In the Kitchen With Mattie

Archive for June, 2010

My rosemary bush is going wild! I needed a way to use up some of its bounty.  We had already decided to have chicken tonight and hubby wanted tomato sauce with it so I came up with this. I didn’t know what it would taste like but I did like it, hubby wasn’t too fond of it, he really doesn’t care for the taste of the rosemary in it. He does like when I make baked or grilled chicken with rosemary, but he didn’t like the combo with the tomatoes. He also likes when I make fresh carrots in a rosemary, butter and brown sugar glaze. I guess I won’t make this one again when he is home for dinner, I’ll reserve it for those night when I eat alone.

                             Rosemary Chicken with Tomatoes and Pasta

6-8 bone in chicken thighs, trimmed of fat

3 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and smashed

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon- tablespoon fresh rosemary, depending on how much you like the taste of rosemary, chopped small

large pinch oregano rubbed between fingers

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2- 28 ounce cans diced or chopped tomatoes

1 cup dry red wine

Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat,season the chicken with the salt and pepper. When the pan is hot add the chicken skin side down and brown it well, let it brown until it releases easily, do it in batches and don’t crowd it. As it is well browned remove it to a plate. When it is all browned add the onions, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper to the pan, saute a few minutes then add the wine. Let the wine reduce by half and then add the tomatoes and the rosemary, add the chicken back to the pan and submerge it in the sauce, lower the heat and simmer until the chicken is done. Serve it over your favorite pasta. If you like the taste of rosemary you will enjoy this dish, you can lower the amount of the rosemary if you don’t care for the tast too much.

It is summer and it is HOT down south. You would think I wouldn’t want to be cooking in this heat but I ALWAYS want to cook. When I don’t get a chance to go in my kitchen and cook my day doesn’t feel complete for some reason. I am however not a lunatic and don’t enjoy spending all day in a kitchen without air conditioning over a hot stove. Here comes one of my trusty pressure cookers to the rescue!  I had a small roast and some of the pierogies I made last week still in the freezer. I took the roast out of the freezer last night with the intention of making a roast beef, unfortunately it didn’t defrost in the fridge in time so instead I made it into a pot roast in the pressure cooker, cooking it from a frozen state added about 15 minutes onto the cooking time but it came out delicious. When you make a pot roast I think the most important part of it is to take your time and brown it really well, it adds so much flavor to the gravy. Be generous with the seasoning too, add it in several intervals during the cooking process and taste it to adjust right before you serve the meal.

                                             Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

3 pound roast, tonight I used an eye round, normally I use a chuck roast

2 large onions diced

2 sprigs thyme

2 cloves garlic smashed

2 tablespoons tomato paste, I used sun dried tomato paste tonight

1 cup dry red wine

2 cups unsalted beef broth

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup Wondra flour mixed in 1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons oil

Rub roast all over with salt and pepper, set aside. Heat pressure cooker until hot then add the oil and let it heat. When the oil is hot add the roast and turn until very browned all over, it usually takes me about 20 minutes for this step. When it is browned remove to a plate and add the onions and garlic to the pan, saute until they begin to color, make sure not to burn them. When they are nicely browned add the roast back to the pot and add the liquids, tomato paste and thyme, lock on the lid and bring the pressure cooker to high pressure, time it for 60 minutes, when time is up let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then do a quick release of the remaining pressure. Uncover the pan and remove the roast to a platter, bring the remaining broth in the cooker up to a rapid boil and cook for 5 minutes, add the flour mixed with the water and whisk until no lumps remain, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Slice the meat and serve with the gravy.

If your roast is still frozen as mine was tonight add 15 minutes onto the cooking time while the pan is under pressure.

You will find the pierogie recipe on another post on this blog. I boil them until they rise to the top of the pot and then they are sauteed with lots of chopped onions in a little butter and oil until they are browned nicely.

Today was very hot and humid and I wasn’t really looking forward to standing over the stove in this heat to make a dinner. I had a package of thin cut round steaks and my pressure cooker to help cut down on the heat generated by having the stove going for too long. As I rummaged through the cabinets and refridgerator to see what else I had on hand I came up with this recipe. It is not a classic swiss steak but the version I came up with based on what I had available without a trip to the store, I have to say that hubby absolutely LOVED it and has requested that I keep it in our meal rotations, it did indeed come out very good, the sauce was especially tasty.

                                                   Matties Swiss Steak

2 pounds round steak, trimmed of all fat and cut into pieces approximately 4 by 4 inches

1 large onion, diced

2 stalks celery, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional, I had some I needed to use up)

1 can Fire Roasted tomatoes, 14 ounce, I used Hunts brand

1 cup unsalted beef broth

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon smoked sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

a few carrots cut into julienne

1 clove garlic (more if you want)

2-4 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Trim the meat of all visible fat.  Mix salt and pepper with flour and place on plate. Take one piece of meat and place it between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound it with a mallet as thin as possible, place the pounded meat in the flour and coat it, shake off the excess flour and place the meat on a rack to dry a little. Do the same with all the pieces and when all done heat the pressure cooker and put the oil in it, brown the meat one or two pieces at a time until they are nicely browned, be careful not to burn them. As the meat is browned remove it to a plate and let it rest until it is all browned. When the meat is all browned add more oil to the pan if needed, then add the diced onion and the garlic and celery, saute until it wilts a little then add the wine and let it come to a boil and reduce the wine a little, add the beef broth and the tomatoes and oregano, bring back up to a boil. When it is boiling nestle the meat in the sauce and close the top of the pressure cooker, bring the cooker to low pressure and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then do a quick release, open the lid and remove the meat to a platter, sprinkle with the parsley, bring the rest of the contents to a rapid boil and add the carrots, boil for 5 minutes so the sauce reduces a little and the carrots remain a little crisp, taste and adjust the seasonings adding more smoked sea salt if needed. You can also do this in a regular pan on the stove top, follow the directions and then cook it for about an hour on a low flame. The meat was tender but held together and the sauce was absolutely delicious. I think the sauce came out so well because of the addition of the smoked sea salt, which I have to admit I grabbed off the shelf by mistake and was worried about……….no need to worry, the ever so slight smokey taste it added to the sauce was great, I will always use it in this dish, it added a new dimension to it for sure.

The spaetzle were sauteed in butter, after they came to a boil and rise to the top of the pot you have boiled them in remove them and put them in the saute pan, I used the recipe you will find on another of my posts, they made a great side with the meat and sauce.

Tonight another simple one for dinner. Baked chicken with roasted potatoes and green been cooked with onions and bacon seasoning. Simple, quick and only one pan in the oven for an hour for the chicken and potatoes. A small saute pan on the stovetop for the green beans.

                                                   Baked Chicken Thighs

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon sage leaves crushed

1 teaspoon majoram crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

8-10 chicken thighs, washed and excess fat removed

4 large red potaotes, scrubbed and cut into quarters

Mix all seasonings together and rub all over cleaned chicken, let sit about 1 hour to come to room temperature. Coat a sheet pan with a very light film of olive oil and place chicken on pan, place potatoes around chicken. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 45-60 minutes until chicken registers 165 degrees with a thermometer and the potatoes are crispy, turn potatoes over at the halfway mark to get them crisp all over.

                                                    Green Beans with Onion

2 cups frozen or fresh green beans (I used frozen tonight)

1/2 large onion diced

1/2  cup water

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon bacon flavored salt

Into a small sauce pan melt butter and then add diced onion, saute until the onion softens, add the green beans, salt and water. Cover the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes, depending on how crisp or soft you like your vegetables.

Tonight I was in the mood for Chicken Marsala, unfortunately hubby doesn’t like the mushrooms or the wine based sauce, how do you make him something he likes without having a different type of meal all together………Chicken Parm to the rescue. He loves chicken parm so I made it for him from half the chicken breasts  and used the other half to make myself some chicken marsala. We were both really happy with our respective dinner and I got to play in my kitchen a little longer than usual, something that I really enjoy. You will find my recipe for Chicken Parmesan on an earlier blog entry. I’ll enter the Chicken Marsala recipe here for you to try.  This is a pretty rich dish and is not the authentic way it is typically made however I enjoy this one that I created better than most I have had in restaurants.

                                     Matties Chicken Marsala

1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast, separated at breast bone

    then cut horizontally in half to make 4 cutlets

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced thickly

1 cup all purpose flour on plate, seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup home made (or low salt canned) chicken broth

1 cup marsala wine, I use only Florio brand

3-4 tablespoons butter

2-3 tablespoon oil

1/2 cup heavy cream

Cut an 18 inch piece of plastic wrap and place on counter, lay chicken pieces on and cover with another piece of plastic wrap, using a flat mallet or meat pounder, flatten the cutlets very thin, do not use a mallet with those little spikes on it as you will just tear up the chicken. When the chicken is all flattened place the cutlets into the plate with the seasoned flour and coat them. Place a 10 inch saute pan on the stove and heat it, when hot add the oil and one tablespoon of the butter, allow it to heat and when hot shake the excess flour off the cutlets and add to the pan, add 2 at a time and saute until they are lightly browned, remove to a plate and add another tablespoon of the butter and allow to heat, add the next 2 cutlets and when done place on plate with first 2, tent with foil to keep them warm. Into the pan add another tablespoon of butter and one of oil, when hot add the mushrooms and saute until all their liquid is gone and they begin to brown nicely, watch so they don’t burn. When they are nicely browned add the Marsala and stir, scrape the bottom of the pan to release the fond, boil at medium-high heat until half gone, then add the chicken broth and the cream, continue boiling until the liquid reduces by almost half and then add the chicken back to the pan to re-heat, continue to cook until chicken is coated with the sauce and is hot, serve with the sides of your choice. I hope you enjoy this version of a classic dish.

This was hubbys dinner………………….