Recently I made a super cool discovery that’s made cooking with wine so much easier. It’s brilliant, really.

The common advice you’ll get about cooking with wine is “don’t cook with it if you wouldn’t drink it”, which is fine I suppose, but honestly? I can’t justify using an expensive wine in my dishes when the cheap stuff works brilliantly. If I’m making a meal for guests, sure, I’ll pop for a more pricey wine, but when I just want something for my husband and I to enjoy, the cheap stuff is just fine. However, I’ll give you this caveat: We’re not wine snobs AT ALL. We like Wild Vines as much as we like a good Moscato d’Asti. Take that as you will.

So anyway, our local grocery stores has these little baby bottles of Turning Leaf wines — about 2 glasses worth — for $1 apiece. I stocked up on a few white and a few reds and let me tell you, they are PERFECT for cooking!! Just enough for a recipe!

I’ve actually tried to make this before in the past, but I ended up reducing the sauce too much and ruining it all. The turkey had amazing flavor, infused with the wine, but I ended up destroying the sauce. Naturally, when I saw the turkey thighs in the discount meat bin again (<$2 for two!) I picked them up for round two.

This is no shortcut recipe, but it is really simple. It just involves occasionally babysitting while you go about your day. Also? I just made this recipe up. I call it Country French Turkey because the flavor reminds me of Chicken Tonight’s Country French sauce, but I don’t know how French it is. I just know it’s delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

• Two turkey thighs, skin-on
• 3 carrots, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 5 mushrooms, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• Thyme and Tarragon
• Salt & pepper
  
• 2 cups chicken/duck/poultry stock or broth (I used some of that duck stock I made a few weeks ago and froze)
  
• 1 baby bottle of Turning Leaf Pinot Noir
• Olive oil

Season the turkey breasts with a little salt and pepper. Coat the bottom of a sauté pan with a thin film of olive oil and, when hot, place the turkey thighs skin side down. Add the onions and vegetables and cook until the turkey skin is browned. Add the stock and wine, a dash of tarragon and a dash of thyme (fresh is better, dried is fine). The liquid should cover the meat about 1/2 way. Bring to a slow boil, then simmer, covered, on low for about 2 hours, checking the liquid levels every 30 minutes or so (my downfall the first time I did this) and flipping the thighs over about halfway through.

Leave uncovered for the last half hour to help the sauce reduction along. Keep an eye on it at this point! When all is cooked, you can continue reducing the sauce or you can thicken it with a little cornstarch. I serve this with a white-and-wild rice mix, but it would also be awesome with garlic mashed potatoes. It’s beautiful comfort food and a super elegant meal that certainly doesn’t taste like it costs so little per serving!

When I made my Shrimp Scampi a couple weeks ago I knew I’d be craving jambalaya come Mardi Gras, and while I was too busy the week of Fat Tuesday to make one of my signature dishes, I was happy to have the shrimp stock I made conveniently frozen and ready to add to this dish. I didn’t want to use my beautiful jumbo shrimp in this dish, but the flavor of the shrimp was still intense!!

Whenever Woodmans has a sale on Daisy Brand Chicken Sausage I always stock up to freeze it, especially when it’s the Andouille Smoked Sauage. Perfectly spiced with the lightness of chicken sausage — seriously, does it get any better?

Here’s how tonight’s Jambalaya came together so you can try it for yourself. Want a shortcut version? Try my Fat Cat Tuesday Jambalaya from the archives!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups seafood stock, chicken broth or water
• 1 Knorr Chipotle Bouillon Cube (a bit of powdered chipotle or chili powder works too); leave out if you don’t want your jambalaya spicy)
• Juice from 1 can of tomatoes
• 1 cup brown rice

Start the broth, juice and bouillon on a back burner. When boiling, add the rice and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and let this go while you get the rest going. Pay attention to when you started this!

• 2 Links Andouille Chicken Sausage, diced (a regular smoked sausage works too)
• 1 chicken breast, diced
• 1/2 medium onion or one small onion, chopped
• 1 red or green pepper, diced
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced (or 1 tbsp jarred garlic)
• 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Roasted Corn
• 1 can tomatoes (add the juice to the rice)
• Penzey’s Cajun Seasoning (generously, to taste)
• Dash of Penzey’s Gumbo Filé.

Add the onion and garlic to a deep sauté pan (I love my Pampered Chef Flat-bottomed Wok for this) with a little bit of olive oil and sauté until the onions start to sweat. Toss in the chicken breast and sausage and a few shakes of Cajun Seasoning and cook until the chicken is white on the outside.

Add the tomatoes and some more seasoning and toss until everything is coated. Add the rice and the cooking liquid and toss to combine. Reduce heat to low and cover, checking to stir and taste every 10 minutes. Add more cajun seasoning to taste, a little each time.

You’ll want the rice to go about a total of 45 minutes, so continue cooking until your rice has hit 45 minutes.  When it’s nearly done, add the roasted corn.

Bravado? Maybe a bit, but it’s true. My meatloaf, even when not in MEATCAKE! form, is the stuff of legend. Back when I made the MEATCAKE! I promised a recipe but failed to deliver. Today I give you my secret (modified from Mark Bittman’s recipe in How To Cook Everything). You’re welcome.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork (I usually buy country ribs—about $1/lb—and grind it myself)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I like Progresso’s Garlic and Herb breadcrumbs) soaked in
• 1/2 cup milk (until soggy; takes a few minutes)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 large cloves minced garlic
• Dash of Penzey’s Chicago Steak Seasoning
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced fine (optional)
• 1/2 green pepper, diced fine (optional)

Combine all the above ingredients well. And USE YOUR DAMN HANDS. Get ‘em messy. You can wash them. There’s no way to combine this well enough without using your hands. Form into a loaf and place in a bread pan (I use a silicone bread pan). Bake at 350ºF for about an hour, or until the internal temp is about 160ºF. Drain the grease and transfer to a cookie sheet to set.

KETCHUP GLAZE (from Black Widow Bakery, where I learned to make the MEATCAKE!):

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/8 cup dark brown sugar
• Splash of Worcestershire sauce

To make the glaze, heat ketcup, sugar and worcestershire sauce until combined. Spread over meatload. Clean your pan IMMEDIATELY afterward or it’ll be a pain to clean.

That’s it!! It’s super easy and so, so very good.

CONFESSION: I love cookbooks. Like LOVE cookbooks, even though I rarely use the recipes as described. I like browsing through for fun, getting ideas, learning new techniques I can apply elsewhere. Sure, I use the internet to find recipes on occasion, but my first stop is almost always my shelf of cookbooks. And that’s where I found this recipe.

Looks pretty foul, doesn’t it? If you don’t eat Indian food regularly I’m sure it does, but after the discovery of an adorable little Indian grocer I needed to try to make my own version of one of my favorite Indian dishes. QUICK TIP: Don’t make substitutions when cooking a cuisine you’re not experienced with. Since I’m still learning the subtleties of cooking Indian food, this was a recipe I needed to follow to the letter. Which I didn’t. Which is why it was kind of meh, but I’m going to try it again. Moral of the story: Don’t replace the tomatoes with tomato paste. It won’t work.

This (very slightly modified) recipe came from The Best Ever Indian by Brian Wilson, which has a thousand and one delicious things I’m DYING to try. It’s a beautiful book and I recommend it highly.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bag fresh spinach leaves (about 1/lb)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil (I used considerably less, but I don’t think that had an effect it)
• 8 oz paneer, cubed (Indian cottage cheese—if you don’t have it, you can use chicken as well if you brown it first)
• 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger paste (I use The Ginger People ginger paste… YUM)
• 7 oz (about half a can) canned tomatoes, drained (yeah… I skipped this part because I lacked the ingredients and used tomato paste instead. Don’t skip it.)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• *Penzey’s Garam Masala to taste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 stick butter

*I found the recipe pretty bland as far as spice with these teensy amounts, so I seasoned the heck out of it with Garam Masala curry powder.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the spinach leaves and blanch for 4–5 minutes. Drain well and reserve some broth. Add the tomatoes and, using a hand blender (I use the KitchenAid Immersion Blender given to me by my friend Angela) or food processor, puree the spinach.

Heat the oil in a skillet and add the paneer, tossing frequently until lightly browned. Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Add the onion to the same skillet and cook until softened. Add the ginger paste and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach, spices, lemon juice and butter and cook, stirring constantly. If mixture’s too dry, add a little of the reserved broth from blanching the spinach.

The intensity of the flavor will increase overnight, but let it sit at least 15 minutes to let the flavors meld together.

Would I make this again? Absolutely. That said, I still think the Palak Paneer from Kitchens of India is far superior, and also cheaper to make.

There was something about the Chilaquiles Verdes (think Mexican lasagna) recipe I saw on Daisy Cooks that inspired me to try it from scratch before I attempt to design some shortcuts around it. And believe me, from the fresh salsa verde to frying my own tortillas, this was a labor and time-intensive dish. There are opportunities for shortcutting that I’ll definitely do in the future.

That said, this was absolutely unbelievable and better the next day. While I’ll probably skip making my own tortilla chips next time and just use premade (too much work for something that ends up mushy), I might just keep making my own salsa verde. I’ve never been a fan of salsa verde but the sharp garlic flavor just made this magical.

I didn’t have a copy of Daisy’s recipe, so I eyeballed it based on what I learned from her recipe on the show. My own Daisy-inspired recipe and instructions follow behind the cut.

SALSA VERDE:

• 12 tomatillos, quartered
• 1 large spanish onion
• 1 head garlic, peeled…yes, the whole head of garlic. I like garlic.
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• Mint leaves (from about 5 stalks of leaves)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed
• 1 teaspoon Adobo seasoning

Combine all these ingredients in a blender until puréed. The flavor will be very sharp and bitter because of the garlic and tomatillos, but the cooking will make it milder and almost sweet. Seriously, it’s like magic. Pour purée into a saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, for at least one hour, until some of the moisture is cooked away and the color turns to a pretty olive green.

CHILAQUILES:

• 1 whole chicken, or four chicken quarters (I used legs & thighs, 29¢ a pound!)
• 12 white corn tortillas, fried, or 12 unsalted tostadas
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mix of chihuahua, pepperjack and sharp cheddar)
• 1.5 cup and .5 cup salsa verde, keep separate

1. Put chicken in crock pot with seasonings. I used the remains of a jar of mustgo salsa, and some Penzeys Sunny Spain pepper seasoning. Cook for 3-4 hours on high.

2. To fry tortillas, I cut them into strips and used a mixture of corn and peanut oil. Take them out before you think they look done; by the time they look done they’ve already gotten a bit too dark and bitter. Incidentally, these are by far the best chips i’ve ever had and they require no salt to be delicious. Unbelievable. But I digress.

3. Preheat oven to 350º. Shred the chicken when it’s done, keeping it in a separate mixing bowl. Add the 1.5 cups of salsa and mix it up good.

4. Put a layer of chips on the bottom of your lasagna pan. Spoon a layer of half the chicken/salsa mix. Layer with cheese and repeat. For the top layer, just use chips, the reserved salsa, and the rest of the cheese. It will look like this.

5. Bake for 45 minutes until it’s bubbly and browned on top. Serve with sour cream or all by its lonesome. So flavorful, so amazing.

About a month ago we got a great deal on a whole ham in the discount meat bin. $7 for a TON of ham. The up side? A lot of really good smoked ham. The downside? That’s a lot of ham, and for us, ham is a sometimes food, which means getting creative. I’ve been wanting to try making scalloped potatoes for some time and this was a good opportunity. I combined a few different recipes to come up with this one.

It turned out PERFECT. Rich, delicious, with a sauce that made me lick the bowl. Seriously, I licked the bowl.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 small yellow gold potatoes, sliced thin
• 1 medium white onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1.5 cups half & half
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 cup chopped ham

Preheat oven to 400º.  In a saucepan, melt the butter with pepper (again I’ll sing the praises of Penzey’s Shallot Pepper) and Garlic Salt to taste. Add the flour, then when it’s all melted, add the half & half. Stir this until the sauce starts to thicken. Remove from heat.

Sauté the onions in olive oil (butter works too) until cooked through. In a separate bowl toss potatoes, onions, ham, cheese and sauce. Spread in a baking pan and bake for 45 minutes.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Corned Beef & Cabbage. For one, there’s just no good shortcuts for it. Sure, you can make it all in the crock pot, but then you get mushy, fatty vegetables, which is just no fun. So this time my shortcut was simple: I made my husband start it for me, on his day off. This was my first attempt at a stovetop Corned Beef and Cabbage and it was phenomenal. What were my secrets?

1. Place a corned beef round roast (I prefer this to the flat) in a stock pot. I added the remains of one large carton of Kitchen Basics Beef Stock (my favorite—had some leftover from another meal) and enough water to cover the roast +2 inches, and two small peeled onions. I let this go about 3 hours, turning the roast every half hour or so.

2. About half an hour before the beef was done, I added the carrots to the stock.

3. And this is key: In a SEPARATE pan, I added 1 large sliced white onion, and 1/4 stick of butter. First I caramelized the onion a bit then added the cabbage. To steam the cabbage, I ladled in two large scoops of the beef broth and covered it all. The stock reduced to a lovely glaze, combining with the caramelized onions to make for a very sweet cabbage.

Everything was great, and I can’t wait to make this one again!

It’s a hardboiled egg.
Wrapped in breakfast sausage.
Coated with breadcrumbs.
And panfried.

Oh yeah.

Ever since the first time my husband and I tried Scotch Eggs at a restaurant across the street from the GenCon Gaming Convention in Indianapolis, he’s been wanting me to make them.

So here’s how you make these little bundles of cholesterol. You know you want to know.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 Hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• 1 tube breakfast sausage, thawed but cold
• 1 egg, beaten, for dredging
• Breadcrumbs, in a shallow bowl for coating
• Hot oil

Take your peeled egg and a handful of sausage. Wrap the sausage around the egg until it’s coated. Eliminate all holes. Dredge your sausage-coated egg in the egg wash, then roll through the breadcrumbs. Fry in 1″ of hot oil until the sausage is cooked; this doesn’t take as long in the hot oil as you might think. Using tongs, remove the eggs from oil and place on a hefty layer of paper towels for draining.

Seriously, they’re as delicious as they are horrific. We figure once a year is about enough to eat these beauties, but boy are they fun!

Yes-indeedy, this is absolutely what you think this is, and exactly what it shouldn’t be. It’s a MEATCAKE!!! Featuring three tiers of meatloaf with mashed potato icing and glazed with a delicious ketchup glaze, I was inspired by the awesome recipe by Black Widow Bakery.  It’s late, so I’ll be posting my own step-by-steps and recipe—which includes my personal meatloaf recipe requested by all those present at the birthday bash where this was served—in the next couple days, but I leave you now with a teaser.

Also, this is so NOT a shortcut recipe, to be sure. But I chose to invest hours and hours of prep, cooking and cleanup to celebrate the birthday of the man I love. Happy birthday to my husband Adrian… I hope you enjoyed your meatcake.

There are no shortcuts to ropa vieja, a Spanish-inspired dish from Cuba that translates literally to “old clothes”. I’ve tried modifying it for the crock pot, but this is a meal that takes 4 hours to make, plain and simple. But boy is it worth it.

Our friends Tracy and Derek were coming by for the weekend and when I asked her what I should make I didn’t expect her to say one of the few dishes I’ve made for her in the past. Tracy, by the way, is the anti-me, making everything from scratch and doing it beautifully, so I’m always kind of intimidated when faced with preparing food for her. But ropa vieja is one of my signature dishes, and with that I knew I could impress. Here’s the recipe for one of the best meals I know how to make… lucky you!

The recipe’s long, so follow the cut for more.

ROPA VIEJA
makes about 10 servings… assume you and your guests will have seconds!
You can half this recipe, but keep the cook times the same.

• 3lb Flank Steak, cut in 4″ sections (at their longest) across the grain
• 1/2 large or 1 medium bell pepper (any color will do), cored and halved
• 1 small onion, peeled, whole
• 4 cloves of garlic, whole
• 4 tbsp Goya Adobo Seasoning
• 1 tbsp ground Cumin
• 1 squirt of Sriracha Thai Hot Sauce (the bottle with the rooster on it…you can use a favorite hot sauce, but for some reason this gives the best balance of heat and flavor of all I’ve tried in this recipe)
• 1 14oz container of beef stock/broth

Put Flank Steak,  pepper and whole onion in a large stock pot and fill to the top with water and stock. If you’re measuring, try 4 tbsp of the Goya seasoning (I just season liberally). Bring to a boil and boil, uncovered, for 3 hours. Yes, three hours. Keep an eye on the water level; if it falls below the tops of the ingredients, add extra, a cup at a time. <b>NOTE: This will really heat up your kitchen.</b> The humidity a single pot of water can create is staggering, so this isn’t a recipe for making on a nice hot day.

While this is going, slice up the following:

• 3 medium bell peppers (and colors; I like a variety)
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 large white onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp Spanish olive oil or sunflower oil

Sauté these in a little oil and set aside. It’s best if you let them char a bit.

Get these last ingredients ready:

• 1 large can or two small cans of crushed tomatoes (make sure they’re unseasoned)
• 1 can tomato paste
• Dash of cumin
• Sriracha thai hot sauce (to taste)
• Goya Adobo Seasoning (to taste)
• Beef stock with a ladle

When the beef is done cooking, remove it from the broth but keep the broth handy; this is now your beef stock. Shred the beef using two forks; it should come apart easily. Put the beef in a large sauté pan (I love my Pampered Chef flat-bottomed wok) and add the tomatoes. Add one ladle of beef stock and the cumin and toss with the meat and simmer on medium for 10 minutes. Add the sautéed peppers and onions and another ladle of stock, simmer another 10 minutes. Create a clean patch on your pan by pushing the stuff aside (liquid is ok) and add the tomato paste, mixing it with the liquid until dissolved, then toss it all. Keep adding the stock and letting it absorb and cook down for about 45 minutes, tasting regularly. Add hot sauce if it’s not spicy enough for you, but remember a teeny squirt of this stuff goes a LONG way, and add adobo to taste.

It’s done when the sauce is flavorful but not tomatoey, and the sauce is cooked down.

Serve this over Vigo yellow rice (the family size bag usually works for this quantity) or in tortillas.