Our Salad Days...

Technically our salad days are winding down - although down here things are just starting to heat up!

I've been marching through Bittman, trying salad after salad and I have a few new salads to add / review.

Review - Fennel & Orange Salad - this salad gets a big thumbs down. It was odd tasting, through not terrible, and just sort of blah. I think replacing the fennel with jicama could lead to a much more exciting salad.

I'm going to make seperate posts for my other salads - Southwester Slaw & Fallafel Salad

Carmelized Onion & Mushroom Za

The term Za annoys me to the max...I just couldn't resist.
Since meeting and marrying Andrew I have slowly but steadily been implementing a systematic desensitization program to mushrooms and onions.
I can say that I've been completely successful with onions. While he won't order french onion soup, he'd probably eat it if I made it, and he eats onions in any form with impunity. Mushrooms have been less successful, in part because while I enjoy mushrooms, I rarely cook with them.
Last night the tide has turned. I made this dish...persuaded Andrew to try it with the mushrooms (I chopped them big so he had the option of taking them off) and he said, "I'm glad you convinced me to leave the mushrooms on." He didn't bat an eye at the slurry of onion that coated the pizza - like I said, onions have been conquered.

Here's the recipe:
One recipe for thin crust pizza dough from Red Plaid or Bittman (same recipe, I think) with 2 Tbs sugar added.
Follow recipe for thin crust - Red Plaid is quicker b/c it has less rising time, but if you have time, rising improves dough. Bittman has loads of pizza info
Rub crust with olive oil, bake crust half way, and then add:
- 1 Recipe of Bittman's Caramelized Onion
(caramelized as long as possible to make Onion Jam - one very large red onion worked great and I added a splash of apple cider vinegar and 1 tbs brown sugar 1/2 way through cooking)
- 1 recipe of Bittman's sauteed shitake mushrooms (sauteed with olive oil, garlic and parsley)
- 1 package of hot cooked Capicolla (prosciutto would work just fine)

Bake for remaining time, keeping an eye on things. Meat should start to crisp, but nothing should burn.
Once out of the oven, immediately shave large (quarter size) pieces of Parmesan cheese over pizza with a carrot peeler. (For really melted cheese you can do this when you add everything else.)
Serve up and enjoy!

Frrriiieeeed Chicken!!!

I decided to stop making desserts until Easter because we've been devouring them faster than I can make them.  I'm not off desserts, but I'm not buying any or making any...eating an already purchased piece of chocolate with a marshmallow and a date is another matter, and perfectly acceptable!

My dessert desert led me to try making friend chicken - got to get the fat in some way or another, right?

I used Bittman's instructions on pg. 663 and used my own spices and the batter component of "Spicy Batter-Fried Chicken on pg. 666 (hmmmm....it was devilishly tasty!)

Instead of using a chicken I cut up and dried chicken breasts into large hunks.  This meant slightly shorter frying time.  I eye balled it - waiting for a browned batter and then cut my first piece open to double check.  Perfection!!!

I was AMAZED with the ease and success of the recipe.  KFC will not be seeing us anytime soon!  This is the first thing I've deep fat fried (only 1/2 inch of oil needed -  I used corn), and also the first breaded food I've made where the breading stayed on and stayed crispy. The secret was having a candy thermometer in at all times.  Bittman recommends covering the pan to prevent splashing, but I only covered half so I could leave my thermometer in and ensure a constant state of 350 degrees.

It was a fun and empowering to make such an iconic food! The only downside is a house (and a neighborhood) that smells like oil.  Keep your windows open if you're going to try this one.

Tasty Frittata Supper

If you are like me, you always have some eggs on hand and you almost always have some Italian turkey sausage in the freezer. Eggs and sausage are great for last-minute dinners because eggs cook so quickly and turkey sausage can thaw out really quickly even if you take it out of the freezer at the last minute. I run it under warm water to thaw—if you have a microwave, that makes things even easier. What to do with that sausage once it is thawed? I actually have two last-minute strategies: pasta sauce and frittatas. Today I’ll discuss frittatas!

The frittata is my recently-discovered wonder dinner. The entire dinner, including getting a salad together, takes perhaps 20 minutes. It is very flexible and allows you to use up veggies that are about to go bad. The leftovers are also delicious for lunch or breakfast the next day. My method comes from Mark Bittman, with some adjustments.

You will need:

2 Tbs. olive oil

chopped hard veggies, in any combination, such as onions, bell peppers, zucchini, etc.

2 links sausage, removed from casing (if desired)

chopped “soft” veggies, such as tomatoes and mushrooms (total combined veggies should be at least a cup but you can vary widely and it has no effect

greens, such as spinach, if desired

fresh herbs, if desired

6 eggs (or more if you want to make a big ole frittata. But six works well in my 10-inch skillet)

parmesan cheese, if desired

1) Chop the hard veggies—cut them pretty fine.

2) heat about one Tbs (or one glug) olive oil in a 10-inch skillet (is that the size of the normal skillet? I think so—you know what I mean—the basic skillet) over med-high heat. Add veggies.

3) Sautee veggies for 5 minutes until softened. Adjust heat so they don’t burn. While this is going on, cut up the soft veggies.

4) After five minutes, add the sausage, if you are going for the meat version. Just squeeze it out of casing and break up in the pan. Don’t add salt until after the sausage is cooked, btw. That stuff can be salty. When the sausage is mostly cooked and crumbly, add the soft veggies.

5) Turn the heat down to low (or I would say medium-low: just one smidge up from low) and cook soft veggies for five minutes. While that is going on, whisk the eggs up in a separate bowl and prep the herbs and greens. Basil is delish, as is baby spinach.

6) When soft veggies are cooked, taste and adjust the salt and pepper, then ADD THE SECOND TBS (or glug) OF OLIVE OIL and toss in the herbs and greens and sauté until just wilted. Then distribute everything evenly in the pan and carefully pour the eggs over the top. You can use your sautéing implement to sort of ease the flow so everything stays in place in the pan. It will be anticlimactic and hardly sizzle at all, but that is normal. Grate cheese over top if desired.

7) Leave that pan on low, totally undisturbed, for about 10 minutes. Go make a salad.

8) Check your pan periodically after about six minutes. The eggs should be setting up nicely. After about ten minutes, they will be all set up except a thin film of runny eggs on top. At this point, turn on the broiler to low (or set the rack a bit away from the burner) and put the whole pan under for ONE MINUTE AT A TIME. (Check compulsively. Broilers are fickle. When the top is just set, pull it out, run a knife around the edge, slice and serve with salad. It comes right out of the pan. YUM. Eat the leftovers for breakfast.