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Show Stealer (Recipe: Duck Cracklings)

(Chocolate Giveaway Winners:  Judit U-M and Grace, Congratulations! You were randomly selected to win the chocolate sampler boxes from Equal Exchange.  Please email your mailing address to julia [at] growcookeat [dot] com.  And thanks to all for your great comments and supporting fair trade!)

Let’s face it: the best part of duck is the crispy skin. When done right, the skin crackles and the duck breast is still juicy and medium rare. And if you’re really good, you manage to render all the fat from under the skin without overcooking the meat.

I’m not that good. I’ve cooked hundreds of duck breasts, and I honestly don’t believe it’s possible to render all the fat out and still have a medium rare breast. I always start with cold meat and a cold pan. I score the skin as to better release the fat. I cook over low heat. I drain the excess fat as it pools in the bottom of the pan. But as soon as the meat starts to tighten in the pan, I know I'm well on my way to medium.

The solution: cook the breast and the skin separately! It’s easy enough to peel the skin off with a paring knife and small, gentle strokes along the membrane that attaches the skin to the meat. I slice the skin into thin strips; put them in a pan and into the oven at 325F. They take about 20 – 30 minutes to render all their fat… but it’s a good idea to check every 10 minutes and stir them around.

When they are golden brown, drain them on a paper towel and season with salt. There will be a lot of fat leftover in the bottom of the pan. Whatever you do, don’t pour it down the skin. I usually let the pan sit until the fat sets up and then pour it in the trash. This fat has a slightly burnt taste to it, so I don’t want to save it for confit.

You can cook the duck breast according to your favorite recipe. A personal favorite is this one from Thomas Keller. But since we’re in the height of autumn, I, instead, seasoned the breasts with a little allspice, in addition to the de rigueur salt and pepper, sautéed them in a pan for 7 minutes on each side and served them alongside butternut squash gnocchi. The duck cracklings were a wonderful textural contrast to the soft textures of the meat and dumplings. And for as much as I love my vegetables, you just don’t get that kind of crisp.

When I started out cooking this dinner, I had thought I would post about the gnocchi. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the duck cracklings. The Brussels sprouts are ready to be harvested, so I will make the gnocchi again to serve with them (and a little bacon). I will give you that recipe then… Stay tuned…

From the garden: sage leaves.

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Here’s Looking at You, Kid! (Recipe: Thai Whole Fish)

(Don’t forget about the chocolate giveaway. Leave a comment before midnight, Tuesday, November 17th) 

When I was in Chinatown last week, stocking up on supplies, I decided to buy fish for dinner.  I scanned the fish display – a vast array of whole fish and fillets, from mackeral to salmon to monkfish.  The fillets didn’t look great (I look for a moist sheen and firmness to the flesh).  Nor did the whole fish: the eyes were cloudy, a sure sign of age,  or perhaps just because they were packed on ice.  I didn't want to chance it.   But then I looked down, and saw fish tanks under the counter with live fish squirming around.  It doesn’t get any fresher than that!

The man in front of the fish tanks scooped a striped bass out of the tank with a net and pointed to the counter, as if to ask, “Do you want that killed and cleaned.” I nodded. Another man scaled the fish and cleaned out the innards. Before I had a chance to request that I’d like it filleted, it was in a bag with a UPC sticker.

I could have easily filleted it at home, but I decided to cook it whole – for better flavor and for ease of handling. The bones will keep the fish moist and give extra flavor. Leaving the fish whole also makes it easier to fillet the fish with less waste and  test for doneness – the fillets will pull away from the bones easily with a fork or spoon when it’s cooked. 

Digging deep into the archives of my recipes, I found this recipe for Whole Thai Fish with Chilies. WOW! Was it delicious! The sweet and sour flavor is bright from the addition of kaffir lime leaves. And the sauce stays light since it’s thickened only from the sugar. It’s definitely going to make a more regular appearance at the dinner table.

The presentation is impressive, but if you’re squeamish about whole fish, you can also filet it in the kitchen before serving.

From the Garden: Green chilies and scallions.



Whole Fish with Garlic and Chilies

2 whole 1 – 2 lb. fish, like striped bass.
1 cup flour
oil for frying

3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 green jalapenos, sliced thin
2 red jalapeno or 1/2 red bell pepper, slice thin
1/2 cup scallions, sliced thin or cut into rounds
1/2 cup cilantro

2 tbs. oil
1/3 cup fish sauce
6 tbs. sugar
6 tbs. lime juice
12 kaffir lime leaves

1. Cut three slashes to the bone on both sides of fish.

2. Heat oil. Add peppers and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes or until garlic is lightly brown.  Remove from heat, and stir in fish sauce, sugar and lime juice.  Set aside.

3.  Coat fish with flour.  Heat a large skillet over high heat and add oil.  Gently place in fish and cook for 5 minutes on each side.

4.  Put fish on a serving platter.  Stir kaffir lime leaves into sauce and pour over fish.  Garnish with cilantro

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Go on, make my day! (Recipe: Double Chocolate Cookies)

Drop in & Decorate

(Don’t forget about the chocolate giveaway. Leave a comment before midnight, Tuesday, November 17th)

It’s so easy to brighten someone’s day. A friendly smile. Stopping to give tourists directions, or take their picture for them. Donating ‘gently worn’ clothes to the Salvation Army. Or baking cookies.

Lydia Walshin founded Drop In & Decorate in 2002 to bring people together to bake, decorate and donate cookies to shelters, food pantries, and nonprofit agencies meeting the basic human needs of people in their own communities. And so far, with this simple gesture, she has brightened the lives of close to 10,000 people with her cookies.

The number 10,000 is how many cookies she’s baked and donated. But truthfully, she’s made the day of many others – each of us who have participated in the venture of decorating the cookies. Each year around the holidays and again at Mother’s day, Lydia rallies dozens of friends and neighbors to decorate cookies in log-cabin house in the back woods of Rhode Island. I’ve joined her for the last three years. And though I’m artistically challenged when it comes to icing, I always have fun at her party.

The idea has spun off, and now folks all around the country are hosting their own Drop In & Decorate parties… and donating them to organizations in their own community.

If you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate® event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help. And maybe you’ll be the one to give away the 10,000th cookie.

Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product — including sugar cookie mix, icing and flour — to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And we'll include a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, donated by Wilton, while our supply lasts.

Write to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com for more info on how to get your free coupons and cookie cutters.

And if you plan to go to Lydia’s event this year, I look forward to seeing you there!
___________________

All this talk of cookies and chocolate got me into a baking mood.

Though they may not be the best choice for Drop In and Decorate, these chocolate brownie cookies are great for sharing and will definitely brighten someone’s day.

No adaptation… I made this recipe to the letter.  I recommend you do the same.

From: The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon brewed espresso or dark coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, briefly whip the eggs to break them up. Add the sugar, espresso, and vanilla and beat on high speed for 15 minutes, until thick.

4. While the eggs are whipping, place the butter in the top of a double boiler, or in a small metal bowl suspended over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water, and scatter the extra-bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate on top. Heat until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove the boiler top from over the water and stir the chocolate and butter until smooth.

5. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined (there should still be some streaks). Add the flour mixture to the batter and carefully fold it in. Fold in the chocolate chips. If the batter is very runny, let it rest until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

6. Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed and cracked, 8 to 9 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before removing from the baking sheets.

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Fair Trade (and CHOCOLATE GIVEAWAY)

If life were fair, everything would cost more.

Regularly, books and movies report on the commercial agricultural industry’s dependence on corn, and government subsidies are revealed to keep food prices artificially low. While we still pay for the high cost of food, we do so in taxes, and not at the supermarket.

Small-scale farmers, who do not receive these subsidies, must charge more for their food to earn even a modest wage. While sustainable farming can be less expensive in the long-run, it’s a costly path. I try to support the local farmers, even if it costs more, because I know that I’m helping to preserve our food-systems and keep more money in my community.

In second- and third- world countries, from where we get most of our coffee and chocolate, farmers make even less. The path from field to table is long, and provides little (if any) support for the farmer. They make pennies a day – most of the profits go to the middlemen in this supply chain.

Equal Exchange, a national leader in fair-trade, created a new path for small farmers to get their products to market. They do this by partnering with small-scale farmer coops. Through this process, we can be closer to the source of our food and the farmers see a greater portion of the profits – enabling them to better support their own community.

Fair Trade includes:
• Direct purchasing from those who are poorly served by conventional markets, specifically small farmers and their co-operatives.
• Agreed upon commodity floor prices that provide for a dignified livelihood.
• A promise by importers to make affordable credit available to the farmer co-operatives.
• A worldwide network of non-profit certifying organizations.

Equal Exchange chocolates continue to win awards for its quality and taste. The Panama bar was a finalist in the New York City Chocolate Show in October. And one of their Peruvian cocoa producer partners won a quality competition!

And now for the giveaway… 
The Deadline has passed.  Chocolate Winners:  Judit U-M and Grace, Congratulations! You were randomly selected to win the chocolate sampler boxes from Equal Exchange.  Please email your mailing address to julia [at] growcookeat [dot] com.  And thanks to all for your great comments and supporting fair trade!

Just in time for your holiday baking, Equal Exchange wants you to taste the difference. They are offering a gift box of either chocolate sampler box (6 different 3.5 oz. bars) or sweet and spicy chocolate sampler to 2 lucky readers of Grow. Cook. Eat.

To enter the drawing, please leave a comment here telling us something you can do to support fair trade. Also, please include your email address, so that we can be in touch with you if you win. While anyone can support fair trade, you must be a US or Canadian resident to win this drawing. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, November 18th.

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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.

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The Other Pantry (Recipe: Celery Caesar)

I planted celery this summer, not because I love celery as a side vegetable or even eaten as a snack with peanut butter (I’m allergic to nuts), but because it’s a staple in so many recipes. Celery is a key component in the French “mirepoix”, the mix of aromatic vegetables that give flavor to soups, broths and stews. The Chinese also add celery to stir-fries. And I regularly use a stalk or two in chicken or tuna salad.  I always have celery in the pantry — whether it's the crisper drawer of the fridge or the garden outside.

But for all of celery’s uses, I never need more than a stalk or two at a time. With celery in the garden, I can cut off what I need without harming the plant. Instead of a buying whole head at the supermarket, and watching it wilt in the vegetable draw, I can preserve the plant through the entire summer. I bought 6 plants for about $2.50. And I still have 3 full heads.

Growing Celery
This is the third year I’ve grown celery, and by far this was the most successful. As an experiment, I planted 3 seedlings in the garden and 3 in a planter box on the deck. Neither reached “supermarket” size, but the plants on the deck were decidedly smaller and slightly anemic despite the extra sun in its location.

The celery in the garden had proper spacing… at least 18 inches between plants. They grew larger than any other year… and height-wise, they looked good. The ribs were thin with brown streaks. I attribute the brown stalks to the excess rain we had this summer. Also the celery was not in a particularly sunny spot, which probably contributed to its stunted growth.

When I harvested a plant this morning it looked like 10 small heads had sprouted from the one plant. I wonder if I should have harvested a “mini-head” at a time instead of a stalk at a time. I’ll have to experiment with that next year.

In the meantime, winter is looming. We’ve already had our first snow-fall, and who knows when we’ll get the next. I’ve become more aggressive about using celery, not just as an aromatic in cooking but as a featured ingredient.

Buried deep in my files of recipes, I found a recipe for “Celery Caesar” from Daniele Baliani, a chef I knew in Boston a long time ago…

A Very Celery Caesar… Shavings of Pecorino and Celery Dressing
adapted from Daniele Baliani

Salad
4 large stalks of celery, sliced thin
2 cups of mixed lettuce leaves – including romaine, arugula and/or mesclun mix
1 small bulb of celeriac, peeled, julienned and blanched
¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano
salt and pepper to taste

Dressing
2 stalks celery
½ bunch parsley
½ bunch basil
3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon, juiced
¼ cup warm water
1 tbs. fresh chopped garlic
1 tbs. Dijon mustard
6 inner hearts of celery with the leaves
2 oz. Pecorino shavings
4 slices white bread for croutons

1. Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt. While waiting for the water to boil, set aside an ice bath. When the water boils, Add from the dressing ingredient list the celery, parsley and basil. Cook for 30 seconds, remove from heat, and soak in an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Drain well.

2. To make the dressing: place the blanched celery, parsley, basil, olive oil, water garlic, mustard and lemon juice in a blender. Over medium speed, puree until smooth and bright green.

3. In a large salad bowl, combine the thin slices of celery, lettuces and julienne of celeriac. Add the grated Pecorino and toss the dressing. Adjust seasoning.

4. Cut the white bread into triangles and brush with a little oil and Pecorino and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until crispy and nutty brown.

5. To assemble: Divide the salad onto small plates and garnish with croutons. Top it all off with dressed celery leaves and drizzle more of the green dressing for a dramatic finish

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Know Thyself (Recipe: Potato Crusted Black Bass with Leeks and Red Wine)

In the past few years, since started my urban garden, I’ve learned so much by trial-and-error. I’ve learned about micro-climates and properly spacing vegetables. I discovered how to spur Brussels sprouts to grow larger, and that my raspberry bush has two fruiting cycles a year – once in the early summer and again in the autumn. And I’ve learned that I can’t start seeds indoors.

When I began gardening, I tried starting tomatoes, basil and peppers indoors in early March with hopes of transplanting them outside as soon as the soil warmed up. I know that starting plants from seeds is far more economical than buying seedlings. I get more options in what varieties I want to grow. And I have less concern about an unsuspecting blight. Unfortunately, I’ve never succeeded in getting a single plant into the ground that was started indoors.

I’m not sure what my problem is…. Did they not get enough sun or too much? Did they get enough fertilizer? Or too much? Some years they did get enough water. I’ve given up.

So I only plant vegetables that can be direct-sowed or purchased as seedlings ready to transplant. This year, that included leeks – a surprise find at a random nursery.

I was a little suspect of the plant – dozens of threads shot out of the 2” pot. Given my propensity to sow seeds too densely, I sensed this would be a problem. When I got home, I tried to tease apart the seedlings, but the root structure was already a tangled mess. I managed to gently pull apart enough to plant 3 rows. The seedlings drooped and flopped, and were still too close together. I propped them up with mounds of soil and gave them plenty of water.

By some miracle, they survived. Still too densely planted, the leeks didn’t grow as large as they should.   As I harvest, I try to cut out the larger ones without disturbing the smaller one – hoping to give them a little more room to grow. So far, I’ve cut out over a dozen leeks, and the remaining still look strong.

Try as I might to get out of my rut of simply cooking leeks in butter, I just can’t do it. They are too delicious. I changed it up a little the other night by using them as a base for potato crusted black bass with a red wine reduction. It’s a riff on a recipe from Daniel Boulud.

Potato Crusted Black Bass with Leeks and Red Wine
2 russet potatoes
5 leeks
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
4 black bass filets
¼ cup plain oil
1 ½ cups red wine
1 cup rich chicken stock.
¼ cup heavy cream

Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

1. Shred potatoes. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes to remove excess starch. This will also prevent the potatoes from turning black.
2. Trim the leeks: cut off the dark green and set aside for another use. Cut the leek in half lengthwise, then into 1/2” slices. Soak in cold water to remove the dirt. Lift the leeks out of the water
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and the leeks. Cook, stirring occasionally until the leeks are soft. Set aside.
4. Drain potatoes from the water. Season with salt and pepper and toss in flour.
5. On a clean work surface, lay out some potato in a thin layer. Place the fish on top, season with salt and pepper. Wrap the potato shreds around the fish. Repeat with remaining fish and potatoes.
6. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil. Gently place the fish in the oil, and cook until potato is golden brown and crispy. Gently flip the fish over, and cook for 2 minutes more.
7. Remove fish from pan and set aside. Working quickly to hold onto the heat in the pan, drain off all the excess oil. Add a spoonful of the leeks (and a few mushrooms if you happen to have a few wilting in the fridge like I did). Add the wine and chicken stock and reduce by half over high heat.
8. Stir in the cream into the sauce. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice
9. Put a mound of leeks on the bottom of each plate. Lay the fish on top. Spoon sauce around the fish.

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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.

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An Exercise in Love (Recipe: Pan Seared Halibut with Cider Reduction and Roasted Vegetables)

Halibut

My sister and her family came to visit last week. They don’t make the trip often – flying up four people (from Richmond) is downright expensive. And because they are orthodox Jews, finding a time that does not interfere with school, work and Shabbat can be most challenging.

When they do visit, I try to accommodate their religious lifestyle. The biggest challenge is kashering my kitchen (the act of making my kitchen kosher). The Jewish dietary laws require the separation of milk and meat (which translates into separate dishes for milk meals and for meat meals) and a prohibition on pork and shellfish. Because I don’t cook kosher, I cannot cook for them in my kitchen as is, even if I buy all kosher ingredients. I need to go through a ritual process that cleanses my kitchen of traces of "treyf." Obviously, my kitchen is regularly cleaned and sanitized, so there aren’t really remnants of pork or lobster on the counters or even in the dishes. But that’s not the point.

I have separate dishes in the basement that I use when they visit, as well as a few pots and pans.  I even have a dish-drainer just for them (we can't use my dishwasher since it can't be ritually kashered). I also need to take care of the oven, counters, stovetop, sink and a few miscellaneous pieces of equipment (tongs, my fish spatula) that I don't have extra. The process takes me about two hours. Sometimes I think I’ll just pretend, and tell my sister I actually did it for her. But it’s so important to her, that I can’t deceive her like that.

This is what I do:

1. Turn the oven on self-cleaning. I think I only need to do this for one hour, but my oven requires a minimum of 4, so that’s what I do.

2. Boil a cup of water in the microwave until it has evaporated.

3. Turn all burners on high for an hour.

And then it gets a little complicated….

4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. I do this while I’m doing step 3. The pot has to be really big – because it is into this pot that I’ll dip anything that’s not kosher that I’m trying to make kosher. I’ll put in some extra pots and pans, some cooking utensils and even a cookie sheet or two. It also has to be really full so that when I drop a rock into it, the water will overflow. This is to mimic free flowing water.

I could also take everything to a body of free flowing water (like a river or ocean) and dip it in there. Perhaps that would be easier.

5. So when the water boils (and I have to make sure I’m done with step 3 by this point), I drop a rock into the water so it overflows.

This is the part I hate the most. I stare at the pot, wondering if when I drop the rock in, the water will overflow. If it does, I’m following ritual, but I know it will create a huge mess.

6. I then take cup fulls of water and pour it all over the counters and sink.

7. Once the sink is kosher, I can start kashering all the utensils and pots. I submerge them into the water and then run them under cold water.

And that’s it! Seven easy steps to make your Jewish friends feel welcome in your home.

My cooking simplifies when I'm cooking kosher, mainly because I don't have the little tools like a blender, cuissinart or kitchen aid.

Pan Seared Halibut with Cider Reduction and Roasted Vegetables
2 cups fresh pressed apple cider
1 pound brussels sprouts
2 tbs. olive oil
2 pounds parsnips
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 butternut squash
1 onion
1 apple
1 tsp. curry powder

1 stick butter
1 cup cream
4 pounds halibut, cut into 8 portions
1/4 flour
salt and pepper to taste

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400F 
  2. Put apple cider in a pot over high heat and reduce by half.
  3. While the cider is reducing, prepare the vegetables:  Cut the Brussels sprouts in half.  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place them on a baking sheet, cut side down and roast for 20 minutes, or until browned on the bottom side.
  4. Peel the parsnips.  Cut into wedges.  Melt 2 tbs. of butter.  Toss parsnips in melted butter, salt, pepper and 1 sprig of thyme.  Put on a cookie sheet and roast until carmalized brown on the bottom side, about 30 minutes.
  5. Peel the butternut squash and apple.  Cut into a small dice.  Peel and dice the onion.  Heat a large skillet over high heat.  Melt the butter.  Add onions, apple and squash.  Cook, without stirring, until they start to brown.  Stir occasionally.  Add curry powder, salt and pepper to taste.  Continue cooking until squash is tender.
  6. When cider is reduced, add cream, and continue to reduce by half again.
  7. Heat a large skillet over high heat.  Season fish with salt and pepper.  Dust with flour.  Add oil and thyme sprig to pan.  Cook halibut until browned.  Flip over and cook for 2 minutes more.
  8. Serve halibut with sauce and roasted vegetables.

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Grow. Kale. Eat. (Recipe: Spicy Fideos)

Fideos1

Given the amount of kale I’ve been cooking lately, I think I should rename my blog, “Grow. Kale. Eat.”

It’s hard to ignore the bushy plot of kale chugging along by the edge of the driveway. I see it every time I pull in. And when I think about cutting back on my grocery bill (you really would be shocked how much one person can spend!), it’s hard to justify purchasing other vegetables when I have so much in my garden. Unfortunately, right now, I just don’t have the variety. The Brussels sprouts are slow to come in, the salad greens aren’t yet producing enough to make a suitable salad, and the leeks just don’t quite count as a serving of vegetable for me.

So I’m eating lots and lots of kale.

When cleaning out my office the other day, I stumble across a recipe from Oleana that I had been intending to make for years! I live just down the street from this James Beard award winning restaurant, and for a while it was practically my second dining room. The Spicy Fideos dish is still one of my favorites! Reading the recipe, it calls for Swiss chard… I decided that Kale would be a suitable substitute, and into the kitchen I went.

The recipe reminds me of Mexican mole (with chocolate and chilies) and Thomas Keller’s Vanilla-Saffron Sauce. It blends all the intoxicating flavors and aromas of both into one luscious broth. The broth is then used to cook the kale, chick peas and noodles.

A few thoughts on the recipe: It recommends cooking the noodles directly in the broth. Too me, the broth became too gummy. I would recommend cooking the noodles for half the recommend time in salted boiling water (you should read Lydia's post about cooking pasta, GREAT tips) and then finish cooking them in the broth. The dish can become quite spicy with the anchos chilies. Because I was serving a few toddlers, I decided to omit the anchos and just added a pinch of cayenne to give it a little depth. And I used my first can of tomatoes for this recipe.

One other digression before I give you the recipe: A while back, I started a list of my ten favorite dishes from Boston-area restaurants. I got distracted, and never gave you my last 2 picks. Well, my friends, this is #9!

Spicy Fideos
(Adapted from Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean by Ana Sortun)

1 tbs. canola oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Pinch of saffron
¼ cup white wine
1” piece of vanilla bean, split in half
½ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. ground fennel
1 ancho chili (substitute a pinch of cayenne for a milder sauce)
1 can tomatoes
½ tbs. cocoa powder
4 cups water
1 can chick peas
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard
½ pound angel hair pasta or fideos
Salt and pepper

1. In a large pot, add oil. Sauté onions, garlic and carrots until they begin to soften. Add saffron, vanilla, coriander, fennel and chili. Cook for 1 minute more to aromatize the spice.
2. Deglaze pan with wine and add tomatoes, cocoa powder and water.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.
4. Meanwhile, wash kale, and chop.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt. Crush noodles with your hands. Cook noodles for half of the recommended package time. Drain, rinse under colder water and set aside.
6. Remove vanilla bean. Let broth cool to room temperature (otherwise pureeing it will be challenging)
7. Puree broth until very smooth.
8. Return broth to the pan and reheat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the greens, chick peas and noodles. Cook until the greens are wilted and tender, about 5 minutes.