Arroz Con Pollo

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 broiler-fryer chicken, about 2 1/2-3 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry
• 1/2 cup of flour for dredging
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Paprika

Rice:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
• 3 cups* chicken stock
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
• Pinch of oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

METHOD:

1 Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (a skillet that has a cover) on medium high heat. Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (You can skip the flour dredging part if you want. It just makes a nicer coating for the chicken.) Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and set aside.

2 Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let it brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown. Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic and rice mixture, stirring frequently until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes.

3 Place the chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of the rice. In a separate bowl, mix together the stock, tomato, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done. Fluff the rice with a fork. If you want you can sprinkle with some peas. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Cacciatore

INGREDIENTS:

• One 3 1/2 pound chicken, cut into pieces
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 2 cups peeled and chopped, firm ripe tomatoes (or canned plum tomatoes in their juice)

METHOD:

1 Rinse chicken and pat dry. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onions and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally. Push the onions to the side. Season the chicken pieces with salt on all sides. Add the chicken pieces, skin-side down. Cook until the chicken skin is golden brown, then turn pieces over and brown on the other side. Add the garlic to the pan and cook a minute more.

2 Sprinkle pepper over the chicken. Add wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, lower the heat and cover the skillet with the lid slightly ajar.

3 Cook the chicken on a low simmer, turning and basting from time to time. Cook until the thighs are very tender and the meat is almost falling off the bones, about 40 minutes. If the stew starts to dry out, add a couple tablespoons of water.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds broccoli, stems removed (can use vegetable peeler to peel, then slice and eat like celery), large florets cut, yielding about 8 cups of broccoli florets
• Salt for blanching water
• 2 strips of thick-cut bacon (about 2 ounces), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch wide strips
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 to 3 teaspoons of freshly cracked black pepper (1 to 2 teaspoons if using fine ground black pepper)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

METHOD:

1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 Tbsp salt for 2 quarts of water). Add the broccoli florets and boil for 3-5 minutes or until just tender enough so that a fork can easily pierce the floret, but still firm. Strain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

2 While the water in step one is coming to a boil, cook the bacon pieces on medium heat in a frying pan until lightly browned, but not crisp. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess fat. Set aside.

3 Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. In a bowl, whisk the eggs into the flour, then whisk in the cream and milk. Add the black pepper (more or less to taste), salt, and mustard. Mix in about a third of the cheese.

4 Place the parboiled broccoli florets in the casserole dish, sprinkling about a third of the cheese over the broccoli florets as you lay them down. Sprinkle the bacon pieces over the broccoli. Pour the egg, cream, milk, cheese mixture over the broccoli, moving the broccoli pieces a bit so that the mixture gets into all the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining cheese.

5 Bake for 25-40 minutes, or until set. Once the top has browned, you may want to tent with aluminum foil to keep from burning.

Shrimp Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounces small raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 stalks green onion, minced
• 4 cups leftover rice, grains separated well
• 3/4 cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if you are making a gluten-free version)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Make sure to use leftover, day old rice when making fried rice. Freshly made rice will make a fried rice that's mushy.

METHOD:

1 In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper and cornstarch. Let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a bead of water to instantly sizzle and evaporate, add just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan.

2 Add the shrimp, quickly spreading out around the cooking surface area so that they are not overlapping. Let fry, untouched for 30 seconds. Flip over and let the other side fry for 30 seconds, or until about 80% cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

3 Turn the heat to medium, let the pan heat up again. Add the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the pan into the same plate as the cooked shrimp.

4 Use paper towels to wipe the same wok or sauté pan clean and return to high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is very hot, add the green onions and fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add in the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout. Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1-2 minutes. Use the spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok.

5 Drizzle the soy sauce all around the rice and toss. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all of the ingredients. Let everything heat back up again, until the rice grains are so hot they practically dance! Taste and add an additional 1 teaspoon of soy sauce if needed.

Serves 4.

Grilled Spicy Citrus Ribs

INGREDIENTS:

Ribs

• 2 racks of ribs (about 4 pounds), St. Louis-cut spareribs or baby back ribs*
• 2 1/2 cups spicy citrus brine
• Oil for the grill grate
• 1 cup spicy bourbon syrup

Spicy Citrus Brine:

• 1 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 3 oranges)
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (1-2 limes)
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

Spicy Bourbon Glaze:

• 1 cup bourbon whiskey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 Tbsp butter

METHOD:

1 Prepare the brine. Combine the juices and water and measure in a measuring cup. You should have exactly 2 1/2 cups liquid. If you have less, add enough water so that you have 2 1/2 cups of liquid, if you have more, discard the excess. The correct ratio of liquid to salt is important for the brine to work properly. Place liquids in a medium sized bowl, add other brine ingredients - salt, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Stir for half a minute until the salt has completely dissolved.

2 Prepare the ribs. If you want, remove the thin membrane that lines the concave side of each rib rack. This will make it easier for the brine and spices to penetrate as well as easier to cut and eat when the ribs are done. Insert a dull knife edge between the membrane and ribs to loosen. Grip the loosened membrane and pull away to remove. Cut the racks in half. Put in a plastic ziplock freezer bag. Add the brine to the bag. Squeeze the excess air out of the bag and seal the bag. Massage the brine into the ribs. Place the bag of brine and ribs into a bowl (in case there is leakage) and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate in the brine for 3-6 hours. Note that brining too long can over-saturate the meat with the brine. So stick within the 3-6 hour time frame.

3 Prepare bourbon glaze. Heat bourbon with sugar, peppers, and salt. Whisk in butter until melted. Set aside or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Warm before using. You can also prepare while the meat is cooking in the next step.

4 Prepare the grill for indirect heat. On a gas grill, heat the grill to medium heat 300-325°F with the middle burners turned off (if a 3 or 4 burner grill) or one burner turned off (if a 2 burner grill). For a kettle grill with charcoal, use 3-4 pounds of briquets pushed to one side of the grill. An aluminum disposable drip pan set next to the briquets, underneath where the meat will be, will help keep your grill easier to clean. (I forgot this time, notice no drip pan in the photo, and now the grill's a mess.)

5 Remove the ribs from the brining bag. Pat dry the ribs with paper towels. Brush grill grates with olive oil or canola oil. Place the ribs on the side of the grill away from the source of heat, either gas or briquets. Cover the grill. If you are using a gas grill, lower the burners so that you are maintaining a temperature of about 300°F-325°F in the grill. If you are charcoal grilling, cover the grill so that the air vent on the kettle top is directly over the ribs. This way smoke from the charcoal will waft its way over the ribs on the way out of the grill. Adjust the vents so that the air flow is much reduced. Reducing the size of the air vents is a way to help control the temperature in the grill and keep it low. Fire lives off of oxygen, so if you reduce the oxygen, you reduce the amount of burning and heat. If you close the vents too much, the charcoals will put out too little heat, so the trick is to maintain a balance - enough air flow to keep the coals alive, but not too much or the grill will run too hot and your ribs will overcook. Try to maintain a temperature of about 300°F-325°F in the grill. If you are using a charcoal grill that doesn't have a built-in thermometer, you can put a meat thermometer through the grill air vent to take a reading of the temp.

6 After 20-25 minutes of cooking, use tongs to flip the rib racks over. If you are charcoal grilling, shift the ends of the ribs as well so that the end that was facing the coals now faces the edge of the grill. Check for doneness using a meat thermometer after 15-20 more minutes. They are done and ready to pull off at 155°F, but you want to get to them 10 minutes or so before they are done to apply the glaze. So at about 145°F start applying the spicy bourbon glaze. Brush the ribs with the glaze syrup, turning and basting the ribs until the syrup has been used up. When an instant read thermometer, inserted into the thickest part of the ribs reads 155°F, the ribs are ready to take off the grill.

Note that depending on the amount of heat in the grill and the size of your ribs, the ribs could be done in as little as 45 minutes or as long as 1 1/2 hours. If the grill temperature stays more at about 350°F, then the ribs will be done faster. It's hard to maintain a charcoal grill lower than 350°F, though ideally for these ribs you do want the temp lower, closer to 300°F. Also note again that baby backs are smaller than St. Louis style and will cook faster.

7 Remove the ribs to a large serving platter and cut into 1 or 2-rib sections.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

INGREDIENTS:

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ chopped sweet yellow onion
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 cup very finely chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped crimini brown mushrooms
• 2 28-oz cans Italian plum tomatoes (get San Marzano brand if possible)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste concentrate in tube
• ¼ cup grated parmesan-romano cheese blend
• Salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
• ¼ cup red wine

Meatballs:

• 1 lb ground beef (at least 16% fat)
• ½ lb fresh bulk Italian style pork sausage
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
• ½ cup finely chopped crimini brown mushrooms
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup unseasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ cup grated parmesan-romano cheese blend
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Red wine

Spaghetti:

• 1 1/2 lbs dry 100% semolina spaghetti, thin spaghetti, or bucatini

METHOD:

1 Prepare the sauce. Heat olive oil in 4-5 quart pot on medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add carrots and mushrooms, blend together for 2 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, stir together. Add basil and parsley, stir tomatoes with a potato masher until sauce starts to thicken about 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add tomato paste concentrate, stir to blend. Reduce heat and simmer while preparing meatballs, stirring occasionally.

2 Prepare the meatballs. Mix by hand in a large bowl beef, Italian sausage, basil, parsley, mushrooms, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, herbed salt, and pepper until well mixed. Use small melon baller, or teaspoons to form 1-inch round meatballs. Roll and compress into tight balls.

3 Heat frying pan on high heat. Add olive oil. Sear and brown meatballs on all sides. About 2-3 minutes. Depending on pan size you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Do not crowd the pan by stacking the meatballs. Cook in a single layer. Do not over-cook. As meatballs are finishing, add a little bit of red wine to de-glaze pan.

4 Add ¼ cup red wine to the sauce. Then stir in ¼ cup cheese. Add salt to taste. Add meatballs, gently stir. Simmer sauce and meatballs for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5 While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot with 4 quarts of water in it to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add 1 Tbsp of salt. When the water returns to a boil add the pasta to the pot. Leave the pot uncovered while you cook the pasta on high heat with a vigorous boil. Put a timer on for 8-10 minutes, or whatever your pasta package directions say is appropriate for al dente (cooked but still a little firm). Drain.

To serve, place a thin layer of sauce on the plate, add pasta, add sauce and meatballs, sprinkle with grated parmesan-romano cheese. 

Lamb Stew

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 lbs. lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 3 canned roasted red bell peppers, cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 large ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 4-6 sprigs parsley, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup dry, full-bodied red wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock

METHOD:

1 Combine the lamb, 3 of the garlic cloves, rosemary, and white wine in a medium bowl. Let marinate for 2-3 hours. Drain the meat, discard the marinade, and pat dry with paper towels. Mince the remaining 3 garlic cloves and set aside.

2 Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan with lid, over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the meat on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Return all meat to the pot. Add onions, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste, and cook, scraping browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, add roasted peppers, tomatoes, parsley, bay leaf, and red wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until juices in pot reduce and thicken slightly, about 10-15 minutes.

3 Add chicken stock, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Adjust seasonings.

Garlic Chicken with White Wine Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 4-pound whole chicken, cut into eight parts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 whole heads of garlic, cloves separated (40 cloves) but not peeled
• Olive oil
• 1 1/4 cup dry white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc
• 3 large sprigs of fresh tarragon
• 3 large sprigs of fresh thyme

METHOD:

1 Lightly smash the garlic cloves with the side of a heavy chef's knife, just enough to break the cloves. Leave the peel on.

2 Trim the chicken pieces of excess fat. Pat them dry and sprinkle pieces generously with salt and pepper. Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven (or a large thick-bottom pan with a tight fitting cover) on medium high. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Lay the chicken pieces on the hot oil, do not move until browned, then turn over to other side using tongs. Remove from pan when browned.

3 Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary. Add the garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and the herbs. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken pieces. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Move the chicken pieces from top to bottom every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes. Chicken is done when a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part reads 180°F for thighs and 170°F for breasts.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken pieces to a platter; spoon garlic sauce over the chicken.

Serve alone (low carb option) or with rice, noodles, baked or mashed potatoes.