A Visit to Shelburne Farms

A few years ago my father in-law gave me a copy of the then newly published Cooking With Shelburne Farms: Food & Stories from Vermont, by Melissa Pasanen with Rick Gencarelli. It has turned out to be one of my favorite cookbooks. The photography is great, the recipes are straight forward and I greatly appreciate the emphasis on local food and agriculture.

I had tried a variant of the lamb sausage and lentils a while ago and really enjoyed it, so when the Wife and I picked up some lamb sausage last week I decided to revisit the recipe this time following the version in the cookbook.

Lamb Sausage and Lentils

2 cups small green lentils, rinsed and picked over for stones

6 cups water

1 tsp coarse salt

2 sprigs fresh rosemary plus 2 tsp minced rosemary

1 lb. lamb sausage (avoid strong flavors like mint!) casing removed

3 tbsp olive oil

2 med. leeks thinly sliced

1 tbsp stone ground mustard

2 tbsp cider vinegar

black pepper to taste 

4 slices of crusty bread, chopped into coarse crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large saucepan over medium heat combine the rosemary sprigs, salt water and lentils bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until tender (about 25 minutes), drain and reserve about a 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

While the lentils are cooking, pre-heat the oven to 400. In a large sauté add a tsp of olive oil and cook meat until it starts to color add the leeks and cook until meat is browned and leeks are golden.

Distribute the drained lentils into a shallow 2 or 3 qt baking dish. Add the sausage and leeks, mustard and cider vinegar. Stir and add the the reserved lentil liquid to moisten, adjust the seasoning to taste.

Toss the bread with the remaining olive oil and minced rosemary, strew over the top of the lentils and sausage. Bake for 20 minutes until bread crumbs are crisp and golden.

Viva Italia

I decided to use two recipes from the December issue of Saveur magazine for our meal last night. I stayed true to the recipes with the exception of adjusting them to serve 2 people.

It is pretty common to find whole roasted or fried fishes in west indian culture so I was really excited to come across this recipe for a branzino stuffed with fennel, onions, thyme and rosemary. I chose the recipe for braised artichokes to go along with it and I rounded out the meal with pan fried potatoes and greens beans tossed with shallots and a little butter.

Image by Todd Coleman, for Saveur Magazine

Whole Roasted Branzino with Fennel and Onions, serves 8–10

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. olive oil
3 lb. yellow onions, sliced
3 lb. fennel, sliced, fronds reserved
¼ cup white wine
3 tbsp. finely chopped thyme
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 2-lb. whole branzino, cleaned


INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oven to 350°. Heat ½ cup oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and fennel; cook until soft, 8–10 minutes. Add fronds, wine, thyme, and zest and juice; cook for 5 minutes. Season fish with salt and pepper; stuff cavity with ¼ cup fennel mixture; tie fish closed with kitchen twine. Put remaining fennel mixture in a roasting pan; top with fish. Drizzle with remaining oil; bake until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Image by Todd Coleman, for Saveur Magazine

Braised Artichokes, serves 6–12

½ cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

½ cup white wine

4 large artichokes, outer leaves trimmed, and halved lengthwise

3 lemons, halved and juiced

Kosher salt, to taste

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in an 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add wine, artichokes, lemon juice and spent halves of the lemons, salt, and 10 cups water; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until artichokes are very tender, about 30 minutes. Transfer artichokes to a serving platter and keep warm. Discard all but 2 cups cooking liquid; return pan with liquid to medium-high heat. Add butter; cook until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; spoon sauce over artichokes to serve.

Pan fried Potatoes

4-5 medium yukon gold potatoes washed, dried and cubed

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add potato; sprinkle the thyme, salt and pepper over them and cook until golden brown.

Green Beans with Shallots

1 lb. green beans washed and trimmed

1 small shallot minced 

½ tsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. butter

salt to taste 

INSTRUCTIONS

Steam the green beans until bright green in color, I prefer mine to still have a bit of a crunch. Remove from the heat and drain. Return the pot to the stove top and melt the butter on medium, once the butter has melted add the shallots and cook until soft. Return the shallots to the pot, add the lemon juice and toss to coat well. Season with salt if needed.

Cooking on Christmas: Part II, Putting it all together

After all of the morning prep work was done we opened presents and relaxed for a little while.

We jumped into the cooking around 6pm and started with the cocktails.

Kaffir lime infused vodka with ginger simple syrup (makes 2 drinks)
1 cup of kaffir lime vodka
1/2 cup of ginger simple syrup
1 fresh lime
Seltzer or sparkling water
Ice

In an iced filled cocktail shaker combine the vodka, syrup and the juice of the lime and shake vigorously, pour into an ice filled glass and top off with seltzer.

Freshly grated ginger

Kaffir lime infused vodka

Ginger simple syrup

Tasty cocktail

The Appetizer
10/20 count dry sea scallops
1 tablespoon garlic rosemary butter
Splash of olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
big pinch of salt
1/2 fresh lemon
Fresh basil roughly chopped

Wash and pat the scallops very dry sprinkle the salt over them. In a medium sized cast iron pan melt the butter and olive oil on medium high, once it starts to brown slightly put the scallops in. Don't move them around, let them cook on the initial side until almost cooked through, flip them over and finish cooking them on the other side. Be careful not to over cook as they will be rubbery.

Remove the scallops from the pan and reduce the heat to medium, add the juice of the lemon the white wine and a little more butter. Cook for 5 or so minutes until reduced slightly, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Turn off the flame add the basil stir for another minute.

Place the scallops on a warmed plate and pour the sauce over the scallops, enjoy with a fresh crusty bread and a glass of white wine.

Festive Scallops

Brussel Sprouts
1 lb brussel sprouts trimmed and washed
Salt and pepper
Pinch of sugar
1/4 cup hazelnuts
1/4 unsalted butter
few drop of lemon juice

Bring a large sauce pan 3/4 full of water to a boil add a few large pinches of salt and sugar boil the sprouts until the are bright green and tender. drain and rinse under cold water.

Toast  the hazelnuts in a dry pan stirring until the skins char and begin to split. Remove from the heat and place them in a clean kitchen towel, tool around until most of the skins are off. Place them on a cutting board and chop them roughly. Heat the butter and in the sauce pan and add the hazelnuts cook for 3 minutes turn off the heat and return the brussel sprouts to the pan, toss them with them butter and nuts. Put them in a bowl and keep them warm.


The Filet
The filet's can either be grilled, broiled or pan seared. I chose the the latter method, since it was a little to chilly to fire up the grill. I cooked them until about medium removed them from the heat and let them rest while I plated everything up.

The final dish that I put together was the basil and garlic mashed potatoes. I like the taste of fresh finely minced garlic in the cooked potatoes, although not everyone will. Once the potato was cooked and mashed I added finely chopped basil and the garlic and seasoned with salt and a little pepper to taste.

I served dinner with a bottle of tempranillo that complemented the filet really well.

Cooking on Christmas: Part I, The Menu and The Prep.

The Wife and I finished up the shopping for Christmas dinner on Christmas eve. After a few hours of dashing around town we picked up the last of the groceries at City Market. After hunting, gathering and debating we decided on the following menu:

Cocktail: 

Kaffir lime infused vodka with ginger simple syrup

Appetizer:

Pan seared dry sea scallops

Main Course:

Hardwick Beef Company filet mignon 

Brussel sprouts with toasted hazelnuts

Garlic and basil mashed potatoes

Dessert:

Michele Chiarlo Nivole, a sparkling Moscato

The first order of the day was to have a light breakfast to get the day started. While I took Shyla, a.k.a. Big Dog, 

Shyla a.k.a Big Dog wearing her Hanukkah bow.

for a nice long walk Sandy made sweet biscuits. Once I got back I whipped up a pretty simple frittata of eggs seasoned with rosemary, onions, hot pepper and bell peppers.

Originally we had planned to make a spanish styled frittata with potato, but decided that it would have been too heavy for brunch.

Once we cleaned up we started the prep work for dinner, the first order of business was to get the meat course marinating. The night before we had picked up 2 beautiful Hardwick Beef company  filet mignon's from our friend Frank Pace at the Healthy Living Market meat counter. I trust Frank's judgment in all matters concerning meat, and I am glad that we took his suggestion of the filets over the rib roast. They turned out to be melt in your mouth tender and incredibly juicy.

To make the marinade I combined 2 tablespoons of stone ground mustard, 6 cloves of garlic and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary in the food processor. As those ingredients blended I drizzled in about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of olive oil until smooth. After rinsing the filets under cold water and patting them dry, I seasoned them with coarse sea salt and black pepper and coated them liberally with the marinade. I then placed them in the refrigerator for 8 hours in a covered glass bowl.

Once the meat was marinating I whipped up a batch of compound butter, or in our case the non-dairy substitute Earth Balance (basically, whipped and flavored canola oil.). I added 2 sprigs of rosemary, a little fresh thyme, salt, pepper and 4 cloves of garlic in the food processor and blended until smooth. Place in an adequately sized container, cover and refrigerate.

The next thing up was the ginger simple syrup for the cocktails. About a week ago I started infusing a batch of vodka with kaffir lime leaves. I placed a bunch of washed and dried fresh kaffir lime leaves in a clean 800ml mason jar and filled it to the top with a quality vodka. I sealed the jar and placed it in a cool dark cabinet and shook it 3 times a day for a week. 

Yesterday I made the ginger simple syrup to go along with it. I grated 1/2 cup of fresh ginger and placed it in a sauce pan with 1 cup of fine sugar and 1 cup of water on medium heat. I allowed it to come to a slight boil while stirring it constantly to allow the sugar to fully dissolve. After it boiled I shut it off and allowed it to cool to room temperature. Once it cooled I strained it into a clean mason jar and placed it in the refrigerator.

Matzo Balls and Latkes: A Culinary Homage to Grandma Tema & Grandpa Leib

December 21, 2011


Last nights' sunset marked the beginning of Hanukkah in the Jewish faith. For the past few years the Wife and I have spent time with friends during this holiday, usually with one friend in particular who makes the most sinfully delicious latkes. They are usually scooped up and eaten as fast as she gets them out of the pan! Over the years she and I have talked about making latkes and I have observed them being created, but never took the time to actually get my hands into the mound of potatoes and onions crucial to making them.


This year for the first time I decided to try my hand at making some of the foods that have become associated with this holiday. The added challenge for me was that I wanted to surprise the Wife and have dinner ready when she got home from work. Compounding the pressure, was the fact that the Wife always reminisces about her Grandma's matzo balls. According to Sandy a.k.a the Wife, her grandmother was not the greatest cook but one of the things that she did amazingly well was make matzo ball soup. I love hearing hearing the stories of this diminutive woman who along with her husband overcame amazing odds and came to this country after WWII to start their lives again. Both of them were holocaust survivors who in the case of her grandmother lost her entire family to the nazis. Her grandfather and his brother Meyer who moved to Brazil prior to the outbreak of the war were the sole remaining members of their family.


Sadly, both grandma Tema and grandpa Leib passed away before I had a chance to meet them. So this year I dedicate my first attempt at the Hanukkah meal to them.




The Soup
2 lbs of chicken thighs and chicken breasts chopped
2-3 carrots diced
1 small sweet onion diced
1 parsnip peeled and diced
salt to taste
1 bunch of dill coarsely chopped
handful of flat leaf or italian parsley minced


Wash the chicken and pat the pieces dry. Place in a large pot and add the salt, dill, parsnip, onion and carrots cover with water and bring to a boil. As the soup boils skim of the foam the accumulates on top. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, continue to skim the foam from the broth as it cooks. After the soup has cooked toss in the parsley.


While the soup is simmering it is time to prepare the matzo balls.


The Matzo Balls
1 cup matzo meal
2 tablespoons of schmaltz or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of seltzer or other sparkling water
1 egg

In a bowl, whisk together the schmaltz or vegetable oil and egg. Add the matzo meal, and salt and whisk to combine. Add the seltzer water and whisk until blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. 



Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Using your hands shape the matzo mixture into golf ball sized balls. Reduce the heat to just below a simmer and drop the balls into water. Cover the pot and simmer until the matzo balls are cooked through, 20 or so minutes.

• The Latkes
  1 lb. russet potatoes or yukon gold
  1 small, sweet onion
  1 large egg
  1 tsp baking powder
  1 tsp salt
  3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  
  
  Preheat oven to 425F. Wash and dry potatoes (there is no need to peel the potatoes). Grate potatoes and onion. Place mixture in a colander and press down firmly with a paper towel to remove the excess moisture. Or place it in cheese cloth and squeeze the moisture out. 
                       
  Transfer potato mixture to a large bowl and stir in the egg. In a small bowl, mix the baking powder, salt and flour together then add it to the potatoes, onions and egg, mix well.
  
  
  Drop latke mixture in 2-3 tbsp measures, on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, turn them over, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. 
  
  
  To Serve
  Place one or two matzo balls into a soup bowl and ladle in the soup. 
  Traditionally, the latkes are served with apple sauce and sour cream to accompany them.
  
  
  We had a dry sparkling rose with this meal.

Hello? Is this thing on?

Sunday 18 December 2011

While we were doing our grocery shopping today, we ran into a friend who is a chef and restaurateur and he asked when I was going to start writing blog entries. After a joke involving jam and jelly (don't ask) and catching up with each other I started to think about my first entry.

To be honest, I have been a little nervous about writing the blog. I am not a cook by training, while I come from a family of amateur cooks and bakers and have been in the kitchen as long as I can remember, I don't have any formal training. Observation, intuition and experimentation along with watching my father, mother and many aunts have been my primary teachers. I don't fancy myself to be a great writer so I ask in advance for your forgiveness with my lapses in
grammar and sentence structure. Often I will write an entry after cooking and a glass or two of wine and will just try to get things down before they slip my mind.

While recipes are usually my guide the first time or two that I try a new dish, inevitably I will forgo the recipe and prepare the dish from memory tweaking it as I go.  I seldom measure or weigh anything, so unless I post the actual recipe someone may not be able to replicate a dish.

For the test run, we decided on making fettuccine (yes, spaghetti is the traditional pasta but we both prefer fettuccine) and meatballs, using a recipe that I have been working on for the better part of 20 years and is as changeable as the weather!

In a perfect world, I would have started my sauce on Saturday and let it cook through out the day then reheated it for Sunday dinner. The two issues that I have found with this method are namely the facts that 1) We generally aren't at home to monitor the sauce as it cooks and 2) inevitably we start chowing down on it Saturday night.

In the summer I use fresh local tomatoes and crush them in my tomato grinder (yes, I take my sauce that seriously) and if time permits I make my own pasta.

My meatballs are usually made up of ground beef, ground veal and lamb. Neither of us eats pork (sacrilege in Vermont, I know) so while the traditional meats are beef, veal and pork, we like to buck tradition. Also, due to the Wife's allergy to dairy I omit the grated cheese and milk that some recipes call for.

It should also be noted that I bake the meatballs instead of frying them.

Fettuccine with Meatballs and Red Sauce
The Sauce:


1 28oz can of crushed tomato
2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomato
1 6oz can of tomato paste
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of sugar
1 large red onion
A ton of crushed or minced garlic (not literally, but you get the gist)
Big splash of red wine (I use a dry red, usually what I am serving with dinner)
2 bay leaves
Crushed red pepper
Handful of fresh flat leaf parley
bunch of fresh basil
A little fresh thyme
Olive oil (the good stuff)
1/2 of a bell pepper diced

Dice the onion and sauté them in a deep pot (I prefer a 10qt cast iron) on medium heat in olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and bell pepper and sauté until fragrant (don't burn the garlic, it gets bitter) toss in the basil and parsley cook a little longer and add the crushed red pepper and thyme and cook for a few more minutes.

At this point remove about a 1/3 of the mixture and set it aside to cool.

Add all of the tomatoes and the tomato paste to the onion and garlic mixture remaining in the pot, add the cinnamon, sugar, bay leaves and red wine stir the ingredients together and cook until is starts bubbling gently. Reduce the heat to low, cover  with a tight fitting lid and stir occasionally, DON'T LET IT COME TO A BOIL.

In an ideal world the sauce would simmer for 2-3 hours.

The Meatballs: 

2 lbs. of high quality local ground beef or 1 lbs. ground beef, 1/2 lbs. of ground lamb and 1/2 lbs. ground veal.
2 medium eggs beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of ground pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

In a large bowl combine the meat(s), eggs, salt, pepper and red pepper, add the reserved onion and garlic mixture and mix all ingredients together by hand adding bread crumbs as needed to reduce moisture and bind the meatballs together.

In order to keep my meatballs light and not super dense, I use an ice cream scoop to form them. I like the meatballs to be about racquet ball sized and the less you handle them the less compacted they become.

Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them at 450 for about 20 minutes. At this point they should have developed a nice crust on the outside and still be fairly tender inside. Remove them from the oven and place them in the pot with the sauce, they should fit in a single layer on the bottom. Spoon sauce over the meatballs until they are covered and replace the lid. Let the sauce and meatballs simmer together for another 30 minutes gently stirring them occasionally.

I served this with lightly steamed broccoli rabe and fresh fettuccine. I had a dry red wine to accompany the meal, you can also serve it with grated peccorino and a nice crusty bread on the side.

I hope you enjoy the post and feedback/questions are welcomed.

-Clarence

The start of something different...

This year my wife and I have decided to stay put for the holiday season. We have decided not to deal with either traveling out west to see my family or traveling to one of the several places that her family gathers to celebrate.

Since we both will be on vacation for a week, we are planning to cook dishes that would be too involved/complex to make at home on a regular night. Nothing fancy for lunch or breakfast, but we will pull out all the stops for dinner.

Our plan is to take the dogs hiking each morning have brunch then start prepping. Our meals will be chosen from recipes that we have not made before and I hope will be representative of different cuisines from around the world.

To keep it simple I may only focus on the main course and wine to accompany the meal. The added challenge will be my wife's allergy to cow dairy and the need to modify recipes to accommodate her. I will also use as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.

I am excited for the challenge and look forward to posting the recipes and keeping a journal of our adventures in the kitchen.