Hors d’oeuvres – Grow. Cook. Eat.

October 25, 2010

The Same Thing, Only Different (Tallegio Stuffed Tater Tots)

One of my favorite hors d’oeuvres is roasted potatoes with tallegio and truffle. It’s so easy to prepare and always impresses, no doubt it’s the intoxicating aroma of truffles. But these are really best fresh out of the oven. After a few minutes the cheese starts to congeal, and they’re just not as good.

As I’ve commented before, my style of entertaining has simplified. I love having a big platter or hors d’oeuvres and snacks before dinner, but I also want to serve items that I can put out and then just enjoy my company.

I decided to reimagine this dish to withstand a little sitting at room temperature. Instead, I made tater tots, filled them with the cheese, and drizzled a little truffle oil and honey on top. Just before the guests arrived, I popped them in the oven to reheat. The panko-crust kept them nice and crispy. And the potato wrapping kept the cheese warm and oozy. I served them with homemade ketchup, but this was gratuitous.

Tallegio Stuffed Tater Tots with Honey and Truffle Oil.
4 yukon gold potatoes
½ cup flour
1 – 2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
¼ pound tallegio cheese. Rind cut off and cut into ¼ inch cubes
1cup panko crumbs
1 cup clarified butter or canola oil
1 -2 tbs. truffle oil
1 tbs. honey

1. Put potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. When potatoes are cooked, drain them and put them through a potato ricer. The ricer will extract the skin from the potatoes, so no worries. Alternatively, you can grate the potatoes using a food processor or hand grater. In any case, grate the potatoes while they’re still warm

3. Let potatoes cool to room temperature

4. Mix potatoes with, flour, salt (to taste) and egg.

5. Divide dough into 4 balls and roll potato dough into 4 logs. Cut each log into 1 inch pieces. Flatten out each piece, put a piece of tallegio inside and fold the dough over.

6. Roll each tot in panko bread crumbs. If you’d like, you can further reshape the tots to a round shape.

7. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add butter or oil. In batches, cook tots on all sides until evenly browned, about 5 minutes. Put on a serving platter and drizzle truffle oil and honey on top. Serve with ketchup if you’d like.

August 20, 2010

Garden Snacks (Recipe: Lobster Salad)

The cucumbers and tomatoes are in full production – I’ m harvesting about 5 tomatoes and 3 cucumbers each morning… more than I can consume on my own. So I’ve been having garden parties.

I slow roasted tomato wedges with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. By cooking them slowly, the excess water evaporates and the flavors intensify. The drier tomato paired beautifully with fresh ricotta that was seasoned with basil and lemon. I served them with crackers, though a cucumber base would work well too.

And speaking of cucumber bases, I sliced several cucumbers and served them with lobster salad.

Lobster Salad

1 cup chopped lobster meat (about 1/2 pound)
1 – 2 tbs. mayonnaise
1 tbs. fresh tarragon
2 tbs. chopped celery
1 tbs. chopped scallions
1 – 2 tsp. lemon juice
salt to taste

Mix everything together. Serve with buttered rolls or cucumber slices.

March 25, 2010

The Whole Beast (Recipe: Chopped Liver)

Passover preparations serendipitously began yesterday. As I was shopping for regular staples and dinner, I noticed that whole chickens were on sale. At $1.69/pound at Whole Paycheck Foods, I decided to stock up. And then I remembered that I have 10 guests coming for the first seder next week. This was the perfect time to start in on the chicken soup that would provide the medium for my matzah balls.

I bought 3 chickens, and immediately got to work breaking them down. I separated the birds into 4 groups – breasts, thighs, livers and, of course, stock parts – the bones, drums and wings that will go into making the chicken soup. After all, there’s so much flavor in the bones. Industrious chefs have long known that the bones make the best, most flavorful stock, even more so than the meat. And I must confess, I’m not a big fan of chicken drums or wings (unless they’re deep-fried) so they go into the stock-pile as well.

The chicken breasts and thighs were immediately frozen for a later meal.

I tossed the “stock-parts” with some salt and pepper, and roasted them in the oven. This accomplished two functions. First, the fat rendered away from the bones which will yield me a cleaner stock. As a bonus, I now have schmaltz for my matzah balls. Best of all, the bones achieve a dark, rich color that will make for a more flavorful stock.

Remember the chicken drums I tossed into my stock pile? When the bones have finished roasting, after about 30 minutes at 400F, the chicken legs are cooked through. I pick the meat off the bone and save that separately to put in my matzah ball soup. If I were to put them in the stock pot along with the bones, I wouldn’t have the meat for my soup. Yes, I could fetch it out after the stock was finished. But that would be more hassle than it’s worth. But more unfortunate, the meat would have lost all its flavor to the broth. Better to pick it out now, and add it back at the end.

Inside the chickens is a little pouch that contains the gizzards and neck. I never know how many livers I might get. Though each chicken only have one, the little pouch could have three or none. In this case, I had three in each: enough to make chopped liver. Chicken liver mousse with cognac and butter would also be delicious, but I was feeling particularly Jewish.

I also felt particularly thrifty and resourceful last night. From my three birds, I yielded:

6 boneless chicken breasts (retail value: $22)
6 chicken thighs (retail value: $8)
½ pint chopped liver (retail value: $2)
Chicken schmaltz (priceless)
1+ gallon chicken stock/soup (retail value: $12)

Chopped Liver
This recipe could not be simpler… with only 4 ingredients. I prefer chopping it by hand – the flavor and texture is better. Some people “chop” it in the food processor.

3 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or chicken fat
1 large onions, diced
1 lb. fresh chicken livers
salt and pepper to taste

1. Put eggs in cold water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 1 minute. Cover the pot and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain the eggs and place under cold running water until cold. Peel.

2. Meanwhile, put chicken livers on a paper towel to blot dry. Season with salt and pepper. heat oil or chicken fat in a large sauté pan. Add onions, and sauté for 5 minutes, or until onions start to brown. Season the livers with salt and pepper and add them to the pan. Cook until they are cooked through and firm, about 5 minutes.

3. Chop everything together, by hand or in a food processor. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

February 24, 2010

Calibrating Simple

After I write an exam for my freshman accounting class, I take the test myself. My goal is to finish in 20 minutes – a good gauge that it will take the students an hour. Similarly, when I’m cooking dinner, I know that I can accomplish in 20 minutes what will take the typical home-cook an hour. With 15 years of professional cooking under my belt, I chop faster, and can attend to several pans on the stovetop while doing other prep or clean-up.

I realize that what I define as “quick and easy,” may not be for others. I try to reconcile this difference when friends and family call or email for recipe suggestions.

Last weekend, I prepared hors d’oeuvres for a dinner party, and wanted to keep it simple since I knew the meal preparation would be more elaborate. As I started to write up my blog-post, I read noble pig’s post about a “quick and easy” appetizer: bacon-peach pinwheels. Though, they sound *delicious*, they did not seem “quick and easy” even to my standard. They require several components, some stove top cooking followed by some baking.

For me, quick and easy are recipes that require little or no cooking, and can be made with a few ingredients.

One of my favorites is cucumber slices topped with broiled eel or smoked salmon.

How do you define “quick and easy”?

Cucumber with Broiled Eel and Green Apple

1 English cucumber
1 package broiled eel (available at Japanese or Korean markets in the freezer section)
1 green apple
Radish and/or scallion to garnish.

1. Slice cucumber into ¼ inch rounds.
2. Slice eel filet in half lengthwise, and then into 1/2 inch strips.
3. Put eel pieces on a cookie sheet and warm in a 400F oven for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, slice green apple
5. Top each cucumber slice with a slice of green apple and a piece of eel. Garnish with radish slices or scallions if desired.

December 2, 2009

The Quest for Crispy (Recipe: Cheese Straws)

When my parents took their annual anniversary trip to the Caribbean, they would ship me and my sister off to our grandmother’s house in Alabama. Once there, Grandma Charlotte would trot us around town to visit her friends or to the country club to play bingo and eat fried chicken.

Wherever we went, the snacks abound. Cheese straws were the favorite: buttery, crispy and a little bit spicy. They satisfied snacks cravings on many levels. Even though my grandmother was an excellent cook, she never made them: a local woman baked them by the hundreds and sold them in round cookie tins packed in bubble wrap to the Junior League women.

A constant supply of this addictive treat may seem like a good thing: it was not. Since my grandmother never learned to make them, she didn’t have a great recipe to pass on. And since she always had the best, the cheese straw bar was set very high.

With the entertaining season upon us, a stream of guests will make their way through my living room and dining room. To simplify, I want to have snacks at the ready. I decided to tackle the elusive cheese straws.

Uncle Ken is the only one of the four kids who regularly makes cheese straws, and even he admits his recipe is not as good as the ones Charlotte served. As he says, “Same thing every year. I make them. They look nothing like I remember them. They end up more like 'cheese cookies' than cheese straws. Not nearly as crunchy or pretty as I remember them. Yet, my kids eat them, love them, and want more. I remain puzzled, and they are happy. I think what I use now is a variation from Cousin Henry.”

He sent me several old family recipes, including Uncle Henry’s and one from Aunt Emma Lee. The ingredient list is simple and consistent across recipes: butter, flour, cheese, baking powder, salt and cayenne. The variations are in the ratio of butter, flour and cheese; and the baking temperatures.

If crispy is the goal then I decided that more butter and cheese is better, as is a lower cooking temperature.

What follows is the recipe I used. Do you have a great recipe for cheese straws?

¼ pound butter
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1/2 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 ¼ cup flour
1 tsp. sriracha chili paste
¼ cup water

1. Cream butter with a paddle attachment in a kitchen aid mixer. Add baking powder, salt and cheese.
2. When combined, add flour and sriracha and just enough water to bind the mixture. Do not over-mix.
3. Roll out dough to ¼ inch thick, and cut into strips, 1 inch by 4 inches.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
5. If you can, let cool before eating and definitely before storing.

November 8, 2009

The Lasting Effect (Recipe: Thai Spring Rolls)

I received a random email the other day…

Hello Julia, I don't know if you remember me but I was married to J. I just moved to Denver and on my way out here they broke into my UHAUL and stole everything. They got a box with my cookbooks and more important your recipe for Thai Spring Rolls. Is there any way to get that recipe again?

I haven’t seen R in years. And in fact, I barely knew him, so it’s not surprising that we “lost touch.” His wife used to work with me as my assistant during Interactive cooking parties. I met him a handful of times, including the evening I cooked them dinner as a thank you for all the help J gave me.

How awful that he should lose everything in a move like that! And how flattered I was that, of all the things he lost, he should remember the spring roll recipe.

I agree they are quite delicious. And I don’t make them nearly enough. They are easy enough to make, though the spring roll wrapping is a bit time consuming. It’s so worth the effort.

Thai Mini Spring Rolls

2 oz. Bean thread noodles- (MUNG bean)
¼ cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tsp. oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 shallot, diced
1 tablespoon cilantro- (coarsely chopped)
¾ pound ground pork (or chicken)
¼ pound shrimp-shelled — deveined & chopped
1 tbs. Thai fish sauce
2 tsp. sugar
4 scallions, julienned
1 carrot; peeled, julienned
¼ Pound Bean sprouts — tails removed
8 12-inch spring roll skins
Peanut oil for deep-frying

1. Soak bean thread noodles in warm water until soft and pliable (about 15 minutes). Drain the noodles and cut into 1-inch lengths; set aside

2. Heat a skillet or wok. Add oil, cook garlic, pork, shrimp and carrots. Add fish sauce, pepper, cilantro and sugar. Add scallions, bean sprouts, and the reserved bean thread noodles; mix together thoroughly.

3. Lay one sheet of spring roll wrapper with a pointed edge nearest to you, on a flat surface. Mold 3 tablespoon of pork mixture into 1-inch wide by 2-inch long cylinder and put it near the pointed edge of the wrapper. Fold bottom of wrapper over filling. Fold left and right sides over each end to enclose filling. Continue rolling until completely sealed. Repeat with remaining filling.

4. Fry over medium high heat until crispy all over.

THAI SPRING ROLL DIP: Combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup vinegar in a saucepan over medium-high heat; boil until reduced to 3/4 cup of liquid. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tbs. fish sauce and 1/4 tsp. chile flakes.

November 2, 2009

A Dairy Thankgiving (Recipe: Wild Rice Pancakes)

I celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. We usually gather at their home in Richmond… because they keep kosher it's easier to cook there rather than kasher my kitchen and cook our usual banquet for 12 people. And my dining room is too small.

The restrictions of the Jewish dietary laws mean that we have to choose between a dairy meal and a meat meal. Personally, I would go for dairy. I don't mind giving up the turkey for the sake of all the cheese, cream and butter that goes into our family's traditional buffet: Sweet Corn Tamales with Salsa, Bread Pudding with Creme Anglaise, and my favorite: Wild Rice Pancakes.

But I'm alone. Everyone else votes for turkey. So we use soy milk in place of cream and milk, omit the added fat when butter is suggested, and delete the tamales altogether. To be sure, the meal is much lighter than most.

On the occasion of my sister's visit last week, I decided to take advantage of the fact that we would have a dairy meal. I made the full-on dairy version of my wild rice pancakes, and served them with a topping of sour cream and smoked salmon.

Wild Rice Pancakes

3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 TBS fresh dill
1 egg + 1 yolk, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup whole butter, melted
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
1/2 cup onions chopped
1 – 4 oz. box of wild rice, cooked and drained
plain (canola) oil for cooking

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté onions, mushrooms, carrots and celery in butter. Stir occasionally, and cook until vegetables are soft. Remove from heat and add to wild rice. Stir in dill.

2. Mix dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center

3. Pour eggs and milk into well and incorporate wet ingredients into dry.

4. Add just enough batter the rice mix to bind the rice. Do not want rice to be "swimming" in batter.

5. Fry pancakes (1/2 tbs. batter for canapé size) in plain oil until dark, golden brown.

Top each pancake with a small spoon of creme fraiche or sour cream and a small spoon of caviar, a slice of smoked salmon, or fresh salmon.

Herb Sour Cream
1 cup sour cream
3 tbs. chopped fresh basil
3 tbs. chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk

1. mix everything together. garnish pancakes with this mixture.

June 24, 2009

Free Range Eggs (Recipe: Oleana’s Deviled Eggs)

Amazing things happen when animals can roam freely. From all this exercise, more blood flows through their muscles, yielding meat that is more is more flavorful and also has a little more texture. And when egg-laying hens roam freely, the eggs taste better too!

Cooking farm-fresh eggs is different than regular supermarket eggs. They cook more quickly. When used in cakes or other baked goods, the results are lighter. The yolks tend to be more orange and flavorful as a result of the grain and grass diet.

When I get fresh eggs, I tend to make egg salad or deviled eggs so I can really appreciate the flavor and texture. Lately, I’ve tired of my usual recipe and decide to branch out.

With a recent dozen, I made a simple deviled eggs, seasoning the yolks with mayonnaise, mustard and cumin…

And the recipe from Oleana for Deviled Eggs with Tuna and Black Olives…
Ana Sortun's Deviled Eggs with Tuna and Black Olives
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup minced fresh tuna (about 6 ounces)
1 scallion, minced
1/2 cup minced celery
Tiny pinch curry
Salt and pepper
8 hard-boiled eggs, split in half lengthwise, with yolks and whites separated
1 cup thick mayonnaise, preferably homemade
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
8 black olives, pitted and finely chopped
1 plum tomato, finely chopped

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the tuna, scallion, celery, curry and salt and pepper. Cook until the tuna is just opaque, about 3 minutes. Cool and drain well.

In a small mixing bowl, mash the egg yolks with a fork. Stir in the mayonnaise, tuna, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Season the egg whites with salt and pepper and fill their centers with heaping spoonfuls of the tuna egg filling. Top each with a black olive and tomato.

December 18, 2008

Smoked Salmon Celeriac Cigars

Like most vegetables, there are many cultivars of celery. Some are grown for the stalks and some for the root. The root, called celeriac, has a mild celery flavor with a hint of turnip. When I planted celery this spring, I had visions of utilizing the stalks through the summer and then enjoying the root in the fall. When I dug up a plant a few weeks ago, I discovered I planted the wrong variety.

Nonetheless, celeriac is a prominent feature on my winter menus: pureed with a little cream and lemon juice, poached in cream and tossed with pasta or raw in a remoulade. The globes should be firm. With their knobby, funky shape they’re easier to peel using a paring knife rather than a peeler. If you cut them and discover a hollow, stringy center, you should it cut out and discard.

Smoked Salmon – Celeriac Cigars
4 oz. smoked salmon slices
1 small celeriac knob
spring roll wrappers
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

1. Peel celeriac, and cut into ¼” x 1/4” x 1” pieces

2. Put in a pot of cold water, salted water. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Let cook for one minute more, or until celeriac is tender. Drain.
3. Cut salmon slices into 3 pieces. wrap each piece around a slice of celeriac. Wrap each salmon/celeriac in a spring roll wrapper.

4. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Fry cigars until golden brown on all sides.

5. Drain on a paper towel. Serve with green goddess dressing.

December 10, 2008

Easy Hors d’Oeuvres

One of my most impressive hors d’oeuvre is also the easiest: Baby Potato Skins. I usually fill them with truffle Carpaccio and tallegio cheese, but they would also be delicious with a more traditional filling of cheddar, bacon and scallions.

Start with tiny yellow potatoes, less than an inch in diameter. I pick through the supermarket bins of new potatoes to find the smaller.

Cut the potatoes in half. Scoop out the center with a melon-baller.

Toss the potatoes with olive oil, garlic and salt. Roast at 425F, cut side down, until the potatoes are browned on the bottom and tender.

Flip the potatoes over. Fill with truffles slices and tallegio. Put them back in the oven until the cheese melts. Serve hot and gooey.

I'm submitting this recipe to this month's potato ho down, a monthly round-up of recipes from around the blogosphere featuring this illustrious tuber. This month's ho-down is sponsored by the fine women at Where's My Damn Answer?