Rye berry salad with salmon and fresh chickpeas

Monday, April 13, 2015

I can name three foods that my kids unanimously adore: spaghetti, avocados, and chickpeas. Occasionally chicken will find its way onto the short list, although lately we’ve had poultry battles reminiscent of The Cold War. I finally had to ask what was going on because everyone was silently pushing their chicken around their plates. Apparently I make it too often.

I have a love/hate relationship with spaghetti. On the one hand, I’m Italian and feeding my kids noodles for dinner is part of my job description. On the other, it’s a starch with little dietary value. Not the end of the world, an “absence of” is still better than foods that are “full of” [trans fats, preservatives, artificial colors, etc]. But I’d prefer to give them something that packs more nutritional heat.

Chickpeas are my hero food because although they look deceptively simple, they’re still full of the good stuff, namely protein and fiber.

I’m making my kids sound pickier than they are – they do love many healthy foods. They like their tomatoes raw, their broccoli salted and their corn on the cob. Lauren starts most days with a slice of toast, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Carrots are a favorite snack. Runny eggs are religion.

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CSA

Bialas Farms CSA: Week 15

Monday, October 6, 2014

I’m in a rut. A dark, dank, no light at the end of the tunnel rut, and it all starts and ends with tomatoes. Other than the token tomato soup that I shared with you last week, I’ve gotten lazy with my tomatoes. Tomato salad, tomato salad, sliced tomatoes and salt (!), tomato salad. These are the confessions of a local food addict.

Box contents:

Tomatoes
Acorn Squash
Zucchini
Assorted Peppers*
Beets
Spinach
Leeks
Carrots
Sweet Corn
Cippolini Onions

Tomato salad with shaved zucchini, corn and parsley

Tomato salad with beet green pesto vinaigrette, corn, arugula, and torn mozzarella

Tomato salad with steamed broccoli, arugula, corn, and lemon yogurt dressing with za’atar

It sounds so ungrateful, because what’s not to love about these gorgeous salads? But I’m over it. I need to branch out. Give me a tart, give me a quiche, give me a flaky buttery crostata. I picked up more tomatoes in my CSA box on Saturday: Mark my word, you will not be seeing any tomato salads next week. As beautiful, health-inducing, and waistline-friendly as they may be, it’s time to pack them up with the sundresses and stow them away until next year.

Although this may seem like stream of consciousness, edit-worthy and destined for the delete button, I’ve left it in here to prove one point: that just because I cook some elaborate meals for our family each week, I still struggle with what to make. I get stuck in old routines, I defer to the dish of least resistance. Come January when a fresh tomato is but a fleck in my distant memory I’ll be full of ideas. This week, I’m running on empty.

Joining a CSA is wildly fun, but you end up getting a set of vegetables that you might not otherwise be in the mood for. Which I guess is a blessing in disguise because it forces me out of my comfort zone, and into the cookbooks that I love to collect and don’t always have time to read. So stay tuned for next week where I’ll hopefully do some creative things with lettuce and tomatoes. That involve neither bacon nor bread.

Let’s talk about the first cookbook that I checked out in detail: David Chang’s “Momofuku”. I’ll be honest, Rodney gifted me this book a few years ago and it went directly to the cookbook shelf to collect dust. I did flip through it briefly and thought to myself: Konbu? Dashi? Not happening.

Although I pride myself in taking risks with ingredients like Chermoula and Black Tahini, when you nudge me East of the Mediterranean, I panic.

Maybe it has to do with that time when I summoned the nerve to walk into an authentic Japanese grocery store in Midtown, saw not a lick of printed English and fled without purchasing my intended bag of Shiro miso.

But on impulse last week, I was shopping for short ribs at Whole Foods’ meat counter and the pork belly was calling to me. I try to buy organic and hormone-free meats whenever I can, and Whole Food always has a great selection. With no intended recipe in my head, I came home and wondered…. “who knows how to cook pork belly?”

“David Chang, that’s who!”

My subconscious is intuitive when it comes to food.

Out came the Momofuku cookbook. I brushed off the dust and flipped through to page 50 for belly directions. An overnight dry brine, and then an hour-long crispy-skin inducing roast at 450 degrees followed by a long slow roast at 250.

I won’t indulge you with any specific descriptions of what happened next but it involved a trail of gleaming fat on my cheek and pieces of charred bacon wedged under my fingernails. Appetizing, I know. But have you ever seen a dog attack a piece of meat when she thinks that nobody is looking?

Fortunately I was able to save most of the belly for other purposes, namely this super delicious pork belly Banh Mi sandwich. I ate it for lunch and then served it to Rodney for dinner that night. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, which I took as a positive sign.

(that was mine from lunch)

(here was his from dinner right before the top layer smooshed everything down into one fantastic porky/salady mess of fabulousness)

To make the pork belly:

Sprinkle a 2-lb piece of pork belly all over with 2 tablespoons each of salt and sugar, cover and place in the fridge overnight. Nestle the belly in a roasting pan and heat in a high oven (450 degrees) and roast fat side up for an hour. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees, basting occasionally, and continue to cook for another 90 minutes. Let cool, then slice.

To make the pickled cabbage:

While the pork belly is roasting, take a quarter head of red cabbage, core, and then slice thinly. Toss the cabbage in a bowl with 1 tablespoon each of salt and sugar, and 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar. Let the cabbage pickle on the counter, tossing every once in a while.

To make the banh mi:

Split a French bread roll in half, and squeeze a little may on each side (I prefer to use Kewpie mayo, a Japanese brand, but use whatever you have on hand whether it’s Hellman’s or homemade). On one side layer the majority of your vegetable ingredients- the pickled cabbage, sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, and torn cilantro. Season this side with a touch of salt. On the other side layer your sliced pork belly, sliced radishes, and daikon sprouts (or shredded daikon / more radishes if you don’t have the sprouts available). Season again with a touch of salt. Finish the sandwich by squeezing a touch of lime over the whole thing and adding a few drops of Chili Lime Cholula or Sriracha (even Tabasco will work). Enjoy the best dang sandwich you’ve ever made.

But I didn’t want to stop there because directly opposite the recipe for pork belly was a recipe for pork shoulder which he uses for all kinds of preparations, including ramen.

There was a time when I thought that ramen meant a Cup-o-soup full of dried noodles and super salty broth. Which wasn’t entirely unpleasant (notwithstanding the searing post-consumption MSG headache), but if you’ve had real deal ramen made with pork stock….there’s nothing like it.

The great thing about cooking pork shoulder is that you’re left with a) a mound of perfectly shredded pork meat for our soup and b) a gigantic dinosaur-looking bone which you can use to make the stock.

So that’s what I did – dry-brined the shoulder according to Chang’s directions, and then roasted it at a low temp for close to 8 hours. I used the bone to make a pork stock overnight in the slow cooker, and the next day made ramen. Which isn’t a true replicate of Momofuku’s ramen because I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand (the konbu, the dried shitakes) but it was my version. Meaning to say a CSA vegetable-doctored Asian/Mediterranean hybrid that sounds weird but was really delicious. Feel free to add whatever vegetables that you have on hand, but my fridge was stocked with plenty of goods from my CSA box, along with some delicate daikon sprouts that I pick up weekly from my local market.

To make the make the pork shoulder for the ramen:

Sprinkle a 3-lb piece of bone-in pork shoulder all over with 2 tablespoons each of salt and sugar, cover and place in the fridge overnight. The next day, pour off any accumulated juices and nestle the meat in a roasting pan. Roast at 250 degrees for 6-8 hours (I found that it didn’t really matter- Because I couldn’t attend to it when it was done cooking, mine probably cooked for 9 hours and was just fine). Let cool slightly, then shred, saving the bone for the stock. Also, save any fat and juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the pan in a mason jar- they’ll help flavor the stock. You can add a tablespoon of water to the pan to help deglaze and remove the stubborn pieces. This will make FAR more pork than you need for the soup, so feel free to use for anything else that you want – enchiladas? tacos? stew?

To make the pork stock:

Place the pork bone into a slow cooker, and add some vegetables – I added a chopped onion, 2 carrots peeled and chopped, 2 chopped stalks of celery, 2 bay leaves, and 5 peppercorns. (This makes a more Mediterranean-flavored stock since I wanted to use a versatile stock for other uses as well). Add 2 quarts of water, and set the slow cooker to low, cooking for 8-12 hours or over night. When the stock is done, strain out the vegetables.

Pull the mason jar of congealed pork fat from the fridge (mmmm, congealed pork fat sounds delicious, doesn’t it?) and scoop off the light-colored fat from the top. You can keep it if you’d like for other purposes- roasting potatoes, etc. Then scoop out the darker brown porky bits that are at the bottom of the jar and stir this into the stock for added richness. If you’re going to use the stock just for ramen, add a few tablespoons of soy sauce for color and added flavor.

To make the ramen:

Assemble your ingredients: I used a combination of sliced radishes, sliced green onions, sliced red cabbage, and daikon sprouts. Make sure that your pork is warm, and have some extra soy sauce and Sriracha on hand.

Cook your noodles in a large pot of salted water. I like to use Somen noodles, but you can use anything you’d like. While the noodles are cooking, cook your eggs to perfectly soft-boiled consistency and follow chef Chang’s recommendations to the letter: bring a pot of water to boil, add your room temp eggs, and then cook for exactly 5 minutes, 10 seconds. I now swear by this method- the eggs come out perfectly cooked. Run under cold water and peel.

When the noodles are done, ladle them into a large, flat bowl, and top with your ingredients- the radishes, cabbage, sprouts, pork, warm shredded pork, and the soft-boiled egg, halved. Season to taste with additional soy sauce and Sriracha.

Now from one cookbook to another: Michael Symon’s “Carnivore”.

I was a Michael Symon fan long before he first appeared on the Food Network as Iron Chef Symon. Michael Ruhlman had written about Chef Symon’s eponymous restaurant “Lola” in the book “The Soul of a Chef”. Ruhlman’s portrayal of Chef Symon was nothing short of infectious, and despite never having been to Cleveland, I immediately developed a legitimate crush on the bald guy with a big laugh and even bigger food.

Michael Symon came out with the book “Carnivore” two years ago, and I bought it immediately, eager to check out his recipes at home. The book has never disappointed, and it was the first resource I checked for some short rib inspiration.

Short ribs are a favorite Fall food, and the temperature doesn’t have to dip more than a few degrees south of 70 before I break out the cast iron Dutch oven. I used Michael Symon’s recipe for red wine-braised veal short ribs, which I swapped for your standard full-grown beef variety and scaled back for a moderate 5 ribs and 1 bottle of wine. (his calls for 4 bottles!)

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CSA

Bialas Farms CSA: Week 9

Sunday, August 24, 2014

This week was one of the more fun weeks to cook – not only because I got a fabulous box full of vegetables from our friends at Bialas Farms, but also because I received my first box of artisanal food products from Hatchery.

I’ve been wanting to test out the Hatchery subscription box for a while since I tend to fall hard for small-batch producers. My first box didn’t disappoint, a true compliment for the range of vegetables that I received from the farm, including:

Poblano Chiles
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Green Peppers
Red & Yellow Onions
Beets
Radishes
Eggplant
Cilantro
Zucchini
Cucumber
Lettuce

Cooking with this range of unique products has been fun.

Pictured: Lafaza Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean, Bella Nut Sunflower Maca Cinnamon Honey Nut Butter, Not Ketchup Cherry Chipotle dipping sauce, Modern Gingham Preserves Coffee’d Tart Cherry jam, Fogg City Spice Co. Smokey BBQ Seasoning and extra virgin olive oil from the Other Brother Company.

Breakfast couldn’t wait; I immediately spooned some of the Coffee’d tart cherry jam onto Greek yogurt and topped with a handful of homemade granola. I could wake up to this every day.

As you may have seen on previous CSA posts, the majority of the recipes featured use my Bialas Farms produce. But in some cases, when I hit the farmer’s market to pick up my farm share box, I stop by the neighboring stands to gather some additional items – namely berries, stone fruit and melons.

I try to make these posts as inclusive as possible, recognizing that many people receive these types of fruits in their CSA boxes, and/or may be shopping for similar summer items at the farmer’s market. So please excuse me if I meander a little and share dishes that have been prepped with food that goes beyond my CSA box specifically.

I’ve been making ice pops all summer long with the berries that we’ve been buying in bulk. Before we headed up to the lake, I’d ordered a few different pop molds on Amazon, which I thought could be a fun activity for the kids. This week we tried a blackberry and vanilla bean combo which was a straight up disaster. I’m still not quite sure what happened to a few of the pops, but the two different sections froze separately and at different temps, making them really tough to unmold.

Which led to a lot of this…

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CSA

Bialas Farms CSA: Week 6 + an announcement

Monday, August 4, 2014

Given our travel to Alabama last week, it was a short cooking week last week, and another short week for this one as well. But I managed to sneak in a few good meals, which was especially important given that my Dad was visiting for a few days.

Our dog sitter was kind enough to pick up (and wash/bag) my farm share produce, God bless her, which this week was made up of every shade of green.

Shallots
Swiss chard
Kirby cucumbers
Mariachi peppers
Green beans
Zucchini
Green peppers
Fresh basil
Romaine lettuce
Sweet corn

Since we got in on Sunday night and my Dad was set to arrive on Monday afternoon, I didn’t have much shopping or prep time, so most of what I cooked during his visit was from the share and a good scrounge through the refrigerator.

After a travel snafu that got my Dad in a few hours later than planned, we decompressed on the dock with a bottle of rosé and a big platter of deconstructed wedge salad. I’ve seen the Smitten Kitchen version in Deb’s cookbook, and this one comes pretty close with layers of iceberg lettuce stacked and coated in a lemony buttermilk dressing. Although the iceberg lettuce wasn’t from my CSA box, I’d picked it up on a whim at the store thinking that it would be a perfect match for the smoky local bacon from the Ringwood farmer’s market each weekend.

To make the lemony buttermilk iceberg wedge:

Make a 1lb package of bacon using your favorite method. Set aside to cool. While the bacon is cooling, make the lemony buttermilk dressing by mixing 1/3 cup of buttermilk with the juice of a half lemon. Add 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt for body, season with salt and pepper, and then gradually whisk in 1/3 cup of olive oil to emulsify. Set aside.

Cut the iceberg lettuce into quarters, removing the tougher core, and separating the lettuce into large leaves. Prep the rest of the salad ingredients: Break the bacon into crumbles; dice ½ pint of cherry tomatoes; crumble ¼ lb of blue cheese, slice 2-3 green onions crosswise.

To assemble the salad, layer 1/3 of the iceberg lettuce, and 1/3 of the remaining ingredients on top, ending with the dressing. Complete two more layers like this, ending with the dressing (reserving a few green onions for the top). Sprinkle the salad with the remaining green onions, and give the whole thing a big grinding of black pepper and a pinch of smoked Maldon salt.

My dad always seems to be on a diet so I backed off of the bacon-studded waffle plan and kept him on a steady breakfast/lunch feed of tomatoes and avocados with a squeeze of lime.

But at a certain point, I have to cave and cook real food. I can only see someone consume so much prune juice and Special K.

Starved for a little substance, I made one hell of a dinner with the corn and potatoes from our share, along with one of my favorite dishes of all time: pomegranate chicken, which is lacquered with homemade pomegranate molasses just before serving. If you want the recipe, be sure to track it down in this post.

My old neighborhood butcher in Chelsea recommended this preparation for potatoes and I’ve used it a few times since – it’s foolproof, and the best way to get them to that ethereal place where soft and crispy come together in one perfect bite.

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CSA

Bialas Farms CSA: Week 5

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Although I only had a few days to cook before we left on our family trip to Alabama to see relatives, I felt like I had to make the most of this week’s box. Nothing makes me more sad than having to toss beautiful produce, so I tried to use up as much as I could – by either eating, freezing, or preserving.

The good news is that I got through most of it.

And there was a lot to get through – here is what we received in this week’s box:

Kirby cucumbers
Radishes*
Tomatoes*
Buttercrunch lettuce
Green beans
Fresh garlic
Parsley
Garlic scapes
Yellow onions
Basil
Broccoli
Kale
Zucchini
Carrots

I just had to take this shot of Action Jackson working his way around the vegetables – our boy is never too far out of reach from our food. Even this guy will eat his greens…

I did have some help this week – at the beginning of the week I received an incredible set of cheeses from my friends at the Vermont Creamery. My fridge was packed with crème fraiche, mascarpone, aged goat cheese in all kinds of shapes, sizes and maturities. When you start with great ingredients, it’s almost hard not to cook delicious meals.

One of the first things that I made with my new cheese stash was a whipped rosemary goat cheese spread, which is perfect as a light meal on toasted bread and fresh tomatoes.

To make the whipped goat cheese spread:

Soften a 4-oz package of goat cheese, and then whip with a handheld mixer until crumbly. Add a few tablespoons of heavy cream, and continue to whip until light and fluffy. Add a tablespoon or two of chopped rosemary, and serve alongside toast, grilled bread, or even on top of grilled fruit. Fabulous especially on peaches with a drizzle of honey.

And with a few logs of crumbly goat cheese, I knew that I’d be making tartines for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This one has some of the leftover pesto from Week 3’s box (click here for the recipe), and is topped with some goat cheese crumbles and pickled chard stems that are still kicking it in my fridge, courtesy of Week 1’s box (click here for the recipe).

A few weeks ago I’d picked up some smoked trout at the grocery store. Fresh fish is hard to come by in our area, but smoked salmon and smoked trout are readily available and delicious, so I’ve been trying to use them where I can. The crème fraiche from Vermont Creamery had smoked trout spread written all over it. Don’t judge before you try it – it’s wonderful. My husband quickly changed his opinion from “I’ll probably pass on that” to “damn this is delicious” once he’d taken his first bite. It’s not at all fishy- just creamy, smoky and a little salty. Perfect as a dip for my fresh, super crunchy CSA vegetables.