Tuesday, August 31, 2010

saucy leftovers: roasted chicken and mashed potatoes

sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/3-1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon mashed potatoes
~12 fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

sauceand:
a small pile of pieces of roasted chicken
~1 cup mashed potatoes

melt butter in a large saucepan on medium-low heat.  once melted, add sage leaves and fry until crispy.  butter should brown a little, but not blacken (if it does heat is too high).  remove sage leaves with a fork and set aside.  add heavy cream, tablespoon of mashed potatoes, and salt to saucepan, and stir thoroughly with a whisk.  lower heat a little and simmer until sauce reaches a somewhat thickened but still flowing consistency--this should take only a couple minutes.

heat up chicken pieces and mashed potatoes in somehow (a microwave probably), pour sauce on top, and garnish with crispy sage leaves.

Friday, August 13, 2010

when there's too much basil and some tomatoes are on the verge of rotting... and bacon

4 medium-small fresh tomatoes
2 strips bacon
1/2 of a medium onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon
small handful of julienned fresh basil
2 springs fresh oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste (you probably won't need it, the bacon is of course salty)

Chop the half onion and garlic as finely as possible.  Sautee in a bit of oil on medium-low heat (don't burn).
Chop the two least ripe tomatoes into small chunks.  In another pan with a little oil at the bottom simmer these tomatoes.
Stir the onions and the tomatoes every couple minutes.  When the onions are fairly soft (10-15 minutes?), chop the bacon into small pieces and add to the pan of onions.  Turn the heat up a little, and fry for two or three minutes.  Then add the simmering tomatoes, and the black pepper.
Slice the remaining tomatoes radially, julienne the basil, and pick the leaves from the oregano stems.
Once the sauce in the pan is very thick, add the remaining tomatoes, basil, oregano, and squeeze the lemon half.  Cook just until the basil is wilted.
Eat over pasta.

tabbouleh, but sweet with cherries and broccolini stems?

juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoons rose water
1 cup pitted cherries
combine in a small bowl and let stand while the bulgur cooks

1 cup bulgur wheat
2 1/2 cups water
boil water
add bulgur
let stand for about half an hour
rinse with cold water
drain
cover and cool in refrigerator

1 cup chopped broccolini stems
pieces should be about 1cm square
sautee on medium heat in a little oil until soft but not smooshy

1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup julienned fresh basil
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons salt (possibly more, mix in 1 tsp and adjust to taste)

once bulgur is cool enough not to wilt fresh basil, add everything (olive oil, basil, salt, sauteed broccolini stems, sweet cherry mixture) into cooked bulgur and mix well