Beets Two Ways

Beets are magical. The tuber is sweet, especially when it’s roasted, and the greens are a tangy and nutritious addition to any meal.

When I have beets to roast I don’t mess about. I drizzle them with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle some sel gris or kosher salt on top, cover them with foil, and put them into the oven (350°F/175°C). After about 2-3 hours (depending on the size of the beet) they should be ready. They won’t overcook if you leave them in the oven an extra quarter hour or so, they’ll just caramelize. I like to finish them with a drizzle of Villa Manodori Balsamic Vinegar.

The greens require a bit more work. A thorough cleaning is necessary, and I like to remove most of the stalk. You can braise them as-is with some onion, garlic, and maybe bacon. I used them as part of a skillet supper.

An inexpensive steak, like a round steak, is perfect for a simple skillet supper, and you can stretch a small steak to feed several people. Slice it rather thinly against the grain so that it’ll cook rapidly yet be tender. Be careful to clean it up by trimming excess fat and removing tendon and silver skin.

Chop up some aromatics–onion, sweet red pepper, some carrot if you like. Peel and dice a tomato or two, or cut some cherry tomatoes in half. Make a chiffonade from the greens, or at least tear them into smaller pieces. Get some garlic confit out of the refrigerator, or mince a clove or two of fresh garlic.

The actual ingredients really don’t matter that much, use whatever you have. The quantity doesn’t much matter either, just use more veggies than meat, and make enough for however many are eating plus one or two, because it’s mostly veggies, so you want to encourage a second helping.

Preheat your fry pan with some extra virgin olive oil–keep the heat down between medium-low and medium. Once the oil starts to shimmer, toss in the aromatics. Stir for a minute or so, then add the steak and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper. When the steak is mostly done, add the greens. After a couple more minutes the greens should be wilted and the steak should have given up some of its water. Now toss in the tomato and add a splash of wine. Give the tomatoes just enough time to soften, and it’s done.

A simple dish like this will be successful if you follow a few guidelines. Use lots of fresh veggies of as many colors as you can manage; you need to eat all the colors for complete nutrition, and the color makes it more appetizing. Use an inexpensive protein–no need for porterhouse here. Remember the wine! Some alcohol is vital if you want to access all the flavors and nutrients, and it’ll cook out by the time the pan is deglazed.

Finally, the most important thing to remember is that there’s no recipe, and there are no recipe police looking over your shoulder to make sure you used exactly the same things I did in exactly the same proportions. Just get into the kitchen, use what you have, and create your own skillet supper. It’ll be great!

Chicken Marsala

I had just finished breaking down a chicken for a photo session when I realized that it was time to eat. Fortunately, I had some chicken on the cutting board. A quick trip to the pantry for inspiration yielded sweet Marsala wine and veal demiglace. Sometimes you need to test recipes a lot to get them right. Other times you can just throw something together and it’s virtually perfect.

First, I prepped the chicken breasts. Bone-in and skin on is the juiciest way to prepare chicken breasts, but I’d deboned and removed the skin on the breasts for photos, so boneless, skinless chicken breasts seemed an excellent choice.  A quick rinse and pat dry with a paper towel, then salt and pepper (3 kinds) completed the prep.

I try never to start cooking without thinking things through and getting organized. While the chicken rested for a few minutes, I prepared my mise en place: slice some onion and crimini mushrooms; have a couple tablespoons of unsalted butter ready for the pan; pour a couple tablespoons of marsala into a prep bowl so I won’t be pouring alcohol from a bottle into a hot pan; make sure to have a tablespoon or so of demiglace ready. Okay, I’m set and I have a plan.

When I’m doing classes and demos, I hear lots of questions about food sticking to the pan. I rarely have that problem, and here’s why. First, I let the protein I’m cooking come to room temperature or as near to it as 30 minutes sitting out will do. Then I put some fat in the pan, usually olive oil, butter, or both. Then I preheat the pan–never preheat an empty pan, it can burn. The pan is ready when the oil shimmers or the butter foams. Only then do I put the protein into the pan.

Patience is a virtue when cooking. It’s really important to wait until the protein is ready before turning it. With most meats you’ll be able to see that the color has changed. Turn it once and let it finish. The small bits that cling to the pan are what makes sauces so flavorful.

When the chicken is almost done, lift it out and set it aside, covered. If you cover it, residual heat will finish the cooking. Add butter and maybe a bit of olive oil to the pan and sauté the mushrooms and onions. Be sure to add salt and pepper.

Push the mushrooms and onions to one side of the pan and deglaze with marsala. Be sure to keep your face back when pouring the wine into the hot pan just in case it ignites. Wine rarely ignites, but there’s really no point in taking the risk. Stir in the demiglace, mix everything nicely, and taste. It’s probably just fine, but taste it to make sure and adjust the seasoning, as necessary.

Plate the chicken, add a nice potato gratin and salad greens dressed with a simple balsamic vinaigrette, then spoon the marsala sauce over the chicken. And that’s how I paid the photographer. Thanks, Dad!

Quick Supper

I’m amazed that when people need to throw something together for a meal, they often neglect fruit. It doesn’t take much, half an apple in with some potatoes transforms the flavor delightfully. For example, I was visiting a friend, and she asked if I felt like cooking. Well of course I did. Opened the refrigerator to see what was there, and found bits and pieces: part of a red onion, a carrot, some leftover pineapple chunks, a bag of sugar snap peas, and chicken thighs. What to do?

Easy! Dice the onion and slice the carrot. Hand my friend the peas and ask her to clean them. Get some garlic and rub down the chicken thoroughly. Heat up her best frying pan with some nice olive oil in it, sauté the onions. Quickly slice the pineapple chunks. Add the carrots to the pan. Locate the sea salt and sprinkle some on the chicken, then toss a bit in the pan. Add the peas to the pan. Locate an open bottle of chardonnay and a plate.

Put the partially sautéed veggies on the plate, add garlic oil and olive oil to the pan (she loves garlic) and brown the chicken thighs. When it’s time to turn them, toss in the pineapple. Drink the chardonnay.

Okay, the chicken is done, mostly, so add the veggies back in. More sea salt and some freshly ground pepper go into the pan, along with a splash of chardonnay. Cover loosely and drink a bit more wine.

Root around in the refrigerator and find an open but still usable bottle of a sweet ginger-soy sauce. Add about two tablespoons to the pan, stir, and cover. Find plates to serve, dish up some rice, plate the chicken with veggies on the side. The juices have thickened into a nice pan sauce, so sauce the plates, and voilà, supper is served!