Grandma Carpenter's "Polish Stew"

Grandma Carpenter's "Polish Stew" is really a meaty, tomato ribbon pasta dish.  I don't know where the recipe title came from, but certainly not Grandma who is very, very Irish. She's so Irish that where ever she steps, four leaf clovers sprout of the ground! (Edit: At least, that's what the Stokes would have you to believe. Meghan has just informed me that, "She's not that Irish." Well, I'm just going to go with it.)

All of the ingredients! Yep. All of them.

Grandma Carpenter's "Polish Stew"
1 pound ground beef (whatever percentage of fat you like)
1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup
1 can Tomato Paste
1 tsp Dried Basil
1/2 bag of Wide Egg Noodles
Water
Salt and pepper to taste


Boil water for noodles. Brown the beef in a non-stick pan, add a little olive oil if needed. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomato paste, the tomato soup, basil and fill each can with water and add that as well. Add the noodles to the boiling water. Simmer the sauce for 5-6 minutes while the noodles cook. Add the noodles to the sauce when they're slightly al dente and incorporate fully.  Add pasta water if you would like the sauce a little looser. Cover and let sit for 2 minutes. Serve.


Why not onions or garlic? What about oregano, thyme, savory, marjoram, or rosemary, you ask? Grandma's a simple woman with simple tastes, and she downright hates onions. No need for the silly Hamburger Helper. This dish is about as basic and cheap as you can get, and the entire family loves it.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Rice

At a price of $1.89 per pound, the package of chicken thighs called out to me from chilly meat isle. "Buy us! We're flavorful and cheap!" How can I pass up such a siren's song? The chicken thigh is such a versatile and often overlooked cut of meat. Many people have an adversion to bones, which immediately rules out anything but a chicken breast as viable poultry protein.  For my recovering vegetarian wife, it is too close to Real™ for comfort. That is a problem easy enough to solve; I've become much better at pan roasting the more sensitive cut of meat. This doesn't mean I have forgotten the forelorn thigh.  Oh, no. I am most certainly a leg-man.

I obtained this recipe for Chicken and Rice - or a semblance thereof - from the author and cook Mark Bittmann, a New York food columnist and cook book author.  I had obtained one of his little green cookbooks, a precursor to "How to Cook Everything" or maybe an early version, which turned out to be a real eye-opener. In the spirit of simplicity, Mark breaks down some of the more complicated dishes into its core components, making it accessible for us average spatula wielders. He then provides variations on the recipie that change the flavor profiles from Asian to Spanish and Italian.  I don't have the book any longer, as I had gifted it to a friend before she left for Florida, but I'm getting ready to buy an eBook version of HtCE soon.

Without further delay, the recipe.

Chicken and Rice
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4-6

2 pounds chicken thighs
1 cup long-grain rice (or medium, but NOT minute rice)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups water
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

While you bring the water to a boil in a tea kettle or sauce pan, saute the onions in the olive oil until soft in a high-walled skillet. Stir in the rice and roast for 2 minutes.  Pour in the hot water and bring to a simmer.  Trim the skin and fat off the thighs, salt and pepper them, and nestle them into the rice. Cover. Reduce heat to low and walk away.  Turn off heat at 30 minutes and let sit for 5 minutes.

This is one of my favorite recipies for its simplicity and flavor. Give it a try.

Bigbee's Sloppy Joes

Night had arrived early, as it does this time of year, and brought a howling wind to toss the new snow about.  Even with proper attire, you would be hard pressed to stay warm.  As I began cleaning the kitchen to prepare for dinner, a solid knock was heard above the ruckus outside.  On the stoop leaned an older man dressed in strange attire, carrying sacks and bags over his shoulder and attached to a wide army belt.  His grey beard whipped about, and tufts of grey hair stuck out from under his stocking cap.  He coughed before speaking.

"Pardon me, but my car has broken down around the block.  No one is answering their doors tonight.  Could I be so bold as to ask to stay inside and borrow your phone to call a towing agency?"

Normally, I would ask for the person to stay on the stoop and hand the phone to him, but it was not a night for leaving someone out in the cold.  He didn't seem drunk, nor was he trying to sell me anything.

"Please.  Come in.  My name is Chad, and these are my son's Connor and Ryan." Peter was jumping all over the man, of course.  The little Boston simply can't contain his excitement.

"Oh, ho, little one."  The name had a pleasant smile and a crackly chuckle. He reached down to pat the incorrigible dog.  I tossed him the wireless phone and invited him to make himself comfortable.

"Pardon me, but I've got supper to make.  Connor, Ryan.  Tubby time."  I figured having the boys in the bathroom and not in the stranger's way was a good move.  The boys hopped to, happy to have time in the bubble tub.  Meghan was off at Katie's for the night, her Wednesday routine.  I'd definitely have to tell her about our visitor when she got home.

Time to turn back to dinner, or rather deciding what to make with the meager pantry.  I had hamburger, bread, some ketchup and and onions.  I needed something that was quick and delicious to a 5 year old and toddler.

"Could I be of some assistance?"  The old man still wore his coat with its many assorted, draped bags and sacks.  "I believe this should work nicely."  He handed me a 3x5" recipe card with the following inscription:

Bigbee's Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground beef (93/7)

1 small onion, diced

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup beef stock

1/2 tsp Worchteshire sauce

1/4 tsp ground mustard seed

1/2 tsp chile powder

1 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tsp cider vinegar

salt and pepper

Brown the beef and drain.  Saute the onions in a little vegetable oil.  Mix the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard seed, and chile powder.  Return the beef to the skillet and add stock and ketchup mixture.  Simmer 5-10 minutes.  Serve on toasted bread or hamburger buns.

Bigbee?  Now, where have I heard that name before?  The old man smiled and nodded.  "Thanks for letting me borrow your phone.  The wrecker will be here shortly.  I'd best be at the car when it arrives."

I escorted the old man out the front door and locked it behind him, shook my head, and prepared dinner.  The boys ate with gusto, leaving not a morsel behind.  It didn't hurt serving the sloppy joes with tater tots.  Ever since that night, I've wanted to properly thank the man for such a kind gift, but I never heard from him again.

Beery Good, Spicy Italian Spaghetti

Time for a recipe!  This one turned out beautifully today!

Beery Good, Spicy Italian Spaghetti
1.5 lbs spicy Italian sausage (6 links)
1/2 vadalia onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 bottle pilsner beer
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Savory, dried
1/2 tsp Thyme, dried
1/2 tsp Oregano, dried
1/4 tsp Rosemary, dried
1/2 tsp Marjoram, dried
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
1 lb Spaghetti
Parmesan Cheese

In a 12" skillet, brown the sausage in a little olive oil.  If you're using links, heat them up first as links, then take them off the heat.  Let them cool and slice them up.  Clean the skillet and sautee the onions in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until soft (5 min), add the minced garlic until fragrant (30 seconds).  Add the sliced sausage back to the pan and pour in the beer.  Reduce, 5-10 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce and herbs, sugar, and salt and pepper.  If you didn't have minced garlic, add the dried garlic now.  Mix, cover, and simmer 15+ minutes.  Cook the spaghetti in boiling water until slightly al dente.  Transfer the noodles to the skillet with the sauce and add 1/2 cup of pasta water (the water you just boiled the noodles in).  Cook for 5 minutes.  Transfer to a serving bowl!  Garnish with Parmesan and serve with a lettuce salad, maybe some garlic bread.


Remember to add pasta water if you need to thin out the sauce.