I, Curtis

5 Things My Neighborhood Grocery Store Doesn’t Stock, but Should

1. Whole nutmeg – the closest I can get is “cracked” nutmeg in a grinder, which is better then powder, but not nearly as good as the whole nut.
2. Duck Fat – its like lard, but is rendered from the fat under the skin of duck. Flavor is more intense than lard and has overall better properties.
3. Orzo Pasta – a short fat pasta that resembles rice, but has a pasta texture and flavor.
4. Frisée Lettuce – a frizzy lettuce that resists wilting when exposed to things like hot dressings or fresh croutons.
5. Mushrooms with a name – my grocery store has typical “button” mushrooms, but that is the extent of it. There are no crimini, or even portobello mushrooms. I’m not asking for shiitake or anything fun like that, and certainly not the very scary maitake. It would however, be nice to get a little mushroom variety. I want the depths of flavor that is offered by each variety of mushroom.
6. Semolina, Durham or 00 Flour – I can get all kinds of flour, including unbleached AP, whole wheat, rye, and even coconut flour, but not something as basic and ESSENTIAL as semolina. I’m not even picky, Semolina, Durham or 00 type flour would work perfectly well for what I want. I’m looking for just a good pasta flour, something that doesn’t become sticky when rolled and cooked.
7. Kitchen Twine – a super-clean cotton twine that does not have any offensive flavors or smells. I have a different cotton twine that I use, but it isn’t the same as kitchen twine, as it often contracts and tries to cut into my meats. Kitchen bondage should not end up with twine stuck inside food.

I have baked a lot of things, but this is my first apple pie. I guess in general I don’t like apple pie that much, but I had the spare apples around and decided to take the opportunity to bake a pie.  The crust is a standard pie crust (flour, shortening, water), but with half of the flour as whole wheat flour and the addition of cinnamon to it. Also, the crust was brushed with an egg wash to enhance browning.

Category: Chicken
Prep Time: 00:40:00
Cook Time: 00:40:00

12 Lasagna Noodles
3 Chicken Breasts, boneless
2 cups Heavy Cream
3 tbsp Butter, not margarine
2 tbsp AP Flour
1 pinch Nutmeg, ground
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Black pepper, ground
1 tsp Garlic powder(Optional)
2 cups Marinara sauce
6 ounces Mozzarella cheese, grated
2 tsp Olive oil(Optional)

To cook the chicken and pasta:

1. Slice raw chicken breasts into pieces that are slightly longer than the width of the noodles, and will allow the noodle to be wrapped around it several times.

2. Brown chicken in a hot skillet, a non-stick skillet will require no oils. For other pan types, use about 2 tsp of olive oil to lubricate.

3. While browning chicken begin boiling water for the noodles, and cook them per the package directions. Let them drain on a cooling rack.

For the bechamel:

4. Once the chicken and noodles are cooked, heat the butter in a sauce pan until it begins to melt, then whisk in the flour, whisking continuously until the mixture is smooth and begins to bubble.

5. Once the mixture is bubbling, add the heavy cream (or milk, milk just takes longer to cook, but absolutely no 2% milk). Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking continuously and until the mixture reduces to a sauce that resembles alfredo or a nacho sauce. Remove from heat as soon as desired thickness is reached and whisk in nutmeg, salt, pepper and garlic (if desired).

Assembly:

6. Place one noodle on a cutting board or other clean surface in front of you. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the bechamel on the length of the noodle, most nearest you, and gradually thinning as you approach the top. Sprinkle about 1/12th of the cheese (1/2 ounce) evenly along the length of the noodle. Place a piece of chicken (1 large piece, or 2 small pieces) horizontally on the noodle at the end nearest you. Roll up the noodle and place it face down in a baking dish. Repeat for all remaining noodles.

7. Pour any remaining bechamel on top of the noodles.

8. Pour marinara sauce over the noodles.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

I went to Harris Teeter tonight (at about midnight) to get a ham for dinner tomorrow night. I found myself being annoyed by the expense of the “pre-cooked” 5lb hams, nearly $20 for 1 ham, and it includes a bone. Not exactly what I consider to be a good deal. I was intending to ideally spend about $15 on the ham, and $20 was a little bit more than I was willing to put into 4lbs of meat. Being discouraged by the “fine varieties” I started poking around in the bin to find the less popular hams, the ones that actually require time to cook. I somehow missed the boat entirely on looking at ham and started looking at these “pork shoulder” thingies. I am not a butcher, and while I can tell you about flavor differences of 20 different varieties of apple, I don’t know a butt roast from a shoulder. The preparation methods seemed similar enough, but I still wasn’t sure of what exactly a pork shoulder was. I got the 9lbs monstrosity (that cost me about $15) home, and began checking online for how to cook it, and began freaking out when I discovered a lot of information about using pork shoulder to make pulled pork. While I like BBQ, that isn’t the type of flavor I’m going for with the dinner I’m planning. I am looking for smoky and lightly sweet with a much different texture than BBQ. After my little panic and a little more research I discovered that there are several types of pork shoulder. What I bought, called a Picnic Pork Shoulder is essentially prepared the same way as ham and IS ham, but by a different name. I am still not entirely sure what the differences are, but I have the thing cooking in the oven now for 3 hours (about 20 min/lbs). I plan to let it cool for about an hour when it comes out, and then slice part of it, then chill the entire thing, including a small amount of the fluids for reheating the meat, in case anyone wants it hot (I personally love cold ham). The ham, along with pintos, corn bread and fried potatoes should be a fairly interesting country meal that I hope my guest this evening will enjoy.