More to come about my latest trip to Brazil later, but for now, I'll just dream of acai.
18 March 2009
I could really go for some acai right now
More to come about my latest trip to Brazil later, but for now, I'll just dream of acai.
04 March 2009
Saturday Ragu
Preceding the cupcakes from the previous post at last Saturday's dinner was a main dish I'd been aching to try ever since I saw it in January's Gourmet. I'd been craving meat, after cooking largely vegetarian dishes (with a few, delicious slip ups ... a girl's got needs, ya know) and decided to give this a whirl. This was the last weekend I'd not be on a plane or on a different continent until April, so I decided to spend the day in the kitchen, prepping for a dinner of hungry guys.
The main gist of this recipe ... braise meat, add drippings and meat to pot of homemade sauce, brown more meat, add drippings and meat to sauce, and so on and so forth. Then, simmer for at least 2 1/4 hours until the meat's falling off the bone / tender. I omitted the braised pork shoulder and braciole from this meatlover's paradise, due to space constrictions (without, I had my 5 qt pasta pot filled TO THE BRIM) and also time, but it was still unbelievably tasty.
For the full recipe, click here. Below is my version ... just some minor tweaks.
For the tomato sauce base ...
I used 4 cans of whole tomatoes (28 oz) and one can of stewed tomatoes, blending so that it's relatively smooth but with a few pieces of tomato in tact. Blend these in a side container, while you sweat a large onion, chopped, and 5 cloves of chopped garlic. Once those are translucent, add the tomatoes, some salt and crushed red pepper flakes and a Bay leaf. I added some lemon zest, following the recipe of one of my favorite quick tomato sauces from 101cookbooks. You surely can go without, though. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes ... the sauce will start to thicken, and will continue to beef up (literally and figuratively) once you start adding meat and simmering even longer.
On to the meat ...
Here's what I used for this bottomless pot of meat sauce:
Polpette (also from this issue of Gourmet) - though mine were more round.
1 lb of sweet italian sausage
1 lb of hot italian sausage
2 1/2 lbs of pork ribs
Mix up polpette ingredients (I followed Gourmet's recipe to a tee), and fry until they have a nice golden crust, and are cooked through.
Transfer to paper towel to drain, and save some for lunch / to freeze. You'll have a hefty amount, and about half needs to go into this recipe, but you can for sure add more / less. These are great things to snack on as they come out of the pan ... so make sure you save some for the sauce. They disappear quickly ;)
Once those have drained, add to the sauce, add any drippings, but reserve the oil for remaining frying.
Brown up the batches of italian sausage, add to sauce as well.
Pad dry the ribs and cut into 2-3 rib sections. This makes it a bit easier to brown the meat. Salt and pepper both sides liberally, and brown in a pan. You want the meat to be cooked through for the most part ... and I found cutting these into smaller sections helped me better sear the ends to prevent it from going into the sauce too raw. Then, as is old hat by now, add to the sauce with the drippings. (Note: pictures below were the first batch of ribs I cooked ... I then cut into smaller hunks to better brown ...)
Cover the pot, put it on a simmer, and let that bad larry slow cook. I probably had this on for 3 or 3 1/2 hours on simmer as my guests were arriving / having a few drinks / noshing on apps. Cook up some egg fettuccine to go with and serve. If I had extra time (this is an all day affair, btw) I would have made some homemade tagliatelle or fettuccine myself. But alas, for another day.
By the time you serve, the meatballs, which were incredibly flavorful from the start, take on an even richer taste, while the rib meat falls off the bone.
Very, very happy guests, wonderful aroma lingering in the apartment, and killer leftovers. This sauce gets better each day it sits, giving me ample to freeze as well. Dinner, success. Served with a microgreens salad with some blue cheese, pecans and a light grapefruit dressing, also with a vegetarian pasta (not pictured) featuring a lemony mustard cream sauce with tarragon and asparagus.
The main gist of this recipe ... braise meat, add drippings and meat to pot of homemade sauce, brown more meat, add drippings and meat to sauce, and so on and so forth. Then, simmer for at least 2 1/4 hours until the meat's falling off the bone / tender. I omitted the braised pork shoulder and braciole from this meatlover's paradise, due to space constrictions (without, I had my 5 qt pasta pot filled TO THE BRIM) and also time, but it was still unbelievably tasty.
For the full recipe, click here. Below is my version ... just some minor tweaks.
For the tomato sauce base ...
I used 4 cans of whole tomatoes (28 oz) and one can of stewed tomatoes, blending so that it's relatively smooth but with a few pieces of tomato in tact. Blend these in a side container, while you sweat a large onion, chopped, and 5 cloves of chopped garlic. Once those are translucent, add the tomatoes, some salt and crushed red pepper flakes and a Bay leaf. I added some lemon zest, following the recipe of one of my favorite quick tomato sauces from 101cookbooks. You surely can go without, though. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes ... the sauce will start to thicken, and will continue to beef up (literally and figuratively) once you start adding meat and simmering even longer.
On to the meat ...
Here's what I used for this bottomless pot of meat sauce:
Polpette (also from this issue of Gourmet) - though mine were more round.
1 lb of sweet italian sausage
1 lb of hot italian sausage
2 1/2 lbs of pork ribs
Mix up polpette ingredients (I followed Gourmet's recipe to a tee), and fry until they have a nice golden crust, and are cooked through.
Transfer to paper towel to drain, and save some for lunch / to freeze. You'll have a hefty amount, and about half needs to go into this recipe, but you can for sure add more / less. These are great things to snack on as they come out of the pan ... so make sure you save some for the sauce. They disappear quickly ;)
Once those have drained, add to the sauce, add any drippings, but reserve the oil for remaining frying.
Brown up the batches of italian sausage, add to sauce as well.
Pad dry the ribs and cut into 2-3 rib sections. This makes it a bit easier to brown the meat. Salt and pepper both sides liberally, and brown in a pan. You want the meat to be cooked through for the most part ... and I found cutting these into smaller sections helped me better sear the ends to prevent it from going into the sauce too raw. Then, as is old hat by now, add to the sauce with the drippings. (Note: pictures below were the first batch of ribs I cooked ... I then cut into smaller hunks to better brown ...)
Cover the pot, put it on a simmer, and let that bad larry slow cook. I probably had this on for 3 or 3 1/2 hours on simmer as my guests were arriving / having a few drinks / noshing on apps. Cook up some egg fettuccine to go with and serve. If I had extra time (this is an all day affair, btw) I would have made some homemade tagliatelle or fettuccine myself. But alas, for another day.
By the time you serve, the meatballs, which were incredibly flavorful from the start, take on an even richer taste, while the rib meat falls off the bone.
Very, very happy guests, wonderful aroma lingering in the apartment, and killer leftovers. This sauce gets better each day it sits, giving me ample to freeze as well. Dinner, success. Served with a microgreens salad with some blue cheese, pecans and a light grapefruit dressing, also with a vegetarian pasta (not pictured) featuring a lemony mustard cream sauce with tarragon and asparagus.
01 March 2009
Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
I stumbled on this idea over at Smitten Kitchen ... and was intrigued. A friend's birthday gave me just the occasion to try this out, and also gave me a reason to sip on some of the
The basic gist to these wonderful confections are the following: moist Guinness chocolate cupcakes, filled with a Jameson laced chocolate ganache, topped with a creamy Baileys Irish Cream frosting. The result - FAR better than I imagined. I may never make chocolate cake without Guinness and sour cream again. Bold statement, but man alive, these things made me believe. They were a huge hit with the my dinner guests, and gave us a reason (who needs one though, c'mon) to toast the birthday boy with real liquid Irish Car Bombs. M'mm.
Enough gushing, on to the goods.
Makes 20 - 24 cupcakes. For me, 22.
Ingredients:
Guinness Chocolate Cupcake Base:
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Jameson Ganache
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
3-4 tsp Jameson (I liked mine a bit stronger, and I eyeballed. This is optional, and Smitten Kitchen uses 1-2 tsp ... trust me, the whiskey flavoring adds a tang that's hard to describe, and absolutely divine.)
Baileys Frosting
2-3 cups confections sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 - 6 tablespoons Baileys (I added more, originally calls for 3-4 TB. More Baileys = creamier frosting and stronger taste.)
First, make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in cocoa powder and mix until mixture is smooth. It will have a dense, chocolate, slightly bitter taste. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl, using an electric mixer or just a bit of dedication. I don't own an electric mixer, and frankly use this as a way to relieve stress :) But I'd imagine the mixer would make this process and frosting-making easier. Eh, it's kind of like a mini-workout ;)
Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and mix just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes completely.
On to the best ganache I've ever had ... and I love ganache:
Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. It should have a rich tang to it and the faint smell of Jameson. M'mm Jameson. :) Happy KT.
I used a small melon baller for this. You want to scoop out almost all the way down, maybe 3/4 of the way into the cupcake. Highly recommend saving these scraps for a little treat for the chef and drizzling with remaining ganache ... It provides a delightful mental health break while these cool ;)
Spoon the ganache into a piping bag / ziploc bag. Pipe the filling into the cupcakes. There should be enough to fill to the tops. My ganache was a little runny when I tried this due to the Jameson but it was manageable. I just popped into the freezer after that so this would set.
Almost done ... making the frosting:
Again, out of all the kitchen gadgets I have, an electric mixer isn't one. This is quite laborious without one, but hey, I had some time to kill ... and a bicep to tone. ;)
Whip the butter in a bowl with the mixer / brute strength, until it's light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon, to help prevent a grainy texture or lumps. Once I had mixed in about a cup of the powdered sugar, I started to add little by little the Baileys ... it makes this mixing process, especially if by hand, MUCH easier. I probably used 2 cups of powdered sugar (original recipe calls for 3-4, but I didn't use it all.) I made mine a bit creamier by adding more Baileys ... play around with it. Should be a lightish brown color, with a noticeable Baileys taste and a frosting consistency.
I chose to put this in a bag, snip the corner and decorate the cupcakes as seen above. Not much frosting was needed, IMO, since these cupcakes are sweet enough as is ... just a little added pizazz. I sprinkled some shaved chocolate over the top, and watched as these got gobbled up. You know, after properly "Cheers!"-ing them, post the *other* Irish Car Bombs ... ;)
A new look
Thanks to the newest addition to my family ... my Canon EOS XSi ;) ... Tales of a Test Kitchen has gotten a new look, with a photo from this past weekend's cupcake makin' (recipe to follow.)
Better pictures to come ... As always, you can keep up with them on my Flickr page.
Better pictures to come ... As always, you can keep up with them on my Flickr page.
22 February 2009
Making use of leftovers -- Pan-fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi
I bought a big tub of ricotta cheese to use in my winter greens lasagna last week, and had a good amount left over. Somewhat by chance, I stumbled upon this recipe over at Steamy Kitchen for pan-fried lemon ricotta gnocchi with a brown butter sauce, and had to try. And hell, it helped clean out my fridge.
The end result were light lemony gnocchis sauteed in a garlic oil and tossed very lightly with wilted spinach, garlic, a few spoonfuls of crushed tomatoes and some grated cheese. Perfection.
I'm a huge fan of making unconventional gnocchi (aka not white potato based), although I love those as well, having worked my high-school years in an Italian restaurant. In the past I've spent a few hours making roasted butternut squash gnochhi and sweet potato gnocchi, livening it up a bit ... and boy, are those killer with a brown butter sauce with a bit of fresh orange juice, some zest and a little bit of brown sugar. Oh man.
Anyways, these were phenomenal, and from pulling the flour out of my cupboard to sitting down eating only took 45 minutes ... which is astonishing for homemade gnocchi. I highly recommend you give them a whirl.
Pan-Fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi
Compliments of Steamy Kitchen, with a few minor tweaks
a cup of ricotta
1/2 cup of parmesan
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1 TB chopped parsley (I used dry ... not the same, but still good)
3 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
extra virgin olive oil
a good pinch of hot pepper flakes
Mix the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, salt, hot pepper flakes, parsley, and egg yolk in a large bowl. Mix in half of the flour, then gradually a bit more, saving about 1/8 of a cup. Once the dough has come together, flour your hands and work into a bowl, and put on a floured surface. Mix in the remaining flour but be careful not to overknead ... it shouldn't take much. Cut into 4 sections, rolling each out into long strands.
Flour your knife, and cut these into little inch long pieces. Some choose to roll on a fork to give a different texture, but since these are pan fried, I kept mine looking like pillows.
Heat a skillet with about 2 TB of olive oil. Put the chopped garlic in the skillet, stirring until fragrant, but not browned ... about 45 seconds. Remove the garlic. You can use it for a sauce later (which I did). Add the gnocchi, shaking the pan after they're in to make sure there's enough oil underneath to keep residual flour from sticking. You want these to have a nice brown on both sides. Make sure they're cooked thru, taste test too. Does it taste too wet in the middle? Does it need a little more color? You be the judge.
Right before they come out of the pan, I squeezed some fresh lemon juice over them, then finished cooking the second batch. And, you're done. Steamy Kitchen made a brown butter sauce to accompany, but be creative. I had spinach to use, so I took that route, wilting it with a bit of lemon juice, some crushed tomatoes, and browning up the garlic - just enough to complement the gnocchi, but not overpower -- they're flavorful enough to stand alone. :)
The end result were light lemony gnocchis sauteed in a garlic oil and tossed very lightly with wilted spinach, garlic, a few spoonfuls of crushed tomatoes and some grated cheese. Perfection.
I'm a huge fan of making unconventional gnocchi (aka not white potato based), although I love those as well, having worked my high-school years in an Italian restaurant. In the past I've spent a few hours making roasted butternut squash gnochhi and sweet potato gnocchi, livening it up a bit ... and boy, are those killer with a brown butter sauce with a bit of fresh orange juice, some zest and a little bit of brown sugar. Oh man.
Anyways, these were phenomenal, and from pulling the flour out of my cupboard to sitting down eating only took 45 minutes ... which is astonishing for homemade gnocchi. I highly recommend you give them a whirl.
Pan-Fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi
Compliments of Steamy Kitchen, with a few minor tweaks
a cup of ricotta
1/2 cup of parmesan
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1 TB chopped parsley (I used dry ... not the same, but still good)
3 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
extra virgin olive oil
a good pinch of hot pepper flakes
Mix the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, salt, hot pepper flakes, parsley, and egg yolk in a large bowl. Mix in half of the flour, then gradually a bit more, saving about 1/8 of a cup. Once the dough has come together, flour your hands and work into a bowl, and put on a floured surface. Mix in the remaining flour but be careful not to overknead ... it shouldn't take much. Cut into 4 sections, rolling each out into long strands.
Flour your knife, and cut these into little inch long pieces. Some choose to roll on a fork to give a different texture, but since these are pan fried, I kept mine looking like pillows.
Heat a skillet with about 2 TB of olive oil. Put the chopped garlic in the skillet, stirring until fragrant, but not browned ... about 45 seconds. Remove the garlic. You can use it for a sauce later (which I did). Add the gnocchi, shaking the pan after they're in to make sure there's enough oil underneath to keep residual flour from sticking. You want these to have a nice brown on both sides. Make sure they're cooked thru, taste test too. Does it taste too wet in the middle? Does it need a little more color? You be the judge.
Right before they come out of the pan, I squeezed some fresh lemon juice over them, then finished cooking the second batch. And, you're done. Steamy Kitchen made a brown butter sauce to accompany, but be creative. I had spinach to use, so I took that route, wilting it with a bit of lemon juice, some crushed tomatoes, and browning up the garlic - just enough to complement the gnocchi, but not overpower -- they're flavorful enough to stand alone. :)
Happy carnivore, if I do say so myself
The majority of the meals I've been making ahead lately have been vegetarian -- chock full of beans and other forms of protein, but lacking any form of meat. I don't know why I've neglected this section of the grocery store lately, it's bizarre.
So this past Saturday I woke up from a delightful afternoon nap with a sudden get-out-of-bed-and-run-to-the-store kind of craving. The options: salmon or steak.
Steak won this battle, calling the salmon fillets at Whole Foods wimpy contenders and reigning supreme in this decision. I picked up a 1.34 lb (to be precise) fresh cut sirloin, grabbed a triangle of bleu cheese and skipped home with a gleeful smile on my face just thinking of the meal I was about to make.
The result, sirloin with a bleu cheese crust and a little bit of garlic compound butter (the rest of the compound butter used on my baked potato) and some greens. Oh, happy Kay.
I cooked the steak on the stove, in a Julia Child amount of butter, bathing it with the butter after it got a good sear. It was barely a medium rare when I spread a little bit of the leftover compound garlic butter on top, sprinkled it with bleu cheese and popped in the oven to finish.
Now, before you think that I resemble Jabba the Hut after seeing the plate, I did not eat all of this in one sitting. God, that's a lot of meat (famous last words) even for someone who loves a good hefty steak.
But delicious. Carnivore's delight. M'mm.
So this past Saturday I woke up from a delightful afternoon nap with a sudden get-out-of-bed-and-run-to-the-store kind of craving. The options: salmon or steak.
Steak won this battle, calling the salmon fillets at Whole Foods wimpy contenders and reigning supreme in this decision. I picked up a 1.34 lb (to be precise) fresh cut sirloin, grabbed a triangle of bleu cheese and skipped home with a gleeful smile on my face just thinking of the meal I was about to make.
The result, sirloin with a bleu cheese crust and a little bit of garlic compound butter (the rest of the compound butter used on my baked potato) and some greens. Oh, happy Kay.
I cooked the steak on the stove, in a Julia Child amount of butter, bathing it with the butter after it got a good sear. It was barely a medium rare when I spread a little bit of the leftover compound garlic butter on top, sprinkled it with bleu cheese and popped in the oven to finish.
Now, before you think that I resemble Jabba the Hut after seeing the plate, I did not eat all of this in one sitting. God, that's a lot of meat (famous last words) even for someone who loves a good hefty steak.
But delicious. Carnivore's delight. M'mm.
Chipotle White Beans with Kale and Chard
So, if you haven't picked up on this already, I'm tend to be a creature of habit when it comes to cooking. A few things to know about me:
1. I'm a regular at Haymarket - Boston's big public market - on Saturday mornings for produce, dairy and bread needs. I've maintained this routine largely for 6 years, including going in sub degree weather when they have heaters on. Yup, dedication.
2. I usually cook for the week on Sundays. There's something about it that relaxes me and I love the hours I'll spend in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon / evening cooking, knowing that I will always have great food to come home to or bring for lunch without any real thinking.
OK, now that that's out, on to the second kale related recipe for last week's eatings, compliments of Heidi at 101cookbooks.
Giant Chipotle White Beans
Adapted from 101cookbooks
1 lb white beans, soaked overnight
kale / chard, mmm greens - finely chopped, about 2/3 cup
chipotle in adobo sauce, with 2 TB of sauce reserved
14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup queso fresco / feta
pinch of red pepper flakes
extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
breadcrumbs
1 TB fresh oregano
salt
** Heidi serves this with a cilantro pesto, which I sadly didn't try, after forgetting to buy cilantro at the market ... Highly recommend giving that a whirl though. Visit her site for the recipe.
After soaking the beans overnight, cover with 1-2 inches of water, bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 1-2 hours, until they are tender, but still maintaining a big of rigidity. Mine took an hour and 45 minutes.
Once cooked, add a hefty amount of salt to the water so it's a salty broth to taste. Let them sit in this broth for 10 minutes before draining and setting aside.
Now, make your sauce. Put oil, red pepper flakes, salt and garlic in a pan, heat until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and the oregano and stir. Remove from heat, add adobo sauce and diced chipotle (I like it spicy, so I added the chipotle). Toss the kale in the sauce.
Add the beans, then put in a casserole dish. Break up cheese into the beans.
Toast up the breadcrumbs with a bit of oil in the pan. Sprinkle on top of the beans and pop in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.
So yummy. The cilantro pesto then goes on top. I'll have to give that a whirl later.
1. I'm a regular at Haymarket - Boston's big public market - on Saturday mornings for produce, dairy and bread needs. I've maintained this routine largely for 6 years, including going in sub degree weather when they have heaters on. Yup, dedication.
2. I usually cook for the week on Sundays. There's something about it that relaxes me and I love the hours I'll spend in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon / evening cooking, knowing that I will always have great food to come home to or bring for lunch without any real thinking.
OK, now that that's out, on to the second kale related recipe for last week's eatings, compliments of Heidi at 101cookbooks.
Giant Chipotle White Beans
Adapted from 101cookbooks
1 lb white beans, soaked overnight
kale / chard, mmm greens - finely chopped, about 2/3 cup
chipotle in adobo sauce, with 2 TB of sauce reserved
14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup queso fresco / feta
pinch of red pepper flakes
extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
breadcrumbs
1 TB fresh oregano
salt
** Heidi serves this with a cilantro pesto, which I sadly didn't try, after forgetting to buy cilantro at the market ... Highly recommend giving that a whirl though. Visit her site for the recipe.
After soaking the beans overnight, cover with 1-2 inches of water, bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 1-2 hours, until they are tender, but still maintaining a big of rigidity. Mine took an hour and 45 minutes.
Once cooked, add a hefty amount of salt to the water so it's a salty broth to taste. Let them sit in this broth for 10 minutes before draining and setting aside.
Now, make your sauce. Put oil, red pepper flakes, salt and garlic in a pan, heat until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and the oregano and stir. Remove from heat, add adobo sauce and diced chipotle (I like it spicy, so I added the chipotle). Toss the kale in the sauce.
Add the beans, then put in a casserole dish. Break up cheese into the beans.
Toast up the breadcrumbs with a bit of oil in the pan. Sprinkle on top of the beans and pop in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.
So yummy. The cilantro pesto then goes on top. I'll have to give that a whirl later.
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