Category: Main Dish

Categories
Main Dish Pork

Porchetta

This one is still a work in progress for me but I’m getting there. I’m going to trust you to figure out the spice quantities on your own – what’s below are just guidelines. You can use dried herbs if that’s what you have. You want the pork belly and loin to be sized such that you can wrap the belly around the loin with little overlap. It may take some work w/ your butcher and some trimming to get this right – see pics on my site.

Ingredients

  • 2-3 pounds boneless center-cut pork loin
  • 5-6 pounds fresh skin on pork belly
  • ¼ c Kosher salt
  • ¼ c sugar
  • 4-6 garlic cloves
  • 3 T fennel seeds
  • 1 bunch of sage leaves
  • 2-3 sprigs of rosemary
  • ½ t red pepper flakes
  • 1 t ground black pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Additional Kosher salt

Directions

  • Butterfly (open like a book) the pork loin
  • Using a very sharp knife, cut a checkerboard pattern into the skin of the pork belly, about 1/3 of an inch deep
  • Make a brine w/ one quart of water, ¼ c salt, and ¼ c. sugar
  • Brine loin and belly for at least 4-6 hours (or overnight)
  • Make spice rub – puree/blend/grind/smash/etc. the rest of the ingredients (garlic-pepper) using enough olive oil to make a paste
  • Spread paste on the cut side of the loin and the flesh side of the belly
  • Place loin on top of the flesh side of the belly and, using both hands to keep things, you know, tight; roll up the swine flesh jellyroll style (again, see pics)
  • Using butchers’ twine, tie the rolled-up meat log, spacing twine 1 inch or so apart. Tie ‘er tight to make a nice evenly shaped pig thing
  • Drizzle with olive oil and more Kosher salt
  • Put on a wire rack (spray it w/ cooking spray) set in a foil-lined (trust me, you’ll thank me for this) sheet or roasting pan
  • If possible, set this in the fridge to marinate for a few hours
  • Roast at 275 degrees for around 4 hours, rotating every hour. Low and slow is key here for even cooking and maximum pork juiciness
  • Check the temp, you don’t want to overcook this. You’re going for 140 degrees
  • If it starts to get too brown, tent it with foil
  • Near the end of the cooking process, crank the temp up to 400 degrees or more to crisp the skin – you want it all GBD
  • You can pull the roast out once it is to temp and then blast it right before serving to crisp the skin
  • This should (it will be hard to wait…trust me) rest around 15-20 minutes before serving
  • Remove twine
  • Slice – use a serrated knife – into ½ inch slices and serve wit the sides of your choice – I like white beans and greens of some sort (recipe on my site)
Categories
chicken Main Dish

Fried Chicken Thighs

This is one of those recipes where I combine several others, taking the parts of each, to make the finished dish. In this case, the recipes are all from Serious Eats (and, specifically, from Kenji Lopez-Alt). Kenji is amazing, if you don’t have his book The Food Lab, buy it now (https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087).

Here are the recipes I pulled ideas from:

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/08/five-ingredient-fried-chicken-sandwich-recipe.html

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/07/fried-chicken-cole-slaw-sandwich-recipe.html

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/07/chicken-fried-chicken-with-cream-gravy-recipe.html

I use these techniques for any fried chicken I make – whether I’m usually boneless pieces or bone-in and also whether I’m eating them on a plate (as we did last night) or on a sandwich.

  • I brine in a combination of half dill pickle juice and half buttermilk, I add a bit of salt (be careful, pickle juice is salty) and add pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. I do this as it lets you skip the step of putting the chicken into buttermilk before dredging in flour. Experiment w/ the proportions that you like
  • Key – absolutely key – is combining 3-4 T of buttermilk with the flour you dredge in – this forms little clumps of dough that stick to the chicken and make it more crispy
  • I add more spices – same as above – and a little salt to the dredge
  • I fry as indicated – 3 minutes on a side in oil that starts at 425 degrees (but goes down into the lower 300s) for boneless thighs
  • I make the gravy basically like indicated in the ‘chicken fried chicken’ recipe…but I don’t really need a recipe for chicken gravy as I was taught how to do this by my (paternal) grandma and my mom
  • If I’m not making sandwiches (this makes really really good sandwiches) I always serve w/ mashed potatoes and corn because, you know, tradition
  • I’m including Kenji’s coleslaw recipe too, it’s really good!

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/07/creamy-cole-slaw

Categories
Asian Main Dish Noodles and Pasta

Pok Pok’s Pad Thai

Ok, so this is the recipe that I used to make Pad Thai last night:

https://thetakeout.com/recipe-how-to-make-pok-pok-pad-thai-pork-shrimp-1834808412

This recipe comes from Chef Andy Ricker. He’s an EXPERT on Thai cooking and owns a number of restaurants with “Pok Pok” in the name.

This recipe is very authentic and I’d suggest that you try to make it using the ingredients specified. I also apologize that the link I posted is one of those really long recipes where you scroll to have to get to the actual instructions.

I realize that some of these ingredients can be hard to come by (especially right now!). The one that’s absolutely key is the tamarind water – you make this from tamarind paste. You can find that ingredient at Asian Markets or, of course, on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Tamarind-Seedless-Tamarido-Product-Thailand/dp/B0778R38FY/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3R8HE2899AAEX&dchild=1&keywords=tamarind+paste&qid=1587139791&sprefix=tamarin%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-8)

Key to this recipe is having your mise en place done – get everything chopped, cooked, ready as – once you start stir frying – it comes together in minutes!

Reach out if you have questions, hope you try it and enjoy!

Categories
Comfort Food Main Dish

ChezHoff’s “Famous”(?) Mac-n-Cheez

Open blue box, follow directions…kidding…

  • 3 T butter (or bacon fat (or a combo), see note below)
  • 1 small yellow onion, minced (optional)
  • 3 T flour
  • 2-3 c milk, warmed (i.e in the microwave)
  • 8 oz. Velveeta type cheese, cubed
  • 4 -6oz sharp cheddar, grated
  • 1 lb large elbow macaroni
  • ½ c Panko bread crumbs
  • ½ c grated Parmesan
  • salt and pepper
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions, or until al dente
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until translucent
  4. Add flour and stir for 1 minute
  5. Pour in milk, stirring constantly. Heat for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently until milk is near boiling and sauce has thickened
  6. Turn heat to low and gradually stir in cheese until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste
  7. Mix pasta and sauce together in a casserole dish
  8. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and Parmesan over the top
  9. Bake for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned on top

Optional add-ins: 4-6 slices of bacon, crumbled, 1 cup or so of peas, ham if you’re weird like that.

Serves 6.

Categories
Main Dish Pork

Grilled Pork Chops

I love pork a lot – so much so that I have a pig tattooed on my right arm. I especially love grilled pork, the combination of charred and piggy flavors is amazing! For this recipe you’ll want thick, high-quality bone in pork chops (if you can find them). I used Berkshire chops that were about 1 inch thick. Berkshire pork is from a heritage breed of pig and is generally more flavorful and juicy (due to its higher fat content) than standard grocery store pork. You can find Berkshire pork at specialty butchers (support small retailers!).

Start this process an hour or two (minimum) before you’re going to cook the chops :

  • Place the chops on a wire rack set on top of a sheet (or roasting) pan
  • Sprinkle generously (both sides) with salt and pepper
  • Right before cooking make a mixture of dijon mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, and hot sauce. Exact proportions don’t matter much but, for four chops, I used about a tablespoon of each (less of the hot sauce)
  • Meanwhile, heat a grill to high heat, clean it, and -when hot – spray with non-flammable non-stick cooking spray
  • Grill the chops for 7-8 minutes total, flipping every 60 to 90 seconds.
  • Watch them carefully as the honey can cause them to burn (oops, a couple of mine got a little crispy!)
  • Cook until the chops reach 140 degrees in the center. Use your Super Fast Thermapen to check. Don’t overcook them, pork doesn’t need to be cooked to death!!!
  • Enjoy!

Categories
Comfort Food Main Dish Noodles and Pasta

Cooking and Saucing Pasta – The Right Way!

The best way to sauce pasta is to finish cooking it in the sauce as this infuses the pasta with flavor!

To start, cook the pasta in a small amount of water – you don’t have to use a huge pot filled with water. Cooking pasta this way has a couple of advantages – the water takes less time to boil and the water is starchier once the pasta is done cooking (we’ll be using the water when we sauce the pasta). I use a 12 saute pan that is big enough to hold the pasta I’m cooking, you basically need just a couple of inches of water – enough to fully cover the pasta. Salt the water but DO NOT MAKE IT AS “SALTY AS THE SEA”. That’s a dumb old wives’ tale – sea water is wayyyyyyyy too salty. I use a tablespoon(ish) – if you taste the water you want it to taste “right” – to your salt taste. I actually salt to Ash’s taste as I like things saltier than most people. Bring the water to a boil (you actually don’t even need to do this, you can cook pasta starting in cold water) and add the pasta, stirring to keep it separate. Cook until a minute or so short of al dente (taste it – you want to pull it out when it is still chewy – a minute or so less than the instructions on the box/bag say). Drain the pasta but save a cup of so of the cooking water, you’ll need it. Alternately, you can use tongs and just lift the pasta out of the water and put it right into your sauce, I do this pretty frequently.

Meanwhile, while the pasta cooks, have your sauce warming up in a big skillet (or make it if it is a quick cooking sauce like carbonara (yeah, yeah, I’ll do that one live soon). Turn the heat up to high and add the pasta and start stirring. Add pasta cooking water to keep cooking the pasta – I start with about a half cup. Keep stirring, adding more water if needed, until the pasta is done. Add finishing “stuff” – grated cheese, toasted bread crumbs (if you haven’t tried this, do it NOW), olive oil, fresh herbs, etc. Serve in warm (always!!) bowls. BTW, DO NOT over sauce the pasta, you can add more at the table if you want.

The pic below was made with a long-cooked ragu. I combined these two recipes:

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/01/ragu-napoletano-meat-sauce-pork-beef-sausage-recipe.html

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/09/the-best-slow-cooked-italian-american-tomato-sauce-red-sauce-recipe.html

Categories
chicken Main Dish

Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs

One of the features of NY Times Cooking (Please tell me you’re already a subscriber? If not, you should be!) that I love are their “No Recipe Recipes.” (check them out here: https://cooking.nytimes.com/68861692-nyt-cooking/14326423-no-recipe-recipes) I like these narrative descriptions of how to cook something as they teach both technique and improvisation. That’s how I’m going to write up the recipe I cooked on my Instagram and Facebook story last night!

Trim excess fat from the number of chicken thighs you want to cook (1-2 per person depending on size (of the thighs…and, I guess, the person). Generously season both sides with salt and pepper (key word generously). Place on sheet tray and stick them in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Heat a sticky (e.g. not non-stick) saute pan over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes, add a good shot of olive (or other) oil (don’t use good stuff here). Add the thighs, skin side down, and cook – rotating the pan occasionally – until well browned 6-8 minutes (watch them towards the end to make sure they don’t burn). Flip and cook another 4 minutes. Remove to a sheet tray and place in the oven.

Turn heat to medium, add a handful of minced shallots and a minced garlic clove or two. Saute for a minute. Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze (the stuff on the bottom of the pan is called “fond” and it is tasty). Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth, a tablespoon or so of (dijon, always) mustard, and S&P to taste. Cook for 5ish minutes. You can add herbs (thyme would be good) as well. Add a tablespoon of butter and whisk to combine. Throw in some chopped parsley…or not. Up to you.

Check the temperature of the thighs – you’re shooting for 160-170 (thighs are forgiving) – and, when ready, put them on a (warm) plate and spoon some sauce over, serve.

This sauce is flexible – you can add lots of different flavorings, omit things, etc. For example, capers and lemon juice could be good. The only real “requirements” are wine (or broth) and butter.

Enjoy!

Categories
Comfort Food Italian Main Dish Noodles and Pasta

Spaghetti Carbonara

One of my favorite pasta dishes is spaghetti alla carbonara. This Roman dish – whose origins are disputed (we’ll talk about that tonight) – is super easy to make, especially if you know a few tricks. It’s also super comforting: it’s basically breakfast-for-dinner (eggs, bacon, cheese) + pasta! What could be better?

We’re going to use a recipe from Serious Eats as a guide, check it out here: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/12/pasta-carbonara-sauce-recipe.html

That will give you the basic ingredients that you’ll need. I know that you may not have everything and that’s ok! You can substitute any kind of pasta if you don’t have spaghetti (I’m going to use buccatini – my favorite long pasta) and can use any cured meat product (including bacon) if you don’t have pancetta (or even leave it out for vegetarian version)! Regardless, you should have the ingredients prepped and ready to go. One addition – if you have it – will be a couple of cloves of minced garlic.

From an ingredient perspective you’ll need:

1 lb. of pasta (preferably a long shape like spaghetti or bucatini but anything will work), 3-4 oz. of pancetta, bacon (chopped), or guanciale, 6-8 eggs, 1-2 oz. of parmesan or pecorino, 1-2 cloves of garlic, olive oil, S&P

From an equipment perspective you’ll need:

A pot to cook the pasta in (and a strainer), a pan to saute the pork-y product in, a heat proof bowl (e.g. something porcelain or ceramic), tongs, and serving bowls

Here’s the finished product!

Categories
chicken Comfort Food Main Dish

Chicken Tikka Masala

The recipe below is the original from Grace Parisi. It is great as is and I owe her for teaching me how to cook this. You can improv on this recipe pretty easily with little to no impact on the finished product. Things I typically do:

  • Add about a tablespoon of garam masal spice blend to the marinade
  • Marinating time doesn’t need to be more than 1 hour
  • No need to scrape off the yogurt before cooking the chicken
  • Grill the chicken, turns out better and is easier than broiling
  • If you don’t have almonds substitute almond butter…or skip it
  • If you don’t have cream substitute yogurt
  • Experiment with how much of the different spices you use – I often add more chile powder and garam masala
  • Add ½ c minced cilantro at the end of the cooking process
  • Serve with yogurt spooned over the tp

Grace Parisi’s Chicken Tikka Masala – from FoodandWine.com (https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chicken-tikka-masala)

Ingredients

MASALA MARINADE

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

Salt and freshly ground pepper

CHICKEN

2 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/4 cup blanched whole almonds

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala

1 1/2 teaspoons pure chile powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

One 35-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved

Pinch of sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Directions

  • MAKE THE MASALA MARINADE: In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cayenne and turmeric. Season with salt and pepper.
  • PREPARE THE CHICKEN: Using a sharp knife, make a few shallow slashes in each piece of chicken. Add the chicken to the marinade, turn to coat and refrigerate overnight.
  • Preheat the broiler and position a rack about 8 inches from the heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade; scrape off as much of the marinade as possible. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and spread the pieces on a baking sheet. Broil the chicken, turning once or twice, until just cooked through and browned in spots, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut it into 2-inch pieces.
  • Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add the almonds and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a plate and let cool completely. In a food processor, pulse the almonds until finely ground.
  • In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 8 minutes.
  • Add the garam masala, chile powder and cayenne and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cover partially and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the cream and ground almonds and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes longer. Stir in the chicken; simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and serve.
  • Serve With Steamed basmati rice, rice pilaf or warm nan.
Categories
Main Dish Seafood

Grilled (or Sautéed) Shrimp

This is a general guide to grilling shrimp. The flavors I use below are Mexican(ish) as I Iike to use them for shrimp tacos but don’t feel beholden to them.

For some science-y details, check out this site:

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/07/grilled-shrimp-garlic-lemon-food-lab-recipe.html

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs large (15-20 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined. You can use peel-on shrimp if you want – they do turn out better but you’ll (presumably, I’m not judging) want to peel them after cooking
  • ½ t baking soda (makes the shrimp snappier and juicier)
  • 1 T kosher salt
  • 1 T Mexican hot sauce (I like Valentina)
  • 2 T lime juice (fresh, duh)
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T honey
  • Chopped cilantro and lime wedges for garnish

Instructions

  • Mix shrimp with all other ingredients in a large bowl until well combined
  • Place bowl in the fridge and let marinate for 1-2 hours
  • Get your grill REALLY hot – like as hot as you can get it
  • 5 minutes before you’re ready to cook, put a grill basket on the grill to pre-heat (or, even better, put them on double-pronged skewers)
  • Spray the basket w/ grilling approved cooking spray (don’t use the regular stuff unless you’re impartial to your eyebrows)
  • Have a serving dish ready to go
  • Pour the shrimp into the basket. No need to drain the marinade – it will flare up for a second but that’s a good thing for charring
  • Cook 3-4 minutes stirring regularly until shrimp is just done
  • The shrimp is done when pink and just opaque
  • Remove to the serving dish and garnish w/ cilantro and lime wedges
  • Alternately – heat a skillet (cast-iron on nonstick) – on high heat, add 1 T of olive oil, add the shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, until just cooked through about 4 minutes.

Taco Thoughts

Serve the shrimp with warmed corn (or flour) tortillas, guacamole, crema (or sour cream), shredded cabbage (or slaw – that recipe is coming), pickled red onions (that recipe is coming, too), salsa, etc.

Other Flavors

If you don’t want Mexican(ish) shrimp you can just use garlic and lemon juice. You can go for an Asian vibe with soy sauce and Sriracha…really the world’s your oyster (or, in this case, shrimp).