Thursday, March 31, 2011

Recipe 74: Lettuce Soup

Recipe 74: Lettuce Soup, Revisited.

First, I owe an apology to my readers. I wrote while I was tired, and without a sample of the soup available, or really putting myself into this. Its Thursday night, my toughest night of the week for some reason. I think its because I get paid on Friday. On Friday, I have the excitement of possibilities-new recipes to cook, a weekend off to get things done at home, and more possibilities. On Thursdays, I am sapped of energy, and I’m working to plan which new recipe to cook, and what can I afford on my budget? Or How in the world am I going to afford this expensive recipe?

When I sat down to write earlier, I didn’t see any challenge in this recipe. But maybe it was that it was too early in the evening-7 or 7:30 vs 11PM when I should be going to bed. Maybe the chair was too comfortable and not leaving me wondering if one wrong move would leave me deciding I’d rather type from the floor and bring my computer down there to join me. I could really test my typing skills if I just brought the keyboard down after all.

When I sat down earlier, I’d just had a dinner that didn’t resemble lettuce soup in the least and I found it hard to think back to the other night and what I was thinking as I made this. Its still hard to get back to three days away, but I can put this soup into a better perspective. So, what makes Boston Lettuce so special anyway?

My first time trying Boston Lettuce was most likely earlier this week. James called to see what I had for lettuce for stuffed tomatoes. He used nearly half a head. I had bought just enough for the recipe, two small heads. I figured it would work anyways and wondered just how good wilted, pureed lettuce could taste? In the end, it was better than you would think. I think it helps when you wilt the lettuce intentionally instead of leaving it in the fridge for too long.

Why was this week my first time trying the main ingredient in this soup that seems common place to many people who know the joys and wonders of Boston Lettuce? Lets take a trip down memory lane.

For starters, as much as complain about my own food budget, it is probably lucrative to the one my parents had growing up. My mother did put lettuce on hamburgers sometimes, and made tossed salad with iceberg lettuce. I don’t recall having leaf lettuce as a child. My mother didn’t like it, and it was most likely too expensive. Secondly, I was that odd child in my family that would rather have an apple or a bell pepper over a candy bar. Unfortunately for me, the apple and bell pepper were more expensive. It took coaxing from other adults to get my mother to spend another quarter on my expensive treat. Simply put, iceberg lettuce is what we had and what I knew. Then I started eating at other people’s houses. I don’t recall the first time I had romaine lettuce or a Caesar salad, but I decided it was better than sliced bread, and bologna sandwiches I was never eating again.

Oddly though, as much as I’ve eaten Romaine Lettuce, Romaine Hearts, curly endive, radicchio, and other lettuces, as well as most vegetables I can get my hands on (in Meijer and now at farmer’s markets), it never occurred to me to buy and try Boston Lettuce. I think part of the joy of cooking in this book, is the excuse to try new things I never would have thought of on my own.

So, what in the world besides Boston Lettuce do you put into the soup? Onion, garlic, parsley-you cook it this time;-), chives, mint, tarragon(if you like it), chicken stock, heavy cream, salt and white pepper. I will admit, it’s easy to make. Almost too easy, I was done with it and enjoying soup in 30 minutes or less. This makes for a great quick meal on a weeknight. In addition, in the 20 minutes of simmering once you add the chicken stock, you can give your primary attention to another dish if you need to. And since I promote balanced eating, and some protein with a meal, this soup makes for a nice green side dish. As I was pureeing this soup in the blender, I did think of ectoplasm when I saw the colors. It could be a fun way to get a child to try this soup. And if you have kids with over-active kill the aliens imagination, you could invent a fun war story about how you made Alien’s Blood for dinner. Or if you have a sheepish one, you’ll have to explain it as self-defense and that the Alien’s Blood has healing and strengthening qualities, like spinach, but less intense-so everyone’s happy. Or you can just let them wonder how you made ectoplasm in the blender. Happy soup making!

I may make this recipe again, just to see if the nieces and nephews buy the alien’s blood story. I’ll probably end up being the alien though. How does that work? Sheesh, kids.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Recipe 73: Gumbo Z’Herbes with Smoked Ham and Wild Rice

The challenge: 1) The ingredient list is nearly a page and a half long, double what I usually have to work with. In the end it’s worth it. 2) What in the world is file’ powder? File’ powder is the thickener, based from the sassafras root-Arrow root or Corn starch can be used, but they won’t give you the same rootbeer flavor of fil`e powder

I went shopping for this recipe and forgot the smoked ham and decided to get the cheaper File’ powder at Witbeck’s, my local grocer. When I got to Witbeck’s, I remembered that I needed smoked ham. They talked me into trying what they had, it tasted like ham. Like plain, regular, nothing to get excited about ham. I’m not a big fan of ham, but I let them talk me into it, and wondered how I was going to use it, since I wasn’t putting it into the recipe. This sent me into a week long pondering of the word exact.

I try to make these recipes as exact as possible the first time through; this is how they were intended to be made. And you just don’t mess with a good gumbo recipe, unless you’re replacing the smoked ham it calls for with shrimp and andouille. But that’s why I am doing this project and not someone who would give up after the Cheesy Creole Tomato Pie.

The next day, I got up and decided to search out smoked ham. I thought of driving the 15 miles back into Mount Pleasant to go to the butcher shop, but that did not sound appealing, especially with gas prices being what they are. I looked for a butcher shop and Clare. I thought I found one, only a few miles away. I called and left a message to make sure his prices weren’t outrageous. He called me back just before I left to tell me they do processing only. Since I haven’t killed any pigs lately, which left me in a bit of a pinch. I thanked him, cursed my luck and decided to search out the Amish. The first store I stopped at sold novelty stuff and canning supplies and cast iron cook ware. I drooled, bought some Heirloom tomato seeds and asked for suggestions of where to get smoked ham. The young lady behind the counter sent me on to Surrey discount foods where I found snacks and smoked ham. It had already been packaged, but it was cheaper than what I had bought at Witbeck’s the day before. I also found some Elderberry jelly and Rooibos Vanilla Latte-cheap. I suspect I’ll be returning to that cute little store.

I approached this recipe with a bit more organization than normal. I attempted chopping everything before hand, and put all the greens in the steamer basket of the 8 quart stock pot I’d be making this in. It made it easier to bathe and rinse them all at once. I began with oil, onion, green onions and garlic. I’m beginning to see this as an Emeril soup making theme. I sauteed them until tender, then added the smoked ham to cook for two minutes. Then I added the greens, a handful at a time. Really, I scooped them into a small bowl and dumped them in, prepped the next bowl, stirred and waited for each batch to wilt before adding the next. This step does take a little patience.

The greens, specifically for this recipe are in ½ # lots-which mean you just might have enough to make two pots, or a double batch. They are Spinach, collards, turnip, and cabbage.

Once all the greens are wilted, add 3 quarts of chicken stock (low-sodium broth may be substituted), the wild rice, bay leaves, salt, a little cayenne pepper and thyme. Once this boils, simmer for one hour. Tasting is recommended here, with the note that the greens should be a little spicy and the rice should be tender and puffed.

If you like thicker soups, or a thick gumbo, as I suspect most of us do, add the file’ powder here-a tablespoon. Stir it in a little at a time until thickened. Simmer three minutes more. Do not let the gumbo boil again once you have added the file’. Garnish with chopped parsley and green onions. I must admit, by the time I got done with this, I entirely forgot the green onion part of the garnish, but I did add the parsley. It does add something, as would the green onion, but this gumbo stands up just fine on its own.

It was excellent, and I may be spoiled for future gumbos, unless the include shrimp and andouille;-). I will definitely make this recipe again. Maybe this week, I have all the stuff after all. Happy eating!

Recipe 72: Artichokes Alla Romana

The challenge: 1) Getting into the armadillo of vegetables. 2) Picking a good dry white wine, when you don't drink white wine, dry or sweet. 3) Hoping you are smart enough to figure out the anatomy of the artichoke without a drawn guide.

For the challenges and a little bit of work, this recipe was still fairly easy and didn't take a great deal of time. Don't let me kid you, the artichokes do take work to prepare, and now I see why so many people buy them already canned or jarred. I can't blame them. The artichokes were on sale for a nice, cheap price of 4/$5.00. I judiciously bought two and decided to halve the recipe.

The artichoke, once home-gets peeled, plucked and picked at until you wonder if there will be nothing left. I was hoping the entire time I was dismantling this choke that I was doing it right. (Here is where the city girl in me comes in, I've never dismantled or otherwise played with an artichoke in my life that didn't come in a can of some sort.) Alas, after a little pruning and a little more lemon juice, I got what I needed from the choke. I hope I got the entire furry choke off. Lucky for me, my taste tester isn't picky about that. In case you're wondering-while paring down choke #2(or 3 or 4 if you make the whole recipe), the prepped chokes sit in lemon water to keep them from oxidizing or turning brown. And you do have to pare the stem as well as the rest of the choke.

Next, the white wine. As I mentioned before, I don't drink white wine very much. I’m not sure which ones I like, and which I don’t, and the recipe usually calls for a dry white wine instead of saying you can use Chenin blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, or a dry champagne in this recipe. There is another rule of thumb, if you won’t drink it, don’t cook with it. I found a nice homemade Chenin blanc I used in a previous recipe and maybe a Riesling, I like well enough to cook with. I could not remember the Riesling I bought last time, so I tried one on sale-Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc. Its supposed to be dry as well. It wasn’t my favorite blend of wine and the flavors in the wine certainly came through in the artichokes.

And now, back to the recipe, sort of. Once the artichoke is ready and you decide the wine is tolerable, or has to be, add the oil, then the artichokes, garlic and capers to the sauté pan. Cook for about two minutes. Next, add in the white wine and juice of half a lemon and a teaspoon of salt. Let the artichokes cook, covered, for 30 minutes until most of the liquid has reduced.

Once the liquid is mostly gone, add the chopped parsley, oregano, and crushed red pepper, and cook for five more minutes. Somehow, I forgot the crushed red pepper on the first run through of these. Check the artichoke for tenderness by inserting a knife directly into the heart. You heard me, stab the poor artichoke that made you do all that work for its tender, delicate flavor. If the knife does not meet any resistance, you may now devour your artichoke hearts, pan juices and all.

As I said, I forgot the crushed red pepper the first time through and the wine flavors I didn’t like did come through. It wasn’t entirely off-putting, but it wasn’t perfect either. It could have been the wine, it could have been the recipe. I may try it again, but not right away.

When I let James try it, I added the crushed red pepper before we reheated it. It did add a little flavor, but it didn’t do anything to save the recipe, in my opinion. James decided that the artichoke grows on you. I don’t think Briannag likes white wine either, though-she refused to lick the bowl. Of course, it could have been the green stuff-she’s not a big fan of that or crushed red pepper.

I may make this recipe again, for with the right wine, it may come out really well, but I’ll have to be in the mood to dismantle an artichoke.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Recipe 71: Black Pepper Maple Syrup

The challenge: 1) Boiling maple syrup without boiling over-did not happen; 2)Convincing James he would like this meal.

This is the last part of a four part meal I made for friends. There were just enough left-overs to bring home for James and I for dinner. I decided to and left other food at Andrea's that we hadn't finished.

The black pepper maple syrup was pretty easy, but it was also expensive. Grade A dark Amber maple syrup does come in 12 oz containers, but for a price. In addition, 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper and 2T. hot sauce as well as 1" of scraped vanilla bean pod goes in(from the whipped vanilla butter.

Now combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil-I recommend a medium saucepan if you are as unlucky as I am to turn your back for the five seconds it takes maple syrup to boil over. Since it only needed to come to a boil, I removed the pan from the heat and attempted to contain the mess. Then I got to begin washing a burner and cooktop area. I was grateful the stove came apart easily for cleaning. I really hope I got it all. Note to self, it is still better to watch a small pot not boil than to have a boil-over of maple syrup, no matter what you added to it.

Once the syrup was done, it was set aside as I finished the chicken and the waffles. I then set everything up and served up a delicious meal that greatly resembles soul-food and tasted wonderful. The maple syrup was drizzled over the chicken as well as the waffles, and I have some left over for the next adventure, hopefully without boiling;-).

Not to mention that all of this weeks recipes were completed in one day and my budget may have survived to fight another day, I hope. Now to finish grocery shopping for the rest of the week;-).

I will make this recipe again, when I have a roomier budget and when I'm up for this sort of adventure again. Happy reading!

Recipe 70: Whipped Vanilla Butter

Wow: This is where the challenge starts getting a little pricey. Its not bad, but I'd forgotten to take the vanilla bean I'd bought some time back, so I had to buy two new ones. The good news is, I either have vanilla beans for the next recipe that needs them, or I can get some whiskey and cure my vanilla early this year for better flavor and less worry of running out before Christmas;-).

The other challenge: getting your best friend to do what she's told when she lacks your perfectionistic qualities in the kitchen. Kitchen, sewing room, it never works. You tell her what to do, and she goes behind your back and does it her way while you are frying the chicken and really shouldn't leave the stove. Allow me to explain.

The Whipped Vanilla Butter recipe is right beneath the buttermilk waffle recipe in the book. They both call for a lot of butter, 8 and 12 T. I had gotten out a bowl and put the vanilla seeds into as directed. I added the unsalted butter and the dash of salt and pressed and worked the butter with a fork until it was of reasonable consistency. The butter is supposed to be at room temp. for this. I should have waited a bit, or left the butter out overnight. I didn't.

When I realized I forgot 4 of the Tablespoons of butter, while I was frying chicken, I asked Andrea to add it for me and mash it or whip it with a fork or electric beater. She decided against the beater since we hadn't dirtied it yet and worked with the fork for five seconds, maybe ten-I'm sure she'd tell you it was a couple of minutes. The minutes on the stove did not change. She announced she was going to the microwave. I announced I prefer to do this as I'm told. She informed me she believes in cheating. I asked her to keep it to ten or fifteen seconds. She said longer, but did not disclose and I was busy frying chicken-or attempting to. I don't know how long she microwaved it for, but I conceded that the butter was cold and she was helping.

It turned out very good anyway. And we survived to cook another day.

One day, when I can toss $10 at two vanilla beans without a care, I will make this recipe again, for these waffles. In the meantime, it will depend on how bad I want the waffles, and I have a fair amount of left over butter.

Recipe 69: Buttermilk Waffles

The challenge: Working the waffle maker with a little patience.

The batter is easy, cake flour, sugar, yellow cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and well-shaken buttermilk, some eggs, some vanilla extract(we use whiskey cured), and 8 tablespoons of melted butter. I didn't say a word about healthy now, this is a southern delicacy, otherwise known as soul-food. It feeds the soul, but does not make a temple out of your body. I mixed the ingredients that morning while I was turning the chicken over in its marinating bag (see Recipe 68: Fried Chicken etc...), and prepared the waffle maker I've only attempted a time or two before.

The waffle maker, like frying chicken requires a little patience. I think all cooking does, and patience is not one of my strong suits. Maybe I'm drawn to cooking for its practical application of working toward the goal of improving myself. In all honesty, I expect I'm drawn to cooking because the food tastes good;-). Aren't survival instincts funny. Don't tell my ego, I might learn something along the way. Like, if you think the waffle is done, leave it alone and wait for it to stop steaming like you were told to;-). Right, when is the last time I listened. Fortunately, waffles are forgiving, and they still cook with the iron partially open often and much.

And while most of us who got to try this batch of recipes wondered how buttermilk waffles go with fried chicken-especially when paired with things like vanilla, black pepper and hot sauce; we all enjoyed this excellent meal.

I will definitely make this recipe again, as soon as I get my hands on a waffle iron. Or, I will turn them into buttermilk pancakes for the kids next time I borrow them.

Recipe 67: Chive Oil

I was almost surprised at how easy and reasonably priced(in general) this recipe is. However, I cut the chives a little short. I'm sure the standard recipe is a bit more dense, and not much more difficult to make.

The chives are cut into 3" section. The recipe calls for 2 ounces or two bunches. Meijer sells them in 3/4 oz. containers in winter. Since spring is not here, I had to settle. First the chives are blanched-cooked in boiling water for nearly 10 seconds, then tossed in ice water for cooling off to brighten them up and bring out their flavor.

Then the package of blanched, snipped chives is placed into the blender with 3/4 cup of oil and blended on high speed. I tried to cut the oil in half to "halve" the recipe, but the blender wouldn't have it. Learning from previous blender discussions, I added more oil -grapeseed in this case.

A few seconds on high speed, and voila! I have chive oil ready to dress my beet and arugula salad or brush across a crostini. Simple, delicate, and beautiful. It made the beet "caviar" on arugula taste better too.

I will make these oils again when the herbs are in season and possibly gift them this year.

Recipe 68: Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Waffles with Black Pepper Maple Syrup and Whipped Vanilla Butter

The challenge: 1) 4 recipes in one day, 2) getting a few friends together to enjoy some lunch/brunch-dinner or breakfast-whatever you call it- at the same time.
The first recipe is the easiest to prep and hardest to cook, usually: Fried Chicken.
Buttermilk Waffles sounds like a no-brainer, Black Pepper Maple Syrup a little challenging and Whipped Vanilla butter-how hard can that be? I'll focus primarily on the Fried Chicken in this blog.

The batter is easy, and should be prepared the night before. Mix some well shaken buttermilk with a Louisiana Red Hot Sauce 1 1/2 T. sugar, a Tbsp. of salt, 1 Tbsp. Sweet Paprika, 3 garlic cloves, smashed and One 3 1/2 pound chicken cut into 8 pieces.

I mixed the batter up the night before, put the cut up chicken into a gallon size bag and poured the batter over it. I left the chicken in the bag in the fridge to marinate overnight. In the morning I turned it when I woke-which was late. Then I began to prepare the other items. I realized somewhere along the line of making the waffle batter that I forgot to add the garlic. Suddenly, I'm searching my best friend's freezer for her garlic, wishing she left one head out on the counter as I do-but remembering, I cook with garlic almost daily.

I prepped the flour and began working on the recipes. Its kind of fun to attempt boiling maple syrup while mixing whipped vanilla butter and cleaning a boil over before you start the oil for the chicken.

I'm not great at frying chicken, I'm not sure I'm great at frying anything. I did not grow up southern, I don't recall my momma ever frying a chicken, much to my daddy's relief. As children, we learned early which parents were willing to feed us on a regular basis, and how to rotate our meals so that we didn't get sent home. I'm sure my daddy believed my mother would have caught something on fire if she'd have tried frying a chicken in any way.

Alas, now its my turn, and I love experimenting with things my mother had no willingness to learn. Of course, I've since learned a timer does wonders for the ability to cook without burning things. But I'm still not great at frying chicken, and I served it up with the precaution to cut into it first, I'd be more than happy to put the chicken back into the oil if it needed it. It did. I learned that when I think its done, give it another minute and a half, maybe two minutes. You want a pretty golden brown color that is almost all brown. No one explains things like this anymore, and since my momma couldn't cook, and grandma passed away over 10 years ago, I'm figuring all this out for myself. And we wonder why Julia Child is so popular. Next time, I'll pack the thermometer and some of the specialty ingredients I need. More about that in the other blogs.

The chicken still turned out good, especially with the Black Pepper Maple Syrup poured over it. Its amazing how something so sweet can make savory food like fried chicken or sausage taste better.

I may also take stock in candy thermometers as I have drowned or broken more than I care to admit, and see myself doing so in the future. I will simply, slowly acquire a drawer full over time, or at least a couple of old coffee mugs. Then I can regulate my heat, and with a timer, maybe I'll get into chicken frying. Later, if I attempt to make this recipe healthier, I'll even try baking the chicken pieces.

It was still fun to make these recipes and serve them to friends on a Sunday afternoon.

I will definitely make this recipe again, for friends. But I may have to do a test run or two to be sure I'm ready to present.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Recipe 66: Beet "Caviar"

The challenge: Turn beets into "caviar." I'm still wondering if Jesus attempted this one, or if he decided it would be easier and more impressive to turn water into wine. Plus, regardless of whether or not they had poppy seeds back then, I'm sure the masses did not want to be picking them out of their teeth. Please excuse me while I grab a tooth pick.

I'm not sure how to describe this recipe. The beets, while produce, are mostly sugar, which kick them off of most diets. However, the rest of the recipe is pretty healthy, so maybe its meant as a dieter's indulgence while staying away from the brownies. I did like the beet topping, though it takes a bit of work.

The recipe calls for roasting a pound of beets in order to remove the skin and chopping into a 1/8" square or a very fine dice. Its enough to make a girl wonder if Emeril is trying to recover from counting cards or some other issue better off not mentioned. (Please note, I do not care for chopping, and have never cared for a very fine dice). The beets can be roasted a day in advance, I cheated and made it two, as I diverged into the world of canning orange marmalade last night. I have not decided where to blog that experience.

I was also glad I was wearing red today, as a friend once suggested that if you are messy, you're food colors should match your clothing colors. Today was a good day for red, then.

Once the beets are chopped, they can be set aside while you make the vinaigrette. There is one thing I did like about the recipe, once the incessant chopping is done, and the shallot is minced, it is not terribly fussy, and you can leave it set to go have a chat with a friend while you prep it. So, I got to the orange juice, first thing-quite easy with a nice juice reamer. I added white cooking wine for the white wine vinegar(close enough, here), minced some more shallot, tossed in some poppy seeds, chatted with a friend, came back to combine those, then remembered the orange zest. A few moments later I remembered the salt and fresh ground white pepper(mixed peppercorns-as previously confessed). I then stirred it all together with a fork again and tossed the beets with 2/3 of the mix and the arugula with the remaining third. I then assembled the salad and tasted.

The beet mixture was pretty good, but not excellent or to die for. The arugula was a little bitter. I wasn't sure I liked it or would make this recipe again-at least not without mixed baby herbs or as a topping to a crostini as suggested in the notes. When I reviewed the recipe before I began the blog, I realized I had forgotten the chive oil I made the other night. I made myself a second plate, grateful this was a salad and not duck or some other fattening recipe. I assembled the salad once again and proceeded to pour the chive oil over top of the salad, and found the chive oil helped greatly to cut down on the bitterness of the arugula. Its actually pretty good this way. This is not the crave worthy recipe of some of the cheese family recipes or the meyer lemon pudding cakes, and now, I wonder how it would taste with a bit of cheese--I'll be right back.

The cheese didn't make it horrible, but it didn't make it decadent either. I think the chive oil is enough to balance the flavors. So if aunt Betty gave you tons of beets and you feel like chopping until your arms fall off, enjoy this relatively healthy salad. Or if you really like beets or arugula.

I may make this recipe again, definitely with the chive oil, and probably with mixed baby greens or crostini with garlic and oil. However, I am not running out to buy more beets, as a friend just requested Brussels Sprouts and I happily said, 'I have a great recipe, I'll even copy it for you." It was good, just not great. But they all can't be winners, because then I wouldn't be able to pick favorites, and fortunately, recipes don't care if you like another recipe better;-).

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Recipe 65: Spinach Sauteed with Garlic, Figs, and Honey

The challenge: Learning to work with figs, and finding a use for the leftover figs.
I was glad the recipe called for dried figs instead of fresh figs-that could have been more of a challenge.

As I tasted the figs, since I had plenty for the recipe, I noticed the stem ends were a little hard and needed to be spit out. After they were cooked, I realized that was true once I cooked the sliced figs as well. Now, I'll know for next time.

I did do a little reading up on the fig as I was preparing this blog, and I did find from the California Fig Advisory Board, that "It is definite that a fig tree provided the first clothing as noted in the Bible, “...the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons”, but there is room for speculation that the forbidden fruit might have been a fig, not an apple."
http://californiafigs.com/about_figs.php

This recipe was pretty easy. Heat a skillet, add a little olive oil. Add in a couple of tablespoons of thinly sliced garlic and saute' until lightly toasted-30 seconds. Then add the fig and chicken stock or broth, about a quarter cup of each. Cook until chicken stock/broth is mostly reduced, about 1-2 minutes. Then add the spinach and cook, stirring until wilted-about 2 more minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and drizzle honey over spinach just before serving. This is supposed to make 4 servings. Either I really like spinach, or I didn't have a whole pound, I'll be lucky to get three servings out of this. Of course, I was cooking it while hungry for lunch, so that might have been a part of it. That's it, I'm done.

Now, I either need to buy more spinach or find another use for the leftover figs. I'm not disappointed in their flavor, but they're not a fruit I'm going to crave like I do oranges. I think the figs are getting diced and added to power bars;-).

Back to the question at hand though, yes, I will definitely make this recipe again, just not too soon. I'm not making plans to go buy more spinach obviously, even though it was good for lunch. This is a nice recipe for a Tuesday night after work and other errands when you still want food quick.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Recipe 64: Orange Curd

The challenge: Where to begin...
1) I made the Rosemary Buttermilk Scones discussed in a very early recipe for this recipe when I woke today, or shortly after waking. It was actually pretty easy. If I'd had more eggs on hand, I'd have made the orange curd then, and maybe burned the scones waiting for something. Or the scones would have been cooling in the oven while I made the curd. I did include 1/2 whole wheat flour and used dried rosemary. Next time, I will use a little more rosemary or fresh rosemary. I believe fresh rosemary had better flavor.

2) I don't particularly care for the word curd, it suggests you're going to make milk bad, but rest assured there is no milk in this recipe. However, I love orange juice and orangecicles and most things orange, or with orange in them. So, what's taken me so long to make this recipe? 1) I just haven't gotten to it, 2) Oranges are actually in season right now. 3) I forget how much I love orange type stuff.

3) Making this recipe reminded me of orange marmalade, which I just love and always have. My mother must have thought me an anomaly growing up, or wondered if they switched children in the hospital. Since I grew up dirt poor in a hostile environment I wouldn't likely wish on my worst enemy(except maybe on a really, really bad day), orange marmalade was something we didn't buy. I was the only one who liked it, and there was rarely, if ever any money to purchase such a luxury for me. I learned to love sales, if I could find orange marmalade on sale for about half-price, I could talk my mother into it. I also learned to sort of enjoy the results of the embarrassment behind having to call the food bank. They were my biggest supplier of orange marmalade and I knew then, someone or something was looking out for me. No sooner did that jar come in the door to be unpacked, than I was popping two pieces of toast in the toaster. I would do this nearly everyday until the marmalade I loved so much was gone.

I should get to the recipe, but indulge me one more story, in case you ever need a stocking stuffer, or a simple gift that will be appreciated. My mother used to put oranges and/or apples in our stockings to fill the toes. They were the right size and healthy and cheap. She really was trying, most days. However, she didn't understand one thing about buying the oranges or apples she'd put in the stocking. I don't think she ever ate one herself. She always tossed them in the cart, and my poor, sympathetic heart could hear/feel the apples bruising. Oranges, being softer were more quiet about their bruises. But I knew I wouldn't be eating many, if any of those apples and oranges after they were dropped in the bottom of the cart. I would rather have had the jar of marmalade in the toe of my Christmas stocking. Oddly enough, I rarely think to buy marmalade now, or make toast with it. Maybe its an old habit.

So, how do you go from orange curd to orange marmalade? It's easy, add simple syrup;-) and omit the butter, maybe. I'm inspired now to find and make homemade marmalade. After all, why do we stand over the stove for 30 minutes to a few hours whisking our wrists into a painful submission to make these recipes? Because we know its better when its homemade, and its worth it, so you make it last if you can.

I started with a few oranges and squeezed the juice out of about 3 of them. I then boiled and whisked my wrist away to make a reduction to a half cup of orange juice, about 1/3 of the liquid and pulp I had when I started. I did sneak in and zest the oranges first as the recipe called for 2 teaspoons of orange peel. I also chopped the peel as finely as my impatient heart would let me. While the orange juice itself reduced, I read a blog called "Why I am not married." I was curious, and finally a woman stood up and decided its not because there's something wrong with me, though some days that may be it, but because I choose not to be. I have to say, I was cheering for her. I even would like to make another stab at marriage, but there is nothing wrong for a woman not to marry today.--That could be an entirely separate blog. I enjoyed it, and found that as long as I checked my orange juice periodically and stirred at that time, it reduced just fine without me.

Once the juice was reduced to a medium volume 1/2 cup of liquid, I turned off the heat and began separating out 6 egg yolks-looks like I'm having egg white omelettes for breakfast with my scones and curd;-). I filled a medium pot 1/3 full of water and began to boil it as I prepped the rest of the ingredients. I measured and set aside the sugar, and I've mentioned I already had the lemon zest ready. After another moment or two, I began to whisk these items together and add in the slightly cooled orange juice.

Here, you really get to whisk your wrist off, and any other parts that try to help you whisk. 6-7 minutes over medium low heat will remind you that you need the warming lotion on your wrists tonight, especially after typing your blog including childhood stories. I think I whisked for nearly ten minutes on medium-low heat, before I decided it was holding its shape as the recipe book suggested it would do in 6-7 minutes. I think I was approaching medium heat, but maybe not. At last, after ten minutes, I pulled the curd off the heat and added the cold butter pieces, about a half a stick, cut into small pieces. Then I got to make an ice bath and strain the liquid over a fine mesh sieve.

Once I began straining the liquid, I noticed the peels and the thickening, and I started to think of orange marmalade. While this brought on memories of moments I enjoyed in childhood, it also set me up a little for an almost disappointment. The curd doesn't include this strangely enjoyable bitterness of orange zest in the end, other than the essence, and isn't quite as sweet or as flavorful as the marmalade I remember from childhood. I also reheated the scone a tad and wonder if it wasn't too much. The curd tasted good on its own, but it doesn't knock you over with orange flavor. If you like your oranges subtle, this is a recipe for you. If you like your oranges to knock you out, you may have to find me on another blog down the road;-). It was still pretty good. And in the morning, I'm going to enjoy a hearty orange curd topped rosemary buttermilk scone for breakfast. Then I might just go buy some orange marmalade, or some mason jars and make my own.

I will definitely make this recipe again. I may use different oranges-cara cara or some other exotic blends, and/or I will leave in the peel and the pulp (which I did to one small jar of this) and see if I like it even better. More importantly, I have been inspired to find a good orange marmalade recipe that may keep me canning for years to come. Somehow, I think that will go really well on a whole-wheat or honey-wheat english muffin with a fried egg.

Until we meet again, my friends...happy marmalades...and if you hate orange marmalade, I'm really sorry, but it means more for me;-).

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Recipe 63: Celery Root with Fresh Herbs and Mustard Dressing

Where to start with this one...ah, I think I'll stick to a simple formula: the challenge.

The challenge was similar to those faced before, only I thought I had it beat this time. Meijer is my stand-by place for most things in this cook book, but as all of you know, Meijer occasionally falls a little short in the exotics. I truly thought I had encountered celery root there before. When I looked for it over the past few weeks, I could not find it. Finally, since Meijer did not have any pancetta, I went to Ric's a local supermarket with a hint of gourmet deli to it. While searching out the pancetta, I decided to check their produce section and found the celery root. I was grateful it's a light root vegetable without a lot of starch, it weighs less and at $2.49 a pound, every ounce matters. Not as expensive as a gallon of gas yet, but that will cause food prices to go up as well.

Next, the language barrier. The recipe called for minced gherkin or cornichon. Expecting something else fun and exotic to experiment with, I looked up cornichon. It is simply the french word for gherkin. Funny, I never learned that one in French class.

I also pride myself on making these recipes exact the first time, only I'm not perfect. (Shh...don't tell, no one else knows;-)) The dressing called for dijon mustard, which I was certain I had on hand. After I dropped the 'dijon' mustard in the red-wine vinegar, I read the bottle to find it was spicy brown mustard. I guess it really wanted to be dijon mustard today, so it is.

The final challenge: getting into the celery root. If you have kids that need to use a little extra energy, get them into the kitchen or around the table/cutting board area and hand them a celery root and a knife. Emeril says to take the ends off with a serrated knife first. Then peel the root like a potato and cut into chunks. The chunks then get shredded in a food processor with a fine shredding blade. I must have found the medium sized blade so my shreds were larger than intended.

Then I salted the celery root and remembered to taste it raw. It did remind me of french fries, just not fried, not baked either, but crunchy with a celery flavor. Then I remembered to pull the lemon out of the fridge and I heated it in the oven for a few moments before squeezing the juice out of the lemon. After squeezing out 1 1/2 tsps of lemon juice into the shredded celery root. Set this aside.

Next, Mix the mustard and red wine vinegar in a mixing bowl. While whisking, add the oil in a slow drizzle to form an emulsion(thick, cloudy liquid). Season with the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt and white pepper. Okay, one more confession-I bought mixed peppercorns before I started this, and that is what I use for all pepper in all recipes. Guess I'm not so exact, after all.

Next, add in 1/4 cup finely chopped mixed soft herbs-parsley, chives, thyme and marjoram. I only had parsley and some dried thyme. That's what went in the dressing. Finally add in the minced gherkin(2 tsps or 1 gherkin) and 1 1/2 Tbsp. minced drained nonpareil capers.

Toss all this with the celery root and serve immediately or refridgerate in a nonreactive airtight container for up to 2 days. The scientist in me is curious, what happens in two days? Another part of me knows, it starts to smell foul and go bad.

It ends up tasting robust even with the light celery root flavor and texture. It even feels a bit hearty, but it isn't. It's like the perfect necklace, just fancy enough to be noticed, but understated enough to wear everyday if you want.

I will definitely make this recipe again. First, I will experiment more with Celery root. I think its a fun little vegetable.