May 5: Pork Chops with Grainy Mustard and Raisin Suace

Well, this is an interesting little something...Fine Cooking's e-newsletter has an article in it about creating your own quick recipes using quick cooking "centers" (like meat, fish, pasta, or a grain), high-heat cooking methods, flavorful add-ons, and pantry staples. Here is their list of pantry staples. They've got some interesting add-ons (like two mustards) and also their pantry lacks a few things that I really can't do without (like melting cheese.)

In the pantry: anchovies
artichoke hearts (canned or frozen)
beans (canned)
bouillon cubes
broth or stock
chipotles (canned in adobo sauce)
couscous
dried chiles
dried fruits
dried mushrooms
garlic
hoisin sauce
oils: olive, canola, vegetable, peanut, toasted sesame
olives
onions
pasta
potatoes
rice
roasted red peppers
salsa
shallots
soy sauce
spices and dried herbs
sun-dried tomatoes
tomatoes (canned: whole, diced, crushed, sauce, paste)
tuna
vinegars: balsamic, sherry, rice, white and red-wine
wasabi
water chestnuts

In the fridge or freezer:
bacon or pancetta
capers
feta cheese
fresh herbs
ginger
horseradish
lemons
limes
mayonnaise
mustards: Dijon and grainy
Parmigiano-reggiano
pesto
preserves
sour cream
tortillas
vegetables

I had intended to do a Cinco De Mayo recipe today--we had chicken fajitas for dinner tonight, one of my favorite meals ever. But then I found this recipe for pork chops with grainy mustard and raisins, which is a really great pantry staple recipe, and sounds wonderful.

Pork Chops with Grainy Mustard and Raisins

1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup golden raisins
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 thick cut boneless center-cut pork chops
1 tbsp paprika
Salt and pepper
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
3 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small sauce pot over high heat, combine the chicken stock, wine, and raisins. Bring it to a simmer, then turn off the heat and let it sit.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the cops with paprika, salt and pepper. Place chops in the skillet and sear on both sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer the chops to a rimmed cookie sheet and place in the oven to finish, 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let chops rest, tented loosely with foil.

While the chops are in the oven, return their skillet to medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil, onions, thyme, salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock, wine, and raisins. Add the mustard and cream. Bring the misture to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 4-5 minutes. Finish the sauce with the parsley. Serve the sauce over the rested pork chops.

May 3: White Bean Puree

The Kitchen will return after these messages: my best friend, The Cutest Little Pregnant Woman On Earth, is pregnant and expecting a baby next month. Next month, holy crap, people! This is the woman who was never interested or amenable to having children, and it took this girl about six seconds to get pregnant once she decided to go for it, dammit! I have a lot of knitting to do for her little person, I have been woefully neglectful. I have finished a gorgeous little lacy blanket and am working on booties and a hat in the same soy yarn to go with it; I also have a very simple little striped acrylic blanket in vanilla, chocolate, and swirl which is halfway done, more or less.

The good news is that I have lots of free time.

I will hit you with the Advanced Pantry tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. I've finished one bootie tonight and tomrrow I'm planning on going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, and I am going to cry a little when I think about all of the gorgeous, exotic, locally-grown fibers I'm going to put my hands on tomorrow, and not be able to afford. In fact, I anticipate shedding so many tears that I may be a little dehydrated and unable to knit tomorrow, so I need to get on with this second little bootie (OMG, yo, so stinking cute, and incredibly easy) while I still have my head about me. So, instead, here's an Intermediate Pantry recipe--with the exception of hot sauce (which I don't keep in my pantry because I make my own). Spread on toasted baguettes, this is a wonderful, elegant, simple appetizer, it comes together in about a second, seriously. It's a nice change from hummus, which I love.

White Bean Puree
4 cloves garlic
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups canned white beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Hot pepper sauce

In a saucepan, sweat the garlic in chicken stock. Add the beans and cook until heated through.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree with the remaining ingredients, except hot pepper sauce. Adjust seasoning, and add hot sauce, to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.

May 2: The Intermediate Pantry; Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

I agree with Merseydoats that the basic pantry needs several different vinegars. I left those off of yesterday's list, so I'm tacking them on to The Intermediate Pantry, but I do think they're important staples. I also forgot colanders--infinitely important for everything from draining pasta to washing fruit. I have three--a fairly fine wire mesh colander, a large plastic one, and another metal one that serves as a basket in my stockpot. These are basics--find a shape and a configuration that works for you and how you cook.

This is the pantry for people who've expanded beyond the basics--people who entertain casually, people who want to eat well every day, people who are up for a challenge in the kitchen. This pantry supports more complicated techniques, more in-depth recipes, more homemade and less prepared foods, and it still respects the two-career household, the idea that a working mom may not take the time on a Tuesday night to make her own mayonnaise.

The recipe is one of my favorites--it is plenty fattening, terrifically decadent, and yet still easy enough to make on that Tuesday night. With some roasted broccoli, a side of tomato-sauced spaghetti, and a big green salad, it's a hugely satisfying meal with lots of protein and lots of fiber, both of which will keep you feeling full for a long time. For Kimberly's baby shower, I made sausage-stuffed mushrooms, just regular white mushrooms, and they were a hit. This is a meal-sized variation on the theme, with some spinach thrown in to draw attention away from all the cheese and pork.


The Pantry
Everything from The Basic Pantry, plus...

Dark brown sugar

Cake flour

Bread flour

Fleur de sel

Quick-cooking grits

Baking chocolate in Bittersweet and Unsweetened

No-bake lasagna noodles

Orzo

Brown rice

Red potatoes

Avocados

Red onions

Shallots

Tortilla chips

Walnut or grapeseed oil

White wine vinegar

Red wine vinegar

Balsalmic vinegar

Bananas

Dried spices: Chipotle and Ancho chile powder, Chinese Five Spice powder, Pink peppercorns

The Canned Goods

Everything listed in The Basic Canned Goods, Plus...

• High-quality tuna packed in olive oil
• Refried beans (vegetarian tend to be healthiest, but the Old El Paso brand makes one with chorizo which is just so good.)
• Pinto Beans
• Black beans
• White beans
• Garbanzo beans
  

The Refrigerator

Everything listed in The Basic Refrigerator, Plus...

• Brick-style cream cheese
• Sour cream
• Swiss cheese
• Part-skim mozzerella
• A wedge of real, aged parmesan cheese
• Full-fat or reduced fat plain yogurt
• Lowfat buttermilk
• Mayonnaise
• Ground turkey
• Large (usually 20-28 per pound) shell-on shrimp
• Bone-in pork loin chops
• Sweet and/or hot Italian sausages
• Seasonal vegetables (peas or asparagus in spring, sweet corn and great tomatoes in summer, although the tomatoes don't belong in the fridge, it's bad for their flavor, butternut squash in the fall, beets in the winter)
• Corn tortillas
• Spring mix
• Spinach
• Portabello or cremini mushrooms
• Breakfast sausage

The Freezer

• Vanilla ice cream
• Frozen waffles (I know, I know, but seriously, they are so easy, and yummy)
• Frozen vegetables: peas, corn, green beans--whatever you like
• Frozen poundcake (for an impromptu dessert)

The Gadgets and Tools

All of the Basic Gadgets and Tools, Plus...

• Microplane grater
• Meat mallet or pounder
• High-quality, sharp 5-6 inch utility knife
• High-quality, sharp, thin, flexible fillet knife
• Knife sharpener
• Slotted spoon
• Sloped-sided, long-handled saucepan or saucier (If you're dying to buy me a present, this would be lovely.)
• 6-8 quart Dutch oven (This one is excellent.)
• 12-inch heavy-bottomed traditional (not non-stick) skillet (This one is surprisingly affordable and extremely durable, although the base could be a little wider.)
• Loaf pan, either metal or glass (I like Pyrex, but some people like metal. The silicone ones are popular too.)
• Large roasting pan with a V-rack (I have this one, it's almost too huge, but I know it'll be more useful to me as I go along.)
• Food processor (At least 8 cups, 11 would be better, with a minimum of a chopping blade, a shredder disk and a chopping disk. I recommend this one).

The Intermediate Pantry Recipe: Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

4 large portabello mushrooms, wiped clean, dark gills scraped out with a spoon

1/2 lb. hot or sweet Italian sausages, removed from casings

1/4 lb. fresh spinach

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press

8 ounces (one package) brick style cream cheese, at room temperature

4 ounces part-skim mozzerella, shredded

2 ounces parmesan, grated

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450. Place mushroom caps upside down on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast at 450 degrees until slightly softened and giving off some of their liquid, 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, pour off liquid, and let cool.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage, breaking up with a spoon or a spatula. Stir in garlic and saute until fragrent, 30 seconds or so. Drain off most of the rendered fat, remove sausage from skillet and set aside. Add 1/4 cup water to skillet, raise heat to medium high, and add spinach. Steam spinach until wilted and tender, 3-4 minutes. In a colander set over the sink, drain the spinach, pressing down on the spinach to get out as much moisture as possible.

Move the spinach to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Process in 1-second pulses, 5-6 of them, until spinach is well-chopped but not pureed.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, sausage, spinach, bread crumbs, half of the mozzerella and about 3/4 of the parmesan. Stir in the Italian seasoning and taste for salt and pepper.

Divide stuffing among mushroom caps. Top each with the leftover cheese. Bake at 450 degrees until bubbly and browning. Serve.

May 1: The Basic Pantry, Easy Beef Stroganoff

Kimberly and Michael asked me, while I was in Kentucky recently, about a pantry primer. I love this kind of post: a list of what should be in everyone's pantry, whether you can barely boil water or whether you entertain regularly and cook like a domestic goddess (I loathe that term, by the by, much as I loathe the term by the by.)

These are the kind of things that make a wide variety of basic recipes. If your talents or interests are limited, if you're on a tight budget, if you're just learning the ropes, or if you live in a tiny little condo at the top of two flights of stairs and you hate carrying up groceries like I do, these are the things you can't live without.

This list may seem absolutely outrageous to you; it's not short. But imagine if you were starting from scratch, with an empty kitchen. This is what you'd need to get by.

So let us start here, with the basics, and a basic recipe made from the basics. It is not traditional beef stroganoff, which is made with expensive beef tenderloin and sour cream--this is a little lighter, still filling, and a quick weeknight dinner, made from things that are probably already in your kitchen.

If they're not, they should be. Go on, make a grocery list. Do it now.

The Pantry

• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Instant-acting yeast
• Kosher salt
• Table salt
• Cornmeal
• Cocoa powder
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• A long strand pasta, like spaghetti, capellini, or linguine
• A short, stubby curved pasta, like shells, rotini, or penne rigate
• Wide or extra-wide egg noodles (sometimes labled "dumpling style" or "homestyle")
• Long grain white rice
• All-purpose, Russet, or Yukon Gold potatoes
• White or yellow onions
• Garlic
• High-quality, fruity, fresh extra-virgin olive oil (find a brand you like and get it from a reputable source with a stock that turns over quickly; I like 365 brand from Whole Foods. Also, buy it in small quantities--it may cost a little more over time, but it won't go bad before you can use it)
• Corn, vegetable, or canola oil, or some other non-animal-based, "healthy," neutral-tasting fat for cooking and baking
• High-quality white sandwich bread (Pepperidge Farms Hearty White is excellent; even if you don't think you'll eat sandwiches, this makes the best fresh breadcrumbs around)
• Apples
• Oranges
• Dried spices: oregano, Italian seasoning, thyme, rubbed sage, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, whole peppercorns

The Canned Goods

• Good quality canned diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Organics, but they are pricey. A good, lower-priced stand-in is Redpack.)
• Good quality canned crushed tomatoes
• Good quality canned tomato sauce
• Good quality canned tomato paste
• Chunk light tuna in water
• Cream of mushroom soup
• Cream of chicken soup
• Reduced sodium chicken broth (I buy broth in aseptic cardboard cartons--it just tastes better to me--but canned is fine too.)
• Reduced sodium beef broth

The Refrigerator

• Unsalted butter
• Skim or reduced-fat milk
• Half-and-half
• Brick medium-sharp cheddar cheese
• Lean ground beef
• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Carrots
• Celery
• Iceberg or Romaine lettuce
• Flour tortillas (come on, you didn't seriously think I would leave tortillas off this list, did you? Are you new here?)
• White mushrooms (may also be called button mushrooms)
• Eggs
• Bacon

The Gadgets and Tools

• Garlic press
• High-quality, sharp 3-4-inch paring knife
• High-quality, sharp 9-10 inch santoku or chef's knife
• Vegetable peeler
• Rolling pin
• Box grater
• Plastic or silicone spoon
• Silicone-tipped tongs
• Plastic or silicone pancake turner
• Plastic or silicone spatula or "spoonula" or scraper
• Heavy-bottomed 3-4 quart saucepan with a lid
• Heavy-bottomed 8-10 quart stock pot with a lid
• 12-inch nonstick skillet
• 9x13 inch casserole or baking dish (I use my late grandmother's old Pyrex)
• Rimmed cookie sheets (I recommend at least two)
• Oven-safe wire rack
• Pepper grinder

Easy Beef Stroganoff

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced small

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 pound white mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and quartered

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 lb. lean ground beef

2/3 cup half-and-half

1 cup low sodium beef broth

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 pound wide or extra-wide egg noodles, cooked according to package directions and kept hot

Over medium heat, preheat 12-inch nonstick skillet and oil until shimmering. Add onions and garlic to pan and cook, stirring, until softening and translucent but not browned. Add mushrooms to pan and stir until mushrooms are softening.

Add ground beef to pan and cook over medium, breaking up with a spoon or spatula, until browned. Add thyme and flour to pan and cook 2 minutes, stirring to combine.

Add broth and half-and-half, stir and raise heat to medium high and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened to saucy, gravy-like consistency. Taste, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately over egg noodles.