No pics, sorry! I was at a party this weekend and the hostess made Alton Brown’s Curry Chicken Pot Pie, and put the filling in little phyllo tarts so they were bite sized.
They were SO GOOD – I HIGHLY recommend this recipe. The curry is not at all overwhelming, it just gives it a little bit of a kick.
I am definitely going to have to give these a whirl at some point.
I decided I could still do better with the risotto, so I made another little batch up for lunch – and this time it was spot on. Super creamy, not the slightest bit tough at all.
Basically, I cheated.
Instead of using a shallow pan, I used a small saucepan – and a lid. Sauteed the last of my shallots (had to use them up anyway…), added the risotto and let it soak up the butter. Added the first course of liquid, lowered the heat and covered it. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, just stirring a few times until the liquid was soaked up. The second two courses of liquid took longer (~8 minutes) to soak up, but again, just stirred a few times and kept it covered. It was just right and I didn’t spend the entire time stirring it. Added some Parmesano-Reggiano at the end and it was lovely.
For what it’s worth, this is the risotto I’m using:
I also use their Sushi Rice
Shallot Parm Risotto, 1/4 cup of uncooked risotto used, 1/8 cup parm = 1 serving. Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 316 Calories; 12g Fat (34.1% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 29mg Cholesterol; 846mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.
No pics, it looks just like last night except without the asparagus. :)
I wanted to give it another whirl to see if I could make it a little softer using lower heat. It did seem to make a difference, and adding the salt & pepper before the 3rd addition of liquid gave it a nice seasoning.
The shallots went a touch too long and were kind of carmelized, but it just added to the goodness of it all.
Made for a nice little lunch.
I’ve had risotto in restaurants before, but I’ve never actually made it. I’m not really sure why, but perhaps there was some subliminal intimidation going on. Let’s face it, watch 3 episodes of Hell’s Kitchen and it seems everyone has a pan of risotto that becomes a disaster at some point.
Well, recently I became posessed by something at the supermarket and I found myself with a container of risotto. And this afternoon, I got a bit of a wild hair and decided I would make some up for dinner. Had to go to the market for milk anyway, and decided I’d let something jump out at me as to what to put in it. And no sooner did I walk through the door than I found it – asparagus!
After much stirring, and stirring, and some more stirring – I had dinner.
Overall, not too bad at all considering that it was my first go at it. (I couldn’t get the asparagus to look artful, I tried, LOL.) Still needed a little more S&P when I dug into it, and it wasn’t quite as soft as I thought it should have been – I think that can be remedied easily next time by having the heat somewhat lower and giving the liquid more time to soak in. (It also could have been that I cut the usual serving in half. Time will tell.)
I sauteed 3 chopped up shallots in butter until they were nice and soft.
Added a 1/2 cup of risotto and let it soak up the butter, about a minute or two.
Added 1/2 cup of heated chicken stock, stirred until it was soaked in.
Repeated that with two more 1/2 cups of stock.
Once the last of the stock was soaked up, I stirred in about 1/4 cup of grated parmesano-reggiano cheese, and then folded in the roasted asparagus. (I just roll them in some butter and cracked pepper and put them under the broiler of the toaster oven for about 5 minutes.)
Added salt & pepper to taste.
I did it all on medium heat, I think next time I will do it on medium low – it will take a little longer, but I think it will be a bit softer that way.
Overall, it really wasn’t that difficult – just somewhat time consuming and it’s not the type of thing you can easily walk away from while it’s cooking. Even though mine wasn’t perfect, it was certainly tasty and something I think that anyone could make with some patience!
It’s also insanely rich – I could only finish about half of it. So, if you’ve been hemming and hawing over making risotto – give it a go. I think next time I’ll be going for a low-country version.
Convenience foods get a bad rap a lot of the time, and a goodly amount of it is justified. Costs more than homemade, nutritionally dubious value, etc, etc.
But, there is also something to be said for being able to pop something out of the freezer and into the toaster oven for 10 minutes and have a quick snack. And some are just downright crack-in-a-box. I absolutely LOVE Stouffer’s French Bread pizzas, always have. I will admit an everlasting fondness for La Choy’s frozen “egg rolls” – which bear no resemblance to any egg roll I’ve ever gotten from a Chinese restaurant, but I love them anyway, and they bring back nice memories from when my Mom made them when I was a kid.
Additionally, these products can give you some more insight as to HOW to make them on your own, with better ingredients, lower cost and that satisfaction that comes with conquering a new dish.
Which all brings us to today’s convenience food that I should probably feel guilty for buying, but I don’t. El Monterey Chicken & Cheese Flour Taquitos.
I’ll admit – it was an impulse purchase – they were on sale, I made the mistake of not eating before I went to the market, and my reaction when I saw them was, “Ooooooooooo! Taquitos!!!!” And they’re not too bad – defrost a couple in the microwave and pop them in the toaster oven for 12 minutes, add some sour cream and taco sauce and you’ve got a good snack.
The only other time I get taquitos is at the local Tex-Mex place, and if you asked me to recreate them, I’d be stuck. But having these here in the house, where I can take a look at the ingredients, really look at how they’re put together, I actually have a fighting chance at recreating something along these lines.
So, when this box is done, I’ll likely be making up a big batch of homemade ones and freezing them and having my own taquitos. (I should also give homemade French Bread Pizzas a whirl sometime, too.)
The next time you feel guilty for buying a frozen quick snack food, don’t. Think of it as a starting point to making your own version that’s even better. Take the time to look at them, how they’re made, and see if you can’t make a big batch of your own to freeze for those days when you want something quick.
If you like ham, and you like green onions – get yourself over to Just Bento today and check out the Ham Negimayaki recipe & pics that have been posted.
I’ll have to give this a whirl myself sometime, because it just looks great. Thing is, I don’t remember ever having anything like this when I was in Japan, but it’s also been a very long time since I was there, and I wasn’t exactly a foodie at the time.
Or somewhat undersized chicken nuggets, your choice. These are one of my favorites, they taste great and it takes a whopping 10 minutes prep time (if that) – works fine for full sized chicken breasts as well, just takes longer to cook. They are also terrific as cold leftovers.
Dijon Popcorn Chicken
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into nugget size of your choice
~ 2 cups Italian Style Breadcrumbs
~ 1 cup Grated Parmesean Cheese
~ 3 T Mayonnaise
~ 3 T Country Dijon Mustard
Combine Mayo & Mayonnaise in one bowl. Breadcrumbs & Parmesan Cheese in another bowl. (I usually add a few more spices – a bit of oregano, basil & garlic powder.)
Dredge the chicken pieces in the mayo/mustard, then in the breadcrumbs. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-20 minutes. (Depends on the size of the chicken pieces, how accurate your oven is, etc. The good news is that it is really hard to overcook these.)
I usually bake them on a wire rack to prevent stickage.
Yield: 36 nuggets/pound for me.
Per Nuggets: 33 Calories; 1g Fat (36.2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 9mg Cholesterol; 94mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
When I spied these in the market, I had to try them.
In my mind, my reasons for giving them a go were quite sound.
– I love yakisoba.
– We don’t exactly have a plethora of Japanese restaurants in the area.
– It’s a traditional Japanese food made by a Japanese company, so in theory they should be able to get it right.
Couldn’t be quicker or easier. Add the veggie pack and a cup of water. Microwave for 4 minutes, let it sit for another minute. Add the flavor pack, mix up and it’s done.
The verdict? I am horribly torn. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but it just wasn’t really right, either. The cabbage in the veggie pack does make it smell like you’d expect it to (if you like yakisoba, then it will be a familiar aroma), but the flavor packet is kind of weird. There isn’t much water left after microwaving, so it sticks to the noodles. Perhaps it’s by design, but it doesn’t seem to dissolve as well as it should. The noodles do have that familiar ever so slightly oily mouth feel to them (it’s hard to describe), but overall, something is either missing or overdone, but I just can’t say for sure what it is.
Maybe my expectations were too high, having eaten a decent amount of yakisoba when we were stationed in Japan.
However, everyone’s tastes are different and I’d say it’s worth buying one and giving it a shot to see if you like it, it’s not at all expensive and won’t take up half your day to prepare it. Myself, I doubt I’ll buy it again, though.
I think it will be worth my while to get hold of some real soba noodles and hunt down a good seasoning recipe, even if it does take longer. (But doesn’t it always seem to work out that way?)
I knew I’d never be able to really recreate my Mom’s Ham and Beans, so I decided to just wing it and make it my own. The cornbread madeleines might have been a slightly misguided idea, as you can see, they decided to stick to the bottom of my supposedly non-stick madeleine pan. Here’s dinner!
The verdict? Nope, not Mom’s, but really good and absolutely perfect for a night when it’s 20 degrees outside. My brother said it was actually pretty close to Mom’s – I just don’t remember any carrots or celery in hers. But I really, REALLY enjoyed it! :)
Recipes after the jump:
It’s been absurdly frigid the past couple days and I wanted something HOT to eat. I poked through the freezer and found a container of Chicken Chili Soup that I made a while back. (No, really, it’s not the same batch I made a year ago!)
Defrosted and reheated it – pretty darn good! Thicker than the original, and the beans were a little mushy, but it did hit the spot on a cold day. The spices did mellow out a little, but it was still good. It’s always good to know that something does defrost and reheat well.
Continuing the theme of “good food in the cold” I have a pot of beans soaking and tomorrow I’ll be attempting ham & bean soup.
Now, there are a million variations on it, and it was a favorite when we were kids. My Mom never wrote down her recipe and I never paid terribly close attention to exactly how she made it. And I am terrified of screwing it up.
I don’t know why, but it seems that trying to recreate the great comfort foods that my Mom cooked is more intimidating than doing some crazy elaborate recipe I’ve never tried before.
I’ve got some carrots, onion, and celery to toss in it, and smoked ham hocks. Normally Mom always just used a lefotver ham bone, but I don’t have one of those, and I was lucky to even get the ham hocks – they were the last package in the store. I think the smoked aspect of it will make it a little interesting. I’ve also got a big ham steak to shred up and toss in as well.
Keep your fingers crossed!!