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
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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
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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.
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