I Want To Cook

I had the privilege recently to cook with Derek Venutolo, executive chef at the Capital Grille in South Coast Plaza.

It’s true that the Capital Grille offers some amazing steaks (I highly recommend the Kona-crusted sirloin), but if you’re into fish, the restaurant does that superbly, too.

In this case, Venutolo demonstrated how to make the restaurant’s excellent Seared Citrus Glazed Salmon. And here’s where you come in: You can actually make this dish quite easily at home.

Venutolo showed on video how to make this main course, in addition to the glaze and tasty sides of sauteed vegetables. I wrote about the experience and included the Capital Grille’s step-by-step recipe for The Orange County Register. Hit that link to check out the video demo. Click this  Citrus-glazed salmon recipe link for steps on how to make it yourself.

I should add that the citrus glaze itself is so good you might want to make that alone any time. In addition to being wonderful brushed on fish and fowl, you can try adding it to iced tea for a sweet kick.

Hey y’all,  sorry I’ve been away from the blog for a while — it’s certainly not for lack of cooking.

The past couple of weeks have been a blur, as I’ve been writing recipes for my Food 101 column for The Orange County Register and working on the Register’s latest video shoot for our O.C. Chefs at Home cooking series.

(As some of you know, my “real job” is Automotive Editor for the Register.)

I’ll have another recipe posting here next week, but in the meantime I invite you to try my latest from the Food 101 series: Pan-roasted chicken.

The recipe involves a little more technique, but the results are so worth it. The recipe can be made in about half an hour, uses only one pan, and in addition to some of the most amazing chicken you’ve had, you’ll also learn how to make a wine-butter reduction sauce. Need I say more?

Happy eating,

-Matt

Meatloaf is one of those classic comfort meals that you can really sink your teeth into, literally. It’s a dish that many of us have fond (or not-so-fond) memories of our moms and grandmas making, but it’s as relevant today as it was in decades past.

After all, feeding hungry mouths while pinching pennies is nothing new, and meatloaf make a few bucks go far. I also dig it because it’s so adaptable.

Meatloaf is far from just ground beef, bread crumbs and ketchup baked in a loaf pan. Any manner of ground meat or fowl can be used, singularly or in combination with others. It’s a wonderful meal to make when you need to use that ground meat you got on sale and can’t stand another burger.

To make my own version go the distance, I load it up with grated veggies. This also adds plenty of flavor, texture and visual pizzazz to what can otherwise be a pretty boring thing to look at. In the recipe here I use carrots and zucchini. You can use whatever you like and have on hand. If you’re a fan of mushrooms or caramelized onions, say, then throw them into the mixture.

Homemade meatloaf also rocks because it’s super adaptable for meal planning. The stuff freezes easily (uncooked or cooked), reheats well, and can be eaten the next day in a sandwich hot or cold.

If you’ve never made your own version of this classic dinner, here’s your chance. If you’re an old hand at it, try this version and see if it works in your own recipe arsenal.

Let’s make some meatloaf!

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When I was a boy, my mom on occasion would make a certain meal that tasted and felt like we were living in the lap of luxury, even if our family’s bank account indicated otherwise. The dinner was a treat, an Italian classic like the kind that generations of her family ate in their home country: linguine and clam sauce.

Now that I make this dinner regularly, I can see why my mom counted on it so often. Aside from it coming together in less than 30 minutes – my mother worked hard in an office all day, too – it’s delicious, healthful and, at about $3 a serving, inexpensive. It can feed a young couple like my wife and me for less than the cost of a bowl of soup at many restaurants, and when the recipe is doubled in portion, will still feed a family of four for around $12 or less.

Using canned clams not only cuts the cost significantly, but also makes the dish way easier to prepare: no cleaning the clams, pan-steaming them, and then having to pry the meat from the shells. Sure, canned clams won’t taste as good as fresh, but keep in mind that in this dish they’ll be complemented by additional flavorful ingredients such as mushrooms, onions, garlic and capers, all mixed in with the pasta.

I buy canned clams on sale just to make this dish, and recently found name-brand ones for $1.50 at Vons, and even cheaper at 99 Cents Only.

It’s one clam dish (literally) in which you don’t need a lot of clams (figuratively) to make. Here’s how to do it:

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Here it is upon us once again and all too soon: Thanksgiving.

You know what that means? Well of course it signals several helpings of turkey and a tryptophan-induced coma in front of the television soon after.  It also means that those other holidays — Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and  Chrismukkah — are just a blink away.

As things in the kitchen move into high gear, it’s good to slow down and remember to enjoy the process. If you can think of what you are doing as an expression of love instead of a load of work, it will make the day that much more enjoyable.

It’s also a good time to remind about basic kitchen safety of the fowl variety. Undercooked turkey, as we all know, does not make for good eats or safe eats. Here are some tips and facts to remember if you are cooking the bird yourself in the oven:

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Consider this the month of the squash. Whether you realize it or not, they are making their way to doorsteps all over the country, preparing to spook every young guest who rings the doorbell seeking candy.

Yes, pumpkins are a part of the squash family, but as winter squash, they tend to take much longer to cook due to their tough rinds. Luckily, you can still celebrate all things squash by quickly and easily cooking that other popular variety, summer squash.

As its name would not lead you to believe, summer squashes can actually be found in markets year-round.

Among my favorites in this category is the familiar zucchini. This vegetable is wonderful baked, and can be served as a side, combined with another dish like pasta, or even as the main event itself for vegetarians. Seasoned simply with herbs and tossed lightly with oil, these squash taste even better when baked with two good friends – garlic and onions.

This recipe is a true treat for the mouth, and one you definitely don’t want to leave out on the porch. Here’s how to make it. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a culinary confession to make, and I might as well just get it off my chest: I’m a sucker for fries.

Thick, thin, crinkled or in wonderful fat wedges, there is just something magical and comforting about potatoes that have been deep-fried in oil. Of course, the very thing that makes them so tasty – being deep-fried in oil – also makes them much more fattening than their baked-potato cousin. I always feel a tinge of guilt and an obligation to go to the gym after ordering a batch.

Luckily I have found a happy medium between the plain-jane baked potato and that oh-so-tempting, fat-infused order of French fries, one that packs more taste than the former and less fat than the latter. Let me introduce you to my oven-baked potato fries.

Like traditional French fries, this oven-baked version can be in the form of thin strips or larger wedges, depending on your preference and how handy you’re feeling with a knife. Also like French fries, the best potatoes for this are good old Russet, or Idaho potatoes, which have a higher starch content versus smaller “waxy” spuds like new potatoes or fingerlings.

I prefer mine with the skin on, but of course they can be peeled if you like yours naked.

To make them, you only need to slice some potatoes, coat them with oil and a blend of spices, then let the oven do the hard work of generating the heat. Cooking time will depend on how you like your fries: If you dig ’em soft, you need only cook them till they are that way; if you’re like me and want some crunch, let ’em keep baking until they get crisp on the outside.

All told, you’ll be looking at anywhere from 25-40 minutes in the oven. While that isn’t nearly as quick as deep frying, the results are worth it, and less fat now means less time at the gym later.

Ready to give this a whirl? Here’s how to make a less guilty version of fries:

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Leftovers are always a good thing in my book, and they become even better when they can be used to morph into a totally new dish. What’s better than that? When the new dish outshines the original from which those leftovers came.

That’s exactly the case with fried rice, a favorite in Chinese restaurants that is so easy to make at home that you may never order takeout again.

To make fried rice, you need first need plain old cooked rice. To get that foundation for this dish, you simply simmer or bake a medium- to long-grain white rice like basmati in water for about 20 minutes or, even easier, use a rice cooker, which can be bought for under $20.

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We usually think of pasta as something to be drenched in a rich marinara or a heavy, cream-based alfredo sauce. We also usually think of it as something that comes in long ribbons or strands.

Orzo is a type of pasta that turns that latter notion on its head, and used in the recipe below, does the same for the sauce that it’s served with.

Upon first glance, you might mistake orzo for rice. That’s because it is shaped just like those little grains. But orzo is indeed pasta, and is made from the same kind of wheat used for more familiar shapes like fettuccine and angel hair.

Because of its small shape, orzo is easier to eat than your average plate of spaghetti – no slurping needed. It can also be served as a side similar to rice, or as the main ingredient. But orzo’s small size can spell trouble if it’s paired with big, traditional partners like marinara or alfredo; the granule can get lost in a sea of sauce.

A better – and healthful – alternative is to use orzo in a vinaigrette-type sauce of olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Combined with a bounty of vegetables, herbs and one secret ingredient, orzo becomes a star player that is not only seen in all its glory on the plate, but bursts with flavor once in your mouth.

Ready to give it a whirl? Let’s make some Extraordinary Orzo

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If you’ve been wanting to add some pizazz to your kitchen playlist, then boy have I got a spice for you: paprika.

We know paprika as that red powder sold in little jars or tin cans and often associate it with Hungary, but beyond that, what is the stuff?

Paprika is just the powdered form of a variety of dried peppers or chilies, and ranges in flavor from sweet to spicy, depending on the nature of the pepper or chile from which it was derived.

And what does the country of Hungary have to do with it? Well, when Europeans brought peppers back to their homeland from America in the 1500s, it was the Hungarians who sun-dried and grinded them, thus making what we now know as paprika. While paprika is made all over, the best stuff is still thought to come from Hungary.

Paprika can be spicy, but it won’t burn your mouth off like cayenne powder. Rather, paprika offers a complex flavor and can act to literally warm your body (good to know for those cold winter months).

Great, so now that you have a short history lesson on paprika, how can you use the stuff aside from sprinkling it atop hummus or deviled eggs?

Well, one of my favorite ways is to use it with a heavy hand to build a vibrant tomato sauce that itself will help flavor chicken, pork, beef or even vegetables.

In this recipe, we’ll have paprika play a starring role in a hearty and healthful chicken entree whose sauce might just outshine the poultry itself.

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