Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 - Chard and White Bean Stew

Recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/01/chard-and-white-bean-stew/


1 pound Swiss chard (can also swap kale, spinach or another green), ribs and stems removed and cleaned
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup (5 1/4 ounces) chopped carrots
1 cup (5 ounces) chopped celery
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) chopped shallots, about 4 medium
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 15-ounce cans (or about 3 3/4 cups) white beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups (or more to taste) vegetable broth
1 cup pureed tomatoes (from a can/carton/your jarred summer supply)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Toasted bread slices, poached eggs (tutorial), chopped herbs such as tarragon, parsley or chives or grated Parmesan or Romano to serve (optional)
Bring medium pot of salted water to boil. Cook chard (or any heavier green; no need to precook baby spinach) for one minute, then drain and squeeze out as much extra water as possible. Coarsely chop chard.
Wipe out medium pot to dry it, and heat olive oil over medium. Add carrots, celery, shallots and garlic and saute for 15 minutes. Barber warns not to brown them but I didn’t mind a light golden color on them. Add wine (scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pot) and cook it until it reduced by three-fourths. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, a few pinches of salt, freshly ground black pepper, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chard and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove thyme and bay leaf. Add more broth if you’d like a thinner stew and adjust salt and pepper to taste.




Tip for Switzerland: I used Soissonbohnen and they were good.  This is a good bean to use for most recipes.

Changes: Again, no chard, so used baby spinach, which I think it better than chard.

I would pay attention to how much liquid you are adding.  I too don't like a runny soup, so I just added broth as I went along, instead of dumping it all in.  This was good, too and will be added to the rotation.

January 21st, 2011 - Lentils and Sweet Potatoes

Recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/11/curried-lentils-and-sweet-potatoes/



2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded if desired, then minced
4 to 5 cups vegetable broth as needed
2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into
1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
1 1/2 cups dried lentils
1 bay leaf
1 pound Swiss chard, center ribs removed, leaves thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/3 cup finely chopped tamari almonds, for garnish (optional), available in health food stores
1/4 cup chopped scallions, for garnish.
1. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, garam masala, curry powder and jalapeno. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
2. Stir in 4 cups broth, sweet potatoes, lentils and bay leaf. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, partially cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. (If lentils seem dry, add up to 1 cup stock, as needed.) Stir in chard and salt and pepper, and continue cooking until lentils are tender and chard is cooked, about 30 to 45 minutes total.
3. Just before serving, stir in cilantro, lime zest and juice. Spoon into a large, shallow serving dish. Garnish with almonds if desired and scallions.



Changes: I was pretty lazy and didn't add half of the things on the list like, ginger root, garam masala, curry powder, jalepenos, almonds, or scallions.  Again, no cilantro in Schweiz.  I thought Swiss chard would be available, but they are all about only having foods that are in season, so no Swiss chard until later.  So I used baby spinach.


I really liked this and will make it again, maybe with the extra spices.

Sunday, January 9th, 2011 - Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Recipe: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fettuccine_with_creamy_tomato_italian_sausage_sauce/

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1/2 pound spicy or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 Tbsp dried sage
• 3/4 pound fettuccine
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD

1 Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add sausages and sauté until no longer pink, breaking up the sausages a bit, about 5 minutes. Add cream; simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices. Add sage. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

3 Return pasta to same pot; add sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Serves 6.

Notes for making in Switzerland
-No fettuccine, so used spaghetti
-Halbrahm is single cream, which is a good substitute for heavy whipping cream


This was a lot simpler than I thought it was going to be and I really liked it.  I added some tomato paste.  I am keeping this around.

Friday, January 7th, 2011 - Chicken and Rice Casserole

Recipe: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_and_rice_casserole/

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces, patted dry
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
• 1 1/3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 cup raw, medium or long grain, white rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon each of Italian seasoning and poultry seasoning (or 2 teaspoons of one of these herb mixes, or 2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high or high heat (hot enough to brown but not burn). Sprinkle a dash of salt on the bottom of the pan. Season the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces on two sides, about 1-2 minutes per batch. Add a little more salt to the pan (and more olive oil if needed) after every batch. This will help prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan. Remove chicken pieces and set aside in a bowl. Note that the chicken does not have to be cooked through, only browned.

2 In the same sauté pan add 1 Tbsp olive oil, lower the heat to medium, add the onions, and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cook 30 seconds more. Remove onions and garlic to a shallow (9 x 13 x 2) casserole dish.

3 Raise heat to medium high, add the sliced mushrooms. Dry sauté them (no need to add butter or oil), allowing the mushrooms to brown lightly, and release some of their moisture. Add the mushrooms to the casserole dish.

4 Add 1/4 cup dry sherry or dry white wine to the pan to deglaze the pan, scraping off the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. (At this point, if you are making ahead, reduce the sherry to 1 Tbsp and pour off into the casserole dish. Refrigerate cooked onions, garlic, mushrooms, and browned chicken pieces until you are ready to make the casserole.) Let the sherry reduce to about 1 Tbsp, then add the chicken stock, and remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, the cream, and the sour cream. Add the raw rice to the casserole dish. Then pour the stock, sherry, cream, sour cream mixture over the rice. Add the Italian and poultry seasonings (or fresh herbs) and paprika to the dish. Stir the rice, onion, mushroom, herb mixture so that they are evenly distributed in the casserole dish.

5 Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture (in a single layer if you can, they will be crowded). Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in a 375°F oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil. If the casserole is still too liquidy, let it cook a few minutes more, uncovered, until the excess liquid has evaporated away.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.

Serves 6 (with leftovers)

Changes: I halved the chicken and mushrooms, but not the rice.

Mine came out looking whiter than hers, like I had too much cream or something.  I also dumped tons of spices in it because my recipes have been a little bland lately, so I think it had too much garlic taste in it and maybe a little too much salt.  But I thought this was good and it's a keeper.

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011 - Red Lentil Soup

Recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/091arex.html?_r=1


Time: 45 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne, more to taste

1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup red lentils

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro.

1. In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.
2. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.
3. Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.
4. Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.
5. Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.
Yield: 4 servings.





Changes: No cilantro in Zürich and I don't have a blender right now, so it was not pureed.

I made this twice and the first time was bland, but the second time it was a little better.  Darren still thought it was bland, but I want to keep this recipe around because it's something different, it's easy, and lentils are good for you.