So...I have this thing for peppers. All sorts of peppers...chiles really - especially the awesome variety of chile peppers that the CSG I belong to offers.
I used to simply dry them to make my own pepper flakes...then I started putting some in gespacho and home made salsa....but now that I have 2 young boys who aren't as into "spicy" as their daddy an I, it's a challenge to find ways to use them.
Something my husband and I have enjoyed for a number of years is a casserole made with some of the larger, milder varieties.
But there's always the issue of what to do with the hotter small ones...this year I found an answer! Chiles Al'olio uses some of the smaller peppers to make a sauce that goes nicely over pasta, ravioli or grilled fish, pork or poultry.
Hot Pepper Gratin
Large Chiles - (hungarian, banana, poblano, anaheim etc) about 2 per person - or as many as you feel like making
Cheese - your favorite - I've used cheddar, monterey jack and goat cheese
corn meal or bread crumbs
fresh or canned tomato
salt
pepper
oregano
garlic powder
slice chiles length-wise, seed and core
stuff the chiles with cheese and sprinkle some corn meal or bread crumbs into each
Place them in a corning or other casserole baking dish
If using fresh tomatoes slice and place slices over the chiles
if using canned tomatoes, chop and place tomatoes over the chiles
Sprinkle a little more corn meal or crumbs over the top
Sprinkle additional seasonings
Cover and bake until the chiles are soft and cheese is bubbly.
Chiles Al'Olio
Several long thin chiles such as cayenne or serrano - any with medium heat
Bunch of parsley
Several large cloves of garlic
1/3-1/2 C olive oil
Slice the stems off of the chiles and discard.
Continue slicing the chiles cross wise in 1/4 inch rounds
Remove stems and chiffonade parsley
Mince garlic
Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan
add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the peppers are soft.
Serve over your favorite grilled meat or pasta
Showing posts with label sauces. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sauces. Show all posts
Friday, October 02, 2009
Friday, August 07, 2009
Sage!
Verity over at The Light Garden reminded me of one of my favorite summer sauces for pasta today....Sage Butter Sauce.
It is so easy, simply melt butter till bubbly and add sage leaves (I usually chiffonade mine).
Let the butter brown a bit (but DON'T burn it); the sage leaves will crisp up a bit and let off a sublime aroma. Pour that over the pasta and add a healthy amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese. YUMM!
She also asked about other ways to use the sage from her herb garden - which is abundant now.
Usually when sage is abundant I pick it and dry it.
It dries easily in just a few days on some paper towels on the counter or strung up.
Once it's dry (crispy to touch) I put it in an empty glass jar or zip-top bag for use in autum/winter cooking, because I think its flavor goes best with roasts and such.
I use a lot of sage when I make bread 'stuffing' or 'dressing' to go with roasted meats and also just on the meats themselves.
In cooler months when roasting chicken, lamb or porkloin for instance, I rub the meat with olive oil, mince up a bunch of rosemary & sage and sprinkle liberally with that, slivers of garlic and salt & pepper.
In the summer I do more grilling and make a simple marinade from olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. I add to that whatever herbs are abundant at the moment. If I'm in the mood sage can work well there too.
It is so easy, simply melt butter till bubbly and add sage leaves (I usually chiffonade mine).
Let the butter brown a bit (but DON'T burn it); the sage leaves will crisp up a bit and let off a sublime aroma. Pour that over the pasta and add a healthy amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese. YUMM!
She also asked about other ways to use the sage from her herb garden - which is abundant now.
Usually when sage is abundant I pick it and dry it.
It dries easily in just a few days on some paper towels on the counter or strung up.
Once it's dry (crispy to touch) I put it in an empty glass jar or zip-top bag for use in autum/winter cooking, because I think its flavor goes best with roasts and such.
I use a lot of sage when I make bread 'stuffing' or 'dressing' to go with roasted meats and also just on the meats themselves.
In cooler months when roasting chicken, lamb or porkloin for instance, I rub the meat with olive oil, mince up a bunch of rosemary & sage and sprinkle liberally with that, slivers of garlic and salt & pepper.
In the summer I do more grilling and make a simple marinade from olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. I add to that whatever herbs are abundant at the moment. If I'm in the mood sage can work well there too.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Beer Braised Pot Roast - ala Renee
Step 1: Look up all the Pot Roast recipes on FoodTV.com and scan them for ideas.
Step 2: Look in your refrigerator/pantry and see what you've got
Then wing it! My version of winging it is described in minute detail below...
I have included approximate measurements for those who need them, but keep in mind I did no actual measuring when I made this.
Season 3-4 lb chuck roast liberally with salt, pepper and cumin.
In a dutch oven or other big pot that can go from stove top to oven...(I used my 10Q stock pot)
Brown the meat on all sides in olive oil
(OK, so I used a little bacon fat cause we'd been bad and had bacon that morning) But I would use olive oil if I didn't have the bacon drippings.
Remove the roast from the pot and toss in sliced onion (2 C), chopped garlic (5 Cloves), chopped celery (1/2 C), chopped carrot small dice (1/2 C) sprinkle with salt and pepper and let these items saute while you prepare the larger veggies.
Chop into large pieces, 3 carrots, 4 small white turnips, and about 1/2 lb medium potatoes
Toss into pot and stir around
5 oz white mushrooms - cut in half,
5 oz - small baby bella mushrooms - left whole,
Toss into pot and stir around
1 medium oyster mushroom cut up into small pieces
Toss into pot and stir around
Open one of your favorite brews (we used Blue Moon Belgian Wheat)
Pour in enough to cover the bottom of the pan and scrape to deglaze.
When through pour in the rest of the beer
Fill the bottle with water and pour that in too.
Next add the seasonings, some salt, pepper
a couple of bay leaves
oregano,
cinnamon,
allspice,
ginger,
more cumin,
coriander
celery seed
Worcestershire sauce
Stir around and make a well for the meat.
Put the meat back in the pot getting as many of the veggies out from under it as you can
If the liquid does not come at least 3/4 of the way up the sides of the roast open another beer and do equal parts beer/water
Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Preheat oven to 325 - and make sure racks are in position to fit the large pot.
When the pot is at a boil, put it in the oven and braise for 2 - 21/2 hours.
When you take it out of the oven, remove the meat from the pot to a serving platter and cover with foil.
Remove the larger veggies to a serving bowl and cover.
Put the gravy back on the stove burner and bring back to a boil.
Add about 1/3 cup (frontier organic) mushroom gravy mix
And a splash of red wine vinegar (or cider vinegar) skip this if all you have is white vinegar
Or if you are a purist - use some arrowroot or cornstarch to thicken the existing gravy
When the gravy begins to thicken use a stick blender to puree the remaining veggies into the gravy.
Serve! YUMMMMMM!
Step 2: Look in your refrigerator/pantry and see what you've got
Then wing it! My version of winging it is described in minute detail below...
I have included approximate measurements for those who need them, but keep in mind I did no actual measuring when I made this.
Season 3-4 lb chuck roast liberally with salt, pepper and cumin.
In a dutch oven or other big pot that can go from stove top to oven...(I used my 10Q stock pot)
Brown the meat on all sides in olive oil
(OK, so I used a little bacon fat cause we'd been bad and had bacon that morning) But I would use olive oil if I didn't have the bacon drippings.
Remove the roast from the pot and toss in sliced onion (2 C), chopped garlic (5 Cloves), chopped celery (1/2 C), chopped carrot small dice (1/2 C) sprinkle with salt and pepper and let these items saute while you prepare the larger veggies.
Chop into large pieces, 3 carrots, 4 small white turnips, and about 1/2 lb medium potatoes
Toss into pot and stir around
5 oz white mushrooms - cut in half,
5 oz - small baby bella mushrooms - left whole,
Toss into pot and stir around
1 medium oyster mushroom cut up into small pieces
Toss into pot and stir around
Open one of your favorite brews (we used Blue Moon Belgian Wheat)
Pour in enough to cover the bottom of the pan and scrape to deglaze.
When through pour in the rest of the beer
Fill the bottle with water and pour that in too.
Next add the seasonings, some salt, pepper
a couple of bay leaves
oregano,
cinnamon,
allspice,
ginger,
more cumin,
coriander
celery seed
Worcestershire sauce
Stir around and make a well for the meat.
Put the meat back in the pot getting as many of the veggies out from under it as you can
If the liquid does not come at least 3/4 of the way up the sides of the roast open another beer and do equal parts beer/water
Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Preheat oven to 325 - and make sure racks are in position to fit the large pot.
When the pot is at a boil, put it in the oven and braise for 2 - 21/2 hours.
When you take it out of the oven, remove the meat from the pot to a serving platter and cover with foil.
Remove the larger veggies to a serving bowl and cover.
Put the gravy back on the stove burner and bring back to a boil.
Add about 1/3 cup (frontier organic) mushroom gravy mix
And a splash of red wine vinegar (or cider vinegar) skip this if all you have is white vinegar
Or if you are a purist - use some arrowroot or cornstarch to thicken the existing gravy
When the gravy begins to thicken use a stick blender to puree the remaining veggies into the gravy.
Serve! YUMMMMMM!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Pesto Pasta
When my first son was trying out solid foods, my mother would often be heard to say "Are you sure you want to give him that? It's such a strong flavor"
My opinion was - if I wanted him to like variety and flavor I had to give him variety and flavor from the begining.
I think it worked. To this day both kids have gone through fussy periods, but some of their favorite foods have always been things with FLAVOR.
Take pasta with pesto sauce, they have ALWAYS LOVED it.
I plant as much basil as I can each year and make as much pesto as I can with it before the tomatoes start coming in, because then it's all about the tomato sauce.
This year is no exception. I've got 3 cups of frozen pesto already and we've eaten at least that much fresh on pasta or as a pizza sauce.
And pesto is SIMPLE!
REALLY!!!
Simple Basil Pesto
Approx 1 Cup Basil Leaves
1/4-1/2 C Olive Oil
2 -4 cloves Garlic (to taste)
1/4 - 1/2 C Grated Hard Cheese (Parmesan/Romano etc)
& 1/3 C Nuts (see note)
First rinse and pat dry the basil leaves.
Place the basil, nuts, & garlic in the bowl of your food processor along with about half the oil.
process in pulses adding more oil until it is the consistency of thick paste.
Scrape out of the food processor directly onto hot, drained pasta or into a container and refridgerate or freeze.
Note- Traditionalists insist on using pine nuts in pesto. I almost never have those on hand, so I use a variety of other nuts, sometimes in combination - it gives the right texture and a lot of nutrition to the sauce.Over the past few years I have used: Almonds, walnuts, and pecans. But use whatever you like, and whatever you have on hand.
My opinion was - if I wanted him to like variety and flavor I had to give him variety and flavor from the begining.
I think it worked. To this day both kids have gone through fussy periods, but some of their favorite foods have always been things with FLAVOR.
Take pasta with pesto sauce, they have ALWAYS LOVED it.
I plant as much basil as I can each year and make as much pesto as I can with it before the tomatoes start coming in, because then it's all about the tomato sauce.
This year is no exception. I've got 3 cups of frozen pesto already and we've eaten at least that much fresh on pasta or as a pizza sauce.
And pesto is SIMPLE!
REALLY!!!
Simple Basil Pesto
Approx 1 Cup Basil Leaves
1/4-1/2 C Olive Oil
2 -4 cloves Garlic (to taste)
1/4 - 1/2 C Grated Hard Cheese (Parmesan/Romano etc)
& 1/3 C Nuts (see note)
First rinse and pat dry the basil leaves.
Place the basil, nuts, & garlic in the bowl of your food processor along with about half the oil.
process in pulses adding more oil until it is the consistency of thick paste.
Scrape out of the food processor directly onto hot, drained pasta or into a container and refridgerate or freeze.
Note- Traditionalists insist on using pine nuts in pesto. I almost never have those on hand, so I use a variety of other nuts, sometimes in combination - it gives the right texture and a lot of nutrition to the sauce.Over the past few years I have used: Almonds, walnuts, and pecans. But use whatever you like, and whatever you have on hand.
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