30 Here I Come!

Today is the last day of my twenties.  

As I reflect back on the last decade, I realize how much has been accomplished, how much I’ve changed, and how I’ve continued to grow and mature in all aspects of life, including culinary. My early twenties were marked by college days and long fun nights. I never thought twice about learning to cook for a spouse or a family, it was about survival and what was quick. Food meant function, which means mac and cheese and easy stir fry were the extents of my culinary attempts.  After graduating college I moved to the big city of San Francisco to peruse my career. Being a single, young woman in a new big city leant to going out to eat and meet new people rather than spending time cooking for one at home. San Francisco is known as a food capital of America, so I had plenty of fabulous options to satisfy my tastebuds. This was the beginnings of my love for culture and trying new restaurants and cafes.

Once I moved back to Portland and was more settled in my jobs and way of life….I started thinking about learning how to really cook. Only after I began experimenting did I discover this absolute love and ability for cooking. Now it has become nothing short of an obsession. I continue to learn and grow and seek out new techniques and foods to cook. Food has reached a whole new level as I enter the next decade of my life.  And I’m excited to share what I learn with all of you!

In the spirit of celebration, I wanted to share some of my favorite simple meals from my twenties. Check them out at Making it Spicy.

30….Here I come! 

best. chicken. ever

I love dinner parties. There aren’t many social events that I prefer over an intimate, wine-infused evening with dear friends.  Being newly married, I’m finding the dinner party with other like-minded, young, hip couples to be a must for marital bliss. Ok, scratch that. I’m happily married regardless of the dinner parties we do or do not attend…but this just happens to be one of those marriage perks (I’ll spare you and not mention the others).

Last Friday night we hosted one of those memorable evenings with some dear friends. When I host dinners I always find myself dreaming and wondering about what I should cook up for our guests. It’s become quiet known around my circle of friends that I love food. Weird? So I’m feeling the pressure a little to deliver something delicious and having the appearance of being really difficult and something a high-level cook would produce. Well, the secret ladies is that I really don’t know what I am doing at all. I experiment, just like you, but what I’ve discovered is that if you are confident and sell it well, then anyone will think you are an amazing cook. I’m just going to chalk that up to becoming more mature as I approach the big, vibrant 3-0. 

Anyways, back to the point…dinner parties. So, you’ve invited over some friends and now you are faced with the problem “what in the world am I going to cook for these people.” Well, let me give you my little trick…chicken. Disclaimer….I discovered this trick by accident. I’m really not that smart. But the first time I roasted a whole chicken, this is what I did, and it was a huge hit. So…it’s become my go-to dinner party meal. So far I’ve been able to feed 3 different dinner parties with this surprisingly amazing meal.

Ladies…I’m telling you, this is a HUGE hit with the men. I now have 4 husbands telling me this is the best chicken they’ve ever had.

So, this gets big points with the men, which means big points for you.  So, here’s what you’re going to do…

1.       Buy a whole chicken.  This is the beauty of this meal, it just happens to be super cheap too.  :)

2.       Take the chicken out of the packaging and give it a good rinse. You don’t know where that thing has been. Do yourself a favor and keep the neck to use for gravy (more on that later), but throw out all the other gizzards in that thing.

3.       Chop up several cloves of garlic and herbs. You can use whatever herbs you have growing in your garden, or happen to have on hand. Fresh are always better, but dried herbs will work also. My favorite to use is rosemary and thyme.  

4.       Stuff that chicken full of garlic and herbs. Separate the skin from the meat and stuff garlic chunks and herbs everywhere. Make sure to cut a tiny slit in the legs and wings so you can add some goodness in those parts of the chicken too.

5.       Put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and make brine. This is the secret….the brine. Brining a chicken overnight in water, salt, and sugar will work wonders for this little bird. Basically it’s breaking down the proteins and allowing the chicken to stay moist and juicy after cooking. It’s also gonna infuse all those wonderful garlic and herb flavors. To make the brine…

a.       Add about 4-5 cups of room –temp water with ½ cup kosher salt and ¼ cup sugar into Ziploc bag with chicken.  I usually make the brine before handling the chicken, that way the salt and sugar have time to dissolve a bit in the water. Most brining recipes call for the brine mixture to be heated for the sugar/salt to dissolve fully. I don’t think it is necessary.

6.       Brine chicken for at least 12 hours. You can do this before you go to bed the night before, and then take it out when you are ready to put it in the oven the next night.

7.       Take chicken out and prepare for roasting. Sent the oven to 350 degrees. Put about half a cup of white wine and ¼ cup of chicken broth in the bottom of the roaster. Add in the chicken neck and some maybe some onion slices if you want. This will be the base for gravy. The chicken will absorb some of that moisture while it roasts.

8.       Cover the top of the bird with butter and cover with foil. Roast chicken for about 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken).

9.       Remove foil and baste chicken. Use the juices from the roasting pan or add more butter on the chicken. Put back in the oven without the foil and let brown for another 30-45 minutes. Check back to make sure chicken is fully cooked. Poultry should be an internal temp of 165 degrees (use a meat thermometer).

Any kind of vegetable roasts really well with the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, bring out of the oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes. This allows the juices to distribute through the chicken and cool down enough to carve. Don’t ask me how to carve a chicken…this is a whole other talent I have yet to master. While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. You can make gravy starting with a roux (a little butter and flour to form a paste in a pan). Slowly add the drippings from the chicken into the gravy, whisking your little heart out to achieve perfection. 

This chicken is to –die-for!  

Now, sit back and have a glass, or two, of wine, and soak in the praises.

Your welcome.

-Erica Stillar 

The best food in Africa

I apologize for not posting for so long. I do have good excuses....like I spent over a month in Africa and it was Thanksgiving and my wedding anniversary. But the reality is that despite having those good excuses, I have still made the following discoveries: 1) Keeping a blog takes up a lot of time if you want to do it well, and 2) I'm an inspirational writer, and I'm not always feeling super creative. So, there you have it. I will do my best to make my posts more frequent so you can have new exciting recipes to try at home, but I can't promise anything.


To celebrate my return back to America, I thought I would share a new Ethiopian dish I learned how to make during my recent visit. Ethiopian food has easily become one of my favorite ethnic foods. It's full of spices and rich flavors. And you eat it with your hands....food is just more fun when you can eat it with your hands! The common spice used in most Ethiopian dishes is berbere (pronounced "burberry") and it's the key ingredient in the dish below.


My friend Bekele, his wife and their house helper taught me how to make Shiro. The first time I just watched them make this delicious, velvety goodness.... I thought, I can do this, not a problem! Then it was my turn to make the shiro and put into practice what I had learned a couple days prior. I wasn't able to get through the entire recipe without a bit of guidance (Ethiopian cooking is more about your own interpretation and experience, not by measurements and exact recipes). But...after my first attempt I was officially sworn in as an Ethiopian cook and considered "half Ethiopian."

I love ethnic food and it is so fun to make. A little warning before you get started....this is not a science. You may have to do a few trial runs before perfecting your version of this popular Ethiopian dish. Have fun!


Ethiopian Shiro


• Chop up a small onion (I would use shallots) as small as you can. Fry onion in about ½” of sunflower oil for 3-5 minutes. I would use a small pot to cook.
• Add 1 ½ to 2 TBL Berbere spices. You can adjust based on how spicy you want it.
• Fry onion, oil, and spice mixture for a minute.
• Add a small can of tomato paste and 2-3 garlic cloves mashed up. Fry together for about 5 minutes.
• Add water (about half way up in pan). Allow water to boil and cover. Boil for 10-12 minutes.
• Add 2-3 TLB Shiro powder. Allow mixture to boil and thicken for at least 10 mintues. You just really have to go by looks here.
• Add some course sea salt for taste.
• Finish with 1-2 TBL Ghee (or butter).
• Serve hot with Injera…Enjoy!


Delicious Ethiopian Cuisine



Some good Ethiopian Recipe Sites:

http://ethiopianrecipes.net/

http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/recipes.html

http://www.food.com/recipes/ethiopian

Old Fashioned Family Fun

My brother, mom, and I have started a new family tradition. I don’t think it is ever too late to start new traditions. This one is a real winner….we take one Sunday every quarter to have an all day cooking extravaganza. Trust me, this isn’t for armatures.  We’ve made everything from homemade tamales (including the sauce from scratch) to homemade fresh pasta. Some new adventurous spaghetti sauce is always on the agenda.

In honor of our new family’s tradition, I’d like to share a couple family favorites. Since my family is Italian, naturally we like our meat sauce, so we are sure to make a couple huge pots on our quarterly cooking days. This is a great way to stock up our freezers with dinner-sized portions of sauce to pull out for a quick, deliciously homemade weeknight dinner. Check out our great meat sauce base at Making it Spicy.

Another family favorite is a powerfully tasty chili recipe. I actually got this when I was working at John Henry’s café my senior year at Oregon State. The café no longer exists…so I feel like I have to keep the dream alive, and share this amazing, simple, but flavorful chili recipe. This is another great item to stock your freezer with…as the chili just gets better and better as the ingredients have time to marinate together. Get it at Making it Spicy.

Enjoy these family favorites...and let me know if you try them out...I'd love to hear what you think!

-Erica Stillar 

Anything but bleu....

There are few things that I find irresistible. There are many things I love, even adore. But I usually can resist them if I absolutely HAD to. But one of the very few, the very elite items on Erica's irresistible food list is....... cheese. I mean, this should not be a surprise. Who doesn't have an unnatural obsession with cheese?

Seriously, this stuff is so good, it's like cotton candy for the adult mouth.

I wouldn't say that bleu cheese is my favorite kind of cheese, but it's one of those cheeses that makes you feel like you are doing something you really shouldn't because it tastes just too good to be true.  It's like sneaking in candy or pop into the movie theater...You know you aren't supposed to, but when you do, it's exhilarating and adventurous and just a little bit dangerous. That's what bleu cheese is all about....Danger.

My co-worker, Kate, and I found ourselves in an interesting discussion about Blue Cheese the other day. Yes, we actually found enough to talk about for at least 20 or 30 minutes. I think we bonded in that moment. Another reason cheese is on the irresistible list. Not only is it everyone's dangerous dirty little secret, it's a friend maker. 

So you are asking yourself, what should I use this rich, lavish, scandalous cheese for? Try crumbling it on a salad, or put a slice over prosciutto-wrapped baked chicken. You could even splurge and live a little by slicing some high-quality creamy French bleu and pairing it with a glass of Port or Zinfandel. The sharp, salty taste of bleu goes really nice with the opposite sweetness of these wines.

For the love of all things blue.....

I'm going to share two amazing and irresistible ways to use bleu cheese, along with another food on my irresistible list...sweet onions. Yes, I know, it seems like a weird item to have on the sacred list. But if you knew me well, you would get this. I put onions in everything. Seriously, everything. If a recipe doesn't call for onions, I find a way to include them. But I'll save going into depth on the most versatile item in cooking for another post.

A little tip on shopping for blue cheese (or any cheese for that matter). We all love the farmer's market home-made style gourmet cheeses. Those really are the best....along with Rogue's award winning Rogue River Blue Cheese....worth the splurge if you are crumbling it on salad or drinking with a glass of wine. But for recipes where you are cooking the blue cheese in a sauce, you just dont need the expensive stuff. I've found that Trader Joe's has an amazing cheese selection and really reasonable prices. I would buy your cheese there for the recipes below.

Ok, brace yourself..................... and get ready for a taste party in your mouth!

Dinner #1 - New York Steak with Onion Blue-Cheese Sauce

Yeah, I know, it's almost too good to be true. This simple, delicious sauce has become my new favorite concoction in the kitchen. I'm positive this sauce changed my life, just a little bit. I think I get a taste-gasm every time I put a bite in my mouth. Don't think about the calories on this one...you just aren't going to win, so chalk it up to a "special treat" and head to the gym the next day to work some of it off. You wont regret it, I promise!

I have to thank the Pioneer Woman for this recipe. Check out her photos of this dish here.

1) Start with melting half a stick of butter over medium heat.
2) Roughly chop a large sweet onion and sauté in the butter until the onions start caramelizing (turning a brown color). I often sprinkle onions with a little sea salt and a bit of sugar to help with the caramelizing process.

3) While your onions are caramelizing, get your New York steaks ready for the grill. All a good cut of meat needs is a little salt and freshly ground pepper. I sprinkle a little olive oil on as well so the steaks don't stick. Cook the steaks on the grill on medium temperature for about 5-10 minutes per side (depending on the thickness). Make sure to keep watch on these...nothing is worse then burnt steak!

4) Once the onions are nice and a light golden-brown color, add one of those mini cartons of heavy cream. (I told you this would be a calorie bomb).

5) Cook the mixture on low heat until the cream starts to thicken and reduces to almost half.

6) Add about 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese. Stir until all the cheese is melted.

7) Grab your steaks off the grill and serve this sauce right on top!

Get ready for pure bliss.......

Dinner #2 - Rib-Eye steak with Blue Cheese butter and Walla Walla Onion Rings

I didn't make this one up either. I'm not claiming to be a Rachel Ray or a Paula Dean, I'm just identifying what's amazing and making it really dang well. If that is a crime, then I'm guilty! I made this goodness last Thursday night and the Rib-Eye is a real winner. I didnt realize that the cheese in my fridge was actually Gorgonzola instead of Bleu cheese, so I made the same butter, and it was decent, but i think Bleu would have really hit the spot.

1.) Make the Butter either the night before or before cooking the steak. Add 1/3 cup room temperature butter, chopped parsley, a little lemon zest, and about 3 tbl. of crumbled bleu cheese. Set aside.
2. ) Make the Onion Rings. Mix 1 cup of cake flour (or 1 cup minus 2 Tlb of unbleached flour), 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 tsp baking powder...whisk together. Add 1/2 cup of beer and mix. Dip 1/3" slices of walla walla onions into the batter. I found that coating the onions in flour first makes the batter stick better.
3) Dip in 350 degree vegetable oil on the stove (cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes). Set on a paper towels to dry.
4) Sprinkle your rib-eye with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (sit in your fridge covered overnight if you would like). Put on the grill and cook a couple minutes per side (if you want a rare piece of meat, which I recommend).
5) Serve the rib-eye with a spoon-full of the bleu cheese butter on top and onion rings on the side.


Ok...You can thank me later for this. In the mean time, enjoy a little slice of heavenly bleu.

-Erica Stillar