The dished turned out great. My only wish is that I had the services of a professional photographer. The beef dish was melt-in-your-mouth and the sticky glaze that went over it was wonderful. I mean, a real revelation. You wouldn't guess that by the picture, though, in that it looks like a big brown blob. Trust me. You'll want to try this.
The mussel dish had a nice, smoky balance with the leeks as a perfect counterpoint. Dessert was a small, but it packed a WALLOP of flavor - with the scent and taste of rosewater running though it.
C-Licious: Orange-Coriander Sangria2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 cup orange juice, fresh
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon sugar in the raw or brown sugar
4 slices orange or blood orange , for wetting glasses and garnish
1 cup cognac or good brandy
2 cups floral white wine, such as Spanish Verdejo or Muscadet from Loire or Portugal
4 cups ice
1 cup sparkling water
⅛ teaspoon orange blossom water
In a small skillet over low heat, lightly toast all the coriander seeds for 6 to 8 minutes. constantly shaking the pan. The seeds will release some of their oils and you will be able to smell them. Remove 1 teaspoon and set aside.
Add the orange juice and granulated sugar to the small skillet with the 2 tablespoons coriander and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover. and let the mixture cool, allowing the coriander flavor to steep for about 15 minutes. The mixture should then cool completely for about 12 hour in the refrigerator.
Blend the cooled orange mixture in the blender for about 30 seconds on high speed. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a small pitcher or bowl. The syrup should be a deep orangey-amber color.
Grind the reserved teaspoon of coriander in a spice grinder until very fine. Mix it with the sugar in the raw and transfer it to a small bowl or saucer.
Wipe an orange slice around the rim of each glass, leaving the glass rim a little wet. Dust the rims of the glasses with the coriander and sugar by dipping them into the mixture.
Mix the syrup with the cognac and wine in a pitcher with the ice. Add a cup of sparkling water and the orange-blossom water. Pour into glasses.
Garnish each glass with orange slices and serve.
Steamed Mussels with Leeks and Smoky Paprika2 tablespoons European-style butter, such as Plugra
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
¾ cup Chardonnay or Spanish albarino
16 ramps, root ends trimmed and washed or 2 leeks, white part only, root ends trimmed, 1/2" rounds
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon Aleppo chiles
32 mussels, scrubbed and debearded just before cooking
1 tablespoon lemon juice
sea salt, to taste
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive oil. When the butter starts to brown, stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring until the garlic begins to release its aroma and becomes a little sticky.
Add the wine, ramps, paprika and Aleppo chilies. Stir and continue to cook for 3 minutes until the wine reduces to 1/2 cup and the ramps start to soften and become limp.
Add the mussels co the pan and cover them with a tight-fitting lid or heavy baking sheet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until the mussels open.
Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the lemon juice and season with very little salt (the mussels should be salty, so you won't need much).
Divide the mussels (8 per person) into 4 warm bowls (just out of the dishwasher or warmed for a minute in a 350°F oven). Divide the juices and leeks evenly among the bowls. Serve with fresh crusty bread, lightly grilled or freshly baked to soak up the juices once the mussels are gone.
Braised Beef Short Ribs with Vanilla-Glazed Carrots
8 beef short ribs, weighing 6-8 pounds
4 tablespoons kosher salt
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup dry Riesling, or other non-oaky white
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
4 medium carrots, peeled
2 tablespoons butter
½ vanilla bean
salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Season each of the short ribs generously with the kosher salt. Lay them Side by side in a large, heavy roasting pan.
Scatter the onion, chopped carrot, and the bay leaf over the ribs.
Combine the vinegar, wine, brown sugar and garlic in a small mixing bowl and pour the mixture over the short ribs. Place the tamarind in the same bowl and add 1 cup of hot water to dissolve it a little. Whisk the tamarind to loosen it and then add it and the liquid to the short ribs. There may be pulp and seeds from the tamarind, which you can strain out after cooking.
The liquid should come 3/4 up the sides of the short ribs. Add more water if necessary.
Cover the pan tightly with foil and then again with a second layer of foil.
Place the pan in the oven and braise the short ribs for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and check that the short ribs fall apart when poked with a fork.
Remove the ribs carefully with tongs, place them onto a serving dish, cover, and set aside at room temperature.
Strain the liquid (you should catch any tamarind seeds or bits of garlic, onion and carrot) through a fine strainer into a large container.
Chill the pitcher of liquid for at least 1 hour so the fat rises to the top. Remove the fat; it should form a large, solid chunk at the top when cold.
While the braising liquid is cooling, slice the carrots slightly on the bias into 1/2-inch-thick ovals.
In a medium saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds with a knife into the melting butter. Add the carrots and 1/2 cup water. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the carrots on medium heat until they soften and become lightly glazed, about 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and stir. Reseason.
In a large, deep-sided saute pan over high heat, bring the skimmed braising liquid to a boil and add the short ribs. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the short ribs for 20 to 25 minutes, until they start to glaze in the sauce. The sauce will thicken after 15 minutes. Keep warm.
Roll the short ribs around in their sauce, using a pair of tongs, to make them a little more glazed and sticky. place each short rib on a plate and spoon on a little extra sauce. Serve with glazed carrots.
Palace Bread: Syrup-Soaked Bread Pudding with Thick Cream and Pistachios
3 ¾ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups honey
1 tablespoon rosewater
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large baguette, cut in four 6" pieces, crusts trimmed and removed
1 cup mascarpone, at room temperature
½ cup pistachio nuts, lightly toasted, finely chopped
In a large, shallow saucepan or saute pan big enough to hold the loaf of bread, combine the sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring this to a boil over medium-high heat.
Stir in the honey, bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking until the honey-syrup darkens to light amber. This will
take about 18 minutes.
Add the rosewater and lemon. At this point, the syrup should be quite thick.
Put the bread in the pan and carefully push it down into the syrup with the back of a ladle. Ladle the syrup on top. Slowly simmer the bread in the syrup for 30 to 40 minutes, continuing to submerge and baste the bread with syrup. From time to time, carefully add small amounts of water to thin the syrup and prevent it from becoming too dark and sticky.
When the bread has turned a translucent amber color all over, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to let the bread cool slightly and absorb most of the remaining syrup.
Transfer the bread to a cutting board and, with a serrated knife, cut it into 8 squares and then again into 16 small triangles.
Serve two pieces of bread on each plate topped with 2 tablespoons of mascarpone cheese and a generous tablespoon of chopped pistachios over
the mascarpone.
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