Cook to Grow

Seafood Cassoulet

2011-11-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

When I think of cassoulet, I think of heavy, hearty, hearthy - as in cooked in a large iron pot over the fire in an ancient kitchen fireplace. Cassoulet is made for surviving the winter, the cold, dark, damp winter. Most recipes for cassoulet call for duck leg, sausage, and pork. Its white beans become a fourth fat delivery device, just the kind of thing you would want in the ruins of a medieval castle, still smoldering from the most recent sectarian strife.

Rural southwestern France gave us traditional cassoulet, but their rustic tendencies do not always translate to our modern needs for time, convenience and lighter fare. This seafood cassoulet from Le Cordon Bleu at Home is a take on the traditional dish, but is far less heavy and time consuming. The biggest surprise is how a simple list of ingredients can provide so much more flavor in combination. The trout, scallops and shrimp are lighter and healthier than the fat-filled pork and duck leg of cassoulet. You will thank yourself for preparing this comfort food, and doing so without completely filling your arteries. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken stock

1 can white beans, such as Great Northern, drained and rinsed

1 large onion, chopped

1 bouquet garni

2 carrots, diced

4 tbsp vegetable oil

6 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

2 trout filets

1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup scallops, in 1/2 inch chunks

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a sauce pan over medium high heat add the chicken stock, beans, 1/2 the onions, carrot and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and simmer. Meanwhile, in a large sautee pan over medium high heat, warm 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp oil. When bubbling, add the trout and brown on both sides, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Remove and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Brown the shrimp and scallops and set aside. Add the remaining butter and oil and the remaining onions. Soften the onions until just starting to turn golden then add the garlic. Cook for 30 seconds and then add the tomato. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary. Drain the bean mixture and add to the tomato mixture. Stir in the cooked seafood and adjust the seasoning as needed. Pour the combined cassoulet into an oven proof dish. Spread the bread crumbs on top and dot with small pieces of the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Bake until the bread crumbs are golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Coconut Poached Cod

2011-11-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

When is it important to be delicate? The male instinct is to avoid such a characterization. Our male heroes are not delicate. There are no delicate football players, no delicate warriors, no delicate orators. Our role models may possess finesse and agility, but that is in applying strength and power. At home, we may act gently, with our infants or our lovers, but never delicately. Even delicate questions are never posed, they are either avoided or answered without asking.

In today's kitchen, many of our tastes are robust, fiery and forward. Southwestern spices are prominent, rustic dishes appreciated, basic colors and flavors asked to pop. Still, there is a cuisine and technique where delicate is the key. Flavors are hinted at, layered, perfumed. For me, that is Asian cooking, especially the preparations of Jean-Georges Vongerichten. His dishes reflect not the bold, loud flavors of a market or ethnic dance, but the gentle, soft textures of a water garden. His ingredients bubble, waft and scent. His dishes don't make you stand up and salsa, they make you close your eyes and tune into your senses. Lemongrass, kaffir lime, cilantro, basil, garlic, Thai chile, shallots, coconut, all applied softly, modestly, allowing each flavor to remain delicately, available, alluring.

Want to feel that way on a Tuesday night? All you need to do is prepare a dish like this. It includes a bed of eggplant for balance and color, and an herb crust for texture. Best of all, this isn't some sort of French veal sauce that must be cooked for a day and strained 20 times. This recipe from from Vongerichten's Asian Flavors cookbook is an easy, relatively short, and certainly straightforward preparation and presentation. It also makes it ok to be delicate. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 cubes

salt

5 tbsp butter

1 red Thai chile, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 lemon grass stalk, trimmed and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tbsp minced mint leaves

1 tbsp minced cilantro leaves

1 tbsp minced basil leaves

2 shallots, sliced

2 kaffir lime leaves, sliced

2 cod fillets

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp fish sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Start a pot of water over high heat to boil for steaming the eggplant. In a colander, rinse and drain the eggplants. Generously sprinkle with salt, stir, and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make a crust mix by heating 2 tbsp of butter in a skillet over medium heat. To the melted butter add half the chiles, 1/2 the lemon grass and the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to open the flavors. Add the bread crumbs and saute, stirring frequently until the breadcrumbs are lightly browned. Remove the bread crumbs to a bowl and allow to cool. Stir in the mint, cilantro and basil.

Rinse and drain the eggplants and then steam until tender, about 7 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Add 2 tbsp of butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots, remaining chile and lemon grass, lime leaves and salt to taste. When the shallots are softened, season the cod with salt and cayenne and add to the pan. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Cover the skillet and transfer to the oven. Poach the fish, depending on thickness for 6 to 10 minutes. Test by piercing with a meat thermometer, holding in the fish for a few seconds, and then placing on your tongue. If it is warm, the fish is done. Turn the oven to broil and remove the fish. Transfer the fish to a baking sheet and return the skillet with the shallot mixture to the stove top over medium high heat. Add the coconut milk and cook until the sauce is reduced and thickened. About 5 minutes. Meanwhile, top each piece of fish with a layer of the crust mix. Add small pieces of the remaining butter on top and place under the broiler for a minute or two to heat the crust and brown a little more. To serve, put the eggplants on the plate first and place the fish on top. Stir into the pan sauce the lime juice and fish sauce to taste. Spoon around the fish and serve.

Portugese Not-Tripe Stew

2011-11-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

It is said that the people of Oporto, Portugal don't even like Port wine, even though it is named after their town. They prefer red table wine instead. That makes sense since Port actually comes from the Douro Valley, about 40 miles upriver from the seaside Oporto. Port is also a foreign creation for foreign markets. British entrepreneurs created Port because the red wine they were importing was going bad before it reached England. That led them to fortify the wine with a neutral grape spirit, which stopped fermentation and preserved it for its journey abroad.

What is locally associated with Oporto is tripe stew. Portuguese are historically referred to as "tripeiros" or tripe eaters. In their glory days of sea exploration, Portuguese ship crews received the best meats for their journeys, leaving only the unwanted leftover cuts for the locals. Tripe became a part of Portuguese culinary history. You can't blame the local tourism board for highlighting Port wine over tripe stew. Can you imagine? "Come to our country and eat our historic cow stomach lining recipes!"

In no way am I encouraging you to eat tripe. It may be good, but neither of us will discover that tonight. Instead, this journey of discovery is another way to turn the ordinary into something interesting and tasty. You can imagine the need to turn tripe into something engaging. They threw everything at it, different additional cuts of meat, mainly pork, spices, wine, garlic. The result is a stew that is quite tasty and quintessentially Iberian. In Oporto, where they use white beans mixed in with the stew, it is called simply Tripas. In the south where they substitute chickpeas it is called Dobrada. My recipe leaves out the tripe and puts back in the beef. This Portuguese preparation makes this beef stew something more than the flour, carrots and potatoes that I am trying to avoid. It includes the paprika and cumin, onions and tomato, wine and garlic of Iberian cooking. The Portuguese will also add chorizo. I find that overpowering, and left it out. Try this version, it is just as authentic as Port wine. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb beef stew cubes
2 small or 1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 cup dry red wine
1 can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 can garbanzo beans
2 cups cooked rice

Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is smoking, add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown the beef on all sides, and then add the onions and garlic. Soften the onions for several minutes and then add the paprika and cumin. Allow the spices to release their flavors for a couple of minutes and then add the wine. Scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot and add the diced tomatoes, with their juices, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the garbanzo beans and simmer the stew for 30 more minutes. Serve over rice.

Peas with Lettuce, Chervil and Onions

2011-11-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

"Eat your peas!" you can imagine someone saying that, a parent, or more stereotypically an evil boarding school headmaster. I don't like peas. It's a basic preference. I just don't like the taste. Although, I do cook with peas from time to time. I included them tonight in a gnocchi dish I make with a vodka sauce, bacon and onions. The peas add color, and a little crunch, but you can't taste them. That is the key. Peas for me are one of those things that are fine if I can't taste them. Mushrooms are like that for many people. They think they don't like them (although I do), but will eat dishes that include them because they blend into the background. I also make a pea puree that I serve with scallops. But there, the pea taste is reduced significantly in the puree with chicken stock and sauteed onion.

So, why am I suggesting a recipe for a side of peas? Because this recipe for peas is a metaphor for life. Part of it is "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Part is turning beef stew into Beef Bourguignon. There are many things we can do to make the best out of what life gives us, and to make life more interesting. The French connection is also relevant here. From time to time, I am working my way through the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook. It offers a series of meals, which are lessons in French cooking. It starts from the beginning, roast chicken, and builds from there, through the basic sauces to all of the classics of French cooking. Is their recipe for peas a French classic? I have no idea. But it is a wonderful example of how with simple ingredients and thoughtful preparation, we can make even peas more than edible, we can make them wonderful.

This is a lesson for every meal. Don't just prepare a tomato sauce for your pasta, combine your tomato sauce with wine, and perhaps the liquid from reconstituted mushrooms. In this case, don't just boil your peas, saute them with onions and butter, add an herb such as chervil. And in a truly special, yet simple twist, cook with a chiffonade of lettuce. That and a little sugar will give you the peas of your life. Who knew little peas could take on such character? They have taken on the character of you, the interesting you, the one who has cooked from a recipe, cooked in the French way, added flavor, no, added perfume to your dish. The one who has given beauty even to peas.

That said, should you ever serve this dish to your family or friends? No, of course not. No one likes peas. But make this for yourself, on that cold day when you roast a chicken, and you want to take care of yourself, and show yourself that you are special. You will enjoy these peas, and you will enjoy yourself even more because you made them. Remember that feeling, and transport these techniques, cooking with pearl onions, adding an infrequently used, delicate herb, maybe even sauteeing with lettuce. Remember how you have the power to turn the ordinary into the sublime.

Ingredients:
Several leafs of green lettuce
3 tbsp butter
1 cup peas
8 pearl onions, peeled
1/2 tsp chervil
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Cut the lettuce into thin chiffonade strips. In a heavy sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the lettuce, peas, onions and chervil. Stir until the lettuce wilts. Add 1/3 cup of water, the sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently until the peas are tender, about 15 minutes. Serve.

Lamb Ragu with Mint Tagliatelle

2011-09-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

Having lived through an earthquake last week, the question I asked myself wasn't much different than every day before. What should I make for dinner? Natural disasters can wreck havoc on daily routines such as cooking, usually in a bad way. There is an article in the paper today describing how federal emergency management officials actually measure the intensity of a disaster by how many Waffle Houses are closed. Known for reopening quickly after a natural disaster, the fate and health of Waffle Houses will reflect the conditions in that area. The feds even have a color ranking for severity. Green means the restaurant is serving a full meal, reflecting little loss of power or damage. Yellow means that restaurants are offering only a limited menu under the strain of lost power or low food supplies. Red means that the restaurant is closed, a sure sign after a day or two of extensive damage. "If you get there and the Waffle House is closed, that's really bad," according to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.

One good thing about an earthquake is that it is relatively fast, and you have a good chance of emerging unscathed, both literally and logistically. If you're power didn't go out or your gas line break, you're free and clear. Like a snowstorm, you may have extra time at home while you wait for everyone else to decide things are safe to go out (or back in). Whether being sent home for work because a blizzard is coming or big office buildings must be checked for damage, these are unique times to try something different, using the extra time to explore cooking techniques requiring time, care or practice. So it was after an earthquake hit the East Coast that I had the afternoon off. With this gift of time (and life I suppose), I decided to make the mint tagliatelle with lamb ragu from Mario Battali's The Babbo Cookbook. The ragu could simmer all afternoon, I could roll out fresh pasta with the leisure of a weekend day, it would be just like being there.

I also had enough time to dislike just about everything that resulted from this recipe and do it over, from scratch, completely. One thing some people don't realize is that recipes from restaurant cookbooks are not the recipes they use in the kitchen or the way they would prepare the meal for a customer. The necessity of proportions and timing dictate that restaurants prepare many menu components hours before they are served. Finishing touches just before service are both required, and even enhance the flavor and appearance of the dish. Likewise, the home cook will make ragu for 4, while restaurants must feed a crowd. Certain techniques are just glossed over or taken for granted by professional cooks.

Take for example the tagliatelle. The Babbo recipe includes just the ingredients and preparation of the dough. "Shaping as desired" is left to the reader's imagination, which in my case failed the first time by not rolling out the dough thin enough. A thick, unsightly and chewy tagliatelle resulted. A few settings thinner on the pasta rolling machine did the trick. Another example was the ragu, which after simmering 2 hours and sitting some more was now not saucy or silky. The ragu had soaked up all of the good juices and verged on being dry. Not mentioned in the recipe is the technique of the restaurant cook, who instead of draining the pasta in a colander like a home chef might, instead transfers the dripping pasta and pasta water along with directly to the sauce pan. They then add butter and more pasta water as needed to produce a silky, glistening sauce. Whether it was surviving an earthquake or perfecting cooking techniques, eating this dish for dinner sure made me feel alive. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 lb lamb shoulder, cut into chunks

salt/pepper

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 bunch time, leaves left on stem

2 cups dry red wine

1 16-oz can of crushed tomatoes

1/4 lb olives, pitted (if desired)

1/2 cup mint leaves

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tbsp butter

parmigiano-reggiano

2 tbsp basil, sliced

Directions:

In a large casserole, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and brown in the oil, cooking in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Remove the browned meat and set aside. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic and thyme and cook, stirring until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the red wine and tomatoes. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen up the bits and bring to a boil. Return the meat, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the meat again, shred with a fork, and return both the meat and add the olives (if using) to the casserole. Simmer for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pasta by blanching the mint leaves in boiling water for 45 seconds. Transfer immediately to an ice bath. When cool, drain the mint leaves and puree in a blender. Mound the flour on a cutting board or countertop, forming a well in the middle. Add the eggs to the middle of the well and beat them lightly. Add the oil and mint puree to the eggs, mix and begin folding in the flour from the edges of the well. Incorporate more and more of the flour until it starts to form a dough. Knead in the remaining flour and then knead the entire mixture for 6 minutes. The result should be a slightly sticky, elastic ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Separate the dough into 4 balls and send each through a pasta rolling machine, lightly dusting with flour if necessary to prevent sticking, several times on the thickest setting, folding back on itself to send through again, and then on increasingly thinner settings one time each until just below the thinnest setting. Lay the dough sheets on a lightly floured table and cut tagliatelle strips with a pizza roller. Hang strips on a pasta dryer or just pile on a plate until ready to cook.

Bring a well seasoned pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the ragu to the saute pan and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente, as quick as a minute or maybe a little longer (the pasta will finish cooking with the sauce). Remove the pasta to saute pan with the ragu. Add the butter and mix with the ragu and pasta. Add additional cooking water if needed to further loosen the sauce. Allow the ragu and pasta to simmer a minute. Plate and top with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and basil. Serve.

Arugula Salad with Duck Egg, Prosciutto and Truffle Vinaigrette

2011-08-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

"Tonight, I will kill you." Those were the words I remembered when I first tasted this dish. On a recent trip, I had brought Tony Bourdain along to keep me company. And no, that wasn't what he said when he realized that he would be spending summer vacation with me and my six and nine year-old boys at our family cabin. While I was flying to Colorado, Tony was visiting Quebec in season 2 of No Reservations. The restaurant was Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, and even though pigs feet were on the door, foie gras was on the menu. Not just an appetizer or a main course dish, but nine different preparations of everything from duck terrine to a foie gras tart, foie gras poutine, foie gras hamburger, foie gras stuffed rabbit, foie gras on a buckwheat pancake with bacon and syrup, even a foie gras hot dog. Chef Martin Picard gave the order to kill his friend and fellow foie gras lover with his entire foie gras menu, instructing his kitchen to "give him, give him, give him, and when he dies, stop."

Tony very nearly died that night and that experience was in my mind when I tried this appetizer from Mario Batali's Babbo Cookbook. The prosciutto, the duck egg, the truffle oil all conjures the "rich, outrageously over the top" experience of Tony's foie gras fantasia. Mario's dish is these things, but it's even more. The rustic bread gives a crunch contrast in texture absent from Montreal's hometown cheese, gravy and french fries poutine dish. More importantly, Mario always remembers the acid necessary to brighten and balance a dish. In this case, while there is a truffle vinaigrette drizzled over the top, the greens are prepared with a lemon vinaigrette. The result is a trip through ecstasy with a return to readiness for the next course. No flushed cheeks and bloated belly, although Tony can be forgiven, he did have 15 courses that evening in Montreal.

An ingredients note, Mario suggests guanciale, pancetta or bacon. I had prosciutto in the fridge and used that. I liked the flavor without the thick slices of the other options. Also, I am not a frisee person, so I substituted arugula for Mario's suggestion. Similarly, I made no effort to procure real truffles, instead using truffle oil. These are all choices we make in adopting restaurant menus to our home. But don't substitute the duck egg, and never forget that heaven is somewhere between pork fat and sauteed duck liver. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

5 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

salt/pepper

2 handfuls arugula

1 tsp truffle oil

1 tsp sherry vinegar

4 strips prosciutto

2 tbsp butter

2 duck eggs

2 slices of baguette, cut thick and grilled or toasted

Directions:

Whisk 3 tsp of olive oil with the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Combine with the arugula and set aside. Mix the other 2 tsp of olive oil with the truffle oil and sherry vinegar. Whisk and set aside. In a non-stick saute pan over medium heat, cook the prosciutto slices until browned. Remove to a paper towel. Discard the fat and wipe the pan. Turn up the heat under the pan to medium-high and add the butter. When the butter is heated and the foam subsides, add each egg and cook without flipping for 4 to 5 minutes. When the egg is nearly done, tilt the pan and spoon some of the hot butter over the egg to finish the cooking. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the pan. Assemble each plate with some arugula on the bottom, an egg, a piece of baguette and finally the prosciutto on top. Drizzle with the truffle vinaigrette and serve.

Cambodian Chicken Curry

2011-08-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am surrounded by bad Thai restaurants. That is a very sad thing, because I love Thai food. For some reason, here in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC we have many Thai restaurants. New York may have its pizzerias and Chinese food, Philly its cheesesteaks, other cities what they have, but we have Thai restaurants. This is especially notable because we have no Thai neighborhoods and no Thai communities to speak of. Even our Chinatown has largely disbanded. But, we must love Thai food because they are ubiquitous.

Three blocks from my apartment there is a Thai restaurant. Not terrible, but not good. It’s the kind of place you try and are disappointed, and six months later hoping it is better are disappointed again, and a year later having forgotten your prior disappointment are reminded again after another meal, disliking yourself as much as your meal because you allow your hope to be punished. Eight blocks in the opposite direction there is another one. It isn’t terrible either, but it’s not good and the menu is limited. Six blocks further on the same street is another. I ate there years ago and don’t remember it being bad, but have had no urge to return, which must mean that my body is telling me something. Four blocks beyond that are two more Thai restaurants. One is in a location that has changed cuisines frequently. It is decorated in a modern way that would be wonderful if the food were good, which it isn’t. One more block further is another. Not good. It is a long trail of misery that like the street ends at the river, which I wish I could throw myself into, or at least all of these not so good restaurants.

Along this chain of pain is a pan-Asian restaurant that is wonderful. It was my first introduction to southern Thai food, including Curry Laksa (if you consider this Singaporean dish related). I love this yellow curry dish and I order it virtually every visit. It comes with cellophane noodles, shrimp (it's not on the menu, but I order it this way and they make it for me), fried tofu, sprouts, cilantro, celery and little fried onions. The curry is the kind of thing you want to slurp out what remains at the bottom of the bowl, and then spread it on your lips, behind your ears and on your cheeks, and then you wish you could take a bath in it.

But what really changed my culinary life was the Massaman curry. Here was a curry without a color. Not red, not yellow, not green. It also had potatoes and peanuts. It was different, like its origins (from the Muslim south). It was so subtle, so interesting, so multilayered. It taught me that curry could be so much more, in this case with the addition of Spice Island ingredients like cinnamon and nutmeg. This was how exotic was exotic when it wanted to be. This was beautiful.

It also hasn’t been replicated at any of the other restaurants in my neighborhood. So, since my favorite restaurant is a little too far to go to as frequently as I would like, I forced myself to learn how to cook Thai food. They say if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. I’m not saying that I am a proficient Thai cook, but I do make good Thai food, which is better than bad Thai food you had to pay for. I have learned that cooking Thai food is not that hard. It all seems to involve coconut milk, curry paste, and the addition of fish sauce and sugar. I have taken extra steps including keeping on hand palm sugar, coconut oil, galangal, tamarind paste, ginger, and lemongrass, which along with a full complement of spices allows me to make just about any recipe. Which still leaves me wondering, if someone like me can keep these ingredients and make at least a good curry, why are so many restaurants around me cooking not very good, clumsy, uninteresting, you are Thai aren’t you so why aren’t you making good, much less great, curry?

I don't know, but all of this is a long way of answering the question: what on earth possessed you to make Cambodian chicken curry? The answer is, once you know how to do something, you want to try more of it, in different ways, opening new doors, exploring new ingredients, techniques and tastes. So, as I was flipping through my recently purchased 500 Curries cookbook, wanting to fill a need to both explore and experience, I came across this recipe. It is simple and different, in that it uses Indian curry or garam masala as the base. According to this book, that is common in many Cambodian recipes. I did not know that, not that I knew anything about Cambodian recipes, but it was something new and something I would try. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

2 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 shallot, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tsp galangal, chopped

1 lemon grass stock, chopped

1 tsp chili flakes

1 potato (sweet if desired), peeled and cubed

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 cup coconut milk

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small bunch basil, chopped

1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

salt/pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together the garam masala and turmeric. Use half the mixture to coat the chicken pieces. Set both aside. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, galangal and lemon grass and cook a minute or two. Stir in the rest of the spice mixture, chili flakes and then add the chicken. Stir to coat, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk, 1/4 cup water, fish sauce, sugar and potatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Add the tomatoes and half the basil, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper, adding a little more of either sugar or fish sauce to taste. Serve with rice and garnish with remaining basil and cilantro.

Adobo Duck Tacos

2011-08-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

El Bulli is closed. Temple of culinary exploration, the workshop of invention, forge of avant-garde tastes closed its doors at the end of July. Regarded for many years as the best restaurant in the world, El Bulli was a mythological place for most all of us. Located an ocean away in rural northeastern Spain, it might as well have sat on Mount Olympus. A god created there, and a heavenly pedigree was needed to obtain a reservation. What does such a place mean to us mere mortals, those without privilege to the sacred fruits? I have Chef Ferran Adria’s book “A Day at ElBulli.” The cover suggests its forbidden nature, “2,000,000 requests for 8,000 places every year.” The quotes on the back describe the reasons: “’The best cook on the planet’ – Joel Robuchon” and “’Ferran is a genius. Without a doubt, he’s had the biggest influence on modern gastronomy of any chef alive’ – Heston Blumenthal.” What can any of us offer in the glare of such light?

The answer is inside of each of us, and is the most important thing for any cook. It is the heart, and from the heart, the passion that we bring to our cooking. Whether we bring greatness to our craft is measured in other ways, but because we apply ourselves with pure hearts, with love for our creations, we realize the full rewards of cooking. We feel the reason we cook, the enjoyment, the enrichment, the fulfillment. Each of us can say what Adria says, “I love to cook.” That is the most important thing.

And so, after watching a Tony Bourdain “No Reservations” episode on the closing El Bulli, I thought to myself, what should I cook? Would I shrink in self comparison to Adria? No, I would exalt in our shared passion and let that fuel another night’s personal experience. My only direct connection to El Bulli was that I would make something small, as a tasting plate might be. I have a cookbook entitled “Big Small Plates” by Cindy Pawlcyn of Mustards Grill in Napa Valley that features just such dishes. On the cover is this recipe for rabbit tostada with cumin-scented black beans and lime crème fraiche. On this evening, that would hit the spot. Is it something El Bulli would serve? I don’t know, and don’t really care. I was cooking ingredients I wanted in the way that I wanted. To that end, my version uses duck breast instead of rabbit and adobo sauce instead of a guajillo chile paste. They were both on hand and a little less involved than the original recipe. Was this my own creation birthed in a laboratory in Madrid? No, and neither was it prepared on the Mediterranean seaside south of Barcelona. But it was fun, it was interesting, it was my own and it fueled my passion for cooking. Make this your own and feel the passion. Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 duck breasts
salt and pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups chicken stock
1-2 tsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can black beans
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 limes
1/4 cup creme fraiche
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
1 pinch chile flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Preparation:
In a saute pan over medium-high eat, cook the duck breasts skin side down until the fat is rendered. Turn the duck breast and brown the other side. Transfer the breasts to a platter and poor off the duck fat, leaving 1-2 tbsp. Add 1/2 of the chopped onions and saute until softened.  Add 1 tsp of the adobo sauce and stir into the onions to bring out the flavor. Return the duck breasts and coat in the mixture. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock, bring to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the other 1/2 of the chopped onions and saute until softened. Add 1 clove of minced garlic and 1/2 tsp of cumin and saute a minute to release their flavors.  Stir in the black beans and cook another minute to coat the beans with the flavorrs. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of stock and bring to a simmer.  Turn the heat to low and cover to keep warm.
Zest one of the limes and juice half into a bowl. Stir in the creme fraiche, season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.
Whisk together 1 clove of minced garlic, 2 tbsp lemon juice, the red wine vinegar, brown sugar, pinch of chile flakes, 1/2 tsp of cumin and the olive oil. Shred the cabbage and mix with the desired amount of vinaigrette to coat.
Remove the duck breasts from the saute pan and shread with two forks. Return the shredded duck to the pan to coat with the sauce and spoon out to a plate.  Microwave the tortillas for 30 seconds if desired. Season the black beans to taste with salt and pepper and stir in a small handful of cilantro. Place the rest of the cilantro in a bowl.
Assemble the tacos with the black beans, duck and shredded cabbage as a base. Spoon on the lime creme fraiche and add cilantro and crumbled goat cheese to taste.

Chicken with Sage Bacon Cream Sauce

2011-08-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

How do we know when the seasons change? This can be importent because increasingly we are told to eat based on the season. Eat what is fresh now, reap the harvest and bring it to the table. Tender pea shoots in the spring, ripe tomatoes in the summer, hearty game in the fall. Eating fresh ingredients is essential to good cooking and seasonal ingredients are freshest, but what if I don't feel like eating summer fare in the summer. What if I am tired of bright, colorful flavors. What if I am ready to move on to something more hearty, more rustic?

Recently, I ate at a restaurant that literally titles itself after the seasons. It tries to stay so up to date that it changes its appetizer weekly. There's nothing wrong with that really, it's a current concept and they are riding that train. However, what if I don't feel like what's current. We may still be in the heat of the August, but I'm tired of mango salsas to go with my grilled fish. Summer vegetables have been fresh and beautiful, but I've never liked zucchini and I don't need any more corn.

That said, I hate when stores display Christmas items in October or clothing stores put out the fall gear before the end of summer. I am just not in the mood to buy a sweater on the way to the pool, and the last thing I want to see is Santa Claus before Halloween. How do I balance living in the season and moving on to the next? On this night, perusing the menu at this seasonal restaurant, I stopped on the pork loin with Cremini mushrooms and polenta. These flavors of butter and cream, roasted comfort goodness, speak to me of scarves and sweaters, not shorts and sun glasses. Had this menu succeeded in sneaking Christmas tree lights into my shopping cart?

The recipe below is from my local paper this summer. It may not be boar ragu or shepherd's pie, but its cream and bacon illicited a comfort response that a tropical salsa would not.  The pan sauce is the key, and it coated my insides with the savory goodness I needed.  The sage bacon cream sauce is the perfect autumn bridge. The sage reminds us of the garden, while the bacon and cream transition us to coming cool weather and the hearty dishes of fall.  It fit where I was and what I wanted, not just in place, but also in mood and emotion. So, listen always to exhortations to cook with the freshest ingredients, but listen to yourself in choosing which of those ingredients will meet your needs that evening. I hope this recipe will meet your needs one night. Adapted from the the Wahsington Post, June 29, 2011. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
2 strips bacon, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
1/4 cup corn meal
1 tbsp minced shallots
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp chopped parsely
1 tsp minced sage
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preparation:
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and if insufficient bacon fat is present to saute the chicken breasts, add the oil and butter. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then coat with corn meal, shaking off any excess. Add the breasts and cook until starting to brown on the bottom. Turn the breasts and reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallots and cook a couple of minutes to soften. Add the wine and stock and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. When the chicken is cooked through, remove to a plate. Stir in the parsley, sage and cream and cook a few minutes to warm. If the sauce needs to be loosened, add a little more stock or wine. Plate the chicken breasts and spoon the sauce on top.

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Grapes

2011-02-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

Fire and ice, night and day, sun and rain, there are some elements of nature that if not opposite, seem at odds with each other. And yet, when they do occur together, they yield wonderful results. Who can say that the sun peaking through during a rain storm is not a beautiful site. This duality came to mind as I pulled out my da fiore cookbook of recipes from the restaurant by that name in Venice. The recent movie The Tourist reminded me of the beautiful scenes and vistas of this city. I myself have visited Venice on two occasions, and like most tourists, it was during the summer. Light glitters off the canals, highlights the palazzos, and gives brilliance to the produce in the markets. You can stroll the narrow alleys and bridges of Venice for hours, turning corners and discovering private little squares and hidden restaurants waiting for you.

Sadly, those days of casual meals outdoors in the warm summer sun are a distant memory this time of year. Winter in Venice is damp, cold, and overcast - not an inspiration for cabin fever. To combat such chilling feelings, my fall menus feature warm, comfort food. But several months of heavy, hearty food leave me wanting something fresher, something brighter. With the new year, I want to renew and look forward to spring. Instead of warmth, I am now searching for brightness, the kind of sunlight that peaks through the rain. This recipe provides that with the addition of grapes to pasta. I find that it adds a brightness to the dish that inspires me toward fresher feelings, with a pasta base that anchors me to hearty winter needs. Of course, the Italians eat pasta year-round, as should we all. But this dish provided me that link, from savory winter fair, to lighter spring fare. It may be too soon to mix early-spring vegetables into our meals, but try this idea to mix some light into your winter day. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut in half diagonally
1/2 cup grapes, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small leek, white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine
2 plum tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp chopped chives
salt/pepper
1/3 lb spaghetti

Directions:
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. When the pasta has 6 minutes remaining, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leek and shrimp and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the wine and reduce somewhat. Add the grapes and tomatoes and cook another minute, then stir in the parsley and chives. Drain the pasta and and add to the sauce. Add some of the pasta cooking water if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to combine. Serve.

Pork Basque-Style with Peppers and Tomatoes

2011-01-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

What culinary wonders await us at Target? Yes, I said Target, land of laundry baskets, toys, electronics and six dollar polo shirts. Many locations do now offer groceries, but they are more chicken nuggets than Cornish game hen. We all need places to buy milk along with socks, so I'm not knocking Target. Nor was I expecting culinary inspiration, but there it was on the shelf: Tempranillo. Tempranillo, that noble grape of Spain, heart of Rioja wines. Black and thick in skin, it needs cool nights to bring acidity and hot days to develop the sugar and skin to give a deep red color. These are best found in northern Spain. This bottle said its grapes were from Navarre, neighboring Rioja. Alas, it wasn't a Spanish wine, a Francis Coppola import instead. But still, I almost felt that I needed to look around, to see if I was being watched, and wonder why something like this would settle among the cheap Chardonnay and Merlot. No matter, I grabbed it and headed home with this grain of sand that would form a pearl.
Is this recipe a pearl? Perhaps not, but the point is that inspiration for an interesting meal can come from anywhere, as plain and innocuous as Target. Sometimes all we need is that spark to take us away, in this case to Basque country. Next door to Rioja, the Basques are home to some of the finest restaurants in the world. Arzak is a three-starred Michelin restaurant in San Sebastian that gives us some of the world's leading nouvelle cuisine. The roots of this dish are not that. They are found on the docks, or out on the fishing boats. They are marmitako, a fish stew that means 'from the pot.' It is a favorite way for Basques to prepare tuna. It is a simple preparation with potatoes, onions, tomatoes and paprika. Fisherman plying the Cantabrian Sea may also use mackerel, and argue about whether they should use green or red peppers. Tonight, I am not an arguing fisherman, nor am I using fish even. I am substituting pork, mostly because I want to, but also because that is what I have. That is not to say that pork isn't an integral part of Spanish cooking. It can even mix with seafood as in the Portugese pork and clam recipes famous in Alentejo. Substitute tuna if you like, make this recipe your own. Just ensure that even if you find yourself at Target, let yourself find the inspiration to go far away, if only in meal and dream. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pork loin, cut into 3/4" cubes
1 tsp paprika
salt/pepper
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 roasted red pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups white wine
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar (if needed)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. While it is heating, mix the pork with the paprika and season with salt and pepper. Add the pork to the hot oil and brown, a few minutes on each side. Remove the pork to a plate with a slotted spoon and turn down the heat. Add the onions and cook 6 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook another minute to release the flavor. Add the roasted red pepper and wine. Bring to a boil and simmer down to one cup of liquid. Add the potatoes and just enough hot water to cover the potatoes. Cover the pan and reduce to strong simmer. Cook for 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft when poked with a fork. Mix in the tomato sauce and the sugar if needed to break down the acidity. Add the pork and simmer another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Top with the parsley and serve.

Porcini and Bacon Sauce

2010-12-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

Picture Homer Simpson saying "Mmmmm, doughnuts..." Actually, that's more the sound you will make when you have this sauce. Really, the picture should be of you tasting this sauce, sneaking it from the gravy boat, putting a dab of it behind your ears, filling the tub with it and swimming around slurping it up. This sauce is that good. It is not a heavy roux based gravy. It is not a light sauce per se, but it is so savory, so sublime, so simply...unctuous. Like all truly good things, it starts with rendered bacon. It includes reduced wine, it includes more garlic than you would imagine. Two kinds of broth, two kinds of mushrooms, but really it is not complicated. It just requires a little patience to simmer down all that goodness into greatness. That's ok, because I serve it with a Christmas roast, so there is time while that roasts. Indeed, this is my Christmas menu every year: a standing rib roast, Yorkshire pudding style popovers, green beans, and this sauce. It comes from Bon Appetit, December 2005. I am sharing this secret with you, only because I know that at the end of the meal, when you volunteer to clear the table, when it is just you in the kitchen, you will secretly sneak a last mouthful of this sauce straight from the gravy boat. It is Christmas after all...Makes 2 cups.

Ingredients:

2 oz dried porcini mushrooms

2 cups boiling water

1/4 lb sliced bacon, chopped

9 garlic cloves, minced

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 lb button mushrooms, sliced

3 cups dry red wine

4 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 cup beef broth

1 large fresh rosemary sprig

4 tbsp butter, diced

Directions:

Place the dried mushrooms in the boiling water and soak for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large saute pan over medium heat until golden. Add the garlic and shallots and cook another 3 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms, stir, and cook for 8 minutes. Transfer half of the mushroom mixture to a bowl and reserve. Strain the porcini mushrooms, saving the liquid, and add the drained mushrooms and wine to the pan. Boil for 15 minutes and then mix in the broths. Add the porcini liquid minus any sediment, bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer until reduced to 5 cups, about an hour or more. At this point, add the sprig of rosemary and simmer for 5 more minutes. If preparing for a roast, after the roast is done and removed, pour off the fat from the roasting pan and place on the stove top over a hot burner. Add the mushroom sauce to the pan and scrape up the browned bits, stirring them in to mix. Strain the mixture back into the saute pan, pressing out all liquid. Simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, mix in the butter and the reserved mushrooms and bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Chicken with Tarragon and Cipollini Onions

2010-12-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

“Elegant and Easy” was the premise of a recent episode of Giada De Laurentiis’ Giada at Home. Our ubiquitous celebrity chef is beloved because of her approachability, both in her on screen presence and her recipes. This recipe is certainly approachable in preparation and ingredients. It could also just as easily appear in a Gourmet Today cookbook that extends Gourmet expectations to meals prepared in 30 minutes or less. You might also find it in Bon Appétit: Fast, Easy, Fresh described as “fast enough for a weeknight, special enough for a weekend.” Special, elegant, gourmet, bon appétit: what do these words mean to us and why are they used? Of course, we all want to feel special, whether it’s the man on the couch eating nachos and drinking a beer, or the woman pouring a glass of wine and eating a piece of after dinner chocolate. The former reflects how we consider ourselves special when we eat traditional comfort food. In a sense, we are giving ourselves a hug, albeit in flannel. We can also give ourselves an embrace, and feel special in that different way too. What makes a hug an embrace? Certainly, gourmet and bon appétit play upon our associations with French pretensions. Anything with tarragon would fit that bill. But this recipe goes beyond what is pretentious, and into what is truly elegant. This recipe is simple, not garish, refined, not overdone, it is tasteful in both senses. That is achieved with the cipollini onions. Sautéing them and then including them with the braising liquid brings out their sweetness, and contributes to the savory nature of this dish. The tarragon, I would suggest in more modest proportions than Giada, provides that brightness that lemon can, without introducing an acid. Garlic, white wine, stock, it is beautiful in its simplicity, and simply beautiful. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinned chicken breasts

¼ cup flour plus 1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp olive oil

8 cipollini onions, peeled

1 clove garlic, minced

½ cup dry white wine

1 ½ cups stock

2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped

salt/pepper

1 tbsp butter

Directions:

In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust in the flour. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and brown on each side, about 8 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium and add the onions. Soften and caramelize the onions, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute to release its flavor. Add the white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits. Turn up the heat to high and add the stock, chicken and tarragon. Bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pot over medium heat, add the butter and melt. Whisk in the flour to form a roux and cook for at least a minute. When the chicken is done, remove it to a plate and cover. Add the roux to the broth, whisking in until smooth. Turn up the heat if necessary to maintain a simmer. Simmer the broth for several minutes more until thickened. Serve the sauce over the chicken with the onions.

Salmon Pie with Crispy Pancetta

2010-12-15T15:23:00.000-08:00

Brrrr…bacon. It’s still cold outside, and I’m still on a bacon kick. I recently prepared a special meal for a loved one featuring her favorite food: bacon. It’s winter outside, and so I wanted everything to reflect the season and provide a hearty, warming glow. I served first the butternut squash with apple and bacon recipe that I featured yesterday. But, what to do about a fish course? I find that recipes wrapping fish in bacon tend to overwhelm the fish. We’ve all tasted those ubiquitous appetizers with bacon wrapped shrimp or scallops. I personally find them gross. I’ve even had a more delicate wrapping, such as prosciutto, around a larger piece of fish, such as monkfish. Still, the pork flavor overwhelmed. For this meal, I wanted and needed something more. This recipe from the Daily Mail UK newspaper last year suggests the quintessential British comfort food of a meat pie. In a sense, it is a shepherd’s pie with fish instead of ground lamb. Is this cheating on my bacon theme to just lay strips of pancetta on top of a dish? Maybe so, but the idea of a seafood shepherd’s pie certainly made me feel warm inside. This recipe builds upon a bechamel sauce and milk-poached salmon with smoked salmon for an extra layer of flavor, and shrimp for additional bite. The salmon stands up to the bacon, the mashed potato topping adds that pot-sticking component, and the bacon on top allows you to select in which bites you want to include a bacon taste or just savor the salmon. Serves 6.

Ingredients:

2 lb salmon filets, skin left on

1 cup milk

1 bay leaf

8 tbsp butter

¼ cup flour

½ cup dry white wine

1 cup crème fraiche (or ½ cup crème fraiche and ½ cup milk)

1 tsp dijon mustard

6 oz sliced smoked salmon, cut into 1/2” pieces

1 lb shrimp, peeled

¼ cup chopped parsley

3 lbs potatoes, peeled

2 egg yolks

3 oz sliced pancetta

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted-water to boil. Meanwhile, in a large pan, add the salmon filets, bay leaf and milk. Add more milk if needed to cover the thickness of the filet. Bring to a simmer, cover partially and cook for 4 minutes. Add the potatoes to the pot of boiling water. Remove the poached salmon from its pan and cut the meat from the skin. Pull apart the meat into bite-sized chunks and set aside. In a medium pot over medium-high heat, melt 4 tbsp of the butter. Stir in the flour and mix to make a roux. Allow the roux to cook a couple of minutes and then whisk in the wine. Whisk in a cup of the cooking milk, mustard, ½ cup crème fraiche and cook for 10 minutes, stirring to ensure there are no lumps. Add more of the cooking milk if needed to produce a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper seasoning. Fold in the poached salmon, smoked salmon, shrimp and parsley then turn out into a baking dish. When the potatoes are cooked, drain, run through a ricer, and then combine with 4 tbsp of melted butter, the egg yolks and enough crème fraiche or milk to produce a smooth mashed potatoes. Smooth the mash over top of the fish mixture. Bake the pie in the oven for 20 minutes. Lay the sliced pancetta across the top and bake another 25 minutes or until the pancetta is crisp. Serve.

Butternut Squash Soup with Apple & Bacon

2010-12-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

Blustery, breezy…bacony. How do these go together? With winter’s icy grip finally closing us in her grasp, strength is needed to withstand her chilly fingers. Strength against the cold can come from foods such as squash, bacon and apple. Bacon is savory, it is salty, it is smoky. Energy can come from the hearty fall vegetables, nature filled with starch and vitamins. Brightness can come from the apple, left over from autumn’s harvest. Combining these three ingredients produces this wonderful butternut squash soup, which I prepared for Thanksgiving, and again this month. Of the many ways to prepare butternut squash, this is one of the simplest, quickest and best. You do not need to worry about steaming or roasting. The secret to this soup from Fine Cooking October/November ’05 is the same as a good stew, or I should the secret to making a good stew into a great Beef Bourguignon, cooking in the first rendered bacon fat. Browning the squash and mixing in some of the bacon along with apple give both a slightly savory and sweet taste to this soup. Add sage for an additional layer of flavor. Serves 6.

Ingredients:

6 thin slices of bacon or 3 thick slices, cut into ¼” strips

2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½” dice (about 6 cups)

1 Granny Smith, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2” dice (about 1 cup)

1 tsp fresh sage, chopped

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground salt

4 cups chicken broth

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the bacon fat and increase the heat to medium high. Add the squash and cook 6 minutes, stirring just once to allow the squash to brown. Add the apple, sage, salt and pepper and cook another 4 minutes. Add the broth, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook a further 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and add half of the bacon bits. Puree the soup with a stand blender, or food processor in batches. Adjust seasoning as desired. Serve the soup with remaining bacon bits on top.

Turkey Enchiladas with Chipotle Crema Sauce

2010-11-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

You know what they say about too much of a good thing…after three nights of roast turkey and turkey leftovers, I’m approaching that point. That’s not to say that I’m quite ready to abandon turkey, but I’m ready to give a break to the roasted, savory flavors of my Thanksgiving meal and traditional leftover recipes. I love a Thanksgiving dinner and the traditional sides, as do I love day-after Turkey Tetrazzini. This year, I also made Turkey pot pies. But, now, I’m ready to kick things up a notch. This menu planning swerve takes us south of the border, or at least up to the border, with a Tex-Mex flair. In the choice of enchiladas, the comfort food angle of the weekend turkey eating marathon remains. Indeed, how much more comfort can you get than from cream and cheese? The difference now is Mexican crema and Monterrey Jack cheese. But to really interest the palette, to get a little salsa in our step, to get our mariachis moving, we go with chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Chipotle peppers are fun, they’re hip, and they even supply a smoky flavor that can continue a Thanksgiving theme. Enchiladas are fun and easy to make. So Feliz Day After Thanksgiving! Serves 4.

Ingredients:

½ cup olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups water

1 chipotle chili, seeded and diced, along with 1 tsp of adobo sauce

1 cup Mexican crema

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

2 cups cooked turkey, cut into ½ inch pieces

salt/pepper

8 six inch corn tortillas

1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp oil. When hot, add half of the onions and soften a few minutes. Add 1 clove minced garlic and carefully add the water. Boil a few minutes to thicken slightly. Lower the heat to warm and stir in the crema and ½ to all of the chipotle chili and adobo sauce, depending on desired level of heat. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the other half of the onions and cook to soften, about 5 minutes. Add 1 clove minced garlic and salt and pepper as desired for taste. Add the tomatoes, turkey and ½ cup of the crema sauce. Stir the turkey mixture and cook a few minutes to warm through. Lower the heat to warm. In a medium saute pan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. For each tortilla, add one at a time to the oil and cook for 10 seconds. Turn over the tortilla and cook another 10 seconds. Then dredge the tortilla through the crema pan, coating each side lightly. Lay the tortilla in a 9 x 12 inch baking dish. Spoon several tbsp of the chicken mixture and a tbsp of the shredded cheese into the tortilla, fold the tortilla sides on top of each other and then roll the enchilada over so that the overlapping edges are on the bottom. Slide the enchilada over to the edge of the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the enchiladas and then spoon out the remaining crema sauce on top of the enchiladas. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve after allowing to cool slightly.

Turkey Pancetta Pot Pies

2010-11-29T13:11:00.000-08:00

What to do with leftover Thanksgiving turkey is a problem I like to have - so much so that I bring it on myself. I am one of those people (are there others like me?) who actually buys a bird a few pounds larger than I need just so that I have extra meat for leftovers. I’m not talking about making sandwiches later Thanksgiving evening. I’m talking about multiple meals in following days. In recent years, I have made a Turkey Tetrazzini the day after Thanksgiving (see Cook to Grow, Nov ‘09). This casserole with slivered almonds and parmesan provides a salty, nutty, toasted taste to turkey leftovers. This year I added this Turkey Pancetta Pot Pie recipe for Saturday night. Pot pie of course is one of the great comfort foods. The recipe, originally from Giada di Laurentiis, adds the earthy, savory flavor of unsmoked pork to the mix. This weekend, I used prosciutto instead of pancetta because that is what I had on hand. I also saved time by using a premade pie crust instead of making a homemade crust. After all, part of the comfort of the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend is no longer slaving in the kitchen. Serves 4. Next up, Turkey Enchiladas with a Chipotle Crema Sauce…

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

4 oz diced pancetta

1 tbsp butter

1 shallot, chopped

2 medium carrots, diced

1 1/2 tbsp dried thyme

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ cup flour

2 ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth

¼ cup cream

3 cups roasted turkey breast meat, cut into 1/2” pieces

1 cup frozen peas

1 sheet premade pie crust, thawed in refrigerator

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towels and add the butter to the pan. Add the shallots, carrots and thyme. Add the salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux and cook one minute. Add the chicken broth and whisk to remove the lumps. Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Add the cooked pancetta, cream, turkey and peas and simmer a few minutes to heat through. Ladle the mixture into ramekins. Roll out the pie crust dough and with a round cutter or knife cut circles a little larger than the dishes. Lay each on top of the filling in each dish and press down the edges slightly. Cut a slit in the top of each to allow steam to escape. Bake in the oven until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Remove, allow to cool slightly and serve.

Coconut-Lime Shrimp and Rice

2010-11-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

The moon shown brightly this morning, as full as it was intense. I had seen it the night before, high in the night’s sky, but now, setting in the western sky, it lit the pre-dawn morning so brilliantly that it cast shadows of light onto my feet. I was up before the sun had yet to rise, and now was witnessing a different kind of brightness, that lit up the entire room, turning night nearly into day. It was a drenching brightness, the kind of light that bathes something or someone. And in that way, it reminded me of two weeks previously, of a moonlight dappling a shoulder, lighting a neck, providing enough light to provide a vision with a memory. The light reminded me also of the sounds of that evening past, the crashing waves on a beach, the rhythmic throwing of the ocean onto the shore. It also reminded me of the tastes of that island paradise, tropical fruits mixed with exotic Indian spices. I don’t know if those feelings led me to choose this meal, or my menu choice was an attempt to rekindle those feelings, but the scents of coconut, lime, cumin and shrimp now filled my nose as it had filled me before. Cooking can do that for you too. Rekindling a memory, feelings associated with tastes and smells. On any given night you can take yourself on a journey, to a place or a memory. Coconut-lime did it for me, maybe it will for you too. Thank you to Bobby Flay’s Boy Gets Grill for the shrimp journey and Darien Schmidt for a new favorite rice recipe. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken stock

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp saffron

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ tsp fish sauce

1 ½ tsp lemon juice

½ tsp ground cumin

Pinch dried crushed chili

1 ¾ cup coconut milk

1 cup basmati rice

zest of 1 lime

juice of 1 lime

1” piece of ginger, minced

4 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

2 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped

½ lb shrimp, shelled

Directions:

In a medium pot over high heat, mix the stock, turmeric, saffron, garlic, fish sauce, lemon juice, cumin and chili. Stir and bring to a boil. Add ¾ cup of coconut milk and the rice and return to a boil. Stir, cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining coconut milk, lime zest and juice, ginger, 2 tbsp oil, cilantro and chilis. Add the shrimp and allow to marinate. When the rice is done cooking, fluff the rice with a fork, turn the heat to warm and allow to steam.

Heat a grill pan to medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp of oil. Remove the shrimp and shake off the excess marinade. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp, taking care not to crowd. Cook a couple of minutes until browned on one side and then turn, browning the other side. Cook in two batches if necessary, draining and wiping the pan in between to remove the excess liquid (which will steam the shrimp instead of browning and grilling). Remove the shrimp to a plate and pour the remaining cooking oil over the shrimp. Serve with the rice.

French Lentil Soup with Wild Boar Sausage

2010-11-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

The Pyramids at Giza, the Acropolis of Athens, the Statue of Liberty - what do they all share? They, along with French Gastronomy, are all United Nations world heritage designees. What does cooking share with towering monuments of mankind? They are all examples of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. That is a mouthful, but what makes French cuisine a mouthful worth international distinction? It is a style that forsakes the heavy use of spices. Indeed, the ingredients of French cuisine can be found at any local market: onions, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, chicken stock. How could ingredients so plain create cuisine so masterful? Certainly, we have the refined French technique. We also have the delicate sauces. But truly, why did the UN recently name French cuisine one of the world’s intangible treasures? It cited French gastronomy as a “social custom aimed at celebrating the most important moments in the lives of individuals and groups." I personally think that is code for drinking wine at lunch. But of course, the French have given us so much more, and when I say course, I mean course. They are recognized as the founders of a structured multi-course meal. Isn’t appetizer a French word? And don’t we think of a progression from light to heavy and then dessert? And why do we put the silverware where we do?

For me tonight, French cuisine represented its most simple, rural roots. I was not in search of a Michelin restaurant menu. I did not desire a sauce with my filet. Nor did I want even multi-courses. I went to the plain, the rustic, the beautiful. What is more beautiful than a leek? An onion? A garlic clove? Is there a more perfect herb than thyme? What is more fulfilling on a crisp fall day than a French green lentil, so delicate, yet so firm. And can you inspire more of a connection with falling leaves, the forest ground, the smell of nuts than a wild boar? Thus, tonight, there was no coconut milk, no chiles, no yogurt. There was only the sight of the woods, the sound of a crunching boot walking through the woods, the smell of a soup at the end of a long walk. Whether your knife blade is facing toward the plate or your water glass is on the right, you will be rewarded by this cultural treasure. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb French green lentils
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
4 sausages, such as boar, duck or chicken

Directions:
Microwave a bowl of water to near boiling and add the lentils to soak. Warm 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the onion, leek, garlic, thyme, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Drain the lentils and add to the pot, along with the stock and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat a saute pan over medium-high and add 1 tbsp oil. When hot, add the sausages and brown quickly on all sides. When the soup is largely done, add the sausages and cook for 5 minutes more. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated Parmesan over the top if desired.

Turkish Lamb Stew

2010-11-20T18:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, our view of a country is through the lens of history. Events that occurred in the distant past can shape our current attitudes toward a place. As a boy, I enjoyed reading stories about the Crusades. Too young to appreciate the religious or geopolitical consequences of the Crusades, I nevertheless enjoyed tales of knights marching off on quests to exotic lands. Part of their journey to the Holy Land took them through Turkey. There, under the blazing sun, many weighed down by their chain mail wilted in the heat of parched plains. Although, this curse turned into a blessing when the arrows of circling archers on horseback failed to penetrate western armor and the Crusaders were able to continue on to Jerusalem. Such stories left me with the impression of Turkey as a hot and dry place, full of rocks and dust, a place to pass through on the way to somewhere else: Palestine in the case of the Crusaders or Persia in the time of Alexander and the Greeks.

Our western view of Turkish cuisine may be similarly limited and outdated. Just as the Crusaders no doubt spent little time lingering and taking in the nuances of local cuisine, modern western food connoisseurs have yet to tap the hidden treasures of Turkey. Take Maras and Urfa peppers. I had not even heard of these peppers until reading an article from our dearly departed Gourmet Magazine. Apparently, Maras chiles come from the town of the same name in southeastern Turkey (not far from the path of the Crusaders). Locals dry the chiles until they are shriveled, but not yet crispy. The chiles retain a modest heat that is also sweet with a level of acidity. While the Maras chile is deep red, the Urfa chile is purply-black with a smokier flavor. Turks sprinkle both onto dishes such as eggs or pilaf, mix it into their kofte and meatballs, and even provide small dishes of it on Istanbul tables for whatever other seasoning uses you desire.

The two peppers are an ingredient of this lamb stew, which actually reminded me of a Moroccan tagine with its cumin, coriander, cinnamon, broth, chickpeas and apricots. One diversion was the simmering off of red wine vinegar, something I’ve never seen in Moroccan cuisine. And then, of course, the Maras and Urfa peppers both mixed in during cooking and sprinkled on top when serving. I encourage you to go on line and order some for yourself, or if you must, substitute paprika to get you through. The delicate broth of these spices, lamb and apricots is delightful. The Maras and Urfa will make it positively exotic. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 lb lamb, cut into ¾” chunks

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

4 cups chicken stock

½ can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp dried apricots, chopped

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp Maras pepper

½ tsp Uras pepper

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” chunks

2 tbsp oregano, chopped

2 tsp lemon juice

Rice

Directions:

Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and brown on all sides. Remove to a bowl. Turn down the heat to medium and add the onions, cooking until soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the vinegar and deglaze the bottom of the pot, scraping up the lamb bits. Cook down the vinegar until evaporated. Return the lamb to the pot and add the stock, chickpeas, apricot and spices. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered for 1 hour. Add the potatoes to the stew and cook until tender, about 30 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in the oregano and lemon juice. Season with salt. Serve with rice, sprinkling some more pepper flakes over the dish.

Martha's Scalloped Potatoes

2010-11-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

Where do we put Martha Stewart in the Pantheon of chefs? In our modern era of haute cuisine we may not think of her with Ripert, Ducasse or Keller. In our current age of celebrity chefs we may not think of her with Batali, Flay or DeLaurentiis. But there should be no doubt that she deserves a place in the Pantheon, to carry the metaphor, as one of the 12 Olympians of modern cooking. Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades she may not be, but we can note that Dionysus, also one of the Olympians, is the god of wine, festivals and celebration. We should also remember that not only has Martha been authoring cookbooks for a long time, one reason we may no longer think of her has a chef is her success in creating and diversifying her home living brand. What’s more, Martha has been working many of our current themes for years: seasonal eating; healthy, fresh, simple ingredients; and simple mid-week meal menus. Her cookbook What to Have for Dinner: 32 Easy Menus for Every Night of the Week published in 1996 does this to the nines. This recipe for gratin potatoes is my go-to potato accompaniment for lamb chops. It avoids the fat and calories of heavy cream and butter-based gratins. Yet, it is still full of flavor with its use of stock, herbs and Gruyere. Make it part of your fall and winter menus. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced to 1/8 inch thickness

1/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1/2 tsp olive oil

¼ tsp dried thyme leaves

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup chicken stock

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a small baking dish. In a mixing bowl, combine the potatoes, half of the cheese, oil thyme and salt. Arrange the potatoes in the baking dish, overlapping flat if desired. Pour the stock over the potatoes and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake the potatoes until tender and starting to brown, about 45 minutes.

Celery Root Puree

2010-11-09T14:35:00.000-08:00

I'm a puree kind of guy. Seems silly to say, and I imagine read. Is that an oxymoron: puree and guy? In some sense it couldn't be more manly. What does the stereotypical guy want? Meat and potatoes. Purees provide us away to serve more interesting potatoes with our meat. As fancy as I sometimes get, or want to serve, I still have a natural predilection toward some kind of supporting starch. Maybe it's in our DNA, like the need and therefore taste for salt and fat. Or it could be nurture. I grew up in the Midwest with three squares a day. And what more puts the square in a meal than meat and potatoes? Although, while this recipe does contain potatoes, not all of my puree suggestions do. For instance, I like to pair a pea puree with seared scallops. I also have recipes for cauliflower puree. Indeed, purees provide that dual opportunity to provide a vegetable, and do so in a form and taste that is more savory, more satisfying. To that S alliteration I might also add silky. And now also celery root. Celery root is related to celery, and has hints of celery flavoring, but it is a smoother, more subtle flavor (more Ss, I know). It pairs wonderfully with potatoes and cream. I served it with pan-seared duck breast and and a chery port sauce and was rewarded. So, next time you want to get fancy for your man (or yourself), and sneak some vegetables in too, think of this puree recipe from Food & Wine 2006. It will certainly satisfy! Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1 large celery root, peeled and diced

2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1 garlic clove, diced

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

salt/pepper

Directions:

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the celery root, potato, garlic, cream and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Drain into a colander and reserve the liquid. Puree the mixture in a blender. Add back in such liquid as necessary to form a soft puree consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sauteed Broccoli with Quinoa

2010-11-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Meat, meat, meat, do we always have to eat meat? For me, the answer is usually yes. I like it, and heck, we didn’t get to the top of the food chain by eating greens. But, of course, many sensitive people either limit the amount of meat they eat or forgo it altogether. Some evenings, even I just want to get in touch with my inner Gwyneth Paltrow and go green, organic or whatever she is. Ok, I do not have an inner Paltrow. I can’t eat anything even affectionately called GOOP, and MellowLOVE Green Juice just will not take me to a higher place, even with the Himalayan salt.

Be that as it may, I suppose I am still pretty far afield of the meat and potatoes crowd by proposing a dinner meal of quinoa with sautéed broccoli on top. Quinoa, as I’ve written before, actually has some taste to it, especially in blends with nuts, raisins, and salts. It’s also healthy and a great source of protein. Broccoli, I like, but there isn’t really anything I can eat just steamed. I’m not here for that. So, I propose sautéing it up with some softened shallot, garlic and a little chicken stock. Put together, it will actually get you through the evening and make you feel better. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 tbsps olive oil

2 shallots, diced

2 tbsp slivered almonds

1 cup quinoa

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 tbsp golden raisins

1 clove garlic, diced

2 servings of broccoli florets

salt/pepper

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a small pot over medium heat, warm 1 tbsp oil and add ½ of the diced shallots. Soften a few minutes and then add the almonds and quinoa. Stir and allow to cook a minute or two. Add 2 cups of stock and the raisins. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, warm 1 tbsp of oil and add the other ½ of shallots. Soften for a few minutes and then add the garlic. Cook a minute more and then add the remaining ½ cup of stock. Bring to a simmer, add the broccoli and cover. Cook for 5 minutes or more to the desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper if desired. When the quinoa is done, fluff and plate. Top with the broccoli, including the remaining stock and the cheese. Serve.

Tuna with Wasabi Potatoes and a Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette

2010-11-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Some days are for Panang curry and some for P.F. Changs. Some days are for traveling to exotic locales, and some days are for going to the mall. Some days are for authentic and some days are for, well, ginger-soy vinaigrettes. I can’t imagine anything like that exists in nature, or any authentic Asian kitchen. And yet, these tastes still provide us enjoyment. That doesn’t mean they are plain or boring. They can be vibrant and exciting, pairing things in ways that satisfy our sights and senses. Cooking doesn’t always need to be an expression of snobbery, or elitism or any other –ism that separates or divides. Cooking authentic recipes is important for its own sake, as a way to learn, appreciate and value things that are unique and special. But we ourselves are also unique and special, so even if something is more common at an American mall than an Asian food stall, it’s ok to eat that once in a while too if it makes us happy and keeps us interested. Take this recipe combination for example. It pairs wasabi mashed potatoes with a ginger-soy vinaigrette topping seared tuna. I can’t imagine that any true Asian cook makes mashed potatoes, much less adds wasabi too them. But why not, this is still America, we can do what we want. And tuna, tired of delicate, boring or just not that exciting? Hit it with a bold vinaigrette zinging with ginger and soy. Tomorrow, you can prepare a sauce the French way, or steam things the Japanese way. But tonight, Honey grab the keys, we’re going to the mall. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp butter, melted butter

1 tsp wasabi powder

2 tbsp plus ½ cup canola oil

2 tuna steaks

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp minced ginger

2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

salt/pepper

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Reduce to a light boil and cook for 15 minutes. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain and run through a ricer and back into the hot pot. Add the milk and butter and stir. Add more milk if desired for a smoother consistency. Mix the wasabi powder with 2 tsp of water and then stir into potatoes. Season further if desired, cover and keep warm. Add 2 tbsp of oil to a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Season the tuna with salt and pepper and then when the oil is smoking add to the pan. Sear the tuna on one side for a couple of minutes and then turn and sear a couple of minutes more and then remove. Meanwhile, mix the soy, vinegar, garlic, lime juice and ginger. Mix the cilantro into vinaigrette. Slice the tuna and plate over the mashed potatoes. Top with the vinaigrette.

Panang Curry

2010-11-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Dong Van plateau lies tucked in the clouds, nestled high in the border mountains between northern Vietnam and southern China. Hardly flat, it is marked by limestone mountains, ridges and pinnacles carved away by rain over the eons. Accessible through mountain passes with names like Heaven’s Gate, its remoteness protects ethnic minorities not yet overrun by the masses. Described by the New York Times in this weekend’s travel section, ethnic Hmong women under vivid pink and green headdresses come down from the mountains to sell their vegetables in the local market. There you can buy black bean paste wrapped in tobacco leaves for your hunger or a homemade ginseng tonic for your ailments.

I will never visit such a place, not least because of the 8 hour bus ride required from the nearest airport. Still, descriptions of exotic locales like this fuel my passion to travel off beaten paths, to places and cuisines out of the ordinary. Take curry for example. Green Thai curry is the most common, made from green chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal and shrimp paste. Yellow curry is my favorite with its cumin and coriander, along with mace and cinnamon. But one can go even farther afield with curries such as panang curry, a less spicy curry made with red chili peppers, cumin, coriander, and lemongrass. My mood for something different was met by this panang curry recipe, served with traditional beef and peanuts. It may not have come wrapped in a tobacco leaf, nor was it sold by a Hmong woman in a pink and green headdress, but it was a way for me, at least on one evening, to take my taste buds to a different place, experience something new and exotic, and do so without a 20 hour plane ride and an 8 hour bus ride. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp panang curry paste

½ lb beef, cut into thin strips

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp palm (or brown) sugar

¼ cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped

½ cup peas

1 cup cooked rice

Directions:

Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the curry paste and fry for 3 minutes. Add the beef, stir and fry 3 more minutes. Stir in the milk, fish sauce, sugar and peanuts. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the peas and simmer a few more minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve over rice.

Persian Pomegranate and Lamb Soup

2010-10-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Hotel Les Merinides sits on a hillside overlooking the ancient, exotic Moroccan city of Fes. Below, the historic medina of Fes el Bali, established in 789 AD, is a sea of white-washed buildings punctuated by the green-tiled roofs of the University of Al-Karaouine, the oldest continuous university in the world, and its Karaouine Mosque, one of the largest and oldest in Africa. These emerald jewels in the city reflect the jewel Fes long represented to the Western-world as a center of science and learning for medieval Muslims and Christians alike. Within the medina, one can step back into the time of camel trains delivering gold from Timbuktu, spice traders selling their goods among towering cones of cumin, coriander and turmeric, the leather souk where hides are still tanned and colored by foot in open pits. A walk through the maze-like narrow alleys of the medina will pass by a boy taking dough to the neighborhood communal bakery, a farmer pushing a cart of Clementines for sale, or a sweets-maker carrying a tray piled high with candies and cookies.

Few of these things were making an impression on me as I sat on the hotel’s terrace after the long drive in from the coast. The way this city is cradled by its surrounding Atlas mountain range hills was how I wanted to be cradled in bed to nurse the aches and chills of the cold I felt. Learning this, they served me Morocco’s classic harira soup, a lentil and tomato soup with turmeric and cinnamon, cilantro, parsley, celery, onion and sometimes chickpeas. The chill went away and I was filled with zesty, warming goodness. It was that same feeling I wanted to feel last night after a cold and rainy day. Fall is setting in, night is coming earlier, and I wanted to feel the warmth from the inside. My remaining pomegranate I needed to use sent me to the opposite end of the Muslim world, but even though I looked through recipes from Persia, I remembered that Moroccan harira soup from that day in Fes. This Persian pomegranate and lamb soup has many of the same characteristics. It starts with lentils, onions and garlic, and is added upon with cilantro, parsley and turmeric. Of course, pomegranate juice is mixed in, and lamb meatballs along with rice also provide a hearty and Middle-Eastern flavor reminder. Try this soup on a chilly day when brightness can come from a pomegranate and warmth from the inside out. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves

¼ cup lentils

4 cups water

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup chopped scallions

½ cup basmati rice

½ lb ground lamb

1 small onion, grated

1/2 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 slice white bread, broken into pieces

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp sugar

2 cups pomegranate juice with a handful of seeds for garnish

2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

In a heavy pot over medium heat, warm the oil and soften the sliced onions. After a few minutes, add the garlic and continue to cook until golden. Add the lentils and cook, stirring for a minute to coat. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook partially covered for 10 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, turmeric, parsley, cilantro and scallions. Continue cooking partially covered for another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the meatballs by combining the bread and milk. Squeeze out any excess milk and add to a bowl with the lamb, salt, pepper, parsley and grated onion. Mix together thoroughly and form into small meatballs. Add the meatballs and rice to the soup, return the soup to a simmer and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice. Adjust the seasoning if desired, and serve.

Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut and Onion Sauce with Chicken)

2010-10-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

Fesenjan. Sounds like a city in Persia, and indeed the word is Persian in origin. Exotic and mystical are words that come to my mind when thinking about Persia. Of course,we have our Western view of Persia through the eyes of the Greeks, and our modern differences with the government of the country we call Iran, but what is Persian food really? A of pile pomegranates at the store made me find out. Food can grow our senses and experiences. It can also help us learn about and understand a culture and the place its people live. Start with the pomegranate. These and other tree based fruits such as plums, prunes, apricots and raisins form an integral part of Persian cuisine. One can imagine the Zagros Mountains of western Iran sheltering not only ancient imperial Persian cities, but also moderate climates home to such bounty. Meat of course would be part of any diet in a region like this, and fillers such as rice and spices such as saffron and cinnamon readily available.

So, my journey into learning about such cuisine began with a two-for-one sale at the local market, something that would make any Persian stall owner proud. My search for pomegranate menus revealed this recipe from the Gourmet cookbook. It combines this famous fruit with another treasure of ancient Persians, the walnut. Together, this meal was meant for royalty and today this recipe is favored on special occasions. Of course, at home where every man (or woman) is king, and every day an opportunity to feel special through cooking, such a recipe is an easy selection. One thing I did was to take the khoresht out of the fesenjan. Khoresht is a name for stew, and many preparations of fesenjan will show this as a stew with chunks of meat. For whatever reason, I felt like making this recipe as a sauce topping a whole chicken breast, as the picture shows. I did braise the meat in the sauce, but then I served it as a chicken breast with the sauce on top. East meets West you could say. Either way, the flavors, aromas and thoughts of Persia are what are important. That, and the adventures even your local supermarket can inspire. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

2 chicken breasts

2 yellow onions, sliced thin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups coarsely ground walnuts

1 pomegranate, quartered, with seeds retained whole from one quarter and the remaining quarters squeezed for their juice

½ cup tomato sauce

1 ½ cups chicken stock

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 tbsp molasses

1 cup cooked rice

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter and then brown the chicken on both sides. Remove the chicken. Reduce the heat to medium and sauté the onions until golden and softened. Stir in the cinnamon and cook for an additional minute. Stir in the walnuts and cook another minute. Stir in the pomegranate juice and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up any bits. Add the tomato sauce, broth, lemon juice, salt, pepper, molasses, and pomegranate seeds. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat and return the chicken. Cook the mixture for an additional 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. If a stew–like dish is desired, break up the chicken into pieces and simmer down to the desired stew consistency. If a sauce is desired, retain the chicken breasts whole, remove, and cook down the sauce to the desire sauce consistency. Serve with rice.

Smoky Shrimp and Chorizo Soup

2010-10-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

A new restaurant in my neighborhood is a casual joint, relatively speaking. It is part of a family of restaurants that includes a very upscale restaurant downtown featuring French-Belgique cuisine. Its sister restaurant is located next door to this local place, also very fine. The casual third restaurant is no out-of-place step-child. It is warm with booths, a bar, a high table with tall chairs, heat and light from the open brick oven. It is also sophisticated, in part from the menu of flatbreads and mussels. If it’s one thing Belgium knows it’s mussels, and beer of course. This place keeps a dozen or more beers from Belgium that you've never heard of, probably to build mystique. Whether those are actually for drinking or not, the food is definitely for eating. They offer gourmet flatbreads with ingredients such as prosciutto, goat cheese, and forest mushrooms. They also serve several different mussel combinations, including one with chorizo sausage that I order regularly. Pork and seafood is a classic combination. Portugal features pork and clams, the pork marinated in paprika and white wine, and then cooked together with the clams in a stock and tomato broth. Of course, the Iberian peninsula is also home to chorizo, so smoky and rustic. I’m a mussels fan too, which is why I like the mussels and chorizo dish.

All of these thoughts and flavors return to my mind and palette in the recipe below from Food and Wine. The smokiness of the chorizo is combined with the bread-dipping good broth, and the shrimp provides an easy seafood partner, as well as a nice additional firm crunch. Topped with luscious avocado slices and this dish is creamy, spicy, hearty, savory, smoky, all wonderful tastes and feelings. Did I mention quick too?

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp, shelled, shells reserved

1 quart low-sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp olive oil

4 oz dry chorizo, peeled and sliced

½ large sweet onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

½ tsp sweet smoked paprika

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp butter

salt/pepper

avocado slices

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, simmer the shrimp shells in the chicken broth for 10 minutes. Strain the broth and keep the shells. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook a few minutes to brown slightly. Remove and reserve. Turn down the heat to medium and add the onion, garlic and paprika. Soften the onions for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook a further 5 minutes. Add the chorizo to the pan along with the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pan melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux for another minute to reduce the flour flavor, and then whisk into the soup. Simmer a few additional minutes to thicken the soup. Ladle into bowls and serve with the avocado slices.

Yellow Dal

2010-10-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Dal, dal, everywhere dal. That’s what it seemed like after my yellow dal madness. There is an Indian restaurant near my office I like to go to at least once a week. I get the Chicken Korma, that luscious Mughal dish that braises meat in yoghurt, cream, and almonds. I also love a dal with that, the lentil side dish ubiquitous across India. One of my favorites is Makhani Dal, another Punjabi dish, made with black lentils and slow cooked for hours, many times with cream, but always with cumin and garam masala and served with rice and naan bread. But, paired with Chicken Korma I go for a yellow dal, made with what I think of as yellow-spit peas. Apparently, Indians don’t actually eat this kind of dal, it being more a creation of Indians who have come to the new world. Such purities matter not to me for these purposes. For me, it is just a transport device taking me to an exotic subcontinent, thick with the smell of Indian spices, the blaring honking horns of traffic jams and languages, the classic Muslim and Hindu architecture, the multi-colored sarongs. I have never been to India, but some day I will go, and until then, I will use these dishes to fantasize about such a trip.

Wanting to capture these midweek interludes at home, I set about making a yellow dal dish. Since there really is no one such thing, the variety is great. I found a recipe for a so-called Mountain Dal from Nepal. I tried that first and did not like it at all. Not that there was anything wrong with it, I just learned that I am not a big fan of cardamom. Indeed, that’s what these recipes are at heart, a reflection of the spices and techniques of their region. Unhappy with the Mountain Dal, I decided to prepare another version, and why stop there? So, I chose another style to compare. Pictured above with the red pepper slivers is a dish from southern India. As you might imagine, it is cooked with coconut milk, a primary ingredient of southern Indian cooking. Also above with the cilantro is a Delhi dal. That was the most basic recipe, but still included the essentials: turmeric, onion, cumin, garlic, garam masala. In all of these I learned the basic dal technique, which is to cook the lentils in water with just the turmeric, and then when they are done, add in an onion, spice, oil mixture for flavoring. The simplest recipe I have included bellow. Try it for your own taste of Delhi.

Ingredients:

16 oz yellow lentils

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

4 cups water

1 tsp salt

1 tomato, diced

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garam masala

Directions:

Rinse the lentils and add to a pot with the water and turmeric over high heat. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to a simmer. Cook approximately 40 minutes. Add the salt and tomato and cook another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the cumin cook to release the flavors, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cayenne and garam masala. Stir the entire mixture into the lentils. Cook the lentils a few minutes more to incorporate the flavors. Mash some of the lentils and or cook down a little of the liquid if desired. Serve with rice.

Pancetta and Herb Frittata

2010-10-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

We all find comfort in our routines. Part of why we get into ruts is because they are comfortable. One habit I am in which makes me very happy is my weekend breakfast schedule. I love a big breakfast, and I love breakfast food. I’m talking eggs and bacon, but also hash browns, even a bowl of cereal. I go salty and savory on Saturdays, and then Sundays I go sweet with pancakes or waffles. So it was when disaster hit last weekend. I realized, Saturday morning, that I was out of both bacon and hash brown potatoes. I know I could have made hash brown cut potatoes from scratch, but the frozen kind is fine with me and saves a lot of time and trouble. A similar option however does not exist for me and bacon. I love bacon. It may very well be my favorite food. For me it is also a key component of my scrambled eggs recipe. I first fry the bacon, and then after pouring off the rendered fat, cook the eggs in the remaining bacon film and bits. No butter for my eggs. Just like the French say duck fat makes the best pomme frites, I think a little bacon fat makes the best scrambled eggs.

What to do? On this morning, a switched courses and went with a pancetta and herb frittata. Now it may seem odd to you that I had pancetta and not bacon. It is true that I like to keep pancetta on hand and I recommend you do as well. It is a frequent component of many of the Italian dishes I prepare. However, my recipes seem to result in never quite using all of the pancetta I buy, so I usually seem to have at least a little bit of it in the fridge. Likewise, I think every pantry should include potatoes somewhere down in its deep, dark recesses. Similarly, every self-respecting home cook should keep basic herbs including thyme, rosemary, basil and parsley, but also chives and dill. I try always to keep fresh parsley, but it’s easy to also keep a dried amount for those just in case moments. Thus, there is always the opportunity to whip up a frittata. It may sound fancy, but it’s really quite easy. Dice the potatoes small and cook them first, then when soft add the eggs and whatever else you like. Finish under the broiler and you have a complete breakfast in a single dish. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

4 potatoes, peeled and diced to ¼” pieces

6 oz. pancetta, diced

6 eggs, beaten

Salt/pepper

1 tbsp fresh, chopped or 2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp fresh chopped or ½ tsp dried dill

1 tsp fresh, chopped or ½ tsp dried chives

Salt/pepper

Directions:

Turn on the oven broiler to preheat. In a large non-stick sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil. When hot, add the potatoes. Stir to coat and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pancetta and cook a further 4 or 5 minutes to brown. In a bowl, combine the eggs, herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Add the cooked potatoes and pancetta mixture, stir and return to the pan. Cook the frittata until the bottom is browned and the top is almost set. Place the pan under the broiler to finish cooking the top of the frittata and brown. When done, slide the frittata off the pan onto a plate and serve.

Apple Curry Crab Cakes

2010-10-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes opposites do attract. Many of our fall dishes are warm and comforting. Root vegetables or squash lend themselves to roasting and baking. The chill in the air lends itself to oven cooked meals, casseroles, ragus. Autumn's apples around here come from the mountain valleys, which make me think of game, rustic and wild. But it doesn't have to be that way when selecting recipes to use fall's harvest. Opposite tastes, like cool, crisp, fresh tastes normally associated with the summer, can also pair well with apples. This dish plays on that by incorporating apples into crab cakes. Geographically, these are opposite ingredients. Local apples here come from the cooler terrain to the west near Virginia's Blue Ridge and the Shenandoah Valley. Crabs come from the east and the Chesapeake Bay. Even farther to the east come curry spices, and the cool taste of cilantro. Isn't going in opposite directions why we travel, to take our lives temporarily to a different place, break ourselves from our routines, the known and comfortable? This recipe from Food and Wine may be a break from your fall repertoire, but use it to take your fall apple harvest in a new direction. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp creme fraiche
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chives, snipped
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, mined
1 tbsp tarragon, minced
2 apples, such as Granny Smith with 1 cut into thin matchsticks and one diced to produce 1/2 a cup of diced apple

1 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 lb lump crab
1/4 cup canola oil1 tbsp champagne vinegar
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 1/2 tsp of the curry. Set aside. In another bowl, combine the remaining mayonnaise, creme fraiche, lemon juice, chives, parsley, tarragon, egg, 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs and diced apple. Season with salt and pepper. Place the remaining bread crumbs on a plate. Form crab cake mixture into 4 patties and coat each in the bread crumbs. Place the crab cakes on an oiled baking sheet and chill. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick saute pan over medium heat. Add the crab cakes and saute until golden, perhaps 5 minutes. Gently turn the cakes and saute the other side until also golden. Meanwhile, mix 2 tbsp of the oil, vinegar and 1/2 tsp curry powder. Add to apple matchsticks and cilantro and toss. Season the finished crab cakes as desired. Serve with apple salad and curry mayonnaise.

Pancakes

2010-10-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

In my house, the big fight is between Yoda and the Stormtrooper, or I should say over those two. If it's Sunday, it's pancakes, and with two boys in the house, the Star Wars shaped pancake molds get a lot of use. We also have a Darth Vader mold, but no one seems to want to eat Darth Vader pancakes. I don't think this would hurt Darth Vader's feelings, he's more a fear over love kind of guy. Yoda, that little green Zen master without an ego, you would think would prefer not to have children idolize him, although his kindness and warmth are a natural attraction to younglings, so he probably doesn't mind. Clone soldiers I'm sure would love to have boys choose their pancakes, but Stormtroopers and their darker role, I'm not so sure. I'm sure there would be a memo from Darth to the Stormtroopers discouraging that.

Such are the musings you can have on a lazy weekend morning. While rest is an important part of weekends, so is reconnecting those bonds you share with your loved ones. They say that families eating dinner together are one of the best way to grow healthy families. Likewise, I believe that weekend breakfasts serve that purpose and need. And when you are doing it in your pajamas, you're not just dad anymore, you're that fun guy who's making Star Wars pancakes. Even if your pancakes are more traditionally shaped, not only are you serving a hearty meal, you are growing the lasting and unbreakable bonds that come with this family togetherness. This recipe is quick and easy, because this is no time to slave away in the kitchen. It's a time to grow your family. May the syrup be with you. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/8 tsp vanilla

Directions:
In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl mix together the milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Combine the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stirring as you slowly poor. Beat the mixture to combine, although not too much. Some lumps can remain in the batter. Add more milk if a looser batter is desired. Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat. Ladle the batter onto the griddle, 1/3 cup at a time. As bubbles start to form and pop on the tops of the pancakes check the underside. Flip when golden. Cook a minute or two longer. Remove and keep warm in a preheated oven. Serve with butter and syrup.

Apple and Bacon Risotto

2010-10-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Fall comes slowly, subtly at first, the humidity breaks during the day, nights are a little cooler. The sun is a little lower in the sky, and the tips of the leaves start turning. This isn't really fall, time of crisp air and warm sweaters. It's more autumn, that first hint of fall. This is the time of apples. Not here, but up in the valleys, the Shenandoah Valley, beyond the Blue Ridge. There they are harvesting apples in all their variety. Is Fuji really different than Gala? How much different is a Braeburn? Tart apples may be best for pies, but what about in other dishes, like pork?

I don't know the answers to many of these questions, but this time of year I do like to cook recipes that include apples. Pork with apples comes to mind as a natural pairing. I keep a bottle of Cavaldos, an apple brandy from Normandy, for just such occasions. This dish picks up the apple and pork theme, plus provides the warm comfort feeling of risotto. The recipe originally appeared in our local Washington Post, and this being Virginia, it featured 'country' ham. I'm not a big ham fan, but I do love bacon. If you are worried about overpowering the dish with a smoked bacon flavor, but still want that browned, caramelized pork taste, substitute pancetta instead. Either way allows you to saute the rice briefly in pork fat. How much better can it get? Additionally, instead of wine as the initial stock for the risotto, apple cider is used. Top it off at the end as well for an additional apple taste and feel fall at your doorstep. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
4 slices of bacon, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup apple cider
4 cups chicken stock
1 apple with 3/4 diced, and 1/4 sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup Asiago cheese, grated

Directions:
In a medium pan over high heat, bring the stock to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. In another medium pan over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until it starts to turn brown. Add the onions and cook until softened. If there is more than a couple of tbsp of fat in the pan, pour off the extra fat. Stir in the risotto rice and coat with the bacon fat. Allow to cook a few minutes and then stir in 1/2 cup of cider. Bring to a boil and then simmer down until almost gone. Ladle in 1/2 cup to 1 cup of stock, ensuring that it's at a simmer but not boiling too strongly.  Stir the risotto and slowly cook down the stock. When almost all of the stock is cooked off, ladle in more of the stock and continue simmering. Repeat this process for about 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked al dente. Meanwhile, in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and when melted, add the apple slices and brown slightly. Remove the slices and add the diced apple. Cook a few minutes to soften slightly, but not so long that the apple pieces become too soft. When the rice is almost cooked, taste the rice and if more apple taste is desired, stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of apple cider. Stir in the cheese and diced apple. Plate each portion and top with an apple slice. Serve.

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs

2010-10-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Light and smell dominate the senses in Djemaa el Fna, the market square beneath the Khoutoubia Mosque, gateway to Marrakech's medina. Flame throwers and snake charmers ply their trades beside food stalls rendering their exotic spiced smells to the skies. Incandescent bulbs hung from wires across the stalls add to the yellow glow of the night. People jostle and push, going for a meal or going for your pocket, beggars and backpackers in search of relief to their physical and emotional hunger. So, to do the lovers next to the Trevi fountain in Rome search for their passion's desires, lit by the flowing water rushing, spraying, splashing. Trivia, the Roman virgin, being the last thing on their mind. Until, of course, they smell the artichoke, the eggplant, the meatballs.

Yes, I said meatballs. Did you hear a scratch in the record too? Maybe the coin I threw into the Trevi fountain brings my memories back to there, as do the memories of wandering Moroccan medinas. Maybe I don't think of meatballs when I think of these places I've visited, but I do think, and many times remember, through tastes and smells. They say that those are the most powerful senses we possess. Smelling cooking lamb, spices like cumin and coriander certainly gives me flashbacks to Morocco. Simmering tomato sauce, rosemary, garlic and fennel conjure Italy's Mediterranean fare. This recipe combines those flavors, those feels, those memories into lovely, lonesome, lust inspiring hunks of cheese filled meat. Ok, I should stop there. Let's just say these are good meatballs that made me think of my travels, a crucial element of why I cook. Andrew Carmellini, of Urban Italian gives us this recipe. He calls it the Middle East meets Little Italy. I call it Marrakech meets Rome. You can call it dinner tonight.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp fennel seed

1 tbsp rosemary, chopped

1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce

1/4 cup goat cheese

1/2 lb merguez sausage

1 lb ground lamb

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and soften for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute further. Add the coriander, fennel, rosemary and cook another minute to release the flavors in the herbs. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Add the sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer, then cover. Divide the the goat cheese into 12 pieces, rolling in your hands to make round balls. Remove the sausage shell casings and with your finger pull apart the sausages into small piecess. Mix together the sausage, lamb, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, and onion herb mixture. Use your hands and fingers to mix fully the mixture. Divide the mixture in half and then those halves themselves in half. Divide each quarter into thirds and roll those thirds into rough balls. Make an indentation in each ball with your thumb and insert a goat cheese ball inside. Form the meat around the cheese and finish rolling the balls into a round shape. Place the meatballs into the saute pan with the sauce and ensure the sauce is at a simmer, raising the heat if necessary and then lowering again. Cover the meatballs and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the meatballs and cook the other side, spooning the sauce on top, about 5 more minutes. Ladle the meatballs into bowls, on pasta or rice if desired.

Herb Crusted Lamb with a Vegetable Tian

2010-10-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to the DMV three times. Not once, not twice, but three separate trips to accomplish the needed task. I arrived early in the morning, 1/2 an hour before it opened, waiting as one of the first people in line, only to be told I needed to have a form I already had also signed by someone else. Grudgingly, I left the DMV to get the form signed and returned an hour later. Then, after waiting in line again, the woman at the counter said that I needed an additional form completed and signed. Shoulders slumped even lower, I shuffled out and went to obtain the necessary signatures before returning again. On this the third DMV attempt of the morning, I was standing in line when the person in front of me suggested that the security guard had thought momentarily that I had a gun. I carry a blackberry on my belt and apparently they way it protruded from my side caused the guard a double-take, which my co-sufferer had noticed. I thought to myself that this morning's experience with government bureaucracy was why everyone hated the DMV and some rare few tragically do bring a gun to solve their problems. While I was not inspired to "go postal" this morning, the back and forth purgatory reminded me of the multiple shopping trips often required for gourmet recipes. Trekking across town from supermarket, to wine shop, to gourmet shop, to kitchenware store and back to one or more can wear you out before you even set foot in the kitchen. However, while there is little satisfaction in completing any DMV experience, the glow in your belly and the faces of your guests quickly melts away pre-dinner troubles.

My recent Gary Danko dinner party featured multiple trips to stores and shops. The resulting evening of pure dining and communal joy made it all worth the trouble. This recipe for herb-crusted lamb with a vegetable tian served as the red meat course. The picture above from a guest at the restaurant (thanks Tammy, I'm sure you had a great 30th birthday! I was too busy hosting my dinner party to take an actual picture of my meal) hints both at how good this recipe can be and what to do differently at home to save time and expense. The Gary Danko recipe calls for loin of lamb. I don't even know if my local stores carry such a thing because I didn't even try. Instead, I served two french-cut lamb chops on each plate. Guests were delighted just as much, and I saved myself the extra time and trouble of babysitting roasting loins in the middle of serving a multi-course dinner party. All of the components were prepared in advance. The chops received a quick sear in a saute pan on each side to cut cooking time and worry. Think about modifications like that as you customize recipes to fit your needs. Many times, similar but different cuts or cooking preparations will reduce your stress and leave your guests just as happy. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
4 lamb chops
4 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp chopped thyme
1 clove garlic
1 small eggplant
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
2 cups veal stock
1 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
1 bulb fennel, diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1/2 cup Parmegiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
1 tomato, sliced into 1/4" rounds

1 roasted red pepper
2 sprigs rosemary

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If working with a rack of lamb, cut into chops. Clean each of the chops down to the main section of meat on the chop, cutting away and retaining any additional fat along the bone and small parts of meat attached to the chop. In a bowl, mix together 2 tbsp of parsley with the rosemary, thyme and garlic. Spoon out onto the lamb chops and allow the chops to marinate. Cut 2 rounds from the eggplant, about 1/2" thick. Brush a little olive oil on a baking tray and then put down the rounds. Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, dice the lamb cuttings into 3/4" pieces and saute in a sauce pan over medium heat. When the fat is rendered and the remaining meat is browned, poor off the fat. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of stock, cooking down to a couple of tablespoons. Add some of the fennel seeds and another 1/2 cup of stock. Repeat this process until the last of the stock is added and the sauce is reduced to 1/2 a cup or less. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, saute the zucchini rounds in 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. When the zucchini is soft, remove to a bowl and add the onion and fennel to the pan. Cook until softened but not browned. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Mix together in a bowl the cheese, bread crumbs, salt, basil, 2 tbsp of parsley and the Herbs de Provence. Assemble the tians by placing a round ring or biscuit cutter on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Inside, first put down the tomato slice, then spoon enough of the herb mixture to cover. Then spoon in a layer of onions and fennel, covering again with the herb mixture, and then repeating with successive layers of zucchini, eggplant and roasted red pepper. Place the tians in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, warm a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp of oil and then the chops, herb side down. Saute a few minutes until browned. Turn the chops and saute a few minutes more until both sides are browned and the middle remains pink. Remove the chops and allow to rest. Remove the tians from the oven and use a spatula to pick them up and move to the plate. Holding down the tian, lift the ring to leave the tian in place. Stick a spear of rosemary into the top of each tian. Lean the chops up against the tian. Serve with polenta triangles if desired. Spoon the sauce onto the tian and chops. Serve.

Horseradish Crusted Salmon

2010-10-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

Let me first say that I don't particularly like salmon. For many years it was the "in" fish, and it certainly is a healthy source of protein. I just don't like it's taste, simple as that. Nor do I like horseradish. Too much for me in whatever you might call that taste. So, why would I prepare a dish that by all indications I doubly would not like? No, this is not a posting about growing yourself and your tastes by forcing yourself to eat something you know you don't like. While I always support trying something new, and sometimes I even follow my own advice, I would never advocate purposely eating something you don't like. That's not what life, at least through cooking, is about. But, sometimes it's not about you, it's about your partner in dining pleasure. The gift is in the giving as they say, and sometimes that means making something you don't like and don't eat just to please another.

Don't get me wrong, I like many kinds of fish, and several kinds of vegetables that others don't like, such as broccoli and cauliflower. And, indeed, when preparing asparagus or artichokes (also not high on my list) for a guest, I will prepare a side of green beans for myself. That way everyone is happy. That, however, becomes a more limited option with a main course, in time, trouble and expense. For that, the second message of this post is to cook in a way that helps you with taste. For me, that means making salmon not taste as much like salmon. I do that by putting on a crust. A sliced potato crust is always nice on salmon. Julia Childs and Jacque Pepin have a nice recipe for potato crusted salmon that I make sometimes. Giada de Laurentiis encrusts fish with purple potatoes for added color as well as taste. As that technique adds a flavor that virtually all like, and minimizes another that some don't, so does a horseradish crust mellow things out. Furthermore, the cooking process will also mellow the horseradish. That on a bed of cucumbers and the mustard sauce as found in this Gary Danko recipe provides a lovely combination. It served as the second course of a recent dinner party and I urge you to try it any time. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1/2 shallot, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fish stock
1/4 cup clam juice
1 sprig fresh thyme
bay leaf
1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 3/4 tsp chives, chopped
1 3/4 tsp dill, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp creme fraiche
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp whole grain mustard

4 inch length of salmon filet, skin removed, cut into 1 inch widths

1/4 cup + 1/2 tsp horseradish

1 egg white
2 tbsp heavy cream

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:
In a sauce pan over medium-high heat combine the shallot, wine, stock, clam juice, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cooking until reduced by 2/3. Meanwhile, combine the cucumber and salt in a bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. In another bowl, mix 1 1/2 tsp chives, 1 1/2 tsp dill, 1 tbsp creme fraiche and the lemon juice. Leave out to come to room temperature. In another bowl, mix the mustard, 1/2 tsp of horseradish, 1/2 tbsp of creme fraiche, 1/4 tsp of dill and 1/4 tsp of chives. Set aside. Ready the salmon by rolling it, thick part first, into medallions. Secure by running a toothpick or skewer horizontally through the medallion starting with the thin flap. Combine 1/4 cup of the horseradish and the egg white and spoon a dollop of the mixture on top of each salmon medallion, smoothing to cover. Drain the water from the cucumber and salt and stir in the creme fraiche and lemon mixture. When the sauce is reduced, stir in the cream and return to a boil. Whisk in the butter, small pieces at a time. When fully mixed, strain the sauce, pressing on the shallots to obtain all of the sauce, and return to the sauce pan. Stir the mustard mixture into the sauce and keep warm. Heat the oil in a non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat. Place the salmon in the pan, horseradish side down, cover and sear to form a crust, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the salmon, cover and cook a few more minutes. Plate by laying down a bed of the cucumber mixture. Place 2 salmon medallions on top and then spoon the sauce on top and around the plate.

Seared Foie Gras with Peaches and Red Onion Compote

2010-10-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, the best part of cooking isn't the cooking, or even the tasting, it's the laughing. Yes, taking on a gourmet menu with intricate sauces and foreign ingredients will force you to grow as a craftsman. Tasting dishes in their new and succulent combinations will allow you to grow your palette. But, cooking also allows you to grow your relationships. In some ways, the food doesn't matter, it's about the human connections you share and foster. On the other hand, cooking special food and serving it in a special setting shows people that they are important to you, and that new and exciting experiences can occur together. So it was when I hosted a dinner party with friends and colleagues. The food was great, all recipes from the San Francisco chef Gary Danko. The ingredients were over the top. I believe one should never eat foie gras more than once a year. But the most rewarding part for me was hearing the laughter, the uproarious, lusty, throaty laughing emanating from the dining room as I plated dishes, the cheers and by now running jokes as we progressed through the courses.

That was the reason I prepared the dish below, and the several recipes which will follow in future posts. The picture above is from a dish served at the restaurant (mine of course looked exactly the same ;) ), and the recipe came from the Gary Danko online site. On the dinner party preparation, to avoid feeling more like a harried line cook than a host, think about preparation timing and what can be made in advance. Here, I made the onion compote the day before and reheated it when the guests took their seats. The sauce I made in the morning and rewarmed it starting in the evening before the guests arrived. And the peaches I prepared in the afternoon, and rewarmed them in the same pan as was used to sear the foie gras as I plated the compote and foie gras. Serves 6.

Ingredients:
3 lbs red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp butter
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp dried thyme
4 tbsp honey
1 tbsp shallot, minced
2 tbsp cognac
1 cup + 3 tbsp orange muscat dessert wine, such as Essensia
4 tbsp honey
4 tsp sherry vinegar
2 cups veal stock
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large peaches, pealed and cut into wedges
1 lb foie gras sliced into finger-width slices
baby mixed greens

Directions:
Prepare the compote by melting the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, chicken stock, vinegar, thyme, honey and salt. Stir occasionally, turning down the heat if needed to avoid browning the onions. Cook until the onions are cooked down and finally are caramelized, perhaps 30 minutes. Add more stock if needed as the onions reduce. Prepare the sauce in a saucepan over high heat, combine the shallot, cognac, wine, honey, vinegar, and veal stock. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer until reduced by half. Strain and season to taste, keeping warm in the pan until needed. Prepare the peaches by heating a non-stick saute pan over medium high heat with 2 tbsp olive oil. Sear the peaches until golden-brown on both sides, a few minutes each side. Remove to a bowl. Prepare the foie gras with a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the foie gras and sear until golden brown. Take care to not over cook the foie gras, which will cause it to melt and start loosing its shape. Remove rendered fat from the pan with a paper towel if needed. Turn the foie gras and press down if needed to achieve a sear on the other side. Remove and drain on paper towels. Return the peaches to the pan and rewarm. Plate by first laying down a portion of the compote, then laying 5 or 6 of the peach slices next to each other beside the compote. Lay a piece of foie gras partially on both. Place a small portion of the greens beside the compote, opposite the peaches. Spoon sauce an top of the foie gras and peaches. Serve.

Corn and Poblano Rajas

2010-09-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Today is the 50th anniversary of Ted Williams' final game. The greatest hitter of all time capped off his baseball career by hitting a home run in his final at-bat. Charles McGrath in the New York Times helps us remember Ted Williams through the eyes of John Updike, who was there on that day and wrote his paean to Williams in Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.   McGrath focuses on Updike's phrase, "For me, Williams is the classic ballplayer of the game on a hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill." McGrath believes that Updike identified with Williams, both in their physical similarities, both were were tall and slender, but also as artists committed to their craft. Updike found the hero in Williams as a "player who always care[s]; who care, that is to say, about themselves and their art." Although, for McGrath, the difference of Williams "was not between a thing done well and a thing done ill, but between a thing done well and a thing done even better."

What does this have to do with a corn poblano cheese mixture recipe from a petite Mexican-American chef from Baja? McGrath, Updike, Williams, and even Marcella Valladolid in Fresh Mexico all remind us that every day, whether on those hot August weekdays before a small crowd, or on those dark weekday evenings before no one, we have the opportunity to be better. I took that opportunity, as I try to do regularly as reflected in this blog, to do better at a Sunday afternoon tailgating party. As with the ancho tequila salsa featured yesterday, I tried to do better than just dogs and brats on the grill by featuring the last of these recipes I tried from Valladolid. It makes a wonderful feeling for a quesadilla, or even just in a small soft taco shell. A Mexican theme for the party was surely fun, and pulling off recipes fulfilling, but the combination of new and different made everything special. The important thing, though, is to feel that feeling of being special, not just for and in front of a crowd, but when you are alone, and no one is looking. That is the sign of someone devoted to a higher calling in pursuing their craft. It is also the sign of someone who derives joy from practicing their craft. None of us will ever be Ted Williams, and few of us will ever be a celebrity chef, but we can all be special to ourselves, and to those around us, because we care and choose to do things better.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups corn kernels
6 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, seeded and sliced into long strips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Mexican crema or creme fraiche
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
tortillas
salt/pepper

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and soften for 5 minutes. Add the corn and and chile strips and cook for 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and and crema and cook for 8 minutes, gently simmering. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Season to taste the mixture with salt and pepper. Serve with tortillas.

Ancho Tequila Salsa

2010-09-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

I believe a life well lived is a life where we strive to do better. Doing good is of course always important, and doing well is important to many, but doing better is important to making our lives more interesting, more entertaining, more enriching. How much more fun is life, how much happier are we, how much better to do we and our friends feel when we take the time to do something a little more special, a little more interesting, a little more fun than the normal and original?

Food is definitely in that category. We can always do the same, the routine, the normal. Sometimes we must do quick and easy, but many more times we should do better. For me, I try to think of what I am doing, and how I can make it more adventurous, more entertaining, more challenging. Cooking from foreign destinations visited or waiting helps me bring adventure home. Trying new and interesting cocktails and dishes is always a more fun and stimulating way to entertain. And taking on the ingredients and techniques of a fine chef or restaurant challenges me intellectually and as a craftsman.

Take salsa for example. How easy is it to put out a jar of salsa with whatever chip or taco dish you are contemplating? But how much more boring and underperforming can you be? Why not do something totally different than what you have ever done or what your guests have ever tasted? This recipe from from Marcella Valladolid's Fresh Mexico may be something you've never encountered, and yet will not be too unfamiliar. Ancho chiles go into into the adobo sauce that complements our now popular chipotles. Tequila is familiar to all, at least in idea and style. Garlic and orange juice, opposite in the taste spectrum - how can you get more familiar than that? These ingredients go into a salsa that will have your guest talking and you smiling. The best part? It's really quick and easy. Serve it with a feta type cheese if you like for dipping, or just spoon it straight onto pork, chicken or beef in mini soft tacos. Makes about 1 cup.

Ingredients:
8 dried ancho (sometimes called pasilla) chiles
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup golden tequila
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tbsp olive oil
salt/pepper

Directions:
Cut open lengthwise the chiles and scrape out the seeds. Tear the chiles into pieces and put into a food processor along with the orange juice, tequila, garlic and 2 tbsp of oil. Puree the salsa until smooth. In a medium saute pan over high heat, warm the remaining oil. Add the salsa and cook for a few minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let cool. Serve.

Corned Beef Hash with Fried Eggs

2010-09-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

I imagine that when a woman comes home late from a hard day at work, or if she's getting some alone time after spending all day with the kids, she is kicking off her shoes, maybe running a bath, pouring a glass of wine and soaking away her troubles. Dinner on evenings like that might range from a bowl of ice cream to a plate of spinach, something easy, something quick, something thoughtless. A guy will do the exact same thing, only in ways to which guys relate. Instead of the tub it's the couch. Instead of a glass of wine, it's a bottle of beer. Instead of a People Magazine, it's Monday Night Football.

For dinner, an exhausted or brain-dead man can eat a bowl of cereal standing over the sink, but for me at least, it's hard to drink beer with cereal. Lucky Charms and Coors Light just doesn't work (yes, I do still find youthful joy in kids cereal). However, I do like breakfast for dinner, both for its ease and its comfort factor. I also find that eggs and bacon, with their savory and salty tastes, match well with a beer. A higher form of breakfast comfort for me is corned beef hash. Since this is a night for quick and easy, I'm not talking about some gourmet recipe where you might actually make the hash, or get creative with alternative ingredients. I'm talking straight from the can, baby. I also love to crack a couple of eggs in the hash and cook them right in there. Cutting into the cooked hash you can get a little of the egg yolk to run out, helping to coat surrounding hash. Now that's good eating. So, while joy in the form of a simmer sauce can come from a jar, and happiness in the form a cold beer can come from a bottle, sometimes, especially in the case of hash, true love comes from a can. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1 can corned beef hash
4 eggs

Directions:
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corned beef hash, breaking it up into pieces and stirring occasionally. When the hash starts to brown, make a couple of small voids in the hash and add the eggs to each. Allow to cook a few minutes and then flip the portion of the hash with the eggs. Cook a few minutes more to desired doneness, covering during the cooking if a harder yolk is desired.

Shrimp with Chipotle Cream Sauce

2010-09-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

Can you guess where everyone walks around with a smile on their face? It's not Indonesia, where they practice smiling with their liver, although my trip to Bali does confirm that there are a lot of people with good karma there. Similarly, Thais love to flash a big grin, but they seem caught up in their political troubles at the moment. India, the people who gave us the word "nirvana?" No, I'm not think of that either. I'm actually thinking of a travel destination closer to home, popular now, where the temperature and humidity is so ideal, so not hot, so not cold, so bright sunshine year round, that people can't help but walk around with a smile on their face. San Diego is the place I'm feeling right now. In part, because here in Washington we are in that ideal weather season of autumn when for about two months we have the weather of San Diego: dry, warm, but not hot, little humidity. Fall is not quite here. It's not crisp, it's not sweater weather. It's just perfect weather.

So how does that relate to food? Because many times I eat what I feel. I'm not talking about how much I eat given my mood, I mean what kind of food. Sometimes my mind stimulates that with a yearning for travel. Sometimes my emotions stimulate that with a desire for comfort food. Either my mind or my emotions can stimulate a need to get spicy. Sometimes it's a feeling conjured by an aroma, maybe lemon, or lavender, or oregano. Menu ideas can even be spurred by a sense of feel, hot and sticky, or cool and crisp. The San Diego weather outside makes me think of San Diego food. While I'm not a big fish taco person, putting cole slaw on tacos or BBQ sandwiches is something I just haven't warmed to, I can still conjure feelings of Mexican seafood fusion in my mind. A little fish or seafood, a little Mexican spices, a little lime and cilantro, that's what I'm talking about. It helps that rising celebrity chef Marcella Vallodolid of Mexican Made Easy Fame does her shows from a kitchen with windows overlooking San Diego. How can you not wish you were there sharing in the blue skies and fresh Mexican tastes?

One of Marcella's signature dishes is a rosemary-skewered shrimp marinated in chipotle. That is a great recipe, but I did a different recipe this evening from her Fresh Mexico cookbook. Bobby Flay certainly introduced us to the world of chiles and the potential of chipotle. While Bobby takes many of our American ingredients, and that adds the chili spiced layers, Marcella's recipes seem to start with a more Mexican set of ingredients that also utilize the chili flavors. True or not, she has shown me how to use Mexican crema and cheeses in recipes. This shrimp recipe with a chipotle cream sauce does that in spades. It is fast, easy, flavorful in a Mexican chile way, but also has that tummy coated goodness you want from any sauce. Try it and find out how. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 lb shrimp, peeled

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles, plus 1 tbsp of diced, seeded chipotle pepper if a hotter dish is desired

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix the flour, 2 tbsp of cilantro, salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and saute until golden, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer the shrimp to a plate. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Boil for 2 minutes and then add the cream, adobo sauce (and chipotle if desired), garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to mix and boil for 3 minutes to reduce slightly. Return the shrimp to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce. Season further with salt and pepper if desired. Serve over rice and sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

Pork and Fennel Ragu

2010-09-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

There is a wild boar running around my head. The wiry haired kind, with sharp tusks, running along forest paths through the underbrush. Although, really, it's a pig, the Spanish kind that snuffles up acorns, or digs through the ground to find truffles. That pig, snorting, rooting, is really browning, braising and simmering. It's not in my mind, it is in my stomach. For with the cooler, crisper air of fall, my mind, my heart, my stomach, turns to ragus and all their wild, body-warming goodness. That is where my soul is, but that really is not quite where my stomach is at the moment. Food can reflect space, or where you would like to be, or travel to, but it can also reflect time, or the season in which you find yourself.

Fall is perhaps my favorite season. Golden leaves, crisp air, sweaters, football. What better time for a wild boar ragu? Unfortunately, we are not quite there yet. Here in mid-September, the nights are a little cooler, but the day times temperatures are still warm. The apples up in the cool-nighted valleys may be ready for picking, but the warm temperatures here keep sentiment for them away. It is the end of summer, so the peaches and nectarines no longer feel natural. It is much too soon for my boar ragu, or rabbit, or bolognese. Even apples, ripening on their trees, are a couple of weeks away for me and where I am. How to bridge this gap between summer and autumn?

I chose this recipe to reflect time in which I find myself. It is is a ragu, so it is hinting at things to come. It has hearty cremini mushrooms, tomato paste, and a red wine base. It also features fennel, a summer if not spring vegetable, along with lemon for brightness. The wine I chose is pinot noir. Yes, a red, but lighter, still fruity. In this way, I find harmony with my mood, with the season, with my current tastes. Wild boar, you are still out there, but I will not hunt you tonight. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound penne pasta
1/2 tsp chopped fennel seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 boneless pork loin chops sliced into 1/4" strips
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced shallots
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp tomato paste
4 oz sliced cremini mushrooms
3/4 cup pinot noir wine

Directions:
Boil salted water in a medium pot and cook the pasta. Drain when cooked. Meanwhile, mix the fennel seeds, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add the pork and stir. Add the flour and toss to coat. Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat and warm 2 tbsp of oil. Brown the pork, in batches if needed, until brown on all sides, approximately 4 minutes. Transfer the port to a plate and add 1 tbsp of oil to the skillet. Add the shallots, fennel and 2 tbsp of parsley, reduce the heat, and cook to soften the vegetables, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stir, and cook 3 minutes further. Add the mushrooms, stir to mix, and then add the wine and 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Deglaze and scrape the browned bits off the skillet. Bring the ragout to a boil, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Return the pork to the skillet and stir to reheat, about 2 minutes. Boil down the sauce a little bit if a thicker sauce is desired. Stir in the pasta and season. Serve to bowls, topping with the remaining parsley and lemon zest.

Salsa Con Le Noci (Walnut Sauce)

2010-09-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

Can you name the five towns of Cinque Terre? Hiking the rugged coastline of this stretch of Liguria, part of the Italian Riviera, you can visit them all in a day. The towns are noted for their beauty, a colorful kaleidoscope of Mediterranean pastels hugging the cliffside every mile or two. The sea below is dotted with fisherman, who provide not only the region's bountiful seafood harvest, but many times the only real mode of transportation between the isolated villages. Above the towns, terraced steps of vineyards and orchards add to the natural variety, producing not only grapes and olives, but also pine nuts that have made Ligurian pesto sauce world famous.

While we all know and love basil pesto, another sauce popular in Liguria is walnut sauce. However, it's hard to say there is a single Ligurian recipe for walnut sauce. The Romans may claim that there is only one authentic Roman way to make their amatriciana sauce, but that is not the case for walnut sauce. Perhaps it is the multiple and isolated coastal Ligurian towns that allow for different forms of creativity to blossom and prosper. Each little village may have their own way of making a walnut sauce. True or not, we have a variety of ways to make this savory, rich, cream based sauce with walnuts. Some recipes call for soaking a slice of bread in milk to act as thickener, others for bread crumbs. Some call for a bechamel sauce with a butter and flour roux and milk, while others call for reducing cream. Many suggest adding parmesan cheese like a pesto, some call for topping with asiago or pecorino, others even for ricotta. Historically, a Ligurian might have used prescinseua, as they call sour milk in their local dialect. Modern recipes may try to recreate that with sour cream. The recipe I suggest strives for that savory richness within an appropriate amount of time and effort. No need to break out your mortise and pestle to hand grind the walnuts, or hunt for prescinseua at an Italian gourmet market. Just a few basic ingredients, a turn in the food processor, and a little pasta cooking liquid if needed. Enjoy and p.s. the five towns of Cinque Terre are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb pasta such as linguine, spaghetti or a cheese ravioli if preferred
3/4 cup of shelled walnuts
1 slice of bread
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped basil

Directions:
In a medium pot of salted water, cook the pasta. Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a heated skillet, taking care not to allow to burn. Soak the slice of bread in the heavy cream and drain off the excess. Reserve 1/4 cup of the walnuts for a garnish and place the rest in a food processor, along with the bread, garlic, oil and salt and pepper to taste. Process to form a paste. Remove to a bowl and stir in the cheese and basil. Add some of the cooking water if needed to loosen the sauce. Drain the pasta and mix in just enough sauce to coat the pasta. Serve and top with the reserved walnuts pieces.