Sue's Version of a Frittata

I recently posted this in a group I belong to. Then I thought, thought I, I should put this in my blog. So, here it is.

Serves 6 ... unless you're like some of my family, and then it serves 3...or 2. Preheat the oven to TO 325*F
EQUIPMENT

• a large cast-iron frying pan
• A fork or a whisk
• a tablespoon
• a shredder
• a pair of scissors
• a large bowl

INGREDIENTS

• one dozen (12) eggs
• 2 to 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of medium hot salsa
• 2 green onions cut small - optional

HOW TO
The very first thing to remember about this is DO NOT GREASE THE PAN! The second thing to remember is NO MILK! These will both make your frittata scorch and burned eggs are NASTY!

1. Crack all of the eggs in to the large bowl, then beat them with the fork or whisk.
2. Add the salsa (and extra onion if you like it) to the eggs and mix well.
3. Add the cheese to the egg and salsa and blend just enough so that everything is fairly even.
4. Pour it all in to the frying pan and carefully slide it in to the oven for about 45 minutes. When the tops has puffed up and is beginning to crack a little its time to check it. If it wiggles when you shake the pan a bit it needs another 5 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-7 minutes, then serve with toast, biscuits or baked bannock. 

This is fantastically yummy! Bon appetite!

Simple Pineapple Rice

[UPDATE: This is a wonderful example of why you should never do anything that requires thought when you're in too much pain. Two days in a row I've written the wrong information. I hope I didn't ruin anyone's dinner. I am so sorry!]
On the heels of yesterday's plain white rice recipe, I would like to tell you about one of the yummiest, most alluring rice dishes I've come across...pineapple rice. Allergy Warning: if you are allergic to pineapple this recipe is NOT for you! Now, understand that I only discovered this gem of cookery very recently. I know it's been around for a long, long time; I, however, only tried it for the first time in June. In fact I served it with a massive mixed salad and barbecued pork chops. I am telling you that was one heck of a good meal! Even the children in attendance are still asking when I'm going to make it again. Yes, I am absolutely honking my own horn here. This recipe is also easy and pretty simple as well, but, like plain rice, does require your full attention. Note of Warning; this is one of those recipes that you really have to read completely before you begin. It's a bit confusing in spots and you may get bass-akwards if you try to just bulldoze through.

You Will Need

• a 1-cup measuring cup
• a 2-4 Qt pot with lid
• long-grained white rice
• a 398 ml can of pineapple bits or crushed pineapple
• salt
• a small amount of water, or extra pineapple juice
• sugar - optional (I never use it)
• and again, your stove

You absolutely can get a fresh pineapple and cut it down to size yourself, retaining as much of the juices as you're able. My guess is it would take this dish from really yummy to fabulously awesome. You'd only need about a cup and a half or two cups of actual pineapple for the recipe, though. You could juice the rest, because you do need some juice for this. You can buy extra pineapple juice if you want it very flavourful; I haven't tried this yet but I sure as heck am planning to. The recipe I originally got called for a couple of teaspoons of cane sugar - or it may have been a tablespoon - but I don't' use it in favour of a more pure pineapple taste. Okay, on-wards.

The Recipe

• 1 1/2 C rice
• 1 can of pineapple bits or crushed pineapple, drained & juice reserved
• 2 C fluid in all, including reserved pineapple juice, plus enough extra juice/water to make correct amount
• pinch of salt
• 1-2 tsp cane sugar if desired

Again, few ingredients and none of them are expensive. My wallet always appreciates this.

How To

Sorry if some of this is a bit confusing. Let me try to clear it up a bit by taking it one step at a time.

1. Place the rice in to the pot.
2. You do need the pineapple from the can and you also need the juice from it as well. However you need them separately. So drain the juice from the can of pineapple in to a small bowl  with a strainer. Slide the pineapple pieces back in to the can and place it in to the fridge to be used later.
3. Then pour the juice in to your measuring cup; it will probably come to about 3/4 of a cup. Add water or extra pineapple juice to fill the cup and pour in the pot, then add one more cup of fluid to come out to 2 cups even. (Remember that long-grain, white rice cooks best at a 2-1 ratio; 2 parts fluid to 1 part rice.)
4. Sprinkle a pinch of salt in to the fluid/rice mix. Add sugar if desired. Place lid on pot.
5. Place pot on burner and turn on to medium-high. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Boil for 5 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to minimum and simmer low for 12-15 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and turn burner off. Remove lid and gently agitate rice to fluff it up.
8. Retrieve pineapple from the fridge and add gently to the hot rice.
9. Serve hot or cold alone or with other items.

There it is. It's a bit more fussy than plain rice, but not a lot. And the extra few steps are SO worth it! Apparently you can use any number of juices to cook your rice in. I'll accept this as fact until it's proven otherwise. I can vouch that this is so dang good your taste buds will dance for joy. Well...mine did anyway.
This goes really well with barbecued pork as I said earlier, as well as pretty much anything that has a sweet and spicy flavour. It's also pretty delicious as-is for breakfast the next morning ... provided there are left-overs, which is unlikely unless you make enough on purpose.
Good luck and happy cooking.

Rice, and nothing else.

Back in May I posted an article on how to make herbed rice. This, however, is another response to a specific request; how to make plain, long-grain rice. A neighbour across the cul-de-sac was grumping yesterday morning. She loves rice, but she could only make the minute-type, which, let's face it, is kind of blech. "Oh," I replied, "I can teach you how!" She was thrilled that it was as easy as I assured her it is and her first pot turned out quite well. (I believe it went in to another recipe for her families dinner.) This really is quite an easy recipe. In truth it isn't that much harder than the minute-style "instant" rice, nor does it take much longer. Plus it tastes a whole lot better!

You'll need

• a 1 cup measuring cup
• a 2-4 qt pot, with lid
• long grained, white rice
• a couple of pinches of salt
• and, of course, your stove

That's it. Five little items is all it takes. I prefer to use Asian rice. I find it cooks better and comes out fluffier. This is a personal preference; if I only have no-name rice from a grocery store or the food bank, then that's what I use.

The Recipe

• 1 C of long-grain, white rice
• 2 C's of water
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1/2 tsp butter or margarine, optional

How To

Put everything in to the pot at once, place the lid on, and turn the burner on medium high. Bring to a boil, then turn down slightly and let boil for 5 (and ONLY 5) minutes. Lift the lid and gently stir the rice, then replace the lid. Next turn the burner down to minimum and simmer very low for 15 minutes (again ONLY 15).

Remove from the heat, take off the lid and move the rice around very conservatively with a fork or a rice paddle if you own one, then replace the lid and let stand for 4-5 minutes. Serve as is or in combination with what ever strikes your fancy, or use in another recipe. You're done.

As you can see it's easy, and it's simple. It is a little bit fussy. The timing really does seems to be critical, so use that timer! You cannot walk away from making rice and expect it's going to come out alright. It won't. If you wish to, you can rinse your rice in a sieve before putting it in the pot. It does tend to make it a bit less sticky, but only a bit. You probably noticed that I put butter/margarine as an optional part of the recipe. I only add it in the winter time. It may sound crazy, but it works better in winter, but tends to make the rice scorch in summer. There's probably some scientific reason for this, I just don't know it. If someone else does, I'd love to know so please post it in the comments below.

Remember, you do have 15 minutes while it's simmering to do what ever you have to do. There are a large number of quickie recipes you can whip up in 15 minutes. Or you could set the table, choose a movie, chat with a human of some nature or even, if you're really fast, take a shower.

Don't be surprised if this doesn't turn out perfectly the first time. That's as common as rainwater. Practice makes perfect with rice though, and it doesn't take that long. Soon you'll be the one saying "Oh, I can teach you how to make great rice!"

Happy cooking.

!UPDATE!

I realized while I was writing a related post, that I had failed to put in some fairly important information.

Long-grained white rice cooks at a 2-1 ratio, i.e. 2 parts fluid (water, juice, etc.) to one part rice. As a matter of fact it's almost always exactly that ratio. Hence you can use any container at all to measure out the rice and water, as long as you use the same container for both. So you can use a measuring cup, but you can also use a tin can, a coffee mug, or a plastic sour-cream container. As long as your pot is large enough, you're good to go. You will have to increase or decrease the salt depending on what you use to measure, of course. But since there really isn't much salt used in the first place that should be fairly easy to calculate. Sorry for letting this one slip. Hopefully there is no harm done.

RECIPES: The Basic Basics & A Little Beyond

I was aghast when I had the following discussion with a friend's teenager;

P - "We had cooking class today."

Me - "Great...Did you find all your equipment okay?"

P - "Oh, we don't do that. They set it all out for us."

You read it right: Teachers set all the equipment and ingredients out for students! This, of course, means they don't learn to do it for themselves.

It seems that this is not uncommon anymore. It's simpler and faster to do so. Students are only taught to collect appropriate equipment and ingredients if they go to a higher level of cooking classes in grade 10 and higher with an eye to making cooking their career. It turns out that teaching kids to set up and clear away for cooking at home, where they live and will eat, is not an efficient use of resources and time. It also turns out that it's been this way for some time.

Now that explains a LOT!

I've had literally countless talks with people who say things like "I hate cooking; I never know what to use/do!" and "I learn more from cooking shows than I ever did in school."

Please understand that I came from a time when you began to learn cooking from your mom, grandma, aunt or all of them (which, admittedly, could be exasperating), and usually at around the age of 6 or 7. Why? Because cooking takes time to learn. And when you burned your finger for the first time, you were told, "It's all part of cooking, sweetheart. You'll burn yourself less as you get better at it." It was the same response when I cut myself or grated my fingers along with the carrot, celery or apple. And those little injuries did not herald a 7 hours trip to the emergency room (except for twice when I actually needed stitches). Did it scar me? Oh, heck no! I love to cook. Unless of course you're talking about physical scars; then yes I have a few. I'm proud of those scars. I earned them by learning and mastering a skill that I have used my entire life to nurture and support my own children, whom I have taught to cook in the same way I was.

What we have developed, though, is a society in which it is increasingly common to be unable to cook for lack of the most basic of skills, such as gathering equipment and supplies, organising your kitchen, reading recipes, washing dishes and shopping.

I can do something about this, though, in the format of a blog; a series of blogs actually. So, let's start with the most basic of basics,

Reading A Recipe

While this may be self explanatory to some home cooks, to others it's a mystery of the magnitude of the Phrygian Knot. But like that ancient puzzle, it really it isn't as tough as it seems. It's all in the method. First let's figure out how they're written. Below is a recipe I've used (it's quite yummy, by the way).

1 - Temperature. This is what you have to set your oven to, and it's repeated in the directions. If this notation does not appear in the upper right corner, then the dish is cooked on the stovetop, in a slow cooker, on a barbeque, or by some other means (and there are a surprising number of them!).

2 - Ingredients. These are the foods you need to make the recipe, and how much of each of them. Some ingredients have to be at a certain temperature such as the butter in this one; to make sure it's room temperature we'd just take it out of the fridge a few hours in advance. Generally, optional ingredients are marked as such, such as the powdered sugar, but not always. For instance, this recipe calls for a cup of chopped walnuts. In fact the nuts would be optional and this cake turns out just fine without them. Better in my own opinion.

3 - Directions. This part of the recipe tells you what to do, and how to do it. This recipe tells us the oven needs to be preheated; this means you turn the oven on to the indicated temperature before you start putting everything together. It also says to cream the butter, and only then add the sugar, egg and so forth. It also, however, tells you what you'll need as far as equipment goes. We can see that we'll need two bowls for this recipe, as well as a mixer with a whisk attachment, a sifter or wire sieve, measuring cups and spoons and a loaf or tube pan. Most recently written or re-written, recipes have a specific list of equipment you'll need but older ones, prior to the 1990's, tend not to.

The Method

1)     Key to understanding a recipe, especially the first time you try it, is reading it all the way through! Read it from the first letter to the last without skipping anything. You need every bit of the information in it to set up.

2)     Relax. Take your time. It isn't a race, as my grandmother used to say. If that means that you,  your family and/or your friends eat an hour later than usual then that's when they eat. Mistakes happen most often when the cook is tense and/or rushed.

3)     Make lists of needed equipment and supplies. You won't be the first one to need a list, or a few lists, and you won't be the last. Professional's use lists all the time. Over time you'll need fewer lists, especially for dishes you make regularly. I still use lists when I'm making something complicated or new. I definitely make a list when shopping for the ingredients for Christmas baking! I didn't do that one year...it was horrible! I ended up BUYING SHORTBREAD...from a STORE!

4)     If you don't understand a term, or terms, in your recipe, look it up. There are a number of ways you can do this. You can use a search engine. I prefer Google; you may not. There are a number of quite good websites, such as Food Network Canada, with lists of terminology and technique. You can also go to the library, ask a friend or, if you are very gutsy, phone or email a cooking school, college, high school or your favourite restaurant and ask a teacher or the chef. Or you can leave a comment and ask me. I don't know it all, but I can usually find an answer or at least a link to the answer.

There you have it; four steps to reading a recipe. As I said, not that tough. And you will get better at it the more often you do it.

Now you may want to know why you want to read a recipe this way. That too is simple. You need the information to gather the equipment and ingredients to make it with the best chances of a successful dish. And at the risk of overwhelming you with too much information, I'm going to explain those, as well. You see, while they are not, strictly speaking, part of reading the recipe, they are closely associated with it.

Gather Together The Equipment That Is Specified In The Recipe and

 trust me it is all there. Let's say your making the recipe for scones to the right (by the way this really is my yummy scones recipe; you bake them at 325*F at sea level). It calls for one teaspoon (tsp) of baking soda. From this we know that you will need measuring spoons, or at least a one-teaspoon measure. It also says to "press in to a cast-iron frying pan. Then you will need a cast-iron frying pan. What if you don't HAVE a cast-iron frying pan or measuring spoons? That's actually pretty simple, as well. You can of course buy them. I would recommend buying them from a thrift store or garage sale at first, simply because they can be expensive; I mean really, really expensive! A good cast-iron frying pan can easily cost $100 or more brand-new. And then what happens if you never use it again? You're out a hundred bucks, is what. Even better would be to borrow one from a friend or family member. Arrange to borrow it/them a few days in advance, be sure to clean it thoroughly when you're done with it, and return it promptly. If it turns out you will make this recipe again, or find other recipes that need the same piece of equipment, that's when you buy one of your own, and I'd still recommend good used ones.

Gather Together All The Ingredients You'll Need...

this is a bit simpler because it's all written at, or toward the beginning of, the recipe. Let's assume you're making potato cheddar soup. 

It says you'll need potatoes, bacon, butter, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, chicken stock, milk, cheese and salt and pepper, and that's what you get out. If you don't have an ingredient either buy it (which works if it's a staple like onions or milk) or see if a neighbour or friend will loan you a little bit of it (most people will part with, for example, one stalk of celery).                                                                  

I'll leave it here for this time. I don't want to overwhelm you with too much information at once...probably too late. For the next while just take a little time to examine recipes. You don't have to make them; just read them and get used to how they're written. Pretty soon you'll be able to read them and use them more easily. Also I'd like you, the reader, to leave me comments and tell me what you'd like to know more about and learn.
Until next time.

The Bird Is The Word, Part Too-Dang-Good

This is my famous - at least among my family, friends and almost anyone who has eaten it - oven roasted poultry recipe. It's really really good! Have patience and take it a step at a time.
Oven Roasted Chicken or Turkey
The Stuffing
4 slices air-dried whole wheat bread
2 slices air-dried white bread
1/2 medium onion, sliced to your preference
3-5 tblsp butter
2+ heaping tsp poultry seasoning
salt & pepper as desired
In a large bowl or extra large zip style food bag, break dried bread in to 1/2 - 1/4 inch pieces, and set aside. In a skillet melt the butter at medium heat, then add onion and let saute' on low. Add butter and onion to bread. Add poultry seasoning and salt and pepper. Keep adding poultry seasoning until it smells slightly overwhelming. Work all together well with spoon or hands, or by sealing bag and shaking. If mixture is not quite moist enough, add plain water using a spray bottle on mist setting; repeat mixing process. Set aside.
The Bird
Preheat oven to 325&F (at sea level). Rinse the plucked and dressed chicken well and check over for stray feather heads and shafts. Place in a pot or bowl just big enough to fit the bird vertically with the breast opening up. Fill as much of the stuffing as possible in to the cavity and then seal it with string or metal skewers  Invert chicken and repeat with tail cavity. Lay chicken in lightly greased roasting pan only half again as large as the bird. Twist wings back on themselves to secure, and tie or skewer legs in place. Take a 12 inch metal skewer and push in through breast cavity and out through tail cavity to properly cook stuffing. Rub soft butter on to bird, generously sprinkle on poultry seasoning and pepper (no salt), and rub again. Cook for 15 minutes per pound (thawed). 20 minutes before removing from oven remove roaster lid, baste chicken and allow skin to brown; baste frequently. Remove from oven and de-pan chicken to a serving platter or cutting board. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
The Gravy
Place the roasting pan on to a large burner on your stove top, and turn on to medium high. Pour 1 cup of hot water in to the roaster and allow to come to a  boil. In the mean time, put 3/4 of a cup of cold water and 3-4 tblsp a.p. flour in to a glass jar with a tightly fitting lid. Shake vigorously until lumps are gone. Pour flour mixture in to boiling water, stirring rapidly while adding. Stir in larger and larger circles throughout roaster as it all boils and thickens. Remove from heat when desired thickness. Strain if desired. Serve.

If you have any questions leave a comment. 
Unfortunately I'm a little bit rushed at this moment. I will, however, get back on this as soon as I can.

The Bird is the Word: Part Won!

Chicken. Yes, chicken. I've always had trouble cooking chicken. My friend Angela can attest to it. Outside of  coating mix chicken or my always-delicious roasted chicken (the recipe for which I will post later; yes +Angela Gallant  you FINALLY get it!) chicken has been my Waterloo. So I am going to research and try out various chicken recipes, especially those for an itty-bitty budget, using this blog to record my successes, failures and whatever else happens. Now please be aware that I do not have a camera at this time, so I may or may not be able to add pictures. We do have a cell phone, but I'm just not adept enough at using the thing to know how to use it right.
I got this particular recipe of of Epicurious, a site for people who love food. Here's the link:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Perfect-Pan-Roasted-Chicken-Thighs-365489
And here's the recipe.

PAN-ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS

• 6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 pounds)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 475°F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12" cast-iron or heavy nonstick skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Nestle chicken in skillet, skin side down, and cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat to  medium-high. Continue cooking skin side down, occasionally rearranging chicken thighs and rotating pan to evenly distribute heat, until fat renders and skin is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and cook 13 more minutes. Flip chicken; continue cooking until skin crisps and meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate; let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Tonight I will try it and let you know how it goes.

UPDATE!

The first thing out of my mouth when I put this in my mouth was "Oh my god this is good!" And it really, really is. I've always told my kids that people screw food up by fussing too much, and this recipe proves it.
I used a 9 lb. cast iron frying pan and, as I live at sea-level, I put my oven on 400*F, not 475. I probably could have been a little bit more attentive to it; then the skin would have been intact. This picture doesn't show it well. there's too much redness that wasn't in the actual chicken, but I never claimed to be a photographer. However I was also making herbed rice, home-made ice tea and veggies.