Cheater Latin Chicken and Rice

This is cheating so bad. But for a weeknight, it works good enough.

Shortcut Brazilian Chicken and Rice

1.5 lbs Chicken Thighs, 1/2inch slices (Don't use much salt)
1 Medium chile pepper, minced. (medium = jalapeno, serrano, thai, etc)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Orange Rind, Minced
1 cup water
Juice of 1 Orange
1 Box (Goya) Yellow Rice+Mix
1/2 a jar pimento olives, halved
Pepper
1 cup Peas, defrosted
1 large handful Cilantro, Chopped

In a big skillet, brown the chicken in olive oil. Add garlic, chile, and rind when chicken is close to done browning.
Add water and orange juice to deglaze, bring to a boil.
Add rice, seasoning, and olives and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes (or until done.)
Add peas and cilantro, and stir to mix and warm the peas.

Weirdo Mashed Potatoes

I was assigned the job of making mashed potatoes for our Erev Yom Kippur dinner the other night. But what did I see but a random mix of fancypants organic malnourished little yukon, red, and Peruvian purple potatoes! But in the end, this worked quite well.

Technicolor Mashed Potatoes
Served 6

Mixed little potatoes, mostly Peruvian purples. Enough to fill a 3-Quart saucepan.
4T Butter
~1.25c Milk/Cream
Lotsa Salt, Pepper
8 or so gigantic chives, about 1/2 cup chopped

Scrub and cut up the potatoes. Boil them (skin on).
Make mashed potatoes!
Eat them! Amazingly enough, they won't look like purple nastyness.

Somewhat Fusioned Risotto

Risotto with Edamame and Mushrooms

1oz Dried Mushrooms
2 cups hot water

3 cups chicken stock
2 shallots, fine chop
1 clove garlic, minced
2T butter + 2T Olive oil
Zest of 1/2 Lemon
1.5 cups Arborio Rice
1 cup white wine

~4oz Arugula, chopped. (Whole if baby arugula)
1 package Edamame, cooked
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt, Pepper
Parsley
Parmesan

Bring mushrooms and water to a boil, and steep off the heat for 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and roughly chop. Pour the liquid into a pot with the stock, and keep hot.
Make risotto with next ingredients, until it needs maybe 1 more ladle of liquid.
Add edamame and mushrooms, and mix.
After a few minutes, add arugula and stir until it wilts. Finish with parsley and parmesan.

Pasta with Salami?

My Zaydee would approve.

Baked Rigatoni with Salami

Serves 4+ (one 9x13 casserole's worth)

2/3 a Salami, thin sliced, divided
1 red onion, halved and sliced
2 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Chile Flakes
4 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
1 can Petite Diced Tomato, drained
3 Tbs Creme Fraiche or light Sour Cream
1 bunch Basil
1 Tbs chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper
1 Ball Smoked Mozzarella, thin sliced
1 lbs Rigatoni or Ziti or etc

Preheat the oven to 375, spray-grease a 9/13" baking pan.
Make the pasta
In a large skillet, fry 1/2 of the sliced salami in Olive oil (it'll curl up; tis ok) until crisp.Add the onion, garlic, chile, and fennel seeds. Season.
Once veg are soft, add the vinegar, tomatoes, sour cream, and basil. Simmer a few minutes and season.
Mix the sauce with the cooked rigatoni, and pour into the baking pan. Top with reserved salami and the mozzarella.
Bake 25 minutes or until golden. Top with parsley.

Matzo Brei

How I make Fried Matzo

Matzo Brei (Fried Matrzo)

3 eggs
3T milk/cream/etc
5 sheets matzo (Streit's Lightly Salted is the best IMO)
Heavy on the salt
Super heavy on the fresh-cracked pepper.
1 Tbs Butter

1. Beat together eggs, milk, and little salt/pepper
2. Run each sheet of matzo under hot water for a split second. Then break, fold over, break, fold over until you get bite-sized pieces (3/4inch?) Mix with the eggs.
3. Heat the butter in a big pan. Mix the matzo and eggs well, and add to the pan. Add a little more salt/pepper.
4. Cook until it's all done. I like mine firm.
5. Move to a plate, and top with whatever you want. I like salt and a dumptruck of fresh cracked black pepper. Other people like applesauce, maple syrup, cinnamon-sugar, etc.

Spanish Clam Soup

A nice fall seasonal soup. For some reason I felt the need to cook clams, so:

Littleneck Clam Soup with Beans, Kale, and Saffron

TOTAL TIME: 30 MIN
SERVES: 4

3 dozen littleneck clams—scrubbed
1 cup white wine
Pinch Thyme
Water
Large pinch of saffron threads
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup ham, small dice
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fine dry bread crumbs
Two 15-ounce cans cannelini beans with their liquid
1 small bunch kale, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground pepper
A handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Note: Don't add salt anywhere except maybe a little with the onions - the ham and clams should be plenty salty.

In a large pot, steam clams until they are done with white wine, water, and a pinch of thyme. Shuck clams and reserve. Separately reserve the cooking liquid.
Bloom saffron in a few Tablespoons of the warm clam liqueur.

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the ham and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the bread crumbs, then add the beans and their liquid along with the thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Add saffron mix and clam liquid to the beans and season with pepper. Add kale and simmer for 15 minutes.

Increase the heat to high, add the clams and their reserved liquor and cook for a minute. Discard the bay leaf.

Sprinkle the soup with the parsley and serve with bread for dipping.

I almost lost my Latke Recipe

I found it - let the countdown to the 3rd annual latke fry begin.

Sweet Potato and Scallion Latkes
Remember to make the mix/batter by eye - that much flour and egg can be stretched.

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper
water

Stir together scallions, flour, eggs, salt, and pepper, add water to get what amounts to a batter, if necessary. Add potatoes.
If the batter is batter-y enough, then these can be griddled in little fat.
Scoop out latkes and fry until GB/D.

Salsa for Tomato Haters

I don't like tomatoes! Raw, big pieces, etc. Tomato based salsas never get better than "good" for me.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa (or Salad)

1 can Corn
1 can Kuner's Black Beans with Jalpeno/Lime (important, no plain beans allowed)
1 Red Pepper, small dice
1/2 red onion, thing half-moons
1 Jalapeno, minced
1 handful cilantro, chooped
2t Cumin
Salt/Pepper
Juice of a Lime
Olive Oil (Until it feels right - maybe 2-3 tablespoons.)

Mix everything. Let sit and chill for a while before eating. Make sure you season.

Yakisoba Noodles

Good healthy simple noodles.

Yakisoba Noodles with Chicken
Servers 4

12oz Soba, Cooked
3 chicken breast halves, bite-sized cubes
1/2 Cup Soy sauce, divided
2T Chili Sauce
1t Sesame Oil
1T Regular Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1cm cube ginger, minced
1 Head Boy Choy, chopped
1 smaller red onion, halved and sliced
1 chile pepper, minced
2 Scallions, thin sliced

1. Cook the soba noodles
2. While that happens, stir-fry chile sauce in the oils for 30 seconds
3. Add garlic/ginger and stir-fry another 30 seconds
4. Add chicken and 1/4c Soy sauce, and cook the chicken until it's done. Set aside the whole contents of the wok.
5. Saute vegatables until they start to wilt. Add everything back into the pan, including the Soba.
6. Mix, top with Scallions, and eat.

Risotto Verde

Risotto Verde - Green Risotto. Good for summer.

Risotto Verde
Serves 4

Ingredients
6 cups spinach leaves firmly packed with stems removed
3 cups arugula leaves firmly packed
1 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peas
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash the spinach and arugula leaves separately to remove all the grit and sand.

2. Heat a 10- to 12-inch skillet and add the washed spinach leaves. Sauté for several minutes, stirring, until wilted, then chop.

3. Drain the arugula leaves and roughly chop. Wash and drain the parsley leaves and roughly chop.

4. Place the stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a high simmer. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface.

5. In the risotto pan, melt the olive oil and butter. Add the shallots and garlic and stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Add the rice and continue stirring for another minute or until the rice is translucent. Add the white wine and cook over medium heat until all the liquid has been absorbed. Continue to make the risotto via the standard method, until it is done.

6. Stir in the chopped spinach, chopped arugula, chopped parsley, and peas. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until arugula is wilted. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano. Season and serve immediately, passing the remaining Parmigiano separately.

Add a light protein on top like seared scallops if you wish...