Weekend Stock

I call this "Weekend Stock" because it does take about 8 hours or so to make. Don't worry though, the actual prep time is closer to 30 minutes and is very easy, the other 7 hours and 30 minutes are letting the stock simmer on the stove. You should never leave a stove completely unattended so you can't put the stock on and leave for work however feel free to watch tv, clean, do homework, or play with your kids while it cooks.

Equipment:
1 Stock pot (I have an 8 quart one)
1 Mesh strainer
Ladel
Large bowl for straining the stock into
Freezer safe storage bowls

Fill your stock pot between 1/2 and 2/3 full of water (depends on how much finished stock you want and the size of your pot). Throw in your stock ingredients (roast raw meat/bones first if you'd like a richer stock)  and cook for about 7 hours or so. Check periodically to make sure the pot isn't boiling down too much, if it gets to be less than 1/2 the initial amount of water, add some more. When your stock is done, strain it into a large bowl through a fine mesh strainer to remove all the chunks.

If you made vegetable stock you can transfer the stock into smaller storage bowls now (or wait until it cools) and freeze any you aren't going to use within a few days. For meat based stock, allow it to cool in the fridge for a couple hours so the fat will solidify on the surface of the stock. If you have a very gelatinous stock (good for you! that's the best kind) you'll need to warm it up a little bit in a microwave or on the stove before you can transfer it to storage bowls. Freeze any stock you won't be using, refrigerated stock will only last about a week.

I haven't specified what to make your stock from. This is entirely up to you but for around a gallon of finished stock you should have at least a pound of stuff. What sort of stuff?

For vegetable stock I use about 1/2 a medium onion and a couple cloves of garlic, a few carrots and stalks of celery and then any other non-starchy veggies you have lying around (corn, green beans, peas, zucchini, tomatos, etc.) starchy vegetables like potatoes aren't very good for stock. This is a great way to use up fresh veggies that are past their prime and those leftover partial bags of frozen veggies that seem to lurk in the back of the freezer. If you like you can also throw in dried or fresh herbs if you have them. I avoid adding salt to stock, I can add it later if I need to but it's hard to remove too much salt.

For meat stock: Again use the onion and garlic along with any other aromatic veggies you have lying around like celery. Then add about a pound of animal bits, try for a good mix of meat and bones. I generally buy whole cut up chickens at the grocery store (only about 50 cents more than a whole chicken and I don't have to cut it up) which includes the neck and giblets. I save up these pieces in the freezer along with the bones from the chicken breasts after I've cut the meat off (either cooked or raw doesn't matter). When I have enough saved up I make chicken stock. The day after Thanksgiving is also good if you've made a turkey, just pick the good meat off the carcass for and throw everything else in the stock pot (same works with any other poultry, chicken, duck, goose, even cornish game hens though you would need several carcasses). For beef/pork/lamb stock you can buy soup bones at the store or use leftover bones from ribs and other bone in cuts of meat.

First Dinner in my Apartment

So I've moved and it feels great to finally be on my own. To celebrate I cooked my first dinner in the new apartment (actually my second dinner here but friends cooked for me last night). I made pan seared salmon and a salad with homemade vinaigrette.

Salmon
This was a roughly 4 ounce piece of fish (half an 8 ounce fillet I cut in half, froze the remaining half for another night). Coated it generously on both sides with olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little freshly squeezed lemon juice. Cooked it in a non-stick pan for 3 minutes on each large side and 30 seconds each on the ends. Let sit under aluminum foil for 3-4 minutes while dishing out the salad.


Red wine vinaigrette
In a plastic squeeze bottle (of the type used for ketchup, salad dressing, etc) mix 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/8 teaspoon each of ground yellow mustard, dill seed, and minced garlic.This is a very small batch, double or triple it if you are serving multiple people. I like to make small amounts of vinaigrette like this that last me 2-3 days so then I can switch to a new combination of flavors.

Pi Day Tart

Been a long time since I've updated this blog. I've been busy and it's hard to remember to write posts when I'm cooking for 4 people however this may change soon as I may be moving into my own place soon.

March 14 (3.14) is Pi Day. In celebration I made this nice rustic berry tart. Since this was a thrown together recipe the measurements are approximate.

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen pie crust thawed, you can of course use homemade but I hate making pie crust.
• 2 cups berries of your choice, I used a mix of frozen strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, allow to thaw if you are using frozen. Drain excess juices that came out during thawing.
• 1/4 cup sugar, I don't like a really sweet tart, use 1/2 cup if you like it sweeter.
• 1/3 cup jam or jelly, I used orange marmalade to keep with the less sweet theme, apricot or apple would be nice too.
• 1/2 cup crushed ginger snaps. Graham crackers would probably also work.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie crust in pie plate or on a sheet pan doesn't matter for this recipe (use some parchment paper or grease it to keep the tart from sticking).
2. Mix the berries, sugar, and half the cookie crumbs in a bowl, let sit 10 minutes.
3. Pour berries into middle of the crust, spread evenly to 2 inches from the edge. Microwave the jam for about 15-30 seconds to loosen it up a little, drizzle over the berries.
4. Fold edges of the crust in and over the berries (see picture).
5. Sprinkle the rest of the cookie crumbs over the top of the tart.
6. Bake 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and delicious.
7. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Here's one of those recipes based on a classic that I've modified. Classically roasted tomato soup would be done with fresh tomatoes but good fresh tomatoes are hard to come by in Maine for most of the year so I've used canned tomatoes. I've also added my own twist with roasted sweet red peppers.

Ingredients:

• 2 14oz cans of tomatoes, diced or whole
• 1/2 roasted sweet red pepper (the kind in a jar, use fresh if you have it but I didn't)
• Olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• Sliver of onion (I'm not sure how much, it was about an 1/8 inch slice off the half onion in my fridge)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• Bay leaf

Directions:
1: Drain the cans of tomatoes, reserving liquid for later.
2: Lay tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil. Cut tomatoes in half if you are using whole canned tomatoes
3: Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until caramelized
4: Combine reserved tomato juice and chicken stock in your soup pot.
5: Place tomatoes, onion, garlic, and roasted peppers in your food processor and blend until at your preferred level of smoothness (I like a little chunky).
6: Add tomato mixture to your soup pot. Add the bay leaf and season with the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste.
7: Bring to a boil, reduce to medium and simmer about 10 minutes so the flavors meld together.

Served with some nice crusty toasted bread it's hearty but still very healthy.

Quick and Easy - Pesto Chicken

Here's a simple recipe to put together. It's what I made for dinner tonight when faced with only nothing planned and a package of chicken. I ended up using less than half a small jar of pesto, so it's good if you have some leftover in the fridge.

Ingredients:
Jar of pesto
Chicken pieces of choice

Directions:
1: Place chicken in shallow baking dish.
2: Spoon pesto over the chicken.
3: Bake at 350°F until done, this will depend on the cut and weight of the pieces, here's a chart or better yet use a probe thermometer to cook until the internal temperature is 165°F.
4: Share and enjoy.

Split Pea Soup: Delicious Comfort Food

Pea soup in one of those wonderful, hearty foods that make you feel really good on a cold wet day. It also has the benefit of being very cheap and easy to make in a crock pot (even cheaper is the ham is from leftovers). This dish does take several hours to cook but being a crock pot recipe you can throw it together in the morning and just leave it simmering on low all day, it doesn't need constant attention.

I saved the bone form the ham I made last week to make this soup, it's a great way to use up leftover ham.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried split peas
• 1 ham bone, and/or leftover ham
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic minced
  
• 4 cups water
• Bay leaf
  
• Italian seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make it:
1: Saute the onion and garlic in the butter until transluscent.
2: Add peas, ham, stock, water, lemon juice, and bay leaf to your crock pot.
3: Season with Italian seasoning mix, salt,  and pepper to taste
4: Simmer on low 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours until the peas break down and the soup thickens (actual time may vary depending on your crock pot, however pea soup can't really be overcooked so err on the side of more time)
5: Serve with thick slices of bread or fresh biscuits.

Save a little  time:If you need to save some cooking time try this. Soak the peas overnight (or while your at work) in about 6 cups of water. Drain excess water before using. Reduce the amount of water you add to the crock pot to 3 cups. This can cut the cooking time by about 1/3.

Variations:
1: Try making this with turkey ham or your favorite smoked sausage
2: This recipe can easily be made vegetarian as well. Leave out the ham, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil, and swap the chicken stock for vegetable. It's just as delicious.
3: If you don't like sauteing the onion and garlic you can substitute some onion and garlic powder instead but you won't get as rich a taste.

Maple Ham Glaze

Today I made ham and eggs for dinner. The ham was a lovely smoked ham (non-aged) from the pig my family raised last year. You can use this glaze on any ham but I reccomend you get a bone-in ham that hasn't been spiral cut and stay away from reconstituted hams. I will refer to Alton Brown for more tips on selecting a ham:



The hams from our pig were quite strongly smoked so I really love to pair them with a rich sweet glaze. For cooking your ham, refer to the package instructions to see if it is partially, fully, or uncooked to know how long it'll need in the oven. I cooked my ham until the internal temperature reached 160 since while it was cold smoked it wasn't truly cooked and I'd rather be safe than sorry. This recipe is for a medium sized ham, about 3lbs.

Maple Glaze

• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (the real stuff)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper (give or take a bit, it was 2 grinds of my peppermill)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the maple syrup, stirring until its a thick gooey glaze. Apply to your ham 10-15 minutes before it finishes cooking.

Serve your ham with whatever sides you prefer. I like some eggs over easy with nice runny yolks.