Ribollita

This is Vanessa's favorite soup, and it has a bit of a story to go along with it. When we were in Italy for the summer of 2007, we stayed in an old 13th century house that was on a farm which had been converted into a B&B. One of the options available was to take a cooking lesson from the people who ran the B&B. Well, I jumped at the chance for that and wound up cooking some really great stuff.

This recipe is an old peasant stew called Ribollita which is essentially a load of vegetables and bread. A signature ingredient is cavolo nero, or black cabbage. This, on it's face, doesn't sound that exciting. There is something about how this soup tastes which is warm, cozy and comforting! A little splash of lemon-infused olive oil is all it needs and it is really something.

This is a very easy soup, which is great and really quite healthy. But don't eat it because of that. This is rainy day eating at it's best. Note: this needs a GOOD BIT of salt and pepper to season such a big pot of soup. Also, use your discretion on herbs... sage and rosemary are my favorites, but thyme, oregano and parsley work, too.

300 g chickpeas, 150 g boiled in salted water, 150g set aside
1 leek, or onion, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3 stalks celery, cut into chunks
2 courgettes, peeled and cut into chunks
½ liter broth, or water
300 g dry bread, torn into pieces
20 leaves cavolo nero, stems removed, torn into pieces
20 leaves chard, stems removed, torn into pieces
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil (lemon-infused, if available)
rosemary and/or sage leaves

Clean and rinse the vegetables. Set 150g of chickpeas aside, and puree the rest in some of the water it was boiled in. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion or leek, potatoes, carrots, celery and courgettes and saute until starting to brown and are becoming softened.

Add the broth, bread and greens. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 1 hour. Add the reserved bean puree and cook for one more hour, stirring occasionally. Add the chickpeas and cook for another 15 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve hot.

Fire-Roasted Pork Chops with Maple-Horseradish Glaze

This flavor combination blew my mind. I mean, seriously. Maple syrup, mustard, horseradish and chile powder.....together??!?

This REALLY works. Vanessa and I sat here were thinking about different things we could put this glaze on top of. Toast. Eggs. Dessert. We liked it that much, and it truly couldn't be simpler. We had some left over roasted pepper sauce from the other night and leftover braised cabbage that actually worked pretty well with it.

½ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
4x14 ounce bone-in veal chops (pork chops work just as well!)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the maple syrup, mustard, horseradish, and ancho powder in a medium bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes. This can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using.

Preheat a grill to high or a grill pan over high heat.

Brush the chops on both sides with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the chops on the grill and cook until golden brown and slightly caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, turn the chops over, close the lid of the grill, or tent with aluminum foil, and continue cooking to medium, 7 to 9 minutes more, brushing with the glaze during the last couple of minutes of cooking.

Remove the chops from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving with the remaining glaze on the side.

Sauteed Shrimp with Sweet Potato and Smoked Chile Grits and Onion-Cilantro Sauce

Grits. The mere mention of the word to a man born and raised in the north of the US is enough to evoke thoughts of the misunderstood Deep South, and send a chill down one's spine. Maybe, the twang of banjo music floats across the consciousness...

Mention grits to one of the Brits (heh heh - no rhyme intended but that sure is funny), and it's the same reaction you would get as mentioning the words 'spotted dick' to someone from Mississippi.

The point? Grits is just food. Corn-based food. And let me tell you something.... this was a real winner. To be honest, we've been on a little Bobby Flay kick lately and every one of them has just knocked it out of the park. This one is no exception. And it's EASY!

As we sat eating this, the eye-rolling and yummy-noise making continued all the way up to the last bite and beyond. My only revision for next time is that I'll use jumbo prawns instead of regular ones just because I would have like a little more of it on the plate.

SHRIMP
1 large sweet potato
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 ½ cups Enriched Chicken Stock or low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons chipotle chile puree
Kosher salt
1 ½ cups quick-cooking grits
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 to 3 teaspoons honey
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Freshly ground black pepper
Red Chile Oil (optional) - I used a chile-infused olive oil
Thinly sliced green onion, white and green parts, for garnish (optional)

GREEN ONION-CILANTRO SAUCE
1 cup sliced green onions, white and green parts (about 12)
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup canola oil

SHRIMP
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Roast the sweet potato on a rack in the oven until tender when pierced with a knife, 45 to 60 minutes.

Peel the sweet potato and puree the flesh in a food processor or pass it through a ricer; set aside.

Heat the canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the stock, milk, chipotle puree, and 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the grits, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the sweet potato puree and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and honey to taste. Cover and keep warm.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Cook half of the shrimp until lightly golden brown and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and shrimp.

Spoon the grits into 4 shallow bowls and arrange the shrimp around the grits. Drizzle with the green onion-cilantro sauce and red chile oil and sprinkle with green onion.

GREEN ONION-CILANTRO SAUCE
Combine the green onions, cilantro, vinegar, 1/4 cup cold water, the mustard, and honey in a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. With the motor running, slowly add the oil and blend until emulsified. This can be made up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerated.

Braised Partidge and Red Cabbage with a Blackberry Sauce

Well, I think we here in the UK can safely say that autumn has arrived. We probably could have said that it had arrived as of June as well, but this makes it official.

My attempts at cooking game last year didn't turn out that well; everything ended up too tough and overcooked. Well, this one moved me a little closer to victory over game birds. We did this one with 2 wood pigeons and 2 partridges. We found the flavor of the partridges more appealing. Not that I am against gamey flavors, but there is a line which can be crossed, and I think the wood pigeons were just a touch over the line. You're welcome to try if you like.

The blackberry sauce (with enough sweetness - you may want to keep an eye on adding more sugar and/or currant jelly) can be really nice if it is sweet enough to contrast and hold up to the gamey flavors of the meat. Yeah, this is autumn on a plate as far as I am concerned.

I used a few different recipes as *guidelines* but, in the end, I changed so many things about them that I can safely call this my own recipe.

BRAISED CABBAGE
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the bacon and saute off until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and garlic, and saute until softened, but not allowing it to caramelize.

Turn the heat up to high and add the red wine and vinegar and deglaze the pan by scraping up any bits left on the bottom. Add the cabbage, ground cloves, sage and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir through thoroughly, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes and checking the seasoning as you go. Once the cabbage wilts down and has cooked to a texture with which you are happy, if you haven't finished the partridge, keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve.

PARTRIDGE
Rinse and dry out the partridges. Season inside and out with salt and pepper, brush with oil and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large, deep pot on medium-high heat. When hot, add the partridges and sear on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, garlic and celery to the pot with a pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables are starting to go translucent, about 5-7 minutes. When this is done, add the partridges back to the pot, add the wine and stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until just done, 40 minutes or so. Meanwhile, make the sauce component.

SAUCE
Add the blackberries, blackcurrant jelly and 3 tablespoons of water to a small saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes or until the liquid in the bottom goes a bit thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat and set aside.

FINISHING
When the partridges are done, remove from the pot and set aside. Strain the liquid out of the pot, keeping the liquid and discarding the solids. Put the liquid in a clean saucepan over high heat. Reduce the liquid down to about 2 cups.

While this is happening (it may take awhile), after letting the birds rest for at least 10 minutes, remove the breasts and set them aside. Discard the bodies.

Mix the butter and flour together (this is a 'beurre manie', in case you're interested, used for thickening sauces) with a fork so it all sticks together. Add it to the stock along with the liquid left in the blackberry saucepan. Reduce down further, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Add the blackberries in now and check the seasoning, adjusting as necessary with salt, pepper, sugar and blackcurrant jelly.

Place the breasts in the sauce and move around for 30 seconds or so to coat them and heat them through. Slice the breasts on the bias and place them on top of a mound of braised cabbage. Spoon sauce and some blackberries over and around. Serve hot.

Shrimp Cakes with Roasted Corn and Poblano Relish and Cilantro Vinaigrette

I have been DYING to get some corn into something for awhile now, and now is the time to use corn in dishes, as it is more or less at it's peak.

Chef Bobby Flay back in the US is known for bold, southwestern flavors and uses corn in a lot of his dishes. This is the perfect showcase for the corn and a bunch of other great late summer flavors. This serves 4 people as a reasonably-sized main.

SHRIMP
¾ cup canola oil
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled, and deveined
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup prepared mayonnaise
¼ cup prepared horseradish, drained
1 tablespoon chipotle chile puree
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
Cilantro Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Smoked Red Pepper Sauce (recipe follows)

ROASTED CORN AND POBLANO RELISH
4 ears fresh corn, roasted, kernels removed from the cobs
1 poblano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
½ small red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

SHRIMP
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over high heat until almost smoking. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add half of them to the pan and cook for 1 minute on each side (they will be slightly undercooked but will finish cooking later). Remove the cooked shrimp to a plate, and repeat with 2 more tablespoons of the oil and the remaining shrimp. Let the shrimp cool slightly, then cut into large chunks and transfer to a large bowl.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the onion. Cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Scrape the onion and garlic into the bowl with the shrimp.

Stir together the mayonnaise, horseradish, chipotle puree, and cilantro in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pour the mayonnaise mixture over the shrimp and stir until just combined. Add 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs and stir until combined; if the mixture appears too loose to form cakes, add more bread crumbs, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture just holds together but is still moist. Cover the mixture and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

Form the shrimp mixture into 8 cakes about 2 inches in diameter. Spread the remaining bread crumbs on a large plate and season with salt and pepper. Dredge each cake in the bread crumbs on both sides and tap off any excess.

Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute 4 cakes at a time until golden brown on each side and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Discard the oil, wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining 1/4 cup oil and cakes.

Spoon cilantro vinaigrette onto plates, drizzle with red pepper vinaigrette, and top with 2 cakes per person. Spoon some corn and poblano relish on top.

ROASTED CORN AND POBLANO RELISH
Combine the corn, poblano, onion, cilantro, lime juice, honey, and oil in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Let the relish sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. This can be made up to 8 hours ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

SMOKED RED PEPPER SAUCE
4 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded (see page 18), and chopped
½ small red onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves roasted garlic, peeled
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chipotle chile puree
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup canola oil

Combine the red peppers, onion, garlic, vinegar, honey, mustard, and chipotle puree in a blender, season with salt and pepper, and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil and blend until emulsified. Strain the sauce into a bowl. This sauce can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated.

CILANTRO VINAIGRETTE
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil

Combine the vinegar, mustard, honey, and 2 tablespoons of cold water in a blender, season with salt and pepper, and blend until smooth. Add the cilantro and blend until incorporated. With the motor running, slowly add the oil and blend until emulsified. This can be made up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.

The Big Farewell Blowout Dinner (Part 4): The Dessert

Well, we've reached the end. I can't say the tart turned out quite like I wanted it to (the caramel started to burn on the stove) but the flavors were just fine at the end. Make the ice cream base the day before and chill overnight in the fridge and churn it the next day for the best texture.

Apple Ice Cream with Calvados
2 medium Granny Smith apple
¾ cup sugar
1 cup water
1 quart creme fraiche
6 egg yolk
1 tablespoon Calvados

Peel and core the apples and cut into 1/2-inch dice. (You should have 2 to 2 1/2 cups of apples) Combine 1 cup of the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the apples, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until the apples are translucent. With a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a bowl. (You can use the syrup to make apple-flavored drinks, if you like)

Place a metal bowl that will hold the finished custard over an ice bath.

Combine the creme fraiche and 6 tablespoons of the sugar in a large nonreactive saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Meanwhile, whisk the yolks with the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl until the mixture thickens and lightens in color. Whisking constantly, gradually pour about one-third of the hot mixture into the yolks to temper them. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden or heatproof spoon, for about 10 minutes, or until the custard has thickened and coats the back of the spoon. (Run your finger through the custard on the spoon: The line
you make should remain.)

Pour the custard into the metal bowl and stir occasionally until it has cooled.

Strain the cooled custard into a bowl or other container and refrigerate for at least a few hours, or preferably overnight. (Overnight chilling will result in the best flavor and creamiest texture.)

Place a container, preferably metal, that will hold the finished ice cream in the freezer.

Transfer the custard to an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is the texture of "soft serve" ice cream, mix in the apples and Calvados, then transfer to the metal container and place in the freezer to harden. (The ice cream is best eaten within a day, but it can be made several days ahead.)

TARTE TATIN

PATE BRISEE
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
¼ cup ice water
APPLES
9-10 Golden Delicious apples
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

FOR THE PATE BRISEE
This recipe makes enough dough for 2 rarts, so you can freeze half for another time. Put 1 cup of the flour and the salt in the bowl of a heavy-dury mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter a small handful at a time, then increase the speed to medium and mix until the butter is completely blended with the flour. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as nccessary. Reduce the speed to low, add the remaining 1 cup flour, and mix just to combine. Add the water and mix until incorporated. The dough will come up around the paddle and should feel smooth, nor sticky, to the touch.

Remove the dough from the mixer; check to be certain there are no visible pieces of butler remaining, then return the dough to the mixer and blend briefly if necessary. Divide the dough in half. Pat each piece into a 7 to 8 inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Wrap one piece in foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Refrigerate other piece for at least 1 hour, or up to one day. (If the dough does not rest, it will shrink as it bakes.)

FOR THE TART
A traditional tarte Tatin pan is round, 9 1/2 inches across, and 1 1/2 inches deep (see Sources, page 330). If you do not have one, you can use a heavy ovenproof skillet or pan with the same dimensions (the height is crucial, as the sugar will bubble up as it caramelizes).

Roll the dough into a circle that is just slightly larger than the pan and just under 1/4 inch thick. Fold the dough in half and then fold again to form a triangle. Put on a plate and refrigerate until ready to use.

Peel the apples and cut them lengthwise in half. Use a melon baller to remove the seeds and cores and a paring knife to remove any stems. Trim the root and stem ends to create flat surfaces. Spread the sugar in an even layer in the bottom of the pan. Cut the butter into 6 pieces and distribute them over the sugar. Arrange a circle of apples in the pan, standing the apples around the perimeter with all the halves facing the same direction, forming a snug circle. Cur another apple half or two lengthwise in half and stand the pieces in the center of the pan so that they too fit snugly. Reserve any remaining apples to add to the pan as the other apples shrink and make additional room in the tart.

Place the pan over medium to medium-high heat to melt the sugar. As the sugar melts, it will combine with the butter and the juices from the apples and you will see a dramatic increase in the amount of liquid in the pan. As the apples cook, the liquid will bubble up around them. Shake the pan from time to time to loosen the apples so they don't stick to the pan. They should also be rotated in the pan, as a whole unit, to prevent them from sticking. At the beginning of cooking, you will be able to place the palm of your hand on top of the apples and rotate them slightly all at once to be sure that they are not sticking. As the liquid beings to bubble up, it can be easy to burn your hand, so use a small skillet lid or another small flat pan to rotate the apples. When the apples have cooked down enough to create some spaces between them, gently move them apart as necessary and fit in any remaining apple halves.

Be patient as the caramel reduces; it can take up to 1 hour. Because the caramel will not darken once the tart goes into the oven, it must be cooked on the stovetop until it is a very rich, deep amber color (it should be evenly distributed on the bottom of the pan). And if the caramel doesn't reduce enough, you will have too much liquid when the tart is unmolded, which will make the crust soggy. When the caramel is a rich brown color-be careful not to burn it-remove the pan from the heat.

Meanwhile, put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unfold it, and drape it over the apples. If nccessary, use scissors to trim the dough so that it extends just over the edge of the pan. Then tuck in the dough around the apples. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. Remove the tart from the oven and let it sit for about 30 minutes so the apples absorb more of the hot caramel. (Do not let it sit longer than this or the caramel may stick to the pan, causing the apples to fall apart when the tart is unmolded.)

Invert a serving platter (if you plan to reheat the tart, use an ovenproof platter) with a lip over the tart, then carefully invert it onto the platter. Use a paring knife to gently rearrange any apples that may be askew. The tart is best served after it has rested for several hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator. As the tart sits, the apples will absorb even more of the caramel. If the tart has been refrigerated, reheat in a hot oven for a few minutes before serving. Top each slice with a dollop of creme fraiche (or in this case, the ice cream).

The Big Farewell Blowout Dinner (Part 3): The Main

I have cooked this for Maria once before when Travis was out at sea. She seemed pretty happy to see it again. The are a lot of parts to this dish, and it easily consumed the most time to make. I will never make lobster any other way than poaching it in warm butter. It is so soft and wonderful.

A beurre monte (you'll see this later) is simply an emulsion of butter and 1 tablespoon of boiling water. You reduce the heat, and add the butter little by little and keep whisking it in until the butter has all melted and the water continues to hold the emulsion. This becomes the poaching liquid for the lobster later. Here we go....

LOBSTER PREP
Steep the Lobsters: Place the lobsters in a tight-fitting, heat-proof container. Cover with cold water. Drain off the water , measure it, and place it in a large pot. Bring the water to a boil and add a 1/2 cup of white vinegar for every 8 quarts (8 liters) of water. Pour the boiling water over the lobsters (in the heat-proof container) and let them steep for 2 minutes (if using 1 1/2 pound lobsters) and steep 3 minutes (for 2 pound lobsters). Remove the lobsters from the water, saving the water.

One at a time, with a glove or kitchen towel, hold the hot lobster, grab the tail and twist and pull to detach it. Twist and pull off the claws and return them to the hot water for 5 minutes. Reserve the bodies.

For the Tails: Hold each tail flat and twist the tail fan to one side; pull off and discard. Use your fingers to gently push the meat through the tail end and pull the meat through the large opening at the other side. Discard the shell. Lay the tail meat on it's back and cut lengthwise in half through the middle. Remove the vein running through the top of the meat. Lay the meat on a paper towel-lined plate or platter, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

For the Claws: After 5 minutes, remove the claws from the hot water. Twist off each knuckle to remove it. Hold the claw in your hand and pull down on the lower pincer. Push to either side to crack it and pull it straight off. Ideally, the cartilage from inside the claw should be attached to the pincer and the claw meat should remain intact.

Still holding the claw, crack the top of the shell with the heel of a knife, about 3/4 inch from the joint where the knuckle was attached. You want to go through the shell but not damage the meat. Wiggle your knife to loosen and crack the shell. If the shell does not pop off, it may be necessary to turn the claw over and repeat the procedure. Shake the claw to remove the meat (if it doesn't fall out, cut off the very tip of the shell and blow through the hole to release the meat).

CORAL OIL (OPTIONAL)
If you were lucky enough to get female lobsters, save the roe (the orange eggs underneath the tail) after "steeping" them. Take 3 tablespoons of the roe and combine in a small blender with 1/2 cup of warm canola oil (drizzled in slowly as the blender runs) to make a smooth puree.

CREAMY LOBSTER BROTH
¼ cup canola oil
3 lobster bodies, cut into quarters
1 ½ cups chopped tomatoes
½ cup carrot, chopped
1 bunch tarragon
2 cups heavy cream

Heat the oil in a large rondeau, or deep straight-sided braising pan. Add the lobster shells and sear over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until they turn red, or your pot is not big enough to accomplish this easily, do it in two batches.) Add the tomatoes, carrots, and tarragon, cover the shells and vegetables with water, and bring to a boil.

Skim off any impurities that rise to the top, Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Strain the stock through a large strainer or a China cap (see page 73), smashing the lobster bodies with a wooden spoon to extract all the liquid. and then strain again through a chinois (see page 73) into a clean saucepan.

Return the strained stock to the stove and simmer until it is reduced to 1 ccup, add the heavy cream, return to a simmer, and cook, skimming occasionally. until the broth is reduced to 2 cups. Strain through a chinois into a container, discarding any solids remaining in the strainer. Cover and refrigerate the broth for several hours to chill, or for up to 3 days.

(NOTE: You could serve this broth all by itself as a small amuse bouche, if you like, but you'll need all of this for the finished lobster dish here)

BEURRE MONTE
Bring one tablespoon of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and begin whisking chunks of butter into the water, bit by bit, to emulsify. Once the emulsion is established, you can keep adding butter a little at a time and whisking it in, never adding more water. This recipe works for however much beurre monte you need to make (for this recipe, you'll need 1 1/2 cups). Make the beurre monte close to the time you'll be needing it and keep it in a warm place.

PARMESAN CRISP
Heat the oven to 375F. Place freshly grated Parmesan (2 tablespoons each) into little piles and shape them into even discs. Bake on a non-stick tray (or better yet, silicon pad) for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Carefully lift them off the tray and set aside on paper towels until you need them.

FINALLY...
BUTTER-POACHED LOBSTER WITH CREAMY LOBSTER BROTH AND MASCARPONE-ENRICHED ORZO WITH A PARMESAN CRISP

2 cups CREAMY LOBSTER BROTH
½ cup orzo
2 tablespoons mascarpone
salt
3x2 pound lobsters, "steeped" and meat removed
1 ½ cups beurre monte
1 tablespoon chives, minced
CORAL OIL
6 PARMESAN CRISPS

Place the lobster broth in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Reduce the broth to a sauce consistency. You should have 1 to 1 1/4 cups. Set aside in the pan.

Cook the orzo in boiling lightly salted water until just tender. Drain the cooked pasta in a strainer and rinse under cold water. Shake the strainer to remove excess water and add the orzo to the lobster broth.

TO COMPLETE
If the lobster pieces have been refrigerated, bring them to room temperature.

Heat the orzo and lobster broth to a simmer. Add the mascarpone and season with sillt to taste. Let simmer for a minute, then remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.

Meanwhile, place the lobster pieces in one layer in a large saucepan. Pour in the beurre monte; the lobster should almost be covered. Heat gently to warm the lobster.

Stir the chives into the orzo. Pipe a 2-inch circle of coral oil in the center of each serving dish. Place about 1/2 cup of orzo in the center of the oil, allowing it to spread the oil out into a larger circle. Arrange a piece of lobster tail and a claw in the center of the orzo and top each serving with a Parmesan crisp.

The Big Farewell Blowout Dinner (Part 2): The Soup

I don't know if I've had a better butternut squash soup than this. It's so good, in fact, that I wish I could take credit for the recipe, but I can't. The brown butter adds such a depth to the whole thing...and the sage and creme fraiche just round it out so nicely. I found out after the fact that butternut squash soup ranks amongst Travis's favorite things to eat. I hope he was as happy with this as I was.

Sorry about the 'action shot' photo but we were pretty hungry and I rushed the photo!

SOUP: BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH BROWN BUTTER, SAGE AND NUTMEG CREME FRAICHE

1x3 pound butternut squash
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sage sprigs
1 cup leeks,thinly sliced (1/8 inch thick) white and light green parts only
½ cup carrots, thinly sliced (1/8 inch thick)
½ cup shallots, thinly sliced (1/8 inch thick)
½ cup onions, thinly sliced (1/8 inch thick)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons honey
6 cups Vegetable Stock (page 320), plus extra if necessary
Bouquet Garni (page 325)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup creme fraiche
Freshly grated nutmeg
Canola oil (if using sage leaves)
12 sage leaves or 1 tablespoon minced chives
Kosher sail and freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

FOR THE SOUP
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Cut the neck off the squash and set it aside. Cut the bulb in half and scoop out and discard the seeds. Brush each half inside and out with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the canola oil. Sprinkle the cavities with salt and pepper and tuck a sprig of sage into each. Place cut side down on the baking sheet and roast for about 1 hour, or until completely tender.

Remove the squash from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle, then scoop out and reserve the flesh (discard the sage).

Meanwhile, using a paring knife or sharp vegetahle peeler, peel away the skin from the neck of the squash until you reach the bright orange flesh. Cut the flesh into 1/2~inch pieces (these will be pureed, so don't be concerned if the pieces are irregularly shaped). (You should have approximately 4 cups diced squash.)

Put the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat, add the leeks, carrots. shallots, and onions, and cook, stirring often, for about 6 minutes. Add the diced squash, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook gently for 3 minutes, reducing the heat as necessary to keep the garlic and squash from coloring. Stir in the honey and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and bouquet garni, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the squash is tender.

Add the roasted squash and simmer gently for about 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Remove from the heat and discard the bouquet garni.

Transfer the soup to a blender, in batches, and puree. Strain the soup through a fine strainer into a bowl or other container, tapping the side of the strainer so the soup passes through. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning. Let the soup cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

TO COMPLETE:
Place the creme fraiche in a chilled small metal bowl and stir in nutmeg to taste. Whisk with a small whisk until the creme fraiche holds a shape. Cover and refrigerate.

Reheat the soup. If it is too thick, add a little more vegetable stock.

Heat a medium skillet over high heat. When it is very hot, add the butter and rotate the skillet over the heat as necessary to brown the butter evenly, scraping up any bits that settle in the bottom. As soon as the foaming has subsided and the butter is a hazelnut brown, pour it into the pot of soup. (Be careful not to leave the butter over the heat too long, as it can change from rich brown to black in seconds.)

Meanwhile, if using the sage leaves, heat 1/8 inch of canola oil in a small skillet. When the oil is very hot, add the sage and cook for 30 to 45 seconds, turning the leaves to crisp them on both sides. When the bubbling stops, the moisture in the leaves will have evaporated and the leaves will be crisp. Drain the sage on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Ladle the soup into four serving bowls. Top each with a dollop of creme fraiche. Grind some black pepper over the top and garnish each with 2 sage leaves or some minced chives. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

The Big Farewell Blowout Dinner (Part 1): The Preliminaries

Do you have a cup of coffee? Are you comfortable? Do you have a spare few minutes? This is gonna take a little time...

We bid farewell to our very, very good friends Travis and Maria today as they make their way back to Australia. As fellow lovers, producers and consumers of fine food and drink, we felt it would only be appropriate to undertake the most aggressive single meal ever cooked in our home to give them a proper sendoff.

The preparation took the better part of two days to throw together. It turned out to be worth it. It took me the better part of an hour just to get the recipes put into this blog entry, so you had better read it.

Let's start with the drinks. Vanessa took charge of the booze (as is the norm) and found a 3 drinks which utilize a sugar syrup infused with basil. All three drinks were distinctly different and delicious. Here's the recipe:

COCKTAILS: THREE TIER PUNCH

DRINK 1:

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
2 cups basil leaves
1 (750 ml) bottle dry white wine
2 cups orange juice

DRINK 2:

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup lime juice
2 cups vodka

DRINK 3:

1/2 cup red Italian bitters (recommended: Campari)
1 quart seltzer water

In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil. When the sugar has melted, remove from the heat and add the basil leaves. Let stand until completely cooled, then strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard solids. Refrigerate syrup until ready to use.

DRINK 1: Place 1/4 cup of the chilled syrup, the white wine, and orange juice in a pitcher and stir to combine. Serve chilled.

DRINK 2: To the pitcher add the lemon juice, lime juice, vodka, and an additional 1/2 cup of the basil syrup and stir to blend. Serve over ice.

DRINK 3: To the pitcher add the bitters, seltzer water, and remaining syrup and stir to blend. Serve over ice.

AMUSE BOUCHE: PIMM'S COCKTAIL RAVIOLI WITH CUCUMBER AND MINT SUGAR

I have been playing around with some chemicals lately, in the style of Ferran Adria, widely regarded as the best chef in the world. His restaurant, El Bulli, has been voted best in the world for three years in a row.

He has pioneered, among other things, something called spherical ravioli, which allows you to make spheres of a pureed substance which, with the right science applied, makes a sphere of itself which keeps all of the juice inside. It literally explodes with flavor in your mouth.

I made this one up, using his technique, using the flavors of a Pimm's cocktail to guide the flavor profile. The reaction was positive! To quote Maria "It's just so fun to eat!"

500 g water
2 measures Algin
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and sliced
½ cup sugar syrup, infused with apple
3 tablespoons Pimm's
¼ cup water
1 measure Xanatana
5 measures Gluco
12 leaves mint
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cucumber, cut into very small dice

Dissolve the Algin in the water by mixing it with a hand blender. Leave to rest for 15-25 minutes.

Bring the sugar syrup and Pimm's to a simmer and add the apples. Let this cook for about 20 minutes, so the apples are good and soft. Dump the apples into a tall wide glass (big enough to get a stick blender in).

Add the water and whiz the apples up into a smooth puree. Add the Xanatana and Gluco and whiz to combine thoroughly. Leave this mixture until cool. (NOTE: You could also put the mixture into an ice bath and mix around to cool it faster)

Put the mint and sugar into a mortar and pestle and beat around until combined. Set aside.

Using a syringe, take the puree and shoot enough of it to fill a 15ml spoon. Carefully submerge the spoon holding the puree in the Algin water bath. Hold it there for 5 seconds and gently shake the spoon to release the puree into the bath. It should hold it's shape. Let sit for two minutes, then move to a clean bowl with water in it. Repeat until you have four spheres. (NOTE: The spheres can be held more or less indefinitely in the clean water bowl until ready for use)

Place a Pimm's ravioli into a serving spoon. Top with cucumber dice and mint sugar. Serve.

PRE-STARTER: OYSTERS WITH MINT AND CUCUMBER SALSA

6 fresh oysters
crushed ice, to serve
FOR THE SALSA
30 g finely diced deseeded cucumber
30 g finely chopped red onion
4 tablespoons PONZU (see page 248)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

FOR THE PONZU SAUCE
1 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoons lemon juice
about 1 cm square piece of konbu (see page 257)

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and leave overnight to infuse.
Next day, remove the konbu before use.

FOR THE OYSTERS
Open the oysters (see page 40) and turn each one over in their curved half-shell. Arrange on a bed of crushed ice in a suitable serving dish.

Make the salsa by mixing all the ingredients together.

Spoon a little of the salsa over the top of each oyster and serve immediately

If you like, you can garnish the dish with some carrot and cucumber shavings for added colour, and one or two of the discarded top shells.

Spicy Bean Quesadillas with Roasted Poblano, Garlic and Chiptole Salsa

I love quesadillas and these are the first ones I think I've made. We had Mexican stuff a few nights ago and we had all of these leftover beans sitting in their garlicy, cumin-y broth. I ordered some poblano chillies for something else (coming soon!) and had a few left over. Alas, this quesadilla was born.

If you've never had homemade tortillas, let me tell you, they are VASTLY superior to any storebought tortilla. I mean, it's not even close. So DON'T SKIMP. Do the right thing. Besides, it only takes a few minutes. You're worth it, right?

As you can see from the picture, I had started diving into them before taking the photo. Also, in the background, is a nice advertisement for Corona beer. This is a great way to use up left over cooked beans. I'm really happy with this one and I hope you try it.

2 cups cooked Mexican style beans
½ cup bean broth
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 red chillies, stemmed, deseeded and chopped finely
salt and black pepper
SAUCE
2 poblano chiles, stemmed, deseeded and cut into flat pieces
3 cloves garlic, peeled
½ red onion, chopped into big chunks
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons chipotle chile puree
1 tablespoon honey
salt and black pepper
olive oil, for drizzling
TORTILLAS
2 cups tortilla flour, or plain flour
½ cup warm water
1 tablespoon lard

BEAN PUREE
Take the cooked beans and put them in a blender with the bean broth. Whiz into a puree, set aside.

In a skillet set over medium-high heat, add the oil. When hot, add the garlic and chillies and saute briefly (30 seconds or so) just until they start to release their aromas. Add the bean puree to it and a little extra bean broth if you kept it (a little water if you have no bean broth left) and some salt and pepper. Cook until the liquid is absorbed and you have a nice, thick, tasty bean puree. Set the puree aside.

THE SAUCE
Preheat the broiler (grill) to high and place the oven rack about 4-6 inches under it. Drizzle a baking sheet with some oil and lay down the poblano pieces, onion and garlic in a single layer. Drizzle some more oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until the skins on the peppers start to blister and go black, about 6-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and peel the skins off of the chillies.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the roasted chillies, garlic, onion, chipotle puree, honey and salt and pepper to the pan. Cook for a minute or two, then reduce the heat down to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until the contents of the pan have softened up well, about 20 minutes at least.

Transfer the contents to a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

TORTILLAS
Combine the flour, water and lard in a bowl and mix with your hand until it comes together into a ball of dough, making sure the lard is incorporated well. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into four equal parts and roll each out into a circle on a well-floured surface.

In a non-stick pan set over high heat, cook the tortillas for about 20-30 seconds each side, until you start to get some brown spots.

ASSEMBLY
Split the bean mixture in half and spread each half on one tortilla. Top with the sauce in the same way. Top with the other tortilla. Warm up in a hot oven until hot, just a few minutes as you don't want the tortillas to go crisp. Serve hot.

Thai Chicken and Vegetable Salad

This is a just a basic, quick Thai dish which features some really great vegetables. The recipe as I have listed here in it's original form is actually a salad. I decided to prepare it as a stir-fry using the same ingredient list. If I had it to do over again, I would have kicked the heat up a bit with a few Thai chillies. That said, my favorite parts about it were the quick prep time and the crunchy-tenderness of the great vegetables. I tell ya, I love those little corncobs!

400 g chicken breast fillets
1 cup water
3 slices ginger
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
250 g broccoli, cut into florets
150 g fresh baby corn
100 g snow peas (mange-tout), trimmed
1 red pepper, cut into strips
3 scallion, cut into strips
½ cup sweet chilli sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest, grated
¼ cup fresh coriander

Slice the chicken into short, thin strips.

Place the water, ginger, lemon grass and fish sauce in a frying pan. Bring the mixture to the boil, reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken to the pan and cook in the hot liquid for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and allow to cool. Discard liquid.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the broccoli, corn, snow peas, red pepper and spring onion for 2 minutes. Drain and plunge into iced water; drain again.

Combine the sweet chilli sauce, honey, lime juice and rind in a small bowl and mix well. Arrange the vegetables and chicken on a serving platter. Pour the sauce over the top and toss gently.

(NOTE: If you want to stir -fry this up, skip the previous two steps, put some peanut oil in a hot wok and stir-fry the vegetables for 5 minutes or so, adding oil as needed to keep things moving in the pan. When the veg has started to go a bit tender, add the sauce and the chicken, stir through, cover, lower the heat to medium low, and allow to steam together for a minute or two. The sauce should bubble away and thicken some.)

Sprinkle over the coriander leaves.

NOTE: To trim snow peas, cut or break both ends off and then pull away any strings from along the sides.

Baked Fish with Fennel and Leeks

This is a fresh, clean Greek dish without a lot of fuss to it, but delivering pretty well on flavor. In reading through the original recipe, it looked like it was going to turn out a little bland... so I added some dried oregano and dried mint to the vegetable mixture during the initial saute and it lifted the flavors up nicely. We used hake, which added a bit of a buttery note to the finished dish. Also, a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of lemon-infused olive oil finishes this dish off well.

The more I ate it, the more I liked it. There is a fair bit of chopping involved here so make sure your knife is nice and sharp!

250 milliliters olive oil
500 g fennel, along with any of it's feathery leaves, finely chopped
700 g leeks, trimmed and finely chopped
1 bunch scallion, finely chopped
500 g tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped
dried mint and dried oregano, to taste (optional, but highly recommended)
salt & pepper
1 kg fish fillets (white, such as halibut, hake, etc.), scaled, pin-boned
squeeze of lemon juice
lemon-infused olive oil, to drizzle

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Heat 100ml of the olive oil in a deep saucepan, then add the fennel, leeks, and spring onions, and saute. After a few minutes they will take on some color. Add the tomatoes and season well, adding the oregano and mint, if desired. Keep simmering until everything has thickened.

Spread the mixture onto a roasting tray. Arrange the fish fillets on top in a single layer, season well, and sprinkle with another 100ml of the olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.

Remove from the oven and let the fish cool down for 10 minutes. Dress with the remaining lemon juice and olive oil.

Duck a l'Orange and Saute Potatoes

Every once in awhile you have to pay homage to an old classic. This is a fabulous duck dish which we have been wanting to try for awhile. Here's a few alibis:

1) We were not able to score a whole duck on the day so we went with two duck breasts instead. I cooked them using the 6-6-6 method (6 minutes, skin-side down in a pan over high heat, 6 minutes, skin side down in the same pan in a 200C oven, 6 minutes rest before slicing) and it worked wonderfully. Just score the skin and season the breasts prior to cooking)

2) I should have reduced the sauce down more, but MAN, we were hungry. So I didn't. But the flavor was still amazing.

3) Wondering what to do with all of that duck fat left in the pan? If you don't use it to saute some potatoes, you're crazy. Just parboil off some potatoes for 20 minutes, then slice them into rounds. Take the duck fat, heat it up in a skillet on medium-high and add the potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and some thyme. When you flip them over after about 5-7 minutes cooking, put some crushed garlic cloves and a knob of butter in and start spoon-basting them while the other side browns of for another 5 minutes or so. Put them on the plate for the duck to rest on.

4) This is an Anthony Bourdain recipe. All of his recipes have been awesome. I will list it here as it appears in the Les Halles Cookbook; the original recipe calls for a whole duck.

1 fresh duck, trimmed of excess fat
salt and pepper
½ orange, cut into 4 pieces
1 lemon, cut into 6 pieces
½ cup red wine vinegar
56 g sugar
450 ml dark duck stock or chicken stock
75 ml Grand Marnier
28 g butter
zest of 2 oranges, confited
juice of 1/2 orange
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 oranges, peeled and segmented

COOK THE DUCK
Preheat the oven to 250°F/130°C. After thoroughly washing the insides (and removing the giblets), season the cavity and outside of the duck with salt and pepper. Place the 4 orange pieces and the 6 lemon pieces inside the cavity. With the kitchen string, truss the duck, just like I told you to truss a chicken (see page 182). Legs up tight against the body. And get rid of the wing tips; they scorch.

Place the duck in the roasting pan or on a baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes at the relatively low temperature of 250°F/130°C. Then remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Crank up the oven heat to 350°F/180°C. Place the duck back in the roasting pan or on the baking sheet, but this time, elevate it from the bottom with a wire rack. If you don't have a wire rack, use duck bones, or carrots and onions, or English muffins to keep the bird from sticking to the bottom, and to allow for the copious amounts of drainage that'll be going on as all that lovely fat oozes out of your bird. Cook in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the skin is crispy and deep, golden brown. It's a good idea to spin the pan around to avoid uneven cooking.

THE SAUCE
Meanwhile, in the medium saucepan, combine the vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil. Using a wet pastry brush to keep the sugar from hardening on the sides of the pan, continue to cook until the sugar has completely dissolved and the liquid has the consistency of a light caramel. Do I need to remind you that this stuff is godawful hot? That it will stick to you like napalm if you touch it? Good. Remove from the heat and stir in your stock. Do this very gradually and carefully. Even if your stock is boiling, it is in no way anywhere near as hot as that sugar-vinegar mix. The stock could come up in a boiling foam and scald the living hell out of you if you're not careful.

Got through that without third-degree burns? Outstanding. Now simmer the sauce for 45 minutes on low heat. When the duck is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest. Discard the excess fat from the roasting pan (though using it to roast or saute potatoes is a superb idea). Place the now greaseless pan over high heat and add the Grand Marnier. Watch out, as it might well flame up and set your hair and eyelashes alight. When you've scraped up all that duck goodness, pour it all into the simmering sauce. Simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, then strain through the fine strainer into the small saucepan. Add the juices dribbling out of your resting duck if you like. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Whisk in the butter and add the confited orange zest, orange juice, and lemon juice. Check the seasoning again.

SERVE
On the serving platter, arrange the orange segments around the duck, and pour the sauce over and around it. The rest of the sauce can go in a sauceboat or gooseneck if you like. Carve the duck like a chicken, but expect less meat. It's not a typo; one duck will feed two reasonably hungry adults.

Enchiladas and Beans

We love this recipe. The enchilada recipe is my own (I'm happy to say) and the beans recipe is an old stand-by of Vanessa's. Together, they become magic.

I made my own corn tortillas here, using masa harina (1 cup), some water (2/3 cup) and a pinch of salt . This yields 8 tortillas. The flavor is definitely better than store-bought and it only takes a few minutes to throw together. Basically, I pressed the dough balls out between two pieces of cling wrap using a heavy, cast-iron skillet as the press. Fry them off in some hot oil for about 10 seconds per side and blot the oil off with some paper towels. Happy days!

The enchilada sauce has a nice heat to it, which is cut by the rich, creaminess of the goat's cheese. For the beans, don't be shy with the salt, pepper and cumin as it cooks, tasting frequently along the way and adjusting as necessary.

3 green chilies
3 green pepper, cored, seeded, stemmed
12 tomatillos
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 garlic, finely sliced
1 red onion, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
8 corn tortilla
2 chicken breasts
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
⅛ teaspoon chili powder
100 g goat cheese

Preheat the broiler. Prepare the roasted ingredients by taking the chilies, green pepper pieces and tomatillos and placing them on a baking sheet lined with foil and drizzled with oil. Drizzle a little more oil over the top and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Place 4 inches or so under the broiler and cook until the skin is charred, turning the chilies over halfway through, about 10-15 minutes altogether. Remove from the oven and set the tomatillos aside in a bowl. Take the skin off of the green peppers and chop roughly. Next, roughly chop the chilies. Put this all in the bowl with the tomatillos and set aside. Change the oven temperature to 350F.

Get a large saute pan hot over medium heat with the oil. When hot, add the garlic and onions and saute, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes, or until the onions are well softened and starting to go brown in spots. Add the tomatillos, peppers and chilies and cook until it starts bubbling some, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until most of the liquid rendered out by the tomatillos has evaporated and the mixture is somewhat thicker. Take off the heat and set aside.

Heat some canola oil (at a depth of about 1/8") in a small saute pan (just big enough to fit a tortilla) over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the tortillas, one at a time, for just 5-10 seconds per side in the hot oil. Pat dry between some layers of paper towels and set aside.

Heat a bit of oil a medium sized fry pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry. Season with cumin, coriander and chili powder to taste. When the pan is hot, fry the chicken quickly, browning on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and put the chicken on a cutting board. When just cool enough to handle, slice the chicken into chunks. The chicken will not be cooked through yet, and that's OK. Crumble the goat's cheese and reserve a 1/4 cup of it. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and assemble the enchiladas by laying some chicken and goats cheese along the middle of a tortilla, rolling it up carefully, and laying them side by side in the baking dish. (NOTE: I recommend doing the actual assembly inside the baking dish). Pour sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with the remaining goat's cheese. Place in the oven for 12 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese toasty and melty, and the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot over Mexican rice and/or beans.

The Beans
2 cups dried pinto beans, (1 pound)
salt, to taste
cumin, to taste

Sort the beans to remove any stones or grit and rinse in a colander. Place the beans in a pot with 8 cups water, bring to a boil, and cook on low heat for 6 hours or until tender. Stir a few times so that the beans cook evenly and don't burn. Add water as necessary. Cooked beans will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To cook in a crockpot:
Cook for 2 hours on high and 6 hours on low heat. Add water as necessary.

Eggs in Purgatory (Uovo in Purgatorio)

We had this seafood lunch planned. I was driving home and, predictably, it started pissing down rain. Alas, my short walk to the fishmonger's (literally 200 yards away) was not to be. I dug up this recipe for which we had everything on hand already. I've made it before, and I'll make it again.

One Note: When recipes say 'discard the garlic', I never do. I love it too much. I mean, for Pete's sake, if you're going to eat Italian food, you should prepare yourself for a little garlic. Or if I'm cooking it, A LOT of garlic.

1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups canned tomato puree
4 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces, or a pinch of dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 large eggs
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

In a medium skillet, cook the garlic in the oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until lightly golden. Add the tomato, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened. Discard the garlic.

Break an egg into a small cup. With a spoon, make a well in the tomato sauce. Slide the egg into the sauce. Continue with the remaining eggs. Sprinkle with the cheese. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, or until the eggs are done to taste. Serve hot.

Aromatic Chicken Braise

It is unfortunate that, due to digital photo issues, I could not provide the picture of this lovely dinner. Picture this though... a virginally white bed of fluffy rice topped with a chicken thigh, topped with a chicken leg. A sprinkling of chopped scallion and juilenned orange zest on top. Then a nice, rich dark brown sauce drizzled on and around. Maybe a little cloud of steam wafting from the top. Very Asian and delicious-looking.

That's what the picture looked like.

Anyhow, the flavors were really nice, too. Don't be afraid to add a little more red pepper flakes and Sichuan peppercorns. Don't substitute something else for the Sichuan (or Szechuan, for the non-indoctrinated) peppercorns. They have this funky lip-numbing property that is its essential characterstic, and no other spice really duplicates it. Oh, and it tastes distinct and awesome. So get some.

4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground
black pepper
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced gingerroot
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup minced green onion, white and green parts (divided use)
1 one-inch-square piece orange zest, plus 1 tsp julienned orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
1 ½ cups chicken broth (divided use)
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry wine
2 teaspoons sugar
4 cups steamed white rice

Trim the chicken pieces of excess fat and skin, and season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, 2 tbsp of the green onion, the square of orange zest, the cinnamon stick, red pepper flakes, and Sichuan peppercorns. Stir-fry until aromatic, about 2 minutes. (Kev's NOTE: Do not burn the garlic as it will make the dish bitter. If you see it starting to go brown, take the wok off the heat and swirl everything around to cool it down a bit, still working to get the spices to 'go aromatic'. Put it back on the heat when you are ready to put the chicken in)

Add the chicken pieces to the mixture and stir-fry until light golden brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, the soy sauce, wine, and sugar and stir to combine. Bring to simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer. Cover and cook gently until the chicken is opaque in the center but still tender, 25-30 minutes.

(Kev's NOTE: Nothing sucks more than dry chicken, except maybe dry turkey. It may not take 25-30 minutes to cook it; mine took about 18. You have to keep checking it by TOUCHING and SQUEEZING it. If you cut into it, you're going to release all of the juices. Start practicing and getting a feel for what meat that is cooked properly FEELS like to the touch. Also, the meat will continue to cook a bit when it is resting off the heat. It is beter to undercook it a little and have to warm it through for a bit than to 'pass the point of no return' and end up with a hockey puck)

Transfer the chicken to a platter with a slotted spoon, cover to keep warm, and return the wok to high heat. Add the remaining chicken broth. Bring the liquid to a boil and cook until reduced and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.

Return the chicken to the sauce along with any juices it has released on the platter. Heat thoroughly in the sauce and turn to coat evenly, about 2 minutes.

Remove the cinnamon stick and the zest square. Serve the chicken and sauce at once over a bed of rice, garnished with the remaining green onion and the orange zest.

Birthday Dinner

Right. 35 years old. "Almost halfway there" someone at work said to me today. Yeah, well, I'm having the time of my life. So for all of you folks who say "Oh, I wish I were 18 again...", you can have it. Those folks seem to forget that when you were 18 you didn't have a house or money. But I digress....

I have been wanting to make Blanquette de Veau for awhile now. It's a classic French dish that comes out all white. No garnish. No sprig of parsley. Nothing. I guess it's supposed to make some kind of statement.

A few notes:

1) The recipe calls for 2 hours of simmering the veal for it to become "fork-tender". Mine was a little closer to 3 1/2 hours. The moral of the story: it's done when it's ready. Don't cut corners or it will be like eating a shoebox.

2) I STILL cannot find pearl onions. If you can, good on you.

3) For the dessert as in life: Don't skimp when it comes to booze. Buy the good stuff. Triple Sec is NOT a substitute for Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Don't put triple sec in your margarita, either, or you're just letting the best things in life pass you by. Insist on Cointreau!

The dessert was a variation on a frozen soufle Vanessa had somewhere recently. Hey... anything with Grand Marnier in it is a winner in my book.

Main: Blanquette de Veau

560 g pearl onions
84 g butter
560 g small white button mushrooms
1.35 kg veal neck or shoulder,, cut into 2-inch squares
1 bouquet garni (see Glossary)
1 large onion, cut in half and studded with 4 cloves
1 carrot, cut in half
1 celery rib
4 tablespoons flour

PREP
Peel the pearl onions, place in a small pot, and cover with cold water. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Let it boil until the water evaporates (do not allow the onions to take on any color), then remove from the heat and set aside.

In the second small pot, repeat the procedure with the mushrooms, cooking them in water and 1 tablespoon/14 g of the butter just until they are tender. Set aside.

COOK THE VEAL
Place the veal in the large pot. Cover with water and add the bouquet garni, onion, carrot, and celery. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let cook over low heat for 2 hours, periodically skimming away and discarding meat scum, until the veal is fork-tender (meaning it can be easily cut with the side of a fork). Do not undercook. Do not overcook to mush! Strain the meat and set it aside. Strain the broth and keep it hot over heat. Discard the bouquet garni and the vegetables.

THE SAUCE
In the medium pot, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, and once it has foamed and subsided, whisk in the flour, making sure it is completely incorporated. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Do not color the flour. Gradually add 1 cup of the hot broth, whisking constantly to incorporate smoothly. Add the remaining broth and bring to a boil, cooking and stirring until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the veal, pearl onions, mushrooms, and cream. Stir. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and heat for 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper.

FINISH
Just before serving, place the egg yolk in the small bowl and add about a 1/4 cup/l12 ml of the hot sauce from the stew. Whisk well and add this mixture to the pot. Stir. Do not allow the sauce to come to a boil! Add the lemon juice, season again as needed, and serve with absolutely white rice.

Dessert: Grand Marnier Parfaits

2 cups heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons plus 8 tsp Grand Marnier
Grated zest of 1 orange
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting (optional)
Confectioners' sugar for dusting (optional)

Whip the cream in a chilled bowl until it holds a soft peak when the whisk is turned upright, Refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare eight 1/2-cup ramekins by wrapping the outside of each with a parchment paper collar extending 1 inch above the rim. Secure with tape or string. Set on a baking sheet.

Whip the egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a handheld mixer on medium speed until light and thickened.

Meanwhile. combine the granulated sugar and 6 Tbsp water in a small, heavy saucepan and bring to a full boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the sugar syrup to the egg yolks. Continue whipping until the mixture cools to room temperature.

Fold the 5 Tbsp Grand Marnier and the orange zest into the egg yolk mixture. Add one-third of the reserved whipped cream to the egg-yolk mixture and gently fold until incorporated. Fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Pour the egg mixture inro the ramekins to a deprn of 1/2 inch above the rim of each ramekin. Freeze for 3-4 hours.

To serve, unwrap the collars from the ramekins. Pierce 2 holes through each parfait and pour 1/2 tsp Grand Marnier into each. If desired, use a sieve to dust with cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar and serve at once.

My Gambas a Pil-Pil

I tried something quite a bit like this while we were in Spain and loved it. The key to my loving it was the use of sherry in the dish. I had been wanting to try to take a crack at recreating it, so here we are. I have to be honest, this turned out better than what I had in Spain. I backed off on the oil a bit and upped the sherry probably from the way I had it in Spain. Anyhow, the spices are subtle in a gradually lip-warming way... you never get so much spice that it finds its way into the back of your throat or anything; just enough to let you know its there.

Enough jabbering on... try these now. Oh, and don't even THINK about dumping the sauce down the sink when the prawns are gone. Get some crusty bread to mop that up... it's arguably the best part.

20 raw prawns, peeled and intestinal tract removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
5 cloves garlic, sliced, then chopped a bit
⅓ cup Amontillado sherry
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons parsley, fresh, leaves chopped coarsely

Prepare the prawns, rinse them, season them with salt and pepper then set them aside.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet under medium heat. Add the paprika and pepper flakes and swirl it around a bit. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and let is sizzle for 30 seconds or so, being careful not to color them much.

Add the sherry and increase the heat to medium-high. Let it bubble away until the liquid has reduced about a 1/3 or it's volume. Add the prawns and stir briefly to coat. Let it cook for 45 seconds to a minute then flip them over and cok the other side about the same amount of time, until the prawns are pinked, curled up and done.

Add the parsley and stir through. Put the prawns in a bowl and divide the sauce between them. Serve hot with some bread.

Venison Goulash with Dumplings

We had this saddle of venison that has been sitting in the freezer for awhile and decided it was about time we cooked it up to make some space in there. This was a really hearty, yummy stew. Here's a few tips:

1) When a recipe asks for 'mixed dried fruit' don't just grab any bag, make sure it goes with the rest of the ingredients. For instance, I (without paying attention) grabbed the 'Mixed Tropical Fruits'. The finished stew had a flavor reminiscent of all of those heavy venison stews I've eaten in the Caribbean. Just kidding. They don't eat that down there! This is a GERMAN recipe. As far as that goes, the Germans aren't known for their application of tropical fruits, either; about as much as the Caribbean is known for cooking up venison stews. If I had it to do over again, I would have gone for dried CHERRIES.

2) Pick a FULL-BODIED, fruity red wine. I chose a Petit Verdot, but you could have just as easily gone with a spicy Shiraz, to accentuate the peppery gamey-ness and the spices in the stew.

3) The dumplings were made at the last minute (literally with 15 minutes to go). Hey, if you think you can have proper goulash without dumplings, you're fooling yourself.

Here's the recipe...it serves 6.

250 g dried fruit
200 g slab bacon, cut into strips
1 kg venison, cut into strips
4 onion, finely diced
4 carrots, chopped
2 leek, chopped
4 celery, chopped
1 sprig parsley
500 milliliters beef stock
250 milliliters red wine
125 milliliters red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon juniper berries
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 cloves
salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly
1 tablespoon tomato paste
sugar
½ cup cream
1 teaspoon cornflour
FOR THE DUMPLINGS
1 ⅓ cup flour
¾ cup cornmeal
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 ⅓ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk or cream, plus more, if needed to bind mixture

Soak the dried fruit in a little cold water. Cut the bacon into thin strips and dry fry them in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the strips of venison to the skillet and fry just to seal. Add the vegetables all together and saute for 3 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the wine, vinegar and stock, then add all of the spices and some salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Add the dried fruit to the skillet and cover again and simmer for another 30 minutes. Remove the cover and add the red currant jelly and tomato paste and stir it into the sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar. Wisk the cream and cornstarch together and stir it into the mixture. Bring to a boil again and reduce to a simmer

Make the dough for the dumplings. Combine, the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and thyme together. Add the cream and/or milk, just enough to hold it together. Once you have the dough together, tear off little pieces and roll them into balls, pushing them down into the stew as you complete them.

Let the dumplings cook for 5-7 minutes or so. Serve hot.