simmer on the stove, cover, and place in a 350ºf oven for three (3) hours
  • Remove the meat; let rest, loosely covered
  • Strain the liquid from the Dutch Oven through a sieve, pressing
  • Boil down the now strained liquid, for a good 30 mins- I like to thicken with a Beurre Manie, but whatever thickener you like, or just heat and time, until the sauce has thickened considerably (but, monitor it, do not let it burn, or two days of work have just gone down the drain)
    • taste the sauce- add salt if need be
  • Cut the roast in thick slices (nothing like Roast Beef); plate, cover with a touch of gravy and serve gravy at the table

Any starch is good. Potatoes- like pan roasted new, or mashed (heaven); any rice, or a good egg noodle pasta. Also, roasted carrots, with pearl onions are a wonderful touch. And, of course, left-0vers are even better.

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