chicken and mushroom ragu

My bolognese sauce is my favorite accompaniment for pasta, but I don't always have 2 hours to let it simmer. For another protein-rich option, I tried this 20 minute option for chicken "ragu" from October's issue of Gourmet. Next time I won't pulse the mushrooms in a food processor - maybe chop them fine by hand to leave more texture - and possibly will add some olives and a pinch of red pepper for kick. This is a good base made with an inexpensive cut of chicken, so I'll make room in the rotation for this recipe.

grocery list: 6 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic, olive oil, 1 1/4 lb sinless boneless chicken thighs, 1 small onion, 3/4 tsp fresh rosemary (chopped), 3 T balsamic vinegar, 1 28-oz can whole italian tomatoes, 1/2 dried pasta (pappardelle recommended in the original), 5 oz fresh arugula (I used spinach instead), plus grated parmesan.



Pulse mushrooms and garlic in a food processor till finely chopped.



Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch pieces, and season with salt and pepper. Heat a few T olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, then saute the chicken (stirring frequently) for 3-4 minutes, until it starts to brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon to a small bowl.



Turn heat down to medium, then add the small chopped onion and cook till it starts to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture, chopped rosemary, and more salt and pepper. Keep stirring until the mushrooms start to release their juice and turn brown - about 4-5 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until it reduces down, another couple minutes.



Return the chicken to the pan, and add the tomatoes (as well as the juice). Break the tomatoes down and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Cook pasta and drain. When the sauce is the right consistency, add the arugula or spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until it wilts. Stir in the pasta and season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve with grated parmesan.

scalloped potato and herb gratin

From Bon Appetit's Thanksgiving 2008 issue, this is a rich, flavorful, impressive yet easy to make side. I made exactly half (original recipe is below - serves 12), and it was a perfectly indulgent accompaniment to steak - go figure.

Grocery list: 1.5 lbs medium Yukon Gold potatoes, 1.5 lbs medium sweet potatoes, 2 c heavy whipping cream, 1/2 stick butter, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 T *each* minced fresh parsley, rosemary, sage & thyme, 4-5 oz grated gruyere cheese (a little over a cup).



Peel all the potatoes and slice into thin (1/4 inch) rounds. Place immediately in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from turning color. Mince the herbs and garlic.



Heat the garlic, cream and butter over medium heat until just simmering, then turn off the burner.



In a greased 9x13 pan, layer half of both types of potatoes, then half of all the herbs, season with salt and pepper, and half of the grated gruyere.



Finish with a second layer of all remaining ingredients, then pour over the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes; remove foil and continue baking until bubbly and golden on top, another 25 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving. (The original recipe says this can be made ahead - as in up to 6 hours, not the day before or anything - just refrigerate until ready to bake.)

herb-crusted roast leg of lamb

Lamb is one of those less expensive cuts of meat I'm trying to use more often, and especially since you can throw a roast in the oven and dinner is ready a couple hours later. This one was so easy, and I suppose it's a technique you could use for almost any roast cut.

Grocery list: 2-4+ pound leg of lamb (or other roast cut), 1 lemon, 1 large gallon-size ziploc bag, olive oil, and herbs (mix of dried or fresh - rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint - really, whatever you have, just a lot of it).



Trim any excess fat or silver-skin from the lamb leg, then drop it in the ziploc bag. Add a good drizzling of olive oil, then throw in excess amounts of herbs - you're trying to cover the entire surface of the roast. Salt and pepper it generously, then cut your lemon in half, squeeze the juice into the bag (you can throw the lemon halves in the bag for good measure). Let it marinate for at least a couple hours, or set it up at night for roasting the next day. It can sit in the bag for 1-2 days.

Roast at 350 degrees for 1.5-2 hours, or until the internal temperature measures 150 degrees for medium. Remove from the oven and tent with foil; the temperature will continue to rise to about 160 (now it'll be medium to medium well). Adjust if you prefer more or less done - just remember that the roast continues to "cook up" another 10 degrees when you remove it from the oven! Carve and serve - I made this with the spaghetti squash & ricotta dish.

lamb cacciatore

Ah, one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco is SPQR. I originally read about it in Food & Wine magazine, and took my little brother there for his birthday. We were fortunate enough to get seats at the "chef's counter" - basically a bar setup over the kitchen, where you can watch the meals being prepared. The best part was hearing the lead chef talk to the line cooks. He would taste some of the dishes under way and tell the line cooks what was missing. My favorite overheard quote was "more salt, more salt! If it's not over-salted it's under-seasoned!" So I was justifiably excited - practically giddy - when I saw the September 2008 Bon Appetit, the "Restaurant Issue": recipes from SPQR! I did not have this lamb cacciatore at the restaurant, but I will try it when I'm back in the bay area to see how it compared to my own version.

Grocery list: 3 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1 inch chunks [note, ask your butcher, but I substituted shoulder and it was only $5 a pound - you have to trim it anyway, so it was perfect in my opinion]; 1/4 cup white wine, 2 garlic cloves, olive oil, 2T chopped fresh rosemary, 1 T chopped fresh oregano, 1 T chopped fresh mint, 4 anchovy fillets chopped (or 1-2 T anchovy paste), 1 bag fresh arugula, lemon wedges.

Drizzle wine over lamb pieces and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, make the marinade by mashing garlic with 4T olive oil, then mixing in all the herbs and anchovies.



Stir into lamb, cover with saran wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours.



The recipe says you can cook the lamb either over a grill (using metal skewers to make kabobs), or by sauteing - I used the latter method.



Heat 1 T oil in large pan, then saute lamb in batches over high heat, about 5-6 minutes for medium-rare. Toss the arugula with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve the lamb over the arugula with lemon wedges on the side.

pesto pasta and roasted garlic thyme chicken

I've covered these both before (pesto here and here, and chicken here) but just in case you needed to be reminded that these recipes are there for the taking...

rosemary garlic roast chicken

Roasting a whole chicken is a satisfying project. It's one of the simplest foods, but it takes a little time (about 2 hours overall, half of which is just waiting while the chicken soaks in brine). It definitely tastes better than any whole roast chicken you can buy, and you can use the leftover chicken on a salad later, which helps justify the time investment. This recipe is from the New Best Recipe cookbook. The addition of potatoes to the roasting pan is optional, but if you're already dirtying up the pan, why not just throw some potatoes in and have a whole meal ready at the same time?

Grocery list: 3-4 pound whole chicken (WF carries the "poulet rouge" brand from Joyce foods, which was just rated as one of the highest quality chickens you can buy -- mail order it's $25, but buying direct from the WF meat counter was only $10!), 20 garlic cloves, 2-3 sprigs rosemary, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 2 pounds baby potatoes.

Start by prepping the chicken: rinse it in cold water, remove the giblets from the inside and rinse in there too. I found a few additional pointers from Cooks Illustrated on little things you can do to help the chicken roast better. With a sharp pointed knife, cut a few holes in the skin down the middle of the chicken's back, as well as a few through the thighs. With your hands, lift up the skin at the breast area and work your way up the front of the chicken, separating the skin from the meat.



To prepare the brine, put 10 garlic cloves, 1 sprig of rosemary, and 1/2 cup of salt into a large ziploc bag, and roll with a rolling pin until all the cloves are smashed. Dump the contents of the bag into a stockpot, and add 2 cups of warm tap water.



Wait 10 minutes so the flavors can release, then add 1 1/2 quarts more cool water, submerge the chicken in the brine, and put the pot in the fridge for at least an hour. This helps the meat retain as much as possible of its moisture when it roasts -- it makes a *huge* difference.



After soaking, remove the chicken from the brine and dry with paper towels. Set the oven rack in the lower third position, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you have a v-rack, set it in the roasting pan and spray with nonstick spray. If you don't have the rack, you can use balls of aluminum foil to prop up the chicken so it roasts evenly and isn't touching too much of the bottom of the pan.



Make the garlic rosemary paste by mincing 2-3 garlic cloves & 2 tsp of rosemary, and mixing this together with salt, pepper, and 2 T of olive oil. Rub 1 tsp of the paste in the cavity of the chicken. The rest of the paste should be evenly distributed under the skin of the breast, in the little pockets you made earlier. Tie the drumsticks together with twine, tuck the wings behind the back. Rub olive oil on all sides of the skin and season with pepper. Set the chicken breast-side down and roast 15 minutes.



Meanwhile, clean the potatoes. Toss the remaining garlic cloves with the potatoes in a drizzle of olive oil, season with salt and pepper. After the chicken has roasted for 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and decrease the temperature to 375 degrees. Rotate the chicken breast-side up with tongs, and brush with 1 tsp of olive oil. Add the potatoes to the pan, surrounding the chicken. Return to the oven and roast 20-25 minutes more, till the chicken is 160-170 degrees in the thickest part of the breast and thigh.



Remove the potatoes to a paper towel-lined plate, let the chicken rest a few minutes, then carve to serve.