Spring vegetable pancakes
stats:
makes 8-10 pancakes
what you need:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely minced fennel bulb
1/4 cup soybeans (fresh or frozen), shelled
1/4 cup spiral cut carrots (or grated)
1 cup grated potatoes, large grate with skins Read the rest of this entry »
game on:
super snacks for Super Bowl
True, the extent of my involvement in the Super Bowl is feeding people. I may not know who is playing or what is the score, but I do know if the food is a hit; what passed appetizers are incomplete; and which ones made it home. Read the rest of this entry »
spicy veal meatballs with dates and bacon
yield:
makes approximately 50 meatballs (1/2 ounce each)
what you need:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup onion, diced brunoise
1 tablespoon rendered duck fat
4 bacon slices, chopped and trimmed
1 pound ground veal (or beef)
3 Medjool dates, pits removed and chopped
1 egg, mixed
2 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan
4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon piment d’espelette
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons kosher salt (and as needed)
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (and as needed)
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups of Pomi strained tomato sauce
3/4 cup chicken stock
chicken drumettes simmered in beer with mustard sauce
yield:
serves 12-14
what you need:
chicken
18-20 chicken drumettes (or 12-14 chicken legs)
kosher salt (as needed)
freshly ground black pepper (as needed)
all purpose flour (as needed)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 can (12 ounces) pilsner beer
1 cup chicken stock
1 bouquet garni (with fresh Italian parsley and 1 fresh bay leaf)
sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup reduced cooking liquid
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced
green (bean) salsa
salsa verte à ma façon
(green salsa my way)
Countdown to Super Bowl XLV. Next week I will post a couple of meat dishes that you can serve and enjoy during the game which involve the things you typically think of when you think of Super Bowl food (meat, a little spice, a little sweet, and beer). However, this week I wanted to give you something lighter so this week’s simple pleasure is salsa (with a twist).
In anticipation of the game, stores everywhere are displaying game snacks, primarily corn tortilla chips and salsa. Admittedly, fresh tomato salsa is delicious and a perfect companion to tortilla chips but tomato season ended in September and salsa in a jar is more like a sauce or purée, neither fresh nor chunky. However, salsa does not have to be made only with tomatoes. This green salsa, salsa verte (à ma façon), takes the idea of a salsa but uses haricots verts (green beans) instead of tomatoes or tomatillos (which are used in the “salsa verde” found in Mexican/Mexican-American cuisine).
There are many varieties of green beans and their peak season is late summer/fall. However, in California the season for green beans is relatively long and there remain delicious green beans at the farmer’s markets and grocery stores (although I would consider this to be the very end of their season so buy them now).
Green beans, snap beans and string beans are all the same thing: green beans where both the pod and the small seeds inside are eaten. Today we rarely see green beans with the string filament on them (which is where the name “sting bean” comes from) so the designation “string bean” is obsolete. “Snap beans” is just another name given to green beans due to the snapping sound they make when broken. Green beans varieties include Blue Lake, Green Daytona, and common snap beans. What Americans know as “Haricots Verts” and identify as “French green beans” are simply beans picked early and thus, thinner and smaller in size than the common green bean varieties that this salsa calls for.
A couple of ingredient and production notes. First, use a standard-size green bean that is round (not flat) and make sure it is green. The reason is visual as well as for taste. The yellow varieties are pretty but they have less flavor than the green. The purple varieties turn dark green when cooked and the bright green of the green varieties looks nicer in the salsa.
Second, you must use fresh, quality ingredients: fresh cilantro (coriander), fresh green beans (not frozen…they can be soggy), a tasteful, ripe avocado, a crisp red onion, and fresh lemon juice. The benefit to this salsa is the light, fresh taste with the crunch of the onions and beans with the contrast of the creamy avocado. If your ingredients are substandard or tasteless, so too will be your salsa.
Third, cook the green beans in salty water for no longer than 2-3 minutes and then immediately cease their cooking in an ice bath and drain them. If you overcook the beans or leave them to soak in water, they will not maintain the bright green color that you want and/or they will be mushy.
In addition to a tortilla chip companion, this salsa can stand on its own and pairs well with grilled, pan-fried, or roasted steaks, chicken, and seafood (shrimp, salmon, tuna, and sea bass, to name a few). The salsa takes 10 minutes to make and tastes good the following day. It is not only a delicious change from the usual routine, but the salsa is good for you too which makes salsa verte a touchdown for everyone.
Je vous souhaite un bon appétit !
LM
goût de luxe:
caviar taste. legume budget. perfect.
Goût de luxe means “luxurious taste” or “taste of luxury.” Sometimes you want to indulge your taste for luxury without paying the monetary price typically associated with it. So what is easy to do that tastes expensive, but isn’t? Beluga lentils and that is why a Beluga lentil hors-d’oeuvre is this week’s simple pleasure.
Lentils are a legume (which is a fruit with edible seeds in a pod). Other legumes include soybeans, green beans, fava beans, garbanzo beans, and peanuts. Legumes are full of dietary protein and fiber (both soluble and insoluble) and are often used as a meat substitute. Legumes are not only good for your health but a delight for your budget (compare one pound of organic aged beef which can cost around $22-24 per pound with a pound of heirloom beans for about $3-4).
When we think of lentils, generally most people think of the dark green Puy lentils from Velay, France (which admittedly are wonderful). These green lentils are commonly prepared creamy-style or served in a salad (often with roasted red beets). However, lentils come in a variety of sizes and colors, including red, orange, ivory, canary yellow, various shades of green and brown, and black. The green, brown, and black varieties retain their shape better then the orange, red and canary colored varieties. The orange, red and canary colored lentils are often found in Indian cuisine and take on a very creamy consistency when simmered. Lentils (eaten out of the pod) do not need to be rehydrated and take only 20-30 minutes to simmer.
Beluga lentils look exactly like the famous caviar for which they are named. They are shiny, dark black, small, and round. Beluga lentils are delicate and mild-flavored. They can be prepared al dente or simmered longer for a creamier texture. They are wonderful additions to soups and salads and they pair well with fleshy white fish (i.e., Sea Bass or Cod) as well as with pork and game (including two of my favorites: wild boar and crispy pork belly). Beluga lentils are also good puréed.
This Beluga lentil hors -d’oeuvre is true to the caviar theme. Beluga caviar is typically served with sour cream on top of halved boiled new potatoes (and accompanied by a bottle of ice-cold vodka encased in ice). Here, instead of sour cream, we use crème fraîche with freshly grated horseradish. Instead of potatoes or toast points, we use thinly sliced raw turnips. Instead of water or vegetable stock (which is the typical fare in which to simmer lentils), we use white wine and fish stock, keeping with the caviar theme and giving the lentils a slightly salty, seafood boost.
This hors -d’oeuvre takes about 20 minutes active time. It can be prepared in advance and tastes best when it has chilled overnight. The crème fraîche and the turnips can also be prepared in advance.
So fancy, here is to your luxurious — budget and health conscious — taste. The chilled vodka is optional.
Je vous souhaite un bon appétit !
LM
a new hors d’oeuvre for the New Year
2011 is almost here and I cannot wait. I am ready to get past the large meals, stuffings, and the sugary treats that dominated my December 2010. Seafood is a wonderful contrast but it seems like I see the same hors d’oeuvres over and over. New year. Time for something new. So the issue is whether we can have a lighter hors d’oeuvre that is special enough for a New Year’s celebration but easy to prepare at the same time? Of course we can. This week’s simple pleasure is just that: shrimp saor cocktail.
The shrimp saor cocktail is my take on shrimp cocktail. Saor is a traditional dish from Venice, Italy. It is thinly sliced onions (usually white or yellow) that have been marinated in a sweet and sour sauce made of wine, sometimes vinegar, and sugar. Typically saor is served on top of steamed or grilled sardines (“sarde in saor”) although it can grace the likes of more expensive lean fish such as dover sole. Saor is served with raisins, currants, pine-nuts, and often polenta cakes. It can also be served with a small green salad.
This dish is ideal for New Year’s because you can prepare the saor the day before (it actually tastes better if you let it refrigerate overnight) and it is served at room temperature. While you can steam the shrimp, I think sautéing the shrimp and serving them warm is ideal for this cold weather. Either way the active time for this recipe is about 25 minutes.
The saor shrimp cocktail can be a passed hors d’oeuvre or served as a first course if you are having a sit-down dinner. If you want to fancy it up a bit, you can serve it on a bed of creamy white, warm polenta or a squash purée (the sweetness of the squash pairs wonderfully with the tartness of saor). If you have leftover saor, it is great on burgers or on a brie sandwich with green apple slices. It will also keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.
A couple of notes on the ingredients. Do not use expensive balsamic vinegar for the reduction. Use good balsamic vinegar, but do not use balsamic vinegar that has been aged longer than you have been alive. It is a waste. Save the expensive vinegar for finishing salads or drizzling over other items. With respect to the shrimp, you can use either prawns or smaller shrimp. Make your choice depending upon your individual circumstances (whether these are passed hors d’oeuvres, stationary at a buffet, or plated as a first course). You will see that in the recipe in parenthesis there is a number next to the shrimp (i.e., “11/15” for the prawns). That means that you will get 11-15 prawns per pound, just so you have an idea of how many to buy and the price. Also, because the saor stores so well, you do not have to buy and make 24 prawns. If you only need 12, make 12 and use the extra saor for something else delicious.
Je vous souhaite bon appétit, de joyeuses fêtes et une très bonne année (I wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year).
LM
les marrons chauds et le vin chaud
(roasted chestnuts and mulled wine)
The holiday season in Paris is magical: children with their faces pressed against the windows of Galeries Lafayette and Printemps watching the marionettes; l’avenue des Champs-Élysées flanked with lights; people lined up out the door at G. Detou to buy marrons glacés; the skating and winter activities at L’Hôtel de Ville; the festive holiday teas at Dalloyou and Ladurée; the spice cakes at Mariage Frères. The list goes on. The entire city is tastefully decorated and the spirit of the season spills out of the pâtisseries and speciality shops into the streets where the smell of les marrons chauds (roasted chestnuts) and le vin chaud (hot wine or “mulled wine”) permeate the air. The smell of the two instantly transport me to Paris. This year you can bring these holiday traditions into your own home, without the security checkpoints and the (unusual and early) Parisian snow.
Roasted chestnuts and mulled wine are wonderful, simple treats you will want to make year after year. The chestnuts take only about 15-20 minutes to roast in the oven and the wine simmers stovetop for about 45 minutes. If you do not want to use wine, you can use cider instead. Below are a few notes about purchasing, storing, and preparing chestnuts. The mulled wine recipe and notes are in a companion post under “recipes”.
Chestnuts can be found in your local grocery store or ordered online. There are several varieties of chestnuts, but the ones you see most often are the marrons (the round chestnuts used for marrons glacés (sugar-iced chestnuts) and the chatanges (chestnuts which are flat on one side). In the States, you rarely see the fresh marrons.
When buying fresh chestnuts, choose chestnuts with shiny brown shells and without blemishes (which indicate that they have been stored too long or improperly). Chestnuts should be sold in the refrigerated produce aisle, and if they are not, be cautious about your purchase because they perish easily. Chose chestnuts that are firm but give slightly when you score them. If the chestnut gives too much, that means that it may have begun to spoil (sometimes they smell a little musty indicating they have gone bad). Similarly, do not purchase chestnuts if they rattle indicating that they are really old and dehydrated. Store chestnuts in the refrigerator where they will last a few weeks.
When roasting chestnuts you must always score the shell or the chestnut will explode due to the steam created under the shell. I find that a modest incision is best as it traps more steam inside the shell and makes the skin easier to remove (if the nut is dehydrated either due to age or over-roasting, the skin will be very hard to remove). You can tell if a chestnut is dehydrated if the creases in the nut have collapsed and the nut looks withered. You do not need to add any oil to the nuts before roasting them in the oven. However, once peeled, I like to garnish the chestnuts by adding a touch of nut oil and a couple granules of fleur de sel. Olive oil is too strong so I avoid finishing with it. Serve the chestnuts while they are warm.
A couple of equipment notes, chestnut knifes are great because the short, pronounced blade makes it easier to score the shells. However, a paring knife works fine. There is a pan made for roasting chestnuts made by de Buyer (poêle à marrons) which you can purchase online or at kitchen supply stores such as Sur La Table. However, while the pan is great (and preferable for grilling the chestnuts), chestnuts roast just fine in a normal oven-proof pan or on a baking tray.
Lastly, if you do not roast all of the chestnuts, there are many ways to use them. They can be sautéed, braised, boiled, puréed, grilled, and steamed. They are wonderful additions to soups, stuffings, sauces, and accompaniments to all kinds of game as well as veal, beef, bacon, and poultry. Chestnuts are substantial enough to serve on their own as a side-dish and historically have been used as a vegetable due to their meaty texture and high starch content. Chestnuts pair well with other Fall and Winter flavors: sage, thyme, winter squashes, mushrooms, onions, brussels sprouts, kale and swiss chard, grapes, raisins, oranges, and apples (to name a few). Naturally sweet, chestnuts are wonderful in a variety of desserts and baked goods. Chestnut honey is divine.
Je vous souhaite un bon appétit !
LM
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