Ryan's pizza

Understandably frustrated with my recent slowdown in cooking new things (basketball season, playing Neverwinter Nights 2 until my eyes bleed) Ryan took it upon himself to feed the family and made a pizza (under mommy's supervision).

Pork Roast with Jus Lie'

I made this a week ago...been too busy playing so much Warhammer I can't post about cooking. :)

4.5 lb pork roast
minced garlic, or garlic-infused olive oil
rosemary, minced
salt & pepper

Allow the pork roast to rise to room temperature, then rub all over with the garlic, then the spices. You may dust it with flour also (I did). Roast for 1 hour at 375 F / 190 C

3 diced onions
3 diced carrots
2 ribs of diced celery
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup white wine
2 cups water
2 thyme sprigs
10 peppercorns, whole
2 bay leaves

After the pork has cooked for it's 1 hour, scatter onto the roasting pan the onions, carrots, and celery. Roast for another 30 to 45 minutes until internal temp of the roast reaches 160 F / 70 C

Remove the roasting pan from the oven, remove pork and set aside for 20 minutes, tented with foil. Place the roasting pan on the stove-top and cook until the mirepoix is browned and the fat is clear. Pour off as much of the fat as possible. Deglaze pan with the wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add the tomato paste and cook until it's turned brick red and smells sweet. Add the water, bay leaves, peppercorns, and thyme, and simmer for the remainder of the 20 minutes the pork is resting. Strain the juice into a smaller saucepan, heat to simmering again and thicken with cornstarch slurry to make a nice gravy.

Braised Beef

Most people like summer the best, but cold weather is for me, prime cooking season. Soups, stews, roasts, and braises are all things not best enjoyed in July.

Today we'll do braising. If you own a slow-cooker you've been doing this already. Low heat for long cooking times tenderizes even the cheapest, nastiest cuts of meat. Also, it makes for terrific sauce as the flavors of your aromatic vegetables transfer to the liquids, and the connective tissues of the meat breaks down and lends body to the sauce.

This will not be an exact recipe, and you really don't need one...braising is pretty fail-safe as cooking methods go, as long as you hit the few important parts correctly.

First, you can either do this in a heavy, lidded dutch oven, or with a slow cooker. If you're doing the slow-cooker method, you need to start off with a heavy frying pan and transfer to the slow-cooker later.

First, cut a standard mirepoix of 50% onion, and 25% each carrot and celery. You want enough so that mixed together it'll fully cover the bottom of your pot.

Take your roast, pat it dry with a paper towel, and dust it all over the flour and salt. Heat the dutch oven / frying pan to medium-high and put two tablespoons of vegetable oil in it until it just starts smoking a little. Using long tongs, place the beef in the pan and sear it really well on all sides. You want a nice brown crust on every surface...do not hurry though this part, this is where you develop flavor for the whole dish. Once the roast is well browned all over, set it aside.

Turn heat to medium. Add in the mirepoix and stir it around as it cooks until the vegetables soften. Add a spoonful of tomato paste and stir through, cooking until it's rusty brown and smells sweet. Add a spoonful of flour and stir to combine.* Now add one cup each of red wine and beef stock (more of each if your roast is large and feeding several). Scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, then return the beef to the pot.

Toss in two bay leaves, a spoonful of whole peppercorns, a clove of garlic, a sprig of thyme, and a couple pinches of salt. I put in some chopped shallots too. Turn heat to very low, cover, and simmer gently for 6-8 hours.

Remove the roast, set aside and cover with foil. Strain the solids from the liquid, discard solids. Return the liquid to the pot, and season and thicken as required (cornstarch slurry is fine) over medium heat to make your gravy. The solid vegetables you're throwing away are pretty much flavorless and it's all in the sauce, so I have other vegetables cooked separately that I serve alongside the beef. Enjoy!

Chicken with Mushrooms, Thyme, and White Wine

Extremely easy for such a good flavor, this would be a great beginner dish for someone in the early stages of learning to cook for themselves.

1 tablespoon olive oil
Boneless, skinless chicken.
2 large onions, sliced thickly
1 tablespoon white flour
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 cup white wine
1 package sliced mushrooms
parsley for color and garnish
salt and pepper to taste

In a large non-stick pan, heat the oil, medium-high. Place the chicken in and brown on both sides (cooked through not required). Remove. Toss the onions in the pan for several minutes until softened. Re-add the chicken, and coat with the flour and thyme. Add the wine, and cover with a lid. Turn heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove lid, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, and combine to heat the mushrooms though. Serve with some fall vegetables.

French Onion Soup

Holy horrible photo, Batman. I'm never shooting a pic on the downstairs bar ever again...the lighting is flat and lifeless. I'll replace this one next time I make the soup, promise. As it is I had to swipe one of my guest's bowls as I had forgotten to take a photo at all until Karen reminded me.

Don't let the bad photo ruin it, though, the recipe is excellent.

2 tablespoons butter
8 onions, thinly sliced
50 ml red wine
50 ml balsamic vinegar
2 liters beef stock
1 bouquet garni
salt and pepper to taste
2 baguette croutons per bowl
Gruyere or Provolone cheese

In a large dutch oven or other suitable pot, heat butter until it just begins to brown. Add onions and cook over medium heat, until they caramelize and brown a bit. This will take some time, don't leave it. Stir occasionally until it happens.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the wine and vinegar, then the stock. Add the bouquet garni and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low, season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni. Ladle into bowls, add the bread pieces, and pile on some cheese. Broil in a hot oven or just torch the cheese by hand like a crazed welder, which is way more fun.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't even need to say anything.

...


See?




INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup butter flavored shortening
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter flavored shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla .Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until light brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hot Hoisin Chicken

Have you ever, on the last day before a big grocery trip, throw something together with whatever you have around the house? This would be it. The only two things I had that were really fresh and good were some boneless, skinless chicken thighs and a large bag of terrific carrots from the market. This is what I came up with...I'll do the recipe from memory...


Eight pieces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 cooking onions, chopped
1/2 red pepper, sliced thin
1/2 green pepper, sliced thin
4 carrots, cut into thick sticks
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, or 2 light
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup hoisin sauce

Cut chicken thighs in small pieces. Heat oil in wok or large nonstick pan. Fry (in batches) until edges are browned, set aside.

Stir fry carrots until partially cooked, this may take 10 minutes or more. Set aside with the chicken. Briefly stir-fry onions, peppers, ginger, and garlic until slightly softened. Re-add carrots and chicken to the wok.

Add soy, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce and toss to heat through. Serve over steamed rice or rice noodles.

Simple, huh? If you have hoisin sauce just hanging around, of course. Black bean or teriyaki sauce should work well also.