These are the perfect noodles for chicken noodle soup. I was surprised how easy they were to make. It really does take both cups of flour, even though that sounds like a lot. The first time I made this I tried to half it and soon realized that the whole recipe doesn't make as much as you'd think.
Egg Noodles
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
Make a well in center of flour, Add egg yolks, egg and salt; mix thoroughly. Mixture will be crumbly, with pea-sized crumbs. Mix in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is stiff, but easy to roll. Knead for about 5 minutes adding additional flour if necessary to make a dough that is not sticky. Dough should be relatively stiff.
Divide dough into 2 or 3 equal parts. Roll dough, one part at a time, into a thin rectangle layer on well floured board. Don't skimp on the flour here, you'll need it to get the noodles off the board later. Slice dough into 1/4" thick noodle-shaped strips. Place cut noodles onto a clean towel to dry, for about 1 to 2 hours. (Drying keeps the noodles separated when you add them to your broth to cook)
Extra noodles can be frozen for future use.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Chicken Marsala
This is one very, very delicious chicken recipe. Served with simple sides like mashed potatoes and green beans, it really does taste like a million bucks. Definitely a 'serve it for company' kind of meal!
Chicken Marsala
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 small boneless chicken breasts (two large breasts butterflied in half)
3 tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small sweet onion, finely minced
12 oz white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 1/4 cups Marsala
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup heavy cream (milk is also acceptable)
Salt
Pepper
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and pepper. One at a time, coat both sides of each chicken breast with the flour, and set aside. Reserve any flour that doesn't stick to the chicken, you'll use it later.
In a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 1 1/2 tbsp of the butter with the olive oil. Working in batches, cook the chicken about 2 1/2 minutes on each side, or until there's a nice golden-brown sear. The chicken doesn't have to cook all the way through, if your chicken breasts are too thick to get done in that time it's okay. Remove the chicken to a plate for a moment.
Add the remaining butter to the pan to melt, then add the onions. Saute until the onions are translucent (this shouldn't take long), then add the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms saute until they've not only softened, but have begun to caramelize on the edges. It should smell really nice and almost beefy at this point, and the mushrooms should have rendered back out most of the butter/oil that they soaked up when they first began sauteing.
A little at a time, stirring constantly, add the flour mixture that you didn't use to coat the chicken to the mushrooms and butter in the pan to make a roux. Leave it long enough to cook the flour in the roux (about 2-3 minutes tops), then add the Marsala and chicken broth to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits and stirring them into the sauce. Add the oregano, stir, and allow the whole thing to simmer for a moment. Return the chicken to the pan, cover it, turn the heat down to low, and allow the whole thing to simmer for 30 minutes.
When you're ready to serve, remove the chicken to your serving bowl. Add the 1/2 cup cream to the sauce, and turn the heat up to high. Stir and simmer for five or so minutes to allow the sauce to thicken, then taste and adjust seasonings. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the serving bowl, and serve immediately.
Serves: 4
Chicken Marsala
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 small boneless chicken breasts (two large breasts butterflied in half)
3 tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small sweet onion, finely minced
12 oz white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 1/4 cups Marsala
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup heavy cream (milk is also acceptable)
Salt
Pepper
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and pepper. One at a time, coat both sides of each chicken breast with the flour, and set aside. Reserve any flour that doesn't stick to the chicken, you'll use it later.
In a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 1 1/2 tbsp of the butter with the olive oil. Working in batches, cook the chicken about 2 1/2 minutes on each side, or until there's a nice golden-brown sear. The chicken doesn't have to cook all the way through, if your chicken breasts are too thick to get done in that time it's okay. Remove the chicken to a plate for a moment.
Add the remaining butter to the pan to melt, then add the onions. Saute until the onions are translucent (this shouldn't take long), then add the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms saute until they've not only softened, but have begun to caramelize on the edges. It should smell really nice and almost beefy at this point, and the mushrooms should have rendered back out most of the butter/oil that they soaked up when they first began sauteing.
A little at a time, stirring constantly, add the flour mixture that you didn't use to coat the chicken to the mushrooms and butter in the pan to make a roux. Leave it long enough to cook the flour in the roux (about 2-3 minutes tops), then add the Marsala and chicken broth to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits and stirring them into the sauce. Add the oregano, stir, and allow the whole thing to simmer for a moment. Return the chicken to the pan, cover it, turn the heat down to low, and allow the whole thing to simmer for 30 minutes.
When you're ready to serve, remove the chicken to your serving bowl. Add the 1/2 cup cream to the sauce, and turn the heat up to high. Stir and simmer for five or so minutes to allow the sauce to thicken, then taste and adjust seasonings. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the serving bowl, and serve immediately.
Serves: 4
Johnnycake
Not really sure why this one is called Johnnycake (a perversion of journey cake, perhaps?), but it's a recipe that my family has had for a long time. It really goes well with soup.
Johnnycake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Mix the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening. Add the milk all at once. Stir until moistened. Pour into a greased 8x8 baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out smooth.
Serves: 4-6
Johnnycake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Mix the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening. Add the milk all at once. Stir until moistened. Pour into a greased 8x8 baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out smooth.
Serves: 4-6
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Deconstructed Ratatouille
This medley of roasted vegetables is easy to make and tastes just like summer to me. It gets its name and flavor inspirations from the classic French dish, but instead of the Julia Childs casserole approach, this version goes for a fast and laid-back chunky style that makes for a no-fuss side dish with tons of flavor. You can play with what vegetables and herbs you add here; I didn't use any eggplant because I dislike the texture, but half an eggplant with the seeds removed would fit in just fine. I used rosemary because I have a huge rosemary plant next to my kitchen door, but if you've got fresh basil or marjoram or parsley or thyme those would work also. The key for both vegetables and herbs is fresh. This dish is supposed to taste like it just walked out of the garden, dusted off its pants, and sat down at your dinner table.
Deconstructed Ratatouille
1 squash
1 zucchini
1/2 sweet onion
6 oz white mushrooms
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Begin by chopping the squash, zucchini, onion, and mushrooms into approximate 1/2 inch cubes. It doesn't have to be perfect, you're just going for bite-sized chunks. Dump them all into a bowl and pour a little less than a tbsp of olive oil over them, just enough to coat all the veggies when you stir them around well. Line a 13x9 baking pan with tin foil, and spread the vegetables into a layer on top. Sprinkle rosemary, salt, and pepper evenly over the veggies.
Cook for 1 hr uncovered, stirring every 20 minutes. When you take it out to stir at the 40 minute mark, add the tomatoes so that they only cook the final 20 minutes (tomatoes don't take nearly as long as the other veggies to roast). The roasting time here is flexible depending on how big your vegetables were and how you cut them, so just use your best judgement. The juices at the bottom of the dish should be mostly evaporated and the veggies should be soft and have that characteristic roasted look to them. Remove from oven and serve.
Serves: 3-4
Deconstructed Ratatouille
1 squash
1 zucchini
1/2 sweet onion
6 oz white mushrooms
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Begin by chopping the squash, zucchini, onion, and mushrooms into approximate 1/2 inch cubes. It doesn't have to be perfect, you're just going for bite-sized chunks. Dump them all into a bowl and pour a little less than a tbsp of olive oil over them, just enough to coat all the veggies when you stir them around well. Line a 13x9 baking pan with tin foil, and spread the vegetables into a layer on top. Sprinkle rosemary, salt, and pepper evenly over the veggies.
Cook for 1 hr uncovered, stirring every 20 minutes. When you take it out to stir at the 40 minute mark, add the tomatoes so that they only cook the final 20 minutes (tomatoes don't take nearly as long as the other veggies to roast). The roasting time here is flexible depending on how big your vegetables were and how you cut them, so just use your best judgement. The juices at the bottom of the dish should be mostly evaporated and the veggies should be soft and have that characteristic roasted look to them. Remove from oven and serve.
Serves: 3-4
Stuffed Tilapia Florentine in Mornay Sauce
Wow, doesn't that title sound all fancy? I was in the mood to make something a little more involved for dinner tonight, and my refrigerator contained a lot of fish thanks to a buy-one-get-one sale, so I went searching for a recipe that would dress up the fish into something upscale. This recipe (which combines beautifully with my Deconstructed Ratatouille for a loosely French meal theme) was the result. The fish is flaky and light, and the Mornay sauce really set off the spinach and cheese stuffing. You could do this recipe with most white fishes, I imagine: flounder would probably be great here too. This recipe takes a little more time and fuss than a lot of what I post here, but the taste and presentation is restaurant-worthy, and very worthwhile!
Stuffed Tilapia Florentine in Mornay Sauce
Stuffed Tilapia:
4 tilapia fillets
1 bag baby spinach (12 oz bag, and make sure it's baby spinach instead of the large kind)
1/4 red bell pepper, finely minced
1/4 sweet onion, finely minced
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz feta cheese
1/4 cup veloute sauce (see below)
Olive oil
Mornay Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken stock, heated
1/2 cup milk (heavy cream is also acceptable)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Start by making the stuffing mix, so that it has time to cool while you do other things. Heat a dash of olive oil in a nonstick pan, and add the onion and red bell pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes over medium high heat, then add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is completely wilted. Remove from heat and pour into a colander, to help start getting the water out of the spinach. Set aside for the moment and let the spinach cool a bit in the colander.
Next, start on your sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the flour a little at a time, stirring until it's smooth, to make a roux. Let the roux simmer over LOW heat (not high, or you'll overcook the roux and your sauce will end up strangely dark colored) for about 5 minutes to thicken and cook the flour. Add the heated chicken stock to the roux, still stirring to keep things smooth. At this point, your sauce is a bechamel. Add the milk to the bechamel, and let it cook for a few more minutes (more stirring!) until it thickens a bit. Your sauce is now a veloute sauce.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the veloute to use in your stuffing mix. Add the cheddar cheese to your sauce, stir until melted, add salt and pepper to taste, and you've got a Mornay sauce. Set it aside and let it cool.
By now the spinach should be cool enough to handle, so use the colander and folded paper towels to press as much water out of the spinach mixture as you can. Moist is okay, but wet is not. Transfer the spinach to a bowl and mix in the mozzarella and feta. Add the veloute sauce you reserved earlier, and mix the whole thing up until homogenous. This is your stuffing; it should be soft but not runny. If it's too dry, add a little more sauce.
Finally we can begin assembly! Divide the stuffing between your four fillets. Make a rough 'ball' of stuffing to place in the middle of each fillet, then roll the ends of the fillet up around the ball of stuffing like an envelope. Place your fillets, seam side down so that they don't open back up, in a baking dish. You want to use a dish that will hold all four fillets closely, without a lot of room left over for them to move around. Add about 2 tbsp water to the dish, then stick it in the oven and cook for 15 minutes at 350F.
At this point, remove the dish from the oven and carefully drain off as much water and juices from the dish as you can. Add the Mornay sauce until it comes about 3/4 the way up the fish rolls. Depending on the size of your baking dish, this may or may not require all the sauce. Return the dish to the oven to cook a further 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Serves: 4
Stuffed Tilapia Florentine in Mornay Sauce
Stuffed Tilapia:
4 tilapia fillets
1 bag baby spinach (12 oz bag, and make sure it's baby spinach instead of the large kind)
1/4 red bell pepper, finely minced
1/4 sweet onion, finely minced
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz feta cheese
1/4 cup veloute sauce (see below)
Olive oil
Mornay Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken stock, heated
1/2 cup milk (heavy cream is also acceptable)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Start by making the stuffing mix, so that it has time to cool while you do other things. Heat a dash of olive oil in a nonstick pan, and add the onion and red bell pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes over medium high heat, then add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is completely wilted. Remove from heat and pour into a colander, to help start getting the water out of the spinach. Set aside for the moment and let the spinach cool a bit in the colander.
Next, start on your sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the flour a little at a time, stirring until it's smooth, to make a roux. Let the roux simmer over LOW heat (not high, or you'll overcook the roux and your sauce will end up strangely dark colored) for about 5 minutes to thicken and cook the flour. Add the heated chicken stock to the roux, still stirring to keep things smooth. At this point, your sauce is a bechamel. Add the milk to the bechamel, and let it cook for a few more minutes (more stirring!) until it thickens a bit. Your sauce is now a veloute sauce.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the veloute to use in your stuffing mix. Add the cheddar cheese to your sauce, stir until melted, add salt and pepper to taste, and you've got a Mornay sauce. Set it aside and let it cool.
By now the spinach should be cool enough to handle, so use the colander and folded paper towels to press as much water out of the spinach mixture as you can. Moist is okay, but wet is not. Transfer the spinach to a bowl and mix in the mozzarella and feta. Add the veloute sauce you reserved earlier, and mix the whole thing up until homogenous. This is your stuffing; it should be soft but not runny. If it's too dry, add a little more sauce.
Finally we can begin assembly! Divide the stuffing between your four fillets. Make a rough 'ball' of stuffing to place in the middle of each fillet, then roll the ends of the fillet up around the ball of stuffing like an envelope. Place your fillets, seam side down so that they don't open back up, in a baking dish. You want to use a dish that will hold all four fillets closely, without a lot of room left over for them to move around. Add about 2 tbsp water to the dish, then stick it in the oven and cook for 15 minutes at 350F.
At this point, remove the dish from the oven and carefully drain off as much water and juices from the dish as you can. Add the Mornay sauce until it comes about 3/4 the way up the fish rolls. Depending on the size of your baking dish, this may or may not require all the sauce. Return the dish to the oven to cook a further 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Serves: 4
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Cast Iron Roasted Chicken
A very simple recipe, but it yields a really moist chicken with great flavor and pretty brown crispy skin. Serve it alongside some fresh vegetables like corn and green beans, and this makes for a simple, satisfying summer meal. Plus it's great for leftovers, since you can pick the leftover meat off for chicken salad and boil the bones to make chicken stock for future recipes.
Cast Iron Roasted Chicken
1 whole chicken, thawed (4-5 lbs)
1 russet potato, sliced into thick chunks
Salt
Olive Oil
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Rinse and dry your chicken thoroughly, removing the innards. The chicken should be as dry as possible so that the skin will crisp up nicely. Salt the chicken liberally all over. Use more salt than you think you'll need, especially on the breast regions where the salt will have to penetrate through a lot of meat. If you think you've salted enough, add a little more just to be sure. Place chicken in a cast-iron dutch oven.
Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into a bowl with the potato slices and stir so that the slices get coated. Place potato slices in dutch oven around chicken, poking them down to get them as close to the bottom of the pot as possible.
Cook for 1 hr 15 minutes UNCOVERED, then check the chicken. Return to oven and cook for between 5 and 30 minutes more as necessary (mine usually take about 1 1/2 hrs all told). Before serving, check the meat temperature of the chicken to make sure it's above 160F.
To serve, lift the chicken out of the dutch oven and arrange on a platter, surrounded by the potatoes.
Serves: 6-8 if you intend to eat all the chicken in one sitting. I make this one for 4 though, then use the leftover meat for a quick meal the next day.
Cast Iron Roasted Chicken
1 whole chicken, thawed (4-5 lbs)
1 russet potato, sliced into thick chunks
Salt
Olive Oil
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Rinse and dry your chicken thoroughly, removing the innards. The chicken should be as dry as possible so that the skin will crisp up nicely. Salt the chicken liberally all over. Use more salt than you think you'll need, especially on the breast regions where the salt will have to penetrate through a lot of meat. If you think you've salted enough, add a little more just to be sure. Place chicken in a cast-iron dutch oven.
Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into a bowl with the potato slices and stir so that the slices get coated. Place potato slices in dutch oven around chicken, poking them down to get them as close to the bottom of the pot as possible.
Cook for 1 hr 15 minutes UNCOVERED, then check the chicken. Return to oven and cook for between 5 and 30 minutes more as necessary (mine usually take about 1 1/2 hrs all told). Before serving, check the meat temperature of the chicken to make sure it's above 160F.
To serve, lift the chicken out of the dutch oven and arrange on a platter, surrounded by the potatoes.
Serves: 6-8 if you intend to eat all the chicken in one sitting. I make this one for 4 though, then use the leftover meat for a quick meal the next day.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Chicken With Bacon And Honey-Balsamic Vinegar Sauce
This recipe is adapted from a description my father gave me of a dish he'd eaten at Outback Steakhouse. Apparently they do a salmon dish involving a honey-balsamic vinegar glaze, and he wondered if I could do something like that at home. This was a twist on what I imagined that recipe would have tasted like, though I used chicken since it was what I had in the freezer and added bacon because everything is better with bacon. Fast, simple to make, and really good flavors here.
Chicken With Bacon And Honey-Balsamic Vinegar Sauce
4 thin sliced chicken breasts (what I actually do here is take 2 whole chicken breasts and butterfly them)
4 slices of bacon
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, very finely minced
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, very finely diced
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
To make the sauce, measure out the balsamic vinegar then add the honey, ginger, rosemary, and 2-3 Tbsp water to the measuring cup. Whisk thoroughly to incorporate the honey, then set sauce aside for a moment.
Slice a shallow cut down the center of each chicken breast. Lay a slice of bacon on top of this little channel for each breast. Heat a non-stick pan with just a very small dash of olive oil -- you won't need a lot, since the bacon will contribute its own fat to the process. When the oil is hot, lay the chicken breasts in the pan bacon side down and turn the heat on the pan down to medium. Salt and pepper the exposed non-bacon sides of the chicken. Shake the pan occasionally to make sure that nothing sticks, and allow the chicken to cook until there's a nice sear on that side and the bacon has cooked through and started to crisp at the edges. Flip the chicken breasts, and give them another 3-4 minutes to cook through. Remove to a plate and pat with a paper towel to take off any excess fat or oil.
Drain the grease from the pan you cooked the chicken in, and set it back on medium-high heat. Whisk the sauce again to make sure that the honey hasn't settled to the bottom, then pour it into the pan. Reduce for 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens somewhat, then pour sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.
Serves: 4
Chicken With Bacon And Honey-Balsamic Vinegar Sauce
4 thin sliced chicken breasts (what I actually do here is take 2 whole chicken breasts and butterfly them)
4 slices of bacon
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, very finely minced
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, very finely diced
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
To make the sauce, measure out the balsamic vinegar then add the honey, ginger, rosemary, and 2-3 Tbsp water to the measuring cup. Whisk thoroughly to incorporate the honey, then set sauce aside for a moment.
Slice a shallow cut down the center of each chicken breast. Lay a slice of bacon on top of this little channel for each breast. Heat a non-stick pan with just a very small dash of olive oil -- you won't need a lot, since the bacon will contribute its own fat to the process. When the oil is hot, lay the chicken breasts in the pan bacon side down and turn the heat on the pan down to medium. Salt and pepper the exposed non-bacon sides of the chicken. Shake the pan occasionally to make sure that nothing sticks, and allow the chicken to cook until there's a nice sear on that side and the bacon has cooked through and started to crisp at the edges. Flip the chicken breasts, and give them another 3-4 minutes to cook through. Remove to a plate and pat with a paper towel to take off any excess fat or oil.
Drain the grease from the pan you cooked the chicken in, and set it back on medium-high heat. Whisk the sauce again to make sure that the honey hasn't settled to the bottom, then pour it into the pan. Reduce for 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens somewhat, then pour sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.
Serves: 4
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