August Feast

Chorizo and Bean Stew with Polenta

Polenta, chorizo, and something fruity. These were the cards picked for the first feast. Initially, I was like 'okay, polenta and chorizo...both are in the same ethnic family...this will be a cinch'. Little did I know that polenta is THE most hazardous thing to cook. Seriously. I'm not usually clumsy in the kitchen (unlike all other aspects of life), but for some reason I ended the evening with 2 cuts on my fingers (rather, slices), and 3 burns on my arm...from the dangerous polenta. I put about 2 cups of fresh milled polenta into a pot of boiling, salty, well-oiled water and started whisking away. Within about 30 seconds, it bubbles and POPS out in pockets of molten corn meal, flying every which direction, hitting my arm at a scalding temperature. Okay. Panic. The husband was off for a run while I prepared everything, so it was a surprise for him. All I could think was, great, he's gonna come home with polenta on the ceiling and me with 2nd degree burns. I realized as long as you whisk, it won't explode. So I whisked for 2-3 solid minutes (with my poor weak arm-sticks), then poured it all into a pan and set it to bake at 350. WOOSAH. This is when I started breathing again. I was still afraid the polenta wouldn't cook through because I took it off the stove quickly, but in the end, it all came together. So when I first thought about what to make, I thought to do something hearty and warm. I decided to make a stew-like concoction with the chorizo (which was lamb and beef). I stared with an onion-tomato base and broke down the chorizo in the mixture, added S&P, cumin, marjoram, and smoked paprika, then added cannellini beans. I let this all simmer down, and plated it with the stew on top of a mound of polenta. The sauce of the stew really soaked into the polenta, creating a creamy and savory end product.

Apricot Napoleon

For the something fruity, I decided to make a fresh apricot napoleon. This was as simple as it gets. You can literally recreate it by looking at the picture. One trick to keep the pastry from puffing up too much is to weigh it down with aluminum or another cookie sheet in the oven. Make sure to take it off for the last couple minutes to let the pastry brown a bit. I took it off a bit too early so they still ended up puffing a bit. Oh wells! Still tastes great. All in all, even though I felt like a contestant on chopped, we had a lovely dinner and all is good with the world.

What's in it:

-polenta (corn meal), sea salt, olive oil, lamb chorizo, cannellini beans, tomato, onion, cumin, paprika, marjoram, black pepper

-pastry dough, apricot, whipped cream

I'm Baaaaaaack

So, I know it's been a while. Or a year. Actually more than a year...but who's counting?? I've been *slightly* busy over the past year, what with graduating, moving to Dallas, getting married...you know the drill. Still, that's no excuse to neglect my blog!

Refreshed, renewed, and ready to tackle cooking again, I've decided to put more effort in refining my skills and updating regularly. I made dinner last night worthy of being posted, but I didn't have juice in my camera battery, nor was I going to wait to eat. For those interested, it was what I call East Meets Southwest. I made a hatch chile curried chicken. Needless to say, it was quite delectable. I served it with basmati rice and we enjoyed Sicilian Orange sherbet afterwards (while watching MasterChef of course). The husband (still getting used to that) has been on my case for trying out whenever they come to Texas. We'll see. We'll see.

This is a non-photographed post, but I'd like to introduce a little thing I'm doing (as a present to my husband) called Feast of the Month. Basically, I made a little booklet with 3 categories (starches/proteins/dessert), and 12 products within each category. He gets to choose at random which 3 things will comprise the meal, and my challenge is to make it all work together. The desserts are all noted as "something _____", e.g. something cold, something baked, etc. I have to create a dessert that fits the category, and I can never repeat things more than once. He gives me 48 hours of notice before I have to create that meal, and I can't use written recipes. Tonight is the first of the meals, so look out for a post later tonight or tomorrow.

Until then!

Creamy Tomato Bisque

 Okay, don't hurt me. I know I've been REALLY behind and SUPER lazy about my blog. But fear not! I am back!
Today is a soup kind of day. It's raining and thundering, and I'm sick. Despite my desire to just lay in bed all day and not move, I was actually in a cooking mood, which is something I haven't been in for a longgg time. I suppose I have SOME reason to be happy. (FYI, I just got engaged...woohoo!!!) Sorry, no pictures of the ring...this is strictly a food blog. Anyhow, after rummaging the fridge and finding nothing that appealed me, I noticed the abundance of tomatoes I had on hand. Now, being the kinda lazy person I am today, I decided to use a stash of already pureed tomato (yay for cutting corners!). I simmered the tomato with a blend of oregano and various dried Italian herbs (basil, thyme, sage, and marjoram), as well as a bay leaf and some cracked black pepper. I added sugar to balance out the spice and included a bouillon cube for extra kick. In a different pot, I made a quick roux using organic milk. I mixed it with the tomato puree and voila! Quick and delicious bisque. My photography with this one was a bit rushed because I was pretty hungry and didn't want to wait. Also, my camera battery was quite low and in fear of it shutting off entirely, I didn't take my time. Oh wells!

What's in it:
-tomato puree, oregano, Italian mix, sugar, salt, bay leaf, black pepper
-roux: butter, flour, milk
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Baked Salmon & Couscous

Salmon is by far my favorite type of fish. It's inexpensive, versatile, and cooks pretty quickly. I marinated this beautiful filet in a mixture of olive oil, soy sauce, and various spices/herbs. I probably would have let it sit longer than I did, but I was quite hungry and didn't feel like waiting. It still turned out to be very delicious. Couscous is definitely a quick and easy food to make, and can be spiced according to your liking. I used Mediterranean/Italian seasoning to go with the flavors of the salmon. The best way to get everything out on time and together is to get the couscous going about half way through the baking of the salmon. This particular cut took about 12 minutes to bake, and the couscous only takes 5 minutes to fluff. I think I ended up eating this faster than it took to cook.

Here's to gourmet cooking...fast!  

What's in it:
 -Salmon: Atlantic salmon filet, olive oil, dark soy sauce, cilantro, coriander, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, parsley flakes, salt
-Couscous: olive oil, pine nuts, onion powder, salt, dried leeks, crushed oregano                                                                                  

Brown Butter Cookies

Brown Butter mixture! yummm

Yes folks, I have finally updated over a month later. Things got quite crazy for me, so I didn't do much real cooking or baking. Anyways, yesterday I was feeling rather festive (and was avoiding school work at all costs). The slightly colder weather put me in the sit-indoors-make-cookies-watch-tv mood.
To make brown butter you need to heat butter in a saucepan on medium heat and continuously stir it. You'll notice some brownish black flakes starting to form in it as the butter continues to break down. Once the liquid is completely brown, remove it from the heat, and separate the supernatant (yes, I'm using a science term here...hyperlinked for your benefit). Then let it solidify again before using it. You can make it in large batches and keep it in the fridge for future baking needs. If I wasn't already on a high from leftover halloween candy, I would have eaten them all by myself. Don't judge me.

What's in it:
-flour, baking soda, brown sugar, granulated sugar, browned butter, salt, vanilla extract, baker's chocolate, milk, eggs
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Linguine Alfredo

Pasta is seriously one of my favorites things to eat. Lots of carbs = WIN. Sadly, I haven't made anything for over a month now. Things have been a little busy for me, but fear not! I am back! I was feeling rather hungry after class today, and decided to not spend dinero on food and actually make something with my own hands. This twist on the classic uses linguine instead of the usual fettucine (only because I had linguine on hand). I've never gotten around to making my own pasta (shocking, I know). Perhaps that will be my next feat.
Anyways, I don't like my pasta to be too saucy, especially with alfredo. I tossed the pasta with the sauce after it was cooked. Each piece should be coated well enough, but it shouldn't be drippy. There are very few ingredients that go into making this dish, but the flavor is substantial. I toasted my garlic and minced it very finely before adding it to the alfredo, giving it a very aromatic flavor. Nothing more than salt goes into this dish; and I topped it off with some dried parsley. It's been a very delicious afternoon for me.

What's in it:
-linguine pasta, cream, butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, parsley

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Jalapeno Jack Grilled Cheese on Sourdough

Baby Red Chard

 So I lied again about the whole only baking thing during Ramadan. I made a trip to good ol' HEB today and got some wonderful, fresh deliciousness to eat. Tonight, I made a grilled cheese on sourdough bread with jalapeno jack cheese. The things that really made this sandwich delightful is baby red chard and arugula. The chard with the sourdough creates a lovely nutty flavor that complements the spice from the cheese quite well. I had to photograph my sandwich really quickly because I couldn't wait to eat it.
I don't have many comments for this post, because I'm still thinking about the awesome sandwich I just devoured. And I'm also thinking about the coffee Haagen Dazs in my freezer...

Oh, and here's my reminder for making grilled cheeses: transfer the sandwich from a pan and finish it off under a broiler for about 1 minute! It's like magic!

What's in it:
-sourdough bread, jalapeno jack cheese, baby red chard, arugula

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