Farro with Arugula and Red Onion

I love cold grain salads and have recently discovered farro, which is basically an Italian wheat berry.  You could make this with whatever grain you prefer, but some sort of whole wheat berry would be best.

You can add almost anything to this dish...  roasted tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, olives, cucumber...  You get the idea.  Don't put too many things together, though.  My rule of thumb is two ingredients and seasoning.

Salad grain:
Farro (cooked according to package directions - soak for 20 min. then cook like pasta till done but still firm and chewy - rinse in cold water to stop the cook - drain)

Two ingredients:
chopped baby arugula and red onion

Seasoning:
olive oil, lemon juice, salt, fresh ground black pepper

Oh!  and parmesan cheese - very finely grated

Toss, add seasonings to taste, serve with something delicious or enjoy all on its own.

Crispy Polenta with Egg and Italian Salsa

This is a quick dish (even if you make the polenta yourself) and makes a great lunch.  I just use the pre-made polenta.  It comes in a tube and you can slice off round disks easily. This dish is best done in a non-stick pan, because the polenta will soak up oil and stick to the pan otherwise.

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs
1 medium tomato (coarsely chopped)
1/4 cup red onion (finely diced)
Fresh Basil (sliced in thin strips)
Several thin slices of polenta cake
crumbly cheese (goat, parmesan,
or whatever...)
olive oil



METHOD:

In one pan, add a little oil and when hot, slip in the polenta.  It helps to dip the polenta in oil before adding to the pan.  In a second pan, add a little oil and your red onion.  Brown the polenta till it's crispy around the edges and remove to a plate.  Fry the onion for only a minute or so (just so it's fragrant) and then add the tomatoes.  Keep the heat high, and cook off some of the tomato juice.  Remove the tomato and onion from the heat, mix in the basil and add a small pinch of salt.  Fry your two eggs in the leftover polenta oil in whatever style you prefer.

Then layer: polenta, eggs, tomato salsa, cheese.  Couple grinds of fresh black pepper and...  mangia!

Eggplant Chana Masala

I cook so few good vegetarian dishes (besides salads).  This one is my favorite.  This time around, I mixed it up and added a little eggplant.  It was a welcome addition, though you can leave it out if you'd like.  It would be more traditional that way.

Also...  The recipe calls for the use of Amchoor powder, which is made from tart, unripe mangos that are dried and ground.  It gives a bit of sourness to the dish.  If you don't have this, substitute more lemon juice (as per the instructions).

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp. canola oil

2 medium onions

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, (jalepeno is fine)

1 tbsp. ground coriander

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper (optional)

1 tsp. ground turmeric

2 tsp. whole cumin seeds

1 tbsp. amchoor powder (see below)

1 tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. garam masala

2 cups tomatoes, chopped small (I don't worry about seeds or skins.) or 1 15 oz. can of tomatoes with their juices, chopped small

2/3 cup water

2 cups cubed eggplant (skin on, 1 by 1 inch)

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (Double this if you leave out the eggplant.)

Salt (to taste)

1/2 lemon (juiced) (use a whole lemon if no Amchoor powder)

Finely mince the onion, garlic, and pepper.  Put the oil in a large pan, add the cumin seeds to the cool oil and turn on the heat to medium.  The seeds will begin to brown and pop.  Add the onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until it begins to brown.  Add the eggplant and fry until it also begins to take on color. Now, add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, amchoor (if using it), paprika and garam masala.  Mix well.  Fry with the spices for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas.   Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or so, then stir in salt and lemon juice.  Serve with warm flat bread and your favorite rice.

Disclaimer...

This blog thing is hard!  

I'm sure we have all had those days or weeks (or years even) when life just seems to get a bit harder and so much gets in the way of all the things you love or wish you could be doing (instead of difficult, aggravating life stuff).  Well, not all of the past few months have been that way for me, but a few of them revealed themselves to be more consuming than usual.

For those of you who are reading this, thanks for being a friend.  It's kinda hard to have a public hobby, is what I am realizing.  I've got a few recipes to share.  Some I've documented (photos), some (I'm thinking) I might just put up because they are tasty even without photo documentation.

So, thanks for the patience!

Honey Chipotle Brisket Tacos

I decided to do two things today.  First, I shaved my head.  It's a bit of a ritual this time of year... You know, shedding the skin, regenerating, motivating...all that stuff.

Homebrew Hefeweizen

Second, I cooked tacos and drank those homebrews I had squirreled away for almost a year now.  This was a good day.  A very good day.

Tacos, to me, feel like a summer food, and I am really looking forward to summer!  These tacos were a bit different, but incredibly satisfying.  It's really a very, very simple mole sauce, kinda.  I was over at my friends' house the other day, and after a really pleasurable afternoon of chasing his one-year-old daughter all over Liberty Science Center, he served grilled flank steak that he marinated in a coffee based dry chile rub.  It was very tasty and became the inspiration for this dish.  I kept thinking, what if we added some honey, chocolate and chipotle to the mix?  And cooked it real slow and low?  And then shredded it and put it in warm tortillas?  Sounds good, right?  Well, here you go!

I suggest you eat these while imbibing a frosty cold beverage.  Margaritas would be a suitable substitute for beer.  Hmm...  I just had a thought!  Next time around, a little tequila in the mix would make these tacos outrageous!

FOR THE BEEF:

• 2-3 lb beef brisket (any pot roast cut will do, really...)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp espresso
• 2 tsp honey
• 3 tsp cumin (ground)
• 2 tsp chile molido (mild) or sweet paprika
• 1 tsp chipotle chile powder
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 4 cloves garlic (mashed)
• 1/4 of a lime & 1/2 of a lime
• 1 can of tomatoes (no salt added & not Italian flavored)
• 1 cup of beef stock (chicken is fine too)

*My wife's aunt brought down her Nespresso machine over Christmas and left if here (Thank you Mary!).  It really is a fantastic machine.  I've always been skeptical about any sort of home espresso brewer, but this is the real deal.  So, it was easy for me to add the espresso.  For you?  Maybe just stop by Starbucks on your way home from the store and pick up a couple shots.

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.  Put everything except the tomatoes and the stock in your blender/food processor thing...and blend till you have a nice thick paste.  Slather it over the beef.  I didn't marinate this any longer than a few minutes, several hours (ideally overnight) would make this even more delicious.

Heat some olive oil in your favorite heavy-bottomed, oven-proof pot.  (One of these days I will finally invest in a proper Dutch oven!)  When the oil is nice and hot, brown the beef on all sides then remove it to a plate.

Add the cup of stock to the pot and deglaze, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom.  Return the beef to the pot, pour in the can of tomatoes, squeeze 1/2 of a lime over the beef, cover, and place in the oven.

Cook for at least 3 hours, turning ocassionally, and making sure there is always a bit of liquid in the pot.  When it is "fall apart tender" as they say, it is done.

Shred it with a fork while still in the pot and mix it with all the fatty juices.  Serve it with your favorite taco toppings!

Some suggestions:  cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, onions, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, cilantro, avocado, whatever!

I topped mine with cheddar cheese, homemade salsa, and pickled onions.

QUICK PICKLED ONIONS:

• 1 red onion (sliced in very thin)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

In a small bowl, dissolve the salt and sugar in the water.  Add the vinegar and mix well.  Add the onions to the bowl, then microwave on high for one minute.  Stir well, microwave again for one minute, then stir again.  Chill the onions in the fridge while your beef cooks.  Ideally, you'd let these sit overnight.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Store bought tortillas are good, but if you can make them yourself, why not?  You can do these in a dry fry pan, but they cook up best in  cast iron.  These are not traditional Mexican tortillas (which use a bunch of lard) and, I'll admit, mine turned out a bit chewy.  I think I rolled them too thin.  But they were tasty nonetheless, and kinda fun to make.  I found the recipe here:

http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2007/03/and-end-to-my-quest-flour-tortillas.html

Pan Roasted Double-Cut Lamb Chops with Harissa Chimichurri

I don't know how you shop, but I very rarely go to the store with a list.  I like to spend my time in food stores, browsing, reading, comparing, discovering...  Of course, it helps to have a food store close by that carries quality goods in a large variety.  So, most of the time I get a call from my wife halfway through my outing asking if I am anywhere near being close to checking out and coming home.  (Usually I am not!)  The intention of my preamble, here, is to explain how I decide what to cook.  Most of the time I'll see something at the store that pops out at me and I just have to purchase it, regardless of whether or not I have any idea how to cook it or use it.  That was the case with the beef short ribs last weekend.  They were calling my name from behind the chilled glass of the butcher station at Whole Foods.  This time around, it was the double-cut grass-fed New Zealand lamb chops.  They were too special to pass up!

I've cooked lamb chops before, mostly grilled them, but I wanted to do something different this time.  A couple weeks ago, Jenny and I attended a very terrible, very amateur wine and food pairing dinner at a local restaurant that is actually more of a bar, really.  The wines were pretty good and the company we were with was a lot of fun, but the only redeeming part of the meal was the little glob of chimichurri they plopped on top of the flat-iron steak they served.  I kept thinking to myself, this would be so good on lamb!  I'd had chimichurri before, probably better, but had never made any myself.  Argentinian pesto anyone?

After making the chimichurri, there were two things I realized.  One, you've got to use flat-leaf parsley.  I happened to have the curly kind in the fridge and decided it wasn't worth running out to the store just for the flat stuff.  Italian parsley just has a much more pungent flavor.  Second, the roasted garlic is good, but not traditional, and it wasn't quite garlicky enough for me.

Then, being adventurous, I wondered what chimichurri would taste like if I threw in a bit of harissa (a traditional pimento spread from northern Africa).  Result?  Wow!  I liked it!

By the way...my favorite olive oil is
pictured here.  Yes, that is its actual color!

So, on to the ingredients:

• lamb (any cut with a bone in it)
• 1 cup (packed tightly) flat-leaf parsley
• 5-6 cloves garlic (roasted or not)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp. wine vinegar (any kind will do)
• 1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp. harissa
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• starch as a side (rice, potatoes, yams, pasta... you choose)

How you cook it:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prep the chimichurri - put everything besides the lamb and starch (duh...) in a blender, food processor, Magic Bullet (my best friend) (I know it sounds dirty!) and blend until smooth.  Do not refrigerate, it will thicken too much.

Season the chops with salt and pepper.  Coat the bottom of a thick, oven-proof skillet with olive oil and put it on med-high heat.  When the oil begins to shimmer and veins appear, sear the chops on all sides until nice and brown.  Get into the habit of letting the meat sit still.  That is, don't be a cowardly cook and fiddle with them, flipping them around a bunch because you constantly have to look to see if they are burning.  That was the hardest thing for me to learn!

When the chops are browned, place them in the center rack of the oven in the same pan you just used to sear them.  You may need to drain most of the oil and rendered fat from the pan before you do so, otherwise it will burn and smoke in the oven.  I keep a leftover can (from beans or tomatoes or whatever) in the freezer.  I pour grease and hot oil into it (in the sink) and then it hardens in the freezer.  When it gets full you can just toss it in the trash.  If you don't have an oven-proof pan, transfer the chops to some sort of pan or dish that can go in the oven.  Make sure that they are laying in the pan with the bone side down.

Roast the chops for 8-10 minutes (maybe less, maybe more depending on the thickness of your cuts of meat).  Now is when you can check often.  Don't be afraid to take them out and poke or squeeze them with your fingers.  Just make sure you use an oven mitt to remove the pan from the hot oven!  I have a few good burns on my right hand to prove how stupid I am when it comes to pan roasting.  

The closer to rare it is, the softer and more tender it is.  Well done meat is no longer springy, it feels stiff.  Please don't serve your meat cooked more than medium.  A good cut of meat cooked well-done is a tragedy and some chefs will even refuse to do it.  I've worked in a few kitchens like that.  Surest way to get spit in your food, ask for a filet well done...

Anyway, when you plate your chops, drizzle them with the chimichurri (or put it in a small blob on the side for your wife) (No, Megan, that was not a comment on the habits of women in general, it's just that Jenny likes to be able to control the amount of flavor).  I served mine with a side of buttered parmesan pasta.  Simple and always delicious.  You can't go wrong.

Pork Green Chile

In Colorado and New Mexico, this stuff is a condiment.  Not really, but they put it on everything!  What I wouldn't give for a giant breakfast burrito full of hash browns and eggs, bacon and cheese, and smothered with fiery hot pork green chile!  You can eat this alone in a bowl with cheese and warm tortillas.  You can put it on eggs, tamales, burgers, burritos, crepes, you name it, it'll be good.

Obviously, no one in New Jersey has any clue how ridiculously desperate I am for this stuff, so I've learned to make my own.  Everyone out west has their own version, here is mine.  The key is to roast the green chiles yourself, but in a pinch, you can buy them canned.

Here's what you need:

• 1 lb. pork (any cut will do, but I try and find something lean) (finely diced)
• 8-10 Anaheim chiles (Hatch chiles from Hatch, NM are preferable) 

• You can also use Cubanelle, but they don't taste so great.  Poblanos are good, but they are spicier like the Hatch.  Or, mix and match.  You can roast some Jalepenos, too, to make it spicier, or go crazy and try the Habaneros.  You'll have to play around till you figure out how spicy you want it.
• 8 cloves of garlic (less if you want) (finely diced)
• 1 large yellow onion (coarsely chopped)
• 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (I use the salt free)
• 1 tbsp. mild red chile powder (not chili mix which has other ingredients, just plain chile powder)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 3 tbsp. canola oil (any vegetable oil will do, really)
• salt to taste

How to do it:

First, you have to roast the green chiles.  I do it on the grill.  You can also do it over a gas stove, but it takes a lot of time and is really annoying.  If you don't have either of these options, best to just buy the canned green chiles.  It'll still be good.




Roast them over high flame until the skin is blackened and the chiles puff up then shrivel.






These chiles are mild, but some may still be a bit irritable. Make sure you wash your hands well after handling them and don't touch your eyes (or pick your nose)!






Under cold water, remove the stems, seeds and skin.  Don't worry of some of the skin won't come off.  NO big deal!  Coarsely chop the green chiles into about 1 inch pieces.

Next, heat the oil in a heavy pot and then add the pork along with the chile powder and cumin.  Fry the pork over high heat for only a few minutes until it has released a lot of its juices.  Remove it with a slotted spoon to a plate.  Put the onion and garlic in the pot and fry until the onions begin to soften.  Scrape the sides of the pot as you go, to loosen any brown bits.

Return the pork to the pot, add the green chiles, stir and fry for another minute or two.

Finally, add the can of diced tomatoes, juice and all, as well as the chicken stock.  Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 3-4 hours.  

The chile should thicken but still be a bit soupy. I like mine with grated cheddar cheese and crumbled tortilla chips.

Braised Short Ribs with Parmesan Risotto

As promised, here's the details of the short rib adventure.  First, never made these before and was stunned by the amount of fat they contain.  Man was this good!  Basically, they boil in fat and wine for five hours until they fall apart.  Can't get much better than that!

I can't claim an original thought in this recipe, (it's not mine) so I'm just going to provide the link: http://www.food52.com/recipes/9111_dan_barbers_braised_short_ribs

As an aside, food52.com is a fantastic website.  Definitely check it out!

Any nice, fatty piece of beef would have been delicious, too.  This is pot roast heaven!

The risotto is all me, though, and is really a simple thing to make, as long as you have a strong arm (you cannot stop stirring, no matter what!)  Maybe another day I'll post the recipe.

I didn't photograph any of the process, just the end result:

This was an absurdly good meal.  Really fantastic!

Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Penne

I've been trying to document more of my weeknight meals.  On the one hand, to prove that I am not such a total lush and, second, to provide some alternatives to the weekend meals which take a lot more time to prepare.  I was speaking with a friend at work the other day, and she asked what I'd be making this weekend.  I explained that I had several pounds of grass-fed beef short-ribs in the fridge that I was looking to fix up, but that I didn't know if I'd have the four or five hours it takes to make the damn things...  She laughed at me 'cause clearly she thought it ridiculous that anyone has that much time for cooking.  Well, as you can see, I think I've stepped beyond the hobby line and I'm moving into new territory...  I think, if you have fun doing it, and it tastes good when your done, then why not spend that kind of time?

Anyway, I'll let you in on how the ribs turned out in my next post, but for now:  a weeknight pasta dish.  I made this a couple weeks ago, but am just getting around to putting it up now.  It turned out quite nice.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. whole wheat penne rigate
• 28 oz. strained tomatoes
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups broccoli rabe (also called rapini or broccolini) (coarsely chopped)
• 4 links sweet italian chicken sausage (sliced 1/2 in. thick)
• 4-5 cloves garlic (diced)
• 8 oz. shitake mushrooms (stems removed)
• 1 med. yellow onion (sliced in thin, half-rounds - see the pic above)
• 1 tbsp. red chile flakes
• parmesan cheese (to top before serving)

Method:

After prep, heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan or pot.  When it begins to shimmer, add the onion and fry for 2-3 minutes.  Add the garlic and continue to fry for another 2 minutes or so.

Add the sausage, stir, and fry so that the sausage is browned and the onions become clear.  You can add the chile flakes too (if you like some spice like me) or skip it and keep it mild.

Mix in your broccoli and fry some more...until the broccoli is just starting to become tender (but still crunchy!)  Don't overcook the broccoli, it will become a mushy mess.   Taste it to check as you go...

Now add the shitake mushrooms.  These mushrooms are very delicate and will cook super-fast.  Stir them in and fry the whole mess for another minute or so, then you can add in the tomato sauce.

Stir well, bring to a bubbly boil, turn down the heat to low and simmer for five minutes.  (At this point, I actually added a little more olive oil, as you can see it floating in the sauce...)

Serve over the penne with freshly grated parmesan.  This feeds 4-6 people (depending on your idea of a serving) and tastes great for lunch the next day.

Ginger Miso Sea Bass

This is Jenny's absolute favorite fish.  I don't do a whole lot of frying of fish and I swear that an oversized toaster oven is the best tool for cooking a nice filet.  Sea bass is buttery and thick.  It has a robust, decadent flavor.  I love it, but I can't find any way to cook it that doesn't turn out Asian somehow.  Go figure.

Anyway, this is a fantastic marinade that is super simple and would taste great on almost any fish you want to try.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. sea bass filet
• 1 tbsp yellow miso
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (I use reduced sodium.)
• 1 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine for cooking)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-inch piece of fresh peeled ginger
• black sesame seeds (white will do too!)

Method:

Rinse and pat dry your fish.  Blend all ingredients in your blender, food processor, or magic bullet type contraption until smooth and creamy.  

Coat the fish and pop it in your oven (or toaster).  Cook at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  

Keep a careful eye on the fish, this marinade can burn easily.  After about half the cooking time, sprinkle the fish with the sesame seeds and return to the oven.  

The fish is done when it puffs up, is golden and toasty brown, juices run clear, it separates easily with a fork, and takes little effort to remove the flesh from the skin.  You will love this.  Yum!

I served it with a simple salad of baby arugula, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and shaved parmesan.  I prefer simple olive oil and vinegar and don't forget the fresh cracked black pepper.

I know, I know, Asian fish and Italian salad?  I'm not crazy, it's just what was in the fridge!  Truly a 45 minute, weeknight meal.  Mangia, mangia!