Grow. Cook. Eat.

Laziness - Thwarted (Recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala)

With all the holiday mayhem, I craved a simple dinner. The convenience food aisle at the supermarket beckoned my lazy alter-ego, and my taste buds responded with a cry out for Chicken Tikka Masala. Unfortunately, the market no longer carried my favorite brand of Indian simmer sauces, the prepared sauces that only require the addition of meat to create a complete “freshly prepared” meal.

I was left to my own devices… and a semi-well-stocked pantry.

I started with a recipe from Alosha’s Kitchen…and chicken from the freezer, canned tomatoes from the summer and left-over cream from lord-knows-what. But as I scanned the ingredient list, I realized modifications would be necessary.

I didn’t have yogurt to marinate the chicken, but I did have a scootch of left-over sour cream from this year’s latke-fest. I didn’t have garam malsala – an Indian spice blend – but did have most of the ingredients. And the recipe called for grilling the chicken first before simmering it – and I had no interest in adding the extra step of precooking the chicken, much less digging out the grill from under its blanket of snow. Instead, I added some smoked onions to the sauce to give it that extra depth.

This was a bit more labour intensive than I planned, but still only 20 minutes from start to finish. All-in-all a delicious dish!

From the garden: canned tomatoes and jalapenos

Here’s the original recipe with my modifications.
Chicken Tikka Masala 
adapted from What's for Dinner via Alosha's Kitchen

Marinade

1 cup plain yogurt (I used 2 tbs. sour cream)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into strips or large cubes

Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 smoked onion
1 tsp. fresh ginger
1 jalapeno chile, minced (I used a smoked jalapeno leftover from the summer garden)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger + 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom + 1/8 tsp. clove + 1/4 tsp. cinnamon  +1/8 tsp. cumin)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups half-and-half (or 1/2 cup heavy cream + 1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

In a small mixing bowl, combine everything on the marinade list, including the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight is better.)

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, ginger and jalapeño, and stir for a minute. Add the chicken and lightly brown.  Stir in the seasonings, and salt. Add the tomato sauce, and stir for one minute. Add the half-and-half, and simmer, covered, until the sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through.

Serve with basmati rice or naan bread.  Garnish with chopped cilantro.


Happy New Year! Wishing you a sparkling and joyous year.

Alive and Kicking (Recipe: Corn and Scallop Soup)

A few years back, Whole Foods decided to abandon sales of live lobsters. Apparently, customers complained that this was cruel treatment to the feisty crustaceans. The whole thing seemed silly to me, as I can only imagine that the “free range chickens” live and die no better… it’s just a matter of what the consumer sees, I suppose.

In any case, it’s really not that hard to find lobsters elsewhere. Just ½ block from my local Whole Foods is Alive and Kicking. This little seafood market is set so far set back from the street that you could drive past it without even knowing it existed. And that’s just what I did… until just a few weeks ago.

Inside the market are a half dozen lobster tanks and a small display of fresh fish. The selection is small, but everything is impeccably fresh. I went there last week in search of lobsters for my new favorite dish, and walked out with a pound of scallops.

With left-over frost bitten greens and corn kernels from two summers ago (yes, it was time to clean out the freezer), I made a variation of corn and crab soup from The Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. The clean, light broth let the sweetness of the scallop shine. And the greens added brightness to the whole dish. It was the perfect first course before the richer Cantonese Lobster.

Corn and Greens Soup with Seared Scallops

1 pound corn kernels
5 cups chicken stock
1 tbs. freshly grated ginger
1/8 tsp. white pepper
½ tsp. salt
5 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/3 cup sliced scallions
½ pound braising greens (such as kale, collards, mustard, or a combination)
1 pound sea scallops
1 tbs. plain oil (canola or peanut)

1. In a large pot, combine corn, chicken stock and ginger. Let simmer for 5 minutes or until corn is tender. Using a slotted spoon, strain out some of the corn (approximately half) and puree in a blender with one cup of the broth. Return pureed corn to pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Wash the greens and slice them thinly. Add to the soup pot and cook for 3-5 minutes, just until they wilt. Remove pot from heat and set aside while you cook the scallops. (Alternatively, you can poach the scallops directly in the broth over medium heat for 5 minutes. If you do this, skip the next step).
3. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops to the pan and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Bring the soup back to a simmer, turn off heat and fold in egg whites. Serve immediately, garnishing with scallops and scallions.

Refinement (Ginger Snap Cookies)

Molasses is the viscous byproduct of processing (refining) sugarcane into sugar. Its slightly bitter caramel taste gives gingerbread its unique flavor. It’s also the sugar source used in making rum.

The various phases of sugar refinement yield different colors of sugar – from dark brown to light brown and finally white sugar. Molasses can be added to white sugar to give the effect of brown sugar (1 tablespoon per cup of white sugar for light brown, 2 tablespoons per cup for dark brown). But when making gingersnap cookies, the extra kick of straight molasses is needed.

These spicy cookies are great on their own, as book-ends for ice-cream sandwiches or as a crunchy contrast to crème brulee.

The recipe comes from my pastry instructor Bo Friberg in cooking school, and now author of the authoritative book on professional baking. I usually make half the recipe at a time (which still yields quite a lot, maybe 5 dozen). I roll it into logs and  freeze.  Then, when I'm in the mood for cookies, I can slice off a few rounds to bake fresh.

Ginger Snap Cookies
(yields 5 dozen)


4 oz. (1 stick) soft butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ egg
½ cup molasses (to best measure molasses, oil the measuring cup first, then the molasses will come right out)
1 tbs. white vinegar
3 1/2 cups A/P flour (better yet, weigh out 14 oz.)
1 tbs. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. ground cardamom

1. Beat butter and sugar until well combined. Incorporate eggs, molasses, and vinegar

2. Sift together flour, baking soda and spices. Add to butter mixture, and mix just until combined. Refrigerate.

3. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece into ropes, and cut each rope into 30 pieces.

4. Form the pieces into round balls and place on a cookie sheet.

5. Bake at 375 for approximately 10 minutes.

Frost Bitten (Recipe: Savory Greens and Potatoes)

photo credit: Christine Bergmark, Even' Star Organic Farm

The process of breeding greens for winter-tolerance takes many years. Each spring, after the grueling winter winds have dissipated and the snow has melted, Farmer Brett inspects his fields for survivors. In a field of thousands of plants, maybe 10 have withstood the elements. Before the plants begin to flower, he transplants them within 50 feet of each other. When the plants flower, several weeks later, the bees can pollinate them. And after the plants flower, they generate seeds for subsequent years’ plantings. After several years of breeding out weak plants, Brett has robust and flavorful plants.

Last week, Brett came north to the New England Fruit and Vegetable Conference to talk about cold hardy greens and how New England farmers can adapt this process to the more severe winters.

He brought with him several varieties of greens for sampling and also for cooking dinners at the end of the meetings. The greens are spicy and full of flavor and texture. The overnight frosts that Maryland experienced (before the two feet of snow from two days ago), causes a chemical reaction in the plants which makes them sweeter.

The recipe for Savory Potatoes and Greens comes from his Winter CSA cookbook. I used basil from my garden (that I froze in August) to season the dish.

SAVORY VEGETARIAN GREENS AND POTATOES
3 average sized russet potatoes, washed but with skins on
salted water to cover
1 bag (gallon) any of our cooking greens
3 – 6 T mix of olive and neutral oils
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 t black pepper
½ to 1 t salt
½ bunch scallions
fresh herbs, or 1 t dried oregano, basil, or rosemary

1. Gently boil potatoes until just cooked (skins aren’t all coming off, and a sharp knife inserted into spud encounters a teeny resistance). Remove from pot with a slotted spoon. Let cool, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Use same water to barely blanch greens, and be sure to shock in an ice bath. Drain in colander, and push out all extra water. Chop coarsely. Set aside. In a heavy skillet (works best in seasoned cast iron), sauté onion and garlic ‘til barely soft. Add potatoes and fry, scraping pan bottom often and adding more oil if needed. When potatoes have started to brown, add greens, herbs, and chopped scallion. Cook two minutes more. If needed, season further before serving: this should be hearty, not bland.

2. Can nicely be served with a dollop of sour cream, or of home-made guacamole, or with grated cheddar or Monterey jack, on top. Also really good with 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed (added to skillet right before spuds go in) in lieu of or in addition to other herbs. Hot peppers complement the latter approach well.

Something Amazing

The other night, in need of a little pampering, I took myself to Oishii...  Dining alone, I opted to sit at the bar so I could watch the sushi-chefs work their magic.  I ordered the Truffle-Hamachi Make , and was quickly distracted into a "When Harry Met Sally" moment.

When I recovered, the couple next to me was struggling to understand and order from the menu.  I felt bad for them since they seemed to expect a more traditional, "American-Style" Japanese experience.  And I felt bad for the sushi-chef as he struggled to understand and accommodate their special requests.

I watched longer, the chef vacillating between indulgent creativity for a table enjoying the chef's tasting (omakase) and the restrained obedience of tuna tartar.

Most intrigued by the omakase, and desirous of something more, I asked the chef to make me "something amazing." 

Indeed he did! Five spoons arrived on a plate... each filled with a most delightful taste -- scallops with fried taro threads, a slab of tuna with mango and tempura seaweed, uni with ponzu foam, sea bream with ginger-daikon salad and otoro with truffle and gold leaf.

Buffalo Shimp via Cambridge

Within 24 hours of the first snowfall, the temperatures crawled north of 32F, and the one inch blanket soon disappeared. But not without a lasting effect in the garden. I harvested what I could before it fell, but the celery, lettuces and kale remained in the ground with questionable odds of survival.

Last night I peeked at the celery. It was definitely floppy, and I didn’t expect it to recover. I harvested the remaining head, and salvaged what stalks I could.  The outer stalks were hollow, stringy and brown.  The inner stalks seemed okay.

With Maine Shrimp season just starting, I decided that Buffalo Shrimp would be the perfect foil for the celery remnants. The celery would balance nicely with the creamy shrimp, and the cool crunch would tame the heat of the spicy chili sauce.

Most recipes for buffalo shrimp call for Frank’s Hot Sauce.  I didn’t have that, and instead used  Lan Chi’s Chili Garlic Sauce with a splash of red wine vinegar. I prepared the classic bleu cheese dressing with mayonnaise, sour cream, a few crumbles of cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Since Maine Shrimp are so small, I worried that the typical deep frying would make them dry and rubbery by the time the outside crisped up. I opted, instead, to dust them in corn starch and fry them in hotter-than-usual (about 425F) oil. This worked pretty well. Probably next time, though, I would use larger shrimp and a more traditional coating.

Buffalo Shrimp with Celery and Bleu Cheese Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tbs. fresh squeezed lemon juice
 2 tbs. butter
2 tsp. Lan Chi Chili Paste with Garlic
2 tsp. red wine vinegar

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined. 
1 cup corn starch

2 cups (or more) plain oil for deep fying
celery stalks

1.  In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and blue cheese.  Season with lemon juice.  Set aside.
2.  In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with chili paste and vinegar.  Set aside.
3.  Heat a pot with oil over high heat.  Toss shrimp in corn starch and spank of any excess.  Gently drop the shrimp in the oil ( you may need to cook in several batches to avoid overcooking).  When shrimp are crispy, remove from oil with a slotted spoon.
4.  Toss shrimp into chili sauce.  Serve with celery and blue cheese dressing.

Fireplace Cooking

A few snowy winters ago, I invited friends over for dinner and a fire. When the guests arrived, I wanted to cozy up with them in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine. Not wanting to leave the meal simmering on the stovetop unattended, I brought the food with me into the living room. I rearranged the fire and balanced the pots on the logs and irons. The potatoes boiled atop a small flame while the venison gently simmered in the corner. When the potatoes were cooked, I mashed them with scallions and a little bit of butter. They took on a smoky quality which married beautifully with the earthy venison stew.

This weekend, some friends rented a house in Vermont. It was requested that I make “tandoori” lamb for Saturday’s dinner. I knew it wouldn’t be as good as past versions when I’ve roasted the meat over a wood-charcoal grill. It wouldn’t get the intense heat of the grill to caramelize the meat nor the nuanced flavor only achieved by wood smoke. I doubted the rental house would have a grill (and given the weather, didn’t know that I would be able to cook outside anyway) and I didn’t want to make the mess of searing the meat on the stovetop either. But when I saw the wood fireplace in the dining room, I knew we were in business!

Cooking in the hearth requires a vigilant eye while the food is cooking. The temperature fluctuates depending on the strength of the fire. And as the logs burn and the fire moves around, the cooking pots will need to be rebalanced. Occasionally rearranging of the logs and the pots ensures even cooking. I use pots that I don’t mind getting dirty, as it’s tough to clean off the smoky residue. Better yet, you can use disposable recycle-able aluminum pans.

…and if you wonder why I prefer wood burning fireplaces over gas, this is it! Hopefully, someday I will again live in a house with a fireplace.

The Legend of the Macomber Turnip (Recipe: Macomber Turnip Soup with Lobster)

Macomber Turnips are prized for their creamy texture and subtlety balanced sweet-tart flavor. Intuitively, I know they appear on restaurant menus all over New England in the fall. Just for kicks, I Googled, “Macomber Turnip Soup Menu” to see approximately how many restaurants in Boston feature them. Eight out of the ten results on the first page led to a different local restaurant’s menu.

(photo credit: Wendy Maeda, The Boston Globe)

They look like the purple top turnips in shape, size and color gradations. But instead of white with purple shoulders, they are flesh toned with more muted purple shoulders.

According to Cukie Macomber, as written in the New Bedford Standard Times, "It (ed:the macomber turnip)began when two brothers, Adin and Elihu, sixth-generation farmers from the Westport portion of old Dartmouth, began experimenting with seeds. They returned from a fair in Philadelphia in 1876 with seeds for experimentation, planting radishes next to rutabagas (17th century crossbreed of a cabbage and a turnip) to allow cross pollination. The Westport Macomber Turnip was born. Their new turnip inherited the white flesh of the radish parent and turnip grandparent, but an unusual sweetness and horseradish aroma, raw and cooked."

Every year, I see them at Russo’s and think I will buy a few and experiment. Nothing happened until this year. And how glad I am to have discovered them.

As a simple side dish, I roasted them with apples, ginger and garlic.

This dish transformed easily into a soup. With the addition of a little wine and chicken stock I pureed them. I added a little cream to give the soup a little richness. I started to add lemon juice as its part of my usual seasoning routine. But when I tasted the soup it was wonderfully bright without any more seasoning.

This soup can be easily dolled up with a little lobster and/or truffles on top.

Roasted Turnip Base
1 tbs. butter
1 macomber turnip
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1 gala apple

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Peel turnip and cut into ¾ inch cubes.
3. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes, just to soften.
4. Toss the butter with the turnips. Season with salt and pepper. Spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven.
5. Roast t the turnips for 20 minutes.
6. While they’re roasting, core the apple and cut it into a ½ inch dice. Do not peel it.
7. After 20 minutes, add the apple to the turnips. Toss them together to make sure the apples get a little butter coating. Roast for 5 minutes more.
8. Serve as a side dish to braised short ribs or salmon.

Macomber Turnip Soup with Lobster
Turnip Base
1 quart chicken stock/broth
¼ cup heavy cream
1 small leek, white and light green parts, cut and washed.

½ pound lobster meat
1 tsp. fresh tarragon
1 scallion, cut into rings
1 tbs. butter
Lemon


1. In a large soup pot, combine turnip base, chicken stock and leek. Simmer for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender (in two parts if necessary) until smooth. Add cream. Return to pot, and set aside in a warm place.
2. In a medium skillet, melt the butter. Add the lobster and warm it through. Just before serving add tarragon, scallions and a squeeze of lemon.
3. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with lobsters and extra scallion rounds.

Braised Leeks with Mustard Vinaigrette

Just in the nick of time, I harvested the lettuces and leeks. Hours later, the first real snow of the season fell. Though it didn’t amount to more than an inch, it was enough to bury the leeks and lettuces.

Branching out of my usual side dish of leeks softened in butter, I decided to braise them in chicken stock and white wine. I continued in the French theme by dressing them with a mustard vinaigrette. And of course, bowing to the bacon gods, I sprinkled a few bacon bits on top.

A simple, yet elegant first course.

Because leeks trap lots of dirt inside its layers, it's important to cut them open to wash.  In order to maintain the integrity of the shape, though, leave the root attached to that it will hold together the layers.

Braised Leeks
1 tbs. butter
4 leeks, cut in half and washed.
1 sprig thyme
1/4 cup white whine
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 slices bacon, diced
1 cup arugula
mustard vinaigrette
salt and black pepper

1.  Melt butter in a skillet, add the leeks in a single layer, cut side down.  Brown a little before adding a sprig of thyme and the wine. Let the wine reduce and then add the stock, salt and pepper to taste.
2.  Put leeks in a 350F oven for 20 minute to braise, or until softened.  Set aside.
3.  Put the diced bacon in a pan in the oven to render the fat and get crispy. Drain the bacon on a paper towel.
4. To serve, dress the arugula in mustard vinaigrette and put on plate.  Lay the leeks on the plate and sprinkle bacon bits on top.


Mustard Vinaigrette
1 tsp. whole grain mustard
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
 salt and pepper to taste

Whisk everything together.

A Chinese Christmas (Recipe: Five Spice Beef)

It’s really no surprise that Jews and Chinese food are synonymous. When typically thriving urban centers shut down for Christmas, us non-Christian folk have little to do… volunteering is out as most non-profits are already inundated with caring Christians. TV programming focuses on Christmas specials and football. And every store or restaurant is either closed or Christmas-centric.

The only open restaurants not featuring a Christmas special are the Chinese. So the Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas.

By now its tradition – I host (or go to) two holiday parties a year – a latke party and a “Chinese” Christmas party.

This year, I decided to blend the two cultures and will prepare Chinese brisket. Brisket is actually the cut of meat just below the breast.



The muscle, not surprising given its location, is quite active. Active muscle = flavorful meat, and also very tough meat. The only way to cook brisket is to slowly simmer it covered in liquid. This breaks down the meat into meltingly tender deliciousness. The Jews usurped the name to refer to the braised meat dish prepared with this cut.

For Chinese inspired brisket, I turn to my favorite Chinese authority Eileen Yin Fei Lo for Five-Spice Beef.

She suggests serving the dish cold. I serve it hot as part of a larger banquet/buffet.

My favorite four-year old proclaimed that my house “stinked” upon walking in and smelling the brisket in the oven. He changed his opinion quickly.

Five Spice Beef Brisket
Adapted from The Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

4 cup water
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup shao-hsing wine
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 slices ginger, smashed
3 star anise
½ tsp. Sichuan peppercorns
½ tsp. salt
1 cinnamon stick (I used a piece of Vietnamese)
½ tsp. five-spice powder
¼ cup mushroom soy sauce
¼ cup regular soy sauce
¼ cup rice or black vinegar
2 lb. beef brisket

1. Combine ingredients (except beef) in a large pyrex dish. Stir to dissolve sugar.


2. Add beef. Cover dish with foil. Put in a 325 oven.
3. Every hour or so, turn meat over.
4. Cook for 4 hours or until meat is tender.


5. Slice meat thin. Drizzle braising liquid on top. Garnish with scallions if you like.