Recipes

Medium-Hot Chili with Beans

Medium-Hot Chili with Beans

With enough seasonings to tantalize adultpalates but not too much spice for children, this is the perfect family chili.Either seed and mince a fresh chili or use 2 tablespoons from a can of hot,diced chiles.
Couverts4 servings
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Ingredients

  • 1 quart Master Meat Sauce
  • 1 can 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes with chiles
  • 1 can 15 1/2 ounces kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno chile
  • 1 tablespoon medium-hot chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Instructions

  • Place Master Meat Sauce in a large saucepan.
  • Add the tomatoes, kidney beans, chile, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Simmer 10 minutes or until hot.
  • Sprinkle with cilantro.
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Course; Main Course

Mom’s Spaghetti and Sauce

Mom’s Spaghetti and Sauce

Stir cooked spaghetti into the pot with meat sauce and let the combination simmer together for a minute, so the pasta is permeated with the sauce. You may prefer to spoon the spaghetti into a serving bowl and top with the sauce.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup dry red wine
  • 1 quart Master Meat Sauce from previous recipe
  • 1 can 14 ounces diced tomatoes with liquid
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil optional
  • 1/2 pound spaghetti cooked

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan.
  • Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté over high heat 5 minutes or until tender.
  • Add the red wine and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced to half of its original volume.
  • Add the Master Meat Sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, salt, and pepper.
  • Simmer the mixture 10 minutes.
  • Discard the bay leaf.
  • Add the basil (if desired) and cook 2 minutes.
  • Serve the meat sauce over spaghetti.
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Course; Pasta / Sauce

Master Meat Sauce

Master Meat Sauce

Carrots have a sweet flavor that makes for amild-tasting meat sauce and healthy as well. Serve this thick meaty dish overcooked rice, spaghetti or in a bun. For the ground beef, I use ground chuckbecause as Goldilocks might say, it’s not too fat and it’s not too lean.
Couverts12 servings
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Mince the garlic and onion and set aside.
  • Finely chop the carrots and celery.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.
  • Add the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery and sauté over high heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the onions are transparent and lightly browned.
  • The vegetables may give off plenty of liquid, which prevents browning.
  • If this happens, continue to cook.
  • Remove the vegetables and set aside.
  • Add the ground beef to the Dutch oven.
  • Brown the meat on all sides, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
  • Pour off any accumulated fat.
  • Return the vegetables to the beef.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, and pepper.
  • Simmer 1 hour.
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Course; Meat / Sauce

BBQ Brisket ’n Slaw Sandwiches

BBQ Brisket ’n Slaw Sandwiches

When Southerners cook barbecue, it’s asun-up-to-sundown ritual. This quick take on the classic is ready whenever thegang clamors for dinner.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion thinly sliced
  • 1 pound cooked brisket sliced across the grain 1/4-inch thick
  • 2 cups pan juices from Sweet and Sour Braised Brisket (recipe earlier in this chapter)
  • 4 Kaiser rolls or other crusty rolls
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped scallions

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees to toast rolls (if desired).
  • Heat the oil in a large sauté pan.
  • Add the onion and sauté over high heat 2 minutes or until limp.
  • Add the sliced brisket and the pan juices and simmer 10 minutes or until the meat is hot.
  • Place the rolls in the oven and toast 5 minutes while the meat is heating (if desired).
  • Make the slaw: Stir together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium-size bowl.
  • Add the cabbage and scallions and stir well.
  • To serve, arrange rolls on each of 4 plates.
  • Top with 1/4 of the meat and spoon on some of the pan juices.
  • Spoon the slaw over the meat or serve it on the side.
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Course; Sandwiches

Sweet and Sour Cabbage and Beef Soup

Sweet and Sour Cabbage and Beef Soup

This is the stick-to-your-ribs kind of soupthat usually takes hours to make. Starting with the sweet-sour pan juicesreserved from roast brisket, you get tangy-sweet flavors in less than 30minutes.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups finely shredded cabbage
  • 2 cups cooked carrots from Sweet and Sour Braised Brisket (preceding recipe)
  • 3 cups pan juices from Sweet and Sour Braised Brisket (preceding recipe)
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 1/2 pounds cooked brisket cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven.
  • Add the cabbage and sauté over high heat 5 minutes or until limp, stirring frequently.
  • Add the carrots, brisket juices, broth, brisket, salt, pepper, and crushed, red pepper flakes (if desired).
  • 2 Bring the soup to a simmer.
  • Cover and simmer 10 minutes, or until the soup is hot and the cabbage is tender.

Notes & Wine Advice

Vary It!
In place of the cabbage, add 2 cups of frozen baby lima beans. Eliminate the vegetable sauté step, and instead, combine all the ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes or until the beans are soft. Also, you can pour leftover soup in single-serving portions into freezer containers. Leave about 1 inch of space, because liquid expands as it freezes.
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Course; Beef / Soup

Hot and Spicy Chicken with Rice

Hot and Spicy Chicken with Rice

Fresh ginger has an alluring sweet and spicyscent that can whet an appetite. It’s worth taking a minute to grate the knobbyroot rather than substituting ground ginger. Use a hand-held vegetable graterand grate the ginger onto a plate. After you feel confident about measuringginger by looking at it, you can grate ginger directly into the dishes thatyou’re cooking.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan.
  • Add the bell pepper, onion, red pepper flakes, and gingerroot and sauté 2 minutes.
  • Add the chicken, rice, broth, salt, and pepper and stir.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil.
  • Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 18 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
  • Add the scallion, fish sauce, and lime juice and stir in.
  • Serve immediately.
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Course; Chicken / Rice

Chicken and Egg Enchiladas

Chicken and Egg Enchiladas

Cheese should melt into a velvety blanket forthis luscious enchilada dish. Choose a traditional Mexican-style cheese, suchas mild-tasting and quick-melting asadero  (ah-sah-deh-row)  available insupermarkets in areas that have a Hispanic clientele. Otherwise, use MontereyJack cheese, which melts evenly. To bring up the heat level, select MontereyJack cheese with crushed red pepper flakes.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 large celery stalk trimmed and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
  • 1 can 7 ounces diced mild chiles, undrained
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 hard-cooked eggs chopped
  • 2 cups diced cooked chicken
  • 4 flour tortillas each 9 inches in diameter
  • 1 cup grated asadero or Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Melt the butter in a large skillet.
  • Add the onion and celery and sauté over high heat 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute to form a paste.
  • Stir in the milk and cook 1 minute or until the mixture is thick.
  • Stir in the chiles, ground cumin, salt, and pepper.
  • Cook 30 seconds for the flavors to blend.
  • Stir in the eggs and the chicken and heat through, about 1 minute.
  • Butter a glass 9-inch square baking dish.
  • Working with one flour tortilla at a time, spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla.
  • Fold the sides of the tortilla tightly to the center to enclose the chicken filling.
  • These tortillas are stuffed to capacity, so be careful placing each seam-side down in the baking dish.
  • Repeat with the remaining chicken filling and tortillas.
  • Mix the cheese and cilantro together with your fingers.
  • Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the tortillas.
  • Bake the enchiladas for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.
  • Remove the dish from the oven and let stand 1 minute.

Notes & Wine Advice

Vary It!

Freeze leftover enchiladas so you can have a quick and filling lunch up to six months from now. Place individual enchiladas in small freezer containers and seal. Reheat at medium high in a microwave oven.
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Course; Chicken / Eggs

Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken

Feast on delicious chicken with gravy and roast vegetables. If you’re cooking potatoes, you probably want to skip a stuffing.
Couverts12 servings
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Remove the package in the chicken cavity containing the liver, neck, and any other parts.
  • Discard these or use for another meal.
  • Place the chicken on a rack set inside of a large, shallow roasting pan.
  • Sprinkle the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, and oregano.
  • Drizzle the lemon juice over the chicken.
  • Spoon the olive oil over the chicken.
  • Place the red potatoes (if desired) in the roasting pan around the chicken.
  • Add the carrots (if desired).
  • Sprinkle the potatoes and carrots with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
  • Place the chicken in the oven for 2 hours.
  • Remove the chicken and insert an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching a bone.
  • The temperature should register 180 degrees.
  • If not, return the chicken to the oven another 15 minutes and check again.
  • When the chicken tests done, remove it from the oven onto a platter.
  • Cover loosely with foil and set aside for 15 minutes.
  • This resting period makes chicken juicier and easier to slice.
  • Spoon the vegetables into a covered bowl to keep them warm.
  • Carve the chicken in the kitchen.
  • Arrange one-third of the bird and the vegetables on the serving platter (saving the remainder for subsequent recipes).
  • Place the roasting pan on your stovetop.
  • Using a large spoon, skim off any pools of fat.
  • Add the water to the pan and turn the heat under the pan to low.
  • Deglaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits using a wooden spoon.
  • Because the roasting pan is probably twice the size of your burner, deglaze one side of the pan and then turn the pan around to deglaze the other side over the burner.
  • Be sure to use an oven mitt.
  • Place the cornstarch in a cup.
  • Stir the chicken broth into the cornstarch until it’s smooth.
  • Stir the cornstarch mixture into the roasting pan.
  • Simmer, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes or until the pan gravy is slightly thickened.
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Course; Chicken

Asian Stir-Fry and Seasoning Sauce

Asian Stir-Fry and Seasoning Sauce

Spoon this pungent and sweet sauce over cooked Asian buckwheat or rice noodles and shrimp for a quick dinner or side. To use this sauce for stir-fry cooking, which I describe in Chapter 6, stir a teaspoon of cornstarch into the chicken broth and then add the remaining ingredients as the recipe directs.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
  • 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry or additional 2 tablespoons chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

  • In a bowl, stir together the chicken broth, gingerroot, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, sherry, and sugar.
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Course; Sauce
Cuisine; Asia

Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki Sauce

This sauce should have a thick consistency, so I avoid fat-free varieties, which get watery after standing a few minutes. I have to warn you, this sauce is intensely garlicky. Serving a store-bought lemon sorbet after a dinner with tzatziki eliminates some of the effects that garlic has on your breath.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place the yogurt in a blender container.
  • Add the cucumber, salt, and garlic.
  • Blend the mixture to a puree.
  • If you want emerald green-colored sauce, add the dill and mint to the blender and blend again until the herbs are finely minced and tint the sauce.
  • If you want your sauce to remain white with flecks of green, remove the sauce from the blender to a serving bowl.
  • Finely mince the dill and mint and stir them into the sauce.
  • Add the olive oil, vinegar, and pepper.
  • Stir well.

Notes & Wine Advice

Vary It!
Substitute 1/2 cup sour cream for half the yogurt for a thicker and richer sauce. You can also try stirring 1 cup of ricotta or cottage cheese into the tzatziki sauce; then add a handful of diced radishes and serve the dish as a refreshing brunch entree.
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Course; Sauce