Better at ChiSpacca

One of my favorite dishes at ChiSpacca is called Testa. It is a spicy shrimp omelet like dish that is then topped with Head Cheese and briefly put in the wooden oven. We saw the recipe for Spanish Asparagus Revuelto in The New York Times and decided to modify it to make a Testa like dish. We eliminated the Chorizo and added shrimp instead. Although it tasted ok, it didn’t look anything like the picture in the New York Times or what we have eaten at ChiSpacca. I doubt we will try it again. Chock it up to some dishes are best made at a restaurant.

Spanish Asparagus Revuelto

By DAVID TANIS

New York Times

SUMMARY

In Spain, wild asparagus is very popular, and it’s a sure sign of spring. Because the variety of wild asparagus there can be a slightly bitter, cooks blanch it in boiling water before sautéing in olive oil. (In North America, both wild and cultivated asparagus are sweet, so this step is unnecessary here.) This dish features typical Spanish ingredients — garlic, chorizo and bread crumbs — incorporated into soft scrambled eggs, for a hearty breakfast, or a simple lunch or first course.

TOTAL TIME

30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

                  Olive oil

                  2 peeled garlic cloves, plus 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

                  2 cups bread cubes, made with day-old bread, cut in 1/2-inch cubes

                  Salt and pepper

                  2 ounces diced Spanish chorizo

                  1 bunch thin asparagus, about 1 1/2 pounds, cut in 1- to 2-inch lengths

                  1 bunch green onions, chopped

                  8 large eggs, beaten

                  1/2 teaspoon pimentón

                  2 tablespoons roughly chopped Italian parsley

PREPARATION

1.

Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add peeled garlic cloves and let them sizzle until lightly browned, then remove. Add bread cubes, season with salt and pepper, lower heat to medium and gently fry until lightly browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove bread and set aside to cool.

2.

Add chorizo and fry lightly. Add asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and stir-fry until cooked through but firm, 3 to 4 minutes. Add green onions and minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.

3.

Season eggs with salt, pepper and pimentón. Pour into pan and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, just until soft and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add parsley and serve immediately, topped with the fried bread cubes.

YIELD

4 to 6 servings

                 

Pork and Lots of Wine!

All of the good cracking skin!

Pig meets the cake!

The hangover was worth it!

Once more we decided to make a Porchetta from McCall’s Meatand Fish. Nate does all of the work, he seasons, rolls and ages the pork to make this fabulous meat. Pork is my favorite meat, much more than steak. To me it absorbs more flavors and lends itself to interesting preparations. You can get the recipe for the Porchetta from our blog of: Feb. 24, 2014. Click the date to get the recipe. This is a crazy good recipe.

We started with drinks on the patio and served Pureed Beets with Yogurt & Za’atar from Jerusalem by Ottolenghi & Tamimi. This is a great recipe and can be found in our blog of: Nov. 23, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

Judi brought Deviled Eggs, who knew they could taste so good! Bea and Timmy provided some great wines.

Jaimie and Robert made not one but two salads. First a Burrata, Roasted Tomato and Pesto Salad and then a great version of Nancy’s Chopped Salad from The Mozza Cookbook.

Darryl and Robert baked an Upside-down Pineapple Cake and a Carrot Cake. It was yummy. Sorry I didn’t keep some of it! We also had ice cream that Michael brought. Everyone especially liked the Pear Ice Cream.

The wine selection for the dinner was exceptional. Everyone truly enjoyed the food, wine and company!

A Fishy Dinner

We purchased Smoked Salmon at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, we made a Salad and then had a made with Asparagus Pasta to which we added left over Lobster from Newport Seafood.

Salad Time

A simple salad with Dates, Walnuts, Parmasean and dressing.

Rotisserie Chicken

We love Rotisserie Chicken. Not only is the chicken smokey with crispy skin, but by making two of them at the same time we are guaranteed leftovers.

We cooked the chickens over a pan of potatoes and shallots and let the chicken drippings flavor the potatoes. Cathy stuffed the two chickens using the recipe for Roast Chicken for Two and from The Balthhazar Cookbook by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hansen. This is a great recipe that keeps the chicken very moist. You can find the recipe on our blog of: June 23, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we had Brownies and Ice Cream.

Grilled Shrimp with Pancetta and Radicchio

We continue to eat Asparagus while it is in the height of its season. We prepared this with Brown Butter, Burrata and Hazelnuts.

For the main course we made Grilled Shrimp with Pancetta and Radicchio

from The Young Man and the Sea by David Pasternack. This is an excellent simple recipe. But not for Bea!

Grilled Shrimp with Pancetta and Radicchio

The Young Man and the Sea

David Pasternack

I love the combination of grilled radicchio—which is simultaneously smoky and bitter—with meaty shrimp and smoky, porky pancetta (cured Italian bacon). But what really makes this dish is the aceto balsamico, which lends the whole affair a sweet, tangy finishing touch.

Serves 4

1-1/2         pounds medium shrimp, shells on, split down the back, vein removed

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼         cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus high-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

½         pound pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch lardoons

1         clove garlic, thinly sliced

1         medium head radicchio, cut into 4 wedges

2         tablespoons aceto balsamico (aged balsamic vinegar)

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, straight-sided saute pan until hot but not smoking. Add the shrimp, in two batches if necessary, and cook for about 3 minutes per side. (Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan between batches if necessary.) The shells should be pink and the flesh opaque. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a plate and set aside.

Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and add the diced pancetta. Cook over a medium flame until the fat begins to render, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, stir to combine, and continue to cook until the lardons are browned and the garlic has softened, about 3 more minutes. Add the radicchio and the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until the radicchio is tender and the vinegar has reduced slightly, 4 to 5 minutes.

To serve, spoon the wilted radicchio equally onto four serving plates. Top with the sautéed shrimp and drizzle with high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

Monkfish Cheeks

Nate at McCall’s Meat and Fish convinced us that we should make Monkfish Cheeks. Apparently they are the most tender part of the ugly fish. They are simply fried in butter. We added some hazelnuts.

With the monkfish we served a Cauliflower Gratinate. The recipe is from The Mozza Cookbook by Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina. This is a wonderful preparation of Cauliflower. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Oct. 1, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Rici-e-Bici Cakes

The Rice that thought it was a Potato Pancake

We love making new dishes from leftovers. We had left over Rici-e-Bici and decided to fry them creating Rici-e-Bici Cakes. We added egg and and dredged in flour. They fried up beautifully if you don't consider the spatter on the stove, flour, and counter tops! Fried food should be a food group all by itself!

Retro Chicken

We saw this recipe for Chicken With Shallots in the New York Times. It looked so retro, sort of what my grandmother or mother would have made. We decided to make it. It was excellent. It was a step back, I especially love any sauce made with mustard.

Rishia Zimmern’s Chicken With Shallots

Adapted from Andrew and Rishia Zimmern by way of Martha Stewart.

By SAM SIFTON New York Times

TOTAL TIME

90 minutes

INGREDIENTS

         8 chicken thighs

         2 tablespoons flour

         1 tablespoon kosher salt

         1 tablespoon ground black pepper

         2 tablespoons unsalted butter

         12 to 15 whole medium shallots, peeled

         2 cups white wine

         2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

         2 sprigs tarragon

         2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half.

PREPARATION

1.

Rinse chicken thighs in water, and pat them very dry with paper towels. Sprinkle over them the flour, salt and pepper.

2.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet set over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, cook the chicken, in batches if necessary, until well browned and crisp on all sides. Set aside.

3.

Add the whole shallots to the pot and sauté them in the butter and chicken fat until they begin to soften and caramelize, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Add the wine to deglaze the pot, stir with a large spoon, then add the mustard and tarragon, then the chicken thighs. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

4.

Remove the lid, and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, 15 to 20 minutes.

5.

Add the cherry tomatoes to the pot, stir lightly to combine and serve immediately.

YIELD

4 to 6 servings.

Rici-e-Bici

Once again we had an Asparagus appetizer. In the spring I don’t seem to get sick of eating these delicious green stalks. You can do many things with them. It is all about the topping.

Keeping with the idea of a green dinner we made a favorite spring dinner: Rici-e-Bici. This soup like dish is like a brother in law to risotto, however it is much soupier. We used the recipe from: Bugialli’s Italy by Giuliano Bugialli

RISI E BISI Rice and Teas Venetian Style

Makes 6  servings

Bugialli’s Italy by Giuliano Bugialli

For The   Broth:

4 pounds snow peas or, if using fresh peas for the dish, 4 pound of the pods of the peas

16 cups cold water

1 medium-size carrot, scraped and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 medium-size stalk celery, cut into large piece

1 very small clove garlic, peeled

5 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, leaves only

Coarse-grained salt

For The   Rice:

4 – 6 ounces pancetta or prosciutto, in one piece

1 medium-size cipollotto (Venetian white onion) or yellow onion, cleaned

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) sweet butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium-size clove garlic (optional), peeled

15 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, leaves only

1 pound very small, sweet fresh peas or frozen "tiny tender" peas, not defrosted

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cup raw short-grain rice, preferably Vialone or Italian Arborio

To Serve:

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) sweet butter

6 tablespoons freshly grated Grana Padano cheese

Sprigs fresh Italian parsley

Wash the snow peas or pea pods very well under cold running water. In a large pot bring the cold water to a boil with the snow peas or pods, carrot, celery, garlic, and parsley over medium heat. While boiling, add coarse salt to taste, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for SO min­utes. Strain the broth and discard all the vegetables.

Finely grind the pancetta or prosciutto in a meat grinder and coarsely chop the onion on a cutting board. Place the butter and olive oil in a medium-size casserole set over low heat. When the butter is melted, add the pancetta or prosciutto, onion, and garlic clove, if used. Saute slowly for about IS minutes, then add the parsley and mix very well, then add the fresh or still frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium, add 1 cup of the vegetable broth, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the garlic and discard. Pour in 5 cups of the broth and when

it reaches a boil, add the rice. Mix very well, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 18 minutes. Be sure to have enough broth in the casserole for the rice to absorb to cook completely, with a tiny amount of liquid left; the final texture should be something between a real risotto and a thick bean soup. Remove the casserole from the heat, add the butter and cheese, and mix very well. (Mantecare—to churn—is the word used to describe the movement of absorbing the butter and the cheese into the rice.) Serve with the Italian parsley.

Cross Cultural Adventure

Shuman cooked a delicious Indian Dinner at our house. Robert and Darryl brought over a great Berry Crumble that we loved.

Thai Pork Rice

Asparagus, we seem to be having it with every dinner! We had dinner at ChiSpacca and of course had the Tomahawk Pork Chop. It is huge and we brought house leftovers. Once again we made Thai style Fried Rice with the Pork. We love this dish. You can find the recipe in our blog of: April 4, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Fava Bean Pasta

In the spring we eagerly await the first Fava Beans. This year we grew our own. Every week we would look into our back yard and watch the fava plants grow. They get to be over 6 feet. The branches sagged from the weight of the fava beans. It was time to harvest. I went downstairs and out to the back yard to pick them. Oye! I was robbed! There was only one fava bean left on the plant. I suspect that our gardener decided we weren’t eating them and they shouldn’t go to waste. Does anyone know how to say “Did you take me fava beans?” in Spanish?

One of our favourite dishes to make is Fava Bean Pasta. Luckily for us the Hollywood Farmer’s Market had plenty of fava beans. They are kind of mind numbing to peel, then boil then peel again, but the results are worth it. The dish is highly flavored with my favorite seasoning: bacon. You can find the recipe on our blog of: April 30, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with Smoked Salmon Tartar. You can get the recipe from our blog of: January 1, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe. This is a great easy to make appetizer. We highly recommend it!

We then had a Salad of Tangerines, Dates and Parmesan Cheese. It was delicious and the tangerines fresh in the market now are especially juicy and sweet this year.

River Cafe Chicken

Asparagus with Fried Bread Crumbs and Sifted egg

Asparagus with Brown Butter, Burrata and Hazelnuts

I found a recipe that we really like from the River Café Cookbook. The River Café is one of our favorite restaurants in London. It reminds of Zuni in San Francisco. The dish is called: Roast Chicken Vermentino. It is delicious. You can find it on our blog of: March 20, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe. It had been a long time since we had made the dish. It was as good as we remembered.

We made a lot and had it for a second night. Each night we served Asparagus as a first course, made in a different style. I wonder when asparagus season will be over. Not too soon I hope.

Yokisoba

We had some left over chicken and I remembered a Japanese style dish that we like called: Yokisoba. We really like this dish. You can find the recipe on our blog of: April 9. 2011. Click the date to get the recipe.

Scallops Risotto with wild mushrooms

Fresh Scallops from McCalls, Mushroom Risotto. Yum!

Rotisserie Chicken

We finally made our Rotisserie Chicken (we were diverted by making Porchetta – but that is another story). Of course we put a pan with Potatoes and Onions under the chicken to get all of the delicious drippings! You can get the recipe from our blog of: October 6, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with Asparagus topped with a Fried Egg. Another great way to present fresh spring asparagus.

Mystery Dinner

We don't remember what we made, but we sure were having fun!