What's cooking at Jerk Castle . . .

We are off to Italy. . .

for almost two weeks. . .we will be eating and drinking our hearts out and learning how to make pasta in Bologna! Check back in for tips we learned at our cooking class! 

Till then. .  . Ciao!

Chicken under a brick

 

Chicken under a brick is a favorite of mine. .. . basically the chicken is butterflyed and cooked with a brick on top in a skillet resulting in perfect crisped skin and moist and tender on the inside (who doesn't like that?)

This recipe, adapted from Cooks Illustrated, was fairly easy . . .and uses a dutch oven placed on top of the chicken as the weight instead of a brick, which worked out great for us since we didn't have a brick laying around. . . 

Ingredients needed:

2 teaspoons minced fresh sage leaves

1 medium clove garlic, minced

Table salt and ground black pepper

1 whole chicken (3 pounds), butterflied  (ask the butcher to butterfly it for you)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1. Mix the sage, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.
2. Loosen the skin on each leg and thigh. (Get in there) Rub the herb mixture under the skin. Then loosen the skin covering the breast and rub the remaining herb mixture under the skin. Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan (we used a cast iron skillet which worked out really well). Cover bottom of a Dutch oven or stock pot, with foil and fill with 5 quarts water. 
4. Once the oil is shimmering, lay the chicken skin side down in sauté pan. Set the Dutch oven on top to hold the chicken flat.
    
5. Cook over a medium-high heat until skin is nicely browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Remove Dutch oven; turn chicken skin side up. Replace Dutch oven and continue cooking until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the breast reads 165, app. 15-20 more minutes. 
7. Transfer the chicken to a plate to rest and tent with foil.

Serve with whatever greens and starch you want. . .you really can't go wrong. Enjoy!

 

Ropa Vieja

It is cold out which means an excuse to eat large bowls of beef stew . . .i normally get my fix at Sophie's with a huge plate of ropa vieja at lunch (although this is not good for any productivity as it is definite to cause a food coma) . . . my last trip to Sophie's inspired me to give the dish a try at home. . . 

i chose this recipe because it seemed do-able and although a project, less steps than some others. . .it came out really tasty and my husband and i, along with my sister in law and brother in law, finished off every last bit. . . 

http://latinfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/ropa_vieja.htm

tips-

*we found it difficult to shred the meat with a fork and resorted to our hands- we probably could have left the meat cooking in for a little while longer which would have made it even more tender (we cooked it for around an hour and a half -i would do two hours next time)

*it was a bit bland so i added some salsa verde just before serving which gave it a needed kick. 

*as you can see, we served ours with yellow rice and crusty bread.

also, on the cuban front, we are very exciting about the arrival of cubana cafe to park slope- cute place with good food that has been in soho for a long time. . . the chicken with mango salsa is delicious (i think it is #18 on their menu).

Send me some of your favorite stew recipes. . .the winter has just begun. 

Latkes and happy holidays!

although Hanukkah is over, it is still holiday season so don't feel shy about whipping up some potato pancakes. . .we had three weeks of them this year, once at my mother in law's house, then we made them at home the following weekend since we felt it absolutely necessary to make a batch after the Hanukkah celebration with my family was cancelled due to snow (trial run for when we rescheduled) and then again the following week when we finally celebrated with my family. . . 

this recipe serves at least 8-10 people (my family ate a ton and we had a lot leftover. . . .which is exactly what you want since they heat up perfectly in the toaster oven):

peel 7-8 pounds of russet potatoes (1 5lb bag and app 1/2 of another) and cut into quarter size pieces- add to a large bowl of ice water as you work to keep them from getting brown

quarter 4 pounds of yellow onions

using a food processor and working in small batches, pulse potato and onion together to a fine pulp, transferring each batch to a large bowl (if you are hardcore or do not have a food processor, you can grate the potatoes and finely chop the onions)

once all processed, the draining or squeezing begins. Again in small batches, using a cheesecloth, squeeze out excess water from the potato/onion mixture and add the dryer mixture to a separate bowl.

  

Mix in 4 large eggs (or 3 jumbo eggs), plenty of salt and pepper and app 1/4 cup matzoh meal (you will have to eye this amount a bit depending on how dry the mixture is- be careful not to make it too dry)

heat canola oil until sizzling, using spoonfuls of the mixture, fry to golden brown.

serve with apple sauce and sour cream. . . . and eat as many as you can. 

happy holidays!

Artichoke Pasta Salad

My computer has been out of my life for a few weeks as my brother worked on it getting it back shape. . (basically by taking everything off that i had put on which messed it all up and starting over from scratch). . . he even added a new keyboard. i am therefore seriously behind on letting you all know what we have been eating here at jerk castle- never even posting about all of our thanksgiving sides. . .

oh well, i must move on as the new holiday season has arrived. . .coming soon i will post about our potato pancake fest that we had last weekend during the snow storm, but that is jumping ahead just a bit. First I need to tell you about Steven's birthday meal we had here at home. . . a grilled porterhouse with sauteed swiss chard and this tasty and easy to make artichoke pasta salad.  

Although the steak was the star of the meal, the artichoke salad was a lovely and different side . . .salty and hearty, i would definitely make it again. . . and i don't even really like olives very much.

here is the recipe thanks to sunny anderson and her show cooking for real (from the "speed dating" episode which, besides the salad, didn't seem like the food was all that quick to prepare but thats just me)-i do enjoy her show from time to time however she talks too much for my liking . . .(please just stop telling me personal stories for a few minutes and talk about the food). anyway, props to her salad- here is the recipe and a peek at ours:

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/quick-artichoke-salad-recipe/index.html

 

Tip-the recipe makes a ton (not sure who she was feeding on date night) so if you are only cooking for two or three people and making this as one of a few sides, halve the measurements and you will still have plenty of leftovers. . . 

Now here come the latkes! wooohoo. 

Roast Turkey

We've been working on getting the turkey down for a few years now. the first year we had a major brining accident that called for serious duck tape. luckily, with a better brining bag and a brine mixture that does not have big peppercorns which can pop the bag, we have not had a repeat.  In years past we used two big oven bags instead of a brining bag thinking they were much more expensive.  This year we used a brining bag, and it was more than worth it.  It is bigger, stronger, has a flat bottom and a ziplock top.  All this, it turns out, for an extra dollar.

The family does seem to enjoy our bird and we add a few extra legs in the oven for the die-hards who try and call a leg like calling shotgun. . .here is a peek and how we go about it:

So here it goes:

1- brine the turkey the night before- we've been using a brine mixture bought straight from freshdirect (its just a mixture of spices that you add water to- you can definitely make your own). (1) put the turkey (and extra legs) in the brining bag (2) boil water and add the brine mixture so the salt and sugar dissolve (3) add cold water (4) pour the mixture into the brine bag (5) let sit in fridge overnight. (btw- if you work and host thanksgiving, freshdirect rocks for thanksgiving- we order almost all the food, including the turkey, and have it delivered the tuesday or wednesday night!) 

2-thanksgiving morning flip the bird in the bag to make sure its more evenly brined.

3- when you are ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 500 degrees, take the bird out of the bag, wash it off with cold water (inside and out to get all the brining solution off of it) and pat dry.  Don't forget to remove the bag of giblets from the turkey.

4- quarter a few oranges and onions and place in the cavity.

5- rub the bird with canola oil.

6- place on rack in roasting pan.

7- add cut up potatoes and carrots to the bottom of the pan and appx 1-2 inches of chicken stock . . . we also wrap the neck in tin foil and put it in the bottom of the pan (the mom's like the neck. . kind of gross if you ask me).  the stock helps keep the turkey moist and gives the veggies a great flavor when it mixes with the turkey drippings.

8- roast at 500 degrees for 30 minutes, take out and cover the breast with two layers of tin foil, insert a probe thermometer if you have one, into the thickest part of the breast and reduce the temperature to 350 for the remainder of the cooking time and roast until the temp reaches 161 degrees. We had a 15 pounder and it took around 2 1/3 hours to roast. . .

9- let rest for 30 minutes before carving. this allows the juices to redistribute, and makes for easier carving b/c the turkey is not quite as hot.  it also provides time to warm up your sides.

Ok- that's how we do it. Send us your turkey tips for next year. . . and hope you all had a very happy thanksgiving.

 

Apple-Cranberry Crisp

We host thanksgiving each year. . . hard to believe, but this was year four. I will put up a series of posts with what we served this year, the good, the bad and tips to how to make it better. The highlights were the potato leek soup and the crisp for dessert. . . (the turkey was good and juicy too, don't get me wrong, but its more fun to talk about the sides)

The last three years we made a carmelized pumpkin and pear crumble for dessert using a recipe I had found years ago in Real Simple magazine. I love that dessert, but it doesn't quite get the attention i think it deserves from our guests. . .  so this year we decided to try a different crisp (i love a good crisp).

I chose this Apple-Cranberry Crisp figuring that apple and cranberry were a classic  pairing for Fall. . . it was a total hit- a perfect combination of sour and sweet and really easy to make. You are basically just mixing everything and then baking- no cooking anything first on the stove.

apple-cranberry crisp recipe from Bon Appetit

serves 6

11/2 pds tart green apples, peeled, cored cut into 3/4 inch pieces

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

2/3 cup sugar

4 tbls all-purpose flour, divided

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 tbls firmly packed golden brown sugar

2 tbls butter, cut into poeces, room temparature

*preheat oven to 375 degrees

*toss apples, cranberries, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 tbs flour, cinnamon and nutmeg to blend in large bowl

*transfer to 8x8x2 inch glass baking dish- let stand for 15 minutes

*combine oats, brown sugar and remaining 2 tbls flour in medium bowl- add butter and stir until moist clumps form, sprinkle topping over filling

*bake until topping is golden brown and filling bubbles- app. 1 hr- serve warm or at room temperature

tips-

1. we made this the night before and then re-heated it in the oven as dinner was finishing- worked out just fine.

2. double the crisp recipe for extra crisp- the portion called for in the recipe just did not seem like enough. . .and why hold back on dessert?

3. make your own whip cream- its easy, wonderful tasting and a nice touch to have your guests scoop homeade whip cream onto their crisp. . . just add cream and sugar and wisk- we used 1 pint heavy cream (for ten people), 2 to 3 tbls sugar (to taste), and the wisk attachment to an immersion blender. . a hand blender works as well of course and if you must, good old fashioned wisking by hand would work as well (but takes a lot longer).

4.  we used fresh cranberries and a differently sized glass dish and it worked out great.

Salad Nicoise

I was super lucky this year to receive the entire collection dvd set of Julia Child's, The French Chef, for my birthday . . . watching the show has been an absolute delight. Last weekend, we watched the Salad Nicoise episode and I was inspired to attempt it for lunch- (however, we we were hungry, and too lazy to go outside, so a couple of ingredients got tweeked- like we had to use baby spinach instead of lettuce and we added cucumber b/c we had some that needed to be eaten. . . and we left out the anchovies)- ok, so i guess it was loosely based on Child's salad nicoise, yet still hearty, fresh and delicious. . . .and a great weekend lunch option.

here is a link to Child's recipe:

http://www.ochef.com/r189.htm

and a peek at our version:

And btw- if you need a gift for someone obsessed with cooking, the dvds were a fantastic present (shout out to my husband Steven).

Turkey Burgers

We've been experimenting with turkey burgers on and off now for a while trying to find a good combination of ingredients that add flavor and stay moist- this combination is flavorful and tasty and one of our best- i think the key is the fresh herbs so do not skip that step. . .here is our recipe:

To 1 lb of ground turkey meat add:

Spicy brown mustard (app 2 tlbs)

bread crumbs (app 1 cup)

1 egg

1 large shallot finely chooped

handful each of (chopped) parsley, cilantro or basil (parsley is a must and whatever herb you may also have around will work)

a good 2 pinches of salt and pepper

Form into patties and grill on an oiled grill pan

 
 

tips-

1-form into flattish patties to assist with even grilling

2-avoid overcooking to keep the moisture.  we use either a meat thermometer or make a incision to make sure the meat is cooked through; we use around 160-170 degrees, but have seen recommendations that are higher.

3- load them up with ketchup, carmelized onions, pickles, and advocado. . . .pickles always work. . . (you can also swap hummus for ketchup)

On to salad nicoise!  

Bread and Butter Pickles

Its been a slow month over at jerk castle in the cooking department. . . mostly because we've both had to work on the weekends, we went away for our wedding anniversary and then had my sister's wedding last weekend . all good things (except for the work) so i cannot complain, but i am missing our cooking time and am excited now that thanksgiving recipes are everywhere.

We did have a chance to buy a perfect mason jar for pickling at a great little kitchen supply store, The Chef's Shop, in Great Barrington where we were celebrating our anniversary. I had already bought many kirby cucumbers this summer only to never get around to pickling but last Saturday we finally got the job done.

here is a pic of what it looks like before adding the brine mixture:

And after adding all the liquid and set to go into the fridge- spices settle on the bottom but move around once jar is mixed a bit:

We used a Tyler Florence recipe from his show Tyler's Ultimate-

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/homemade-bread-and-butter-pickles-recipe/index.html

The pickles are very tangy and sweet. i like a garlic pickle better than a bread and butter, but these were good and fun to make. . . next is the garlic variety so keep posted.