EllenFork

Simple is the New Complicated

There are some things in life that are both blissfully simple and completely satisfying at the same time. For instance, Spaghetti with Braised Kale. Everything about it is hearty and flavorful, but so simple to concoct. In fact, the reason for concocting it was that I happened to have very little left in my pantry before my trip to San Francisco (which you will all hear about later!).

I came across this recipe months ago in Molly Wizenberg's Cooking Life column in Bon Appetit mag. Her dishes are so simple (often consisting of only a handful of ingredients) but always so elegant and purposeful. This one was no different. However, I am a meat-eater by nature, and this dish is a bit lacking in the protein department... I began to hunt the wild jungle of my cupboard. What canned beast awaited me, in the shadows of the hot sauce? What elusive creature sat dustily in a forgotten crevice, between the rice vinegar and liquid smoke?!

Ah HA! What do we have here, lurking within? Garbanzo beans, of course. I buy a can at least every other time I go to the store, as I devour these little guys like popcorn...and ironically, this is almost what they became during the course of this dish. Fried chickpeas are SO EASY and SO CRAVEABLE, it's ridiculous. So without stalling any longer, I will tell you how to make Spaghetti with Braised Kale and Fried Chickpeas.

Spaghetti with Braised Kale                                                                                                original recipe by Molly Wizenberg, Bon Appetit October 2009

Ingredients:

• 1 lb kale, large center ribs and stems removed, cut crosswise into 1/2 slices
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 8 garlic cloves             
• 1/2 lb spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• Finely grated Parmesan Cheese

So, Molly recommends lacinto kale, but that is not always readily available. I used regular curly kale, which was totally fine. Whatever kale you can get your paws on, rinse it well. Drain and transfer to a bowl, with water still clinging to the leaves.

In a large heavy pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion, cooking until translucent and stirring occasionally. Add sliced garlic and sprinkle with salt. Cook until onion turns golden brown, continuing to stir occasionally. Add kale and the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, using tongs to toss until wilted. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Feel free to cook this kale into submission, until extremely tender. Stir occasionally and add water by teaspoonfuls if it becomes dry.

In the meantime, boil a medium pot of salted water. Cook spaghetti until tender, but slightly firm when you chomp it. Using tongs, transfer pasta directly into the kale pot. Add lemon juice and a splash or two of the reserved pasta water. Toss to combine and add more liquid to your liking. Sprinkle spaghetti with grated parmesan cheese, fried chickpeas (see below), a grind of fresh black pepper and serve immediately.  

          

Fried Chickpeas

Ingredients

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and painstakingly patted dry
• olive oil
• lemon zest
• sea salt

Rinse and drain the garbanzo beans. The really key step here is to make sure the garbanzo beans are VERY dry; this is what gives them the all-important crisp factor. I spin mine in a salad spinner, then lay them out on a paper towel to dry off. If you like, you may remove some of the translucent shells, though they often come off during this process anyway. If you are feeling lazy (and not dedicated to ultimate crispness, cough cough), just make sure they are not wet to the touch and get on with it.

In a skillet (I used my cast iron), generously pour olive oil, enough to thickly coat the bottom of the pan. heat on medium heat. When oil is hot, pour in chick peas, making sure to avoid splattering yourself with the oil. At this point I added salt and just let them do their thing, making sure to stir frequently. Let them get nice and browned- about 15 minutes. Don't forget about them, or you'll have unpleasantly charred chickpeas.

When the garbanzos have sufficiently browned, transfer them to a bowl. Sprinkle with a bit more sea salt, to taste and add the zest of a lemon. Stir, and snack. Add them to all kinds of dishes in need of crunch, like the above pasta dish, or just inhale them on their own. ADDICTIVE!!

Enjoy the simplicity and bright flavors (thanks, lemon!) of these two items separately or together... you won't regret it!

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A 1964 Thanksgiving

 

Happy Week After Thanksgiving, y’all!

I hope all of you had wonderful and feasty Thanksgivings. I have just returned to my lair from NYC, and I am fully prepared to share this years Thanksgiving menu with you. This year was my 2nd Annual Brooklyn Thanksgiving (remember last years?), in which I decamp from DC to NYC to make an insane amount of food with my twin, Alice. This year, however, had a bit of a twist.
 
Foodbuzz is a "social network for foodies" that helps create a community for food bloggers all over the world. Each month they sponsor Foodbuzz 24,24,24 (24 meals, 24 blogs, 24 hours). Bloggers submit a proposal for a unique meal/experience/whatever that will be featured by Foodbuzz. This month, mine was selected!
 

I proposed a Thanksgiving menu comprised of recipes from the 1964 Nashville Junior League Cookbook. My mother gave me this cookbook one year for Christmas, both for the fun of looking back at how people ate in 1964 and for the presence of many of my relatives and their included recipes. The dishes from this cookbook run the gamut from delicious to perplexing (Grape and olive salad? Tuna Princess? Congealed beet salad?).

The menu I ended up with was based on assumed level of tastiness and our ability to find the ingredients. They are also mostly from the kitchens of my relatives. Per usual, this year's gathering would be taking place in my sister's spacey Bushwick apartment in Brooklyn, NY. It is a fourth floor walk up in an old belt factory, and filled with artists and a plethora of young people– the perfect place to mix up with the civilized '60s of the South with modern day living and eating.

Here are few examples of some of the menus from the book. They are categorized by season, and all the recipes (and more) come after. How fun do either of these parties sound? I'm positive the women in attendance were were wearing white gloves. (If any family reading this knows more, tell me!)

This meal was unique because of the dishes themselves. They are from another era, a time when cooking from cans was all the rage. The way we eat, cook and think about food has changed so drastically since then. Back then it was the era of convenience- now it is all about eating fresh, local and trumping each new fad as it comes along. I love that these recipes came from the kitchens of the ladies of Nashville, in a time when restaurants were not the temples of gourmet food that they have now become, and the Food Network was inconceivable. This book is a marker of times past, but also a treasure trove of Southern favorites; I often turn to it for something new (and old) to make.

The following recipes were taken verbatim from the book. Naturally there were modifications, but only in lieu of ingredients that could not be found at the Key Foods in Brooklyn (such as substituting a wild rice blend for the canned rice…). I think the hits were the Baked Apples and the country ham and beaten biscuits. I ordered the ham special from the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, TN, the best ham in town! When it was fried up and placed atop a beaten biscuit with some honey mustard and mayo…so good! My mouth is watering again just thinking about it! There is nothing better than a salty slab of country ham and a dense, crackery beaten biscuit. As for the least favorite... Wild Rice Supreme was hands down winner. Canned mushrooms will not be gracing the counters of my kitchen again anytime soon...
 

 

 
Baked Apples Filled with Spiked Sweet Potatoes

Wash and core, without cutting all the way through, the required number of Winesap apples. Pare apples, making certain to leave some skin around the bottom. Place apples in a baking dish, preferably one in which apples can be served. Fill each center with sugar, lemon rind (grated), and a lump of butter. Pour into dish one tablespoon of water for each apple. Cook uncovered in a hot oven until they are tender, basting often. Test with straw after 35 minutes. Do not overcook. Mash cooked and peeled sweet potatoes. Beat potatoes until fluffy. Beat in butter, salt, a little nutmeg, cinnamon, cream or sherry, molasses orr brown sugar. Fold in chopped pecans and raisins. Fill apple with sweet potato mixture, leaving a tablespoon or so of the mixture on top of apple. Place marshmallow on each apple. Bake again in moderate oven until hot. Turn on broiler to toast marshmallows the last thing.

Mrs. Livingfield More (My second cousin, Aggie)

Fruit Compote

10 winesap apples
1 small can of apricot halves
2 tbsp crushed pineapple
2 tbsp seedless raisins
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
juice of one lemon
grated nutmeg
 
Peel, core and quarter apples in a casserole dish. Add apricot halves, crushed pineapple, seedless raisins and simply syrup (water and sugar cooked together until it thickens). Sprinkle with grated nutmeg and bake in moderate over for about 30 minutes or until apples are tender. Serves 8. May be prepared in advance.

Mrs. Rufus E. Fort, Jr. (Great-Aunt)

Wild Rice Supreme

3- 12 ounce cans of pre-cooked Nokomis all-purpose wild rice
2 small cans button mushrooms
1 medium can water chestnuts
3 tbsp butter

Combine wild rice, mushrooms, water chestnuts and butter. Put into pyrex dish and bake just until it’s piping hot, or heat in double boiler. Light topping of grated cheese if desired. Serves 8.

Can be done in advance and reheated. Unbelievably good to be so simple.

Mrs. Rufus Fort, Jr. (Great-Aunt)

 

Beaten Biscuit (served with fried Loveless Cafe Country Ham)

 4 cups flour, sifted
2/3 cups lard
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup cream
½  cup milk
 
Mix together and roll until dough blisters and pops. Dough should be slick like marble. Cut out biscuits, prick twice with fork on tops and place on the middle rack of a 300 degree oven, preheated. When biscuits begin to brown on the bottom, turn oven to 250 degrees and continue to cook until a little color appears on the top of the biscuits…slightly pinkish. Turn off oven, open door but leave biscuits in to continue to dry out. This is not an original recipe but is very good. Makes about 4 dozen.

Mrs. Walter Stokes, Jr. (No relation, just a good recipe!)

 

Caviar Sour Cream Egg Halves

Caviar (we used paddlefish caviar)
½ pt sour cream
1 tbsp chives
1 dozen small eggs, hard-boiled
 
This is to be served in a frozen mold. To make mold, fill large silver bowl with water, place in center of bowl a plastic bowl for the sour cream and one for the caviar, or use a divided container. Weight the container and freeze. When ready to serve loosen the container and replace with caviar and sour cream. Place on silver tray  with glass liner if possible. Put halved eggs around the edge and garnish with parsley. Spread sour cream and caviar on eggs and eat.

Mrs. Louise Fort Linton (Second cousin)

 

In addition to these retro treats, friends brought lots of goodies, such as turkey marinated in duck fat, green beans and lots of yummy desserts. All in all, I had a great time making family dishes, and reexamining the recipes from 1964 Nashville. And no matter where you are and what the year is, the combination of food, family and friends is always in style.

Green Beans Fit for a Queen

A few months ago, I submitted five of my favorite local foods to a DC blogger, Metrocurean. She does a post every Friday, called Five Bites on Friday featuring readers' picks from area restaurants and purveyors of fine foods. You can read the original post at this link. Annnnyway, one of my favorite things are the Marcona Almond Green Beans at Bar Pilar. I love a lot of things on their menu, but there is something so surprising, so incredibly savory and delicious about biting into one of these green beans. They have lots of delectable little plates (tapas) of both the vegetable and protein persuasion. To a carnivore like me, it is really saying something when I tell you that these green beans are as satisfying as something meaty. One of the things that stands out at this tiny, often crowded restaurant is the simplicity and quality of the ingredients that go into each dish.

Anyhow. This dish was at the top of my list, and soon after the post was posted I received an email from the chef at Bar Pilar, Justin Bittner. This is one of my favorite things about blogging guys! I was very excited that a) Mr. Bittner was glad to hear someone out there loves his green beans (which I'm sure he's already aware of, duh) and b) that he sent me the recipe as a result! It appears he typed and sent this recipe via iPhone, which in and of itself takes some patience and dedication. I promised that I would make the recipe, and well, here we are. You, reading this blog and me, with a big plate of green beans. Life just isn't always fair, y'all.

So, thank you Justin for the recipe! If any of you are in the Washington, DC area, you should make a stop by Bar Pilar on 14th st NW. You won't be disappointed. Now, without further ado: the recipe. 

 

Photo credits: these were randomly sprinkled throughout google image search- if these are your pictures, let me know and I will credit you!

Bar Pilar Green Beans

Firstly, Bar Pilar uses fresh green beans from Tuscarora Organic Farms. You can get your beans from your favorite produce aisle or farmer's market. I'm going to warn you that this recipe is not exact, but not to worry. You'll get it, I'm sure.

Collect as many beans as you are capable of eating, snap the ends off. Fill a large pot (3 gallons maybe) with water and add kosher salt until it is "as salty as the ocean". Chef Bittner says that a lot of water helps cook the beans faster, keeping them greener, while the salt changes the temp at which the water boils (which I think helps cook them faster, keeping them crisper and greener as well). 

Prepare a bowl of ice water for dunking the beans.

Bring water to a rolling boil. Add beans to the pot by the handful. When they change color slightly, pull them out and dunk them in the ice water. Repeat until you are out of beans. Dry on towels after they cool.

Heat a skillet with a couple tablespoons of whole butter (I used Plugra) until the butter foams. Add beans and season with salt and pepper. When they brown slightly, add some chopped shallots, thyme, oregano and marcona almonds. Adjust seasoning, transfer to a plate. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and finish with a sprinkling of sea salt.

While I clearly do not possess the skills of Chef Bittner, I think my beans turned out pretty well...and they were gone almost immediately. But next time I get the craving, I think I'll head over to Bar Pilar to get my fix... along with a dozen other tasty morsels and some more fancy cocktails.

Salud!

CSA Din Din

Well folks, the CSA was kind to me today. For those of you who don't know, CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. At the beginning of the growing season, members pay a flat fee to local farmers to receive "shares" each week during the CSA period. This allows community members to become "shareholders", receiving crops in exchange for giving farmers capital to fuel their farming endeavours. The shares are delivered to neighborhood coordinators, where shareholders pick them up. I pick mine up from an adorable house in South Arlington with a wraparound porch.

My CSA is an organic farm in Maryland, called 'Evenstar Farms. It is now Week 3 and I'm getting more and more excited for the day when I receive 4 lbs of heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers...the deal with CSA's is that you get shares of whatever they plant. I happen to know that 'Evenstar has a lotttt of heirloom tomato crops, which is why I chose them. Mmmmm 'maters!!

Today I received some interesting fare. Some French heirloom Chantenay carrots, arugula, new potatoes, incredible looking blackberries, cherry tomatoes, a Cherokee purple heirloom tomato, some tomatillos, yellow squash and an herb mix for some salad dressing included in the CSA's cookbook (they give all their members their own cookbook with recipes specific to their crops).

These carrots looked good enough for Bugs Bunny.

So for dinner, I had to use some of these incredible items. The most beautiful, the blackberries, are awaiting breakfast, but I did manage to use arugula, carrots, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil from my balcony garden. Oh, and some frozen chicken from Trader Joe's...

Here is what I made:

Parmesan Carrots

Grated Parmean
Chantenay Carrots
Olive Oil
Fresh Thyme
French Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the tops off the carrots and scrub them clean. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan and fresh thyme. Roast on a shallow pan (like a cookie sheet) until they are tender inside and crispish outside. This should be about 20 or so minutes, depending on the size of your carrots.

Roasted Potatoes

On the same cookie sheet, I roasted 'taters. I very thinly sliced (about 1/5 inch) about four new potatoes, tossed with oil, salt, pepper and rosemary and spread them in a single layer. After the first 15 minutes i used tongs to flip them over, so they became crispy and browned.

Arugula Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Red Wine Basil Vinaigrette

Red Wine Basil Vinaigrette

This is adapted from The New Basics Cookbook, one of my faves.

2 tblsp dijon mustard
2 cloves crushed garlic
freshly ground black pepper
5 tblsp red wine vinegar
Olive Oil
Fresh Basil, slivered

In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, garlic, pepper and vinegar. Slowly whisk in olive oil. When emulsified, fold in Basil.This recipe is one spicy meatball, all told.

Add this to a bowl full of halved cherry tomatoes and fresh washed arugula. Toss.

Additionally, I chopped up oregano and thyme to season the chicken, with olive oil, french sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and then grilled it.

When everything was ready, I poured some red wine. And then, I ate everything in front of me. If you can swing it, I hope you'll do the same!

Pasta Magic

Where does food come from? This is an honest question. To many people in our society, the answer to this question is a complete mystery. Just go to the grocery and pick up your dinner, already made, or the ingredients that have already been prepared. No sign of dirt, livestock, or anything else remains on the pristine food you pick up at the local chain.

Until Saturday, I thought pasta rained from the sky, or grew from Pasta trees in Italy. When I picture Rome, I envision beautiful avenues lined with large trees, draped with pasta waving in the wind. What a wonderful, beautiful scene... ok fine I didn't really think that (although how awesome would that be?!), but how often do you think about actually MAKING pasta?! Clearly, some of you beautiful, food loving readers have made your own pasta, but for me this is a novel concept.

When I was home last, my mother offered me the gift of her 30 year old pasta machine. Still in it's original packaging, complete with instructions in Italian (only), this shiny little monster was set to blow my mind. Apparently, when she and my father were first married, they bought this very same pasta machine, cranking out fancy pasta in the middle of '80s era Nashville, TN. Naturally, they hung it on the shower curtain rod to dry. I don't judge.

So as soon as I got my hot little hands on this machine, the game was on. I went through my cookbooks, hunting the perfect recipe. New Basics offered a decently easy recipe. Cafe at Chez Panisse offered a hilariously complicated version. Finally, I googled it and came up with a Mario Batali recipe that included 3 ingredients: the magical number. Below you will find a recipe for greatness and surely a recipe for success, no matter your pasta making skill level.

Enjoy this picture of my tiny kitchen:

Basic Pasta Dough
Recipe by Mario Batali

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well. As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape. Do not let the egg mixture breach the well walls...at one point I was holding it together with one hand and beating the eggs with the other.

The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated. At this point, start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands.

Once there is a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for 6 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. If the dough seems dry, or is not holding together well, add water by the tablespoon until the desired consistency is reached. I definitely had to add 3 tbsp or so (I wasn't measuring, sorry).

Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.This allows the gluten to relax (which I think is a bit lazy, but no big deal).

Now cut the dough into about six pieces. Roll through your pasta machine at the widest setting, doubling the pressed dough back on itself and re-rolling. Do this 3-4 times. If dough is sticking, lightly flour it. Adjust to a narrower setting, then roll through the pasta cutting attachment, if you have one. If not, lay pasta sheet flat and slice into thin strips. Noodles!!!

Cook fresh pasta in boiling, salted water for 3-5 minutes.

I enjoyed this fresh pasta with garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, artichoke hearts, zucchini and lots of pecorino romano. Mmm mm good!

Photo credits from this post go to Sean Wallace

White Soup in a Dark Winter

(the lineup clockwise from left: white onion, turnip, celery root, russet potato, leek)

The bleak and barren days of January are upon us. Trees bereft of leaves and chilling winds are here for a few more months at least. The weather in DC has been beyond freezing for quite some time (although this weekend was finally over 30 degrees for a few days), causing cracked skin, chapped lips and and my transformation into the Michelin tire man. 17 layers are not flattering, especially when one is a layer of blubber my body thought would be "in" this season. It's not.

In light of my last statement, I found myself thumbing through Cooking Light magazine, hunting for something hearty, warming and... healthy. Strange concept, I know. My soul is crying out for springtime already, but until then I will have to console myself with steamy bowls of soups. At least I truly love winter vegetables, in all of their hideous, rooty glory. I like to think of these secret vegetables lurking beneath the surface, waiting to be harvested in the dead of winter and turned into cheerful, thawing meals.

This is where Soupe Savoyard enters the scene. This winter soup originated in the French Alps. Upon learning this, I was bombarded with images of rosy cheeked French swilling wine in front of the fire, in some highly perched ski chalet. Since I'm not there though, I will just have to make due with this lovely soup. It tastes creamy, peppery and earthy all at once. I made the soup according to the recipe for the most part, but next time there are a few changes I'd like to make: addition of fennel, a bouquet garni (bay leaf, thyme and sage tied together with twine) and use of Reblochon cheese (a cheese that hails from the French Alps region).

Winter Vegetable Soup (Soupe Savoyarde) from Cooking Light Jan 2009

1  russet potato, cut into (1/2-inch)
2  tablespoons  butter
1 1/2  cups  chopped white onion
3  cups  thinly sliced leek (about 3 large)
3/4  teaspoon  salt (I used more, these veggies tend to need extra)
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper (also used more than recommended, it really adds something)
2  turnips, peeled and cut into (1/2-inch) cubes
1  small celery root, peeled and cut into (1/2-inch) cubes
2  cups  water
2  cups  whole milk
8  (1-ounce) slices French bread
8  (1/2-ounce) slices sharp white cheddar (I used Gruyére for this, especially since the origin of this recipe is French)

1. Peel and dice the potato. Submerse cubes in cold water and let sit.

2. Melt butter in a dutch oven. (I subbed a heavy bottom pot for this) Add onions and cook until soft but not browned. Add leeks, turnips, celery root, salt and pepper. Cover the top of the pot with aluminum foil. Set heat to low, cover and let sit for 15 min, stirring occasionally. 

4. When the vegetables have started to tenderize, add the potatoes and water. Cover and simmer on low heat until all vegetables are tender. I beleive that the potatoes are added at this point so they do not totally disintegrate- the other vegetables are a little crisper and need the extra time in the pot.

5. Heat milk in a small saucepan until there are tiny little bubbles around the edges. DO NOT BOIL THE MILK. When hot, gradually stir into the vegetable/water mixture. Remove from heat and add salt/pep to taste.

 

6. Take your slices of French bread and broil them. Do not leave unattended, they'll burn in a matter of seconds! Take it from me... When they are nice and brown, put one or two on the bottom of a bowl, add a slice of cheese and top with soup.

7. I added one or two  shreds of cheese on top and a grind of pepper.

8. Eat it up! Don't burn your tongue, and remember to share.

So, while this soup is not glamorous in nature, it brings to mind images of soft white snow, flames licking pine logs and the chatter of friends keeping warm indoors. I also imagine they've all had a lot of regional white wine to drink, and are attempting to play charades. Maybe you should try that, too.  

Enjoy!