Stimulating the Economy (Roots)

I figured out why the economy tanked when when the housing bubble burst. Not even a month has passed since we closed on our new home, and the people at Lowe’s, Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond are starting to recognize us as regular customers.

We sent yesterday doing those projects you love to have time to do before the movers arrive with all your belongings. Shelf lining in the kitchen cupboards, caulking and re-grouting bathrooms, setting up closets, installing a new washer and drier. I’d like to see one of those time-lapse video recordings of the property that would show the cars going in and out, people dashing to and fro. We were our own little ant colony.

The weekend has also been quite chilly; at least for a California born and bred girl. Lows in the 40s highs in the 50s. Perfect for my favorite Fall and Winter recipe – Roots. I plan to make this tonight when we return from another day at the house.

I’ve been making Roots for years. It was one of Will’s favorites and I always felt lie I was being a good mom when I dished up a plate of this antioxidant-packed meal. Add a little roast chicken or a link or two of turkey sausage and you are good to go.

The basic recipe is simple – walk thru the market and grab one or two of everything that is a root. Carrots, beets, onions, garlic, the list goes on and on. Tonight’s version will include these little rutabagas – about the size of a golf ball – that have redefined that root for me. Who knew they could be down right juicy, even after being roasted for 45 minutes.

I hope you whip up a batch of these soon. Get creative, there are no rules. You can even throw in a few non-root veg, like mushrooms and asparagus – very tasty and no one will ever be the wiser.

Enjoy.

Roots

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato, washed and cubed into 1 ½ to 2 inch cubes
• 3 -4 red or yukon gold potatoes (or handful of fingerlings)
• 2 – 3 shallots peeled
• 5 – 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 onion, cut into 2 inch chunks
• 3 beets, peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes
• 3 rutabagas, cut into 2 inch cubes – if they are very young, you don’t need to peel them
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Pinch salt
• Pinch black pepper
• 1 Tbs dried oregano
• 2 T red wine vinegar

Method

• Heat oven to 375 degrees
• Toss all of the ingredients except the vinegar in a large bowl
• Pour into a large casserole – 13 x 9 inch should do it
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Remove from the oven, check to make sure that everything is fork tender
• Sprinkle the red wine vinegar over the mixture and stir well

Signed Sealed Delivered (Sheryl’s Fried Chicken)

This was a very busy week – and things are about to get even busier. We closed on our new home on Thursday afternoon. Now the work begins.

We attended our Closing Meeting Thursday afternoon. This was quite a different process than in California, where your Realtor tells you that Escrow has closed, brings more papers to be signed and hands you the key to your new home. In North Carolina, there is an actual meeting and the buyer is represented by an attorney who goes over the entire deal, explains things thoroughly and is there to represent you should things not go as planned. While our closing was without surprises and went smoothly, I couldn’t help that think that some of California’s real estate woes might have been avoided had buyers there been represented by legal counsel. But we’ll save that for a different kind of discussion in a different kind of blog.

By Friday morning, Steve had started to dial in the garage. Anyone who has been to one of our previous homes knows that my husband is a bit picky about garages. Good lighting, ample storage and gray indoor/outdoor carpet is a must. (Yes, we vacuum our garages – I was skeptical at first but am now a true believer.) Our new garage was a blank slate – and Steve was a man on a mission. Twenty-four hours after the closing, the shelving was in, the carpet installers were on their way home. And Steve was a happy man.

That evening we also continued a Billings (my maiden name) family tradition. It all started when my late mother closed on her first home in Chapel Hill and my brother and his wife brought over a celebratory dinner of Mama Dip’s fried chicken (the very best fried chicken I’ve ever had) and champagne. The tradition continued with subsequent home purchases by both my mother and my brother’s family. And at 6:15 p.m. Friday, the Billings clan hit our new doorstep with a finger-lickin’ spread with all the fixin’s; homemade brownies and, of course, a bit of the bubbly.

Nothing is more fun to kids than an empty house; and it was great to hear laughter and scampering feet and paws as our nephew Sam and niece Katie explored the upstairs rooms with our Scottie CurveBall.

Dinner was served on paper plates on our screen porch, and the kids checked out the tree house in one of our many trees. We talked of Thanksgiving, which we will host next month; and looked forward to being here for Christmas when Will comes home for his winter break from college.

We have a lot of work to do to make it our own and modernize appliances and fixtures. But our new house has good bones and the heartbeat of a family home.

Now for this week's recipe:

Truth be known, the last time I actually fried chicken, I was 23 years old and as I recall it was a disaster. My friend Sheryl, however, is known for her crispy pollo so I asked her to lend her recipe for this post. I gotta admit, it looks a little scary – she puts something called “Butter Buds” in her coating. (Really, Sheryl?) But everyone who has ever tasted Sheryl’s Fried Chicken has cried out for more.

As always I hope you Enjoy.

Sheryl's Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 frying chicken, cut into parts and brined for 6 hours (see below)
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 1 batch coating mixture (see below)
• Corn oil for frying

Method:

• Rinse and pat dry the brined chicken
• Marinade it over night in the buttermilk
• Put the coating mixture in a shallow bowl
• Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, piece by piece and dip it in the coating mix, to coat completely
• Heat about an inch of corn oil in a heavy skillet to 375 degrees
• Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time.
• According to Sheryl, the trick is to wait until you turn the chicken until it comes up completely clean without losing any skin or coating. She says it’s a very relaxing experience.
• Once you can turn, do. And again and again until the coating is set and the juices run clear.
• If you turn too fast, you get a mess. So, like she said, just relax.

Coating mix:

Combine:

• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• ½ up parmesean cheese
• 2 Tbs Butter Buds Sprinkles (in the spice aisle, or diet food aisle)
• 2 Tbs paprika
• 1 Tbs garlic powder

To Brine Chicken:

I don’t make a production of brining – I just put a handful of kosher salt some fresh ground pepper and sometimes a crushed garlic clove in the bottom of a pot large enough to hold the chicken. Then cover with cold water and stash in the fridge for 2 – 6 hours. At the end of this time, I rise the bird, pat it dry and continue with my recipe. To learn more, here’s a good article from Cooks Illustrated.

Alfresco Autumn Sunday Dinner (Creamy Garlicky Salad Dressing)

There’s something special about Sunday dinner. Whether you share it with friends or family or enjoy it solo, the final dinner of the weekend is a great time to relax, recapture the week past and enjoy the last few hours before the work week starts up again.

We just returned from just such a dinner with my brother and his family. Ed and his wife Lyn have a wonderful mid-century modern home here in Chapel Hill; complete with a creek that makes the whole backyard experience even better.

It was slightly cool and breezy tonight and acorns danced around us as they fell from the trees. Ed made a fire in their fire pit and cooked up “hobo dinners” (seasoned ground local beef with potatoes and veggies, wrapped in aluminum foil and tossed in the embers), while the grown-ups tucked into a spicy brew of chili. Lyn’s from scratch corn bread and a crisp salad (my contribution) rounded things out. A delicious apple pie emerged from the oven as we finished up our meal. Fall has certainly arrived.

I promised Lyn that I’d share the recipe for the salad dressing I made, so what better way to give it to her is to give it to all of you as well. It is sooooo easy, it’s almost embarrassing. But it is also sooooo good.

I serve this on a crisp salad made of hearts of romaine, chopped scallions and quartered cherry or grape tomatoes. Avocado is also excellent.

Creamy garlicky salad dressing

Ingredients

• ½ cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbs Best Foods or Hellman’s Mayonnaise
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 clove of garlic, mashed into a paste with the side of a chef’s knife with a pinch of salt (this is a great technique when you want the flavor of garlic, but don’t want to bite into a chunk of it)
• ¼ cup shredded or grated parmesan or asaigo cheese
• juice of 1 lemon

Method:

Whisk all of this together; toss over salad made with either hearts of romaine or iceberg lettuce. Makes a great base for a bleu cheese dressing as well.

North Carolina to Go (Pimento Cheese, inspired by Bill Neal)

Cal State Fullerton Baseball. USC Football. The College World Series in Omaha. Carroll College Football. (And I’m assuming, hoping, praying, Tar Heel Baseball, Basketball and Football). Aside from being championship programs, what do all of these collegiate sports institutions have in common?

Tailgating.

Oh yeah, serious tailgating. The kind you plan for all week. The kind that makes you say to your husband, “sure honey, Mother’s Day brunch in the Cal State Fullerton parking lot sounds great.” And mean it.

Yesterday was Homecoming at Carroll College, where our son goes to school and is a member of the football team. The day started out as scheduled, smoke from grills wafting through the air, a band playing on the practice field. Purple and gold everywhere.

And yes, the Fighting Saints won. But I dare say that the game on the field was matched by the game in the parking lot. These people know how to throw a tailgate, with a smoker the size of a small car, mounds of pulled pork, large pots of chili, racks of ribs and salads galore.

In celebration of our new home, I decided to bring one of my favorite pre-game appetizers, a pimento cheese spread that was inspired by late Chapel Hill area chef, Bill Neal, of Crook's Corner fame. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients - makes about 3 cups

• 16 ounces aged white cheddar cheese, grated – if you like a milder flavor, you can also mix mild cheddar with sharper white cheddar.
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 small jar diced pimentos, drained. I like to chop them a bit more to help them blend into the cheese
• 6 Tbs mayonnaise – Best Foods or Helman’s or Best Food’s please
• 3 Tbs Jack Daniels Tennessee Whisky – if you don’t have this on hand, buy one of those little airline sized bottles at a liquor store. You’ll use about ½ of the little bottle. Do what you feel best with the leftovers (-;
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin (don’t sweat it if you don’t have this on hand. I didn’t this weekend and it was still great)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (a dash of Tabasco works, too)

Method

• Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended
• Chill 30 minutes before serving
• The traditional cracker to serve this with is a saltine. I also like Club crackers.

Leftovers (if you’ve got ‘em) make a killer grilled cheese, especially nice with a thick slice of tomato.

Just Like Mamma Used to Make (Chicken Enchilada Casserole)

One of the casualties of our move from Orange County, California to Orange County, North Carolina was a previously booked week-long trip to Montana to see our son who is in college and plays football there. As luck would have it (or not) our closing date fell on the very day we were scheduled to leave on of our trip. So flights were cancelled and schedules changed. And today, almost a month later I’m hopscotching across the USA to finally see our boy. First stop Chicago; then on to Denver (where I’m posting this) for yet another equipment change before heading on to Helena. I’ve got a hefty research report to read (half done) and a blog post (done) to write so the day should fly by. No pun intended.

This will be my fourth homecoming weekend at Carroll College. I typically arrive on a Thursday so I can work from my hotel Friday before heading out to the pep rally and other festivities. Saturday will be filled with a serious dose of tailgating, the game, hopefully a post-win celebration and dinner out with Will and his friends. This is the college’s centennial year, so I’m sure there will be even more than the usual fanfare. It should be a blast.

Our Thursday night tradition also includes a home-cooked meal for Will and whatever roommates or friends are around. I’m thinking enchilada casserole and a salad with a cilantro vinaigrette. Unfortunately, I’m not bringing my usual payload of California avocados for the salad, but I’m sure the kids will appreciate the mom-cooked meal all the same.

Before I head to my gate, here’s the recipe I’ll use tonight. It’s not my usual “from scratch” fare, but it’s a quick and easy dish that can be made in someone else’s kitchen (who knows if they boys have a cheese grater) and is sure to please.

Enjoy.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 Rotisserie Chicken, skin and bones removed, meat shredded
• 1 large can enchilada sauce – either red or green is fine. I’m using red tonight.
• 1 large bag of shredded cheddar cheese (you may have leftovers)
• 1 small bag of shredded pepper jack cheese (you may have leftovers)
• 2 dozen corn tortillas (you will defiantly have leftovers, but you can always make quesadillas with the leftover cheese)
• 1 onion, finely diced (look for milder Mexican white, Maui or Vidilia varieties)1 small can of sliced olives (optional)
• Olive oil, vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan, or Pam Oil Spray
• Aluminum foil

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
• In a 13/9 casserole:
• Rub the bottom and sides of the casserole with oil or spray with Pam
• Dip the toriallas, one by one, into the sauce and line the bottom of the dish a single layer. I typically lay three down the middle and then cut two more into quarters to fill in the corners and gaps.
• Sprinkle about a quarter cup of the onions (small handful) on top of the sauce
• Sprinkle a think layer cheddar cheese on top of the onions
• Top with ½ of the chicken; and drizzle about another 1/3 cup of sauce on top.
• Repeat the process – tortillas, sauce, onion, but this time substitute the pepper jack cheese, then chicken.
• Top with a final layer of tortillas, sauce and onions.
• Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top; you can add olives at this point if you are using them

Tent lightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 to 15 minutes until bubbly.

Let the finished dish rest about 10 minutes before serving. If for some reason it doesn't seem gooey enough, pop each serving into the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Warm the remaing sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds and serve for those who want to add more.

Note – all rotissary chickens are not the same size. If it seems like you have a ridiculous amount of chicken, and use less. This recipe can be made with whatever cooked meat you have – leftover turkey, ground beef, even venison (for my Montana readers) is great.

Another Note - this recipe scales really well - for the boys, I used one of those oversized disposable aluminum lasagna pans and 1 3/4 rotisserie chickens. In a house inhabited by five football players, this was necessary. There was just one serving leftover and when I stopped by the next day it, too, was gone!

A Sneak Peek at the Future (Tomato, Roasted Pepper and Basil Tapenade)

It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when everything you need is no more than 15 minutes of where you are. Yesterday was one of those days, with a trip to the Farmers Market; shopping for carpet; shower enclosure and stove decisions (can’t wait fire up my new Wolf!), a hair appointment with a new stylist (which kills HOURS) and assorted other errands. Oh yes, and it all had to be done by 6 o'clock so we could hit the annual block party in our soon to be new neighborhood before our 8 o'clock dinner reservations at Elaine’s on Franklin (Chef Bret Jennings participated in the Farmers Market event).

Somehow we did it.

I could write all morning about yesterday’s Farmers Market, which included a celebration of seven local chefs who shop regularly at the Market. Not only did we get our weekly haul of veggies and ridiculously fresh poultry, we also had a chance to chat it up these delightful and talented men and women, taste samples of their work learn more about the Chapel Hill area local food movement. It just makes sense to support your local farmers and in the end it is healthier, too.

The neighborhood block party was also a good experience that gave us a glimpse of our lifestyle to come. The neighborhood reminds us a bit of the two neighborhoods in Brea where we raised Will. Tight knit, but still private. A huge dose of pride of ownership. Add in a lot more trees and a discussions about which plants the deer will eat less of and you’ve got our future home.

I’ve got to admit, it was tough to walk into the cul-de-sac knowing nobody. We arrived fashionable late and our friends who will be our new neighbors had already dashed off to another event. But no sooner had we put our contribution to the appetizer course on the table, that good old Southern Hospitality set in and folks started to wander over to greet us.

We may not be in Kansas, Toto, but everything is going to be more than just Okay.

Here’s the appetizer I latterly threw together in 15 minutes between the appliance shopping hair appointment. It features one of the red peppers one of the local farmers roasted for me at the market. Everything (except the olive oil and vinegar) was grown, produced or baked locally.

Enjoy.

Tomato, Roasted Pepper and Basil Tapenade

Ingredients

• 1 roasted bell pepper, seeded and diced into 1/2 dice
• 1 basket cherry tomatoes, chopped (the easiest way: cut each tomato in half and then cut each half into quarters. Sounds tedious, but if you get a rhythm going it is a heck of a lot easier than trying to actually chop them)
• A big handful of fresh basil, chopped medium-fine
• 1 clove garlic mashed into a paste
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• About 5 or 6 grinds of black pepper
• 1/2 cup of feta, broken into large chunks. (Try to get a block of high quality cheese and break it up yourself. I used a local sheep’s milk feta. Oh my.)
• Pinch of salt

Method

• Mix everything except the feta and salt in a medium sized bowl. Make sure the garlic is evenly distributed.
• Add the feta cheese.
• Mix lightly so you don't mash the feta.
• Taste for saltiness and adjust accordingly.

Serve on sliced chebata or French bread. (I found an amazing seeded chebata that was delicious).

Po-tay-toe; Po-tah-toe (Farmers Market Tapas)

I think I just tasted a potato for the first time. Of course, I’ve had potatoes before – in fact (as my business travel companions know) one of my favorite “go-to meals” is a salad and baked potato. But last night we had a simple dinner featuring a number of the goodies I found during my first trip to the Carrboro Farmers Market, and low and behold the star of the show was the lowly potato.

I hardly recognized them as Yukon Golds ; still covered with earth, and hardly picture perfect. A good scrub, a thick slice, plus a little olive oil, salt and pepper rendered a crispy yet fluffy bite reminiscent of tapas you might have in Spain. Without the jet lag.

The Saturday morning Farmers Market in Carrboro, which is just outside of Chapel Hill, is like no other market I’ve been to. I had to circle it once, just to get my bearings. The little stands are staffed by farm families and what appear to be their employees. Most tend to specialize in one type of item – cheese from local cows and goats (unbelievable), late season tomatoes, root vegetables, etc. Everyone is knowledgeable, friendly and takes pride in what they are selling.

As late summer merges with fall, the colors of the market are particularly vivid this time of year. Our simple dinner last night reflected this fact. The following is not so much a recipe, but a demonstration of what can be done with amazingly fresh ingredients, a little olive oil, and a grill pan. I hope it inspires you to visit your local farmers market sometime soon, and create a meal that comes from the soil near you.

Enjoy.

Grill-Pan Yukon Golds:

Depending on size, for two people you’ll want two or three Yukon Gold potatoes. Wash, slice to about ¼ inch rounds, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Grill on an inside grill pan until crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Local Sausage Bites

Keep in mind, we are living in the “land of the pig.” Two stands carried their own version of sausage. The one I bought was slightly spicy. I formed small balls and simply grilled them off on the same pan as the potatoes, keeping them separate so the fat didn’t intermix with the potatoes. Not that it wouldn’t have been tasty, but potatoes in pork fat is not exactly the healthiest thing in the world. Once the balls were browned, we drained them on paper towels. Just a few per person added the spicy bite the meal needed.

Grilled tomatoes

I found the coolest little tomatoes – the shape of a Roma tomato, but abut the size of your thumb. We sliced these in half, dusted with a scant amount of salt, pepper and fresh thyme and placed them cut side down on yet another part of the grill pan. These were cooked until they were slightly caramelized.

Caramelized onions and peppers

In a separate pan I sautéed slices ½ of a red onion and ½ of a roasted red bell pepper (I’m sure I’ll post more about these later – they roast them up for you as you wait!) with a scant bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and yes, fresh thyme. I kept this going until the mixture was very soft and slightly caramelized.

Arugula salad

I found a vendor with the youngest and most tender arugula I’ve ever seen, so I bought a bag. Rinsed and patted dry, these spicy leaves were tossed in the juice of half a lemon and a very slight drizzle of olive oil. This was a great complement to all of the dishes.

Dust over the top of all of the dishes

A light grating of locally made asiago cheese.

To serve

Create a plate with a bit of this and a bit of that. Crusty bread would have been nice, but we didn’t have any and it really was not necessary. For true tapas, you’d also make a garlicky mayonnaise for the potatoes.