From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...
Sauerbraten is one of Bob's favorite meals. I don't make it often, but his family tradition dictates that it be served on the last day of Oktoberfest. In Germany, Oktoberfest is a 15 day celebration that begins in mid-September and ends on the the first Sunday in October. If your German ancestors settled in the southern Illinois in communities like Effingham and Teutopolis, and you had a "sainted" mother who made Sauerbraten on that day, your Irish wife had better learn how to make it, or listen to that "sainted" mother shtick ad nauseam. This is a dish that flirted with popularity in the 50's and 60's but it had no staying power. Most recipes available at that time produced a pickled pot roast that was heavy on the sour and not generally appealing to American taste. Once the fascination with using gingersnaps in a gravy passed, so did interest in Sauerbraten for those not of German descent. I must tell you up front, that my version of the pot roast is not traditional. I go heavy on the wine and light on the vinegar to produce flavors that I enjoy. Fortunately, Bob has come to like my version of the dish as well. Sauerbraten is not hard to make, but it requires inactive wait time, so advance planning is necessary. If you decide to prepare it, you'll need three days to marinate the meat, and, if you follow my advice, another day once it's been prepared for its texture to firm for slicing. I think you'll like this version of the recipe. It produces a pot roast that has an almost velvety sauce that has beautiful color and a really pleasant sweet and sour flavor. When the kids were young, I'd serve Sauerbraten with homemade spaetzle, but these days I take the easy way out and make caraway noodles and red cabbage instead. I hope the more adventurous among you will give this recipe a try. It will not disappoint. Here is how my version of Sauerbraten is made.
You'll notice that I've used instant flour as a possible ingredient in the recipe below. This is another restaurant technique that I use in my own kitchen. The flour can be found in a canister in any large super market and it has become my favorite coating for meat and poultry that needs to be dredged before it is sauteed or fried. Instant flour - the best known brand is Wondra - has the consistency of baby powder, but, like cornstarch, it produces meat and poultry with a lighter and crispier coating than that produced by all-purpose flour. The coating helps prevent toughening of the surfaces exposed to direct heat. Lest you think the use of instant flour is something I've conjured from the miasma, you'll feel better knowing that Jacques Pepin, David Bouley, Eric Ripert and Mario Batalti are also fans of he product.
I'd also like to talk about the use of dry vermouth in this and other of my recipes. Overtime, this has become a convenience for me. The Silver Fox and I are not big drinkers. We are not prudes, but we've both reached a point in life where calories count, and we've made a conscious decision to chew rather than sip our calories. That means I rarely have a bottle of white wine in the refrigerator, and vermouth, which has a shelf life of 3 to 6 months, is a simple and obvious substitution for it. Vermouth is a fortified white wine that is mildly flavored with herbs, spices, and fruits. It is a lot less expensive than the dry white wines that are suitable for drinking, and while its flavor is a little different from a straight white table wine, it works wonderfully well when cooking savory dishes. I recommend you find a brand you like and stick with it when you cook. Flavor is not consistent from one brand to another and the balance of herbs and spices can throw off a recipe, so stay with what you know. Cook's Illustrated has recommended the use of Gallo Dry Vermouth. It is not too highly spiced, so its components won't go to war with the ingredients in your dish. It is also cheap! I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the cutlets are made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These meatballs appeared on dinner tables with great regularity during the 1970's. The recipe appealed to moms because it was quick and easy to prepare, and children loved the spiny meatballs for their novelty and taste. As it cooks, the rice pokes through the meatballs and resembles porcupine quills. This is a bare bones version of the recipe that has many variations. I've slightly altered the original recipe myself. I use 2 cans of soup rather than the one called for in the original recipe because I want to have enough sauce to use as a gravy on the mashed potatoes that I serve with this dish. I also add grated cheese to my meat mix to add a bit more flavor to the meatballs. This is a great weeknight meal. It will take some of you on a stroll down memory lane. If you have never made the meatballs and have young children at your table, I urge you to give this recipe a try. Here is how these novel meatballs are made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...For the next few days, I'll be featuring main course salads for folks who are watching their weight. I'm not a fan of the word dieting because I find it too restricting. I've had to watch my weight for most of my adult life, but have only consciously had to diet twice. The first was following the birth on my first child, the second was following eye surgery that affected movement and my ability to read. Both times, I piled on weight and ended up weighing more than my husband. To lose that weight following the birth of my daughter, I followed the original Weight Watcher's diet. To lose it following eye surgery, I tried Mike Moreno's The 17 Day Diet. I had great results with both diets, and while I didn't lose weight as quickly as I anticipated, I eventually lost the pounds I wanted to shed. I have since my last go round with dieting, followed an eating plan that is similar to the maintenance phase of the 17 Day Diet. I am quite comfortable with Moreno's approach to weight maintenance because it allows me to eat as I please on weekends. That does, however, mean I keep my eye on the scale and the size and makeup of my weekday meals. I eat a lot of salads because they are filling, and, if carefully thought out, provide the protein, carbs and nutrients I need to remain healthy. The first salad I want to share with you is based on the classic Nicoise salad. While my version uses less oil and no olives or anchovies, it does contain the potatoes, green beans and tuna that are found in the classic salad. It is really very tasty, and, more importantly, it is very filling. I actually prefer its flavor to the real thing. It is important to dress the potatoes and green beans while they are still warm. I make things simple for myself by cooking the potatoes, green beans and boiled egg at the same time, in the same pot. The beans, obviously, go in at the last minute and are the first to be extracted from the pot, but if I keep my eye on the clock this shortcut works well for me. I think you will like this salad. Here is how its made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Years ago, Lady Luck was with me and this simple recipe won a contest that took the Silver Fox and me to Hawaii for 3 weeks. Whether it merited such a prize is arguable, but the salad is very nice, quite easy to make, and I think your family will enjoy it. Regular readers may be surprised to find that the recipe uses convenience or "shortcut" ingredients that aren't present in most of the recipes I feature. That's because these contests were sponsored by food companies who had products they wanted to feature. Winning recipes had to use those products, have clear directions and be prepared quickly. While I've removed the product sponsor's name, I'm sharing the recipe as it was written for the contest. I think you'll like this salad. Here is how it's made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you enjoy food with an Asian flair, you are in for a treat. This simple yet delicious dish is perfect for a summer night. It is light, in taste and calories, not terribly expensive to make, and you can have it on the table in about 30 minutes. I do have one caution to share with you. You will want to avoid overcooking the bok choy. I think you will find it helpful to separate the stalks into piles of white and green. The crunchy portion of the stalks will need to simmer for two or three minutes, but the green and leafy portions need only a dunk and should cook just until they are wilted. I like to cook the rice I serve with this dish before I actually begin to cook the pork. That way I can get the pork to the table while the bok choy is still crisp and its leaves are a vibrant green. I do hope you'll give this Asian inspired dish a try. It's hard to fault a dish that is so easy to make. It is one of my favorite weeknight meals and I think your family will enjoy it as much as mine does. Here is how it is made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Soup may seem a strange choice for a summer meal, but it can be warm and refreshing after day on the water. My family is not a great fan of chili in the summer, but they do like this Southwestern-style bean soup that is similar to it in taste. The recipe is straight forward and the soup is simple to make. It can also be stretched to feed unexpected guests with the addition of another can of beans and a couple cups of stock. The soup is a good keeper, but be forewarned, it thickens as it sits and you'll need additional stock to reheat it. This is not a recipe that will enhance your reputation as a cook, but neither will it harm it. Served with cornbread and a salad, it makes a fast and filling meal at any time of year. Your family will love it for its flavor. You will love it for the ease with which it comes together. Here is how the soup is made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This hearty pasta comes from Lidia Bastianich whose unlikely history is the "stuff dreams are made on." Beating incredible odds, this Yugoslavian refugee become a respected restaurateur, chef and cooking instructor; her specialty - Italian food. Her programs air on PBS and, while she's not an entertainer, Lidia is a teacher and she sure can cook. Some of her recipes are outstanding. The lure of Capellini Capricciosi begins with a siren's song - the aroma of bacon. Onions are added to the pan and as they begin to caramelize the chorus swells. Just before the coda, hot pickled peppers (pepperoncini), Italian tomatoes and copious quantities of Parmigiano Reggiano are folded into the mix. A final toss with steaming capellini and a ready fork brings us very close to the one perfect bite of our quest. This is a 40 minute wonder! If you haven't tried this pasta you are missing a real palate pleaser. Here is how it's made.
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox and I are attending a covered dish supper this weekend, so I spent some time today filtering ideas and thumbing through recipes to come up with something that might be unexpected at an affair of this type. I finally settled on a recipe I made years ago and had quite honestly forgotten about. It is for meatballs that have an Asian flair and it is also one that my older grandsons liked to help assemble when they were younger. The meatballs are easy to prepare, relatively inexpensive to make and the recipe can be doubled or tripled if you have a gang to feed. The recipe is self explanatory and you'll have no trouble following it. I know those of you who give the recipe a try will enjoy the meatballs. Here is how they are made.
