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Recipe Blogging and the Cooking Wars
Oct. 13th, 2009 08:58 amTwo of my favorite bloggers, among others, have gotten in an argument over Jamie Oliver's "crusade" to wean Americans off restaurant food. I don't know what position to take in this fight (although Erza Klein adds a valuable corrective to both of them), but I wanted to add a personal data point from last night.
The downstairs neighbor was joining me again, so I decided to cook a Lebanese dish called Chicken with Chick Peas and Rice. Here are the ingredients I used:
In one pan you roast the almonds in a tiny bit of butter; remove when golden brown. In another pan, brown the chicken in 1/4 stick butter, then add the water, garlic, cinnamon stick and half the onions and salt. Bring it to a boil, cover, and continue to cook until you can easily shred the chicken with a pair of forks. Then remove the chicken and set the remaining broth, butter and water aside.
In a third pan, fry the ground beef in 1/4 stick of butter until cooked through, then add cinnamon, pepper, and remaining onions and salt. Put aside after 10 minutes or so. Then cook the risoto in the remaining 1/2 stick of butter until golden brown; add pasta and saute for a few more minutes. Then add 2-3 cups of the butter/broth/water mixture (add additional water if needed), bring to a boil, and add the ground beef, onions, and chick peas. Simmer until the water is absorbed (about 20-30 minutes), then let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the shredded chicken and almonds.
Nana seemed to really like the dish, and asked for the recipe. Once I told her, of course, she was horrified, and I don't blame her. I never cook this for myself! It takes too long and it's just too fattening. If I'm cooking for a guest, though, I feel its time to splurge, and I suspect the effect of cooking on America's waistline depends a lot on the conditions in which it's done. I suspect it will only work as intended if we cook for ourselves or for family members.
The downstairs neighbor was joining me again, so I decided to cook a Lebanese dish called Chicken with Chick Peas and Rice. Here are the ingredients I used:
1/2 pound boneless chicken breasts
1 stick of butter
4 cups water
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 clove minced garlic
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup chick peas
1/2 pound ground beef
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup risoto
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup slivered almonds
In one pan you roast the almonds in a tiny bit of butter; remove when golden brown. In another pan, brown the chicken in 1/4 stick butter, then add the water, garlic, cinnamon stick and half the onions and salt. Bring it to a boil, cover, and continue to cook until you can easily shred the chicken with a pair of forks. Then remove the chicken and set the remaining broth, butter and water aside.
In a third pan, fry the ground beef in 1/4 stick of butter until cooked through, then add cinnamon, pepper, and remaining onions and salt. Put aside after 10 minutes or so. Then cook the risoto in the remaining 1/2 stick of butter until golden brown; add pasta and saute for a few more minutes. Then add 2-3 cups of the butter/broth/water mixture (add additional water if needed), bring to a boil, and add the ground beef, onions, and chick peas. Simmer until the water is absorbed (about 20-30 minutes), then let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the shredded chicken and almonds.
Nana seemed to really like the dish, and asked for the recipe. Once I told her, of course, she was horrified, and I don't blame her. I never cook this for myself! It takes too long and it's just too fattening. If I'm cooking for a guest, though, I feel its time to splurge, and I suspect the effect of cooking on America's waistline depends a lot on the conditions in which it's done. I suspect it will only work as intended if we cook for ourselves or for family members.
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