Food Revolution: Salmon with Chickpea Ragu

A couple weeks ago my husband and I tuned in for the premiere of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. A show about food and nutrition? Of course I was interested! The images of five and six-year-old’s being served pizza for breakfast hasn’t left my mind. I’ll admit to enjoying a slice of leftover pizza occasionally on a Saturday morning, however I never follow it up with a lunch comprised of mystery meat, French fries, and flavored milk. I admire Mr. Oliver’s passion to change this community and am hopeful that we’ll see some results.

If you haven’t seen an episode yet, I’d encourage you to check it out. The show may raise your eyebrows about what children are being served to eat in the public school system, and what kind of food is being consumed at dinner tables across America.

On that note, I’d like to share with you a new salmon recipe I tried a few weeks ago. This is a healthy recipe that combines your protein and veggies in a one-plate presentation. We really enjoyed it, and it is definitely a dinner you can feel good about eating!

I'd like to send a huge congratulations to my friend, Sunny, who, at 38.5 weeks, delivered two healthy, beautiful baby boys on Wednesday!

Salmon with Chickpea Ragu
(From Ellie Krieger’s So Easy)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 large zucchini, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 (15.5 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbons, plus more for garnish
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
(Kate added a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes)
4 (6 oz.) skinless salmon fillets

Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion, and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the carrot, zucchini, and garlic and cook, stirring, until the carrots are firm-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stirring to incorporate completely. Add the chicken broth and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, until the liquid thickens slightly, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat, and add 1 cup of the basil and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper (and crushed red pepper flakes, if using), and stir to incorporate. Cover to keep warm while you cook the salmon.

Preheat the broiler. Season the salmon with the remaining ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Broil the salmon for 8 to 10 minutes per inch thickness, turning once.

To serve, spoon 1 ½ cups of the chickpea ragu into a shallow bowl or rimmed plate. Top with a fillet of salmon and garnish with the ribbons of basil.

No Foolin’ Here: Mushroom Risotto with Peas

While it’s April Fools Day, today was anything but foolish. We have temps in the high 70’s, bright sunny skies, and a sunset that just filled the sky with majestic pinks and purples. I love food, and I also love to be outside. Not the get down in the dirt kind of outside, but the sipping a glass of white wine while eating a Salmon Caesar Salad kind of outside. My husband and I dined alfresco this evening and even stopped at his favorite ice cream shop for a cone on their opening day. Today is also my dear friend “J”’s birthday, and I would like to wish her a fabulous day and a happy year ahead!

Yesterday was just as exciting when my new Giada cookbook came in the mail! My husband ordered Giada at Home off Amazon for me on Sunday evening. After paying the price for regular shipping, the cookbook made it to our house by the time I returned home from work yesterday! I flipped through it late last night and am already overwhelmed with which recipe to try first! In honor of her new book’s release this week, I’d like to provide you with one of my favorite recipes of hers. (Yes, I know, all of her recipes are my favorites!)

This risotto is from her first book, Everyday Italian. It is a deliciously hearty vegetarian risotto. The recipe makes a lot and can work as an accompaniment or an entrée. Risotto needs some TLC, so make sure you take your time when adding broth and stirring. You’ll be very satisfied with the end result! Your risotto will likely turn out darker than the one in the pictures. The porcini mushrooms I used were lighter than I’ve seen before, but my risotto usually turns out a medium-brown color. Enjoy!

Mushroom Risotto with Peas
(From Everyday Italian)
Ingredients
8 cups canned low-salt chicken broth (Kate uses vegetable broth)
½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onions
10 ounces white mushrooms, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ cups Arborio rice or short-grain white rice
2/3 cup white wine
¾ cup frozen peas, thawed
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, optional

Directions
Bring the broth to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the porcini mushrooms. Set aside until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Keep the broth warm over very low heat.

Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the white mushrooms and garlic. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the porcini mushrooms to a cutting board. Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the saucepan. Saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and let it toast for a few minutes. Add the wine; cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of hot broth; simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook until the rice is just tender and the mixture is creamy, adding more broth by cupfuls and stirring often, about 28 minutes (the rice will absorb 6 to 8 cups of broth). Stir in the peas. Mix in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Supper Salad: Roasted Sweet Potato and Orange Salad

This salad combines so many flavors that I love, and includes ingredients that provide a lot of nutrients. The recipe makes a lot, too! My husband and I have been eating this one all week. (I have all of the pieces refrigerated separately and toss together individual servings for us each night.)

If you're looking for a filling, yet light, entrée salad, this one will do the trick (perfect for a warm summer night!). I roasted the onions along with the sweet potatoes, and recommend doing the same if you can't handle a lot of raw onions. Roasting brings out the sweetness of the onions and also flavors them with rosemary and garlic.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Orange Salad
(From Cooking Light, December, 2005)
Ingredients
Salad:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled and crushed
1 1/2 pounds peeled sweet potato, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 cups orange sections (about 6 oranges)
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 (6-ounce) bag prewashed baby spinach

Dressing:
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F.

To prepare salad, combine first 4 ingredients (Kate also roasted the onions), tossing well. Place potato mixture on a jelly-roll pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400°F for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven; cool. Discard garlic. Combine potato mixture, orange sections, onion, pine nuts, and spinach in a large bowl.

To prepare dressing, combine orange juice and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat.

Coney Island: Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup

My husband and I began dating in college. Once we met, we were instantly inseparable and pretty much spent every waking hour together that we weren’t in class. (And we did find a way to take a couple classes together, even with different respective majors.) On days that we had a short break in between classes for lunch we would grab a bite at a Coney Island that was just a block from campus.

I was some type of vegan or vegetarian at the time, and would order a simple plate of hummus and pita. My husband had his regular order as well, which was chicken lemon rice soup and two “Coneys”. While I’m pleased to say that we’ve since moved up in the world as far as restaurants that we frequent, and our visits to Coney Islands are few and far between. However, my husband will still order chicken lemon rice soup wherever he can find it.

Lucky him, he found it just the other day cooking on the stove in our kitchen! I was flipping through Ellie Krieger’s The Food You Crave a few nights ago and saw a recipe for this type of soup, but made with orzo instead of rice. The soup is very easy, and he loved, loved, loved it! As soon as he tasted it, he instantly informed me that I would be making it again soon. It has been in our fridge for just about 24 hours, and he has already snuck back with a spoon to sneak a taste several times.

I doubled Ellie’s recipe to have a bigger batch to get through the week. I also skipped her step of cooking chicken breasts, and instead added the (already cooked) meat from a rotisserie chicken at the end. I carefully tempered the eggs in a bowl with the hot broth, not in a saucepan (as the recipe calls for), and I thought that worked just fine. This soup gets thicker with each second you let it sit. My husband likes that consistency, but if you find that your soup has become too thick after a day or so, you can add more broth to it. I also added a few extra tablespoons of lemon juice, to make it extra lemony. Next time I might add some lemon zest too.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo
(From The Food You Crave)
Ingredients
4 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small chunks
1 pinch salt, plus more to taste
1 medium onion , diced (about 1 ½ cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about ½ cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (about ½ cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup orzo (preferably whole wheat)
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt, add it to the pot, and cook, stirring, a few times, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

Warm the remaining 1 cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. Add the mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Superbowl Sunday: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

It is Superbowl Sunday, and the first one in several years that we are not watching the commercials game at my sister’s house. After a weekend packed full of obligations and chores, we needed a few hours at home this evening to get our wits about us before beginning another long week. (Okay, I needed a few hours at home and my husband was kind enough to find contentment in watching the game from our own couch.)

My sister usually makes a chili and a fish stew to serve for her party guests during the Superbowl, followed by fondue or another fun dessert. My husband and I just finished off my second batch of Cioppino, so I opted to make some chili for us to eat tonight. A few weeks ago I found a recipe online for a vegetarian chili that calls for black beans and sweet potatoes – two of my favorite foods (that fortunately pair so well together, like in Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos).

I made this yesterday, and completed it today by stirring in the cilantro and garnishing with some cheese, sour cream, and diced avocado. The recipe is quite simple, and you can feel free to adjust the seasonings to your own taste buds (the chipotle powder will make it smoky and spicy!). The recipe states that it serves two, so I doubled it. I wound up with a good amount that will last us into the week. I hope that your Superbowl Sunday was filled with some good eats, regardless of where you happened to be!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili
(From Eating Well)
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground chipotle chile (Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeno peppers. Ground chipotle can be found in the specialty spice section of most supermarkets.)
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 1/3 cups water
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and potato and cook, stirring often, until the onion is slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro.

Supporting Character: Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts

I’ve been on a quinoa kick, and while my other quinoa recipes have all been "stars" (main courses), this quinoa is a supporting character. I found this recipe in Ellie Krieger’s new cookbook. She paired it with salmon, and I think it would pair well with any protein. I actually served this with my Creamy Carrot Soup. It is quick, easy, and tasty. I even ate mine with a little freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano sprinkled on top!

Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts
(From Ellie Krieger’s So Easy)
Ingredients
2 cups of low sodium chicken broth (Kate uses vegetable broth)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
¼ cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
If desired, Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Put the broth and quinoa in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and grain is tender.

Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a large dry skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove nuts from pan and set aside. Heat the oil in the same skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook stirring occasionally, until the onions soften and begin to brown, about 6 minutes.

When the quinoa is done, fluff with a fork and transfer to a large serving bowl. Stir in the pine nuts, onions, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Food Matters: Creamy Carrot Soup

Where does your food come from? Is this a question that you have ever asked yourself? I don’t mean which specific grocery store or restaurant, but who is growing your food and what does it go through to arrive on your plate? Have you ever wondered why you can find tomatoes in the produce section of a Northeast grocery store in the middle of winter, when the closest ripe tomato plant is hundreds of miles away? Have you wondered what chickens and cows are being fed before the wind up on your dinner plate? Do you recognize all of the ingredients listed on the nutrition labels of the food you eat?

In Food Matters, Mark Bittman explores the link of the food you eat, your health, and the environment. He brings to light that it requires 40 calories of fossil fuel to produce one calorie of beef protein, and that 2,200 calories are required to provide a 12 oz. can of diet soda. It is a quick, worthwhile read, followed up by dozens of recipes using whole foods.


You may have noticed that I’ve been cooking with a lot of root vegetables and canned food lately (while gazing longingly at recipes that call for fresh tomatoes). This is great website to help you think fresh, local, and seasonal when planning your meals.


This carrot soup recipe is one found in Mr. Bittman's book. I’ve made it several times, and love any simple soup recipe that uses a sauté of onions in olive oil and a root vegetable that is then simmered in vegetable broth. Try this with butternut squash, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, etc. You can also add a splash of milk or cream, if you like. This soup is simple, healthy, and filling.

Creamy Carrot Soup
(Adapted from Food Matters)
Ingredients
3 tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 ½ pounds carrots, roughly chopped
1 large starchy potato, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 cups vegetable stock
½ cup chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Directions
Put the oil in a large, deep saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots soften a bit. Add the stock and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pan. Or cool the mixture slightly (hot soup is dangerous), and pass it through a food mill or pour it into a blender. Puree until smooth, working in batches if necessary.

Garnish with parsley and serve.

Vegetarian Umami: Mushroom Lasagna with Creamy Béchamel

There are many different kinds of vegetarian lasagna. Some have a white sauce; some have marinara. Some have spinach and ricotta; some have roasted vegetables. I think it’s rare to find mushroom lasagna, which is unfortunate because it is so delicious!

I have been making this recipe for many years. It is a perfect entrée for vegetarians to enjoy, and one that is so hearty the meat-eaters won’t miss the meat. This lasagna is perfect to serve for a dinner party. You can even make it a day ahead, and then heat it up before your guests arrive (like a good soup, lasagna is better the next day!). I’ll make this for me and my husband and it will last us the week. Or we’ll freeze individual serving sizes to warm up and enjoy another day. It pairs perfectly with a light salad.

The mushrooms create an earthy and savory flavor (Umami, anyone?), and the Béchamel is light and creamy. If you can purchase your mushrooms pre-sliced, you will save a lot of time. If you can’t, it’s still worth the time to slice all of the mushrooms! I’m normally the type of cook who will multitask in the kitchen and have several pots going at once. If you haven’t made a Béchamel sauce before, I recommend giving it your full attention. If you’re not constantly stirring, your flour may clump, and if you turn your back for one minute, your milk might burn.

Mushroom Lasagna with Creamy Béchamel
(From Cooking Light, April, 2004)
Ingredients
Mushroom filling:
2 cups boiling water
1 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 ounce)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 1 ½ pounds)
3 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (about ½ pound)
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup Côtes du Rhône or other fruity red wine
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh or ¾ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Béchamel:
3 cups 1% low-fat milk
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Remaining ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 (8-ounce) package precooked lasagna noodles
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions
To prepare filling, combine water and porcini in a small bowl; let stand 30 minutes. Drain porcini through a sieve over a bowl, squeezing porcini to extract liquid. Reserve 1 ½ cups liquid; discard remaining liquid. Rinse porcini, and drain. Chop coarsely; set aside.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add shiitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté 5 minutes or until mushrooms release moisture and begin to brown. Stir in porcini, wine, and soy sauce. Cook 4 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Stir in parsley and rosemary. Add the reserved porcini liquid; bring to a simmer. Cook until liquid is reduced to ¾ cup (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in ¼ teaspoon pepper.

To prepare béchamel, place milk in a 4-cup glass measure. Microwave at HIGH 3 minutes or until hot, stirring after 2 minutes. Melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, stirring with a whisk, and cook 1 minute or until bubbly, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a simmer; cook over low heat 8 minutes or until sauce slightly thickens, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and stir in ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread ½ cup béchamel in bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over béchamel; top with ½ cup béchamel. Top with 1 cup mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with ¼ cup cheese. Repeat layers three times (dish will be very full). Cover with foil; place baking dish on a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Uncover lasagna; bake an additional 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

Busy Weekend, Easy Dinner: Angel Hair with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

It’s been a busy weekend. I feel as though I’ve been having a lot of those lately, but it is the honest truth. Long weeks; busy weekends. We enjoyed Friday night with some friends playing board games by candlelight. The tradition started last spring when we had these friends over to our place for dinner, the same night as Earth Hour. As recommended, we powered down in our house, and lit an array of candles while we played board games. After the prescribed time was up, we didn't want to turn the lights back on. It was so much fun that we’ll never be able to turn back now!

On Saturday I ran errands and tried to start a mushroom lasagna before attending an awards ceremony, as I was being recognized as the nominator of an award recipient. Today we labored away working on cleaning out my mother-in-law’s old home. The task was enormous, and I am so grateful to my wonderful family for stepping up to help without hesitation. My mother prepared a delicious spread for when we were ready to break for lunch. The men ate ham sandwiches, while I enjoyed her egg salad. For dessert we had homemade chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin rice pudding (which she appropriately added chocolate too – we do love that combination). We made a good dent (with the food and the house), but our work is yet to be done.

At the end of the day, my husband and I returned home entirely exhausted, and much in need of a homemade meal. My lasagna was waiting to be finished, but we couldn’t curb our hunger long enough for that to be completed. I went to my go-to recipe for when I want a quickly made meal from scratch, using pantry ingredients. I’ve made this many times and it never disappoints. I keep all of these ingredients in my pantry, and always have some goat cheese on hand (it has a very long refrigerator life for a cheese!). If I don’t have any Italian parsley, I’ll just omit it, even thought it adds some nice contrasting color to the pasta.

You may have noticed that tomato paste is one of my favorite ingredients, and I’ll jump at any opportunity to cook with it. The intensity of the tomato paste, the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes, and the tanginess of the goat cheese make this a delicious pasta. The goat cheese also adds a creamy texture. You can use any kind of pasta, but I like using angel hair with this recipe because it cooks so quickly. On different occasions, I’ve added chicken, shrimp, scallops, or lump crab to this pasta to add some protein. I also think a fillet of grilled swordfish would be delicious served with it!

Angel Hair with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
(Adapted from Everyday Pasta)
Ingredients
1 (8.5 oz.) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (oil reserved)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste (preferably with Italian seasoning)
1 cup dry white wine
1 pound angel hair pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
5 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Directions

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until the liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and parsley and stir. Mound the pasta into bowls and serve.

French Connection: Beef Bourguignon

Early this fall I was leafing through an edition of Wine Spectator magazine. There was a featured section that had a tribute to Julia Child with recipes from a variety of star chefs. My husband and I had seen Julie & Julia in the theater a month prior, and when I saw Thomas Keller’s (of French Laundry) recipe printed for Beef Bourguignon I decided I should make it. I mentioned my personal challenge to my husband, and being the carnivore he is, he was undoubtedly supportive of my quest. (You may have noticed this is my first blog post about beef. This is not coincidental. For many reasons that I can elaborate on at a another time, I rarely cook beef. Consequently, my husband usually orders it every time we dine out.)

The rest of the fall unfolded rather unfortunately, and I never found myself with a weekend to devote to this labor-intensive recipe. Finding myself with a theoretical break from work for a few days between Christmas and New Year’s, I took a break from work emails and devoted myself to making Beef Bourguignon.

In preparation of making this dish, I must have reread the recipe three-dozen times. It is quite complex – spanning across three pages of this 12.7 x 9.7 inch magazine - and with each read I attempted to visualize the cooking process. On Saturday and Sunday I visited three different grocery stores gathering all of the ingredients, in the precise form they were called for in the recipe.

For some reason I waited until Sunday night to see what other Beef Bourguignon recipes looked like. Some of them called for one pot and one day of cooking. My recipe used about six or seven pots and required a minimum of two days of cooking. Some used a little red wine; my recipe used a whole bottle. I started wondering why I had stuck to the first recipe I had seen. I further investigated and found that Thomas Keller's recipe had the main distinctions of what others claimed to be a good Beef Bourguignon: red wine aromatic reduction, overnight wine bath, and freshly cooked vegetables. While the recipe I was set to try was more complex than others, it apparently was going to have more depth.

Day 1: I started chopping the vegetables to begin the red wine reduction. I thought to myself, this isn’t bad at all. I knew I’d be disposing of them later, and just gave them all a quick, rough chop. I moved on to browning the meat, and began wishing that I was doing this step when my husband was home, because he would have gladly stepped in to assist. I made it through the three whole pounds of short ribs, and got the reduction and the meat in the oven. As the meat slowly braised, a tantalizing aroma filled the house. After a few more steps, the meat went into the fridge, and I went out the door to take the night off and meet some girlfriends for cocktails!

Day 2: My sister had called me a couple days earlier stating that she and my brother-in-law wanted to come over with their kids over for dinner. We jump at any chance that we get to see our niece and nephew, and her timing couldn’t have been better for wanting to eat dinner at our house.

The second day of preparation for this dish was mainly cooking the vegetables, as the meat only needed to be reheated. The preparation of the carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes created al dente vegetables that were deliciously flavored. To cook the pearl onions, put the onions in a pan of bowling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain them in a colander and them immediately plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process (a bowl of cold water with ice cubes). Cut off the root end of each pearl onion and squeeze the onion so it pops out of it’s skin.

Our guests arrive and the Beef Bourguignon was ready to be eaten. The meat was tender, the vegetables were tasty, and no one found a need to use any Dijon mustard as the recipe suggested. I served the Beef Bourguignon with a salad and some French bread (that could be used to sop up some of the cooking liquid). While my husband, sister, and brother-in-law made a sizeable dent in the Beef Bourguignon, I enjoyed some vegetarian lentil soup, but was proud to have put together such an intricate French dish!

Boeuf Bourguignonne
(by Thomas Keller, from Wine Spectator, September 30, 2009)
Ingredients
1 bottle hearty red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
2 cups diced yellow onions
1 2/3 cups peeled and sliced carrots
2 ½ cups sliced leeks, white and light green parts only
1 cup sliced shallots
1 cup button mushrooms, plus 32 individual mushrooms with stems cut flush to caps
12 thyme sprigs
14 Italian parsley sprigs
7 bay leaves
1 ¾ teaspoons black peppercorns
9 large garlic cloves, skin left on and smashed
2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds boneless short ribs, cut into 2-inch-by-1-inch pieces
Canola oil
6 to 8 cups veal or beef stock
8 ounces small fingerling potatoes, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
16 baby carrots, halved lengthwise
4 ounces slab bacon, cut into 24 lardons 1 ½ inches long and 3 ⁄8 inch thick
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 red pearl onions and 12 white pearl onions, cooked
Fleur de sel (Kate used sea salt)
Dijon mustard

Directions
1. To make the red-wine reduction, combine the wine, 1 cup onions, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup leeks, 1 cup shallots, 1 cup mush-rooms, 3 thyme sprigs, 6 Italian parsley sprigs, 2 bay leaves, ½ teaspoon peppercorns and 3 garlic cloves in a large ovenproof pot with a lid. Bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until the wine has reduced to a glaze.

2. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat 1⁄8 inch of canola oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add just enough meat so as not to crowd the pan. Brown the meat on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the meat to a paper towel–lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with the remaining meat, adding more oil if necessary.

3. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Add 3 thyme sprigs, 3 Italian parsley sprigs, 2 bay leaves, 2 garlic cloves, and the remaining 1 cup onions, 2⁄3 cup carrots and 11/2 cups leeks to the red-wine reduction, and toss together. Wet and wring dry enough cheesecloth to cover about 4 inches more than the diameter of the pot. Cover the vegetables with the cheesecloth, tucking in the edges to form a nest shape. Place the meat in the nest, and add enough stock to just cover the meat. Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and transfer to the oven. Reduce the heat to 325° F, and cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.

4. Transfer the meat to an ovenproof pot or container, and discard the cheesecloth. Strain the liquid twice through a fine strainer, the second time into a saucepan, and discard the vegetables. Bring the liquid to a boil, spooning off any fat that rises to the top of the mixture. Strain the liquid over the meat. Let it cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 day, up to 3 days.

5. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Remove the meat from the refrigerator, and skim off any congealed fat from the top.

6. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan along with 2 thyme sprigs, 1 bay leaf, ¼ teaspoon peppercorns, 2 garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon salt. Cover the potatoes with an inch of cold water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, cool, discard the seasonings, and set aside.

7. Place the baby carrots in a medium saucepan with 4 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 2 garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of salt. Cover with 11⁄2 inches water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain, cool, discard the seasonings, and set aside.

8. Spread the lardons in a single layer on a nonstick or foil-lined sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, stir, and return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until browned. Drain on paper towels.

9. Melt the butter in a large skillet over high heat until the foam subsides. Add the remaining 32 mushrooms, reduce the heat to medium-low, and season with salt and pepper. Cook gently, tossing often, until the mushrooms are lightly browned and tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.

10. Carefully transfer the pieces of meat to a deep, ovenproof sauté pan. Strain the liquid over the meat. Warm the meat in the oven for about 5 minutes, basting occasionally. Add the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and pearl onions, and toss gently. Roast in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the meat and vegetables are hot.

11. Meanwhile, warm the lardons in a small skillet. Chop the leaves of the remaining 5 sprigs parsley.

12. Remove the sauté pan from the oven, and gently toss in the parsley. With a slotted spoon, divide the meat and vegetables among 4 plates. Spoon some of the sauce over each serving. Distribute the lardons among the plates. Sprinkle with fleur de sel, and serve immediately with Dijon mustard.

Adapted from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon (Artisan)

Toothsome Turkish: Carrots and Lentils (Zeytinyagli Havuç)

This is a recipe that I flagged in a recent edition of Cooking Light. It looked like an interesting vegetarian entrée. Lentils have a high-level of protein and are worthy component of a vegetarian diet.

When I set out to make this recipe, I did not have any Aleppo pepper on hand. I do have an expansive spice shop near my work, but I was cooking this on a weekend and came up with a substitute. I instead used a combination of some Ancho chili pepper, Paprika, and Cumin. The recipe as it is written hardly cooks the carrots and they maintain their crunch. I’d personally prefer it with a softer carrot, and next time I’ll add them at the same time as the onion. After you get it started, this recipe basically cooks itself. It’s tasty, healthy, and the ingredients are inexpensive. It’s a good entrée option for a vegetarian, but it could also be served as a side dish next to a piece of meat.

Turkish Carrots and Lentils (Zeytinyagli Havuç)
(From Cooking Light, October, 2009)
Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper
1 pound carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
3 cups water
1 cup uncooked dried green lentils
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup Greek-style yogurt (such as Fage)
Fresh dill sprigs (optional)

Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion (and carrot, for a softer carrot); cook 9 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and Aleppo pepper; cook 30 seconds. Stir in carrots and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Combine 3 cups water and lentils in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and stir in onion mixture; cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with a kitchen towel, and cool to room temperature. Serve with yogurt. Garnish with dill, if desired.