Split Pea Soup

    

    

Split pea soup is a comfort food for me and it is also extremely easy to make.  I pair it with with a pork sausage, such as kielbasa, for a hearty, cool weather meal.  Choose the consistency you want by leaving the cooked peas in the broth, or mashing them to create a thicker soup.  Serves 2.

   
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 stalk celery, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 pound green split peas, washed in a strainer
1/2 link polish kielbasa, chopped
salt/pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat.  Add kielbasa and brown on all sides, approximately 5 minutes.  Transfer the kielbasa with a slotted spoon to a bowl, reduce the heat in the pot to medium-low, and add onion, carrot, celery, garlic and bay leaf, sauteeing gently to soften, 8 minutes.  Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, and then lower heat and simmer covered for 1 hour.  If softer peas are desired, continue cooking up to an additional 30 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf.  If a thicker soup is desired, mash some of the peas with as potato masher.  Return kielbasa to soup and warm a few minutes.  Serve.

Sausage Apple Chestnut Stuffing

    

    

People like to join tribes whenever possible; it's in our DNA, with modern versions including Cowboys v. everyone else, Yankees v. Redsox, CSI v. NCIS and the two guys from Twilight whom I am proud to say that I do not know their names.  When it comes to Thanksgiving, people break into mashed v. sweet potatoes and pumpkin v. pecan pie (I personally am a mashed/pumpkin guy).  When it comes to stuffing, I think people are less confrontational, but we do know what we like.  Options include cornbread, oyster and tradtional, etc.  Me, I'm a traditional stuffing person with my favorite being sausage apple stuffing.  I also like to throw in chestnuts for a seasonal touch.  There is nothing special about the recipes, just pick a good one and start a tradition.  Here is one I use from Epicurious.  Enjoy and do try to eat as much as you can on Thanksgiving Day!

    

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb Italian sausage, sweet or spicy, skin removed

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced onions

1 cup chopped chestnuts (from a jar is fine)

1 cup peeled cored granny smith apple

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh parsely, chopped

1 bay leaf

8 cups 1-inch cubed french bread

1 cup whole milk

1 cup low-salt chicken broth

2 tbsp butter, melted

3 large eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil in heavy, large skillet over medium heat.  Add sausage, breaking into pieces with a spoon, and saute until cooked through and brown, about 8 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl.  Add celery and next 7 ingredients to skillet.  Saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.  Discard bay leaf.  Return sausage to mixture.  Butter a 13x9x2 inch baking dish.  Add bread to sausage mixture.  Whisk milk, broth, and butter in bowl to blend.  Mix into stuffing, season stuffing with salt and pepper.  Mix in eggs, transfer to prepared dish and bake uncovered until cooked through and brown, about 50 minutes.

     

Roast Turkey Secrets

     

    
This is the first Thanksgiving in many years that I will not cook Thanksgiving dinner and that makes me sad.  I love to cook on all the holidays and have recipes and menus for each.  My Thanksgiving menu is traditional with Roast Turkey, Gravy, Sausage and Apple Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans with Slivered Almonds, and Cranberry Sauce.  Although, I am more than happy to share the table with guests who bring their own favorites including oyster stuffing, sweet potatoes (with marshmellows), braised pearl onions, etc.  I love to entertain, strengthening bonds over the giving and sharing of a meal, and holidays can be the pinnacle of that experience.  While I am not cooking this year, I would like to share my keys to roasting a Thanksgiving turkey.  Hopefully, buried in the past that dry bird roasted for hours in low heat until every drop of moisture is drained from its flesh.  Modern cooking techniques are not just fads, but a better understanding and sharing of cooking recipes to allow fine dining at home.  When it comes to turkeys, the two keys are brining and a period of high heat.  Brining allows the turkey meat to soak in and retain moisture that will stay throughout the cooking process.  Likewise, a period of high heat browns the skin and shortens the cooking time allowing less time for the bird to dry out.  The last key is to ignore the little plastic pop out indicator that comes with many birds.  That thing might as well have been made by lawyers, because it will only pop out when its temperature reaches 185 degrees F.  This is way too warm for breast meat, especially since the bird will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven.  The result is a turkey guaranteed to be absolutely cooked, but also quite likely dry.  The brining recipe below is from Emeril Lagasse, but all brining recipes are essentially the same:  salt, brown sugar, citrus, vegetables and herbs.  It doesn't really matter which one you use, just make sure you do. 

Ingredients:
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
3 oranges
2 lemons
8 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary
1 10 to 12 pound fresh or completely thawed turkey
8 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
2 yellow onions
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
3 bay leaves
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup flour
salt/pepper

Directions:
To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container, such as a plastic bucket.  Add 2 oranges and the lemons quartered, 6 sprigs of thyme and the rosemary.  Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the turkey and rinse the turkey inside and out with cold running water.  Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
For the turkey, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water.  Pat dry with paper towels inside and out.  Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper.  Stuff the turkey with 1 onion and orange each cut into 8ths, 1 stalk celery and carrot each cut into 1-inch peices, 2 bay leaves and 2 sprigs thyme.  Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.  Tuck the wings under the breast and coat the bird liberally with 4 tbsp melted butter. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, begin the turkey broth gravy recipe below.  After 30 minutes of turkey roasting time, baste the turkey with 1/2 cup chicken stock, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue roasting for another approximately 2 hours until a thermometer stuck in the thigh meat (without touching bone) registers 165 degrees F.  Baste the turkey every half hour with a 1/2 cup chicken stock and begin testing its temperature towards the end.   When done, remove the turkey and place on a platter to rest while the gravy is finished.
For the turkey broth gravy, heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add the turkey neck and saute until beginning to brown, a few minutes.   Chop the remaining vegetables and add along with the bay leaf.  Soften for a few minutes.  Add 3 cups of stock and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour.  Strain the stock and reserve until the turkey is finished roasting.  When the turkey is out of the roasting pan, pour off the juices to a glass separating cup.  Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat and deglaze with the wine, scraping up the browned bits.  Pour the mixture into the pot with the turkey stock.  Pour the separated turkey juice into the stock.  In a separate heavy sauce pan, melt 4 tbsp butter over medium heat.  Stir in the flour to make a roux and cook for 2 minutes more.  Add the stock, increase the heat to high and stir to remove lumps until the mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes to form the gravy.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve.
     

Chicken & Prosciutto Borsetti with Bacon and Peas

     

     

The more I learn about Italian food, the more I learn about the subtleties of cooking, the little things that added together build up to make a dish go from good to excellent. I learned this same lesson racing sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay. A fast sailboat isn’t fast at the beginning, or doesn’t jump ahead at the end, but is incrementally just a little faster so that by the end of the race it has achieved a dominant lead. For Italian food, I think of fresh ingredients, of course vital for any dish. I also think of how less can be more, like less sauce in a pasta dish then you might think. But also proper ingredients, such as pairing the shape and texture of the pasta with the consistency of the sauce, and ensuring that all of the pasta is tossed and individually coated in the sauce. Perhaps in the less is more category are sauces not based on tomatoes. Italians many times will coat their pasta in nothing more than oil and cheese, or perhaps butter and an herb, such as sage. Chicken stock can also be a sauce, though for me it needs help to give me the interest I need in a dish. This recipe pairs a tortellini type pasta (borsetti is my favorite) in a chicken stock-based sauce with bacon and peas. I actually am not a big fan of peas, but I always put them in this dish for their visual color and because I think I should. My favorite part though is the bacon, and any sauce started with bacon will be good with me. This recipe is quick, easy, colorful and hearty. I suggest you give it a try for a quick mid-week meal.

    

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken and prosciuto borsetti, or other desired tortellini
4 slices of bacon, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  
Directions:
In a medium pot, boil water and cook pasta. Meanwhile in a skillet over medium-low heat, cook bacon, rendering fat and ensuring bacon is nearly fully cooked. Pour off all but a tbsp of bacon fat and add onion, cooking a few minutes to soften. Add chicken stock and scrape bacon bits from the bottom of a pan. Simmer a few minutes and then add peas, cooking a few minutes more. When the pasta is cooked but still firm, transfer pasta with a slotted spoon to the skillet with the sauce. Turn off heat. Stir into sauce 3 tbsp of grated Parmesan. Serve by spooning pasta and sauce into bowls. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan over bowls.
     

Pork Tikka

   

   

Sometimes a cooking experience is less WOW and more Uh-Oh or Huh? That was the case last night when I tried this pork tikka recipe from my new The Food of India cookbook I’m reading. After posting a site extolling fast-prep Indian food, I thought I might need to get back in the graces of the Indian cooking gods ( which I fear may be many) with a real, authentic Indian dish. Tikka, I have learned, refers to either a cut of meat or a marinade sauce, and this recipe combines both. The cookbook describes it as “Encrusted in spices and mouthwateringly tender on the inside, pork tikka is a popular dish in Punjabi dhabas (roadside restaurants) and street stalls. It is often served with chapatis, roti or naan and chutney.” The marinade is yogurt based, with onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, garam masala and chili powder. With that, I thought why not? I have a container of yogurt I need to finish, naan from the other night, and all the spices already. The marinade is simple, just combine and marinate. The problems came from the cooking process. Don’t get me wrong, the smells from the cooking meat are wonderful, and the end product was tastey, but I never did obtain that beautiful color of the picture above. The recipe calls for heating the oil, and then adding the pork with the marinade and simmering. I did that, but the liquid never seemed to boil off and brown the meat like the picture showed. I ended up removing some of the extra liquid at the end of 20 minutes cooking time to allow the recipe to dry out as the recipe recommends. That just put things on the edge of burning.  The meat was cooked, still juice, but only slightly golden.  Fearing my special spice sauce would turn to cinders, I called it an evening and dug in. Some nights are like that. John 0 - authentic Indian food 1. You may have better luck with this recipe, it will be tastey regardless of its visual imperfections. And luckily, a lifetime of experimenting and several hundred more pages of this cookbook give plenty of opportunity for future success.

   

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, diced
3 inch piece of ginger, chopped
½ tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tbsp garam masala
1/4 tsp chili powder
pinch black pepper
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large red onion, diced
3/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
½ cup oil
  
Directions:
Prepare the marinade by combining the yellow onion, 3 cloves of garlic, ginger, spices and yoghurt. Mix and add the pork. Put in a ziploc and allow to marinate in the fridge 2 hours or overnight.
Heat oil in a heavy, large fry pan over medium heat. Before the oil starts smoking, add the red onion, 1 clove of garlic and cilantro. Stir and cook a couple of minutes to soften the onions. Increase the heat to high and add the pork with the marinade. Stir for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer the juices away, 15-20 minutes. The meat and the dryish sauce will be a rich, dark brown. To serve, season with salt and sprinkle with a little more garam masala.
     

Roast Duck Breast with Pomegranate-Chipotle Sauce

     

    
WOW & OMG - whether you’re an old-schooler or a member of the texting generation, this recipe will inspire such a response. The dish is visually arresting. The picture above does not do it justice. My sauce was deeper, providing a better contrast with redder pomegranate seeds, which I think were more ripe than those in the picture. Similarly, my green beans were not overcooked, and thus more vibrantly green. I was inspired to do this dish, provided in the current issue of Bon Appetit, by the seasonal nature of pomegranates in stores now. The upcoming holidays also inspired me to do something special, and the red and green of this dish make it a potential Christmas-time selection. As wonderful as it looks, it is simple and easy to prepare. The sauce contains just a few ingredients and most of the prep time does not require attention. Similarly, roasting a duck breast is quick and easy. As for taste, what smells better than sauteed/roasted duck fat? The pomegranate sauce seems luxurious and decadent at the same time, and the chipotle spice give an added dimension that would make Bobby Flay proud. Treat that special someone to this recipe and you won’t regret it. Serves 2.
  
Ingredients:
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
2 cups pomegranate juice (such as Pom)
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/4 tsp ground chipotle
1 ½ tsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp ground cumin
salt/pepper
1 6 oz. boneless duck breast
ground coriander
seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. For the sauce, in a medium sauce pan over medium heat, stir sugar into the water until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil sugar until syrup is deep amber color, about 8 minutes. Add juice and broth and simmer down until sauce is reduced to 1 ½ cups. Reduce heat to just enough to keep warm and stir in vinegar, cumin, chipotle and salt/pepper to taste.
Score the duck breast by cutting through the fat, but not the meat, 5 times on the diagonal in one direction and 5 more times the other to make a diamond pattern. Season both sides with salt, pepper and coriander. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add duck, skin side down. Cook until skin is crisp and deep brown, about 7 minutes. Turn duck over and cook a further minute. Transfer skillet to the oven and roast: 6 minutes for rare, 8 minutes medium-rare, 10 minutes for medium. Transfer duck to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Thinly slice the breast cross-wise. Arrange slices on a plate, spoon sauce over, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Pair with green beans cooked with butter and sliced almonds.
   

Raita (Yogurt Dipping Sauce)

    

   

A quick and easy meal for me some nights when I am tired is Indian food.  Indian food can be so exotic and inspiring. Eating it makes me think of traveling to far away places: a Hindu temple carved with posing forms on the outside, tropical beaches and fruits, great Raj forts and palaces, a myriad of sites, sounds, colors and tastes.  While I have a beautiful new Indian cookbook I am reading through at the moment, most recipes are far too involved for a quick evening meal.  As a shadow of a substitute, some of the pre-made dishes found at the grocery store are passable.  A coconut curry simmering sauce for chicken or a heat, open and serve dal (lentils); either with rice can make a meal. Many grocery stores are even selling naan bread. What’s lacking for me though is the yogurt dipping sauce that traditionally accompanies these meals. Indians eat some form of yogurt with almost every meal, and a yogurt dipping sauce provides a cool counter to a spicey dish. Here is my recipe for raita, or yogurt dipping sauce, that will do the trick.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain yogurt
½ a cucumber, peeled and diced finely
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cumin
up to 2 tbsp water

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except for the water. If the sauce is a little too thick for your tastes, add some or all of the water. Serve.

Chicken Tetrazzini

       

   
Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, I make turkey tetrazzini with leftover turkey meat. The creamy goodness of a casserole is always a good cold weather relief. Tetrazzini delivers, along with a nuttiness that can come from the almonds and parmesan cheese. Roasting a chicken yesterday inspired me to try chicken tetrazzini for all the same reasons. While I have a Joy of Cooking recipe I use for the turkey version, I pulled a different recipe to try something new. Giada De Laurentiis always delivers tastey, easy-to-follow recipes and I own several of her cookbooks. The recipe below is largely hers and came out so creamy and good it was hard to stop eating. Try it and you’ll find out why. Serves 4.
 
Ingredients:
5 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts worth of chicken meat, cooked or uncooked
1 6 oz. can button mushrooms, sliced
6 oz. fettuccine
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/3 cup frozen peas
½ cup grated Parmesan
2 tbsp bread crumbs
  
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Shred any cooked chicken from a previous recipe into bite-sized pieces. Cut into bite-sized pieces any uncooked chicken and saute in a medium saute pan in 1 tbsp each butter and oil over medium heat. Cook a few minutes on each side until light golden. Transfer chicken to a bowl. Add another 1 tbsp each butter and oil to the saute pan and cook the mushrooms until light golden, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil.  After the mushrooms are cooked, add the onion, garlic and thyme and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile add the fettuccine to the boiling water and cook until still firm, approximately 9 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside. Add the wine to the mushroom mixture and simmer down until reduced by half. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the chicken. In the pot used to cook the fettuccine, melt 3 tbsp of butter and stir in the flour to make a roux.  Allow the roux to cook a minute to cook off the flour taste.  Add the milk, stock nutmeg, salt and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring the mixture to mix out the lumps. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes to allow the roux to thicken the sauce.  Turn off heat, stir in the peas, mushroom mixture, chicken and pasta. Pour the casserole into a 9 inch square baking dish.  Top with the grated Parmesan and bread crumbs.  Bake, uncovered in the preheated oven until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Roast Chicken

   

       

A well-roasted chicken is the mark of a fine cook, according to Julia Childs. Lovers of cooking must also love Julia Childs, if for no other reason than to admire and respect her boundless enthusiasm and pioneering role in bringing fine cooking into American kitchens. I do not have Julia’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” I prefer cookbooks in the modern style with lots of pretty pictures showing how the prepared recipe can look. I also don’t need multiple recipes for aspic. However, I do own and enjoy very much “Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home.” In it, Julia Childs and Jacques Pepin provide their takes on basic french cooking. On a given dish, they each discuss their approaches to the dish and provide their own recipes. The subtle differences between their recipes show how even fine chefs can differ, and how you can and should influence your own dishes to meet your tastes.

Yesterday was a cold, rainy day, and so I decided to fill the house with the incomparable smells of roast chicken. Julia’s approach reminded me of her inimitable way when she noted, “I always give my bird a generous butter massage before I put it in the oven. Why? Because I think the chicken likes it - and, more important, I like to give it.” How can you not smile at that? I gave it a try and found that I may not be comfortable with my chicken sexuality, because I definitely did not enjoy giving the chicken a butter massage. As for the chicken, I did not ask its feelings or opinions of the matter. But in the oven it went after seasoning and stuffing with herbs and lemon slices. I have yet to make the perfect bird, but am getting closer and this recipe will help you too. I like to pair roast chicken with wild rice and broccoli, making a gravy from the pan drippings. The recipe for the latter is also below. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 3-4 lb chicken
salt/pepper
herbs such as thyme, rosemary and/or sage
1 lemon, sliced
3 tbs unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
 
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450o F. Rinse the chicken thoroughly and dry with paper towels. Ensure that the giblets are removed from the inside cavity. Salt and pepper the inside cavity and stuff with sprigs of the herbs and the lemon. Brush the butter over the top of the chicken, especially the breasts and legs. Tie the legs together with string. Salt generously and place in the oven on a roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350o F for an approximate total cooking time of 1 1/4 hours. The chicken is done when a thermometer inserted into the thy (without touching a bone) reads 175o F and juices from the chicken when pricked run clear.
When the chicken is done, remove from the roasting pan and allow to rest. In a small pan, add the remaining 1 tbsp butter and flour and mix together to form a roux. Allow the roux to cook for 1 minute to cook off the flour taste. Add the stock and stir, bringing to a simmer. Pour off the juice/fat mixture from the roasting pan into a fat separator. Put the roasting pan over a burner on medium heat and deglaze by adding the white wine. Scrape up the browned bits and whisk into the wine. Allow the wine to simmer down to a tablespoon. Pour the wine mixture into the simmering stock. Add the separated chicken juices to the stock and stir. After a few minutes of active simmering, the roux will thicken the stock into a gravy. By this time, the chicken will have rested sufficiently to serve.

Veal Farfalle

      

   

One of my favorite stores is Williams-Sonoma.  I love to go in there and pine over their All-Clad stainless steel cookware.  I know, it's not normal, but they're so shiny!  I could spend hours playing with all of the kitchen gadgets, milling through their spice and sauce section, and seeing what new seasonal items are on display.  Occasionally, I flip through their cookbook collection.  They carry the standard celebrity chef selection, many of which I already own, as well as their own collection of cookbooks.  The recipe below is inspired from a recipe I saw in one of their books, and is quick, easy, and very tastey.  The veal I used was from the veal scallopini cutlets I did not use in a previous Veal Saltimbocca recipe.  Many times, when you buy a packet of veal, you will get full-sized pieces suitable for main dishes, but also smaller pieces you may not want to use for Saltimbocca, Marsala or other scallopini dishes.  Save them for this recipe for a fast mid-week meal.  Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 handfuls farfalle bow-tie shaped pasta

3 tbsp oil

4 small or 2 large thin veal cutlets, diced into 1/2 inch squares

salt/pepper

1/4 cup flour

1 shallot, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring water to boil in a medium-sized pot, salt the water and cook pasta for 12 minutes or until cooked but still firm.  Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Season the veal with salt and pepper, and place in a large ziploc bag with the flour.  Shake or tumble the veal to coat.  Remove the veal pieces, shaking off excess flour, and sautee in pan.  Allow veal to brown on one side for a few minutes, then shake pan or flip with tongs to cook the other side a couple minutes more.  When veal is browned all over, remove to a plate.  Add another tbsp of oil if necessary and add shallots.  Cook shallots a few minutes to soften, taking care not to let them burn.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the wine and deglaze by scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.  Let the wine simmer down to a tbsp and add the stock and stir.  Simmer the stock down to a cup.  The flour in the pan will help the stock thicken.  Return the veal to the pan to reheat, and fold in the cooked pasta, coating the farfalle in the sauce.  Serve in pasta bowls, finishing with grated Parmesan on the top of each.

Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut and Sauteed Scallops

  
One of the most exotic places in the world I think are the Spice Islands. Located in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago, the names are evocative: Moluccas and Banda. Even the word “archipelago” seems exotic to me. I once read a book about the Spice Islands trade and the discovery of entire islands covered entirely in nutmeg or clove trees. The voyages to these places took a year, literally to the opposite end of the earth, and greeting them were South Pacific seas dotted with lush, verdant islands of tropical wonder.
Of course, the reality was much harsher. What sane person would want to ride a small, wooden boat across the ocean for a year, without air conditioning or a bath, only to confront steamy jungles, deadly local populations, and deadlier disease? And I don’t even particularly like nutmeg. Nonetheless, nutmeg is the spice of our fall season used to flavor our autumn squashes and pumpkins. I have several recipes for butternut squash soup and all are hearty and warming. But a new recipe caught my eye as a way to turn traditional fall into an exotic adventure. Another recipe from the “New York Cooks: 100 Recipes from the City’s Best Chefs,” this recipe is from Cyril Renaud, chef and owner of Fleur de Sel on East 20th Street in Manhattan. It pairs butternut squash soup with scallops, and seasons with coconut, in addition to the nutmeg. I cut the nutmeg he recommended in half from 2 tbsp to 1 tbsp and still found it too much. Thus, I recommend only 1 tsp of nutmeg, but add as much as you want. I also could not get my coconut milk to froth as he recommended, so I just added a dollop in the middle of the soup to swirl around to taste. Altogether, something fun and different. Serves 2

Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
6 shallots, peeled and sliced into long, thin strips
1 whole butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup coconut flakes
1 tbsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 qt milk
8 large scallops
2 tbsp coconut milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350o degrees. In a pot over low heat, heat 2 tbsp of oil, add shallots and saute until translucent. Raise heat to medium and add squash, sauteeing for 10 minutes while stirring periodically. Meanwhile, spread the coconut flakes evenly over a cookie sheet and bake for a few minutes to dry out. Grind the flakes in a mixer to make a powder. Take care not to grind too long or the sugars will congeal and the coconut will stick together. Add the coconut, nutmeg, salt and pepper to the squash. Pour in the milk and bring to a simmer, cooking a further 15 minutes or until the squash is very soft. Strain the squash, reserving the milk, and blend in a blender until a smooth consistency. Add some of the cooking milk if the soup needs more moisture to become a creamy soup. Set aside.
In a medium fry pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil until it begins to ripple. Season scallops with salt and pepper and add to pan, searing on one side for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over the scallops and cook a minute or two longer.
To plate, ladle soup into shallow bowls. Place 4 scallops in each bowl, and spoon a dollop of coconut milk in between the scallops. Serve.

Filet Mignon with Red-Wine Risotto

Some days I might be feeling kind of blue and have a need to find a happy place. Other days are brisk and chilly and I need that warm feeling inside, and sometimes I want to do something special for another. Risotto can fill all of these spaces, physically and emotionally. It’s creamy goodness is so hearty, it warms from the inside out. How can anything started with wine, cooked with broth and finished with butter and cheese not be?

I have entire cookbooks devoted to risottos, but last night I tried a recipe from a new cook book, New York Cooks: 100 Recipes from the City’s Best Chefs. Within, I found this recipe for red-wine risotto. I don’t normally cook risotto in red wine, but a bacon start, port-wine base, and a dollop of mascarpone definitely found my happy place. The original recipe calls for celery root, a root vegetable that tastes mildly like celery but contains less starch than potatoes. I couldn’t find it at my market and so did not include it. Nor could I find brown chicken stock. So, I went with a traditional chicken stock/mushroom stock combination. Feel free to use a different ratio of stocks, or even make your own brown chicken stock if you are feeling extra motivated. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
3 slices bacon, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ small yellow onion, diced
1 cup port wine
2 cups red wine (preferably Syrah)
1 cup short grain risotto rice such as arborio
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup mushroom stock
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
2 6-ounce filet-mignon
2 tbsp shaved Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
1 porcini mushroom, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan over low heat, add the bacon, garlic and onion and gently cook covered until translucent and tender, 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a separate pan. To the onion mixture, add the port and red wine, increasing heat if necessary to bring to a simmer and reduce until ½ cup remains. Add the rice, stirring and cook for a few minutes to incorporate the wine into the rice. Ladle in stock until rice is covered and simmer gently. Stir the rice frequently to help bring out the starches. Continue adding stock as the rice becomes dry, adding, stirring and re-adding for a total of 20-25 minutes cooking time. If stock runs out before rice is tender, use more stock. Ten minutes into the rice cooking time, pre-heat a skillet to medium-high and add 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil. Salt and pepper the filet, and add to hot pan when butter/oil is smoking. Sear filets 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove and allow to rest covered loosely with foil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat in the pan down to medium-low and saute the mushrooms while the meat rests. Sir into risotto 2 tbsp butter and grated Parmesan. To plate, spoon risotto into a bowl. Slice the filet into strips and lay on the risotto. Dollop a large spoonful of mascarpone onto the risotto. Place half of the sauteed mushrooms on each bowl. Sprinkle the shaved Parmesan onto the risotto. Serve.

Mrs. Dash

Mrs. Dash - (cue the shock and astonishment) - may one even mention such a topic without inspiring indignation?  Should kitchen denizens turn up their nose at the mere mention of Mrs. Dash?  I don't know, but I have a bottle in my spice cabinet.  What is Mrs. Dash anyway?  Its purveyors tell us that we may "use the famous Mrs. Dash® Original Blend for fish seasoning, chicken seasoning, and more! An all-purpose, versatile blend of 14 savory herbs and spices, Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends onion, black pepper, parsley, basil, orange peel and tomato add flavor excitement to any dish."  Well, how can we oppose adding flavor excitement?  I must admit that I do use Mrs. Dash selectively.  Sometimes, I make an egg noodle side to pork chops where I'll mix in butter and Mrs. Dash.  I also use it to add some interest to broccoli and that recipe is below.  I do enjoy many vegetables, although not all.  When I'm in a plain steak and potatoes or chicken and wild rice mood, I'll eat primarily green beans or broccoli.  I dress up green beans with a little butter and almonds.  Sometimes, I will even pair green beans with pesto alongside a grilled steak.  But for broccoli, some butter and a dash of Mrs. Dash will kick them up a quick notch without too much fuss.  I use a two step method where I blanche the vegetables first to complete most of the cooking process, and then when the main course is largely done, I saute to reheat, finish cooking and season the vegetables in the second step so that they are hot and perfectly cooked when served.  So, the next time you want a really quick side of vegetables, think a dash of Mrs. Dash - just don't tell anyone.

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Original Blend seasoning

Directions:
Place broccoli in a bowl, add water until broccoli are just covered and microwave for 2 minutes.  Drain broccoli, dry with a paper towel. 
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add blanched broccoli, Mrs. Dash, toss and saute a couple of minutes to complete cooking process. 

Chimichurri Sauce

Another place I would like to visit is Argentina, particularly Buenos Aires. Called by some the Paris of South America, its wide boulevards and Beaux Arts architecture seem especially romantic to me.  Of course, beef and red wine are hallmarks of Argentinian cuisine. Lately, I’ve enjoyed Argentinian Malbecs as a value-based alternative to inscrutable Bordeaux or overpriced quality California wines. As for steak, we have seen an explosion in popularity of the grilled flat steak and it’s easy to see why.  These cuts, whether called London broil, flatiron, flank or hanger steak, are affordable and easy to prepare. There are many rub and marinating recipes, some based on soy, others inspired by the spices of certain regions. But this past weekend, I wanted something different, something fresh, something easy. I chose a chimichurri green sauce, which is quick and easy to prepare and requires no advance marinating of the steak. The heart of a chimichurri sauce is parsley, onion, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. I also like to add cilantro and lime juice to brighten the flavor. Others will add oregano, which I think would overpower these flavors, or cumin, which while cumin is my favorite spice, is not where I want to go with this. As always, feel free to adjust to your tastes, but be sure to prepare the sauce before starting the steak to give it time to sit and marinate in its own flavors.

Ingredients:
½ cup olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
½ cup parsley chopped
½ cup cilantro chopped
1 yellow onion chopped
1 tbsp garlic minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
juice of one lime

Directions:
Whisk together the olive oil and vinegar. Mix in the parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  If you desire a smoother sauce, blend in a food processor.  Allow the sauce to marinate for ½ hour.  Stir in the lime juice and serve ladled over grilled steak cut into strips.

Duck Cassoulet

    

  

Yesterday was a rainy Sunday in November.  The first without daylight savings time, the skies were already dark from the rain before night fell at its Winter early hour.  Such is a day for me to make a hardy dish to comfort and fortify.  Sundays also allow for a little more time to do something special.  So, I chose to make for the first time a Duck Cassoulet.  Duck, two kinds of sausage, beef broth, duck fat soaked bread crumbs, there is little more comforting.  Some decry foie gras or truffle as decadent, I say give me sausage browned in duck fat! 

For the recipe, I first looked up James Peterson's in Glorious French Food, his 742 page tome, but that was too involved for me.  Even I have my limits and cooking with pig's feet is on the other side.  Instead, I found this recipe for Easy Cassoulet in The Gourmet Cookbook.  For the sausage, I recommend using a breakfast sausage.  Sweet Italian sausage will have fennel, and Hot Italian sausage will be too spicey.  The recipe recommends using a Kielbasa if necessary.  I had half a pound left over from another recipe, which I threw in, but I wouldn't recommend overdoing it to prevent the smoked kielbasa flavor from overwhelming the other flavors.  Rich, soul warming, and relatively straight forward to make.  Paired with a Pinot Noir it was wonderful and I recommend it for you.

Ingredients:

3/4 lb great northern beans

6 cups cold water
2 cups beef stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 large chooped onion
3 tbsp chopped garlic
1 bouquet garni
1 14 oz. can diced tomates
2 duck legs
1 lb cooked pork sausage
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped parsely
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
Soak beans overnight, or put beans in a pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat and let beans soak, covered, for 1 hour, drain.
Preheat oven to 350. Transfer beans to a 6 or 8 quart pot, add cold water, stock, tomato paste, onions, and 2 tbsp garlic, and bring to a boil. Add bouquet garni, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the skin and fat from duck legs. Cut skin and fat into 1/2 inch pieces. Separate duck meat from bones. Transfer meat to a bowl and add bones to simmering beans.
Combine duck skin and fat with 1/4 cup cold water in a 10-inch heavy skillet and cook, stirring, over moderate heat until water has evaporated and fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook stirring frequently, until skin is crisp, 3 to 6 minutes more. Transfer skin cracklings to paper towels to drain, leaving fat in skillet. Pour off excess if necessary, leaving 1/4 cup. If under 1/4 cup, add olive oil.
Brown sausage in batches in fat in skillet over moderate heat. Transfer sausage to bowl with duck meat.
Add remaining garlic to fat in skillet over moderate heat, stirring for 30 seconds. Sitr in bread crumbs and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsely, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and cracklings. Set aside.
After the stock has simmered, remove bouquet garni and duck bones and discard. Stir in sausage, duck meat, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Ladle cassoulet into casserole dish, distributing meat and beans evenly. Meat and beans should be level with liquid. Spread bread crumb topping evenly over cassoulet.
Bake, uncovered, until cassoulet is bubbling and crust is golden, about 1 hour.