Colors do matter...

My last post, Half-Smashed with Garlic Baked Potatoes, is a potato variation I cooked up to go with some short ribs I was serving to visiting friends. Short ribs braise at a leisurely pace — this is certainly a weekend dish unless you work at home — and they are rich and beefy, so I wanted a potato that was light and on the “lesser” side. Here are the port and red wine braised short ribs, but this time I paired them with a silky carrot purée, which I’ll be posting later this week. With food, one thing leads to another.

Food inspirations also start with misremembered meals, as is the case here. On a celebratory trip to Jar, Suzanne Tracht’s beautiful restaurant in Los Angeles, I remembered that someone had ordered braised short ribs. This short-term memory defect led to some happy experimentation with short ribs. Only trouble is, it was actually a lamb shank, so I have more work ahead!

I didn’t grow up with short ribs on the ol’ home menu, which surprises me considering the amount of beef we ate in Oklahoma. It’s a simple dish that can’t go wrong and a good one to have in your back pocket. Beef ribs are less expensive than many other cuts of meat and can be raised up from humble to sublime. Long, slow braising renders them tender and luxurious, and since they cook with the bone, the broth and meat are more intensely flavored over time. I like to serve them with the bone attached since it makes an interesting plate and makes me think of the Flintstones.

The way these ribs are cut is called “English-style” (as opposed to “flanken”) and they are cut into separate, cross-cut pieces. The best ones are from the rib and the chuck section of the cow, with the rib ones being a little more tender and lean. My butcher didn’t distinguish between the two, so I just bought “short ribs.” After four hours of cooking, they’ll be tender, believe me.

Braised Beef Short Ribs | 4 to 6 servings

I’ve called this 4 to 6 servings since the amount of meat on the ribs varies radically. Most eaters want only one, but there is the occasional rib that has very little meat on it. Short ribs are intensely marbled with fat, so look carefully for the meatiest and largest ones. Trim away some of the fat before cooking, if necessary.

6 large English-style short ribs, about 4 inches in length
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 large pinch dried sage
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large carrots
2 celery ribs
5 whole garlic cloves
6-inch sprig of rosemary
4 cups good quality beef broth or stock (look for low sodium, if possible)
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup port (or additional red wine)

Trim the ribs of any obvious large pieces of fat. Pat dry.

They are quite marbled but that's what makes them so tender

Sprinkle the ribs all over with the salt, onion powder, sage and pepper. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for several hours or as much as two days.

This is a dry brine -- the longer it's left on the meat, the more it permeates it

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Heat the oil over medium-high in a heavy skillet and brown the ribs, in batches, on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes altogether for each batch.

Start with the fattiest side down in order to render some of the fat

A nice brown crust flavors the braising liquid

Even brown the "sides" a little

While the ribs are browning, chop the carrots and celery and smash the garlic cloves. Coarsely chop the rosemary leaves.

No onion here since the ribs have caramelized onion on top

Begin heating the beef stock in a heavy ovenproof pot with a lid. As the ribs finish browning, place them in the warming stock.

When the ribs are browned, add the carrots, celery and garlic to the skillet and cook until they begin to color, about 8 minutes.

Some of the browned bits from the ribs will coat the vegetables, which is part of the flavoring

They only need to color a little

Add the vegetables to the broth with the ribs.

Pour the wine and port into the hot pan and deglaze the pan by scraping up any remaining browned bits. Boil the wine for 5 minutes to reduce it slightly and add it to the ribs.

The liquid loosens the browned protein bits from the bottom of the pan

Much of the alcohol will have cooked off, leaving a nice concentrated wine flavor

Cover tightly with the lid and place in the preheated 300°F oven. Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. The ribs should be very tender when pierced gently with a fork.

Remove the ribs from the braising liquid, taking care to keep the bone attached if possible. If not, reserve the bone to serve on the plate with the meat. Strain the liquid through a sieve, into a deep bowl.

There is still lots of good flavor in these vegetables

Set the braising liquid aside. Over another bowl, mash the vegetables through the sieve as much as possible and reserve until needed.

My sieve is very fine, so this took a while -- just do as much as you can

Defat the braising liquid by thoroughly cooling the liquid and removing the congealed fat on the top, or by the following method:

I picked up this method from a reader comment in Cooks Illustrated -- using a slotted spoon, gently drop a few ice cubes into the slightly cooled liquid

Swirl the ice cubes for a second or two

Lift the cubes out of the broth -- they will be covered with congealed fat and can be discarded. Repeat with more ice cubes until the fat is removed

Return the defatted braising liquid and the mashed vegetables to the stockpot and heat.

The mashed vegetables are a natural thickener, plus they add tons of flavor

Return the ribs to the pot and keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve ribs with the bone (either attached or under the meat) and spoon the braising liquid over the top. Garnish with Caramelized Onions, below.

Trio of Caramelized Onions | 2 cups

These are made in an hour or a little more, but they can keep cooking for a deeper caramelization, up to 3 hours.

1 large red onion
1 large yellow onion
1 large white onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of dried sage

Slice all the onions.

They all cook down to a small but intense relish

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, salt and dried sage. Toss once to coat with oil.

Let the onions sizzle undisturbed for 3 minutes. Turn once.

They won't have started browning just yet

Let sizzle again for another 3 minutes, and then turn again. Repeat this step two more times until you see the onions beginning to get brown.

They are starting to color now

After the fourth turn, reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for an hour, stirring from time to time to keep the onions from sticking. If they begin to get too dry, cover the pot. Uncover again for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

The longer you cook them, the deeper brown they will become -- just take care to keep stirring them periodically

Cook until nice and brown, or longer for a deeper color.

Onions can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks, and are excellent on sandwiches.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Taking the baked potato to a new level

I made short ribs the other day for guests, and was looking for an interesting potato preparation to go along with them. I considered mashed potatoes, then garlic mashed potatoes, then baked potatoes, and even scalloped potatoes. I finally landed on the idea of a combination of all of those things, a sort of deconstructed version of mashed, scalloped and baked.

Baking the potato allowed me to serve only half on each plate — with the creamy garlic sauce and the short rib that seemed rich enough. I’m starting with the baked potato here, and I’ll have the short ribs in the next post. This is so simple and low maintenance, but it raises the baked potato far above its humble station. By the way, everyone ate the potato skin, it was that good.

Baked Potatoes with Garlic Cream | 4 to 6 servings

This serves six eaters if everyone gets a half potato. There might have been a call for seconds if the main dish wasn’t rich. Russets are great for baking since the flesh becomes light and fluffy when cooked, perfect for the garlic cream.

3 large russet potatoes
4 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch of salt
Minced parsley

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Scrub the potatoes and pierce them 5 or 6 times with a skewer.

Plain ol' russets make the best baked potato

I have a metal skewer that I always use for piercing potatoes, but any skewer will work just fine

Place the potatoes right on the rack in the preheated oven. Cook them for 1 hour and 15 minutes. This makes a nice crunchy skin.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the garlic cream. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and peel away the paper. Trim the root.

This is an easy way to remove the paper -- it cracks away from the garlic clove when you give the side of the knife a good thump

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook the garlic cloves over very low heat for 30 minutes. They should not burn or even brown — only color slightly.

I bent an ordinary fork to make this task easy -- shows how often I cook garlic like this in my little saucepan

Smash the soft garlic with a fork or masher. Add the heavy cream and salt.

Sometimes heavy cream is just what works best

Mix well and continue cooking at a very low simmer over low heat for another 15 minutes. The cream will reduce slightly.

When the potatoes are done, slice them in half lengthwise. Mash them slightly with a fork and spoon some of the cream over the top.

Just three or four mashes to open the potato up for the cream

Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

(Next time I think I’ll try them with chives…)

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Deep satisfaction in deep winter

I’ve had my share of winter this year. Okay, I know here in Southern California it’s nothing compared to what my pals in North Carolina, D.C., and even Dallas (8 inches!) have had to contend with. I did dip into it, though, with two trips to Oklahoma, each time blanketed by a “freak” snowstorm that was getting less and less unusual. And back here at home we finally have rain.

It was on one of those rainy days that I pinned down this butternut squash tart idea. A friend and I were talking about it (she’d had a good one at a pastry shop and we wondered how it was made), but I had a non-meat eater coming that evening for dinner so I needed to work it out. My mind will often go completely blank when I have to cook for a particular diet (like the time I could only think of beef stew with stout or coq au vin for my teetotaling friends…it’s like a tic! Don’t even ask me to cook for Passover — all I can think of is dairy, dairy, dairy). This is a savory tart, like quiche, but made with ricotta and goat cheese rather than egg, cream and cheese. It has the rustic flavor of something comforting for a cold winter night — the ones we have left, that is.

Butternut Squash Tart | 1 tart

I think you could make this with an acorn squash, but I haven’t tried it yet.

1 unsweetened pie crust (make the Slightly Sweetened Pie Crust but omit the sugar)
1 small butternut squash, about 2 1/4 pounds
Olive oil
Small pinch of herbs de Provence
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 or 4 large shallots
1 15-ounce container of ricotta (whole milk or part-skim)
1 egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Small pinch of dried thyme
1.5 ounces plain goat cheese
2 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds

Prepare the pie crust, and have the prepared crust in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the bottom of the squash, scoop out the seeds, and slice into 1/3-inch rounds.

Trim off the bottom end of the squash

Scrape out the seeds and pulp

Slice into rounds -- use a large and sharp knife

Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and lightly oil each slice. Sprinkle with herbs de Provence and salt and pepper.

Oil each slice, top and bottom, to keep it from sticking to the pan

I often use (recycled!) foil or parchment to keep my clean-up to a minumum

Roast the squash in the preheated oven until browning, about 20 minutes.

Squash is done when it is tender and browning, particularly on the pan side

Set aside until needed.

Line the cold pie crust with parchment or foil and weight with pie weights, rice or dried beans. Cook in the 400°F oven for 8 minutes.

I still haven't gotten pie weights, which I think would be worth it

Remove the weights and prick the par-baked crust several times with a fork.

This keeps the crust from distorting, and par-baking it prevents it from getting soggy

Cook another 5 minutes. Set aside the partially baked crust until needed. Reduce the heat to 375°F.

Peel and thinly slice the shallots. In a skillet, heat a little olive oil and cook the shallots until soft and coloring, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook them just until they get a little color

Spread the cooked shallots on the bottom of the par-baked pie crust.

Shallots have such a nice flavor -- something like a combination of garlic and sweet onion

In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, cream, egg, and thyme and season with a little salt and pepper.

Beat together until well blended

Spread the filling over the shallots. Break off small blobs of goat cheese and press them into the filling at regular intervals.

Your fingers are the best tool for this task

Arrange the roasted butternut squash on top of the filling.

Cover the top of the filling

I like the roasted rings on top, but any arrangement is fine

Press the squash gently down onto the filling. Bake in the 375°F oven for 35 minutes.

While the tart is cooking, toast the pumpkin seeds: coat them lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast in the hot oven for less than 5 minutes. When they begin to pop they will only need a minute more.

Rule Number 19: Never walk away from roasting nuts or seeds -- they burn when you turn your back!

Sprinkle the toasted seeds over the cooked tart. Serve warm.

Takes that leaky roof right off my worryin’ mind.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Simple, homey and such a good way to fend off the cold

A line from an e.e. cummings poem pops into my head from time to time: with up so floating many bells down. The line rings like the bell to me, back and forth, with the peal on one side different from the other. The name ‘upside-down cake’ made me think of cummings’ poem, so I’ve paid him a small tribute here.

I was craving a warm-from-the-oven cake the other day after returning from snow-bound Oklahoma, only to find days of straight down rain in my own town. I had some indifferent apples that I knew would cook up just fine, so I’ve modified a recipe from my trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I was hoping for an American tarte tatin, and I think I got it. Enjoy this easy cake with a blob of slightly sweetened, not overly whipped cream.

Upside-Down Apple Cake

Pears will work beautifully here as well.

3 large apples
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pare, core and slice 3 apples.

I've used 2 Granny Smiths and 1 pink lady

Melt 8 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch heat-proof skillet over medium heat. I like a cast iron skillet for this cake. When it foams up, stir in the dark brown sugar.

Stir well until the sugar is dissolved

Mix for a minute or two, until the sugar is melted and bubbly. Remove from heat. Pile the apple slices on top of the sugar, pressing down to flatten.

You can make a nice arrangement of the apples, but I think of this as a very informal cake

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Beat the egg into the melted butter and then add the milk, mixing well.

The butter binds with the egg protein, making it much easier to make a smooth mixture once you add the cold milk

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until smooth.

The batter should be smooth but not overly mixed

Spread the batter over the top of the apples.

It's a stiff batter -- don't worry about getting it all the way to the edge of the pan

Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake top comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Don't skip the step of letting the cake cool -- the apples will release from the pan as it cools, making it possible to invert

Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake.

This is mostly to detach any of the cooked cake that is sticking to the pan

Turn a plate over on top of the pan. Hold the plate firmly against the pan, and turn it and the pan over quickly.

Hold the pan over the plate for a moment or so to allow the apples to release

Warm and welcoming, very unpretentious

Serve warm, with gently whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy, and stay warm.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

This was playoff game #1, then there was that crazy game #2 and now I'm saying Go Saints (but it would be Go Vikings...)

Uh huh. Yup. That’s right. I do watch the Super Bowl. Where I come from that would be considered a given (Oklahoma, home of reluctant but loyal Cowboys fans). But where I live is another matter. People in these parts approach the Super Bowl apologetically — put it in quotes. This might be different if we had a team in this megalopolis, but no. Did, don’t. Might, don’t yet. So we’re a fan amalgam of where we’re from, places we love, dream teams, underdogs. One constant, though, is that there must be a Super (Size Me) Sunday array of snacks. And in my little circle it’s wings.

Another name for this sports bar snack is Buffalo wings (so named for a restaurant in Buffalo, NY, where they are reputed to have been “invented”). And it’s perfect that Calvin Trillin, known for his love of anything that requires him to lick his fingers, was lurking somewhere in that area circa 1980, interviewing and eating, when this snack hit the big time.

I love wings but not the big franchise kind. They just don’t taste personal, and often come with either indifferent barbecue sauce or ranch dressing, a newer substitute for the classic accompaniment, blue cheese dressing. So I’ve taken on the wing, and the sauces as well. I used a dry brine and kept the wings in the refrigerator overnight to tenderize and flavor them. Once you’ve made your own you’ll be required to bring them to every Super Bowl party you ever attend — even in the NFL-free zone of Los Angeles.

Roasted Chicken Wings with 3 Sauces | 50 pieces

If you have lots of other food, allow 5 pieces per person. I’ve seen some hungry snackers go at it, though, so plan accordingly. I bought 5 pounds of wings, or 16 individual wings, which yielded 32 pieces. I also bought 2 1/2 pounds of drumettes at a considerably higher price per pound, and that was 20 pieces. I recommend buying whole wings and cutting them up yourself — it’s fast and simple and cheaper by a long…pass.

7 1/2 pounds chicken wings
For the dry brine:
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon cumin
Oil

Cut the whole wings into two pieces, discarding the tip end.

Whole wing on the left, drumette -- the part closest to the breast -- on the right

With the tip of the knife, identify where the joint is between the drumette and the flat center piece of the wing

Cut firmly between the two ball joints

Trim off the wing tip -- it's a little harder to find the natural cut point, but it is below the joint where the two bones of the flat piece come together

Trim off any excess skin.

Sometimes the drumettes, especially, have a little extra skin

Arrange the chicken pieces in one layer.

All in a row...

Mix the dry brine ingredients together in a bowl and sprinkle over the chicken, turning to coat the underside.

Most important ingredients are the salt and the heat -- the salt "brines" the chicken and the cayenne determines the spiciness

If you are making more than about 50 wings be sure to increase the amount of dry brine

Place the wings in a couple of large, open plastic bags and leave them in the refrigerator overnight.

Just leave the top open, and if you remember, turn the bag over a couple of times

When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the wings in one layer on one or two lightly oiled baking sheets. Cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour, trading shelves if you use more than one pan, and turning once while cooking.

When the wings are done, let them sit for 5 minutes to cool before removing them from the pan -- they will "unstick" more easily

Bourbon Bacon Barbecue Sauce | 2 cups

Oh, yes, very good.

3 slices good quality bacon, cooked crisp, drained, and minced
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons espresso or very strong coffee
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a non-aluminum saucepan.

I prefer not to use uncoated or untreated aluminum pans with tomato-based sauces

Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, very low, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool before serving.

Nice smoky flavor from the bacon

Curry-Ginger Yogurt Sauce | 1 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 tablespoon cream or half & half
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon sugar1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
6 or 8 sprigs of cilantro, leaves minced (about 2 heaping tablespoons)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

This sauce is great on chicken salad, too

Not the usual Super Bowl fare, admittedly

Herbed Aioli

Serve wings with herbed aioli made from homemade mayonnaise — a wonder of garlic, olive oil and herbs. You may have to switch out the beer for a white Rhone.

Garlic & herb deliciousness

Now all I need is a couple of dollars ridin’ on the Saints…

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

A play on shapes: long & skinny, little ovals, and rectangles

The phrase “company’s coming” used to be popular when dinner guests were expected. Was that just Oklahoma? I don’t hear it said any more, but we do have “people over.” And there is usually a buffer snack, designed to stave off hunger if the thing in the oven is taking forever to cook and to provide a window for latecomers. But I’ve been fretting about this pre-game warm-up for a while now, since I’d found myself in a decided rut. I had slipped into the soft cheese/hard cheese/crackers array, with a possible olive or nut mix tagging along. Don’t get me wrong, I love to nibble exactly those things before dinner, especially washed down with a crisp but not too dry white wine. But something was missing.

I feel like a middle-schooler here, trying to justify why only the Converse® Design Your Own sneaker will do. I can give you soooo many reasons why I need something new:

1. I’m sure I’ve served the exact same cheese 10 straight times
2. My living room sofa is challenging since it’s really a day bed and one can’t lean in to the cheese board like they might want
3. I have only one cheese slicer

4. Even I am getting sick of that Spanish nut mix from Whole Foods
5. I can’t leave well-enough alone
6. I have some cool little wooden plates that are languishing in the cabinet

So out came the plates. I decided to arrange the appetizers on the plates and serve them that way; now everyone could have their own small plate to ponder, replete with goodies to nosh on at will. Sometimes it’s nice not to have to share.

Individual Appetizer Plates | 6 plates

The plates above are composed of breadsticks, roasted Lacinato kale (I like this variety for its mild flavor and non-fibrous rib), goat cheese “olives,” real olives, pan de higo and seared halloumi cheese with sage. Play with shapes and flavors and textures — but do join me out here, up and out of that rut. And on the day bed.

1 bunch Lacinato kale (also called Tuscan kale or dinosaur kale)
Olive oil
Sea salt
Parmesan or Romano cheese
8 ounces chevre
1 tablespoon zahtar
1 tablespoon smoked bittersweet paprika
8 ounce package (approximately) Halloumi cheese (sheep and goat milk cheese from Cyprus)
8 fresh sage leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
Pan de Higo (Spanish fig & almond cake)
Breadsticks
Assorted olives

Preheat the oven to 275°F. Rinse the kale, trim off part of the stem, and dry well.

This variety is beautiful -- a deep blue-green

Use a paper towel to dab the kale as dry as possible before coating it with oil -- this keeps it from steaming rather than roasting

Rub oil on your hands and then coat the kale lightly with the oil

If you have a oil sprayer, use that to lightly coat the leaves

Sprinkle the kale with salt and roast in the oven until very crisp and dry and slightly browning, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and set aside until needed.

The kale browns slightly but maintains its great color

Press a spoonfuls of chevre into oval shapes, making 12 “olives.”

Goat cheese is crumbly but it will hold its shape if you press it together

Put the zahtar on a flat surface and roll 6 of the goat cheese olives in it until coated. Use more zahtar if needed.

These make delightful little bites, and no crackers are needed

Coat the other 6 goat cheese olives with the paprika.

Smoked paprika has a wonderful depth of flavor and a slight sweetness

Prepare the halloumi last, since it is best served warm. The other elements can be made in advance.

Halloumi comes packaged in a block of approximately 8 ounces -- it has a salty, feta-like flavor and a texture something like mozzarella

Slice the halloumi into 1/3-inch slices. You will have 6 to 8 slices

Trim the end pieces so they will lie flat in the pan

Heat a large pan, either cast-iron or non-stick, over medium heat. Have a sage leave ready for each slice of halloumi.

Place the sage top side facing out -- it will attach to halloumi as it cooks

Place the cheese, sage leaf side down, in the hot pan.

No need for oil, since the halloumi cooks in its own brine

Brown the halloumi, sage side down, for about 4 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn’t get too brown. Turn and cook another 4 minutes.

Halloumi has a high melting temperature, which is why is can be pan-seared or grilled

Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and serve warm. Slice 6 pieces of pan de higo. Arrange each plate with a breadstick, a piece of roasted kale, 2 chevre “olives,” a couple of actual olives, a slice of browned halloumi and a slice of pan de higo.

Pass the vino, per favore.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

A lot of underground growers

No teenager wants to hear that there will be lettuce in the vegetable soup. They barely want to hear about vegetable soup, period. That was my — negative — reaction back in high school, when I was informed that this concoction was on the menu. I’d had a long day, slaving over a pep rally, AmCiv and glee club. My mother was taking a class with a local cooking teacher, Aileen Martin, who’d been trained in France and was very French in her approach to food. Mom says she lived next door to *Julia Child* when she lived in France, and I’ve found her name referenced in one of Simone Beck’s papers. She was the real thing, in any case, and made a big impression. And this was one of her recipes.

That was the year my mother came home with a Cuisinart, a mandoline, a baguette pan, a hinged pain de mie pan, and sharp-as-hell carbon knives. It was also the year that my own culinary eyes were opened, and to this day I preserve the “AM” embossed sheets that were handed out at mom’s lessons. There was an excellent and atmospheric kitchenware store in Tulsa (owned by the same Ralph Blaine who penned the lyrics to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”) where all these kitchen goodies were purchased. I still covet her original Cuisinart since it has no safety attachments whatsoever. And I’d love to have that store in my neighborhood.

It’s been years since I’ve made this particular stew, but I thought of it when I decided to conjure up some cold weather here in Los Angeles. I’ve also made some changes to it, but the lettuce stays. It makes the stew beautiful and controversial. And my teenager loved it.

Add one cozy fire, a couple of friends or family, and combine well

Winter Vegetable Stew | 6 to 8 servings

7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
Pinch of dried thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon)
3 leeks
3 carrots
3 parsnips
3 turnips
2 potatoes
4 ounces leaf spinach (about 3 cups)
1 head Boston (or butterhead) lettuce, green or redleaf
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Minced parsley

In a large stockpot, begin heating the chicken stock with the thyme while you prepare the vegetables.

Trim most of the green leaves off the leeks, trim off the root, and cut in half lengthwise. Rinse well, separating the layers to clear out any grit.

Leeks hold a lot of grit between the layers, so rinse well

Slice into 1-inch pieces.

Leeks give a subtle onion plus garlic flavor -- Nero thought it improved his singing voice so he ate them by the bushel

Cut the carrots, parsnips, turnips and potatoes into rough cubes, without peeling.

Skip peeling, and it will add even more nutrients to the stew

It's the first frost that gives the parsnip its characteristic sweetness, making it the king of winter veggies

Look for small but heavy turnips -- large, old ones are starchy

Rinse the spinach well and coarsely chop.

I used baby spinach leaves here and didn't removed the stems

Rinse the Boston lettuce and break into large pieces. Set the spinach and lettuce aside.

To the almost simmering stock add the leeks, carrots, parsnips, turnips and potatoes, reserving the spinach and lettuce till the end.

The pot will seem very crowded

Cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are just tender, about 30 minutes. Take care not to boil the liquid — vegetables are at their best if cooked gently, like poaching, with just a shimmer on the top of the broth. This keeps them from becoming shaggy.

While the vegetables are cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. When it foams up, add the flour and whisk to combine.

This is just a basic roux to slightly thicken the stew

Whisk and cook the mixture for 2 minutes, without letting it brown.

The one-to-one mixture of flour and butter is the basis of any roux

Ladle broth from the stew pot into the mixture and whisk to combine. Reduce the heat to low and add enough broth to have a creamy roux. Turn off the heat and set aside until needed.

Hot broth is more easily incorporated into the butter/flour mixture than a cold liquid

In minutes you have a smooth white or blond roux that will thicken any soup or be the base for many cream and cheese sauces

When the vegetables are just tender, pour the roux into the stew and stir in gently. Season well with salt and pepper.

It just adds a little body to the broth

Add the chopped spinach and Boston lettuce. Press the leaves into the broth.

It will look like it won't fit, but use a spoon to press the lettuce down into the stew

The greens quickly wilt and incorporate into the mix

Cook the stew another 5 minutes only. Stir in the heavy cream and add more salt and pepper if needed.

A beautful pot of goodness

Heat for a minute or two and serve, sprinkled with parsley. And please, let it bring on a good reason to light a fire in the fireplace.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Mood lighting and a selection of small houses set amidst a snow drift -- Dad's specialty

I might have called this “Christmas Pwnd (daugher #2 correction, pronounced ‘pohnd’)” if I had the guts, but I don’t. Okay, some of you know what “pwnd” means, but I quite possibly do not. Any online definitions just use other words I don’t fully understand, like “schooled” or “punk’d,” which in a strange way gives me the nervous giggles. But I feel this (white!) Christmas was “pwnd” because everything we made was successful — we owned Christmas dinner. We didn’t overcook the roast, made perfect Yorkshire pudding, concocted some amazing Brussels sprouts that were eaten by haters of same, and pulled a dessert out of the hat due to a freak snowstorm.

I say “we” because the two daughters really jumped in this year, as well as nieces and a sister-in-law. Daughter #2 took all the pictures with her point-and-shoot. I didn’t haul my bigger camera to Oklahoma (where we spent the holidays) so she stepped up. Daughter #1 made the delicious and appetizing appetizer, a Thomas Keller/Ratatouille (the rat)-inspired construction, and the dessert, an adaptation of an adaptation of an adaptation.

This is so easy and I dare you to stop eating it when it's warm

The snow started midday on Christmas Eve, after first rain then sleet. That’s never a good mix and sure enough, family members trying to get to Tulsa that day were stuck in Norman, Oklahoma at a Motel 6 under a foot of snow. Those same relatives were bringing dessert, so we knew we had to pull something together and we wouldn’t be able to get to the store. A little internet action produced the recipe, and improvisation on the fruit produced a lovely combination.

So here’s the whole menu for the evening of December 24:

White Bean Purée, Roasted Squash & Tomatoes with Chive Oil and Crostini
Prime Rib Roast with Rosemary Port Wine Sauce & Horseradish Cream
Caramelized Cipollini
Yorkshire Pudding
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Maple
Blueberry, Raspberry & Cranberry Cobbler

A Few Words About Rib Roast, Yorkshire Pudding, Port Wine Sauce & Horseradish Cream

We were expecting 13 people, so I started with a 4-rib, 10 pound beef roast, which I got at Whole Foods. The beef came from Idaho — strange, since Oklahoma has some wonderful beef, but it’s amazingly hard to find locally sourced beef in Tulsa. For lots of leftovers, get a 5-rib roast, but this one served us all with some left. The roast was already tied. Bring the roast to room temperature before cooking, which means out of the fridge for a couple of hours, covered lightly.

Have on hand a very good quality meat thermometer. We had the old plug-and-leave-in type, which will not do. My mother also had an unreliable analog quick-reading thermometer, and with $100 worth of meat to roast, we decided to get a new digital thermometer. My brother was sent on this errand, and he brought home the thermometer of the gods: an instant read, plug-and-leave-in digital one that sits outside the oven. Well worth the $20 for future meat cooking.

Preheat the oven to 450°F to sear the roast. Put several rosemary sprigs in the bottom of a roasting pan. Place the roast in the pan, ribs down. Pat dry with paper towels and rub several tablespoons of softened butter on the exposed ends of the roast. Sprinkle with pepper but not salt. Leave uncovered.

Cook the roast for 15 minutes at 450°F, reduce the heat to 325°F and continue cooking until the meat thermometer registers 120°F for rare. Baste the roast a couple of times while it cooks. Our roast took about 2 hours to reach this temperature. Remove from the oven and cover with a loose foil tent and “rest” the meat for 15 to 20 minutes. This allows the juices to retreat back to the center of the meat, leaving it juicy instead of dry. The roast will continue to cook while it rests, so it’s important not to go much past 120°F when you take it out of the oven if you want rare meat. Keep in mind that the roast will cook an additional 5 to 7 degrees when you decide which zone to aim for on this chart:

120°F to 125°F: Rare
130°F to 135°F: Medium-rare
140°F to 145°F: Medium
150°F: Much above this and a rib roast may not be your best option!

This meat has been well-rested

To carve the meat, turn it on its side on a cutting board that will collect the juices. Cutting close along the rib bones, sever the meat from the ribs. They can be set aside and used later. Turn the meat back upright and slice across the grain. Use a newly sharpened knife for this.

The Yorkshire pudding cooks while the meat is resting, but make the batter early in the day and leave it in the refrigerator. It also benefits from resting, as do we all. Yorkshire pudding can be made in the roasting pan, but I find it awkward to remove the roast, pour off some of the fat, and start the pudding. I use a large Pyrex baking dish, and you can also use popover pans for individual servings.

3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/3 cup roasting pan drippings

Whisk the eggs with the salt, beat in the milk and then the flour. Set the batter aside in the refrigerator until needed. After the roast comes out of the oven, raise the temperature to 450°F. Using a baster, pull about 1/3 cup of drippings from the roasting pan and pour into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Heat the dish in the oven for 5 minutes, remove, and pour in the batter. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the pudding is very puffy and golden. Serve immediately.

There's never enough -- consider making two

For the Port Wine Sauce, start early in the day as well. Sauté one large shallot with a tablespoon or so of butter in a heavy saucepan until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of good-quality port and the chopped leaves of a sprig of fresh rosemary. Burble over medium-low heat until reduced somewhat, about 30 minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken stock and burble another 30 or 45 minutes. Mix 2 tablespoons of softened butter with 2 tablespoons flour on a plate. Drop in pinches of the butter/flour paste, whisking after each addition until the sauce is very slightly thickened — you may not need all of the paste. Season with pepper and serve.

Adds to the amazing aromas in the kitchen

Finally, to make a simple Horseradish Cream, add 2 tablespoons of cream-style horseradish or more, to taste, to 1 1/2 cups of sour cream. Mix in a pinch of sugar, thin slightly with half & half and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until needed. Chives make a nice addition to this, too.

By seven o'clock it was looking like this outside, right out the front door

A Few More Words About Cipollini, Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Brussels Sprouts

Cipollini show up sometime in the fall, and they are my favorite onion. They require some prep, but the flavor is worth it. Drop whole cipollini in boiling water and blanch for a minute or so. Remove and cool slightly. Leaving the root and stem-end intact, pull off the top papery layer. In a heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt, and cook them gently, turning every so often, until deeply coloring, about an hour. Season with pepper and parsley and serve.

So sublime

Sprinkle with a little parsley and serve alongside the beef

That something so simple as mashed potatoes can be so controversial — what potato to use, how to mash it, how to make it garlicky. Here’s what I have concluded: use a plain old russet potato. They break down enough to mash up beautifully. Boil them halved in salted water. Simmer whole cloves of garlic in butter until tender, about 20 minutes, mash with a fork, add half and half, heat to bubbling, and use this to mash into the potatoes. When the potatoes are done, drain off the water, put the pot back on the heat, and toss the potatoes to cook off the excess water. Keep on low while you’re mashing them. Use an old-fashioned potato masher, and a lot of elbow grease. Whipping them makes them gummy, and a ricer is too much work. Add more half and half, if needed, or butter, if wanted, or chicken stock (thank you sister-in-law!) and mash and beat like heck until they are really silky (again, thank you sis-in-law). Season liberally with salt and pepper along the way. If you are holding them over very low heat or reheating them in the oven, they can be a bit “wetter” to start.

Not photogenic but a classic with the beef

Trim and cook the Brussels sprouts until just tender when pierced with a skewer. Cool and halve. Chop a couple of strips of good-quality bacon and cook in a large skillet until brown but not crisp. Add the Brussels sprouts, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper and sauté until browning. Add a teaspoon or so of maple syrup and toss another minute.

I have to thank my Brussels sprouts *doubting* niece for making these

So after the wine and coffee and a game of Balderdash, we were off to be snug in our beds. While we slept, it snowed even more. And only a few times in my life has Christmas Day looked like this:

I was dreaming of it...

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

These are cigar boxes -- great for the gift of toffee but wrap it in plastic so the tobacco smell won't "perfume" the candy

My friend Myron first introduced me to this recipe — well, really his high school daughter. Her senior year she went into a frenzy of baking, churning out toffees, a sinful little cookie called baci di dama, chocolate chippers, you name it. She was a flurry in the kitchen, all the while thinking this might be her destiny. She’s now in an advanced science graduate program, but I hope she shows up at seminars with some of her kitchen science experiments…like this toffee.

I am challenged in the baking department. I have only a few mad skills and one mean gingerbread. I am most certainly allergic to the candy thermometer. This toffee requires no thermometer — hallelujah! It is a little tricky, and in particular the stirring should be very gentle, almost like pushing, rather than vigorous. And don’t scrape the sides of the pan, since pulling undissolved sugar into the mix can “granulate” the candy. Yes, that’s bad, since it goes back to a sugar blob with butter on the side.

Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee

2 bars of good-quality dark chocolate, approximately 3.5 ounces each
3/4 cup walnuts
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, plus some for the pan
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unblanched whole raw almonds

Lightly butter a large pan (10 x 15 glass or a rimmed baking sheet). Line it with parchment.

The butter is to help the parchment stick and mold to the pan

Break the chocolate bars into large chunks and finely chop the walnuts. Set aside until needed.

Dark chocolate goes so well with the toasty flavor of the almonds -- I used 50% cacao here since some family members like their dark chocolate a little less bitter, but you can opt for higher

You will end up with about 1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sugars and salt and stir until they are dissolved.

While this toffee is easy, it does require constant attention -- it doesn't take a long time to prepare, though

Raise the heat to high and cook the mixture over high heat, with an occasional gentle stir, until it gets a very sticky, foamy top, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

These are not regular bubbles -- it's quite thick and molten-looking

On low, cook for another 5 minutes. Gently mix in the almonds raise the heat back up to high.

The mixture is quite hot, so be careful not to splash it

Over high heat cook and gently stir the almonds another 7 minutes. They may begin to pop or make a rumbling sound, and if that happens reduce the heat then.

Now the nuts are beginning to cook over high heat, the mixture gets foamy

Reduce the heat to low. Cook and stir the mixture for a full 7 minutes. If the mixture becomes darker than the nuts, remove it from the heat but continue stirring for the entire 7 minutes.

The mixture begins to get very dark during this 7 final minutes, but you don't want to let it get too dark -- it's fine to stir it off the heat

Pour the toffee onto the parchment paper, working quickly with a spatula to spread it out evenly.

The toffee is so hot, it will spread out mostly on its own, but you can give it a little help

Immediately place the broken chocolate pieces on the hot toffee.

The hot toffee will soften the chocolate

Wait a couple of minutes and when the chocolate is soft, spread it evenly over the top of the toffee.

The bars make it so easy to create the chocolate layer

Sprinkle the top with the chopped nuts and press lightly to embed them in the chocolate.

You could use hazelnuts or peanuts on the top

Just a light touch to adhere the nuts to the soft chocolate

Let the toffee cool completely. The chocolate will be completely hardened. Remove the toffee on the parchment to a firm surface and gently break into pieces.

It's easier to break on a hard surface than in the pan

It breaks your heart, it looks so good

Now if you can give this away, you’re a better (wo)man than I.

Kelly McCune © 2009

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

My love of almonds is showing

It would seem that Pumpkin Pie season is over, and we’re moving on to…what, Christmas Pudding? Ahem. Some of us didn’t get pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving — in fact, not even a hint of pumpkin was present in my Thanksgiving dinner (out, at a restaurant). Quince was the fall flavor that made its appearance more than once in our meal, most notably on the dessert plate along with a white chocolate mousse. I might consider a white chocolate thing as a Christmas dessert since it sort of looks like snow on the plate, but I wouldn’t really consider it because I don’t know what white chocolate is. It co-opted the word “chocolate” in order to up its profile, that’s what.

Back to pumpkin pie. It can be awkward to make (fresh pumpkin? crust?). It can be too sweet. It can be store-bought (like a job, sometimes, it’s such hard work to eat). But in a Pavlovian way we need our pumpkin flavor around this time, and since I missed mine I came home and made this one. I dug deep into the emotional well of pumpkin pie for this recipe — probably because I had been denied. Almond paste sprang to mind as a good underlying flavor for the pumpkin — I like almond paste since it contains more almonds and less sugar than marzipan. Finally, I thought a nice toasted almond topping would add a savory crunch. And click through for the crust recipe, because once you absorb the technique you’ll be able to breeze past the pre-made aisle every time.

Pumpkin Pie with Almonds | 1 pie

Make the lightly sweetened pie crust first — in fact you can make it a day ahead and keep it refrigerated until needed.

3 eggs
1 cup half & half
2 cups canned organic pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Lightly sweetened pie crust, uncooked
3 1/2 ounces prepared almond paste
1 cup raw sliced almonds
4 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
Small pinch of salt
1/2 pint whipping cream
2 teaspoons sugar

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs.

A whisk works well for blending the ingredients

Whisk in the half & half.

I prefer half & half to sweetened condensed milk in pumpkin pie

Add the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well and set aside until needed.

I've used unsweetened organic canned pumpkin

Such good flavors go into pumpkin pie

Line the uncooked pie crust with parchment or foil and partially fill with pie weights or dried beans.

I wish I had those little pie weights, but instead I have to sacrifice some dried pintos

In the preheated oven, bake the pie crust for 8 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights and prick the bottom in several places with a fork.

Parbaking the crust will keep it from getting soggy and add a base for the almond paste

Bake the crust another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. Place 12 to 15 thin slices of prepared almond paste on the bottom of the crust.

I used a store-bought brand of almond paste and froze what I didn't need

Pour in the filling.

Leave a little exposed crust -- you may have extra filling to discard as a result

Bake the pie in the preheated 400°F oven for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 325°F and continue cooking for another 35 to 45 minutes, or until the filling is set.

The filling will be puffed and cracked like this and not jiggly

Preheat the broiler. Combine the almonds, syrup, melted butter and salt in a small bowl. Distribute evenly over the top of the pie.

Maple and almond together make a nice wintery crust on top

I'm not skimping on the almonds here

Place the pie under the broiler to toast the almonds but watch it very carefully. The almonds will be brown within just a couple of minutes. Remove and cool the pie completely.

For the top of the pie, whip the cream with the sugar until very soft peaks form.

I prefer a very soft and very lightly sweetened whipped cream and it takes only a minute or two to make -- almost the same time it would take to shake the can

Serve the pie at room temperature with a dollop of soft whipped cream on top.

'Tis the season...all winter long

©2010 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.