EX frat man

…this Food Porn™ recipe is for a New England classic — something that is rumored to be from the Shaker culture — Rhubarb Tea.  With rhubarb is abundance right now, here is this simple recipe just in time for the Memorial Day weekend pool-opening party.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 8 cups water
• Juice and grated rind of one orange or lemon (avoid the white pith under the rind)
• 3/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Simmer rhubarb on the water until tender (20 – 25 minutes) Strain, pressing on rhubarb with a spatula to extract all the juice. Stir in the lemon or orange juice and rind; mix in optional strawberries Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Cool and serve over ice.

Roasted Asparagus with Alfredo Penne … today’s Food Porn™ entry is a great solution for a dish that utilizes that great spring-time vegetable — asparagus — is a great way … with a low calorie Alfredo sauce.

SAUCE:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup low-fat (2%) milk
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons Neufchtel or low-fat cream cheese
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

ROASTED ASPARAGUS:

• 10 - 12 asparagus stalks
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• salt - pepper to taste

PASTA:

• 4 cups your favorite penne pasta
• water
• salt

 DIRECTIONS:

1. clean and trim asparagus, breaking tougher lower stalk off.  place of cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil; salt and pepper.
2. place asparagus into 435 degree pre-heated oven for 15 minutes or until browned lightly; turn asparagus over and repeat until other side is brown.
3. while asparagus is in the oven, fill pot with water, lightly salt, bring to boil; add pasta and cook according to package directions.
4. in a large flat pan (skillet) heat the 1 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter until shimmering … add garlic and saute until very lightly golden colored.
5. lower the heat and immediately add the 2 tablespoons of flour, stirring until well incorporated into the fat/garlic.  do not let brown.
6. add the salt, milk and neufchatel into the flour/garlic mixture, stirring until smooth and all ingredients are totally incorporated.
7. add lemon zest and parmesan cheese into the mixture, incorporate completely.

TO SERVE:

1. drain pasta and place into a large bowl; add sauce and toss lightly until pasta in well coated with sauce.
   
2. transfer pasta and sauce combine onto a large platter, place roasted asparagus on top.
3. garnish with additional parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.
4. serve with crusty italian bread,

Blueberry Cornbread Muffins

… in this instalment of Food Porn™ we tackle this classic combination.  as far as i’m concerned, nothing is better in the morning than the combination of blueberries and cornbread.

…this recipe yields a traditional cornbread … not a light and cake-like muffin but a substantial muffin where you can really taste the corn meal coming through…

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
• 1/3 cup very hot water
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs, whisked
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2. Measure the cornmeal into a large bowl. Add the hot water and oil and set it aside to soak for 5 to 10 minutes. For a more corn-like flavor, use a coarse-ground cornmeal.
3. In the meantime, whisk the three eggs in another medium bowl.
4. Add the granulated sugar, salt, and extracts to the whisked eggs. Stir until smooth.
5. Mix the flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. 
6. Add the egg and sugar mixture to the cornmeal mixture. Stir until smooth.
7. Add the flour mixture all at once to the wet mixture. Stir until just combined. Some lumps should remain. This is the classic muffin method of mixing, adding all the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mixing only until moistened. If you stir too much, you will develop the gluten and your muffin will be chewy instead of tender. Do not use an electric mixer for this mixing.
8. Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter.   do not stir. Spoon the batter into very well greased muffin tins or muffin tins lined with paper cups. Try to catch a few blueberries in each spoonful of batter.  NOTE: If you stir the blueberries into the batter, especially with frozen blueberries, the juice stains the batter. If you sprinkle the blueberries on top and spoon blueberries with the batter, you will reduce the staining.
9. Fill the cups until full or almost full. Sprinkle the tops of the filled cups with course sugar. Filling the cups full will help the muffins dome. If the temperature in the oven is hot enough and the sugar content is not too high, your muffins should dome instead spread.
10. Bake for five minutes at 425 degrees and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for another 20 minutes or until the muffins just begin to brown.

…serve warm with butter.  Yum!

…how to make the perfect (and really easy)  Food Porn™ omelette.

this is perfect … and impressive … way to entertain any gentleman caller for breakfast after having him spend the night.  just have the ingredients on hand (and a good omelette can contain a wide variety of different things) and then in the morning, become your own hotel “omelette guy.”

 IMPORTANT: you’ll need a very good 10” non-stick fry pan with gently sloping edges.

here’s my ingredients for a ham, spinach and swiss omelette (what in a resturant would be called a Florentine Omelette)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large eggs scrambled
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon butter for pan
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onions
• 1/3 cup spinach chiffonade 
• 1/4 cup finely diced ham
• 1/4 cup shredded swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. prepare ALL of you ingredients, set aside.  NOTE:  this recipe moves very quickly once started, so you REALLY need everything prepped.)
2. heat pan on medium heat with butter
3. add onions to melted butter, saute for 15 seconds
4. add ham to butter and onion, saute for an additional 15 seconds
5. add spinach to onion and ham mixture, saute for 30 seconds, stirring or tossing all the while.
6. remove the onion, ham and spinach mixture; set aside.
7. add scrambled egg mixture to the pan, moving pan constantly to even distribute„ allow to cook for 15 seconds.
8. with a silicon spatula, gently lift sides of cooked egg mixture and tilt pan to allow the uncooked portion of the egg to flow to the edges.
9. place the reserved onion, ham and spinach mixture in a line down the center of the cooking eggs.
10. place 1/2 of the shredded swiss cheese on top of the filling.
11. using your silicon spatula, gently fold one-third of the omelette on top of the fillings.
12. then, again, fold the remaining third of the omelette again over the fillings.
13. continuing cooking for 15 seconds
14. taking the pan in you right hand, gently roll the omelette out of the pan onto a warmed plate.
15. garnish with the remaining shredded cheese
16. serve.

NOTES:  from the time the egg hits the pan to service is about 2 minutes.  the goal here is to NOT brown the eggs, so watch your heat to make sure that the omelette looks like to one pictured above, not like this: 

you really can be creative with the fillings, using just some mild shredded cheese, mushrooms, chive, chopped bacon, whatever combinations you desire!

finally, practice makes perfect!

…today’s Food Porn™ entry is one of those recipes that you keep in your back-pocket for when you want just great homestyle cooking.  it goes great with this side dish:Food Porn’s Potatoes Au Gratin with Sweet Onions.  adapted from Alton Brown’s meatloaf recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 6 ounce packet of garlic-flavored croutons or 3 slices of whole-grain bread toasted until very dry.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and broken
• 3 whole cloves garlic
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 18 ounces ground chuck
• 18 ounces ground sirloin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg
• For the glaze:
• 3/4 cup catsup
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• several dashes Worcestershire sauce
• Dash hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoon honey

Directions

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a food processor bowl, combine croutons (or torn-up toast slices), black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl.
• Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is roughly chopped — not pureed.
• Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, and ground chuck with the bowl with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt.

• Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.
• Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray.
• Insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe.
• Set the probe for 155 degrees.
• While the loaf is in the over, combine the catsup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey.
• Brush about 1/2 of the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 20 minutes.
• When the loaf reaches in internal temperature of about 140 degrees, pour the remaining glaze over the top.
• Return the loaf to the oven until it reaches 155 degrees.
• Remove, tent with foil and let rest for about 15 minutes.

… Food Porn™ easter cake, made with Carrot cake, of course.

around here in new england, families fall into 2 camps, those who have ham for easter dinner, and those who have lamb.  so … in today’s Food Porn™ here is a great recipe for Braised Leg of Lamb that is so much like my grandmothers.

most folks roast their leg of lamb … and if you can do it at high-heat and have a fantastic butcher, that’s a great way of getting a really good leg of lamb … but this method, braising, imparts a tender and juicy leg of lamb without having to hover over the cooking or ricking setting of the smoke detector in the kitchen.

FOOD PORN™ — Ham & 4 Bean Soup

…today’s Food Porn™ is a simple and nutritious soup that’s great for serving large crowds during a long period of time.

so, i had a bunch of buddies and acquaintances showing-up for the NCAA games and needed something that would keep on the stove for a long time as well as — since winter isn’t letting go — be warm and filling.  i also didn’t want to break the bank on these guys.  the solution, a great 4 bean and ham soup … that’s easy to pull together as well as being easy on the bank.  here’s the process:

INGREDIENTS:

• olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, finely sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, blackened and skin removed, finely sliced
• 3 cloves garlic
• about 1/2 pound of pre-cooked ham, sliced into bite sizes,
• 1 can, low-sodium red beans
• 1 can, low-sodium black beans
• 1 can, low-sodium cannelloni beans
• 1 can, low-soidum pinto beans
• 16-20 ounces, low-sodium chicken stock
• crushed dried oregano and thyme
• curly parsley

PREPARATION:

• open, drain and rinse in a colander the red, black and cannelloni beans,  reserve to the side.
• open, drain and rinse in a colander the pinto beans, reserving separately to the side.
• in a large stock pot or dutch oven coat the bottom with olive oil, add the thinly sliced onions, saute until they just start to brown.  add the sliced/skinned red bell pepper and the smashed 4 cloves of garlic.  saute until garlic is just becoming fragrant.
• add cut-up ham, saute until just beginning to brown; adding more olive oil if needed.
• add rinsed and drained pinto beans.  with the back of your spoon, smash about 1/3 of the pinto beans into a paste.
• add the reserved red, block and cannelloni beans into the pot.
• add chicken stock, bring to simmer
• salt and pepper to taste (spare the salt, knowing that it will become MORE SALTY as it cooks.)
• add crushed dried oregano and thyme.
• let simmer (just bubbling) for 3 hours.
• serve in large bowls with toasted italian bread slices, garnished with chopped parsley. 

variations:  add thinly sliced kale about 1/2 way through cooking.  add grated parmigiana cheese as a garish.

…. today’s  Food Porn™ is the final of my series on the 5 “mother” sauces … it’s all about Hollandaise.

we’ve covered already:

• basic béchamel
• classic velouté sauce
• classic sauce tomat
• espagnole sauce

…so hollandaise sauce is a mixture of egg yolk and butter, usually seasoned with lemon juice,salt, and a little white pepper or cayenne pepper. In appearance, it is light yellow and opaque, smooth and creamy. The flavor is rich and buttery, with a mild tang added by an acidic component such as lemon juice, yet not so strong as to overpower mildly-flavored foods.

Hollandaise is named because it was believed to have mimicked a Dutch sauce for the state visit to France of the King of the Netherlands. Hollandaise sauce is well known as a key ingredient of eggs Benedict, and is often paired with vegetables such as steamed asparagus.

…there are a number of different ways to achieve this sauce.  all are difficult.  really, this is the one of the 5 mother sauces that we’ve been talking about that i HATE making … anyway…  methods involves acidifying the egg yolks to aid in the formation of an emulsion, either with lemon juice or vinegar.

the INGREDIENTS you will need:

… the normal ratio of ingredients is 1 egg yolk : 4-6 Tbs. butter. flavorings may include lemon juice and salt, white pepper and/or cayenne pepper to taste.

PREPARATION methods:

… Escoffier uses a reduction of vinegar and water…others use lemon juice or sherry. …the acidified yolks are whisked gently over a very slow simmering water until they thicken and lighten in color. then, as with a mayonnaise, the emulsion is formed by very slowly whisking melted butter into it.

…now Alton Brown uses quite a different method. the egg yolks, without acid, are cooked as above. …then the upper pan is removed from heat and cold cubed butter is whisked in, a few cubes at a time. …therefore, the emulsion forms as the cubes melt. the pan is returned to heat only when the emulsion cools too much to melt more cubes. Lemon is used as a finishing flavor. Brown’s method takes more time than traditional methods, but is more reliable in that it is difficult to overheat the forming emulsion.  …you find this method is often preferred in resturant kitchens, as the milk solids in whole butter lend a fuller and rounder flavor to the finished sauce. …this is known as a “bain marie” method.

…another methods uses a blender. egg yolks are placed in a blender, then - at a temperature higher than appropriate for bain marie methods - butter is drizzled into the blender….the heat from the butter cooks the yolks. the blender methods are much quicker, although temperature control is difficult.

…then, the Joy of Cooking describes a preparation unlike all the above, using whole eggs, and slowly adding the egg mixture to melted butter over direct heat.

you should note that in all methods the temperature must be closely controlled. Too much heat and the yolks will curdle or the emulsion will break.

…too little heat and an emulsion will fail to form, or will solidify.

…once the yolks are prepared, the sauce should be not much warmer than required to maintain the butter in a liquid state, that is, a little warmer than body temperature.

…be sure to consider both the temperature of the yolks and emulsion and that of the melted butter. A finished sauce may be “held” in its emulsified state for several hours by keeping it warm.

…and FYI … there is a perfectly acceptable hollandaise jarred and available for purchase in the grocery store.

(Source: hellyeahyougotthis)

in today’s  Food Porn™ — a review of the 3 basic cook books that every serious at-home cook should own.

…so a clueless friend got me a rather large denomination B&N gift card for christmas a couple of months ago.  i tossed it up on the mantel and forgot about it until i was cleaning my library yesterday and found it.  with  a heavy wet snow predicted for today, i decided that the time was ripe to venture into the nearest B&N to cash it in.

as most of you have surmised, i’m a serious home cook.  i love to cook and i love to eat … and new cook-books are always welcomed in my already groaning cookbook shelf in the kitchen.  so while browsing the cookbook section at B&N i ran across several titles i thought i would recommend to those of you who want to get serious as well as geek-out in the process.  so here are my top 3 suggestions as to the beginning of a basic cookbook library.

1. The Joy of Cooking.  if you are going to have only one cookbook; this is it.  i was lucky to inherit my copy from my grandmother, but the new ones, updated, still fulfill the purpose of having a great and reliable recipe reference in the kitchen.  you can’t go wrong.
2. The Way to Cook.  deep-down, i’m a foodie geek.  i love technique and methodology.  but i’m also an experienced cook and i don’t need endless and exhaustive catalog of recipes.  this great Julia Child book, one of her last, gives the basic WHYS and HOWS of cooking, along with the basic recipes that you can use to create your own cuisine.
3. Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes.  this wonderful tome is all about the SCIENCE and CHEMISTRY of cooking.  perfect for the at-home chef to understand just what you’re working with.  literally, i can sit down and read this one like a book rather than a manual.

…so there you have it, the  Food Porn™ recommendations for learning great cooking.

…today’s  Food Porn™ for you … Tuscan Chicken with Cannellini.  this was dinner last night and it couldn’t be more simple or satisfying.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 chicken thighs (with skin and bones)
• 2.5 cups tomato puree
• 1 medium sweet (yellow) onion; sliced into thin strips
• 1 medium yellow pepper; sliced into thin strips
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 can, Cannellini beans, drained
• oregano
• 2 strips bacon
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• grated parmesan cheese for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. cut bacon into strips, saute in a heavy deep pan until crisp.  when done, remove bacon to the side to drain.
2. slice the onion and yellow pepper, sauteing in the pan with bacon drippings until translucent; with a slotted spoon, remove to warm plate or bowl; set aside.
3. pat dry the chicken thighs, dredge is seasoned flour until coated.  place in pan, skin side down, with bacon drippings until the browned and skin is crisped.
4. assemble browned chicken thighs, bacon, onion and yellow peppers in an over-proof dish, topping with tomato puree.
5. place chicken dish in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until internal temperature of the chicken reads 170 degrees.
6. while the chicken is in the oven, drain the Cannellini beans and rinse; place in a heavy sauce pan.
7. season Cannellini beans with about 2 tablespoons of the reserved chicken drippings and the chicken stock.  add oregano and heat until bubbling and the stock reduces by about 1/2. 
8. when the chicken reaches temperature, remove from oven and set-aside to rest.
9. while the chicken is resting, use the back of a spoon to smash about 1/4 of the Cannellini beans in the pot.  stir to incorporate into the remaining chicken broth.
10. assemble the dish by plating a serving of the Cannellini beans in the center of the dish; place a chicken thigh on top (to the side) of the beans.  spoon a small portion of the juices from the chicken over the top.  garnish with the parmesan cheese as desired.
11. great with warm and crusty italian bread.

…back with another Food Porn™ entry … today we are going to continue our series of the five french mother sauces … we’ve covered already:

• basic béchamel
• classic velouté sauce
• classic sauce tomat

…so today’s sauce is the classic espagnole sauce — or brown sauce.

Espagnole has a strong taste and is rarely used directly on food. As a mother sauce, however, it serves as the starting point for many derivatives, such as Sauce Africaine, Sauce Bigarade, Sauce Bourguignonne, Sauce aux Champignons, Sauce charcutière, Sauce Chasseur, Sauce Chevreuil andDemi-glace.

The basic method of making espagnole is to prepare a very dark brown roux, to which veal stock or water is added, along with browned bones, pieces of beef, vegetables, and various seasonings. (see this  Food Porn™ to learn all about roux and the different varieties.)

This blend is allowed to slowly reduce while being frequently skimmed. The classical recipe calls for additional veal stock to be added as the liquid gradually reduces but today water or beef stock is generally used instead. Tomato paste or pureed tomatoes are added towards the end of the process, and the sauce is further reduced.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups hot beef stock or reconstituted beef-veal demi-glace concentrate*
• 1/4 cup canned tomato purée
• 2 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery rib, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf

PREPARATION

Cook carrot and onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7 to 8 minutes.

Add flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until medium brown, 6 to 10 minutes.

Add hot stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add tomato purée, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf and bring to a boil, stirring.

Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups, about 45 minutes.

Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.

…as noted above, this is a base sauce, very rarely used directly.  for example the addition of red wine and finely chopped and sauteed shallots (with butter added just at the end) will produce a sauce bourguignonne.