EllenFork

¡Margarita Fiesta Fantastico!

Hi friends!

I've been gone for some time and for that I apologize. What I will not apologize for is the following recipe- Margarrrritas! Make sure to roll those r's. 'Rrrrritas! It's a party on your tongue!

Or on my rooftop, which is where I consumed the above-mentioned Margaritas. Having recently come into a wealth of Hiram Walker Triple Sec, I was in the perfect position to host the after-party for a group of downtrodden National's fans (the DC baseball team that is on a successful losing streak). Our spirits low (for those of us who'd been keeping score), we trudged up to my roof after a quick recon mission to secure some Tequila and lime juice. The sad and crusty lime you see above was dredged out of my fridge...it had just enough juice to allow me to rim the glasses with salt. Whew. Beggars can't be choosers, which is also why we were using Rose's Lime instead of freshly squozen juice. Squozen, I said it.

The recipe we followed was very simple. Would you like to know it? Are you sure? This recipe is for individual drinks, but I created a very large jugful. Be careful if this is your intent, jugfuls of Margaritas can ruin a perfectly delightful Sunday, if consumed on Saturday. Just be wise, and make sure you have plenty of friends around to sop up your jugful of fiery, Mexican spirits. See aforementioned jugful below, as the sun, and the contents of the jug, are disappearing.

Margaritas

1 part Rose's Lime Juice
2 parts Jose Cuervo Tequila
1 part Hiram Walker Triple Sec
Kosher Salt (Optional)
Lime Wedges

Shake or stir. Rejoice.

 I have lots of posts stored up from my hiatus, so stay tuned amigos!

Just Grill It

When life hands you lemons, grill them. They'll most likely be delicious! What is it about those magnificent deposits of char and carcinogens that make food taste oh-so-good? No matter what you throw on the grill, it's going to come out tasting great. Unless you do something really wrong, like forget to turn it on, the grill is the component that makes Spring and Summer so delicious.

Squash, corn, peppers, steak, chicken, shrimp, lobsters, mushrooms, WHATEVER! However, until tonight there is one thing that had never graced the grate of my grill- lettuce. Weird, right? Wrong. Just like any fibrous, water-filled plant matter, lettuce is great on the grill. Just oil it up, sprinkle with salt and pep and get those grill marks on there. It's amazing!

Now, I don't have any pictures of today's recipe for two reasons. First, I was too hungry and busy preparing the food to take a photo and second, I sliced my finger with a really large Shun Chef's knife that had just been sharpened. Sooo things got a little hairy. But once the bleeding stopped, they got delicious. So, before I forget how I made the dressing, I will reveal the recipe. The dressing is an original that I dreamed up with ingredients I had on hand. Yum!

Grilled Romaine with Garlic-Parmesan Dressing

1 Head Romaine Lettuce, quartered
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Juice of 1/2 large lemon
Pinch Kosher Salt
Ground pepper to taste
1 Head of Garlic, roasted
1/4 c finely grated pecorino romano cheese
1/4 c olive oil
1 dollop sour cream

First, wash and dry the Romaine. Slide the head of lettuce in quarters, lengthwise. Coat with olive oil, salt and pep. Make sure you get the outside of the leaves, or else they will char more than you probably like. Grill lettuce over medium heat, chopped side down until char marks appear. Flip and repeat on other side. Keep an eye on it, cooking time varies based on heat and size of lettuce.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the top off a head of garlic. Drizzle with oil and wrap in aluminum foil. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until totally tender. You should be able to easily squeeze the garlic out of the skin.

Combine lemon juice, garlic salt, pepper, and cheese, using a fork to mash up the garlic. I totally made up the measurements in this recipe, but at this point the mixture should be pretty thick. Now, whisk in olive oil to create more of a "salad dressing consistency". Last, stir in a dollop of sour cream to make it extra creamy and delicious. Just keep tasting and adding until it tastes "right". There is no way to mess this up, every ingredient is completely yummy on their own.

Slather this all over the Romaine. Eat it up!

Enjoy your grilled greens, folks!

Spring Fling

Ah, Spring! I am especially glad to see it this year. I've had about enough of cold weather, time spent indoors, cruel wind and all those nekkid trees. It's time to warm up! Too bad that fickle creature Mother Nature isn't completely cooperating with us... However, this past weekend was lovely, so I decided to spend it on my roof with friends and bubbles.

Before I can even get into that, I need to tell you all something very important.... last week, I became the proud owner of... AN ICE CREAM MAKER! YES. I've been dreaming and scheming up so many interesting yogurts, sorbets and ice creams that I can't even begin to tell you...not that I would anyway, as I shall be trotting them out one-by-one as the weather gets warmer. My first frozen treat was a recipe gleaned from Bon Appetit, a more adult take on a "float", with strawberry sorbato and Prosecco.

I made this treat last Sunday for some friends, along with some radish sandwiches and yet another suggestion by Molly Wizenberg, an Egg and Tomato Gratin from Jacque Pepin. My friend Tifa brought a Moroccan breakfast specialty, R'ghayef. These delicious flat breads are basically fried, extra flat pancakes sent from heaven. They are served with a mixture of melted butter, honey and rosewater, as well as any jams or preserves you desire. They sound like a lot of work, but their taste was worth the effort (easy for me to say, since I didn't make them)!

This entry is rather long, so continue reading after the jump!

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

Get Your Pom On

Oh, this? This is just a collection of some things I like. Bird plaque, champagne cork from election night, Inauguration Day button, 8 mm camera, boyfriend in photo booth...POMEGRANATE MANHATTAN.

I recently came into a windfall of POM Wonderful, one of my favorite things. Mmmmmm bulbous bottles filled with sweet red nectar... But rather than drink it all straight, I decided to find something interesting to do with it. Thus the Pom Manhattan joined this group of things I like.

I find that after one or two, your photograph composition becomes greatly inspired, but actual quality may decrease. These drinks are very good for you however, chock full of antioxidants and vitamins! Make yourself one today, for health reasons!

Pomegranate Manhattan (POM-Hattan?!)

2 oz bourbon (I used Bulleit)

2 oz POM Wonderful

1/2 tsp fine sugar

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

Fill shaker halfway with ice. Combine all ingredients and shake to dissolve sugar. Strain into a martini glass and enjoy! If desired, rim martini glass with sugar. 

I'll leave you with a silly photograph of a manhattan doing a balancing act on my vintage typewriter. If only you could read the silly things people type on it during dinner parties... but, luckily you can't, it's too blurry.

 

SALUD!

A Woman Sconed

Sorry y'all, the puns are getting worse. But the baked goods are getting better, thank goodness! I'm learning to follow directions, if you can believe it. However, there is definitely still flour all over my kitchen. You win some, you lose some....

I've finally had a chance to read Molly W's book and I really loved it. It feels fantastic to be inspired. I laughed, I cried and I found some recipes that I can't wait to make. Earlier this week I randomly picked up some crystallized ginger at ye olde Trader Joe's, that I've been nibbling on for a few days. You can only chomp down so much ginger before a vision of scones begins dancing in your head. And when I finished a particularly delightful chapter of A Homemade Life I  happened upon a recipe for Scottish Scones with Ginger and Lemon. Fate!!!!

So this Sunday morning I langorously yawned, stretched and then shot out of bed in anticipation of making scones. As I have gotten a *tiny* bit older, I've begun to understand the beauty of a morning enjoyed when functioning at full capacity, sans the residue of suffering resulting from the previous night's festivities. While I still enjoy rowdy behavior and late nights carousing with friends, I like it in intervals. WEIRD RIGHT? But anyway, this was a morning to open the blinds, let the sun stream in and eat warm scones with butter. Happily, preparing these scones won't take too much time out of your beautiful morning and will only improve the quality of your life. Crumbly, citrus-y scones with chunks of sweet and spicy ginger... a waking dream on a Sunday morning. Make sure you use Plugra or some other rich, decadent European butter, it makes all the difference, as small things usually do.

I feel sort of guilty revealing Molly's fantastic scone recipe here on the interwebs, when really you should go buy her book! Don't be mad at me, everyone. I hope you'd do the same for me. So here is the link to Amazon where you can buy Molly's book:

Buy the Book!

So, after eating a scone I realized that hunger pains still lurked. For me, breakfast pastries are just a tease, a hint of more to come. And so I made what I had handy, which was a meal of delicious sliced hard-boiled  eggs, reclining on toasts drizzled with good olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Eat these things and your life will be as sunny as the yolks of these eggs, believe me.

Flexing Some Mussels

I've been biding my time, waiting for the right moment to lure some unwitting mollusks into my home and then, Hansel and Gretel style, pop them into a warm oven (or simply blast them with steam heat). Well last night was the night. This came about when the delightful, Eco-friendly Farms pork tenderloin I had vaguely planned on preparing was still stubbornly frozen and lurking willfully in the refrigerator. I was faced with making alternate dinner plans. I lunged at the chance to finally relieve Whole Foods of its burden of a 2 lb bag of mussels from Maine, and gave them a foster home in my kitchen up the street.

Now before I get too far into this post about mussels, let me just mention something that plays a key role in most every post I write. When hunger rears its ugly head, I basically lose logic, social skills and the will NOT to verbally abuse perfect strangers. So if my dinner plans are altered, or delayed, things can get hairy. Sometimes this results in staggeringly tasty innovation. Sometimes, the result is much darker and involves the barbecue joint down the street, the one that is constantly releasing smoky meat fumes into my living room...it's like Russian roulette. Except the bullet is food. Luckily, this time innovation won.

 So, anyway. Off to the grocery I went, on a mission for mussels. Hunger confused me, and I ended up in the meat section, eventually walking away with some smoked bacon and a rib-eye (I guess I'll eat that tomorrow?) Eventually I found my way to the seafood counter. In the interest of time, I wanted cultivated mussels that did not require some brutal sounding ritual called "debearding" and worse, "scrubbing". The mussels I found were wild harvested, which I suspected meant hard work. The man behind the counter assured me they were already cleaned, but I knew he was bluffing. True to my expectations, I got them home and was faced with beards and barnacles.

Faced with these obstacles, there was nothing to do but fortify myself first with some fantastic cheese that I'd had the foresight to snag at the grocery. A thick slice of Leanora (a goat's milk, ash-covered cheese from Spain), plus a really mild Amish blue, the name of which is currently escaping me (Salemville?),  a pear and some baguette helped me get through the darkness and into the light. And a glass of Petite Syrah to wash it all down didn't hurt either.

Onward! With the help of my ravenous boyfriend, we scrubbed and debearded those little bastards. In the meantime, I prepared the steaming broth. Below you will find the improvised method for mussels. I took a bit from Martha Stewart, the Cookbook of the Culinary Institute of America and Bon Appetit. This is the result.

 

Steamed Mussels with Bacon, Tomatoes and White Wine

1 2lb bag of cultivated mussels

1/4 lb bacon, chopped (I used smokey, aged Black Forest bacon)

1 can diced tomatoes

3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 cups dry white wine (I used a white table wine from France)

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 large shallots, finely chopped

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley

First, scrub and debeard your mussels, if they require it. The beards are little strings hanging from the side of the mussels shell and are what connect them to the rocks on which they grow. Use your fingers to pull them off, and discard. Scrub mussels to remove any mud or barnacles that may cling to the shells. Tap any opened mussels- if they do not eventually close, they are dead and should be discarded.

In a large heavy-bottom pot, cook the bacon over moderate heat. When cooked through, remove bacon and pour off fat. Add 2 tbsp butter and melt until bubbling, without browning it. Add garlic, shallots, tomatoes, thyme, salt and white wine. Add bacon. Bring to a simmer and let cook about 5 minutes.

Turn heat to high and gently add mussels. Cover pot and gently shake to evenly distribute the mussels within the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, shaking the pot up a few more times to make sure all the shells have a chance to open. When mussels are open, they are done.

Using a slotted spoon, remove mussels from pot and into whatever bowl you'd like to serve them in. Because there were only two of us and we are heathens, the bf and I just ate out of one big bowl.
If serving a few people, spoon mussels into individual bowls.

Now add the rest of the butter and herbs to the broth. Turn heat up and simmer for about 1-2 more minutes. Pour broth over the mussels.

Serve with more white wine, crusty French bread and a bowl to collect the discarded shells. 

Enjoy, my pets!

Beans and Taters: Together Forever!

So, friends. You may have noticed that I have been a bit AWOL this past week, with my lack of posting. I have a good reason for this: a fantastic, all expenses paid (by me, unfortunately) vacation to New Orleans! I have plenty to say about that, but I think that should be a post in and of itself. I WILL say that I'm home, I'm poor and I need to eat something on the light side today.

As I debated what to eat/blog about tonight, my friend Becca suggested Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos. She spent some time with a very nice, young vegan man and seems to have picked up some tips for guilt-free feasting along the way. Her suggestion immediately made me wish I were lounging somewhere in California with a bunch of friendly hippies (which is the image I conjure up when confronted with a healthy burrito). And since it seemed a relatively economical and truly healthy option, I hauled my carcass over to Trader Joe's for the goods.

Apparently this recipe originated in the Moosewood Low Fat cookbook, but I gleaned it from various internet locations and added/subtracted a few things. The main change is that since these burritos are baked, I slathered them in salsa verde and some enchilada sauce before I put them in the oven. Now I'm not sure what to call them...enchurritos? I just can't help deviating from recipes, it's my nature. Not sure what that says about me, but I know it means I can't just leave well enough alone...

Here is the recipe for some truly tasty vegetarian 'ritos, and some mildly sub-par photos- unfortunately it's hard to take great pics when you are SO HUNGRY THAT DELAYING FOOD CONSUMPTION PUTS EVERYONE AROUND YOU AT RISK. But, you get the idea...

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

3 large sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vegetable oil
3-1/2 c diced onions
4 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 small can minced green chile (fresh is better I'm sure, but Trader Joe's didn't have those, of course)
4 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chile powder (original called for coriander, but I had none...)
2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained
1/2 c lightly packed cilantro leaves
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
8 eight-inch flour tortillas (non-fat version)
salsa verde and red enchilada sauce (as much as you like)

salsa and sour cream for topping, as well as some sliced green onions and more cilantro to really get fancy

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Then, prick all of the sweet potatoes with forks. Microwave them for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft. Let these cool off a bit.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet. Saute onions, garlic and chile until tender about 7 minutes. Add cumin and chile powder, stir and remove from heat.

Now scoop the flesh out of the sweet potatoes and deposit into a bowl. Add drained, rinsed black beans, cilantro, salt, and lemon juice. Mash until desired texture is achieved. I used a potato masher, but you could use a food processor for a smoother texture. Personally, I like it kind of thick.

Stir in the onions. Fill individual tortillas with the mixture and place seam-down in a casserole dish. Now, if you are not using enchilada sauce, spray with non-stick spray. I slathered some red enchilada sauce on the bottom and layered the burritos on top, so did not require any non-stick. I ended up with two layers of adorable burritos, upon which I poured salsa verde. What can I say? I LOVE SAUCE.

Pop into the oven until the dish is hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Pry out the number of burritos you desire, top with green onions, cilantro and sour cream and consume.

Enjoy, Amigos!

I met Orangette

Hi all!

I am sure many of you read Molly Wizenberg's blog, Orangette. She also has a column in Bon Appetit Magazine, from which I've used a couple recipes (marshmallows, paté). Although she has been writing since 2004, I only just discovered the sunny, prose-filled pages of her blog a few months ago, after making the Bon Appetit connection. And now, she has just written and published her first book, A Homemade Life.

There are many reasons why I am an avid fan of Miss Wizenberg: her superb writing, homey and delicious recipes supported by personal experiences and her inspiring story of literary breakthrough. Through the success of her blog, she was able to leverage a job at my favorite food mag, as well as a husband (not something I am looking for on the interwebs, but a cool story nonetheless) and now, a book. It is something I clearly aspire to, despite my unedited, haphazard blog writing style. Perhaps my erratic grammar is endearing...I hope so, readers, I hope so.

Fortuitously, Miss W's brother-in-law is the proprieter of a very successful and trendy group of restaurants in DC, which prompted a stop on her tour and a book signing party. The event was at Ceiba, a trendy Latin Fusion type restaurant a block from the White House, complete with free hors d'ouevres, cash bar and books for purchase. I arrived right as Miss W. began her reading. A very nice man brought me a delicious, gingery Dark and Stormy. The crowd was as I expected: attractively bookish women and a sprinkling of well dressed men. Everyone was excited to be there, hear Miss Wizenberg's reading and have their chance to shake her hand and eat her cookies. OH, those cookies...some kind of shortbread with pink cream cheese icing. There were also many delicious Ceiba delicacies passed throughout the room such as empanadas, chicken flautas, ceviche and mini-crabcakes.

So after some swift feasting, I purchased a book and had it signed. As I waited in line, I wondered what I would say when I got to the front. How can I get her to read my blog?!!? How can I explain in one sentence or less that I find her story completely cool and inspiring?!?! ACK!

Meeting someone who has been blogging for so many years, who has allowed you so intimately into their lives, is a weird sensation. You automatically want to tell them YOUR story, too! I mean after all, you're confidants in some strange, far-off way. I wanted to tell her all about everything, how writing this blog has been so fun and making with connections with readers has been an unexpected delight. But, instead of telling her my life story I blurted out something about having a blog, making her paté and being excited she was here. She told me she liked my necklace, that the paté took a long time to perfect and how nice it was to be here in DC with friends and family. And I was happy. 

Her inscription:

To Ellen,

Enjoy it all!

-Molly

Words to live by, my friends.

In the Hunger Zone: Chicken Stirfry Edition

The Hunger Zone. A dark place, filled with lightheaded hunger pains, growling organs and crankiness. It's a bad place. And when I find myself there...anything could happen. God FORBID I wander into a Whole Foods while facing the dark abyss of The Hunger Zone.

Naturally, that is what happened the other night as I limped out of Spin class (yes, the moon is full right now, can't explain this "exercise" phenomenon). To get back to my apartment from the gym, I must cross the path of a very shiny, very enticing Whole Foods. The odds were stacked against me as I wandered zombie-like into the glassy interior. Fresh cut flowers! Gleaming, symmetrical piles of vegetables and fruits of all seasons and origins! Cheese displays...cheese samples!! Xanadu!!!

Pitting practicality against greed and the desire for immediate gratification, I decided to make a stirfry. Healthy, quick, fresh, delicious. Done. And, I escaped that blasted store without having to sell one of my organs on the black market in exchange for my groceries. They actually have a deal where they will just take your organs and... ok fine no they don't, but Whole Foods would probably get a lot of organs if they instituted a black market organ trading policy.

I will spare you the rest of my journey... the torturous stroll past the fancy beer aisle, the painful loitering near the steaks and sausages, the drooling in the cut fresh fruit cooler...

Anyway, here is my impromptu dinner.

Chicken Stirfry

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken cutlets, sliced and cut into chunks about 2 inches long
1 head bok choy
1 package cremini mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons ginger

1 medium white onion, sliced
1 small bunch green onions, sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce (reduced sodium)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked brown rice

First chop everything up: peel and slice the ginger, slice the onions, mince the garlic, slice up the green onions.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet or wok until you see a wisp of smoke. Add ginger and garlic. Throw in the chicken and season with red pepper flakes, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook until just cooked through; remove from heat. Now, add 1 tbsp oil and heat. Add green onions and white onions. When the onions are cooked a bit, add bok choy, mushrooms, more salt and pepper and soy sauce. When vegetables have had a minute to cook, return chicken to the pan on high heat. 

Serve over brown rice.

This was spicy, delicious and satisfying, and the leftovers were VERY delicious for lunch the next day. I love bok choy so much...they should call it bok JOY!! HA!

On that note... enjoy my friends!