Cooking with Jesus

I go into a different state when I cook. The rhythm of the chopping knife, the feel of a wooden spoon stirring, the sound of sauces bubbling away… for a moment I’m in that place Whirling Dervishes must visit as they spin – a place that’s complete and whole, focused and at ease.

On one of my first dates with my husband, I made a grilled cheese sandwich – it turned out to be the most important grilled cheese sandwich of my life. The very act of cooking for a man I was dating was nothing new for me, but it was for him. No woman had ever cooked just for him before. That simple grilled cheese sandwich meant more than cheese and bread to him. Although I’m sure he couldn’t pinpoint it at the time, my cooking for him and continuing to do so, feels like the manifestation of my love.

He would love me without the food, I know that, but it’s the cooking that has made us a family. It’s the cooking that has grounded and given us a sense of home in our Brooklyn rental apartment. Either one of us could get a job in Topeka, Kansas tomorrow. We would pack up our stuff and drop it off under our new roof unsure of what was to come. I know that foreign roof simply wouldn’t be home until I made us dinner.

Spirituality is what comes to us when we least expect it, just like love. I know how to find my bliss. I know that if the world is pounding on my head, if everything is upside down and I feel like screaming, there is fire and a big pot on the stove to silence the noise. There is some indefinable need that draws me to the kitchen - it’s a calling, it’s that insistent burning bush.

We live in a world of great beauty - it’s easy to forget that sometimes. It’s harder yet to remember that while we can’t control the world around us, we can control the world inside us. I wouldn’t know what to say to Jesus if I bumped into him, but I would invite him over to dinner in a heartbeat.

You can meditate and pray, you can cry and light candles, but I'll be turning on my stove and taking out my chopping board. My inner God, Shiva, Buddha, Shekinah, and Mother Earth shimmer like water hitting hot oil in a pan and my prayers are always answered.

Amen.

How the Mighty are Falling...

Oh Tony! WHY?

The Hubs and I were watching the latest No Reservations last night in which Tony travels to Istanbul (thank you, DVR). Things were going well, very well. We were hungry and ready to book our flights when GASP! Out of nowhere we were confronted with an awful, terrible, realization... Anthony Bourdain has sold out?

I know he has done some credit card commercials in the past which I was willing to overlook, because in this day and age, you can't look the corporate sponsor gift horse in the mouth. That being said, when Tony said he'd "pay for dinner" and whipped out the Chase Sapphire Card; and when the camera paused on the card, freezing-framing it perfectly, both my and the Duke's jaws dropped in abject horror! NOOOOOOO! The last bastion of snarky, anti-establishment, bad boy foodies has just succumbed to the Rachel Ray effect.

I can't imagine he was all that thrilled with the moment either, but that's neither here nor there since the painful, cringe-worthy shot made its way on screen. I won't stop watching because lets be honest, he's still awesome - but man-oh-man he ain't gonna make it easy for me. Now every time I watch, I'll be waiting for the offensive Chase Sapphire moment. It's kind of like waiting for Jack Nicholson to burst through the door in The Shining and yell "heeeere's Johnny!" Oh, you know it's coming... you just can't remember exactly when because it's been a while since you last watched it.

I was pondering all that this morning and a wonderful comedy moment came to mind. There was a brilliant bit that Dennis Leary did years ago (1997 to be exact) about coffee flavored coffee. Since I couldn't find a still of the offending No Reservations moment, I've posted this instead. I hope you enjoy the simple truth and perfect snark of the bit, because my friends, snark's days are apparently numbered.

PS the clip isn't censored, there is explicit language and behavior.

Pondering Foam or: Get That Scum Off My Steak!

I find myself of two minds when it comes to foams, essence, and Molecular Gastronomy in general. On the one hand, isn’t it just a natural evolution of culinary exploration? On the other, why do I need flash frozen celery root puree on my plate?

More and more there seems to be two teams when it comes to modern cooking. The first is the back to the farm route. Let’s re-discover the local veggies together. Let’s lovingly feed and take care of dear old Betsy before we slaughter her humanely and grill her up on Sunday. I love that restaurants now have their own gardens that they pick from and that attention is finally being paid to the local fish monger and cheese maker. Let’s not mess with nature more than necessary and please let me simply roast that chicken and present it with grilled heirloom tomatoes on the side. Yes, say’s I - I’d enjoy that greatly!

The second camp is also equally thrilled to have Farmer Joe supply them with the most superb fresh and seasonal goodies. Camp two, however, would sooner make that farm fresh spring chicken taste like salmon than let it be. Gasp at the simplicity! Roasted? What, that’s it? No mango essence or shitake gelatin? For my money, if I wanted chicken that tasted like salmon I’d have salmon thank you very much! To many though, the novelty of it all is too appealing.

Am I being fair though? Is it more than novelty? To me the foams wreak of self indulgence… the bad kind. Nothing screams more of ‘ooo Mommy, look what I can do!’ than sweet potato foam on your perfectly lovely untainted Leek Soup. But then again, I could say that about many things – the I-Phone for example. Let’s be truly honest with ourselves. Do we actually need a phone that can calculate how much the tip for your grilled cheese and ginger ale would be in Dubai? No, no of course you don’t. That didn’t stop you from finding out though, did it? (I’ll give you a minute to open your tip calculator…)

Why is it that I so readily accepted upgrading everything to Blu-Ray, but the words ‘Molecular Gastronomy’ make me wince? I think answer is pretty simple. A movie actually does look better in 1080-I, the experience is absolutely enhanced. However, since when has an oyster been improved by being suspended in a passion fruit jelly that has been infused with lavender as Heston Blumenthal, Michelin rated chef of ‘The Fat Duck’ in England has done? I can’t say very much, but then again, having never indulged in such foppery, I can’t rightfully comment on the matter.

I will say this: I think the Molecular Gastronomist is a brave and creative soul. In terms of thinking outside the box, they all get a well deserved A+. They also may very well be the future of the culinary world, some would argue they already are. All that being said - when the foam deflates, the flash frozen celery root purée melted, and mango essence turns bitter, wouldn’t you rather have a chicken that taste like… a chicken?

Martha's Split pea Soup

I am a Martha-lover. I always have been. Say what you want about the woman, she's meticulous and I've never met a Martha recipe that didn't work. To that point, this is a perfect Split Pea Soup. I don't fuss with it at all or change anything (although she makes crotons with it and I don't. If you go to her site and look at the recipe, you can just ignore that part if you like). Anytime I make a ham, I make it knowing there will be days of divine soup to come. By the way when I make ham, all I do is buy a pre-cooked spiral cut. I stick cloves through it and drizzle a combination of dark brown sugar with just enough Dr. Pepper or other soda to make a thick glaze, then pour it over. Bake it at 375 for about 30 minutes for something really irresistible. Once you're done picking at the ham, try out this recipe, you won't be disappointed.


Split Pea Soup
1 tbs olive oil
1 chopped medium yellow onion
4 carrots, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 tbs dried thyme
Salt and ground pepper
14.5 ounces chicken broth (1 can)
1 bag (16 ounces) green split peas
Ham bone plus 2 cups of cubed ham
2 tbs fresh lemon juice (I like much more lemon than that. In fact I think it's the lemon that makes the soup so damn good)

-In a Dutch oven or 5-quart heavy pot with lid, heat oil.
-Add onion, celery, carrots, thyme; season with salt and pepper, cook until they begin to soften, about 8 minutes.
-Add broth, split peas, ham bone, and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to med-low, and partially cover. Simmer until peas are soft about 30-45 minutes.
-Remove and discard ham bone. You can either blend half of the soup in a blender or food processor in batches, or use an immersion blender. Then return the blended soup to the pot.
-Add the cubed ham and simmer until heated through. Add lemon juice and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. If it's too thick, thin it out with some more broth.

*I like to serve this with some light sour cream on the side. It's even better the next day of course, but it will have to be thinned out when you reheat it with some more water or broth.

The Perfect Sprout

So... are they brussels on their sprouts? Or sprouts on their brussels?

Brussel sprouts are one of those veggies, along with Lima Beans, that people either love or hate (personally, I love both). Roasting is my favorite way too cook them, indeed I think most vegetables are at their best when roasted. To that end, you could easily adapt this recipe to asparagus, string beans, cauliflower and numerous others.

Even my husband will eat a vegetable if it's roasted! Now that's a miracle... between you and I though, I'm warring him down - he looks forward to asparagus season now. 

Brussel Sprouts
2 lbs of brussel sprouts, cleaned of outer leaves and a shallow cross cut into their bases (this is to allow them  to cook. For such little things they're dense and unless being boiled, won't cook evenly without the cut. Also, slice any particularly large ones in half)
1 tbs of olive oil (it's just barely enough to cover the sprouts while they roast to aid the cooking process. If you find you need a tad more to cover the sprouts evenly, do so, but you don't want them anything close to dripping with oil)
2 tbs butter (as always you can use the "fake stuff" i.e. Smart Balance or the like, that's what I use)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup of chopped, toasted nuts (I used pecans because I had them, but feel free to use almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts... whatever you like)
Salt & Pepper

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Place brussel sprouts on roasting pan and toss with oil, salt and pepper
-Bake for about 30 or so minutes, the sprouts should have some nice brown color and when pierced should be cooked through
-Put sprouts in serving bowl and toss with the butter while still warm so that it melts
-Add lemon juice and nuts
-Adjust seasoning. They might need more salt, they might need more lemon too

*You can serve this hot, cold, or room temp. They're great the next day too - if there are any left that is.

How NOT to fail at Pecan Pie

My dear sister-in-law has recently discovered that cooking, specifically baking, calms her nerves and puts everything in perspective. Personally, I couldn't agree more. There is something to be said for watching something slowly rise from nothing more than eggs, flour and sugar.

Although in college, she has a working kitchen in her suite and has begun exploring all things food. BRAVO! She told me recently about epically failing at making a Pecan Pie. She must have had an awful recipe because Pecan Pie is one of those things that everyone loves, and should be really easy to make. So this is for her.

Hands down, the best Pecan Recipe I've ever encountered is from the Silver Palate Cookbook. By the way, this should be a staple in everyone's library along with their second book, The Good Times Cookbook. A further nod to the wonderful Sheila Lukins, one of the authors of these great books, who unfortunately just recently passed away. I hope she's enjoying platters of delicious things wherever she may be.

Pecan Pie
Pie Crust (either homemade or bought. Pre-bake it in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. You don't want it completely cooked, but because the pecan pie is dense, you want the bottom of the crust to get a head start in the baking process)
4 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 bag raw whole pecans (6oz or between 1 1/2 to 2 cups)

-Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
-Melt butter and set aside
-Whisk eggs very well
-Add sugar, corn syrup, salt, vanilla to eggs and mix well
-Slowly add butter to the filling while mixing
-Place pecans in the pie crust and add the filling (this is going to be easier if you add the filling while the pie is already in the oven, you avoid that messy walk to the oven while something liquidly is in your hands)
-Bake pie at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn the oven to 325 while pie is still in oven
-Bake pie for another 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, not liquidly

*A WARNING! Let it cool for at least 15-20 minutes. Pecan Pie can burn through lead when hot!

Caesar Salad fit for a... Duchess

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Caesar Salad. Throw some chicken or shrimp over it and you’ve got meal. My husband gets very territorial about his Caesar… he scowls when someone dares take a plateful for themselves. A favorite meal is a good bowl of soup and a heaping plate of C.S.

Personally, I hate those little anchovy bones; they make me gag. And, unless I see the chicken the egg came from, I don’t eat them raw. So I fiddled with a few recipes until I came up with this: no anchovy filets, and no raw eggs. Also, unlike a lot of other recipes, the croutons are baked not deep or pan fried. So, enjoy and be sure to make enough!

This serves 4-5. If you’re making it as a meal with some kind of protein, then 2-3 people.

If you’re my husband, it’s enough for 1.

Croutons:
1 Loaf of good bread, 10 or so ounces (can be almost anything you like, personally I go for a rustic Italian). Crusts removed, and cut into 1” cubes
1 tbs olive oil
2 ½ tbs unsalted butter, melted
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 ½ tsp salt

Salad:
3 Romaine hearts (it usually comes in packages of 3)
4 2 ½” - 3” stripes of anchovy paste (the length of an actual anchovy filet)
2 large cloves of garlic (3 small), cut in quarters
1 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 heaping tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh cracked pepper
½ cup of olive oil (could be more depending on personal tastes)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

-Preheat oven to 400
-In a bowl, combine melted butter, 1 tbs of olive oil, ½ tsp cayenne, and 1 ½ tsp salt with cubed bread. Place on baking sheet and put in hot oven for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown
-While croutons are cooking, place garlic, 1 tsp of salt, and 4 stripes of anchovy paste in a wooden salad bowl. Using two forks, mash the garlic, anchovy paste, and salt together until the garlic is in small pieces
-Add mayo, Dijon, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and pepper to bowl, mix well with fork
-Slowly whisk in the ½ cup of olive oil until dressing is well combined and creamy. Taste the dressing. Sometimes I find it needs a little more lemon juice at this point. If you’d like a more mellow flavor, add more olive oil 1 tbs at a time until you are satisfied (keep in mind, you have not yet added the parmesan cheese)
-Remove any tough or bruised leaves from the hearts, cut off the bottoms, then chop the hearts. Add to salad bowl
-Add the 1 cup of parmesan and mix the entire salad very well… you don’t want any dressing left at the bottom of the bowl
-By now the croutons should be done. Remove from the oven and add to the salad, serve

Cous Cous Fritters

So you've made your "cous cous on a cold night," and now you have those wonderful leftovers. What to do? Fritters. Super easy, and so tasty especially with the dipping sauce.

Fritters:
1 cup cous cous mixture (without the meat or other protein you have used)
1 beaten egg
1 heaping tablespoon of flour or corn meal
5 tablespoons oil, for frying

Dipping Sauce:
1 cup sour cream or thick plain yogurt
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

-Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 200-250 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment or foil, and place in oven
-Combine all ingredients for dipping sauce, cover, and put in fridge until ready to use
-Heat oil
-Mix cous cous with egg and flour/corn meal very well
-Using a large spoon, take about a golf ball size amount of cous cous and place in hot oil, flattening slightly with back of spoon
-Fry until crispy and brown, about 4 minutes per side depending on thickness of fritter
-Place cooked fritters on baking sheet in oven
-Serve immediately with dipping sauce

*Each cup of cous cous yields about 5 fritters

Cous Cous on a Cold Night

It was cold and windy, and we wanted something warm and filling. This is an easy recipe that you can adapt to any kind of protein you want. Plus, you probably have most of the ingredients at home already. I used some thin sandwich steaks that were in the freezer and I had defrosted earlier in the day, but it would be excellent with any kind of seafood or meat... even tofu. It serves between 3-4, or 2 with plenty of yummy leftovers.

1 lb steak, cut into 1/2" strips (again, could be any protein you want)

2 cups broth (I used beef, but could be vegetable or chicken)

1 1/2 cups cous cous (depending on the brand, this might be 2 cups, equal to the broth, check the directions on the package, you are making enough for 4)
2 tsp garlic paste (you can use fresh garlic too)
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tsp salt (depending broth's sodium level, you might have to adjust this)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 large onion chopped
2 tbs butter (you can use olive oil too, or a "fake butter" like Earth Balance)
1 tsp olive oil
1 can chick peas, drained
1 10 oz package of frozen peas
1/4 cup of fresh chopped mint

-In a bowl, combine broth, tomato paste, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, whisk. Taste and adjust seasoning, some broths are saltier than others, and some tomato paste's are saltier than others too. Add the steak (or other protein), and let marinate, covered, in fridge for 1-2 hours.
-Sauté onions in butter until soft, translucent, and cooked through - about 7 minutes, in a medium size pot that has a tight fitting lid.
-Pour the broth and tomato paste marinade into the pot, add frozen peas, and bring to boil.
-When peas are cooked through and water is boiling, add the cous cous. Stir everything together once, turn off heat, and let sit for 5-8 minutes covered with lid.
-While cous cous is steaming, cook the steak in the 1 tsp of olive oil.
-Pour cous cous into large bowl, and fluff with fork, and add the drained chick peas, mix.
-Place steak on top, and sprinkle with the chopped mint.

Ginger Chocolate Tart

Thanksgiving was wonderful, and this last minute tart that I whipped up was a real success at the meal. Finding out that there were only fruit pies for dessert, I thought some chocolate was needed. Because really, when isn’t chocolate needed? This tart filling is a basic standby for me, but I thought the ginger crust would make it special, and it did! All in all this takes a total of about 45 minutes start to finish. It tastes like hours in the kitchen, but is so easy to make! By the way, the filling is wonderful with any kind of crust you might want to use, or even on its own, baked in ramekins as a kind of flourless chocolate soufflé.



Ginger Tart Shell
1 ½ cups, Ginger Snap or other ginger cookie crumbs
5 tbs melted unsalted butter
1 tsp powdered ginger

-Preheat oven to 350
-Pulse the cookies in a food processor or blender until crumbs
-Add ginger to the crumbs
-Add melted butter and mix with a fork or spoon until all crumbs are well coated
-Place a 9” round fluted removable bottom tart tin on a cookie sheet (remember the tart tin has removable bottom, you want to keep the tart as flat as possible) and press crumbs into tin.
-Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges have changed color
-Place tart, still on the sheet pan, on a cooling rack

*The best trick for getting the crumbs into the pan besides fingers, is to cover the bottom of a glass or cup measure with plastic wrap and gently press the crumbs in the sides, making sure the bottom is as even as you can make it. This gives the sides a nice edge, and keeps the bottom fairly smooth and flat.


Rich Chocolate Tart
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped or in chips (if you can find the mini semi-sweet chips, even better)
1 cup plus 2 tbs of heavy cream
1 tsp of vanilla

-Preheat oven to 300
-Lightly whisk the eggs, set aside
-Boil the cream, turn off the heat, and add the chocolate directly into the pot. Stir with a rubber, heat proof spatula until all combined (if there are still a few lumps of chocolate, don’t sweat it, but try to get it as smooth as possible)
-Pour 1/3 of the chocolate into the eggs and mix quickly with the spatula. Once combined, add the rest of the chocolate and mix until combined.
-Add the vanilla
-Pour mixture into the tart shell, leaving a rim of crumbs. You might have some extra chocolate left over; you can pour this into ramekins or mini tart tins and bake them too.
-Bake for 25-30 minutes until the tart is glossy, the edges have puffed slightly, and the chocolate no longer jiggles. If unsure, use a wooden skewer and test the center. Don’t worry about any air bubbles; they’ll be covered up anyway.
-Let cool completely before putting it in the fridge. It can be left uncovered, but if you want to use foil, be sure to tent it so it doesn’t stick to the chocolate.
-Before serving, dust with unsweetened cocoa powder (use a sifter or fine gauged, hand-held strainer). You can also decorate the tart with whole or chopped up candied ginger and omit the powder.

*A wonderful addition to this tart is fresh spiced whipped cream. Simply add a teaspoon of allspice, cumin, cinnamon, or another sweet spice to the cream before whipping. Personally, I always add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to fresh whipped cream too; it gives it some extra sparkle.

**By the way, in case you were curious, simply place the tart on top of a glass to remove the sides of the tin. And, unless you have a 9” round spatula, keep the tart on the removable bottom part of the tart tin while serving.