OK, let me start this entry off by summarizing the past eight days. We had our annual "Dance Recital". last week of music classes, student appreciation day and various other time consuming responsibilities ... And I still found time to cook some great meals that are restaurant worthy.
First we'll start with Friday morning. I had a late night and got up way to early. Realizing that there wasn't much in the way of breakfast food available to cook, I decided to cook the last three eggs in the carton. Now there are a million different ways to cook an egg,but my preferred technique is "basted". The "basted"technique is just a fried egg, or also known as "sunny side up". The difference with a basted egg is that you use steam to cook the vein or top of the egg as if it was cooked "once over". So I start my pan off with 1 teaspoon of butter and thin little slivers of garlic. Add the eggs....(A side note. Crack your eggs on a flat surface as opposed to the edge of your pan or mixing bowl,so you avoid getting bits of shell or as I like to call it "shrapnel" in what you are cooking). I lowered the heat to medium and I started collecting the rest of my ingredients. I finely chopped fresh Basil and threw in a sprinkle of Ground Coriander. A little salt and pepper and I am ready to baste. Using 1/2 an ounce of chicken stock ...(if you don't have a way to measure 1/2 an ounce , use a standard shot glass and fill it half way!), cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat off . The eggs will be perfectly cooked and you won't have to turn them over . Shave some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on the top , add some sliced tomatoes and avocado and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top. Garnish with some finely diced parsley and basil and serve with a fresh cup of coffee.
I cooked this dish in less time than it took for the coffee to brew . And this is how I started the beginning of the "eight days of insanity" .....
Now onto Sunday nights dinner. The menu was what I would consider a typical Sunday meal in the winter months but I felt like making pasta sauce albeit the middle of June. Now I know making sauce is not as easy as 123. It does take a while to cook, but if you've already committed your self to spending that much time in the kitchen, then you can cook some other things that are also time consuming... So I had a bit of a mishap that I am sure has happened to some of you. I was adding salt to my tomato sauce and the rotating selector cap on the top of the container fell off and a small mountain of sea salt is now on top of the sauce itself. This is a perfect opportunity to freak out considering how much time was invested into the sauce already. Luckily I was in the company of some friends that were willing to run to the store and grab me a couple of cans of crushed tomatoes. I tried to skim off as much salt as I could and then split the contents of the sauce into two pots . I added the fresh cans of tomatoes and about the equivalent of eight ounces of parsley. After some reducing I added a cup of red wine 2 pats of butter and let it slowly do its thing, this allowed me to start a garlic and herb risotto that was what the sauce is for. If you never cooked risotto, it is a labor intensive process. You have to stay on top of it or it will get away from you. Once your "In The Weeds" with your risotto, there really is no way out. Once the sauce and the risotto were near completion, I threw some sirloin steaks on the grill that where marinating in an authentic Argentine Chimichurri sauce and placed a whole peeled Vidalia onion on the top rack. Once the steaks were almost medium rare, I took them off the grill and let them rest, this gave me the opportunity to finish the risotto and cut up the onion. When it was all said and done, The entire meal from prep to table took about an hour and forty five minutes. Yes you can cook tomato sauce in a short time, it just comes down to manipulating the heat and neutralizing the acidity with a generous amount of parsley . I have made it a personal mission as a an "amateur chef" to dispel the myth that you need to cook tomatoes for hours on end to make them less acidic and edible . I listed everything you need to make this dish below, please post if you have any questions.
Now go cook something !!!!!
Dan
Directions for Tomato Sauce
4-28oz cans of crushed tomatoes
2-28oz cans of tomato sauce
4 cloves of garlic
8 ounces of finely diced parsley
8 ounces of finely diced basil
1 cup of red wine
Add one table spoon of extra virgin olive oil in sauce pot and add thinly sliced slivers of garlic . Once the garlic becomes aromatic add the tomatoes and stir in half the parsley and basil let simmer for about a half an hour, then add the cup of red wine. Add the rest of the herbs, and with an immersion blender liquefy everything in the pot . Lower the heat and let reduce .
Directions for Garlic and Herb Risotto
15 ounces of high quality Risotto
1/2 Vidalia onion
34 Ounces of chicken stock
1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup of white wine
1/2 cup of shallots
In a large saucepan, saute 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots in 2 tablespoon of olive oil until softened, but not brown. Stir in 1 cup rice. Stir in 1/2 cup white wine until absorbed. Add 5 cups of hot broth, in 1/2 cup additions; stirring at a brisk simmer until rice is creamy and tender. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 tablespoon of butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions for an authentic Argentine Chimichurri Sauce.
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup freshly chopped Oregano
1/2 cup freshly chopped Parsley
4 Garlic Cloves very finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
P.S.
Since Saturday was the Recital, There truly was no time to cook...So we kept up the annual tradition of pizza. At least it was from a reputable and authentic pizza joint, not any of those fast food frozen pizza places that I can't stand. When you have eat out, try to eat smart and eat fresh.
