Monday, February 7, 2011
Week 4- Baking/Dessert: French Baguette
I got a bread maker for Christmas in 2002. I thought it was the best thing ever... such a treat to have fresh bread with dinner. The bread maker didn't make the trip to Brazil, so I started making bread with my standing mixer's dough attachment and baking it in the oven. I haven't gone back to the bread maker since we returned! Usually I just make white or wheat bread in a loaf pan, but for some reason since we moved to Iowa I feel like I cannot find a good place to buy baguettes. I figured it was time to take matters into my own hands. I'm interested to try the recipes in Cook's Illustrated and The Bread Baker's Apprentice, but both require you to start the day before you're going to bake. That hasn't happened yet, so I have used Tyler Florence's recipe here a couple times now. First of all, the directions in the recipe are off. I used my kitchen scale to make sure the ingredients were in the right proportions, but the dough seemed sticky to me. I did not change the amounts the second time around, but I did change the way I prepared the loaves. First of all, I didn't let them rise on the baking sheet-- I put them on a sheet of parchment sprayed with cooking spray. (Letting them rise on the sheet seemed to ensure that they would be impossible to remove after they are baked.) Secondly, I cut the slits before the rise (I know bakers consider scoring a baguette to be an art, but for me it just flattened them out). Then I skipped the milk. Finally and MOST IMPORTANTLY I baked them for about 22 minutes. With those modifications, I thought these were good. Better than what i can buy here. Not terribly complex, but great for sopping up beef stew or lasagna. I would definitely make them again when I figure out on the "day of" that I want to bake baguettes.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Week 5- Dinner: Chicken and Root Vegetable Pot Pie
I wouldn't call this recipe a "fail" per se, but I won't be making it again any time soon. I'm not a huge fan of traditional chicken pot pie, so I thought maybe the addition of different veggies would mix it up and make it more interesting. To me, it just had a weird flavor that I couldn't put my finger on. My husband didn't love it either. It was worth a shot though... very flavorful and comforting, if only we had liked the flavors. And for the record, I don't think the problem was the fact that this was a "light" recipe. I wasn't missing fat- the sauce had good texture and the stew part of the potpie was hearty.
Chicken and Root Vegetable Potpie
(from Cooking Light Chicken Tonight page 41)
3 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled sweet potato
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled celery root
1 cup (1/2 inch thick) slices parsnip
1 10 ounce package frozen pearl onions
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 ounces (about 2/3 cup) all purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 T chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 sheet puff frozen pastry dough, thawed
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bring broth to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add peas and next five ingredients to pan; cover, reduce heat and simmer 6 minutes. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes or until chicken in done. Remove chicken & vegetables from broth with a slotted spoon. Place in a large bowl.
Increase heat to medium. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife. Place all but 1 T of flour in a medium bowl. Gradually add milk to bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broth; cook 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken mixture, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Sprinkle remaining flour on a work surface and roll dough into a 13 x 9 inch rectangle. Place dough over chicken mixture, pressing to seal at edges. Cut small slits into dough to allow steam to escape. Coat the dough with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes or until pastry is browned and filling is bubbly.
Chicken and Root Vegetable Potpie
(from Cooking Light Chicken Tonight page 41)
3 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled sweet potato
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled celery root
1 cup (1/2 inch thick) slices parsnip
1 10 ounce package frozen pearl onions
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 ounces (about 2/3 cup) all purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 T chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 sheet puff frozen pastry dough, thawed
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bring broth to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add peas and next five ingredients to pan; cover, reduce heat and simmer 6 minutes. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes or until chicken in done. Remove chicken & vegetables from broth with a slotted spoon. Place in a large bowl.
Increase heat to medium. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife. Place all but 1 T of flour in a medium bowl. Gradually add milk to bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broth; cook 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken mixture, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Sprinkle remaining flour on a work surface and roll dough into a 13 x 9 inch rectangle. Place dough over chicken mixture, pressing to seal at edges. Cut small slits into dough to allow steam to escape. Coat the dough with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes or until pastry is browned and filling is bubbly.
Week 4- Dinner: Chicken, Black Bean & Tortilla Casserole
I've been cooking, I swear. I just haven't been recording it. Time for catch up!
This casserole was awesome. I will definitely make it again, though I do think it needs a bit of a kick. I used hot salsa unintentionally and I think the casserole would have been bland if I hadn't. Next time I intend to add some hot sauce or chili powder or pickled jalapenos, or maybe Pepper Jack cheese. I would also cut down on the amount of cheese on top. I love cheese, but this seemed excessive and made it pretty unhealthy. Huge plus for this meal is that it was even better as a leftover (I guess that's really the mark of a good casserole, isn't it?)
Chicken, Black Bean and Tortilla Casserole
(from The Big Book of Casseroles by Maryana Vollstedt, page 102)
1 T vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used a yellow pepper)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can tomatoes, including juices, lightly pureed in the food processor
1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
8 corn tortillas
4 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Add onion, pepper and garlic and saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salsa, cumin, oregano, salt & pepper and mix well. Stir in beans and chicken.
In a 4-quart casserole dish (I used a 2-1/2 quart bc it was the biggest one I had, and it turned out fine) lightly coated with cooking spray, spread one-third of the bean and chicken mixture over the bottom. Top with 4 tortillas and sprinkle with one cup of cheese. Add another third of the bean mixture, 4 more tortillas and another cup of cheese. Finish with remaining bean mixture. Cover and bake 40 minutes. Remove lid, add remaining cheese (this is where I think you could get away with 1/2 or 1 cup of cheese instead of 2 whole cups) and bake until bubbly, about 10 minutes longer.
Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
This casserole was awesome. I will definitely make it again, though I do think it needs a bit of a kick. I used hot salsa unintentionally and I think the casserole would have been bland if I hadn't. Next time I intend to add some hot sauce or chili powder or pickled jalapenos, or maybe Pepper Jack cheese. I would also cut down on the amount of cheese on top. I love cheese, but this seemed excessive and made it pretty unhealthy. Huge plus for this meal is that it was even better as a leftover (I guess that's really the mark of a good casserole, isn't it?)
Chicken, Black Bean and Tortilla Casserole
(from The Big Book of Casseroles by Maryana Vollstedt, page 102)
1 T vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used a yellow pepper)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can tomatoes, including juices, lightly pureed in the food processor
1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
8 corn tortillas
4 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Add onion, pepper and garlic and saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salsa, cumin, oregano, salt & pepper and mix well. Stir in beans and chicken.
In a 4-quart casserole dish (I used a 2-1/2 quart bc it was the biggest one I had, and it turned out fine) lightly coated with cooking spray, spread one-third of the bean and chicken mixture over the bottom. Top with 4 tortillas and sprinkle with one cup of cheese. Add another third of the bean mixture, 4 more tortillas and another cup of cheese. Finish with remaining bean mixture. Cover and bake 40 minutes. Remove lid, add remaining cheese (this is where I think you could get away with 1/2 or 1 cup of cheese instead of 2 whole cups) and bake until bubbly, about 10 minutes longer.
Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
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