Culinary Orgasm

Sláinte !!

2012-03-15T19:23:00.001-04:00

Ed. note - last in a series of St. Pat's-related re-posts. Enjoy !

Apple Crisp with Irish Oatmeal topping and Whiskey Whipped Cream

Our annual St. Patrick's Feast was held this past weekend, and a grand, super, brilliant time it was, too. We somehow crammed 14 people in our tiny apartment for the usual Irish-American spread of corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, turnips and other various and sundry vegetables, apple crisp, and of course, plenty of beer and whiskey !

plenty of wet whistles !

Recipes at the end of the entry...

First, a word about the meal itself. Corned beef is actually not really a particularly Irish dish. Much more popular in Ireland is Boiled Bacon and Cabbage - but you need real Irish bacon for that, not always available here. The dinner we served is actually pretty much a New England Boiled Dinner...except that often is made with a picnic shoulder instead of corned beef, and has more vegetables. Confused yet ? You should be !!

Here's a bit more on corned beef, from Wikipedia : "Despite being a major producer of beef, most Irish...did not regularly consume the meat product in either fresh or salted form. This was due in large part to its prohibitive cost in Ireland, the fact that the beef cattle were owned by the British colonisers and not by the Irish, and that most if not all of the corned beef was exported. Despite the popular assumption in North America that corned beef dishes are typical of traditional Irish cuisine, it was not until the wave of 18th century Irish immigration to the United States that much of the ethnic Irish first began to consume corned beef. In Ireland today, the serving of corned beef is geared toward tourist consumption and most Ireland Irish do not identify the ingredient with native cuisine. The popularity of corned beef over bacon to the immigrated Irish was likely present due to that fact that corned beef in their native land was considered a luxury product, but was cheaply and readily available in America". Pretty interesting stuff !

Back to our spread...first, we started with a selection of Irish cheeses (two farmhouse cheddars and a Cashel Blue, which is an Irish blue cheese ..very delicate and sweet. )

Next up, the main course :

Here's the Beef !

Vegetables, Soda Bread

Mark's Corned Beef is really amazing. He adds a secret ingredient to the boiling water : grapefruit juice. I'm not 100% sure what it really does in there...I know it's a natural enzyme, so it makes things more tender. And I know that whatever it does, his is the best corned beef I've ever had and the only one I'll usually eat.

My Irish Soda Bread was written up a few months ago...click on the link for the details. This meal is really when I get into it...made six loaves this year, and they ALL went !!

The dessert for this meal - Irish Apple Crisp with Whiskey Whipped Cream - is really just amazing. I've been making apple crisps for years, of course...it's one of my family's favorite desserts. I have two that I make - one with a flour and sugar crust, and one with an oatmeal topping...I wanted something Irish, so Irish Oatmeal it was. The whiskey whipped cream is something I saw mentioned years ago in connection with another recipe, which I thought might work here...and oh, baby, does it work. Something about the whiskey, the oats, the apples and the spices all combines for, well, a Culinary Orgasm :

starting the topping

finished product

After all this feasting, of course, all we really wanted to do is sit around and drink whiskey. Good thing we had plenty !

a few of my favorite things...

Another year, another amazing dinner party...seriously, I love my family and friends. Sláinte to you and yours...and may you be in Heaven a half hour before the devil knows you're dead !!

Mark's Corned Beef

Mark says "If you can find a whole brisket, buy it - that way you get the point and flat at the same time, and some people prefer one or the other. The corned beefs made from eye of the round are also great, as they don't shrink and have less fat. On gray vs red...go with your personal preference. Gray is tougher and saltier, but more traditional in New England."

Recipe is given for one whole brisket...adjust accordingly. It's corned beef, pretty hard to get the proportions wrong !

1 whole corned beef brisket
water to cover (will change once)
2 cups grapefruit juice (unsweetened - 100% juice)
1/2 tablespoon pickling spice (if the beef comes with a packet, great !)
1 tsp whole peppercorns
3 medium onions, skinned but left whole
6 lbs small whole white potatoes (leave skins on)
2 whole yellow turnips (good sized)
2 pounds carrots, peeled
2 heads cabbage, cut in eighths (leave a bit of the core on to hold it together

Rinse meat and put aside spice packet. Place in pot with water to cover. Bring to a low boil, and let boil for about 30 minutes. Drain and change the water in the pot, adding the grapefruit juice, onions and spices to the meat. Make sure you have enough liquid in the pot to add some vegetables later. Boil for about 2 1/2 hours. Add the potatoes and turnips at about the 2 hour 15 minute mark. Pull the beef out and cover (leave the potatoes and turnips in), and add the carrots and cabbage. Boil the vegetables for another 15 minutes, or until tender.

Apple Crisp with Irish Oatmeal

6 cups apples -- peeled and sliced
3 teaspoons cinnamon (or more to taste), divided
1 ½ teaspoons nutmeg (or more to taste), divided
Half a lemon
1 cup rolled oats (McCann’s Quick Cooking is best)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (I usually do light, or half light half dark)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place apples in ungreased 2-quart rectangular baking dish or pan. Toss with 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of the nutmeg, and the juice from the lemon half.

In large bowl, combine remaining ingredients including rest of cinnamon and nutmeg; mix with pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over apples. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. Serve warm with cream, ice cream or whipped cream...or, to really do it right :

Whiskey Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons (or to taste) Irish whiskey (recommended : The Knot)

Whip the cream until it begins to form soft peaks. Add the sugar and whiskey and beat until stiff peaks form. Cover and chill until needed.

a full Irish Breakfast, Culinary Orgasm style

2012-03-14T20:53:00.000-04:00

Ed. note - second in a series of three St. Patrick's Day reposts this week...stay tuned for Corned Beef tomorrow !!

just a small part of the spread

I really love having people over for breakfast. Well, really, I love having people over for any meal, but breakfast is just fun. And Irish breakfasts are especially satisfying...just the thing for a day's hard labor. Or, in our case, a day's hard pub crawl (our traditional activity on St. Patrick's Day proper....we are lucky enough to live within ~~crawling~~ walking distance of some fine pubs...you'll have to check Facebook for those photos though ;) ).

We are also lucky enough to live within easy shopping distance of everything you need for a full Irish - and this year we put on a real winner. Whole Foods carries fantastic bangers (Irish sausages) as well as clotted cream, and this week had some of the best strawberries I have ever eaten in my life (which is why we needed clotted cream !) . Russo's has rashers (Irish bacon), and black and white puddings, which are also forms of sausage, using oatmeal as filler. White is pork meat and fat, and black is a blood sausage spiced with clove. I know what you're thinking...but calm down and try it...it really is delicious ! Corned Beef Hash from the boiled dinner leftovers of course, and Irish Brown Bread to round out the meal (with some amazing blood orange marmalade from Stonewall Kitchen). Oh, and eggs...keep reading for the eggs.

Bangers

Rashers, Black and White Puddings

Corned Beef Hash

oh, those strawberries !!

Irish Brown Bread

Mark did a fantastic job with all the meat, and his Corned Beef Hash is killer - it's the only time I actually eat turnips !

The eggs, though...that was my department. The problem with serving eggs at a big breakfast is that they're not the easiest thing to make in advance, especially fried eggs which are the most traditional in a full Irish. I could have done a mess of scrambled eggs or something, but that seemed kind of boring. However, Mark had given me a cookbook years ago as a Christmas gift (I sort of collect them), and it had a Baked Eggs with Creamy Leeks recipe that I'd always wanted to try. The perfect thing about them is you bake them all at once and just serve them up...exactly what I wanted. Besides, I seriously love leeks....in soups, roasted, steamed, sauteed....any way you cook them, I want them. I adapted the recipe quite a bit - really, it was just the general idea that I liked - and oh my god, were these insanely good. So luxurious, and yet soooo easy. Definite Culinary Orgasm !

Leek-y goodness

Filling the cups

Finished product

Baked Eggs with Creamy Leeks
Heavily adapted from "The Ultimate Christmas Cookbook"

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra to grease custard cups
3 medium leeks, white and tender green only, cleaned and thinly sliced (see note)
2 - 3 shallots, thinly sliced
3/4 cup heavy cream
salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg to taste
12 eggs

Preheat oven to 375. Grease bottom and sides of 12 custard cups or other small ovenproof cups. Melt the 2T of butter in a frying pan, and saute the leeks and shallots until soft (not brown), about 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the cream and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring, until cream thickens a bit. Add salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg to taste.

Divide leek mixture among the cups (which you have placed in a large roasting / baking pan), and carefully crack an egg into each one. Drizzle the remaining cream on top of the eggs, and season lightly with additional salt, pepper, and nutmeg (go easy with the nutmeg or it will try and take over !) Fill the pan with hot hot water until it reaches halfway up the cups, and place the whole pan in the oven. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the eggs are done to your liking.

Note : to clean leeks - cut the leeks in half lengthwise, and rinse well (leeks trap mud like crazy). Soak for 15 minutes in a bowl with water to cover, to which you have added a tablespoon of cider vinegar. Lift leeks out (leave sand in bottom of bowl) and proceed.

Irish Soda Bread

2012-03-13T12:51:00.001-04:00

Ed. note - this week, I will be reprinting my favorite St. Patrick's Day entries, in preparation for the big day on Saturday. Here's the first of the three. " May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door !"

grand, super, brilliant !

First off, a shout out to Culinary Orgasm's new official main photographer...#1 Son Alex. Alex took all of the pictures in this entry with his new Nikon Coolpix, and he's done a great job - see the end of this entry for more of his work. Much easier having someone else wield the camera !

So...Irish Soda Bread. I cannot make this bread without thinking about Uncle Ed. Growing up, I spent every summer with Uncle Ed (great uncle, technically) and Narn (my great aunt Alice, who everyone called "Narn"). Uncle Ed was a textbook Southie guy, an Irish American war vet with a gruff exterior covering the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known. Uncle Ed took to retirement in Maine with gusto - dog food in his pockets everywhere he went, a fixture on his benches waiting for the mail, reading his Herald, listening to the Sox or just watching the world go by. He doted on his nieces and nephews, and no birthday was ever complete without Uncle Ed calling and singing "Happy Birthday" in his trademark vibrato-filled baritone. Lord, I miss that man.

In any event, as much as Uncle Ed loved Maine, he was always so happy when folks came down from Boston - especially from Southie, and especially if they came bearing Irish Soda Bread for him to have with his beloved tea. His eyes would light up, and he'd make that stuff last as long as he possibly could. But it was only when I married a part-Irishman and learned to actually appreciate a good corned beef dinner that I even thought about making it myself. It took a few tries, but now I really have it down...I think Uncle Ed would have absolutely loved this, and that is saying something. I only wish I had made it for him when he was still alive...don't put things off, folks. Do things for the people you love now. I promise you, you'll both feel better for it.

A few notes about the ingredients...it calls for two ingredients you may not have around the house, buttermilk and Golden Cane Sugar. Golden Cane Sugar is a very light brown natural sugar with a fantastic flavor - like brown sugar but not quite as much molasses flavor. I use it in all sorts of things so usually have it around - but you can very easily substitute one tablespoon of regular brown sugar and one of white sugar with no ill effects. The buttermilk, though, really is essential. The slight acidity of the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to make your final bread super light and moist (the bane of many soda bread recipes is that the loaf is heavy and dry). If you are absolutely in a bind, add two tablespoons of white vinegar to the 3/4 cup of milk and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes...it will work, but really not as well as real buttermilk. Buttermilk is sold right next to the regular milk at my trusty Stop + Shop, so it's not hard to find...this bread - and Uncle Ed - are worth the real thing.

Irish Soda Bread

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons Golden Cane Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/2 cup currants

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. Add the buttermilk and mix thoroughly into a soft dough. Add the currants. Knead the dough lightly on a lightly floured board for 3 minutes or until smooth. Form the dough into a 7 inch flat round, and place in a lightly oiled cake tin. Cut a cross about 1/2 inch deep in the center of the round. Bake in a 375 oven 40 minutes, and cool on a wire rack.

dry ingredients waiting for butter (double batch)

mix until it's a soft dough

kneading in the currants (my bowl is huge so I can do it right in the bowl)

cut a cross into the top

out of the oven

perfect !!

don't you want some ?

Crab and Shrimp Risotto with Herbs

2012-03-05T21:05:00.000-05:00

Oh man, do I love me some risotto. I've written about my mushroom risotto before - a luscious, unctuous concoction that is heaven by itself but makes sweet, sweet love to things like lamb. Can't always make the same old thing, though...and one of the great thing about risotto is that it really gets along well with pretty much anything you want to mix into it. This weekend, we decided that a seafood risotto would pair perfectly with our stuffed peppers - so seafood it was. The one slight difference with a seafood risotto is that traditionally, Italians don't put cheese in it. (I won't tell if you do, though...so go ahead and maybe stash some on the table just in case :) ).

Any type of seafood would probably work here - scallops, squid, lobster...whatever you like. Just make sure it's cooked before you stir it in, since you're not really cooking it in the rice.

Enjoy !

Crab and Shrimp Risotto

loosely based on a Williams-Sonoma recipe

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

6 Tbs. olive oil

3/4 lb. small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

3/4 lb. fresh-cooked crabmeat, picked over to remove any shell fragments

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 cups seafood or fish stock

4 - 6 cups chicken stock

3 shallots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups medium-grain rice (arborio or carnaroli)

1/2 cup dry white wine (warmed)

1/4 cups chopped fresh herbs - flat-leaf parsley, basil, chives pictured...or use your favorites !

In a saute pan over medium heat, sauté the garlic in half of the olive oil, stirring once or twice, until the garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the shrimp are just about done, 3 -4 minutes. Gently stir in the crabmeat, and set aside.

Mix the broths together in a saucepan, and bring just barely to a simmer.

In a large saucepan or risotto pan over medium heat, warm the remaining oil along with the butter until the butter melts. Add the shallots and sauté until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until the kernels are hot and coated with oil, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and continue to cook, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed.

Add the broth a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and making sure the liquid has been absorbed before adding more. When the rice is about half cooked, stir in the herbs, salt and pepper and lower the heat a bit. The risotto is done when the rice grains are creamy on the outside and firm yet tender to the bite, 30 - 40 minutes total. Rice varies, so you may not need all of the broth.

Stir in the shrimp and crabmeat and cook, stirring gently, just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Remove the risotto from the heat and serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8.

Trencher Venison Stew (crockpot)

2012-03-05T20:16:00.000-05:00

I know...you're sitting there asking yourself why on earth deer would wear trenchcoats. Or why I just didn't call this "Venison Stew in Bread Rolls". Blame George R.R. Martin, that's what I say.

First, a history of trenchers. Trenchers are not, in fact, coats. They are basically a sort of plate, made from stale bread, that were popular in medieval times. Bread for trenchers was specially made to be very sturdy, with a substantial crust - and then allowed to go stale, forming the perfect base for the stews, roasted meats, etc that were a staple of medieval cuisine. Feasts for the wealthy would feature fresh trenchers for each course - even dessert ! The bread could of course be eaten, but was often given to the poor or thrown to the dogs as a sort of status symbol - "we're so rich, we can even throw away bread...Sir Donald of the Trump got nothin' on us !"

And now, enter ol' George R.R. For those who don't know, George R.R. Martin is the author of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series of books - better known to TV types as "Game of Thrones", though that's really just the name of the first book. The novels are of the "epic fantasy" genre - sort of a cross of "Dune" and "Lord of the Rings". The HBO series is fantastic, and after watching the first season we promptly ordered up the book series. I haven't finished the first one yet, but my guys are already on the fifth and latest - and are absolutely hooked. One of the recurring themes in the books is food - plenty of feasting and all, described to the last detail. The setting of the books is pretty much medieval...as are the feasts. And with a freezer still stocked with venison...and a visit from the bread fairy...a little tribute to my guys, and their literary obsession :).

Trencher Venison Stew
Can easily be served over egg noodles, if you prefer - or even made with beef...

2 1/2 - 3 pounds venison (or beef), cut into chunks
2 cups beef stock
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
2 (15 ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, stripped from stems
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 loaf sturdy bread (French, sourdough, or whatever you like), stale if possible, cut into very thick slices OR 1 pound wide egg noodles, cooked

3 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons flour (optional - for thick gravy)

In a large slowcooker, place the venison cubes, stock, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, tomatoes, Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours, or low for 7-8 hours. Serve over bread slices (or wide egg noodles, if you prefer !)

OPTIONAl : If you prefer a beef stew with a thick gravy, about 20 minutes before you want to serve turn the crockpot to HIGH. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk in the flour. Whisk in the broth from the crockpot, a ladleful at a time, until you have a nice thick gravy. Whisk this back into the crockpot, and let cook another 15-30 minutes or so.

Buttermilk-Pumpkin Waffles

2012-02-20T12:24:00.000-05:00

Necessity is truly the mother of invention. A day off from work and I was all set to get up and make a mess of truffled scrambled eggs (my new addiction...got some wonderful truffle salt for Christmas from a coworker, and I've been putting it on everything. It does things to scrambled eggs that should be illegal). However, my overstuffed fridge somehow only yielded two eggs. Woe.

On top of the fridge, however, was a stash of pancake mix. I know I keep saying I'm not a mix person, and I'm not - but pancake mix is actually some pretty useful stuff (mixed with beer it makes a killer deep fry batter), so we do usually have some around. So I decided on lazy woman's blueberry-pecan waffles...only to find I didn't have any blueberries either. Back to woe.

I did, however, have many cans of pumpkin. (I keep meaning to try my hand at pumpkin creme brulee, but things like work and life keep getting in the way.) I've made pumpkin waffles before - basically by substituting pumpkin for water , same way I make eggnog waffles. (Like I said, we always have some mix around). Last time, though, they were a wee bit heavy, and I wanted to try and lighten them up but not lose that delicious pumpkin flavor. In my fridge exploration I also found some buttermilk I needed to use up, and figured that was the little sumthin-sumthin my waffles might be looking for. Score. Light, fluffy, pumpkiny, spicy - just what I wanted. Relaxing breakfast in pj's achieved.

Buttermilk-Pumpkin Waffles

2 cups "complete" pancake mix
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tblsp vegetable oil

Mix ingredients well with a whisk, and cook in a waffle maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

Ropa Vieja (slow cooker)

2012-02-04T17:51:00.000-05:00

(Ed. note - I know I'm a little late and most people already know what they're making for the Super Bowl. But if you're tired of pulled pork and chili, read on...)

suggested serving...one of many

I have to admit, I'm sort of a sucker for a dish with a fun name...and Ropa Vieja is just fun. The name means "old clothes" in Spanish, so called because the shredded beef looks like rags of old clothes. This definitely doesn't taste like old clothes, though - it is a delicious beef in a tomato based sauce. Sort of like pulled pork, but a different flavor profile.

Ropa Vieja is one of the national dishes of Cuba, but it actually originated in the Canary Islands. These Spanish islands were a major stopover for ships sailing from Spain to the New World, so it makes sense that some of the cuisine would have made its way over as well. I first made this dish many, many years ago, when I was given The Frugal Gourmet's "Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother" cookbook. This was before all that terrible stuff came out about him...so sad, that. But the book is still pretty cool, and was a great introduction to all sorts of cuisines that I had never even thought about. I hadn't made it in ages, but decided it was due for an upgrade - and I had a hunch it would translate well to the slow cooker. Good hunch !

Ropa Vieja can be served in all kinds of ways - over rice, beans, or mashed yucca; rolled in tortillas; or just all by its own lovely self. We decided to go with rice and Auntie Jojo's Black Bean Salad, with tortillas on the side...just perfect !

I'll take old clothes like this any day !!

Ropa Vieja

2 lbs beef flank steak, cut into 3 or 4 pieces
oil for pan
1 medium onion, sliced
1 small green and 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 jalapeno, minced (seeds removed)
2 cloves minced garlic
8 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish

Brown the meat in an oiled pan, and place in the bottom of the slow cooker (you don't want to cook the meat - just get a nice sear on it). Scatter the onion, peppers, jalapeno, and garlic over the meat. Combine the remaining ingredients (except the cilantro) and pour over the meat. Cook on HIGH 4-5 hours or LOW 8-10 hours. Shred the meat right in the crockpot (two large forks work well), mix with the sauce, and garnish with the cilantro before serving.

Schultz's Sauerkraut and Pork

2012-01-30T19:24:00.002-05:00

Sauerkraut and pork...ah, what fond childhood memories that phrase evokes.

I know what you're thinking. "Sauerkraut ? Pork ?? Happy children ????" No, I have not lost my mind. (Well, I think maybe I have, but it has nothing to do with my food memory !)

I've expounded upon my German heritage quite often here at CO...sauerbraten, potato dumplings and red cabbage was one of the first dinners I wrote up for this blog, and my Oma's Potato Salad has been written up as well. But the sauerkraut and pork...now that's old school, deeply ingrained memory stuff for me, something my German grandmother and great-grandmother made often. Oddly enough, it is a cherished childhood memory for Mark too (shared heritage...one of the many reasons we make such a great pair in the kitchen. ) This one is Mark's recipe, and Mark's story.

Mark's grandfather was Austrian (well, as far as we know). The family stories about him are legendary and probably not all true, but fun to talk about anyway - they range from everything from him being a horse thief to a Ruthenian terrorist to some sort of royalty. Whatever he was, he came to this country prior to WW1, married a Canadian woman, and raised a family in Boston. He worked various jobs, including being a Pinkerton...and cooking at a resort on Long Island. The story behind the cooking goes that he used to spend a lot of time in the kitchens of the estate he grew up on, and learned some pretty impressive cooking skills along the way. Sadly, I never got to meet Grampy (he passed away in 1978 in his late 80's), but I am lucky enough to be the beneficiary of that delicious heritage. And one of the best examples is this sauerkraut and pork, passed down from Grampy and Mark's Uncle Jim. I know I've said this about a lot of things, but this is truly one of my favorite, favorite things that Mark makes.

A general note on the sauerkraut - we recommend the use of bagged. The bagged varieties seem to have a better flavor than the jarred, possibly because they are kept cold in the fridge instead of on the shelf at room temperature (which would mean that they are probably pasteurized). If you can't find bags (usually kept near the hot dogs) use jarred. Canned sauerkraut just tastes like the can, and should be avoided if at all possible.

Potato pancakes and pumpernickel go perfectly with this - my bread machine version of pumpernickel follows. If you have the time and inclination, by all means make the pancakes from scratch...but we find the boxed mix (Carmel Kosher or Manischewitz) work perfectly fine, particularly if we have other things going on while the sauerkraut simmers. Potato dumplings (see link above) or even pierogies would be great with this as well.

We usually double this recipe, but I am giving directions for a normal potful here. The onion, apple and pork measurements are approximate - it all depends on the size of the apples and onions, and the meatiness of the pork. Exact measurements are really not important on this one !

mmm pork

onions and sauerkraut

first layer ready to go !

Sauerkraut and Pork

4 lbs sauerkraut, drained but NOT rinsed
2 -3 onions, sliced
2 - 3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 - 3 pounds country style pork ribs (bone-in pork chops work fine too)
2 tablespoons dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sweet pickle juice (drained from a jar of sweet pickles)

Place half of the sauerkraut in a large stockpot. Scatter half of the onions on top, then half of the apples. Lay half of the pork chops on top, and sprinkle with half of the mustard, caraway, and pepper. Repeat with remaining sauerkraut, onions, apples, pork and spices.

Combine water and vinegars and pour over contents of pot. Cover tightly and bring up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Leave undisturbed for two hours.

After the two hours is up, remove lid and stir well (the meat will probably start coming off the bones at this point). Cover again, and simmer for another hour or two (you can probably get away with one, but Grampy always said the longer the better). Add the pickle juice (stirring well) for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Pumpernickel Bread (bread machine)

True fact : "Pumpernickel" means "Devil's Fart" in German. I love that :) . Traditional pumpernickel is baked from 16 - 24 hours to get that deep, dark color - or darkly toasted crumbs from the previous batch can be added. This one's a bit of a cheat, relying on a combination of dark, tasty ingredients...and a bread machine. Don't let that scare you off - it's still absolutely delicious !

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup Guinness (if you don't have one handy and open, just use regular beer or add more water. Guinness helps make it super dark though ! You could probably use cola as well).

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup molasses

3 tablespoons cocoa powder (the darker the better)

1 tablespoon espresso powder or instant coffee

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups flour (bread or all-purpose)

1 cup rye flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine in order specified by manufacturer, and bake according to directions for "normal" or "basic" loaf.

Pinto Bean Soup

2012-01-21T19:03:00.005-05:00

I really was not a fan of beans as a kid. I think I was afraid they all tasted like canned baked beans, which were one of the very few foods I simply would not eat - and of course, being half-raised by New England Yankees meant this was a problem come Saturday night. I'd get down a few hot dogs and a ton of brown bread, but the beans...those went to Sput (the dog :) ). It was only when I got older and realized that beans came in varieties other than canned baked that I realized how much I'd been missing. Now I love them, any way I can get them.

I've already blogged about a few of my favorite bean dishes- cassoulet , frijoles borrachos - but this was a new one for me. This dish was one of those things that just sort of happened, for a number of reasons - one of which was the frijoles, actually. The last time I made them, I soaked way too many beans and there's been a bag of them taking up space in my overstocked freezer ever since. We also had our very first snowstorm of the season today, and I really didn't relish going out for any more ingredients. Mostly, though, it was because our planned ham dinner didn't happen on account of a nasty virus going through the house. One resident foodie was down for the count, but the other one requested soup - and as I was out of carrots and celery (and the snow was flying), it was going to have to be a soup that didn't involve either. Voilà - pinto bean soup. Of course, I didn't photograph it as I was making it, because I didn't think it was going to amount to much (I mean...no carrots or celery ??) Imagine my surprise when it was absolutely amazing, and something I'll definitely make again.

My soup is somewhat based on this recipe, though with quite a bit of adjustment. As for the bacon drippings, as with most things beans are always better with bacon, and I do usually keep some frozen for just this sort of occasion. Just let the drippings cool, then run then through a strainer before you freeze them. It's a good idea to do them in small quantities (ice cube trays, snack size baggies etc) so it's easier to just grab a bit when needed. However, if you're not quite as crazy as me and you don't have any drippings handy, oil would work perfectly fine in this recipe - just adjust for salt if needed.

Cornbread is definitely called for with this...pictured is my own recipe for cheesy pepperjack cornbread, just made into muffins instead of a square. Gotta change things up every so often :)

Pinto Bean Soup

1 pound dried pinto beans, picked over

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons bacon drippings or vegetable oil

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 - 2 tsp chipotle powder, or to taste

1 tsp ground cumin

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 pound chorizo, chopped (or other spicy sausage)

28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup enchilada sauce

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (or 1 tablespoon dried)

lime wedges, for serving

Soak beans in water to cover by 2 inches overnight (or use quick-soak method on bag)

In a heavy kettle sauté onions and garlic in bacon drippings over moderately high heat, stirring, until pale golden. Add chili powder, paprika, chipotle and cumin and cook, stirring, for about a minute, or until you can really smell the spices. Add drained beans and the stock and simmer, covered, until tender, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

While soup is simmering, in a skillet brown chorizo over moderately high heat and transfer to paper towels to drain. Add chorizo to soup with tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce and salt to taste and simmer, covered partially and stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

Osso Bucco with Grilled Polenta

2012-01-16T21:38:00.001-05:00

This may come as a bit of a shock, but come New Year's Eve we tend to be sort of homebodies. I know, it's a big going out, eating well, drinking better night and all - and we're all about those things, believe me. Except, for some reason, this night. I think it started when our son was small - no one really wanted to stay home and babysit, and his little smiling face was the first thing I wanted to see for the new year anyway. Now, of course, the face is much bigger - and a little bit pickier when it comes to eating well. Mea culpa, I know...anyway, now I just sort of like hanging at home with the family and cooking up something yummy.

This year, Osso Bucco seemed like a fine dish to make for a festive night at home. Osso Bucco is one of those wonderful Italian dishes where they take a relatively cheap cut of meat (in this case, veal shanks - Osso Bucco literally means "bone with a hole" in Italian), and braise it in wine and aromatic veggies for a long long time until it is a picture of falling-off-the-bone deliciousness. It is most often served with risotto, which is certainly something we're a fan of here - but we had just had my mushroom risotto for Christmas dinner. We needed very little convincing to do it over polenta instead...because really, when is it not a good time for polenta ?

Osso Bucco
adapted from a Fiorella's recipe (there's even a video of them making it at the link...pretty cool :))

5 pieces 3" thick, bone-in veal shanks
½ cup all-purpose flour for dredging
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup ruby port
4 cups chicken stock
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves, dried or fresh

Preheat oven to 350. Pat veal shanks dry with paper towels to remove moisture. Season the shanks with salt and pepper. Dredge them in flour, shaking off excess.

In a heavy skillet or large dutch oven pot, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Sear shanks on all sides (about 5 minutes per side)

Remove the browned veal shanks and set aside. Raise heat to high, add onions, carrots and celery. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and mix well

Add wine to deglaze, reduce by half. Return the shanks to the pot and add stock, bay leaves and herbs. Bring to a boil

Cover pan and place in oven for 2½ - 3 hours or until meat is tender. Baste the shanks a few times during cooking

Remove cover and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce sauce. Serve shanks atop rice, pasta, risotto, or polenta, and spoon sauce over top

Grilled Polenta

If you'd like to start with homemade polenta, you will need to start the proceedings the night before. Follow the package directions, and pat the polenta into a loaf pan. Cover and let chill overnight, then grill as below. If you don't have the time or the inclination to make it, you can buy large tubes of polenta prepared and ready to go (usually found with the fresh pasta), which is what we did above...so trust us, it works great :)

1 tube or loaf of prepared polenta
2 eggs, beaten with a tablespoon of water
bread crumbs (plain, Italian or panko all work just fine)

Cut polenta into half inch slices. Dip into egg, then bread crumbs. Fry on a preheated grill pan (medium high heat) for 4 -5 minutes per side, or until done to your liking. Perfect for serving Osso Bucco over - or any other kind of saucy dish - but really wonderful anytime. Try it just dipped into marinara sauce - or for extra special awesomeness, add a pureed chipotle pepper to the sauce first. OMGWTF good....

Caviar on Toast

2012-01-16T20:33:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't posted in so long...maybe just a picture will do. This was one of my Christmas presents, which I somehow held off eating until New Year's. Lucky me !!

Venison Goulash with Spaetzle (A Christmas Story)

2011-12-26T13:58:00.006-05:00

Okay, so it's not that we haven't been cooking...no, not that at all ! It's just with all the holiday craziness going on there's been no time to update the poor blog. Rest assured, we've been cooking and eating just fine - and now you're going to have to hear all about it. First up : goulash.

We've been having all sorts of culinary fun with Alex's venison, and goulash seemed like a natural step to go in - but real Hungarian goulash, not the weird American stuff with hamburger and elbow macaroni that is eerily reminiscent of one of my true kitchen nightmares - American Chop Suey (shudder). No, I wanted a real goulash - a thick meaty stew, rich with onions and peppers...and real paprika.

I've been a lover of real Hungarian paprika since I was a teen, mostly courtesy of having a real Hungarian boyfriend :). It was at his house that I found out that paprika was an actual, real, delicious spice and not just something to garnish deviled eggs with. (And I still have a serious craving for paprika paste - minced paprika peppers the consistency of tomato paste, and possibly the best thing to put on toast with cream cheese ever.) Hungarian paprika is generally stronger and richer than Spanish or American varieties...those Hungarians really know their paprika stuff, which is amazing when you consider that peppers are native to the Americas and didn't even make it to Europe until after Columbus.

In any event, when my mother went to Hungary a while ago and asked what I wanted the answer was paprika, of course - that damn paste, and the powdered form.

I love my mother :)

The best way to bring out the flavor of paprika is to heat it in oil, which was one of the early steps in this goulash. Floured cubes of meat were browned in the bottom of the pot, then removed...oil was added to the pan, and then the onions and the lovely, lovely paprika.

Alex prepping the meat

gorgeous !

onions and lovely, lovely paprika

Goulash accomplished !

With our goulash, we decided we wanted spaetzle. Spaetzle (the word means "little sparrow" in German) are small, roughly shaped sort of egg noodles...almost like small gnocchi, and pretty much the same thing as the Hungarian Csipetke, which are traditional with goulash (when made without potatoes, at least). Of course, neither of us had ever actually made spaetzle before - and we didn't have a spaetzle maker - but really, why should that stop us ? All the recipes we consulted said that one could push the dough through a colander or slotted spoon instead, and of course we had plenty of those...so we confidently mixed up dough and started water boiling. And oh, my stars and garters...what an absolute mess. The dough absolutely refused to be pushed through anything - it just sat there all sticky and sullen. Not to be outdone by a mere mess of dough, I just added more flour and we commenced with the hand rolling...took forever, but we got there. And in a repeat of our first Christmas together when we unknowingly got each other the exact same gift (Irish knit sweaters), this year we got each other...spaetzle makers. And now you know why this is also a Christmas story. Merry Christmas, honey :)

rolled and ready to go

finished product

I see a lot of spaetzle in my future...

Hungarian Venison Goulash with Spaetzle

Yes, you can make this with beef...but if you can get your hands on some venison, by all means try it. You won't be sorry !

Goulash

4 lbs venison or beef, cut into cubes
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
4 cups onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup (yes, a quarter cup) good Hungarian paprika
1 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp caraway seeds, ground or finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
3 oz tomato paste (half a small can)
2 cups red peppers, finely chopped

Heat 1 tablespoon of the of the oil in a large heavy soup pot. Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large bag and toss the meat cubes in the mixture. Brown the cubes in batches and remove to a bowl , adding another tablespoon of oil to the pot as needed.

Once the meat is browned, add the remaining oil to the pot and heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until onions are starting to get a bit soft. Add the paprika, thyme and caraway and cook another 10 minutes or so, until the onions are translucent. Add the wine and beef stock, stir well, and let simmer on low heat for about an hour. Add the peppers and the tomato paste and simmer another 45 minutes or so, until everything is done to your liking. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over egg noodles or spaetzle

Spaetzle

This is basically the Frugal Gourmet's recipe, with a lot more flour added and hand rolled instead of pressed. Once we learn how to use the spaetzle makers, expect an update :)

2 eggs
2 Tbsp freshly rendered lard or oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
4 quarts water

Using an electric mixer, blend the eggs, lard or oil, water and milk. Stir the flour together with 1/2 tsp of the salt and the baking powder in a dry bowl. Blend this mixture into the liquid. Mix well and let rest about 15 minutes .

Pinch off pieces of the dough, and roll into cylinders about the size of a pencil. Cut the "pencils" into thirds, and lay out on a large board or platter to dry a bit.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tsp of salt. Add about 1/4 of your spaetzle - do not crowd the pan. The dumplings will float to the surface...let them cook about 4 - 5 minutes, or until done (taste testing is the best way to know - when then stop tasting like raw dough, they are done.) Rinse with cold water, and toss with oil to prevent sticking.

Duck Livers Sauteed with Applewood Smoked Bacon

2011-12-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

Because I can. And because we're having duck for Christmas dinner. More posts coming soon, I promise. Merry Christmas, internets !

Mark's Stuffed Peppers (featuring Alex's Venison Sausage)

2011-12-04T11:35:00.000-05:00

Top - PEPPERS ! Bottom - Alex and his deer

Stuffed peppers are one of those things that I really just never got into. Hamburger, rice, green peppers...all perfectly fine on their own, but stuff them inside each other and for some reason they just become...NO. But I am here to tell you, readers, that I have had a pepper revelation. Even now, I am plotting how to get more of their tasty deliciousness in my mouth. I am obsessed, thanks to a new appetizer at my favorite local restaurant and an influx of what is possibly the best sausage I have ever eaten.

First, the restaurant - Fiorella's. I have written about Fiorella's before - an absolutely top-notch Italian place that is literally within walking distance of my house. They recently expanded their space (very well done - still neighborhood and homey, just a little more of it) and revamped their menu slightly. On our first visit after they reopened, we went out on a limb and tried one of their new appetizers : Stuffed Peppers Parmigiana. Red peppers stuffed with DePasquale’s hot Italian sausage, risotto, cheese...topped with their amazing marinara sauce & more cheese. (DePasquale's is a small family run sausage shop in Newton...could write a whole post about them ! No website though). These peppers were absolutely astounding - sweet, hot, cheesy, peppery goodness. Oh, man.

Second, the venison sausage. The men in my family are serious sportsmen, and my son Alex is no exception (our exploits with his wild turkey are here). This year, he got his first deer - a three point, 128 pound buck, for those keeping track. The place the guys used to use for meat cutting is now closed, but Alex was able to find a new one - Parents Meat Cutting, in Belmont NH. Venison can sometimes be gamey, but if you find a butcher that knows what they are doing (for example, NOT freezing the thing and cutting it on a bandsaw) and you have a fairly young deer, fresh venison is truly Culinary Orgasm material - and this place definitely knows what they are doing. They offered to turn some of the meat into sausage for us, and Alex wisely said yes. Oh, happy day !

mmm...sausage

We used some of this sausage in our Thanksgiving turkey stuffing this year, and I have to say...I've enjoyed a lot of sausage in my time, and this is truly some of the best sausage I have ever eaten. You can see how dark and rich it is in the picture above...it's lightly spiced, but whatever was added to it, it was done perfectly.

A new respect for stuffed peppers, and a supply of amazing sausage...this recipe was just screaming to be made. Who are we to ignore the siren call of the kitchen ?

the goods

ready for the oven

a plate of goodness

Mark's Stuffed Peppers
Serves 4

2 tablespoons oil (olive or canola)
2 1/2 pounds sausage meat, removed from casings
2 cups fresh (soft) breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 - 5 good sized red bell peppers, halved lengthwise and cleaned out
8 oz block mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 - 10 slices

4 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
1 pound of your favorite pasta, cooked

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in a large skillet, and brown the sausage meat in it. Combine sausage, breadcrumbs, and Parmesan, and mix well. Stuff into peppers, and place in large baking pan to which you have spread 2 cups of the sauce in the bottom of. Bake for 30 minutes, then arrange cheese slices over tops of peppers and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-30T18:26:00.280-05:00

Thank YOU !

So many people have expressed surprise about me not having a Thanksgiving blog that I decided that I needed to have something up here - no matter how weird it feels. I'll explain.

I absolutely love Thanksgiving, of course - don't get me wrong. All that cooking and eating - and no gift giving ? Sweet ! The truth is, though, that we do tend to go pretty traditional around here for Turkey Day...and nothing I've made here isn't something that I haven't made before. I feel sort of guilty making a new blog post out of old recipes - but you, dear readers, have asked. And so you shall receive. It is, after all, the holidays ! And I am so thankful for all of the support I've gotten since I started this blog...I've had so much fun honing my writing skills, and the positive feedback has been absolutely fantastic. I feel truly blessed, and I am so thankful....so let's give thanks.

This year , we actually did the Thanksgiving day meal itself with some special, special friends - at their house. Such a wonderful night, and excellent food...but all we brought were pies and cranberry sauce. Us being us, of course, we had to make our own meal too, the next day...I mean, half the fun is all the leftovers.

Here's how we got ours :

Brined Roast Turkey

As I mentioned last year on this one...don't worry, this guy is definitely not burnt. The sugar (well, actually in this case maple syrup) in the brine makes it brown up extra crispy. An absolutely fantastic way to do turkey. Save the label from your turkey so you remember how much it weighs, and after you brine it up in the following deliciousness , stuff if desired (this year's winning recipe included), and cook according to your saved label directions.

Apple-Citrus-Spice Brine

5 cups water
1 quart apple cider
1 quart orange juice
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon of whole cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Bring the water, salt and sugar to a boil, and simmer until everything is dissolved. Let cool and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Seal turkey and brine in a large ziplock bag, and let it sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

Stuffing with Leeks and Sausage

We used Alex's venison sausage this year...more on that in a later post. Ungodly good stuff.

8 cups 1-inch-bread cubes
2 pounds sausage, removed from casings
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 large leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and rinsed
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
4 carrots, chopped (rainbow are great)
4 stalks celery, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Bells Seasoning to taste (start with a teaspoon)
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While the sausage and vegetables are cooking (see below), spread bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake until dry and pale gold, about 20 minutes, turning pan about halfway through. Transfer to a large bowl.
Trim leeks, slice in half lengthwise, and rinse well. Place the leeks in a large bowl with water to cover to which you have added the cider vinegar. Soak for 15 minutes, then lift out of the water. Rinse again, and slice into 1 inch lengths.

While leeks are soaking, heat up a large skillet (medium to medium high) and add oil. Brown the sausage meat in the oiled pan, and set aside. Wipe out pan and melt butter in it over medium high heat. Add leeks, carrots, and celery to pan. Sauté until vegetables are tender 10-15 minutes or so. Season with salt, pepper, and Bell's.

Add sausage and vegetables to bowl with bread cubes, and toss well to combine. Let cool a bit and stir in eggs. Stuff into turkey, and pile any extra into a buttered casserole dish. Cook the extra stuffing at 375 for 30 minutes.

Culinary Orgasm Cranberry Sauce

1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. water
12 oz bag cranberries
6 oz apricot preserves
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

In a large saucepan, bring the sugar and the water to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes; do not stir. Add the cranberries and simmer until they all burst. Remove from heat and add preserves and lemon juice. When cool, stir in the nuts.

Makes about one quart - keep refrigerated until needed.

Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes

3 pounds baby potatoes (white or red), skin on and scrubbed
2/3 milk or half and half
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to a boil, drain, and add back to the pot with the remaining ingredients. Mash to desired consistency.

Baked Acorn Squash

One of the only microwave recipes you will ever find in this blog :)

3 acorn squash, halved and cleaned

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Place squash halves, cut side down, in microwave and cook for 10 minutes on High. Flip over and add remaining ingredients, distributing evenly among the 6 halves. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until nice and soft.

Creamed Spinach

This is actually a new addition for me...usually we always have Spinach Provencal , but this year I had some cooked spinach I wanted to use up so I made the creamed. Loved it !

2 pounds baby spinach

1 stick butter

2 large shallots, sliced into rings

6 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups cream

salt and pepper to taste

Steam or saute spinach until lightly cooked, and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a saucepan, and whisk in flour. Gradually whisk in milk, and then cream. Simmer for 10 minutes or so, whisking regularly, until no flour taste remains.

Combine spinach, shallots, and cream sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

yeah, we went there too :)

Maple Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin perfection. Highly recommend the Spiced Whipped Cream with this !

1 3/4 cups cooked pureed pumpkin (this is the amount in a standard can; I cook my own when I can)

3/4 c maple syrup
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/8 t cloves
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 c sour cream
2 eggs, separated

unbaked 10" pie shell (your favorite will be just fine - my favorite is below. If you use one smaller than 10 ", you'll have extra filling for tiny graham cracker crusts, or baking up as a custard)

Preheat oven to 425

Puree all ingredients except egg whites in food processor. Beat whites until stiff, fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour into pie shell(s)

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and bake for 45 minutes . (Tiny pies will only need 20-30 minutes at the lower temperature)

Spiced Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, well chilled
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Whip cream to very soft peaks, add sugar and spices, and continue to whip until it holds stiff peaks. Serve as soon as possible.

Lard Pie Crust

if you're really going for the gusto...pork fat all the way baby !

2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup lard, cold, cut into cubes
about 1/4 cup ice water (see directions)

Pulse flour, salt and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade until mixed. Add lard, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Keep pulsing, and dribble ice water in until mixture pulls away from sides of bowl and you can ball it up. Remove from bowl and divide into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Makes two single crusts or one double crust.

If you have scraps left over (as I did above), roll and cut or stamp into decorative shapes. Brush with beaten egg and bake alongside the pies for 10 - 15 minutes or so, until done. Place on pumpkin pies when cool.

Dark Chocolate-Pecan Bread Pudding

2011-11-20T17:43:00.000-05:00

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts...I know, I'm a slacker :(. In my semi-defense, I've been home alone most of the last few weeks - which deprives me of my favorite foodie ~~victims~~ audience. Other than a new found fascination with BLT's (seriously, universe, why have you been holding out on me all these years and denying me the deliciousness that is the BLT ? Oh, yeah, it's because I don't like tomatoes and lettuce on sandwiches), I've barely been cooking.

Also, I don't want you to think that all we eat around here is bread pudding. I know I talk about it a lot...again, not really my fault...it's that damn bread fairy. What else can I do when inundated with loaf after loaf of delicious artisan bakery bread...for free ? . There's too much Scots and Yankee frugality in me to let all that delicious bread go to waste. Good thing none of us have problems with gluten.

Basically, this is just a variation of the Blueberry-White Chocolate Bread Pudding that I make all the damn time (and everyone still seems to love). I do this all the time, and you should too - adapt for what you have around, or just what you like. Trust yourself !

Dark Chocolate-Pecan Bread Pudding

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
6 cups 1/2-inch cubes day-old bread
1 12 oz bag bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 10 X 14-inch baking dish with the room-temperature butter.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cream, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Add the bread, chocolate chips (reserve 2 tablespoons of the chips) and pecans and stir well. Pour into the prepared dish.

Bake until firm when pressed in the center, about 1 hour. About a minute before it comes out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on the top.

Cool on a wire rack until just warm, about 20 minutes.

Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (pictured with Talenti Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato...great stuff !!)

Extra Stout Extra Chocolate Cake

2011-10-30T21:00:00.004-04:00

mmm cake

Chocolate Stout Cake. Chocolate, and stout. Two of my very favorite things, in convenient cake form. That's just bliss, right there. Gaze upon the blissness :

bliss....

With an impending Snowpocalypse primed to hit Boston yesterday, we decided to hunker down with some good comfort food - specifically, Mark's Pasta Bolognese . (As for the snow...we would have barely noticed it in February...but in October, it's kind of a big deal). Mark always craves chocolate after Italian food, we happened to have some Guinness Foreign Extra Stout around (it's like regular Guinness, but even more Gunniess-y...dark, luscious, gorgeous flavor...definitely look for this if you can find it) and I've always wanted to tackle a stout cake...serendipity is a beautiful thing !

Deb at Smitten Kitchen had a very promising looking entry (as always), which itself was a Bon Appetit adaptation of a cake from the Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington, MA...definitely a lineage I could get behind. Of course, me being me, I have to do extra everything...extra stout , extra dark cocoa powder, and bittersweet chocolate ganache - for that extra chocolate flavor. That's me, extra crazy...sometimes I wonder if I can ever do anything at a normal level :)

By all means, if you have regular stout and cocoa power and chocolate (or your like your chocolate delivered with more sweetness and not so much darkness) and still want to make this cake - go for it. I think it would still be absolutely fantastic, and you won't have that moment of panic that I did when I took it out of the pan and thought I had burnt it. This is by far the blackest cake I have ever seen in my life :

seriously...is this where black holes come from ???

I promise, it really was baked perfectly and not at all burnt..and it has the most delicious, deep chocolately flavor you've ever experienced. If you use a less dark stout and/or chocolate, I suggest adding the 3/4 tsp of coffee powder to the ganache from the original recipe (and some wouldn't go amiss in the cake either) to enhance the chocolate flavor.

The one thing my testers all agreed on is that it needed more of the ganache, so I have upped the amounts below. And for god's sake, don't get scared off by the term "ganache" like it's super advanced ninja foodie stuff...it's just melted chocolate mixed with cream. Like super thick, spreadable hot chocolate :)

Have some fun in the kitchen, and get down with your bad chocolately self !!

Extra Stout Extra Chocolate Cake
adapted from Smitten Kitchen, et al.

1 cup Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (or regular stout)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder (or any unsweetened cocoa powder), plus extra for dusting pan
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (or just chopped from a bar), or semisweet chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan really well, then butter it again. Seriously, can't be enough butter here...this cake does not like to let go :). Dust the inside of the pan with some cocoa powder too.

Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Let cool somewhat, or you'll end up with scrambled eggs in the next step :)

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. (I suggest adding about a third of the stout mixture first, to temper the eggs - then add the rest). Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 - 40 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.

Ganache:

For the ganache, melt the chocolate and heavy cream in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle / spread over the top of cooled cake.

Facebook Foodie Freakout 3

2011-10-23T15:59:00.005-04:00

Bloody Screwball

As I write this, I'm of course watching football (hello, Sunday !) and the Google Chrome ad just came on...the one with the guy writing emails to his daughter. The catch line of the ad is "the internet is what you make it"...and that perfectly sums up how I am feeling this afternoon.

I've been fortunate enough to hook up with a truly awesome group of people via Facebook...well, more than one group actually. The group I'm talking about today, though, are my foodie friends. It's a not-uncommon story for Facebook - you and your friends are commenting on each other's posts, and you end up in discussions with like-minded friends of your friends. Well, of course, in my case, most of those posts are about food...one thing leads to another, and you end up with a bunch of crazy (in the best way) foodies trying to out-cook each other. Fun people who get overly excited about food...people that can wax poetic about everything from corn smut to the best uses of lard. In short, my kind of people :) .

The best thing about this group - aside from the people all being wonderful - is that we all get so excited about each other's dishes. We all ate so much that even after a few laps around the block, we all ended up laying about on couches like Romans of old.

Feast your eyes upon this menu, and you'll see what I mean...

Smoked Shrimp and Oysters with Cajun Remoulade
Eggplant Dip with Crackers
Goat Cheese
Hangar 18 Focaccia (or, as I called it, Alien Flatbread - flatbread with salmon and capers)
(mind you, this was all before dinner, hanging out in the kitchen!)

Steamed Mussels in a wine/garlic broth
Artichokes Remoulade
Couscous Salad
Hand Loaf (a hand-shaped bison meatloaf with Scotch Bonnet mashed potatoes. As in shaped like a hand.)
Sole Farcie (stuffed with crab, scallops and shrimp)
Pasta with tuna, roasted eggplant, mushrooms, black olives, onions, tomatoes...and other things I can't remember
Vegetable Risotto
Beef and Oyster Pie with Guinness

Cranberry Sorbet
Maple Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream
Blueberry-White Chocolate Bread Pudding
Irish Knot Truffles

and of course, the drinks...Bloody Screwballs (blood orange martinis with gummy eyeball ice cubes), Apple Pie in the Sky (cider with spiced rum, cinnamon schnapps, and whiskey), various beers including a surprisingly good one with jalapenos, and of course wine....good lord, I'm surprised I'm even conscious today !

Most of our contributions were dishes we have already blogged about - recipe links are below the pictures. I am including a recipe for the Apple Pie drinks, as well as an updated Cajun Remoulade (I'm always tweaking that one). As for my friend's dishes...well, I'm hoping to get those recipes at some point, but I'll let them write about the dishes themselves :)

Hangar 18 Focaccia (Alien Flatbread)

Smoked Shrimp and Oysters

Cajun Remoulade

Artichokes Remoulade

Hand Loaf

Vegetable Risotto

Pasta with Tuna

Beef and Oyster Pie
http://culinaryorgasm-karen.blogspot.com/2011/08/beef-and-oyster-pie-with-guinness.html

Blueberry-White Chocolate Bread Pudding, crockpot version
http://culinaryorgasm-karen.blogspot.com/2011/04/variations-on-two-themes-blueberry.html

Maple Pumpkin Pie
http://culinaryorgasm-karen.blogspot.com/2010/11/maple-pumpkin-pie.html
(Spiced Whipped Cream : http://culinaryorgasm-karen.blogspot.com/2010/10/pumpkin-maple-sundaes-with-spiced.html )

Irish Knot Truffles
(http://culinaryorgasm-karen.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-baking.html)

Apple Pie in the Sky

Ah, Apple Pie in the Sky...so named because you'll be sky-high after drinking one :). Inspired by a similar drink at the West End Pub in Shelburne Falls...but without the 7Up, and with the addition of one of my most beloved spirits, The Knot. What is the Knot ?

Well, it's usually found with the whiskey, though it doesn't actually say "whiskey" on the bottle. There's definitely whiskey involved, but it's also sweet and smooth and caramel-like. "Whiskey Liqueur" is probably the best description...along with "mmm", "oh yeah baby", and "omg YUM !!". Delicious enough just in a glass by itself, it also makes the best Irish Coffee, Truffles (see above)...and mixed drinks. To wit, Exhibit A :

Apple Pie in the Sky

4 oz apple cider
2 oz Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
2 oz The Knot
1 oz cinnamon schnapps

Mix and serve over ice - makes one good-sized drink, as shown.

Cajun Remoulade (update)

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle powder (or more to taste if you like it spicy)
2 scallions, minced

Whisk everything but the scallions together well. Stir in scallions, and serve.

Wellfleet OysterFest

2011-10-19T21:39:00.005-04:00

a real Wellfleet Oyster....oh yeah baby

4:30 AM on a Saturday, and there's really no good reason at all for me to be awake...save one : oysters.

We've been trying to go to the Wellfleet OysterFest ever since we heard about it, but somehow had never quite gotten it together...user calendar error, cousins getting married....insidious plots to keep us away. The word "OYSTERS" has been scrawled on October 15th in the 2011 calendar hanging in my kitchen since, I think, when the calendar was hung in January...and finally, finally, we've made it to October. And oysters !

shucking off

From the website : "The annual Wellfleet OysterFest is a two-day celebration of the town’s famous oysters and its deep-rooted shellfishing traditions. Wellfleet’s town center comes alive for this street party that brings together locals and visitors alike for a weekend full of food, art, music, fun and games.". And a street party it was...exactly as billed : a super fun event involving lots of lovely, lovely oysters.

Wellfleet is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Boston, and we didn't plan to stay over - hence the early start time. We were hoping to make a 9 AM lecture, but left a little late...and the parking is at the town docks, which is a little way from the town center - so by the time we parked and walked up to the town we didn't quite make the early lecture. Still, it was a lovely walk :

This actually turned out to be a wise use of our time, as we were able to check out all the booths without the insane crowds. And by "insane", I mean so many people so close to me that I felt like I needed a cigarette and a shower afterwards - and I don't even even smoke. But that was later, and we were the early birds who got the worms - or in our case, the Bloody Marys and Lobster Bruschetta at Winslow's Tavern :

even the heavens approve...

O...M...G

The sign said "World Famous Bloody Marys", and after trying one I can see why...deliciously thick and spicy, with a touch of lemon...nice kick...simply perfect. And the bruschetta was heavenly....lobster with just enough mayo to hold it together over deliciously grilled bread.

After such a satisfying breakfast, we were ready to check out more booths - and to start on some platters of seriously good oysters. After all, we needed to fortify ourselves for a cooking demonstration...because who could possibly resist meeting someone who wrote a book called "For Cod And Country" ? Behold, Barton Seaver :

terrible picture of a really good looking guy

The demo - really, more of an informative talk - was absolutely fascinating, and well worth the trip on its own. Barton Seaver is a chef and restaurant owner who now works with National Geographic and is focused on promoting sustainability, particularly in regards to seafood. Before my skeptical readers start rolling their eyes, let me tell you : this guy makes a lot of sense, and his ideas are definitely worth looking at. His focus is on the fishermen and women as much as the fish itself, and his way of looking at everything just makes sense - don't stop eating a particular sort of fish, but figure out a responsible way to do it that encourages the preservation of the species. (Not to mention the guy sounds like he could write for this blog...any more talk of glistening, quivering, pulsating oysters and their salty, briny, luscious sweetness sliding across the tongue and we'd have to be talking cigarettes and showers again). And the cooking...he prepared some oyster shooters that we could only sniff and not taste (stupid Massachusetts blue laws) but which smelled amazing, and he also prepared samples of what he called a "Bordeaux Vineyard Lunch" that consisted of cold raw oysters with slices of hot sausage, topped with a radish-cilantro relish that was out of this world. And, of course, we bought the book :)

After the demo and one more round of oysters, we were ready to hit the road. Well, actually, we could have stayed all day...but I'm really not exaggerating the size of that crowd. I'm not shy or squeamish by any means, but being in a crowd like that really just doesn't interest me at all. You can't see or get to anything - and who wants that...heck, I can get that on the T ! So, sadly, we said goodbye to OysterFest for this year.

But that doesn't mean our day of Cape fun was quite done...

Cape Cod Highland Light, Truro

frolicking seals !

We decided to drive up to Provincetown, as my chief co-contributor had never been. First, though, a quick stop at the Cape Cod Highland Light. Beautiful spot, even with the punishing wind...and seals ! Happy seals swimming about at the foot of the cliffs, what a wonderful sight. A quick drive through P-town (we didn't stop, so no pictures there - though we did get sand and salt blasted, which was quite a trip). Definitely going to plan another trip there !

Driving back through Wellfleet, we were actually hungry again (platters of oysters are amazing, but not terribly filling) - but craving something like burgers and beer, of all things. We tried stopping at a place called Van Rensselaer's, but they weren't open for the evening quite yet...so they directed us to their sister restaurant two doors down, Catch of the Day. At first glance, we weren't overly impressed...the place looked like an overgrown pizza parlor, the restrooms were outside and through the back door, and we weren't even sure there was beer. But then we sat down and perused the beer list (Hallelujah !), and saw huge bowls of Wellfleet Fisherman's Stew go by...and we were sold :

hooray, beer !!

Crab cakes with cilantro-lime aioli...YES

Wellfleet Fisherman's Stew

First off, Whales Tale Pale Ale is absolutely delicious, and you should drink some at the first opportunity :)

The crab cakes were fairly standard, though the fact that they were deep-fried was a nice touch - crab cake inside a crispy shell, great idea. The aioli, though, was fantastic - the real winner of the dish. Bright, light, and full of flavor...oh yeah, we are going to deconstruct that one for home brewing.

And then, the stew. Mussels, littlenecks, squid, shrimp, red potatoes, roasted corn, tomatoes and chorizo in a spicy saffron seafood broth. Sounds like a somewhat standard stew of the bouillabaisse variety...but words cannot express how amazing this stew actually was. The clams were so huge and meaty that you actually had to cut them to eat them politely. The squid was perfectly cooked (not that easy to find), and the roasted corn was a revelation - even my non-corn-loving co-conspirator absolutely loved it.

Man, that was a long ride back to Boston...but what a perfect day.

Fondue with Truffles and Brie

2011-10-16T19:57:00.001-04:00

It's been a busy food week here at CO HQ. Had a fantastic dinner at Fiorella's - their recent renovation has added just enough space so you can breathe (and a gorgeous bar besides), but not so much that you feel overwhelmed - it still has that neighborhood joint feel. They also have some new dishes (peppers stuffed with DePasquale sausage...omgwtf good) that definitely should be checked out. And yesterday, we went to the Wellfleet OysterFest, which was so amazing that it definitely deserves an entry of its own. But first...the fondue.

We had a run of rainy days last week, and by Friday I was craving something soothing and warming...and for some reason, that translated to the Brie and Black Truffle Fondue with Truffle Oil from Sprigs . I know I rave about this dish all the time, but it is seriously that good - luscious and moan-worthy, the very definition of Culinary Orgasm. Having just come off the Fiorella's dinner Thursday and needing to turn in early to get an early start at Oysterfest pretty much negated a Sprigs trip (though I do love it so), so it was time to make my first fondue. Sadly, I don't tend to keep black truffles around (I do have a budget, you know !), but I do know where to get a fantastic truffled cheese (Sottocenere al Tartufo at Russo's, though Trader Joes makes a great bargain alternative with their Italian Truffle Cheese). And I do have a weakness for good truffle oil...which luckily is cheaper than actual truffles.

So it turns out fondue is actually fairly easy to make - I thought, being French and all, that there would be all sorts of complicated steps, involving fetching water from a moonlit spring while singing Edith Piaf . Luckily, it's not quite so complex :)

The first step is to rub the inside of your saucepan with garlic. Seems a bit of overkill - why not just throw it in ? Now having done it,, though, I can see why classic fondues are done that way - actual bits of garlic would be way too strong. Add some sort of liquid to your lovely essence of garlic, gently heat, and add your cornstarch-dusted cheesy goodness cubes. Get it all melted, gooey and delicious, add more flavoring if desired, and serve with your favorite dippables - cubes of good bread, slices of sausages, bits of Granny Smith apples, lightly steamed asparagus and/or broccoli, tiny boiled potatoes...the sky's the limit. Voilà - a perfect intimate dinner for two, or a fantastic appetizer to awaken the palate...definite Culinary Orgasm !

Fondue with Truffles and Brie

1 clove garlic, peeled
1 cup white wine
1/2 lb Brie, outer rind removed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 lb cheese with black truffles (Sottocenere al Tartufo , Trader Joe's Italian Truffle Cheese, or similar), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 pinch nutmeg
2 tablespoons truffle oil

Rub the inside of a heavy saucepan generously with the garlic clove, and discard. Add the wine to the pot and heat to a gentle simmer. Toss the cheese cubes with the cornstarch and add to the wine. Whisk mixture constantly until it is melted and smooth. Add nutmeg, remove from heat, and stir in the truffle oil. Transfer to fondue pot is using, and serve with your choice of dippables.

Suggested items for dipping :

Cubes of bread - French, sourdough, Pugliese...
Tiny whole boiled potatoes
Italian or garlic sausage, cooked and sliced
Slices of dry sausage (Abruzzese is wonderful !)
Granny Smith apple slices

Hubby's Hummus

2011-10-10T20:01:00.000-04:00

Hummus is one of those things that people either really, really like...or really, really dislike. I am definitely, happily in the first group...I absolutely love the stuff !

Hummus - or, more correctly, Hummus bi tahina (chickpeas with tahini) - for those who haven't made friends with it yet - is basically a dip or spread made with pureed cooked chickpeas (also known as garbanzos) tahini (sesame paste), olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. We're talking an ancient food here - hummus in some form has been eaten in the Middle East for thousands of years. as the chickpea was one of the earliest cultivated vegetables - 7,500 year old remains have been been found, which is mighty old indeed. (Hummus doesn't seem to hang in my house for 75 seconds though !). I'm not even sure what my first exposure to this delightful substance was...might have been the hippies renting upstairs from us when I was in second grade or so, or possibly from my mother's vegetarian friend who started my cookbook collection when I was 10. All I know is that it's damn good stuff - on pita triangles or veggies, spread on a sandwich, or just off the spoon. Well made hummus is truly a delight - and luckily, it's quite easy to make. At least, I think so now !!

The reason this post is titled "Hubby's" hummus is because hummus making is a skill that my husband brings to the table - I mean, I can make it and all, but he is really the master of this one. Way back in the old days when he was just a young not-quite-foodie, he used to work at a tiny restaurant in Downtown Boston called "Sarge's" (no longer there). Hummus was one of the items on the menu as a lunch plate (definitely not normal for the early 80's !), though the staff tended to refer to it as "camel puke"due to the consistency. He still raves about the fresh, fresh Syrian bread they used to get at the restaurant...he would go to pick it up when it was just coming out of the oven, all puffed up like pillows, quickly deflating to the familiar rounds. Good just plain, but even better with their hummus. Being such a huge hummus fan myself, I basically nagged him into making it for us. Turns out it goes great with beer and football, making it the perfect Sunday afternoon lunch around these parts.

I am giving the basic recipe here, but by all means you should add whatever you like to yours...we very often add a roasted red pepper (jarred will work fine, but roasting your own is fun too), or top it with a good black or green tapenade (olive spread).

Enjoy !!

Hummus

1 can chickpeas (large size - 29 oz) or two smaller cans (reserve liquid)
1/2 cup tahini (or more to taste)
juice of 1 large lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (to taste)
1/4 good olive oil

Place chickpeas in food processor and process until well chopped. Add rest of the ingredients and process until well combined, adding some liquid from the chickpeas until desired consistency is reached (should be creamy, but yet still somewhat grainy). Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Serve with pita bread, veggies (carrots / cucumbers / celery all work well), crackers...or whatever you like !

Braised Short Ribs with Gruyere-Leek Bread Pudding

2011-10-05T21:06:00.002-04:00

Late summer / early fall can sometimes be a bit challenging for foodies. Some days it's still so hot that you can't stand the idea of running your oven all day...but other days, the breeze starts to cool or the sky clouds over and the yen to stew something takes over. Such was the weather this past weekend - some clouds and rain, but temperatures still fairly warm...a sort of middle ground, no man's land.

Your intrepid blogger and her co-conspirator woke up Sunday and just could not decide what to cook...ideas were flying fast and furious, and nothing seemed to stick. All we knew for sure was that a) the Pats were the late afternoon game, and b) the bread fairy had struck the night before, when I came home to a bag full of delicious bakery bread and rolls tied to my front door. (The bread fairy - a.k.a my neighbor with a friend that owns a bakery - has been hanging out quite a bit these past months...good thing we're not avoiding carbs, or anything :) ). .

So there I was in the shower, when suddenly it hit me and I started yelling..."short ribs ! I want short ribs ! And bread pudding...with Gruyere and leeks, like the one at Sprigs ! ". (Yes, things like that are yelled in my shower quite often...welcome to my world.). A quick trip to the store, and we were ready to start cooking.

veggies for short rib braise

bread ready for pudding

The short rib recipe we based ours on was one from Food Network , which we basically really liked - the major tweaks were to swap in some shallots for onions, and some port for some of the red wine. Shallots and port both add such a lovely richness to any dish, and they definitely both make sweet, sweet love to short ribs. The only other tweak we would make would be to cut down the amount of tomato paste - there's really no need for an entire cup and a half, one cup would do very nicely.

veggies and paste reducing

browned and ready !

ribs nestled in goodness

As for the Gruyere-Leek Bread Pudding...I have been lusting after this ever since the first time I had it at Sprigs. I love, love, love leeks...serious love. Everything tastes better with leeks ! A little web surfing revealed that a lot of people were very fond of Thomas Keller's recipe - which did look promising, though I knew I definitely wanted Gruyere instead of Comté or Emmenthaler. (All of them are great cheeses, but Sprigs uses Gruyere...so I wanted Gruyere). Looking at the recipe, though...somehow, 1 cup of cheese and 2 cups of leeks were just not going to be enough for 12 cups of bread - especially on the leeks - they reduce quite a bit when cooked, and I definitely wanted the leeks to be a major component of the dish. So...I doubled the cheese and leeks. No guts no glory, right ? And it turns out I was right...this bread pudding was perfect, and definitely had the combination of flavors I was looking for - in the right proportions.

oooh yeah baby !

A little Rainbow Swiss Chard , and there it was....Sunday dinner, in time for the Pats game. (Well, there was plum cake too....but that will have to be another blog entry :) )

GAME ON !

Braised Short Ribs

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

6 bone-in short ribs (about 6 pounds)
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
8 - 10 shallots, peeled and halved
3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 carrots, peeled, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup tomato paste
2 1/2 cups hearty red wine
1/2 cup port
2 cups water
1 bunch fresh thyme
2 bay leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Season each short rib generously with salt. Coat a pot large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown very well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.

While the short ribs are browning, puree all the vegetables and garlic in the food processor until it forms a coarse paste. When the short ribs are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan. Drain the fat, coat the bottom of same pan with fresh oil and add the pureed vegetables. Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and a crud has formed on the bottom of the pan, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform. Scrape the crud again and add the tomato paste. Brown the tomato paste for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and port and scrape the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat if things start to burn. Reduce the mixture by half.

Return the short ribs to the pan and add 2 cups water or until the water has just about covered the meat. Add the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Check periodically during the cooking process and add more water, if needed. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes of cooking to let things get nice and brown and to let the sauce reduce. When done the meat should be very tender but not falling apart. Serve with the braising liquid.

Leek Bread Pudding
Adapted from “Ad Hoc at Home” by Thomas Keller (Artisan, 2009)

Time: 2 1/2 hours (1 hour for preparation and 1 1/2 hours for baking)

4 cups leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and rinsed
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper
12 cups 1-inch-bread cubes
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
3 large eggs
3 cups whole milk
3 cups heavy cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

Trim leeks, slice in half lengthwise, and rinse well. Place the leeks in a large bowl with water to cover to which you have added the cider vinegar. Soak for 15 minutes, then lift out of the water. Rinse again, and slice into 1 inch lengths.

Place a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, drain excess water from leeks, and add to pan. Season with salt, and sauté until leeks begin to soften, about 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in butter. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are very soft, about 30 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While leeks are cooking, spread bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake until dry and pale gold, about 20 minutes, turning pan about halfway through. Transfer to a large bowl, leaving the oven on.

Add leeks and thyme to the bowl of bread; toss well. In another large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, then whisk in milk, cream, a generous pinch of salt, pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg.

Sprinkle a little of the cheese in bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Spread 1/2 of bread mixture in pan, and sprinkle with half the remaining cheese. Spread remaining bread mixture in pan, and sprinkle with rest of cheese. Pour in milk mixture to cover bread, and gently press on bread so milk soaks in (some cubes will protrude, which is fine). Let rest 15 minutes.

Bake until pudding is set and top is brown and bubbling, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve hot.

Calzones !

2011-09-11T20:48:00.001-04:00

Turkey, Spinach and Smoked Gouda in back; Sausage with Mozzarella and Marinara up front

So there we were...first NFL Sunday of the year upon us, and some extra pizza dough in the fridge, (The dough was left over from a deep fryer adventure...I'll get around to blogging one of those someday !) . My usual goal is to get whatever I'm making started before kickoff, and I thought calzones would fit the bill very nicely. Of course, I didn't get my butt to the store and back in time to start these before kickoff...hey, it wasn't the Pats anyway :).

Calzones - the original Hot Pockets, as the crazy men who live here refer to them - are really wonderful little marvels of the kitchen. They are astoundingly easy to make (especially if someone buys pizza dough at the store, like with this batch; homemade dough is also pretty simple, if you're into it. Which I am :) ), they cook surprisingly quickly, and you can throw just about anything in the damn things. They hang out happily at parties and on buffet tables, they're great by themselves (veggie-filled ones need nothing else; meat ones play quite nicely with a simple salad for dinner), and they're even great left over.

I am giving you a basic recipe here, with three filling variations The half round one was made on a pizza stone, and the oblong ones were made on CushionAir pans - both worked very well, though a regular baking sheet would be just fine too.

Definitely have fun with this one, the sky's the limit !

dough ready to fill

Italian Cold Cuts and mozzarella

sausage, waiting for provolone

ready for the oven

Turkey, Spinach, Smoked Gouda

Italian

Basic Calzone

1 pound pizza dough (from supermarket, or your favorite recipe....enough for one pizza)
2 - 3 cups filling
beaten egg, for brushing
coarse cornmeal

Preheat oven to 400. Roll dough out - round or square, depending on your pan and your preference. Sprinkle pan with cornmeal, and place dough on pan. Cover half the surface with your chosen filling, fold over and pinch together to make a seal. Brush with egg. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool before slicing.

Turkey, Spinach and Gouda filling

1 lb turkey breast cutlets
1 T canola oil
1 lb spinach leaves, stems removed if large
salt and pepper
1/2 lb smoked Gouda, cut into small cubes

In large saute pan, heat 2 tsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Saute turkey about 5 minutes per side, until done. Remove turkey, add rest of oil to pan. Add spinach, lower heat and cover tightly. The spinach will have wilted in a few minutes. Remove from heat, and and add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Spread over prepared dough, seal, and bake as directed.

Sausage and Cheese filling

1 package (8) Italian sausages
1/2 lb provolone, sliced
1 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Prick sausages with fork and place on broiler pan. Bake for about 45 - 50 minutes. or until done. Let cool briefly, and slice

Spread marinara sauce over prepared dough. Spread sausages over sauce, and cover with cheese slices. Seal and bake as directed.

Italian Cold Cut filling

1 tsp olive oil
3/4 lb assorted Italian cold cuts (we used capicola, prosciutto, and a little pepperoni)
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese (grated or sliced)
sesame seeds, for sprinkling (optional)

Drizzle olive oil over prepared dough. Layer cold cuts, then cheese on dough, fold over and seal as directed. Sprinkle top with sesame seeds, if desired. Bake as directed.

Tortellini with Shrimp, Pesto, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

2011-09-04T18:54:00.002-04:00

I have to admit, Sandra Lee kind of cracks me up. I know there's a lot of foodies out there - both famous and not so much (including some good friends of mine :) ) - that love to diss her, since often what she's doing is basically throwing together packaged stuff and calling it cooking. And those "tablescape" things kill me - I mean, I like to show off my food too, but there's so much crap on the table that none of the damn food would fit !! On the other hand...she's always having so much fun. And you just know she mixes up a killer cocktail (all of her shows seem to include them) . I bet her parties actually kind of rock - and she'd definitely be the friend to go to when, say, you just got dumped by your boyfriend and you need a night of those self-indulgent foods that you know you love (we ALL have them), washed down with prodigious amounts of booze.

On the other hand...there actually are a lot of really excellent meals you can make that start with some already prepared items. It's a great way to get started when you're pressed for time, of course, but also if you're just starting to get into cooking, or if your skills are not quite where you'd like them to be yet and you want to make a dinner that's kind of impressive. This dish is exactly that - quick and easy (if you use prepared pesto and cooked shrimp), yet elegant and really, REALLY good. And when you're ready to take it to the next level, it's very easy to make your own pesto (recipe below, or use your favorite) and/or to simply saute raw shrimp in a little olive oil, salt and pepper until done. Just don't tell anyone if you use the prepared stuff...or a little voice in your kitchen might say "wow, Mom...that's kind of like the stuff that Semi-Homemade lady makes". Thanks, Alex :)

We first ate this dish many, many years ago at a place called Stromboli's, which is no longer there (actually, it was replaced by our favorite Italian restaurant, Fiorella's.). The components are so easy that we instantly came home and recreated it....and that first summer we had it, we were absolutely obsessed - I think we had it at least once a week. The dish works equally well as a hot pasta dish or a cold pasta salad, so there was plenty of opportunity...and as I recall someone was supplying us with plenty of fresh basil, so we were constantly making pesto and making this dish. I don't think I could even look at pesto for a few years afterwards, but man oh man, it was nice while it lasted.

I have made this many times since - both with prepared pesto and homemade - and while the homemade is better, making it with prepared pesto will still give you excellent results. Just use the best quality stuff you can find, and I promise you will love it !!

Tortellini with Shrimp, Pesto, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Serves 4 (really it does - very, very filling !)

20 oz package of fresh tri-color tortellini (or 2 9 oz bags, frozen )
1 lb cooked shrimp, tails removed
8.5 oz jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (chopped or whole, your preference), drained, oil reserved.
1 1/4 cup pesto (11 oz container of Buitoni works perfectly)

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and mix with other ingredients, drizzling in as much of the sun-dried tomato oil as you need or like.

Basic Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts
2 - 4 cloves garlic (to taste)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

In food processor, pulse basil, nuts and garlic until chopped. With processor running, drizzle in olive oil. Add cheese and process briefly to combine. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Beef and Oyster Pie with Guinness

2011-08-29T21:25:00.001-04:00

Okay, I know it's still summer and all. But we have been absolutely obsessed with this pie ever since we first tried one at the Skellig last winter. The Skellig is known for having the best fish and chips on Moody Street (actually, the best I've had anywhere - including the pier in Brighton, England. Yes, the Skellig's are that good). But this popped up as a special one night...and really, who can resist a pie with three of the most beloved foods ever...beef, oysters, and GUINNESS !! So we ordered it, and it was scrumptious, and we set about learning to make it. And this past weekend, with a hurricane looming and oysters in the pantry...pie it was.

This recipe is basically a variation of a Rick Stein one that Mark found online. Rick's called for fresh oysters, which we absolutely love and eat raw as often as we can get them. For whatever reason, we couldn't find enough decently priced fresh ones at Whole Foods the first time we made this, so we ended up using canned...which really worked perfectly in the pie. Just as well, as whenever an oyster gets opened around here it doesn't last long before someone just has to pop it in their mouth.

oysters !

The other major tweak Mark made was to use substitute shiitake mushrooms for half of the called-for button mushrooms. This is something I do in my risotto as well - the shiitakes are so rich, but the button mushrooms make such a nice contrast in texture. Use a total of 8 ounces of whatever your favorite mushrooms are (or what looks good that day), and you'll be in heaven.

A note on the Guinness...while regular Guinness would work fine, the Extra Stout really gives an amazing depth of flavor...rich, thick and luscious. If you can find it, definitely give it a try - well worth it !

Beef and Oyster Pie with Guinness
Rick Stein, as interpreted by Mark

6-8 Servings

2 lbs beef stew meat

2 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 ounces button mushrooms, trimmed

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms

4 - 6 shallots, sliced

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

10 fluid ounces Guinness Extra Stout

10 fluid ounces beef broth

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 8 oz can boiled oysters (not smoked)

1 lb puff pastry , defrosted if frozen

1 egg, beaten, for brushing

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Season the pieces of steak with salt and pepper, then toss with the flour and shake off but reserve the excess. Heat half the oil in a large saucepan and brown the meat in 2 batches until well colored on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Add another tbsp of the oil, half the butter and the mushrooms to the pan and fry briefly. Set aside with the beef. Add the rest of the oil and butter, the onions and sugar to the pan and fry over a medium-high heat for 20 minutes, until the onions are nicely browned. Stir in the reserved flour, then gradually add the Guinness and stock and bring to a boil, stirring.

Return the beef and mushrooms to the pan with the thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for 1½ hours, until the meat is just tender. Lift the meat, mushrooms and onions out of the liquid with a slotted spoon and put into a deep (2 pint) pie dish. Bring the liquid to a boil and boil rapidly until reduced to 1 pint. Remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme twigs, adjust the seasoning if necessary and pour into the pie dish. Stir everything together well and leave to cool completely

Preheat the oven to 400F. Add the oysters to the pie dish and push them well down into the sauce. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is 1in larger than the top of the pie dish. Lay the pastry over the pie dish, and press down to seal. Trim away the excess overhanging pastry and crimp the edges between your fingers to give it an attractive finish. Chill for 20 minutes to relax the pastry. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden and the filling is bubbling hot.

Maple Pumpkin Spice Donuts

2011-08-28T13:17:00.000-04:00

Internets, I think I have a problem. I am totally, completely, head-over-heels in love...so much so I can barely think about anything else. Every time I try to think about something else - like, say, when I'm lying in bed on a rainy morning with a hurricane swirling around outside - he sneaks into my thoughts, tempting me with his sweet, warm, seductive goodness.

Yes, I'm in love....with my donut pan :)

Seriously, this little item is one of the best inventions ever. I included my blueberry donut recipe in my blog about Maine , but I haven't written much else about how much fun I have with this pan. Traditional donuts are of course fried, and very tasty fried items they are too - love me a hot donut straight out of the fryer. (Okay, I love pretty much anything straight out of the fryer :) ). The donut pan is basically almost a sort of oddly shaped cupcake pan, with little posts in the middle of each depression.

my exact pan....from King Arthur Flour

Simply spray the pan with nonstick spray and fill with batter, and you'll shortly be enjoying all of the donut love with a fraction of the guilt. The donuts are dense - definitely of the old fashioned cakey type, not the yeast-risen Krispy Kreme type - and lend themselves to all sorts of flavor combinations. They bake fairly quickly...and nothing says love like a warm donut. Well, okay, not many things :)

The pans are available in a number of stores, but I happened to order mine from King Arthur Flour. They sell not only the pans but a variety of mixes that are actually pretty good - the chocolate one in particular is a knockout. However, you know us here at CO...gotta make it ourselves. Fortunately, there's lots of great recipes out there - including (I hope) this one.

The combination of maple and pumpkin is one of my very favorites (I make a killer maple pumpkin pie ), and I am lucky enough to live in New England where I have pretty good access to maple sugar. In a pinch, you could probably use light brown sugar and substitute a tablespoon of maple syrup for a tablespoon of the pumpkin - and definitely do the maple glaze instead of just dipping in sugar.

I should note that as compared to some other donut pan recipes, this batter is hella sticky - and they really don't smooth out as they bake and rise, so try and get the batter into the pan evenly if you want them level. A toothpick or a bamboo skewer work great for getting the batter around in the pan.

Enjoy !!

Maple Pumpkin Spice Donuts
makes 12 regular sized donuts*

2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 heaping tsp. nutmeg
2 heaping tsps. cinnamon
½ cup maple sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 Tbl. buttermilk
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Cream together the maple sugar, canned pumpkin, eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla extract until the butter is well incorporated. With your mixer on medium low speed, slowly add the dry sifted ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix until just barely combined. Be careful of over mixing.

Spray the donut pan with cooking spray and fill each donut mold halfway with the pumpkin batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes or until the exterior springs back when touched. Allow to cool completely.

Dip in maple sugar or cinnamon sugar while warm, or glaze with the following glaze when cool...both are awesome !

Maple Glaze

½ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbl. maple syrup
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg

Mix until smooth and creamy, but still liquid - adjust ingredients as needed. Dip the top of each cooled donut into the glaze, then set on rack to dry.

Glaze will set better on completely cool donuts - though I did some warm and they were still pretty good. Just don't do it when they are roaring hot, or your glaze will melt.

*for mini donuts - bake 8-10 minutes.

Goodnight Irene

2011-08-27T08:05:00.001-04:00

In honor of Miss Irene's visit, we are reposting a recipe from our last hurricane watch...Earl. Earl himself was quite the letdown, but the hurricane recipe is killer. A few of these and you won't care what's going on out your window.

History of the drink, from Wikipedia :

The creation of this passion fruit-colored relative of a Daquiri drink is credited to New Orleans tavern owner Pat O'Brien. In the 1940s, he needed to create a new drink to help him get rid of all of the less popular rum that local distributors forced him to buy before he could get a few cases of more popular liquors such as scotch and whiskey. He poured the concoction into hurricane-lamp-shaped glasses and gave it away to sailors. The drink caught on, and it has been a mainstay in the French Quarter ever since. It is more commonly served in a disposable plastic cup, as New Orleans laws permit drinking in public and leaving a bar with a drink, but prohibit public drinking from glass or metal containers

clearly, we are not in New Orleans :)

BRING IT, GIRL !!!

Hurricane

2 oz light rum
2 oz dark rum
2 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 tbsp simple syrup
1 tbsp grenadine

Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice

Maine 2011

2011-08-19T22:33:00.004-04:00

lobstah, buttah, what else do you need ?

Some good news, readers...I have FINALLY replaced my laptop !! Hopefully I can get back to blogging a little more regularly now...it's good to be back !! (Thank you Dad for Christmas in August, and Ma for a very generous birthday gift)

I have been asked so many times to "name my favorite meal". For a foodie, that question is nearly impossible to answer...like naming a favorite child. Perfect meals are as much about timing as ingredients...what you're craving at any moment, what is fresh and available and irresistible and OMG MUST HAVE NOW !! I've had caviar and champagne at the perfect moment, and a perfect tuna melt just when I needed it most. Both could easily be my "favorite":

However, when absolutely pinned down to name my all time favorite meal, there's only one answer I can really give : lobsters and clams on the back deck of our family place in Cushing, Maine. My ties to this magical spot run old and deep - much more than I want to get into in this blog, which is really all about the food...so, let's discuss.

clam digging

nice haul !

"Local" is a huge buzzword in food circles right now...well, this seafood is about as local as you can get. The clams were dug on our own very rocky beach...no clam hoes for this group; you go with your fingers so you can tell the difference between the clams and the rocks. 70 clams were brought back up to the house, with half being turned into fritters and half being simply steamed...we can never decide which is better, so we always go with both.

fritters a'fritterin'

clam fritter with Cajun Remoulade

the best steamers on earth

As for the lobsters, 30 of the buggers were procured from a local lobsterman...but no sooner did they get to the house then my cousin Tom showed up with 70 or so tails. That is a hell of a lot of lobster, even for me...but hey, we're talking my favorite food here. None of this was going to go to waste !! We cooked every single one of them, turned some of the tail meat into my famous Lobster Mac + Cheese, everyone ate their fill of lobster in the shell, and we still had enough for everyone to take some home and make copious amounts of lobster salad. (Can't really give you a recipe for that...basically cooked lobster, just enough Hellman's to hold it together, and a TINY tiny dash of either Tabasco, cayenne pepper, or [my favorite] chipotle powder - not for heat, just to perk up the mayo) . Lobster lobster everywhere..

raw tails...

and cooked ones

lobster mac + cheese

my lovely sister

and brother-in-law

lobster rolls !

I'll leave you here with pictures of my other cooking in Maine...namely, blueberry donuts. I am in love with my donut pan...it really works like a charm : delicious baked donuts in the time it would take you to go stand in line at Dunkin's on a Sunday...and better for you by far ! Recipe follows.I so wish it was time to go back to Maine...

Blueberry Donuts
Makes 12

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup dried blueberries

cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling (mix cinnamon into sugar to taste)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a doughnut pan, or spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir in buttermilk and oil. Beat together until well blended, then stir in blueberries.

Fill each doughnut cup approximately 3/4 full. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar while warm.

Brown Butter and Candied Pecan Ice Cream

2011-08-09T23:08:00.000-04:00

butter and ice cream and pecans, oh my !

Last Friday was my son's 19th birthday. I'm pleased to report that the boy is shaping up to be just as much of a foodie as his parents are...this kid has pretty much always been a joy to feed. I know were lucky in that respect...tough growing up around here if you're not much of an eater : )

For his birthday, we decided to take him to Sprigs . We absolutely love Sprigs - it's one of our favorite places on earth, and we've never had a bad meal there. Somehow, though, the silly child has never managed to be around when a trip to Sprigs was on the calendar. He's always wanted to try it, though, so off to Acton we went - and another fantastic meal was had by all. And even though we were stuffed to the gills, you can't have a birthday without dessert. And that brings us to Brown Butter Ice Cream...which I have been obsessed with since Friday.

happily browning away

Brown butter in and of itself is magic elixir. Plain unsalted butter is melted in a saucepan and slowly, slowly cooked until small toasty brown bits appear and your whole kitchen smells like butter and nuts and toast and all things delicious. It's used for all sorts of things - you can throw in herbs (especially sage) and serve it over vegetables or pasta; you can add a sprinkle of pecans, toast them up, then throw in cooked rice for an amazing side dish, and you can use it add the most incredible flavor to baked goods and pastries. Sprigs, however, uses it to make the most amazing ice cream I have ever encountered. And once I had it, I knew I had to find out how to make it.

It just so happens that last Christmas, Santa brought me an ice cream maker attachment for my beloved Kitchen-Aid mixer. I'm still trying to figure out the hang of this thing...for some reason every batch I make overflows. We've had a lot of fun learning, though...and thankfully, I have acquired enough skillz that I was able to do justice to this amazing concoction. I found the basic recipe here , but of course tweaked it and added a few things. Because that's how I roll :)

A word on the brown butter...you absolutely have to keep an eye on it. If you go past "brown" to "black", throw it out and start over. No coming back from that one. I also think a little bourbon would go swimmingly in this...you will definitely need to freeze for a few hours before serving if you add the booze as it won't totally freeze in the ice cream maker. Worth it though, I think !

Brown Butter Ice Cream with Candied Pecans

8 Tbs butter
2 cups cream
1 cup milk
6 yolks
1 cup light brown sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs bourbon (optional)
1 cup candied pecans (store-bought, or use my glazed pecans - replace the chipotle with cinnamon and nutmeg)

In a pan, melt the butter and continue cooking it over low heat until the butter browns - you will see brown toasty bits and it will smell nutty. Immediately remove from heat and set aside.

In a larger pan, combine the cream and milk and scald (barely bring to a simmer, then take off heat). Stir in the vanilla (and bourbon if using)

In a mixer whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and salt until fluffy. Add the brown butter, a little bit at a time to the running mixer. When they are combined, add the milk a little at a time until the whole mixture is frothy and smooth and well combined.

Return mixture to the larger pan and put back on the stove over medium-low heat., and cook on low until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until completely cool or up to overnight.

Run the custard through an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions, stirring in the pecans at the end. (at least that's how the Kitchen-Aid works) It will come out of the Kitchen-Aid the consistency of soft-serve, but you can also just freeze until firm....if you can wait that long to eat it !

Fish Tacos with Tequila-Lime Aioli and Auntie Jojo's Black Bean Salad

2011-08-06T15:43:00.003-04:00

TACOS RULE !! *

I love fish. Growing up, whenever we ate out I almost always ordered fish...even as a kid at McDonald's, I was far more likely to be found with a Filet-O-Fish than I was with a Happy Meal. My little sister hated fish, so we never got to have it at home...so I ate it every chance I got. Even now, more often than not I tend to order fish when I go out. Old habits die hard, I guess - or I really do love fish that much !

I also love tacos. I remember tacos being the first meal I was ever allowed to cook in Maine, which was a huge deal (that was a house full of seriously good cooks, and the kids weren't really allowed in the kitchen). Tacos are not only tasty and fairly healthy (well, except the cheese and sour cream), but they are great for feeding kids (and picky grownups). Fun to build your own food, and you can just put in what you like. Kid friendly, grown-up foodie approved !

Given my affection for all things fish and taco related, it seems amazing that I had never sampled the delight that is the fish taco until last year. Somehow fish and taco were two words that never went together in my head...sort of like bacon and chocolate. (Which actually do go together. But I digress :) ). After seeing a coworker order some really fantastic-looking fish tacos at one of our favorite lunch spots, I decided to take the plunge. Oh, yeah. Spicy bits of fish, the cooling crunch of cabbage, the silkiness and tang of the cream...that's some Culinary Orgasm right there.

Fish tacos originated in Baja California , and are very popular on the West Coast - though they are definitely working their way on to a lot of menus here in the Northeast. There are two popular varieties - one in which the fish is battered, fried and crunchy, and one where the fish is spiced and grilled or quickly pan-seared. Though we're definitely not afraid of the deep fryer around these parts, I decided to go with the non-battered version...even here at CO HQ, we do try to eat healthy at least once in a while. Shredded cabbage, a sour cream or crema (basically Mexican sour cream), and some sort of salsa round out the basic construction. The version you see here is one of my usual mashups - I did a lot of reading and incorporated bits of different recipes as well as my own ideas. This one is basically a Bobby Flay / Alton Brown / Guy Fieri cover (the aioli is pretty much all Guy, and a brilliant idea). The only thing I really wish I had done differently is used a crunchy corn shell wrapped in a flour shell...I had them that way once, and it was by far the best presentation when using a non-battered fish component. (I did soft and soft, which was okay...but soft/hard would have been much better !) You can of course do just soft or just hard rather that doubling up - it's your party ! The doubling prevents the hard shell from disintegrating at first bite, which is my major problem with hard taco shells.

Black bean salad is a perfect accompaniment to tacos - my sister (the fish hating one) actually puts it in her tacos, which I have to admit is a pretty damn good idea. My much beloved sister-in-law who moved to Key West a few years ago sent us back this recipe, and it is truly a winner - easy to make, plenty of flavor, super cool and refreshing. Jojo specifies English cucumbers, which I do prefer myself - but the guys who live here are not fans of the English, so I use plain ol' American instead. I wish she would send herself back more often - I miss her all the time - but for now, I'll just eat this salad and think of her.

yummy fishes !

choose your weapon

Tequila-Lime Aioli

Black Bean Salad

* "Tacos Rule" is a Robot Chicken reference - see here or here . Yes, I know it's pretty dumb. So am I, sometimes :)

Fish Tacos

Fish :

1 1/2 lbs white flaky fish - tilapia or mahimahi work very well
2 T canola oil (plus extra for pan)
2 T tequila
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 clove garlic
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes :

Sour Cream or Tequila-Lime Aioli (recipe follows)
Prepared salsa of your choice
Shredded cabbage (I like the look and flavor of the red, but use whichever you like better)
Chopped red and green onions
Chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
8 - 10 hard taco shells, heated according to package directions
8 - 10 flour tortillas, heated

Tequila-Lime Aioli

8 oz sour cream OR crema OR Crème fraiche
juice and zest of 1 lime
2 T tequila
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
2 T cilantro

For fish - combine all ingredients except fish in blender, and blend well to make a marinade. Pour marinade over fish (large Ziploc works well) and marinate for 15 - 20 minutes. Heat a large pan (a griddle or grill pan works great) and brush with oil. Cook the fillets until just cooked through and opaque, about 4 minutes per side. Serve in taco shells wrapped in tortillas, and let everyone garnish accordingly.

Auntie Jojo's Black Bean Salad

1 large or 2 small cucumbers, peeled and chopped into cubes
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can kernel corn, drained and rinsed
1/2 c chopped red onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp cumin
juice of 2 limes (I throw a little of the zest in too)
chopped cilantro to taste

Mix all ingredients, and chill.

restaurant review - Robert's Maine Grill, Kittery, ME

2011-07-21T21:35:00.002-04:00

mmm...oysters !

This is a very delayed review...so delayed that we had to go back and eat here again in order to get it fresh in our minds. Ah, readers, the trouble I go through for you...

Robert's is an absolutely fantastic restaurant in a sort of unlikely location - smack in the middle of a bunch of outlet malls. The place is owned by the same people who own the infamous Bob's Clam Hut right across the street, which has been serving up delicious fried clams to Route 1 travelers for over fifty years. Robert's is a little more upscale, though - upscale, but still somehow really accessible-feeling. The decor is light wood, huge windows and a deck overlooking the lovely Spruce Creek, and they also have a really interesting art collection on the walls - some of which is available for purchase. The energy of the place is just fantastic - friendly and welcoming, and the menu is what I'd call updated, modern Maine - interesting enough to keep a foodie like me coming back, but with a recognizable enough menu that you could bring your elderly great-aunt who only goes out once a year to the place and she'd love it.

We first encountered Robert's while driving back from a trip to York Beach. Tired, hungry, and a little sunburned, we thought it looked like a nice spot to stop for a quick lunch and a cold drink. That's where they got me, though...because there was Maine Lemonade. Oh, that lemonade. Cold River Blueberry Vodka, lemonade, and fresh blueberries. Summer perfection in a glass, and how I got started on my own Blueberry Vodka Lemonade kick. I'm not sure what came after that, but I seem to recall oysters. And sleeping on the way home.

Our next trip to Robert's was when we were in the area for a fall wedding...and I meant to blog it, I really did. But then my laptop died and I got busy and fall turned into winter and I insisted that I couldn't really remember the meal well enough so I just HAD to go back (but actually that's a white lie - there were oysters and bruschetta and crab cakes and delicious kale soup and a lot of beer and, well, you see where this is going). But I got my way, and we went back this past weekend, and here we are.

So, let's talk about oysters. No, actually, first let's talk about pub cheese :

This is what Robert's presents you with as you sit down...I call it "pub cheese", because that's the closest approximation my brain can make. It's mildly spicy with bits of olives and I think roasted peppers...and it's absolutely delicious. Perfect, of course, with a Maine Lemonade :).

Okay, NOW the oysters :

Robert's selection of oysters changes all the time, depending on what they get in that day. We usually get a bakers dozen, with a mix of whatever appeals to us. On this particular trip, the Cape Cods were definitely the best (though they were all delicious) - plump, with a salty-sweet taste of the sea. The oysters are served with both a traditional cocktail sauce and a really nice mignonette (a sauce made with shallots, herbs and vinegar which is often paired with oysters). I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have the Pemaquids this time out, which are definitely my favorites - but really, any fresh raw oyster is a treat.

The other must-have appetizer at Robert's is the lobster bruschetta (which I don't have a great picture of, but you're getting it anyway ):

Roasted Roma tomatoes, basil, garlic, cheese and plenty of luscious lobster, served over grilled ciabatta and drizzled with a balsamic glaze. Seriously one of the best things ever done to lobster...you'll lick the plate and wish you had more. Yes, that good. Culinary Orgasm, indeed.

This particular trip I knew I wasn't hungry enough for a huge meal, so I stuck with a lobster roll :

This was actually old-school Maine perfect - a buttery grilled hot dog roll, a TON of lobster, and just enough mayonnaise to hold it together.

My dining companions chose fish and chips and a fried seafood platter, respectively. You can get an idea of what both meals looked like from the platter :

a SERIOUS platter of fried fishy goodness

This platter had not only the hugest onion rings I have ever seen in my life, but it also had sweet, juicy, delicious scallops with a kickass remoulade to dip everything in. My kind of fried, babies !

The only regret I have is that this trip really didn't showcase the inventiveness and originality of the menu - these are pretty run-of the mill choices, for us. Sometimes, though, that's exactly what you want.

In conclusion, if you find yourself in or near Kittery for any reason - get yourself to Robert's !

wedding bells and chocolate tarts

2011-07-17T21:01:00.005-04:00

the infamous Mexican Chocolate Tart with Chipotle-Glazed Pecans

Recently, one of our favorite neighbors of 20+ years went and did himself a crazy thing...done got himself hitched !!

Well, I'm kidding about the crazy part - his new wife is really an absolute sweetheart and we sincerely could not be happier for them. The event itself was a quickie City Hall jaunt, but the backyard party afterwards was epic...and we got to cook, which was even better !! Unfortunately, I was too busy to photograph much, but I've thrown a few in here just for the heck of it - see the end of the blog. I've also included the recipe for my Mexican Chocolate Tart with Chipotle-Glazed Pecans. This tart is epic as well - truly a Culinary Orgasm. Don't let the paring of sweet chocolate and spicy chipotle powder scare you off. It's not burning hot, nothing like that at all...the spice just wakes up your taste buds so you can appreciate the chocolate that much more. Try and use the best chocolate you can get for this...there's not a lot else in it, and if you use cheap chocolate you'll definitely regret it. I use a mixture of high-quality bittersweet and semisweet, but you can use 4 oz of one instead of 2 and 2 if you'd rather...if you like things a bit sweeter go with straight semi; for super dark go with bitter.

Mexican Chocolate is a unique product, and is worth the search for not only this tart but for delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate. It comes in disks with score marks (so you can break it apart and add it to your mug of hot milk), has a rough, grainy texture, and is usually lightly spiced with cinnamon. The real deal is is absolutely essential in this tart. Taza is a locally made version which is fantastic (available at Whole Foods, Russo's, and other foodie haunts - I use the cinnamon version which is the traditional Mexican, though one of these days I may experiment with the other flavors.) Ibarra is much easier to find and will work as well, and my local Stop + Shop carries a Nestle version called Abuelita which looks a lot like the Ibarra and will certainly do the trick.

Oh, and beware the pecans...easy to make and definitely worth the time as they are seriously, seriously addictive.

The menu (links go to the blog entries with recipes :

Smoked Shrimp with Cajun Remoulade
Frijoles Borrachos with Pepperjack Cornbread
Jamaican Jerk Chicken (wings, this time)
Steak Tips
Grilled Vegetables (on skewers)

Mexican Chocolate Tart with Chipotle Glazed Pecans

Crust
1 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (about half of one 9-ounce package cookies, finely ground in processor)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 disk Mexican chocolate (Taza preferred), chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
chipotle powder, to taste (start with 1/8 tsp)

Chipotle Glazed Pecans (see below)

Lightly sweetened whipped cream

For crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Add melted butter; process until crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom, to within 1/8 inch of top. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Cool on rack.

For filling:

Bring cream to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolates; whisk until melted. Add butter, 1 piece at a time; whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, cinnamon, salt and chipotle powder (enough so that you can taste it, but not so much as to make it spicy hot.) Pour filling into crust. Chill until filling begins to set, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Arrange nuts in concentric circles atop tart. Chill until set, about 4 hours. Serve tart with whipped cream.

Chipotle Glazed Pecans

1 egg white
2 tablespoons champagne or ginger ale
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 250 F. Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk egg white, add champagne (or ginger ale), salt, cinnamon, chipotle, sugar and pecan halves.Fold this together until the nuts are evenly coated.

Spread the mixture out onto the pan, single layer. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 1/2 hours until the coating is absorbed and the pecans appear dry, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

When they are cooled store at room temperature in an airtight container. This will make more than you need...not a problem as they are great on their own !

chocolate, ready for chopping

the blushing bride

love the sleeves..

Jerk Chicken

veggies

German in the summer - Oma's Potato Salad, Cucumber Salad, and SAUSAGE !! (Karl's)

2011-07-05T19:43:00.000-04:00

mmm....potatoes...bacon...mmm.....

In my post about macaroni salad , I mentioned that my experiences with picnic summer staples (macaroni and potato salads) were somewhat out of the norm. Here, at last, is the potato salad. Well, almost here...I have to tell you about the sausages first !

Stepping into Karl's Sausage Kitchen is kind of like stepping into my Oma's kitchen - well, Oma's kitchen combined with the smell of every kind of sausage you can imagine, and a few you've probably never thought of. They stock all sorts of German and European groceries (the chocolates alone are worth the trip), the selection of cold cuts and cheeses is astounding, and they make the most amazing, amazing sausages right on the premises. So many of my favorite tastes of childhood are there -Weisswurst, Thüringer Rostbratwurst, Nürnberger Rostbratwurst, Mettwurst...and those are just a very few of the tons of German ones; they branch out into other cultures too. Kielbasa, Andouille, Chorizo, Italian... anyway, if you ever find yourself anywhere near Saugus on Route 1, go - it is so worth the trip ! And, since I did just that this past weekend...

Top to bottom : Italian Sausage, Thuringer Rostbratwurst, Nürnberger Rostbratwurst

Since we were mostly doing German sausage, we went with German side dishes...which brings us back to Oma's Potato Salad. Traditional German potato salad has a dressing made of vinegar and bacon fat, seasoned with a bit of sugar along with salt, pepper, and other herbs. It also usually has the bacon crumbled back in, though truth be told I don't remember the actual pieces of bacon in Oma's...she probably just used bacon fat she had saved, though I suppose the grownups might have hogged all the actual bacon :). Typically it is served at room temperature or slightly warm, which may not sound summery but is actually perfect for picnics and cookouts - you don't have to worry about the mayonnaise spoiling.

The third German dish in our trifecta here is the Cucumber Salad. This is another dish I grew up eating all the time, and I was pleased to discover as an adult that it was ridiculously easy to make. This same dressing works well on leftover cooked green beans, though you can't really use buttered ones - very unappetizing when cold. Whatever you use, marinate it all day if you can...but not for days on end; you're going for salad, not pickles.

As they say in Germany...Guten Essen !!

Oma's Potato Salad
4 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 T water
2 T sugar
1 t salt
1/4 c vinegar
2 t fresh thyme leaves, stripped off stems
salt & pepper to taste
4 c cooked potatoes - I use baby white potatoes, boiled whole in skins & sliced
1T chopped fresh parsley

Fry up bacon in a large skillet. Remove and cook onion in bacon fat until transparent. Add rest of ingredients except potatoes and parsley. Heat to boiling, turn off, add potatoes and parsley. Stir gently to coat potatoes.

Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers, sliced
1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 c water
1/2 t white pepper (or more to taste)
1/2 t salt
1 t dried dill
Fresh dill or parsley, for serving. Combine vinegar, water, pepper, salt, and dried dill. Pour over cucumbers in bowl or Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours is possible, and sprinkle fresh herbs over right before serving.

Blueberry Corn Muffins

2011-07-03T17:03:00.003-04:00

juicy berries, sweet corn, dripping with butter...you know you want it !

Oh my heck, what a month. Every 18 months, my day job goes absolutely haywire for a month...and even though I know it's coming, it still kicks the @%&* out of me. 12 - 14 hour days are just bad for me on a lot of levels, not the least of which is that I barely remember to eat - let alone get my food porn on. Thankfully, I'm about at the end for now...and I am craving me some Culinary Orgasm, that's for sure !

We did cook a few memorable meals in the last month - fresh-caught striped bass with escarole and stuffed squid stand out - and I plan to try and blog them if at all possible, as they really were amazing. Worst case scenario is that we may need to make them again to remember what we did...oh, the agony. (Kidding !). For now, though, let's start out with the muffins I made for breakfast this morning. I've been making these for my family for years....the way in which they came about, though, is typical me - see a cool recipe and mess with it. And, in this case, throw in an accidental ingredient. Yup, typical :).

The first place I saw Blueberry Corn Muffins was years ago in one of my favorite cookbooks - The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook . Sort of a head-smacking moment, actually...I love blueberry muffins , and I love corn muffins - but I'd never thought about combining them. "Can you really do that ? " I thought...and set out to buy the ingredients. Next morning, I discovered one tiny problem...I had purchased white cornmeal instead of yellow. Didn't even know there was such a thing - but there was no turning back now, I was committed to my path. I mixed up the muffins, popped them in, and crossed my fingers.

And ended up with one of the most delicious things I've ever made - and that is saying something !

White cornmeal is somewhat less gritty than yellow, and makes a lighter muffin - which turns out to be really, really perfect with blueberries. You still get that lovely sweet corn taste, with incredible texture - but none of it overpowers the blueberries. It's really like getting two great muffins in one. I also found out later that white cornmeal is actually preferred for cornbread in much of the South. I still make my cornbread with yellow cornmeal - I guess I'm too much of a Yankee to change that much - but I do keep white cornmeal on hand for making these glorious, perfect muffins.

who doesn't love a pan of giant muffins ?

Although I got the idea from Silver Palate, the batter I use for these muffins is pretty much the same way I make my cornbread - I just use white cornmeal instead of yellow, and I double the sugar since my cornbread isn't overly sweet. (If yellow's what you have...along with a hankering for muffins...go for it; they'll still be tasty and delicious - just ask the Silver Palate. In a pinch, adding blueberries to a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix also works surprisingly well.) I also tend to use a lot of dried blueberries in my baking - they rehydrate just enough in the batter to give you that sweet juicy blueberry taste, and they are very easy to keep on hand. (Frozen blueberries tend to turn the batter purple, and fresh wild are hard to find except in August). There are two additional items from King Arthur Flour that are not essential, but add a lot of fun to my muffin making adventures - silicone baking cups (reusable - and I have never had anything stick to these things !) and sparkling white sugar (gives your home baking a really cool, professional look and is oh-so-tasty besides...stays pretty and crunchy [but not too hard] throughout the baking process).

check out that easy release....sweet !

muffin-y goodness

Blueberry Corn Muffins

Makes 12 standard or 6 jumbo (as pictured here) muffins

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil
1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups fresh OR 1 cup dried blueberries

Heat oven to 400. Mix dry ingredients, then stir in wet ones and combine just until moist. Add blueberries last.

Line muffin tins with paper or silicone liners, or grease or spray tins liberally with cooking spray. Distribute batter evenly between cups. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Panzanella

2011-06-12T17:37:00.000-04:00

You gotta love those Italians. 1/4 of my heritage is Italian, but I think the only part I inherited was the cooking part. Well, that and the talking with my hands thing :). Anyway, the Italians have come up with one of the absolute best uses of stale bread ever - panzanella. Bread tossed with tomatoes, oil and vinegar is the base, but you can pretty much throw in anything that goes with bread and tomatoes - and really, what doesn't go with bread and tomatoes ? Have you seen what they throw on pizzas lately ?

A few weeks ago I ended up with half a loaf of Asiago bread that didn't get eaten, and I immediately threw it in the freezer with dreams of making Panzanella. An Asiago bagel that came in an assortment met the same fate.

what....it's bread !!

Panzanella has to be made with stale bread - not only stale, but bread that started out with plenty of substance. If you use something too soft, it will turn into mush...definitely not Culinary Orgasm. Bagels are really kind of perfect, as (properly made) they have plenty of chew to them. Really, though, whatever you have is great - as long as it's real bread. And if you don't have it, check the "day-old" rack at the store...they're sure to have something that will work.

What I'm giving you here is what I used in this batch - but feel free to experiment with this one. Many recipes use wine vinegar, but I use balsamic as I had plenty on hand (and I love it with these flavors). I got a great bunch of mixed olives at Russo's which included caperberries (the large berry of the caper plant, not to be confused with the tiny round "capers" which are the immature bud - the caperberries are much milder in flavor). I also threw in some fresh mozzarella - the best fresh mozzarella on earth, fior de latte from the Mozzarella House in Everett (also available at Russo's). Really, though, go with whatever you have...this is great, great summer food. All your food groups without using your stove...not wasting leftover bread...and absolutely delicious to boot. Culinary Orgasm, indeed !!

Panzanella

4 cups stale bread, cubed

4 cups tomatoes (I used 2 cups of yellow pear tomatoes, whole, and 2 cups of Campari tomatoes, halved)

1/2 small red onion, chopped fairly small

1 cup olives, your favorites or a mix

1/2 cup good olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella - whole if small balls, sliced if larger

Mix everything except the mozzarella in a large bowl, and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to meld the flavors. Add the fresh mozzarella right before serving.

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

2011-06-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

mmm....strawberries. Actually, I should be more specific...mmm, fresh native strawberries. I don't always get along with strawberry-flavored things (I've always been more of a blueberry girl) and the huge cultivated strawberries usually found in the market don't really do too much for me. But the real, local thing...oh yeah baby. Sweet and tart at the same time, with the most amazing fragrance - that's what we call a Culinary Orgasm. Growing up, if we got to Maine early enough in the summer the tiny wild strawberries would still be in season...tiny things, about the size of peas....but little explosions of flavor, the promise of summer on your tongue. Sadly, I don't get to Maine nearly enough these days, so I have to be patient and wait for the native strawberries to hit the farm stands around here. Not quite the same as wild, but still worlds apart from the flavorless behemoths you find in the markets the rest of the year. Not that I don't occasionally give in and buy some...ain't nothin' like the real thing, though.

EAT ME !!

Usually, I go with something like strawberry shortcake - or even just gobs of clotted cream - so as not to mess with the perfection of the berries. Whilst perusing my favorite blogs last week, though, I saw that Smitten Kitchen had baked up an absolutely divine-looking Strawberry Summer Cake - itself adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. That's some pretty damn good provenance, right there...so I knew I had to get in on that action. The cake as advertised was absolutely delicious - I don't think it lasted ten minutes, still warm from the oven and resplendent with freshly whipped cream. Me being me, though, I thought I could make it just the tiniest bit better...enter buttermilk. I tend to use buttermilk instead of regular milk in any quick bread / muffin / cake type of baking, as the magical alchemical reaction between buttermilk and baking powder gives you such a light, tender crumb that you'll quickly be a convert too. By all means, though, if you only have regular milk go ahead and use it here - the cake will still be amazingly delicious, I promise. The only other major tweak I've made here is the baking time - I find it takes much longer than originally written. Maybe it's my oven (though I have checked the temperature repeatedly)...but I'm going with my own timetable here anyway. Hey, it's my blog :)

Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Martha Stewart

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 quart strawberries, hulled and halved
Powdered sugar and freshly whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth. Pour into prepared pie plate. Layer strawberries over batter as closely as possible in a single layer (some will overlap, which is fine - the idea is to spread them out as much as you can) Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a toothpick in the cakey parts comes out free of wet batter, at least an hour more (really, an hour - it won't burn I promise !) Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and let cool in pan on a rack. Serve slightly warm, with whipped cream.

Cushing Pasta Salad (aka Macaroni, Tunafish and Peas) with Blueberry Vodka Lemonade

2011-05-30T14:29:00.000-04:00

summer pasta perfection...

surf's up !

Ah, summer. (Or just about, anyway !)

We start the summer foodie season with a post about a sometimes mundane item : Macaroni Salad . I have a very strained relationship with both macaroni and potato salads...for one thing, I can't eat store bought versions, no matter how hard I try, no matter how upscale the store. There's always some sort of off flavor that I can only describe as "bad refrigerator". I do, however, love most homemade versions of these summer staples. My personal theory with the mayonnaise-based versions is that they have to be mixed while the pasta and/or potatoes are both somewhat warm, then the whole thing has to be chilled. Takes longer, I know...but if that step is skipped the flavor is just not the same.

The versions of these salads I grew up with are both very different from the standard - but both very, very good. The potato salad we had as kids was German, from my mother's mother and grandmother...and German potato salad doesn't involve mayonnaise at all. (At some point, I'll cover Oma's Potato Salad in this blog - it deserves its own entry for sure ! ) The macaroni salad my dad's family made at the house in Maine as kids, though - macaroni, tunafish and peas, how I love you so. This was made in huge vats to feed the stream of hungry family members that were at the house all summer long. Breakfast, lunch or dinner...you could always count on a bowl waiting for you in the fridge. So simple, and so good...like so much Maine food, just perfect and something I've always aspired to be able to do. I think I have a pretty good version here (though we'll see what my Aunt Alice and Uncle Skip have to say ;) ) - at least, my friends and family seem to love it. And if it doesn't seem "foodie" enough for you, think of it almost like a veal tonnato - except mixed with pasta instead of veal, and peas taking the place of capers. Either way, it's some damn fine food.

I threw the Blueberry Vodka Lemonade in this post, because blueberries always make me think of Maine (my Sinclair cousins nicknamed me "Blueberry Eyes" because I ate so many of the damn things :) ). Rest assured, we were not allowed to drink anything like this in Cushing as kids - even once we discovered the "secret" liquor cabinet in the pantry... not that *I* ever knew anything about that !!

Macaroni, Tunafish and Peas

1 pound pasta (I used bow ties here - use your favorite; elbows or small shells work great too), cooked, drained and lightly rinsed (do not chill)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (use Hellmans or similar - not salad dressing aka Miracle Whip), or to taste
1 large (12 oz) can tuna, drained
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tblsp sweet pickle relish
1 15 oz can peas (tiny sweets are best), drained

While pasta is cooking, mix mayonnaise, tuna, mustard and relish in a large bowl. Drain the pasta well, and add to the mayonnaise mixture, stirring well to combine and adding more mayonnase if it seems to need it. Add the peas, and stir lightly to distribute. Chill until pasta is cold before serving.

Blueberry Vodka Lemonade

Deceptively good...do not attempt to drive after consuming, especially if you make them in keg cups as shown above ;)

Fill glass about 1/3 full with ice. Add blueberry vodka to cover ice and come about halfway up cup. Top off glass with a good prepared lemonade and a handful of fresh blueberries. Stir well before serving.

Wild Turkey Liver Pate with Caramelized Shallots and Smoked Mexican Sea Salt...a.k.a Chopped Liver

2011-05-15T16:29:00.002-04:00

Why ? Because it was there...

I am a very lucky girl, for a lot of reasons...

First, I am lucky enough to have grown up in (and still live in) a city with a large, thriving, and inclusive Jewish community. This Catholic girl had the honor of attending many a Shabbat meal and Passover Seder in her youth...it helped, probably, that I was insatiably curious (and very respectful) when it came to other religions. I wanted to know everything - why certain rituals were performed, why other things were forbidden, and most importantly what people ate and why. I grew up behind a kosher deli, and my first real job was at a kosher bakery (Diamond Bakery, how I miss you so...blueberry babka like you wouldn't believe !). I'm fairly fluent in Yiddish, I know the difference between, say, a minyan and a mitzvah, and most importantly, I know good bagels from bad (and there's barely any good ones to be found even here anymore, but that's a blog for a different day.)

Second, I'm also lucky enough to have married in to a family of serious sportsmen (as well as raising one myself), who keep me well stocked with all sorts of interesting items for my larder. They also like to eat, and are fairly tolerant with all of my experiments with their bounty...which is how I came to be in possession of a fresh wild turkey this week. And, to quote my idol Julia, I told them to "save the liver !"...because third and last (well, for this blog anyway) - I absolutely love liver. Thanks to my German heritage I grew up eating things like blood sausages and liverwurst (spread thickly on pumpernickel with a good mustard...still one of my favorite sandwiches ever).

All of this combined has led to a serious addiction...chopped liver. Back at the agency I worked at for most of the 90's I was unofficially adopted by three different bubbes - wonderful women, and seriously good cooks all. Passover was definitely the high point of the culinary year, because that's when they'd start bringing in the chopped liver. All of them wanted me to like theirs the best, and of course I told them all that theirs really was...more for me, that way. (And in case they're still reading, I won't tell you whose really was ;) ). One of my coworkers from the Midwest used to always call it "liver pate", which cracked me up...it's chopped liver ! The title of this post is a nod to her ;) . In any event, I picked up some great pointers from all three dear ladies, and combined with my own experience in the kitchen I think I've really come up with a winner here.

This recipe works with any kind of poultry liver (beef is too strong)...chicken, turkey, duck...whatever you have. And by all means, substitute regular salt for smoked, or onions for shallots...it will still be delicious. Just try it ! This is one of our favorite noshes...a true Culinary Orgasm.

Makes about a cup...easily doubled

Chopped Liver

1/2 lb livers (as fresh as possible)
1 egg, hard boiled
1 large shallot or 1/2 onion, chopped
6 tablespoons margarine, chicken fat (schmaltz), or unsalted butter (only use butter if you don't need it to be kosher)
1 tsp smoked sea salt (or kosher salt), or to taste
pinch of fresh ground pepper

In a small pan, melt half the margarine over medium-low heat. Add shallots, and cook over low heat until caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

Melt the rest of the margarine in the pan and add the livers. Saute over medium heat until livers are no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes or so.

Put the livers and the egg in a food processor, and pulse just until coarsely chopped (do not over process). Add the shallots, and pulse a few more times to distribute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crackers, toast points, or of course matzo :) .

Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Coconut Rice, and Aunt Ruth's Sauteed Squash

2011-05-04T20:21:00.010-04:00

mmm...chicken :)

I've been making Jamaican Jerk Chicken for almost 20 years now...since well before it was trendy. My method is a little odd - hey, back in the early 90's you couldn't exactly buy jerk seasoning at the corner store or anything, so cut me some slack :). Odd though my method might be (really, does that surprise anyone ? I think not !), it's an absolutely delicious way of cooking chicken...even boring old boneless skinless chicken breasts. Ive been known to walk around neighborhood block parties handing out skewers of this stuff to very happy neighbors. (At least, no one's egged my house yet or anything....)

First, a little background. The term "jerk" is thought to derive from the Spanish term charqui, which means dried meat. Jerk can refer to the method of cooking (traditionally, smoke cooking over charcoal) the spice blend used to season the meat, and/or the meat itself. Spices and smoking have both been used for centuries to preserve meat, and the original inhabitants of Jamaica (the Arawak Indians) developed a particularly tasty method of doing it...lucky for us !

Jerk seasoning mixes vary from cook to cook (as so many things do :) , but the two absolute musts are plenty of allspice and hot peppers. Scotch bonnet are the most traditional form of heat (and are seriously, seriously hot - handle with care !), but if you're feeding the not quite so daring (or the neighbors), jalapenos or serranos work very well. Take it from me, keep a package of disposable gloves in your kitchen, and use them every time you work with hot peppers...keep them on until you wash everything they come in contact with. Your eyeballs, privates, and significant other will thank you !

There are two main methods of spicing your jerk : dry rub, and wet marinade. My method is definitely of the wet variety...very wet. The original recipe I based this on came out of an old issue of Food &Wine, and called for a most unusual quick method of "setting" the marinade : pour the marinade over the chicken in a covered, microwave-safe dish, cook on High for 90 seconds, and let sit for 10 minutes. Believe it or not, this does actually work...though nowadays we prefer to just throw the whole works in a bag and let it get happy in the fridge for a few hours, sans zapping. The original also called for boiling the leftover marinade in the microwave for one minute to make the sauce (necessary whenever reusing marinade to make sure there's no bacteria), but I kind of like letting it boil on the stovetop for 5 instead - easier to correct the seasonings, etc. Either method works.

Rice is the perfect accompaniment to this dish - especially Coconut Rice, which really brings out the Caribbean flavors. Add something green, and you are ready to rock and roll...so let's get jerkin' !

the whole shebang

Jamaican Jerk Chicken
(adapted from Food + Wine)

1 medium onion, halved (or 2 shallots)
1 Scotch Bonnet pepper OR 1 or 2 serranos OR 1-4 jalapenos (depending on how much heat you want), seeds and ribs removed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tblsp brown sugar (I prefer dark here)
1 tblsp vegetable oil
2 tsp fresh ground allspice (if using pre-ground, up to a tablespoon or so)
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds), pounded to a uniform thickness

Combine the onion (or shallots), garlic and peppers in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped . Add everything else but the chicken, and process to a sort of coarse puree (like applesauce). Place marinade and chicken into a large ziplock bag or bowl, and let marinade in fridge a few hours. (Alternatively, you can use the "quick set" method above.)

Prepare your grill - using wood chips for delicious smokiness, if you have that option - or preheat your broiler if you are grill-less. Grill or broil the chicken on both sides until done - it takes about 5 minutes a side on a normal grill or broiler, more if you are smoke-cooking (anywhere from 30-60 minutes total, depending on how high the temperature is). While the chicken cooks, boil the remaining marinade for 5 minutes (or microwave, as above) to make a lovely sauce to serve with the chicken. And rice. And whatever else you'd like it on :)

shallots and peppers ready to whirl (jalapeno option)

all chopped up

completed marinade

Coconut Rice

I mentioned this dish in my entry about dishes with two ingredients , but here's the actual method I use. I also will often tweak it a bit by throwing in a handful of coconut flakes to up the flavor, depending on how coconutty I feel. This is the perfect, perfect rice to have with anything spicy.

1 cup uncooked rice (Jasmati or jasmine preferred)
1 can coconut milk (light or regular both work fine), plus water to equal 2 1/2 cups
pinch of salt
1/4 cup coconut flakes (optional)
2 chopped scallions for garnish (optional)

Combine everything except scallions in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir, then cover tightly and let simmer on lowest heat for 20 minutes. Take off heat, stir again, and let sit 5-10 minutes to absorb rest of liquid. Garnish with scallions.

Aunt Ruth's Sauteed Summer Squash

This dish is something my cousin Linda taught me to make many, many, MANY years ago...well before I was a semi-famous foodie :). She told me it was the way her mother always cooked it, and it's still one of the very best ways I know. Simple and soooo good.

2 smallish zucchini, sliced
2 yellow summer squashes, sliced
1/2 stick butter
your choice of green herb (I just used chopped fresh parsley this time, but be creative...basil, oregano, marjoram, a little tarragon, chives, dill...whatever you have around and/or are in the mood for !)

Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium - medium-low heat. Add squash in one layer, and add salt and pepper (and dried herbs if using). Let slowly cook and slightly brown on one side, then turn over and let cook on the other side until done to your liking. Add fresh herbs towards the end of cooking.

a bunch of smoke-cooked meat...just because :)

The Lady Killigrew Cafe at the Montague Book Mill

2011-04-30T16:04:00.002-04:00

The Bread Board - local version of a Ploughman's. Amazing local sourdough bread, stoneground mustard, kielbasa, cheddar and apple. OMGWTF awesome...

Peanut-Ginger Udon Noodles

Dupont Farmhouse Ale

Seriously, this place is absolutely amazing - you must go !! Room after room of used books, a music store, the cafe, and a restaurant I am dying to go back and try...will write a full review then. For now - just go !! :

http://www.montaguebookmill.com

Josephs II

2011-04-30T11:51:00.002-04:00

Eggs St. Christeen - poached eggs topped with Bernaise over country ham and croissants. Yum !!

"Berkshire" breakfast - apple crisp over French toast

Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake

2011-04-28T21:50:00.004-04:00

The cake we had at Easter was so spectacular, it deserves its own entry - so here it is !

We've had a version of this cake at various local restaurants...the restaurant version, I found later, is one made by Sysco, a supplier to the restaurant industry. Luckily, it turns out the cake is also pretty easy to make at home. Mark found a great version of it at a great blog called Let's Get Cooking . The recipe we used was here :

Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake

My one minor quibble - a recurring theme, this week - is that there was no recipe ingredient list. Mine is shown below, with a few minor tweaks. This is a great, great cake...and easy, I promise !

Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake

3 cups flour
1 and 2/3 cup sugar
Zest and juice of two lemons
6 tbsp of melted butter, plus one stick of butter at room temperature
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries…)
500g mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup half & half
6 tbsp powdered sugar, plus more for topping

Start by making the crumb topping. Combine one cup of the flour, 2/3 cup of the sugar, and half the lemon zest and juice, and the 6 tbsp of melted butter. Stir with a fork until crumbly.

Move on to the cake portion. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8″ cake pans (to make things even easier, you can fit a round of parchment paper into the pans as well…this is a pretty sticky cake ! I did it without, though…)

In a small bowl, sift together the remaining 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda.

In mixer bowl, cream the 1 stick of softened butter and the remainder of the lemon zest and juice. Add the remaining 1 cup sugar and mix well. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the dry ingredients and the sour cream, and beat until well combined.

Divide batter between prepared cake pans. Sprinkle one cup of berries over the top of each cake pan. Divide the crumb topping mixture evenly between the two pans and press down gently. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes, or until cake tester (or toothpick) inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cake cool completely in pans.

When you’re ready to assemble, prepare your filling. Beat together the mascarpone cheese, half & half, and powdered sugar. Place one cake layer on your serving plate, crumb side up, and spread all the filling on top. Top with second cake layer, crumb side up, and dust with powdered sugar.

Refrigerate the cake until the filling is firm, a few hours at least. Serve cold or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Easter Dinner, CO Style : Lamb with Mint Demiglace, Mushroom Risotto, Roasted Asparagus

2011-04-28T21:01:00.002-04:00

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This year's Easter dinner...was exactly the same as last year's Easter dinner. Luckily for you, readers, I didn't have this blog last Easter...so I get to tell you all about it now :). Besides, when your mother specifically requests her favorite meal...well, how can you say no to your Mom ?

The centerpiece of this meal is Lamb For Lovers - rack of lamb with the most amazing demiglace that, properly made, takes three days to make and is worth every single second. Day 1 is all in the crockpot, and Day 2 is mostly just reducing on the stove, so it's not really hands on for three days...you'll hardly know you're cooking, except the house smells absolutely amazing. The basic recipe can be found here :

Lamb for Lovers

The only change we make to the demiglace is to use lamb shanks instead of the trimmings, because the racks we get tend to be pretty well trimmed. This year we used a bone and trimmings from the leg of lamb we used in the tagine , which worked perfectly. The demiglace recipe made plenty for the five racks of lamb we cooked for dinner. Mark also mixes mustard powder and paprika in with the panko crumbs when he sears the lamb.

racks ready for the oven

soooo good !

Roasted Asparagus is really super simple - fresh asparagus tossed with olive oil, kosher or sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, roasted on a rimmed baking sheet in a 400 oven for 10 minutes or so, until done to your liking.

The Mushroom Risotto...now that is just the perfect third corner in this orgasmic triangle. Risotto is really a labor of love...anyone that tells you that you don't really need to stir it the whole time that it cooks just really doesn't get it. Stirring releases the starch from the surface of the rice grains, which - when slowly incorporated into the stock that you add bit by bit - creates the creamiest, most luxurious version of rice you've ever had - risotto does not typically contain cream, which surprises some first timers. Using the correct rice (one with the right shape and amount of starch) is also critical to a good risotto. Arborio makes a fine, fine risotto...but I prefer Carnaroli. It's a bit harder to find (really not an issue to the girl who goes to five stores looking for rabbit) , but so worth it...it has a higher starch content and better consistency than even the best Arborio. Definite Culinary Orgasm.

Mushroom Risotto

• 8 cups chicken broth (plus 1 more cup)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 2 -4 shallots, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced, divided

• 1 pound fresh mushrooms (portobello, crimini, white button, etc) sliced

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

• 2 – 4 tablespoons butter

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon truffle oil

• 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms, wiped of grit

• 2 cups carnaroli or arborio rice

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

• Garnish with fresh Italian parsley or chives or scallions…

Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms, herbs and butter. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until lightly browned, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle in truffle oil then add the dried porcini mushrooms which were reconstituted in 1 cup of warm chicken broth. Season again with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Sauté 1 minute then remove from heat and set aside.

Coat a saucepan with remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Sauté the remaining shallots and garlic. Add the rice and stir quickly until it is well-coated and opaque, 1 minute. This step cooks the starchy coating and prevents the grains from sticking. Stir in wine and cook until it is nearly all evaporated.

Now, with a ladle, add 1 cup of the warm broth and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time. Continue to cook and stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. The risotto should be slightly firm and creamy, not mushy. Transfer the mushrooms to the rice mixture. Stir in Parmesan cheese, cook briefly until melted. Top with a drizzle of truffle oil and your chosen garnish before serving.

stay tuned for the dessert posting !!

Alpine Rabbit Stew; or, Here Comes Peter Cottontail

2011-04-28T19:54:00.002-04:00

My family - husband and in-laws included - all seem to have a very, well, perverse sense of humor. In the midst of preparing a three-day demiglace (more on that in the next post), my husband decided that we absolutely must have rabbit stew...the day before the Easter Bunny was due. Not that we'd ever made rabbit stew before, mind...took us 5 stores to find the rabbit (H Mart was where we finally hit the jackpot), but make it we did .

The recipe Mark found online was really rather spectacular, and can be found in its entirety here :

Alpine Rabbit Stew

The one thing I didn't like about the recipe, though, is that it lacked a recipe list, so I am taking the liberty of writing it up here, with the minor modifications that we made. We did serve it over the polenta as suggested - which was fantastic - but mashed potatoes, egg noodles, spätzle or gnocchi would all be wonderful with it as well.

Alpine Rabbit Stew

2 onions, chopped

5 celery stalks, chopped

8 oz air-dried bacon (we used pancetta)

2 bay leaves

juniper berries (we used a small handful of dried blueberries – a teaspoon of whole allspice would have been better though)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

Cinnamon stick

5 chopped carrots

Fresh thyme, marjoram and rosemary – a sprig of each, or to taste

half a bottle of red wine (we used Italian red table wine)

a can of tomatoes (we used a can of diced San Marzanos)

2 rabbits, cut into large pieces

½ cup chicken livers (unless you can find rabbit livers !)

Gently fry the finely diced bacon with a little butter for about 3-5 minutes or until soft.

Carefully lay the rabbit into the pot so that each piece of meat will lay on the pot bottom. If they don't fit, do this in as many batches as it takes. Add the remaining rabbit pieces and continue to sauté over high heat.

Salt the rabbit and set aside.

Add the onions, garlic, celery, carrot, cinnamon and bay leaf to the bacon. Fry over medium-high heat, moving constantly.

Add the chopped liver and let it color. It will turn from red to grey.

When the liver has turned in color, add the wine and let it bubble.

Add the tomatoes and the herbs. Add the rabbit, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a gentle simmering. Let it cook for at least one hour or as long as it takes for the rabbit to be really soft.

Serve over…whatever you like J

wow. Just, wow.

we had the rest of the livers as a snack...yum !

Finnan Haddie Chowder

2011-04-23T10:25:00.001-04:00

creamy smoky goodness...

Sorry I've been a bit quiet lately...never fear, I've been eating plenty :)

I love fish, I love chowder, and I love smoked food...so really, this is the perfect combination for me : some of my favorite things, in convenient spoonable form. Not to mention Lent-friendly and made from items I had around the house...and I happen to come from a long line of chowder makers and eaters...my great aunt, Narnie, was a particular mistress of the art. Really, I had no choice !!

First, a word about Finnan Haddie itself. Finnan Haddie is Scottish in origin (like me....well, partially ;) ) . It is a lightly smoked haddock, "Finnan" referring to the village of Findon, Scotland and "haddie" being, of course, haddock. In the Scots vernacular, "Findon Haddock" eases its way to "Finnan Haddie". The official origins are unknown - it probably didn't take cavemen long to figure out that the food that picked up smoke from the fire not only tasted better, but lasted longer - and many, many cultures have been salting and smoking fish since the beginning of time. I did once read a charming story about a shack full of salted fish in Findon that had the misfortune of having the building next door catch on fire, and the surprised villagers finding that it actually tasted better....thus resulting in the first Finnan Haddie. I find this one a little far fetched - for one thing, it not verra easy to surprise a Scotsman, and I don't think he'd admit it if you did ;). Still, a charming tale...as most Scottish ones are.

Our Finnan Haddie came from fish that we actually caught and smoked ourselves (see fishing trip here, recipe here, and picture of the smoking fish here. ) . The fish is brined, and then smoked - here's a picture of the finished product :

Och, a lovely wee platter o' fishies ;)

Traditional Finnan Haddie is lightly smoked - so lightly that it's actually not quite fully cooked. Ours ended up more smoke-cooked, which was actually preferable - the boy happily ate up quite a bit of it with cream cheese on bagels for breakfast. It also froze beautifully, which is why I still had two pounds left to make this lovely, lovely chowder. True Finnan Haddie is available in many markets, or you can order it online . We found a great smokehouse on a road trip last summer, Bold Coast Smokehouse , which we would highly recommend for anything - including Finnan Haddie. The basics of the chowder are quite straightforward : simmer the haddock in a sort of quickie court bouillon of water and aromatic vegetables, then use the delicious smoky bouillon to cook the potatoes, add the fish back in along with milk and cream, and slowly heat (never boil) until the flavors are happily melded and the whole thing is a silky, hot, delicious Culinary Orgasm.

One last word before we get into the recipe...well, two words : salt pork. Traditionally, chowders are made with salt pork - Narnie would definitely not have made it any other way. However, to keep this recipe Lent-friendly ( and hey, also kosher...I'm good like that) , I have substituted butter. To do it right, you would render about 1/4 pound of salt pork and saute the onion and celery in the fat. (To render, cut pork into small bits and slowly cook in the bottom of your pot until you are just left with crispy bits and lovely pork fat. When we were kids we used to fight over who got to eat the bits...but you can also just garnish the chowder with them).

Finnan Haddie Chowder
Serves six, generously

To poach haddock :

3 cups water
1 tsp peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 leafy celery stalk, roughly chopped (leaves and all)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
(Optional - if using leeks, include the dark green leafy tops here, chopped up a bit)
2 pounds Finnan Haddie (smoked haddock)

Bring all ingredients except haddock to a boil in a large, flat saucepan that will also hold the fish in one layer if possible. Add haddock and lower heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer covered for 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork (don't break it apart totally, though, because you're going to need to transfer it to your chowder).

Chowder :

2 tablespoons butter (or rendered salt pork - see above)
1 onion, finely chopped (or two leeks, white and tender green only, chopped)
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 large potatoes (a starchy, all purpose type if possible), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

In a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot, melt the butter (or render and remove salt pork.) Add onion (or leek) and celery, and saute until onion is soft but not brown. Set a strainer in the pot, and strain the haddock poaching liquid right in.. Add potatoes, bring to a boil, then turn down to a healthy simmer until potatoes are done, about 15 minutes. Now add the haddock back in - breaking it up as you do - and add the milk, cream, and thyme. Slowly bring to the barest simmer to heat through, about 10 - 15 minutes or so.

ready to eat !

simmering....

Variations on two themes : Blueberry-White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Crockpot Version

2011-04-13T17:20:00.001-04:00

posting this for my co-workers....

At our recent Red Sox Home Opener office party (oh yes...any excuse for a party around here !) we were encouraged to bring desserts...well, as you all probably know I need very little encouragement in that area :). The guys suggested my Blueberry-White Chocolate Bread Pudding , which I liked the idea of except for the lack of ovens in my office (really, it's best served warm.) I recalled in my foodie reading adventures seeing variations on bread pudding made in a slow cooker...one of my most-loved appliances. Just a few tweaks, I thought, and one of my most famous desserts could be brought to a whole new level. Less butter and more chocolate, and a bread that would work a little better with low and slow heat...oh yeah, I got this !

I showed up at work bright and early with my dry ingredients ready in the crockpot and my eggs and cream all mixed up in an oversized water bottle. A little mixing, plug it in....and after three and a half hours later of tormenting anyone who walked into the kitchen with the smell, I had what was possibly the best version of this pudding I have ever made. And that, my friends, is saying something.

Without further ado...here's what to do !

Blueberry-White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Crockpot Variation

4 large eggs
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 bag Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips (11 oz)
6 cups 1/2-inch cubes challah bread (Jewish egg bread, slightly sweet...Portuguese Sweet or even potato would work as well).
1 cup dried blueberries

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cream, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the bread, chocolate, and dried blueberries and stir well, Pour into crockpot. Cook on LOW for 3 1/2 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

A note on the chocolate....if you're going to use white chocolate, try to use a really good quality one to avoid that fake vanilla flavor. Ghirardelli is not only good quality, but it comes in convenient bags of chips. No, they're not paying me to say that :)

A freezer treasure hunt.

2011-04-10T23:16:00.000-04:00

Clean Out The Freezer Cassoulet

I'm not going to actually blog about cassoulet again, since I've already mentioned it a few times...the basic recipe I use can be found here. I was amazed, however, at the cassoulet-ready contents I had around...which is why I made it today...and why I had to share :

Home-Smoked Turkey Leg
a ham hock (I actually have a bunch of these left. And smoked turkey tails. Don't even ask :) )
duck necks
handful of chopped ham from the smokehouse in Canterbury, NH.
4 D'Artangnan chorizos
3 chicken breasts

And, of course, I had plenty of navy beans, chicken stock, vegetables, panko crumbs...

Seriously, I think I need an intervention. Or a second job !!

It was a really, really, REALLY awesome batch of cassoulet though :)

Hope you all had great weekends !!

Italian Wedding Cake Martini, Fiorella's

2011-04-09T18:01:00.002-04:00

Tastes like the best rum cake ever :)

Oktoberfest in April

2011-04-03T21:41:00.009-04:00

Oktoberfest in April

Menu

Sauerbraten – German Pot Roast with Gingersnap Gravy

Kartoffelklosse – German Potato Dumplings

Rothkohl – Braised Red Cabbage

Sellerisalat – Celery Root Salad

Homemade Pumpernickel Rolls

A selection of German beers and wines

Oh, was this some fun !!

A bit of background - as some of you know, when I'm not wreaking havoc in the kitchen I can also be found doing the music thing...I sing alto and venue manage (for lack of a better term) for the Newton Community Chorus - a fantastic group which I have had the pleasure of being a member of for the past 15 years or so. This past weekend was our first Mystery Dinner fundraiser - something I'd never heard of until now, but a super cool idea...and right up my alley :) For a minimum donation (in our case $20) , diners list their top three dinner choices from a list of options (we had ten) The evening of the event, you show up at a cocktail party where you find out your destination, chefs, and dining partners for the evening. You then proceed to your dinner, enjoy, and then meet up with all the other participants for dessert (and in our case a silent auction). The dinners all had great themes...Under the Sea, The Big Night, Hungarian Rhapsody etc. We chose to put on a German dinner...and so, "Oktoberfest in April". German is a style of cooking we do pretty well (see my previous Oktoberfest entry ) and it's easy to make a large quantity...but most important for this particular meal, it's fairly easy to do most of it in advance (except, as it turns out, the dumplings) and then transport. We had the pleasure of cooking at one of our other member's beautiful homes...a gorgeous house with a huge dining room and a dream kitchen - something which I sadly lack. She also has an amazing art collection...and is super nice and incredibly gracious besides (thank you again Betsy !!) The dinner was a huge success, even if the dumplings weren't my best batch ever...we had a great group of people, everyone ate everything up and oohed and aahed, and we enjoyed a nice shot of Kirschwasser afterwards. Oma would have been proud :). I'll find out tomorrow how much we raised...and what dessert I'm making for the person that won my silent auction item - a dessert of their choice. Definitely a great time !

The Sauerbraten, Rotkohl (red cabbage), and Kartoffelklosse (potato dumplings) are all in the link above...check after the pictures if you're interested in the recipes for Sellerisalat and the pumpernickel rolls.

Guten Essen !

(ETA - the dinner and auction together raised over $7500 !! Go us !!)

ricing the potatoes for dumplings

croutons for dumplings

red cabbage simmering away

finished dumplings

Sellerisalat

pumpernickel rolls

meat and cabbage...what else do you need ? :)

oh - before the recipe - a few notes on celery root....

Celeriac, or celery root, is a root vegetable very closely related to regular celery (it does sprout celery-ish looking stalks, which are great to garnish a Bloody Mary but not particularly tasty on their own. ) They look like alien potatoes :

I swear, it's food...the tentacles don't move !!

Once you peel away all the ugly, you get a gorgeous white vegetable with a pleasant light celery smell and flavor. Germans absolutely love celery root, though when Oma was alive it was most often found in cans in this country. Now, though, you can get it in most better supermarkets - lucky for us ! You can use it in soups, roast it, mash it...or make Sellerisalat. There are two basic versions of this salad - one uses grated raw celery root in a mayonnaise-y type dressing. The other, which is what we grew up with, uses cooked celery root, marinated in vinegar. It's one of the best palate-cleansers I know...perfect after gorgeous, rich German food.

Try and buy the smallest celery roots you can, as they will have the best flavor and texture...fist-sized is really ideal.

Selleriesalat (Celery Root Salad)

2 small or 1 large celery root, peeled and cubed
Beef, chicken, or vegetable stock to just cover (2 cups or so)
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
fresh dill, to garnish

Cook the celery root in the stock until tender, about 15 minutes or so. Drain, and mix with the vinegar, water salt and pepper. Marinate overnight. Drain before serving, and garnish with fresh chopped dill.

Pumpernickel Rolls

1 3/4 cups warm water
1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon espresso powder

1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups bread flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

11/2 cups rye flour
2 teaspoons salt

Stir together first 3 ingredients in the mixing bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add coffee and next 4 ingredients to yeast mixture. Beat at low speed with dough hook attachment for 1 minute or until soft dough comes together. Beat at medium speed 4 minutes. (Dough will be slightly sticky.)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and separate, and roll into balls. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and let rise for 30 minutes. Spray tops of rolls with water (or carefully brush - only a little though ! ) . Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 12 - 14 minutes or until lightly browned.

Spring Chickens

2011-03-27T21:47:00.000-04:00

clockwise from top : Rainbow Swiss Chard, fresh peas, Spinach, Garlic and Onion Ciabatta Bread from When Pigs Fly, Rainbow Carrots, Roast Chicken. Middle of plate : Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes

Properly roasted chicken is really just one of the best meals on earth. Reliable and comforting, yes...but still always delicious and most definitely welcome. One of the many great things about it is that it's such a blank canvas...whatever season it is, whatever you have on hand or are in the mood for...everything goes with chicken. Every culture seems to have its own favorite way of doing it, and everyone borrows from everyone else happily.

On the menu today was a chicken with plenty of vegetables....more of a preview to spring than actual spring, but hey - a girl's gotta dream :) The bird itself was seasoned with half a lemon (cut into eighths) and half a dozen garlic cloves in the cavity, and salt (half kosher and half Smoked Mexican), cracked pepper, and smoked paprika all over. Into my stoneware baker and into a 350 degree oven...two hours later, a delicious, perfectly seasoned, super juicy bird.

mmm....chicken

With some CRAZY carrots !!

Rainbow Carrots

Seriously, so crazy !

I know, I know...I was already doing rainbow chard (as mentioned, my new vegetable crush) and I'm not a huge fan of cooked carrots....but when I saw these at Russo's I couldn't resist - I have never seen rainbow carrots ! They tasted...well, like really good carrots. Will definitely try these again. And I know, we already had two vegetables...but Mark has to have peas with chicken, so fresh peas it was.

Along with the peas, there have to be potatoes....and Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes are serious Culinary Orgasm material. Sounds so decadent, but couldn't be simpler...boil up a 3 pound bag of baby white potatoes (in the skin...that's why I use baby ones) and lightly mash with half a small tub of mascarpone cheese and a splash of milk (until they're the consistency you like), salt and pepper to taste. That's it, I promise....serious Culinary Orgasm !

Turkey Chili Verde (slow cooker)

2011-03-23T19:44:00.054-04:00

Slow cooker season is sadly coming to an end. Woe. Yes, of course I look forward to the arrival of fresh vegetables...food that doesn't require a long time to cook...eating outside...all of that is made of awesome. But there's something to be said for coming home to a warm, comforting pot of food...all cooked and waiting for you.

Chili Verde is a great dish for the crockpot - the heat of the peppers really stands up to the long cooking, and there's really no way to overcook it. Traditional chili verde is made with pork, but turkey thighs lend incredible depth of flavor while cutting down on the fat - and they also benefit from the longer cooking time, where pork can dry out. The one downside is that you do lose some of the green color after all the cooking, but the flavor is not impacted in the slightest - this is some damn fine chili.

Cornbread is the perfect accompaniment to this - just leave the out the cheese as you don't need any more peppers to compete here. Throw the cornbread in when you get home and let it bake while you bone the turkey and shred the meat.

Oh Crock-Pot, I'll miss you so...

Turkey Chili Verde
Recipe feeds four - easily doubled . This is medium spicy - feel free to kick it up if you love the burn...

1 medium onion, chopped
2 bone-in turkey thighs (1 - 1 1/2 pounds each), skin removed
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen baby white and yellow, mixed)
1 1/2 cups salsa verde (medium)
1 jalapeno, minced (or 1 small can green chiles)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

shredded Jack cheese and sour cream, for serving

Scatter onion in bottom of slow cooker, and place turkey thighs on top. Mix beans and corn together and spread over turkey. Mix salsa, chili, and spices and pour over mixture in slow cooker. Cover and cook 8 - 10 hours on low or until meat is tender. Pull bones out of turkey, and shred with two large forks. Stir in cilantro, and serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.

ssssmokin'.....

2011-03-21T19:20:00.028-04:00

oh spring, you're such a tease....

Last weekend was so gorgeous, we decided it was time to take the smoker out of winter hibernation and get it on. Unfortunately, it wasn't super warm so we decided to smoke things that weren't going to take all day. First up : smoked shrimp

Smoked shrimp is really absolutely amazing. I love shrimp any way you make it, and I thought I'd had it pretty much any way it could be done. That was before we got a smoker...now, I think it's one of my very favorite ways. Particularly when accompanied with Cajun Remoulade :

Smoked Shrimp with Cajun Remoulade

The shrimp made the perfect appetizer while we smoked up the main course : chicken and sausages

on the smoker

chicken

sausage

Side dishes for this one were a huge salad, and beer bread

Not much else to be said for this one...I am SO glad it's time to cook outside again !!