Garlicy Bisquit Topping

This stuff is sprinkled on top of a large pan of biscuits and is suitable for serving with a dinner stew or fried chicken. Originally it was designed as a dipping sauce for bread, rolls or bread sticks.

Back in 2010, I documented my bisquit recipe. It is titled "One or Two Biscuits" but later I added the ingredient quantities for 28 buiscuits, which is a whole cookie sheet full for my large cookie sheet.

I found the basis for this at http://www.controllingmychaos.com where you can search for "carino" and find it.

Mix the following together in a small food processor or spice grinder:

• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, tough stems removed keeping the leaves and soft stem ends and chopped
• 1 tsp dried parsley (twice that if fresh and chop it)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (like for pizza)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper (or 1 tsp whole pepper corns)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or dried garlic shavings or slices)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pulse just enough to thoroughly mix and chop/grind things finely.

Make the pan of biscuits and cook for 5 minutes. Do the next steps quickly.

1. remove from the oven
2. spray to top with olive oil
3. sprinkle the dry mixture evenly across the top. Use it all.
4. rush it back into the oven

Finish cooking the biscuits as described over there.

Indian Chicken

The secret of this chicken is the marinade. It gives it a distinctly Asian-Indian flavor. Mix up the marinade and soak a chicken for at least an hour--maybe overnight. The turmeric will make it a bright yellowish color.

Create the marinade in a one-gallon zip-top bag:. If you use whole spices, put all dry spices (up to the coriander but not including the ginger, if its fresh) in a spice grinder together and pulse it to turn them to fresh powder before adding.

Marinade

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or 1 tsp whole black pepper)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground paprika
• 1 tsp ground cardamon (perhaps whole black cardamon would work)
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin (or 1 rounded tsp whole cumin)
• 1 tsp  ground coriander (or 2 tsp whole coriander)
• 1 tsp ground ginger (or 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh peeled ginger)
• 1 Tbsp finely minced garlic
• 2 tsp olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (or lime juice)
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)

Zip the top shut and "massage" to mix the spices into the lemony yogurt.

Take one whole chicken that is not frozen and

• optionally remove the skin
• optionally cut along the side of the backbone so it can open flat

Then put it in the bag, zip it up and get the marinade all around the chicken.

Then let it set in the refrigerator. 20 minutes is the practical minimum. Overnight works well. I don't know how long you could leave it and still get a good result.

There are several ways you can cook it. You want some variety of baking and/or broiling. All the usual checks for doneness apply. (Check the temperature or cut it open in the thickest part and make sure its not too pink or, on an unopened chicken, check the way the thigh joint feels for looseness.)

Three options for cooking

•  A whole, unopened chicken can be roasted or baked, breast up in a convection oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. If baking, use 400 degrees F. That time covers a normal 5 pound chicken. Add about 15 minutes per pound above that. Cook until done. (In a conventional oven, it will take a bit longer and won't be just right in the crispness.)
• An opened chicken can be broiled in the oven or over a gas flame or charcoal. The heat goes on the bony side first. So put bones up in the oven or down on a grill. Cook that one side until the tips become blackened. That would be between 15 and 30 minutes depending on the temperature. Turn it over and broil (or bake if in an oven) the other side toward the heat until done. 
• You can bake at 235 degrees F for about three hours. At that point, turn up the heat or broil until done. It won't be too long. This turns out very tender but its hard to get the outside properly crisp.

Beans (the sequel)

Last year, I put my bean recipe in and suggested I might expand on it later. It's later.

Here is the original Beans  recipe from Aug 2011, so follow that recipe until you have them mostly cooked.

This doesn't work if you put the beans on to cook in the morning and head off to work. You have to be able to doctor the pot about two hours before you are ready to eat. Here's what you add for 2 cups of dry beans (when you started):

• 3 Tbsp finely chopped red onion (or substitute yellow or white onion)
• 1/2 c chopped green chile (better if you don't use the mild, canned ones)
• 1 - 16 oz can whole stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper (or black pepper)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Feel free to estimate those quantities as it doesn't matter much as long as you are close to what's listed.

Stir well and finish the last 2 hours of cooking on high.

I still don't put any salt in the beans. Sometimes they get some from the meat. It's hard to tell how much to add. Most people like to salt their own beans the way they like it. Mostly, these have enough flavor that nobody misses the salt.

One Loaf of Bread

I like "The Joy of Cooking" so much, I have three copies. One from the 1940's. One from the 1970's. and one from the 2000's. This recipe is adapted from a recipe there (the 70's edition) for plain white bread. My wife used to make it a lot and perfected the process. Most changes are just reducing the quantities and ordering the mixing to reduce the number of dishes to wash.

In 1 c. measuring cup stir and set aside. This needs to set long enough to form a bit of foam from the yeast coming alive.

• ¾ c. warm water
• 1 TB sugar
• Large pinch of flour.
• 1 TB yeast

Add in to a glass mixing bowl:

• ½ tsp salt
• 4 TB sugar
• 3 TB lard (or shortening but lard tastes better)

Microwave just long enough to melt the lard. Add in:

• 3 c. flour
• 1 egg (beaten)
•  The contents of the 1 cup measure (yeast, sugar and water)

Stir togethr. Knead and add 1 c. flour at a time until gluten is formed and dough gets that stretchy, rubbery feeling. (It also gets harder to knead.)

Form a single ball, cover with some oil or shortening or maybe just a warm wet towel and let set for 1 ½ hours. It should double in size. Notice that letting the dough rise in a warm place will take a shorter time than a colder one. Somewhere between 70 and 85 F is a good temperature. Cooler will just take longer.

 

For rolls:

After the dough doubles in size, punch down and knead some more. Then form into rolls--which means they should be balls around the size of a golf ball--about 1.5 inches (3 cm). The rolls go on a heavily greased cookie sheet just close enough to barely touch. (Helpful hint: If you stretch the surface of the ball smooth on top and poke the edge of the smooth part into the bottom of the roll, they will be prettier and you will avoid overdone sharp edges.)

Let rise 1 ½ hrs more.

You can serve from the cookie sheet or let it set about 3 minutes before removing the rolls to a cloth covered serving pan or basket.

Bake at 350* for 5-10 min.

Reduce to 325* for 15-25 min. until done.

For a loaf:

After the dough doubles in size, punch down and knead some more. Then form into one loaf. Put it in a heavily greased bread pan. (Helpful hint: If you stretch the dough around one side and poke the edges in on the bottom, it will look prettier.)

Let rise 1 ½ hrs more.

Bake at 375* for 10-15 min.

Reduce to 350* for 15-25 min. until done.

(The loaf will sound hollow if you tap it on the bottom when it is done. Test this way quickly in case you have to put it back. You don't want it cooling in that case.)

Remove from the pan immediately. Let the loaf set on a raised rack for about 5 minutes before slicing.

Orange Shrimp

Eat these with your fingers by removing the shells and popping the shrimp in your mouth. Its a mess. There is enough to serve two or three in a pinch.

I came up with this a couple of years ago when dining alone. I just put stuff I liked in with some raw shrimp and fell in love with the taste -- who could not like garlic, shrimp, orange and salt with that touch of sweetness from the white wine. But its not for everyone. You have to not hate peeling shrimp as you eat.

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon (or 1 cube chicken bouillon crushed or 1 tsp salt)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 lb raw shrimp in the shell with heads removed OR 3/4 lb raw shrimp with the heads on

Melt the butter in a skillet on low heat and stir in all the other ingredients except the shrimp. Stir well, increase to medium heat and add the shrimp. Saute around 30 seconds on each side.

Add

• 1/2 c white wine (drinking wine, not cooking wine)
• 1/2 c chicken broth (optional)

Bring to a simmer and cook for a minute more on each side and remove the shrimp to a serving bowl. Do not over cook.

Increase the heat to medium high and reduce the sauce left in the skillet until it thickens slightly. Be sure to stir continuously to keep it from boiling. Remove from heat. Pour it over the shrimp and serve immediately.

These are eaten by popping off the head, removing the shell by hand, dipping the shrimp meat in the sauce and eating. Like I said, its a very messy dish.Serve with plenty of napkins.

Chicken, Pasta, Lemon and Cream Sauce

This is pretty quick to prepare and very tasty. It also has half the fat and half the calories if you eat half as much. But it's good enough that half as much might just work.

Bring to a boil while moving ahead with the chicken and the sauce

• 6 quarts water with 
• 1 Tbsp salt
• one pound of fettucini dry pasta (or equivalent fresh), Find it but don't cook it yet but put it somewhere handy. Notice how long the package says to cook it. (Somewhere around 8 minutes, probably.) 

Turn down the heat and put a lid on the pot so its ready to use in a bit.

Then you need

• 4 chicken breasts - boneless, not over 1 inch thick. (If thicker, butterfly them. Well, and you you don't need four.) The idea is to have one skillet full of chicken breasts.)
• 2 Tbsp butter - not margarine or anything with the word "spread" in the name
• 2 Tbsp olive oil - or any vegetable oil
• 3 medium lemons - slice 3/8 inch thick, discard the end slices (Meticulous people like to remove the visible seeds. I just eat around them in the finished dish.)
• salt
• pepper

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a 12 inch skillet. Heat to medium and brown the lemon slices on one side only. Remove the lemon slices from the heat and set them aside on a dinner plate.

Salt and pepper the chicken. Then, on medium-high heat, brown the chicken breasts on two sides. I prefer this browned but not with hard crusts on the surface of the meat. Remove the chicken and set them on top of the lemons.

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup white wine - Use a drinking wine, not a cooking wine. Use cheap wine if you want. Expensive wine doesn't help the dish.
• 1 cup chicken broth - the less salt the better
• 1/3 beef bouillon cube (1/2 tsp granules) - I wish I knew where to get this without salt.

Pour the wine into the skillet while still hot. It's still on medium high. (If you don't like wine, replace it with more chicken broth plus a teaspoon of sugar or honey or 4 sliced grapes.) Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to dislodge all the tasty particles of chicken before they burn.

[This is a good time to start the pasta cooking by turning up the heat on the water. While you are simmering the chicken, below, it will begin boiling and you can add the pasta. Set a timer for the pasta so you don't overcook it. You want it slightly undercooked if you choose to mix it with the sauce below. When the timer goes off, or when you test the pasta to be done enough, remove the pasta from the water to a large bowl or cookie sheet. Don't pour out all the water as you may need some.]

Add the chicken broth and bouillon cube to the pan. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken to the pan. Put the lemon slices on top of the chicken and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer covered for about 7 minutes on each side. Keep the lemons on top of the chicken after turning it over. Test the meat by feel. It might not take the full 15 until the chicken is no longer rubbery (and raw). Try not to overcook the chicken but don't leave any of the meat pink or red either. (Balance. Balance. Balance.)

When the chicken is done, remove it and the lemon from the pan and set aside with a covering plate or strip of foil to keep the heat in.

Increase the heat to high, don't use the lid and stir continuously to reduce the liquid by one-half. Reduce the heat to medium.

• 1 cup heavy cream - microwave this for 44 seconds to warm it up, pour into the pan and stir until the cream is thoroughly incorporated.
• 1 Tbsp capers - (optional)

You have two choices here:

1) Add the pasta to the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. It may need thinning. If so, use some of the pasta water to do keep it from being too thick. Prepare individual plates with a serving of pasta with the sauce, a smattering of capers, a chicken breast with a little sauce drizzled over it and a few lemon slices on top. (Something green looks really good on the side of the plate. Peas? Parsley? Spinach? Sugar snap beans?)

2) Serve home style with the sauce topped with capers in a bowl, the chicken and lemon slices arrayed on their own plate and the pasta in its own bowl. Everyone takes some pasta, chicken, lemons and sauce.

Fresh Pasta

I just wanted to record the proportions when I make fresh pasta. Maybe someday I will add in the full instructions of what to do with this:

I start the salted water heating up when just before making the pasta. About 6 quarts of water and a Tbsp of salt work ok. It takes just about as long to bring the water to a boil as to mix and roll out the pasta. (Note that this means it takes less time to make fresh pasta than to make the dry kind from the grocer's. But normally you would sit around while the water came to a boil and, this way, you are getting the pasta ready during warm up.)

• 1 1/2 c flour (All-Purpose flour makes good pasta. Different kinds of flour change the texture and taste of the pasta. Never use 100% Semolina flour at home. It may work for store-bought pasta but, by my experiments, if you want to use some Semolina flour, stick to about 1/4 Semolina to 3/4 All-Purpose flour.)
• 1/2 tsp olive oil (extra virgin)
• pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs

Measure flour onto a table (or counter). Make a depression in the middle and add the other ingredients. Break the egg into a bowl if you need to check the quality before adding to the flour. (No need to antagonize it first.)

Stir wet into dry ingredients with your hands. (Which you, of course, washed and dried first.) Form a dough and knead a bit. You have to experiment to get the dough just wet enough but neither too wet or too dry. If it sticks to the rollers on the pasta machine, its too wet. If it crumbles, its too dry.

If the dough is too wet, add some more flour and knead in little by little until it's right. If the dough is too dry, add water a half teaspoon at a time and knead it in until, again, it's right.

Let the dough set for 5 minutes. This isn't rocket science but do wrap it in plastic wrap, foil or a damp cloth to keep the outside from drying too much.

Roll out the dough in the pasta machine. It seems to take about 7 times through the rollers to be ready to cook. Start with the rollers open fully. Do about 3 times at that setting. Then reduce the setting and roll it through once on each until you get it right. Resist the urge to roll it too thin. Fresh pasta needs to be thicker than dry. (They say you can do this with a rolling pin and the table. I've never tried it.)