Documenting our Dinner.

What we’re going to eat.

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Brianne

On the menu: One-Pot Chicken and Rice with Swiss Chard

I’ve got a new routine. And I am clinging like hell to it.

Here’s how it goes: I plan all our meals for the week on Saturday morning, then we go to the grocery store. That way, I don’t have to worry about what we’re going to eat during the week, when my routine turns into the following: get to school by 9:15 am. Try to stay on task all day; usually fail miserably. Go to the gym around 3, get home by 4:30. Cook dinner. Desperately attempt to do homework. Repeat. I had a meeting in Massachusetts this last Saturday, and on Sunday, as I tried to put together a grocery list, my world fell apart. It was Sunday; I wasn’t supposed to be planning our meals, I was supposed to be on the couch watching TV. Or, you know, reading some papers for school. No, not that. I don’t do work on Sundays. After literally throwing myself on the bed and crying it out, I came back to reality and we got our food for the week. How juvenile, right?

School is exhausting. I discovered fledgling love handles after the holidays, so I hauled myself back to the gym ASAP. Working out is exhausting. Cooking dinner most nights so the guy can work is exhausting. But there are so many rewards from all this effort that I keep pressing on. The meeting I went to over the weekend was related to my research project, and I learned so much about the scale and scope of the project that three days later, my brain is still constantly buzzing about it. It blew my mind. It’d be nice to not have little love handles anymore, you know? And dinners have been great lately–we’re trying all kinds of new things, and I’m cooking through recipes I’ve held onto for months.

Like this one. I was enamored by the swiftness and simplicity of this recipe. One pot, all the fixings: a meat, a carbohydrate, and some vegetables. I was craving the comforting cooking I grew up with, but I wanted something more suited to my adult tastes. This fit the bill. Chock full of my favorite green, Swiss chard, with the added benefit of toothsome carrots and chard stems, I knew this would be a winner. Cooking the chicken first over high heat makes the skin shatteringly crisp, and to save that skin, I finished the chicken in the oven, not in the steamy heat of the simmering rice and vegetables as the original recipe instructed. It might not be one pot anymore, but it was worth it!

Back to the routine.

(almost) One-Pot Chicken and Rice with Swiss Chard
adapted from Everyday Food

4 chicken thighs, patted dry
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems cut into 1/2-inch pieces, leaves torn into 2-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups white rice (use what you have on hand; we used jasmine)
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until browned on both sides, 12 minutes, turning once. With tongs, transfer chicken to a small dish and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes. A meat thermometer should read at least 165°F at it’s thickest point.

Meanwhile, reduce heat in the Dutch oven to medium and add garlic, chard stems, onion, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chard stems and onion are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add chard leaves, lemon zest, and rice; cook 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a rapid simmer. Reduce to a simmer and season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken, skin side up, on top of rice mixture and cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through and liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve.

Posted in Chicken, Dinner, Meat, Rice, Vegetables | Tagged chicken, Dinner, everyday food, Food, one pot, Recipes, swiss chard | 14 Comments

But there were still.

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Brianne

On the menu: Blood Orange Blueberry Olive Oil Muffins

This, friends, was once a collapsed cake. It is now reincarnated and fully redeemed. We went snowshoeing on the coast on Saturday. We got up that morning to make preparations for the trip, and I decided to make muffins. These muffins. I remembered the taste and texture of the blood orange olive oil cake, and I knew that such bright, bold flavor would make an excellent accompaniment to a day in the wild white winter we’ve been experiencing as of late. Also, we were almost at the end of one of our 10 lb. boxes of blueberries from the farm–it was time to make some freezer space.

My mental image may have been a bit fantastical: there was maybe 3 inches of snow on the ground, which of course was icy, so our snowshoes made a lot of noise and for the most part, just seemed silly. But there were still sunshiny muffins. The golden flecks of zest in the verdant crumb and the pockets of complementary-colored fruit made for an aesthetically-pleasing treat; the sweet berries, tart orange, and bitter olive oil pleased the palate as well.

I’ve been back in the kitchen a lot more these days than I was in the fall. Since Kevin, while preparing to defend his Master’s thesis, took the culinary helm as I established myself as a doctoral student, I owe him. I really, really owe him. He’s gotten crazy busy lately trying to wrap up loose ends of his Master’s program and get started on his PhD work. My workload has shifted a bit; it’s not any lighter, and I actually feel more pressure make serious progress on my research, but I can’t ignore how important is for me to spend time away from the computer and in the kitchen. Being in the kitchen, no matter how much work I need to do, is almost always relieving. It’s also rewarding, especially when an idea pops into my head and I execute it in under an hour.

I knew that I was going to remake this cake someday. Cross that off my ever-growing to-do list.

Blood Orange Blueberry Olive Oil Muffins
adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from Melissa Clark

makes 16 muffins

3 blood oranges
1 cup sugar
scant 1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen wild blueberries

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 muffin pans with paper liners and set aside. Grate zest from 2 of the oranges and place in a bowl with the sugar. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until it is evenly distributed.

Supreme an orange: Cut off bottom and top so fruit is exposed and orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Cut away peel and pith, following curve of fruit with your knife. Cut orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. Repeat with another orange. Break up segments with your fingers to about 1/4-inch pieces. Halve remaining orange and squeeze juice into a measuring cup; you should have about a 1/4 cup of juice. Add enough milk to the juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs and olive oil.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ones. Fold in pieces of orange segments and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out of pan and cool completely before serving. Store airtight at room temperature for 3-4 days.

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Fruity, Muffins, Snacks, Sweet Treats, Uncategorized | Tagged Blood Oranges, Food, muffins, Recipes, wild blueberries | 10 Comments

That would be nice.

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Brianne

On the menu: Pulled Pork Tacos

I’m back. The holidays are over and I am back to work in Maine after two wonderful weeks in Wisconsin. Two weeks filled with snowstorms and frigid temperatures mitigated by a very active kitchen, very active siblings, and a very active football schedule. I didn’t bake a single cookie before I left (unless you count the gingerbread house, which we didn’t consume…therefore it doesn’t count), but when I got home, there were no fewer than ten sweet treats to tackle. There were the traditional: Great-Grandma Ella’s Sugar Cookies (none of which were hatchet shaped because the hatchet cutter my mom ordered was out of stock!), Divinity, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Spritz Cookies, and Cookie Balls. There were the newfangled: Orange Creamsicle Truffles, White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge, Honey-Spice Gingerbread Moose (yes, moose) and Avalanche Bark, the runaway hit of the season. And there was the failure: a Buche de Noel, which refused to roll up into a neat little buche as we were putting the finishing touches on Christmas dinner.

Let me tell you about Christmas dinner: I was in charge. And my Grandma was going to be there. The concept was simultaneously exhilarating and intimidating. The menu was simple: beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and cheesy broccoli. I started preparing early in the day, enlisting my siblings to perform various tasks. I wish I had snapped a photo of my middle siblings at the sink, one peeling sweet potatoes, the other peeling baby reds. They were silent. For five whole minutes! It was a Christmas miracle. Dinner came together without a hitch, with the exception of that dang cake roll. Grandma Jo brought the rolls. Grandma Ann brought my favorite Jello mold. She gave away the secret recipe at the dinner table: cinnamon hearts, applesauce, and lemon jello. I was a little heartbroken to hear the truth, to be honest. It was like finding out Santa isn’t real. And everyone enjoyed their meal.

The days after Christmas involved a lot of sleeping, a lot of football, a lot of belly rubs for one very lucky golden retriever, a few tickle wars, and another surprisingly successful family meal helmed by yours truly. We were watching some cooking show on some cooking channel. I don’t have cable, so being at home is my rare chance to watch television. I barely recognize the Food Network that sparked my obsession with food back in high school, and who are all these folks on this Cooking Channel?! Anyway, my momma saw some pulled pork tacos on TV, and she says “I’d like to try that.” I look at her and say ” I can make something like that if you want.” She says: “That would be nice.”

Except my mom doesn’t eat tacos. Fortunately, my stepdad eats anything. And my siblings…what would the they think? We picked a night to try Mexican pulled pork when the kids wouldn’t be at home, to spare me the humiliation of a typical dinner night. You know, comments like “Pork again? I don’t like pork.” “This is too spicy.” “I don’t eat rice.” These are all common utterances among the youthful residents of my house.

On the night we planned to make these, the kids ended up at home. Oh, God. Panic set in.

Fearing the worst, I put the pork in the slow cooker before most of them were even awake. My baby brother was up, though. He helped me measure the spices with his usual gusto, then went postal when a) he saw me pour a can of beer into the slow cooker and b) learned that this pulled pork, not the usual ground beef, would be his taco filling that evening. Nothing like a ten year old’s temper tantrum to keep the spirits high. The kid came around a bit later, enough to help me make pickled red onions. He had never seen a red onion before, so we took a moment to marvel at it’s magenta hue. We cried when I sliced it into thin strips. We laughed after I asked him to measure some vinegar and sugar, then add them to the onions.

“This is the most disgusting thing I have ever done,” he said. True story, bro.

As the afternoon wore on, the house started to fill with the heady scent of cumin and chili. The living room was laced with the aromas of orange, oregano, and Miller Lite. One by one, my family members went out to peek at the slow cooker, but not one of them dared to open it under penalty of my wrath. The youngest and I checked on the onions to ensure they were properly pickled. When the meat was done, I set to work shredding it–shredding four pounds of pork is WORK, son!–and I arranged a plethora of toppings. There were the traditional: lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream, and salsa. There were the newfangled: avocado, cilantro, and pickled red onions.

There was no failure with this meal.

Everyone in my house loved the pulled pork. Momma ate hers over rice and raved about its flavor. She thought it was going to be too spicy, but it was just right. My siblings loved its sweetness, which came from the orange juice it was cooked in. My stepdad went crazy over the pickled onions, so I wasn’t the only one eating them. I celebrated my success by consuming one too many tacos, topped with those onions along with avocado and cilantro. Also with a couple of Point Brewery’s 2012 Black Ales, a limited edition brew that had a bit of hype in my neck of the woods due to it’s apocalyptic inspiration.

I’m glad that the world didn’t end, because then I would have never created any of the amazing memories that I did at home the last couple of weeks.

Pulled Pork Tacos
adapted from Just a Taste

1 4-5 pound boneless pork roast
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tablespoon table salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used 1/2 teaspoon of ground oregano. Did you know that was a thing? I didn’t either, until I saw it in my momma’s pantry.)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup orange juice
12 ounces beer
1/2 cup salsa
Small flour or corn tortillas, for serving
Sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, and pickled red onions, for toppings

Rub the pork roast on all sides with the minced garlic, massaging it into the meat. Combine the remaining spices in a small bowl, then sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over the meat, rubbing it in when you can. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and add the liquids and salsa.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on medium for 6 hours (or low for eight hours). After 6 hours is up, shred the pork roast in the slow cooker by pulling the meat apart with two forks, being cautious not to scratch the surface of the crock. The meat will soak up the remaining liquid in the slow cooker, adding lots of extra flavor and preventing the freshly shredded meat from drying out.

Posted in Dinner, Holidays, Meat, Pork | Tagged Dinner, Family, Food, Mexican, mexican pulled pork, pulled pork tacos, Recipes, tacos | 9 Comments

This blog turned two.

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Brianne

On the menu: Sloppy Joes

Friends, something happened last month that I think you should know about. This blog turned two years old. I think that’s pretty cool…except for the fact that I haven’t been around much lately. I started thinking about celebrating two years of the blog back in September, and I had all of these grand plans, but this is all that came out of it. A redux of the first recipe we posted here, with better photos…and an actual recipe.

Sloppy Joes are the business. Here’s a story for you: I was at a gathering of graduate students a couple of weeks ago, most of whom study pollinators, and we were discussing the origin of the phrase “the bee’s knees.” Is it at all related to the expression “the business?” You know, if you say business a bit funny, it sounds just like you are saying bee’s knees. These are the kind of conversations we have. It’s good to get away from research sometimes! Okay, tangent over. We’ve only made Sloppy Joes once since we posted that first post two years ago. A lot has happened these last couple of years; we’ve certainly tried an abundance of new recipes, but life has brought us all kinds of new adventures.

Like a cat. Visiting 40-ish lighthouses along Maine’s coast. Lots of trips to New Mexico and Wisconsin to spend time with family. A new apartment. Just recently, two Master’s degrees (yay, Kevin!). And there are more adventures to come: being doctoral students, an impending move to the coast, whatever ailment strikes the cat next, and innumerable possibilities that I can’t even imagine. There’s also an ever-expanding list of culinary adventures to accomplish.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this space. What I want to do with it, since I have been neglecting it so. It comes down to this: I’m a rut. A big ol’ bottomless rut. I don’t know what to cook, when I’m going to have time to cook it, or if I’m going to be able to take pictures and write something worthwhile about it. Kevin has been doing about three quarters of the cooking and cleaning around here. I sit in a chair and stress about school. I’m putting too much pressure on myself to succeed at school to allow myself ample time to dedicate to this space. But as the first semester of my studies comes to an end, I am hopeful that I’ll be able to manage my time and my energy better in coming months (and years…eek!).

Speaking of my studies, as much as I am enjoying this new program, I find myself yearning for an endpoint. I’ve been in school for 20 years; my only full time employment has been two summer temp positions. Some days I wish I could plateau. I think to myself: I’ve reached my intellectual peak. It’s time to stop learning and use the knowledge I have in a professional realm. It’s time to stop worrying about grades, and academic progress, and the manuscript I have to write and attempt to get published.

But I must press on. There’s an end goal here that must be achieved, even if it takes four more years of education. At this point in my career, I can’t imagine being anything but a professor. I’m heading home, to Wisconsin, this week. I’ll be there two whole weeks. This simultaneously elates and intimidates me. My mother and my stepfather have given me the opportunity to make Christmas dinner for my family…all six siblings, three step-siblings, and three grandparents. And the dog, who is sure to get a special treat from me, along with a gajillion belly rubs. Here’s the thing: I have no idea what my siblings eat. I’m pretty sure they’re all real picky, too. I plan on involving them in my menu planning so everyone has something they like. Wish me luck, friends. I mean, if all else fails, I can just make Sloppy Joes.

Sloppy Joes
adapted from the inimitable Joy of Cooking

serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-sized green bell pepper, finely diced
3 medium-sized celery ribs, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup beer
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt, pepper, and hot sauce, to taste
six large rolls, split and toasted

Heat oil in a medium (10 inch) skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper and celery and sauté 6-8 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Meanwhile, heat a large (12 inch) skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef. Cook , stirring to break up the meat, until browned, 4-5 minutes. Add pepper, celery, and garlic, along with chili sauce, beer, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens a bit. Meanwhile, split and toast six buns. Season Sloppy Joe mixture with salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste.

Posted in Beef, Dinner, Meat, Sandwiches | Tagged blogiversary, Dinner, Food, Joy of Cooking, Recipes, sloppy joes | 7 Comments

A brief respite.

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Brianne

On the menu: Chickpea and Chicken Sausage Soup

Friends! I actually got to cook dinner last week! And then I managed to snag a decent photo of it, so I just had to share it with you. I don’t want to jinx myself, but I think things may have calmed down around here just enough for me to get back into the kitchen. This week I have plans to bake a few kinds of cookies for Kevin’s thesis defense. That’s right–Kevin is defending his Master’s thesis in a matter of days. He’s working hard, but he’s keeping cool as a cucumber. I really could stand to take a page or ten from his book when it comes to dealing with high-pressure situations.

I haven’t been doing much research lately. My time has been almost completely consumed by homework. Homework! Let me tell you, after 20 consecutive years of schooling, I am so dang tired of homework. But it must be done, and I have reached a brief respite from it all over the last few days. The first thing I did after completing a big presentation for one of my classes was come home and create this soup. With winter fast approaching, it’s high time to bust out some hearty soups for dinner. In the darkness of 5 pm, I set to work on my new concoction. Chock full of chickpeas and chicken sausage and complemented by spinach, tomatoes, and an assortment of aromatics, this soup is sure to warm you up on a dark winter’s eve.

This weekend we spent a day at the 2nd annual Maine Harvest Festival, a gathering of Maine’s food centric artisans. We sampled Maine made chorizo, mustards, hot sauces, seaweed snacks, and more. There was a delightful surprise run-in with Emma, who happened on the festival by chance (yay for public radio!). Then we hit up the booze and sampled ourselves silly, imbibing on kombucha, mead, wine, and beer. I was really hoping to meet a local food hero of mine, but alas, our paths did not cross. Maybe next year!

Chickpea and Chicken Sausage Soup
original recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sized onion, chopped
3 medium sized celery ribs, sliced into 1/4 in. pieces
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 pound chicken sausage, cut into chunks (ours came fully cooked)
1 large bunch spinach, about 10 cups
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
crusty bread, for serving

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8-10 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 1 minute, then add stock and bring to a boil. Add chickpeas and chicken sausage and simmer for 8-10 minutes to meld the flavors. Add the spinach and simmer 5 more minutes, letting the spinach wilt. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with crusty bread.