A Belgian Dinner

After experiencing a lull in my cooking endeavors, I finally snapped out of it and went full speed ahead with an all out Belgian dinner.

Separately or together, George and I must have visited Belgium at least twenty times. Before opening Café de Bruxelles in New York, we stayed a month in Brussels to do research, buy Belgian lace curtains and other decorative items. Naturally, our dinner tonight was accompanied by recollections of good times spent in Belgium, now sadly divided into Flanders and Wallonia.

I apologize for serving a Portuguese wine instead of a Belgian beer. No excuses. The Vinho Verde is my latest discovery. It is the perfect summer wine that pairs well with this light meal.

Preparing the meal looks more formidable than it is. Most of the prep can be done ahead of time. In fact, the shallot-parsley vinaigrette can be done a few days in advance.

Menu

Salade d’Ardennes (Salad from the Ardennes)
Scallops on a Bed of Belgian Endives
Wine: Vera Vinho Verde, 2010, Portugal
Dessert: Grapes

Prep: Shallot-Parsley Vinaigrette
(make 2 cups)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 egg
1 ½ cup vegetable oil
1 medium sized shallot (about 1/3 cup), minced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

Place the mustard, vinegar and the egg in a blender. With the engine running, add the oil until it is incorporated. Add the shallots, parsley, salt and pepper. Refrigerate till ready to use. (Will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks)

Authentic Salade d’Ardennes contains the region’s famous smoked and air-dried, jambon d’Ardennes. Prosciutto or Serrano hams are good substitutes.

Recipe Salade

1 small head of red leaf lettuce, washed and dried
Some frisée or escarole
6 grape tomatoes, halved
2 oz. Prosciutto, cut into ¼-inch strips
½ cup shallot-parsley vinaigrette
Opt. home-made croutons

Combine the salad greens in a salad bowl with the tomatoes and Prosciutto. When ready to use, incorporate the shallot-parsley vinaigrette.

I keep forgetting how delicious braised Belgian endives are. It takes only a few minutes to cook them. In this instance, they are the perfect accompaniment to the tender scallops.

Recipe Scallops

3 endives, cored and sliced lengthwise into ½ inch long strips
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tablespoon lemon juice, more if needed
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup light cream
6 sea scallops, halved
Chopped parsley for garnish

In a mixing bowl, toss the endives with the sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over high heat. Add the endives and cook, stirring until tender and slightly caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and set aside. Pour the cream into the skillet and simmer until thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Pour over the endives.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet over high heat. Add the scallops and sauté, turning them over, until they turn opaque and slightly browned for 2 or 3 minutes.

Arrange the endives on individual plates and top with the sautéed scallops. Garnish the outside of each plate with chopped parsley.

Gone Indian: Spicy Shrimp

George and I love Indian food. Unfortunately, the Indian restaurant in our neighborhood doesn’t measure up to expectations. Although I had vowed not to buy another cookbook, I succumbed to Madhur Jaffrey’s latest opus “At Home with Madhur Jaffrey”. Jaffrey delivers her promise to simplify the use of Indian spices which, to a novice, can be mind blowing. I went to Kalustyan*, the Indian spice mecca on Lexington Ave., and replenished my Indian staples of ground coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper, with  cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, and ground turmeric which, according to Jaffrey, together form the cornerstone of Indian cooking.

Menu

Spicy Shrimp
Steamed Rice
Roasted Grape Tomatoes
Wine: Dr. Konstantine Frank, Gewürztraminer, 2007
New York Finger Lakes
Dessert: Fruit Salad

Shrimp Recipe

3/4 pound medium-sized shrimp with shell
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice

I shelled the shrimps, covered the shells with water, brought it to a boil and the let it simmer for 10 minutes. I strained the liquid. Once cooled, I poured it in a mini ice tray and put into the freezer. (This is a good beginning to assemble fish stock.) Next. I patted the shelled shrimps dry and placed them in a bowl together with the turmeric, cayenne, coriander, cumin and salt.

I heated the oil in a sauté pan, added the garlic and let it soften. Then I added the shrimp, lowered the heat and cooked the shrimp until they turned opaque and slightly red, about 3 to 4 minutes. I removed the pan, added the lemon juice and tossed to mix. I placed the shrimps in the center of the plate, and arranged the rice around them.

Since the shrimp dish was my first attempt at Indian cooking, I didn’t make any of the suggested rice dishes, figuring I would be too occupied with the shrimps. As it turned out, I didn’t have to worry. The dish was easy to make and had that intriguing Indian flavor. I’ll definitely venture on.

*Kalustyan
http://www.kalustyan.com/

Mussels 201

The meal was a triumph. “Best mussels I had in recent memory,” said George.

I wholeheartedly agreed: the mussels were plumb and juicy; the broth was so delicious, we nearly used a whole baguette to soak it up. The difference from my April 3 endeavor was I
used scallions instead of onion, left out the celery, doubled the butter, and a opted for a better wine.

Recipe

3 scallions, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup Babich Sauvignon Blanc
2 lbs mussels
Chopped curly parsley

Menu

Moules Marinères
Wine: Babich: Sauvignon Blanc
Dessert: Vanilla Ice Cream
85% chocolate

“Let’s try it with a different wine, next time,” said George. “We could do a whole series, mussels with Muscadet, a Burgundy, Alsatian Riesling, Rías Baixas Alberiño, and so on.

I loved the idea; a sort of "Mussels of The Month Club." But it would have wait until September, because I don't like to buy mussels during the summer spawning season which coincides with the letter "r."

Mussels

I had this sudden urge for mussels, my favorite dish on our many trips to Brussels, George’s birthplace. Moules et frites, the twice fried potatoes, is considered to be Belgium’s national dish. It was and still is the signature dish at Café dex Bruxelles in The Village, originally opened by George. To cook frites, whether the twice fried Belgian, or the once fried French, is beyond my present ambition. I decided a good baguette would do.

Menu:

Moules Marinières
Wine: Hogue Chardonnay
Dessert: Lemon Bread Pudding**

Recipe:

2 lbs. Mussels*
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 celery ribs, cut into small pieces
¾ bottle Hogue Chardonnay
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Finely chopped parsley for garnish

I melted the butter in a heavy sauce pan and sautéd the onions and the celery until tender, but not brown. Next, I poured in the wine, added a bit of freshly ground pepper, and brought the liquid to a simmer. I added the mussels, brought the liquid to a boil, reduced the heat, and covered the saucepan. The mussels opened after 5 minutes. I discarded the few which hadn’t opened.

I served the dish in large soup bowls, together with chunks of crusty baguette.

The mussels were large and plumb and perfectly cooked. In classical style, we used the first empty mussel shell to retrieve the other mussels. The broth, however, lacked flavor. Next time I’ll use shallots instead of onion and eliminate the celery which didn’t add anything. George thought I should have used a better wine, such as a good Riesling.

I’ll definitely cook the dish again soon. Stay tuned.

*Bought at Citarella, which gets them daily from Massachusetts.
www.citarella.com

**Agata & Valentina
www.agatavalentina.com

Tortillitas with Shrimp

Thanks to Mark Bittman’s recipe in the New York Times, these pancakes are a welcome addition to my dinner repertoire.

Menu
Tortillitas with Shrimp
Baked Kale
Wine: Babich Sauvignon Blanc
Dessert: Chocolate
Madeira

Recipe:
½ cup chickpea flour
½ cup white flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chopped green onions
12 small raw shrimp, peeled and chopped
About 1 cup of water, more if needed
Salt, pepper, thyme
Wesson oil

I prepared the batter, including the green onions and shrimps, ahead of time so that I wouldn’t have too much work to do at dinner time. When it was time for dinner, I pored a small ladle of batter into a pan with hot oil, and sautéd the pancake for about 3 minutes per side till slightly browned. I repeted this with the rest of the batter.

The only problem was that, by the time I cooked the last tortillitas, the first ones were cold. George always waits to start eating till I join him. Since I am cook, waiter, sommelier, bus boy, and dishwasher, that often takes some time.

I didn't care for the kale. Maybe I don't know how to cook it. Suggestions are welcome.

Shrimp Dinner

Menu:

Shrimp with Garlic and Parsley
1 bunch curly parsley, coarsely chopped
Rice
Broccoli Rabe
Wine: Guigal Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc, 2007
Dessert: Lindt’s 85% and Lindt’s 70% Intense Dark Chocolate
Blandy’s Bual, 5 Year Aged Madeira

I must have over 800 cookbooks, collected over decades. I seldom look at them anymore, because I have my own repertoire and am no longer interested in fancy cooking. Louis Szathmáry’s “The Chef’s Secret Cook Book,” published in 1971, is an exception. The “secret” here is to cook half of the parsley together with the shrimps; remove the shrimps when they turn pink, and cook the remaining parsley with additional butter, boiled down with a splash of white wine.

Having fresh garlic in the house and chopping one or two cloves when needed, is a nuisance. That’s where garlic confit comes in. I peel about 30 garlic cloves at a time, place them in a heavy saucepan and cover with olive oil. I cook the garlic over the lowest possible heat until soft. When cooled, I put the confit in a mason jar with a tight lid. Stored in the refrigerator, it will keep almost indefinitely. The only thing to remember is that garlic confit is much milder than freshly chopped garlic. I adjust my usage accordingly.

I prepare short grained rice in a rice cooker. To give the rice a bit of a kick, I add 1/2 cup of rice vinegar and half a cup of mirin to 1cup of water. Fresh broccoli rabe is available all winter long. It complements the color of the meal and adds a bit of crunch.

I am not a big dessert eater and George, who loves desserts, doesn't want to gain weight. Except for an occasional splurge, I have worked out the perfect solution: 2 pieces of 85% of dark chocolate for me and 70% each of dark chocolate for George, savored after the meal with a small glass of medium rich Madeira.
Cheers!