Is this thing on? And other lame first post title ideas.
Welcome to my cooking blog! Ahh!! Here I’m going to document my adventures in cooking and eating in Brooklyn.
I cook to save money, I cook because I love to eat my own food, and I cook because I love to cook.
On Wednesday I made braised chicken with potatoes and lemon from “One Pot” by Martha Stewart, sauerkraut and leeks with vinaigrette from “Buvette,” and Chineasy cucumber salad and beef and celery ragú from Lucky Peach’s “101 Easy Asian Recipes.” If you just want the recipes, scroll to the bottom.
I like cooking with others, but often I’m cooking alone. And if I’m cooking alone, my work station usually looks something like this:
Lots of things happening, a cookbook or two (or three) open, Netflix or a podcast on. Not pictured: my cooking uniform, aka PJs and slippers and the apron my mom made me. Also, I’m getting back into Psych. It’s delightful.
One thing I’ve started doing in the past year is cooking a lot of food at one time, at least two different dishes I can eat for multiple meals. I’ve found I’m more likely to (almost) always be eating something home-cooked if I have several dishes prepared in the fridge so I’m not eating the same thing every meal, and honestly, I just really enjoy it. That, and I can usually go almost a week without major cooking again.
For the braised chicken, I had to get fresh green Cerignola olives. They didn’t have pitted ones available at the market, so I intrepidly decided to pit them myself. Like any good millennial, I looked it up on Youtube!
I used the knife method because I don’t have a meat pounder (see: millennial) and to be honest, I did not smack my knife like the very brave and capable woman does in the video. Afraid of slicing my palm open, I merely pressed all my weight down on the olive until it kind of worked. You can see my mixed success below.
While the braised chicken was in the oven, I made the sauerkraut (which is SUPER easy, it just involves pouring boiling water over sliced cabbage, draining, and stirring in a pickling mixture) and prepped everything for the leeks and ragú. Aka, lots of chopping.
Above is everything for the vinaigrette for the leeks. Very fragrant, the shallots made me cry. I also chopped up a whole bunch of celery and minced some ginger for the sauce.
I cooked the chicken dish in my trusty cast-iron dutch oven, one of my absolute prized possessions. It was my grandmother’s, and I’ve brought it to college and packed it in my carry-on when I moved to New York. I use it almost every time I cook. Sometimes twice, as the case was Wednesday, when I used it for the ragú as well.
Here’s what the chicken looked like! One of the skins got messed up :( I think because I need to re-season the dutch oven, which was promptly wiped down and filled with ground beef. At this point, I got the water boiling for the leeks and while the sauce reduced I made the cucumber salad, which turned out really delicious.
That’s it! Clockwise from top left: sauerkraut, a bowl of the chicken + potatoes, Chineasy cucumber salad, leeks + vinaigrette, beef and celery ragú.
I’ll eat the chicken with arugula for lunch, and chicken with leeks and the ragú with udon and the cucumber salad for dinner. The sauerkraut is for adding to salads, quesadillas, and scallion pancakes (which will definitely be the center of a future post). Yum!
My meal from Thursday, where I sliced up some chicken and potatoes and threw them in a pan with some of the sauce and lemon and olives and threw THAT on a bed of arugula with a little leftover vinaigrette for a “warm” salad. It was v. good. I had the same thing Friday, but all cold, with a little sauerkraut, layered in a large mason jar.
My snack today: cucumber salad and a beer. On the roof. IN A T-SHIRT. Not like I’m excited or anything. Disclaimer: within 30 minutes the wind picked up and I went back inside. :(
I really strive to be economic and cost-cutting. For these 5 recipes, I spent $59 BUT I will say that $17 of that was for my new black rice vinegar (yes I probably could have gotten cheaper in Chinatown than in my Park Slope bodega) and I’ll have that for a really long time. I also got a box of arugula to stretch my lunch meals. I’m estimating I’ll get about 10 meals out of everything so $6/home cooked meal isn’t too bad. I’d like to do better!
The good part! This took a really long time to type. Next time I probably won’t do so many. Lesson learned.
*A quick note! I freaking love these cookbooks and HIGHLY recommend them. My mom got all three for me because she’s the best and a cookbook fanatic.
Braised chicken with potatoes and lemon, adapted from Martha Stewart’s “One Pot.” Serves 4.
6 bone-in chicken thighs, about 2 1/4 pounds (I got 4 for the same approx. weight)
1 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
12 oz fingerling potatoes, or halved new potatoes
5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup large green olives, such as Cerignola, pitted
1 small lemon, cut into wedges
1. Preheat oven to 450. Season chicken with salt. In a large, heavy oven-proof skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, skin-side down, and cook until browned, about 5 min. Flip chicken and push to side of skillet. Add 1 cup broth and 1/2 t salt. Add potatoes to liquid, and bring to a boil. Add garlic, olives, lemon wedges, and thyme and return to a boil.
2. Transfer skillet to oven. Roast, stirring potatoes halfway through, until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through, about 30 min.
3. Return skillet to stove. Remove chicken and potatoes, then mix cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup broth, and stir into pan. Bring to a boil to thicken sauce. Serve immediately. (Or much later, with arugula!)
Chineasy cucumber salad, adapted from Lucky Peach’s “101 Easy Asian Recipes.” Serves 2. (I doubled.)
1 T chinkiang (black rice) vinegar
1 t sichuan chili oil (I used sambal olek)
1 t turbinado sugar (I used brown sugar)
3 Persian or Kirby cucumbers or 1 English cucumber
2 T crushed roasted unsalted peanuts
Note: I omitted the last three ingredients. The sesame seeds and the cilantro, because I couldn’t justify buying them for such small amounts. The peanuts, because I hate peanuts. I’m sure it would have been even better if I’d added them.
1. Whisk together the vinegar, chili oil, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves. Set dressing aside.
2. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise. (If using English cucumbers, removed the seeds with a small spoon and discard.) Set them cut-side down on a cutting board and lightly smash them. Cut the abused cucumbers crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick half-moons. (Note: bc I used English I cut them in half again.)
3. Toss the cucumbers in the dress and top each serving with sesame seeds, cilantro, and peanuts.
Sichuanese chopped celery with beef, adapted from Lucky Peach’s “101 Easy Asian Recipes.” Serves 2. (I doubled.)
1 T neutral oil (I used olive)
1 1/2 T doubanjiang or gochujang (spicy chili-bean paste)
1 1/2 T finely chopped ginger
1 t chinkiang (black rice) vinegar
cooked fresh wheat noodles, rice noodles, spaghetti, or rice. I used udon.
1. Bring a few cuts of salted water to a boil in a saucepan. Blanch the celery for 30 sec, then drain and rinse in a colander under cold water.
2. Heat a wok or cast iron skillet (you know what I used!) over medium-high heat and coat with oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the ground beef and stir-fry until cooked through, using a spoon to break the meat into small pieces. Add the chili-bean paste and continue to stir until the fat in the pan has taken on the color of the chili paste. Add the ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, just a few secs more, then add the celery.
3. Continue to stir-fry until the celery is hot and coated with sauce. Finish with the soy sauce and vinegar.
3.5 My change, which is totally optional: to make it more sauce-like and less stir-fry like, I added probably about a cup of chicken broth and let it cook down for about 5 min. I think it helps it coat the noodles. Do what you wish!
Leeks in vinaigrette, adapted from “Buvette.” Serves 4.
1 bunch leeks, white and green parts only, well washed
1/2 C vinaigrette (recipe follows)
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil an salt it. Add the leeks and cook until soft, about 15 min. A knife should be able to go through the leek with barely any resistance.
2. Transfer leeks to a plate (or cutting board, in my case) and let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, whisk together the vinaigrette and mustards. (I didn’t have whole grain, so I doubled-ish the Dijon.)
3. Cut each leek lengthwise, then cut the halves in half crosswise. Place them on a platter (or in a tupperware...), cut side up, and cover with the vinaigrette. Let the leeks sit for at least 10 min before serving so that the dressing has a chance to find its way between the leeks’ layers.
Vinaigrette, adapted from “Buvette.” Makes 1 cup.
3 T sherry vinegar (I used about 5 T apple cider vinegar)
a few grinds of black pepper
Finely chop everything that can be chopped. Then whisk everything until they’re well combined. Will keep for a month in the fridge.
Sauerkraut a la minute, adapted from “Buvette.”
Slice half a green cabbage, put it in a large bowl, and pour boiling water over it. Let it sit in the hot water for a min, then drain it. In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 T white vinegar (I used about 4 T apple cider vinegar instead) with 3 T water, 2 T sugar, 1 t salt, and a few crushed juniper berries (I did not have these). Pour this mixture over the barely wilted cabbage and stir to combine. Let sit for at least an hour before eating. Like I said earlier, I use this in salads, in quesadillas, and on scallion pancakes. And as just a snack.
