Yet Again...

I had a conversation with one of my co-workers about Martha Stewart.  Understand that this woman not only loves food and cooks all the time, but is someone who enters cooking contests.  She is a self proclaimed food snob and believes that Martha Stewart is not all she claims to be.  It's more about Martha's team then it's about Martha.  Despite this I think a tasty recipe is a good recipe no matter where it comes from and my subscription to Martha Stewart Everyday last year was a great way to start trying more and more new recipes on a regular basis.

I love brussel sprouts and last year I ate more in one year than I ever have in my life.  I found roasting them in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper was always a good way to cook them, but doing that every time seemed to grow old.  I wanted to see what else I could do with the vegetable.  I was looking on Martha Stewart's website one day and came across a recipe for Pasta with Brussel Sprouts and Bacon.  Bacon does make some things taste better.  In this case I love the way it seasoned the sprouts.

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces bacon (about 7 slices), cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• Up to 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 large shallots, cut into thin rounds
• 1 1/4 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
• 1 1/4 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 12 ounces rigatoni pasta
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh sage leaves, about 20 leaves

Directions:

1. Heat a dry large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Add enough oil to bacon fat in skillet to total 2 tablespoons. Add garlic, shallots, and sprouts; cook, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 3 minutes. Add stock; season with salt and pepper. Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed and sprouts are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil; add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta. Cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid; return pasta to pot.
3. Stir in sprouts mixture, reserved 1/2 cup cooking liquid, and cheese. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil; add sage and bacon. Toss until combined. Serve with more cheese.

 

Retailers

Two things came out of eliminating dairy from my diet.  I started cooking a larger variety of food and now I am more likely to read ingredients before I buy something at the store.  It's pretty amazing how much pre-processed food has some form of dairy in it.

After seeing my doctor last month I found out that I no longer need to worry about eliminating dairy.  I found out that nobody is 100% lactose intolerant.  Everyone can handle some form of dairy.  How much is different for each person and in my case I am more intolerant than ever after having eliminating it for over a month.  On my birthday I decided I wanted a Blizzard from Dairy Queen.  I ordered the kiddie size and took my lactaid like I always do.  Normally this would not be a big deal, but unfortunately my body could not handle it very well and now I know that if I want to eat ice cream in the future I will either have to make sure it's a very small amount or get a non-dairy variety.  The great thing is I can eat cheese again and that makes me happy.

One of the things I attempted to do was to find recipes that are dairy free.  In my quest to find something good I took my co-workers advice and checked out the Williams-Sonoma website.  I had no idea that they had recipes on the site and my co-worker told me that she had make a couple of things that turned out fabulous. 

Since I had a friend coming over I wanted to make something nice.  I decided to go with chicken with 40 garlic cloves.  Despite the amount of garlic, because you don't mince, crush or cut the cloves, the flavor is not as garlicy as you would imagine.  The hardest part of making this is peeling the garlic.  I made it with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes.  Perfect side to this dish.

Couple of things to note.  Instead of cutting up 2 chickens I just bought a large package of chicken thighs.  I think the package came with at least 10 pieces.  The other thing is I did not wait the full 30 minutes at the end as the recipe says.  I only cooked the chicken for 15 additional minutes.  I would suggest you cook the chicken for 15 minutes, check on doneness and then decide if the dish needs to be cooked longer.

Don't be alarmed by the number of garlic cloves called for in this recipe. The garlic mellows as it roasts, imbibing the finished sauce with a subtle flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 chickens, each 4 lb., cut into 8 serving pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 40 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh thyme
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room
  temperature, cut into pieces  

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Working in batches, brown the chicken, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the chicken, rosemary, thyme and lemon zest and stir to combine. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Baste the chicken with the accumulated juices. Continue roasting, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes more.

Transfer the chicken to a platter; leave the garlic in the pan. Cover the chicken loosely with aluminum foil.

Set the pan over medium heat and mash the garlic with the back of a spoon. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes. Add the stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the sauce to a sauceboat. Serve the chicken immediately and pass the sauce alongside. Serves 8.

Willams-Sonoma