Why buy apple sauce?

Or pear sauce for that matter?

It could not be easier and cheaper.

I had a pear that was a touch past its prime, perfect for turning into sauce.

Peal (or don't) pears (and/or apple) and core.
Add to pot with a touch of water or juice (e.g. apple, orange, cranberry...).


Cook until soft. This will largely depend on how ripe and how much fruit you are cooking. But it doesn't take that long.

Let cool, and mash or puree.


This is the same basic "technique" I used to make ALL of my son's baby food. Why pay for the jarred crap when you can make it yourself?

Italian Sausage Thingies

As I've mentioned, I'm not the biggest fan of fake food. One thing that we do love though is the taste of sausage with peppers and onion. I attempt to recreate it using the sausage-less sausage from Trader Joe's

Saute an onion and a pepper with salt and pepper and some Italian seasoning. Add the "sausage" and cook until hot.


Serve on a toasted bun with hot peppers on top.

Another week...another pizza

A couple of weeks ago there was an article in the New York Times about pizza making, and in it included a recipe by Jeffrey Steingarten. I thought I would give it a go.

I made the usual white with hots.


And a red with spinach.


I do not think I gave the dough enough time to proof (rest). The texture was nice and it was easy to work with but the flavor just was not there. Maybe I'll try again and let it sit over night.

Tapas

Tapas are a easy, though somewhat time consuming. They are great for a larger crowd as you can put out a variety of dishes and people can mix and match to their taste. Many can be prepared in advance, which is great for parties.

Last night I made several which I'll highlight.


Tortilla Espanola
1 - 2 small potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, sliced
8 eggs
about 1 Tbs salt

Toss the potato and onion with some oil and cook in a non stick pan or in the oven until soft but not browned.

Meanwhile, mix the eggs and salt in a large bowl. Once the potatoes are soft mix with the eggs and let sit 15 minutes. (This rest is the trick to making tortilla not an omelet.)

Heat a pan and coat with oil and add the egg/potato mixture. Cover, and cook a couple of minutes until the tortilla begins to set. Using a flexible spatula reach under the tortilla to make sure that it does not stick to the pan. It will still be soft but once the bottom sets you want to be able to rotate it in the pan to prevent sticking. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes until it is almost set. Flip* and cook the other side until completely set. Serve warm, room temp or cold.



*There are several ways to flip the tortilla without covering your kitchen in egg. The easiest is to slide it out onto a plate, cook side down. Then flip the pan over the top (so the raw side is now in the pan) and flip the plate and pan together.

You can also do the triple flip method. Put a plate over the pan and flip the tortilla (cook side up) onto a plate. Using another plate, place it on top and flip again (cooked side down.) Then place the pan on top and flip again.


A favorite of ours is Patatas Bravas (Bold Potatoes) or fried potatoes with "spicy" sauce. The Spanish are known for many thing, the best football (not the stupid American game) in the world is one, spicy food is not. I tend to make them spicier then you would find in Spain, but you can make to your taste. Traditionally it is served with aioli, which I often don't make every time, but it is a nice treat.

Patatas Bravas
potatoes, cubed
oil
salt and pepper

Bravas Sauce
canned tomato sauce (or canned whole tomatoes, blended until smooth)
cumin
salt and pepper
hot peppers
EVOO
vinegar

To make the sauce blend the sauce ingredients. Adjust to taste. Warm slightly before serving.

Toss the potatoes with oil and salt and pepper. Bake in 400 deg oven, turning, until crunchy about 45 minutes.




Top with sauce.



Pimiento Alinado Roasted Peppers in oil
Peppers
garlic
EVOO
salt and pepper

The simplest way to roast peppers is over a gas stove. Place directly over the flame and cook, turning until charred all around. Be careful not to over cook, it will turn white.




Once the peppers are charred, place in a bowl and cover with plastic, foil or a dish towel. Let rest until cool. Then peal the blackened skin. Though temping, DO NOT run under water. You will be washing away all the flavor. Using your hand you can scrap most of the skin and the seeds and core. Then using a kinfe, scrap the pepper clean.



For this dish, place in a shallow bowl, add sliced garlic and season with salt and pepper. Let rest before serving.


By far our favorite tapa is Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp). In this country there is a wide interpritation of this dish, in Spain there is none. It is shrimp bathed in garlic oil, served piping hot in a small ceramic dish. It is also know as Gambas Pil-Pil, the "pil-pil" being the sound it should make when it is served, hot and bubbly.

Gambas al Ajillo
garlic, sliced
salt
hot peppers
oil
shrimp

I am convinced that one of the keys to making this dish is the hot peppers, known as guindillas. I have been know to bring them back from Spain.




Place everything exept the shrimp in a cazuela.


Cook in a 450 oven until the oil is hot and garlic is starting to brown.



Add the shrimp and cook about 3 - 4 minutes, then turn. When they come out the oil should be boiling hot. Serve with lots of bread to soak up the oil and garlic.

Q & A: Mashed Potatoes

My brother called last evening asking what to do with over-mashed mashed potatoes. Thinking he could use an immersion blender to get creamy potatoes, ended up with a gluey mess. He had two questions; 1. can they be fixed, and 2. if not, what to do with them.

The answer to the first is: NO. When you over whip potatoes, the starch in the potatoes comes out turning them into a gluey mess that is unfixable.

This leads me to the second: now what. The two things that came to mind were to make cakes out of it or soup. To make potato cakes, cool the potatoes then mix with an egg and flour to form a nice texture. Then flavor with cheese or fresh herbs and salt and pepper. Pan fry a couple minutes on a side until golden on each side. Serve with some dressed greens.

To make soup, start by sauteing vegetables in some oil until soft. Add the potatoes, and stir to combine. Then thin with milk or stock.

Stir Fry

Stir frying is a simple and quick way to prepare dinner. Rather then try to time the cook of the different vegetables perfectly, cook each separately. Then toss in a bowl when they are almost done. See the bowl in the background below. Make sure that the wok (or pan) is really hot, the idea is that things cook quick over high heat. The veggies will be cooked, but still have some crunch.


After you cook each item individually, make the sauce in the bowl. I used this Kung Pao Sauce with the addition of peanuts, from Ming Tsai. (As a side note Ming's restaurant Blue Ginger, is in my home town yet my parents have never taken me. Also, my friend Liz can confirm that Ming is really nice, as I had heard.)


To go with our veggies, I made some fried tofu. To help with the frying, press the tofu between a couple of plates lined with towels and a weight on top, I used a mellon (organic of course). Let this sit for at least 30 minutes.


Toss the tofu with a mixture of flour and corn starch, salt and pepper.



Then fry in a little oil. Cook a few minutes per side until browned and crispy.

Pizza ... again

Another week, another pizza night.

Last night I made a sauce with roasted tomatoes. Cooked them with some garlic for about 30 min at 400 deg. Then mashed up to make a sauce.



As I've mentioned, my mother-in-law is not exactly known for her cooking. But one dish that I have made, or at least taken and modified, is "potatoes, onion and cheese". For last nights pizza I played off this combination.
I thinly sliced a potato and an onion and sauted in a touch of oil. Season with salt and pepper.


Saute until cooked through and slightly browned.


Once again I made four pies.
Roasted tomato

White with hots


Potato onion and cheese


White with arugula