A Good Appetite: sauce

Showing posts with label sauce. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Indian Chicken Pizza

Pizza is one of those things that can be a little tricky to fit in when you are counting your calories. The killer is the crust. We had gotten lazy and were using a very good store bought dough, but after looking at the calories I knew that wasn't going to work anymore. Our homemade crust is a little better and we usually just top it with fresh tomatoes, a few slices of pepperoni and mozzarella. Matt wanted a change up, so since we had some leftover roast chicken, an Indian pizza seems in order.

The trick was to create a sauce that wasn't too high in calories but still full of flavor. We used some canned tomatoes as the base and then layered in the flavors of garam masala and ginger. Yogurt and just a touch of half and half give it some creaminess. I thought the yogurt would have enough tartness, but a little lemon juice added just the right about of freshness and acidity which I think is a good counterpoint to the garam masala.

This was a great treat, and at 700 calories a serving it is a treat. Still, you do get half a pizza here which is a lot of food. I think you could serve 3 people with it really which would cut the calories down to 467.

Indian Chicken Pizza

1 c crushed or diced tomatoes
1 t tomato paste
1 t half & half (you can use cream or milk I just had half and half on hand)
4 oz plain non-fat yogurt
1/4 t lemon juice
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 t garam masala
salt
1/2 c sliced red onion
2 T chopped cilantro
4 oz cooked chicken meat, chopped or shredded
4 oz part-skim mozzarella, grated

1 pizza crust (We use 1/2 of this recipe from Wisebread to make one pizza. It makes a wet dough, but we find that gives the best texture. Resist the urge to add too much extra flour.)

Preheat oven to 450F.

In a food processor or small chopper, puree the tomatoes with the tomato paste. Stir in the half & half, yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, garam masala and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. (I thought the garam masala tasted a little strong, but cooked with the other ingredients it was perfect.)

Spread your dough out on a baking sheet sprayed with a cooking spray. Top with sauce, onion, chicken, cilantro and mozzarella.

Bake until the crust is brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Makes 2 servings (about 8 slices of pizza, it could easily become 3 servings)
The pizza crust is about 391 calories per serving. The toppings are about 310 per serving.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Pork with Tart Balsamic Cherries

With only two people in the house, Matt and I have to think when we are shopping and planning meals how we are going to use ingredients that come in larger sizes without a lot of waste. Can something be used in more than one meal that week, like a whole chicken? Should we make a larger dish and have leftovers for lunches? Can we cut it up and freeze the rest to use later?

We did the later with a pork tenderloin that we picked up last week. Matt weighed it and cut it into three pieces, each piece enough for two servings. So, that way we were only cooking exactly what we needed. This is great if you are watching your calories, because there are no leftovers to tempt you into a second helping.

This dish really felt like a special night dinner, even though Matt prepared it quickly in one pan. The tartness of the cherries, along with the depth of the balsamic, adds so much flavor to the pork. You definitely want to use tart, not sweet cherries, in this dish.

Pork with Tart Balsamic Cherries

1/2 T olive oil
8 oz pork tenderloin, cut into 4 medallions
1/2 c sliced yellow onion
1/2 c dried tart cherries
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t Dijon mustard

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the pork cook on one side for about 4 minutes. Flip the pork over and add the remaining ingredients. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for about another 10 minutes, until the pork is cooked through and the onions and cherries have soften. Uncover and simmer until the sauce is reduced and thickened to a consistency you like.

2 servings
322 calories per serving.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Chicken and Potatoes in Parsley Sauce

Well, we have jumped right into our new eating plan for 2013. It is taking a little getting used to keeping track of everything, but we are already seeing a difference on the scale which is satisfying. Eating at home is, of course, the easiest and I feel like I'm eating more than I did before actually. What we really have to learn is how to eat out and still stick to our goals. Other than that, the biggest change has been giving up my many trips a week to Caribou Coffee for Chai Lattes and Dark Chocolate Mochas. All and all though, we are still eating very well.

Yeah, does this dinner look like we are suffering? The sauce for this meal came about because I had a ton of fresh parsley leftover after making homemade chicken noodle soup over the weekend (by request of a sick Matt). The sauce is quite delicate and fresh, but a little pinch of cayenne really boosted the flavor. I liked it much better on things, than by itself. I also like the fact it was a good sauce for the main and side.

Chicken and Potatoes in Parsley Sauce

1/2 T olive oil
salt & pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 t unsalted butter
2 T diced shallot
1 1/4 t all-purpose flour
3/4 c skim milk
1/2 t Dijon mustard
pinch or two of cayenne
2 T chopped fresh parsley (or more to taste)
270 grams small red potatoes, boiled, hot

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts, add to the skillet and cook through. Remove to a plate and tent to keep warm.

Add the butter to the skillet and melt. Stir in the shallot and sauté until translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots. Stir while cooking for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk until the sauce is thicken and bubbily. Stir in the Dijon and cayenne. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley.

Serve the sauce over the hot chicken breasts and potatoes.

Two servings. (If you just served the sauce over chicken or potatoes, not both, you could get 4 servings)
96.5 calories per serving for the sauce alone. 238 calories with a chicken breast. 135 grams of potatoes comes in a 100 calories. For a total of 338 per serving.

Oh I should mention, last week I said I wasn't thrilled with the Loseit website, but after the first of the year rush it is working much better. I have to say I really love the recipe function where I can put in ingredients and get the calories for a recipe. This works great for people like us who don't eat much prepared food.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

BBQ Sauce for Pizza

We smoked a couple turkey breasts the other night which left us with a lot of leftover turkey meat to use in other dishes. Matt thought is would be great on BBQ pizza.

We had the cheese, onions and some sweet red peppers in the garden. What we didn't have was an open bottle of BBQ sauce. I didn't want to open a bottle just to use a small amount, so I whipped up this sauce. It's tangy and sweet with just a hint of heat. This one is a keeper.

BBQ Sauce for Pizza

2/3 c ketchup
1/3 c water
1 t malt vinegar
1 t worcestershire sauce
1/4 t dried chipotle
1 t dry mustard
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t lemon juice

Mix everything together in a small saucepan. Let simmer, stirring from time to time, until reduced slightly and the color is darkened, about 45 - 60 minutes.

Makes enough sauce for one medium pizza.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Oven Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

We finally made it back to the farmer's market this week after missing a few. We were happy to see some baskets of beautiful tomatillos for sale. We grabbed two baskets right away along with some poblano peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro to make tomatillo sauce.

We like a tomatillo sauce to mix with chicken or pork for Mexican dishes, especially enchiladas. Typically, we make it on the stove, slow cooking it for awhile. This year Matt wanted to see how it turned out with the much easier oven roasting method I've been using for tomato sauce.

It turned out beautifully. All the flavors are there and it is just so simple. The oven roasting makes it taste like it slow cooked on the stove.

Oven Roasted Tomatillo Sauce

2 1/2 lbs tomatillos, skins removed, quartered
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
4 - 6 poblano peppers (depending on the size of your peppers) - seeded and quartered
2 jalapenos, seeded and halved (if you like really spicy add more)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
olive oil
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
salt
1 T white wine vinegar

Reheat oven to 350F.

Put the tomatillos, onion, poblanos, jalapenos and garlic on a baking sheet (We need two.) Drizzle enough olive oil on to coat everything.

Roast in the oven until everything is soft, about 45 minutes. The onions and peppers should have some brown on them.

Let cool a bit. Put everything into a blender or food processor. Add the cilantro. Process until everything is puréed, it won't be completely smooth. If it is a little thicker than you like add 1/4 - 1/2 c water. Stir in the vinegar. Taste and add salt as needed.

You can also play with this by adding other spices such as Mexican oregano, chili powder or epazote.

Makes about 6 cups.

We freeze it in one cup quantities. One cup is usually good to mix with meat, but we pull out two bags for something like enchiladas where it'll also be the sauce.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Let's talk about sauce, baby...

The warm weather we have had this summer has given us a bumper crop of tomatoes, especially cherry tomatoes. We aren't eating them as fast as they ripen, so I've been making the easiest tomato sauce even and freezing it.

I love that this sauce doesn't require any peeling or seeding of the tomatoes. Your food processor or blender will take care of all those. There is really no recipe here, but here's how I make it.

I fill a baking sheet with tomatoes, one large onion and one or two large cloves of garlic. I keep the cherry tomatoes whole, but quarter or half any larger one. The onion gets peeled and quarter. The garlic just gets peeled.

Then I drizzle everything with a generous amount of olive oil. Mix it up so everything gets coated. The whole tray goes into a preheated 350 F oven for 30 - 40 mintes.

You want everything to be soft and the onions should just be starting to turn brown. I let the tray cool a little bit and then put it into the blender, make sure to get all the juices and brown bits. A quick processing will make it completely smooth. Then I taste for seasoning. I usually add some salt, pepper, basil and oregano. A touch of balsamic or red wine vinegar is good too. One full tray makes about 3 cups of sauce.

If we are using it right away, it is usually hot enough right out of the blender. Otherwise, I freeze it in 1 cup containers.

I've been doing variations on the sauce too. Since we have a ton of peppers in the garden, I've been roasting them up too for a tomato/pepper sauce. Both sweet and hot peppers work. That sauce I only seasoned with salt and pepper. I think it'll be good in Mexican dishes.

Finally, I made a smoked version by roasting some larger tomatoes on the smoker. They get a wonderful flavor. You almost think there is a little bacon in the sauce. I mixed the smoked sauce with a little of the plain so the smokiness wouldn't be over-powering.

I'll be canning some whole tomatoes in the next couple of weeks for slow cooked sauces in the winter, but in the meantime this quick sauce is my new go-to version.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Clash of the Carolinas Barbecue

Over Memorial Day weekend, my cousin and I had a garage sale on Friday and Saturday, so Matt offered to cook dinner for both families on Saturday night. He put out quite a feast smoked pork sandwiches, coleslaw, baked beans, cucumber salad and deviled eggs. The star, of course, was the smoked pork. Matt just loves getting a pork butt and experimenting with seasonings and sauces.

This time his took his inspiration from the Carolinas. South Carolina likes a mustardy barbecue while North Carolina is known for the vinegar based. He decided to mixed the mustard and vinegar flavors together in both the mop and the sauce. Oh, the sauce!

This as such an barbecue amazing sauce, a little spicy, a little sweet and a little tart. We served it on the side at dinner so everyone could add it as wanted. With the leftovers though we mixed the sauce and meat together before refrigerating. I have to say it was better the next day this way. I'd use this sauce again even if we didn't do the same rub and mop.

As with many of our recent barbecue recipes, we did this on our smoker, but you can do it on a grill as well. Just keep the heat low and the meat over it indirectly. I also suggested getting a cheap smoker box especially if you are using a gas grill for more of a smoky flavor.

Clash of the Carolinas Barbecue

Rub and Mop

1/2 c yellow mustard
2 T new mexico chile powder
1 T sweet paprika
5 lb pork butt or shoulder
1/2 c malt vinegar

Mix the mustard, chile powder and paprika together. Rub half on meat after poking it with a knife all over. Cook the meat in a smoker at about 225 - 250 F for about 8 hours until very tender.

Add the malt vinegar to remaining mixture. Use to mop meat every hour or two.

Barbecue Sauce

1 small onion, chopped
2 T unsalted butter
1 T dark brown sugar
1 T new mexico chile powder
3 oz tomato paste
1/2 c yellow mustard
1 c apple cider vinegar

Melt butter and saute onions until translucent. Add sugar, chile powder, tomato paste, mustard and vinegar. Simmer for about 10 minutes. You want it to be relatively thin for a barbecue sauce. Add more vinegar or water to thin if needed.

Chop or pull the cooked pork. Serve with the sauce mixed right in or on the side.

Makes about 10 - 12 servings

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Bourbon Pork with Apple Cider Syrup

This past weekend Matt and I had a sort of pre-Christmas celebration. We opened the gifts we didn't want to take with us while traveling, had a big leisurely breakfast and a lovely roast for dinner. Matt was in charge of the roast pork tenderloin. He had an idea for it that had been mulling around in his head for awhile.

The idea grew from an article he read about someone who was making and selling apple cider syrup. It sounded so good to him that he bought a gallon of cider to try it himself.

Making the syrup is pretty easy. Basically, put the cider in a pot, one with a large circumference to spread out the heat is best. Let simmer until it reduces and thickens to your desired consistency. It took almost all day to reduce it to a syrup. It'll look cloudy at some points along the way, but ends up beautifully shiny. Watch it carefully towards the end as it can become apple cider caramel pretty quickly. (Ours is actually slightly thicker than we wanted, but heated pours well). It has a wonderful flavor, sweet with a touch of tart. It'll remind you of a caramel apple. We got a little over 1 cup from just under a gallon of cider. This is actually a steal since it was selling for $30 for 3 oz.

The syrup can be used on pancakes or waffles, it would be amazing on vanilla ice cream, but Matt wanted it for a sauce for pork.

The pork is marinaded in bourbon and then roasted with apples and onions. It is a dish that is full of warm comforting winter flavors. And bonus, the apples and onions roasted with it become an easy side dish.

Bourbon Pork with Apple Cider Syrup
The pork needs to marinade for 4 - 6 hours before roasting, so plan ahead.

1/4 c apple cider vinegar
2 T honey
1 t kosher salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper
2 T olive oil
2 T bourbon
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 apples, cored and quartered (pick an apple that won't get too mushy when cooked)
Apple Cider Syrup

Mix the vinegar and honey together in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave until the honey is softened enough to stir in. Mix in the salt until dissolved. Add the cayenne, olive oil and bourbon. Put in a plastic zipper bag just big enough to hold your tenderloin. Add the pork. Seal the bag removing as much air as possible. Marinade in the refrigerator for 4 - 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Put the onion and apples on the bottom of a small roasting pan. Remove the pork from the marinade and place on top. Roast for about 30 minutes, until the pork is 165 F in the middle. Let rest a few minutes before carving.

Top with heated Apple Cider Syrup.

4 servings.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Penne with Creamy Squash and Red Pepper Sauce

This is another one of those dishes that tastes a lot better than it photographes.

But believe me it is so delicious. Matt was a little leery of my adding red pepper to the sauce, but it pairs really well with the squash and I think keeps it from being overly sweet. In my mind, the red pepper actually makes this sauce.

This is a great busy day dinner as it has very little hands on prep time other than some chopping. The roasting gives the sauce that I spent all day in the kitchen flavor.

Penne with Creamy Squash and Red Pepper Sauce

10 oz butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
olive oil
kosher salt
cayenne pepper
1/2 c half and half (or milk or cream)
1 1/2 oz grated parmesan
4 - 5 oz hot cooked penne pasta (reserve about 1/2 c of the cooking water)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Put the squash, red pepper, onion and garlic in a small roasting pan. Add enough olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt and cayenne. Roast for about 30 - 40 minutes until the squash is tender.

Put the roasted vegetables into a blender. Add the half and half and parmesan. Purée until smooth. Thin with the pasta cooking water is desired. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper is needed.

Serve sauce over hot pasta.

Makes 2 servings.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Chile Verde Sauce

This year we decided to grow Tomatillos in our garden for the first time. The plants are huge with lots of fruit on them, but with this strange summer, not a lot of the fruit has gotten very big.

Our tomatillo harvest after husking

Still with one frost warning already under our belt, we thought we'd better get as much harvested now as possible. We grew the tomatillos for basically one use, chile verde sauce. We like chile verde as a sauce for braising chicken or pork, as well as for enchiladas. It doesn't take much work other than preparing the vegetables to throw this sauce together. This recipe makes about 7 1/2 cups which we freeze in 1 1/2 cup containers to use throughout the winter.

I had to laugh while we were preparing this as our pepper selection made for quite an international chile verde. We used poblanos and japalenos, which I would consider very traditional for this dish, plus some Italian sweet peppers because they looked so fabulous. After tasting the sauce, we decided it needed a little more heat and threw in an Asian ho chi minh pepper (only one because ho chi minhs will knock your socks off).

Chile Verde Sauce

3 1/2 lbs tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 1/2 lb green peppers, seeded (make sure to mix in some hot peppers with the sweet as the sauce benefits from a little heat. The amount really depends on how hot you like things)
3/4 lb yellow onion, quartered
1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
2 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed
salt and pepper

Put the tomatillos, peppers, onions and garlic in a large roasting pan. Broil until everything is soft and starting to color.

Put the roasted vegetables into a blender or food processor with the fresh cilantro. You'll probably have to do this in batches. Purée until as smooth as possible, you are going to have tomatillo seeds, don't stress over it.

Put the puréed mixture back into the roasting pan, or another large pan, and simmer for about 30 minutes until slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 7 1/2 cups.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Red Pepper Sauce

When we got home from vacation we discovered our garden was full of ripe sweet peppers, one of the few things that has done well in the garden this year. Since there were so many of them, I decided to turn them into a flavorful sauce for pasta.

This is such a great change from your run-of-the-mill tomato sauce for pasta. The color and flavor of the sweet red peppers are definitely the star of this dish. We used a sweet, fruity, Italian pepper called Jimmy Nardello's, but I think regular red bell peppers would work just as well.

We love Italian sausage with red peppers, so we added some cooked bulk sausage to the sauce before pouring it over the pasta. It would be just as good without it though. Make the dish completely vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken.

Red Pepper Sauce

1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 c)
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
9 - 10 oz sweet red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 c chicken stock
2 T tomato paste
2 t lemon juice
1/2 t dried basil
1/4 t dried oregano
2 - 3 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 c half and half

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic and peppers. Sauté until everything is tender and the onions are just starting to brown, about 30 minutes.

Put the onions, peppers and garlic into a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Purée until almost smooth. Return to the skillet.

Add the remaining chicken stock, tomato paste, lemon juice, basil, oregano, pepper flakes and salt. Let simmer for 30 minutes stirring from time to time.

Stir in half and half. Heat through.

Serve over warm pasta.

Makes 2 servings

Thoughts for making this again: Next time I might try roasting the peppers, onion & garlic in the oven before puréeing them to see if that give it even a deeper flavor.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Chive Blossom Vinegar and Räksmörgås

I had planned on having a post for you today showing off my beautiful handmade mayonnaise flavored with homemade chive vinegar. Um yeah, planned is the important world there. I started a batch of mayonnaise and after adding about one fourth of the vinegar it broke. Sigh. So, I tried again and broke a second at almost the same point. With only on egg left it was time to give up. Oh well, I can still show you my pretty pink Chive Blossom Vinegar.

I got the idea from Cooking With Anne. I was pulling out a bunch of chive plants that were in bloom, so I threw some together. It couldn't be simpler. I just threw about twelve blossoms into a cup of white vinegar in a sealed container, then let is sit in a cupboard. Anne let her's sit for two weeks, but I let mine go a whole month. When it was time to use it, I strained it through a sieve lined with a paper towel. The result is a vinegar that smells and tastes of chives. It's a really great combo.

Since I couldn't use it in homemade mayonnaise like planned, I just mixed it in with some prepared mayonnaise to use on Räksmörgås, a perfect dinner for a hot night.

Our homemade Räksmörgås

Räksmörgås is a Swedish open-faced sandwich that we saw on every menu on our trip earlier this year. Matt really took a shine to it, so we've started making it at home.

So, what is in a Räksmörgås? You start with a dark rye bread (tonight we used Sun Street Breads Wheat Beer Rye and Sunflower Seed). Top that with a very generous smear of mayonnaise. I mixed about half a cup of mayonnaise with the chive blossom vinegar which made a sort of oniony mayo sauce. Then you add a layer of sliced hard boiled eggs. Small, cold cooked shrimp goes on top of the egg. We found the prefect size precooked frozen shrimp at IKEA, all we have to do is thaw some under cold running water and it's ready to use. Finally, you add the classic Scandinavian herb, fresh dill. Sometimes the sandwich was served with lettuce, some tomato, or a few slices of cucmber. We also had it topped one day with a little chopped red onion and some roe.

Räksmörgås at a restaurant in Stockholm

This is a really filling sandwich. There is a creamy, richness from the mayo and eggs which compliments the shrimp really well. We think the dill is really important and find it a little bland without it. (I actually heard a Scandinavian chef on TV once say you can never add too much dill.)

So, any other ideas for ways to use my Chive Blossom Vinegar?

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Spicy Tomato Butter

Matt is in charge of meat in our house which means, unless it's in a soup, stew or stir-fry, he's in charge of the seasoning and cooking. He just seems to have the touch, whipping up amazing spice rubs on the fly and cooking things to perfection without a thermometer. Last night he had two beautiful New York Strip Steaks from the farmers market to play with.

He started with a basic rub of chipotle, salt and smoked paprika which would have been good enough on its own, but then he decided to go the extra step and make a compound butter to melt over the finished steaks. Oh, was that butter good, smoky, spicy (but not too hot), garlicy, just darn good. It is quite bold, but these grass fed steaks stood up to it easily.

The butter was also tasty on the roasted potatoes and Matt was dreaming about just smearing it on some good bread.

Spicy Tomato Compound Butter

1/2 t smoked paprika
pinch chipotle powder
pinch of kosher salt
3 sundried tomatoes, the dry kind not the kind in oil
1 clove garlic
2 T unsalted butter

Purée all the ingredients until the tomatoes and garlic are well chopped and everything is blended.

Makes about 3 Tablespoons (you can freeze any butter you don't use for another time)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Green Garlic and Chive Pesto

Over the last three years we have slowly been re-landscaping our yard, adding perennial gardens, raised vegetable beds and such.

This summer I redid an area that used to be my herb garden (though nothing grew well there). There were a few stray things from last year that I needed to dig up, a bunch of chives and some stray green garlic. Matt suggested it would make an interesting pesto.

I'm not a super huge fan of basil pesto but, this one is a completely different story. It's a beautiful bright green with a very zingy flavor. That zing does mellow out quite a bit when mixed with other things like cream for a pasta sauce.

Green Garlic and Chive Pesto

1/3 c chopped green garlic, I use the white and some of the lighter green parts
1/3 c chopped chives
12 raw whole almonds (I'm sure roasted would be good too but, don't use salted)
2 T grated parmesan
4 - 5 T olive oil
fresh ground pepper
kosher salt

Put the garlic, chives and almonds in a food processor of chopped and pulse a few times to chop small. Add the cheese and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Process until smooth. If not as smooth as you'd like add more olive oil and process again. Stir in a few grinds of fresh pepper. Taste and add salt as needed, the amount will depend on how salty your cheese is.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

Tomorrow, I'll give you the recipe for the pasta we made with this pesto. Later this week I'll be trying it on chicken.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Transatlantique Kriek Caramel and Caramel Rolls

This is a story of beer for dessert and beer for breakfast...about a month ago, we were contacted by Foodbuzz to see if we'd be interested in either making a dish or pairing a dish with any of the beers from New Belgium Brewing*. Since New Belgium is probably one of Matt's favorite breweries, we jumped at the chance. Then came the hard part, deciding which beer to use and what to do with it. Our local liquor store has a great selection of New Belgium beers including their Lips of Faith series. We were both immediately drawn to the Transatlantique Kriek a spontaneously fermented lambic ale from Belgium made with Polish cherries then mixed with a New Belgium lager. It has the flavors we loved in the fruit beers while in Belgium last year, fruity but slightly sour instead of sweet. Then came the debate about what to make. Everything seemed boring or done and then Matt said, "let's make a caramel sauce" and our path was set.

I'm surprised I agreed so quickly as making caramel has always scared me and I've failed at it many times but, this was surprisingly easy. I used the basic recipe from Joy of Cooking (the bible) except replaced the water with beer. Wanting to make sure the beer and cherry flavor was quite strong in the finished caramel we reduced the beer from 1 pint, 6 ounces down to 3/4 cup. What we ended up with was a caramel sauce that had that caramelized sugar flavor as well as the maltiness of the beer, the sour tang that we loved in the beer and the fruity cherry flavor. It was amazing over some vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks.

Transatlantique Kriek Caramel Sauce
1 bottle Transatlantique Kriek (1 pt 6 oz)
1 c white sugar

Pour the Kriek into a large heavy sauce pan. Let simmer until reduce until about 3/4 cup, about 1 hour.

Pour the reduced beer out of the pan. Add in the sugar & 6 tablespoons of the reduced beer. Turn the heat to medium-high. Stir gently until the sugar is melted. Turn the heat to high & bring to a boil. Cover & let boil for 2 minutes. Remove the cover & let boil until the sides start to turn brown & the carmel darkens to a dark amber color, another minute or two. The caramel will be really foamed up so it will be hard to see the color. I stirred it down from time to time to check.

Remove from heat. Carefully pour in the remaining beer, it will sputter & foam up. Stir until smooth. It will seem a little thin but as it cools it should thicken to about a thick honey texture.

If it is still too thin bring to a boil for another 30 - 60 seconds. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Makes about 1 cup.

Next we wanted to do more with the sauce than just serve it over ice cream (though it certainly would have been easy to eat it all that way). I thought about a sauce for bread pudding or perhaps drizzled on a cheesecake but, once again, Matt came up with the answer, caramel rolls.

Seriously, look at how decadent those look (especially since we had them for a Wednesday morning breakfast).

I made up the recipe for the dough after looking at lots of different versions online and in cookbooks. It comes together quickly and after rising is easy to roll out and work. Once baked it is surprisingly light which is good since it's covered in caramel. You can make these the day you plan to serve them or, even better, make them the day before then, refrigerate after the second rise. In the morning, you only need to cook them for 20 minutes and you have a special treat for breakfast. Sticky, sweet, just a touch of sour, crunchy from the almonds...heavenly.

Transatlantique Kriek Caramel Rolls
(This recipe doesn't take a lot of hands on time but it does have two rises of an hour each.)

1 1/2 t yeast
2 T milk
2 T water
2 T sugar
1/2 t kosher salt
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 T unsalted butter, softened
1 egg white

Put the yeast in a bowl. Mix the milk & water together in a small microwavable bowl. Heat until warm but not hot (took about 20 seconds on high in my microwave). Pour over the yeast & let sit for 5 minutes. Mix in the sugar, salt & 1 cup of flour. Add the butter & egg white. Knead in the remaining flour, a little at a time until the dough is no longer sticky. Cover with a clean dish towel & let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

1 T unsalted butter melted
sugar
cinnamon
slivered almonds
1/3 c Transatlantique Kriek Caramel Sauce

Roll the dough out into a 10" x 8" rectangle on a floured board. Brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle generously with sugar & cinnamon. Sprinkle with slivered almonds.

Roll the rectangle up so, it is 8" long (you are rolling up from the short side). Use a bread knife & cut into 6 rolls.

Spread the caramel sauce in the bottom of a small baking dish, ours is about 6" x 9". Place the rolls on top cut-side down, evenly spaced. Make sure to leave a little room because they will rise to fill the space.

Cover with a kitchen towel & let rise until doubled in size again, about an hour. At this point you can bake or cover with plastic wrap & place in the fridge to bake later.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Bake the rolls for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Quickly turn out of the pan onto a serving dish. Best served hot or warm.

Makes 6 rolls (but the recipe can be easily doubled & baked in a larger pan so why not whip up a batch for Easter brunch!)

*Discloser: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program we were given a stipend from New Belgium to cover the ingredients to create this dish.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Salmon Fajitas...or are they Tacos

When Matt came up with the idea of making a fish tacos with salmon, I have to admit, I was a little skeptical. Salmon is just not usually the fish I think of for tacos as its flavor is stronger than the typical white fish. But I let him go with it.

Then he said he was going to grill peppers & onions to go in them as well. Wait, grilled protein, peppers & onions, isn't that a fajita? But then he was also going to add a fish taco sauce. Ok, so what are we having fish fajitas or fish tacos?

You know what? These taste so good who cares whether they're called fajitas or tacos. The grilled vegetables & sauce both have enough flavor to stand up to the salmon without overpowering it. The ancho on the salmon & cayenne in the sauce give the whole thing a nice kick. Plus these are pretty healthy, especially if you use the light mayo & non-fat yogurt in the sauce like we did. Yeah, I think we have a new fajita for our repertoire...or is it a taco...

Salmon Fajitas (or Tacos)

3/4 lb salmon fillet (pin bones removed)
kosher salt
ancho chile powder
dried dill
2 poblano peppers, seeded & cut into strips
1 red onion, sliced
4 - 5 tortillas
Fish Taco Sauce (see recipe below)

Sprinkle the salmon with a little kosher salt. Rub a little ancho chile powder & dill onto the salmon. Grill the salmon fillets until cooked through & flaky.

At the same time grill the peppers & onion until tender. We use a grill basket to do this.

Remove the skin from the salmon & flake the meat. Place on a warm tortilla & top with vegetables & Fish Taco Sauce.

Makes 4 - 5 fajitas (tacos)

Fish Taco Sauce
(adapted from Soup Addict)

1/4 c light mayonnaise
1/4 c plain non-fat yogurt, drained
1 1/2 T lime juice
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t Mexican oregano
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t cayenne
1/8 t coriander
1 t capers, minced
1 T chopped fresh cilantro
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together. Chill

Makes about 1/2 cup.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Matt's Busy Saturday Vodka Cream Sauce

As I mentioned yesterday, we had a bit of a fender bender Saturday. We were both a little exhausted by the day but, still needed dinner. With no car we couldn't just run out to eat so, Matt whipped up this tasty sauce & served it over a half package of gnocchi we had lingering in the fridge.

His inspiration for the sauce was a leftover half package of Philadelphia Cooking Cream*. Have you tried this stuff yet? It's got the flavor of cream cheese but the texture is more like that of mascarpone cheese. We bought it to use in our smoked salmon chowder & it made the chowder even better than the original version (richer, creamier) plus it incorporates so easily. After that success, Matt said he wanted to experiment with it in pasta sauce. It added a nice bit of tang that you wouldn't get from just cream & a luxurious thickness. I think this might be the perfect cream cheese to use in frosting, no waiting for it to reach room temp!

Matt's Busy Saturday Vodka Cream Sauce

1 T salted butter
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
few grinds black pepper
1/4 t dried basil
8 oz basic tomato sauce
splash of vodka
5 oz Philadelphia Cooking Cream

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add the garlic, red pepper, black pepper & basil. Sauté for about a minute. Stir in the tomato sauce & vodka. Whisk in the cooking cream until incorporated. Heat through. Serve with your favorite pasta.

Makes 2 - 3 servings

* We did not receive the Philadelphia Cooking Cream for free or receive any sort of payment for writing about it. We just happened to pick it up at the store & liked it so, thought we'd share our thoughts about it with you.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lingonberry Sauce

Since we are heading to Michigan for Thanksgiving, we decided to cook a little Fakesgiving dinner here last Sunday with our local family. We kept things pretty traditional, turkey, dressing and mashed potatoes. The one thing I did change up was the cranberries. Usually I make a fresh cranberry relish this year I went a little Scandinavian with a lingonberry sauce instead.

I had some lingonberries in the freezer that I had picked up to make a dish I'd seen on New Scandinavian Cooking that I never got to so, I decided this was a good change to use them. Lingonberries have a tart flavor which makes them a good substitute for the classic cranberries. The sauce itself was really quick to cook up ahead of time & then just serve it a room temperature with dinner. It was a big hit, everyone loved the sweet, tart & tangy flavor. It's great on those leftover sandwiches too. (Matt suggests a turkey, cream cheese & lingonberry sauce sandwich.)

Lingonberry Sauce

1/2 T salted butter
1 small onion, minced
8 oz fresh or frozen lingonberries
1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 t horseradish

Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a small saucepan. Add the onions & cook until translucent. Stir in the lingonberries (I put them in still frozen), sugar & horseradish. Reduce heat & simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, like a loose jam.

Makes about 1 - 1 1/2 cups

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Farro with Sausage and Chard plus Roasted Tomato Sauce

Oh fall, how happy we are that you have arrived with your hearty, warming dishes. How excited we are to get back into the kitchen filled with renewed energy & ideas.

Matt has declared this our go-to dish of the winter. And why not, it's simple to make (especially if you have tomato sauce already made), contains healthy ingredients & most importantly, tastes great. It's one of those rustic dishes with deep, mellow flavors that seems to just call out to be eaten in front of a fireplace. Farro makes a great base alternative to pasta or rice with a slightly nutty flavor & great texture. The Italian sausage can be mild or hot based on your preference. We used chard in this because we had some still in the garden but later in the winter we'll use some of the kale that we've blanched & frozen.

Farro with Sausage & Chard

4.25 oz dry farro
1/2 T olive oil
8 oz bulk Italian sausage
4 large chard leaves with stems. Stems chopped & leaves roughly chopped. Keep separate.
1 c tomato sauce (see below)
freshly grated Parmesan

Put the farro in a bowl & cover with cold water. Let soak for 30 minutes.

Put the farro & water into a saucepan. Add enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until tender but still with a slight bite. Drain & set aside.

Hear the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage & chard stems. Sauté until the sausage is cooked through. Add the cooked farro, chard leaves & tomato sauce. Cook until heated through & the chard leaves are wilted.

Serve topped with grated Parmesan

Makes 2 servings

A good tomato sauce will really make a difference in the final flavor of this dish. You want one that is on the thicker side with lots of flavor. I made mine using a roasted tomato method recommended by my cousin. She buys a crate of tomatoes every fall to make sauce this way since it is her families favorite. Let me tell you, I'll be making tomato sauce this way myself from now on. Not only is it really easy (Just roast the veggies & then throw them in a blender with the seasonings, no blanching & peeling, no all day cooking.) but the resulting flavor is just amazing. The natural sugars in the tomatoes, onions & garlic start to caramelize during roasting giving the sauce a mellow sweetness that doesn't require any other sugar. The sauce comes out thick & dark with an intensity you don't get from jarred sauces.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

20 - 25 roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 small onion, quartered
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly grated pepper
1 T tomato paste
1 T balsamic vinegar
10 fresh basil leaves
1 t dried oregano

Preheat oven to 275 F.

Put the tomato halves, onion quarters & garlic on a baking sheet with sides. Drizzle with a little olive oil & stir making sure everything is coated. Turn tomatoes cut side up. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast until the tomatoes are soft & the onions & garlic are golden about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Let cool slightly.

Put the roasted vegetables & all remaining ingredients into a blender. Process until everything is chopped fine. Check for seasoning.

Makes about 2 cups.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Pork Tenderloin with Fig Sauce

I wanted to make a sauce using the fresh Black Mission figs we have & figured a pork tenderloin would be the perfect vehicle for it. It's been so long since we've had a tenderloin & I don't know why. We love grilling & roasting tenderloins as they cook quickly & there is so much you can do with them flavor-wise.

This time we kept the pork simple with just some salt & pepper & grilled it until perfectly done because we knew the sauce would have a lot of flavor. I have to say I am really lucky because Matt know his way around cooking meat perfectly. I tend to worry about meat being cooked enough & end up over cooking it. Anyway...

This sauce was a wonderful compliment to pork: slightly sweet, slightly tart & very figgy. It was super simple to make & I think made for a "good-enough-for-company" presentation. Don't leave the thyme out of this sauce; I was surprised that such a small amount made such a big difference in the final flavor.

Fig Sauce

1 T salted butter
1/4 c chopped red onion
6 fresh ripe Black Mission Figs, stems removed, chopped
1 T honey
1/4 c red wine
2 T balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
1 t fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 t dried

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions & sauté until soft & translucent. Add the figs & cook a minute of two to start breaking up. Stir in the honey, wine & vinegar. Season with a little salt & pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & let simmer uncovered for about 10 - 15 minutes until reduced & thickened. Add the thyme leaves & check seasoning for salt. Serve warm over pork tenderloin or maybe some pork chops.

Makes about 1 cup (enough for 4 servings)

We had some leftover & I'm looking forward to using it as a spread on a ham & cheese sandwich for lunch today. Can you believe we are down to less than one flat of fresh figs already? Have you entered to win your bounty of figs from the CA Fig Advisory Board yet?

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski