Comfort Food = Meatballs

It was a dark and cold sunday and Shells & I were looking for something warming to make the day feel better.  I really just wanted to spend the day in chef pants and a sweatshirt on the couch, so I tried to come up with something that would meet both requirements.

I wandered around Whole Foods looking for inspiration and when I saw the huge line at the meat counter I decided to see what was in the packaged case.  I saw the packages of ground meats and that made my decision for me ... I grabbed a 1 lb package of ground pork and a 1 lb package of ground veal.

Now that I had my main course figured out, I worked my way back through the store filling out the remainder of what I would need: white beans, asiago cheese, pancetta, Pomi strained tomatoes, garlic cloves, red onion and brussels sprouts.

I got home and put on the before mentioned chef pants and a chef coat (the sweatshirt would come once this first part was done), put down a cutting board and grabbed my favorite knife.  I finely diced the red onion and cut the garlic cloves into slices and then tossed them into a sauce pot that I had heated over medium-high heat with olive oil.  I cooked the onion and garlic until lightly browned and then reduced the heat and added the tomatoes and some salt, pepper, dried basil and crushed red pepper.

I put a cup of white beans in a pot with three cups of water and then brought it to a boil.  I had to do this because I hadn't made the decision to cook this in time to soak them overnight.  Once it reached the boil I reduced the heat.

I left the sauce and beans, covered, on the lowest heat settings and just let them cook for a few hours while I donned the sweatshirt and retired to the couch.

I would eventually get back up off the couch to make the meatballs (pork, veal, bread crumbs, grated asiago cheese, eggs and seasoning) and after cooking them I served them over a bed of white beans, topped with sauce and accompanied by pan roasted brussels sprouts w/ pancetta.  Shells prefers hers ordered on a plate (pictured above) while I enjoyed mine all mixed together in a bowl (below) ... try it either way and enjoy!

2014 New Years Eve dinner

This year, Shells and I had some company over for New Years Eve dinner, so we thought we would do something fun.  We also looked for something that would burn some time so that we could hopefully make it to midnight!

We went with an Italian theme for dinner as we could make everything from scratch and we had plenty of inspiration with 3 new cookbooks.  In addition to all of this fun, I also was looking for something that would let me play with my new Christmas toy ... my Vitamix!

First things first, we were going to be making different stuffed pastas so I pre-heated the oven to 325F and put l lb of pork belly and about 3 lbs of short ribs in to cook.  The pork belly was slow roasted on a raised pan, and covered with foil, to allow the grease to drip off of the pork.  The short ribs were braised with red wine, beef stock and pomi strained tomatoes.

For the first course, I made frutti del mare with some fresh fish and calamari.  I used a light mixture of flour, yellow grits, salt & pepper to dust the seafood before pan frying them in light olive oil.

For the second course I made one of our favorite dishes from Marc Vetri's Vetri restaurant in Philadelphia: Sweet Onion Crepe with White Truffle Fondue.  We cooked down the onions for a little over two hours and then cooked the crepe.  I spread a layer of onions across the entire surface of the crepe and then rolled it.  I allowed the crepe to sit for a few minutes and then sliced it into circles.  I sprinkled the top with parmesan cheese and then cooked them in a 500F oven for a few minutes to brown the tops and then served the crepe over a bed of the White Truffle Fondue.

For the next course, I made mini "caprese" calzones.  Shells made the pizza dough and when it was time I rolled it out and made four small calzones stuffed with mozzarella cheese, fresh tomatoes and basil.  I cooked them on the pizza stone at 500F until they were nicely browned.

Following the calzone was the first of our stuffed pasta courses, Roasted Pork Belly Manicotti.  I shredded the slow roasted pork belly and mixed it in a bowl with roughly chopped red chard and a little bit of parmesan cheese.  I stuffed the mixture into cooked manicotti shells and then put the shells side by side in an oven-proof dish.  I covered with bechamel and topped with more parmesan cheese.  I cooked the manicotti for about 20 minutes in a 450F oven.  While the manicotti was cooking I got a chance to play with my Vitamix!  I made a sweet potato and sage puree by slowly cooking the potatoes and sage in milk and then adding all of the ingredients to the Vitamix and pureeing until smooth.  I served the manicotti over a bed of the sweet potato puree and a side of roasted brussels sprouts.

For the last course of the evening I pulled the short ribs from the oven and went to work on Shell's and my Short Rib Ravioli.  I pulled out all of the ribs and then moved the red sauce to a new pan (I didn't need to do this but I didn't have room on the stove for the large Le Creuset so I moved to a smaller sauce pan).  I added the meat from three of the short ribs to the red sauce and another small box of strained tomatoes.  I reserved one of the ribs to provide a topper and then shredded the rest of them into a bowl with ricotta cheese to make the ravioli filling.  I mixed the filling together well and then handed it off to Shell's to make the raviolis.  Once the ravioli was prepared, I cooked them in a pot of boiling water and then plated them over the red sauce and topped with a little of the reserved short rib and some shaved parmesan cheese.

The final course of the evening was Shell's new favorite dessert, babkallah which she will be posting about in the near future.

Taco Night

I've found that a quick way to make flavorful tacos is to de-case fresh sausages that are already spiced and make a good taste.  Whole Foods near us has been making a lot of great flavors that work well as taco filling such as: cilantro chicken and chipotle chicken.

I just de-case the sausages and cook them in a saute pan, breaking it up well.  I'll add a little bit of extra spices if needed (e.g. red pepper flakes with the cilantro chicken) and serve it as the main protein.

For this dinner I added rice and beans, sliced avocado and quesadillas with the sausage.  Try it and enjoy!

Stuffed Rib Roast

Does anything say Christmas Dinner quite as well as a nice rib roast?  I can't think of anything.

For this dinner I took a page from the most recent Bon Appetit and then put a little twist on it.  The stuffing was a horseradish and parsley stuffing, but rather than butterflying and stuffing a boneless roast, I went with a bone-in rib roast.  I used a sharp, flexible, knife to make an incision between the bones and the meet, careful to go slowly and only about half way so that the bones would stay attached to the meet.

I packed the stuffing into the space created and then cooked the roast as I would normally.  I served it with roasted brussels sprouts and pancetta.

Preparing a pasta dish like they do in a restaurant

I have to admit that whenever I see U-10 scallops at the store, I have to buy them.  For this dinner I went very simple with a white wine, butter and garlic sauce over the noodles paired with kale and the scallops.

If you have the pans to do it, and want to make your pasta like they do in a restaurant, you'll want to use one saute pan per portion that you are preparing.  Start a pot of water boiling on a back burner, and then heat up your saute pans (I used two in this instance since it was just Shells and I for dinner) on the front burners.

Once your pans are warm add a little olive oil to each saute pan and then start cooking the kale until it has cooked down a bit (about 5-7 minutes).  You'll want to time your pasta cooking to finish just as the scallops do, for this instance I needed 6 minutes so I put the pasta into the pot of boiling water just before starting the scallops..

Next add a dollop of butter to each saute pan and then add the scallops.  I cooked these for about 3 minutes per side.once I flipped the scallops I added the chopped garlic (I used pre-roasted garlic) and white wine.  After three more minutes I removed both pans from heat, drained the pasta, and then added some butter to each pan, stirring to make the sauce.  I added the portion of pasta to each pan and then used tongs to mix everything together and then slide the whole bit right from the pan onto each plate.

Try and enjoy!

Tom and Shells Christmas Dinner 2014

Christmas dinner for Shells and I is always a fun night.  We crack open some fun wines and then I get to just cook whatever fits my fancy for the evening.  I always start with the wine and then pick the food from there; for this year we went with Pierre Paillard NV Champagne, 2006 Domaine du Vieux Telegraph blanc and 2005 Domaine Hermand-Geoffroy Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru La Perriere as our wine choices.

Shells did a brilliant job of setting the table to be nice and festive!  Maybe one day she'll write up how she does crazy home things like the stocking utensil holder.

The first two courses were enjoyed with the Champagne.

For the first course I did a sauteed scallop served over a truffled potato puree with some buttered French bread.

For the second course I did two Choptank Sweets on the half shell with fresh horseradish.  After this course, we retired to the den to finish the Champagne and open some presents.

For the next course, we poured the white Rhone.

I pulled a recipe from the most recent Bon Appetit for this next course, sizzling spicy shrimp.

For the second white course I stuffed a morel mushroom with some bacon (pre-cooked and cooled) and blue cheese.  I then sauteed the mushroom in butter (why wouldn't I?) until the cheese was melty and then I served it with a little slice of French bread.

For the first of the red courses I pan roasted dry-aged NY strip in a cast iron pan, finishing it under the broiler.  I served the beef sliced over a carrot puree and accompanied by asparagus and a mushroom "gravy".

The mushroom "gravy" was super simple, and incredibly tasty:

I took 1/2 pounds of shiitake mushrooms, removed the stems and sliced them and then added them to a pot with 3 cups of beef stock.  I cooked this mixture down for about 1.5 hours at low heat (you want it to still have liquid in the pan, but to have reduced by about 2/3rds) adding a little more stock if needed.  Once the mixture was done, I blended it in the blender and then put it back into the pan on a warming setting to stay warm until I was ready for it.

For the final red course, we did a cheese selection.  There was desert after this, but I will leave that for Shells to tell you about.

Pizza night ... if you don't have a stone and peel you're missing out!

The list of things that are important to a good pizza is plentiful: the dough (you even need the right water), the sauce, the cheese and the wood fired oven.  You can get around a lot of those things and make some pretty good pizza at home with a pizza stone.  I preheat the oven to 450F with the stone on the middle wrack.

For this pizza I pretty much phoned it in for the above important parts ... the dough was Pillsbury from a can, the sauce was just Barilla tomato and garlic, and the cheese was Italian six cheese blend (Giant brand).  For toppings I used some spicy sausage and shiitake mushrooms, so not exactly traditional.

Now, it is possible to cook on a pizza stone without a proper peel, but I don't recommend it.  I have an Epicurean pizza peel (you can find it on Amazon here) that I use, but any peel will work.  

The key is to be able to get the entire pizza on the peel at once, and to have a slanted front so you can easily get under the pizza.  I put a little flour on the peel to put the pizza into the oven to make sure it slides right off and onto the stone.  Once on the stone, cook until the crust is browned and cheese is bubbly (I try to rotate the pizza at least once).

Use the slanted edge of the peel to get under the pizza and then with a quick motion, push the peel under until the entire pie is on.  At that point you can pull it out and move it to the counter.

It's possible to cut on the peel (especially with an Epicurean) but I don't recommend doing that with a regular pizza cutter as you will shorten the life and effectiveness of your peel.  Instead I used a blade style pizza cutter, also from Epicurean, that doesn't damage my peel.  So what are you still waiting for?  Get a peel and a stone and enjoy!

Scallops with a Latin flair

I brought home some U10 scallops from Whole Foods the other day, but I didn't really have a plan for what I was going to do with them.

I decided that the scallops would be good with a little bit of a Latin flair so I grabbed a can of black beans and started them on medium-low heat.  I added half a can of chopped green chillies and stirred to mix.  I allowed the beans to cook down, stirring frequently, until they were soft and mushy.

I roasted some asparagus in olive oil and sauteed the scallops in a pan over high heat, with a little butter, to brown the outside.

When in doubt I tend to add avocado and fresh salsa to dress up seafood, so I grabbed a couple of avocados and tomatoes and got to chopping (half the avocado, 1 roma tomato) and then I tossed in some of the left over green chillies for good measure.

I plated the beans with a food ring, topped with shredded cheese and then laid the scallops around the beans.  I layered a couple of slices of avocado on top of the scallops and then spooned the salsa over the edge of the black bean tower.  I added the asparagus and the meal was ready for us to enjoy.

Lamb Cassoulet

Winter is a great time to make cassoulet, at least I think so, as it is hearty and filling.  Traditional cassoulet is made using white beans and then a combination of pork and duck confit.  For this dinner I went a little counter to the traditional cassoulet by using shiitake mushrooms and lamb as the "meat" base.

Recipe (serves 4)
2 14.5oz cans white (cannellini) beans
2/3 lb de-boned leg of lamb
2 cups beef stock
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms
1 small carrot, peeled
1 small yellow onion
2 Tbsp dry white wine
1 Tbsp olive oil

Wash the mushrooms thoroughly and then allow to dry.  Peel the carrot and onion and dice both.  Remove the stems from the mushrooms and then cut the caps into strips.

Next, start by heating a 3qt sauce pan and the 1/2 the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and the carrots to the oil, stirring well to keep from sticking and allow to begin cooking.  While cooking the veggies, cut the lamb into 4 chunks and then add it to the pan and brown it for about 1 minute per side in the olive oil.  Add 1/2 the wine (careful that the oil might spit a little bit at this point) and using a wooden spoon scrape the lamb chunks and any excess bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add the stock, reduce heat to low and cover.  Allow the lamb to braise for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice to ensure nothing sticks.

Once the lamb has been braising for about 15 minutes, begin the next step.

In a saute pan, heat the remainder of the olive oil over medium high heat and then add the mushrooms.  Stir frequently (with a wooden spoon) to prevent them from sticking, the mushrooms should release and then reabsorb their liquid and then begin to brown.  Once they have begun to brown add the remaining wine and use your spoon to scrape up any bits that have stuck, add the mushrooms to the braising lamb in the sauce pan.

Once the lamb has braised for 30 minutes add the two cans of white beans with their liquid and then continue to cook on low, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for about another hour until a "gravy" has formed.  The finished product should look very similar to the picture above :-).  At this point the lamb should be tender enough to shred with a fork.  Serve the cassoulet in bowls, ensuring that one piece of lamb ends up in each bowl ... Enjoy!

The first dinner after steak month

After spending four weeks traveling, and having consumed about 20 lbs of steak over that period, when I got home I just wanted something easy to eat and digest.  I opted for a simple dinner of broiled snapper over creamy garlic polenta.  I served it with broiled avocado and roasted Brussels sprouts and artichoke.

I like to make the Brussels sprouts by cutting them in half and then tossing them in olive oil, salt and garlic pepper.  I then throw them onto a tray and roast them in a 425F oven until they are nice and brown.  I don't care how much you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, try these and enjoy!

Simple and Awesome ... French Onion soup

Surely you've had it a hundred times in a restaurant, but you've probably never made it at home.  You know it sounds simple ... but it invariably challenges you in the flavoring and you're worried that you don't have a bowl you can throw under the broiler and melt the cheese?  Have no fear, we can fix this problem.

First you need onions, I like big Vidalia ones, and lots of them!  To make a batch of soup to serve between 6-8 people big bowls (or 10-12 cups) you'll want about 5# of onions (don't worry about trying to get the measure here, I'll leave the full list at the bottom).  Halve and peel the onions, slice thinly.  Heat the butter in a large, heavy bottom, stock pot over medium heat and then add the onions.  Using a large wooden spoon, and/or tongs, continue to stir the onions as they cook down until clarified and sticking to the spoon/tongs (about 35 - 45 minutes).

Once the onions are done add the white wine and sugar and cook down for about 5 minutes, and then add the diced Sage and the stock.  Reduce heat to low and cook for at least another hour to allow all of the flavorful goodness to develop.

Toast the bread lightly on one side in the oven to keep it from breaking down in the soup as quickly.  Once toasted, place two sides of the bread into the soup and top with the cheese and then put them into the oven under a broiler.  Broil until the cheese is melty and bubbly and then plate, serve and enjoy!

Ingredients:
5# Vidalia onions
8 cups beef stock (I like Kitchen Basics low sodium)
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp fresh Sage, diced
1 lb Gruyere cheese, grated or thinly sliced
1 French baguette, sliced

Sometimes you just need a filet

For this dinner, I just needed to have a filet ... I just wish I had known then that I would be sitting here four weeks later having eaten at least 15 pounds of steak between then and now.  That being said, sometimes a nice filet is all you want and so that's what I prepared.

I cooked the filet in a hot skillet with a butter base and then more butter on top.  Before starting this I preheated the oven to 400F.

The key to cooking a pan-seared filet is heat, butter and seasoning.  So for this I got the pan up to medium-high, and then I dropped a 1 tbsp pat of butter into the pan.  I "salted" then pan with salt and garlic pepper and then into the pan went the steaks.

To get a nice medium-rare, I cooked the steaks for about 3 minutes on the first side and then flipped them and immediately into the oven they went.  I cooked them for about another 8 minutes in the oven to get the temp I was looking for.  Go a little longer on each side to get the temp you want (I recommend about 1 min per side for each additional temp you want).

For this dinner I added a white bean base with braised greens ... they add good flavor to a nice filet ... try it and enjoy!