Simply Plated

Herb and Whole Grain Mustard Encrusted Pork Tenderloin

Wed, 29 May 2013 14:48:00 -0400

I’ve probably mentioned before how much I love Mustard Girl Mustards. I love that Jennifer Connor, learned how to make a really high quality product, took a risk, started her own mustard business, and is now in hundreds of stores. I also love the product, especially stone ground mustard. I always have it on hand, because mustards are a great “secret ingredient.”

Whether you use a little or a lot, mustard tends to leave people saying, “MMM, why is this so good!?” In the case of this recipe, the mustard is slathered on and basically used as culinary glue.

First you’ll need to clean up your pork tenderloin. Tenderloins usually have some silver skin on them; silver skin doesn’t break down the way fat will, so it has to go. Just take a sharp knife and slide it underneath the silver skin.

I had some beautiful thyme and parsley from my garden! Remove leaves from the stems and give it a rough chop. You can squirt the mustard directly onto the trimmed tenderloin and brush it so there’s an even layer, then cover completely with the chopped herbs. It’s spring-y, rustic, and vibrantly green.

Put the tenderloin(s) in an oiled cast iron skillet and bake at 375F for 15 minutes or so.

Once the pork reaches the internal temp of about 145F-150F, it’s ready for about a 5 minute rest before slicing and serving!

Herb-y and full of tang, this is the definition of satisfyingly easy weekday cooking. Minimal ingredients, minimal active cooking time and maximum flavor! Enjoy!

Homemade Goat Cheese

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:05:59 -0400

I love all cheeses, but there is a special place in my heart for goat cheese. It’s creamy, tangy, and all around more interesting than other cheeses.

Whenever I talk about making my own cheeses, people usually assume it’s really labor intensive. I get a lot of, “you know they sell it already made, right?” But where’s the fun in that? If you can stir and heat up things on your stove, you’ve got pretty much all the necessary skills for basic cheese making.

You can do this with cow or sheep milk, but again goat milk is pretty amazing. It’s easier for people to digest than cow’s milk. A lactose-intolerant friend once (drunkenly) pointed out to me that “humans are the only species that drink another species’ milk.” It’s true! And cow’s milk is really hard on the human body. Lactose intolerance is something that we’ll all experience at some point in our lives. In fact, countries that drink primarily goat’s milk have less digestive problems and lactose allergies. And people who have lactose intolerance report that goat’s milk doesn’t bother them at all. It’s actually closer to human milk than anything else out there.

To make your own cheese, you need the following items.

- A non-reactive pot, stainless steel, clay, or glass. Anything else will leave your cheese with a metallic aftertaste.

- A long handled spoon

-Thermometer and binder clip

-1 quart of goat’s milk

-1/4 c. of white or rice wine vinegar (some people use lemon juice, but I like the consistent results that vinegar gives you)

-Cheese cloth and a strainer

To start, pour your milk in your non-reactive pot, clip the binder clip to the edge of the pan to keep your thermometer in place and slowly bring the milk up to 180F.

While you’re waiting for the milk to come up to temperature, line your strainer with cheesecloth and place the strainer in the bowl.

As soon as the surface of the milk starts to bubble and foam, you’re probably at 180F. Kill the heat, pour in the vinegar and stir. You’ll immediately see the curds separate from the whey. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes without any interruptions.

Pour your curds and whey into the cheesecloth lined strainer. The whey will slowly drain into the bowl and you’ll be left with goat cheese! Throw the whey out and cover the cheese with the cheesecloth. I used a bag full of Roma tomatoes as a weight to encourage more draining. Let the cheese sit over night in the fridge.

The next day, I was left with beautiful goat cheese in my cheesecloth. Salt the cheese to taste and use the cheese cloth to shape it into a log.

To me, spring means freshness. This is about as fresh as cheese gets! Beautiful, homemade product that would normally cost you more than double if you bought it at the store. Plus, when you make it yourself, you can control every little detail, from the kind of milk you use, to any extra herbs and spices you may want to add.

Enjoy!

Asparagus Tart with Parmesan and Goat Cheese

Mon, 06 May 2013 13:38:17 -0400

After weeks and weeks of dreary weather in Chicago, spring has finally sprung around here. We can all finally come out of our winter cocoons and get some sunshine. We finally get some delicious spring vegetables to enjoy! Sweet peas, beets, artichokes, arugula, and one of my favorites: asparagus, are all in season! So let’s take advantage of all this seasonal produce and eat our veggies.

First, you’ll need some frozen phyllo dough. Phyllo dough is a thin piece of unleavened dough that has been painstakingly stretched until it’s wafer thin. The result when baked is a light, crispy and crunchy crust. Pull out the phyllo from the freezer and keep it covered with slightly damp paper towels so the pastry sheets don’t dry out. When you’re ready to start layering the dough, make sure you have plenty of melted butter and a pastry brush.

Brush each layer of pastry with a little bit of butter, starting at the edges and working in toward with middle with your pastry brush.

Once you have about 6 or 7 pieces layered, you can start preparing your asparagus. Cut off the woodier lower half of the asparagus and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on the top piece of phyllo. Line the asparagus in the middle of your pastry. Trim the excess pastry off either end of the tart and use it to create a little frame of crust around the asparagus. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the asparagus.

Put the tart in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes or so, or until the pastry is flaky and golden brown and the asparagus is tender. Don’t overcook the asparagus. Once it’s out of the oven, dot the tart with some goat cheese.

Give it a little squeeze of lemon, slice and serve! It works as an appetizer or as part of a light meal. It’s savory and buttery with a little hint of sweetness. Enjoy!

Homemade Smoked Salmon

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:37:28 -0400

A little over a month ago, I finally built my own smoker and finally the weather and my schedule have allowed me to try it out! So for the inaugural smoke for my smoker, I decided upon salmon. I think salmon filets and my smoker are going to become the best of friends this summer.

Smoking couldn’t be simpler once you have the actual smoker, and making the smoker was fun! There’s something about drilling through steel that makes you feel powerful. I recommend it.

To get started, you’ll want to cure the salmon over night. Make a mixture of kosher salt, cracked black pepper and some brown sugar. Some crushed juniper berries would be nice too! Sprinkle your salt mixture down in your pan and place the filet skin side down, make sure the fish is completely covered.

Let it sit like this overnight, maybe peek in on in to make sure it’s still covered with the cure. After at least 12 hours, you’ll want to wash the dry rub off of the filet and prepare your smoker.

Set up the hot plate with as many extension cords as you need to reach an outlet, and soak your wood chips in some water.Now, don’t use just any wood. It must be untreated and intended for cooking. Anything that’s stained or treated may release toxins that you don’t want to eat.

Turn up the hot plate to almost it’s full capacity. Mine goes from 1-5 and has a MAX setting, I found that somewhere between 4 and 5 made for some really nice smoke. Place your wood chip box (I used an old bread pan) directly on the hot plate and close the lid. You’ll also want a thermometer so you can monitor the temperature of the smoker at all times. Don’t let it get much hotter than 220F or much cooler than 180F.

My furry little sous chef was very interested in the fish.

Place the filet on the grill grate, put the lid on and give it about 2 hours. You want the thickest part of the salmon to be at least 150F.

Outdoor cooking doesn’t get any better than this.

After 2 hours of lounging in the sun, this is your reward. Let it cool or serve it immediately. It’ll stay good in your refrigerator for about 3-4 days, but it definitely won’t last that long.

If you don’t want to commit to making a big smoker like mine, there are alternatives for you. There are some nice and small smokers that you can buy at specialty stores, or you can make a stovetop smoker. All you need is a perforated hotel pan, a deep hotel pan and a tight fitting lid. Place your soaked wood chips in the deep hotel pan, the perforated hotel pan will act as your grill grate. Then you just put the whole thing over a tiny little flame on your stove. Or, you can up-cycle an old charcoal grill.

It may be a little bit more work to make your own salmon rather than just buying some at the store. But it puts your in absolute control of exactly what goes into your food. And I think it’s much, much more tasty. Enjoy!

Pea and Mushroom Penne

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:58:00 -0400

The problem with a lot of comfort food is that you often need it the most when you have the least amount of energy to make it. If you’re like me, pasta is pretty much the holy grail of comfort foods. Rather than spending an entire day over a pot of red sauce, I want sauce in less than 20 minutes without resorting to a jar.

So here it is: dinner in less than 20 minutes with under 10 ingredients.

Here’s what you’ll need

-a tablespoon of butter

-8 oz mushrooms, sliced

-3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

-a sprig of thyme

-a small sprinkle, just under a tablespoon

-16 oz whole milk (or a combination of cream, milk, just 14 oz worth. If you use anything less than whole, supplement with a little bit of something fattier.)

-a handful of frozen peas

-grated parmesan

-3/4 of a pound of penne pasta

Salt and pepper

First, you’ll want to put a big pot of salted water to boil for your pasta. Always put a lid on the pot your boiling water in, you’ll be amazed how fast it’ll start to boil.

Next, saute your mushrooms with butter, garlic and thyme. The mushrooms will release liquid, keep cooking until that liquid evaporates, then sprinkle in the flour. Stir the flour and mushrooms around until the flour starts to turn golden brown, this will remove any “raw flour” taste from your finished dish.

Pour in the milk, you may want to start with about 14 oz and leave the last few ounces to adjust the texture. Let the milk come up to a simmer and cook until it thickens. Add in a big handful of shredded parmesan cheese. Remove the sprig of thyme from your sauce and add in your cooked pasta and a big handful of frozen peas.

Stir to combine, pile up a portion in a big bowl, and sprinkle with more cheese. This dish can stand alone or you can pair it with some chicken or crisped prosciutto. It’s savory and satisfying with a sweet pop of pea. You can use any kind of mushroom or you can experiment with any kind of vegetable you may have on hand.

Once you have this recipe in your repertoire, you can make a comforting, cheap, simple, and satisfying meal faster than you can order take-out. Enjoy!

Hominy and Chipotle Soup for Young Ambassadors Chicago

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:15:00 -0400

If you’ve never heard of the Young Ambassadors of Chicago, it’s truly an amazing organization. The Young Ambassadors are responsible for empowering those who live in poverty to help themselves. As they say, it’s a “hand up, not a hand out.”

Take a minute to check out their website:

http://www.opportunity.org/young-ambassadors-for-opportunity/

When I was asked to be a part of the Live Below the Line Kick-off and Cook-off, I jumped at the opportunity to be involved. The challenge was to create dish for under $1 a portion, the same challenge that many people living below the line face everyday.

While the numbers are on the decline, a staggering 1.4 billion people live below the line of poverty, and live off less than $1.50 a day everyday. To show solidarity, the Young Ambassadors of Chicago are going to do the same from Monday April, 29th until Friday the 3rd-spending a total of $7.50 for the entire week on their food and drink supply.

I chose to use hominy as my main ingredient, as it’s a main source of fuel for so many people around the world. Maize is the 3rd biggest staple of the average diet, right under rice and wheat. Hominy is a giant, white corn kernel that people living below the line often grind into a paste and eat as a filler to help give their bodies the feeling of being full and satiated. I also wanted to use every bit of each ingredient, I didn’t want to throw out anything that I could’ve used.

To start, I took my time caramelizing a pound of onions, a half pound of carrots, and 7-8 cloves of garlic. I didn’t have much money to spend on ingredients, so I really wanted to focus on cooking technique. Cooking techniques are free and can really help development some amazing flavor. I then added in 10 oz of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and let that caramelize very gently over low heat.

Add in a quart of vegetable broth, bring the mixture up to a gentle simmer and puree everything until it’s smooth. Next, you’ll need a lot of hominy. I bought a 6 lb + 12 oz can of hominy, drain the liquid from the can and rinse the kernels several times.

Using your immersion blender again, blend it up, not so it’s completely smooth, but so there’s some variety in the texture. I added in one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, along with the juice, and two dice red bell peppers for sweetness.

Add in the juice of 4 limes and break off all the stems from a bunch of cilantro and allow the soup to slowly simmer for as long as you can. I ended up adding in about a pint of water just to make it a more soup-y consistency. Use the zest from the limes and the leaves from the cilantro to add a nice refreshing garnish. This made almost 2 gallons of soup for $16.75. An entire 9.5 oz portion of soup only costs 67 cents. Each tasting portion only cost about 18 cents.

This soup is comforting, smokey, spicy and satisfying. It could stand alone or could easily be the base for just about anything you’d like. This recipe makes a lot of soup, here’s a scaled down recipe:

3-4 Garlic Cloves, smashed, ½ lb of yellow onions, quartered, 1/4 lb of carrots, cut on a bias, 5 oz of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 1 pint of vegetable broth, 54 oz of white hominy, 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 diced red bell pepper, water, as needed. Salt and pepper to taste, Lime juice to taste and lime zest and cilantro for garnish.

Next week, take a day to try living off of $1.50 a day. Or just consider how much you take your morning coffee for granted. Maybe you have a favorite snack or beverage couldn’t imagine going a day without. Consider the 1.4 billion people living off of so little and challenge yourself to do the same!

Fried Plantains and Garlicky Pork Loin

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:49:00 -0400

Any recipe that states you must “fry, smash, and fry again” is worth trying at least once. If you’ve never tried a plantain before, they’re sort of the bigger, starchier cousin of bananas. Or the lovechild of a banana and a potato. They’re a year-round staple in Africa, the Caribbean Islands, and coastal regions of South America.

So to start, acquire a plantain, cut off both ends and make a shallow cut down the length of the plantain.

Remove the peel and cut your plantain into little disks. Season liberally with salt, pepper and chipotle powder. Fry the little disks in a small amount of oil until they are light brown in color.

Remove the plantains from the oil and place on your cutting board and smash them with the back of your spatula and then back into the pan they go!

Once they’re all crisp give them one last small sprinkling of salt. You can leave them in a low oven until your ready to eat them. I paired my little plantain patties with some oregano and garlic marinaded pork loin. If you’d like to do the same, just place a few pork chops in a big ziplock bag with five chopped cloves of garlic, some oil, apple cider vinegar and a big palmful of dried oregano. Let the pork chops sit in the marinade for at least 30-45 minutes. When you’re ready to cook them, just shake off the excess marinade and pan fry until done.

Put it all on a plate with some beans and you’ve got a meal more exciting than you’re average weekday fare.

Enjoy!

Fig and Apple Grilled Cheese

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:58:00 -0400

This grilled cheese sandwich is an amazing combination of flavors and textures. It’s much more sophisticated than you’re basic cheddar and sandwich bread grilled cheese, but it’s just as easy to make. The first time I had this sandwich was in Champaign visiting my sister with our mom. This sandwich blew our minds, such an unexpected and delicious twist on a classic.

And April is National Grilled Cheese month after all, as if we needed an excuse to make grilled cheese.

You’ll need some good challah bread, some fontina cheese, a green apple, and some fig jam.

Slather on a good amount of the fig and finish with layers of thinly sliced green apple and fontina cheese. Fry it up in the pan with a little bit of butter. You MUST use butter.

A wonderful stand-by for a simple meal with friends. Enjoy! Happy National Grilled Cheese Month!

Simply Seared Ribeye

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:13 -0400

If you’ve ever turned on Food Network, you probably heard someone say that they’re searing a piece of meat to “seal in the juices.” It’s a hotly contested debate, even Aristotle had something to say about it, but he also thought meat had pores and women were soulless so maybe he’s not the most credible source on some subjects.

Yes, searing does create a “crust” on the meat, but that “crust” doesn’t seal in juices. In fact, if you set a freshly seared steak on a plate for five minutes, you’ll most likely notice that some liquid have accumulated on the plate. So Food Network lied to you. Searing doesn’t magically seal anything, but it does create some pretty amazing flavor.

Searing results in a Maillard reaction, which makes things golden-brown and delicious. It’s a chemical reaction between amino acids, sugars, and heat. It’s the reason why a seared steak is so much more delicious than a boiled steak; it’s why you sear before you braise.

So if you’ve ever gone to sear something and ended up with an anemic piece of meat, there are simple adjustments that you can make to get even browning and powerful flavor.

First, allow your steaks to come up to room temperature. Season the steaks at the last possible moment before they hit the pan, salt draws moisture from just about anything, any unwanted moisture will prevent browning.

This is the job for your cast iron skillet. Get the pan screaming hot, but not hot enough to smoke. If you see smoke coming off of your pan, turn down your heat, otherwise the outside of the steak will burn before the inside can cook. I like to preheat my cast iron skillet in a 500 degree oven for a few minutes.

Ribeyes are a fantastic cut of meat, they’re cheaper than tenderloin but just as tender. They taken from the top of the rib primal, it’s a muscle that doesn’t carry much weight, which results in a nice tender steak.

Take the skillet out of the oven with some serious pot holders. Rub your steaks with a little bit of canola oil, coarse salt and black pepper. Really press the seasoning into the meat. Put the skillet on medium-high heat and put the steaks in seasoned side down- there should be some serious sizzling going on, otherwise your pan isn’t hot enough. Make sure you don’t overcrowd your pan, overcrowding adds too much moisture in the pan and you can’t have a Maillard reaction with moisture.

After about 4-5 minutes on one side, you’re ready to season the second side and flip. Cook the second side for the same amount as you did the first. Take the steaks off of the heat and allow the meat to rest for at least half of the cook time. For example, if you cooked each steak for 8 minutes, each steak would require 4 minutes of rest before cutting. This allows the juices to redistribute and keeps the moisture from running onto your plate, which would leave you with a dry piece of meat.

Tasty, tasty science. Enjoy!

Shrimp en Papillote with Fennel and Red Pepper

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:08:27 -0400

En papillote, or “in parchment” is a simple way of cooking almost anything. You can fill your little parcel with anything you please, fold it up, pop it in in the oven, and you’ll have a beautifully steamed meal in only a few minutes. You can even make the little pouch ahead of time so it’s waiting for you after work. This method works best with vegetables and seafood, but I’ve seen it done with chicken or pasta too. You could even ditch the flavor packet from your packaged ramen noodles and add in some shrimp and garlic and a shot of soy sauce.

To start, thinly slice your vegetables. If you’ve never thinly sliced a bulb of fennel, it could be a little intimidating. The easiest way is to trim the bulb of the stalks and prawns, cut it in half, then those halves into quarters.

Cut the core out, turn the fennel quarter so it lays flat, and slice away! Slice your bell pepper to the same thickness that you’ve sliced your fennel. I used about a quarter of each vegetable for one pouch.

To cut the parchment, get yourself a medium-sized rectangle of parchment and fold it in half.

Cut the folded rectangle so when you open it back up it looks like a big heart. Pile your ingredients on one side of the heart. I added a few big pieces of parsley, a good sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a little pat of butter.

Now you can fold the other half of the heart over, and begin sealing your parchment parcel. Fold over the top corner of the heart and start the second fold half way through the last fold and so on and so on.

Make sure that there’s no way that air or liquid can escape, before you make the last fold, add in a little bit of white wine and some stock in your pouch and twist it shut. Place your pouch on a baking sheet and put into a 325F oven for a little under 10 minutes.

To serve, put the pouch on a plate and cut open the top with a paring knife. As somebody who loves opening presents, I find cooking en papillote to be an absolute delight. The steam created during cooking causes the pouch to expand, once you cut it open, the pouch deflates and the air is filled with the sweet aroma of fennel, shrimp and white wine.

This is easy enough for weekday cooking, but elegant enough for a small dinner party. You can experiment with different spices, vegetables and proteins to find what you like best. Enjoy!

Red Fish, Yellow Fish, Green Fish

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:51:53 -0400

I don’t normally use this blog as a soap box, but this commercial for McDonald’s really pushed some buttons for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxacxShp3LY

“We’d love to see this fishery last for many, many years to come. And I think we’re doing a really good job of doing that. Take care of the ocean, and the ocean takes care of you.”

That last part is true, but this commercial is lying to you.

It’s a guy on his boat, doing what he loves best. The net that he and his crew lower into the sea is called a Trawl. It’s a weighted net, often the size of a football field that is lowered between the ocean surface and floor to catch fish like pollock, cod or shrimp. Often times, the net is dredged along the ocean floor to catch different kinds of mollusks. Obviously, a big metal-framed net scraping across the ocean floor is disruptive and damaging to the ecosystem.

When the McDonald’s fisherman pulls his net back in, he and his crew and delighted with their catch: 100% Alaskan Cod that he just can’t wait to fillet, freeze, bread and fry for you. How realistic do you think it is for a person to put a football field sized net in the ocean, and only catch one type of fish? Here’s a more accurate representation:

I looked up the fishery that McDonald’s gets their cod from, their fishing techniques include the trawl shown in the commercial, long-lining, and pots (http://tinyurl.com/clpqhvb). Pots are probably their most sustainable method, it keeps the fish alive in a trap before the fisherman can go and collect it. Long-lining and trawling almost always have some bycatch as a result. The bycatch are the fish that are caught on accident and then thrown back into the water, already dead.

The high demand of fish for McDonald’s and other fast food chain’s is really only the tip of the iceberg. Overfishing is a huge problem, many marine ecologists think it’s the number one threat our oceans face. Big fish like tuna and swordfish are often plucked from the water before they’re fully grown. Probably one of the first things you learned about food chains was that big fish eat medium fish, and medium fish eat little fish. If all of the big fish are removed, then it turns the whole ecosystem on it’s head.

Over a quarter of all fish caught in the wild are done so illegally and therefore unregulated. One billion people in the world depend on fish as a major source of protein, so what can you do to support more sustainable systems? There are several fantastic sources to educate yourself on how to eat responsibly. The Shedd Aquarium and The Monterey Bay Aquarium both have informative websites that guide you to make more sustainable choices in the grocery store. The Monterey Bay Aquarium even put together this little pocket guide, a required text at Kendall College.

As fish farming techniques improve, it’s quickly becoming a more sustainable way to eat fish with a minimal impact. Challenge yourself to think about how your food got onto your plate. It’s true that if you’re good to the ocean, the ocean will be good to you; but if we want to keep the ocean as we now know it, it’s time we all got educated about how and what you eat and how it effects the world around you.

This video really puts everything into perspective: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxacxShp3LY

Preserved Lemons & How to use them

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:37:53 -0400

Lemons have a way of brightening up almost any dish, so it’s always always a good idea to have a few lemons in your kitchen. As much as you may love lemons, you probably wouldn’t just take a bite out of one. You don’t see little soccer players sharing lemon wedges during half time; it’s got more vitamin C than an orange, but it’s just not as sweet.

Well it’s a good thing somebody in North Africa a long time ago looked at a lemon and thought, “We could pickle that!”

Preserved lemons can be used in the exact same way as fresh lemons, but after at least 30 days of preserving, the lemons become less tart and distinctly more lemon-y. Preserved lemon rind is a delicacy in Morocco and India, and thankfully the rest of the world is catching on.

You’ll need one very clean jar with a tight fitting lid and as many lemons as you think will fit into that jar. First you’ll want to clean the lemons really well. Then cut the lemon into quarters, just don’t cut all the way through, the wedges should be attached at the base.

Open up each lemon and make sure you cover the pulp in coarse kosher salt. Pack as many lemons as you can fit into your jar and press them down a few times so there’s plenty of lemon juice. Make sure that the jar is completely full of salt, lemon juice and lemons- there should be no empty space.

Seal the jar and keep it in a cool, dry space, letting it sit for at least 30 days.

After a month, the rinds will intensify in color and flavor, the juice will appear thicker and a lot of the salt will have dissolved.

You can add the diced up the rind or pulp into anything. If you don’t eat all of them as is, preserved lemons are a lovely addition to soups, stews, marinades, sauces, hummus, salad dressings, pasta, the list goes on an on. Any recipe you add preserved lemons will have a more intense lemon flavor with a subtle tartness. It’s a great secret ingredient to keep around to spice up your everyday cooking.

Enjoy!

Blood Orange Curd with Shortcakes

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:18:00 -0400

If you’ve ever made lemon curd before, than you know how to make blood orange curd, or any kind of citrus curd for that matter. The only difference is the fruit that you use and lemon curd won’t make your kitchen look like a crime scene.

Blood oranges are common in the Mediterranean, especially southern Italy. They are usually smaller than regular oranges and their flesh ranges from bright blood red to deep dark burgundy. I think they have a sweeter and more complex flavor than regular oranges.

First, you’ll need about 4-5 blood oranges, depending on their size. Zest and juice each orange, combine the juice with 5 eggs yolks and 1 cup of sugar. Whisk to combine.

Cook the curd over a double boiler, continually stirring with a spatula or very gently with a whisk- the goal is to keep the mixture moving so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs, not to get volume from over-whisking.

Once the mixture is thickened, pour it through a fine mesh sieve, straight into a cake pan that has cubed stick of butter in it. The sieve will catch any coagulated egg and keep your curd nice and smooth.

Once all the butter is melted, press plastic wrap onto the surface of the orange curd and allow it to cool in the refrigerator.

If you’d like to enjoy your curd with some shortcakes, here’s the easiest and most basic shortcake recipe ever.

2 cups of AP Flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

1 stick of butter, cut into cubes and chilled

2/3- 3/4 c milk or cream

Throw all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and cut in the chilled butter, just like you were making biscuits. You can cut in butter with a pastry blender, with some knives, or your fingers until it’s incorporated into the flour mixture.

Add enough cream or milk until the dry ingredients are moistened, do not over mix. Form the dough into little cakes with your hands, brush each cake with a little bit of cream or butter and sprinkle with a little extra sugar. Bake at 425F for 10-15 minutes, until each cake has risen and browned slightly. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes.

Layer fresh strawberries with the blood orange curd in between pieces of shortcake.

Sweet, tart and delicious! Enjoy!

Spicy Pork Belly Tostadas

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:19:00 -0400

One of the first times I had braised pork belly was at Mindy Segal’s Hot Chocolate in Chicago. The dish was a play on bacon and eggs with Harissa braised pork belly and gently poached eggs and it was amazing.

Pork belly is a tougher cut of meat, so it has to cook low-and-slow before it becomes tender. You can either crisp up the pork by searing it after it braises, or you can put the meat back into the braising liquid. I used a combination of pork loin and pork belly and by the time I opened up my dutch oven the pork belly had nearly melted away.

First, as with building any braise, you season and sear your meat. Cut the pork belly and loin into smaller pieces and sprinkle with some ancho chili powder, plenty of cumin, salt and pepper. Once the meat is browned, add in a sliced onion, a few smashed garlic cloves, tomato paste and almost a full can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Mix everything together until it’s slightly browned and add everything into a dutch oven. Pour enough vegetable or chicken stock to cover everything up about 2/3 of the way and throw in some cilantro stems.

Leave it alone in a 325F oven for about three and a half hours.

Once the meat is fork tender, remove all the meat from the braise and shred. Blend the braising liquid together using an immersion blender.

Add the meat back into the braising liquid and you’ve got a delicious filling for tacos, tostadas, tortas, tamales, eating it straight out of the pot with a fork, anything your heart desires.

I topped my tostada with cilantro rice, black beans, red peppers, and avocado. Make this dish immediately, it was an experience I look forward to recreating! Absolutely delicious- enjoy!

Homemade Harissa

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:42:34 -0400

Harissa is a condiment from northern Africa made from spicy dried chiles, garlic, spices and olive oil. It’s great spread on just about anything and it’s a great addition to soups, stews, whatever you like.

You can buy prepared Harissa from most places, but I’ve noticed the jars can cost upwards of $10. The ingredients that make up Harissa aren’t that expensive, and making the paste is as easy as setting up your blender. So why not make it at home?

All you need is a small bag of dried guajillo chiles, about 10-14 chilies, a few cloves of garlic, one lemon, and olive oil. A sprinkling of cumin and coriander is optional.

Deseed all of the dried chilies and set them in a big bowl. Pour enough boiling water to cover the chilies, cover with foil, and allow the chilies to rehydrate for about an hour.

The chilies will brighten in color as they rehydrate. Once they are softened, pour out the water and wring the chilies out between a few sheets of paper towel. Sprinkle in the spices, add in some garlic cloves and just enough olive oil to loosen everything up. Load everything into a blender, use an immersion blender, or even a mortal and pestle and mix, mash or blend until it’s a smooth paste.

Add in the juice of half a lemon and pour mixture into a jar. This will keep in your fridge for about two weeks. Make small batches at a time because a little bit goes along way. Top off the Harissa with a little bit of extra olive oil to keep it extra fresh.

Harissa plays nice with almost any kind of vegetable, meat, anything and everything! If it’s something you typically add hot sauce to, it’ll go great with the smoky, spicy taste of Harissa!

Dulce de Leche Coconut Macaroons

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:11:04 -0400

I’m really, really excited about this recipe. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t often bake cookies, but I was looking up recipes for coconut macaroons when it dawned on me: some recipes for macaroons call for sweetened condensed milk…and you can make dulce de leche out of condensed milk…so if you put the two together is has to be amazing, right? The answer is yes. Yes, these cookies are amazing and you must stop whatever you are doing and make yourself a batch.

First you need make the dulce de leche, this can be made a few days in advance if you like. There are tons of different ways to make this, you can make it with condensed milk or whole milk, but it’s best when you let it cook for a long time.

First, empty the can into a bread loaf pan or small baking dish and cover it with foil. Then place the bread loaf pan into a bigger baking dish, fill the bigger baking dish with boiling water. Cover the whole double boiler with foil and bake in a 425F oven for about 2 hours.

Check it after an hour to make sure that there’s still water in the bigger pan. Whisk the dulce de leche until smooth and transfer into a separate container to cool.

This is good to eat just as it is, it can be poured over ice cream, used as a filling or dip, anything.

Or you can whip up an egg white with a pinch of salt until it’s fluffy, add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste for extra decadence), and about 7-8 ounces of the dulce de leche and whisk until smooth.

Fold in 14 oz of shredded coconut, unsweetened or sweetened, up to your own preferences. Preheat your oven to 300F and form your macaroons into little balls, either by hand or with a scooper. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are browned and easily slide along the baking sheet.

Try and let them cool before serving, it won’t be easy though. Enjoy!

DIY Trashcan Smoker

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:29:34 -0400

I’ve been wanting to make my own smoker ever since I saw Alton Brown make one from a terra cotta planter. And now that we’re closer to the kind of weather where we turn off our ovens and start to want to sit out all day with a tall drink by the grill, I knew I wanted to finish my smoker ASAP.

But as I started to gather the materials I needed, I noticed that terra cotta is actually rather expensive. The big planters can range from $14-$17. But the heavy terra cotta saucer that would serve as a lid was upwards of $20. So, if you want the terra cotta, you’re spending almost $40 just for the vessel.

But after a little more research, I found that smokers can be made out of just about anything! Smokers can be as simple as repurposing an old grill or as complicated as creating intricate and expensive looking outdoor ovens with smoking capabilities.

I’ve found that the trash can method fits my budget and didn’t require me to buy any new tools that what I already have on hand. You won’t believe how easy it is to make your very own smoker.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 new and clean galvanized steel trash can with lid

1 hot plate

4, 2 inch screws with 4 washers and nuts

1, 14 1/2 inch grill grate

Drill with driver that matches the size of your screws

1 pair of pliers

The first thing you’ll want to do is create the hole for the cord of the hot plate to go through.

The easiest way to do this is by drilling a rectangle of holes and use the pliers to bend back the remaining metal. The hole is big enough for the cord to fit through, but it will let smoke vent out. When the time comes to actually smoke something, you’ll want to fill the hole with a little bit of salt dough. Don’t use anything permanent to cover up the hole, that will only make it more difficult to clean.

Next you’ll want to make four holes about 6 1/2 inches down from the top of the can. These screws will act as support for your grill grate. I used 2 inch screws to make up the difference of the grill grate, but measure everything before you commit to buying or drilling into something.

Measure and use a sharpie to mark where you want each screw to end up. By using a washer and a nut, you’ll help distribute the weight of the grate, and eventually whatever product you end up smoking.

Once you have all four screws in place, rest the grill grate on the top of the screws and you’re done! BAM! A brand new, homemade smoker for outdoor cooking!

When you finally go to smoke something, you’ll want to use a thermometer to make sure you maintain a temperature around 220F. Your wood chip box will be heated by the hot plate, the smoke will travel up and make whatever you have on the grill grate nice, smoky and delicious. Now you can make your own bacon, smoked salmon, smoked ANYTHING!

When Life Gives You Oranges, Make Duck A l'orange

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:36:00 -0400

I’ve owed my very good friend a duck for a long time. So when her birthday was around the corner, I knew I had to acquire a duck by any means necessary. I’ve heard of people getting fresh (unfrozen) ducks from Puerto Rican markets on the west side of the city, but where I live, your best bet at a duck is the Asian grocery stores. When I went and spoke with the butcher, I saw a beautiful Peking duck, and it looked right back at me.

“Can you take off the head and feet for me?” I asked the butcher.

“4-cut? You want me to 4-cut for you?”

“No, no thank you. I can 4-cut. I’ve never taken the head off before.”

And before I knew it, I was left with a 4-cut duck that still had the head attached. Guess it was time to learn how to remove the neck and head from a duck. I had done it with a pig before, which is way more difficult and requires more strength, so could a duck really be all that bad?

I would’ve preferred a whole duck to roast for this recipe, but sometimes we must use the cards we are dealt and we must use them so we don’t waste any duck. I salvaged all the meat from the duck, but the way he cut it left me with both duck breasts in two. Still delicious, same duck, just not the big beautiful roast I had my heart set on. But the legs were perfect!

Sprinkle your ducks legs and breasts with a little thyme, coriander and cardamom. Let them sit for a while in the seasoning while you prepare the orange sauce. Take about 1/2 cup of sugar and a 1/4 cup of water and caramelize the sugar. Once the sugar is a nice golden brown, pour in a shot of sherry or white wine vinegar, the juice of about 4 oranges, and whisk like crazy. The sugar will seize up before melting back into the mixture. Pour in about 2 cups of chicken or duck stock and some minced shallots and let the whole mixture reduce. I like to throw in some of the rinds while it reduces.

Season your duck with a little salt and pepper, lightly score the skin and slowly sear the duck, finish them in the oven. Duck is probably the only poultry that you can cook to any other doneness besides well. That being said, no one really wants rare duck, so don’t go too crazy.

Make a quick roux to thicken up your sauce to the right consistency. Add a little butter to a skillet and sprinkle with enough flour to make it look like wet sand. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon until it’s a nutty color brown.

Let it cool slightly before whisking it into your orange sauce. Let your duck rest for a few minutes to let the juices redistribute. Pour the sauce on your plate and place the duck on top of the sauce.

So delicious. If you’ve never had duck before, start with this recipe.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:51:20 -0400

Braised beef short ribs are classic for a reason. They’re delicious, made from a cheap cut of meat, they’re pretty easy to make—and did I mention they’re delicious?

Perfectly paired with creamy, fontina-cheese-laced polenta, plenty of the thick and flavorful braising liquid and some simply roasted asparagus. Gaze upon their glory!

When you buy short ribs at the store, they’re usually all still connected to one another. Just cut between each bone to make the little individual short ribs.

Once you have everything butchered, liberally season the meat with plenty of kosher salt and coarse black pepper. Then give each short rib a very light dredging in flour. Get your pan really, really hot (but not smoking) and give each piece of meat a good sear in a little bit of oil. Work in batches because meat will not brown if you’ve overcrowded your pan. Avoid searing the sides of the meat where the bone is exposed, the bone could char and give your sauce a black color.

Once everything is all seared, transfer the meat into a dutch oven. You could technically just work in the dutch oven, but I get a better sear when I use my skillet. Chunk up more mirepoix: one big onion, a few stalks of celery and two small carrots, and caramelize it in your pan. Work with a wooden spoon so you can free all the tiny delicious pieces of fond from the bottom of your pan.

Throw in a big spoonful of tomato paste and keep stirring. Pour in some wine and let it cook a little and mix with the tomato paste.

Put everything into your dutch oven, along with some beef stock, parsley stems, thyme, rosemary and a few smashed garlic cloves. Let it simmer for a few hours with the lid slightly vented. Do not boil, boiling results in tough meat, which is not delicious.

After about 3 hours, if the meat is fork tender you’re done!

Take the ribs out of the liquid, fish out all of the mirepoix and herbs out with a spider, and reintroduce the ribs back in the strained liquid.

If you’d like to serve your short ribs over the creamy polenta as well, just boil 3 cups of water with a little salt, mix 1 cup of cream with 1 cup of fine polenta together and whisk into the boiling water. Once it thickens, add in a little bit of shredded cheese (fontina is lovely) and whisk together until melted.

Pour yourself some wine and tuck in with this beautiful plate. Mmmm, enjoy!

Little Goat, Big Heart

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:43:00 -0400

Chef Stephanie Izard follows her instincts. She hand picks everything from the aesthetic of her restaurants, to the menu, and the local farms that supply her with ingredients. She frequently visits the farms, forming a deeper connections with the sources of her ingredients than most chefs do. So when Chef Izard decided to open up Little Goat with an emphasis on delicious and unforgettable diner fare, the coffee had to make a big impression.

Stumptown Coffee is a relatively small and independent business that produces quality and fairly sourced coffee beans. Stumptown and Chef Stephanie Izard both have the same commitment to quality and respect for farmers, the two are a perfect partnership.

Stephanie even visits the coffee providers in Columbia, to ensure that the farmers were happy and compensated for the arduous effort it takes to harvest, mill, and roast coffee. Mike Horgan, a coffee trainer and enthusiast at Stumptown, described the extremely detailed process it takes to make the perfect cup of coffee: each coffee cherry is picked by hand at the peak of ripeness, rather than stripping the tree of it’s cherries all at once. Then each cherry is sorted by quality, milled, and distributed- all directly traded, there are no importers or brokers involved. This means that the coffee farmers in Columbia are directly benefitting from all their hard work, a notion that seems like a no-brainer, but is unfortunately very uncommon.

Stumptown doesn’t provide the dark, medium and light roasts that you may find at larger chains. Instead, they look at the coffee bean like a chef might look at a vegetable. The smaller the bean, the more concentrated the flavor, the more carbohydrates there are to caramelize and more protein in each bean that when roasted gives their coffee a distinctive “buttery” quality. The same reason why a chef would prefer to buy a small eggplant as opposed to a giant one. So before they roast a batch of beans, it’s tested and tasted and roasted to it’s own individual perfection. Their understanding of coffee goes above and beyond any of the competition. In fact, there is no competition, no one is working harder to ensure the quality of their product more than Stumptown Coffee, Stephanie Izard and everyone at Little Goat. Coffee can’t be purchased locally, it only grows in a few very specific regions of the world, but Stephanie Izard and Stumptown treat their coffee farmers like they’re neighbors.

From left-to-right, the dried “cherry” of the coffee, the coffee bean with it’s protective parchment like covering, the green coffee bean ready for roasting. Parchment like layer can easily break off to reveal green coffee bean, shown in last picture.

When I first started working in restaurants, my boss told me that people come for food, but they’ll stay for coffee. It’s not necessarily what gets people in the door, but it gives people an excuse to linger, chat and enjoy themselves. If the coffee isn’t right, it can ruin the whole meal. I think it’s safe to say that once you try the coffee at Little Goat, you’ll definitely come back for it. If you hadn’t had the opportunity to taste the bread, pastries, food, and coffee at Little Goat you must make it your job to get there. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget.

Little Goat is located at 820 W. Randolph St, across the street from Girl and the Goat. And as early as May, you’ll be able to enjoy Little Goat Bread and Stumptown Coffee at The French Market at 131 N. Clinton St.