Good Food Takes Time...: Seared Scallops with Tomato-Caper Garnish

Good Food Takes Time...: Seared Scallops with Tomato-Caper Garnish: "I have been waiting for really nice scallops for about a week and a half now. I have been looking forward to pairing them with a nice lingu..."

Seared Scallops with Tomato-Caper Garnish

I have been waiting for really nice scallops for about a week and a half now.  I have been looking forward to pairing them with a nice linguine pesto with tomato, etc.  Unfortunately mother nature decided to kick the living piss out of me with all the pollen that's flying around western NY.  I have no appetite.

This has made me break this meal pairing into 2 parts.  These scallops are not going to make it in the fridge until tomorrow and be as good as they are today.  I was going to simply sear them and let the pesto be the additional moisture and flavoring component.  Since I am going to do the pesto tomorrow, I needed a quick fix.  I came up with a beautiful, light garnish from pantry items, and some of my favorite summer ingredients that I always try keep on hand: lemons and tomatoes.

Check in tomorrow for the pesto, where I thought of a nice variation to pine nuts.  Also, I promise to have an interesting variation on garlic bread that could be one of my new favorites should it work out!

Seared Scallops

- 12 Scallops
- salt and cracked pepper to season

Start by drying off your scallops with paper towels.  If they aren't dry, they won't get decent color.  When they are dry, season both sides with salt and pepper.  Put the scallops in a hot pan with olive oil and sear for about 3 minutes on medium high.  At this time, shake the pan.  If you are using a non-stick pan, the scallops should release from the pan.  If not, give them another minute.  You should see the color cooking about half way or a little more up the side of the scallop.  Flip them, add a small pad of butter and cook for another 3 minutes.  You may reduce heat at this time to prevent over cooking.

*  If at any time you feel your pan is too hot, raise it off the heat and gently redistribute any oil.
* Some people say to cook seafood 80% on one side, and then flip and quickly cook the other 20%.  I don't.  It adds nice color, but I find a textural difference in the different layers of seafood.  Sear in a hot pan to get the color.

Tomato - Caper Garnish

- 1 Tomato
- 1 or 2 tsp of capers (personal preference)
- lemon zest
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 tbs garlic oil
- cracked pepper

Seed and dice the tomato.  Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and spoon over scallops.

Enjoy!

Turkey and Capocollo Meatballs for Calzones

I've wanted a calzone all day.  A meatball calzone.  I feel like I've eaten way to many burger and steaks lately so beef and veal are out.  I have made some really good turkey meatballs in the past that I normally mix with chicken sausage, but I wanted something different.  The addition of ricotta will keep this meatball very light, while the capocollo adds the fat missing from beef or pork.

Lets make no doubt about it.  This recipe in the end creates a calzone, but the meatballs are the star of the show...

Turkey - Capocollo - Ricotta Meatballs

- 1 lb ground turkey

- 1/3 cup thin sliced capocollo

- 1 cup ricotta cheese

- 3 scallions

- 1 egg

- 1 cup pecorino romano

- 3 garlic cloves

- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

- salt / pepper to taste

Quick sautee your capocollo in a hot pan.  Let it drain on paper towels.  Reserve  the oil for searing your meatballs.  Mix the turkey, ricotta, sliced scallion, egg, pecorino and chopped garlic in a mixing bowl.  When capicollo has cooled, dice it and mix all ingredients together.  Roll into golf ball sized meatballs.  I went a touch larger.  This recipe made 13.

Sear meatballs in reserved oil.  You may need to add a bit of olive oil.  When you have a nice golden brown color on both sides, add tomato sauce to cover the meatballs, put on a lid for steam and bake in an oven for 30 minutes at 300 degrees.  Flip your meatballs and give the pan a shake to re-disperse the sauce.  Bake for another 30 minutes.

*The sauce I used for this is very basic.  I cook some garlic in oil.  Add one can of tomato paste, 2 cans roasted garlic flavored tomatoes and then add some italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and onion powder.  It doesn't need to be cooked for long (10 - 15 minutes).  It will get more flavor and cooking time with the meatballs.

Pizza/Calzone Dough

Please try to make your own dough.  It takes a few minutes, you have most of the ingredients on hand at all times and is cheaper and tastes better than store bought doughs.  Rising time will be equal to store bough dough which typically could require extra thawing. 

This is a recipe I developed some time ago.  You will notice the addition of a few seasonings that purists would scoff at.  I think it adds some flavor and makes the dough look great!

- 1 pack instant yeast
- 1 cup of warm (95 degrees - 110 degrees) water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 cups of flour
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp red pepper flake

Add the yeast, sugar and water to the workbowl of your stand mixer.  Let the yeast proof for 5 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and using your dough hook, mix on low.  Pour out onto your cutting board.  If the dough looks dry add a spash of oil or water.  If it looks wet, bench flour will take care of it.  Knead until the dough forms a ball.  Let it rise until it doubles in size.  I recommend punching it down, and letting it rise a second time.

Meatball Calzone

- Meatballs

- Ricotta cheese

- Fresh mozzarella cheese

- Slice red onions

- Banana peppers

Cut the dough into 3-4 equal pieces.  Roll one at a time.  Add some reserved sauce from the meatballs to a little less than 1/2 of the dough.  Assembly is up to your own creativity and personal portion preferences.  Add slice meatball, ricotta, mozzarella, sliced onion and banana peppers as you wish.  I like to sprinkle with some pecorino romano as well.  Feel free to add/subtract fillings as you wish.

Fold over the other half of the calzone.  Crimp the edges.  Beat an egg with a splash of water and brush over the top of the calzone.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes in a 415 degree oven.  I highly recommend a pizza stone if you have one.

 

     

Good Food Takes Time...: Chicken Enchiladas

Good Food Takes Time...: Chicken Enchiladas: "Sorry for the lack of posts the last two weeks. The combination of ELA/Math State Tests and the end/start of new marking periods at school ..."

Chicken Enchiladas

Sorry for the lack of posts the last two weeks.  The combination of ELA/Math State Tests and the end/start of new marking periods at school has kept me busy!

On our way to the store today, Jen and I were in the mood for seafood.  We weren't sure what type so we played it by ear and looked through the seafood counter.  The fish didn't look all that spectacular.  This brings up one of the hidden meanings to "Good Food Takes Time".  I would never buy a main protein unless it was the best looking item at the counter.  So seafood can wait for another day...

Chicken Enchiladas are a standby at the MacLaughlin household.  There are only a few simple ingredients that are always readily available, they are quick and easy to make, and there are always leftovers for the school week!  This is one of the few recipes where I use store-bought pantry items (stock, salsa verde) instead of home made ingredients, since not much is required.

I should also mention that this dish is one that is permanently in Jen's repertoire.  This was one of the first dishes I taught her to make when showing her  the different sauces that could be thickened by making a roux.  Her enchiladas turned out so well, that she is in charge whenever we feel like making this dish!  On a cold, rainy day like today, this dish will warm you right up!

Ingredients:

- 1 rotisserie chicken                                                    

- 2 jars of Goya Salsa Verde

- 1 large onion

- 1 jalapeno

- 2 cups chicken stock

- a few cloves of garlic

- shredded Mexican cheese

- tortillas 

- flour

Onions with flour

This is a good recipe to prep everything ahead of time.  Slice your onions, chop garlic, dice your jalapeno and shred your chicken.  Start by sweating your onions in a saute pan with some olive oil.  When softened, add garlic and cook for another minute or so.  Add about a tablespoon of flour (or enough to lightly coat the top of your onions).  Stir in the flour.  The onions should look pasty and something like this:

The sauce is thickening

I like to start making my sauce by adding just a little bit of the stock to be certain that I can evenly distribute the flour and get it incorporated with the liquid.  When all the flour has been absorbed, add the remaining stock, salsa verde and jalapeno.  Let this mixture come up to a boil.  Once it boils, the flour will have been at its full thickening power.  Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes.

Final enchilada filling

At this point we can kill the heat, and mix in the chicken.  This would be a good time to mix in any cheese that you would like to add as well.  It gets it mixed right into the filling.

Assembling the enchilada

Pour some salsa verde into the bottom of a baking dish.  It doesn't need to be a lot, but it will absorb into the bottom of the enchilada and prevent sticking/burning of the tortilla.  Fill a tortilla, roll and place inside the baking dish. 

Top the rolled tortillas with more salsa verde and cheese.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven.

Enjoy!

 





Smoked Spare Ribs with Chipotle-Orange BBQ Sauce

Since it was such a nice weekend, I decided that I wanted to spend some time outside.  Busting out the smoker gives a great opportunity to slow cook some food, have a few beverages and read a book.  The only thing you have to do is get up every once and a while to stoke the fire, add some more charcoal and wood chunks.

I tried something new today.  In the past I have gone straight to the smoker with my ribs.  Today, I decided to experiement by starting them in a 225 degree oven to steam them for 2 hours to be certain that they would fall off the bone.  I cut my rib racks in half, used a homemade rub to season them (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, fresh ground mustard, fresh ground coriander, cayenne, paprika, thyme and brown sugar) and added them to a turkey roaster with a beer poured beneath the rack to create steam.  Cover the ribs in aluminum foil and place in oven.



Steaming Setup

While the ribs are steaming, this is a good time to make a bbq sauce.  It is an almost effortless process, and I highly recommend people make their own.  Remember, I never measure, but I will try to guess amounts below.  As I go, I taste my sauce to see if its too spicy, sweet, tart, etc and then add other ingredients to find a balance I am happy with.


Chipotle-Orange BBQ Sauce

- 1 medium red onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 can chipotle peppers with adobo sauce
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- juice of 2 oranges
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard

Roughly chop the onions and garlic.  They will be pureed later, so don't be concerned with cut size.  Add onions to a sauce pot and sautee in some olive oil.  Cook the onions for 5 minutes on medium heat.  I add garlic, once I see that the onions have a decent amount of carmelization on them.  At this point you have cooked out some liquid so its safe to salt them.  Cook the garlic for 2 minutes, and then add the can of chipotles to stop the garlic from browning.  Stir ingredients to combine, and cook for a few more minutes.  Since the chipotles are the main ingredient, I give them a few minutes to cook in the pan and blend with the sweet of the onions.  Add the ketchup, molasses, orange juice and vinegar.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Using a stick blender, puree the sauce.  (You can use a regular blender if necessary, but do it in batches and use care when blending hot liquids)  Finally add them mustard and stir to combine.  Now you have to taste.  Is it too spicy?  Add some molasses or honey for sweet.  Add more vinegar or orange for more tang.  If your mixture is too thick for you, add some beer.  If it is too thin, reduce it on low until you are ready to use it.  There is no way to mess this up, many sauces can be fixed if you know what to do.  It takes practice!

Smoke the Ribs

Once the ribs are done in the oven, coat with more rub if you accidentally knocked some off with tongs.  The rub will crust to the ribs in the smoking process.  Add to your smoker and smoke for 4 hours minimum.  Joey bought me the rib rack in the picture below, and today was my first time using it.  It worked great!



After the 4 hours of smoking, I was ready to throw my ribs on the grill, to sauce them and sear in that sauce to create a layer of crust.  It started to rain!  No big deal  I decided to take my ribs inside, and finish off this process under my broiler.  Position the ribs on the top rack on a cookie sheet, brush on your sauce and place the ribs under the broiler.  I sat on the floor with a beer watching them like a hawk.  BBQ sauce has sugar in it.  We didn't add it (besides molasses) but it is present in the ketchup, orange, etc.  It will burn under intense heat.  It will be fine if you just more the ribs a few inches left or right ever 15 seconds or so.  If you took all day making what is sure to be delicious ribs, it would suck to ruin it now.  Once one coat has cooked it, I like to apply at least a 2nd coat and repeat the process.  I would add several coats outside on the grill but since the broiler is tedious, I stopped at 2 per side.  Cut your ribs and serve!

Steamed Artichokes with Lemon Butter, Chicken Francaise with Sauteed Spinach and Arugula

I thought I'd go with a classic tonight.  Chicken Francaise.  The chicken preparation was one of the first techniques Abdoo ever taught me.

Steamed Artichokes with Lemon Butter

- 3 large artichokes
- corn stock (substitute veg, chicken, white wine or butter
- juice of one lemon
- franks hot sauce

Snip the tops of the leaves off the artichokes.  They are kind of sharp.  Cut off the stems, and tops of the artichokes.  Add them to a pressure cooker.  Add about an inch of liquid.  I used corn stock, the juice of 1 lemon, and a few squirts of franks hot sauce.  Season liquid with salt and pepper.  Toss in the lemon rind for additional flavor.  Seal pressure cooker and let it go for 17 minutes (approx).  You can do this in a pot if you don't have a pressure cooker but it would take about 45 minutes.

Mix 1 tablespoon of melted butter, a squirt of lemon juice and a touch of oil for a dipping sauce.

Strain and reserve cooking liquid for use in chicken francaise sauce

Sauteed Spinach and Arugula

- 2 bags pre-washed Spinach Arugula Blend

- 4 cloves garlic

- white wine

- olive oil

Chop the garlic.  Add a few table spoons of oil.  Add garlic and sautee.  Add a few splashes of white wine to create steam.  Add the Spinach and Arugula.  Cover.  When the greens decrease by half, remove lid, season and allow liquid to evaporate.  Feel free to add a touch of vinegar or citrus.  I squirted a wedge of lemon juice into the greens at the very end.

Chicken Francaise

- 3 chicken breasts
- 2 eggs
- reserved liquid from artichoke dish or
     - juice of one lemon
     - 1/2 cup chicken stock
     - 1/2 cup white wine
- flour
- garlic powder, salt, pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- handful of parsley

Pound out chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thick.  Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Dredge the chicken in flour and shake off excess.  This is one of the few situations where I do not season the flour.  You get better results seasoning chicken directly and flour coats over it.  Preheat a pan and add a thin coat of olive oil.  Beat the eggs.  Dip chicken into the eggs and let excess drip off.  Gently sautee chicken for 2 minutes per side.  You should have a nice golden brown color. 

Remove chicken to rest, drain excess oil (leave just a little) and wipe out any crumbs.  Add flour to make a light roux.  It will thicken sauce.  Add your liquid whether it be artichoke liquid or wine, stock, butter and lemon juice.  Bring to boil.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken and simmer in sauce for 3-5 minutes.  Chop the parsley, remove chicken, plate spinach/arugula and chicken.  Turn off heat, add the parsley and sauce your plate.

Enjoy!

Brined Pork Chops Stuffed with Apple and Brie cheese, Roasted Parsnip/Garlic Puree and Roasted Asparagus with Lemon

This should be a great first couple of recipes to post.  I was walking through the grocery store yesterday thinking about what I was going to make for dinner tonight.  Yesterday I called up Joey and told him to come over for dinner.  Walking by the butcher counter, I saw some bone in pork chops that were about an inch and a half thick.  I immediately knew that these were my protein for the evening.  With a little care, these could be the most delicious chops possible.  I decided I was going to brine them.  I left the store with just the pork chops and began working on my brine...good food takes time!

Brine for Pork Chops

1 cup Kosher Salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bag apple cinnamon tea
2 quarts water

Fyi, you may use regular salt.  You actually need less.  About 1/2 cup.  I didn't have any. 
Combine all ingredients and stir.  Most people heat brines to make sure the ingredients all dissolve and let them cool or add ice to speed it up.  Never add meat to a warm brine.  I use cold water most often.  If you stir vigorously and/or add a touch more water, it will dissolve.  I am ok if there is a little salt at the bottom.

Feel free to add anything else you like.  Thyme, black pepper, honey, molasses apples.  It doesn't matter.  I thought I had apples at home, but I was out.  In went the tea bag.  Good to go. 

Place pork chops in some kind of container or plastic bag.  Add enough brine to cover the pork chops.  Different meets have different brining times.  Pork chops can handle 12-24 hours.

*  The purpose of a brine is to add moisture to the finished product.  The secondary function is to add flavor through fluid transfer.  All salt does not go into pork chop.  That would be a ton of salt!  There is no need to further salt meat before/during cooking.

Brined Pork Chops Stuffed with Apple and Brie cheese

The brine has salty, sweet, and spice components.  The addition of tart granny smith apples makes this a well rounded dish.  Juice from the apples, pork, and brie should combine to make a sauce inside pork and provide moisture (not that it needs it with brining).

- 4 Bone-in Pork Chops
- 2 Granny Smith Apples
- Brie Cheese (earthy if possible)

Cut a pocket in the pork chops.  Don't make the opening to wide. but make opening through most of the pork chop for filling.  Slice 2-3 thin slices of brie, and 3-4 thin wedges of pealed apple per pork chop.  Insert into pocket.  Season outside of pork chops with pepper(no salt).  You may rub with a light coating of oil.

Weather permitting, I will be grilling these chops on a charcoal grill.  You may also do it in a pan (sear, then finish in oven).  I stop cooking pork around 137 degrees.  Carry over cooking should rise temp to about 145 degrees with a ten minute rest.  Yes, your thermometer says 160, but that was for back in the day when pork wasn't regulated like it is today.  Also, we brined our pork, and salt kills bacteria.

* Tip - Touch Your Meat - if using a thermometer, when you reach desired temperature, use your index/middle finger to press the meat.  This "touch test" will be how you measure doneness as you get used to different temperatures.  You can always double check with thermometer if unsure. 

Roasted Parsnip/Garlic Puree

- 1 small head garlic
- 4 parsnips
- a few sprigs of parsley
- some lemon zest, juice
- corn stock (substitute veg or chicken)
- olive oil

Turn oven on to 400 degrees.  Peel your parsnips.  Cut them a few times to attempt even size pieces.  Add oil.  Roast in oven until fork tender.  Cut the top off of a head of garlic and season with a splash of oil and salt/pepper.  Wrap in foil and roast with parsnips.  Garlic takes about 30-45 minutes depending on your oven.  You will smell when its close.

I prefer to puree in a blender instead of a food processor.  Squeeze roasted garlic out of head while making sure no "paper" from garlic sticks to it.  Add to blender with parsnips, oil, stock. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.  We are looking for a smooth consistency.  Add liquid until you get it.

*   Disclaimer: I don't measure anything.  I will give estimates, if you want exact proportions for anything find some else's recipe.  You may or may not find something similar.  This only really applies to seasoning, so I say season to taste, adding small amounts per layer of ingredients, taste it, and see if you like it.  You will get used to doing this with experience.  Its not rocket science!

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon

- 1 pound of asparagus
- juice of a half a lemon

You can cut the bottoms off asparagus.  If you want you can snap them one by one to find a natural break point.  This is a pain.  The bottoms are woody, so discard one way or another or save for a stock.  Put some oil on them.  Season with salt/pepper.  Add chili flakes/garlic powder, whatever you want.  Make it yours!

I will grill these with the chops.  You can also roast them in the oven.  When they are done, toss the asparagus in the lemon juice.

Enjoy!

My Culinary Influences

I'd like to start my first post by sharing some details about some of the people who have influenced how I think about food and the way I cook.  (This list is in chronological order)

My parents - Terry and Diane MacLaughlin

My parents are the inspiration of the title of this site.  When I came home from school, I was always hungry and ready to eat as my parents were preparing dinner.  On a daily basis I would ask "When is dinner going to be ready?" and the response was always, "When its done.  Good food takes time!".

They believed that it was necessary for family to sit down and eat a home-cooked meal together on a daily basis.  Every Sunday, my grandparents, (and sometimes friends) would join us for dinner as well.  Dinner was about sitting down together, enjoying a meal, and catching up on school, activities, etc.

I started taking interest in food while watching my parents prepare meals.  My dad would give me tastes of my favorite foods and ask if there was anything missing to the dish.  The older I got, the more I observed what they were doing but never actively participated except for some small tasks.

While I was in high school, Emeril was becoming very big on Food Network.  My parents watched Emeril Live on a daily basis.  I found myself watching with them a few nights a week.  Emeril's energy and catch phrases got me hooked immediately.  A few years later, I met Matt Abdoo, who was also a major Emeril fan.  This was where I really took an interest...

Matt Abdoo

Matt is my cooking hero.  He taught me every basic and many of the advanced skills I know.  He taught me about classic recipes, and then encouraged me to make recipes my own by altering them.  I started cooking with Matt when he was a senior in college and I was a junior (2001-2002). 

Matt had already been working in a kitchen for a few years as a chef.  This particular year was special for me because it was my first year living off campus so I was frequently cooking for myself.  One day Matt was over while I was making dinner, and he gave me a few tips.  For the remainder of the year I found myself cooking with and learning from one of the most talented people I know. 

I continued to cook my senior year and after graduation.  I was pretty decent.  I developed some creativity.  I watched Food Network all the time.  I started adapting recipes, trying new things and creating a few dishes on my own.

In 2004, everything changed.  I went to visit Matt in his home town.  He was still working at Cafe Canoli, which was a small Italian restaurant.  Holy shit.  He created an off-menu, 5 course tasting with wine pairings.  What an experience.  This was how I wanted to cook.  I still have no idea what the hell he did in some cases.

I want to brag about Matt for a minute.  Details I have left out are that he ended up graduating #1 in his class at the Culinary Institute of America.  He went on to become an executive chef in Boston.  From there he made a jump to NYC where he works at Del Posto, under another major Food Network influence of mine...Mario Batali.  I need to eat there someday soon.

Thanks for everything Abdoo!

Joe Jachlewski

Joe is one of my oldest friends in the world.  We went to elementary, middle and high school together.  After college, he moved to Rochester, NY.  Soon after, I got a teaching job in Rochester, and moved into an apartment with him and a few other people.  That year, we cooked A LOT.  We both had jobs, had money and weren't afraid to rack up grocery bills! 

Two years later, I bought a house and Joe moved in.  We each picked 2 days a week to cook for each other and go all out.  While one cooked, the other helped out a bit and we drank.  There is no way I'd rather spend my time. 

For the next 3 years, we bounced new recipe ideas off each other, played off each others cooking strengths and really refined some of the things we do.  He bought his own house in 2009, and we still get together for dinner nights, and tons of random weekend cooking events.  When Joe and I throw a party where food is involved, think big.  You will be hearing a lot about Joe on this blog.

Steve Case

Steve and I work together.  I consider him to be the culinary "ying to my yang".  Before I started discussing food with Steve, if I was going to cook for someone I trended towards big and bold flavors or elaborate sauces.  He tends to make everything appear so simple.  I mean simple in the best way possible.  He uses a few basic, fresh ingredients and makes pefectly combines them into some of the best dishes I have ever tasted. 

He taught me the concept of quality ingredients.  Buy the freshest produce, use fresh herbs.  The better ingredients you put into something, the better it will turn out.  This includes making things from scratch whenever you can, and using whatever is fresh and in season.  I learn so much from Steve, mostly through conversation.  He knows what he's doing, and executes techniques as good as anyone I've ever met.    Although we have eaten several meals at each others houses, we have actually only made 2 meals together cooperatively, but they were friggin good.

Jen MacLaughlin

My wife and I cook together regularly.  We are at a stage where we plan our meals together and create some new ones when we can.  She started out helping me, prepping some food etc.  I was pretty happy to teach some of the skills I have learned from others with her.  It gives us another hobby that we can have in common.  It is pretty cool watching someone else learn and develop their cooking skills and start to try new things.  Teaching helps me develop as she does. 

We go to the supermarket often.  Every day I post a meal on this site, we shopped that day.  I rarely go to the store with a recipe in mind.  We walk past the meat counter, the seafood counter, and then through produce.  Whatever looks freshest, is most likely what we are buying.  If there is something we want to make, and it doesn't look good that day, it can wait because...

Good food takes time!