Life of a Foodie

Chris insisted that we keep is birthday low key. No parties, no fancy restaurant and no extravagant gifts. He was less than enthused by the idea of entering his late twenties. Said he was too old for such celebratory measures.

But I refuse to believe that birthdays are just for kids. If anything, surviving another year is all the more reason to celebrate. We’re older, we’re wiser and we still deserve a slice of cake speared with a candle. And last week, I didn’t care if Chris disagreed.

In keeping with his wishes, I forwent a birthday fete. But there was nothing in the rules to keep me from cooking a celebratory dinner for us instead. Chris conceded and requested that I make several of his favorite items from the past year. And what the Birthday Boy wants, the Birthday Boy gets…even if he is in his late twenties.

Duck with Port-Cherry Sauce

From Bon Appétit, November 2000
Serves 4

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup Sherry
4 6-oz duck breast halves
12 frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed, halved
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup beef stock
½ cup Port
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp water
¼ cup butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

Whisk soy sauce and Sherry in medium bowl to blend. Using sharp knife, make diagonal cuts at 1/2-inch intervals in duck skin (not through meat). Place duck, skin side up, in glass baking dish. Pour marinade over. Cover duck with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.

Bring cherries, chicken stock, beef stock, Port and thyme sprig to boil in heavy medium saucepan over high heat. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat heavy large skillet over medium heat. Remove duck from marinade. Add duck breasts, skin side down, to skillet. Cook until skin is crispy, about 10 minutes. Turn duck over and continue cooking to desired doneness, about 5 minutes for medium. Transfer duck to work surface.

Add cornstarch mixture to Port-cherry sauce. Bring to simmer, whisking constantly. Add butter 1 piece at a time, whisking until butter is melted before adding next piece. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

* Farro is a great side for this duck. It’s an ancient grain with tons of nutty flavor and chewy texture.

Jean-Georges’s Warm Soft Chocolate Cakes

From Martha Stewart Living
Serves 4

8 tbs unsalted butter, plus more for molds
2 tsp flour, plus more for dusting molds
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona
2 large whole eggs
2 large egg yolks
¼ cup sugar

Butter and lightly flour four 4-ouce molds, ramekins, or custard cups. Tap out excess flour; butter and flour them again and set aside.

In the top of a double boiler or heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, combine butter and chocolate; heat until chocolate has almost completely melted.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together eggs, yolks, and sugar until light and thick.

Add melted chocolate mixture, and beat to combine. Quickly beat in flour until just combined. Divide batter evenly among the molds.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place filled molds on a rimmed baking sheet and back until the sides have set but the centers remain soft, 6-7 minutes.

Invert each mold onto a plate, and let rest 10 seconds. Un-mold by lifting up one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately.

We eat a ridiculous amount of cheese at our house. This massive cheese consumption directly correlates to our constant need for crackers. At first we purchased them at the grocery store, sampling various brands and flavors, but these boutique-sized boxes never lasted through the night. We then tried buying crackers in bulk, but it was just too hard to shell out fifteen dollars at once for what is really little more than flour and water. Crackers were causing quite the conundrum.

We finally solved the problem by simply making our own. Crackers are surprisingly simple and inexpensive to make. Once you know how to make the dough, you can toy with the flavors. Rosemary, seeds and spices all work beautifully. To pair with cheese, I make a basic dough sprinkled with sea salt so the cheese can stand out on its own.

Unlike many cracker recipes, this one does not contain yeast. It’s perfect for people with yeast phobias or little time on their hands. No activating, no proofing…practically no way to screw it up!

Roasted Garlic Flatbread

Adapted from Crisp Rosemary Flatbread, Gourmet July 2008

1 head of garlic
1 cup flour
¾ cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup water
1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop the top third off the head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the head in a piece of foil and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the cloves are soft and light brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Squeeze half the garlic cloves from their peels into a bowl and mash with a fork. Save the other half of the garlic for another use.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

Stir together flour, mashed garlic, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round.

Slide round (still on parchment onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes Transfer flatbread (discard parchment) to a rack to cool then make 2 more rounds on fresh pieces of parchment. Once cooled, break into pieces.

This past week, our local meteorologist warned of an impending “Arctic Blast.” We pulled out our coats and braced for snow but said “blast” did little more than take us from 80 degrees and sunny to 50 degrees and sunny. Such is the drama of a Texas winter.

In no way am I complaining. I moved here for the ability to wear flip-flops through Christmas and drink margaritas al fresco in January. But, as my family sits snowbound up north, I almost (but not quite) envy their freedom to hibernate without guilt. Here, curling up and stealing away from the world for the day is inexcusable. It’s beautiful outside! There are paths to be hiked, kayaks to be paddled! Besides, cozying up to the fire would do little more than cause a heatstroke.

Knowing that the “Arctic Blast” was all the winter I was going to get, I donned a sweater and set off to make the epitome of comfort foods: Chicken Pot Pie. It’s a down comforter of a dish that never fails to wax nostalgic of almost every childhood. In the past, I’ve enlisted Marie Callender to do the job, but this time I let memory recreate the dish for me.

Chicken Pot Pie is a free-for-all kind of recipe. Throw in whatever herbs or vegetables you have around that you think might go well. It’s a great way to use leftovers and it stretches chicken a long way. I used puff pastry for the crust because I love the flakiness and the simplicity, though any pie crust will do. Using a roux as the main thickening agent for the filling allows for less cream to be stirred in later, making the pie lighter overall. read more…

Among the food trends of 2008, salted caramel was my absolute favorite. I unabashedly joined the flock of like-minded obsessives and ate my way through every salted caramel item I could find. David Lebovitz’s Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzoh Crunch, and Gray Salt Caramels by Fran’s Chocolate were always close at hand. And though 2009 has rolled in and it’s time to make way for new food trends, my pang for the salty sweet remains insatiable.

So when I found half a bag of toffee pieces moping in the dreary depths of my pantry, I plucked them forth to become the integral ingredient in yet another salted treat. I also tossed in some almond paste left over from the week before, just because. The resulting cookies were chewy, almond-y, and wonderfully salty sweet. Can we move salted caramel from trend to mainstay?

Salted Toffee-Almond Cookies

1 ½ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
1 stick butter, room temperature
4 oz almond paste, broken into pieces
¼ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons milk (I used almond milk)
6 oz toffee pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray or butter a cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, almond paste and sugars until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of milk and blend together. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. If the mixture is slightly dry, add the remaining tablespoon of milk. Gently fold the toffee pieces into dough.

Form balls with the dough and place them on a cookie sheet, leaving two inches between each. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

French custards are as fussy as they are delicious. Thickened with eggs, they require careful tempering, constant stirring and delicate baking; too much technique for a weeknight.

When ease is of the essence, I opt for pudding, a simple, if not bastardized, version of custard. By replacing eggs with cornstarch as a thickener, the fuss is fizzled.

Homemade pudding is so simple it literally takes less time than making a boxed-brand and tastes far superior. To create your own recipe, simply start with milk, sugar, cornstarch and add the flavors of your choice, tasting as you go.

I particularly love this recipe for Mexican Chocolate Pudding because it demonstrates the possibilities of such a humble dessert. By using almond milk rather than dairy as a base, the pudding manages to feel simultaneously light and luxurious.

Mexican Chocolate Pudding

From Gourmet, February 2009

½ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ Tbs cornstarch
½ tsp cinnamon
2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1 ½ Tbs unsalted butter, but into small pieces
½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Whisk together brown sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp salt in a heavy medium saucepan, then whisk in almond milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking often, then boil, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Chill in a bowl, surface covered with a piece of buttered wax paper, until cold, at least 1 ½ hours.

In less than a quarter century, I have moved over a dozen times. No matter the reason, no matter the destination, I’ve found each move to be particularly difficult. It’s not the familiar sequence of packing, traveling and unpacking that makes me weary, but realizing that I have left my old friends behind and now must find new ones.

Having recently made a cross-country move, we decided it was time to break out our most tried and true friendship-maker: the dinner party. There’s no better way to seduce acquaintances into friendship than offering a free meal. It’s almost a guarantee that folks will show up, that wine will be drunk and that conversation will flow.

The cost of throwing such a fete can be off-putting, but with a little planning a gourmet meal for eight can be pulled off for fewer than one hundred dollars. We took seasonality, color and texture contrast into mind when planning the menu and came up with five courses that both impressed and satisfied.

Menu

Celery Root and Apple Soup
Fennel and Beet Salad
Seared Scallops with Kale Crisps
Ancho-Braised Short Ribs
Almond Cake

Money-Saving Tips:
*Make the party BYOB to shave off major expenditure and to allow guests to pair as they like.  
*Use inexpensive cuts of meat that can be braised or stewed
*Make the menu vegetable heavy as it will bulk up the plates, add a punch of color and won’t break your budget. Kale, beets and cauliflower are all seasonal and budget-friendly. read more…

Not so long ago, I threw an impromptu dinner party and Murphy’s Law was the guest of honor. It all began when I flipped open a random cookbook to a random page and came up with a seemingly simple Moroccan chicken dish. I jotted down a short list of ingredients and dashed off to a doomed grocery shopping experience. The meat counter was out of chicken (this has happened to me before, oddly enough, at KFC) and the clerks had never heard of preserved lemons. Several stores latter, I had found a chicken but was still lacking lemons.

“Not to worry,” I thought. I’d just create my own preserved lemons to substitute. I quickly consulted Google and trusted the first recipe for ‘preserved lemons on the fly’ that I found. Had I previously tasted or made preserved lemons in my life, I would have immediately known to disregard my Internet findings. But I hadn’t, so I didn’t. Instead, I happily followed the directions to sauté raw lemon peels in olive oil until slightly tender. I then haphazardly tossed them in with the rest of the dish.

When the guests arrived I began to plate the meal. The chicken was fine but the accompaniment smelled suspiciously odiferous. I tasted a spoonful and winced with disgust. Bitterness overwhelmed my mouth. The raw lemon peel had commandeered the dish with its potent pith. It was absolutely ruined. I threw out the offensive side and the dinner party turned out fine, as most gatherings with wine typically do.

Ever since then I’ve kept my eyes peeled for a jar of preserved lemons but have yet to find any. What I did find, however, were multiple recipes touting the extreme ease of preserving lemons at home. Using only lemons, salt and a little bit of time, I now have a sunny jar of preserves waiting to redeem my Moroccan mishap. read more…

I recently stumbled upon an article describing a method to make digestifs. I thought this would be an excellent way to begin my bootlegging career (although we are not actually fermenting alcohol, so don’t worry about legality). I found this process to be simple and very rewarding. While the process takes over a week, there is only about forty five minutes of actual preparation involved.

Since I bought a 750ml bottle of 100-proof vodka, I decided to try two different flavors: mandarin and basil. Technically, mandarin is not a true digestif because it is not considered a carminative, an herb that is thought to prevent the formation of gas. However, basil is a carminative (so are tarragon, fennel and anise) and is therefore considered a true digestif. read more…