Luscious, Decadent Lasagna (w/Chicken, Wild Mushrooms, and Fontina Cheese)

I tackled a new lasagna recipe by master chef/restaurateur  Daniel Boulud and it was ah-may-zing! It's in the February issue of Elle Decor, and you can find it here.

It took most of an afternoon to assemble, but it was worth it -- as it baked in the oven (and I started to realize how great it was going to be), we decided to invite some friends over for an impromptu dinner party.

The filling is basically a mirepoix of onion and celery that then has spinach and wild mushrooms and parsley mixed in.  You then add that to a lovely thick sauce made of chicken thighs, white wine, cream and milk and then stir in some parsley and nutmeg.

I used no-boil lasagna noodles, which saved some time, so if you do the same, just be sure to put a few tablespoons of chicken broth or cream on the bottom of the pan before you place your first layer of lasagna sheets so they soften completely. You'll also need to increase the covered baking time from 30 minutes to about 50. Otherwise, I followed everything exactly. I'm sure using regular lasagna makes for a more compact piece of lasagna, but I was really pleased with how mine turned out.

I created a monstrous but luscious stack of the pasta sheets, chicken mixture and layers of creamy Fontina cheese, repeating until I was afraid it would fall over, then topping with a last bit of Fontina and Parmesan.

Everyone loved it -- even our friend who abhors mushrooms liked it.  Chris thought it was delish, but said he'd like to try a version without the chicken. I kind of agree with him -- I'm not a huge fan of chicken thighs, and the recipe didn't say whether to remove all of the fat from the meat before browning, so I spent some time getting rid of most of it, before giving up. The meat shredded once I added the flour, so it might not have mattered.  However, a meatless version with double the veggies would be great, or perhaps chicken breast would be a good substitute for the thighs....

I served it with fresh green beans and grape tomatoes that I sautéed in butter and a squeeze of lemon until slightly tender and I also tossed some cauliflower and broccoli with some olive oil, coriander and garlic powder then roasted for about an hour until they were brown and buttery.  Chris made garlic toast from a loaf of homemade bread, and we drank a few bottles of crisp, dry white wine. (I also made a delectable cranberry, apple and pecan crumble, but that's a post for another day....)

It was a lovely meal, and I'm so glad to be able to add this recipe to my serve-to-company list. It took some time, but it wasn't difficult to make, so I suggest you try your hand at this lasagna asap. You just might find yourself throwing a last-minute soirée, too!

xoxo

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi, Cupids!
Craving something chocolate?
Here's a luscious recap of some favorite chocolate treats, just in time for Valentine's Day!

Mousse aux Deux Chocolats (Two-Chocolate Mousse) and Soufflé au Chocolat (Chocolate Soufflé)

Super Brownies

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Chocolate Bark

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

Whip up something lovely for your sweetie today!

xoxo

Kimchi and Tofu Fried Rice/Ginger Pork Cabbage Wraps

Taco night happens once a week at Chez Gourmess, and now we've added Asian food night to the round-up as well. I love cooking with all of the Asian spices and sauces -- they really give you the freedom to use as much or as little as you want, and I love putting a bit of this and a pinch of that together until the flavors meld into something that tastes out of this world.

Here are a couple easy and satisfying dishes I've made recently:

Kimchi and Tofu Fried Rice

We had kimchi (fermented cabbage mix) left over from making Khao Soi (Curry Noodle Soup) and I had a package of cubed, firm tofu in the fridge, so I thought fried rice would be a quick and tasty way to use them up.  I heated about a TBS of vegetable oil in a large wok-style pan, and when it was hot, I added the tofu (which I had marinated in soy sauce for a few minutes and then drained) to the pan, sautéing until browned and a bit crispy.  I removed the tofu with a slotted spoon and set aside. Back into the pan went another TBS of oil, about 1 1/2 cups of roughly chopped kimchi, a minced clove of garlic and two teaspoons of red chili paste. Once the cabbage was heated through, I added in about 2 TBS of soy sauce and a couple teaspoons of hoisin and then stirred in about 4 cups of cooked brown rice (I love the frozen bags--they take 4 minutes in the microwave!) and let cook for a few minutes.  I moved the rice mixture over to one side of the pan, then added two eggs, which I had lightly whisked beforehand. I stirred the eggs gently until they were almost set (about 2-3 mins) then mixed them into the rice.  I added the tofu and a TBS each of sesame oil and fresh lime juice, then stirred one more time before plating.

I served with crushed peanuts a wedge of lime and Thai peanut sauce on the side. It was really tasty and I made a mental note to cook with tofu more often.

Ginger Pork Cabbage Wraps

I received a huge head of green cabbage in my latest organic box, so I thought perhaps cabbage wraps were in order. But, I couldn't make my Cabbage Wraps with Ground Turkey and Mango Salsa because I didn't have any ground turkey or chicken.  I did have a pork loin, so I thought I'd throw it in the crock pot with some spices and sauces (a few pieces of fresh ginger root, a couple cloves of garlic, a large piece of candied ginger, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar, 1/4 cup of sesame oil, 2 TBS each of brown sugar and chili paste) and then use the shredded meat in the wraps.  I put the pork in the slow cooker at 8 p.m. and set it on the 10 hour setting. It was torture smelling it cook all night...but I was rewarded with a lovely, moist piece of pork that was falling apart even as turned it over in the pot.

I poured the pot juices over the meat and let marinate in the fridge all day. When I got home, I took the meat out and shredded it into bite-sized pieces, then tossed in a pan with some julienned cabbage and carrots (a great way to use bagged, undressed "coleslaw mix"), 2 TBS each of sesame oil, mirin, and soy sauce, 1 TBS of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 2 teaspoons of minced ginger and chili paste and cooked until coated and warmed through.  I placed a spoonful of meat inside a cabbage leaf, topped it with cilantro and crushed peanuts and some mango salsa. I think it might be even better than the turkey version. Delish.

Chris and I ate the wraps standing in a mini-assembly line in the kitchen.  We had bowls of cilantro, crushed peanuts, chow mein noodles, cabbage and carrots to choose from, and a choice of soy sauce, sriracha, peanut sauce and the mango salsa for the topper.  Chris made some summer rolls with rice paper, sautéed shrimp, cilantro, chow mein noodles and cabbage--his were so neat and tidy compared to mine.

We drank a cocktail made of gin, lime juice and ginger-infused club soda (I put some water and ginger root in the blender and then used our new soda maker to get it all bubbly) with our wraps and rolls. What a fun night!

And, now I've found two more great ways to enjoy Asian cuisine.
xoxo

Late to the Plate: Guest Blogger Jessica Schein Takes on Bittman's Basics

Chunky Vegetable Soup

Living in New York City for the first 30 years of my life meant that dinner was delivery, a deli counter special, or eating out. I only stepped into my tiny kitchen for the hairdryer that I stored in a cabinet. So when I moved to Seattle and found that the only eat-in option was Domino's I was in a bit of a bad sitch. For weeks I made the only thing I could—scrambled eggs with ketchup on the side. 

Then a co-worker gave me Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. “It’s for beginners," she told me, so armed with my ingredients list I marched to the supermarket that night determined to whip up one of his masterpieces.

It was anything but, as were the next night’s and so on and so forth. Most of the time my boyfriend pasted a sweet grin on his face and said nothing, but I heard his resistant gulps growing louder with every bite.

Still, I kept trying--and eating many frozen “back-up” pizzas as we called them--until I finally got better.

How? Well, by practice of course, but also by reading through every recipe as many three times before getting down to business, pulling ingredients from the shelves before the boiling was underway, and chopping/slicing/dicing everything beforehand, even if a recipe indicated I would have time while the onions softened.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m by no means an expert now. I’m just trying to navigate my way around the kitchen without having learned a thing about cooking before 30—and I’d venture to guess I’m not alone. We’re all so busy it’s easy to rely on convenient store meals and take-out.

But the more I read, the more I see that cooking at home is a much better alternative to sodium-laden sandwiches filled with ingredients ending in –-ide. That’s not to say it’s easy, even if a recipe says “beginner.” I can’t count how many times I’ve seen a recipe with a prep time of 20 minutes only to find that 40 minutes after starting I’m still chopping.

So to help you (and me!), I’m planning to break “basic” recipes down into clear steps, give you the real low down on the prep time, and share any tips I pick up along the way—making the process of cooking for us novices hopefully more enjoyable.

To kick off this series I’m going back to Bittman and the book that started it all, How to Cook Everything. On a cold winter’s night I love a hearty soup with a few pieces of sourdough bread. I had a lot of leftover veggies from the previous week so the Chunky Vegetable Soup recipe seemed a good way to cut out the fridge clutter and eat well. It makes 4 to 5 servings (in my home it ended up being 5 healthy portions) and Bittman claims that it takes 45 to 60 minutes to make. Does it really though? Let’s find out.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of olive oil ** 3 tablespoons to sauté the onions, carrots, and celery; 1 tablespoon to be dropped in at the end of cooking. Prep time: 30 seconds
• 1 medium onion, diced **Prep time: 3 to 4 minutes
• 1 stalk of celery, “peeled” and diced ** Peeling celery apparently means getting rid of its strings by pulling at them from the top of the stalk. I tried this but I’m frankly not sure if I did it right. I lost patience and began dicing away. In the end no harm came from not de-stringing. Prep time: 4 minutes
• 1 carrot, diced ** I used 10 baby carrots since that’s what I had on hand. Prep time: 2 minutes

• ½ cup prosciutto or other ham (optional) ** I didn’t include this b/c I didn’t want to buy it. Not sure how the recipe would have tasted with it but I sure didn’t think to myself “I wish there were pork products in this soup” when I was eating it. Prep time: 0 minutes
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups of “hard” vegetables ** I added 2 cups of fingerling potatoes but regular Yukons would work, too. Bittman also suggests winter squash, turnips, or parsnips. Whatever you use should be diced into pieces 1/2” or less. Prep time: 3 to 4 minutes
• Salt and freshly ground pepper ** I hate the term “to taste” ‘cause it’s too ambiguous. I used 8 turns on my pepper grinder and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Prep time: 30 seconds
• 6 cups of chicken, vegetable, beef stock, or water ** I used 4 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of water. Chicken stock has a lot of sodium so I diluted it with the water. Prep time (measuring it out): 30 seconds
• 1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato ** I tried peeling one tomato on the vine but soon gave up. I ended up scooping out the inside of 5 and chopping them up with the skin on. Like my impatient celery incident, no harm was had by leaving the skin on. Prep time: 10 minutes
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups of soft vegetables ** I added 2 cups of kale but green beans, cooked dried beans, zucchini, and summer squash are fine, too. All should be diced into pieces smaller than 1/2”. Prep time: 3 minutes

• ½ cup chopped parsley leaves **Prep time: 2 minutes
• Freshly grated parmesan ** Prep time: 0 minutes. I grated it over the soup once it was ladled into bowls

Total Prep time:  About 30 minutes


Directions:

1. Put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep, heavy pot (a Dutch oven works really well). 
    When it’s hot (about 3 minutes) add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until soft 
    (about 5 minutes). Total time: 8 minutes
2. Add the hard vegetables, ¾ teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Stir twice, and then add in   
   the liquid and tomatoes. Stir two more times. Total time: 2 minutes

3. Crank up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Total time: 12 minutes
4. Lower the heat so that it bubbles slowly, not furiously like when it boils. Let it simmer 
    until the vegetables are soft and the tomato is broken up. Stir five to six separate 
    times. Total time: 16 minutes
5. Add the soft vegetables and parsley and heat the liquid up so it simmers again. Total 
   time: 3 minutes
6. Let the soup simmer until the vegetables are soft. Total time: 14 minutes

7. Adjust seasoning if necessary (I didn’t at all) and add in the last tablespoon of olive oil. 
   Total time: 1 minute
8. Ladle into bowls and grate the parmesan three times. Total time: 3 minutes


Total Cooking Time: About 60 minutes.
Combined prep + cooking time: Around an hour-and-a-half.

In the end, the soup was seriously nom-worthy! I would definitely make it again. However to cut down on the chance of 11pm post-dinner munchies, I’d cut out ½ to ¾ cup of vegetables and add in a can of rinsed chickpeas or cannellini beans for protein’s sake. Also, to save time I’d use diced tomatoes in juice from a can next time around, which Bittman admits is fine.

So consider testing your cooking chops with this soup—it’s not very difficult but it’s a definite crowd pleaser. My formerly weary boyfriend even had seconds and we celebrated the success with two glasses of wine. Happy Saturday evening, indeed.


Cheers and happy cooking!

------------------------

Jessica Schein is a semi-novice cook & writer living in Seattle, WA. When not combing through cookbooks she can be found reading young adult fiction, wishing that Friday Night Lights would return for a sixth season, or running. You can follow her on Twitter or Tumblr.

Super Brownies

Forget the Giants. I have a new brownie recipe that's a real winner.

I have banned all boxed brownie, cookie and cake mixes from my life for ages now, but making desserts from scratch isn't always the easiest way to make treats. Box mixes are great in that they are easy and pretty reliable -- they should come out perfect every time.  But, what's "perfect?" Take brownies for instance. Some people want them cake-like with a hint of cocoa and a super sweet icing.  Some want them to be crunchy and chewy. Others, like my sister, want them practically raw in the middle.  I like a happy medium -- I want my brownies to be light, but also rich and decadent. Luckily, I think I have the perfect recipe. Minus the boxed mix.

After some searching online, I found some great brownie recipes and then did what I usually end up doing after I've printed out a recipe -- ignore it and do it my own way.  So, here goes.

Super Brownies

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup cake flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

To Do:

• Flour/butter a square cake/brownie pan (8-9 inches).  I like to just douse the pan with a baking spray -- it makes quick work of a rather annoying task. Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Melt the butter on the stove and remove from heat. Stir in the sugar, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl. 
• Lightly whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, then add to the sugar/butter mixture, stirring as you add.
• Add the vanilla and cinnamon and give another stir.
• Mix in the cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder until you have a nice, shiny chocolate batter.
• Stir in the chocolate chips -- the batter should still be slightly warm, so some of the chips will melt into it, which is perfect.
• Transfer the batter to your brownie pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.  Do not leave them in too long -- they'll continue to firm up after you take them out of the oven.
• Enjoy as is, or frost with your favorite icing. However, I'm of the mind that there's no reason to make icing if there's a jar of Nutella in the house, so I spread some of it over the brownies while they were still warm.
• The brownies were light in the hand, but rich and dense in the middle.  The cinnamon gave a nice kick and the Nutella "icing" added just a bit more sweet. I could have eaten the whole pan in the first quarter of the Super Bowl.
• Touchdown!

xoxox

P.S. I have something special for you this week.  A "Guest Blogger" is going to share her cookery with you...first up is Jessica Schein.  Stay tuned.

 

Roast Chicken Two Ways

Is there anything better than the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven?

Lately, I've been trying to make the most out of each meal that I cook.  (What can I do with the leftovers? How can I get two meals out of this?)  I had a lovely organic, whole chicken and decided to roast it up using a technique from one of my favorite FCI courses: Poulet Rôti Grand-mère (Grandmother's Roast Chicken). I cleaned and trussed the bird, rubbed vegetable oil all over it, and then browned it on the stove in butter before transferring it to a 450 degree oven. After 10 minutes, I added some carrots, red onions and the neck, wings and heart, which I had also browned on the stove with a bit of stock and herbs. The pan went back into the oven to roast for about 45 more minutes, basting it with its juices every so often. I took it out to rest when the internal temperature was between 140-150 degrees and the juices were clear.

While the chicken was roasting, I peeled and diced some red potatoes and sautéed them with some bacon, wild mushrooms, herbs and diced apple. As soon as they were slightly tender, I stirred in a spoonful of chicken stock, a TBS of butter and a bit of salt and pepper and then placed the pan in the oven next to the chicken for the last 20 minutes to continue cooking. About 5 minutes before I took them out, I added in some baby peas for color.

When the chicken was ready, I placed it on a cutting board to rest and tented it with foil. Then, I strained and discarded the vegetables from the pan juices and then returned the yummy drippings back to the pan. I heated to a slight boil, then whisked in a bit of flour and a few splashes of chicken stock until I had a nice gravy.  I added some salt and pepper to taste, but it didn't need much.  I don't usually make gravy, but Chris loves it, and since I didn't make mashed potatoes, it seemed only fair. I'm glad I did...it was awesome.

I gave us each a nice portion of chicken breast drowning in gravy and a big spoonful of the potato mixture. The chicken was juicy, the gravy so tasty--and the roasted potatoes with apples, mushrooms and bacon, terrific.

A lovely, lovely meal.

But, I wasn't done. When we were finished eating, I went back to work.  I shredded the rest of the meat from the chicken and set aside.  I added some chicken stock and light cream to the leftover gravy until I had a lovely base for chicken pot pie.  Once the sauce was ready, I added in the chicken along with some thawed frozen broccoli, peas and carrots. I gently stirred it all together and adjusted the seasonings, then spooned it into four mini pie plates until they were close to overflowing.  I topped each with some pie dough (I always keep some in the fridge) and placed in the warm oven to bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

I'll heat up the chicken pot pies for dinner later this week.

Yum and yum.
xoxoxo