Vivacious Vinaigrette

Scrumptious Staples

Vivacious Vinaigrette

Time 7 minutes at most

Ok, so here is another staple...there are probably a million recipes for vinaigrettes, but I promise you this one is the best. This is a case where the simplest combination of ingredients is not ideal, you need to put a bit of effort into this, but it is well worth it. The beauty comes from the realization that expending a little bit of your own energy helps you combine some solid ingredients into something that is truly greater than the sum of it's parts. This dressing is incredibly creamy, but surprisingly does not require any cream at all, the finished product therefore maintains the complex and strong flavors of olive oil and balsamic without being diluted.

Ingredients:
1 half cup good extra virgin olive oil
1 quarter cup of balsamic vinegar
1 heaping teaspoon of smooth good quality dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves peeled
salt and pepper to taste

Ok, so first step, take your chef's knife (a big knife) and crack the garlic with the flat side, don't press so hard that the cloves crush, just hard enough so that they split into a couple of pieces and release some flavorful oils. Mix the garlic into a bowl with the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Now, grab your whisk (Or a fork, but a whisk is better. If you do use a fork, you’re gonna have to mix twice as hard to attain maximum creaminess) and slowly drizzle the olive oil in to the mixture while vigorously whisking. Really take it slow, start with a few drops at a time and pour very slowly from there. The slower you do this, the creamier the dressing. Everybody likes their vinaigrette with different proportions of oil and vinegar, after you have poured in about half of the oil, start tasting and stop when it is to your liking. Before serving remove the pieces of garlic, but don't throw them out, they can still be minced or chopped and used for another dish. I actually like to eat them right out of the bowl, but that may be a bit to strong for your tastes (although some people say that fresh garlic has some pretty interesting health effects see: The 2000 year old man). Toss this dressing with your favorite lettuce or green (I like arugula), maybe some sliced tomatoes, maybe some goat/feta cheese, maybe some toasted pine nuts and dried fruit. You can make it as fancy as you like, but I think just lettuce and dressing is pretty good and simple. Take your time, enjoy the slight burn in your wrist from the whisking, don't take short cuts, and enjoy one of the worlds simple pleasures.

This dish ain’t yellah, it’s chicken.

Fried Chicken Breasts
Time 15 minutes

This is one of those recipes that I keep on mental file because it is so quick, tasty and versatile. It works with nearly any side dish you can think of. Later on in the post, I’ll get into some ways that you can take this simple recipe and add some complex flavors (just a teaser to keep you reading). This dish is in fact so simple, I probably should have used it as my flagship recipe...nevertheless here’s a version that will serve 4.

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Some flour
Salt, Pepper, and good Olive oil

Place a layer of wax paper (or plastic wrap) on your counter. Put the chicken breast on top of that layer, and then put another layer on top of the chicken. Although this helps keep your kitchen clean, I would still wash anything that comes close to the raw chicken well. Using a rolling pin (or meat tenderizer or even a hammer), pound the chicken until it is 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick.

Meanwhile, heat enough olive oil to coat your pan over medium-high heat. As the oil heats, salt and pepper both sides of the meat (don’t skip this step, it is always important to season any meat you have before you do anything else).

Once the oil is hot, quickly dredge the chicken in flour and slap it onto the pan. Fry until it is golden brown on both sides. It should be cooked all the way through-if it isn’t, just slap it back onto the frying pan.

Ok, that’s it...I promise it is really nice and simple...however, there are a few simple things that can elevate this recipe from solid home cooked food to a subtle and delicate dish. First, you can flavor the flour with paprika or curry to introduce more flavors into the dish.

Second, you can use the oil and chicken juice remnants that are in the pan (that you would normally wash down the drain which is a crime-that’s pure fatty flavor) to make a gravy. There are a plethora of ways to use what’s left in the pan, but here are a few ideas to get you going: You can saute lemon juice and shallots, balsamic vinegar and garlic, or even jam and pour the gravy over the chicken (or a combination of these things-explore the possibilities).

You can also cook vegetables in the spent pan. I really like to cook sliced tomatoes over a very high heat in the pan once the water burns off (usually about 7-8 minutes) pour the entire contents of the pan over some rice-you’ll be in chickeny heaven.

As always-try this one out and let me know how it goes-I would love to hear of previously untested flavor combinations.

Al Pomodoro -Twenty Minute Tomato Sauce

Al Pomodoro (tomato sauce series)-post 1

Al Pomodoro -Twenty Minute Tomato Sauce

Time....something like 20 minutes (sometimes more, sometimes less...but it’s quick nonetheless)

I am a vehement opposer of bottled tomato sauce, in fact, I am not too delighted about most canned foods (but we can save that angry rant for later). Most tomato sauces are missing the intensity that comes from home cooking fresh tomatoes. There are some brands that are quite good, but they are very expensive. In any case, I have developed many suitable replacements for bottled tomato sauce. Most of them require hours to cook, this one takes less than 30 minutes and it’s bursting with flavor. Before beginning this recipe, you need to be make some special preparations. First, you must use a stainless steel or cast iron pan, these types of metal deal much better with high heats. Second, use an apron, this dish splatters! Third, I typically make this dish in the summer. The quality of the sauce is directly correlated with the sweetness and fleshiness of the tomatoes. However, if you can find good tomatoes during the rest of the year, be my guest.

This recipe makes enough to dress pasta for 4 people (depending on the size of the tomatoes it could be more...or it could be less).

7-8 roma tomatoes (I like to use heirlooms, and some of them can be quite big, if you use 8 big heirlooms, you’ll have enough sauce for an army. Substitute accordingly.)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

dash of balsamic vinegar and/or dash of red wine

half teaspoon of red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

good olive oil

Coarsely chop the tomatoes while heating a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, sauce pan or wok (again, no non-stick please) over highest possible heat. When the oil is smoking, toss in the tomatoes and garlic together (if you put the garlic in first, as many do, it will burn). Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. You have to pay attention to this dish, constantly tossing it so that nothing burns. The tomatoes should be consistently losing their shape and deteriorating into a sauce. When they do finally lose their shape (10-20 minutes, depending on heat and other factors), toss in the vinegar and/or wine (if you do use wine, the fumes may ignite, it is fine if they do, but be careful). After about 3 minutes turn off the heat and toss in the basil. Make sure that until the very end, you keep the heat high.

Now you have a delicious sauce in your pan, what are you going to do with it? It is obviously wonderful with pasta. If you do choose to serve it with pasta, make sure to save about half a cup of the starchy pasta water to toss in the pan. In addition to the creaminess that this brings, it helps the sauce stick to the noodles.

However, I do not think that pasta is the only way to go for this sauce. This is an excellent addition to grilled or pan fried chicken or steak, can be used as a sauce for fish, but my favorite application is to serve it with seafood. Shrimp, scallops, or squid (my personal favorite) will cook very quickly if tossed into this sauce just before you add the basil. For squid especially, it is best to toss the squid in and mix it around for about 20 seconds, throw the basil in and turn the heat off. Serve immediately over a bed of wilt-able lettuce like arugula or baby spinach with a nice crusty bread and a glass of red wine. This tomato squid (shrimp or scallops if you are a afraid of tentacles) saute is a delicious, quick and cost-effective dish.

As always, there are many variations to this dish, it is really just a platform for some wonderful food-enjoy, create, explore and please share your discoveries with me.

A Quick Dinner (in two parts)....Chinese Broccoli, Steak and Garlic Bread....Part 2

Post 2-2

Paprika Steak and Garlic Bread

Time 40 minutes (probably less)

2 rib eye steaks (any steak is fine, but to me rib eye is the best)

3 tablespoons paprika

.5 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

4 thick slices of good bread

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 quarter cup grated parmigiano/romano cheese

salt and pepper to taste

First, preheat your oven (on the broiler setting) to high. I often broil the steak and the bread in the same oven, but you can always grill the steak (and the bread for that matter, if you do grill the bread, be careful not to let it char).

Mix together the spice mixture for the steaks and evenly pack it on both sides of the meat. If you want to enhance the flavor, toast the paprika in a pan for a couple of minutes before mixing it with the other spices. Let the steak rest with the seasoning while the oven is heating up. When the oven is good and hot put in the steak and cook (I like it pretty rare, about 5-7 minutes a side, depending on thickness).

Meanwhile, mix the garlic, olive oil, butter, cheese, and salt and pepper together. Spread evenly on one side of the bread and pop it into the oven. Watch the bread, it burns quickly. When the bread has turned a nice golden brown it is done.

A Quick Dinner (in two parts)....Chinese Broccoli, Steak and Garlic Bread.

Post 2-1

Chinese Broccoli

Time: 15 minutes

1 lb Chinese Broccoli

1 clove garlic minced

2 tablespoons of good dijon mustard

a splash of white wine

salt, pepper, and good olive oil

Like most other vegetables, I’ve made chinese broccoli about 100 different ways. This recipe is especially tangy and creamy (despite having no cream), but it is so simple and fast. First, take your broccoli and chop it into thirds. It is important to keep each third separate, as they have different cooking times. If you cook them all together, the leaves will be too wilted, and the bottom of the stalks will be undercooked.

I prefer to make this dish in a Wok, but any stainless steel or cast iron pan is fine (non-stick is not ideal, but it’ll work). Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil into a preheated pan, when the oil is hot, toss in the thickest third of broccoli. Mix while sauteing over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.

Once the stalks begin to soften, toss in the next thickest third of broccoli and the garlic. After 5 minutes, pour in the dijon mustard and season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 2 minutes before pouring in the wine. When the alcohol cooks off, toss the rest of the broccoli in. Toss for 1 minute and serve. The stalks should be soft and a little crunchy, and the leaves should just be slightly wilted. The oil, mustard and wine combine into a delicious creamy sauce.

Just a few side notes: First, this basic recipe will work for nearly any saute-able vegetable. Second, despite the fact that I am a vehement hater of Chardonnay, it is perfect in this dish. Any white wine will work, but Chardonnay is commonly very oaky. The oak flavor matches perfectly with the broccoli and the mustard.

This week’s dinner (In 4 Parts)....balsamic infused kale; sauteed sweet potatoes; pan seared red snapper with basil spice rub.

Post 1-4

Some Thoughts...

This was one of those dinners that developed over the course of the day. It started with the formation of some pretty ambitious plans-I was to make dinner for my two siblings. The social intricacies of the three of us together are probably too complex to get into in this forum, suffice to say that we collectively cause more raucous than the oldest and most crusty British parliament members. In any case, my sister had just returned from a trip, and I jumped at the opportunity to make us all a delicious meal.

I found the kale and the sweet potatoes in my vegetable drawer, and decided on red snapper. It was a stroke of luck that I also found a huge amount of basil sitting in my fridge.

Looking at these items, I made a few decisions off the bat: First, basil is a very effective spice when used in a pesto-like spice mixture. I decided the garlic, basil and nuts could really infuse the whole fish with flavor.

Second, with the savory plan for the red snapper, I decided to embrace the sweet elements of the potatoes (which is hard not to do), and add some sweetness to the kale (the balsamic vinegar reduction). I probably would have done this anyway to counter the slight bitterness of kale.

Third, no matter what I did with these ingredients, I knew dinner would end up being texturally homogenous. I did my best counter each ingredient’s natural tendencies. I chose to add a fried factor to all three dishes in order to counter the natural softness of each dish.

These kinds of primary thoughts pretty much solidified my menu. Other choices later were almost all improvised. My choice to roast the garlic in the kale was a deliberate effort to replace garlic’s natural bitterness with a subtle and smoky sweetness. Roasting garlic for 20-30 minutes before using it in a dish can often bring a new dimension of flavor, and curtail the possible harshness. I find that when I make cold dishes (I will eventually put up my recipe for eggplant dip) roasted garlic works particularly well.

I made this dinner last Monday, and it was light, healthy (despite the butter), and delicious. In the spirit of home cooking, I encourage you too improvise...but please, let me know how your experiments go, I am always open to try something new myself.

Enjoy cooking and eating this dinner. As always, if you have any questions, comments or stories about making these or similar dishes, I would love to hear them.

This week’s dinner (In 4 Parts)....kale infused with balsamic and garlic; sauteed sweet potatoes; pan seared red snapper with basil spice rub.

Post 1-3

Pan Seared Red Snapper with Basil

Time: 15 minutes for the basil mixture; 15-20 minutes for the fish.

Ingredients

1 lb Red Snapper

2 cup fresh packed basil leaves

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

4 peeled garlic cloves

quarter cup olive oil

juice of 2 lemons (please use fresh lemons and limes for juice...please...)

salt and pepper to taste

You can substitute the red snapper with any other fish that can be thinly sliced and pan seared. The basil mixture can be made hours ahead of time. It is in fact my recipe for pesto (coming soon to this very same blog) without the parmagiano cheese. Place the basil, pine nuts, garlic cloves in a food processor. Pulse while drizzling in the olive oil.

About 10 minutes before cooking, toss the salt, pepper, half of the lemon juice with the fish. Put back into the refrigerator. After the fish has properly rested, coat both sides of the fish with the basil mixture.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet, when it begins to smoke, carefully place the fish in the pan. Sear at a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Pour the remaining lemon juice into the pan, turn down the heat to medium low, and cover. Wait for another 3 minutes or until the top of the fish is moist and very slightly flaky. Do not overcook, if the fish is still pink after 3 minutes keep cooking, but check every 30 seconds.

This week’s dinner (In 4 Parts)....kale infused with balsamic and garlic; sauteed sweet potatoes; pan seared red snapper with basil spice rub.

Post 1-2

Sauteed Sweet Potatoes

Time: 20 minutes at most.

Ingredients

1 Medium sweet potato/yam grated (by hand or food processed)

3 medium shallots

1 carrot grated (by hand or food processed)

2 tablespoon raw pine nuts (optional)

1 tablespoon butter/to taste

salt, pepper, and good olive oil

This is a really good recipe that I adapted (stole) from Mark Bittman. It’s tasty, quick, and despite the butter and olive oil, not greasy at all. The addition of the carrots and shallots add to the subtle sweetness of the roots.

Begin by toasting the pine nuts until golden brown on a dry skillet and set them aside. Take that very same pan (unwashed to preserve the rich flavor of the nuts) and heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Toss in the shallots, when they become transparent, add the sweet potatoes and carrots. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the potatoes are softened but not mushy.

Add the butter and toss continuously over high heat for 2-3 minutes. While plating this dish sprinkle a few pine nuts on top of each portion.

This week’s dinner (In 4 Parts)....kale infused with balsamic and garlic; sauteed sweet potatoes; pan seared red snapper with basil spice rub.

Post 1-1

Kale infused with Balsamic and Garlic:

Kale...at first a frightening mess of thick and seemingly indigestible vegetation (dinosaur food)...but in reality it is one of the most versatile and rich leafy green around. This recipe will have you craving it for weeks.

Time: about 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1lb fresh kale*, trimmed (remove any stems that are more than a quarter inch wide, make sure to trim up the entire length of each leaf) and washed.

1 whole clove of roasted garlic, peeled and chopped coarsely. [If you are too lazy you can substitute 1 tablespoon of minced garlic for the roasted garlic in this recipe, but the roasted garlic adds some delicate subtlety]

A simple recipe for roasted garlic: Begin by removing any outer leaves from the garlic clove, place on a piece of foil and put in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 60 minutes...for this recipe, we are going to cook the garlic a second time, so I would suggest roasting it for 40 minutes, it should be soft but maintain it’s structure and shape when pressed with the tip of a knife.

.25 cups of balsamic vinegar (the more the better)

salt, pepper, good olive oil...

First, grab a large pot and fill it about 2/3 with water, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and bring to a rolling boil. Drop in your trimmed and washed kale and boil for about 20 minutes. The kale should be considerably softer, but the structure of the leafs should not be deteriorating. Immediately transfer the kale into a bowl filled with ice water (the ice bath stops the cooking, preventing it from becoming mushy).

Next, empty all excess water from the pot, do not wash it (it has valuable flavor from boiling the kale), put it back onto the stove at a medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, coat the bottom with olive oil. Drain the kale and toss it in to the pan, followed by the garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 1 minute before pouring the balsamic vinegar into the pan.

Once 75% of the vinegar has cooked off serve immediately. (I like to serve it as is, but a light sprinkling of your favorite strong crumbly cheese can’t do too much harm.)