Sunshine-flavored Ice Cream

Haven't done an ice cream posting yet this summer, so here we go, inaugural 2011 ice cream batch!

As always, I've turned to David Lebovitz's fabulously well-researched, well-written ice cream bible, The Perfect Scoop, to guide me through my surplus of fresh apricots from Red Jacket Orchards.  The cream is from Ronnybrook Dairy.  And the main ingredient is sunshine! (My only contribution to the recipe is the white port, which is optional but delicious.)

Fresh Apricot Ice Cream (adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe)
Makes about 1 quart

1 pound ripe fresh apricots (10 to 16, depending on size)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
3 drops almond extract
A few drops freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon white port (optional)

Slice open the apricots and remove the pits, then quarter each half.  Cook the apricot pieces with the water in a covered medium, nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until tender, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved.  Let cool to room temperature.

Once cool, puree the apricots with all the liquid in a blender or food processor until totally smooth.  Blend in the cream, almond extract, lemon juice, and port (if using).

Chill the mixture completely in the refrigerator, then churn in your ice cream maker according to the instructions.  Serve topped with whipped cream and chopped pistachios.

Dog Days of Summer (and the grilling's easy)

Hey friends!

For those of you on the northeastern seaboard today, how ya holding up?  Hot enough?  It's a real scorcher, and it's supposed to only get hotter.  So do what I do: stay in the AC, remain pantsless for as long as you can, and sip on some ice cold minty lemon sun tea.

It's so hot, I bet you could grill a cheese sandwich on the pavement...

Oh snap, lame segue!  Well, here's what I had for lunch today: Grilled ham and swiss on 7-grain with red pepper spread and sweet cream butter.  Mmmmmmm...

What did you have for lunch?  I hope it was filling and delicious.  Until next time, stay cool, kiddos!

Free-Range Cooking

What a full weekend it's been!  It began with a BBQ dinner party, ended with a farmer's market cook-off, and included my niece's 6th birthday party, a pasta class full of Mormons, and the legalization of gay marriage in New York!  Boo-ya!!

Here's a taste of what went on:

Today was a gorgeous day at the Jackson Heights farmer's market, where you can really tell that summer is in full swing.  From the sour cherries that have just cropped up, to the tomatoes, lettuces, zucchini, and peas, it's all there, ripe for the picking.  I was one of three chefs taking part in a pea-themed cooking demo, co-sponsored by Greenmarket and the Queens Harvest Food Co-op.  We handed out samples of sauteed peas with mushrooms and shallots, a raw snap-pea salad with mint and radishes, and (my creation) a snow pea and potato curry.  We had a great turn out and I'm looking forward to helping out with more outdoor cooking demos as the summer progresses!  Here's a recipe for what I contributed:

Snow Pea and Potato Curry (printable version)
(serves 4)
2 tablespoons oil or butter

2 garlic scapes or 2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 knob of ginger, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

4 medium red-skin potatoes, peeled and diced small

1/4 cup water

1 pound snow peas, washed, trimmed, and roughly chopped

1 cup cilantro leaves, washed and roughly chopped

salt to taste

Heat the oil or butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic, ginger, and spices and cook about 3 minutes, being careful not to burn.  

Add the diced potato and water and a generous pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.  If all the water evaporates before the potatoes are cooked, add more a tablespoon at a time.

Stir in the snow peas and cilantro, and return heat to high for another 1-2 minutes of cooking.  Season with more salt to taste and serve immediately.

On Friday, I decided to serve the BBQ pulled pork I made with some homemade buns, and here's how I did it:

the Kitchen Aid is key

Dough after it's doubled in size

Before baking

After baking

Burger Buns - from the King Arthur Flour recipe

(makes 8 large buns)

6 to 8 ounces lukewarm water
1 ounce butter
1 large egg
14 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour
1 3/4 ounces sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast

*note: to get the best results, use the smaller amount of water in the summer and the larger amount in the winter.


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Mix and knead all of the ingredients, either by hand, in a mixer, or in a food processor, until a smooth, soft dough forms.  Cover and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, till doubled in size.

Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 8 even pieces.  Shape each piece into a round ball and flatten to about 3" across.  Put the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and cover and rise for about an hour, till puffed up.

Brush the buns with melted butter and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, till golden.  Remove from the oven and brush with more butter to give them a satiny sheen.  Cool on a rack.

A non-culinary aside: Rooftop farming, or why I need to get out more

It's a farm, on a rooftop, in NYC!

But first a preamble to this digression: People, I've been busy.  And, sadly, it's been a few weeks since I've cooked a real meal in my own kitchen.  Sure, I've made meals for my client.  I've taught groups of people how to make chicken cacciatore.  I've even been sous chef for a wedding of 120+.  But have I managed to get a single recipe up here since the 1st of June?  Negative.  (Oh, I'm also planning my own wedding.  Just one month to go - jeepers!)

Whenever I find myself clambering to do too many things with the short amount of time I have at home, I try to tell myself, "Eve, you have time.  There is always time."  But, inevitably, that "time" turns into a cranky husband-to-be begging me to please, get off the computer and come to bed, for the fraking love of god! 

The revelatory lesson beneath all this blabber?  Multi-tasking doesn't work.  Kapow!  So instead of letting all these infuriating to-do lists faff about the inside of my fishbowl brain, I head outside on my bike and let it take me away, to new and exciting places, such as:

Brooklyn Grange, the rooftop farm down the block!

            

I heard from a friend that a community organization called Food Systems Network NYC was organizing a tour of and panel discussion at the Brooklyn Grange Farm.  Myself and a group of about 40 other people met yesterday in the lobby of a huge prewar factory building in Long Island City, Queens, and rode the freight elevator up 5 floors, then walked the final flight, to the one-acre rooftop farm at the top.  Not only were the views breathtaking (as you can see), so was the breadth and diversity of the produce perched atop this urban jungle.  What a crazy, inspiring concept!

After Ben Flanner, the head farmer, introduced us to his planties (everything from herbs to lettuces to squash to chiles), his bees, and his chickens, we headed back downstairs to an expansive, empty room where a long table was set up in front of a few rows of chairs.  We took a seat and proceeded to learn all about the many challenges and possibilities surrounding this new and exciting quest to farm the rooftops of NYC.  Brooklyn Grange has truly been a pioneer in its mission to close the gap (in terms of both distance and privilege) between people and their food.

Some key take-aways from the discussion:

• Although it is a substantial investment, from a purely operational standpoint, starting a rooftop farm is not as complicated as one might think.  Essentially, anyone can do it, which is what makes it such a compelling solution to the problem of increasing food scarcity in urban settings.
• It's the financial aspect that is the main challenge (even more so than hauling tons of soil up to a roof!).  Although NYC has instituted generous incentives for developers to "green" rooftops - meaning covering them with non-edible plants in order to insulate the building and reduce energy consumption - the legislation passed never accounted for the possibility that rooftop farming would take off to the extent that it has.  The incentive, which allows for a $450/sq. ft. tax break, up to $100,000, is nowhere near enough of a leg-up for those who would want to start an urban farm.  Therefore, even though it's a no-brainer to reap the benefits of a green roof while at the same time growing local, sustainable produce for those who live under it, our city legislators have had their heads too far up their bureaucracy to realize it.  
• Until now: currently, there is a big debate going down among City council-members over whether it would be best to broaden the existing language to aid in the creation of more urban rooftop farms, or to craft an entirely separate piece of legislation to cover this newer iteration of the term "green roof."

And I learned much, much more regarding the nitty-gritty logistics of starting up and running such an operation.  But rather than hearing it from me, wouldn't it me more interesting to just go visit?!  Drop by every Wednesday, from 2pm to 7pm, to pick up some farm-fresh produce and sneak a peak upstairs.

Hey, chicken!

Bonjour summer!

I'm incredibly excited about the onset of summer.  Sure, summer means there is no cooking without sweating - and, if you're me, there's no cooking with pants - but it also portends that a sumptuous bounty of amazing produce will explode into NYC from all the surrounding farmlands.  And that's sweeeeet.

For the past couple of months, I've been working as one of the managers at the 79th Street farmers market on the Upper West Side, and it's become more and more clear to me that supermarket produce just is not real.  I'm sorry, but have you ever placed a tiny, candy-red, freshly-picked strawberry next to a gigantic, bleached-out, water-logged supermarket strawberry?  In this particular case, bigger is not better, and the producers of these monstrosities should be ashamed!

But let's not blame it on the agro-giants, evil as they may be.  Let's take matters into our own hands, buy local produce, and vote with our dollar.  Hell yeah!

Ok, that's all for the rant.  Here's what I had for lunch:

Mediterranean Orzo & Chickpea Salad (printable version)
(serves 3-4)

1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup cook whole wheat orzo
1 green cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
2 scallions, trimmed and sliced thin
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
feta cheese (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, orzo, cucumber, tomatoes, scallion, and mint.  Using a microplane or fine grater, zest the skin off of the lemon (clean it well first, and be careful not to zest the white pith - it can be bitter), then juice the lemon into the bowl.  Add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss well. Crumble cheese on top, if using.  Let chill at least 30 minutes before serving, so the flavors can marinate.

* Note: Oil-cured black olives would make a nice addition here.  And canned tuna also works in place of the chickpeas, for a non-vegetarian version.

Chewy, gooey good stuff

As some of you may know, my twin bro Paul just started hiking the Pacific Crest Trail ("PCT") that runs up through California from the border of Mexico to the border of British Columbia, Canada.  It's a pretty big undertaking, and so far he's rocking it!  He started a blog that he's updating along the way, which you can find here.  Check it out!

These bars will hopefully serve as worthy fuel for Paul while on the trail:

Chewy Fruit & Nut Bars (printable version)
(makes 16)

1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast until golden and fragrant, 8-10 minutes

Warm the honey until it has the consistency of thin syrup.  In a food processor pulse the honey, dates, cinnamon and oats until everything is coarsely chopped.

Scrape the oat mixture into a medium bowl and break up any clumps of dates.  Stir in the nuts, apricots and chocolate chips.  Squeeze the mixture into a ball.  Line an 11 by 7 inch glass baking dish (or something of similar volume) with parchment paper and lightly grease.  Using wet hands, pat the mixture firmly into the baking dish in the shape of a rectangle.

Freeze until the rectangle is firm enough to cut, about 30 minutes.  Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into 16 bars (2 by 8).  Wrap the bars individually and let stand at least a day (they get chewier as they sit).  These keep well, either at room temp, refrigerated, or frozen.

Spicy spin on an old favorite

What should you do when life gives you a surplus of jalapeños?  Make some pesto!  What, you thought pesto was just for the Genovese?  Well think again!  It's time to expand your pesto horizons.

This recipe works great on a warm corn tortilla, with some grilled meat and chopped tomatoes.  It also works as a nice seasoning for ground meat, in rice, or even to spice up your grandma's chicken soup.  Plug in your food processor and give it a whirl!

Charred Garlic-Jalapeño Pesto with Queso Fresco (printable version)
Adapted from Grace Parisi's "Get Saucy"
(makes about 1 cup)

Note: If you can't find queso fresco, you can use farmer's cheese or feta as a substitute.

5 large green jalapeños
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 scallions, trimmed of root end
1/3 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco
salt to taste


Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until hot.  Rub the peppers with a small amount of the oil and add them to the skillet with the garlic and scallions and cook until softened and charred all over (about 15 minutes for the garlic and jalapeños and 5 minutes for the scallions).  Transfer the jalapeños to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool.  Peel and seed the jalapeños and peel the garlic.

Transfer the jalapeños, garlic, and scallions to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  With machine running, add the rest of the oil.  Add the cilantro and queso fresco and pulse until just combined.  Season with salt.  This will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.

Sourdough Odyssey

I've been on a bit of a bread roll (HA! sorry, that was cheap.) as of late, mainly inspired by a book that was given to me, The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  It's a pretty spectacularly comprehensive book, for anyone out there who's looking to start baking bread at home.  It can, however, at times be a bit too comprehensive, to the point of exhausting.  Which is why I turn, as I often do, back to the blogosphere (to the detriment of the printed word, unfortunately).  Web content is just so accessible and amorphous in a way that can be beneficial to the cook with a curious, rambling mind.

But let's stay on topic here: I'm making bread!  And it's such fun!  My most recent favorite blog for these endeavors has been Wild Yeast.  And for supplies and further recipe research, the King Arthur Flour website is indispensable. 

At first I aspired to make sourdough bread using only wild leavening - meaning, instead of prepackaged yeast, I would use a starter built up from just flour and water, left to ferment and "bloom" over a series of days and weeks.  I'm proud to say that I've built a rather ripe and potent starter over the past few weeks, and encourage you to do so as well.  How does one do that, you may ask?  The short answer is: mix 1 part flour to 1 part filtered water in a wide-mouth jar, let it sit out at room temp until bubbles form, and BLAM-O, you've got a starter.  The long answer can be found here.

Here's a glimpse at what a maturing starter looks like:

 

Funky, huh?

After the first frustrating attempts to make a delicious, springy sandwich loaf using my starter, I had a Eureka! moment and realized that a combination of wild and commercial yeast would serve me best.  Luckily, I found a fabulous recipe that fit the bill on the King Arthur Flour site, which is my new go-to when I need to satisfy my Daily Sandwich Requirement (DSR).  I made a few changes to the original recipe, but the gist remains the same.

Multigrain Sourdough Loaf  printable version
Adapted from the King Arthur Flour Multi-Grain Sourdough

(makes 1 large sandwich loaf)

1.5 cups boiling water

1 cup grain/seed blend (ex.: rolled oats, millet, quinoa, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.)

2 cups sourdough starter, recently fed and ready to use (read: bubbly and happy)

2 cups KA whole wheat white flour

1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2.5 teaspoons salt

1.5 teaspoons instant yeast

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sesame seeds (or any other type of seed) for garnish (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the grain/seed mixture and boiling water.  Let it cool to lukewarm.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix and knead - either by hand or with a mixer or food processor - until you have a soft, tacky but not sticky, dough.  Add additional flour or water as needed to get the right texture.

Cover the dough in the same bowl and let it rise until it's almost doubled, about 1 to 1.5 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and gently fold a few times to deflate.  Shape into a large round.  Place the dough into a large ovenproof enamel pot (I used my Le Creuset) that's been sprayed with non-stick baking spray and dusted with sesame seeds or cornmeal, and cover.  Alternately, you can place the dough on a sprayed sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the loaf rise until it's puffy, another 1 to 1.5 hours.  When the dough is almost risen, preheat the oven to 450°F. 

Just before baking, brush with water  and sprinkle with the seeds (optional).  Use a sharp knife to score the top of the loaf in a crosshatch pattern.

Place the bread in the oven, lower to 425°F, and bake for 30 minutes covered (if using the pot) and another 15 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 190°F.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool 5 minutes.  Then turn it out of the baking vessel and cool on a rack.

* Note: If your dough isn't rising nicely and it's making you really sad, don't dismay, just improvise!  I turned some wussy looking dough into nice little seeded flatbreads, see?  Just remember, your first loaf won't be your best loaf - and may not even be a loaf at all!

Lunchtime Fiesta

Today I awoke from a dream of Spring to a grey, rainy/snowy world.  Blegh!  So I'm bringing a little spicy fiesta into our lives. Oh sí!

I'm making Pollo a la Mexicana (chicken breasts with onion, tomato, and jalapeño) with some fried Mexican cheese (queso!).  

Start by slicing a large Spanish onion and cooking it over medium heat with some olive oil and salt in a large skillet.  While the onion sweats, mince 2 garlic cloves, and slice 3 jalapeños and 3 medium tomatoes.

 Once the onion is soft and translucent, add the garlic and cook 2 minutes.  Then add the tomatoes and jalapeños, a dash of cumin, a pinch more salt, stir, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

While you're waiting for the vegetables to cook, quarter and slice a block of Mexican white cheese ("queso para freir") and cut a lemon into wedges.

Add 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts to the pan, sprinkle with a pinch more salt, and cover.

Cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through.

When the chicken is almost finished, preheat a small nonstick skillet over high heat.  Once hot, fry the cheese slices in small batches of four pieces, about 1 minute on each side.  If the pan gets too hot and the cheese starts to burn, lower the heat a bit.  Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over, with the fried cheese and some lemon wedges.  Avocado makes a nice addition as well!

Buen provecho!

Fastest, bestest flank steak

Despite what some might think about my mother, she does in fact cook, and cook well, when the occasion calls for it.  Like, for instance, when she was raising two hungry tween twins under one roof.  I recall there being a brief period, around the age of 13, when I passed my brother in height, and we together ate enough in one meal sitting to feed a family of 8.  Ah, those were the days.

My favorite hunger-curing (and, as it turns out, super-easy) dish that my mom prepared was flank steak, done to rosy perfection on the grill, then sliced across the grain and served with all that yummy, salty juice.  There are approximately a gazillion different ways you can marinate flank steak, but here's a way to prepare it that takes minimal time and effort, for which you are rewarded magnificently in satiety. 

Grilled or Broiled Flank Steak with Chimichurri (printable version)

(serves 3-4, unless anyone in the party happens to be a ravenous young adult)

Note: When checking your steak for doneness, be sure you allow for some carry-over cooking to happen after you remove the steak from the heat.  You could end up taking it off at perfectly rare and cutting into it at medium (*sad face*).

1 flank steak, about 1.5 pounds
salt and pepper

1 cup parsley leaves
1 medium shallot, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Preheat your grill or broiler and make it very hot.  Generously shower salt all over both sides of the steak, and season with pepper too.  Grill or broil the steak for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until nicely browned.  Move the steak to a cooler part of the grill, or lower the broiling rack, and cook for another 2 minutes per side.  Check for doneness by making a small cut in the middle or using an instant-read thermometer - it should read 125°F for rare.  Remove to a large cutting board.

While you let the meat rest for 5 minutes, combine all the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a small food processor (or use a mortar and pestle, if you're feeling particularly hardcore) and combine into a rough paste.  Transfer to a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Slice the flank steak across the grain and serve with the chimichurri sauce.

(Please excuse the absence of photos - it was late, we were starving, and thus we inhaled the fruits of our labor before convening to document the evidence.)