Aioli My version is quick, easy, delicious, flavorful, garlicky, creamy, smooth. 5 minutes and a few ingredients and you'll be delighted and hooked. Use it as a side for absolutely everything

Ah...Aioli, add it to any menu item and increase the cost of the dish by double.  You can hae chicken with mayonnaise and it's chicken salad... serve it with aioli and it's suddenly an "amuse bouche" moment with lightly poached chicken with garlic aioli (?) and herbs d'jour.  You'd pay way more for the second item!  OH and imagine when your friends come by, leftover potatoes and mayo? or Smashed roast new potatoes fried crispy in duck fat with homemade aioli dipping sauce.  MMM  I may not be able to continue with this post, I may have to go make that.  Oh and what is it? it's garlic mayonnaise.  Seeing "garlic aioli" on any menu drives me insane, sort of like "salt salt cod" ? really?  BUT, as per usual, I digress

I like ailo with seafood, meat, chicken, vegetables, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks.  I like to dip veggies (cooked or raw) or bread or chips or roasted potatoes in it.  I put it over risotto or pasta or anything.  Yeah, it's sort of the workhorse of all sauces but still maintains a fru fru status.

You can get it two ways (ok, you can do it a million ways but this is the short version)  You can either (a) buy mayonnaise, chop up garlic and add it with a little lemon.  Fabulous.  or you can (b) make a quick batch that is so much easier, more delicious and richer than you can imagine.  Oh and (b) takes the same amount of time as (a) so really, it's a no brainer. 

Ok, here we go, we're making my aioli.  Mine isn't traditional at all but I tell you what, I'll put it up against the fidgety versions any day of the week.  You can also use this as a jumping off point to take it any direction you like.  Add herbs, mustards, no garlic and have straight up mayo.  Use this as a base and get your creative on! 

TRACY'S AIOLI

1 egg *yep the whole egg
1 cup oil (I like 1/2 veggie, 1/2 olive oil but you can use all olive oil or all vegetable oil if you want)
2-6 garlic cloves, the garlicky you want it, the more you add
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
1 Tblsp vinegar or lemon juice (I use lemon juice from a bottle ;))

Here we go, directions and pics: 

Obtain one Cuisinart food processor :)  Add the egg and whip like crazy
  
whip the egg like mad to get it a little foamy.  Add the salt and pepper and sugar and whip again.  Add the garlic cloves and pulse till they disintegrate.
  
With the machine running, drizzle the oil SLOWLY through the tube till about half is used up. I turn it off to add the lemon juice or vinegar down the tube then start it up again and continue with the rest of the oil.
   
OH look how thick and lovely that is! Transfer the aioli to jars and shove them in the fridge.  They last about a week.  FABULOUS
 



There you go, aioli in a minute and a half.  Better than anything store bought, cheaper and way more satisfying.  

I made mine today to dip the leaves of an artichoke I pressure cooked. :) I'm going to use some later tonight to top our shrimp pasta.  Yeah, it's good to be here today. 

/enjoy

Gluten Free Pancakes , my one and only foray into the gluten free world. A base mix of a gluten free flour substitute that I simply use in my regular recipe, perfection! I kid you not, they're lovely.

Confession time:  My name is Tracy and I'm a gluten junkie.  I'm not ashamed.  I am what I am.  Sure, I'm proud of it because if nothing else, I can cook the heck out of it.

I don't do Gluten Free.  I don't like the food, the science or the rule following of it.  I don't like the idea, the method or the chemistry.  I'm a cook, not a chemist.  Oh and don't nitpick, I know cooking is chemistry ;) 

I DO, however, love to cook and I love to cook for people I love.  I happen to have one of THOSE types of people in my house this weekend.  He's one of my son's original friends (from a baby group) and I simply adore this boy.  I know he's a fan of my cooking and I can't express how much I love cooking for this kid. The gluten free thing threw me for a loop.  His family is trying it on for a cleanse type thing and I'm not going to fight or break the rules, just yet. His mother is one of my dearest friends, she's one of two people in the world that would inspire me to bother to try cooking this way.  

Dinners are easy to go gluten free, I did pork country ribs, corn and brown rice one dinner and meatballs (I make killer meatballs) boiled new potatoes, peas and a thick creamy brown gravy.  Easy!

Breakfasts? Snacks? those are more difficult for me.  I'm a bread and cheese girl.  I make pretzels and croissants for snacks and to take with me to gatherings and happenings.  Ugh, what on earth was I going to make this boy?

I promised the mother of said gluten free (by choice not medical) teenager that I would follow the culinary rules for her son this weekend and I have.  So far. :) 

I made gluten free biscuits as my first gluten free attempt at baking and they looked beautiful, rose high and were layers of flakey-ness but the texture was revolting and I kind of think they taste like bird poop smells.  So, toss those. 

Here are the beauty shots of the biscuit minis:  You'd THINK they tasted good.  I was very disappointed.
  

   

I'm not even going to post the recipe for them, they were that gross.  

Sometimes, MOST times, in cooking as in life, beauty isn't everything.

Next, I tried pancakes.  C'mon, I can cook, I'm not used to such dramatic failures.  

Pancakes are easy, I have got to be able to master these. 

So, I made a concoction to use as a flour substitute and simply used it in place of all purpose flour in my standard pancake recipe and they were... ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!!!!  Little pillows of yummy!!  

I literally did a little dance in the kitchen when I tasted one.  Then I hollered for guestchild to come down and test sample one, he was as excited and did a little dance with me too!  We'd found a FABULOUS gluten free something something that I could make for them for breakfast.  I made a mountain of these exquisite puffy pancakes and they were devoured in short order by the 14 year old boys, both who have quite discerning pallets.  They know garbage when they eat it and these, are most certainly NOT garbage. 

RUN out to the store NOW NOW NOW (if you're gluten free) and make this bag o'fake'flour and use it in these delightfully yummy pancakes

TRACY'S GLUTEN FREE FLOUR SUBSTITUTE MIX

In an enormous Ziploc bag, combine: 

1 cup EACH of:
white rice flour
oat flour
brown rice flour
tapioca flour

1/4 cup cornstarch
3 1/2 tsp Xanthum gum

THAT'S IT!  Mix it well in the bag, label it and seal it.  Use it in place of all purpose in many recipes.  DEFINITELY it works beautifully in this pancake recipe.  You can CERTAINLY double or triple this combination.  Store it sealed and away from moisture, obviously :) 

TRACY'S GLUTEN FREE PANCAKE RECIPE:

1 1/2 cup of the ^above^ all purpose flour substitute
3 tablespoons of soft butter
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup milk
1 large egg

Preheat a griddle or no stick pan.

Put the GF flour mix and butter in a large bowl and cut in like biscuits or pastry.  Use a fork, that's fine and don't fret about being too particular, just get the flour rubbed into the GF flour mix.

Add the baking powder, sugar and salt and mix with a fork to combine.

Add the milk and egg all at once.  

Stir with a fork until well combined.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.  You'll see it get puffy.  That is exactly what we're looking for.

Lightly oil the griddle/no stick fry pan.

Scoop the batter up in large spoonful, don't deflate it and drop it gently on the griddle/pan.  Cook on a medium low heat until beautifully browned on one side, flip and cook on the other side. 

Cook these at a lower temperature than you would standard pancakes and I flipped them back and forth a couple of times to be sure they were cooked through.

Serve with large amounts of butter and REAL maple syrup.  I, as you know, have my maple syrup delivered by my International tester.  She brings me Quebec maple syrup in vodka bottles.  Sure, I could transfer them to other bottles but then I wouldn't have the amusement factor every weekend when I set a vodka bottle on the table with breakfast :) 

Here's some beauty shots for your entertainment. 

I don't have mix and plop pictures because I had no no no no no no no faith the recipe would be picture worthy.

  

  

 

So, for those who said it couldn't be done and wouldn't be done, I've made a gluten free food with gluten free ingredients and substituted for my beloved all purpose flour and I didn't burst into flames. 

I still don't like gluten free food or the pain in the a** mile long chemical ingredient list that generally goes along with it BUT, for Heath, I'll make these, any time he wants...until they're cleansed and healthy and THEN I can fill him up with croissants, pretzels, brioche, pies, cakes, cakeballs, ciabatta, homemade cheeseburger buns, ciabatta stuffies and whatever other gluten overload that boy wants :) 

Try it, you'll be surprised... I truly was. 

/enjoy

Bacon Maple Glazed Bacon with Nuts, did I mention it's Bacon? and Maple and nuts? You can look but you should make it, it's painfully delicious

I make glazed bacon.  Everyone does.  It's not a recipe, it's a fabulous idea, a method.  Mine?  Well, I make brown sugar and cayenne bacon.  I like the combination of the hot and the sweet and the smoke of the bacon.  I lay bacon on a pan, sprinkle it with brown sugar and cayenne and bake it until it's crisp.  I eat it purely for the enjoyment of eating it even though every time I make it, I pretend it's for some higher cause.  It never it, I just eat it.

I have an evil friend who throws culinary gauntlets before me.  This is one of hers.

I haven't done the bacon it in pure maple syrup AND sugar AND nuts.  My [evil] friend told me to make this.  I did make this.  Now, I can never UNknow how to make this.  Since she trapped in my head, I'm going to pay it forward and now, now it's trapped in yours.  

You're welcome. :D

Maple and Brown Sugar glazed Bacon with Pecans

Line a sheet pan with parchment and line it with as much bacon as you want, flat. 

Pour a little maple syrup (the REAL stuff!) over the bacon and coat it lightly.

Sprinkle brown sugar then chopped pecans over the bacon. 

BAKE in a preheated 225 oven for 60-75 minutes.

Remove from oven, transfer to a rack to harden/setup/cool/crystalize. 

EAT

EAT SOME MORE

EAT another piece

Put it in a sandwich, on a sausage bun, on a hot dog, over ICE CREAM or just eat it.

You're welcome, now YOU can never UNKNOW this as well ;) 

   

Ahh, the last of my beloved New Mexico pecans...
   
The final beauty shot:

I'm trying to think of a truly inspired and awesome method to use this...  I can't think of anything so I'm simply going to eat it. (maybe over ice cream?!)  oh YEAH! 

I'll get back to my regular food stuff in a bit but for now, we bacon.

/enjoy

Green beans in the pressure cooker, yet another vegetable that takes 3 minutes. Cook a pile ahead and use them for the week

3 minutes, just EXACTLY like all the other vegetables I've cooked.  SERIOUSLY?  THREE?  AGAIN?  

THIS is the pressure cooker I use now: 

Well, it is.  I can't even fill type enough to make this a whole post.  I bought some beautiful fresh green beans, topped them (I leave the tails on ) and put them on a steamer rack in the pressure cooker over about 3/4-1 inch of water.  I salted the water too, just a bit.  I locked and loaded on high pressure and set it for 3 minutes.  Quick release and (for pete's sake!) they were perfectly tender crisp. 

Before and after:
 

Yep, yet another vegetable that takes 3 minutes.   

I have 1.5 lbs here but I will buy more next time and pressure cook the whole batch.  I'll ice them then put them in a big Ziploc in the fridge so I can shush up a few with any meal.  I'll toss them in a little olive oil and butter and fry them quickly, they nuke fine, I'll toss them in any salad or stir fry OR have them cold with some olive oil, lemon juice and freshly grated Parmesan as a fabulous cold treat or salad. 

3 minutes, again.   Go load up on fresh beans, pressure cook them, store them and enjoy the bounty of the season.

/enjoy

Pastitsio , my version of a Greek classic. Meat sauce and pasta and cheese and a thick, yolk kissed, cheesy, bechamel Yeah, you're going to want to come here for dinner now.

This isn't lasagna but I have to tell you, I love lasagna. I love the meat and pasta and cheese and creaminess and everything about it.  Sometimes, I have to confess I don't like the fiddling.  I know, I know, it's really easy and hardly fiddly but sometimes I want to make, mix, dump, make, stir, coat and then bake.  See how much easier that is? 

Enter my passion for Pastitsio, it's a Greek version of the Italian lasagna.  It's a completely different dish with a much different, and deeper, flavor signature.  

This classic dish is not flavored with the Italian "holy trinity" of garlic, basil and oregano but rather it's rich with cinnamon, allspice (just a little bit!) and nutmeg. It's a very very different experience from a classic lasagna but it maintains all the textural joys that lasagna brings.  

I don't know if my version is a nod to the classic or an abomination.  I think mine is delicious, it's easy, it's rich and it makes me happy.  I think that is a pretty decent pedigree, in my humble opinion.  Use mine as a jumping off point.  Add or delete to your own taste...just start making this.  However you make it, prepare, if you haven't had this, to be delighted and to add a new dish to your repertoire.

TRACY'S version of PASTITSIO RECIPE

Meat sauce

1 large onion, chopped

2 lbs ground beef/lamb/pork or any combination thereof

3 cloves garlic

salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice

can of crushed tomatoes

water

bay leaf

2 carrots, quartered

Pasta

1 package of small pasta of your choice

boiling water

salt

Sauce

4 Tblsp butter

4 Tblsp flour

salt

pepper

nutmeg

milk

2 egg yolks

cheese -parmesan

Topping

Bread crumbs

butter

QUICKIE version: 

Make your favorite meat sauce.  Make your favorite small pasta.  Combine the two.  Place it in a lightly buttered casserole dish.  Make a thick bechemal with cheese and add eggs to help bind.  Spread over pasta/meat mixture.  Sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs.  Bake at 375 for about 45-60 minutes, or until it's brown and set in the middle.  Let rest at least 20 minutes.  Serve in enormous square pieces. 

LONG-winded with pictures and commentary version:

THE Meatsauce

Chop up an onion and fry it in some olive oil, just to soften, not to brown.  Add the ground meat, this is half lamb, half beef.  Fry it until brown then add the sliced garlic.  MMMMM  THEN add the spices, salt, pepper, a few good grates of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of allspice (just use a little!)

   
Add the can of tomatoes and a can of water.  Canned tomatoes can be acrid so add a pinch of sugar.  THEN add the quartered carrots.  I like the flavor and sweetness the carrots add but I don't like pieces of carrot in the sauce ... SO ... I add huge chunks to cook in the sauce and when it's all done, I can pull out the carrots and eat them.  It's yet another of the cook's treats that I ensure is in everything I cook, sort of like the bacon on the turkey, the extra cheese hanging off the smash burger and the extra mini meatballs in the pressure cooked meatballs, there's always a little something for me, from me ;)
   
Add a little more water if you need to make it saucy (don't worry, this is going to cook a while, it'll evaporate down), push the carrots down in the sauce then add a bay leave and shush it around.  Turn it to medium low and let it summer, half covered for a really long time.  I let it go at least a couple of hours. Here we go, it's 3 hours later (I got sewing and forgot it)  but it's not something that needs a timer, the longer the better.  I just turn it off now and wait till I want to assemble for dinner.
   

THE Pasta

WHILE this is cooking, you can go ahead and make the pasta.  Just cook it according to package directions.  I cook a whole box of mini pasta and leave it aside.  When I am assembling, I add some pasta to the meat sauce until it's the consistency I like.  Any remaining pasta can either be cooks treat (GRIN) or you can toss it in the fridge for a quick lunch another day or in the freezer for a quick lunch way down the road.  

Here is my cooked pasta, just so it doesn't get left out of the photo array.

Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the time on the box.  It's going to bake in the oven so if you cook it all the way it'll be gross and nasty so be sure to undercook it. 

*ALWAYS scoop some pasta cooking water out of the pot before you drain it, we will use it later.  You can thin any sauce or unglob any pasta that's stuck together with this.

I rinse the pasta at this point, because it's going to wait for me, then pop it back into the cooking pot with a lid.

   

The Sauce:

Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour and shush it around for a minute, add a couple of cups of milk and a few grates of nutmeg and of black pepper and cook it until it's thick, add a little more milk if you think it's TOO thick but we do want this thick.  Whoever said you have to add the milk slowly or it has to be hot has never owned a whisk.  Just dump it in and whisk until it boils, I've never had lumps and neither will you.

   
Stir and add the nutmeg, salt, pepper and a little oregano if you're so inclined.  A little cayenne is nice as is a little paprika if you're feeling chef-y.
   
Ah, nice a thick, here's the formal back of the spoon line test.  Nice.
  

Take it off heat and add a handful of good Parmesan cheese and 2 egg yolks.  I beat the yolks with a little warm pasta water so they don't seize or turn into scrambled eggs in the sauce (euwww)  Add the eggs in a slow stream and whisk the whole time.  

    
Look how beautiful and yellow and rich this looks!  Sometimes it just LOOKS like it's going to be amazing. 

Combine the meat sauce with as much pasta as makes you happy.  It needs to be about even, I think. If you have too much sauce, it won't hold together and we don't want that. 

Here is the meat sauce, it's room temperature, same as the pasta.  Add the pasta to the sauce.  I needed all the pasta this time to make a good ratio that will hold together later.

   
Pat the pasta/meat mixture into a dish, press pretty hard with your hand to flatten it and get rid of any big air pockets, we want this to be compressed.  Remember, we want a slice of this later, not a spoonful.

NOW add your thick sauce over top, we want it to stay on top, not soak in and certainly not combine with the pasta and meat.
     

    

I like breadcrumbs on mine. To make my breadcrumbs, I just dump some on the board and add some butter and rub it in by hand, why dirty a bowl?

NOW we pop it into the oven, 375 for about an hour...  let's go have a glass of wine while we wait.

Here it is, fresh out of the oven...  set the timer for 20 minutes and walk away!  Oh, let's have another glass of wine.

Ok, serve it up, slices, hunks, spoonfuls however you can get it from the plate into your mouth.  If you feel the need to serve a salad, some roasted veggies or some other healthy side, then go for it.  I like it in a large wedge, in the middle of my plate, with a big fork and the television tuned on.

I hope you go and make this, it's delicious, pretty easy and a real show stopper.  It looks like you spent more time than you really did.  Sure, there's a bunch of steps but they're easy and you can do everything ahead and it freezes GREAT so truly, there's no excuse, not even the 104 degree temperature outside today here in Austin.  When I want comfort food, I WANT comfort food ;) 

Here are the requisite beauty shots :D 

ahhh, out of the oven, rested and now, we cut into it!

   

The moment of truth when you slice in and it stayed together and the topping is a separate thing and it hasn't seeped in... it's a good moment :)  It's tender and soft and rich and crispy from the topping and the best crispy edges.  Yeah, I love this. on the plate, holding up and in the dish, slices beautifully.

  

Go make one, you'll be so very happy and so very warm and squishy inside ;)

/enjoy