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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Lentils with Red Wine and Herbs

Motivation
This makes a great bed to serve a main dish on (I've served scallops on it), or with enough veggies can be a vegetarian main dish.  I suggest adding herbs or an assertive salad mix (Italian or French greens).  I've steamed cauliflower and added it as a supporting veggies.

This only requires a 1/4 cup of wine... so it's a good excuse to open a bottle :)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Lentils
Salt
3 slices Bacon, diced
1-2 medium Onions, chopped
1-3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Red Wine
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
Herbs/Veggies

Mise en Place
In a large saucepan cover lentils with 2 inches of water and bring to boil.  Season with salt and simmer over medium heat for ~40 minutes.  Drain.

Method
In a large skillet over  medium heat cook bacon until it starts to crisp.  Add onions and cook until softened (~5 minutes).  Add garlic and continue cooking another minute or so.

Add cooked lentils and red wine.  Cook until wine has been absorbed/reduced (3-5 minutes).  Add herbs/veggies and chicken stock.  Cook another 5 minutes.  Season and serve.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Maple Pecan Pie

Motivation
I wanted to make a pecan pie without corn syrup.  Maple syrup seemed like a fantastic substitute.  This recipe is a slightly modified Melissa Clark recipe.  I was very happy with the flavor.  The texture was a bit grainier than a typical pecan pie.  I would made it again. 

Ingredients
1 Pie Shell (make your own or buy one)
1 cup Maple Syrup (Grade B if you got it)
1/2 cup Demerara or raw sugar
8 whole Star Anise (or all spice as a subsitute)
2 cups Pecan Halves
3 large Eggs
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter, melted
2 tbsp Dark Aged Rum (I used spiced)
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

Mise en Place
Toast pecans in oven at 325F for 15-20 minutes or until they start to smell nutty.

Method
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the maple syrup, Demerara sugar, and star anise to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the mixture is very thick, all the sugar has dissolved, and the syrup measures 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 1 hour for the anise to infuse. I'm not sure how you can reduce down to a cup if you start with a cup of maple syrup... I just let to simmer for that amount of time and didn't notice much appreciable volume lost.

Remove the star anise from the syrup. If you use all spice it will take a bit of effort to fish them all out.  I do hope you counted how many you put in. Warm the syrup if necessary to make it pourable but not hot (you can pop it in the microwave for a few seconds if you’ve moved it to a measuring cup). In a medium bowl, whisk together the syrup, eggs, melted butter, rum, and salt. Fold in the pecan halves. Pour the filling into the crust and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the pie is firm to the touch but jiggles slightly when moved, 35 to 40 minutes.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Weeknight Cassoulet

Motivation
I've made some cassoulets that were great, but a real time investment.  This isn't that kind of cassoulet.  I got my inspiration from Serious Eats.  This is a very flexible recipe.  I've swapped about and added in all sorts of items, which is to say, it's great for using up leftovers.  As long as you have white (cannellini) beans, some sort of meat, tomatoes, and thyme I think the core elements of the dish will be intact.

Ingredients
4-6 slices Bacon (diced)
4-5 Sausages
minced Garlic
1-2 diced Onions
1 can Cannellini Beans (or white kidney or great northern)
1 can diced Tomatoes
Extra Veggies (Broccoli, Cauliflower)
Chicken Broth
Bread Crumbs
Thyme
Oregano
Crushed Red Pepper
Black Pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 450 F.  If you're starting with raw sausages brown them for color (you don't need to cook them through).  In an oven safe pan, crisp diced bacon over medium heat.  After a few minutes add diced onions.  A few minutes later add garlic. Cook until softened.

Add tomatoes, beans, other veggies like broccoli and/or cauliflower.  Season with spices and cook for a few minutes to marry flavors.  Add enough chicken stock to bring liquid level near level with the rest of the item in the pan (you don't want to turn this into a soup.  A cup or so usually does it).  Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and arrange sausages on top of all of that.

Place in oven for 20-25 minutes.  Remember not to burn your hand on the hot handle when you're scooping it out.


Sunday, December 9, 2012

St. Germain Gimlet Evolved

Motivation
I was looking for a good St. Germain cocktail that would include gin.  I found this one and was very surprised by how good it is.  St. Germain has the ability to overpower other ingredients in drinks.  That's certainly been my experience when trying to pair it with champagne.  In this cocktail it's a team player instead of dominating the flavor profile.  Original recipe page.

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
1 oz. St. Germaine
3/4 oz. fresh Lime Juice
1 dash Bitters
Cucumber wheel, for garnish (optional but nice)
Method
Combine ingredients.  Shake with ice and strain.  I prefer my drink tart. Taste and add more lime juice if need be.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Halushki

Motivation
This is some serious old world comfort food that has been passed down to me from my dad's side of the family.  It's basically dumplings with butter and cottage cheese... and oh man, is it good.  I always think I've made too much and we end up devouring it all anyway.

Ingredients
2-3 Potatoes (grated)
1 Onion (grated)
2-3 cloves Garlic (pressed)
2 Eggs
Flour
Cottage Cheese
Butter
Salt + Spices

Mise en Place
Grate potatoes, onions, and garlic into a bowl.  Bring a stock pot of salted water to a simmer.

Method
Lightly beat eggs together and add to bowl of grated potatoes, onions, and garlic.  (I'll be honest, I usually just add eggs to the bowl and beat them in there and then combine everything together.)  Add salt plus whatever spices you want.  I'm partial to salt, pepper, a bit of cayenne, and chili powder.

Start to add flour until mixture becomes a thick batter.

I have a "dumpling maker" which is a pan with a bunch of 1/2 inch holes drilled in it.  Spoon batter into pan and push through holes into simmering water.  (Basically you're making a drop dumpling.)  Let dumplings simmer for 8 minutes then remove from water and place in a large bowl.

While dumplings are simmering, place butter in a pan and brown it.  I usually use somewhere between 1/2 stick to a whole stick of butter (this is old world comfort food - not diet food).   Add browned butter to large bowl of cooked dumplings and mix together.  Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cottage cheese and mix again.  Adjust seasonings and serve.

Margaritas (3 Kinds)

Motivation
Here are there margarita recipes.  The first is mine, the second and third have been developed by a friend who has put considerable research into them.

Bill's Margarita
Ingredients
2 parts Tequila
2 parts Lime Juice
1 splash of Something Sweet
1 pinch Sea Salt

Method
For the something sweet I'll often muddle up some seasonal fruit (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc) into the glass and serve it will all the little fruit chunks floating in it.  Otherwise agave syrup works well or even a bit of honey in a pinch.  These a suppose to be very tart.  Mix ingredients and serve on the rocks with a bit of sea salt sprinkled on the top.

Cadillac Margarita
Ingredients
2 parts Gold Tequila
1 part Lime Juice
1 part Grand Mariner

Method
Mix ingredients and serve on ice.

Silver Coin Margarita
Ingredients
2 parts White Tequila
1 part Lime Juice
1 part Cointreau


Method
Mix ingredients and serve on ice.


Double Mojo Walking Zombie

Motivation
You've got five kinds of rum and an abundance of sobriety.

Ingredients
2 parts White Rum
2 parts Dark (Spiced) Rum
1 part Coconut Rum
1 Part Pineapple Rum
1 Part 151
7 Parts Pineapple Juice
Blue Curacao
Grenadine

Method
Mix rums and pineapple juice together in a pitcher.   Add Blue Curacao until mixture turns "toxic green."  Then add Grenadine until mixture turns "zombie flesh grey."

Serve and enjoy.  

Monday, January 23, 2012

Tourtiere

Motivation
I heard about this French Canadian winter meat-pie on NPR.  I later looked up the recipe from the NPR website.  The version below is my spin on the original version.  I used 1 lb ground pork and 1 lb sweet Italian sausage on my first attempt with good results.  Instead of a pie pan I used a non-stick, oven-safe, skillet that is about the same size with good results and a very handy handle to move it in and out of the oven.

Ingredients
2 lb Ground Pork
1 1/2 cups Water
1 cup Onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup Celery, finely chopped
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/2 tsp grated Nutmeg

1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
1 cup old-fashioned Rolled Oats (Quick Oats ok)

1 Refrigerated Pie Crust
Salt to taste


Mice en Place
Chop onions and celery.

Method
In a large pot add water and pork and bring to a simmer.  Add onions, celery, cranberries, and spices.  Cook covered for 1 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove lid, add oats, and simmer another 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste and add salt if needed.

Take off heat and allow to cool while waiting for oven to preheat to 425 degrees F and pie crusts to warm to room temperature.

Place pie crust bottom on pie pan and fill with meat filling.  Add pie crust top and seal.  Be sure to cut a few vents in top.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven to 375 degrees F and bake another 25 minutes until pie crust looks done.  (You could add an egg-wash the last 10 minutes or so if your that kind of perfectionist.)

Let cool a bit then devour.  I served mine with a bit of HP sauce, but it probably wasn't necessary.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Hot Ice Cream

Motivation
The idea to attempt this recipe was triggered by a friend who saw mention of the concept of "hot ice cream" in Cooking for Geeks.  I did a bit more research and discovered the excellent cooking blog Salty in Seattle that described a mascarpone based version.  This version is essential her version slightly tweaked and using a slightly different type of methylcellulose.

This ice cream has a great flavor but a very strange mouth feel.  It does not melt in warm liquids.

Ingredients
130 g Mascarpone
32 g Butter
65 g Sugar
13 g Methylcellulose (I used Methylcel F50)
78 g Water (I used low calcium bottled water)
pinch Salt
1/2 Vanilla Bean (seeds only)

Mise en Place
Let butter and mascarpone warm to room temperature.  Hit mascarpone, butter, sugar, and salt until just blended with immersion blender.

Place vanilla bean seeds in water and bring to simmer.  Ad methylcellulose to vanilla water and blend until incorporated.

Drizzle vanilla methylcellulose water into cheese mixture and blend again until combined.  Refrigerate overnight.

Method
Bring saucepan of water to simmer.  Scoop "ice cream" and drop in water.  Simmer for 2-3 minutes and retrieve and serve.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Cauliflower Cous Cous

Motivation
I saw purple cauliflower in the grocery story and bought it assuming I could come up with some clever use for it.  When I was flipping through the Modernist Cuisine I noticed a technique developed at elBulli where you grate cauliflower with a microplane grater to make a cous cous like texture.   The result is very pleasing.   I've tried the faux cous cous both cooked and raw and prefer the raw preparation.



Ingredients
Cauliflower
Sesame Oil
Salt

Mise en Place
Grate cauliflower through a microplane grater.

Method
Mix cauliflower cous cous with sesame oil and salt to taste.