Showing posts with label chorizo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chorizo. Show all posts
Paella Day
4/18/10: Spanish Chicken and Chorizo Paella with Whole Grain Rye Bread
Meal details: For the main course I made a huge pan of paella (a Spanish rice dish) that had chicken drumsticks, crushed tomatoes, peas, and chorizo. And I served a whole grain rye bread along side it.
Defining moments: First time for me to taste or make paella and also first time baking rye bread.
Recipe sources: The paella recipe is from Paula Deen and I specifically chose it because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog. The rye bread recipe came from my Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. See my review of this book here.
What I learned: I learned that it takes exactly 20 chicken drumsticks (of medium size) to fill our large stainless steel skillet. No more, no less. :D That little tidbit is always nice to have on hand! I also finally realized how helpful my HBI5 (Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day) cookbook is when it comes to preparing a meal in advance. Because of the high moisture in each recipe, you are able to store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. I took advantage of this and prepared my dough Friday evening and baked it on Sunday. Makes bread baking really fast and usually "bread" and "fast" don't fit in the same sentence!
There is a funny story behind the flour shopping that was done for my rye bread. Annemarie went to Plumb's (a small grocery store nearby) and couldn't find rye flour ANYWHERE. But she came home with Bob's Red Mill Whole Ground Flaxseed. FLAXSEED? My gosh, I thought I would never see it, being kind of a specialty item! Oh boy, I'm really eying that flaxseed recipe in the book now. And by the way, we found rye flour at Bill's Shop and Save so I didn't go without my rye flour this week--obviously!
I wanted to write down here exactly what I do to bake this bread. Unlike the recommendations in the book, I do not use a pizza stone (aka baker's stone) or any special equipment. I simply use a 12 x 15 cookie sheet and a deep roasting pan. I line the cookie sheet (or sheets, when I am doing more than two loaves), with non-stick aluminum foil and form my loaves right on the sheet. I cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for the suggested time. I place the roasting pan on the lowest rack in the oven and preheat the oven for 30 minutes.
Once the oven has come up to temperature, I remove the plastic wrap and brush the risen loaves with water and make four, 1/4" slits on the top of each. With one cup of water on hand, I place the loaves in the oven, pour the water into the roasting pan, and quickly shut the oven door. The hot roasting pan will create steam and give the loaves more time for some major "oven spring." My oven does not close perfectly and some of the steam is lost but I have not found it to cause any baking problems.
So that's what I do for baking HBI5 bread.
Any modifications? For the paella recipe, I used all drumsticks instead of chicken thighs and drumsticks, I used Mexican chorizo instead of Spanish (the Mexican variety is fresh while the Spanish is dried), I omitted saffron, and I used long-grain rice instead of the Arborio.
I followed the rye bread recipe exactly.
How it tasted? Both the paella and the bread were fantastic. The chicken was nice and tender and the rice was spicy (because of the chorizo) and had perfect texture. The rye bread had a chewy crust and a tender crumb--just the way I like it. The rye bread, however, didn't have a real rye flavor, I mostly tasted the whole wheat that was included. Maybe I'll try it without the wheat next time.
How about a 2nd time? You bet!
Doesn't our large skillet look just like a traditional paella pan? Never noticed it before!
Meal details: For the main course I made a huge pan of paella (a Spanish rice dish) that had chicken drumsticks, crushed tomatoes, peas, and chorizo. And I served a whole grain rye bread along side it.
Defining moments: First time for me to taste or make paella and also first time baking rye bread.
Recipe sources: The paella recipe is from Paula Deen and I specifically chose it because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog. The rye bread recipe came from my Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. See my review of this book here.
What I learned: I learned that it takes exactly 20 chicken drumsticks (of medium size) to fill our large stainless steel skillet. No more, no less. :D That little tidbit is always nice to have on hand! I also finally realized how helpful my HBI5 (Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day) cookbook is when it comes to preparing a meal in advance. Because of the high moisture in each recipe, you are able to store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. I took advantage of this and prepared my dough Friday evening and baked it on Sunday. Makes bread baking really fast and usually "bread" and "fast" don't fit in the same sentence!
There is a funny story behind the flour shopping that was done for my rye bread. Annemarie went to Plumb's (a small grocery store nearby) and couldn't find rye flour ANYWHERE. But she came home with Bob's Red Mill Whole Ground Flaxseed. FLAXSEED? My gosh, I thought I would never see it, being kind of a specialty item! Oh boy, I'm really eying that flaxseed recipe in the book now. And by the way, we found rye flour at Bill's Shop and Save so I didn't go without my rye flour this week--obviously!
I wanted to write down here exactly what I do to bake this bread. Unlike the recommendations in the book, I do not use a pizza stone (aka baker's stone) or any special equipment. I simply use a 12 x 15 cookie sheet and a deep roasting pan. I line the cookie sheet (or sheets, when I am doing more than two loaves), with non-stick aluminum foil and form my loaves right on the sheet. I cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for the suggested time. I place the roasting pan on the lowest rack in the oven and preheat the oven for 30 minutes.
Once the oven has come up to temperature, I remove the plastic wrap and brush the risen loaves with water and make four, 1/4" slits on the top of each. With one cup of water on hand, I place the loaves in the oven, pour the water into the roasting pan, and quickly shut the oven door. The hot roasting pan will create steam and give the loaves more time for some major "oven spring." My oven does not close perfectly and some of the steam is lost but I have not found it to cause any baking problems.
So that's what I do for baking HBI5 bread.
Any modifications? For the paella recipe, I used all drumsticks instead of chicken thighs and drumsticks, I used Mexican chorizo instead of Spanish (the Mexican variety is fresh while the Spanish is dried), I omitted saffron, and I used long-grain rice instead of the Arborio.
I followed the rye bread recipe exactly.
How it tasted? Both the paella and the bread were fantastic. The chicken was nice and tender and the rice was spicy (because of the chorizo) and had perfect texture. The rye bread had a chewy crust and a tender crumb--just the way I like it. The rye bread, however, didn't have a real rye flavor, I mostly tasted the whole wheat that was included. Maybe I'll try it without the wheat next time.
How about a 2nd time? You bet!
Doesn't our large skillet look just like a traditional paella pan? Never noticed it before!
The Man with the Orange Clogs' Empanada
2/21/10: Empanadas and Easy Fruit Salad
Meal details: For the main course I made empanadas with a bacon, chorizo sausage, bell pepper, onion, and cheese filling. But these weren't your typical half moon shaped empanadas, these were of the full scale variety. And for a side dish I made a fruit salad that had pineapple, apple, oranges, bananas, and something a little different: stove-top pudding. Hmm. . . Interesting, huh?
Defining moments: It's kind of funny but this is my first time making stove-top pudding using a mix. :) I only helped stir the pot before! And this is the first time for empanadas.
Recipe sources: The empanada recipe is from Mario Batali, the host of Molto Mario and numerous other cooking shows. He is known for his exceptional knowledge of Italian cooking and of course everyone knows his scooter and orange clogs! You might remember him from the show, Mario Eats Italy. I haven't seen the show in years but that was one of the most interesting (and funny!) cooking related programs I've seen. I chose this recipe because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog. When I was searching for a Batali recipe I learned that Mario had (or does, not too sure) a show on PBS about his road trip in the great country of Spain. It is called Spain: On the Road Again. Boy, I would like to watch that!
The empanada recipe requires pizza dough and I made my own using a recipe from the 2500 Recipes from Everyday to Extraordinary cookbook. I discovered earlier while making my Le Hog Pizza that this is one great recipe!
The fruit salad recipe came from the October 2006 issue of Home Cooking Magazine. Here is the recipe for those whole are interested:
Easy Fruit Salad
What I learned: I learned what an empanada is. :) Yeah, that's always important. I sort of had a good idea of what it is but I get kind of confuse with all those calzone-type dishes. So what is it exactly? An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry and comes from the Spanish word empanar, which means to wrap. In Spain, an empanada is usually a large circle that is cut into wedges, but in Portugal and Mexico, the empanadas are made in semi-circular shapes like the one seen here.
Did I learn anything else? None of the recipes I did this week were really foreign to me. I mean, the empanada recipe was very close to the way I prepare my BBQ Chicken Pizza; the only difference was adding another crust on top of the filling. And the fruit salad was really easy to do. So not many new techniques or ingredients this week.
Any modifications? Yes, I made modifications to both recipes. For the empanadas, I didn't roll out the dough in a circle, I just stretched the dough out to the shape of a cookie sheet. And by the way, there is a typo in the recipe. Where it says to roll out into a thin round, they mean a 14" round, not a 1/4 round. Yeah, it kind of confused me a bit! And I also substituted bacon for the pancetta and added a Monterey Jack cheese mix to the filling because my family can't have pizza without the cheese!
And for the fruit salad. I used two Clementine oranges instead of the canned mandarin oranges. And to reach the necessary amount of juice, I added some orange juice from the carton.
How it tasted? Super! Everyone enjoyed the empanadas immensely. The fruit salad was loved by some and was "OK," for others. It mainly was caused by the addition of bananas. Some don't like bananas mixed with other flavors, but for some, like me, they love it that way. So it was a sort of hit and miss recipe for this family.
How about a 2nd time? Yes, I will do both recipes again but will take away the bananas from the salad and just add more apples or oranges.
Meal details: For the main course I made empanadas with a bacon, chorizo sausage, bell pepper, onion, and cheese filling. But these weren't your typical half moon shaped empanadas, these were of the full scale variety. And for a side dish I made a fruit salad that had pineapple, apple, oranges, bananas, and something a little different: stove-top pudding. Hmm. . . Interesting, huh?
Defining moments: It's kind of funny but this is my first time making stove-top pudding using a mix. :) I only helped stir the pot before! And this is the first time for empanadas.
Recipe sources: The empanada recipe is from Mario Batali, the host of Molto Mario and numerous other cooking shows. He is known for his exceptional knowledge of Italian cooking and of course everyone knows his scooter and orange clogs! You might remember him from the show, Mario Eats Italy. I haven't seen the show in years but that was one of the most interesting (and funny!) cooking related programs I've seen. I chose this recipe because I am part of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Thank My Mother blog. When I was searching for a Batali recipe I learned that Mario had (or does, not too sure) a show on PBS about his road trip in the great country of Spain. It is called Spain: On the Road Again. Boy, I would like to watch that!
The empanada recipe requires pizza dough and I made my own using a recipe from the 2500 Recipes from Everyday to Extraordinary cookbook. I discovered earlier while making my Le Hog Pizza that this is one great recipe!
The fruit salad recipe came from the October 2006 issue of Home Cooking Magazine. Here is the recipe for those whole are interested:
Easy Fruit Salad
- 1 (3 1/2-ounce) package cook-and-serve vanilla pudding
- 1 can pineapple tidbits
- 1 apple chopped
- 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges
- 3 bananas
What I learned: I learned what an empanada is. :) Yeah, that's always important. I sort of had a good idea of what it is but I get kind of confuse with all those calzone-type dishes. So what is it exactly? An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry and comes from the Spanish word empanar, which means to wrap. In Spain, an empanada is usually a large circle that is cut into wedges, but in Portugal and Mexico, the empanadas are made in semi-circular shapes like the one seen here.
Did I learn anything else? None of the recipes I did this week were really foreign to me. I mean, the empanada recipe was very close to the way I prepare my BBQ Chicken Pizza; the only difference was adding another crust on top of the filling. And the fruit salad was really easy to do. So not many new techniques or ingredients this week.
Any modifications? Yes, I made modifications to both recipes. For the empanadas, I didn't roll out the dough in a circle, I just stretched the dough out to the shape of a cookie sheet. And by the way, there is a typo in the recipe. Where it says to roll out into a thin round, they mean a 14" round, not a 1/4 round. Yeah, it kind of confused me a bit! And I also substituted bacon for the pancetta and added a Monterey Jack cheese mix to the filling because my family can't have pizza without the cheese!
And for the fruit salad. I used two Clementine oranges instead of the canned mandarin oranges. And to reach the necessary amount of juice, I added some orange juice from the carton.
How it tasted? Super! Everyone enjoyed the empanadas immensely. The fruit salad was loved by some and was "OK," for others. It mainly was caused by the addition of bananas. Some don't like bananas mixed with other flavors, but for some, like me, they love it that way. So it was a sort of hit and miss recipe for this family.
How about a 2nd time? Yes, I will do both recipes again but will take away the bananas from the salad and just add more apples or oranges.
Food Network Challenge Times Two
11/22/09: Chorizo-and-Potato Taquitos and Millionaire Shortbread
Meal details: For the main course I made taquitos that were stuffed with chorizo sausage, potato, onions, peppers, and queso fresco cheese. For dessert we had shortbread squares that had layers of caramel and chocolate.
Defining moments: First time for me to make taquitos (only have heated frozen taquitos from the store up till now) and this is also the first time I used chorizo sausage and queso fresco cheese.
Recipe sources: I am part of the Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. (Learn more about this fun challenge by visiting this page.) Because I am two chefs behind I decided to do two recipes from the Food Network chefs to catch up with the rest of the members. The chefs ended up being Claire Robinson (from 5 Ingredient Fix) and Daisy Martinez (from Viva Daisy). I chose Claire's Millionaire Shortbread recipe and Daisy's Taquitos. The taquito recipe is not found on the Food Network website, I actually came across it in an issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray.
What I learned: Gee, making those taquitos was messy! I got frying oil everywhere, so much so, that we had to mop the whole floor. I think I could do a better, cleaner job if I just worked on the kitchen island instead of moving from counter to counter. I will not drip as much oil that way.
I made the taquitos the day before because I knew they would be tedious. After I was done frying I packed them in foil and moved them to the freezer.
I remembered from making chimichangas that tortillas rip and tear when being rolled up so before I began I tried to find some tips to prevent this problem. What I gathered from some sites and the actual recipe in the magazine, is to place them in the microwave or dip them in hot oil prior to the rolling up step. Since we don't have a microwave I went with the latter procedure. It worked fine--no broken tortillas when rolling--but it is because of this extra step that I made an oily mess on the floor. So I am still looking for another way to make these tortillas limber. Any suggestions? If so, please leave a comment!
Onto the Millionaire Shortbread. This recipe was VERY easy to do! The actual shortbread dough is just butter, sugar, salt, and flour that is mixed together with a pastry cutter (or food processor) and dumped into the baking pan. Nothing to it; I probably can do it in my sleep. The only temperamental part of this recipe is making the caramel, which is made of sweetened condensed milk and butter. It is cooked over a medium-high burner and you have to let it boil until it reaches the right color. I'm not really good with determining the "right" from the "wrong" so I just boiled it until it reached the consistency of pudding, which took exactly fifteen minutes. I read on the Food Network website that people were having trouble knowing when the caramel was done--and some even had it turn into a hard mass--so I knew I shouldn't boil it for more than the fifteen minutes that the recipes states. It worked out fine and it was easy to spread.
Any modifications? Yes, I made some to the taquito recipe. Here is my ingredient list for 4 times the recipe:
A quick note: I made one taquito with a flour tortilla and it fried up well and tasted great. I think I will make more when I try this again.
How it tasted? Everyone liked, well, everything. I was very happy to hear that! And what do I think of the two new ingredients? The chorizo sausage was spicy and reminded the family of tamales and the queso fresco cheese is really mild in flavor and it melts super fast. Both ingredients were delicious.
How about a 2nd time? Yes, for both recipes. And next time I will try to cut down on the mess!
Thanks Claire and Daisy for these great recipes!
Meal details: For the main course I made taquitos that were stuffed with chorizo sausage, potato, onions, peppers, and queso fresco cheese. For dessert we had shortbread squares that had layers of caramel and chocolate.
Defining moments: First time for me to make taquitos (only have heated frozen taquitos from the store up till now) and this is also the first time I used chorizo sausage and queso fresco cheese.
Recipe sources: I am part of the Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. (Learn more about this fun challenge by visiting this page.) Because I am two chefs behind I decided to do two recipes from the Food Network chefs to catch up with the rest of the members. The chefs ended up being Claire Robinson (from 5 Ingredient Fix) and Daisy Martinez (from Viva Daisy). I chose Claire's Millionaire Shortbread recipe and Daisy's Taquitos. The taquito recipe is not found on the Food Network website, I actually came across it in an issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray.
What I learned: Gee, making those taquitos was messy! I got frying oil everywhere, so much so, that we had to mop the whole floor. I think I could do a better, cleaner job if I just worked on the kitchen island instead of moving from counter to counter. I will not drip as much oil that way.
I made the taquitos the day before because I knew they would be tedious. After I was done frying I packed them in foil and moved them to the freezer.
I remembered from making chimichangas that tortillas rip and tear when being rolled up so before I began I tried to find some tips to prevent this problem. What I gathered from some sites and the actual recipe in the magazine, is to place them in the microwave or dip them in hot oil prior to the rolling up step. Since we don't have a microwave I went with the latter procedure. It worked fine--no broken tortillas when rolling--but it is because of this extra step that I made an oily mess on the floor. So I am still looking for another way to make these tortillas limber. Any suggestions? If so, please leave a comment!
Onto the Millionaire Shortbread. This recipe was VERY easy to do! The actual shortbread dough is just butter, sugar, salt, and flour that is mixed together with a pastry cutter (or food processor) and dumped into the baking pan. Nothing to it; I probably can do it in my sleep. The only temperamental part of this recipe is making the caramel, which is made of sweetened condensed milk and butter. It is cooked over a medium-high burner and you have to let it boil until it reaches the right color. I'm not really good with determining the "right" from the "wrong" so I just boiled it until it reached the consistency of pudding, which took exactly fifteen minutes. I read on the Food Network website that people were having trouble knowing when the caramel was done--and some even had it turn into a hard mass--so I knew I shouldn't boil it for more than the fifteen minutes that the recipes states. It worked out fine and it was easy to spread.
Any modifications? Yes, I made some to the taquito recipe. Here is my ingredient list for 4 times the recipe:
- 8 medium sized red skinned potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying
- 2 pounds Mexican chorizo, casings discarded
- 4 large onion, finely chopped
- One 6 oz. can of tomato paste
- 2 large ancho peppers, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 12 oz. crumbled queso fresco
- Corn tortillas
A quick note: I made one taquito with a flour tortilla and it fried up well and tasted great. I think I will make more when I try this again.
How it tasted? Everyone liked, well, everything. I was very happy to hear that! And what do I think of the two new ingredients? The chorizo sausage was spicy and reminded the family of tamales and the queso fresco cheese is really mild in flavor and it melts super fast. Both ingredients were delicious.
How about a 2nd time? Yes, for both recipes. And next time I will try to cut down on the mess!
Thanks Claire and Daisy for these great recipes!
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