| Steve's profileSteve make food nowBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
February 02 lardThe best part about making your own lard is the fantastic food that follows, when you use the lard as your cooking fat. The second best part is the look on people's faces when you tell them you're making a couple of quarts of lard.
I could talk about how lard doesn't have evil hydrogenated fats, like lots of packaged processed foods, margarine, and Crisco (which was made as a lard replacement). I could quote sources describing how its ratios of saturated to unsaturated are surprisingly good. I could appeal to tradition - how could millions of grandmas be wrong? I could talk about how essential it is to the flavoring in Mexican food and lots of other cuisines. I could find someone more capable with pastry than i am, and get them to make the flakiest pie crust ever. I could get all hippie about the satisfaction of taking control over another element of the food that you eat - this isn't like using olive oil; this is like pressing the olives yourself. And i could talk about how amazing your kitchen will smell, for hours.
But how could i pick one of those to focus on, when you get them all? With no more effort than this:
6 pounds pork fat
a cup of water
Chop the fat into 1 inch chunks. Grease the bottom of a big, deep pot, then add the water and some of the fat. Bring to a boil. Add the rest of the fat, reduce the heat to low, and partially cover. Cook as low and slow as you can - we're talking several hours. You want to keep it low enough that the chunks don't get crispy and golden; that seals in the remaining fat. Cook it slowly, so the fat just melts out. The water will boil off as you go (you'll be able to see the difference in how it bubbles, and it will pretty much stop steaming). Let it go, checking occasionally, until no more fat is being rendered. Remove, let cool, and strain into jars. You can save the cracklings left and eat them directly, or crisp them further in the oven - i threw mine out, but i imagine they're pretty good. January 30 mini-reese-cup cookiesRemember how i said there's nothing to my baking repertoire outside banana bread and chocolate chip cookies? You'd think those'd get boring after a while, and you'd be right. So how can i leverage my incredibly narrow skills, and make something different enough that i want to eat them all, and not share them with anybody? Here's how:
1. Go buy Trader Joes mini chocolate peanut butter cups.
2. Make the standard tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, substituting the peanut butter cups (and cutting the salt down to a pinch...there's enough in the peanut butter, but you need a tiny bit in the dough, too).
3. Thank mamster. January 21 Seared Duck Breasts, with Red Wine Balsamic reductionThe best part of this recipe is that you've pretty much got it there, in the title...
2 duck breasts
a half-glass of a full-bodied red wine
2 Tablespoons decent quality balsamic
Preheat your oven to 400, and heat a medium saucepan. Score the skin on the duck breasts, dry both sides with a paper towel, and season them generously. Cook fat side down for about 4 minutes, then turn and put the pan in the oven for 3-4 more minutes. Remove, let the duck breasts rest, and spoon almost all of the fat out of the pan. Put the pan back over medium heat. Add the wine and balsamic, scrape up any brown bits, and stir as the sauce reduces. Remove the sauce to a bowl, let cool slightly, correct the seasoning, and serve with the duck breasts.
Chicken/spinach/raisin/pine nut thingDamn - best one pan weeknight dinner I've made in a long time. I think this is a relatively traditional combination of ingredients in some chunk of Italy, but i made it up as i went so who knows. Either way,
a chicken
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
a bunch of spinach
a handful of toasted pine nuts
a handful of golden raisins
a glass of white wine (like everything else i've made lately, apparently)
Preheat your oven to 400. Cut the chicken into 8 serving pieces - drumsticks, thighs, and each breast quarter cut in half with wing tips removed. Wash, dry, season, and dry again. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan, and sweat about half of the chopped garlic. This might be better if you use a couple of whole cloves, instead, and remove them before proceeding. Brown the chicken, in batches if necessary. Put the pan in the oven to finish the chicken. Meanwhile, wash the spinach and drain. Cook in another pan, using just the water left from washing. When the chicken's done (after 15-20 mins), put the pan back on the stovetop over medium heat and remove the chicken to rest. Add the wine to the pan, scraping up any brown bits, and reduce a little. Add the raisins and spinach, and cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Add back the chicken to reheat, and serve on top of the spinach, sprinkled with pine nuts and sauced with the pan juices. January 19 Gorgonzola butterAs much as i like the elaborate, there's something even better about cooking that takes 3 ingredients and about 45 seconds to create something stunning. Like this.
a chunk of gorgonzola or other blue cheese
twice that much butter, or a little less
a little pepper.
Combine, mash together, and refrigerate. Cook the perfect steak, rest it, and top with the butter mixture. Great red wine NOT optional. Damn. If you have other ideas on how to use this stuff, let me know... January 15 Honey-poached pearsI don't know from desserts, but i needed to make something that worked for a vegan friend *and* for friends on a detox diet that forbade a bunch of other random stuff. This seemed like a good idea, and turned out tasty, light, and subtly-flavoured.
6 bosc pears, peeled (but leave the stems on, for the cute factor, and cut a slice off the bottom so they'll stand upright when you serve them)
a glass of white wine
a few tablespoons of honey
1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract
a cup or so of water
Chuck everything in a pot, cover it, bring to a boil, and simmer (covered) for 10-15 minutes, until the pears have softened. Remove the pears, stand them up in bowls. Turn the heat up, uncover the pot, and reduce the liquid down to a syrup. Cool it to eatable temperatures in an ice bath, if necessary, and pour over pears.
fennel antipastoHoly crap - make this and eat it.
1 large or 2 small heads of fennel
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 anchovies, chopped
red pepper flakes
chop the fennel into chunks. Blanch it for a few minutes - let it soften slightly, but leave it a little firm. Drain. Heat a generous amount of olive oil and saute the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes for a couple of minutes, mashing up the anchovies a bit. Season generously, add the fennel, and saute for 3-4 minutes, mixing well.
Serve hot or at room temperature - goes great with finnochiona. Shrimp risotto1-2 pounds shrimp, shelled, with shells reserved for stock
a glass of dry white wine
half a yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
6 or so cups shrimp stock
arborio rice for 6 (i only know how to measure this out by handfuls that feel like a serving each)
a pinch of saffron
2-3 tablespoons minced parsley
Shrimp stock: boil shells from a couple of pounds worth of shrimp with enough water to cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add onion/carrot/celery/bay for a more complete stock, or just use the shrimp shells. I tend to underseason stocks and make up for it when i use them, but feel free to season this fully since you're unlikely to reduce it.
Risotto: This is a fairly standard risotto, with the addition of tomato paste at the beginning, and omitting butter/cheese at the end. Heat stock in a covered pot until simmering. Steep saffron in stock for a few minutes. Heat a large saute pan, and sweat onions in a generous amount of olive oil until softened. Add rice, and toast, stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Add the glass of wine, and let it cook away while stirring. Continue to stir as you add the stock, one ladleful at a time, letting it boil away each time before adding more. Continue for 15 minutes or so, then start tasting the rice to see if it's done. When it's close, add a ladle of stock and the shrimp, turning the heat to high. The goal is to cook the shrimp and finish cooking the rice at about the same time. The shrimp will give off some liquid, so don't add too much more stock until they're nearly cooked and you know you need it. Stir in most of the parsley. Add stock to get to whatever level of runniness you want (it'll firm up as it cools and the rice absorbs a bit more liquid, so make it a little too runny to start), plate, and garnish with the remaining parsley.
December 18 clam/tomato/polenta thingTo serve 8:
For clams:
6 pounds manila clams
a 14 oz can of tomatoes, chopped
parsley
white wine
a shallot
a couple of cloves of garlic
For polenta:
1 1/2 cups fine or medium polenta
butter
To cook clams:
Rinse the clams, discarding any open ones. Mince the shallot and garlic. Heat a pot large enough to hold everything, add a generous pour of olive oil, and saute the shallot and garlic, seasoned w/ salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and their juices, saute briefly to reduce the juices a bit. Add a splash of wine, and let reduce a bit. Add a handful of chopped parsley and the clams, cover, and steam 5-6 minutes. Uncover - the clams will have released a lot of liquid; you can reduce this broth, but it's just as good as is.
Meanwhile, to cook polenta:
Bring a pot of approx 7 cups water to a boil. Mix in polenta, stirring, and keep stirring while cooking for 7-10 minutes. Add a big hunk of butter (half a stick? maybe a little less, if you want to go for super-healthy), and generous amounts of salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate and melt the butter.
Serve by ladling a blob of polenta into each bowl, and topping with clams and broth, distributing each evenly among the bowls.
cevicheEasily modified, obviously, but here's a version that worked out well for me:
2 pounds cod
a jalapeno, and a similar, medium-hot, red pepper
a shallot
a few limes (# will vary based on their juiciness, see below)
a cucumber
an avocado
Dice the fish into 1/2 inch pieces, and finely dice the shallot and (seeded) peppers. Mix together in a non-reactive bowl, add salt, and add lime juice to cover, tossing as you go to expose all surfaces to the lime juice. I needed 6 large, fairly juicy limes. Leave for 4-6 hours, tossing occasionally.
Seed and finely dice the cucumber about a half hour before serving. Squeeze out as much water as possible, on paper towels, then lay out on fresh paper towels. Just before serving, halve and thinly slice the avocado. Lay out a few slices of avocado per plate, and distribute the cucumber evenly among the plates. Drain the fish mixture (trying to preserve the shallots and peppers, as much as possible) and top the cucumber with it, and serve.
Serves 8, as an appetizer. A little cilantro would be good, either mixed in with the fish (at the end, after draining), or just for garnish, but not needed. Salting the avocado might be good too, esp with a few grains of a big, chunky sea salt. December 15 Peppermint barkA little old fashioned, ridiculously easy, but absolutely required for Christmas around my house...
4 ounces good white chocolate
10 small candy canes
Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Bash candy canes with a meat mallet. It's easier to do while they're still in wrappers - unwrap after and combine with slightly-cooled chocolate. Spread to desired thickness and refrigerate, then break into small pieces (reuse of the meat mallet is optional).
Mmm...Christmas, for about 2 minutes of active effort. November 06 parmesan rosemary crispsGood parm cheese
Fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 350. Grate a bunch of parmesan, mix in a handful of rosemary leaves. Drop in piles on a cookie sheet, like cookie dough. Bake until edges get golden.
Easy enough for you?
You can also make little cups out of these, by taking them out before they're too done and draping them over something round, so they solidify in the shape you want. Fill with whatever. Green bean and coconut saladSounds sorta bizarre, but incredibly good and simple/quick to make. Indian, in theory, but good as a vegetable side dish for western meals, too.
a pound of green beans
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
2-3 minced, seeded serranos
a teaspoon (or a little less) of salt
unsweetened, shredded coconut
Shred the beans. Wash them, and add them (with wash water still clinging to them, or add a little water separately) to a small pot. Add everything else, and combine. Cook, covered, over fairly low heat for 10 or so minutes, until flavors combine and beans are as tender as you want them.
coriander/ginger lamb curryAt least right now, this is my favorite curry anywhere. It's even better the next day...
2 pounds lamb shoulder
whole coriander seeds
ginger
cayenne
onion
coconut milk
a chunk of cinnamon
2 cloves
4 cardamom pods
2 cups chopped onions
3-6 minced serranos
1 clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 can coconut milk
cilantro
Cut the lamb into bite size pieces, trimming as much fat as you can.
toast and grind the coriander seeds. Grate enough ginger to create two tablespoons, grated. Combine coriander, cayenne, ginger, and salt, plus a little water to make a paste. Combine with lamb, coating evenly, and refrigerate (covered) overnight.
Heat a pan, add oil, and fry the dry spices. fry the onion, adding the chiles hallfway through. Add the ginger and garlic and continue frying for a minute or two. Add the meat, cook for a few minutes.
Add coconut milk and a little water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes or so. If needed, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce.
Serve with chopped cilantro. Carbonnade FlamandeBecause beef stew just tastes better when it's got a fancy name.
3 lb chuck roast, trimmed & cut into 1" pieces
2 slices thick bacon, minced
2 medium onions, in thin slices
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 12 oz beer - a belgian ale, for authenticity; english brown ales would work, too, or i used Big Rock Trad. Avoid super-hoppy north american pale ales - too bitter
1/2 to 1 quart chicken stock (though use beef or veal stock if you have it)
2 Tablespoons grainy dijon mustard
a bouquet garni (i used fresh parsley, sage, and rosemary, but whatever...those, thyme, bay, etc)
Preheat the oven to 350. Toss the meat in flour and season it. Heat a dutch oven over high heat, warm some olive oil and butter, and brown the meat in batches. When all the beef is brown, brown bacon, turning heat down to low when the bacon's almost done. With the heat on low, throw in the onions and sugar, and toss to mix and coat in oil. Stirring occasionally, let the onions caramelize - this can take 20-30 minutes. Put the heat to high again. Add the vinegar, bring to a boil and cook until almost gone. Add the beer, stock, beef, and bacon back to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the bouquet garni and put the pot, covered, into the oven for 2-3 hours, checking occasionally and adding more liquid if needed. Try not to add more liquid than needed, and boil down to a thick sauce if it's watery at the end. If not serving immediately, allow to cool and refrigerate, then reheat over low heat to serve. 15 minutes before serving, add the mustard and more fresh herbs. Season w/ salt/pepper/vinegar to taste.
Serve sprinkled w/ parsley, with something starchy - potatoes, spaetzle, or just bread.
October 23 duck & pear saladThis is a little trite, but really damn good.
1 head butter lettuce
2 legs of duck confit
2 ripe medium pears
a handful of hazelnuts
a small hunk (an ounce or so) of Bleu D'Auvergne or similar
Preheat an oven or toaster oven. Wash, dry, and tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Put the duck, in a foil package, into the oven for a few minutes, to warm through. Optionally, toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan and/or crush lightly to break them into a couple of pieces each. Core and thinly slice the pears. Shred the duck, discarding skin and remaining fat. Toss the lettuce with a standard vinaigrette, plate, then mound pears, duck, and hazelnuts on top. Sprinkle with crumbled cheese.
Also - if you broil the duck to reheat it, you can crisp the skin and eat it while you prepare the salad... October 16 Lamb Shanks with Tomatoes and OlivesThe fundamental equation of braising: Winter = braising = goodness. 2 lamb shanks olive oil 2 cloves of garlic a shallot or half an onion a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, or equivalent a handful of pitted green olives a glass of white wine a cup or two of chicken stock
How can you screw this up? You can't, that's how. Preheat the oven to 350. Heat a dutch oven over med-high heat, add olive oil, and season the lamb shanks w/ salt and pepper and sear all around. Remove to a plate, reduce heat, and remove all but a couple of tablespoons of fat. Saute onions & garlic for a few minutes, then add back shanks, plus the tomatoes, olives, and liquids. Cover the pot and put in the oven for 90 mins to 2 hrs. That's it. Depending on what you want to do with it, you can remove the shanks and reduce the sauce on the stovetop or blend to make a smoother sauce. You can also pull the meat off the bones and shred, or serve as whole shanks. Great on polenta. And the leftovers are even better as a base for broiled eggs or as a fantastic, rich sauce for scrambled eggs and toast. So good! Make yer own sody pop
3 cups water 2 cups sugar juice and rind of two lemons a hand-sized chunk of ginger a few cardamom pods a pinch of salt and pepper
Peel the ginger, and cut into smaller pieces. Put everything in a pot, bring everything to a boil. Simmer, almost covered, for 45 minutes, then leave to steep overnight. Strain and refrigerate - it'll last a few weeks. Pour more than you'd think over ice, add soda water and stir. A lemon wedge is a good addition. So's a shot of vodka. Duck RaguDuck legs are a steal. They're hard to find sometimes, but University Poultry and Seafood is a reliable source in Seattle, and there are others around. Except for confit, they don't get the love that duck breasts do, but they're just as good and give you prep options you don't get with breasts. Braising is one of them - this is a great tomato sauce that gets completely elevated by the duck.
olive oil
4 duck legs, skinned + obvious fat removed
2-3 large shallots or a small red onion
a carrot
a celery rib
2-3 cloves garlic
half a bottle of light red wine (pinot noir or similar)
a cup of chicken stock
a six ounce can of tomato paste
Dice the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Heat a dutch oven, add olive oil and let it get hot. Season the duck legs, and sear. Remove them, and all but a couple (well, a few) tablespoons of fat. Saute the mirepoix, add the liquids, bring to a boil, then add back the duck. Simmer, covered, for an hour. Remove the duck legs, and let them cool enough to handle. Remove the meat, shred it, and return to the pot. Simmer uncovered until the sauce has reduced as much as you want. Serve as a sauce over fresh pasta - this is enough for 6-8 good servings. Tomato, fennel, and feta saladNothing to it, but i wanted to remind myself to use fennel now and then.
a couple of diced tomatoes (only bother with this when the tomatoes are fantastic)
half a fennel bulb, shredded
vinaigrette
crumbled feta
combine. salt + pepper. garnish with minced fennel fronds. eat. |
|
|
