Culinary Agoge

Baked Stuffed Peppers

Cassie was gracious enough to pass along another family recipe for stuffed green peppers. This favorite recipe of hers that conjures up family memories was one she was eager to share to impart part of her upbringing with me. As I mentioned in my last post, recipes allow you with a degree of accuracy reproduce a dish over and over again and are a like passing along recorded history from one to another. Interestingly enough sometimes recipes aren’t repeatable due to unforeseen circumstances. In my case, finding good green peppers was just not possible right now. At best the grocery had beat up and bruised green peppers, some with black stems, others with noticable gashes or cracks from drying up. It was a sad state of affairs. Orange and Yellow peppers were in abundance and in great shape, so they dominated my pepper pickings. The recipe for stuff peppers takes some effort but is well worth the effort put into them.

Ingredients:
6 green peppers
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 tsp ground black pepper, divided
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 cups cooked long grain rice
3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese

Hardware:
1 pot, big enough to fit the peppers
1 pot, big enough to cook the rice
1 12″ skillet or larger
1 baking dish, big enough to fit the peppers
1 mixing bowl

Directions:
Cut the tops off peppers; remove the seeds and membranes. Chop the edible part of tops and set aside. Rinse the peppers under cold water and then place them in large pot covered with salted water. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Drain the peppers and set aside.

Cook the rice in a separate pot until it is fully cooked through.

Heat the olive oil and butter in the skillet over medium heat until hot. Sauté the chopped green pepper (from tops), chopped onion, and chopped celery for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, crushed garlic, oregano, basil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the ground black pepper. Simmer the ingredients for about 10 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the egg with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Gently stir the mixture to blend; add the ground beef, cooked rice, and 1 cup of the tomato mixture. Mix everything well together.

Stuff the peppers with the meat mixture and place in the baking dish. Pour the remaining tomato mixture over the stuffed peppers.

Bake the peppers at 350° for 55 to 65 minutes. Top the stuffed peppers with cheddar cheese just before they are done and then bake until the cheese is melted.

Baked Stuffed Peppers

Enjoy.

Carrot Soup

I had the day off from work today and decided to take care of two nagging things on my to-do list. I started off with getting my car muffler and exhaust pipe repaired and then made a trip to Trader Joe’s for groceries. I even managed to fit in a gym workout to burn off some of the excess calories from last night’s food orgy.

Fixing my car set the tone for the rest of the day. With the repairs setting me back over $700, my desires for food purchases were tempered and I was forced to be more cost conscious. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and work on something new having been inspired by the Taste of Cambridge food festival I had just attended. I am currently reading The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin, who’s cooking is deeply rooted in frugality and simplicity having grown up in war torn France during the second World War and have enjoyed his descriptions of simple classical French cuisine that he prepared as he learned how to cook. While thinking about what to get I also thought about Thomas Keller’s view on food as described in The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection by Michael Ruhlman and his view of food and simplicity, taking one ingredient and making it the very best it can be. Using simplicity as my inspiration and cost as my guide for food purchases I settled on an something I rarely eat let alone cook with. I chose a carrot as a foundation for my dinner and decided to make a simple soup out of it. 89 cents for a one pound bag of organic carrots was a deal I could not pass up.

The process for making the soup was was really easy and the result was absolutely amazing. The salt and pepper added to the intense and fresh flavor of the carrots. I felt like I could relate to and understand both Pépin and Keller making a simple dish that wasn’t muddled with too many ingredients and flavors, producing out of this world results with plenty left over to be enjoyed in the future alone as a stand alone meal or as a component of another. The steps I took for making the soup are outlined below. Enjoy!

Carrot Soup Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 lbs. of carrots
2 cups water
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Hardware:
Soup Pot
Immersion Blender or Food Processor

Directions:
Wash and peel the carrots and cut them into small 1/4 inch pieces. Put them into a pot. Add 2 cups of water or more if necessary so that the carrots are covered. Bring the pot to a simmer. When the carrots are tender, puree them with an immersion blender or in a food processor until they reach the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste ensuring that it is well mixed. Serve in a cup or bowl and enjoy hot.

Carrot Soup: Ready for Serving

First Roast Chicken with a Mediterranean Salad

There is so much to learn. The knowledge I have yet to attain is massive which at times seems daunting, but is definitely exciting. I recently bought a whole chicken at the grocery store without a real plan for cooking it. I knew I had to cook it today, or run the risk of it going bad, the the question was how? I didn’t have a roasting pan or rack but breaking it down to cook didn’t really appeal to me. The Alton Brown in my decided to improvise and use what I already had to roast the chicken and try something new.

For dinner, along with the chicken I opted to make a Mediterranean salad to add color to my dish as well as a tasty side component. Eating a dish of only roasted chicken didn’t seem that appetizing to me. My first step was to establish my mise en place as chefs say.

First Roast Chicken: Ingredients

My roasted chicken consisted of a rub made out of salt, pepper, paprika, minced garlic, and olive oil, rubbed generously inside and outside of the chicken and under the skin for better flavoring. I decided to cut up some potatoes and onions to accompany the chicken as it roasted in the oven. I also noticed that my cherry tomatoes were nearing a point where I would have to throw them out, so the frugal gourmet in me put them in as well as they would wilt down while roasting releasing their remaining juices and adding flavor.

My 4lb. bird was placed into my cast iron pan with all of the aforementioned components as my oven was pre-heated to 375 degrees. I covered everything with aluminum foil and waited for the oven.

First Roast Chicken: Ready for the Oven

First Roast Chicken: Ready for the Oven

Once the oven reached the desired temperature I put the pan into the oven and set my timer for one hour. This was an arbitrary number I set so I could start checking on my chicken to see how done it was.

After 1 hour, I checked on my chicken with my digital thermometer and saw that it still had a long way to go. I decided to give it another 30 minutes, and then another 30 minutes after that. After 2 hours it was ready. I pulled it out to rest for a few minutes and was quite surprised by the amount of juice that had collected, spilling over the sides and causing quite a mess.

First Roast Chicken: Ready to Eat

While the chicken was resting, I peeled and chopped my cucumber and tomatoes and mixed them in a bowl with salt and olive oil. I would add mozzarella balls once plated.

Once everything was ready, I plated my meal, which I realized was crowding the plate with too much food. My greedy American stomach had gotten the best of me instead of portioning a reasonable meal with the option of going back for seconds.

First Roast Chicken: Plated

All and all, my meal was very good and flavorful, a nice change of pace from my usual steak meals. The Mediterranean style salad was light and refreshing. Another great benefit of cooking an entire chicken was that there was plenty for leftovers and the bones I could save for a stock which I hope to make once I have more bones.

Tilapia with Sautéed Spinach and Tomatoes

I have never cooked fish before. It has always seemed so much more complicated than my usual three options of beef, pork or chicken. While I do enjoy eating it and eat it frequently for lunch in the form of sushi or sashimi, it has never made its way into my apartment and was something my mother would rarely cook at home.

On my way home from work I decided to give fish a try.  I have a fish market in my neighborhood that I heard was good and decided that after four years of living here it was finally worth a try. I originally wanted to cook some salmon steaks but they didn’t have any. Undeterred, I noticed they had some tilapia, a fish that have had before and like. I also stopped in the food shop next-door and picked up some spinach to sauté along with some extra tomatoes I had left over from a caprese salad I had recently made. This seemed like an easy dinner I could get going.

Ingredients in hand, I headed home. I put everything out on my counter and thought about what to do with the fish.

Tilapia and Spinach

Dredging the fish in flour and cooking it in butter came to mind and so I heated up my pan, melted the butter and put the fish right in.

Tilapia with Flour and Butter

I simultaneously added the spinach into a pot and cooked it down until it was almost ready.

Spinach Cooking Down

I added halved cherry tomatoes into the spinach and stirred for a few minutes until they became tender adding salt and pepper.

Spinach and Tomatoes

The fish did not take that long to cook. I had no sense of how long it should cook until done, so I cut into it a bit to make sure.

Tilapia Ready for Plating

While I plated my fish I noticed that the spinach and tomatoes were burned a little bit. Clearly this wasn’t meant to be restaurant quality food, but it tasted pretty good all the same.

My First Fish Meal

With my first fish meal under my belt I feel more confident about cooking with new ingredients.  My meat CSA starts next month and I’ll be getting some lamb as part of my share, another meat I am unfamiliar with.

Ribeye and Caprese Salad

I don’t think I can mention enough how much I enjoy eating a good steak. If I had one culinary skill that I could master it would be that of cooking the perfect steak. I’m sure I’ve said this before and I’ll probably say it again. At the beginning of the year, when I set out on my odyssey, I was tired of cooking all protein meals with no sides. these just weren’t that appetizing although probably perfect for anyone on the Atkins diet. I knew I had to learn more about creating the complete meal and this seams to be one of my biggest sticking points.

A side effect of working with many ingredients and a key benefit is the addition of color to the plate. More ingredients make the food more fun and appetizing. For tonight’s dinner I opted for making a simple addition to my meal, a Caprese Salad. It didn’t take much effort and added a nice balance to my steak, which instead of plating whole, I sliced after letting it rest.

While the meal overall was quite good, it was immediately obvious that something was off. I took pictures of my meal and realized my errors after the fact.

I first realized that I need new plates. There’s a reason that restaurants mainly serve their meals on white plates. See through glass just doesn’t do it. While food may not be art, a meal needs a better canvas to rest on.

Secondly, my plating was a bit messy. I have seen chefs use towels to clean their errors before serving. I should have done that as well.

I also realized that my proportions just seemed off. While I was able to add some tasty components and new dimensions to my meal, they weren’t combined in a way that really made them stand out alone and yet together at the same time. The tomatoes and mozzarella just seemed to lay on the plate as an added extra instead of part of the steak.

Plating is the lost chapter in every cookbook that I have come across which is a shame because it is useful knowledge for just about any meal whether a casual one with family, or a gourmet meal at a fine dining establishment. I know I need a lot more practice and hope my skill improves greatly over time.

I didn’t have cooking class this week because of the holiday weekend and it’s funny because I actually miss it. We have our final class next week on Friday as usual and I’m looking forward to it. Without class, I still wanted to practice what I had learned so I decided to look through my cupboards and pantry to see what I had that I could make for dinner. Last night I placed some steak that I had bought in a marinade of medium salsa for a Steak Diablo. In the cupboards I found a can of refried beans that I decided to heat up to accompany the Steak.

I started by pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees as well as two pans onthe stove. I placed some olive oil in one pan heated up the refried beans, adding cumin powder, black pepper, chili powder and kosher salt. Once warm, the heat was turned down to low to keep them warm.

Seasoned Refried Beans

The steak was next. On the hot pan I added a bit of olive oil for lubrication and then placed the strips down for five minutes on the presentation side to get a good sear.

Steak Diablo Searing

I then turned the strips over with my tongs to sear for another five minutes. The steaks were then placed in the oven for five minutes and pulled out and checked. They weren’t done so I put them back in for another five minutes to finish off. When they were pulled out the second time they were perfect so I let them rest for a few minutes before cutting and plating.

Pan Seared Steak Diable

During our last class we went over basic plating concepts which I wanted to bring into my dinner so I sliced the meat and placed it on my plate. I then added the refried beans to the plate with some tortilla chips for dipping. A rather odd combination I know, but it’s grocery shopping time and one must make due with what they have. I added some of the medium salsa to the beans and steak along with some sour cream for the beans as well. It wasn’t beautiful, but better than just throwing it down on the plate I suppose.

Plated Pan Seared Steak Diablo

The end result was actually pretty decent. I much prefer my steak finished off in the oven. It cooks a bit faster, I’m sure due to both conduction and radiant heat. The marinating also produces more flavor and body making the dish a lot more appealing.

Pan Seared Steak Diablo with Side of Refried Beans

I’ve never made pancake batter before. Yes it’s true, I have never made my own batter. I’ve mixed together pre-made batter from Bisquick, but I’ve never actually made pancake batter myself which anyone who has knows makes wholly different pancakes.

I did some searching online and found a recipe for buttermilk pancakes . It seemed simple enough and included ingredients I had on hand. After reading it through I realized that it would make too many pancakes so I cut the recipe in half. I whisked my dry ingredients together first, and then whisked in the wet ingredients until well-combined. I also decided to use a teaspoon of vanilla extract for some extra flavor since I like it a lot and enjoy the subtle accent it provides.

Buttermilk Pancake Batter

I used my heavy iron pan for cooking which unfortunately only fits one pancake on it at a time.  After buttering the pan, I used a ladle to place a measured amount of batter on the pan each time.

Buttermilk Pancake

After the dough started to bubble and the sides became visibly solid, I flipped the pancakes over to finish cooking for about a minute.

Buttermilk Pancake

These pancakes were not as firm or sweet as the Bisquick ones that I am used to making. Also they take on a much darker color when cooked. I plated them in a stack and put some maple syup on top. The fluffiness was a different experience and they were very enjoyable. I’m really happy to have another simple recipe under my belt and will look forward to more mornings enjoying buttermilk pancakes at home.

Today was international buffet day at work. It was organized by a colleague as a mini-competition that would showcase food from all over the world, a fairly easy task given our very diverse company. I knew I would definitely enter in a dish, but the question was what to make. It didn’t take me long to decide on making a Latin dish to showcase my that part of my heritage, but I couldn’t decide on what to make.

My mother had shown me how to make a bean dip which would be easy to do. During last week’s cooking class, we learned how to make carne asada. That also seemed like a good choice and a way to put into practice what I had learned. Another option was to create tostones, a form of friend bananas which I saw Alton Brown make on an episode of Good Eats which I had saved on my DVR.  My last option was arroz con leche, a rice pudding dessert. As the day approached I could not make up my mind so I resolved to make a cena típica (a typical dinner) which would include all of the dishes and something to drink.

I woke up this morning deciding to work from home so I could prepare my dishes for the 12 noon deadline.  I have never made this many dishes at once before and really needed to think about the cooking order and counter space.  The steak would take the least amount of time and so I knew I would cook it last. The arroz con leche would need some time for the rice to cook and since I had never made it before it would need some guidance from mom over the phone. The bean dip was something I could make easily and keep warm in the oven so I would make that second. After the bean dip I resolved to make the tostones since they needed to be fried twice.

Arroz Con Leche

I started with two cups of rice in a big pot with enough milk to cover the rice by an inch. I also added a teaspoon of vanilla and 2 large cinnamon sticks broken up into pieces to increase their surface area and distribution. I set the stove on high heat to bring up the temperature and then lowered the heat to medium as my mom advised. The key I was told  is to watch the pot so as not to burn the rice and the milk at the bottom. I stirred occasionally and as the mixture reduced and with the rice absorbing the the milk I added more milk and some water to keep the level of creaminess that I wanted while maintaining an appropriate amount of moisture.

Arroz con Leche

While I stirred I noticed that the bottom was getting hard in some places. I hadn’t been paying enough attention as I cooked my other items and I could tell the bottom was burning and giving the pudding a burnt flavor. The rice was still hard after45 minutes and I had to continually add milk. In the end after more than an hour of cooking as the rice began to soften I added my last bit of milk. I stirred in 2 cups of sugar and a bit more vanilla to sweeten the pudding and packed it into a serving dish to go.

Bean Dip

This was the easiest dish. I added a bit of olive oil to my pan an put in two cans of refried beans. I added both cumin and chili powder, salt and pepper and stirred.

Bean Dip Cooking

Once everything was combined I put it into a Pyrex baking pan and put it in the oven to stay warm. As I neared the completion of my other dishes, I added medium salsa and mixed shredded cheese on top with a few dollops of sour cream and put the dish back into the oven so the cheese could melt.  Everything was covered with tin foil for transport. I prefer small lightly salted tortilla chips for dipping so I brought in a bag for everyone.

Tostones

I would have to say this was my least successful dish. The flavor was there, but the crispiness was not. In a pan I placed about a half an inch worth of corn oil and heated it up over medium heat. While the oil was warming up I cut up three ripe plantains into one inch thick segments which were placed in the oil for one minute on each side.

Tostones Frying

I took the plantain slices out and put them onto a baking pan and flattened them out with my knife. They were soaked in water briefly which had salt and garlic for added taste. I believe this is where my problems came from. They were soaked for too long and became mushy. Also as anyone familiar with frying would know, when placed back in the hot oil they splattered all over the place as the water literally exploded causing the oil to spray and burn my hands. I cooked them forever in the oil but they would not get crispy no matter what. With time running out I placed them on cooling racks and then into a traveling container to take with me.

Tostones Cooling

Carne Asada

This was the best received dish of all no doubt due to style points and the very fact that it was marinated steak. Last night I created my marinade using the juice of two whole limes, 2 teaspons of white wine vinegar, 3 cloves of garlic, pepper, chili powder and enough orange juice to fully submerge my steaks in a zip lock bag.

I heated up my pan on  high heat and dropped my steak onto it one at a time for 3 minutes on each side to get a nice sear. I placed them into a casserole dish and covered them with foil for the trip to the office.

Pan Seared Carne Asada

At the office I setup a portable grill and finished the steaks on it. Grilling in the office was quite the spectacle drawing lots of ooohs and ahhhs and eager anticipation. The steaks were very moist and tender and were cut into stripes against the grain for serving. The marinade definitely added a nice subtle flavor and tenderness to the meat that everyone enjoyed.

The Contest

Everything was setup on a table that was empty and displayed with each course placed in the order it would be served. I also had some mango juice to serve along with my dishes to enhance it’s Latin flare. Unfortunately I did not win. A member of my team at work, Jose won with a duo of roasted chicken and turkey which were I must admit, perfectly cooked. All of my cooking effort was mistimed or miscalculated. The rice and tostones took way longer to cook than I thought they would, causing me to be 45 minutes late to the hour event, meaning that many people had already eaten voted and left! I’d like to think that if I had arrived on time I would have recieved more votes. The experience was great, providing my first experience with cooking multiple dishes at once for a multi-course meal. I was surprised at how comfortable I felt cooking everything at once; granted not everything went smoothly or turned out as I had hoped, but that is the nature of learning and I am truly happy that I challenged myself.

Skill and learning come from practice and diligent study. This week’s cooking class focused on eggs, so I’ve decided to continue that focus through the coming week with practice creating food that utilize eggs as a key ingredient. Tonight I decided to create a quiche based on the recipe from class with the addition of bacon for no other reason than the fact that I think Bacon is fantastic. Bacon is a key component to a Quiche Lorraine recipe which is pretty much what I decided to make. There are literally hundreds of variations available throughout the Internet to my surprise, but as I mentioned I chose my class recipe.

After a tough workout at the gym, I was quick to question my decision to make a quiche. The process of making pie dough became a task that I did not want to do but I pressed on and slowly worked the butter into the mixture of flour and salt. Next I worked the water in to complete the dough before putting it into the refridgerator for 30 minutes.

I cooked up the bacon and as its aroma filled my kitchen I continued my task with renewed enthusiasm. I whisked my egg batter together and pulled my pie crust out of the fridge. It was a bit firmer than before, but it was still a bit wetter than I imagined it should be even though I did not use all of the water I had measured out to make it. I added a bit more flour and rolled it out before placing it in a pie tin. I poured the egg batter in, mixed in the cooked bacon and added cheese on top before placing it into the oven.

First Quiche Lorraine Before the Oven

When I pulled the quiche out of the oven 35 minutes later, I let it rest on my counter for 5 minutes before plating.

First Quiche Lorraine Out of the Oven

If I had been making this for my family or friends I would have spent more time making the outer edges of the crust a lot more even, thus making the finished product more visually appealing. I plated my quiche and set it on the table with some wine I had picked up from Trader Joe’s.

First Quiche Lorraine

This recipe yields a fluffy custard. I much prefer a firmer quiche with more cheese. I noticed that the cheese and bacon sank to the bottom in stead of being evenly dispersed and hope that my next attempt is a little more consistent. I also think that the quiche could have benefited from more bacon for added flavor and texture.

All and all I was pretty happy to have made this dinner for myself. Each success adds to my confidence level and I feel like I am always learning. Another great thing about this dinner is that there is plenty left over for an easy lunch or dinner during the week, something I am not accustomed to since I usally make single serving meals.

As a follow-up to part one of my post, I also made a French-style omelette following the instruction of  the late and great master chef, Julia Child. While I was researching material to study at the beginning of my culinary odyssey, I came across a clip of Julia preparing a basic omelette on her classic show The French Chef.

Watching Julia Child cook brings back wonderful childhood memories stored in the deep recesses of my memory banks. Memories of baking cookies and cakes with my mother and maternal grandmother are the first to arrive, but quiet evenings parked in front of the tv watching in awe as she transformed simple ingredients into culinary masterpieces don’t take much longer to follow. That is the essence of French cooking as I have come to learn and is what she excelled and bringing to and teaching the American public about. I decide to use this clip as my inspiration for my breakfast.

I have what I would call an egg addiction. I love eating eggs, and if I had the time to cook them, read if only I got up early enough, I would eat them every morning.

Attempting to emulate Julia Child

I heated up my pan on high heat, tossed in some butter and as it began to bubble dropped in my whisked eggs. The eggs had been whisked in a bowl with a bit of salt and pepper. As the eggs began to cook and coagulate I shook the pan as depicted and within twenty seconds had my meal ready to serve and neatly folded onto a plate. I had never made an egg this way and it tasted great. I wish I had folded it a bit more and seasoned with some salt to bring out the flavor, but I guess this means I’ve left more room for improvement for next time.