Practice makes perfect, and makes dinner, too!

Tonight I decided to throw a few things together while trying out some new techniques. First, I've been working to master the art of cheese sauce. My previous attempts have not been successes: first, my bechamel failed; then, once I had a good bechamel, once I added the cheese I got a grainy goo. Fortunately, our local Whole Foods happens to have a wonderful cheese specialist who gave me a key fact: cheddar, on its own, is not suited for sauces. It tends to clump and turn grainy even in the best base. To make a good sauce, you have to mix the cheddar with a better melting cheese. She recommended Italian fontal in an equal ratio with the cheddar. With that in mind, I got a lovely, smooth sauce. Now that I have that worked out, next I will work on different flavors with different cheese blends.

Cheese sauce (Cheddar/Fontal)

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 cup whole milk, cold

4 oz cheddar, shredded

4 oz fontal, shredded

Shred and blend the two cheeses so that they are evenly mixed and set aside.(1)

Heat a heavy saucepan on medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pan. Once the bubbles have stopped, add the flour and stir. Continue stirring while the roux cooks for 4-5 minutes.  Add the milk and continue stirring for another 5-10 minutes to thicken the bechamel. Do not let the milk start to boil, and keep stirring to prevent burning on the bottom. Once the sauce starts to thicken, remove from the heat and begin adding the cheese a little at a time. Allow each addition to melt and completely incorporate before adding the next. If the sauce cools too much, put back on medium heat for a bit, but take off the heat again before adding more cheese.

The second new technique I wanted to practice was "baked" rice. According to one site I read, cooking rice in the oven rather than the stovetop produces more predictable and better results. My theory is that the oven provides more even heating (rather than all the heat coming from the bottom of the pot). As a side bonus, the pot was easier to clean, too! I usually have at least a little rice stuck/burned on the bottom but not this time. And the rice was well cooked, just a little sticky, and full-flavored. For this batch, I added some onion and garlic, and next time I think I'll try putting some spices in as well.

Oven cooked rice

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups white rice

3 cups water

1 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

Preheat oven to 350°

Heat an oven safe pot with a tight fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the hot pot and turn the pot to coat the bottom. Add the rice and stir for 2-3 minutes to coat the rice in oil and toast lightly. Add the onion and garlic, then all the water. Once it comes to a boil, stir once then put the lid on the pot and put into the oven. Cook for 13 minutes, then remove the pot from the oven and set it aside for another 5 minutes before removing the lid. Fluff and serve.

As I said, this worked like a charm. The water was completely absorbed, the rice was perfect, and clean up was a breeze!

To go with my rice and cheese sauce, I decided to brown some ground beef and stir up a casserole.

Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole

1/2 pound ground beef, with cumin and chili powder to taste

1/2 cup pureed black beans (2)

2 cups cooked rice

3/4 to 1 cup cheese sauce

1-2 oz shredded cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook the ground beef and drain the fat. Stir the meat and rice together, then add the beans and cheese sauce and combine thoroughly. Place in an oven safe casserole dish or pot and top with the shredded cheese. Bake to heat through(3) then turn on the broiler for 3 minutes to get the top bubbly.

Yum! We were both pretty hungry, so Dorothy and I ate the whole dish between us for dinner. As part of a larger meal (or if we had eaten more at lunch) this might have been three servings.
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(1) Mixing the cheeses evenly is key. According to Jeaneane (Cheesemonger extraordinaire), this is the way to make sure that the clumping qualities of the cheddar are properly diluted and get a smooth sauce.
(2) Last night was burrito night; for black bean burritos I drain a 15oz can of beans and run them through my food processor with a bit of chili powder and cumin. This is every bit as good as any "refried" beans I've ever had, and doesn't have the added fat of refritos .
(3) In my case, the rice and cheese sauce were still warm from having just been cooked, so it only took 5 minutes to heat the casserole through. If your rice or cheese don't start out warm, you'll need to allow more time to heat it up.

Sometimes magic sounds like tape

I have quite a collection of pots, pans, bowls, and cooking utensils. Most of the time I only need a fraction of them, though I do find times to use each one, based on size and shape.  I could do with fewer, I suppose. I could lose the smaller mixing bowls and just use the larger ones; I really only need a couple of spoons, or a single ladle. But every now and then, the stars misalign, and things don't go quite as planned. You have to press some extra equipment into duty to get the job done. Sometimes magic sounds like tape (around 4:45 here, in case you don't get the reference), and sometimes cooking sounds like muffled curses and extra pots and pans.
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I have a number of cookbooks and websites I read not to actually cook the recipes, but just to kickstart my imagination.  Left to my own devices, I'll slowly work myself into a rut of cooking the same two or three things every week; when I realize I'm doing it, I start reading my cookbooks and searching sites for ideas.

One of the books I have is of the "30 minute meals" variety. It features ways to use various frozen vegetables, canned soups and sauces, and premade biscuits(1). One of these was a chicken pot pie, using leftover chicken (from a presumed prior chicken meal), canned Cream of Chicken soup, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, and a famous layered biscuit-in-a-tube to make the crust.

Since my purpose is to cook (for fun, health, and profit(2)), I decided to make my own pot pie. Starting at the top, I realized that the only choice for a crust was Alton Brown's amazing biscuits, which I so enjoyed when I made the fruit crostada. For the filling, I had to come up with meat, veggies, and sauce. Since I don't cook a whole chicken very often, and since Dorothy doesn't care for dark meat anyway, I decided to roast and shred a chicken breast. I went with a standard mix of vegetables: potato, celery, carrot, and garlic, with some green onion mixed in, just for fun. Instead of a cream-soup based sauce, I decided to instead do a roux thickened stock.

Thus, with plan in hand, I got to work. Things started out pretty well, but as I was free-wheeling it, I made some mistakes, and had to go into Emergency Management mode. Hence my thankfulness for the extra pots and bowls. Ready to start keeping score?

I started off really well. My timing was nearly perfect. My chicken breasts were frozen from an earlier purchase(3), so I thawed them in the microwave [small dish] then put them in the oven to roast [cookie sheet with aluminum foil].  While that was going I chopped the vegetables and set them aside [cutting board, medium mixing bowl]. Then I made a roux and added some chicken broth [medium heavy pot]. Once I got that to simmering, I added the vegetables to precook and to let the starch help thicken the sauce. About that time, the chicken got done cooking, so I took it out and shredded it, set the meat aside [baking dish], and turned the oven up to 450°.

After a while, the sauce seemed to stop getting any thicker.  It wasn't quite where I had hoped it would be, but I decided to just bully on.  I went to pour the veggies and sauce into the baking dish, and discovered that it was way more volume than I had intended, so I divided the mixture into two portions [baking dish #2]. Both dishes were still nearly full to the top, leaving little room for the biscuit topping; plus, I just wasn't happy with the consistency of the sauce: it was too thin and soupy. I decided to go back and try to fix it, so I strained the sauce out of the meat and vegetable mixer [colander, reuse mixing bowl from before] and returned it to the heat [reuse heavy pot from before]. This time I cranked the heat and let it boil. I put the meat and vegetables into baking dish #1, and without the thin sauce it actually fit exactly how I had expected it to. I packed it down just a bit, and waited for the sauce. Eventually it did come together, and I poured it over the meat and vegetables, just to the top.

While the sauce was thickening, I made the biscuit dough [food processor, mixing bowl #2 and #3 (because I had to mix the wet and dry separately)]. I knew I was going to have some trouble with it, as it's a very wet dough. Dorothy suggested basically cutting biscuits and laying them across the top(4) which sounded like a great idea. Unfortunately, the dough isn't really cuttable; I gave it a good try, but then couldn't effectively lift the dough roudns. In the end, I just ended up spooning it onto the top of the dish and making a layer that way. Into the oven (finally!) it went, and 15 minutes later, it was done.

Final score: cutting board, food processor, cookie sheet, dish for microwave; three mixing bowls; two baking dishes; colander; several wooden spoons; various knives, forks, and spoons. Next time I'll be able to reduce the overall damage, I think. Planning ahead I'll be able to make more efficient use of my equipment.

Despite the issues with the sauce, ultimately I ended up with a wonderful pot pie, and I'll definitely make this again. Next time, though, I'll know to precook the vegetables, then strain them immediately and finish thickening the sauce, and reduce the overall pot and utensil count.

Chicken Pot Pie
1 whole split chicken breast
3 new potatoes, chopped small
2 carrots, chopped small
3 celery stalks, chopped small
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 quart chicken broth
1 recipe Alton Brown's biscuits
 
Bake the chicken breast in a 350° oven for 15-20 minutes, then shred and place in the bottom of a 9" baking dish. Once the chicken is out, turn the oven up to 450°.

While the chicken cooks, make a roux from the flour and butter in a heavy pot, then add the broth.  Bring to a boil and add the potatoes, carrots, celery, green onions, and garlic. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the potatoes have softened. Strain the vegetables out and stir into the chicken. Return the broth to a full boil and reduce. When the sauce is thickened sufficiently, pour over the meat and vegetables.

Prepare the biscuit dough and spoon into a layer on top of the meat and vegetables. (It is going to rise quite a bit, so don't make it too thick unless you want a LOT of bread with your meal. Use the leftover dough to make a crostata or just some extra biscuits for tomorrow's breakfast. Yum!) Bake for 15 minutes, then let cool before serving.

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(1) In fact, it is filled with very specific suggestions as to which of these to use.  I suspect the publisher is related to a particular packaged foods distributor, though I haven't cared enough to actually research it.

(2) The profit is theoretical, in that cooking from fresh ingredients should be cheaper than precooked stuff. Whether that turns out to be true or not I haven't determined, but it's generally tastier and more fun.

(3) I had had plans to make chicken alfredo last week, but things happened, and I ended up having to freeze the chicken for later. Guess what? It's later!

(4) As Alton Brown himself actually did on Good Eats, though with a different (much drier) biscuit recipe.

Experimental Casserole: Southwestern Shepherd's Pie

I often get ideas for dinners by scanning the recipe books I've collected over the years. I usually end up not making what is actually in the recipe that catches my eye, but something based on it. The recipe in the book called for making the meat mixture and putting cornmeal breadsticks in decorative spokes. I didn't have cornmeal breadsticks, so instead I just made cornbread and baked on top. I'm sure it's been done many times before, but it's new to me. ;-)

1/2 large onion

1 or 2 cloves garlic

1 lb ground beef

15oz can kidney beans

15oz can diced tomatoes

8oz can corn

4oz can green chilies

chili and cumin to taste

Preheat oven to 425°. 

In an oven proof frying pan, sautee the onions and garlic then brown the meat. When the meat is cooked, add the remaining ingredients and simmer to reduce out the liquid while preparing the cornbread.

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

4 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

Mix the dry ingredients well then stir in the liquids to form a batter. Spread the batter across the top of the mixture in the frying pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cornbread is set and lightly browned.

It ended up pretty good, though I realized after I was done that I should have added some cheddar cheese, either directly in the cornbread mix or between the meat mixture and the cornbread.  I also need to up my spices(1) next time, but overall we enjoyed it.

I intended to take a picture of the final result, which actually looked quite nice when it came out of the oven. Unfortunately my proclivity for cleaning the kitchen right away kicked in, and I didn't think about it again until I sat down to write this up. Next time!

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(1) The "to taste" in the recipe is a result of me just doing my usual "that looks right"; unfortunately I didn't account for the cornbread being such a strong sweet flavor and covering up the spices quite a bit.