Melodrama and marsala on the palate

Last week was blurry and off kilter. It seemed to be so for everyone I've come in contact with, strangers and friends alike. For me personally, work and excessive proofreading had my mind running desperately and illogically. But Friday brought with it some new inspiration (and about half a dozen pints of Guinness, not sure which came first). This Sunday, the new creative group of which I've recently become a part, met at my apartment; each meeting brings about a new bit of knowledge and fresh ideas that have already nudged my imagination back into action. Saturday, a photograph from my friend and photographer Matthew Tischler came in the mail (pictured above). He was excited to tell me earlier this week that his photographs were being released as limited prints in Jen Beckman's 20x200 gallery. We've also recently purchased two paintings from Sharon "Mama" Spell, whose artwork has been on display at The Fall Cafe in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn; I'm pleased with the prospect that the dreams and perspectives of those we know and love will be adding to the atmosphere of our home. Other close friends seem to be tapping into their creative sides. Sophia in particular (already quite tapped in but continuing nonetheless) is to appear in Dark Space at Chasama, a performance piece which includes some abstract puppetry. Perhaps it's because times are tight; we're feeling stuck and we seem to be pushing with increased intensity to develop our creative outlets. When feeling so stagnant, what else can we really do to solve it but create?

Continuing in this fashion, on Saturday I created another cozy evening of slow-cooking and film noir. As I love, love, LOVE cooking with wine, the menu included a very simple crock pot chicken marsala, with ridiculously easy preparation. (Child's play, really.) The film, let's say was a bit more complex-- Charles Vidor's Gilda, starring the illustrious Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.

Chicken marsala + cabernet + femme fatale = a night of mixed intensity

The recipe I followed is from Pillsbury's Slow Cooker Classic Cookbooks. It turned out pretty well--the marsala sauce was perfect, however, I think the cook time was way too long and my chicken came a bit dry. Next time, I'd say 2 1/2 to 3 hours max in the pot. I served this as the recipe suggested, over a bed of white rice and with a simple salad of romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and oil and balsamic dressing. It was about 20 degrees on Saturday night, and the crock pot version of this dish was very comforting. Also, while it is less authentic, it is in fact much healthier as it eliminates frying in butter and olive oil.

Crock Pot Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (again, I never use just two)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (olive!)

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 jars (6 oz each) Green Giant (R) sliced mushrooms, drained

1 cup sweet marsala wine

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup cornstarch

(I improvised here and used Wondra, sprinkling it into the marsala sauce. Cornstarch is a bit heavy for me, and the Wondra works nicely and does not thicken the liquid too much.)

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions

Spray 4-5 quart slow cooker with cooking spray (I always forget to do this). Place garlic and oil in the cooker. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and place in the cooker over oil and garlic. Note: I did not buy cutlets, but I did trim the breasts down a bit to even them out. If the breast are too thick, I think it takes away from the marsala and does not absorb as well.

Place the mushrooms over the chicken and pour wine over everything.

Cover and cook on low heat for 5-6 hours. (Again, next time I'm going with 3 hours, tops. I would test a piece now and then to make sure it's not drying out.)

Remove chicken from cooker; place on plate and cover to keep warm. In a small bowl, mix water and cornstarch until smooth. Stir liquid into the cooker, OR sprinkle Wondra into the cooker until desired consistency is reached. Change cooking setting to "high" and cook about 10 minutes more, until sauce is thickened.

Return chicken to cooker. Cover and cook on high about five minutes longer, until chicken is hot.

To serve, spoon mushroom mixture over chicken breasts. Sprinkle with parsley.

Finished product. Sit back, sip your wine and get lost in some intense drama.

A note on Marsala

I've read on a number of sites to never cook with wine that you would not consider drinking. Because of this, I've been passing up the Marsala cooking wine conveniently located by the fine cheeses at Keyfoods, and decided to find out a bit more about the real thing. The city of Marsala itself is a seaport city located at the west end of Sicily. It is said that the wine gained it's name from the Greek warlord Marsala who believed that men fought better after drinking a bit of wine. (I'm not particularly keen on that association, as I consider food and drink a manifestation of love...) Around 1773, the merchant John Woodhouse began importing the wine from Sicily to England. Marsala is fortified with brandy, making for a longer shelf life than other types of wine (you can keep it around for about 3 or 4 months and still get a decent flavor). In the 18th century, this was to ensure that the wine lasted through long sea voyages to England.

I had trouble finding Marsala wine in my local wine shop; I was lead over to where its family of ports and the sherries were located. Marsala comes in three different forms, oro (golden), ambra (amber), rubino (ruby) depending on if white skin or dark red skin berry grapes are used. There is sweet and dry marsala--while this specific recipe called for sweet, I've read that there is only a minor difference in the two, and it basically came down to preference, if one can notice the difference at all. Perhaps next time, when I make this on the stovetop, I will use dry and decide for myself.

A couple of good web sources for the specifics on Marsala (aside from Wikipedia):

Wine Intro by Lisa Shea

http://www.wineintro.com/types/marsala.html

The Accidental Hedonist

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2006/03/14/what_is_marsala_wine

Photo credits:

Marsala wine bottles from chickenmarsala.net

Grapes from the US Agricultural Research Service Website

The Cooking Segment

Per my previous post, here is the recipe for a slow-cooker Chunky Beef and Black Bean Chili taken from the Woman's Day Slow Cooking special edition, vol. xviii, no.1, 2008. I hope this to be the first of many posts highlighting my culinary endeavors. I also hope the day comes when these recipes will be purely my own, but as Rome was not built in a day, neither will my knowledge of the kitchen reach expert level. 

Also, for future food posts, I promise to have some more pictures. I posted this after the fact. 

This is definitely a nice cozy choice for all of us who are facing the recent arctic temps. I suggest serving up a bowl and settling into some Hitchcock and a nice brown ale. Red wine would work too. I served this with sour cream, warm cornbread and tortilla chips. 

Rear Window + chili + ale = bliss.

The chili is meant to serve 10, although in reality, I would say 5.  You can cook it on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, however, it should be on high. Your pad will be fragranced with spices, and towards the end, aaaaah, cilantro. 

Ingredients: 

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive, as I usually do.) 

2 lb beef for stew, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch cubes, patted dry 

2 onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced (I used at least 4. One can never have too much garlic.)

1 Tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground (Not too sure what that means, I used McCormick's cumin from the "spice rack.")

1 Tbsp dried oregano leaves, crumbled

1 tsp each crushed black peppercorns and salt (I did a bit more than a teaspoon here, at least with the pepper.) 

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice (When using any type of canned tomotoes I feel obligated to add, in honor of the much revered Lidia--also a former Astoria resident--to seek tomatoes from the San Marzano region of Italy.) 

1 1/2 cups of flat beer or beef stock (Cans of Swanson Beef Stock did me just fine. Flat beer? Unheard of in this apartment.) 

4 cups of cooked black beans, drained and rinsed (For the sake of time, I used canned Progresso and washed them. I'm also a fan of Goya though, which is cheaper.) 

2 each dried ancho and New Mexico chili peppers (Explanations proceeding Cooking directions.)

1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, leaves and stems (From the amount of little Mexican huts here, I have gone from hating cilantro to wanting to bask in a tub of it everytime I smell it.) 

1 or 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped, optional (If you like a little kick, I would suggest adding some. The ancho pepper is more sweet than spicy.) 

Cooking directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 30 seconds. Add beef in batches and cook, stirring and adding more oil if necessary, until the beef is browned (about 4 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef into a 5-qt or larger slow cooker. 

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about five minutes. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, peppercorns, and salt; cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with their juice and cook, breaking them up with the back of a spoon, until desired consistency is reached. Add one cup of the beer (or stock) and bring to a boil. 

3. Pour mixture over the beef. Add beans and stir well. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low 8 to 10 hours, or until the beef is tender. 

4. Thirty minutes before the chili is finished cooking, soak ancho and New Mexico chilis in 4 cups of boiling water, weighing them down to make sure they remain submerged. Drain, discarding soaking liquid and stems, and coarsely chop. Transfer chilis to a blender. Add cilantro, jalapeno pepper, if using, and remaining beer (or stock); puree. 

5. Add the chili mixture to slow cooker and stir well. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes until mixture is hot and bubbly and flavors are well blended. 

A quick note on the peppers. As I am not yet an expert in the culinary arts, I had to research what the ancho and New Mexico peppers looked like. Turns out, the New Mexico chili is your average chili, the ones that you often see in the food store. Here are instructions on how to work with them dried.  The ancho, or pablano (meaning "people" pepper), was less familiar to me.  Some helpful information about the ancho can be found at the Spice House Web site, including taste and how to prepare. I did not use dried peppers, since I could not find them. (Mental note: find a decent spice shop in Astoria.) I am sure that making the paste from the proper peppers, those that the recipe actually calls for, would amplify the taste. But if you are stuck in an urban area and materials are limited, using the non-dried pablano and a plain-jane red pepper mixed with broth and cilantro worked nicely for me. It was, however, slightly lacking in that good ol' chili kick. 

Images: 

Rear Window: taken from filmsquish.com 

Peppers: taken from wikimedia.org/wikipedia 

From Bette Midler to Beef Chili

I still continually dream about living in Manhattan, particularly the West Village. I know it's an old dream, conjured from daydreams when I was younger that were never really based on reality. But despite those who tell me it would not be worth it, I still haven't completely let go. After seeing Beaches as a child (yes, bear with me here) I dreamed about a life packed into an apartment just like C.C. Bloom's clanky, cramped struggling artist pad, the lights of the city beaming outside my window.  

It seemed so romantic at the time. 

So, logically I understand what I have right now is much better, and I need not base my adult life on a sappy chick flick (though definitely one of the better ones, just under Steel Magnolias), but let me still cling on to my dream for the time being. I do, however, appreciate it when friends and family come up to Astoria and remind me just how much I have been taking my fairly new neighborhood for granted, as they become awed by the amount of bakeries and fruit markets and old-school butchers (goat and pig carcasses hanging right in the window, not my favorite) that they pass on a walk down 30th avenue or up by Ditmars. These shops, speckling both main avenues and side streets, make for a cozy feel.

Dana and I outside a bakery on Ditmars. Unsure as to why I wore spandex. 

photo by denverette. 

Denverette chooses pastries at one of the many Astoria bakeries. 

This cozy feeling has consequently spread right into my own apartment. It's triggered a desire for frequent guests and has especially provoked a passion for cooking. I only have to walk by the fruit stands to be inspired lately. The markets on 30th avenue carry fruits and veggies that I have never even seen before, and are displayed in beautiful, colorful rows. Asian pears, miniature apples, and chocolate tomatoes--none of these had ever crossed my path until moving to Astoria. 

photo by denverette

For Christmas, my sister Suzanne gave me a crock pot, which I used for the first time last weekend. Making use of some of these wonderful vegetables, I followed a recipe for Chunky Beef and Black Bean Chili from Woman's Day Slow Cooking magazine. I am new to slow cooking. (I am also new to purchasing anything of the Woman's Day line...) My mother never used one--in fact I know of no one in my family who has ever used one. Perhaps its just an Italian thing--the crock pot seems a bit quaint for the household in which I grew up. However, I have fallen in love with it, not only because of its delicious melding of flavors but its convenience of letting it be while I'm away. And with the winter weather, crock pot food is warm and comforting, and best of all, there is nothing better than the apartment smelling flavorful for hours at a time. 

The chili came out surprisingly well for my first attempt. It could have been a little spicier, so next time I may add some jalapenos. The recipe called for ancho peppers, which I knew would not be available at Key Foods. However, lo and behold, my favorite market (Elliniki Agora Fruit and Vegetable) had pablano peppers, the non-dried version of the ancho, so I improvised. The recipe also called for the addition of a pepper/cilantro blended mixture to add to the chili towards the end, which gave it a great taste and has inspired me to make better use of the blender.

Because I am unable to find the recipe online, I will post the recipe in the next entry, with some of my cooking commentary.