Saturday, January 10, 2009

Saturday, or: Grocery blogging

I'm in Gilroy for the weekend, didn't take me long to come back. I didn't bring my bike, rookie mistake, now I'm sitting at home wishing I could be riding around town.

Ah well, Monday will come soon enough. Farmers market was amazing, definitely taking my camera next time. I had something called a "grilled calzini".

It's exactly the same as a calzone, only it's cooked on a grill over an open fire. I took one bite, just the crust, and it was one of the most delicious bites of food I've had in a long time. It tasted like a dense focaccia, unbelievably savory, with just the right blend of herbs. Then I got to the filling, roasted eggplant, zuchini, onions and red bell peppers, again with just the right blend of seasoning. There was also fresh mozzerella and aged parmesan, delicious. I'm going to try and emulate the crust the next time I make calzones, and the filling gave me some ideas too. I always use some variation of mushrooms in my calzones, but usually they're drowning in some kind of sauce, but this calzone featured more of the fresh ingredients, which was eye opening.

I made chili last week, a big batch (alot bigger than I had thought it would be), and froze most of it. It is some of the best chili I've ever had. I have a serious weakness for chipotle. The recipe as best as I can remember was this:

Saute in olive oil:
One whole onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Add all of the following and bring to boil in stock pot, lower heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes:

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 4 oz can of chopped green peppers
1 14 oz can of spicy vegetarian refried beans
1 14 oz can of black beans
1 14 oz can of pinto beans
1 14 oz can of kidney beans
Hominy to taste (I got a big can but didn't use very much of it) corn would've worked well as a substitution
2 chopped chipotle peppers

Spices:
Chili Powder
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Onion Powder
---
ALL TO TASTE (I just kept adding it in small amounts and kept tasting, I'll pay attention to the amounts next time)

I cooked cornbread to complete the ultimate cold weather meal, and garnished the chili with some fresh cilantro, sour cream and sharp cheddar

Enjoyed my delicious meal while watching No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain.
Perfect way to start the quarter.

I also had my first food lab this week, cooked chocolate chip cookies, but the lab should be interesting. Basically I cook something new each week in a professional kitchen, fun fun fun.

I've decided I'm gonna keep experimenting in the kitchen and post my recipes/results in here.
And of course they'll all be vegetarian (maybe some will even be vegan), but I guarantee delicious results regardless of your dietary choices.

Ciao

P.S. If anyone has any suggestions for possible crust recipes/adaptations that match the description I have above (dense focaccia texture, savory) please share them with me

1 comment: