Mushroom and Leek Frittata: Savior of the Most Important Meal

Flickr image via orchidgalore

Sometimes I get overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed by the demands of work, the demands of family, and the demands of home. These are the time when I don’t manage to get the slow cooker set up the night before. These are the times when I would order take out and scarf it down without a second thought and end up feeling worse than before. But now that I am being more mindful of what I put into my body, I stop before I pick up the phone and make a frittata.

A frittata is an Italian omelet and makes great refrigerator velcro. I often put left over veggies, cheese, and meat together to create delicious and easy meals, served with a salad. They also make great next-day lunches. Many of the recipes I encounter for frittata advise putting non-stick pans under the broiler, but I am not comfortable heating non-stick pans to that temperature. I use my stainless steel.

Here is a recipe I find myself making again and again.

Leeks, Mushrooms, and Smoked Gouda Frittata

Ingredients:

6 large eggs

2 tbs heavy cream

1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup (small handful) fresh, finely chopped parsley

1 large leek

2 cups mushrooms sliced

2 tbs butter or ghee

1 tbs olive oil or coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler on high and place the oven rack in the upper one third of the oven.
   

   Image via brokenarts

2. Place a large, oven-safe skillet (10 – 12 inch) over medium high heat and add the olive oil and butter.
3. Add the leeks and the mushrooms and cook until the leeks and brown and soft and the mushrooms have browned.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, salt, pepper, parsley and half of the cheese.
5. Add the egg mixture to the pan. Slowly stir the sides and the bottom of the pan until you have large curds of egg mixture with wet parts in between.
6. Allow the mixture to cook for another two minutes or until the underside has set.
7. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and place the frittata under the broiler for 5 – 7 minutes.
8. When the top is brown, remove the pan from the oven.
9. Allow to cool from 5 – 15 minutes before eating.

Flickr mushroom image via orchidgalore.

Egg image via brokenarts.

Slow-Cooker Roast Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

The finished product

After teaching all day, coming home from work and knowing that dinner will be ready is one of my great joys. This recipe is easy to put together and has a immediate taste pay off.

The night before, I marinated my chicken in the slow cooker coated with the spices and oils.  Then when I got home, I removed the chicken from the sauce to cool, thickened the sauce and added mushrooms.  While I was doing that I popped some oil-coated and seasoned brussels sprouts to the oven for roasting. When the sprouts were done so was the sauce.  How is that for timing!

Slow-Cooker Roast Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:

Chicken

1 fryer chicken about 4 pounds (This fits nicely in my slow cooker)

1 tbs curry powder

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs onion powder

1 tbs fresh parsley

1/4 tsp porcini powder (optional)

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tbs olive oil or coconut oil

6 tbs butter or ghee

1 tsp honey

Sauce:

2 – 3 cups liquid from slow cooker

1/2 cup cream

4 tbs butter

2 cups crimini mushrooms sliced

1 cup button mushrooms

1/2 cup dry sherry

salt to taste

1 tbs butter

Directions:

Chicken

1. Rinse a thawed chicken inside and out and pat dry. Place on a cutting board or other washable work surface.  Save the delicious giblets for later use; I freeze mine if I’m not going to use them right away.
2. In a small bowl, mix the spices, olive oil, and butter into a paste.  Rub the mixture on the skin, under the skin, and in the cavity. If you are worried about the chicken falling apart, then secure with the legs and wings of the chicken with butcher’s twine.
3. Place the chicken in the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 – 8 hours. The chicken will produce a lot of liquid during cooking.
4. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with foil.  Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.

Sauce

1. In a medium sauce pan, place the stock and cream.  Reduce the liquid by half, this should take about 10 minutes.
2. In a separate pan, over medium heat melt the butter until it starts to bubble.
3. Add the mushrooms in batches so not to crowd the pan and steam the mushrooms.  First, saute mushrooms until brown and crispy on one side and then saute on the other.  When the mushrooms are done remove to a bowl or plate and then saute another the other batch.  Continue this process until all the mushrooms are sauteed.
4. Deglaze the pan with the port and reduce to about 2 tbs.
5. Add in the reduced sauce and then mushrooms and continue cooking for 2 – 3 minutes.
6. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and eat.

This recipe will pair well with roasted vegetables, coconut flour cheesy biscuits, and cauliflower rice.

How to Make a Great Steak

Beef cuts image courtesy of wikipedia

I never really ate steak before I started on my low-carb lifestyle. I was afraid of red meat, fat, and apparently delicious flavor. But since I have made “the change” I can gobble down steak at least once a week with none of those previously felt qualms. I sometimes buy a beef loin and cut it into individual steaks to save money and make sure I am always flush with quality steaks.

For today’s preparation I used a sirloin steak and an enamel coated cast iron skillet. This skillet holds heat the best and heats evenly. By heating the meat over high heat (300 – 500 degree fahrenheit) creates the maillard reaction. This reaction causes a delicious crust to form on the steak, another source of all flavor. After the steak is finished, you can use the drippings and fond to create a delicious pan sauce to further flavor your steak. This preparation can also be done outside over a grill still using the cast iron pan.

Flickr herbes de provence in garden form courtesy of cliff1066.

The Great(est?) Steak

Ingredients

1 steak (sirloin or filet mignon) 2 – 3 inches in thickness

kosher or sea salt

freshly ground pepper

garlic clove

2 tbs butter or ghee

chopped herbs (parsley, tarragon, oregano, thyme, herbes de provence, etc.) optional

Directions:

1: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

2. Heat your pan over high heat until water droplets dance across the pan before also immediately evaporating. Use a cast iron skillet that has been well seasoned, an enamel cast iron skillet, or an oven safe stainless steel skillet. Do not use non-stick.

3. While your pan is heating, put sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the steak.

My steak dinner with roasted brussels sprouts and asparagus sauteed with leeks and bacon.

4. Rub each side of a garlic clove.

5. Lightly sprinkle the herbs onto the steak.

6. Place the steak on the pan and sear for two minutes. This will create smoke, a lot of smoke. If there isn’t smoke, your pan is probably not hot enough.

7. Turn over and sear the opposite side for two minutes.

8. Put pat of butter on the steak and place in the oven for 10 minutes for a medium to medium-well steak. You can also put an herb compound butter in the steak.

9. Check the temperature of the steak with an thermometer.

rare 125, medium-rare 135, medium 140, medium-well 145, well 155

10. Remove to a warm plate and place another pat of butter on the steak. Cover loosely with foil for 5 – 10 minutes.

Pan Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shallot, onion, or leek

1 cup good red wine this can be replaced with 1/2 cup water and 1 tbs tomato paste

2 tbs Dijon mustard

2 crushed cloves garlic

1/2 cup fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, oregano, tarragon, basil, etc)

1 tbs butter

Directions:

1. Over low heat, add the shallots, cook until softened.

2. Add garlic and saute for one minutes.

3. Deglaze the pan with red wine.

4. Mix in the dijon mustard and herbs.

5. Heat for two minutes until heated through.

6. Turn off heat and finish with 1 tbs of butter.

You can pour this sauce over the steak or veggies. It is especially good with sauteed mushrooms.

Beef cuts image courtesy of wikipedia.

Herbes de provence image courtesy of cliff1066.

Slow-Cooker Chicken and Sausage Ragu

My family loves this recipe and I make it once a week. It is delicious, easy, and rewarding. It also takes me back to my

Sausage and Chicken in the slow cooker - a family favorite.

Italian roots. This recipe reminds me of Neopolitan ragu or the Sunday meat sauce my grandmother would make with baciole, but this can be done in the slow cooker when I am at work. I love coming home and having my house smell like grandma’s.

Slow-Cooker Chicken and Sausage Ragu

Servings 6

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs with the skin removed

6 hot Italian sausages cut into 1 inch medallions if you choose

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

4 tbs extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil

1 tbs dried pepper flakes

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 small onion grated or sliced thin

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 medium carrot grated

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or 2 fresh with seeds and skin removed)

1 tbs anchovy paste

1/2 fresh ground pepper

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Remove skin from the chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion power.

2. Bind the chicken thighs with twine. This step is optional, but it will keep the thighs together making them easier to remove and serve. You can also cut up the sausage into 1 in medallions if you choose.

3. In a bowl, mix the spices, pepper, tomato paste, anchovy paste, diced tomatoes, carrot, and onion.

4. Cover the bottom of the cooking vessel in sauce.

5. Layer in the chicken. Mine just fit in my slow cooker, but it is huge.

6. Cover with sauce and place on the bay leaf.

7. Layer in the sausage.

8. Pour on the rest of the sauce.

9. Cook on low for 7 – 8 hours.

10. Remove the chicken and sausage to a platter and cover.

11. Remove the bay leaf and reduce the sauce to desired thickness.

12. Taste and adjust seasoning.

13. Cover the chicken and sausage in the sauce.

New Year, Low-Carb Lamb Chili

Remains of New Year's Eve Revelry.

Happy New Year! After recovering from my out-to-late night and eating this delicious and bacon-loaded recovery breakfast, I thought about making some long cooking dish. I wanted to be able to sit at home, under a blanket reading a good book and not have to worry about fussing over dinner. I came up with the idea of chili.  And not just any chili, but one using the one of my favorite meats: lamb.  I love how lamb’s unctuousness can turn any ordinary dish into a lips-smacking, and finger-licking affair.  For this dish, I also added the marrow bones while it was cooking and reducing in enhance the flavor.

Low-Carb Lamb Chili

Lamb Chili with Marrow Bone

Ingredients:

3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil

2 lbs lamb stew meat, which usually come from lamb neck or lamb shoulder,cut into 2 inch pieces with (my lamb came with marrow bones)

1 lb hot Italian pork sausage removed from the casing

1 lb ground pork, cubed pork shoulder, or cubed pork butt

1 large sweet onion diced

2 poblano peppers seeded and diced

2 red, orange, and/or yellow peppers diced

2 cloves garlic diced

1 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes

1 6-oz can tomato paste

2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes no salt added

1 cup chicken stock

2 tbs Worcester sauce (optional)

Image via wikipedia

1 tbs anchovy paste (optional)

2 tbs chipotle chili powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbs smoked paprika

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 tbs dutch process cocoa powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp kosher salt or sea salt

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. In a 6-quart dutch oven over medium-heat, heat oil until it is shimmering.
2. Add the cubed lamb to the pot and brown on all sides.  Add this in three – four batches so the lamb does not steam.
   

   Fond image via wikipedia

   Brown bits (fond or suc in France) will start to build at the bottom of the pot – fear not. They are the essence of pure flavor.  Do not let this burn – reduce the heat if it becomes dark brown.

3. After the lamb has finished cooking, remove to a bowl.
4. Add the sausage and pork to the pot to brown over medium-heat in three batches and remove to a waiting bowl.
5. After the meat has been browned and removed to a bowl, add the peppers, onion, and red pepper flakes.  Saute until they are soft, scrapping the bottom of the pot to remove the delicious brown bits. The liquid from these veggies will help deglaze the pot.
6. Add the garlic and saute for one minute.
7. Add the anchovy paste and tomato paste. Saute for about one minute to begin to caramelize the tomato paste.
8. Deglaze the pan with chicken stock.
9. Reduce heat to low and add the meat back to the pot and stir to combine with other ingredients.
10. Open the can of whole tomatoes, reserve the liquid, and open the tomatoes with your fingers to remove as many seeds as possible because they are bitter. Then crush the tomatoes with your hands directly into the pot.  Add the remaining liquid.
11. Add the diced tomatoes and liquid.
12. Add the herbs, spices, pepper,  cocoa powder, Worcester sauce, bay leaf, and one tsp of kosher or sea salt. Reserve the rest of the salt for after the chili reduces because the salt content in the stock and tomatoes will vary.
13. Stir together the ingredients and cover.  The chili should be at a low simmer for one hour.
14. Taste the chili and adjust the seasoning to taste. Do not add salt yet.
15. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes – one hour to thicken the chili.
16. After the chili has come to the desired thickness, taste and adjust the salt levels. If you included the marrow bone, remove the marrow and stir into the chili. Remove the bones and the bay leaf.

You can garnish this with some smoked gouda, sour cream, or cilantro. This recipe will pair especially well with my coconut flour cheesy biscuits. You could also put this over Your Light Side’s caulitots or Paleo Gurl’s Kitchen’s twice baked cauli-tots.

Delicious Chuck Roast Recipe

Please go over to Until The Thin Lady Sings and check out this recipe for slow-cooked chuck roast.  It looks delicious and I will be trying it soon.

Make Veggie Chips and Feel Self-Satisfied

Some delicious veggie chips.

I hate buying things I can make cheaply and veggie chips are one of those things. The seven dollar bags of chips make me want to live in a shotgun shack off the grid, screaming that I will not participate in your system you capitalist pig-dogs.  Making things myself gives me a sense of self-satisfaction that I did not give in and purchase something I can easily make. So this is how I finished my vacation week by  cooking some snack foods for New Year’s Eve. I used some leftover beets, kale, carrots, and sweet potatoes from my fall garden.

Since I had never attempted this before I learned several things:

• Keep the oven at a low temperature 250 to prevent burning and make sure the veggies crisp properly. All other temperatures are wrong and will lead to burnt edges.
• Salt after the chips are baked and not before.
• Slice the veggies 1/8 of an inch.
• Make sure the slices are even all the way to the edges.
• Use a silicon mat or parchment paper to line the baking sheet, especially if you are using a dark pan.
• Put the kale in a separate bowl because it is too fragile to be combined with the other veggies.
• The root vegetables shrink a lot during cooking.
• Remove cooked chips as they finish and allow the remaining chips to finish crisping.
• Different specimens of the same types of veggies can vary in their moisture content and may take more time to cook.
• Since they are baking the vegetables glycemic index will rise because sugars become more concentrated.

I used this recipe as a starting point, but made some substantial changes.

Ingredients:

2 medium beets

2 large carrots – they should be broad carrots so that the peeled strips don’t shrink to puny shards.

1 bunch of kale

2 medium sweet potatoes

lots of olive oil

kosher salt

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250
2. Using a mandolin, or a knife if you are much more talented than I, slice the beets and the sweet potatoes to 1/8 of an inch slices.
3. Remove the kale from the stem and rip into bite sized pieces.
4. Using a peeler, peel the carrots into strips only on one side so that the slices become broader with each stroke. Cut the slices in half.
5. Place the different vegetables into different bowls and then drizzle with at least 2 tbs of olive oil.  Different veggies absorb the oil at different rates.
6. Mix the oil with your hands until the veggies are coated and glistening. There should not be a puddle of oil left on the bottom of the bowl.
7. Place either silicon mats of parchment paper on four different baking sheets.
8. Place the veggies on their own baking sheet.  With the size vegetables I had, I needed to do this in batches with two different batches for each vegetable. This will vary based on the size and shape of the individual vegetables.
9. Bake the veggies for the following times: sweet potato for 20-25 minutes, kale for 15-20 minutes, carrots for 15 – 20 minutes, and beets for 35 – 40 minutes. Turn the sweet potatoes, carrots, and beets once during the baking.
10. Remove with spatula or tongs if you are removing single chips. Take the baking mats and slide right into the waiting bowl if you are removing a whole batch. When all the chips are done add the salt, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to taste – I did this by making one pass over the bowl with each spice. Place the kale in a separate bowl because they are much more delicate than the rest.
11. Eat. You should feel self-satisfied because you did not purchase these easy-to-make chips in the store.
12. Store in sealed bag – I’m not sure how long because the chips have never lasted more than a day in my house.

Of course, these directions are specific to my electric (sigh) oven, in which I have a tested thermometer to make sure the temperature is stable.  If you are using a convection oven or an oven in which the temperature varies, I would check on the chips often.

Coffee: A Love Affair

Photo courtesy of aigarius.

I love coffee; I might even lurve coffee. When I was told that I had to reduce my coffee consumption when eating low carb, I was defiant. I was drinking over 10 cups of coffee a day because I was tired, unfocused, and addicted. But when I started drastically reducing my carbs to 20 grams for induction and I noticed that drinking coffee in excess made me feel weak and shaky. Upon further examination, I realized this funky feeling was my blood sugar dropping, and suddenly coffee was a rare commodity – something I could not have any time. I decided to make my coffee count.

I had my first real glimpse of what excellent coffee was during a trip to West Virginia. My husband and I stopped at a local coffee shop, and I had a cup of the most flavorful cup of coffee I had ever tasted.  I tasted and smelled hints of caramel and vanilla, which I never knew occurred in roasted coffee. Suddenly coffee was as complex as wine.

Steps to making excellent coffee:

1. Purchase the best coffee available that is both whole-bean and fresh roasted.
2. Using a Burr grinder, grind only the amount of coffee you are going to immediately use.
3. Filter your water.
4. Add a pinch of salt to the coffee before brewing.
5. Use a french press.

Step 1: Purchase excellent coffee

I purchase my coffee from a local roaster called The Black Dog Coffee Company. They import green, or fresh, beans directly from the source, roast them in small batches, and ship them directly to the customer.  The coffee from a micro-roaster is much different than the coffee you purchase from a megastore.  Megastore coffee is stale because it has been roasted many months ago. It does not have the same volatile flavor compounds that gives each coffee’s unique bouquet and flavor.  Also, most coffee from megastores are over roasted, which makes them taste bitter.

Image courtesy of jdurham.

Step 2: Use a burr grinder

Blade and burr grinder are two types of commonly purchased grinders for home use.  Blade grinders are relatively inexpensive for a good reason.  While they may indeed break up the coffee beans, they do not do so evenly.  The resulting shards are not uniform in size and shape and release bitter flavor compounds. The smaller shards also make their way into the finished cup of coffee. These grinders can also create a fair amount of heat that dissipates the more volatile compounds in the coffee.  A burr grinder, uses either two plates or an outer burr and a cone to break the beans into uniform grains for optimal flavor extraction.  The grinders with flat burrs are much more expensive than the conical burr type, although the conical burr grinder does produce and even grind with less heat.

Step 3: Use filtered water

Water can contain strange smells and tastes besides chlorine.  If your water smells funky or over chlorinated, I would recommend using filtered water to preserve the integrity of the coffee’s flavor.

Step 4: Add a pinch of salt before brewing

Salt enhances flavor and reduces bitterness. Adding a small amount to the coffee before brewing, can make all the different in the flavor.

Step 5: Use a french press

Image of french press via wikipedia.

A french press is a device that allows coffee to briefly steep in it’s chamber and then uses a mesh screen to filter the coffee grinds out of the resulting coffee liquid.  A french press requires a coarse coffee grind at the ratio of one tablespoon per cup of water. After adding the correct ratio of coffee, you add a pinch of salt and boiling water.  Stir the grounds and water in the chamber and allow the grounds to steep for three minutes. Remember to put the screen top on to keep the heat in.  After the coffee has finished steeping, press down on the plunger to separate the coffee grounds from the liquid.

Following these steps will give you the best cup of coffee you have ever tasted. When coffee is limited, you need to make each cup count.

Coffee bean photo courtesy of aigarius.

Ground coffee photo courtesy of jdurham.

French press photo courtesy of wikipedia.

Awesome, Low-Carb Beef Stew

Flickr photo courtesy of startcookingkathy

While I was perusing the blogs listed on lowcarbblogs.net, I found this amazing recipe for beef stew.  Beef stew is one of those homey recipes that are a necessity at this time of year.  The recipe shares many characteristics with beef bourguignon, such as the braising in red wine and tomatoes, with those harbingers of umami, mushrooms and anchovies.  Using mushrooms in a recipe along with tomatoes, anchovies, and beef bring out the beef flavor so much more than just using the beef and beef stock.

To see the master making the original beef bourguignon, and by master I mean Julia Child, please watch the video below.

 

Photo courtesy of startcookingkathy on Flickr.

Cheesy Cauliflower: The Key to Resisting Temptation

Flickr image courtesy of indigogoat

Tonight my friends and husband went to a wonderful restaurant, which I frequented before I made my dietary changes. One of the dishes I loved to order from this restaurant is mac’n'cheese and I knew I would be horribly tempted if I even entered this establishment. Instead of setting myself up for failure, I decided to stay home and attempt to create a cheesy and satisfying dish I could eat within the confines of my diet.

Normally when making a cheese sauce, you first make a bechamel sauce, using a roux, and then add cheese. Because I am committed to not eating gluten and to eating low-carb, I needed to find another recipe for when I splurge. Instead of using the roux, I thicken this sauce by first thickening the cream and then adding cheese.  For the cheesy cauliflower, I first roast the cauliflower in the oven to add another layer of flavor and to concentrate the sugars.

Cheese Sauce

Image courtesy of ngould.

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups freshly grated cheese

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, heat the milk over medium-high heat until it is boiling.
2. Continue boiling until the sauce is thickened like a cream sauce, about 15 – 20 minutes.
3. Add the ground mustard, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg.  Stir to combine.
4. Reduce heat to low and starting adding cheese by the handful.  Whisk they sauce until the cheese is completely melted and then add your next handful. I normally use whatever cheese I happen to have on hand – some cheeses that I find best for this application are fontina, smoked gouda, edam, havarti, brie, aged cheddar, and asiago. I do not grate the cheese ahead of time or purchase grated cheese because this adversely effects the quality of the sauce.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste
6. Serve immediately.

Cheesy Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh or frozen cauliflower

4 tbs olive oil

2 cups cheese sauce

1 cup grated cheese

pepper

Directions:

1. Place rack in the top one third of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place cauliflower in a casserole dish and cover with olive oil.
3. Roast for 10 minutes, turn, and roast for 10 minutes more until some browning is present.
4. Remove cauliflower from oven and then add the cheese sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned.
6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Cauliflower image courtesy of inigogoat.

Cheese image courtesy of ngould.