food

Still not quite there on the Pollo alla Griglia…

~ Gary Bechard ~ 2 Comments

Well, well, well I am still trying to finish my chicken over greens recipe (not surprising, however) but the good news is I came up with a new recipe that turned out really well and you will never miss the meat. I have always had a fascination with doing meatless or low meat recipes and it comes from when I was in Italy with the Army. When we were in the countryside and eating on the economy I noticed that the Italian cooks used meat as almost a side dish and highlighted the fresh vegetable ingredients. I am attempting to do the same with some of my dishes.

Ain’t No Chicken in Here

(Eggplant cutlets )

Gary Bechard – The Well Fed Cyclist

Ingredients – 

3 – Eggplant, medium size

2 1/2 cups – Plain Panko breadcrumbs

3 cups – All purpose white flour (or, if you want to get earthy with it whole wheat)

1 cup – grated parmesan cheese

4 tbsp – Dried Italian seasoning  (or 1 tbsp each of oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary)

3 tsp – Sea Salt, coarse ground, (or to taste)

2 tsp – Black pepper, coarse ground (or to taste)

20’ish ounces – Spaghetti sauce (1 small jar)

7 to 8 slices – Mozzarella cheese (I sliced a ball of mozzarella into 1/4 in slices for my dish so they were smaller than the pre-sliced at the grocery store)

Small jar of whole Roasted Red Bell Peppers

4 – Large eggs

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Construction Instruction – 

Cutlet Breading – In a one gallon plastic bag, place the breadcrumbs, flour, parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper

Eggplant Preparation – Peel the eggplants and slice into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and place on a plate. You should end up with 6 to 8 slices when you are done. Next, beat the eggs and place them in a bowl or baking dish that you can use to dip the slices in and next to that dish another dish with the breadcrumb mixture. You should have a kind of assembly line thing going on.(Hint: I usually will bread three of the slices before firing up the skillet so that I can do them at the same time.) On the opposite side of the skillet I set up the baking dish (9 X 13) I will use to bake them in.

        Eggplant slices > Egg wash > Breadcrumbs > Skillet > Baking Dish

Cooking – In the large skillet cover the bottom with a light coating of olive oil and bring the pan up to heat making sure that the temperature is not too high because olive oil has a low smoke point. Pan grill the eggplant cutlets until the breading is golden brown.

Assembly – Next place the cutlets in a single layer on a 9 X 13 baking dish where a thin layer of spaghetti sauce is on the bottom. On top each of the cutlets place the remaining spaghetti sauce  and then a single layer of the roasted red bell pepper. For the last step layer the mozzarella slices on each of the cutlets. Then cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cutlets.

Uses – I used this as a main dish as a replacement for the meat and served this with roasted asparagus and wild rice. 

Enjoy!

the Well Fed Cyclist – Gary Bechard

Sometimes ATM’s are the answer…

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

So, there I was in the middle of the jungle, no, that’s not right. Well to be honest, it was kind of a word jungle as I was trying desperately to finish the Pollo alla Griglia (grilled chicken over greens) recipe. However, there are a few ways to go with that one because many countries have their own version and I really wanted to cover all the chicken cooking methods. So while that one is still in process here is a good one while you are waiting.

Have you ever wondered just what is in frozen turkey meatballs from the grocery store? I know that I have, and even though I read the ingredient list they just do not seem right. To be honest, they just are not that good. Most of them taste like bread balls with a hint of turkey essence and maybe garlic. I wanted to go a different direction and do some simple meatballs that could be used in a variety of ways and not just in a sweet and sour sauce. With this recipe a slight adjustment to the ingredient list, such as adding some grated parmesan, turns them into Italian meatballs. There are just so many ways you could go with these.

So without any more hesitation, here’s the recipe. I hope you try these and make some creative decisions of your own! (Sorry there are no pictures but we ate them all before I could take one. I guess I will have to be faster next time.)

Enjoy! The Well Fed Cyclist – Gary Bechard

A.T.M.(’s)

(All Turkey Meatballs)

The Well Fed Cyclist – Gary Bechard

Ingredients – 

2 lbs – Ground Turkey (I used 97/3 lean to fat ratio)

2 Cups – Panko breadcrumbs, not seasoned

2 tbs – Dried Parsley

2 tbs – Dried Basil

1 tsp – Garlic powder

2 tsp – fine ground black pepper

2 1/2 tsp – Kosher salt

1/2 – Small or medium Zucchini fine grated This is an important ingredient because it adds needed moisture, and some flavor, to the baking process.

Construction Instruction – 

In a large bowl place ground turkey and then add, Parsley, Basil, Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder and thoroughly combine using your hands so that the seasonings are evenly distributed. Next add the grated zucchini.

Note: for the zucchini do not use the finest grate on the grater but the next one up so that you are not eliminating the moisture from the vegetable.

Once again thoroughly combine with your hands until the zucchini is evenly distributed.  At this point add the panko and go through the same process of combing the ingredients until, yup you guessed it, everything is evenly distributed

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  

Roll the meat into balls that end up about the size of a golfball and evenly place them on the cookie sheet. Put them in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until the inside of the meatball is 165 degrees or, the less scientific or grandma method, they are a bit firm when you press down on them with a fork.

I used the meatballs in a sweet and sour sauce done in the crockpot and served it over rice but with some minor adjustments to the ingredient list (like adding parmesan to make Italian meatballs) the sky is the limit.

The Twist (and my gentle return to writing)

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes you just have to say, “What the (insert expletive here)!” and just do the things that you enjoy doing. I came close to abandoning this blog but my friends and family said that they did not want me to. They told me that regardless of the activity at least I would be doing things that I love, writing and cooking. To that end, over the past couple of years I have been able to come up with some new recipes and I have a ton of ideas for others which I would like to share with anyone who would like them.

Every year, on Valentine’s Day for my sweetie, I make her her favorite dish which is my eggplant parmesan. This year she wanted me to also make fresh sauce to use in this dish so I decided to get a bit creative and do a twist on my smooth marinara sauce. The sauce turned out great! It had some nice deep flavors which were delicious.

Now, “Andiamo” or let’s go! I hope you enjoy.

The Twist


(A marinara with sweet subtle smoky flavors)

Gary Bechard – The Well Fed Cyclist

Ingredients –

1/3 cup – Portobello mushroom cap fine diced
1/2 – Medium or 1 small sweet onion, fine diced
1/2 – Large or 1 medium carrot peeled and grated
3 – Cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp – Parsley, fresh, chopped
2 tbsp – Basil, fresh, chopped
1 tbsp – oregano, fresh, chopped
3 tsp – Sea Salt, coarse ground, (or to taste)
2 tsp – Black pepper, coarse ground (or to taste)
56 ounces – Tomatoes, San Marzano crushed (2, 28 oz cans)
15 ounces – Tomato sauce (1 can)
1/3 cup – Dry red wine (I used some Cabernet but you could use a Chianti or Barolo)
1/3 cup – Grated parmesan cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a few good swirls around the bottom of the pan just enough to lightly coat the bottom (I used some from the Umbria region in Italy)

Construction Instruction –

Mushrooms and onions – Since this is a marinara, I did a fine dice on these trying to make sure that the mushroom and onion pieces were the same size.

Herbs – I did a regular chop on them. Or, you could use, and I am not sure every store has them, semi-dried fresh herbs you can find in the refrigerated herb section in the grocery store. They are really good and are great when you are kind of short on time. However, fresh is best.

Carrots – Everybody wonders about the carrot but in reality it is a great way to sweeten the sauce without having to resort to sugar or sugar substitutes. The carrot will disappear in the sauce and just like an old friend, they are naturally sweet.

Cooking – In a large sauce pan (I used a 5 quart enameled cast iron), coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil and bring to temperature. Note: I usually keep the temperature just below medium heat to make sure that I do not burn the oil since olive oil has a low smoke point. When the pan is at temperature, add the garlic and stir slightly to soften the garlic. Make sure that the garlic is not overcooked and does not turn brown. Next add in the onions sautéing them until they are soft and the onions turn translucent.

Next, add the cans of tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, grated carrot and the herbs and stir thoroughly mixing everything into an even mixture of veggies and sauce. I salted and peppered my veggies at this stage then added the wine. During the cooking process I like to take small samples to make sure that the flavors are coming together nicely.

Lower the heat and simmer for about 2 hours always making sure that you keep the sauce moving so the temperature is even throughout the mixture. Towards the middle of the simmer time add the parmesan and stir thoroughly. Simmering for this amount of time helps break down the tomatoes a bit to release their flavor. The sauce will cook down and become thicker the longer you simmer. If it the sauce looks to be too thick, I always add a bit of wine and extend the cooking time a bit.

Uses – I used this sauce in eggplant parmesan but because of its flavor it would be great with Rigatoni or thicker kinds of pasta. Bucatini would be great with this sauce. Note: I sometimes will just make a pot of sauce, let it cool and put it in plastic containers and freeze it. Stays good for up to 6 months.