Amateurs with Knives

A couple of months ago I mentioned that I had fallen in love with Bobby Flay’s Southwestern style. His smoky flavors and love of chiles spruced up with tangy ingredients are appropriate for the summer season and, since I’ve failed utterly at making some of his more artful dishes (that require a certain finesse I do not possess) I took a trip over to his website and found a recipe from his Throwdown series: Sloppy Joes.

The premise of the TV series goes like this: Bobby finds some dude or chick who allegedly makes the best of something. Bobby and his team of assistants then come up with their own version, arrive on the scene with a camera crew, and do a big cookoff (aka a “throwdown”) to see who makes the better dish. Kind of like West Side Story, but with cooking. (When you’re a Flay, you’re a Flay all the way, from your first poblano to your last dyin’ day?) Typically the dishes are really fun, homespun foods like spaghetti, lasagna, cookies, mac and cheese, the kind of food any American could get behind, and you can find the recipes either at the Food Network website or on Bobby Flay’s website.

I didn’t see the sloppy joe throwdown on television, but it looked good when I was perusing his website. Bobby’s version is actually called “Neat Joes” because they’re more of an open-faced sandwich set atop toasted, garlic-butter-smothered sourdough bread. My bread was cut into very thick slices so I could just pick it up with my hand and shovel it into my mouth, rather than negotiating with a fork. This format also makes it a great option for picnic food. Serve with some red wine and you’ve got a winner. And you’ll have to forgive the photos — it’s not easy taking a refined photograph of a sloppy joe.

I really liked the smoky flavors in this. My fear was that it was going to be really spicy, but it was actually a mix of savory and sweet. To ramp up the spice, add more chipotle to the BBQ sauce and some of the inside rib of the poblano to the meat. I didn’t really know what to expect so I only put in one minced chipotle and the sweet parts of the poblano chile.

One note before we get into this recipe. First, I didn’t cook this on a grill, I cooked this in an oven. In order to roast my chile and pepper, I did it in the oven on a cookie sheet lined with foil. I put that into the instructions in case anyone else needs to oven-roast theirs as well — it only takes a couple of minutes to do and clean up is a snap.

Throwdown Sloppy Joes, AKA Neat Joes
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Throwdown

BBQ Sauce (or you can use 1 jar Mesa Grill BBQ Sauce)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cups ketchup
½ cup water
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1-2 diced chipotles (depending on how spicy you want it)
¼ teaspoon chile de arbol or cayenne
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons molasses
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Add the onions and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the ketchup and water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for an additional 10 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally.

2. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth, season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool at room temperature. Sauce will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator stored in a tightly sealed container.

Sloppy Joes, AKA Neat Joes
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 lbs ground chuck (80/20)
1 cup red onion, small dice
1/2 cup small dice roasted poblano chile
2/3 cup small dice roasted red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
1 1/4 cups Bobby’s Mesa Grill BBQ Sauce (recipe below)
1/4 cup water
1/4 ketchup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley or cilantro, plus more for garnish
8 pieces of buttered, garlic bread (recipe below)
1. Place oven rack in upper third and turn oven on to broil. On a lined cookie sheet, place the whole poblano chile and red bell pepper. Every 1 1/2 – 2 minutes (or when the sides of the vegetables start to roast up by turning a little brown), turn them about a quarter or third of a turn, and repeat until the outsides are roasted. Remove from the oven, turn the oven off and let the vegetables rest. As they cool, they will soften. Dice into small pieces.

2. Heat the oil over high heat in a large high-sided sauté pan until the oil begins to smoke. Add the beef, breaking it up into small pieces using a metal spatula or wooden spoon, season with salt and pepper and cook until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

3. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the poblano, bell peppers and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the ancho powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add the BBQ sauce, ½ cup of water and the ketchup, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in the mustard, Worcestershire, honey, brown sugar and molasses, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Return the beef to the pan. Remove the cover and continue cooking until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes longer. Add the vinegar, season with salt and pepper and stir in the cilantro.

4. Top slices of the garlic bread with some of the sloppy joe mixture, sprinkle with cilantro or parsley.

Okay, I know this looks like a lot of instructions — it’s a little deceiving. Start by making the BBQ sauce. All you do is throw it into a pot, let it cook, then give it a whirl in your processor. Then leave it sitting in the processor to cool while you get the beef ready. In the very end, while the beef is simmering for the last 15 minutes, you’ll toast up your bread. I did mine in the oven on the same cookie sheet I used to roast my vegetables. All in all, these joes took about 45 – 60 minutes to put together from start to finish, and was a really fun dish for a summer evening. I will definitely make this again.

Garlic Toast
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 slices sourdough bread, cut ½-inch slices

1. Combine the butter and garlic in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the butter is melted, season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let sit 5 minutes.

2. Preheat broiler. Put the bread on a baking sheet and broil until both sides until lightly golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the oven and brush with the garlic butter.

I have yet to share my trip to Bouchon restaurant in Las Vegas, a visit that left quite an impression on me. Lately, my culinary viewpoint has been shifting — I’ve been wanting so much more in my food, but have been too scared to attempt anything that calls for a little work.

Maybe I shouldn’t admit that, but I’m certain it’s obvious from the things I usually cook. I’ve said it before, but I feel it’s worth restating: After a full day at work, the last thing I want to do is get into a long and detailed cooking project. I’m hungry right then and there, and don’t want to wait. I know I’m not alone.

Whether or not you can blame me for being phobic about complicated meals is neither here nor there, because it’s finally caught up with me. I’ve been searching for a challenge and better food.

But how to define “better”? Everyone has their own idea of what that should mean and rightfully so, as food is such a personal experience. For me, I simply wanted a dish I could relate to, but also gave me a foodgasm (for lack of better wording, I make them up). I wanted something that tasted delicious, and I needed to get over my fear of cooking something fussy.

Thomas Keller is most famous for the fabulously fussy, high class restaurant, the French Laundry. CC could tell you all about the experience, I’ve never been. It looks interesting… but I can tell it’s just not for me. So when I walked into Bouchon, clad in mirrors, white linens, dim lighting, and a laid back atmosphere with refined comfort food, I felt like I had found my soul mate in dining. Keller often jokes that he opened Bouchon so he’d have somewhere to eat after cooking at the French Laundry all day. French bistro dishes are something he’s had a passion for all his life, and is the kind of food he also gravitates to. Our dining experience was fantastic and as soon as I got home from my trip, I ordered the Bouchon book.

And then it sat on my shelf looking really sad and pathetic for about another month. That’s how long it took me to psych myself up to actually make something out of it.

I’ve had lots of macaroni and cheese, and I believe I’ve eaten the boxed kind once. Maybe twice. I don’t care for it. The kind my mom used to make has a lot of onion, pepper and, dare I say, Velveeta “cheese”. Yes, with the quotation marks. The funny thing is that I actually really like it (we liked weird things in the 70’s — don’t even get me started on architecture and interior design of that era). What makes mom’s so delicious and wonderful was not just the sauciness, but the onion and pepper. Keller’s Macaroni Gratin capitalizes on that and takes it to a whole new level.

The base of the dish is a white Mornay Sauce, which is a pretty common sauce with cheese added. Most surprising is that there’s more cream than cheese. For a macaroni and cheese dish, you’d think it was the other way around. I spent a half hour just letting the cream simmer, then added only 1/2 cup of grated Emmenthaler at the very end.

Mornay Sauce
Adapted from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon

4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup diced Spanish onion
Kosher Salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 2/3 cups milk
1 1/3 cups cream
1/2 tsp freshly ground peppercorns
3 cloves
1/2 cup Emmenthaler cheese

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, for 2 – 3 minutes or so the onion is translucent. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly so that the roux doesn’t burn or color. Whisking constantly, add the milk and cream and whisk until fully incorporated. Bring to a simmer, whisking, then add the bay leaf, peppercorns and cloves. Bring back to a very gentle simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, reaching into the corners of the pan for about 30 minutes. If the sauce begins to scorch, pour it into a clean pan – don’t scrape the bottom of the pan.

Remove the sauce from the heat and season to taste with salt, a grating of nutmeg, and a pinch of white pepper. Strain the sauce, add the cheese and whisk to melt.

Makes 3 cups.

Even those of us who have only enjoyed boxed mac and cheese know what to do at this point: Assemble!

Macaroni Gratin
Adapted from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon

8 ounces small elbow macaroni
3 cups Mornay Sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
Nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Emmenthaler cheese
3 tablespoons panko

Put a rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender; drain. Rinse under cold water and drain on paper towels.

Add macaroni to Mornay Sauce and mix well. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour into an 8-cup gratin dish, 9×15 inch oval, or individual baking dishes. Sprinkle the top with cheese and panko.

Place the gratin dish on a baking sheet in order to catch any sauce that may bubble over, then place in the oven. Turn the heat down to 375 degrees F and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the mixture is hot and bubbling around the edges. If the gratin has not browned, turn on the broiler to brown the top.

I made a few other things for our 4th of July celebration, but this was the clear winner. The creaminess was unbeatable and I love the way the pepper and onion are brought out. Crisping up the panko and cheese on top gives the dish that fantastic texture — if you don’t do that, you’ll just have lots of cream and it may come off as goopy after a while. The next day, we reheated this in the oven on 300 degrees F for about 20 minutes and it retained the creaminess.

Dish rating: A

I wanted to get this in ASAP since I believe MM cooked this over the weekend too, and I want to beat her to the punch.  The recipe is from Peter Kaminski by way of Ruhlman’s blog.  The witty French chef comment is from me by way of Chef Tory.  This is going to turn out looking burned, but trust me, that’s the good stuff.  I will also say that making the orange confit is not the easiest thing in the world, or rather getting all the pith (and I mean ALL of it) off the oranges is a pain in the ass.  I also took out some insurance and finished the pork in a 350 degree oven for about 10 mins.  And cooking it outside is the way to go, ’cause it smokes like a mofo.

Pork Tenderloin with Burnt Brown Sugar, Orange Confit, and Thyme
Courtesy of Peter Kaminsky, and Michael Ruhlman

2 boneless pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each
6 pieces orange confit, about 2 inches each
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon coarse salt (or to taste)
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons oil from the orange confit

Lay the pork tenderloins on a work surface. Flatten with the palm of your hand. Tear the orange confit into 1/2 inch pieces and distribute over the top surface of the meat. Sprinkle with the fresh thyme and half the salt. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top and pat it down firmly with your hand. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil from the orange confit. Preheat the chapa or a large square cast iron griddle over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles. Using a wide spatula, lift the pork tenderloins one by one and invert them sugar side down onto the griddle. Do not move them for 5 minutes. If the sugar begins to smell unpleasantly burned, adjust the heat by moving the griddle and lowering the flame. When the sugar side is well browned, turn the tenderloins. Cook on all sides for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until done to taste. The internal temperature should be 135 degrees for a rosy pink. Remove the meat to a carving board and allow to rest, tented with foil, for 10 minutes before slicing.

Orange Confit

4 oranges
3 bay leaves
12 whole black peppercorns
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup white wine
2 teaspoons coarse salt

Cut the oranges in half. Squeeze the juice and reserve for another use. Place the squeezed orange halves in a 3 quart saucepan. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, 3 tablespoons olive oil, white wine and water to cover. Add salt and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until the orange peel is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the liquid. When cool enough to handle, drain the oranges. Tear the peel into rough strips about 1 inch wide. Place a strip of orange peel skin side down on a work surface and, using a very sharp paring knife, scrape away every bit of the white pith. Place the strips of orange zest in a bowl and cover completely with extra virgin olive oil. This will keep, covered tightly in the refrigerator, for at least a week.

I kept my orange confit in a Gladware container, because Padma told me to.  This is what mine turned out like, with wilted spinach (again) and a Devil’s Tower of Mashed Potatoes with Bleu Cheese and Garlic Scapes.  

Word count before Chef Tory reference:  48.

~Citizen Chef

Prior to my trip to Las Vegas, I knew two things about Bobby Flay: He’s the barbecue guy and he makes a million different sauces. My ideas of grilling is fairly basic, so I could only assume that all you needed to do to get on Iron Chef America is just pop out a bunch of hamburgers with interesting sauces. How hard is a freaking hamburger? Not very, I’m thinkin’.

So when my spouse and I crossed paths with his Southwestern style restaurant, Mesa Grill, I was surprised. I was even more surprised when my spouse said he wanted to try it out. He takes a bit of time to warm up to certain kinds of food and I was pretty darn sure he had never eaten Southwestern style, so I was leery.

The menu was blown up quite proudly outside, so I quickly skimmed it over. At first I was surprised that it wasn’t a low-class hamburger joint as I had expected, but something so much more.

The food looked dangerous — racy with spice and lots of ingredients we had never tried before. There wasn’t even a single burger on the dinner menu. I was always up for an adventure, but I didn’t want to get in there and watch my spouse get served up something he didn’t like, because then I’d just be bummed out. So I decided for the both of us that we weren’t going.

Instead, we went a couple of restaurants down to a hibachi/sushi place — that absolutely sucked. The grilled asparagus starter was so over-salted that the tips were inedible. I got a beef teriyaki that was grilled to the consistency of shoe leather. Tom’s sushi was apparently not that great, either. Chalking it up to food karma for snubbing Bobby Flay, we left a poor tip and made plans to visit Mesa Grill the next night.

We had an amazing dinner. I can’t find our appetizer on the menu now, but it was small, homemade tortillas with grilled chicken on skewers, caramelized onion and fresh cilantro served as a tiny, build-your-own-fajita type of deal. They were amazing and simple and I could have eaten an entire plate of them. Next, we shared an entree. (By the time we got in to eat it was 12:30am Eastern time, and I was too tired to eat much, which is why we shared.) We had the Spice Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. If you want to see a photo of the dish, I found one here, taken by another happy diner. You’ll have to scroll down the page just a little bit to see it.

The pork came to us medium rare, as ordered, with one savory sauce and a second sauce that brought a little bit of heat. We scarfed this down and walked out of there with our eyes opened to a whole new style of cuisine.

When I got home, I was chatting with Citizen Chef about my Vegas trip, and the one thing I kept coming back to was our dinner at Mesa Grill. Sure, Bouchon was amazing, but I had expected it to be. Mesa Grill, on the other hand, was eye opening and gave me a whole new respect for Bobby Flay and his style of food. CC made a comment that I thought was appropriate: “It’s nice to know that at the heart of (the fame, the hype, the television, etc.) is a real chef.”

He’s right. I picked up the Mesa Grill cookbook and started making some of Bobby Flay’s food. So far I’ve totally mangled everything I’ve touched (LOL) but I’m not giving up. I’m very interested in this whole new world of Southwestern flavors and I’m determined to get good at it.

My new Food and Wine magazine hit my mailbox this week (and their freaking website) and I was thrilled to see they had a feature on Bobby Flay, who provided them with a few of his recipes…

…for hamburgers.

Okay, I’ve learned that it’s a lot harder making Bobby Flay’s food than I originally thought, but I can definitely make a hamburger.

Bobby Flay’s Beef Burgers with Peanut-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce
Adapted from Food & Wine

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup tomato puree
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons pure ancho chile powder
1 canned chipotle in adobo, minced
1/2 cup water
3 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 hamburger buns, split
1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
1/2 cup shredded cheddar (3 ounces)
1 scallion, finely chopped
Lettuce and tomato slices, for serving

In a medium saucepan, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the tomato puree, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, honey, molasses, ancho chile powder, chipotle and water. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a blender. Add the peanut butter and puree until smooth. Season the barbecue sauce with salt and pepper.

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Brush the cut sides of the buns with oil and grill until toasted, about 30 seconds. Spread some of the barbecue sauce on the buns.

Form the meat into four 1-inch-thick patties and brush with oil. Season with salt and pepper and grill over high heat, turning once, until nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes. Brush the burgers with some of the sauce and grill until lightly glazed, about 2 minutes. Top with the cheddar and scallion, close the grill and cook just until the cheese is completely melted, about 1 minute. Set the burgers on the buns, top with lettuce and tomato and serve right away.
Make Ahead
The barbecue sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 months.

My only real beef (get it?) is the amount of barbecue sauce this makes. Even halving the ingredient list gives you enough for dozens of burgers. I think the thought process behind it is that because it can be kept for up to 2 months, you’ll be bringing it out and using it on other meats for the rest of the summer. In defense of this thought process, the sauce is quite delicious. I could best imagine it going on grilled chicken. By itself it is incredibly spicy, but spread only on the buns and the burgers, mounded with cheese, vine ripened tomatoes and crisp lettuce, an overbearing spiciness wasn’t a factor. In fact, I didn’t really even get the spiciness when eating it. It also wasn’t overbearingly barbecue-y — okay, not a word. What I mean by that is, with any other barbecue sauce, especially jarred, I’m always railroaded by an overbearing tangy zing that dominates the meat. In the case of store-bought sauces, the sauce becomes the star and the meat is sort of an afterthought. With this little bit of added sauce, everything is complimented and the flavors of the meat and vegetables really shine through.

Nice work, Chef.

As if you had any doubts as to my cooking method, I made this on my George Foreman and it came out beautifully. The grill was set to high heat and I toasted the buns first, then I put a bit of vegetable oil on the grilling plates before adding the patties.

During the cooking process, I kept the Foreman open, not closed. This meant a longer cooking time, but I was fine with that. I actually think it came out better this way, because compacting your hamburger can often lead to poor results.

Cooking these on an open Foreman actually worked out well. I used a beef with 20% fat, which both Bobby Flay and America’s Test Kitchen recommends.

Of course, off the top of my head I can’t remember why, but I’m pretty sure it’s a good reason. It ended up being one delicious burger, so they’re definitely on to something.

I served my burgers with a glass of red wine from Francis Coppola’s vineyard and baked onion rings by Alexis, which are typically found in the organic section.

I know, I know, I said I was on a hunt for healthy breakfasts I could take to work in the morning. In my defense, this has bananas and eggs and flour. That’s three out of the four food groups, right?

…

I had bananas and wanted to make a little bread with it. Over the years, a lot of the banana breads I’ve tried have ended up very dry. The only one that didn’t called for an 8-ounce block of cream cheese and I didn’t have that on hand. So, I went searching for something new.

This loaf is surprisingly moist and incredibly dense. At first I was a little disappointed because I used an extra-dark chocolate which made the first few bites ultra-chocolatey.

It’s okay, though. I got over it.

Next time, though, I’ll use regular cocoa. Also, for anyone who usually puts in baking shortcuts like me, I wrote this with my methodology that skips sifting all of the dry ingredients except for the cocoa, which I dumped into a strainer and shook out. I prefer strainers over sifters because they’re a lot easier to clean. (Hello, Mr. Dishwasher!)

After the batter came together, I was very worried because it’s a lot of batter for a small baking dish. My fear was the dough was going to rise and double. But it doesn’t, which is where the moistness and denseness comes in. On the back end of your bite, the banana flavor kicks in, creating a subtle, tasty treat. Maybe you won’t feel good about eating this for breakfast, but maybe later with a small cup of coffee…

Me? Oh, I had no qualms eating this and licking it off my fingers when I was done.

Cocoa-Nana Bread
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking – From My Home to Yours

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 cup store-bought chocolate chips

Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked on top of one another. This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from overbaking.

In a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for one minute, until softened. (My butter had been sitting out overnight, so I skipped this.) Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. Reduce the mixer to low speed and mix in the mashed bananas.

Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl, and add the salt and baking soda. Mix on low speed until just combined. Add each cup of flour one at a time, mixing until just combined. Add the buttermilk, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate and scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent to keep the top from getting too dark and continue to bake for another 40 – 45 minutes or until a thin knife in the center comes out clean.

(Note: My loaf pan was 8.5×4.5, so my loaf of bread required another 10 – 12 minutes of baking.)

Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding it. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

I’ve been doing CSA or Community Supported Agriculture for about 4 years now.  How it works is you buy a share of produce from a local farm for a season, and they send you a box of goodies every week, or every other week depending on how big a share you buy.  Ours comes from Harmony Valley Farmsin Viroqua, Wisconsin, and has never disappointed.  Well that’s not entirely true.  CSAs are like playing the stock market.  Your fortune rises and falls with the farmer’s fortunes.  But that is part of the point I think, closely allying yourself with local farmers gives you a connection to your food that is sadly lacking in today’s culture.

Let’s all, as cooks and foodies, take that next step in the Food Revolution and start giving a crap about where we get our food.  But make no mistake, this is not a high moral stance.  I admit, supporting the local economy by buying local organic foods makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  But the bottom line is, that if you buy your vegetables locally they can ripen in the ground and not on the Sysco truck, and that makes them taste better.  And that makes cooking them easier because you are halfway to the end zone from the get-go.

The last time I took a cooking class with Chef Tory(word count of article before I mentioned Chef Tory or L’etoile was 215, for those of you scoring at home) he told us why the food at his restaurant was so amazing.  “I make really good stock, and I buy the very best local ingredients I can.  And then I just don’t mess them up.”  This is not rocket science.  We have a leg up on all those French Chefs from 100 years ago because we don’t need to make a sauce to cover up the fact that the meat we are serving it over is spoiled.

I used to think “organic” food was hippy-dippy bullshit.  I cringed when a chef mentioned that they were “all about the ingredients”.  As opposed to what??  “Seasonal cooking”?  Bah!  I’ll cook what I want when I damn-well feel like it.  But now I understand.  Their food tastes better because the stuff they make their food out of tastes better.

Which leads us to this recipe.  And a bit of an admission.  I had to go off on a rant there, well firstly because it’s fun, and kind of my thing.  But secondly because the lovely Mrs Citizen Chef deleted the pictures I had taken of this dish, so I needed something to fill the space.

The main impetus behind making this was I had over-wintered spinach from the farm to use up.  And if you’ll notice, the spinach part of this recipe could not be more simple.  Wilt the spinach with some oilve oil, throw on some salt and that.  is.  it.  I gilded the lilly a bit by putting some 25 year old balsamic on at the very end, but what the heck.  It was amazing.  And the shrimp in romesco sauce was awesome as well.

Shrimp In Romesco with Wilted Spinach Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes, Servings: 6 Note: From “The Zuni Café Cookbook” by Judy Rodgers. Romesco base 2 tablespoons raw almonds (about 12 nuts) 1/4 cup hazelnuts (about 32 nuts) 1/2 cup coarsely chopped drained tomatoes or peeled ripe tomatoes 1 1/4 cup mild-tasting extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 ancho chile 1 1/2 ounces chewy, white peasant-style bread (about 1 thick slice), crust removed 2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled 1 teaspoon l’Estornel brand red wine vinegar or other red wine vinegar fortified with a few drops of sherry vinegar 1 teaspoon hot paprika 1/2 teaspoon mild paprika Salt 1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Drop the almonds in a small pot of boiling water and leave for about 10 seconds. Drain, slide off the skins, and rub dry. Set aside. 2. Roast the hazelnuts on a small baking sheet until the skins darken and start to split, 10 to 15 minutes. While they are still hot, bundle them in a towel, then scrunch and massage them to rub off most of their skins. Pick out the nuts and set aside. 3. Turn the oven to broil. Spread the tomatoes one-half-inch thick in a small, shallow baking dish. Trickle with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and broil until the tomatoes char slightly and bubble, a few minutes. Remove from the broiler. 4. Reduce the oven heat to 425 degrees. Meanwhile, pour a few cups of boiling water over the chile and leave to swell for a few minutes. Drain and then stem and seed the pepper. 5. Pour olive oil to a depth of one-half inch into an 8- or 10-inch skillet and set over medium-low heat. Test the temperature with the edge of the slice of bread; when it barely sizzles on contact, reduce the heat slightly and add the bread. (You may need to cut the bread into pieces so it fits into the pan in a single layer.) Check the underside at 1 minute; it should be beginning to color. Fry until it is the color of cornflakes, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain and cool on a paper towel. 6. Thickly slice the garlic, then pound to a paste in a mortar. Scrape into a processor and add the chile, fried bread, almonds and hazelnuts. Grind to a fine, moist paste, scraping the sides frequently. Scrape in the tomato and process to a paste. Add the vinegar, paprika, the remaining extra-virgin olive oil and salt to taste. Taste; it should be bursting with flavor, although not overly spicy. The flavor of the paprika will come out over time. 7. Spread the paste in a thick layer in a small, shallow baking dish and bake until the surface has turned dark orange with occasional flecks of brown, about 8 minutes. (Makes about 1 cup. Can be made up to a week in advance.) Shrimp and assembly 1 cup chicken stock, shellfish fumet (concentrated stock), water, or a combination 3 tablespoons dry white wine 1/2 cup yellow onions 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt 1 1/4 pounds large shrimp in their shells or just over 1 pound peeled shrimp 3/4 pound spinach, stemmed, carefully washed and dried 1. Bring the stock, fumet or water and the white wine to a simmer in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat and stir in the romesco base. Taste for salt. Cover and set aside for about 30 minutes. As this brew cools, the crumbs will begin to swell and soften, which will give the sauce a nice texture. 2. Place the diced onions in a 3-quart sauté pan with about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Cook over medium heat until translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the romesco and warm through, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook gently, turning each one over once in the thickening sauce, until the shrimp are just firm and opaque, about 4 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp. 3. Meanwhile, warm another 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and sprinkle with salt. Gently turn and fold leaves until they are uniformly wilted and bright green. Taste for salt and add another trickle of oil if the spinach seems lean. 4. Divide the spinach among warm plates. Arrange the shrimp on top. Taste the sauce, and correct the salt. The romesco should be fluid but thick; reduce briefly or add a splash of water if it seems either watery or pasty. Spoon the sauce over all.

~Citizen Chef

Here at AwK, there’s been an ongoing behind-the-scenes debate with the authors about Cook’s Illustrated. As much as we love CI, as well as their entire entourage of magazines and books, not much is free.

No one here has a problem with that — we get it. You’ve heard my rants about Food & Wine magazine and how I can’t justify paying for a magazine that has all of the recipes listed online before my magazine even gets into my mailbox, but the upside is that I have no problem cooking their dishes and reposting them here.

CI’s a little more tricky. Their business model eliminates advertising and instead relies on actual subscribers. Crazy, I know, but for this very reason we’ve been reluctant to have a free-for-all reposting of their recipes. So that’s why you haven’t seen a lot of CI/America’s Test Kitchen, as much as we love ‘em.

You will, however, get a periodic one from me. I justify it like this — I pay for a magazine subscription and an additional fee for an online description, which should allow me to post something awesome from CI at least once a month. And, I agree, if I post then I should at least try to get you to buy the magazine. Here goes: If you love delicious food and you’re looking for a fantastic cooking magazine that eliminates fluffy articles (that you won’t read anyway) and pages upon pages of advertising (that you will ignore), Cook’s Illustrated is the way to go.

Now with my apologetics and endorsements out of the way, here’s something that kicks ass: Indian-Style Curry with Potatoes, Cauliflower, Peas and Chickpeas.

The first time I had the pleasure of eating this was a couple of months ago. The recipe had been published in the recent “Soups & Stews” magazine that I had picked up back in March, and was the first thing out of the magazine that I made. From the first bite until the last, I couldn’t stop myself from making all kinds of obscene noises, that’s how good it was.

Not that my spouse minded.

Indian-Style Curry with Potatoes, Cauliflower, Peas and Chickpeas
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

2 tablespoons curry powder (sweet or mild)
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped fine (about 2 cups)
12 ounces Red Bliss potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 – 1 1/2 serrano chiles, ribs, seeds, and flesh minced (I used 1 jalapeno)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 medium head cauliflower, trimmed, cored, and cut into 1-inch florets (about 4 cups)
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas , drained and rinsed
Table salt
8 ounces frozen peas (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Plain, nonfat yogurt (as garnish)
4 cups cooked basmati rice

Toast curry powder and garam masala in small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until spices darken slightly and become fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove spices from skillet and set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized and potatoes are golden brown on edges, about 10 minutes. (Reduce heat to medium if onions darken too quickly.)

Reduce heat to medium. Clear center of pan and add remaining tablespoon oil, garlic, ginger, chile, and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add toasted spices and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute longer. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring constantly, until spices coat florets, about 2 minutes longer.

Add tomatoes, water, chickpeas, and 1 teaspoon salt; increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to boil, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in peas and cream or coconut milk; continue to cook until heated through, about 2 minutes longer. Adjust seasoning with salt and serve immediately, passing condiments separately.

It’s delicious and obscene noise worthy. Serve this up on top of cooked rice. At the time I was out of basmati, but it was still great on top of cooked jasmine. Indian dishes can be topped with an assortment of things like chutney or a relish (which CI has recipes for if you’re interested), but I like mine with plain, nonfat yogurt. The yogurt also helps cut down on the spiciness if you went a little overboard with the peppers.

Weeknight Cooking: A
Overall Cooking: A-

Citizen Chef and I share several passions. Good cooking, fine dining, a nice wine, those he and I share in common.

The obscene man-crush on Fabio from Top Chef isn’t a shared feeling; though I do feel that Fabio is a great chef.  (news on the Fabio front)

Another thing that we share is our inspiration for, and enjoyment of, is Pho. Pho (pronounced “Fuh” by most people – actually, the pronunciation is a variable as far as I can tell, as no one pronounces it the same way twice) is a world famous Vietnamese noodle soup involving beef and beef related products swimming with some rice noodles and a nice clear beef broth. That is Pho Bo (aka Beef Soup). There is also a chicken related Pho, but that could be another post. So for our purposes, we are going to concentrate on the beef soup.

This is the Pho I made!

Now you may be asking yourself, “Self, why would Squidlegs really like a Vietenemese dish since he is not, pretty obviously, from said region of the world?” And you would be asking yourself a very good question. And I have an answer for you… And yourself. Recently on the wonderful “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations,” there was an episode where he and his old boss from his restaurant in New York got up early just to go eat a good bowl of Pho for lunch. Yes.. There was that much waiting around. But they both agreed that it was worth it. If Tony says something is that good, I gotta go try it. I was inspired. I ran right out and… Well I totally forgot about it. Forgotten, until Citizen Chef came back from vacation, talking about Pho and how it was pretty darned good.

So then he and I had to try it together. On his home turf, we made arrangements to go try a good Vietenemese place near by. But it was closed the night we were going out. So his town actually had a second Vietenemese restaurant. Off we went. And it was pretty darned good.With some spring rolls and slow food delivery, we made a good time of it and enjoyed the food. We also made commitments that he would try the place we were going to be trying and that I would try the one restaurant in my neck of the woods. I managed to pull one over on Citizen Chef though, because two nights later, I went to other restaurant in his town and tried Pho again. Sneaky, aren’t I? It was pretty good. I thought that the broth, one of the key components, was a little lacking, but I did get this batch of Pho to-go, so I may have missed some of the nuances in the really hot broth or fresh noodles. I also tried the restaurant in my home town and, again, while good, wasn’t great! so the quest continued.

Now, all of the above was a set up for me telling you that I have the secret to good American Pho. I say American Pho as I am sure many of our Vietnamese readers or friends will tell you that no one over here can really get the ingredients or knows the secrets of real Pho. But this stuff is pretty damned good if I do say so myself. I found this recipe online (please check out the full page for the recipe… it’s somewhere in the middle.) All of the pictures in this post are from my attempt at cooking this, but the writer of the blog above also has some great pictures.

Finished Broth

THE BROTH 2 onions, halved 4″ nub of ginger, halved lengthwise 5-6 lbs of good beef bones, preferably leg and knuckle 1 lb of beef meat – chuck, brisket, rump, cut into large slices [optional] 6 quarts of water 1 package of Pho Spices [1 cinnamon stick, 1 tbl coriander seeds, 1 tbl fennel seeds, 5 star anise, 1 cardamom pod, 6 whole cloves - in mesh bag] 1 1/2 tbl salt 1/4 cup fish sauce 1 inch chunk of yellow rock sugar (about 1 oz) – or 1oz of regular sugar

Char: Turn your broiler on high and move rack to the highest spot. Place ginger and onions on baking sheet. Brush just a bit of cooking oil on the cut side of each. Broil on high until ginger and onions begin to char. Turn over and continue to char. This should take a total of 10-15 minutes.

Parboil the bones: Fill large pot (12-qt capacity) with cool water. Boil water, and then add the bones, keeping the heat on high. Boil vigorously for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse the bones and rinse out the pot. Refill pot with bones and 6 qts of cool water. Bring to boil over high heat and lower to simmer. Using a ladle or a fine mesh strainer, remove any scum that rises to the top.

Boil broth: Add ginger, onion, spice packet, beef, sugar, fish sauce, salt and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the beef meat and set aside (you’ll be eating this meat later in the bowls) Continue simmering for another 1 1/2 hours. Strain broth and return the broth to the pot. Taste broth and adjust seasoning – if you want a little more flavor, add a few dashes more of fish sauce, large pinch of salt and a small nugget of rock sugar (or large pinch of regular sugar).

Everything ready for the broth

THE BOWLS 2 lbs rice noodles (dried or fresh) cooked beef from the broth 1/2 lb flank, london broil, sirloin or eye of round, sliced as thin as possible. big handful of each: mint, cilantro, basil 2 limes, cut into wedges 2-3 chili peppers, sliced 2 big handfuls of bean sprouts Hoisin sauce Cock sauce (Sriracha)

Prepare noodles & meat: Slice your flank/london broil/sirloin as thin as possible – try freezing for 15 minutes prior to slicing to make it easier. Remember the cooked beef meat that was part of your broth? Cut or shred the meat and set aside. Arrange all other ingredients on a platter for the table. Your guests will “assemble” their own bowls. Follow the directions on your package of noodles – there are many different sizes and widths of rice noodles, so make sure you read the directions. For some fresh rice noodles, just a quick 5 second blanch in hot water is all that’s needed. The package that I purchased (above) – needed about 45 seconds in boiling water.

Ladling: Bring your broth back to a boil. Line up your soup bowls next to the stove. Fill each bowl with rice noodles, shredded cooked beef and raw meat slices. As soon as the broth comes back to a boil, ladle into each bowl. the hot broth will cook your raw beef slices. Serve immediately. Guests can garnish their own bowls as they wish.

Everything needed to make a good bowl of Pho

There are a couple of notes about the recipe above.

• I used flank steak and I got a little over a pound. I used half for the broth and then shredded it for the actual bowl and then thin sliced the other half for the “raw’ portion that gets cooked by the broth.
• The broth is really fatty if you use soup bones, so at one point my kitchen looked sort of like the soap-making scene in “Fight Club,” but without the chemical burns. Just fair warning, you will want to use a ladle and get the first inch to two inches of liquid off the top of the broth before proceeding to the second 1-1/2 hour simmer. I actually poured the liquid into a seperator and out of 4 cups of liquid, had less than a cup of broth, all of the rest was fat.
• It doesn’t say to, but I toasted the spice pack before I put it together. I recommend that. It was really nummy!
• This is not a race, take your time. It will take a whole afternoon to make this.
• While I was at the store getting items for this dish, I found some beef/tendon meatballs in the asian frozen food section. I highly recommend that in addition to the other meat in the dish. You boil them for 15 minutes right out of the freezer and cut them in half and put it in the soup bowl, as I did. I really encourage you to add this, as it brings a great flavor and texture to the game.
• There are a couple of other condiments that you should consider.
  • Chili Garlic Paste (found in asian sections of big grocery stores, or oriental food markets
  • Beef Paste, found in the same place
  • Fried Minced Garlic, which I actually didn’t find, so I didn’t try it, but I have had it in a restaurant and it adds another layer of flavor.
• About the hoisin and “cock” sauce (so called because of the rooster on the bottle, get your minds out of the gutter!), you don’t see it in the photos, but I did add it. It is about a tablespoon of each, but that will spice it up, so you may want to use less of the cock sauce.

So that’s it. The secret to great Pho. It was awesome and I am not just saying that because I gloating. Though I am. It was just really, really good. And once the excess fat was removed, it is even pretty healthy. I hope you try it and enjoy!

Squidlegs

I’m still on my Ellie Krieger kick as I’m still fighting my own Battle of the Bulge. My cravings as of late have been more for carbohydrates, so I opened Ellie’s cookbook to see if I could find something that would satisfy, yet provide a healthier option.

Well, hello there. Come here often?

The downside about this recipe is that it does take a while. Aside from the active time, the tomato sauce takes about 20 minutes to simmer and the overall dish takes another 30 – 45 minutes to bake. What would have made it more efficient for me from a time management perspective is if I hadn’t needed to run to the grocery store before coming home. If you have these ingredients on hand ready to go, then it won’t be an issue. I hadn’t planned ahead, and that was my fault.

Easy Tomato Sauce
From Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave
1 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained, tomatoes chopped 3 tablespoons tomato paste 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 bay leaf Salt and pepper

Everything on this list I already had in my pantry, but for some reason I had forgotten that I already had an existing can of whole tomatoes. It was the grocery store brand, nothing special, of peeled, whole roma tomatoes. But, like I said, I didn’t remember that and I didn’t have a chance to check my pantry because I was going straight from work. So I picked up a can of Hunt’s whole tomatoes. A 28-ounce can. It’s a big can. Like, a can with lots of space inside for lots of tomatoes.

And have I yet mentioned what a large can the Hunt’s 28-ounce can is?

It’s a big freaking can. Here’s what the Hunt’s website has to say about their whole tomatoes (i.e. incriminating evidence):

Did you notice the part about packing the OH SO MANY TOMATOES in their OWN JUICE?

I opened up the GINORMOUS 28 OUNCE can and drained it. As I’m pouring it out into the sink, I’m looking at what’s coming out and I’m thinking, “Hmm. That doesn’t look like tomato juice to me… it looks like tomato sauce.”

But I keep pouring, and pouring, and still pouring. What the crap? Once I got to the bottom of the can, guess how many tomatoes I was left with?

Three! Three freaking tomatoes out of that entire can! Actually, there weren’t even three – I had two regular sized romas and one very small roma, about half the size of the other two! Two and a half tomatoes out of that entire freaking can, weighed down by a bunch of sauce!

Guess what brand I won’t ever be buying again? That’s right, Hunt’s. Luckily I had that generic brand to fall back on, and (Thanks, Mr. Wegman!) it had a dozen or more roma tomatoes inside, in actual juice.

After that disparity, I was a little concerned about my ingredients, as I wasn’t sure how many tomatoes were expected to be in the sauce. But I bravely forged ahead anyway. What can I say? I was hungry.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Yield: 6 servings

This sauce didn’t have a lot of liquid in it, which was fine — but again, there were no notes in the recipe so I was confused about the instruction that said “simmer”. There wasn’t much to simmer so I just put it on a back burner and kept it on low while I started on the lasagna.

Another thing to note is that I cut this in half since I was only serving two people, and it came out to the exact needed portions. The serving size is a 1/2 cup. That may sound like very little, but this dish isn’t a very saucy dish to begin with, so it really does work out.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 94
Total Fat: 3G
Protein 2.5G
Carb: 14G

Excellent source of: Iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C
Good source of: Fiber

So while that was simmering, I started on the lasagna.

Portobello Lasagna Rollups
Adapted from Ellie Krieger

12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 3/4 pound)
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces portobello mushrooms, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups Easy Tomato Sauce
1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 ounces grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 2/3 cup)

A couple of notes about the noodles. First of all, I couldn’t find any whole wheat lasagna. I found whole wheat everything else except that, so I just used regular. I also used Barilla brand, since I usually do anyway and also because it’s the preferred brand of America’s Test Kitchen. In my own experience, I’ve found Barilla’s cooking lasagna noodles to be a lot thicker and sturdier than other brands.

Then I had another problem. I didn’t want them ripping apart as soon as I removed them from the hot water, nor did I want them overcooked from the baking process, so I boiled them two minutes less than the recommended al dente time, knowing they would soak up more liquid during the baking process.

And they did. They came out perfect.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the noodles two minutes less than the al dente time according to the directions on the package. Drain them well and spread them out onto aluminum foil or waxed paper to prevent them from sticking. Chop up the portobellos.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.

In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of pepper, and nutmeg. (Note: I did not add the salt.)

And here’s where it gets fun. Literally. I had a good time doing this part. If you have kids, they’d probably love doing it, too… as well as smearing it all over, and flinging it, and eating it and painting their siblings and walls with it…

Okay, so maybe involving small children isn’t a good idea, but it was fun for me.

Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture.

To make sure I was creating equal portions (I wanted consistency) I used an actual tablespoon and, given that I had halved the recipe, I ended up making 7, one more than expected. So I could have either used the extra innards to really thicken up the rolls, but I think it was better this way because, although this doesn’t look like it would stuff you, it did. I could barely get through two of these, and my spouse, who is a bottomless pit, could barely get through three… and the entire loaf of garlic bread.

It was a tough job, but someone had to do it.

Roll the noodle and place it into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles.

Spread the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with grated cheeses, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.

And here’s the nutrition information (includes the tomato sauce in its calculation):
Serves 6, Serving size: 2 Rolls
Per serving:
Calories: 500
Total Fat: 18G
Protein: 26G
Carbs: 56G
Fiber: 12G
Cholesterol: 76MG
Sodium: 1110MG

Excellent source of: Calcium, Fiber, Iron, Niacin, Potassium, Protein, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Vitamin A, Vitamin C
Good source of: Copper, Pantothenic Acid, Selenium, Awesomeness

This was a fantastic dish, and I even brought the remaining two rollups for lunch today. I will definitely make this again. As a weeknight cooking dish, the time it takes to make it, as well as the amount of dishes that I used are cons, but as I was wolfing it down all of that went away and I didn’t care anymore. As a regular dish… well, it’s not fine dining, but it looks good on a plate and even those who dislike mushrooms (such as my spouse) didn’t seem to mind as much as usual. It’s also a healthier option for a good looking, great tasting pasta.

Weeknight Cooking: A-
Overall Dish: B+

This little dish appeared last week as the April 30 Food & Wine Recipe of the Day. What struck me about it was that it reminded me of a dish I used to order at a Seattle restaurant, though the one I used to order had the addition of small clusters of goat cheese sprinkled in.

I definitely recommend adding the goat cheese.

Orecchiette with Broccoli, Roasted Garlic, and Pine Nuts
Courtesy of Food & Wine

1 head garlic, separated into cloves
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into small florets
3/4 pound orecchiette
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Heat the oven to 325°. In a small ovenproof dish, toss the garlic with the oil. Cover with foil and roast until soft, about 30 minutes. Put the pine nuts in a separate pan and toast alongside the garlic until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

When the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the flesh out of the peelings and mash the garlic into the warm oil remaining in the baking dish. Add the salt and pepper.

In a medium saucepan, steam or boil the broccoli until just done. Steaming will take about 5 minutes and boiling will take about 2.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the orecchiette until just done, about 15 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the orecchiette and toss with 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the broccoli, the garlic mixture, the pine nuts, and the Parmesan. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water. Serve with additional Parmesan.

My only mistake on this is that I quickly unwrapped all of my garlic cloves before remembering they needed to bake while still in the wrappings. Unfortunately, the garlic browned and hardened, so it wasn’t a smooth paste. To get around that, I gave it a spin in the food processor and pulverized it until it was mostly spreadable.

Aside from my screw up, this was a light and delicious little lunch. Even just preparing the broccoli with the garlic-oil paste would make a fantastic side dish. Full props on this tasty dish… and that has nothing to do with the fact that I’m a sucker for broccoli.

Maybe.

Weeknight Cooking: A-
Overall Dish: A-