Tag: clove

For almost a year, I've been looking for a way to cook tip roast that doesn't end up overly chewy- for some reason, it seems even a long bath in the crock-pot is too much for one's round tip roast. Tonight, I was determined to come up with a solution, and I am disturbingly pleased by the result.

It started with a small round tip roast, which I tried to murder horribly with a fork before dredging in flour, onion powder, and garlic powder. Then, I heated a 10-inch calphalon pan with a small amount of canola and added a pinch of cumin seed and three cloves of garlic. I browned the tip roast quickly, then just as quickly burned off a shot of cognac.

After this, I added one can of chicken broth, a pound of celery hearts (halved), and a can of tomato sauce; one dash of hot sauce and a pinch of freshly ground chiles and it was ready to go in the oven at 350 degrees.

An hour later, I pulled out the roast and celery and covered them with foil; added a little more flour to thicken as well as a shot of soy sauce and a dash of worcestershire. I whisked this down, mounted the sauce with half a stick of butter (for shine), and then served it over the sliced roast and the celery.

It turned out pretty fantastic. I used a very small roast, so there was an overabundance of sauce this time around; I think I'll make a little more next time.

So tart-on wanted me to make her enchiladas, out of Mexicans, for eating. Not having any idea how to make them, I read four or five recipes online for common ingredients (this is how I research all recipes), then promptly forgot everything I read and just started cooking.

I started with some canola oil and about four cloves of garlic, minced. To this I added about two tablespoons of ground chiles (dried red, ancho, and california pods), paprika, chili powder (a lot), cumin, and onion powder. After this started to smell like enchiladas, I browned two chicken thighs on both sides, then poured in two cups of chicken broth and put on the cover for about fifteen minutes (on medium high).

After the chicken was cooked, I shredded it with a fork while the chicken broth reduced on high. Then I pulled the tortillas out of the oven (what? Where did the tortillas come from? I forgot to mention, I put some in the oven at 170 so they wouldn't break when I tried to roll them) and rolled them around the chicken before I put them in a square glass baking dish.

By the time I filled the dish and set the oven for 350 degrees, the chicken broth was reduced to the point where I could start making a sauce. I added two cans of tomato sauce, some garlic powder, some more chili powder, some dried parsley, about two tablespoons of cocoa powder (heck yes), and a little pepper. The chicken broth was salty enough so that I didn't need to add any salt.

After the sauce all came together, I poured it into the baking dish, covered the top with cheddar, and put it into the oven for half an hour. This is awesome. Eat enchiladas. Every day, until you die.

Last night, I decided to do away with a bunch of leeks by whipping up some sort of soup with them, mostly because I'd wanted to try vichysoisse for months. I can now say that, whatever it is I made last night, I ate it and it was fantastic.

• 3 leeks, chopped fine
• 6 red potatoes, cut thinly
• 2 cans of chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 4 pieces bacon
• 1 pint cream
• garlic salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• 1/4 cup mild cheddar, shredded
• 1/2 cup romano, grated
• 1/4 cup portobello mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter

I wanted to have a sauce ready so I could make burritos, enchiladas, or chili colorado at a moments' notice, so here's what I did:

1. Got one of those $2 bags of large dried red chiles. The ones I tried tonight were Californian; we've also got some New Mexican ones on backup.

2. Removed just the stems and tossed them into a blender (I like hot sauces). Blended them into a fine powder (break them in half and blend them in phases).

3. Added all my powder to a can of diced tomatoes and half a clove of garlic (peeled). Back to the blender, to make a thick slurry.

4. Melted some butter over the stove (1 stick), added some salt, onion powder, and cornstarch.

5. Poured the mixture on top, cut heat, added chicken broth and a little soy sauce, and whisked furiously to integrate. Added more cornstarch at this phase.

I ended up with a dark red, slightly hot paste. I can't wait for those enchiladas.

Tele was hard at work on his new job, we had little food in the house and I was left in charge of dinner. This is not a good thing, I make desserts not dinner. I decided to give it a go. First things first what ingredients do we have available? I found: eggs, potatoes, and a block of medium cheddar. Sounded like a frittata waiting to happen. So I checked out some frittata recipes. All of which had a miriad of ingredients that I did not have available. I found a recipe at Epicurious that I felt I could modify to fit my on hand ingredients. And so the frittata experiment began. FYI: a frittata is sort of a quiche without a crust.

Potato & Cheese Frittata

6 large eggs 1 to 1 1/2 cups cheddar 3/4 teaspoon salt (I used sea salt) 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 of a white onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided (well, bummer we are out of that too. I had to settle for vegtable oil) 1/2 lb boiling potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/4 inch chunks (I used 3 small russets)

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add in the cheddar, salt, and pepper.

Preheat broiler.

Cook onions & garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 10 inch heavy skillet (cast iron is preferable, but oven proof is necessary). Stir over medium heat for about 1 minute until golden. Using a slotted spatula or spoon transfer the onion & garlic to a small bowl.

Put the potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil into the skillet. Cook over medium/high heat for about 6 minutes or until they are tender.

Add to the potates in the skillet the final tablespoon of olive oil and the onions & garlic. Spread out evenly.

Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes, onions, & garlic. Cook over medium/high heat for approximately 3 minutes, lifting up the cooked egg around the edges to allow the uncooked egg flow underneath. Reduce the heat to medium and cover, cook for 5 minutes. (center will still be liquidy)

Uncover and transfer the entire pan to the oven. Broil 5 to 7 inches away from the heat for approximately 5 minutes. Frittata is finished when knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overcook or it will be a bit dry.

Slice into wedges and serve. Yield: 2-4 servings

The verdict: Everyone liked it lots. Yeah! I cooked an edible dinner. The boy and I ate ours with catsup, the Tele with some added pepper. If I can make this one, so can you. Do yourself a favor and try it some time. Let me know how your house likes it.

Happy Thanksgiving and related holy days from Edible Unknown! My particular Thanksgiving opened my eyes to the wonders of allspice, a Carribean ingredient named by the English, who thought that it included the flavors of cloves, nutmeg, pepper, and cinnamon, among others.

You see, I was making dinner, and in lieu of turkey (which I bloody well hate, no matter what Ben Franklin thought) we had this honey-cured ham. Not being in my normal kitchen, I searched around the spice cabinet, which had unfortunately been through a bit of a downsizing (as no-longer fresh spices were removed). So I did what any good person faced with a ham might do- I took a slice, started dumping spices on my hand, and took several taste tests until I came up with a combination I could do well with.

This was a bit of a shotgun Thanksgiving in the sense that the shopping had already been done, and I had not enough time to make anything representing a marinade. After using foil paper, a well-sized crockery, and some water to build a punk-rock dutch oven for the ham, I patted every inch I could with a mixture of allspice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, then combined more of this in some melted butter (for drenching it halfway through the cooking process).

Another hurdle to overcome was the organic sweet potatoes, which turned out not to be the ordinary orange tubers we are all used to, but instead a starchy, thin, white-flesh job. Starchy as they were, I didn't think straight baking would be enough, so I dismantled some potatoes and put them into a casserole with some water, baked until soft, mashed, then mixed with orange juice, cloves, black pepper, butter, and brown sugar. When the ham was out and the oven set to broil (to roast some corn on the cob), I sprinkled brown sugar across the top of the casserole and let it caramelize.

It wasn't particularly bad, but as often happens with experimental dishes, it was much better once the flavors had time to set. Or so I heard, the next day.

Here's to holiday adventure! See you later, when I'll be discussing how best to cook relatives who overstay their welcome.