Braised Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

We'll return to San Diego shortly, but in the meantime let's dive into some more chicken. Like so many of our family favorite recipes, this one happened by accident. A few weeks ago, Ariel was on her way home from a work trip and it was up to me to have dinner ready when she arrived. I had some chicken and not a lot else. I was thinking about making chicken chasseur again, but didn't have any tomatoes. What I did find was a jar of mixed dried mushrooms. These have a ton of flavor and are a great thing to have on hand. This particular jar came from World Market. The dish came together beautifully, and this is my best attempt to recreate it. 

This recipe utilizes one of my favorite tricks, which I haven't featured on the blog before. I got the idea of using Parmesan rinds in soups and braises from Kenji's "Tuscan" bean soup recipe, which imparts some extra flavor as the sauce cooks. Every time I buy a wedge of Parmesan, I cut the rinds off and freeze them so they are ready to go any time. Similarly, whenever I use chicken thighs, I trim off the excess skin and save it to make schmaltz. Whenever I use shrimp, I save the shells to make soup. There's flavor hiding in these scraps - don't throw them away!

One last note: this is the first post using our beautiful new dishes from our wedding registry! The color is a nice contrast for this decidedly brown dish.

Ingredients

• 4-6 chicken thighs
• 1 large onion, sliced into strips
• 5 cloves garlic (adjust to taste), minced
• 2 Tbs flour
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup (about 50 g) dried mushrooms (I used a mix of oyster, shiitake, porcini, and black trumpet)
• 4 inch piece (about 50 g) Parmesan rinds
• 1 lb dry pasta
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

Trim excess skin from chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper. In a large sauté pan or similar vessel, heat a little olive oil on medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, starting skin side down, until browned on both sides and the skin has rendered. Remove chicken and set aside, but do not drain the pan.

Drop heat to medium and add the sliced onion to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. 

Add garlic, stir together, and cook another minute. Add the flour, stir together, and cook another minute. Deglaze the plan with wine, scraping up the bottom of the pan. Reduce briefly, then add the chicken stock. Stir in the oregano, bay leaf, mushrooms, and Parmesan rinds. Place the chicken back in the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Simmer for about 40 minutes. 

While the chicken cooks, cook the pasta. You can undercook it a bit, as it will finish in the sauce. When the chicken is done, remove from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat up to high and reduce to desired thickness, about 5 minutes. For the last minute, add the pasta to the pan and toss until well coated. 

Serve with grated Parmesan and bread.

San Diego Part 2: Dim Sum and Tacos

On our third day in San Diego, we planned to have dim sum at Jasmine Seafood Restaurant. It is located in an area of northern San Diego with a lot of Asian restaurants and businesses and is one of the few restaurants still offering cart service on weekends. We got there right at opening time before it got too busy. Dim sum is not something we get often, and is quite rare outside major cities with large Cantonese populations. As such, I've often had to scratch my dim sum itch at home. I've previously featured my attempts making turnip cakes and steamed spare ribs. Dim sum at Jasmine was a real treat, and a great opportunity for me to write about the true dim sum experience.

Our first round of dim sum had some classic items. First, har gow, the shrimp dumpling with a translucent wrapper made of rice flour. The best har gow are delicate and not gummy. I have not attempted to make them, but they are definitely on the list. Next, siumai are a pork dumpling shaped somewhat like a basket. The Cantonese style is very different from the Shanghai version I've made. I tried making these once, but didn't get the pork mixture right. Look out for these in the future, as well. Next, we had steamed spare ribs with black beans, which I've covered before. These tender and delicious. The one item we got that I wasn't familiar with was the shark fin dumpling. I was certainly intrigued by the name, as shark fin is banned in many places, including California. I later learned that these dumplings typically contain imitation shark fin, though we couldn't really differentiate the filling from the siu mai. 

Clockwise from top: siumai, shark fin, spare ribs, har gow

Next up was one of my absolute favorites, the char siu bao. As a home cook, this is the holy grail of dim sum, which I've attempted a few times but never gotten right. I can handle the char siu filling -- it's one of my most frequently cooked items. The fluffy, pillow-like bun, on the other hand, I have not been able to master. At this point, we also had some fried taro dumplings, which I didn't take any pictures of. Those also rank among my favorites, which we've made one (mostly) successful attempt at making. 

Char siu bao

The next item we found were xiaolongbao. These are not a classic Cantonese item, but rather a Shanghainese one. I love them, of course, and the ones we had were very good. The soup explosion  in each dumpling makes for one the most perfect single bites there is. We attempted to make them once, and it was not successful. Both the filling and the wrapper have to be perfect, and we hit neither. Perhaps one day.

Xiaolongbao

Next up is Ariel's favorite dim sum: nai wong bao (custard buns or, as she calls them, "eggy buns"). I've had dim sum many places, and while most restaurants make them, they don't often show up on the carts. I had to ask for them here, but when they did arrive, they were fantastic. We have made them a few times, with varying degrees of success. 

Nai wong bao

Cheung fun are another absolute classic. These are sheets of rice noodles wrapped around a filling into a tube shape. The Chinese name, which translates as "intestine noodle" is wonderfully evocative, but the usual English name is "rice noodle rolls." Jasmine offered all four of the common fillings: beef, shrimp, char siu, and youtiao (fried dough). As there aren't a lot of beef-based dim sum items, I typically get that. The first time the cart came by, we had a lot on our table and passed. It didn't come back until a long time later, so let that be a lesson. We were so excited, we ate half before I remembered to take a picture! We have made these once, and it was a very labor-intensive process, even with two people. They turned out decently, though I would make some changes for next time.

Beef cheung fun

The next item is a deep-fried crab ball. The crab meat is formed around a piece of sugar cane which serves as a handle, breaded, and fried. They were served with a sweet chili sauce. Although I'm a fan, I've never thought to try making these.

Fried crab balls

At this point, we had already eaten way too much, but when I saw a special cart come by frying turnip cakes tableside, I had to have some. 

Turnip cake cart

Some turnip cakes are better than others, and it's usually a texture thing. This is determined by how finely the turnip is grated and how much cornstarch was added. The turnip cakes at Jasmine had a light, creamy texture that I've never experienced before. On top of that, freshly frying them on the cart took them to the next level. 

Turnip cakes

Overall, this was an excellent dim sum experience. We arrived early and took our time with it. Dim sum for two is a bit difficult, as you want to try everything, but have to pace yourself. We definitely over-ordered, but you only have one honeymoon. We ended up lounging around the rooftop pool at the hotel in the afternoon as we digested. 

For our evening meal, we headed south to Chula Vista, about halfway between downtown San Diego and the Mexican border. The ticket seller at the maritime museum recommended Taqueria Revolución, a local joint we never would have discovered otherwise. His recommendation was spot on. We each ordered three tacos. I had adobada (pork cooked on a rotisserie, similar to a doner kebab), birria (braised beef), and carnitas (slow-cooked pork). Ariel tried the adobada, pollo asado (grilled chicken), and carne asada (grilled beef). The adobada tacos were our overall favorite. 

Adobada, birria, and carnitas tacos

We also both had a cup of horchata, the Mexican rice drink. We've been fans of horchata for a while and order it any opportunity we get. This was one of the best I've had, and I'm going to try making some with our new blender. We were also offered cups of beef broth, a byproduct of the birria tacos which was packed with flavor. 

Beef broth

After dinner, we walked back to Little Italy to visit Salt and Straw for ice cream. With several locations along the west coast, they are know for their unusual flavor combinations. Ariel went for the almond brittle with salted ganache, and I had a half-and-half of the coffee and bourbon and the carrot cake ice creams. 

Ice cream on the piazza

In the next post, we'll take a break from all the eating for some naval tourism!

San Diego Part 1: Little Italy

We thought it would be fun to use the blog to share our San Diego honeymoon. While we certainly enjoy small town life in South Dakota, this has been a great opportunity to break out of that bubble and experience everything a major, cosmopolitan city has to offer. As this is still No Free Lunch, this series of posts will focus on food, but I'll also mention other things we did.

We had an early flight out of Omaha, so we spent our first night there. Dinner was at Hiro 88 in downtown Omaha. While the focus is mainly on sushi, they also have some Chinese items. We split some sushi, sashimi, and walnut shrimp. Sushi is one thing we really miss living in Vermillion, and we definitely take opportunities to get it. While we enjoyed this meal, more sushi is to come later.

Sashimi, sushi, and walnut shrimp

Our first few nights in San Diego were in the Little Italy neighborhood. The large Italian population in San Diego was associated with the fishing industry, but the neighborhood is now a bustling area full of shopping and dining. There are eateries across the spectrum, including coffee, gelato, pizza, pastries, and higher-end dining. It's a fun area with lots to do without feeling overly inundated with tourists.

Piazza della Famiglia at night

We stopped at Caffe Italia for lunch and coffee on our first day. I enjoyed a prosciutto and fig panino, while Ariel had a tacchino (turkey, pepper, and pesto) panino. 

Tacchino (left) and prosciutto and fig (right) panini

Afterwards, we spent the afternoon at the San Diego Maritime Museum. We explored their collection of ships, including a Soviet submarine that almost defrosted the Cold War and HMS Surprise, the ship used in the filming of Master and Commander.

HMS Surprise with submarine B-59 in the background

We returned to Little Italy for dinner at Buon Appetito for one of the finest meals of the trip. The menu was so full of Italian classics that it was hard to choose. To start, we split a calamari and zucchini appetizer. 

Fried calamari and zucchini

For the main course, I couldn't pass up the ossobuco with saffron risotto. Like most braised meats, it doesn't photograph particularly well, but it tasted great. Notice the small fork for digging the marrow out of the bone.

Ossobuco with saffron risotto

Ariel had the squid ink pasta, which neither of us have had the opportunity to get since my post on St. Louis seven years ago. The pasta came with a variety of seafood.

Squid ink pasta

The next morning, we walked around the Little Italy Mercato, a huge farmer's market that takes up five full blocks of Date Street. There were tons of local products to sample, from fruit to dips, to cheese, and more.

Ariel at the Japanese Friendship Garden

Afterward, we headed to Balboa Park and explored the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park and listened to some Beethoven at the organ pavilion.

Matcha plus Beethoven is a good time!

We made a quick stop at the tea pavilion for iced thai tea and matcha drinks before moving on to the Air and Space Museum. Some of the highlights there were the incredible collection of World War I aircraft (mostly airworthy replicas, but a few originals) and the command module from Apollo 9. 

Apollo 9 command module

Our last dinner in Little Italy was thai food at AAHARN. Thai is another cuisine we used to have frequently in Indiana, but have few opportunities to get now. We shared mango and duck curry and pad thai with river prawns. 

Mango and duck curry

The river prawns were enormous, almost like mini lobsters, and a totally new experience for us. They have a firmer texture closer to lobster, but with a mild shrimp flavor. The chili sauce they gave us on the side kicked it up in a good way.

Pad thai with river prawns

After dinner, we stopped at Pappalecco, an Italian cafe down the street from our hotel, for gelato. That covers our first two days in San Diego. There's already been some great food and experiences, but we're just getting started!

Poulet Chasseur, Provençal Style

Bonne fête, everyone, or as we say here in the USA, happy Bastille Day! With all the wedding planning going on, July 14 kind of sneaked up on me. This morning, I grabbed Essential Pepin and Julia Child's The Way to Cook and got to work. When I recently posted my chicken with bell peppers recipe, I commented that chicken is a real workhorse in a busy person's home. With a little French technique, it's easy and inexpensive to turn a few pieces of chicken into a nice dinner. Pepin, in particular, seems to be a master of the humble chicken. 

While in the past, I've tended to recreate some classic French dish for Bastille Day, I went with something of my own creation this time, loosely based on my reading from this morning. Julia Child writes that the Provençal style involves olive oil, tomatoes, and garlic. Since Provence is located in southeastern France, next to Italy, this makes a lot of sense. Since Ariel is a huge fan of mushrooms, I decided to add these, as well, positioning my dish as a tomato-forward variant of poulet chasseur, or "hunter's chicken." Interestingly, other countries also have dishes with the "hunter" label, including Italy's chicken cacciatore and Germany's jägerschnitzel, which I covered last year. I chose to serve it with cavatappi pasta, Ariel's favorite, but rice, potatoes, or any other kind of pasta would work well. As a side, we had sautéed string beans from our farm share.

To add a little French revolutionary history, chasseur was the name given to the light troops in Napoleon's army, who served as scouts and skirmishers. The chasseurs à cheval were one of the most distinguished regiments in the Garde Impériale, and the emperor himself was known to wear their uniform on campaign.

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs
• 1 onion, diced (about 1/2 lb.)
• 1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
• 6-8 cloves garlic, grated or minced (dependent on size)
• 1 Tbs flour
• 2/3 c dry white wine
• 1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 tsp Herbes de Provence
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lb. pasta (optional)

Instructions

Dice the onion, rinse and slice the mushrooms, and grate the garlic ahead of time. Gently break up the tomatoes with fingers. 

In a large sauté pan, heat some olive oil on medium-high heat. Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down, and cook until the skin is crisp and releases easily from the pan. Flip over and cook a few more minutes, until lightly browned. 

Chicken after flipping

Set the chicken aside (it will not be fully cooked yet) on a plate. Turn the heat to medium and add the onion and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and sauté a few minutes, until softened. Add the flour and garlic. Stir well and cook a few more minutes. This will form the base of the sauce. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and cook down briefly. Add the tomatoes, their juice, and the herbes de Provence. Bring to a boil and reduce to thicken for about 5 more minutes. (Note: I forgot to do this, and reduced at the end. This is fine, too).

Ready to simmer

Return the chicken to the pan. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the chicken is fully cooked, about 20 minutes. If serving with pasta, now is the time to cook it, timing according to how long it takes to cook.

To assemble a portion, place a layer of pasta, dish out some sauce, making sure to get a good mix of tomatoes and mushrooms, and add a piece of chicken on top.

Braised Chuck Roast with Parsnips

Braised meats are something of a passion of mine, which was amplified in the cold of winter this year. That being said, a good pot roast is just as good as summer rolls around. I've recently become a big fan of beef chuck. It's inexpensive, versatile, and actually quite forgiving. Compared with brisket, chuck has a lot more marbling, keeping it moist as it cooks. This summer, we are trying out a new (to us) CSA program and have ended up with an abundance of root vegetables. This turned out to be a good way to use our parsnips, although I have also made it with potatoes instead.

My recipe is loosely based on Kenji's "All-American Pot Roast" from The Food Lab book. As with many of his recipes, there's a lot going on there that on a typical day, I don't always feel like doing. My personal spin is to boost the flavor by combining both styles of Chinese soy sauces (light and dark). As usual, I used Pearl River Bridge, which can be found in most Asian grocery stores. 

Ingredients

• 2 lb. chuck roast
• 1/2 lb. onion, sliced (about 2 small or 1 large onion)
• 1/2 lb. carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 Tbs. flour
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 Tbs. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. dry oregano
• 1 - 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 lb. parsnips
• Vegetable oil (can also use bacon fat)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F with rack in the middle position.

Heat some oil in a dutch oven or heavy saute pan on medium-high heat. If you want to kick it up a bit, you can use bacon fat here. Season the roast all over with kosher salt and black pepper. Sear the roast on all sides (including the edges) until well browned. Set aside.

Roast after browning

Add more oil as needed and turn the heat down to medium. Cook the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic with a bit of salt for a few minutes. Add flour and stir to incorporate, cooking a few more minutes.

Deglaze with red wine, stir well, and bring to a boil. Let the wine reduce a few minutes. Add the soy sauce, bay leaf, and oregano. Nestle the roast back in and top up with chicken stock. Bring to a boil and transfer to the oven. Cover with a lid slightly ajar. 

Ready for the oven

Cook for 2 hours, checking once to flip the meat over. While the roast cooks, peel the parsnips and cut into one inch chunks. Add the parsnips, cover, and cook one more hour.

If preparing ahead, let everything cool then chill in the refrigerator overnight. This will allow the grease to congeal to be easily removed. If not preparing ahead, remove the meat to a cutting board and skim the liquid as best you can. 

Meat after braising

Begin reducing the braising liquid on the stove. While this is happening, slice the roast. When the liquid has reduced to your desired consistency, return the meat to the pan. Turn the heat off and let stand for 20 minutes before serving. The roast goes well with crusty bread.

Sautéed Chicken and Bell Peppers

I'll be the first to admit I haven't been posting much lately. Usually, this means I've been busy and not cooking anything new or particularly interesting. A lot of times, I fall back on old standbys which have already appeared on the blog, such as char siu. Lately, I've been cooking a lot of simple and quick chicken dishes, some of which are devised out of whatever I happen to have at the time. Sometimes, they turn out really well, and I think it's time to highlight some of these humble dinner workhorses. Grilled chicken cutlets and Chengdu-style chicken (known as "five spice chicken" in our house) are two that have seen a lot of action recently.

This particular creation was an instant hit and immediately became a staple weeknight dinner. The first time I made it, I basically dumped all the ingredients into the pan at once. Instead of properly browning, the vegetables sweated, forming into their own sauce. As I've given more thought to it, I've cooked them the ingredients in batches (as in my standard way to cook fried rice). As such, I add a little chicken stock to form up a quick pan sauce at the end.

Ingredients

• 2 lb. (approx.) boneless chicken thighs
• 2 bell peppers (I use 1 green and 1 red)
• 1 large onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• Oregano to taste (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• Lime wedges for serving
• Olive oil

Rub

• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. Spanish paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper

Instructions

Start by preparing the vegetables. Cut the onions into slices, lengthwise. Cut the tops off the bell peppers, remove the core, and cut into strips. Finely mince the garlic. Set vegetables aside and cut the chicken into pieces about square inch -- 4-5 pieces per thigh. In a large bowl, combine chicken and all rub ingredients. Toss to coat well.

In a large pan (I use cast iron), heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Sauté the chicken in two batches until lightly browned. Set chicken aside. 

Turn the heat down a bit. Add all the sliced peppers and onion into the pan, adding oil as needed. Season with about 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are softened and turning translucent. 

Add the garlic and cook a few more minutes. Return the chicken to the pan and add oregano, if using. Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through. Add chicken stock and scrape up any browned bits. Let the stock reduce into a coating while continuing to stir. 

Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over. The dish goes well with rice, bread, or both.

Sausage and Napa Cabbage Fried Rice

It is safe to say fried rice is central to the mission of No Free Lunch. Not only was it a staple of my family's diet from when I was young, it can also be endlessly customized. Fried rice was my first recipe here (can you tell it's the same wok?), and I've done three more of them over the years. Most recently (in 2014), I wrote about how Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book  led to me thinking more about fried rice and what really makes it good. To me, fried rice is about using humble ingredients to get something greater than the sum of its parts. Over time, I've settled into a go-to base fried rice recipe - the one I'm sharing today. 

This recipe makes use of some classic Chinese staples: napa, sausage, egg, and green onion. The amounts given here are flexible and can be adjusted to taste. The method of slowly cooking the sausage to render the fat is similar to how bacon is cooked. If Chinese sausage is unavailable (or if it is preferred), bacon could be used. Various other ingredients can also be added, such as shrimp or black mushrooms. 

Also, happy St. Patrick's Day. While we didn't have any corned beef and cabbage, I hope you enjoy this dish that also involves preserved meat and cabbage. I did have a Guinness with it!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. Napa Cabbage (about 1/2 head)
• 4 Chinese sausages (lap cheong)
• 4 eggs
• Dash of sesame oil
• 4 cups cooked rice
• 3 green onions
• Vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and white pepper to taste

Instructions

Slice the napa crosswise, into strips about 1/2 inch wide. Place the napa in a large bowl (I use this bowl for serving the fried rice later) and salt generously. Toss to coat. Let the napa stand for about 20 minutes. 

Take this time to prepare the remaining ingredients. Slice the sausages into thin disks. Crack the eggs into a bowl, beat with a fork, and add a dash of sesame oil and a pinch each of salt and white pepper. Chop the green onions. When ready, take a handful of napa, wrap in a dish towel, and squeeze out as much water as possible. Continue working in batches until all the napa has been squeezed out. Finely chop the napa and set aside.

Heat up a wok on medium heat. Add some oil and cook the eggs, constantly scraping the bottom. Cook until mostly solidified, but still soft. Set the eggs aside. Scrape out the wok. Still on medium heat, cook the sliced sausage. Toss frequently. The goal is to render out the fat in the sausages while not burning them. Tilt the wok to reserve the rendered fat in the wok and set the sausage aside. 

Turn the heat up to high and stir fry the napa. Depending on how fatty the sausages were, you may have to either remove some fat or add vegetable oil. Cook a few minutes, until lightly browned, and set aside. 

Add more oil to the wok, then add the rice and chopped green onion. Break up the rice as you add it to the pan. Stir fry for a few minutes, letting the rice stand briefly before tossing. Add the cooked napa, sausage, and eggs. Break up the eggs while adding them in. Cook a few more minutes, continuing to periodically toss the rice. 

Serve with condiments of your choice. As always, I recommend Worcestershire sauce, but Lao Gan Ma sauce is good if you like it spicy.

Birthday Special 2019

Welcome back to No Free Lunch, and happy 30th birthday to Ariel! 2018 came and went with amazing speed. A lot happened last year with our engagement, move across the country, and then my first semester in my new job. Fall 2018 turned out to be the busiest semester I've ever had. The blog laid sadly dormant during that time, but I'm hoping this year will be more fruitful. I continue to enjoy cooking with gas on a daily basis!

For Ariel's birthday, I produced what I think is my best cake yet. This time, I used Stella Parks' vanilla butter cake recipe, and it turned out great. The recipe discusses letting the milk, butter, and eggs come to room temperature before making the batter in order to improve the texture of the cake. Instead of two 8-inch layers, I made two 9-inch layers. I again made Mark Bittman's buttercream frosting with chocolate. I also improved the cake construction by trimming off the dome on the bottom layer. I do think this is worth doing to get the cake to fit together nicely. 

For dinner, our plan was to have our traditional birthday lamb kebabs with roasted mushrooms, but it turns out you can't buy lamb in Vermillion. We had chicken kebabs instead, and they were excellent, as always. 

Here's to a great 2019 -- there's a lot of excitement yet to come, and I hope to share some of it here.