Showing posts with label frank advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frank advice. Show all posts

Friday, September 30, 2011

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred Forty-Three (Chicken Scarpariello, Unlikely Sage Style)

“It’s better to be blind and be shown the way, then to bluff one’s way into a dark abyss and fall from a cliff.’  Anonymous –(from a person who should be famous).

So was the advice from a friend after I explained my dilemma of being completely ignorant about the topic of conversation of a recent dinner party.  In other words, “listen and you shall learn, but don’t feign knowledge of the unknown, lest you wish to play the fool.”

Again, I am the beneficiary of some great advice from a not-so-famous person with many big ideas with no venue to expound.

Until now, that is….

The Lunch Box Chronicles is happy to announce that it will occasionally offer words of wisdom and recipes from an unlikely sage who also happens to be a great cook.

In addition to being at a loss for words at the dinner party, I was at a loss of ideas for making dinner a few days later.  Plan of Action? Make a call to the unlikely sage.  Get a recipe. Problem solved.

Chicken Scarpariello
Some simple advice was procured “Make Scarpareillo, The Shoemaker’s Dish in Italy.  You Can’t Go Wrong.”

He was right.  I didn’t go wrong.  This was magnificent.  And it is even better a few days later.

INGREDIENTS
3-4 Tbs. Olive oil
3 Links  Sweet Italian sausage (about 1 lb)
2 Lb. Boneless breast of chicken (though this is usually made with chicken in the bone)
 1 Medium yellow onion, finely diced
3-4  red potatoes cut in small cubes
4 –8 Cloves garlic, peeled, and chopped
1/2 pound of mushrooms sliced
1 Cup dry white wine
2 Tbs. Fresh basil, finely chopped
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

(Could have used red pepper flakes, pickled cherry peppers, lemon, org and lemon, but did not in this recipe)
 Preparation:
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Add the sausages and cut up chicken and sauté, regulating the heat to reduce spattering. Turn regularly until they’ve browned; about 8 minutes. Remove and reserve.
In separate skillet, add the onions, garlic and mushrooms, sauté until browned.  Add slightly boiled chopped potatoes and sauté until done.
Raise the heat to high in the meat skillet, and add the wine. Boil for about 2 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen any bits of chicken and sausage that have caramelized on the bottom of the pan.  Add the onion, garlic, mushroom, potato mixture.  Continue to simmer.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Add chopped basil as the end.
Serve over polenta and with Spelt Right rosemary bread crisps.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Lunch Box Chronicles Day One Hundred Thirty-Eight (On Being Blunt - One Stunning Sauce on Spelt Pasta)


Blunt: adjective

3. (of a person or remark) Uncompromisingly forthright

Synonyms:
candid, forthright, frank….

Once in a while, everyone needs someone who is blunt…
Candid, Forthright, Frank….

I have the tendency to think that I can “do it all”:  build a business, manage a family, drive six hours at a clip, meet customers with a smile, hang out with friends, practice law, save the world…

But, there are the details I often forget – the details that I preach to others, but fail to practice myself – like getting enough rest, eating the right foods, taking iron and vitamins, slowing down just enough to get a glance in the mirror to gauge whether I am about to pass out or if I am ready to sprint.

I would like to think that I am Wonder Woman, but fiction is just fiction.  I lack super-human strength, the ability to fly, super-speed, and super agility, though sometimes, I do have super-stamina….until I crash….

And, when the crash happens, I am lucky to have a frank person in my life who becomes very blunt….

“You need to rest kid; the car runs only if it has gas in the tank.”

I heeded the frank advice, gave myself a few days to rest, and made a delicious recipe offered by one blunt ally in order to put a little gas in the tank.

RECIPE  - Homemade Grass Fed Ground Beef and Tomato Sauce Over Spelt Pasta

Ingredients:

One organic onion (finely chopped)
4-5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped or minced with salt)
1/4 – 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Pomi – crushed tomatoes – all natural, no citric acid – in a carton (no BPA in packaging)
One Pound Grass Fed Ground Beef (from Maine)
1-2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt
Ground pepper to taste
6-10 leaves of Fresh Basil (chopped finely) (compliments of my neighbor Kendra)
One Package Vita Spelt Pasta


Put chopped onion and garlic in olive oil in large stainless steel pan.  Saute until onions are brown.  Add ground beef.  Saute until browned.  Add Pomi tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste.  Add one teaspoon of organic sugar if desired.  Stir all ingredients. Cook on medium low for 20-25 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.  Add chopped basil. 


Make pasta according to instructions.  Drain.  Put back in pan with 1 cup meet sauce.  Lightly toss.  Put pasta on platter.  Cover with delicious sauce.  Garnish with fresh basil.  Tonight, we will be putting the sauce over some Spelt Right Pizza Dough...blogpost to follow.


Response on the pasta dish from the five children roaming my not-so-quiet house?  "YUMMMM!!"