Penne Pasta with Vodka Sauce

Vodka sauce is quite the trendy sauce these days--perhaps because vodka itself has become so trendy of late.  But you may ask yourself, "the best vodkas are basically colorless, odorless and tasteless...how could they be contributing any flavor to a tomato based sauce?

Well, the key is basic chemistry.  Now, I'm no chemist, but here's what I've gathered in doing a little research.  Tomatoes, those wonderful little red balls of deliciousness, have what you might call some untasteable flavors that are hidden away within.  Just cooking the tomatoes isn't enough to bring out these flavors--they require a catalyst--in this case alcohol, because those flavor compounds are alcohol-soluble, meaning they show up for duty when we add a little booze to the sauce.

Now, folks have been doing this for centuries by adding wine to their tomato dishes, and that works great--but wine also adds flavor compounds of its own, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, if that's the flavor your going for, but if you want, dear friends, the most prefect, unadulterated tomato flavor experience you've ever had, make some vodka sauce.  Your taste buds will be slap-happy with tomato goodness.

Ingredients

1 cup vodka
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
3 oz prosciutto
1 large garlic clove
2 tablespoons fresh basil
28 ounce crushed tomatoes
28 oz tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper
8 oz Penne Pasta



Heat the olive oil in a skillet.

Dice your onion...

And julienne your prosciutto...

and sauté them both in the oil until the onions are starting to clear and turn golden.

mince basil and add it to the skillet

mince garlic and add that to the skillet as well

add crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce

add the vodka

let simmer covered for 20 minutes.  The bulk of the alcohol with boil away, but in the process it will bring out those alcohol-soluble tomato flavors.

add heavy cream

And cook a few more minutes to heat through.

cook the pasta according to package directions while the sauce is cooking.  Serve the sauce over the pasta with some Parmesan and a little more basil if you like.

Until next time,


Chris

Greek Lemon Chicken w/Dill Sauce

Ah, Greece!  I've been fortunate enough to travel there a few times over the years, but nothing matches my first visit, way back in 1994.  I was a young pup then, barely out of college, and our Greece stop came at the tail end of a whirlwind tour of Europe that started in England and wound its way down through France, Switzerland, Italy and then finally the land of Apollo and Athena--Greece.

The Eat'n Man, with friend, at the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, June 1994  

We spent a week on the Greek Island of Poros, a sort of backwater of the Aegean Sea, but relaxing enough after our travels.   There was a little grill located at our so called 'resort,' but we never found it that satisfying.  Luckily there was a single, sleepy little town on the island where we could dine on some better fare.

My memory is hazy from then (the Ouzo flowed freely) but if I recall correctly, it was there that I had a delicious lemon chicken dish with dill sauce.  I've tried to recreated it here.  It may not be exact, but it's pretty close.

Ingredients

Lemon Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon Cavender's Greek seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper


Dill Sauce

1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
1 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper


Directions

Cube your chicken breasts into 3/4 to 1 inch cubes.

Place them in a large freezer bag.

Mix 3 tablespoons lemon juice with the red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Crush two cloves of garlic and add these to the mix.
Stir in the oregano and Cavender's Greek seasoning, salt and pepper.
Add this mixture to the chicken, toss to coat and marinate in the fridge for for three hours.

Fire up your charcoal grill with a medium fire and arrange the marinated chicken onto skewers.

Grill Chicken over medium fire until cooked.

Garnish with a little chopped fresh parsley if you like. Serve with dill sauce.


Dill Sauce:

For the sauce, chop your fresh dill, leaving out the thicker stems.

Add the fresh chopped dill to the yogurt, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove.

Mix thoroughly.

Let sauce rest in fridge one hour before serving.


So that's it, a delicious yet simple dish that hearkens back to that Hellenic Hot Spot, Greece.

Until next time,

Opa!

Chris

Parmesan Ranch Pork Chops

Who remembers Shake 'n Bake, that unique if not silly little product that brought so much fun and flavor to family life in the 60s and 70s?  It was even touted as a health food, as it was meant to be a substitute for frying pork or chicken.  Adverts of the day joyously hawked Shake 'n Bake as they showed mothers and children blithely preparing dinner, and it couldn't be any simpler.  The commercial would usually end with the child uttering the catchphrase "And I helped," sometimes in such a painfully bastardized Southern accent that it grated on my true Southern ears.

Well, last I checked, S&B is still around, and I must admit that before I got into gourmet cooking I used it a time or two as an adult.  I actually never got to utter that phrase 'And I helped," vis a vis Shake 'n Bake, as my mother never bought it.  She was more into frying things like pork chops and chicken anyway, but otherwise was too frugal to shell out whatever they charged for S&B back in the 60s and 70s.  She probably figured "why pay 39 cents for something I can make with breadcrumbs and some seasoning?"

Well, with Shake 'n Bake running a few bucks a box these days, that logic couldn't be any sounder.  Plus, you can make something much better in minutes than what comes in that S&B box, and avoid things like high fructose corn syrup and Thiamin Mononitrate (whatever that is),

So, anyhoo, this really isn't a Shake 'n Bake clone recipe--there's no shaking involved, just dredging, and we also have a marinating step in Ranch Dressing.  I like to make my own Ranch (homemade is always better these days, no?) but it only lasts a few days since there are no preservatives, so this recipe is a great way to use it up before it turns.  Otherwise, store-bought is fine for this recipe, so don't fret.

Ingredients


2 Pork Chops
1/2 Cup Ranch Dressing
1 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Rubbed Sage
1/2 Teaspoon Salt


Directions

Pat Pork Chops dry.  I'm using boneless here, but bone in would be fine--just remember there's a bone in there under all that coating when you're done.  Pour Ranch Dressing in plastic bag and add pork chops.

Toss to coat chops.

Let chops marinate for a few hours in the bags inside your fridge


Preheat oven to 450F

Mix remaining dry ingredients in a bowl.  Dry sage is fine here.  Make sure to use Panko breadcrumbs instead of regular--they'll make a much better breading.

Dredge the ranch-coated pork chops in the breading...

...until it is well-coated with the cheese/breadcrumb mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes at 450F, then reduce heat to 350F and continue to bake until pork chops are done (140F on a meat thermometer)

Note, I'm using pretty thick chops in this recipe, about 3/4 to 1 inch, so the cooking time shown above is merited for that thickness.  If you use thinner chops, such as those really thin 'family value' chops grocery stores sometimes sell, check the temp sooner, like at 15 minutes.  If you don't have a meat thermometer, watch for the juices to run clear as a sign of doneness.  (you really should have a meat thermometer, though!)

Anyhoo, serve them up with some hearty sides, like the green beans and mashed potatoes we've served here.

Until next time,


Chris

Bean Pot Country Ribs

If you remember my Black-Eyed Pea post from January, you may remember that I got a new bean pot for Christmas.  I'd been wanting one ever since I saw Gabriele Corcos cooking with one in Tuscany on the Cooking Channel.

My new Bean Pot

Bean Pots are an ancient, old school style of cooking vessel--they've been around since at least Colonial times and maybe even longer.  While their main claim to fame is cooking beans, they are very much like a Dutch oven and can be used on other slow cooking occasions.  This dish is something similar to what I saw Gabriele cooking on the Extra Virgin show, but I couldn't find his recipe so I sort of made up my own.  

Oh, and the country ribs in this recipe aren't really ribs at all--they're just strips of chuck roast cut to resemble ribs.

But they are perfect for this technique, as the bean pot will transform them from toughness to tenderness over a nice slow roasting.

Bean Pot Country Ribs

1.5 pounds country ribs (chuck)
3 carrots, sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion, diced
3 cups veal stock
12 oz consommé
1 cup red wine
12 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 325˚F

Heat olive oil in skillet. Brown the 'ribs' in the olive oil.

Reserve the ribs.  Saute onion in olive oil.

When they start to turn golden, add the garlic and cook another two minutes.

Place beef and onions in the bean pot or a Dutch oven if that's what you're using.

Add celery, carrots, and onion/garlic mixture.  Add the wine.

Add the tomatoes, thyme and veal stock.

If you've never used veal stock before, you're in for a treat.  It's much richer and complex than beef stock, yet at the same time delicate and subtle.  I'd use it all the time in place of beef if it weren't so expensive and hard to find.  You can usually find it at places like Central Market.  Or, you can make your own.  I've yet to do that, but I plan to try it.

Add the consommé.

This is another sort of secret ingredient.  Consommé is a rich broth popularized by the French and it is usually eaten like a simple soup, but I find it makes a nice addition as an ingredient in dishes like this.

Cover pot and cook in oven at 350˚F until beef is tender.  Check it every thirty minutes or so to make sure liquid hasn't cooked down too much.  If it does, add a little more stock.  After two hours, check to see if beef is tender.  If it is, great, if not, let it go another thirty minutes to an hour.  When it is done, the dish will have a stew-like consistency.

It can be held warm until dinner time.  Taste and adjust with salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve with some crusty bread or toast points.

Enjoy!

Until next time,

Chris.

Perfect Roast Beef

Tender, juicy, rare roast beef--is there anything better or more comforting on a cold winter's day?  I guess you could say I was raised on roast beef.  For pretty much my entire childhood and teen years, Mom made a roast every Sunday like clockwork.  It was good, hearty fare, but like most of the meats we ate back then, Mom made her roasts pretty close to well done.  I cringe a little bit at that now, but we didn't know any better then.

However, when we would go out to a little British themed place called the Piccadilly Café, the roast beef they carved up there was pink--maybe even red in the center.  They served it up dripping with natural gravy and--don't tell Mom--but I liked it better.  It was so much more flavorful, succulent and savory.  I'd had my first encounter with rare beef--what beef is supposed to taste like.

Years later, as an adult, I tried to replicate this rare beef, but at first I didn't have much success.  Sure, I used a meat thermometer, and cooked my roast to a rare temp, but it was only rare in the center, and pretty much well done the rest of the way through.  What I wanted was that nice, pink rareness throughout the roast.  To achieve this, I took a lesson from my brisket smoking technique and tried doing things low and slow--low temperature cooking for a longer time.

This proved to be the key.  Roasting it lower means the roast will cook much more even, and be rare almost to the edge.  Keeping the meat at this lower range of temperatures for a longer time also allows the meat's natural enzymes to break down things a bit, further tenderizing the roast.

So, let's get started.  First, select your meat.  I've found the traditional beef chuck cut to be a little too fatty for my tastes--I go for the round or rump cuts.  Beef round is composed of three different muscles, which--when cut into roasts are referred to as Top Round, Bottom Round and Eye of Round.  I've tried each of these, and all do nicely with this technique, with perhaps the eye being the best.  All three have a rich beef flavor and, while a little tough, they tenderize up nicely with this slow cooking technique.

Ingredients

4 lbs Round Roast (Top, Bottom or Eye of)
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Carrots, Chopped
2 Potatoes, Cubed

Any of the Round Roasts work great.  Here I'm using Top Round.  

Preheat Oven to 225˚F

Heat Olive Oil in a skillet.  We're gonna first brown the outside of the roast.  This will develop some of the flavors we want in the roast.

Salt and Pepper the Roast

If it's got a fat layer on it, you can either remove it or keep it, cutting some slits into it to keep it from warping duing cooking.

Sear the roast in the olive oil on all sides.

Place on wire rack over roasting pan.  If you cut fat from the roast, don't discard it--place these pieces on the rack with the roast.

They will render additional drippings in which you can roast veggies.

Roast for an hour at 225˚F.  Then toss the  veggies in olive oil and place in pan under roast.

There should be some nice drippings in there now that will cook and flavor the veggies.

Roast until internal temperature of meat reaches 115F. About two hours total time.

Turn off oven and let roast continue to cook in cooling oven until internal temp reaches 125F

Slice the roast against the grain in thin slices

Note how there is pink almost to the edge of the roast--thanks to the low and slow cooking technique.
The veggies should look like this now:

If they don't--return them to the oven for a few minutes at 450˚F to brown them a bit while you carve your roast.

Serve with the veggies. And maybe some Yorkshire Puddings, if you like.

.

Until Next Time,

Eat ya some beef!

Chris