Southern-Style Green Beans – Slow Beans for Fast Times

One of the sadder side effects of the American culinary renaissance we’ve enjoyed over the last thirty or forty years, has been the chronic under-cooking of green vegetables. Sure, there was a time when we cooked everything too long, but now, if it’s not bright green and still crispy, it’s considered ruined.

That’s why every once and a while you have to enjoy something like these slow-cooked, southern-style green beans. These beans are cooked forever in a bacon-spiked, aromatic broth, and when they’re finally done, you’re almost shocked at how good they are. It seems so wrong, yet tastes so right.

I think two hours is perfect, but if your beans are fatter/thinner, you’ll have to adjust the time. What you’re looking for is something that literally melts in your mouth. Vibrant, quickly blanched green beans are many things, but “melt in your mouth” isn’t one of them. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:
2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1 handful sliced bacon (6 oz)

1 sliced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup tomato sauce

3 cups chicken broth

salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

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Million Dollar Chicken – Of Course It Tastes Rich!

This take on the Standard Grill’s famous “Million Dollar Chicken,” showed me once again that so many of life’s great culinary pleasures happen when you least expect them. I saw this recipe featured on TV recently, and chose to try it for two main reasons: one, it’s slathered in crème fraiche; and two, it’s roasted over caramelized, chicken drippings-soaked bread.

I know, we had you at “slathered in crème fraiche,” but it was the bread that I was really looking forward to when I pulled this out of the oven, which is why I was so bummed when I thought I'd ruined it. Since I got greedy and used an extra slice of bread, and also used a larger roasting pan, the bread cooked to what would generously be referred to as “golden-black.”

Several times during the glazing at the end, I contemplated tossing them out and simply making a joke about it during the narration, but I’m SO glad I didn’t. I can’t explain why, but not only didn’t it taste like burnt toast, it truly tasted fantastic. For purely aesthetic reasons, I’ll encourage you to use a smaller roasting pan, which will better insulate the edges of the bread, but I wasn’t exaggerating when I described just how great it really was. I promised to stop using the word “unctuous,” but it actually seems appropriate here.

It was so saturated with chicken fat, caramelized juices, and crème fraiche, that the bitterness from the darkest parts of the bread seemed to balance the richness somehow. The point is, if mine was good this dark, one shade lighter should get you even closer to million dollar chicken nirvana. I hope you give this “rich” combo a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

4 1/2 pound whole chicken

salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon

1 bunch fresh thyme

1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic (original recipe calls for adding a few cloves of garlic in the cavity with the herbs and lemon - I didn't, since I had included garlic in the last twelve things I'd eaten, and was taking a break, but feel free to add!)

olive oil, as needed

3 thick slices day-old French bread (I used sourdough)

For creme fraiche glaze:

1 cup creme fraiche

1 zest of one lemon

juice of one lemon

1 tablespoon grated shallot puree

1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

- Cook at 450 degrees F. for one hour, then glaze, cook for 10 minutes, and repeat until chicken is done. (Note: If you use a different size chicken, you’ll obviously need to adjust your times. Cook until internal temp in thickest part of thigh is 165 degrees F.)
- The original recipe from the Standard Grill in NYC calls for finishing with Maldon sea salt. I didn't, but that always a nice option.

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Next Up: Million Dollar Chicken?

Hot Wheels Pasta – Your Taste Buds Will Be Rollin on Dubs

It only happens once every couple years or so, but sometimes I’ll think of the name of a recipe before I actually have the recipe. This summery, hot wheels pasta is one such dish. Not sure how “hot wheels” popped into my brain, but pop it did, and the next thing I knew I was at the market buying a box of rotelle.

So the “wheels” part was easy, but what about the “hot?” Just as easy, thanks to an assortment of hot and sweet pepper rings. I used about two-thirds hot peppers to one-third sweet, but you’ll obviously adjust to your personal tolerance. The zucchini provided a nice balance, although this is the kind of pasta that will accept any and all other summer veggies.

Besides what to add, you also have a lot of flexibility when it comes to the final taste and texture. I tend to like my peppers and squash just barely tender for this, but if you cook the sauce a few extra minutes before adding the pasta, you will get a softer, sweeter sauce. My version was a little more bracing, with some bite left to it.

On the other hand, you could cook everything even less, and have what would basically be a hot pasta and vegetable salad. Regardless, no matter what you add, or how long you cook it, I hope you’ll be driven to try this great recipe soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

2 generous cups dry rotelle pasta

2 zucchini, sliced

2 to 3 cups of sliced pepper rings, seeded

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup green onion

1 anchovy filet

3 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups prepared tomato sauce (use a pinch of sugar if sauce needs it)

3/4 cup chicken stock

Italian parsley

grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

View the complete recipe

Next Up: Hot Wheels!

Happy Blueberry Month!

Did you know that July was National Blueberry Month? Unless you happen to work for the blueberry industry, or food blog for a living, you probably didn’t. So, what happens with blueberries this month, that doesn’t happen in June or August?

Not much, as far as I can tell, but it does give people like me an excuse to re-post a video like this “Too Many” Blueberry Muffins recipe. If you’d like to read the full post, and get the ingredients, just follow this link. Enjoy!

“Minute” Chocolate Mug Cake – Can You Really Make Cake in 60 seconds?

No, it actually takes 45 seconds! Turns out I was wrong about mug cakes. I’ve had the belief over the past few decades, that a decent mini chocolate cake from a microwave was impossible. I based this on the fact that every example I’d come across had the texture of a hockey puck.

I assumed the cause was the microwave’s ultra-violent thermodynamics, and that there was nothing anyone could do about it, but then I got to thinking. Maybe there was a way to tweak the existing recipes out there to minimize this problem. Long story short, I tweaked an existing recipe, which minimized the problem.

The secrets were using smaller amounts of batter, and cooking for way less time than has been suggested by others. Once you’ve boiled off all the water in the batter, you are totally screwed, so the idea here is to just barely get to the point of doneness, and stop. For me that was exactly 45 seconds.

I’ve included the power data here, so you can compare it to your microwave. Apparently, I have a 1,100-watt model, which is a very common rating, but of course, if yours is much more or less powerful, you will have to do a few tests to figure out your ideal time.

Now, is this as good as a traditionally baked chocolate cake? Of course not, but it’s certainly close enough. And when you consider the fact it literally takes only a few minutes to make, this should find its way into your summer dessert recipe rotation. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 chocolate mug cakes:

1 large egg

1/4 cup sugar

pinch salt

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp melted butter

1/8 tsp vanilla extract (I forgot to add, and it was fine, but I’d put a few drops to be safe)

- Stir well, then add:

1 tbsp shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)

2 tbsp toasted sliced almonds

1 or 2 tbsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 1, but it could have used a few more chips)

3 tbsp milk

- Stir well, then add:

1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/4 tsp baking powder

- Pour into 2 coffee cups and microwave on full power for 45 seconds

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