Ninety-Ninth Post (One more!) ~ Cooking with Lentils

This past week, I was on a cruise with my family in the Caribbean to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday.  I've got to say, all the good food made me really miss blogging.

Don't get me wrong - I've been cooking and eating LOTS of good food over the last few months - I just haven't been blogging as much as I'd like.  Hopefully, that shall change.

Certainly the inspiration to reach 100 posts will help nudge me!

So, while we were on this cruise, I ordered a phenomenal pork roast dinner.  The pork was fork-tender.  The bread was crackle-perfect and the wine robust.  But what really stole the show for me (I'm sure to the chef's chagrin, should he have known) were the perfect little lentils spread under the roast.  I was immediately reminded of how much I love these little beans.  Perhaps it's because they're tied to a memory.

When I was a junior in college, I had a schedule during the winter months that allowed me to take a morning class and then drive back to my apartment for a breather before heading off to night classes.  I had, if I recall, about an hour and a half total for a break.  I'd throw my bags on the floor, take off my shoes, and prepare a hot lunch.  More often than not, it was a bowl of Campbell's soup (I wasn't such a cook back then).  One of my favorites was lentil soup.  I'd line up a re-run episode of Frasier on my DVR, sit with a heating pad on my back to relieve the chill and eat hot soup, relish in a good laugh, and, though I didn't know it at the time, build memories of my very first apartment and independent young adulthood, memories that will stay with me, steeped in nostalgia, forever.

So as I tasted the lentils, these memories came to me, and I told them to my family.  We talked about how food can be so closely tied to memories, and I resolved myself to return home and blog the very first meal I cooked.

Which happened to be lentil soup.

About which I knew absolutely nothing.

So I hit up AllRecipes, and came across this one.  I decided that my first foray into lentils would be well-instructed.  If this venture went well, I'd continue on unassisted.  One of my favorite aspects of soup is that it can be (and in my and my mother's opinions, SHOULD be) a laissez-faire kind of thing.  I decided to alter the ingredients a little to make it a bit more "throw-in-a-pot-and-walk-away."

Here's what you'll need (and as you can see, I followed the original recipe very closely but with a few substitutions in method - I'm not trying to pass this recipe off as my own!):

~ 1 (12 oz.) bag Wegmans pre-cut, pre-washed course mirepoix 
~ 1/4 cup EVOO
~ 2 cloves chopped garlic (although I think I'd press it next time)
~ 1 tsp each dried basil and oregano
~ 2 bay leaves
~ 1 (14.5 oz.) can tomatoes in whatever form you can find them in (I ultimately found "diced in juice")
~ 2 cups dried lentils
~ 8 cups water
~ good handful baby spinach, rinsed but not cut
~ splash red wine
~ fresh oregano
~ salt

I pre-measured everything before I even turned on the pot.  Doing so makes for faster dump-and-go soup-making.  While the original recipe calls for chopping onions, carrots and celery, I decided to cheat with the pre-made mirepoix.  I started the EVOO simmering and dumped in the whole bag.  I let it cook until the onions were nearly translucent, then added the garlic and the herbs (and wow, did THAT smell good!).  I added a good amount of salt at this point.  I let it cook the recommended 2 minutes, and added the tomatoes, lentils and water.  I walked away for an hour and change, coming back to stir it occasionally and take in the fantastic aromas.

Finally, I turned off the heat and let it sit for about an hour until I was ready to eat.  I turned it back on and added the final ingredients.  The original recipe calls for vinegar.  In my opinion, wine just makes me happier than vinegar.  Unless we're pouring it over curly-cue french fries.  So I added a splash of the Carmenere I got for this meal.  The recipe also calls for sliced spinach, but I opted to go for baby leaves so I wouldn't have to do anything to them.

I let the soup bubble for a few minutes while I changed into my PJs and poured the wine (mine is a comfortable household).  I ladled the soup into my bowl and topped it with a bit of fresh oregano.  Then, I grabbed my soup, grabbed a crusty rosemary roll from Wegman's bakery to go with it and grabbed my glass of Carmenere and sat down to enjoy.

This Chilean wine, by Arboleda, was on sale at the wine shop right around the corner from my old apartment (see?  I told you I was feeling nostalgic!).  It's full, ripe, rustic, and steeped in berry flavor.  It made a fine companion to this meal.

The soup also did not disappoint.  The lentils were tender and flavorful, the vegetables were perfectly cooked, and the fresh oregano gave a punch of bright flavor to the stewed ingredients.  I feel as though I may have found a new favorite bean!  Versatile enough to be a side or a main course (as well as being healthy AND inexpensive), this is not the last you shall read of lentils from THIS accidental chef!

Yours in the love of good food, wine, and nostalgia,
AL


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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.

Eighty-fourth Post ~ Beef Burgundy Soup

With the winter storm that blew across the U.S. this past evening, nothing makes me feel more prepared for bad weather than a pot of soup at the ready!

This soup was a quick meal that could be thrown together when I got home from my afternoon class yesterday and left alone until I was ready to eat in the evening.

Here's what you'll need for this easy-peasy soup:
~ Stew beef
~ One package mirepoix (or make your own quite easily by dicing up some onion, carrot and celery - but as I said, I was in a hurry!)
~ Handful cleaned and cut mushrooms
~ 5-7 beef bouillon, depending on your taste
~ Fresh herb(s) of choice (I chose thyme and oregano, since that's what I've got right now!)
~ A couple handfuls wild rice
~ Splash red wine

Fill a medium pot about half full of water and start it boiling.  Toss in the bouillon, mushrooms, package of mirepoix and stew beef.  Toss in some fresh herbs (don't bother pulling the thyme or oregano from the stem - I threw in three stems of thyme and two solid stems of oregano.  As it cooked, the leaves fell from the stems) and add a splash of red wine.  Stir it all around a bit.  Start it boiling and work on other things as you every so often check on the soup.  Turn down the heat after a little bit.

Simmer gently for a little over an hour, stirring occasionally.  Toward the end, toss in a few handfuls of wild and long grain rice (I opened a box of Uncle Ben's and only used a small portion of it, keeping the rest of the rice and the full seasoning packed in a ziplock bag for later use).  Simmer the soup with the lid on for about 10 minutes, then let it sit with the lid on and heat off.

Whenever you're ready for dinner, turn the heat back on and bring the soup to a simmer again.  I paired this meal with the same crusty bread I had with last night's ratatouille.  I also enjoyed another glass of French Maid cabernet sauvignon!  All in all, a hearty winter meal!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,
AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.

Sixty-third Post ~ Pasta Bolognese

I have always loved bolognese sauce over pasta. I typically get it on trips or in restaurants, and never paused to question what was in it that made it so extraordinary. I was on a mission for a Great Fridge and Freezer Clean Out today, and happened upon a quarter pound of hamburger and a half jar of spaghetti sauce in my freezer. I began to ponder what to do with it (beyond the obvious) when the wonderful word "Bolognese!" popped into my head.

So be it.

It turns out, my friends, that bolognese is given its distinctive taste by three surprise ingredients. Let us take the first:

Mirepoix. Mirepoix, as it turns out, is much less mysterious than I had given it credit for when I would encounter it in French recipes (and promptly click "NEXT" for what I assumed would be something easier and less cryptic). Fear not! Mirepoix is simply chopped onion, celery and carrots. It's the base for many French dishes. Now, when you say "onion, celery and carrots," I am immediately put in mind of my Mama's chicken soup. Given my firm belief in this dish's healing properties, it's no mystery to me why this combination of three vegetables is known as one collective noun and is so popular in so many dishes.

The second mystery ingredient needed to turn your spaghetti sauce into bolognese is red wine. I chose to use a generous splash of a Spanish tempranillo and I think it was a good call. I've always noticed that bolognese is a bit deeper of a shade of red than most tomato-based sauces, and I feel this is the reason.

The third mystery ingredient is milk. Now, here's where I am going to show my colors: I am German. Butter and salt are food groups for us. Where recipes I've encountered have called for a splash of milk, I have used heavy cream instead. I made the same call for this recipe, and have read that I'm not the first, historically, to do so. Anyway, there's red wine in it, so surely we've already counter-balanced the health aspect of the meal...

So here's what you'll need to make Pasta Bolognese à la Accidental Chef:

~ Hamburger

~ Spaghetti sauce (I used Wegman's tomato basil)

~ Mirepoix (minced onion, celery and carrots. It's perfectly okay to pick some celery and carrots out of the veggie tray sent home with you from a family get-together).

~ Olive oil

~ Red wine

~ Heavy cream (or milk)

~ Pasta

~ Coarse-ground sea salt

~ Pepper

Start your water boiling and cook your pasta as per usual. While the pasta is cooking, mince some onion, celery and carrot and toss it into some olive oil in a skillet. Savor the aroma of these so-called "aromatics" as they simmer. Add the hamburger. Salt and pepper to taste.

:: PAUSE ::

Here's where I should have been a little more patient: let the mirepoix and hamburger simmer for quite a bit. I hastily added the tomato sauce as soon as the hamburger was done, and it could have benefited from melding together a bit more. The end result was still good, but I'd recommend giving the meat and mirepoix a little bit of patience. Just a little.

:: UNPAUSE ::

After the mirepoix and hamburger have had a chance to simmer together lengthily in your pan, add some red wine and then some pasta sauce. After you've stirred it all together, add just a splash of heavy cream. Watch it instantly turn into a beautiful blend of Italian goodness.

Serve over spaghetti. Garnish with parsley if you wish. A true bolognese would have been served with a dusting of grated parmesan, but, alas, I had none; neither parmesan nor even pecorino romano remained in my fridge. A sad day, truly, but I have faith that I shall attempt this recipe again, and when I do, I will have a generous sprinkling of parmesan over all!

I paired this dinner with the last of a delightful Spanish red by Protocolo. This wine paired beautifully with a classic roast beef, and brought out the essence of the root vegetables and yet was strong enough to stand up to the beef and tomato sauce in tonight's meal. All in all, a great pairing!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,

AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.

Fortieth Post (Yay!) ~ Rustic Beef Stew

This stew is very easy, and it fit the bill the other night when I wanted to throw something together that would cook itself while I worked. Here's what you'll need for this stew, which is good to have on hand during stormy winter weather!

~ One package stew beef

~ Carrots (about two handfuls)

~ 2-3 slices from small onion

~ Mushrooms (I used pre-washed criminis and thew them in whole)

~ 5 or so small red potatoes cut into wedges

~ 2 cups water with 5 beef boulion dissolved

~ A splash of red wine

~ Herbs (I used fresh thyme and tarragon. While I recommend the thyme, the tarragon gave the stew a distinctive "sausage" taste and aroma, since, come to find out, it's one of the key herbs used in sausage. So if you like that taste, go for it, if not, find a different herb!)

Here's the tough part - get your crock-pot out of storage and dust it off. Then dump everything in it, slap the lid on, put it on high, and stir every so often. It takes a few hours, but the resulting aroma and taste are worth it! Plus, prep doesn't get much easier than this!

I paired this stew with Sangre del Toro's tempranillo, since that's what I splashed into it to give it a nice balanced taste. It helped diffuse some of the stronger herb taste (ahem ) and its earthiness brought out the flavors in the beef. A good pairing, and a good stew for lunches and dinners to come!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,

AL