Last Night's Dinner #129: Cottage Pie

Here's one of Hillsy's all-time favorite dish - typically it's made with lamb (Shepard's Pie), but since I don't eat Lamb we usually have this version. Last time we had this was when he tried making it - let's just say there was room for improvement so I promised I'd give it a shot the next time around...

This is a pretty simple dish to make, as long as you're fairly organized and do things in a certain order. It's also one of those dishes where you need to trust your own senses and season accordingly.

This recipe was based off of Tea and Sympathy's recipe but I didn't really follow the measurements to a T. Always go with your gut!

You'll need:
~4 potatoes peeled and coarsely cut into chunks
a big can of peeled whole tomatoes
about a cup of beef broth
1 pound of ground beef (the leaner the better)
1 tsp of Oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce or more depending on how you like it
one small onion finely chopped
one medium carrot finely chopped
one cup of peas (fresh or frozen)
about 1/2-1 cup of milk or cream
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
salt + pepper to taste

Prep:
1. Cut all the veggies as noted above.
2. Boil water for potatoes and add salt to the water.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Take out a square glass or ceramic baking thingy.
5. Gather the rest of the ingredients so it's all within arms reach.
6. Crush the tomatoes and set aside.
7. Transfer carrots and peas into a semi shallow pan and add a little bit of water so that it helps steam the veggies. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Drain and set aside.


Mash Potatoes (Topping)
Start by boiling the potatoes for the mash. Boil until fork tender. About 15 minutes. Drain. Then start mashing with a masher or with a fork. Add butter tablespoon at a time, and season with salt and pepper. Once you've added all of the butter, slowly pour in milk/cream. The amount you put depends on how you like your mash. I like mine sort of thick and fluffy. Make sure the seasoning is right. Set aside.


Filling:
Sauté onions (a couple of carrots made their way into the pan!) in olive oil, once translucent add meat and chop up so that there aren't any big chunks of meat. Season with salt. Brown the meat.

Add crushed tomatoes, beef broth, oregano and bay leaves. Mix and allow to boil then simmer for about one hour.


You want it to go from soupy to a nice thick meat sauce - sort of like hamburger helper (you're lucky if you don't know what that is).


Be careful to mix every now and then, so the bottom doesn't end up burning.

Once the sauce/filling is nice and thick, no longer soupy - add the carrots and peas. Mix. At this point, you want to remove the bay leaves and also test the flavors. Do you need more Worcestershire sauce? More salt? Pepper?


Assemble:
Transfer the meat filling into your glass/ceramic container and carefully transfer the mashed potatoes on top using the back of a spoon.


Cook for approximately 40-45 minutes. You might want to set the timer for 30 minutes and check it out to see how it's doing. You want the top to have a nice golden brown.

This is sooooo good.

Last Night's Dinner #116: Pork Chops with Saté Sauce and Mom's Pickled Cucumber

Alright, I got my cooking mojo back... thanks to the arrival of Gourmet, I was inspired to make Pork Saté (or Satay) with my Mom's Pickled Cucumber Salad!



You'll need:
1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
1/2 cup well stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk
2 tbs of roasted red chile paste (preferebly Thai Kitchen)
2 tbs fish sauce
1 small shallot chopped
1 tbs cider vinegar
1 tsp sugar
4 thin bone-in pork chops
lime wedges for garnish

Mom's Pickled Cucumber Salad:
Cucumbers cut into 1/4" slices
three pinches of salt and two pinches of black pepper
equal parts of white vinegar and water
3 tbs sugar


step 1. Take peanuts, coconut milk, chile paste, fish sauce, shallot, vinegar, and sugar and purée in a blender or food processor.


step 2. Transfer to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. The sauce will be quite thick, so you can add about 3 tbs of water to it. More if you want it thinner - but you might have to add more fish sauce + sugar to adjust the flavoring. At this point, you might want to squeeze a tiny bit of lime juice to give in an extra zing. I made the sauce a couple of hours before dinner so that the flavors introduce themselves to each other and have time to mingle. I reheated it right before serving.
*it will be a little grainy because of the peanuts. If you want it a little less grainy/chunky, maybe you can substitute half of the peanuts with peanut butter? I haven't tried but I'm sure it would work. Or you could mortar and pestle the peanuts before adding into the processor. I personally didn't mind the texture.


step 3. In the meantime, marinate the cucumbers (I used Kirby) in vinegar/water, salt, pepper and sugar mixture. Make enough of the mixture so it covers the cucumbers. Allow to sit for minimum of 20 minutes. OH and cook the rice!

My mom used to make this all the time, I love it. It's very similar to the pickled carrots and cabbage you sometimes get at Vietnamese restaurants. Sweet and tangy. The crunchy texture is a perfect accompaniment to the pork and rice. Yummy.


step 4. Wash and pat dry the chops then season well with salt and pepper. If you're lucky enough to have a BBQ grill then go ahead and grill as you would normally. If not, use a ridged pan like mine and cook until cooked through or however you like your pork done. It took me about 11 minutes to cook the chops. Depending on how thick your meat is, cooking time will vary. If you don't have a ridged pan, no worries, I'm sure it will taste the same if you cook it on a regular pan!

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Gourmet

Last Night's Dinner #100: Halibut with Peas à la Française

I can't believe I made it to 100 dinners!! And I can't believe it's going to be 65° F today!


Halibut with Peas à la Française

Martha had Eric Ripert on her show last week and I definitely had to try his Halibut with Peas à la Française recipe. Can you believe that Halibut was $21.99/lb at Whole Foods?!? Well, I didn't want to skimp so I warned Hillsy that we would need to eat very slowly and savor the pricey catch. He suggested eating with toothpicks to help slow us down!

The site's version of the recipe is slightly different from the way he cooked it on the show, so thankfully I recorded it on DVR and played it back...



Serves 2
You'll need:
- 2 ounces of bacon slap, cut into 3/4-by-1/4-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 pearl onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 halibut fillets (6 ounces each)
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground white pepper (I didn't have white pepper as you can tell from the black specks on the fish)
- 3/4 pounds fresh English peas, about 1 cups shelled and blanched
- 1/2 cup finely shredded iceberg lettuce (I didn't shred mine fine enough!)
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock or Fish Fumet



Heat up your dutch oven and add bacon and onions (season with salt). Cook until nicely golden and fat is fully rendered - make sure you don't burn the onions, so lower your heat or take the pot of the heat if you notice it getting too hot too quickly. (I noticed that it was a bit dry in the pot - I wasn't getting much fat out of the bacon, so I drizzled a few drops of oil and added about 1 tbs of water.)



In the meantime, season the fish well with salt and pepper. Once the bacon and onions are ready, place the two fillets on top of the bacon/onion mixture. Add the peas and lettuce around the fish and slowly pour in the stock. Cover with the lid and make sure your heat isn't too high. It should be done in 5 or so minutes. The fish will be white and very opaque.

Place each fillet on a serving plate and spoon some of the peas, onions, lettuce and juice around the fillet. Enjoy!

Last Night's Dinner #99: Fuss-Free Steak with Olives

Quick and tasty has been the theme around here lately - so here's one more for the road.



I found this recipe in the latest issue of Gourmet. It took me about 15 minutes to make. The carrots took a little longer, but if you're in a rush you can stick with a leafy side like a simple salad or a fresh fennel and orange salad would be yum.

You'll need:
1 lb top sirloin boneless 1" thick
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of chopped garlic
1/4 cup of black olives in brine (I used kalamata olives) coarsely cut
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
Fresh slices of lemon.



Heat up a cast iron skillet (not non-stick), make sure it's hot. Pat the steak dry and season with salt and pepper. Cook on one side for about 4 minutes (lower the heat if you notice it burning). Don't turn or move until the time is up. Turn and cook the other side for another 4 minutes. Remove from heat and place meat on a cutting board.

Add 2 tbs of olive oil to the pan and cook garlic and pepper flakes for 2 minutes until golden then add olives. Cook for a minute or so then remove from heat and add parsley.

Cut the meat into thin slices (cut on the bias - opposite of grain). Top with olive mixture and serve with fresh lemon slices.



I served it with grilled carrots.



And look what Hillsy brought home for dessert - cream puffs again! Yay!

Last Night's Dinner #98: Cheesiest Potato Casserole

This doesn't even need an intro, just look at all that yummy melted cheese!

Recipe from Cook's Country
Serves 8 to 10
4 garlic cloves, 1 clove cut in half lengthwise, remaining cloves minced
1 tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 cup shredded gruyére or swiss cheese
1 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (4 to 5 medium) peeled and sliced as 1/8" thick
4-5 slices of hearty white sandwich bread (Arnold Country or Pepperidge Farm works best), torn into pieces.



Preheat oven to 350 F degress. Adjust oven rack to middle position.

Use cut side of halved garlic to rub sides and bottom of 2-quart shallow baking or gratin dish. Allow garlic in dish to try then coat dish with softened butter. Combine cheeses in a small bowl.

Bring minced garlic, cream, broth, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until liquid reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and gently stir in potatoes.



Spoon half of potato mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle with half of cheese, add remaining potato mixture, and press with spatula to compact.

Press bread pieces into casserole. Bake 40 minutes.



Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and continue baking until golden and bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes before serving.

Last Night's Dinner #97: Bacon & Leek Tart

This recipe is from the latest issue of Real Simple.

Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees.

Cut two leeks (white and light green parts only) into thin strips and grate about 1 1/2 cups of Gruyere cheese (recipe called for Swiss cheese).



Cook about 8 strips of bacon until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

Leave about one tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan (drain the rest out) and cook the leeks for about three minutes.

Unroll thawed pastry sheets (one 17.5 box - I used Pepperidge Farm's) into two separate parchment-lined baking sheets. Top with cheese, leeks and bacon.



Cook for about 25 minutes.



I asked Hillsy to bring home some dessert last night - "surprise me", I said.


Beards Papa's Cream Puffs - YUM!

Last Night's Dinner #92: Pork Tenderloin with Savoy Cabbage

Coarse mustard goes so well with pork!



I've made this before, but this time I opted for steamed Savoy Cabbage (Mrs. Hillsy style). It's a winner.

Last Night's Dinner #90: Salmon with Arugula Beet Salad

I'm still on my fish kick, so I bought a couple of salmon fillets for dinner. It's amazing how much money you save by cooking - I only paid $7 for both fillets!


I made a simple salad, made out of arugula, sliced beets, black lentils - all drizzled with some fresh lemon juice and olive oil (+salt/pepper).

I cooked the salmon the same way as last time (without the sauce), but left the fish covered in the pan (heat off) for about 10 minutes and it was perfectly cooked.

Last Night's Dinner #89: A White Coq Au Vin

Gourmet has a bunch of great recipes this month - I saw this braised chicken recipe, that's pretty much Coq Au Vin but instead of red wine it calls for Riesling (a sweetish German wine).

The kitchen smelled so good this afternoon, browning chicken, leeks, butter, wine ---- mmmmm it smelled like a French bistro minus the smoke.

The recipe is pretty simple, it's all about prepping your ingredients before starting.
- different cuts of chicken (I used three thighs and three legs, skin on)
- 3 medium sized leeks finely chopped, using only the white and light green parts (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- 1 cup of dry white wine, preferebly Alsace Riesling
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 3 small shallots finely chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut in half (crosswise at an angle)
- 6 baby red potatoes, peeled
- 2 tablespoons of flat parsley
- olive oil
- lemon juice to taste
- salt & pepper

The easiest way to finely chop leeks:

Cut leeks into 2 to 3" pieces then slit length-wise half way, then flatten out


Cut into vertical strips then chop cross-wise

Steps:

Preheat over to 350 F. Place rack in the middle slot.
Clean chicken and season well with salt and pepper.



Heat up olive oil and 1 tbs of butter in a large heavy pot, cook chicken pieces (brown both sides) for about 10 to 12 minutes. Boil about 2 to 4 quarts of water plus a couple of teaspoons of salt in a separate pot.

Transfer chicken pieces to a plate and drain out the oil from the pot.



Heat up the remaining butter in the same pot (no need to wash, leave brown bits in there) and add shallots, leeks and a big pinch of salt. Lower heat, cover pot and allow to simmer for about 4 to 6 minutes or until lightly golden. Add back chicken pieces to the pot plus any juices, carrots and wine. Boil until it reduces in half, about 4 to 5 minutes then transfer pot into the oven and braise for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime peel potatoes and drop into the boiling water. Cook until tender for about 20 minutes (test with a fork at 15 minutes). Drain and toss in parsley.



Once the chicken is cooked, add cream, salt & pepper (if needed) and lemon juice to taste. Add in potatoes.