The Chef de Plunge

Scallop Hush Puppies With Lemon Allioli Dipping Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

In Tucker's endless attempts to corrupt me (and make me die young), he made bay scallop hush puppies. Seriously, where does he get these ideas? Oh yeah, from the cook books, I give him. This instant favorite was from Rick Moonen's Fish Without A Doubt (our copy is SIGNED by Rick from when I went to his restaurant in Las Vegas! Boom toasted).

Before you get too anxious about not having the right equipment, we did not use a deep fryer for this. We use a dutch oven and a thermometer, oh, and a ton of oil.

Scallop Hush Puppies With Lemon Allioli Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
FOR FRITTERS
1/2 cup milk
1 TBS white vinegar
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coarse salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound frozen bay scallops
fresh ground white pepper
canola oil for deep frying

FOR ALLIOLI
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large egg yolks
fresh lemon juice

Instructions
FOR FRITTERS

Whisk milk and vinegar together, let sit while you do the rest of the prep. It will thicken and look a bit curdled
In another bowl, whisk cornmeal, floug, baking soda, salt, and some white pepper
Heat 3 or more inches of oil in the dutch oven to 350-365F
When ready to fry, add milk mixture and egg to dry ingredients, stir until smooth. Fold in scallops
Lift scallops out one my one and drop into hot oil, fry until golden
Remove hush puppies with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels or drying rack

FOR ALLIOLI
In blender, purée garlic, salt, cayenne pepper, and 2 teaspoons oil until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add yolks and lemon juice and blend until smooth. With motor running, very slowly add remaining 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons oil in thin, steady stream, blending until allïoli is thick, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve fritters hot, with allioli dipping sauce and fresh lemon wedges

Rice Krispies Treat Paninis

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:58:00 +0000

This might sound strange, but I promise it was nothing short of heavenly. Essentially, we made a "panini" out of two Rice Krispies treats with chocolate in the middle and grilled it on a panini press. Seriously, what could be better? We fancied-up this guilty pleasure a bit by making our own marshmallow.

Rice Krispies Treat Paninis
Inspired by Ideas in Food, marshmallow recipe from Alton Brown

Ingredients
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately
1 1/2 cups 1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
About half a box of Rice Krispies (sorry we can't be more precise)
A few chocolate bars

Instructions

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper, spray with non-stick spray
Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt.
Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes.
Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat. Using the whisk attachment, turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture.
Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.
Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.
Add in Rice Krispies and mix until just combined
Spread mixture out evenly over parchment and let sit overnight
Cut Rice Krispies treats into squares (we did about 1.5') using a pizza wheel
Spray a griddle or panini press and preheat
Make a sandwich with chocolate and two pieces of Rice Krispies treats, grill until golden brown
Don't burn your tongue on the molten chocolate or marshmallow

Sorry, no picture of the finished product, we ate them too fast. oops.

On The Road: The Luquillo Kioskos

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:38:00 +0000

Well, I've been pretty negligent about updating this blog. Let me explain, right around the time the posts started falling off, I started travelling for work. Like a lot. TripIt tells me it was almost 150k miles. As you can imagine, that doesn't leave me much time to blog, but more importantly, it didn't leave me much time to eat meals at home. But, I really miss blogging and I realized, why don't I blog about some of the interesting things I eat while on the road. Yes, sometimes it's just lots of fast food. But no matter where I go from Rome to Salt Lake City, I try to eat something unique and interesting. I'm going to start documenting this under a new "On the road" section of the blog. First up, a trip I actually took for FUN (shocking): Puerto Rico.

We spent a few days in Old San Juan (and actually had our best meal at a breakfast place called Caficultura, I highly recommend the sweet potato crepes), but I want to tell you about is the food in a little beach town called Luquillo. I have to admit, I did pick Luquillo because it is home to the famous Luquillo Kioskos-- a strip just off the beach about a half-mile long jammed with about 50 or so food stands (or kiosks) with fare ranging from traditional fried Puerto Rican (more on this in a moment) and American (i.e., hot dogs) street food to pretty nice sit down restaurants with wait staff serving food from all over the world.

My pictures of the kiosks aren't so great, so I admit I had to steal some by other people so you get the idea.

Since we were staying in a lovely little hotel about a half mile walk down the beach from the kioskos, we spent a good deal of time on this little strip. It was also a perfect place to escape to and drink rum during the few short rain showers that drove us off the beach!

Despite the humble appearance of the kiosks, we had some world class food in these shacks.About half of the kiosks are defined by the large glass cases of fried goodies (which we obliged to sample all different types) include bacalaitos (imagine a giant chip, crispy, and made with salt cod), alcapurrias (meat dumplings in a masa dough), empanadillas, arepas, pastelillos, sorullos (cornmeal breaded fried cheese sticks that are slightly sweet), and SO much more.Wash it all down with coco frio (a cold coconut with a hole for a straw in it to drink the water) or mavi (or mauby, a homemade soda sort of like birch beer).

Fried food case

I enjoy a coco frio

Ok, we ate more than just fried food at the kiosks, we enjoyed several fine meals worth noting at kiosks with waitstaff. Some of the best meals were at La Parilla, Ay Bonito! Grill, Vejigante, and Ceviche Hut.

Ay Bonito! Grill is a fresh seafood place that is really the antithesis of all the fried food places around it. I don't even remember seeing anything fried on the menu--the traditional tostones, or fried green plantains at Ay Bonito are served mashed. I got halibut with hazelnuts and cilantro served with a local root vegetable mash.

Our last night in Puerto Rico, Tucker and I went to Vejigante and really indulged. We started with fried local cheese (see above) and then shared an entire deep fried fish (picture has mysteriously disappeared from my phone, I'm investigating) with a creole sauce and tostones. Paired with several mojitos, this was a good way to go out.

La Parilla seems to be the favorite kiosk for many locals, and I don't blame them. Tucker says his grilled and stuffed spiny lobster (above) was the highlight of the trip. The kiosk is the only one with a tank of live lobsters out front, you pick your prey and they grill it up. I got mofongo (a traditional Puerto Rican mash of plantains and casava) stuffed with churrasco. We ate a lot of mofongo on this trip, but La Parilla far and away had the best.

Yes, we ate raw fish from a place with "hut" in the name. In our defense, Ceviche Hut is one of the nicest kiosks on the strip AND the ceviche was the best we'd ever had. Tucker got the mixed ceviche with medium spice and it was heaven! Lime, cilantro, fresh fish, just the right amount of spice, mmmm.... I got fish in white sauce (yes, it was cooked) but that was also very very good.

What an amazing trip. We didn't spend the whole time eating, but I have to admit we spent a good deal of time thinking about what our next meal would be. Can you blame us?

The beach behind the kiosks

Summer Beet Salad: Two Ways

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:38:00 +0000

I love beets. And that's a good thing, because we get 1-2 bunches of beets every week for the majority of the summer during our farm share. We're in year three of this, so we've become pretty expert at cooking with beets (see Lena's Borscht which turned my mother into a beet believer), but the one dish we make most often with the beets is some sort of salad. So I wanted to post about some of the salads we've made because they are really yummy! They usually involve corn in addition to the beets because New England corn in the late summer is pretty much the best thing ever, and then whatever other vegetables we have from the farm share that seem appropriate.

I apologize in advance for not having exact proportions on anything, we really just used what we had around! I figure you can adjust this to your own tastes/pantries.

Golden Beet Salad With Corn, Cucumbers, And Feta

Salad

4-6 golden beets

6 ears of corn, cooked and taken off the cob

one bunch parsley

1 medium cucumber

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

1 small red onion

4-6 oz feta cut into small cubes

Dressing
Olive oil and fresh lemon juice in a 2:1 ratio (two parts olive oil to one part lemon juice)
1 clove minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Beet Salad With Goat Cheese And Sugar Snap Peas

Salad

4-6 beets

1 cup pine nuts, toasted

6-8 oz goat cheese

1 bunch sugar snap peas

small bunch of scallions

Dressing

Equal parts red wine vinegar and olive oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Adventures in Cheesemaking

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:16:00 +0000

Tucker and I recently embarked on a really genius (or really stupid) adventure in cheesemaking. Tucker's mom recently gave us some awesome cheese making kits and recipes from Ricki Carroll and we were so psyched!. We love cheese! Who doesn't? Aren't all things better when they're homemade? That's our philosophy. So as cheese lovers and culinary adventurers, why not make cheese? Well, for one, we've learned that it's tricky. And that it requires equipment that we don't have. And it requires delayed gratification, which is well, really annoying.

I'm not trying to turn you off from making cheese, it was definitely fun, and hopefully will taste delicious (we won't know for another month or so), but just know before you start, this is a looooonnnng process. I think we spent at least 6 hours straight through just getting through to the first stage when the cheese dries out for a few days.

We started out making a farmhouse cheddar, so it won't be ready to taste for another month, BUT, here are some pictures documenting the process!

"Ripening" the milk via hot water in the sink.

The cheese ripens and starts to separate curds from whey!

The curds are cut into cubes.

Reheating the curds so they shrink and separate from the whey. We made the whey into ricotta. Yum.

Hanging the curds to dry.

Mmmm... I could deep fry these and eat them right up!

Curds are pressed into a mold...

And weight was put on it for a while...

Then more weight (we had to get creative here).

After being pressed for 24 hours, we bandaged the cheese in cloth, and left it on the counter to dry for a few days. Now it's in our cheese cave (basement)!

That's all for now! Check back in a few weeks when we find out if it's edible.

Sourdough Pretzels

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:52:00 +0000

Recently, Tucker has been doing a lot of experimenting with sourdough. We've had a strange, pulsing, smelly sourdough starter living in a mason jar in the kitchen for several weeks now. I'm willing to forgive this strange creature only because it leads to delicious creations! The latest was PRETZELS. Actually, they were easier to make than I expected, they are similar to bagels (which we've made in the past) but actually a bit easier.

Tucker was first inspired to try making pretzels when he read this Harold McGee article in the New York Times.

Sourdough Pretzels
With help from Mark Bittman, Harold McGee, and the King Arthur Baker's Companion

FOR THE SOURDOUGH SPONGE

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup bread flour

1 1/2 cups tepid water

Sourdough starter (We learned how to do this from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything--we use the iPhone app, you can also use the cookbook)

Instructions

The night before you are ready to make these, combine all ingredients in a food processor or bowl and mix until smooth. Cover and let rest overnight (it should bubble and foam a bit)
Scoop out a few cups of the dough to save for your next sourdough adventure. You can keep starter in the fridge unless you want to continue feeding it daily.

FOR THE DOUGH

Ingredients

1-1 1/2 cups bread flour

2 tsp salt

1 spoonful brown sugar

Sourdough sponge you just made
1 cup baking soda
2 cups water
Sea salt to taste

Instructions

Mix flour, salt, sugar, and sponge in the food processor
Pour out into a bowl and let rise for a few hours until doubled in volume
While the dough is rising, prepare the alkali (this is what gives the pretzel that special pretzel quality): spread a layer of soda on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake it at 250 to 300 degrees for an hour. Try not to touch it if you can (although it won't kill you)
Cut into 10-12 pieces, roll out, and form into ropes about 1/2 inch in diameter
Fold them into pretzels
Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 425.
Dissolve baked baking soda (the alkali) in the water
Immerse the formed raw pretzels in this solution for three to four minutes, rinse off the excess dipping solution in a large bowl of plain water
Place pretzels on a baking sheet and sprinkle the pretzels with sea salt
Bake at 425 for about 20 min (or until golden brown).

Asian Salad With Sesame Crusted Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 14 May 2011 01:49:00 +0000

This salad is actually much simpler than it looks, and it's so good! I like to think it's pretty healthy as well :)

Asian Salad With Sesame Crusted Chicken(adapted from Epicurious)

FOR THE CHICKEN
Ingredients
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lb total)
2 large eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup sesame seeds (we used a mixture of black and white seeds)
3 Tbs peanut oil
Pepper to taste

Preparation

If chicken breasts are more than 1/2 inch thick, put them between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound with flat side of a meat pounder or with a rolling pin until 1/2 inch thick.

Whisk together egg in a shallow dish. Put sesame seeds in another shallow dish. Put flour, salt, and pepper into a third dish. Dry the chicken on paper towels. Dip first in flour, salt and pepper mixture, then in egg, then in sesame seeds.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to moderate and cook 3 pieces of chicken, turning over once with tongs, until coating is golden and chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer to a plate. Remove any browned sesame seeds from skillet, then cook remaining chicken.

FOR THE DRESSING
Ingredients

1 shallot

1 clove garlic

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup minced cilantro
2 Tbs toasted sesame oil

2 Tbs fish sauce

Preparation

Toss all ingredients in a salad dressing container.

FOR THE REST OF THE SALAD

Ingredients

Baby spinach

Sliced almonds, lightly toasted

1 red pepper, roasted and skinned

Instructions

Toss spinach, roasted red pepper, toasted almonds and slices of the sesame chicken with the dressing. Enjoy!

A Chinese And Mexican Restaurant? Who Knew!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 01:01:00 +0000

I'm back from my blogging hiatus and will be making a serious effort to keep this blog better up to date! With all the travelling I've been doing, it's been hard to keep up with this blog, along with the fact that I eat so few meals at home now! Well, one way to remedy this is to blog about the food I eat while I'm on the road. While it's not always the best food, I occasionally get the chance to try some really phenomenal restaurants... especially when I'm in Las Vegas!

For this trip, I was set on trying out China Poblano, one of Jose Andres' new restaurants at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, one of the newest hotels on the strip. I've never heard of anyone else doing Mexican and Chinese food together, and I was intrigued! When we arrived, I knew we had made a good choice. The front of the restaurant looks like Chinese and Mexican takeout counters, complete with neon OPEN signs that were completely incongruous with the rest of the Cosmopolitan. Once you get inside, the decor is frankly bizarre, but kinda awesome (there was a giant Mexican wrestling mask on the wall that was actually TV screen, so the images kept changing).

Everything is served Dim Sum style, and the tables are also long and communal with benches on either side. The menu, surprisingly, keeps most of the Mexican and Chinese food separate. I was hoping for more fusion, and my favorite dishes that we ordered were the ones that combined the tastes of the two cultures. My favorite dish of the evening (besides the dessert) were the Huitlicoche noodles (a Mexican dish) with Chinese spices (I don't remember what kind). It turns out (not that I knew this at the time) that Huitlicoche is a kind of mushroom that grows on corn! Sounds a little gross, but hey, it was good! My colleague really enjoyed his Dan Dan noodles as well. The Chicken Ji Song, chicken in lettuce cups with fried sweet potatoes and a spicy asian sauce, were also very good. My favorite thing, however, was the dessert. We got the Chocolate Terra Cotta Warriors caramelized bananas/sesame which were not only very cool to look at, but delicious! I've never had sesame and chocolate together before, and it's a great combo. The sesame was blended so it didn't have the same texture as it normally would.

What ever possessed Jose Andres to create a Chinese and Mexican restaurant is beyond me, but it somehow makes sense when you're in there. Right on the menu, it says "What brings Mexico and China together? You could start with the Spanish galleons that first sailed the Pacific in 1565 in the reign of King Philip II. Along with the lucrative trade in silk and silver, they brought Asian spices and fruit to Mexico, and New World peppers to the Middle Kingdom of China. They also brought the legend of an Asian girl kidnapped by pirates and shipped to Mexico, known as La China Poblana. These dishes continue a voyage, first dreamed by Christopher Columbus, that has connected East and West for the last five centuries."

Overall, was it the best Mexican or Chinese food I've ever had? No. But the restaurant is fun, has a great ambiance, it reasonably priced, and definitely worth checking out if you're in Las Vegas.

A Fall Feast With A Stuffed Pumpkin And Homemade Profiteroles!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:19:00 +0000

Whenever we require a favor from a friend or family member, the way we pay them back is with food. Since buying and moving into our house this summer, we've required a lot of favors and we've paid them back in cookies, pizza, quiche, pie, etc. But when my dad spent two days helping us install our new washer and dryer, we knew we owed him BIG TIME. That is how our fall feast came about! We invited my parents over for dinner and cooked them up a feast including spinach salad with beets, goat cheese, and pumpkin seeds, a stuffed pumpkin with bread and cheese, and profiteroles with hot fudge sauce for dessert. Everything came out fantastic (if I do say so myself), and actually a lot simpler than it sounds.

Spinach Salad With Beets, Goat Cheese, And Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
14 oz baby spinach
3 medium beets, boiled, peeled, and chopped into bite sized pieces
3 oz goat cheese
a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds
FOR THE DRESSING
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
3 oz olive oil
1 oz balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard

Instructions

Mince the garlic and shallots and whisk with the other ingredients in a container
Put spinach and beets in a bowl and toss with dressing
Sprinkle the top of the salad with pumpkin seeds and crumbled goat cheese

Stuffed Pumpkin

Adapted from Epicurious and Dorie Greenspan
This will serve 4-6 people, depending on how hungry they are :)

Ingredients
1 pumpkin, about 8 pounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 of a loaf of Italian bread, stale or baked at 300 degrees for 15 minutes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 pound Gruyère, grated
6-7 garlic cloves (to taste), split, germ removed, and coarsely chopped
About 1/2 cup snipped fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
About 2/3 cup heavy cream
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment,
Cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin like a Jack-o-Lantern. Clear away the seeds and strings from the cap and from inside the pumpkin. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously with salt and pepper, and put it on the baking sheet.
Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, and herbs together in a bowl. Season with pepper and pack the mix into the pumpkin. Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper and pour it into the pumpkin.
Put the cap in place and bake the pumpkin for about 2 hours—check after 90 minutes—or until everything inside the pumpkin is bubbling and the flesh of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Remove the cap during the last 20 minutes or so, so that the liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown a little.
Serve by scooping out the stuffing along with the pumpkin meat. Enjoy!

Profiteroles With Ice Cream And Hot Fudge Sauce

Adapted from Bittman and Cooks Illustrated
I promise these are less intimidating than they sound. And they are so delicious. Also, I should note that this hot fudge sauce was so good that my dad ate it plain with a spoon.

Ingredients
Your favorite ice cream (we did this two different times, once with vanilla and another time with pumpkin!)

FOR THE PROFITEROLES

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs

FOR THE HOT FUDGE SAUCE

10 ounces semisweet chocolate , chopped
1/3 cup sifted cocoa powder , Dutch process
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup heavy cream
Pinch table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into pieces

Instructions

FOR THE PROFITEROLES

Heat oven to 425 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the butter in a saucepan with the salt and 3/4 cup water; bring it to a boil over medium-high heat and stir until the butter is melted. Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour; continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from side of pan and forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and let cool for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the eggs to the slightly cooled flour mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition — the batter will come apart after each egg is added but will reunite as you stir. Transfer the batter to a resealable plastic bag or pastry bag and make a 1/2 -inch cut in one corner. Pipe mounds about 1 inch high and 1 to 2 inches in diameter onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about an inch of space between.
Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the profiteroles from the oven and pierce the bottom of each profiterole once with a skewer, to keep them from getting soggy. Return to the oven; prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon and let the profiteroles crisp up for about 3 minutes. Cool on sheet on a rack.

FOR THE HOT FUDGE SAUCE

Melt chocolate in small heat-proof bowl set over pan of almost simmering water until smooth, stirring once or twice. Turn off heat and whisk in cocoa until dissolved; set aside.
Warm sugar, corn syrup, cream, salt, and 1/3 cup water in medium, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive saucepan over low heat without stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high; simmer mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.
Turn off heat and whisk in vanilla and butter. Cool mixture slightly, about 2 minutes; whisk in melted chocolate. Serve warm. (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container at least 10 days before serving; reheat over simmering water or in microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, stirring several times, until sauce is shiny and completely smooth.)

TO SERVE: Use a serrated knife to slice each profiterole in half around the equator, fill with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle with hot fudge sauce

90 Second Leek And Goat Cheese Quiche

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 03:08:00 +0000

Before you get your hopes up, I should probably explain that the 90 second quiche doesn't get its name-sake from the prep time, but from the amount of time the pie normally lasts when served (at least to my friends). This is one of the most often requested items, along with Tucker's famous cookies.

We've made this a few times with different kinds of cheese, this time it was goat cheese, last time it was blue cheese (maybe too strong for breakfast for some people). I love how versatile this quiche is--people who don't like a lot of "green stuff" in their quiche (like my brother) enjoy this one, but it is still gourmet enough to satisfy quiche snobs (like me).

90-Second Leek Quiche
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients
2 medium leeks , washed thoroughly and cut into 1/2-inch dice (see A Platter of Figs for a good method of washing leeks)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
pinch fresh grated nutmeg
4 ounces mild goat cheese broken into 1/2-inch pieces
1 9- inch partially baked pie shell (warm), baked until light golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes, (see the crust recipe here)

Who needs pie weights when you have beans?

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Sauté white parts leeks in butter over medium heat until soft, 5–7 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk all remaining ingredients except goat cheese in medium bowl.
Spread goat cheese and leeks evenly over bottom of warm pie shell and set shell on oven rack. Pour in custard mixture to 1/2-inch below crust rim. Bake until lightly golden brown and a knife blade inserted about one inch from the edge comes out clean, and center feels set but soft like gelatin, 32 to 35 minutes. Transfer quiche to rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Quinoa Stuffed Delicata Squash

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 01:10:00 +0000

This year our farm share was all about the squash this fall! At one point, we had five different kinds of squash in the house, several of which we had never had before (PS - if anyone knows what to do with a Kabocha squash, please let me know!). One of the squashes we had never tried before was the delicata squash, they are very cute and stripey (see below).

We decided to stuff them with quinoa, almonds, shallots, apple, and arugula (also from the farm). The result was a yummy, very autumny (is that a word?) and healthy (did I mention vegan?) meal.

Quinoa Stuffed Delicata Squash
Adapted from Food and Wine

Ingredients
1 Delicata squash (about 1 pound), halved lengthwise and seeded
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 Cortland apple, finely diced
1 large shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 bunch washed and chopped arugula
1/4 cup sliced and toasted almonds

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Brush the cut sides of the squash with 1/2 teaspoon of the olive oil and season the cavities with salt and pepper. Place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for about 45 minutes, until tender.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring 1 cup of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the water is absorbed. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and let cool.
In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar and honey with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the dressing to the quinoa along with the apple, shallot, garlic, almonds, and parsley and toss well. Add the arugula and toss gently.
Set the squash halves on plates. Fill with the salad and serve.

A Fantastic Birthday Dinner At Ten Tables In Cambridge

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 02:01:00 +0000

Alls I have to say is, why didn't we go here sooner?! Ok, that isn't all I have to say, I of course, have more :)

Tucker and I went to Ten Tables for his birthday dinner last week and had an incredible meal. I think this may be my new favorite restaurant in Harvard Square (move over, Rialto). I don't have pictures because it is quite dark in there and I only had my iPhone for a camera, bit I can describe in detail my favorite courses. But first, a bit of history on the place. This location used to be the home of local favorite Craigie Street Bistro, which moved over to Central Square and became Craigie on Main. This is the second location of Ten Tables, the first being in JP, BUT, interestingly enough, the original chef from JP came over to cook at the Cambridge location. Anyhow, enough of the history, on to the food! The first course we had the Morrocan carrot puree with cucumber raita and za'tar crackers. This was probably my favorite dish of the night. The soup was very smooth and flavorful and the cold raita made a great contrast to the hot soup. The za'tar crackers were great dipped in the soup, I also happen to love za'tar and don't see it too often in American restaurants (although I think it is gaining in popularity, I had a za'tar spiced fish at Oleana not too long ago). We also got a plate of mixed baby beets, mache, pepitas, and pickled shallots over a puree of very stinky blue cheese, which tasted great, but had an unpleasant coloring (blue-gray).

The second course, I made the wise choice of ordering the pasta with roasted delicata squash (the menu claims this was "spicy" delicata squash, and even though the dish was a bit spicy, I've never heard of spicy delicata squash, so I remain skeptical) in a porcini broth with crushed amaretti on top! Wow. This was a great combo of the sweet (the amaretti cookie), spicy (the squash, I guess!), and unami (the porcini broth).Tucker got the Scottish salmon over pickled pears and cabbage (which weren't as exciting as they sounded) and pureed turnips. The turnips were divine, but the salmon didn't blow me away. It was cooked nicely, but was a little bland compared to my pasta.

The dessert was good, but didn't bowl me over (note, my dessert standards are probably unreasonably high. In fact, I can't remember being bowled over by a desert in a restaurant in the past five years). Tucker got the chocolate terrine with sea salt (yes!) and thai basil ice cream. The ice cream and the terrine were both great, but I couldn't decide if I actually liked the combo of the basil and the chocolate (Tucker did like it). It was an interesting and compelling dessert. My dessert was pumpkin bread (I LOVE PUMPKIN DESSERT) with bourbon caramel and butter pecan ice cream. It was definitely good and very enjoyable, maybe a little on the sweet side. Tucker thought the texture of both the ice creams was perfection.

All in all, a very very good meal, the best I've had out in a while. I say four and half stars.

Chocolate Cupcakes With Salted Caramel Filling, Chocolate Frosting And Caramel Lace

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:04:00 +0000

It's that time of year again... the one time of year that Tucker will agree to make cupcakes. And what time of year is that? My birthday! I knew it was going to be hard to top last year's s'more cupcakes (which were seriously incredible), and I was tempted to ask Tucker to make them again, but I decided it would be best to try something new (for some reason, Tucker hates repeating recipes). I ended up deciding that I wanted to do something with chocolate and salted caramel because I love sweet and salty together. So, this is what Tucker dreamed up, and they were pretty incredible! We've also had some fun with the leftover salted caramel, making salted caramel apple muffins and salted caramel brownies.

Chocolate Cupcakes With Salted Caramel Filling, Chocolate Frosting And Caramel Lace
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL FILLING
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water

FOR THE CUPCAKES
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup bread flour (yes, this seemed strange to us too, but we went with it)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE FROSTING
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg whites
Pinch table salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter , softened and cut into 1-tablespoon pieces
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate , melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE CARAMEL LACE
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Instructions

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL FILLING: Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.
Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.
FOR THE CUPCAKES: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-size muffin pan (cups have ½-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners. Place chocolate and cocoa in medium bowl. Pour hot coffee over mixture and whisk until smooth. Set in refrigerator to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
Whisk oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into cooled chocolate-cocoa mixture until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Place one cube (about 1 inch square) of caramel filling on top of each cupcake. Bake until cupcakes are set and just firm to touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting, about 1 hour.
FOR THE FROSTING Combine sugar, egg whites, and salt in bowl of a double boiler. Whisking gently but constantly, heat mixture until slightly thickened, foamy, and registers 150 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes.
Whisk mixture until consistency of shaving cream and slightly cooled, 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, until smooth and creamy. (Frosting may look curdled after half of butter has been added; it will smooth with additional butter.) Once all butter is added, add cooled melted chocolate and vanilla; mix until combined. Beat until light, fluffy, and thoroughly combined.
FOR THE CARAMEL LACE: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Heat all ingredients on the stove to 320 degrees (use a candy thermometer for this), remove from heat and immediately begin drizzling mixture onto cookie sheet making lace patterns. Sprinkle a small amount of salt over the candy before it cools and hardens.
ASSEMBLY: Once the cupcakes are cool, spread the frosting on top and garnish with pieces of the caramel lace.

Sweet Cherry Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:21:00 +0000

I LOVE cherries. I look forward to those few weeks of summer every year when the cherries are ripe and I will eat them by the bagful. One thing I have never loved, however, is cherry pie. It seems strange because I love cherries and I love pie, why don't I love cherry pie? I decided it was because I had never had a really well made cherry pie, so Tucker and I set out to make our own. We quickly ran into a roadblock: fresh sour cherries, which are the traditional fruit in cherry pie, are impossible to find in New England. Fortunately, Cooks Illustrated came to the rescue with a recipe for sweet cherry pie. I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical, I thought it was going to be too sweet. But I was totally wrong. This pie was AMAZING. It even converted my friend who claims she doesn't like pie, into a sweet cherry pie lover. I knew she wasn't just flattering me when she went back for a second piece.

Anyhow, cherry season is really pretty much wound down at this point, but if you have the chance to get your hands on some sweet cherries, I highly recommend this pie!

(In case you can't tell, I cut out a little house shape in the pie top, I think it was hard to tell though. Next time, I think I would cut out a piece of dough in the shape and stick it on top)

Sweet Cherry Pie
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Crust
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter , cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup vegetable shortening , cold, cut into two pieces
2 tablespoons vodka , cold (it sounds weird, but just trust me)
2 tablespoons cold water

Cherry Filling
2 red plums , halved and pitted (Tucker and I both agree that the plums are a genius addition to this pie. We actually tried adding plums to a huckleberry pie we made a week or so later and it also came our great)
6 cups (about 2 pounds) pitted and halved sweet cherries (this is the time consuming part, unfortunately. I didn't find any shortcuts to this besides cutting each cherry in half and then prying out the pit)
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons bourbon
2 tablespoons instant tapioca , ground (we did this in our spice grinder)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large egg , lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Instructions

FOR THE CRUST: Process 3/4 cup flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
Remove 1 disk dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with 1 hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 40 minutes.
FOR THE FILLING: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Process plums and 1 cup halved cherries in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids. Stir remaining halved cherries, sugar, salt, lemon juice, bourbon, tapioca, and cinnamon into puree; let stand for 15 minutes.
Transfer cherry mixture, including all juices, to dough-lined plate. Scatter butter pieces over fruit. Roll second disk of dough on generously floured work surface (up to ¼ cup) to 11-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least ½-inch overhang. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges with egg mixture. With sharp knife, make 8 evenly spaced 1-inch-long vents in top crust. Freeze pie 20 minutes.
Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble around the edges and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer.
Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool to room temperature so juices have time to thicken, 2 to 3 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.

Red Salsa, Green Salsa

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:47:00 +0000

It might be an attempt to make up for last year's tomato blight here in New England, but this year our farm share has been exploding with tomatoes! So, when we picked up our share to discover tomatoes AND tomatillos, it seemed like the perfect excuse to make red and green salsa (and, to be perfectly honest, we wanted to impress our friends by bringing homemade salsa to a party). This was actually easier than I expected, although admittedly, and we didn't even use the mandolin!

We made our salsas moderately spicy (because that is how we like it!) if you want to cut down on the spice, just use smaller chili peppers, or use less of them, I guess :)

Aren't the tomatillos adorable? They were almost too cute to eat. ALMOST.

Red Salsa
Adapted from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything (NOTE: we use the iPhone app for this, and it is now only $2! A very worthwhile investment)

Ingredients
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 jalapeño peppers
2 large ripe, fresh tomatoes (cored and chopped)
3 or 4 scallions, chopped
1/2 minced cilantro
2 TB lime juice
salt and pepper

Instructions
Mix!

Green Salsa (Salsa Verde)
Also from Bittman

Ingredients
2 cups chopped husked tomatillos
2-3 poblano chilis
3 scallions, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup minced cilantro
3 TB lime juice
salt and pepper

Instructions

Roast the chilis over the open flame of your gas burner, or in the oven under the broiler on a foil lined cookie sheet. Roast or broil the peppers, turning as each side browns, until they have blackened and collapsed.
Let the chilis cool, then peel off the skin. It helps if you do this while running the peppers under tape water.
Remove the seeds from the chilis and chop them finely. Put all ingredients in the food processor and pulse until the ingredients are roughly chopped.

Grilled Salmon With Thai "Pesto" And Noodle Salad (We're Back In The Game!)

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:10:00 +0000

And... we're back! We are all moved in to our new house (although not unpacked at all) and we have all of our beautiful new kitchen appliances. I don't want to brag or anything, but check out our new induction stove, I love it so much!

Of course, that did mean that we had to get a whole new set of pots, lucky for us, my mom bought us a new set of pots that will work with the induction stove as a housewarming present (the pots just have to be magnetic, and it is surprising how hard that is to find these days!). But it boils water so fast! It's like magic... electromagnetic magic.

Anyhow, even though I haven't been posting, we have been cooking some, so I have a big backlog of recipes to share. This was one of my favorite things we made in July: Thai Pesto! This all started when we got lemon basil from our CSA and had no idea what to do with it. Tucker came up with the genius idea of making Thai pesto, and it came out delicious! We slathered the pesto on some salmon and grilled it and it came out AMAZING! Please note that this recipe assumes that you are going to cook the pesto somehow, otherwise that is way too much raw garlic.

Grilled Salmon With Thai"Pesto"
Inspired by Mark Bittman's Cilantro Pesto in "How To Cook Everything"

Ingredients
2 cups lemon basil
salt
1\2 clove garlic
3 TB peanut oil
1 TB lemon juice
1 TB red Thai chili paste
1 large fillet salmon
1/4 cup peanuts

Instructions
Combine ingredients in a food processor. Scrape down sides and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread pesto on salmon and grill for five minutes on each side.

Broccoli Noodle Salad
Ingredients
2 shallots
1 TB sesame oil
1 TB fish sauce
1 clove garlic
1 head of broccoli
1 package rice noodles
1/2 cup peanuts
peanut oil

Instructions
Sauté garlic and shallots in peanut oil, add broccoli and cook until browned. Chop peanuts finely and toast lightly. Cook rice noodles and toss with broccoli, peanuts, sesame oil, fish sauce, and a little bit of the Thai pesto.

Excuses for the lack of recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:01:00 +0000

Three pretty good excuses (in my opinion):
1. We just bought a house
2. We don't have Internet installed yet at said house (thanks verizon!)
3. Our kitchen looks like this right now:

Now hopefully, while I work on getting my act together, my friend Lydia will post a few recipes... She made an amazing red, white, and blue velvet cake yesterday that she may post soon. It came out gorgeous, I was so impressed. We split our CSA from Parker farm, so she has had some interesting veggies to experiment with too (hello, kohlrabi?), and I know she has some good stuff to post.

That's all from me for now because I'm typing on my iPhone and it's getting tiring.

Whiskey And (Vegetarian) Haggis: Food Highlights From Scotland

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Ok, the United Kingdom isn't exactly know for its culinary prowess. However, beyond the bland and undersalted food you find in England, Scotland has some interesting culinary creations, most of which is based on smoked fish (yum!). Of course, there is also the famous haggis (a sausage made of sheep offals, go to wikipedia for more in-depth explanation if you really want), neeps (mashed yellow turnips), and tatties (mashed potatoes), which I didn't have the stomach (no pun intended) to try, but I did have a delicious vegetarian version of it at the Auld Smitty Inn in Pitlochry!

It was at the Auld Smiddy Inn that Tucker and I also tasted sticky toffee pudding for the first time, which is a really yummy Scottish dessert, sort of a bread pudding made with dates and served with butterscotch sauce and ice cream. I was really surprised at how much I liked it, not being a huge date or butterscotch fan. The other classic Scottish dish we very much enjoyed was cullen skin, basically a potato and leek soup with smoked haddock.

But really, Scotland isn't known for its food, it's known for its drink: malt whiskey. Disclaimer, I'm not a whiskey afficionado, that would be Tucker's job, but I did go along for the ride! Tucker visited Edradour and Blair Athol distilleries before I arrived in Scotland. Edradour is tiny, the smallest distillery in Scotland. After I arrived, we visited Tomatin and Dalwhinnie distilleries. Our tour at Dalwhinnie was the best tour of the trip, and it was also my favorite of the whiskies we tried. Tomatin was also really neat because it is the only Scottish distillery left where all of the workers live on premises at the distillery.

After touring the highlands, we also spent a whirlwind day in Edinburgh where we managed to see all of the major sites in one day. We did, however, have time to stop at Clarinda's Tearoom, an adorable little teashop with lace tableclothes and ancient photographs on the walls. We both go the cream tea, which was tea and a scone with jam and fresh whipped clotted cream. It was perfection.

Fish And Cheese: A Roundup Of Portuguese Culinary Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:41:00 +0000

I have once again found myself behind on my blogging! I think I have a pretty good excuse though, I've been on vacation and Tucker and I are in the process of buying a house and moving into it (also, buying kitchen appliances, fun! I'll post later with a review of the appliances we have carefully chosen with the help of consumer reports and cooks illustrated. Our big bet is on the induction range, which also means buying a whole new set of pots!).

Anyhow, I do have a backlog of recipes I want to blog, but I also wanted to post about some of the things we've eaten and drunk in the past few weeks in Portugal an Scotland! We've actually been making a lot of stuff with salt cod (bacalau) recently, so it was great to go visit it's homeland. Almost immediately, I stumbled across a store entirely devoted to bacalau (spelled bacaluah is Portuguese) and then stopped in a little coffee shop to eat some pasteis de bacalhau (or croquetas de bacalau in Spanish) which were delicious! I also had one with chicken inside which was very different than any pasteis or croqueta I have had before, it was really good, I want to find a recipe for them.

While in Portugal, most of what I ate was cheese. I LOVE cheese, especially sheep's milk cheese, which I fell in love with when I lived in Spain. In Portugal, one of the best cheese I had was this creamy and soft sheep's cheese that we ate with a spoon out of the rind. I believe it was called Azeitao.It was the dessert course of a very long dinner I had where the main course was swordfish "portuguese style" which turns out means it was stewed with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and deliciousness.

My last night in Portugal, I went to a fantastic restaurant in Lisbon that was built in an old monastery called A Travessa. It was beautiful, the service was amazing (the owner and a somalier waited on us) and the food delicious. I can't ask for much more. We sat down and they just started bringing us small plates, lots of blended fish pates (that were really good and reminded me of gefilte fish a little bit... in a good way), but the best small plate was fried goat cheese with pumpkin jam. Yes! For the main meal, I had stone bass (I had never heard of this kind of bass before going to Portugal...) with a lime sauce, which was very good, and for dessert this amazing raspberry and cream napolean with millefiore cookies (it is pictured on their website, just amazing). It was too dark to get good pictures of my food, but see below for some shots of the restaurant.

After Lisbon, I jetted off to Scotland to meet Tucker, eat some neeps and tatties, and of course, drink some whiskey!

Chicken Tagine With Dried Cherries And Almonds

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 01:57:00 +0000

First of all, I have to apologize for my delinquency recently when it comes to this blog. In my defense, I went to Las Vegas three times in 6 weeks (during one of these trips I tried RM Seafood and bought Rick Moonen's cookbook, Fish Without A Doubt), we've been in the process of buying a house, and I'm about to leave again for a long trip spanning Portugal and Scotland! Wow, most insane Spring ever!

Anyhow, in the midst of all this, Tucker has created some amazing food, I've tried some pretty good restaurants, and our farm share started up (hurray for veggies!). I have a big backlog of recipes I want to blog, and first up is this FANTASTIC chicken tagine. I've always liked chicken tagine, but this one blows all the other ones out of the water. We served it with red quinoa (actually, it tastes the same as regular quinoa, but it is prettier).

Chicken Tagine With Dried Cherries And Almonds
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated
Ingredients
1/4 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 strips lemon zest (each about 2 inches by 3/4 inch)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice , from 1 to 2 lemons
5 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons)
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks; wings reserved for another use) and trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion , halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 3 cups)
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon honey
1 medium carrot , peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick coins (about 1 cup)
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup raw unsalted almonds, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

Combine spices in small bowl and set aside. Zest the lemon; combine with 1 teaspoon minced garlic and mince together until reduced to fine paste; set aside.
Season both sides of chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large heavy--bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown chicken pieces skin side down in single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 4 minutes more. Transfer chicken to large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off skin and discard. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.
Add onion and 2 remaining lemon zest strips to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have browned at edges but still retain shape, 5 to 7 minutes (add 1 tablespoon water if pan gets too dark). Add remaining 4 teaspoons garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly, until darkened and very fragrant, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in broth and honey, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Add thighs and drumsticks, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add carrots, cherries, and breast pieces (with any accumulated juices) to pot, arranging breast pieces in single layer on top of carrots. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer chicken to plate or bowl and tent with foil. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid has thickened slightly and carrots are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Return chicken to pot and add garlic-zest mixture, cilantro, and lemon juice; stir to combine and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with almonds and serve immediately over quinoa.

Six Layer Bourbon-Soaked Genoise With Chocolate Butter Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 15 May 2010 02:00:00 +0000

It was Tucker's grandmother Gwen's 85th birthday a few weeks ago and the family decided to throw her a southern food themed birthday party (Gwen is originally from North Carolina). The amount of food was out of control: fried chicken, deep fried scallops, North Carolina style BBQ chicken and pork butt, grilled scallops, black eyed peas, biscuits, and sweet tea. Oh and for dessert, this six layer cake soaked in bourbon and Aunt Weezie's famous coconut sandwich cookies (I love those things, I'll have to get the recipe to post soon). I think it was Tucker's dad, Buffer, who decided that it was important that the cake fit all 85 candles (yes, really), but without causing a firestorm (apparently there had been a previous incident at an 80th birthday party). This explains the shape of the cake, which we baked in a jelly roll pan, sliced in thirds, and stacked. There were three layers of cake, and three of frosting (all together, 6 layers.. yeah, that might be cheating a little). We were inspired by Hungarian seven layer cake, which I have enjoyed at many family gatherings, traditionally purchased at a bakery on the north shore. We had to make it Southern to match the theme, so we soaked the cake in a bourbon simple syrup overnight.

This cake was all sorts of delicious... even if you just make it two layers (or even one), its going to be good... although I do like the high ratio of buttercream to cake on this one :)

Six Layer Bourbon-Soaked Genoise With Chocolate Butter Cream
Adapted from The Cake Bible

Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
6T unsalted butter
2t vanilla
8 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 cup cornstarch

FOR THE SYRUP
1/4 cup +1 1/2 t sugar
1/2 water
2T bourbon

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 cups unsalted, softened butter
6 oz melted and cooled bittersweet chocolate

Instructions
FOR THE CAKE

Preheat the oven to 350F. Take a jelly roll pan and line it with parchment paper.
First, clarify the butter: in a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, partially covered to prevent splattering. When the butter looks clear, cook uncovered, watching carefully until the solids drop and begin to brown. Pour immediately through a fine strainer or a strainer lined with cheesecloth
Warm the butter until almost hot (110F-120F) add the vanilla and keep warm.
In large mixing bowl set over a pan of simmering water heat the eggs and sugar until just lukewarm, stirring constantly to prevent curdling. Using the whisk beater, beat the mixture on high speed for 5 minutes or until the volume triples.
While the eggs are beating, sift together flour and corn starch.
Remove 1 cup of egg mixture and throughly whisk into the butter
Sift 1/2 the flour mixture over the remaining egg mixture and fold it in gently but rapidly until all the flour has disappeared. Repeat with the remaining flour. Fold in the butter mixture until just incorporated
Pour immediately into the pan and bake for 25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and starts to shrink slightly from the sides of the pan.
Remove cake and let cool.sprinkle syrup over it. Let sit for several hours or overnight before assembling.

FOR THE SYRUP

In a small saucepan with a lid, bring the sugar and water to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Cover immediately and remove from heat, and allow to cool completely. Transfer liquid to measuring cup and stir in bourbon.

FOR THE BUTTER CREAM

Beat yolks until light in color
Combine sugar and corn syrup in saucepan, heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves and syrup comes to roiling boil
Transfer syrup to 1 cup heatproof glass measure to stop the cooking
Gradually beat syrup into eggs, continue beating until completely cool

TO ASSEMBLE

Cut cake into thirds the long way. Frost liberally between each layer. Before frosting the top and outside, use a knife to even out the sides. Frost the top and sides completely.
We decorated with pansies and violets, they were lovely.
OPTIONAL: place 85 candles on the cake and light them, just be sure to do it quick or the butter cream will melt!

The Chef de Plunge is not liable for any firestorms accidentally created by this cake:

Whole Wheat Oatmeal-Cranberry Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Mon, 03 May 2010 23:56:00 +0000

I love muffins. A lot. If you have met me at least a few times, you probably know this. I am easily bribed with muffins, and Tucker once (successfully) tried to impress me by bringing muffins to class. I think that was the first time I noticed he existed. Anyhow, muffins are also my demise because they are so addictive and not too healthy. But these muffins are healthy(ish), at least I tell myself that. And they are actually delicious, unlike other "healthy" muffins that are like rocks and filled with things that shouldn't go in muffins (like raisins and carrots, unless it is a carrot-cake muffin, then I will make an exception. But come on, is that really a muffin? More like a cupcake.). But these are light, fluffy, sweet, but not too sweet, and delicious. They are adapted from Bittman's whole wheat muffins, and the key ingredient is the whole wheat pastry flour, which we eventually found at Whole Foods. We made them once before with bananas, which was also very good, as a bribe to get me to finish my big report I had been working on.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal-Cranberry Muffins
Adapted from Mark Bittman

Ingredients
MUFFINS
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, more for greasing tins
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
TOPPING
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons quick oats

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease two 6-cup muffin tins or fill with liners. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture, add cranberries, and stir until just combined.
Fill muffin tins or liners. Mix remaining brown sugar and oats together in the bowl you used to melt the butter, letting the topping soak up all the excess butter. Sprinkle a small amount of topping on to each muffin.
Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffins are puffed and turning golden brown on top. Serve warm if possible.

Yield: 12 muffins.

Chile Rellenos with Chipotle Black Beans and Mushrooms

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 21:36:00 +0000

Yum! I love chile rellenos (stuffed hot peppers)! Normally these are made by stuffing poblano peppers (very very mild, I swear) with cheese and eggs, and then the whole pepper is breaded in corn meal and fried. I'm pretty sure that jalapeno poppers evolved out of chili rellenos. In order to simplify this (and make it SLIGHTLY healthier) we skipped the frying part and just roasted these in the oven until the cheese melted and then served them with rice and chipotle black beans sauteed with mushrooms. For an even simpler version of this, you could just serve the chile rellenos with canned re-fried beans (I recommend Trader Joe's vegetarian re-fried beans)

Chile Rellenos
Ingredients
4 medium-sized poblano peppers
1/2 cup grated queso freso
1/4 cup cheddar
1-2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
a dash of salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400. Blacken chiles over the open flame on a gas stove until they are slightly charred. Remove and let cool, peel off as much of the skin that comes off easily.
Slice the chiles down the middle (leaving the caps intact) and remove the seeds. Place them on an ovenproof pan.
Mix the cheeses, flour, and eggs. Stuff the mixture inside the chiles and and close with toothpicks
Roast in the oven until the cheese has completely melted and chiles are cooked all the way through

Chipotle Black Beans with Mushrooms
Ingredients
1 12 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 onion, diced
6 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chipotle pepper, finely diced
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Saute the onions in a thin layer of vegetable oil, softening with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and cook until water is absorbed, then add the garlic and chipotle. Cook a few minutes more, then mix in black beans.

The Risotto Challenge: Hominy and Mushroom Risotto with Chipotle Glazed Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:43:00 +0000

The risotto challenge continues, this time with hominy and a Latin-inspired risotto! This was one of my favorite risottos yet, the hominy came out very creamy with the queso fresco and the chicken just a little bit spicy.

Hominy and Mushroom Risotto with Chipotle Glazed Chicken

Ingredients
FOR THE RISOTTO:
6-8 oz mushrooms
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups hominy soaked overnight, then drained, dried, and pulsed in the food processor until in rice-sized pieces
1/2 cup of white wine
4-5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup grated queso fresco
Salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE CHICKEN:
2 chipotle peppers
1 clove minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions
FOR THE RISOTTO:
Saute the mushrooms in olive oil in a large pan. Pull them out and soften the onion in the pan with salt and pepper. And garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Add the hominy and cook for two minutes until lightly toasted. De-glaze the pan with the wine, then add 2 cups chicken broth. Cook on medium, stirring frequently until liquid is almost all absorbed. Add broth in 1/2 cup increments, stirring frequently until hominy is cooked. Stir the mushrooms and cheese into the risotto and remove from heat.

FOR THE CHICKEN:
Cut the chicken up into strips and marinate in 1 diced chipotle, garlic, line juice, and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar for an hour. Take chicken out of the marinade, skewer it and place on hot charcoal grill. While chicken cooks, mix the honey, 1 minced chipotle, and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar to make a glaze. Cook the chicken almost all the way through, about a minute before it comes off, brush each side with glaze. Remove chicken from grill, pull off skewers and serve with risotto.

Salts Restaurant: Unexpected Elegance With A Few Twists

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:00:00 +0000

I can't tell you the number of times I've walked by Salts Restaurant and not given it a second glance. I'm not exactly sure why, to tell you the truth. I think that the fancy copper sign with funky lettering seemed like it was trying too hard... and in my mind it was overcompensating for mediocre food. Boy, was I wrong! Our meal at Salts on Friday night was one of the best fine-dining meals I've had in a long time.

First, a note: unlike most places in Cambridge, this restaurant is actually pretty fancy. I was wearing jeans and a collared shirt, but I was definitely under-dressed. Luckily, the restaurant didn't seem to mind, but as I sat there, more and more suited and high-heeled guests came in, and I felt more and more like I should have dressed up a little more! The ambiance in there is very cute and refined, as well as romantic, I would say.

Before the meal, they brought us a small bowl of parsnip soup with apple and garlic foam, which was really really good.

Our first course was pretty adventurous: Soft cooked farm egg with burgundy snails, ham, morels, parsley, green garlic, oat "rissotto", walnut oil and some kind of foam (I forget what kind). Ok, I'll admit it, I didn't actually eat the snails, I'm too much of a wimp. But the risotto was excellent, especially the morel mushrooms, although the bright green of the risotto was a little bit off-putting,. We were excited to try the oat risotto because that is something we have made ourselves as part of our "Risotto Challenge" where we are trying to make a risotto out of each whole grain. But I digress...

For the main course, I had Atlantic halibut with heirloom potato gnocchi, pickled beets, black truffle "caviar" in a dill emulsion. WOW. The fish was crispy on the outside and buttery smooth on the inside. The "caviar" was actually encapsulated truffle oil, which was a creative touch, and the pickled beets were sweet and unexpected (in a good way). The dill emulsion sauce was also very good. The weak link in this dish were the gnocchi, which I felt were a little bit under seasoned and underwhelming compared to the rest of the elements in the dish.

Tucker had the hazelnut agnolotti (pasta) with french white asparagus, artichoke, aged gouda, saffron, and orange. This dish was also very good, although the presentation wasn't as pretty as my dish, and the dish wasn't as colorful. All of the flavors were a lot more subtle in this dish, but still quite excellent.

For dessert, we had the chocolate and caramel tart with candied kumquats, whipped caramel, and hazelnut brown butter ice cream. All of this was good, especially the ice cream which was slightly burnt tasted and really unique. The candied kumquats were a really nice addition to the dish as well.

Overall, this place is getting 5 stars from me, the food and ambiance were excellent, it is fancy without being stuffy and the food is unique without going over the top (although they could stand to lay off the foam a little bit, isn't that a 2009 trend?)