What I Did with the Whole Candied Orange

The Creation:

Homemade granola with candied orange, coconut, almonds and sunflower seeds

So here it is! My first good batch of homemade granola! I've had two other failed attempts in my dark past, one where I crisped dried apricots into positive rocks that may have cracked my tooth, and another where the oven started smoking...

But today was a rousing success! I began with the candied orange. Today was Spring Cleaning Day, and I had to start getting rid of some of the random food bits I had lying around, waiting for their heyday. An entire candied orange! There it was. I pulled off its sticky Saran wrap jacket and sniffed it. Just like candied orange should smell. Then I took a knife to it. Goooooooooo!!! Man oh man, goo all over the place. Sticky, syrupy candied orange goo oozing out of its crevices. Gorgeous, and such a fat mess all at the same time. 

As soon as I tasted the little sticky bits, though, I knew it would be perfect in granola. I didn't have any dried fruit on hand, and this would be the perfect substitution. Plus, the honey-goo went into the granola in lieu of honey or syrup, and it infused the whole shebang with a delightful candied orange aura. I also added olive oil to keep it moist and some salt to complement the sweetness, then I dumped in all my remaining coconut flakes, a ton of sunflower seeds that I don't know what else to do with, and a handful of almonds.

About 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven with a quick mix-around every five minutes yielded the above lovely results. I haven't been able to stop snacking on this stuff all day.

Steak Take Two

The Creation: 

Steak sandwich with caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms, served alongside spicy greens and shoestring fries with the delectable, one and only Manhattan Special Espresso Coffee Soda

The sirloin was, obviously, too good to let a morsel go to waste, so I used my handy, aforementioned Lil Beni to ultra-thinly slice the steak onto a toasted baguette graced with (also Beni-fied) onions that I slowly caramelized and some buttery mushrooms.

I also had quite a bit of writing to do after dinner, so as good as a fatty beer would have been with this, I opted instead for pure caffeine in the form of a Manhattan Special. Mm, mmm, yessir.

And! I gave the mustard seed oil my first go-around! Wowwee. That business is *spicy* like, I don't know... like some serious mustard seeds were in there or something. Gee whiz. Serious mustard. Which gave the greens a pungent kick that would be really nice if you really loved spicy mustard. I, however, do not. So with each healthy bite I tried to cover the flavor with a bigger bite of marrow-butter-juiced steak sandwich. Good thing that steak was so, so, so good.

My next new ingredient on the agenda: the harissa. I bought some green chorizo (literally green-colored due to the abundance of cilantro, parsley and jalapeno in it!) after my Sourdough Bread-Making Class at The Brooklyn Kitchen tonight, and I plan to serve the pan-sauteed chorizo with the harissa! Stay tuned...

Free Marrow Butter. Die.

Yesterday was The Perfect Day. It started with bagels in the park and a nap in the sunshine. Then we drank gin & tonics on the front, sunny bench at Beco while Napoleon lounged beneath us in the shade. Then we got ice cream cones before picking up some meats and cheeses from the wonderful people at Baba and fresh veggies at To the World Farm.

Then we got a 2.5 pound sirloin steak from The Meat Hook where the incredible Tom Mylan threw in a free knob of marrow butter. Marrow Butter. I didn't know the perfect day could get more perfect.

Don't you want to die and go to heaven having seen this picture?

Josiah and I had Sarah over for grilled steaks below the stars on the still-65-degree roof. To be fair, none of this meal came from leftover ingredients except for the ginger and scallions that went into the salad dressing, but do we care? No. Not when you are eating MARROW BUTTER all over a GIANT SIRLOIN STEAK.

We also used my insanely special, new 'Lil Beni' mandolin to ultra-thinly slice parsnips, onions and potato into a gorgeous fried dish. For a little small bit of "healthiness" we had a giant salad of spicy mixed greens with soy-sauce fried oyster and shitake mushrooms and ginger-scallion vinaigrette. Pure delight. See below. 1000 bonus point to Josie for the absolutely perfect medium-rare temperature.

Witness Sarah licking the knife.

Lock, STOCK, and barrel

Take a look at this utterly gorgeous, amethyst-colored stock I just made from spare veggie bits and a wedge of red cabbage!! I can't wait to make something shockingly pink-purple with it!

To be a good foodie, you must be resourceful, and to be resourceful, you must make stock. Just about anything you are cooking gets better with stock, and having it on hand is infinitely easier and cheaper than buying cans or boxes of the sodium-hyped stuff.

What you need for stock:
1) Any meat bones OR any bits of vegetable remnants (think onion skins, carrot tops, potato peelings, pepper cores... then think ginger skins, tomato seeds and juice, corn cobs, fennel cores)
2) Water
3) Salt and herbs if you feel like it
4) A large pot
5) A fine-sieved strainer/colander or cheesecloth

What to do:
1) Throw all your bits into a fatty pot.
2) Cover with water, plus a little extra. Season if you want.
3) Simmer for an hour.
4) Strain the liquid so you avoid icky particles.

Honestly, if you use a fine enough sieve or even a coffee filter or finely woven cheesecloth, you don't need to wash or fuss over the bits you throw in at the beginning. The heat of the simmer will kill bacteria, and all the little bits will be strained out of your end product.

Results = AMAZING! Freeze the liquid for months to have on hand whenever you need it. Otherwise, use it in, say, the next week. My time at Martha Stewart taught me a very nifty Martha trick: Freeze it in ice cube trays to have one little hunk on-hand at a time anytime you need some flavorful bits of moisture in your recipe. I, for example, do not have a microwave, so everything gets reheated in a frying pan. Imagine the alternative to a bit of stock--all sorts of peas and potatoes and meat half-cold and half-burnt to the bottom of the pan. With the stock, the reheat is ab-fab.

Scurry Lunch

After the scrumptious stir-fry on Sunday night, I had to get rid of the defrosted lobster stock I had in the fridge. Lobster stock = too precious to let go. So I scrounged around the fridge to see what other pretty little goodies were screaming to be consumed quickly, and I found carrots, two little Jerusalem artichokes, a heap of scallions and a lonely stalk of celery. Good enough for RICE! Boy would Dad be proud.

Instead, I transformed plain Jane rice into a quite nice little lobster risotto that became my scurried lunch in a hurry the next day in between giant piles of work. Gosh, risotto is the easiest thing in the world and so, so satisfying.

To Commence the Craziness

Last week was one of the most hectic I've handled since college. I am not used to working so much, and while I am thrilled with my new work responsibilities (writing about wine!), I also had way too much on my plate (figuratively, unfortunately) last week. Dinners every night, 13 hours of work a day, plus a new iPhone whose address book was left blank by the competent people at Best Buy. On Monday, my birthday, I lost four voicemails during the transition from BlackBerry to iPhone, and all of my texts came from random numbers. Three trips back to Best Buy later, I still had an empty address book and succumbed to a manual transfer of phone numbers on my train trips to and from work. Growl sounds!

Still, I did eat quite well on a few occasions. Witness the above, a lovely, lovely little dinner with the lovely, lovely Georgia.  

For this dinner, I took advantage of leftover eggrolls, mushrooms and rice noodles from last weekend's dinner party plus some celery I had hanging around. I bought a Thai chile, a bunch of fresh snow peas, scallions, and Jerusalem artichokes to stir-fry. At the end, I tossed in some slivered almonds I had on hand and a bit of soy sauce. Out of the freezer came some long-lost lobster stock (from New Year's Eve lobster boiling misadventure), which got thickened with a corn-starch slurry to juice-up the noodles.  The results were really gorgeous! And I only had to buy four new ingredients. Hoo-ah!

A Birthday Bowl

The lovely Cate and Nadav gave me the most gorgeous, thoughtful, original gift for my birthday: a perfect large glass mixing bowl lined with cheesecloth and tied with a dishrag bow, heaped with artisanal foodstuffs that they foraged out of NYC's sundry supermarkets. THANK YOU, you two, for all of the following. To everyone else, please leave comments for ideas on what to concoct with these ingredients!!

• A portly brick of Semi-sweet French vanilla chocolate
• A pretty, slender bottle of Mymoune Rose Water
• A foreign-looking jar of kumquats in syrup
• An even more foreign-looking stout can of harissa
• A thrilling jar of whole preserved lemons
• A completely adorable package of Zoo animal-shapes pasta
• An entire candied orange
• a kitschy box of Red & Black Licorice Piglets
• A stunningly aromatic tray of whole green cardamom pods
• A dainty box of chive crackers
• A sunshiny marigold-hued bottle of mustard seed oil
• An authentic, stamped box of Campanini Carnaroli rice
• A neatly folded baggie of Sahadi's Turkish ground coffee

Ideas swirl!! Please share!

Dessert on the Brain

I have not been able to stop thinking about delicious dessert creations. Daily, I dream of amazing new sweets that I could invent. This is strange, since I am not really much of a dessert maker, have an almost negligible sweet tooth (I'd prefer cheese or extra servings of pasta to cookies or candy any day), and cannot stand the precision required by baking. Still, it started on the train the other day, when a hankering for green tea cake with ginger frosting came to mind. Never have I come across green tea cake, and I have no idea why it is not on menus and in cupcake shops everywhere! It should be delicious. Why does it not exist in my life? [Note: a quick Google search revealed hundreds of green tea cake recipes, so why I've never had it I have no idea.]

This morning, while recovering from a hangover in bed, I imagined a bowl of iced tea ice cream with candied lemon zest on it! Again, why does this not exist in my life? Here is a list of desserts that should grace my plate but have not... YET...

1) Green tea cupcakes with ginger-buttercream frosting and candied ginger sprinkles.
2) Iced tea ice cream with candied lemon zest
3) Peach "carpaccio" (thinly sliced peach crescents lining a plate) with vanilla ice cream, dried pineapple curls and brown sugar syrup drizzle
4) Chocolate malt ice cream with bits of mashed bananas and peanuts in it, frozen into a bar and painted with peanut butter, then dipped in dark chocolate
5) Marshmallow fluff "napoleon" with layers of fluffy sponge cake, raspberry pie filling and marshmallow fluff
6) Chocolate pudding pie with pretzel crust (instead of traditional graham cracker crust) and brown sugar whipped cream
7) More to come...

Don't be a bore; make Boar!

Wooop! Josie cooked for me! The lovely little nubbin made me boar ragu the other day while I worked! We found a fatty boar shank at The Meat Hook and immediately purchased it--they cryovac-ed the thing for us, too--with visions of boar ragu dancing through our hungry minds. I wasn't sure when I'd have time to braise the thing, but I was pleasantly surprised when Josie emailed to say the shank was simmering away.

Sloshed over eggy pappardelle pasta and generously doused with pecorino and rosemary, that ragu simply cannot be beat. I will emphasize that the rosemary is quite key--something about it pairs gorgeously with the boar meat.

Here's the recipe that Josiah used. Thanks, Babbo!

Pho-King Fun Times

Last weekend, we celebrated Mitch's gorgeous new apartment with a miniature, test-run dinner party. The space he's joined is gigantic and open and has the Most Perfect Kitchen, complete with a food processor, solid knives, Asian tea cups and multiple funnels! Not to mention more than ample counter space that's strategically and perfectly placed.

I would like to cook there daily. Mitch: Please implore your roommates to let me.

Josie wasn't feeling so hot, so I figured Pho would be a healthy, soothing, delicious dinner. Plus I had some luscious lamb stock that I'd brewed with star anise, cinnamon and ginger. This was my real impetus, Pho sho! Additionally, I'd been craving eggrolls for at least one month straight, so I nabbed some wrappers and a promising recipe and got busy.

These fried suckers turned out beautifully, all packed full of ground pork, shredded cabbage and carrots, ginger and shitake mushrooms. Also alarmingly easy to make. I have a bunch of wrappers, mushrooms and cabbage left, so I'll have to concoct another batch with some additional improvised ingredients. Ideas swirl...!

As for the Pho, I'll come right out and say it was one of my biggest disappointments. To be fair to myself, the flavor was pretty outstanding, all deliciously spiced right propa, with every appropriate accoutrement you could ask for. Unfortunately, I was desperately short on broth, and the dish became a dismal, dry stew-like entity. Sad faces and disgruntled groans.

Still, I will focus on the educative (and therefore positive) points of the meal:

1) While shopping at my favorite local green grocer (To the World Farm on Grand St. in W'Burg) for some essential pho accoutrements--bean sprouts, basil, lime, chile pepper--I came across a very, very signature pho accessory whose name I've never known... Eryngium foetidum!! AKA sawtooth herb, culantro, Mexican coriander or--my favorite--spiritweed! Says wikipedia on the matter: "The plant is said to calm a person's spirit and thus prevents epileptic fits." I like spirit-calming weeds.

2) A zippier, aromatic style of Chenin Blanc (like the Ken Forrester "Petit" from South Africa, available at Alphabet City Wine Co.) pairs delightfully well with Pho.

3) Thinly sliced flank steak cooks nearly instantaneously in simmering broth. Do not put your steak into the soup until the noodles have just-just about finished cooking.

4) Skinny rice noodles are inferior to medium-thickness ones when it comes to pho. Dried noodles also take longer to cook than you hope, and they soak up lots of precious broth. Be sure to have lots of extra stock on-hand.

5) Someone should make a dessert to go with this meal, and that dessert should be green tea cupcakes with ginger-buttercream frosting topped with candied ginger sprinkles. Please send me one.

Gotta Get a Camera/OR: "Health" Food Gone Gorgeous

3/3/10

The creation:

Sauteed kale with pancetta, butternut squash, pears and poached egg

What's in the fridge:

eggs

pear

frozen baguette

fig jam

rabbit stock

Key ingredients consumed:

egg 

pear

baguette

fig jam

Ingredients purchased:

Kale

Butternut squash

Stilton

pancetta

onion

The creative process:

Somebody at work accused me today, "What's up with you and all this comfort food?" Apparently I've been on a trend. Even if I can't see how you can blame me (we had snow flurries AGAIN today), I realized something feigning healthiness was in order. The solution: a "salad" paired with something else light... um, like bread and cheese. On these days, I take comfort in the fact that, were I to order Chinese take-out or pizza, or even go out for a "well-rounded" Northern Italian meal, I'd certainly be consuming copious calories hidden behind the closed kitchen doors. At least here, I can monitor the amount of pancetta fat I use in quick-sauteeing my "salad."

Step 1) Chop squash and boil until almost fork-tender. Meanwhile, dice pancetta and fry, rendering the fat, until crispy. Remove pancetta pieces with a slotted spoon and then toss some diced onion into the rendered fat. Caramelize. Step 2) Drain squash and quickly sautee/caramelize (*high* heat very important!) in the fat with the onion and some sliced pears. Throw in some spices you like--I used some curry powder and lots of S&P. Remove onions and squash and add chopped kale very briefly--just long enough for it to begin to wilt. Stir briskly and season to taste. Meanwhile, poach an egg. Step 3) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with the poached egg perched happily on top. EAT, delightfully, with toasted baguette smeared generously with Stilton and dotted with fig jam.

The verdict:

Quite satisfying! And, I felt great for having eaten nearly an entire bunch of kale, plus squash and pear. The addition of the cheese and bread satisfied me when a meal of just vegetables may have felt unfortunate. The poached egg gave the whole shebang a rich, decadent angle. I'd make this again. For my lunch tomorrow, I cooked the rest of the squash down into my rabbit stock along with some diced onion and pancetta. Curry powder and dry sherry and a dash of milk for creaminess made for a really tasty soup that I look forward to!

 

Fabulous Farro

3/2/10

The Creation:

Risotto-Style Spinach and Chicken Farro

What's in the fridge:

sauteed spinach

shredded chicken

lamb stock

rabbit stock

old red wine

1/2 lime

Key ingredients consumed:

sauteed spinach

shredded chicken

lamb stock

old red wine

Ingredients purchased:

None!

The Creative Process:

Farro is my favorite grain. EVER. I like to use it in place of Arborio rice to make risotto--you'll hear people say that you can't achieve risotto's signature, coveted creamy consistency using farro... but those people just aren't using enough cheese. Duh. Plus farro is brown, which makes me feel healthier when I'm eating it.

Just like risotto, heat up a good amount of stock. In a separate pan, throw some olive oil and what looks like a good amount of farro over medium-high heat. Stir it around until it browns a touch, then jot in a splash of wine. After it's reduced/cooked out a bit, add your other ingredients--pretty much anything you have on hand that would taste good together! I had spinach and shredded chicken, so there you go. Then, add stock--say a cup at a time--letting the stock all soak in/cook out before adding more. When your farro is tender but still quite chewy, and there's a little stock yet to be evaporated, you're almost done. 

Finally, grate a lot of hard cheese (I had asiago!) into the pan and mix it all around--ooh, look how creamy!!

The verdict:

Insanely delicious. I had to tie my hands behind my back to keep from finishing the entire pan--half of which is reserved for my lunch tomorrow. I've made this farr-isotto with mushrooms and duck; fennel and shallots; butternut squash and bacon... never gone wrong. It just may be the perfect leftover solution.

A Bit of Irony, for Kicks

I had a lot of fun at a French-themed dinner party Sunday night. We drank Beajolais and Bordeaux Blanc, and Sarah made a cauliflower and caramelized onion tart; Colleen prepared a spinach salad with pears and some kind of delectable blue cheese; we had the loveliest homemade macaroons for dessert...

And I brought Velveeta Shells & Cheese!!!

I thought it was just hilarious (though the host politely refused to put any on her plate--that's ok), and to be perfectly, dreadfully honest with you, I had been fiending for the gooey goodness all day. Sometimes, dear reader, I'll admit that I don't feel like carefully cooking up something marvelous and wholesome and organic and pristine. I developed a taste for Velveeta during the dark days of college, and every now and then I desire to fully balk at my now-oh-so-haute taste and revel in a little dirty, American processed product.

I hope this doesn't make you hate me.