jim brentar dinner report 21 october 2013 This is the anniversary edition. No, I haven’t been writing dinner reports for a year or anything. Seven years ago, got married to my wonderful wife, Mary Kay! So, after presenting her with an all-expense-paid trip to Nashville, we went to the gym! How romantic can you get! But then I cooked her a special anniversary dinner, which we ate together while watching Food Network! Ain’t we romantic! I asked her what she wanted (before we even got back from the gym). Hot Dogs? Hamburgers? Roast chicken? Or maybe something creative with the ground chicken I bought yesterday? She chose something creative. Goody! Mad scientist at work again! Ha-ha-ha-ha... You see, I’ve never actually used ground chicken before. Ground turkey, yes. Ground chicken, no. But the principle is the same. If it’s a ground meat, no matter what kind of meat, you can use it in the same kinds of recipes you’d use ground beef in. You just have adjust for the amount of fat vs. lean in the meat that you choose. WARNING! DIGRESSION: my wife and I like to watch Food Network. Yesterday, there was a new show called “Guy’s Grocery Games.” Chefs must shop for ingredients in a common everyday grocery store and work within a budget (like the rest of us have no truffles or caviar or trumpeter mushrooms here). It’d be even better if they’d pit the chefs up against a home cook who has to cook that way every day. Anyway, once of their tasks was to make spaghetti and meatballs, without ground beef. AND EACH OF THE SO-CALLED CHEFS WERE THROWN BY THIS AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT!!!! What kind of chefs are you? No beef? No problem! You can make meatballs using pork, or veal, or, turkey, or chicken, or lamb, or... ANY GROUND MEAT! Meanwhile, back at dinner preparation... I decided to make chicken meatballs. I guess I wanted to show all those chefs a thing or two! your basic meatball recipe: ground meat cheese bread crumbs milk eggs herbs and spices (and maybe other flavorings) the exact amounts depend on which meat, how fatty or lean, and how moist. But if you make meatballs or meatloaf often enough, you can start to eyeball the amounts very accurately. Mix em all together thoroughly. Form balls. Either fry them or bake them. Or even boil them in a broth or sauce! Or brown them in a skillet and finish them in the oven. Just be sure to check the internal temperature. Pork needs a slightly higher temperature than beef. And chicken and turkey need even higher temp than that. And, I shouldn’t even have to say that the smaller you make them, the quicker they cook, and the larger you make them, the slower they cook. But you knew that. I chose ground chicken, a mixture of gruyere and parmesan cheeses, dried sage, salt, pepper, garlic powder, garlic salt, celery salt, mustard, cayenne, and turmeric. Into the oven at 350 for at least an hour (I made my meatballs slightly big). But even before I started on the meatballs... what was I having them with? Just meatballs and nothing else is not a full meal, let alone a special anniversary meal. My first thought was pasta. But that wouldn’t be very creative. Besides, I would have wanted to make the pasta from scratch (which I’ve never done before); so reality smacked me upside the head and said think of something else. Okay. How about in a broth or stew? Yeah, a vegetable stew (made with chicken broth, not vegetarian). You want stew? You want it in a hurry; but you still want to make it from scratch? Have vegetable stew! Cook meat separately if you must, but have vegetable stew! When you stew or braise meats, you generally need to cook them low and slow (i.e., a long time). Vegetables? Get some broth or stock—you can find all-natural and/or low-sodium brands at almost any store for about the same price as the big names; or you can make a lot of stock yourself and freeze it till you need it. Add to the stock whatever vegetables you want. (I chose potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, bell pepper, celery, cabbage, and brussels sprouts.) (Yes, I was cleaning out the produce drawer.) Remember that some vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, fresh green beans) take longer to cook than others (bell pepper, broccoli, asparagus, spinach). Remember that tomatoes need a little added sweetness (I added some brown sugar). Also, if you’re in a hurry, a can of already stewed tomatoes will get you there faster. Finally, Mary Kay would yell at me if I failed to mention that cooking potatoes with tomatoes (or anything acidic) will keep them firm (or at least firmer) even when very well cooked. Anyway, get it boiling. Let it simmer while you make the meatballs. Don’t add the quick-cooking vegetables until toward the end. Need to add more liquid? Go ahead! Even water is okay. Add herbs and spices? Yes! Herbs add more flavor when added at the end. You want to thicken it with a little roux or corn starch (or arrowroot)? Fine. But also, consider this... Let’s go back to Jim’s meal planning guide. Some sort of protein, a green/yellow/orange/red vegetable side, and some sort of starchy side. What’s my starchy side? There are potatoes in there, but not really enough to satisfy the starch component. Pasta? Rice? Bread? Quinoa? Couscous? DUMPLINGS!!!! Yes!!! With the meatballs in the oven and the stew simmering, I had plenty of time. You don’t cook the dumplings until the end, anyway. Perfect! And even when done to perfection, some of the dough will dissolve into the broth and thicken it a little. This recipe comes from the Encyclopedia of Cooking, (c) 1948, 1951, Wm. H. Wise & C., Inc. Drop Dumplings For Stew 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 2 tsp minced parsley (I used fresh parsley) 1 tsp grated onion (and they mean fresh, and grated, not minced). ½ cup milk (about) The “(about)” is their comment, not mine. You sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Just before you’re ready to cook them (about 15 minutes or so before you plan to serve dinner), you mix the parsley and onion into the flour mix. Then you add the milk slowly and work it in as you add it. You want to moisten the mix just barely enough to make a soft dough out of it. You probably won’t need the whole half-cup of milk, and you don’t want to add too much (think texture). As soon as it’s moistened (no need to knead it or mix it further), stop and drop it—that is to say, drop it by spoonfuls into the boiling stew. IMPORTANT: The stew must be boiling. IMPORTANT: But it must be a gentle boil. IMPORTANT: As soon as you drop the dough in, cover the pan and set the timer for 15 minutes. No peeking! The steam is important! They came out wonderfully! Fabulously! Perfect? Maybe not. But special! And Mary Kay thoroughly enjoyed dinner (except she said I overcooked the brussels sprouts)! Great meatballs! Great stew! Great dumplings! Happy Anniversary dear!
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 04:21:14 +0000
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