February 2008
Ray shares ‘Just in Time’ recipes with studentsKatie Bimberg ‘10
Managing Editor
She sizzles, she stirs, she dazzles. And cooking for her is “yum-o.”
Her fans know that her recipes are “delish.”
Over 300 of them waited at Borders Books in Birmingham
four days before Christmas to meet Rachael Ray, talk show host/author/cook. In her fluster-free and efficient way, she signed close to 900 of her newly released “Just In Time” cookbooks.
She wasn’t always a famous TV personality.
Living with a family fascinated by food, she said she “grew up in the business” with her mother.
“She is a fantastic professional and a great cook,” Ray said. “I just tried to be as much like her as I could.”
She said that in the food industry you have to learn at a young age that everything is your job, that there is nothing that is not your job.
And she believes that anyone can do what she does -- cook. That is unless they don’t believe they can.
Her advice for students is to stay positive. For those who say, “I can’t cook,” Ray said, “They probably can’t.”
Her rationale?
“If you have your mind wrapped around something, you probably don’t want to do it,” Ray said. “If you want to cook, but you don’t have the skills, then you can do it… If you can hold a knife and turn on a stove, you can make something simple. If you say you can’t cook, and you mean it, you can’t.”
Ray says her success is based on her philosophy that “Anything I can do, anyone and everyone else can, too.”
As long as she has her favorite ingredient EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), she’s good to go.
One of the most important lessons she learned was not to take food too seriously.
What does she tell those who say they can’t bake?
“Call a good bakery!”
Ray admits that she did try baking for her mother’s birthday close to 20 years ago. She added, “That’s the last time I sifted anything.”
For students looking for an economical but romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner, Ray recommends a simple menu: spaghetti and meatballs. She said, “It worked for Lady and the Tramp.”
Recipes
Buffalo Baked Chicken with Blue Cheese, Celery and Carrot Slaw Maple-Glazed Pork Chops with Scallion Smashed Potatoes and Escarole Chicken Riggies and ‘Scarole
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
3/4 cup hot sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, halved crosswise
4 chicken drumsticks
Salt and black pepper
1 cup blue cheese crumbles
Juice of 2 lemons
1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 to 8 celery ribs from the heart with greens, thinly sliced on an angle
2 cups shredded carrots
6 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1/2 head of red cabbage, cored and shredded
3 cups salad croutons, ground into crumbs in a food processor
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, a generous handful, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter over low heat in a small pot and combine with the hot sauce. Place the chicken in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, then toss to coat un the Buffalo sauce. Let stand for 10 minutes.
...continued from page 22
In a bowl combine the blue cheese, lemon juice, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Add the celery, shredded carrots, scallions, and the red cabbage. Toss to combine.
Arrange the crushed croutons in a shallow dish, add the parsley, and mix with your fingers to combine. Press the sauce-coated chicken into the bread-crumb mixture to coat evenly, and set onto a nonstick baking sheet. Bake the chicken for 40 minutes or until cooked through golden brown.
Remove the chicken from the oven and serve alongside the blue cheese, celery, and carrot slaw.
2 1/2 pounds small potatoes, such as baby Yukon Gold or small red-skin potatoes, halved
Salt
4 (1 1/2-inch-thick) boneless pork loin chops
Black pepper
6 tablespoons EVOO (extra -virgin olive oil)
1 heaping tablespoon grainy mustard (eyeball it)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (eyeball it)
1 cup chicken stock
6 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped and chopped
1/4 cup maple syrup (eyeball it)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half (eyeball it)
3 tablespoons butter
4 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 large head of escarole, cored and the leaves torn into bite-size pieces
Place the potatoes in a medium saucepot with water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil over heat, add some heat, add some salt, and cook for 12 to 15 minutets, until tender.
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Preheat a large skillet, over medium-high to heat with 2 tablespoons of the EVOO, twice around the pan. When the oil begins to ripple, add the pork chops and sear for 2 minutes on each side, then turn the heat down to medium and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.
While the chops cook, stir together the grainy mustard, a little salt and pepper, and the vinegar in the bottom of a salad bowl. Whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup of EVOO, pouring it in a slow, steady stream.
Transfer the pork chops to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken stock, thyme, maple syrup, 2 teaspoons of the lemon zest, and the lemon juice to the skillet. Bring up to a bubble and simmer until lightly thickened, a couple of minutes.
Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot. Add the milk, butter, scallions, and some salt and pepper and mash the potatoes to your preferred consistency.
Return the pork chops to the pan with the glaze and flip around to coat them well. Place the chops on dinner plates; drizzle with any remaining glaze from the skillet. Toss the escarole with the dressing to coat and serve alongside each pork chop with a pile of smashed potatoes.
Salt
1 pound rigatoni
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 pound chicken tenders
Black pepper
6 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
1 large onion, chopped
7 to 8 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
2 large or 3 small cubanelle peppers, seeded and chopped
3 jarred hot cherry peppers (look in the Italian foods aisle)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/3 to 1/2 cup heavy cream (eyeball it)
1/3 pound thick-cut capocollo hot ham, chopped
2 heads of escarole, coarsely chopped
1 cup chicken stock
4 slices crusty bread
1/2 cup fresh basil, about 10 leaves, thinly sliced or shredded
Grated Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, to pass at the table
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the “riggies.” Salt the water, add the pasta, and cook al dente. Heads up: you will need to reserve a cup of the cooking water just before you drain the pasta.
Trim the chicken thighs of any skin or fat and chop the chicken into bite-size pieces. Season the cicken with salt and pepper.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the EVOO in a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until browned all over, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the onions, about half of the garlic, and the cubanelle peppers to the skillet, then season with salt and pepper and cook for 6 to 7 minutes to soften. Add the roasted red peppers. Cut the tops off the hot pepper and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon, then chop the hot peppers and add them to the skillet. Stir in the tomatoes, then add the chicken back to the sauce. Bring the sauce to a bubble and stir in about 1 cup of the reserved starchy cooking water from the pasta. Add the cream, twice around the pan; reduce the heat to the lowest setting; and simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes. Add the drained pasta and toss to combine.
While the chicken and peppers are cooking, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped ham and cook for 2 minutes, then add the remaining garlic and reduce the heat a bit. Add the greens and turn them over in the pan to wilt them down, about 2 minutes. Season the greens with salt and pepper, add the stock, and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. Place a slice of bread in each of 4 bowls and ladle the greens and broth over the bread.
Top the pasta with the shredded basil. Pass the cheese to sprinkle on both the pasta and the greens.
The Alfonsi Recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs
Sauce
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup finely cut onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 18 oz cans of tomato paste
4 large cans of whole peeled tomatoes
3 quarts of water
Fresh whole basil leaves
1/2 cup grated cheese
Mash the whole tomatoes into a large sauce pot, then add the paste and the water. Put it on the stove at a low temp. Stir it occasionally checking to see that it isn’t burning. While doing this, saute the olive oil, garlic, and onion, in a separate pan. Make sure it doesn’t burn or you will have to start over. You are only warming it. Then add the sauted mix into the sauce and mix in the basil and cheese. Give it a taste test when it is hot. If it is too sour, add a tablespoon of sugar to sweeten it up to your liking. Let this cook, checking it every few minutes while you work on the meatballs and spaghetti.
Meat Balls
1-1/2 cup beef ground round
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 finely chopped onion
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/3 cup of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup water
Mix these ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Then hand roll them into balls and saute them. After they are sauted, make sure the meat is cooked -no red- then, drop them into the sauce pot.
Cook the combined meatballs and sauce for abot 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
Spaghetti
1 pkg. spaghetti noodles
Put the noodles in a pot of boiling water. Make sure there is enough water to fully submerge the noodles. Let them cook on the stove on low, for about 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes. Do not let the noodles stick to the bottom, or you will have to start all over. When your noodles are soft enough to slice with a fork, then they are ready. Put a big strainer into the sink, and pour the pot with the noodles into the strainer. Place your noodles onto a serving plate.
Pour the meatballs and sauce over the noodles, and you have your two-person meal plus make sure boththe sauce and noodles are done and hot enough to eat.