Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Chicken, and Bruschetta

Going to the University of Minnesota means gaining access to the nearly limitless resources that a large public institution has available. However, this a food blog, and I'm not talking about academics. I'm referring to the U's very own farmer's market, which inspired me to make this dish. As I viewed all of the delicious fresh produce on my way to class, there was one item that stood out: beautiful multi-colored cherry tomatoes. It was not the first time in recent months that this particular ingredient had provided me with inspiration, so I already knew exactly what to make. Earlier this summer while the cherry tomatoes were starting to turn ripe in my parents own garden, I came across a recipe for Michael Chiarello's Pasta Pomodorini and it turned out to be a winner. Since cooking for me is about experimentation I rarely follow a recipe exactly although admittedly I didn't stray too far on this one. It starts by just crushing the tomatoes in your hand. I recommend using a deep bowl and putting the tomato as deep into the bowl as possible because you WILL get tomato juice all over the kitchen. After that heat some olive oil in a pan and mince fresh basil and garlic. When the oil is hot add the basil and garlic and sautee just so the garlic softens a little. Then add the tomatoes and cook until quite a bit of the moisture evaporates and the tomato flavor is nice and concentrated. At this point while I was home I added some white wine to put a little moisture back into the sauce, but since I didn't have any at school I just added some of the water I cooked my pasta in. That's all that it takes to make the sauce. I added the noodles to the sauce, let it cook together for a minute or two, and served it. The dish looks like it's going to be really boring because the sauce doesn't appear to coat the noodles at all, but it ends up actually being very flavorful. I served it with some sliced chicken breasts that I grilled with basil and marjoram for flavor. I also put olive oil on a piece of ciabatta bread, grilled it, rubbed garlic on it, and served it with chopped tomatoes to which I added fresh chopped basil, salt, pepper, olive, and a little sugar.

Red Chicken Chili?

I don't know what to call this dish other than chicken chili, and not of the white variety you may be used to. I start by roasting chicken (whatever you have, I used three hindquarters and wing tips for extra flavor) with half an onion, a carrot, two celery stalks, and a few cloves of garlic at 350 degrees for an hour in a dutch oven or other large heavy bottomed pot. After an hour put the pot on the stove and add water to cover all ingredients making sure to scrape up all of the delicious brown fond on the bottom of the pan. Add two to three tablespoons of fresh cilantro, a tablespoon of dried oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 3-4 hours ideally. The longer the better; if the pot gets low on liquid just add more water. Strain the stock reserving the chicken flesh. If you don't have the time, store bought stock will do, and simmering it for maybe a half hour with some garlic and cilantro will add extra flavor. The stock can also be prepared ahead of time and either refrigerated if used quickly or frozen. Leftover chicken will do to add back in later if you're using store stock. Next I roasted two peppers on the grill; a poblano and a red bell pepper. I chopped these up and sauteed them in the same pot that the stock was made in. When they are softened a little I added three cloves of minced garlic and sauteed this until the garlic was soft. Then add the stock back in, about six cups. Next add one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, add the reserved chicken back in, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (this can be done to taste as some people don't like cilantro, but it adds a nice freshness to the dish) and cayenne pepper to taste. Simmer this for another 3-4 hours, or sooner if you don't have the time. Again the longer the better because all of the flavors are going to mesh together over time. While this is going slice some corn tortillas into half inch strips and fry in a small amount of oil until golden brown, then remove to a paper towel and add salt. Again if you're short on time store bought tortilla chips will do. At this point your delicious soup should be ready to enjoy. Serve with the tortilla strips, grated cheese, and more fresh chopped cilantro.

Peach Season

Summer means peach season. Peach season means it's time for one of my favorite desserts: grilled peaches. Super easy and delicious. I'm partial to doing everything possible on the grill so I make my caramel sauce accompaniment on there as well. I start by heating the grill on low and putting a small pan on the grill with a tablespoon of butter; emphasis on small by the way. When the grill's hot and the butter is melted cut your peach in half and remove the pit. Sprinkle cinnamon on each half. Next brush the flesh side of each half with butter and place them flesh side down on the grill. Add approximately a tablespoon of brown sugar to the remaining butter and take it off of direct heat; it doesn't have to be exact the caramel is nearly impossible to screw up. I also like to add a little extra cinnamon to the butter-sugar mixture. After 5-6 minutes turn the peaches 90 degrees to get some beautiful grill lines. After another 5-6 minutes flip the peaches and let them cook for approximately the same time; just until both sides of the peaches are soft. After turning the peaches add about a tablespoon of cream to brown sugar butter mixture. This will make the caramel have a much smoother less gritty texture. when the peaches are soft they're done! At this point plate them and brush the flesh with the caramel. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and drizzle remaining caramel over the top. This is super easy to make and easily adjustable to different taste preferences. A small dash of cayenne would add a nice heat contrast or some chipotle powder for added smokiness along with the heat.

Well it's been almost precisely three months, but I'm back from hiatus because the world needs to see this one. I made grilled pizza last night and couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. That is easily the most round I've ever been able to make a pizza and the cheese was perfectly brown and bubbly. You can even see some of the beautiful grill marks I was able to get on the crust. It was also incredibly easy to make.
I followed Mark Bittman's recipe for pizza dough, which is incredibly simple; it hardly even requires kneading. I let it rise for about three hours and then plopped it out of its container onto a floured pizza pan. The dough was very easy to work as it wasn't overly elastic, so I was able to stretch it out to the edge of the pan without it tearing and with a fairly consistent level of dough throughout. Then I threw it on the grill that had been preheating on high heat for probably twenty minutes so that it was really hot. I turn down the two burners that are directly below the pizza to medium after I put it on and then shut the lid and let it cook for about five minutes. After the five minutes I flip it and put on the sauce and toppings. Then I let it cook for another five to ten minutes. Basically at this stage I'm just looking for the cheese to melt and the bottom crust to get a little crispy. Now here's the secret that I discovered last night: once the cheese is melted and the crust is crispy enough that it can support itself take the pizza off and put it directly on the rack of an oven preheated to 500 degrees. That is key because on the grill the toppings don't get very hot or cook, but if you put it in a very hot oven the cheese will brown up, the topping will cook, and you'll still maintain that grilled flavor and crispiness. It tasted just as good as it looks by the way.

Cajun Chicken Pasta and (mostly) Failed Gnocchi

Mmmm cajun chicken pasta, so delicious and so much simpler than those frustrating gnocchi. It all starts with my cajun seasoning blend that I make myself. I mix garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, oregano, chipotle powder, and cayenne pepper. I cut up three chicken thighs for the pasta because that was what I had, but any kind of chicken will do. Season the chicken with extra salt and pepper and the cajun seasoning while you're heating about two to three tablespoons of oil in a big pan. When it's hot, sautee the chicken until it's almost cooked through (it'll finish cooking in the sauce). The picture below shows the color you're looking for on the chicken.

While the chicken is cooking dice about a cup of red bell pepper, one medium onion, and two cloves of garlic. When the chicken is as above, remove from the pan and set it aside. In the same pan, sautee the peppers, onions, and garlic making sure to get all the tasty browned bits up off the bottom. A picture of what this should look like is below. You can see some of the fond (those tasty bits I mentioned) mixed in with the vegetables.

Next add the chicken back to the pan along with cream. I used two pints because I was making this for a crowd of seven people, but one pint would be plenty for probably three to four people. This then needs to boil so that it will reduce and thicken, as seen below.

The sauce is thick enough when it coats the back of a spoon. Be careful not to let it thicken too much because the starch from the pasta will make it a lot thicker just don't rinse the pasta after it's done cooking or you'll lose all that starch. I used penne noodles since they're my favorite, but you can use pretty much any cut pasta that you like. The picture below is the finished product and it was a big hit.

My other dish for the night was gnocchi in a brown butter sauce with rosemary and thyme. As the title of this post implies, the gnochhi were not an overwhelming success. I had never made them before and it was quite a bit more difficult than I had hoped. I would have pictures from the process, but things got a little chaotic. I will try it again and post more pictures of the actual gnocchi making process. Here's a picture of the finished product. They were less terrible than I had anticipated after first blanching them and seeing how they looked. The biggest issue was how tough they were because they actually had pretty good flavor. More on gnocchi another day. The chicken soup I promised will be coming shortly.

Superbowl Spread

Why not start this blog with a post about the mother of all food events, the Superbowl! Here's a picture showing the feast we enjoyed (and when one of your roommates has been a die hard Packers fan since birth, and they just happen to be playing in the biggest sporting event of the year, a feast you must have.)

Hot wings are right in front with a sauce made using Frank's hot sauce, butter, chipotle powder, and smoked paprika. Going clockwise is the super simple chili I make by sauteing peppers, onions, and ground beef, to which I add beef stock, crushed tomatoes, and seasonings. Next to the chili is barbecue wings with just store bought Famous Dave's Sweet & Zesty sauce, but I did add some of my awesome barbecue rub to it for some extra flavor. Then there is just plain wings seasoned with salt, pepper, and chipotle powder. To the right of the that is the pulled pork, which was a shoulder roast that I cooked slowly in the oven almost all day with that same rub on it. Of course cheese dip is a must and this is the classic mix of Velveeta cheese and Rotel tomatoes. And in the center we have good old Lighthouse blue cheese dressing, (because what are hot wings without blue cheese?)

Everything was delicious and many compliments were given to the cook. Tonight is soup night and since my roommate is sick I'm making chicken noodle. Oh yeah! Chicken noodle soup and Jersey Shore yeah! Expect a post about that shortly.