Pot Roast: Is it the ultimate comfort dish?

"The weather outside is frightful"...it' cold, cloudy meaning dreary outside with snowflakes falling...what better way to spend an afternoon than cooking...these types of days speak to me of having comfort food for a Sunday dinner...growing up, I recall Mom usually cooking Sunday dinner and, especially during the winter, the meal consisted of something the made me feel warm and filling...the house is filled with the delicious aroma of the food being cooked...I hope those of you who are reading this blog have wonderful memories of Sunday dinners with your family...once my inner foodie kicked in as an adult, I love emulating these memories in our home...this more so with Christmas only weeks away.

 

The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook is the oldest cookbook in the collection...I actually think this is a cookbook that Tony had...I mainly use this cookbook because, at Christmas, which is the time of the year I cook a whole turkey, it has pretty accurate cooking times for poultry.

I had been thinking of cooking a pot roast for some time; it's been some time since I last cooked pot roast...I love the flavour of the meat,  how the potatoes and carrots absorb the flavours from the spices and liquid its cooking in...my biggest decision was whether to either make mashed potatoes or cook them with the meat...I chose to put the potatoes in the pot with the meat and carrots...I must admit that I varied how I'm cooking the meat from the recipe in the cookbook...there are many recipes for cooking pot roast, like this one...If you have a slow cooker, again there are many recipes, such as this one...however you decide to cook a pot roast, just make it flavourful and with lots of love...I kept my recipe fairly simple...first, I salt and peppered the meat, then seared both sides...I next sautéed onions with lots of garlic, deglazing with red wine.

 

I returned the meat to the pan and also prepared a sauce of balsamic vinegar, worchestershire sauce and BBQ sauce as well as filling the pan with (no salt added) beef stock...I nestled the potatoes and carrots in the pan along with fresh oregano, thyme and bay leaves tied with cheesecloth to easily remove it from the pan...I find doing this as opposed to chopping the herbs it a more effective way of infusing the flavours of the herbs into the sauce and food...I put a lid on the Dutch oven and into the oven at 325 degrees to slow cook for several hours...the house fills with the aroma, even upstairs...after several hours, or longer if you like, the meat is filled with all of the flavours and the potatoes and carrots, aside from being softened, are coloured and ever so tasty.

For a side, I made a salad...I was going to roast some cauliflower with cumin, but I'll leave that for another dish and time.
 
 Here is a pot roast recipe to use as a guide...try using different ingredients to make the recipe your own.

 

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil 

1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

2 cups coarsely chopped onion 

1 cup dry red wine 

4 thyme sprigs 

3 garlic cloves, chopped 

1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth 

1 bay leaf 

4 large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces 

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces 

Fresh thyme leaves (optional) 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350º.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chuck roast with salt and pepper. Add roast to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove roast from pan. Add onion to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender.

Return browned roast to pan. Add the red wine, thyme sprigs, chopped garlic, beef broth, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a simmer. Cover pan and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until the roast is almost tender.

Add carrots and potatoes to pan. Cover and bake an additional 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf from pan; discard. Shred meat with 2 forks. Serve roast with vegetable mixture and cooking liquid. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

 
 

Chicken Cacciatori

I've been thinking of cooking this dish for some time...the first time I had chicken Cacciatori, I asked my mother to cook it way back when I was a teen...now, I'm not sure when my foodie kicked in, but I know it was not when I was a teenager; especially my love of Italian food...Growing up, I was always around good food and cooks...my grandmother cooked for wealthy families in Chicago and the holidays, her home was filled with great food...my uncle was a phenomenal cook, having been a chef on a famous train line...my aunts must have have learned well from my grandmother...recently, my mother told me that she did not like cooking, however, when I asked for this dish, she found a way to make it for me...I'm not sure why I wanted chicken Cacciatori, but I'm glad Mom made it for me (she found a mix and the chicken was cooked in a cellophane bag, I recollect that it tasted good...I'm also not sure if I ever has chicken Cacciatori as an adult...it basically is stewed Italian chicken...I just know that I have never cooked this Cacciatori dish.

 

The other thing is the cookbook that I found the recipe in: Williams-Sonoma has its own line of cookbooks and they were sold in sets of 4 as well...I also went to their website for the recipe and it's slightly different than in the cookbook I have...but, you know me, I tend to very the recipe anyway...the online recipe uses bacon, I used pancetta, also bacon and I pity da fool who doesn't like bacon...I used red wine which is in the cookbook and little chicken stock, as in the online recipe...here is the online recipe...the recipe I'm using will be at the end of the blog.

If you don't know how to cut a whole chicken into its individual pieces, here is a video...I love using the Dutch oven when cooking dishes such as this one.

The string coming out is wrapped around the cheesecloth containing the sprigs of thyme and oregano...the recipe had the fresh thyme and oregano chopped, I wanted the essence of these spices infused in the sauce...I also simmered the chicken for a couple of hours which is longer than the recipes stated...as the chicken simmers, the aroma is filling the kitchen...I guess you could simmer this in the oven at 300 degrees for 2 hours.

I cooked two side with the Cacciatori: roasted potatoes with smoked paprika and lemon juice and cheddar biscuits with garlic...I thought the biscuits would be great for dipping in the sauce...please note that there will be lots of sauce that can get use elsewhere (such as with rice, pasta or polenta).

I must admit that I really had a fun time making this dish and I hope when you try this recipe, it's very tasty.

Chicken Cacciatore with Polenta

 

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs and 4 drumsticks, bone-in, skin-on
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 medium orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 10 oz fresh cremini or white button mushrooms, brushed clean
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup hearty red wine
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 tsp ground dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 cup non-instant polenta (coarse cornmeal), cooked

Instructions

1. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces, four at a time to avoid over-crowding - and fry until both sides are browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining chicken and transfer to a plate.
2. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute another 5 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Add the dried herbs and red pepper flakes.
3. Add the red wine and bring it to a boil over heat heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and ground porcini mushrooms. Stir to combine and return to a boil. Return the chicken to the Dutch oven and cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, showing no signs of pink when cut into near the bone.
4. Transfer the chicken to a warmed platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Return the sauce to a boil over high heat and cook until it has thickened a little, 3-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Dish out the polenta onto four plates, arrange two pieces of chicken on top of each serving of polenta, and spoon the sauce and vegetables over the chicken and polenta. Serve immediately.

 

 

Chocolate Brownies

I'm sorry for not having posted any cooking blogs and for the shortness of this blog...I just wanted to write something today that gives me pleasure.

I have always like chocolate, however, I'm not sure when I started loving brownies...I don't remember having them as a child, teenager or young adult...but truly fancy them now...diets be damned if I get cravings for brownies...I'm also fussy about the brownies I like (I can already hear the "no, really" comments)...I prefer the chewy, gooey kind, especially with nuts, either pecans or walnuts...not a big fan of the cake type brownies; if I want chocolate cake, I'll bake a cake...before I started making brownies from scratch, I used a boxed mix - it's quick and easier - but I really like making them from scratch; melting the chocolate, mixing the ingredients, licking the bowl.

The recipe I use Is from Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated...unfortunately, their recipe is only available from their website if you subscribe to the magazine...however, I was able to find the Baking Illustrated recipe here.

For baking, I always for the ingredient amounts; however, some techniques I will improvise...such as melting the butter and dark chocolate; I did not melt them in a heat proof bowl over water as the recipe says, I melted them in a nonstick pot, watching carefully that the mixture did not burn...I also did not melt both the semisweet and dark chocolate, I saved the semisweet for the batter so it will melt while baking...I wish I had some nuts to put into the batter, but I'm hoping for a molten chocolate experience with these brownies.

I usually bake the mixture for 25 minutes, then using a toothpick, I test to see if the brownies are how I want them...not cake brownies, just molten goodness...this usually will take about another 2 to 3 minutes longer....I love how the brownies smell and it's filling the kitchen air with chocolate.

See the brownie crumbs on the end of the cake tester, this is what I'm looking for...gave Mother the first piece of, as she said, "warm brownie, hmm, hmm, hmm." 

French Comfort Food

Even though, technically, it's still summer, the weather have turned cooler...usually, with fall, maybe when September comes in, we start thinking of food that will warm us...food that makes us yearn for something Mom is cooking and the aroma from her cooking makes us feel loved and warm...French cuisine does not immediately come to mind, but many comfort meals have a basis in French cuisine...the herbs that are used (bouquet garni for instance) comes from this cuisine...peasant food, such as Pot-au-feu, was enjoyed by the poor and rich...stews were meant to be hearty because it has to sustain a person for a long time...I love stews that have simmered for hours, cooking slowly so all of the flavours are developed into the sauce of the stew as well as the meat being used...if I had started this earlier, I would let this simmer for 3 or more hours, maybe even have used the slow cooker or, better yet, in the oven at 250 to cook slower.

 

After finally taking off the cellophane on Jacques Pépin's cookbook, I found a recipe I hope will satisfy everyone...it's a pork and bean stew, however, I think I will add a few other ingredients to this stew...this recipe is actually from Jacques' wife, who is Puerto Rican, so it's technically not French, but definitely French influenced...by the way, this is beautifully done cookbook with lots of stories accompanying the recipes...if you can find this cookbook, it's a must have, even if you brag that you a cookbook by this wonderful man.

As you can see, I'm taking some short cuts in this recipe...Chef Pépin would not use canned bean (I think he wouldn't) and the meat he uses is country-style or shoulder pork chops; this type of cut meat is not available in Canada (I have never seen it here in Toronto), but I know country-style is available in the U.S...I'm using a pork shoulder and adding carrots and potatoes to the dish because I feel that if I'm cooking a stew, it should resemble one, in part...I'm also going to add some dry white wine to impart more flavour to the stew...I will cut the pork into cubes to evenly cook the meat...yes, I will trim the majority of the fat (healthy eating sucks some times, lol), but retain some fat for what, FLAVOUR...yeah, you're catching on.

I wonder what Chef Pépin would think of my meat cutting skills, lol...very amateurish no doubt...he wrote a book on cooking techniques, including sections on knife skills...I've not read this book but I knew of it and of him being renown for these techniques.

Simmer away...I sautéed the onions until they were soft, then added the garlic, cooking until fragrant...followed by the cut up pork, browning the meat...I seasoned with herbs du Provence and pepper...I have not added any salt, as yet, since the pork has some amount of salt...however, once the stew is done cooking, taste it and add salt if necessary...the wine goes in now to flavour the meat and to cook off the alcohol...I used no salt added canned diced tomatoes and low sodium cannellini beans...simmering on medium/low heat...don't forget to add the bay leaves like I almost did...I also did not use a jalapeño pepper to make it spicy...it smells wonderful up in here...I was going to make some cheddar biscuits, but Tony bought a baguette yesterday, we can use that for dipping into the stew.

Two and a half hours later, we are ready to eat...surprisingly, the meat and stew was not salty, but the pork was tender...the stew was somewhat thick which I like...if anyone tries this recipe, I suggest cooking it on a Sunday and have as a family dinner.

Bon appétit.

Pork and Bean Stew

• 1 Tbs canola oil
• 1 1/2 lbs country-style pork loin spareribs
• 4 cups cold water
• 1 medium carrot cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 medium onions cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 10 oz)
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 16 oz can whole tomatoes
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 lb dried red kidney beans, picked over and rinsed
• 1 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves chopped separately (1/3 cup chopped stems, 3 Tbs chopped leaves)
• Tabasco (we used Frank’s)

Brown the pork on all sides over medium-high heat in the oil until they were thoroughly browned.  This process took about 15 minutes and I got a lovely sear.  After that, all of the other ingredients were added to the pan except for the cilantro leaves and Tabasco.  Yes, the beans were dry.  The last photo shows the mixture just as it was coming to a boil – and the small amounts of foam that I was supposed to scrape out of the pan (I did a fine, fine job rinsing the beans!).  At this point, it was cover and simmer for a bit over 2 hours.

At the end of this time, what liquid was left was nice and thick and my beans were perfectly tender.  The pork was beyond tender.  A small adjustment of salt and pepper and a bowl of fluffy white rice awaited.  After a quick topping of Frank’s and cilantro leaves, I was in love with my country ribs thanks to Jaques.

 

The Obvious Choice

On the suggestion of a good friend and the fact that I have many, many, many cookbooks, she suggested doing a blog wherein I cook a recipe from each cookbook...after thinking about this suggestion for a hot minute, I thought, how brilliant...then I thought, if I do this, then the recipes must consist of ones I have either never tried or wanted to try...the picture below only details some of the cookbooks I have accumulated over the years, either as gifts or purchased.

 I felt that there should be a rhymn and reason to the blog...should the recipe consist of only doing a main course or coupled with a dessert? Adjust to make it healthy or just follow the recipe as is? I feel that in doing this blog, I will make tweaks to the recipes; however, if it's a baking recipe for cakes, etc., I will follow that recipe to the letter.

As this is the first entry, I decided that (and considering how far I take this blog), it should evolve into incorporating various courses.

So, the first cookbook I'm using is the obvious choice:

Those who know me will say, "duh!" because of my fondness for grilling.…they may also say that I already have grilled everything and this is not even a challenge my grilling skills...maybe, but I have to try just to see what is in the cookbook that I want to try to grill.

First, I have to acknowledge my friends Beylah and Rose, for giving me this cookbook as a birthday gift, oh, maybe three years ago and I'm finally using it...but which recipe shall I use? Shall I grilled beef, chicken, pork, lamb or vegetables? The cookbook contains over 400 pages of a combination of recipes, a section for grilling for beginners as well as sections describing where the various cuts of meat comes from, cooking times and sauces and marinades. When it comes to recipes, people know that I generally incoporate bits and pieces from various recipes to have one recipe...I've decided to go with a spice rub instead of a marinade for the steak (if you clip the link on "steak", it take you to the recipe)...however, I am not making the chutney that is indicated in the recipe...however, I am making Panzanella (the link is to a recipe from Ina Garten).

Here are my ingredients for the steak rub and Panzanella:

For the rub, I used two ingredients not listed in the recipe from Weber: smoked paprika and granulated garlic...also, there was leftover spice rub to use for another occasion; possibly for grilling salmon or some other type of fish...I let the spices season the steak for a couple of hours...for the Panzanella, I'm also adding cilantro and heirloom tomatoes...I added some minced herbs consisting of oregano and rosemary...I've not had Panzanella since I was in Italy three years ago...the favours the I remember most is, well obviously, garlic, but also the taste of the Roma tomatoes and the dressing...Ina Garten's dressing uses champagne vinegar, I did not have this, so I used white wine vinegar with a touch of honey.

The BBQ grill I have uses charcoal and, if you have not grilled this way or tasted food cooked on a grill, try this method...I grew up having family BBQs using charcoal...but when I moved to Toronto and we purchased our first house, we had a propane BBQ grill which was fine; however, I longed for having a charcoal grill...when we moved into our new house, I insisted on getting a charcoal grill and even our friends look forward to having BBQs here...there is nothing like the smokiness that is infused into the meats from charcoal...I even "toasted" the bread for the salad on the grill.

 

The smoke from the grill is blowing in the wind...the other meats are lamb chops.

Well, Sunday dinner is ready and smells so good.

Ingredients FOR THE RUB: 
2 teaspoons paprika 
2 teaspoons chili powder 
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
1 teaspoon light brown sugar 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
1 teaspoon freshly ground blackpepper 
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
 
 Ingredients for Panzanella 
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Coarsely chopped cilantro 

Minced oregano and rosemary

For the vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and minced herbs. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.