Pot-au-Feu

I finally cooked pot-au-feu, the ultimate winter dish. I nearly gave up before I started because the various cook books I consulted called for bottom round, beef shanks, oxtail, short ribs, marrow bones and chicken to start with. But where, I asked myself, was that written? Pot au feu, the classic French peasant dish, simply means pot on the fire. Like stone soup, you can put into the pot whatever you like. In my case I narrowed it down to boned beef shank, short rib of beef, one marrow bone thrown in by my obliging butcher, plus four vegetables.

Patricia Wells, one of my favorite food writers, makes a point of cooking the vegetable separately, arguing that each vegetable will retain its character and the finished dish will be less fatty.

Menu

Pot-au-Feu
Wine: Fleurie “Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois” 2008
Dessert: Chocolate

Recipe Pot-au-feu

Day 1 Meat

1 pound boned beef shank
1 pound short ribs of beef
Opt. one marrow bone
Bouquet garni (pepper corns, sprigs of Italian parsley, 2 bay leaves, dried thyme tied in cheesecloth)
1 large yellow onion, studded with clove

Tie the beef shank and short ribs into two separate bundles. Place into a stockpot to hold, together with the marrow bone. Cover with water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Let simmer for about 40 minutes, continuously skimming the surface, removing all impurities or grease. (This is the most tedious part of the entire operation)

Season the liquid with coarse salt. Add the onion and the bouquet garni. Skim again and simmer for 2 to 3 hours or till the meat is tender.
At this point, I discarded the onion, bouquet garni and removed the string from the meat. I moistened the meat with some of the liquid, covered it, and put it into the refrigerator. I poured the liquid through a strainer and placed it, covered, into the refrigerator.

Day 2 Vegetables

3 carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized portions
1 small celery root, peeled and cubed
3 turnips, peeled and cut into bite-sized portions
2 leeks, washed and trimmed to about 5 inches

Condiments
Dijon mustard
Sea salt
Cornichons

Place the carrots and celery root into a pot, cover with the cooking liquid (surface fat removed), and cook for about 25 minutes. Add
the turnips and cook for another 15; add the leeks and cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile reheat the cooking broth. Slice the meat as desired and warm in the liquid.

To serve: Place the meat on a platter and arrange the cooked vegetables around it. Ladle a bit of broth over the pot-au-feu. Offer the condiments, together with pieces of lightly toasted baguette.

As usual, George’s observation was right. “No point cooking the vegetables separately,” he said. “After all, this is a one pot dish.”

Following the advice of my wine guru, Will Helburn of Rosenthal Wine Merchant, I had decanted the Beaujolais several hours before serving. It seemed pretentious, but Helburn insisted it would make a difference. “Most wines improve when allowed to breathe for a few hours,” he insisted. “Taste the wine before and after.”

Good heaven, he was right! While I didn’t particularly like the wine at first, it had morphed into superior Beaujolais which pulled the meal together nicely.

Am I going to cook pot-au-feu again? Unlikely. But it was an interesting experience.

Beurre Noir turns into Bête Noir: Skate with Beurre Noir

I love the texture and flavor of skate. Besides, the fish cooks in four minutes. Dinner should have been a cinch. So what went wrong? The beurre noir, that’s what. While all recipes for beurre noir state that the butter would brown within 1 minute, it took this butter at least 5 minutes to show any color. Maybe it was the pan; maybe it was the quality of the butter, who knows? Meanwhile, my perfectly sautéed fish was getting cold.

“You should have warmed the plates,” said George.

The white Bordeaux was lovely. Soft, fruity, it added a touch of class to the meal.

Menu
Skate with Beurre Noir
Red Pepper Coulis*
Salad
Wine: Chateau La Rame, Bordeaux Blanc, 2009
Dessert: Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

Recipe Skate

2 pieces of skinless, boneless skate
Flour to dust
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers, drained
Chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Lightly dust both sides of the skate with flour. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. When hot, add skate. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes per side until the fish turns opaque. Transfer skate to two plates. (Preferably warm)

Melt remaining butter in a pan over high heat. Cook until the butter starts to turn golden. Remove from heat, swirling pan. Add vinegar or lemon juice, and capers. (Caution: the butter might splatter all over the place). Spoon sauce over skate. Garnish with chopped parsley.

*See August 4, 2010 blog for Red Pepper Coulis recipe

Chinese New Year Celebration: The Year of the Rabbit

A gigantic feast prepared by sister-in-law Jane Studley, enjoyed by
family and friends ranging in age from 3 to 92.

The Buffet

Assorted Spring Rolls
Sashimi platter including tuna tartare and crabmeat salads
Boned, slices of roasted duck
Boned slices of roasted chicken
Steamed artichokes with dipping sauce
Platter of cooked, mixed vegetables
Platter of raw, shredded vegetables
Whole sea bass
Bean curd
Jellyfish and shredded radish
Pigeon
Broccoli Rape
Mixed salad with raisins and walnuts

“Pigeon?” I asked Jane.
“Yes,” she said, without further explanation. She was so busy, I didn’t want to bother her.

We left before dessert. Jane offered us a doggy bag which I declined. Dumb.

Our dinner the following evening was less exalted:

Frozen Tortelloni plus Spanish Chorizo and Green Peas

Thanks to Fresh Direct I had a box of frozen Tortelloni in the freezer. Although the label stated that the tortelloni contained gorgonzola and walnuts, there was no evidence of it. Still, who was counting? I had a sweet Spanish chorizo in the refrigerator, some Parmesan, plus a small can of sweet peas.

After the tortelloni were cooked and strained, I sautéed them with olive oil in a hot pan to brown. Next I tossed small slices of chorizo, skin removed, into the pan, together with the drained peas. After plating I grated Parmesan over the pasta.

Menu

Piquillo Pepper stiffed with Italian Ricotta Cheese
Tortelloni with Sweet Spanish Chorizo & Sweet peas
Watercress salad with grape tomatoes, dried cranberry, and walnuts
Wine: Chateau Massiac, Minervervois Rouge “Cuvée Sentille, 2009
Dessert: Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

Am happy to report that my salad was almost as good as Jane's.

An Accidental Oxtail Dinner

I confess. Seeing the neatly lined up oxtails at the butcher shop at Agata & Valentina, I couldn’t resist. The weather justified strong action: Oxtail Ragout. The recipe is loosely based on Teresa Barrenechea’s The Basque Table. Barrenechea calls it “Oxtail Bilbao Style, referring to Bilbao’s annual bull run, similar to the famous festival in Pamplona. Without worrying about the provenance of my oxtail, I tried to do it justice.

Menu

Oxtail Ragout
Potato Dumplings*
Wine: Marques de Riscal Rioja, Reservea, 2005
Dessert: Fruit

Prep Oxtail

4 pieces oxtail, trimmed
Flour to coat
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tomato, diced
¾ to 1 cup red wine
Salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes
Chopped parsley for garnish

Sprinkle the oxtail with salt. Spread the flour in a shallow dish, and coat the oxtail on all sides. Shake off the excess flour. In a deep skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the oxtails for 5-7 minutes, until they are browned on all sides.
Add the carrots, leek, onion, and garlic. Cook, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the tomatoes. Add the wine and reduce heat. Cook for 2 to 2 ½ hours until the meat is tender. When cooled, refrigerate over night.

Finish Oxtail

Remove the fat before reheating the stew. Adjust seasoning. The recipe suggests to purée the vegetables. I preferred to have them visible.
Since George hates to tackle any food with bones, I removed the meat from two oxtails and arranged them over the vegetables. Luckily I love bones. So there was no contest here.

*I simply followed the instructions on the potato dumpling package.
They came out rather well. All told, it was a dramatic winter meal.
Olè.

Baked Red Snapper with Piquillo Pepper Vinaigrette

My love for red snapper continues. This time I garnished the fish with another favorite of mine: piquillo peppers. The Spanish peppers are roasted over embers, which gives them a distinct sweet, spicy flavor. They are peeled and de-seeded by hand, before being packed into jars or tins. Stuffed with goat cheese, shrimp, or left-over rice, they make terrific appetizers. I like to toss them into green salad.

Menu
Red Snapper with Piquillo Pepper Vinaigrette
Rice
Baked Spinach
Wine: Martin Códax Albariño Rías Baixas 2009
Dessert: 85% Lindt Dark Chocolate

Baked Spinach Recipe

Preheat the toaster oven to 400 degrees

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound spinach, well washed
Salt,pepper and a touch of sugar to taste

Pour olive oil in an ovenproof casserole. Add rest of the ingredients, cover with aluminum foil, and place in the oven. Spinach will be ready in 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and keep covered, till ready to use.

Piquillo Peppers Vinaigrette Recipe

3 scallions, chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 tomato, diced
1 teaspoon drained, small capers
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
4 whole canned Piquillo peppers, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a small sauce pan to medium-high. Add the scallions, onions, and garlic. Cook through till wilted. Mix in the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Remove the sauce from the heat, cover to keep it warm.

Red Snapper Recipe

¾ lbs red snapper fillet, with skin, cut in half
Salt

Preheat toaster oven to 450 degrees

Season the fillets with salt, and place, skin-side down, on a baking sheet. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until the fillets are opaque and just beginning to flake.

Put a fillet on each plate. Spoon the warm vinaigrette over each fillet.

Mark Bittman’s Spaghetti with Fried Eggs, lightly tweaked

Bless Mark Bittman for choosing a blizzard for his farewell selection of his 25 favorite recipes. I didn’t have to brave the elements to put supper on the table: Spaghetti with Fried Eggs. What could be simpler?

For the salad I assembled whatever I had in the house: some left over greens, Piquillo peppers, defrosted corn kernels, half a can of baby peas, and a bit of feta cheese.

Menu
Spaghetti with Fried Eggs
Mixed Salad
Wine: Saint-Esprit 2008 Côtes du Rhône, Delas
Dessert: Frozen Chocolate Yogurt
Madeira

Spaghetti Recipe

½ pound spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 eggs
Salt, pepper and freshly grated Parmesan

• Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Start cooking the pasta when the water boils. Combine the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic, pressing it into the oil to release its flavor; it should barely color on both sides. Remove the garlic, and add the remaining oil.
• Fry the eggs in the oil, until the whites are just about set and the yolks still quite runny. Drain the pasta, and season to taste. Top with the eggs. (The yolks will finish cooking in the heat of the pasta.)

“Boring,” said George.

I rather liked it; particularly breaking up the eggs. It was a fun thing to do, reminding me of college days.

Spicy Indian Chicken Meets Soothing Lima Bean Purée

The recipe for Chicken Karhai is based on Madhur Jaffrey’s recent cookbook At Home with Madhur Jaffrey. Karhai refers to a wok, the cooking utensil believed to have originated in India.

Menu

Chicken Karhai
Rice
Lima Bean Purée
Wine: Bogle, Pinot Noir 2008
Dessert: Valrhona Guanaja 70% Cocoa Chocolate

Chicken Karhai Marinade

4 small chicken thighs, boned and skinned,
cut into bite-sized portions
2 tablespoons Canola oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Small amounts of ground cumin, coriander seeds, cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Combine all of the above ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Cooking Chicken

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, chopped
Freshly chopped mint

When ready to cook, pour the canola oil into a wok, or large frying pan and set over medium high heat. When hot, add the onions and stir-fry for a few minutes. Add the chicken and the marinade. Stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are cooked. Fold in the chopped mint.

Lima bean purée is an ideal winter dish. It’s easy to prepare, tastes great and looks attractive. Properly stored, it will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days; in the freezer for 3 months.

Lima Bean Purée

1 package frozen lima beans
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons olive oil, more if needed
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Sprigs of dried or fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper

Cook the frozen lima beans as directed, reserve some of the liquid. Purée the lima beans with the butter in a food processor. Gradually add the oil and vinegar, and as much of the reserved liquid as needed to form a medium-thick purée. Blend in the chopped parsley and the rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.