What I've Been Doing With Myself Since January

Well, it's been a while since my last blog update, but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking, baking, and trying new recipes in the intervening months. I thought it might be a good idea to share a bit of what I've been up to before I start making (potentially false) promises about more regular updates in the future.

During the winter I had an amazing meal of braised short ribs with cheddared spinach on a bed of fresh made pappardelle at Caseus, an excellent fromagerie and bistro style restaurant. It inspired me to finally braise some short ribs of my own, and I settled on this recipe from Simply Recipes, which I've made two times. The resulting meat was so amazingly tender and full of flavor from the wine reduction - the beef literally falls of the bone, cuts like butter, and melts in your mouth.

As Easter approached, and I found out I would be hosting my parents and brother for dinner, I decided to try and recreate my entire dinner from Caseus, substituting lamb shanks for short ribs. Of course this meant making my own fresh pasta, something else I had never done. I followed this tutorial, rolling out the pasta sheets by hand since I didn't have a pasta machine. The dough was easy enough to make, but I just couldn't roll the dough out thin enough, and the resulting noodles cooked up thick tough rather than thin and delicate. I bought a pasta machine, and a few days later, made my first batch of delicious fresh pasta (with an assist from my lovely wife since I couldn't quite seem to crank the dough through the machine and hold it coming out the other end at the same time).

The lamb shanks came out beautifully, as did the fresh fettuccine, and I served it all over my own version of cheddared spinach (steamed baby spinach leaves tossed with microplaned sharp cheddar). I must say that while my recreation didn't quite measure up to the original, it was pretty darn close.

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I have a few more things to share...

This is the simplest and best pasta recipe I've come across in quite a while, thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen. Apparently, spaghetti with cheese and black pepper is an Italian pantry cooking staple that I'd somehow missed for my entire life. It's also one of the most beloved dishes at Mario Batali's acclaimed New York restaurant, Lupa. I've probably made this five times since I discovered the recipe, and that's only because I can't justify eating a pound of spaghetti and cheese more than once a week. I want this all the time.

Also from Smitten Kitchen comes the excellent "best cocoa brownies" recipe, which I can't endorse highly enough. Really delicious brownies on the chewy end of the brownie spectrum. I suggest trying peanuts instead of walnuts, for an interesting Snickers-esque quality.

A wonderful guacamole with bacon from Rick Bayless is delicious as a topping for quesadilla, spread on a turkey sandwich, or just eaten with chips. Smoky, spicy chipotle peppers blend nicely with the bacon and tomatoes to make a truly excellent guacamole.

And last but not least, tuna burgers with wasabi mayo. This recipe had been in my "to make" pile for a few years, and I finally decided to make them for a some friends. I would say that these burgers were probably the single best thing I've cooked since January. The comment I left on the blog where I got them pretty much says it all...

I’ve had this recipe in my “to make” pile for 3 years! Well, I finally got around to making it last night, and though I was initially hesitant about doing anything with such beautiful tuna as giving it a light sear and eating it extremely rare, I must say this recipe is amazing!

Without hyperbole, I can honestly say this is the best non-beef burger I’ve ever had, and it’s not even close. Great recipe! Thanks!

Using high quality tuna is a must, so this recipe is not a cheapie, but as an every once and a while splurge, is definitely worth the high price tag. I also baked some pita to stuff these into, and highly recommend you do the same (or at least buy some pita).

So that pretty much brings us up to speed...now, I promise to update more regularly from here on out (heh heh heh).

Brown Rice and Black Bean Soft Tacos

A few weeks ago I inadvertently recreated one of my old favorite fast food items. I had not eaten anything from any fast food restaurant in at least 5 years, probably even longer, but nonetheless I found myself experiencing a bit of food déjà vu. I was pretty sure I had never made a burrito (actually it was more of a taco due to over-stuffing) with this exact combination of ingredients, but I knew I had eaten it before. Then it struck me, the Seven Layer Burrito from Taco Bell - rice, beans, sour cream, guacamole, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomato (I looked it up). Of course, my dinner was slightly different as I had mashed avocado rather than guacamole, crumbled goat cheese instead of cheddar, and salsa instead of tomato, but the essence remained the same. Fond fast food memories came flooding back, making me feel all nostalgic, as well as slightly nauseous, for times spent with good friends driving around and...well, eating at fast food restaurants.

The amazing technique for cooking the brown rice used in this recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated Magazine, and it has been a revelation for me. I know it sounds pathetic, but I have never been able to cook brown rice with any type of consistency. This technique has you bake the rice in the oven, which was completely new to me. I have made brown rice this way at least ten times now, and its always come out exactly the same, that is to say, absolutely perfect. I'll never simmer it on the stove top again. The only down side is that you need to start 1 hour and 20 minutes before you want to use the rice, so some planning ahead is definitely required. Alternatively you can make a large batch of rice in advance, and freeze it in smaller portions to defrost and reheat as needed.

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Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of brown rice into an 8-inch, oven safe baking dish. Measure out the spices and bring the water and oil to a boil.

Stir the spices into the boiling water and pour it over the rice. Pouring the water into the dish will move the rice around, so just use a spoon to coax it back into a nice even layer.

Cover tightly with a double layer of foil and place into the oven for 1 hour.

While the rice cooks, open up a can of black beans, rinse them and drain them well. When the rice is done, make sure to uncover it carefully or you can get a pretty nasty steam burn.

Fluff the rice with a fork, and place the foil loosely back over the top for 5 minutes.

While you are waiting for the rice, mash the avocado. You don't want to do this too far in advance because the avocado tends to discolor quickly. Stir the beans into the rice and allow it to sit uncovered for a few more minutes.

To assemble your soft tacos, start with a medium size (about 8 inch) flour tortilla. Spread as much sour cream as you like in the middle (I generally use about 1 tablespoon per taco).

Spoon approximately 1/8 of the rice mixture onto the sour cream and top with some goat cheese. I got the idea for goat cheese in tacos from this great recipe by Rick Bayless, the undisputed king of authentic Mexican cuisine in America. I know goat cheese sounds a little weird for tacos, but I think it adds a really nice tangy flavor and creaminess that you don't get from grated cheddar or jack cheese, but you can use whatever you like of course.

Next comes a little of your favorite salsa spooned over the top and a generous dollop of mashed avocado. If tomatoes are in season, I'm sure some fresh, diced tomato would be great, but if they're not in season, skip the tomato and use the salsa.

Top with some nice crispy romaine lettuce and you're ready to eat.

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Brown Rice and Black Bean Soft Tacos
1 hour 30 minutes (about 10 minutes if rice and beans is cooked in advance) Makes 8 to 10 tacos

• 1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice
• 2 1/3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained well
• 8 to 10 flour tortillas
• sour cream
• 4 ripe avocados
• crumbled goat cheese
• your favorite salsa
• romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into bite size pieces

To make the rice and beans:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven t0 375 degrees
2. Place rice in 8-inch square, oven safe baking dish
3. Place water and oil in small saucepan and bring to a boil
4. Stir spices into boiling water
   
5. Pour boiling water over rice, smooth rice into an even layer with a spoon
6. Cover tightly with a double layer of foil
7. Place into oven for 1 hour
8. Remove from oven and carefully uncover
9. Fluff rice with fork, then place foil loosely over top and allow rice to sit for 5 minutes
10. Uncover, mix in beans with fork, and allow the rice to sit uncovered for 5 more minutes

To assemble the tacos:

1. Prepare flour tortillas according to package directions
2. Place a tortilla on a plate and spread about 1 tablespoon of sour cream evenly over the middle of the tortilla
3. Place 1/8 to 1/10 of the rice and beans (about 1/2 cup) onto the tortilla
4. Top the rice and beans with a few crumbles of goat cheese (about 1 to 2 tablespoons)
   
5. Place a few spoons of salsa on top of the cheese (about 1 to 2 tablespoons)
6. Top the salsa with a generous dollop of mashed avocado (about 1/3 cup or more if you like)
7. Sprinkle a few pieces of lettuce on top
8. Repeat as many times as you like

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Brown rice is much healthier for you than white, but it takes considerably longer to prepare. The cooking method in this recipe makes delicious rice, is very simple, and is hands off for almost all of the cooking time leaving you free to prepare the rest of your meal. Use the brown rice cooking technique above whenever you need brown rice, simply omit the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and beans.

Chicken Enchiladas

A few weeks ago my friends Jeff and Becc had a dinner party, which is what my friends and I have instead of plain old parties now that we're all grown up and married and such. The theme was Southwest, Tex-Mex style food, with all it entails. I'm no expert on this particular cuisine, and my restaurant experience in the area is sorely lacking, so I can't speak as to the authenticity of the meal (What is authenticity anyway?), but I can say that everything I ate that night was delicious. There was guacamole, tortilla chips, salsa, cornbread, and two kinds of enchiladas, all homemade (except for the tortilla chips I think), even a chocolate cake with chili pepper for dessert. We made margaritas, drank wine, played Trivial Pursuit (The 16th amendment to the US Constitution gives the Congress the power to "lay and collect taxes on incomes"), and had an all around good time.

One of the enchilada dishes featured chicken, cheese, and onions wrapped in a corn tortilla and smothered in a deliciously not-too-spicy red sauce spiked with generous amounts of chili powder. I thought these were exceptional, and Jeff let me in on his secret recipe (it was Emeril's). I finally got around to making them myself yesterday, and after just finishing the leftovers tonight I can say they were as good as I remembered. Any recipe that comes out this good (not to mention consistent) the first time two different people make it is a keeper in my book.

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This recipe took me about an hour to put together, and then another half hour to bake, so make sure you have some time on your hands before you start. Get all the sauce ingredients together, then heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan.

Add the flour to the hot oil and stir constantly for one minute, then add the chili powder and cook for another thirty seconds.

Add the tomato puree, chicken stock, oregano, and cumin to the pan. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes. While the sauce cooks, you can get your filling together, which is a simple mixture of shredded chicken, chopped onion, and grated cheddar cheese. Taste the sauce and season with salt (I added 1/2 teaspoon), then remove it from the heat and whisk it well to make sure the oil is nicely blended. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and heat some more oil in a medium skillet. When the oil is good and hot (not smoking), drop in a tortilla to soften it.

I counted to 10, flipped, counted to 10, then removed the tortilla to a paper towel-lined brown paper bag to drain the excess oil. After softening all the tortillas, you're ready to assemble. Start by dipping a tortilla in the sauce.

Place the dipped tortilla on a plate, top with a generous portion of the chicken filling, then roll it up. Place each enchilada seam-side down in a baking dish. I was able to make 12 enchiladas using small corn tortillas, and fit them all in 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with the remaining sauce and bake for 30 minutes.

When done, carefully remove a few enchiladas (2 or 3 per person should be sufficient unless you're really hungry) with a nice, big spatula and put them on a dish. I'm sure you can come up with some sides on your own, but I went with guacamole and some brown rice that I cooked with chili powder, oil, and a little salt. Garnish with sour cream and you're good to go!

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I followed this recipe exactly as written, so I'm not going to post it here. I couldn't find New Mexico chili powder (to be honest, I didn't really look) so I just used plain old nondescript chili powder - tasted fine to me.

Another satisfied customer...