Lamb Stew Ciuba

I grabbed this recipe off Epicurious.com.  Love that site!  I had to change up the recipe a little.  But, it turned out to be super easy.

2 lbs lamb stew meat
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour.  Toss to combine.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven and brown the meat in two batches over medium-high heat.  Put in a bowl and set aside.

Add some more oil to the pot.  Turn it down to medium and saute:

1 large chopped onion
2 large chopped ribs of celery
6 cloves chopped garlic
4 medium carrots cut about 1/3 inch thick

Add:

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
(I also added a few shakes of red pepper flakes and a teaspoon of Aleppo chili pepper)

Saute for a minute and add:

The browned lamb
1 and 1/2 cups red wine
3 cups of beef broth

Crank up the heat to get it simmering.  Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring now and then, partially covered, for 2 1/2 hours until the sauce is thick and the lamb is tender.

After the cooking time was done I thought the stew was too watery.  So, I added some Yukon gold potatoes and cooked it another hour.

This is good stuff.  But, I bet it’ll be even better tomorrow…

 

Butternut Squash Soup with Chipotle Cream

What is in a name?  A lot, when it comes to this soup.  In fact, the name sounded better than the soup tasted.  But, what was I expecting?  It’s squash soup.  Squash isn’t just bursting with flavor to begin with, right?

I cracked open the squash.  Since I’d never cooked a butternut squash before, more less a six dollar organic butternut squash, I took a little nibble of it raw.  Nothing.  I tossed a piece to the floor to see if the dog would eat it.  No dice.  It tasted like nice, fresh, organic nothing.  Maybe the roasting would help.

I will say that it smelled considerably better after the roasting.  I had rubbed the cut side of each half with olive oil, salt & pepper and roasted it for 45 mintues at 400.  Still didn’t taste like a whole lot.

I medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped

Saute in a soup pot with olive oil and a little salt until tender.  Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook for a minute or two more.  Scoop the squash flesh into the pot.  Add four cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes or so.

From here you take it off the heat.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, thinning it with up to 2 cups more chicken broth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Taste.  That’s kind of the problem here.  The most potent flavor in almost six cups of soup was 2 cloves of garlic.  That’s not a lot of flavor.

All of this is supposed to be pumped up by two teaspoons of chipotle chopped.  I used chipotle puree and put a lot more than two teaspoons.  It didn’t taste like much.  I added a Mexican spice blend that’s heavy on the cumin.  A little more garlic.  Salt.

It was OK.   The addition of the blob of sour cream with chipotle mixed in was nice.  It was still and exercise in blandness.  If you like bland or if you feel that you can jazz this up sufficiently to make it really good, then do make this soup.  It’s got to be pretty good for you, right?  It’s basically nothing but vegetables.  But, frankly, V8 has more flavor.

Thankful Pizza

How do you go from this…

To this…?

Thankgiving.  We brined and smoked our turkey.  And last night it was delicious on a turkey pizza.  Started with an olive oil and garlic base with a little crushed red pepper.  Topped it with hunks of smoked turkey, little blobs of stuffing, spoonfuls of truffled mashed potatoes and some green been casserole scattered around.  (Yes, with the crunchy fried onions from a can!)  When it came out of the oven we drizzled it with giblet gravy and added a little bit of cranberry sauce here and there.

Thanksgiving by the slice.  Not too bad!

Baked Ziti with Sausage

First you cook the sausage…

This is spicy Parmesan Italian sausage from Hirsch’s Meats.  Very tasty.  Spoon it out of the pan and saute onions, carrot and celery.

Start the sauce… includes ground beef, tomato sauce, wine, pureed tomatoes and salt & pepper.

Cook for about an hour and then add the sausage back into the sauce along with chopped parsley.

Mix ziti with the meat sauce.

Butter a large casserole and add half the pasta mixture.

Add half the bechamel sauce that I forgot to mention you’ve already made.

Add the rest of the pasta mixture.  Top with mozzarella and Parmesan.  Bake.

Scoop out the goodness and eat.

Later, wash all the dishes!

New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp

We went to S&D Oyster Company today and I almost got the BBQ shrimp.  Then I remembered… I have a recipe for the best BBQ shrimp I’ve ever eaten.  Once again, the Saveur book “The New Comfort Food” is a winner.  This is a fabulously spicy dish that would be good as an appetizer or main course.  The sauce is plentiful.  Though I’m going to pass on the recipe with their ingredient amounts, I’d say you could throw in more shrimp.  I used big shrimp, more than 16 of them, and they were swimming in sauce.

BBQ shrimp doesn’t include outdoor cooking or a grill at all.  Here’s how it goes…

 16 peeled & deveined shrimp, tails left on
2 Tbsp. Creole or Cajun seasoning mix
1/4 canola oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (I used 6)
2 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup beer
6 Tbsp hot sauce (I used Tobasco, Louisian Hot Sauce and  Tapatio)
6 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
12 Tbsp cold butter cut into small pieces
1 loaf crusty French bread for serving

1. Toss the shrimp with the Creole seasoning and set aside.

2.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add oil and then garlic.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add rosemary and cook 2-3 seconds.  Add shrimp and cook, flipping once, until they turn pink, about 30 seconds.  They will not be fully cooked at this point.  Transfer shrimp to a warm plate and set aside.

3.  Add beer, hot sauce, Worcestershire and lemon juice and cook, stirring, until thickened, 7-8 minutes.

4.  Remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time.  When they melt into the sauce, add more butter pieces, stirring all the time.  The sauce will start to thicken.

5.  Return the shrimp to the skillet and toss to coat.  Return skillet to medium heat and cook until the shrimp are cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. 

6.  Transfer the shimp and sauce onto deep plates or shallow bowls.  Serve with  crusty bread.

The Best Chicken Wings We Ever Made

Hub’s a frying genius.  So, I found this new cookbook.  “SAVEUR The New Comfort Food – Home Cooking from Around the World”.  I love the magazine.  I was excited to see that they had published a new book. 

The recipes have been good, sometimes a little too boring for my taste.  But, who says you can’t spice it up a little or throw in some cheese?  And I must remind myself that a lot of people don’t want spicy when they want comfort.  Subtle flavors are good, too. 

Anyway, Hubbard is a frying genius.  He’s really got it down.  So, I suggested he make the Sweet-and-Spicy Korean Fried Chicken.  This recipe is made with chicken wings.  I love wings.  The technique is different, though.  You make a batter of water, flour and corn starch.  Toss the wings in the batter then fry.  Drain on paper towels.  Here’s what they looked like…

Could they be more golden and crispy?  They’re so perfect.  So, while they sit there doing nothing, you make the sauce.  Throw five or six ingredients in a small food processor or blender and you’re done with that.  Now, or whenever you feel like it, you fry the wings again.  Let them drain a while and then toss them with the sauce.  Of course, I was so eager to take a bite I forgot to take a picture.  Here’s the picture from the book…

Though I didn’t grab my camera, this was one of those cookbook moments.  What he had made actually looked better than the picture in the book.  And it tasted fabulous!  It was the texture that really made it.  That double frying and the corn starch produces then most lovely crunch.  Even covered with sauce these guys stayed crunchy.  So moist and perfectly cooked inside, too.

Forget the Ranch dressing for these wings.  I did think that if we made a teriyaki sauce to toss them in, that might be tasty.  Or maybe a lemon pepper sauce.  Or maybe…

Hubbard took a bite and said, “This recipe is worth the cost of the book”. 

I think he’s right.

Shots of Artizone Products

So, here’s what it looks like when you get your groceries…

There are little frozen cold packs in with the perishables.  They’re re-usable, too.

Fish and ginger miso sauce from Rex’s Seafood.  Cupcakes from LaDuni.  Grilling sauce from Flavor’s from Afar.  Let’s do a little close up of those cupcakes.  (Which are fabulously delicious, by the way!)

Beautiful mushrooms and salad greens from FM1410, Tom Spicer’s place.  Banana peppers from Larken Farms.  Scardello’s cheese and charcuterie. 

 Steaks from Hirsch Meats.  Steaks are for dinner today.  Looking good!

Here’s my first recipe with an Artizone product…

1888 Dirtiest Martini Dip with Bleu Cheese
1 12-oz whipped cream cheese
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
pinch cayenne
3/4-1 cup 1888 Dirtiest Martini Mix
1 1/2 cup chopped olives
3/4 lb blue cheese crumbles
2 tablespoons softened butter

Mix ingredient together and refrigerate.  (got the recipe at Central Market)

Or don’t refrigerate for an hour!  I didn’t and it was delicious.  I basically cut the recipe in half.  Very tasty!  Next, I’m going to make myself a Bloody Mary and splash in a bit of the 1888.  Can’t wait for that.  That’ll hold me over while Hub fires up the grill.

One more thing.  Their customer service is more than outstanding!  You can put a little note on your order if you have a question someone will call you right away.  I got a follow-up call to be sure I was satisfied.  Their people are well spoken and intelligent.  They make you feel like they actually care about your satisfaction.  I can’t recommend these people enough.  And no, I’m not getting any breaks or discounts because I’ve written about Artizone.  This is totally my choice.

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!

At Home with Snails, a Photo Blog

No, I’ve never made Escargots at home.  Actually, I wouldn’t even put an S on the end of the word except that’s what’s on the can.

I was sent a copy of “Rise to the Occasion, A French Food Experience” by Hedda Gioia Dowd, Cherif Brahmi and Celine Chick.  If you’re local you’ve certainly heard of the restaurant ”rise”.  It’s a souffle restaurant, primarily.  And though I’ve not been, I have only heard wonderful things about it.  The book is amazingly beautiful.  Very personal to the authors.  Hedda and Chef Brahmi are owners of the restaurant.  The photography is stunning, thanks to Courtney Perry.

I was a little shocked to see a recipe for escargots because, frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.  It looked pretty easy, so I went for it.

Every time I’ve eaten snails, I’ve liked them.  I do have to say that they’re a lot uglier straight out of the can as opposed to served in a restaurant.

Their snails look lovely, don’t they?  I was going to do my best.  I didn’t have enought shallots.  But, I figured sweet onion would do.

Parsley, butter, shallots (and onion), garlic, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper.

Don’t forget the cute part…  the shells are really darling.

Chopped up a cup of the sweet onion, 1/2 cup minced garlic, thyme, bay leaves and a half cup of butter.  Saute until onions are translucent.

Meanwhile, put 1/2 cup of chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons shallots, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, salt and pepper in a mortar. 

Add 1/2 cup butter a bit at a time and blend with the pestle.

This stuff would be good on pasta, for garlic bread or on fish.  Very tasty.

Cook the snails in the onion butter mixture for about 5 minutes.

Pop the snails into the shells.  There were exactly enough snails for the shells in the set that I bought at Central Market.  The can of snails came with the shells.

Smear the parsley butter into the shells on top of the snails.  I couldn’t stand wasting the onion mixture that the snails cooked in.  So, I topped each one with a bit of that.  Baked for 10-15 minutes at 375.

 

Now I’m thinking mine look good, too!  And they were indeed very tasty.  Hubbard and I ate all of them with gougeres and some white wine.   I think I’ll be doing this again.  It would be great for entertaining.  No one expects snails at home, right?

Double Truffle Pizza

I wish it was triple truffle.  Sometimes Central Market has white truffles.  Not today, though…

So, I went on the Pizza Tour recently and I fell totally in love with Janice Provost’s pizza.  This particular pizza was made with garlic, mozzarella, saute’d mushrooms and truffle oil.  She said, “Maybe a little Asiago.  I can’t remember…”  I loved it.  I went and bought white truffle oil.  I bought Boschetti cheese flavored with shavings of white truffle.  I am taking a shot at making this pizza.

Crust.  I’m going to stick with the crust recipe I’ve been using since we got this Chicago Deep Dish Pizza set for a wedding present.  It’s nowhere near as good as Janice’s crust.  I’m not a chef, either, so I forgive myself for my pretty good, but not amazing crust.  A package of yeast.  1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons warm water to dissolve the yeast in.  One fourth cup of olive oil into a bowl containing 1 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Pour everything into the same bowl and stir until it comes together.  Then pick it up, smashing all the little odds and ends into the big ball and knead in your hands for about 5 minutes, until it’s not streaky anymore and well combined.  I don’t put it on the counter and smash it really hard.  I knead it in my hands like when you were a kid and wanted to warm up Play-Dough so that it would be easier to shape.  It’s kind of like that.  Put it in a lightly greased bowl, in a warm spot, and cover with plastic wrap to rise for about an hour.

Garlic.  I decide to make my go-to garlic and olive oil sauce.  Take my cutest, tiniest saucepan, pour in some olive oil.  I tasted a Greek Kalamata olive oil this morning at Central Market that I really liked.  So, I used that.  (Iliada)  Threw in a few black peppercorns, some crushed red pepper, a little salt and four or five cloves of sliced garlic.  Put that on the stove and let it come up to just a sizzle.  Then take it off the heat.  The garlic shouldn’t be raw anymore.  But, it shouldn’t be browned either.  Raw is too pungent.   Browed is too bitter.  Sit it aside and let it cool.

Mushrooms.  I used 8 Cremini.  Sliced about 1/4 thick.  Oil into a hot skillet.  Threw in the mushrooms, not too crowded.  Mushrooms give off water as they cook.  Saute until the water is evaporated.  Don’t mess with them, too much.  Once it’s almost dry, add a bit of butter, toss and let brown a little.  Move to papertowels to drain.

Cheese.  I decided on Central Market’s house-made Mozzarella because it’s good, not too wet and cost a great deal less than Mozzarella Company stuff.  Though, I will say I think Mozzarella Company’s is the best in town.  I found the Boschetti with white truffles by accident.  I had to buy it.  Grated it up.  And I used some Parmesano Reggiano, grated on the large holes of the box grater.  The thing I like about Mozzarella is not grating it.  I just slice it and lay it on the pizza. 

Roll out the crust.  Put it on the pizza pan and add garlic with a little of the oil out of the cutest, tiniest pot.  I pick out the black peppercorns once the sauce is on the crust.  Who wants to eat that?  The red pepper flakes stay.

Lay on the Mozzarella and bake at 420 for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, it looked like this…

This is the point where I should have blotted up the excess oil with papertowel.  I didn’t though.  I piled on the Boschetti, Parmesan, mushrooms and a little sea salt.  Put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.  And then blotted up the excess oil when I took it out of the oven the second time.

Cool for about 5 minutes on a rack.  Throw on some chopped Italian parsley for color and drizzle with white truffle oil.  Don’t get carried away with that.  It’s pretty potent.  The overall flavor of the pizza is a little better when it’s not piping hot.

It was decadent.  I think mine was good.  Janice’s was better.  Her’s was all pristine and white.  Mine is more rustic.

There are only two pieces left though!

Dorie Greenspan’s Olive-Olive Cornish Hens

I am totally loving Dorie Greenspan’s book “Around my French Table”.  Everything I try is just delicious.  Last weekend I made a black olive tapenade.  This weekend I used it to make these super easy Cornish hens.  Here’s all you do.  Heat the oven to 500 degrees.  Cover a broiler pan in foil or a shallow roasting pan.  Cut the backbone out of the hens.  Flatten them.  Put a teaspoon of the olive tapenade under the skin.  About a quarter of a teaspoon under the skin of each thigh and breast side.  Slather with olive oil and a few squirts of lemon juice.  Salt and pepper.  Roast for 30 minutes.  That’s it!  And it was delicious!  I thought it seemed too easy.  And I was right.  It was incredibly easy.  The flavor was far better than I imagined.  Serve it with some lemon wedges at the table.  The extra tang makes it even better.  If you can’t cook, you can do this.  And the hens are kind of fun to begin with and not very expensive.  Hubbard ate almost of his.  I could only eat half.  So, I’d say it serves 2-4 people.  She suggests cutting them in half when you serve them and adding a little drizzle of olive oil.  Now, here’s the super simple tapenade recipe.  The hardest part for me was finding olives cured in oil instead of brine.  The do have them at Central Market, though.  They’re kind of puckered looking and wrinkled instead of being all firm and smooth.

1/4 pound oil-cured black olives, chopped
1 anchovy, drained
grated zest and juice of 1/4 lemon
pinch of rosemary
pinch of thyme
pinch of piment d’Espelette or cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Whirl it all up in a small food processor or blender.  Scrape down the sides.  Add more of anything that you like.  You decide how chunky it should be.  I like mine to be spreadable but not an actual puree.