Condiments: New York Style Sweet & Sour Onions

This recipe is slightly adapted from one that the good folks at BARK hand-out.

shopping = easy
difficulty = easy
expense = low

4 large yellow onions, sliced thinly
1 t. canola oil
1 12 oz. San Marzano Tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 T. salt

1. Heat a large wide pan over medium heat
2. Add oil to pan and swirl
3. Add all the onions at once and stir for 1 minute
4. Add salt
5. Cook onions for 5 minutes (translucent and slightly brown)
6. Puree the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar until smooth
   
7. Add tomato mixture to onions and stir for 1 minute
8. Lower heat to medium-low and cook for 45 minutes
9. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then store in clean glass jar (in fridge)d

This is great on a bagel and really excellent in a turkey sandwich where the bread is hot and the turkey is bland.

12 restaurants of 2011

We don't explore Brooklyn enough. So in 2011, we'll be visiting 12 well-known restaurants that I have never visited.

We'll dine at one per month and I'll post impressions here. Aside from Brooklyn Fare, we'll try to keep the bill for two consistently at $100 total (tax, tip, everything).

Here are the 12 restaurants (in no order).

1. Buttermilk Channel
2. Char No. 4
3. Brooklyn Fare
   
4. Roberta’s
5. Good Fork
6. Tanoreen
7. Dressler
8. Applewood
9. Fonda
10. Prime Meats
11. Vinegar Hill House
12. Locandi Vini e Olli

Simple Chicken Braise

So my kids are loving hot and saucy dishes (no pun, really) this winter. I invented this (I think) last week with a few ingredients in the fridge.

Chicken Braise
shopping = easy
difficulty = medium
expense = low

4 chicken thighs (skin-on), extraneous skin and fat removed, patted dry
3 carrots, sliced in half and then cut into 1/2" half-moons
1 onion, large dice
5 garlic cloves, peeled
5 red potatoes, peeled and large dice (match the onion)
3 T. canola oil
1/2 cup chicken broth (low-sodium) or water
1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar

1. In large OVEN-SAFE pot, heat 2 T. canola oil over medium-high heat
2. Add all for thighs, skin-side down
3. Leave chicken alone for 6 minutes
4. remove chicken from pot to bowl
   
5. increase heat to high
6. [preheat oven to 400]
7. add onions and garlic cloves to pot
8. saute for 1 minute
9. add carrots and potatoes to pot
10. saute for 5 minutes
11. add chicken and accumulated juices back to pan
12. add broth/water
13. add salt and sugar
14. bring to boil
15. turn off stove, put on lid, put pot in oven
16. bake for 15 minutes
17. remove from oven and eat over rice or with crusty bread
    

Condiment 1: Cilantro Sauce

Very simple and hardly a recipe at all.

1. 1 bunch washed and dry (important) cilantro
2. 2 washed scallions, cut into 1" pieces
3. 1 t. salt
4. 1 t. agave
5. 1 t. lime juice

Pulse in food processor. Serve same day.

Homemade condiments

We're back to roasting a couple chickens per week. The weather is cold. I can put some root vegetables under the birds that will taste great and fill the kids up. It's convenient and become second-nature.

Though I've grown a little tired of the chickens, the family still loves it. That led me to making my own condiments. They are really simple to make, taste fresh, and enliven other foods. In other words, they add.

We'll be exploring condiments in the next few posts