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Category : Bake

No-Knead Rosemary and Thyme Ciabatta

Written by James on 9 August 10

I’ll admit it – I rarely make bread. It can be messy and take a lot of time…and more importantly, I’m really lazy. If the grocery store already offers fresh baked bread, then why should I spend time kneading dough? Thankfully, I discovered “no -knead” bread and figured it was worth a try.

Baking often goes against my personal style as a cook – I’m terrible at following instructions. This recipe was no exception,as I followed the recipe a bit loosely and ended up with a slightly more gummy bread than I’d like. However, I included the actual directions below, so follow them and you should end up with a wonderful loaf!

9 Comments

Posted in : American,Bake,French

Arroz con Pollo

Written by James on 14 June 10

Arroz con pollo. Although it translates into chicken and rice, the sum of its parts is much greater than the individual ingredients! There are probably hundreds of ways to make this traditional Spanish/ Hispanic/ Latin dish. I’ve found this dish on the menus of fancy restaurants and in hole in the walls or food stands on sketchy corners. Sometimes it’s delicious, sometimes it’s merely edible. At its heart, arroz con pollo is comfort food, and I think I have a great recipe to recommend.

5 Comments

Posted in : Bake,Latin American,Mexican,Saute,Stew

Caprese Sandwich: Pesto, Mozzarella, Basil, and Tomato over French Bread

Written by James on 11 June 10

I really enjoy a good Caprese salad. I don’t make one too often, because I rarely have fresh mozzarella at home, but since I had some left over from my previous Salami, Pepperoncini and Mozzarella pasta, I decided to give the salad a little more substance and make it into a lunch.

The typical recipe for Caprese salad is a mixture of tomatoes, basil and mozzarella – red, green and white, the three colors of the Italian flag. I put the combination on French Bread and added some pesto from my emergency stash. A few minutes in the oven, and voila- a really awesome lunch! (As a guilty pleasure, I snuck in Kettle Chips on the side). I made the Caprese Sandwiches open faced so I could have twice as much sandwich for the same amount of bread… I was hungry!

7 Comments

Posted in : Bake,Italian

Beef Tenderloin Stuffed with Mushrooms and Onions

Written by James on 10 May 10

When I think of roasted tenderloin, visions of charred crusts and tender pink interiors stuffed full of luxurious fillings dance through my mind. Unfortunately, reality rare matches my daydreams. Stuffing can spill out or absorb strange flavors. Insufficient crusting can give you a bland gray mess. On the other hand, too much crusting and you’re left with a burnt roast.

One common problem with stuffing is that you can’t get enough. To get more stuffing into the tenderloin, I sliced it in “double- butterfly” fashion. Instead of a single horizontal cut to “open” the roast like a book, you use two cuts through the opposite sides of the roast. When you open it, it looks like a trifold brochure. After using this cut, you can spread more filling over the roast when you open it up.

10 Comments

Posted in : American,Bake,Marinate,Pan Fry,Roast

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

Written by James on 2 May 10

I found myself with a craving for a classic meal of spaghetti and meatballs the other night. It had been a while since I’d made my own meatballs, so I thought I’d go for it! Meatballs are most often made with ground beef, ground pork, or a combination, but to be more healthy, I went with ground turkey instead. I also improvised some of the ingredients, adding in parsley, garlic, pepper, salt, minced onions, parmesan cheese, and an egg. Lastly, I decided to make rather large meatballs, since I love a sizeable meatball instead of a bite-sized one. They were delicious!

Other than quality of ingredients, the most critical part of making a good meatball is the bread component. While some recipes call for stale bread, I recommend using fresh bread soaked in milk. You can also use canned bread crumbs if you have to, but the fresh bread makes for a much smoother texture. Here, I used French bread soaked in milk, though Italian bread is usually recommended. I took out some of the crust pieces that didn’t soak very well, since French crusts can be rather tough.

12 Comments

Posted in : Bake,Italian

Ham and Pesto Pizza

Written by James on 30 April 10

I don’t do anything too crazy here. I’m still using pita bread as the base for my pizza crust, like I discussed in my KimChi Pizza post. Instead of using KimChi, however, I went to my trusty emergency stash of pesto, some deli ham, and fresh tomato slices to make a great quick and fresh pizza. I also avoided any tomato sauce, because it’s not really necessary and doesn’t add anything to this particular recipe.

7 Comments

Posted in : American,Bake,Italian

Salt and Pepper Breaded Pork Chop

Written by James on 26 April 10

Sometimes, nothing beats a good pork chop. I was in the mood for a simple but balanced meal, and found a good deal on pork chops at my local supermarket. I prepared this breaded pork chop with salt and pepper, and served it with sides of broccoli and fried rice to round out the meal. I had a glass of red wine – a nice pinot – and it was a fantastic dinner!

When preparing pork chops, it’s very important to tenderize the meat. This ensures that the pork chop is not too tough and tender off the bone. While there are many ways to tenderize meat, including the method I shared here, I used the simplest way this time – lay the meat out between two sheets of saran wrap, or on top of a baking pan, and pound it! You can use a mallet, a pan, or even your hands if you’re feeling particularly barbaric.

7 Comments

Posted in : American,Bake,Tenderize Meat

KimChi Pizza

Written by James on 21 April 10

I’m getting towards the end of my KimChi; it’s a bit unfortunate because I’m just discovering how versatile this fermented spicy napa cabbage can be. In previous entries I’ve made small forays into using KimChi in foods from different culinary traditions. First there was the KimChi Quesadilla and then the KimChi Sausage. With this recipe for KimChi Pizza, I think I can proudly say that I’m 3 of 3 with KimChi+ random dishes.

I didn’t do anything fancy in this recipe. I used a medium sized wheat pita as my pizza crust. I rarely buy premade “ready for the oven” pizza crusts, and I’ve never really tried to make my own crust – it seems like fun, and I’ll try it someday, but for now, I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. The pita seems like a good compromise, but I’m open to suggestions. Anyone have alternatives?

16 Comments

Posted in : American,Bake,Italian,Korean

Pesto Baked White Fish with Rotini

Written by James on 22 March 10

Now that I’ve broken in my food processor with hummus, I figured I should try making pesto. Unfortunately, I ended up running out of time to make a fresh batch of pesto for this recipe – I promise to make it in the near future! Fortunately, I did happen to have a little bottle of pesto in the fridge in case of emergencies. Pesto emergencies are rare, but in this case, the symptoms were severe: hunger and a hankering for basil, pine nuts and garlic in olive oil.

9 Comments

Posted in : American,Bake,Italian

Baked Polenta

Written by James on 3 January 10

I have a confession to make – I am no Polenta professional. In fact, this is my first time making it. I didn’t even know that polenta is in essence a grits made from corn meal, giving it more structure than grits. I only knew it from restaurant experiences where it serves as a great base for meats and sauces. Because I love polenta to soak up meat sauce, I decided to do the same. (Note: I used roasted kale on the side, and pork with carrots, onions, and tomatoes on top of the polenta. To see how to make roasted kale, click here.)

1 Comment

Posted in : Bake,Italian,Recipes,Technique

Welcome to the DailyChef Blog - Helping You Make the Food You Love

Category : Bake

No-Knead Rosemary and Thyme Ciabatta

Arroz con Pollo

Caprese Sandwich: Pesto, Mozzarella, Basil, and Tomato over French Bread

Beef Tenderloin Stuffed with Mushrooms and Onions

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

Ham and Pesto Pizza

Salt and Pepper Breaded Pork Chop

KimChi Pizza

Pesto Baked White Fish with Rotini

Baked Polenta

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