Amuse Bouche

Guilty Pleasures

I know that usually when you come here, clicking through on your way to some other site, there would be a recipe or a tale of some new decadent thing I had recently cooked or eaten, today however, shall be an entirely different story.

Today you see, I offer one of my white trash, dirty little secrets.
**stage whispers**
Sometimes I secretly crave onion dip with Ruffles, ridges only please.

THERE.
I've said it.

I grew up in the 1970s in deep suburbia in a little 495 border town called Chelmsford.  My parents were only 16 and 17 years older than me, barely out of being babies themselves.  We moved to a typical ranch house and the first thing Dad did was build a bar.  It was equipped with all the amenities you could desire like stools and copper rails, and that bitchen little toy that makes seltzer water with tiny little bomb shaped cartridges, and my parents often threw parties.  Wild, wild parties.

They were in their mid 20s then.  I was allowed to come out and swan around in my pajamas and say hello to everyone and then I would be banished to my bedroom for the rest of the night to watch bad T.V. and press my transistor radio to my ear until I could sleep though the pounding drone of Creedence, Joe Cocker or my Dad's reel to reel's of Arnie Woo Woo Ginsburg and old WMEX 1950's radio shows.  These parties would always get a bit wild, a bit crazy and in the morning my parents would sleep late to recover.

In the morning I would tip toe out of my bed and head straight to the family room where the bar was. 
Amongst the mess and stale smoke there would always, ALWAYS, be leftover Lipton Onion Soup dip and Ruffles chips along with the dregs of assorted Manhattans and Daiquiri's, stale Sombrero's and beer bottles with cigarette butts dumped down the neck.
I would sit my 10 year old self down and scarf that salty dip for breakfast while watching some cheezy early Sunday morning cartoon like Davey and Goliath reveling in the after party smells that screamed adult to me.

Years later when I moved out and lived with the jazz musician, we used to frequent this real dive bar on the waterfront right near the world trade center.  All his friends at the neon shop where he worked days would come over and we would drink ourselves silly on cheap whiskey and beers.  Every time I walked in that bar it smelled like those parties, a lingering aroma of cigarettes and stale beer and it took me back to those parties, only this time I was a part of it all and no one was sending me to bed, although looking back, they probably should have on a good few occasions.

Last night we decided to make burgers.  Husband was having his with fries and me, well, let's just say there is one less box of Lipton Soup mix and Sour cream at our local Star.

For Shame...For shame.

Any dirty food secrets in your cupboard?

Sherry Shrimp

One of the recipes that was well received at the party was the Sherry Shrimp with loads of garlic.
The execution of this recipe is about 15 minute from start to finish, provided you purchase, peeled, deveined, tail on shrimp.  Sorry I didn't get a photo, but things were being wrapped up and sent out at a rapid clip!

Mince a goodly amount of garlic, say to 8 - 10 cloves, okay maybe 12.
Have 2 pounds of peeled, deviened, tail-on it they are for appetizers, tail-off if you are serving them as a course, shrimp.
Buy some good smoked Spanish pimenton.  This taste is critical to the recipe. You will need 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of it.
Also spend the money on some decent dry sherry.  We used the Pastene brand as that is what we had on hand, but the recipe could really be improved with some decent sherry in the $20.00 range.  You will need about 1/3 cup.
Have a good size pinch of red pepper flakes, more of course if you like things hot and spicy.
Mince up some parsley to sprinkle over if you are so inclined.

Heat up your saute pan. 
Warm some olive oil in the pan and add the garlic and red pepper flakes, cook them gently so the garlic doesn't burn.
Add your shrimp and pimenton, cook until the shrimp begin to curl and turn pink and then add your Sherry.  Turn the heat up a bit and reduce the Sherry by half.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and your done!

A party to go

It began with a request from a friend of the owners. 

Could we possibly create a party, a surprise birthday party, for her husband? 
Nine men would arrive along with 3 of our students and they would cook enough appetizers to feed 20 people.
The plan was get them in by 6:30 to decorate cupcakes, into the kitchen cooking by 7:00, and out the door packed and loaded with the food by 8:15 to start the party.

Sure!  No problem.

I built a list of possible appetizers that I thought some possibly culinarily challenged men could execute in the required time. A few days before the event another request for me to make my ribs and roast a few chickens along with making some cornbread came through as well.

First and foremost I'm a girl who likes a challenge.
Second, I'm a list maker.  Lists, lists and more lists.  Trust me on this one, they can make any event go easier.

A master grocery list was created, recipes were researched, tweaked, and reviewed, a schedule was made, a list of required equipment for each dish was included on the recipe page along with what the dish would be packed in for transport.

The night before after I finished teaching my class I made my spice rub, rubbed and wrapped 24 pounds of Baby Backs in foil and roasted a bunch of red peppers.

The day of, I arrived early and made a few of items in advance like the Dill and Creme Fraiche sauce for the crab cakes, the Roasted Red Pepper and Valbresso Dip. I made the Thai Peanut Sauce so the flavours had time to mix and mingle, later we would reheat it and check it for seasoning. I made a compound butter and mixed it with the same rub I used on the ribs.  I assumed some guests would eat the chicken and not the pork and I thought that the spice should carry through both.  The chickens went in around 4:00 and were pulled in the midst of one of the classes to rest. At 5:30 the ribs hit the oven and hung out for almost 2 hours at a low heat.

I went off to teach my 11 - 13 year old class, we were in France making Gratin Dauphinoise, Poulet Provencal, and a lovely Pithivier.  Renee hung by my side and cleaned like a whirling dervish as the class went on, all in an attempt to keep the kitchen clean and ready to go by the time 'the guys' arrived.

After setting up 'stations for each recipe and a briefing to let the men know what we would be making I rounded them into the kitchen. 

I quickly found a sous chef in 'M' who takes classes on Tuesday with the oldest group.

Here he is helping his Dad prep the crab cakes.

Later he helped me unwrap all the rib packets, brush them with BBQ sauce (I used a basic tomato based sauce with a bit of molasses that I had made earlier for this step) for their final turn in the oven and then he loaded them all into 9 X 12 take out containers.  After these were finished I taught him how to carve the chickens, to find the break in the joints to separate the thighs and the drumstick, where the 'oysters' lie and how to carve the breast on the bias. He did a bang up job.

I hope one day when he is invited to dine at a future girlfriend's house and the father turns to him and asks if he would like to carve, that he will tackle it fearlessly and perhaps impress a future father in law in the process.

All in all it was a pretty great night.  We had them all wrapped up and out the door by 8:00 to head to their party and I took myself and my very, very tired feet and smelly clothes home for a good Bourbon and a long nap.

Ribs and Apps

Currently:

Planning the execution of a party for 20 that will go down Thursday night.

On the menu:
Chili Pecan Nuts
Garlic Shrimp with Sherry
Parmesan/Poppy Puff Pastry Straws (say that ten times fast)
Mini Crab cakes with chili aioli and dill creme fraiche sauces
Fried Tortilla Chips
Red pepper and Valbresso Feta dip
Garlicky Hummus
Sate Chicken and Peanut Sauce
Baby back ribs with a dry rub and a sauce
Rubbed and roasted chickens
Northern style Cornbread

Recipes and and hopefully some photos of the prep to follow.

Smoked Salmon and cucumber Rolls

As a road test for the Christmas dinner party being held New Year's night (C.D.N.Y.N) I made a new appetizer last night for Mom and S.D. to try out.  S.D. and I love smoked fish, particularly, for me at least, smoked Salmon, preferably, when available, Scottish smoked salmon.  Sadly all that I could find was some Coho smoked salmon from a lovely company in Maine called Duck Trap.  I made a small quantity of these for an appetizer to dinner last night and S.D. has required all other appetizers be banished from C.D.N.Y.N and that I simply make him dozens of these.  he also thinks they would be lovely with a bit of wasabi and soy for dipping as they are a bit like cucumber rolls without of course the Nori or the rice..  I think they are just fine on their own.  Adapted from the November Gourmet.

Pepperoni Wheels

These rolls were a recipe found by my Mom and were a huge hit this summer at cocktail hour. She recently made them when we went to the family reunion at my Cousin's house this past weekend. The nice thing about them is once you roll them up you can wrap them in plastic wrap and leave them in the fridge until you are ready to bake them. They take only 12-15 minutes so you can have them in the oven while you are mixing the cocktails for your guests.

Puff Pepperoni Wheels

1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese, I have also tried it with grated Romano and with Manchego. This works best if you grate it yourself on a box type grater, using a rasp or zester type grater makes it a bit too fine
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
2 tablespoons honey-Dijon mustard
2 ounces Pepperoni sliced thin. Buy it at the deli counter and ask them to slice it for you. Margherita is the best brand if you can find it.
1 large egg, beaten to blend

Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl.
Cut puff pastry crosswise in half to form 2 rectangles. Spread 1 tablespoon mustard over 1 puff pastry , leaving 1-inch plain border at 1 long edge. Place half of pepperoni in single layer atop mustard. Top pepperoni with half of the cheese mixture. Brush plain border with egg. Starting at the side opposite the plain border, roll up the pastry, sealing it together at the egg-coated edge. Transfer pastry roll, seam side down, to medium baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry rectangle, mustard, pepperoni, cheese mixture, and egg and place the rolls in the fridge to chill for about 20 - 30 minutes or wrap and chill up to 1 day. Don't worry if it is a bit messy. They will set up a bit when they rest in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil or parchment paper or use a non stick baking tray.
Lightly spray with vegetable oil spray. Cut each pastry roll into about twenty 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Transfer pinwheels to prepared sheets.

Bake until golden, about 12 - 15 minutes.

Eggs stuffed with smoked salmon and caviar

While we were coasting up the Maine highway I had in my lap a stack of Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Cook's Illustrated, Olive and BBC Food magazines. I was furiously flicking through pages and assembling a grocery list for the weekends festivities. We are always looking for noshies to take out on the boat for a light lunch or a cocktail hour cruise and these looked very interesting. My stepdad and i both love smoked salmon (most moked fish in fact) so I thought I would give these a try.
They are amazing! Very easy and no mayo which makes a really nice change for stuffed eggs.

Eggs stuffed with smoked salmon and caviar
*Adapted from the Bon Appetit August 2004 issue

3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons olive oil
11/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
12 ounces thinly sliced cold-smoked salmon, finely chopped (We actually used a chunk of smoked salmon from Ducktrap. I'm ususally a Scottish smoked salmon lover, but one thing we do have in Maine is good local smoked salmon)
1/4 cup salmon caviar
12 hard-boiled eggs, shelled, halved, whites and yolks separated
Additional chopped chives
Lemon wedges

Blend 3 tablespoons chives, oil, and lemon juice in medium bowl. Mix in smoked salmon. Fold in caviar. Chop 5 egg yolks (reserve remainder for another use) and stir into salmon mixture. Season to taste with ground black pepper. Pile 1 generous tablespoon salmon mixture in cavity of each egg-white half. Arrange eggs on prepared sheet. Cover with plastic; refrigerate up to 8 hours.
Sprinkle with additional chives and lemon juice.

Artichoke Pate

I was pining to make my favourite summertime sandwich for dinner one night.
I'd purchased tissue paper thin slices of imported Prosciutto.
I had a crusty baguette.
I had a perfect spherical red onion.
I had a small container of soft Buffalo mozzerella.
I had some beautiful green, sediment filled, unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
I had some 30 year old carmel thick Balsamic.

What was missing?
Artichoke Pate.  I had this for the first time when I bought some at the gourmet shop in the airport in Milan as a last minute spend my lire before you leave the country frenzy about 10 years ago.  It was heaven in a very tiny, very expensive jar.  Every once in a while I'll bump into some on a dusty shelf in a gourmet shop. 
As I walked past the jar of marinated artichoke hearts I thought...Why the hell not?

In the food Processor.
Drain the contents of a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, toss them in.
Finely grate a good amount of fresh parmesan.
Drizzle in some very, very good extra virgin olive oil.
Sprinkle on a bit of sea salt or kosher salt.
Grind in a bit of fresh black pepper.

Whirrrrrrr....taste, reason or add more cheese or oil if required...whirrrrrr.

Spread on bread or anything else you can find.

Feel like gilding the lily?  Add some truffle oil as well.......