January 27, 2014

French onion macaroni and cheese

Skillet of French onion macaroni and cheese.

This is some serious comfort food - cheesy, creamy, and buttery. The flavors of French onion soup wrapped up in some noodles and extra cheese. 

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I've seen some similar recipes floating around on the internet for a while now and have been itching to make this mac n' cheese. I wanted to incorporate as many flavors from French onion soup as I could, but I also wanted to keep this meal vegetarian - so I didn't use any beef broth. It turned out pretty amazing. 

The super sweet onion intertwined with the cheesy pasta was perfect. I used Gruyere cheese, but I combined it with sharp white cheddar so that it was not over powering (and affordable -- Gruyere is pretty pricey and pungent). 

Thyme, vermouth, and buttery breadcrumbs pulled in a lot of the soup flavors I was looking for in the dish. The result was a decadent pasta dish that we thoroughly enjoyed.

This recipe will feed 4 to 6 people as a main dish (feel free to make a nice green salad for the side) or make some delicious lunch leftovers.

Serving plate of French onion macaroni and cheese.

January 20, 2014

Bison, squash, and kidney bean chili


Sadly, I've missed a couple weeks this year of the 12 Weeks of Winter Squash -- but I made sure to be back for Week 12! For the last week I'm featuring one of our favorite winter meals and one of our favorite ways to use up winter squash -- a spicy, smoky, yet sweet chili (from the squash). We like to use ground bison in this chili, but you could use beef or turkey if you prefer (or if you can't find bison). For this version I used a kabocha squash, but sugar/pie pumpkin, butternut squash, or any other dense/sweet winter squash would work. As with most chili recipes, it is very adaptable. This dish is hearty and perfect for a winter evening. This recipe will serve about five to six people.

Before I get to the recipe, I'd like to announce the two winners of the Ceylon cinnamon giveaway! I used the random number generator to chose the two winner from the comments. The winners are: Krystal Fisher (comment 30) and Annie Levay-Krause (comment 17). Please email me at savorymomentsblog[at]gmail[dot]com with your mailing address no later than Wednesday, January 22, 2014. I hope you enjoy your cinnamon (which I used again in this chili!) and thanks to everyone who entered!

January 16, 2014

Carnitas

Carnitas on a serving plate.

Homemade carnitas are totally worth the effort! 

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We ordered our first half pig this year from a local farm. Our pig lived on pasture in an old orchard and ate apples, pumpkins, whey, and acorns. Our pig is delicious. I even requested the lard from our pig and rendered some of it recently. Since we have both pork roasts and lard, I decided it was time to make one of my favorite things at home: carnitas. 

I loosely followed the instructions for carnitas from Homesick Texan. I wanted to keep them simple because the pork we have is so incredibly flavorful - I really wanted it to shine. It did. These turned out really wonderfully. If you've eaten carnitas out before, but never made them yourself, go ahead and give them a try. 

I served ours with the salsa verde I canned last fall and some quick pickled red onions. They were awesome! I'm pretty sure my husband was in pork heaven while eating these and I must say that I impressed myself!

Jars of homemade lard.
My first batch of homemade lard.

January 6, 2014

Salted preserved lemons

Jar of salted preserved lemons with a fermentation lock on top.

I've declared 2014 the year of fermentation! I've tried my hand at sauerkraut and received The Art of Fermentation for Christmas, so I'm slowly building my knowledge and experience in this technique. Salted preserved lemons are something I have been wanting to try for a while. 

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I have never actually eaten them before, but after learning about them, they stuck in my head. I love Moroccan spices, so I've been imagining the wonderful flavor that these lemons will impart to couscous, tagines, and much more. I'm super excited for them to finish their fermenting and curing process so I can give them a try!

Citrus is in season now, so it's time to get a jar of these going. They will take about 4-6 weeks to be ready to eat, but will last for a year or more in the refrigerator. 

You eat the rind, so you'll want to get organic lemons. I used regular lemons, but many people recommend Meyer lemons. There are tons of "recipes" for preserved lemons out there and as far as I can tell, there's no prescribed amount of salt - it seems to range from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup per quart jar. For this recipe, I used a little under 1/3 cup of sea salt and 7 organic lemons.

Lemons with salt.

January 2, 2014

Saag paneer (with homemade paneer)

Plate of saag paneer.

Let me start of by saying how much I loved this meal. I loved eating it, and I loved making it. I loved the process of making the paneer cheese, which I will describe in detail below. 

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This was certainly a time-consuming meal, but it was completely worth it when we sat down to eat. This was only my second homemade cheese (first was ricotta) and I must say that I'm looking forward to trying my hand at more cheeses in the not-too-distant future. 

Once the paneer was made, the rest of the dish was pretty simple to put together and all the flavors in it came together perfectly. I read quite a few paneer recipes and saag paneer recipes before I attempted this dish. The two I used most as reference were this one from Food Network and this one from Journey Kitchen

If you live near any specialty or Indian markets, you may be able to find paneer, but if you have a lazy Sunday afternoon, give it a try - it's a very rewarding process.

Paneer cheese in cheesecloth.