Stock without MSG....that's a good thing

Making your own stock is not only easy, but makes everything you cook using this golden herbed liquid taste better.  It really does.  For those of you already making your own stock you know what I mean.  For those that want to but just haven't gotten into the stock groove yet...well once you get the routine down...it be easy!

There are so many good reasons to make your own stock starting with how much money you will save.  One reason I began making my own stock years back was that I found everything that tasted really good off the grocery store shelves also was really good because of the MSG in the ingredients...and not just an ingredient, but almost always, nearly the first ingredient!  OH and did I mention that those products are always expensive!  ;-)

The routine I have gotten into makes it easy to make the stock.  I either make a huge batch once a month or smaller batches twice a month.  SO.....next time you make a roast chicken or purchase one of those pre-made rotisserie birds don't throw out the carcass.  Just chop it up a bit and throw the pieces into a freezer ziploc bag and label it "for stock" and put it into your freezer.  Oh and lets say your cutting up a bird for a recipe and your about to throw out the wings or the weird mysterious looking chicken parts you find sometimes in a pre-cut up whole chicken package...toss those into the ziplocs too.  In no time you will have a good collection of chicken pieces.

The beauty of the process is that you don't even need to thaw out the pieces to make stock.  Just toss them all into a big dutch oven or french oven or a deep stock pot, fill with water to just about an inch from the top. Next add two large onions quartered...technically you don't even need to peel the onions...but I do anyhow.  Add about 5 cloves of fresh garlic, three stalks of celery with leaves...and your just about set.
But the magic to making the stock flavor pop lies in the herbs you wrap in cheese cloth (bouquet garni).  I use two sprigs of rosemary - fresh or dried, 3 big bay leaves, a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns, 4 large dried sage leaves, 5 sprigs of thyme - fresh or dried...now roll up the cloth and tie up the ends with cotton twine, leaving one of the twine ends longer so you can easily pull it out of the pot when it's time.

Easy or what?!  Just cook all the ingredients over medium heat for about four hours.  Strain the ingredients thru a metal sieve into a large vessel.  Now here is what I do to make the process even simpler.  You know those large yoghurt containers... Save them and their lids.  Just about to the top yields four cups.  I fill them up, put on the lids and place them into the fridge.  Next day, remove and skim off the fat from each container and freeze them.  All you do when you need one is to thaw it out on the counter top or in the microwave...although I was told that it's not necessarily a good thing to thaw foods in plastic containers using a microwave...either way...that's all there is to it.  Generally I don't add salt to the stock till I am using it for whichever dish I am preparing...then I add salt as needed...otherwise, you might end up with a salty finished project...and who wants that.....just sayin....

Stock it to em!

robert

After a break in the foodie-ism realm...I am back

So many readers kept asking where my daily blog was.  I was touched that so many had become daily followers of Foodolicious.  So for you fellow foodies, I am back. 

Warm weather is upon us finally and finally using the grill not only makes sense but feels right in this sort of weather...like it's a necessity.  I have many recipes up my big sleeves revolving around the grill...but today...I am keeping you in the kitchen...it's not that hot yet...unless you live in Phoenix or Palm Springs or Saudi Arabia....but soon the grilling recipes...I promise.

Last year in my vegetable garden I grew about 20 plants of basil.  The plants thrived and Basil loves to be picked because it motivates and invigorates the plants to keep putting out new branches during their growing season.  I highly recommend fish emulsion to help Basil thrive.  I love to make Cherry Tomato salads with Feta and Fresh Basil and Fresh Cucumbers...such a taste of summertime!  What I do most with my basil though, is to make huge batches of pesto.  I spoon this green heavenly paste into ice cube trays, freeze them and pop them out and using my food saver, seal them in plastic bags and have them readily available all year long in my freezer.  You only need a few cubes too for so many scrumptious dishes.  In place of regular tomato based sauce on pizza, to make Pesto Focaccia Bread, tossed with fresh pasta and on and on.  As I mentioned before, just a small jar is so expensive off the shelves in your local markets, that your money saving endeavor growing your own Basil will thrill you and your wallets! 

Just last month this simple and extremely savory idea came to me!  Why not spread the pesto on individually sliced eggplant in place of fresh Basil leaves on my Eggplant Parmigiana recipe?  So that is just what I did.  It packed so much more flavor with the pesto enhancement that I knew I had to share it here on Foodolicious.  This recipe is amazingly simple and very healthy too, in my recipe I bake the slices of eggplant which makes for a lighter fare than deep frying the eggplant as many traditional recipes call for. Nor do I do any breading.  Remember not to include any additional salt in this recipe because the pesto is salty enough on its own because of the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.   Vegetarians go cwazy for this dish too...it's one dish that doesnt cry out for meat, the eggplant is enough on it's own...(for us meat eaters that is ;-0 )

Pesto Eggplant Parmigiana

Three medium sized Eggplants - peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds

 (I favor the round white with lavender hue but any plump type will do)

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese - shredded

1 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese - shredded

1 cup pesto sauce

Your favorite Marinara Sauce

Extra virgin olive oil

Heat your oven to 350 degrees

Brush both sides of the slices of eggplant liberally with olive oil and bake them on cookie sheets until they begin to turn golden brown

In a medium sized rectangular glass baking dish,

spread out a layer of the marinara sauce

followed by a layer of eggplant, each slice spread with pesto sauce

Place a layer of the cheeses over the eggplant

Repeat the layers twice or if you want extra thick Parmigiana, use more eggplants

and a larger baking dish and make more layers making sure to finish with a layer of the cheeses

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes

Note:  I don't sweat my eggplant slices, as many recipes call for... frankly I don't notice  any difference doing so first.  It is also time consuming...this recipe is very very easy and very very tasty...you'll see...Oh! and serving this with a green salad such as the amazing salad I posted in early January http://foodolicious.blogspot.com/2011/01/wild-mamas-of-tuscany.html and a good expensive bottle of red wine will make this complete...

Buon Appetito!

Robert