Delicious Healthy Soup

We had a quarter bag of snap peas, a full bag of the small French green beans and a box of spinach in the freezer, along with some really fine homemade chicken stock. So I came up with this soup recipe, and it turned out really well. I'm sure the main ingredients can be fooled with, depending on what's available in the fridge, freezer and pantry. A nice garnish is thinly sliced lemon from the backyard crop; perhaps a small swirl of thinned sour cream or Mexican crema; or a snipping of fresh chive and/or dill. I'm going to add this one to my keeper list. Also, this is probably equally good served cold on a hot day to start an outdoor lunch or casual dinner.

PLUS
PLUS
EQUALS

PUREE OF SNAP PEA, GREEN BEAN & SPINACH SOUP

SAUTÉ 1 CHOPPED ONION AND 2 SLICED GARLIC CLOVES IN OLIVE OIL. SEASON WITH SALT AND PEPPER.

ADD TO THE ABOVE 1 10-OZ. THAWED, SQUEEZED-DRY PACK OF FROZEN SPINACH.

ADD TO THE ABOVE ABOUT 2 CUPS, APPROX., WHOLE SNAP PEAS.

ADD TO THE ABOVE ABOUT 3 CUPS SMALL GREEN BEANS.

ADD TO THE ABOVE 1 SMALL PEELED POTATO OR A COUPLE PEELED FINGERLINGS.

ADD TO THE ABOVE 2 CUPS WATER AND ABOUT 3 OR SO CUPS CHICKEN STOCK OR BROTH, ½ TEASPOON DILL WEED, ½ TEASPOON DRY TARRAGON.

SEASON AGAIN WITH SALT AND PEPPER. BRING TO A BOIL, RETURN TO A SIMMER. SIMMER 15 MINUTES.

PUREÉ IN BATCHES IN BLENDER. STRAIN IF DESIRED. CORRECT SEASONING WITH SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE.

Some of Our Favorite Palm Springs Images

Much Colder Weather, and Some Grammar

Our desert weather has turned decidedly wintery, seasonal; and I just won't have it. Today our high was only 65, and I know that makes me sound like a weenie, but for us that's really cool.

Extended Forecast 7-day Forecast
Friday 54°F | 34°F
Saturday 54°F | 32°F
Sunday 58°F | 36°F
Monday 62°F | 39°F
Tuesday 65°F | 41°F
Wednesday 67°F | 43°F

I don't really care how cold it gets as long as it doesn't snow at the Grapevine on I-5 Sunday on our way up to San Francisco.

May I point out a mistake that I'm seeing almost every day on many, many blogs? I do this as an ex-court reporter, and it's a major pet peeve. Okay. Here goes. Don't hate me, please.

The misuse of the words "to" and "too" is rampant, so I want to put out a few definitions from Dictionary.com to perhaps clarify.

"To" is a preposition, and definitions and examples of its use are at this site.

"Too" is an adverb, and definitions and examples of its use are at this site.

Okay, I'll shut up about it now and will try never to mention it again.

Any suggestions for cheap eats while in San Francisco? Only get up there once a year and haven't really kept up with the restaurant scene.

An Interesting Take on the Food Network

Take a look at what Rosie at Bitchin' in the Kitchen with Rosie has to say about the Food Network. Very interesting, and I think many of us are coming around to the very same conclusions.

An Intersting Take on the Food Network

Take a look at what Rosie at Bitchin in the Kitchen with Rosie has to say about the Food Network. Very interesting, and I think many of us are coming around to the very same conclusions.

Fantastic Podcast Find!

The Daily Purge is a new podcast I came across this morning, and it's just too good not to pass along to everyone else. No iPod necessary; it can be streamed live on your computer. Check it out. Some great storytelling and music. And I love the hilarious lyrics to the intro music. I think most of the music is original by J. Michael and Rob.

Also, things are changing for the better when I see an IKEA commercial like this one. Check it out.


We're off to San Francisco next week for four nights. Hope the weather doesn't suck, as it can often be in January.

Cool Slide Show Program

I found a link to Slide from Adam's The Amateur Gourmet site and gave it a try. It's easy to set up an account and figure out how to make a slide show.


Here are some of the female artists on my new iPod that Eddie got me for my birthday.

Aside from holding a mind-boggling number of music tracks and photos, I can store hundreds of podcasts and listen to them anytime, anywhere. Right now, I'm listening to a lot of the Feast of Fools podcast, which comes out of Chicago. Not for the prudish, but at times it's outrageous and other times it's very informative and deep. The Ru Paul phone call from a recent episode was unbelievable.

Also of interest to all foodies should be the podcast of KCRW's Good Food hosted by the talented chef and restrauteur Evan Kleiman. I especially enjoy the weekly report from the Santa Monica farmers' market which always focuses on what's seasonal and in the markets right now. Also, recently made available for podcast is The Splendid Table hosted by Lynne Rosetto Casper.

Even if you don't download the programs for an iPod, take some time to listen to them online, either streaming or live. They're well worth it; I promise.

Potato Latkes & Applesauce

Well, it's that time of year again when I give into making latkes, in spite of the incredible mess frying them creates. After years of trying different methods, a few years back I came across a recipe in Sunset magazine, and it turned out to be the best I've found. It's a breeze to get together; grating the potatoes and onions and transferring both for 30 minutes to an ice-cold water bath, which tames the onions and extracts some of the potato starch. After draining, the mixture is squeezed dry in batches in a clean tea towel. Eggs, salt and potato starch are added, at which time it's ready to fry up in 1/3 cup portions. That's the messy and smelly part, and why I only like to do it once a year. When they're nice and browned and lacy looking, they're removed to paper towels to drain a while. They're absolutely delicious and addictive when served with Elise's adapted applesauce, a drizzle of Mexican crema or sour cream and chopped chives or thinly sliced scallion greens.

Here are the adapted recipes from Sunset and Simply Recipes.

Potato Pancakes

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes to soak potatoes
MAKES: 4 to 6 servings

1 onion (8 oz.), peeled and halved, or 1/4 cup sliced green onions
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
3 tablespoons potato starch or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
About 2 cups vegetable oil

1. Using a hand grater or food processor, shred potatoes, working over a large bowl of cold water or frequently transferring shredded potatoes to water. Shred onion and add to bowl (if using green onion, reserve). Let stand for 30 minutes.

2. Drain potato mixture; wipe bowl clean. Follow steps 1 and 2 at right to dry potatoes; return them to bowl.

3. Add eggs, potato starch, salt, and pepper (and green onions, if using) to bowl and mix well.

4. Pour 1/2 inch oil into a 10- to 12-inch frying pan (with sides at least 2 in. tall) over medium-high heat. When surface of oil ripples slightly, shape potato mixture into cakes, following step 3 at right. Gently slide each from spatula into hot oil, 3 to 4 pancakes per batch (do not crowd pan). Cook until edges of pancakes are crisp and well browned and undersides are golden brown (lift with spatula to check), about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until remaining sides are golden brown, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to paper towels to drain briefly, then keep warm in a 200° oven while you cook remaining pancakes. Serve hot.

Applesauce
(adapted from Simply Recipes)

4 medium Fuji apples, peeled, cored, chopped
2 pears, peeled, cored, chopped
juice of lemon
lemon peel strips
½ t or so of cinnamon
¼ t or so of nutmeg
¼ cup each white and brown sugar
1 cup water
good pinch salt
good splash of Calvdos

Combine all the ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated, stirring occasionally. I used an immersion blender and gave it a quick zap, but left it a bit chunky.

Yummy!

Cashew Caramel Cracker Bars: Cookie or Candy?

Have you ever seen a recipe and you just had to try it because it sounded too good to pass up, and also because you're just too curious to see how it turns out? Well, this is one of those recipes. I saw it on Leite's Culinaria some time ago and tucked it away for future use. This seemed like a perfect cookie for the holidays, so I grabbed a box of saltines from the store, and everything else was already in the pantry. If you make these, be really careful when cooking the butter and brown sugar and then adding the condensed milk. It's, like, volcano hot, especially when it comes out of the oven. When it's all put together, it says to place it in the freezer for 30 minutes, but the pan is just too hot. It will defrost everything nearby. So I chilled it in the garage fridge for a while first, and then put it in the freezer. The foil came right off as directed, and cutting them along the crackers' edges was easy after letting them sit for 5 minutes or so. Yum Yum Yum!!! I'm not sure I want to share these with friends; they're just too good. I have a request from Eddie to try a batch using white chocolate, so we'll see how that goes.

Cashew Caramel Cracker Bars

1 1/4 cups butter, melted, divided
35 Nabisco Premium Saltine crackers
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
One 14 ounces can sweetened condensed milk
One 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup toasted unsalted cashews, chopped medium coarse


1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). To make the cookies easy to remove, line a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan with a sheet of foil, shiny side up, leaving a few inches hanging over the longer edges. Drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter onto the foil-lined pan, and brush to cover the bottom of the pan. Line the pan with the crackers (don't worry if there are small gaps).

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining 1 cup butter and the brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, until the mixture forms a thick syrup (248°F/120°C) on a candy thermometer). Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the condensed milk until blended. Pour the mixture over the crackers, making sure all the crackers are covered.

3. Bake for 10 minutes. The top will be bubbly and brown. Remove from the oven, scatter the chocolate chips over the topping, and allow them to melt for 5 minutes. Using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula, spread the chocolate over the surface and sprinkle with the nuts. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press the nuts into the chocolate. Freeze until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes. (as made: pan is too hot to put into the freezer right away, so I put it in the garage fridge for 30 minutes, then into the freezer)

4. Remove from the freezer and invert the pan onto a clean surface (don't worry if you lose some nuts from the surface; they'll be great for topping an ice cream sundae or for adding to cookie dough). Carefully peel back the foil to reveal the soda-cracker underside of the cookies. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookies along the cracker outlines. This is easier to do when the cookies have begun to thaw slightly. Invert and cut the squares into quarters for bite-size pieces or thirds for finger-size pieces.

Recipe © 2005 by Sara Perry. All rights reserved.
© 1999–2006 Leite's Culinaria, Inc

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup

Okay, I admit this was ridiculously easy. But everyone at dinner wanted the recipe, so I consider this a huge keeper and will make it again and again. This was ready, from start to finish, in about 30 minutes. No vegetable chopping, no pureeing.
It even uses canned pureed pumpkin, which I almost always have on hand. The blend of chile powders gives the soup a nice earthiness with a bit of heat too. I had a jar of Mexican crema in the fridge; so before added the grated Cheddar cheese as called form the the recipe, I drizzled over the soup a healthy spoonful of the crema. I'm not too big on cilantro, so instead of chopped, I just garnished with a couple of leaves which gave just a slight hint of the herb without overwhelming the soup's flavors.

I got this one from a three-and-a-half-fork-rated Epicurious recipe, but here's the recipe with my changes noted. Try to make it a day ahead because the ingredients taste to "raw" until they've had a chance to get to know each other a while.

The recipe yields 4 servings, but I doubled it for 8 and it was just fine.

SOUTHWESTERN PUMPKIN SOUP
3 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream (used ½ & ½ )
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mixture)
3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (or chipotle chili powder) (used ½ New Mexico powder and
½ chipotle)
1/2teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
(Mexican crema or sour cream, optional)
3/4 cup (packed) grated (white) sharp cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro (garnished with leaves only)

Bring chicken stock and whipping cream to boil in heavy medium pot. Whisk in canned pumpkin, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, coriander and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until soup thickens slightly and flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Soup can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally.) Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with optional crema. Garnish each serving with cheddar cheese and cilantro and serve.

Makes 4 (first-course) servings.
Bon Appétit
October 2000
R.S.V.P.
The Watermark. Cleveland, OH

A Keeper of a Beef Stew Recipe & Rosemary Popovers

Saw a segment the other morning on the CBS Early Show on easy holiday entertaining, and a couple of the recipes were for beef stew in the electric pressure cooker and rosemary popovers. Torie Richie is one of my favorite TV chefs; a real no-fuss kind of cook, easy recipes that don't require a degree, although she and I did go to the same culinary academy in San Francisco, although in different classes.

Here are her recipes, with my changes noted. This was extremely easy with a high flavor payback for the effort. The popovers also were easy; no resting period as called for in most recipes. Just mix it up, fill the buttered popover cups and bake, starting from a cold oven. Very much worth the little effort.



(CBS) 20-MINUTE BEEF STEW

3 lb. boneless stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes (started w/ chuck roast, trimmed it and cut into large chunks.)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. olive oil **
1 1/2 cups red wine (used leftover two-buck Chuck)
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb. new potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1 1/2 cups beef stock
3 fresh thyme sprigs
bay leaves
pinch red pepper flakes

**browned diced slab of pancetta in a bit of xvoo. Removed dice and proceeded with recipe.

In a large bowl, toss the beef with the flour, salt and pepper to coat evenly. Set an electric pressure cooker to "brown" according to the manufacturer's instructions and warm the olive oil. Add half the beef and brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef and transfer to the bowl.

Add the beef, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes, tomato paste, stock and thyme and stir to combine. Add the wine to the pressure cooker and bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up the browned bits. (*** see notes below for change in procedure)

Cover and cook on "high" for 30 minutes according to the manufacturer's instructions. Release the pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the liquid is too thin, transfer the beef and vegetables to a serving bowl, set the pressure cooker to "brown" and cook until the liquid is reduced to the desired consistency. Pour the liquid over the beef and vegetables and serve immediately.
(thickened with a butter - Wondra mixture, aka beurre manie, and added it in bits to the hot liquid and simmered until thickened the way I wanted)

*** Added veggies back to pot. Spread with tomato paste and cooked a minute. Sprinkled w/ leftover seasoned flour and cooked another minute. Then added the wine and BTAB, and proceeded with recipe.

Serves 6. Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

ROSEMARY POPOVERS

2 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs. very finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 Tbs. very finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Butter a popover pan or the wells of a 12-well muffin pan. In a bowl, lightly whisk together the eggs and salt. Stir in the milk and butter. In another bowl, stir together the flour, rosemary and parsley. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, whisking until just blended. Do not overbeat. Fill each cup about half full and place the pan in a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 425ºF and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375ºF and bake until the popovers are golden, 10 to 15 minutes more. They should be crisp on the outside. Quickly pierce each popover with the tip of a small knife to release the steam. Return to the oven for 2 minutes for further crisping, then remove and serve immediately.

Makes 12 popovers. (actually, as made this only made 6 standard-size popovers)

New Favorite Brownie Recipe

Yesterday I downloaded a brownie recipe from a link on a Food & Wine newsletter. It sounded so good, I decided to make them right away. Wow! Were they ever good! The brownie was on the dense side, and the glaze was not too thick, nice and glossy, and not too sweet, having been made with bittersweet chocolate. This is a total winner and will be made many times in the future. The only thing I'd do different from the as-written recipe is to melt the chocolate-butter mixture in the beginning and the glaze ingredients over a double boiler, just to ensure that it doesn't burn over direct heat. Other than that, this is a straight forward brownie mixture, very little rise in the dough as there is no leavener such as baking powder or baking soda. After cooling in the pan, the warm glaze is poured over top, allowed to sit at room temperature for half an hour and then chilled another half an hour. We were watching the clock so we could have one right away. We were not disappointed: not too sweet, a nice dense texture and perfect with a cold glass of milk. These would probably not be pleasing if you're of the cakey brownie school, but otherwise totally yummy. They can sit, covered, at room temperature for up to a week, but come on, do you think they'll last that long? I don't think so.

Here's the recipe, adapted from Food & Wine May 2005.

MEL'S GLAZED BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

BROWNIES:
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

GLAZE:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Make the brownies: Preheat the oven to 350° and butter an 8-inch square baking pan. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and unsweetened chocolate and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a whisk, beat in the sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Add the flour and cocoa and whisk until smooth.
2. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Transfer the brownies to a wire rack and let cool completely.
3. Make the glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the bittersweet chocolate, butter, corn syrup and salt and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, just until the chocolate is melted. Pour the warm glaze over the brownies and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, until set. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and carefully transfer the entire brownie to a cutting board. Cut the brownie into 16 squares and serve.
MAKE AHEAD The brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

The Cove of Palm Springs

Today we stopped in at The Cove at Palm Springs to take a look at the eight models.



Here's a video link to The Cove at Palm Springs .

Both Eddie and I were totally blown away by the thoughtful design of these homes. Definitely made for adults without kids. There really are no bad views from any of the models either. These are courtyard homes, meaning there is almost no yard to take care of, and there are interior private courtyards where most all outdoor entertaining takes place. Most plans have room for a small private pool and/or spa.



Evidently, the original plan for the development was to have a golf course, but interested parties did not like the hefty HOA to keep it up, so that was scrapped, which left all of the golf course land as open public areas, never to be developed. Again, the views from the homes are awesome!

OK Go on Treadmills video

Costco: What's Up With That!!??

So there's this new recall on Salinas Valley lettuce, specifically Foxy brand lettuce. And what do we see this morning in the produce room at Costco? You got it, cases and cases of Foxy brand iceberg lettuce. Enough said.



Picked up a pack of portabellas and roasted them using this method from a recent Sunset issue. This works great, and I'm not a big portabella fan, but I love them this way. I've made them once before and both times laid them on top of some peeled garlic cloves which helped infuse them nicely. We skipped the parsley salad and had the mushrooms sliced thinly on slices of buttered La Brea Bakery Rustique bread, the only thing needed being salt and pepper. Here's the recipe as written:


Slow-Roasted Portabellas on Parsley Salad

The balsamic vinegar brings a lot to this dish, so use a good-quality one, if possible. The small investment is worth it--a few drops go a long way. Prep and Cook Time: 45 minutes.


4 portabella mushrooms, stems removed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
Parmesan curls (use a vegetable peeler)

1. Preheat oven to 250°. Brush mushrooms with 1 tsp. olive oil and put, top side down, on a baking sheet. Bake until shrunken slightly, about 30 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, toss parsley leaves with 1 tsp. oil and 1/2 tsp. vinegar. Add coarse salt to taste.
3. To serve, divide salad among four plates. Slice portabellas and arrange on salad. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and add parmesan curls on the side.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving; Cholesterol data not available.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Pork Braised in Guajillo Chile Sauce (Puerco en Chile Guajillo)

I'm not really sure from which site I downloaded this recipe, but when I saw it I knew it was one I wanted to try. So the other day while at Costco, Eddie spotted a large 7-lb. package of pork shoulder strips. I thought of this recipe; he thought sausage rolls. So we split the pack 3 : 4. He pulled out the Kitchenaid meat grinder and and ground up his three pounds, added that to lots and lots of chopped onions, salt and pepper, spread it out onto puff pastry and baked it up to a golden brown. Slicing them right out of the oven works best and then we got to sample them. Yummy Yummy!

The next day I started Daisy's pork braise by trimming away excess fat and cutting the strips into about two-inch chuncks. Into the pot with water to cover and salt, brought it to a boil and simmered for about an hour. I could have finished the dish then, but I was out of some ingredients, so I cooled it, stored it in the fridge for a couple of days and finished it off Sunday morning after a quick run through the grocery store. I could not find guajillos, so I substituted half pasillas and half New Mexican.

So, okay, the timer just went off and I took a quickie break to check the stew. The meat is falling apart tender, the sauce is a beautiful burnished red color, and the taste is fantastic -- the flavor is definitely New Mexican but it's not very hot. It needed some salt, so that finishes it. I'll let it sit until dinner tonight and serve it with some brown rice, black beans and crumbled cotija cheese over everything. If we're feeling cocky, maybe we'll scoop it all up into a whole-wheat flour tortilla. Not this time becauase we don't have any on hand, but next time I'll be sure to have a good Mexican beer on hand.

Daisy Cooks! is one of my favorite PBS shows, and I may have to make a trip to the library to give her book a try before deciding to actually buy it.

Makes 8 servings

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons fine sea or kosher salt
1 bay leaf
10 guajillo chilies
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and cut in half through the middle
3 fresh plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise through the core
¼ cup canola oil or lard
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Pantry Notes: Guajillo chiles are the dried version of fresh mirasol chiles. They are long, tapered, and wrinkled, with a reddish-brown color. They are fairly spicy and available in specialty stores or by mail/internet. (See Sources.) Toasting the chilies brings out their flavor and blackening the onions and tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness. A little work up front that pays off big time down the line.

**as made: could not find this time guajillos; so used 5 pasillas, 5 New Mexico chiles

1. Put the pork in a heavy Dutch oven large enough to it comfortably. Pour in enough cold water to cover the meat by 2 inches. Add 2 tablespoons salt, drop in the bay leaf and bring the liquid to a boil. Boll, skimming the foam from the surface as necessary, for one hour.
(as made: cooled, transferred to fridge and finished 2 days later.)
2. Meanwhile, pull or cut the stems off the guajillo chilies. Tap out the seeds. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add half the chilies and toast them, turning with tongs until they start to change color and crisp up a bit, about 4 minutes. Heat them gently so they don’t burn. Lift them out into a bowl and repeat with the remaining chilies. Pour enough boiling water over the toasted chilies to cover them. Soak until completely softened, about 20 minutes. (top with small saucer to hold under the liquid) Drain well.
3. While the chilies are soaking, wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Put the onion and tomatoes cut sides down in the skillet. Cook, turning the vegetables as often as necessary, until the tomatoes are blackened on all sides and the onions are blackened on both flat sides. (quickly blackened tops under the broiler)
4. After the pork has been cooking 1 hour, ladle off 2 cups of the cooking liquid and pour it into a blender jar. Add the onions and puree until smooth. Add the chilies and tomatoes and blend until smooth. Ladle off another 2 cups of the cooking liquid and set aside. Drain the pork, discard the remaining liquid, and wipe out the pot.
5. Set the pot over medium-low heat and add the oil or lard. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the chili sauce into the pot slowly. As it comes to a boil it will thicken. Stir well, especially in the corners, to prevent the sauce from sticking and scorching as it thickens.
6. Return the pork to a simmer, cover the pot and cook until tender, about 1 hour. While the pork is cooking, there should be enough sauce to keep it moistened. If not, add reserved pork cooking liquid as needed. Serve hot.

Hello again

I saw this photo of the dinosaurs out in Cabazon and just had to post it. Before moving to the desert, I always knew we were getting very close to Palm Springs when we spotted them. Nowadays, they're not quite so visible from the I-10 freeway with all the development going on out that way.

Well, I apologize for such a long break between entries. We took a little trip to Las Vegas, so between that and just being lazy about making an entry, there's this big time gap. We have actually eaten and cooked, so don't think we're starving here by any means. We went WAY off our diet while in Las Vegas, but with the coupon book we got from the hotel, it was just too dirt cheap to eat anywhere but at their buffet. It turned out to be one of the best we've tried, and I had no negative comments to offer. The best strawberry shortcake I've ever had.


We tried the nearly new South Coast Resort and Casino located at the far south strip area, about 5 miles or so from the heart of town. No biggie, though, because we hardly ever do the stip anymore. Four nights, $59 per night; a real deal! With the coupons and all for two-fer meals and free drinks, we didn't spend that much. We did, however, eat too much. That said, we plan on going back for Christmas, especially with the 25% off coupon we got upon checkout. For such a reasonably priced room it was a knockout: very luxurious bed, sitting area and -- drum roll -- 42-inch plasma TV. We could barely tear ourselves away from that to go do other things. The midnight breakfast specials at the coffee shop are insanely cheap: e.g., $2.95 for a 6-oz. NY strip steak, two eggs, hashbrowns and toast. Who can say no to that?

We're getting back into cooking again, and this morning I threw together what turned out to be something like a minestrone, not that it started out that way. Just this and that sitting around. Saffron oil, onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, hand crushed, homemade chicken stock, small pasta, frozen roasted corn, garbanzo beans, butter beans, green beans, a couple scoops of sun-dried tapendade. Yummy!

A Perfect Late Summer Evening

Okay, I know it's still around 100 degrees during the day, but it's actually getting to be bearable after the sun goes over the other side of San Jacinto Mountain. It's also getting to be near that time of year when I crave heartier dishes that seem to pair well with the season's fruits. So we bought a pork loin roast at Costco and I decided to brine it and roast it on the Weber rotisserie. This is a combination of a few recipes I've had sitting around, and here's how I did it:

Brined Spit-Roasted Pork Loin with Orange Marmalade

Brine Mixture

1 quart apple juice
5 quarts water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
3 large springs fresh thyme
4 bay leaves, crushed


4 pound pork loin roast, tied

Combine brine ingredients in a large pot. Submerge pork loin; refrigerate for 4 hours. Remove, but do not rinse. Pat dry and allow to come to room temperature.

Set roast on rotisserie rod securely. Season well with freshly ground black pepper. Rotisserie roast with cover closed. Heat should be around 325 - 350 degrees. Start glazing about halfway through cook time. Remove and allow to rest when internal temperature reaches about 150 degrees. Total cook time is approxiamte, but estimate about 1 1/2 hours, at least.

Meanwhile, make the glaze.

Saute 3/4 cup sliced shallots in olive oil until they start to caramelize. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary. After a few minutes, add 1/2 cup orange marmalade. Combine well and remove from heat.

I served this with a homemade savory applesauce, potatoes dauphinoise, and ended the meal with roasted pears with brown sugar and vanilla ice cream (Everyday Italian recipe).

All of this on the patio with good friends, cooling temperatures and lots of good wine made for a really nice evening.

Happy 5767

Brined Rotisserie Chicken

Last week while at Costco, our eyes were bigger than what we could actually accomplish in a week's time; consequently, we ended up buying WAY too much meat: one five-pound boneless pork loin, a package of two pork tenderloins, package of three whole chickens, package of two large chuck roasts. Pheww, I don't think I've fogotten anything. Later this week, I'll type out the recipes for what I did with one of the chickens, the pork loin and one of the chuck steaks. The tenderloins are vac-packed, so I don't feel under the gun to get them cooked right away.

But the remaining two chickens were staring at me every time I opened up the large fridge out in the garage, and time was awasting. I've brined lots of whole chickens before, and this is the brine I like best. A single recipe would be 1/4 of all the ingredients, which is the way it was originally was written, but even doulbing the ingredients is not enough to cover the birds, so I quadrupled it and that was perfect. Here's the brine and the amounts I used. One-fourth would be fine for cut up parts, and brine time should be reduced to about an hour or so.

BRINE

1 quart apple juice
3 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
8 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped (save bean for your sugar jar)

Brined for 3 hours, then rotisseried.

There were some fresh herbs sitting around, so I made a mixture of parsley, thyme and rosemary from the yard and added lots of coarsely ground black pepper. To bind it, I added EVOO and spread it all over the birds, inside and out. After trussing the legs, I set up both chickens on one rotisserie rod; I just happen to have an extra sets of forks, so doing two is no problem. I set the Weber on M-O-M (medium-off-medium) and let it come up to temperature. I felt this was a bit too hot, about 370 degrees, so I lowered it to medium low on the front and back burner and left the middle one off. The birds reached a perfect 160 degrees after about an hour and fifteen minutes. After letting them rest a while, they were perfect and fantastically juicy.

Nothing better, and we have dinner for two nights. The carcasses I'll save and use to make a rich dark chicken stock for soup or risotto. How frugal is that?