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!

Cooking Light recipe test: Pork Chops with Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Gorgonzola

I'll save you the suspense: this recipe is definitely a keeper.

I love pork chop recipes, but after the Chef John Smothered Pork Chops, I was a little gun shy.  I have my own way of making pork chops learned while working at Gourmet Grazing for a summer in Prospect, Kentucky.  They're impossible to beat.  Interestingly enough, the Chef John chops were just named the top pork chop recipe by Allrecipies.  For this reason, I feel compelled to unsubscribe from Allrecipes.com emails.  Allrecipes is for people with really basic palates and poor cooking skills.  Their top recipes are basic recipes that lack interesting ingredients, a deft hand, and artistic presentation.  I picture them as nursing home food.  I'm routinely disappointed by the recipes I find there.

Anyway, so I saw this recipe on Cooking Light.  After a lot of winter hibernation, I could use some lightening up.  It didn't disappoint.  The veggies came out delightfully sweet in that balsamic way with just a little of the tasty char from modification of the cooking instructions.  The Gorgonzola was the perfect amount of tangy creaminess.

Here's the original recipe:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pork-chops-balsamic-roasted-vegetables

I followed the original recipe for all the ingredients and quantities.  To marinate the veggies, after all the slicing I put them in plasticware, drizzled with the balsamic mixture, then shook the container vigorously.  The veggies were evenly coated quickly and efficiently.  Then I left them in the fridge for a few hours this way to let the flavors meld.

Place veggies in plasticware.  Drizzle with balsamic mixture.

Now seal.  Check for a tight seal twice.  Then shake vigorously.  You'll end up with evenly coated veggies like this.

Potatoes browned, veggies in.  I recommend hitting broil instead of baking at 425.  After about 10 minutes, the veggies had perfectly charred edges.  I think those are the key to tasty roasted veggies.

After the 10 minutes on broil, I added the pork chops and left the oven at broil.  This gave the pork chops some nice charred edges, too.  I watched the chops and removed them once the golden broiling marks appeared.

The final product was a hit at my house.  I went light on the Gorgonzola for my portion since I try to minimize the dairy I consume.  You can sprinkle more generously like my husband's portion if you crave cheesy creaminess.

Pork Chops with Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Gorgonzola

Bottom line: make this recipe as soon as possible.  You won't regret it.

Insider tip: broil to yield more crispy edge, charred veggies.  That's the good stuff.

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.