butter lettuce, radish, and avocado salad with mustard dressing

This is another Jean-Georges Vongerichten keeper recipe. Easy to assemble. Very refreshing. We had it with grilled Polish sausage and pan-fried pierogies. I had a love affair with that dinner.

KT notes:

1. I think butter lettuce is the same thing as Boston lettuce (which is what I found at my grocery store).

2. What are "slender pink French breakfast radishes"? I used sliced regular old radishes.

J-G's BUTTER LETTUCE, RADISH, AND AVOCADO SALAD WITH MUSTARD DRESSING

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 head butter lettuce, torn

8 slender pink French breakfast radishes or baby round red radishes, halved

1 scallion, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced at an angle

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill

1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and sliced

Whisk together the vinegar and mustard with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Continue whisking and add the oils in a slow, steady stream until the mixture is emulsified.

Toss the dressing with the lettuce, radishes, scallion, and dill. Top with the avocado and serve.

crab toasts with sriracha mayonnaise

When i first picked up Home Cooking with Jean-Georges and flipped through the book, I was slightly intimidated by the recipes. On closer reading, I tagged about 20 recipes that look doable and appetizing. One of these was the sriracha mayonnaise mixed in with some lump crab meat and served on toast. We ate it as a snack while watching the Caps stick it to the Bruins. Great game, great snack!

KT notes:

1. I felt a little skittish eating a raw egg yolk (in the sriracha mayonnaise) but we washed it down with beer and wine and deemed it safe.
2. I used Harris Teeter brand "jumbo lump crab meet." It fit the bill perfectly.
2. J-G suggests serving this appetizer with champagne. Um, yes please.

J-G'S CRAB TOASTS WITH SRIRACHA MAYONNAISE


4 slices good sourdough bread
3 tablespoons Sriracha Mayonnaise (recipe below)
8 ounces picked lump crabmeat, preferably peekytoe, picked over for bits of shell
Crushed red chile flakes, optional
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Toast the bread until golden brown. Cut each slice into 2-inch pieces.

Gently fold the mayonnaise into the crabmeat until well mixed. Spoon the crab mixture into a serving bowl and set inside a larger bowl filled with ice to keep cold if desired. Garnish with chile flakes if desired. Serve with the lemon wedges and toasts.

SRIRACHA MAYONNAISE

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons sriracha

Whisk together the yolk, mustard, and salt until well blended. Continue whisking while adding the oil in a slow, steady stream to emulsify the mixture. Whisk in the lemon juice and sriracha until well blended. The mayonnaise can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Makes 1 cup.

quinoa with spinach, goat cheese, and sauteed shiitakes

Up next for cookbook club is Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Home Cooking. Tonight I tested a simple salad recipe from the book. The name of the salad almost literally lists all of the ingredients -- quinoa, spinach, goat cheese, and sauteed shiitakes. If you remember the name, you remember the recipe. It was earthy and flavorful and high on the healthy meter.

My notes:

1. The full recipe serves four. I quartered everything, give or take, and successfully made a single serving.
2. J-G has you toast the quinoa for 5 minutes before adding the water. Mine seemed to be burning and popping like popcorn after about 3 minutes, so I made it stop. The quinoa didn't taste burnt in the salad and arguably had more depth of flavor.

J-G's QUINOA WITH SPINACH, GOAT CHEESE, AND SAUTEED SHITTAKES

1 cup quinoa
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
6 ounces baby spinach
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Toast the quinoa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 8 minutes.

Spoon the warm quinoa and mushrooms over the spinach on a serving platter, then drizzle with the vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper and top with the goat cheese.

peach cobbler

If after eating a cheese log, chips and salsa, carnitas, and Texas caviar, you're not stuffed to the gills, it's time for dessert! This peach cobbler is super easy to assemble and tastes luxurious -- almost like bread pudding meets spicy peaches. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Lisa Fain's PEACH COBBLER

8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (1 stick)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sliced fresh peaches, peeled and pitted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pour melted butter into a large cast-iron skillet or a 9-inch square baking pan. Mix together the flour, sugar, milk, and baking powder, and pour the batter over the butter.

3. Toss the sliced peaches with the cinnamon and ginger. Place the peaches on top of the batter and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

texas caviar

Even though this dish isn't made of salty and delicious fish eggs, it did make for a nice side salad. Lisa Fain also recommends it as a dip for tortilla chips. I plan to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow at work.

Lisa Fain's TEXAS CAVIAR

4 cups cooked black-eyed peas, drained, or 2 15-ounce cans, drained
8 green onions, thinly sliced, green part only
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 fresh jalapeno chiles, stems and seeds removed, finely diced
2 plum tomatoes, diced, or 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 yellow bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper, to taste

1. In a bowl, stir together the black-eyed peas, green onions, cilantro, jalapenos, tomatoes, bell pepper, and garlic.

2. Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, and cumin and stir into the black-eyed peas. Taste and add salt and black pepper. Chill for 4 hours. Serve cold either as a side salad or with tortilla chips.

houston-style green salsa

I became seriously addicted to this salsa. It's great with chips and phenomenal with Lisa Fain's carnitas. Every bite has a hint of avocado and a bit of lingering spice. I used 1 serrano chile but may use 2 next time. Extra heat, POW.

Lisa Fain's HOUSTON-STYLE GREEN SALSA

1/4 pound small tomatillos, husks removed, or one 11-ounce can of whole tomatillos, drained
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1 or 2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup cilantro
Salt, to taste

1. If using fresh tomatillos, on high heat, bring a pot of water to boiling and cook tomatillos until soft, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the tomatillos to a blender along with the avocado, serrano chiles, garlic, lime juice, and cilantro. Blend until smooth and then add salt to taste.

roquefort and pecan cheese log

Last Sunday we cooked from Lisa Fain's Homesick Texan for cookbook club (also in book form). I was either distracted by my salivating at what everyone else brought or my anxiety about my pulled pork working out and completely forgot to take any photos. For Sunday dinner this week, I made some more recipes from the book and documented the results.

Behold the Roquefort and Pecan Cheese Log.

I'm not big on blue cheese so this log was too stinky for me, but P likes blue cheese and loved this cheese course.

Lisa Fain's ROQUEFORT AND PECAN CHEESE LOG

8 ounces cream cheese

3 ounces Roquefort cheese (or any other soft and creamy blue cheese)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 cup crushed pecans

Crackers, for serving

1. Mix the cream cheese, Roquefort cheese, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and cayenne until well blended. Roll into a long tube shape and then roll in crushed pecans.

2. Refrigerate until firm, about an hour. Serve with crackers.

moroccan red lentil soup

I think you've been waiting for another delicious dinner idea, so here it is: Moroccan red lentil soup. It's very simple to make and incredibly flavorful. Props to ground cumin and ginger. I made it last night to take with me to work for lunch today, and, well, there almost wasn't any to take to work. As Teddy R. would say, "DEE-lightful!"

black bean pumpkin soup

Do you need another delicious dinner idea? This time I recommend black bean pumpkin soup (don't worry, meat-needers, it has ham!). It's incredibly flavorful, and before you know it, you've eaten two gigantor bowls, you've burned your mouth, and you're so full that all you can do is sprawl on the couch and read the Steve Jobs biography. True story.

I made two minor substitutions out of necessity: additional shallots in place of the onion and Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon boxed wine instead of dry Sherry. That didn't seem to mess it up.  

butter and shrimp and grits and bacon

Do you need a delicious dinner idea? Try making butter-poached shrimp with grits. I'll tell you what, despite the limitations imposed on me by the local Teeter -- only frozen shrimp instead of fresh and 5-minute grits instead of stoneground available -- the dish was incredibly satisfying and flavorful. Cooking the grits in bacon and the shrimp in a cup of butter (2 sticks!!) probably accounts for the flavor and buttery shrimp goodness. Hey, I never said this was a healthy dinner idea.

This recipe is apparently reprinted from Michael Ruhlman's Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto. I'm curious to see some of his other recipes.

J&G's Butternut Squash Soup

Be under no illusions -- working with butternut squash is a huge p in the b. That being said, this recipe makes a pretty awesome soup.

I actually made this soup once last year and was underwhelmed by how little meat it had (none). It just wasn't filling. Yet fall is here again and I found myself craving this soup as an appetizer or a light lunch. So let's revisit.

The recipe calls for crème fraîche, and I can't read or say "crème fraîche" without thinking of a South Park episode that P had me watch a while ago. Um, this:

Harris Teeter didn't appear to sell crème fraîche, but the word on the street is that you can make your own using some cream and buttermilk and a little time out on your counter. It can be used like sour cream, but unlike sour cream, it can also be whipped. I decided to leave the crème fraîche experiment for another day and use Greek yogurt, which is arguably more healthy but still makes the soup plenty creamy.

I also followed the shiitake mushroom suggestion, because seriously, what are black trumpet mushrooms?? The shiitakes have their own distinct flavor, but I couldn't help liking them paired with the butternut squash.

The results taste like you're slurping up a bowl of autumn.

Full disclosure: I am not posting a picture of my soup because it didn't look quite as creamy (and bright orange) as the soup shown on metrocurean. Sorry for being so self-conscious about my butternut squash!

As a side note, Jean-Georges has a new cookbook that is to be released shortly. I am hoping to acquire it and perhaps have it be a contender for the next cookbook club book. What? Yes, cookbook club. The subject of another, later post (that will blow your mind).

So many recipes to try, so little time...

Roasted Scallops with Breadcrumbs and Bacon

Mussels with Garlic and Basil

Seared Brussel Sprouts with Bacon Lardons

Pumpkin Custard
3 out of 5

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Spicy Squash with Lentils and Goat Cheese

Chorizo, Chickpea & Sweet Potato Soup
5 out of 5

Pumpkin Bread
5 out of 5

Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower and Tahini Sauce
3 out of 5

Spiced Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Lamb Meatballs
5 out of 5

German Apple Pancake

Gingerbread Bundts with Cinnamon Glaze

Momofuku-Style Chicken Wings

Flank Steak Stuffed with Spinach, Feta & Artichokes

Sweet Vanilla Quiche

Chocolate Ginger Cookies

J&G's Butternut Squash Soup
4 out of 5

Roasted Eggplant Soup

Lamb Chops with Pumpkin Apple Chutney

Roasted Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

All-American Chili

Seared Scallops with Espresso Beurre Blanc

Roasted Root Vegetables w/ Feta & Pumpkin Seeds
2 out of 5

White Bean Soup with Mini Lamb Meatballs

French in a flash POD

Sweet Onion and Goat Cheese Tarts with Thyme.

Make 1,000 lovely things -- Blueberry pie with freshly-picked blueberries

This morning I went to a farm in Maryland to pick my own blueberries. Then I made a pie.

The recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen. Instead of their full-proof pie dough (which uses vodka and which I should have used since it's FULL-PROOF), I tried their basic pie dough recipe. Let me tell you, handling that pie crust was the most stressful part of my week. And it came out a little rough around the edges. Still, delicious mission accomplished.

Inaugural Le Creuset Chili POD

At the beginning of the year I had resolved to write more and take more frequent photos and do more cooking.  And look at how well I've done so far.

Last night, in preparation for the snOMG blizzard of 2010, I went to the Whole Foods. The produce isles were picked clean. I was able to snatch for myself the very last yam and also gather the ingredients to make some chili.

Behold, the inaugural chili of my new Le Creuset dutch oven:

This one has:

1. Onions and garlic.
2. Ground beef. I really should have drained the fat after browning, piggy.
3. Tomato paste.
4. Pinto beans. The last kind of canned bean left at the store last night. I had a can of kidney beans in my cupboard, due to expire in about a year, but they were gelatinous when I opened the can today. Gross.
5. Mushrooms. If it were socially acceptable, I would wear sweatpants and flip flops every day. I would also add mushrooms to every meal. On occasion I've also been known to add celery and/or red and yellow bell peppers to my chili.
6. Several splashes of Spaten beer. I couldn't really taste it in the chili.
7. Cilantro. Don't be afraid to use a lot of cilantro.
8. 2-Alarm Chili spices kit. I am not cheating, I just haven't gotten around to investing in bottles of all of the spices. I use: ground chili peppers, red pepper, paprika, cumin/oregano, salt, and some of the superfluous onion/garlic flakes.

Happy snOMG!

More adventures in cooking / Under the Tuscan Sun

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy
by Frances Mayes

Mmmm...Tuscany sounds delicious. I finished this book a while ago but wanted to try one of the recipes before I wrote about it. That's right, this book has recipes. And is nothing like the movie. Where the movie is romantic, and Frances is newly single and finds herself in Italy on a gay tour bus, paid for by her gay friends Christina from Grey's Anatomy and Addison from Private Practice in an effort to pick up Frances's spirits, and Frances buys a Tuscan villa on her own and meets hot Italian men, in the original memoir, she and her manfriend Ed purchase and renovate the villa together and the book is more about the renovation and their adaptation to the new culture than about their romance. I actually had to put the book down for a while because reading about all the things that were wrong with the house got tedious. Then I watched the movie and got a second wind to finish the book. So overall I gave the book a

3 out of 5.

So here is the recipe, which I attempted last night. It involves polenta so of course I was all about it.

Polenta with Sausage and Fontina
Prepare classic polenta (page 131).

Rich Polenta Parmigiana per page 131
Soak 2 cups of polenta in 3 cups of cold water for 10 minutes. In a stock pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil and stir in the polenta. Let it come to a boil again, then turn down the heat immediately and stir for 15 minutes on a gentle flame that is strong enough to keep slow, big bubbles rising. Add salt and pepper, 8 tablespoons of butter, and 1 cup of grated parmigiano. Add more water if polenta is too thick. Stir well.

Polenta with Sausage and Fontina cont.
Pour half of the polenta into an oiled baking dish. Thinly slice or grate 1-1/2 cups of Fontina and spread over the layer of polenta. Season with salt and pepper. Pour on the rest of the polenta. Slice 6 sauteed Italian sausages over the top and pour on the pan juices. Bake for 15 minutes at 300 degrees. Serves 6.


Notes: I used Goya brand corn meal to make the polenta, because I couldn't find the "polenta" grain at the store, which I've seen and used previously and which took 10-15 minutes to cook. The instructions for making polenta on this particular package had be standing at the stove over a pot of boiling corn meal, stirring constantly for an entire half of an hour. I got sweaty. And I am still not very clear on whether or not Mexican corn meal is the exact same thing as "polenta". I sliced the fontina instead of grating, which made for a very cheesy dish. Definitely enjoyable. For sausage I got pre-cooked chicken sausage with Italian flavoring that I sauteed in olive oil. Also really good. So dinner was pretty much delightful, how could it not be if the main ingredient is polenta, I just never really know if I have the consistency of the cooked grain right, and the Mexican corn meal situation definitely made it more confusing.

Adventures with kasha

This was either going to be a post about a kasha disaster or a kasha miracle and instead it's going to be something of an in between. Last night at Whole Foods, I was browsing the grains isle, looking for polenta/corn meal, when a box of kasha jumped off the shelf straight into my hands. By kasha, I of course am talking about whole grain buckwheat. Kasha makes me think of two things: a Seinfeld episode and growing up with Mama T forcing it down my throat as a cereal with milk or as an impromptu side dish, Russian classics both, yuck, i.e. there's no way I would have willingly picked up that box of kasha of my own accord. So all of a sudden I am standing at the Whole Foods with a box of kasha in my hands. I flip the box over and find a recipe that actually MAKES ME BUY said box of kasha, and then today actually MAKES ME PREPARE THAT RECIPE FOR DINNER. Beware readers, there's a good chance that I'm losing my grip on reality.

Here's the recipe, it's called Kasha Pilaf:

2 cups broth, bouillon, consomme or water
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 to 1/2 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup kasha
1 egg or egg white
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (or other chopped vegetables)

Heat liquid, 2 tablespoons butter and seasoning to boiling. I was using water so I put in tons of salt and pepper, didn't use measuring spoons, and was very liberal with the seasoning. Maybe broth would work better.

Lightly beat egg in bowl with fork. Add kasha. Stir to coat kernels. [Weird.]

In separate medium-sized skillet or saucepan, add egg-coated kasha. Cook over high heat 2 to 3 min., stirring constantly until egg has dried on kasha and kernels are separate. Reduce heat to low.

Saute onions and mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter. I used mushrooms but the picture on the box looks like it also has celery and carrots and peppers. I definitely used more than 1/2 a cup of mushrooms -- I am a mushroom fiend. Also, don't tell roommate Mike what happened to half of his onion. SORRY.

Quickly stir in boiling liquid and vegetables into kasha. Cover tightly; simmer 8 to 11 minutes until kasha kernels are tender and liquid is absorbed. Makes about 4 cups. [Then figure out what to do with a skillet-full of kasha!]

So that's my kasha story. It wasn't a complete disaster as it was edible and the bites with the extra mushroom and onions were especially tasty. But it wasn't a great success as I couldn't finish an entire bowl. Juuuust a little too much buckwheat for my tastes.

Oh, and now the entire apartment smells like kasha.

To continue our breakfast discussion

I kept hearing good things about polenta this past week and decided that this Saturday would be my polenta breakfast experiment. So this morning I woke up and headed straight for the farmer's market to pick up some European-style butter to mix in, because frankly, the Europeans know how to make good butter. As I paid for and packed away my tub of butter goodness, I inadvertently made eye contact with the chanterelle mushrooms sitting at The Mushroom Stand. Twelve dollars and a little brown bag with some chanterelle mushrooms on the bottom later, I was making my breakfast -- polenta whisked with Parmesan cheese, butter, salt, and pepper, topped with chanterelle mushrooms sauteed in butter with shallots. This was most definitely the most delicious breakfast that I have had in a while, and I am not apologizing for it!

Winning combination

Saint-André cheese on a piece of warm toast [and a glass of the Menage doesn't hurt either]. I told you I was fancy.