Steak Night

We try to limit the amount of red meat we eat, for health reasons. Truth be told, Elizabeth is prone to high cholesterol, so that, coupled with the things you hear so often these days about the treatment and conditions of cattle raised on the large farms that supply the vast majority of the meat we buy at our uber-convenient mega grocers, leads us to try to cut our intake down to once a week or less.

But every now and then, the craving for a great steak comes calling, and there's no avoiding it. The only choice is to satiate the hunger. So Friday night, with a three day weekend in front of us and impeccable grilling weather at our disposal, we did just that.



Whole Foods supplied us with two small filets, which we chose for their leanness in comparison to other, possibly more flavorful cuts like strips or ribeyes. The menu we brought together was Filet Mignon with Mushrooms and Sauce Pinot Noir, cauliflower puree and sauteed broccolini with garlic. The result was a relatively simple meal that packed in all the flavors for which our appetites had been screaming. (Cook's note - the wine used for the Sauce Pinot Noir is best to eat with dinner, but pop open a Smokestack Series like the Tank 7 we had, to delight your palette as you taste-test your way through the cooking process. You'll be glad you did.)

For the Cauliflower Puree:

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, 2 to 2 1/2 pounds

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Pull the leaves off the cauliflower and cut out the core in a kind of cone-shaped section. Then pull the florets off the head with your fingers, using a knife when you need to. Break or cut the florets into smaller, regular pieces (about 1 1/2 inch) and put them in the steamer insert. Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in the steamer pot, add the insert, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until you can poke a paring knife into the stems and you can feel that there's still a little texture there. (Tooth, it's called.) Stir the cauliflower well a few times while it's steaming so that it cooks evenly.

Dump about half of the cauliflower into a food processor. Measure out 3/4 cup of the steaming liquid, and pour in about 1/4 cup; purée until smooth. Now dump the rest of the cauliflower on top, add about 1/3 of the remaining liquid, and purée again. You'll need to stop and scrape and stir the purée a few times; add more liquid as you need to, but with the understanding that you really want to add as little liquid as you can get away with (I accidentally threw out the cooking water, so we substituted with buttermilk with tremendous results). With the motor running, process in the butter, salt, and pepper through the feed tube. Taste for seasoning and serve hot. (You can reheat over low heat in the same pan if you're not eating immediately.)

Ted Allen's Cook's Note:

Cauliflower is an excellent canvas for other flavors. I like things spicy and I love mustard, so I sometimes add a tablespoon of Colman's, the amazing English mustard powder, to this purée;. You might also add curry powder, grated Parmigiano, crumbled blue cheese, or a chopped fresh herbsd

For the Broccolini

1 1/2 lbs. broccolini
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt & black pepper to taste
(we also added red pepper flakes for a little added spice and flavor)


Boil the broccolini in a pot of salted water until crisp-tender (about five minutes). Drain.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Sautee half of the garlic until golden brown (about 30 seconds). Add half of the broccolini and sautee until heated through (you can actually cook the heck out of it - until the florets start to char - and it tastes even better). Remove from pan and repeat with the rest of the oil, garlic and broccolini.

For the Steaks, Mushroom and Sauce

Two 8 oz filets
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bacon strips (we omitted)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pound assorted mushrooms
1 tbsp freshly chopped garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
2 cups pinot noir (we used Coppola's Rosso blended table wine which has great body that works well for cooking. Sometimes, finicky, light pinot noirs will turn out flavorless and make for a weak sauce, even when reduced)
2 tbsp prepared demi glace (Whole Foods didn't have any. We substituted beef broth which is not the same at all, but adds a different flavor and body to the sauce that is needed)
2 tbsp unsalted butter (increase this even more if you want a thicker, richer sauce and don't mind the calories. It's not necessary that you do, in order to achieve a tasty sauce, though.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season both sides of the meat generously with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy OVEN PROOF skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat, until almost smoking. Place the steaks in the hot pan and cook until well seared on side 1, about 3 minutes. Turn the steaks over. There should be a nice crust on top. Add the mushrooms, garlic and rosemary. Transfer the pan to the oven. Roast for 10-12 minutes, until steaks are med-rare. 

Remove the steaks, mushrooms and rosemary to a platter; cover to keep warm. Return the pan to the stove over medium-high heat. Deglaze with the wine, scraping up all the yummy bits in the bottom of the pan. Mix in the demi glace, stirring to combine. Put the steaks and mushrooms back in the pan and coat with the sauce. Finish with the butter to make it rich.

(Note - we didn't want to heat up our oven, so we used our large toaster oven for this. To do so, after searing the steaks, we sautted the mushrooms, garlic and rosemary, which picked up the flavor from the meat and left their own flavor on the pan. We remove those ingredients and then poured in the wine and broth, letting it deglaze and reduce for several minutes. We placed the steaks and mushroom mixture in our toaster pan and then added the slightly-reduced wine sauce, then roasted everything together - this produced a great result.)


I've written about the cauliflower puree before. It's a great alternative to mashed potatoes if you're looking for something healthier and different. The broccolini, too, is a great twist on something you may (hopefully) already eat a lot but maybe doesn't have the cache you're looking for on steak night. When cooked correctly, their stems are sweet and crisp. The char on the florets is a salty, unexpected flavor contrast. And the kick of flavor and spice from the garlic and crushed pepper takes it to another level. Best of all, this rich wine sauce, pared with the earthy mushrooms and the fresh rosemary tastes like real steakhouse affair. If your steaks always seem to taste too much like your own cooking and not as special as you'd hope, give this recipe a try. I'm confident you'll surprise yourself in a good way.

Banh Mi For Me

Happy Gillis turned me on to banh mis, which are basically just Vietnamese sandwiches of meat or tofu topped with sweetened crunchy vegetables. Theirs features delicious pork meatballs, which are unwaveringly juicy and undoubtedly high in fat. So when Elizabeth and I stumbled upon a recipe for a marinated tofu banh mi, we decided to substitute the tofu (not quite as satisfying as real meat in our collective opinion) with lean white chicken meat. ...It was a great move! And to make this sandwich into a hearty dinnertime meal, we coupled it with chef David Chang's famous Momofuku Ssam Bar Brussels sprouts with rice crispies (from Food and Wine). Here are the recipes:



Our Chicken Banh Mis 
(cooking light's version)
Ingredients
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (3-inches) matchstick-cut carrot
1 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 julienned green onion
1 cucumber peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp canola oil
2 sandwich baguettes
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp sriracha

Preparation

Combine soy sauce and ginger in a baking dish. Add chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight. 

Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in a medium bowl, stirring until sugar and salt dissolve. Add carrot and next four ingredients (through cucumber); toss well. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour carrot mixture through a sieve; drain thoroughly.

Heat oil in a grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sautee four minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through.

Halve and toast bread. Meanwhile, in a small bown, combine mayo and sriracha. Stir well until mixture is well combined and a consistent orange color.

Remove toasted bread. Spread desired amount of mayo mixture on the bread halves. Top with chicken, then carrot mixture, cilantro and jalapeno slices. Top with other slice of bread.

David Chang's Spicy Brussels Sprouts with Mint from Momofuku Ssam Bar

Ingredients
(Food and Wine Magazine Recipe)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup Rice Krispies 

1/4 tsp togarashi or cayenne pepper (I actually use a dollop of sambal oelek which is totally different, but does a nice job of adding spice and chili flavor)

Kosher salt

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 small red chile, minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 tbsp chopped mint

4 cups roasted or broiled brussels sprouts (about 2 pounds), halved lengthwise (I actually have boiled them before and that works fine, too, though they can turn out a  little too mushy if you overdo it.)

Directions

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil until shimmering. Add the Rice Krispies and sambal (or togarashi or cayenne) and cook over high heat, stirring, until browned, about 30 seconds. Season with salt. Transfer to a plate and wipe out the skillet.

In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce, water, sugar, rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic and chile and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cilantro and mint.

Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil to the skillet and heat until nearly smoking. Add the brussels sprouts; cook over high heat, stirring, until charred in spots and heated through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bwol and toss with the vinaigrette. Just before serving, sprinkle the Rice Krispies on top and serve right away.

Mother's Day Quiche, Extra Mothers

This Mother's Day, after a trip to Manhattan to see my mom, we returned home and prepared for our first experience hosting a Mother's Day brunch. Four mothers were in attendance: my mother-in-law, her mother-in-law (Elizabeth's grandma), Elizabeth's aunt and a friend of Elizabeth's mom. All wonderful women. We were honored to have them.

Our choice of cuisine to pay proper homage? Quiche seemed right. Nothing too fancy, but certainly a classy dish and one with a distinct motherly quality (quiche is a type of pie, after all).



Of course, we'd never made quiche before, so we had our work cut out for us.

It was a dual between a duo of quiches, in fact. Elizabeth's mushroom and shallot quiche with fontina and my crab quiche with herbs and gruyere. Elizabeth also knocked out her beautiful and delicious mixed macerated berries. Here's what we did (thanks to epicurious.com for the quiche recipes):

Mushroom and Fontina Quiche

Ingredients 

1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-ounce package) 
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter 
2/3 cup chopped shallots (about 3 medium) 
5 cups sliced assorted mushrooms (such as chanterelle, stemmed shiitake, oyster, crimini, and button; 12 to 14 ounces), large mushrooms halved 
4 large eggs 
2/3 cup half and half 
1/3 cup whole milk 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg 
1 1/2 cups (packed) coarsely grated Fontina cheese (about 7 ounces), divided (we spent a LOT on fontina. You could get away with less expensive grocery store swiss cheese, though)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Unroll crust completely. Press firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter deep-dish glass pie dish. Bake until light golden brown, pressing on sides of crust with back of spoon if crust begins to slide down sides of dish, about 17 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until mushrooms are tender and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate; spread out to cool slightly.

Whisk eggs, half and half, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg in large bowl to blend. Stir in 1 cup Fontina cheese and sautéed mushrooms. Pour filling into crust. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over quiche.

Bake quiche until puffed, golden brown, and just set in center, about 45 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. Cut into wedges.



Crab Quiche

For pastry1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
[NOTE: we skipped the homemade crust on this one and used refrigerated pre-made pie crust. Proud? No. Happy with the time savings? Yes. I'd do it again.]


For filling1 (1-lb) king crab leg, thawed if frozen, or 1/2 lb lump crabmeat, picked over (I went the canned crabmeat route as I've heard crab legs bought fresh in KC, if frozen in transit from the ocean, can be mealy, mushy and a huge waste of money.)
4 large eggs2 cups heavy cream (I used half and half instead and this turned out to be a good call)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (I omitted this since cilantro is such a polarizing ingredient.)
1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning such as Paul Prudhomme's (a reviewer of this recipe says to use Old Bay instead, so I did.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 oz coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese (1/2 cup) (I omitted this)
2 oz coarsely grated Swiss cheese (1/2 cup) (I replaced both cheeses with good, expensive gruyere. Yes, it was good, but it didn't have a flavor distinct enough to justify the price. Go with less expensive grocery store swiss.)

Whisk together eggs, cream, herbs, seafood seasoning, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then stir in cheeses and crabmeat.

Pour into prebaked crust and bake until filling puffs and is no longer wobbly in center when quiche is gently shaken, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pie plate on rack 15 minutes.

Both of our quiches turned out wonderful. The mushroom and shallot had a lot of girth from all the mushrooms. It was filling, salty...satisfying. My crab quiche was a great contrast. Its sweet crab flavor was distinctive and distinguished at once. The bottom of the crust was a little soggy, as can often happen with quiche. We did not solve this age-old quiche conundrum. But the rich ingredients made for a luxurious meal that our guests either loved or acted like they loved.

Elizabeth's Macerated Berries
Ingredients
1 cup blackberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
Sugar to taste (we use approx. 2 tablespoons)
Approx. 1 tablespoon Gran Marnier

Preparation
Rinse berries in cold water and add to bowl. Add sugar and Gran Marnier. Stir to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to sit in fridge for 30 minutes. Mix again prior to serving. Serve cold.

Thanks to Elizabeth's mom, Leslie, who supplied the coffee and its accompanying cream.

Thanks, also, to my mom - who always finds sneaky ways to care for me, even now as I approach 30 years of age - for sending us back to KC with a loaf of her delicious blueberry bread. It held over the guests for the hour they had to wait as our quiche finished baking and then cooled down to be served.

As rewarding as it was to cook this food for our guests, and to successfully cook quiche for our first time, the overwhelming sense of reward we experienced came from seeing how happy these wonderful mothers all were, sitting and comfortably chatting with each other while they ate.  It was a beautiful Mother's Day for us. Happy Mother's Day Maggie, Frances, Paula, Leslie and Mary. Thanks for being such great moms.

Big Mac Veggie Burger

I arrived home tonight with only a little time for dinner and little on-hand with which to work.

My mind quickly thought of the veggie burger patties we had in the freezer (thanks, Costco), but one wasn't going to be enough. The bread bag had one legit slice of bread and two heels. I yanked them out, plus two veg patties and threw them all in the toaster oven.

Meanwhile, I grabbed the mayo and hit it with several dashes of Chipotle Tabasco - one of my favorite hot sauces ever. Out came the bread and I slathered on the chipotle-tabasco-mayo sauce.

Grabbed some of the red leaf lettuce from the fridge, stacked everything up and next thing I knew, I had a tasty veggie burger big mac in my hands. Huge, quite filling, zesty and, ultimately, quite satisfying.

...okay, so the photo doesn't make it look so hot. But trust me, it was great!

A Smoking Success

My escapades with smoking meats, to date, have included attempts at pulled pork (episode 1 and 1a), brisket and trout (episode 2), the trout being the most successful among them.

No, I can't say I was as pleased as I'd hoped with the other two meats, but perfecting one's barbecue technique is done through time and many, many pounds of meat, not the first few attempts.

With this mantra in mind - that I needed to keep trying any chance I got - I jumped all over a recent opportunity. The family came to town and stayed with us Easter weekend, and Mom, ever-conscious of my love for cooking (thanks for the support, mom! Photo at the end of this post), brought with her an entire turkey breast!

The next Saturday morning as I was making breakfast, I remembered the turkey and placed the frozen bird out to thaw. Sunday morning it was ready to go, so I dried it off and then doused it in tons of my all-purpose seasoning rub from Oklahoma Joe's, being sure it was well coated all the way around and inside. I didn't even check the temp in the smoker when I dropped the bird in, I just made  sure the water pan was full and that it was reasonably hot; put the turkey on the lower rack and three good-sized chunks of hickory in the bottom.

My suspicion, from previous experience, was that I had used too little wood and, thus, hadn't imparted as much flavor into the meat as desired. So this time I amped up the amount of wood I used - about three to four chunks in the smoker at all time. It came billowing out around the cracks between the lid and the sides of its cylindrical base. A good sign.

Eight hours later, I pulled it out and wrapped it in foil. And when we finally sliced into it, we were thoroughly pleased. Dark, super-flavorful skin on the outside, moist white breast meat all the way down to the bone. I cut both of the breasts off whole and then thinly sliced it.

We've been living off that turkey for a while now... one of the benefits of smoking is that the leftovers are available for a long time thereafter - an apt award for such a labor of love. So last night, wanting a good warm weather meal but not in the mood to spend a lot of time on it, we created a menu utilizing the leftover turkey, along with our favorite cookout sides: barbecue baked beans and potato salad.

For the baked beans, we simply buy Bush's Homestyle beans, get rid of the chunks of bacon and drain quite a bit of the liquid, which we replaced with Gate's original style barbecue sauce. Let them simmer in a sauce pan for 20 minutes to thicken up a bit.

For my potato salad:

Ingredients

• 2 pounds potatoes - Yukon Gold or red new potatoes rinsed and scrubbed
• 3 scallions finely sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped dill
• 4 Claussen mini pickles
• 4 hard boiled eggs, diced
• 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons coarse grain mustard
• 1/2 cup mayo (I prefer Hellman's made with olive oil)

Bring a pot of water to a rapid boil. Add a palmful of salt. Dice the potato into half inch cubes and place in a bow. Cover with the hottest water you can get out of your tap, to warm up the diced potatoes and release some of the excess starch. When water is boiling, dump out the water with the potatoes and transfer them to the boiling pot.

Meanwhile, slice the scallions, pickles, eggs and chop the dill. When the potatoes are fork tender, strain the hot water and run some cool water over them to bring their temperature down to warm. Place potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add the dijon, coarse grain mustard and mayo. Fold with a spatula to combine. Place bowl in the fridge and allow to cool 20 minutes. Remove from fridge and add in the rest of the ingredients. Stir well to make sure ingredients, especially dijon, are well mixed.

The photo doesn't do it justice, but we enjoyed refreshing glasses of sangria to go with our summery barbecue meal. Elizabeth can whip this up very quickly, and the fresh fruit makes it deliciously juicy. Just watch out because it packs a deceiving punch, too.

Elizabeth's Sangria:

Ingredients

• Ice
• Bottle of red wine, preferably Spanish
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup triple sec
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Large bottle sparkling water like Pellegrino or Mountain Valley

Combine all the liquid ingredients in a large pitcher except the sparkling water. Add the sugar and stir to combine. If desired, add slices of the fruit for garnish. Then slowly add the sparkling water, allowing it to preserve as much of its fizz as possible.

Serve in any type of glass over ice.

Mom and Dad with grandparents in the background:

Lidia In Her Prime: At Home

We foodies who are not of Italian heritage all wish, deep down, that we had an Italian mother... for the food. Great home made meals are always the best and each nationality and culture has its gems. But if I had to choose a genre of mom's home cooking to grow up enjoying, rather than having been born into it, I'd definitely go Italian.


Hand-made pasta. Great seafood. Such simple cuisine that, arguably, does the best job of any type of cuisine in the world of highlighting the freshness and simplicity of its ingredients as opposed to morphing them into something they are not. That's what Italian cooking is to me.


Kansas City has lots of Italian restaurants and its most well known Italian restauranteur is Lidia Bastianich, whose crossroads diner, Lidia's, I reviewed in one of my first-ever postings for Napkins. I was disappointed then and have returned at least three times since that review, leaving each time with varied levels of disappointment.


The trick to Lidia's, I've stated, is to give in and go with the pasta trio sampler. The pastas are super-fresh, the variety is nice, and the ingredients are always simple, but classic and well executed. It just never disappoints. For whatever reason, despite being a fairly expensive place, the service is always borderline incompetent and detracts from the meal experience. And straying from the pasta sampler yields mixed results at best.


So last night, we brought Lidia's into the home, figuratively speaking, making one of Lidia's longstanding menu items: Sauteed Chicken with Olives, Capers and Roasted Lemons.

This is a delicious Italian meal that takes chicken and bathes it in a delicious, rich buttery sauce which is cut by the salty brine from the olives and capers and the bright citrus of the roasted lemons. It's amazing how each time I have it, I feel like I'm eating something set before me at a restaurant. It just has that restaurant-meal-feel about it.

INGREDIENTS

• 
  
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 lemons, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Two 5-ounce bags baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs
• Four 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1/2 cup pitted green Sicilian or Spanish olives, sliced
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small dice
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil on the parchment, then arrange the lemon slices in a single layer. Drizzle the lemons lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the lemons begin to brown around the edges.
• In a deep medium skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust with the flour, shaking off the excess. Cook the chicken over high heat, turning once, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the olives, capers and stock and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until the stock is reduced by about two-thirds, about 5 minutes. Add the roasted lemons, butter and parsley, season with salt and pepper and simmer just until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute.

I omitted the spinach preparation steps from her recipe above because for our meal, we did the spinach in a slightly dressed-up way. Here's how I did it:

John's Sauteed Spinach Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 bag pre-washed spinach

1 Spanish or white onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp sherry cooking wine

3 tbsp toasted pine nuts

DIRECTIONS

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When melted, add the onion and let cook, stirring frequently, three minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and sautee until fragrant.  Add spinach and mix in with the onions with tongs. Once spinach begins wilting, push it to the side, exposing the hot part of the pan and add the broth, quickly mixing with the spinach so it absorbs. Add the sherry, raisins and pine nuts. Toss until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with the chicken.

We served our chicken on the side, but next time I'd do what the picture shows and put it on top (possibly omitting the raisins which are better when the spinach is eaten on its own), so the spinach can take on the flavors from the chicken and its sauce, and to keep it warm. Served on the side, it was tasty but cooled off pretty quickly. 

A short list of ingredients, bold Italian flavors, a clean, simple dish; just like my fictitious Italian mom used to make.

Multi-Celebratory Brunch

I have two brothers in law, and two sisters in law. Of the four, Abby and Jonathan both live out of town, but were here this weekend because my mother in law was throwing a surprise birthday party for her mother in law, Elizabeth's "Nana". Additionally, Abby just took a new job and is excited about moving to New York and continuing to grow her career there.

Did you get all that? Bottom line is it was a weekend of celebrations, and as a precursor to Saturday night's shebang for Nana, Elizabeth and I thought brunch with Abby and Jonathan would be a good way to catch up and get the festivities started.

Abby is a very healthy eater, so we knew we had to keep the fat content down. Without too much consternation, we came up with the idea of having crepes. Having learned a few things about what doesn't work well in a crepe on our trip to Chez Elle, we decided to fill ours with a savory mixture of caramelized mushrooms and onions, ham and swiss cheese, all of which we already had on-hand except the swiss. After a quick run to the grocery store, we had the whole setup planned out. Here's the official menu:

La Petite Dejeuner a Paris


Crepes with caramelized mushroom and onion, ham and swiss
Fresh fruit salad of strawberries and green grapes with powdered sugar
Healthy turkey sausage links
Roasterie French Press Coffee - Cafe Allegro blend
Mimosas

For the crepes:
Two large eggs
3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons melted butter

First combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until well-combined. Cover and let sit for an hour to allow bubbles to subside.

Coat a good non-stick pan with a little butter or cooking spray (easiest). Pour crepe batter into the middle of the pan and rotate pan to evenly coat. Cook for 30 seconds - one minute. Lift edges with a spatula, working the crepe loose from the pan, then flip and finish cooking on the other side for 30 seconds. Place finished crepes in a stack so they can keep each other warm.

For filling:
Wash and slice 8 to 10 ounces button or baby bella mushrooms
Slice one yellow onion
Heat a wide sautee pan over high heat.  Melt 2-3 tablespoons butter. Add the mushrooms and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the mushrooms and add the onions and cook for 7-10 minutes until cooked through. Add a splash of alcohol - vermouth, sherry or white wine - to deglaze the pan, adding depth to the flavor of the mushrooms and onions. Once absorbed, push the mixture to the side and add ham to the pan.
Add the ham and brown for a minute or so.

On a cutting board, shred the swiss cheese with a box grater or whatever you have.

In another warm pan, add one finished crepe, cover half with the ham, mushroom and onion mixture, top with swiss cheese and fold over the crepe.

We had a great time with Abby and Jonathan. The food was solid but we enjoyed each other's company and the conversation so much, we didn't dote over it. A perfect way to spend a Sunday midday.

Thanks to you both and congrats, Abby, on the exciting new j.o.b., and thanks for joining us for brunch!

A New Stew

There are an infinite number of soup and stew recipes out there, yet somehow each winter I end up eating my weight in chili and chicken noodle (not complainin', just sayin'...). That's why this Mexican-inspired simple stew recipe was such a fun find.

You can find great deals on pork now and then at the grocery store, so this is an inexpensive meal, but the spices and slow simmering process gives it a rich, deep flavor.

It calls for using pork tenderloin. No need. Find a sale on some nice looking center-cut boneless pork chops and use those instead if you want to keep the price down. Just account for a longer simmering time to ensure the pork softens and breaks down ensuring that it's falling apart nicely  before eaten.

Here it is:

Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew

Ingredients
2  tablespoons  ancho chile powder
2  teaspoons  dried oregano
1 1/2  teaspoons  smoked paprika
1  teaspoon  ground cumin
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1 1/2  pounds  pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1  tablespoon  olive oil, divided
2  cups  chopped onion
1 1/2  cups  chopped green bell pepper
1  tablespoon  minced garlic
2 1/2  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1  (28-ounce) can hominy, drained
1  (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

Preparation

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture aside. Add pork to remaining spice mixture in bowl, tossing well to coat.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove pork from pan; set aside. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Return pork to pan. Add reserved 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture, broth, hominy, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.

The result is a rich, but not too rich, spicy stew. I've stated my love for hominy before and a pork-based stew is a nice change from ground beef.

Jalapeno corn bread makes a great accompaniment.

The Anti-Comfort Food

As soon as I typed it, I realized that the title for this posting would convey the wrong meaning, but I'll keep it and try to explain.

Here's the deal: Thanksgiving always sends me through a cyclical mental process of comfort food desire and then comfort food phobia. Approaching Thanksgiving, like anyone, I start salivating just thinking about the traditional meal - the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes... that uni-colored amalgam of protein and carbs commonly smothered in a blanket of gravy. When the table is set, I go at it. No holding back. One rule - eat until you can't eat anymore. And since both my family and Elizabeth's spend Thanksgiving in Kansas City, somehow I do this for both lunch and dinner on the same day.

I skip breakfast in the morning to save room for lunch. After gorging at lunch, a quick few games of ping pong in my grandpa's basement loosen up some room at the top of my GI tract and suddenly I need pie.

A quick stop back at the house to walk our dog and prep the brussels sprouts for "T2", and off we go again.

Something about drinking a glass of wine while we linger in the kitchen and take in the smells of thanksgiving dinner must boost my metabolism, because only a few short hours after feeling like I would never eat again, I think I'm ravenous and load up another plate. Down the hatch!

The next morning I awake, like the rest of the world, from the depths of an unfathomable food coma and my whacked out food equilibrium is positively screaming for the opposite of comfort food. The anti-comfort food. For me, that means things like crisp vegetables, an abundance of spice (thai chili-spice, not cinnamon-spice) and umami. I want flavors I did not grow up eating. I want Asian food!

Here's one of my favorite Asian recipes from Food and Wine, which we made shortly after our Thanksgiving binge. Whip out the chopsticks to work out your dexterity and top this delicious, salty plate with as much spicy sambal oelek as you can stand. You'll feel like you really worked for this meal, which is a nice change from the previous day's gluttonous display.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Cashews

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 pound asparagus, sliced on the diagonal, 1 inch thick
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped chives
Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the cashews in a pie plate and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes, until they are nicely browned and fragrant. Let cool.
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce. In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the chicken in an even layer and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned and just cooked throughout, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a clean bowl.
Pour the chicken stock into the wok and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Add the asparagus slices, cover and cook over moderate heat until they are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the asparagus to the bowl along with the chicken.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of fish sauce to the wok along with the oyster sauce, lime juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1/3 cup, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken pieces and sliced asparagus to the wok and toss to heat through. Remove the wok from the heat and stir in the cashews, basil and chives. Season the stir-fry with black pepper and serve right away (my note: ...with enough sambal on top to push you out of your comfort zone).

SERVE WITH
Steamed rice.

NOTES
One Serving 369 cal, 17 gm fat, 2.8 gm sat fat, 9 gm carb, 2.4 gm fiber.



Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

A Stab at Shrimp Etouffee

I keep a list of indulgent seasonal meals to make on the weekends, when I allow myself to eat something unhealthy I disallow during the week. It's something fun to look forward to, keeps me motivated to cook new things and keeps me from forgetting good ideas when they come to mind.

One of the first items I knocked off that list this fall was this shrimp etouffee. I'm a huge fan of New Orleans cuisine. I love the spice, the meats used, like crawfish, shrimp, sausage and chicken, love the flavorful trinity of vegetables used and the richness these meals share in common that feels so right in the colder months. While the recipe I followed tasted pretty good, I can't give it a full endorsement after having made it. Here's why...

Classic New Orleans cuisine, dishes like gumbo and etouffee, all require a special base of perfectly cooked ingredients in order to achieve the right overall flavor and texture. There are lots of recipes out there that are hacks - sometimes involving the use of canned cream of mushroom or celery soup to shortcut the traditional roux, which can take quite some time to get right. This recipe was not one of those recipes that looks for a shortcut... I specifically made sure that it didn't before I made it. The problem was that it didn't explain how long to wait for the roux to reach the desired color and flavor. And it provided too high a ratio of flour to butter. After researching other recipes after making this one, I realized it called for about a quarter cup more flour than it needed... which explains the slightly floury taste and excessive thickness of the end result I achieved.

The other issue I experienced was really my fault, which was that I used a pot that didn't have a wide enough base. Too little hot surface area equated to undercooked veggies and, thus, too little of their flavor incorporated into the etouffee and at the same time having too much crunch.

All things considered, it still was pretty darn tasty, but I'm going to look for different recipes. Also going to look into getting crawfish, which makes the BEST etouffee. Here's the recipe I used, from Emeril Lagasse on foodnetwork.com:

Shrimp etouffee with steamed Rice and Fried Mirliton Strips

Ingredients

• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch cayenne
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry, or dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
• 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 4 cups steamed long grain white rice

Directions

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour to make a roux and cook to peanut butter color. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the water and stir well. Add the Essence, and bay leaves, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the tomatoes, sherry, parsley, and thyme, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, about 4 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook just until they curl and turn pink, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the green onions and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove and discard the bay leaves.

Momofuku Ssam Copycat: Banh Mi & Brussels Sprouts

Copied David Chang's Brussels Sprouts from Momofuku Ssam tonight (sans rice crispies) thanks to the recipe from Food & Wine. They were fantastic - even with my inferior skills!

They were used as the side for our Banh Mi burgers - also good! (Shown at right before garnished with cilantro and jalapenos.) Note - go ahead and grill the beef instead of cooking it in a pan. Pan fried ground beef just doesn't cut it for me.