Mushroom Risotto

This recipe was just great.

I am not a huge fan of butter which is why this risotto recipe piqued my interest. The main ingredient for the base is chicken broth not cream or milk or butter. 
I know a lot of people find my distaste for butter misguided but I really believe that butter's main effect in food is to hide flavor. It too often obfuscates in my opinion instead of augmenting. I also think that it is too heavy and adds artificial weight to recipes. I mean weight in a gravitas sort of way not literal poundage.
Anyway because this recipe doesn't rely on butter I wanted to try my first grown up risotto. It was a big success. Creamy, nuanced, yet full flavored with a clean finish. Butter is called for sautéing the mushrooms but I used olive oil instead.
If this recipe could be improved in any way, it would be to add a little piece of pig. Pancetta, prosciutto, thick-cut bacon, whatever you like cut into small lardons. That's for next time.

This recipe is from Grace Parisi at Food and Wine.com

5 1/2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 cups arborio rice (10 ounces)

1/2 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound mixed wild mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 shallot, minced

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Keep warm.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook, stirring until the wine is absorbed. Add 1 cup of the warm stock and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until nearly absorbed. Continue adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until it is nearly absorbed between additions. The risotto is done when the rice is al dente and suspended in a thick, creamy sauce, about 20 minutes total. Season with salt and pepper.

Meawhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and shallot, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, about 10 minutes. Scrape the mushrooms into the risotto and stir in the cheese and parsley. Serve immediately.

pre garnish

Gluten Free Croutons/Bread Crumbs

Ugh! Bread crumbs were the bane of my existence for awhile. Everything I wanted to make seemed to need them. This was early on in my relationship with my wife and I was still getting used to the joys of gluten free cooking. I wanted to make eggplant parmesan and the traditional recipe that I have needs a lot of bread crumbs. The local supermarket that shall remain nameless sold gluten free bread crumbs but they were not my favorite. Nonetheless, I didn't think I had much of a choice, so off I went.

Oh No! They had discontinued selling them! What was a guy who really wanted to impress his girlfriend to do? Time was ticking and the eggplant wasn't cooking itself. I panicked for a few minutes and then realized, I can make my own. 8~D

So I bought a loaf of gluten free bread and here is the recipe:

1 loaf of gluten free bread, cut into 1 x 2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Dried parsley to taste
Dried oregano to taste
Dried basil to taste
Granulated garlic to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.

Toss the bread pieces in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. I don't measure this, but the amount will vary depending on the size of the loaf. Go light. The gluten free bread I use is a small sized loaf.

Put the bread on the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. The pieces should essentially get hard and crispy and browned and look like croutons - which is what they are essentially at this point.

Let the croutons cool for a few minutes so you can handle them and them put them in a food processor and pulverize the little guys until they are bread crumbs. Easy peasy. (Note: If you want garlic croutons, season the bread with garlic before cooking.)

For Italian-style bread crumbs, mix in the dried spices - garlic, oregano, basil, and parsley. I sprinkle a light layer of each spice over the top of the crumbs and then mix and taste. I usually do this 2-3 times till I get the right taste. You might need to add a little more salt as well.

This recipe, using small loaf (12-14 oz), makes about 3 cups of bread crumbs.

Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken Gluten Free

This is a good recipe. I made some changes, so I will post the original (unfortunately, source unknown) and my version. The eggplant got really soft and basically liquefied. It added a nice thickness to the sauce. As usual - it is gluten free.

My Version

3 lbs chicken pieces, bone in skin on

Salt and pepper

1 T olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves halved (should really use more - I would use 12 next time)

2 sprigs rosemary

1 c dry white wine

⅓ c flour (gluten free garbanzo flour worked very well)

2 c arborio rice

2 small eggplants peeled and cut into chunks

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Season eggplant with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil.

Cook eggplant and chicken skin-side down for about 10 minutes.

Turn and brown for 5 minutes.

Combine garlic, onion, rosemary in slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover with chicken and eggplant - layer

In a small bowl, whisk flour and wine until smooth and add to cooker.

Cover and cook for 3 hours on high or 7 hours on low. (I used a Dutch Oven and cooked it for 3.5 hours on a low simmer)

Cook rice and serve with chicken, garnish with parsley.

Original

3 lbs chicken pieces, bone in skin on

Salt and pepper

1 T olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves halved

2 t dried thyme

1 c dry white wine

⅓ c flour

1 c couscous

Season chicken with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil.

Cook chicken skin-side down for about 10 minutes.

Turn and brown for 5 minutes.

Combine garlic, onion, thyme in slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover with chicken - layer

In a small bowl, whisk flour and wine until smooth and add to cooker.

Cover and cook for 3 hours on high or 7 hours on low.

Cook couscous and serve with chicken, garnish with parsley.

Avocado Jicama and Orange Salad

This was very tasty. Contributed to Food and Wine by MB Boissonnault, it has a great creamy vibe because of the avocado, but the citrus keeps it perky and bright. The orange prep was hard. Make sure you have big firm oranges. If you can't get jicama, try using Daikon. It will make the salad sharper since Daikon is a radish, but it will still retain its essential character.

3 navel oranges

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small jicama (1 pound)—peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

2 Hass avocados, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Using a sharp knife, peel the oranges, removing all of the bitter white pith. Working over a small bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the sections.

Squeeze the membranes over a bowl to extract the juice. Whisk in the lime juice, vinegar, oil and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Add the jicama and let stand for 15 minutes. Fold in the orange sections, avocado, feta and cilantro; serve.

Caramel Covered Shortbread (Gluten Free)

Update March 31st - I tried this again and it worked! I turned up the heat on the caramel and used 1/2 c of water. I still had to cook the sugar/water mixture for almost 12 minutes (instead of 7) but it did in fact turn a beautiful amber color. I would use a little less butter 1-1/2 sticks for the caramel, but that's only because I am not a huge butter fan, but I'm sure anyone who likes butter will like the proportion in the recipe.

I didn't mention the exact amount of extra butter for the gluten free shortbread mix in the first post - 1/4 to 1/2 stick plus I added 1 tablespoon of water.

I think these additions are necessary because I live in Denver. The altitude and lack of humidity really does make a difference.

Be careful when cooking the caramel at the end while waiting for it to reach 240 degrees. It bubbles pretty vigorously and can splatter.

This is a great recipe and everyone who eats the result will be super impressed.

Recipe by Zoe Nathan at Food and Wine.

I have to admit this recipe was tough. I broke my candy thermometer and so I was not able to guarantee that I hit the correct temperature for the carmel at the end. The caramel has a subtle bitter flavor almost like it is burned. The salt really makes a huge difference. I think the burn came in during the sugar caramelizing process. It did not take 7 minutes. It took me almost 20 minutes to get the sugar to liquefy completely and caramelize. I can only assume that I did not have the heat turned up enough.

I used a gluten free shortbread mix that turned out great. I had to add a little extra butter than what the recipe called for but it came out great!

Pastry Shell

• 1 stick (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg white, beaten

Caramel

• 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
• 2  teaspoons kosher salt
• Maldon Sea Salt, for finishing
  
  

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the short sides. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer at low speed, cream the butter. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar. Add the whole eggs and beat until incorporated, then beat in the flour and salt. Press the pastry into the prepared pan in an even layer, 1/4 inch thick. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.

Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 35 minutes, until just set. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment. Brush the shell with the egg white and bake for 20 minutes longer, until golden and cooked through. Let cool.

In a saucepan, bring the cream, vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer. Cover; keep warm.

In a large, heavy saucepan, stir the sugar into 1/4 cup of water. Simmer over moderate heat, without stirring, until a deep amber caramel forms, 7 minutes. Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add the cream. When the bubbling subsides, stir in the butter. Insert a candy thermometer and cook over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the caramel reaches 240°, 10 minutes. Discard the vanilla bean and stir in the salt.

Pour the caramel over the shell. Refrigerate until firm, 4 hours or overnight; bring to room temperature. Remove the bar from the pan using the parchment overhang; cut into squares. Sprinkle with Maldon salt before serving.

Eggplant Parmesan With Bread Crumb Topping

This recipe was a nice change of pace. Instead of the usual breaded pieces, just bread crumbs on the top. You get that flavor and crunchy-ness but the flavor of the eggplant is unadulterated. Overall a good recipe. I really like the sauce. I added some fennel. Another nice aspect of this recipe is that the mozzarella is torn into pieces and provides that cheesiness that makes eggplant parm so good, but also retains some heft by itself.

The recipe says it fits into a 9x13 dish, but I am suspect of how that would work. The dishes I used are 8x12 and 8x8 and I used 4 lbs. of eggplant as the recipe calls for. I wonder if because the eggplant were bigger that made the difference.

The recipe is by Ethan Stowell and I got it from Food and Wine.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus about 2 cups for frying

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

Two 28-ounce cans whole, peeled Italian tomatoes, drained

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

8 small eggplants (1/2 pound each), cut lengthwise 1/2 inch thick

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil

1 pound lightly salted fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced and torn into small pieces

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

In a large skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is very thick, about 25 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil. Season the eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Working in several batches, cook the eggplant over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 8 minutes per batch; add more olive oil to the skillet between batches. Drain the eggplant slices on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange one-third of the fried eggplant slices in the baking dish and sprinkle all over with 1 tablespoon of the chopped basil. Top with one-third of the torn mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat this layering twice. Sprinkle the bread crumbs all over the top of the eggplant Parmesan. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the top of the eggplant Parmesan is golden and the tomato sauce is bubbling. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The assembled eggplant Parmesan can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring the eggplant Parmesan to room temperature before baking. NOTES This dish is extremely versatile. The eggplant can be sliced lengthwise or crosswise before it's fried. In addition, the eggplant Parmesan can be baked in a glass or ceramic baking dish that is round, oval, rectangular or square.

Ready for the oven

Done!

Lodge Dutch Oven

Just got my first Dutch Oven this year as a gift. I have the 6 qt Lodge in blue. It really is a nice pot. It took me awhile before I used it but now I have integrated it into my cooking routine and it makes a huge difference. It heats up very quickly and seems to transfer heat very well. I tend to use lower settings than with other pans once the pot is warmed up. I love the original slow cooker!

Jacques Pépin's Chicken Bouillabaisse

This was a great recipe as should be expected from Jacques. I did make one change - substituted Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise in the rouille. It works great!

BOUILLABAISSE
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 large skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 4 pieces each
1 kielbasa (about 10 ounces), cut into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
2 tablespoons chopped tarragon

ROUILLE
2 large garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt

MAKE THE BOUILLABAISSE In an enameled cast-iron casserole or Dutch oven, combine the olive oil with the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, lemon zest, saffron, fennel seeds and herbes de Provence; season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken, toss to coat and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, wine, potatoes and 3/4 cup of water to the casserole. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover partially and simmer over low heat until the potatoes are half-cooked, 25 minutes. Add the kielbasa and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender, 10 minutes longer. Stir in the tarragon; keep warm.

MAKE THE ROUILLE Transfer 2 potato chunks to a food processor along with 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid from the stew. Add the garlic, paprika and cayenne and pulse to combine. Add the mayonnaise and puree. With the machine on, add the olive oil in a thin stream and process until smooth and creamy. Season the rouille with salt.

Serve the bouillabaisse in shallow bowls and spoon the rouille on top.

Leftover Gravy

My last post was about Jacques Pépin's classic beef stew recipe. It's really good and there is usually leftover stew - which is a rich, saucy, gravy-like substance. It is perfect to use as gravy for home fried potatoes or really any kind of potato: baked, hashed, double-stuffed, whatever. Yum!

Jacques Pépin's Classic Beef Stew

This is a great recipe - I couldn't get any flat iron steak, so I used New York strip bone in. (Strip and flat iron are from the same cut but flat iron is considered the better cut.) I got the bone in to let the marrow add some depth to the sauce. I hope Jacques isn't offended. I find it interesting that the French love to boil ham and then cut it into lardons and cook vegetables with that. It's definitely a different take from the Italians. (I have never seen an Italian recipe that calls to boil prosciutto.)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds trimmed beef flatiron steak or chuck, cut into 8 pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
One 750-milliliter bottle dry red wine
2 bay leaves
1 thyme sprig
One 5-ounce piece of pancetta
15 pearl or small cipollini onions, peeled
15 cremini mushrooms
15 baby carrots, peeled
Sugar
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

PREP/COOK TIME - 2 hrs 40 mins

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the meat in the casserole in a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 8 minutes. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat the meat with it. Add the wine, bay leaves and thyme, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Cover the casserole and transfer it to the oven. Cook the stew for 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is very tender and the sauce is flavorful.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cover the pancetta with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain the pancetta and slice it 1/2 inch thick, then cut the slices into 1-inch-wide lardons.
In a large skillet, combine the pancetta, pearl onions, mushrooms and carrots. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 cup of water and a large pinch each of sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated, 15 minutes. Uncover and cook over high heat, tossing, until the vegetables are tender and nicely browned, about 4 minutes.
To serve, stir some of the vegetables and lardons into the stew and scatter the rest on top as a garnish. Top with a little chopped parsley and serve.
jacques pepin - food and wine

Oven Roasted Herbed Cheese Fries

Grace Parisi seems to be a consistent contributor to Food and Wine. This is a good one. It's nice that you roast the fries for a few more minutes after the herbs and garlic are added because it cooks out the sharpness of the raw garlic. :)

Oven Roasted Fries
2 large baking potatoes, cut into 4-by-1/2-inch sticks
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon minced sage
1 teaspoon minced rosemary
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large bowl, toss the potato sticks with the olive oil until evenly coated. Spread the potato sticks on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake in the upper third of the oven, turning once or twice with a spatula, until they are golden and crispy, about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle the minced garlic and herbs over the fries and toss well. Roast for about 5 minutes longer, until the herbs are fragrant and the garlic is lightly browned. Transfer the fries to a large bowl and toss with the grated Pecorino Romano. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Pesto

I've been on a little tear lately where I have been winging it. And pesto was winged tonight.

3 packets basil (.75 oz per container - pretty standard supermarket packets)
1 clove garlic
1/3 c olive oil
more than 1/3 but less than 1/2 c pine nuts
1/3 c Parmesan cheese, grated

Put everything into a food processor and pulse to a paste.
Cook pasta and drain when done.
Add small amount of oil to a large pan. Heat on low, add pasta and pesto. Mix thoroughly. The heat and oil makes the pesto spread/mix easier.

Garnish with more grated parmesan cheese. yum!

Pasta e Fagiole Mash up

I like having 2 or more recipes for the same dish. It allows me to work out a meal when I am winging it a little but don't have all the ingredients I thought I had.

I made pasta e fagiole - a wonderful Italian soup staple dish the other night, but I didn't quite have all the ingredients. No prosciutto and only 4 c of chicken broth, but I did have fennel and escarole. Mmm I love fennel and escarole, well enough said. So I mixed and matched and came up with the following:

1 15 oz can cannellini beans unrinsed
6 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 packet basil (approximately .375 oz)
1 small fennel bulb chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 small head of escarole
4 c chicken broth
2 c reserved pasta water
1/2 pound pasta (I used shells but ditalini are pretty traditional)
3 Roma tomatoes chopped
Parmesan cheese rind
Olive oil

Saute oil, garlic, fennel, and onions on medium heat until garlic starts to brown. Add beans and saute a little longer. Season with salt and pepper. Go a little heavy on the pepper.
Meanwhile cook pasta, cook slightly underdone.
Add about 1 c of chicken broth and cheese rind.
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add rest of chicken broth and tomatoes.
Simmer for a couple minutes.
Once pasta is done, reserve 2 c water.
Add pasta, escarole, and basil and add as much water as desired.
Simmer for 5 minutes to let escarole and basil wilt
Serve and garnish with parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper

Version 1 - this is from a restaurant in New York that my family likes. Notice how there are almost no measurements - bastards. ;)

Canned cannellini beans, unrinsed - get everything out of can - do not dillute with water.
¼ c or less olive oil
garlic
chopped onions
chicken broth
pasta, reserved pasta water
basil, chopped
oregano, chopped
prosciutto end
parmesan cheese rind
Saute oil, beans, prosciutto, garlic and onions on medium heat until garlic starts to brown.
Occasionally smash beans with a potato masher or back of spoon.
Meanwhile cook pasta, reserving 2 c water.
Use reserved water and chicken broth to thin base. Add cheese rind, herbs, red pepper and salt.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove cheese rind and serve

Version 2 - I have no idea where this recipe came from - I think my mom gave it to me but I'm not sure. I'm not super excited about the pureed step - I'd rather mash while cooking like the restaurant one above, but it's a solid recipe otherwise.

1 lb dried or 30 oz canned cannellini beans
⅓ c olive oil
2 med-small onions, finely chopped
4-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Red pepper
1 ½ - 2 c chopped tomatoes, (pureed optional)
6 c chicken broth
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 t dried
6 large basil leaves, chopped (pureed with toms optional)
1 small piece of Parmesan rind
1-2 oz prosciutto end
Parmesan for serving
If using dried beans, soak them in 2 quarts of water for 12 to 18 hours.
Change the water 2 times during that time. Drain.
In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil and prosciutto rind over medium heat.
Add the onions and cook for 8 minutes till soft.
Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for 4 minutes.
Add the beans, tomatoes, herbs, broth, salt, pepper, and cheese rind.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes. (30 mins is good for the canned beans)
Meanwhile, cook pasta.
When soup is done, discard the cheese rind, prosciutto, bay leaves, and rosemary.
Transfer 3 c to a food processor/blender and puree.
Return the pureed soup to the pot and heat through.

Serve and add pasta to each bowl. Garnish with additional grated cheese and red pepper.

Truth in Olive Oil

It started out as a quest to find high quality oil at a cheap price. And it has become a learning experience. So I found this website, called Truth in Olive Oil, which has a lot of great information about olive oil. I have not read every page, but one thing I learned is that Veronica Foods is a large supplier of premium olive oil nation-wide. They work with a lot of small specialty shops. The other thing I learned is that UC Davis did some comparison testing of major brand olive oil like Bertolli and Colavita and the results are not good. Here are the UC Davis results. 

http://www.olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/publications/Restaurants-and-Foodservice.pdf 
http://www.olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/files/report%20041211%20final%20reduced.pdf 
http://www.olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/publications/olive%20oil%20final%20071410%20updated.pdf 

The reason for all of this investigation is that it's very hard to find high quality olive oil that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. The local specialty shop in Denver (supplied by Veronica Foods) charges almost $60 per liter. For the amount of olive oil I use, that's just too much money. And I wrote a short post about Trampetti which claims to be organic olive oil, and seems legit, but without secondary verification it's hard to know who to trust. The price, however, is fantastic at $20 per liter. Almost too good to be true.

So how can I know which olive oil to trust? There are 2 types of tests, chemical and organoleptic. Organoleptic are the subjective tests related to taste, smell, color, the consumption experience, etc. akin to the way wine is rated. And while important in rating quality oil, the chemical analysis is where it's at to prove that the oil you paid a small fortune for, is indeed extra virgin olive oil. Unfortunately, getting chemical test results for olive oil is very difficult for 3 reasons: not every producer or supplier gets the oil tested, even if the producer or supplier does test the oil - very few producers publish the results, and the tests are expensive.

Because of this, I started contacting anyone and everyone I could think of to see if I could get chemical statistics on the oils that I wanted to buy including Trampetti. It has been hard to say the least. Most people don't even return my emails, and the people that do usually say that they won't release that info, even if they have it.

Which brings us full circle to the Truth In Olive Oil website. Veronica Foods is mentioned on the site a lot. So I thought, why not contact them since I had emailed everyone else? After a couple emails, the owner of Veronica Foods, Veronica Bradley, talked with me on the phone for a few minutes about olive oil. She commiserated with my problem but also gave me a reason for hope. UC Davis is expanding their test lab and will get up to the same standard as the Australian Oils Research Laboratory where Veronica Foods gets all of their samples done. Once that is complete, then the U.S. will have a world class level testing system to guarantee the quality of oil. Of course it will be used to promote California oils, but if they are good, who cares? Until then, the lab in Australia is the only place that can be trusted and that does tests for all 6 important categories: polyphenols, free fatty acids, peroxides, oleic acid, diacylglycerols (DAGs), and pyropheophytins (ppp).

Because Veronica Foods is committed to wholesaling high quality oil, most if not all of the stores they supply have the chemical stats available, and that is only because VF pays for the testing. But as a retail consumer, you are also going to pay the price. 

So I am back to the drawing board. Hopefully, someday I will be able to get the oil I want to buy tested. 

Chili Especial Vegetarian

This is a great veg chili recipe. The cocoa really gives it a nice depth. The process for this recipe is essentially to make a rue although there is no flour in it, and then layer in the rest of the ingredients at various intervals.

The chili is great as is and you can also change it up with some chopped roasted chicken or cubed beef or ground round. It's also a good dish to serve over rice which gives you another variation. 

Here is the original recipe online which as you can see calls for ground round. I dislike not having the correct source but this link is all I could find. I got the recipe from a magazine and stupidly did not write down which one.

1 chili from a 7 oz can of chiles in adobo, minced
1 c chopped onion
4 garlic cloves chopped
2 T vegetable oil
2 1/2 T chili powder
2 t unsweetened cocoa
2 t dried oregano
2 t ground cumin
1 t salt
1 c water
1 c cherry tomatoes halved
1 28 oz can tomatoes chopped
1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 15 oz can pinto beans
7 oz roasted bell peppers (optional)
1 1/2 T red wine vinegar

Cook onion and garlic in Dutch oven or large skillet until browned with small amount of oil.
Set aside onion and garlic.
In the same pan, heat more oil.
Add chili powder and next 4 ingredients through salt. Stir well.
Cook for about 1 minute.
Stir in minced adobo chili, water, and all tomatoes.
Bring mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat.
Cook for about 15 minutes.
Stir in onion/garlic and add beans.
Cook for about 10 minutes.
Stir in bell pepper and red wine vinegar.
Cook for another 3 minutes until heated through.

3 Recipe Walnut Pesto Mash-up

Final mash-up:

1 clove garlic whole + 5 cloves garlic chopped
8-10 oz walnut halves
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c basil loosely packed
1/2-3/4 c packed parsley - Italian flat leaf
3/4 c Parmesan cheese - grated
2 quarters of a lemon
2 plum tomatoes, halved and sliced
Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are fragrant and lightly browned. Let cool completely. 

Coarsely chop a handful of walnuts and put the rest into the food processor.

Add the basil, parsley, 1 clove of garlic, cheese, juice of 1 lemon quarter and olive oil to food processor. Pulse till everything is nicely chopped into a paste.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a large pan, add the chopped garlic let cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for just a minute until they soften up. Turn off the heat. 

Once cooled off, add the pesto to the pan. Juice the other lemon quarter over the whole mixture.

Sprinkle some salt over the whole mixture.

Reserve 1/3 c of pasta water. Drain the pasta and throw in the pan. Turn on the heat again to low. Add the reserved water and mix everything together to get the pasta nice and coated with the sauce.

Garnish with chopped walnuts and a sprig of parsley.

Here are the 3 recipes I used as a guide:

Spaghetti with Parsley Almond Pesto

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 cups lightly packed flat-leaf parsley with thick stems removed

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup unsalted blanched almonds

3/4 pound spaghetti

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

In a food processor, puree the garlic and parsley with the salt. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a thin stream. Add the almonds and pulse to chop.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the spaghetti and toss with 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the pesto, and the tomatoes. If the sauce seems too thick, add more of the reserved pasta water.

Broken Lasagna with Walnut Pesto

1 cup walnut halves (4 ounces)

2 cups lightly packed basil leaves

1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 pound whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken into 1-inch pieces

6 ounces watercress, arugula or other bitter greens, thick stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped

Sautéed mushrooms, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are fragrant and lightly browned. Let cool completely. Coarsely chop half of the walnuts and set the remaining toasted walnuts aside.
In a food processor, pulse the remaining walnuts with the basil and garlic until the walnuts are finely chopped. With the machine on, add the olive oil in a thin stream and process until the pesto is almost smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese and pulse until just incorporated. Transfer the walnut pesto to a bowl and season it with salt and pepper.

Add the broken lasagna noodles to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Return the drained pasta to the pot. Add the watercress and walnut pesto and toss well. Add the reserved pasta water and toss again until well coated. Transfer the pasta to bowls, garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese, the chopped walnuts and sautéed mushrooms and serve.

Creamy Walnut Pesto 

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups walnuts
6-8 large cloves of garlic
1/2 to 1 lemon squeezed for juice
kosher salt to taste
handful of basil
handful of parsley

Reserve 1 c of cooked pasta water
Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients except water and cheese in a food processor into a paste.

Cook pasta, drain.

Mix pesto and pasta in the pasta pot - add reserved water as needed to create creamy consistency.

Organic Olive Oil

My Dad and I were talking the other day about personal finances, spending and budgets, etc. and he made a good point about bulk purchases. For something like olive oil which I use almost every day, it really doesn't make any sense to buy in quart size amounts. The price per ounce goes up, the smaller the container one buys. So I started looking online to see if I could find larger containers and this is what I found:

Trampetti 5L containers. It is a good tasting medium oil. It cooks nicely and can be used for drizzling. Not as bold as some oils like Frantoia, but provides a quality balanced flavor.

The price is much better compared to any specialty shop to get high quality oil - here's the math:

quantity (oz per container)	price	price per ounce	price per liter
169	$98.00	$0.58	$19.60

Buying Trampetti oil in bulk costs about $19.60/liter. The specialty shops in my area are charging $20.95 to $24.95 for only 12.7 oz! That equals $54 - $63 per liter! I know super market prices are better than that, but they are not getting nearly the same quality of oil.

I just found a website called Truth In Olive Oil, lots of information about olive oil - quality, prices, reviews, etc.

Twice-Cooked Pasta

One of my favorite meals is leftover pasta. The sauce is always tastier the next day as flavors meld and it's just such a nice comforting meal. Reminds me of growing up.

And here's how to make it even better... pan fry it up. That's right - heat some olive oil in a large sauce pan and throw in the leftover pasta and fry it up till it's burnt and crispy on the bottom. I like spaghetti the best, but any shape pasta will do just fine. I am not a fan of cream sauces, so I have never tried this with alfredo, but any red sauce is good to go and even pesto works nicely. For pesto, I think you need to have more sauce than you think otherwise the pasta can dry out.

If you want to get fancy, add more garlic or other vegetables/herbs/meat, to give the dish a new twist.

Mmm mmm good.

Updating Posts

I am new to blogging so I apologize for posts getting updated to today's date after I made some changes to them. I fixed links on all the posts and didn't realize that today's date would get put on them after I published the changes.

Gluten free pasta - in for a penny, in for almost a pound

Gluten free pasta has come a long way. (My wife is gf or a glutard as she likes to joke which is why I cook so many gluten free items.) But there are some things that are sacred.

Pasta should be sold by the pound. Period. Not 12 oz, not 14 oz, but 16 oz (453 g for any non-Americans)

I grew up in an Italian-American household - I'm third generation Italian-American - and we have eaten a lot of pasta. It always comes in 1 lb containers. (Yes, I know there are a couple of exceptions, aren't there always? But I hope you get my point.)

There are 2 brands of gluten free pasta that I like - tinkyada (tinkyada.com) and ancient harvest quinoa (http://www.quinoa.net/145/163.html). Ancient harvest sells primarily by the half pound which isn't so bad, if the price weren't so exorbitant. And tinkyada, they are all over the place. Some shapes are sold at 16 oz, some at 12 oz, and some at 14 oz. It's extremely annoying. It messed up more than a couple dinners.

Awesome Roast Chicken

This roast chicken is possibly the best I've ever had!

1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
Three 3-pound chickens
Salt
9 large rosemary sprigs
9 garlic cloves, quartered
1 lemon, cut into 12 wedges

Preheat the oven to 450°. In a small bowl, combine the honey, lemon juice and soy sauce. Set the chickens on a large rimmed baking sheet and tuck the wing tips underneath. Season the cavities with salt and stuff each one with 3 rosemary sprigs, 3 quartered garlic cloves and 4 lemon wedges. Brush two-thirds of the honey glaze over the chickens and season lightly with salt. Roast in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°. Rotate the chickens in the pan and brush with the remaining glaze. Roast the chickens for about 45 minutes longer, until the juices run clear when the thighs are pierced; turn the pan halfway through roasting. Transfer the chickens to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve the chickens and serve.

Note: don't use a pan that you care about or cover it well with tin foil because the chicken juices/glaze make a mess of the pan.

Getting ready for the oven - stuffed but no glaze

Ready to cook

Half way

Done!

Great Clam Chowda'!

This manhattan style clam chowder is pretty darn good.

For the juicy grilled tomatoes - I preheated an oven to 450 and put them on a rack in the top half of the oven for almost 25 minutes instead of using a grill. My oven is old so that time may be a little long for a good oven.

Juicy Grilled Tomatoes -
4 tomatoes (1 pound), quartered
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes (10 ounces)
1 pint small mixed heirloom tomatoes, halved if large
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Light a grill. Arrange four 12-by-24-inch sheets of heavy-duty foil on a work surface. Mound the tomatoes in the center of each sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Fold up the foil to create tight packets.

Set the packets on the grill and cover. Grill over moderately high heat for about 18 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to soften and burst. Using scissors, carefully cut open the foil packets.

Clam Chowder -
Juicy Grilled Tomatoes (see above)
8 pounds cherrystone clams
Two 8-ounce bottles clam juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch dice
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Scrape the tomatoes and their juices from the packs into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.

In a large pot, combine the clams and clam juice and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderately low heat until the clams open, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the clams to a large bowl. Remove the clams from their shells, coarsely chop the meat and reserve. Strain and reserve the clam broth. Rinse out the pot.

In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the reserved clam broth, potatoes, chicken broth, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over moderately low heat until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot, cover and simmer for 3 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Stir in the chopped clams and season the chowder with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Stir Fry

2-3 heaping teaspoons thai green curry paste
ground pepper
salt
1-2 t tamari
1-2 t rice vinegar (garlic flavored optional)
4 T coconut oil
1 c rice

1 bunch asparagus spears cut into thirds
1 small red onion
1/4 small bulb fennel thinly sliced
1 small leek (green and white thinly sliced)
1 large handful sweet peas
1 medium yellow pepper sliced
4 baby bok choy heads halved or quartered
1 medium-large jalapeno thinly sliced in rounds
10-15 cherry tomatoes halved
5-6 large basil leaves thinly sliced
1 container extra-firm tofu (optional)
cook rice

if using tofu, cut into cubes/rectangles, coat with adobo chile sauce and cook in 2 T oil on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, turning once
the stir fry part takes about 11 minutes including heating the oil

heat 2 T coconut oil in a large pan on high heat
add asparagus, salt and pepper to taste
cook asparagus for 2-3 minutes
add 1-2 t tamari, cover and cook 1-2 minutes
add onion and fennel and thai curry paste, mix well
cook till onions start getting soft
add leek
cook 1-2 minutes till green parts of leek start to glisten
add rest of vegetables and rice vinegar, mix and cover
cook till bok choy leaves wilt

serve with sriracha hot sauce