From the Yellow Door Kitchen

“I’m giving ‘er all she’s got, Captain!”

2011-02-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

This Christmas my partner gave me what I first thought was a model of the USS Enterprise. I ooo’ed and aaa’ed in all the right places as I opened the box and saw the gleaming chrome miniature starship. But at the same time, I thought this is an odd gift; while I am big fan of Star Trek, I don’t have models and such sitting around the house. Then I took it out of the box and laughed hysterically! It’s a pizza cutter in the shape of the USS Enterprise!

From www.ThinkGeek.com, it’s the perfect gift for that special someone who is a foodie freak and a scifi geek!

Tunisia

2010-08-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Our little caravan hugs the beaches along Tunisia’s coastline. Though hot, the sea breezes are magnificent and the Camels seem to prefer the sand. We are in the tiny beach town of Plage de es Chaffar on the Gulf of Gabès. A town of only a fewer than 2000 people but has plan for expanding its tourism. It is known by the locals (and bargain-hunting French students) for its fine sand beaches and excellent kite-surfing.

Like every evening of our trek, Mr. Chebba has coordinated a rendezvous with the two small trucks carrying the bulk of our supplies and luggage. When we arrive in camp each evening, the workers have already erected the bedroom tents and are working on the main pavilion. They are breezy structures of creamy canvas and white linen. At the end of a long day of camelback riding a cool shower and clean dishdasha are heaven. Now it’s off to the pavilion for drinks and dinner.

Speaking of dinner… tonight is Makhouda D'aubergine, a Tunisian style frittata with eggplants, onions, and parsley from the Yellow Door garden. This is an easy recipe great for dinner or brunch. I found it at www.food.com.

Makhouda D'aubergine (Tunisian Eggplant Frittata)

Ingredients:

1 large globe eggplants

1 tblsp salt, for sprinkling

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onions, finely chopped

1 red bell peppers, seeded, deribbed and diced

8 large eggs

1 handful chopped fresh parsley (about 1/2 cup packed) or cilantro

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 ounce gruyere cheese, shredded

1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons harissa or hot pepper paste or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

1-2 teaspoons Tunisian spice blend (bharat) (or a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon rosewater, and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt)

lemon wedges for garnish

Serves: 6

Prep Time: 45 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs

Directions:

Peel and cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch dice. Sprinkle generously with salt and place the cubes in a colander to drain for about 20 minutes.
Rinse eggplant and pat dry with paper towels.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and cook the eggplant, onion, and pepper, stirring occasionally until golden and soft, about 20-25 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400ºF
Transfer this mixture to a colander to drain off as much of the oil as possible.
In a large bowl, mix the eggs and add the herbs, garlic, cheese and bread crumbs.
Add the eggplant mixture.
Season with the bharat, salt, and a small spoonful of the optional harissa or cayenne pepper.
Grease a 2-quart soufflé dish.
Pour the egg mixture into the dish and bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown and puffed in the center, 40-45 minutes (a knife inserted into the center should come out clean).
Let cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a serving platter (you can also just leave it in the dish).
Cut into wedges or squares to serve.
Serve hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges on the side.

Algeria – Spicy, salty, and delicious!

2010-06-27T14:47:00.001-07:00

We’re traversing the Tell Atlas Mountains in northern Algeria now. This vast range stretches from Morocco to

Tunisia

. Unlike the empty expanses of sand in southern

Algeria

, this is beautiful mountain country with a Mediterranean climate. Our camels look out of place in this almost-Alpine-like setting, but they are sure footed and reliable (but also perpetually grumpy).

We’ve been eating well of the local foods; more tagines and plenty of grilled vegetables, meats, and fish. Almost every meal is accompanied by a fiery, salty condiment called harissa. It is a mixture of fresh hot peppers, roasted red peppers, cilantro, garlic, olive oil, and spices. It’s used as an ingredient in sauces and marinades and as a relish along side meat or fish; it’s sort of North Africa’s version of pesto. Depending on how hot your peppers are a little can go a long way, but be fearless!

This harissa recipe comes form my Modern Moroccan cookbook by Hassan M’Souli. I only made about a quarter of a batch. You’ll notice in the picture of the ingredients, that my cilantro looks a little odd. ...that’s because its basil. I forgot to buy cilantro, so I used basil from my garden; it worked fine. Also, the recipe has you roast and peel your own red peppers. I used jarred roasted peppers. Lastly, I did not have a preserved lemon, so I used the juice and zest from a fresh one.

Harissa

Yields 4 cups

1 lb small hot red chili peppers, stems removed

2 large red pepper, roasted, peeled, and seeded

1 preserved lemon

3 cloves garlic

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon salt

Olive oil, to cover

Mince the chilis, roasted peppers, preserved lemon and garlic by hand or in a food processor. Mix in the cilantro, cumin, and salt. Transfer to a storage jar and let stand for one hour. Then add enough olive oil to cover the mixture. It will keep nearly indefinitely in the refrigerator.

Morocco: Chickpea Tagine with Chicken and Apricots

2010-05-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

We landed in Tangier, Morocco, on North African coast. This is the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic. While most tourist head south to the ancient cities of Rabat, Casablanca, and Marrakesh, our destiny lies in the East, across the Mediterranean Maghreb; eating. We were met by our guide, Mr. Chebba, a Berber caravanner, who whisked us to the train station for a five hour train ride to Fnideq, a frontier town where we will meet our caravan. As the train passes the ancient coastal fortress of Ceuta we gaze north across the waves toward Spain for a glimpse the lights of Gibraltar, which we will see many months from now. We will travel by (a more or less authentic) caravan through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya. Mr. Chebba will get us safely to the Suez in Egypt where we will begin the next leg of our journey.

The food in Fnideq, like Morocco itself, is a mix of is Berber, Arab, and Moorish styles, and heavily influenced by French and Spanish cuisines. Our one night in Fnideq we…

Ok, ok, this is a food blog! What did we eat? A tagine of course! A traditional stew of vegetables and meat, slow cooked and served over couscous. The recipe is by Mark Bittman in a recent NYTimes article. I changed it up slightly, skinning bone-in legs and thighs and using the dry spices as a rub on the meat prior to browning. Also, rather that bulgur, I added couscous to mine toward the end of cooking. As a result, I used a little less broth than Mr. Bittman suggests. The follow in my version of the recipe. The URL for his original recipe is at the bottom of the page.

Chickpea Tagine with Chicken and Apricots
Time: About 45 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken thighs and 4 chicken legs, skinned
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 dried hot red chili pepper
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1 14-oz can of chopped tomato (with juice)
1 14-oz can of chickpeas, drained, with the liquid reserved
1 cup chicken stock, bean liquid or water, or more as needed
1/2 cup couscous
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and 1/2 cup slivered almonds, for garnish.

1. Mix together coriander, cumin, cinnamon in as small bowl. Place chicken pieces in a large bowl, add about a tablespoon of olive oil over the chicken and stir to coat all pieces well. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the chicken and mix to evenly coat all the chicken pieces with spices. Let sit for one-half hour or refrigerate overnight.

2. Put remaining oil in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add chicken and brown well on both sides; remove from pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, add onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes; add chili pepper, garlic, ginger, dried apricots and tomatoes. Cook and stir just enough to loosen any brown bits from bottom of pan.

3. Add chickpeas and 1 cup of stock or bean liquid to the pan and turn heat back to medium-high. When mixture reaches a gentle bubble, return chicken and accumulated juices to the pan. Cover pot, turn heat to low and cook, checking occasionally to make sure the mixture is bubbling gently, for about 30-minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in couscous, adding more stock if necessary so that the mixture is barely covered with liquid. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Cover and turn off the heat and let stand for about 5-minutes or until the couscous tender. Taste, adjust the seasonings and serve in bowls garnished with parsley and slivered almonds.
Yield: 4 servings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14minirex.html?ref=dining.

“A Summer of Mediterranean Living”

2010-05-31T08:25:00.001-07:00

So I came up with what I think, is a wonderfully creative culinary adventure for the Yellow Door. Earlier this spring, I was transplanting some of my perennial herbs out of my raised beds and to a new bed in the yard. When I was done, I realized almost all of these herbs (rosemary, sage, tarragon, oregano, marjoram) are from the Mediterranean. The idea sparked; we’ll have “A Summer of Mediterranean Living”. An entire summer filled with lemons and oranges, capers and olives, basil, Campari, calamari, garlic/rosemary/basil/oregano, olives, sparkling wine and sunshine, lamb, lavender, beaches, family, friends, flowers, fast ferries to Ptown, sea salt, pink salt, black salt, Chardonnay-smoked salt, sweet peppers in red, orange, yellow and green, kebabs, anchovies, olive oil, tomatoes, Tunisian spices, Spanish sausage, Israeli couscous... Well you get the idea; it will be fabulous!

As a cooking challenge, I will research traditional and gastro-nouveau recipes that will take the Yellow Door on a culinary tour around the entire Mediterranean basin; starting in Morocco and caravanning east across the wild Maghreb of northern Africa, cooking all the way. In Egypt, we’ll cross the Suez into the Sinai and (ignoring politics and boarders) sweep north into Israel and eat our way though the coastal Levant region and finally into Turkey and Greece. Our feasting will continue following the coast up through the Balkan states whose beaches touch the Adriatic, finally turning south down the coast of western Italy. From here we’ll board our chartered yacht and do some island hopping; exploring the major islands of the Mediterranean in random order. Landing back in Calabria, the toe of Italy, we head north up the western coast and into the glory of southern Europe; devouring everything from Monaco and Provence to the Cote d’Azur and Costa Brava. Finally ending our summer long fling with Mediterranean in the south of Spain, Gibraltar of course!

I hope you will join Gene and me on this gastronomic adventure! I promise to post often!!!

Brunch at the Yellow Door: Installment #1 - Caviar Eggs)

2010-01-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

The inspiration: eggs, left-over caviar, and a need for Brunch. I searched on Epicurious for recipes with “egg caviar” and came up with a recipe for “Caviar Eggs” (imagine!) The gorgeous photo of the eggshell stuffed with scrambled eggs topped with vodka-spiked whipped cream and glistening caviar was very intriguing. What’s not to like? Here is the link to the original recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/photo/Caviar-Eggs-350244.

I reduced the recipe to serve four and, of course, didn’t follow it exactly. For one thing, I didn’t boil the eggshells; I simple let the soak in very hot, soapy water for about 10-minutes and then rinsed and dried them. Also I didn’t measure the whipped cream ingredients, just eyeballed the proportions.

The most challenging aspect of this recipe is getting the eggs out of the shells without destroying the shells. I luckily have an eggshell cutter. I’ve only ever used it to cut the tops off of soft-boiled eggs, but, with a little care, it worked fine for opening. The recipe has you cut the tops off with a pairing knife. I guess it can be done, but I was glad I had my cutter!

The scrambled eggs take a little “technique” too. You want them very creamy and to have a very small curd so you have to stir them constantly. I used a whisk to keep the eggs moving in the pan. Also use low or medium-low heat and pull the pan off the heat as soon as the eggs are set.

I served my eggs with some bacon I topped with black pepper and shave Parmigiano cheese.

Below is my recipe for Caviar Eggs for Four

4 large eggs

1/4 cup chilled heavy cream

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vodka

1/8 teaspoon plus a pinch of cayenne, divided

1 tablespoons salted butter

2 tablespoons caviar

Open and sterilize eggshells:
Carefully remove top third of each eggshell using an eggshell cutter or by tapping around egg with a paring knife, then gently pry off top and discard. Pour eggs into a bowl, reserving shells.

Use a knife to tear any membrane remaining in bottom of eggshells. Soak eggs in very hot, soapy water for 10-minutes. Rinse and dry the shells, set aside in egg cups to hold them upright.

Whip cream and scramble eggs:
Beat cream with a whisk until it just holds stiff peaks, then beat in lemon juice, vodka, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne.

Thoroughly beat eggs with 1/8 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of cayenne. Melt remaining butter in nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until eggs are just scrambled, 3 to 5 minutes. Divide among shells and top with whipped cream and caviar. Serve!

Roly-poly Fish Heads

2009-09-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve always enjoyed canned sardines (see my post from May 10) but I’ve never had fresh ones. As you might imagine, here in DC, fresh sardines aren’t something you can just pick up at Safeway; they take some searching for. I found mine at Blacksalt Fish Market and Restaurant in the Foxhall neighborhood (http://www.blacksaltrestaurant.com/). Blacksalt is great. They sell only sustainability managed fish and shellfish. Also I have to give them an A+ for customer service. When I was there, they didn’t have sardines in the display case. When I asked when they might have sardines, the monger confided that they did have some in the restaurant’s refrigerator and if I didn’t need too many, he’d be willing to sell me a few. Score! I only needed six.

Sardines are very affordable. My pretty, little fishies only set me back 7-bucks and some change, though I did have to cut the heads off myself (weird!). I used a very simple recipe; marinating them in a little lemon juice, parsley and olive oil then a few minutes on the grill. I served them on a bed of arugula and a cucumber/watermelon salad (made extra marinade to use as salad dressing). In the interest of full disclosure, there were lots of little fish bones to deal with. However, the sardines were really delicious.

Grilled Sardines

Serves 2
6 medium whole fresh sardines, gutted, rinsed inside and out, and patted dry
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
•1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Directions

1. In a large glass bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss the sardines in the marinade coating them well inside and out. Let sit for about 20-minutes.

2. Heat a grill to a medium-high heat (you can also use a grill pan indoors). Coat the grill with cooking spray. Grill sardines until cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with a salad and lemon wedges.

Let me tell you about… Cultured butter.

2009-08-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

Cultured butter is butter made from (slightly) fermented cream. It’s sometimes called “European-style” butter. It has more flavor and character then sweet cream butter, which is the kind commonly sold here in the US.

Cultured butter is easy (and kind of fun) to make. All you need is heavy cream and plain, active-culture yogurt. .Cultured butter is not at all sour, but has a more complex buttery flavor. You want to make sure the cream and yogurt don’t contain any added stabilizers or preservatives. I like to buy organic

A nice by-product of making your own cultured butter is the milky liquid that separates out from the butter. That milky liquid is buttermilk. It is delicious! Use it to make salad dressing or pancakes or heck, I usually just drink it.

How to:

1. In a quart size jar or other nonmetallic container, whisk 1/3 cup yogurt into 1 pint of cream. Let sit at room temperature for about 8-hours or overnight. After which, if you give the container a shake, the cream should be visible thickened. Also, it will have a slightly yellow tinge to it. You now have cultures cream, which will yield about a cup (or more) of butter. To be honest, my yield has varied. The last time I made butter, I let it sit more like 18-hours. That batch made more and tastier butter.

2. Now it’s time to start churning! You have a couple options here.

Churn Method One: If you’ve used a bowl, transfer the cream to a quart size jar with a tight-fitting lid. Close it up tight and start shaking. This is a great thing for kids to do. Even toddlers can roll the jar around on the floor for a while. Lacking children at my house, my partner and I take turns shaking the jar. Just when you start to get bored with it the cream miraculously breaks into globs of creamy butter splashing around in a tangy buttermilk. It’s a simple thing, but truly amazing. Strain off the liquid and transfer the butter to a bowl. Use a wooden spoon to gather the butter against one side of the bowl and keep pressing and patting it to squeeze out the extra buttermilk.

Churn Method Two: Use a hand-mixer on low speed. Start mixing like you would for whipped cream. After about 10-minutes or so the cream will break and butter milk will start flying all over the place. At this point use a wooden spoon to gather the butter against one side of the bowl and keep pressing it to squeeze out the extra buttermilk.

That’s it, you’ve made butter! At this point you can opt to add salt. It’s up to you. A half teaspoon is more than enough. Being a salt fiend, I like to add a little more though.

Store it in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

Sourdough Ciabatta Bread

2009-07-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

OMG I made a loaf of sourdough ciabatta bread that was so delicious it almost made me cry! This is significant (miraculous) because I am not a baker. The last cake I baked was over a decade ago for some friends’ engagement party. (Of course it was a beautiful confection of a thing topped with sugared pansies I grew myself). My bread machine has been gathering dust in the basement for at least 6-years (since Dr. Atkins but the cursed-fear of carbs into me). Also, back when I used to eat bread, I tried making sourdoughs with my own starters and they always came out more like bitter doughs (yuk).

Nonetheless a number of seemingly unrelated events have occurred over the last few months to stir up a bread baking fixation. First, I met Randy and Dan at a party and we chatted about my blog and their sourdough starter (named Herman). Then there is our basement renovation which means all the stuff in the basement needs to find a new home. I hauled the bread machine up, cleaned it up, and thought “hmmm, let’s see if this thing still works.” And now with our coming up trip to Provincetown; I am looking forward to sandwiches from Relish on their delicious ciabatta bread. Bread-obsession-bread-obsession-bread-obsession… and did a little recipe research online. Keep in mind that this is not an immediate gratification recipe; the starter itself is at least a weekend project and the bread takes about 4-hours for all the rising it need to do. …but Lordy is it ever worth it.

Now on to the recipes.

For starters, there is the starter. My online research came up with basically the same process; simply flour and water mixed together and left out to collect wild yeast and beneficial bacteria. This mixture is then “fed” additional flour and water 8- to 12-hours intervals. Keep in mind that your geographic location, the time of year, temperature/humidity all play a factor in the quality, or should I say the “personality” that develops in your starter. You’ll also need a container for your starter to “live” in while it is stored in the refrigerator. I use a mason jar with a clamp-down glass lid because it is very aesthetic. But any glass or plastic container with a lid will work (no metal, it can react adversely with the acid in the starter.) The container needs to be at least a quart-size or larger. The starter expands and rises as it does its thing.

Sourdough Starter

Ingredients 2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour)2 cups warm water. One clean container

Mix two tablespoons of flour with two tablespoons of warm water in your container. Cover with a dish towel or cheesecloth. Set aside at room temperature for 8- to 12-hours.•

“Feed” your starter another 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons warm water and let sit covered for another 8- to 12-hours. Sometime after this feeding you should see bubbles starting to form in your starter and it should have a pleasant yeasty/beery smell to it. •

Feed it again with another 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons warm water and let sit covered for another 8- to 12-hours.•

By this time, my starter was bubbling away and filled ¾’s of the jar and smelled deliciously sour. If yours is doing the same, stir in a full cup of flour and a cup of warm and let sit another 6- to 8-hours and then it is ready to use. If yours is not so active, continue with another 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons warm water. Depending on the time of year, warmth/humidity in your home your starter may take more or less time to get started.•

That’s it. Your starter is alive and well and ready to make some fantastic bread. You should store your starter in the refrigerator. You need to continue feed your starter about once a week by stirring in a ¼ cup flour and a ¼ cup water.

A few notes on your starter.

Hooch – You may see a clear or light brownish watery liquid form on top or your starter. This is normal and is the alcohol produced of the yeast/bacteria. The research I’ve done says you’re not supposed to drink it (of course I did!) It tastes like sour, flat beer. So, you can either stir it back in at the next feeding or for a milder sour flavor, just pour it off. I’ve been opting to pour it off.
Using your starter – Before you use your starter take it out of the refrigerator and feed it a ¼ cup flour and a ¼ cup warm water. Allow it to sit for 4- to 6 hours to warm-up and get it active again.

Sourdough Ciabatta Bread
Many sourdough Ciabatta recipes can be found online. I chose this one because the recipe is sized for a bread machine. I let the machine do the kneading and I just have to form the loaf and bake it in the oven. The recipe can be found at: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/Ciabatta.htm.

Dough:
1 1/2 cups bread flour*
1/2 cup semolina flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon diastatic malt (optional)**
1 teaspoon instant yeast (I use Red Star Instant Active Dry Yeast) 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F.)
1 cup sourdough starter, room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

* This bread will end up being a very sticky, wet dough. Do not add any additional flour to the dough.
** Diastatic malt contains active enzymes which help break starch down into sugar. The extra sugar feeds the yeast in the dough, helping the bread to rise, and also gives the bread a browner crust.

Method:
Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine. Select dough setting and press start.

When dough cycle has finished, dough will be very soft (between a batter and a runny dough).

Remove dough from pan and place into a oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in at room temperature approximately 1 1/2 hours or until tripled in bulk (dough will be sticky and full of bubbles).

On a baking sheet, place a sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle parchment paper with flour or cornmeal. Turn the risen dough onto parchment paper. Pat dough (do not punch down) into a rectangle and dust with flour. Press fingertips into dough in several places to dimple surface. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

At least 45 minutes before baking, place baking stones on lowest oven rack in oven (optional) and set the temperature to 500degF. Allow the oven to heat for 30 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and brush the top of the dough with an egg wash (or water) and sprinkle with course salt.

Lower oven temperature to 400degF. If using baking stones, transfer loaf (with parchment paper) to the hot stones. If not using baking stones transfer baking sheet and all and bake 15 minutes or until pale golden. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 1 loaf***

***I tried dividing this recipe into two smaller loaves. Though the flavor was great, the loaves were thin and difficult to cut for sandwiches. The single loaf is much more satisfying.

What’s not to love?!!!

2009-05-10T13:58:00.001-07:00

Spaghetti with Sardines, Dill and Fried Capers

I came across this recipe in the May 09 issue of Gourmet Magazine. It has all the delicious savory Mediterranean ingredients we love here at the Yellow Door! Even better the recipe comes together quickly and all of these ingredients are really inexpensive; great for a weeknight dinner. I used Goya brand sardines. There are three large fillets in each can. As the recipe suggests I made fresh breadcrumbs from a left-over baguette I had, but any bread would work just fine.

I served this with green salad on the side. Tossing in some steamed broccoli or asparagus would up the veggie quotient in this dish too.

A word of caution! We accidently ate the ENTIRE six-serving dish in one sitting; it is THAT good!!

How Much?
Spaghetti - $2.50
Sardines - $6.00 (2 cans @ about $3.00 each)
Capers (3oz) - $1.99
Fresh Bread Crumbs - $1.00
Fresh Dill - $1.50
Garlic - $0.75
TOTAL - $13.75

Spaghetti with Sardines, Dill and Fried Capers
Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup (about 3 - 4oz) drained capers, patted dry
2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (from a baguette)
1/2 cup chopped dill
2 to 3 (3 3/4-ounces) cans sardines in olive oil
4 garlic cloves (finely chopped or force garlic through a garlic press)

Preparation:

Cook spaghetti in a pasta pot of well- salted boiling water until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry capers until they "bloom" and are just a shade darker, about 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Toast bread crumbs in same skillet, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and toss with capers, dill, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Add sardines to skillet with their oil (if using 3 cans sardines, discard oil from 1 can) over medium-high heat and add garlic to the skillet. Sauté until sardines are golden in spots around edges, about 2 minutes.

Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta. Add pasta to skillet with cooking water and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Toss until pasta is coated and sauce is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve topped with seasoned crumbs.

Bacon Fried in the Oven

2009-05-10T04:51:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about… Bacon Fried in the Oven.

Frying bacon in the oven provides all the put-it-in-and-forget-it convenience of microwave cooking but results in all the crispy, crunchy goodness of pan frying. As an added bonus, with no grease splattered stovetop and counter, clean up is easier.

No real recipe here. Just preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay bacon out evenly over a cookie sheet lined in aluminum foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes. When done to the desired crispness, drain on paper towels.

A few hits and suggestions:

Cram as much bacon on the cookie sheet as you can. Overlapping a little bit doesn’t affect the outcome since the bacon shrinks as it cooks. Refrigerate (or freeze) leftovers to use on salads, burgers, sandwiches etc.

Before cooking sprinkle raw bacon with crushed dried rosemary and freshly ground back pepper. (YUM)

Fold the edges of the foil up to form a rim to help contain the rendered fat.

Cuban Sandwiches

2009-03-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

My partner, Gene, introduced me to Cuban sandwiches many years ago on trip to Miami. Cuban sandwiches are rich, meaty, delicious sandwiches filled with ham, roast pork, and a Swiss cheese. The roast pork is a little tricky; unless you make it yourself it’s sort of hard to come by. (…but so worth it!) I used leftover roast pork I’d made for dinner a few nights ago. I had marinated a pork butt in mojo sauce overnight and then slow roasted it (yum!)

The other key ingredient is Cuban bread, which is also hard to find (anywhere north of Florida). Cuban bread is long, like a baguette, but has a very thin almost papery yet crispy crust and a soft interior. French bread has a thicker, harder crust, but still substitutes pretty well.

Traditionally the sandwiches are pressed-grilled like a Panini to warm the filling and make the bread toasty, crisp. I don’t have a sandwich press and have tried using my waffle iron in the past with disappointing results. The waffle iron doesn’t open far enough to accommodate thick sandwiches and squishes them at an unacceptable angle. So as an alternative for my Cuban sandwiches, I toasted the bread and warmed the ingredients under the broiler for about a minute before assembling sandwich. I think next time I’ll try pressing them between two hot frying pans for a few minutes; they really are better flattened a bit.

The Recipe: Cuban Sandwiches
Makes two sandwiches
1 loaf Cuban bread (or French baguette)
Prepared mustard (yellow is traditional)
1/4 pound baked ham, thinly sliced (about 4-6 slices)
1/4 pound roast pork, pulled to shreds or thinly sliced
1 dill pickle sliced thinly length-wise (about 8 slices)
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced (about 4 slices)

Slice two 5- or 6-inch lengths of bread from the baguette, then slice each length horizontally to open. Spread a generous layer of mustard on top and bottom halves of bread.

Arrange ham, pork, pickle slices, and Swiss cheese evenly over the bread. Cover the sandwiches with the top halves of the bread.

Grill sandwiches in a hot buttered sandwich press until flattened a bit, the bread is browned, and the cheese has melted, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately.

All Puffed-Up for Sunday Brunch

2009-02-21T06:18:00.000-08:00

Why?

Growing up, I remember my mom making soufflés. Well to be honest, I really only remember her making one soufflé and I recall not liking it that much. However, I was mesmerized by it as I peeped through the oven window watching it get higher and higher. Now, I love them. And a nice, slow, do-nothing Sunday morning is the perfect time for one.

Soufflés really aren’t that much work and you don’t have to tip-toe around while they bake. Honestly, its maybe 20-minutes of prep time and 30-40-minutes in the oven! Plus, its basic ingredients; eggs, cheese, some milk, a little butter, a little flour and you have a stunning, delicious brunch.

What?

So this recipe comes from the Larousse Gastronomique (subtitled: The World’s Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia.) The LG is a 7 ½ pound monster, over 1200 pages long. I have to admit I find it a bit intimidating but it’s got some fascinating information and quite a few recipes; in fact 2 ½ pages of soufflé recipes alone. This is where my spinach soufflé recipe comes from.

This is a classic soufflé recipe. You first make a béchamel sauce, add egg yolks and flavoring (spinach and cheese for mine), fold that into fluffy, whipped egg whites, pour the whole thing into a soufflé pan and bake. I was a bit skeptical of this recipe at first. For anyone who’s ever made a roux, I thought this one was a little off base. It called for way more flour than I thought it should have, so I reduced it from 6 tablespoons to 3 tablespoons, which still made for a really stiff, gloppy béchamel. The sauce did loosen up a little with the addition of the egg yolks and spinach and in the end the soufflé was gorgeous.

How much?

This assumes that you have basics like, flour, milk and butter (maybe a dollars-worth altogether).

4 eggs - $1.06 (based on dozen cage-free $3.19)

8 ounces frozen spinach - $0.70 (based on 16-oz bag at $1.39)

3 oz white cheddar cheese - $1.49 (based on $4.99 for 10-oz)

Total: $4.25

The Recipe

Spinach Soufflé

3 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

8 ounces frozen spinach

3 oz white cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt and pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 400°.

Thaw spinach and squeeze out excess moisture.

Separate four eggs, with whites in a large bowl and yolks in a small bowl.

Butter the inside of an eight inch soufflé pan.

Make a béchamel by melting the butter in medium saucepan, stir in flour and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the milk and bring it to a boil whisk often. Season with salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg. Cook over low heat for an additional 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Add spinach, cheese, and egg yolks and stir to combine well.

Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks. Add 1/3 egg whites to the béchamel and gently stir to combine (to further lighten the béchamel). Carefully fold the béchamel mixture into the egg whites folding into the batter is fairly homogenous (it’s OK if those bits of streaks of egg white still in the mix).

Pour the batter into the soufflé pan and bake (see cook’s note) for 30 minutes without opening the door until well risen and the top is golden-brown.

Cook’s note: I don’t particularly like brown, crusty egg dishes, so I usually cook my soufflés a bain-marie to keep the sides from browning, but that’s up to you.

The Larousse Gastronomique really is a wonderful book with lots of useful information (like what is a bain-marie?) and would make a wonderful addition to anyone’s cookbook collection.

Pork and squid, that’s the opposite of kosher!

2009-01-28T05:56:00.000-08:00

Why?
Because Gene got me a new Spanish cookbook for Christmas; it is Jose Andres’ Made in Spain. It has some delicious recipes and some wonderful descriptions of Spain. Also because it was cold out and we needed something hearty to eat!

What?
I came across a very interesting recipe for pork meatballs with squid. It’s basically garlicky pork meatballs braised in tomato sauce with squid, potatoes, cinnamon, thyme, and more garlic. Pork and squid sounded like a very odd pairing to me, but it was delicious.

I’ll admit, that once again, I didn’t read the entire recipe through before I started. I didn’t catch the sofrito part. Andres’ sofrito is a kind of vegetably-tomato sauce; I made my own using canned chopped tomatoes cooked down with sautéed onions and paprika. But in a pinch, you can probably substitute a little decent quality, mild, but chunky, pasta sauce.

How much? (This assumes you have the basics of little milk, a crust of bread, an egg, some flour and such.)

Ground pork - $3.49
Squid - $5.99
A potato $0.59
One head garlic - $0.69
Parsley - $0.99
Thyme - $0.99
Sofrito (est) - $3.50
Total - $16.24

The Recipe:
Pork Meatballs with Squid

Sauerbraten with a Twist

2009-01-09T15:13:00.000-08:00

Why?

My friend Shawn sent me a recipe for Sauerbraten. I’ve never had sauerbraten before and after reading the recipe, I am embarrassed to admit that I had always assumed it was a kind of sausage (you know, …braten …’brats on the grill and all that. Work with me here!) Anyway, as you may or may not know, sauerbraten is actually a big hunk of braised beef. So after going for so long with my misconception, I had to try this recipe.

What?

Traditional sauerbraten is a beef marinated and braised in vinegar, wine, and spices. This recipe replaces the wine and vinegar with a Belgian lambic beer, which has a slightly sour aftertaste. This recipe takes a little planning in that the beef marinates for 3 – 4 days! I started it on the weekend and then cooked it for a weeknight dinner. In the interest of full disclosure, I could not find a lambic beer. So I used a domestic Belgian-style beer and added a ¼ cup of white vinegar to the marinade.

Also the recipe calls for pickling spice. I don’t have premixed pickling spice so (after a little research) I made my own with black and red

peppercorns, coriander, cardamom, cumin, juniper berries, and fenugreek. (…and yes I do have juniper berries and fenugreek in my pantry, I’m a food-geek, what can I say?) Lastly, I forgot to buy sour cream, so I didn't make the sauce, though it sounds delicious. We just ladled the juice over the meat.

How Much?

Boneless Top Round Roast ($4.99/lb) - $14.42

Onions (3 lb bag) – $2.99

Garlic (1 head) - $0.69

Pickling Spice (2.6 oz, premixed) - $2.99

Total - $21.09

The Recipe:

Sauerbraten with a Twist

Ingredients

For the Meat

24 oz Gueuze or Lambic

8 each garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

2 tbsp pickling spices

2 each yellow onions, peeled and sliced into thin wedges

2 each bay leaves

1 tsp sea salt

4-5 lb top sirloin roast

For the Sauce

¼ cup olive oil

2 each garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 each leek, washed and sliced

1 each bay leaf

2-3 tsp all-purpose flour

½ cup sour cream

Directions

In a stainless steel pot, bring sour beer, garlic, spices, onions, bay leaves and salt to a boil and

cook for 3 minute to combine the flavors. Turn off the heat and let rest until marinate is room

temperature. Place into either a large sealable container or Ziploc bag and add roast. Remove as much air as possible and seal, placing in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. At least once a day, flip the bag to distribute the marinade equally over the meat.

In a Dutch over medium-high heat, add oil and brown the roast (first removing from the marinade, patting dry and reserving the marinade) on all sides. After the meat has formed a nice crust, add onions, garlic, leeks, bay leaf and reserved marinade liquid only, discarding other spices and

vegetables.

Bring to a simmer and place into a 250 F oven for 4 hours. Remove the roast from the liquid, sprinkling with flour and whisking to prevent any lumps. Bring to a low simmer and thicken for about 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and add sour cream. Adjust seasoning. Slice the roast against the grain of the meat and serve with the sauce over buttered egg noodles tossed with chopped parsley, thyme and savory.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

What a meal, what an evening! I think we really outdid ourselves; Gene and I got together with our friends Joanie and Lawrence and Chris and Nancy. The idea was that we would get together to cook small bites; think tapas and amuse bouches. Oh and don’t forget the wine and champagne! We all love good food and Chris really knows wine.
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Each course was accompanied by different wines, each one spectacular. I don’t feel able to do justice to the wines and adequately discuss them so; I will limit myself to describing the food. We started with my French Onion Soup that was inspired by one we had at a restaurant in Jupiter, Florida. In addition to the Swiss cheese I used our favorite blue cheese, Societé, It was great. I served the soup in demitasse topped with a puff pastry “lid” which was embellished with a “09.”
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Soup was followed by a flight of salads; Chris made a lightly dressed salad of Grilled Baby Octopus on Radicchio and Endive and a Black Eyed Pea salad. We just have to get those black eyed peas in on New Years!
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Next up, Joanie and Lawrence prepared Foie Gras Three Ways. This dish consisted of two disks of a traditional foie gras flecked with truffle, a foie gras mousse, and a “brick” of rustic country pate of foie gras and duck. The dish was served with three delicious breads.
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Our final antipasto was Spicy Grilled Shrimp and Spanish Chorizo with Smoked Paprika. I skewered the shrimp and chorizo on toothpicks and marinated them in garlic, smoked paprika, and white vermouth. Quickly grilled, they were delicious!
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Next, a pasta course; a triumvirate of pasta! Chris and Nancy provided Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli topped with Fried Sage, Grated Biscotti and Parmesan Cheese. Joanie and Lawrence made Orecchiette with Baratta Cheese and Ragu. Orecchiette is a type of pasta native to Apulia, whose shape resembles a small ear (in Italian, "ear" is orecchio). Gene and I contributed Ravioli filled with Homemade Ricotta Cheese and Lemon Zest served alongside Mushrooms Two Ways (roasted mini portabellas and sautéed oyster mushrooms).

And now, on to the main courses!
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Lawrence prepared Lamb Chops with baked Brussel Sprouts as a first main course. Then, Gene made Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Hollandaise Sauce as the second main.

Time-wise, we hit 2009 between the lamb and beef! Last but not least: desserts! Four flights of dessert included: Mini Palmiers, Mini Pastelitos de Guayaba, Belgian Dark Chocolates, and Homemade Candies. By this point, we were all so full that we could barely get up from the table! Happy New Year!

Eating My Curds and Whey

2008-12-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while, my laptop died and took with it several draft postings. I’m still getting my new laptop setup and have to recreate a lot of my work.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Why?

I remember growing up that a few times my dad tried to make homemade cheese. It was a fascinating process, but I honestly don’t recall if any of them ever turned out. I’ll have to ask him about that. Anyway, I was reminded of this when I came across another food blogger’s post about making homemade ricotta cheese. Bingo! This was just the thing I needed to make my ravioli a little extra special and redeem myself for not making my own fresh pasta sheets (I'm a big fan of wonton wrappers!)

What?

This is ridiculously easy! If you can boil water, you can make ricotta. The only special equipment you need is cheese cloth, go figure. Mine came out very creamy, more like a cross between ricotta and cream cheese. I’m going to experiment with a little more stirring next time to encourage larger curds to form. I’m also wondering about if it’s possible to make goat’s milk ricotta?

I mixed half of my homemade ricotta with a little more cream and a little lemon zest and used it as filling for ravioli on Christmas Eve. See the final product, ravioli in brown butter and fried sage, at the bottom of the page. The cheese was deliciously rich and the lemon zest added brightness to the flavor.

How Much?

1 quart whole milk – $1.69

1 8oz carton heavy cream – $1.99

1 lemon – $0.70

Total – 4.38

The Recipe (from Gourmet, April ’06):

Homemade Ricotta

Ingredients
1 quart whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
Juice from ½ lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

Directions

1. Combine the milk, cream, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Separately, line a colander with cheesecloth and set it in a large bowl. Measure out the lemon juice and set it aside.

2. Bring the milk mixture to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula to prevent scalding. Once the mixture has reached a steady simmer, add the lemon juice and stir gently with the spatula — quickly, just to blend. Let the mixture sit for about 1 minute, turning down the heat slightly so it stays at a simmer but doesn’t reach a hard, rolling boil. Stir with the spatula after about 1 minute, then let it sit another minute or two until it looks like most of the liquid has separated into curds and whey. (See note below.)

3. Drain the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined colander set over a bowl, and let it drain at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer the ricotta to an airtight container and refrigerate.

Makes about 1 cup.

Note: My curds and whey seemed to take a bit longer to separate, so I added another couple tablespoons of lemon use. It worked out fine, and did not affect the flavor. I’ll try a little more patience next time.

Let me tell you about... Essensia!

2008-12-06T06:10:00.001-08:00

Let me tell you about… In addition to my recipe posts, I’m adding a new alternative post to my blog. My new “Let me tell you about” posts will be shorter and focus on a single topic. I’m doing this because sometimes I’ll run across something (an ingredient, a restaurant, a wine, you name it) that doesn’t warrant a full out posting, but that I want to share with my friends and readers nonetheless. So…

Let me tell you about… Essensia!

Essensia is a delicious dessert wine my partner Gene and I discovered at a wine and cheese tasting several years ago. We like it so much that it’s rare we don’t have a bottle chilling in the refrigerator.

It is a sweet, honey-colored wine made from Orange Muscat grapes by the Quady Winery in California. Served cold, it pairs outrageously well with room-temp blue cheese (imported Societe is our favorite). It would also pair well with chocolate or fruit desserts. Most often we’ll just have a tiny glass all by itself at the end of the evening.

Essensia is available locally. Here in DC, I buy the 750ml bottles at Calvert-Woodley for between $21-$25. It also comes in 375ml bottles (great for gift giving).

Enjoy!!

It's Swellington!

2008-12-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

Why?

My partner, Gene, inspired this dish. We’d been eating a lot of puff pastry this summer. A lot as compared to almost none over the past 15-years. Anyway, Gene suggested we “do something with it”. The something turned out to be a Salmon Wellington, salmon wrapped in puff pastry (immediately dubbed Swellington by our friend Lawrence.)

What?

Our first attempt came out rather comical in appearance but quite delicious in flavor. Comical in that we cut the salmon into long fillets. When wrapped in pastry they formed elegant packages about 7 – 8 inches long and a couple inches wide. Well the pastry was true to its name and buffed. The Swellington came out of the oven looking like fluffy femur bones; all knobby on the ends and slender in the middle. But as I mentioned the flavor was great. Each bite a mixture of buttery, golden, crispy pastry and rich, perfectly done, pink salmon. Yum!

How Much? (assuming you have white wine vinegar and butter on hand)

Salmon Fillets - $16.48

Buff Pastry - $3.99

Basil - $1.99

Onion - $0.59

White wine – $12.99 (the recipe only takes a cup, so drink the rest with dinner!)

Total – $36.04

The Recipe:

Salmon Wellington (aka Swellington)

Ingredients

1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

4 3/4-inch-thick 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets

1 tablespoon butter

6 tablespoons minced onion

2 tablespoons white wine or vermouth

4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, tarragon, or parsley (or combination)

1 egg beaten to blend (for glaze)

Sauce

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, diced

Preparation

For the salmon:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

1) Melt butter in a small sauté pan. Add 4 tablespoons onion and sauté until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in wine and 4 tablespoons of basil. Set aside.

2) Roll out each pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 12-inch square. Cut each in half, forming four 12x6-inch rectangles. Place 1 salmon fillet (see note 1) in center of a rectangle, about 1 inch in from and parallel to a short edge (depending on the thickness of the fillet). Sprinkle each fillet with salt, pepper, and spread salmon evenly with a fourth of the onion/basil mixture.

3) Brush edges of rectangles with some glaze. Fold the short edges of pastry up and the long side over the top of the fillet enclosing it. Trim away any excess pastry and pinch to seal edges of pastry (see note 2). Repeat with remain fillets.

4) Place pastries on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush with glaze. Bake pastries until dough is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

For the sauce:

Meanwhile, boil ½ cup wine, vinegar and 2 tablespoons onion in heavy small saucepan until liquid is reduced to 6 tablespoons, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add butter 1 piece at a time, whisking until melted before adding next piece. Whisk in remaining 2 teaspoons of fresh herbs. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

To Serve:

Spoon a quarter of the sauce onto a plate and place the Swellington along side and serve.

Note 1: If necessary, salmon fillets can be cut and pieced together from compact, even rectangular “brick” of salmon.

Note 2: Extra puff pastry can be used as decoration on top of the Swellington. Cut out shapes (like leaves, flowers, geometric shapes), moisten them with a bit of water and arrange on top of the Swellington.

Braised Beef and Onions

2008-11-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

Why?
I bought a nice, little chuck roast on sale, brought it home and had no idea what to do with it. I had some onions in the house so I googled “beef chuck roast onions”. My big constraint was I had only ½ bottle of wine in the house and didn’t feel like running out for more. That 375ml of red was for drinkin’, not for cookin’! Well, I hit the jack pot with this gem of a recipe (to which I of course added a few of my own ideas).

What?
It's really just four main ingredients, beef, onions, garlic, and allspice. The allspice kind of threw me at first, but I thought what the heck. After hours in a hot oven, the beef comes out just falling apart and covered in silky, sweet, roasted onions. For my second go-around with this recipe I added a few potatoes and some carrots to the pan about an hour before it was done making it a one-pot meal.
You’ll notice the picture of the Ommegang ale; it doesn’t go in the beef, it goes in the cook (though it would be tasty either way.)

How Much?
I bought the beef and vegetables at Giant, but picked up allspice at Yes! Organic; they’re a great source for fresh spices in bulk. I bought about 3oz of allspice for $2.20 but the recipe only uses about ¼-oz.

Boneless Chuck Roast – 10.74
Onions - $3.10
Garlic - $1.00
Allspice - $0.25
Parley - $1.99
Total - $17.08

The Recipe:

Braised Beef and Onions
Makes 4 servings
active time: 15 min
total time: 3 hrs

Ingredients
1 (2-2 ½ lb) well-marbled boneless beef chuck pot roast
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon pepper
3 very large onions, sliced ¼ inch thick (6-8 cups)
3-4 large garlic cloves, slivered
2 bay leaves (optional)
4 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
1) Stir together allspice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and set aside. (Optional substitute 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoons chili powder for the allspice.)

2) Pat meat dry. Using a small paring knife slice deep cuts into the meat and stuff slivers of garlic into the cuts working your way around both sides of the meat until it is evenly studded with garlic. (Any leftover garlic can be added to the onions later.) Rub the allspice mixture all over meat.

3) Spread half the onions in a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan and arrange meat on top. Spread remaining onions over meat (and if using, add bay leaves and any remaining garlic). Tightly cover pan with a double layer of foil and roast for 1 hour.

4) After an hour, turn the meat over and spread some of the onions from the pan over the roast. Recover the pan tightly with foil and cook until meat is very tender, about an additional 1 1/2 hours. (Optional: remove the foil for the last 1/2 hour to allow pan juices to reduce a little and onions to caramelize.)

5) Skim fat from pan juices. Slice meat across the grain and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with onions and pan juices.

Stuck a feather in my cap and called it ravioli!

2008-11-23T07:37:00.001-08:00

Why?

Because I love fresh pasta, but it can be a chore to make (and besides my pasta maker broke and went in the recycle bin two months ago!). So, do we do without homemade ravioli? Not on your life. Wonton wrappers to the rescue.

What?

This recipe was inspired by a cooking class I took at the Food and Entertainment Expo last year. In the class we made fresh pasta sheets and hand chopped all the ingredients. It made for a fun time chatting with other students, but who has time for that on a regular basis? With a food processor and wonton-wrappers these raviolis are quick and versatile. The recipe below calls for walnuts, but you could easily substituted left over rotisserie chicken or cooked winter squash or sautéed mushrooms. I served mine with left over ragù (see my Going for Baroque! post from 1 Nov.) but you could easily doctor up some store bought sauce with sautéed sausage or hamburger.

How Much?

Wonton Wrappers – $3.99

Ricotta Cheese - $2.49 (8oz container)

Walnuts - $3.79 (8oz container)

Parmesan Cheese - $4.99 (6oz container)

Pesto - $3.29 (10oz jar)

Total - $15.26

The Recipe:

Pesto and Walnut Ravioli

Serves 2 (generously!)

Ingredients

8oz Ricotta cheese

8oz Walnuts

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)

3 tablespoons pesto (homemade or store bought)

½ teaspoon each salt and pepper

24 wonton wrappers

For filling:
Place all ingredients, except wrappers, in a the bowl of a small food processor fitted with a steal blade and process until very well mixed and finely chopped. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

For ravioli:
Arrange 6 wonton wrappers on work surface. Place approximately 1 tablespoon cheese filling in center of each wrapper. Using fingertip, dampen edges of wrappers with water. Fold in half, pressing out air, and pinching edges to seal tightly. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Cook ravioli in a large pot of gently boiling, generously salted water until tender, about 3- 4 minutes. Transfer ravioli to plates and top with a sauce of your choice. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

A Must-See Seafood Stew

2008-11-16T06:14:00.000-08:00

Why?
I found the delicious seafood stew recipe hiding in my giant Gourmet Cookbook. Though the name Cioppino sounds Italian the recipe is from San Francisco. The legend is that name comes from when the Italian and Portuguese fishermen made a communal meal they’d “chip in” what they could from that days catch.

What?
Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you off. There is a good bit of cutting and chopping, but this stew is pretty quick and easy to prepare. The recipe had some nonsense about a frozen king crab leg; I nixed that all together. Also I had extra green and banana peppers from our last CSA delivery so I tossed those in. It’s a very versatile and hearty dish.
I bought the clams, scallops, and shrimp at Jesse Taylor’s Seafood at the fish market on Maine Ave. The salmon was one of those big farm-raised slabs from COSTCO.

The Recipe:
Cioppino
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 Turkish bay leaf or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28- to 32-ounces) can whole plum tomatoes, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
1 cup bottled clam juice
1 cup chicken broth
18 small (2-inch) hard-shelled clams (1 1/2 pound) such as littlenecks, scrubbed
1 pound skinless red snapper, salmon, or halibut fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound large shrimp (16 to 20), shelled (tails and bottom segment of shells left intact) and deveined
3/4 pound sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• Garnish: shredded fresh basil leaves and small whole leaves
• Accompaniment: foccacia or sourdough bread

Preparation
Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil in an 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, and broth and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add clams to stew and simmer, covered, until clams just open, 5 to 10 minutes, checking every minute after 5 minutes and transferring opened clams to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon. (Discard any unopened clams after 10 minutes.) Lightly season fish fillets, shrimp, and scallops with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, then return clams to pot and gently stir in parsley and basil.
Serve Cioppino immediately in large soup bowls.

Going for Baroque!

2008-11-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Why?

Now that the weather is getting cooler and it’s time to eat heartier food, I’m planning to make a variety of ragùs. They are a perfect fix for our cold, damp, Mid-Atlantic winters. I’ve never made these rich meat-based Italian sauces before so I decided to start with a classic one.

What?

I turned to my The Splendid Table cookbook. It concentrates on food from the “Heartland of Northern Italy” and has several ragù recipes (all of which I want to try in the next few months). For my premier sauce I selected a Baroque Ragù. With four different meats plus sausage, pancetta, and cream, this sauce served over pasta with some grated Parmesan will surely melt any blizzard!

This is definitely a make-it-on-the-weekend dish as the recipe spans two full pages. One short cut I took was to use a “meat loaf” mix of ground pork, beef, and veal rather than chopping my own (even in the food processor that takes time). Also I got my chopped vegetables from the salad bar at the grocery store. I forgot to by the pancetta, so I substituted bacon. As well I used a combination of store bought beef and chicken stock as apposed to homemade as the recipe calls for.

How Much?

Unfortunately, I didn’t keep all my receipts together so I can not give you a cost break down for the meal, but as you can imagine with all of the meat it wasn’t cheap. However, it made a very hearty dinner for two and an additional 4 – 5 moderately sized lunches.

The Recipe:

Quick and Easy Cannoli

2008-09-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

Why?

I needed dessert for four in a hurry!

What?

Okay, so I didn’t make these cratered, crunchy, creamy cannoli, but I was clever enough to hunt them down! I bought these at Jennifer Glasgow’s Fine Sweet Shop in Eastern Market (7th Street & North Carolina Avenue, SE - Washington, D.C.) The cannoli were delicious; crispy, crunchy outside and creamy, not-too-sweet inside. The Fine Sweet Shop also carries a variety of cookies, cakes, and cookies; some elegant, some simple. This was the first item I’ve bought from them, but they are now my go-to place for desserts.

I served them to friends for dessert the other night with a scoop of Laloo’s brand goat’s milk ice cream from Whole Foods.

How Much?

Cannoli - $9.00 ($2.25 each)

Ice Cream - $3.98

Total - $11.98

The Recipe:

Well…ya’ drive to Eastern Market with 9-bucks in your pocket.

Figs are in season!

2008-09-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

"I might try to plant a fig tree. A man's entitled to that, isn't he?" - Zefram Cochrane

Why?
I planted a fig tree in the backyard about four years ago (thank you Joanie and Lawrence!) and this year it is mega-producing. Our figs are a vibrant green tinged with yellow when ripe and have a gorgeous pomegranate-pink inside. They are delicious to eat plucked right off the tree. It reminds me of the farm I grew up on where we grew apples, cherries, apricots and more. They were so good fresh off the tree. Now, with such an abundance of figs, I thought I’d try them in a recipe.

What?
Last night I made Figs Wrapped in Bacon as an appetizer. I'd looked at similar recipes online and I created this one myself. I stuffed the figs with creamy, white goat cheese, wrapped them in bacon, and hit them with a little freshly ground black pepper just before they went the oven for a few minutes.

How much?

Figs – free

Goat Cheese - $1.80

Bacon - $1.00

Total - $2.80

The Recipe

Figs Wrapped in Bacon

Serves 2

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15-minutes

Ingredients:

6 fresh figs

2-oz goat cheese

3 strips bacon, sliced in half lengthwise

Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees

2. Slice a fig vertically down to about the center. Stuff fig with about a teaspoon of goat cheese. Wrap the half bacon strip around the stuffed fig and secure with a toothpick. Repeat with remaining figs.

3. Arrange stuffed figs on a baking sheet lined in parchment paper. Give each fig a grind or two of black pepper. Bake until back starts to crisp, 12 – 15 minutes.

4. Allow to cool about 5 minutes before serving.

The Results

As I mentioned, this was my first cut at this recipe. I think it worked pretty well. The warm creamy goat cheese blended well with the warm creamy fig. However, my figs are not really that sweet. The flavor contrast I'd wanted between the salty bacon and sweet fruit was too subtle. Next time I will try using a mild blue cheese. That should give the same creamy results but with some added flavor. To enhance the sweetness I’ll try a little honey on each fig.

End Note: I am also thinking about a “raw” version of this recipe using prosciutto instead of bacon and skipping the oven!

Beef Stew on a Wednesday night?

2008-09-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

More often than I like to admit, I come across a recipe that I obsess about trying. It’s like a song stuck in my head, I keep thinking about it and it has be made. My latest fixation is Joues de Boeuf aux Agrumes (Beef Cheeks Braised in Red Wine with Orange Zest) from the September 2008 issue of Gourmet Magazine.

Why?

An obsession is a preoccupation with an often unreasonable object or idea. What could be unreasonable about making a beef stew? Well for one, it was 90-degrees outside today and a stew seems a bit too hearty. Also, it’s a weeknight; the beef has to braise for 3-hours. We’ll be eating at 10pm! Oh well, I’m cooking on the right side of my brain, logic and reason don’t usually play center stage.

What?

For this recipe, I am using the chuck roast from Brookville Market (since beef cheeks are a little scarce this side of the Atlantic) I also have a huge red onion and a package of rainbow baby carrots (white, yellow, and orange). My wine is Fish Eye Cabernet Sauvignon.

How much?

Meat - $9.62

Onion- $1.15

Carrots - $2.99

Wine - $8.99

Total $22.75

The Recipe

Joues de Boeuf aux Agrumes

(Beef Cheeks Braised in Red Wine with Orange Zest)

Serves 4

Active time:45 min
Start to finish:3 1/4 hr

September 2008

The flavor of the wine looms large in this meaty braise, lending an extraordinary savoriness to the melt-in-your-mouth carrots. For more recipes inspired by the City of Light, visit our Paris City Guide.

2 lb beef cheeks or boneless beef chuck roast

2 tablespoons grapeseed or vegetable oil

1 lb onions, coarsely chopped

1 lb baby carrots, peeled

1 (750-ml) bottle dry red wine

6 to 8 (3- by 1-inch) strips of orange zest

Preheat oven to 350° with rack in middle.
If using chuck, cut across grain into 4 pieces.
Pat beef dry and season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Heat oil in a 4- to 6-qt heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown beef on all sides, 6 to 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate with tongs.
Add onions, carrots, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add wine and zest and bring to a boil. Add beef and return to a boil. Cover pot and braise in oven until meat is very tender, 2 to 4 hours (beef cheeks take longer than chuck). Season with salt and pepper. Serve beef with carrots and sauce.

The Results

Post script: YUM! The meat and veggies were wonderful, velvety done! The stew’s broth was very thin. I scooped out the meat and most of the veggies and then used an emersion blender to puree the rest into a thicker sauce. Next time I will dredge the beef in flour to thicken the sauce as it cooks.