WCC25: Nigella’s Pollo alla Cacciatora

By mlb, on February 11th, 2008%

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February’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge is hosted by Foodie Chickie this month and she’s chosen Nigella Lawson as the theme. This is awesome as I recently got a Nigella Lawson cookbook. Perfect!

This is a super quick dinner (it’s from Nigella Express) and it was pretty tasty. Something about bacon drippings (or pancetta, I s’pose), wine, rosemary, white beans and tomatoes. Mmm!

Pollo alla Cacciatora
1 tbsp garlic oil
1/2 cup pancetta cubes (alternately, you can the fat from cooking 1 piece of bacon and add a clove or two of garlic)
6 scallions, finely sliced
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 pound chicken thigh fillets, each cut into 4 pieces (I used breast meat)
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp sugar
1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans

Nigella writes to put the garlic oil into a pan with the pancetta, sliced scallions and chopped rosemary and fry for a couple of minutes. Now, what I did is use some bacon grease I had in the freezer (instead of the pancetta), about a teaspoon and a half’s worth and sauteed the rosemary and green onions in that. I also added two minced cloves of garlic here. Worked well. But was . . . → Read More: WCC25: Nigella’s Pollo alla Cacciatora

Curiosity + Black Beans + Waffle Iron = Tasty, Tasty Snacks

By mlb, on February 8th, 2008%

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I came across a recipe by Michael Chiarello for white bean waffles a while ago and was very intrigued. So much so that I completely changed the recipe to be black bean waffles. Recently I had some time, a can of black beans and a waffle maker. Here’s what happened…

Black Bean Waffles
For the beans:
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 dash tabasco
1 handful fresh cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the waffles:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs
1 cups milk
3 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your waffle device of choice. In a small pot combine the beans, chili powder, cumin, tabasco, and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and teaspoon salt.

waffles

Add the beans, their cooking liquid and the cilantro to a food processor and pulse to puree. Add the eggs, milk, and olive oil to the bean mixture and puree until smooth. Whisk the wet mixture into . . . → Read More: Curiosity + Black Beans + Waffle Iron = Tasty, Tasty Snacks

And The Fish Continues: Seafood Chowder

By mlb, on February 5th, 2008%

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This was an experiment that turned out pretty well — fish, herbal tea and…other stuff. I am trying to come up with some new recipes for work and this is one of the first ones.

I used Stash Lemon Blossom Herbal Tea but you could also use maybe some lemon zest and Old Bay seasoning or any other seasoning mix or combination you like. I’d even try throwing some lemongrass in there perhaps. Or, just use the tea, because I know that works very well!

Lemon Blossom Seafood Chowder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp AP flour
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 leek, white part cleaned well and diced
3 Lemon Blossom Tea Bags
1 sweet potato, diced into bite sized pieces (keep potato cubes in water until ready to add to soup)
1/2 cup dry white wine (chardonnay, Pinot grigio, Pinot gris, sauvignon blanc)
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 lb assorted seafood, (cut into bit-sized pieces — 1/2 lb peeled shrimp and 1/2 lb firm white fish like halibut, cod or tilipia work well…I used turbot)
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herbs for garnish
lemon wedges for garnish

Heat the olive . . . → Read More: And The Fish Continues: Seafood Chowder

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