We made it!

We’re here, Valencia, Spain!  After six months of planning, organizing, packing, tossing, staging, selling, moving, moving again, and shoulder surgery we are finally home in Spain!   We have a terrific apartment in Valencia’s Ruzafa neighborhood and are loving our new lives in Spain.  The graphic below gives you an idea of where in the world/country/city we are.

  

The most-asked question we get about the move is “why Valencia.” Through a ton of research (and process of elimination) we found Valencia ticks off most of our wants and desires for our new lives.  Some of which are:

1. Affordability – The cost of living in Valencia is half to a third of what it was for us in Washington DC.  We had a great life in the US, good paying jobs, excellent health insurance (through work), a lovely rowhouse in the city, but it was very expensive. A huge link in our golden handcuffs was health insurance.  While we are not “old”, health insurance and access to good health care is very important to us.  It is impossible to find good, affordable coverage in the US.  In Spain, we found full coverage, no deductibles, no copays, no waiting periods for a little under 3000€ a year!  …and its really good insurance according some of our new expat friends.  That is want truly shattered the golden handcuffs and made this move possible.  In addition, I’ve found food, both in restaurants and the markets much less expensive as in the US.  On the other hand, energy (natural gas, electricity, gasoline) is more expensive.  Luckily, we adjust our consumption  of these by putting on a sweater, turning off lights, and walking.  Full disclosure, we haven’t gotten a utility bill yet, so I’ll revisit this (and probably most of the above) in future posts. 
2. Little-to-no driving required – Valencia is a vibrant, interesting city, the third largest in Spain with a population of around 800,000.  The city is very compact, very walkable, and has an extensive bus and subway system.  Being downtown at mid-day feels like a mini-Manhattan, with it’s crowded, bustling sidewalks full of shoppers and office workers.  It’s got a great, positive energy.
3. Mild climate – Valencia is on the Mediterranean and has hot summers and mild winters.  I can see palm trees from my bedroom window and there are birds-of-paradise blooming in the parks in January (that’s a big deal for a guy from Kansas.)  Valencia has beautiful beaches about 20-minutes from the city center by bus or bike. 
4. Inexpensive options for quick and easy travel to other places – Many of Europe’s economy airlines (like AirEuropa and RyanAir) connect in Valencia and offer super inexperience flights to other cities in Europe.  For example, I came across a round trip Valencia to Vienna offer for 16€.  Granted, January is hardly peak season for traveling to Vienna, but you get the idea.  Once we are settled, we want to be able to take advantage of spur-of-the-moment travel options.

Now for what’s cooking! 

I am still getting used to when stores are and aren’t open.  Many stores were on special holiday hours when we arrived, some stores regularly close in the afternoons and reopen later, very little is open at all on Sundays, etc.   In fact, last Wednesday was a holiday here, Saint Vincent’s feast day.   Most everything was closed and we had little at home for dinner.   Looking in our still woefully-under-stocked pantry I found rice and a can of sardines in tomato sauce.  …Bomba rice is said to be the best for making paella ( I haven’t tackled a paella yet, but bomba is really good rice.) In the fridge was an onion and some pork belly fat saved from some delish cured ham we bought earlier in the week.  …that makes dinner!

No real recipe… I fried the pork fat until it rendered out and was crispy.  Then I chopped onion in the fat until tender.  To that I added the rice, water, salt, a little chopped garlic and nearly a tablespoon of paprika (which actually has flavor here). Twenty minutes later, I served up some delicious red rice and topped it with sardines and their sauce.  One the side is a little spoonful of garlic mayo we use one our patatas bravas.  It was quick, easy, and delicious!

Changing course...

It's a been several years to since I've posted.  Life got busy.  The pattern of commute, work, sleep, repeat set in and a lot of inertia built up.  If inertia is to be overcome an object needs to be acted upon by another force.   For me, that other force was my husband's brilliant idea to move to Valencia, Spain.  It seemed the right thing to do the moment I heard it.  Every milestone we hit toward that goal just reinforces the "rightness" of it all. 

I plan to use this blog as a journal of sorts to document my husband and my new life as expats in Spain.  With my passion for cooking, food will be featured heavily along with observations on our travels and experiences. 

I am so excited about what is ahead.  As I've told our friends, we're not starting a new chapter in life, were are starting a whole, new book! 

¡Hasta pronto amigos!

Muscato Sangria

I know it's only March, but with our near-nonexistent winter, I am thinking of summer already! Last summer, my partner made a fabulous sangria (several times) using muscato wine and summer fruit. If you haven't had it, a muscato wine is made with muscat grapes, which naturally have a sweet, orangey flavor, which make it an excellent base for sangria.

There's not real recipe here, just a bottle of muscato (don't spend a lot, your making sangria after all) dumped in a pitcher with slices of whatever fruit is in season. Right now oranges, lemons, and limes would make an over the to citrusy sangria. In a few weeks, strawberries will add a hit of spring to it. At high-summer, peaches, plums, and nectarines make the absolute best!!

My dirty, little sangria secret is adding a half cup (ok, a whole cup) of vodka to the to the pitcher (your the only one who knows its there. For a lighter drink, do 1/2&1/2 sangria and soda water over ice. My last tip is make it a day or two ahead so the fruit marinates and gives up its flavors. Enjoy!

Cook's Note: One of my favorite dessert wines, Essensia, is made with muscat grapes.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Winter Roots Tagine

As a way to make our meals more healthful and be a little more environmentally friendly, I've been trying to cut some of the meat out of our daily meals. I'm starting to do "Meatless Sundays", "Less Meat Wednesdays", and "Sustainable Seafood Thursdays". In a few weeks, when the farmers' markets open, I am going to do "Locavore Tuesdays" too. The rest of the days of the week, I try to source my groceries as locally as possible and as organic as possible. The new Yes! Organic grocery store in our neighborhood has been a boon. (http://www.yesorganicmarket.com).

Along those lines, I made a great Winter Root Tagine with couscous last night (to offset the delicious flatiron steak we had the night before from the Springfield Butcher (http://www.springfieldbutcher.com).

In addition, my partner was in New York last week and brought home a bunch of exotic spices from Kalustyan's (http://kalustyans.com/), including a packet of Tagine spice mix.

My tagine was inspired by the Root Vegetable Tagine recipe at epicurious, but only loosely as I used my new spice mix and a 3lb bag of seasonal root vegetables from Yes! that included a couple orange and yellow carrots, parsnips, and white and red turnips. I stirred in some butter at the end for added richness, but you can leave it out if you want to go vegan.

Winter Root Tagine

Prep time: 30-minutes (its a lot of peeling and chopping)
Cook time: 45-minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
3 pounds mixed root vegetables of your choice (carrots, yams, potatoes, turnips, parsnips, etc.), peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Tagine spice mix (or 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper, mixed together and ground in a spice grinder.)
3 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon course-ground black paper
1 cup vegetable
1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions:

1. Heat half of the olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and spice mix and sauté until the onion softened and beginning to brown and spices are toasted and fragrant, about 7 minutes.

2. Move the onions to one side of the pan and add the remaining olive oil and half the root vegetables and red pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes without stirring, allowing the vegetable to begin to brown.

3. Stir in the remaining vegetables, garlic, ginger, broth, and water and bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes or until all the vegetables are soft (but not disintegrated). Stir about every 15 minutes and adding more broth or water as needed. As the vegetables cook some of them will break down and thicken the sauce.

5. When done, stir in the butter and serve over couscous or rice.

Cook's Note: For added protein you can add ½ cup dry lentils or a can of chick peas at step number 3 above. If using lentils, they will absorb a lot of moisture, so be sure to check the stew doesn't get to dry while cooking, add more broth or water as needed.

Salmon in Parchment

I love salmon. It works so well with almost any type of cuisine and cooking method. Terrific in the summer on the grill with veggies or in a Cioppino stew in winter. Plain and simple or all jazzed up its a champ!
One of my favorite methods of cooking fish is in parchment. It's pretty easy, but looks impressive. Below is a recipe I adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. I substituted broccoli for the cabbage and scaled it down to two servings. Enjoy!

Salmon in Parchment

Ingredients
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
3 large carrots, julienned
1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded
4 salmon fillets (1 1/2 pounds)

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper. Add 3 large julienned carrots and 1/2 head shredded Napa cabbage; toss to combine.
3) Set four 15-inch squares of parchment on work surface. Use a slotted spoon to mound carrot mixture on one side of each sheet; reserve liquid in bowl. Roll 4 salmon fillets (1 1/2 pounds total) in reserved liquid. Place a fillet on each pile of vegetables; season with salt and pepper.

4) Fold parchment over contents; pleat edge to seal, forming a half-moon. Bake on a baking sheet 20 minutes. To serve, cut paper with kitchen scissors to open.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Brunch at the Yellow Door: Ruffly Eggs (with Dorie)

I first read about "ruffly eggs" on Dorie Greenspan's web page at http://doriegreenspan.com/ and immediately wanted to try them. It's basically a egg poached in a little plastic wrap bag. The ringer is that you can add just about anything you want to the bag to flavor the eggs. My favorite is a big pinch of chopped herbs and a drizzle of truffle oil. I've also made them with a little salsa and shredded cheese (sort of a poached huevos rancheros) and with leftover chana masala with Sriracha sauce for added kick. They are not much more complicated then making a soft boiled egg and as Dorie puts it, they're endlessly play-aroundable.

The delicious croissant is from Le Caprice, a new French bakery, at 3460 14th Street, NW.

Ruffly Eggs with Herbs and Truffle Oil

This recipe is for one serving, but it's easy to scale up to more. Dorie says her chef friend prepares them Saturday night, puts them in the fridge, then cooks them for Sunday brunch at his restaurant.

2 large eggs

Olive oil or butter

2 teaspoons finely chopped, fresh, mixed herbs (basil, chives, parsley, rosemary, whatever you have)

1 teaspoon white or black truffle oil (more or less to taste)

Salt and pepper

Additionally you'll need plastic wrap, kitchen string, and a small bowl.

1) Put a medium size saucepan of water to boil (a 2 quart is more than enough for 2 - 4 eggs)

2) Cut two pieces of plastic wrap, each large enough to generously wrap around each egg. Very lightly coat the the top of each piece of plastic with oil or butter, and then fit one wrap into the small bowl.

3) Add one teaspoon of the herbs sprinkled evenly in the button of the bowl. Drizzle a 1/2 teaspoon of truffle oil over the herbs. Gently crack an egg and into the cup, taking care not to break the yolk. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4) Draw up the corners and sides of the plastic, getting as close as you can to the top of the egg, and twist to tighten the plastic. Tie the string around the neck of the plastic to secure it. Repeat with the other egg.

5) Lower the heat under the pan to a light simmer and gently drop in the eggs (...not fear, the plastic won’t melt). Poach the eggs for about 5 minutes, then carefully lift them out of the water with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel to briefly drain. (If the white doesn’t look set, poach a few seconds longer.)

6) The easiest way to unpack the eggs is to put them on the plate and to snip the plastic just under the string almost all the way around the bag. Gently lift the plastic wrap by the neck, coaxing the egg out a small spatula if necessary. Dorie says, it’s not a problem if it’s upside-down, it’s just that the ruffles are prettier on the top. Serve immediately.

Cook's Note: I love these for brunch with toast or a croissant, but they can be used in the same way as poached eggs; great served on a salad or as Eggs Benedict. They really are endlessly play-aroundable!

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

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

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:

1. 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.
2. Rinse eggplant and pat dry with paper towels.
3. 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
4. Transfer this mixture to a colander to drain off as much of the oil as possible.
5. In a large bowl, mix the eggs and add the herbs, garlic, cheese and bread crumbs.
6. Add the eggplant mixture.
7. Season with the bharat, salt, and a small spoonful of the optional harissa or cayenne pepper.
8. Grease a 2-quart soufflé dish.
9. 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).
10. Let cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a serving platter (you can also just leave it in the dish).
11. Cut into wedges or squares to serve.
12. Serve hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges on the side.

Algeria – Spicy, salty, and delicious!

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

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”

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: Caviar Eggs

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

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.

About: Cultured Butter

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

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.