Recent cooking adventures: barbecue ribs, beer brats, homemade calzones, and penne carbonara

Just because I've been a bit neglectful of the blog doesn't mean I haven't been continuing to cook!

Take a peek at a few things I've been up to lately - beer brats last weekend, then a major cooking marathon of side-by-side barbecue ribs and homemade calzones, then last night's creamy carbonara:



Carbonara is one of the first dishes I learned how to make when I started cooking for myself sophomore year of college. I had never even heard of it, but read an article about Rachel Ray, and how it was a special meal for she and her husband. I loved how it was nicknamed "coal miner's pasta," and I decided to make it myself.

The worst screw up I have ever had cooking this dish was making the mistake of drinking some of the wine while cooking, then laying down on the couch while the bacon and garlic browned. Lesson learned: never walk away from the stove for a quick lie down. Especially not while you are an overworked college student.

I recently had a pasta special at the little cafe next door to my office that was called carbonara but was a really creamy sauce, almost as thick as alfredo.

I decided to try to incorporate a little of that creaminess into my dish this weekend.

Penne carbonara recipe:
(adapted from Rachel Ray)

1 lb pasta (I like rigatoni for this, you can use regular spaghetti. I used penne this weekend), cooked to just before al dente in salted water. Reserve 1 c of the pasta cooking water.
1/3 lb pancetta or about 8 slices of bacon
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 c white wine, like pinot grigio
2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 c heavy cream or half&half
3/4 c shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (can use a mix of Italian cheese)
handful of chopped parsley
black pepper

Fry bacon until not quite crisp. Remove from pan and chop roughly. Drain the fat from the pan. Reserve entirely if you have uses for it, otherwise keep just 1 TBS

Heat 1 TBS bacon fat over low heat, return bacon to the pan and stir in the garlic and red chili flakes. Saute about 2 mins (do not burn the garlic), then stir in the wine. Increase the heat and allow alcohol to evaporate. The liquid will reduce by about half. Turn off the heat.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and yolks, then slowly stir in about 1/3 c of the pasta water to temper the eggs. Mix in the half&half (if using) and the cheese.

Slowly stir in the egg mixture into the pan sauce, then quickly toss in the pasta. Season liberally with freshly cracked black pepper and parsley.

And, if someone has a good way of reheating carbonara that *doesn't* cause the egg in the sauce to scramble, please let me know.

Dreaming? of my next Disney trip, in just one week!

Snow day, part 6

Wednesday was the day I nearly cracked.

I've barely left my apartment since last Thursday. Yes. A full week from today. The only other human I've seen besides the odd passerby and the Giant cashier on Saturday has been Jake.

So, like any cabin-fevered, stir-crazy individual, I threw myself into another round of baking last night.

The result?

First, it's been a while since I used pate a choux for anything, and it's the first time I used it in my new oven. Damn thing isn't exactly reliable, so the first batch of these were a little flatter than should have been. Anyway, rather than post the step by steps, I'm trying this out:



Next came a second round of whoopie pies.

 

  

Dinner was a slight departure from pho to the Korean-ish version of pho, mul naeng myun. 

Mul naeng myun is traditionally a summer dish, served icy cold to combat those hundred degree days in Seoul. Like pho, it combines noodles, broth, meat and is seasoned to each person's own liking.

Finally, I threw together some polenta and grilled it up as a nice side dish.

RECIPE for grilled polenta:
Boil 2 c water, 1 c buttermilk, 3 TBS butter, 1 tsp salt or season salt.
Gently whisk in 1 c corn meal or polenta. Continue stirring over low heat 5-10 mins.
Pour into a round or square tin, allow to chill until firm (about 20-30 mins)
Turn out on a cutting board or plate, slice into pieces.
Heat grill pan over high heat, spray with non-stick oil and grill each piece until warmed through.
Dust with sea salt to serve.

 

  

  

Dreaming? of hopefully returning to work, and re-joining civilization sometime soon!

Superbowl food

Still trapped at home - our metro stop is closed through tomorrow again! Today I finished my french onion soup and baked up some toasty baguettes to serve with the soup.

 

  

  

  

  

  

The baguettes:

  

  

  

  

 

Our Superbowl spread: sticky wings, empanadas, homemade salsa and spinach artichoke dip. Yum!

RECIPES:
French Onion Soup:
Half bag of onions, sliced
1 stick of butter
3 TBS flour
4 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
3 cans beef broth
1 can light beer (or 8 oz white wine or bourbon or whiskey)
2 tsp white pepper
swiss cheese or Gruyere for serving

Brown onions in butter (I tried to do this right in the crock pot, but they just softened. I scooped them out later and browned them up in a frying pan). Stir in flour and allow to thicken with butter. Pour in beer, allow to simmer up to 20 mins in slow cooker. Pour in beef broth and seasonings, allow to simmer 4-6 hours. Serve with crusty bread and melted cheese


Baguettes:
1/4 oz active yeast
1 TBS sugar
1 1/4 c lukewarm water (or half milk, half water)
4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBS corn meal for dusting

Proof yeast, sugar and water 15 mins until foamy and expanded. Mix flour and salt, divide equally in 2 bowls. Mix yeast into one half, and stir until smooth batter forms. Cover and allow sponge to sit up to 30 mins until slightly expanded. Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients and knead on a lightly flour surface 10 mins. Cover in an oiled bowl, allow to proof up to 1 hr in a warm place. Punch down, and knead 2-3 mins more, then form into three logs, about 12-15 inches long. Allow to rise again, up to 30 mins. Sprinkle bottoms with polenta, spritz tops with water and cut diagonal slices into top. Bake at 400 F for 10 mins, then 5 mins at 375 F or until hollow when tapped.


Sticky wings:
Bake wings (washed, patted dry, salt/pepper/drizzle olive oil) covered at 375F for 25 mins. Drain any liquids, coat with flour and return to baking pan 5 mins each side at 425. Whisk together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, honey, and oyster or fish sauce, coat wings with sauce. Return to hot oven 5 mins more to thicken sauce. Sprinkle with chopped scallions, toasted sesame seeds.


Spinach dip:
Mix equal parts plain yogurt, fat free sour cream and low fat mayo, 1/2 package frozen spinach (defrosted), handful chopped artichoke hearts, 1 tsp garlic powder (more to taste - can also use minced fresh), 1/2 tsp paprika, pepper to taste, chopped scallions (white and green parts).

Inspired by a fellow blogger

After reading a post by a friend of mine about her cooking marathon, I was definitely in the mood for chili.

I've never really followed a chili recipe - I just kind of keep adding stuff to the pot until it all simmers together and is tasty.

MMM, ground beef, onions and garlic. Korean labels on the ground beef, and my lack of ability to estimate the weight of a package of meat, meant this ended up being a much larger batch of chili than I intended. This got seasoned with lots of chili powder, paprika and cumin. I also tossed in some yellow curry powder and three seeded, diced jalapenos.

Lotsa lotsa green peppers!!

Oh, enter the canned goods.

A chili is born!

 

Finally the end product.

Usually, I serve chili with tortilla chips, but I also am a huge fan of cornbread. Not having any cornbread or mixes in the house, I tried some polenta -- using the leftover buttermilk from the yummy red velvet cake on Saturday night. 

Turns out chili smothered polenta is a hell of a lot better than polenta smothered in greens! ;-)