Romanian Mititei (Mici)

Lately I've been on an Anthony Bourdain No Reservations kick.  I've been DVRing every episode that comes on and watching them in spare time.  Recently I watched him travel to Romania.  It didn't go exactly as planned...they couldn't film at a Dracula site and Tony clearly wasn't loving the Dracula Halloween party he attended.  He did love the mititei (mici) though.  If you're having trouble with the pronunciation, it's like "meet-e-tay" or "meach."

No Reservations: Romania

What's mititei?  It's Romanian sausage, sans casing.  Evidently it's street food--best with mustard, pickles, and beer.  Snacks for everyone by day.  Meatballs for drunk Romanians by night.  A mix of meats and spices.  Everyone does it a little differently--some use more traditional seasonings like garlic and thyme, others get more adventurous with caraway and anise.  I'm not a big fan of anise, so we'll keep it simple.

I decided to make my own mititei.  I made mine a bit bigger than the traditional Romanian ones, but with the same flavors.  They turned out deliciously fatty and flavorful.

Ready to try some Romanian food?  While not the perfectly authentic ingredients, these are things you can find readily available and will evoke everything you need to hit that Eastern European note.  The hardest thing to find will be the ground lamb.  I called ahead to the Marsh closest to my house on Mass Ave. in Indy and they didn't have any.  I also tried the downtown Marsh, who said they have it from time to time, but not that day.  Claus' German Sausage and Meat Market in Indy also didn't have any--you have to call one to two days in advance because they thaw a piece of lamb shoulder for you and grind it to order.  But, Goose the Market to the rescue on Delaware Street!  I was able to pick up half a pound within thirty minutes of calling.

You'll need:
1 lb. ground beef (I used 80% chuck)
1 lb. ground pork Italian sausage (I use Bob Evans brand--has fennel seed in it)
1/2 lb. ground lamb
1 packet of beefy onion soup mix
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 c. club soda
skewers

Ingredients assembled.

Mix everything but the baking soda and the club soda in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.  Don't press too hard or compress the mixed ingredients--just loosely form a ball.  While refrigerating, soak wooden skewers so they don't burn.  No need to soak if you're using metal skewers.

Mixed and ready to be covered and refrigerated.

When you're ready to cook them, preheat your oven to broil or heat your grill.  Add the baking soda and club soda.  Separate the meat into balls for however many skewers you're preparing (no fewer than six--six will make entree size mititei).  About twelve will make more expected snack sized size mititei.  Don't pack the meat down into the balls hard or you'll get what evidently they call "pucks" on the street.  The balls are just so the skewers are uniform size.

Take each of the balls and smooth the meat over the skewer into more of an oval or traditional sausage shape and size.  Again, don't push the meat down too hard or it will be too dense--a puck.

After the skewers are prepared, place them across a foil lined pan (not in the pan where they will sit in the fat that renders) or directly on the grill.  Don't move them until you have a nice char on the side.  Then rotate.

Once all sides have a nice char, remove and serve with homemade chips, mustard, pickles, and if you're included, a beer or three.

The final product--when six skewers are made--an entree-sized mititei (mici) skewer.

Poftă bună!

Simply Recipes Recipe Test: Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives

I wish I could recall how I came across this recipe.  I was online, and saw the thumbnail of the photo somewhere.  It may have been Facebook.  Anyway, the photo redirected to a site called "Yummly," where I clicked again to get the full recipe at Simply Recipes.  This isn't a new recipe--Elise Bauer posted it in 2006.

Here's the full recipe:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moroccan_chicken_with_lemon_and_olives/

How can you resist a recipe with this photo in it?

I started by rounding up the ingredients.  I'd never cooked with preserved lemon, and I couldn't find it at Fresh Market.  I found an Epicurious recipe for fast, easy preserved lemon.  I just preserved one lemon using the recipe, but it worked out well.  All you do is slice the lemon thinly, place in baking dish in as close to a single layer as possible, douse with salt and lemon juice, and bake at 200 for three hours.

Here's the easy preserved lemon recipe from Epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Quick-Preserved-Lemons-12760

About to put my lemons in the oven.

I made the lemons two days before, and also mixed the spices so the chicken could sit in the spice rub for two days.  I love bold flavors, so I wasn't afraid to really let the flavors develop.  I ended up doubling the spice rub, too, so I could get as much as possible on the chicken.

The recipe made this much spice rub--just enough to fill the corner of my Ziploc bag.  I didn't think this was enough to really coat the chicken, so I doubled it up.

Bag of chicken with spice rub ready to go into the fridge for two days.  Letting it sit in the spices for two days let the flavors, as well as an intense orange color, develop.

When it was time to prepare the chicken, I was excited.  It had developed a really deep orange color from all the spices.  I didn't have a tagine, so I used a deep pan and prepared according to the recipe.  I didn't make any substitutions.  I didn't keep close tabs on the time, instead, I made sure the chicken skin was browned and crispy before flipping it.  I like chicken skin to have a crisp texture instead of a floppy, slow cooked softness.

Onions in, ready to simmer.

The house smelled fantastic as the chicken cooked.  As the chicken cooked, I carefully removed the parsley and cilantro leaves from the stems to ensure no tough stem pieces or the weird little unappetizing hairs cilantro gets if pulled off the stem hastily.

Moments from serving...

At serving time, the dish was very pretty.  The yellow from the lemon and bright green of the parsley and cilantro popped against the red flesh of the chicken.  The skin was satisfyingly crispy and the inside was meaty and moist.  The whole dish was freshly aromatic.

The finished product!

I can't wait to make this one again!  Another winning recipe!

One note: after prepping this dish, I noticed that the white French tips of my manicure were stained yellow, presumably from the turmeric.  Insider tip: consider wearing gloves if you have a fresh or pastel-colored manicure.  Turmeric stains.

Hellmann's Recipe Test: Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Herbs

This recipe from Hellmann's caught my eye when I was deciding what to do with the herbs leftover from the Green Pea and Fava Bean Salad with Sliced Speck.  I don't cook with sage often, so I was looking for good flavor combinations.  Sage and lemon came up together often.  I was also intrigued because while I've used compound butter in cooking, I've never thought to make "compound mayonnaise."

Here's the recipe I found while Googling: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Roasted-chicken-with-lemon-_-herbs-299623?columns=4&position=27%2F60

The original recipe is from the Hellman's website: http://www.hellmanns.com/recipes/detail/32401/1/roasted-chicken-with-lemon-herbs

I used the following:

1 small free range whole chicken  (1.3 lbs.)
1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds
1/2 c. mayonnaise
3 T chopped parsley
2 tsp. chopped sage
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. thyme leaves
salt
fresh ground black pepper


Prep was really easy.  I preheated the oven to 425 and sprayed a roasting pan with non-stick spray.  I removed the giblet bag from inside the chicken.  I roughly doubled the "compound mayonnaise" mixture so I'd have plenty to slather over the 1.3 lb. free range chicken I purchased at Meijer.  Rather than putting the lemon inside the cavity of the bird per the recipe, I sliced it thinly, used my fingers and a knife to loosen the bird's skin, and put the lemon slices under the skin.  This added more moisture and lemon flavor.

Chicken prepped with the lemon slices.

After sliding the lemons under the skin, I liberally salted the bird and then sprinkled it with fresh cracked black pepper.  What seems like too much salt is just right for getting crispy skin.  I mixed the herbs, garlic, mayo, a squeeze of lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  I slathered the chicken with the mayo and tossed the two uneven ends of the lemon into the center cavity of the bird.  For a perfect presentation, I could have tied the legs, but I didn't worry with it.  I wasn't going to plate the bird and bring it to the table this time.

I put the bird in the oven at 425, but did not turn the temperature down after 10 minutes as the recipe suggests.  I find that cooking chicken at a higher temperature yields crispier skin.  For me, the crispy skin is key to a delicious roasted chicken.

While I waited, I sauteed the giblets in a tablespoon of butter and had a tasty snack.

At 40 minutes, I checked the bird at the thigh and it bled when I cut into it.  The surrounding meat was visibly pink.  Since the skin had a nice, crispy look, I tented the pan with foil for the last 25-30 minutes so the bird wouldn't burn.  I checked the bird again at about 1 hour and 10 minutes, and it was done.

I let the bird rest while finishing mashed potatoes.  I served an airline piece to my husband (breast and wing) and ate a leg and thigh.  The chicken was deliciously crispy on the outside, but tender and juicy inside.  The lemon flavor was very present...something you don't always get when cooking with a squeeze of lemon juice.  The slices against the meat allowed the flavor to infuse more deeply.

Chicken, fresh out of the oven.

A closer look at the crispy skin and lemons peeking out from underneath.

This recipe is a keeper--it's easy and flavorful, and the whole bird makes a pretty presentation with the golden skin and lemon rounds peeking out.  Just be mindful of the cooking time.  The original recipe calls for a 4-5 lb. bird, check for doneness at 50 minutes.  There's absolutely no way that a 4-5 lb. bird can cook in an hour.  I worry that an inexperienced home cook will read the recipe and think that they can have this on the table in an hour.

Bon Appetit Recipe Test: Chicken, Asparagus, and Wild Mushroom Stir Fry

In the latest edition of recipe tire kicking, here's another from Bon Appetit's "27 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Recipes That Are NOT Boring."

The original recipe can be found here: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chicken-asparagus-and-wild-mushroom-stir-fry#recipe-ingredients

This one is great--the only clean up is the sautee pan, a plate, and a few utensils--and it goes from ingredients to table in less than 30 minutes.  It's a fantastic weeknight meal full of fresh veggies, and when made without the heavy cream, it's light.

The main change I made to this recipe was substituting chicken broth for the heavy cream.  I'm lactose intolerant and I don't carry my Lactaid around often.  I'm looking for ways to keep my cooking fresh and light.  Heavy cream doesn't fit the bill, especially when it's 90 degrees outside.  I also didn't have Piment d'Espelette.  Frankly, I had to Google what it is--a smoky, mild pepper grown in southwest France.  I learned this from The Perfect Pantry--you can check it out here.  To substitute, I mixed some paprika and cayenne pepper from my spice rack.

You'll need:
olive oil
1lb. boneless chicken breast
1 lb. thin asparagus
1 package shiitake mushrooms (2 if you like mushrooms!)
minced garlic
shallot or onion
white wine
chicken broth
Piment d'Espelette (or cayenne pepper and paprika)
water
salt and pepper
optional--a squeeze of lemon juice for brightness

Here's how I made the magic happen:

Wash all produce.  Trim ends from asparagus.

Heat one tablespoon olive oil in large sautee pan.  Once pan is hot, add asparagus, salt, and pepper.  Sautee for one minute, then add a splash of water and put lid on sautee pan, allow to cook 3-4 more minutes.  I like my asparagus crisp, so I cooked it a total of four minutes.  Remove asparagus.  Leave the remaining liquid in pan.

Add another tablespoon of olive oil, add the shiitake mushrooms and a pinch of salt.  Sautee 8 minutes, remove and add to plate of asparagus.

Add last tablespoon of olive oil, sautee a tablespoon of minced garlic and, either 1/3 cup minced shallot or I added what I had on hand--1/2 cup of minced red onion for two minutes.  Then add the chicken, Piment d'Espelette (or the cayenne and paprika).  Instead of measuring the cayenne and paprika, I just added a pinch of cayenne and dusted the contents of the pan with the paprika.  After chicken was beginning to turn white on outside (about 5 minutes), I added 1/3 cup white wine and half a can of chicken broth.  In the Bon Appetit recipe, this would've been when the heavy cream was added.

Starting to cook the chicken while the sauteed asparagus and shiitake mushrooms wait to return to the pan.

Bring contents to a boil.  At this time, I removed the chicken so it wouldn't get overcooked, then let the contents boil in the pan until they reduced to a sauce that would coat the back of a spoon.  Taste sauce, adjust salt and pepper as needed.  I also added a little more cayenne pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for a hint of brightness.

The broth-based sauce reduced enough to coat a spoon.  The paprika darkened the color--it isn't burnt.

Turn off stove, add the asparagus, chicken, and mushrooms back to pan to coat in the sauce, then serve.

The well-liked final product.

My husband ate his plate of food before I was halfway done, then returned to the kitchen and ate the contents of the container I prepared for him to take as lunch the next day.  Curiously, he asked what the seasoning was, which makes me think that if I'd used real Piment d'Espelette, it may have been even more intriguing.  I can't say I used the paprika in my pantry often--mainly just for deviled eggs!

The only change we would make next time is to toss in two containers of shiitake mushrooms.  We both enjoy mushrooms, and the container we used was only 3.5 or 4 ounces worth.  If you're going to be missing a starchy element, some grilled or crusty bread will make this dish more satisfying.  I didn't miss the starch--I actually enjoyed having something light.

As an aside, this recipe seems like it would be more aptly named "Chicken, Asparagus, and Wild Mushroom Sautee."  Nevertheless, this recipe (with the broth substituted for cream) was another hit at my house.  Enjoy!

Bon Appetit Recipe Test: Thai Chicken Soup

I'm kicking the tires on another recipe for you today.  I found this one in a Bon Appetit magazine Tweet--27 ways to make boneless chicken not boring.  This recipe is a hit!

My husband doesn't do ethnic food.  He has the stomach of a child sometimes--after a trip to an Indian restaurant, he ate something spicy and laid on the sofa for hours moaning and rubbing his tummy.  When I'm craving Vietnamese or Thai food, I call up girlfriends and have a girls' night out.  I didn't tell him this was Thai-inspired until afterwards.  He ate it up, proclaimed how fantastic the broth was, and didn't have a stomachache at all.  Then I told him it was Thai and he looked surprised.

By the way, I fully believe in "Jewish Penicillin"--chicken noodle soup--when you're feeling unwell.  This soup might replace the simple chicken noodle or matzo ball soup though.  It's that good.

I followed the original recipe closely, but not exactly.  The original recipe can be found here:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/thai-chicken-soup

My changes were mostly out of convenience and to cut down on miscellaneous leftover produce in my fridge.  For example, instead of measuring out the mushrooms or sugar snap peas, I tossed in a whole package.  The more veggies, the merrier, right?

Here's my rendition:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 chive pieces (five bulbs, each with about four stalks of green onion on it)
4 teaspoons minced garlic
4 in. piece of fresh ginger (consider using more if you like more zing)
handful of baby carrots
1 jalapeno (consider using two if you like heat)
1 package of sliced white mushrooms (about 8 oz.)
1 package of organic, boneless chicken tenderloins (there were no 1 lb. packages so I used 1.3 lbs.)
1 can coconut milk (this can was 13.5 oz.)
1 quart organic chicken broth
1 package of sugar snap peas (I think it was about 8 oz.)
Fish sauce to taste (I used about 2-3 tablespoons)
2-3 oz. lime juice
2 handfuls of cilantro

Outside of all the washing and chopping, this is very easy to make and has minimal clean up.

Wash all produce.

Put large soup pot on stove on medium heat.  Add the oil and the garlic.  As garlic becomes golden, chop up the scallions and carrots, add to pot.  I used one handful of baby carrots, next time, I'll consider using two since I really like carrots.

Use carrot peeler to scrape the skin off the ginger, then grate into the pot.  I couldn't find out grater, so I was using a serrated knife.  My patience wore off at four inches of the ginger.  I wish I'd used more, so if you like zing, keep grating away.  The original Bon Appetit recipe calls for 1 inch.

Next, I added the a tablespoon of fish sauce, chicken broth, and coconut milk, then all the chicken tenderloins.  Just toss the chicken pieces into the soup pot whole.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer, and set timer for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is simmering, slice the jalapeno thinly.  I de-seeded it to keep the spicy level lower for my husband, but next time, I'll use two jalapenos.  Chop the sugar snap peas into small pieces--they'll look like over-sized rings of green onion.  I always chop mine across or slightly diagonally to make sure I cut across where strings could be.  I tend to find strings, even if the bag says the peas are string-less.

At the 20 minute mark, remove the chicken tenderloins and place on large plate.  Add the pea and jalapeno to the soup pot.  Using a fork and knife (it's hot!), pull the chicken into pieces that will fit on a spoon.  The chicken was really tender and came apart very easily.  Return the pulled chicken to the pot.  Add 2-3oz. of lime juice (I used half of a little green plastic reconstituted lime juice container).  Stir and taste.  At this point, I wanted more salt.  Instead of adding salt, I added another tablespoon or two of fish sauce to get that salty/umami taste I needed.

Taste it to check for the right balance.  Need saltiness or umami?  Add fish sauce.  Need zing?  Add lime juice and or grated ginger.

Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems.  Now you're ready to serve.

For best presentation, use a slotted spoon to scoop up the right balance of chicken and veggies.  Then ladle the broth around the chicken and veggies so you can see them peaking through the surface.  Top with fresh cilantro and serve immediately.

The delicious finished product--Tom Kha Gai inspired Thai Chicken Soup.

Don't add the rest of the fresh cilantro to the leftovers.  It will wilt when sitting in the liquid then during reheating.  Top each reheated bowl with fresh cilantro.

Food and Wine Magazine Recipe Test: Swordfish with Charmoula

Recently, my husband gifted me a subscription to Food and Wine magazine.  This was my first recipe from the magazine, so I thought I'd share the process of kicking the tires for you.

You can find the full recipe here: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/arctic-char-with-charmoula

The original recipe is Arctic Char with Charmoula.  Marsh did not have Arctic Char, but the swordfish filets looked lovely and I hadn't prepped anything swordfish in a long time.

The charmoula was easy to make in a blender.  It did not have the pretty, slightly grainy texture of the sauce in Food and Wine magazine, but it was still salty, bursting with garlic, and abounding with freshness.  The cooking times held true for the swordfish filets.  I think swordfish may actually be a better accompaniment to the charmoula sauce.  Charmoula tastes like chimichurri, which I often associated with robust flavors of steak or grilled chicken.  The swordfish is meatier than char, so it stands up to the bold flavors.

Here's the end result, served with a Starbucks brown rice and veggie bowl salad I had leftover from a work lunch.  I'm a fan of the recipe, but as suggested above, would swap out a meatier fish like swordfish for the char or any delicate white fish.

Easy Chicken Fresca

At my house, anything that tastes even remotely similar to a chimichurri is a huge hit.  This chicken recipe has the fresh flavors reminiscent of chimichurri, but on a weeknight schedule (no food processor or blender clean up!). The sauce isn't really a sauce or salsa, it's more of a fresh relish, so I'm calling it "fresca topping."  You can get this from ingredients to finished product in about 30 minutes, depending on the plumpness of your chicken.

You'll need:
Olive oil
Minced garlic
Lime juice
A vine ripe or Roma tomato
Parsley
Cilantro
2-4 Boneless chicken breasts
Cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper

Dice the tomato and sprinkle with salt.  The salt will express some of the moisture from the tomato while you finish the other fresca components.

Diced tomatoes sprinkled with salt.

Begin with 1-2-3.  Mix one tablespoon minced garlic, two tablespoons lime juice, and three tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl.

The moisture for the topping is this 1-2-3 mixture.

Remove one to one and a half cups of cilantro leaves from the stem.  Other than cooking the chicken to a food safe temperature, this is the most important part of the recipe.  The stems are too coarse and get little hairs on them when the leaves are removed haphazardly.  These mistakes create a poor mouth-feel.  Take the time to remove the leaves cleanly.  Wash.  Then use scissors to chop up the leaves.  Pat dry and add to the 1-2-3 mixture.

Pluck each leaf of cilantro from the stem individually.

If you go to hastily, you'll end up with pieces on the leaves that feel like hair in your mouth.

Use scissors to quickly make the cilantro into small bits.

Repeat with the parsley, about half to three-quarters cup.  Wash, chop, and add to bowl.

Drain the moisture from the plate of tomatoes, add to bowl.  Add fresh black pepper and a few dashes of cayenne.  Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Finished topping.  Sit on counter at room temp to allow the flavors to marry.

Let the bowl sit at room temp while you prep the chicken.

Preheat oven to 400 and put skillet on stove on medium-high.  Add a splash of olive oil.  While skillet heats, splash chicken with lime, then sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and cayenne.  When skillet is hot--a drip of water from a spoon sizzles--add the chicken.  Cook about three minutes (so meat is golden) then flip.  Cook another three minutes then transfer the whole skillet to oven.  These free-range breasts from Fresh Market were extra plump and required an additional 10 minutes in the oven, then 10 on broil.  If you have any doubts, check temp with a meat thermometer in thickest part of chicken to ensure you've reached 165.  These breasts can also be prepared on the grill.

Chicken ready to be covered to rest.  Resting lets the chicken soak up the juices and rise a few more degrees internally.

Let chicken rest a few minutes, then slice thinly.  Use the tines of a fork to guide you if you're not used to cutting thin slices.  If you're struggling, you also might need a sharper knife.

Arrange across plate and top with your fresca topping.  You can either place the fresca topping directly on the chicken, or beside it if you're not so sure how much you'll like it.  If there's any juice in the bottom of the bowl where your topping was melding together, drizzle it over the chicken to add a burst of lime freshness and moisture.

Presentation option 1: crown the chicken with the topping.

Presentation option 2: place the topping alongside the chicken.  Good for if you're not sure these flavors will be a hit.

A simple salad, brown rice, or quinoa are nice accompaniments.  Or, if you're looking for a light meal, enjoy alone so you have room for fresh fruit or sorbet for dessert.