Cauliflower Soup and Paella

 

 

 

Wine:
Rivola Sardon De Duero 2005
Tilia Sauvignon 2007
Vranac Pro Corde 2004

We went to The Cheese Store of Silverlake, and I noticed that Chris’s brother in Rhode Island had sent him some Chorizo. The sausage is hand made and very smoky. I bought a 10 inch piece and thought that we would have it for snacks or an appetizer. Cathy suggested we use it in making a Paella. There is a recipe in Moro The Cookbook by Sam and Sam Clark. Moro is great restaurant in London that we like. It is a Spanish / Moroccan Restaurant, our kind of food!

I had been thinking about cauliflower and Cathy remembered a delicious French Cauliflower Soup we have previously made. It is from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters. The recipe is very straight forward and easy to make.

It was a great dinner for a cold winter night, and re-heats very easy!

Paella de cerdo con chorizo y espinaca
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RICE WITH PORK, CHORIZO AND SPINACH
Moro The Cookbook – Sam & Sam Clark

This rice is very Spanish in taste. A complex and comforting dish\
Serves 6 as a starter, 4 as a main course

7 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 lb pork fillet (or more), halved lengthways, then sliced across roughly into ¼ inch strips
¼ lb mild cooking chorizo, cut into little pieces
2 large Spanish onions, finely chopped
1 large green pepper, halved, seeded and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ lb calasparra (paella) rice
1 teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika
.2 noras pepaers
2 cups hot Chicken Stock or water
1 lb spinach, washed and drained
1 lemon, in wedges
sea salt and black pepper



In a paella pan or frying pan, heat the olive oil over a high heat, then stir-fry the pork for a few seconds so it is still a little undercooked. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Turn down the heat to a low to medium temperature and fry the chorizo for a minute. Add the onion and green pepper and cook for 20
minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic to the onion and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. At this point the mixture (sofrito) should have caramelized and taste sweet. Stir the rice into the pan to coat in the flavour-some mixture for a minute. (Up to this point everything can be cooked in advance. The next stage requires about 20 minutes more cooking time.)

Now season with salt and a little pepper, this is the time to season the rice perfectly. Add your paprika and noras peppers, drained of their water, followed by the hot stock, and simmer for 15 minutes or until there is just a thin layer of liquid around the rice.

Meanwhile in a large saucepan or wok, briefly wilt the spinach with a little salt, either by braising or steaming, and put to one side with the pork fillet. Evenly scatter the pork over the rice followed by the spinach. With the back of a spoon gently push the pork and spinach partially into the oily liquid that remains at the bottom of the pan. Cover the paella tightly with foil and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Serve with lemon and a tomato salad.


French Cream of Cauliflower Soup
=====================
Alice Waters
Chez Panisse Vegetables

1 large Cauliflower (2 – 3 pounds)
1 onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons crème fraiche
Salt
Nutmeg
Chervil
1 tablespoon butte

Cut off the stems of the Cauliflower and any green leaves. Break up the flowerets. Wash them in cold water. Reserve a handful of flowerets to garnish the soup.

Peel and slice the onion thin. In a soup pot, stew the onion slices and flowerets in the butter with a little water for 20 – 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, without letting them brown. Add water to cover and cook for 25 minutes covered, over medium heat. Meanwhile, parboil the reserved flowerets in boiling salted water for 8 minutes or so, keeping them crunchy.

Puree the soup in a blender and reheat gently to just under boiling. Add the the crème fraiche and season with salt and nutmeg to taste. Add 1 tablespoon butter.
Serve the soup very hot, garnish with the whole flowerets and a few sprigs of chervil.

Serves 4

Trout Salad and Risotto of the Vigil

 

 

 

It has been cold and rainy in Los Angeles (although it is now warm again and I am writing this wearing a tee-shirt and shorts). Bea remains a semi-invalid in her house (she still can’t walk, but hopefully will in just a couple of more weeks). It seems funny not having our favorite guest over. Soon.

We made a Smoked Trout Salad that was excellent. It is from a cookbook that is a little fancy for us: Bouchon by Thomas Keller, but this recipe is really good. It uses Belgium Endive and is very crispy. The smoked trout is chunked into pieces and combined with the salad. It lasted for 3 days!

Every winter we make Risotto of the Vigil from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. It is a very hearty Risotto made with lots of ingredients. We hadn’t made it yet this winter and this was the ideal weather for it! We still had prosciutto left from the piece that Chris at The Cheese Store of Silverlake had given us, so th is was a perfect use for it. The left over risotto can be frozen or reheated in a microwave. This is one of those great recipes we seem to make once a year and then put away for the next cold winter.


Endive Salad with Trout and Lemon Vinaigrette
=====================

LEMON VINAIGRETTE
2 large lemons
1 hard-cooked egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ cup canola oil
1 tablespoon minced cornichons
1 tablespoon minced drained nonpareil capers, preferably Spanish

POTATOES
8 ounces small iingerling potatoes (no wider in diameter than a quarter)
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leai
2 garlic cloves, skin left on, smashed Kosher salt

SALAD
4 small heads Belgian endive
4 small heads red Belgian endive
8 ounces smoked trout fillet, skin and bones removed
1/4 cup minced shallots
1/4 cup minced chives
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon drained nonpareil capers, preferably Spanish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
'/4 cup chervil leaves
'/4 cup tarragon leaves
1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves
12 caper berries, drained


This is a traditional smoked fish salad, with a crisp flavorful lettuce, potatoes, and a thick, creamy, lemony vinaigrette. Here again a preserved food, critical to the bistro kitchen, is at the center of the dish. Smoked fish and potatoes always make a great combination because the potatoes carry the smoked flavor so nicely. This salad also works well with watercress or any spicy lettuce. In the fall, you can add some crisp tart apple, finely sliced or julienned.

FOR the VINAIGRETTE: Remove the zest from the lemons (a Microplane grater does an excellent job). Finely chop the zest. (You should have about 1 tablespoon.) Set aside. Squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from 1 of the lemons; reserve the remaining lemon for another use.

Place the egg yolk in a small deep bowl and crush it with a fork. Add the lemon juice and mustards and combine well with a hand blender or a whisk. With the blender running, or whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the oil until emulsified. Mix in the lemon zest, cornichons, and capers.

FOR THE POTATOES: Wash the potatoes and slice them into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Put the potatoes, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf, and garlic in a medium saucepan. Add cold water to cover by 1 inch and season the water with salt until it tastes like the sea. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender; drain. Discard the seasonings and garlic.

FOR THE SALAD: Remove and discard any bruised outer leaves from the heads of endive and cut each head lengthwise in half. Cut out and discard the cores. Place the endives cut side down on a cutting board and cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Combine the endive and potatoes in a bowl.

Break the trout into 1 to 11/2-inch chunks and add to the bowl, along with the shallots, chives, and capers. Toss the salad with about l/2 cup of the dressing, or as needed to coat the ingredients, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chervil, tarragon, and parsley leaves.



Imola's Risotto of the Vigil
Risotto della Vigilia di Natale
==================
The Splendid Table Lynne Rossetto Kasper

A saute of beef and cabbagesimmers in a risotto of tomato and wine. Carrot and onion browned with fresh sage and a hint of garlic boost the flavors of this country dish. Breaking Christmas Eve's meatless vigil with this one-dish feast was the tradition in the farmhouses of lmola's countryside.

Serves 6 to 8 as a first course, 4 to 6 as a main dish

About 4 cups water
3ounce lean salt pork, cut into small dice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces lean beef chuck, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
1 small stalk celery with leaves, coarsely chopped
1 medium to large onion, coarsely chopped
3 large fresh sage leaves, or 3 large dried sage leaves
1 medium Savoy cabbage (about 1 pound), halved, cored, coarsely chopped
4 cups Poultry / Meat Stock (beef or veal stock)
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups (8 ½ ounces) imported Superfine Arborio or Roma rice wine
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 cup canned tomatoes with their liquid
1 tablespoon choppecl fresh basil leaves
2 cups (8 ounces) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano
cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 marrow bone approximately 1 inch soaked 1st.

Working Ahead: The risotto is best cooked just before serving, but its base can be prepared several hours ahead. Refrigerate the browned beef. The sauteed vegetables can be held up to 3 hours at room temperature in their covered pot.

Blanching the Salt Pork: Bring the water to a boil, drop in the salt pork, and boil about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse, and pat dry. (We use end of a procsutto and simply cut off the required amount of meat)

Making the Base: In a heavy 5-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the salt pork and cook slowly 8 minutes, or until it has given up much of its fat and turned golden brown. Remove the pork bits with a slotted spoon, and reserve. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Turn the heat to high and add the beef. Quickly brown 8 minutes, or until dark and crusty on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, and reserve. Stir the carrot, celery, onion, and sage into the pot, and cook over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onion is golden brown. Add the cabbage, and stir frequently over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes, or until wilted.

Cooking the Rice: Warm shallow soup dishes in a low oven. Bring the stock and 2 cups of water to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the rice to the vegetable mixture, and stir over medium heat about 2 minutes. Blend in the wine and garlic and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring frequently, 5 minutes, or until the wine has been absorbed. Then add the tomato sauce or canned tomatoes and basil, along with the reserved salt pork and beef and cook another 5 minutes, stirring to keep from sticking.

Keep heat at about medium so the mixture simmers. Add 1 cup of the stock mixture and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. Repeat, stirring in 1 cup until the rice is still a little too firm to be eaten. Then start adding the liquid in 1/4-cup quantities until the rice has only slightly more bite than you would like.

Finishing and Serving: The risotto's consistency should be like a thick soup. Fold in about 2/3 cup of the cheese, remove from the heat, and season with salt and pepper. Let the risotto rest, uncovered, 5 minutes. Mound the risotto in the heated soup dishes land serve, passing the remaining cheese separately.

Here’s Looking Up Yours

 

 

 

Wine:
Teliani Valley Lechkhumi 2005
La Fond Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills SRH 2004
Steinfeder 2007 Gruner Veltliner


Kevin went in for his colonoscopy and Billy stopped by in the morning while Kevin was undergoing the procedure. He was obviously nervous about Kevin (it all turned out ok). We decided to invite them over to enjoy some leftovers. Billy brought a potato gratin.

We had made 3 new dishes. I had wanted to smoke a salmon. Cathy found a recipe for Honey-Cured, Smoked Salmon by Cooking with Fire and Smoke by Phillip, Stephen, Schulz. I purchased a salmon fillet and smoked it in the Egg for 1 ½ hours. It turned out to be wonderful, very moist and tasting like Lox! We will definitely make it again. Because it is smoked, it keeps in the refrigerator.

We started with a Squash & Farro Soup By Matt Molina. This is a very rich soup. Chris at The Cheese Store of Silverlake gave us a prosciutto butt end and we used a piece of it in the soup. We really like the chewy texture of the farro. This is a perfect winter soup. Try it!

Finally we made a pasta dish called: Pizzoccheri from a recipe in the New York Times by Mark Bittman. The pasta, after it is boiled is then baked like a lasagna and topped with lots of breadcrumbs. Yum!

Squash & Farro Soup
==============
By Matt Molina
Base:
1 cubed squash
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 carrots, sliced 1 celery stalk, sliced
10 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 dried arbol chile
pinch dried porcini (optional)
1 ounce olive oil
1 quart chicken broth
2 sprigs parsley
1 sprig thyme
2 ounces prosciutto, in one piece
Salt & Pepper

Sweat squash, onion, prosciutto, carrot, celery, garlic, chile and porcini in olive
oil and salt for about 10 minutes.

Add broth, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30-35 minutes-or until squash & garlic are soft.

Once vegetables are tender, remove herbs, prosciutto and chile, then puree well. Set aside.

Farro:

1 cup farro or barley
1 chopped yellow onion
2 ounces chopped pancetta
1 bunch deveined, washed and coarsely chopped beet greens or chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups water
1 tablespoon salt

Toast farro in a saucepan with olive oil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.

Once the farro begins to smell like popcorn, turn down heat and add the pancetta, onion and salt, rendering the pancetta and sweating the onion, about 5 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil, then simmer about 20 minutes.

Add the greens and cook for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally until the farro and greens are tender.

When the farro and greens are tender, combine the two components together, and warm. Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve.


Honey-Cured, Smoked Salmon
=======================
Cooking with Fire and Smoke by Phillip Stephen Schulz

Salmon cooked on a smoker does not have the texture of commercial smoked salmon or lox. For one thing, it is moister and less difficult to slice, and is possessed of sweeter flavor for another— both the result of brining the fish in honey and rum. Alderwood does any salmon proud.

1 quart water
1/2 cup salt
¾ cup honey
1/4 cup golden rum
1/4 cup lemon juice
10 cloves
10 peppercorns
10 allspice berries
1 bay leaf
1 large salmon filet, about 1 3/4 pounds
Capers and lemon slices for garnish

1. Combine all the ingredients from the water through the bay leaf in a large glass or ceramic dish deep enough to hold the salmon. Add the salmon, skin side up, to the brine and let stand 2 hours.

2. Rinse the salmon with fresh water and pat dry. Place on a rack and allow to air-dry 1 hour.

3. Preheat a dry smoker. (Charcoal smokers will require about 20 coals.)

4. Add pre-soaked (or dry) wood chips to the heat source. Place the salmon, skin side down, on the highest food grid. Cover and smoker-cook, keeping the temperature between 150 degrees and 170 degrees, until the salmon is firm, about 1-1/2 hours. Serve warm, or well chilled with capers and lemon slices.

Serves 4 to 6.

Pizzoccheri
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By MARK BITTMAN
Time: 30 minutes
1 stick butter ( 1/4 pound)
4 fresh sage leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1 medium potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small head Savoy cabbage, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 pound flat, broad buckwheat noodles (pizzoccheri) or whole wheat noodles
1 cup fontina Val d'Aosta (or other good semisoft) cheese, grated
1 cup Parmesan, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups homemade bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a small saucepan over low heat, malt butter with sage and garlic until butter turns nut-brown; be careful not to burn sage leaves. Set aside.

2. Cook potato and cabbage in boiling water until they begin to soften, just 5 minutes or so. Add pasta to same pot and continue to cook until pasta is nearly done. Drain.

3. In a large oven-proof dish, spread a layer of vegetable-pasta combination, then a layer of grated fontina, then a layer of grated Parmesan; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue this layering until all ingredients are used, ending with a layer of Parmesan; ideally you will have four layers of each. Cover dish with bread crumbs and drizzle with melted butter and sage (discard garlic). Bake for about 15 minutes, or until top is golden-brown and cheese has melted. Serve hot or warm.

Bollywood Comes to Silverlake!

We love Bollywood and India. Our friend Tim introduced us to Bollywood stars Kashmira Shah and Krushna. Kashmira has been in many Bollywood movies. Krushna is a Bollywood dancer and is a nephew of the Mega Bollywood actor Govinda. He is also a fabulous cook.

Here is a link to a Bollywood movie where they dance together! Great Style!



They volunteered to come to our house and cook an authentic Indian Meal for us. It was a real treat. There are no recipes, lots of onions, chilies and spices. It was delicious. They made great shrimp and chicken. One thing they did which was unusual for us; chopped up at least 7 red onions and cooked them slowly. The onions basically disintegrated and turned into gravy. It was amazing to see.

As we ate we decided to checkout how we reacted to the spice of their cooking. On a 10 point scale, 10 being hot, Tim thought the food was a 9, I thought it was an 8, Cathy thought it was a 7. Krushna and Kashmira laughed. They thought it was a 2!

It was a fun night. During the meal, Kashmira got a text message that she would be acting in a reality Indian TV show where she would be dancing. Krushna will be on a Indian reality TV show doing standup comedy. They were leaving in a few days for Mumbai to begin shooting. We wish them all the best.

Here is a link to some movie clips of us cooking that night.

Veal Pasta

For our first dinner after the New Year we decided to make one of our very favorite pastas. It has a French name: Tendrons de Veau Le Cameleon, but is really like an Italian Pasta with Veal Sauce.

You can use many different cuts of veal, but we use Oso Buco. It is braised on top of the stove. When done, all of the meat falls off of the bone and we scoop out the marrow and add it to the sauce. It is VERY rich and delicious. The recipe is in a wonderful cookbook: Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells.

For the first course we made a favorite winter salad: Shredded Radicchio with Anchovy Vinaigrette, Bread crumbs, & Sieved Eggfrom The Zuni Café Cookbook. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Jan 31, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

TENDRONS DE VEAU LE CAMELEON
=========================

Le Cameleon's Braised Veal with Fresh Pasta
From Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells

In France, one of the most popular cuts of veal for stewing is tendron, the portion of the breast that contains the cartilaginous rib-like portions that visually resemble pork spare ribs when cooked. For this recipe, you can choose from any number of good cuts of stewing veal, including the breast (known in France as poitrine or tendron), the short ribs (haut de cotes), veal shoulder and shoulder chops (epaule or cotes decouvertes\ and the heel of round or shank (gite a la noix or jarrei). This is one of my favorite bistro dishes (both to prepare and to eat!) and I order it often when I go to the popular Paris bistro Le Cameleon. With it, I usually drink the fruity red Saumur-Champigny from the Loire.

2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 pounds breast of veal with the bone (ask your butcher to cut across the lower breast portion to make several strips of equal width) we use Oso Buco
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry white wine
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
2 medium onions, cut into rings
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped (or fresh thyme)
2 imported bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or fresh)
1 large can Italian plum tomatoes, with their liquid
1 pound fresh fettuccine Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely

1. Heat the oil in a nonreactive, deep-sided, 12-inch (30 cm) skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, begin to brown the veal in batches on both sides; do not crowd the pan. Be patient when browning; good browning is essential for the veal to retain all of its flavor. The meat should take about 5 minutes to brown each batch. Carefully regulate the heat to avoid scorching the meat. As each batch is browned, remove the veal to a platter and season gen¬erously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. When all of the veal is browned, pour out the fat from the skillet. Return all of the meat to the pan. Add the wine, carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the meat is very tender and the liquid is transformed into a thick, delicious sauce, about ll/2 hours. Keep an eye on the pan, mak¬ing sure the liquid remains at a quiet, gentle simmer.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt the water, add the pasta, and cook just until tender. Drain. Place the pasta on a large, warmed serving platter.


4. Using a flat metal strainer, remove the veal from the pan; place on top of the pasta. Strain the sauce through a sieve. Pour the sauce over the veal. Sprinkle on the parsley. Serve immediately, on warmed dinner plates.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

New Years Eve 2009

We staggered down the street from house to house with our progressive dinner!
We missed Bea Landen but enjoyed her wine.