November 10, 2009
Posted by Robin Bellinger, November 10, 2009 at 3:45 PM
[Photograph: Robin Bellinger]
This is about as fast as dinner gets at my house. That isn't saying much, but an hour from start to finish for meat-starch-veg is nothing to sniff at, especially when the cook can put her feet up (or fold laundry—or amuse the baby) for a good chunk of that time.
I usually make this with thighs only but this time bought the whole legs to save money. In the past I have tried this rub-and-roast with skinless pieces, and it seemed to work just as well.
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Posted by glutenfreegirl, November 10, 2009 at 2:30 PM
"Millet was first grown in China, where it was revered for thousands of years as one of their five most sacred grains."
[Photograph: Shauna James Ahern]
Millet is the tofu of the grain world.
OK, I know that might not make some of you hungry. Tofu has a bad reputation, just like millet. Some of us associate tofu with that watery block of white goo, sealed in plastic. Unappetizing. Truly good tofu, however, is made fresh that day, still warm, silky on the spoon, and something else entirely than what you have in your head.
The same is true for millet. Where have you seen millet before? For most of you, that's probably in a bag of birdseed. Yep, millet is the small round grain fed to the birds in the park by crazy old ladies. Does that make you want to eat it? Probably not.
How about this? That salad you see up there? That's a chilled millet salad with red peppers and golden raisins, honeycomb tangerines, goat cheese, red leaf lettuce, and prosciutto. Plus, a little apple gastrique.
Millet does not have to be boring.
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Posted by Caroline Russock, November 10, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Middle Eastern flavors have been bouncing around the Mediterranean for centuries and worked their way into Greek cuisine long ago. Cinnamon found its way into Greek cooking through the Turks, who brought it with them during their occupancy. Greece declared independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, but the country held onto its fondness for cinnamon.
Cinnamon shows up in some pretty unlikely places in Greek cooking, and this recipe for Sweet and Sour Eggplant and Onion Stew from Michael Psilakis's How to Roast a Lamb is a prime example.
Eggplant and cinnamon might seem like an improbable pair, but, as it turns out, the Greeks (and the Turks, for that matter) were really onto something.
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Posted by Tara Mataraza Desmond, November 10, 2009 at 11:30 AM
[Photograph: Tara Mataraza Desmond]
A few weeks ago I gave a friend a verbal whupping for calling a concoction he'd made of vegetables and melted cheese atop a piece of naan a pizza. On any given day, this guy is Mr. Italian American, gushing about Sunday "gravy" and salty meat and cheese sandwiches, so I was flabbergasted by his irreverent pizza misnomer.
"Pizza," though, has already been stretched thin by recipe adaptations. There are saag paneer pizzas, ramen pizzas, Pizzaritos, and French pizzas, to name a few. The intent isn't to oust authentic Italian originals (or Italian-American iterations) but to underscore the infallibility that the culinary basics of a pizza--breadlike bottom and toppings, fired in a hot oven--are genius and almost ubiquitously appreciated. My friend's naan creation is another case and point.
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Posted by Chichi Wang, November 10, 2009 at 9:00 AM
[Photographs: Chichi Wang]
Pig's stomach and beef tripe are fairly common finds in ethnic markets, but it's not everyday that I come across lamb tripe. Sitting next to an assortment of livers, the packages of lamb tripe were neatly stacked and as usual, dirt-cheap. Without knowing exactly what I'd make of it, I claimed a pack of the tripe and rushed home in anticipation. Unfurled on my cutting board, the organ was a sight to behold.
Though we often refer to ruminants as possessing four stomachs, each stomach is actually a section of the larger whole. Beef tripe is sold as such: honeycomb and omasum, for instance, are packaged separately. Since lamb is much smaller in size, all the discrete sections of its stomach—the tender, succulent honeycomb tripe, the spongy, furry rumen, and the flatter omasum—appear in one continuous swath.
To celebrate an innard I'd never eaten before, I embarked on a recipe I've never tried. For months now, I've been obsessed with the idea of sealing my pots with dough, an age-old method for low and slow cooking. Molded just to fit the shape of the cooking vessel, a rope of dough provides a formidable seal to preserve the moisture of a stew.
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Posted by Carolyn Cope, November 10, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Note: You may know Carolyn Cope as Umami Girl. She stops by on Tuesdays with ideas on preparing fruits and vegetables.
[Photograph: Carolyn Cope]
Although Asian pears (also called Chinese pears, apple pears or sand pears) are now fairly widely available, they were new to me a few years ago when they showed up in our CSA haul. People, this is one delightful fruit. (Well, okay, it's more like many, many varieties of delightful fruit that all share a name and a few key qualities.) I hardly know how I lived so long without them.
Asian pears have a lemony, floral flavor and a light, juicy crispness that puts them somewhere between pears and apples, but on a higher plane. They work so well on their own that they hardly require any adornment to make a special dessert. Still, a quick bath in a light brown sugar syrup perfumed with lemon, ginger and vanilla never hurt anyone, and very few foods are made worse by a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Are you with me here?
This elegant dessert takes mere minutes to prepare. It does most of the work itself while you eat dinner. If you can get your hands on a few Asian pears, I hope you'll give it a try.
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Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, November 9, 2009 at 4:05 PM
"Somehow, the eggplant comes off with a distinct smoky aroma that you'll swear must have been cooked over charcoal."
[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]
Eggplants always amaze me. They're my favorite vegetable to cook with since they can be manipulated in such exciting ways. This recipe from Chow grills them until they're tender and soft, then mixes them with an astonishing number of herbs including basil, mint, scallion, and parsley. Thinly sliced red onions, which quickly marinate in some red wine vinegar, provide a nice balance. The resulting salad is acidic, fresh-tasting, but still full of depth.
Chow has its own method for grilling eggplants, but I'm quite fond of a technique I learned a few years ago from KCRW's Good Food podcast. All you'll need is a heavy iron skillet. Lay the eggplant on a hot iron skillet and turn them every five minutes or so until they're blackened and very soft.
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Posted by cakespy, November 9, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Note: Jessie Oleson (aka Cakespy) drops by every Monday to share a delicious dessert recipe.
[Original artwork and photographs: Jessie Oleson]
Cliché as it may sound coming from a Seattleite, I must confess to feeling a small thrill around this time of year when Starbucks rolls out their holiday spread. Those cute red holiday cups are a harbinger of festive sugar bombs, including gingerbread and eggnog lattes, decorated cookies—but for me, the fondest memories are associated with the cranberry bliss bar.
In general I'm not a huge fan of mass-produced baked goods, but there is just something about this bar. And I'm not the only one: some online sleuthing revealed several odes of undying affection for the treat—as well as a bevy of copycat recipes.
I adapted this from one found on Mr. Breakfast. While they don't taste exactly like the ones at Starbucks, they are pretty excellent in their own right, with an extremely dense, moist cake studded with tart cranberries, spicy ginger and sweet white chocolate, all crowned with a winter wonderland of rich cream cheese frosting and white chocolate drizzle.
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Posted by Kristen Swensson, November 9, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: On Mondays, Kristen Swensson of Cheap, Healthy, Good swings by these parts to share healthy and delicious recipes with us. Take it away, Kristen!
[Photograph: Kristen Swensson]
I used to consider risotto too rich, expensive, and upscale for the everyday. Not sure why. Maybe it's the inherent creaminess, or that it's frequently grouped with words like "porcini" and "truffle oil." Maybe it's because I've seen risotto mostly at fancy restaurants. Y'know, the ones I go to all the time. Because I'm unemployed, and we can do that.
Anyway, as it turns out, risotto can be adapted pretty easily to healthy diets and low budgets. Butternut Squash Risotto, which I whipped up a few weeks ago to stunning effect (if I do say so myself), is one example. Mushroom Risotto, which I made earlier this week, is another. A good one, at that.
Sophisticated yet simple, it's a get-together meal that will ingratiate your friends and make your enemies curse your name. The dish is earthy to the nth degree, but never murky, due to an abundance of fresh herbs. A solid dousing of parmesan at the end rounds out the flavor and adds creaminess.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, November 8, 2009 at 9:00 AM
[Photo: Robin Bellinger]
This simple coffee cake is from Lucinda Scala Quinn's wonderful new book Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys. I've been immersed in this book for about a week; my mother sent it to me because my husband is always complaining that I don't make enough food. He thinks you're wasting your time if you cook less than a pound of pasta at once, whereas I, as a single girl, was known to go through a box 2-ounce serving by 2-ounce serving.
Although I dearly love a cinnamon-scented, streusel-topped butter bomb, this cake's subtlety is not without appeal. It's very tender and buttery but doesn't send you straight back to bed for a nap. It could be part of a bread and muffin basket at any brunch, or you could serve a slice with a cup of maple-syrup-drizzled yogurt for a very simple meal—one that leaves room for a big spaghetti dinner.
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