Pastys

In London (and all over the British Isles) you find hole-in-the-wall shops where they well fresh filled sweet and savory pastries called "pastys" or "pasties" (Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty)

They are sealed with a filling and served hot. They are fantastic travel food and despite my best efforts I've never made a proper one that held together because I was always using pie crust instead of the proper "short crust" dough.

So here is Alton Brown's recipe for them from his "Pie in Every Pocket" episode followed by my innumerable filling suggestions:

Pastry:
9 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 cups
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 ounces shortening, approximately 6 tablespoons
3/4 cup milk
1 egg mixed with 1 to 2 teaspoons water

EDIT: Forget the food processor.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

Add the shortening and knead it into the flour with your hands until it is crumbly. Add the milk all at once and mix in with a spatula until it begins to come together. Add more flour (about 1/3 of a cup) until it forms a soft dough.

Lightly flour your hands and the countertop and turn the dough out onto the countertop. Knead the dough ball, folding over 10 to 20 times. Using a rolling pin roll the dough to 1/3 to 1/2-inch thickness, then cut into rounds using a 2 1/4-inch ring. (I use a juice glass, or a pint glass)

Roll each round as thinly as possible or to 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto the dough, brush the edges of half of the dough lightly with the egg wash, fold over and seal the edges together with the tines of a fork, dipping it into flour as needed. Gently press down to flatten and evenly distribute the filling and snip or cut 3 slits in the top of the pie. Dock pies that are going to be deep-fried, instead of snipping or cutting slits.

To bake pies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place finished pies onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Breakfast:

Egg and cheese

Egg, cheese and bacon

Egg, cheese and sausage

Breakfast potato hash (potato, onions, sausage)

Lunch and Dinner:

Bierocks (beef, onions, cabbage, black pepper and nutmeg)

Cornish Pasties (beef and veg)

Steak and ale (essentially my pot roast and carrots)

Brunswick (shredded chicken and vegetable)

Chicken, mushroom, and garlic

Pork and apple cider

Cheese, onion, and potato

Curried Chicken and veg

Curried veg (potato, onion, spinach)

Italian (tomato sauce, mozzarella and turkey Italian sausage)

Italian Chicken (tomato sauce, mozzarella and chicken)

Italian veg (tomato sauce, peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella)

Ham and Cheese (provolone)

Mexican (beef, onions, black beans, rice, cheese)

Mexican Veg (onions, black beans, rice, cheese)

Mexican skillet (chicken, salsa, rice, corn, black beans)

Beef and mushroom in cream sauce

Chicken paprikash (chicken, onions, paprika cream sauce)

Joel’s burgers (beef, onions, mushrooms, blue cheese)

Cheeseburger (beef, onions and cheddar)

Buffalo and blue cheese

BBQ Chicken and cheddar and onions

Broccoli, onion potato and cheese

Chicken, spinach, and parmesan

Chicken Cesar ( Chicken, dressing, parmesan, green onions)

Thanksgiving (chicken/turkey, potatoes, onions, cranberries)

Pesto chicken and sun dried tomatoes

Dessert:

Cherry

Apple

Peach

Sweet potato

Smore (Alton’s Brown’s chocolate and marshmallow)

Stewed fruit (apricots, dates, figs, raisins)

Notes:

-I like to make mine a little bigger than Mr. Brown's. Maybe 8 inches in diameter for folks with big appetites

-Traditionally, Cornish wives would fill one side of the pocket with a savory filling, and the second side with a sweet one with a sealed line between for their husband's lunch

Really Easy Indian Part 2

So for dinner on Friday Sean and I made Indian using the new bag of curry powder that came in someone xmas stocking. After staring at the Indian cookbook for a while we decided to fake it. The results were so good I don't even have a picture for it.

Menu:
Cardamon Rice
Chicken Curry
Sag Aloo (Spinach and Potatoes)


Cardamon Rice

Follow the "Simple Rice" directions from the beginning of the blog but skip the butter or oil and add 3 or 4 whole green cardamon pods and a while bay leaf. Be sure to leave plenty of time for this rice to rest and become fragrant before serving.
I start the rice as asoon as I decide to make Indian since anything I make with go well with it. I also make at least a double batch even for just the two of us since spicy food needs lots of rice and any extra can be turned into rice pudding (that's another post for later).

I serve it with the spice intact and invoke the family rule that the person with the bay leaf in their serving has to kiss the cook. The cardamon pods are a standard hazard and people should enjoy chewing on the seeds but not swallow the green pod leaves.

Chicken Curry

4 Chicken breasts
1 onion
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2-3 tbs curry powder
(I buy mine pre-made and ground *gasp* at Indian grocery stores of places that sell world foods like World Market, expensive but worth every penny to get the good stuff)
Gram Masala (see my last post)
Tumeric
Cumin
Salt
3-4 tbs Sour Cream
2-3 tbs Plain (not vanilla) Yougurt (Low Fat is okay but not non-fat)

Cut the chicken into bit sized pieces and brown lightly in the oil over medium heat. They should be brown on the outside but not cooked through. Add onions and cook stirring frequently until the onions are soft.

Add the spices, first the curry, then the others to taste, don't worry if you over spice it, the dairy at the end will soften the flavor a lot. Stir until the onions and chicken are covered with the spicy glop and then a little longer to give the spices time to 'toast'.

When everything is on the edge of burning, pour in the chicken broth and let simmer together covered for 5-10 minutes while you get other stuff done. Towards the end take the lid off and let reduce a bit. Just before serving stir in the sour cream and yogurt. Serve over rice with extra sour cream and/or yogurt. People should add dairy to taste to tone down the spices to their liking. Also offer mango chutney.

Note about chutney: Chutney is a savory spicy jelly. The most popular by far is mango but it can be made from almost any fruit. I'm a sucker for Major Grey's available in the jelly isle of most mega marts but it's a little spicy for some. Your local Indian grocery store has a wide selection. There are also lots of recipes available on the web, but it should be made before

Sag Aloo (Spicy Spinach and Potatoes)

1 package frozen chopped spinach (no e-coli risk from this stuff, it's pre-cooked)
2-3 medium sized Yukon Gold or other firm medium-starch potato
2 tbs curry powder
salt
1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
3 tbs vegetable oil
3 tbs Plain Yogurt
Gram Masla

Dump the block of spinach into a sieve and run hot water over it until thawed.

Wash the potatoes well and then chop into 1/2 -3/4 inch cubes and put into a pot with a pinch of salt. Cover with cold water and a lid. Put the pot over high heat until it boils then back off the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are no longer raw but still firm with distinct corners. This should only take about 5 minutes. Dump the spinach into a bowl and use the same colander to drain the potatoes. Then dump the potatoes onto a clean kitchen towel and let dry for a sec.

In a tupperware (or gladware or rubbermaid, or whatever) container mix the flour, curry powder and a hefty pinch of salt (use two if you buy small grain table salt). Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium-hi heat until a pinch of the flour mixture sizzles when dropped in. Dredge the potato cubes a handfull at a time, then let the excess cleating fall off and toss into the pan. When all the cubes are done toss the potatoes in the oil until coated, turn the heat down to medium and WALK AWAY for 3 minutes. Come back, toss a few times to get new non-crispy side down and leave it alone again for another 2-3 minutes until the other side is crispy.

Taste a cube (carefully since they are HOT) to be sure the potato is cooked through and then pour the contents of the pan on top of the spinach and toss. Now add more salt to taste and keep tossing for another minute. When the mixture is eating temperature add the yogurt to hold it all together (You shouldn't really be able to see the yogurt but it will all be stickier now.) and serve with a sprinkle of gram masala over the top.

Robin Re-invents Indian Again

So I found a new Indian Grocery Store nearby and picked up my first block of Paneer. It's a soft fresh cheese used in a lot of Indian and south asian cooking. I usually see it battered and fried in the appetizer Paneer Pakora or in a heavy sauce with spinach as one of Sean's favorite dishes Sag paneer (literally "Spinach and Cheese").

We tried eating it plain but it's so mild and bland we gave up quickly. So last night I sliced the block up and made my own new version of Paneer Pakora


1 block Paneer cheese

1/4 cup flour
1 Tablespoon salt
2 or 3 Tablespoons Garam Masala, ground (available in most grocery stores, or make your own)
Pinch of Turmeric

Vegetable oil for frying

Salt and Garam Masala to taste

Slice the Paneer into 1/2 inch slices and then again in half width-wise to get bite sized chunks 1/2 an inch thick.

Heat about 1/4 on an inch of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat until a pinch of flour sizzles.

Mix the flour and spices together in a shallow plate and dredge the paneer in the coating. Leave the pieces in the flour until they go into the pan.

Fry a few at a time for a minute or two on a side until golder brown and crispy. Do then in two or three batches so you don't crowd the pan. Flip over and fry on the other side. Drain on paper towels and season liberally with salt and more Garam Masala.

Serve hot alone or with plain yogurt dip.

Mango Avocado Salsa

Mango Avocado Salsa

Super easy dip is great for parties.

Ingredients

2 avocados

1 mango

cilantro

olive oil

lime juice

salt

In a medium sized bowl, combine one of the avocados (the more ripe one if there is a difference), some olive oil, and some cilantro. You want to add enough olive oil so the mixture become like a thick salad dressing, and the cilantro to taste. Mash well with a fork, add salt and lime juice to taste.

Chop mango into small pieces, add to mixture

Chop remaining avocado, add to mixture

Stir until all chopped mangos and avocados are coated.

You can add more olive oil if you want to change the consistency, and you can add more cilantro and salt to change the taste.

Enjoy!

Layered Yellow Rice Casserole

Layered Yellow Rice Casserole

This very fast and easy recipe is great for potluck office parties or just feeding the family

Ingredients

Yellow Rice

2 cups uncooked rice (or about a tall water glass full)

1 tsp of Turmeric

Top Layer

ground beef

1 can black beans (washed)

1 can refried beans

2 cup salsa

1 cup frozen or canned corn

grated cheese (monterey jack cheese, cheddar, or any other grate-able cheese that melts)

Combine rice, turmeric, and the appropriate amount of water for your region and type of rice (usually about 2c water for 1c rice). Cook until rice is done, stirring occasionally.

Note: the turmeric can be just for color or it can be part of the flavor, feel free to add more or less to the rice depending on your tastes.

While rice is cooking,

Brown ground beef in a large frying pan

Mix in both types of beans, salsa, beef and corn. Cook until beef is thoroughly cooked and all ingredients are hot.

Spread rice on the bottom of a casserole pan, I usually use a 9x11 Pyrex pan

Spread the beef, beans, etc. mixture on top of the rice

Cover with the cheese. If the cheese does not melt on its own you can put it in the oven until it does.

Enjoy!

Note: the ingredients for the top layer are extremely flexible. You can substitute different types of beans, or leave out anything you don’t have. It will still taste good even without the beef or if you decide to use vegetarian “ground beef”, which makes it a great dish to bring to events where some of the people may be vegetarians.

Measurements

Measurements

First of all, hello my name is Naomi, and I am a very close friend of Robin’s. I am also a newlywed and now in charge of my own kitchen. Between juggling between being a full time graduate student and being the main cook between me and my husband, I often have to come up with quick recipes that only call for things that I already have in the house. As a result, I have a tendency not to use exact measurements, but rather a pinch of this, a dash of that, and as my great aunt would say, “mix it ‘till it feels right”. Basically, I do a lot of cooking based on taste and smell, so don’t be surprised if I post recipes that don’t have a single hard fast measurement at all.

Cheers!

Gravy

I've made this gravy recipes from every kind of stock, drippings, or broth imaginable. It works just as well with the broth from the pot roast as with reconstituted bullion, chicken stock (canned and fresh), vegetable broth, meatloaf drippings (with some extra beef stock), sausage drippings (with milk)... the list goes on and on.

The important elements are flavorful liquid and a little bit of fat. Unlike the pan-gravy my mother makes, this does not depend solely on the fat from the food and take a lot of the proportion guesswork out of the process. For pan-gravy, make the roux as described and add it to the pan (with the meat removed) and then continue with the pan over heat (don't do this with a glass pan!, Just scrape the pan contents into the roux and continue.) The important thing is to clean the pan in the process of making gravy.

2 Tbs butter
1/3 cup flour (more or less, the proportions have to do with a variety of different factors like the humidity)
Broth, stock, or bullion. (All called broth here)

Make a roux (the basis for all good gravy) by melting the butter over medium heat until it foams, then add the flour a little at a time until it the resulting mush pulls away from the pan when you stir but "melts" down into a slurry when you stop. Lumpy roux at this point will make lumpy gravy so work it in slowly.


Butter foaming in the pan.


The roux paste. This is pretty good but I was a bit overzellous with the flour so it's a bit dry. I added another pat of butter and stired it in. No harm done.


Just perfect. You want every particle of flour covered in fat so it's can't clump when the liquid is added.

Stir often but non constantly until the roux smells nutty and is golden brown all the way through. This should take only a minute or two and will start bringing family member into the kitchen to investigate. Then start whisking in broth slowly. Use a metal whisk for this, any non-stick pan not bought at the dollar store should be able to handle a moderate whisking, don't forget the corners of the pan. Keep adding broth until either you run out of or you have as much gravy as you wanted. Keep whisking until it's a little runnier than you want the gravy (it will continue to thicken for another minute after it comes of the heat) pour it into a waiting bowl and season to taste.

Unlike other gravy recipes this does not need to be boiled to take out the flour-y taste. The flour should have been cooked through while making the roux. If you are short on time you can make the roux ahead. In the fridge it will last a couple of days. If you are really daring make a large batch with a whole stick of butter and pour it on to a sheet pan and pop it in the freezer. When frozen break the sheet into shards and keep in a plastic bag in the freezer. To make gravy just sprinkle shards into hot broth letting each melt before adding another.

My Kitchen

So people have been bugging me to see pictures of my apartment so here's a quick tour of the kitchen at least.


I'll try to go counter-clockwise around the kitchen. Believe it or not this was one of the largest kitchens we saw while apartment hunting. The fact that the stove was not directly behind the sink was one of the biggest selling points for me. It's small enough that you're not running all over the place but big enough not to feel cramped. Unfortunately it is not at all suited to two people cooking at once so Sean and I often run into snags.



Here's the wonderful counter space and "coffee area". The window into the living room is nice and you can see my cookbook collection. We don't own a microwave so that toaster oven gets plenty of use.




I don't know why I wanted this close up on the sink except that I'd just finished doing dishes and so it had been my focus for a while. Note the great spice rack my Aunt Martha bought me when for Christmas a few years ago when I was living in an apartment in PA. Don't been fooled by the full bottles, I use this a -lot- and am constantly refilling the bottles. I've swapped some of the spices it came with out for ones I use more but it remains constant. I want to get a second set of small shelves for things like the tea ball and other of those little things that would get lost in a drawer but that will have to wait.

As you can see I have two cutting boards. The bamboo one in front is strictly vegi's and cooked meats, the plastic one behind it is raw meat on one side (you can see the label) and vegi on the other.



Here's the (annoyingly electric) stove. You can see my great timer/thermometer on top of the hood. It's totally the best $20 I've spent so far in kitchen gear. The glass dish sitting on the stove is full of kosher salt (my everyday cooking salt) and the grinder is for pepper (pre-ground pepper is disgusting!) The vegetable oil is only out because it doesn't fit in any of my cabinets . I use olive oil for most of my cooking when I bother to use oil at all. I have some great non-stick cookware which makes it all optional.





Here is my "pantry corner". The knife block was another thrift store find that has been a bit modified with a hack-saw to fit my knives well. It will be needing surgery again soon for those kitchen shears. The crock pot is currently making pot roast. The thing taped to the cabinet in the upper left hand corner is the recipe for whole wheat bread in the bread machine. I got tired of looking it up every night.



Finally here's a shot of the fridge with a bit of the kitchen bulletin board. It's the same board I've been toting around for years. My aunt gave it to me to help be scrap book when I was in high-school. Now it helps me keep track of all the little pieces of paper life seems to come equipped with these days. My fridge seems to be mainly for keeping the printouts of the different recipes I've tried. I've thrown far too many of them away and now I have to go looking for them again.

Pot roast in a crock pot

My grandfather made this with a (single serving) can of V8 and the can filled again with red wine. I hate having to buy an ingredient like V8 that I only use for one recipes so I use another flavorful liquid that's more readily available around my house, beer. Since he worked in a brewery I think he might have enjoyed this version too.

Pot roast as a cut of meat is odd. It is the cheapest cut available because it is made up of a lot of different individual muscles and so has a lot of connective tissue. To make it edible we have to cook it with low, moist heat for a long time. Long past the point of "done" and to where the connective tissue falls apart leaving the individual muscle fibers. The benefit is that this long cooking gives us a rest from the dangers of overcooking and is is a great chance to infuse the meat with flavors. I use a crock-pot to achieve this type of cooking. Alton Brown wraps the meat and juice in a double-layer of aluminum foil in the oven, my grandfather made it a casserole with a tight fitting lid in the oven at 250F.

I used to make pot roast with potatoes and carrots right in it but I discovered I didn't like how everything came out tasting the same, so now I cook them separately (look for their recipes later). Most recipes call for browning the meat over high-heat before the cooking begins. I do and don't alternatively, it just depends on how long I'm leaving it in the crock pot. My rule is that if I'm cooking it on low (12-14 hours) I don't bother but if I'm cooking it on high (5-6 hours) I'll brown it first.

1 pot roast (2-4 lbs, more depending on the size of your crock-pot)
4 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
1-2 bottles of your favorite beer-anything that isn't "light" (Or 12-20 oz of Beef Broth)
salt and pepper

Slice onions and thinly and put in the bottom of the crock. Rub the meat with salt and pepper. If you are going to brown it rub with high-smoke point oil (like safflower) and brown 30-45 seconds per-side in a pre-heated pan over high-heat. Place the meat on top of the onions and garlic in the crock. Pour beer over everything. Don't worry if the beer doesn't cover the meat right away, the onions will soften and the meat will release juices and wind up covered in broth. Set your crock-pot on high for 5-6 hours or low for 12-14 (great if you're going to be out all day and then need to feed people). ALternatively you can put this is a tightly covered oven-proof cassarole at 250F for 5 hours. Now take a fork a poke the meat. If it feels stiff or hard put the cover back on and wait half an hour. You want all the connective tissue to disintegrate so look for meat that falls apart when poked. The idea is to get something that holds together just until touched by a fork at the table.


Ready to go!


Half-way through cooking and the broth now covers well. Looks a little blah but smells great!


There's that falling-apart texture we want!


After the meat is cooked I remove the meat to a plate, strain broth into a bowl, replace the meat into the crock pot and turn the crock pot to warm or low, top with the onions, garlic and meaty bits you strained out the broth. Make gravy from the broth if you would like and then pour back on top of the meat and onions. This will wait indefinitely for people to eat it. I serve this with potatoes and some kind of hearty vegetable like carrots or winter squash.

Unbearably Simple Rice

This rice is perfect for prety much anything that needs rice. Fried rice, side dishes, rice pudding, etc.

1c Long Grain rice (don't rinse!)
1 Tbs Butter
2c water
3 saffron threads (optional, gives a nice golden color and a great scent but it's not a necessity)

Put all the ingredients in a covered pot on high until just boiling. Stir a few times and then turn down to medium low and let cook at a simmer for 15-20 minutes depending on altitude (I live in Denver so it takes 20-25 really). Don't take the lid off unless you are really worried about it. The more the lid stays on the faster it will cook and the better off your rice will be. When the time is up just turn off the burner, by this . If you need the burner back just take the pot off and set it aside. Wait another 10 minutes and up to 45 minutes and then open and fluff the rice and serve.

If you want something slightly fancier soften half an onion chopped small in the butter before adding the rice and water to the pan. You can also stir between 1/2 and 1 cup of frozen vegetables (like the peas and carrots mix available practically everywhere)

What is this?

This blog will be a repository for all the recipes that I'm discovering as a new housewife/cook. I don't expect to be a housewife for too long so I'm sure I'm going to need these recipes in the future. The recipes found in this blog are often borrowed from other sources such as my mother, Aunt Martha, Elise the Food Blogger at Simply Recipes and from Alton Brown on the The Food Network.

My best friend from Pennsylvania Naomi will also be helping out posting the recipies she does. She's got a great pool to work from so I'll let her talk about that.