Summer Besties: Green Beans & Tomatoes

The flavor and texture of some veg simply excel in summer, in season. Green beans of any kind and a good ol' dirt-grown tomato are chief among these. No wonder they taste so good together.

Add garlic, onion, some fresh herbs, and it's divine. I'll have you know, the oregano grows wild in our driveway. Not intentionally at this point, but it smells so good when you walk on it.

This version is good stovetop as done here, but is equally tasty roasted. I've used convection roasting on this, give the beans a little char, up the sweetness on the maters... mmmm.....

This post was previously shared on my On the Table page. 

Chicken Paprika: TBT

ThrowBack Thursday: Old-timey recipes, modern kitchen

Image from TheGraphicsFairy

October 2, 2014  
Chicken Paprika
From The New York Times Cook Book, ©1961

Chicken seems to be a go-to meat for a lot of folks, probably because it's really versatile and has a mild taste which is good for taking on all sorts of flavors. This recipe is one-pot simple and seemed doable on a week night.

Approach
Pretty straightforward: chicken, onion, garlic, stock. The "one tomato" and "one green bell pepper" are a bit vague; I have no way to gauge size of the average tomato 40+ years ago. The recipe note suggests "genuine Hungarian rose paprika" for best results. From what I can gather, the Sweet Paprika from Penzey's will do fine. I'm also assuming that half & half with a splash of heavy cream will do for the "light cream."

If you're observant, you will notice 1) the chicken is still frozen, and 2) I'm using orange Italian frying peppers. Use what ya got, right?

Result
It came together very easily; all the work is in the prep. It's really more of a pink sauce, thickened with flour, light cream, and sour cream. I wasn't expecting a pink sauce, so I was probably confusing this with cacciatore or something. I took the meat out of the pan when I thickened the sauce although the recipe didn't say to. We served it over some leftover potatoes, but I think it would be especially good over pasta.

Verdict 
Keeper. Rich flavors, will probably be great leftovers. (added later: yes, yes it was excellent leftovers)


Chicken Paprika
The New York Times Cook Book, by Craig Claiborne, ©1961

2 tablespoons butter (I used 1+ tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used more like 2/3 cup)
1 clove garlic, smashed (it was a really, really, really big clove...)
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika (Hungarian rose paprika if you have it)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tomato, chopped (more like 1 1/2 cups)
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped (1 1/2 cups orange pepper)
3/4 cup stock
1 3-4lb chicken, in pieces
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup light cream (2 tablespoons half & half and 1 tablespoon heavy cream)
1/2 cup sour cream

Melt butter in large heavy saucepan (or dutch oven). Add onion and garlic, sprinkle lightly with pinch of salt. Sauté lightly until softened and turning golden. Add paprika, salt, tomato, pepper, and stock; bring to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes covered. 

Add the chicken. Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender, 40-50 minutes. Remove chicken from pan to a plate; cover and keep warm. In small bowl, combine flour and cream; mix well. Stir in 1/2 to 1 cup cooking liquid, mixing well to prevent lumps. Add back into main saucepan, again mixing well to prevent lumps. Add the sour cream; heat through. Return chicken to pot and bury down in the sauce to warm through. Serve it over rice or pasta. Or even potatoes. 



The New York Times Cook Book, by Craig Claiborne, ©1961

This cookbook is "a collection of nearly fifteen hundred selected recipes that appeared in the pages of The New York Times between 1950 and 1960." I tried to paraphrase that, but said almost the exact quote anyway. Found at an antique/flea market. (The photo looks funny: it's only the spine, and a floral tablecloth. The cover was otherwise plain black. Meh.)

Throwback Thursdays features a recipe from an antiquey style cookbook. Hard to know what age to put on it, but you know an old-timey one when you see it. I have at least 10 oldies now, a number which, being greater than 3, implies a collection. It also means they need their own shelf in the cookbook bookcase.

Tomatoes, Cheese Ball, and a Broiler: Refrigerator Roundup

Fresh, summer, dirt-grown tomatoes are a weakness. They are good for only a few weeks, and then it's another year until they are available again. I can eat them breakfast, lunch, and dinner when they are in season. 

We had some cheddar cheese ball leftovers (I know what you're thinking: how on Earth did you end up with leftover cheese ball?! It happens.). Hunks of cheese ball on thick slabs of fresh 'mater, heated under the broiler for some cheesy-tomatoey goodness. Now that, is a summer breakfast. 

These are admittedly darker than I was aiming for, but they were warm and gooey and gone in ten minutes. 

Refrigerator Roundup = Leftovers. Reinvented. 

Savory Clafoutis

I don't know if there is such a thing as a savory tooth. There should be. Even as a child I preferred cheese to pie, didn't much care for chocolate, and never ate all the candy I got at holidays. That was before I knew cheese was a perfectly acceptable "dessert", before I met dark chocolate, and the reason why I never got cavities. 

This recipe is a take on the Cherry Tomato Clafoutis by Marc Matsumoto (Fresh Tastes blog on pbs.org). I totally understand his curiosity in transforming a sweet into a savory. I'm still working on savory meringues, but that's a toughie since it's the sugar that provides so much of the structure. Anyhoo, being summertime in Wisconsin, tomatoes are in season. The cherry mater plants on our patio are really producing now, and his recipe seemed just the thing. 

Savory Clafoutis 
Adapted from Cherry Tomato Clafoutis, Marc Matsumoto, Fresh Tastes blog on pbs.org

4 eggs
3/4 cup half and half
1 oz flour (I used my own gluten-free flour blend)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tblsp minced basil (we're growing Boxwood Basil this year; kinda lemon/spicey)
2 cups-ish vegetables (cherry tomatoes from the patio)
1 1/2 oz grated cheese (mixed cheddar/jack, because that's what I have)
1/2 oz parmesan, grated
Butter/grease for the pan (we often save bacon or goose grease to cook with)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease an 8-9 in pie or cake pan. 
2. Whisk eggs and half and half. Whisk in flour, making sure there are no lumps. Whisk in thyme, salt, and pesto. 
3. Pour egg mixture into greased pan. Drop in the vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 35-40 minutes (don't overbake or it will be dry; like a roast, pull it out just before it's done, and it will continue cooking while it rests). 
4. Rest the clafoutis for 10 minutes before slicing. 

We had ours for brunch. It shared plates with a Stone Fruit Crisp. But that's another story. 
______________


And afterward...

Topsy Turvy Update

After much fruitless searching (and tomatoes are technically a fruit!), I finally found the Juliet cherry tomato plant I wanted (like the one at the right from Park Seed). The "Drat!" aspect is that the store had no more TT planters. In hindsight, I should have purchased one earlier when they were plentiful. I figure I have about a week to track one down before I will be forced to pot up Juliet in the traditional manner.

Seems as though seeds for this variety are easier to get than the plant. I don't have good luck starting from seed; the peppers I started this year are still puny 6-leaf seedlings despite being in large pots now for over a month. I might be motivated to try again next year with a favorite tomato. Maybe.

Where to now for a Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter??

Topsy Tomatoes

For all the garden space in our yard, there's really nothing suitable for growing vegetables. The only full sun area is either driveway concrete, or grass (and I'm saving this area for a butterfly garden, eventually). We also get the majority of our fresh veg from our CSA. Other than some fresh herbs, I have no plans to grow veg. Unless it's easy.

I mentioned using the Topsy Turvy planter to a friend last week: did she know anyone who had used it? Neither of us had. The commercials are so cheesy, and I'm a natural skeptic: does it really work? I proposed to my friend we be our own test population and both give it a try this Summer. I'm going to put cherry tomatoes in mine: the Juliet hybrid of cherry tomatoes (if I can find it). They fruit like clusters of oblong grapes. Super sweet, super prolific. Super super.

Has anyone else ever actually tried the Topsy Turvy?


UPDATE: turns out one of my trusted go-to websites for both products and information. Clean Air Gardening, sells them - they must work!