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Green Salsa

17 Mar

I love green salsa.  And what I loved about New Mexico– when I was there, maybe 5 years ago? with my friend Justin– was that they have green salsa everywhere- to put on anything.  So feel free to use this on anything- with chips, fish tacos etc.  But what I especially love it with is eggs, breakfast burritos etc.  Man oh man.  So, when I saw this recipe in Alice Water’s cookbook  in Chrissy’s apartment- I expressed to her what good use the book would get in my kitchen– and she let me borrow it on extended loan 🙂  In this book- Green Kitchen- Alice has all her friends give very simple recipes.  This recipe– is in a whole section about how awesome a mortar and pestle is– and i’m sure it is- but i don’t have one. So instead, I basically took my clean plastic cutting board and a slotted spoon and continually mashed everything together on that- incorporating the tomatillos one at a time.  This recipe can also be done w. tomatoes- as red roasted salsa- which i’m sure would also be delicious.   I am generally reticent about adding cilantro or parsley- because I am not so into it- and I always end up buying a big bunch, using a little and the rest going to waste.  But, as I had some cilantro already- I added it in- and I would say yes, it really does make a difference- so you should spend the extra 87 cents (price at the co-op) and get it. Also, my salsa definitely had a little too much onion.  I had never heard this  before- but it suggests you rinse the raw onion under cold water to get out some of the bitterness.  Next time, I think I would start out w. maybe a 1/4 cup of chopped onion– and then add more from there– to taste.  I suppose maybe I used more of a medium than a small onion?  And since I had so much onion and heat from the jalapeno- I think I used an extra lime– again, start w. 1 lime and add more to taste.

2 Serrano chiles (get these if you can– small green hot peppers.  I didn’t have so subbed 1 jalapeno)
4 tomatillos (or tomatoes)
2 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
1 small onion (chop and rinse under cold water to remove some of the bite. see note above)
1 lime (may use more to taste)
handful fresh cilantro
salt

Heat a cast iron pan over med-high heat (I dont have a cast iron so used a stainless steel skillet).  Put whole chile and unpeeled garlic in pan.  Remove tusks from tomatillos and cut in half. Cook 10 minutes until they are softened and browned.  Turn over to brown other side- about another 10 mins.  Squeeze garlic out of skin. Remove stem from chile  and cut. Grind chile and and garlic w. a motar and pestle– or as i did, grind it into cutting board w. back of a spoon.  Add tomatillos and mash. I did this- incorporating them one at a time  (they are so cooked they break down pretty easily). Peel and dice onion.  Stir in.  Squeeze lime and add cilantro.  May need a little water to thin out (mine didn’t need). Salt liberally to taste. Good served w. avocado.

If you are left, as I was, with a lots of burnt stuff on your pan- check out Just the Tips #7- for a quick clean up trick.

Homemade Ricotta

22 Nov

Who knew that Gwyneth Paltrow would have a useful website?  But because she is super famous– she gets to do things like, I dunno, make Sunday brunch w. Ina?  This recipe- off the Gwynnie’s blog GOOP, is from Ina’s new cookbook “How easy is that?”  While a new Ina book sounds thrilling, initial reviews of it on amazon are not.  They complain she is just recycling old recipes.  Regardless- this one is a real keeper.  Perfect for dipping, spreading, and cocktail hour. It would also take any pasta dish to another level. I toasted up some bread w. olive oil, rubbed w. garlic- and topped w. ricotta.  I added some chives– but you can also make it super herby, as Ina does.

Makes about 2 cups

4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons good white wine vinegar

Put a large sieve/mesh colander over a big bowl.  Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line sieve w. it.

Put milk and cream into a stainless steel or enameled pot.  Stir in salt.  Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  [Watch closely- it will suddenly bubble over.] Turn off heat, stir in vinegar.  Allow to sit for 1 minute until it curdles.

Pour mix into cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into bowl at room temperature for 20-25 mins, occasionally discarding the liquid in the bowl.  The longer it sits- the thicker it gets– so how long you leave it- a matter of personal preference.  Transfer ricotta to a bowl- throw out cheese cloth.

Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days.

Ina’s Herby variation

Mix in 3 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions), 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill, 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 ground black pepper.  Serve on bread drizzled w. oil, toasted, rubbed w. garlic, sprinkled w. salt & pepper.

Dips

19 Oct
This weekend I made some appetizer’s for a party at Char & Phil’s (happy bday Phil).  My first real experience catering a cocktail party– i learned many valuable lessons.  The first is, whatever you make- and however much you buy- people will eat it all. The second is, try to make things easier on yourself.  One way to do this– is to make dips.  They are fast, easy and you can make them ahead of time.  On this plate we have a Moroccan Carrot Dip and a Spicy Whipped Feta.  Those are paired w. some halved sun dried tomatoes (the jarred in oil kind) and mascarpone w. honey.  Also, buy a lot of crackers etc– i bought 1 baguette, 2 bags of pita chips and 1 box of crackers for 20 people, and we ran out surprisingly quickly. Better to have an extra box of crackers leftover then a bunch of dip… with no vehicle for the dipping.

 

Moroccan Carrot Dip from Char & Phil’s CSA website

1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 clove garlic, peeled and left whole
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne pepper
sea salt, to taste
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp seedless green olives (whole or chopped) [optional]
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves [optional]
1. Cook the chopped carrot and garlic in simmering, salted water, for about 20 minutes or until soft. Drain well, then return them to the hot, dry pan for a minute or two, over medium heat, to dry them out further. (this part is dumb, the carrots just stuck to the pan)
2. Place carrots and garlic in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the cumin, paprika, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, sea salt, honey and lemon juice and process again. With the machine still running, add the olive oil gradually. Allow to cool.
3. Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, scatter with olives and cilantro leaves (if using), and serve with lightly warmed flat bread or pita (or pita chips, crackers etc).

 

Spicy Whipped Feta
From America’s Test Kitchen (makes about 2 cups… which is kinda a lot)
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled (about 4 cups) [Make sure to rinse feta before using, otherwise it will be too salty]
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus extra for serving
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

Process all of the ingredients together in a food processor until smooth, about 20 seconds.  Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl, cover w. plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or up to 2 days.  Drizzle w. additional extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle w. additional cayenne before serving.
Spread can be made up to 4 days ahead of time.

Spiced Pecans w. Rum Glaze

17 Oct

This recipe converted me— I never used to really like nuts.  But rum, sugar & spice– a delicious combination.  Perfect for cocktail/holiday parties.  Quick & easy.

From America’s Test Kitchen
2 cups (8 ounces) raw pecan halves

Spice Mix
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (if using table salt, reduce amount by half)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Rum Glaze
1 tablespoon rum, preferably dark
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1.  Adjust an over rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed sheet w. parchment paper and spread pecans on it in an even layer.  Toast for 4 mins, rotate pan, and continue to toast until fragrant and the color deepens slightly, about 4 mins longer.  Transfer the baking sheet with the nuts to a wire rack.
2.  For the spice mix: while the nuts are toasting, stir the sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3.  For the glaze: bring the rum, vanilla, brown sugar, and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.  Stir in the toasted pecans and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the nuts are shiny and almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 1-1/2 minutes (mine took less than this).
4.  Transfer the glazed pecans to the bowl with the spice mix; toss well to coat.  Return the glazed and spiced pecans to the parchment-lined baking sheet to cool.

The nuts can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 

JJ’s Guacamole

24 Sep

A couple weeks ago, Chrissy and I headed to JJ’s rents’ house in nj.  We made some killer fish tacos and JJ spearheaded the guacamole.  He did it almost all by himself.  And he did good (said in jewish grandma voice).  It was tasty.

adapted from Ina and others
4 ripe avocados
1 lemon
1 lime
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
hot sauce (or we added some chipotle adobo sauce)
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 garlic clove, minced (jj asked me to include that while he was doing this, I yelled “I SAID MINCED NOT CHOPPED!!”)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more to taste)
1 tomato, seeded and small diced (remove juicy seed stuff, then chop firm remaining part)
1 teaspoon ground pepper

Cut avocados in the half.  Make grid of slice marks on each half, turn inside out so chopped avocado falls into bowl.  Add juice from lemon, garlic, salt, cilantro, onion, and pepper.  Mix (don’t mix until smooth– just to combine)  Add lime juice, additional salt and hot sauce to taste.  Can add red pepper flakes too.

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