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Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Chicken Murphy

Recipe By:                Pam Spagnola (Loren’s mom’s friend)
Serving Size:            9
Prep Time :               1:30
Ingredients
  • 3         jars  sweet peppers in vinegar
  • 3         pounds  chicken cutlets
  •            salt, pepper, garlic — to taste
  • 30      baby  potatoes
Directions
  1. Roast small white potatoes (sprayed with Pam Olive Oil Spray) about 1 hour in 350 covered dish.
  2. While potatoes are roasting, cut chicken into large chunks.
  3. Season with salt, pepper and garlic.
  4. Sauté in skillet until chicken turns white.
  5. Put in medium-large pot with oil from frying pan and juice from the vinegar peppers.
  6. Simmer for a total of about one hour, adding peppers about 1/2 way through.
  7. Add roasted potatoes about 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

 

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Classic Smooth and Silky Béchamel (White Sauce)

DANIEL GRITZER

Classic Smooth and Silky B\u00e9chamel (White Sauce) Recipe

Béchamel is one of the mother sauces in classic French cooking, and one of the most important sauces to learn for all sorts of dishes, French and otherwise. It’s a key ingredient in soufflé, a classic Bolognese lasagna, and even old-school mac and cheese. And it’s incredibly easy to make. Here’s how.

Why It Works

  • Cooking the flour and butter together first helps remove the flour’s raw flavor, and prevents lumps from forming later.
  • A ratio of 1 1/2 tablespoons each of flour and butter per cup of milk makes a thickened yet still pourable sauce, great for all sorts of recipes.
  • YIELD:Makes about 1 cup
  • ACTIVE TIME:5 minutes
  • TOTAL TIME:5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 ounce; 20g) (see note)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (12g) all-purpose flour (see note)
  • 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (optional)

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (do not allow it to brown). Add flour and whisk to form a paste. Continue to cook, stirring, until raw flour scent is gone, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, add milk in a thin, steady stream, or in increments of a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking thoroughly and getting into all corners of the pan to maintain a homogeneous texture. Sauce will initially become very thick, then get very thin once all the milk is added.
  2. Heat, stirring, until sauce comes to a simmer and begins to thicken slightly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes.
  3. Season with salt and pepper. Add nutmeg to taste, if using. If any lumps form, simply whisk thoroughly to remove them and smooth out sauce, or use a hand blender or countertop blender if lumps are particularly large or tough. Use sauce right away, or press a piece of plastic wrap over surface of sauce to prevent a skin from forming and keep warm until ready to use. Sauce can be cooled and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days. Reheat very gently on the stovetop or in a microwave to use.
Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Classic Fresh Egg Pasta

I used this pasta for the lasagna recipe. I rolled to a 6 (Kitchenaid), next time I think 4 is probably thin enough.

Making fresh pasta can be an intimidating process, especially if you’re not used to working with flour and water. But it’s also an imminently achievable skill, and once you’re comfortable with the basic technique, there’s really no reason why you can’t reap the rewards on a regular basis. This recipe is for a light, springy, delicate fresh pasta that’s as well-suited to slicing into noodles as it is to making stuffed pastas, which require super-thin, pliable sheets of dough.

Why It Works

  • Using a higher ratio of egg yolks to egg whites ensures delicate, rich, yellow noodles with a classic Italian flavor and texture.
  • Kneading by hand allows for optimal control over the quality of the dough.
  • Adding salt to the dough provides a more balanced flavor.

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces (280g; about 2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (I used 00 flour)
  • 2 whole large eggs (110g; about 4 ounces)
  • 4 yolks from 4 large eggs (70g; about 2.5 ounces) (I ended up using almost a whole extra egg)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for salting water

Directions

To Make the Dough: On a large, clean work surface, pour flour in a mound. Make a well in the center about 4 inches wide. Pour whole eggs, egg yolks, and salt into well and, using a fork, beat thoroughly. When combined, gradually incorporate flour into the eggs until a wet, sticky dough has formed.

  1. Using a bench knife, scrape excess dough from fork and fingers. Begin to fold additional flour into the dough with the bench knife, turning the dough roughly 45 degrees each time, until dough feels firm and dry, and can form a craggy-looking ball, 2 to 5 minutes.
  2. Press the heel of your hand into the ball of dough, pushing forward and down. Rotate the ball 45 degrees and repeat. Continue until dough develops a smooth, elastic texture similar to a firm ball of Play-Doh. If dough feels too wet, add flour in 1 teaspoon increments. If dough feels too dry, add water slowly using a spray bottle.
  3. Wrap ball of dough tightly in plastic wrap and rest on countertop for 30 minutes.

To Roll the Pasta: Meanwhile, place a sheet of parchment paper on a tray or cutting board and dust lightly with flour. Unwrap rested dough and cut into quarters. Set one quarter on work surface and re-wrap remaining dough. With a rolling pin, flatten the quarter of dough into an oblong shape about 1/2 inch thick.

  1. Set pasta maker to widest setting and pass dough 3 times through the machine at this setting.
  2. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface. Fold both ends in so that they meet at the center of the dough, and then fold the dough in half where the end points meet, trying not to incorporate too much air into the folds. Using rolling pin, flatten dough to 1/2-inch thick. Pass through the rollers 3 additional times.
  3. Narrow the setting by 1 notch and repeat Step 7. Repeat once more (the dough should now have passed through the third widest setting). Continue passing the dough through the rollers, reducing the thickness by 1 setting each time until it reaches the desired thickness. It should now be very delicate and elastic to the touch, and slightly translucent.
  4. Place rolled dough onto a work surface or baking sheet lightly dusted with flour or lined with parchment paper, folding the dough over as necessary so that it fits; sprinkle with flour or line with parchment between folds to prevent sticking.
  5. Cover dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel to prevent drying, then repeat Steps 5 through 9 with remaining dough quarters. If making noodles, cut dough into 12- to 14-inch segments.

To Cut Noodles: Adjust pasta machine to noodle setting of your choice. Working one dough segment at a time, feed dough through the pasta-cutter. Alternatively, cut folded dough by hand with a chef’s knife to desired noodle width.

  1. Divide the cut noodles into individual portions, dust lightly with flour, and curl into a nest. Place on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and gently cover with kitchen towel until ready to cook. Pasta can be frozen directly on the baking sheet, transferred to a zipper-lock freezer bag, and stored in the freezer for up to three weeks before cooking. Cook frozen pasta directly from the freezer.

To Cook: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta, stir gently with a wooden spoon, chopsticks, or a cooking fork, and cook, tasting at regular intervals until noodles are just set with a definite bite, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain, toss with sauce, and serve.