Entries from The Amateur Gourmet tagged with 'Chorizo'
Baked Red Kidney Beans with Chorizo
Is cheating on a recipe like cheating on a test? I wondered that as I made the "Red Kidney Beans Baked with Chorizo, Chilli, Garlic, and Olive Oil" from Simon Hopkinson's sequel to "Roast Chicken & Other Stories," "Second Helpings of Roast Chicken." Simon, or Mr. Hopkinson (that feels more appropriate), calls for dried kidney beans in his recipe "soaked in cold water overnight." I have a philosophy about recipes that call for dried beans soaked in cold water overnight: I hate them! Who plans a recipe the night before? I mean, ok, there've been times I knew I was having guests the next day where I made a cake ahead or marinated meat ahead, but I've never soaked beans ahead. I just refuse to do it; I use canned beans instead....
A Killer Breakfast
There is no greater triumph for a home cook than to make something spectacular out of food you already have on hand. Case in point: the dish you see above, Chorizo scrambled eggs and fried fingerling potatoes--assembled, with no premeditation, in a matter of minutes. How did I do it? Easy. I took Chorizo that I had leftover from the Arroz Con Pollo I cooked last week and, after peeling off the skin, cut it into cubes. I heated some olive oil, added the cubes, fried them up a bit--poured off some excess fat--and then added 3 eggs slightly beaten. I immediately lowered the heat to barely a whisper of a flame and stirred around until the eggs were hardly cooked. Salt, pepper, all done! As for the potatoes, I took the fingerlings and cut them vertically. Then I coated a skillet with olive oil, turned on high heat, waited a few minutes and carefully placed the poatoes in face down. I left them like that for a long while--10 minutes--and after lifting one to make sure it was a dark beautiful brown, I started tossing them all around and continuing to cook until a knife went through easily. At that point I added lots of salt and pepper and tilted on to a plate. Not the healthiest breakfast in the world, but one that'll put a big smile on your face. And if you're smiling at breakfast, imagine what you'll be doing at dinner. No wonder it's the most important meal of the day....
