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!

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!

]]> http://besottedgourmet.com/2009/11/22/bbq-pan-seared-scallops-with-creamy-sauerkraut-soup/feed/ 2 http://besottedgourmet.com/2009/11/14/spicy-shrimp-tomatoes-over-polenta/ http://besottedgourmet.com/2009/11/14/spicy-shrimp-tomatoes-over-polenta/#comments Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:05:48 +0000 Jessica http://besottedgourmet.com/?p=2071

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!

]]> http://besottedgourmet.com/2009/11/14/spicy-shrimp-tomatoes-over-polenta/feed/ 2 http://besottedgourmet.com/2009/07/19/bacon-fat-spread-ick/ http://besottedgourmet.com/2009/07/19/bacon-fat-spread-ick/#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:21:16 +0000 Jessica http://besottedgourmet.com/?p=1712

Don't be fooled.... it's not as appealing as it looks.

Congratulations Budapest, you did it!

Yes, Budapest, you bested me…. you served me something that I could not only not stomach, but had to politely, and as discreetly as possible, spit into my napkin.

Now, before I describe this offensive spread, which, along with gifelte fish, deserves its own Fear Factor episode, I will proudly state that I am not easily offended in the culinary department. I’ve watched Anthony Bourdain eat a live snakes heart and throught “Damn, I want to DO that!” There are foods I don’t care for, but very little that I can’t or won’t eat. Until this past week, the list was restricted to the aforementioned gefilte fish, but no more….

PT and I slumped into our hotel in Budapest around 10 o’clock at night – hungry, weary, and not particularly picky about our choice of dinner venue. Luckily, there was a bright, cozy, and impressive-looking bistro right next door to our hotel.

We sat down, agreed that we were quite lucky to have had this delightful restaurant so close to our hotel and were instantly impressed with the menu. After ordering appetizers and drinks, our waiter brought us some freshly baked bread and a ramekin filled with an interesting-looking spread that the waiter seemed to take a great deal of pride in and assured us was a Hungarian specialty. It was unidentifiable, but flecked with bits of bacon and parsley… so far, a winner in my book.

I spread a generous amount on a slab of bread, bit down, rolled the bite over in my mouth…. and instantly spit it out into my napkin.

“It’s bacon fat,” I choked out to PT, in between gulps of water.

“What?” he responded, and, in the mysterious ways of boys, ignored the warnings and bit down himself. “Oh God!” he exclaimed.

Yes, we were served solid bacon fat (with some very pretty flecks of parsley) to spread onto our bread, in lieu of butter. The waiter looked a bit crestfallen to see that we had barely made a dent in the generous portion he had given us and hadn’t found his country’s delicacy as delicious as he did. We tried to make amends by being overly-laudatory of our meal, which was, very delicious, but I’m not sure he fully forgave us.

Nonetheless, should you find yourself in an upscale Hungarian bistro and are served an interesting, though unfamiliar spread, best to let it alone and enjoy the bread plain.

A few years back, I had made the foolish habit of buying lunch every day at work; a group of us had become close friends, and I felt worthy, neigh, entitled, to splurge on eating out in order to spend the quality time with friends and break up the work day. I estimate that in one year I spent ~$2000 ‘splurging’ on going out for lunch, rather than brown-bagging it, which is just a little nauseating, given our current recession.

There seems to be some sort of distastefulness associated with brown-bagging-it, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is – it’s part hassle, part belief that the food won’t taste as good, and part perceived image and social opportunity in a work setting. I understand the reluctance, as I felt it myself, but those qualms disappeared when I started making my own lunches and realized the following: I make a better sandwich, with fresher, more interesting ingredients for a third of the cost of the local cafe.

Unless you decide to wrap your homemade sandwich in gold leaf or are in the habit of smearing your sandwich bread with Beluga caviar, you can make some pretty spectacular and creative sandwiches for far less than your corner deli charges for a turkey on wheat bread. Here are some examples of great sandwich ideas that will makes deli sandwiches look mean and boring:

1. Goat cheese, fig jam mixed greens & prosciutto on a toasted baguette
2. Fried chicken sandwich with spicy mayo on toasted whole wheat bun 

   

3. Fried egg, bacon, cheese, and mixed greens on toasted whole wheat

   

4. Whole Foods has an amazing herb roasted turkey breast that, in my opinion, is the best item in their deli case – pair this with some white cheddar, tomato slices, and mixed greens on a toasted oatmeal or 12 grain bread.

    

   

   So I focused on the best part... the homemade potato chips to go with it.

    

5. In case of emergency only… if you’re really having trouble convincing yourself to brown-bag-it, it might be worth treating yourself to a Nutella sandwich, just to get the ball rolling. A toasted, thick white bread smeared with Nutella and dotted with bananas, mango, or pears would certainly get me to bring lunch.

If you’re still having difficulty getting over the brown-bag hurdle, just imagine what you would do with an extra thousand or two lying around…. shoes (PURRR), bags (double-PURRR), trip to Paris to buy said shoes and bags… yup, I thought that would convince you.

Crispy, peppery, and deliciously salty homemade potato chips

I am not one of those people that is capable of restraining themselves in all areas of their life at once. I never could, and wouldn’t expect myself to, pinch my pennies, watch what I eat, hit the gym every day, log in extra hours at the office, and be kind to strangers, all at the same time. It simply can not happen.

With the recession in full-swing, and having imposed a temporary ban on shopping at Barney’s, I feel fully justified… nee, compelled to assuage my spirit with a little culinary over-indulgence.

Potato chips are one of my greatest weaknesses. I may wax poetic about farm-fresh eggs, local butchers, and in-season produce, but put a bag of Doritos or Lays in front of me, and all of that Organivore/Localvore dogma goes right out the window, and I get downright gluttonous.

Happily, and not surprisingly, I’ve come up with a fantastic recipe (if you can call it that) for making russet potato chips at home, and they are phenomenal. Case in point, I brought them out at a party a few months ago, laid them on the table, went to the kitchen to retrieve something, came back, and they were all gone. An entire bowl of them was devoured in minutes, they are that good.

A Microplane grater makes quick work of slicing potatoes.

Certainly play around with any flavors that you like, but I love these with crisp, fried sage leaves, sea salt and pepper.

Click here for the printable version of the recipe

Homemade Potato Chips

Ingredients:

3 Russet Potatoes, sliced or grated thin

1/3 Cup Bacon Fat (substitute vegetable oil if you must, but if possible, use the bacon fat)

Sea Salt

Pepper

1 Tbls. Sage

Preparation:

Heat the bacon fat in a medium-large saute pan over medium heat; there should be about ½ inch of melted fat in the pan.

While the fat is heating, prepare a dish covered with paper towels to drain the sage. Add the sage to the pan and let fry for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels.

Turn the heat up a bit to medium-high. Prepare another paper-towel covered plate. Add the potato slices to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes each side, until they are a deep orangey-brown. Remove with the slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels.

Once you start to see the russet color extend up the side of the chip, you're nearly ready to flip them.

Cover the chips in sea salt, the fried sage, and pepper, and enjoy.

Several years ago, I went to an inexpensive Italian restaurant in London. I had made the foolish mistake of trying to do a very expensive city on the cheap, whereas, in my old age, I’ve learned to do inexpensive cities very grandly, and end up with a much better experience. But I digress…

This restaurant offered Linguine alla Carbonara on the menu, and, as it is one of my favorites and so rarely on a restaurant’s menu, I decided to try it. The offending dish came out as I should have expected, with cream used to bind the delightful, fresh flavors, and subsequently drowning their freshness in its leaden heaviness. I ended up with a less-cheesy alfredo – not terrible to eat, but not the carbonara I was hoping for.

The very cute Venetian-by-birth-London-by-rearing waiter came over to see how I liked my meal. I politely explained to him that I was unaccustomed to Carbonaras made with cream, and believed that they should be made with an egg sauce. His dark eyebrows arched, he smiled, agreed that I was correct, and then asked if he could take me to dinner the following night. Apparently there is more than one way to a man’s heart via his stomach.

In any case, Linguine Alla Carbonara remains one of my favorite dishes; the eggy sauce silkily slips over the noodles, the raw garlic threatens to, but never does, overpower the dish, the bacon sauteed in white wine adds sophistication to what is otherwise, a very rustic dish.

While it’s delicious and sophisticated enough to serve to company, it also has the classic makings of a perfect weeknight dinner – commonplace ingredient list and short prep time.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe

Linguine alla Carbonara, Serves 2

Adapted from Italian Classics by America’s Test Kitchen, Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Ingredients:

¼ Cup Olive Oil

3 Thick Slices Bacon

½ Cup White Wine

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

2 Eggs

½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

½ Lb. Linguine

½ Tsp. Kosher Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cut the bacon into rough cubes and fry in the olive oil until crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Add the white wine and continue to fry for another 8 minutes until the alcohol has cooked off. If the bacon and wine finish before the rest of the meal, cover the pan, and leave the burner on low.

In the mean time, boil enough water to cook the pasta. Once boiling, add the salt and pasta, and cook for 8 minutes.

In the mean time, add the eggs, grated parmesan, and minced garlic to a bowl and set aside. Note: I like to mince my garlic with a microplane, but if you don’t have one of these, chop the garlic very finely, adding a smidge of salt every 30 seconds or so. The salt will work to break the garlic down and turn it into a finer paste. It is important that the garlic be as finely chopped as possible because the only heat to cook it will be from the pasta, which isn’t enough to take the sting out of a large chunk.

When the pasta has finished cooking, skim off a half cup of the cooking water and reserve. Strain the pasta quickly and return it to the pot; add the reserved water, the bowl of eggs, cheese, and garlic, as well as the winey bacon to the pot and quickly stir. The heat from the reserved water and pasta will cook and meld the flavors.

Plate the pasta, shave some extra parmesan on top, add the black pepper to your desired taste, and serve.

Valentine’s Day is almost here, love is in the air, and what better way to suss out the relationship potential with your latest paramour, than by employing the time-tested and proven Bacon & Egg Relationship Barometer.

There is nothing more soothing than a hearty weekend brunch to cure what ails you. Whether it’s stress, the common cold, or an overzealous hangover, a big pile of bacon, steaming and oozing eggs, thick toast, and strong coffee are the quintessential cure-all. That is, unless your morning meal is fraught with relationship-status-speculation, or RSS.

We often refer to the awkwardness of the “morning after” during a couple’s (however liberally you choose to make that assignation) first few nights together, but I prefer to refer to it as the “meal after”, if, for no other reason, than that it’s a bit more accurate.

Not just a brunch staple anymore, that little frying yolk can foretell your romantic future.

Whether alone or with company, I make bacon, eggs, buttered toast, and coffee every Saturday and Sunday morning (unless going out for brunch), and I’ve found that doing so with a new guy provides an eerily accurate barometer of the health of the new relationship. [Note: the test is only proven accurate with Bacon & Eggs and will not give an accurate reading if attempted with cereal, Pop-Tarts, etc.]

The following are a few scenarios that you may encounter should you choose to take the B&E reading on your relationship:

1. You make B&E for both of you, only to find that as you devour them, he is pushing them around listlessly on his plate.

Prognosis: Bad Sign – either he’s man-orexic or he’s too busy concocting an escape plan. Neither bodes particularly well for the future.

2. As usual, you get up to make your B&E and find yourself feeling overly burdened by the obligation of cracking 2 extra eggs and dumping a few more pieces of bacon into the frying pan (not to mention, adding two more scoops of coffee to the coffeemaker!).

If adding those 3 extra slices was SO HARD.... he might not be the one for you.

Prognosis: Bad Sign – It was likely the vodka you were so crazy about last night (or for the last two weeks) and not him, if the most meager of tasks make you feel overburdened. Do the polite thing and finish your breakfast together, and then literally and figuratively, show him to the door.

3. You make B&E for the two of you (willingly, if not enthusiastically), sit down and feel relaxed as you munch and chat together over breakfast.

Prognosis: Good Sign (Excellent Sign if he offered to help at any stage) – you will soon be nauseating your friends and strangers as you swiftly exit RSS and embark on the honeymoon phase of blissful dating.

 
This post was mainly written in jest (though I did encounter all of the aforementioned scenarios, including a few others that were just too odd to mention). The moral of the story, however, is to remember the emotional power that food has – to bind us, to make us feel nurtured, cared for, or, in certain circumstances, smothered. Choose the recipients of your culinary largesse wisely.