Pears with Goat Cheese

24 May

These pears were inspired by Terry.  She made these for me & Sam, and I have to say that it was a real game-changer.  Before this, I didn’t like goat cheese.  I know, I know, but I just didn’t.  But this warm baked goat cheese converted me. Now, I’m eating it warm, I’m eating it cold, putting it on salads, in eggs, on everything. So thank you to Terry (and her fabulous friend who inspired her).  I didn’t write down the recipe, so this is just a riff- and perhaps there are embellishments that I am forgetting. But I made it last night, and it was lovely.  It also looks great served on a bed of arugula.

1 pear per person
2 teaspoons goat cheese per pear
splash red wine
optional- ground almond, other nuts, or Panko/breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400. Put a little bit of water- just to cover the bottom of pan- then add a splash of red wine.  Take pears, split in half, spoon out core. Slosh around the wine. Add a teaspoon or so of goat cheese in the middle. Bake for about 15-20 mins.  Add some ground almonds- or I used a sprinkle of panko. Pop under the broiler for a minute or 2- to slightly brown the cheese and breadcrumbs. Watch closely.  And that’s it. If I thought about it, I would have sprinkled some salt- and maybe pepper and a bit of lemon juice? I guess I could have added a little olive oil (or butter) too- but really, it was great as is.  Would have dressed arugula with those though, fo’sho.

Beef & Broccolli

16 May

Making your own Chinese food.  I suppose there is a question of why spend an hour making something you can order and have delivered in 20 mins?  Well, I feel like beef and broccoli, while especially delicious can also be especially greasy- and the meat mysterious- and this way you know what’s going in it?  But the other thing, is that I have stared at these America’s Test Kitchen Chinese food recipes [which seem a bit more American than Chinese] for like a year.  But I just could never get myself to do it– until yesterday.  In my non-functional state, and avoiding GRE homework, I decided to give it a go.  It is definitely one of those recipes with a long list of ingredients- that feels like much less of a process if you already have them in your cabinet.  This is a mis en place situation- the actual cooking time is really short, so best to do all the prep work up front.

1 lb flank steak, sliced against the grain [to make cutting easier, put meat in freezer for 20 mins prior]
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry [I didn’t have so used 1 tbs of white wine vinegar]
2 tablespoons low sodium chicken broth [for small amounts, the powdered kind- you add to water comes in handy]
5 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
6 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece ginger, minced (about 1 Tbsp.)
3 tablespoons peanut oil or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 lbs broccoli, bite-sized florets and stems trimmed into 1/8 inch slices
1/3 cup water
1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced  [I used snow peas instead]
3 medium scallions, sliced 1/2 inch thick on diagonal  [too lazy, left out]

Slice beef across the grain into thin, max 1/4 in slices [I always look up across the grain, but basically you will see little lines in the steak, and you cut perpendicular to them, I think? Otherwise beef will be way more tough.] Combine the beef and soy sauce in a medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring once. Meanwhile, whisk the sherry, chicken broth, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a second bowl. Combine the garlic, ginger and 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a third small bowl.
Drain the beef and discard the liquid. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until smoking. Add half of the beef to the skillet and break up clumps; cook without stirring, 1 minute, then stir and cook until beef is browned about the edges, about 30 seconds. Transfer the beef to a medium bowl. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons  oil to the skillet, heat until just smoking, and repeat with the remaining beef.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to the now-empty skillet; heat until just smoking. Add the broccoli and cook 30 seconds; add the water, cover the pan, and lower heat to medium. Steam the broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes [mine took a few extra mins- also added snow peas after broc had been steaming like 1 min]; transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to the skillet; increase the heat to high and heat until just smoking. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until spotty brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Clear the center of the skillet; add the garlic and ginger to the clearing and cook, mashing the mixture with a spoon, until fragrant, about 15 to 20 seconds, then stir the mixture unto the peppers [since I didn’t use pepper, I just put oil in empty pan, added garlic mix, stirred around.] Return the beef [I drained again] and broccoli to the skillet and toss to combine. Whisk the sauce to recombine, then add to the skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with the scallions, and serve.

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Chocolate Chip Meringue

9 May

This is another gem from Mrs. Weiner.  I love meringues. I could eat like a hundred of these. Light, airy and best of all- chocolate chippy.  Twice I’ve had the thought that these would be prettier if I piped them through a pastry bag. While this works for plain meringues, the tip always gets clogged w. choc chips.  So don’t even bother, just spoon them out. P.S. When I was in London, I had a meringue the size of your face. True story.

2 eggs whites
8 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar (a white powder, in the spice aisle)
3/4 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 250. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat egg whites until foamy. Add tartar. Beat 1 minute.  Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating 30 seconds between additions. Add vanilla, beat 7 minutes until stiff (mine took only like one minute b/c  my Kitchen Aid is super powered- you know it is done when you take off the whisk and the white stuff stands up on its own, like a little wave.)  Gently fold in choc chips. Spoon onto cookie sheets. Bake about 40 minutes (mine were done after 30 mins), they will look slightly golden. Turn off and leave in oven to cool. (Ina leaves hers in the oven, turned off for 4 hours, I say just leave them however long you have time for.)

Makes about 18 meringues

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Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee & Matzoh Brei

26 Apr

Can I tell you what I sucker I am for this artisan coffee shit? Man oh man.  So I bought some Stumptown beans from union market. What I love is that it has the date roasted- just 4 days ago- and each roast comes w. its own little bio. It is ridiculous- but i buy into it wholeheartedly.  I prefer to buy whole beans and grind myself- I feel like it makes a difference. Coffee grinder- $20- is very useful. Great for spices etc. too.  Cold-brewed is super easy to make– you just mix coffee grinds and water, and then let it sit for 12 hours-no coffee maker required.  And yes, it is so much better than putting your coffee in the fridge- it does have its own particular flavor though.  And of course, as Emeril says, I had to kick it up a notch- or like Ina says, turn up the volume.  I did that by adding a little bit of vanilla powder (like a powdered vanilla extract) to the coffee and then making vanilla simple syrup- so good.  I do want to figure a way to add some chicory to this too- but I’ll let you know when I’ve got that one figured out. Special thanks to Chrissy for reminding me about this, and to Kara- for first making this for Beez and I last summer in Salt Lake City.

Cold-brewed coffee- a nytimes recipe. I quadruple it to have in my fridge for the week.
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup ground coffee, medium/coarse grind
Add water and coffee grounds into a jar. Stir, cover and let sit at room temperature for 12 hours.  Strain twice- pouring through coffee filters or a fine mesh sieve lined w. cheese cloth.  To drink, they say add one part this concentrated coffee w. one part water. I say false.  I like my coffee strong, so maybe 2/3 coffee to 1/3 water.  Add milk and serve w. ice, duh. Addendum- this shit is strong, just drank and am literally shaking, so maybe 1 to 1 is not a bad idea. Second addendum- I went to this coffee shop in the ‘hood- and they recommended cold brewing for 24 hours, because it reduces some of the bitterness. So I tried it- and it worked famously- if you have the time- i’d definitely definitely recommend it.

Vanilla simple syrup
Simple syrup is just 1 part water to 1 part sugar (can use more sugar for sweeter).  Simmer, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Will keep for a week.  For vanilla flavoring, can add vanilla extract, or I took half a vanilla bean, split that in half lengthwise.  Put in jar, pour warm simple syrup over. Cover and let that sit for the 12 hours while your coffee is sitting. [Addendum: As I have become too lazy to make simple syrup- just using agave syrup works well]

Maple Whirlpool
Maple syrup flavored milk. Ok, this doesn’t exactly fit in this post- though I am sure it would be delicious in your ice coffee.   I don’t remember how I thought of this- but it is delicious. Take a cup of milk, mix around w. a spoon creating a whirlpool. Slowly pour in some maple syrup- maybe a tablespoon per cup? Mix up and drink.  You won’t believe how good.  Works hot or cold- though I actually prefer cold.  Drink was named by anonymous.  By the by, i tried a vanilla whirlpool- adding the vanilla simple syrup to milk too- so good!

Matzoh Brei. Ok, I know this is a lot of posts in one- but I wanted to get this in before the end of passover and while the matzah is still on the shelf (unless it is too late already?)  Takes about 5 mins to make. This passover dish– need not just be for holidays nor just for breakfast.  In fact, I enjoyed it for dinner a couple times last week. Top with whatever you like. Personally, I like cinnamon sugar, strawberry jam and maple syrup.  Yup, all three together.

3 eggs
3 sheets matzah- i like egg matzah

Break up the matzah into a colander.  Run it under hot water for 10-15 seconds. Press to get out excess water. Crack eggs in a medium bowl, whisk up. Add salt & pepper.  Add matzah into egg bowl. Mix up.  Heat skillet. Add tablespoon of butter.  Add egg/matzoh. Flip after a minute or so. Flip again. Might fall apart but just scramble around until eggs look done- just takes a few minutes.

Lamb B’Stilla

25 Apr

One night when I was in college, I took my friend Austin to a birthday dinner at Fez in Philly.  We had absolutely no idea what we were getting into when we entered the tented room. We ordered the set 8-course meal- and were like amazed by each course– so many new flavors.  One dish was particularly memorable– a lamb pie, wrapped in phyllo dough and covered w. cinnamon and powdered sugar– which we destroyed ripping apart w. our hands.  Obviously, this memory stuck for me– but not so much for Austin- who when I mentioned I wanted make the dish– had no idea what I was talking about… so, thanks man.  Anyway, it took a bit of research to find what this dish might be called- and to find a recipe.  I finally figured it is called B’Stilla- and all the recipes I could find were for chicken b’stilla.  I took on of those chicken b’stilla recipes from Epicurious (Gourmet August 1994, ) and doctored it- so I could best recreate the dish I remembered.  Yes, this dish is labor intensive- I did it over the course of two days- made the filling one- and assembled the pie the next.  The most exciting part for me, was making my own spice blend.  I bought the whole spice seeds etc- and used my coffee grinder to make this ral en hanout.  Will definitely use the leftover spice in future dishes.  And plus making my own spice blend made me feel legit. There are several separate parts to this recipe– but trust me– and ask Reed and Rachel- it was worth it.  A note about phyllo dough- did not realize, you are supposed to take out of the freezer and move to the fridge overnight.  I didn’t realize- moved to fridge only several hours in advance- but it worked out well.

Almond sugar
3/4 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted and cooled
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon

The filling
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
2 tablespoons hot water
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 garlic cloves, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground lamb
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
3 1/2 teaspoons ras el hanout
3/4 cup golden raisins [optional]

For the pie
1 package phyllo dough
confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling
1 stick unsalted butter
8 x 8 square or round pan [ideally round, but I didn’t have]

Ras el hanout (moroccan spice blend)
1/2 teaspoon aniseed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
8 whole allspice berries
seeds from 8 cardamom pods
8 whole cloves
15 whole black peppercorns
1 stick cinnamon, broken in half
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cuminseed
a pinch dried red pepper flakes
a pinch ground mace
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

To make the almond sugar:
In a food processor  or coffee grinder- grind fine almonds, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Almond sugar may be made 1 day ahead and kept covered in a cool dark place.

To make the ras el hanout:
In a spice grinder or coffee grinder grind fine aniseed, fennel seeds, allspice berries, cardamom seeds, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cuminseed, and red pepper flakes, In a small bowl stir together ground spice mixture, mace, ginger, and nutmeg until combine well. Ras el hanout may be stored in a tightly closed jar in a cool dark place up to 6 months. Makes about 1/4 cup.

To make the filling:
In a small bowl combine saffron with hot water and let stand 10 minutes.
In a heavy pot saute onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to moderate and add ginger, ras el hanout, and pepper. Cook mixture, stirring, 3 minutes.
Add lamb, broth, and saffron mixture.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add raisins. Let lamb stand in cooking liquid off heat 30 minutes. Put lamb in colander and reserve cooking liquids.  Return lamb to big pot.
Measure reserved cooking liquid and solids- then put in a saucepan- you should have around 1 3/4 cup (i definitely had less than this).  If you have more than that, you can boil and reduce to that. Reduce heat to moderate and add eggs in a stream, whisking. Cook mixture, stirring, until eggs are set, about 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat and pour egg mixture into a coarse sieve set over a bowl. Let mixture drain undisturbed 10 minutes before discarding liquid. Transfer egg mixture to a bowl. Add egg mixture, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste and chill. Filling may be made 1 day ahead and kept chilled, covered.

To make pie:
You want to work as quickly as you can here- so phyllo doesn’t dry out.  So get everying in its place (mis en place) before you start.  After you have opened the phyllo, put it in between two sheets of wax paper and put a slightly damp towel on top.
I wanted filling to be room temperature- so I microwaved 1 minute.
Preheat oven to 400 [Can follow instructions on phyllo box]
In a small saucepan melt 1 stick of butter and keep warm but not hot.
Take a pastry brush, and brush the phyllo w. butter.  Lay so fits in pan.  Sprinkle w. almond sugar.  Repeat about 8-10 layers. [Yes, it is important to butter and sprinkle between each and every layer].  Add filling.  Fold in excess layer overhang.  Then continute to layer about 8 or so more layers [or until I got fed up]
Recipe says you can assemble 4 hours ahead of time and chill (but I feel like might as well assemble right before you bake). Bake b’stilla in oven until tops and ends are puffed and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool b’stilla slightly on a rack. Flip out onto a serving dish. Generously sprinkle b’stilla with confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon and serve warm.

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