Posted: March 7th, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Pescatarian, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: mashed potatoes, Pescatarian, Potatoes, recipe, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | 2 Comments »
There are hundreds of ways to make mashed potatoes. Skin on, skin off, simply boiled and mashed, butter added, cream added, garlic added, etc. There are as many variations as their are cooks and deciding which route really depends on your personal preference and what you’re serving it with.
I came by the technique of double-cooking mashed potatoes accidentally when I was re-heating leftovers once. We don’t use a microwave so everything gets reheated traditionally – either on the stove top or in the oven. In doing this, I found that leftover mashed potatoes are fantastic when reheated in the oven.
Posted: March 5th, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Beef, Lactose-Free, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: Beef, Lactose-Free, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | No Comments »
Like many children of the 80s, my mother worked full time and cooked every dinner. Although my mother was (and is) an expert at getting home from work at 5 and having a nutritious and interesting dinner on the table by 7, it was decided at one point when I was in elementary school, that my father would make dinner one night per week, in addition to his weekend morning pancake and bacon feasts.
This meatloaf made a regular appearance when my father cooked. Despite our family’s utter lack of interest in anything sports related, my father dubbed it “football” meatloaf because of its free-form shape. What’s great about free-form meatloaf as opposed to meatloaf baked in a loaf pan, is that the air circulates around the whole loaf, preventing it from becoming soggy or saturated in its own fat.
Posted: March 3rd, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Cheese, Pasta, Pescatarian, Vegetarian, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: Cheese, Pasta, Pescatarian, Sauces, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Vegetarian, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | No Comments »
Making lasagna is like planning a wedding. There are thousands of varying traditions and just as many ways to go about it. Some say location and food are most important, others say music and color scheme. In the end, you just need to decide what’s most important to you.
Some prefer their lasagna with lots of veggies, others like it with beef. I like lasagna to be really saucy and cheesy – stuffed with ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and basil.
Posted: March 1st, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Chicken, Lactose-Free, Soup, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: Chicken, Lactose-Free, Soup, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | 1 Comment »
Somehow, whenever I’m feeling under the weather, no matter how tired I may feel, I find myself in the kitchen making this soup. Partly because for me, cooking is a relaxing activity and I hardly notice the effort, but also because I see chicken soup as a valid cold remedy. Honey doesn’t hold a candle to schmaltz in soothing a sore throat.
The thing with using chicken soup as a cold remedy is that not just any chicken soup will do. Opening up a can of chicken soup isn’t going to cut it. It has to be homemade. Simmering fresh vegetables and chicken into a stock creates a deep steep of flavors, fat and chicken essence that will clear the head better than any over the counter decongestant. Boneless, skinless chicken breast isn’t going to cut it either, because the end result misses the beneficial extracts from the chicken’s skin and bones.
Posted: February 25th, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Cooking with wine, Soup, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: Artisanal Cheese, Cheese, Cooking with wine, Organic, Soup, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | No Comments »
French onion soup can be either really great or really not so great and it all depends on the quality of ingredients. Imagine how hollow it could be if the stock was made from a bullion cube, the bread was a slice of HFCS laden supermarket “French bread” and the whole thing was topped with a waxy, mass-produced domestic “Swiss” cheese (I’m going to sound like a total cheese snob here, but there are hundreds of different types of cheese that come from Switzerland. There is not just one “Swiss Cheese”. There. I said it.), rather than an authentic Gruyere? The soup would be thin and over-salted, the bread would turn to an algae-like substance and the cheese would form a tough skin when broiled, rather than melting and mingling.
Fortunately, it’s not prohibitively expensive or difficult to find quality ingredients for French Onion soup, and it makes a world of difference in the end result.
Posted: February 24th, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Lactose-Free, Slow-Cooking, Soup, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: Beef, Lactose-Free, Slow-Cooking, Soup, Stock, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | No Comments »
It is raining, cold and windy here today. There are whitecaps out on the water and raindrops on the windows. It’s the perfect weather for making a nice soup. Homemade stock makes all the difference with soup. Sure, it’s easy to open up a carton of beef or chicken stock, but it’s just as easy to make a good stock at home, it just takes a little while longer.
A few simple ingredients arranged in the slow cooker, covered with water, and voila! 12 hours later, you have a rich, flavorful stock and a house filled with the aroma of homemade soup. What’s great about using the slow cooker for stock is that you don’t have to keep an eye on it or worry about it boiling over. Even set to high, the water content of the stock keeps it just under a simmer. Marrow lends sweet undertones to the stock and the veggies keep the beat.
Posted: February 21st, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Fruit, Lactose-Free, Legumes and Nuts, Pescatarian, Salad, Vegetarian, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: Fruit, Nuts, Pescatarian, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | No Comments »
As you know, avocados and mangos are not native to New England, so this post kind of flies in the face of my whole local theme, but oh well. It’s winter in New England. Fruit must come from somewhere and mangos and avocados are among my favorites.
I devised this salad a few years ago when I was on a bit of a pine nut kick. I’ve since decided to cool it on the pine nuts until more information comes out about “pine nut-associated cacogeusia” – a disorder that came to light last winter that causes some people to experience a metallic taste in their mouth for up to two weeks after eating some pine nuts. It’s yet undetermined which pine nuts cause the disorder. That’s scary stuff and I’d rather not take any risks. I now make this salad with walnuts and the soft texture works just as well.
Posted: February 20th, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Regional Cuisine, Shellfish, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: CSF, Fish, Pescatarian, Regional Cuisine, Shrimp, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | No Comments »
Yesterday was fish share day. We picked up the last 5 lb bag of beautifully fresh native Northern Shrimp of the season from our Community Supported Fishery. Northern shrimp are the only shrimp native to New England and from what I understand, they’re only around in the middle of winter. So this is the end of the line for us until next year. How exciting! What to do, what to do?
I decided to fry them. Northern shrimp are very sweet and you’d think breading and frying would mask their delicate flavor. Not so in this case. A light coating of flour and panko creates just the right amount of crunch to showcase their tenderness without weighing them down in oil, and the savory seasonings complement the shrimp’s sweetness. The key is starting each batch with the oil at 375 degrees, and keeping it above 300 degrees as it fries. If the temperature slips below 300 degrees, the breading will absorb the oil rather than browning and it will become saturated. That said, these are easy to make, and the result rivals anything you’d find at your local seaside clam shack.
Posted: February 17th, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Lactose-Free, Pork, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: Lactose-Free, Meat, Pork, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | No Comments »
Why have pork chops when you can have pork tenderloin? This question came to mind tonight when we were enjoying our Roasted Pork Tenderloin, which to be quite honest, makes pork chops look like chopped liver (which, isn’t really an insult coming from me, since I actually like chopped liver, but that’s another post).
Pork can be difficult. Overcooking dries out the meat and undercooked pork is toxic. It’s really easy, however to get a moist and juicy result with pork tenderloin. A quick season and sear before it hits the oven keeps the meat from drying out. Paprika and olive oil bring color and crust to the exterior, and garlic and salt bring flavor.
Posted: February 16th, 2010 | Author: yankeecook | Filed under: Lactose-Free, Legumes and Nuts, Sausage, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | Tags: Chorizo, Lactose-Free, Legumes, Yankee Cook Recipes (all) | 1 Comment »
We are quite literally snowed in today. So, I made my good ol’ snowed in standby of White Bean Chorizo Bake.
I like to keep local fresh (not smoked) chorizo on hand in the freezer because, as strange as it sounds, it’s pretty versatile. The spice goes well with most sweet vegetables and adds zip to mellow things like white beans or potatoes. The idea for this dish is similar to cassoulet – in that it consists of white beans and sausage – except there is no duck, goose, lamb shoulder, salt pork or wine. It’s more dressed down than that. The pajama pant of the cassoulet world. The indoor shoe.
There are hundreds of ways to make mashed potatoes. Skin on, skin off, simply boiled and mashed, butter added, cream added, garlic added, etc. There are as many variations as their are cooks and deciding which route really depends on your personal preference and what you’re serving it with.
