Any Kitchen Will Do

Give me a kitchen and I will cook.

Archive for the month “November, 2012”

26 Nov 2012

Soupless Green Bean Casserole

I like holiday meals. Partly because of all the lovely foods we don’t make during other times of the year, but also because the meals often require cooking all day. Darn. Heh. We like spending time in the kitchen. Besides keeping us close to the alcoholic beverage supplies, it is a place where we have great conversation and create or try new things. This is a good thing, in my opinion. Besides a huge bird, or a massive ham, I always look forward to green bean casserole. There is something about the beans and the creamy sauce and the occasional mushroom bits all swirled together in a single bite. This version of the casserole does not include the crunchy fried onions, because of the wheaty carbiness of them, but it still turned out to appease my comfort food craving for the soupy, crunch version. I don’t know how well this would work with whole fresh beans, but with the canned french style the sauce coated every bit very well and the richness I love so much was able to shine through. I am not partial to all the extra stuff they put in canned soups, as I have ranted about before, so I am always glad to figure out versions of comfort foods I enjoy with out the canned stuff. Big D got a little perturbed at how much I liked the green bean casserole over the flaxseed dressing, which was pretty good. His holiday comfort food goes back to his grandmother’s dressing, filled with biscuits, cornbread, apples and sage. I don’t know that he ever gave green bean casserole a second thought before we got together. What can I say, I am a green bean casserole girl. Have I mentioned I like green bean casserole? That last one was for Big D.

Soupless Green Bean Casserole

2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp erythritol
1/4 cup onion, diced
2 cups mushrooms, diced
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
3 cans green beans, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth, and cook for one minute. Stir in the salt, erythritol, onion, Worcestershire sauce and sour cream. Add mushrooms. Cook mixture until mushrooms sweat and liquid reduces by about 50%. Add green beans, and stir to coat and heat. Transfer the mixture to a 9×9 casserole dish. Spread shredded cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Posted in baked, beans, casserole, coconut flour, onion, side dish, Silver Spring Kitchen, soup, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
22 Nov 2012

Bacon Wrapped Thanksgiving Turkey

To all fellow bacon lovers – what may be even better than wrapping steak or jalapenos or chicken breasts in bacon? Turkey! The end result may not look like the quintessential golden skinned turkey, but boy is it moist and flavorful! Our traditional method is to use a smoker to do the turkey, along with whatever appetizers we crave, like stuffed mushrooms, and even throw in the occasional bunch of jalapenos, tomatoes and onions, which make a smokin’ salsa. Our current living situation, at the top of an apartment building, is not conducive with smoker use. We didn’t want the landlord following the trail of smoke and nagging us about rule breaking. A quick searing of steaks on the balcony grill is one thing, but eight or so hours of trailing smoke is more than what we thought we could get away with. We went ahead and did an oven version this year. I am curious about how this recipe would work in a smoker, but we will have to find out another time. It was fun to do the bacon wrapping and watch the bacon get dark and crispy. Instead of having the typical crispy skin to eat, we had a blanket of bacon. The skin kind of melted into the meat, becoming part of the bacon. I am not sure how it happened, but the results were very satisfying. I got the idea from here, but made adjustments, since we are particular about fresh herbs for Thanksgiving, even though we often rely on the dried stuff most of year. The bird was stuffed with carrots, celery, onion, garlic and the herb combination that turned out wonderful. There are various versions of this recipe with comments about soft bacon, but I don’t know what they are talking about. As you can see, there is a crispy shell on it and the meat is well cooked and moist and wonderful. If you follow my instructions you should be able to get the same results. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Thanksgiving Turkey

One 15-pound turkey
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
½ cup fresh tarragon leaves
½ cup fresh sage leaves
¼ cup rosemary leaves
10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
½ cups olive oil
4 cups vegetables, including carrots, celery, onion and garlic
3 pounds bacon, sliced into thin strips

Wash the turkey inside and out and pat dry. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour uncovered to cool. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Mix together the herbs, minced garlic and olive oil to make a paste. Rub the paste in the cavity and underneath the skin of the breasts of the turkey, carefully so you do not tear the skin. Fill the cavity with the vegetable mixture, and place in a roasting pan. Add 1-2 cups of water in the roasting pan, so there is about ¼ inch of water, then roast the turkey in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the heat to 350 degrees. Cover the turkey in the bacon slices, in cross-hatch form* or just by overlapping the slices in strips. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. Put the turkey back in the oven and continue to cook for about 20 minutes per pound (about three hours total, including the high temperature period) until an internal thermometer temperature reaches 160 degrees. 

*To do the cross hatch on top and bottom there can be preparation while the high temperature cooking happens. Take two pieces of wax or parchment paper, about two feet long each. Create the cross hatch by alternating bacon pieces into one foot by one foot sections. After the turkey finishes the first half hour of cooking, move the turkey to a surface where juices can drain. In the baking pan flip one of the cross hatch sections into the dish and spread it out. Place the turkey on top, then flip the second cross hatch on top. Between the wings and legs connect the cross hatch edges as much as reasonably possible. Wrap the wings and legs with bacon strips, making sure to cover all the meat and skin. Add a few more pieces on the top and bottom of the cross hatch pattern to cover all surfaces of the turkey.

Posted in baked, garlic, onion, parsley, seasonal, Silver Spring Kitchen, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
14 Nov 2012

Veggie Kinda Hummus

Hummus tastes good in so many ways. And by ways I mean it can be used as a dip, or spread, or side dish or a nice base for presenting other foods. My favorite use is spreading it on pita and filling with Greek salad. These days I try to not eat much pita, and frankly hummus made from chickpeas can put me over the top carb-wise on a day if I am not careful. I still like the idea of using hummus as a fiber filled  base for anything from salad to grilled meats or seafood. To reduce the carb count I came up with a way to make kinda hummus, using veggies. I can use it where I would otherwise put hummus, with fewer carbs while keeping the fiber content high. The other day Big D made a killer batch of taco meat. I slathered a layer of kinda hummus on the plate under the meat and cheese and tomatoes. Yum! The vegetable proportions can vary depending on what you have in the fridge, but keeping the cauliflower  at about half the bulk will helps obtain the hummus consistency. Be sure to let the veggies cool before pureeing, cuz they can certainly become a hot mess!

Veggie Kinda Hummus

2 cups chicken broth
1 medium head cauliflower
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 small onion
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine broth, garlic and vegetables in a large pot. Cook over medium high heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes until all the vegetables are soft. Let cool until safe to transfer to use a hand blender, counter top blender  or food processor. Using a strainer or
slotted spoon separate the veggies from the liquid. Purée the vegetables until smooth, all at once or in batches. Add some of the cooking liquid only if it is too thick to purée. The vegetables will be pretty wet, so you probably won’t need the liquid. Serve warm or cold as a spread, dip or plating base for meats and other vegetables, as you would hummus.

Posted in cauliflower, dip, garlic, onion, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
04 Nov 2012

Mustard Baked Chicken

I know it is not very exciting, but there are not many dishes simpler than baked chicken parts for a weekday dinner. We always have chicken pieces of some sort in the freezer. Instead of pretending we eat exotic meals every day of the week I will continue to share variations of staples we rely on for dinners and very often lunches the next day. We continue to find that cooking our own food on a regular basis  helps us stay on a diet that makes us feel great, thus the reliance on back stock of protein in the freezer. This recipe is a result of opening the fridge on a Wednesday evening and having the thawed chicken thighs telling me “I know we are common, but make us special. Very special.” A few things from our well stocked fridge resulted in special yumminess. Saute some greens for a bed, and the special chicken is scrumptious! Wonderful wolfing down of dinner on a Wednesday!

Mustard Baked Chicken

2-3 pounds chicken pieces, skin on
1/2 cup spicy brown or horseradish mustard
1 cup olive oil mayonnaise
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt and Pepper
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Rinse and pat dry chicken pieces. Season all over with salt and pepper. Place chicken, skin side up, in a large baking dish. In a small bowl stir together mustard, mayonnaise, garlic powder and lime juice. Spread sauce over the top of all the chicken. Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until juices run clear and edges of chicken begin to brown. Turn off oven, sprinkle cheese over chicken and leave in oven for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Posted in baked, cheese, chicken, garlic, lime, Silver Spring Kitchen, Uncategorized, wheat free | Leave a Comment

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