Random Foods I've Made

Haven't been blogging in a bit but here's some random food porn I've been up to here and there. The job and travel keeps getting in the way....

Deconstructed Carbonara for a MasterChef audition: I didn't make it.


Prawns and Salami.

Rigatoni & Buffalo Mozzarella

LME Curried Zucchini n' Lamb

This was an experiment of throwing everything in but the kitchen sink. Worked out quite nice.

6 medium zucchini
1 medium eggplant
3/4 pound lamb pieces (I used loin)
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
3 shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, whole
1 TSP cayenne pepper
1 TSP dried Thai chili peppers, minced
1 TBS salt
EVOO
2 TBS unsalted butter
2 TBS yellow curry powder
1/2 cup Vouvray wine
1/2 cup coarse bread crumbs
4 TBS chopped, roasted cashews

Preheat your oven to 250.

Take lamb and cut into cubes. Coat w/ salt and pepper. In a 4 quart, oven safe pot, sear each side over medium high heat with 2 TBS of EVOO for 30 seconds.

Peel eggplant; cut into 1" chunks. Cut zucchini in half, chop into 1" chunks.

Heat 2 TBS EVOO in the pan that had the lamb in it over medium heat. Add minced shallot and saute for 5 minutes until softened. Add the thin sliced garlic cloves with 1 TSP salt. Saute for an additional minute.

Add butter, zucchini and eggplant. Saute 10 minutes chopping the veggies with a metal spatula. Add cayenne and dried Thai chili peppers and continue to saute until the veggies have softened, about 20 minutes (or when the volume has decreased by half). Add in the curry powder.

Add back the lamb and garlic cloves. Let them rest of top of the veggies, cover, and set into the oven for 2 hours.

Add the wine and stir the entire mix. Put back into the oven for an additional hour; add in the bread crumbs and then back into the oven for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve with rice and top with chopped roasted cashews.

Lou's Most Excellent Hatcho Risotto

The first posting from France! An accomplishment it 'twas. Still (and will be for a while) getting used to the kitchen here, which has a lack of storage space and a joke of a stove (I have to manually light the burners each time I turn one on). So, if I can do it here YOU can easily do it.

This was too good to be true. One, the risotto itself. Two, "finding" Hatch-like chili's in France!

This was actually quite simple to make (and very tasty).

To make it vegetarian just remove the salami - you likely won't miss what it adds (I used the salami for another dish).

2 ½ inch/1.5 cm thick slices of salami
2 TBS EVOO
1 TBS unsalted butter
1 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Hatch chili, roasted and diced to ½ inch/1.5 cm cubed pieces
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup arborio rice
1 ounce/25 grams brie de meaux, rind removed (brie or camembert good substitutes)
Half package (4 oz./100g of prepared bitter greens (frisée, raddichio, and argula mix)
Sea salt

In a 3 quart (3 liter) pot over medium heat add the salami slices and cook until crispy and the fat has rendered off. Remove the salami - save it for the chicken if you're going to do that - and add the olive oil and butter. Toss in the shallot and about 2 TSP sea salt and saute for 8 minutes until softened. Add in the garlic and Hatch chili and saute for about 2 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium high and pour in the rice; saute for about 2 minutes. Add about 1 cup of the chicken broth - or enough to cover the rice - and return to a boil, stirring constantly. As the broth boils off add more to keep the rice covered. Do this for about 10 minutes and then check the rice for doneness - it should be a little crunchy.

Stir in the cheese until melted and then add in the greens. Stir until the greens soften (about 2 minutes, tops) and serve immediately.

Lou's Most Excellent Sausage Sautéed Spaghetti

This goes up there with true, genuine, man/dude/guy food. Quick, easy, and hearty. It ranks up there with crappy lo mein eaten while drunk. In fact, if I were drunk eating this I'd swear it'd be the best thing out there. And really only four ingredients, not counting the oil. Recipe is for one person.

Since we're moving to France in a month I'm trying to clean out the fridge and cupboards. It's amazing what you can come up with.

Spaghetti (1/6 of a box)
2 sausage links of your choosing, about ¼ pound (I used Elgin)*
1 clove garlic, halved
Grated Parmesan cheese
Canola oil

*Recommended sausages: Polish, Czech, even a real (i.e., contains veal) bratwurst.

Cook the spaghetti to al dente as per directions on the box in heavily salted water. Cold shock it (i.e. run cold water over it) when you drain and set aside.

Halve the sausage links lengthwise. In a small skillet add about 1 TSP of canola oil, the garlic, and the sausage and cook over medium heat until browned on both sides, about 6 - 8 minutes.

Remove the sausage from the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and add the spaghetti (IT WILL SPATTER - be careful). Toss the pasta around in the oil and let sit to allow it to crisp up, about 2 minutes. Toss it again and repeat this process about 3 times, or to your own desire.

Cut the sausage up into bite-sized pieces and add into the pan for a final toss. Transfer into your favorite I-use-this-bowl-to-inhale-food bowl, generously sprinkle with Parmesan, and go to town.

Variation that would work: in the spaghetti fry add a whole egg and scramble it up while sauteing the pasta. Mmmm. Could even sub American cheese singles for the Parm. Let it melt on the pasta, then mix it all up. Oh boy I'm hungry now.....

Lou's Most Excellent Cast Iron Steak

Much like what I did in my Steaked Salad recipe, this takes it to a new level and is good for small cuts of steak...such as that from buffalo.


Buffalo NY Strip steaks, about ¾ inch thick
Butter
Salt & Pepper (or Montreal steak seasoning)

...one hour before cooking.......

Remove the steaks from the fridge, quick rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Trim some of the visible fat off the steaks, about a scant ¼ cup worth, and reserve. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper or the steak seasoning. Set steaks on a wire rack and let sit for one hour, uncovered, room temperature.

Preheat the cast iron skillet to medium for 5 minutes. Add the reserved fat and "render" it for about 10 minutes, meaning, gently cook the liquifying fat out of the solids. Discard the solids keeping the liquid fat in the pan.

Crank the heat up to medium-high. [For what it's worth, my stoves burners go up to 19,000 BTU so medium-high on mine might be high or medium on yours.] As soon as the fat begins to smoke, add 1 TBS of butter per steak. It will immediately bubble and start to brown. Get ready.....

Add the steaks and try not to get fat burns on your arms doing this; tongs are advised. Sizzle for two minutes; tilt the pan to swirl the fat around.

Rotate the steaks to their sides as seen in the pictures - cook like this for about 30 seconds on each side (lateral ends excluded).

Flip the steak to the uncooked side and cook for an additional minute, tilting the pan to ensure equal fat distribution. When removing the steaks, swirl the top of the steak in the pan quickly to soak up some fat.


Voila.

Lou's Most Excellent HFS Garlic Hummus

I can't believe how crazy-stupid-easy it is to make hummus. To think I've been buying the inferior crap at the store all these years. Shame! SHAME on me! This said it makes a mess. Cutting board, food processor, etc. BUT...well worth it.

This makes A LOT of hummus so if you've got a party happening, great. If it's just the two of you get ready to hate hummus by the third day. Recipes I found called for very little garlic (which I changed) and I think a spash of paprika helps too. Lemon juice is critical. Most recipes called for 1 TBS of lemon juice, I think 2 TBS is better along with some zest.

2 cans of chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
½ cup of tahini
½ cup of good extra virgin olive oil
1 TSP kosher salt
1 TSP hot paprika
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
Juice from two large lemons
Zest from half a lemon

In your food processor add everything all at once, minus the chickpea liquid. Blend the shit out of it for about 2 - 3 minutes. While blending, add in about ½ a cup reserved chickpea juice so the hummus takes on the consistency of...hummus.

The longer you blend, the smoother it gets. [Duh.] I think I wound up going 4 minutes but experienced the law of diminishing returns on that.

Serve in a bowl with extra olive oil and a sprinkling of paprika (optional). Dip anything you want (assuming it's edible) into it. Cucumbers, radishes, pita, carrots, celery, etc.

Lou's Most Excellent Lettuce Boats II

This is a take on my Shrimp Boat recipe. A little easier and more satisfying.

Filling
1 pound lean (90%) ground beef (buffalo used in this version)
½ medium yellow onion, sliced thin
8 green onions, white parts only, sliced thin
4 green onions, green parts only, sliced into ¼ inch segments
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cloves garlic, whole
1 - 2 Serrano peppers, sliced thin
1 TBS sugar
Sea salt
Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Chili oil
Canola oil

Garnish
Juilenned Daikon radish
Juilenned seedless (English) cucumber, insides removed
Kimchi
Omelet from Shrimp Boat recipe, minus the bell pepper
Crushed, salted cashew nuts
Whole butterleaf lettuce leaves from two heads, cleaned and patted dry

In a 3 quart pot add about 1 TBS of canola oil over medium heat. Saute the onions with a big pinch of sea salt until near translucent - about 8 minutes - then add the minced garlic and 2 TSP each of sesame and chili oils. Toss for 30 seconds and then add the beef. Using a flat spatula or pastry blade, continue to cook the beef while chopping with the spatula to make a fine mixture of beef (think of making taco meat).

When the beef is done add in the sugar, 2 TSP each of fish and soy sauces, the Seranno peppers, whole garlic, and white green onions. Toss and reduce heat to simmer and cover. Let sit for 30 - 45 minutes, stirring every 10 - 15 minutes. [During this time prepare the garnishes.] When the beef is near 10 minutes finished, add in the chopped green green onion parts.

Prepare a wrap/boat by placing one strip of omelet on the bottom of a leaf, about 2 - 3 heaping TBS of beef, a strip of kimchi (if desired) and generously top with daikon and cucumber. Sprinkle the top with cashew pieces and get lots of napkins.


Yum.