Marla in the Kitchen

Dixie Chicken: Grilled chicken thighs with buffalo wing sauce, Rice/yam/black bean pilaf

2010-07-23T17:23:00Z

I've never lived alone--went from my Dad's house, to a dorm room, to a husband's house. During the 1990's, Bob was intermittently on the road, but I worked five days a week, Muth was next door, and Ginny was down the street, so life moved right along. This time home, even at 850 sq. feet, home seems too big and the days are strangely unstructured. I am, however, finding small things that are positive: the bathroom wastebasket seldom needs emptying, I don't run out of Diet Coke, I wash clothes only once a week, Bob's desk is clean, and the refrigerator is remarkably empty. So far I don't have much of a rhythm to my day but maybe that will evolve. Haven't begun my makeover yet--no twice-a-day cycling, volunteering, or pursuit of higher education but I am getting the hang of the remote control and may get my hair cut short.

I've been cooking once a week--starting out with brown rice/pinto beans/yams/sun-dried tomato/Mexican hard cheese pilaf and grilled chicken thighs drenched in Louisiana Buffalo Wing Sauce. Tomorrow I'm going to the Ethnic Fest at Wright Park in Tacoma and will be on the lookout for pupusas --but a good Mexican torta will do.

I'm telling you--give this grilled chicken dipped in wing sauce a try--it's easy, tasty, and cheap. Maybe everyone else already cooks this and I'm just the last to know. Maybe even grilled tofu dipped in hot wing sauce--you never know.

Grilled chicken thighs with Buffalo Wing Sauce

Season unboned chicken thighs with salt, pepper, a spicy rub of your choice and let them sit for 1 hour. If you have no rub, try a combination of cumin, chili powder or paprika, chipotle pepper, lemon pepper, and garlic powder or garlic salt. Rub a little oil (olive or vegetable) over the chicken before grilling and cook over medium heat, skin side down for 6-7 minutes or until the skin is crisp. Turn and cook for 5 minutes on the other side. If you like your chicken cooked longer, feel free.

Pour Buffalo Wing Sauce in a bowl--enough to cover the number of thighs grilled. Remove chicken from the grill and place in sauce, turning to coat. Let sit for 10 minutes and serve. The excess sauce is tasty on the rice or served over the chicken.

Rice, yams, & black beans

1 cup white long-grain rice
1 cups water
1 tsp. salt

1/2# chorizo (either the softer hamburger-like Mexican kind or the hard sausage-like Spanish kind will do)
1/2 onion, fine dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Oregano, coriander, cumin

1/2 sweet potato, peeled, diced, and steamed
1/2 can black beans, drained & rinsed
Chopped fresh cilantro
Mexican cotija (hard) cheese

Rinse rice until water runs clear. Cover with water and soak for 30 minutes. Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add salt & rice. Stir to combine. Turn down to simmer and cook 25 minutes. Take off heat and let it sit, covered five minutes. Spred out on a sheet pan to cool.

Sauté onion, chorizo, garlic, and sun-dried tomato in hot oil. Add cumin, oregano, coriander. Sauté on medium-low heat until onions and garlic are soft and cooked through.

Fold chorizo/onion/spice mix, yams, black beans, chopped cilantro, and Mexican cheese into cooked rice. Season to taste.

Cooking for one:(

2010-07-18T18:55:00Z

Bob's off for a six-month stint doing stand-up at Los Angeles' s Cedars Sinai--medical software training, that is. Sooo guess who is home alone again. This time I'm going to do better--ride my Lifecycle more than once a day, make contact with strangers, volunteer, learn to knit, rock babies, read to orphans, get an on-line degree in design, clean out the closets, and cook for my self. No more moping, watching bad TV, or eating beans out of the can. There, now that I've said it out loud, I'll have to follow through.

I first cooked to please the man in my life (besides, back in the day there was only eating in), then to make a living, and only in the past fifteen years have I cooked with a sense of adventure and pleasure. But...still I cook to please. I've listed in print all the condiments, cupboards, and utensils it takes to make up my kitchen. So what does a newly single, career cook pull out of the pantry when she's only filling one plate?

Cold noodles sound good, brown rice/yogurt/salsa might do, broccoli with sesame oil, perhaps cauliflower and parmesan cheese, how about a big quinoa/cucumber/tomato salad?? Whatever it is, it will be of a sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. For now, I have leftover steak, some white bean/sage/garlic spread, noodles and tofu, and an entire loaf of Dave's Killer Bread. That should keep me going for at least a week.

Anyways, this is my new life--sweet Bob available only via email, texting, or phoning. So if I show up at your front door, don't be surprised.

Strawberries, Part 2: Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie, Strawberry Pie

2010-07-02T22:55:00Z

Well my blog traffic was not remarkably high for the strawberry shortcake, oh well. Anyways, here's a few more for the rest of those Fourth of July strawberries. Either would be stellar at a fireworks event. Bob and I are motoring down south to see Patty and Jim over the big weekend. Hope the traffic is not newsworthy.

Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie

TOPPING:
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• ¼ cup cold butter, cut into pieces
Mix brown sugar and flour—cut in cold butter pieces. Reserve.
CUSTARD FILLING:
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ cups rhubarb, cut into 1” pieces
• 1 ½ cups strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

Beat eggs slightly with milk in large bowl. Stir in sugar and flour. Fold in rhubarb and strawberries.
Pour into prepared 9” pastry shell, sprinkle topping on fruit/custard mix.

Bake in 400-degree oven for 1 hour. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Strawberry Pie (Makes 1 9” pie)

• 4# strawberries, stems removed
• ½ cup sugar/1/4 cup Splenda
• ¼ cup water
• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin or 1 Tbs. strawberry jello

Place 3 cups of the strawberries (use the smallest and least attractive ones) and the sugar in a food processor and process for 10-20 seconds. Transfer mixture to a saucepan. Add water. Bring to boil over high heat and boil about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl.

Add the gelatin and stir with whisk until gelatin is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Arrange the reserved strawberries, stem side down, in cooked pie crust, stem ends down and in circles with the largest berries in the center, then use the smaller berries. For the outer circle, cut berries in half lengthwise and arrange cut side down with tips pointing outward. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Ladle cooled strawberry/gelatin sauce over top of pie. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

The Annual Strawberry Shortcake Entry: Strawberry Shortcake

2010-06-12T21:11:00Z

One of the advantages of paying to post my blog on Go-Daddy.com is the use of their Statistics tool. My followers are minimal but I still love to sneak a look at how many hits I get during the week. I can also see year-to-year statistic: my 2010 readership is up! But what really blows my mind is that the highest number of entry views happened during the summer months in 2009 when I wasn't adding any new posts. What does that mean? Apparently I get more traffic when I don't write anything.

Or it could be strawberries. The highest viewed entry was "Short Shorts: Strawberry Shortcake." So not being one to buck a trend, here comes another strawberry post. We'll just see who shows up. And just a footnote to those of you who have been paying attention: on Bravo's Top Chef Masters Susan Feniger was told to "pack your knives" and go home. I didn't catch that particular episode, so I don't know what her indiscretion was but there are now just the three egos: Marcus Samuelson, Susor Lee, and Rick Noonan.

Back to strawberries. Rumor was that Picha Farms in Puyallup was berry close to selling the red, juicy ones. A quick trip past the fields last Saturday proved fruitless, so to speak, but just a week later we returned home with stained hands and red spotted clothes--the marks of a successful trip. Now comes the baking, the slicing, the jamming, and the shortcaking.

Anyways, here's my latest attempt at flaky, tender shortcakes; although you can always fall back on store-bought pound cake. So if my numbers go up, we'll know it's the strawberries and squeeze in a rhubarb/strawberry pie: hmm, how about a custardy one?

Strawberry Shortcake (Alton Brown)

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup half and half, cream, buttermilk, or a combination
• Melted butter to brush on and sprinkly sugar for the tops

Heat oven 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter and shortening. Mix in half-and-half.

Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Cool and eat with berries, ice cream and/or whipped cream. Yields 8 biscuits.

And because this blog is truly just an excuse to pass along my ongoing favorite music; here's one from the Subdudes I've played so many times it's drilled itself into my brain.

P.S. Another Top Chef Masters update: since I checked in last, Marcus Samuelson won this year's contest.

The Circle

2010-06-11T19:27:00Z

This Sunday is Father's Day but I have no Dad to shop for. I usually forget Daddy's birthday, but I always think of him on Father's Day. C.A. Nichols (Nick) was a tallish, gentle, cigar-smoking, baseball fan and a Ma Bell company man for over twenty-five years. He was kind to strangers, reluctant to criticize, and slow to anger.

In fact the only time I can remember a show of temper from him happened during a Sioux City Soos' baseball game. Daddy, little Ginny and I were sitting in front of a rowdy bunch of Midwestern good-ole-boys who had belted back one too many Schlitzs. They started riding the hapless pitcher, describing each errant ball with smokin' words Ginny and I had never heard before.

After a few innings Daddy stood up, turned around, and told the offenders, "Please don't swear in front of my family", then sat back down. They snickered and let loose with some good ones. Daddy stood up again and asked, in a somewhat firmer voice, "Would you like to settle this in the parking lot?". Ginny and I weren't sure what this entailed, but we knew that it wasn't good. The hecklers must have recognized the look of a man who'd been pushed too far and moved over a section.

During the recent graduation trip to Knoxville, I attended my yearly church service and sat next to my son Jon. The best part of church is the songs--I Come to the Garden, What a Friend, Faith of our Fathers. The words never make much sense, but the tunes are grand. Anyways, there I was in Tennessee at church next to Jon singing one of my old favorites. I heard Jon's true-to-pitch, quiet, bass voice and felt like I was ten years old and back at the Presbyterian Church in Lyons, Nebraska.

Our family went to church every week, we (the girls) never wanted to but my Mom thought it was her duty to at least introduce us to religion. Nikki, Ginny and I jostled for position every Sunday, trying to sit next to Daddy. Sometimes my elbows were the sharpest and I got the prize. He smelled like Old Spice and cigars, felt like safety and scratchy wool, and sounded like God. He had a lovely, deep bass voice, sang in perfect harmony, and knew all the words.

Sitting next to my Jon, a tallish, lovely, gentle man, and listening to him sing with a similar true-to-pitch, deep, bass voice was like being beamed back in time. I could smell the hymnals, feel the drowse in the summer air, catch the sparkle of the light reflecting off Daddy's Masonic ring, and see the sun streaming through the stained glass lambs. Although Jon doesn't smell like Old Spice or cigars, the light, the sound, the spot-on harmony, and the feeling of contentment was the same as those Sundays years ago.

So Happy Father's Day Jon, my dad would be proud of you.

Nick Nichols

Jon Salem and someone I don't really recognize.

Grads and Grammas: Mississippi Mud Cake

2010-06-07T21:36:00Z

http://music.aol.com/video/time-of-your-life-good-riddance/green-day/1358748

On the last Saturday in May, 1960 in South Sioux City, Nebraska, I marched down the aisle with my graduating high school class to Pomp and Circumstance. On that same day, 50 years later my grandson Caleb walked in Knoxville, Tennessee to the same music. With my graduation money I bought a transistor radio for $25.00. Although inflation and the amazing increase in tuition should be figured in, Caleb could have paid for all four years of my out-of-state tuition with his graduation money. After the ceremony, my Mom and Dad took my sister Ginny and me to the Green Gables for Gosh Awful Gooeys. After Caleb's ceremony, his Mom, sister-in-law, family friends and I fed Mexican food to 100+ people. Change is constant, but the ceremonies remain the same.

I don't remember any stirring words or inspirational messages from my ceremony fifty years ago, and really don't remember any from two weeks ago. Commencement is still too long, too wordy, and too solemn to contain the exuberance simmering under those bright blue caps and gowns. At Caleb's ceremony there was, however, a sweet highlight of kind words spoken and heartfelt hugs exchanged as each graduate received his/her diploma from their parents. Most speeches were brief and to the point, with one long-winded exception that sent nudges and eyes rolling across the auditorium. That over-zealous dad provided a "you wouldn't believe this one guy" story to retell for years to come.

Our party in the park was a long time in coming. My daughter Bridget and I began planning in March for what became an exercise in careful shopping, intricate logistics, creative refrigeration, reliance on the kindness of friends, and sheer endurance. The day after I arrived in Knoxville we focused on pork and beans. Every available crock pot and heavy pan was filled with simmering pinto beans. Four eight pound pork butts roasted in Bridget's oven with another four at the church. Rice filled any empty burner and everyone that wandered through the kitchen chopped their share of tomatoes, onions, and sweet potatoes. We ate dinner Thursday night surrounded by mounds of pulled pork, trays of cooling rice, and pans of refried beans.

We scurried on Friday morning to bake the Tres Leches Cake and mush the guacamole before the remainder of the family arrived. By Friday night our numbers were up to twenty: nine adults, seven children, one baby, and three dogs--each expecting at some point to be fed. My daughter-in-law Lara did just that--with a meal-ready spaghetti dinner complete with sauce, pasta, garlic bread, and cupcakes. For Bridget and I, weary from the battle with pork and beans, seeing Lara come up the driveway was akin to catching sight of the cavalry riding over the hill to save the circled wagons.

Saturday was the big day. At the first break in the brief (not!) ceremony, Lara, Mary Elizabeth, Sydney, Ansley, and I skedaddled to the park to set up. As we drove into the parking lot, we could see unfamiliar milling bodies, open coolers, and unfolded "soccer chairs" in our reserved spot. Not to be daunted, Lara approached the somewhat unfriendly group with the posture and manners of a genuine steel magnolia and had them on their way before you could whistle Dixie. With only a few skips in our getalong, we decorated, unfolded, plugged in, displayed, and served the party goers. Our group evenly divided itself between 50 or so fit, constantly moving Ultimate Frisbee players and 50 or so not as fit, lounging, spectators until nighttime darkness finally nudged us off the field, out of our chairs, and into our cars.

The Batchelor family was the perfect host--welcoming, casual, generous, and engaged. Caleb, the perfect graduate--involved, spontaneous, and gracious. All in all, a successful celebration of a young graduate's entrance into the complex mystery of adult life.

Connie Batchelor's Mississippi Mud Cake

2 sticks butter
1 1/2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. nuts, chopped
2 tbsp. cocoa
1 c. coconut
4 eggs
7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all very well except marshmallow creme. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. While cake is still hot, spread on marshmallow creme from side to side.

FROSTING:

1 stick butter
1/2 c. milnot
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. cocoa
1 box powdered sugar

Cook the first four ingredients on the stove for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in sugar with blender. Beat well. Spread over Mississippi Mud Cake.

I didn't really read this recipe through carefully the first time, so what the heck is "milnot"? Well, it's a brand of evaporated milk sold primarily in the South. Here's what my go-to-guy Google has to say, "

Is Milnot the same as Sweetened Condensed Milk?

No, Milnot is not an equivalent or substitute for sweetened condensed milk (SCM). Milnot is a substitute for evaporated milk. Milnot is a milk-based product that has had the butterfat removed, and replaced by vegetable oil. SCM is evaporated milk + plenty of sugar.

The Batchelors: Bridget, Caleb, Ronnie, Katie, and Lauren

Caleb

Lauren and Fitzy

Katie, Isiah, Lauren, Mary Elizabeth

Tacos, Tortas, and Timbuk3

2010-05-22T19:41:00Z

Sorry about this version, but YouTube disabled the embed request for the original video.

My oldest grandchild, Caleb, graduates from high school next Saturday in Knoxville, TN. The party following commencement will overshadow the ceremony--seems as if graduation exercises are to be endured not enjoyed. The proud families and friends wait, often in the hot sun or pouring rain, for that shining moment when their star walks across the stage and receives a rolled up token for their perseverance and hard work. Caleb will have a large section of boosters: parents, sisters, two grandfathers, three grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

My daughter Bridget and I have been planning our event for a month now--lists have been made, supplies have been stockpiled, crowd-sized vessels have been borrowed, and the park has been reserved. I haven't cooked for 60+ for many years, so we'll see. I do have an spunky group of prep guys, choppers, mincers, and bakers so what could go wrong? Mexican for the many was the choice for various reasons: it's less expensive, holds well, can be designed to avoid those nasty microbes, is delish, won't be found on every other party buffet, and most of all--received enthusiastic support from our graduate.

Having participated in several commercial disasters featuring large amounts of food served to large crowds of people, I tend to organize to the extreme. For me, It's better to conjure up the problems that may occur in advance and plan for the worst-case than just give it up to fate. I have a shopping list, a prep list, a cooking list, an equipment list, a venue preparation list, a clean-up list, and have divided the family into work teams with their own to-do lists. I'll take this info along with me on a flash drive, but thought I'd put the recipes on-line in the "cloud" just in case.

So anyways, here's the menu and a few recipes:

Keep tuned for a play-by-play of the event in real time.

Rice, yams, & black beans—serves 25-30

5 cups rice
7 1/2 cups water
1 Tbs. salt

1 # chorizo
2 onions, fine dice
3 sweet potatoes, peeled, diced, and steamed, boiled, or sauteed
Oregano, coriander, cumin
3 cans black beans
Chopped fresh cilantro
Cotija cheese

Rinse rice until water runs clear. Cover with water and soak for 30 minutes. Bring 8 cups water to a boil. Add salt & rice. Stir to combine. Turn down to simmer and cook 25 minutes. Take off heat and let it sit, covered, for 15 minutes.

Sauté onion, chorizo, and garlic in hot oil. Add cumin, oregano, coriander. Sauté on medium-low heat until onions and garlic are cooked through.

Fold in onion/chorizo/spice mix, yams, black beans, chopped cilantro, and Cotija cheese into cooked rice. Season to taste.

Tres Leches Cake

2 tsp. butter
1 Tbs. + 2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. fine salt
6 eggs at room temperature, separated
1 ¼ cups sugar
½ cup whole milk
1 Tbs. rum flavoring
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 14 oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 can sweet condensed milk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan with butter and dust with 1 tsp. flour. Invert dish, tap out excess flour.

Sift the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl, set aside. Put the egg whites into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. While mixer is running, add the sugar in a gradual stream and continue beating until soft peaks. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add the reserved flour mixture and the whole milk in 3 parts, beating until smooth after each addition. Add rum and vanilla and beat again briefly.

Pour batter into reserved baking pan and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a bowl. Using a knife, poke the cake with holes all over, penetrating to the bottom of the pan. Pour the milk mixture over the warm cake and cool completely. Cover cooled cake and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Frost with sweetened whipped cream and decorate with fresh soft fruit, i.e., chopped mango or berries

Mexican Coleslaw

4 heads thinly sliced green cabbage or 7# bag
6 cups peeled and grated carrots
2 cups chopped cilantro
2 shredded jicamas
4 minced jalapenos
1 cup chopped cilantro

Queso Dip

Diced onions, cumin, chile powder
4 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilies
Extra can green chilies
6 lb. Velveeta cheese

Saute onions, add spices. Melt Velveeta over low heat; mix in tomatoes and chilies until warm. If you are on a budget, 2 cans of Cheddar cheese soup can substitute for half of the Velveeta. Keep this mixture warm as once it cools--undippable.

P.S.
If you're keeping score, Susan beat the pants off the boys during the latest Top Chef Master's episode--won both the quick-fire challenge and the elimination round. You go girl!

Freezer envy: Portuguese Fish Stew

2010-05-13T21:14:00Z

When I think about what to have for dinner, I wonder, "Where will we go tonight?" When I was a "food professional", people would ask, "What's your specialty?" A blue-collar cook doesn't have the luxury of focusing on a specialty. You just reproduce whatever your current boss's specialty is. I've cooked French, Italian, Indian, Mexican, Thai, Northwestern Fusion (whatever that is), American grill standards, California food-of-the-moment, and an occasional MIddle Eastern dish or two.

Stocking a refrigerator and a pantry for all those foreign lands takes lots of room. I have Korean bean paste, chimichurri sauce, preserved lemons, roasted garlic, tamarind paste, chipotles in sauce, tahini, wasabi, hoisin, miso, frozen noodles, keffir lime leaves, plum chutney, lemon pickle, fermented black beans, frozen coconut, and sleeves of naan bread. It takes a village to cook for us.

I finished my recent freezer reorg by cleaning the entire refrigerator--not a life-changing moment, but it did lead to better things. What we needed was a walk-in, what we had was a cheap, flimsy Frigidaire. Each time I cleaned the refrigerator, putting it all back together created unpleasant kitchen drama. The bins cracked and the shelf brackets splintered, leaving the pickle-heavy glass shelves balanced precariously on Super Glued plastic supports. I spent almost $200 on new parts before I bailed and refused to spend one dollar more on that fake-stainless steel piece of junk.

As in the toaster war, finding a puzzle piece to fit in the small nook under the cupboards proved daunting. After much searching, the choice was made by the fit--a Kitchenaid KBLTS5510, the only refrigerator that measured 65 1/2" tall (without the hinge). Fortunately, it's a dream of a frig--bottom freezer, sturdy shelves, strong crispers, and wonder of wonders keeps things cold.

Putting the puzzle that is the kitchen together with a new large appliance required a visit by Bob's brother Norman. We moved the stainless steel shelf that is our pantry into the living room, removed the cupboard (and all the food in it), ripped one inch off the cabinet and the doors, then put the puzzle back together and waited for delivery.

On the big day, I rewound the entire food move--emptying the chrome shelf and old frig, filling the living room and kitchen with cans, bottles, and bags. Tucked away in the old freezer was a fine piece of salmon, some linguisa sausage, and three scallops: thus the Portuguese Fish Stew. It's traditionally made with seabass (or some other firm white fish) and mussels but this version rocked our house.

This is more a procedure than a recipe. If you have Italian sausage or even bratwurst--use that. No kale? Use spinach, collard greens, chard or skip it. Got zucchini--that'll work. No mussels or clams? How about frozen shrimp or canned clams. Sweet potatoes instead of Yukons tasted great. Some wine wouldn't hurt either.

Portuguese Fish Stew

2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for serving
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 pound linguica or chorizo sausage, sliced in chunks
5 sprigs fresh thyme sprigs, tied together
1 handful fresh oregano, leaves torn from stems
2 bay leaves
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, diced
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
1/2 pound kale or cabbage, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 dozen Littleneck clams or mussels, scrubbed
1/2 pound snapper, cod, or seabass pieces, skin and pin bones removed
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a heavy 4 to 6-quart pot over medium flame. Briefly saute fennel seed, chili flakes, and garlic. Add onions and sausage; cook, stirring with wooden spoon, until the sausage renders out some of its fat and the onions are soft. Toss in the herbs and then the potatoes, stir that around for a minute to coat in the oil. Pour in the chicken broth and bring up to a simmer. Add the kale/cabbage or other vegetables, season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables are nearly tender.

Uncover the pot and add the mussels or clams; simmer, covered, for 10 minutes until the mussels/clams open. Add the fish and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until the fish is cooked. Garnish with chopped parsley and drizzle with olive oil.

By the by, Susan Feniger dodged elimination from Top Chef Masters again and lives to compete again next week.

The Elimination Round: Dijon rack of lamb with rosemary

2010-05-09T20:55:00Z

On Wednesday Susan Feniger, the only person I know who's been on teevee, survived again to compete in the next round of Bravo's Top Chef Masters. http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters In the Blind Tag Team "Quick Fire" challenge, the chefs were blindfolded, then waited their turn while one from their team cooked for 10 minutes, then passed the baton. "Whatever you do, start a sauce." Each team's completed dish was similar--scallops, pork belly (anything's better with bacon) and (if in doubt add) plenty of butter.

The elimination challenge: prepare a wedding reception with wedding cake for 150 guests with direction provided by the happy couple. The bride: "I'm the more adventurous: but no pork, no lamb, no shellfish, and bananas foster, please" and the groom: "I'm a meat and potatoes man--beef, scalloped potatoes and carrot cake, please." Each competing chef moaned about making the cake--most have little to do with the pastry department and baking without a recipe can be treacherous.

After 6 hours of prep and 6 hours of production (and at least twenty-two hours of commercials), the wedding reception buffet tables were filled with rack of lamb (sorry bride but you'll really love this), roast chicken, beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, crab cakes, corn salad, and raclette tart. The wedding cake angst proved to be well-founded: Susan's Red Team was almost undone by her "Charley Brown Christmas Tree" wedding cake and the Blue Team's carrot cake was so dry it "should have been accompanied by a glass of milk."

The panel of judges (none of whom have ever stepped foot in a restaurant kitchen) roundly criticized Marcus Samuelsson's "mushy" tenderloin and Susan F.'s "shockingly bad" cake but loved Jody Adams' Dijon and rosemary rack of lamb, Susan's potato bhujas, Jonathan Waxman's roast chicken with mushroom veloute, and Carmen Gonzales' crab cakes.

After ample criticism and much smug displeasure, the panel declared the Red Team to be winner of the elimination round and sent home a Blue Team chef, Carmen Gonzales. Jody Adam's Dijon rack of lamb with farro pilaf won rave reviews and placed her first with top honors and $10,000 for her charity. Here's her recipe:

Dijon Rack of Lamb with Rosemary

1 whole New Zealand Rack of Lamb divided in two
• 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon of chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard mixed with 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1/2 cup buttered bread crumbs

Trim lamb of excess fat. Mix thyme, rosemary, garlic and zests together with 2 tablespoons oil and smear all over the lamb. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and marinate at least two hours or overnight.

Heat 2 cast iron pans (one pan for each piece) over medium-high heat. Sear lamb, fat side down, until golden brown. Flip and cook on second side. Transfer both pieces to a rack on a sheet pan.

Smear fat side down with mustard/orange juice mixture.

Cover with bread crumbs.

Roast 10 minutes in 425 degree oven or until cooked to desired taste. Let rest at least 10 minutes before serving.

Top Chef Master: Black pepper scallops and shrimp

2010-04-12T20:45:00Z

My old boss, Susan Feniger, is back on the front burner. She and Mary Sue Milliken were cheeky darlings in the 1980s and 1990s, among the few women chef/owners of upscale restaurants, authors of two cookbooks, and stars of a Food Channel show, Two Hot Tamales. In the early 1980s, other than Chasen's and Musso & Frank's, there were few restaurants in Los Angeles with nationwide recognition until Wolfgang Puck opened Ma Maison. Susan worked the line there as a saute cook, leaving in 1980 to partner up with Mary Sue to open City Cafe. Susan opened "Susan Feniger's Street" last year without her long-time partner. Susan is the more ambitious--always willing to push ahead, take chances, and try one more time.

They opened City Cafe with a two-burner hot plate and an illegal hibachi in the alley with access to the single restroom through the tiny kitchen. Four years later, City Cafe became the Border Grill and City Restaurant opened nearby on La Brea. In the next ten years Feniger/Milliken opened Border Grill in Santa Monica, Cuidad in downtown Los Angeles, a Border Grill in Pasadena that didn't survive, and a Border Grill in the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay that is still going strong.

Susan is no novice when it comes to television appearances. Among other turns, Susan and Mary Sue appeared with Julia Child on Julia's PBS series, competed on Iron Chef America, and cooked a Mexican food segment on Good Morning America. This year Susan is back in full tilt boogy on Bravo's Top Chef Masters competition. This series uses reality TV's scoldy, critical, judgmental four-star rating to eliminate those who can't take the heat in the kitchen. The losers go home, the winner goes on to compete in a future show. Susan was paired up with Chicago-based Tony Mantuano to create a dinner designed to deliver the goods for a first date. Susan's contribution was Black Pepper Sauteed Scallops and Shrimp. We used to make a variation of this dish at the original Border Grill with turkey scallops but this more upscale version is even more delicious. Written recipes aren't included written in the Top Chef's website, but here's my recollection. Top Chef Masters airs on Wednesday nights, so check it out and see how far Susan gets.

Black pepper sautéed scallops and shrimp

• ½ lb. scallops
• ½ lb. 16/20 shrimp
• 2 Tbs. ginger
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• ½ cup chicken or fish stock
• 1 Tbs. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Juice of two limes
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 4 Tbs. cubed butter
• Herb salad: scallions or chives, cilantro and mint

Dry both scallops and shrimp thoroughly. Season both sides liberally with black pepper and Kosher salt.
Being careful not to crowd the pan, brown scallops two minutes per side and remove. Brown shrimp on both sides and remove from pan. Don’t let the shrimp cook so long that they curl up—cook until medium rare.
Add 2 Tbs. ginger, 1 Tbs. minced garlic, saute briefly.
Add to pan:
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 Tbs. oyster sauce
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Juice of 2 limes
• Cilantro pieces

Bring back to heat, add butter and shut pan off. Combine butter with juices off heat, stirring quickly.
Plate scallops, shrimp, and coat with pan sauce.
Serve on herb salad: scallion/cilantro/mint.

Anticipation, Korean Ketchup: Ssam sauce, Ginger Scallion Dipping Sauce

2010-04-06T16:59:00Z

I have a new favorite condiment, but don't know what it's called. When I did Korean for our annual January party, I shopped big time at Pal Do, an Asian supermarket on South Tacoma Way. Usually restocking Asian food staples means a trip to Federal Way's 99-Ranch, but the last time Bob and I made the trip the traffic was horrible and the 99-Ranch checkers (really anyone wearing a red "99-Ranch" vest) were not only unhelpful but were just plain mean. I got all sweaty before we went in just thinking about the glares and blank looks I'd receive when I asked for the location of some unknown food.

Soooo, when my party menu meant stocking the shelves with Korean ingredients, we went to Pal Do--the shiny, new, well-organized, supermarket in South Tacoma staffed by cheerful, courteous people who graciously accepted my lack of knowledge. We filled up the cart with fresh shiitakes, ($3.99/lb.), fresh noodles, ($.99/lb), beautiful Asian pears, Chinese long beans, Korean bean paste, and a small bottle of red stuff with these Englsih words: Outgo Vinegared Red Pepper Paste. Whatever it is, we use it everywhere. It's become our new ketchup--slightly sweet, vinegary, spicy, and sticky in a good way. It ramps up plain rice from mundane to extraordinary, it zips up a french fry far better than ketchup does, and when mixed with plain yogurt it becomes a spicy vegetable dip or special sauce for hamburgers or fish tacos. It is completely wrapped in brightly colored plastic, sports jaunty Korean symbols, and comes in a handy, squeeze bottle that fits nicely in the refrigerator door.

For Easter dinner last weekend, we ate our traditional Bo Ssam: romaine lettuce leaves, white rice, and slow-cooked pork butt with lots of that spicy, sticky stuff, ginger chive sauce for dipping, and a side of Ssam sauce. It's probably my current favorite thing--all the better with a crowd. Large pork butts take longer to cook, become more flavorful, and the crispy skin is delish. Besides, the leftovers make fine carnitas tacos--plenty of "porky goodness" as Anthony Bourdain would say. In the real New York/David Chang/Korean world Bo Ssam includes freshly shucked oyster, kimchee, a long list of pickled vegetables, and salads but then I've never been a hard-core traditionalist.

Amazing what you can find on YouTube.

Ssam Sauce

1/2 cup ssamjang (soybean and chile-pepper paste)
1/2 cup kochujang (Korean chile-pepper paste)
1/2 cup rice wine or sherry vinegar
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbs. sesame oil
1 Tbs. agave or honey

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Sauce may be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Ginger Scallion Sauce

Makes about 3 cups

1 cup thinly sliced scallions or chives (greens and whites; from 1 to 2 large bunches)
1/4 cup finely minced peeled fresh ginger
2 Tbs salad oil
2 Tbs. sesame oil
3 Tbs. soy sauce, preferably usukuchi (light soy sauce), found in Asian markets
1 Tbs. sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

Mix together the scallions, ginger, oil, soy, vinegar, and salt in a bowl. Taste and check for salt, adding more if needed. Ginger scallion sauce is best after sitting for 15-20 minutes.

The Good Life: Goat Cheese Tart

2010-04-03T22:53:00Z

I do love magazines; right now I read Sunset, Quilter's Newsletter, and The New Yorker. My all-time favorite, the now defunct House and Garden, aimed for a market share somewhere between stodgy and trendy, traditional and modern: an average Joe's Architectural Digest and a trendsetter’s Woman’s Day. It featured homes and gardens that, on a good day, inspired me to get my scissors, clip, and think, "Maybe I could do that."

Anyways House and Garden's editor, Dominique Browning was the main reason I subscribed. I looked forward every month to reading her front-of-the-magazine editorial. Unlike some peppy, self-serving magazine editorials, Ms. Browning wrote candid, thoughtful essays about parenting, relationships, the love of plants and gardening, the positives and negatives of wanting/having, and the pleasures and difficulties of living a meaningful life.

In 2007 Conde Nast announced the end of the 100-year old House and Garden and said, "We no longer believe it is a viable business investment for the company" and blamed the demise of the magazine on the financial and real estate turndown. Ms. Browning walked into a routine meeting one morning and was told that she and her staff of forty no longer had jobs. She popped back into my virtual life the other day via an article in the on-line edition of the New York Times. She now writes a blog , Slow Love Life, about her life, her job loss and her ensuing weight gain, her renewal, and her upcoming book. The blog always contains pictures of plants, flowers, gardens, and links to interesting gardeners, food bloggers, and photo journalists.

Ms. Browning keenly felt the loss of work friends: her magazine colleagues, the morning coffee baristas, various lunch cart vendors, the building maintenance staff, and her fellow subway commuters. Our work life can disappear after a conflict with management, a dispute with a boss, a financial downturn, a disgruntled customer, or by personal choice. Regardless of reason, the people who populate our environment away from home carry substantial weight in our lives. Over the years, I’ve forged meaningful relationships with a boss, a co-worker, or a fellow commuter to see that important connection cut and eventually fade away. What support group gives counsel on how to get over a boss or a bus buddy?

Anyways, check out Dominique Browning’s blog, it’s a good one. And here’s an great recipe for Goat Cheese Tart given to me by an old bus buddy.

And because it is Easter:

Goat Cheese Tart

Filling:
• 1 # goat cheese
• 8 eggs
• 4 c. cream
• 2 T. chopped fresh herbs
• 1 T. Dijon mustard
• 1 onion julienne

Crust:
• 2 ½ c. flour
• 1 t. sugar
• ½ t. salt
• ½ # butter
• ½ c. ice water

For crust: combine dry ingredients. Cut butter in with pastry blender. Using table fork briefly add ice water until just mixed.

Sauté onion in butter slowly, slowly until soft and caramelized.

Combine eggs, cream, fresh herbs, mustard, sautéed onions, and goat cheese.

Pour into uncooked shell. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

The King and I

2010-03-15T19:37:00Z

I started watching HBO's Big Love in secret during the day with the office door shut or late at night when I couldn't sleep. Eventually Bob found out and against his better judgment joined me. We came out of the closet a few years ago and now watch without shame. The writers are excellent, keep the plot moving along at a rapid pace, and develop the characters allowing them to grow with the twists and turns of the story. Even though the subject matter can make a viewer uneasy, production details (i.e., wardrobe, hair/make-up, set design) create a believable environment and a realistic story line. One detail I enjoy is the music chosen to play behind the introduction, during the episode, and especially at the end when the closing credits roll.

This year the show has become a real pot boiler. A recent episode involved the characters in murder, dismembering, incest, kidnapping, and, of course, polygamy. Big Love has no commercials, so there isn't time to take a breath, look around, and get your bearings. After the pulp fiction-like action in the "Under One Roof" episode, the music played during the closing credits was startling: a sweet Gospel song--something about something on a hilltop sung by a voice unmistakably Elvis. First thing the next morning I opened ITunes, searched for Elvis and sure enough there it was, Mansion Over the Hilltop. As one web thread leads to another, I soon was reading about Elvis's beginnings in Gospel music, and the start of his career.

I was fourteen in 1956 when Elvis played at the Sioux City Auditorium. The whole notion of being a "teenager" was still new: there was being a kid, waiting to be an adult, and being an adult. No age definition or marketing segment separated us as a pack. There were no self-help books or columnists to advise parents about the "teenage years". There were, however, the first glimmers of something different, something special, and something apart. "Elvis Presley , more than anyone else, gave the young a belief in themselves as a distinct and somehow unified generation—the first in America ever to feel the power of an integrated youth culture. " The Memphis, pre-Las Vegas, pre-sequined Elvis looked dangerous, dressed in black, and wore a greaser's DA, combed back with a forehead lock that refused to stay in place. In 1952, Midwestern jukeboxes played Patti Page, Eddie Fisher, Frank Sinatra, Frankie Laine, and Rosemary Clooney. Only four years later, those icons were being nudged out by Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Elvis.

My parents were born, educated, and married in South Dakota but didn't seem locked within the limitations defined by their Midwestern upbringing. Muth read books, smoked cigarettes, and played her records loud. Daddy was a Mason, smoked a pipe, and played Donkey Baseball in the summer. Those faint traces of being out of place came to my aid when Elvis surfaced in Iowa. Most of my girlfriends were forbidden to go see him, but my Dad dropped me off in front of the auditorium and said, "Have fun!".

And fun we had--there was screaming, there was moaning, there was bawling. When Elvis began to play A Whole Lot of Shakin', the roof blew right off. My friend and I had cheap seats--top row in the balcony miles away from the stage but the power of his personality brought us right down into the action. Two hours later, or it may have been two minutes or two days, he was gone. He came back for three encores but wouldn't come out again. I'm not kidding--the next thing we heard was, "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building."

Last Chance to Renew!: Pork tenderloin with honey mustard, Root vegetable gratin

2010-03-10T16:01:00Z

Magazine circulation managers have become increasingly aggressive. Many of their campaigns try to trick me into believing that a yearly subscription offers great values. "Free--full color pages", "Free--Easy to use indexes"; "Free--easy to follow recipes". Please. Catalogs used to make up the bulk of my mail but lately, I have been deluged with pleas to subscribe. You can receive Sunset magazine for less than $10 a year. Garden Design, which targets gardeners with plenty of green to spend, is affordable. Quilting magazines can be had for the cost of a yard of material. Magazines' desperation is based on real world economic figures. Printed media is vulnerable to today's technology and may soon go the way of dime comics and Book of the Month clubs.

Anyways, I love magazines and would sign up for each one if I had the room. I limit myself to two, three at the most: The New Yorker is a must for me, at least one quilting magazine (although there are far too many heart/bear/flower patterns for me), and one food choice. But what to do with already-read magazines? Clipping doesn't work for me, the pieces of paper pile up for months. I keep a basket for the favorites, pass on any that are accepted, and recycle the rest.

Knowing that a visit to my dentist will include at least fifteen minutes with People Magazine--Kate Gosselin is now wearing hair extensions!--makes a cleaning or a new crown bearable. Nikki recently brought me a sackful of previously-owned magazines, passed on to her from a friend--so they're re-re-read. I stacked the pile in my basket and felt rich and idle as I thumbed through the pages. I did some serious clipping and tried two not-too-bad-for-you recipes from Food and Wine. The pork tenderloin is easy and quick; the root vegetable gratin is delicious.

Spiced pork tenderloin with honey mustard

3 Tbs. mustard seeds
1 Tbs. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
One 6-8 oz. tenderloin
1 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup grainy mustard
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey or agave

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Crush mustard and fennel seeds with the crushed red pepper flakes. Season tenderloins with salt and pepper. Coat your hands with the olive oil and rub over the tenderloins.

Spread seed/pepper mix on a cutting board or plate and roll tenderloins to coat.

Roast tenderloin for 15-20 minutes or until thermometer reads 145 degrees. Transfer to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.

Combine mustards and honey or agave. Slice tenderloin 1/2" thick and serve with honey mustard.

Root vegetable gratin

1 Red Garnet yam
1/2 butternut squash neck, peeled
1 rutabaga--1 pound, peeled and halved lengthwise
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs. heavy cream
1/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 Tbs. olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a mandoline, if possible, cut vegetables into thin slices.

Oil 8x12 baking dish. Arrange half of the yam slices in the dish, overlapping them slightly; season with salt and pepper. Top with half of the rutabaga and squash, seasoning each layer. Repeat the layering. Pour chicken broth over and around the vegetables.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour or until vegetables are almost tender when pierced. Remove foil and pour the cream over the gratin. Bake for about 30 minutes longer, until liquid has thickened.

Preheat the broiler. Mix the panko with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil 3 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, until golden, rotating for even browning. Let the gratin stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

Yes! ! (with both arms raised): Green Pea Salad

2010-03-09T17:57:00Z

Happiness can be found in small victories--at 67 I won't be crowned Miss Nebraska, can't compete in the figure skating finals, and will never win the Booker Prize....but six months after surgery I am back riding the Lifecycle for twenty-four minutes at my highest level. I'm sure that takes your breath away, but it was a hard-won, if small, victory. To make the day even more exhilarating, how's about this... I can now see the back of the freezer.

What's left?: one loaf of Dave's Killer Bread, one package of frozen corn, a pork shoulder roast, three freezer bags of walnuts, one-half bag of frozen shrimp, and best of all, we do have ice cube trays. Getting to this goal, however, did require sacrifice over the weekend. We had pea & cheese salad, weenies with flat bread, soup made from cabbage, peas, leftover chicken, and a reddish creamy sauce, and barley/wild rice/and Italian sausage.

Next up--a trip to Costco to stock up the freezer with unidentifiable items. Just kidding, I am dedicated to maintaining a spare freezer and leaving plenty of room for future toast.

That pea salad wasn't half bad--here's an approximate outline.

By the way, yesterday when I was browsing through mean things the critics were saying about Sunday night's Oscars, I read a funny blog entry by Ken Levine. I had to read the biography page to make certain, but sure enough--he's our Ken Levine. If you're an old Mariner fan, you must remember Dave Niehaus's color guy during the early 90's. Anyways, Ken is a television writer--Cheers, Somebody Loves Raymond, etc.--who covered the Cubs, Orioles, and now hosts an after-the-game radio show in LA about the Dodgers. If you scroll down the left side of my blog, there's a link to his page. Some witty remarks from an old favorite.

Pea, parm, and pork salad

2 cups thawed, slightly cooked green peas
1/4 cup fine diced red onion or 2 Tbs. minced shallot
1/4 cup celery, fine dice
Fresh dill, fennel leaf, or mint are a plus
1 part mayonnaise
1 part plain yogurt
Few squirts of lemon juice
Big pinch of minced garlic
A spoonful of minced preserved lemon grated lemon zest

1-2 pieces bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
Parmesan cheese

Combine peas, onions, and celery, and the pluses in a bowl.

Mix mayo, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and preserved lemon or lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour dressing over pea/onion/celery mix. Fold in bacon and Parmesan cheese.

This would also be good with pasta or rice.

Whatever you've got: Yakisoba with pork and cabbage

2010-03-01T20:06:00Z

The blooming plum trees are dancing down the street. Before long, they'll be leaving pink shadows on the ground, but for now we see clouds of pink out the window.

Last night we had English muffins from the corner of the freezer with Swiss cheese, love those easy ones. Today Mark Bittman (The Minimalist) checked in with a wonderful yakisoba recipe. Luckily, I found a bit of freezer pork—not pork chops, must be either ground pork or pork sausage.

The below recipe is one of those take-your-pick of whatever happens to surface when you stand in front of the open refrigerator door and wonder, what’s for dinner. No Chinese noodles?—vermicelli or linguini fill the bill. No pork chop?—how about leftover pork roast, a bit of chicken, tofu, beef trimmings, freezer shrimp, eggplant, or zucchini. No Napa or savoy?—plain ol’ green or red cabbage will do. No mirin?—rice, white, cider vinegar taste about the same. No green onions?—add regular onions with the carrots & cabbage, who’ll know?

Substitute away, but don’t leave out the ketchup. Yakisoba screams for ketchup.

Yakisoba with pork and cabbage

· 6 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles, or 10 to 12 ounces fresh

· 1 tablespoon sesame oil

· 3 tablespoons peanut oil

· 2 tablespoons minced ginger
(I added 1 Tbs. minced garlic)

· 2 pork chops, thinly sliced

(I used one small patty of ground pork)
· 1 small head Napa or savoy cabbage, shredded
(I used green cabbage)

· 2 carrots, shredded

· 2 tablespoons ketchup

· 1/4 cup soy sauce

· 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
( I used 3 Tbs.)

· 2 tablespoons mirin, or a bit of sugar

· Few drops Tabasco sauce, or to taste

· 1 bunch scallions, chopped
(I sauteed 1/2 minced onion with the garlic at the beginning)

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it and add noodles. Cook until just done, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cold water. Toss noodles with sesame oil to keep them from sticking together, and set aside. (I added 1 Tbs. coconut milk when I tossed).

2. Put peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add ginger (and garlic) and cook, stirring, until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pork and cook for about 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink and starts to brown around the edges.

3. Add cabbage and carrots to skillet and stir; sprinkle with salt. Continue to cook until vegetables soften, adding a bit of water as needed to keep them from sticking.

4. Meanwhile, stir together in a small bowl ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mirin and Tabasco. When vegetables are soft and any liquid has evaporated, add noodles and sauce to skillet. Toss to coat everything well and cook until noodles are warmed through. Serve, topped with chopped scallions.

Streetttccchhh that meat!: Red flannel hash, White bean and beet salad

2010-02-26T23:27:00Z

Today, February 21, is Johnny Cash's birthday and NPR broadcast an old Terry Gross interview with him that played this song.

We may have fallen off the meat wagon but we’re still trying to stay on the high road by eating less meat. Our small-in-size but large-in-carbon footprint corned beef has lasted for four meals. One carrot/cabbage/potato with corned beef, one Reuben sandwich with salad, one-half Reuben sandwich with white bean/beet salad, and one Red Flannel Hash. Bob looked a bit dubious when the answer to his usual 4:00 pm inquiry, “What’s for dinner?” was “Red flannel hash”.

My mom used to make it; I made it at Sound Food, after the obligatory St. Patty’s Day corned beef and beer special ran its course. Served with a poached egg on top—to dip the edge of rye toast in (now that we have a toaster)—it ranks right up there on the list of good diner food. The color is off-putting, definitely reddish, maybe pinkish-gray but at least it doesn’t turn out blue. When I previously made hash, I used a cast iron skillet. This time I used a non-stick Calphalon and didn't get any crustiness. The hash tasted the same but I missed the crunchy bottom.

Moving right along with "Freezer Adventures", tonight featured a strange mix. Secret freezer ingredients included one small chicken andouille sausage, some unidentified tomato stuff, and some grayish clear pasta--presumably glass rice noodles left over from the January Korean extravaganza. Gumbo jumped to mind, so gumbo is was, over those glass noodles instead of rice. When I bought the noodles from Boh Han, there were no instructions in English so I didn't know what to expect. I covered them with boiling water and waited for them to soften--they mushed instead into a mass. Tonight I covered the noodles with cold water, waited a short time, then drained and added them to the gumbo at the end. They mushed in the gumbo but at least they retained their shape until we ate. Not a dish I'd recommend, so I'll skip that one; but the white bean and beet salad is tasty.

Red Flannel Hash

2 red-skinned potatoes
2 peeled carrots, large dice
2 small peeled beets
Some corned beef

1 bacon slice, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

Toss beets with a small amount of oil, salt, and black pepper and roast in a 425-degree oven for 60 minutes. Chop potatoes and carrots in small-medium pieces. Toss with oil, salt/pepper and roast in the same oven for 45 minutes. Cool beets until you can handle them, then slip skins off and chop into small-medium pieces.

Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until brown but not crisp. Drain all bacon grease but 2 Tbs.

Sauté onion with bacon until translucent, add potatoes, carrots, and beets to onions in the skillet. Flatten with spatula to compact. Cook hash until brown on bottom, about 10 minutes. Continue cooking until heated through, stirring up bottom crust occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Crack eggs on top of hash, cover with lid and cook until whites are solid. Serve with a piece of toast.

White bean and marinated beet salad

For the beets:

4 small beets, tossed with olive oil, salt, & pepper
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the beans:

1/2 pound dried small lima beans
1 large white onion, cut in half
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow or red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion, soaked for five minutes in cold water, drained and rinsed (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Toss whole beets with small amount of olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Place in a aluminum foil pouch and roast in 425 degree oven for 45 minutes. Let beets cool, slip off skins, and cut in wedges. Combine vinegar, the sugar. Toss with the beets. Arrange the beans on a plate or in a bowl and surround with the beets

Place the beans in a pot. Cover by 2 inches with water, and bring to a gentle boil. Skim off any foam, and add the onion, garlic and bay leaf. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer until tender. Add salt to taste, and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove and discard the onion, garlic cloves and the bay leaf. Allow the beans to cool in the liquid, then drain through a strainer set over a bowl.

Gently toss the beans in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil, celery, peppers, onion and herbs. If desired, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of the bean broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Either combine beets and beans for that pinkish look or separate them on the plate and garnish will chopped dill.

What freezer burn?: Beef barley soup

2010-02-24T17:35:00Z

Under the flank steak, I found a small freezer bag with about 8 pieces of unknown meat—probably beef. I always assume that I’ll remember what is in these bags—I’ve begun marking pieces of meat that go into the freezer.

We slipped off the tracks of responsible eating for a weekend supper of corned beef and cabbage, but who’ll know? Back on track and following the self-imposed rules of “Clean out the frig”, I found one carrot and a turnip in the vegetable bin. Stone soup was right around the corner. A half bag of barley from the bean/noodle/nut drawer sealed the deal and a fine beef barley soup with enough barley left over for a wild rice/barley pilaf was in the works.

I made my first beef barley soup one morning at Sound Food. After searching through the walk-in for the day’s menu, soup for lunch was my priority. The blustery weather and last night’s beef stew made for an easy call. Beef barley soup hit the right notes—comforting, cheap, and available. I trimmed, chopped, browned, and stirred with a frequent eye on the ticking clock: the lunch bunch was on the way.

After a two-hour simmer, a peak under the pot lid revealed a sticky, gray, unappetizing mass of barley, beef, and vegetables. Barley has a life of its own: growing, exuding starch, and absorbing all liquid. I’ve since cooked the barley separately and added it to the soup for the last 20 minutes.

The following recipe for soup may seem steppy, but if you are patient when building the flavor base for any soup it will taste much better.

P.S.
We had an “interesting” dinner with the leftover grilled flank steak—an Asian-flavored stir-fry with broccoli, onions, tomatoes, and sliced steak over a barley/wild rice pilaf. I think I touched at least six countries that night.

Beef barley soup

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 pound beef cubes, short ribs, or chuck roast
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 Tbs. minced sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
• 6 cups chicken stock

• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 cups chopped cabbage

•1/3 cup pearl barley, rinsed, and cooked

Heat a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add 1 Tbs. of the oil. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Sear the meat on all sides until well browned; this will take about 15 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium, add remainder of oil to the pan. Add the onion and thyme to the pan and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes—saute five minutes. Add chopped canned tomatoes, saute five minutes.

Return the meat to the pan, add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 2-3 hours or until the meat is just tender.

While meat and broth are simmering, rinse the barley and cover it with water plus about 2 inches of water. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until barley is tender—usually 45-60 minutes. Drain and rinse.

When the meat is fork tender, add the carrots or other hard vegetables—rutabagas (rutabagas are so hard, they can almost be added with the meat), parsnips, etc. and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add softer vegetables—cabbage, potatoes, or zucchini, the amount of cooked barley you prefer, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper or Tabasco.

Meat, it’s what’s for dinner: Marinated flank steak, oven-roasted sweet potatoes, coleslaw

2010-02-18T21:48:00Z

Last night we fell off the wagon onto a pile of sliced marinated flank steak. If Mark Bittman is watching, food still matters, but the ongoing toaster saga has created a lapse in our responsible eating.

Now that we have the appropriate small appliance, we’ve developed a strong liking for Dave’s Killer Bread toast every morning. Finding a spot in our packed refrigerator freezer for the obligatory two-loaf minimum from Costco poses a dilemma. Soooo, the challenge is to cook only from the freezer until I can see the back. I’ll use up what’s in there and buy only the essentials—milk, yogurt, sparkles, Diet Coke. Who knows what I’ll find?

I’m afraid the flank steak has been in the freezer since this summer when Bob’s brother Tom hosted a family affair to celebrate Brother Dick’s visit from Brazil. Once again, the Costco purchase could have fed thirty, so I tucked the leftover flank steaks into a back corner of the freezer. Wednesday night, I liberated the last one, marinated it overnight, and grilled it on the balcony grill. Paired with coleslaw, (dressing found in the refrigerator door, also left from long ago), and roasted sweet potatoes, it made me glad I’m not a vegetarian.

The video may be a bit of a stretch, but it's especially for woldhagen.

Steak Marinade

· ½ c. olive oil

· 3 T. red wine vinegar

· 2/3 c. soy sauce

· 3 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

· 1 T. dry mustard

· 1 T. Tabasco

· 1 T. minced garlic

· 1 tsp. black pepper

Marinate flank steaks, skirt steaks, rib eye, or sirloin overnight for a savory barbeque.

Serve as a sandwich on flat bread with gorgonzola cheese and horseradish mustard.

Horseradish/Mustard:

· 1 c. stone-ground mustard

· 3 T. horseradish

Old-fashioned Coleslaw

Dressing:

· 1 cup vinegar

· 1 cup sugar

· 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

· 1 teaspoon celery seeds

· salt, to taste

· Mayonnaise

Salad:

· 1 head cabbage, finely shredded

· 2 carrots, grated

In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, and salt, to taste. Bring to a boil and continue cooking until sugar is dissolved. Cool and mix with an equal amount of mayonnaise.

Oven roasted sweet potato wedges

· 2 # red Garnet yams or sweet potatoes

· 1 Tbs. olive oil

· 1/2 tsp. paprika

· ½ tsp. cumin

· ½ tsp. garlic powder

· ¼ tsp. roasted spicy paprika or chipotle chile powder

· ½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put half-sheet pan in oven to preheat.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into wedges—I prefer 6 wedges per potato.

Combine olive oil, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, spicy spice, and salt in large bowl.

Toss wedges in oil/spice mixture until evenly coated. Put wedges on hot sheet pan in a single layer.

Bake for 15 minutes, turn wedges.

Bake 15 more minutes. Roasted sweet potato/yam wedges will never be crispy like regular potatoes

Food Matters: "Anything goes" granola, Black beans, rice & sweet potatoes, Spicy chickpea stew

2010-02-05T23:42:00Z

As I left the library the other day, I picked up a new book by Mark Bittman, author of the book, How to Cook Everything and the New York Times food blog, "Bitten". On his blog, Mr. Bittman seems brusque and a bit bossy but is direct, knowledgeable, and cuts through much of the usual food personality baloney. I've never thought of him as a "healthy living" advocate, so was surprised when his new book, Food Matters, detailed a plan for "responsible eating".

In three hundred pages, he describes in detail how global marketing has put both our health and the planet's health at risk and cites a stunning statistic from a United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization report : "global livestock production is responsible for about one-fifth of all greenhouse gases--more than transportation." Mr. Bittman proposes that you can "loose weight, reduce the risk of long-term, chronic disease, save money and help stop global warming with one simple, lifestyle change.

Well maybe not so simple, but still..."In general, eat less meat, and fewer animal products. Specifically, eat fewer refined carbohydrates: white bread, cookies, white rice; eat way less junk food: soda, chips, snack food, candy, etc.; eat more vegetables, legumes, fruit, and whole grains. By reducing the amount of meat we eat, we can grow and kill fewer animals. That means less environmental damage, including climate change; fewer antibiotics in the water and food supplies; fewer pesticides and herbicides, reduced cruelty; and so on."

Here are a few of his statistics that address what we eat and its effect on the environment:

Americans eat twice as much meat as the world average and 10 times as much as developing countries.
To produce one calorie of beef protein requires 40 calories of fossil fuel; to produce one calorie of corn takes 2.2 calories
Each cow on the planet consumes seven barrels of crude oil
A steak dinner for four is equivalent, energy-wise, to driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving the lights on at home
A 12-oz can of diet soda requires 2,200 calories to produce
A 1-qt. polyethylene bottle requires more than 2,400 calories to produce

His rules are simple:

Eat plants first
Avoid anything with more than five ingredients
Eat locally when possible
Embrace olive oil
Cook at home

Anyways, unlike other books about how we eat, Food Matters made sense to me and I'll try to incorporate some of Mr. Bittman's suggestions in my everyday life. Here are a few recipes to that end: the first is from his book, Food Matters, the other two are from me.

Sorry to slip back into the 80's, but I just watched this again after sooo many years and couldn't help myself. Oh to see Ray Charles again!

Mark Bittman's "Anything goes" Granola

5 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant) or other rolled grains (i.e., wheat, rye)
3 cups mixed nuts and seeds (i.e., sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews)
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp. ground cinnamon, or other spices to taste (i.e., cardamom, allspice, coriander, nutmeg, ginger)
1/2 to 1 cup honey, agave, or maple syrup
Pinch of alt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 cups raisins or dried fruit (i.e., dates, cranberries, cherries, blueberries, apricots, pineapple, crystallized ginger, or banana chips)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts and seeds, coconut, sweetener, and vanilla; sprinkle with salt. Spread the mixture on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or a little longer stirring occasionally. The granola should brown evenly; the darker it gets without burning, the crunchier it will be.

Remove pan from oven and add raisins or dried fruit. Cool on a rack, stirring now and then until granola reaches room temperature. Put in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.

Black beans, sweet potatoes and brown rice

2 Tbs. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, minced
1/2 Serrano, fine dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, fine dice
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp. Tabasco
1 cup steamed, cubed sweet potatoes
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked brown rice

Saute sun-dried tomatoes, serranos, garlic, and onion over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add oregano, paprika and cumin, sauté to roast spices. Add 1 Tbs. lime juice and cook until juice has disappeared. Add Tabasco.

Season black beans, sweet potatoes and brown rice with salt and pepper. Toss together: sun-dried tomato/onion/spice mix, cooked black beans, sweet potatoes and brown rice. Taste and add more lime juice, Tabasco, or salt if necessary. Garnish with Cotija or Parmesan cheese and plain yogurt.

Spicy Chickpea Stew (Chana Masala)

• 4 Tbs. oil
• ½ tsp. mustard seeds
• ½ tsp. cumin seeds
• Fenugreek
• 1 minced jalapeno
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• 1 Tbs. ginger
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. ground coriander
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• ¼ tsp. ground paprika
• 4 large tomatoes, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 cans (16 oz each) chickpeas
• 1 cup chicken stock

Heat oil; add mustard, cumin, and fenugreek seeds. Cover pot and heat until mustard seeds complete their popping sounds. Add chili pepper and roast in hot oil.

Add onions, garlic, ginger, lower heat to medium and stir well. Add cumin, coriander turmeric, and paprika. Stir well—add small amount of water if spices threaten to burn.

Add tomatoes and cilantro stems, stirring well. Reduce tomatoes and onions to a thick paste. Season with salt. Stir constantly.
When mixture is thick, add chickpeas and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low; cover, and simmer 30-40 minutes.

Garnish with chopped cilantro—serve with rice and yogurt.