Besotted Gourmet » Weeknight Dinners

Minty, Mashy Peas

Jessica — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:34:20 +0000

I know, I know, it’s been WAY too long since I’ve posted. And, I could sit here and list out all of my excuses – crushingly busy at work, wedding season, the fact that my un-air-conditioned apartment has been topping 100 degrees lately, and the idea of sitting with my laptop in my lap makes me want to tear off my own skin – but I won’t.

I will tell you that, despite the internet-evidence, I have actually been cooking quite a bit. My farm share, split with the former Miss LM, now Mrs. LS (!) started a month or so ago, and I’ve been having such fun playing with new recipes, including the minty mashy peas (and about 12 variations on them) from a previous post, spinach pasta with roasted beets in a cream sauce, creamed cauliflower, veal scaloppine with butter and shallots, and, most recently, dear CS’s surprising and addictive basil ice cream.

Other major updates include the addition of Mini-Cooper to the Besotted kitchen… no, not a car, but the cuddliest, cutest little bundle of joy, care of CS; the aforementioned wedding of Miss LM to Jimmy; and the start of my cooking class series. The first class, held in late June at the Boston Center for Adult Education, included recipes featuring fruits & veggies that are harvested in the mid-June to mid-July time frame – lots of greens, carrots, berries, green onions, and peas.

The next class will be held August 25th, and, while I haven’t decided on the curriculum yet, I’m leaning heavily towards a tomato, corn, and peaches-heavy curriculum – think tomato, basil, and ricotta tarts, peach pies, sauteed corn, grilled corn with queso (a la Toro), and light, fresh tomato sauces. This is just a sneak preview for what I’m thinking of – if there are any suggestions, now’s the time to send them. And, if you’re in the Boston area, you can sign up for the class here.

Now, for the main event – this minty, mashy pea recipe is as versatile as it is tasty. I’ve spooned it straight out of a cup for lunch, spread it on toasted nan for dinner, or covered little toasts for an appetizer, and it all works beautifully. Not only that, but most of the ingredients, even the peas, as I near-disasterously discovered during my cooking class, are subject to substitution. Toss in basil, mint, parsley, or other herbs at will; add more or less garlic, depending on your taste; capers would go nicely, if you like them. The only items that are not optional are the feta and greek yogurt – they really make this dish.

Minty Mashy Peas, Serves 4
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

1 Clove Garlic, minced
1 Bunch Mint, chopped
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 ½ cups frozen or shelled peas or sugar snap peas
1 Bunch Scallions, chopped
4 Tbls. Olive Oil
½ lb. Greek Yogurt
½ lb. Feta

Preparation:

Set water to boil in large sauce pan and boil peas for 3 minutes and drain.

Put the minced garlic and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside.

Put the yogurt and feta in a bowl, mash well to blend and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, chop the peas, garlic and lemon juice, scallions, and mint until they’re a lumpy consistency.

Add the pea mixture to the yogurt and cheese, mix well, and season with salt & pepper.

Enjoy!

Warm Arugula Salad

Jessica — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:47:14 +0000

You can’t make friends with salad…. unless that salad has bacon, parmesano reggiano, and toasted pine nuts, in which case, you’ll probably find yourself with new friends that you don’t even know.

Jamie Oliver introduced me to the concept of the warm salad several years ago with a poached egg and prosciutto version that I made at least once a week for a year. This version is the same concept – select, high-quality, delicious treats, warmed or toasted, spread over a dressed salad, and served immediately. There’s something about crunchy, spicy arugula as a bed for crispy bacon, caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts that makes something that should induce a ton of bikini-weather’s-coming-guilt into a meal… and a meal that has salad in the name. Hoorah!

Let’s not kid ourselves though, this is not low calorie food, which is why it’s even more important to use the best quality bacon, parmesan, and pine nuts sparingly, served over huge heaps of the arugula.

Speaking of arugula, I can’t wait for farm share season to start, not only because I’ll be sharing it with my lovely friend, LN, or because we’ll get to discuss her upcoming wedding when we split our share, but because I’ll be teaching a cooking class at the Boston Center for Adult Education on cooking for a farm share in June! I’m so thrilled and can’t wait for the class – for those of you in Boston, you can check out the agenda (and sign up) here.

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Warm Arugula Salad, Serves 2

Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Happy Days with the Naked Chef

Ingredients:

4 Cups Arugula

4 Slices of Bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

3 Tbls. Olive Oil

1 Red Onion, peeled and sliced into eigths

4 Sprigs of Thyme

¼ Cup Pine Nuts

½ Tsp. Salt

4 Tbls. Balsamic Vinegar

Parmesano Reggiano

Preparation:

Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add the 4 slices of bacon and cook for 5-8 minutes until crispy. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels, pour off the bacon fat, return the pan to the heat, and add the olive oil, onions, thyme, pine nuts, and salt.

Fry for 5-10 minutes until the onions start caramelizing and turning deep purple.

Meanwhile, toss your arugula with the balsamic vinegar in a large bowl and set aside.

Once the onions, pine nuts, and thyme are done frying, add the bacon back to the pan, toss around a bit, and add to the dressed arugula. Toss. And divide between two plates. Shave some Parmesano Reggiano on top. Sit your bum in a chair, and dive in. Enjoy!

Pan-Seared Salmon with Luscious Green Sauce

Jessica — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:39:54 +0000

When I was little and learning to play the piano, there was one song that I loved more than any other, and I played it constantly. So much so, that just playing it became kind of pedestrian, and I had to do something to jazz it up…. So I timed myself, to see how fast I could play the piece from beginning to end. It came out sounding just as you would expect a song to sound that a 6 year-old was speed-racing her way through, but I had to do something to make it challenging, and speed was my handicap of choice.

Skip ahead a couple of decades, and I’m not exactly the little pianist hellion banging away on the keys with no thought other than speed…. But, I’m not that far away from her, either. Nice 10 mile commute to work? I’ll ride my bike. Beach read? I’ll take Sophie’s Choice over Sophie Kinsella. Friends over for a work-night dinner? I’ll flake out and make this pan-seared salmon with luscious green sauce, which takes 30 minutes if I’m slow and 15 minutes if I’m in crazy speed-demon mode.

As much as I love a challenge, there are certain restraints of the space/time continuum that I can’t overcome – namely that I am required to be 15 miles outside the city until at least 5 o’clock and plan to serve dinner at 6:30, which gives me approximately 30 minutes to prepare something guest-worthy. And, this salmon dish works perfectly .

Lightly cooked salmon is brightened with a really pungent and tangy green sauce, consisting of fresh herbs, lemon, garlic, and, if it suits your taste, anchovies. It tastes way more decadent than the prep time or calorie count suggest, and, is just different enough to be really noteworthy.

Enjoy!

Pan-Seared Salmon with Luscious Green Sauce, Serves 2

Adapted from Caprial’s Bistro Style Cuisine

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the Salmon:

2 6oz. Salmon Fillets

Salt & Pepper

3 Tbls. Olive Oil

For the Green Sauce:

1 Cup Basil Leaves, chopped

¼ Cup Mint, chopped

½ Cup Parsley, chopped

3 Tbls. Capers

1 Lemon, juiced and zested

2 Anchovies, chopped or 1 Tsp. Anchovy Paste

3 Cloves Garlic, minced very finely

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-proof pan over medium-high heat until just smoking, about 2-3 minutes, depending on how quickly your stove heats up.

While the oil is heating, liberally salt and pepper your salmon fillets.

Once the oil is just smoking, add your fillets to the pan and sear for 2 minutes on each side.

While the fillets are searing, place the garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl and mix well to cover the garlic with the lemon.

Once the fillets are done searing on the stove top, transfer the pan to the oven and cook for an additional 8 minutes.

While the fillets are baking, add the rest of the green sauce ingredients to the bowl and mix well; the lemon juice will ‘cook’ the garlic enough to take the sting out, but be sure that your garlic is minced well – no big chunks!

Once the fillets are done remove from the oven plate, and heap the luscious green sauce on top. Enjoy!

Secret Ingredient Brownies

Jessica — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:51:26 +0000

I heart brownies in a big way. Nigella Lawson, the cookbook author from whom this recipe has been adapted (begged, borrowed, and slightly stolen), touts as one of their highest virtues the fact that they can be whipped up in a matter of minutes. I would add to that sterling quality the fact that, unlike so many other “easy” desserts and confections, your sink will not look like a dirty dish graveyard – one bowl, one pan, one spoon, and one baking dish is all that this recipe requires.

Now that I’ve sold you on the recipe, I will relate a small pet peeve of mine, and that is the habit that we have of labeling recipes as the “perfect” or “best” such-and-such. In my quest for a decent brownie recipe, I came across a multitude that claimed to be “the best” or “perfect”, which is an obvious impossibility, given their wide variety. I balk at the supposition that the recipe author knows my tastes, or, worse, is assuming that their interpretation of the pinnacle for that particular foodstuff is superior to all others. It irks me, and, in an unsurprising development, I realized that I was guilty of the same crime, on my “Best” Ginger Cookie post. The morals of this story are that we don’t know each others’ tastes and I am a hypocrite.

This is all a relevant prelude to this very good brownie recipe. I wouldn’t ever call it perfect, because, if you like your brownies cakey, or light and fluffy, this won’t suit you at all. You may even label it the worst brownie recipe. If, on the other hand, you like your brownies to have a fair amount of heft, stick-to-your-ribs, and chew like they were fighting to stay in your mouth, then you might give this recipe a decent review. If you also happen to like when people say “there’s something special about this” because it has a particular flavor that they enjoy but can’t quite place, then you’ll rave about this recipe. These brownies are warm, comforting, moist, dense, and have a certain twinkle of flavor that can not be easily placed. Read down below to see the secret ingredient and, as always, enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Secret Ingredient Brownies, Yields 12-15

Adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Baking Time: 25 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 ¼ Cups Butter, softened

8 oz. Best Bittersweet Chocolate,

4 Eggs

2 Tsp. Best Quality Vanilla

2 Tsp. Vietnamese Cinnamon (secret ingredient!)

1 ¼ Cups Sugar

1 Cup Flour

¾ Tsp. Salt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350° and prepare the brownie pan (13x9x2.5 inches) by lining with parchment paper.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat. Keep an eye on it the chocolate as it melts, and make sure that the mixture doesn’t get too hot. Once melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Add the flour and salt and mix well. Add the slightly cooled chocolate and mix vigorously.

Pour the mixture into the lined brownie pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the baked brownies from the oven and let them sit in the pan for 5-10 minutes before cutting, serving, and enjoying!

Fettuccine with Pecan Herb Sauce

Jessica — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:32:55 +0000

In a thoroughly unsurprising development, the holiday season has left me with less time than I’d like to do the things I enjoy most – namely putter around the kitchen and cook. I eat out too much, go to too many parties, and order delivery too often in an effort to save time for gift-wrapping, which inevitably takes 5 times longer than it takes the average all-thumbed clutz, that I end up cooking less during this home and hearth-oriented season than usual.

And, quite frankly, eating out so much sounds fun, but it is a bit off-putting. I like my own cooking, I like creating something, I like knowing what goes into it, I like being in my kitchen and doing the familiar dance around my pantry and stove, and not doing it makes me feel out of sorts.

Which is why it’s important to have recipes like Fettuccine with Pecan Herb Sauce that are the amazing combination of delicious, easy, quick-to-make, and healthy – in short, it gives me the face time with my kitchen that I crave and results in a pretty fantastic meal. Win, win…and…. win.

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Fettuccine with Pecan Herb Sauce, Serves 4

Adapted from Caprial’s Bistro Style Cuisine

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 Cup Pecans

½ Cup Parmesan, grated

3 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1/3 Cup Thyme Leaves, chopped

1/3 Cup Basil Leaves, chopped

2/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

1lb. Fettuccine

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 250° and put a pot of salted water onto boil. Spread the pecans out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven (or a toaster oven) for 10 minutes or until fragrant… once you start to smell their toasty goodness, they’re ready to come out.

Once the water has started to boil, add the fettuccine and cook for 8-10 minutes or according to the box instructions, and then, get on making the pecan herb sauce.

Place the toasted pecans, grated parmesan, thyme and basil leaves in the bowl of a food processor or mini-food processor. Chop or pulse until fine. Add the extra-virgin olive oil through the feed tube with the processor running. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Once the fettuccine has finished cooking, drain, but leave the noodles a bit wet, and mix with the pecan herb sauce. Toss well, serve, and enjoy!

BBQ Pan-Seared Scallops with Creamy Sauerkraut Soup

Jessica — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:35:54 +0000

So, I’m almost two-thirds of the way through my self-imposed Fall-2009-Gourmet-only restraint for November, and I will admit, it’s a lot harder than I thought. I’ve been staring longingly at my Bon Appetit’s, knowing, as I assume the editors at Conde Nast did, that the recipes in BA are a lot more home-cook-full-time-worker friendly. While Gourmet has made the after-thought attempt at the weekday-friendly recipes (and some are quite good), the majority of the magazine is dedicated to 3 hour+ long recipes with ingredients that, quite frankly, I’ve often not heard of. And this is (or, I suppose, was) Gourmet’s tragic flaw – so achingly aspirational, beautiful, untouchable, but in no way practical for the busy home cook trying to eat well on a budget.

With my lamentations out of the way, I will say that, after much, much digging, I was able to find a recipe in the October 2009 issue that sounded both mouth-wateringly appetizing and weeknight do-able. This BBQ Pan-Seared Scallops in Creamy Sauerkraut Soup recipe came from an article on Edward Lee’s 610 Magnolia restaurant in Louisville, KY, a chef that seamlessly weaves deep southern flavors with traditional Korean fare. I wanted to make all of his recipes, but the only one that I could hope to make after work and reasonably expect to eat before 11 at night was this scallop dish, and it was both easy (ok, not grilled chicken on a foreman grill easy, but definitely easy by Gourmet standards) and really, REALLY delicious.

Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

BBQ Pan-Seared Scallops in Creamy Sauerkraut Soup, Serves 4

Adapted from Gourmet

Prep Time: 1 Hour

Total Prep Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients:

For the Scallops:

1 1/3lb. Sea Scallops

½ Tsp. Flour

½ Tsp. Paprika

¼ Tsp. Coriander

¼ Tsp. Pepper

1/8 Tsp. Cayenne

½ Tsp. Garlic Salt

1 Tsp. Kosher Salt

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

For the Creamy Sauerkraut Soup:

3 Tbls. Salt

1 Slice Bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 White Onion, chopped

1 Cup Sauerkraut, drained

1/3 Cup White Wine

2 ½ Cups Chicken Stock

¼ Cup Heavy Cream

1 Tsp. Dijon Mustard

2 Tsp. Sour Cream or crème Fraiche

Preparation:

Get started on the creamy sauerkraut soup by melting 1 of the tablespoons of butter in a very large saute pan over medium heat and cooking the bacon and onions for 5-8 minutes, until most of the fat on the bacon is rendered and the onions are softened.

Add the sauerkraut and wine and allow to simmer briskly for 3-5 minutes.

Turn the heat down to medium low, add the chicken stock and heavy cream, and allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, get on preparing your scallops….

Dry the scallops with a paper towel and set aside.

Combine the flour, cayenne, paprika, coriander, garlic salt, kosher salt, and pepper in a small or medium-sized bowl. Using your hands, dip each scallop into the spice mixture, covering the bottom half of the scallop. Set the spiced scallop on a plate, spice-side up, and put heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat before getting back to your creamy sauerkraut soup….

Once the soup is done simmering for 20 minutes, remove from the heat and add in the mustard and sour cream or crème fraiche. Using a hand blender (please, if you haven’t bought one yet, these are incredibly useful and inexpensive tools and make this task so much easier!), puree the soup or carefully transfer the soup to a blender to blend in batches. Return to the pan on the stove top, season to taste with salt and pepper (taste carefully, it’ll still be pretty hot), and keep warm over low heat.

By this time, the oil in the saute pan should be very hot and shimmery. Place the scallops, spice-side up in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. While the scallops are sauteing, ladle the sauerkraut soup into shallow bowls or along the side of a large plate. Place 4 or 5 of your sauteed scallops on the sauerkraut soup, drizzle the spiced oil remaining in the scallops saute pan over the scallops, serve, and enjoy!

Spicy Shrimp & Tomatoes over Polenta

Jessica — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:05:48 +0000

Firstly, let me apologize for the lengthy delay. I, like many Bostonians, was felled by the flu (swine or similar) this past week. And, even after the symptoms are long gone, the exhaustion tends to linger – hence my pathetic and ragged 1.5 mile run yesterday, all of which felt like the last leg of a 10 mile run. It was so sad that I was forced to cheer myself up with a margarita and filet mignon sliders with Dr. S before going to my film debut (shameless self-promotion) in TEN9EIGHT – as an aside, if you’re in need of a little uplifting, kick-your-butt inspirational story, go see this movie. These kids are amazing!

Anyway, I realize that you’re not here to hear about the flu, my drag-ass run, or an exceptional group of entrepreneurial kids that are daring to make their own American dream…. although, they are easily the most interesting thing on this site. You’re here to hear a bit more about Spicy Shrimp & Tomatoes over Polenta.

In keeping with my vow to honor Gourmet’s passing by keeping all recipes in November from its last two issues, this is an adaptation of Gourmet’s Shrimp and Pancetta on Polenta in the November issue.

I made a few adaptations to the recipe – namely, substituting bacon for the pancetta and using my own (actually, an adaptation of the Barefoot Contessa’s) non-instant polenta recipe in place of their recommended instant polenta. If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you don’t need to ask why. By all means, if it’s important to you to keep this meal’s prep time under 25 minutes, use the instant polenta, but if you have an extra 10-15 minutes to do not a lot of work, then the real thing will really knock your socks off.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Spicy Shrimp & Tomatoes, Serves 4

Adapted from Gourmet

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the Polenta:

¼ Cup Butter

4 Tbls. Olive Oil

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

½ Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

½ Tsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

1 ½ Cups Chicken Stock

1 Cups Half-and-Half

1 Cups Milk

1 Cups Cornmeal

¼ Cup Parmesan, grated

For the Spicy Shrimp & Tomato:

2 Tbls. Olve Oil

4 Slices Bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

¼ Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1 14oz. Can Diced Tomatoes

1 lb. Shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1 Tbls. Parsley, chopped

Preparation:

Begin the polenta by heating the butter and olive oil in a very large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and saute for 1 minute.

Add the chicken stock, half-and-half, and milk to the pan and bring to a boil.

Rather than watching the pot, waiting for it to boil, get on making the spicy shrimp and tomatoes. Fry the bacon and red pepper flakes in the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Immediately add the tomatoes, mix in with the bacon and garlic well, and allow to simmer for 8 minutes.

By this time, the polenta liquid should be boiling, or close to. Remove from the heat and very slowly add in the cornmeal, bit by bit, stirring constantly. Return to the stove top over low heat and cook until bubbly, stirring consistently, though not necessarily, constantly (every 1-2 minutes) for 5-8 minutes.

Back to the shrimp and tomatoes…. once your 8 minutes are up, add the shrimp to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn the heat down to very low, just to keep the dish warm but not continue to cook.

Once the polenta has been bubbling for 5-8 minutes, remove from the stove, stir in the Parmesan, and plate. Scoop a healthy serving of the spicy shrimp and tomatoes over the polenta, garnish with a bit of parsley, serve & enjoy!

Vibrant Veggie Soup and little Monday (or Tuesday) Morning Quarterbacking

Jessica — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:46:28 +0000

As promised, November’s posts starts with a recipe made from Gourmet’s October issue, what they called Scarlet Carrot Soup, but which I’ve modified to more of a Vibrant Veggie Soup. When I described the contents to PT – tons of carrots, beets, and parsnips – he crinkled his nose and grabbed a carrot cupcake with maple frosting, presumably to soothe himself from the raw shock of so many vegetables.

As it turns out, the soup was delicious, thanks to a liberal dose of coriander, which playfully and spicily tickled the back of my throat. And while I hope that you do try this soup, as it is incredibly easy, healthy, and tasty, it’s not really what this post is about….

I was flipping through my Gourmet this weekend, pen and post-it notes in hand, and mentally eschewing all of the critiques that had emerged since its demise – that it was out of touch with home cooks, spoke a language that no one understood, wasn’t attune to the economy, etc. I set out to mark the recipes that I couldn’t live without making, and I noticed something that I hadn’t before. I got to page 103 of my October issue and had only seen 3 recipes. This isn’t expected from the iconic cooking magazine that mentored and guided America’s home cooks for the last 70 years.

In Gourmet’s defense, it is their Restaurant Issue, but I have a refrigerator filled with farm share veggies and the crisp Fall air has me in the mood to turn my oven on. Looking for recipes as though they were needles in hay stack was a little disappointing. It was an eye-opening moment when I saw all of the critiques that I had rejected glaring at me from glossy pages.

I still mourn Gourmet’s passing, just with a touch more understanding and perspective.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Vibrant Veggie Soup, Serves 6-8

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Simmering Time: 30 Minutes
Total Prep Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients:

For the Soup:

¼ Cup Olive Oil

2 Onions, chopped

1/8 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

6 Carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces

2 Beets, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 Parsnip, cut into ½ inch pieces

3 Sprigs Thyme, leaves removed from stems

2 Turkish Bay Leaves

2 Tsp. Coriander

8 Cups Water

2 Tbls. Red Wine Vinegar

For the Carrot Ribbons:

2 Carrots

2-3 Tbls. Flour

½ Tsp. Salt

3 Cups Peanut Oil for Frying

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in large stock pot. Once hot, add the onions, thyme leaves, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes and cook the onions until they’re softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the carrots, beets, parnsip, water, and coriander to the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium-low heat and let simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

While the soup is coming to a boil, start making your carrot ribbons. Heat the oil in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium-high heat until it reaches 325°. While it’s heating, make your carrot ribbons by peeling carefully down the length of the carrot with a vegetable peeler until you reach the core.

Toss the carrot ribbons in a bowl with the flour and salt until well-covered. Once the oil reaches 325°, add the carrot ribbons in 2 batches and fry for 1-2 minutes. Let drain on a plate covered with paper towels until the soup is ready to be served.

Now, back to the soup…. Once it’s simmered for 20 minutes, turn the heat off and stir it for a minute or so to release the steam. If you have a hand-held blender, the next step is going to be easy-as-pie – sadly, if you don’t, it’s going to be a bit stickier. With the hand-held blender, simply blend the soup carefully until smooth. If you don’t have one (it may be time to invest), you’ll have to very carefully take the soup to the processor or blender in batches to puree.

Once pureed, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, ladle into bowls, top with your carrot ribbons, serve (with a big slice of Cheddar Bread), and enjoy!

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Cognac Mustard Sauce

Jessica — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:51:54 +0000

Every food blogger has their own reasons for engaging in the odd behaviors, rituals, and self-disciplines that go into maintaining an active food blog – apologizing to loved ones for consistently serving cold food because you needed time to photograph it, rarely cooking the same thing twice because you want to be able to make a post out of something new, timing each part of a recipe’s preparation, in order to give an accurate estimate of the preparation time – it’s all a bit nutty.

Some of us do it because it’s an escape – a place that is our own, but that we share with the thousands (millions?) of food blog readers, some hope to become famous food writers, and some, like me, enjoy the idea of keeping a flexible, updatable library of our favorite recipes (and, yes, I secretly dream of being a famous food writer, as well – with realistic expectations, of course.)

Until I started Besotted, my ‘library’ and its ‘notes’ were a handful of dog-earred pages that had been photocopied out of borrowed cookbooks, and Post-It Notes on the pages of my favorite recipes, reminding me to turn down the temperature of the oven, add an additional ingredient, or cook for a different amount of time. It was scattered at best, and not a very effective compendium of my cooking history.

This Pan-Roasted Chicken with Cognac Mustard Sauce was one of those recipes that I had photocopied out of a book, Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe. It has multiple updates to the ingredient list and quantities, and I took less than stringent notes on my updates to its preparation, so I was forever trying to remember what went right and wrong the last time. It was not a successful strategy. Posting here is a much more effective recipe library system and has the happy benefit of allowing me to share some of my favorite recipes. Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Cognac Sauce, Serves 4

Adapted from Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe

Prep Time: 40 Minutes

Roasting Time: 20 Minutes

Total Prep Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients:

2lbs. Chicken parts, preferably thighs and legs

1 Tsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

2 Tbls. Vegetable Oil

3 Cloves Garlic, chopped

2 Shallots, chopped

2 Tbls. Fresh Oregano, chopped

3 Bay Leaves

10 Peppercorns

¼ Cup Cognac

¼ Cup White Wine

1 Cup Chicken Stock

2 Tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 Tbls. Butter

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Season the chicken parts with the salt and pepper.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until the oil starts smoking. Add the seasoned chicken pieces to the pan, turn the heat down slightly, and cook on each side for 2 minutes, for a total of 6-8 minutes.

Position the chicken pieces so that the skin side is down, transfer the pan to the oven, and cook the chicken for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and add the garlic, shallots, oregano, bay leaves, and peppercorns to the pan, mixing well. Return the pan to the oven and cook the chicken for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven again, transfer the chicken to a serving plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Place the pan over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring the sauce constantly. Remove the pan from the heat to add the cognac; return to the heat and allow the sauce to reduce until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and, again, reduce until syrupy, another 3-5 minutes. Add the stock and reduce slightly – about 5-10 minutes – until the sauce is rich and thick.

Whisk in the butter and mustard. Taste the sauce for seasoning – add salt and pepper as necessary. Return the chicken pieces to the pan to cover and warm with the sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Harukei Turnip Gratin – Trying to achieve balance

Jessica — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:00:54 +0000

I imagine that you probably think that farmshare folks sit around in homespun hemp gnawing on raw vegetables with ascetic delight. And that may be true for some folks, but I prefer a bit of indulgence to balance out the veggie virtue.

The late comedian, Mitch Hedburg, once declared that he believed that eating a good food with a bad food cancelled out the negative affects of the bad food. Eating a carrot, along with some fries, gave the fries a ‘free pass’ into his gullet, and I must admit, I adhere strongly to the same principles.

Butter and cream seem a lot less dastardly when used to cook carrots, but somehow take on a forbidding countenance when used to make a crème anglaise or some burnt butter cupcakes. Irrational, but true.

Which is why, when confronted with a bucket of harukei turnips, the only reasonable solution was to drown them in a bath of hot heavy cream and milk. A heaping tablespoon of horseradish and some rosemary cut the heaviness of the turnips and cream, and turned them into a creamy bit of lush virtuous veggie deliciousness.

Serve these with a flavorful hunk of meat and a big green salad – you’ll want some fresh, raw greens to balance out the creaminess of the harukei turnip gratin. And, as always, enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Harukei Turnip Gratin, Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Simmering Time: 25 Minutes

Total Time: 35 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Cup Whole Milk

1 Cup Harukei Turnips, sliced into discs

2 Tbls. Fresh Horseradish

1 Tsp. Dried or Fresh Rosemary

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat the cream and milk in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat.

Gorgeous, earthy turnips

Add the sliced harukei turnips and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the horseradish and the rosemary, cover the sauce pan, and let cook for 20-25 minutes, until the turnips are tender, stirring occasionally.

Uncover the turnips once, divide between four plates, remind yourself that anything tastes good drowned in cream, serve, and enjoy!