Recipes

Leftovers. Are. Marvelous.

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I was hungry when I came back from the gym the other day and having not been to the grocery store in a while I poked around to see what we had in the fridge.  A rotisserie chicken.  Some leftover rice from the Indian food I’d had for lunch.  I threw them together in a wrap and made:

HERB CHICKEN L.A.M. (leftovers are marvelous)

1 wrap  (I used a Roll-Up by Damascus Bakeries.  more on this later)
a smear of mayo
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
strips of rotisserie chicken (remove any skin or fat)
a handful of fresh cilantro
a few sprigs of fresh dill
5 T cooked rice (I used leftover rice from Indian takeout and it added great flavor)
dash of vinegar (any will do, but I used red wine vinegar)
pepper to taste

1.  Roll all the ingredients up in the wrap and eat!

Holy cow was it good!  So good.  Really good.  Oddly good.  I don’t know if it was the combination of herbs, or the brand of wrap, but WOW.  It was so good that I made it for N the next day for lunch and she promptly told me to write down the recipe.  Et voila!

I haven’t made this wrap with any other kind of bread yet, because it was really perfect the way it was created.  I suppose I might try a pita or tortilla some time, but I will certainly be on the lookout for these Damascus Bakeries Roll-Ups.  Here’s the link to their site http://www.damascusbakery.com/  N found them at Costco.

This new sandwich reminded me that simple ingredients can taste marvelous when they are fresh and also highlighted the impact of herbs.  I, for one, am inspired to grow an herb garden this year… starting with thyme, cilantro and dill.

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a Super Bowl of Chili

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What is better than hunkering down to watch the Super Bowl with a big cup of chili?  Nothing, that’s what.  So here is the recipe that I made this year.  I’m writing it exactly as I made it, because it came out really well.  N said it was the best chili I’ve ever made.  You should know that this is not a fiery chili, but rather a sophisticated and smoky one.

This is one of those dishes that will never come out the same way twice, because you can really adjust or change so many of the ingredients and it will be fantastic.  I was trying to think of a name that would illustrate this point.  Now I have heard of some really awful names for recipes.  (Rachel Ray = guilty!)  Things like “Garbage Pizza” don’t sound very good to me.   I even have a friend that makes a delicious chocolate dessert, but calls it Poo Pie.  Poo Pie!  I’m not going to lie – that kind of freaks me out.  So even though you can throw just about anything into this chili, I’ll refrain from giving it a truly distasteful name – which is why I’m going with Fatty’s Dirty Chili.

Fatty’s Dirty Chili

Please don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients.  It’s a one pot meal so once everything is in you just let it cook away until done.  I promise it’s well worth it.

1 T oil (one little tablespoon for all this chili = awesome)
1 extra-large onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 lbs. ground beef (I used the leanest mix I could find)
2-3 T chipotle chili powder
2 T dried oregano
½ t coffee (I had a tiny bit of instant coffee left in a jar – so I just threw it in)
3 t ground cumin
1 t ground cinnamon
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 t crushed fennel seeds
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 bottle beer (I think I used Sam Adams winter)
1 can diced San Marzano tomatoes 28 oz.
1 can 14.5 oz. diced toms w/chili
Sun dried tomato diced fine
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
2 mini eggplants, chopped (called Indian eggplants)
1 sweet potato, chopped
2 yellow squash, chopped
3 zucchini, chopped
* shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, chopped and sautéed (extra step!  Please see step 5.)
*½ tsp. fresh Thyme

1.  Heat oil in a Dutch oven.  (I used my beautiful Martha Stewart cast iron enamel pot.)

2.  When hot, add onions, pobalano, and garlic.  Cook until onions are golden.

3. Add meat.  Cook until fully browned.  Add herbs and spices.  Stir.  Add beer.  Cover and cook.

4.  Add tomatoes, beans, veggies.  Cook with the lid off to reduce liquid.

5.  * Add the sautéed mushrooms in now, along with the thyme.  (As mentioned above, I sautéed these first in a drop of olive oil and then added them, but you don’t need to.  I just happened to like the specific taste of sautéed shiitakes in this dish.)

6.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Enjoy!

  I served my chili with lime zest, lime sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, mild cheddar and diced radish.  I also served some homemade bread that my friend Patty made and it was an excellent accompaniment.  If you’re curious, she told me that it’s a mix from a company called Tastefully Simple.  She made the Savory Wheat Beer Bread.  I’ve added the link below.   

 

 

Twists

1.  I’d like to try ground turkey in this recipe.
2.  You can definitely use more garlic.  For this amount of chili, I’d try 6 cloves.
3.  I might skip the zucchini next time.  They tasted just fine, but after such a long cooking time they didn’t hold their texture well and didn’t add enough of a difference to matter.  I’d keep the yellow squash though, because their color looked so nice!
4.  I added sun-dried tomatoes because I had some on hand, but next time I think I’d try a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste.
5.  I added the thyme because I happened to have it available, but I don’t think it added much flavor.

 

If you try this recipe I’d love to know what you think and the way you changed it up.  Share your twists with me!

Also, you can look for Savory Wheat Beer Bread here:  www.tastefullysimple.com

Salute to a Pioneer

A long time ago my sister [N] laughingly related an instance when we were both in high school.  She and a friend of hers were sitting in the cafeteria at lunch time when the friend pulled a sandwich out from her lunch bag and grimaced.  Her mom had packed her a ham and cheese on raisin bread.  Raisin bread!  The friend rolled her eyes, and my sister chuckled at the ridiculousness of a ham and cheese sandwich on raisin bread.  Clearly this mom was out of touch.  Who would eat a concoction like that?

Skip ahead *ahem* fifteen some odd years and N was telling me of the delicious grilled cheese sandwich that she ate at ‘wichcraft, Tom Colicchio’s sandwich shop.   Cheddar, ham and pear on cranberry pecan bread.  I recalled her story from long ago and couldn’t help but think that this friend’s mom had not been crazy, but rather a visionary gourmet!  Thus I say:  Hail Mrs. Pandya!  I salute you, after all these years, as a sandwich pioneer!

Here’s the recipe that N and I recreated from ‘wichcraft.

HCP (Ham, Cheddar and Pear) SANDWICH

4 slices of Cranberry Pecan bread [found at the Corrado Bakery store in Grand Central Market]
5 slices of honey ham
4 slices of Sharp cheddar cheese
Dijon mustard (Pardon me, could you pass the Grey Poupon)
Whole grain mustard (I used Inglhoffer’s original stone ground mustard)
½ a very ripe pear (I had yummy Harry & David Comice pears on hand from a holiday gift basket)
Olive oil or butter

  1. Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on 2 slices of the bread.  (Not too thin.  With all the sweetness in this sandwich you definitely want to taste the acidic bite of the mustard)
  2. Layer 2 slices of cheese and 2 ½ slices of ham on top.
  3. Slice the half pear into flat pieces and place slices on top of the ham & cheese.
  4. Spread a thin layer of the whole grain mustard on the other 2 slices of bread and top to assemble the sandwich.
  5. Gently heat a small amount of olive oil or butter in a pan.  I use about a ½ teaspoon of olive oil.
  6. Place your sandwich in the pan and grill until golden brown, flipping it over once to toast the other side.  Press down with a spatula as it toasts – if you have a Panini grill, that would work perfectly, too.

Serve while warm.  Makes 2 sandwiches.

N and I tried this sandwich using regular whole wheat bread.  We then tried it with the Cranberry Pecan bread.  I cannot begin to tell you how amazingly different they are.  The sweet cranberries and toasty pecans add so very much more depth to this sandwich that it was astounding.    I’m also sure you could use different cheeses, and pears.  Ooh, apples would be good too.  Enjoy!

Hello world!

This is my first post.  Happy New Year! 

I’m not entirely sure what this blog will morph into but as this is a food blog, I thought I’d start by telling you what I made to celebrate the new year.

Hummus is such an easy dish to make and more often than not is one of my go-to recipes when I’m having a party.  I got the recipe from my friend Lauren, who got it from her sister Jen, who got it from The Silver Palate Cookbook.  The original recipe calls for 4 cups (or 2 cans) of drained chickpeas, which in my opinion is far too much.  I’m usually cooking for a party of anywhere between 4 and 25… and let’s face it, if you have 25 people you’re hopefully not serving only hummus.  One can will be sufficient and I halved the recipe from there.

HUMMUS
  
2 cups (or 1 can) garbanzos (chick-peas), drained
¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/6 cup warm water
1/6 cup best-quality extra virgin olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced or garlic pressed
¾ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
black pepper, to taste 
 
1. Combine chick-peas, tahini, warm water, olive oil, zest and juice of the lemon in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process the ingredients until smooth and creamy, pausing once or twice to scrape down sides of the bowl with a spatula.
 
2. Add garlic, salt, cumin and pepper to taste, and process to blend. Taste and correct the seasoning if necessary.  Scrape into a storage container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

 Serve with baby carrots and pita triangles or chips.

Makes ½ quart.

Bombli’s tips:

**  Be careful adding the garlic.  It’s easy to add too much.  First try adding one minced clove and after tasting you could add more.

**  If you taste the hummus and you think the lemon is a little too bitter – add a squeeze of honey.  It’s certainly not traditional, but it helps to cut the acid.

**  For new year’s eve we dressed the hummus up with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds.  Delish!  Not only do I love pomegranates – the gorgeous color and the burst of sweet juice… it’s like eating tiny jewels.  They also taste delicious in the hummus and add a festive touch. 

If you like hummus, you should try this recipe.  It’s SO easy and the end result is awesome.  I cannot bring myself to buy hummus at the store anymore now that I know what it tastes like fresh.  Happy eating!