Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Cornish Hens with Apricot, Port and Balsamic Sauce

Recipe Source: Johnson, Margaret M.  The New Irish Table.  Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2003 p. 74

On one recent soggy Sunday evening, I was preparing to make our Sunday dinner when the phone rang.  It was our close friends with a spontaneous urge for sushi.  Since nothing drives away the gloom of the soggiest weekend anyone can remember for a very long time like the company of good friends, we of course said yes.  There was a stipulation, though.  I'd planned meals for both Sunday and Monday.  In order to avoid food waste, they had to come over and eat our food on Monday, when I made the dishes for both Sunday and Monday.  They were more than happy to agree to this, since Monday was projected to make Sunday look downright dry.  This was the main course.

The funny thing about this recipe is that while it was the most complicated recipe I was making, and certainly the prettiest recipe I was making, it was easily the least impressive in terms of flavor.  The flavors in this dish are very, very mild.  I like big, bold flavors like those found in the Mediterranean.  As a result, I guess I was a little disappointed in the results.  However, the dish was certainly not bad and tasted just right on a nasty, rainy March day.  The only changes I made were to use turkey bacon instead of pork bacon and Lemony Vegetable Broth instead of chicken broth. 

Cornish Hens with Apricot, Port and Balsamic Sauce (Serves 4; approx. $4.30/serving)

2 Cornish hens, halved down the center

8 slices turkey bacon

4 cups Lemony Vegetable Broth

1/2 cup port

1 cup red wine

4 ounces dried unsulphured apricots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• 2 saucepans
• Roasting pan

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Put the hens in the roasting pan with the skin side up. 
3. Sprinkle the halves with pepper and cover with 2 slices of bacon each.
4. Bake 15 minutes. 
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake another 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and discard the bacon.  Really.  (You can go ahead and eat the bacon if you want, or feed it to the dog.)
7. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil and simmer 10 - 15 minutes.  Reduce to about 1 cup.
8. In the second saucepan, combine the port and wine.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup. 
9. Pour the broth into the wine.  Add the apricots and vinegar.
10. Cook 8 - 10 minutes over low heat.  The sauce should be reduced by 1/3 and should be thickened.  Season with salt and pepper. 
11. Plate the hens on a serving platter.  Drizzle with the sauce, serving the remaining sauce on the side.
12. Serve. 

Recipe: Really Easy Smoked Baby Back Ribs (Guest Post from Fearless Grill)

Recipe Source: Original

As I mentioned in my Smoked Pork Chop post, Jess went away last weekend and I decided to indulge in some BBQ pork while she was away. Unfortunately, my usual butcher shop was distinctly lacking in anything useful, but a trip to an alternate store landed me some baby back ribs, as well as a nice pork shoulder for some pulled pork. I decided to make the ribs first, and serve the pulled pork to some friends the next day.

Since I was just cooking for myself, I decided to just make a single rack of baby backs. I had wanted to try something more complex with these, but with a rare beautiful day in March in New England, I decided to do these in a simple way that would leave me free to get some work done in my garden. I therefore decided to make these with store bought flavorings, rather than making my own rub and sauce. I only used a small amount of the rub and sauce, so you could easily make multiple racks with the same technique without needing additional ingredients.

These came out nicely. The texture was perfect with the meat falling off the bone, as you can see in the picture where the rack broke in half when I lifted it out of the smoker. The flavor was pretty good, with a decent amount of smoke flavor paired with the rub and sauce, while still allowing the taste of the meat to come through. I liked the blend of flavors enough that I didn't add any additional sauce when eating. They also worked well with my plan to expend minimal effort on these. I took less than 15 minutes to prep the ribs and sauce them, leaving me all day free to work on other things. This was also a relatively quick cook by BBQ standards. I left for the store at noon, put the ribs in the smoker at 2:30, and was ready to eat by 7:30.

Really Easy Smoked Baby Back Ribs (Serves 1-2. Approx. Cost Per Serving Not Available)

Equipment Required

• Big Green Egg or other smoker

1 rack baby rack ribs (about 2 lbs)

Yellow Mustard

Your favorite rub for pork (I used Dinosaur BBQ Cajun Foreplay)

Your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

1. At least 5 hours before you are ready to eat, set up your smoker for cooking at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. In my large Big Green Egg, I set up for indirect cooking using my plate setter legs up, with a drip pan that I made from tin foil to fit under the rack of ribs.
2. While your smoker comes up to temperature, remove the membrane from the back side of your ribs, using a butter knife worked under the membrane if you can't pull it up from the corner.
3. Coat both sides of the rack with a thin layer of yellow mustard. This acts as a moisturizer and helps hold the rub to the meat. It won't make your finished product taste like mustard. Spread your rub on both sides of the meat, covering the mustard.
4. When the temperature of your smoker stabilizes, add apple or other fruit wood for smoke, put in your ribs meat side up (or in a rack if you're doing multiple racks of ribs) and allow to cook for about 4 hours, or until the meat recedes visibly from the bones.
5. Brush a layer of sauce onto the meat, and allow to cook for another 30 minutes to allow the sauce to set up.
6. Remove and serve immediately.

Recipe: Baked Cheesy Polenta with Tomato Sauce

Recipe Source: 400 Best-Ever Budget Recipes.  Lucy Doncaster, ed.  Anness Publishing, London, 2009 p. 169

Polenta is something I didn't really grow up eating.  I'm trying to find more uses for it now; it counts as a whole grain, so it will probably go a long way toward making our menus a little healthier around here.  Of course, the cheese may offset that to some extent, but you can only go so far.  I did make a couple of changes to this recipe.  I couldn't find quick-cooking polenta anywhere, but some stone-ground cornmeal I received as a gift once worked just as well.  I omitted the sugar from the sauce and increased the amount of garlic.  Finally, I used a delicious Irish cheddar I sampled at the supermarket instead of the more expensive Gruyere called for in the recipe.

Everyone enjoyed the polenta thoroughly.  I'd also like to point out that I originally planned to make this for dinner and then our plans changed when I'd gotten halfway through making the recipe.  The dish did not suffer from the delay and may have even turned out better as a result. 

Baked Cheesy Polenta with Tomato Sauce (serves 4; approx. $1.55/serving)

1 onion, finely chopped

8 garlic cloves, crushed

3 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

1 teaspoon kosher salt

9 ounces stoneground cornmeal

4 cups water

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons olive oil

28 ounces canned diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 bay leaf

Equipment:

• 2 saucepans
• Plastic wrap
• 1 8x8" square baking dish
• Oven-to-table serving dish

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line the baking dish with plastic wrap.
3. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in one of the saucepans. 
4. Add the salt and cornmeal in a steady stream.  Cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. 
5. Add the paprika and nutmeg.  Stir well.
6. Pour into the baking tin and smooth the surface.  Allow to cool.  (If you are doing this ahead of time, cover in more plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Also, turn off your oven and preheat it when you're ready to cook.  I probably don't have to tell you that but it never hurts to be careful.)
7. Combine the oil, garlic and onion in the second saucepan.  Cook until soft.
8. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and bay leaf.  Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste and simmer 20 minutes. 
9. Cut the polenta into squares. 
10. Layer the squares into the oven-to-table dish. 
11. Sprinkle the cheese over the squares, then top with the tomato sauce.
12. Bake 25 minutes.
13. Serve.

Recipe: Spiced Herb Tea

Recipe Source: Botascos, Jim.  The New Greek Cuisine.  Broadway Books, New York, 2006 p. 289

I made an unspiced version of this broth a couple of years agoand I absolutely loved it.  I made the spiced version as part of a different recipe, and decided that it was different enough from the unspiced version to post it.  (As it turns out, the unspiced version would have been more true to the original recipe, but that's all beside the point and will be discussed at a later date.)  The only changes I made to this version was to increase the allspice, cloves and garlic and to swap dill for mint because of my husband's mint allergy.  It was relatively easy to prepare and is versatile enough to use any tie that you might need a light vegetable broth.

Spiced Herb Tea (makes about 8 cups; approx. cost per serving not available)

1 carrot, cut into chunks

1 onion, chopped

2 1/2 quarts water

10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley

10 peppercorns

5 allspice berries

5 whole cloves

5 garlic cloves, crushed

2 bay leaves

2 fresh dill sprigs

1 fresh thyme sprig

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 lemon, halved

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Strainer

1. Combine all the ingredients up to the lemon in the saucepan.
2. Squeeze the lemon halves into the saucepan, then add the spent lemon halves as well.  (This may seem like a minor step, but believe me, it helps.)
3. Put the mixture over low heat and bring to a simmer.  Cook 25 minutes.
4. Set aside to steep 10 minutes.
5. Strain and discard the solids.  Use or freeze. 

Recipe: Thrice-Cooked Jerusalem Artichokes

Recipe Source: Lennon, Biddy White and Georgina Campbell.  Irish Food & Cooking.  Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 185

I think that sunchoke season is probably just about over, which is really too bad.  These tubers are a great little winter vegetable, making tasty and hearty side dishes.  I made this for my in-laws during their last visit here.  I made a couple of changes to the original recipe.  First and foremost, I omitted the salt to accommodate their dietary preferences.  I don't recommend this change unless strictly necessary; salt is an important part of the chemical reaction in most cooking processes.  Secondly, I omitted the butter, also as an attempt to make the recipe "healthier."  Unfortunately, that resulted in some really sickly-looking tubers.  I had to saute them at the end of the roasting period to get the right texture and an appetizing appearance.  Finally, I seasoned the dusting flour with black pepper and dried basil instead of salt.  This added a certain Mediterranean flavor to what was otherwise a pretty Irish dish. 

Thrice-cooked Jerusalem Artichokes (serves 4; approx. $1.17/serving)

1 1/2 pounds Jerusalem artichokes

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup flour

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon dried basil

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Shallow bowl or plate
• Roasting pan
• Large saucepan
• Colander 
• Saute pan

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Fill the bowl with water and the lemon juice.
3. Peel the sunchokes and trim until they're all about the same size.  Drop the pieces into the acidulated water as you cut them.
4. Fill the saucepan with water and bring to a boil. 
5. Boil 5 minutes and drain.
6. Combine the flour, pepper and basil in the shallow bowl.  Dredge the artichoke pieces in the flour and transfer to the roasting pan.
7. Roast 30 minutes; remove from heat.
8. Heat the oil in the saute pan. 
9. Add the Jerusalem artichokes.  Saute just until the vegetables take on a pleasing appearance.
10. Serve.

Recipe: Korean-style Vegetable and Turkey Stew

Recipe Source: Park, Allisa (ed.).  Discovering Korean Cuisine.  Dream Character, Lomita, 2007 pp. 108-9

I love Korean food.  There's something about it that really appeals to me.  Maybe it's the way that every Korean dish I've ever had has been comforting, filling and flavorful without being heavy, fatty and greasy.  Maybe it's the way that the dishes come together to stimulate all the senses.  I'm not sure what it is, but I love Korean food. 

Korean food has been difficult for me to re-create in my own kitchen, though.  Many of the recipes I have call for special ingredients that I haven't found a good source for, and then I've been criticized for not including certain ingredients that I've never heard of and weren't mentioned in the recipe I'm working from but are nevertheless apparently essential for authenticity.  That's why I'm calling this a Korean-style stew instead of a Korean stew. 

As usual, I had to make some changes to the original recipe.  I changed chicken for turkey because I prefer turkey.  I omitted the carrot because I hate carrots, and I didn't need to have 3/4 of a carrot kicking around my refrigerator for the next decade.  I omitted the spinach because I just didn't want to spend the money on a whole bunch of spinach for five leaves.  I couldn't find sweet potato vermicelli, so I used brown rice vermicelli instead.  It's not the same thing, not even close, but at least offers fiber.  I increased the garlic and omitted the sugar for matters of personal taste, which is also why I used honey instead of corn syrup.  (I'm not one of those "corn syrup is evil" people.  I just don't think it offers any flavor.  If I'm going to add calories to a dish, why not add some flavor as well?  And I love the taste of honey.)  Finally, I was absolutely, positively, not going to spend the money on enoki mushrooms.  I could only get them in a mixed pack of mushrooms, none of which I needed for upcoming recipes.  The pack was expensive.  I used shiitakes instead because I could control how many of them I bought!

The result was probably a lot less authentic than it could have been, but really knocked my husband's socks off.  We both enjoyed it tremendously and I'm sure I'll be making this again. 

Korean-style Vegetable and Turkey Stew (serves 2; approx. $8.52/serving)

1 1/2 pounds turkey breast, chopped into 2" pieces

1 potato, sliced into 1" pieces

3 1/2 cups water

5 scallions, chopped

1 onion, sliced

1 serrano chile, sliced

1/4 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

3 ounces brown rice vermicelli, prepared according to package instructions

8 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste

1 tablespoon mirin

2 tablespoons honey

3 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Equipment:

• Large saucepan or wok with lid

1. Combine the chicken, potato, water, garlic, soy sauce, chili powder, hot pepper paste and mirin in the wok. 
2. Boil 20 minutes, covered. 
3. Add the honey, scallions, onion, serrano and bell pepper.  Mix and cook another 5 minutes uncovered.
4. Add the vermicelli and mushrooms.  Do not mix, but cover and cook another 2 minutes. 
5. Gently mix, then serve. 

Recipe: Smoked Pork Chops With Honey-Chili Glaze (Guest Post from Fearless Grill)

Recipe Source: Original

As the regular readers of this site are doubtless aware, Jess developed an aversion to pork while she was pregnant, and although Fearless Baby was born two months ago she's still not willing to try eating it again. However, this weekend, she was off bringing FB to visit her grandparents, so I decided to make up for lost time with some BBQ pork dishes. I had hoped to make ribs and some pulled pork for some friends on Sunday, but unfortunately, our butcher shop is still in winter mode, and had pretty much nothing but a bunch of grey looking corned beef left over from St. Patrick's day. I tried another store the next day. For my dinner, I grabbed some pork chops that looked ok, though I had no idea what I was going to do with them.

Since I hadn't planned to cook pork chops, I didn't really have time to marinate or brine them before dinner, so I needed to come up with another way to flavor them. I decided to start with a spice rub I had left over from a previous pulled pork cook (you can use your favorite rub), quickly sear the meat, and then smoke them over apple wood until they hit 160 degrees Fahrenheit. To provide some additional depth to the flavor and keep them moist, I sprayed the chops with apple cider vinegar while they were smoking. I also decided to add a sweet and spicy glaze for another layer of flavor.

For an ad hoc dish, I was pretty happy with how these turned out. The combination of the rub, vinegar and glaze blended pretty well, and I really liked the flavor of the glaze. The meat came out a little dry for my taste, which I could have offset by brining the chops if I had the time. Although I got a nice smoky flavor, I had no smoke ring at all in the meat, which may have been due to searing the chops before smoking them. If I make these again, I'll try smoking them first, then moving them to medium direct heat to sear the exterior and set up the glaze.

Smoked Pork Chops With Honey-Chili Glaze (Serves 2. Approx. Cost Per Serving Not Available)

Equipment Required

• Big Green Egg or other smoker
• Meat thermometer
• Grill-appropriate brush

2 1" thick center-cut pork chops (1.25 – 1.5 lbs total)

2-3 tablespoons of your favorite rub for pork

Apple Cider Vinegar (for basting)

For the Glaze

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 serrano pepper, coarsely chopped

1. At least 2 hours before you are ready to eat, put your favorite spice rub on your chops, coating all exposed surfaces.
2. Set up a way to sear your chops at high temperature. I set my large Big Green Egg up for direct cooking and lit my fire. As soon as I had a good fire going, I put the chops in for 1 minute per side to sear them. Normally I would wait until the smoke cleared before using the Egg, but I wanted to get the high heat cooking done quickly to avoid heating the ceramic up too much. Since I was cooking for such a short time, I wasn't too concerned about picking up off flavors from the fresh charcoal. Note that if you have another method for searing the chops, such as another gas or charcoal grill, you can do that and avoid having to change your setup in your Egg.
3. Once your chops are seared, remove them from the Egg and set up for indirect cooking at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. In my large Big Green Egg, I used my plate setter legs up with a drip pan inside. I added apple wood chunks to the fire for smoke flavor. Since I seared as soon as the Egg was hot enough, it didn't take long at all to get my temperature down to 250 for smoking.
4. Every 20 minutes, flip your chops and baste with the cider vinegar. Note that the flipping is just to baste both sides. If you decide not to baste, you don't need to flip them.
5. After 40 minutes, begin checking the internal temperature of your meat. When it hits 145 degrees, brush all surfaces with the glaze, raise the heat to 300 degrees, and cook till the internal temperature hits 155 degrees.
6. Remove the chops from the smoker, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, and serve. Any remaining glaze can be served on the side or poured over the meat.

Recipe: Mixed Vegetables with Chili and Garlic

This recipe was originally intended to be another batch of the Chili and Garlic Broccoli that I've been making for years now.  That dish is probably my single favorite side dish and I would cheerfully eat it every day if I could get away with it.  However, I had some leftover vegetables in my crisper drawer that absolutely, positively had to be eaten as soon as possible.  I thought to myself, why not include them in the dish?  The result was certainly decent.  I wound up with a very, very filling side dish that satisfied both me and my husband without a lot of excess calories or fat.  It's not as pretty as it could have been, but ultimately it's the flavor that counts most. 

Mixed Vegetables with Chili and Garlic (serves 4; approx. $1.48/serving)

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 garlic cloves, sliced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 pound broccoli florets

3/4 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

3/4 pound snow peas

1/4 cup water

Equipment:

• Wok or saute pan with lid

1. Heat the oil in the saute pan.
2. Add the garlic with a pinch of kosher salt.  Cook over medium-low heat for about a minute.
3. Add the chili powder and the broccoli.  Mix well and cook another minute.
4. Add the bell peppers and snow peas.  Mix well.
5. Add the water.  Bring to a boil, then cover and cook until the vegetables are tender.  This will be relatively quick, like three or four minutes.
6. Serve.

Recipe: Almond Butter and Nutella Muffin

Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking.  The Countryman Press, Woodstock, 2006 pp. 38-9

I really enjoy baking.  This may surprise many of you, because I'm really not very good at it, but I really enjoy the act of baking.  Maybe it's because the oven heats up the kitchen so very nicely.  Anyway, I'm trying to move us toward a somewhat healthier diet, so when I saw this book for a good price at Costco I jumped all over it.  This recipe, which I prepared as a way to put some variety into my breakfasts, was the first recipe I made from this book.

I only made two changes.  I changed vanilla extract for almond extract.  I also decided that I wanted almond butter instead of peanut butter in the recipe.  This is because I am allergic to peanuts.  Unfortunately, I didn't have quite enough almond butter to make the recipe, so I had to make up the rest with Nutella.  I think using all of one or the other would have resulted in a better flavor, but at the end of the day it wasn't at all bad. 

Almond Butter and Nutella Muffin (makes 12; approx. $0.67/serving)

7 1/2 ounces whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ounces butter

3 3/4 ounces brown sugar

1/2 cup smooth almond butter

1/4 cup Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut spread

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

2 eggs

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

6 ounces dark chocolate chips

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Stand mixer
• 12-muffin muffin tin
• Wire cooling rack

1. Preheat your oven to 375. 
2. Lubricate your muffin tins with your lubricant of choice - I like cooking spray.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
4. Cream the butter and sugar in the mixer until light.
5. Add the nut butter and Nutella, mixing until incorporated. 
6. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
7. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix well.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
8. Add 1/2 the buttermilk and mix well.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until all the ingredients are incorporated. 
10. Stir in the chocolate chips.
11. Scoop the batter into the prepared tins. 
12. Bake 23-25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. 
13. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. 
14. Serve.

Recipe: Spinach and Avocado Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Recipe Source: The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook.  Murdoch Books, Millers Point, 2004 p. 176

I made this as a very quick side dish, and it was made even quicker by the fact that I decided that the mustard vinaigrette did not in fact need to be warm as specified in the original recipe.  It was a decent side salad.  Essentially, I wanted some kind of vegetable on the table to go along with the turkey stew I was serving.  This fit the bill perfectly: it had enough flavor to be noticeable but did not clash with the flavors of the stew. 

Spinach and Avocado Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette (serves 4; approx. $1.78/serving)

3 ounces baby spinach

3 ounces salad greens

2 avocados, sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

Equipment:

• Small bowl
• Whisk

1. Combine the first three ingredients in your serving bowl.
2. Combine the lemon juice and mustard in a small bowl.  Whisk well to emulsify.
3. Pour the dressing over the greens.
4. Serve.