DINNER TIME! Cream of Asparagus and Ham Soup

We've moved and we're no longer suburban. We'll now be known as The Cheapskate Rural Dweller since we live at least a half hour from anything that could be deemed a city or suburb.

Time to ease back into the blogging grind and we'll do it with a recipe.

It's been cold up here in Northern California and it's great soup weather. Here's one I came up with this week.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 bunch of asparagus
1 cup spinach
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 medium onion
1 medium pasilla chile
1/2 pound cubed ham
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Start by putting a stock pot half full of water and 2 tablespoons of salt on the stove and bring to a boil. Cut the crown spears off of the asparagus.

Put in a strainer and hang in boiling water. Cut the rest of the asparagus into 2 inch lengths.

Slice the chile into strips, remove the seeds, and then cut into 1 inch squares.

After the asparagus crowns have boiled for 5 or 6 minutes, remove and set aside. Put the chile chunks , asparagus stalks, carrots, and spinach into the boiling water. Boil for 8 minutes and strain out all but one cup of water.

Put the boiled vegetables, the onion, and the one cup of reserved water into a blender and puree for 5 seconds.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan, add the sherry, garlic, parmesan cheese, and simmer for one hour. Stir every 5 to 10 minutes.

10 minutes before the simmer period is over, add the ham and asparagus spears.

5 minutes after turning off the heat, stir in the cream.

Serve and sprinkle the cheddar over the top.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2019 - All Rights Reserved

DINNER TIME! Pasta, Peas, and Pancetta

Here's another dish I'll make when I'm maybe a bit pressed for time and want to get a quality, tasty, and nutritious dinner on the table for my family.

It's very easy to throw together using two pots, doesn't take a lot of time, and I don't get any complaints.

INGREDIENTS

20 oz. pasta (I'm using a half and half mix of farfalle and rainbow - arcobaleno - pasta)
4 oz. frozen peas
4 oz. cubed pancetta
3 tsp. shredded Parmesan
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic
4 oz. heavy whipping cream

Boil peas and pasta in pot of salted water.

The pasta I'm using is thick, so it takes up to 12 minutes to be al dente. Depending on your choice, it could be a shorter boil time.

Strain out the water when done and put the pasta and peas back in the pot.

Heat up olive oil in a medium sauce pan on high for 3-4 minutes. When hot, add the pancetta. Add 1 tsp. of Parmesan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Lower heat in sauce pan to medium/low. Cook another 5 minutes.

Turn off heat, add another teaspoon of Parmesan and stir thoroughly.  After 2-3 minutes off the heat, add the cream and garlic. Stir into the pancetta mix.  Add the sauce to the pasta in the pasta pot and stir.

Serve.

I'm also serving this with Clearman's toast.  Clearman's is a restaurant chain here in Southern California that runs the Northwood's Inn steakhouses, among others. They're famous for their garlic cheese toast.

They sell their spread in local supermarkets. Occasionally, I'll pick up a tub.

Clearman's toast is traditionally made with sourdough sandwich bread. Simply apply the spread liberally to the bread and stick under the broiler in your oven for 1 - 2 minutes...until it looks as done as the picture above.

This recipe serves three to four people with no leftovers. It's a quick, delicious, and easy-to-make dinner that's especially good for a midweek dinner when you don't have time, don't want to spend a lot on take out food, and not feel guilty about what you put on your family's dinner table.

Now that you've read this post, please take a minute to stop by the Musick Channel Garage Sale at Ebay and pick up some bargains from our over 30 years of collecting.

Thank you for your support.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

DINNER: Grilled Chicken in a Shitake Cream Sauce

You've got your basic four barnyard meats...beef, pork, and chicken. Oh sure, you might mix it up with a duck or some lamb.  Maybe some sausages or even fish but for the most part, you're going with the big three.

It's imperative to mix it up as much as you can, try something different, to build your recipe database and to not get bored.

This is what I did with this week's meal..we'd had steak last week and only had a pack of chicken thighs along with the beef in the freezer so I needed a new way to prepare the chicken.

Of course, the easiest way to change it up is with a new sauce...

INGREDIENTS


3 or 4 chicken thighs (we leave the skin on)
1 small, white onion
8 whole shitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon tarragon
1 tablespoon strained bacon grease or lard
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste


The chicken is grilled on the barbecue according to our barbecued chicken recipe. When done, we just pour the sauce on top.


Finely dice the onion and two of the mushrooms. I use a small food processor for this.


Heat up the bacon grease (or lard) in a small sauce pan.  When hot, add the diced onion and mushroom mixture.  Cook on high until the onions are translucent.

Slice the remaining mushrooms. Add them and the chicken broth to the sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Add garlic and tarragon. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15- 20 minutes to reduce.

Turn heat off. Two minutes after turning off heat, add half and half, stir in, and ladle over chicken to serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Darryl Musick

Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved

DINNER: Pan Fried Pork Chops in a Mustard Cream Sauce

Was thinking about what I should cook for dinner this Sunday while shopping in Sprouts. When I saw center-cut, boneless pork chops on sale for $1.79 a pound, my decision was made.

They weren't the best marbled pieces of pig but they'd do, as long as I had a good sauce to go with it. For some reason, I was thinking mustard. How about creamy mustard?  Then it hit me, mustard cream sauce would be just the ticket.

So I pulled out the gas grill, which has a convenient side burner, and the Lodge cast iron skillet. Then I set to it...


INGREDIENTS
3 - 1 inch thick center cut pork chops
3 tablespoons kosher salt 
black pepper
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/3 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup half and half
1/3 cup filtered bacon grease (see below) or melted lard
1 tablespoon lard

Let's start off with the brine. We always brine pork chops. It's especially useful for those chops you get in the store that don't have a good deal of marbling.

1/2 cup of water, 2 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt, black pepper, tarragon, and white pepper...dissolved in the water.

Put the chops in a sealable bowl, cover with the brine, seal, and store over night in the refrigerator. 

I cooked some bacon for breakfast.  While this was good for the bacon and eggs we had, I really wanted to capture the leftover pork fat for dinner.

After cooking the bacon, I strained into a very small sauce pan.

I put the chicken broth in the pan and brought to a boil.

Then, I add the mustard. 

I didn't have Dijon on the shelf so I used Philippe's hot mustard instead.

Boil for another 2 minutes. Turn down to a low simmer and reduce for 10-15 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the half and half. If the sauce seems thin, add in all-purpose flour...sparingly...just a little bit at a time, stirring.

When the thickness is good, stop and cover the sauce.

Heat the covered part of the gas grill to 300 degrees (F).

On a hot burner, put the skillet with a tablespoon of lard in it.

Put the chops in the very hot skillet (careful not to burn yourself) and brown for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Cook covered in the grill, in the skillet, for 10 minutes. Turn the chops and cook another 10 minutes.

Cover and rest for 10 minutes.

Served with the mustard cream sauce ladled on top.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

DINNER: Lasagna

We're making a lasagna for dinner this week. The lasagna itself is not a lot of work but the sauce is so be sure to do this ahead of time (recipes via the links in the recipe below).

Lasagna is basically just layers of whatever flavors and stuffings you like, stacked up between flat ribbons of pasta and baked.

As certain cartoon cats can attest, it's delicious!

INGREDIENTS
1 box lasagna pasta (we're using a diabetic friendly whole wheat version)
1/2 pound shredded ozzarella
1/2 grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon olive oil
24 oz. Sunday Sauce 
16 oz. spinach cream sauce
1 pound Italian sausage
1/cup ricotta cheese

In a sauce pan, cook the Italian sausage until cooked through and browned. Pour in the tomato sauce (Sunday Sauce) and mix thoroughly. Let boil for a couple of minutes.

In a square or rectangular baking pan, put in the olive oil. With a paper towel, wipe all interior surfaces with the oil so it is well coated.  Put in two lasagna noodles, side by side.

(NOTE: We're using a whole wheat version that does not need cooking ahead of time but many lasagna noodles do need to be boiled in water until al dente first)

Spoon in just enough of the tomato Sunday Sauce to cover the pasta completely. Put a handful of mozzarella over the sauce. 

Put two more noodle on top of that. Press down and try to make level and flat.  Sprinkle a layer of Parmesan, then a layer of the spinach cream sauce.

Two more pastas, and another layer of the tomato sauce with a layer of ricotta. Two more pastas and another layer of the Parmesan and spinach cream sauce.  Two more pastas, the rest of the mozzarella.

Cover and tent (with an air space between the top of the lasagna and foil) with foil.  

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

SAUCE: Spinach Cream Sauce

Need a creamy sauce to help an entree? Here's a quick, creamy sauce for you. I use it in pasta dishes.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound spinach (frozen or fresh)
1 cup half and half
4 oz. heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 cup all purpose flour

In a medium sauce pan, preheat the oil on medium. Put in the spinach and cook until well reduced by cooking.  

Add the half and half, salt, pepper, and garlic. Bring to a boil for 2 or 3 minutes.

Lower heat and slowly stir in flour.  Simmer for five minutes and turn off heat.

After two minutes, add heavy cream and stir in.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved