Poached Egg Fail

(Also: Picture Focus Fail - seriously, I think maybe one leaf in the background there is in focus.)

How exactly do you poach an egg? My attempt wasn't terrible, but I lost most of the egg white in the pot and it never really came together. Any suggestions to improve a repeat performance?

On a happier note, here is a recipe for a delicious salad dressing! Boring, yes, but I have been eating mostly leftovers and freezer food for the past week or so.

French Vinaigrette

1 1/2 tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 very small clove garlic or small shallot, minced
1 egg yolk, at room temperature (I always omit this)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil

Whisk everything together.

Quite to the point, isn't it?

Tomato, Sausage and Spinach Risotto

I'm sure we can all agree that risotto doesn't exactly photograph well. However, I can assure you that it tasted delicious. And while it isn't quite a one-pot meal, it does manage to squeeze in all four food groups. So I'd call that a success.

Tomato, Sausage and Spinach Risotto
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
3 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound (350 g) spicy Italian sausage, casings removed and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
About 7 cups flat-leaf spinach, chopped (I used an entire 225 g bag)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

In a medium saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Israeli Couscous, Two Ways

I love Israeli (a.k.a. pearl) couscous with a passion that I just can't summon for the regular stuff. Instead of mushy grainy slop that I can never manage to make taste edible, pearl couscous is a bowl of delightful little pasta beads with a texture that makes every dish better. This dish was pretty delicious on its own (although I'd throw another pint of tomatoes in next time), and possibly even better the next night when I bulked up the leftovers with spinach and chicken.

So without further ado, here is my reduced and adjusted recipe - I doubled the tomatoes, reduced the salt (as the olives are pretty salty already) and made various other minor adjustments. It will feed 2 as a side if you go with the original, or as a main dish if you add the spinach and chicken.

Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes
For roasted tomatoes and dressing
2 pt red grape or cherry tomatoes
2 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp warm water (I used one)
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

For couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup black olives, pitted and chopped
2 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Roast tomatoes and make dressing:
Preheat oven to 250°F.

Halve tomatoes through stem ends and arrange, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan. Add garlic to pan and roast until tomatoes are slightly shriveled around edges, about 1 hour.

Peel garlic and puree with oil, water, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup roasted tomatoes in a blender until dressing is smooth.

Make couscous: Bring broth to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and stir in couscous, then simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.

Transfer couscous to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, dressing, roasted tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.

Spinach and Chicken Option

Cut 2-4 chicken thighs into strips and saute until cooked through. Add a generous handful of spinach when chicken is just about done and saute until limp but not slimy. Add to couscous.

Indian Fry Bread (Sopaipillas)

First off let me apologize not for not posting lately, due to vacation and work scheduling I really have not had the time.
Karin and I found these on our recent trip to the South West they are so good as either a taco shell under chile or with some honey.mmmm

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
oil for frying

Mix the dry ingredents ad water and mix, then knead until the dough is soft not sticky (adding more flour or water as nessary)
Heat about 1 inch of oil in a deep sided pan to 375 degrees.
Place in a bowl, cover and let sit for 15 minutes.
Divide into 12 equal size balls, roll out each until 5-6 inches across.
fry in oil until golden brown turning as needed.

Serve with butter, jam or honey. Or make tacos.

Ginger Fried Rice

Two photos this time instead of a lengthy description. In a word: delicious. Also, I'm pretty impressed that all three parts of this meal were done at the same time.

Ginger Fried Rice
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced ginger
4 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried
4 cups cooked rice
Eggs to put on top (1 per person)
2 teaspoons sesame oil (for some heat use hot sesame oil)
2 teaspoons soy sauce

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown.

Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned.

Raise heat to medium and add rice, sesame oil and soy sauce. For traditional fried rice scramble eggs in separate skillet and add to rice then cook, stirring well, until heated through. Otherwise, fry egg sunny side up and serve on top of rice.

Dipping Sauce (Although it's actually for drizzling on top)
1 part sesame oil
1 part soy sauce
1 part hoisin sauce

Stuffed Chicken

The easiest and most impressive meal ever. So easy that for the first time in probably a few months I actually made a proper meal with meat and potatoes and a side vegetable. Must be hibernation season.

Simply unroll your chicken thighs, spread some pesto, goat cheese, and a strip of red pepper in the middle of each, and pop in the oven at 400 F for about 20 minutes. Serve with some more pesto on top.

I served mine with some roasted potatoes (chop into halves or quarters, toss them in a roasting pan with butter on top and put in the oven at 400 F, come back in an hour and enjoy) and sauteed spinach (toss some spinach in a pan over medium with a drop of olive oil, a splash of broth and a few quartered black olives; stir for a minute or two until wilted but not soggy).

Almost Perfect

My attempt at re-creating Amato's spinach pizza. This pizza dough is pretty delicious, and I'll probably use this recipe if I have wine and honey on hand but I didn't find a huge difference between it and the last one. I doubled it because I though it wouldn't hold all the toppings, but I would just make a thin crust pizza next time. Also, I ended up picking all the charred sun-dried tomatoes off the top, so I wouldn't include those again.

New Pizza Dough Recipe

6 tablespoons warm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more water)
2 tablespoons white wine
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups flour

Whisk wine, water and yeast in a medium bowl until yeast has dissolved. Add honey, salt and olive oil and stir. Add flour and work it with a spoon or your fingers until it comes together as a dough.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter and knead the dough for a minute or two.

Lightly oil the bowl, put the dough in, turn it over so all sides are coated, cover and leave undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.

Dump it back on the floured counter and gently press the air out of the dough. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under the plastic wrap or towel for 20 more minutes.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature. Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like and bake.

Spinach Pizza
Baby spinach
1 small white onion, sliced thinly
1 roasted red pepper
1 pkg goat cheese (the smaller log - I don't remember the measurement)
Basil
Olive Oil
1 garlic clove, minced

Spread 1 tbsp olive oil over the pizza dough and sprinkle with garlic and approx 1-2 tbsp basil (or use pesto and omit the olive oil)

Cover with spinach. Use a ton. Don't worry if it looks like your pizza is going to collapse under the weight; it will shrink in the oven. Slice red pepper into strips and scatter over the spinach. Do the same with the goat cheese. Drizzle over with another tbsp of olive oil.

Bake at 425 F for approximately 18-20 minutes.