So Many Recipes.....

Seared Sesame-Porcini Tuna with Three Sauces in Chocolate Bowls

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:29:00 +0000

This is my entry to the Chef Curtis Duffy Recipe contest hosted by Leela at She Simmers (This lady never posts anything that I don't like, you should go check out her blog). The winner of this friendly contest receives $100 off a dinner for two at Chef Duffy's restaurant, Avenues courtesy of The Peninsula here in Chicago. At that dinner the chef will present the winner with his interpretation of their recipe and it will become a selection on the restaurants menu. Talk about bragging rights! And a gift set from BLiS that contains a bottle of Bourbon Barrel Matured Pure Maple Syrup and a bottle of BLis Elixer Extra Old Fine Solera Sherry Vinegar both used by some very top named chefs. Yes please!

This was a really tough one I must admit. There were four ingredients that had to be used in the creation of my dish. They all seem harmless enough on there own: fish (any variety), mushrooms (any type), fennel (the whole thing: bulb, stems and fronds) and 85% chocolate. See harmless. Yeah, until you try to put chocolate and fish together! I have never heard of this and my first thoughts, while intriguing, were also bordering on the icky side. My first attempt at this involved salmon, maple, chipotle, a smoky bacon broth and chocolate sour cream. I can honestly say I have never produced anything so disgusting in my life! There are no words to describe just how gross this was. None, except wretched, putrid, barf-making, nauseating and down right awful! What was I thinking? I don't think I was. Not clearly anyway.

Unfortunately this was the only concept I had come up with and had been so sure that it work beautifully that I simply had no clue where to go from there. I began to freak out! Not a pretty sight. Not a pretty sight AT ALL! So after much agonizing and brainstorming this is what resulted. It's not perfect, but everything ended up working surprisingly well together and nobody gagged or threw up! Always a plus. It really was very delicious and fun to make and eat as well. I never knew balloons could be a kitchen tool! I would love to see how a real chef would refine this to make it even better but I used up all of my resources and then some and took this as far as my abilities were able. You should check out Chef Curtis Duffy's website if you are in need of plating ideas. His dishes and photographs are just gorgeous and he isn't hard to look at either! Really. I'm not just saying that to be a kiss-up. Relax. I'm almost old enough to be his mother. Almost ;).

I don't have a really great name for this that isn't 25 words long and would be open to your suggestions. What you're looking at here is seared tuna that was first coated with a black pepper-porcini powder and then sesame seeds. The tuna has Chinese jade gren rice between the pieces and is sitting atop sauteed fennel with fennel fronds and sesame leaves. There is fennel oil drizzled over the tuna but mine wasn't green enough to show up. The three sauces are in little chocolate bowls that I made with the 85% chocolate. They are a miso-sriracha mayonnaisse, a strawberry-balsamic-cocoa nib-chipotle sauce and a fennel-star anise-porcini-wasabi cream made with the stems and fronds of the fennel. The coolest discovery I made was completely serendipitous. I found these beautiful sesame leaves at an Asian market and bought them strictly for decoration but quickly realized that wrapping them around the tuna and rice with a dab of sauce made for some very delicious eating! I love when things like that happen! Really cool. Here then is what I did.

Recipe: Seared Sesame-Porcini Tuna with Three Sauces in Chocolate Bowls

The Chocolate Bowls

These are fun to make and very easy. A word of caution. Do not put your lovely chocolate bowls under hot lots so you can take pictures of them! See below. Duh. You should have seen me freaking out. It was a sight to behold!

Blow up some balloons to the size you want your bowls to be and set aside. Melt your 85% chocolate on a plate and roll the bottom of the balloon around in the chocolate until you have the desired look you want. Stand balloons on a parchment lined baking sheet and let chocolate harden. Keep your little lovelies refrigerated until ready to use. See easy!

The Sauces

Miso-Sriracha Mayonnaise

1/4 cup white (Shiro) miso
3/4 cup good quality mayonnaise
Sriracha to taste

Mix in a small bowl and refrigerate

Strawberry-Balsamic-Chipotle sauce with Cocoa Nibs

1 quart strawberries, sliced
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar (6% acidity)
2 tablespoons cocoa nibs
chipotles in adobo, to taste

Put everything into a saucepan and reduce until thick and syrupy. Strain and cool.

Fennel-Star Anise-Porcini-Wasabi Cream

1 1/2 cups light cream
2 cups fennel stems and fronds, sliced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 star anise
1/2 ounce of dried porcini mushrooms
wasabi paste to taste

Put everything except the wasabi paste into a saucepan. Bring slowly up to a simmer. Reduce heat and let steep and thicken for 5-10 minutes. Turn off heat and let the sauce cool to room temperature. Strain, stir in wasabi paste and then refrigerate. Garnish with fennel pollen and meyer lemon zest.

The Fennel Oil

From The French Laundry; Thomas Keller
2 cups fennel fronds
2 cups parsley
3/4 cup canola oil

In a large pot of boiling water add 1/4 cup of kosher salt per quart of water. Put fennel and parsley into a strainer and blanch for 15 seconds. Immediately plunge herbs into an ice water bath. Drain and squeeze as dry as possible. Use scissors to cut into small pieces. Put half of the herbs into a blender with just enough canola oil to cover. Puree on medium speed for 1 minute and then on high for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 of the remaining herbs. High speed again for 2 minutes, let rest 2 minutes and then blend for 2 minutes more. Now do this one final time with the remainder of the herbs. If at any point the oil starts to get hot, stop and refrigerate until cool. Refrigerate for at least 1 day to intensify the color. This can be kept for up to one week, if you don't strain it. Once strained oil will discolor in about 2 days. Strain oil through a cheesecloth. Let it filter for about an hour. Don't squeeze or press it through or it will become cloudy.

The Rice, The Fennel, The Tuna and The Plating

After all of that is done, make your rice, finely dice a fennel bulb and saute with olive oil salt and pepper. Fill your chocolate cups with the sauces and garnish. Take your pieces of tuna and dredge them in a mixture of 1 T. black pepper and 1/3 cup ground porcini mushroom powder. Dip tuna in egg whites and then into a mixture of black and white sesame seeds. Quickly sear the tuna in a hot pan. Layer tuna, rice then tune and cut into squares. Use a toothpick to hold the stacks together. Place a sesame leaf on your plate, then a spoonful of sauteed fennel, then your tuna stacks and drizzle with fennel oil.

Wild Mushroom Cakes with Morel Mushroom Pate

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:31:00 +0000

Let me start by saying that this appetizer that I concocted was phenomenal! It ended up to be exactly what I had conceived. Rich and decadent crispy mushroom cakes with a creamy morel pate shmeared between two of them. They are served with a mozzarella-morel cream and topped with a tangy "relish" of roasted grape tomatoes, sauteed fennel dressed in a wonderful Pecorino-Romano dressing. This is one of my best creations EVER!
That being said, I'm not happy with the plating or the pictures...at all! I could just scream. I wanted this submission to the 2nd Annual Morel contest sponsored by Marx Foods to be totally perfect but as usual I didn't leave myself any extra time to re-plate or re-photograph because it HAD to get done. ARGH! Why do I do this to myself? Why?
Okay, enough of THAT! What I did follows. I would highly recommend preparing ahead of time and not try to do this all in one day. It will make your life a lot easier. Consider yourself warned. It's not difficult at all it is just a bit time consuming. I would first like to thank Justin and Elizabeth at Marx Foods for sending such a wonderful assortment of dried wild mushrooms and the fabulous dried morels all being highlighted here. These are really nice people with fantastic and very unique gourmet food products. They have a wonderful assortment of dried products like the mushrooms used here as well as chiles and fresh ingredients such as fiddle head ferns, ramps and morels. If you've never visited their website you really should. Let the voting begin and who ever wins the 2 pounds of fresh morels has to invite me over for dinner! Good luck to all who worked so hard!

Recipe: Wild Mushroom Cakes with Morel Mushroom Pate, Tomato-Fennel Relish and Mozzarella-Morel Cream

In two separate bowls, add 3 ounces dried morels to one and 6 ounces mixed mushrooms (chanterelles, matsutake and lobster in equal amounts) to the other. Cover each with boiling water and let soak at least 20-30 minutes. Strain and set aside to allow the mushrooms to dry off a bit.

The Relish

Pecorino-Romano Dressing

In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino-Romano Cheese. Add 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon good quality sherry vinegar and 1 tablespoon of hot tap water. Whisk vigorously until well combined. Set aside.
Cut grape tomatoes in half length wise and put on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper and toss. Turn all of the tomatoes cut side down and roast in the pre-heated oven until caramelized. Remove from oven and pour the tomatoes and any olive oil left on the cookie sheet into a bowl and set aside.
While the tomatoes are roasting, dice fennel and saute over medium-high heat in some olive oil until crisp-tender. Season lightly with salt and black pepper and add to the bowl with the roasted tomatoes. Reserve skillet to use again later. Drizzle approximately 2 tablespoons of the Pecorino dressing and toss gently. Check for salt and pepper then set aside until ready to plate.

Morel Pate

In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add two minced shallots and saute until light golden in color. Add one small, minced garlic clove add saute 1 minute. Add 1/2 of the re-hydrated morels. Saute for a few minutes then add a splash of dry sherry (or two). Cook until the sherry is almost completely evaporated. Remove from heat and pour into your food processor. Add 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions and 1-2 tablespoons neufchatel cheese. Puree. You may want to add a little more sherry depending on your tastes.Check for salt and pepper. Spoon into a small bowl and set aside.

Mushroom Cakes

On a large plate, put 1-1/2-2 cups of panko bread crumbs and set aside.
In a large skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 8 ounces mixed mushrooms (chanterelles, matsutake and lobster in equal amounts), 4 ounces morels and 8 oz. fresh creminis, sliced. Saute over medium heat 5-7 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 cup of reserved morel soaking liquid (the liquid should come half way up the mushrooms. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove lid and add 1 clove of minced garlic continue to cook until all of the liquid has evaporated. Take out of the pan roughly half of the morels and reserve. Put all of the remaining mushrooms into a food processor with 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup fresh parsley, and salt and pepper. You may need to add some plain dried bread crumbs if it ends up too wet. Coarsely chop everything. Form mixture into small cakes and press each side into the panko to lightly coat.
In a skillet, add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil then saute the cakes in batches. Keep warm in the oven until all are cooked.

Mozzarella-Morel Cream

In a food processor, add reserved morels, 3 ounces fresh mozzarella with 2 tablespoons of the juice that the cheese came in and 3 tablespoons olive oil and salt and white pepper. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl.

Plating

These are very rich so one stack is plenty per person. Spoon some mozzarella cream into a circle on your plates. Place one mushroom cake. Spread some pate on that and top with another cake. Top the stack with the tomato-fennel relish and garnish with a fennel frond. You can drizzle a little bit of the remaining Romano dressing over the top if desired.

Everything here can be made a day ahead except, obviously, the frying of the mushroom cakes. Just bring all to room temperature except the mozzarella cream, before proceeding.

Double Mushroom and Marsala Cream Fettuccine

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:56:00 +0000

Once again, Manly is out of town on business so I got to have pasta night. There's always a silver lining in there somewhere! I had this Rachel Ray version tucked away for just such an occasion and it was very very good. I've always loved the combination of mushrooms and Marsala or mushrooms and Sherry or mushrooms with wine or...yeah I really like! This is easy, quick, full of wonderful flavor and very satisfying comfort food. Enjoy!

Recipe:Double Mushroom and Marsala Cream Fettuccine

Ingredients

3 cups chicken stock
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (a generous handful)
Salt and pepper
1 pound fettuccine pasta
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried sage
1/2 cup marsala wine
1/2 cup heavy cream (eyeball it)
1 cup grated pecorino-romano cheese, plus more to pass around the table

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken stock and porcinis and let steep over low heat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

While the pasta is working, in a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 4 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the creminis and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes; season with salt, pepper and the sage. Stir in the marsala and cook for 1 minute.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the porcinis. Strain the chicken stock and reserve 2 cups. Finely chop the porcinis and add to the cremini mixture; stir in the reserved chicken stock. Stir in the cream and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the pasta and cheese and toss.

Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi Pancakes) With Two Dipping Sauces

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:13:00 +0000

Recently, Saveur magazine did a whole center spread on Kimchi with recipes to make your own at home (an odoriferous and arduous undertaking) and recipes utilizing said kimchi. There is a cucumber kimchi that looks very intriguing and I really want to try, they aren't appropriate for this application. So I chose to purchase a high quality traditional cabbage version to make these kimchi pancakes with. The first go around with these left me unimpressed...too much pancake, not enough kimchi. Thankfully that was easily fixed by cutting back on the flours used and adding a bit more from my lovely jar of fermented cabbage. These also have little bits of ground pork in them that make for a very unique taste but if you're not a pork eater they will still be very good without it.

I also had made two different dipping sauces for my little cabbage cakes. I found the recipes for those in "Growing Up In a Korean Kitchen" by Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall. She recommends serving either one or both as an accompaniment. The sauces were quite good but none of us particularly cared for them with the pancakes and opted for a drizzle of our lovely albeit ubiquitous Sriracha instead. YUM!!! I would love either of these sauces with an Asian dumpling of some kind to be sure and you and yours may very well enjoy them with the kimchi pancakes so I've included the recipes for both in case you wish to try them. Enjoy!

Recipe: Kimchi Jeon

Adapted from Saveur Magazine; Issue #124
Serves 4-6; Makes about 18-20 small pancakes

Note: You can also do bigger pancakes that cover the bottom of your skillet and cut them into triangles before serving. I found using that approach to be more difficult in terms of flipping them over so opted for the little ones.

Ingredients

1/4 lb. ground pork
2-2 1/2 cups chopped Cabbage Kimchi
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup rice flour
6 scallions, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
10 ½ tbsp. canola oil
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions
Combine ground pork, kimchi, flour, rice flour, scallions, egg, and 1 cup ice-cold water in a bowl; whisk to combine. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes.

Working in 7 batches, heat 1 1/2 tbsp. oil in a 12" nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; scoop four 2-tbsp. portions batter into skillet; flatten each portion with the back of a spoon. Cook until edges crisp, about 2 minutes. Flip pancakes; cook until set, about 2 minutes. Transfer pancakes to paper towels and wipe out skillet after each batch. Serve sprinkled with salt.

Recipes: Allspice Sauce and Vinegar Soy Sauce

From "Growing Up In a Korean Kitchen" by Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall
Copyright 2001; Ten Speed Press

Allspice Sauce

Makes 1/2 cup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon ch'ongju (rice wine) or vermouth
1 tablespoon sugar, corn syrup or honey
1 green onion, white and pale green part only, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 walnut half, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon koch'u karu (hot red pepper powder)(I used Korean chile flakes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for at least a week.

Vinegar Soy Sauce

Makes 1/2 cup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ch'ongju (rice wine) or vermouth
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped pine nuts or toasted sesame seeds
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, combine first 6 ingredients and mix well. Before serving, sprinkle the pine nuts and black pepper on top. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for at least a week.

Black Pepper Pasta with Roasted Asparagus, Miso Butter and a Poached Egg

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:48:00 +0000

Saveur magazine did a whole spread this month on the revitalization of Roman iconic dishes and I found a very simple technique amidst some really amazing recipes that I hope to try soon. "What is this technique, Danielle?", you ask...sauteing coarsely cracked black peppercorns in olive oil until nice and toasty and then tossing your favorite pasta (in my case pappardelle) into it and topping it with the best Italian cheese you can find and a sprinkling of good sea salt, that's what. Can't get too much simpler than that! See...easy peasy. The peppercorns become a little softer so that when you bite into them they're sort of crispy then they just melt away into the pasta and cheese. The aroma and flavor is incredible! Why I never thought to do this is beyond me.

This revelation happened to coincide with the arrival of a copy of David Chang's "Momofuku" yesterday in the mail. I promptly plopped my butt on the couch and dove in. I was reading along and there were two things I immediately needed to try (actually there were three but the third belongs in an upcoming post yet to be written). The first? Miso butter. Miso. Butter.Think on that for a moment...yeah, I know, fabulous, right?

"Well that was wonderful, Danielle, but what is the second thing?" I'm glad you asked! Slow-poached eggs in the shell. "Huh?" You heard me. Chang and his crew developed this technique by way of re-inventing the Ramen noodle bowl. Typically, Ramen is served with a hard boiled egg but they wanted to be different so they came up with using poached eggs but poaching an egg for every bowl of Ramen that got served in the restaurant was simply impossible. And you say, "Yeah, so...?" Well, think for a minute...have you ever wanted to make Eggs Benedict for a brunch? Serve a salad with frisee topped with a poached egg for a dinner party? These can be made a day ahead and be simply heated up under warm running water for a minute or so! Holy crap! This is huge! I had to give it a try. My first and only attempt thus far was almost successful. The water temperature went a little higher than it should have while I was distracted by something else so I ended up with a medium-boiled yolk instead of one that was nice and runny. The final dish was still delicious but I will just have to pay close attention next time. Not easy to do. I have the attention span of a gnat!

Chang serves his slow-poached egg atop roasted asparagus with a shmear of miso butter and a sprinkle of black pepper. I added the black pepper pasta on the side to make it more substantial for dinner and my mind was blown. You kind of drag a little of the miso butter in with some pasta asparagus and egg with a fork so you get a little bit of everything and it is so fabulous you are really not going to believe it. The miso butter is a very strong flavor so i wouldn't toss the pasta with it. Just little bits here and there while your eating is plenty. You can of course just make a regular poached egg for this if it's just for a couple of people but now you have the option of making this for a crowd. How cool is that!

One other important note: If you are going to try the whole recipe it is very important to omit the cheese from the pasta recipe and to use unsalted butter for the miso butter otherwise the whole dish will become too salty and overpowering. Enjoy!

Recipe: Cheese and Pepper Pasta (Cacio e Pepe)
Saveur Magazine; Issue #128

Ingredients

Kosher salt, to taste
1 lb. pasta, preferably tonnarelli or spaghetti
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper, plus more
to taste
1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano
3⁄4 cup finely grated Cacio de Roma

Directions
Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta; cook until al dente, 8–10 minutes; reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain pasta. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add pepper; cook until fragrant, 1–2 minutes. Ladle 3⁄4 cup pasta water into skillet; bring to a boil. Using tongs, transfer pasta to skillet; spread it evenly. Sprinkle 3⁄4 cup each Pecorino Romano and Cacio de Roma over pasta; toss vigorously to combine until sauce is creamy and clings to the pasta without clumping, about 2 minutes, adding some pasta water if necessary. Transfer to 4 plates and sprinkle with remaining Pecorino and more pepper.

Recipe: Black Pepper Pasta with Roasted Asparagus, Miso Butter and a Poached Egg

Ingredients

1 recipe Pepper Pasta (without the cheese)

Miso Butter:

1/2 cup Shiro Miso (White)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 bunch of asparagus, roasted
4 poached eggs

Directions

I think you can take it from here!

Technique: Slow-Poached Eggs

From Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan
Copyright 2009; Clarkson/Potter Publishers

Ingredients
4 large eggs

Directions
1. Fit a large pot with a rack and fill with water. Place over lowest possible heat.

2. Heat water to between 140 and 145 degrees; add eggs to pot. Cook eggs 40 to 45 minutes, checking temperature regularly; add ice cubes if water gets too hot.

3. Use eggs immediately or transfer to an ice-water bath to chill. Drain, and transfer to refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Warm eggs under piping hot tap water for 1 minute before using.

Caribbean-Style Oxtails

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:52:00 +0000

For those unfamiliar with oxtails, they are indeed from the tail of oxen or other cattle that has been skinned and butchered into rounds. They have a high ratio of bone and muscle to meat and release a great deal of collagen as it is braised. They are officially categorized as offal (waste parts left after the animal has been butchered i.e., brains, liver, intestines etc.). Oxtail soup is a venerable English dish and most widely recognized but I learned that oxtails are extremely popular in the Caribbean, specifically Jamaica, where a soup or stew similar, to some degree, to the following recipe is a widespread favorite.

Variations on this recipe abound. Some with beans, some without. Some blazing hot, some not and the seasonings used are as varied as fingerprints. So I cannot say that this is the real deal but I can say it was outrageously delicious and ultimately that is all that matters.

I did get some help with this starting with an Emeril recipe and adding a little bit from here and there and then finding a recipe for green seasoning (caribbeanpot (dot) com) that is apparently a fundamental addition to many dishes in Jamaica. I adapted it wildly. You should make the green seasoning ahead of time to let the flavors meld and so you can add a little to the braising liquid.

What I ended up with was a dish of slow braised oxtails, the flavors of the Caribbean: allspice, thyme and habanero pepper with a bottle of Guiness thrown in for good measure. This combination of savory ingredients was really a no-brainer once I discovered a handful of recipes that utilized them so beautifully. If you've been following this blog you know very well that chiles and booze are two of my most favorite ingredients(they're food groups, aren't they?) and when I can combine them in the same dish I am a very happy woman indeed! This yields rich, luxurious, fatty, oily, beefy...unctuous(I love that word) pieces of oxtail that are quite remarkable and completely unforgettable. I served them over some pan-fried sweet potato with a light salad that was topped with thin slices of ripe mango tossed with lime juice, French sea salt and lots of black pepper. Serve with some ice cold Red Stripe.
Enjoy!

Recipe: Caribbean-Style Braised Oxtails

Ingredients

1/4 lb. bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 pounds oxtails
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup small diced onion
1/2 cup small diced carrot
1/2 cup small diced celery
1/4 cup small diced leeks
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced green onion, white part only
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1/2-2 habanero peppers, minced, optional
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (recommended: Guinness)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium canned beef broth
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1-2 tablespoons green seasoning (see recipe below)
1-2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

In a Dutch oven, cook bacon strip. When done, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add the olive oil, if needed to the pot and heat over medium heat until hot. Season the oxtails with the salt and pepper. Add half of the oxtails to the pot and cook until well browned on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Set the seared oxtails on a platter once browned and repeat with the remaining oxtails.

Once all the oxtails are browned and set aside, add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan. Saute the vegetables until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the leeks, garlic, green onions, ginger and habanero (is using) to the pan and saute for 1 minute, stirring often. Add the tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Brown the tomato paste until very dark being careful not to burn it. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the beer to the pot and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the beer to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the stock, allspice, dreid thyme, green seasoning and brown sugar. Stir to incorporate. Return the oxtails to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the oxtails until tender, about 2 hours. Stir in the chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Green Seasoning

I added a little of this to the stew and served the rest on the side. It really made the dish!

Ingredients

1 cup cilantro
1 stalk of celery with leaves, if possible
5 cloves of garlic
4 green onions
10-12 springs fresh thyme, stripped from stems
2 shallots
1 banana pepper
2 tablespoons water
pinch of salt

Directions

Throw everything into a food processor and puree. You may need a little more water.

Cheesburgers In Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:53:00 +0000

"...I like mine with lettuce and tomato,

a big fried egg and french fried potatoes.

Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God almighty which way do I steer for my
Cheeseburger in Paradise"

A man who can sing about my two favorite things...cheeseburgers and margaritas...is okay in my book! Anyway, this post isn't for a recipe. Something that rarely if ever happens here but it's Friday, my brains feel like scrambled eggs (that may already be apparent to you) and I just wanted to post something fun to get us to the weekend. It's my blog, I'm allowed.

I haven't been able to figure out exactly where or when topping a burger with a fried egg began. I've ascertained that the French do this but also people in the Philippines and Malaysia do too. Honestly, this is such a delicious thing to do to the All-American burger that it's origins don't really matter. If you like burgers and can handle a sunny-side up egg you must try this at least once before you pass from this life!

The first time I experienced this was about a year or so ago when Manly and I went back back to Madison, WI to see some old friends and cure our homesickness. A new restaurant had opened on the downtown square called The Old Fashioned and I had been reading really good reviews of the place so we had everybody meet us there to have a few adult beverages and catch up.

That's one heck of a Bloody Mary, right there!!!

For four of us happy hour turned into dinner hour and one of our friends (that guy with the sinister smile) suggested that I try this burger/fried egg combo. I looked at him like he was crazy but since I'm willing to try just about anything once I decided to go for it. First bite...HOOKED! The egg yolk ran down into the center of the perfectly prepared pink, medium-rare Black Angus burger and added a richness and almost creaminess that I really can't describe with words. It's not a flavor thing as much as it is a mouth feel thing. Heaven!

I hope you all have a happy, fun safe weekend. I'm heading to Margaritaville around 4, meet me there?

"Wasted away again in Margaritaville
searching for my lost shaker of salt..."

"If life gives you limes, make margaritas." -Jimmy Buffet. Wise man.

Chiles Rellenos with Tomato-and-Avocado Salsa w "Refried" Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:21:00 +0000

These two recipes, one from Food and Wine, the other from Ms. Stewart turned an otherwise high-fat-battered/refried-in-lard meal into a dinner that was light, fresh and flavorful. The beans are not fried or even refried for that matter. They're the ones that get made first and then the leftovers are mashed and refried in lard. The recipe does call for you to mash them but I left mine whole and let them swim around in the delicious pool of sauce. They have a whole head of garlic in them! How bad can they be? Manly likes his Mexican beans anyway he can get them but he really loved these (I had to sleep on the couch that night if you catch my drift).

As for the rellenos and the star of this dinner...the first time I made this recipe I followed the ingredient list given here. This time I used cheddar and tossed in a little bit of cooked chorizo. DON'T DO THAT! While they were very good it kind of mucked up the fresh flavors of the pepper and the salsa. Speaking of fresh...where have all the grape tomatoes gone? Four grocery stores and all I could get were those things they call "vine-ripened". Vine-ripened my butt! They were mealy and tasteless. Hold out for good tomatoes for this. It will look and taste much better if you do. Oh summer, oh summer. Where for art thou, summer? *sigh*

One last note, the rellenos here are baked in the oven but they are even more fantastic if you lightly grill them and let the cheese get all melty. Not neccesary at all but it does give them yet another flavor component that is most enjoyable. Enjoy!

Recipe: Chiles Rellenos with Tomato-and-Avocado Salsa

Food And Wine Magazine; January 2010

Ingredients

Rellenos

6 medium poblano peppers (about 3 ounces each)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 small onion, minced

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced

6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Salt

Salsa

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered

1 Hass avocado, finely diced

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/2 small jalapeño, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Make the Chiles Rellenos: Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or under a broiler, turning occasionally, until they are charred all over. Transfer the poblanos to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Peel the poblanos. Using a small, sharp knife, make a small lengthwise slit in each one, near the stem end. Using kitchen scissors, carefully cut out the core and seeds, then remove the core and seeds without tearing the poblanos or enlarging the opening.

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a small skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add the diced onion, garlic and jalapeño and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Let the vegetable mixture cool, then stir in the Monterey Jack, Parmigiano-Reggiano and chopped cilantro. Press the cheese filling into 6 logs.

Lightly season the insides of the poblanos with salt. Carefully stuff the cheese filling into the poblanos and press the poblanos closed. Place the stuffed poblanos on a baking sheet and roast in the upper third of the oven for about 12 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, Make the Salsa: In a bowl, combine the grape tomatoes with the diced avocado, onion, cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice and season the salsa with salt and pepper.

Transfer the chiles rellenos to plates, spoon the salsa on top and serve.

Recipe: "Refried" Beans

Martha Stewart's Living Magazine; June 2009

Ingredients

1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked overnight in cold water, rinsed, and drained

1/2 medium white onion

1 head garlic, halved crosswise

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 smoked ham hock (about 4 ounces)

2 jalapeno chiles, halved lengthwise (optional)

1 tablespoon coarse salt

2 teaspoons paprika

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

Combine soaked beans, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and ham hock, and jalapenos if desired, in a heavy 6-quart pot, and cover with water by 3 inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until beans are tender, adding more water if needed to keep beans covered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove onion, garlic, and jalapenos from pot; discard. Remove ham hock, and reserve for another use. Ladle out cooking liquid and reserve, until it covers beans by only 1/4 inch. Add salt, paprika, and pepper. Using a potato masher, mash beans into a coarse puree, adding reserved liquid if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat in a 350-degree oven in a skillet (preferably cast-iron), adding water if needed, about 20 minutes.

Quinoa Salad With Almonds, Coconut, Apple and Asian Flavors

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:02:00 +0000

Quinoa is cooked in carrot juice to give this healthy grain a huge boost of vitamin C and beta-carotene. The original recipe comes from Eating Well magazine and was far too sweet for my taste so I gave it an Asian flair by adding garlic, a fresh red chile, some green onion and a drizzle of sesame oil. The end result was light, flavorful and more balanced. A very welcome change from all of the heavy winter braises and gravies that I've been making. Here's to Spring! Enjoy!

Recipe: Quinoa Salad With Almonds, Coconut, Apple and Asian Flavors

Adapted from Eating Well; March 2010

Ingredients

1/3 cup of slivered almonds (1-1/2 oz.)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 tablespoons ginger, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 fresh red chile, finely diced (optional)

1 cup quinoa

2 cups 100% carrot juice

1 cup frozen peas

1 medium apple, diced

1/3 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

Directions

Toast almonds in saucepan over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, or until fragrant and beginning to brown, stirring often. Cool.

Wipe out saucepan; add oil and onion. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent, stirring occasionally.

Stir in ginger and garlic and chile (if using), and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add quinoa and carrot juice. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or untill all of the liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat, and scatter peas over cooked quinoa. Cover and let stand 10 minutes, until peas have thawed.

Stir in apple, coconut, almonds, green onion into salad. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Jameson Whiskey-Braised Pork Shoulder With Irish Colcannon

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:21:00 +0000

I clipped this from the Chicago Tribune last year and it turned out to be voted reader's favorite recipe of the year from their food section! It was created by chef Dirk Flanigan of The Gage restaurant in Chicago and is it ever wonderful. Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish with buttery creamy mashed potatoes folded into a mix of tender savoy cabbage, leeks and onions that have been sauteed. Divine! This would be an excellent side dish whether you put it with corned beef or the pork shoulder. The pork shoulder is braised in Jameson whiskey and the sauce is later reduced for a very intense and flavorful sauce to be drizzled over the pork. Manly said I was hereby released from making the obligatory boiled dinner for St. Patrick's Day but now must make this recipe instead. I will be very happy to do just that. Enjoy!

Recipe: Jameson Whiskey-Braised Pork Shoulder With Irish Colcannon

Originally published March 11, 2009

Prep: 40 minutes

Cook: 3 hours, 35 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 pork shoulder (3-4 pounds), boned, tied

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper plus more to taste

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 each, chopped: yellow onion, carrot

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 1/4 cups whiskey

2 quarts chicken broth

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Colcannon:

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cooked, peeled

3/4 cup whipping cream

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small savoy cabbage, very thinly sliced

2 leeks, sliced

1 yellow onion, diced

10 sprigs parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat; brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove meat to plate. Add onion and carrot to the Dutch oven. Cook until vegetables are lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, garlic, bay leaf and dry mustard; cook 1 minute. Add whiskey; cook, stirring up browned bits, until liquid reduces by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, brown sugar, nutmeg and black pepper to taste. Add meat; cover. Roast until the meat is tender, about 3 hours.

2. Meanwhile, for colcannon, mash potatoes in a large bowl. Mix in the cream and half of the butter. Season with pepper and salt; set aside. Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add cabbage, leeks and onion. Cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Fold vegetables into potatoes; stir in the chopped parsley. Keep warm.

3. Remove braised pork from oven; cool 10 minutes. Transfer meat to cutting board. Strain liquid into a fat separator (or skim off fat); return liquid to pan. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced by three-quarters, about 15-20 minutes; set aside. Cut pork shoulder into thick slices. Spoon colcannon onto dinner plates. Place pork slices on the colcannon; spoon reduced juices around the plate.

Nutrition Information

Per serving: 898 calories, 55% of calories from fat, 54 g fat, 24 g saturated fat, 228 mg cholesterol, 37 g carbohydrates, 62 g protein, 2,161 mg sodium, 5 g fiber

Paula Deen's Loaded Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:21:00 +0000

I was delighted when Chefmikey (see end of post) came out to visit us on Tuesday. With his culinary classes and his full-time job we don't get to see him as often as we'd like these days. Anyway, when ever he comes out this way he likes to stay up late and bake cookies (and trash my kitchen). But the last couple of times he did this the end result wasn't very good and I ended up tossing them after he left. So when he wanted to make cookies this time I asked him nicely, in that way that mother's have, not to and explained why. And he said, in that way that cocky young way culinary students have, "That sounds like a challenge to me mom". Uh boy. My response? "Don't trash my kitchen!" So after much bluster and fury he brought a warm batch of these to Manly and I and we flipped! The brown butter icing is what really takes these over the edge. To die for and these will not be getting tossed into the trash (and he more or less cleaned up after himself). The only amendments he made to this recipe was to use craisins instead of the raisins and he added chocolate chips because, why wouldn't you? One warning about the icing: Don't make it until all the cookies are baked. It is very hard to keep it at the right consistency if you try to ice each batch as you go. If you've been looking for a knock out oatmeal cookie this is definitely it. Enjoy!

Recipe: Paula Deen's Loaded Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Makes about 5 dozen

Ingredients

    * 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
    * 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
    * 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
    * 2 eggs
    * 1/2 cup buttermilk
    * 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    * 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
    * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
    * 2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
    * 1 cup raisins
    * 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
    * 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    * Brown Butter Icing, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 1 or more cookie sheets. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until mixture is light in color. Add buttermilk. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in oatmeal, raisins, walnuts, and vanilla, blending well. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Brown Butter Icing.

Brown Butter Icing:
    * 1/2 cup butter
    * 3 cups sifted powdered sugar
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    * 3 to 4 tablespoons water

In a small saucepan heat the butter over medium heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in 3 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle on warm cookies.

Yield: enough to ice 5 dozen cookies

P.S. This is Chefmikey at 2 years old after he pulled a bag of flour of the kitchen counter onto himself! Ah sweet irony!

Pan-Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa and Poblano-Cilantro Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:38:00 +0000

Manly saw a lovely looking package of pork chops while he was at the grocery store and couldn't resist them. Pork chops are probably my least favorite part of the pig but I decided to make the best of it and made them with this grilled pineapple salsa to counteract the boringness of said pork chops. The salsa was phenomenal and really perked up this dinner and gave me an excuse to make my all-time favorite Mexican rice. I've been making it for years and it goes so perfectly with anything Mexican you'll never make that sticky, tomato sauced "Spanish" rice ever again. The salsa can be served over some pork tenderloin, chicken, fish or just with some tortilla chips. The poblano-cilantro rice as the side dish will make you very happy indeed. Enjoy!

Recipe: Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa and Poblano-Cilantro Rice

Cooking Light, MARCH 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chop and about 1/2 cup salsa)

Ingredients

4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, divided

4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices pineapple

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper

Combine pork and 1 tablespoon juice; let stand 10 minutes.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pineapple and onion; cook 4 minutes on each side or until onion is tender. Coarsely chop pineapple and onion; combine in a medium bowl with remaining 2 teaspoons lime juice, jalapeño, and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Sprinkle pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Heat grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done.

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 215 ; FAT 7g (sat 2.5g,mono 3.1g,poly 0.5g); CHOLESTEROL 70mg; CALCIUM 42mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10.9g; SODIUM 416mg; PROTEIN 26.4g; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1mg

Recipe: Poblano Pepper-Cilantro Rice

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2005

Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

* 1/2 cup chopped white onions

* 2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped

* 2 teaspoons chopped garlic

* 1 teaspoon ground cumin

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

* 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves

* 1 3/4 cups chicken stock

* 1 cup long-grain white rice

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and chiles and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, salt, cilantro and parsley, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender with 1/2 cup of the stock. Process on high speed until smooth.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the puree and cook, stirring, to evaporate most of the liquid, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining stock, stir and cover, and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer without stirring, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit without stirring for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve, garnished with additional cilantro.

Asian-Style Braised Sticky Short Ribs with Kumquat-Scallion-Chile Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:31:00 +0000

I always thought this recipe was an example of the Chinese cooking technique called Red Cooking but it turns out that that is only partially true. I think the term has become loosely associated with braised meat. Red Cooking, in fact, involves two critical steps. The first is indeed slow braising which this dish involves and where the similarity ends. The second is the making of a sugar syrup that spices are then added to create a sticky and flavorful glaze usually including a selection of whole spices such as star anise, black cardamom, cassia cinnamon or fennel seeds. For this recipe sugar and star anise are included in the soy braising liquid then when the short ribs are done the liquid gets reduced, poured over the ribs and then the ribs are put back in the oven until they are nice and glazed. So technically not the same but the end result is pretty close and darn good!

I have made this recipe so many times I can't even count. There are a couple of suggestions I would like to make that I think would be helpful. This dish can be made all on the same day which is usually how I do it but making it the day before has two advantages. The first being that you're giving the flavors a chance to meld and mellow. The second, is that all of the considerable amount of fat will harden allowing you remove close to all of it. Good for health reasons yes but also by removing the fat the sauce will reduce faster and more properly. The original recipe stated that the reduction time was about 15 minutes. Mine always takes anywhere from 30-60 minutes. My other suggestion is to use a lower sodium version of a naturally brewed soy sauce like Tamari because it will give you a great depth of flavor without the reduction becoming too salty. This recipe can be put together in about 15 minutes and put in the oven for 3 hours during which time you can watch TV and eat Bon Bons if you like or come back here and catch up on my latest recipe :). Enjoy!

Recipe: Asian-Style Beef Short Ribs
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Serves 4

Ingredients

* 5 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 4-ounce portions

* 1 cup low sodium Tamari or soy sauce

* 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

* 3 (5-inch) stalk lemongrass, halved and smashed
* 4 whole star anise
* 1 3-inch cinnamon stick

* 2 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger

* 1/2 cup light brown sugar

* 1 quart water

* 1/2 cup sliced green onion bottoms, white part only

* 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

* 1/4 cup fresh orange juice

* 1/4 cup hoisin sauce

* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

* Jasmine Rice, for serving (see below for an alternative)

* 2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind, for serving

* Sliced green onion tops, sliced kumquats and/or Chinese chive blossoms, optional for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a wide stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the short ribs, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, brown sugar, water, green onion bottoms, crushed red pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Make sure that the stockpot is deep enough so that the short ribs are submerged in the liquid.

Bake the short ribs, covered, for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and cover to keep warm. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Drain the fat off of the cooking liquid and discard. Place the remaining braising juices in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup of the hoisin sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the liquid until only about 1 1/4 cups remain. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of orange juice and the lemon juice.

Return the short ribs and the reduced sauce to the stockpot or Dutch oven, coating the short ribs well with the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes, until the short ribs are heated through and slightly glazed. Serve hot over jasmine rice. Season each portion with the orange zest and garnish with the green onions if desired.

After 10 years of making this recipe with plain white rice I decided to ratchet it up this time and I met with amazing results. I wanted to emphasize the orange citrus flavor from the sauce and add a little heat for contrast. I have never even eaten a kumquat until about a week ago and was truly shocked by the complex flavor of them. If you are unfamiliar, the whole fruit is eaten with the peel having a sweet orange flavor and the flesh being sour-salty. Very intense and quite wonderful! I threw a handful of them into a food processor and chopped them up very fine then added a couple of handfuls of finely sliced scallions and a diced hot chile pepper. This was added to the rice a few minutes before it was done. Dynamite with the short ribs!

"And the funniest word of all...? Kumquat!" -George Carlin. So true. So True.

Grilled Sweet Potato-Poblano Salad with Honey, Lime, Cilantro and Pepitas

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:45:00 +0000

February was Beet 'N Squash You Battle: Sweet Potato. If you are unfamiliar, Leela of She Simmers and Mel of Gourmet Fury host "a monthly food fight wherein the stupendous virtues of vegetables are extolled". My Sweet Potato Empanada dough was certainly unique but I like to try to prepare brand new recipes for these friendly contests as I believe that to be the whole point. I used my indoor grill pan for this so I didn't have to save making it until Summer. This is great on it's own for a satisfying lunch but can also be a side dish for simply prepared chicken or pork chops. If you will notice in the picture there are no pumpkin seeds strewn atop my colorful salad. It was one of many changes that I made to this recipe yet I still somehow forgot all about them. I was sorry really sorry I had because the salty, crunchy qualities of those little pepitas would have been a welcome contrast to this delicious salad. Oops. I hope you fancy my challenge entry as much as we did. Enjoy!

Recipe: Grilled Sweet Potato-Poblano Salad with Honey, Lime, Cilantro and Pepitas

Great Liberty was taken from Bon Appétit | July 2009 issue

by Fred Thompson

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons honey

Zest of 1 lime

1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon minced shallot (about 1 small), or red onion

1/2 teaspoon New Mexican Chile Powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup olive oil (I used macadamia nut oil)

2 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, quartered lengthwise

Canola oil or vegetable oil (for brushing)

1 fresh poblano chiles (about 8 ounces total),* seeded, diced

1/2 each red and yellow bellow pepper, chopped

1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced diagonally (about 2)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

A handful of pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Whisk first 7 ingredients in small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook sweet potatoes in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just barely tender (this is important otherwise the potatoes will fall apart on the grill or when you toss them in the salad), about 6 minutes. Drain; run under cold water to cool. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Preheat barbecue (high heat). Brush potato wedges with canola oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill potatoes until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer potatoes to work surface. Cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Place potatoes, poblanos, bell peppers green onions, and parsley in large bowl. Drizzle dressing over; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Pistachio Baklava with Orange-Cardamom Syrup and Dried Lavender

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:34:00 +0000

The history of baklava is a long one indeed. A variation of this delightful fragrant pastry is believed to have been created by the Assyrians as far back as the 8th century BC using a thin bread dough instead of the paper thin phyllo that we know today. Phyllo sheets were the Greek's contribution to the development of this dish and thus named because in Greek "phyllo" means "leaf". Up until the late 18th century this was a dessert of the regions royal palaces and wealthy estates as pistachios and honey were believed to be aphrodisiacs. The addition of cinnamon for women and cardamom for the man (added to mix by the Armenians) augmented this belief. For a more detailed history and a wonderful YouTube video of how to make Turkish Phyllo by hand and amazing looking baklava click here. I really wanted to put the video on this page but don't know how to embed it. It's in Turkish but you will adore the enthusiasm and pride of the, I'm assuming, owner who proudly shows the beauty and craftsmanship of this amazing tradition.

When I did my Greek Mezethes for The Daring Cooks Challenge last month I had no time left to prepare a dessert to end the wonderful meal I had created (as is often the case around here) but had clipped the following version of baklava from Bon Appetit in January and was determined to make it even if it meant that there would be no dinner on the table that night!

The following was contributed to Bon Appetit by Molly Wizenberg, creator of the Orangette blog and author of "A Homemade Life". I believe Molly really outdid herself with this recipe. It is by far the best baklava I have ever eaten. With toasted nuts and a beautifully fragrant orange and cardamom syrup that is much lighter and cleaner tasting than the cloying honey syrup that is usually used. I revved up the orange flavor by adding some orange peel to the syrup. I had to augment the pistachios with some whole almonds because I didn't have enough despite Manly spending an hour in front of the TV shelling them for me. He's my rock star. The only other addition was a generous sprinkling of lavender flowers over the top to add some color and a subtle perfume to the mix. The lavender is not at all critical to this recipe and a sprinkling of powdered sugar would more than suffice. You will truly be transported to another place and time with this ancient dessert made anew. Enjoy!

Recipe:Pistachio Baklava with Orange-Cardamom Syrup and Dried Lavender

Makes about 30 pieces

Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine; January 2010

Original recipe by Molly Wizenberg

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups plus 8 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest

1 1/4 cups fresh orange juice

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 cups shelled pistachios, toasted

1 cup whole almonds, toasted

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

30 14x9-inch sheets fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed (from one 16-ounce package)

Dried Lavender Flowers (optional)

Directions

Simmer 1 3/4 cups sugar and orange zest and orange juice in saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil over medium heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. (This really foamed up on me and might have gone over had I not been watching so be careful). Add cardamom. Cool syrup.

Place nuts and 2 tablespoons sugar in processor. Using on/off turns, process until most of nuts are finely ground (the largest pieces should be the size of small peas). Mix nuts, 6 tablespoons sugar, and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with some of melted butter. Place 1 phyllo sheet on bottom of dish. Brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat 9 more times with phyllo and melted butter. Sprinkle half of pistachio mixture (about 1 1/2 cups) evenly over phyllo. Place 1 phyllo sheet over nuts; brush lightly with butter. Repeat 9 more times with phyllo sheets and melted butter. Sprinkle remaining pistachio mixture evenly over. Place 1 phyllo sheet atop nuts; brush with butter. Repeat 9 more times with phyllo sheets and melted butter.

Using sharp knife, cut diagonally through top phyllo layer from top left corner to bottom right corner. Cut top layer of phyllo into 1-inch-wide rows parallel to both sides of first cut. Turn pan and cut rows about 2 1/4 inches wide, forming diamond pattern.

Bake baklava until golden brown and crisp, 50 to 55 minutes. Drizzle syrup evenly over hot baklava. Cool in pan on rack. Recut baklava along lines all the way through layers. DO AHEAD Baklava can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Garnish with dried lavender flowers, if desired.

Nutritional Information

One serving (1 piece) contains the following:

Calories (kcal) 222.0

%Calories from Fat 50.4

Fat (g) 12.4

Saturated Fat (g) 4.6

Cholesterol (mg) 16.0

Carbohydrates (g) 25.0

Dietary Fiber (g) 1.7

Total Sugars (g) 14.4

Net Carbs (g) 23.4
Protein (g) 3.7

Mexican "Aztec" Hot Chocolate Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:52:00 +0000

For my first submission to Gourmet Unbound I chose to make a Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream using Gourmet's wonderful version from February 2003 as a starting point and combined it with some ideas from David Lebovitz' variation for Aztec Hot Chocolate Ice Cream from "The Perfect Scoop". What resulted was an ice cream that had multiple layers of flavor all playing around together inside a rich creamy dark chocolate base. Heavenly!

You can use all half-and-half if you would prefer. I don't think the end result would suffer much. The Mexican chocolate used here is the kind that is used to make Mexican hot chocolate and of course if you don't have Mexican vanilla by all means use regular. One more note: the use of the chile powders is optional but I do think you will lose some of the complexity. I started my adding a teaspoon of ancho powder at a time until I was happy. I then started with an 1/8th of a teaspoon of the chipotle powder and upped it to 1/4. I should have stayed at an eighth. It didn't ruin it by any means but it got spicier as it chilled and froze and was just a hair too much but it sure amplified the chocolate flavor and added an amazing contrast. Enjoy!

Recipe: Mexican "Aztec" Hot Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients

2-3/4 cup half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

11 oz. Mexican chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla

pinch of salt

2-3 teaspoons ground ancho chile powder

1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle powder

2 tablespoons bourbon or brandy

Directions

Heat half-and-half and heavy cream in a sauce pan until it starts to foam. Add chocolate and whisk until its completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, salt, chile powders and bourbon.

Carefully pour mixture into a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Chill mixture thoroughly. Pour into your ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions for your machine.

Pork Loin with Apples-Prune Mustard Sauce, Browned Butter-Caraway Noodles and Sweet -Sour Red Cabbage

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:58:00 +0000

I recently discovered a series of Swedish crimes novels that I'm really enjoying. I like crime novels for their intrigue and suspense but have read all of latest and greatest American authors and have grown quite tired of them. They've become formulaic, predictable and in may cases could be understood (or even written) by a third grader. Are there exceptions? Of course. My commentary is a gross generality only expressed here to highlight my love of this particular series. The Millenium Series by Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) and published posthumously are by far the best crime novels I've read since Michael Connelly's "The Poet". There are three novels in the series and unfortunately that is all there will be. I had just finished the second only to discover that I now have to wait for the US release of the third book until May! Arrrgh!

All of this romping around Sweden solving murders makes a girl hungry! Pork loin stuffed with apples and prunes can be found in one form or another in most Scandinavian countries and I like to think that Mr. Larsson supped on this very thing to feed his mind and his soul while writing these fantastic books.

I put these three separate recipes together for dinner a couple of nights ago and they went together famously! The pork roast was juicy, the sauce had a light sweetness from the fruit with a mild tang from the mustard. The noodles were warm and fragrant and the more sweet than sour red cabbage balanced the meal out perfectly. Njuta av! (Enjoy!)

Recipe: Pork Loin with Apples, Prunes, and Mustard Cream Sauce

Gourmet magazine; February 2004

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

1 (4-lb) boneless pork loin roast, tied by butcher

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 Granny Smith apples (3/4 lb total)

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup packed dried pitted prunes (4 1/2 ounces), quartered

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (12 ounces)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons coarse-grain mustard

1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions

Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.

Halve pork loin crosswise, then pat dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper(total). Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown pork, 1 piece at a time, turning occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes per piece. Transfer to a small flameproof roasting pan as browned (do not clean skillet) and roast pork until thermometer inserted diagonally at least 2 inches into meat registers 150°F, 40 to 50 minutes.

While pork roasts, peel, quarter, and core apples, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onion in skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add apples, prunes, broth, and water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in cream and mustard and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and keep sauce warm, partially covered.

Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes. Add wine to roasting pan and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir pan juices into cream sauce along with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper and heat sauce over moderate heat, stirring, until hot.

Discard string from pork and cut each half crosswise into 4 slices. Serve pork with sauce.

Recipe: Browned Butter Caraway Noodles

Bon Appetit; November 1995

Serves 8

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

2-1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds

16 ounces fettuccine

Directions

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. When butter foams, add caraway seeds. Reduce heat to low and cook until butter is light brown, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cook fettuccine in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Return pasta to same pot. Add browned butter; stir over low heat until coated, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Recipe: Red Cabbage with Onions and Apples

Serves 8

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium sized onions, peeled and thinly sliced

1 medium head red cabbage, quartered and thinly sliced

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4-1/2 cup currant jelly, to your liking

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a deep casserole sauté the onions in the butter over a medium heat until translucent. Add the cabbage and sauté until slightly wilted (about 15 minutes). Add apples, lemon juice, vinegar and currant jelly and mix well. When this mixture comes to a simmer cover loosely and place in the oven. Cook for 2 hours.

Can be made two days ahead and reheated in the oven. (Actually it gets better after one day.)

Flank Steak with Sauerbraten-Style Sauce, Potato Gnocchi and Red Cabbage with Apples and Onions

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

As a family of Germans (mostly) we love the rare occasion to make a big fuss and marinate a beef brisket for days to make the meat insanely sour and then spend half a day trashing the kitchen and getting flour everywhere making Kartoffelkloesse (potato dumplings) the size of baseballs. Oh and the gingersnap gravy! Heaven. German comfort food. {Sigh}...it is to make one weep. Unfortunately we no longer live near any of our family and are new to the Chicago area so it's totally impractical to go through all of that work and mess for two people (maybe three if Chefmikey comes for a visit). Besides, sometimes you just want your comfort food and you want it now! All of that said, I was really excited when my mom told me about this recipe that she discovered of Rachel Ray's a few years ago. Is it as fabulous as the real deal? Of course not! Is it close enough to make you happy and want to lick your plate when no one is looking? Yep! The queen of the 30-minute meal really outdid herself on this one. I'm not a big fan but I have to admit that every once in a while she comes up with a doozy.

I made this recipe even simpler and at least a little more realistic by boiling gnocchi instead of making the mashed potatoes. I have made these mashed potatoes and they are wonderful but we prefer the little dumplings. I also generally play with the vinegar/gingersnap ratio toward the end of making the gravy. A weeknight trip to Germany, what could be better? Guten Appetit!

Recipe: Mockbraten (Flank Steak with Sauerbraten Style Sauce), Smashed Potatoes with Horseradish and Chives, Red Cabbage with Apple and Onions

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Ingredients

* 2 dried bay leaves

* 1/3 cup cider vinegar, eyeball it

* 3 tablespoons sugar

* 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning)

* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, eyeball it

* 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds flank steak

* 2 medium onions

* 4 tablespoons butter, divided

* 1 large green apple

* Salt and pepper

* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated or ground, eyeball it

* 3 pounds red skin potatoes, quartered

* 1 cup sour cream

* 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

* 3 tablespoons chives, chopped or snipped

* 1 (18 ounce) jar cooked red cabbage, available on specialty foods aisle

* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

* 1/2 cup dry red wine

* 1 1/2 cups beef stock, about 1/3 of a 1 quart box

* 1 rounded tablespoon Dijon mustard

* 6 gingersnaps, finely crumbled

Directions

Mix bay, cider, sugar, grill seasoning and vegetable oil in the bottom of a large food storage bag, squish it all together until evenly combined. Drop the meat into the bag and move it around to evenly coat it. Let stand 10 to 12 minutes. Preheat a grill pan or indoor/outdoor grill to high.

Thinly slice 1 1/2 onions and reserve 1/2 onion whole but peeled. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and melt it. Add the sliced onions to the pan. Peel, core and slice the apple and add it to the onions. Season the apples and onions with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook the apples and onions 5 or 6 minutes, then add cooked red cabbage and combine then reduce heat to low. Set aside and keep warm.

Place meat on grill and let a bay leaf remain stuck on each steak. As the meat cooks, the heat will infuse the flavor throughout the meat. Cook steaks about 6 minutes on each side. Then, let meat rest. Discard leaves.

While meat cooks, place potatoes in a pot and cover with water, bring water to a boil then salt it. Cook potatoes 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes and return to the hot pot. Mash them with sour cream, horseradish and chives and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Potatoes will be thick and spicy. If you like looser mashed potatoes, add a little milk or stock, continue to smash.

While potatoes cook, remove the red cabbage to a serving bowl and cover with foil. In the same skillet that the cabbage was cooked in, add 2 tablespoons butter. Melt butter then grate the reserved 1/2 onion with a hand held grater into the butter. Cook the grated onions 2 minutes then add flour and cook a minute more. Whisk in red wine and cook off a minute then whisk in stock and bring to a simmer. Stir in mustard and gingersnaps and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Let sauce thicken a couple of minutes.

Thinly slice the flank steak on an angle against the grain. Place a mound of potatoes on each dinner plate. Lay out some sliced flank steak along the edge of potatoes and dress with a ladle of sauer-sauce. Serve red cabbage, apples and onions alongside or in small side dishes.

Moroccan Harissa Chicken With Orange Butter Sauce, Carrot Purée and Dandelion Greens

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:44:00 +0000

     I am notoriously bad at geography and am quite ashamed to admit it. My New Years resolution, if you want to call it that, is to become a less ignorant American and to use the recipes I make as a vehicle to exploring the world beyond the boundaries of North America.
     Being that it is already the middle of February and I'm just getting started on my travels abroad (better late than never) I needed to jump start my efforts. The first thing I did was to join Joan at Travalogue for her annual tour. Nine countries in nine weeks-South of the Border. I came into in the middle and thus far have been to Columbia for Pulled Pork Arepas and to Jamaica for Bob Marley's version of Jerk Chicken and this week we're off to Haiti for I don't know what yet. I also participated in January's Daring Cook Challenge that took me to Greece to create a table of Greek Mezethes and have Ouzo for the first time.
     Now there are three countries that I can actually find on the map (I'm not really THAT bad but close)! As swell as that is, I realized I still am not taking the time to truly understand the cuisines of these places. I'm just pulling out one representative recipe and moving on to the next. So when I decided to make the following recipe that Saveur calls Moroccan (yes, I had to go to Google maps and find out where it was located...shame, shame) I thought I would take the time to learn something about this wonderful country. I had on my wall of cookbooks, unbeknown'st to me, a copy of "Flavors of Morocco" by Ghillie Basan. I have no idea where it came from but was thrilled to discover it (that's when you know your cook book collection has gotten way out of control). This is a beautiful and very informative book with gorgeous photographs and delicious authentic recipes. Although I may have to work a little to find some of the unique ingredients (which is part of the fun for me..you should see my spice closet!) I would highly recommend this wonderful book! After just reading the first quarter or so of this book I have already learned a great deal am so excited to start making recipes and sharing my results with you. You guys know I like bold flavors and to my delight Moroccan cuisine fits-the-bill in spades.
     Since this month's Daring Kitchen Challenge isn't much of a challenge for me I decided I would opt out this month and select a group of recipes from Ghillie's book and create Moroccan Kemia spread much like my mezethes table which will certainly challenge me in a very enjoyable way. I hope to present those recipes here in a week or two so you can share in my journey.
     In the mean time please enjoy the recipe that follows. It really should be labeled Moroccan-style or North African-style because just adding harissa does not a Moroccan dish make as I have learned. That aside, Suzanne Goin, Chez Panise alumness and chef-owner of Lucques and AOC restaurants in L.A., created a combination here that was such a complete thought flavor-profile wise that I couldn't think of a single thing I would change about it or add to it. I had made some plain rice to have on the side and we didn't even feel it necessary to have any of it. Now that's pretty perfect! It was really fantastic so I share it with you here. You will really like this one and it's not very difficult to make either. I made my own harissa, following Saveur's recipe, but you can use store-bought if you prefer. I would call the spice level with this particular harissa barely medium. If you want it blazing you'll have to use hotter chiles but I'm afraid it would hide all of the other more delicate flavors in this dish. Enjoy!

Recipe: Moroccan Harissa Chicken With Orange Butter Sauce, Carrot Purée and Dandelion Greens
A mix of spicy, sweet, and bitter flavors gives this dish its distinctive character.
The recipe comes from chef Suzanne Goin as published in Saveur; Issue #127
SERVES 6

Ingredients
6 boneless skin-on chicken breasts,
   pounded 3⁄4" thick
16 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper,
   to taste
4 cups chicken broth
2 lbs. carrots, cut into 1⁄4" rounds
1 large white onion, minced
1 1⁄2    cups fresh orange juice
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 peeled oranges, segmented
3⁄4 cup plus 2 tsp. harissa
2 tsp. sherry vinegar
3 oz. dandelion greens
3⁄4 cup pitted oil-cured black olives,
   roughly chopped
2 shallots, thinly sliced

Directions
1. Put chicken into a dish; drizzle with 3 tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Bring broth to a boil in a 6-qt. pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots; cook until tender, 15–20 minutes. Drain. Heat 1⁄2 cup oil in a 4-qt. pot over high heat. Add onions; cook until soft, 4–5 minutes. Add carrots; cook for 6–8 minutes. Purée in a food processor with 2 tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper; keep warm.

2. Heat orange juice in a 2-qt. pan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced by half, 12–15 minutes. Whisk in butter; season with salt and pepper. Add orange segments; set sauce aside.

3. Heat oven to 400°. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Working in 3 batches, add chicken, skin side down; cook until crisp, 8–10 minutes. Transfer chicken, skin side up, to a baking sheet. Brush with 3⁄4 cup harissa. Bake until cooked, 6–8 minutes.

4. In a bowl, whisk together remaining oil and harissa with sherry vinegar.
Add greens, olives, and shallots; toss. Divide carrot purée between 6 plates;
top each with salad with a chicken breast. Spoon orange sauce for each.

Recipe: Harissa
This North African condiment is based on a recipe in A Mediterranean Feast by Clifford Wright (William Morrow, 1999). Published in Saveur; Issue #117
MAKES 1 CUP

Ingredients
8 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed
   and seeded (about 2 oz.)
8 dried new mexico chiles, stemmed
   and seeded (about 1 1⁄2 oz.)
1⁄2 tsp. caraway seeds
1⁄4 tsp. coriander seeds
1⁄4 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. dried mint leaves
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil,
   plus more as needed
1 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
5 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions
1. Put chiles into a medium bowl, cover with boiling water, and let sit until softened, about 20 minutes. Heat caraway, coriander, and cumin in an 8" skillet over medium heat. Toast spices, swirling skillet constantly, until very fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer spices to a grinder with the mint and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.

2. Drain chiles and transfer to the bowl of a food processor with the ground spices, olive oil, salt, garlic, and lemon juice. Purée, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the paste is very smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a sterilized 1-pint glass jar and fill with oil until ingredients are submerged by 1⁄2". Refrigerate, topping off with more oil after each use. Paste will keep for up to 3 weeks.

Jamaica: Bob Marley's Chargrilled-Jerk Chicken with Creamy Cucumber Dipping Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:37:00 +0000

For this week's Travalogue we were off to Jamaica, mon. I went digging way back into my archives for a family favorite and saw this very stained print out with the Food Network label on it and knew I had to make this.

I knew that "to jerk" a piece of meat was to slather it with a spicy marinade and smoke it or grill it. But I learned that it is not just a flavorful way to enjoy pork or chicken but that the indigenous peoples of Jamaica actually use this technique to preserve meats. The word charqui (dried meat) gave the name to both the Caribbean term jerk and the North American term jerky. Makes sense once you read it but I never put the two together.

Also if I were to make a truly authentic jerk chicken it would be "smoked over aromatic wood charcoal or briquettes. The wood ("pimento wood"), berries, and leaves of the allspice plant among the coals contribute to jerk's distinctive flavor."-Wiki

Street vendors in Jamaica who sell jerked meat (usually chicken or pork) are able to smoke the meat because of an invention in the 1960's of making portable smokers from oil barrels cut in half lengthwise with hinges added and holes drilled into them for ventilation.

My recipe, or any Americanified version cannot come close to reproducing the flavor of the above smoking method so all I can do is make my favorite recipe and hope to get to Jamaica one day and have the real thing.

The flavors in the following recipe from Bob Marley's Restaurant does a beautiful job of melding together the jerk spices for what is the best jerk marinade I have ever used (homemade or store bought). You get a lovely citrus flavor from the habanero, without a lot of heat, combined with warm spices like allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, a bit of salt from soy sauce and sweet from atouch of sugar. You can up the heat level as much as your heart desires by adding more habanero or scotch bonnet if you can get them. The cucumber sauce is much creamier than a Greek tsatziki sauce because of the addition of mayonaise and is a marvelous contrast to the jerk spice. In all these years I have never changed a thing about this recipe so you know it must be pretty darn perfect. Enjoy!

Bob Marley's Chargrilled-Jerk Chicken with Creamy Cucumber Dipping Sauce

Original Recipe courtesy Bob Marley’s Restaurant, in Orlando, Fl., 2000

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Jerk Marinade:

* 1 onion, finely chopped

* 1/2 cup finely chopped scallion

* 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 2 teaspoons white sugar

* 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar

* 1 teaspoon ground allspice

* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 2 habanero chiles or scotch bonnets if you can get them

* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

* 3 tablespoons soy sauce

* 1 tablespoon cooking oil

* 1 tablespoon cider or white vinegar

* 2 pounds dark meat chicken pieces

* 1 recipe cucumber sauce, recipe follows

* Crispy Sweet Potato Chips

Directions

For the marinade:

Mix, in a medium size bowl, onion, scallion, thyme, salt, sugar, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, hot pepper, black pepper, soy sauce, oil and vinegar. Place the chicken pieces in a shallow baking dish and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Place the chicken onto a hot grill and grill until done (165 degree internal temperature.

For the cucumber dipping sauce:

*2-1/4 cups cucumber, finely diced

* 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream

* 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

* 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

* 3/4 teaspoon salt

* Pinch cayenne pepper

* 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

* 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic

Peel and seed cucumbers and roughly chop. Place in a medium size bowl with remaining ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the use of their information.

Bread Pudding with Pralines and Bourbon-Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:56:00 +0000

Emeril's Bread Pudding, Paula's pralines and my bourbon-vanilla bean ice cream...my homage to the great state of Louisiana during this week of Mardi Gras celebrations and religious observances. Enjoy!

Recipe: New Orleans Style Bread Pudding

Emeril Lagasse, "Emeril's Potluck"

HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2004

Serves: 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

* 12 to 14 cups 1-inch cubes day-old white bread, such as French or Italian

* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

* 2 cups heavy cream

* 4 cups whole milk

* 6 large eggs

* 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

* 4 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

* 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the bread in a large bowl. Grease a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish with the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside. Combine the heavy cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to mix. Pour the cream mixture over the bread, and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.

Transfer the bread mixture to the casserole dish and bake until the center of the bread pudding is set, 50 to 60 minutes.

Garnish the bread pudding with confectioners' sugar and serve warm with warm.

Recipe: Pralines

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups sugar

* 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

* 1/8 teaspoon salt

* 3 tablespoons dark corn syrup

* 1 cup evaporated milk

* 2 tablespoons butter

* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* 2 cups pecan pieces or halves

Directions

Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Place the sugar, salt, and corn syrup,

milk, and butter in saucepan. Over medium heat, stir mixture constantly with a

wooden spoon until sugars have dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Continue to

cook to a soft ball stage on a candy thermometer (238 degrees F). Add pecans. Continue cooking until hardball stage (245 degrees F).

Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Beat with a spoon by hand for approximately 2 minutes

or until candy is slightly thick and begins to lose its gloss. Quickly drop heaping

tablespoons onto waxed paper. If the candy becomes stiff, add a few drops of hot

water.

Recipe: Vanilla Bean-Bourbon Ice Cream

Adapted From Ina Garten

"Barefoot Contessa Parties!"; 2001

Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients

* 2 cups half-and-half and 1 cup heavy cream

* 2/3 cups sugar

* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean

* 2-4 tablespoons bourbon, to taste

Directions

Heat the cream, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan only until the

sugar is dissolved. Be sure the sugar is dissolved - you will no longer feel any

grittiness from the sugar if you rub some cream between your fingers. Strain into a

bowl, cover, and chill very well. Add the Armagnac and freeze the mixture in an ice

cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions. Spoon into a freezer

container and allow to chill in the freezer for a few hours before serving.

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Honey Butter From Cooking Light Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:15:00 +0000

I don't tend to blog much in the way of breakfast foods mostly because I'm not a morning person (brunch is more my style) but also because I spend so much time worrying about the big fabulous dinner that I can make that will hopefully be "blogworthy" that I don't even think about it. Well by no fault of my own I was wide awake at 5 a.m. this morning. The horror! The horror! I decided to make the best of it and make Manly and I breakfast while he was getting ready for work. Manly adores carrot cake. I make him one every year for his birthday. So when I came across this recipe in last month's issue of Cooking Light I saved it for that one or two times a year I am actually capable of making an early breakfast. We loved them! They're delicious and they don't leave you feeling like you have just eaten a ton of lead like regular pancakes do. For those morning people out there this is a great breakfast!

What's the difference between pancakes and flapjacks? In the UK, flapjacks are made out sugar, butter, oats, honey etc, and pancakes are battered things that you fry. In the U.S., the names are used interchangeably and mean the same thing. Now we know. Enjoy!

Recipe: Carrot Cake Pancakes with Honey Butter

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2010

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 pancakes and about 2 teaspoons honey butter)

"These cakey flapjacks feature warm spices and bright carrot flavor. Our lightened version uses low-fat buttermilk and a small dab of honey butter to top the pancakes."

Ingredients

5.6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Dash of ground cloves

Dash of ground ginger

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound)

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons honey

Directions

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs); add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in 2 cups carrot.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 4 (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter. Combine butter and honey in a small bowl; serve with pancakes.

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 315 ; FAT 13.3g (sat 4.8g,mono 4.4g,poly 3.3g); CHOLESTEROL 78mg; CALCIUM 177mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.6g; SODIUM 381mg; PROTEIN 7.8g; FIBER 2.2g; IRON 2.3mg

Lamb Siu Mai With Spicy Tomato Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:33:00 +0000

I'm always on the look out for recipes that take the usual suspects and give them an interesting twist. This recipe certainly delivered and then some! Siu Mai are typically made with pork and, on occasion, shrimp. The recipe I've always made uses ground veal and has your basic soy based dipping sauce. I love them and therefore never ventured to try anything else. When I saw this recipe though, I just had to make them. Martin Yan said in his cookbook "Martin Yan's China" that Siu Mai is a very popular dim sum offering in Cantonese teahouses. This recipe is a Northern Chinese twist where the spicy tomato sauce complements the stronger flavor of the lamb. I couldn't agree more. These really blew me away. Can you have flavors that are both subtle and bold? Maybe what I mean is bold and harmonious...yeah that's it. Oh and did I mention that they are ridiculously quick and easy to make? What more could you ask for? Enjoy!

Recipe: Lamb Siu Mai with Spicy Tomato Sauce

From "Martin Yan's China" (Companion Volume to the Public Television Series)
Chronicle Books; 2008
Makes 12-14 dumplings, About 4 servings

The Filling

8 oz. ground lamb

2 whole water chestnuts, minced

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons oyster sauced

1 teaspoon cornstarch

12 wonton squares

The Sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoon water

2 lettuce leaves

1 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 green onion, chopped

To make the filling:

Combine the lamb, water chestnuts, rice wine, oyster sauce, and cornstarch in a bowl until well mixed.

To make the dumplings:

Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of the wonton wrapper. (Keep the remaining wrappers covered with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying). Bring the sides of the wrapper together, bunching them around the filling and smoothing any pleats. Flatten the bottom of the dumpling by tapping it against a flat surface, and squeeze the sides of the dumpling gently so the filling plumps out of the top. Keep the formed dumplings covered with a damp towel to prevent them from drying.

To make the sauce:

Heat a wok or stir-fry pan over high heat until hot. Add the oil, swirling to coat the sides. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir-fry until the excess liquid is evaporated, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the broth, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce an sesame oil. Bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Keep the sauce warm over low heat.

Prepare a wok or stir-fry pan for steaming. Line steaming basket with the lettuce leaves. Arrange the dumplings without them touching one another, in the prepared basket. Cover and steam over high heat until the filling is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce onto a serving plate. Arrange the siu mai on top of the sauce. Sprinkle the cilantro and green onions on top and serve.

I saw this picture during a Google search for Chinese teahouses and saw this amazing photograph that made me want to hop on a plane and head straight to Shanghai. Can you imagine having tea and dim sum at this place? maybe someday...

Yu Yuan Tea House and City Skyline, Shanghai, China.

Photo courtesy of Squidoo (dot) com

Pork Chops With Grilled Pineapple Salsa and Poblano-Cilantro Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:46:00 +0000

I think I've decided that I no longer like pork chops. I've brined, marinated, seared, baked and grilled them any which way I could conceive of and they are always always dry. Pork loin? Good. Pork Butt? Good. Pork tenderloin? Good. Pork chops? BAD. It's probably just me but that's how I feel about it. Unfortunately, Manly saw a lovely looking package of pork chops while he was at the grocery store and couldn't resist. Sigh. So I decided to make the best of it and tried them with this grilled pineapple salsa to counteract dryness. The salsa was phenomenal. The pork chops were still dry. But at least it gave me an excuse to make my all-time favorite Mexican rice. I've been making it for years and it goes so perfectly with anything Mexican you'll never make that sticky, tomato sauced "Spanish" rice ever again. Make the salsa, skip the pork chops please, and serve it over some pork tenderloin, chicken, fish or just with some tortilla chips. The poblano-cilantro rice as the side dish will make you very happy indeed. Enjoy!

Recipe: Pan-Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Cooking Light, MARCH 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chop and about 1/2 cup salsa)

Ingredients

4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, divided

4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices pineapple

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper

Combine pork and 1 tablespoon juice; let stand 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 215 ; FAT 7g (sat 2.5g,mono 3.1g,poly 0.5g); CHOLESTEROL 70mg; CALCIUM 42mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10.9g; SODIUM 416mg; PROTEIN 26.4g; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1mg

Recipe: Poblano Pepper-Cilantro Rice

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2005

Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

* 1/2 cup chopped white onions

* 2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped

* 2 teaspoons chopped garlic

* 1 teaspoon ground cumin

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

* 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves

* 1 3/4 cups chicken stock

* 1 cup long-grain white rice

Directions

Columbia: Pulled Pork-Sofrito Arepas With Black Beans and Fried Plantains

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:33:00 +0000

This week on my Foodalogue journey I got to take my taste buds on a quick trip to Columbia.

So I decided to investigate Arepas because Manly had them on a recent trip to New York at a place called Caracas and was just raving about how fantastic their Venezuelan versions were. During my investigation I tripped over a segment from Throw Down with Bobby Flay on You Tube that had him competing with the owners of Caracas! So I figured the stars were lining up and telling me I was headed in the right direction. You can view the video here if you'd like: It looks like a lot of fun was had by all.

So what are Arepas?

Arepas are simple corn cakes first made by the Indians of Colombia and Venezuela. They were an important part of their diet, like corn tortillas were to the Aztecs. Over the centuries, the poor people of Colombia and Venezuela continued to use them as inexpensive, easy-to-prepare source of nourishment. Today, these humble corn cakes are a comfort food for the rich and poor alike, a heart-warming tribute to simplicity, tradition, versatility, and good taste. Originally, arepas were made from dried corn kernels that were soaked overnight in water and lime to remove the skins, then cooked, drained and ground into masa (dough). Thanks to modern technology, a pre-cooked harina de masa is now available at most Latin American markets. An instant masa can be made by simply mixing this corn flour (either white or yellow) with a little salt and enough boiling water to make a stiff dough. The dough is then shaped into flat round cakes of varying thicknesses, depending on the intended use, and cooked on a griddle or deep-fried. In parts of Colombia, arepas are cooked atop a flagstone slab that is first heated and then brushed with fat. Another Colombian specialty -- arepas de chocolo -- are made from fresh corn and cooked on top of banana leaves. Colombian arepas are generally thinner than their Venezuelan counterparts.

Here is my version that were happily devoured at an alarming rate. Enjoy!

Recipe: Pulled Pork-Sofrito Arepas With Black Beans and Fried Plantains

For the black beans

In a sauce pan add:

1 small ham hock

1 small onion, coarsley chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

Water to cover

Simmer covered for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until the meat comes easily off the bone. Remove all the meat and discard the bone. Add the meat back to the saucepan with 2-15 oz. cans black beans that have been drained and rinsed. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes.

For the pulled pork:

1-1/2 lbs. pork shoulder

salt and pepper

drizzle of olive oil

chicken stock or water

Put your pork roast into a baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Pour in enough stock or water to come about half way up the sides of the roaste. Cover tightly with foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for approximatly an hour-and-a half or until the pork shreds easily. Shred the pork and set aside.

For the Sofrito:

Adapted from Michelle Bernstein

1 strip bacon

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup each red and yellow bell pepper, diced

1 cup red onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic

1/4 teaspoon habanero, minced

1/4 teaspoon jalapeno, minced

pinch of saffron

6 oz. dry sherry

In a skillet, cook the strip of bacon in the tablespoon of oil until browned. Then add the peppers, onions and garlic to the pan. Cook until softened, 4 or 5 minutes. Add chiles and saffrom. Cook 1 minute. Pour in sherry and cook reducing liquid by a quarter. Pour everything into a blender and puree. Pour the sofrito back into the skillet and add the pulled pork. Reheat just before serving.

For the Arepas:

Ingredients

3 cups water; boiling
1 teaspoon salt
2 c pre-cooked masa flour
Butter, softened

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Add water, stir with a wooden spoon to make a soft dough. Let stand for 5 minutes, then knead for 3 minutes. Dough is ready to be shaped into standard arepas, or to be mixed and kneaded with other ingredients such as cheese, chicharrones (pork rind), etc. To shape arepas: The standard Venezuelan arepa is 3 inches in diameter, 3/4 inch thick. Columbian arepas are larger and thinner, about 4 inches in diameter, 1/4 inch thick. To make arepas, oil or wet hands lightly and shape dough into balls. Place between 2 pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap and flatten into a circle; shape the edges to form a smooth disc. To cook arepas: Heat a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium heat; grease lightly and cook arepas on both sides, turning a couple of times until a crust is formed. Colombian arepas are ready to be served at this point, spread with butter. Venezuelan arepas have to be baked in a preheate 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. To check for doneness, tap the arepa lightly -- if a hollow sound is heard, its ready. Split open, add butter and serve hot. Arepas freeze well if frozen while still warm. Freeze in layers separated by plastic wrap. Reheat frozen arepas wrapped in aluminum foil in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or until heared through.

For the fried plantains:

Ingredients
4 plantains, each peeled and cut on the bias, 1/2-inch thick
2 to 3 cups vegetable or peanut oil
Salt
Cilantro, chopped for garnish, optional

Directions
In skillet, heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry plantains, turning until all sides are lightly golden. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt and sprinkle with cilantro.
To assemble:
Place an arepa on a plate put some of the pork mixture on it. Add 2 slices of tomato, 2 slices of avacado, and sprinkle with queso fresco or feta cheese. Serve with lime wedges if desired. Fold up like a taco and eat em up. Serve the beans and plantains on the side.