Tag: dinner

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mock porchetta—it’s porktastic!

Before heading back to Sacramento for Christmas, we had a Pre-Christmas/Hanukkah/ Winter Solstice dinner with our dear Supper Club friends. Being that the dish served at this dinner would also become our 200th blog post (!!!), we knew that it had to be pork and it had to be good.

We decided on a recipe for mock porchetta from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. You might be wondering what a porchetta is and why the one we made is considered an improvisation. Well, porchetta is an Italian dish wherein an entire pig is deboned, stuffed with herbs and spices and roasted to perfection. I like to cook for a crowd, but an entire hog is out of the question for most home cooks. This recipe borrows the seasoning and cooking method from the traditional recipe, but scales it down to 3 pound pork shoulder proportions—perfect for a holiday meal.

Mock Porchetta with Roasted Vegetables, from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rogers
One 3-pound boneless pork should butt roast (my 3.5 lb roast fed 7 people)
salt
1 T capers, rinsed, dried between two towels and chopped
zest of one lemon
3 garlic cloves, chopped
12 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1 – 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
2 t fennel seeds, lightly crushed
2 t cracked black pepper
1 – 2 pounds vegetables, for roasting (carrots, potatoes, parsnip, turnip, onion)
olive oil
2/3 cup chicken stock or water
3 T dry vermouth

Judy recommends that you season and tie the pork 2 to 3 days in advance to let the meat absorb the flavors of the seasonings. Absolutely do this. Two to three days before you plan to eat, trim off any discoloration and all but 1/4 inch thick layer of superficial fat. Now you’ll want to trim the roast into one long piece of meat that is 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. The idea is to roll the seasonings into the roast, making a sort of pork butt roulade. Study the seams in the roast and carefully separate the meat into one long piece. In my experience, this was actually much easier than it sounded. Salt the splayed piece of pork on both sides. Judy recommends 1/2 t of salt per pound of meat. The lady knows where it’s at.

In a small bowl, combine capers, zest, garlic, sage, rosemary and most of the fennel seeds and black pepper. It should be about 1/2 cup loosely packed.

Spread and pack this mixture onto one side of the roast. Roll the pork back into its natural shape and then tie 4 – 5 strings around its circumference and one around the length of the roast. Rub the outside of the roast with the remaining fennel seed and black pepper. Put the pork on a plate, cover loosely and refrigerate.  I thought my roast was a beaut!

To roast: preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Plan for 2.5 hours of cooking time. Toss your vegetables with some olive oil, salt and pepper. In a roasting pan or oven-proof skillet (you make a pan sauce later so use a pan you can put on the stove), add the porchetta and surround with vegetables.

Place in the oven. If after 45 minutes, the roast hasn’t begun to color, turn the oven up to 375 degrees. After one hour, turn the roast over and roll the vegetables in the rendered fat. After two hours, turn the roast again and add 1/3 cup of stock. Roast another 15 – 3o minutes, until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 185 degrees.

Turn the oven to warm. Take the roast out of the oven and put on a cutting board to rest. Cover loosely with foil. Place the vegetables in the oven on a warm platter. Make a sauce of the pan juices. First, tilt the skillet and spoon off any excess fat. Add the remaining 1/3 cup stock and vermouth. Turn the heat to medium low. Scrape and stir to dissolve the caramelized drippings on the bottom and sides of the pan. Continue to skim the fat, until you have a nice porky sauce. Slice the pork, removing the strings as you go. Serve each slice with a spoonful of the pan sauce over the top.

In addition to the roasted vegetables, we also enjoyed potato latkes (thanks Robin!) and a salad of winter greens. Kelly made gingerbread for dessert and Jesse made mexican hot chocolate. It was the most delicious and festive of feasts!

I think this porcetta may be my new go-to holiday dish. It is simple to prepare, but oh so tasty. Plus, it has the particular flare that only dishes that require three days advance preparation can muster. Bottom line: if you want to impress, make this roast.

-Emily

 

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fennel and rice soup

This is another recipe from David Tanis’ The Heart of the Artichoke. I decided to go for it because I’ve never had a fennel soup. It did not turn out as I expected, but was good nonetheless. I had anticipated a much more prominent fennel flavor, but the fennel was subtle and balanced by chicken broth, onion and rice. Jordan thought that the soup was super comforting and he was a big fan of the herb sauce on top. Not only is this soup inexpensive, it will also use up any herbs lingering in your fridge.

Fennel and Rice Soup with Herb Swirl, adapted from The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis

For the soup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 – 3 fennel bulbs, sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
1/4 cup long grain rice
6 cups chicken broth or water

For the swirl
1 cup fennel fronds, roughly chopped (from the tops of your bulbs)
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup basil (I didn’t have basil and instead used dill)
1/4 cup scallions (I didn’t have scallions and instead used shallot)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

In a dutch oven or stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are softened and lightly browned.

Add the rice and broth. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Add more salt. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the herb sauce. In a food processor or blender, puree the herbs and scallions with the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Puree the soup in a blender until you have a smooth puree (or, in my case, with an immersion blender until you have a chunky puree). David recommends that you strain the soup after you’ve pureed it, but I skipped that step. I like rustic food and I was attached to the idea of little rice pearls in the soup.

To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl and then spoon some of the herb sauce on top. Jordan requested that I bring the herb sauce to the table, so I’ll recommend that to you as well. Some cheesy toast never hurt either.

-Emily

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buckwheat crepes with ham, cheese and egg

This recipe is another gleaned from The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis. He recommends it as a light lunch or as a first course, but Jordan and I had it for dinner without complaint. This crepe is actually sublime. It is simple, but hits on all the right notes. It is cheesy, smokey and slightly sweet from the ham, and earthy from the buckwheat—heavenly. We balanced out that goodness with this cauliflower soup and green beans.

Don’t be afraid of making these crepes if you’ve never made crepes before (or never made crepes with success before). This batter is quite robust and the crepes are really easy to flip. Just do yourself a favor and use a non-stick pan. The recipe below makes four to six 10-inch crepes, more than enough for 2 people.

Buckwheat Crepes with Ham, Cheese and Egg, adapted from The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 salt
2 T honey
2 slices of good ham per crepe
1/4 cup grated gruyère cheese per crepe
1 egg per crepe

Whisk together the flours, egg, milk, salt and honey. Put in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Quickly ladle in 1/3 cup batter. Swirl the pan to spread out the batter. Let the crepe brown on one side, about 3 minutes, and flip using a spatula or carefully with your fingers. Remove the crepe from the pan and set aside. Cook the remaining crepes.

To fill the crepes, lay each one top side down on a baking sheet. Make a ham and cheese barrier around the edges to contain the egg. Crack the egg into a small mug. Gently pour the egg into the center of the crepe and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake until the egg whites are white and the cheese is melted. A runny yolk is ideal. Serve immediately.

You can also prepare these crepes without the egg—a ham and cheese sandwich variation—which is just as good. To fill the crepes, sprinkle one side of the crepe with cheese and ham and then fold the crepe over to make a half-moon. Brush with a little melted butter.  Warm for a few minutes in the 400 degree oven, until the cheese is melted and the crepe is crispy.

-Emily

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squash stuffed with barley and chorizo

Walking down the hallway of the psychology building at school, Jordan ran into one of his fellow researchers who was enjoying a stuffed squash. He was instantly jealous. Nothing seemed more appropriate for the onset of fall weather than squash, a rustic grain, mushrooms and sausage all topped with cheese. And he said to me, “Make it so!”

Squash Stuffed with Barley and Chorizo
1 large or 2 medium squash (we used carnival, but acorn would also work. Butternut might be a bit sweet)
1/2 cup barley
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 chorizo sausage
cheese for serving

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 45 minutes, until fork tender.

While the squash is baking, cook the barley. Boil 3 parts water with 1 part barley with a little dollop of butter. Once boiling, turn the heat down and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes, until the barley is tender.

While the barley is cooking, take the sausage out of its casing. Saute the sausage until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. In the same pan, sauté the onion in a the rendered chorizo fat. When the onion is translucent, add the garlic. Saute for a few minutes more and transfer to bowl with the chorizo. Add a little butter to the pan and sauté the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Once browned, add to the chorizo and onion mixture.

When the barley is finished cooking, add it to the onion, chorizo and mushroom mixture. Stir to combine and season again with salt and pepper. You want the filling to be flavorful on its own.

Once the squash is tender, remove from the oven and stuff with the barley mixture. Top with cheese — we used swiss, but Monterey jack, Gruyère or parmesan would all do— and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes to melt the cheese. This dish is very hearty and autumnal. We enjoyed it with a simple salad on the side.

-Emily

 

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pasta with roasted tomato sauce and bacon

In the past few weeks, I’ve made three variations on this recipe. The first was great but time-consuming, the second was delicious and will become my fallback recipe, and the third was our ultra-budget version that turned out better than expected. Here is how it all went down …

A few weekends ago, I was reading cookbooks and drinking coffee while Jordan slept in and Willow took up too much space in the bed. (It’s hard to kick something this cute out from under your covers, trust us).

I stumbled across a variation on Pasta Amatriciana—pasta with braised bacon and roasted tomato sauce—in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. When Jordan woke up, I shared just the recipe title and he was sold. I set out to make this magical pasta. The recipe calls for slab bacon, which you then braise with a variety of vegetables and spices. Well, slab bacon is really hard to find, even at a fine market like Whole Foods. In a stroke of genius, I tied the cut bacon together so it re-formed a slab. Sadly, this does not work. My braised bacon was so bland; all of the smokey, salty flavor had leached into the broth and left the bacon beyond dull. There are few things sadder than flavorless bacon.

Fortunately, Jordan saved the dish by bringing home the back-up bacon. We sautéed that bacon and added it into the roasted tomato sauce, plus some of the braised bacon for texture. It worked well, but was slightly disappointing. The time-energy input did not match the deliciousness output.

The second time I made this recipe, I skipped right to adding sautéed bacon to the roasted tomato sauce. It is so good and so easy.

The last time I made this recipe, we had no bacon at all. We did however have some rendered bacon fat in our fridge. I sautéed the onions for the sauce in that bacon fat, and  like magic, delicious bacon flavor infused the whole sauce. It was unexpected and amazing and so inexpensive. The next time you cook bacon, pour the fat into a small bowl. Fill with the bowl some water to separate the fat from the burnt bits.  Refrigerate this mixture until the fat forms a solid mass on top of the water and carefully scoop the fat off the top. Sauté away, adding delicious bacon essence to whatever you cook!

Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Bacon, adapted from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook
1 16 oz jar of whole tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 T sugar
2 T olive oil or bacon fat
salt, pepper, chili flake
1/4 lb bacon, cut into lardon
1 lb pasta (we used ziti and penne).

*A is a beautiful photo of a technique that I don’t recommend you subject your bacon to.

Heat an oven to 475 degrees. Strain the tomatoes of their juice and reserve that juice. In an oven safe dish, add the strained tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast the tomatoes for 20 – 30 minutes, until browned.

In a saute pan, saute the bacon until just cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside. Pour off the excess fat, leaving a tablespoon or two. Sauté the onion in the bacon fat until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté two minutes more. Add the roasted tomatoes and reserved juice. Add sugar, salt, pepper and a pinch of chili flakes. Cook for 20 minutes and test for seasoning.

Meanwhile, put a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. When the pasta is nearly done, add the bacon back into the sauce. Toss the sauce with the cooked pasta and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan.

-Emily

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larb—a delightful thai salad

I am a big fan of the Spilled Milk Podcast by Molly Wizenberg and Mathew Amester-Burton. It makes me laugh out loud—usually on my commute home—which in any other city might look weird, but in San Francisco just makes me typical. A few weeks ago they did an episode on Thai Salads and I was inspired to try this dish. The toasted rice component was irresistible.

This dish is typically served in cabbage leaves. You could also serve it over rice or noodles. Or —my preferred method—make little Thai burritos with cabbage leaves, rice and larb all wrapped up in one awesome bundle.

Larb Gai, adapted from Spilled Milk
1 pound ground chicken thighs or pork (breasts will dry out too much)
1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons scallions, sliced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons lime juice from 1 to 2 limes
1 teaspoon red chile flakes
2 to 3 tablespoons toasted rice powder (below)
cabbage or lettuce leaves leaves

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground chicken or pork, shallots, scallions, red pepper flakes, fish sauce, and lime juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through.

Turn the larb out into a bowl and cool for at least ten minutes. Stir in rice powder. Serve with cabbage or lettuce leaves for wrapping.

Toasted Rice Powder
1/4 white rice, uncooked

Place a dry skillet over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup white rice to the pan. Toast the rice, stirring and shaking the pan frequently, until the rice is golden-brown, about 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature and grind to a very fine powder in a spice grinder or coffee grinder. I used my magic bullet—thanks Dad!

Larb is as delicious as it is fun to say! Jordan and I really enjoyed this meal. We are also trying to invent more things to top with toasted rice powder! That stuff is awesome.

-Emily

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potato hash with onion, tomato and egg

It feels good to pull of a satisfying dinner without putting in much thought or effort or really even grocery shopping. I threw this dish together on Tuesday night with the remaining contents of our CSA, plus some leftover produce from Monday night’s dinner. It was pretty awesome. And, when you feel like your haphazard dinner isn’t substantial enough, just throw an egg on it.

Potato Hash with Onions, Cherry Tomatoes and a Fried Egg
3 – 4 potatoes, cut into small cubes (we used a combo of yukon gold and purple potatoes)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt, pepper, paprika or piment d’espelette
1/4 onion, sliced (we used 3 small bunching onions)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 T parsley, chopped  (you could use any herb you have lying around – chives, basil, dill, cilantro)
2 eggs
butter, salt, pepper

Heat an oven to 375 degrees. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and toss with the olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Spread into one layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

When the potatoes have about 10 more minutes to cook, begin to saute the onions in a little olive oil over low heat. Saute until just translucent, about 7 – 8 minutes. Push the onions to the side of the pan and add a little butter. Once the foaming has subsided, add the eggs. Cook your eggs until the whites have set up and sprinkle them with some salt and pepper. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Place a layer of potatoes on the plate. Top with the onions and then the egg. Sprinkle with cherry tomatoes and herbs.

This dish is homey and satisfying. You hit almost all of the flavor bases … crunchy (potatoes), salty (potatoes again), creamy (egg yolk – yum!), tart (tomatoes). It is also filling, inexpensive and pretty low maintenance to cook.  Plus,  you could make a ton of variations on this same idea depending on what is lurking in your fridge or in your fruit bowl. Asparagus? Summer squash?  I don’t mind if I do!

-Emily

Ps. Why oh why have I wanted sing some sort of bizarre variation on Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” the entire time I’ve been writing this post … If you like it then you better put an egg on it!?! Oh boy, I need help.

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linguini with fresh ricotta, leeks and mushrooms

What do you do when you’ve got several cups of fresh, homemade ricotta? Make a delightful pasta! This dish is quick, delicious and reheats amazing well (for pasta, at least).

Linguini with Fresh Ricotta, Leeks and Mushrooms

2 leeks, sliced and rinsed of their grit
1 cup mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (We used button mushrooms and shitakes)
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 T cream
salt and pepper
1/2 lb linguini or other dry pasta
a few generous dollops of fresh ricotta per serving

Preheat an over to 350 degrees. Put on a pot of water to boil.

Slice the mushrooms and arrange them into a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake the mushrooms until they are shriveled, about 15 minutes. This makes them extra flavorful.

Meanwhile, gently saute the leeks in the butter and oil over medium low heat. After the leeks are soft, add the cream. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Reduce the leek and cream mixture just slightly. Add the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. After the pasta is al dente, add it to the sauce. Toss to coat. Plate the sauced pasta and top with a few generous dollops of ricotta. Not gorgeous, but delicious!

-Emily

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crispy roasted potatoes

Last Sunday we enjoyed an awesomely American dinner of steak and potatoes. These potatoes are great – crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and salty – almost like french fries, but without the fry-o-lator.

Crispy Roasted Potatoes, adapted from the Spilled Milk podcast

3 – 4 mini red or yellow thin-skinned potatoes per person

olive oil

salt

Boil potatoes until tender in a pot of salted water. Drain potatoes. Smoosh the potatoes in between clean dish towels (so you don’t burn your hands – hot potato!) until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle with a little salt.

Now, I’ve tried crisping these two different ways and both work well. Either – coat a baking sheet with olive oil, lay the potatoes on the sheet, drizzle with a bit more olive oil and bake at 425 degrees for 30 – 45 minutes. Or – heat some olive oil in a nonstick skillet and pan fry the potatoes over medium heat for 10 minutes or so per side, until brown and crispy. Sprinkle with a bit more salt to taste. Now, who doesn’t love a good crispy, salty potato!

To state the obvious, the steak (chateaubriand – a cheap, but decent cut offered at our local Whole Foods) was also very good.  Jordan slow cooked it at 200 degrees until the internal temperature reached 140 degrees (about 45 minutes) and then seared it quickly on each side in a skillet. This cooking method, which we stole from Jose Andres, is great for making less prime cuts of beef pretty darn tender and delicious.

-Emily

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we don’t just eat pork and desserts

Jordan loves pork and desserts. I love desserts and pork. Still, most nights we eat reasonably healthy (those just aren’t always the most fun to blog about). Last night, we ate great! (And local! And balanced! And pretty darn healthy!) It was awesome.

The menu:

Pan-seared sturgeon – salt and pepper, sear briefly on each side, rest, add a squirt of lemon

Red rice – 2 parts rice to 3 parts water, cook covered for 25 minutes, rest for 5 minutes

Sauteed green cabbage – toast some pistachios, sauté the cabbage for 3 – 4 minutes, add a little shallot, add chicken stock, cook until evaporated 4 – 5 minutes more , stir in nuts

Green salad with pesto and cara cara oranges – wash greens (and well when you get them from your CSA box and they are full of grit), supreme oranges, top with pesto (carrot tops, pistachios, orange zest, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil all mushed together in a mortar and pestle or blender)

I would recommend all the items this menu. It was delightful and satisfying. I especially loved the pesto!

-Emily

P.S. It couldn’t be all healthy, so there’s a little lemon, brown butter sauce on the fish.  I simply browned about a tablespoon of butter, added some lemon zest and salt and spooned a little over the fish.

-Jordan