July 2018 – Cooking from Books

Posted on July 31, 2018July 30, 2018 by Tablewine · 3 Comments

Twice-Cooked Pork Tenderloin

I often find that the Mies van der Rohe maxim “less is more” rings as true for cooking as it does for architecture—especially when choosing a menu for a weeknight meal. This minimalist approach is the foundation for Mark Bittman’s series in the New York Times “Style” section, which is the source of today’s recipe.

But this belief is also at the heart of much Italian cooking, where the emphasis is more on the quality of prima materia (primary ingredients) than on culinary technique. I remember how my mother or aunt would always search for the freshest of vegetables, the best cut of meat, the most recently caught fish. Perhaps that’s why they would flatter or even sometimes flirt with the greengrocer, the butcher, and the fish monger.

This post is one of my go-to recipes for a weeknight supper; it can be made in less than 30 minutes and with a heritage pork loin yields a tasty dish. I did vary from the original recipe adding some fresh rosemary to the pan while browning the roast and substituting chopped sage for the parsley leaves as garnish.

For a vegetable side, I prepared some asparagus roasted with olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Ingredients

1 boneless pork tenderloin, about 1 pound
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter, extra virgin olive oil, or a combination (I used a combination.)
1/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, lemon juice or Calvados, optional (I opted for the mustard.)
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish, optional (I used fresh sage.)

Method

1. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Put a large skillet over medium-high heat; a minute later add 2 tablespoons butter and/or oil. When butter foam subsides or oil dimples, add meat (curve it into skillet if necessary).

Brown it well on all sides, for a total of 4 to 6 minutes. Turn off heat, remove meat from pan, and let it sit on a board.

When skillet has cooled a bit, proceed.

2. Cut meat into inch-thick slices. Once again turn heat to medium-high, add remaining butter and/or oil and, when it’s hot, add pork slices to pan.

3. Brown on each side, about 2 or 3 minutes each. Turn heat to low and remove meat to a warm platter.

4. Add 1/2 cup water to pan, turn heat to high, and cook, stirring and scraping, for a minute. Lower heat slightly, add cream and cook until slightly thickened.

5. Stir in mustard, lemon juice or Calvados, if you’re using them, then taste and adjust seasoning. Serve meat with sauce spooned on top, garnished, if you like, with parsley.

Take your time with sauce. I like my sauce a little thicker so I cooked it a tad longer. If you prefer a thinner sauce, reduce it a bit less.

Wine Pairing: Rhone Rose; Syrah

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Tablewine · 5 Comments

Garlicky Chicken Thighs with Scallion and Lime

Our markets in downtown San Diego frequently seem to have extraordinary sales on chicken; for example, today I found bone-in skin-on chicken thighs for 77 cents a pound. Consequently, my plans for a pasta dinner were put on hold and replaced with a dish that caught my eye on the New York Times “Cooking” site: Garlicky Chicken Thighs with Scallion and Lime.

It’s a relatively simple dish to prepare and requires a minimum of ingredients. My only substitution was 2 tablespoons of olive oil for the 1 tablespoon of canola oil. And while the recipe gave the choice of using “a large Dutch oven or a high-sided skillet” for cooking the dish, I opted for my trusty 12″ cast-iron skillet. Sure, it made a mess of my stove, but I think the skillet was a better choice as it allowed for a better reduction of the sauce.

I was also tempted to substitute white wine for the water, but went with the latter to let the flavors of the garlic and scallions to stand on their own. And although the recipe calls for discarding the halved garlic head at the end, I served it with the chicken because it was packed with sweet roasted flavor. Finally, to absorb the sauce, I served steamed Basmati rice.

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil (I substituted 2 tablespoons of olive oil.)
1 bunch scallions
1 head garlic, unpeeled and halved crosswise
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus 1 lime
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

Preparation

1. – Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.

2. – Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or large, high-sided skillet over medium heat. (I think the skillet is the better choice.)
3. – Add chicken, skin-side down and cook, undisturbed, until chicken is crisped and the fat has begun to render, 8 to 10 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip chicken skin-side up. Cook until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes.

4. – Meanwhile, thinly slice two scallions; set aside.

5. – Add both halves of the head of garlic, cut side down, and remaining whole scallions to the pot and season with salt and pepper, tossing to coat in the chicken fat.

6. – Cook until scallions are lightly blistered and browned, about 3 minutes. Add grated garlic and stir a minute or two, but do not brown.

6. – Add lime juice, soy sauce and 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer and partly cover. Cook until chicken is completely tender and nearly falling apart on the underside and liquid is reduced by three-quarters, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard the halved head of garlic. (I think this step might be tricky for some. Be sure to partially cover the skillet to keep the chicken from drying out; but also allow enough time for the sauce to reduce properly.)

7. – Scatter sliced scallion over chicken and using a Microplane or zester, zest lime over. Cut lime into quarters and serve alongside.

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc

Posted on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018 by Tablewine · 8 Comments

Shrimp in Tomato Sauce with Feta

I really started cooking seriously in the late 70s, always inspired by my Neapolitan aunt’s and Sicilian mother’s cooking, but sparked even more so by the not yet celebrated Julia Child on my local PBS channel. I read and read books by chefs like Elizabeth David and later on Alice Waters who focused on seasonal cuisine; on fundamental cookbooks like the Grammar of Cooking by Carol Braider or The Saucier’s Apprentice by Raymond Sokolov; on the standard cookbooks like The James Beard Cookbook, The Joy of Cooking, The New York Times Cookbook. I consulted huge tomes like the Larousse Gastronomique and the two-volume Gourmet Cookbook as well as tiny books like The Omelette Cookbook by Narcissa Chamberlain. And at the same time subscribed to almost every food magazine there was. I read and experimented; often failing but sometimes blissfully successful.

Perhaps I’m growing nostalgic (I just turned 70), but I think there was a golden age of cookbooks between the mid 80s and early 90s when I saw more serious and scholarly writers like Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Lynn Rosetto Kasper, Fred Plotkin, to name a few, and Paula Wolfert, who introduced today’s recipe in her 1985 cookbook Mediterranean Cooking.

Before I knew it, I had amassed quite a collection of cookbooks, somewhere between two and three hundred. Disaster struck, however, and I lost 90% of my collection in 2012 to a flood caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Finding Wolfert’s recipe online started me thinking about cookbooks and motivated me to make it once again.

For a side dish, I served orzo sprinkled with olive oil and seasoned with fresh mint and lemon zest

Shrimp and Feta Cheese a la Tourkolimano

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

2 cups fresh or canned tomato sauce

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Freshly ground pepper and a dash of salt

Pinch of cayenne

1 1/2 to 2 pounds raw shrimp (about 50)

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

1.- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Peel and de-vein the shrimp.

2.- In a skillet cook the onions in olive oil until translucent.

3.- Add the garlic, tomato sauce, wine, half the parsley, salt, pepper and cayenne. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring often. The tomato sauce should be rather thick.

4.- Add the shrimp to the sauce and cook 5 minutes.

5.- Place the cheese in the baking dish.

6.- Cover with the shrimp and tomato sauce and set in the oven to bake 10 minutes.

7.- Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve very hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Wine Pairing: Syrah, Rose

Posted on July 10, 2018July 8, 2018 by Tablewine · 2 Comments

Kielbasa & Sauerkraut

This is not a Polish joke: What do you do when your husband asks you to make kielbasa? You make it. After five years of marriage, my better half, who is of Polish heritage, asked me for the first time in our relationship to recreate a dish his mother often made: Kielbasa with Sauerkraut.

I admit I was somewhat intimidated to attempt to replicate a childhood memory. But this was the first time he’s ever requested an eastern European meal.

When I agreed, he informed me, most enthusiastically, that he had already found a recipe that reminded him of the original. It was from a 1995 issue of “Bon Appetit” that had been published on the “Epicurious” website.

Although it takes almost two and a half hours to prepare, most of the dish’s cooking time is devoted to a long braise in the oven and the prep is relatively simple. I departed from the recipe only slightly by using chopped onions as opposed to sliced and substituting fennel seeds for the caraway. For the wine, I opted for a California Dry Riesling.

My husband’s only other request was to serve the dish with a boiled potato to which I added butter and dill.

Given that the evening weather was beautiful, we dined on the terrace just as the sun was setting. Maybe it was the lighting, but as I caught a glimpse of my husband’s face as he took his fist taste, he appeared to be aglow with contentment.

Ingredients

6 smoked bacon slices, cut into 2-inch-wide strips
1 large onion, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 2-pound jar sauerkraut, rinsed, drained well
2 cups dry white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt broth
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
4 juniper berries, crushed, or 1 tablespoon gin
1 1/2 pounds kielbasa sausage, cut into 3-inch lengths

Preparation

1- Preheat oven to 300°F. Place bacon, onion and carrot in heavy large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sauté until onion is tender but not brown, about 5 minutes.

2- Squeeze as much liquid as possible from sauerkraut. (I placed my drained sauerkraut in a clean dish towel and twisted until the sauerkraut gave up most of its liquid.) Add sauerkraut to Dutch oven. Add wine, stock, caraway seeds and juniper berries.

3- Bring to simmer. Cover tightly, place in oven and bake 1 hour.

4. Add kielbasa to Dutch oven, pushing into sauerkraut.

6. Cover and bake 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring frequently.)

Wine Pairing: Dry Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc

Posted on July 3, 2018July 1, 2018 by Tablewine

Penne with Cauliflower Ragu

Sometimes I find that it’s the end of the week, and I’ve served nothing but meatcentric meals. More often than not this is due to buying what’s on sale at the market, re-purposing leftovers, or just my hankering for a steak.

It’s at times like these that I start to look for a non-meat dish, which usually winds up being pasta or, as my better half bemoans, “all too seldom,” fish. In my search, I came across this recipe from Mario Batali’s cookbook Molto Gusto. Just the word “ragu” made my mouth water.

Except for the frequent stirring of the cauliflower, it’s a relatively simple dish to prepare and, as the recipe points out, it can be made days in advance. I did find, however, that I needed to extend the three cooking times for the cauliflower, especially at the third stage. I’ve given the recipe’s original times, but strongly suggest that you taste the cauliflower for tenderness at each stage.

Ingredients
Serves 6 people

1 medium cauliflower (about 2 pounds)

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 medium white onion cut into 1⁄4-inch dice

3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

Maldon or other flaky sea salt

1 ½ to 2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

Kosher salt

1 pound pennette

¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for serving

½ cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs fried in olive oil until golden brown

1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

Directions
1. Halve the cauliflower. Cut off the leaves and reserve them. Cut out the core and reserve it. 2. Cut the cauliflower into small bite-sized florets, reserving the stalks.

3. Chop the core, stalks, and leaves. (I used a food processor for this step.)

4. Combine the oil, onion, garlic, and cauliflower leaves, stalks, and core in a large pot, season with Maldon salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the leaves are just beginning to wilt, about 3 minutes. (This step took me at least six minutes.)

5. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the cauliflower leaves are just tender, 18 to 20 minutes. (This step took me at least 26 minutes.)

6. Add the cauliflower florets, red pepper flakes, and 1 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is very soft and almost falling apart, 22 to 25 minutes. (I added about 10 minutes to this step.)

7. Add the butter, stirring gently until it melts, then season well with Maldon salt and remove from the heat.

The cauliflower ragú can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate; reheat in a large pot over medium-low heat before adding the pasta.

8. Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in a large pot and add 3 tablespoons Kosher salt. Drop in the pasta and cook until just al dente.

9. Drain the pasta, reserving about 2/3 cup of the pasta water.

10. Add the pasta and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water to the cauliflower ragú and stir and toss over medium heat until the pasta is well coated (add a splash or two more of the reserved pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce). Stir in the cheese.

11. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl, sprinkle with the bread crumbs and rosemary, and serve, with additional grated cheese on the side.

As you can see, I opted for big boy breadcrumbs.

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio