Coq Au Vin

Last weekend Justin and I were planning a weeknight dinner with friends and they requested Coq Au Vin. Now, these are probably my most gracious and love-to-host friends (V&J), so of course Justin and I eagerly agreed. Well, he eagerly agreed to pick up beer and I did the rest. OK, he did wipe down all the kitchen surfaces during and afterwards, since I am apparently unable to do this in a manner up to his high standards. I think I just don't try since I know he'll do it anyways! :)
So, I adapted the recipe a bit from the original, adding a lot more bacon and thyme, since I've really never understood subtle flavors! (PS - this is probably the 6th or 8th time I've made this, so you know it's good. And easy!)

Adapted from Cooking Light

•  6 bacon slices, chopped 
• 4 (4-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
• 4 (4-ounce) chicken drumsticks, skinned
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
• 1 1/2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 3/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon brandy
•  2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Egg noodles (1 bag should do it)

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons parsley, mushrooms, and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until chicken is done.
2. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon; keep warm. Bring cooking liquid to a boil; cook until reduced to 3 cups, or more if you want a gravy-like sauce. While sauce is simmering, begin boiling water for the egg noodles.
3. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.
4. Serve atop egg noodles.

Pepper jelly

Although it is only October, "Santa's Workshop" is in full swing! Wonder what "Santa's Workshop" is? Well, for the past 5 or so years, I've killed myself knitting Christmas presents for friends. One year it was these beautiful felted slippers (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/french-press-felted-slippers). Yeah, they were beautiful until I had to make 10-12 pairs. Yikes, they made quite the mess! Unfortunately I was too burned out to make myself a pair. :(

 

So, this year I've decided to gift my loved one culinary treats. Actually, it makes it a lot more fun. I've identified 5-6 smallish items to put in gift baskets. Every other weekend (one day only!) I destroy the kitchen in the name of Christmas. Justin is just so grateful that my knitting projects aren't everywhere that he happily helps with the cleaning. So, here is one of the first completed masterpieces!

Labels obtained here: http://www.myownlabels.com/ 

Recipe adapted from: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Texas-Jalapeno-Jelly

Ingredients

• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 3 medium green peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces, divided
• 1-1/2 cups white vinegar, divided
• 6-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pouches (3 ounces each) liquid fruit pectin
• Cream cheese and crackers

Directions

• Place lids and rings in water bath and sterilize over softly boiling water. Sterilize canning jars in dish washer.
• In a blender or food processor, place the jalapenos, half of the green peppers and 1/2 cup vinegar; cover and process until pureed. Transfer to a large Dutch oven.
• Repeat with remaining green peppers and another 1/2 cup vinegar. Add the sugar, cayenne and remaining vinegar to pan. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in pectin. Return to a rolling boil; boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat; skim off foam.  Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. (Be careful not to tighten lids too much. Fingertip tightening is all you need.)
• Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. with water up to neck of jars. Do not overfill jars!
• Remove from water bath and set on rack. You'll hear a popping sound that means the jars have sealed. 12-24 hours after you've finished, gently press on the center of each jar. If you can push the top down and it springs back with a pop, the jar hasn't sealed and you'll have to reprocess the cans (i.e. boil the lids and rings, place on jars, and reboil for 10 minutes). Make sure the jar lids are perfectly clean.
• Serve over cream cheese with crackers if desired.  
• Yield: 14 quarter-pints. 
• 
   
• Note - several folks on the original post mentioned that the jelly did not set. Make sure to follow the recipe directions as noted, especially with regard to the amount of time the pectin is boiled. Happy canning!

Borscht

The day Justin and I left for our honeymoon we ate a leisurely lunch at Neal's Deli (http://www.nealsdeli.com/), a local spot in Carrboro that is delicious, but only open for breakfast and lunch. So, I rarely get to go. That day at Neal's, I ordered the beet and bacon soup. It was just perfect and I've been trolling the internet trying to find a similar recipe since returning from Spain. I didn't remember much about the soup other than a chicken stock base and the beets and bacon of course! This was my first attempt: borscht. It is a very palatable soup, savory, mild, yet delicious. I was playing offense (i.e. Justin's appetite) and it made A LOT! Like 2 full Le Creusets A LOT ( a double recipe). Guess is who is going to have freezer leftovers?!? As Heidi would say "too big, too big!"

Ingredients:

1 lb medium beets, with ends removed
Salt & pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
6 slices bacon, finely chopped (I splurged on the expensive Whole Food bacon. The smokey flavor was well worth it.)
2 carrots, peels and cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 sprigs thyme (more is better here, i.e. don't choose the daintiest and shortest pieces)
7 cups chicken stock
1/2 head savoy cabbage, shredded (about 3 cups)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 granny smith apple (peeled and grated)
1 tbsp fresh dill (chopped fresh dill plus more for garnish)
Sour cream

Directions:

1-Preheat the oven to 400º.
2-Scrub the beets and put them on a large sheet of aluminum foil; season with salt & pepper, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Enclose the beets in foil, place them on a baking pan (to prevent dripping), and bake until the beets are tender, about 1 hour. Set aside. When the beets are cool enough to handle but are still warm, peel off their skins and cut them into 1/4-inch dice.

3-In a large heavy bottomed pot set over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, the onion, carrots, caraway seeds and parsnips, and cook until the vegetables are softened and just starting to color, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme, stock, cabbage, and beets and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the thyme sprgs. Add the vinegar, honey, and apple. Season with salt & pepper.
4-To serve, mix the dill and sour cream. Serve the borscht, hot or cold in bowls, garnished with a dollop of dill and sour cream, and sprinkle with a little fresh dill.
5-The soup can be made ahead up to 2 days and kept covered in the refrigerator. Reheat over medium heat if serving warm. Garnish with the dill and sour cream right before serving.

Red Lentil Curry - Meatless Monday

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Makes 6-8 main dish servings

So, between getting married, going on my honeymoon in Spain (delicious Spanish recipes to follow!), and submitting a grant, I've, well, neglected my blog. However, I got a ton of fabulous cooking swag for my wedding, so I was dying to try something new. This was the perfect dish!

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but I have inherited a ton of dry goods from foodie friends that have both (!!!) moved to California. My husband threatens to throw away some of the dustier items since he hates clutter, so my new challenge is to use at least two inherited dry goods per meal. Today I used three: rice, tomato paste, and red chili paste.

Now, this may look like a lot of ingredients, but it's really just measuring out a bunch of spices, so it doesn't take a ton of time. I promise.

Ingredients

2 cups lentils
1 large onion, diced
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tsp ground tumeric
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp chili powder (NOT the kind for chili/stew, i.e. chili powder mixed with cumin etc. You want pure dried chili powder. I used chipotle chili pepper, but ancho or something similar should be nice)
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp white sugar
1 Tsp minced fresh garlic
1 Tsp ginger root, minced (I doubled this to 2, but it depends on how much you like ginger)
1 14.25 ounce can tomato puree (I substituted 7 oz tomato paste, since that was all that I had)

1 - Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear. Place the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils are tender. This won't take more than 10-15 minutes.

2- While the lentils are cooking, carmelize the onions in a Dutch oven. I suggest using a medium-medium low level of heat and stirring often. I prefer the onions to be a nice brown.

3 - While the onions are caramelizing, combine remaining ingredients EXCEPT tomatoes in a mixing bowl. Mix well and add to onions once they're finished carmelizing. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, for 1 - 2 minutes.

4 - Stir in tomatoes and reduce heat. Add lentils and simmer until lentils are ready.

5 - When lentils are tender, drain and rinse them. Mix into the curry base and serve.

6 - I served this on a bed of rice (oh, how I wish I had a rice cooker!) and fried two eggs to place atop the curry. The great thing is that this is truly a 3-pot meal.