Le nouveau arrive: Ozzy

As you have probably guessed, the reason that I have been rather delinquent in my blogging is that I have a new puppy who takes up a TON of time, leaving very little for interesting cooking , much less blogging. But we love Ozzy and are so happy to welcome him into our lives.

Ozzy is an eight-month-old Pekingese and we've had him for about a month. We adopted him and brought him home on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, which I think is an excellent omen for the coming year. We adopted him from C.A.R.E. an animal adoption agency who houses the animals out in Bayonne, NJ. Ozzy was bought from a pet store by an older man who soon realized he was too old to take care of a puppy and abandoned Ozzy at a shelter. Poor baby! When we first adopted him, he was shy but still very loving and trusting. Now he acts as if he owns our apartment, barking at any interlopers! He still loves cuddling, often curling up in my arms whenever I do work. He loves playing, his new favorite toy being a rope toy, though he also loves a ratty old tennis ball he found under our bed. He is very sweet and friendly and we are so blessed to have him.

If you are planning on getting a pet (which I can't recommend enough), may I suggest you adopt a rescue animal? Shelters are no place for animals to live, devoid of affection, and there are so many sweet animals just waiting for someone to fall in love with them and take them home. My last dog, Blueberry, was also a rescue dog and there is nothing like watching a puppy learn to trust and love you. You become a real savior for him/her and, as long as you return that love, you will be handsomely rewarded.

This is the fantastic website through which I found Ozzy:
Petfinder.

Regular food blogging will resume shortly. As well as participation in WDB. Yay!


Interlude and Dog and Pekingese and puppy and Adoption

Soupe d'ete

One of my favorite things about blogging is discovering new blogs with recipes I never would have dreamed of. If you're very observant, you might have noticed that I've added a new blog to my blogroll, Farmgirl Fare, written by Susan, who lives on a farm in Missouri. Needless to say, many of her recipes are based around fresh produce that she grows herself on her farm. One recipe that really caught my eye was this beautiful Soup. She made it to use up all her extra summer produce. Since I, unfortunately, do not have that problem living in the city, I used the recipe as an excuse to check out what looked most atrractive at the Greenmarket. I also swirled a dollop of my Pesto into the soup to brighten it up.

I stayed as close to Susan's recipe as I could, but, needless to say, I did make a few small changes. So here is my version:

Soupe d'ete

2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Yellow Onions, roughly chopped
4 Red Peppers, roughly chopped
2 Zucchini, roughly chopped
2 Yellow Crookneck Squash, roughly chopped
6 cups Chicken Stock
1/8 teaspoon Kosher Salt and Pepper, or to taste

Heat Olive Oil in a large pot. Add Onions, Peppers, Zucchini and Squash. Cook for about 10 minutes, mixing the vegetables around so they cook evenly and are covered with Oil. Add Chicken Stock and boil. Reduce heat and simmer, with lid cracked, until vegetables can be cut with a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes. Add Salt and Pepper. Using an immersion blender, puree soup. Serve plain or with Pesto swirled in.


Food and Cooking and Recipe and Soup and Summer and Meat

Pesto d'ete

Labor day has passed and, with it, the accepted, if not astrological, end of summer. So, to commemorate all that beautiful summer bounty we were blessed with the past three months, I decided to make a Pesto. Pesto is very popular in the blogosphere during the summer. It is probably one of the easiest pasta sauces and perfect for summer for several reasons. First of all, it relies on an herb (usually Basil) as its main ingredient. For the Pesto to be superb, the Basil must be as well. And, although Pesto is traditionally made in a mortar and pestle, I made mine in the food processor, which meant I didn't heat up the kitchen except to boil water for the Pasta. Of course, Pesto is also wonderful served cold.

Because this was my first time making Pesto (shocking, I know, especially since we're such big pasta eaters), I made a pretty basic one, using my book Garlic, Garlic, Garlic for inspiration. I only made a couple of changes, must notably using fresh Garlic instead of dried. Some people have found raw garlic too strong i pesto and I found the fresh garlic to be a perfect alternative. I also substituted Walnuts for the more common Pine Nuts.

Pesto d'ete

3 cups Basil Leaves
1 cup Italian Parsley
8 cloves Fresh Garlic
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, coarsely grated
4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
Black Pepper, about 8 grinds
pinch dried Oregano
Fleur de Sel, about 4 pinches
1/2 cup Walnuts
2/3 cup good-quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine Basil, Parsley, Garlic, Cheese, Butter, Pepper, Oregano and Fleur de Sel in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped and pasty (pulsing gives you more control). Add Walnuts, broken in half, and pulse/chop until all walnut pieces are of a consistent size. Dribble in Oil, keeping the food processor running the whole time. Scrape sides and blend again until the mixture looks/feels like pesto (thick and rather creamy).

Add to pasta, grilled chicken, grilled fish--whatever you want!




Food and Cooking and Recipe and Pesto and Summer and Vegetarian and Dairy

Canard roti au miel

Friday nights mean cooking. And not just any cooking; something fancy, filling and fun. Often, for me at least, this means a roast--something you put into the oven and don't remove until it's become something completely different. Kind of like magic, no?

Why do Friday nights require this magic, you might ask? Two reasons. First--the Boy has started his second year of law school, so he has classes during the week and Friday nights he has no homework but, instead, can lounge around lazily and then (hopefully!) help me with the dishes. Second--Friday night is when Shabbos begins and, even though I usually have to work on Saturdays, I like to at least rest Friday nights and celebrate the weekly holiday with some kind of special meal. Traditionally Shabbos dinner means meat but, just as often, we serve fish. As far as I'm concerned, as long as it feels special, and there's a good bottle of wine, you're set.

Last Friday, I was off from work and decided to roast a whole duck which, I knew, takes a long time. In France, I fell in love with Magret de canard au miel, duck breast with honey, and have not yet been able to re-create that. So, instead, I basted my roasting whole duck with a honey sauce and it came out deliciously. I used a rather strong honey to stand up to the rich, dark duck meat. Next time, I would use even more sauce.

Canard roti au miel

Leaves of 2 stalks Basil, roughly torn
1 teaspoon Ginger Root, roughly chopped
2 pinches Kosher Salt, or to taste
1/4 cup strong, dark Honey (I used a Miel des Garrigues, from France)
1/4 stick Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1/8 cup Orange Juice
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
1 pinch dry Mustard
1 whole Duck, giblets removed

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. In mortar and pestle, pound together Basil, Ginger and Salt until pasty. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together Honey, Butter, Orange Juice, Lemon Juice and Mustard until Butter is melted and ingredients well-combined. Boil for about 3 minutes. Clean out cavity of Duck and pat dry with paper towels. If desired, cut/tear off any excess fat from carcass, even pulling out some of the fat under the skin with your fingers. Prick outside of Duck all over with a sharp knife. This will help drain the fat as the Duck cooks. Rub Basil mixture evenly into cavity.

Place Duck in roasting pan, breast-side up, preferably with a rack so the juices and fat can drip down as the Duck cooks. Pour half of Honey mixture over Duck, reserving the rest. Cover with tinfoil and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F, turn Duck breast-side down, spoon on more Honey, re-cover and roast, basting every half-hour with the honey, for 2 hours. Uncover, turn Duck breast-side up, pour on remaining Honey and roast for 30 minutes. This allows the skin to brown and become crisp.

Allow to rest before carving.

Food and Cooking and Recipe and Duck and Meat

Berry Pudding Cake

During the summer, our Greenmarket gets what I can only describe as a "berry explosion." And, while I'm normally happy just to gobble them up right out of hand, sometimes I want something a little more planned, a little more exciting. And what more exciting than baking? When I made this, just before I put it into the oven, it was sticky and worrisome; I was convinced we'd just have ice cream for dessert, not that there's anything wrong with Ice Cream, but, well . . . it's not Cake. Luckily, my worries were in vain. The cake came out beautiful, with the inside still retaining the texture and creaminess of pudding, but the outside pleasantly crusty. I got the recipe from the Greenmarket; they always have a display of recipes using the season's produce. This particular recipe was from Gourmet Magazine's July, 2005 issue. Once I got home, of course, I tweaked the recipe; it called for Blueberries and I had purchased some Black Raspberries and Strawberries. If you're not familiar with Black Raspberries, please make a point to go out and try some. They're a little tarter and smaller than raspberries and absolutely divine. They may well be my favorite berry!

Berry Pudding Cake

1/3 + 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Water
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
1 teaspoon Potato Starch
1 1/2 cup Black Raspberries
1/2 cup Strawberries
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 3/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Allspice
1 large Egg
1/2 cup Whole Milk
1 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a square baking pan (I think mine is around 8-inches).

In a small saucepan, combine 1/3 cup Brown Sugar, Water, Lemon Juice and Potato Starch. When mixed well, stir in Berries. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients--remaining sugar, Flour, Baking Powder, Salt and Allspice. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet: Egg, Milk, Butter and Vanilla Extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, whisking as you add, until just combined.

Scoop batter into baking pan, spreading evenly. Don't worry if batter is sticky; just spread it out as best you can. Pour berry mixture on top, again, distributin them as evenly as possible. ake for 25 minutes. Cool slightly before eating or eat cold.


Food and Baking and Recipe and Dessert and Vegetarian and Dairy

Natori

Not too long ago, Slashfood had a series on sushi. I'm a big fan of sushi and sashimi, but I always just get a combination plate rather than pick out specific roles. But when we returned to our favorite sushi place, Natori, I knew it was time to try something new.

We began with an order of Broiled Alligator in Ginger Sauce. Natori is actually known as being one of the few restaurants in New York to serve Alligator, the one animal I'm terrified of. Not only does it taste delicious, especially in the Ginger Sauce, but it's also extremely satisfying to know that this is one reptile that won't eat me. Aren't I terrible?

I ordered two sushi rolls and one kind of sashimi. What I love about Natori, rather than other sushi restaurants, is that when you order sashimi, rather than one small piece of fish, you are presented with a small pile of three or four. The sashimi I ordered was Hirame, a light white fish that is usually flounder but, at Natori, was fluke. It was beautifully seasoned and very mild--best to eat it all first! I then moved on to a special, Fatty Tuna and Scallion Roll. Fatty Tuna, or Toro, is one of my favorite kinds of sushi and this roll was the best. The Tuna is rich and sweet and the scallions are spicy, providing a perfect counterpoint. My final roll was one I'd never had before--a Salmon Skin roll. A little too salty for my tastes, I did enjoy how crunchy it was. All in all, it was a well-rounded selection.

The Boy is much more accustomed to ordering sushi this way, so he had no trouble picking his dishes. One of his perennial favorites is a Spicy Tuna roll and this one did not disappoint, being extremely spicy, but still with that nice, rich tuna. Like me, he had a Fatty Tuna and Scallion roll. And, finally, an Unagi, or, Eel, roll. The best Eel roll he's ever had, it's served almost warm, with a heavy smoky flavor that still doesn't overpower the eel. It's delectably moist, but still crunchy on the outside. I, who had never had eel before, completely agreed.

Natori
58 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY 10003
212.533.7711

Food and Restaurant and New York City and Sushi

Broccoli Raab

Back in March, the hunt was on for Broccoli Raab recipes and I happily complied by posting a recipe for Turkey soup with Broccoli Raab. As I believe I mentioned then, Broccoli Raab is a spicy, leafy green--very healthy and delicious. However, it can often be too tart for many people, so it's rather ignored. However, last Friday night, cooking side by side with Mom, preparing a Shabbat dinner meal, I developed a way to cook Broccoli Raab where it wound up almost sweet.

I wasn't planning on making Broccoli Raab at all Friday night. I was hoping for some nice Savoy Cabbage to braise, but the Broccoli Raab looked so beautiful at the Greenmarket, and Cabbage really isn't in season yet, so I just made a quick switch in my plans and everything came out wonderfully. We served it with a rich Salmon and the last Asparagus of the season.

Broccoli Raab

2 slices Turkey Bacon, chopped
2 bunches Broccoli Raab, chopped
2 tablespoons Butter
3/4 cup Chardonnay
leaves from 4 Oregano stems, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon Mustard Powder

Cook Turkey Bacon in a skillet until browned. Add Broccoli Raab, Butter and Chardonnay. Cover skillet and braise until Broccoli Raab is very soft and has adopted some of the wine's sweetness, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and season with Oregano, Salt, Pepper and Mustard Powder. Serve warm.

Food and Cooking and Recipe and Broccoli Raab and Vegetable and Meat