TO Sort Out

I have bits and pieces of recipes a little bit everywhere and it gets really confusing! Here's an example and I will put it here to sort out later.

16 ounces linguine

1/4 cup butter

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided (80+80)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided (20+20g)

1 teaspoon herbs de Provence

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salt 1/2 tsp and pepper 1/8 tsp, to taste

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking dish.

Cook the linguine according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the flour until smooth.

Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and milk, stirring until smooth. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Reduce heat and add half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Season with herbs de Provence, nutmeg, salt and pepper, to taste.

Combine the sauce with the cooked linguine and toss to coat well. Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheeses.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh parsley for garnish.

Myth 3: If you don’t soak overnight, you should at least quick-soak.

Man, people are just really attached to this idea of the presoak. The so-called quick soak is a method where you place beans in water, bring them to a boil, turn off the heat, and then let the beans soak in the water for an hour. We tried the quick-soak method, and although the cooking time didn’t vary much (the quick-soaked beans cooked just 5 minutes faster than the overnight soaked ones and 15 minutes faster than the no-soak beans), the flavor was our favorite of the bunch.

Slower to cook but the flavor of the lid-off beans was vastly better. Without a lid, the cooking liquid is able to reduce at a faster rate, creating a more flavorful bean broth that coated each pinto.

The beans that were salted early on were more tender.

Add cold water until it’s about 2 inches above the top of the beans.

Stir in 1½ tsp. kosher salt (and flavorings if you’d like, see below) and bring the beans and their soaking water to a boil over medium heat. Uncover, reduce heat, and simmer until the beans are tender and creamy, checking after 1 hour and adding more water as necessary to keep beans submerged, 1–1½ hours total.

Note that the cook time of various beans will be dependent on their size.

Monitor the heat to keep the water at a simmer; if the boiling gets too rough, the skins could rupture, leading to mushy beans.

NOTE - Could this be used for pea soup? Instead of the hock, use a parmesan rind? Cheesy pea soup?

https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/how-to-make-crispy-white-beans-oven-roasted-article

My obsession with crispy white beans started by accident. Ten years ago, I lived with my sister, Marta, just after she graduated from college, and we roasted a lot of chickens together. One night, when we couldn't find anything else in the kitchen worth roasting, we dumped a can of white beans (drained and rinsed, of course) under the roasting rack before popping the chicken in the oven.

The chicken fat showered down all over those beans, giving them life. But because there were not enough beans to fill our big roasting pan, they weren't totally submerged in chicken juices or fat. So they got crispy. Marta and I hardly noticed the chicken that night: those golden-brown and crispy on the outside, but creamy and schmaltzy on the inside beans captured our full attention, and our hearts. We roasted many cans of white beans for the rest of those two years we lived together.

Then, with a new roommate I kind of forgot about them.

Four (or was it five?) years ago I started sharing all my personal space in the Test Kitchen with Kat. Cooking together every day at work isn't that different from being roommates. And one thing I've always believed roommates should do is make sure that the other person remembers to eat. It sounds crazy, but sometimes, when I'm cooking all day on deadline, I really do forget to eat. Whenever I feel energy levels and moods plummeting, it's time for a protein snack. It's good to share space with someone who can tell when I need it.

So the beans began again: If there was nothing ready to eat at lunchtime, and one of us knew the other needed some protein, we'd grab a can of beans off the shelf. We started making trays of crispy white beans for each other, and I had another three years of crispy edges and creamy centers in my life. We piled them onto bowls of dressed greens if we had the time and greens available. We ate them over bowls of yogurt or ricotta, or with an egg for double-protein snacking. Or we just went bean by bean with our hands. Kat doesn't share my kitchen space everyday anymore, but this time I'm not going to forget to keep making crispy white beans.

And you should make crispy white beans, too! I'm sure you've made crispy chickpeas before, right? We're big fans of them here at Epi. And I do love a good crispy chickpea, but I really love a crispy white bean. Since they're not quite as sturdy as chickpeas, the skins of white beans have a way of popping open and curling back in places as they roast.

It gives them a kind of popcorn vibe that I find especially satisfying.

So how do you do make them? I promise you, it's so simple that you don't need a recipe.

Cannellini, Great Northern, Butter, Lima, or any canned white bean you have sitting in your pantry will work. I'd estimate one can for one or two people, and two cans for three or four. (Or two cans for two people if it's been too many hours since you remembered to eat.)

WATCH

How Traditional Ethiopian Breakfast Is Made

First, rinse your beans in a strainer. Tip them onto a clean dish towel and bring the edges up over the top to pat them dry. Really dry. (Let them air dry a bit if you have time and it isn't a hangry meltdown emergency.) Then pick them up in the towel and tip the beans onto an unlined, rimmed baking sheet. Crank your oven to 425°F and let it really get there.

Toss your beans in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add a couple of crushed garlic cloves if you want, or some crushed red pepper flakes, or a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, oregano, or thyme, or some lemon zest, or all of the above.

Then pop the pan in the oven and roast, stirring once halfway through, until the beans are golden-brown and crisp, about half an hour. And that's it.

Now, scatter your crispy white beans over roasted vegetables or a salad, eat them with a roast chicken, or however your heart desires. But don't leave them out on the counter in a high-traffic area—each person who walks by will grab a bean or two, and then keep coming back for more—and that's how I almost didn't have enough crispy white beans left to put in front of the camera for the photo you see above.

https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/easy-pastry-shop-apple-tart/

https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/coeur-a-la-creme/

https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/chocolate-cream-cake/

https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/mushroom-parmentier/

2 pigs hearts, trimmed of nerves and sinew

1 carrot, finely diced

4 shallots, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large ripe tomato, roughly chopped

100g of Bayonne ham, or other air dried ham

1 knob of butter

salt

pepper

2 tbsp of olive oil

1

Place the hearts in a container, submerge in cold water and leave overnight. Change the water once or twice as this will help to remove all the blood and impurities. Remove from the water and cut into large cubes

2 pigs hearts

2

For the barigoule, place a frying pan over a medium heat and add olive oil. Once the oil is hot, sauté the carrots, shallots and diced ham for about 5 minutes. Then, add the garlic and tomato and stir through

1 carrot

4 shallots

100g of Bayonne ham

1 large ripe tomato

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp of olive oil

Season and turn down to a low heat. Stir at regular intervals and cook gently for approximately 5 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced slightly

Heat the butter in a pan over a medium-high heat. Add the diced heart and sauté until golden brown on the outside and slightly pink in the middle - if you overcook the hearts they will be tough and rubbery  

Once cooked, season the hearts and mix in with the barigoule. Divide across 4 plates and serve immediately

Return the pork heart to the pot. Add the beef broth, bay leaf, and thyme.

Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer for about 2-3 hours, until the meat is tender.