Delallo Orecchiette

Well, well. These "little ears" are hard to find sometimes and I got lucky when I scored this package.


In addition to the bread crumbs the next Ramsay recipe calls for orecchiette.


I recently saw an episode of some show, or maybe I read it somewhere, that pasta made with bronze plates are supposed to be superior to those that are not. The rough surface offers more surface are compared to plastic-extruded pasta which is supposed to make your sauce stick better. It makes sense to me. Either way, the cooking instructions are about the same.


Packaged by the pound, the bag comes with a little strip of tape, sort of like the package these raisins come in. If you only use a portion of the bag, you can fold down the top and tape the bag shut.


Aren't they cute? They are like shells that haven't been curled up, making them like tiny bowls.


Delallo Orecchiette available in the pasta/ethnic aisle at Ralph's for $3.99 a 1-lb package.

Private Selection Pugliese Petite Boule

For the next recipe, I only need 75 grams of fresh bread crumbs. I looked for the smallest quantity available for purchase and found this tiny little boule.


While I don't have any reason to warm the loaf, directions are provided.


And here's the other reason why I bought it - it's not loaded with a laundry list of ingredients including ten pounds of preservatives.


Look how adorable it is.


Carving away, and then snacking on, the tasty crust I zizzed cubes of the soft white bread until there were only crumbs left.


Doing the entire boule, I yielded the 75 grams I needed (on the scale) plus about 1 and 1/2 or 1 and 2/3 cup extra which I'll try freezing.


Private Selection Pugliese Petite Boule, 8.8 ounces, available in the breads near the deli at Ralph's for $1.99.

Spicy Sausage Rice

Calling for sausage and rice, done in a single pot, and it's quick? There's no reason not to try this one.

Spicy Sausage Rice
adapted from Channel 4, which had it at one time but doesn't anymore, so here's a video
click to print

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 lb bulk hot Italian sausage
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 c long-grain rice
187 mL white wine
2 c chicken stock
4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
1 tomato, chopped
small bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat.


Add the onions and cook 5 minutes until soft but not browned.

My onions got a little brown in those 5 minutes.

Add the bell pepper and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.


Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes until just browned.


Add the smoked paprika and mix. Season to taste.


Add the rice and stir well to mix thoroughly and absorb the flavor.


Deglaze the pan by pouring in the white wine and scraping any bits stuck to the bottom.


Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 10–20 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid almost entirely absorbed.

13 minutes after the stock was added, it was almost entirely absorbed and the rice was tender.

Remove from heat, gently fold in the spring onions, tomato and parsley and serve.



I really liked the flavors - the smoky paprika and spicy sausage are great. The tomatoes, scallions, and parsley folded in after cooking really make it so fresh tasting. Odd is how the parsley flavor is added here as a real flavor rather than a garnish or essence. I mean, parsley actually tastes good.

The only criticism I have it that the recipe originally called for a single tablespoon of oil. Maybe my onion was huge but there wasn't enough oil to soften the onions without browning. Or maybe I had poopy technique, such as the flame was just too high. Watching the video, it sure seems like Ramsay put in much more than one tablespoon! Really though, that's pretty nit-picky.

I'm not sure if it should be impressive or depressing that Gordon Ramsay cooks food like this. It tastes good, is not complicated, and is inexpensive. Certainly, it demonstrates his apparent versatility and, clearly, his realization that not everyone can afford to eat truffles or spend five hours preparing and beautifying a single dish. The more I learn about Ramsay the more I find I like him.

Cost:

• olive oil: $0.06
• red onion: $0.91
• red bell pepper: $1.50
• garlic cloves: $0.16
• hot Italian sausage: $3.99
• long-grain rice: $0.80
• white wine: $1.50
• chicken stock: $0.32
• spring onions*
• tomato: $1.37
• flat-leaf parsley: $0.40

Total: $11.01 or about $2.75 for each of four generous servings.

*The last time I used scallions/green onions/spring onions, I placed the root ends in a glass of water. I've been trimming the quantities I need for recipes since. This one and some leftover chili, so far. I don't know if I'll use more of them since the color is gradually diminishing and they look a little anemic. Maybe I'll throw 'em in a pot of dirt.

Grocery List, 062913

Last night I found a notice on my door, just like those posted on other doors, stating the apartment complex is under new management. I've yet to hear what is happening with the roof on this building - there is plenty of evidence of work happening on the garages and on other buildings. So do I cough up the June rent in addition to the July rent even though I don't know for certain the roof is fixed AND the damage from the inadequate roof "fixes" over the years haven't been repaired? Or do I pay July and continue withholding June with hopes that I don't get the pay or quit notice? Or do I get real ballsy and not pay July either?

While I stew over that, I might as well make something to eat. Consumed with Gordon Ramsay (finished watching Masterchef US season 2 Thursday night and started Season 3 last night), I've found a couple of his main courses interesting. The dessert is someone else's, from a magazine.

Spicy Sausage Rice
Beef Meatballs with Orechiette, Kale and Pine Nuts
Chocolate Almond Joy Cupcakes

Ralph's

• milk: $1.39/quart
• orecchiette: $3.99/lb
• chardonnay: $5.99
• organic kale: $1.49/bunch
• Fuji apples (2): $2.04/1.14 lb
• tomato: $0.59/0.55 lb
• cilantro: $0.59/bunch
• red onion: $0.91/0.61 lb
• red bell pepper: $1.50
• hot Italian sausage: $3.99/lb
• boule: $1.99

TOTAL: $24.47

And crap, so now I need to either go for Italian parsley or skip it in the rice recipe.

Smart & Final:

• Italian parsley: $0.79/bunch

Grand Total: $25.26

Total for the year: $943.39

Orange and Ginger Caramelized Chicken Wings

Here we go, my first attempt at a Gordon Ramsay recipe. It was hard deciding which one to start with as he has so many available on the internet that look so good and really simple to prepare. The pile of wings I had in the freezer helped me decide.

Orange and Ginger Caramelized Chicken Wings
adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape found at channel4.com
click to print

3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
6–8 shallots, peeled and sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and bashed
2 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
zest and juice of 2 oranges
3/4 c granulated sugar
2/3 c water
2 tbsp fish sauce
2.2 lbs chicken wings
sea salt
crushed black pepper
green onion, optional for garnish


That there's most everything, ready to rock and roll. Look at that bowl of sugar!

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat the oil in a pan.


Add the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, and orange zest and cook for 2–3 minutes, until the ingredients have softened.

Once the ingredients were added to the oil and stirred, I realized the lemongrass was just going to continue sitting on top of everything else instead of mingling. Fishing them out immediately, I quickly cut them to stirrable lengths (1.5-2 inches) and returned them to the pan. 

Add the sugar, water, orange juice, and fish sauce and stir to dissolve.


Cook until the mixture has reduced and thickened. This should take 3–4 minutes and the sauce should start turning syrupy. Remove from the heat and set aside.

I let it continue simmering as it didn't appear to reduce at all.

Meanwhile, place a large frying pan over a high heat and add 3–4 tablespoons of vegetable oil.


Season the chicken with salt and pepper.


In batches, sear the pieces for 3 minutes, until browned.


You'll want to get the splatter screen out if you have one. Don't wait until the second batch of chicken, find it before you start. 

Transfer the chicken wings to an ovenproof dish and pour over the caramel sauce, mixing well to coat.


Bake wings in the oven 40–45 minutes until golden brown and sticky. Halfway through cooking, baste the chicken wings.

Twenty minutes in, I realized that my wings weren't going to have the texture I was looking for if they continued to steam in this pile of juice. They were transferred to a baking sheet and the sauce poured over before returning to the oven.

Remove the chicken wings from the oven.


Season with sea salt and crushed black pepper and serve with the sauce spooned over if you like.


This is excellent chicken! I can definitely see doing this with drums and/or thighs too. The orange is a nice prominent flavor with just a mild hint of lemon from the lemongrass, which I'm glad I finally tried. Caramelized, the lemongrass, orange zest, and ginger pieces were like bits of candy accentuating the sticky wings.

Now the nuts and bolts. The sauce wasn't reduced a whole lot after a few minutes. I let it continue simmering for 30 minutes, right up until I poured it over the chicken which I had dragged my feet to brown, and it still hadn't reduced much at all. I think the pan shouldn't have been a saucepan but a skillet. I'm glad I switched from the baking dish to a baking sheet. That really allowed the sauce to thicken and become more caramelized. Some of the skin was even crispy which was a surprise considering how saucy the dish was.

It is a really sweet sauce and I'd probably cut back on the sugar a bit to allow the citrus to have more of a bang. When measuring the sugar, 150 grams, my eyes got bigger and bigger as I kept spooning it into the tared prep bowl. Instead of 3/4 cups, I'd maybe do 2/3 or even as low as 1/2 a cup.

I'm not really thrilled with the fish sauce I used. It wasn't very pungent and didn't give the big salty boost in flavor as I'd expected.

Overall, a win. I look forward to doing this again and trying additional Ramsay recipes.

Cost:

• vegetable oil: $0.24
• shallots: $2.15
• garlic cloves: $0.32
• lemongrass: $0.90
• fresh ginger: $1.61
• oranges: $1.14
• sugar: $0.30
• fish sauce: $0.50
• chicken wings: $5.48

Total: $12.64 or about $3.16 for each of four servings.