Deli Turkey Makeover

Seriously most lunch meat from the grocery seems so unappealing. How do they get that turkey breast so large? What else is in there? Why do you feel a Sahara inspired thirst after having a sandwich?

For years I've catered to my little guy's desire for the ordinary sandwich with nitrate nitrite gluten free organic options, but this week I went one step further. It was cheaper, tastier and more readily used for meals other than a sandwich…the home cooked turkey breast.

The boneless version is easier to slice, but keep the skin on-a little extra insurance from over cooking.

Flavor it up the day before: fresh thyme, rosemary, kosher salt, lots of sliced garlic (!). Combine in a zip top bag, and press out all the air.

The next day preheat oven to 375. Let turkey sit out at least 15 minutes so it doesn't cringe when it hits the oven. Mea culpa, I used my convection this time and it's nothing fancy. Most days it works as a microwave. My 2 pounder took about 40 minutes to hit 165 degrees. And yes I used the meat thermometer. Rest 15 minutes for the juices to settle.

Makes great sandwiches, salads, turkey tetrazzini, pot pie etc.

Slice, serve, eat – B

 

Fork or Spoon Guisada

Despite my best intentions and a blizzard, I never did break out the Ninja this weekend. This after I forged my way to the market like a dedicated postal worker through rain, sleet, snow and manic Jersey drivers to buy the beef and green pepper needed for Slow Cooker Carne Guisada. But alas on Sunday the beef still needed to carne and I was missing several of the hours needed for countertop cooking. No matter! That's where the Dutch oven comes in. Slow cooker carne guisada in half the time.

I used a favorite Martha Stewart recipe, browning meat and softening veggies stovetop, before combininglot and setting it in a 350 oven for almost 3 hours.

Here's the pic and the question, fork or spoon?

 

Dig in – B

Note : as written in the recipe, great in tortillas!

 

U Need Granita?

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Brief but meaningful. Take unloved fruit (melon, pineapple, citrus, stone), purée with 2-3 tablespoons sugar, add a shot of citrus. Taste, adjust.Park in the freezer in shallow dish. Scrape with a fork, from the outside towards the center every 30 minutes for a couple of hours.

Voila, granita!

 

FYI if it freezes too hard, let it sit counter top for 15 minutes. Then scrape again.

Done, delicious, FAT FREE! B

 

Breakfast with Nemo

 

I wanted to up the game for my French toast. But I had no cream, no brioche, etc. I did have the usual suspects – bread, eggs, 1% milk, heavy duty butter. I mini searched the Internet and came across the following recipe. It's how I usually make French toast with the addition of flour in the batter.

Also, I use a generous amount of butter in the skillet for “frying”. After all I did use 1% milk. Orange zest is a great addition too!

Try it, you'll like it – B

 

TV dinner (& dumplings)

 

My cast iron skillet hadn't seen the light of day in…well, in so long I can't date it. Talking to Julie Hearne on SiriusXM 110 (The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook) shamed me into trying something other than fried chicken or corn bread – seriously, the only reasons I bought it.

She said make chicken and dumplings and I did! More self-appreciation as I used up a couple of cups of cooked chicken, a handful of frozen peas and the already opened box of chicken stock.

So super simple.

Chicken base

1 1/2-2 cups cooked chicken, bite size pieces

2 tablespoons veggie oil of choice

Medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced thin

2-3 carrots, sliced thin

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, less if dried

1-2 cups chicken stock (sorry I didn't measure)

Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Heat skillet, add oil & onions over medium heat. Soften a few minutes, then add carrots & celery. Salt and cook until tender. Add thyme and flour. Cook a minute or two. Add broth, but not so much it is soupy. It will start to thicken. Add chicken. Cook until bubbly, adjust liquid, re-season with salt & pepper. Top with tablespoons of dumpling dough to cover. Bake 350 for 20 minutes.

Dumplings

I pulled the dumpling measurements from Martha Stewart, minus the dill I didn't have. It's flour, salt, baking powder, milk.

No top for my skillet made a crustier top on the dumplings. Feel free to cover if you like 🙂

Dig in, spoon optional-B

Wanton Wonton Soup

 

..as in I threw my usual weekday caution of time to the wind. It never ceases to amaze me how slowly I assemble wontons. And I'm not exactly showcasing form over function. Chefs in China study dumpling making for years. I can't compete, basically because I can't pleat. No matter, these wontons taste terrific. I use my friend Nancy McDermott's Quick & Easy Chinese as a benchmark for the dumplings.

For the broth, I lightened my mom's chicken soup with a little water, added a couple slices of ginger, a little soy sauce, salt and shredded cabbage (one head of savoy lasted 2 weeks and supported at least half a dozen dishes! Go folate & vitamin C!).

Filling

1 lb ground pork

2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger

4 scallions chopped

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup shredded Savoy cabbage

1 teaspoon s

1/2 teaspoon sugar

I could only find square dumpling wrappers so I place the filling in the middle and bring two opposite corners together to make a triangle. Then I bend the two furthest corners to the middle of their straight line so they touch. Water makes wonton wrappers stick like glue – use it on all the edges.

Note: Nancy's recipe calls for spinach – I subbed cabbage. It also calls for sesame oil and I'm out. Last note-her dumplings are potstickers, notable for getting a crust in a fry pan and using steam to finish them. Fabulous alternative to floating them in soup.

Enjoy–B

Roast Chicken & Potatoes

I knew it! I knew if eating depended on a child, and the child was hungry enough, food would get into the oven!

Tonight we (we!) bring you…roast chicken & potatoes. I prepped the chicken, and left out the ingredients for the potatoes. The 14 year old did the rest, proving if you want to reach that generation, text the instructions!

Also I tried something new with the chicken. From Zuni Cafe's Judy Rodgers I learned to kosher salt a smallish bird the night before roasting, maybe even longer. But from my brining friends I've also learned to experiment with extra seasoning.

Roast Chicken

Sprigs of fresh rosemary

Tracings of fresh thyme

1 orange, sliced

1 tablespoon salt & pepper mixed

**garlic cloves would be great too

Bathe the chicken with some fresh OJ, stuff the rest of the slices in and around, herbs, salt and pepper. Fridge overnight. Bring to room temp 30 minutes before roasting. Preheat oven to 375. Bake until breast hits 165 on meat thermometer. After resting, both of us, I also check thigh temp.

Potatoes

1 quart fingerlings

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary – no stems

6 cloves garlic in skin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pepper if desired

Toss all ingredients together. Roast at 375 for at least 45 minutes. Squeeze garlic over pototoes.

Dine, enjoy-B

 

Meatless & Mexican Monday

“This is a good dinner.” Hallelujah, praise the stove…a teenager complimented the quesadillas. And I pulled it together in less than 30 minutes, though I cheated on the corn.

I like quesadillas because you can pretty much cater to any taste. Plus it’s a great way to use leftovers. In my case the spinach was set to expire. I knew I could get it into them if I jammed some other favorites around the greens. In this case mushrooms, onions, and lighter fat cheese. Adding leftover roast beef to the most avid carnivore’s quesadilla was pure genius (thank you). I pulled a Martha recipe, but feel free to find your own inspiration. There is nothing I won’t throw with cheese into tortillas.

Btw…this recipe calls for baking the quesadillas. Feel free to “burn” ’em in a skillet.

As for the side…my friend Barbara Sibley, chef and owner of La Palapa Cocina Mexicana gave me the recipe and the queso mix when she came on my radio show. I just reduced the portions and cut the corn off the cob for lazy eaters.

Elote del Mercado

Roast Corn on the Cob Seasoned with Lime, Mayonnaise, Queso Cotija and Chile Piquín

12 ears of corn on the cob, partially husked

3 qt water

2 T sugar

2 T salt

2 limes cut in half

½ cup of Mayonnaise

½ cup grated queso añejo, parmesan or ricotta salata may be substituted

1 teaspoon chile piquín powder

1 teaspoon spanish paprika


1. In a shallow bowl mix the queso añejo, chile piquín and spanish paprika and set aside.

2. Remove the outer leaves from each ear of corn, leaving a single layer of corn husks protecting the corn kernels.

3. In a 8 quart stock pot bring 3 quarts of water to boil. Add the sugar and salt.

4. Boil the corn in the water for approximately 8 minutes or until corn is cooked.

5. Remove from the water and drain well. Wrap each corn cob with aluminum foil and place on the grill turning every three minutes. Gill 6 minutes or until the kernels are lightly browned. Remove from heat and unwrap.

6. The corn husks may then be pulled down to create a “handle” with which to hold the corn.

7. Rub a lime over all the kernels. Then using a pastry brush, brush the kernels with mayonnaise. Sprinkle the mayonnaise with the queso and chile mixture.

enjoy!–B

 

Friday Fried Rice

Real conversation:

Son: “Mom, what's for dinner?”

Me in fetal position on sofa: “Leftover lo mein.”

Son: “I don't want that.”

Me (inside voice) “I don't care.”

Son: “Isn't there anything else?”

Me (also inside guilty voice) “I had lunch at Le Bernadin. Maybe I should make something.”

Me (last inside voice) “I could use up the leftover ingredients from the lo mein and leftover rice…will seem like new dish!”

Son: “Well?”

Me (aloud) “OK, I'm getting up.”

15 minutes later…

Friday fried rice:

2 eggs whisked

Leftover rice already cooked (about 1 cup dried)

1 medium onion chopped

2 carrots sliced

Hand sized hunk of napa or any other cabbage, shredded

A mug of frozen peas cooked in microwave 2 ish minutes

4 scallions chopped

Veg oil

Soy sauce

Salt

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Heat large non stick skillet. Swirl 2 teaspoons oil. Add eggs and let set like an omelette. Remove from pan, fold like paper airplane cut to match size of cabbage. Set aside. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Sautée onion medium heat, getting a little color. Add carrot – ditto. Add cabbage and sprinkle of salt, soften. Peas in, scallions too. Stir, combine rice and egg. Soy sauce to taste.

Serve, eat-B

p.s. find the humblebrag for bonus points!

 

5 Minute Super Guac

 

 

I bought the wings. I made the guacamole.

Seriously, the bucket o' wings was on sale at Whole Foods while supplies lasted. I practically tackled a small family considering the last buffalo wings.The guacamole is better made and eaten, although keeping a pit in it and plenty of lime juice keeps the browning at bay.

2 ripe avocados

2 tablespoons white or red onion, finely chopped

1 vine ripened tomato, chopped

Handful chopped cilantro, stems removed

1 jalapeño, finely chopped

1 juicy lime, or more

Salt

Mash the avocado. Stir in onion, tomato, cilantro, jalapeño. Lime and salt to taste.

Chip, dip, enjoy the game-B