Pip's Plate

When I’m craving comfort food, I instantly think of roasting a chicken. There are lots of different ways to roast a chicken, including this one with proscuitto and sage. Last night, we had guests coming for dinner, so I decided to try a new recipe.

This roasted chicken recipe is moist and has depth of flavor due to brining the chicken for the majority of the day. The mustard-thyme sauce for this roasted chicken is out of this world!

The original recipe calls for a lot of sitting around for the chicken – which translates into starting this recipe early in the morning or the day before. I trimmed it down a bit since I started around noon that day (the recipe below includes my modifications).

You could easily take the approach of a slow cooker for this recipe. Boil the brine first thing in the morning, then dump your chicken in it to sit for the day. When you get home after work, follow the rest of the instructions. Or, if you don’t have time to let the chicken sit for an hour and then cook for another hour, you can use a blow dryer to dry it out after removing from the brine.

Serve this chicken with Green Salad with Olives and Roasted Mediterranean Potatoes for a complete meal. For an accompanying wine, a good syrah works well. You could also go with white wine and try an albarino or dry Riesling.

Roasted Chicken with Mustard-Thyme Sauce
serves: 6

Ingredients
Brine
10 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup coarse kosher salt
peel from 1 lemon, using a vegetable peeler
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey
3 large sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
4-1/2 pound hormone-free chicken

Cooking the Chicken you will also need
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Mustard-Thyme Sauce
1 tablespoon butter at room temperature
1-2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard (dijon is fine if that’s all you can find)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Directions
1. To make the brine: in a 3-quart pot, bring 10 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, peel from 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 3 tablespoons honey, 3 large fresh thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf to a boil. Stir once or twice once getting hot to make sure the ingredients are dissolving.

2. Once boiling, remove the brine from heat. Pour into a 6-quart pot and cool slightly – about 5 minutes. Add the chicken to the brine and put in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken from brine then rinse and pat dry. Return to the fridge, uncovered on a plate, for an additional hour. This will dry the chicken. If you’re pressed for time, use a blow dryer to dry the chicken.

3. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

4. Place dry chicken in a roasting pan. Bake for 20 minutes then add 1 cup of broth. Bake for another 20 minutes then add another 1 cup of broth. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and pour out the broth to get 2 cups of cooking liquid. Let the chicken sit for 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

5. To make the sauce, heat 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter starts bubbling, about 1 minute, add 1 tablespoon flour and whisk together. Add the reserved cooking liquid, 3 tablespoons mustard and 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves. Whisk together and bring to a simmer. Simmer the sauce until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. I suggest adding another 1 tablespoon of flour after the sauce simmers for a few minutes to continue thickening. Season with salt and pepper to taste only if needed.

6. Cut the chicken and serve with the sauce. Enjoy!

recipe from epicurious

Last night I just couldn’t decide what to make. I didn’t have much in the fridge, so I knew I’d have to go to the store regardless. Then I found this little ditty in the Jimtown Store Cookbook (my FAVORITE cookbook). And I knew right away it was a “make-again” recipe. It’s perfect for a chilly night – comforting, easy to make, a tad spicy. And this is a one-pot dish, making clean up a breeze.

It calls for 6 cups of Jimtown All-Purpose Shredded Roast Chicken (another recipe in the book) but instead I bought a ready to eat rotisserie chicken. Saved lots of time and it was still delicious. I also cut the recipe in half since I was just feeding myself. But leftovers are great!

The cookbook suggests serving this with rustic, crusty bread and a green salad tossed with vinaigrette and Basque smoked sheep’s milk cheese called Idiazabal. I bought a sheep’s milk cheese that is similar to manchego and it was quite good. Also, suggested to have this with chilled hard cider (it’s gooood). Instead of crusty bread, I served this with rice.

Basque Chicken Ragout with Sausages & Sweet Peppers

serves 8

total time: about 35-40 minutes

1/4 cup fruity, good-quality Spanish olive oil

1 pound cooked spicy sausage, such as Spanish chorizo or andouille (cut on the diagonal into 1/4 inch slices or if ground, simply left ground)

1 medium-large yellow onion, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 1/2 pounds (6 to 8 ) large sweet peppers, mix of red and yellow, stemmed, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch wide strips

1 cup dry white wine (or substitute chicken broth)

1 (28-oz) can plum tomatoes with their juices

Kosher salt

2 t hot Spanish pimenton or Hungarian paprika

1 t freshly ground black pepper

1/2 t sugar

6 cups Jimtown All-Purpose Shredded Roast Chicken (or 1 ready-to-eat rotisserie chicken)

2 T finely chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Directions

1. In a large deep skillet, over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook, stirring once or twice, until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove and reserve. Do not discard the oil or clean the skillet. While the sausage browns, cut up the onions, garlic and peppers.

2. Set the skillet over low heat. Add the oinon and garlic and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and are beginning to brown, about 10 minutes – make sure to watch them so they don’t burn (if your heat is too high, they will start to burn).

3. Add the peppers, raise the heat to high, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the peppers begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Start shredding the chicken as the onions, garlic and peppers cook. Just pull off the bone and pull it apart with your fingers.

4. Stir in the wine and bring to a simmer, scraping the browned deposits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the tomatoes and their juice, thoroughly breaking the tomatoes up with the side of a metal spoon. Stir in 2 t salt, the pimenton, black pepper, and sugar, then the chicken and chorizo, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Adjust the seasoning.

*The ragout can be prepared up to one day ahead. Cool, cover, and refridgerate, rewarming it over low heat until steaming.

These might be my favorite way to cook pork chops. I’ve made these several times this summer, and the recipe is always delicious. It’s a great recipe when camping because it’s so easy (just make the rub ahead of time and take it with). We made these at our Creative Retreat this summer and they were delicious.

You can make these in the oven too, if you don’t have a grill. Bake in a shallow baking dish rubbed with a little oil in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, turning halfway.

Grilled BBQ rubbed Pork Chops

serves 8

2T ancho chile powder

2t salt

1t cumin

1/4t pepper

pinch of cayenne

pinch of allspice

pinch of cinnamon

8 thick cut hormone-free pork loin chops

Heat your grill to medium high heat.

Prepare the rub by combining all the above ingredients except for the pork chops. Rub each side of the chops with the rub.

Grill the chops until desired doneness (I prefer mine medium to medium well). For cooked through, plan on approx 5-6 minutes on a side. Flip halfway through.

*Note: if you aren’t cooking for 8 right away, make the rub and just use as much as you need. You can store the extra rub for at least a month.

Wine Pairing Suggestion

These chops go well with a bold, fruity red wine like a syrah or zinfandel. If you prefer white wine, a nice French style chardonnay works (something not oaky) or a Gewurtzeminer if you want to balance the spiciness.

After the brilliant success of our first Gourmet Club meeting back in January, I immediately went home and started scavenging the internet for braised short rib recipes – because it doesn’t get much better than that. And man oh man….it doesn’t.

Nicole and I were serving the main course this time, which also meant we would be hosting it at my house. I first thought an Asian inspired short rib recipe would be exactly what I was looking for. Until I found this recipe: Brasato al Barolo (Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata). YUM.

Then I thought…wait a second, this is from Mario Batali’s restaurant Babbo cookbook…hmmm…why does that sound familiar? Then it dawned on me! I finished a book at the end of November titled “Heat” – which is now one of my favorite books – about Bill Buford working for Mario Batali and traveling through Italy. Well, this dish is mentioned in great detail. I looked it up, laughed at the descriptions (it’s violently vulgar), and said “sign me up! this is the dish!”

I read some more about the region this dish comes from – Emilia Romagna in northern Italy and discovered this from wikipedia:

The city of Bologna is famous for its superb cuisine. Perhaps less well known is the fact that it lies at the heart of Emilia Romagna, a region celebrated both in Italy and abroad for the range and quality of its culinary delights. From the Adriatic coast of Ravenna and Forlì to the inland plains and river vallleys of Parma, Piacenza, and Modena, Emila Romagna is richly blessed with prime produce and ingenious cooks.

We preordered short ribs (not flank style but the cut with one bone per rib) and picked them up early that Saturday along with all the other ingredients, then went back to my place to get everything prepped. Have you ever grated fresh horseradish? It is STRONG. And it’s fleshy and weird – it kind of creeped me out a bit.

Either way, the dish was hands down the best dish I’ve ever made. It was simple enough to do again, although somewhat time intensive as it requires a long time in the oven. Although the recipe says to braise at 375 for 2 hours, the next time I would braise at 350 for 3 hours.

The table setting had an Italian theme with reds, greens, and yellows.

Here is the menu:

First Course

Antipasto platter of assorted meats, cheeses, olives, and breads

Paired with: Tommasi Poggio al Tufo Rompicollo, Maremma Tuscana, 2004

Second Course

Tagliatelle with Mussels, Clams and Pesto

Paired with: Tamellini Soave, 2005 (excellent wine)

Third Course

Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo and Horseradish Gremolata

Paired with: Josetta Saffirio Barolo, 2002

*A special note about the wine: there is this fellow who suggests wine at the place I love to go (Hennepin Lake Liquors in Uptown – their selection and prices are unbeatable) who, in the past, has had a very low success rate at suggesting wines for me. My strategy for Sat? Avoid him AT ALL COSTS. Well…that unfortunately didn’t happen as another worker pointed me directly to him and there was no one else in the store. F*****ck. He ended up suggesting this wine and it was excellent. Thank god. It was $40/bottle and we bought 2. Josetta Saffirio learned how to make wine from her mom and dad, who are both professors of winemaking in Italy. This is her second or third vintage and only makes 3,000 cases a year.

Fourth Course

Various Cheeses: Taleggio served with honeycomb, Pecorino ginepro served with balsamic reduction and olive oil, Sottocenere al Tartufo, Blu del Moncenisio with fig pear spread, Valsesia Toma with fig pear spread, La Tur with honeycomb

Paired with: Ruvei Barbera d’Alba, 2005

Fifth Course

Panna Cotta with fresh strawberries and blackberries

Paired with: Felsina vin Santo Chianti Classico, 1999

recipes after the jump

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It seems like my friends and I have been talking forever about starting a gourmet club. You get a group of people together, everyone cooks, you drink wine, and have a great time. I know, it sounds like every weekend with my friends. But honestly, this is different!

Last fall we finally got our shit together and decided to schedule the first one in January. Ten people decided to join, which includes 4 couples and 2 singles so we paired up into groups of 2. Nicole’s boyfriend wasn’t interested, so she and I got paired up.

The idea is that whoever hosts that night chooses the theme and main course. January was the month of Gascony, France. Home to luxurious ingredients like foie gras and duck confit, as well as fishing, wine making and brandy distilling. The host decided to make duck confit and sent us info on Gascony.

I was responsible for the third course and it turned out that would be salad for the evening. First course was hors d’oeuvres, second course was garlic soup (YUM!) and the last course was dessert.

So the evening turned out pretty nice. Until the oven broke. Hahahah. I know we’ll look back in a couple years and say, “Remember our first gourmet club and Molly’s oven broke? And we had to use her upstairs neighbor’s? Ha!”

We went through plenty of wine and plenty of food…

First Course

Radishes with chive butter

Warm olives with rosemary, garlic and lemon

Escargot in herbed cream served on crostini

Paired with Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne 2004

Second Course

Garlic Soup with truffle oil (yeah, forgot the truffle oil, woops!)

Paired with Chateau Grande Cassagne Rose – Costieres de Nimes 2006 (I’ve had this rose many times and it tasted absolutely scrumptious with this soup!)

Third Course

Baked Goat Cheese Salad

Paired with Villa Burdigala Bordeaux Millesime 2004

Fourth Course

Duck confit with cinnamon sauteed apples and carrots

Paired with 100% Cab Franc – Chinon Les Petites Roches 2006

Fifth Course

Apple Brandy Tatin

Paired with Larressingle Armagnac and Dow’s 10 Year Tawny Port

recipes after the jump

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These are really good for throwing an informal get together at your house. I remember growing up and my mom making crab wontons when friends would be coming over for dinner. My sisters and I would always sneak a couple off the tray before anyone showed up so we could sample them too.

My friend and I created this variation a couple years ago for her annual holiday party. It combines some of our favorite flavors into a pretty tasty appetizer.

You can keep them warm in a 200/warm oven or just serve them right away (they’re best if they’re warm but we’ve also served them at room temp for an hour or so – they usually don’t last that long anyway). They’re good with sweet and sour sauce or hot mustard.

Curried Cranberry Wontons

makes approx 40

8 oz cream cheese, at room temp

4 oz chevre goat cheese

2 scallions, sliced green and white parts

1 T red curry paste

1/3 c dried cranberries (try to avoid Craisins as they’re overly sweet – I like the organic ones from my local coop that I can buy in bulk – but if Craisins are all you can buy, go for it)

1 jalapeno, diced (use the seeds if you want the wontons spicy)

wonton skins

water

oil for frying

Combine the cream cheese, goat cheese, scallions, curry paste, cranberries, and jalapeno, in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.

In a heavy skillet heat 1/4″ of oil until hot. While the oil is heating up, put some water in a little dish and lay out wonton skins on a working surface. Place about 1 1/2 t of mixture on each of the wontons. Using your finger or a pastry brush, wet two sides of a wonton and then fold over into a triangle. The water should seal each side.

You may stop at this point with triangles or you may go one step further and wet the two long ends of the triangle and fold into the middle to form a little pouch. This is a great way to mark whether or not they’re are spicy or not spicy if making a double batch.

Continue folding wontons until they are all put together. (This is a great way to get helpers involved too.)

Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by placing one wonton in the oil. It should make popping and sizzling sounds right away. If it’s hot enough, fry 4-6 wontons at a time. Fry them until slightly brown on each side (they will continue to cook once out of the oil) – and make sure you turn them once. When done, place them on a paper towel-lined tray.

Serve when ready.

If you’re looking for a beverage to serve this with, sake is always a good choice or a nice Gewurtzeminer would go well with it too.

I made this awhile ago, but my sister’s friend keeps asking about it, so here’s the recipe:

Roast chicken with proscuitto and sage

1 roasting chicken (3-4 pounds)

3 oz proscuitto, torn

fresh sage leaves, chiffonaded

3 cloves garlic

1/2 lemon

1 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Loosen the skin from the chicken around the legs, thighs and breasts.  Place pieces of proscuitto and sage underneath the skin and inside the cavity. Add the garlic and the lemon in the cavity. Rub the olive oil on the outside of the chicken.

Place chicken in a roasting pan and cook until the thickest part of the thigh reads 180 and juices run clear (about 1 hour 20 min).

Let it rest for about 5 minutes, then carve.

I think this would be good with a nice pinot noir or even a lighter chianti.

I made this the other night for a friend (on an electric stove no less- yikes!) and it was a huge success and quite tasty. I think this could be a contender for the menu for my someday restaurant. There is enough sauce for 4 servings. I served this with Spicy Green Beans and coconut rice w/cilantro (just cook the rice with coconut milk instead of water and add chopped cilantro at the end = yummy).

A friend recently turned me on to a new Spanish white wine- Albarino. We had that with this dinner and I thought it went quite well together. Although, I think a Gewurtzeminer would work too.

Roasted Halibut with Pineapple Ginger Sauce

1/3 c dry white wine

1/3 c orange juice

2 T tamari

1# halibut fillet

*mix the first 3 ingredients and marinate the halibut for 30min – 2hours. reserve the marinade

1/3c dry white wine

1T sesame oil

1T rice wine vinegar

2T tamari

1/3c orange juice

1 jalapeno, minced

2T minced fresh ginger

zest from 1 orange

zest from 2 limes

1 small red onion, sliced

2 cups diced pineapple

1 red bell pepper, julienned

2T chopped cilantro

2T sesame seeds

*preheat the oven to 400. heat a large skillet over high heat with a little bit of oil. when the pan is very hot, add the halibut. sear each side of the halibut for about 1-2 minutes. (this will help keep the fish moist and tender.) put the halibut in a roasting pan with a little bit of marinade (about 1/3) and place in the oven. the halibut will take about 20 minutes to cook – make sure you cook halibut all the way through.

*NOTE: if you’re making rice, this is a good time to get it started if you’re making Thai jasmine which takes about 15-20 minutes. brown rice takes about 40 minutes so make sure you allow plenty of time. (Joy of Cooking is always an excellent resource for cooking time for all the varieties of rice)

*in the same skillet, add the remaining marinade, the additional wine, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, tamari, orange juice, jalapeno, ginger and zest. let this gently boil for about 5 minutes then add the red onion. the sauce should start to reduce. once it gets thicker, add the pineapple and bell pepper.

*NOTE: the Spicy Green Beans take about 8-10 minutes so start these just before the fish is done.

*when the halibut is done, remove from the oven. place rice and beans on a plate, place the halibut on top, then put some of the pineapple ginger sauce over the fish. garnish with fresh cilantro and sesame seeds.

This was the most memorable Valentine’s Day. In fact, I could only remember what I did last year after thinking about it for a while so my record isn’t that great. Maybe what I mean to say is that I’ll remember this Valentine’s Day.

My boyfriend made a fabulous meal for me last night. We had basil egglplant soup which was unbelievably yummy. In fact I don’t really care for eggplant that much, but this pureed version with carrots and pesto was very good.

He also made grilled red snapper with  an avocado paprika wine sauce. The sauce had a little oregano and and sour cream in it too. He rounded the meal out nicely with a bottle of Sonoma Cutrer which was perfectly buttery to match the avocado sauce and the basil soup.

This was definitely the best meal he’s made and it was better than any meal we could have had last night at any restaurant.

It just goes to show how a home cooked meal is one of the most enjoyable aspects of life.

This is one of my favorite appetizers to make. It’s easy, healthy, and delicious.

Steamed Pork Dumplings

1/2# ground pork

1 1/2 t grated fresh ginger root

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small carrot, grated

1/2 c grated purple cabbage

1 T tamari

1 1/2 t sesame oil

1 egg beaten

salt + pepper

optional spicy version: add 1/2 t Sriracha

40 wonton skins

Boil water in a large pot with a bamboo steamer on top.

Mix together pork through salt + pepper. Put some warm water in a small dish. Lay out wonton skins on flat surface. Spoon about 1-2 t of pork mixture onto wonton skin. Wet your finger and run it along the edges of the wonton. Grab two opposite ends of the wonton and pull them up and connect them (the water will bind it together). Then grab the other two ends and pull them up and bind them with the other 2 sides. It will create a sqaure with a fluted top.

Place prepared dumplings onto bamboo steamer. Steam for about 12-15 minutes.

Serve with a teriyaki or sesame/ginger/soy dipping sauce.

If you’re looking to pair this with wine, try a Gewurtzaminer or Riesling. Those wines match very well with Asian foods.