Friday, May 11, 2012

Ciao, and YET ANOTHER Roast chicken recipe

Ragazzi, did any of you feel a smidgen of alarm at the word "ciao" above?  Well, please do not:  Annalena is not leaving you.  Well, she is, for a short time. 
After thinking about it, and tossing the idea about, for what seem to be decades , she and the  Guyman are about to embark on their first trip to Italy.  Two weeks, of traversing "the boot" as it were, from Sorrento to Venice.  Annalena will be out of the kitchen, except for one demonstration, in Assisi during the next two weeks.    So if you notice a rather large increase in peace and quiet, now you know.  And should you hear stories of growing unrest between Italy and the United States, you will have an explanation for that as well.  We will all see each other again, very soon. 
For now, Annalena returns to a subject you all know is dear to her heart:  the perfect roast chicken.  If you are a habitue of this blog, you know that Annalena's favorite is the Zuni chicken, from Zuni Cafe' in San Francisco.  She has tried others, including the one which many consider to be the best in NYC, which is that of Jonathan Waxman, at Barbuto.  Annalena continues to favor Zuni.  Barbuto's is second, but in Annalena's mind, the contest is not close.  A very far third, is a roast chicken she learned from one of the Martha Stewart shows.

Well, a few weeks ago, Annalena read an article in the NY Times with another approach to roast chicken.  It appealed to her , because it has several of the attributes of the Zuni chicken.  She tried it.

How can she put this?  It's going to be a judgement call.  Annalena still favors Zuni, as does the  Guyman.  But, out of this recipe, she learned something:  the bird you get from following this recipe is amazingly moist.  If Annalena has a criticism of the Zuni chicken, it does seem  a bit dry at times.  That's the tradeoff for the crisp skin.  The bird which you will be reading about now, is not so crispy, and many of you will understand why as you read the recipe.  You trade that for some of the juiciest meat on a bird you will eat.  So, without further chitchat, let's look at this recipe.

Much of good chicken roasting is about preparation, and we are not talking about an exception here.  Put your oven to 500 degrees, and then, slip your skillet into the oven.  No oil, no nothing, just your skillet.  NO NON STICKS.  The original recipe calls for a cast iron pan, and if you have one, by all means.  Annalena had her big old cephalon pan, and used that.  Leave it in there.... for 45 minutes.  Yes, 45 minutes.  Remember that, and be careful as we move along.

While the pan is heating, get your bird out of the refrigerator, and bring it to room temperature.  Get a sharp knife, and cut into the legs at the thighs.  You will find a bone/muscle combination, and you want to cut through the skin and then that joint, so that the legs flap back.    There IS a reason for this.    Before you put the bird in the pan, slip some lemon quarters into the cavity, salt it, and now....

PLEASE PROTECT YOUR HANDS.  Take out the skillet , put the bird, breast side up in, and then pour a tablespoon of olive oil over it.   Again, with your hands protected, get the pan into the oven, and...

do nothing.  For 35 minutes.  Annalena is serious.  Do nothing.    And after 35 minutes, turn off the oven, and let the bird rest in it for another five.  Now, take it out, and let it rest  on the stovetop, for another ten, before you start cutting into it.

If you compare this to the Zuni chicken, you will see that (i) the technique is simpler  (ii) it takes less time to cook and (iii) you add oil.  The shorter cooking time undoubtedly results in the juicier, less crispy bird, and the oil certainly contributes to the less crispy skin.    It is up to you:  Annalena is going to try a hybrid of her zuni recipe, and this one, tomorrow.  If she has time to give you one more recipe (and she does have one, timed to the rhubarb time of year, and at the Guyman's request, she will let you know about the experiment.  Briefly,  she intends to salt her bird overnight, as with Zuni's recipe,   and to follow this one except for the olive oil.  We shall see. 

Carry on, ragazzi.  Keep on cooking, write to Annalena if you are so inclined, and never lose your enthusiasm for la cucina.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Not strawberry SHORTCAKE, strawberry HOT MILK cake

It is that time of year, ragazzi, when the berries have arrived.  And they are red, sweet, and delicious.  Yes, the time that, let us face it, all locovores wait for:  THE STRAWBERRIES ARE HERE!!!
Indeed, we have had ramps, we have had dandelion greens,  nettles, rhubarb, and we have had fun with them.  But strawberries....   Do not ever say it is "just fruit," as Annalena will smite you.  Not inexpensive, but picking strawberries is hard work.    Do not equate the time that you spent on the "pick your own" farm one afternoon with picking them for a living.  They are called, in Spanish  "frutta di diabolo" for a reason:  you never stand up, and you bend, LOW.

OK, enough about the philosophy of the fruit:  we are going to cook today, and first, we are going to be blunt:  we all LOVE strawberry shortcake.  Now, Annalena would like a show of hands:  how many of you have made shortcake in the last year?

Hmmmm.  OK, now, how many of you have instead, sliced and sweetened the berries, and then poured them over one of those ghastly greasy prepared "things," and served it forth? 

It's ok, it's ok.  You're in the privacy of your own home.  And shortcake is HARD to make.  And there is a reason that it never tastes as good when you make it at home, as it does when you get it outside.  And it is the same reason why it always seems to be more expensive than it should be.

Shortcake is, ultimately, a biscuit.  A quickbread.  And quickbreads go stale the minute you leave the room.  It's true.  Should you doubt this, make a pan of muffins, eat some, and leave the rest until the next day.  You will come around very quickly. So, too, with scones.  Have you ever wondered why, if you save half of the one you bought for breakfast for later in the afternoon, why it crumbled all over your good suit, and gave you heartburn?    This is the nature of quickbreads.  Good shortcake is made "a minute" as the French would say, or more to the English point  "when you want it."    Of course, if you have it when it comes out of the oven, it's too hot to eat.  So you have to wait.  How long?  Who knows.   And shortcake is not easy to make well.  It cannot be undermixed.  It cannot be overmixed.   So, if you find a pastry chef at a restaurant, who happens to make excellent shortcake, treat him or her well, and have it as often as you can.

For the rest of us,  here is an alternative.  "Hot milk" cakes have a long tradition in farm cultures.  They are relatively inexpensive to make, because they do not involve much butter.  As they do not involve much butter, they are not wickedly high in calories.  And as they do not have much butter, they will go stale quickly, but because they are rich in eggs and milk, they have a softer texture which dries to a firm, toastable texture, perfect for that snack if you have a sweet tooth.  And it is wonderful with the sweetened strawberries you make for shortcake of any type, and whipped cream (and Annalena is going to tell you how to make some wonderful whipped cream:  BETTER than the kind you have been making).

Shall we get ready?  Good.  Let us grease a 9x13 inch pan, and preheat our ovens to 350.    Now, into our mixing bowls, go four large eggs  (to the literalists out there, and this means you Christopher), crack them first, and do not use the shells.  Now, start mixing.  And mix longer than you think you need to. You want the eggs to be foamy.    While they are mixing, measure yourself out two cups of flour, and separately, two cups of sugar.  Also, pour a cup of milk (whole, 2 or 1%, but no skim) into a small pot, with two tablespoons of butter.    That's all you'll use here, for a really big cake.

Now, the work begins.  Remember we got those eggs foamy?  It really will take 3-5 minutes.  Now, start slowly pouring in your sugar, and beat at a high speed.  You are looking for a very pale, thick, mix.  To think of yellow mayonnaise, is not off the mark.  When you're there,  combine the flour with a TABLESPOON of baking powder, and lower the speed of the mixer.  Stir in the flour, and incorporate it well.  Turn the heat on the milk and butter, and bring it to a simmer.  When you're there, and the flour has all been incorporated, again, lower the speed of the mixer, stir in the milk and butter, and  then you've got batter.  Use a spatula to make sure you've stirred in everything and then pour it into your pan.

Get the pan into the oven, and bake for 45-55 minutes.  Annalena's cake was done, and nice and brown in 45.  Her recipe called for 60.  That would have been too long, so keep an eye on it.

While it is baking, or the night before, or  the morning of the night you are serving this,  slice up a good two quarts of strawberries.  You don't have to be precise about this.  Annalena thinks that uneven slices of the fruit taste better on the tongue.  Stir in a quarter cup of plain sugar, and a quarter cup of vanilla sugar, or a half cup of either, and let this macerate at room temperature for at least a few hours.  It is wonderful how the liquid comes out, the sugar saturates the berries and yes, it is no longer  "just fruit."

Now, if you want to boost up your whipped cream an extra notch.... put 12 ounces of heavy cream into a clean mixer bowl, with a quarter cup of sugar.  Use confectioner's if you have it around, but if you don't, plain old granular will do.    Get yourself some room temperature creme fraiche, or mascarpone, or cream cheese, or even ricotta.  You won't need more than a third of a cup.  Put that in the bowl as well, and turn your whisk attachment, to high speed.  Your cream will whip up, but it will be thick, heavy cream, not the light airy stuff you're used to. And it is stable.  So you can make this a bit ahead of time, and then assemble the cake, when you are ready.

You have enough here for at least 12 servings.  Annalena cut out big squares, and then sliced them horizontally, as if opening a book.  Pour a plentitude of strawberries onto this, and then put the cream on top, or the side, or wherever you like.

It is not strawberry shortcake, but it is wonderful.  It really, truly is.  And fess up, ragazzi, does it not seem easier than shortcake? 

And if you happen to play "strawberry fields forever," and think of John Lennon while you eat this, you will get bonus points in the great herafter.  She has this on the best of authority.

Friday, May 4, 2012

NO redeeming values WHATSOEVER: except taste: creamy mushroom bread pudding

Olive oil
Bread
Butter
Heavy cream
Eggs
Cheese

Not really much of a list of healthy ingredients here, eh?  And, we're gonna use them all in this dish.  Oh, we'll have some vegetables in it, sort of:  celery, onions and mushrooms.    But on the grand scale of things, let's face it, ragazzi:  no one is going to refer to that trio as "things that are good for you."  And they are not.  But once in a while (and Annalena stresses ONCE in a while), this is something to make.  A special occasion for example, or a visit from a dear friend who is a vegetarian.    Or Thursday night dinner.

Yes, she did right that.  Thursday night dinner.  Because sometimes,  you HAVE to.  Let us face it:  most of us are trying to eat healthier, to live healthier.  Annalena just did her best to satisfy hunger pains by eating organic peanut butter and drinking water, and convincing herself that it is going to do the trick.  It won't, but we'll deal with it.  And we're all eating fish, and vegetables, and passing up dessert, and drinking less, and exercising more. 

We all have to live a little once in a while.  Eat a small portion.  Or eat a larger portion and make up for it the next day.  But make this, once in a while, and enjoy it.  Celebrate it.  And if you're going to feel guilty, DO NOT GO NEAR IT.  Eating is NOT about guilt:  EVAH.

Here we go, gang.  First, chop up a cup and a half of celery, and a cup and a half of onions.  For Annalena, this was two smallish onions.  She wishes she could tell you how many stalks of celery, but Annalena is quirky in the way she uses celery, as she is with so many things, and uses it from the top down.  So she just chopped her celery and dumped it into a cup and a half measure.    Next, splurge and buy a pound of good wild mushrooms.  Annalena is in the middle of her annual springtime morel gorge, so that's what she had around.  If you are using chanterelles (which always makes Annalena think of a 60s girl group),  they will work.   If you do not have wild mushrooms, use something like creminis, or portabellos, but not plain white button mushrooms.  If that is ALL you have, then try to get some dried mushrooms and rehydrate them as well.  Slice the mushrooms thin.    Put all of this aside for a minute, while you prepare the bread.

You will need a loaf of a good, solid white bread.  You will see this sold as "pan de campaigne" or "rustic Italian" or something like that.  Baguette is not good for this dish:  too much crust and not enough crumb.    The loaf should weigh about a pound.  Cut off the ends, and use them for something else or eat them right then and there.  Don't bother cutting away the crust, but do cut the bread  into slices and then, rather than cutting it into cubes (which is harder than you may think with a fresh loaf of bread), tear it into about one inch cubes.  You'll have fun doing so, and the resulting pudding will be better for the nooks and crannies you're about to create. 

Put all that bread in a bowl, and mix it with a good solid tablespoon of chopped thyme leaves.  Now... the fun begins.  Put a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil into the bowl, and about a teaspoon of salt.  Get your hands in there, coat everything  well, and dump it out on a baking sheet.  Spread it into one layer, and put it in a preheated 375 oven, for 20 minutes.  You're going to crisp up the bread  .  (Incidentally, this is a good way for making croutons for salad, but it makes a LOT).

And the fun continues.  While the bread is cooking,  melt - ready for this - 3/4 stick of unsalted butter in a big pan, and add the "vegetables."  They will be heaped up at first, but as they cook, at medium-low heat, the mass will decrease.  Stir them from time to time, until all the water goes off from the mushrooms.  In Annalena's experience, this took about ten minutes.

While that is cooking - have some more FUN.  Oh, are the cardio police going to come after her for this - pour a QUART of heavy cream into a very large bowl, and then add -   (and her sentence will now be increased), 8, large eggs.  Whip all of this together until it's smooth.  When the vegetables are done, add them to this mix, and when the bread is done, add that as well.

Now, remember those two tablespoons of butter that you had left over from the "vegetables?"  Use that to grease a 9x13 inch pan.  And, dump the mixture into this, and spread it out.    If you have planned ahead of time, you can cover this with tin foil, and refrigerate it overnight, which Annalena suggests you do.  If not, ok, but try to plan better next time.

When you're ready to bake, put the thing, uncovered, on a baking sheet, and then - guilty as charged - sprinkle it with about half a cup of parmesan cheese.    Now put it in a 350 oven, for an hour. 

Let it cool after the hour, because unlike vengeance, this is best served warm.  A warning:  it is deceptive.  The dish tastes very light when you are eating it, and you may be tempted to have a second helping.  Don't.  In Annalena and  the Guyman's experience, it took about twenty minutes for their stomachs to start yelling 'OH MY GOD WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME I'M SO FULL?"   Annalena is sure that is the fault of the steamed asparagus and the salad that she served with this dish, because something as pure as this could not cause any harm, could it?

"You gotta go after the things you want while you're still in your prime."  Whatever.  Whether you feel you are in your prime or not, make this, eat it, celebrate it, and then go and do another mile on the treadmill. 

OH, yes.  This is a twelve serving side dish, or a six serving main dish.  For some, it may be considered lunch.  Annalena hates them.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The ice princess becomes the spice princess: huckleberry cardamom ice cream

Some may be surprised, others will not be, but in her younger days, several centuries ago, Annalena was known as "The Ice Princess."  The title is taken from what was her favorite opera (it is still a favorite),  "Turandot,"  as the title character  is known by various icy titles throughout the work.  Indeed, at one point, before she kills herself, Liu says to Turandot  "tu  che di gel sei cinta"  ,  or  "you, who are encircled by ice"  (in the sense of bound by it), and it is true.  Annalena refers her non opera queen friends to a source for this wonderful opera, to learn  more of it. 
These days, Annalena is more the ice CREAM princess, for all of the gelati that come out of her kitchen - and do not enter her mouth, thanks to the ministrations of various trainers.  She continues to make gelati, because on a very fundamental level, people like it, and it is fun to make.  If you have not got yourself an ice cream maker, Annalena URGES you to get one.  They are not that expensive, and once you taste your first batch of your first flavor, you will wonder why you waited so long to get one.

It is against this  backdrop that we turn to this recipe, which falls into the categories of "don't knock it until you've tried it," and "you learn something new every day."  Annalena takes her inspiration where she finds it, and the careful reader of this blog knows, that she is inspired frequently by the Penzey's spice catalog.  Some of the recipes , she passes over with an UGH.  Others, she tries and rejects.  Others are keepers.  This is one such keeper.

Cardamom.  Now, of course, the mention of cardamom reminds you of India, and Indian cooking, as it should.   And blueberries, or huckleberries.... hmmmm.  Americano, yes?    A connection?  Really?

AH, but you see, Annalena has a theory here as to where this recipe began.  It is not a well known fact, that cardamom is a very important spice flavor, in Scandinavian, especially Swedish, cooking.  If you review Swedish recipes, you will see frequent use of cardamom, and saffron for that matter.  The connection, ragazzi, is the spice trade from so many years ago, and the fact that the best sailors in the West, were in fact Swedes.  Remember Vikings, and sagas, and epics, and so forth?  Is it all beginning to come together for you? 

Not yet, huh?  Well... that bastion of things Swedish, IKEA, is avoided by many for just about everything but their meatballs, and their lingonberries.   

Beginning to make sense yet?  Ok, some more information.  When berries come into season, in a climate where there isn't much time for such treats, the rush to eat as many as you can, and to preserve as many as you can, is quite awesome.  We know and associate lingonberries with Swedish cooking, but there are so many other berries that you will not hear of in the USA that are common to Swedish cooking.   Penzey's is a company with a headquarters in the midwest.  When the Swedes came to the United States, they settled in the midwest.

Still not there, huh?  Ok, last piece of the puzzle:  many of the berries Swedes were accustomed to, were not and still are not available in the US.  So, they turned to what there was:  blueberries, for example, and huckleberries, in the Northwest.   Hence, this recipe, which begins to make much more sense now (one would hope). 

Annalena would never have thought to combine cardamom with blueberries, or huckleberries (we will just say berries hereafter), but she tried it.  And it is good.  And it is easy.  The berries in question have a very high pectin content, which leads to a gelling, such that you do not need to make a custard, to make this ice cream.  And herein is a hint to my babies out there:  if you want to make ice cream, but cooking custard unnerves you, use these berries.  You will not need eggs. 

The resulting ice cream, as presented here, is not very sweet.  Kick up the sugar, if you like.  The cardamom is subtle, and it increases as the ice cream ages.     For this recipe, it is ESSENTIAL that you use good quality fruit, and fresh cardamom.  In Annalena's experience, this is one of the spices that loses its essence very quickly, so buy small quantities, and replace them.  For your berries, as it is far from the time when they will be available, either wait, or use the ones you froze during the summer before (you DID do that, didn't you?  Didn't Annalena tell you to?  Hmmmm?).

You need two cups of berries, be they frozen or fresh.  Put them in a pot with a tablespoon of water, cover the pot, and turn the heat to LOW.  Low, because the berries will boil up, and the stain from the fruit is very hard to remove.  Cook them for about five-ten minutes, until they begin to collapse.  Of course, frozen fruit will cook faster than fresh.  You will have about a cup of cooked fruit at the end. 

Next, you have an option:  if you want a very smooth product, puree the cooked berries in your food processor.  Annalena prefers things a bit chunkier (which explains a LOT about her personal life if you think about it even a little), so she does not puree the fruit.  Add 3/4 cup of sugar to it, and also, a teaspoon of cardamom. 

For cardamom, this is actually quite a bit.  It will not taste like much, but give it time.    When you've combined everything, add 2 cups of heavy cream, and one of whole milk.  You will have just about four cups of liquid goodness which, when you leave it to cool down, will gel (remember the pectin?).  Taste it for sweetness, keeping in mind that everything tastes less sweet cold, than it does when warm. 

When chilled, into your ice cream maker it goes, and a lovely mauve gelato emerges, without the taste of egg, which some people feel is an impediment to really good gelato.    A good quart is what you will get, and the flavor is strong enough that people will not take large portions.  This is a good thing, as it means there is more for you, or more for when you are hunting down that "chunka hunka."  And you DO know what Annalena means here.

Ice cream can very well be the way to a man's heart, and if you show him that you have a bit of spice, well, perhaps you can get away with "cinta di gel."

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Deceptive, but healthy: mussels in coconut milk

Ragazzi, Annalena has been away for too long.  She hopes you missed her.  Ah, it is bittersweet coming back to a revamped blooger.com, with a  format that defies understanding, to Annalena's non-computer literate mind.  All say that these computer systems are "intuitive."  Annalena has good intuition, so she dissents from that view.

The press of many things, many of them emotionally taxing, has taken Annalena from you for these past two weeks.  BUT... she kept on cooking while she was away, and is going to share the results of that cooking with you.  Starting with a dish that is right up the alley of Ms. Emily, the personal trainer.  It is fast, it is low in calories, it is filling, and ultimately, it is good for you.

One of the items that people seem to ignore, when buying fish, is mussels.  Annalena wonders why.  Do they seem like they are too much work?  Really, they are not.  Perhaps it is the legacy of old recipes, with involved instructions on how to clean mussels.  Indeed, that was a necessity, when all mussels were harvested from the wild.  You would see elaborate instructions for "debearding" mussels, since they grow, attached to long strings of whoknowswhat, and then these inedible pieces of detritus would in fact hang from the beautiful blue shells.  These days, however, most mussels are farmed.  If you happen to find wild ones, which are somewhat tastier, and richer,  then you will have to scrub and pull, but it is not a difficult task.  Just put the critters into a bowl of warm water, and pull em out, one at a time, and pull the nonsense off of them.  It takes less time than you would think.

A digression for a minute on the buying of mussels.  DO NOT buy them in a supermarket, where you will find them wrapped in those hideous plastic portions which do not really seem to have any worth whatsoever.  Mussels, like clams, oysters, and all other shellfish, are live, and must be cooked live.  They have to breathe.  And that plastic, essentially, suffocates them.  So go to a good fishmonger, take a look at what s/he is selling, and if the mussels are clean,  and unbroken, buy from him or her.  AND NO ONE ELSE.

Mussels are inexpensive.  Annalena bought two pounds of them for 5.00, and that is about enough for two large lunch or dinner portions.  They DO take up a large volume of space, which may make cooking a bit problematic, but as the Italians say "farcela"  (deal with it).  You can.  You have dealt with worse from these recipes.

Calorically, as far as Annalena can tell, mussels are on the low side.  It has proven to be notoriously difficult to get figures for a "pound" of mussels, but the figures Annalena has found, range from 86 to 190 calories for a pound of them.  Even at the high end, this is not bad.  And when we add the other ingredients, we will not be pushing this much higher.

Finally, mussels cook quickly.  You can easily have this dish on the table in 20 minutes.  Annalena  adopted this recipe from the NY Times, and she will explain to you howshe changed it, because you can change it, too, and if you do, she wants to know.

Let's measure out our non-mussel ingredients.  You will need a tablespoon of neutral oil  (the recipe called for two, but given what we're doing here, which is essentially steaming, one is plenty).  Chop either a shallot, or some green onions, or spring onions, until you have a quarter  cup.  Also chop of 2-3 cloves of garlic.  Get yourself a stalk of lemon grass, and cut away the long green part.  You can use it for soup or broth if you like.  Annalena mulches it.  Crush the white part with the back of your knife, and then cut the crushed piece.   If you like the dish spicy, chop up a hot pepper of your choice.  Annalena did not have hot peppers around, but used half a teaspoon of that Thai chili sauce sricha (which she has probably misspelled).    You also need a cup of low fat coconut milk (is there any need, any more, for full fat coconut milk?).  This is going to add about 150 calories to your pot, and the oil, 100.  So, at most, you have 450 calories or so going on.    Now, peel strips off of a lemon (the recipe called for half a lemon), and squeeze the juice and keep it separately.  You will also want a big teaspoon of Asian fish sauce (notice that there isn't any salt in this recipe other than this), and finally,  if you like them, a nice bunch of cilantro leaves chopped up.  The Guyman does not like cilantro, so Annalena used parsley.  It is fine.  If you have lovage, please use it.

OK, ragazzi, let's muscle up.  Put the oil in a big pan and when it heats, add your onion, garlic, lemon grass, and either the chili or chili sauce if you're using it.  Lower your heat to medium, and when the onion goes translucent on you, add the coconut milk, and the mussels.  Cover your pot.  After five minutes, check.  The mussels will be opening, and you should get them out as you do.  It is very possible that they will all be opened at this point.  The fresher the mussels, the easier they will open.  

When you have all the mussels out, then stir in the lemon juice, the fish sauce, the peel, and stir it all together.    Taste your sauce, and adjust it to your liking, because you're going to pour this over the mussels.

The original recipe called for putting this dish over a grilled, sliced croissant.  Annalena did not care for that idea, but has become enchanted with a Moroccan bread called m'smen, which she has absolutely no intention of learning how to bake.  So she toasted 1.5 of each of these, and served them with the dish.  Undoubtedly, that pushed the calories up, but since  the total is a grand 450 or so, for two people,  she was not too concerned.  If you are, then don't use bread.  If bread doesn't sing to you, how about some rice, be it brown or white?  Or glass noodles? 

Ragazzi, it is time to "muscle up" as we say.   After all, the trainers out there ARE going to like this dish.

Still to come, readers, are a recipe for a spicy huckleberry ice cream, as well as one for a fish where there is mixed reaction:  skate.  Be with me,  and alla prossima.