Cabbage Rolls alla Grandma

One thing I always remembered about going up to the grandparents when I was a kid, was that you could always count on a plate of cabbage rolls to work its way into your stomach at some point. I don't know the origins of the recipe, but I'll bet it was passed down through the generations. It is simple, honest food. I had been talking about trying to recreate this dish for awhile now, and it was only after I raided the freezer that I found the leftover sausage stuffing from 'Italian Night' (see that post for details). Anyhow, All I needed for a head of cabbage to make this one work and I have to say, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia when I bit into it. Lots of good childhood memories of Grandma. I hope you like it.


1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, medium, sliced thinly
1 fennel bulb, cored removed, sliced thinly, fronds reserved
2 lb. pork shoulder, ground
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 tablespoons rosemary, fresh, chopped
6 garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup bread crumbs, fresh
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 head savoy cabbage
3 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon pancetta or bacon lardons

In a large saute pan, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Add the sliced onion and fennel and saute until softened and browning a little, about 10 minutes. Add the ground pork, fennel seeds, rosemary, garlic and 2 tablespoons of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a strainer to cool, allowing the fat to drip away.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Put the pork mixture (when cooled) into a bowl and add all but 1 tablespoon of the fennel fronds, the bread crumbs and eggs to the mixture and mix gently.

Put a few dabs of butter into a baking dish and spray it with cooking spray. Next, take the cabbage leaves off one by one. Put a little stuffing in each one and roll it up, turning the ends inward halfway through the roll to try to seal the ends up (admittedly, this didn't work very well for me but I tried). Repeat until you run out of either cabbage, stuffing, or room in the baking dish.

Once assembled, put some more butter dabs over the cabbage rolls and sprinkle the bacon (or lardons) pieces evenly over the top. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the cabbage has browned some and the butter is sizzling. Plate the cabbage rolls and drizzle with any buttery/bacony goodness left in the dish.

Clean Out the Cupboard!

I took an inventory today of everything we had on hand and got some ideas. I just needed to buy the fish from down the street and that was it. It's surprising what gifts a well-stocked pantry can offer. I get a good feeling out of just being able to 'throw something together' on what's laying around. I hope you like these.

Lunch: Grilled Halibut with Mash and Genovese Pesto. Yummy. I made the pesto in the traditional way. Now I can see why practically nobody (outside of Genoa) does it. Though the taste was superior to the food processor version.

Lunch Dessert: Chocolate Fondant with Framboise Whipped Cream. I adapted this out of Gordon Ramsay's 'Fast Food' cookbook, which is so useful. Everything in there can be thrown together in 30 minutes or less and it produces a great result. Nothing out of a can in there, just fresh ingredients. The inside was molten and gooey.

Dinner: Thai Green Curry with Chicken. OK. I cheated here. In the process of searching through the cupboard (and fridge) I saw that I had a perfectly legitimate jar of Thai Green Curry Paste. I normally like to make my own curry paste (and advocate it forcefully), but I do want to work my way through that jar eventually, so I used it. I bought it in an Asian food store and the words on the jar are in Thai - I can only assume it came from there.

Dessert: Lychee, Passion Fruit and Blood Orange Ice Cream. I had a blood orange and a can of lychees (in syrup) and some passion fruit and a bunch of eggs. I thought it would go nicely after the spiciness of the curry, and was in keeping with the whole Thai theme. This turned out pretty good.

Lunch: Grilled Halibut with Mash and Genovese Pesto


2 oz. basil, fresh, leaves only
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon pecorino cheese
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup olive oil, good quality
800 g halibut steaks
5 russet potatoes, large, skinned and cut into chunks
100 ml milk
50 g butter, cut into cubes, kept cold

Start the mash by putting the cut-up potato in a saucepan. Cover the potatoes with cold water. Place over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble, then reduce the heat to medium low and cover, simmering for 20-25 minutes or until they pierce easily with a knife. Meanwhile, pull the fish out to bring to room temperature. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, coating the sides with you fingers to ensure even oil distribution. Set aside.

Make the pesto. (The traditional Genovese way has you crushing everything by hand in a mortar and pestle, which DOES improve the quality of the pesto by drawing out more of the essences inside the basil) Combine the basil, pine nuts, garlic and a bit of salt in a mortar and pestle or small blender. Mix until combined into a rough paste. Now add the cheeses and salt and pepper and mix through thoroughly, slowly adding the oil in, stirring constantly. Check for taste and consistency and set aside. It should be a liquidy paste now with some texture to it.

Finish the mash. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, as you don't want to scald it. While that's heating, drain the potatoes and keep the saucepan you used handy. Take the potatoes and pass them through a ricer or a drum-sieve (if you have one), the idea being that you can eliminate virtually all of the lumps this way. If you lack this equipment (or have just completed this step) put the potatoes back into the saucepan you used to cook the potatoes. Put it back on the stove for a second and watch for steam to start coming out of the pan, as you are now getting rid of excess moisture left behind. After a bit of that, take it off of the heat and start adding the butter cubes, a few at a time.

Get your grill pan (or non-stick pan) for your fish going over medium-high heat while you finish the mash. Beat the potatoes and butter senseless with a wooden spoon at this point, to incorporate the butter. Once the butter is fully mixed in, add a few more butter cubes, and repeat, until all of the butter is mixed in. Add some salt and pepper here and add some of the hot milk and really give it a good bashing with the wooden spoon, stirring (and adding milk as necessary) to achieve a creamy, smooth mash consistency. Check the seasoning and adjust as necessary. Keep warm in a low oven while you do the fish.

If the grill pan is nice and hot now, go ahead and start the fish. Place the fish in the pan, and it should sizzle somewhat loudly. If not, it means the pan is not hot enough and you should pull the fish off and wait another minute or so. If it sizzles pleasingly, put all of the fish on there and cook for about 2 minutes, until you start to see some browning on the bottom. Flip the fish over in the same order as you put them in, and allow to cook for another 1 1/2 minutes. While this is cooking, plate the mash and the pesto. When the fish is cooked, pull out of the pan and arrange on the plate. Drizzle with good olive oil (lemon-infused, if you have it) and serve.

Lunch Dessert: Chocolate Fondant with Framboise Whipped Cream


50 g butter
2 tsp. cocoa powder
50 g chocolate, bittersweet, good quality
1 egg
1 egg yolks
60 g sugar
2 tablespoons irish cream, or suitable liqueur
50 g flour, sifted
100 ml whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar, AKA icing sugar
1 tablespoon framboise, or any berry liqueur

Heat the oven to 160C (320F). Butter four ramekins and dust liberally with cocoa powder. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a simmering saucepan of water, then take off the heat and stir until smooth.

Using an electric mixer, beat the whole egg, egg yolk and sugar together until pale and thick, then incorporate the chocolate mixture. Fold in the liqueur, followed by the flour.

Divide the mixture between the ramekins and bake for 12 minutes. While that is baking, beat the whipping cream, icing sugar and berry liqueur together until it holds together and has increased in size.

When the fondants are baked, turn them out onto plates and serve immediately with a dollop of the whipped cream.

Dinner: Thai Green Curry with Chicken


2 tablespoons peanut oil, or wok oil, if you can get it
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
2 thai chilies, sliced thinly
4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
3 tablespoons thai green curry paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup light coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves, optional, but really tasty
12 leaves basil, fresh, torn
2 tablespoons peanuts, toasted and crushed
1-½ cup jasmine rice, cooked

Cook the rice in accordance with package directions. If you have a rice cooker, this makes things so much easier.

Meanwhile, make the rest of the dish. Get a large non-stick pan hot over medium-high heat. Combine the garlic, ginger and chilies in a small bowl to have close by. When the pan is hot, add a spoonful of this mixture to the hot oil. Almost, immediately add the chicken and saute around until they go light brown, and most of the pink is gone. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add the curry paste and another bit of the spice mixture. Give it a quick stir just to heat it through and then add the chicken stock, coconut milk and lime leaves. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir through. When the liquid starts to bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, allowing the liquid to reduce some, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the chicken back to the pan and allow to heat through and cook the rest of the way, about another 3-5 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust levels of garlic/ginger/chili, curry paste and/or salt and pepper. Add the basil in now, just stirring to combine.

Put rice in a bowl and ladle the curry over the top. Top with toasted peanuts and serve.

Dessert: Lychee, Passion Fruit and Blood Orange Ice Cream

1 can lychees, in syrup
3 passion fruit, insides scooped out
1 blood orange, zest and juice
6 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar, divided use
3 cups milk

Dump the lychees and syrup from the can into a saucepan. Add the scooped out insides of the passion fruits and the orange segments, orange zest and orange juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat the medium-low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes to get the lychees nice and soft.

With about 15 minutes to go on the fruits, get the milk and 1/2 cup of the sugar to a simmer in another saucepan. While that is coming to heat, whisk the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar vigorously, until it turns pale yellow.

Dump the fruit mixture into a blender and blend until liquidy. There will be passion fruit seeds left behind and that's OK. Strain the mixture through a sieve, discarding the solids. Set this aside.

Now that the milk is hot, take a few ladles of it and put gradually into the egg yolk mixture to temper it. Stir it around to incorporate and add it back to the saucepan with the rest of the milk. Add the fruit juice to the saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 5-8 minutes, stirring constantly. You DON'T want the milk to boil or it will all turn into a curdled mess. When the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and cool rapidly in a bowl set inside a larger bowl of ice water, stirring to release the heat.

Move the cooled mixture into a container, and chill for 24 hours for the best consistency. If you can't wait, chuck it into your ice cream maker and get it started. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can freeze the stuff as is, giving it a stir every hour or so until it reaches the consistency you want, though I cannot vouch for this method.

Sicilian-Style Fish Stew - Zuppa di Mare

Hey, what can I say? I got inspired by being in Sicily and decided to come up with somewhat of an homage to the food we had there. Vanessa has been sick the past few days and the weather here in the UK is (predictably!) crap. So a good spicy, hearty stew seemed the way to go. So here is my own version of a Sicilian-style seafood stew.

8 tomatoes, cut into quarters, seeds removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 raw jumbo shrimp, shells, tails and head reserved, deveined
1 tablespoon tomato puree
6 cups water
4 stalks parsley
10 peppercorns
2 bay leaf
½ teaspoon paprika
1 lemon , zest then slice lemon itself
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 red chili, sliced in half lengthwise, then sliced finely
1 potato , skinned, diced
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 cup vermouth
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 can chopped tomatoes
½ teaspoon paprika
300 g monkfish tail, sliced into bite-sized chunks
6 squid, small, cut into rings, tentacles reserved
¼ cup parsley, chopped

First, roast the tomatoes. Preheat the broiler on high. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes into quarters and cut out the seedy middles. Lay them down on some foil on a baking sheet which has been drizzled with some olive oil. Drizzle some more oil over the top and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Put under the hot broiler for 10-15 minutes, or until you get a good degree of charring on the skins. Pull the sheet out of the oven and peel the skins off of the tomatoes when cool enough to do so. Discard the skins and set the tomatoes aside.

Now, make the shellfish stock. In a medium sized saucepan, drizzle the olive oil in there and get it hot under medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put the heads, tails and shells in the oil and keep stirring them around, watching as they go pink and smelling as they release their juices. After 5-8 minutes of this, add the tomato puree and stir through to combine thoroughly. Let the puree get dark and start to smell sweet, about a minute. Add the water, parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves, paprika, lemon zest, and lemon slices to the pot. Heat until it looks like it is ready to start boiling and drop the heat to low, simmering for 30 minutes, skimming any scum that rises to the surface. When it's done, strain through a sieve and set aside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes until it's hot. Add the onion, garlic and chilies together and saute until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the potato and saute everything together for another minute, Add the tomato puree, stir to coat and allow it to sweeten and get dark (as you did with the stock). Add the vermouth (or dry white wine) and crank the heat up to medium-high. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits up with a wooden spoon. Let the vermouth cook down until almost fully evaporated, and then add the roasted tomatoes and the canned tomatoes. Let this start to bubble, stirring through a few times along the way. Add the stock from earlier, some salt and pepper and the paprika. Bring to a boil, then drop the heat to low and simmer for awhile (an hour or more) to let the stew base thicken somewhat until it reaches your desired thickness.

Turn the heat up to medium and immediately add the monkfish and allow it to cook, about 3 minutes. Next add the squid parts and and shrimp and allow it to just cook through, about 2 minutes, or until the shrimp have curled up and gone pink. Lastly, add the parsley and stir through. Check the seasoning and give a taste to each of the seafood types to check for consistency and doneness. Ladle into soup bowls. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Sicily!

Well, it was only a matter of time before we took a trip to justify calling this a blog about food and travel. This time, we decided to take a trip to Palermo, Sicily. Overall, the trip was a success. The food was great, we stayed in a great B&B and the weather (at least during the days we were actually out and about) was quite warm compared to what we have been used to in the UK for the last SEVERAL months.



Day One: When we touched down in Palermo, the weather was extremely bad with very high winds and rain. So rainy, in fact, that older folks getting off of the plane were literally almost knocked over the handrail. I, myself, was jolted sideways by the wind as I got down off of the plane. We made it to the rental car place and got our car. To make a long story short, the GPS stuff on my phone wasn't working right and all we had to go on was a paper map. Mind you, it's in the evening now, in very crappy, dark and rainy weather trying to navigate our way through streets that were designed before the Norman conquest pre-1000AD. Couple that with a car that had a non-intutive method of putting the car in reverse, to the point that we didn't figure it out until the next day. Couple THAT with the fact that Palermo has some of the worst driving I have ever seen. You could say that we had some trouble finding the B&B, is what I am getting at. You could say that we were nervous wrecks by the time we got there. You could say I had to get out and push the car backwards in the rain and gale winds because of the reverse gear situation. You might say that I was ready to swear off driving forever. But, eventually we made it (as we always eventually do). Our host, Claudio, was sympathetic and met us out in the rain to navigate to the B&B through a dark and narrow alleyway. Fortunately, the Ristorante Santandrea was literally right around the corner from the B&B and was open and serving some pretty top-notch food. Vanessa went with a sort of seafood tartare some sort of fruit juice marinade and stuffed squid for a main course. I had lamb ravioli to start and rolled and stuffed swordfish for the main. All of this food was the sort of thing we had read about beforehand - Sicilians really like their seafood and spice.


Day Two: The next morning we ate breakfast as a group. There was a couple from Washington State who had just started to experience Europe. The was a solo American who seemed to be continuing a long and distinguished travel lifestyle. Lastly, there were two women from Portugal who were also big into food and wine. More about them later. After breakfast we went on a walking tour of Palermo. We happened to be staying in the historic eastern part of the city and making it around to all of the major monuments and such took up the whole morning. We ended up near this place called the Antica Focacceria San Francesco, which was mentioned in a book I'm reading about the history of Italian food and also mentioned in the 'Where to Eat' section of our travel guide. Essentially, it is a huge speciality in Palermo and this is the place that is famous for it. It is a sandwich made out of sliced veal spleen which has been cooked briefly in a savory broth and put on a bun with fresh ricotta and topped with grated mozzarella. Some of you may be thinking "Oh....spleen. Gross." Let me tell you something. This sandwich immediately, and in stunning fashion, rocketed straight into the top three sandwiches I have ever eaten. Also amazing was the price. Two euro. It's delicious street food at its best. So Vanessa and I had two sandwiches and a half-liter of Sicilian red wine for a grand total of eight euro. I would have paid twice that had I known how good it was going to be. So, the moral of the story is to not be down on eating guts until you give it a shot. The whole trip to Sicily was enhanced by one simple sandwich made of guts. Anyhow, we celebrated our good lunch fortune by taking a nap. Later, for dinner, we ate a place which can only be described as sort of a Mediterranean/Japanese fusion restaurant. I know this sounds weird, but it did work and we enjoyed it very much. Later that night, Claudio took everyone staying at the B&B for a tour of the city. Some parts were spooky in the dark (which was cool) and the place took on a completely different character. The group was befriended by two stray dogs that sort of turned into our guard dogs. One dog in particular was very protective of us whenever a car got too close to us and he took to barking at/chasing the car away. Also, both dogs seemed to have a distaste (as I do) for people who try to sell flowers to couples. They sort of attacked one of these vendors (on our behalf) and the vendor was yelling and screaming and brandishing his bouquet of flowers at the dogs to keep them away. The dogs did put on quite a show then, lots of snarling and wild dog noises. After that we hit a late night wine bar, had a drink and went home to sleep.


Day Three: After breakfast, the two women from Portugal and us took the train to Agrigento, on the south coast of Sicily. The train ride itself passed through some of the most beautiful country we've ever seen. After a few hours, we got off of the train in Agrigento and found a lunch spot which served great seafood and such. After that, we went on to the main attraction of the city, the Valley of the Temples. The weather was gorgeous and there were just a few light, fluffy clouds, with a temperature of around 70F. The temples themselves were spectacular, built by the Greeks around 500BC and extremely well preserved. We walked around there for awhile and took the train home. We were pretty wiped and Vanessa had started getting sick earlier in the day. We made a quick stop to the pharmacy for some cold/flu drugs and went on to dinner. The place was down the street from the B&B and didn't look like much but the food delivered hugely. Vanessa had bruschetta and grilled squid. I had a mussel soup and some of the spiciest pasta I have ever had. I have eaten a LOT of pasta in my day and I prefer it to be spicy. This was a whole new level of spice and I would put the effect somewhere near what it is like to eat a spicy curry, on par with a Madras or Vindaloo. I was sweating and crying, but that's what eating spicy food is about. After that, a chocolaty cannoli from down the street and off to sleep.

Day Four: The crappy weather came back but fortunately we were leaving in the morning anyway. We returned the car having only driven it once (from the airport to the B&B). The driving really was dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it. If you must, here are a few tips:

1) Don't make eye contact. If you do, you have just given your consent to be cut off or walked in front of.

2) Lane markings are merely guidelines to assist you. Use them. Or don't.

3) It is actually safer to drive fast than slow.

4) Your horn is an extension of your voice. Use it when you wish you could talk to someone in the car ahead of you.

5) Everything seems to just work out in the end, but it's not because of any outrageous concepts such as traffic laws or a desire for order.

Check out the rest of the photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kbruyette/sets

Lamb Baguette with Fresh Mint Sauce and Endive, Apple and Walnut Salad

Lamb and mint is one of my favorite combinations and one I hadn't really discovered before making it to the UK. You can buy mint sauce in a jar, but nothing really beats fresh mint. I put it with a little side salad. If you can find it, I highly recommend a lemon-infused olive oil for the vinaigrette. This sandwich is another one out of "One Perfect Ingredient".


400 g lamb neck fillet
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 baguette, halved lengthwise
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
50 g sugar
50 ml white wine vinegar
1 cup mint leaves, fresh picked from one large bunch

First, make the mint sauce. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a small pan over a low heat, then bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Add the mint leaves and blitz with a handblender until roughly chopped. Set aside.

Cut the lamb into 1cm thick slices on the diagonal. Season well. Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium to high heat and cook the lamb slices until well seared on both sides, about 5-8 minutes. (KEVIN'S NOTE: Alternatively, you could pan sear the whole neck fillet whole (instead of in slices) searing on each side until cooked to medium-rare. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into slices)

Meanwhile, get the grill hot. Remove the lamb from the pan and let it rest in a warm place for 5 minutes or so while you toast the cut sides of the baguette under the grill.

Place the lamb slices over one half of the bread. Drizzle with the pan juices and mint sauce, then top with the other half of the bread. Cut into quarters and serve.

The Salad

2 endive, cure removed and leaves separated
2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon-infused
¾ tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 apple, cut into several slices
¼ cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Toast the walnuts in a hot pan until fragrant and starting to brown a bit. Remove from the heat, roughly chop, and set aside.

Make the dressing by combining the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and beating vigorously until it emulsifies. Set aside.

Sear the endive off in a hot, dry pan for 30-45 seconds until hot but not yet starting to wilt. Take off the heat and combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing by hand to dress. Serve.

Sole with Butter Bean and Chorizo Hotpot

I love the silky, buttery texture of these cooked beans and it wasn't until we got here that we really discovered them. Further, pairing them with Spanish-style chorizo is an AMAZING combination that we revisit frequently. The sole was a bit tricky to deal with in that the fillets are quite flat, and yield little actual meat after you skin it. This is a very delicate fish and skinning it can be tricky, in that it wants to fall apart. To be honest, you could probably get away with chunks of fish in the hotpot and it would taste just as well. This recipe appears in the cookbook 'One Perfect Ingredient' by Marcus Wareing, head chef of the two Michelin-starred Petrus in London.

400 g lemon sole, fillets, skinned, cut lengthwise in half
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic, peeled and crushed
150 g chorizo picante, Spanish-style
1 tsp. paprika, smoked (or 'pimenton' if you can get)
500 ml chicken stock
1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Roll up the sole fillets with the skin side facing in, and secure with a toothpick. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a flameproof casserole or deep saute pan and soften the onion and garlic over low to medium low heat. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the chorizo; thinly slice one-third of it and chop the rest. Set aside.

Sprinkle paprika and seasoning into the pan, then add the chopped chorizo, stirring for 5 minutes. (NOTE: Chorizo can be quite salty, so be careful about how much salt you're adding right now. See how the dish taste toward the end and determine how much you need to add to finish the dish) Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Stir in the butter beans. Place the sole rolls on top and spoon some hot stck over the top. Cover the pan tightly and simmer for 8-10 minutes to cook the fish. Meanwhile, pan-fry the reserved chorizo slices in a bit of oil until crisp, then drain on paper towels.

Lift out the sole and remove the cocktail sticks. Stir the broth and taste for seasoning. Serve the bean hotpot topped with the sole and garnished with the chorizo slices.

Turkish Delights!

We were pretty exhausted after our trip to Oxford, yet we had been talking about cracking into the cookbook Dave and Karena brought called "Spice", which explores some flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. Anyhow, after 90 minutes, everything was prepped and ready to get cooked. I highly recommend this cookbook (Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean by Ana Sortun) to anyone who wants to learn more about these flavors. I will be purchasing the book based on the strength of this dinner.

Starter: Fried Haloumi Cheese with Pear and Spiced Dates


1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, not the green pod
¼ teaspoon pepper
8 dates, cut in half, pits removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
¾ lb. haloumi cheese
1 pear, quartered, seeds removed, cut into 8 total slices
3 tablespoons ouzo, or grappa

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small saute pan big enough to hold the dates, mix the lemon juice, lemon zest and brown sugar and heat over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar melts. Add the spices and dates and cook until the dates soften a little, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and set the mixture aside.

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Arrange the cheese slices in the skillet, being careful not to overlap or crowd them. Brown the cheese, about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown on each side. Transfer to a heavy gratin or baking dish, placing the haloumi side by side.

Using the same saute pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat and then add the pears. Brown the pears for 4 to 5 minutes on one side. Remove the pears from the pan and add them to the baking pan with the cheese. Spoon a date onto each piece of haloumi and place the pan in the oven until it gets hot and the cheese gets a little softer, 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, place it on the table, and without waiting, add the ouzo (or grappa) to the pan and carefully ignite it. Stand back when you do it as the flames can reach 5 inches. The fire will burn off the alcohol, and after about a minute, it will leave the sweet flavor of the ouzo.

Main: Ground Beef, Lamb and Pistachio Kebobs

½ lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground lamb
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon dried mint
1-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon pepper
1 red bell pepper, roasted, skins removed, finely chopped
1 egg white
1 cup pistachios, out of the shell, toasted and coarsely ground
1 teaspoon salt
4 pita bread
1 cup red onion, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon sumac
1 cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dried mint
1 tomato , large, chopped

Prepare a charcoal, gas grill or stovetop grill pan. Mix the red onion and the sumac together in a bowl and set aside to pickle. Combine the yogurt and the mint in another bowl and set aside. Place the chopped tomatoes in a bowl and set aside.

Knead the ground meat with the cumin, oregano, dried mint, red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper in a standing mixer using a paddle attachment on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until the meat becomes creamy and a little sticky.

Add the egg white and pistachios and continue to knead the meat with the mixer until it comes together again and resembles a wet dough. You can pinch off some of the meat, cook it in a hot pan and taste it to check it for seasoning.

Shape the meat into eight 2-ounce patties or short sausage shapes. You can also press them around a metal skewer, which is preferred, shaping them into long thin meatballs.

Grill the kofte for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Rest the meat on the pita bread. Assemble the kebobs with the garnishes and eat hot.

TO MAKE YOUR OWN PITA BREAD

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 sachet of instant yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 500F.

Combine the water, yeast and sugar together. Stir until the yeast dissolves and wait a few minutes until the yeast starts to bubble.

Combine all of the ingredients together in a stand mixing bowl, and knead on medium speed for 30 seconds, just until it comes together. Turn the dough out onto an oiled surfaace and knead for a few minutes until soft and elastic. Put in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap, allowing it to rise for 20 minutes, until doubled in size.

Punch the air out and turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each one out to about a 5mm thickness. Place on baking trays and brush with water. Let sit another 20 minutes.

Brush again with water (if they are dry) and place in the over for 4-5 minutes, until they puff up and start to go golden brown. Cool on racks and/or wrap them in foil until you are ready to use them.

Dessert: Kunefe with Champagne-Cardamom Syrup

½ lb. phyllo, dried and shredded
10 tablespoons butter, melted
½ lb. mozzarella, buffalo-style
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup whole green cardamom pods
1 bottle champagne
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼ cup lemon juice
1-½ cup sugar
½ cup pistachios, coarsely ground
8 tablespoons mascarpone cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.

Place the phyllo in a food processor and chop finely into 1/4 inch shreds so that it looks like shredded wheat cereal. Place the shredded pastry into a medium mixing bowl and add the butter and milk, stirring to coat the phyllo. Line an 8-inch baking dish with half of the mixture.

Mix the mozzarella and nutmeg in a small mixing bowl. Spread this mixture onto the phyllo. Top with the remaining shredded mixture. Press the mixture with your hands, so that it becomes compressed or even packed down. Bake for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, crush the cardamom by placing the pods in a plastic bag and pounding them with a rolling pin until the pods open and you see the black, oily seeds.

Combine the crushed pods, wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a medium-large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer the mixture for about 40 minutes, until it is slightly thick and syrupy and is reduced by about a third (so that you have 2 cups left) strain through a fine sieve.

When the pastry comes out of the oven, ladle the syrup evenly into it, and give it a minute to soak into the phyllo.

Cut the kunefe into slices and serve it immediately while warm. Sprinkle each slice with pistachios and a dollop of mascarpone cheese.

Oxford Trip

Well, I figured it was about time we went somewhere.  We have been talking about a trip up to Oxford for awhile now, it's just the timing and weather never seemed to line up right.  Well, our good friends Dave and Karena are here enjoying a belated honeymoon.  They've been here for a few days, before going across to Spain and France and coming back through here for a few days on the way home.  As you've seen, there's been a bit of food going on.  Well, we finally made it out and about.  Here are some pictures of us bumming around Oxford.  You can check out the full collection at 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kbruyette/sets

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

I don't know why so many Americans freak out over St. Patrick's Day. Practically none of them are of Irish descent and even fewer still have even ever BEEN to Ireland. In Ireland, it's a religious holiday, more or less, and you won't see them out in the pubs that night, as their pubs in Ireland are overrun by tourists who show up in droves to get piss-drunk thinking it's what St. Patrick's Day is all about.

Anyhow, we did think it was a good idea to at least cook some Irish food, which some folks have (wrongly!) accused of being achieved simply by boiling something. On the contrary...

This is as good of a lamb stew as I have ever had, to be honest. You'll want lamb neck fillet for this as it stews down like no other part of the animal. As the connective tissues and fat break down during the long, slow cooking process, it flavors and thickens the broth into pure stewy heaven.

Dessert combined Irish cream in a baked custard which was ridiculously good. We used the Bailey's Creme Caramel to give it just that little extra hit of caramel flavor. Wonderful! And it couldn't have been easier to make.

Main: Irish Lamb Stew with Guinness


350 g pancetta, cut into lardons
1 kg lamb neck fillet, cut into bite-sized chunks
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon flour
3 garlic, minced
1 onion, small, chopped
450 ml beef stock
1 bottle Guinness
½ teaspoon sugar
250 g carrots, diced
1 onion, large, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 potatoes, small, peeled and cut into chunks
3 sprigs thyme, fresh
2 bay leaf

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.

2. Put lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in large mixing bowl. Toss to coat meat evenly. Brown meat in frying pan with bacon fat, adding oil to the pan if it gets too dry. Pull the meat out with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.

3. Add the garlic and yellow onion to the same pan (again, adding oil if you need to) and saute till onion begins to become golden. Deglaze frying pan with 1/2 cup water, the Guinness and the stock, scraping up the tasty brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the bacon pieces, a few sprigs of thyme and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 3 hours on the lowest possible heat setting, checking every now and again by trying a piece of the lamb for texture. When it's ready, it will nearly melt in your mouth.

4. Add carrots, onions, potatoes, the rest of the thyme, bay leaves to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender. Serve hot with some bread.

Dessert: Irish Cream-Espresso Creme Caramel


⅓ cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
2 eggs, large
1 egg white, large
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons irish cream, such as Bailey's
1 tablespoon espresso, or strong coffee
⅛ teaspoon salt
12 ounces evaporated skim milk

Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Continue cooking until golden (about 4 minutes). Immediately pour into 4 (6-ounce) ramekins or custard cups coated with cooking spray, tilting each cup quickly until caramelized sugar coats bottom of cup. Set aside.

Beat eggs and egg white in a medium bowl with a whisk. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar, liqueur, espresso, salt, and milk. Divide mixture evenly among prepared custard cups. Place cups in a 9-inch square baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool inside the water bath. Remove cups from pan. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Loosen edges of custards with a knife or rubber spatula. Place a dessert plate, upside down, on top of each cup; invert onto plates. Drizzle any remaining caramelized syrup over custards. Garnish with chopped coffee beans, if desired.

When Leftovers Attack!

Remember the rolled pork dish from the other day? Well, sometimes when leftovers can be turned into something else (and it works out) it makes me pretty happy. We took the pork, sliced it thinly and put it in a sandwich with a sauce I whipped up on the fly. The cool thing about the pork is it was very easy to cut after having been in the fridge overnight. Even the stuffing stayed in the slices. Anyhow, here's how we did it:

Porchetta Pork Sandwiches with a Marsala and Rosemary Sauce

Slices of pork from the other night
Some ciabatta bread, cut in half, drizzled with olive oil and toasted in the oven
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 heaping tablespoon of freshly chopped rosemary
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup Marsala (or Madeira)
Salt and pepper

Preheat the broiler. Slice the pork thinly and set aside, keeping the stuffing intact. Cut the bread in half and drizzle with olive oil. Stick under the broiler for a few minutes until toasty. Put the pork slices on the same baking tray you just used to toast the bread and set aside.

Heat a small saucepan under medium heat. Add the butter and wait for it to melt and start foaming. When the butter is foaming, add the flour and stir in thoroughly, making a roux. Stir constantly for a few minutes to cook out any floury taste and let the roux thicken and darken a bit.

Add the rosemary and stir through. Immediately add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid reduces by half and becomes thicker in the process. Add the Marsala and continue to cook down until the sauce has reached the desired consistency, thickened but not gloopy. Take off the heat, season with salt and pepper.

Put the tray with the pork in the oven for a little bit to heat through, about a minute or so. Pull the baking sheet out and assemble the sandwiches, pouring the sauce over the pork. Extra sauce can be used for dipping. Dig in.

Italian Night

Our friend Gary owns the local gym we go to. We had him over for some authentic Italian cookin'. Everything worked out well. It took a few hours to prep everything and it was well worth it. Especially revisiting the pork the next day in some sandwiches.

Starter: Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce - Zuppa di Cozze

2 lb. mussels, soaked, scrubbed and de-bearded
2 garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 pinch red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup white wine
2 cans chopped tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Place the mussels in cold water with some polenta thrown in for 30 minutes or so, to clean them. Drain and scrub them, pulling the beards out. Discard any that aren't shut tightly or won't shut when you whack them on the countertop.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil, garlic, chilies and parsley over low heat until the garlic starts to go golden brown a little, about a minute. Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or so, until the sauce starts thickening, stirring occasionally.

Gently stir in the mussels and cover the pan, cooking for 5-10 minutes, or until the shells have opened. Discard any that don't open. Ladle into a bowl top with a little more chopped parsley (if desired) and serve hot with some crusty bread.

Main: Pork Loin in the Style of Porchetta - Arista alla Porchetta


4 lb. boneless pork loin roast, butterflied
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ cup olive oil
1 onion, medium, sliced thinly
1 fennel bulb, cored removed, sliced thinly, fronds reserved
2 lb. pork shoulder, ground
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 tablespoons rosemary, fresh, chopped
6 garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup bread crumbs, fresh
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 red onion, peeled, cut in half
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Lay the pork loin out flat and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large saute pan, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Add the sliced onion and fennel and saute until softened and browning a little, about 10 minutes. Add the ground pork, fennel seeds, rosemary, garlic and 2 tablespoons of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a strainer to cool, allowing the fat to drip away.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Put the pork mixture (when cooled) into a bowl and add all but 1 tablespoon of the fennel fronds, the bread crumbs and eggs to the mixture and mix gently. Lay some butchers twine down (4 or 5 strings) and put the pork loin on it. Spread the pork mixture over the pork loin evenly. Roll it up jelly-roll style and tie tightly with the string. Put the red onion halves in a roasting tray with a drizzle of olive oil. Put the pork on top of the onions. Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 135F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.

Slice the pork into 1-inch slices and drizzle with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Serve with the onions and some fennel fronds.

Dessert: Italian Trifle (Sorry, no photo! We were too anxious to eat it)

3-¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 vanilla bean, split, beans removed
7 egg yolks
½ cup flour
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
24 ladyfingers
¼ cup limoncello

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the milk and lemon zest. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean, and add the seeds and bean to the pan. Bring a very brisk simmer over medium-high heat; do not allow to boil.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, flour, and sugar and whisk until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon when the whisk is lifted from the bowl. Gradually pour half of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture back to the saucepan along with the remaining milk and cook over high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the pastry cream coats the back ofthe spoon. Remove the vanilla bean. Pour half the cream into a stainless steel bowl and set in an ice bath to cool. Stir the cocoa and chocolate into the remaining pastry cream, making sure that the chocolate is com¬pletely melted. Then pour the chocolate cream into another bowl and set over an ice bath to
cool. Whisk the creams occasionally as they cool.

3. Split each ladyfinger in half. Sprinkle the cut sides with the liqueur. Place a layer of the soaked ladyfingers in a large glass serving bowl. Top with a layer of the vanilla pastry cream, another layer of ladyfingers, and a layer of the chocolate cream; repeat the layering until all ingredients are used. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Chicken, Haricot and Tomatoes in a Coconut Curry Sauce

This is an adaptation of a recipe on some website. I substituted haricot beans for the okra it called for because I couldn't be bothered to drive to the place that has okra. Nothing against okra, mind you, it just was really crappy weather out that day. Also, I found the spice mixture it called for lacking, so I added my own curry spice mixture. Everything turned out yummy. The original recipe called for scallops, which I'm sure would be great, but I didn't trust scallops to keep in the fridge for a few days until it would have been time to revisit this for leftovers, so I used chicken.

450 g haricot beans, blanched, put in cold water
450 g plum tomatoes, blanched, skinned, seeds removed, cut into thin strips
1-½ tablespoon salt, for use throughout
½ tablespoon pepper, for use throughout
1 onion, small, chopped
1 garlic, clove, chopped
1 ginger, 1" piece, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
600 g chicken breasts
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
¾ teaspoon turmeric
⅔ cup light coconut milk
⅓ cup cilantro, chopped, for use throughout

Blanch the haricot beans in boiling salted water for about 3-5 minutes, until green color is intense and beans still retain some crunch. Lift the beans out with a slotted spoon and immerse in ice water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and immerse tomatoes in the same pot of boiling water for 10 seconds. Transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon (save boiling water) to the bowl of ice water to cool, then peel.

Quarter tomatoes lengthwise and seed, then cut each quarter lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide strips.

Purée onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeño (to taste), half of the chopped cilantro, and 1/4 cup chicken broth in a blender.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Brush a 12-inch nonstick skillet with 1/2 teaspoon oil and heat over moderately high heat until just beginning to smoke. Brown chicken, turning once, about 6-8 minutes total. Transfer chicken as browned with tongs to a plate and keep warm, covered with foil. (Chicken will not be cooked through.)

Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to skillet and reduce heat to moderate. Add purée carefully (it may splatter), then add curry spice mixture. Boil, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and remaining 3/4 cup broth and bring to a simmer. Add tomato strips and simmer, stirring frequently, until tomatoes are softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Slices the chicken into strips, then crosswise into bite-sized pieces. Stir in chicken and beans and simmer until chicken pieces are just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes (take a larger chunk of chicken out and cut it in half, checking for doneness). Divide chicken, vegetables, and sauce among 4 plates and sprinkle with the rest of the cilantro.

Chicken Vesuvio

Another fine Mediterranean food weekend drew to a close with a simple, but delicious chicken dish by Giada di Laurentiis, a celebrity chef from the US. For my money, you can't beat chicken thighs for moistness and flavor. Careful not to overcook the chicken as it drys out.

Chicken Vesuvio


3 tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken breast halves
4 chicken thighs
salt and pepper
6 cloves of garlic, minced
4 or 5 small red potatoes, skinned and halved
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup artichoke hearts from a jar, oil drained off
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 400F. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high to high heat. Rinse the chicken, pat dry and season the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, fry the chicken in the oil in batches (so as not to crowd the pan and lower the pan temperature) on both sides until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside, covering in foil to keep warm.

Add the potatoes to the pot and saute them until browned on all sides, about another 10 minutes. You may want to lower the heat of the burner to medium so as to not burn the potatoes. When the potatoes are golden brown, add the garlic and stir through for 15 seconds or so. Immediately add the oregano, thyme, wine, stock and artichiokes and stir through. Scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as they contain lots of flavor. Add the chicken to the pan as well as any juices it left behind on the plate it was resting on. Add some salt and pepper and stir through, turning the chcken to coat in the sauce.

Cover the chicken and put in the oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the chicken jucies run clear when pierced with a skewer. The thigh meat will be a touch more pink than the breast meat, just be sure it's cooked through. Put the chicken on a large serving platter. Put the butter in the pot and stir through until it melts. Pour the potatoes, artichokes and sauce over the top of the chicken. Serve family style.

Penne in Porcini, Walnut and Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

We have this new shop in the Gunwharf (where we live) which has just opened and specializes in gourmet Mediterranean foods. You could imagine my glee when they finally opened. We have darkened their door many times now in just a few days. Anyways, it's easy to get inspired by their range of ingredients and it makes it a lot easier for me to 'throw something together' in that it takes me two minutes to walk there. This is the first (of what will surely be many) recipes called up on the fly using stuff laying around home and the acquisition of a few special items from That Good Food Shop.

Penne in Porcini, Walnut and Gorgonzola Cream Sauce


500g dried penne pasta (whole wheat adds some character)
Drizzle of olive oil
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
150g dried porcini mushrooms, which have been soaked in water for 30 minutes, liquid drained
and reserved
3/4 cup white wine
120g gorgonzola dolce, torn into pieces
150ml double cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
Small handful of fresh, flat-leaf parsley, chopped

First prepare the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. While the pasta water is heating, you can get the sauce together. Remember to reserve a 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid to put into the sauce at the end. Set pasta aside when done to al dente.

In a medium sized saute pan or skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil under medium to medium-high heat. When hot, add the walnuts and toast them in the oil for a few minutes until you can smell the walnuts releasing their oils into the olive oil, flavoring it. When they have colored a bit and the oil smells of walnuts, pull the pan off of the heat and lift the walnuts out with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil behind. Set aside.

In the same pan, return to the heat and add the garlic and fry it off for 15-30 seconds, just until you can smell it. You don't want the garlic to brown or it will taste bitter. Immediately add the hydrated porcini mushrooms, reduce the heat to medium and saute gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put the white wine and about 1/2 cup of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid (strained) in the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by half.

Add the cream and cheese together and stir through until the gorgonzola melts. Add a 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid now as well as some salt and pepper, the butter and the walnuts. Stir through, taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Set aside, off of the heat until the pasta is done, keeping a lid on it to keep it warm.

When the pasta is ready, dump it in the pan with the sauce and add the parlsey. Toss to coat the pasta. By adding the starchy pasta cooking water earlier, it should help the sauce stick to the penne better. Give it a taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Spoon into bowls and top with a drizzle of good extra-vrigin olive oil. Serve hot.

Mi Paella Loca

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat... it's pronounced 'pie-AY-uh' and NOT 'pie-ella' as so many Britons would have you think. Don't believe me? Ask ANY SPANIARD. They'll set you straight. After all, it is essentially their national dish, or at least near the top of a list of national dishes.

This paella was special in that I was originally using a recipe out of a book called '1080 Recipes' which has been Spain's best selling cookbook for nearly 40 years. I went and bought all of the ingredients and cracked on with it. I ASSUMED that there would be rice in it because paella is a rice dish. It's like risotto is to Italian cuisine or couscous is to Moroccan cuisine. Well, after I re-read the recipe before getting started, this was some rare form of paella which had no rice in it. Well, most of the reason, in my mind, for having paella is the rice. I was up to the challenge here and determined to make this work. So I made my own and I can't say I am disappointed with the outcome. In fact, I would put it up against any paella I had ever had. It takes a little time, but does deliver in the end. Hope you like it.

Seafood and Chorizo Paella

¼ teaspoon saffron, threads
300 g shrimp, raw, peeled, deveined, shrimp heads and shells reserved
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
2 sprigs parsley
½ teaspoon chili powder
3 star anise, pods, not the whole star
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt, for use throughout
1 teaspoon pepper, for use throughout
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
½ cup chorizo picante, halved and sliced thinly
3 garlic, cloves, finely chopped
1 cup onion, chopped small
½ cup red bell pepper, cored, stemmed and cut into julienne strips
½ teaspoon paprika
1 tomato , large, diced
½ cup white wine
2-½ cup paella rice
¾ cup frozen peas
500 g clams, soaked, scrubbed and rinsed
4 squid, small, cut into rings
½ cup parsley, fresh, chopped

Before you get going, you'll want to prepare the clams. A good idea is to put them into a big bowl filled with cold water. Put in a couple of tablespoons of polenta or cornmeal. The idea is that the clams will feed on the cornmeal, and as they do, will expel any sand or grit into the water in the process, essentially cleaning themselves. It is recommended that you do this overnight, but you could give it several hours in advance (say, starting the morning of the day you plan to eat this for dinner).

Crush the saffron threads between your fingers and put them in a small bowl with 1/2 cup of water. Set aside.

Now make the shellfish stock. Put a good drizzle of olive oil in the bottom of a medium-sized saucepan and heat under medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp shells and heads and saute on the hot oil, about 3-5 minutes. The shells will start to turn pink, then into more of a reddish color. It should also give of a great shellfish aroma, which is what you want. Next add 6 cups of cold water, along with the bay leaf, peppercorns, parsley sprigs, chili powder, star anise pods, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir, crank up the heat and bring to a boil. Just as it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. During this time, prep your remaining ingredients. When the stock is done, strain through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids, retaining the broth. Put into a clean saucepan and put it over low heat to keep it warm. Try to periodically skim off any scum that rises to the top.

In a large, wide non-stick frying pan (the Spanish use special paella pans for this purpose, but the biggest and widest non-stick pan you have should work), heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, put the chorizo in and saute for 2 minutes or so, just to cook them a bit and have some of the fat render out into the oil, flavoring it. Lift the chorizo out with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the same pan add the garlic and cook for about 15 seconds, moving them around the pan quickly so as not to burn them. Add the onion and red pepper along with a pinch each of salt and pepper and the paprika and stir to combine. Let this cook for about 2 minutes before adding the tomato. Stir through and cook for another 4-5 minutes, to soften the onions and peppers.

Add the wine and quickly scrape the bottom of the pan (with a wooden spoon) to free up any flavorful brown bits on the bottom. When the wine is almost absorbed (this should happen rather quickly) add the rice and quickly stir through to coat with oil and wine. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute; you don't want the rice to start sticking to the bottom. Add the hot shellfish stock and the saffron with the water it has been soaking in. Stir everything through for 30 seconds or so, reduce the heat to medium and then leave it completely alone for 15 minutes.

Add the peas and reserved chorizo but DO NOT stir. Rather gently press this into the rice mixture, which should have started forming sort of a crust on top, which is what you want. Cover the pan with some foil and let it cook for another 5 minutes. Add the clams and shrimp, pressing them somewhat deep into the rice (so they get hot enough to cook, opening the clam shells) and cover back up for 3-5 minutes or until the shells start opening.

(KEVIN'S NOTE: Traditional paella is served with the crust on top still relatively intact. Well, the pan and stove combination I was using didn't get the seafood hot enough to cook through fast enough, so I had to stir everything through the rice a few times to get the job done. You want there to still be a bit of liquid, but not much, left at the end of all of the cooking. If you run out of liquid in the pan before the seafood is cooked, you risk burning the rice on the bottom)

Add the squid rings and tentacles and press down into the rice. Cover and cook for a final 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard any clams which did not open. Top with parsley and serve.

Chicken with Sobresada, Courgettes and Butter Beans

Our journey through Mediterranean continues, this time stopping in Palma de Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain. Good luck finding sobresada (a spicy cured sausage) outside of Spain. Substitute Spanish-style chorizo instead.

NOTE: We had the leftovers for this a few days later and, WOW, did this benefit with two days rest in the fridge. Just cut the chicken up into smaller pieces and bring to heat over a medium-low flame until heated through. This way, the chicken doesn't dry out as it would in the microwave. The spices certainly were a whole lot more pronounced.


100 g butter beans, drained and rinsed
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
10 g garlic, finely chopped
1 can tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 chicken breasts
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
75 g chorizo picante, or sobresada, if you can find it, very thinly sliced
350 g zucchini, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into slices
10 g fresh parsley, chopped
225 g spaghetti, or other thin pasta, cooked

First make the tomato sauce. Put 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and garlic into a medium sized pan and as soon as the garlic starts to sizzle, add the tomatoes and simmer for 15-20 minutes, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as they cook, until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper. The sauce is ready to use. If not using right away, leave to cool, then chill and refrigerate or freeze for later use.

Now the rest of the dish. If using dried beans which have been soaked overnight, drain them, and tip them into a pan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 20-25 minutes until almost tender. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and continue to cook until tender - another 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. If using canned beans, drain them and rinse them under cold water. Set aside.

Get a pot of water boiling. When it reaches a rapid boil, throw in a handful of salt and cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander but DO NOT RINSE. If you do this at the same time as the rest of the dish, the pasta should be done a bit before the rest of the dish so it will likely stay hot.

Season the chicken breasts on both sides with some salt and pepper. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan, add the cicken breasts, skin-side down (unless you're using skinless) and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat until golden brown. Turn over and cook for a further 5 minutes. Move the chicken to one side and add the chili flakes and sobresada (or chorizo, whichever you're using) and allow the sobresada to melt into the oil. Turn the chicken breasts over in the now spicy oil until well coated and then lower the heat, scatter over the zucchini, cover, and leave to simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Uncover the pan, add the cooked or raw canned butter beans and tomato sauce, re-cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes until the beans are heated through. Scatter with the chopped parsley and serve.

The Baby Turns 30!

Marion and I

Thirty. Dirty 30! I celebrated my 30th birthday along with the lovely Marion Ruhmann. She turned 40, I turned 30; together we turned 35. We met the year before but I REALLY got to know her over a few rounds of my margaritas (My margaritas bring the boys to they yard....DAMN RIGHT!!!....they're better than yours!). After learning that we shared the same birthday, we decided (with a little help from Jose Cuervo) that we should have a joint birthday party. Brilliant idea!
The party was held at Marion's house. The lovely Aussie-Maltese beauty Maria Chetcuti (Que Cutie!) ...

Maria and I

...just arrived back from Oz so I already knew that my 30th would be off to a good start. Honestly, I was not looking forward to turning 30, but I met the dashing, world-travelled gentleman Ricky Gonzalez (Zalez) the day before and he didn't believe my age. I love a man who thinks I'm younger!
The party was more than I could have hoped for. I was just excited to be around the people I care about most, but most of all I was just happy to celebrate with Marion.

Kevin and I (the most tame picture I could find)

I would go into details, but since it was a milestone birthday, somethings are a bit foggy and I kind of want some things to remain a mystery. What I will say is that I would not have celebrated any other way, although I wish my family could've been there. It was just enough to talk to my Mom though.

Angie and I

If you are reading this for the first time, raise a toast for your mamas!

Open Faced Caponata Sandwich on Ciabatta Bread with Mozzarella

So, we do a bit of cooking on the weekends. The first time we had caponata, we were in London looking for somewhere to eat. We dove into this little Italian place in sort of a back alley and ordered a starter of a few Italian antipasti type things - some cured meats, olives and this caponata. It's essentially a relish made from eggplant, capers, vinegar, etc. It has a bit of tartness and sweetness, and WOW is it good. We've tried three different recipes at home since then, and this one is the latest. We served it on a piece of ciabatta bread and topped it with FRESH buffalo mozzarella. Don't even bother with the crap that comes pre-shredded in a bag. Get the buffalo mozzarella that is soaking in a liquid, waiting for you to shred it by pulling it apart. Get yourself a really good bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, too. We only recently found out how much of a difference a really well produced olive oil can make simply by drizzling it over to finish a dish. Anyway, hope you enjoy.


2 eggplant
75 ml olive oil
½ cup onion, chopped
2 celery, stalks, chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
400 g tomatoes, chopped and canned, 1/2 can, with juice
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
40 g olives, pitted and chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 ciabatta bread, slices
70 g mozzarella, fresh buffalo style, pulled into shreds

Cut the eggplant into cubes, place in a colander with a few teaspoons of salt and toss together well. Leave in the sink to drain for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Pat the eggplant dry to remove the moisture and salt. Heat half of the oil in a large, wide based pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant and fry off until tender but still holding together. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and add the onion. Cook for 10 minutes or so, gently, until soft and lightly browned. Add the celery and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the vinegar and leave it to bubble away until it has almost disappeared. Add the tomatoes, sugar, a good pinch of salt and 10 turns of a pepper mill. Cover and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the celery is tender but still has a bit of crunch. Uncover and add the capers, olives and eggplant. Stir through and check the seasoning. When it is all warmed through and seasoned properly, take off the heat.

Arrange four slices of ciabatta bread on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil and place under the broiler for a few minutes, but don't allow them to start browning. Pull the bread out, top with a generous amount of caponata and top with some shreds of the mozzarella. Put back under the broiler until the cheese melts and just starts to get some brown on it. Pull out of the oven and put on a plate. Drizzle with good olive oil and serve hot.

Springtime Fare

We're getting a little antsy here for some warm weather. It was nice out today so we decided to jump the gun a bit and go for some springtime food. I would let this salsa sit for a few hours in the fridge to really let the flavors develop, but it's totally up to you.

Pan-Seared Salmon with a Tomato Pineapple and Chili Salsa with Grilled Asparagus


300 g salmon, 2 150g fillets, skin-on, scaled
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil, extra-virgin
½ cup pineapple, diced small
8 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 garlic, clove, minced
1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped roughly
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
300 g asparagus, trimmed

Drizzle some olive oil over the salmon (skin-side) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Make the salsa. Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, the cider vinegar, pineapple, tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, lime juice, jalapeno and cilantro in a bowl. Mix through and taste. Season as necessary. You want to taste some acidity to counteract the oiliness of the fish so be sure there is enough lime juice and/or vinegar to have a good amount of acidity. (NOTE: If you want to optimize the flavor of the salsa, make well ahead and allow to chill for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop, particularly the chile heat)

Heat a grill pan and a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat until hot. Add a drizzle of olive oil to each pan and swirl around to coat the bottom. If the oil moves rather freely, the pans are hot enough. Put the asparagus spears in the grill pan, add a pinch of salt and pepper and toss a bit to coat with oil. Let cook, tossing occasionally, until they become very green and start to get little brown grill marks on them. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Place the salmon fillets, skin side down, in the non-stick pan. Season the flesh side with salt and pepper and leave them alone for a few minutes. Watch the color of the salmon turn a lighter shade of pink working its way up from the bottom as it cooks. When 2/3 of the way up is lighter pink, carefully turn over the fillets and cook for about 30-45 seconds on the flesh side, until the fillets have just (or are just about) turned uniformly light pink. Remove immediately from the heat.

Place some asparagus spears down on a plate and put the salmon on top of them. Spoon over a generous amount of salsa and drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil, if desired. Serve.

Viva la Mexico!

We had some friends (Andy and Laurie) over for dinner and some drinks last night and I whipped up some Mexican food. We resisted the urge to go with fajitas and that sort of thing for something a little different. We made a mole (pronounced 'mole-ay') which I guess is kind of like a curry dish, but for Mexican cuisine. Anyhow, everything turned out and we had a great evening.

One note about the mole sauce: I did the recipe as instructed, but by the time we had reached the end of it, the liquid in the pan was more of a brothy-soup consistency rather than a somewhat thicker (and more desireable!) sauce consistency. I strained the solids and put just the liquid back into a pan over high heat, and boiled it until the liquid reduced and got a bit thicker. It coated and clung to the meat better, plus the flavor was a bit more concentrated.

Shrimp Seviche


This couldn't be easier to make - just be sure to give yourself 12 hours of marinade time to make it right. Use the best cooked shrimp you can (we used tiger prawns which have a bit of natural sweetness). Easy and delicious.

1 lb. shrimp, peeled, deveined, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup lime juice, from roughly 6 to 8 limes
½ cup red onion, choped finely
½ teaspoon allspice, ground
½ teaspoon black pepper, ground from peppercorns
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt, to taste
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed

Make the marinade by combining the lime juice, ground allspice, freshly ground peppercorns and red onion. Marinate the shrimp in this mixture in the fridge for 12 hours.

Drain the shrimp and combine it with the jalapeno, cilantro, vinegar and olive oil. Add the salt and avocado cubes and mix through gently. Serve in a glass or on a leaf of lettuce.

Simple Red Mole with Meat, Fowl and Fruit

I didn't take a picture of this one (I forgot) but it tasted really good. It comes from the center of Mexico (Oaxaca) but brings some almost Caribbean flavors to it with the pineapple and banana. The fruit was a really nice, sweet counterpoint to the mellow spice. Be sure to reduce the liquid until it is saucelike.

6 ancho chiles, stemmed, deseeded, deveined
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup onion, chopped
5 garlic, cloves, peeled and halved
1 lb. lean pork shoulder, boneless, cut into two-inch squares
1-¼ lb. large chicken breast, whole, half-boned and halved
2 cloves
3 black peppercorns
½ cinnamon stick
2 white bread, firm slices, broken up
1 teaspoon salt, plus more, if necessary
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup pineapple, fresh, cored, peeled and cubed
1 plantain , ripe (or substitute 2 green bananas)
1-½ tablespoon sugar

1. The chiles. Tear the chiles into flat pieces and toast them a few at a time on a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat, pressing them down for a few seconds with a metal spatula, then flipping and pressing again; when they send up their aroma and change color, they're ready. Cover with boiling water, weight with something to keep them submerged, and soak for 30 minutes.

2. Browning the vegetables with meat. Fry the onion with 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat until soft, 6 or 7 minutes. Add the garlic and fry until the onion is quite brown, some 4 minutes longer. Transfer the onions and garlic to a blender jar (with a slotted spoon) leaving as much fat in the pan as possible. Raise the heat to medium-high and add more oil, if needed, to coat the pan. Dry the pork on paper towels, then brown it in an uncrowded single layer, 2-3 minutes per face; remove, draining well. Dry the chicken pieces , then brown them for 2-3 minutes per side, add to the pork and set skillet aside.

3. The sauce. Drain the chiles and add to the blender. Pulverize the spices in a mortar or spice grinder and add to the chiles, along with the bread and one cup of water. Stir, blend to a smooth puree, and strain through a medium-mesh sieve. If necessary add a little oil to the skillet to coat, then set over medium-high heat. When quite hot, add the puree all at once and fry, stirring constantly, for 4 or 5 minutes, until darkened and thick, dislodging any bits that earlier may have stuck to the pan.

4. Finishing the dish. Scrape the chile mixture into a large saucepan, stir in 2 cups of water, the salt, vinegar and pork. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 45 minutes to an hour, until the pork is tender. Add the chicken and pineapple, cover, and simmer for 13 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium small skillet over medium heat. Peel and cube the plantain (or banana), then fry until browned, 3 or 4 minutes, and add to the pot. Stir in the sugar, taste for salt and thin with a little water if the sauce has thickened past a medium consistency; the flavor should be slightly sweet and fruity. Remove from the heat immediately and serve on warm, deep dinner plates.

Kahlua and Rum Flan


Important note: This makes 10 servings. We cut it in half and it worked just fine. The caramel is a bit tricky to work with but stick with it, and even though you may not get the hot caramel to coat the sides of the ramekin, it will still come out later like it's supposed to.

2 quarts milk
2 cup sugar, divided use
⅓ cup water
6 egg yolks
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick, 2-inch
2 teaspoons Kahlua
2 teaspoons rum , Jamaican, if available
1. Reducing the milk. Bring the milk and 1 cup of sugar to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick. Regulate the heat so the mixture simmers briskly without boiling over; stirring regularly, let reduce to 1 quart, about 45 minutes.

2. The mold(s) and hot water bath. Set 10 custard cups or a large mold in a baking pan deep enough to hold two inches of water. Put a teakettle of water onto heat, preheat the oven to 350F and position the rack in the middle.

3. The caramel. Put one cup of sugar into a small, heavy saucepan, dribble in the 1/3 cup of water (first around the sides, then over the sugar) and stir several times. Bring to a boil, wash down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water, then simmer over medim heat, without stirring, until the syrup begins to color. Swirl the pan continually over the heat until the syrup is an even, deep amber. Immediately pour the caramel into the mold (or divide amongst the molds) then tilt and rotate to completely coat the bottom and sides.

4. The custard. Beat the eggs, yolks, vanilla, Kahlua and rum in a large bowl until liquidy. Slowly beat in the hot, reduced milk, strain through a fine-mesh sieve (to remove any membranes or milk 'skins') then pour into the mold(s).

5. Baking the flan. Fill the baking pan containing the custard(s) with 2 inches of simmering water, cover lightly with foil and bake until the custard has set (a knife inserted near the center will come out clean), about 30 minutes for individual molds, 40-50 minutes for the large one. Remove from the oven and let cool in the water bath (the custard will set completely as it cools).

6. Unmolding the flan. For best results, thoroughly chill the cooled custard(s). Run a non-serrated knife around the edge, penetrating to the bottom, then twist the dish back and forth to ensure the custard is free from the mold. Invert a deep plate over the top, reverse the two and listen for the flan to drop. Individual custards may need a gentle shake from side to side to release any suction holding them in. If there still is caramel on the bottom of the mold, either scrape it onto the flan, or set the mold in very hot water until it softens enough to pour out.