Pantry Raid Dinner

I have been trying not to go to the grocery store lately because every time I go to the grocery store I seem to spend a lot of money.  I go to the store for eggs, grapes, and milk and I walk out a hundred dollars poorer.  So I've been trying to use what's in my freezer and pantry for the most part and tonight it was kind of fun.  Remember that show which used to be on the Food Network?--I think it was called Doorknock Dinners--where a chef would come to somebody's house and make a fabulous dinner out of whatever was in the kitchen.  Sometimes it was kind of scary to see what people had in their refrigerator or freezer but the chef always came up with something great

Today I pulled a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts out of the freezer and  tried to ignore my temptation to go to the store "just for a package of mushrooms."  I pulled out a can of artichoke hearts, a can of diced tomatoes,  an onion, some garlic and I even found some dried mushrooms which I reconstituted in some warm water.  I also had some leftover butternut squash, a box of vegetable broth, and some Israeli couscous, which apparently is actually pasta.  I called my friend, the Israeli couscous expert, for some support, and with her on the phone, started cooking:

For the chicken dish, I sauteed some sliced onion in olive oil til it started turning golden.  Then I added strips of chicken and kosher salt and pepper and continued to saute, adding chopped garlic at the end.    I then removed the chicken, onion, and garlic from the pan, added a bit more oil, and threw in the drained artichoke hearts and mushrooms and more salt and pepper.   When those were heated through and starting to brown, I added the chicken and onion mixture back in and added the drained diced tomatoes.  I had reserved the tomato liquid and kept adding it back in til the dish was the consistency I wanted.  After it was done I went outside and snipped some fresh rosemary, chopped it up, and sprinkled it over the chicken.  

The point of all this is not that you have to have exactly the items above to make dinner--but rather that it is kind of fun to challenge yourself and see what you can create from what you have on hand.  I could also have used some leftover spaghetti sauce for the chicken--or no sauce at all--maybe just a big squeeze of lemon juice at the end.  

For the couscous--I sauteed the onion in a pot with some oil and was supposed to let the onion caramelize--per my friend's instructions, but I got a little impatient and just let them get soft and translucent.  My friend told me to make the couscous like risotto, adding broth as it cooked and to cook the couscous til it was tender.  I added several handfuls of couscous and some broth along with some salt and pepper.  I kept stirring and adding broth and tasted it after a while--it's a little bland, I said to my friend, who was still in my ear.  "Add the butternut squash," she suggested, "and a little brown sugar."  I added some diced up cubes of already-cooked squash, along with a little brown sugar and some more salt and pepper.  I tasted.  It was delish!  My friend, the couscous expert, is a genius!  Now that I think about it a bit of butter at the end would have made the dish even better.  Oh well, I still have some leftover squash left over so there's always tomorrow.......

Banana Bread with a Fantastic Twist!!!!

I'm always searching for great banana bread recipes because I always have old--I mean--extra--bananas around.  A while ago I saw a recipe for a Banana-Apple Bread on another blog and have been meaning to make it.  The other day I got around to it and it was amazing.  The apples--which you caramelize--make the bread incredibly moist and delicious.  The combination of spices, caramelized apple chunks, and bananas is just perfect.  This bread is so delicious that Mr. Minivan ate some and immediately asked me to stop baking--he just can't resist eating it. So here--via
Dinner and Dessert, who got it from A Whisk and a Spoon by way of the Sweet Melissa Baking Book, is Banana Apple Bread. Make it today!

BANANA APPLE BREAD

Apples:

2 T unsalted butter
3 T firmly packed brown sugar
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 t pure vanilla extract

Banana Bread:

2 C all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t kosher salt
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 C sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 C orange juice
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 C mashed very ripe bananas (2-3 bananas) NOTE: I used about 3 1/2 bananas


With your oven rack in the center of your oven, preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour (or use a baking spray) a 1 1/2 quart loaf pan.

Prepare the apples: Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and brown sugar and heat until bubbling. Add the apples and cinnamon and saute til tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

For the banana bread:
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine the orange juice and vanilla. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar til light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture, in three batches, alternating with the orange juice mixture. Mix well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each flour addition. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined. Then stir in the apples.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool IN pan on wire rack for about 20 minutes and then unmold loaf onto wire rack to continue cooling.

Aunt Carole's Famous Jello

My Aunt Carole once arrived at our house with this fabulous jello mold.  Everybody makes fun of Jello--but everyone loves it.  Or, at least, they love THIS jello mold.  Or is it jello salad?  Maybe mold is the container?  And do you really want to eat something called mold?  Anyway, I make this for many events and it is always a big hit.  Aunt Carole's version calls for chopped walnuts but when I started making it my kids were too little for nuts so I list nuts as an optional ingredient.  It is, however, yummy WITH nuts.  Oh, and also WITHOUT nuts. 

AUNT CAROLE'S FAMOUS JELLO

1 6-oz pkg. lime Jello

2 C boiling water

1 pt. sour cream (I use LIGHT sour cream)

small jar maraschino cherries, drained and chopped

small can crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 C walnuts, chopped, optional

Using a whisk, mix Jello and boiling water until Jello is completely dissolved.  Add sour cream and whisk together until no white bit remain.  Add cherries, pineapple, and walnuts.  Pour into Jello mold that has been sprayed with Pam.  Refrigerate until solid and unmold.

Lovely Lamb Chops

Next time you're at Costco buying a year's supply of chocolate chips and BBQ sauce, throw a package of their lamb chops into your cart.  They are delicious.  I like to marinate them in a ziplock for several hours or overnight and then grill them.  Here's what I used:

LOVELY LAMB CHOPS

6 thick lamb chops

1/4 C olive oil

1 heaping T chopped garlic

1 heaping T dijon mustard

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper

lots of fresh rosemary, chopped

NOTE: some fresh lemon juice probably wouldn't hurt either!  Grab a lemon and squeeze!

Put oil, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, and rosemary in a bowl and mix til combined.  In a large ziplock bag place the lamb chops and the mixture.  Close the bag, squeezing out any air, and "smush" the bag around til the lamb chops are coated.  Refrigerate until ready to grill (or broil).  Grill or broil til done and enjoy!

Banana Cake

There is this cute little place in L.A. called Clementine's.  They do a huge lunch business and have great salads, sandwiches, and desserts.  The day I brought a piece of banana cake home Boys #1 and 2 practically licked the bakery box it came in--it was THAT good.  So I was very happy to see a recipe in the L.A. Times a couple of weeks ago for Clementine's Banana Cake--along with the secret ingredient that makes this case light and delicious.  It is pastry flour (not cake flour). I made this cake for the brunch we had last weekend and everyone loved it!   Here goes:

CLEMENTINE'S BANANA CAKE

2 2/3 C pastry flour  NOTE:  I used whole wheat pastry flour

2 2/3 C sugar

3/4 t baking powder

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 t kosher salt

3 large or 4 small very ripe bananas

3 eggs

1/2 C buttermilk

3/4 C canola oil

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350°F.  Into a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, mash the bananas.  Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until each is completely incorporated, then mix in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.  Finally, mix the dry ingredients into the batter just until thoroughly combined.

Pour into a 9-by-13 inch greased pan.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (I would check at 30 minutes), until golden-brown on top, a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched.  Cool on a rack.  Frost with cream cheese frosting when cool.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 C plus 1 1/2 T cream cheese, at room temperature

5 T butter, room temperature

1/2 C powdered sugar

2 T sour cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a medium blow with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth and there are no lumps.  Add the butter and whip until incorporated, then add the powdered sugar and the sour cream.  Frost the top of the cooled cake, then slice and serve.

The Lucky Winner!!! Or is it Winners????

What if I held a giveaway and (almost) no one showed up?  I feel like Mary Richards!  For you 70 or so people who stopped by and didn't post a comment--maybe you should have.  Because here is what I have to say to those who did.  All two of you.   YOU win a cookbook!  And YOU win a cookbook!  Everybody wins a cookbook!!!   Yes, it's true--both Steve and Ellen are the lucky winners!!  Winging its way to Ellen is The Silver Palate Cookbook 25th anniversary edition--beautifully illustrated with color photographs instead of the drawings in the original edition--don't miss the Chicken Marbella recipe!!  And for Steve--if that's his real name--Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA featuring BBQ recipes from all over America!  Check your mailbox and enjoy!! Oh, and the reference WAS "Try it, you'll like it" and it WAS from an Alka-Seltzer ad from the '70's.

Jump on the Short Rib Bandwagon

Last night I did something a little crazy.  I got home from the grocery store at 10 to 6 at night and decided to make short ribs for dinner.  Not advisable.  Short ribs are delicious but require a long, slow cooking time.  The more I get to know short ribs, the more I love them.  Boy #2 kept asking me when dinner would be ready and I kept saying "in about an hour."  After the second or third time he caught on.  This kind of meat is always better the next day in any case.  And who decided cereal was a BREAKFAST food anyway?

This is the kind of recipe that is sometimes hard to re-create--because I sort of combined several recipes and just threw stuff in.  All three of the recipes called for red wine but I didn't have any so I threw in half a bottle of beer--actually, I noticed the bottle was empty when I cleaned up --and I don't drink beer--so I think I actually used the whole bottle.    This is a great dish to make the day before you want to eat it.  That way you can remove any excess fat that will have solidified on the top.  These short ribs are similar to brisket in that if they are too tough or chewy you have not overcooked them, you have undercooked them.  When done, they should be fork-tender.  This is a GREAT fall/winter dinner.

5-6 lbs short ribs--I used about 13 ribs

1/3-1/2  C flour for dredging and a little kosher salt and pepper

oil--for searing--I used canola

1 large onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 heaping tsp chopped garlic

2 C red wine or 1 bottle beer

2 C chicken broth--can also use beef or vegetable stock (NOTE--I added a spoonful of a veal demi-glace, too)

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

3 bay leaves

handful chopped parsley

2-3 large sprigs fresh rosemary

2 containers fresh mushrooms, washed and halved

3 carrots, in large chunks

Combine flour, salt and pepper and dredge the short ribs in the mixture.  Shake off any excess.  Heat a couple of tablespoons canola oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat.  Sear 4 or 5 short ribs at a time on all sides til brown.  Put each rib in the pot and wait a minute or two to try to turn it over.  When it is ready to be turned, it will release from the pot easily.  Sear the meat in batches and do not crowd the pan.  Transfer to bowl.  After all meat is seared, reduce heat to medium and add diced onions and celery to pot.  Season with salt and pepper.   Saute for a few minutes and then add garlic.  Cook for another minute or so, stirring to ensure garlic doesn't burn.  Add wine or beer and chicken stock.  Boil uncovered for a few minutes, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan.  Add broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, parsley, and rosemary.  Return ribs to the pot, cover partially, and simmer about 1 1/2 hours.  Uncover and simmer until rib meat is tender, stirring occasionally--about 1 1/2 hours longer, adding mushrooms and carrots about 1/2 hour or 40 minutes before ribs are done.  

Serve with pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, or crusty bread.