It has been a long summer. I haven’t been blogging and I apologize for not letting all of you know that all is well with me. We have been staying at home as many others have also. I just needed a break from social media for a while. But I am back and following all of you again. Thanks Lynne for checking up on me.
I have been cooking, but nothing inspiring or new until I made this pork chop dish. It comes from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. My Daughter-In-Law gave me a container of dried gourmet mixed mushrooms for Christmas and they led me to search out recipes including dried mushrooms.
This is not a quick recipe. Several steps are required. But I have the time. My days have fallen into a new rhythm. Mornings are spent on necessary chores or trips to the grocery store. Early afternoons are spent reading or binge watching Netflix shows. I have seen every episode of The Great British Baking Show and I’m working my way through each season of NCIS. But at 4:00 P.M. I am usually in the kitchen. I like the concept of “slow cooking”. Working my way through a recipe that requires slow deliberate steps is calming.
The braised pork chops are flavored with white wine, tomatoes, heavy cream, the dried mushrooms and fresh button mushrooms. It is a dish worth the time.
Braised Pork Chops with Tomatoes, Cream, and Porcini Mushrooms
1 ounce (1/2 cup) dried porcini or other dried mushrooms soaked in 2 cups of warm water for at least 30 minutes.
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 pounds pork chops, preferably from the center loin, cut 3/4 inch thick
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, drained and cut up
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
The filtered water from the mushroom soak
1/2 pound fresh white button mushrooms
Choose a sauté pan that can subsequently accommodate all the chops without overlapping. Put in 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, turn on the heat to medium high, and when the oil is hot, slip in the chops. Brown the meat deeply on one side, the do the other.
Add the white wine, letting it simmer briskly for 15 to 20 seconds, while using a wooden spoon to scrape loose any browning residues in the pan. Add the tomatoes, cream, salt and pepper the cup-up reconstituted drained porcini mushrooms. (Save the soaking water). Turn the heat down to cook at a very gentle simmer, and cover the pan, setting the lid on slightly ajar.
Cook for 45 minutes, or more, depending on the exact thickness and quality of the chops, until the meat feels tender when prodded with a fork. Turn the chops from time to time.
While the chops are cooking, put the filtered water from the porcini mushroom soak into a small saucepan, and boil it down to about 1/3 cup.
Wash the fresh white mushrooms rapidly under cold running water and wipe them thoroughly dry with a soft cloth towel. Cut them into very thin lengthwise slices without detaching the caps from the stems.
Choose a sauté pan that can contain the fresh mushrooms without crowding them. Put in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and turn on the heat to high. When the oil is hot, put in the mushrooms. Stir them frequently, adding salt and pepper. When the liquid they will shed has boiled away, add the reduced filtered water from the porcini soak, and continue to stir frequently until there is no more liquid in the pan. Take off heat.
When the pork chops are tender, add the cooked mushrooms to their pan. Turn the chops and mushrooms, cover the pan again, and continue cooking for 5 to 8 minutes always over moderate heat. Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a warm platter and serve at once.
Carne Guisada is a Tex-Mex dish whose translation is “Stewed Meat”. In Josef Centeno’s new cookbook, Amá; a Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen there is no doubt that this stew shines in its simplicity. It is nothing more than beef chunks cooked with chilis, spices, tomatoes and beef broth. The 3 hours in the oven meld the flavors and soften the meat into succulent pieces.
The chef/ author, grew up having these tacos for breakfast. This makes so much sense. Folding soft meat, flavored with Mexican spices into a sturdy flour tortilla works well as breakfast in the back seat of a car on the way to school.
But we enjoyed the Carne Guisada for dinner. I have to admit that I ended up adding some condiments like cheese, onions, peppers and lettuce. They made enough that we can have then again over rice, in a bowl with tortilla chips or over scrambled eggs. I love that we can make many meals from this recipe. By the way, if you don’t have the right chilis just use what you have. I used jalepeños and 1 serrano.
CARNE GUISADA
2 Ancho chilis
4 Tbls oil
2 1/2 to 3 lbs boneless short ribs or chunk roast, cubed in 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
1/2 tsp sea salt
5 garlic cloves
1 Serrano chili, stemmed, seeded and finally chopped
1 Tbls oregano- preferably Mexican oregano
1 1/2 tsp cunim seed
1 tsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 Tbls flour
3 cups beef broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes
If using ancho chiles: using tongs, toast over open flames of a gas burner until slightly softened and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stem and seed the chilis and tear into pieces. If using jalapeños: Stem seed and chop.
Heat 2 Tbls. oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add beef and brown in batches on all sides. Remove to a plate.
Add remaining 2 Tbls. oil to the pot. When oil is hot, add onions, chilis and salt and cook over medium heat, scraping up brown bits of meat until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, cumin seeds, chili powder, bay leaves and pepper and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
Add the flour and stir to incorporate. Add the beef cubes and their juices back to the pan. Stir. Add the beef broth and tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil.
Transfer the pot to a preheated 300 degree F. oven and cook for about 3 hours.
A clafouti is a French egg dish. It is usually a sweet batter with cherries or other fruit. Melissa Clark, of the New York Times, recently came out with a new cookbook called Dinner in French; My Recipes by Way of France. In it, she shared this recipe for a savory clafouti with peppers, ham and cheese It is perfect for a Sunday brunch. We have made it twice so far; two Sundays in a row. Adjusting to quiet solitary living has mixed results. We miss meeting with friends, dining in restaurants, shopping and traveling to visit family. But the slow pace of being home has allowed us to relax, read, enjoy the lake and plan, cook and eat interesting meals.
The second time that we made this clafouti we used cooked sausage instead of the ham and roasted red peppers from a jar in addition to the sweet green peppers. But both times we used lots of fresh basil since I have a pot of basil sitting on my kitchen windowsill. You can use anything you have on hand for good results.
I almost skipped the suggestion to garnish the finished dish with crushed red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon. Do not ignore this suggestion. The heat of the pepper flakes and freshness of the lemon juice just made it all better. Whatever we can do to “make it all better” is important right now. From my isolated home to yours.
SWEET PEPPER AND CHEDDAR CLAFOUTI
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup Crème fraîche or Sour Cream
4 large eggs
2 1/2 Tbls. flour
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely grated sharp white cheddar cheese, divided
2 oz. sliced ham, chopped
2 Tbls. olive oil
3 sweet peppers, preferabley different colors, seeded and sliced into 1/4 inch strips
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh lemon juice, for serving
Crushed red pepper flakes, for serving
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, crème fraîche or sour cream, eggs, flour, basil, 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheddar and ham.
In a 9″ ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the peppers and cook until they are softened and golden at the edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the garlic and remaining 1/4 tsp salt and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Scrape the egg mixture into the skillet, and top it with the 1/4 cup remaining cheddar and the Parmesan. (Or, for a more elegant presentation, scrape the vegetables into a gratin or casserole dish and add the egg mixture and cheese to that). Bake until the eggs are set 35 to 40 minutes. (Mine took 45 minutes). Cool slightly then top with the lemon juice and red pepper flakes.
We are on our second roast chicken since the quarantine. When it is just the two of us, there are always leftovers. I like to turn them into casseroles, soups and salads. Here are a few ideas from previous posts.
Mexican Chicken Casserole is a lightened version of Mexican ingredients – less cheese and tortillas and more vegetables than a normal dish. Plus it has a charred tomato salsa that could stand on its own. Chicken replaces ground beef. The original recipe came from Cooking Light.
Chicken Salad with Wild Rice is a refreshing take on this traditional salad. The wild rice pairs well with the orange dressing.
Chicken and Orzo Soup is one of my favorite soups. It is easy and full of good vegetables.
I am thinking of everyone and hoping all of you are staying safe at home.
Week three of home confinement. We have fallen into a rhythm; marking the days with small household tasks, canceling airline tickets for a Fall trip to Europe, cooking, reading and cherishing our continued good health. It is on my mental list to do some major cleaning to closets and bathroom tiles. But for now, all I can manage are small steps. Trips to the Supermarket are fraught with worry. We try not to go often. Cooking has been one of the ways that restores calm. I bought a bag of Navel oranges a few weeks ago and have been using them in baked goods.
This simple one bowl poundcake came from Melissa Clark of the New York Times. Rubbing the sugar with orange zest seems to release the oils in zest and impart more flavor.
It is a treat to have this bread available for a quiet breakfast on the deck with a cup of coffee each morning. The beauty of nature soothes us in these turbulent times. Stay safe.
CITRUS POUNDCAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
1 Cup sugar
Zest of 1 navel orange
2 Tbls melted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla (or 1/4 tsp Fiori de Sicilia Citrus flavoring and 1/4 tsp vanilla)
Grated nutmeg (optional) or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup plain cornmeal
1 1/4 cup flour
In a large bowl, rub the sugar with the orange zest. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine.
Whisk in the dry ingredients in this order; salt, baking soda, baking powder and cornmeal. Once smooth whisk in the flour until combined well.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let the bread cool in the pan. Remove. Slice and serve as is or place in a toaster for a crispy warm treat. Butter optional (or not).
