Kick A** Couscous

Although I love grilled vegetables, in the past I've hardly been able to tolerate grilled zucchini. By the time it is browned, it is usually overcooked, limp and flavorless. It never seems to add any positive taste or texture to the melange of grilled veggies. But when I prepared this side dish, where the zucchini is quartered, de-seeded, salted and spiced with an interesting mix (cumin, brown sugar, cinnamon(!)), I found a grilled zucchini that really makes me happy. The zucchini are cooked over high heat so they finish fast and don't get a chance to get limp and lifeless. And the spices really make it savory and exotic. Even if you don't prepare the couscous or want spices on your zucchini, I also recommend cooking plain zucchini this way. It is the best way I've found.

I found this method while preparing Warm Couscous with Grilled Zucchini Salad from Fine Cooking 65. To prepare this couscous, you add your deliciously grilled, spiced zukes and some grilled red onion to a plain couscous and finish it with the fresh flavors of cilantro and orange. This makes a bright, flavorful couscous where all the ingredients stand up tall. The spices on the zucchini infuse the plain couscous with flavor too. I love it and think it would compliment just about any grilled meat/poultry/fish. Here we did it with salmon.



Warm Couscous & Grilled Zucchini Salad /Fine Cooking #65.

Serves 4 as a side dish

3 small or 2 med. zucchini (about 1lb)
Kosher salt
2 t ground cumin
2 t packed light brown sugar
1/8 t cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
Ground pepper
1 large red onion, sliced into 1/3 inch disks and each slice threaded on two thin skewers
¼ c olive oil
7 ½ oz regular unflavored couscous (1 ¼ c) I used Near East brand
¼ c chopped fresh cilantro
1 T. finely grated orange zest
2 T fresh orange juice, or more to taste

Trim ends and slice the zucchini in quarters, lengthwise. Slice off the top ¼ to ½ inch of the soft seed core by running a sharp knife down the length of each quarter. Arrange the zucchini, cut side up, on baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with kosher salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Blot the quarters dry with a paper towel.

Heat the grill. In a small bowl, mix together cumin, brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and ¼ t. pepper. In a med. bowl, gently toss the blotted zucchini quarters with 1 T olive oil and spices mix.. Let sit for 10 min. Lay the onion on a try, brush both sides with 1 T oil and sprinkle with a little salt.

Meanwhile, bring 1 ½ c. water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in couscous, 2 T olive oil, and ¾ t salt. Cover, remove from heat, set aside.

Grill the zucchini on a hot fire, cut side down, flipping occasionally, until it browns and softens but doesn’t turn mushy, 6-8 minutes. Return the zucchini to its original bowl and toss to pick up any extra spices. Grill the onions over a med. heat (not directly over the hottest part of the fire) until soft and slightly charred, 8-10 minutes. Coarsely chop the zucchini and onion and stir them into the couscous, along with the cilantro, orange zest and juice. Taste for salt and pepper, add a little more OJ to taste. Serve immediately

Closure

I'm aware of the excessive amount of pie photos on this web blog. But I just think there are few things prettier. So on that note, here's a picture of a piece of pie from this recent post on Cherry Pie. I was so pleased with the shot when I finally uploaded it from my camera, that I felt it worthy of a follow-up post. So, although this pie has been long ago consumed, here's a little remembrance of its brief life as a pie. It was a good pie.

Grilled Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin Steaks with Honey-Chipotle Barbeque Sauce

This recipe is from Fine Cooking #78. You essentially make pork filet mignon steaks by slicing pork tenderloin into two-inch thick slices. You then pound the slices flat to 1/2 thick and grill them. They're seasoned with a rub before cooking and brushed with a sweet barbeque sauce at the end. These "steaks" turned out a very tender, spicy pork chop, we loved them. I had never made pork tenderloin this way, but I will again. I served them with a sweet potato puree and a napa cabbage slaw dressed with lime cilantro vinaigrette.

I couldn't find this recipe anywhere on the web, so I will have to type it in one of these days.

Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Stew with Biscuits

Not exactly summer fare, but this is Ina Garten's recipe for Chicken Pot Pie filling; the classic mix of chopped chicken, peas and carrots in a broth-based sauce. She says the recipe can easily be adapted for lobster pot pie or vegetable pot pie, if you're so inclined. And it is also very easy to make using store-bought rotisserie chicken. In her book Barefoot Contessa Cooks Family Style, she uses it to make traditional Chicken and Biscuits, as I have done here. I think this pot pie filling is just about perfect in terms of texture and flavor. It is saucy chicken, not too thick or dry (the worst end that could befall a pot pie.) You can leave out the hit of cream at the end (or use half n half.) It doesn't make much of a difference. I've made it both ways and dear husband hasn't noticed. By the way, dear husband was watching as I reviewed the photos and, upon being reminded of the chicken and biscuits, promptly asked that I make it again soon.

The biscuits cook up great on top of the stew. They get a little crunchy on top, but stay bready underneath. I am usually left with some extra biscuit dough and I have found that they don't rise as well when you make them on a sheet pan. I think they need the moisture of the stew. Still, 10-yr old boys have been known to eat these stray biscuits with few complaints.

If you are adept at reducing recipes and/or experienced with pot pie, you can easily play around with this one. Here I halved the entire recipe to fill a 8x11 pan and got 6 portions (It reheats well.) I used two large split breast halves and left out the whole little onions she calls for. (There are already onions in it, so they are not missed.) I have also made this recipe in individual 6-ounce ramekins, a biscuit topping each serving. The Contessa suggests baking the stew for a short time before topping with the biscuits, but I just put them on right at the start. Also, this is a recipe where homemade stock will shine through with all its chickeny flavor and body. But it will still be very good with canned stock.

If biscuits aren't your thing, you could top this stew with pastry dough, homemade or store-bought, to make a traditional pot pie.

Chicken Stew with Biscuits (serves 12)

3 whole chicken breasts (6 split) bone in, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots) blanched for 2 minutes
1 package frozen peas (2 cups) (10 ounce)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For the biscuits:

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter (1 stick) diced
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and parsley.

Mix well. Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Add the half-and-half and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley. Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8-inch thick. Cut out twelve circles with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

Note: To make in advance, refrigerate the chicken stew and biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top, and bake for another 30 minutes, until done.

Reheat leftovers in a low oven until hot.

Barefoot Contessa

Prosciutto con Melone

I've always thought this was a weird dish, pork wrapped around melon. But it tastes really good, the salty prosciutto against a sweet, juicy piece of melon. I don't like to order this in a restaurant because you can never be sure how good the melon will be, sometimes even in the nicest places!! But when I start to get good musk melons and cantaloupe from the market, I like to pick up some prosciutto de Parma and make this at home.

Dos Salsas

We did mexican for Father's Day, skirt steak, rice, beans, guacamole, tortillas and dos salsas. I made two old-favorites from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen(my favorite of his books): A charred tomato-jalapeno (en la molajete) and a tomatillo-serrano.
As tomato season rolls in, you can produce some amazing dishes using his recipes.