Recipes & Cooking: July 2005 Archives

I ordered one of those Fresh Direct rotisserie chicken meals and am getting quite a lot of mileage out of it, so I wanted to record just how far I'm making it go. My version included sour cream mashed potatoes and broccolini with garlic chips.

The first night of leftovers we ate chicken bratwurst with carmelized onions and mustard over the mashed potatoes. I liked to have my potatoes with a bite of the onions, a nice sweet addition to the tangy but also kind of bland potatoes.

Then lunch the next day. I diced up part of the remaining chicken breast and mixed it with one chopped scallion, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and a ground hot curry mix from Penzey's, and we ate it in top-split hot dog buns with mini carrots on the side. I know it's not exciting cooking, but it was still really tasty.

Supper last night was the leftover broccolini with pasta. I warmed some oil with some chili flakes in a skillet, then when the pasta was about halfway cooked I added the broccolini to the oil. Tossed it until warm, then added the nearly cooked pasta and a little of the water. Bubbled that a bit, then served the pasta with copious amounts of grated grana padano. I think I'm cooking the leftover pasta and broccolini (leftover leftovers!) in a frittata for lunch, but I have to figure out what to cook it in that's small enough for one serving.

I ordered one of those Fresh Direct rotisserie chicken meals and am getting quite a lot of mileage out of it, so I wanted to record just how far I'm making it go. My version included sour cream mashed potatoes and broccolini with garlic chips.

The first night of leftovers we ate chicken bratwurst with carmelized onions and mustard over the mashed potatoes. I liked to have my potatoes with a bite of the onions, a nice sweet addition to the tangy but also kind of bland potatoes.

Then lunch the next day. I diced up part of the remaining chicken breast and mixed it with one chopped scallion, salt, pepper, mayonnaise and a ground hot curry mix from Penzey's, and we ate it in top-split hot dog buns with mini carrots on the side. I know it's not exciting cooking, but it was still really tasty.

Supper last night was the leftover broccolini with pasta. I warmed some oil with some chili flakes in a skillet, then when the pasta was about halfway cooked I added the broccolini to the oil. Tossed it until warm, then added the nearly cooked pasta and a little of the water. Bubbled that a bit, then served the pasta with copious amounts of grated grana padano. I think I'm cooking the leftover pasta and broccolini (leftover leftovers!) in a frittata for lunch, but I have to figure out what to cook it in that's small enough for one serving.

It seems like these days I either have time to cook something good or write about it (which would you choose if you were me?). But I made a couple of easy, versatile things this week that were worth mentioning.

The first was a small batch of crumble topping so I could make individual crumbles for myself while Todd was out of town. I used as a base the recipe from Once Upon a Tart and added some almond paste I had left over from some other baking. Also quartered the recipe so I didn't have too much: 2 tablespoons each flour, brown sugar, walnuts and almond paste, and 1 tablespoon each oats and cold butter cut small. I mixed it all together with my fingers, mushing up the butter and almond paste until they were just small pieces. Used some of it to make an individual peach crumble by cutting up a ripe peach, tossing it with a bit of sugar and flour, then putting that in a ramekin and topping it with some of the topping mixture. Baked at 375, I think, for about half an hour. I have more topping in the fridge for the next time I want one. I think next time I may substitute almonds for the walnuts.

Also bought some golden beets that I cleaned off, trimmed and put in a baking dish with about a cup of water (as recommended in my Chez Panisse Cooking cookbook). Covered it with foil and baked for an hour (they were medium sized) in a 350 degree oven (I think). Let them cool a bit, then peeled and sliced. I tossed some with some mesclun and mustard vinaigrette, then topped it all with some fresh goat cheese. Also marinated some in vinaigrette for dinner tonight. Think they'd be good in a goat-cheese sandwich, too.

I also had a couple of fantastic sandwiches on the parbaked ciabatta I got from Fresh Direct: Smoked turkey, Cheddar and mango chutney with mesclun, a toasted sandwich with melted chocolate, and one with goat cheese, marinated sundried tomatoes and mesclun.

It seems like these days I either have time to cook something good or write about it (which would you choose if you were me?). But I made a couple of easy, versatile things this week that were worth mentioning.

The first was a small batch of crumble topping so I could make individual crumbles for myself while Todd was out of town. I used as a base the recipe from Once Upon a Tart and added some almond paste I had left over from some other baking. Also quartered the recipe so I didn't have too much: 2 tablespoons each flour, brown sugar, walnuts and almond paste, and 1 tablespoon each oats and cold butter cut small. I mixed it all together with my fingers, mushing up the butter and almond paste until they were just small pieces. Used some of it to make an individual peach crumble by cutting up a ripe peach, tossing it with a bit of sugar and flour, then putting that in a ramekin and topping it with some of the topping mixture. Baked at 375, I think, for about half an hour. I have more topping in the fridge for the next time I want one. I think next time I may substitute almonds for the walnuts.

Also bought some golden beets that I cleaned off, trimmed and put in a baking dish with about a cup of water (as recommended in my Chez Panisse Cooking cookbook). Covered it with foil and baked for an hour (they were medium sized) in a 350 degree oven (I think). Let them cool a bit, then peeled and sliced. I tossed some with some mesclun and mustard vinaigrette, then topped it all with some fresh goat cheese. Also marinated some in vinaigrette for dinner tonight. Think they'd be good in a goat-cheese sandwich, too.

I also had a couple of fantastic sandwiches on the parbaked ciabatta I got from Fresh Direct: Smoked turkey, Cheddar and mango chutney with mesclun, a toasted sandwich with melted chocolate, and one with goat cheese, marinated sundried tomatoes and mesclun.

Mixed into scrambled eggs, with fresh torn basil and mozzarella cubes. I scrambled two eggs in some of the garlic oil, then added the other ingredients off the heat and let the carryover heat in the eggs warm them a bit.

It was great to have this condiment around. I just replaced my uncorrected proof of the Once Upon a Tart cookbook with the real thing (because there are at least three recipes I've tried in there that are keepers) and I want to make a couple of condiments in there, so I always have something fresh and interesting to punch up my loner meals.

Mixed into scrambled eggs, with fresh torn basil and mozzarella cubes. I scrambled two eggs in some of the garlic oil, then added the other ingredients off the heat and let the carryover heat in the eggs warm them a bit.

It was great to have this condiment around. I just replaced my uncorrected proof of the Once Upon a Tart cookbook with the real thing (because there are at least three recipes I've tried in there that are keepers) and I want to make a couple of condiments in there, so I always have something fresh and interesting to punch up my loner meals.

Todd and I ate this for dinner on Sunday night with spaghettini and seared scallops, and today I had it in a roll with melty fresh mozzarella and basil (a terrific combo of crunchy bread, chewy tomatoes and smooth cheese). It's from Bistro Cooking at Home.

First you make the garlic oil: put 10 peeled garlic cloves in your smallest saucepan and add olive oil to cover, then simmer for 10 minutes until the garlic is soft. Mine was browing by this time, so I pulled them out of the oil immediately. Allow the oil and garlic to cool, then add 1/3 cup of the oil and the garlic to 1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives and a splash of balsamic vinegar. The leftover oil is good to cook other things in, like fried rice or sauteed vegetables. Anything, really. (Anything you want to add a garlic flavor to.)

Todd and I ate this for dinner on Sunday night with spaghettini and seared scallops, and today I had it in a roll with melty fresh mozzarella and basil (a terrific combo of crunchy bread, chewy tomatoes and smooth cheese). It's from Bistro Cooking at Home.

First you make the garlic oil: put 10 peeled garlic cloves in your smallest saucepan and add olive oil to cover, then simmer for 10 minutes until the garlic is soft. Mine was browing by this time, so I pulled them out of the oil immediately. Allow the oil and garlic to cool, then add 1/3 cup of the oil and the garlic to 1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives and a splash of balsamic vinegar. The leftover oil is good to cook other things in, like fried rice or sauteed vegetables. Anything, really. (Anything you want to add a garlic flavor to.)

Fried rice is one of those kitchen-sink type dishes to me, like pasta, sandwiches, frittatas or soup, a way to use up ingredients in my fridge. This was a particularly nice combo, especially since the sugar snaps were so plump, fresh and sweet.

I sauteed half a small, diced onion, then added some minced garlic and ginger. Stirred in the snap peas and cooked for a minute or two, then added diced pork from dinner the night before and some red pepper flakes for heat. Last I mixed in the cooked rice (I use jasmine rice for everything because the smell of it cooking is so heavenly, but I'm sure that offends someone somewhere), some soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil.

I bought some sour cherries at the farmers market last week and made a compote with it this weekend. We ate it over ice cream yesterday, and I think I'll mix it with some ricotta for a snack when I get hungry later this morning.

Pitted the cherries over a saucepan to catch the juices, then mixed 3 tablespoons of sugar with 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch and whisked that into the juices with a little bit of water. Boiled that for five minutes, then added the cherries and cooked them for another couple of minutes. Poured into a bowl and chilled it.