Feast 29 – Thai Inspiration

As the months creep by, i find myself increasingly falling victim to a creeping malaise and general apathy towards doing all the day to day tasks that make up my life here in Korea. unfortunately, that has bled over into my blog entry habits and i find myself, for the third week in a row, making an entry 48 hours after the meal has actually gone down. It strange, i still am excited about the project and exert a great deal of my waking hours planning and executing the meals but somehow i get lazy when it comes time to make the entries. i make no excuses, i just beg your indulgence. i will strive to be better. in 27 days, i assure you i will be better, a plane ride and a few weeks with the family should go a long way to re-energizing my flagging willpower. all that aside, here is the weeks meal:

I had a desire to make some Thai influenced food and also, in the interests of economy, using up the catfish i still had in the freezer from the cajun meal a few weeks back. so, the thing that popped to mind first was fish packets, wrapped in banana leaves. but hey, who am i kidding, banana leaves, here on a military base? not bloody likely. ok, says i, fine… the suitable substitute is parchment paper… easy right? well, no, because yet again, here is another item that is widely available in the civilized world that i am unfortunately unable to get. so, i had to settle for foil packing. not a tragedy but i am getting damned sick of resorting to tertiary options. there is nothing like a stint overseas to make you appreciate the vast selection of a modern, well stocked grocery store. on a tangential note, i remember the first weekend that the family was in colorado, after four years in england. my first trip to a large grocery store was a defining moment in my recovery from the culture shock of being away from the states for that long of a period. it was strange to see so much selection in such a compact space. choice is overwhelming at times but it really stands out after you have done without for any period of time.

wow, this is meandering a bit from the subject… focus, greg, focus…

ok, fish packets… i came across a recipe that detailed a fish packet marinaded in a basil curry sauce. well, thats a win to start with… i found it at http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/Salmon.htm and while it calls for salmon, cod or other specific fish, my inventory of catfish and liking for its flavor made it a very suitable substitute…

Spice Mixture for the marinade

* 2-3 fillets salmon, red snapper, cod, or other fish, preferably fresh, but frozen will work too (SERVES 2-3)
* 1 pkg. banana leaves (if frozen, thaw for at least 1/2 hour) OR 2-4 sheets parchment paper, OR tin foil
* CURRY MARINADE/SAUCE:
* 1 shallot
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1 thumb-size piece galangal (or ginger), sliced
* 2 tsp. ground coriander
* handful of basil leaves
* 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
* 1/2 can good-quality coconut milk
* 2 kaffir lime leaves, snipped into small pieces with scissors (discard central stem)
* 1 fresh red chilli, sliced (seeds removed if you prefer a milder sauce)
* 1 tsp. chili powder
* juice of 1/2 lime

Fish, marinaded and ready to wrap

Preparation:

1. Place all curry marinade/sauce ingredients in a food processor (or blender) and process well.
2. Place fish fillets in a large bowl and add 1/2 the curry marinade. Reserve the rest for later.
3. Slather the marinade over both sides of the fish.
4. Allow fish to sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Note: If you’re pressed for time, you can cook the fish immediately, as the flavors are so strong, they will still permeate the fish sufficiently.
5. When fish is done marinading, spread a banana leaf approximately 1 foot square on a working surface (you will have to cut the leaf) – or the equivalent of parchment paper or tin foil. Place one fillet in the center of the leaf/paper/foil.
6. Fold both sides of the wrapping material over the fish, then fold both ends to create a square “packet”. Turn it seam-side down to keep sides from opening (unless using foil, which will stay by itself). Do the same for the other fillets.
7. Place packets in a glass casserole dish or pie plate (to catch the drippings in case packets leak) and bake for 15 min. at 350 degrees, or longer depending on the thickness of the fillets.
8. After 15 minutes, open one of the packets. Insert a fork into the center of the fillet or steak (the thickest part) and gently pull back. If inside flesh is opaque and no longer transparent, the fish is cooked. If not, return to oven for another 5-10 minutes.
9. Over low heat, warm up the reserved curry sauce/marinade.
10. To serve the fish, scoop several spoonfuls of rice onto the side of the fish (right on the banana leaf, if using). Spoon some curry sauce (marinade) over the fish, then add a sprinkling of basil and/or coriander leaves.

well, i was also unable to get kaffir lime leaves so excluded them. i increased the red peppers to three given my own personal affinity for the spicier side of life. honestly, it wasn’t hot enough in my opinion and would probably either use more or a different type of pepper in the future.

Coconut rice is not very interesting to photograph

i followed their advice in the original recipe and prepared some coconut rice alongside. the recipe as quoted seemed a little on the mild side so i added 2 tbsp of madras curry powder with the other ingredients and followed the recipe as listed. it gave it a nice zest without overpowering the smooth flavor of the rice. quite nice in my humble opinion. here is a link to the rice recipe: Thai Coconut Rice

Ingredients chopped for the eggplant stirfry

for the inevitable vegetable side, i had a craving for eggplant again and came across this recipe: Thai Eggplant Stirfry. I appreciated it both for its variety of flavorings and ease of preparation. I normally swerve away from any recipe that uses the word easy in its title because they tend to be dumbed down version of things i would normally like but this one held true to the promise of ease while still offering the complexities that i enjoy in a dish.

Eggplant stir frying away

personal taste drove me to increase the garlic to nine cloves and max out the red peppers. i was a bit intimidated by the fish sauce in all honesty. this is my first time cooking with it and i was a bit thrown back by the strength of its aroma straight out of the bottle. it is wicked strong to be sure. however, blended with the other ingredients, it gave a great balance to the dish and i will definitely ensure my larder is stocked with it in the future.

Finished meal, plated

this went really well with the lager left over in the fridge. reduce, reuse, recycle…

i am of two minds on quoting recipes wholesale in my blog. on the one hand, i think everyone who reads this knows that i am cooking based on some recipe or another, that i don’t have a test kitchen stashed away in my dorm room where i develop all new recipes. i like to think that my modifications, pictures and commentary are enough to make them worthwhile. so, thats the argument for directly quoting the recipes, to give credit to the sources and ensure people know that i am not claiming these as my own inventions. i feel like i would be doing a disservice to the original authors/compilers if i gave the impression that i created these in a vacuum without any outside influence. at the same time, i prefer rewording them to demonstrate how i prepared the dish and directly showing my modifications. i think the best balance would be to type it out “as prepared” with a follow on link to the original source. that will satisfy my desire for creativity and also my sense of fair play to the sources. anyway, i babble, let me stop.

a teaser for next weekend… originally i had planned on making a thanksgiving meal but in miniature with cornish hens in place of the turkey, hand carved baby potatoes, individual serving sized pies and all that. however, after discussions with Eddie, we both came to the conclusion that the whole thing would be too depressing. that particular meal of all meals is meant to be prepared and ate while amongst your family. it would be a shallow ghost of what it is supposed to be if i did it here in this dorm room a million miles from home. so, that idea is officially off the agenda. however, i have had an insane craving for chorizo. odd i know, some people crave ice cream, i wake in a cold sweat thinking about preserved meat products. go figure. as coincidence would have it, i received the newest issue of bon appetit in the mail yesterday and they have a recipe for Mussels with Chorizo and Spicy Charmoula Broth that is a strong contender for this weeks centerpiece. its a high probability but not a certainty, i have to give thought to sides that will balance the meal. anyway, look for it in about five days.

Feast 28 – Cheeseburgers, Coleslaw and Onion Rings

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man extremely tired and lazy about updating his blog.

ok, that aside, i will attempt to be more timely in my updates, just in case someone is waiting with bated breath for their sunday fix.

this week, i had a real craving for a cheeseburger. that may sound a bit pedestrian compared to my normal fare but trust me, i jazzed it up a bit to make it worthy. when i was developing the idea, i knew i wanted to make beer battered onion rings as one of the sides but i was stuck for a vegetable side. i owe it to my darling wife who gave me the idea of making coleslaw. its one of those foods that i eat on occasion but have never even considered making. well, color me convinced, it was both easy and quite tasty given the base recipe that i started with and the modifications i ran.

Cheeseburgers. i feel they are one of the most decadent foods, seared ground up flesh of cow with cheese and condiments. cooked properly, they are absolutely to die for. tossing ideas around, i remember a recipe that i came across a while back, probably in bon appetit, that made the cheeseburgers with the cheese on the inside. that struck me as perfection, gooey goodness penetrating the center of a tender cooked burger, whats not to love? well, i had specific flavors in mind when it came to this burger and decided to go with blue cheese and bacon for the filling. with such a fine burger, it seemed to me a shame to even consider using a simple store bought bun so i did take the trouble of making my own, freshly baked and tasty. so, without further ado, here is how i did it:

the coleslaw:

Ingredients for the slaw

another great recipe from epicurious, the addition of chives and shallots made this wonderful. i loved the way it snuck up on you and bit you with the sharpness of the shallots. me being me, i added 6 cloves of slivered garlic to a half portion of this recipe. i figured the whole batch would be entirely too big and i would have slaw for weeks. here is the link to the recipe, please check it out: Creamy Coleslaw with Chives and Shallots

the buns:

i went through several different iterations of bread recipes but honestly none of them seemed to capture what i was looking for. several of them were simply to time consuming and constituted a project in their own right. i decided to focus on form and function above flashiness of ingredients. it is amazing what proper treatment of a bread recipe with reward you with. i made a basic bread dough consisting of 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/4 cup warm water, a tablespoon of yeast, a twist or two of salt and a tablespoon of sugar. mix well to combine and work into a dough ball. on a floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes or so until it is silky and pliant. place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise at room temperature for an hour and a half. after the rise time, separate the dough into 6 pieces. at this point, i have to mention the excellent book, the bread baker’s apprentice for enlightening me on the next step. the book described the best way to get a proper crust is to ensure the dough is stretched and that there is proper surface tension on the outer layer. it’s difficult to describe the method for this but try to visualize it and i will try to put it into words. working with one dough ball at a time, roll it between your palms to create a smooth ball. then, form it into a bun shape by curling the edges of the dough under the dough ball, rotating the dough 90 degrees with each stretching. you want the top of your bun to look uniformly stretched in all directions. be careful not to tear the dough as you are basically creating a thin layer of dough with all the rest of the dough tucked inside of it. repeat for the other five dough balls and place on an oiled baking pan.

Buns formed and ready to rise

cover and let rise for another hour. after the second rise, gently cut a cross into the top of each bun, trying not to overly disturb the doughs texture. brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned. let cool and slice in half just before service.

Buns fresh from the oven

the burgers:

first off, cook up 6 slices of bacon until crisp. i started with 8 but somehow only six made it into the recipe. bacon has a way of disappearing in my kitchen, its really weird. drain the bacon well and mix with a nice large chunk of blue cheese, crumbling and combining to form an integrated ball of goodness. set aside. next, mix 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef with one beaten egg, salt, pepper, oregano, sage and a nice drizzle of worchestershire sauce. mix well by hand to combine and separate into 12 small balls.

Forming the patties

working with two balls at a time (insert dirty joke here), flatten them into very thin patties. spoon a portion of the blue cheese mixture on top of one patty, smooth it out and top with the second patty. press the edges together and form into a nice solid burger with your cheese mixture completely encased. repeat 5 more times (duh). normally, i would strongly advocate firing up the grill but refer to my previous complaints about the fact that i do not have a grill here. what i do have is a pan that was recently used for making 8 – i mean 6 slices of bacon. so, medium high heat, about 4 minutes per side or until the burgers are done to your satisfaction. serve with thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced tomato, brown mustard and ketchup. accept the accolades of your adoring public.

Mmm-mmmm. That is a tasty burger...

the onion rings:

i’m a sucker for anything that’s beer battered. these are tasty without going to crazy on outlandish with the ingredients. a single onion is enough to feed two people, adjust according to your audience size.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp. baking powder
1 cup cold beer
3 eggs

Slightly beat the eggs in medium mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Blend well with electric mixer. Use immediately to batter thickly cut rings of yellow onion. fry the onions in very hot vegetable oil until browned and crispy, turning to ensure even cooking. drain well and serve.

Meal plated and ready to eat

overall, the meal was good. the burgers were a bit overshadowed by the strength of the blue cheese but i would counter that by plussing up the spices in the ground meat, not altering the blue cheese filling. i think a healthy dose of cracked black pepper would do the trick. we were lucky enough to get some sam adams winter lager in here and it was the perfect accompaniment. i am so excited to be in colorado for the old chicago winter beer tour, i am a huge fan of the winter seasonals with the mixtures of spicy undertones and thick hoppy-ness. oh and did i mention there is a t-shirt involved? man, beverages and free t-shirts, this thing is custom made for me!

i’m thinking of doing some thai style wrapped fish packets with a noodle dish on the side next week. still in the thought process so it may change altogether, we shall see.

20 more to go…

Feast 27 – Lamb Tagine and Vegetable Couscous

This week, i accepted Eddie’s challenge of creating a Moroccan feast. i’m fascinated by the cuisine of northern Africa with its mixture of desert sensibilities and Mediterranean spicy flair. i think it suits my personality well, i enjoy cooking it almost as much as i enjoy eating it.

Unfortunately, amongst the many cooking implements i do not have here in Korea, I do not have a traditional Tagine, the cooking vessel from which this delicious stew gets its name. but, wait for it, its a stew made of an indifferent cut of meat that is cooked for a long period in order to leave the meat tender and fully seasoned. hmmmm, what could i possibly use to slow cook a stew, Moroccan or otherwise?

so, yeah, another excuse for me to break out the crock pot. i’m almost starting to feel like i should have called this the 48 crock pot feasts. it is certainly my favorite implement for the here and now.

I’ve gotten rather cavalier with my approach to recipes these days. i found wonderful recipes for the tagine and for the couscous which i will link below but in the end, i used them as a basic blueprint and just went ahead and cooked the dishes. they ended up tasting quite nice although probably not as traditional as the could have been. i’m okay with that. for me, this has always been about exploration and finding the flavors and techniques that make a meal work for me. following a formula is great and all but in all honesty, there are few recipes that fit my palate right out of the crate. i almost invariably increase the garlic, omit one spice in favor of another, use a different cut of meat… all minor changes but ones that are designed to make the dishes exactly what i want to eat. so, here is how i rolled for this week. as a side note, i did make some pita to go alongside but lets just say, the first rule of greg’s baking is that we don’t talk about greg’s baking. the second rule of greg’s baking… blah blah blah. yeah, i need practice with breads.

the tagine:

Tagine stewing away

first off, here is the original recipe from epicurious.com. Lamb Tagine with Tomatoes and Caramelized Sweet Onions i selected this recipe because it suited my intention of slow cooking and i was intrigued by the two methods of cooking the onions, one set stewed in the dish and another batch caramelized and served on top. it seems that here, most of my recipe modifications are a direct result of one ingredient or another that i just can’t get. there are things that we take for granted in our well equipped stateside stores, such as Vidalia onions. of course, here, i have none. so, i made do with yellow onions. a little sharper flavor of course but after caramelizing they still turned out nice and flavorful. As i mentioned above, i chose to make this dish in my crock pot. so, i started in the wee hours, around 8.5 hours before dinnertime to be exact. i am also stuck for cuts of lamb that are available here so instead of the cheaper stew meat that this dish called for, i took a whole leg of lamb and stripped it off the bone. i cut it into nice sized chunks, i guess about 1.5 inch cubes would be the best approximation. whatever size you would like to find in a bite of stew is what i would go with. i chopped up four onions and put these in the bottom of the crock pot. dropped in a couple of cinnamon sticks, liberal salt and pepper and then layered the lamb on top of the onions. repeat the salting and peppering, sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon powder and ginger. cook on high for about 5 hours, stirring often. at the 5 hour mark, add in about 6 chopped tomatoes, one julienne sliced orange bell pepper and two minced habaneros. yeah, i like a little hidden kick in my stews. cook for an additional 2 hours. then add in about 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro. cook for one more hour or until you are ready to eat, it should be tender and flavorful by then. about an hour before you serve, caramelize the remaining onions (i had three more onions for this stage) in a bit of olive oil in a large heavy pan. stir well until they begin to soften then reduce heat to medium, cover and let them cook down for about 45 minutes. spoon atop the tagine when you serve.

Caramelizing the Onions

the couscous: this dish was meant to be served cooled but i wanted to serve it hot so thats what i did. its amazing the freedom that making a decision gives you. this was a three stage operation, each one utterly simple but when they all mixed together, the results were quite nice. here is the original recipe from which i didn’t deviate that much, just mixing the ingredients while they were still warm and i did swap cilantro for the parsley and omitted the mint, my personal taste, individual mileage may vary…Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes

Blackened Tomatoes and Roasted Garlic for Couscous

it probably goes without saying that i was unable to obtain pearl couscous and used your normal everyday variety in its place. i imagine the texture was a little slighter that intended but it turned out nice regardless.

of course, nothing goes better with a spicy stew than a decent lager, we however settled for Corona, improved with slices of line and Tabasco. It provided a refreshing counterbalance and made me want to shoot pool afterward. all in all, served its purpose.

Plated and ready to eat (yeah, i took the picture before putting the caramelized onions on top, sue me)

i’ve been daydreaming about future feasts. kinda odd i guess. i believe i may be making a miniature version of turkey day traditional fare for Thanksgiving, just to be cute. i’m still developing but have visions of roasted cornish hens stuffed with cornbread stuffing alongside miniature roasted potatoes, baby glazed baby carrots (all lovingly carved down with a paring knife to 1/4 scale) and a selection of miniature one serving pies for dessert.

i’m also contemplating the statement i want to make for feast 48, my last bit of cookery in this godforsaken place. it will have a meaning behind it, believe me.

Feast 26 – Chinese Five Spice Chicken

For the first week, i woke up on sunday just not wanting to cook. it was weird, i went thru the normal preparatory stages, planned the meal through the week, did the shopping on friday, thought about the process on saturday but sunday rolled around and i just didn’t feel like it. there was a laziness that crept over me that i just can’t put my finger on. i’m looking forward to going home for christmas so much that i find it hard to deal with the here and now, even the things i have chosen for myself.

still, this aside, i did at the end of it all make the meal i had planned. i cooked almost out of habit, the meal flowing out effortlessly. i felt no real pressure or stress on the timeline, i just saw it as an inevitability. it was sunday. so i cooked.

i got a really late start. motivation was hard to come by and luckily this particular meal didn’t take as much brain power or time as some others that i have made in the past. i framed the meal around three courses, as is my habit, chinese five spiced chicken, using cornish hens as the fowl, curried eggplant and vegetable fried rice. all in all the meal took about 90 minutes to prepare and it turned out great, i was very happy with the results, especially the eggplant. it shouldn’t surprise me, its the dish that took the least effort so obviously it was the one that would turn out the best.

the hens:

i decided to spatchcock the cornish hens both to decrease the cooking time and to give them a better presentation on the plate. increasing the surface area of the birds gave more crispness and delicious texture as well. i used the standard spatchcocking technique except as it turned out, the keel bones were insignificant and didn’t require removing.

Cornish Hen, Spatchcocked

thaw the cornish hens and drain well. with a pair of kitchen shears, cut along the backbone on each side to remove it. place the hen breast side up on your cutting board and flatten with the palm of your hand. cut two small slits in the skin on the end of the hen and tuck in the ends of the leg bones to hold them in place.

drizzle the hens with a bit of sesame oil. rub the oil over the chicken to thoroughly cover. liberally spice the birds with chinese five spice mixture, salt and pepper. roast uncovered in a 350 degree oven for around 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 180. turn oven off until ready to serve. i split each hen in two to serve, creating four servings from the two hens, it fit better on the plate and was suitable to my appetite level. i do love leftovers as well.

Cornish Hen, fresh from the oven

The curried eggplant:

heat a bit of olive oil and sweat down one diced onion and 4 cloves of garlic until translucent. sprinkle the onion/garlic with a scant 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

slice two japanese eggplants into 1/2 inch slices and place in the pan. sprinkle with curry powder, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. pour in 1/2 cup of water and cook over medium high heat until the eggplant is soft, about 40 minutes, ensuring to stir often to prevent any sticking to the bottom of the pan and distribute the spices. sprinkle with sesame seeds and cook for about 2 minutes more. serve immediately.

the fried rice:

i needed to use a bigger pan for this dish but the wok i have will not fit on this stovetop. a large hot pan surface will give a much better consistency to the fried rice, especially at the stage when you add the egg. but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to get by.

Vegetables for Rice cooking away

prepare one cup of dry rice according to manufacturers directions. set aside to cool. heat a bit of oil in a large pan or wok and touch fry a mixture of four diced green onions, 2 thinly sliced carrots, a finely chopped thumb sized piece of ginger and around six sliced mushrooms. when this ingredients start to soften, season with salt and pepper, then add the rice back in, stirring to distribute evenly. with the heat on high, pour in one beaten egg and stir constantly to ensure the egg doesn’t clump. this is where a big wok would have came in handy as my egg merged too much with the rice and didn’t really add much to the dish. it still tasted damned good though.

Meal Plated and ready to eat

Due to our wonderful selection of beverages here at Osan, we were limited in choice but Eddie came through with some more Kirin Ichiban which is a damned fine beer in my opinion. no complaints here, thats for sure. the eggplant was the star of the day with a surprise kick that knocked me down once with a particularly well spiced bite. i may make the eggplant again just during the week for myself, it was pretty tasty.

Eddie also came though with a meal suggestion, a Moroccan feast that i will be developing for next week. the centerpiece will be a lamb tagine with a couscous side dish of some sort. i may get crazy and make some pita alongside, it would be fitting and thematic.

Feast 25 – Raging Hunk of Burning Love

ok, this weekend, i decided to make cajun food. its not something that i have had much experience with beyond the whole instant zartrains sort of thing but something that i consistently enjoy when i eat it. so why not? also, it gave me another excuse to use my crockpot. the love affair continues. i can’t help it, i love building a nice dish and then letting it cook until it a molten ball of goodness 7 or 8 hours later. the smells in the room, the occasional stir and taste (gotta make sure its seasoned right), it just turns the whole day into a feast. so, with that in mind, i decided on a gumbo.

the thing about gumbo is that almost every gumbo i come across is a seafood gumbo. not that there is anything wrong with that but i have been on a chicken kick as of late. it doesn’t hurt at all that the bags of chicken thighs are a meager $2.40 at the store. makes for an easy decision for me. a bit of hunting around and i found a recipe for chicken and smoked sausage gumbo. exactly what i had in mind, i call that a result. to go alongside, i thought it would be nice to have a bit of blackened catfish and a vegetable. well, okra is my first choice but the gumbo already has okra in it so i do some poking around. i come across a dish with the unlikely name of Maque Choux (pronounced “mock shoe”) courtesy of Emeril Lagasse. If there is one thing i will trust Emeril on, its cajun food so again, i will call this a result. ok, original plan was to make a nice batch of southern style biscuits but upon reflection, with the gumbo served over rice and the two other dishes, biscuits become extraneous. i’m really working hard to practice constraint because my natural inclination is to make six or seven courses but that would be entirely too much food. i enjoy leftovers but a bit of restraint and focus on three dishes is turning into my optimal planning pattern.

So, i mention over and over that the planning revolves around the meal that takes the longest. well, in this case, it was a bit extreme. i started prep for the gumbo at midnight the night before, setting the chicken thighs to boil and then reducing the heat to low and letting them simmer overnight. i generously spiced the water with salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, oregano and a large amount of cayenne. my thought process on this is that i will end up with a nice spiced chicken broth with extra to freeze for use in a future spicy meal. needless to say, it worked out well and at 7 the next morning, i removed the chicken from the water to cool and turned up the heat to reduce the broth a bit, cooking it for around another hour and a half.

with the chicken tender and falling off the bone, i skinned it, removed the bones and proceeded as below:

· 1/3 cup flour
· 1/3 cup cooking oil
· 3 cups chicken broth
· 12 to 16 ounces smoked sausage, sliced about 1/2″ thick
· 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
· 2 cups diced cooked chicken
· 2 cups sliced okra
· 2 cup chopped onion
· 1 cup chopped green pepper
· 1 cup chopped celery
· 4 cloves garlic, minced
· 4 diced jalapenos
· salt, to taste
· 1/2 teaspoon pepper
· 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
· 2 teaspoons thyme
· 2 teaspoons oregano

Preparation:

For roux, in a heavy 2-quart saucepan stir together flour and oil until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes more or until roux is dark reddish brown. Let roux cool.

Add chicken broth to a 3 1/2 to 6-quart slow cooker. Stir in roux. Add sausage, chicken, okra, onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, jalapenos, salt, pepper, herbs and red pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
Skim off fat. Serve with hot cooked rice.

the recipe above was acquired off the internet and modified with the addition of the herbs and jalapenos, increase in the amount of cayenne, okra and celery. the thing about gumbo is that its a nice hearty stew that blends really well with the long cook time so you can balance the ingredients however suits you.

Ingredients for Maque Choux

Maque Choux… what can i say, i really really really like this dish. its like cream corn on steroids. far be it from me to steal Emeril’s thunder so please by all means, follow this link for the recipe… i made a few modifications, using both a green and red bell pepper and increasing the jalapenos to personal taste levels. i also added all the spices individually instead of using his ever present Essence. it still had a little bam to it in my opinion though. i used fresh minced garlic as well because, well, fresh garlic is good.

after cooking the Maque Choux on the stovetop, i transferred it to a baking dish to keep in a warm oven both for ease of serving and to free up the real estate on my stove which is at a severe limit as most of you know from my constant whining about same. i felt the time in the oven helped the creaminess develop a bit more, individual mileage may vary but i was happy with the result.

so, gumbo stewing away, maque choux in the oven, i make a quick batch of white rice, nothing fancy, flavored with a bit of the same herbs from the maque choux to tie the dishes together on the plate. i like having a common thread. i was very subtle with the herbs though, no need to overpower it, its gonna be buried in gumbo anyway.

Catfish in the pan

while the rice is steaming, i heated up my cast iron skillet with a knob of butter and an equal amount of olive oil, medium high heat. take some catfish fillets and make sure they are as dry as possible. sprinkle both sides with a mixture of the following spices (yes i’m lazy and doing a little cut/paste instead of retyping)

# 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
# 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
# 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
# 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
# 1/2 teaspoon sugar
# 1/2 teaspoon salt
# 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Spice Mixture for the Catfish

press the spice mixture into the fish with a spoon or if you are me, with your hands. cook the fish in the heated cast iron skillet for about 4 minutes per side and serve immediately with slices of lemon on the side to squeeze over.

last step, bask in the glory and adoration of your dinner guests.

Gumbo, Catfish and Maque Choux plated, ready to eat

so, in the coming week, expect two posts… on saturday, i plan on a second bar food experience and on sunday, your regularly scheduled feast, still in the planning processes but most likely centered around spatchcocked cornish hens seasoned with a chinese five spice blend sort of thing. i’m considering a curried eggplant dish and a fried rice of some sort for the accompaniments but its just monday, give me a break!

oh, 56 days til i get to go home for a bit. keep the beer cold.

Feast 24 – The Battle of Midway

well, this is it, the halfway point. i feel excited and a bit relieved. its not going quickly but it is going.

with this being the midway point, i wanted to do something a little special. a little fancier, something to knock the socks off so to speak. my efforts to this end were two-fold. first off, as far as the menu, i opted for a few dishes that aren’t exactly everyday fare. this week i made a Brie en croute, Ratatouille on the side and for the main, a take-off from a faux maki that i found online using beef as the outer roll. not sure what to call it but it turned out quite nice. For the second departure, i decided to wait for all the prep until after Eddie arrived, to give a full demonstration of the process, start to finish. it was nice to roll through the steps, to verbalize them and to give reasons why each step was done the way it was done. in some ways, this reinforced my confidence in my techniques and gave me a bit of a mental boost.

I identified two key concepts that today’s prep revolved around. the first is the importance of a timeline when cooking multiple dishes that need to be ready at the same time. with more elaborate spreads, i use a whiteboard to identify the timing on key steps to make sure i keep on track. This is essential for large meals like Thanksgiving or larger dinner parties to make sure that your dishes are both ready on time and not ready too far ahead. a dish that sits is one that loses quality. every timeline that i make revolves around the prep/cook time of the dish that takes the longest. it sounds obvious but you need to remember it and focus on that when determining what time to start everything. you may remember me referring to a dish in past posts as my “long pole”, that is the dish that takes the longest and is either the most prep intensive or takes the most actual cooking time. once i’ve figured out what time to start this dish, based on prep time and the time i want to eat (usually about 30 minutes after i tell guests to arrive since no one ever shows up on time), i work backwards with the other dishes to fill in the time, subtracting the prep/cook time + 15 minutes wiggle room from plating time to determine the start time of each dish. it happens almost subconsciously with smaller meals like this one but takes a bit of planning with large meals.

the second key concept is the mise en place. this is basically laying out all the ingredients, tools and any other items needed to make your dishes. a well organized mise en place leads to smoother cooking processes. its much more important when you are cooking on a commercial scale but its a good habit for the home chef as well. i usually work with a partial mise en place, most of my items laid out and a few more that i dig for at the time of need either because they need to stay in the fridge or more likely because i forgot to get them out.

so, here is my mise en place for the three dishes i made this week:

Beef dish mise en place

Brie en Croute mise en place

Ratatouille mise en place

ok, more than anything, i just have my ingredients laid out and my central area, pictured here in the Brie prep picture is my work station for todays meal. a nice clear area with your cutting board is essential for me in meal prep.

the long pole today was a split decision between the Ratatouille and the Brie. both take about 45 minutes but the Brie required some prep followed by some time in the freezer for the pastry to hold shape better so i started with it first. this gave me flexibility in building the Ratatouille while the Brie was chilling. The brie recipe was intended for an entire wheel of brie but given that it was intended for an audience of two, i scaled this back to individual cheese filled pastries, using a single sheet of puff pastry cut into six sections.

found at Epicurious.com
Mushroom stuffed Brie en Croute

Ingredients
1 small onion
1/2 pound mushrooms
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon dry Sherry
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
a 17 1/4-ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed according to package directions
a chilled 14- to 17-ounce wheel Brie
1 large egg

Preparation
Mince enough onion to measure 1/2 cup and finely chop mushrooms. In a 9- to 10-inch heavy skillet cook onion in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add mushrooms, Sherry, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Cool mushroom mixture.

Mushrooms, Onions and garlic cooking

On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 sheet of pastry into a 13-inch square and, using Brie as a guide, cut out 1 round the size of the Brie. Cut out a mushroom shape from scraps for decoration.

Horizontally halve Brie. Roll out remaining sheet of pastry into a 13-inch square and transfer to a shallow baking pan. Center bottom half of Brie, cut side up, on pastry square and spread mushroom mixture on top. Cover mushroom mixture with remaining half of Brie, cut side down.

Staging the puff pastry and pieces of Brie

Without stretching pastry, wrap it snugly up over Brie and trim excess to leave a 1-inch border of pastry on top of Brie. In a small bowl lightly beat egg and brush onto border. Top Brie with pastry round, pressing edges of dough together gently but firmly to seal. Brush top of pastry with some egg and arrange pastry mushroom on it. Lightly brush mushroom with some egg, being careful not to let egg drip over edge of mushroom (which would prevent it from rising). With back of a sharp small knife gently score side of pastry with vertical marks, being careful not to cut through dough. Chill Brie, uncovered, 30 minutes. Brie may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, loosely covered.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Bake Brie in middle of oven until pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Let Brie stand in pan on a rack 15 minutes and transfer with a spatula to a serving

i modified this a bit by using a splash of marsala wine in place of the sherry, a combination of taste preference and this being what i had on the shelf. i also added 4 cloves of minced garlic to the mushroom mixture, personal preference again…

While the formed Brie pastries were chilling, i formed the Ratatouille. My original intention was to make this in my little corningware bowls in individual portions and then turn it out onto a baking pan to finish with some more parmesan under the broiler. this would have worked great with the exception that i was using my solitary pizza pan for the brie pastries and the bowls were way too hot to effectively manage a flip into any other type of container. so, i decided to just finish them as they were in the dishes and scooped them out onto the plates for serving. they were very cooperative and came out of the bowls whole and well formed so i have no complaints there. the recipe below is intended as a casserole, use your own preferences when making the dish. as i was making it as a layered formed dish, i sliced the eggplant thinly and did not precook it as in the recipe below. i also increased the seasonings, adding scant amounts of oregano, basil, majoram and cayenne pepper in the layers.

Ratatouille

2 tablespoons Olive oil
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Dried parsley
1 Eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Salt to taste
1 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
2 Zucchini, sliced
1 Large onion, sliced into rings
2 cups Sliced fresh mushrooms
1 Green bell pepper, sliced
2 Large tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Saute until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

My inspiration for my beef main was Japanese Beef and Scallion Rolls from Epicurious but i decided to deviate in such a extreme manner that it really can’t be seen as the same dish anymore. you can follow the link to see the original but here is what i did:

pound flat a cut of flank steak and slice into two portions. you want this as flat as possible and vaguely rectangular.

meanwhile, blanch 4 green onions and two large julienne cut carrots of the same length as the green onions in briskly boiling water, removing the green onions after about 45 seconds and the carrot after 3 – 4 minutes when they begin to soften. transfer to a bowl of ice water to retain color and prevent further texture changes.

toss two stalks of asparagus with salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil. pan roast in a dry cast iron skillet over high heat until blackened, turning to char all sides of the asparagus.

mince 4 cloves of garlic.

season the flattened steak with salt, pepper and just a hint of rosemary. place all your ingredients sushi-maki style on one edge of the meat and tightly roll. the original recipe called for these to be tied up in string which is probably a good idea. i improvised with some toothpicks to hold them together and it worked reasonably well.

beef ready to roll

fry the meat rolls over medium-high heat until all sides are cooked to desired level, around 5 – 6 minutes total.

let rest on a plate. while the meat is resting, deglaze the pan with a 1/2 cup of Bordeaux, cooking over medium-high to reduce the wine to a sauce consistency. slice the meat maki-style and drizzle a bit of sauce over top. serve and enjoy.

Brie, Ratatouille and Beef Roll, ready to eat

overall, i would say the meal turned out well. my biggest complaint is the quality of the cuts of meat available here at Osan. i should know after a few failures that you can’t get away with using a cheaper cut of meat because although a bashed the hell out of it, the meat still wasn’t very tender. the next beef dish i make, i will have to pony up for a more expensive cut. the only other criticism is that the brie overpowered the mushroom mixture and the subtlety of the filling was lost. i would probably opt for a milder cheese if/when i made the dish again.

Eddie brought a Mouton Cadet 2007 Bordeaux which was just what the doctor ordered for this meal. it was well balanced and tasty, definitely a wine i would have again.

with the leftover sheet of pastry, i made homemade pop tarts, going off the vague memories of seeing Alton Brown do so on an episode of Good Eats and recollections of my wife’s fruit compote recipe:

add frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar into a pan, bring to a boil and continue cooking on high until the mixture thickens. add a generous splash of vanilla extract. use your immersion blender to puree most of the strawberries leaving some chunks. cool the mixture

roll out the sheet of puff pastry to a thin layer on a lightly floured surface. cut into four rectangular pieces, twice as long as you want your pastries as you will be folding them over. spoon some strawberry compote over the middle of each pastry bottom part leaving a bit of space between the edge to seal it. sprinkle just a hint of fresh ground black pepper on top of the strawberry compote. fold over the other half of the pastry and crimp closed on all four sides with a fork. transfer to a cookie sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 12 minutes. try to save some to share.

unfortunately, no pictures exist of these pastries. i’m not sure what happened to them but by the time i thought of the camera, they were gone.

Feast 23 – Chili today, hot tamale

I’ve been reading this great book called Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes, and More from NPR’s The Kitchen Sisters which is a great read covering non-traditional venues for preparing extraordinary food. it demonstrates the fact that where there are people, food will crop up. i’m only about 1/2 way through the book so far but each story tweaks my interest a little more. i shouldn’t be surprised, NPR as a whole has a tendency to appeal to my esoteric side and find the weird angles of whatever human interest to keep me on my toes. i must admit that i never thought of cuisine and NASCAR until i read the story. but, the way this relates to here, now and today is that they write a wonderful story on the chili queens of San Antonio, beautiful exotic women who would ply the locals and tourists with hot fiery chilis in the markets of downtown San Antone. well, you had me at chili. San Antonio being as close to a home as i have had, beautiful exotic women, spicy delicious food, this story was custom made for me, wasn’t it?

anyway, this sparked an interest in making a bit of chili. it was rather convenient as i had been trying to think of a meal that i could make that would leave me with leftovers for a few days this week to stretch my meager budget and make it til the next payday. chili is perfect for that, you make a big ass pot, eat some, store the rest and it just improves with age, mingling and settling into greatness in the fridge. with the budget in mind as well, i decided to go with pork, quality and quantity the least expense option i have on the table.

after a bit of searching, i came across a recipe for pork chili that called for a cup of coffee amongst the liquid ingredients. this intrigued me to say the least. i decided to up the ante and give a nod to the wonderful mole tradition, dropping in a few wedges of mexican chocolate that i now have thanks to my wonderful in-laws Don and Pat (from san antone, yet another connection in this story). For me, the perfect accompaniment for chili is corn bread. my wife makes great cornbread and since she does, i’m not sure when the last time i even bothered to make it. we have an informal non-competitive agreement in our household, any dish that the other makes, we refrain from making to avoid any direct competition, no comparisons of who can make the best (insert dish). we all know who would win that contest anyway. my wife is a great cook. so, anyway, to the point, i actually had to dig a bit to find a recipe that i was happy with for the cornbread. as luck would have it, one of the cookbooks i brought with me to korea is El Charro Café Cookbook: Flavors of Tucson from America’s Oldest Family-Operated Mexican Restaurant, a great little cookbook detailing the history and dishes of a wonderful restaurant in Tuscon, which i must visit at some point. They have a recipe for cornbread but oddly enough, in the edition i have at least, there is no baking time listed. i’ve baked enough bread to be able to figure out when to pull cornbread out of the oven but i found this omission odd.

On to the recipes:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spicy-Red-Pork-and-Bean-Chili-102938

Ingredients
1/2 pound sliced bacon
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large white onion, chopped
1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles, seeded and chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1/3 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
14 1/2-ounce can beef broth
1 cup brewed coffee
1 cup water
28- to 32-ounce can crushed tomatoes with purée
2 (19-ounce) cans small red beans or kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation

Bacon Crumbled and onion ready to slice

Cook bacon in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, turning, until crisp. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain and pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Crumble bacon.

Pork Roast on the cutting board

Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper. Add oil to pot and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.

Browning the pork

Brown pork in about 6 batches without crowding and transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add onion and jalapeños and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add garlic, oregano, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne, then cook, stirring, 1 minute. Return pork to pot with any juices accumulated on plate and add broth, coffee, water, and tomatoes with purée.

Close-up of Chili in the crockpot

Simmer chili, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until pork is very tender, about 2 hours. Stir in beans and bring to a simmer, stirring.

Serve chili with bacon and accompaniments.

Chili, steaming hot in the bowl

I increased the peppers to six, using 2 green jalapenos, 2 white jalapenos and 2 anaheim peppers. also, added three wedges of mexican chocolate, not enough to overpower the dish but i subtle undertone. if i hadn’t mentioned it, you probably wouldn’t have known it was there. would probably plus up on the chocolate next time so that it peeked its head out a little more. i did the dish in the crockpot after the pan browning of the pork, around 7 hours cook time on high to get the meat nice and tender. i waited until about 2 hours from serving to add the beans to prevent them from getting mushy. also used around 8 cloves of garlic and sprinkled in some chipotle pepper powder. the dish turn out really zesty without being overbearing. i hate it when people make chili and focus on nothing but the heat. its a real waste, there are so many delicious flavors to balance and enjoy, if you scorch your taste buds on the first bite, you lose all that and just have an endurance match eating white hot magma.

Cornbread turned out and ready to eat

the cornbread is simple, mix together all the ingredients until they resemble a thick pancake batter, pour into a heated, oiled cast iron skillet and bake in a 350 degree oven until a knife inserted comes out clean and the top is evenly browned. bonus points for rotating the pan midway thru. should take around 18 – 20 minutes for the cornbread, individual mileage may vary.

ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
6 tbsp melted butter

1 finely diced jalapeno
1/2 a can of creamed corn

Bowl of chili with sour cream and cheese

the meal turned out great, good enough that i had two bowls of leftover chili this morning Eddie brought over some Stella Artois, lager suits itself to chili quite well. i served up the chili with a bit of sour cream and shredded cheese over top, avocado, green onions, freshly diced tomatoes, whatever you like would also go nicely.

it occurs to me that next week is the midway point, meal 24. i should do something nice.

i wanted to take a quick moment to give some respect to Gourmet magazine, shut down this past week after 70 years of operation. a look at my recipes cooked and you will find a number of them start in the pages of Gourmet, by way of epicurious.com. I am thankful that Bon Apetit is still there but cannot deny that the absence of Gourmet creates a void.

weekend preview

for a variety of reasons, after speaking with my darling wife this evening, i have decided to make a big batch of pork chili this sunday… i <3 leftovers.

i will probably make some jalapeno corn bread and some honey corn bread alongside. chili is one of those dishes that doesn't call out for any side dishes so it may very well be a one-pot affair.

at any rate, the crock pot will be put to use and i will have an abundant amount of chili for the coming week. that sounds like a win-win to me.

Feast 22 – Meat and Potatoes (It’s Grim Up North)

ok, this meal started because i had a hankering… i believe thats the best reason to ever cook something, because you get a notion that hey, i’d really like to eat that. and so, i caught a sudden urge for meatballs. as is my habit during research for these meals, i start free associating with the internet as my friend to determine what thematically would be appropriate. i find the regional cuisine pages on wikipedia to be fascinating reading. just seeing the lists upon lists of traditional dishes from a specific cuisine is like a culinary goldmine. and so, when i think meatballs, i think scandinavian style food. swedish meatballs. or in the case of today, Norwegian meatballs. which, to be honest with you, are identical to my mental image of swedish meatballs but i want to be as accurate in my reporting as possible. as far as an accompaniment i was kinda at a loss. from my western experience, it seemed that there would probably be some egg noodles involved somewhere with some steamed vegetable on the side. but that was just the american experience, i wanted to make this as right as possible. so just what do they eat up there? as it turns out, lots and lots of meat and potatoes… lots of fish. other root vegetables but nary a green leaf in sight as far as i could tell. so, between google, wikipedia and epicurious, i came up with a two dish ensemble to satiate my craving for meatballs.

Norwegian Meatballs with Spiced Cream Sauce

Ingredients
Meatballs

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 slices day-old rye bread, crusts trimmed, torn into pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
2/3 cup beef stock or canned beef broth
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal

Sauce

2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
2 tablespoons whipping cream
Ground allspice

Preparation
For meatballs:
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Combine bread and stock in large bowl. Mix in onion mixture, egg, allspice and pepper. Add ground beef and veal and blend well. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)

Shape meat into 1 1/4-inch balls. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and sauté until cooked through and brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to platter and keep warm. Reserve drippings in skillet.

Meatballs simmering away

For sauce:
Add flour to drippings in skillet and stir over medium heat until brown, about 4 minutes. Gradually whisk in stock and cream. Simmer until sauce is thick and smooth, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with allspice, salt and pepper. Pour sauce over meatballs and serve.

Pan Sauces are not very photogenic

i probably don’t even need to mention this but this is Osan so i was unable to get veal. i had to make due with a full pound of ground beef, 82% lean for the flavor adding value of that tasty fat. anything leaner and i think you really miss out on a lot.

i have to tell you, this is probably the best freaking pan sauce i have ever made. i cheated, in typical 48F fashion, increased the cream to stock ratio by just a bit and kicked in a healthy amount of cayenne. we can’t be traditional all the time. it spiked the sauce to a higher level in my opinion and was extremely tasty. i’d like to just call off the next 26 weeks of meals and make this pan sauce over and over. ok, thats not true, variety is the spice of life but it was a pretty good pan sauce.

For the side dish, i came across this potato dish called Janssons Frestelse, translated as Janssons Temptation. well, if it’s so tasty this guy Jansson can’t resist it, how can i resist making it? it’s a very simple dish, i kinda like it that way. a layered casserole with potatoes, onions and anchovies finished off with cream, butter and breadcrumbs. bake in an 400 degree oven for 45 minutes and serve. quite tasty and well worth the minimal effort it takes to prepare. below is the quoted recipe i found on the net, no real mods to this one, i did mine in three layers with anchovies on the first and second layer but not the top. i used panko breadcrumbs because they are damned tasty and add a nice crisp finish to dishes such as this.

Janssons Frestelse

5-6 medium potatoes
2 large yellow onions
15-20 anchovie fillets
2 T butter
3/4 C heavy cream
bread crumbs
freshly ground black pepper

First Layer of Potato, Onion and Anchovies

Peel and grate the potatoes. Slice the onions thinly. Grease a casserole, about 9×12 inches. Layer the grated potatoes, onion and anchovies in the dish, starting with potatoes. Pour the cream, then sliced butter, bread crumbs and pepper evenly over the mix. Bake in a 400° oven for 40-50 minutes.

Finished Casserole

Well, one point of light in this bleak world… by some apparent shipping accident or bizarre mistake, the store here got a shipment of Kostriker Schwarzbier which is pretty damned tasty. it was just the thing for this meal and oddly enough, a few of them was enough to convince me to go shoot some pool afterward.

i can’t say enough about the meatballs and the sauce, the meatballs were moist and tender, the sauce zesty with just the right amount of creamy kick. This is one of my favorite dishes in quite some time.

plated and ready to eat

oh, i also threw down the gauntlet for Eddie, i challenged him to come up with a theme for a feast, either a world cuisine, a key ingredient or a vaguely recollected dish that he might want to try. i like the thought of audience participation, who knows where it might lead?

Feast 21 – Soup and Salad

Well, here is a little nod to Xtna and her penchant for soup and salad. I really wanted to keep the focus on the soup that i was making today and i felt that if i made any other main course it would distract from it. So, the natural addition to round out the meal was a salad. I wanted something that was varied enough to stand up to the soup (just you wait) but still nice and clean so as not to detract. I opted for a version of a salad Nicoise. It’s a tasty salad with many variation but i tried to keep it as traditional as possible. I was unable to get chervil so that is one thing you could definitely add that would be a nice addition to my recipe.

Salad Nicoise, ready to eat

i started with a bed of red leaf lettuce, added some fresh green beans, trimmed and some thinly sliced green bell pepper. surround with one boiled egg and a tomato cut into eights. dress this with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. lay some anchovies over top and you are ready to eat. gotta love salad, its quick easy and delicious. i may be a little anal retentive but to ensure optimal serving temperature, i chilled the lettuce, tomatoes, anchovies and salad plates in the freezer for about five minutes right before building the salad. i wanted everything nicely chilled to balance the hot soup.

The soup that i wanted to make is almost a french onion soup. i say almost because, well, there are no onions in this particular soup. what, you say? how can it be french onion soup without onions? well, i think anyone who has ever read this blog knows that i have a very strong affinity for garlic. so, i decided to make a french garlic and shallot soup. and it turned out damned good if i don’t say so myself.

so that's what 6 heads of garlic looks like peeled...

I’m sure i am sounding like a broken record but this is yet another recipe that i have taken from Alton Brown and modified. Sure, french onion soup is french onion soup but i want to give credit where credit is due. i really enjoyed his version with vidalia onions when i made it about a year ago (seems like a lifetime) so i knew it was a solid start for my experiment with garlic and shallots. two minor variations that i went with and that is to exclude the cider and to use just beef broth instead of a mixture of consume and chicken broth. i am quoting his original recipe as i think it is well worth the effort to make, if you want to make it as i did today, exclude the cider, double the beef broth and use 5 shallots and 6 heads of garlic in place of the onions. also, i used rounds of sourdough topped with gruyere for the lids. make sure not to make the lids too thick or they will be difficult to break apart with your spoon.

Shallots on the cutting board

i was a bit nervous about this dish as the bowls i was using for the soup specifically say not to use them under a broiler. i took a chance since it was only for a brief few minutes they would be exposed but was half expecting an oven full of soup to clean up. I took the precaution of running the bowls under hot water before filling and broiling to avoid the temperature shock of going straight from cabinet to broiler. it may or may not have helped but it certainly didn’t hurt.

here is the original recipe, make the modifications above if you want to make it as served during this feast. As always, if i am out of line for quoting the recipe, please let me know and i will remove it. i simply don’t want to take credit for work that isn’t mine, i modified it but it is firmly based in Alton’s recipe.

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Ingredients

10 Sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions
3 tablespoons Butter
Kosher salt
2 cups White wine
10 ounces Canned beef consume
10 ounces Chicken broth
10 ounces Apple cider (unfiltered is best)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley
1 Loaf country style bread
Ground black pepper
Splash Cognac, optional
1 cup Grated Fontina or Gruyere cheese
Preparation

Trim the ends off each onion then slice from end to end. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.

Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.

Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.

Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

French Garlic-Shallot Soup, right out of the broiler

this was an amazing soup. the shallots and garlic gave it an intensely sweet and sharp taste. for those of you that have indulged in massive amounts of garlic, you can only imagine the aftermath. i’m not going to get scatological on you but let’s leave it at the fact that i really wished i could get far away from myself after my body started processing it. it was absolutely worth it though, i would do it again in a heartbeat. and yes, i peeled all my own garlic, drop those accusing fingers. no shortcuts to the 48 feasts.

27 to go.