Feed Your Kids

Mmm…this was the cover recipe from the October (2007) Bon Appetit magazine.

Hubby LOVED this. It would really be better once the weather’s colder, but we live in Texas, so we could be waiting for a while for that to happen. I buy my short ribs at Costco and they don’t have them all year – they arrive when the weather starts to get colder. When I first saw this recipe, they didn’t have them yet, so I’ve had this recipe in my “want to try” pile for a while now.

I cut the recipe in half, because the Costco short ribs come in a smaller package than the recipe calls for. They are also boneless, but they substitute just fine. Since they didn’t have bones, I sliced them to serve them, but they were so tender, they almost fell apart when I pulled them out of the baking dish. Everything else, I followed to the letter. I did use the “bake ahead” instructions, which was helpful, because after the ribs were refrigerated a while, the congealed fat could be picked right up off the surface. I know – ew- but it did make things easy – none of that skimming with a spoon and not catching it all. Don’t be tempted to skip the gremolata; it really does add just the right fresh, bright note. I reduced my sauce a bit too much and it was a bit thicker than it should have been. Other than that, this was fantastic! I added some green beans, but a salad would have been nice, too.

I used a pretty good quality Cabernet – Souverain Alexander Valley ($30+ per bottle) – better than I would normally use just for cooking – but it was really yummy and I had it left over (I’ve been saving it for a meal that I deemed “worthy”) from our Christmas Prime Rib dinner. I meant to get to the grocery store over the weekend and buy a “lesser” Cabernet to cook it in, and then I was going to serve it with the Souverain, but that didn’t happen, so I went with what I had on hand…. Of course, that meant that I had to buy a second bottle of the Souverain today to drink with it – we couldn’t cook the meat in something fabulous and then drink something inferior with it when we ate it! But this did mean that we had over $60 tied up in tonight’s dinner, just for the wine (not to mention the beef, gorgonzola, fresh herbs, etc.)! The really sad thing is that Hubby (who has no idea what the wines cost that I normally buy – usually around $12 – $15) noticed the difference in the wine quality instantly: “Mmmm… this is really good wine.” I guess you really do get what you pay for.

This is how we made the kid’s plates (food separated – very important). Girl liked the sauce and the gremolata. Boy preferred his meat plain.

This is a pretty good lasagna, if you’re looking for a recipe that is a step above just using jarred sauce and adding browned ground beef (and two steps above frozen). I’m experimenting with lasagna recipes at the moment and am looking for one that’s “just right”. I tend to like my lasagnas a little “saucier” than most people (and less “cheesy”), but if they’re too saucy, they won’t hold together when you cut them. If any of you have a recipe that’s just “perfect”, please let me know.

Pretty Good Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano leaves
1 1/2 tsp. Baby Bam seasoning, divided
1 Tbsp. whole fennel seeds
1 to 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 cans tomato paste (6 ounces each)
2 to 3 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup finely chopped white onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

one package dried lasagna noodles (16 ounces)

1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
(I used fresh mozzarella, since I had a big chunk of it on hand)
3 cups ricotta cheese (low fat is fine, but I don’t care for the fat-free)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 beaten eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook meat and onion over medium-high heat until meat is browned and crumbly, but still very slightly pink and onion is softened and translucent. Add garlic and continue cooking until meat is thoroughly browned. Drain fat and lower heat. Add basil, oregano, Baby Bam, fennel seeds, vinegar and tomato paste to ingredients in pan and stir to throughly combine. Add about 1 cup of the stock and continue stirring and cooking, adding stock a little bit at a time as needed, as you continue cooking the sauce until ingredients are thoroughly blended and desired consistency is reached, about 30 minutes. Taste the sauce (with a clean spoon) and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

While sauce simmers, cook lasagna according to package directions and set aside on waxed paper, keeping the noodles separate.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, half of the parsley and 1/2 tsp. of the Baby Bam.

In a 9 X 13 inch baking pan, assemble the layers in the following order:
1/4 of the sauce
3 noodles
1/3 of the ricotta mixture
1/4 of the mozzarella
3 noodles

Repeat these layers twice, and then top with the remaining 1/4 of the sauce and 1/4 of the mozzarella.

Bake for 45 – 60 minutes, uncovered, until cooked through and browned on top. Lasagna will rise slightly out of the pan, but shouldn’t spill over. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into serving portions.

Tonight’s dinner is adapted from this Epicurious/Bon Appetit recipe. I substituted Baby Bam for the mustard (Boy and Girl aren’t fans) and added green pepper, bay leaf and garlic and cut the amount of onion a bit.

The verdict: this was okay, but I think I’ve concluded that I just don’t like cornish hens: they’re a lot of trouble to prepare and to eat, with all of those bones and skin, and it’s hard to make them flavorful, since it’s hard to get seasoning deep into the meat. If I make this again, I would probably use boneless, skinless chicken breasts that have been marinated with something instead of hens.

As some commenters on epicurious said, the stuffing was a little sweet, because I used the Jiffy mix, which does have some sugar in it. It didn’t bother me enough, though, that I would make cornbread from scratch for a weeknight to make this stuffing (I only do that for Thanksgiving).

Cornish Hens with Cornbread-Ham Stuffing

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix, prepared into 7 muffins according to package directions
(you’ll need 1 egg and 1/3 cup milk)
2 Cornish game hens, halved lengthwise, with the backbone removed, rinsed well and patted dry
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion (about 1/4 of a large onion or 1/2 of a small one)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1/2 of a large one)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 bay leaf, broken into 3 or 4 pieces
1 cup cubed smoked ham
1/3 to 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
3/4 tsp. dried rubbed sage
1 1/2 tsp. Baby Bam seasoning, divided

For stuffing:
Heat oil in a heavy, medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper and bay leaf; saute until onion is translucent and other veggies have softened, about 5 minutes. Mix in ham, sage, parsley and enough chicken broth to moisten the stuffing, but not make it soggy; stir until heated through. Remove skillet from heat. Season stuffing with 1 tsp. of the Baby Bam seasoning. Cool slightly.

For hens:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13 X 9 X 2 baking dish and place the stuffing in the dish, in 4 separate “piles” or mounds (remove bay leaf pieces, if you can find them). Season hens with remaining Baby Bam seasoning and set one hen half on each stuffing pile. Roast hens until golden brown and juices run clear when thighs are pierced, about 45 or 50 minutes. Transfer hens to platter and serve.

Tonight’s dinner was adapted significantly from this recipe in the September 2007 issue of Cooking Light magazine. A huge hit with all of us. We’ve had our first wave of chilly fall weather this week, and this was the perfect warming dish. YUM.

Chicken & Spinach Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes and Basil

2 bonesless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 tsp. Baby Bam seasoning
(I REALLY wasn’t kidding – I totally use it in EVERYTHING!)
6 oz frozen chopped spinach, cooked according to package directions and wrung of excess water
(the remaining 6 oz. left in the 16 oz package after you use 10 oz to make Chicken Lasagna Florentine)
4 to 6 Tbsp. olive oil
2 to 3 Tbsp. bottled balsamic glaze sauce (most larger grocery stores carry this)
about 6 cups chicken broth (you may need slightly more or less)
2 cups chopped leek (light green and yellow parts only – rinsed well)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, finely diced (a little more than a cup)

Blot chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle them with 1 tsp. of the Baby Bam seasoning and grill them. Let them cool slightly and then cut them into bite-sized pieces (or slices) and set aside.

Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm.

Heat 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek to pan; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, and cook 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium.

Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). About halfway through (after about 2 more cups have been absorbed, after the initial first cup), stir in the chicken pieces and the spinach, a little bit at a time to maintain a constant temperature. After rice is cooked and tender (the only way to really decide is to taste it with a clean spoon), stir in half-and-half and pepper; cook 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes, basil, remaining 1/2 tsp. of Baby Bam and cheese. Spoon about 1 cup risotto into each serving bowl and drizzle each bowl with 1/2 tsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp balsamic glaze.

Another option: Prepare the risotto without adding the chicken and then add the chicken slices, in a decorative fan pattern, on top of the risotto.