A cat (Peanut) on my mouse:
And one of Marmite too:
Mushroom Ragu
16 hours ago
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Spicy Cioppino & Frozen Scallops
So this was dinner last night - Spicy Cioppino, which apparently is a San Franciscan-Italian thing. You can make it with whatever fish you want, but they suggested tilapia and scallops. It was... interesting (see Thoughts for more details).
Frozen scallops - who knew they were controversial? Was trying to find out how to thaw them, and discovered that apparently a guy got chucked off Top Chef last year for using them. Oh well, this is really the opposite of Top Chef here. (Bottom Chef? Um, actually, let's not go there...) So I'm not worrying about it.
What I did worry about was giving us food poisoning by thawing them incorrectly. Anyhoo, chowhound and others suggested putting them in a plastic bag under cold running water for approx. 15 mins. Then you don't rinse them, just pat them dry. Apparently if you rinse them all the flavor goes down the drain too. So that's what I did, with no ill effects so far.
The Recipe: Spicy Cioppino
From Eating Well.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
We didn't have any hot paprika, just the regular kind, so followed a suggestion from the interwebs and used some red pepper flakes too. Now, the slightly annoying thing is that the recipe says to add the paprika "to taste," but you have to put it in before it's physically possible to taste it. Hmm.
Anyway, it turned out super paprika-y. And since both tilapia and scallops have gentle flavors, I felt this was a bit of a problem. But maybe I did something wrong. Haven't cooked with paprika before, in fact didn't think of it as having much of a flavor, so didn't know what to expect. Suggestions gratefully received.
But it was perfectly edible, we ate it with some nice bread to soak up the juices. And I did manage not to overcook the scallops.
Pix
Thawing the scallops:
Sauce simmering:
It did look nice in the evening sun:
Frozen scallops - who knew they were controversial? Was trying to find out how to thaw them, and discovered that apparently a guy got chucked off Top Chef last year for using them. Oh well, this is really the opposite of Top Chef here. (Bottom Chef? Um, actually, let's not go there...) So I'm not worrying about it.
What I did worry about was giving us food poisoning by thawing them incorrectly. Anyhoo, chowhound and others suggested putting them in a plastic bag under cold running water for approx. 15 mins. Then you don't rinse them, just pat them dry. Apparently if you rinse them all the flavor goes down the drain too. So that's what I did, with no ill effects so far.
The Recipe: Spicy Cioppino
From Eating Well.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
We didn't have any hot paprika, just the regular kind, so followed a suggestion from the interwebs and used some red pepper flakes too. Now, the slightly annoying thing is that the recipe says to add the paprika "to taste," but you have to put it in before it's physically possible to taste it. Hmm.
Anyway, it turned out super paprika-y. And since both tilapia and scallops have gentle flavors, I felt this was a bit of a problem. But maybe I did something wrong. Haven't cooked with paprika before, in fact didn't think of it as having much of a flavor, so didn't know what to expect. Suggestions gratefully received.
But it was perfectly edible, we ate it with some nice bread to soak up the juices. And I did manage not to overcook the scallops.
Pix
Thawing the scallops:
Sauce simmering:
It did look nice in the evening sun:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Jamie Oliver's Summertime Tagliarini
OK, I know, it's not summer yet. But in all this cooking I hadn't made anything from the cookbook Jack got me for Xmas, so picked out this - and it was quite a hit. It's richer than you'd think, but the lemon gives it freshness.
The Recipe: Summertime Tagliarini
From Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook by Jamie Oliver
Looks like it would be "claggy," right?
Done:
Close-up - looks remarkably like the one in the book!
The Recipe: Summertime Tagliarini
From Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook by Jamie Oliver
- 4 oz pinenuts
- juice and zest of 2 lemons
- large bunch of fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, leaves picked, half finely chopped and half left whole [actually, half left whole is a bit much, since it's just for sprinkling - I did about a third or a quarter]
- 1 cup minus 1 tbspn extra virgin olive oil [seems like a lot of olive oil - see Thoughts below]
- 5.5 oz Parmesan, freshly grated, plus extra for shaving
- 1.75 oz pecorino, freshly grated [presumably he means Romano, we didn't have any, so used all Parmesan]
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1lb 2 oz good-quality tagliarini or tagliatelle [an enormous amount, adjust as you see fit]
Serves 4.
1. Blend half the pinenuts to a paste, then put into a big heatproof bowl with the rest of the whole pinenuts, the lemon juice and zest, the finely chopped parsley, and olive oil. Stir and add the Parmesan and pecorino. Season with some freshly ground black pepper. Taste, and adjust as needed.
Jamie says: What you should have now is a reasonably thick sauce, which you should think of more as a dressing, so taste it and think about how the different flavors are coming through. Balance the flavors so you end up with something quite zingy because, as the sauce heats up and the cheese melts, the lemon flavor will calm down a lot.
2. Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Sit the sauce bowl on top of the pan while the water is heating up - this will take the chill out of the sauce and warm it up slightly. When the water starts to boil, remove the bowl and add the pasta to the water. Cook according to package instructions, then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.
3. Toss the pasta with the sauce and some of the reserved cooking water to loosen it up a bit. The heat from the pasta will melt the cheese, allowing the sauce to coat it. If you find the sauce is too thick add a little more water.
Jamie says: It's not supposed to be claggy, thick, and miserable, but incredibly silky, fresh, and fragrant.
4. Taste once more to balance then serve with a little extra Parmesan and a sprinkle of parsley leaves. Eat immediately.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
Was very worried re the "claggy" scenario. Have had that experience before with pasta and cheese - a very early cooking attempt that resulted in something that ended up being called "A Pile of C**p With S**t On It." It is still fondly known as that, even though I've managed to make it since without turning it into a gluey lump. But this actually came out fine - the reserved pasta water is key.
The only thing is... I've recently started thinking about the taste of our (cheap) extra virgin olive oil, which seems very strong - not sure I like it. And there's a lot of oil in this recipe. It didn't come out oily, but the flavor of the oil seemed more obtrusive than maybe it should have been. Will try using less of it. Any EVOO recommendations gratefully received - I know nothing! Does the taste get stronger as the quality goes up? Or the opposite, like vodka?
Pix
Warming sauce (didn't have a heatproof bowl, so used this instead):
Looks like it would be "claggy," right?
Done:
Close-up - looks remarkably like the one in the book!
Apricot Chicken
A pretty tasty weeknight dinner, with only a small amount of swearing.
The Recipe: Seared Chicken with Apricot Sauce
From Eating Well.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
We didn't have canola oil, so used olive oil instead. This was probably not good, as I think (correct me) that canola oil has a higher smoke point. And maybe my flame was too high. Anyhoo, by the time I'd done the second batch of chicken, there was some significant smokiness in our kitchen, and lots of black stuff in the pan. That really didn't look very tasty. So I switched to a different pan before the last lot of chicken was totally done, and managed to get a little bit of fond out of it. Not a total disaster.
Also, I dialed back the preserves a bit, thinking it might be too sweet. But those apricots were surprisingly tart! So would recommend sticking with what the recipe suggests.
Pix
There's fond... and there's soot...
Half-way through Step 3 (in fresh pan):
Sauce done:
On plate (terrible pic, sorry!):
The Recipe: Seared Chicken with Apricot Sauce
From Eating Well.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
We didn't have canola oil, so used olive oil instead. This was probably not good, as I think (correct me) that canola oil has a higher smoke point. And maybe my flame was too high. Anyhoo, by the time I'd done the second batch of chicken, there was some significant smokiness in our kitchen, and lots of black stuff in the pan. That really didn't look very tasty. So I switched to a different pan before the last lot of chicken was totally done, and managed to get a little bit of fond out of it. Not a total disaster.
Also, I dialed back the preserves a bit, thinking it might be too sweet. But those apricots were surprisingly tart! So would recommend sticking with what the recipe suggests.
Pix
There's fond... and there's soot...
Half-way through Step 3 (in fresh pan):
Sauce done:
On plate (terrible pic, sorry!):
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Minted Pea Soup
A confession: I love peas. Frozen peas. The fresh ones? Not so much. Always liked popping them out of their pods, but never really appreciated the taste. But now fresh peas are everywhere, another zeitgeist thing.
So here's a pea soup, a frozen pea soup, that tastes really fresh. Honestly, unless your garden is overflowing with the things, I can't imagine it would make sense to make soup with fresh peas anyway.
BTW, as well as her Virtual Bake Sale, which you can still support, I'll Eat You has some very sophisticated pea-fiteroles (such a cute name). Check them out!
The Recipe: Minted Pea Soup
From Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook: 200 Budget Meals, by Sunil Vijayakar
A book that my little sis gave me for Christmas - thanks J!
Pix
Adding the mint:
Like the splat on the side of the bowl? Sigh...
So here's a pea soup, a frozen pea soup, that tastes really fresh. Honestly, unless your garden is overflowing with the things, I can't imagine it would make sense to make soup with fresh peas anyway.
BTW, as well as her Virtual Bake Sale, which you can still support, I'll Eat You has some very sophisticated pea-fiteroles (such a cute name). Check them out!
The Recipe: Minted Pea Soup
From Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook: 200 Budget Meals, by Sunil Vijayakar
A book that my little sis gave me for Christmas - thanks J!
- 1 tbspn butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 potato, finely chopped
- 2.25 US pints (1 litre) vegetable stock
- 13 oz (400g) frozen peas
- 6 tbspn finely chopped mint leaves
- salt & freshly ground pepper
- creme fraiche (optional), to serve
Serves 4.
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and potato, and cook for 5 mins. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 10 mins or until potato is tender.
2. Add the peas to the pan and cook for a further 3-4 mins. Season well with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and stir in the mint. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Ladle into warmed bowls and top with a dollop of creme fraiche, if liked.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
Nothing comes to mind - this is just a lovely soup.Pix
Adding the mint:
Like the splat on the side of the bowl? Sigh...
Salmon with White Beans & Fennel
This week's new recipe was a little bit of a come-down after all the recent excitement. It was... OK, fine, nice-ish, etc. This is where experience would come in, to know what should be tweaked to make it great. Oh well.
The Recipe: Seared Salmon with White Beans & Fennel
From Eating Well.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
They said to remove the salmon from the heat for the second half of the cooking, but it really didn't seem to be getting done, so had to turn the heat back on. Maybe my pan wasn't hot enough or something. Apart from that it was easy enough.
Pix
Just to prove I did it, a bit gloomy.
End of step 1:
Done:
The Recipe: Seared Salmon with White Beans & Fennel
From Eating Well.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
They said to remove the salmon from the heat for the second half of the cooking, but it really didn't seem to be getting done, so had to turn the heat back on. Maybe my pan wasn't hot enough or something. Apart from that it was easy enough.
Pix
Just to prove I did it, a bit gloomy.
End of step 1:
Done:
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Pizza!!!
Turns out to be one of those infinitely intimidating things that isn't hard at all. (Meaning it's not hard to make something very edible - don't expect us to be opening a pizza restaurant.)
Read a few recipes, but decided to go with Mr B., using some tips from a great post on Kitchen Wench.
The Recipe: Pizza
Based on How to Cook Everything (10th Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman (I can't recommend this book highly enough...)
1. Combine flour, yeast (if using instant), and salt in large bowl. Add water (and activated active dry yeast, if using) and oil and stir to combine, until mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If dough is still dry, add another tbspn or two of water.
2. Turn dough onto floured working surface and knead for a few seconds to form a smooth round ball. [Mine wasn't expecially smooth, but it didn't seem to matter.] Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise until dough doubles in size, approx. 1-2 hrs. (You can cut the rising time short if you're in a hurry, or let it rise more slowly in the fridge, for up to 6 or 8 hrs.)
3. If you want, you can freeze the dough (or some of it) at this point. Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or a freezer bag and freeze it for up to a month, then defrost to room temperature and continue with step 4.
4. When dough is ready, knead it lightly, form into a ball, and divide into 2 or more pieces, as needed [dough was very moist and floppy]. Roll each piece into a ball, and put onto a floured surface. Sprinkle with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for about 30 mins while you heat the oven. [Tip from Kitchen Wench post: use cornmeal/polenta to flour the surface - this gave the finished pizza a really fabulous crunch.]
5. Put pizza stone on a lower rack if using [we don't have one], and heat oven to 500F or higher.
6. Roll or lightly press each dough ball into a flat round. Do this directly on your pizza peel (if using), or lightly oiled baking sheet(s). [Two personal-size pizzas fitted on our baking sheet.]
7. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and add any other toppings. [I did some caramelized onions, thinly sliced tomatoes, basil leaves, pine-nuts, and grated parmesan.]
8. Bake in oven for 6-12 mins, depending on oven heat, till nicely browned. If using a baking sheet, it should go in the middle of the oven.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
Again, only made half the recipe, feeling sure it would be an abject failure. But another time would make the whole thing and freeze half.
Was cautious with the toppings, because everyone emphasizes how important it is not to overload the pizza. But could have used a tad more cheese, making sure it goes all the way out to the edges. Also would have tucked the basil leaves under the tomatoes, as they got a bit crispy.
But it was delicious! And the topping possibilities are endless, of course (Kitchen Wench's post has some great examples, and Mr B. gives a huge list).
Pix
Risen dough:
About to go in oven:
Done!
View from the top:
Read a few recipes, but decided to go with Mr B., using some tips from a great post on Kitchen Wench.
The Recipe: Pizza
Based on How to Cook Everything (10th Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman (I can't recommend this book highly enough...)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tspns instant yeast [I used active dry, 2.25 tspns, which you need to activate first - the only tricky part]
- 2 tspns coarse kosher or sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil
1. Combine flour, yeast (if using instant), and salt in large bowl. Add water (and activated active dry yeast, if using) and oil and stir to combine, until mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If dough is still dry, add another tbspn or two of water.
2. Turn dough onto floured working surface and knead for a few seconds to form a smooth round ball. [Mine wasn't expecially smooth, but it didn't seem to matter.] Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise until dough doubles in size, approx. 1-2 hrs. (You can cut the rising time short if you're in a hurry, or let it rise more slowly in the fridge, for up to 6 or 8 hrs.)
3. If you want, you can freeze the dough (or some of it) at this point. Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or a freezer bag and freeze it for up to a month, then defrost to room temperature and continue with step 4.
4. When dough is ready, knead it lightly, form into a ball, and divide into 2 or more pieces, as needed [dough was very moist and floppy]. Roll each piece into a ball, and put onto a floured surface. Sprinkle with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for about 30 mins while you heat the oven. [Tip from Kitchen Wench post: use cornmeal/polenta to flour the surface - this gave the finished pizza a really fabulous crunch.]
5. Put pizza stone on a lower rack if using [we don't have one], and heat oven to 500F or higher.
6. Roll or lightly press each dough ball into a flat round. Do this directly on your pizza peel (if using), or lightly oiled baking sheet(s). [Two personal-size pizzas fitted on our baking sheet.]
7. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and add any other toppings. [I did some caramelized onions, thinly sliced tomatoes, basil leaves, pine-nuts, and grated parmesan.]
8. Bake in oven for 6-12 mins, depending on oven heat, till nicely browned. If using a baking sheet, it should go in the middle of the oven.
Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes
Again, only made half the recipe, feeling sure it would be an abject failure. But another time would make the whole thing and freeze half.
Was cautious with the toppings, because everyone emphasizes how important it is not to overload the pizza. But could have used a tad more cheese, making sure it goes all the way out to the edges. Also would have tucked the basil leaves under the tomatoes, as they got a bit crispy.
But it was delicious! And the topping possibilities are endless, of course (Kitchen Wench's post has some great examples, and Mr B. gives a huge list).
Pix
Risen dough:
About to go in oven:
Done!
View from the top:
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