#3 - Black Bean Soup

No interesting story today. It's just been a long time since I made any soup, and I happen to have some black beans on hand. I wanted to go for a spicy style, like a Cuban, but every recipe I found calls for bell peppers, which Dorothy can't eat, and serving with sour cream, which I don't like. So, as I do so often, I improvised a bit. I made the sofrito with just onions and garlic, and I served it with lebne. The sharp flavor of the lebne went very well with the soup, and I highly recommend it.

Black Bean Soup
1 cup dried black beans
6 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup water

Put the beans and stock in a soup pot and bring to a simmer for two hours.

Sautee the onion and garlic in the oil until the onions turn clear. Add the cumin, chili powder, and oregano and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Put the mixture in a blender with the water and puree. Stir into the beans and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serve with a tablespoon of lebne, yogurt or sour cream.

#2 - Pot Stickers

I got the idea and basic recipe from the wonderful blog The Kitchn. I used regular head cabbage instead of napa (primarily because I wasn't really thinking and picked up the wrong one...), and I couldn't find round dumpling wraps so instead I used square won ton wraps. I also chose to use ground pork as my meat, just because I like it. It's a bit of work, but well worth it. The best part is that each dumpling is only about 50 calories!

Pot stickers
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
1/2 lb ground pork (91% lean)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 package dumpling/won ton wrappers

Dipping sauce
1/4 c soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar (rice preferred)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

Chop the cabbage and mix thoroughly with the rest of the ingredients.(1) Put about a tablespoon of mixture onto each wrapper. Dip your finger in some water and trace the edge of the wrapper to moisten it. Bring the near and far edges of the wrapper together and pinch, then carefully bring the left and right edges up and pinch with the first two. You will now have a nice pouch; pinch the loose edges together to seal it up.

Once the dumplings are all shaped, heat a heavy lidded skillet over high heat. Once the pan is very hot(2), add about 2-3 tsp of sesame oil to the pan and swirl to cover the pan. Arrange dumplings in the pan in a single layer, then carefully(3) pour in 1/2 to 3/4 cups of water. Cover and cook until the water is absorbed. Once you stop seeing steam come out and can hear the dumplings sizzle on the pan, remove the lid and use a spatula to remove the dumplings. They will be stuck to the pan(4), so be careful with the spatula so that you don't leave the bottom of the dumpling behind.

Mix all ingredients for the dipping sauce and set within reach of everyone, or give each person their own small bowl for dipping.
____________________
(1) If you are using a food processor -- and really, you should be, just sayin' -- you can chop it coarsely, as it will get processed down with the rest of the ingredients. If you live a sad life that lacks a food processor, you'll need to chop it more finely.
(2) Seriously. I rarely let the pan get this hot for anything, but if it's not hot enough it doesn't cook right. I figured this out the hard way on the second batch.
(3) It's going to start boiling immediately. Don't pour it in too slowly, or it will just boil off. Be careful as you pour so that the steam doesn't burn you.
(4) That's why they're called "Pot Stickers"!

Not new, but oh so yummy!

Last night I pulled out some pork chops from the freezer to have tonight. I had no idea what I was going to do with them at the time. So tonight I opened the pantry and searched for inspiration.

I found it in the form of two cans: one of green beans and another of diced tomatoes. They whispered to me, reminding me that there were slivered almonds in the cabinet and feta cheese in the fridge ...

You see, back in the day when Dorothy and I were doing Middle Eastern music and dancing, we formed a group with several of our friends. We named ourselves the Aladeen family, and performed as Raqsat Aladeen. During this time, I learned about Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking, particularly Lebanese and Greek styles. Green bean dishes are common, mixed with various other ingredients. I experimented, got my family's feedback, and eventually settled on my own dish which we dubbed Green Beans Aladeen.

Having decided that the pork needed to be accompanied by Green Beans Aladeen, I pondered how to cook the meat. Consulting my old mentor(1) Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet), I discovered a simple Greek recipe that looked like it would serve nicely.

Finally, I thought some rice would be a nice finish. I happened to have a lot of rice cooked up from the last batch of spinach wraps, but it's been in the refrigerator long enough to get a bit dry. I plan to use it for fried rice soon, but figured I might be able to revive a bit to go with dinner.

So here's what I ended up with:

Greek Style Pork Chops

3 medium cut pork loin chops

1/2 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, chopped, with leaves

2 cloves garlic, diced

1-2 tsp whole cloves

2-3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Preheat a large pan with a lid on high heat. Put a teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and brown both sides of the meat. Carefully pour in the stock (the pan is hot enough to start the liquid boiling immediately, so watch for steam and splatters!) so that it comes up the sides of the meat without completely submerging it. Reduce the heat to low and cover with the chopped vegetables and cloves. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Green Beens Aladeen

1 15oz can green beans

1 15oz can diced tomatoes

2-3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Drain the cans of beans and tomatoes(2) and combine in a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Just before serving, stir in the feta and almonds.

Reinvigorated Rice

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups cold cooked rice

Bring the stock to a simmer in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and stir the rice into the stock. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes or until the rice is heated through and rehydrated.

There you go. 1 hour from start to finish, one awesome meal. I even remembered to take a picture!

_________________
(1) Not that I've actually met the man, of course, but I credit "the Fruge" as my first cooking teacher. For about six months when I was working part time, I watched his show on PBS over lunch and learned quite a bit.
(2) I'm serious here. Drain them well. When the tomatoes heat up they are going to release more liquid, and if you leave too much of the canning liquid, you're going to have soup once you add the cheese. It'll still taste fine, but you'll need to use a slotted spoon to serve it, and you'll lose some cheese to the soup.

#1 - Ragu alla Antonio

ragu [ra-GOO, rah-GOO]
A staple of northern Italy's Bologna, ragu is a meat sauce that is typically served with pasta. Though different than the French RAGOUT, both are derived from the verb ragoûter , which means "to stimulate the appetite." Ragu usually contains ground beef, tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, white wine and seasonings. (1)

Many of the food blogs and recipe books I read have variations on beef with mixed vegetables, sometimes with cheese, sometimes without, usually with tomatoes. Most of them have at least one ingredient that either I or Dorothy won't (or can't) eat(2), so I decided to make my first of Fifty New Things be an exercise in creativity. I went for cheese but no tomatoes to get a less saucy, more gooey texture.

Ragu alla Antonio
1 cup (4 oz) dry elbow macaroni
1 cup diced onion
1-2 cloves diced garlic
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
8 oz can whole kernel corn
4 oz can green chilies
10oz shredded cheddar and jack cheeses
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta to al dente. Preheat oven to 300°. While pasta is cooking, cook the sofritto of onions, garlic and celery in a tablespoon of olive oil until the onions are soft, translucent, and beginning to brown (about 5 minutes).  Add ground beef and cook with chili, cayenne, salt, and pepper until the meat is fully browned. Add corn and mix completely.

Turn off heat and stir in pasta. Once everything is thoroughly mixed, add all but 2oz of the cheese and stir to combine. Top with the remaining cheese and place in the oven for 12-15 minutes to melt the cheese.

Makes four servings of approximately 520 calories each.

____________

(1) © Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbs, as found on Epicurious.com

(2) Like mushrooms. Blech!

Happy New Year!

Had a lovely neighborhood New Year's gathering last night. I have awesome neighbors and we enjoy doing stuff together, but as our kids get older and have activities of their own, it gets harder and harder to get together, so these parties are always great. I made a batch of pumpkin bread, then decided that everyone needed a chance to try the new pretzel recipe. But while the large pretzels make great meals, they aren't so great for party snacks. So I made a double batch, then portioned each batch into a full dozen pieces (instead of just six) and made great mini-pretzels. Since they rolled out to the same diameter, they cooked in the same time, but made perfect little finger foods. Everyone loved them, and they went great with the queso dip!

So here we are in the new year, and resolutions are the big thing at this time of year. I don't usually bother, but this year I have two: The first is pretty standard for people my age: to resume my food logging and exercise as I can to maintain my weight and maybe even lose a bit more. My back trouble makes the exercise part difficult, but I'll do what I'm able.

The other is more personal. I am a creature of habit, and tend to find things I like and stick with them. I read a number of cooking and foodie blogs, and have amassed a collection of bookmarks of things I want to try. So my resolution this year is to try them. My theme for this year is going to be "Fifty New Things". This year I plan to make fifty new recipes. Breads, entrees, soups, sauces ... some big, some small, but all new. I picked the number fifty because that comes out to one new recipe a week, with two weeks off.

Today there's a New Year's Day party, then I'll be going through my bookmarks to pick my first new thing. It's going to be a good year!

Mmmm Pretzels!

I absolutely love soft pretzels. Last night while reading my food blogs, I came across this recipe, and literally went straight to the kitchen to make them. The recipe is below, slightly altered to match my particular way of working.

Perfect Pretzels

1 cup milk
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) yeast
3 tbsp packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon fine salt

1/3 cup baking soda dissolved in 3 cups water

Additional butter for basting (2-3 tbsp)
Kosher salt or grated parmesan for topping

Warm the milk to about 110°(1) then add the yeast to proof. Once the yeast is bubbly, put it in the stand mixer and stir in the brown sugar and the first cup of flour. Once that is worked in, add the butter, and salt, then work in the remaining flour in two batches. Once the flour is all incorporated, lightly flour a work surface and turn the dough out. Knead in just enough additional flour to make the dough into a smooth, slightly sticky ball. Place into a buttered bowl and set in a warm place to rise for one hour.

Once the dough has doubled in bulk, Preheat the oven to 450°. Punch the dough down then divide it into six parts. Roll each part into a rope about 30" long, and shape into pretzel shape.

Dissolve the baking soda in the water in a wide bowl. If using salt or cheese topping, put the topping on a plate in a thin layer. Submerge each pretzel in the baking soda bath then shake off the excess. If using topping, lay the pretzel on the topping and press down to coat, then place on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they have a nice dark brown color.

While the pretzels are baking, melt another 2-3 tablespoons of butter. When the pretzels come out, baste each one with butter then set aside to cool. 

We devoured the entire batch, so today I made more. They are that good.

---

(1) From the refrigerator, 80-90 seconds in the microwave does the trick nicely

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.
________________________________________

(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.