Tuscan White Beans

This week I have been reading A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A bittersweet adventure.

The jury is still out on the book for me.  It is very descriptively written...filling my mind with scenes and food imagery. At the end of every chapter, there is a recipe.

About a third of the way through, I found a recipe for some Tuscan white beans.  In the book and the subsequent recipe, they cook the beans in a bottle in the ashes of a wood fire all day.  However, that basically will never happen in my lifetime here.  I love to cook, but I'm not that dedicated to the authenticity of the whole thing.

But, after reading through it, I figured out a way that I could make it work with some changes to their recipe and some changes to the cooking method.

I made it today and the smell in the house was flat out amazing.  The beans were part of tonight's dinner and they frankly blew me away.  The ingredients were so simple, but the flavor was outstanding.  

I served the beans over some Italian bread...torn into chunks...and had some prosciutto to go with the whole Italian theme in my head. 

Tuscan White Beans

• 1 lb dried beans
• water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• few grinds of pepper
• 1 tablespoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 4 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1-1/2 cup white wine

Start by soaking the beans.  I use the quick-soak method ....cover with cold water, cover pot, bring to a boil, turn off, leave covered for 1 hour, drain, rinse.  Or, you could cover with water and soak overnight.

After the beans are presoaked, put in pan and cover with fresh water.  I use a pressure cooker for this.  With the pressure cooker, you lock the lid on, bring it to pressure, reduce heat, cook for 10 minutes, release the pressure, drain, and the beans are ready to season.  If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can put in any pan, cover with water and cook covered for an hour or so until the beans are tender.  Both ways work equally well, the pressure cooker is just super quick.

I then put the beans in my slow cooker; added the salt, pepper, rosemary, sage, garlic, white wine, and olive oil; and cooked on high for 4 hours. And done!!!!!

If you don't have a slow cooker, you could just drain the beans (again); add in the seasonings, wine, and olive oil; add in 2 cups of water (you'll need more moisture cooking on a stovetop); and cook covered on the stove top for 1-1/2 hours.

Simple ingredients.....amazing taste.

Homemade Chicken Stock in a Slow Cooker

I use my slow cooker for TONS of things. One of the really cool things I found is that you can use it to make homemade chicken stock.

It’s super easy to do and the difference is amazing. While I certainly don’t use homemade chicken stock for everything, it’s a really nice thing to be able to do with leftovers and it really ups the recipe results when I do.

Last week I made some using the leftovers from a store-bought rotisserie chicken that I had picked up for a quick dinner.

Clean most of the meat off the chicken. Save the bones. If you can’t/don’t want to do the stock right away, put the bones in a bag in the freezer until you are ready.

Put in slow cooker.  Add a peeled and quartered onion, 2 or 3 peeled carrots, and some peeled garlic cloves.  I can’t stand celery, so it’s never in my house, but you can add a few stalks of that too. Cover with water.  

Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6—8 hours.  It will look something like the photo below. Note the difference in the deeper color to the liquid and the "cooked" look to the vegetables, etc.

When done, cool just until you can handle the crock insert. Strain the liquid. I line my colander with paper towels (see below) and slowly pour it through.

  

I stop occasionally to discard the solids that stop the liquid from flowing through. Replace the paper towels and re-strain a second time.

At this point, you can chill the whole container to skim the fat off the top, or just leave it in.  As you can see, there isn't a ton of fat in it. Just that small rim at the top.

Add salt to taste. Super important. Will taste horrible without adding salt.

The color of homemade stock is amazing.  Just look at that photo above and the one below.  It looks NOTHING like the watery yellow stuff that comes from the can, cube, or powder.  And the flavor is above compare.

I divide it up into small bags with 1 cup in each bag and freeze it. Then when I need some for a sauce or recipe, I just thaw it and use.

Try it.....you'll be impressed with your cooking prowess.

Cinco de Mayo is coming

Tonight while pre-cooking something for Cinco de Mayo, I splashed some bean cooking liquid in my eye.  I put it on FB and a friend asked for the recipe.  So much for sympathy, right ??? ;)

But it got me to thinking.  The particular meal that I am making is one of my and my sweet husband's favorites.

A couple years ago, I combined a few things I'd come across and made one of the best meals I have ever eaten.....let alone cooked.  It was SO GOOD that I went into a food depression for a while.  I felt like I had created the best thing I was ever going to cook, so why bother with anything else.  It really had me bummed.

Luckily I have come across some other things that have also become my "best thing ever."  So, the food depression is over.

But, here is my Cinco de Mayo meal....started in advance.

BLACK BEANS
Originally, I found a recipe for Black Beans on Homesick Texan.  But, at this point, I have made enough changes that I almost consider it my own.

Here is how I make the black beans.

You will need:

• 1 lb dried black beans
• water
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp chipotle powder
• 1 tbsp cumin.
• 3 cups of low sodium chicken broth
• 3 tbsp bbq sauce
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp salt

Take 1 lb of dried black beans.  Put them in a 2 qt or larger pot.  Cover them with water and cover the pot.  Bring to a boil and turn off, leaving them covered and on the burner.

After an hour, drain and rinse and they are ready to use.

In a pressure cooker, saute up 1 chopped onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil.  While that's cooking, grate 1 carrot.  Also, clean 6 cloves of garlic and run them through a garlic press.  After the onions start to caramelize a bit, add in the grated carrot and pressed garlic.  Cook for 2 minutes more.

Add in 1 tablespoon chipotle (1/2 tablespoon if you don't like spicy beans) and 1 tablespoon of cumin.  Saute for 1 more minute.

Add in 3 cups of low sodium chicken broth and the drained and rinsed beans.

Put lid on pressure cooker.  Lock in place.  Bring to pressure and cook for 10 minutes (maintaining pressure).

After 10 minutes, turn off. and let cook until pressure drops.  Add in bbq sauce, lime juice, and salt.  Cook uncovered for 30 minutes.  Mash about half of the beans and it's ready to serve.

BEER BRAISED PORK IN SLOW COOKER

Really simple.

• pork roast
• salt and pepper
• splash of hot sauce
• can of diced  green chiles
• 12 oz bottle of beer

Put pork roast into slow cooker. 

Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Add splash of hot sauce.

Top with entire can of green chiles.

Pour beer over whole thing.

Cover and cook on low for at least 6 hours or high for 3.

Shred meat and serve.

HOMEMADE TORTILLA CHIPS

Preheat oven to 425.

Use pizza cutter or kitchen scissors to quarter tortillas.

Brush with olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 425 for 9 minutes.