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Spaghetti with Three-Tomato Sauce

Published by Hal on February 11, 2008 in recipe reviews and recipes. 0 Comments

After purchasing Everyday Food over the weekend, I was eager to try something from the book. I settled on this simple, rustic-style spaghetti dish and made plans to make it Sunday. Of course, life got in the way, and Stacie and opted for Fazoli’s instead (and, might never opt for it again, but that’s a different story for a different time).

We have been notoriously deficient at being able to keep our pantry and refrigerator stocked, but I had enough staples on hand that this recipe wasn’t a problem. The end result was a delicious and not so saucy take on a simple spaghetti with tomato sauce that will be sure to please. And, after thinking about it, this could be a perfect Valentine’s Day addition to your dinner table–it’s simple, delightful, and–most importantly–it’s red! Coincidence? I think not. 3tomspaghetti04

Spaghetti with Three-Tomato Sauce

From Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

Ingredients:

  • Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, oil reserved
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved

Procedure

  1. In a large pot of boiled salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water; return the pasta to the pot.
  2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the canned tomatoes (with juice) and sun dried tomatoes. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally and breaking up the canned tomatoes, until thick, about 15 minutes.
  3. Add the cherry tomatoes; simmer until soft, about 10 minutes.
  4. Add to the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Toss, adding pasta water as desired. Serve immediately.

The book says this makes 4 servings, but between my plates and the reheat-able containers, I got 7. The box of pasta says this should actually be 8. Your mileage may vary.

As you are aware, I have a tendency to look at a recipe once and think I’ve got it down. I never do, because I also want to do something the recipe doesn’t call for or I omit a step. So, what did I do differently here? Well, I thought I needed to roast the cherry tomatoes, so I did. Then I checked the recipe. Then I remembered that I forgot to pick up fresh garlic and I didn’t haven’t any pre-minced stuff*. So, I used about a teaspoon of garlic powder added once I added the tomatoes.

Beyond that, there wasn’t much else for me to screw up :) Even still, I think roasting the tomatoes added a nice smoky flavor to the dish–and there just wasn’t enough garlic flavor (we love garlic–it’s yummy-licious!). We served it up with a store-bought baguette, and it was good. Try it and let me know what you think!

—
*As a matter of practice, I don’t buy the pre-minced garlic anymore. Sure, it’s, convenient, but you’re pay a large mark-up on something you can easily do yourself. Plus, fresh just tastes better. 

Bourbon Slush

Published by Hal on February 5, 2008 in mixed drinks and recipes. 0 Comments

bourbonslushThis drink is super easy and was popular at our party last night. If you’re looking for a way to enjoy whiskey or bourbon, this might be it! This recipe comes courtesy of Stacie’s cousin, as part of the family cookbook.

Ingredients

  • 12 ounce can of frozen lemonade concentrate, softened
  • 12 ounce can of frozen orange juice concentrate, softened
  • 4 cups of bourbon or sour mash whiskey
  • 1 cup of water
  • 4 tea bags
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
  • Lemon-lime soda

Procedure

Bring the water to a boil and steep the tea bags for one minute. Drain the tea bags and discard. Combine all the ingredients, except the soda and the sugar, in a large container. Add sugar to taste. Place in the freezer and allow to become slushy-to-firm.

When ready to serve, scoop some slush into a nice glass, then top off with a splash (or a bit more) of soda.

Some Hints

This make take a day or more to firm up in the freezer. We made the mix Saturday night, and it’s still not completely frozen (and we had some, over ice, last night). This might say something about our freezer, or it just might be that between the sugar and the alcohol, the freezing point for this concoction is lower than normal. If you can’t get this to freeze by the time you’re ready to serve it, just pour the mix over ice, top off with soda, and stir. It’s still equally delicious, even if not so slushy.

Also, use whatever whiskey tastes good to you. Normally, I’m a big bourbon fan, but I don’t drink cheap bourbon. The cheapest bourbon I’d drink is Maker’s Mark, but I thought it would be too sweet for this drink, and I didn’t want to waste any “good” bourbon. So, I went with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. It worked great, as much as it pains me to say. Regardless, I still won’t drink any whiskey straight but my good old Kentucky bourbon ;)

A Pear of Good Sandwiches

Published by Hal on February 1, 2008 in The Cook's Kitchen and recipes. 1 Comment

One of the blogs I read on a regular basis, mental_floss, posted an article the other day where the author was reminiscing about sandwiches past. It seems that at one time he was rather poor and had to resort to eating things such as mustard sandwiches — poor fellow! But, that wasn’t even really the point of the post. Rather, he and his wife were remembering some rather interesting sandwich combinations growing up:

  • onion sandwiches
  • banana and pineapple
  • bacon, tomato, and sugar (BST).

He wanted to expand his palate and present it as a challenge for a t-shirt. I entered because, well, what self-respecting food blogger wouldn’t? And, then, I thought, as a new contributer to The Cook’s Kitchen, it seemed a fitting first post. Not too difficult, and something rather tasty to set the tone for all future posts. So, dear reader, I present to you:

Entry 52 (aka, Prosciutto and Pear Sandwiches)

Ingredients:

  • 1 crusty roll
  • 2 thin slices of prosciutto or deli-ham
  • 1 thin slice of pear, seeds removed
  • brie, rind removed
  • coarsely ground mustard

Procedure

Split the roll in half and spread a thin layer of mustard over both halves. Layer the ham on the bottom half, then top with the pear slice. Finally, spread the brie over the mustard on the top half of the roll. Combine both halves, and enjoy.

Some observations: when I envisioned this sandwich, I wanted the roll to have a sturdy crust and a light inside. My comment was “[a]n English muffin, but with a slightly firmer crust, comes to mind.” However, in the middle of South Central Indiana, a good crusty roll is hard to find at 7 p.m. on a Sunday. My grocer did have some Vienna Rolls, so that’s what I went with. For this sandwich, it actually turned out very well, so I think this is an appropriate choice.

Additionally, prosciutto was a little expensive for my wallet tonight, so I opted for regular ham. I did not skimp on the brie; you can, just choose a soft, spreadable cheese. Mild cream cheese or neufchatel with a bit of pepper could suffice.

Furthermore, my wife does not like ham, and until tonight, did not like pears. It seems that her only memory of pears is from a can — I can’t blame her because, most of the time, that mushy stuff has no place on my plate. So, this sandwich would not work for her. She does, however, like turkey; and, you can get pre-made cranberry relish year-round (I looked desperately for fresh cranberries, but, again, this is South Central Indiana on a Sunday night :) ). Thus, to satisfy another palate, simply exchange the ham for turkey, the pear for warm whole-berry cranberry relish, and omit the mustard. I might also suggest that you use a softer bread, such as a croissant. These sandwiches are delightful departures from a regular ham and cheese or a plain old PB and J.

This post first appeared on thecookskitchen.net, part of the Well Fed Network, on February 1, 2008. Check out that site and some of the other writers, who all share a passion for food and (hopefully) good writing.

Sauerbraten

Published by Hal on January 29, 2008 in Hal's Hint and recipes. 2 Comments

Like I said a few nights ago, my wife has very German heritage, and we rather like German food. My wife’s family came over three or four generations ago, and brought some very German recipes over–last Christmas, one of her aunts even compiled some of them into a family cookbook. This particular one come from Stacie’s aunt Peg, whose note with the recipe reminds us that Stacie’s grandfather, Peg’s dad, loved this recipe.

I’ve not had the opportunity to make many of these family recipes, but I hope to be able to now that I’ve begun writing. I, too, have a book of family recipes that my aunts gave Stacie and me as a wedding present several years ago. We find, often times, that food is central to our family histories and certain dishes usually mean something incredibly special because of a particular memory or event associated with it. As I share these recipes, I’d love to hear of your family traditions and recipes.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of water
  • 2 cups of vinegar
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 6 peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 pound beef roast
  • 12-14 gingersnap cookies, crushed

Procedure

Combine the water, vinegar, onions, and spices/herbs in a big zip top bag. Shake to combine, then add the beef roast. Allow the roast to marinate for 2 to 5 days, turning daily.

After the roast has marinated, remove it from the bag. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brown the roast in a shallow sauce pan, in a small amount of fat, over medium heat. If your roast has a layer of fat, place the roast fat side down first. If you are using a standard pan, do not move the roast for at least five minutes, otherwise it will stick and tear. After five minutes, turn and allow another side to brown.

Remove the roast from the pan and strain the marinade. Add the strained marinade to the pan, whisking up all the brown bits from the bottom. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Add the roast back to the pan, cover, and place in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until it reaches the desired done-ness (about 140 for medium, 150 for medium-well; the temperature will increase about 10-ish degrees as the roast sits). Allow the meat to rest for at least 15 minutes before proceeding.

After the meat has rested, remove the roast from the pan and place the gravy over medium heat. Bring the gravy up to a bowl, and whisk in the gingersnap cookies to thicken the gravy. If you desire, you can sweeten the gravy with some sugar, to taste.

Hal’s Hints: Really, don’t move the meat once you place it in the pan to get brown. Second, this recipe makes a ton of food–6 to 8 servings. I cut it in half–if you do that, I recommend you bake for 45 minutes to an hour depending on desired done-ness. I also used apple cider vinegar because of its sweetness. You can use what ever you like the taste of, but I would stay away from distilled (no flavor) and balsamic (strange flavor) for certain.

Next–do you see those black flecks in the sauce, in the picture? Those are bits of yummy goodness from the browning process. Use a regular (not non-stick) pan and a metal whisk to whisk them up when you first boil the marinade. I have a non-stick cook set, but I just bought a regular saucier over the weekend with just this purpose in mind and it’s quickly becoming my favorite pan in the kitchen!

Finally, I don’t keep ginger snaps on hand as a matter of course, so I thickened the gravy with some corn starch. Bring the gravy up to a boil as directed. Combine 1 tablespoon corn starch with 1 tablespoon water (twice as much for the normal recipe). Then, whisk into the gravy and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for five minutes, then serve

Chicken & Corn Chowder

Published by Hal on January 29, 2008 in recipes and rotisserie chicken. 2 Comments

I went to a training today that made me realize that I really should have a privacy policy for this site. Initially, I didn’t because I didn’t think I collected any information about the visitors to the site, but then I realized that’s not so–I use Feedburner for my feed stats and Google Analytics for my site stats. These two programs tell me who is clicking on my material and how they got to this site. So, consider yourself disclosed :) I don’t know exactly who you are, I just know that someone from some where is coming here using some key words typed into Google.

So, the point of telling you all that wasn’t so much to give you notice as it was to share some really interesting things about how it seems you guys are coming by this site. Three of the most popular searches are for “how to chop basil,” “how to cook pin oats,” and “recipes with a rotisserie chicken.” Hating Paula Deen is up there, too, but since I actually like Paula Deen, I’m choosing to ignore that ;)

This tells me that I need to write more “How-to’s” (thinking about what to do next), find a recipe for pin oats besides oat meal (I’m working on it–it’ll probably be a cookie), and write some recipes with that crazy rotisserie bird. Who knew it would be so popular?

Well, I can satisfy one of these needs tonight. My wife and I picked up one of these little guys at the store yesterday for dinner last night, but we got side tracked and made something else instead (hopefully I’ll be able to tell you what in a few days). My wife is also not feeling too great, so I needed to come up with something with some nutrients and simple. Chicken soup came to mind–but, wait, I have all these root vegetables (including little potatoes), some whole milk I’ll probably never get to finish, and a shiny new saucier. Chowder-time!

Before tonight I was thinking that most chowders were potato based, but in doing a bit of research, that doesn’t seem to be the case–rather, it’s a thick soup, with heartily cut ingredients, made from whatever a cook had available. We associate it with clams and seafood in the US because of New England, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be so. In fact, I say this dish epitomizes the idea of chowder, since I took what ever I had on hand, threw it in a pot, and called it dinner!

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 celery rib, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 small potatoes (1 1/2″ diameter), halved, then quartered
  • 1 cup shredded chicken (from a rotisserie chicken)
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
  • 1/2 cup of whole milk

Procedure

Combine the oil and butter in the bottom of a 2 1/2 quart saucepan, over medium to medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are just starting to caramelize, then add the garlic and the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes begin to show color at the edges, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken, chicken stock, corn, bay leaves, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow the chowder to simmer for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender and begin to fall apart. Add the milk to the chowder, then stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Initially, I thought I was going to need to make a roux, but then I remember I was cooking with potatoes. Potatoes have enough starch in them to be a good thickening agent for whatever your cooking, especially if you cook them until about when they fall apart.

This recipe is really as simple as putting the ingredients in a pot and calling it dinner. What I loved about this is that it takes almost no effort, and the payoff is huge! This makes a delicious chowder, and feeds about four. Trust me when I say you don’t need anything else but a bowl of this for your dinner.

Food Reviews: Kroger Private Selection Woodfired Stone Baked Italian Garden Pizza

Published by Hal on January 27, 2008 in product reviews and recipes. 5 Comments

Edit: Hi, and welcome to the Common Culinarian! If you’ve come here as a result of a search for this particular kind of a pizza, special welcome! Don’t forget to check out the rest of what this site has to offer: http://commonculinarian.com

We can’t cook all the time, because some time we just want something that is tasty and we want it in a hurry. Often times, this means that we resort to convenience foods–you know the ones, those TV dinners, frozen pizzas, pastas-in-a-can, and so on. Sometimes you just stumble on a gem, and it can quickly become a standby for those days when you just don’t feel like cooking, you’re short on time, or you don’t want to think about what to throw together.

Private Selection Italian Garden PizzaStacie and I seem to have found such a gem. We love pizza–in fact, I thinking about experimenting with my own dough and coming up with some fun creations to write about. So, today, when trying to decide what to have for lunch we pulled out this pizza I picked up at the grocery store on a whim.

If you have a Kroger in your area, I would recommend checking this pizza out. It’s the “premium” store brand, Private Selection, Woodfired Stone Baked Italian Garden Pizza. Once you get past the rather long title, at it’s core this is a simple vegetable pizza; the pizza has sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, pecarino Romano and feta cheese on top of a crispy, thin crust that has been lightly covered in just enough tomato sauce to hold the whole thing together.

The pizza also has very generous servings–one third of each pie is one serving. And, it’s reasonably healthy, making it that much more appetizing: 340 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 5 grams of fiber per serving. Since there are just two of us, we each had half the pie, giving us 540 calories, 18 grams of fat, and 7.5 grams of fiber. That’s a little on the heavy side, but still respectable for a decent amount of food and still much more healthful than, say, a Big Mac.

And, it only put us out about $5.25, much cheaper than most carry-out pizza joints.

Want to make this on your own, or don’t have a Kroger (Fred Meyers, Scoops, etc..) near-by? Here is my deconstructed version of this pizza:

Ingredients

  • 1-10 inch pre-made thin pizza crust (or, you could try my quick rising pizza crust)
  • 1/4 cup of pre-made pizza sauce
  • 1/4 cup of cooked, well-drained spinach
  • 1/4 cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese
  • 1/4 cup of crumbled Feta

Procedure

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees (F). Spread the sauce over the crust. Then, layer the remaining ingredients, reserving the cheese for the top. Bake directly on the rack for about 6-8 minutes, until the crust is crispy and the cheese has melted and turned slightly golden.

Frugal Friday: Making Something From Nothing

Published by Hal on January 25, 2008 in Frugal Friday and recipes. 0 Comments

I came home from work and working out the other night and needed something dinner. Unfortunately, my wife had already eaten with some of her friends, so I was on my own. Rather than revert to a TV dinner, I decided to see what I had on hand. I was feeling something Asian inspired, but it needed to be healthful–so no General Tso’s chicken for me, though it’s actually really easy to make!

No, instead I settled on stir fried (from a skillet, if that’s even technically possible) chicken with a soy-sauce glaze and yellow rice. There’s no reason for me to have yellow rice, and it’s kind of a cheat on saffron rice (which is also yellow)–I just like the color and it’s different than standard rice. You can use saffron, though that’s expensive and probably not a good use of such a premium ingredient for something you’ll just whip up; I just used 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric–hardly any flavor, but lots of color.

To just whip something up, the first thing I needed to do was take an inventory of what ingredients I had. We had just gone to the grocery store the night before, so we had a pretty full refrigerator and pantry; but, some things were off limits because I had other plans for them. I did have plenty of root vegetables which make a good base for any dish. I couldn’t use any of the fresh meat we bought, but I did have some frozen chicken tenders in the freezer. So, chicken and vegetables it was going to be.

Second, I needed a plan. I took a few minutes to think about what I was going to do. I knew it needed to be quick, since it was already 8 p.m., so I opted to dice my vegetables and cut the chicken into bite sized chunks. But, I also needed to season the food somehow. There was some soy sauce, rice vinegar, and rice wine in the fridge from when I made General Tso’s chicken a while back, and I had some sugar on hand, so I thought I whip up a quick glaze from that.

Next, I set to work defrosting the chicken, dicing the vegetables, and sauteeing everything. While I let the vegetables work, I started the rice. Once everything was started and working, I prepared the glaze.

Finally, everything came together and I enjoyed my dinner. I made enough for two so I could have some at work the next day. Now, I’m sharing this recipe with you so you might be inspired to experiment in your own home.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 1/4 green pepper, diced
  • 1 rib of celery, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
  • 1 large (or 2 regular) chicken breast, cut into bite sized chunks
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Procedure

  1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet, over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and cook until soft.
  3. Add the green pepper, celery, and garlic and continue to cook until the onion begins to caramelize.
  4. Add the chicken and cook until all sides have turned brown.
  5. In the meantime, combine the water, sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar.
  6. Pour the glaze over the chicken-vegetable mixture and reduce by about 25%.
  7. Serve over warm rice!

Deutsche Nacht!

Published by Hal on January 24, 2008 in recipes. 1 Comment

My wife has very German heritage. That doesn’t really mean anything when it comes to food, but we like to pretend it does. We had the opportunity to travel to Germany and Austria this summer and discovered that some of the food that we liked to eat on a regular basis was actually traditional Münchener Gaststätten fare :)

What could I be talking about but Wurst mit Sauerkraut und Kartoffeln? I think that I had the absolute best sauerkraut ever when we were in Munich–very different from the sauerkraut that I’ve ever had (or made) here in the States–it was sweet, but not too, and complimented the Kleinewurst perfect. Paired with pillowy, cloud-like mashed potatoes, and we were in heaven! And, it was like a little taste of home.

We make variations of this at home all the time, so I thought I would share with you what I made the other night. It’s not terribly healthful, but I did lighten it up some with turkey smoked sausage, so remember that it could be worse!

Brown Sugar Pan Sausage

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 8 ounce package of smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces and sliced on a bias

Procedure:

  1. Melt the butter in a medium skillet; add the onions.
  2. Cook the onions just until they begin to caramelize, stirring occasionally.
  3. Once the onions have caramelized, add the garlic and continue to stir.
  4. Add the brown sugar and the water.
  5. Add the sausage and cover the pan.
  6. Once the sausage has browned on one side, turn it over and allow it to brown on the other side.
  7. Serve warm, with your choice of side!

A taste of our German/Austrian trip, after the cut (warning, it’s picture heavy! AND, bonus points if you can translate my German–that, it’s not that hard, looking at the context): Continue reading ‘Deutsche Nacht!’

Recipes: Focaccia

Published by Hal on January 22, 2008 in recipes. 3 Comments

I apologize for not posting much over the last several days–we had a wedding back home, so I spent the weekend traveling. Then, we went over to a friend’s house for dinner last night and didn’t get home until late.

However, it was the weekend of great food! The wedding was held at the Krohn Conservatory, overlooking downtown Cincinnati. The couple had the reception catered by Jeff Thomas Catering, who came up with an ingenious way to design a menu. The bulk of the party was in three rooms at the Krohn: the southwest room, the bonsai room, and the floral display house. In these three rooms was a tacos/fajitas bar, a Southeast Asian bar, and a pasta bar, respectively. Everything was amazing, especially the Southeast Asian bar. The chicken curry was delightful!

Then, last night, we went to our friend, Sonia’s, house (hi, Sonia!), where she treated us to an assortment of yummy food. First, she doctored up some canned cream of mushroom soup with chickpeas and rice (a good tip, if you’re in a rush). Then, we had some chicken in aromatic rice, biryani, lentils, and flatbread. Finally, she ended with a perfectly cooked, deliciously lemony cheesecake. What a nice!

Anyway, I’ve been getting into baking lately, at the suggestion of my friend, Charli (hi, Charli!). Last week, I found a delicious recipe for focaccia, here, and it’s been a hit the three times I’ve made it. Of course, I took my own spin (on the directions at least). So, without further ado:

Focaccia

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup mozzarella

Directions:

  1. Proof the yeast with the water and the sugar.
  2. Meanwhile, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Use a whisk to distribute the herbs throughout.
  3. After the yeast has proofed (you can tell because the head will have more than doubled), stir the yeast/water mixture and the vegetable oil into the dry ingredients.
  4. Using the dough hook on your mixer, or just a wooden spoon, stir the ingredients until they come together into a ball.
    • If you’re doing this by hand, you can also just use your hands once you’ve got all the ingredients combined.
  5. Knead the dough about 20 times and form into a ball.
  6. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise for 20-30 minutes. (Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450 degrees)
  7. After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a greased baking sheet. Then, flatten it to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
    • You can make a rectangle, but the dough seems to want to be round. I just use a solid bottom pizza pan and make a round loaf.
    • I would not use one of those baking sheets that has two layers of metal with air between. You’ve seen them–they keep the bottom of cookies from browning too much. Problem is, they keep the bottom from browning, and you want a nice crust!
  8. Brush with the olive oil, then sprinkle the cheeses over the top.
    • The ingredients say mozzarella and parmesan, and you can use that, however it, would be like a pizza without cheese. The first time I made this, I used shredded (not grated) parmesan and romano cheese. My wife thinks this was much better.
    • Experiment with the toppings–I’ve been thinking of caramelized onion slices and sun-dried tomatoes.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. Serve warm.

Recipes: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Published by Hal on January 15, 2008 in leftovers and recipes. 0 Comments

Can you see just how versatile are the Chicken Tacos we made Saturday? This is pretty amazing, that we’re on our second dish! My wife loved this, and insisted that I post this recipe. It’s really simple, really tasty, and is a creative use for some left overs.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) of vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup, plus, of your chicken taco filling
  • 1/2 cup, plus, of your pico de gallo
  • 1 small can of diced green chilies
  • A few handfuls of tortilla chips, some crushed, some whole
  • Chopped cilantro to garnish

Procedure:

Place a two quart sauce pan over medium heat. Into the pan, melt the butter, then add the flour. Stir continuously for about 2 minutes. (Remember, this is the basic recipe for a roux) After you’ve cooked the roux, whisk the vegetable stock into the roux and bring to a boil. Once the liquid has come to a boil, add the chicken, pico, and chilies. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until the remaining ingredients have heated through. Ladle into bowls, then top with the chips and cilantro. You can also serve with shredded cheese and/or sour cream. Serves 4.

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