Archive for March, 2010
And the winner is…
My Zesty Herbed Chicken broth! Thanks Food 52, and thanks to everyone who voted!
Zesty Herbed Chicken Broth at Food52
My recipe will be published in the Food52 cookbook at the end of the 52 weeks. Only 13 more weeks to go, so I need to get in gear to try to get another one in there!
Photo courtesy Sarah Shatz/Food52
“Inglorious Custards”
I was reading over some older SeriousEats posts the other day and came across a whole section of “Oscar Night” dishes. This “Inglorious Custards” dessert caught my eye, because I had just gotten a farm share distribution that included fresh milk and eggs. Custards are pretty standard, but the unique presentation of individual phyllo dough cups made it intriguing, so I decided to give it a shot. I don’t usually make desserts unless I’m hosting a dinner party, but these were just too good to pass up.
Tortilla Soup
I love Mexican food, but I have yet to find a Mexican restaurant in New York that can consistently make the kind of food I used to enjoy when I lived in Arizona. The best I’ve had here was at a hole-in-the wall place on Bedford Ave out in Brooklyn that I used to love, but it closed down about 6 months ago, much to my chagrin. Instead I have been cooking more Mexican food to satisfy my cravings, and attempting to get it as close to authentic as possible. Getting good ingredients is half the battle, so I have been shopping at a little Mexican bodega near my buddy’s place in Bushwick (I believe it’s on the corner of Graham and Montrose, for you Brooklynites). They have everything from dried ancho chilis, Oaxacan cheese, and rendered pork fat to cactus paddles and fresh corn tortillas. Not to mention the GIGANTIC bin of bulk chicharones that you can buy by the pound. And no matter how much stuff I buy it never seems to cost more than $10. I love it.
I had lots of chicken stock sitting around after this Food52 contest, along with half a chicken, so the obvious thing to make was a tortilla soup.
Shrimp and Avocado “Ceviche” Risotto
When I read that risotto was this week’s Food52 theme, I knew that I wasn’t going to submit something that was “Italian”. I’ve made plenty of mushroom, seafood, and veggie risottos that are great standbys, but it’s not my favorite thing to cook. Too much constant attention is required for one dish, and I lose patience for risotto rice very quickly. I decided to put together a dish that was original, and used a flavor profile that I really enjoy (and have been craving recently): ceviche. A traditional risotto with a few tweaks: avocado and sour cream for smoothness, lime-cured shrimp for some acidity, and an adapted gremolata of cilantro, garlic, jalapeno and lime zest complete the “Italian/Latin American” crossover.
Food52 has selected me as a finalist…
For my Zesty Herbed Chicken Broth! Thanks guys! Check out their site, and if you think my broth is the best finalist, give me a vote!
As a finalist I will be receiving a “bounty of OXO products” and a copy of the Food52 cookbook. I’ll keep everyone updated on how the voting goes…and whether I actually make it into the cookbook. Either way, I’m honored!
Frittata with Swiss Chard and Potato Crust
Today I received a farm share distribution that included eggs, milk, and potatoes, along with a number of other great food items. I figured that a frittata for dinner was a good plan, so on the way home I picked up some Swiss chard and set about making one:
Fresh Ricotta in 5 minutes. Yes, really.
I have a soft spot for white pizza, calzones, manicotti, and anything else that is laden with ricotta cheese. I like to cook these dishes, and in order to do so I find myself buying the only brand of ricotta that I can find in the store: Polly-o. And I am consistently disappointed with it. It simply doesn’t taste anything like what you get from a good pizzeria or Italian restaurant. And I have tried making it before, and failed miserably. I wound up with a lump of crumbly, vinegar-scented “cheese” that reminded me more of wet sawdust than ricotta cheese. So I gave up. And kept buying Polly-o. And kept making mediocre dishes with my mediocre ricotta.
Today I stumbled upon an article on SeriousEats that details one man’s quest to find the perfect balance of simplicity and taste for making ricotta at home. What he came up with is a method that takes 5 minutes, uses 3 ingredients, and gives consistent results.
Spinach and Walnut Bisque with Parmesan Chili Croutons
This week’s Food52 competition gave me an excuse to cook up an old favorite of mine: Spinach and Walnut Bisque. This recipe, believe it or not, came from our dining hall in college. No joke. Admittedly the food at Dartmouth was far above average, but specifically the food at Collis Hall was what I wound up living on for breakfast and lunch during my freshman year. Collis was about 50 feet from my dorm room, and while small, had an excellent selection of food. An omelet station, smoothies for the morning, a great sandwich and wrap area, an ever-changing array of soups to go along with the sandwiches, and the requisite coffee for early morning classes (“early morning” being “10 a.m.”). Back then I was still in the “fledgling chef” phase, but as soon as I tasted this soup, I knew that it was one that would be added to my quiver. The nice thing about this particular dining hall was that since it prided itself in “health” and “nutrition”, the ingredients for each soup were listed on a card in front of the soup station. Thus I was able to take quick crib notes on the ingredients of the soup, and from there I experimented to come up with the proper proportions. Along the way I added a freshly toasted crouton to the dish, and now I can make it in my sleep. I figured that there was no better way to showcase spinach as an ingredient than in this unique, creamy bisque that takes no time at all to make. Back in the day I used to cut corners and make it with canned spinach (for shame!) but now I use fresh. Because everyone would laugh at me if I posted a recipe with canned spinach, obviously.
Mussels with “Oriental Sauce”
I love mussels. I don’t remember exactly when they went from being a shell I picked up on the beach as a child to something that was good to eat for dinner, but like most shellfish it was an acquired taste in my teens. As most children do, I went through a “picky eater” phase in which all foodstuffs that were not plain pasta with butter, hot dogs, or cereal were definitely off my plate. I distinctly remember hatching a plan to numb my tastebuds with ice cubes (something I had read in an Encyclopedia Brown book…anyone remember those?) before eating my Grandmother’s meatloaf one night because I would not be allowed to leave the table until it was gone. In retrospect I think that I may have insulted my Grandmother’s cooking, but at the time it seemed like a clever plan. In any event, that “picky eater” phase passed. Seafood and meatloaf were back on the menu.
Pig’s Head Torchon: A Momofuku Cookbook Feature
Ever since I picked up the Momofuku cookbook, I have been wanting to procure a pig’s head and make the pig’s head torchon that is laid out on page 200. I have made my way through most of the “easier” and “more practical” recipes, and have found myself eying the “Mt. Everest” of the Momofuku recipes: the one that requires a whole pig’s head. This weekend I finally got everything together, called up my friend Cody, and went ahead and did it. I think it goes without saying that there will be rather graphic pictures of a pig’s head in this post, so don’t say that you weren’t forewarned. If that doesn’t scare you off, kindly join me as we journey to the outer boroughs, tackle a crux of a recipe, and convert a part of the pig that usually gets thrown away into a refined and composed dish that you won’t see everyday.
