A Tribute to Bob's Red Mill

For those of you who have not been there before, I strongly suggest that you take a trip to your nearest Ocean State Job Lot as soon as possible. Well, maybe don't take a trip expressly with Ocean State as your destination, but certainly if you drive by one, make the point to stop in for a visit. Really I only go there for their eclectic food section. They seem to have foods of all nationalities, and while I probably wouldn't venture to buy something that has a delicate shelf life, they certainly offer some very good steals and finds. On my most recent trip I took the time to peruse the vast selection of Bob's Red Mill products that lined half the shelves of one aisle. The company offers practically every type of whole grain that could possibly exist, and then some with their wide variety of mixes. I chose a package of their vegi soup mix, consisting of a tempting combination of green and yellow split peas, barley, lentils, and flavors of alphabet pasta bits made from wheat flour, spinach, and tomato.

And so it was, after a walk and a romp on this snowy afternoon with a certain favorite companion of mine, that I decided tonight would present the perfect opportunity for a soup. As is typical of winter, our refrigerator has been taken over by several varieties of pork products as well as some very hearty vegetables. I pulled out some kale and a piece of Kielbasa, as well as the 3 or so cups of veal stock I had previously frozen. I then took out my soup mix, which recommends that you allow 1 part of the mix per 4 parts of liquid, and fired away. I served the soup with some artisan sourdough bread, which slathered with some garlic butter and toasted up, but any hearty bread would work nicely. If you don't have access to Bob's Red Mill Products you could easily make your own soup mix with any variety of the same ingredients, or even try some of your own.

Kale, Kielbasa, and Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix Soup

Ingredients

6 cups stock, water, bouillon, etc...

1.5 cups Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 onion, halved and finely sliced

1 large bunch of kale, washed and torn from tough stems

1 good-sized piece of Polish kielbasa, cut into bite-sized pieces

1tblsp neutral oil

1) Bring whatever liquid you are using to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot, and add the soup mix. Cover, and allow the mix to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. You may add more liquid as you go depending on how much you lose to evaporation

2) Meanwhile heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute the kielbasa in a frying pan for 5 minutes. Add the finely sliced onion and saute gently, stirring frequently, until the onions become slightly caramelized. Add the garlic and just after, the kale. Allow the kale to wilt, stirring so that it becomes evenly cooked.

3) When the kale is cooked to your liking - I like it with just a little bite still - reduce the heat on your soup base to low, and add in the contents of the frying pan. Using a large spoon comine all the ingredients together and your soup/stew is ready to go!

A truly winter-warming meal 

Beef Marrow Dinner

I can't really take credit for the preparation of my dinner tonight, but it was simply too delicious to let it go without a post. I am housesitting, and so forced to prepare meals for one, which I will admit is not very inspiring. Thus, when I was plating an entree dish at work today - slow roasted beef shins - and asked to take the meat off the bones in order to make the portions and dish more presentable; I was happy to oblige as this rendered the beef marrow bones as otherwise unusable. I removed the fatty gelatinous pieces of marrow from their protective shells with the opposite end of a spoon, and reserved for tonight's dinner, which I proceeded to anticipate the rest of my day.

For the preparation I lightly toasted a slice of multigrain bread, and microwaved my portion of marrow for about 30 seconds. I spooned the marrow onto the bread allowing the melted fat to drip onto the bread. I accompanied the marrow toasts with some beat salad atop some arugula that I had also put together at work today. Voila, I truly lavish dinner of marrow toasts and beet salad.

Roast Chicken

I LOVE roasted chicken, but not for the reasons that most people would have. For me the reason for eating a roast chicken lies underneath the chicken itself hidden in two juxtaposed pockets right where the legs meet the remaining carcass. In French each of these tender and most flavorful morsels of dark meat chicken are known as le sot-l'y-laisse - which in loose translation indicates that only an idiot would let this piece go uneaten. In English the term is a much more unoriginal word, the oyster. It is because of the two oysters found on a whole bird that I always end up eating directly from the carcass of the carved bird rather than partaking in the standard pieces of breast, thigh, and leg.
Fortunately I don't only love eating roasted chicken, but I also love preparing it, and the following technique is one that I found to successfully achieve a moist and tender bird with plenty of flavor. The quantities below can serve 3-4 people.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 shallot, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
1/2 tsp dried oregano*
1/2 tsp dried thyme*
1/2 tsp dried basil*
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 lemon, zested and cut into quarters
1 3-4 lb chicken
1 or 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths
3 to 5 baby new potatoes, washed and skin left on
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup white wine

* Fresh herbs are obviously preferable, but not as conveniently found in the winter time.

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the first eight ingredients in a small bowl along with the grated zest of the lemon. Stir so that everything is evenly incorporated.

2) Rinse the chicken under cold water and dry thoroughly using paper towels. Place the chicken, breast-side up in a roasting pan or a heavy duty frying pan.

3) Using your fingers or the handle of a wooden spoon separate the skin from the flesh of the bird. Again with your fingers start to rub most of the flavored butter mixture between the skin and the flesh, and over the top of the bird with the remaining quantity. Place two quarters of the lemon in the cavity of the bird, and the remaining two quarters in the pan itself. Tie together the legs of the chicken using cooking string. 

4) Add the potatoes and onion to the pan and season everything with salt and pepper to taste.

 

5) Turn the bird so that it is breast-side down in the pan, and transfer the pan and its contents to the preheated oven.  

6) Allow the bird to roast in the low temperature oven for at least two hours. Note: In the meantime I chose to prepare a glaze to further explore and aim to perfect my roasting method, however I didn't feel that this proved essential to the bird's outcome except to enhance the pan's juices and provide a formidable jus for serving.

7) After the bird has been in the oven for the initial two hours or so - a thermometer inserted into the thigh of the bird should read 160 degrees - remove it, and set the oven to 450 degrees. Turn the bird over so that it is breast-side up, glaze the top if you choose, and return to the oven.

8) Roast the bird for another 30 minutes so that the skin turns brown and crispy. During this time you may continue to glaze the bird as much as you'd like.

9) Remove the bird to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes or so. Place the vegetables on a serving platter and return to the turned off oven so as to keep them warm

10) Meanwhile place the roasting or frying pan over high heat. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of white wine and reduce the juices until you have the flavor you like. You can add some or all of your leftover glaze at this point too. Strain your jus through a fine-mesh strainer extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids and spoon off the excess fat from the jus.

11) Carve the bird, and add it to the serving platter with the vegetables. Serve the carved bird with jus separately. The accompaniment I chose for the meal was a dish of sauteed onion, apple, and kale.

 

Pearl Barley Salad

Here's to a new year with hopefully many new recipes and postings to accompany it!
I consider myself very fortunate to work in a place where good food is hard to miss, and where the opportunity to learn and have discussions about ingredients, recipes, food trends, and in general all-things food is never lacking. It is with thanks to this inspiration and a certain chef "M" that I have provided the following recipe for a Pearl Barley Salad. A grain I probably might have never endeavored to cook otherwise!

Pearl Barley Salad
3 cups water
1 cup pearl barley
salt
1 tblsp good quality balsamic vinegar
3 tblsp good quality olive oil
1 tblsp lemon juice
1 apple - any favorite variety will do, and I chose Braeburn
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup dried currants
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
2 tblsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1) Bring the water to a boil and add salt. Meanwhile rinse the barley in a fine mesh sieve to rid the grain of  the excess starch produced when it is harvested. Add the barley to the boiling water, reduce the temperature so that the water is at a simmer, cover the pot, and cook until the water has evaporated - about 45 minutes. Transfer the grain to the sieve once again and run it under cold water so as to stop the cooking of and to cool down the barley. Remove the grain to large a mixing bowl.
3) While the barley is cooking you can prepare the remaining pieces of the salad. Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium high heat, and drizzle in 1 tblsp of olive oil. Add the walnut pieces and toast shaking the pan occasionally for roughly five minutes. Next add the currants to the pan and quickly after add the tblsp of vinegar away from the heat and toss to coat the nuts and currants evenly.
4) Peel, core and chop the apple into a fine dice, and combine the pieces in a bowl with the lemon juice.
5) To the bowl with the barley, add the toasted and coated nuts with the currants, the chopped onion, the remaining 2 tblsps of olive oil, the chopped parsley, and the lemon juice-soaked apple pieces. Using a spoon toss all the ingredients to combine, season to taste, and allow the salad to cool until ready to serve. Fortunately this is a salad that will only get better the longer the grain has to sit and absorb the juices, so feel free to make a larger batch if and when you deem it tasty enough for you.

Mom's Birthday Dinner - Foie Gras, Magret, and Delectable Desserts

OK, so the delectable desserts were not my doing - the birthday cake of tradition is my dad's gateau success, and we were also bestowed with a buche and a plethora of chocolate marvels from our good friend C - but I did manage to pull off the remainder of the meal thanks to acquisition of some crucial ingredients. Thanks to the consultation of a friendly local wine merchant the evening began with a sparkling Spanish wine - cava - which was a big hit with some none-homemade cheese biscuits, brioche toasts with a melting blend of gruyere and emmenthaler cheeses and slices of cornichons, and baguette toasts of onion jam and French Saucissons slices. When the bottle and snacks were reduced to droplets and crumbs, we sat down to the main meal, a substantial part of which I had been able to prepare in advance, with only a few last-minute details to manage.

We began with a baby spinach salad with a warm dressing of caramelized onions and apples, toasted walnuts, homemade croutons, and topped with gently seared slices of fresh foie gras. The main course featured magret - duck breast - that had been seared and quickly broiled in a hot oven, and was accompanied by dishes of roasted brussels sprouts and carrots with slivered almonds and dried cranberries, as well as duck fat-roasted potatoes. Other than saying that the company and flavors created an ideal evening, I won't write more of the experience and instead provide the details of the ingredients and procedures upon which I relied.

Baby spinach salad with a warm caramelized onion and apple dressing, toasted walnuts, and homemade croutons.

Dressing:

1 apple - any firm variety would be a good choice (I used Braeburn) - peeled, cored, cut into 12 wedges

1 onion, thickly sliced

3 tblsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple cider

1/4 cup cider vinegar,

salt and pepper

1) Begin by heating 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a small saucepan over minimal heat. Add the apple wedges, and onion slices. Cover the saucepan and cook the apple and onion gently until both are soft and slightly caramelized.

2) At this point add the vinegar and apple cider, increase the heat, and boil all uncovered until you are left with about 2 - 3 tablespoons of liquid. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil should the flavor of the dressing be a little too pungent. Season to taste.

Croutons

2 cups of bread cubes - a crusty bread is ideal

1 tsp dried parsley

2 tblsp duck fat

salt and pepper

1) Melt the duck fat in the microwave and toss in a large bowl with the bread cubes, dried parsley and seasoning. Turn the evenly coated bread cubes out onto a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes at 250 degrees.

Salad

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 tsp duck fat

1 quantity of baby spinach - as little or as much as you deem appropriate for your crowd

1/4 -1/3 lobe fresh foie gras, in 1/3" thick slices

Croutons

Dressing

Salt and pepper

1) Heat a small non-stick pan over medium high heat and add the duck fat. Toss in the walnuts and seasoning and toast them for about 5 minutes until they turn golden and fragrant - remember to shake the pan on occasion so that they will toast evenly.

2) Wash and dry the spinach and put it into large bowl with the croutons, and walnuts. Add the warm dressing, and toss everything together. Divide the salad among the necessary number of plates.

3) Heat a small pan over high heat, and when it is searing add your pieces of foie gras. Cook for less than a minute per side and sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt. Top each salad with an even portion of foie gras and serve immediately.

Dressing

Baby Spinach Salad

Seared magret with a blood orange and balsamic jus

Sauce:

1 cup veal stock - or other homemade stock

2 blood oranges, juiced

1 tblsp balsamic vinaigrette

1 tsp maple syrup

Salt and Pepper

1) Begin by boiling down your stock until you have about 1/4 of well concentrated liquid. Add the blood orange juice and balsamic vinaigrette and reduce again. Finally add the maple syrup and seasoning to your liking and put aside until ready to serve.

Duck:

6 duck breasts with fat

Salt and pepper

1) Preheat a broiler to high. Place a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Meanwhile put the breasts, skin side up on a cutting board. Score the fat diagonally in both directions to achieve a diamond pattern. Turn the breasts over so that they are skin side down and season the flesh with salt and pepper and any other herbs/spices that you wish.

2) When the pan is searing hot, add three breasts, again skin side down to the pan. Cook the breasts for about 5 minutes on the first side. Turn each breast over and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Remove the breasts to a sheet pan and repeat this procedure with the remaining three breasts.

3) Place all 6 breasts on the sheetpan in the preheated oven and allow them to finish cooking until you reach your desired temperature - note that duck is best served rare or medium rare.

4) To serve remove the breasts to a cutting board and slice thinly and arrange on a presentation platter. Rewarm the sauce to just below a simmer and pour over the duck slices.

Roasted brussels sprouts and carrots with slivered almonds and dried cranberries

1-2 lbs brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4"-thick coins

2 tblsp duck fat

1 tsp dried parsley

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup slivered raw almonds

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2) Melt the duck fat in a microwave and pour it into a large bowl with the prepared vegetables and seasonings

3) Turn the vegetables out onto a sheetpan and roast for 20 minutes until tender. Add the almonds and cranberries and roast for a brief 3-5 minutes to warm everything through.

 

Duck fat roasted fingerling potatoes

3 lbs fingerling potatoes

1/2 cups duck fat

2 tsp dried parsley

Salt and Pepper

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Cut the potatoes lengthwise into quarters. Put into a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling cook the potatoes for 5 minutes.

3) Drain the potatoes in a large colander and shake so that the pieces begin to become jagged.

4) Melt the duck fat in the microwave and pour into a large roasting pan. Add the potatoes and the seasoning and toss to coat everything evenly.

5) Roast the potatoes in the preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes, tossing occasionally so that they crisp up evenly. Serve hot with duck and roasted veggies.

There is perhaps no better occasion to revive my inspiration to blog than Thanksgiving - a holiday devoted to the preparation and sharing of food and thanks. This year I was eager to tackle the turkey and its dressings of stuffing and gravy. Although one of my favorite sources of culinary information, Cook's Illustrated, presented a preparation method involving glazing and butterflying that was very intriguing, I opted for the same method I used last year. I also discovered this method from the aforementioned publication, and found it so successful that I couldn't resist trying it out on our Hogwash Farm turkey this year.
Firstly I must promote the process of making one's own stock, as it is so simple and yields superior tasting dressing products. Because my current professional position privileged me to obtain an extra set of turkey giblets, I simply used the two necks along with some aromatics (bay leaf, peppercorns, celery heart, and leek trimmings) to make my stock. I simmered everything together in a pot of about 4 cups of water for 2 to 3 hours. I then strained off and discarded the aromatics, reserved the turkey necks to pick at during further preparations, and used a cup and a half of stock for my stuffing, and the rest for the gravy - for which a recipe also follows.
Initially the preparation involves dry-brining the bird by rubbing about 2 tablespoons between the skin and the flesh, which is easily done after separating the two using the handle of a wooden spoon. Next I proceeded by wrapping the turkey tightly in plastic wrap and letting it refrigerate/brine for nearly 48 hours. On the morning of Thanksgiving Thursday, I removed our bird from the plastic wrap, dried it all over using paper towels, poked some holes into the fat deposits, and rubbed its outer layer with a 50-50 mixture of salt and baking powder to help it brown during roasting. I then let the turkey rest at  room temperature for an hour or so, which was not part of the original instructions, but would allow for more even roasting. After preparing the stuffing to a respective point- my recipe for which can be found at the end of this posting - I used half of my prepared stuffing to fill the cavity of the bird, and then tied the legs together. I next turned the bird so that its breast side was facing downwards in a roasting rack and pan, and finally laid salt pork over its back before placing it in the 350-degree preheated oven. I let the bird roast for a good three hours in order for it to reach the recommended temperature of 130 degrees. At this stage I took the bird out of the oven, turned the over up to 450 degrees, removed the turkey on its rack to a sheet pan, took off the crispified salt pork (also to be reserved for picking), turned over the bird, cut the twine binding the legs, removed the stuffing to add it to its other half, poured the pan drippings into a fat-separating gravy boat, and returned the turkey to the pan and the newly preheated oven. Although this may seem like quite a process to have to go through in the middle of preparing a full Thanksgiving menu, I can attest that the results are well-worth any inconveniences! The bird remained in the hot oven for another good hour - keep in mind that this year the Bothe family acquired a 15 pound and some odd ounce bird, and that it is necessary to adjust cooking times according to other sized birds. The final temperature of the thick part of the breast should read a recommended 160 degrees while the thick part of the thigh should read 175 degrees. I allowed the bird to rest for 30 minutes or so as I picked away at the neck and salt pork and finished cooking the stuffing.

Chicken and Butternut Squash Lasagna

This weekend I was honored with a visit from some very dear Boston friends, "R" and "M", who have quickly become some of my favorite people to cook for simply because they are so willing to try whatever I happen to prepare for them. This weekend, as "R" seemed keen to try some homemade pasta, I decided to go with lasagna. However I didn't much feel like going with the traditional meet, cheese, and tomato version - obviously a wonderful classic, but one that leaves out the tasty array of autumnal produce - and so I opted to try out some flavor combinations, making use of some seasonal produce as well as some leftovers in the fridge. What I forgot to think about is that "M", being from the Midwest, prefers the carnivore side of being an omnivore. Nevertheless he did manage to taste and hold down some butternut squash, which I found highly admirable. In exchange I accepted his request for a chocolate souffle for dessert, which turned out to be a group effort. Without further ado, my recipe for chicken and butternut squash lasagna:

Fresh Pasta
100g type '00' flour
1 egg
pinch of salt

1) Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until the dough just begins to come together. Turn out the dough onto a work surface and kneed together with hands. Kneed until the dough is smooth and elastic, wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
2) Pass the dough through a pasta roller, cutting as necessary into manageable pieces. I like lasagna sheets to be fairly thin, and so went until the sixth setting. However if you would like your sheets to be a little thicker, you may need to prepare more dough - the ratio is easy, one egg per 100g of flour.
3) Lay the pasta sheets on a clean kitchen towel - they will dry out over time - until you're ready to use them.

Chicken and Butternut Squash Lasagna
4 whole chicken legs or breasts, cooked and cooled, and meat torn into bite-sized pieces - I was using leftovers, and so had roasted meat, but you may choose to cook them however you choose
1 butternut squash, peeled
3 red onions, peeled, halved, and sliced thinly
1 tblsp honey
2 cups shredded cheese - I chose Fontina because it melts so wonderfully, but a nice cheddar would work really well also
10 leaves of fresh sage, roughly chopped
2 tblsp butter
2 tblsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tblsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup cream

1) Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and then again crosswise. Remove the seeds from the bottom rounded halves. With the narrower half turn each piece onto their cut sides and slice each so that you have 1/4" half moon shapes. Place these on a sheet pan, season, and coat with 1 tblsp of olive oil. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, and turn each piece over. Return to the oven and roast for another 20 minutes until squash is tender.
2) Cut the remaining squash into cubes. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the remaining tblsp of olive oil, the cubed squash, and the sage. Saute for 5 minutes or so until the squash just begins to soften then add enough water to just cover the top of the cubes. Allow to simmer stirring occasionally until the water has evaporated. If some pieces of squash are still too firm add more water and allow to evaporate 1/4 cup at a time until you achieve your desired texture - I was going for almost a puree. Season your mixture and remove to a bowl to cool slightly.
3) In another pan melt 1 tblsp of butter over medium-low heat and when it begins to foam add the red onion slices. Allow to sweat then add the honey and continue to cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the onions will caramelize evenly. Set these aside as well and have all your ingredients ready to layer.
4) Combine the chicken pieces, the stock, and the cream in a saucepan and bring to just below a simmer. Combine the remaining tblsp of butter with the flour until a thick paste forms, and add a spoonful of this to the hot chicken and liquid, stirring after each addition and stopping after you have achieved your desired sauce consistency.
5) Boil a large pot of salted water, and cook the lasagna sheets for 3-5 minutes - it is better if they are more than just slightly al dente, as they will finish cooking and absorbing juices in the oven. Drain the pasta and run cool water over them and dry on a clean kitchen towel.

6) To assemble you lasagna, butter the bottom and sides of any oven-safe pan you wish to use. First place the sliced, roasted butternut squash pieces in the bottom of the pan and cover with a layer of the lasagna sheets. Next add a layer of all the thickened chicken mixture as well as a layer of shredded cheese and cover with another layer of pasta. Put the butternut squash almost-puree on top with a layer of the cheese and a final layer of pasta. Lastly spread the caramelized onions evenly over the surface of the lasagna and top with the last bit of cheese. The lasagna is now ready for the oven and should be nicely heated through when baked for 30 - 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve with a green salad dressed with a maple-balsamic vinaigrette.