Thyme For Cooking, the Blog

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with Pimiento Sauce

2009-11-11T21:07:18+01:00

When I was growing up, my mother kept a tiny jar of pimentos in the fridge. She would carefully sprinkle a few on potato salad, or, maybe a jello salad. One minuscule jar would last months.

Like the the little bottle of olive oil in the cupboard, I had no idea this was a food to be used for other than garnish.

For the record, she used the olive oil (Pompeii) to treat earaches and polish Easter Eggs.

I buy these pimientos by the case when I'm in Andorra.

I buy olive oil in 3 litre cans - four of five at a time.

And we eat it all....

The Pimientos?

I stuff the whole pepper.... and slice them and dice them and put them in almost anything.

And I puree them, making a sauce - that I also put on almost anything.

Sometimes, I had garlic or shallots or herbs or chicken stock or tomato sauce.

Sometimes, I don't.

Sometimes, I add chili powder or paprika or hot sauce.

This is definitely one of the most useful, and flexible, pantry items I have.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with Pimiento Sauce

It would be a perfectly lovely risotto without it. Or you could just stir the Pimiento Sauce into the risotto, but I liked the idea of drizzling it over the top for an occasional 'bite' of flavor. And it's prettier!

2/3 cups Arborio rice (or other rice specifically for risotto - Carnaroli or Vialone Nano)
1/2 cup dry, white wine
2 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 onion other half for the condimenti
1 tbs butter
3/4 cup (3oz, 90gr) Parmesan cheese - freshly grated
Condimenti
Garnish

Heat chicken stock and keep hot over low heat. Finely chop onion. In medium sauce pan heat butter; add the onion and sauté until transparent then add rice and sauté, stirring, for 2 - 3 minutes until rice has white center. Add white wine and stir.
Start condimenti. When wine is almost absorbed add a 1/2 cup of stock, stir. (No need to stir constantly but do stir from time to time.) When stock is almost absorbed add another 1/2 cup and continue adding 1/2 cup at a time and stirring. Before adding the last 1/4 cup taste a few kernels of rice. They should be just 'al dente' - slightly resistant to the tooth, but fully cooked. If more stock is needed add it 1/8 cup at a time and waiting until almost completely absorbed. At this point risotto will be thick but not stiff - there will still be visible liquid and it will not hold it's shape on a plate.
Add the Parmesan and the condimenti, stir well, pour into a bowl or risotto platter. Drizzle with Pimiento Sauce and serve.

Condimenti

1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless
4oz (120gr) mushrooms
1/2 cup olives, any color
1/2 onion
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tbs olive oil

Chop onion. Clean and slice mushrooms. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Cut olives in half. Heat oil in small skillet. Add onion, mushrooms and sauté until tender. When vegetables are tender and add chicken and herbs. Sauté until chicken is cooked through. Stir in olives, cover, turn heat to low and keep warm until needed.

Pimiento Sauce

6oz (175gr) pimiento (pimento) or roasted red peppers
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder

Sauté shallot in olive oil in a small saucepan until tender. Drain and roughly chop pimiento. Add remaining ingredients to shallots, cover and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Put in a blender and purée until smooth.

It's almost time to go to Andorra, shopping, again.....

Too bad they don't have Jolly Ranchers.

Season's Eatings.... 5 more days to sign up

2009-11-10T10:50:52+01:00

Season's Eatings!

The response to this year's 'Season's Eatings' has been great!

There is still time to participate. Sign up by November 15th to get in on the fun.

I will be sending out the information on your recipient on Monday, November 16th.

Here are the details:

Season's Eating's is a spicy/herby/foodie gift exchange to celebrate the Holiday Season.
Like Secret Santa....I put all the names into a virtual hat, and distribute them, with real addresses.
The rules are simple:
Each person sends a small gift of a local herb, spice, or other food that is unique to or characteristic of where they live, along with a recipe using it, to a fellow foodie.
When you receive your parcel, you can either use your 'gift' in the recipe included, another of your choosing or just snap a photo of your pressie. Then you do a post about it...

Ready to get the holiday season started?

Let me know.

French Onion Soup; The Hall: the after

2009-11-09T17:48:36+01:00

It's amazing how excited one can get over having a hall finished....

But, there you have it!

And it's not even completely finished.... You may notice that 3 of the 4 doors still have their green trim and the opening into the kitchen is almost, but not quite, finished.

Still....

May I present:

Our stairs.

First, we move my desk underneath the stairs.....

It tucked in rather nicely.

It had to move so we could set up the Welsh Dresser.....

This is opposite the opening into the kitchen and next to the doors going out to the balcony.

It's the first major piece of furniture mon mari made - for me. It has book cases that go on either side but we don't have a long enough wall so....

They went further down the hall. You can't really tell in the photo but there is a post (we wall papered it) between them.

On the other side of the hall, same view....

In case your wondering - there are 16 steps going up to the first floor.

The view from the other end of the hall....

The door next to the Welsh dresser goes into what will be the dining room, currently our bedroom.

And the other side.....

And that's our hall (Take a bow, mon mari..... Well done!)

To celebrate I made some French Onion Soup.

Back when life was more settled I used to collect soup recipes.

Whenever I found a particularly good soup in a restaurant, I asked for the recipe.

I usually got it.... Sometimes verbally, sometimes the back of a napkin,....

This one was very carefully written out, in French, from a restaurant in California.

IMHO, it's the best I've ever tasted - even when I make it.....

To make it vegetarian, use vegetable base instead of beef.

To make it without the wine.... Don't bother.

This makes 4 servings.

Soupe À L'Oignon (French Onion Soup)

This recipe does not use any stock, but rather white wine with beef base. This is different than regular old 'bouillon cubes. You'll find it in jars in the soup section, normally and it's usually a paste. I always have both chicken and beef on hand to use for stock. This makes just 4 servings, very thick with onions... as it should be.

5 large onions I use half red, half white
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
5 tbs flour
4 cups white wine
1 cup water
5 tbs beef base, paste or powdered
4 thick slices country bread, or several smaller slices of French baguette, stale is okay
1 1/3 cup shredded Gruyère cheese, 5oz (150gr)
1 cup grated Parmesan, 4oz (115gr)

Cut onions in half and thinly slice. Heat butter and oil in large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add flour and sauté briefly, stirring - about 1 minute. Slowly add the water, stirring constantly until thickened. Slowly add the wine, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the beef base, stir well, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Shred and grate cheeses if necessary. Slice bread 1" (2.5 cm) thick. Trim to fit in oven proof soup bowls. Pre-heat broiler (grill). When hot, put bread on tray and toast 1 side under broiler, about 1 minute.

Fill the soup bowls half-way with soup. Lay the bread on tops, toasted side down. Ladle the remaining soup over bread. Top with both cheeses. Put bowls on a tray and slide under broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve.

Next project: The den.

Irish Soda Bread; The Hall: the before

2009-11-08T20:35:40+01:00

I spent yesterday moving furniture into the hall.

I spent today unpacking my cook books.

Then I took photos.

I'll post them tomorrow.

But, first, a wee trip down memory lane.

In order to appreciate where we are, it helps to see where we've been....

When we bought the house, the original hall had been divided in half, with the back room used as a bedroom. At some point, the original front doors were closed off and the bathroom rooms put in the space.

In this photo, the walls were gone but the door frame still in place.... with the light switch.

At the other end of the hall was a window (which had originally been a door). We broke through the wall into the kitchen.

You can see what great shape the floor was in.

We heated the space with kerosene heaters, getting it barely warm enough to work. It was also the work room - here tearing down the walls to redo the bathroom.

Once the bathroom was done, we moved in - and slept in the hall.... Still the only area we could keep warm.

Shortly after moving in we had new windows and doors put in - putting the door back over the little balcony.

And photos of the newly completed hall tomorrow...

I'm finally back in the swing of things, so to speak, in the kitchen. For more years than I can remember I have made this 2 or 3 times a week... Until this last year.

The year without an oven.

I didn't realize how much I missed that simple ritual.

Irish Brown Bread (Soda Bread)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
2 heaping tbs oatmeal
2 heaping tbs bran flakes substitute more oatmeal
2 tbs butter
1 tsp sugar
1 heaping tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (6oz, 180ml) plain or Greek yogurt
1 1/4 cup (10oz, 300ml) milk measurements aren't precise, just equal 2 cups

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). I use an 8.5" (22cm) round baking pan with 2" (5cm) sides for this. Butter the pan, then 'flour' it: put about 1 tbs flour in the pan and tilt the pan so that the flour covers all of the buttered area. Any excess just tip into the sink.
Put all dry ingredients into a deep bowl. Add the butter and cut in with a pastry cutter, fork or 2 knives until well blended.
Stir the yogurt and milk together, then stir the mixture into the flour/butter and mix well. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and tip out of pan on to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Slice and serve or allow to cool completely.

Note: I normally cut the loaf in half; we eat half and freeze half for later in the week. It keeps well for 3 days without freezing.

Oh....

After I was done unpacking the cook book boxes, I went back to the barn, in search of one more box.

Mon mari asked why.

I said I was missing a cook book.

Mon mari said, with over 200 cook books how cam you possibly know you're missing one?

How could I not?

Bacalao a la Marinera (Fisherman's Cod); Has Elvis left the building with Michael?

2009-11-06T18:50:59+01:00

Apparently Michael Jackson has left the building....

With Elvis, perchance?

For the last two weeks we have been inundated with commercials advertising a big TV seance this weekend to contact Michael Jackson.

Concerned fans wanting to find out how he's doing 'on the other side'?

As I was listening to the ad for the billionth time it occurred to me how much Michael and Elvis have in common:

Both died in their prime - one could say before their time.

Both died from, er, slightly less than normal causes.

Both were extremely influential in the music world, one could say ground-breaking, each in their own way.

Both had / have a large devoted fan base that really doesn't want to let go.

But....

And you knew there was a 'but' coming, didn't you?

The real clincher, (and why did it take me so long to think of this....)

Michael was married to Elvis's daughter!!!!!!

I think we'll start to hear of a lot of Michael and Elvis sightings over the next few months....

The two of them together, dark glasses and guitars, playing some out-of-the way honky-tonk.

Elvis and Michael, together forever.....

Can't wait to hear how the seance went.....

In the meantime:

This is a Spanish dish that would, traditionally, be made with dried, salted cod. I used fresh. In Spain you can buy the bacalao dry as a board or already reconstituted and rinsed. You can substitute any white fish: tilapia, snapper, mahi mahi; adjust cooking times slightly, according to thickness.

Bacalao a la Marinera (Fisherman's Cod)

12oz (350gr) cod filets or other white fish, fresh or frozen and thawed
1oz (30gr) slivered or chopped almonds
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs olive oil
15oz (450gr) whole tomatoes, drained reserve juice for another day
1/3 cup (3oz, 85ml) white wine
2 bay (laurel) leaves
2 tbs bread crumbs

Finely chop the onion and garlic. In a medium skillet or saucepan heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and sauté until tender. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice for another use. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add to pan along with white wine and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and let cook, uncovered, 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove bay leaves and stir in bread crumbs. Place fish in baking dish just large enough to hold it in one layer. Spoon the sauce over, sprinkle with almonds and cover either with a lid or foil. Bake at 400F (200C) for about 15 minutes, or until fish is done. Uncover for the last 5 minutes of baking time. Fish flakes easily when done. (If you have pieces more than 1" (2.5cm) thick it may take 20 minutes.)
Remove fish from dish, place on a small platter and serve.

In addition to this, for the weekly menu for November 6 we have Braised Lamb with Chickpeas and Butternut Squash, Chili with Irish Soda Bread, Chicken Stroganoff, Rice Florentine...

Become a Thyme for Cooking Subscriber and get the menu, complete recipes with meal preparation instruction, and shopping list each Thursday. First two weeks FREE. (Reverse seasons available for Australia, and others in the Southern Hemisphere).

For more recipes visit my internet cook book: Easy Gourmet Dinners

Season's Eatings..... Foodie Gift Exchange

2009-11-06T18:27:11+01:00

Season's Eatings!

Should we do it again?

Last year I almost forgot about it and we started very late.... after Thanksgiving.

Several people who participated never did receive their gift.

Shall we try again? With plenty of time so we're not rushed?

Let me know....Leave a comment if you want to participate.

Here are the details:

Season's Eating's is a spicy/herby/foodie gift exchange to celebrate the Holiday Season.
Like Secret Santa....I put all the names into a virtual hat, and distribute them, with real addresses.
The rules are simple:
Each person sends a small gift of a local herb, spice, or other food that is unique to or characteristic of where they live, along with a recipe using it, to a fellow foodie.
When you receive your parcel, you can either use your 'gift' in the recipe included, another of your choosing or just snap a photo of your pressie. Then you do a post about it...

Ready to get the holiday season started? Let me know.