tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12891487736329243392023-11-15T05:17:11.355-08:00Steve in the Big CitySteve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-23538500192759043332010-05-09T09:42:00.001-07:002010-08-28T14:13:40.522-07:00Week 11: Fava Fritters and Lamb Kofta<div>Our week 11 meal was middle eastern themed. Two of the dishes on our todo list, from Jamie Oliver's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jamie-Home-Cook-Your-Good/dp/1401322425">Jamie at Home</a>, looked like they'd pair well together, so we decided to do both. The first dish was <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/spicy-broad-bean-fritters-with-lemon-min">fava bean fritters</a>, which were similar to falafel but made from fava beans. The second was <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/lamb-recipes/grilled-lamb-kofta-kebabs-with-pistachio">lamb kofta kebabs</a>, a wrap of spiced, grilled lamb. </div><br /><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/4587166338"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4587166338_8449223eb2.jpg" /></a><div>For the fritters, I picked up the fava beans at the Thursday farmer's market near work. The recipe came together relatively easily. Peeling fava beans can be labor intensive, but with Emily's help it went quickly. Emily also put together the yogurt sauce and formed the quenelles. They fried up nicely. The outside was nice and crisp, but they were softer and creamier inside than is typical of falafel. I don't know if this was intended, but the contrast in textures was nice. </div><br /><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/4587165990"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4587165990_4cfa66425b.jpg" /></a><div>The second course was the lamb kofta. Ground lamb is mixed with thyme, cayenne, cumin, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumac">sumac</a>, formed onto skewers and grilled. I was looking forward to this dish because I'd never worked with sumac before, although I've had it in dishes at <a href="http://www.lolosf.com/">Loló</a>, a local mexican-turkish restaurant. I only made a couple of minor tweaks to the recipe: I substituted almonds for the pistachios (due to allergies), and I used the lemon/mint yogurt from the fava recipe rather than straight yogurt. The resulting dish was quite good. We want to make it again soon but haven't made time yet.</div><br /><div> </div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-42230684583104062492010-05-09T08:51:00.001-07:002010-08-28T09:56:09.174-07:00Week 10: Empanada<a href='http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/4566222000'><img src='http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/4566222000_b921b20f9b.jpg'></a><div>Our tenth weekly dish was a little bit of a failure. I made the Empanada from Batali's book <em>Spain - On the Road Again</em>. The recipe called for 25-30 minutes of cooking at 450º. After about 15 minutes, I turned on the oven light and peered through the door to check progress. (I didn't want to let the heat out.) It looked like the empanada hadn't browned at all, which concerned me a little. I checked again at the 30 min mark and saw at it still hadn't browned, so I added another 15 minutes. This time it looked slightly colored, so I opened the door and found that it was deeply browned. The tinted glass in the door had completely masked it. By this time it was way overcooked, but still edible. </div><br /><div>Aside from being overdone, the dish was good. The filling was quite hearty—just chorizo, pancetta, onion, and red bell pepper. The crust, of course, was a bit dry. We will give it another try someday, but it may be a while until we get around to it. </div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-24629088245611164422010-04-24T16:20:00.001-07:002010-08-17T20:54:39.096-07:00Week 9: Linguine with Calamari<a href='http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/4537926339'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4537926339_a1d7d0a958.jpg'></a><div>For week 9, we had linguine with calamari, red peppers, and fennel. I used a recipe from <em><a href='http://www.amazon.com/Jamies-Italy-Jamie-Oliver/dp/1401301959?tag=stevesblog-20'>Jamie's Italy</a></em> with a couple of minor tweaks. The original recipe called for thinly sliced red chilis—Jamie Oliver likes to use them a lot, but I don't often see them in the stores. I still wanted the splash of red color, so I decided to use red bell peppers instead. They gave the dish a Spanish flavor but worked really well. We liked the dish enough to add it to our regular rotation.</div><br /><div>The recipe is fairly simple: Cook down some thin slices of fennel with a little garlic. Add white wine, squid, and thin slices of red bell peppers or chilis. Simmer to reduce the wine a little, then start the pasta. Gently simmer the squid while the pasta is cooking. When the pasta is done, toss it with the squid and garnish with some fennel fronds and lemon zest. </div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-83861451399227738892010-04-20T19:17:00.001-07:002010-06-20T08:53:01.189-07:00Week 8: Cauliflower Risotto<a href='http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/4515291482'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2722/4515291482_019a501899.jpg'></a><div>For week 8 of the project I made a cauliflower dish. Cauliflower is a very polarizing vegetable—some people love it and others hate it. I was a very picky eater growing up, so I ate it rarely and reluctantly. I would eat small florets raw, usually with dip, but I was never a fan of cooked cauliflower. Eventually, I learned that cauliflower can be very tasty when cooked well.</div><br>
<div>My favorite cauliflower preparation is the gratin in the <em><a href='http://www.amazon.com/Bouchon/dp/1579652395?tag=stevesblog-20'>Bouchon Cookbook</a>.</em> Keller cooks and purées the inner stems of the plant with some cream. He then seasons the purée with a pinch of curry and horseradish powder, adds the florets, and tops off the dish with some Comté and panko. We also loved the <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4307241962/'>cauliflower velouté</a> that Emily had at Café Boulud in New York.</div><br>
<div>So when I came across a cauliflower risotto in <em><a href='http://www.amazon.com/Jamies-Italy-Jamie-Oliver/dp/1401301959?tag=stevesblog-20'>Jamie's Italy</a></em>, I decided to give it a try. Like the Keller gratin, the recipe uses both the inner stems and the florets of the cauliflower. The stems are minced and cooked with the onions at the beginning, and the florets are simmered in the stock for the first half of the cooking process. Then they are gradually added to the risotto with the stock. The risotto was finished with some Parmesan and topped with a spicy pangrattato and some parsley. </div><br>
<div>The risotto turned out well, but it was missing something. We'll probably give it another go with more cheese someday, but there are a lot of other things we want to try making first.</div><br>
Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-87459544403198638682010-04-08T20:39:00.001-07:002010-04-19T21:59:43.397-07:00Week 7: Easter Dinner<div>For Easter weekend we decided to make a spring menu from the book <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Platter-Figs-Other-Recipes/dp/1579653464'>Platter of Figs</a> that included an asparagus salad, roast shoulder of spring lamb with beans, and rum baba with cardamom. I had been looking for a lamb dish, figuring that it would be appropriate for Easter, and Emily had been wanting to try baba al rum. So I decided to do the entire menu, just swapping out the first dish for a <a href='http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pancetta-wrapped-asparagus-with-citronette'>Mario Batali dish</a> that I saw online—grilled asparagus wrapped with pancetta. Everything is better with pork wrapped around it.</div><br><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4500761218'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4500761218_999ea9ffff.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><div>I went to the Ferry Building farmers market for the lamb on Saturday morning. Marin Sun Farms had some nice lamb shoulder, but I accidentally bought boneless lamb leg which was in the same bin. While I was there, I picked up flageolet beans from Rancho Gordo and pancetta from Boccalone.</div><br><div>The beans were simmered with some onion and garlic and finished with a little thyme, salt, and pepper. Although they were cooked very simply, they tasted really good. I will have to make them again sometime.</div><br><div>I mostly followed the recipe for the roast, substituting leg for shoulder, of course. The only change I made was to add a rub of rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. The recipe called for roasting it with a little bit of white wine until the center hit 130°F. I also made the suggested olive relish to serve on top of the lamb. The roast turned out well, but I would have preferred it a little rarer. Pulling it out at 125°F would probably yield better results.</div><br><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4500125311'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4055/4500125311_62c82f3ef0.jpg' height='500' width='333'/></a></div><div>The rum baba was just so-so, and it was most likely my fault. The recipe for the cakes looked like an eggy brioche with multiple long rises, including an overnight one, but I neglected to read the recipe in detail before Sunday. (I had originally planned on making it on Saturday, but I didn't get around to it. I was too busy with the arrival of my iPad, kitchen shelf installation, and graffiti cleanup.) I had to rush the rises a little to get it done in time, and the cold, rainy weather didn’t help. The cake turned out too tough, but the rum syrup with cardamom and candied citrus was really good. I might make the dish again, but I want to give it a try at a restaurant first to see how it’s supposed to turn out. Emily didn’t bother with taking pictures of it this time, so that would be a good excuse for a second attempt.</div><br><div>Although I would make the lamb again, I learned the hard way that I shouldn't microwave the leftovers. The result was so bad that I considered tossing it and going out for lunch, but I couldn't bear to throw out the beans. I’ll either eat it cold or make sandwiches next time.</div><br>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-82065732988157065222010-03-30T10:29:00.001-07:002010-04-08T19:16:28.818-07:00Week 6: Broccolini Pizza, Contigo style<a href='http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/4479501802'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2686/4479501802_9b8bf5ea4a.jpg'></a><div>For our new dish this week, I made a pizza inspired by a coca that we had at Contigo. The ingredients on their flatbreads vary from day to day, but they usually have caramelized onions (or another allium) and seasonal vegetables on them. I had remembered a broccolini and manchego one that we particularly liked, but after reviewing their menus I discovered that it actually had broccoli rabe on it.</div><br /><div>Broccolini is kind of like broccoli, but with long, thin stalks and small florets. We first had it on a tomato-sauced pizza at Beretta. It was nicely caramelized and complemented the rest of the pizza well.</div><br /><div>For the onion compote, I sliced two onions along the grain and very slowly cooked them with a little salt, butter, and a pinch of sugar. After 1–2 hours when they were nicely caramelized, I deglazed with a little vermouth (I didn't have a white wine open) and set it aside.</div><br /><div>For the pizza, I used my standard pizza dough, a scaled down Jamie Oliver recipe. I topped it with the compote, some slices of manchego cheese, and some broccolini that I had blanched in salted water.</div><br /><div>The result was really good, particularly the parts with thinner crust. I made it again the next weekend, rolling out the pizza thinner, to give it a nice crispy crust, and putting slightly less color on the onions. </div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-87016132272691225172010-03-27T16:31:00.001-07:002010-03-28T21:37:28.353-07:00Week 5: Sheep's Milk Ravioli with Brown Butter and Almonds<div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4463047740/in/set-72157623413664679'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4463047740_0592ef651d.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><div>This week I made ravioli stuffed with sheep ricotta, parmesan, and orange zest, served with brown butter, almonds, orange juice, and parsley. I mostly followed the recipe from Michael Symon's new book <em><a href='http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Symons-Live-Cook-Techniques/dp/0307453650'>Live to Cook</a>.</em> This recipe is particularly notable because it is a vegetarian recipe from a pork-etarian chef. (There are also some good-looking salads in that book.)</div><br><div>It's been far too long since I've made my own pasta. I think the last time was two years ago when I made butternut squash agnolotti. I've been meaning to give it another go; I even picked up some semolina flour a few months ago. Although I used some of the flour in polenta (per Michael Chiarello), I never got around to making pasta with it.</div><br><div>So this time I made the pasta dough with straight semolina flour and egg yolks. I whizzed it in the food processor to combine and then took it out to knead by hand. Immediately, I discovered that the dough was extremely hard to knead. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be that way or not, so I just carried on. I managed to slowly knead it to a decent texture, but I had to throw my entire weight into it. The next day, my abs were sore. (Perhaps I should make pasta more often.)</div><br><div>I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to rest – a step that was left out of Symon's book. I figured I had enough time to start over with AP flour if it didn't work out, but the pasta turned out fine. I rolled it down to setting five (I may give six a try next time), added the filling, folded it over, and cut it with one of the <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Ateco-Piece-Plain-Round-Cutter/dp/B00004S1CI'>nested circle cutters</a> that I got for my birthday.</div><br><div>The brown butter sauce turned out well, and the almonds added a nice crunch to the dish. I'm glad we found out that Emily can eat them. We'll definitely give this another try, maybe with meyer lemon instead of orange. I don't know if it will be the next pasta I make, as I also want to try my hand at Keller's sweet potato agnolotti.</div><br>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-50383217271031731122010-03-20T11:45:00.001-07:002010-03-20T19:12:45.988-07:00Week 4: Grilled Calamari with Beans and Chorizo<div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4435905818/in/set-72157623413664679'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2709/4435905818_b959c52ce4.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><div>Up this week is yet another Contigo-inspired dish. One of many great dishes we had during my birthday dinner was calamari cooked a la planxa (on a flat top) with red tolosa beans, chorizo, and <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aioli#Allioli'>allioli</a>. It was one of our favorite dishes that night (along with the scallop and black rice dish).</div><br><div>For our version, I used San Franciscano beans from <a href='http://www.ranchogordo.com'>Rancho Gordo</a>. I hadn't tried them before, but I was told they were similar to Rio Zape beans, which would pair well with chorizo.</div><br><div>After a quick soak, I simmered the beans for a few hours with some onions that had been cooked in a little lard (recovered from <a href='http://www.boccalone.com/'>Boccalone</a> pancetta). Then I seared some diced Spanish chorizo and used the oil to cook some minced onion, celery, and red bell pepper. After returning the chorizo to the pan with a splash of beer, I added the mixture to the bean pot and let the beans finish cooking for about an hour, reducing the broth to a nice sauce.</div><br><div>When I need squid, I usually go to Sun Fat for fresh, local squid. It tastes better than the frozen squid, and I can do a more careful job of cleaning it than the commercial stuff. (BTW, squid is dirt cheap. I often feel bad walking out of there having only spent a few bucks.) Unfortunately, they'd run out of it on Saturday, so I had to use frozen squid instead. The squid got a quick marinade in some olive oil, lemon zest, and paprika before hitting the grill pan. Despite being previously frozen, I managed to get a little bit of caramelization and a nice hint of the paprika.</div><br><div>The final component of the dish was the <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aioli#Allioli'>allioli</a>, which didn't quite work out for me. According to Wikipedia, it is the Catalan version of aioli that uses only garlic, olive oil, and salt. Via some mortar and pestle magic, you're supposed to be able to emulsify garlic in oil without using any egg yolk. I found a video of it being done, but I didn't quite pull it off. I started out with the mortar and pestle but was having trouble getting it to work right. So I gave up on the mortar and pestle and switched to my Cuisinart mini-prep. That didn't work because the portion was too small to get the garlic into the blades. At this point, I knew I was pretty much screwed, so I tried the blender. The blender looked like it was working, but the resulting sauce didn't have the right texture and quickly separated. I did end up with a nicely garlic-flavored olive oil, which I spooned on top. After a subsequent visit, I think Contigo is using a little egg yolk to help the emulsification (and possibly a little lemon juice to balance flavors), so I'll probably do that next time to get the texture I want.</div><br><div>Overall the dish was quite good. We'll definitely make it again, probably with some chorizo-laced black rice instead of beans, so I can make it on a weeknight. The beans did turn out really well, though. I will be making them again too.</div><br>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-63507398578160773672010-03-11T16:11:00.001-08:002010-03-17T10:33:52.159-07:00Week 3.5: Duck Redux - Spice-crusted duck breasts with bacon bonbons
and arugula<div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4427692390/in/set-72157623413664679'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4427692390_9146262ac2.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><div>On Wednesday I cooked the rest of of the duck from last weekend. In the process I managed to kill two birds with one stone. (Pun intended.) Since we had this mid-week, I wasn't sure if we'd count this as the week four dish or not. It turns out that we made another new dish on Sunday, so I think I'll call it week 3.5, keeping with the duck theme of last week.</div><br><div>I combined two dishes that Emily has been asking me to make. The first is pan-roasted duck breasts with prunes, inspired by the <a href='http://www.contigosf.com'>Contigo</a> dish, <em>"Seared Duck Breast with tea-steeped prunes, toasted almonds, cardoons, and arugula."</em> And the second dish is the a take on the <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/3202039823/'><em>bacon bonbons</em></a> that we order every time we go to <a href='http://www.gitanerestaurant.com/'>Gitane</a>. We've been talking about making them ever since we first had them a year ago. They stood in for the prunes in the original Contigo dish, and I used the port sauce on both the duck and the bonbons.</div><br><div>The Gitane menu describes the bacon bonbons as <em>"sautéed prunes stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in smoked bacon, anise and cinnamon port sauce."</em> A little research turned up a similar a British bar food called <em><a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_on_horseback'>Devils on Horseback</a></em> and hints of a similar a french appetizer. In the Gitane version, the bacon, prunes, and cheese are a perfect combination and the rich sauce, melding savory and sweet, ties everything together well.</div><br><div>I found the duck breast recipe in <em><a href='http://www.amazon.com/One-Spice-Two-American-Flavors/dp/0060735015'>One Spice, Two Spice</a></em>, a book by an Indian chef who does Indian / western fusion dishes. He uses a star-anise and allspice rub, which I thought would match well with the prunes and sauce. He also adds some ginger, rosemary, and garlic at the end for basting. I served the duck with a simple salad of arugula, goat cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette (with good balsamic). The goat cheese is not pictured, because I decided to add after we tasted the dish. In the future, I'd also add some almonds to the salad.</div><br><div>For the bacon bonbons, I consulted a few recipes for Devils on Horseback on the web, but I had to guess on the sauce. I decided to use some duck stock and port wine in a 3:1 ratio, reducing the port before adding the stock. I added a little of the spice rub I used for the duck and let the prunes simmer in the sauce as it reduced. I then strained off the sauce. When the prunes cooled, I stuffed them with cheese and wrapped with bacon. I arranged them on a silpat, with the overlapping bacon side down, and stuck it in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until the bacon was crisp.</div><br><div>Or at least, that was the plan – halfway through the cooking process, the bacon shrunk and most of the bonbons came unwrapped. So I pulled them from the oven, skewered them back together with toothpicks, and stuck them back in to finish cooking.</div><br><div>The one big problem with the meal was that I'd over-salted the duck. The recipe had called for putting the rub on the duck (containing salt) and then salting it again when you put it on the pan. It sounded like a bit too much salt, but did it anyway. Aside from being too salty (which was distracting), the duck was quite good. The spices went well with the duck, and the salad complemented it nicely. The bonbons also went well with everything. I don't think Emily will let me get away with making this dish again without them.</div><br><div>Next up is grilled calamari with chorizo and San Franciscano beans. Also Contigo inspired – someday I should put together a post of all my restaurant-inspired dishes.</div><br>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-5696788090055064082010-03-08T11:31:00.001-08:002010-03-12T10:35:35.890-08:00Week 3: Braised duck legs with red wine and prunes<div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4420976795/in/set-72157623413664679'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4420976795_d8b694e084.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><div>This week I made braised duck legs with red wine and prunes. Emily wanted me to do something with duck breasts and prunes, similar to a dish we had for my birthday at <a href='http://www.contigosf.com'>Contigo</a>. Unfortunately, it was the one time we didn't take photos at Contigo.</div><br><div>I've been looking forward to working with duck again. It has been a while since I've used it. A few years ago, I made confit of duck legs and prosciutto out of a duck breast. A little more recently, I made cassoulet and tacos out of duck confit. But I haven't had a lot of practice with fresh duck. It's a little different from chicken, there is a bit of fat to deal with and you need to leave it medium rare to keep from drying it out. (Unless you confit it.)</div><br><div>Since I've never cooked duck breast before, I did a little research to see how it was typically done. (Score the skin, slowly cook, skin side down.) While researching options, I came across a braised duck leg and prune dish in the <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Zuni-Cafe-Cookbook-Compendium-Franciscos/dp/0393020436'>Zuni Cookbook</a>. It was a completely different dish from the Contigo one, but had similar flavors, so we decided to give it a try.</div><br><div>Sunday morning I went to <a href='http://www.drewesbros.com/'>Drewes Bros</a> to buy a couple of legs for the dish, but I impulsively decided to get a whole duck. I figured I could cook the breasts for dinner later in the week, make some stock out of the bones, and render the fat for potatoes. They offered to break it down for me, but I wanted some practice, so I took it home whole and broke it down myself.</div><br><div>When I went shopping for ingredients I saw some fresh prunes and decided to use them in place of dried ones. The recipe wasn't specific, aside from insisting on the prunes having pits. The other deciding factor was that dried prunes make me a little nervous. They tend to be sold in open bins alongside nuts, and I always assume that little care is taken to prevent cross-contamination. Next time, I think I'll use dried ones both for color and a more concentrated flavor.</div><br><div>The duck was plated on a bed of arugula and the fried bread croutons from the <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Ad-Hoc-Home-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579653774'>Ad Hoc cookbook</a>, along with the sauce, onions, and prunes. The arugula ended up wilting a bit more than we wanted, so I'd plate the salad next to the duck next time.</div><br><div>Tomorrow we'll have the breasts. I'm using the spice-crusted duck breast recipe from <a href='http://www.amazon.com/One-Spice-Two-American-Flavors/dp/0060735015'>One Spice, Two Spice</a> (allspice and star anise crusted). I'm also going to try to replicate the bacon-wrapped, chèvre-stuffed prunes from <a href='http://www.gitanerestaurant.com/'>Gitane</a> to accompany it. And maybe a simple salad to round out the meal.</div><br>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-59930714563231918932010-03-02T18:05:00.001-08:002010-03-12T10:35:56.151-08:00Week 2: Asparagus and Robiola risotto.<div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4402230081/in/set-72157623413664679'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2702/4402230081_1dc891eed8.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><div>For week 2 of my cooking project, I made an asparagus risotto with a dollop of <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robiola'>Robiola cheese</a> in the middle. This dish was inspired by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/3433028699/'>a risotto we had</a> at <a href='http://www.berettasf.com'>Beretta</a>. It's been on our to-do list for quite a while, waiting until spring when asparagus would come back in season. Since asparagus has started to show up on menus again, I decided it was time to make it.</div><br><div>Robiola is not something I've seen at the corner stores, so I figured I'd have to do a little hunting for it. Fortunately, they had some at our closest cheese shop, the <a href='http://maps.google.com/places/us/ca/san-francisco/24th-st/3853/-24th-street-cheese-co'>24th Street Cheese Company</a>. They're a short walk away and have a good selection of cheeses. The Robiola turned out to be a little more expensive than I expected, but once I got it home and sampled it, I decided it was worth the price. Yes, it smells slightly of gym socks, but it's incredibly rich, creamy, and tangy.</div><br><div>Although I improvised the recipe, I did take a look at one in <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Bouluds-Cafe-Boulud-Cookbook/dp/068486343X'>Boulud's book</a>. He took asparagus risotto in a slightly different direction, inflecting it with lemon and lime juice, but I did follow his suggestion on how to cook and introduce the asparagus to the dish – peeled, blanched, and warmed in butter. My educated guess would have been to blanch them and add them to the risotto for the last 2 minutes of cooking, but you can't go wrong with butter. My changes included shortening the blanching time, because I had skinny asparagus, and cutting the stems on the bias rather than into coins to give them a fun shape. And I'm still wondering if I should have caramelized them in a hot skillet instead just reheating them in butter.</div><br><div>For the risotto itself, I used shallots and arborio, deglazed with dry vermouth, and cooked with court bouillon. I finished it with parmesan and a squeeze of lemon juice. At Emily's suggestion, I also mixed in a little of the Robiola. Then I added the reheated asparagus and plated it with a dollop of Robiola in the middle.</div><br><div>We were very happy with the results, but I think I'd add a bit more asparagus next time. We've got more Robiola, despite my snacking, so we'll be making another batch soon.</div><br>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-71265214186364428222010-02-23T12:10:00.001-08:002010-03-12T10:36:46.359-08:00Week 1: Lamb and Beans<div>Sometime last week, Emily decided that I should start cooking a new dish every weekend. Since both my to-do list and my cookbook collection have been growing way too fast, I agreed. Last weekend we had our first installment.</div><br><div>After a busy week at work, I didn't really put much effort into research. One morning I <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Post-Assorted-Colors-Dispenser-MMM6835CB/dp/B0016P6A0W'>flagged</a> a bunch of recipes in <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Symons-Live-Cook-Techniques/dp/0307453650'>Michael Symon's book</a>, and Emily followed up with a bunch in the <a href='http://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Bouluds-Cafe-Boulud-Cookbook/dp/068486343X'>Café Boulud Cookbook</a>. I flipped through her choices and settled on a "Lamb Haricots" dish from the Café Boulud book. I like lamb and beans, and Emily doesn't usually go for stewed or braised dishes, so I thought I'd give it a try.</div><br><div>I was a little uncomfortable with the recipe after I started putting it together. It seemed to call for way too much liquid: 10 cups of liquid for 1 cup of soaked, dried beans, double-sealed in pot. Yet the instructions mention the possibility of needing more liquid. Also, the vegetables were to be cut in large chunks, but there was no mention of either removing or plating them.</div><br><div>After almost two hours in the oven, I uncovered the dish, hoping to reduce the liquid a little. At about the two hour mark, I ended up pulling the lamb; it was super tender, and I didn't want it to fall apart. The beans weren't done, so I gave them another 30–45 minutes. I still wasn't happy with the beans, but the broth was good. At this point it was getting late, so I reheated the lamb in the broth and plated.</div><br><div>So I fished out some beans, strained on some of the broth, added a few chunks of lamb, and garnished with parsley. I also strained some broth on top of the lamb, but it dried out again by the time this picture was taken.</div><br><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4381350906/in/set-72157623413664679'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4381350906_9012bf86fd.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><div>In the end, the broth was really good, the beans were just short of being done to my taste, and the flavor didn't seem to penetrate the lamb very well. For leftovers I added bacon, broke up the lamb, and cooked it for another 30–45 minutes. The leftovers were decent, but the beans were still not quite right.</div><br><div>In the end, I have much better uses for lamb shoulder, so I doubt I will make this again.</div><br>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-65643063300246409192010-02-15T17:02:00.000-08:002010-02-15T23:33:30.931-08:00Valentine's Day 2010<div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4362025590/in/set-72157623318590111'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2779/4362025590_87910e2cd3.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><div>For Valentine's Day, in lieu of going out to a crowded restaurant, we like to stay in and have a fancy dinner at home. It's the one time of year when I take the time to do excessively fancy dishes that just aren't practical to do every day at home. Typically, Emily will pick out a fancy dessert that reminds me that I am not a pastry chef, and we come up with a couple of savory courses to go with it. The meal usually includes "Oysters and Pearls" from the French Laundry Cookbook and an entrée.</div><br /><div>This year I went a little overboard and spent most of the weekend cooking.</div><br /><div>On Sunday morning, I made macarons as a surprise for Emily. I used the recipe from the Bouchon Cookbook for the cookies and filled them with the chocolate/caramel buttercream from our dessert. The dough spread a little, yielding larger cookies, but I think they turned out well for a first attempt. (The buttercream was a little loose too, making them messy to eat at room temperature.)</div><br /><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4360282851/in/set-72157623318590111'><img src='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/4360282851_6fed786328.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><br /><div>As an amuse bouche, I also made a small (1-egg) batch of gougères—cheese puffs made with Comté cheese. I wasn't planning on making them, but they're pretty easy to throw together and have been on my to-do list forever. They turned out fairly well but were a little denser than I'd like. I think the dough needed a little more egg and some tweaks to the cooking time.</div><br /><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4360962809/in/set-72157623318590111'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4360962809_ebaf3c7d0e.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><br /><div>For an appetizer, we decided it was about time to try making the Salmon Cornets from the French Laundry Cookbook. They're adorable little savory "ice cream" cones filled with a red onion crème fraîche (French sour cream) and topped with salmon tartare.</div><br /><div>It's a great dish, but people on the internet reported having a lot of trouble making it. The tricky part is making the cones themselves. You bake 4" diameter disks of batter in a 400˚ oven until they are just set. Then pull the sheet pan out a little, flip over disks of molten batter, wrap them around conical molds, and finish baking then until they set. To avoid burning myself, I did most of the work with a mini offset spatula. However, I found that I needed to use my fingers to get the disk wrapped around the cone.</div><br /><div>The results were worth the effort; it was my favorite dish of the night.</div><br /><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4360962449/in/set-72157623318590111'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4360962449_494bee1ee9.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><br /><div>Next, I made our traditional Oysters and Pearls. This year it was good but not as good as previous years. The base was not thick enough, so the oysters sank in, instead of resting on top. (I had extra oysters and managed to get Emily's dish photo-ready by resting a second pair of oysters on top of the first.)</div><br /><div>The base is a mixture of pearl tapioca, a savory sabayon (foamy cooked egg yolks), crème fraîche, and whipped cream. On top are two oysters, some caviar, and a foamy beurre blanc containing butter, shallots, chives, vermouth, vinegar, and oyster juice.</div><br /><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4360962103/in/set-72157623318590111'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4360962103_faf93e535a.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><br /><div>Our main course was another dish from the French Laundry Cookbook: a butter-poached lobster with pommes Maxim (crisp sheets of potato), leeks, and beet essence. Keller likes to steep lobster in hot water for a few minutes to remove the meat and then poach it to order in beurre monté. Beurre monté is essentially a bunch of butter that has been slowly whisked into a tiny bit of water. It is slightly tricky to work with, because it will separate if it gets too hot or too cold.</div><br /><div>The pommes Maxim are thinly sliced potatoes that have been coated in clarified butter and baked into a thin, crisp sheet. The result is similar to a solid sheet of buttery potato chip, but I didn't quite get it right. The edges were rather dark but crisp, and the middle was a little leathery. It didn't crisp up right. I think I needed to dry the potato slices and back off on the butter. Nonetheless, I made extra and managed to get some decent pieces from the edge.</div><br /><div>The beet reduction was tasty: beet juice reduced to a syrup, with some beurre monté and a splash of red wine vinegar whisked in. The vinegar complemented the sweetness of the beets, and the butter added a nice richness. On top of the sauce was a mixture of leeks, tomato diamonds (Keller cuts tomatoes into little diamonds), and "brunoise"—tiny cubes of carrot, parsnip, and leek greens. The brunoise mixture appears in a lot of French Laundry dishes. This was topped with half of a tail, a claw, and a shard of potato.</div><br /><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4360961805/in/set-72157623318590111'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4360961805_19d109fcd8.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div><br /><div>Emily chose the "Vanilla Fleur de Sel, Caramel and Chocolate Dobos Torte" from Cannelle et Vanille for dessert. It's a thin sponge cake layered with vanilla fleur de sel, chocolate, and caramel buttercream, topped with milk chocolate chantilly and caramel decorations. The torte itself wasn't terribly difficult, although it did take me a few hours on Saturday to put together.</div><br /><div>Pastry is a bit outside my comfort zone, and Emily always finds something challenging for Valentine's Day. Two years ago, it was an Elizabeth Falkner recipe with a dozen components that I had to adjust for her allergies. Last year, it was a layered dessert, also from Cannelle et Vanille, with tempered white chocolate wrapped around it. </div><br /><div>The real challenge for me this time was trying to form the caramel rings. The ingredient list for that recipe reads, "sugar." The rest is technique, which I don't have. Working with molten sugar makes me nervous, because it's tricky to work with and can cause severe burns. I carefully melted sugar in a pan until it was liquid and caramelized, then shocked the pan in an ice bath to lower the temperature, trying to get the sugar to just the right consistency so I could drizzle a ring of sugar around a greased metal measuring cup. If it's too hot, it pours too quickly and comes off as you get to the bottom side. If it's too cold, it seems to pour too thickly. Finally, I tried to remove the sugar from the form without mangling or breaking it. It took a lot of tries and some reheating and cooling of the pan, but I finally got a few acceptable rings. (I also got a pan with 1/4" of rock-hard caramel in the bottom.)</div><br /><div><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/4360961371/in/set-72157623318590111'><img src='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4360961371_623a51bb4f.jpg' height='333' width='500'/></a></div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-36824929385472940372009-04-27T09:20:00.000-07:002009-05-25T20:29:19.926-07:00Rosemary and Ricotta Tart<div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/3478457765/in/set-72157603908041616/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3620/3478457765_90dcc607e2_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="109/365 ricotta tart by embem30" class="pc_img" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>This tart was inspired by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/3347310002/">a dessert we had</a> at <a href="http://www.contigosf.com/">Contigo</a> in San Francisco. I based the filling on a ricotta/pine nut tart found in Mario Batali's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Molto-Italiano-Simple-Italian-Recipes/dp/0060734922">Molto Italiano</a>, and the crust is from Michael Ruhlman's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416566112">Ratio</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you can't find a meyer lemon, use half of a normal lemon. I used <a href="http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RICOSH">Bellwether Farms sheep's milk ricotta</a>, but a cow-milk ricotta would work too.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is best made in a 9" tart pan, but a pie tin will do. If you use a pie tin, the filling will come up halfway. After it is done baking, carefully trim the crust to be level with the filling. If you're feeling particularly lazy, you could use a store-bought pie or tart crust.</div><div><div><br /></div><div style="margin-left:20px"><div><b>Crust</b></div><div>9 oz All purpose flour (a scant 2 cups)</div><div>6 oz butter (1 1/2 sticks)</div><div>2 tbsp sugar</div><div>2-3 oz cold water (1/4 cup plus 1-2 tbsp)</div><div>pinch of salt</div><div>pie weights (1/2 lb dry beans)</div><div style="margin-top:5px"><b>Filling</b></div><div>1-2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped</div><div>8 oz ricotta cheese</div><div>1/4 cup of honey</div><div>1 small meyer lemon, or half a lemon</div><div>2 eggs</div><div>pinch of salt</div><div><br /></div></div><div><i>Make the crust: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Mix the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Cut up the cold butter into chunks and work into flour and sugar, until you have pea-sized chunks. Try to use a squeezing rather than a rubbing action, so you don't heat up the butter too much. Add 2-3 oz cold water and mix to combine. I used almost 3 oz, but the dough was a little to sticky.</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Form into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Roll and blind bake the crust:</i> Flour your counter and rolling pin, and roll out the dough until it's about as thick as pie crust. To get it onto the tart pan, roll it onto your rolling pin and then unroll it over the pan. Trim the dough, leaving a little bit of overlap around the edges to account for shrinkage.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cover with the dough with tin foil and add the pie weights. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375°F. Remove the tin foil and weights.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Assemble the tart: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Meanwhile, mix all of the filling ingredients together - I used a tsp or two of finely chopped fresh rosemary. Add both the juice and the zest of the lemon. Taste it and adjust with salt, honey, and lemon juice if necessary. There should be a subtle sweetness.</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Pour the mix into the tart shell and bake for 30-35 minutes. The crust should be golden brown. Allow to cool on a rack, then trim the crust to be level with the filling. (Emily saved the extra bits of crust for her morning tea the next day.) Cut into slices and serve with a drizzle of honey.</div><div><br /></div><div>This can be served at any temperature, but I think it'd be best served warm with a quenelle of ice cream or crème fraîche.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><b>Update:</b> This didn't set up the second time I made this, not sure why. I'll update this post if I figure out the issue.</div><div><br /></div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-10146701303678829902009-02-16T17:56:00.000-08:002009-02-18T10:07:24.307-08:00Valentines Day Dinner<span class="photo_container pc_m">We celebrated Valentines day at home this year, and I had a lot of fun putting together a special dinner for it. It helped that the 14th fell on a Saturday, giving me a nice, leisurely day at home to put dinner together.<br /><br /></span><br /><span class="photo_container pc_m"><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/3285740292/in/set-72157613513085976/" title="oysters & pearls by embem30"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/3285740292_a5770a9cda_m.jpg" alt="oysters & pearls by embem30" class="pc_img" width="240" height="160" /></a></span><br /><div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Oysters and Pearls</span></div> <span style="font-style: italic;">Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Malpeque Oysters and Osetra Caviar</span><br /><br /><span class="photo_container pc_m">For a starter, I made Oysters and Pearls again - it's a great dish and the oysters and caviar seemed appropriate for Valentines day. </span>We made this dish last year for Valentines day and once last October. It's a great dish and most of the work can be done ahead. (At serving time, you bake it in the oven briefly and make a beurre blanc.) We also enjoy having the leftover caviar, crème frâiche and chives on crackers as a snack.<span class="photo_container pc_m"><br /></span><br /><br /><span class="photo_container pc_m"><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/3285738622/in/set-72157613513085976/" title="black sea bass by embem30"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3623/3285738622_9d8434aca7_m.jpg" alt="black sea bass by embem30" class="pc_img" width="240" height="160" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Black Sea Bass with Sweet Parsnips, Arrowleaf Spinach, and Saffron-Vanilla Sauce</span><br /><span class="photo_container pc_m"><br />The main course took us a little longer to narrow down. We wanted something light, since the Oysters and Pearls is rather rich. We eventually settled on this dish from the French Laundry cookbook. </span>It turned out really well, and we'll definitely be making it again. There are a lot of different flavors in this dish that play off each other really well.<br /><br />The sauce is a saffron/vanilla infused mussel broth, finished with a little cream and butter. On top of that is a parsnip purée. The purée is topped with a ball of spinach, and finally there is a a fillet of black sea bass. There is a more detailed description of the construction of this dish <a href="http://carolcookskeller.blogspot.com/2007/12/black-sea-bass-with-sweet-parsnips.html">on Carol Blymire's blog</a>.<br /><br /><br /><span class="photo_container pc_m"><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/3284919833/in/set-72157613513085976/" title="38/365 valentine's dessert by embem30"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/3284919833_c746a506dd_m.jpg" alt="38/365 valentine's dessert by embem30" class="pc_img" width="160" height="240" /></a><br /></span><span class="photo_container pc_m"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Coconut, Meyer Lemon, and White Chocolate</span></span><br /><span class="photo_container pc_m"><br /></span><span class="photo_container pc_m">For dessert, Emily suggested a dish that she found on</span><span class="photo_container pc_m"> <a href="http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2009/01/coconut-meyer-lemons-and-white.html">Cannelle et Vanille</a>, a food blog. It consists of alternating layers of a coconut cake and meyer lemon custard, surrounded with white chocolate and topped with some fruit. </span><span class="photo_container pc_m">I was a little hesitant about the dessert at first because it called for tempering white chocolate and wrapping it around the dessert, and pastry work is a little outside my comfort zone. </span><span class="photo_container pc_m">The chocolate ended up nice and crisp, so I think I pulled off the tempering correctly.<br /><br /><br /></span>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-41730114286774119182009-01-25T19:00:00.000-08:002009-01-25T23:44:57.783-08:00Venison Loin with Potato and Celery Root Gratin<span class="photo_container pc_m"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/3225257707/in/set-72157594297988394/" title="venison loin by embem30"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3225257707_7208ed8850_m.jpg" alt="venison loin by embem30" class="pc_img" height="160" width="240" /></a></span><br />So, there is <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-at-home/pan-roasted-venison-with-creamy-baked-potato-and-celeriac-recipe/index.html">this venison dish</a> that I'd been meaning to make ever since we saw the "Furred Game" episode of "Jamie at Home," but I never got around to it.<br /><br />This Saturday we went to Ferry Building to see if we could find some venison loin (aka backstrap). Golden Gate Meats did have it, but it was not cheap (very not cheap). We bought it anyway. While we were there, we also picked up some <a href="http://www.ranchogordo.com/">Rancho Gordo</a> beans and some <a href="http://www.boccalone.com/">Boccalone</a> guanciale and prosciutto cotto.<br /><br />I ended buying 1.5lb of venison loin. I cut it in half and saved one piece for another meal. I oiled the remaining piece and crusted it with a mixture of rosemary (obtained from a nearby bush), juniper berries (from the store), salt, and pepper. Then I seared it and roasted it for about 10 minutes, turning once. For the sauce, I deglazed with a little red wine, reduced it, and mounted with butter.<br /><br />The side was a gratin of potatoes and celery root, cut into thick disks, par-boiled, and baked with sage, cream, and parmesan. I then topped it with more parmesan and browned the top.<br /><br />The dish turned out really well, it was worth the expense. The meat was perfectly done all the way through, and the flavor of the crust nicely complimented the flavor of the meat. I thought the sauce had some bitter notes (I got some singed garlic in there), but Emily said it was fine.<br /><br />The gratin was also tasty, but I think the sauce could be refined a little - it tasted too much like cream for my tastes. At the very least it could use a little nutmeg, possibly a second cheese, and maybe a dash of wasabi or curry powder. (Compare Keller's cauliflower gratin.)<br /><br />We frequently make venison burgers, but this was the first time I've eaten a venison steak since I was very young. It was also the first time I've worked with juniper berries - they have an interesting flavor that seems to go well with the rosemary. I look forward to using them in the future.Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-60112165574844645302008-08-31T08:08:00.000-07:002008-09-04T13:29:55.167-07:00Our Wedding<a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2811003635/in/set-72157606997579256/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3288/2811003635_0273276a9d.jpg" width="400px"/></a><br /><br />So much has happened since my last post that I don't really know where to start. Generally I'm inspired by Emily's photographs, but in the last couple of weeks she's taken about five thousand of them - this is going to take a couple of blog entries.<br /><br />First things first - we're now married. We had a lovely wedding, which went perfectly. I was expecting something to go wrong - they say it always does - but it was great. People had fun, the setting was beautiful, and our dance worked out well.<br /><br />Emily will go into better detail on <a href="http://embem30.livejournal.com/">her blog</a>, but here is my summary:<br /><br />We had an intimate wedding at the <a href="http://www.jdvhotels.com/acqua/">Acqua Hotel</a> in Mill Valley, about 40 people were able to attend. The wedding was outdoors, on a lovely little lake with the mountains in the background.<br /><br />The rehearsal dinner was down the street at <a href="http://www.buckeyeroadhouse.com/">Buckeye Roadhouse</a> - a place that we happened across a few years ago after hiking in the Marin Headlands, which turned out to be in the list of top 100 bay area restaurants. They did an excellent job, details to follow.<br /><br />It was a little cool out, but the guys didn't notice in their tuxes. After the ceremony, there was a cocktail hour, which started a little earlier than planned. During that time, Emily and I had photographs taken. After the cocktail hour, we had a sit-down dinner catered by <a href="http://www.piazzadangelo.com/">Piazza D'Angelo</a> in Mill Valley.<br /><br /><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2810959677/in/set-72157606997579256/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2810959677_1e5030090b.jpg" width="400px"/></a><br /><br />After a bit of mingling, we had our first dance, a foxtrot choreographed by Alyson - the part of the wedding I was most nervous about. It went really well, despite a couple of missteps on my part and Emily having the extra difficulty of dancing in a wedding dress. Learning the dance was a lot of fun. Alyson did a really good job teaching us the dance and designing a beautiful and cute dance that matched our skill level. (I got the easy part.)<br /><br />The cake was beautiful. Emily had gotten a spiced "Carrot Cake" from the <a href="http://www.shanniecakes.com/">Shannie Cakes</a>. She did the cake tasting with Alyson, so I hadn't tasted it before the wedding. When we did the cake cutting, I decided that the cake was really good and we should do a second take. I'm sure the photographers appreciated it.<br /><br />There were a lot of people who were unable to make it - travel has gotten expensive and budgets have gotten tight - but the size was really nice. We were able to spend a lot of time with each guest, eat our entire meal, and have a fun, relaxing time. We hope to have a reception in Michigan around the holidays to catch up with some of the people who couldn't make it.<br /><br />After the wedding we spent the night at the Acqua Hotel, got up the next morning and got ready for our honeymoon on the big island of Hawaii.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">to be continued...</span>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-78303980941319177822008-06-15T22:18:00.000-07:002008-06-24T19:11:43.329-07:00Got my Goat<a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2583225750/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3170/2583225750_814cacb484_m.jpg" alt="and by lamb, i mean goat" class="pc_img" height="160" width="240" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Confit of Goat Ribs with Ratatouille</span></span></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>So I finally got around to making the "<a href="http://recipes.mt.bravotv.com/top_chef/season_3/episode_14/colorado_rack_of_lamb.php">Colorado Rack of Lamb</a>" dish from the third season of Top Chef. I saved the recipe back in October, with the intention of making it. I quickly made the olive oil poached tomatoes <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/1806196528">with a roast chicken</a>, but didn't get around to making the whole dish.<br /><br />Last April, when Rich was visiting, I bought a half rack of goat to use for this dish and then realized that it was a summer dish (summer squash, tomatoes, etc.) - it has been sitting in my freezer since. In the last few weeks, I'd been looking for the "white anchovies" called for by the recipe with no luck.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>By now I'd been almost regretting this - I'd put it off enough that expectations were raised so high it was bound to disappoint. Still, I picked up some zucchini and eggplant at the farmer's market on Thursday and started thawing the ribs. Saturday morning, I got some heirloom cherry tomatoes, and a spherical yellow summer squash that I can't identify.<br /><br />That night, I put the herb rub on the ribs and decided that they needed to be trimmed. They weren't quite frenched the way I wanted. I tied them and put the rub on and left them in the fridge overnight. I was a little burned out, so I decide to make the sauce Sunday morning (the recipe specifies that it sit overnight).<br /><br />For the sauce, I used some anchovies that I cured a few weeks ago. I had picked up some fresh anchovies from a farmer's market when I was returning from picking up our marriage license and cured them that night per the instructions in the Zuni Cookbook.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sunday night, I put everything together. I brought the duck fat, the rub from the ribs, and some of the sauce to a simmer in the smallest pan that would fit the ribs, seared the ribs, and put them in the fat and turned off the heat. They finished cooking while the fat cooled down kinda like cooking sous vide without the bag. After 25 minutes the oil was down to 135 degrees, and the ribs were perfect. Meanwhile I made the eggplant sauce and cut up the squash.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the end, the dish was very good, although it took a bit of duck fat to make. I may make the dish again someday, if I've got enough duck fat on hand. I do reuse the fat from my confit, so I may have it at some point in the future. (I wouldn't reuse the fat from this dish, too much random stuff in it.) Otherwise, I'll definitely reuse some of the components.</div><div><br /></div><div> The Sauce Vert was tasty and would make a very good dipping sauce for bread - if I dial back on the garlic a little.</div><div><br /></div><div>The eggplant sauce would also be good paired with the right dish. I'll have to figure out what to pair it with. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-25984034969665652022008-04-29T22:56:00.000-07:002008-05-07T23:00:35.616-07:00wagyu fajitas<a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2453840036/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3291/2453840036_0a75faaaaa_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="wagyu fajitas" class="pc_img" /></a><div><br /></div><div>So now we've finally got a picture of the fajitas, one of our regular dishes. I saw the wagyu skirt steak at the grocery store and decided to make some fajitas with it. The marinade I use is lime juice, soy sauce, chili powder, rice wine, and a bit of sugar. I roast and slice poblanos, slice some onions, then use a stir fry method to make the fajitas. It's not entirely traditional, but it works.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-6384511281998033882008-04-14T20:51:00.000-07:002008-04-17T22:13:22.217-07:00The Usual Suspects<div>I was looking through Emily's flickr images and thought I'd throw together an overview of the dishes that are currently in our regular rotation.</div><div><br /><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2330902009/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2330902009_f4f6ab8380_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="carbonara 1" class="pc_img" /></a></div><div><small><em>Fusilli Carbonara</em></small></div><div><br /></div><div>Our Fusilli Carbonara comes from the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Italian-Easy-Recipes-London-River/dp/140005348X">Italian Easy</a>. Their recipe substitutes fusilli for the traditional spaghetti and prosciutto for the traditional guanciale or pancetta. The smaller pasta is easier to eat and the sauce sticks to it nicely. Recently, we've been using <a href="http://www.boccalone.com/">Boccalone</a> pancetta in lieu of the prosciutto.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2204280154/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2088/2204280154_f0249a6c3f_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="chile verde" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><em><small>Chile Verde</small></em><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We usually serve Chile Verde when we have company, especially for mexican-themed holidays. It's a pork chili with tomatillos and roasted poblanos. It started as my attempt to reproduce a dish from a mexican restaurant in Vegas. I've posted a version of the recipe is <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/179504">posted on recipezaar</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/1175160007/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1046/1175160007_844a0df9e4_m.jpg" width="240" height="177" alt="roulade" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><em><small>Chicken Roulade</small></em></div><div><br /></div><div>The chicken roulade is a <a href="http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/stuffed-chicken-risotto-recipe_p_1.html">Gordon Ramsay recipe</a> that I adapted to our tastes. It is a boned out chicken leg and thigh wrapped with prosciutto and stuffed with sausage, currants, and shallots. I serve it with a cheesy risotto. It's a regular dish, but I'm still tweaking the sauce.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/441545990/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/441545990_13978c4d46_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Onglet à la bordelaise (avec pommes frites!)" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><em><small>Onglet Bordelaise</small></em><br /></div><br /><div>Steak Frites is another regular at our house. We make it almost weekly. The recipe is loosely based on the steak frites in the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bouchon-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579652395">Bouchon</a>. My changes are to make the sauce <em>à la minute,</em> scale back on the butter a little, and add some more shallots. I like to use onglet for this, but occasionally use skirt steak. (The original called for bavette.)<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/522791689/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/522791689_e771c28872_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="sea of sushi" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><em><small>Sushi</small></em></div><div><br /></div><div>We have sushi at home once a week. Typically it's salmon rolls and sashimi, california rolls, and oysters. I'm still looking for a good source for sushi quality hamachi nearby.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/220097101/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/87/220097101_59dd8d8fe5_m.jpg" /></a></div><div><em><small>Pizza Margherita</small></em></div><div><br /></div><div>We usually have pizza margherita for lunch on the weekends. We have a couple of basil plants that we harvest and use a <a href="http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MOZZ">local buffalo milk mozzarella</a>. It's much better in the summer, when the tomatoes are in season, but I have a source for local hot-house tomatoes in the off season. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunham/2422755334/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3088/2422755334_38ae174693_m.jpg" width="240" height="185" alt="Rigatoni with Sausage" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; ">Rigatoni con Salsiccia</span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A few years ago, I found the recipe for rigatoni with sausage in Tastes of Italia magazine, and it's been in our regular rotation since. The rigatoni is served with arugula and a simple sauce of tomatoes, garlic, sausage, and balsamic vinegar. (I don't have an Emily photo of this, so I included an old one that I took in Vegas.)</div><div><br /></div><div><em><small>Steak Fajitas</small></em></div><div><br /></div><div>Steak Fajitas is another regular dish, but we don't have photos of it. I typically use skirt steak, marinated with lime, soy, chili powder, and some sake or sugar water. I stir fry it with onions, roasted poblanos, and serve with tortillas, black beans, and crema.</div><div><br /></div><div><em><small>Pumpkin Penne</small></em></div><div><br /></div><div>The pumpkin penne recipe originally came <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_17240,00.html">from Rachael Ray</a>. It's penne served with a sausage and pumpkin sauce. We've had bad luck with Rachael's recipes in the past, but we like this one.</div><div><br /></div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-25819588583339873502008-04-09T22:05:00.000-07:002008-04-10T08:42:37.098-07:00Lemongrass Sea Bass<div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2375146211/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2416/2375146211_fd9402415b_m.jpg" width="240" height="154" alt="sauteed bass with lemongrass" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A couple of weeks ago I made <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sauteed-bass-with-lemongrass">a Joël Robuchon recipe</a> that I've had on my to-do list for well over a year. The recipe originally caught my attention because of the amount of lemongrass involved. I halved the recipe, so about 5 stalks went into it. </div><div><br /></div><div>I sautéed striped bass in lemongrass oil and served it with a lemongrass cream sauce, roasted tomatoes, blanched green garlic, and fried, julienned leeks. (I substituted green garlic for scallions because I had some on hand.)</div><div><br /></div><div>It turned out well, we'll definitely make it again. The sauce was very good, the lemongrass came through nicely. I also liked this method for cooking tomatoes, quartered and baked with some olive oil and herbs. They were sweet and had a nice, concentrated tomato flavor. I made them again the next day to serve with a roasted game hen and potatoes.</div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-36310361418351183002008-04-08T22:18:00.000-07:002008-04-08T23:12:11.416-07:00Bacon-wrapped Salmon<div>On monday we had bacon-wrapped salmon. We used a <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=ddc421129a0f8110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=salmon%20bacon&rsc=header_2">recipe</a> that Chef Daniel Boulud presented on an episode of Martha Stewart's show. It was accompanied with a red wine sauce and celeriac purée.<br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2399114687/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2344/2399114687_3e9139d709_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="raw ingredients" class="pc_img" /></a><div><br /></div><div>The celeriac was cooked in milk with some thyme and garlic and mashed with some of the cooking liquid and some browned butter. It turned out well, although I might up the butter a little bit. (Or at least add some more milk solids to the butter before browning it.) I left out the salsify because I couldn't find any. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2399115161/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/2399115161_3674dd87eb_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="fish in the skillet" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I considered not making the red wine sauce. I wasn't sure how well it'd go with the salmon, but Emily suggested I give the recipe a try as-is. It worked out well, although I wish I had reduced it bit more and left the shallots in the sauce. (I didn't read the recipe carefully enough and strained them out.) It's somewhat hard to see the sauce in the photo - I think it would have photographed better on a white plate, but my corelware plates don't have the thermal mass to keep the fish warm. (We put some nicer plates on our wedding registry.)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2399948244/in/set-72157594297988394/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/2399948244_ccc9be321c_m.jpg" width="240" height="166" alt="salmon with celery root puree" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Because the bacon was doubled on one side of the fish, the inside layer didn't crisp up to my liking, and I think the thickness kept the salmon from browning on the end. I will make sure the doubled bacon is not on the presentation side next time.</div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-35922973830966244632008-02-17T14:36:00.000-08:002008-02-17T22:25:49.230-08:00Valentines DayThis year we decided to stay in and have a nice meal at home for valentine's day. About a month in advance Emily went through Elizabeth Falkner's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Falkners-Demolition-Desserts-Recipes/dp/1580087817">Demolition Desserts</a> and picked out a dessert for our special meal. And of course she chose what had to be the most complex dish in the book, the Battleship Potemkin. (The instructions run four pages and reference recipes on three other pages of the book.)<div><br /></div><div>It took a few more weeks to get the other courses out of her. She wanted oysters because seafood seemed right for valentine's day - she had fond memories of last year's meal at Fresca. Since we have oysters weekly with our sushi, I decided to make it a little extra special and prepare Keller's "Oysters and Pearls" recipe. And for the main course she asked for steak. I planned on doing my typical beef tenderloin. (Poached briefly in wine, then seared.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Then about a week ahead, I realized there was almond flour in the cake. After a little research,I decided to substitute desiccated coconut and a bit of all purpose flour for the almond flour. On the Sunday before, I got the flu and was fairly miserable for a few days. I did manage to prepare the Cocoa Nib Streusel that Sunday. Fortunately, I was well enough on wednesday to start my prep. I got supplies at the Ferry Building and Sun Fat, then I made sushi for dinner, without oysters, and I made the base for the Oysters and Pearls: tapioca cooked in milk and cream with some whipped cream, crème fraîche, and sabayon stirred in. I also made the ganache, chocolate shortbread cookies, truffles, strawberry sauce, and chocolate ice cream that night. And then I was quite tired. :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Thursday morning, Emily surprised me with some scones that she had made the day before. They were quite tasty. After work, I went with Dan to fetch the meat and found that they were out of tenderloin at Drewes Bros - which we were both planning on cooking. They did have the short bit of roast from the small end of the tenderloin. I told Dan to get that, wrap it in herbs and prosciutto, and roast it. I got a cowboy steak for Emily and me. (I've done the tenderloin dish before - Drewes often sells the small end of the tenderloin for quite a bit less than the middle, and it works well.)</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2045/2271265895_04862f3dae_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="oysters & pearls" class="pc_img" /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Above is the "Oysters and Pearls" - I used American Paddlefish roe, which was the cheapest but still cost me $35 for an ounce. (We didn't use all of it, I could easily have served 4-5 people from that jar.) It was my first time making a sabayon sauce and beurre blanc. I'm not sure if I'd whipped cream by hand before. We're definitely going to do this again, although I will want to make smaller portions.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2271265465_c6aecd09bc_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="steak & potatoes" class="pc_img" /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the cowboy steak - essentially a bone-in rib steak. I sliced it into 1/2" slices and fanned them out, making it easier to serve on a shared plate. To accompany it, we had pan-roasted potatoes and my usual green beans. (Blanch, sautée with shallots, and finish with salt and a splash of rice wine vinegar.)</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2215/2270609510_0d40542200_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="warm white chocolate cake" class="pc_img" /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And here is the dessert that I slaved over. Emily isn't a fan of raspberries, so I used strawberries and strawberry sauce instead. I substituted desiccated coconut for the almond flour in the cake, and used the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bouchon-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579652395">Bouchon cookbook</a> recipe for the chocolate ice cream (I wanted leftovers). I got a bit of cocoa powder on the plate (behind the cake) so I sprinkled a bit on the rest of the plate.</div><div><br /></div><div>I used the leftover ice cream, sauce, and streusel for my birthday party the following day.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was hard work, but it was tasty and a good learning experience. The cocoa nib streusel went over really well. Emily was eating small bowls of it before valentines day, everybody who sampled it loved it. I even sent some home with Rob and Traci after they tried it at my birthday party.</div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-57687271817605620202008-02-09T18:58:00.000-08:002008-02-11T09:03:12.293-08:00Morelity tale<div> </div><div><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/embem30/2256833304/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2099/2256833304_f09f75a9bf_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="chicken dish" class="pc_img" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Emily was off working Saturday, so I decided to use some of the dried morels that I've had in my pantry for way too long. They were foraged and dried by my Grandfather, who lives in Northern Michigan. I had put off using them because of Emily's allergies.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>I mostly followed <a href="http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/roast-chicken-morel-sauce-recipe_p_1.html">a Gordon Ramsay recipe</a> for pan-roasted chicken with potatoes, asparagus, and a morel velouté. I left out the thyme, because I forgot to pick it up at the store, used dried morels in lieu of fresh, and left out the pancetta, because I'm saving it for carbonara with Emily. (In retrospect, there is a wee bit of guanciale in the freezer that I could have used.) Also I used two cubes of homemade chicken demi-glace in lieu of chicken broth.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>The result was probably one of the best sauces I've made to date. I have a handful of morels left and definitely will try it again. And the pan-roasting technique is a nice way to get a roasted chicken without making a whole bird.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1289148773632924339.post-26160356521214894842008-02-07T14:09:00.000-08:002008-02-10T23:21:08.074-08:00Buta no Kakuni<div> </div><div><span class="photo_container pc_m"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/embem30/2246158498/" title="pork belly 2"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2073/2246158498_fb2c98baf4_m.jpg" alt="pork belly 2" class="pc_img" height="160" width="240" /></a></span><br /><br />The year of the pig is over, and we gave it a proper send-off with Morimoto's recipe for Buta no Kakuni - slowly braised pork belly. Actually assembling the dish was a bit of an adventure - I was missing two ingredients: burdock root (used as a garnish) and conpoy (dried scallops, 江瑤柱). </div><div><br /></div><div>I started it on Saturday, braising the pork belly for 7 hours in water and brown rice. On Sunday, I started soaking the rice in a homemade scallion oil.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>On Monday, I walked through Chinatown looking for conpoy. I found one place, but they only had a 1lb bag for $39 - I didn't want that much and thought they were taking advantage of me, so I passed it up. When I got back to work, I looked it up and found that it was a reasonable price.<br /><br />I'd planned on finding a place off of Grant street on Tuesday, to buy bulk conpoy. But on the way back from dropping Emily off at her show, I found a place in the Richmond that sold conpoy.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The dish was tasty, but night quite what I expected. I think after three days in the making, my expectations were pretty high, and I was a little rushed because I wanted to feed Emily at a somewhat reasonable hour. In retrospect I would have liked the congee to be a little more watery and a little more broken down, like Carmen's jook. The sauce should have been a bit thicker (more reduced). And I would have liked the meat to be a bit more tender. Next time I'll use lower temperature, a bit less brown rice, and reduce the sauce a bit more.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Steve Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09370344207780558559noreply@blogger.com0