A Broken Heart

Did you know that Le Crueset could break?

Neither did I.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I've made risotto twice before with just so-so results. Today, I started with reliable proportions for two (from Lee at Cook's Talk) but no exact instructions and a recipe from Cook's Illustrated from which I used the method. This time it turned out quite good. I loved the squash flavor and the creamy, yet still toothsome rice. There's lots of Parmagiano-Reggiano in here too. I made crispy fried sage for a garnish. Toasted squash seeds would also be nice or a parmesan crisp.

Asian Glazed Chicken Wings

Here's some wings that have been brushed with a glaze made of honey, soy sauce, chile paste, ginger and garlic. They were good, not great. I'm still searching for that perfect wing glaze. I served these with some fried rice and the vegetable of the month, broccolini.

Some Really Good Chops

Boneless pork chops are boring. They have little flavor and lack the juiciness of a pork chop on the bone. However, I find that I buy them often because they're packaged perfectly for a small family and the boys like them (the boys are partial to flavorless meats.) When preparing them, I usually cook them in a pan and then make a pan sauce to add juiciness and flavor. But just the other day, I came across a recipe from Cook's Illustrated magazine that promised to save the dull boneless pork chop by modifying cooking technique and adding a flavorful glaze. The technique suggested browning well on one side only and then flipping the chop and letting the other side only brown for a minute. A sauce that you've prepared is then added to the pan and the chops are simmered until they reach 140. It is very important not to boil the chops in the sauce and to not overcook. When the chops are done, they are removed from the pan and the sauce is reduced to a glaze. The chops go back in the pan for a turn in the glaze before serving. This glaze was wonderful, but I think I could have taken it a little farther to make it a bit more thick. It is made from apple juice, cider vinegar, soy sauce and mustard. This all cooks down to a nice sweet/sour concoction which makes the chops quite savory:

Here I served the chops with broccolini. This vegetable deserves a post of its own. The Cook's Illustrated article also offers a variation of the chops with asian flavors. I'll be trying this soon, so stay tuned.

Mole Making

I don't know about others, but whole turkey breasts are not something that I often cook. I'll do the occasional turkey chili and that is about it. But recently I bought a turkey breast because it seemed like such a good value. At 99 cents per pound, I could get more than a couple meals from it. With the holiday coming so soon, I didn't want to prepare it in a traditional way. Roasting one half for the boys would be smart; and then I could do something "interesting" with the other half.

After thumbing through cookbooks, it became apparent that turkey is often paired with mole sauces. I love mexican cooking and do a great deal of it, but I have never made a mole sauce. It just seemed too exotic and difficult because there is so much blending of flavors. How would I know if it even came out right? Mole is a complex-flavored mexican sauce that often includes: nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, and chiles. But this recipe didn't intimidate me. The Simple Red Mole recipe that I decided to use came from the Joy of Cooking, 2nd edition. Rick Bayless was a contributor. I compared this recipe to Bayless' mole recipes in his other books and it was very similar. I decided to use tomatillos (ala the Bayless books) instead of the canned tomatoes that the Joy of Cooking recipe called for. But other than that, I stuck to the recipe.

First, I needed to de-bone my turkey breast. A turkey, is anatomically, nothing more than a large chicken. I tried to keep that in mind as I proceded. I was concerned that the bird would be difficult to work with because it is heavy and cold. It turns out that de-boning a turkey is easier than a chicken because being bigger makes it easier to see what you are doing. When you give a lesson to someone on how to de-bone a chicken breast, you should USE a turkey breast! Where to align my knife was so much clearer to me, I think I learned a lot and will be better at boning out chickens because of it. I have a new, razor sharp, Wusthof knife and it made light work of gliding along the rib bones and freeing the meat. But that is enough of Butchery Talk for today.

One breast half was removed and simply roasted in the oven for children's dinners and sandwiches. The carcasse was also roasted to make a broth. And the other breast half waited in the fridge for the mole...



I spent the day toasting and soaking ancho chiles, chopping almonds, garlic, onions, and mexican chocolate, roasting tomatillos, sauteeing various items, blending and straining sauce... It was gloriously fun. The turkey breast was browned and then braised in the finished mole for close to an hour. I couldn't believe how fast it was done. I used a meat thermometer and took it to 170. The results were good. The mole tasted like what I hoped it would. I've had fabulously more complex moles at Frontera Grill that really have to grow on you. This one tasted good right off, "a starter mole." It had the sweet dark flavor of the chiles and raisins, the acid of cooked-down tomatillos, onions, garlic, almonds, mex choc., cloves, and cinnamon. I served the turkey sliced and doused with the sauce and warm corn tortillas on the side. I'll admit that my presentation of the Turkey Mole is somewhat lackluster, but I was exhausted from mole-making! I made up for it the next day...




with the leftovers: turkey enchiladas. Mmmm.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

This cookie recipe is from the current Fine Cooking, issue 82 in which the editors pick a great cookie from each of the 12 years they've been publishing. The original recipe harkens back to 2001, issue 43. I have that issue; I have all the issues except 4 of them. And I have always wanted to try this recipe from the article, The Only Peanut Butter Cookie You'll Ever Want. Well, after being reminded of them once again, I knew it was time.

These delicate crunchy peanut butter cookies have a luscious peanut butter creme sandwiched in between. It all tastes pretty yummy together but we thought they were a bit large. I would certainly make them smaller next time. As they are, they are a one cookie kind of a cookie which would make them a good bake sale treat.

Spicy Szechuan Shrimp

There's not too much to say about this meal. I use a tried and true stir-fry sauce recipe from Fine Cooking and mix and match my protein and vegs to make a tasty simple dinner. This was one of those nights where I had no dinner planned except I knew I needed to use up the asparagus and was aware that there is always shrimp in the freezer. Frozen shrimp is a key ingredient in a well-stocked pantry because you don't need to think too far ahead to defrost and cook. I defrosted, de-shelled and deveined about an hour before cooking. For someone who really loves to cook, a stir-fry is much fun to be had. The chopping of the meat and vegetables and mixing of sauce ingredients makes for a good activity on a dull evening. The sauce reduces to a glazey loveliness that has a bite of hot. Peanuts make a good garnish if you have them.

Healthy Alternatives

When your Mom is making something gross like Spicy Szechwan Shrimp with Asparagus for dinner, you have to be flexible. Behold the Smorgasborg meal of a 9-year old: Ramen noodles, grilled cheese, steamed broccoli, cut-up apple and carrots - to some extent this can work for 2-year olds too (depending on what they are willing to consume.)