Author: binner216@comcast.net

A Night in Tuscany

I’ve never been to Italy. Someday (?) I hope to visit. In the meantime, I can experience the flavors of Italy in Mama D’s Kitchen…and her backyard.

The showpiece of the meal was the Il Galletto Al Mattone or Chicken Cooked Under a Brick .That is the literal preparation. Chicken is grilled with a brick on top of it. The brick weighs down the chicken and creates a crisp skin and juicy meat. Usually a whole chicken is prepared, but we did it with bone in chicken breasts.  It was simply seasoned with fresh herb salt(rosemary, sage, garlic, red pepper flakes, and sea salt). Foil wrapped pavers were positioned (with quite a bit of engineering) on the breasts. Visions of my last mammogram came to mind, but I digress. Then the grill and the bricks did the work. 

DIGITAL CAMERA

We had an Italian side dish that actually came from Italy. We had Farro. This is an ancient grain that is grown in Italy and is now being exported to the rest of the world. If oats and barley had a love child the result would taste a lot like Farro, but it would look more like barley. This grain from the wheat family has been a staple of Italian diets  for centuries. While it has gluten the amount is slightly less than its American cousin.

DIGITAL CAMERA

I had been noticing lots of recipes using Farro. The side dishes and salads sounded wonderful, so I set out to find this new old grain. I checked the grain section of every grocery store that I went in to no avail. I turned to the internet and found that Fruitful Yield carried it. They however were sold out…so I asked to be put on a waiting list, for Farro.

I put my dream of a romantic Italian dinner on hold and went to Meijer to do the mundane grocery shopping for the week. As I cruised past the grain section, lo and behold there on the top shelf was a bag of Farro. It was right next to the red quinoa.  I’d be willing to swear that neither were there the week before, but I have no proof. So I bought the Farro and giddily brought it home. A Night in Tuscany was back on the calendar.

So the bricks and grill were cooking the chicken and I was cooking the Farro. Like rice it cooks in water but uncovered. I kicked the cooking liquid up by using chicken stock, garlic and the usual suspects of an Italian herb cabinet. Once it was cooked, I tossed it with chopped plum tomatoes, fresh mozzarella pearls, and fresh basil. It was simply dressed with olive oil. I served it at room temperature but I think it would be good warm or cold as well.

DIGITAL CAMERA

No Tuscan dinner would be complete without a Tuscan inspired wine. We had no Brunello, but we had a nice bottle of Sangiovese. Brunello is related to Sangiovese, which is the primary grape  in Chianti. So a California Sangiovese was a poor woman’s choice to grace the Tuscan table.

DIGITAL CAMERA

After diner we enjoyed the early fall evening  with a fire in the pit and a little more wine.   We gazed at the stars, and planned our trip to Tuscany…whenever that may happen.

 

Are Chicken Thighs the New Breasts?

For years, chicken breasts have been the darling of cooks both on and off diets. They are nutritious, low in fat, and can be cooked in almost limitless ways. Price wise they are generally a bargain even if they are not on sale because there is little or no waste.  Chicken breasts for all their sterling merits, do have a few drawbacks. They are easily overcooked and this can result in a dry, tough, and less than appetizing results. 

20130625_172131 (1)Brined and Grilled Chicken Breast

As I shared  in a previous entry, I had all but given up grilling B.S (this is just an innocent abbreviation not a comment or reference to my subject) chicken breasts because of that overcooking issue until I discovered brining, that is. I  have however, continued to happily cook them indoors.  Sauteing, baking, even in soups and chilis, they are my go to protein.

DIGITAL CAMERAChicken and Artichoke Soup

Lately, I’ve noticed there is a new B.S. Chicken part showing up in recipes . That would be chicken Thighs. I’ve even seen articles in cooking magazines about them.  How could this be? I ,who have always been a white meat kind of gal , have started to use B.S thighs in mycooking and more amazing still, I like it.  B.S  Chicken parts can co-exist in my kitchen . I usually use them in different preparations. The results are not always to my liking, but since this is all about the adventures of cooking I am bravely continuing to experiment. I like them best  in more highly seasoned dishes and I think they benefit from some serious browning with or without dredging.

DIGITAL CAMERA

Tuscan Garlic Chicken Thighs

There is one place where I’ve found them to be exceptional and that is grilling. They stand up to the flame and that is something their breast brethren can’t always do (unless they’ve been brined).  Another grill plus for thighs is that they can hold their own with intense and spicy flavors. Thighs have a stronger chicken flavor that comes through even when the heat and spice is on.DIGITAL CAMERA            Grilled Chicken Thighs with an Orange Marmelade, Rice Wine Vinegar, and

Rosemary Glaze

Nutritionally,  calorie counts are almost identical for breasts and thighs (approximately 110 calories per 4 ounce serving). Thighs have slightly more fat , saturated fat, and cholesterol than breasts, but if you subscribe to the everything in moderation adage, eating them occasionally will not unbalance a healthy diet.

Where did that come from?

I do, however agree with Oscar Wilde,

“Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

 

 

The Labor Day Weekend (food) Show

Friday: The weekend started officially at 5:00PM with wine and a rain storm…Dinner was an indoor affair (by plan). I tried a new chicken dish with flavors of Tuscany and a nod to Chicken Vesuvio.DIGITAL CAMERA  Boneless skinless chicken thighs were browned in olive oil and set aside to keep warm.   Thickly sliced Klondike Rose potatoes were browned on both sides in a process that took an inordinate amount of time and required another glass of wine. Fresh rosemary, oregano and garlic were added along with some white wine and chicken broth . Everything was allowed to get happy over low heat and at the end some peas were added for color and the suggestion of a vegetable.  It was tasty and the wine pairing of an Old Vine Zinfandel from Lodi worked well.

 Saturday:  In the spirit of the holiday, we had an All American Dinner of steak, baked potato, and salad. The steaks were Petite Sirloin from Meijer on sale for $4.99 a pound.011These have become the steak of choice lately. They are consistently tender and usually can be found in 6-8 ounce portions. We served it with carmelized r ed and white onions and baked potato topped with bacon and blue cheese. The salad featured butter lettuce, mini heirloom tomatoes and orange bell pepper. The dressing was Creamy  Lemon & Herb. 010 We had a bottle of 2010 Louis Martini Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. This big wine stood up to the steak but was pleasant on the palate.

 

 

Sunday: We did a fair amount of housework, including harvesting  our Cascade Hops (best crop yet thanks to the oddly  perfect weather conditions this summer.) We decided to reward ourselves by making a trip to the Village Vintner in Algonquin. This place has according to their tee-shirts “great beer, better wine, fantastic food”.  We tend to agree with that description (we are members of the Growler Club). 022 We had Spinach Artichoke Dip and Beef Brisket Quesadillas accompanied by a bottle of their awesome Zinfandel. We once again turned to the grill for dinner. Country Pork Ribs :love factor homemade Maple Barbecue Sauce,  Grill Roasted Baby Potatoes and Pearl Onions with a love factor of Rosemary Infused Olive Oil, and Grilled Brussels Sprouts with the Undisputed Queen of Love Factors, Pepper Bacon.048

Nothing very fancy, but very flavorful and satisfying oh and did I mention it was damn near overflowing with LOVE.

 

 

“Come Monday”: “ It’ll be all right” to use some of the leftovers from earlier in the weekend. We had steak and pork ribs left and feeling inspired by the Brisket Qesadillas from Village Vintner, we decide to make some quesadillas of our own.

I thinly sliced the meat and folded it with the rest of the carmelized onions into tortillas. I added some Habenero Jack and Cheddar Cheese. We grilled them and topped them with homemade guacamole and salsa. Quite tasty.DIGITAL CAMERA

So that was my Labor Day Weekend.  As the weekend winds down so do my creative writing juices.  It’s time to post this and get ready for a new week of food adventures. My weekend  was fun filled.I hope yours was, too.

I’m A Web Host!!!???!!

To everyone who has been following my blog welcome to my website.

This is all very new to me and I’m building some wonderful relationships with Tech Support at Blue Host and Word Press.

I will be posting more food adventures very soon.

My technical adventures will also be an ongoing source for your entertainment.

010

Love you All,

Mama D

Is It Soup (time) Yet?

I don’t think of summer as the prime time to have soup. It is a comfort food that can take away the chill on a wintry evening or make a satisfying lunch in the fall. I have to admit that I haven’t made much lately even though I love to make soup.

Then last week, I decided to make soup. It started with the chicken carcasses that were left from a beer can chicken meal. Using carcasses for chicken stock isn’t how I usually roll. I’m more of a whole chicken or collected necks kind of gal. The chicken was delicious and the bones really did smell good and had a fair amount of meat on them so I thought I’d give it a whirl, or simmer to be more accurate.

I started the way I start most stock with onions celery and carrots sweated in a little olive oil. Then I added the bones and about 3 quarts of water (there were a lot of bones). I let it simmer for a couple of hours and was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful smokey aroma that permeated the house. Upon tasting it, the smokiness carried through in the flavor which was coupled with the herbs and spices I had originally used to season the chicken.

What to do with the resulting stock? Soup it is.  In my ongoing quest to use and often reuseDIGITAL CAMERA the food I have on hand I added some leftover chicken from the aforementioned dinner and some grilled artichoke hearts that had also made an appearance at the same time.  Onion and garlic were also part of the flavor profile. Topped with a few croutons it was a most satisfying supper.

Now that the soup gates were opened, I had to make another. I had a small head of cauliflower that was in dire need of being eaten. I also had several containers of vegetable stock I had made earlier in the summer.

DIGITAL CAMERAI went to an old standby and made Cauliflower & Cheddar Cheese Soup. This soup combines potatoes,  cauliflower, onions and garlic simmered together and then spun into a  puree. The addition of some extra sharp cheddar cheese created a creamy and rich bowl of goodness. Topped with bacon (the drippings were used as the base of the soup) and fresh chives, it was delicious. So soup, it’s not just for cold weather any more. In fact, there is Fresh Corn Chowder in my not so distant future….stay tuned.

There’s got to be a lot of soup fanatics out there. Please share your creativity with me…Fall is just around the corner!!