Interactive Dinner

Last weekend we had a wonderful interactive dinner with Brilliant Daughter and her newlywed friends Jen and Jason Ko. Jen recently began working for a food-related website that is in beta testing and she and Jason loooooove food: eating, cooking, writing and reading about it. So instead of just serving something to them, I thought it would be fun to include them in the process. And, to be honest, it takes the load off me a bit! On the menu:

Rack of Lamb
Pea Risotto
Salad
Tarte Tatin

Alexandria requested the rack of lamb. I made it earlier this year and it was one of the best things I had ever made and deceptively simple. I had looked up recipes and modified them to suit my taste. Problem is, I didn’t write anything down. Stupid, stupid, stupid. In trying to recreate it, I searched all my cookbooks, several sites on the web, and no luck, whatsoever. So I guessed. As for the risotto, I just wanted something other than potatoes and risotto keeps you in the kitchen stirring, which would work for purposes, and it included a vegetable, which was a bonus. And because I had an abundance of apples, I decided to use the tarte tatine recipe from my book, The World Is a Kitchen.

I started by setting the table, printing out the recipes and setting up food stations in the kitchen with all the ingredients and tools we would need. I prepped the salad fixins and left them in the fridge. Then Butcher Son came home on his break and frenched out 3 racks of lamb for me (see photo at right). Although the lamb said it was already frenched, in a proper butcher shop, extra steps are taken to prepare it in this style, which removes additional fat and membranes on and around the bones (see the “before” and “after” photo, along with the final product below).
Once everyone arrived and we had a proper chat, we headed to the kitchen to start with the first step of the apple tart. Jen peeled, Jason cut, I made the caramel, Alex watched. Once done, it went off to the oven, coming out thirty-five minutes later begging for its puff pastry crust. But patience is a virtue, and the apples would have to wait, as we had risotto and lamb to prepare.

For the lamb, I bought one rack for every two people. Earlier in the day I had made a Meyer lemon salt, with zest and coarse sea salt and stirred it every so often to infuse the lemon flavor into the salt. I rubbed this on both sides of the lamb and browned the racks in olive oil for about 3-4 minutes a side. Then we smeared them with orange marmalade. (Last time we used homemade lemon marmalade, but I am all out and my lemons are not quite ready yet.) Then they were popped into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes (for rare). Meanwhile Jason began the risotto, recipe below:

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
¾ cup dry white wine
About 5 1/2 cups chicken broth
8 ounces shelled fresh peas (about 1 lb. in shell), or 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Begin by heating the broth over medium heat in a large saucepan. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat and add shallots when hot. Stir until limp, about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir until opaque, about 3 minutes. Add wine and stir until absorbed, about 2-4 minutes. Add one ladleful of broth at a time to the risotto, stirring after each addition. Once absorbed, add the next ladleful, and continue until rice is done, about 25-20 minutes total. If using frozen peas, add these with the last ladleful of broth. If using fresh peas, add half-way through the process. When done, stir in the cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.

To be honest, we added a bit more cheese than it called for, emptying out the last of the bag. It tasted fine, but really stuck together with the melted cheese. I think it best to limit the cheese to the one cup and put additional cheese on the table.

We finished preparing the apple tart, by topping it with prepared puff pastry (we bought the frozen kind at Trader Joes) and popped it in the oven once the lamb came out. The complete recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
6 apples, such as Golden Delicious or Gravenstein, peeled, cored and quartered
1 pound puff pastry
Crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Melt half the butter in a 9-inch frying pan, preferably cast-iron, set over high heat. When the butter is melted, use a wooden spoon to stir in the sugar; continue stirring until the mixture takes on a golden color, like light caramel. Remove from the heat and let cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles, working from the inside of the pan outward. If any apple slices are left over, scatter them over the first layer. Cut the remaining butter into small cubes and scatter the cubes over the apples. Bake for 35 minutes, remove from the oven, and let cool. Cut a circle of puff pastry that is one-inch wider than the frying pan and about 1/4-inch thick. Fit it over the cooled apples, tucking the edges inside the rim of the pan. Bake for 35 minutes more, or until the pastry is flaky and golden brown. To serve, put a large flat serving plate on top of the pan and carefully invert everything, so that the tart drops from the pan onto the plate. If any apples stick to the pan, carefully remove them and tuck them into their proper places.

The lamb came out of the oven nicely browned and a bit shiny and smelling divine. It was all we could do not to pick at bits of it while it rested. Perfectly done, it cut easily into individual chops for serving. The risotto was poured into the large tureen and topped with pea shoots and it was off to the table with a salad to dig in. But of course not before standing on a chair and taking a final picture of the joint effort, which was devoured in no time, with very little conversation, leading me to believe that it was enjoyed by all.

Missouri: The Show Me State

WARNING: There are some rather graphic photos in today’s post, so if you are at all squeamish, I suggest you pass up reading this.

I’ve never been to Missouri before, but this past week I took my first trip. The trip coincided with the opening of deer season, which I wouldn’t have thought too much of, except my nephew Seth was taking his 13-year-old niece Naomi on her first deer hunt. They bought the camo gear, the orange vest, the Scent Off. They had already been through firearms safety class and had obtained their hunting permits. And off they went. Unfortunately, they did not have much luck. A buck did cross their path and Seth, being the good uncle he is, let Naomi take a shot. She missed. I was rather saddened that they came back home empty-handed. While my father and godfather were both hunters, I had never gone with either of them, never seen a deer gutted and skinned or a bird defeathered. Born and bred a city (or suburban) girl, these things were foreign to me. Yes, I have gathered eggs and had my own garden, but that is a far cry from raising your own cow or pig to fill the freezer or hunting your dinner and preparing it from scratch.

Fortunately, Seth went back out with his brother Jessie and they did have some luck. (They don’t have to go far, in fact they hunt on their own property in rural Neosho.) So Uncle Phil was called to help dress the deer and a half hour later Mr. B and I moseyed on over to Jessie and Angie’s house next door and experienced firsthand why Missouri is called the Show Me State. (I don’t think Mr. B was too thrilled to go, but he humored me.) The first photo here is of Jessie and Uncle Phil with the kill in the back of Jessie’s truck.


I was a bit disappointed that I got over there a bit too late and missed the initial gutting, but they kept out the wheelbarrow with the innards for me to see. Starting with the deer on the bed of the truck, Uncle Phil and Jessie had opened up the deer and taken out the internal organs, carefully removing the bladder (or as Naomi so delicately put it, the pee sac), so as not to spoil the meat and stink up the joint. I am ashamed to say that I had not brought my camera with me to Missouri, so had to borrow one to take these pictures. Because it was nighttime and there was little but the garage light, the little digital camera took photos that turned out rather dark. (In all fairness, I was in a hurry to take pictures and did not acquaint myself with the camera, which possibly could have been set to take better photos.) Brilliant Daughter came to my rescue and was able to enlighten me on the finer points of lighting levels in Photoshop Elements so all that picture taking wasn’t all for naught.

Once the insides had been removed, Phil skinned the back legs to make the deer ready to hang. There is a very simple hanger-like contraption that got hung up by a rope from the rafters of the garage. The deer gets hung on this, with the space between the two lower leg bones serving as the contact point for the hanger ends. This took some fancy maneuvering with Phil’s friend Okie (yes, that is his real nickname and what everyone called him) having to climb up Phil to reach the rafters and then had to hang himself upside down to do all the knots. I was so intrigued by the process that I forgot to take pictures. (Apparently a ladder would have made this step simple, but one was not available at the time.)

Once the deer was hung, the skinning process began. Right about now you are wondering why I am even doing this, right? Well, I do think that we take for granted how we get our food. We can be so far removed from the process that many people forget that the filet mignon wrapped in bacon that they had for dinner last night was once a cow and a pig, alive and well on some farm in the Midwest. I have always had a small suburban garden and used to get a lot of food from my godfather’s garden. I go to the farmer’s market, and even know farmers, and I even try to eat locally when possible, but this is another step in understanding the process. And it is, most certainly, a foodie thing to do. So the skin is slowly worked off the deer (picture #2). Down and down they go until they get to the head of the deer. Once the whole pelt is peeled down that far, it’s time to remove the head. Uncle Phil teased Naomi about the sound it makes, right before he did it. (Not near as bad you might think.)


Once the pelt and head are removed, Phil went about trimming off any unnecessary membranes, etc. (Picture #3). He also found that the bullet had done some damage to one part of the deer, and had to remove that portion, as well as the bullet. There was some discussion on the best ammunition to use to kill a deer. Phil prefers something a bit smaller than what Jessie used and showed me the two so I could see the size difference. In fact everyone was very kind to the city girl asking stupid questions, taking flash photos, and generally just gawking at the proceedings.


Once Phil was done, he and Jessie cut off two tenderloins and another tender piece of meat (Pictured #4) to go into the fridge. The rest of the carcass will hang for a few days in the cool garage letting the blood drain out. Then Jessie will finish cutting it up for the freezer. We actually got to have a portion of it for dinner the next night and it was good eating.


All in all it was a very interesting experience. The odor was not particularly bad or pungent. The process was actually pretty quick, maybe an hour all together. It wasn’t terribly bloody or horrendous and it made me appreciate more where my food comes from. I won’t be taking up hunting anytime soon, but if I were stuck out in the wilderness and had to do this, at least I wouldn’t be a total idiot and would have a visual knowledge of what needed to be done. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen…..

A big thanks to Jessie, Angie, Cody, Naomi, Levi, Seth, Phil and Okie for their hospitality and friendliness. Hope to do it again sometime!

Pumpkins: Day 2

I am not sure what has gotten hold of me, but I appear to be in a pickling mood. I took my first stab at dill pickles this summer, and made a second batch after my trip (and consultation with pickle guru Louie) at LJB Farms in San Martin. Then I saw the post by Molly over at Orangette about the pickled grapes that she made and served at her & Brandon’s rehearsal dinner, which I was intrigued by. And after hearing Tea rave about them, I gave them a shot. Despite what you may think. They are delicious. They are now a staple on Friday nights—a night where I do not cook and we have cocktails and appetizers. The grapes go wonderfully with a selection of cheeses. Really, you should try them sometime.

That brings me to my latest escapade: pumpkin pickles (or as Mr. B insists, pickled pumpkin). You probably thing I am way out there and might start pickling anything that passes under my nose, but I found the recipe in a perfectly respectable place, the SF Chronicle food section, a few weeks ago and cut it out thinking that maybe I would give them a whirl, which I did on Sunday.

This endeavor was a bit more of a challenge. My old potato peeler died several weeks ago. I was upset about it, but Mr. B reminded me that it was probably at least 15 years old and it had served me well, and I was overdue for a new one anyway. Brilliant Daughter had recommended one of those new peelers that goes over the finger, thinking it might be easier. So we went on down to the local Target and picked one up. Nope. Hated it. Almost gave up making the pumpkin pickles it was so bad. In fact, as I neared the end, Mr. B got worried and went down to our neighborhood market and probably paid an arm and a leg for a Zyliss traditional peeler, just to keep me from going near the knives. But once I peeled and seeded a pumpkin, and chopped it up into the requisite blocks, all was right with the world again. I doubled the recipe and got to cooking. I made 6 pint jars, and due to the small batch, just stuck them in the refrigerator rather than processing them through a canning bath. And then we waited…. The recipe said 24 hours, but I really wanted the flavors to meld longer, so we waited 48.

As is my modus operandi these days, I sent a jar up to the butchers at Robert’s Market. No one hated them, thankfully. Some were hesitant to try them, but the response ranged from “interesting” to “good.” I think that eaten on their own, out of context makes it difficult to judge these wedges. Mr. B and I tasted them ourselves last night. The first bite didn’t taste that great, but after two more it was much better. Mr. B ate half and dropped the other half, which I thought was on purpose, but which he vehemently denied. Served with Thanksgiving turkey dinner or sliced on a turkey sandwich, I think these would be great. Not sure what else to do with them, so if you have suggestions, please let me know. Meanwhile, Paul—the kind soul who procured all the pumpkins for me—took a jar for himself and for the pumpkin grower. Can’t wait to hear what they have to say.


Pumpkin Pickles
Yields about 1 quart

1 pumpkin, at least 1 1/2 pounds 1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4-inch-long cinnamon stick, broken in pieces
4 cloves
Four 2-inch-wide strips lemon peel
1 small dried chile (arbol), optional

Instructions: Slice the top off the pumpkin. Cut into wedges so it will be easier to handle. Using a paring knife, remove inner fibers and seeds and discard. Use a potato peeler to remove the pumpkin's skin and then cut the pumpkin into 1 1/2-inch cubes.

Combine the sugar, salt, apple cider vinegar, 2 cups water, cinnamon, cloves, lemon peel and chile and simmer for 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Add the pumpkin cubes and simmer until tender, about 18 minutes. Check with a fork to make sure they are just tender enough to be easily speared. Remove the pumpkin cubes to a glass bowl and continue to simmer the liquid until it is reduced and syrupy. Be careful, as it can turn to caramel very quickly. You want the syrup to just coat a spoon. Cool it down for 15 minutes and then pour over the pumpkin cubes. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours before using. Place in a pretty glass jar to give pumpkin pickles as a gift. They will keep for a month, but should be refrigerated at all times.

Pumpkins: Day 1

Butcher Son went and fetched me a dozen pumpkins on Saturday from his friend Paul, who works for a Half Moon Bay farmer. All sizes and shapes just sat there staring at me in the garage. I went ahead and decorated the porch for Halloween with them, but I was pretty antsy to get something cooked with these quintessential fall hallmarks. I have had soooo many ideas rolling around. So last night, after my Spicy Cajun Shrimp came out of the oven, I popped in one of the larger pumpkins to steam. I just cut the pumpkin into large chunks, clean out the seeds, put the pieces in a turkey pan or large roaster with about an inch of water, cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Once it was cool, I peeled it easily with a knife and pureed the pieces in a food processor. And this morning, bright and early, I made a double batch of pumpkin scones. One batch with chopped pecans and one with chopped crystallized ginger. I made the scones a bit smaller, as I was sending them up to the butchers at Robert’s Market, who have become my guinea pigs (thanks, guys!). As scones usually are, these are not very sweet, but with the addition of my homemade peach jam, or some pumpkin butter (which I am making later today), they are perfect. I ate two right out of the oven and they were mighty tasty. So far the word from the market is good as well. No complaints yet (except for Butcher Son, who requested more Turbinado sugar sprinkled on top).

While the pumpkin really didn’t take me that much time, I do realize that most people are not willing to go quite this far for a batch of scones (although it made enough puree for scones, 2 batches of pumpkin butter and still have enough left over for a pie or two). So do feel free to use pumpkin from a can, just make sure it is not spiced or else you will get an overdose of aromatics that will make the scones bitter.


2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk with 1T vinegar added)
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup chopped nuts or chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

Mix together first 9 ingredients, then cut in butter until mixture resembles small crumbs. Mix together pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in a measuring cup and add to flour mixture. Mix until the dough comes together, being careful not to overmix. At this point you can add in the nuts or ginger. Pour all onto a lightly floured board and knead until it comes together, about 6-8 turns. You can either pat out into a round and cut into 6-8 larger scones, or cut dough in half and pat out into 2 small rounds cut into 6 pieces each.

I sprinkle these with Turbinado sugar, place on cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Quick Chicken Piccata

I’m not sure where I got the original recipe for this, and I have modified it some. But it was a very easy recipe to make, probably 30 minutes total from start to finish. You could easily pick up the ingredients on the way home and whip it out in no time. It was a big hit with the family and leftovers were just as tasty. I have to apologize for the lack of pictures here. I have been realllly bad about that lately.

1 lb boneless, skinless Foster Farms chicken tenders
2 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large lemon thinly sliced
1-2 lemons, juiced
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium shallot, chopped
1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 T capers (optional)
2 T chopped parsley (optional)


Take the tenders and put 2-3 in a large Ziploc on a cutting board. Pound with meat mallet until very thin, like scallopine. (if you don’t have a meat mallet, you can use the bottom of a wine bottle or even a heavy glass). Repeat until all the tenders are flat and even (about 1/4 inch thick). Mix up the flour, salt and paprika. Lay the chicken out on a piece of wax paper and dust both sides with the flour mixture. Heat up 2 T of the oil over medium-high to high heat and add lemon slices for 1 minute. Remove slices to serving dish and add in half the chicken. Saute about 2 minutes on each side. Remove to serving plate. Repeat this process with the remaining chicken.

Once all has been removed from the pan, melt 1 T butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Pour in wine and broth and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spatula; boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and remaining butter, pour sauce over chicken and garnish with capers and parsley (optional) and serve.

Pie Contest

My nephew Greg has a green thumb. He carefully plotted, prepared and planted a large garden behind his parent's home in Marysville. They have been harvesting all sorts of goodies this summer. But this weekend yielded the big prizes: pumpkins. So my sister-in-law Kathy, who doesn't typically bake much, decided to make some pumpkin pies. She looked up how to cook the pumpkins, got a recipe from a co-worker and set to work. In the middle of all this, I sent her an email. When she answered she told me what she was doing and I recommended the very best pumpkin pie recipe I know, which I wrote about last fall in "Mary Holmstrom's Pumpkin Pie." Well, it just so happened that Kathy had enough pulp for 4 pies, so decided to make two of each recipe. Here is what she had to say, along with the alternate pie recipe and a picture.

First job was to cook the pumpkins. I used 4 pumpkins from Greg's home-grown pumpkin patch. I cut all the pumpkins in half, cleaned the seeds and string out. One half at a time I microwaved for 10 minutes, then scraped the pumpkin from the rind. When all the pumpkins were cooked I mashed with a potato masher. (This all took me about 3 hours, what a job. Thank god for canned.) But it was fun

I prepared the two pies, one with the recipe you recommended on your blog and this recipe, which I got from Mona, a co-worker:

1 cup fresh pumpkin
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream all ingredients together with electric mixer. Pour into baked pie shell and bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

The decision was split 50/50. Some liked the sweetness and spiciness of your recipe while the other half liked the milder flavor of the other recipe. I liked your recipe, with the taste of the molasses and how it gave the top of the pumpkin pie a glaze.

I still have enough to make 4 more pies or muffins and bread! Have to think about what to do next.