by | March 12, 2012

Thai veg curry and the vagaries of culling

Part of the Asian section (surely you knew a librarian's daughter would have the books well-organized)

As a hedge against hoarding, Michelle’s cookbook space in Gourmandistan has been limited to specific spaces, mostly in the kitchen, though there have been slight containment breaches reported along a few isolated shelves elsewhere in the house and frequently around Michelle’s side of the bed. This means that every so often Michelle must purge her beloved panoply of chefs, cuisines and countries, assuring Steve he won’t face a future trapped under a collapsed column of cookbooks, and at the same time ensuring that there is room for new editions.

Somehow, Thailand: The Food and the Lifestyle (Food of the World), purchased on some long-ago sale table possibly when Steve was reviewing a Thai restaurant, withstood multiple episodes of winnowing—though until recently we never really understood why. Perhaps we liked the pictures and dreamed of visiting Thailand one day, or perhaps Michelle simply thought the height balanced our other remaining Asian volumes. One day we were searching for something to do with red curry paste and coconut milk, and the book offered up this simple stir-fry. While the original recipe calls for spinach and baby corn halves, we found it perfectly delicious with other veg such as bok choy, broccolini and carrots. And we’ve made it with and without tofu to good effect.

For the moment the volume has been returned to its shelf, where it no doubt sits among its slightly crowded shelf-mates, somewhat relieved that it may very well survive another cookbook cleansing.

THAI VEGETABLE CURRY

(adapted from Judy Williams’ Thailand: The Food and the Lifestyle (Food of the World)) (serves 2-4)

Neutral oil
8 oz. firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into cubes
2-3 TB red curry paste
13.5 oz. can coconut milk
1 t. brown sugar
2 TB soy sauce
2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 red chile, seeded and sliced
3-4 celery stalks, diagonally sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 small bunch broccoli or broccolini, cut into florets
2-3 carrots,  peeled and thinly sliced
2-4 c. bok choy, sliced cross-wise, leaves and stems separated
 

Heat oil in a wok and deep-fry tofu cubes in batches until brown and crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a rack or on paper towels.

Mix together curry paste, coconut milk, brown sugar and soy sauce.

Heat 1 TB of oil in a clean wok.  Stir-fry onions until starting to soften.  Add garlic and chile and stir-fry for a couple of minutes more.  Add vegetables except for the bok choy leaves and continue stir-frying for a couple of minutes more until vegetables are softened.

Add coconut milk mixture and gradually bring to a boil.  Add bok choy leaves.  Cook, stirring constantly, until leaves wilt.  Serve over rice, topped with tofu.

This week's reading

 
 
 
 
 

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by | March 3, 2012

Camille Glenn, coconut custard, chickens and coyotes

Camille Glenn is a name instantly recognized by most food-inclined Kentuckians and even by some Yankees. The caterer, cooking teacher and food writer was, as noted in the Village Voice when she died at the age of 100 a couple of years ago, an “avid promoter of local, seasonal produce long before it became fashionable.”  Glenn’s The Heritage of Southern Cooking has been one of our most-used volumes and most-given wedding gifts for decades.  Michelle recently came upon a copy of Glenn’s The Fine Art of Delectable Desserts in an antique store and thought its $4 price a worthy investment.  The book, published in the early Eighties for the benefit of the Louisville Fund for the Arts Endowment, was one of what was supposed to be a series called “The Fine Art of Cooking.”  As far as we’re aware, the only other volume (at least the only other one that Michelle’s mother owned) involved salads and soups. What happened to the other culinary fine arts seems to be lost in the mists of pre-Internet history.

When flipping through her somewhat dusty purchase, Michelle settled on the recipe for “Fancy Coconut Custard” thinking it might use up some of a strangely large store of frozen shredded coconut. Also, it would use some eggs which were being laid by nine young hens at a clip of six to eight per day and threatening to crowd everything else out of our refrigerator. The last of last summer’s peach jam was a lovely addition, the peach and coconut playing nicely under a blanket of crisp meringue.

But the custards were a bit softer than we would have liked. We decided try again with some cream and an extra egg yolk for thickness, thinking we’d added yet another way to use up eggs to our repertoire. We did not realize our egg surplus was to be short-lived.

A few weeks back we lost a hen to what Michelle thought might be a fox, glimpsed as it dashed by our back porch on its way to claim a meal. Steve calmed the survivors down, alternating comforting clucks with imitation dog barks. (As a self-taught chicken farmer, Steve has some odd methods.) The flock (minus one) gathered in the fenced yard, then calmly headed out to the nearby lawn just a few feet from our bedroom window.  Thinking the beast had been scared away (helped, no doubt, by a full belly), we sat down for a light supper, discussing plans for heightened supervision of the hens including temporary suspension of their brief late afternoon ranging privileges. Less than half an hour later, Steve rose to check on the birds, and found only piles of feathers. A frantic search of our surrounding environs turned up no chickens—just the shocking realization that what we now know to have been a pack of coyotes could successfully hunt only feet away from our home. Chagrined, sobered and a bit scared of hungry canine packs, we turned our energies to finding replacement birds. Thanks to some of our local farmers we now have six old hens and will gain 15 pullets in May. By this fall we’ll most likely return to worrying about surplus eggs, but for now we’re lucky to get one per day.

Our second round of custards, seasoned with a bit of sadness, proved that an additional yolk indeed makes a more satisfying custard. But the strawberry jam we used instead of peach proved too sweet. We will have to wait until much later this year to enjoy Camille Glenn’s recipe with both home-made peach jam and home-laid eggs.  And hopefully the local coyotes will have to wait even longer for another group supper.

FANCY COCONUT CUSTARD

(adapted from Camille Glenn’s The Fine Art of Delectable Desserts) (makes 6)

1/3 c. + 8 TB sugar, divided
4 eggs, separated
1-1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. cream
pinch salt
1 t. vanilla
2/3 c. shredded or grated coconut
6 TB peach jam (or apricot jam or currant jelly), run through food processor if chunky
 

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1/3 c. sugar and egg yolks and beat with electric mixer.  Warm milk and cream together, then add to sugar/egg mixture along with salt and vanilla.  Mix thoroughly, then add coconut and blend well.

Pour into 6 1/2-cup-capacity ramekins or custard cups.  Put ramekins in a baking pan.  Add an inch or more of hot water to the pan, so it come up to about 1/2 the height of the containers.

Carefully place the pan on the lower shelf of the preheated oven.  Cook until a knife stuck into the custard comes out clean.  Depending on the type of containers used and how quickly they heat, this can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove from oven.  Spread about 1 TB of jam on top of each custard.

Make a meringue of the egg whites beaten with 8 TB of sugar.  Swirl onto custards.  Return to oven for 8-10 minutes until browned.

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by | February 26, 2012

Rooting for Spring (celery root & potato soup)

We have had little to complain about this Winter. There’s been plenty of moisture with little flooding and virtually no snow, and Steve has enjoyed an entire season without having to chuck ice chunks out of the creek in order to let cars through. Still, while we promised not to whine, we’re becoming a bit impatient for Spring.

Michelle spent this weekend cleaning our pantry and refrigerator, and decided to use some aging potatoes and a bit of celery root to make this light, creamy soup. It’s delicate yet quite filling, especially with a baguette crouton floated on top.

We spiked our bowls with snips of some scallions we have sprouting in windowsill vases—tiny, tingly tastes of what we hope will soon be the greening of Gourmandistan.

It works pretty much like the sweet potato you sprouted in grade school.

CELERY ROOT & POTATO SOUP

(adapted from James Peterson’s Splendid Soups) (serves 6)

1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 TB butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 medium celery root (about 1/2 lb.), peeled and coarsely chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 c. chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 c. heavy cream
Salt & pepper
Thin slices of baguette, buttered and toasted
Scallion or chive greens, snipped
 

Cook onion in butter in a large pot, stirring occasionally, until fully wilted and just starting to caramelize.  Add garlic and cook a few minutes more.  Add celery root and potatoes, then stock and bay leaf.  Bring almost to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, until celery root and potatoes are soft.

Remove the bay leaf and discard.  Using a slotted spoon, place solids in a blender.  Add a little broth.  Purée until smooth.  (Remove the cap of the blender and cover the hole with a dish towel before puréeing.  But you knew that, right?)

Return purée to pot.  Add cream.  Stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish bowls of soup with buttered and toasted bread slices and snips of scallions or chives.

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by | February 21, 2012

Pro-cress-ive Dinner

As we creep towards our true Spring, while our local farmers tantalizingly talk of tender shoots, we rely on trips to Whole Foods for anything approximating a green vegetable. Fortunately WF has been stocking some local hydroponic watercress, allowing us to make one of our favorite salads—something Michelle created via a series of inspirations and ideas.

The path to this salad began a decade ago at Fish La Boissonnerie, a lovely little bistro on Rue de Seine in Paris. Featuring baby arugula, shavings of Parmesan cheese and sliced dates, the peppery green, sweet and salty salad charmed us greatly, and we took the idea back with us to Gourmandistan. There, like many things, the salad began to adapt. Desiring a more nutty flavor, we began using a walnut oil vinaigrette. Later, for even more punch, we started sugar-toasting walnuts and adding some chili flakes for extra kick, which led to orange slices to tone down the heat.  We began to use watercress, finding it less peppery and more tender than the original arugula, and soon the salad became not from Fish, but from ourselves. Add a bit of Blue Dog baguette and it’s a dinner in Gourmandistan by way of Paris, a pleasant journey we can’t seem to get enough of.

WALNUT VINAIGRETTE

(adapted from Myra Goodman’s Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook) (makes about 1 cup)

3/4 c. walnut oil (preferably roasted)
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 t. Dijon mustard
splash of fresh orange juice
salt and pepper
 

Place all ingredients in a glass jar with lid tightly sealed.  Shake to combine.

 

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by | February 17, 2012

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Carbon Copy

We could say we shared ideas with Alice Medrich at one of her famed Bay Area Cocolat stores back in the Seventies or Eighties. We would be lying. We could say we “tweaked” this recipe for Apricot Lemon Bars from Medrich’s latest cookbook, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies. We could tell you how our tweak made it so much better. Again, this would be an untruth. We did substitute walnuts for hazelnuts—only because, while Steve usually has enough nuts around to make several squirrels jealous, hazelnuts were not in our freezer. Other than that, we followed the recipe as written.

The truth is this recipe is quite good. We think it adds a new dimension to lemon squares, even though we’re usually quite fond of the traditional puckery-sweet bars. By adding a bit of apricot jam, however, Medrich softens the sour and creates a creamy bite with the color of butterscotch, making lemon bars even more beautiful to any Gourmandistani’s sweet tooth. Many of Medrich’s earlier books appear to be out of print, but are still available from various sellers on Amazon and elsewhere. We encourage you to check out her latest and see what sweet treasures you may uncover.

APRICOT LEMON BARS

(“adapted,” in the loosest possible meaning of the word, from Alice Medrich’s Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies)

Crust:
3/4 c. + 2 TB flour
1/4 c. sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 c. toasted nuts (we used walnuts, though the original recipe called for hazelnuts)
1 stick (8 TB) butter, melted
1 t. vanilla extract
 
Topping:
1/4 c. sugar
2 TB flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. apricot jam (if it contains large pieces, break up in a mini processor)
1/3 c. lemon juice, strained
 
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
 

Position an oven rack in the lower part of the oven.  Preheat to 350°.  Line an 8 x 8″ pan with foil.

Make crust as follows:  Place flour, sugar, salt and nuts in a food processor.  Pulse until nuts are finely ground, then add melted butter and vanilla.  Continue pulsing until mixture begins to form clumps. Remove dough and press evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake crust for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from oven and reduce heat to 300°.

While crust is baking, mix sugar and flour together in a large bowl.  Then, stir in eggs.  Add jam, then lemon juice.

Pour filling over crust.  Return to oven.  Bake for 20-25 minutes longer, until filling is set.

Cool completely in pan on a cooling rack.  Then, lift out using the foil liner.  Cut into squares.  Sift powdered sugar over.

 

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by | February 10, 2012

Rabe and Pizzage

While desperately awaiting the arrival of local spring greens, we’ve been buying broccoli rabe at our Whole Foods because Michelle can no longer tolerate the taste of the usual bland broccoli flown in all winter from god knows where. The stuff comes in giant bunches, and we were faced with a pile perilously close to becoming chicken food. Thinking about the rabe’s bitter green flavor and seeking a simpler way to get the potato-like taste she got from Jerusalem artichokes in her recent effort, Michelle suggested a rabe-and-choke pizza. It has, in the last couple of weeks, become our favorite combination. The blanched, bitter greens and florets stand up well to a 500° oven, and the potato-y sunchokes add a touch of astringency under a blanket of mozzarella cheese.

Tomorrow we’ll put down the money for this year’s farm share, and given the creepily warm winter we may see local green stuff soon. And if there’s anything broccoli-like in our basket at all, we will want to make this pizza again—and will lay waste to its deliciousness once more.

BROCCOLI RABE AND SUNCHOKE PIZZA

(for one 12-inch pizza)

1/3 of Steve’s pizza dough recipe (freeze the other 2/3 for later use)
olive oil
1 onion, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3 or 4 sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), sliced very thin (no need to peel)
1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped
red pepper flakes
balsamic vinegar
1 cup white pizza sauce (or any béchamel)
Parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese
 

Preheat oven to 500°, preferably with a pizza stone placed in the lower part of the oven.

Sauté onion slices in olive oil in a skillet until caramelized.  Add garlic slices near end of cooking time.  Set aside.

Boil sunchoke slices in salted water until tender.  Drain.  Dry on paper towels.

Blanch broccoli rabe in salted boiling water.  Drain in a colander, rinsing with cold water.  Sauté in olive oil along with some red pepper flakes.  Splash on some balsamic vinegar.

Roll out pizza dough.  Place on a sheet of parchment paper.  (Or directly into a pizza pan if you don’t have a stone and/or a peel.)  Fold over edges of dough and brush them with olive oil.  Poke crust with tines of fork. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over.

Spread white sauce over bottom of crust.  Top with sunchoke slices, then with onions and garlic, then with mozzarella cheese, then with broccoli rabe.  Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese.

Use a peel to place the pizza (with the parchment paper still under it) onto the heated stone.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until crust and cheese are browned.

 
 
 

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by | January 29, 2012

Hulk Hogan, Sorghum and Sweet Potato Pancakes

A Real American Breakfast, a cookbook borrowed from her mom’s collection, put Michelle in mind of this morning’s meal, and Steve in mind of Hulk Hogan. As Steve (or assorted Hulkamaniacs) can tell you, Hulk was once the “Real American.” Born from humble beginnings, pumped up in the steroid-fueld ’80s to fight the cartoonish Iron Sheik, he now spends his time on social media and reality TV and defending rumors that he’s less the man than he claims to be. While we in Gourmandistan cannot claim to follow all of Hulk’s “demandments,” we think these sweet potato pancakes fill quite nicely Hulk’s requirement to “take your vitamins.”

Readers will be unsurprised to find Michelle less than moved by Hulk Hogan, preferring to find her inspiration in a recent book by our friend, Rona Roberts.  Sweet, Sweet Sorghum: Kentucky’s Golden Wonder is a paean to the sticky grain-based syrup that accompanies these pancakes. (Use maple syrup if you must. We won’t think less of you. But for god’s sake, don’t try using the sugar cane syrup that folks outside the southern U.S. call “molasses.”)

Yesterday, while baking something else, Michelle threw a giant sweet potato in the oven to roast. The mashed orange flesh was left in the ‘fridge overnight before being pulled out for what became a wonderful breakfast. We didn’t use as much spice as the original recipe called for (due to Steve’s most likely un-American aversion to “Christmas flavors”), but enjoyed the moist, firm cakes as a departure from the more traditional batter. Heated grassy-sweet sorghum, some butter and a glass of fresh-squeezed juice rounded out a real “red, white and blue” experience that you’ll most likely find much more pleasant than this one. Are you listening, Nikolai Volkoff?

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES WITH SORGHUM SYRUP

(adapted, only barely, from Cheryl Alters Jamison & Bill Jamison’s A Real American Breakfast) (serves at least 4)

1-3/4 c. flour
3 TB light brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
scant 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
scant 1/4 tsp. allspice
2 large eggs
1-1/2 c. + 2 TB buttermilk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
12 oz. roasted and mashed sweet potato
vegetable oil for frying
Butter & sorghum syrup (or maple syrup)
 

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Whisk eggs, buttermilk and vanilla in a medium bowl.  Add sweet potatoes and stir until incorporated.

Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients.  Mix until combined.  Add water as needed to make batter just short of runny.  (It took almost 5 TB of water for us before the batter was right, but may take less depending on how dry the roasted potato is.)

Cook pancakes on both sides in an oiled skillet or griddle over medium heat.  1/4 cup of batter will make a 4″ cake.  Watch the cakes carefully, as the sugar in the sweet potatoes makes them burn quickly.

Serve with butter and sorghum syrup.

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