inevitable unagi

sooner or later eel had to be mentioned, right?

this is another idea from geoff's family - all the good taste of sushi with only half the work.

first make sushi rice, which is some effort but worth the time. I took this recipe from a very handy book the asian grocery store demystified








make the rice and spread it across a shallow serving dish; grill the eel according to the directions on the package (this is new hampshire, the only eel is a frozen eel); usually it comes sauced, but if you want extra sauce you can whip up a batch using
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 sake
2 T mirin




place the grilled eel on top of the sushi rice and serve with a nice seaweed salad that was also pulled out of the freezer, and a bottle of sake.

useful herbs

rosemary


sage


thyme

chive vinegar

geoff's brother-in-law taught me this wonderful way to use chive blossoms.

open a bottle of white wine in a clear glass bottle and save the cork. drink all but about 1-2 cups of wine, putting it aside so that you can rinse out the bottle and remove the label (especially if it's a gift). fetch enough chive flowers to fill the bottle. pour in white vinegar to about 2/3 full, then add the wine up to 2 inches from the top. cork it and let it sit for 1-2 weeks, until the vinegar turns vivid pink.

excellent for salad dressing or gazpacho.

geoff's 20 minute risotto

it takes at least 40 minutes. don't ask.


soak 1 cup of dried chanterelle mushrooms in enough chicken stock and sauvignon blanc to cover, preferably overnight.

cut the tops off 6 red peppers and clean out seeds. save the tops and set the peppers aside for roasting later.

chop the red pepper tops, one yellow or orange pepper, 4 shallots and 3 cloves of garlic and saute in olive oil until peppers are soft. set aside.

remove the mushrooms from the liquid, and finely chop. save the liquid and add it to

6 cups of chicken broth and 1 1/2 cups sauvignon blanc then bring to a boil. meanwhile,

saute 1 1/2 cups arborio rice in 1/4 cup olive oil for 5 minutes in a large pan.

pour 1/3 of the broth into the rice, reduce heat to simmer until liquid is 2/3 absorbed, about 10 minutes covered, repeat process until liquid is used and absorbed

after the rice has cooked about 30 minutes, add the chopped mushrooms, then 5 minutes later add the pepper/shallot mixture. finally stir in 3 cups of baby spinach



stir the spinach into the rice then turn off the heat. let the rice sit covered, while you

grill or roast the red peppers until soft, with lovely grill marks.

stuff the peppers with the risotto; place the peppers on top of a mound of risotto and serve topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

be careful, the peppers can be warm to the touch.


see how hot they really are....

i like carbohydrates even more when they're chocolate flavored

i have never made a cake with flour that was rich enough; only brownies come close. in my search for super chocolatey cake, i found this at epicurious.com

even though i had to separate eggs, which scares the hell out of me, the recipe was relatively easy. i did make a double batch of glaze because the recipe doesn't make enough. i saved some of the glaze for ice cream topping.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE

For cake
12 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 large eggs, separated
12 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For glaze
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
9 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Chocolate shavings or Gold-brushed Chocolate Leaves

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper or waxed paper; butter paper. Wrap outside of pan with foil. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, stirring often.

Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Fold lukewarm chocolate mixture into yolk mixture, then fold in vanilla extract. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until top is puffed and cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack (cake will fall).

Gently press down crusty top to make evenly thick cake. Using small knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Place 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round atop cake. Invert cake onto tart pan bottom. Peel off parchment paper.

Make glaze:
Bring cream and corn syrup to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.

Place cake on rack set over baking sheet. Spread 1/2 cup glaze smoothly over top and sides of cake. Freeze until almost set, about 3 minutes. Pour remaining glaze over cake; smooth sides and top. Place cake on platter. Chill until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; store at room temperature.) Garnish with chocolate shavings or leaves. Serve at room temperature.



Serves 10 to 12.
 


Bon Appétit

January 1999

i like carbohydrates...

...and so does james beard.

it's such a pity that carbs have become so maligned. sure, i have been on a diet for the last year or so, and have lost about 25 pounds, give or take a few. though i admire those who find success on the atkins and south beach diets, i don't really believe that they are practical for my lifestyle. i have chosen the "stop shoving food in my mouth" diet and found that it really works. i keep the calories low (1200-1500 per day) during the week, and excercise quite a bit, then on weekends i indulge my lust for ribs with extra barbecue sauce, biscuits, risotto, and wine. no, the results are not immediate, but i never feel deprived.



i have referred to this book countless times for quick breads, and even overcame my fear of yeast by making some of the simpler bread recipes. I had company over last weekend and made these three batter breads for breakfast. the banana bread always gets devoured first, but my favorite is the tart lemon bread. i find that baking these breads the day before serving improves the texture.

click on each photo for the recipe

i added a cup of fresh blueberries to the batter before pouring it into the loaf pan.


the best banana bread i've tried to date. i used pecans, but walnuts are tasty too.


i added a cup of slivered almonds as well. if you omit the nuts, there is a nominal amount of fat in this recipe. however, eating these breads and worrying about calories is futile and silly. just give into it and enjoy breakfast.

getting primal with pork ribs and tomatillo salsa

i don't have any pictures of this meal, since the evening was so beautiful and i didn't want to ruin the moment by saying "don't eat that until i've photographed it," to geoff. so you'll just have to endure the view from our deck instead.


several pounds of pork ribs with or without bones. i prefer the savagery of bones, but geoff disagrees.

2-3 cans of cheap beer. schaefer is the brew of choice at the moment.

coat ribs with salt and pepper and steam them in the beer until the meat is very tender, at least an hour.

generously coat with barbecue sauce (see previous post) and sear them on the grill.

snarling, eat them quickly, before someone else does.


serve with salsa:


shot june 4

place in a bowl:
8-12 tomatillos, diced
6-8 of the best tomatoes you can find; no small feat in New England this time of year, but possible, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 each red and yellow peppers,chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 serrano chile, finely chopped (optional heat)

in a separate bowl combine:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of honey - more if you like the dressing sweet, less if you prefer it tart (or you found some decent tomatoes)
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning if you can find it - or make your own combining black pepper, cayenne, mexican oregano, and cumin. taste it before you combine it with the chopped vegetables to make sure that it's not too sweet or tart.

mix ingredients together and serve with or without chips