Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book (51 page)

About 30 minutes before the ribs are done, add the onions, celery, and carrots to the braising pot and replace the cover.

In a medium skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the 3 tablespoons of flour, cook for about 1 minute, then whisk in the remaining ½ bottle of pomegranate juice. Bring the sauce to a bubble
and cook until it is reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of beef stock and season with salt and pepper.

When the ribs are finished braising, remove the pot from the oven and transfer the meat and veggies to a serving platter. Discard the bay leaf. Stir the gravy into the braising liquid and cook over medium-high heat until thickened, a couple minutes more.

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, place a medium pot over medium-high heat and melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the sage and cook until it is aromatic and lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the milk and chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil. When the liquids boil, whisk in the polenta and cook, continuing to whisk, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season the polenta with nutmeg, the grated Parm, and salt and pepper.

Coarsely chop the beet greens and dress with the lemon juice, the remaining tablespoon of EVOO, and salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle some polenta into a shallow bowl. Place two rib portions and some of the braised veggies and beets on top of the polenta and ladle some of the gravy over everything. Garnish each serving with some of the dressed beet greens and with pomegranate seeds, if you have them.

I am a fan of many of the Food Network chefs and this one's for you, Bobby Flay. I think of it as a tribute—kind of like a food version of a song cover. Come over for that supper we've owed each other for a long time and I'll make it for you and Stephanie.

SERVES 6

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Slice the top third off the entire head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Dress the garlic with a tablespoon of the EVOO and wrap in foil. Set aside.

In a sauce pot with a tight-fitting lid, bring 1½ cups of the stock, 1 tablespoon of the butter, and the rice to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes; you want to slightly undercook the rice.

To prepare the peppers for stuffing, lay them down on their sides and take a thin slice off the length of each pepper. Scoop out the seeds. Your peppers should look like empty boats. Chop the slices you have removed.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5 to 6 minutes to brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Stir in the chopped poblanos, the thyme, 1 tablespoon of the cumin, the scallions, and salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes more, transfer to a mixing bowl, and stir in the semicooked rice, tomatoes, cilantro or parsley, and lime juice. Combine the ingredients thoroughly.

Using a spoon or your hands, mound the stuffing into the pepper boats. Once they're filled, arrange the peppers in a 9 × 13-inch casserole dish, alternating the stem ends so that they all fit snugly in the pan. Add a splash of water or chicken stock to the pan and cover with aluminum foil. Place the peppers and the foil-wrapped garlic in the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Remove the garlic from the oven, uncover the peppers, and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned and cooked through. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted pulp into a small bowl and set aside.

About 10 or 15 minutes before the peppers come out of the oven, make the cheese sauce: Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in 1 cup of the chicken stock and the milk, bring up to a bubble, and cook until thickened. Season with some salt and pepper, turn the heat down to low, and stir in the cheese with a figure-eight motion until melted.

For the beans, place another medium sauce pot over medium heat with the remaining tablespoon of EVOO. Add the red onions, salt and pepper, and the remaining teaspoon of cumin and cook, stirring every now and then, for 6 to 7 minutes. Add 1 can of the beans and all of the roasted garlic pulp, mashing the onions, beans, and garlic together. Fold in the remaining can of black beans and the remaining ½ cup of chicken stock, add hot sauce to taste, then simmer for 5 minutes to thicken.

Cover each dinner plate with some cheese sauce. Spoon some beans in a line across the plate. Place a pepper on the plate perpendicular to the beans and garnish the plate with chopped olives.

Dinner-Size Texas Chili Cheese Fries

One night my husband asked me, “Could you make cheese fries into a simple supper … that won't kill me?” Here's my answer.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Place the potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle them with the grill seasoning and give them a good drizzle of EVOO; toss to coat. Roast the potatoes until crispy golden brown, about 40 minutes, turning them once halfway through the cooking time.

While the potatoes are roasting, place a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat with the 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until brown, 6 to 7 minutes, using a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to break it up into small pieces as it cooks.

Push the meat to one side of the pan and add the onions, garlic, jalapeño, chili powder, and cumin to the pot. Cook until the veggies soften, 5 to 6 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook for about 1 minute, until it smells sweet and has caramelized slightly. Add hot sauce to taste, the Worcestershire, and the beer or stock. Bring everything up to a bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer the chili until thickened, about 10 minutes.

While the chili is simmering, melt the butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and cook it for about a minute, stirring. Stir the mustard into the roux, then whisk in the milk and chicken stock. Continue whisking the sauce until it has thickened up, then remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheese in a figure-eight motion until it melts. Season the cheese sauce with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a large salad bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup of EVOO along with the red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Add the lettuce and cucumber to the bowl and toss to combine. To serve, divide the fries among 4 plates and top each serving with some chili and some cheese sauce. Serve the salad alongside.

Greek Beef Tenderloin in Togas with Mediterranean Orzo and Greek Salad

This menu is a fancy fake for entertaining—it looks very sophisticated, yet it is very simple to put together.