Ever see a recipe and you instinctively know it's going to be brilliant?
Ingredients
24 dates
24 whole blanched almonds
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
(Source: Patricia Wells)
Recipe
Pit the dates but don't cut all the way through. Stuff with the almond.
Heat the oil in a pan over moderate heat. Add the stuffed dates and sauté until they are lightly browned. Season lightly with sea salt and serve.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Pan-tastic!!!
Yahoo! reports: Lagasse replaces pan woman used to fend off attack.
Chef Emeril Lagasse says he felt so bad when he heard a woman lost one of his trademark pans while warding off home intruders that he's replacing the item.
Lagasse is sending 70-year-old Ellen Basinski a whole new set of his signature cookware.
She used her favorite pan to fight the intruders at her home west of Cleveland on Tuesday. Police then took it from her to be used as evidence.
Basinski was on the phone with her husband when the teens pushed their way into her home.
Her husband, Lorain County Judge David Basinski, overheard the scuffle, called 911 and raced home. Meanwhile, his wife says she grabbed the 5-quart saucepan and hit one teen, who was going through her purse.
The four were arrested. The judge said his wife was upset that her pan was seized by police.
Chef Emeril Lagasse says he felt so bad when he heard a woman lost one of his trademark pans while warding off home intruders that he's replacing the item.
Lagasse is sending 70-year-old Ellen Basinski a whole new set of his signature cookware.
She used her favorite pan to fight the intruders at her home west of Cleveland on Tuesday. Police then took it from her to be used as evidence.
Basinski was on the phone with her husband when the teens pushed their way into her home.
Her husband, Lorain County Judge David Basinski, overheard the scuffle, called 911 and raced home. Meanwhile, his wife says she grabbed the 5-quart saucepan and hit one teen, who was going through her purse.
The four were arrested. The judge said his wife was upset that her pan was seized by police.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wild Rice, Quinoa and Coconut Pilaf
This recipe pretty much has Berkeley and the Summer of Love written all over it but it's quite terrific.
Ingredients
1 cup wild rice (rinsed)
1/2 cup quinoa (rinsed)
1" ginger (grated)
3 Thai chillies (diced into rounds)
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 cardamom pods
1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
salt
black pepper
lime juice
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (missing in picture below)
.jpg)
Recipe
Boil the wild rice with salt at medium heat for 30 minutes. Add the quinoa and continue cooking it for an additional 20 mins. Drain if necessary.
Heat a wok with some oil. Fry the mustard seeds until they pop. Add the black pepper, cardamom, ginger, chillies and fry for a bit. Add the walnuts and coconut and fry for a bit.
Toss in the wild rice-quinoa mixture. Add the cilantro, and adjust the salt to taste. A squeeze of lime livens up the taste.
Ingredients
1 cup wild rice (rinsed)
1/2 cup quinoa (rinsed)
1" ginger (grated)
3 Thai chillies (diced into rounds)
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 cardamom pods
1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
salt
black pepper
lime juice
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (missing in picture below)
.jpg)
RecipeBoil the wild rice with salt at medium heat for 30 minutes. Add the quinoa and continue cooking it for an additional 20 mins. Drain if necessary.
Heat a wok with some oil. Fry the mustard seeds until they pop. Add the black pepper, cardamom, ginger, chillies and fry for a bit. Add the walnuts and coconut and fry for a bit.
Toss in the wild rice-quinoa mixture. Add the cilantro, and adjust the salt to taste. A squeeze of lime livens up the taste.
Monday, February 16, 2009
What they never tell you ...
Ever tried to make a perfect French omelette? Did you fail?
If so, you're not alone.
If you try and make one out of Julia Child, you're pretty much guaranteed to fail. Which is pretty shocking because the perfect French omelette is not only absurdly easy but one of those joys of life that should be experienced sooner rather than later, and preferably weekly at that.
What's the real problem?
What she does describe is a specific technique that works for the kinda pan that she is thinking about and the kinda burner she is working with rather than explaining the general principle that can work with any pan and any burner. She probably never grasped the general principle herself.
You don't need any of that banging or smacking or wrist-rolling if you actually bother to understand the science behind the French omelette.
Let's split this up into two parts. What makes the French omelette so delicious?
It's light, fluffy, moist, the egg is layered, and barely cooked; the center is all moist and juicy and terrifically (Ed: no such word, love!) delicious.
So how do you make it work in practice?
The correct answer (which they never tell you) is that it depends on the thermal capacity of the pan (= how quickly does it heat up + retain heat) and the thermal output of the burner (= how many calories is that baby pumping out each second?)
In short, each situation is different, and you pretty much kinda need to grasp the science behind the entire problem before you can nail the omelette. Or to put it more bluntly, reading Julia Child is a humongous waste of time since she doesn't actually expound the principles involved.
And onwards we go to the real principles.
Eggs cook quickly so the general principle is to use low heat. The omelette is the exception where you need to crank the burner all the way up to "medium high" because of the flat area involved.
To get the layered effect, there are two ways. Scrape the edges inward in a radial fashion (lightly and quickly) to get the effect while "rolling" the wet stuff into that spot, or use a teflon scraper and roll the wet egg mixture "underneath" the edges to get the layers.
Goal: never let any of the original mixture stay in contact with the hot pan for "long enough".
Lightly cook + no contact with hot pan = moist wet juicy deliciousness (Ed: this is not a porn video!)
And in both cases, you need to take the skillet off the heat LONG before the end because it still has some thermal capacity. (The same principle applies if you need a "filled omelette".)
Yep, this takes some practice. But these general principles are far more useful than the generically wasteful Julia Child full of banging and smacking and other generalities that can only lead you to the orthopedic surgeon pretty quickly.
It's quite easy, really. Try it!
You'll end up loving both the French omelette and the CC.
If so, you're not alone.
If you try and make one out of Julia Child, you're pretty much guaranteed to fail. Which is pretty shocking because the perfect French omelette is not only absurdly easy but one of those joys of life that should be experienced sooner rather than later, and preferably weekly at that.
What's the real problem?
What she does describe is a specific technique that works for the kinda pan that she is thinking about and the kinda burner she is working with rather than explaining the general principle that can work with any pan and any burner. She probably never grasped the general principle herself.
You don't need any of that banging or smacking or wrist-rolling if you actually bother to understand the science behind the French omelette.
Let's split this up into two parts. What makes the French omelette so delicious?
It's light, fluffy, moist, the egg is layered, and barely cooked; the center is all moist and juicy and terrifically (Ed: no such word, love!) delicious.
So how do you make it work in practice?
The correct answer (which they never tell you) is that it depends on the thermal capacity of the pan (= how quickly does it heat up + retain heat) and the thermal output of the burner (= how many calories is that baby pumping out each second?)
In short, each situation is different, and you pretty much kinda need to grasp the science behind the entire problem before you can nail the omelette. Or to put it more bluntly, reading Julia Child is a humongous waste of time since she doesn't actually expound the principles involved.
And onwards we go to the real principles.
Eggs cook quickly so the general principle is to use low heat. The omelette is the exception where you need to crank the burner all the way up to "medium high" because of the flat area involved.
To get the layered effect, there are two ways. Scrape the edges inward in a radial fashion (lightly and quickly) to get the effect while "rolling" the wet stuff into that spot, or use a teflon scraper and roll the wet egg mixture "underneath" the edges to get the layers.
Goal: never let any of the original mixture stay in contact with the hot pan for "long enough".
Lightly cook + no contact with hot pan = moist wet juicy deliciousness (Ed: this is not a porn video!)
And in both cases, you need to take the skillet off the heat LONG before the end because it still has some thermal capacity. (The same principle applies if you need a "filled omelette".)
Yep, this takes some practice. But these general principles are far more useful than the generically wasteful Julia Child full of banging and smacking and other generalities that can only lead you to the orthopedic surgeon pretty quickly.
It's quite easy, really. Try it!
You'll end up loving both the French omelette and the CC.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Raffetto's
This is the best place to buy fresh pasta in the city. They supply half the restaurants. Those lucky few who've had it know what the CC is talking about!
Besides, endorsing them heartily (not that they need it - they've been in business since 1906!), the real purpose is to put their hours online. Seriously, they are nowhere to be found.
Raffetto's
144 W Houston St, New York, NY
Hours:
Sun-Mon closed
Tue-Fri 9:00am - 6:30pm
Sat 9:00am - 6:00pm.
Besides, endorsing them heartily (not that they need it - they've been in business since 1906!), the real purpose is to put their hours online. Seriously, they are nowhere to be found.
Raffetto's
144 W Houston St, New York, NY
Hours:
Sun-Mon closed
Tue-Fri 9:00am - 6:30pm
Sat 9:00am - 6:00pm.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Will you be my ... Clementine?
A cross between the sweet orange and the Mandarin, they are easy to peel and generally seedless. They appear in the markets around the New Year and into February-ish.Dee-lish-ishly dee-lish but they perish quickly.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Eightfold Way
A baking pan in the form of an octopus.Nope, the CC can't make this kinda shit up! You better believe it.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Scrambled Eggs in Tomato Sauce
There is only one trick to excellent scrambled eggs - low heat.
Just enough to scramble them and leave them deliciously moist.
Ingredients
6 eggs
1 red onion (sliced into very thin semi-rounds)
tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped parsley
olive oil
grated parmigiano-reggiano
sea salt
black pepper
.jpg)
Recipe
Beat the eggs along with the parm, salt and pepper.
Fry the onions at a low heat until limp but not caramelized. Fry the tomato sauce until reduced. Add the eggs, and scramble until barely set and glisteningly moist.
Take it off the heat, and mix in the parsley.
Just enough to scramble them and leave them deliciously moist.
Ingredients
6 eggs
1 red onion (sliced into very thin semi-rounds)
tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped parsley
olive oil
grated parmigiano-reggiano
sea salt
black pepper
.jpg)
Recipe
Beat the eggs along with the parm, salt and pepper.
Fry the onions at a low heat until limp but not caramelized. Fry the tomato sauce until reduced. Add the eggs, and scramble until barely set and glisteningly moist.
Take it off the heat, and mix in the parsley.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Walnuts and Feta
This was inspired by one of the CC's favorite food blogs. The CC has "fixed" her mistakes (Ed: is this how you hope to "win friends and influence people"?)
This is one of those dishes whose strong flavors shine with whole wheat pasta rather than the regular kind.
It really is terrific. Mere words cannot describe its terrificity (Ed: there's no such word, love!)
The two-step is totally worth the effort. Yeah, it takes more time but you get better results. Results, people, results! (Ed: stop beating them over the head.)
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower
1 red onion (sliced into semi-rounds.)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup walnuts
1 lb whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
grated parmiagino-reggiano (to serve)
.jpg)
(Source: modified from Smitten Kitchen.)
Recipe
Cut the cauliflower into florets. Mix with olive oil, salt and lots of black pepper, and roast in a 450°F until the cauliflower is lightly roasted. Roughly 15-18 mins.
Toast the walnuts in a skillet. Break them into edible pieces.
Cook the whole wheat pasta until just under al dente.
Fry the onions at a low heat until they are limp, golden but not caramelized. Add in the garlic and the red pepper flakes and fry for a bit. Add the cauliflower, and fry for 10 mins or so.
Add the walnuts, and fry for another 4-5 mins. Add the vinegar/lemon juice last. Adjust the salt and pepper.
Mix in the cooked whole wheat pasta, the feta, and the parsley and serve.
Some of these steps are parallelizable, and it's pretty clear which ones they are. (Ed: good luck with building a readership!)
This is one of those dishes whose strong flavors shine with whole wheat pasta rather than the regular kind.
It really is terrific. Mere words cannot describe its terrificity (Ed: there's no such word, love!)
The two-step is totally worth the effort. Yeah, it takes more time but you get better results. Results, people, results! (Ed: stop beating them over the head.)
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower
1 red onion (sliced into semi-rounds.)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup walnuts
1 lb whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
grated parmiagino-reggiano (to serve)
.jpg)
(Source: modified from Smitten Kitchen.)Recipe
Cut the cauliflower into florets. Mix with olive oil, salt and lots of black pepper, and roast in a 450°F until the cauliflower is lightly roasted. Roughly 15-18 mins.
Toast the walnuts in a skillet. Break them into edible pieces.
Cook the whole wheat pasta until just under al dente.
Fry the onions at a low heat until they are limp, golden but not caramelized. Add in the garlic and the red pepper flakes and fry for a bit. Add the cauliflower, and fry for 10 mins or so.
Add the walnuts, and fry for another 4-5 mins. Add the vinegar/lemon juice last. Adjust the salt and pepper.
Mix in the cooked whole wheat pasta, the feta, and the parsley and serve.
Some of these steps are parallelizable, and it's pretty clear which ones they are. (Ed: good luck with building a readership!)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Brutti ma buoni
You have to love the Italians for these. The name translates to "ugly but good" which is an accurate enough description.
To those scared off by dessert and baking, the pressure is off. When they come out misshapen (and they will), you can claim that it was "intentional".
They are light and crispy because they contain no flour (like meringue cookies.)
Ingredients
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups fine white sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon-cloves
1/2 cup hazelnuts (blanched)
1/2 cup almonds (blanched)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Recipe
Roast the hazelnuts and almonds till lightly toasted. Pulse in a food processor till they are broken. Do NOT grind to a fine powder.
Meanwhile, whip the egg whites till they form soft peaks. Yeah, this involves whipping air into the eggs and it takes forever and is very laborious. Deal.
The whipped egg whites are (G + S)/W in the classification scheme. They are not a sauce so they don't show up in the list.
Add the sugar, and mix till dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Put the mixture over a VERY LOW flame, and stir till thickened and golden (20 mins or so.) Do not let it burn. You need to keep stirring and scraping as it thickens.
Butter a cookie sheet and drop them into irregular lumps at intervals. Bake at 300°F for 30-40 mins until hard.
To those scared off by dessert and baking, the pressure is off. When they come out misshapen (and they will), you can claim that it was "intentional".
They are light and crispy because they contain no flour (like meringue cookies.)
Ingredients
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups fine white sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon-cloves
1/2 cup hazelnuts (blanched)
1/2 cup almonds (blanched)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Recipe
Roast the hazelnuts and almonds till lightly toasted. Pulse in a food processor till they are broken. Do NOT grind to a fine powder.
Meanwhile, whip the egg whites till they form soft peaks. Yeah, this involves whipping air into the eggs and it takes forever and is very laborious. Deal.
The whipped egg whites are (G + S)/W in the classification scheme. They are not a sauce so they don't show up in the list.
Add the sugar, and mix till dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Put the mixture over a VERY LOW flame, and stir till thickened and golden (20 mins or so.) Do not let it burn. You need to keep stirring and scraping as it thickens.
Butter a cookie sheet and drop them into irregular lumps at intervals. Bake at 300°F for 30-40 mins until hard.
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