Porccini ravioli

The filling was *amazing* but the pasta itself was more of a learning experience this time around.

For the pasta I followed:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzQDzYXDD08

I apparently lost the crank handle to my pasta maker, so I hand rolled them and I didn't get it thin enough so the result was definitely tougher than desired.  I'm not sure if there were also other reasons for this toughness.

The filling (recipe below) was great, though.

Porccini filling

1 - 1.5 lbs brown mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and quartered.  Mince in food processor in 2 batches, ~15 pulses each batch.  Rinse 1 oz dried porccini and mince (ok if still hard/crispy). 

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium low heat.  Simmer 2 minced shallot and 5 minced garlic for 30 seconds.  Then add all mushrooms + 1/2 tsp salt.  Cover and simmer for ~10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove lid and crank heat up to high and cook until all liquid evaporates + a little after that.  Mushrooms should clump together.  Turn heat to low and add 1/4 C heavy cream and cook ~1 min more.  Result should be "coherent" but not "wet" (so says the book). 

Remove from heat, and in a mixing bowl add 1 C grated Parmesan and 2 Tbsp minced flat leaf parsley.  Season with pepper.

SO good!

Here are some photos:

Finished product

Mushrooms in progress

Hand rolled dough....didn't turn out so well this time

Putting in filling

Folded over on itself and pinched to seal

Cut with the pastry wheel!

Spanish crispy potatoes with spicy tomato sauce

This was a real winner!  Not the fastest recipe, but very solid.

The spicy tomato sauce has a nice balance between spicy, sweet and vinegar and is very flavorful.  The crispy potatoes take forever to make crispy, but it's definitely worth it!

Crispy Potato
8-10 small red potatoes.  Boil whole for ~15-20 min.  Should be tender all the way through when speared with a skewer.  Drain and let cool, then cut into quarters.  *carefully* toss in 3 tbsp olive oil and some salt.  Bake @ 475 for 45 min turning once.  I used parchment paper and they browned very nicely.

Both recipes come from a book we've got a lot of mileage out of.

Here's the recipe:

The crispy potatoes

We had them with an only semi-successful homemade ravioli.

Post-Thanksgiving turkey jook

This is the recipe I've always wanted to make, and it's as good as I dreamed!

I took the turkey carcass after Thanksgiving, used it to make a stock, and used the stock to make rice porridge, and it was great!

Here's the approximate recipe:

Stock:

Browned the turkey bones in 1-2 Tbsp oil cooking on med-high for about 5 min.

Put bones + the turkey carcass (cut in half) with some meat still on it in the slow cooker along with 6 coins of ginger (about 1.5" worth).

Let cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Jook:

After straining the stock, I brought ~3 Qrts stock to a boil, then added ~1.5C raw rice and lowered to a low simmer.  Simmered for about 1.5 hours until the rice had broken down.

Serving;

I like mine with scallions and white pepper.

Can also be served with:  julienned ginger, peanuts, cilantro, sliced reconstituted shiitake mushroom, sliced boc choy, or whatever else.  To bulk it up, we sometimes add some actual turkey meat or tofu cubes.

Making the stock

Stock is done!

Finished jook

Bronwing the bones

Ginger.  I think I could have added more....I love ginger

Whole Roasted Chicken Dinner

It's starting to get chilly and I thought a whole roasted chicken in the manner of a traditional "Sunday" dinner would be just the thing.

Combined techniques from these two posts:
Dry Brine: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-zuni-cafe-roasted-chicken-at-home-34903
Veggies: https://www.thekitchn.com/viking-chicken-182165
Za'atar seasoning: https://www.thekitchn.com/inside-the-spice-cabinet-zaatar-seasoning-blend-82566

Here's what I did with notes for what to change for next time

INGREDIENTS

• Smallest whole chicken you can find (mine ended up being ~4.5 lb I think and we ate it for DAYS. Might be able to get a 2-3 pound chicken from the Indian market)
• 1-2 lb of veggies for roasting (we used brussels sprouts, potato, carrot, mushroom)
• Za'atar (want to explore other dry rubs for next time):
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried sumac
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

METHOD

1-3 days in advance:

• Combine the thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and set aside
• Measure 3/4 tsp salt per 1 lb chicken (found this was a little salty so might reduce next time) and mix with some fresh ground pepper and set aside
• Remove giblets from the chicken.
• Pat the chicken dry inside and out as much as possible with paper towels
• Loosen skin over chicken breasts by running fingers under the skin gently
• Tuck a little less than half of the za'atar mixture under the chicken breast skin
• Rub the salt all over the chicken making sure to get under the wings and drumsticks and sprinkling heavily over the thicker parts of the breasts and thighs.
• Cover chicken loosely in a clean plastic bag (like a grocery bag), tie loosely, and place in the fridge for 1-3 days, the more the better.

Day of:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees and set rack to a lower position.
• Chop veggies in big chunks. Toss with a bit of oil and very lightly salt. They will be sitting under the chicken while it bakes for ~1.5 hours so big is good and they will get flavor from the chicken juices as it cooks, so they don't need much. Place all the veggies in a shallow baking tray large enough to hold your chicken, we used our Le Creuset oval baker.
• Remove chicken from the fridge. Tilt chicken to pour out any accumulated juices and pat dry. (this might be where some of the excess salt can be wiped off also, since ours came out a little over-salted). Rub with the remaining za'atar from a few days ago. Place breast-side up on top of veggies in the roasting dish. You could top the breast with a pat or two of butter, we did not.
• Place chicken & veggies in the oven and reduce to 400 degrees. Roast for 1.5 hours. You may need less time for a much smaller bird. If you have a meat thermometer, cook until it registers 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.
• Our skin didn't get super crisp, so I might also recommend a quick broil before removing from the oven if that's what you're after.
• Remove from oven, place chicken on a cutting board and tent with foil, letting it rest for ~15 minutes. In the meantime, give the veggies a quick stir in all those good chicken drippings.
• Eat! Save leftovers and eat some more!

Shaukut's Aaloo Chana Recipe

Cooked it straight from Shaukut's suggested version, except I used regular cumin seeds instead of Kaloongi (black cumin), and I left out the mix pickle since I didn't have any.  Results were still great! =)

Aaloo Chana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWe-uN3WkKE : Faiza Recipe (The recipe is in Urdu)

Ingredients:
0:  3 Tbsp ghee (or 2 Tbsp oil 1 butter)
1: onion 1 large (minced/chopped)
2: tomato 2-3 large (chopped)
3: 1 large golden potato (or 2-3 med red ones)
4: masoor dal 1/2 cup (soaked in water until soft ~15-30 min)
5: mung dal 1/2 cup (soaked in water ~15-30 min)
6: chick peas 2 cans (16 oz. each)
7: turmeric 1/2 TSP
8: salt 1TBS  (Or less if you omit the potato).
9: red chilli powder 1/2 TSP (or less)
10:black cardamom 3
12:cumin seeds 1 TBS
13:water:  4 cups (or more if you need it)

1: heat oil in a pan add cumin seeds, black cardamom, onions and fry till gets
light golden on high flame.  [ 6- 10 min for me ]

2: add the tomato, salt, red chilli, turmeric, both the dal (drain the water they were soaked in),
add the water.

3: wait for a boil and then simmer on med-low until dal is cooked and gets soft (about 30 minutes). Stir often to ensure that the daal does not stick to the pot.  Add more water if needed.

3.5:  Using a blender (emersion or otherwise), blend some or all of the dal (removing the black cardamom first).

4: now add the chickpeas (drained) and potatoes in 1cm cubes and cook till the potatoes get cooked but does not loose shape and the curry gets thick (about 10-15 minutes)