Ratatouille

Ratatouille is my favorite Disney movie. Remy rules! I mean, come on... with wisdom like this:

Who can resist this little guy? That's some serious culinary love there.  I've never made Ratatouille though, so here's a one dish ratatouille recipe I tried today:

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion (8 oz.), peeled and diced (1/2 in.)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces Asian eggplant, rinsed and diced (3/4 in.)
• About 1/2 teaspoon salt
• About 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound red, yellow, and/or orange bell peppers, rinsed, stemmed, seeded, and diced (1/2 in.)
• 8 ounces zucchini, rinsed, ends trimmed, and diced (1/2 in.)
• 8 ounces yellow summer squash, rinsed, ends trimmed, and diced (1/2 in.)
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Preparation

1. In a 12-inch frying pan with sides at least 2 inches tall, or a 5- to 6-quart pan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and stir frequently until onion is limp, about 5 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes (with juice), eggplant, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is soft when pierced, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in bell peppers, zucchini, and yellow squash. Return to a simmer, cover, and cook until squash is tender when pierced, 8 to 10 minutes longer.
4. Stir in basil and remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients gathered.

EVOO in cast iron pot.

Garlic and shallots to sauté

Chopped eggplant. 

Adding eggplant and the tomatoes to simmer.

Sweet peppers and zucchini diced.

I omitted summer squash because I 

had so many zucchini in the fridge.

Adding in the other veggies, and almost out of room!

Don't forget to season with salt & pepper!

End product garnished wish fresh basil.  Voila!

C'est manifique, no?! 

Alright, it doesn't quite look like this:

but it was tasty and low cal nonetheless.

Remember,

Vous dites la vérité, Remy.  Bon appétit!

California Grill Express

Grown up Mac n Cheese, French toast plate, Bacon plate. $15 free refill Mimosas on the weekend? Yes, please! Craft beers, flights, build your own burger-salad-pastas. Mmmmm!

EZ Strawberry Shortcake

I made a low sugar version using Stevia.

Ingredients
2 Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
16 oz cream cheese
2 c Stevia
2 c Cool Whip
2-3# strawberries (sliced & stirred with 2 T Stevia)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix cookie mix as directed & spread in 9x13 or 10x15 pan.
When cool, mix cheese & Stevia until creamy then fold in cool whip.
Spread over cookie base.
Pour strawberries over top.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sometimes you can't get to El Pollo Loco

At these time you must create your own pollo bowl from leftovers.  And it works pretty easy:

French Bread Pizza- don't tell anyone I bought it at a Mexican grocery store

I could barely get photos before these got devoured! Fresh loaves from Baja Ranch Market too...yum!

Ingredients
-2 whole French bread loaves
-Pepperoni slices, cut into small pieces.
-2 T butter
-2 cloves minced garlic
-1 T dried oregano
-1 jar prepared tomato sauce
-16 oz mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan

Recipe
Move oven rack to high, preheat to 400 degrees.
Slice loaves in half lengthwise.
Melt butter, add garlic & oregano.
Brush butter mixture on loaves.
Toast loaves for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from oven, spread with sauce.
Add cheese, pepperoni, sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bake 8 minutes.

Arroz!

I've lived in Los Angeles for 21 years now, I have I yet to master the Mexican rice at-home recipe. It's always too soggy, too glumpy, and it frustrates me to no end.  I thus employed the help of my Mexican friends, the Bustillos' family.  Susy passed on directions for her recipe to me, and this was the best outcome I've ever had!
                                           
                           Muchas Gracias mi amiga!  Su arroz es muy bueno! 

Here is her recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup white long grain rice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1- 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1.5 cups water
Garlic sauce to taste
2 tablespoons of Knorr chicken bullion (I use the tomato one)

Steps:
Pour the liquid, garlic sauce & bullion in a pot to boil.

In a separate pot, brown the rice in the oil until golden brown (constant stirring). 

When the rice is golden and the liquid has boiled, combine them both in a pot that you can cover. 

Careful because it will pop and bubble.
Let boil for about 5 minutes while you stir

Drop heat to low, cover and let cook for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure it doesn't dry out but you're using the steam to cook it so don't uncover too often. 

MY NOTES:  I used chicken boullion, because I didn't have the tomato on hand; you could also substitute chicken broth for the water instead, but watch the salt content. Also, I wasn't sure what kind of garlic sauce she was using, but I added 2 cloves minced garlic to my boiling liquid.

I'm pretty certain my issues had to do with not enough oil, and not browning the rice enough.  Also, my gas burner may have been too hot, I really only needed about 10 minutes to cook through.  I went with 15 and got some burnt rice on the bottom.  Probably a function of the thin steel pot I was using. I bet I could do this in my cast iron pot and it would be great! Either way... yes!  I can make arroz!

Supremes De Volaille Aux Champignons

Just watched "Julie & Julia" again last night.  While I'm not so motivated to cook all the way through her cookbook, I am enthralled again by the master and I'm going to attempt this recipe tonight for dinner.

And one must pronounce it en Francais to make it real: "Supremes de Volaille Aux Champignons", because Champignon sounds way more sophisticated then mushroom. :)


RECIPE:  "directly from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Knopf, 1961)"

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts ( supremes)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots or 1 tablespoon green onion
• 1/4 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the sauce

• 1/4 cup white stock or 1/4 cup brown stock
• 1/4 cup port wine or 1/4 cup madeira wine or 1/4 cup dry white vermouth
• 1 cup whipping cream
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rub the chicken breasts with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a heavy, oven-proof casserole, about 10 inches in diameter until it is foaming. Stir in the minced shallots or green onion and saute a moment without browning. Then stir in the mushrooms and saute lightly for a minute or two without browning. Sprinkle with salt.
3. Quickly roll the chicken in the butter mixture and lay a piece of buttered wax paper over them, cover casserole and place in hot oven. After 6 minutes, press top of chicken with your finger. If still soft, return to oven for a moment or two. When the meat is springy to the touch it is done.
4. Remove the chicken to a warm platter (leave mushrooms in the pot) and cover while making the sauce (2 to 3 minutes).
5. To make sauce, pour the stock and wine in the casserole with the cooking butter and mushrooms. Boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste for seasoning, and add drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.  

And so it goes...

Ingredients gathered.

5 T. is A LOT of butter... very rich!

4 skinless, boneless breast scallops.

Mine were not all the same size; I should have 

pounded them down, but I didn't.  Thus, I had

to cook the chicken for 12 minutes instead.

(* Many responses online say you can

cook these in 6 minutes; at 6 minutes,

I saw raw chicken.  Now Julia maybe had

the benefit of fresh chicken slaughtered

ten minutes before she cooked it; I on the other

hand have processed chicken from Stater Brothers,

and I don't mess around with raw chicken)

Minced Shallots.  Did I mention, I LOVE shallots?

Dipped in butter mixture, settling into their casserole home.

After 12 minutes, removed the chicken and tented it. 

Kept the meat very moist as it steamed to perfection.

What the dish looks like post chicken removal.

Added beef stock and marsala (didn't find

Vermouth in the cooking section and didn't want

to buy a whole bottle from the liquor section-

because, drinking the rest of it would ruin 

my taste buds for this recipe manifique!)

Heavy cream- check!

Stir the cream and syrupy broth mix together.

Cookin' down to glorious creamy sauce.

Add your chopped italian (flat) parsley.

Served with rice pilaf and a parsley garnish. 

Now yell "BON APPETIT!"