Crouton’s Kitchen

A Birthday Dinner with Friends

In these recessionary times, sharing dinner at home with friends is becoming a larger part of our social life.  If it’s a friend’s birthday, so much the better.  Our buddy Rudy from Las Vegas came to visit this weekend; since his birthday is Monday we invited our posse over to celebrate.

Mary Anne, Lorri, Darrell, Rudy, Gail, Ed, Ditalini

Ah, but what was on the table?  Salad, green beans with bacon and onion, seasoned new potatoes, and grilled lamb chops.  Ditalini prepared the salad, beans, and potatoes; I was in charge of the lamb.  Since we prepared everything using the TLAR method (that looks about right), I’ll give you the TLAR version of the recipes:

Salad: Ditalini used a package of mixed greens from the corner Safeway, a small can of mandarin oranges, drained, and a sweet & sour dressing she made from olive oil, vinegar, and sugar.

Green beans with bacon and onion: Ditalini sautéed crumbled bacon and chopped onions in a frying pan.  She boiled the beans until just done, drained them, then tossed them with the bacon and onion.

Ditalini’s beans, just before serving

Seasoned new potatoes: the seasoning was butter with thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and a little pepper, lightly sautéed in a small frying pan.  Ditalini boiled the potatoes (skin on), then mixed them with the seasoning.

Ditalini’s potatoes, just before serving

Lamb chops: I marinated the chops for three or four hours in cheap red wine with some dried rosemary.  I cooked them on a gas grill, about five minutes on each side.

Crouton’s chops, marinating

Mary Anne and Lorri brought a carrot cake from Costco, Darrell brought wine, Gail and Ed brought appetizers, and Rudy had a great birthday dinner.  What a great evening!

Posted in Barbecue & Grilling, Cooking, Salads, Vegetables | No Comments »

Work Less, Cook More

I retired a few days ago, so Ditalini has put me in charge of the kitchen.  We fend for ourselves at breakfast and lunch but I’ve been cooking dinner at night.  Readers of this blog, if there are any, will have noted my preference for one-dish meals, so this week’s menu should come as no surprise:

• Monday, chicken noodle soup
• Tuesday, pad thai with chicken and shrimp
• Wednesday, 15-bean soup with ham
• Thursday, leftover sauce with pasta
• Friday, roast Rudy

Monday’s chicken noodle soup was easy and good.  Ditalina made her little chicken dinner a couple of weeks ago.  Since she had to boil a chicken, she made stock and saved it.  I used two cups of Ditalini’s stock, two cans of store-bought chicken stock, chopped onion, celery, and garlic, two cut-up chicken breasts, and a pinch of salt.  It all went into the pot together.  I brought the soup to a boil, then put it on simmer, covered, for a couple of hours.  For the noodles, I used campanelle, tossing in about half a pound for the last 30 minutes of simmering.  Mmm, comfort food!

Tuesday.  I wish I knew how to make pad thai from scratch.  There’s a Thai cookbook somewhere in the house, so I’ll put that on my to-do list.  For Tuesday’s meal I used a package, which provided the rice noodles and sauce.  I supplemented that with chopped scallions, half a thinly-sliced serrano pepper, a handful of snow peas, chopped cooked chicken from Ditalini’s freezer stash, a dozen peeled shrimp, one scrambled egg, some bean sprouts, and dry roasted peanuts.  I stir-fried the veggies, chicken, and shrimp in a wok, added the cooked noodles and sauce and stir-fried a little more, then added the scrambled egg (cut into squares) and bean sprouts.  We sprinkled peanuts on top and served it with lime wedges, and it was pretty damned good, even if it did come out of a package.  If I do this again, though, I won’t used cooked chicken, because it breaks up quickly when you stir fry it.

As a side dish, I sliced a little red onion, one whole cucumber, and the other half of that serrano pepper.  I put it in a bowl and let it soak all day in the fridge in an equal-parts mixture of sugar, vinegar, and water.

Wednesday.  After dinner last night I put the dried beans in a pot and let them soak while we slept.  This morning I chopped up an onion and three cloves of garlic, drained and rinsed the beans, and put everything back in the pot with two cans of vegetable stock and a little water (enough to cover the beans).  I added a smoked ham hock, five or six whole black peppercorns, and a bay leaf.  I threw away the packet of chili seasoning that came with the beans.  I brought the beans to a rolling boil, reduced the heat to low, and covered the pot.  I’ll let the beans cook a few hours, then add the slice of ham Ditalini has in the fridge, cut into small squares.  That’ll be tonight’s dinner, and there’ll be leftovers.

Thursday — tomorrow — it’s leftover sauce with whatever pasta is handy.  Ditalini’s meat sauce gets better the longer it sits in the fridge or the freezer.

Friday our friend Rudy arrives for the weekend.  He’s taking us out to dinner, so I’m off the hook.  This weekend?  Don’t ask me to think that far ahead!

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Hallowe’en Dinner

Who ever heard of a Hallowe’en dinner?  It’s not that kind of day . . . unless it’s your birthday, and also the day you retire from the 9 to 5 grind.  We fed ten or so guests last night, and I thought I would post a photo or two for you to enjoy.  The menu?  Ditalini’s meat sauce, ravioli, salad, garlic bread, and chocolate pumpkin cake with eyeballs.

Ditalini in her lair.

Crouton blowing out the candle on our friend Mary Anne’s brilliant chocolate pumpkin cake (served with the lychee nut/raspberry “eyeballs” in the foreground).

Note: Crouton and Ditalini sometimes shift their shapes to resemble humans.  A perfect Hallowe’en disguise!

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Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 1 tbs olive or vegetable oil
• 3 lb pot roast
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 3 cups beef stock
• 12 small redskin potatoes (cleaned but not peeled)
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 1 medium parsnip or turnip, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup small pasta, cooked
• 2 tbs parsley, chopped
• fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Season the pot roast with salt and pepper. Heat oil in your pressure cooker (lid off), then brown the pot roast on all sides. Put the roast on a plate and drain the oil from the pressure cooker. Put the pot roast back into the pressure cooker and add the beef stock.

Lock the pressure cooker lid, heat to high pressure, then reduce heat to maintain pressure. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Remove pressure cooker from heat, release pressure, and open lid (follow all your pressure cooker safety instructions). Transfer the pot roast and one ladle of stock to a deep casserole dish. Cover with foil and place in oven.

Skim fat from top of stock in pressure cooker. Add vegetables to stock. Lock lid, bring to high pressure, adjust heat to maintain, cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove pressure cooker from heat, release pressure, open lid, and transfer the vegetables to the casserole, placing them around the pot roast. Return casserole dish to oven.

Boil the pasta, drain, add to the stock remaining in the pressure cooker. Add parsley and stir, season with salt & pepper.

Serve the pot roast and vegetables in the casserole dish. The pot roast will carve easily with nothing more than a serving fork. Serve the broth separately in small bowls, with grated Parmesan cheese.

So you’re saying to yourself, “Who has a pressure cooker?”  You know what?  This dish alone justifies buying one!

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Food Channel’s Got Nothin’ on My Friends

Look at this cake my friend Mary Anne baked today:

Happy Hallowe’en!

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Ditalini’s Little Chicken Dinner

This is a one-dish casserole dinner that’s been a deMenthe family favorite for years.

Casserole Ingredients

• 1/4 lb bulk sausage, crumbled
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• home-made or purchased pie crust
• 2 cups cooked chicken, cut up
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup light cream
• 1 3-oz can mushrooms (with liquid from can)
• 1 8-oz can peas & carrots (drained)

Pie Crust Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup shortening (+ 1 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp water

Directions

Casserole: boil a chicken.  Remove skin, bones; cut up meat.  Cook sausage, drain fat.  Melt butter and stir in flour and salt until mixture is bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in broth, cream, and mushrooms (with liquid from can).  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir one minute.  Add peas & carrots.  Add sausage and chicken.  Pour into an ungreased rectangular casserole pan (13½” X 8¾” X 1¾”).

Pie crust: mix flour & salt in bowl.  Cut in shortening with pastry blender until particles are the size of peas.  Sprinkle with water, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing with fork, until flour is moistened.  Make a ball of the flour, place on lightly-floured cloth-covered board. Roll flat with rolling pin.  Cut to shape and cover casserole, folding sides under.  Cut slits on top.  Or just buy a prepared crust.

Cover casserole with foil, bake 20 minutes at 425º.  Take foil off and cook another 10-15 minutes or until brown on top.

Credits

This recipe originally appeared in a fighter squadron cookbook (the Bulldog Cookbook II, by Linda Tkacs).  It was given to Ditalini by Donna Bruce in Anchorage, Alaska, in October 1983.

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Crouton’s Chili Beans

You can serve these beans by themselves, or with chili con carne.

Ingredients

• 1 bag dried pinto beans
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 2 cans vegetable or chicken stock
• 1-2 cups water
• 2-3 tbsp chili powder
• a few peppercorns
• red pepper flakes

Directions

Preparation: soak the beans in water overnight.  Drain and rinse before cooking.

Place beans in heavy pot.  Add chopped garlic and onion.  Add ham hock.  Cover with vegetable or chicken stock and 1 or two cups water.  Add chili powder, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes (to taste).  Bring to low boil, then reduce to simmer and cover pot.  Cook 2-3 hours.

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Crouton’s Chili con Carne

Over the years I’ve tried chili recipe after chili recipe.  This is the one I finally settled on.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 or 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lb chuck roast or top round steak
• flour, salt, pepper
• 1 small can tomato paste
• chili powder
• cumin
• 2 cans beef stock
• 1 can beer
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small piece baker’s chocolate (optional)
• 3 cans of beans (optional — see notes below)

Directions

Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a heavy pot; pour another into a large frying pan. Brown the onions and garlic in the pot. Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes and coat in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper. Brown the meat in the frying pan. You can use ground beef (in which case forget the flour), but chili con carne is much better with chunks of meat.

Add the tomato paste, 4 tablespoons chili powder, and ½ teaspoon cumin to the browned onions and garlic in the pot. Stir until the mixture forms a roux or paste. Add 1 can of beef stock and the beer. Add the browned meat. Pour your other can of beef stock into the frying pan, scrape in any bits of beef and flour sticking to the pan, then pour into the pot. Add the bay leaf. Add the chocolate or not, as you prefer. Stir, bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to low. Partially cover and cook slowly for 2 to 4 hours.

Serve with grated cheddar cheese and corn bread.

Notes

Chili con carne purists eschew beans.  I like them.  Here are two compromises for bean lovers:

The easy way: add canned beans to the chili con carne about an hour before serving. I dump my beans into a colander and rinse off the thick canning liquid before adding them to the pot. I use a mixture of kidney, pinto, and black beans.

The hard way: make a pot of dried pinto beans from scratch and serve them, in separate bowls, with the chili con carne. Click here for the recipe.

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A Meme for Breakfast

I love a good meme, and here’s one about food! It’s simple: copy it to your own blog, highlight the things you’ve tried, and pass it on.

Here’s my list:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

And who could resist improving his score by adding to the list?

1. Kangaroo
2. Alligator
3. Camel
4. Kouskous
5. Crawdads
6. Artichoke
7. Poi
8. Sashimi
9. Kim chee
10. Bulgogi
11. Gopher
12. Collard greens
13. Dog (in Korea once, I’m almost certain)
14. Saladitos
15. Lutefisk
16. Callos
17. Other than chicken eggs
18. Ostrich

I have a feeling this second part is going to grow.

Credit where credit’s due: spotted at John McKay’s blog.

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A Different Kind of Barbecue

We were having company Sunday.  I wanted to barbecue, but Ditalini wanted Italian food.  So we compromised by having an Italian barbecue.  Here’s the menu:

Grilled Artichokes

We prepped the artichokes a couple of hours before the party by cutting the spiny tips off the leaves, then boiling them until tender.  After taking them out of the water and letting them drain and cool down, I quartered each artichoke and removed the choke with a spoon.  Next I brushed each quarter artichoke with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper, making sure I got all sides.

When it was time to barbecue, I used a spatula to place the artichokes on the grill.  The artichokes, already cooked, were tender and fragile, so I was gentle with the spatula, turning them to grill all sides.  When the artichokes were nicely marked from the grill, I put them on a platter and kept them warm in the oven.  Ideally, you should serve them right away as appetizers, but our friends brought several different appetizers, so we served the artichokes with dinner.

Grilled Italian Sausage & Polenta

First, we boiled the polenta . . . as with the artichokes, this was part of our prep routine, a couple of hours before company was due to arrive.  When the polenta was cooked, Ditalini put it in bread pans and let it cool.  While I was grilling artichokes, she inverted the bread pans over a cutting board so that the polenta came out in loaves, then cut the polenta into half-inch slices.  I grilled it, using a spatula to turn the slices.  Since the polenta was already cooked, all I needed to do was make the outside surfaces crispy.

But before putting the polenta slices on the grill, I grilled the sausage.  We used mild and sweet Italian sausage.  I cut each sausage lengthwise, as you can see in the photo, so that they would lay flat on the polenta when served and also because the oil in the sausage drains out faster that way.  I was careful to keep the sweet sausage on one side of the grill and the hot on the other, and later, when the sausage was grilled, I kept the two kinds of sausage separate on the platter, as in the photo.

Grilled Vegetables

When I’m grilling for the two of us, I use an old pan with a metal handle on the grill to keep the vegetables from falling through the grating, but since we were preparing a lot of veggies for a lot of people (and since I was hogging the entire surface of the grill with sausage & polenta), Ditalini decided to roast them in the oven instead.

Either way, what we do is cut up some good looking vegetables — onions, whole garlic cloves, sliced & seeded red, yellow, and green bell pepper — drizzle a little olive oil on them, then sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Ditalini, as you can see, added zucchini and white asparagus.  When I grill veggies, they cook fast, and I have to keep an eye on them lest they burn.  Roasting took about 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

Note

How to serve grilled sausage & polenta: place a slice of polenta on your plate, then a slice of mozzarella cheese, then a sausage, then a little parmesan cheese.  If you have leftover polenta, fry it in a little butter and have it with your eggs for breakfast.

If all this doesn’t have you humming “funiculi, funicula,” come back and read this entry when you’re hungry.

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Mothers’ Day Menu

Sometimes you get a marriage made in heaven.  Ditalini and I share the same tastes in food, so my Mothers’ Day menu has us both slavering in anticipation.  What am I cooking?  Crouton’s Easy Dry-Rubbed Ribs with corn on the cob and baked beans.  Our friend Dee, a single mother, is coming over to share it with us.  She’s bringing cornbread.

I’m going to shuck the corn, wrap it in foil, and cook it on the grill along with the ribs.  For the beans, I’m cheating today — to a large can of Boston Baked Beans I’ll add some sauteed onion, cooked & crumbled bacon, a little brown sugar, and a few good shakes of hot sauce.  But hey, if you want tasty & easy, it’ll more than fill the bill.  As for the corn bread, I can’t say, but Dee’s a great cook and if she’s willing to share her recipe, I’ll post it to the blog later.

If you’re not cooking dinner for mother today, consider this a challenge.  And if she likes the same food you like, consider yourself blessed!

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Crouton’s Easy Beef Stew

This is a simple one-dish stew you can prepare in the afternoon and serve for supper.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chuck roast, cubed
• flour
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 cans beef stock
• 1 can beer
• peppercorns
• bay leaf
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 6 small red potatoes, halved (skin on)
• 2 carrots, peeled & sliced

Directions

Cut the chuck roast into 1-inch cubes, trim fat & gristle.  Dredge meat in flour mixed with salt & pepper; shake off excess flour.  Heat a small amount of olive oil in a heavy stew pot; add beef and brown.  Remove beef with slotted spoon, set aside.  Add a little more olive and brown the onion & garlic.  When onion starts to turn translucent add 3 cans beef stock.  Stir in flour clinging to pot.  Add the beef, beer, a few peppercorns, and bay leaf.  Cover and cook on low heat for 2-3 hours.

About 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving, add the celery, potatoes, and carrots.  Bring to low boil, uncover, and cook until vegetables are tender.  Serve with crusty bread.

Notes

Any kind of stew meat will do for this recipe, as long as you trim off the fat & gristle.  For tough meats, increase the cooking time.  Sometimes I add a little tomato juice (maybe a quarter of a cup) to jazz up the flavor.  You can also add green beans with the potatoes, celery, and carrots.

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Crouton’s Pasta with Italian Sausage

Here’s another easy pasta dish anyone can make.  It tastes as good as it looks.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• Italian sausage (hot or mild), 3 links
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• broccoli
• black olives
• red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 lb pasta

Directions

To prepare:

Chop onion and slice garlic.  Cut Italian sausage into 1-inch lengths.  Cut bell peppers into wedges, removing seeds and membranes.  Cut heads of broccoli from the stem, discard stem. 

To cook, do all of the following more or less at the same time, using separate pans:

In a small frying pan, lightly sauté onion & garlic in olive oil.  Remove from heat.

In a large frying pan, fry Italian sausage until completely cooked.  If there’s a lot of grease or oil after frying the sausage, drain it off.  Return cooked sausage to pan and add onion & garlic, including the olive oil you used to sauté it in.

Add bell peppers to sausage, onion, and garlic.  Add black olives.  Add salt, pepper, and a few red pepper flakes to taste.  Cook over low to medium heat until peppers are just done.

In a pot, boil or steam broccoli until just cooked.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In another pot, boil the pasta until al dente.

Drain pasta when cooked, put in serving bowl.  Add sausage & bell pepper mix, toss all.  Place broccoli on top.  Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4-6.

Notes

I’ve tried this with both kalamata olives and canned black olives.  The strong flavor of the kalamatas overpower the bell pepper and broccoli, so I recommend using regular canned olives.  I prefer hot Italian sausage; others may prefer mild (and if you prefer mild, you probably won’t want to add the red pepper flakes either).  For the pasta, use something big — rigatoni, penne, rotini, etc.  Crusty French or Italian bread, dipped in olive oil, goes well with this meal.

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Boring Ramen, Not

Ramen is teh bland.  Here’s a way to cure that.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg ramen (oriental flavor)
• 1/4 cup ground sausage
• 2 cups water
• 2 scallions
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 stalks bok choy, with greens
• 1/2 tsp Chinese chili garlic sauce
• 5 or 6 shrimp

Directions

In saucepan, brown ground sausage (I use Jimmy Dean hot sausage).  Break it up as it cooks.  Drain grease.  Add 2 cups water.  Chop scallions, garlic, and bok choy; add.  Bring water to low boil.

Add contents of ramen oriental flavor pack, along with Chinese chili garlic sauce.  Leave at low boil for about five minutes.

About two minutes before serving, chop shrimp into bite sized pieces (I use large frozen cooked and peeled shrimp) and add.

About one minute before serving, add ramen noodles.

Makes one large or two small servings.

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Crouton’s Smoked Pork Spareribs

Ditalini and I love pork spareribs.  Full slab, St. Louis style, Kansas City style, baby back, they’re all good. In an earlier entry, I offered an easy recipe for dry-rubbed baby back ribs that are first cooked in the oven and then finished off on the barbecue grill.  This time I’ll describe something a bit more ambitious: pork spareribs cooked from scratch in a smoker.

Ingredients

• pork spareribs (for this cooking method we recommend full slab, St. Louis, or Kansas City style, but not baby back)
• dry rub (Corky’s, Rendevous, home made)
• wood chips for smoking (mesquite or hickory)
• barbecue sauce (whatever kind you like; our favorite is this stuff)

Directions

Four or five days before cooking, prepare the ribs.  Place ribs meat side down and remove the white membrane from the back side of the ribs, or cut the membrane between each rib with a sharp knife (they say you can work up a corner of the membrane with a sharp knife and then pull the rest of it off, but that never works for me, and I always wind up cutting the membrane between each rib, which works just as well). Coat ribs liberally with dry rub; wrap in aluminum foil and store in refrigerator.

Dry-rubbed ribs just going on the smoker

On cooking day, remove the ribs from the refrigerator and let them return to room temperature.  Soak wood chips in water. Prepare the smoker (we use a Weber Smoky Mountain Cooker).  When the charcoal’s ready, add water to the basin inside the smoker, put the ribs on a rack, cover the smoker, and sprinkle wood chips on the charcoal through the access door.  About once an hour, open the door and add a few fresh charcoal briquets and wood chips.  After about two hours, open the cover and add more water to the water basin.

Smoker (note the access door), spare charcoal, wood chips

The ribs are done when the meat begins to pull away from the ends of the rib bones.  If you’re nervous about relying on your own them-ribs-is-cooked instinct, you can check them with a meat thermometer (160-170 degrees F, being careful not to touch a bone with the thermometer).  Total cooking time should be four to six hours.

Finished ribs (note how the meat is pulling back from the bones)

Serve with anything barbecuish: corn on the cob, potato salad, baked beans, etc.

Trust me — these ribs are worth the time and effort.

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