Soups

Starting early December my sweetie begins to talk about comfort foods such as soups. She makes some pretty fine soups, too. Unfortunately, her presence in the kitchen making soups is sooooo seasonal. Soups like minestrone and borscht need to be enjoyed more than once a year.

She also has a hankerin' for chili. Her kind of chili. Beans and hamburger in a watery mess has never been something that I wanted to wrap a fork/spoon around. That is until now. In Sunday's edition of our local fish wrapper, Sanford D'Amato - Milwaukee's James Beard award winner - published his version of chili in the Entree section. She spied this article but demurred from putting it together.

Yesterday, while she was busy being an artist, I looked at the ingredients and found no hamburger. The beans were black beans.... not laden with tomatoes. And clearly no elbow macaroni or spaghetti, which seems to be a Wisconsin favorite. Thought this would be something I might like.

Well, that is an understatement. As Sandy says, "Once you try this chili, you'll never grab for a can again." Right on target. This recipe takes just a little longer to make because the boneless chuck is cut into ¼ to ½ inch cubes. But the labor is worth the few extra minutes.

My forager could not locate achiote paste, one of the ingredients. As Sandy notes, go to the Mexican market for this. The paste and the poblano pepper will become a staple in our larder for our comfort-foods-months.

Click the title for the recipe.

Beef Stew

Woke last week to 11°. Fahrenheit, Celsius...... doesn't matter....Seemed a good time to make one of my favorite cold weather meals, boeuf bourguignon. It's similar to our beef stew, but with the addition of some burgundy wine, thus the name beef burgundy. Of course, boeuf bourguignon is also attributed to the burgundy section of France.

There are as many variations to this dish as there are cooks/chefs. I like the one put together by two of the best, Julia Childs and Jacques Pépin in one of their co-authored books 'Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home'. Most of the time spent making this wonderfully robust meal is unattended cooking..... just letting the stew stew.

It has the usual aromatics, carrots, celery and onions, plus garlic (a natural for the burgundy area of France, or for that matter all of France) thyme, bay leaves and parsley. The cut of meat is the inexpensive chuck roast. The top blade can be substituted which requires removing the thick sinew in the middle of the muscle if you are using the cut for steaks. However, for stews, the meat should be cut into chunks in such a way that they contain all of this gelatinous material. It will melt and soften as the meat braises.

The cooking liquid is a bottle of sturdy red wine, preferably a pinot noir, and about 2 cups of dark stock. The dark stock can be made from scratch or take Julia's hint and use some low -sodium canned beef stock. In a saucepan add to the stock a handful of ½" chopped celery, carrots and onions along with a diced tomato. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain.

In addition, boeuf bourguignon has small white onions and mushrooms. Try to avoid pearl onions as they are too small and do not have the flavor of the the larger ones. The onions should be about 1¼" in diameter.

Recipe calls for servings of 6. Make extra 'cause this stew gets better with time. In fact, Julia suggests making this recipe in stages letting the flavors meld into one delicious bunch of meals.

Click title to get the recipe. Bon Apetit!

Butterscotch

Pop loved all things butterscotch. He would splash, actually paste, some butterscotch sauce on anything that he thought called for a flavor boost... sometimes even if I thought the flavor could not be improved.

I've been experimenting with butterscotch for the past several weeks to find out why he thought this brown sugar treat was so delectable. Searched the web for some recipes...there are plenty. Baked one and didn't like it.

Looking through an old 'The Joy of Cooking', circa 1943, I found a butterscotch pie recipe. The recipes I've seen for this dessert appear similar but this one added another egg yolk to make it a richer filling. The results were a much improved butterscotch over my previous attempts. Also I found some of the techniques unnecessary, e.g., scalding the milk.

Make a single crust pie: combine 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar in a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add 4 tablespoons of chilled butter in pieces and pulse 4 times. Add 2 tablespoons chilled lard in pieces and pulse 3 times. Next add 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water until dough comes together. Add an additional tablespoon ice water if necessary.

When dough comes together place on a floured work surface and roll into a circle 1" in diameter larger than a 9" pie plate. Place into pie plate, line with parchment paper and add pie weights. I use a mess of navy beans. Bake in a 400°F oven for 30 minutes. Remove and brush with an egg wash. Bake for an additional 7 minutes. Cool.

Place butterscotch filling into pie plate, top with meringue and bake in a 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes. Let pie cool for 1 hour and chill for 3 to 6 hours to solidify filling.

Enjoy one of those butterscotch moments that Pop found so delicious.

Neiman-Marcus Cookies

I received an email about a public relations snafu at Nieman-Marcus. A lady and her daughter were lunching there and ordered the famous Nieman-Marcus Cookie for dessert. Mama found it to be of the usual high Nieman-Marcus standards and asked if she could get the recipe. The waitress declined to give it but would sell it to her for two-fifty. The amount was added to the luncheon bill.

When viewing her monthly statement sometime later, the customer discovered a $250 charge. When an inquiry was made to the accounting department, the green shaders told her in so many words, "c'est la vie"... nothing could be done.

Still upset that she had been 'ripped off', the woman informed Nieman-Marcus that she would publish the recipe and send it to all of her friends. Nieman-Marcus, of course, requested that she not carry out that act of retribution.

Needless to say, the recipe has been shared and a delicious one it is. The original makes 112 cookies. I halved it and also used a #20 disher - ice cream scoop - not quite filled. Still makes about 35 plump, mouth-watering cookies.

Click here to get the recipe. I'm kinda glad she published it. Think you will be too.

Grillin'

Back in the 90's I worked in Asia, mostly a few months each year in Hong Kong and southern China. No where have I had food as fresh as I did there.... the fish swims in a tank until you pick it out, then is prepared your favorite way. And the flavors of the foods I remember to this day. So, when I come across a recipe like this one that combines Asian flavors with grillin', I try it.

Butterflied Chicken with Asian Flavors - Preparation is about 15 to 20 minutes and cooking either on the grill or in the oven is about one hour.

Butterfly a chicken, 3½ to 4 lbs: Have your butcher butterfly the bird (my daughter's recommendation). Alternatively, place breast side down. Cut along side of the backbone with a chef's knife or use poultry scissors to remove the bone. Slip your knife under the rib cage on one side and remove. Do the same on the other side. There are two bones that will be evident at the top of the chicken: remove these shoulder bones by cutting the meat on both sides and breaking off close to the joint. Turn the chicken over, cut along both sides of the wishbone, put your thumb at the top of the wishbone and remove. Next find the joint between the thigh and leg. Make a cut partially through the joint. This cut will ensure even cooking of the joint.

Take your fingers/thumb and loosen the skin from the breast, legs and thighs. Make the sauce and place some under the skin. Rub some of the sauce on the outside skin. Salt and pepper the underside.

Oven @ 425°F or grill on high. Half way through the cooking period baste with any remaining sauce.... or you can omit to get a crispy skin. Either way the flavors are what sold me on this recipe. The next time I cook this up, I plan to add about 1-2 teaspoons of grated ginger.

More Seasonal pies

Picking up where I left off - on the joys of seasonal cooking: It's blueberry season so I made a blueberry pie - the filling from Rose Levy Beranbaum's book. My own crust, of course. This adaptation is one of the best, simply because only a portion of the filling is cooked, then added to the remaining berries.... keeps the filling from becoming mush. And as the plastic container advertises: this "miracle berry" is ranked #1 out of 40 fruits and vegetables for health benefits.

Beranbaum calls this an 'Open-faced Fresh Blueberry Pie'. Use your favorite pie crust for a single pie. Or try mine in last blog and cut the proportions in half. Use discretion in the reduction of the iced water... you might need more than half. Bake this pie crust completely for 45 to 50 min. After 30 min. cover the edge with foil to prevent overbrowning.

The recipe calls for a total of 4 cups of blueberries.... I used 5 cups. I like pies with lots of filling. Measure 1 cup of blueberries into a 3 quart saucepan together with ½ cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together in a small bowl 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Set aside.

When water and berries have come to a boil, lower heat and simmerr gently, stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes or until berries start to burst and the juices begin to thicken. Stirring constantly add cornstarch mixture, ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and salt. Simmer for a minute or until the mixture becomes translucent. Immediately remove from heat and quickly fold in the remaining berries.

Spoon the mixture into the baked pie crust and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving. When set, the berries will remain very juicy but will not flow out of the crust. Also you now have a filling that has the full flavor of full blueberries.

Seasonal Cooking

Summer cooking takes advantage of the wide array of garden fruits and veggies. Fruit pies have become my favorite in the past few years.....mainly because of the ease of making a consistent pie crust.

Seems that every cookbook has its own version of a pie crust. Browsing the recent Cook's Illustrated, I find they've come up with another version of the quintessential pie crust.

There is little difference between Cook's Illustrated recipe and Jacques Pepin's pie crust which he's been making for 50 years. Both use all butter, ice water and flour. Some cookbooks suggest a combination of butter and lard/shortening. Shortening is hydrogenated soy or cottonseed oil with all the good parts destroyed in the process. Alton Brown of FoodTV uses 3 parts butter to 1 part lard in his crusts. The one I use calls for salt and sugar added to the flour before addition of the fats. All the recipes I've seen, except Pepin's, suggest resting the pie dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Pepin states that if the processing is kept to a minimum, the dough should be ready to roll immediately. I use his method. Experiment and find the right combination for you.

Oven @400°. For a two-part pie dough place ½ cup of water in a measuring cup and add 3 or 4 ice cubes. Take 2 cups of flour (scoop and scrape) and place in a processor. Add a pinch of salt and sugar. Pulse to mix. Cut 12 ounces of unsalted butter into ¼" slices and then quarter these pieces. Add to processor and pulse 4 times for about 1 second (count 1001). Measure 1/3 cup of iced water and splash about half into the processor. Process for about 5 seconds. Flour should just about come together. Splash about 1 to 1½ tablespoons more. Process until dough comes together into a ball. Stop at this point. When the dough is pinched and it holds its shape, remove from processor and place on a floured surface.

Divide the dough into two parts. Roll one part into a 12" circle to fit your pie plate. Place into the pie plate and cut a piece of parchment paper big enough to place on top of the dough. Add a bunch of beans for weights and place in a 400° oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, remove parchment and weight, wash with a mixture of 1 egg beaten and 1 teaspoon of water. This will waterproof the shell from the liquid of the filling. Bake an additional 7 minutes. I use this process for all baked and unbaked pies. It makes the crust crisper for the baked pies.

Two fillings I recently used from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Pie and Pastry Bible are for a peach pie and one for a blueberry pie. Both fruits are ripe for using in pies in my locale now. Her pie crusts are different from those above,so try it if you like them.

For the peach pie, use 2 3/4 pounds of peaches (about 8 medium - I use 9 or 10), peeled, pitted and sliced thinly. Macerate the peaches in a 3 quart non-reactive mixing bowl - stainless or glass - by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice (juice of ½ lemon), ½ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar and a pinch of salt. Mix gently and let stand for a minimum of 30 minutes up to 1 hour. Transfer peaches to a colander over a small saucepan to collect the almost 1 cup of juice.

Reduce the liquid to 1/3 cup until syrupy and lightly caramelized. Transfer peaches back into the mixing bowl used for macerating them and add 4 teaspoons cornstarch and ½ teaspoon almond extract. Mix until all traces of cornstarch are dissolved. Pour syrup over peaches, tossing gently. Transfer mixture to pie shell.

Roll out pie dough to fit on top or alternatively, cut into strips ½" wide for a lattice top. Top pie with your choice topping, place in 425° oven for 45 to 50 minutes. After 30 minutes, if using a lattice top, cover the edges with foil to prevent overbrowning.

Let pie cool on rack at least 3 hours before cutting.