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[Mike Nolan]

Chicken Mirepoix

This is my go-to chicken recipe these days.

Yield
3 servings

Ingredients

3 bone-in chicken breasts
2 medium or 1 large onions
4-5 ribs celery
3 carrots (or 2 handfuls of baby carrots)
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup dry white wine, dry sherry or dry vermouth (optional), white verjuice should work, too.
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon celery seed

(Traditionally, mirepoix is 2 parts onion, 1 part celery, 1 part carrot, I usually wind up with about 10 ounces of onions, 5 ounces of celery and 5 ounces of carrots.)

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Skin chicken breasts, salt and pepper bone side only for now, set aside.

Dice or thinly slice onions, chop celery into thin pieces, julienne carrots. (If using baby carrots, which I think are sweeter, I quarter them down the length then chop them into 3-4 pieces.)

Mix onions, celery and carrots in a bowl, then place in bottom of 9 x 12 glass baking dish. Pour in the wine, sherry or vermouth, if using it. Sprinkle on basil and celery seed.

Place chicken breasts on top of vegetables, bone side down. Coat chicken breasts with butter, then salt and pepper them.

Cover pan with aluminum foil or parchment. (Keeps the surface of the skinned chicken from getting too tough.)

Bake at 375 degrees for around 75 min or until internal temperature of chicken is at least 170 degrees and the onions are soft. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Recently I experimented with using covering the chicken with cabbage leaves instead of foil or parchment. Seemed to work pretty good at keeping the breasts from getting tough, probably added a little flavor, too.

[Mike Nolan]

Baked Ratatouille (a simplified Confit Byaldi)

A simplification of the Confit Byaldi recipe developed by Thomas Keller while serving as a consultant on the animated film "Ratatouille".

Yield
8 servings
Source

Thomas Keller developed the original recipe

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup diced peppers (red, orange, yellow, green if you like)
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
(Optional: 1 clove garlic)

2 small eggplants (the Japanese variety work well)
2 small zucchini
2 small yellow summer squash
(Ideally all of the above should be about the same diameter)

3-4 small peppers (red, yellow and orange, green pepper is optional)
2-4 firm tomatoes (Roma tomatoes are more likely to be about the same diameter as the other vegetables, if you want to come closer to Thomas Keller's version of the dish.)

2 teaspoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon thyme

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
Instructions

Wash the vegetables. Peeling is optional, my wife prefers the squash, zucchini and eggplant to be peeled, Slice the eggplant, zucchini and summer squash fairly thinly, core and slice the peppers into rings, dicing the tops and bottoms. Place the sliced vegetables on paper towels to drain. (You can sprinkle salt on them to sweat out more of the moisture, this will make the resulting dish less watery, but be sure to wipe them off afterwards or the dish may be overly salty.)

Slice the tomatoes thinly, let drain on paper towel.

Sautee the onions, diced peppers and garlic (if using) in the butter to make a piperade, add half of the tomato sauce when the onions are nearly transparent. Salt and pepper to taste, then cook for a few minutes longer.

Spread the piperade in a 9 x 12 glass baking dish. Layer the vegetables on top of the piperade. (Thomas Keller builds rows of alternating vegetables, I just put them in somewhat randomly.)

Sprinkle the parsley and thyme over the vegetables, then pour on the rest of the tomato sauce.

Cover with parchment and bake in a 375 degree oven for 50-60 minutes.

Makes an excellent side dish with chicken.

[Mike Nolan]

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

A recipe that dates back to the 1950's, with baking instructions that are unusual, unlike the instructions for any cake I've ever seen. We think the baking times may have had something to do with the age of the recipe and the kitchen it came from, and may not be necessary. It also dirties up a lot of bowls. But the cake is pretty good. (I suspect it was originally made with real sour cream, not the cultured stuff you get in the stores these days, one of these days I want to try it with creme fraiche.)

Yield 1 10x14 cake
Source

Maxine Dees & Catherine Hillegass/McDonald

Ingredients

3 eggs (room temperature, separated)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup water
Instructions

Put 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa and 1/2 cup water in a sauce pan over medium heat, stir to dissolve, then boil until it thickens, 4-5 minutes. Allow to cool.

Cream together 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/3 cup shortening, set aside. (This will still be a little grainy.) Set aside.

Measure out 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour, set aside.

Separate 3 room temperature eggs, beat egg yolks with 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Beat egg whites to firm peaks but not too stiff or dry. Set aside.

Mix 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup water and 1 scant teaspoon of baking soda in a large bowl.

Stir in egg yolks. (Note, the recipe doesn't actually say when to add in the egg yolks, so I did it before adding in the flour.)

Add flour and shortening/sugar to sour cream in 3 parts, alternating adding flour then shorting/sugar.

Stir in cooled chocolate mixture.

Fold in egg whites.

Bake in 10x14 pan that has been greased and floured. (Hint: I use superfine sugar instead of flour when flouring pans for cakes.)

Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes, 250 degrees for 10 minutes, 300 degrees for 10 minutes and 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cake should pass toothpick test and have pulled away from sides.

Allow to cool completely.

The original recipe card from my mother-in-law doesn't specify a frosting.

[Mike Nolan]

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Yield 2 loaves

Instructions

This recipe produces a bread with a nicely caramelized dark crust, with a lot of oven spring.

The dough also works well for making rolls, braided loaves, epis de ble, etc.

For a lighter version, start by soaking the whole wheat flour in 1 1/4 cup of water for an hour or two. Reduce the amount milk used by that same amount.

15 ounces (3.5 cups) bread flour (more as needed)
15 ounces (3.5 cups) whole wheat flour (more as needed)
2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten (optional)
1/4 cup cracked wheat (optional)
1/4 cup oil 2 ounces)
2 Tablespoons instant yeast
1/3 cup honey (4 ounces)
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups scalded milk (Note, if you want a denser loaf, don't scald the milk, just bring it up room temperature or heat it to about 80 degrees.)

Scald milk then allow to cool back to room temperature.

Mix ingredients, knead for 10 minutes. The dough should be slightly tacky; if it is sticky, add more flour, if it is too dry add a few drops of water, or it won't seal up cleanly when shaped, which is more of an aesthetic issue than a taste one.

Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow dough to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 2 hours.

Divide dough into two equal parts, shape, allow to rise another 60-90 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 28-30 minutes or until internal temperature is 200 degrees. The loaf should be fairly dark on the bottom.

As an interesting variant add some or all of these: add 1/4 cup of wheat germ, 1/4 cup of wheat bran and 1/4 cup of cracked wheat. (Soaking the cracked wheat in the milk for a while will soften it, but that's not necessary.)

Recently I've been making it in loaf pans, easier to slice for sandwiches.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by Mike Nolan.
• This topic was modified 7 years ago by Mike Nolan.
• This topic was modified 1 month, 4 weeks ago by Mike Nolan.

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[Mike Nolan]

Donna German's Austrian Malt Bread

Yield 1 loaf

Instructions

This recipe came from Donna German's "The Bread Machine Cookbook", and was my first big success with my bread machine back in 1995. My son said it was "White bread, but more like white bread" than what we could get in stores. It's great with fresh strawberry jam (see below), for years my wife wouldn't make a batch of jam unless I agreed to make a loaf of this bread too.

Carnation malted milk powder is available in most grocery stores, look for the section where they have ice cream toppings.

1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons malted milk powder
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

For a standard one-pound (9x5) loaf pan use:

1 1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups bread flour (17 ounces)
4 tablespoons malted milk powder
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeasr

If making this in a bread machine, use the 'light crust' setting if available. Otherwise, bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

For a variant, you can substitute 1/2 cup of whole wheat or rye flour. I've added wheat germ several times, I like the nutty taste it adds but it won't rise as high.

Recently I have been making this using 10 ounces of semolina and 10 ounces of AP or bread flour and about 1 1/3 cups of water. It makes a denser loaf, it almost looks like it was done in a Pullman pan.

Here's a slice of it with Cardinal Preserves on it:

• This topic was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.
• This topic was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.
• This topic was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.
• This topic was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.

[Mike Nolan]

Buttermilk Ganache

Buttermilk in a gananche? It shouldn't work, but it does!

Yield
1 batch

Ingredients

3 ounces (by weight) low fat buttermilk
7 ounces (by weight) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I use Merkens dark)
1/2 tablespoon butter, cut into 1/8" pieces and chilled
Instructions

Ganache is traditionally made with cream, but this works and has an interesting tang to it.

Heat the buttermilk until it just starts to boil, stirring occasionally, then add the chocolate and stir until fully melted.

Add the butter pieces and stir slowly.

Strain through a fine sieve and allow to cool. (The buttermilk will curdle a bit, this removes the lumps.)

This produces enough ganache to cover an 8 x 8 pan of brownies.

[Mike Nolan]

Gluten Free Pie Crust (oat/almond)

A gluten-free pie crust, goes well with cherry pie filling

Yield
1 pie crust

Ingredients

3/4 cup oat flour (oatmeal that has been ground up in food processor)
3/4 cup almond meal
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

If using oatmeal, grind it up into a flour in the food processor (we like it somewhat coarse.)

Add the other ingredients, pulse in the food processor for about 30 seconds. You should be able to squeeze a ball of it flat without it crumbling much.

Press into a pie plate. My wife does the bottom first, using a measuring cup to get it flat and even, then uses a spoon to fill the sides, working slowly so that the crust is evenly thick on both the bottom and the sides.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. If there are any bumps or bubbles, smooth them out with a spoon lightly as it cools.

Allow to cool completely before adding pie filling, then follow the instructions for your pie filling. A pie shield or a little aluminum foil around the edges may keep the crust from getting too brown along the top edge.

If there is some left over pie crust, you can sprinkle it on the top of the pie filling.

[Mike Nolan]

Black Bean Meatloaf

A change of pace from 'standard' meat loaf

Yield
8 servings

Ingredients

1 medium onion
2 tablespoons butter or oil
3 medium peppers (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange)

2 pounds ground beef (I use 85% lean)
1 can (15.25 ounces) black beans, drained
2/3 cup rolled oats
1 egg
1 cup salsa or 1 small can tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

optional:

4 ounces pepper jack cheese (or cheddar)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (optional)
2 tablespoons butter (for mushrooms)

For a milder variant, use one small can of tomato paste instead of the salsa and use cheddar cheese instead of pepper jack.

Instructions

Dice the onions and peppers, sautee in butter or oil until soft, allow to cool.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the meat, black beans, rolled oats, cooled onions and peppers, egg, 1/2 cup of salsa or all the tomato paste, salt and pepper.

Place mixture in a 9" loaf pan, bake at 350 degrees for 75-90 minutes or until internal temperature is at least 160 degrees. If using the second half-cup of salsa, spread it over the top of the meat loaf for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.

Remove from oven and top with cheese, allow meat loaf to cool and solidify for 15-20 minutes before trying to remove from pan or slice.

• This topic was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.

[Mike Nolan]

Hoagie Rolls

Yield: 5 rolls (each about 12 inches long)
Source: King Arthur Flour/Chicago Metallic

Ingredients

Sponge:

2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) flour
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough:

4 cups (17 ounces) flour
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons instant yeast
Instructions

This is based on the recipe that came with my Chicago Metallic Stuffed Sandwich Pan, from King Arthur Flour, which King Arthur Flour no longer sells.

I've modified the instructions somewhat. The original recipe called for KAF AP flour, but we prefer it with bread flour.

Mix the sponge and let sit for at least 12 hours (18-24 hours is even better.)

Divide sponge into three parts, add them and the water to the flour in three stages until you have a rough dough. Let sit for 20-30 minutes, then knead, adjusting flour/water until dough is very supple and just slightly sticky.

Let rise for an hour or until at least doubled.

Divide into pieces (the pan makes five rolls about a foot long), shape each into a boule and let rest for at least 15 minutes, then form into baguettes and place in pan. Let rise for an hour.

Spray loaves with water and place into 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Loaves will soften as they cool.

For crisper crust, start at 500 degrees, dropping temperature to 450 after 5 minutes.

[Mike Nolan]

Chocolate Mushroom Cookies

These are a very tasty cookie and store very well.

Yield
20 dozen (If rolled out very thin)

Source: The original recipe and shaping instructions came from a magazine years ago.

Ingredients

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 1/2 cups sifted AP flour (sift before measuring)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 drops red food coloring

Instructions

Melt chocolate and set aside.

Sift dry ingredients together.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and food coloring. Add melted chocolate.

Mix in sifted dry ingredients a third at a time.

Chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease cookie sheets.

On a lightly floured cloth, roll dough out to 1/8" thick, cut into 1 1/2" rounds, then using the same cutter, cut the circle into two parts. The smaller crescent moon shaped part is the mushroom cap, use the oval shaped part to form a stem. Overlap the two parts a little and press together to seal.

Bake for 8 minutes. Cool completely on a rack before frosting.

These can be stored for several weeks in a tightly sealed container before frosting them.

• This topic was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.
• This topic was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.

[Mike Nolan]

Football Chili

Chili purists will probably say "This isn't chili!!" It is a very mild chili recipe (no garlic or chili powder) one my wife's stepmother always made before Husker football games and for dinner on Christmas Eve (along with oyster stew.)

Yield
10 Quarts

Ingredients

2 large onions
oil or butter
1 large jug V-8
#10 can of diced tomatoes
8 cans of kidney or pinto beans
2 to 2 1/2 pounds of ground beef
Instructions

Dice the onions, add oil and cook in a 12 quart pot until transparent. (If some of the onions turn brown, that's OK, it adds to the flavor.)

Add V-8, beans and tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for at least 2 hours, longer is better.

Brown ground beef, drain and add to the chili. Let cook at least another half hour.

Best made the day before, and refrigerated overnight, then reheated.

Source: Mary Hillegass

• This topic was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.

[BakerAunt]

Frico Caldo

This recipe appeared in the Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine (April 2012), in which the chef, Lachlan McKinnon-Patterson, executive chef at Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder Colorado, describes it thus: "In Friuli, the northeasternmost region of Italy, restaurants and bars typically put out little bowls of crackers called frico picante, made with Montasio, a local cow's milk cheese. You'll also find frico caldo, which is similar but heartier, with potatoes and onions. It is usually eaten with salad, so as a nod to the region, we drizzle ours with a thick vinaigrette made with sherry vinegar, shallots, and cilantro. This dish has been a signature at the restaurant since shortly after it opened. Our menu changes with the seasons, but it will always be there."

1 large Yukon Gold potato
1/2 large onion, minced
1 Tbs. butter
4 ounces grated Montasio cheese
salt
fresh nutmeg
grapeseed oil

1. Poach the potato in a pot of salted water until tender, about 45 minutes, then peel and crush it. In a saute pan, cook the onion in butter over moderate heat until translucent. Combine the potato, onion, and cheese, then add salt and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.
2. Heat a 5-inch square cast-iron pan on high heat. Coat the bottom with grapeseed oil, then add half of the potato mixture. Cook until golden brown, about five minutes. Flip and cook again. Repeat with the rest of mixture.
3. Cut into wedges and drizzle with cilantro vinaigrette (2 Tbs. chopped cilantro, 2 Tbs. grapeseed oil, and 2 tsp. minced shallots--mixed together, then add sherry vinegar and salt to taste.

Notes: I tried it with a russet potato and cheddar cheese. I did not use the nutmeg or make the vinaigrette. Four minutes was long enough. I suggest going ahead and shaping it into a square before putting it in the pan. I plan to play with this recipe, but I am posting it, since there was interest, so that others can play as well.

[Mike Nolan]

I wasn't sure if that link would work, good to know what works and what doesn't. I was half-way expecting that WSJ story to morph into the Brexit issue when they brought up Tate & Lyle.

Taxing to discourage consumption has a mixed track record. Some folks think it worked well for smoking, but some states have become dependent on those taxes and are seeing declines in tobacco taxes affecting their state budgets.

The soda tax hasn't appeared to work as well where it's been used, and it's unlikely that they'll be able to raise the taxes to the point where demand becomes truly elastic--restaurants make huge profits on soft drinks, too.

The shopping center nearest us just got a 1% increase on sales tax (on everything except food, I think) so they can help pay for Scheels to build a huge new store, complete with a Ferris Wheel inside and put up a parking garage where the current Scheels (not small) is. :sigh:

Best line I read all weekend: How can you tell macroeconomists have a sense of humor? They use decimal points.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Mike Nolan.

[dachshundlady]

I'm not sure if I am responding to the garlic article but I found it fascinating and will try your marinara sauce Mike. My father in law was Sicilian (both his parents grew up near Palermo, my husband's last name) and he was not a fan of garlic. I'll have to ask my husband if his dad or grandfather used garlic in the sauce.
And thank you for the info on the allergy. I assumed it brought on hives but having your gut stop is not a good thing!

[Nina Beyt]

Our herbs winter over so no need to replant, except the sage, which is really hurting for some reason, and basil. Maybe because it's been there for up to 15-20 years? So there are tomatoes, leeks, shallots, okra (failed every year so he's trying again), peppers, I may try a new thing or two. Several years ago I grew specialty pumpkins, mainly white/Australian, stunning in October. I might try to track down some sorrel. I was given two multiple herb pot plants so there's a tumult of several kinds of thyme, plus oregano and lavender. We just went shopping to replace our lawn and a shade tree. What a surprise is the Pakistani mulberry. They are at least two inches long and sweet even when having little color, looking disconcertingly like a caterpillar. They have a core, though, and while they would make a good jam or for snacking, I don't think I want a mulberry tree.