Devilish Shrimp

My wife and daughter had a Girl Scout overnight camping trip yesterday, so I got to make myself some spicy food.  I found a recipe for Devilish Shrimp on Rick Bayless' website.  Lots of heat and very tasty.  And I love the iPad in the kitchen.

Chicken, Fish and Artichoke Paella with Fava Bean Puree

I made a fava bean puree for a Mother's Day appetizer, so I needed to use the leftover puree for something. I really like fava beans with artichokes, so I made a paella with sliced artichokes, chicken, and fish.  A pretty simple recipe:

3 cups chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 inch thick slice of prosciutto, diced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into chunks and sprinkled with salt

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 tomato, diced

2 fat cloves garlic, minced

2 artichokes, trimmed, chokes removed and sliced

1 1/2 cups short grained rice such as bomba or Arborio

3/4 cup fava bean puree (or peeled and blanched favas from 2 pounds beans)

salt

1/2 pound firm white fish filets, cut into chunks

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

piquillo pepper strips for garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (400 degrees if gas oven)

Pour the chicken stock in a pot and crumble in the saffron.  Bring to a simmer. 

Add the olive oil to a 13" paella pan.  Fry the prosciutto over moderate heat until crisp.  Remove to a plate but reserve the oil in the pan.  Turn heat to medium high, add the chicken and cook until lightly browned on all sides.  Remove the chicken to a plate.  Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions and peppers to the pan.  Cook until soft.  Add the garlic, tomato and artichoke slices and cook another couple of minutes.  Add the rice and coat well with the pan mixture.  Add the stock and the fava bean puree and mix well.  Taste for salt.  Cook until rice is no longer soupy, but enough moisture is left to finish cooking in the oven.  Mix in the reserved prosciutto, chicken, fish and the parsley then arrange the pepper strips on top.  Place in the oven uncovered and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cover with foil.  Let sit covered for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Lemongrass Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

This dinner started with the Asian Vegetable I bought at the Davis Farmer's Market.  I'm not exactly sure what it is called, but it is kind of a cross of chinese broccoli and bok choy.  I thought about stir frying it, but when I think of stir fry, I think of soy sauce, and that didn't appeal to me.  Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen has a section called Basic Boiled Vegetable where she describes a simple method of boiling asian vegetables in plenty of salted water and serving them with a saucy dish.  My version of her Chicken, Lemongrass, and Potato Curry provided the sauce.

We've had this Curry before, and Tess found it too spicy.  So I let her add the heat this time and she cut the amount of Madras Curry powder in half.  The result was perfect for her...spicy but not too spicy.  Lisa and I really enjoyed the vegetable.  Tess not so much.

Montaditos with Fava Beans, Piquillo Relish, Boquerones, Sun Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

This dinner started with some leftover meatballs from the previous night.  These were jumbo meatballs served in tomato sauce over spaghetti noodles.  I didn't really feel like pasta again, so I pretended that the meatballs were the cocktail sized ones that I like to serve as a tapas course.  To go with the meatballs, I blanched fava beans that I picked up at the Davis Farmers Market.  I dressed them with a lemon vinaigrette and topped them with grated pecorino romano.  For the Piquillo Relish, I diced some jarred piquillo peppers with chopped capers and garlic.  I simply drained the anchovies and slivered the sun dried tomatoes.  To serve, I toasted slices from a baguette.

This was a hit with my family.  An unexpectedly tasty topping was fava beans on goat cheese.  I'm going to have to explore that flavor combination further...

Fava Bean and Asparagus Risotto

We had a pretty "meaty"week because of my recipe testing.  And this was the second week I was able to find fava beans at the Davis Farmers Market.  So I did a Fava Bean and Asparagus Risotto loosely based on a recipe in Alice Water's Chez Panisse Vegetables. And despite myself, I couldn't resist frying up my last three slices of pancetta.

Fava Bean And Asparagus Risotto

3 pounds fava beans
olive oil
salt and pepper
6 stalks asparagus
1 yellow onion
7 to 8 cups chicken stock
4 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for the table
pan fried pancetta slices (optional)

Shell the fava beans, then blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Drain, then cool them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.  Peel the beans then add them to a skillet with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper and water to cover.  Bring to a boil then simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes until tender.  If you have a food mill, drain them but reserve the liquid.  Pass them through the food mill and add the reserved liquid.  If you don't have a food mill, set the beans aside in their cooking liquid.

Thinly slice the asparagus on the diagonal.  Dice the onion.

Heat the stock and keep at a slow simmer.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan (I like All-Clad's 5-1/2 Quart Saucier), melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium low heat and cook the onion until soft.  Add the rice and a pinch of salt and continue to cook until the rice become somewhat translucent.  Add the wine and cook until it is almost absorbed by the rice.  When the wine has reduced, turn the heat to low and start adding the stock by 1/2 cup ladles, pausing between ladles to let the rice absorb the stock.  When the rice is mostly cooked, add the asparagus slices.  After another 5 minutes or so, add the cheese, fava bean mixture and the the rest of the butter.  Stir, add more stock if necessary and cook until the rice is cooked to your liking.  Taste for seasoning and serve in warm bowls with the optional pancetta slices.

Hatcho Miso-Marinated Hanger Steak

This was the last of my Japanese Grill test recipes and the one to which I was most looking forward.  Unfortunately, it was awful.  This was my first experience cooking or eating hanger steak, and I didn't really care for it.  Lisa liked it less.  She said it was too "cowy".  My biggest problem was the marinade.  The ingredients for the marinade sounded like they would taste great. But I didn't care for the cooked marinated meat at all.  I'm pretty sure it was the Hatcho Miso that I found objectionable.  The marinade had a chalky mouth-feel to it.  Not pleasant.

I also made a grilled Onigiri with Bonito Flakes and Black Sesame Seeds.  I either overcooked the rice, added too much water, or used too heavy a hand when forming the cakes.  These Onigiri were unpleasantly dense.  And the taste of the Bonito Flakes overwhelmed the cakes.

The grilled asian broccoli was good though...

Grilled Wagyu Rib Eye with Ponzu

This is the third of my Japanese Grill meat test recipes.  The recipe called for Wagyu beef, so I went grocery shopping at Corti Brothers in Sacramento.  They carry an American wagyu beef from Snake River Farms.  The recipe called for four 1/4 inch slices of rib eye, and I walked out of Corti with 1 1/4 pounds of meat but $25 poorer.  This was not an inexpensive test.

The meat was served with a dipping sauce of ponzu, grated daikon and a wierd but tasty condiment named yuzu kosho.  The meat was superb.  The rib eyes seemed a bit fatty before grilling.  But the fat seemed to melt into the cooked steaks.  They were tender and moist but not fatty.  I had heard that this was typical of wagyu beef, but I didn't believe it until now.

I accompanied the beef with a grilled asian broccoli and plain haiga rice.  It was a simple, tasty, but expensive meal.

Japanese Baby Back Ribs, Soy Onigiri and Broccolini

The second two recipes from Harris Salat's new cookbook (see my last post).  The ribs were really good. They were perfectly cooked.   The stock in which the ribs were pre-cooked was reduced and used to glaze the ribs on the grill.  The stock flavored the ribs really well,  but the reduced sauce wasn't quite right. I would have liked a thicker glaze.  I used Haiga rice for the onigiri.  Haiga rice is halfway between a brown rice and a white rice.  Not as sticky as white, so wet hands are important when working with it.  These soy onigiri were much better that the sesame seaweed version from the previous night.

Veal Cutlets with Ponzu Butter and Sesame/Seaweed Onigiri

These are the first of 8 recipes I am testing for Harris Salat's new cookbook The Japanese Grill.  He posted a request for recipe testers on his website The Japanese Food Report and I was chosen.

After receiving my recipes, I made a trek to Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley for supplies.  I've driven by this market many times but never stopped.  It is a really cool place...lots of Asian groceries and the fish counter is unbelievable.

My first dishes were Veal Cutlets with Ponzu Butter and Onigiri, grilled rice cakes with seaweed powder and roasted sesame seeds.  I can't remember the last time I ate veal and I don't think I've ever cooked it.  But it was really good.  The Ponzu Butter was a huge hit.  The leftover butter will go well with chicken and fish.  The onigiri were less successful.  They were under-salted and I couldn't get the crunchy exterior I was hoping for.  Still a good meal though.

Char Siu Pork

Tess said she wanted Guinea Pig for dinner.  But I wasn't in the mood.   So I faked her out.  I made Barbara Tropp's Unconventional Roast Pork from her The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: Techniques and Recipes.  The only difficult part of this recipe is figuring out how to hang the pork strips (guinea pigs) in the oven.  Find some kind of wire that you can bend into an "S". The picture to the right is self-explannatory.

When it was cooked, we thinly sliced the meat and put it on a baguette with cucumber, pickled carrots, cilantro, and soy.  

Achiote Pork Tacos with Pickled Onions, Guacamole and Three Salsas

We eat these tacos standing at the kitchen island.  We grab one of the little 4"corn tortillas that have been steaming in the oven and circle the island piling on the fillings.  Pausing long enough to devour these tasty morsels, we do it all over again.

The recipes for the fillings are from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday .  The Achiote Pork couldn't be simpler to make.  Line a slow cooker with banana leaves if you have them; add some pork shoulder; add a sliced white onion; drizzle over the top 1/2 package achiote paste mashed in 1/2 cup lime juice and 2 teaspoons salt; add 1/2 cup water; fold over the banana leaves, cover and cook on high for 6 hours.  The result is fork tender pork intensely flavored by the achiote and lime.

The other fillings included pickled onions, guacamole and three salsas: Roasted Fresh Chile, Roasted Tomatillo and Toasty Guajillo.  My favorite salsa is whichever I had on my last taco...

Crispy Flattened Chicken Breasts with Polenta and Brussels Sprouts

It's going to take awhile to get to last night's dinner... Thick-cut pork loin chops were on sale at the local market, so on Monday, I bought some to brine (I leave them in the brine for 3 days) and grill. But I was out of the Rich Pork Stock that I like to serve with the chops. The base for the Rich Pork Stock is Chicken Stock, so on Tuesday, I bought a whole chicken, pig's feet and some bone-in pork shoulder. I removed the chicken breasts from the chicken before cooking the stock and stuffed some sage leaves and sliced garlic under the breast skin before salting and refrigerating them. So yesterday, while cooking the Rich Pork Stock, I was thinking about what I would serve with the chicken breasts. I figured I would kill two birds (so to speak) with one stone and make some polenta, the leftovers with which I could chill, slice, roast and serve with the pork chops tonight. The idea for the Flattened Chicken Breasts came from Mark Peel's New Classic Family Dinners.  Nothing too complicated here...

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat, add some olive oil.  Heat until almost smoking.  Add the breasts skin side down.  Turn the heat to medium-low.  Place a smaller cast iron skillet on top of the breasts.  Cook 12-15 minutes until the skin is very crispy.  Remove the smaller cast iron skillet and turn the breasts over.  Cook another 5 minutes or so uncovered.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

I made a simple pan sauce by pouring of the fat from the skillet and deglazing the pan with some of my Chicken Stock from above.

The chicken was perfect.  Moist and nicely flavored with the sage and garlic.

Alaskan Cod with Leeks, Potatoes and Thyme

Another recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. The recipe called for sea bass, black bass or turbot, but I only had Costco Alaskan Cod in the freezer. The dish was really good. It was essentially oven roasted fish fillets in a very dry potato leek soup.

Pizza with Artichokes, Pancetta, Stewed Garlic and Parmesan

We had Chez Panisse style Crostatas the night before last, so we had leftover pizza dough.  Last night I trimmed a couple of artichokes down to their hearts and sliced them.  I then blanched them for about a minute then shocked them in cold water and dried them on paper towels.  I stewed up a heads worth of cloves of garlic in olive oil and peeled them.  I diced up a couple of ounces of Pancetta and grated some parmesan.  The pizzas were topped with a few slices of artichoke, a few cloves of garlic and dotted with the diced pancetta.  The parmesan was added when the pizzas were half done.  Tasty stuff.

Giant Samosas

The night before last I made Samosas.  I wanted to bake them rather than fry them, so I used some frozen puff pastry dough.  The resulting Samosas were just okay.  The dough wasn't substantial enough for the filling.  Last night was pizza night, but I had enough samosa filling to make a couple of calzone sized Samosas.  In contrast to the previous night's version, these were really good.  The pizza dough was sturdy enough to hold up to filling.  The yeasted dough and baked Samosas are not traditional, but they were good.

A note on the filling...the Samosas I've had in the past always had potatoes and peas in them.  Neither Tess nor Lisa like peas, so I substituted braised Kale for the peas in half the recipe.   I liked both fillings equally.

Finally, I served these with a Tamarind Mint Chutney.  The sweet and sour chutney works really well with the potatoes in the Samosas.

For the Stuffing (adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking):

4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 T plus 1 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 bunch kale, stem removed then chopped
1 T minced or grated fresh ginger
3 T minced cilantro
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 T lemon juice

Place the potatoes in a pan with water to cover.  Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes.  Drain and reserve.

Heat the 2 T of the oil and onions in a skillet over medium heat.  Cook until the onions begin to brown.  Meanwhile, in another large skillet, heat the remaining tsp oil over medium high heat.  Add the Kale and cook until it begins to wilt.  Add water to cover, bring to a simmer then cook for 10 minutes over low heat.  Remove from the heat and drain the kale.  In a small saucepan, add the peas and water to cover.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.  Drain the peas.

When the onions are browned, add the ginger, cilantro, salt, coriander, garam masala, cumin, and cayenne.  Cook for about a minute until the spices are fragrant.  Add the potatoes and lemon juice and mix well.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.  Taste for salt and lemon juice.  Divide the potato mixture into two batches.  Mix the kale into one batch and the peas into the other.  Leave both batches to cool before stuffing the Samosas.

Samosa Dough (Pizza dough from the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook):

Sponge
2 tsp dry yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water
2/3 cup bread flour (80g)

Dry Ingredients
4 cups unbleached all purpose flour (526g)
1/4 cup rye flour (32g)
1 tsp salt

1/3 cup olive oil

Stir the yeast into the lukewarm water, mix in the bread flour and set aside until bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Mix together the dry ingredients.  Add 1 cup of the dry ingredients and 1 cup water to the sponge.  Mix well and let sit for another 30 minutes.

Add the remaining dry ingredients and the olive oil to the sponge.  In an electric mixer with a dough hook, knead for 5 minutes. 

Put the dough in a large bowl lightly coated with olive oil.  Let rise in a warm spot for about 2 hours.

Form the dough into 6 5-ounce balls for the samosas (these are big).  The remaining dough freezes well.

Baking the Samosas

Preheat an oven with a baking stone to 500 degrees for about an hour.

Roll out the dough balls into a thin rounds.  Top each round with 1/6 of the samosa filling.  Fold over the dough creating a half moon.  Starting at the top of the half moon, begin pinching and folding the edge of the dough back onto itself creating pleats all the way around until sealed.

Use a well floured peel to slide the Samosas onto the pizza stone.  Bake until well browned.  Serve with Chutney.

Meat Ragu with Pappardelle

Lisa, Tess, Finn and I went for a hike at Rockville Hills Park near Fairfield yesterday.  Towards the end of the hike, the fog started rolling in and it began to get a bit chilly.  I asked Tess what she wanted for dinner and she came up with this Ragu.  I found the recipe on foodandwine.com a few years ago and it has become a semi-regular at our dinner table.