Amuse Bouche

A good place to dream

I've always loved to float.  My Mom and I often joke that neither of us ever required flotation devices.  We can spend hours bobbing on the lake without 'noodles' or rafts or any other accoutrement. When we are at the lake I will often sit on the boat to read just so I can bob around on the water.  Rocking chairs and gliders and big farmer's porches always appealed to me as well as place to just sit and read and daydream.

But at home I never really had a great place to just sit and read.  When I worked on Federal Street and took the commuter rail daily I devoured books.  Sometimes taking 2 a day with me just in case I finished one on the train.  I was that crazy person you would see walking down the street with their nose buried in a book just looking up long enough to not trip over the odd tree root.  But once I went to culinary school and subsequently started working in kitchens all of my reading has been based exclusively in recipe development, or food research. There are books on my bedside table that have been piling up for years.  I even promised to dive into this tome with a group for summer reading.  This weekend that all changed.
After a month of rain and cold and rain and cold and mizzle and warm, and downpours and cold the skies finally cleared on Friday as I was shopping for supplies for next weeks classes.

Given my SD's eye surgery and the fact that none of us would be heading to Maine for the 1st time in 22 years for the 4th, I had a little seed in the back of my mind and I knew on the way back from my 3rd, yes, 3rd, trip to Ikea in as many weeks I was going to pull off and hit the Dedham plaza.  I walked straight into Lowe's and loaded my cart with a hammock and a frame.

I brought it home, promptly assembled it and realised the frame took up the entire garden and there was no way I was going to stare at it all summer.  I dragged husband from the basement and pulled out the measuring tape.  There were two trees.  Just two that had any chance of making this dream work.
We measured and drills were obtained and more measurements taken and well....here...

I broke it in gently with this reading...

...thus clearing off the top right hand 1/3 of my bedside table. 

Now I think I am ready to tackle the beast..

I had the added bonus of watching not 1 but 2 hummingbirds in the garden as well as a never before seen, in my garden at least, pine siskin.  All in all a rather spectacular weekend with weather to match.  More of this please and I could just be inspired to hit the kitchens.
Off to make dinner, I hope your 4th was just as lovely.

Salt and Pepper Squid, Bún(Herb Noodle Salad) and Chè Chuôi (Banana Tapioca in Coconut Milk)

On the whole I tend to cook in waves.  Reading a book on India?  Expect quite a few spicy dishes to crop up in the rotation. Watching a lot of Pedro Almodóvar films? Pimentón and chorizo are everywhere.  Friday I had to go to Kam Man in Quincy to stock us up at school for the upcoming  Thai, Vietnamese, Indian and soon Korean classes.
Allowing me loose in there with no time constraints and a long list is like heaven, it also means we will be eating from several cuisines, but all firmly in the far East for the foreseeable future.

I bought a half duck and Friday night I made lettuce rolls dipped in Nước chấm with the chopped up duck and to go with I was craving squid/calamari. For some reason salt and pepper squid popped into my head and wouldn't leave.  I've never made salt and pepper squid before but I guessed it would be pretty quick and pretty easy.  I hunted around the web and decided on cornstarch as my coating.  My tempura batter is heavy on the cornstarch and I like the light 'batter' it makes on the outside.  Cornstarch makes a very light, very crisp coating and unlike many traditional batters, it won't separate from what you have coated.  The lettuce rolls were good, but the squid, THE SQUID were heavenly. 

In fact, I had a few left in the ziploc that I didn't fry Friday night and much to my husband's horror, I fried them up quick for breakfast before I left.  He squinted his very British nose at me while he spooned in his milk and cereal and I vainly tried to explain that people in China probably ate this for breakfast and no one blinked an eye.  His retort was that we were not in China.  My retort back was then why aren't you eating fried beans, fried bread, fried tomatoes, fried mushroom and blood sausage then?  He shut up and continued spooning in his Harvest flakes.

Saturday I drove up to Framingham to look at FLOR tiles at Circle furniture for our remodel and I brought along The Little Saigon Cookbook by Ann Le for inspiration before I hit the local Whole Foods.  Before I left home I called to check in with Mom and SD.  Coincidently that very morning she, many states away  in VA, had driven to her local Asian market to stock up and as I waxed about S&P squid she said they had ordered it last night for dinner.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Anyway, I promised her I would put the recipe here in case she wanted to make it at home.  Her local had put it on a 'salad' of finely minced sautéed vegetables including chilies and I am guessing shallots, but if anyone knows what it is 'traditionally' served on, let me know so I can try to make that as well.

Sitting in the parking lot of Whole Foods sipping my iced coffee I decided I was going to have the squid again.  I know!  Again!  I never, NEVER eat the same thing three meals in a row.  I assure you right now that this is going to be my summer addiction.  I flicked through the book at decided that I would make a bún or herb salad to go with it.  My garden has a great patch of Vietnamese Coriander this year and that is just something I can't find in the stores.  Even Russo's my faithful Asian produce supplier never seems to carry it so I take matters in my own hands and grow it. I find my plants at Russell's in Wayland. That is some Vietnamese Coriander  up in the top right hand corner of the bowl with the long pointed leaves.  It tastes like a cross of cilantro and Thai Basil.  I adore it.  Cilantro haters will despise it with equal measure. The salad was loads of mint, Vietnamese Coriander, cilantro, mung bean sprouts, a few sliced shallots and it was all tossed with some cellophane noodles, topped in fried garlic slices and at the last minute doused in Nước chấm.  Bright, fresh, and the perfect foil to the fried squid. 

For dessert I decided to try my hand at the Chè Chuôi.  If you are a tapioca fan like I am this was heaven.  Tapioca cooked in water until translucent and then you add in coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, salt and banana, simmer for a bit and then let it sit.  You can top it in shaved coconut, but I had it as is at room temperature and it was heaven.  

So for the sake of Mom who requested it, here is all you need to do for heavenly salt and pepper squid.

No measurements here since it will all depend on the amount of squid you have, but I had between 1/2 - 3/4 pound of squid bodies.  I cut the cleaned tubes open and then scored them across with my knife and cut each body into 4 pieces.  My squid were about 3 - 4 inches long.

In my suribachi (or mortar and pestle or coffee grinder) went about 2 TBS of black peppercorns and about the same of Maldon sea salt.

After I ground it a bit it looked like this.  Some larger and smaller chunks of everything.

Into a ziploc went about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of cornstarch and 3/4 of the salt and pepper.  I save some for sprinkling on after frying.  In go the squid.  Toss, shake, shimmy, toss.  Heat oil in a wok, not very deep, just enough to cover squid.  Set up a paper towel to drain.  Add in a few pieces at a time and fry quickly, I repeat QUICKLY, 2 minutes...maybe.  pull and drain, sprinkle with a bit more s&p.

I served mine with Kewpie, cause I like it that way.  But sometimes I would dip it in the Nước chấm
and then the kewpie.  Oh....my. Tonight I am feeling a bit French.  It will be an omelette with a nice side salad and a glass of wine.  Ohh la la.

Summer?? Tomatillo Salsa, Sundrops, Coorgi Pork Curry and Gujerati Sem

Solstice? Summer?  What is that?  We have barely seen peaks of the sun in the last 21 days, never mind on the day with the most daylight. Those sundrops are the brightest thing I've seen in days.  They practically scream out in the garden against all the gray skies and greenery.  A friend is in Iceland as we speak, I hope her solstice is going better than ours, I sent her off with a warning to watch Bourdain's episode and not to eat the fermented shark.  It's so cold around here and damp that I was even tempted to light a fire today, but mine would have been to keep warm, not to keep the witches away or the faeries and spirits. 

Instead of lamenting the distinctly English summer we are having here in New England I decided to dream of warmer and sunnier places and cook up some hot Indian for dinner tonight.

First I put a boatload of tomatillo, plum tomato, serrano chile, poblano and garlic under the broiler until they were nicely blistered.

I turned them into a salsa that will get a diced, rinsed white onion and become Mexican rice and something else Monday night, Sunday is all about prep for the week.  I roasted husbands lemon chicken for his sandwiches as well.

Next I popped the spices in my pan to toast them for the curry.

There aren't too many pork recipes in Indian cuisine, as you would imagine, but Goa and Coorg had some leftover Portuguese influence and some Christians kicking around so the occasional recipe crops up.  I could have made a Vindaloo, but husband really hates vinegar, which I could drink by the quart, so I made this one instead with tamarind and a bit of coconut milk, garlic, onion, ginger paste and those nice spices all ground up.  I'll make his favourite green beans (Gujerati sem) with loads of mustard seeds, garlic and chile and I have a bunch of diced potatoes kicking around upstairs so I'm trying to find a dry aloo recipe to put them to use, maybe sookhe aloo.  I'm hoping that we can at least generate a sweat on this 60oddF day in "summer". 

Remind me of this day in august when I'm bitching about the unbearable heat would you?

Grilled Garlic Scape Pesto Pizza

There I was trawling through my Google reader feeds when I came across the revelation.  I clicked on Dorie Greenspan and I looked up at husband and said "That's it!". He peered back over his tea with bleary what now crazy woman face. Now go look at that link, she had made a gorgeous fresh pea green garlic scape pesto.  I don't know why it had never occurred to me to use these gently garlicky tops in a pesto, but I knew I had a bag of them in my upstairs fridge just itching to be used.

I took them to work that day and using her recipe as a jumping point, I made mine with the traditional toasted pine nuts and a mix of Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese.  When the pesto sits for a few hours for the flavours to mingle and you taste it, there is the immediate punch of garlic and then the fresh green vegetal taste of the scapes, the garlic mellows quickly and the stuff is completely and utterly addictive.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but the next morning while I was picking up a few items for class at Whole Foods the idea struck.

Pizza.

I had a late night ahead of me and wouldn't get home until at least 8:00, so I did the lazy man's thing and bought one of their pre-made pizza doughs and I thought about pizza combos over the day.
When I finally got home I raided the fridge and decided on the toppings while I heated up the grill.
I had some Il Tartufo (Pecorino with Truffle) and a few other odds and ends hiding out in the cheese drawer so I grated them fine, I tore up a few fresh mozzarella balls, sliced some sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil and sliced a few tissue paper thin slices of guanciale that I quickly rendered in a pan to make them slightly crisp like bacon.  I pulled my dough into shape and got a big spatula ready.
When the grill was screaming hot I poured some canola in a bowl and dipped in a paper towel and using tongs I ran this over the grill grates.  Once the oil dries I did it a second, third, and forth time.  I read this tip in Cooks illustrated and it really does help to make it non-stick like seasoning a cast iron pan.

I plopped the dough onto the grill and after a minute I started sliding my large thin metal spatula under the edges to loosen it, after another 30 - 40 seconds I flipped the dough and gave the second side the same treatment.  You are just setting the dough at this point.

I slid it off the grill onto a sheet pan and put on the toppings, leaving the cheese off until it was in place on the grill.

I carefully slid it back on the grill and put on the cheese, turned the heat down and capped it with the sheet pan.  My indoor grill has a flat lid, not a domed one, so I have to come up with tricks to cover things.

Every few seconds I would peek to see if it was ready.
The heat under it is low so the crust doesn't get killed, but the toppings get enough heat to finish melting and the dough finishes cooking through. After  1 - 2 minutes I slid it off onto a board and dinner was done.

Food fast, not fast food.  The rest of that pesto is tucked in the freezer to stop me from sticking a spoon right in.  Good stuff!  Make some now before the scapes are gone for another season. 

Peony and Sushi

 

I thought I'd put a photo here of the very happy Japanese peony that greets me every morning in the front garden.  I really wish i remembered it's name so I could buy another or planted it out back where I could enjoy it more.  It really is such a happy, riotous colour combination.  They close every night and reopen in the morning.

Sure, there has been cooking around here, ma po dofu, char siu ribs, dry fried green beans, tonight is a cauliflower gratin with some scored and seared duck breasts, sprinkled with my house spice mix and glazed in ginger marmalade and pepper jelly, but I haven't really had the time to photo and write anything up, life continues at a feverish pace and this time of year the garden competes for my time as well.
The tomatoes are going bonkers in the upside down grower as well as in the earth grow boxes.  in the garden bed are a few kinds of peppers, some zucchini, a few cucumber, some cape gooseberries, and a section of herbs with a few kinds of thyme, lemongrass, rosemary, basil, oregano, marjoram, tarragon, chives, cardamom, Vietnamese Coriander and sage. I would tell you about the Brussels sprouts, but it would seem that the future braise took an interest in them this week DESPITE my leaving him plenty to eat.

I've been trying to get some new chefs on board, all the new book titles selected, some new classes designed and today I spent the day here plotting a sushi workshop.

Don't worry, I had one of these by my side as well.

D.S., you know who you are, I owe you a lengthy email in response to your several recent ones, which, by the way, always bring a smile.  I promise it is forthcoming, and your roses are indeed looking spectacular.  This week was made doubly challenging by my three days of jury duty.  I was chosen for a trial and it was really interesting to watch the process from the inside out.  I really liked the judge and if I ever had to be in that situation I would want him on the bench.  There were a few interesting twists and turns involving gender changes and language translations, but in the end we decided the defendant to be not guilty and sent him on his way.

I'm sitting now awaiting husbands return from perambulations with the puppy, all the windows are open, the braise is eating the cauliflower I left for him, the blue jay's are snacking on the meal worms I picked up saturday, the cardinal is in the bird bath, the night blooming jasmine is heavy with blossoms and ready to bust, I have a cheesy 70's mix on shuffle and a cocktail in hand, when the troops return dinner is on. What a shame it can't be June all year long.

A brief gardening respite

I know we are supposed to be all about the food here.  But part of the reason there has been a decrease in food discussions is an increase in gardening preparations.
For Mrs. McMuffin (no longer a blog to link to, but they are fabulous twitter whores) I'd like to show the recent before and after snaps.
We had covered our chain link fence (7ft in height from previous owners Irish Wolfhounds) with a split bamboo and subsequent thatch fencing to hide my neighbors (two neighbors) detritus that they tuck out of their view behind their garages and directly into mine.
This year I ordered some bamboo from a lovely company called calibamboo.  The fence is really well made, solid, with each bamboo piece cut just above a nodule so no water can get inside and freeze and split.  I am quite pleased with the quality and would recommend them to anyone.  Someday I will show you the early pics when I moved in and all this 'garden' was is grass and holes and an old rotting dog house with a skunk living underneath.

Before

After 1

3 weeks later

An introduction to the dry Japanese River bed

Puppies give their approval

And...the new garden guest.  As long as he sticks to the weeds he won't end up as a braise.

And this ends our brief garden respite, at least until the veg and herb bed looks presentable.

Seeking Cookbook Recommendations

 
There has been a great backlash lately in the food world.  Many have been talking about the home cook's ball and chain attachment to recipes and cookbooks.  I am the first to agree that a recipe is a template, a jumping off point, an idea, a thought, a place in time, except of course when it comes to baking.  Baking, the science vs savory the dash of this and a bit of that, requires a few more rules, a need to remain within certain parameters that savory cooking does not. 

Michael Ruhlman has recently written a book that should free many, both savory and baking to experiment, Ratio follows the credos I learned in culinary school.  Here is the basis, the framework, the structure, now feel free to riff on it.  Be a jazz cook if you want, just know where the chord began.  6116 (eggs:flour:sugar:butter)=genoise, 1:1:1 (flour: to fat: To liquid)=roux for soup , 2:2:1=roux for sauce, 3:3:1=roux for a soufflé, these were the frames, the chords that I had to memorize to be able to make anything I dreamed up. This book which, by the way, should be in every library and on every shelf. It should have loads of notes and scribbles in the margins of every recipe its owner has tried.  It should be passed down like Larousse and Julia were to me.

But I love cookbooks, adore them, read them cover to cover. cookbooks are my jumping off point for new ideas, they help me plan classes, they make me want to try new things. In a month or so we are going to be adding a cookbook section to the front of our cooking school and here is where you come in.

I am trying to compile a list of 100 - 125 cookbook titles that should be in everyone's library.  Cookbooks that inspire, that teach, that led you by the hand into the kitchen and made you fall in love with cooking. Cookbooks that made you want to go out and hit the farmer's market, and find the perfect fruit, or vegetable or meat. The books that inspired you to call your friends and invite them over just so you could cook for them, the book that made you not fear your mother-in-laws arrival on the doorstep. The book that allowed you to throw that first dinner party or dive into a foreign cuisine.

Email me, speak below in the comments, tell me your favorites.

Tuna Salad

This is what passes for tuna salad around these parts when the days get long, and the garden work calls until the sun sets. After the dirt and grime are scrubbed off and a cocktail is consumed, the music fills the kitchen and some variation of this dish is made for each of us.

This one happens to include: My favourite ewe's milk feta; Valbreso , butter beans tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper, watercress tossed with EVOO, a dribble of truffle oil, lemon juice and S&P, a quick pickle of finely shaved red onion (toss with vinegar of choice, sugar and salt, let rest, squeeze out - enjoy), sun dried tomatoes, a supreme of tangelo and at the heart always, ALWAYS a jar of Ortiz tuna. If you remotely think you do not like tuna in a can or tuna in a jar I dare you to buy some Ortiz and try again. Spain knows seafood and Spain knows how to process seafood in a tin and seafood in a jar. It puts Charlie to shame. I topped it with salmon roe and a dribble of creme fraiche on the side. Eaten in a typical European fashion with a bit of this and a bit of that pushed on to a fork using your knife it is summer heaven. Trust me on this one. Oh, and drink a nice chilled Rosé.

Sweet Home

Karen over at Verbatim tagged me to participate in the Dancing Deer "Sweet Home" Initiative and really how could I resist?

Dancing Deer’s Sweet Home Initiative raises money for scholarships to help educate homeless women and end family homelessness. As a part of this initiative, our CEO, Trish Karter, will be riding her bike 1,500 miles from Atlanta to Boston, visiting family shelters in each city to raise awareness about this issue. She’ll also be recording stories from the women she meets along the way, asking them about their experiences. One question she’ll ask them are what foods remind them of home. (See more here.)

I come from a family that talks about lunch WHILE they are eating breakfast and any time we gather food, the finding it, the cooking it, the smelling of it, the harvesting of it dominates the conversation.  Since I met and started cooking for my husband I have incorporated many of the foods that he misses from his home, never as good as his Mom made them of course, but I do try,  Smelling and tasting things that remind us of home can make us feel connected to a time and place that may never happen again yet they make us remember and feel connected in ways a photograph just can't replicate.

There are family staples like Grandma's 'Oyster Dish" we make every Thanksgiving, the Fairy Banquet Pudding that gets broken out around Christmas time with Great Grandma Dora's Chocolate Sauce.  I make husband steamed puddings like Spotted Dick and Sticky Toffee Pudding, or his favourite Jam Roly Poly or simple liver and onions.  Growing up my Mom made this dish called affectionately "Chicken with Glop" and the smell of dried oregano, peppers and tomatoes brings me right back to Chelmsford, MA circa 1977. Grandma's Rhubarb custard pie and our Fiddlehead Fern Quiche every spring, My Mom's baked beans in the fall, My dad's Chicken Cacciatore, My cousin Fuzzy's Stuffed Calamari at Christmas when we all gather for the La Vigilia, these are the things I remember and love.  They are the things that bring me home again.

What is it for you?

 I won't tag anyone directly, but a few reminisses I would like to see belong to The Sour Dough, Chez Christine and What I Cooked Last Night.  Everyone is welcome to partake in the comments box.  I love a good food tale.

Asparagus and Artichoke Heart Pasta

When I agreed to take on managing create a cook on a full time basis I knew something was going to have to give and I decided that that culling the recipes for the kids classes was that task.  I know that there is a spate of anti-cookbook rhetoric slamming around the wires lately and I agree that there are shelves and shelves of useless tomes out there, but I also know that if you hunt well, know your authors and have the skill to really read a recipe, not just look at the glossy photos, there is a treasury of recipes to be found. 

You may decide to riff off a recipe and put your own spin on it, or you might just decide it is perfectly fine as it is and cook it so many times that it becomes a part of your repertoire.  Since weekly we have to come up with 10 new recipes for the kids classes, vacation camps are an additional 14 recipes per week and summer camp is about 35 recipes per week that clocks in at around 812 recipes per year, no repeats. Parents have come to expect new dishes from us and the kids, some of whom hav ebeen with us for 3 years or more, remember everything!  I don't think anyone has that kind of repertoire in their back pocket.  When I knew we would need some help we decided to ask Christine when she decided to go back to the west coast if she would take on the challenge and she has done a great job.  Sometimes we cold east coasters have to remind her that despite her San Francisco moderate weather, fruit and veg filled farmer's market lifestyle we out here on the 'other' coast still only have squash and some cabbage fresh, but she really does a great job.

A few weeks ago for the 3-5 year old Hungry Traveler class an Alice Waters recipe from Chez Panisse Pizza Pasta and Calzone piqued my interest.  Mustard with pasta?  Never in my days had I thought of dijon and pasta in the same sentence, but trust me on this one. This dish is the very essence of spring, and if I had a few fresh fava (broad) beans I would toss them in as well. You might have to tweak this one a little, I ended up adding a bit more mustard and because I just can't have pasta with out a wee bit of cheese I grated on some pecorino with truffle.  Make this soon and wish the cold weather away.

Asparagus & Artichoke Heart Pasta
Adapted from Chez Panisse Pizza Pasta and Calzone

1 bunch asparagus
2 large artichokes (yes, you can substitute canned, frozne or jarred, but really the whole point of this dish is to taste the fresh spring vegetables)
Juice of ½ lemon if using fresh artichokes
2 shallots, sliced
4 basil leaves, sliced
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
¾ cup chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
½ Tablespoon Dijon mustard (or more to taste)
Kosher salt and pepper
½ pound tagliatelle, papardelle or fetuccine (I used Capone brand from Somerville MA)

Cut the tips from the asparagus stalks and wash them well to remove any sand or grit.  If they are large, cut into halves or quarters lengthwise.  Save the stalks to make soup or puree, or for some other use.
Remove all the outer leaves of the artichokes and pare down to the heart. 
Trim away the green leaf ends, the choke, and the stem. 
Cut the heart into 8 wedges, and leave them in water with the lemon juice until ready to cook.  Steam the artichokes for 5 - 8 minutes or until tender.  
Start a pot for the pasta and when it is ready drop in the asparagus tips.
Blanch the asparagus for 2 -5 minutes depending on how large the tips are.
Remove with a slotted strainer and drop in cold water to stop the cooking.
Meamwhile in a separate skillet, cook the shallots in butter until soft.
Add chicken stock, gently reduce to about a cup, then add the cream.
Add the artichokes, asparagus tips, mustard and basil and taste for salt and pepper. 
If the sauce is too thin, reduce it a little more.
Cook the pasta in the blanching pot until just done with a little bite left and pull it out with a stainerand toss it right in the pan with the sauce and toss carefully.  Grate on a little fresh black pepper and if desired, add cheese.



.