MITCH IN THE KITCHEN

pan roasted chicken breasts and legs

There is roast chicken in my (more accurately, our) let’s-find-an-excuse-to-drink-a-bottle-of-wine repertoire, and now there are these. The method is pretty basic: sear bone-in chicken pieces skin-side down in a hot pan until brown and crisp. Then flip ‘em and stick the pan in a hot oven for about 20 minutes. Chow spells it out here. They recommend rubbing olive oil on the chicken, but I found that to be unnecessary since the bird’s own subcutaneous fat did enough noisy splattering all on its own.

Also, it would be a shame not to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the bits and juices into some kind of sauce. Another option I came up with: fry shallots and tiny boiled potatoes in the drippings, then toss them with arugula or other greens to beautifully wilt them.

broiled yogurt marinated chicken + herbed bulgur

I figured out a repeatable, easy, not-too-sweaty dinner the other night. Boneless skinless chicken breasts seem like the most boring cut of meat in the world, but I think I’ve found my favorite way to prepare them that keeps them from becoming tough and dry and let’s face it, awful. I wish I had a cute patio to grill and eat on, but a lightly air-conditioned apartment will do just fine. The other good news is that the seasonings in both the bulgur and the chicken are very changeable. You (or I) can use different herbs and vegetables next time and different seasonings in the marinade.

To make the bulgur:
Bring 2 parts salted water to a boil. Add 1 part coarse bulgur, turn heat down to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let the bulgur stand for 10 minutes before fluffing it up. Toss with minced shallot, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped vegetables (responsible eater recommendation: whatever’s in season), and lots of fresh herbs. I used cucumbers, parsley, mint, dill, and chives.

To make the chicken:
Combine plain yogurt with chopped garlic and whatever other seasonings you’d like (or none at all). I did Sriracha chili sauce and turmeric, but almost any other powdered or pasty red stuff will do (ideas I had: harissa, or curry powder, or a chili powder blend). Cut chicken breast into pieces about 1/2-inch thick. Season with salt and pepper, then coat with yogurt mixture in a dish. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. Lightly coat a foil-lined baking sheet with oil, then broil for 15-20 minutes, turning the chicken over halfway through. (I actually do this in my toaster oven because it’s the perfect size for 1-2 servings and it doesn’t make the apartment all hot on 90-degree days.) Garnish chicken with chopped herbs.

braised short ribs with polenta

If there is anything that would ever motivate me to stop cooking meat, it would be laziness. Seems like every time John and I set aside a Sunday evening to make a big batch of something beefy (or porky or chickeny) I get annoyed by raw meat juices dripping everywhere, fat and connective tissue that need to be trimmed (still rather unskillfully), and even the smell of raw meat. What keeps me coming back to it, unsurprisingly, is how good stuff can taste when done right. Also, wine. As long as my other half persists in learning about wine, I will continue seeking out new dishes to go with his picks (and vice versa… I think we’ve found an important positive feedback loop in this relationship).

Freezing spring temperatures (?!) and a new Dutch oven (“new” as in unused since its arrival in June) were reasons enough to finally get around to making braised short ribs. It also helps that I have a better understanding of meat cookery, thanks to a hands-on food science class I’m taking (the most fun dietitians are required to have in their coursework). Well-exercised muscles are full of collagen, which makes them chewy and tough. But after a nice slow braise, the meat becomes tender and stays flavorful. The collagen is converted to gelatin (by hydrolysis, for you fans of chemistry) which disperses throughout the braising liquid. The Dutch oven (an enamel-covered cast iron pot with a lid) goes into the conventional oven, where constant, even heating is maintained more easily than on the stove.

I bookmarked a simple, straightforward recipe: short ribs are browned then simmered with mirepoix, red wine, and beef broth, then you drool and feel your stomach growl (scream?) while delightful aromas drift around your apartment. A few hours later, the tender meat and hearty sauce are ready to drape themselves over something starchy and absorbent, like creamy polenta or fluffy mashed potatoes. Something bright and crunchy (like the simple salad with vinaigrette in the recipe) is a nice contrast to the soft, mushy warmth of the other stuff. If time allows (or while you’re eating and thinking about leftovers), you can remove the ribs from the pot and reduce the sauce a bit.

Speaking of leftovers, shredded short ribs with their sauce + canned tomatoes + garlic + herbs = delicious ragu that can be mixed with pasta or spooned over more polenta.

marinated pan-fried pork chops

“This is very… continental. I bet you didn’t really eat stuff like this at home… a big piece of meat like this.”
- astute observation by John

He is correct. Without launching into a long essay on Western versus Eastern foodways and how they’ve informed my own eating patterns, let’s leave it at that.

These were also the best pork chops I’ve ever made, which isn’t saying much since I’ve turned several pork chops into dry, chewy, under/over-seasoned things in the past. Why? How? Pork chops come from pork loins (the equivalent of your back) or ribs or legs, and vary in tenderness depending on which part of the pig they are cut from. Center cut loin chops are the most tender. Several recipes call for brining the chops, which keeps them moist, tender, and flavorful during cooking but also takes like 24 hours. I opted for a (relatively) short salty, herbed marinade to semi-brine the chops. The vinegar in the marinade tenderizes the meat by breaking down some of the connective tissue. The reserved marinade can also be cooked down and thinned out with a little wine or stock to make a pan sauce after the meat is done cooking. So lesson learned: marinate and don’t overcook.

2 bone-in pork chops (about 6 to 8 oz each)
2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper
herbs (I used dried rosemary and fresh thyme)
1 clove garlic, sliced

Combine everything except pork chops and garlic in a flat plate or dish (examples: a pie plate, a casserole pan, a plastic tupperware thingy) or a plastic zip-top bag that you are very certain will not rip or leak. Place pork chop in the dish (or plastic bag) and spoon some marinade over the top surface. Cover dish tightly and refrigerate. If you’re using a plastic bag, place the bag on a plate or something with the pork chops flat. After a few hours, flip the pork chops so the other side soaks in the marinade. Mix garlic into the marinade (you could also add the garlic at the beginning for a more pronounced garlic flavor). Marinate for a total of 6 to 8 hours.

Heat a saute pan with a thin layer of oil in it over medium heat. When pan is hot, place the pork chops in the pan, placing the prettier-looking side down. This will be what’s called the “presentation side” of your meat because it’ll get an attractive sear. Do not disturb the chops while they cook for a few minutes. When they are ready to flip (they should be a nice golden brown and should release easily from the pan… I could’ve gone browner on what you see in the photo), turn them over with tongs or a spatula (not a fork! piercing the meat will cause juices to flow out). Flip and cook the other side until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Remove from pan and let rest for a few minutes before eating.

Make pan sauce by adding reserved marinade, stock, and/or wine to the pan, scraping up browned bits and letting sauce reduce. Spoon sauce over finished pork chops.

On the side, we had braised red cabbage with apples and onions, along with some mustard and parsley crushed potatoes. All washed down with a discount bottle of California pinot noir.

roast chicken for valentine’s day

Happy Valentine’s Day! And a special shout-out to my dad, who celebrates another year of growing older (and even wiser and funnier) today. I usually roll my eyes a little at all the pressure to be romantic and ridiculous money-spending that come with today but this year, the sunshine and cute stuff happening around me have warmed and melted my (cold, hard, blackened… ok fine, I am exaggerating) heart quite a bit. At the school where I volunteer, the chef I work with brought homemade heart-shaped brownies for the kitchen staff. One really sweet little kid dropped by with chocolate truffles for us. And during lunch, I heard a high school boy tell a gift-less friendgirl “Happy Valentine’s Day. It’s stupid that the popular girls get all the flower grams.” The head cook wished me a happy Valentine’s Day on my way out and instructed me to give my husband a huge wraparound hug and rock him back and forth. At my local CVS, I saw a couple deep-throat kissing while pushing a baby in a stroller, then I heard an elderly customer ask a pretty young cashier if she was doing anything tonight. All this happened before the clock struck noon.

Aside from thinking I’m too cool for cheeseball rituals and sentimental anything (and then giving into all the warm and fuzzy), Vday for me is about having a nice dinner at home with John, away from the crowds. This year (one day early) we roasted a chicken and popped open a yummy bottle of California chardonnay. On the side: herbed potato hash with carrots and Brussels sprouts. For dessert: treats from Bespoke Chocolates (my favorites: pretzel-covered sea-salted caramels and strawberry balsamic).

momofuku spicy pork sausage & rice cakes

Part three of last week’s cooking spree was a “banging” (as it’s called in the headnote) recipe from the Momofuku cookbook that a spicy-food-lover like myself could never say no to. It combines elements from three comfort foods that have nothing to do with each other: Sichuan mapo tofu (Sichuan peppercorns, tofu, ground pork), Korean spicy rice cakes (chewy cylindrical street food), and a Bolognese-like ground meat sauce. Unlike a lot of other dishes in the cookbook (48-hour short ribs, homemade alkaline noodles) this one is totally doable for home cooks and for regular everyday meals. I want to feed this to my omnivorous, capsaicin-fiend friends sometime. Definitely worth repeating.

pork and napa cabbage potstickers

As I mentioned before, winter break has given me a great opportunity to spend (even) more time than usual shopping for, thinking about, and making food. Weekday stuffed French toast was just the tip of the iceberg. After a long visit to Hong Kong Supermarket in Chinatown (long because: 1. I want to buy everything that looks remotely familiar, 2. there is a lot of negotiation with myself over how much I can really carry home on the subway, and 3. I can read only a few Chinese characters, so there is a lot of interesting logic that goes into figuring out “what is in this jar and is it what I think it is?”) I hauled home all kinds of Asian ingredients for things like homemade dashi, all kinds of noodle dishes (maybe this, this, and this?), recipes from the Momofuku cookbook, and homemade potstickers. By the way, there is also a jar of kimchi fermenting in a dark corner of my kitchen. We are fusing all kinds of cuisine together for the next couple weeks. Asian-inflected everything!

But back to the potstickers. The best ones have doughy and not-too-thin skin, in my opinion. To achieve this: you gotta make your own. With flour and water and rolling out each individual wrapper. Believe it or not I’ve come close to swearing off making my own wrappers after one exhausting attempt back in the summer of 2007. And even though I have all this time on my hands, I opted to stick to the packaged stuff and give myself a little more time to curl up on the couch with a book. As for the meat stuffed inside, I like the simple and reliable combination of pork and napa cabbage. Basic, satisfying, and omg did I really just eat 15 of these?

For the filling:

1/3 small head napa cabagge, finely chopped
1/2 pound ground pork
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch segment of ginger, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine
a few pinches of white pepper
1 egg

Put napa cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Let sit for about 30 minutes. Put salted cabbage in a clean dish towel, roll it up, and wring it out from both ends to squeeze all the water out. (Learned this tip from a Ming Tsai cookbook. Drawing liquid out of the vegetables prevents soggy filling that soaks right through the wrappers.)

Combine cabbage with remaining ingredients. Overwork the pork mixture (i.e. mix the shit out of it with clean hands) to the point where the meat soaks up all the egg and becomes more paste-y than granular or dripping with egg. This way, the filling holds together and you won’t have little meat crumbles falling in your dipping sauce when you double-dip.

To make potstickers (recipe above will give you somewhere between 25 and 35):

Put roughly 1 heaping teaspoon of pork mixture into a wrapper. You want the round kind (called dumpling wrappers or gyoza wrappers). Dip a finger in water and drag it over the inside edge of the dumpling wrapper, then pinch shut. You can make them pleated (like we did) or crimped or just sealed flat.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add potstickers in one layer, with the sealed edges sticking up. Let them brown for a few minutes, then add about 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Tip from my mom: add a tiny bit of sesame oil to the water. Cover immediately to avoid messy and painful grease splatters, lower heat, and let steam until most of the water is gone. If the water disappears too quickly, add a bit more. Uncover and let the dumplings crisp up again. Serve with…

Dipping sauce: Combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, hot chili sauce (I like Yank Sing’s chili pepper sauce or that bright red chili-garlic sauce with seeds), and shredded ginger, to taste.