Two of my favourite things

It's no secret that I love macaroni and cheese.  I've dedicated not just one, but two blog posts to the subject...and this will be the third.  Another not-so-secret fact about yours truly?  I like to drink.  Not just anything mind you.  I like the flavours that you can find in different alcohols: like the citrus in white beer, or the berries in red wine.  So, when I came across a recipe that combined the deliciousness of macaroni and cheese with the scrumptiousness of stout I had to give it a go!

Ingredients
-500 g uncooked rotini pasta
-2 tsp canola oil
-200g hot Italian sausage
-1 large onion, diced
-3 tbsp all purpose flour
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1/8 tsp salt
-1 bottle of stout (341 mL)
-1/2 cup milk
-80g each grated cheddar cheese and cubed Velveeta (or other processed offering...makes for a very creamy sauce)
-1 1/2 cups frozen green peas

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13 casserole dish

2) Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

3) While pasta cooks, heat a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add oil, swirl to coat.  Remove casing from sausage.  Add sausage and onion to pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring to crumble sausage.  Add flour, pepper, and salt; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.  Stir in beer; bring to a boil.  Cook 3 minutes (until thick and bubbly).  Remove from heat.  Add milk and cheeses, stirring until smooth.  Stir in pasta and peas.  Spread into prepare baking dish and bake for 10 minutes (until lightly browned).

Looks yummy....tastes good too.

It doesn't look like your typical plate of macaroni and cheese...and it doesn't taste like it either.  The stout gives the sauce a very interesting flavour that I would describe as "mushroom-y" (what I believe the professionals call "umami").  Next time, I think I would swap the cheddar in for something like Swiss...I think that nutty kind of flavour would go well with the stout.  I might also choose a different kind of sausage: while I love sausages of the hot Italian variety I found that I couldn't really taste the spice (which is kind of the point of hot Italian sausage).  The above recipe would probably work just as well with ground beef, or a most lightly flavoured pork or turkey sausage.

Or a few red pepper flakes.  Because everything is better with red pepper flakes.

Know when to fold 'em

Those of you who know me know that, whenever possible, I like to make things from scratch.  I have good reasons for this.  First, I love cooking.  Second, making my food from scratch allows me to control what goes into it, meaning that I can eat healthy while eating the things that I love.

Sometimes, however, making it from scratch just isn't in the cards.

This was one of those times.  I recently had some people over for an onion chopping party (preparation to cater a weekend's worth of food for 25+ people, but that's a different story), and decided (like any sane person in need of a lot of assistance) that bribery was going to win me the most help.  The bribery food of choice was obvious: pizza, beloved of college students everywhere.

Brilliant eh?

Enter the wrench: gluten intolerance.

My first thought was that it's an easy fix...I'll just google a gluten free pizza crust recipe, buy the requisite ingredients, and continue with my homemade pizza plans.  So I googled, and I found plenty of recipes, but buy the ingredients I did not.

You see, gluten the part of wheat flour that makes it sticky and elastic...it's the reason that you don't want to overmix muffins (you don't want the gluten to develop and makes the muffins tough), and it's also the reason that breads containing yeast are able to rise: the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast is trapped by the network of gluten in the dough.  If this gluten network were not present the bread would not rise, which brings me back to the pizza crust issue.  If you recall from a long-ago blog post, pizza dough is one of those things that needs to sit and rise before it can be baked (this gives pizza dough it's texture).  Making a gluten free pizza dough, then, requires adding ingredients that can compensate for what gluten free flour lacks; ingredients like xanthan gum, agar, gelatin, potato starch, and tapioca flour...ingredients that can give dough a sticky and elastic texture.

Also...ingredients that can be expensive and hard to find.

I live in a large city, so I will admit that finding the ingredients wasn't the issue...their price was.  Xanthan gum, for example, costs nearly $14 for half a pound, and you only need 1 tsp for the recipe.  Not worth it for someone like myself who does gluten free baking once in a blue moon.

So I threw my hands up in the air and decided that a from-scratch gluten free pizza crust was not going to happen.  Then I went to the store...because a perfectly fantastic gluten free pizza crust mix exists.

Gotta love Bob.

Verdict: my gluten free pizza adventure went much more smoothly than my foray into veggie burgers.  It's not the same as regular pizza dough...you spread it rather than rolling it to get it into the right shape, and you wet your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them rather than dunking your hands in flour.  But the crust turned out well: was strong enough to hold up the toppings so that we could eat our pizza with our hands, and had a texture not dissimilar to a traditional thin crust pizza.

I was especially happy that it turned out given that I made a small error in execution: according to the instructions the crust should have been blind baked (read: baked without toppings) before adding the sauce and cheese...but I did not do this.  It all worked out.  Lesson: making a "mistake" in the kitchen is not the end of the world!

Unfortunately I neglected to take a picture of the pizza that I created, but that is mostly because it was eaten very quickly by my dedicated onion choppers.  They said it was quite delicious though.......

La-la-lasagna!

Homemade lasagna is a showstopper: beautiful layers of tomato sauce and pasta, all topped with bubbly cheese.  It's a great dish for company...and it's also one of those things that you can make ahead and freeze.

Make-ahead meals are fantastic for those of us that don't have a ton of time on our hand but still want to eat delicious food.  All you need to do on those lazy days is pop whatever you have in the freezer straight into the oven and bam!...great food, no work.  Even better: freeze your lasagna in one of those disposable roasting pans you can buy at the grocery store and you've got a great meal with nearly no dishes.

Don't let the number of ingredients and steps scare you.  It might seem like a lot of work, but there's actually quite a bit of waiting around.  Also: it's totally worth it.

Ingredients (for one 9x13 lasagna.  Double to make one lasagna now and another one later.)
-500g lean ground beef (or any ground meat of your choice.  Half beef/half italian sausage is especially delicious)
-1 onion, diced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh)
-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
-1 jar of your favourite pasta sauce (alternative: use 2 jars of pasta sauce and omit the diced tomatoes)
-540 ml can of diced tomatoes with Italian herbs (or this delicious marinara sauce...I keep bags of it in the freezer)
-2 tbsp dried basil (or 1/3 cup fresh)
-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-12 uncooked lasagna noodles (12 is a guess based on how many noodles I usually need...use as many as you need for 3 layers)
-2 cups ricotta cheese
-300g frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, and chopped
-1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (or romano, or asiago.......)
-1 egg
-1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and spray a 9x13 baking dish (set aside).

2) Make the sauce.  Add beef, onion and garlic to a large pot; cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.  Add oregano and crushed red pepper flakes; cook for 1 more minute.  Add pasta sauce, tomatoes, basil, vinegar, and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

3) While the sauce is simmering, cook the lasagna noodles.  Tip: I don't like to cook mine all the way through at this stage...if you leave them ever so slightly underdone they're easier to work with (and they'll finish cooking in the oven).  Drain the noodles, rinse them with cold water, and drain them again.

4) In a medium bowl mix together the ricotta, spinach, parmesan cheese, and egg.

5) Assemble the lasagna!

Start by spreading 1 cup of meat sauce over the bottom of your baking dish.

Top with a layer of noodles.

Spread 1/3 remaining sauce over the noodles, followed by 1/3 of the mozzarella, and one more layer of noodles.

Top with 1/3 sauce, and all of the ricotta mixture (spread evenly, don't worry if it mixes with the sauce)

Cover ricotta with 1/3 mozzarella and the last of the noodles.

Cover the last noodle layer with the remaining sauce and mozzarella.  Make sure to spread all the way to the edges to prevent your lasagna from drying up...add chicken stock/red wine to make your sauce go farther if necessary.

This is the point when you can freeze your lasagna.  Let cool (until no longer steaming), then cover in tinfoil, then wrap with plastic wrap (keep as much air out as possible) before putting it in the freezer for later.

6) Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Letting it stand is the hardest part, but is worth it to avoid burning yourself on hot mozzarella.

If you went the frozen lasagna route, your lasagna can go straight from the freezer to a 375 degree oven (though you should take off the plastic wrap first).  Cook covered for 45 minutes to an hour, then check the temperature by inserting a metal knife into the centre: stick in the knife, then pull it out and touch it.  If the knife is cold to the touch your lasagna needs more time, if it is warm, then you can uncover and bake for another 15-20 minutes (until the cheese and sauce are bubbly).  Let stand before cutting.

Yum.  That is all.

Start with a side dish, and make it a meal

That's exactly how my meal planning went this past weekend.  Here's how the decision went down...

I had some potatoes leftover from last weekend's camping, and decided that I ought to use them sooner rather than later.  While thinking about all the different ways that I could cook them I landed on something I hadn't made in awhile (due to the warm summer weather): scalloped potatoes.

Being as the weather has started to cool down, I thought this idea was perfect.

My original plan had been to make scalloped potatoes as a side dish with some chicken.  So I spent some time thinking about what I could do with the chicken...and I couldn't think of anything.  Well that's not actually true; I could think of many things, but none of them were particularly attractive options on this particular fall afternoon.  So I took a slightly different tack and tried thinking about the different things that I could do with scalloped potatoes and realized why I couldn't settle on a chicken recipe...the potatoes were going to be rich and delicious and filling, and there was no real need for any additional food.

Though I did make some space for a side salad.  Gotta get the greens in somewhere!

Scalloped potatoes, as I mentioned, are typically thought of as a side dish, something rich and delicious that you serve along with a simply roasted piece of meat.  But with a few tweaks it's quite easy to make them into a complete meal.  And as there are so many different ways to make scalloped potatoes all I'm going to share is the basic method...that way you can make the casserole your own!

Ingredients/Directions:
-potatoes (obviously); 2 to 2 1/2 pounds, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds.  Starchy potatoes are best since they will absorb the most liquid and will thus prevent your casserole from being too soupy.
-liquid; 2 1/2 cups.  Most of us are probably familiar with using cream, but you can also lighten up your scalloped potatoes by using any combination of cream, chicken (or vegetable) stock, and milk (so long as the combination adds up to 2 1/2 cups)

The first step (after preheating the oven to 400 degrees F and greasing a 9x13 casserole) is to simmer the potatoes in whatever liquid you've chosen.  Combine the potatoes and liquid in a large skillet along with 1/2 tsp salt and some black pepper (to taste).  Simmer, partially covered, over medium to medium-low heat until barely tender (8 minutes or less).

I chose to simmer my potatoes in a combination of skim milk and chicken stock, along with a pinch of cayenne pepper for spice.

-toppings.  I usually put straight cheese on top of my potatoes, but breadcrumbs and nuts are also lovely.  Use as much or as little as you feel necessary.
-fillings.  This is where things get interesting and you can mix all sorts of neat flavours into your scalloped potatoes.  In order to make the casserole into a complete meal meat is a great option (suggestions: ham, italian sausage, ground beef), just make sure that it's cooked first.  Same with any veggies that you choose to add (onions, leeks, fennel, and mushrooms are all great options).

My toppings (small white bowl on the lower right) were a combination of parmesan cheese, panko, and walnuts; and I filled my scalloped potatoes with hot italian sausage, caramelized onions, and old cheddar.

Once your potatoes are barely tender it's time to get everything into the casserole.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer half of the potatoes into the bottom of the casserole dish, spreading them out as evenly as possible.  Arrange your chosen fillings evenly on top of the potatoes.  Top with the remaining potatoes (again, spreading them as evenly as possible) and pour any remaining liquid over all of the ingredients.  Scatter your toppings over the potatoes, and bake until it's bubbly, brown, and the potatoes are completely tender when poked with a fork.  Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving (this gives the potatoes times to soak up more of the liquid).  And, as always, enjoy!

Served with green peas to get an extra serving of vegetables onto the plate.  And, like many casseroles, these potatoes tasted even better the next day!

Camping in style

My favourite part of camping, hands down, is roasting sausages and marshmallows over a fire.  But there is a limit to the number of sausages that I can eat over a weekend, and these gaps in the menu need to be filled with some other kind of food.

So I did what seemed obvious: I roasted a chicken.

Seriously, over a campfire.

If my time in Girl Guides taught me anything, it was that you did not necessarily have to compromise when it came to the food that you ate while camping.  It's actually quite easy to turn your campfire into an ovenlike device...all you need is a roll of tinfoil.

But before I get there....allow me to talk a little more about the chicken itself.

My initial idea was to cook the chicken beer can style, that is, with a can of beer shoved up it's butt.  After some careful research, however, I discovered that this wasn't really the best method to use: according to one obsessive compulsive engineer the beer in the can imparts very little in terms of flavour, which to me would be the entire point of this particular cooking method.

Since the boyfriend loves beer, and since I want to get as much beer flavour into the chicken as possible I decided to go the route of a brine.  Brining basically involves soaking in a solution of salt (and other things)...it gives the chicken extra flavour, and helps to keep it moist while it cooks (important as I was going to be cooking this bird for an as yet undetermined amount of time over a campfire of unknown temperature).

All you need in a brine is liquid (typically water), salt, sugar, and any other seasonings (vegetables, herbs, etc) that you desire.  I used the following ingredients, which could easily be swapped out for something that you like a little more.....

-750 ml beer (I chose a strong brown ale)
-750 ml water (giving 1.5 litres of liquid total)
-1/4 cup salt
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 onion, quartered
-1 carrot, roughly chopped
-1 bay leaf

To make the brine, combine all of the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil (this is what gets the carrot, onion, and bay leaf flavour into the liquid).  Once the liquid is boiling remove it from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Note: cooling to room temperature is very important!  Raw chicken + still-warm brine = bacteria farm!

Once the liquid has cooled pour it over the chicken (so that it is covered).  If you don't have enough brine to completely cover the chicken that's fine...in cases like these I like to keep the bird breast side down (since there isn't a ton of meat on the back).  Refrigerate and soak overnight (ideally) or for 1 hour per pound of meat (if you're strapped for time).

For even more flavour (and to encourage a crispy skin) I also used a spice rub made up of sugar, salt, black pepper, and chili powder.

When it came to cooking the chicken I decided to invest in a vertical chicken roaster, which would allow my chicken to stand up on the grill over the campfire.

I chose the vertical method because of the campfire: roasting horizontally (in a roasting pan) would have resulted in the back side of the chicken cooking far faster than the front.  With this method the lower part of the chicken (legs and thighs...closer to the fire) cooks a little faster than the top (breasts and wings) which is actually quite perfect given that legs and thighs typically take a little longer to cook all the way through (and are less likely to go dry if they are overcooked).

No matter which way you decide to roast your chicken (vertically or in a roasting pan), the key to the process is not letting too much heat escape (the logic behind closed oven door or lids on the roasting pans).  Since campfires typically do not come with a cover I had to get creative with a roll of tin foil.  I used two fairly long pieces to create a tent over the bird, and weighed the ends down with logs.  As soon as the second piece of foil was in place the bird began to sizzle...

I gave my chicken about 90 minutes to roast (since the last thing you want to do while camping is consume raw poultry).  The general rule of thumb is about "20 minutes per pound" (some recommend adding an additional 15 to 20 minutes on top of that number), but regardless of how long your bird has been on for you will want to check the temperature (should read 165 degrees F) or even cut into the breast or thigh (meat should no longer be pink and juices should run clear).

I'm pretty proud of my chicken.  The brine definitely imparted some beer and garlic flavour into the meat, and helped the bird stay nice and juicy.  Served with corn (also cooked on the fire) and a baguette...this meal will definitely make it back onto next year's camping menu!

I served the chicken sitting on the stand...it was just me and the boy so there was no need to be polite: we tore pieces of meat straight off the bones.  Messy, but delicious!