Sunday, June 16, 2013

Copy Cat In-and-Out Double-Double Burger



So it's Sunday today and I still haven't posted my recipe from last week. Not only that, I missed the previous week because we were visiting the in-laws. I think that's a sign that the summer has taken priority over the blog and it's time to go on hiatus. I'll be back in the fall.

But in the meantime, something yummy to chew on. It was hubby's birthday last Sunday and so I wanted to make him something up his alley. Last time we were in Arizona he was bummed that we didn't try an In-and-Out Burger, so I thought I make him a copy cat. I was also inspired by an incredible burger joint in our neighbourhood called Burger's Priest. If you're ever in Toronto, it's well worth a visit. And be sure to check out their secret menu before you visit as you won't see it posted there.

Now for the recipe. This one is a winner. It was delish. The burger recipe came from our national newspaper, the Globe and Mail and keeps it simple with just meat (no egg, breadcrumbs or funny business) but because you grind the meat yourself from good cuts of beef, the patty sticks together without a problem and the flavour is outstanding. I went with a dry aged rib eye and skirt steak from my favourite organic butcher Rowe Farms.

Then I topped it off with a In-and-Out inspired sauce found on Pinterest. Enjoy!

Burger recipe adapted from the Globe and Mail

For a nation that obsesses about hamburgers more than any other foodstuff, ranking them in minutely detailed top-25 lists, mobbing cult-status burger joints, and grilling homemade patties by the millions on summer long weekends, Canadians aren’t so hot at actually making the things.

One hundred and twenty-odd years into the burger’s history, we’ve complicated them nearly beyond recognition. Everyone has a supposedly brilliant hamburger trick.

I’ve even seen burgers goosed with short ribs, foie gras, anchovy paste and cubes of jellied veal demi-glace – great ideas if you like hamburgers that taste like short ribs, foie gras, anchovies and veal collagen. But if you want a burger that’s deeply, unambiguously beefy, seared to sizzle-crisp on the outside, and sloppy with chin-dripping beef juice, the trick is that there is no trick.Some cooks add breadcrumbs, eggs and milk as if they’re making meatballs, or dump in herbs and garlic powder. Others add chopped-up bacon (totally unnecessary), or swear by those “extra juicy” patties you can get in the freezer aisle (I’ve never had one that didn’t taste like Naugahyde). Worse still, millions of cooks struggle against all good sense to make reduced-fat versions. Nobody has ever made a satisfying hamburger from extra-lean ground beef.

Great burgers are simple. Anybody can make them. All you need is five basic rules and a piece of equipment that costs about the same as a decent toaster. So read on. We’ve even included a recipe. And we’re willing to bet it’s the greatest hamburger of your life.

1. Great hamburgers don’t start with ground beef. They start with beef.

Nothing will make your burgers better, faster, than buying whole cuts of meat and grinding them at home. (See how-to tips at the bottom of the story.) When you have your own grinder (a good standalone version costs less than $100; the $60 Kitchen Aid mixer attachment is also excellent) you can use tough, inexpensive and hugely flavoured cuts like flatiron or flank or even heart, and blend them with chuck or brisket. When you grind your own, you know what you’re getting: meat from just a couple of animals, as opposed to the scraps from thousands that can go into a single batch of industrially processed stuff. (And no pink slime, thanks.) Your chances of contracting e-coli are much, much lower with home-ground stuff than supermarket ground, in other words, so you can cook your burgers to medium with a little more confidence. (But be advised: Public-health types still insist that ground beef isn’t 100-per-cent safe until cooked to over 160 degrees.)



2. Embrace the fat

A fatty burger is a tasty, juicy burger. The ideal blend contains between 20- and 25-per-cent fat. Chuck typically has about that much, while leaner cuts like the flat end of a brisket or a well-trimmed heart can have a lot less. The best way to get it right is to tell your butcher what you’re looking for, or failing that, just eyeball it. And if you’re using only lean cuts, ask for a little extra fat that you can chop up and add to your mix.

3. Use more salt

It’s a truism that bears repeating: One of the greatest differences between home cooks and professional cooks is that professionals use a lot more salt. Use kosher salt or sea salt and apply it aggressively: Rain a fat-fingered pinch over either side of thinner patties, or if you’re mixing it into a bowlful of beef and you’re typically reticent with the stuff, put twice as much as usual and fry up a marble-sized ball to test. (Perfect salting doesn’t make beef taste salty; it makes it in-your-face beefy.) And if you’re the sort of person who gets all bothered by the instruction “use more salt,” relax, already. No one’s suggesting you should eat these every day.

4. Pack it gently

To form a patty, pick up a loose ball of beef and gently slap it on either side and around the edges until it’s slightly wider than your hamburger bun. Don’t over-compress it. And if you like a big burger, consider stacking two thinner patties rather than building one monstrous one. Thinner patties are easier to cook, and two patties means double the surface area, so you get twice as much of the crusty, caramelized sear. Pro tip: Weigh out your patties with a kitchen scale so they’re all equal; they’ll cook at the same speed that way.

5. Get it hot

If you’re cooking straight on a grill, start directly over medium-hot coals or gas (any hotter gets you flare-ups), sear on both sides, then move the patties off the heat and close the lid until they’re done. Even better, put a cast-iron pan directly on the barbecue over high heat, close the lid, let it heat to nearly smoking, then drop in your patties and close the lid again, opening only to flip your burgers. Barbecue + pan = crust-forming, high-heat sear and smoky barbecue taste.

The Ultimate Double Cheeseburgers

Gloriously beefy, dripping with smoke-kissed beef juice and molten processed cheese, and sandwiched on tender, 100-per-cent trashy white-bread buns, these are the greatest cheeseburgers you’ll ever eat.

Prep Time: 45 minutes, including 30 minutes chilling time

Ready in: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 pound well-marbled rib eye
1 pound skirt steak
kosher salt (Diamond Brand is best)
red onion, thinly sliced
8 swiss cheese slices 
Lettuce
Tomato
4 white Wonder Bread buns 
In-and-Out Sauce (see recipe after meat grinding instructions below)

Method
Cut the beef into 1-inch thick strips, toss to combine and chill on a cookie sheet, uncovered, in the freezer for 30 minutes. Process chilled beef through the fine (1/8-inch) plate of a well-chilled grinder (see tips below).

Divide the beef equally into eight four-ounce balls (a kitchen scale is perfect here if you have one), and form them gently into patties slightly wider than the buns. (Nobody likes a bite that’s all bun.) Rain a generous pinch of kosher salt liberally over both sides of each patty, dropping it from high up so it coats the burgers evenly.

Heat a 12-inch cast-iron pan over high heat, drop four patties into the pan and start a timer. If you’re using a barbecue, close the lid. After two minutes, flip the burgers. Put a couple slices of onion and a slice of cheese on two of the patties, just cheese on the other two. Close the lid again. If you like your burgers medium, they’ll be done in another two minutes. If you like them cooked through, give them 2-1/2 to three minutes. 

Butter both sides of the buns and crisp on upper rack of BBQ.

Stack a finished patty with cheese on top of a finished onion and cheese patty, place on a bun and let them rest for about a minute if you can bear it. Repeat with remaining patties. Serve with bread and butter pickles, lettuce, tomato and In-and-Out sauce (see below). Serves 4.



How to use a meat grinder

The key to grinding meat at home is to make sure everything’s cold. Put all metal grinder parts, including the blade, the grinder plate and the long metal corkscrew piece into the freezer at least a couple of hours in advance. Cut your meat into one-inch cubes or strips and chill them in the freezer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.

For burgers, a fine (⅛-inch) plate is ideal. Toss the meat so it’s well combined, feed it through the grinder once, and you’re good to go.

Top the bottom and top of the buns with the In-and-Out inspired secret sauce



INGREDIENTS - stir together the following ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. sweet pickle relish
2 tsp. onion finely minced

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Fiddlehead Stuffed Chicken with White Wine-Shallot Sauce and Lemon Rice with Morels


I love spring time at the market. There is something so exciting about seeing your favourite seasonal ingredients on the stands. Although almost everything can be shipped in year round these days (at quite the cost to your pocket, health and the environment - I'll leave that rant for another day) there are still some things that I only see seasonally. Fiddleheads and morels are two of these such things (my other favourite is zucchini flowers - stay tuned!) that just make me grin from ear to ear. 

I've adapted an asparagus recipe from my fave government agency, the LCBO. Fiddleheads can basically replace asparagus in any recipe. And this one is a definite winner winner chicken dinner! 

I knew it was fiddlehead season when I headed to the market, but I had forgotten about morels and when I saw them, I just had to get them. So I adapted the rice recipe I was using and replaced the almonds with morels. I hoped the lemon flavour of the rice and the richness of the morels would complement each other. They did, but I think I overcooked the morels slightly. Oops!

FIDDLEHEAD-STUFFED CHICKEN WITH WHITE WINE-SHALLOT SAUCE

Leaving the skin on the chicken helps keep it moist and succulent. Ask the butcher to keep the wing bone attached for an elegant presentation.

Filling

1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
½ cup (125 mL) minced shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
4 handfuls of fiddleheads, cleaned
½ cup (125 mL) crumbled goat cheese
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp (10 mL) grated lemon zest
½ tsp (2 mL) each sea salt and freshly cracked
pepper

Chicken

4 boneless, skin-on chicken breasts
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) each sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
½ cup (125 mL) minced shallots
1 cup (250 mL) white wine
1 cup (250 mL) chicken broth
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp (15 mL) roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp (5 mL) finely chopped tarragon

1. In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender and translucent but not browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and fiddleheads and cook 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool. Mix in goat cheese, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper. 


2. With knife held horizontally, slice through chicken breasts, starting at the thinner side, about two-thirds of the way through, so chicken breasts can open like a book. Spread one-quarter of the filling over the inside of each breast leaving a ½-inch (1-cm) border uncovered. Close each breast to enclose filling, securing with a toothpick if desired.

3. Heat oven to 400°F (200°C).

4. In a large ovenproof nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with half of the salt and pepper. Arrange chicken, skin-side down, and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Gently turn chicken over and cook 3 minutes more. 


5. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter to keep warm.

6. In same skillet, melt butter over mediumhigh heat. Add shallots and cook until tender but not browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in wine and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer for 3 minutes. Whisk yolks and remaining salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour about ¼ cup (50 mL) of the sauce into the yolks and whisk to combine. Whisk yolk mixture back into skillet and continue whisking, without letting it boil, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Stir in parsley and tarragon and serve over chicken.

Makes 4 servings

MOREL RICE WITH LEMON & PARSLEY

This rice looks as good as it tastes. Lemony zip means this rice is superb with meat or poultry that has a fruit component such as our elegant pork roast or, come summer, even laid-back barbecued ribs with a sweet-tart barbecue sauce.

3¼ cups (800 mL) chicken broth or stock
1 to 2 tsp (5 to 10 mL) salt
Generous pinch of saffron
3 cups (750 mL) Indian basmati rice
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 to 3 large lemons
½ cup (125 mL) finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup (250 mL) toasted chopped, sliced
3 to 4 morels, cleaned

1 Taste broth; if salty, stir in only 1 tsp (5 mL) salt. Add pinch of saffron and let soak while continuing with recipe.

2. Rinse rice in a sieve under cold running water; drain well. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until bubbly. Add onion; cook 5 minutes or until onion is transparent. Stir in drained rice until coated with butter.

3. Meanwhile, squeeze ½ cup (125 mL) juice from lemons. Pour over rice mixture along with broth, including saffron. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Slowly cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Fluff with a fork. (Rice holds well over lowest possible heat for up to an hour.) 

4. Slice morels into thin slices and fry on med heat with butter, salt and pepper. Drain on paper towel.

4. When ready to serve, stir in generous parsley and morels.

Serves 6 to 8

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Pancake Batter Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream and Candied Bacon


I am SO delinquent with posting this week. I can't believe it's Wednesday! I always cook on Sundays, but sometimes it takes me awhile to post. This week I have a really good excuse, however. I sit on the board of directors for a men's shelter and a woman is walking from Los Angeles to Toronto to raise money for the shelter in memory of one of its residents. She left today and I've been busy for the past few days creating a media list and press release to send out. If you're reading this and homelessness is something that is close to your heart, please donate at stsimonsshelter.ca.

Speaking of things that are close to my heart, can we talk about bacon for a moment? I have a pork problem. It's my favourite meat in the world. I'd love to think I'm a steak person, but the truth of the matter is whenever I'm at a restaurant, if I see a good pork dish on the menu, I'm in. I once offered a Jewish friend a bite of my wild boar appetizer, to which she replied "I don't eat pork." But I insisted (stupidly admittedly) "It's not pork, it's wild boar!" Cue embarrassment here. Then during the main and many wines in I offered her some of my pork-served-three-ways: "Oh my god you have to have some of this, it's delicious!" That's right, I had unconsciously ordered pork for my appetizer and my main (three ways no less) and, like an idiot, offered it to my Jewish friend AGAIN. Thank god she had a sense of humour because at dessert she asked, "What, no pork?" Ha! So point is, pork in any form makes me salivate (and apparently stupid?) and let me tell you, bacon ups the ante. 

Purpose of the story? I only made these cupcakes because I came across a recipe for candied bacon on Pinterest that I HAD to try. And when I saw the recipe for these cupcakes it was a match made in heaven. 

I'm not sure how the recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes, I was only able to make 7. Also, my buttercream fell apart a little, I think maybe the whipping cream sat on the counter for too long? Any other ideas? Please post if you know the answer to this question because Google was not my friend when I tried to solve it. Regardless, the flavours are really good. Especially the candied bacon. Mmmmm bacon. BTW open the windows when doing the bacon, the dripping syrup will make a lot of smoke. I don't have my dream kitchen yet.

Pancake Breakfast Cupcakes

Yield: 1 dozen cupcakes (or 7?)

Ingredients

Buttermilk Pancake Cupcakes:

1 cup flour, mixed with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt (pancake mix)
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Maple Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (sub half and half or milk if necessary)
1/2 teaspoons maple extract (found in the baking aisle of the grocery store) OR about 3T pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
Candied bacon (recipe below) & maple syrup for garnish
(Note that this recipe makes enough frosting for a large mound on top. If you prefer to spread a smaller amount of frosting on top, fell free to cut frosting recipe in half)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake/muffin pan with 12 baking cups.
Combine pancake mix, sugar and baking powder in a small bowl. Lightly whisk buttermilk, egg, butter and vanilla in measuring cup. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry mix and gently whisk until just incorporated (it's ok if a few lumps remain). Distribute batter between the baking cups, filling them 1/2-2/3 full. Bake 13-16 minutes, or until pancake cupcakes are puffy and a toothpick comes out clean.


Prepare Frosting: With an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth on medium speed. Slowly add powdered sugar until fully incorporated and creamy. Add maple and cream/milk. Beat on medium speed about 3 minutes until light and fluffy, adding more powdered sugar or milk until desired consistency is reached.

Garnish cupcakes with candied bacon and drizzle with maple syrup. Voila, cupcakes for breakfast!

Beer Candied Bacon

1 lb thick-cut, high quality bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp beer

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine brown sugar and beer in a small bowl, whisking well to form a thin syrup. Set aside.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire cooling rack on top. Place the pieces of bacon on top of the rack, overlapping if necessary. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.


Remove from oven and brush one side of the bacon with the beer syrup. Flip, and coat the other side with the syrup as well. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and repeat process another time or two more, until bacon is crispy and browned, and you’ve used all the glaze.

Cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour before serving.




Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Baja Fish Tacos and Paula Dean Corn Fritters


It was Cinco de Mayo this Sunday, so Mexican was a must. And I was dying to cook something from the new Mexican themed magazine from Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications that I'd picked up from the supermarket. 

I was up North visiting some good friends of mine with my bestie Amanda, so we tackled the recipe together and she was keen to make corn fritters so we did those too. And I'm so glad we did. They were definitely the highlight of the meal. 

The tacos were good, but a bit flat. We bought salsa instead of making the Salsa Pina suggested for the Baja Fish Tacos, which was a mistake as it needed bite and our salsa didn't quite cut it. I think this would have made a huge difference for the flavour. We also couldn't find any corn tortillas and I think they would have improved the taste. I'd be willing to try them again with these changes.

Baja Fish Tacos

Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 2 minutes per batch

Ingredients

-2 pounds fresh or frozen firm-flesh whitefish fillets, such as cod or red snapper, cut into bite-size strips
-Salt
-4 cups finely shredded cabbage
-1/2 cup chopped green onions
-1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro
-3 tablespoons white vinegar
-3 tablespoons lime juice (my addition)
-2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil
-1 teaspoon sugar
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/4 cup cornstarch
-1 tablespoon paprika
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 cup beer
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-Vegetable oil for frying (we used peanut)
-12 6-inch corn tortillas, warmed
-2 avacados, halved, seeded, peeled, and sliced
-1 recipe Salsa Pina or purchased salsa (below)
-Lime wedges

Directions

1. Thaw fish, if frozen. Rince fish; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle fish with salt; set aside. In a medium bowl combine cabbage, green onions, cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, 2 tablespoons of oil, the sugar and kosher salt. Toss well to combine; cover and chill until ready to serve.

2. For batter, in a bowl combine 3/4 cup of the flour, the cornstarch, paprika, and baking powder. Add beer and egg; stir until batter is combined but still slightly lumpy.
3. Preheat oven to 200F. In a large skillet heat about 1 inch of the frying oil to 375F (without thermometer, drop a 1-inch bread cube into the hot oil, when bread crisps in 60 seconds, its about 375F).
4. Place the remaining 3/4 cup flour in a shallow dish; dip fish pieces, one at a time, into flour, turning to coat and shaking off excess. Dip into batter. Fry fish, four pieces at a time, in hot oil for 2 to 4 minutes or until crispy and golden, turning once halfway through frying time. Drain on paper towels. Keep fried fish warm in the oven while frying remaining fish.
5. To serve, place one or two fish pieces in center of each warm tortilla. Top with cabbage mixture, avocado slices, and Salsa Pina. Serve with lime wedges. 
Makes 6 servings

Salsa Pina: In a bowl whisk together 1 cup pineapple preserves; 2 tablespoons lime juice; 1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro; one fresh jalapeno chile pepper stemmed, sedded and finely chopped; and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Makes about 1 cup.


Corn Fritters Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 cus self-rising cornmeal mix
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 (15.25 ounce) can corn, drained
Vegetable oil, for frying (we used peanut)

Directions

Heat oil to 325 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal mix, flour, sugar, and salt. In a small bowl, combine milk and eggs. Add milk mixture to cornmeal mixture, stirring well. Stir in butter and corn.

Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a Dutch oven, or use a deep-fryer. Drop by tablespoons into hot oil. Cook 2 to 4 minutes, or until golden, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Gnocchi Poutine with Braised Short Rib Ragu


Today's post is for my good friend Matt. I made this for him a few months back and he visited the blog with the intention of making it when he realized I hadn't posted the recipe (it wasn't a Sunday). But I was really excited to learn he's been visiting the blog and making the recipes (I have an actual follower!). He made the Baked Cinnamon French Toast for his family and is keen to make the Short Rib Ragu, so I decided to make it this week and post it for him. Matt, I got lots of love for you - enjoy!

My boyfriend Jamie Oliver says he no longer browns meat for stews as he tested two pots, one with and one without, and the un-browned meat stew was sweeter. So I skipped the browning step for this recipe.

Adapted from Closet Cooking and the original recipe at Food52.

Gnocchi Poutine with Braised Short Rib Ragu

Servings: make 4+ servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients


1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 pounds short ribs, 2-3 inches long
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 peeled carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon anchovy paste
1/2 bottle red wine
14 oz can of whole tomatoes and juice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons thyme, picked
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
1 piece parmigano reggiano (parmesan) rind
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
3 cups beef stock
1 handful parsley, chopped

Zest of one lemon
4 cup gnocchi
1 1/2 cup cheese curds, room temperature


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Soak dried mushrooms in 2 cups boiling water. 
Season ribs with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat oil in large, heavy pot (I used a 5-qt. enameled cast iron dutch oven) over medium heat until shimmering and sauté onion, carrots and celery until soft. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.




Create a hot spot in the pot by moving vegetables aside and leaving about a 3-inch radius bare. Add tomato paste and anchovy paste to the hot spot and stir vigorously until caramelized, then stir into the vegetables. Add red wine to deglaze and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add tomatoes, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms and soaking liquid (minus the last 1/4 inch to keep sediment out of your dish), plus herbs, fennel seeds and parm rind.




Add ribs to pot and fill with beef stock until ribs are nearly covered. Bring liquid to a boil, then cover tightly and braise in oven for at least 3 hours or until ribs are fall-apart tender.

Boil salted water and cook gnocchi according to package instructions, with goal to have ready once meat is shredded and sauce is pureed. 

Remove ribs from liquid and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove bay leaves and discard. While ribs cool, purée the braising liquid with an immersion blender or in food processor until thick, return to pot. When ribs have cooled down, discard bones and large pieces of fat, then shred the beef and return it to the pot. Reduce if necessary.




Pour the ragu over the cooked gnocchi and cheese curds and garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Jamie Oliver Fish, Chips & Mushy Peas


Another recipe from my boyfriend this week. I asked hubby what he wanted to eat this Sunday and surprisingly he said fish and chips (he never eats fish so this was a win). 

A hard recipe to cook in an apartment kitchen. First off, I had to use a wok on an electric stove to deep fry because I don't have the space to store a deep fryer. Very precarious. Hubby actually took out the fire extinguisher out and placed it onthe counter as a hedge. 


He had two jobs that night. One was to stand by the extinguisher, the other was to wave a tea towel over the fire alarm every time it went off. And it did, multiple times. This is the other thing I want one day in my kitchen, a hood over my stove so I don't inflict smoke inhalation on my guests. Is this too much to ask? A stove hood and storage space? Truthfully I also want a centre island with a sink, a wine fridge and restaurant grade appliances. I also once saw a kitchen island on Million Dollar Rooms that had a motorized movable centre with small appliance storage all at the touch of a button. It's the little things, you know?

Because I don't have a deep fryer, it was difficult to gage the temperature of the oil. I kept the oil at approximately the same temperature for the chips and the fish, but the fish batter seemed to crisp far faster than the chips. If I had a deep fryer I'd probably cook the chips at a slightly higher temp than the fish. Wish I could tell you what temperature this would be. Perhaps one day when I have a my dream kitchen with space for a fancy deep fryer I will update this post. One day. Sigh.

Last note, I didn't use a food processor for the mushy peas because I'm lazy and not a huge fan of peas to begin with, so didn't feel like doing the extra dishes. 

Fish, chips & mushy peas

Good fish and chips are becoming harder to find these days, but there are still some good boys out there making the real deal. However, if you want to make your own at home, here's the recipe I use. Unless you've got a really big fryer I'd say it's not really worth trying to make fish and chips at home for more than 4 people – otherwise it becomes a struggle. Other things to have on the table are some crunchy sweet pickled gherkins, some pickled onions (if your other half isn't around!) – and pickled chillies are good too. Then you want to douse it all with some cheap malt vinegar and nothing other than Heinz tomato ketchup.

Serves 4
Ingredients

For the fish and chips
sunflower oil, for deep-frying
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
225 g white fish fillets, fromsustainable sources, pinboned, ask your fishmonger
225 g flour, plus extra for dusting
285 ml beer, cold
3 heaped teaspoons baking powder
900 g potatoes, peeled and sliced into chips

For the mushy peas
1 knob butter
4 handfuls podded peas
1 small handful fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped
1 squeeze lemon juice
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method

To make your mushy peas, put the butter in a pan with the peas and the chopped mint. Put a lid on top and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. 

You can either mush the peas up in a food processor, or you can mash them by hand until they are stodgy, thick and perfect for dipping your fish into. Keep them warm while you cook your fish and chips.

Pour the sunflower oil into your deep fat fryer or a large frying pan and heat it to 190ºC/375ºF. Mix the salt and pepper together and season the fish fillets on both sides. This will help to remove any excess water, making the fish really meaty. Whisk the flour, beer and baking powder together until nice and shiny. The texture should be like semi-whipped double cream (i.e. it should stick to whatever you're coating). Dust each fish fillet in a little of the extra flour, then dip into the batter and allow any excess to drip off. Holding one end, lower the fish into the oil one by one, carefully so you don't get splashed – it will depend on the size of your fryer how many fish you can do at once. Cook for 4 minutes or so, until the batter is golden and crisp.



Meanwhile, parboil your chips in salted boiling water for about 4 or 5 minutes until softened but still retaining their shape, then drain them in a colander and leave to steam completely dry. When all the moisture has disappeared, fry them in the oil that the fish were cooked in at 180ºC/350ºF until golden and crisp. While the chips are frying, you can place the fish on a baking tray and put them in the oven for a few minutes at 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 to finish cooking. This way they will stay crisp while you finish off the chips. When they are done, drain them on kitchen paper, season with salt, and serve with the fish and mushy peas.

Monday, April 15, 2013

The BEST Penne alla Vodka




Everyone who's ever tried this dish absolutely loves it and so I thought I should get it on the blog in case I ever lost the recipe, or to be able to share with those wanting to give it a whirl.

I adapted it from Epicurious. It didn't have any bacon (sacreligous IMO) so that was a must add. I also added a pinch of cinnamon, a trick I learnt from my boyfriend Jamie Oliver. And finally changed the heavy cream to crème fraiche because that's how I roll. 


Ingredients

Two 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their liquid
Cup of chopped bacon / pancetta
Cup of chopped onion
Pinch of cinnamon
1 pound penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 cloves garlic
Handful of fresh basil
Crushed hot red pepper
1/3 cup vodka
1/2 cup crème fraiche
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil for finishing the sauce, if you like
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for passing if you like

Directions

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.

Pour the tomatoes and their liquid into the work bowl of a food processor and add the basil. Using quick on/off pulses, process the tomatoes just until they are finely chopped. (Longer processing will aerate the tomatoes, turning them pink.)



Stir the penne into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, 8 to 10 minutes.



In a large skillet, cook the bacon and onions with the pinch of cinnamon until cooked, but not crispy. Once done, remove from skillet and put aside.

Remove most of the bacon fat from the skillet and add and heat the olive oil over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife, peel and add them to the hot oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Lower the work bowl with the tomatoes close to the skillet and carefully — they will splatter — slide the tomatoes into the pan and add the bacon and onions. Bring to a boil, season lightly with salt and generously with crushed red pepper, and boil 2 minutes. Pour in the vodka, lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, and simmer until the pasta is ready.

Just before the pasta is done, fish the garlic cloves out of the sauce and spoon in the cream. Add the 2 tablespoons butter or oil, if using, and swirl the skillet to incorporate into the sauce. If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly into the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt and red pepper if necessary. Boil until the sauce is reduced enough to cling to the pasta.



Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cheese over the pasta, and toss to mix. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese if you like.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Dairy Free Chocolate Banana Ice 'Cream'



Everyone once in awhile you make a recipe that makes you go 'meh'. This is that recipe. I found it on Pinterest and despite a gazillion repins popping up in my feed daily, it's one of these items that is better left as an idea. 

First off, let me preface that if you're vegan, you might love this recipe. But for me it doesn't come close to the real thing. Also, if I was vegan I'd probably just have sorbet. It didn't scoop into a nice round ball like the pictures on Pinterest. I even gave it a minute or two to soften. Truthfully I gave it an hour and it was still hard as a rock. And for me, it was too 'melty' to eat before it went in the freezer. It also tasted like frozen bananas with cocoa powder. Which is basically all it is, but I think I somehow expected the addition of cocoa powder and peanut butter to transform it? 

Oh well. No tips today as I'm not sure what could have been done to save this recipe. I hope that the yogurt covered blueberries I've been coveting on Pinterest are not as much of a disappointment.

The recipe is below, please comment if you sort how to make it better. Maybe more peanut butter?

Single Ingredient Ice Cream

4 bananas, just slightly overripe (brown spots good, completely black not so good)
2 tbsps creamy peanut butter (optional – thus 2 ingredient ice cream)
2 tsps cocoa powder (Dutch process), (optional – thus 2 or 3 ingredient ice cream depending on peanut butter)

DO NOT FREEZE THE WHOLE BANANA, you’ll have a heck of a time blending that beast.

Peel the bananas and slice them up into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick disks. Place the banana slices in the freezer for about an hour or until they are frozen solid. Put the frozen slices in a food processor and pulse. First they will start to resemble gravel, but keep going. The bananas will soon turn into a frozen mush – at this point, start scraping the sides down (you will do this a lot). Or you could add a dash of milk since the liquid will help the blending. I’m lactose-intolerant, so after a few minutes of stopping to scrape the sides down, the banana begins to blend into a creamy texture. When the bananas look like whipped ice cream, you can add your mix-ins like peanut butter and/or cocoa powder, chocolate chips, toffee, raspberries, anything goes! Straight out of the food processor, the ice cream is like soft serve. You can also freeze it for a firmer texture. I find it’s pretty hard (and therefore, brittle) when I scoop it immediately after removing it from the freezer. Just give it a minute or two to soften up. Makes a pint.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Spanish Roasted Lamb on Chorizo and Saffron Rice



Normally we travel for Easter and I eat what I'm told. This was the first year where, happily, we had no where to go. And so I decided to tackle roasted lamb. Recipe adapted by the LCBO Food & Drink guide, the Ontario government's gift to cooking.

I didn't cut the lamb into smaller pieces as suggested, but I did use a butterflied lamb leg. I pulled the lamb when the internal temp was 130. I also made some additions to the marinade, italicized below. And I used a tsp of anchovy paste instead of the chopped anchovies. 

Now for taste. I LOVED the lamb and I'm so happy I made the additions to the marinade as it was delish. As for the rice, meh, not my favourite. Mostly because I'm not a huge fan of smoked paprika and I think it was paprika overload. I think it worked great in the marinade where there was some balance, but I would take it out of the rice next time. The saffron and chorizo are flavourful enough to carry the rice. The chorizo came from my local sausage butcher, MEATing on Queen, Torontonians take note.

SPANISH ROASTED LAMB
By: Lucy Waverman

This is similar to roast lamb but cut in smaller pieces to roast very quickly. It is seasoned with Spanish seasonings and served atop a Spanish-style rice with chorizo, Swiss chard and saffron. You can sear the lamb ahead of time but bring it back to room temperature before roasting.

1 butterfly lamb leg
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped anchovies
2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped garlic
2 tsp (10 mL) lemon rind
2 tbsp (25 mL) lemon juice
1 tsp (5 mL) hot smoked Spanish paprika

1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp dried rosemary
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) olive oil

1. Cut lamb into 6 even-sized chunks. Grind up the mustard seeds and rosemary in a mortar and pestle. Combine with the anchovies, garlic, lemon rind and juice, paprika, balsamic and 1⁄3 cup (75 mL) olive oil. 

(photo pre-olive oil)


Brush over lamb and leave to marinate for 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).

3. Heat remaining 2 tbsp (25 mL) oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add lamb and sear on each side about 1 minute a side or until golden. Place lamb on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until still pink inside. 


Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serves 6


CHORIZO SAFFRON RICE
By: Lucy Waverman

A paella-like rice dish but much easier to make, to accompany the lamb. You do not need another vegetable.


2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
1 cup (250 mL) chopped onion
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) chopped chorizo
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped garlic
2 cups (500 mL) Spanish or Arborio rice
1 tsp (5 mL) smoked Spanish paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1⁄2 tsp (2 mL) saffron
5 to 6 cups (1.25 to 1.5 L) hot chicken stock
4 cups (1 L) chopped Swiss chard leaves
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) chopped green onions
Lemon wedges

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and chorizo and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic and cook another minute or until softened. Stir in rice and toss with oil. Add paprika and season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Combine saffron and hot stock. Pour in 5 cups (1.25 L) hot stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until rice is mostly tender. Stir in Swiss chard, pushing it into the rice, adding extra 1 cup (250 mL) stock if needed. Cook another 5 minutes, stir in green onions and remove from heat. Cover and let sit 10 minutes before serving. Surround with lemon wedges and serve.

Serves 6