Salmon Dinner

So we're into our third week of Abundant Harvest produce deliveries and I feel as though I'm on Iron Chef. Our precious little box of organic fruits and veggies, hand-farmed by the modern-day bohemian hipster hippies of the 2000's, has been another thing that I look forward to on the weekend, besides the weekend itself. The box usually has a few items that I rarely/never purchase on my own. Last week the novelty items were chestnuts and radishes; I burned the chestnuts, which smelled incredible on the way to overcooked, and the radishes were so powerfully spicy I had no choice but to pickle them if I was to feed them to Shelese. Speaking of Shelese, my resident resident and wife, check out what she was doing while I made dinner tonight... she did do the dishes so it's all good. I would like to point out that, yes, that is a leopard print Snuggie and Bosley sprawled out trying to camouflage. 

This weeks novelties were sweet potatoes and pomegranates. I don't know why I have not cooked sweet potatoes on a regular basis, they are so good I eat them like I used to eat SweetTarts and sour licorice when I was a wee lad! They are adult candy and they are considered a superfood; not sure why they're not on my shopping list on a regular basis. Now hear me all! From this day forward, I'm gonna buy more sweet potatoes... that's it. I used America's Test Kitchen's recipe as a base for the sweet potatoes.

First peel them. Beautiful color combo, eh?

Chop them up, toss them in veggie oil, salt, and pepper. Bake, covered, then uncovered until brown

Another new item in my kitchen this week was frozen salmon from Costco. Pretty good deal and the fish is wild caught Alaskan Salmon. Normally I steer clear of salmon, neither because of it's gamey-ness, nor because of it's tendency to dry out. I just think there are so many other fish that taste so much better; but that's just me. I'm trying to introduce more healthy fats into our diet and that was the impetus for buying frozen salmon at Costco. Before you turn your nose up at buying frozen fish from a mega-box-mart, waiting angrily for the four people in front of you to greedily grab their sample like it's THE last meal and move their cart from the middle of the damn isle so you can get by, let me explain. First of all, the fish you buy is frozen. Whether or not you buy it frozen, it's frozen. State law mandates that all fish sold must be frozen to eradicate parasites. Unless you catch it yourself, it's frozen. To me that's an argument for buying fish frozen and thawing it yourself; at least you'll know it was thawed properly. And secondly, find me a better deal for wild-caught Alaskan. The color was beautiful and natural, not died neon orange and glowing. Such a fatty and sometimes gamey fish begs for a bright and bold salsa topping. I used the other secret ingredient like a good Iron Chef and made a salsa out of the ingredients below. I forgot to take the picture with the other ingredients: olive oil, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper. As a side carb we had cous cous topped with tomatoes, olive oil, and Hawaiian Sea Salt.

I was very happy with the way the meal turned out and Shelese enjoyed it too. The fish was moist and not even remotely gamey. I rubbed it with olive oil, salt, and pepper about 30 minutes before cooking and rested it in the fridge. It was cooked on a wire wrack in a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes. This salmon has most definitely exalted the species way up in my preferred fish list. I'm not sure if it was my not overcooking it or the quality of the fish itself, or both, but I will be buying more in the future. Stay tuned for the next secret ingredient...

Where's the Foie Gras and Duck Confit?

For those of you that don't know, I have enrolled in a Culinary Arts degree program at my local junior college. The impetus was to begin a transition into recipe development as an occupation at some point; either that or next Top or Iron Chef... we'll see. I am taking one to two classes a semester because I still work full-time in my adult-job and am in no hurry to leave. At this rate it should take me five to six years to get the degree. Perhaps, I can delay a little longer until my mid-life crisis kicks in so that I can begin my fun non-adult job to cope rather than purchase a Porsche or get an earring. If I do get an earring I promise it won't be a douchey gold hoop and I still might get a Porsche because, let's face it, they're rad! Okay, back to reality. 

This semester I am taking Sanitation & Safety and Nutrition. The former feels as though I'm jumping through a giant three hour hoop every Tuesday, although I'm mildly fond of my quirky and forgetful professor (she is a foodie after all). On the other hand, my nutrition class is very informative and has inspired me to examine, very closely, what comprises my typical daily intake. As much as I enjoy rich and flavor loaded cuisine, I am very conscious of what we eat on a regular basis. My basic, self-imposed, dietary guidelines go something like this: only whole grain, low starch veggies, a variety of lots and lots of vegetables, very little meat, low fat dairy, and two to three servings of fruit a day. We usually indulge one day on the weekends but try to remain cognizant of proper portion sizes. So hear I go, with a confident ignorance, to complete a Nutrition assignment to track our daily intake and compare it to the USDA recommendations. Sure I'm consuming just enough calories and all of the proper nutrients, I start the count and MAN do I put the calories down. Most of my nutrient sources are good choices; my total calorie intake, not so good. I wanted to see what my daily recommended intake physically looked like on display so that's what I did this weekend.

whole-grain bread, woven wheat crackers, quinoa, tomato, red onion, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, yogurt, feta cheese, jack cheese, milk, cannellini beans, eggs, pinto beans, hummus, olive oil, blueberry pomegranate juice, apple, plum, banana

It looked to me like this should sustain me for an entire day... the problem is that I really enjoy eating and tasting. My theory for my frequent calorie overage is that I am not getting enough carbs. You can see that I have about 150 more grams of carbs for maneuvering, granted I decrease in other areas to maintain the 3000 calorie limit and make sure they are complex carbs. I'll get back to you about this experiment after some time. On another note, I made some delicious beet chips from these beautiful organic beets from Amy (thanks again!). I was planning on taking some beets to work with me on Monday for her to try but they didn't make it. One batch was olive oil and sea salt and the other was olive oil, chili powder, and brown sugar. Sorry Amy. If you didn't give me such delicious beets they may have made it to work with me for you to try... and be underwhelmed with. I've got one more beet and intend to make another batch, I'm not promising they'll make it to work with me but I'll try.

Hodgepodge Update

Made some Umami Burger style burgers with fresh ground short rib, brisket, and flank steak. The meat was seasoned with Vegemite, anchovies, truffle salt, Worcestershire, tamari, and harissa. The seared patty sits on top of slow roasted thyme tomatoes and covered with melted Jack cheese. The buns are potato since I couldn't find Portuguese sweet buns. 

I had some left over burgers so I made a ragu with red wine and heirloom tomato on top of quinoa.

Very excited this morning because we got our fist shipment of Abundant Harvest Organics produce. The box is packed full of fresh goodies and is only about 20 bucks; I think it's a great deal.

Red plum, grapes, figs, daikon radish, tomatoes, arugula, leaf lettuce, summer squash,  basil, Kabocha squash, red onions, potatoes

Look at what my parents got us for our anniversary!!! I have my own ideas about what to do with it; anybody have any suggestions?

Fresh Black Truffle

When Life Hands You an Oversized Zucchini...

Thanks to Brent for sharing the garden bounty from his mega backyard farm and his nuclear mutated zucchini patch! As you can see this was no typical zucchini; consequently, it deserved a thoughtful preparation. Since the seeds in this behemoth were themselves behemoth (as far as zucchini seeds go) the vegetable was begging to be gutted and stuffed.

I sauteed some onions, garlic, and roasted Hatch Chile Peppers and seasoned with S & P and sweet paprika before throwing in some quinoa for a pilaf preparation with chicken broth. After the quinoa was cooked I grated in some cave aged Gruyere left over from appetizers with friends and family last weekend. I made a fast puree of tomato paste, tomato sauce, olive oil, and S & P to top the quinoa once it was stuffed in. I then pulled the provolone cheese over the snugly stuffed zucc like a loving parent would pull the blanket over their child after a bedtime story. Thirty minutes at 375 produced this!

I loved the amount of zucchini flesh in this big bad veggie. Because the classic zucchini flavor was a little more mild than most zucchinis (most likely a trade off for the size) it really served as a great stufee for a rich filling.

A pretty dish does not a tasty one make

If you're ever in the kitchen and find yourself bored and uninspired visit playing with fire and water for a dose far out creativity. The author of said blog is a true visionary and artist. Her dishes are not so much something to eat as something to gaze upon. We've all seen this food before and can envision it landing on the table in front of us from the hands of a Parisian waiter as he glares at you disapprovingly down the barrel of his French nose. Shocked it's been made to be eaten and not hung on a wall, unsure how best to consume the dish in the true fashion it deserves, being modern art and all. I don't cook like this in my kitchen... not because I find this food pretentious and not because I'm a purist who wants my dishes rustic and unrefined to stand alone on their exquisite flavor. The reason is that my pantry is usually not stocked with sodium alginate, calcium chloride, sodium citrate, and soy lecithin among other molecular gastronomy components. When I saw her coconut fig terrine with fig leaf and curry foam and Hyssop flowers, I thought, "hey, that's not so bad... I can do that." Here's her creation...

Nicely composed eh? Interesting combination of ingredients, some conventional techniques, one not so conventional, and Hyssop petals, notwithstanding, surely within my reach. Take a look at the recipe, it's pretty accessible to even an amateur cook (who possesses soy lecithin and a digital kitchen scale). The recipe calls for the curry foam to be made with a tea-like extraction of fig leaves with hot water. I didn't have fig leaves, or Hyssop flowers, so I used basil in the place of fig leaves and unflavored air in the place of the Hyssop petals. Let me preface the remainder of the post by sharing that I was on the three prescription medicines shown below for severe back pain and inflammation during the execution of the recipe so please refer to the actual recipe should you wish to give it a try (btw, two of the three made for a pretty groovy time in the kitchen).

The first mistake I think I made was to use light coconut milk. The end product lacked a bold coconut flavor and this is my best guess for the reason why.

The recipe reads more like a buffer formulation than anything by Betty Crocker. All ingredients amounts are specified in grams.

Blooming the gelatin

Fill halfway, harden, then fill all the way

I had some leftover coconut terrine mixture so I made a little taste test sample. After hardening, I sprinkled the gelatin with some honey and grated lime zest. This reminds me of an experiment I conducted a few years ago. I juiced fresh watermelon, strained it, and gelatinized it in two wide bowls. Once hardened, I sprinkled a variety of flavorings on the gelatin around the perimeter of the bowl. Sea salt at 12:00, pepper at 1:00, paprika at 2:00, cayenne, saffron, roasted sesame seeds, and so on. Shelese and I tasted each sprinkling with the watermelon gel; some great, some the opposite of great. I got this idea from Jose Andres who does this with grape gelatin to deduce successful pairings with wine.

To make the foam you steep the leaves in hot water for about five minutes and then combine it with the curry and soy lecithin. Then use an immersion blender to create the foam.

I didn't have a pyramid mold lying around the kitchen so the finished product was not as interesting to look at. The chef who wrote the recipe gives a tutorial on mold making if your into that sort of thing.

As it turns out, I don't think I really like fig. It has a dusty earthy flavor about it and I can't say it's pleasant. Furthermore, the essence of coconut is lost between the dirty filthy fig and the curry foam. While the dish underwhelmed me, it did inspire me to experiment with foam for the first time. It is a unique and effective way to deliver flavor; the incorporated air seems to enhance the featured flavor as it hits your tongue. When I ordered the soy lecithin I couldn't resist putting a couple other uncommon kitchen chemicals into my basket so more molecular gastronomy experiments soon to follow.

Executive Chef Bosley Oversees all Culinary Operations

Cliche for a Reason

Unlike the superabundance of cliche words and phrases superfluously and lazily tossed about, meals that are cliche are much more tolerable... at least they can taste good. Not to be snobby, but overly sentient to how often popular culture uses this generic language to fill space and avoid articulation. Come on, you're all guilty, myself included, of saying, "he was like," instead of, "he said." How about the ever popular, "it is what it is!" "just saying," "Yeah, no," "but um," "that said," and many many more. As for cliche dishes, I can't think of a more typical pairing for beets than goat cheese. Yup, the beet and goat cheese salad is omnipresent among trendy restaurants worldwide; for a darn good reason though. Subtly sweet and earthy beets with happily yielding, almost creamy, flesh mingling with tangy fresh goat cheese. The Russians had it figured out well before it was cliche, ever try Borscht? It's a classic cold beet soup with sour cream; I can't say that I have ever enjoyed a bowl but there is something about creamy tanginess and supple beetiness that just works. I started by roasting trimmed beets drizzled with olive oil and S&P in foil at 350 for about 2 hours. Thanks for the beets Amy!

Meanwhile, I worked on the vinaigrette. Garlic, onion, white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, S&P. Added later and not included in the picture was a little Dijon mustard.

Roasting the garlic removes some of the heat and really brings out the savory side of garlic.

Some of the other players in the salad: avocado, red onion, orange, and arugula.

I was so focussed on the salad I nearly forgot Bosley's dinner. I know it doesn't look as interesting as roasted beets and goat cheese salad...

... but he didn't seem to mind

Beets come out and skin removed before cutting into small cubes.

The finished product paired perfectly with a crisp and cold flute of Prosecco.

The garlicky, sweet vinaigrette harmonizes the earthy sweetness of the beets, the tangy sweetness of the orange supremes, and the peppery arugula.

Bierock

bierock are meat-filled pastries originally from eastern europe. the mennonite settlers brought the bierock to america from somewhere in germany or russia. traditionally they're stuffed with ground beef, cabbage, and onion. first thing was to make the stuffing. we browned some onion, mushrooms, and cabbage in a little grapeseed oil then cooked until reduced by nearly half before adding a little flour and water. now for the beef; leftover ground sirloin, chuck, and skirt from the burgers. the key to sautéing ground beef and not ending up with firm pebbles of dry and chewy meat is to use a panade. a panade is a paste made from milk and bread and it coats the meat with a layer of gel that keeps the meat moist much like fat. we used chicken broth instead of milk.

next the dough. now if you've never had a bierock let me tell you what one of the best things about a bierock is. picture this: beefy, savory mixture rich with onion and cabbage and the juice from the beef. now picture it interacting with the pastry; having trouble picturing that? let me help. that rich and moist stuffing mingles with the inside of the pastry pocket by dissolving the cooked bread into rich paste-like doughy goodness (imagine the inside of your sourdough bowl after you've devoured the clam chowder). the dough has a secret ingredient that enhances the special liquid bread interface

mashed potatoes!

one excited bierock maker

next we divied up the dough...

rolled them into thin circles about 9" in diameter, stuffed them with about 3/4 cup of stuffing, and placed them on a greased baking sheet. we also gave them a little egg/water brush.

about 45 minutes later and we had this

you see that really dark caramelized fond on the pan. i'm not going to even attempt to describe how earth-shatteringly delicious it is. so here's me not attempting.

my happy bierock maker was quite pleased with the outcome.

as she should have been. they were very enjoyable, just as good as the ones we get in kansas.

these ones have the same stuffing with cheddar

meanwhile, Bosley was practicing napping.

going

going

gone