dollar store dinner.

Back when I was in San Diego, I was a thrifty shopper. At the time, I was living with both my sister and my best friend. My paycheck had to stretch between paying the bills, covering a third of the rent, and grocery shopping. Suddenly, the dollar stores around me became an important resource and discounted groceries quickly lost its bougie stigma.

Luckily for me, I lived in California. Latin and Ethnic stores were aplenty and the discount dollar stores were surprisingly stocked with decent ingredients. My all time favorites would probably be the 99 Cent Only Store and Grocery Outlet.
 

Pan-Seared Chicken Drumsticks with Mushroom Gravy,
Cheesy Garlic Grits, and Pan-Roasted Asparagus

While Latin groceries like Northgate Market and Poncho Villa Farmer's Market were excellent places to pick up some cheap produce, I loved going to the 99 Cent Only Store for other produce that these markets didn't carry. Asparagus, shallots, garlic, and even surprisingly organic products could be found here along with a multitude of different spices. These stores were always clean, if a little overstocked, but never disgusting. And what other place could I stock up on candy and chocolates to my heart's content?

Grocery Outlet is probably my favorite out of the two. These stores almost always carried the "fancier" stuff. Cheeses galore, organic products, great produce section, fantastic frozen items, and wines and beers. I'd pick up my cheese tray stuffs here along with a couple of cornish hens, a bag of frozen salmon fillets, fancy bread, and flax milk (to name a few). They also had household items like bedding and a vast array of personal hygiene products, often brand names.

Here in Georgia, cheap produce is better at the local farmer's markets in Jacksonville and, at times, Walmart. I've only got a couple of discount stores in my area but I'm finding that I miss the selection that I was privileged to have when I was back in San Diego. With that being said, the Dollar Tree by my house isn't too bad. No produce but their frozen section has some interesting items in it.

The main thing that caught my eye were the frozen chicken drumsticks. Now, I have a perfectly fantastic butcher that I go to for all my meat-eating needs. However, I thought that it would be a fun experiment to see what kind of dish I could come up with by just using dollar store items. With a little browsing, I found most of the items I wanted to use for my "Dollar Store Dinner":
 
      - chicken drumsticks
      - white sliced button mushrooms
      - shallots
      - asparagus
      - polenta or grits
      - shredded cheese
      - fresh thyme
      - minced bottled garlic
      - low-sodium chicken broth
      - paprika
      - parsley
      - kosher salt
      - ground pepper
 
So what's my Dollar Store Dinner? It consisted of scoring and pan-searing the chicken legs with some thyme. I finished it in the oven then made a mushroom gravy with shallots and the drippings. For the side, I made some cheesy garlic grits and I ended up roasting the asparagus in order to attempt to salvage the fact that it was previously frozen. Note to self: NEVER buy frozen asparagus. Lol, too bad there isn't a 99 Cent Only Store around here! I definitely would've been able to get that fresh!

So, can you make a healthy meal from the dollar store? Oh, hell yeah! Enhanced with just a few fridge and pantry staples and you can get one rockin' dinner that's as good as any restaurant dish. Mmmm!

So, for this experiment: Successful!

Want more recipes like this? Check out The 99 Cent Chef whose whole blog is dedicated to taking the "haute out of cuisine" using ingredients that cost around 99 cents each, or 99 cents per pound. :)

striving for perfection.

So, ever since we got to Georgia, I've been adapting a more Southern-style of cooking. I think it's because I'm surrounded by that kind of food environment and it just seems to make sense to cook that way. Even my eating habits are turning Southern: The polenta that I used to cook all the time turned to grits, hummus makes a rare appearance in my fridge, and I seem to be buying a whole lot more butter. Because of this, I've switched to light butter to make myself feel better.

Speaking of grits . . . I was surprisingly having a hard time trying to make a decent pot of grits. I just assumed that using my favorite polenta recipe would be fine but it's surprisingly NOT. The texture is off, especially for shrimp and grits, and it's much stiffer than I wanted it to be. I've tried several different recipes, and each time I get closer and closer to my ideal pot of grits.

Today yielded success.

My perfect grits? Always savory that that specific mouth texture. These grits are exactly how I want them: soft and fluffy with just a bit of tightness and texture. While they aren't flavored with anything specific, per se, they're still flavorful and taste like grits. The best part? Even if you put it in the fridge, they stay the same consistency even when you reheat it the next day! Yay!!

For the shrimp, I decided to make it more in the Françias-style of cooking. So fancy, I know . . . but not really! Thanks to my recent binge-fest of an old series of Jacques Pépin: Fast Food, My Way, I've been taking some notes and renewing my love of French cooking. It's kind of like Southern cooking but with a more funny accent, lol.

I like how in one episode, Monsieur Pépin added some chopped mushrooms to his shrimp casserole so that it'll soak up the shrimp flavor. He also did a ragù with tomatoes and onions similar to this recipe, but much more reduced. And man, does that man use a lot of olive oil!!

So, taking ideas here and there, voilà ! Shrimp and grits, my way. :D I did forget to add some peas to the shrimp, though. I think that would've made it über-françias, along with some oil-cured olives as a garnish. Eh, c´est la vie ! No? :) Bon appétit!

---- o o o o ----

Creamy Garlic-Tomato Shrimp
(makes 4 servings)

24 pcs jumbo shrimp (peeled, deveined, and butterflied)
2 tbsp bottled garlic
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch (about 8 sprigs) fresh thyme
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup finely chopped white button mushrooms
1 to 2 pcs thick sliced deli ham, finely chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped grape tomatoes
1/4 cup low fat half and half
1/2 cup chopped parsley
low sodium chicken stock, as needed
salt and pepper, to taste

 
Marinate the shrimp:
Combine shrimp, garlic, Old Bay seasoning, onion powder, and paprika. Add olive oil to moisten the shrimp then season with ground pepper. Chill for a minimum of 2 hours up to overnight.

Make the shrimp:
In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil with the bunch of thyme. When the oil is fragrant and hot, add shrimp (reserve any leftover marinade) and cook until lightly browned on both sides (about 6 minutes). Remove shrimp from pan and set aside; discard the thyme.

In the same pan, add shallots, mushrooms, and ham. Season with salt and pepper. When vegetables start to brown and the ham becomes slightly crisp, add the tomatoes and any leftover marinade from the shrimp. Reduce heat and cook until tomatoes break down to a paste (about 10 minutes).

Return shrimp to the pan and toss to incorporate. Stir in half and half and parsley. Cook until thickened, about 2 minutes, then add chicken stock to thin as needed.

To serve, portion out 6 shrimps per person and top over grits or pasta with additional parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for garnish.

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My Perfect Grits
(makes 4 to 6 servings)

1 cup coarse ground grits or polenta (white or yellow)
2 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 to 2 tbsp light butter
1/4 tsp dried parsley
ground pepper, to taste

 
Bring water, half and half, and salt to boil. Slowly stir in grits/polenta, reduce heat to low, then cover. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and parsley, then season with pepper to taste.

For Savory Cheese Grits: Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 1/4 tsp onion powder, a dash garlic powder, and a dash smoked paprika to cooked grits.

fancy microwave dinner.

have you ever had one of those days where, even though you planned out how you were going to do things, things just kind of go to hell? i had one of those days today. actually a whole week. it started out with getting sick on a sunday (already a bad omen), then getting to work progressively later each day, then hitting traffic, losing a usb drive (with family/friend pictures in it), then making a mess of dinner today.

actually, i might've exaggerated that last bit. dinner wasn't too bad. i was thinking about making a roulade with some pesto and dried tomato cheese spread that i had gotten and pairing it with polenta and a green bean sauce. but just as i was putting the chicken in the oven and went to get my green beans from the fridge, i found that they had already gone terribly bad and my other alternative was going canned. *sigh*

i usually don't like canned food as they tend to have a funny taste (except for canned corn...i grew up on canned corn and i love the stuff! is it weird to prefer canned corn over frozen??). so, i went ahead and used the whole can. it turned out okay...not the earth-shatteringly good sauce that i had hoped for but I'm thinking it's because of the substitution. it turned more into a side, actually. i also didn't like that my food only had one hue but i decided to say "fuck it!", and topped it with some pesto. when i started to pack it away for tomorrow's leftovers, i noticed right away what it looked like: a fancy microwave dinner. :/ back to the pantry i guess...

 
Shallot and Garlic Butter Sauce with Green Beans
(from The Kitchen Mirror)

1 lb. trimmed green beans
4 large shallots, very thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt (omit salt if using salted butter)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Thoroughly rinse green beans and trim the tips. If the beans are very long, cut them in half, or to about 2-3 inches in length. Steam the beans for about 5-6 minutes, or until just tender and bright green.

In a bowl, combine shallots, garlic, lemon juice, and salt, and stir well.

In a large skillet or saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the shallot mixture to the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until shallots are soft and highly fragrant.

Add the steamed beans to the pan and toss to coat. Remove from heat.

Serve over pasta, rice, or chicken or fish, and season with black pepper to taste.

tarragon chicken over polenta.

just got back from a trip. missed my kitchen and decided to whip something out of the blue. never tried making polenta before so i decided to use this recipe. all in all, turned out to be a good dish. it's good to be home. :)

 
Tarragon Chicken
(serves one)

1 skinless boneless chicken thigh, chopped to small pieces
1/4 cup white onion, roughly chopped
1/8 cup fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 to 1 1/12 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp fresh fennel leaves
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 to 1 1/2 cup low sodium chiken stock
1 to 2 tbsp cornstarch with water for thickener

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add chopped fennel and cook for an additional couple of minutes. Add chopped chicken thigh, tarragon, paprika, fennel leaves, and season with salt and pepper. Slightly brown chicken then add chicken stock. Let simmer for 5 minutes then add thickener. Cook additional 5 to 10 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Serve over polenta.

 
Soft Polenta
(from La Buona Cucina)

2 cups chicken broth or stock
2 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup coarse or medium grind corn meal (white or yellow)
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese*

*Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Asiago, Gorgonzola...or a combo of all 3 totaling 1/2 cup.

In a 4- to 6-qt. pan over medium-high heat, bring the water and broth to a boil. Whisk in the salt and then the corn meal in a thin, steady stream, whisking non-stop until smooth.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking pretty frequently, for a good 8-10 minutes or until smooth and thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in butter & olive oil, cheese (if desired), a few grinds of pepper, and taste for salt.

Now, you can serve this right away or you can cover and it should keep warm and soft for about 20 minutes.

polenta with egg and garlicky spinach.

quick breakfast for this morning. and good use of polenta that's been sitting in my fridge. mmm, tasty. :D