cassoulet

I realize I never gave you a chance

I realize I never gave you romance

At the top of the hill

At the top of the hill

Leave me to stream in the current or breeze

“California on My Mind” by Wild Light

Is there a special someone in your life that you’d really like to impress? Do you have way to much free time and/or discretionary income? Then I think it is high time to make cassoulet. The first time I had cassoulet, it was at Chez Pannise so I guess I set the bar pretty high.  The one thing that really stood out was the crispiness of the duck legs, I mimicked this by broiling the after they were braised.  If you’ve got some free time, a special someone, and a little extra jangle…give this hearty dish a stab.

Ingredients:

1 lb. dried great northern beans
6 tablespoons duck olive oil
16 cloves garlic, smashed, divided
2 onions, chopped, divided
2 carrots, chopped, divided
1 large ham hock
1 lb. lamb shoulder, cut into one inch pieces
¾ lb. pork belly, cut into 2 inch pieces
4 sprigs oregano, 4 sprigs thyme, 3 bay leaves, tied together with twine
1 cup whole peeled canned tomatoes
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken broth
4 duck legs
1 lb. pork sausages
2 cups bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Soak beans in 7 1⁄2 cups water overnight
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat
3. Add half of the garlic, half of the onion, and half of the carrot, cook until light brown
4. Add ham hocks and beans with water to vegetables, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes, remove and discard ham hock, set bean mixture aside
5. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat
6. Add lamb shoulder and cook until brown, add pork belly cook until brown
7. Add tomatoes and tied herbs, cook until liquid thickens
8. Add wine cook until reduced by half
9. Add broth and bring to a boil, reduce mixture to a simmer, cook until mixture has thickened, about 30 minutes
10. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat, sear duck legs, fat side down, remove once browned
11. Preheat oven to 300 F
12. Add sausages to duck fat and cook until brown, cut sausages into once inch chunks, set aside with duck legs
13. With a strainer, add beans (and other vegetables) to the thickened meat, reserve bean stock if cassoulet dries out during cooking
14. Add sausages and duck legs to bean and meat mixture, cover and place in over for 3 hours
15. Remove pot from oven, set oven to broil
16. Pull out duck legs and pork belly, place on a baking sheet and broil until crispy
17. Serve crispy meat with cassoulet

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 27,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

french onion soup

Once more to the boards, one more curtain call,

Give the crowd everything they’re asking for and more.

Always make ‘em laugh, try to make ‘em cry,

Always take the stage like it’s the last night of your life.

“Balthazar, Impresario” by Frank Turner

This blog isn’t dead until I say so. I’ve been busy, real busy (an 18 month old, went back to school to get my admin credential and a little girl due any day now). I can’t say that I will be posting as frequently as I did in the past, but I have not killed this little project.

Happy holidays!

-Mark

Adapted from www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
5 medium white onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine (I would suggest a nice Burgundy that you could enjoy with your soup)
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, sliced, brushed with butter and broiled until dark brown and crispy
1/2 pound grated Gruyere

Directions

1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat
2. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper, reduce heat to medium-low, cook until onions are caramelized
3. Add the wine, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until onions look dry
4. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs
5. Turn heat to low, sprinkle the onions with the flour, cook for 10 minutes being sure not to burn the flour
6. Add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper
8. Portion to individual oven-proof containers, place toasted baguette and cheese on top of soup
9. Broil cheese until dark brown

chilaquiles

Down, down in the basement

We hear the sound of machines

I, I, I’m driving in circles

Come to my senses sometimes

Why, why, why, why start it over?

Nothing was lost, everthings free

I don’t care how impossible it seems

“Girlfriend is Better” by The Talking Heads

It’s Sunday morning, you’re in the mood to cook, you’re sick of pancakes and scrambled eggs. How about something different?

Chilaquiles is a Mexican recipe that is basically soggy tortilla chips in a red sauce that is covered with cheese. Soggy isn’t a good culinary word is it? How about softened tortilla chips? Anyways, this recipe would go great as a morning brunch with some eggs (or for dinner).  If you don’t feel like frying the chips just buy a bag of thick corn tortilla chips. This makes a spicy sauce, you could probably cut back on the chipotles if you don’t want it so spicy.  I think the sour cream does an excellent job of masking some of that heat though.

Oh yeah, don’t let the picture gross you out, I didn’t get to take the picture until the cheese got cold, blame it on the baby…

Adapted From Saveur Magazine

Ingredients:

6 plum or Roma tomatoes, cored
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 jalapeno, halved and seeded
1 white onion, quartered
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 chipotle chiles en adobo (canned)
4 oz. tomato sauce
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
½ teaspoon dried oregano
10 (6 inch) corn tortillas cut into triangles (about 50 chips)
6 oz. Mexican beef chorizo, removed from casing
4 oz. jack cheese, shredded (I used something marketed as Mexican quesadilla cheese)
Salt to taste
Sour cream and cilantro for garnish
Scrambled or fried eggs (optional)

Directions:

1. Fry tortillas in 1 inch of vegetable oil until light brown, lightly season with salt
2. Preheat broiler in oven
3. In a bowl, toss tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, onion, and vegetable oil, place on a baking sheet and place in oven, char the tomatoes and vegetables on all sides
4. Place vegetables in a blender with chipotles, tomato sauce, cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, oregano, and ¼ cup water, puree for about 1 minute
5. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown and crumble chorizo, add vegetable mixture, stir until incorporated
6. Add tortillas mix until just soft about 2-3 minutes, season with salt
7. Turn off the heat, top with cheese and cover skillet with aluminum foil until the cheese has melted
8. Top with cilantro and sour cream and serve with eggs

leftover brisket and barley soup

We cling to the raft we are missing

By half what we wanted

But we escaped with the bones of an idol

Escaped with the belt and the title

But our land is gone

“The Bones of an Idol” by The New Pornographers

The brisket was the leftover part of the recipe…not the barley (referring to the title of this post). Now that I think about it, under what circumstances would someone have leftover barley? This soup was great with the leftover smoked brisket that I made.  Other hunks of grilled or barbecued beef could be substituted and would work great.

Ingredients:

4 cups water
1 sprig rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup barley
3 tablespoons butter
8 oz. baby portabella mushroom, quartered
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 pound leftover brisket
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 cups beef broth
4 cups water
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped carrot
Salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

Directions:

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan add rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper, add barley boil for about 20 minutes or until all of the liquid has evaporated
2. Discard the thyme and rosemary sprigs, set barley
3. Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat butter over medium-high heat
4. Add mushrooms and onion cook until most the onions are transluscent
5. Add brisket cook until heated through
6. Add garlic, cook for about 30 seconds
7. Add flour and cook for about 2 minutes
8. Add wine, Worcestershire, and soy sauce, cook for about 2 minutes
9. Add beef broth, water, tomatoes, celery and carrots, cook until the vegetables are tender
10. Add barley and season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce

smoked brisket sandwich

I don’t care about your past

I just want our love to last

I don’t care darlin’ about your faults

I just want to satisfy your pulse

“Cold Sweat” by James Brown

I’ve made quite a few briskets in last couple of years, it took me until about two months ago to achieve perfection. Unlike pork butt, brisket can easily be dried out if cooked too long, nine hours at 250 F seems to be the perfect time and temperature. Don’t be shy with the seasonings, it is a big hunk of meat.  I like putting three or four nice, fatty slabs on a cheap bun with a good dousing of barbecue sauce.

Ingredients:

10 pound whole brisket
Rub: Salt, garlic powder, lots of black pepper
Smoking wood: hickory,oak or pecan is good for brisket
A smoker
A thermometer
Charcoal
Buns
Your favorite barbecue sauce

Directions:

1. At least one hour before cooking, remove brisket from fridge
2. Trim any large chunks of fat to about 1/2 inch
3. Prepare smoker to cook 250 F and insert 3 large chunks of hickory inside unlit coals and four large chunks on top
4. Season brisket liberally (and I mean liberally) with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
5. Place brisket fat side down and flip about every two hours, for a total of about 9 hours
6. Remove from smoker, cover with foil, and let rest for at least 1 hour
7. Cut brisket across the grain in ¼-1/2 inch slices, serve with your favorite barbecue sauce

thai red curry duck pizza

Growing sleepy as the rain falls

As children draped in flowers form a chain

They sing a song with jelly jars and bird calls

As night falls into dust and it’s day again

I’m not afraid of a love parade in my daydream

Old men with kazoos and beating drums

But I awake and I see the streets are ice cream

It’s just you and me and oh dear, our life has just begun

“Everything Is” by Neutral Milk Hotel

I lived in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland for about four years.  I loved that neighborhood, there was a great coffee shop, an awesome butcher, and some great restaurants. One of my favorite restaurants was Soi Four Bangkok Eatery, a thai restaurant that was about 500 feet from my front door.  While the whole menu was solid, I almost always got the same dish, Kang Ped.  Kang Ped, which is duck in a red curry sauce, was served with plenty of curry that I liked to mix with jasmine rice to make a sort of stew.  This is my homage in pizza form.

Pizza Ingredients:

Pineapple, cut into ½ inch chunks
Red Pepper
Cherry tomatoes, halved and squeezed of juice
Duck breast, seasoned with salt and pepper,fat side sliced in ½ intervals about ½ inch deep
Pizza Dough
Red Curry Sauce
Mozarella, pre-shredded is better because it is a little drier
Basil

Red Curry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 can coconut milk
3 tablespoons red curry paste
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Juice of one lime
6 sprigs of cilantro
1 tablespoon of cornstarch, diluted in a little cold water

Directions:

1. In a small pot combine coconut milk, curry paste, brown sugar, fish sauce, and lime, whisk to combine
2. Bring to a simmer, add cilantro, cook for 5 minutes
3. Remove and discard cilantro, add cornstarch mixture, cook until well thickened, about ten minutes

To Assemble the Pizza

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Meanwhile, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat, sear duck breast fat side down until dark brown, flip and put in the oven until cooked through
3. Remove duck, let rest for five minutes, and then slice, raise oven temperature to 500 F
4. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add red pepper and pineapple and cook until the red peppers slightly soften, about 2-3 minutes
5. Stretch out dough, add sauce, sprinkle with cheese, top with red pepper and pineapple
6. Cook pizza until dough is fully cooked
7. Add the duck and basil and cook for 1-2 minutes

waffles

I’ve seen the world with a five piece band

Looking at the back side of me

Singing my songs and one of his now and then

But I don’t think Hank done ‘em this a’way

No I don’t think Hank done ‘em this a’way

“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” by Waylon Jennings

Waffles are my son’s favorite breakfast item, I try to make these for the little dude as much as I can.

Makes 8 (7.5 inch round) waffles

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups milk
1 stick of butter, melted
2 egg whites

Directions:

1. Preheat waffle iron to 4 out 5 setting (you will have to do some practice on your waffle iron)
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl, making a well in the center
3. In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg yolks while stirring in the milk and the butter
4. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mix until just combined
5. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks
6. Fold the egg whites into the batter until combined, but don’t over-mix
7. Spoon the batter onto the hot waffle iron, use an overflowing half cup measure for waffles, spread out slightly with bottom of measure and press waffle maker down firmly, let go and wait for go light on waffle maker then wait ten extra seconds
8. Serve warm

weeds with sausage (gramigne con salsiccia)

Little boxes made of ticky tacky,

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes all the same.

There’s a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one,

And they’re all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

“Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds

Does this young man look like he is enjoying this meal?

Don’t worry, we’re not talking crab grass here.  Weeds refers to the type of pasta, gramigne, which Mario Batali’s cookbook describes as looking like an unraveled phone cord. I couldn’t find this type of pasta, but no worries, Batali goes on to explain that fusilli or rotelle are fine substitutes…I couldn’t find those either. I had to use my keen suburban wits and use thick-cut spaghetti.  You can use store-bought Italian sausage, but wouldn’t making your own be so much more satisfying?

Adapted from “Molto Italiano” by Mario Batali

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, diced
1 pound loose Italian sausage (not in casing)
1 small can tomato paste (about 6 tablespoons)
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup whole milk
1 pound gramigne, short fusilli, rotelle, or thick spaghetti
¼  cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to top the pasta
Salt, pepper, and to taste

Directions:

1. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium-high heat, add the onion and cook until it begins to turn golden brown
2. Add the sausage, cook until it begins to brown and crisp, making sure to break the meat down into small pieces
3. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly
4. Add the wine, cook until evaporated
5. Add the milk, lower to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes
6. Meanwhile boil pasta, reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining the noodles
7. Add cheese, stir to combine, then add enough pasta water to loosen up the sauce (probably ¼-1/2 cup)
8. Season with salt and pepper
9. Add noodles and stir to coat
10. Top pasta with a little more cheese

lemon bars

It was a four way stop dilemma, we all arrived the same time

I yielded to the man to the right of me and he yielded it right back to mine

Well, the yield went around and around and around till Pamela finally tried

Just then the man in the light blue sedan hit Pamela’s passenger side.

“The Accident” by John Prine

It’s about damn time that I posted another recipe…how about a dessert?

For the crust:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Cut cold butter into flour and powdered sugar
3. Press into a 9×9 pan
4. Bake until light brown, about 15-20 minutes

For the filling:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 rind of lemon, grated
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Beat all of the ingredients together, pour on baked crust
2. Bake at 350 F until light brown, about 20-25 minutes
3. While still hot sprinkle with ¼ cup powder sugar