White Beans with Bacon and Spinach

Here's the other recipe I want to try soon.

Photo and recipe from Chef at Home/Food Network.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
• 2 x onions, chopped
• 8 x cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 x cups dried navy beans, soaked in cold water overnight
• 3 x bay leaves
• 2 x sprigs fresh rosemary
• Fresh ground pepper
• A few handfuls of baby spinach

Directions:

1. Brown the bacon in a saucepan over medium-high heat then pour off most of the fat before adding the onions.
2. Stir and cook until the onions soften and begin to brown.
3. Add the garlic and stir for a few minutes before adding the soaked beans.
4. Add bay leaves, rosemary and pepper. Add just enough water to cover the beans.
5. Simmer until the water has been absorbed and the beans are tender, about 45 minutes.
6. Stir in the baby spinach and serve.

Cornflake Crusted Chicken with Curry Sauce

I hardly watch TV, but the other day I was down with a kick-ass sore throat so I turned on the Food Network and watched "Chef at Home" with Michael Smith.

I liked a couple of dishes he prepared that day and I plan to add these recipes to our menu soon.

Photo and recipe from Chef at Home/Food Network.

Ease of Preparation: Easy

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

Cornflake Crusted Chicken

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 x eggs
• 1 x Heaping spoonful Dijon mustard
• 2 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed
• 4 x boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Curry Sauce

• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup 35% cream
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• Salt

Directions:

Cornflake Crusted Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Put flour into a medium sized bowl.
3. In another bowl, put in eggs and mustard and whisk well.
4. In a third bowl, place cornflakes.
5. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and then coat them with flour.
6. Shake off any excess flour then dip into the egg mixture.
7. Allow the excess egg to run off then dip into the cornflakes and press to coat well.
8. Place the breasts on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, or until crust is crispy and chicken is cooked through.
9. Serve with Curry Sauce or your favourite condiment.

Curry Sauce

1. Pour stock and cream into a small pot over medium heat.
2. Stir cornstarch into water and then whisk into the stock mixture.
3. Add curry powder and continue to whisk until sauce is thickened.
4. Season to taste with salt.

Simple Fabada Asturiana

I like Fabada, but the recipes I've seen require some ingredients which might be hard to find so I hope I can try this simplified version soon.

Simple Fabada Asturiana (c) 2007 L. Sierra Licensed to About.com

"Fabada Asturiana" is a typical and very traditional dish from Asturias, made with beans, sausage, ham, meat and tomatoes. If you don't have the time or all the ingredients, try this simplified "fabada" recipe, which does not require overnight soaking, takes half the cooking time and only a few ingredients.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. dry lima beans
• 1 1/2 lbs. pork loin “country style” ribs
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, whole
• 1 bay leaf
• 6-7 oz. chorizo sausage, sliced
• 1 Tbsp spanish sweet paprika
• salt to taste

Preparation:

Serves 6.

Quick “Soak” Method for Beans
Instead of soaking the beans overnight before cooking, try this method: Pour beans into a large pot or bowl and cover with cold water. Turn burner on high until the water comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and then turn off burner. Cover and let beans sit in the water for one hour.

Chop the onion into approximately 1/4-inch pieces. Cut pork into large pieces – about 2-inch squares.

Heat a pot with olive oil in bottom for sautéing. When hot, add onions, garlic and pork. Sauté until onions are transparent. Turn off heat.

Drain water from the beans. Place beans in the large pot where you sautéed the onions and pork. Add water to cover. Add the bay leaf, sliced chorizo and paprika. Place on stove and turn on high. When the water comes to a boil, reduce to medium. Water should be at a low boil. Cook until meat is tender. This takes approximately 1 1/2 hours.

Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve in soup bowls with bread.

Egg Noodles With Soy Broth

My son loves noodles so this recipe by Mark Bittman should be on our weekly menu soon.

Photo and recipe from New York Times.

Time: 20 minutes

Salt

1/3 cup soy sauce, more to taste

1/3 cup ketchup or 3 tablespoons tomato paste and a pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, more to taste

A few drops dark sesame oil (optional)

A squirt of sriracha or other sauce, or a dried red chili to taste (optional)

1 pound egg noodles, preferably fresh.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. In a smaller pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil; once boiling, reduce heat so water bubbles gently.

2. To the smaller pot add soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sesame oil if using and sriracha or chili, along with a pinch of salt. Stir and let simmer.

3. Add egg noodles to large pot; fresh noodles will be ready in just a couple of minutes; dried will take longer. When tender but not mushy, drain. Taste broth and add more soy, salt, vinegar or heat as you like. Divide noodles into bowls and pour hot broth over all.

Yield: 4 servings.

Egg Salad Sandwich

Here's a good recipe from 101 Cookbooks. I'll make it again today, but will add some tuna flakes.

Photo and recipe from 101 Cookbooks

6 large eggs
1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
A tiny squeeze of lemon juice
2 stalks celery, washed and chopped
1/2 bunch chives, chopped
2 small handfuls of lettuce
8 slices of whole grain bread, toasted

Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Now turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for exactly seven minutes. Have a big bowl of ice water ready and when the eggs are done cooking place them in the ice bath for three minutes or so - long enough to stop the cooking. Crack and peel each egg, place in a medium mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise, a couple generous pinches of salt and pepper, now mash with a fork. Don't overdo it, you want the egg mixture to have some texture. If you need to add a bit more mayo to moisten up the mixture a bit, go for it a bit at a time.

Stir in the celery and chives. Taste, and adjust the seasoning - adding more salt and pepper if needed.

To assemble each egg salad sandwich: place a bit of lettuce on a piece of toast, top with the egg salad mixture, and finish by creating a sandwich with a second piece of toast.

Make 4 sandwiches.