Stretch

Light posting this week due to lack of inspiration and a trip. I'm sure you noticed.

Sometimes, during a rigorous and exhausting 5-hour nap, one must take a moment to stretch.

Bunni tutoring Rikki on the fine points of a well-executed naptime stretch: [yawn] I think we will take a bit of a stretch right now...

Aaah, that feels good...stretch those limbs helter skelter now...

...still streeeeetching...must be limber for all that napping...

...and...I think we'll just fall asleep like...this...zzzz...shneerfff...

Who knew that stretching could be just as exhausting as napping.

Note: I apologize for the indecency of some of these shots. The pugs have no mind for modesty.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

For New Year's Eve dinner, I excitedly told Kevin that I was going to make stuffed pork chops.  With a somewhat less than enthusiastic response, he hemmed and hawed, saying no, I should do something simple, like my spaghetti and meatball dish.  Oh ho, little does he know that spaghetti and meatballs is a dish I consider to be somewhat intensive.  And I let him know that in no uncertain terms.

But still, I love the dish so I made it a few days after New Year's.

For spaghetti and meatballs, I turn to Lidia Bastianich and a recipe from one of her cookbooks, The Italian American Kitchen.

Adapted from Lidia Bastianich

Sauce

• Two 35-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands (Marzano or non, whatever works)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper (original recipe calls for 1 tsp but I worried about it being too spicy)
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Meatballs

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 cup fine, dry bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (the original recipe calls for 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic, but I've found that the garlic doesn't cook that well when it's hiding in the meatball--however, if you don't have garlic powder, no need to go out and buy it just for this recipe, simply use the fresh garlic)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Let's start with the sauce.

Whoop dee doo.  Heat the oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add in the onion and garlic.

Saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add in the crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, about a 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of salt, and about 1/4 tsp ground black pepper.

Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer.  I usually make the meatballs while the sauce is simmering away. 

In a large bowl, mix together the pork and beef until just combined.  Add in the bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, and garlic powder. 

In a separate small bowl, whisk up the egg with the salt and pepper.

Pour into meat mixture and mix with your hands, just until combined. No need to overwork.  I think I took a picture of the completed meat mixture, but it was really beyond unattractive, so let's just skip to the meatball part.

Form 1 1/2" meatballs with your hands.

Bouquet of meatballs

At this point, you can move ahead with the recipe, or, if you're like me, you'll put the meatballs in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let them firm up.

Heat the veggie and olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Dredge the meatballs in flour and shake off the excess.

Gently place the meatballs into the spattering oil. You will probably have to do this in two batches.  Brown the meatballs on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.

I won't lie, this is kind of a pain.  You have to stand over a skillet of spattering oil for about 20 minutes, constantly flipping soft meatballs, trying to get them to balance so all sides get browned, etc. And Kevin thinks this recipe is easy. EASY. I hope he's reading this.

Slip the meatballs into the simmering tomato sauce (I had actually turned off the heat for the sauce for a bit when the meatballs were in the fridge, then brought it back to a simmer while I was browning the meatballs).

Simmer for about 30 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through.

Cook your pasta.

When you drain your pasta, make sure to pour the boiling water out as exuberantly as possible, so some of it splashes up, over the edge of the sink, and onto your hip.  If at all possible, give yourself a second degree burn, and spend the next few hours acting like it's all Kevin's fault.

Anyway, after the boiling water incident, my patience for pictures was pretty nil, hence the half-assed picture below. Stir the pasta with the meatballs and sauce, and you're good to go. I'm going to lick my wounds.  Oh, something about sprinkling with extra Parm whatever get me a bandaid stat.

Ta-da! (wince of pain)

Short End of the Stick

The pugs love crawling into Kevin's lap when he's sitting in his favorite recliner (it's favorite by default, we only have one recliner).

Rikki quickly took advantage the other day, managing to look like a rolled up cinnamon bun.

Pictures like this make me think that Kevin would be a good dad (to a human)

But wait? See that in the back left, behind Rikki? 

Yep, it's Bunni. The pug that made it to Kevin's lap first, only to be rudely squashed by her sister.

Oddly, she looks somewhat peaceful.

That, or she's pleading with me, using only her eyes, to free her from this vice grip?

 

 Or, I suppose, she just looks resigned.

Pork Chop Redemption

Hail the mighty pork chops.  After a bloody, then overly crispy battle, they have returned blazing and victorious with redolent porky yumminess.


"Blazing" and "victorious" is more than likely overstating the situation, but I did venture to try pork chops again for New Year's Eve dinner, and it went much better this time than the previous.  Well, I didn't cry, which is a vast improvement. 


Adapted from Tyler Florence 

A few notes: I made only 3 pork chops, but I'm giving the recipe for 4 because that's easier. And, the original recipe was much fancier and had something about roasted grapes, two cast iron skillets, allspice, and other doodads.  Mine wasn't as fancy.

• 4 bone-in pork chops, each about 1.5" thick
• 2 quarts room temperature water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup kosher salt (1/8 cup if you're using regular table salt)
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 4 slices prosciutto (about 1 oz)
• 2 oz shredded asiago (I just said 2 oz--I actually have no idea. I used about 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded asiago)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock

Hi pork. I love you.

No really, I do. Come back!

In a large bowl or other container, combine the water, sugar and salt.  Mix until sugar and salt dissolve.  I then poured the brine into a gallon sized bag because I was only using 3 pork chops and they all fit, but if 4 pork chops won't fit in a gallon-sized bag with the brine, then go ahead with your container.  

Store in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 hours.

Remove oinkies from brine, shake off excess brine, and pat them dry with a paper towel.  The next step is optional, but if you have time then go for it.  I laid out the pork chops on a tray and then put them in the refrigerator for a few hours. Purpose? Dry out the surface just a touch so that when you sear the pork chops, they develop a nice crust instead of steaming. Did it make a huge difference? Dunno.

But I get to sit here and write that I let them air-dry for a while. Wheeee!!!!

When they're all dried, whether by a paper towel rubdown or some time, naked, in the fridge, take a knife and make a horizontal slit in the side of each pork chop.  Kind of like a pocket.

Stuff the pocket you just made with 1 slice of prosciutto and about 1 to 2 TBS of shredded asiago.

Can't see what I'm doing? Here's another angle.

Which is oddly disturbing, but you get a better idea of what I'm doing.

Slide in some toothpicks sideways to seal the pocket.  No need to season the exterior, there is plenty 'o' salt in these.


Heat about 2 to 3 TBS olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Plonk your pork chops down and cook until a nice crust forms, about 5 minutes.  


Turn heat down to medium, and carefully flip the pork chops.

And cook until just slightly pink on the inside, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Or something like that. It got really touch and go for me at this point because I had no idea what I was doing. Haven't heard that from me before, have ya?


Next time, I will probably finish the pork chops off in the oven (Tyler Florence says 425 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes).


I served these chops with roasted broccoli sprinkled with parmesan, asiago, and lemon juice, and a warm potato salad.

Oh, and don't forget to remove the toothpicks before eating. I seriously started to freak out when I was making my first cut into my precious, labored-over pork chop and couldn't saw through the damn thing.  But all was well. Sneaky toothpick.

Ta-da!

Cranberry and Meyer Lemon Scones

More cranberries for you.

And, best scones ever. Love 'em.  I made them a few years ago after seeing the recipe on Smitten Kitchen. 

Pros and cons about scones.  Let's start with cons: scones should be eaten fresh because the texture really suffers if you wait a day--so you can't make the whole recipe kit and kaboodle ahead of time and be done with it.  Pros: scone dough freezes well.  So if you're having folks over for brunch, you can make these ahead of time and the only thing you have to do is pop them in the oven in the morning before people arrive, adding about 3-5 minutes to the baking time.  

Or, forget the guests, and just make them for yourself.

Note: I'm sorry about the quality of the pictures below.  I was experimenting with...stuff. (Translation: I had no idea what I was doing with my camera.)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons; Smitten Kitchen prefers Meyer and I said to myself why the hell not, but obviously you can use regular lemons as well--although maybe cut back on the amount because it will be tarter than Meyer zest)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar (you will use them at different points in the recipe)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Zeest your leemons. Set aside. Save lemons and their juices for another use.  Or, if you're like me, say you're going to use them for something else, leave them on the counter, and have to throw them out after a few days after not having that "something else". Then, the next day, find recipe for something that requires lemons, buy lemons, and repeat.

.

  I'm not positive, but it sure looks like I have some orange zest in there also, doesn't it? I think I may have had a half-zest orange lying around, and I used it for this. Nice touch. I'm brilliant. 

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.  You can also do this in a food processor.

Mix the butter and zest into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or your fingers (working quickly) until the mixture resembles coarse meal. 

(Again, this can be done in your food processor, which I try not to use because I don't like cleaning it by hand have I mentioned that I don't have a dishwasher oh I have several times you say well I don't have a dishwasher and it makes me sad so this is not the last time you will hear me mention it.)

In a separate small bowl, toss together the cranberries and 3 TBS sugar .

 

Stir into flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, egg, and yolk. 

 If possible, do use a piggy bowl. Ear amputation optional.

Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Scoop the dough out onto a well-floured surface and pat into a rectangle.  Roll until about 1-inch thick.  Cut dough into 12 rectangles.  You can also use a round cutter, if you want round scones, but that would require having a round cutter, which I don't have.  This doesn't upset me nearly as much as the dishwasher thing.

Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart.

Bake  about 15-20 minutes (I think mine had to go a little longer, which is strange considering my oven is usually an inferno), until golden brown.

Eat.

Ta-da!

Cranberry Lime Galette

Le sigh. Holidays are over. Good thing champagne is available year-round.

And while the holidays have passed, I have a few recipes that I wanted to post.  Perhaps by posting them, it will bring back a little holiday cheer.  Dammit no it won't, I'm going to go off and cry.

Anyway.  One of my favorite holiday desserts is a cranberry lime galette from Dorie Greenspan (scroll to bottom of linked page for recipe).  It's got cranberry, which is red, and lime, which is green--red and green, how festive! Plus cranberries scream holidays. A silent, wailing scream.

First, you make the crust (or buy it).  I keep posting about crusts, don't I.  I'm sorry.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) very cold (or frozen) cut into 1/2" pieces
• 2 1/2 tablespoons very cold (frozen is even better) vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
• About 1/4 cup ice water

You can also do this in a food processor, instructions for which are on the linked page.  Me? I don't have a dishwasher.  You may ask how this relates.  Well, I don't particularly like washing my food processor by hand because I have a valid fear of slicing myself.  So when I make crusts, I used my hands.

Mix together the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. 

Add the butter and shortening.

Mix together quickly and lightly with your fingers, by kind of rubbing the dry ingredients and fat along your fingers.  Oh never mind that doesn't make sense.  What I do is kind of cup my hands, palms facing up, and scoop up a bit of flour with some fat chunks.  Then I take my thumbs and run them along my fingers, starting with my pinkies and then moving up towards the pointer finger.  Kind of like I'm straining the flour and fat through my fingers to get them to mix.  It makes more sense in person.

However you mix, do it until the bits of fat are about the size of small peas.

Drizzle in 3 TBS of ice water.  Mix until just combined, and when the dough holds together when you squeeze some in your hand.  Add a TBS of water at a time, if necessary, to get to the right consistency.

Gather dough in plastic wrap.  If you're worried that your dough is a bit too dry, which I usually am, slide your palm across the dough once or twice to incorporate a bit.

Flatten into a disk and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out dough into about a 13" diameter circle.  I've noticed that Dorie's doughs tend to be pretty soft because of all of the fat.  So she recommends rolling out the dough between two pieces of floured parchment paper, which I highly recommend.   When you get to the desired size, peel off one parchment paper, and use the other to help slide the dough onto a baking sheet.  Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Now for the filling.

• 3 tablespoons ground nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans or skinned hazelnuts)
• 3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw and pat dry)
• 1/3 cup moist, plump dried cranberries (optional)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• Grated zest of 1 lime
• Juice of 1/2 lime (depending on the size of your lime--mine were pretty juicy and so the galette ended up being quite tart)
  
• 1 medium apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (this actually ended up being a lot, and I thought it took away from the cranberry look of the galette, so I will cut down next time) 
• 3 tablespoons raspberry jam or jelly (I completely forgot this, which is too bad because it adds an extra bit of sweetness to a rather puckerish dessert (and I like really tart things))
  
• Decorating (coarse) or granulated sugar, for dusting
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (I didn't do this)
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together ground nuts and breadcrumbs.

In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries, dried cranberries (if using), brown sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and apple.

Belatedly realize you forgot the ginger, so add that in also.

Remove dough from refrigerator.  Spread the nut-crumb mixture on the dough, leaving a 2-inch perimeter at the edges.

Mound filling in the center of the dough, again honoring the integrity of your precious 2-inch border.  Gently fold edges up and over filling.  The dough will pleat. A little tearing is okay, just kinda pinch the suckers back together.

Sprinkle sugar over the crust.

Place in oven and bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and mixture is bubbling.

Ta-da!