Enchilada Pork-stuffed Peppers

Enchilada Pork-stuffed peppers

"Farce" is the French word for stuffing.  As you can probably tell from my blog, improvising a farce and stuffing seasonal vegetables is one of my favorite ways to turn humble ingredients into delightful and satisfying main dishes.  There are a few tricks to getting stuffed veggies to work.  The key is to cook or par-cook everything first, assemble them, and then cook it off when you are ready.  I like dishes like these because in the hot days of summer I can prep it all in the morning before the house heats up.  Then, come suppertime all I have to do is top it with a little cheese and warm it up.

These beautiful bell-peppers were split in half, cleaned, and then par-roasted with a little salt and pepper for about 10 min.  Then I cooled them completely in the refrigerator.  The farce is one of ground pork sausage (browned), enchilada sauce, sweet yellow onion, garlic, rice, and a whiff of cinnamon and clove.  Again, I cool the stuffing off completely before putting them all together.

I like them served with a side of crunchy chips and a dollop of cool guacamole.  The contrast in textures, spices, and hot/cool make it fun to eat.

Lambert Cherry Tart

Fresh Lambert Cherry Tart

I recently journeyed to Jefferson, OR to celebrate a friends birthday.  We had a lovely weekend of drinks, good food, friendship, croquet, and fireside chats.  One of her trees was crammed with these bright red jewels.  Mid to late June is fresh cherry season here and the road-side stands, farmers markets, and stores are full of offerings.  For me, fresh cherries mean that summer is finally here.  She offered some up and I was happy to raid her orchard before the drive back home.  What a delight it was to drag out a ladder and pick these fresh from the tree.  By the time they were pitted I had roughly one pound (about a quart)  of fresh Lambert cherries.  They are delicious sweet/tart with a great crisp texture.

Next I had to figure out what to do?  I've worked with cherries before and felt making a pie or galette filling (exposing them to heat of baking) would diminish their natural brightness.  In my view tart cherries are the only ones with bold enough flavor to hold up to baking.  I decided to adapt a fresh cherry tart recipe I originally found on  marthastewart.com.  Of course, being me, had to tweak it.  My first substitution was in the crust.  I used the Triple Ginger Snaps from Trader Joe's in lieu of graham crackers.  By weight I ground up a little over 5 ounces.  It was just the right amount of crumbs for the 10" spring-form I used, but the amount of butter in hindsight seems a bit excessive.  One could easily dial back to 4-5 ounces butter.  For the filling, I used vanilla extract as per the recipe, but for my taste I feel almond would be better to compliment the cherries.  For the glaze I used a blackberry jam because it's what I had.  Raspberry would have been a better choice, and also instead of diluting with water I'd recommend something a bit more acidic (i.e. a sweet Gewurztraminer or Riesling).  "Dabbing" the glaze onto the cherries after they were on the tart I viewed as a waste of time and potentially messy.  I put the glaze (cooled) and the cherries in a bowl, tossed them, and drained off any excess (yum!).  In retrospect I wish I'd have doubled the volume of the ingredients for the glaze and then let them reduce.  I was impatient and wanted to devour this as soon as I could.  DEFINITELY let this chill overnight.  The results were quite tasty.

Buffalo Chicken Bake

Buffalo Chicken Bake

     I was first inspired to try this based on a Pinterest post.  Buffalo Wings have become ubiquitous bar food in the U.S.  The term "Buffalo" refers to chicken wings fried and then tossed in a vinegar, cayenne, and butter sauce.  The origins of it are unclear but it's generally assumed to have originated in Buffalo New York.  I love the flavors and crave it often - but the nutrition balance is out of whack for my personal goals.  While overall this recipe would hardly be considered "low-fat" or "low calorie" by a nutritionist, I feel it's marked improvement from what I saw in my research.  Fat and calories tallies often get kicked to the curb by many chefs in deference to flavor. I'm trying to be more sensitive.  I use real butter and real full-fat cheese, but make adjustments in volumes where I feel flavor and texture won't be compromised.

     I broke from my usual insistence on making my own sauces and pulled a bottle of Franks Wing Sauce from the pantry.  It's a product I like.  On the contrary, I find most commercial Ranch dressings to be revolting and drab.  In one place I worked I used to make ranch dressing 8 gallons at a time - all of it mayo and sour-cream based.  Opening and dispensing these bladders of pre-made mayo are to this day one of the most revolting things I've ever done in a kitchen.  Don't get me wrong, I LIKE a good mayonnaise... just not THAT brand of mayo. I thought I'd take a stab at making one from scratch and lighten it up as I went.  The result I think turned out well.

Ingredients:
~pasta:
8 oz penne rigate (dry weight)
+Water, Salt, and olive oil
~protein:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cubed 1")
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil
~ranch dressing:
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup no-fat greek yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup "franks wing sauce" (or more to taste)
~assembly:
1 tblp unsalted butter (+ a smidge extra to grease the dish)
1/2  yellow onion (med dice)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
6 oz blue cheese (crumbled: 4 oz for filling, 2 oz for top)
~garnish:
1/4 cup green onion (bias cut)

Method:

1. Prepare pasta per package directions.  Drain well.
2. Dry rub:  Pat chicken dry with a towel and then add to a bowl with seasonings and oil.  Stir to combine and thoroughly coat chicken.  Refrigerate while dressing is made (or at least 20min.)
3. Make dressing and start filling: In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, yogurt, and dry seasonings.  Stir in wing sauce and 2/3 of the blue cheese.  Taste check and add adjust seasonings as needed (some brands of cheese come off saltier than others).  Now is also the time to adjust amount of heat from wing sauce.
4. Complete filling:  In skillet over med-high heat.  Add chicken and brown on all sides until golden.  Remove chicken from pan (keep warm) and add to dressing mixture.  In the same hot skillet add butter.  Swirl butter to coat pan and add onion.  Sauté onion until just starting to brown.  Add garlic, mix into onion and continue to cook till garlic "blooms".  Add onion/garlic mixture to dressing/chicken mixture.  Add pasta to chicken mixture.  Stir to combine.  Add cooked pasta.  Stir to combine.
5. Bake: Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish and add chicken/pasta mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining 2oz blue cheese.  Cover with foil and bake at 375F for 20min.  Remove foil and return to oven for another 10-15 min. to get a little crisp on the pasta and melt the cheese.  Garnish with green onions and serve.

Yield:  6 servings

Stuffed Artichokes

Stuffed Artichokes - Mediterranean

Not a recipe this time... just a log of something I whipped up that turned out better than expected.  Stuffing was ground pork, onion, mint, lemon, feta, and panko.  Artichoke was grilled then stuffed and baked.  YUM!

Teriyaki Glaze

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken on a Pineapple Plank

     The word teriyaki derives from the Japanese noun teri, which refers to a shine or luster given by the sugar content in the teri, and yaki, which refers to the cooking method of grilling or broiling. Traditionally the meat is dipped in or brushed with sauce several times during cooking.  This salty-sweet sauce is delicious on fish, poultry, pork, and beef.   Basic recipes I've seen have 3 main ingredients - soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.

     Like many people these days I'm attempting to watch my intake of corn-syrup and other additives.  On a trip to the grocer the other day I found myself reading ingredient lists and many of them left me tongue-tangled and confounded.  It's no secret corn-starch and corn-syrup are widely used as thickeners but that doesn't mean I have to eat them.  I don't like the flavor, texture, or cloudiness this thickener produces.  A finished glaze should be shiny and clear.  There should be teri in your yaki!

     There are some store-brands I like, but I find the vast majority of them lack complexity (especially the cheap ones).  I prefer teriyaki with a citrusy/ginger note.  To the basic ingredients I like to add fresh ginger and citrus rinds (orange, lime, lemon, and pineapple).  I also use brown sugar instead of white.  As with many things, time is the ultimate ingredient.  When I make a glaze I let it reduce a little further than usual.  This makes a little goes a long way and if you need it thinner - you can always dilute it with water or stock.  Use it as a marinade, a glaze, or a dip.  It's fantastic.

~Ingredients:
10 oz soy sauce
5 oz mirin
5 oz rice vinegar
4 oz pineapple rind
4 oz citrus rind (orange, lemon, lime)
0.5 oz garlic (minced)
1 oz fresh ginger (minced)
6 tblsp brown sugar

~Method:

• In a large saucepan combine all ingredients and set over med-high heat until boiling.  Reduce heat to a mild simmer and let the liquids reduce and the sauce holds to the back of a spoon.  A 60% reduction yields just over a cup of finished sauce.
• Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the solids. 

~Yield:
1 cup sauce.

Garlic Spears in Beurre Noissette

Garlic Spears (also called Garlic Scapes), are the flowering spikes of elephant garlic.  They are only available for a limited time in the spring as they are trimmed off developing elephant garlic plants.  They used to be cast aside but now are available to buy.  I've seen them at farmers markets and at specialty grocers like Whole Foods.  I first had Garlic Spears a few years ago and instantly fell in love.  If I ever have room in my garden, I'm definitely setting aside some space for them.

I got three preparations for two people from the bundle.  To keep them fresh I set them in a cup of water in the fridge (a trick I learned works well for asparagus).  They are super-easy to prepare and I personally feel these are worthy of showcasing with a simple preparations.  My favorite way is a simple saute.  These come together really fast so it's usually the last thing I do before plating.

Ingredients:
~Garlic spears (heads trimmed, stems cut 2")
~EVOO (enough to lightly coat - maybe 1 tblsp max.)
~Salt & Pepper (to taste)
~1 tbsp unsalted butter
~1 pinch red pepper flakes (or lemon zest if you don't like heat)

Method:

• Prep veggies: In a bowl combine heads and stems with a small amount of olive oil and salt & pepper.
• Brown butter: Set large saute pan over medium-high heat until hot.  Pull pan off heat and add butter.  As it melts, swirl the butter in the pan to coat the pan and lightly brown the butter (Beurre Noisette).  This method may take practice to get the heat and browning right.  You WANT a hot pan but if it's too hot then the butter will burn. 
• Saute:   Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and then the oiled scapes.  Toss to coat and return pan to med-high heat.  Let saute until caramelized, flip again to get the other sides.  Total cook time for me was about 5 min. (2.5 min. per flip).  Pull them off of heat and keep warm.  Serve immediately.

garlic spears paired with grilled rib-eye.

Other ideas/uses:
Left overs make a fantastic filling for omelettes.  Roasting would be another good and simple way.  A Pesto could also be good but at this time I haven't tried yet.

Roasted Sweet Pepper Sauce

Sweet peppers or Bell peppers are native to Mexico and other Central American regions and were spread to the rest of the world by Spanish and Portuguese explorers during 16th and 17th centuries.  Today they are used around the world.  The largest producer is China. The fruit is green when young and then progresses to shades of red and yellow as it ripens on the vine.

I love cooking shows, but there is a part of me that gets a little miffed because so many of them - especially the "reality" type ones - rely on doing things in 20 minutes (or less).  In my kitchen, the best ingredient I've found is time.  A flavorful, deep, complex sauce takes time.  If you are in a hurry this recipe is likely not for you.  However, if you want a sweet pepper sauce that actually tastes like peppers, taking the time to roast the peppers makes all the difference.  Start to finish this sauce took me just under two hours.

The other day I acquired a nice bag of mini red, yellow, and orange peppers. I've been nibbling through them, but like many who live small - I'm challenged to use them up before they go bad. A quick search for red pepper sauce on the web yielded lots of recipes - but most of them relied on adding cream and/or tomatoes. I wanted a sauce that would showcase the peppers themselves without being weighed down by cream or altered by the acidity of tomatoes. This is what I came up with.

~Ingredients:

Fresh red/yellow/orange sweet peppers (see below for quantity) 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 of a large sweet onion (medium diced)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1/4 cup white wine (approx)

1.5 cups pork stock

sugar (optional to taste)

salt & pepper to taste

~Method:

• Roast the peppers:  Cut peppers in half (pole to pole) and remove stems, seeds and membranes.  Place them cut-side down on a lightly oiled sheet pan (or use parchment for easier clean-up).  Place in a hot oven and roast for 20-30 min or until skins are darkened.  Remove the pan from the oven and cover tightly with foil.  Set the tray aside and let them "steam" to loosen the skins.  When cool enough to handle, peel off the tough skins and compost.  Cut the remaining tender flesh medium dice and set aside.

• In a 10" flat sided skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.  When butter is hot add onion and saute until onion is soft, translucent, and beginning to release moisture.  Add diced sweet peppers and garlic and continue to saute about 5 min.  Add white wine to deglaze the pan and reduce until alcohol flavor cooks off and liquids are reduced.  The mixture should still be wet with only a little moisture remaining.  Add the stock to the pan and increase heat to medium-high.  When the mixture comes up to simmer, reduce the heat slightly and simmer until stock volume is reduced to about 1/2 cup.

• Transfer pan contents to a food processor and puree until smooth.  Pass this mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and press to separate liquids from solids into a small clean saucepan.  (You can re-purpose the remaining solids at this stage as a spread for sandwiches or a dip for crudites .  Maintain the sauce over low heat and finish seasoning with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

As you can see above I used this as a sauce for breaded chicken, but it also makes a good pasta sauce.