anj68 – Page 28 – Alice the Cook

October 18, 2009

Chickpea Salad

It’s no secret that I enjoy chickpeas in many of my dishes. Even in salads, I add chickpeas along with other items. The recipe below is a stand alone dish the compliments grilled seafood or vegetables. I hope you enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups canned chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 green onion, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 (10 ounce) package plain couscous
1 (16 ounce) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper
chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

Microwave broth over high heat in a 1-quart glass measuring cup until piping hot, 3 to 4 minutes.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add carrots, couscous and chickpeas; stir to combine. Stir in stock, cover and turn off heat. Let stand until stock is completely absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Add salt, if necessary, and pepper to taste. Fluff with a fork, strew with the optional chopped parsley and serve with the grilled entree.

October 12, 2009March 5, 2012

Dublin Coddle Recipe

Today, it was so cold it snowed where I live. The absence of the autumn reminds me of the importance of richly traditional soups. One of my favorites that my paternal grandfather used to make was the Dublin Coddle. It was served with crusty French or soad bread with fresh butter. Apologies to my vegetarian and vegan fans as this dish cannot be altered for the non-meat eaters.

Dublin Coddle Ingredients
8 1/4-inch thick slices of ham or bacon (I perfer bacon)
8 pork sausages or 1 lb of course ground sausage normal__mg_5592
1 quart of boiling water
4 large onions
2 lbs of potatoes (red potatoes perferred)
4 rounded TB of freshly chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 4 generously or 8 normal portions

Cut the ham or bacon into large chunks and cook with the sausages in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain but reserve the liquid. Peel and thinly slice the onion and potatoes.

Put the meat into a large pot with the onion, potatoes and parsley. Season to tasted and add enough of the stock to barely cover.

Lay a piece of parchment paper on top of pot and then put on the lid and simmer gently for about an hour or until liquid is reduced by half and all the ingredients are cooked but not mushy.

October 12, 2009October 12, 2009

Gratitude

This past season and year have been amazing. First, I became the official food writer for “Renaissance Magazine.”

Second, despite the weather, the appearance at Siouxland was well w mrf090913143 orth it between the demonstrations and cookbook sales. The cold and rainy weather did not diminish our spirits!

Third, we experienced some amazing weather at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. There was no rain until final weekend. The demos went well, fed an average of 100 people each day, amd sold more cookbooks. Also, the community kitchen in which we help feed the cast members, were nominated and received the “Best Group Award” in 2009 at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. We were touched by everyone’s generosity and kindness; we couldn’t have done it without your help.

I almost forgot to add that I also won a $100 gift certificate for my website as part of a Passion and Quality campaign.

We plan on returning in 2010. Thank you all.

September 24, 2009March 5, 2012

Fatted Potatoes (authentic Irish/Welsh recipe)

Many of the recipes I’ve made have several things in common, they taste great, but they aren’t necessarily good for you. The next recipe, fatted potatoes, is a breakfast recipe that is prepared the night before. Traditionally, the recipe called for the potatoes to be poached in lard before cooking, but I like using the left over potatoes in this manner. The recipe comes in two parts – the dinner the night before (pot roast) and the morning after (fatted potatoes).

Night Before Ingredients:
3 Lb chuck roast
2 TB olive oil
4 lb red potatoes, washed and cut into quarters
1 large leek, diced
3 large carrots, diced
1 sprig of rosemary
4 cloves of garlic minced
sea salt and pepper to taste

Like making pot roast, you will want to sear both sides of the chuck roast to seal in the juices. Once browned, add enough water to cover the roast and let cook for about 45 minutes on medium stove top heat. Add the vegetables and the spices and continue to cook. If the water begins to evaporate, add some more, but no more than a 1/2 a cup at a time. Cook until carrots are tender. Pull the meat from the pot and half of the vegetables and serve. The remaining veggies should be pulled and placed into a sealed container with enough of the pot roast broth to cover. Cool overnight for the fatted potatoes.

Fatted Potato Ingredients:
Left over potatoes and carrots
1 lb of thick cut bacon
sea salt and pepper to taste

Cut up the bacon into 2 inch slices and begin cooking them in a deep fry pan or dutch oven. While the bacon is cooking, strain the leftover vegetables so that only the vegetables are left. Once the bacon is half cooked, add the potatoes. Stir occassionally. Be careful, not to break apart the potatoes too much, as it will create a mess and not be visually appealing.

Once the bacon is done and the potatoes are heated, remove from the heat and serve. I recommend serving with biscuits or toast!

September 24, 2009March 5, 2012

Spitted Beef

Before people get the wrong idea, spitted beef is cooked on a spit. Several weekends ago, the community kitchen aptly named the “Family Table” at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, prepard a beef shoulder and slow cooked it on a spit.

The meat was so well received, we are posting the recipe here: MRF090907014

Ingredients:
Beef shoulder or large rump roast (the one we used was 14 lbs)
2 TB olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 sprigs of rosemary, minced
spit or rotisserie

Cut up the beef so that its size is evenly distributed on the spit or rotisserie. Once on the spit, blend the olive oil, minced garlic, and minced rosemary to form a rough paste. Massage the paste liberally onto the beef. Sprinkle salt and pepper and begin cooking in on a medium heat. If you are blessed and own an automatic or electric rotisserie, follow the directions for cooking a beef roast. If you are cooking it over a fire, as we had, you will want to turn the beef a 1/3 to a half a turn every 15-20 minutes.

Depending on how well you would like the meat cooked will determine the length on the spit. We cooked our 14 lbs roast for 3 hours and had a medium to medium well roast. The ends will always be well done.

I personally like this dish served with grilled asparagus, but everyone has their own way of preparing and serving the meal.