Big Fat Burritos and Pumpkin Soup with Baby Limas and Fennel

Meal 1: Big Fat Burritos and Sweet Potato Oven Fries

• Transfer the burritos to a cookie sheet and warm in the oven at 350° for ~20 minutes or until hot.

• Transfer fries to a cookie sheet also if you have a large portion, otherwise heat in their container. 10 min at 350°.

Meal 2: Minestroni di Zucca e Fagioli con Finocchio, Pumpkin Seed-Olive Oil Rolls, Romaine Salad

• Heat the soup on the stovetop.

• Warm the rolls and dress the greens.

NOTES:

• The squash are (clockwise from top) Jharradale, Rouge Vif d' Etampes, Galeux d'Eysines, and Golden Hubbard.  Yes, the Jharradale turned pink in storage.

 

Beef or Three Bean Chilli & Mac and Cheese w/ Sundried Tomato

The Food Nanny

February15/16 2011

Meal 1: Beef or Three Bean Chili, Masa Pupusas, Latin Slaw

• Heat the chili on the stovetop.

• Serve the slaw chilled. Add some salt to this dish as we omitted it to prevent wateriness.

• Toast the pupusa in a dry pan until warm. Top with wither the chili or the slaw.

Meal 2: Macaroni and Cheese with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Spinach Salad, and Grilled Broccoli Salad

• Warm the casserole in the oven at 325° for ~20 minutes or until hot.

• Dress the greens and serve the broccoli at room temp.

Notes:

• Yes, definitely do heat the pupusas and serve the chile atop them.  The corn and bean flavor is very good together.  Stand alone the pupusa is, well, underwhelming.
• I love searing and oven braising rich pieces of meat.  As such, making this chili was a real pleasure and I'm very happy with the results.  Most of the body comes from chiles, not tomato ( chili=chile, get it?) and I really like making meat chili from shredded meat instead of ground - much more authentic. If you got the meat chili, note the gelatinous nature of the chilled product.  Although it may seem wierd to the uninitiated gelatine testafies to the nutritious nature of this dish and its honest origins in simple cuts of meat.
• Yes.  Grilled broccoli.,  You can grill anything.

Honing

Every new week here in the FN kitchen begins with a ritual - the honing of my knives.  It is a ritual because the act is rich with not only practicality, but with metaphor as well.
A dull knife is a dangerous knife. 
No seriously, a very sharp knife is much safer than a dull one.  A sharp knife is predictable, controllable, and efficient. A dull knife will require extra effort leading to fatigue and susceptibility to distraction.  Additionally, a dull knife will shear unexpectedly off of dense ingredients and mash up fine ones.  A sharp knife will do what you wish and expect, and is a pleasure to use producing well prepared, finely cut ingredients.
Scouring
So every Monday commences with a survey of my tools and a scraping away of the past week.  I wet my stone, tilt the blades, and begin the circular motion necessary to sharpen my blades.  All the previous week's drops, nicks, and jostlings are polished off.  The many cuts that were made, the cleavings, pareings, trimming - all that work has passed and it and it is time to grind away those efforts and create a clean the edge for new work.
Refining Skill
For me the knife is like an extra hand, and a pen at the same time.  I can feel through my knife and use that feeling to work more efficiently and safely. It is the primary tool of my work and the one with which I have the most intimate contact; the palm is a sacred place and through it the knife is connected to my will, and makes manifest my level of competence.  Weekly honing of the knives reminds me that each week is a test of all my kitchen skills.  Not only sharpening itself, but also menu planning, shopping efficiency and frugality, prep cooking, food safety, final assembly, special diet accommodations, pack-out and at-home translation, then clean-up.  But sharpening the knives, and the subsequent resetting of myself to a new start each week, is the foundational skill without which all other pieces cannot fall correctly into place.  One of my favorite proverbs of warning is "He has many knives, none is sharp" (China).

P.S. I love my knives. Most were given to me second-hand by Chef John Vink, under whom I first apprenticed . They are Forschner knives of lazer cut Swiss (Victorinoix) steel and cost about $30 apiece.  They are the consistent winner of Cook's Illustrated's knife comparisons, and I highly recommend them.  

Cold Noodles and Hot Perogies

Meal 1: Cold Peanut Noodles, Stir Fried Vegetables & Grilled Tofu

• Warm the tofu on a cookie sheet in the oven at 425 for 5-10 minutes, or in the microwave.

• Carefully remove the noodles to a mixing bowl without inverting the container. Add a little hot water to the remaining sauce to warm it and make it workable. You may try a microwave to warm it, but be careful to not boil it. Mix the sauce and add to the noodles, stirring to incorporate.

• Add a little oil to a hot pan and briefly stir fry the vegetables. Add a splash of water to steam them through. Serve atop or beside the noodles.

Meal 2: Potato Perogies, Parsnip-Leek Soup, Organic Red and Green Leaf Lettuce Salad

• Heat the soup on the stovetop and dress the salad

• Melt some butter and a little veg oil in a sauté pan. Alternately use some schmaltz or even bacon fat if you have it. Heat to medium high and add the perogies. Allow to brown richly on one side before turning (about 3 minutes) and cooking on the other side. Serve hot with yogurt and some sautéed onions if you like.

NOTES:

• For comfort food you really can't beat home made perogies stuffed with Blue Moon potato. And that Parsnip-Leek soup is a nice stick-to-the-ribs foil.
• The Napa cabbage, hakuri turnips, and carrots in the stir fry are all Blue Moon too - this is the time of year all our advance buying starts to really pay dividends.
• We also love to sautee up some greens with the perogies as a side.  Consider spinach or especially kale.
• Please send me some feedback of how the noodles turn out.  I was a little unsure of how to best package it.  In the past, dressing it all here and sending it out compromised the texture of the sauce if refrigerated overnight.

Old World Comforts and New World Wonders

Meal 1:Spinach and Chevre Manicotti, Escarole and Kale Salad, Semolina Loaves
• Warm the Manicotti in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Warm the bread too.
• Toss and dress the salad.
Meal 2: Acorn Squash Soup, Tortilla Pie, and a Mezoamerican Medley of Brown Rice, Quinoa, and Amaranth
• Heat the soup; and warm the tortilla casserole in the oven, 325 for 15-20 minutes until warmed, and the cheese is melted. Be careful to not burn it.
• Serve the rice medley at room temp or warm it in a sauté pan with a little oil and a splash of water to steam it though.

Notes:

• The manicotti are actually a rolled crepe filled with Blue Moon spinach and Prairie Fruits chevre.
• Look for the amaranth in the mix, they are the very tiny translucent orbs.  I really like the overall texture of the mix as well as the nutritious flavor which belies the high protein and mineral value of both the quinoa and the amaranth.  All three grains are cooked together, making these high value grain dishes easy and incredibly good for you.
• Given that we had to push things to get an early delivery out to beat the storm - this was the worst possible menu for me to plan.  Lots of little details, multiple steps, a baked item, and two assemble dishes.  So, I hope you find comfort in these dishes on the stormy, cold nights.