The Chipotle Experiment

So I love Chipotle and their awesome burritos. Pure simplicity if you ask me. Rice, Beans, Meat, Cheeses and Salsa swaddled in a tortilla marriage that makes me sing. Delicious. And the ingredients seem easy enough, why not try to make them at home? The primary parts needed to be prepared are the Beans, the Meat (if you so choose, vegetarian is also delicious), and the Rice. After you have these basic things (recipe and tips below) assemble and serve.


Chipotle Style Burritos

Beans
An essential part of the Burrito. I found my recipe online and adapted it here. However, feel free to use your own recipe or buy pre-made beans at the store. As usual, I don’t use exact measurements as I find them hindering rather than helping.
•Canned Black Beans, Drained, with liquid in reserve.
•Onion, Diced. For two servings, I used about a quarter onion
•Minced Garlic
•Jalapeno Chili. Diced and roasted. Canned stuff works too
•Cumin.
•Salt and Pepper to taste
In a medium skillet, cook your onion until translucent, then add garlic and jalapeno and cook for about another 30 seconds. Add can of drained beans. Add Cumin. Stir with spatula. Add reserved liquid if needed. Consistency should be like a stew, remember some liquid will evaporate off during cooking. Mash beans with fork or masher. Remove from heat.

Rice
Also an essential part of the Burrito. While plain white rice will work, I found that making my rice with a bit of lime juice and finishing with cilantro give it an authentic taste. Just don’t use too much lime juice or you’ll end up with a sweet syrupy rice better suited for pudding than Burritos.

Meat
Grilling is the best option here. If you can marinade prior to grilling, that works even better. Otherwise a bit of salt and pepper on your George Foreman works wonders. Dice and prepare for assembly. Chicken works well as does skirt steak.

To assemble the entire Burrito you’ll also need
•Burrito sized tortillas, about 12 – 14 inches in diameter.
•Cheese. Cheddar or Monterrey Jack
•Lettuce
•Tomatoes
•Guacamole (if you so choose)
•Sour Cream (if you so choose)

Warm tortilla in microwave or on stovetop until soft and can fold without breaking. Spread out and layer in Rice and Bean mixture. Add meat (if wanted). Fix with other toppings such as cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole. Roll up and enjoy with hot sauce.

Enjoy


Side Note: I should never try to challenge the master. But alas, I did just that. And while it went OK, I still must submit that while homemade burritos are amazing, sometimes you have to relent and give way to the master. But I am still happy with my experiment and how it all came out. Tell me how your Burritos went, because I’d like to think that there is someone out there who can recreate Chipotle at home.

Going Green

Pesto is amazing. As a kid, we never had it in my house. My father hates anything that is green. However, as I learned to cook, this gem has been one of my favorites to cook, and it goes over so well with many of my friends who are vegetarians. Probably what has made it amazing lately is the addition of my Herb Garden. Nothing beats Basil you can still taste growing.

Basic Basil Pesto
Note: With this recipe I rarely measure anything. I measure everything by eye and general consistency. You should end up with a paste type mixture that is easily poured.

Ingredients

•--Genovese Basil (obviously). I usually use enough to get about two handfuls from my basil plant outside. I suppose this could average out to about 1-1½ cups of leaves.
•--Parsley. A few sprigs. I usually just grab a few from the plant when I’m getting basil.
•--Olive Oil. Some. No exact measurement. You’ll know if you don’t have enough though
•--Parmesan Cheese. Skip the Kraft stuff, the block of Parm from the Deli area is actually cheaper. Tastes better too.
•--Garlic. Couple of cloves or a good spoonful if you’re like me and have the pre-minced stuff
•--Pine Nuts. Handful. Plus some to sprinkle on top.


Short instructions: Put everything in the food processor. Chop until reached desired consistency. Pour over noodles. Fin.

Longer Instructions: Place Basil, Parsley, and Nuts in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until thoroughly chopped. Add cheese, garlic and a bit of Olive Oil. Turn on to combine. While mixing, continue to add olive oil until desired consistency is reached, taking time to periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl. Serve with Angel Hair pasta topped with a few extra pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese.

Variations:
•You can use your pesto as a base for other recipes. I’ve seen Pesto cream sauces quite often.
•You can use your Pesto as a bread topper for Bruchetta or other such finger appetizers.
•You can mix with chicken and eat with pasta. Cook the chicken in the oven, frying pan or George Foreman Grill.

Salut!

Next Time, Donuts.

Success?

Today was a momentous occasion. It was the first time that I had ever decided to actually ‘deep fry’ something. Aside from the few times in college when I worked at the dining hall and had to fry up occasional orders of French Fries (and on one occasion received a particularly nasty oil burn on my wrist) I have never tried to deep fry something. My mother always had the rule in place when I was young that “If you want to deep fry anything, it has to be outside, otherwise you’ll smell up the house.” We didn’t have a stove outside therefore we never fried anything. I feel like I missed out on homemade donuts or elephant ears or something.

So being the responsible(ish) twenty-something that I am, I decided that since I have my own apartment, gosh darn it, I was going to make fried chicken. But really just nuggets, made from a chicken breast I pulled out of the freezer last night. My thought reasoning was smaller pieces cook faster and it is rather late. But hey, everyone loves chicken nuggets, yes?

I pulled out my trusty cookbook (kept on hand for reference purposes. I tend to stray from the recipe pretty quickly, but it’s usually nice to see what they suggest as a starting place). I (sorta) followed the recipe for “Pan Fried Chicken” and…well, let’s just say I’ve had better. While the frying part went flawlessly (heat oil, toss chicken bits in flour mixture, drop in oil, flip over when needed, remove from oil when done cooking), I found that my ingredient mixture of flour, garlic salt, pepper and paprika brought very little flavor to the breading. I need to figure out my own 11 herbs and spices I guess. Or maybe next time toss them in buffalo sauce. It's not that my little nuggets were bad, I just wouldn't share them with anyone else.

Hey! I figured out how to make deep fried things! But apparently I need to stray farther away from the cookbook and figure out what works taste wise. Eh, it was a learning experience. And I didn’t have to call the firemen…although everyone needs an occasional fireman in her (or his) life.

Oh well. Until next time.

The Herb Garden

One thing most culinary folk will agree on is the necessity for fresh ingredients. Given that I live in the real world of suburbia America, we have such preventions against this like jobs and winter. About the only thing that I continually get fresh is herbage. Like those funny green things that grow and you can buy pre cut in the produce section at your local shopping mart. Growing your own can be highly rewarding, inexpensive, and help spice up the most basic of dishes with the fresh taste.

Around April or May of this year, I made a trek out to my local home improvement store. It was warm and I wanted herbs. I purchased 4 identical pots and 4 different herbs: Genovese Basil, Curled Parsley, Greek Oregano, and Cilantro (it didn’t have any proper name). Pretty inexpensive, the most expensive part being the pots and those I figured are an investment. I planted them, and watered them and waited for them to grow.



And I must say that purchasing herbs was probably the best culinary decision of my life. About once a week, I trek the 10 feet to my balcony, take which herbage I need and apply them in my meal. Nothing beats the taste of fresh, earthy herbs in your dinner—except maybe chocolate cake, but that’s another post…

Now this is not to say that caring for these basic herbs has been easy. I’m a workingwoman. There have been times that I have forgotten to water them. In fact the Cilantro succumbed to malnourishment and died about mid July…although that might’ve been the 100-degree heat (you’d think a plant featured in many Central and South American dishes would be hardier to heat, but I digress…). Bugs have also been a problem. My Parsley recently just got over an infestation of spider mites (I think). But all in all, they are good for having about.

And the best part is, now that summer is coming to a close, I can bring the pots inside and place them in front of my window and they will continue to provide me with herbage for the winter. I look forward to having one fresh thing when Indiana comes and dumps piles of snow upon me. Just one word of advice for those of you thinking of starting your own garden, don’t harvest all your Basil for pesto at the beginning of the week and leave yourself no leaves for putting into stuffed Portobello caps at the end of the week. Apparently, the leaves don’t grow back that fast.

Go. Exercise your own Green Thumbs!!

Real People of Genius: Food Processor Edition

Today we salute you, Inventor of the Food Processor. With your household appliance, you have made out lives easier. An improvement over regular knives, you have placed a sharp blade on a spindle and with the flip of a switch, the blade obliterates anything in its reach. In addition to chopping and mixing, for those who need slicing and grating done, such attachments are included, because no one wants to do that by hand. So sit back. Crush up some ice and have a cold beverage while you macerate dinner in your processor. Drink up to the one who has made it all possible. Salut!

Top Ten Ingredients I Always Have in Stock

Today is Thursday. I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but here in Indianapolis, Thursday is when the grocery store circulars come out. Looking through the circulars I realized that besides the staples (eggs, milk, bread, etc) I had most everything I could possibly need for the next few meals in stock.

Being a single woman with a job that varies hours depending on the week, I tend to get my shopping done every two weeks or so. A lot of what I keep in my pantry/fridge tends to work for my lifestyle and me. Below is a list of foods that I typically always have on hand for whatever reason. Feel free to take ideas, leave comments or remind me of something I left out.

1. Jarred Spaghetti Sauce (Marinara)
Yes, my Italian grandmother is rolling over in her grave and my father is swearing that I am not his daughter and he taught me nothing about good taste. In actuality, I’m lazy and I learned that while general spaghetti sauce is simple to make, I don’t have the freezer space to accommodate the leftovers of a pot of sauce. If I go to the store and buy one jar of simple sauce (usually something labeled Tomato Basil) I can fix it up on my stovetop later and make it mine. I use it as an ingredient, not a final product. Chill out! Just check the label to make sure there’s nothing funky in it. Rule of thumb, if you can’t pronounce the ingredient, don’t buy it.

2. 7 oz. Can of Mushrooms
Mushrooms are amazing. My major problem is that they don’t sell fresh mushrooms in smaller sizes. You can buy one size of bucket and that’s about it. Cooking for one doesn’t use up mushrooms all that quickly before they go bad. The canned kind works well cause they keep better in the pantry and are easily stored in the fridge for later use. Also since they are just button mushrooms, they are good for most uses.

3. Italian Breadcrumbs
Just have some. They work well for recipes that require breading (Chicken Parmesan), Stuffing (Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms), or topping (Veggie Tuna Casserole). There is no ending to what you can do with them or mix into them (fresh herbs or fried onions perhaps?).

4. Pasta
I’m Italian. I love pasta. If I didn’t have some kind in the pantry, I’d probably go into fits. Type doesn’t really matter. I usually have penne or spaghetti in stock, but if I’m feeling extra awesome, I’ll have the tri colored spirals.

5. Cheese
I love my cheeses. Each type is good for something different. Cheddar is good on sandwiches, on chili, or baked as crackers. Parmesan is good as a pasta topping or mixed into eggs for breakfast. Mozzarella is good just to eat or melted with mushrooms and breadcrumbs. There are others, but I could go on for ages. Bottom line, some kind of cheese is always needed in the fridge. Makes for deliciousness in the end.

6. Eggs
The world’s most versatile food. Eggs aren’t just for breakfast. They go in everything and have so many applications, that you always should have some in the kitchen. If you don’t, go buy some. Easy as that.

7. Chicken and Beef Bouillon
Technically two things, but since they are the same thing in different flavors, I count them as one. I always have two jars in the fridge for making gravies, sauces, flavoring for rice, etc. One of those things I can always tell when it’s missing or should’ve been used. I get the paste kind rather than the cubes because the paste tastes better. The cubes are just too gritty and never dissolve just right.

8. Minced Garlic
You can find the minced garlic jars in the produce section. Why the pre-minced stuff rather than fresh? I don’t like peeling garlic. I don’t think I’ve ever actually done it. Once again, I’m lazy.

9. Onion
So tasty. You always need one. It shows up in everything. Kinda like corn.

10. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Seems silly, but I do always have to have this on hand. I rarely think a day goes by that I don’t use olive oil in something. Sometimes it’s just good to eat it on bread and call it good. Such a simple flavor that makes the world (or maybe just me) happy.


And there you go. I realize it’s a bit skewed towards Italian foods, but as I said earlier it works for me. And I’m Italian, so there. And as for things like vegetables and proteins, I tend to pick up those with the seasons and sales. So it’s unfair to say that I always have one in my pantry, because it just depends.

Enjoy!

Julie

Chicken Lo Mein

So, had a business trip these last few days. Great fun, I suppose. Probably the worst part was having to eat out every meal. And not just wanting to eat out at different places. No no, we ate out at some Italian joint every meal. I'm over penne. Totally reaffirmed my desire to come home and just cook something for me.

Ugh. Real Food Please!

Ingredients (I hate exact measurements in cooking...)

--Chicken--enough for how ever many you're serving. I use about one breast for myself.

--Chinese Egg Noodles, Angel Hair pasta, or Spaghetti enough for however many servings

--1-2 teaspoons of finely chopped Ginger.

--Sliced mushrooms, canned or fresh, whatever you have

--Red Onion sliced fine

--2 tablespoon(ish) Soy Sauce

--2 tablespoon(ish) teriyaki sauce

--Teriyaki marinade (optional, see explanation below)

--1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

--Carrots, peeled and sliced (or grated)

--Celery, cut fine.

--Chow Mein Noodles (the crunchy kind)

Preparation:

1.Cut up chicken into strips or cubes whatever you prefer, and put aside. If you want, you can marinade it in teriyaki marinade that you get at the store. Adds flavor but not necessary.
2.Cook noodles, drain and set aside.
3.In a small bowl, mix soy and teriyaki sauce. If you have the teriyaki marinade, you can add it but again, not necessary. Set soy mix aside.
4. In Wok or large frying pan heat the Sesame oil. Add ginger, cook for about 30 seconds, add onion. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, add carrot, celery, and mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes and all veggies out of the pan.
5. Cook chicken until done. Add back veggies, and noodles and put in the soy sauce mixture. Mix til heated. Add Chow Mein Noodles and you're done.

Variations:

Chicken is my primary protein of choice due to its limitless possibilities and, heck, it's cheap. You could also use Shrimp or Beef if you prefer. For all you Vegetarians out there, Add in a few more vegitable options (Green Pepper chopped into slices, bean sprouts, little ears of corn, etc.) and you could make it with no meat.

Unlike Laura, I actually have a microwave, and it is spectacular the next day. Also you could reheat it in the wok again. Add a bit more soy sauce if you run dry when frying a second time.

Enjoy!!

Julie

Just like Julia Child (minus all the class)

Welcome! Contrary to popular belief, good food doesn't have to be expensive nor does it have to be hard to prepare. Dad always said that it was no harder to cook good food than it was to cook crap food. So why waste the effort on cooking crap?

Upon graduating college, learning how to cook became priority. When there is no longer a dining hall preparing three squares a day, somehow you have to figure out how to make food that is edible. Maybe even beyond edible. Maybe you want to make food that makes you smile on the inside and the outside. Maybe you even want to make food that's good enough to share with your friends, so on occasion you don't have to drag your butt back to your basement apartment all alone (again). If that's what you're looking for, we're here for you.

So, if you're a student, a young professional, newly on your own, pressed for space, or just looking to make good food fast and cheap, we've got you covered. You have the time and somewhere inside you have the talent. It didn't take long for us to figure out that cooking food at home was just as easy and less expensive than eating out or buying pre-made mixes. It won't take long for you either.

Here we want to explore the simple and inexpensive side of food. Recipes and stories; Tricks and tips; Triumphs and Failures. On the quest to learning how to cook edible food, nothing is left out.

To begin, here are just a few simple guidelines:

1) You'll make mistakes. We did. Have a back-up plan and a fire extinguisher on hand.
2) Make yourself believe that cooking is not a chore. You have to eat to live. So eat well, because you're doing this for yourself.
3) Cooking is both an art and a science. Art and science can get messy. You will too. Accept it and don't be afraid to get messy.
4) Let us know what works, what doesn't, and other things that you want to see on the blog.
5) Have fun.

With Love from the "My Basement Bistro" Team,
Julie and Laura

PS you can follow us on Twitter too: @basementbistro