Sunday, May 31

Kohlrabi Dumplings

The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash
Cookbook 23, Recipe 1 (Total 48)

We purchased Kohlrabi at the Farmers Market yesterday and I chose this recipe to use them up.

Did I like it? It was delicious! They were light and flavorful. However, they were a bit o' work...

Recipe:
Boil 12oz of Kohlrabi bulbs in water for 30 minutes, followed by .4 oz of the leaves for 5 minutes. Peel bulbs and place in a food processor with the leaves and 1/2 cup of ricotta - Puree. Place mixture in a pan over low heat.

In a pan bring to a boil 1 cup water with 6T butter. Take off the heat and beat in 3/4 cup flour. Place back on medium heat and cook, stiring constantly, for about five more minutes - until the mixture films the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and add 3 eggs - one at a time. Beat in Kohlrabi mixture along with 3/4 cup grated parmesan.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop in Kohlrabi mixture with a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop. Simmer for 15 minutes. Plunge in to ice water and let sit in the water until they sink to the bottom. Remove from ice water and drain on a towel for 10 minutes.

Place dumplings in a buttered pan, brush with butter, sprinkle with parmesan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Well... As I was typing this recipe in I realized that while I halved the kohlrabi mixture, I did not halve the pate a choux mixture - oops. It turned out great and I'm not sure it would have been as delicate if I had made it correctly.

Lettuce and Lovage Soup

The Herbfarm Cookbook 200 Herb-Inspired Recipes, Plus a Complete Guide to Growing, Handling, and Cooking with Fresh Herbs by Jerry Traunfeld
Cookbook 22, Recipe 2 (Total 47)

This was a surprisingly light soup. I thought the soup would be a bit on the slimy side - it wasn't at all. I've wondered about lettuce soup for a long time. It's one of those recips that appears in old cookbooks as well.

Did I like it? Yes - It should have been accompanied by little cucumber sandwiches and a glass of champagne.

Recipe: In a large pot melt 4T butter, add 1 large chopped leek and 1 chopped garlic clove - cook until leeks are soft. Add 4 cups of homemade chicken stock and 1 tsp salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1 head of lettuce (recipe calls for Romaine - I used a large head of bibb from the Farmers Market). Simmer for 5 minutes. Add 2T chopped lovage and puree. Add salt/pepper to taste. Garnish with chive blossoms.

Saturday, May 30

Tarragon and Chive Ravioli

The Herbfarm Cookbook 200 Herb-Inspired Recipes, Plus a Complete Guide to Growing, Handling, and Cooking with Fresh Herbs by Jerry Traunfeld
Cookbook 22, Recipe 1 (Total 46)

While in Seattle last Fall I would have loved to eat at The Herbfarm Restaurant. The cost was around $300 per person so we passed the opportunity by. I picked this recipe out in January and have been waiting for my chives to burst out of the ground.

Did I like it? On the scale of ravioli I've eaten in restaurants, it's up there at the top. On the scale of ravioli I've made at home it's solidly in the middle of the pack. It has a nice flavor but I just love squash ravioli with sage butter.

I did not make the pasta recipe from this cookbook. I always use the recipe from The Il Fornaio Pasta Book by Maurizio Mazzon. It works every time so I don't mess around with any others.

Recipe:
Pasta: On your counter place 1 1/4 cups flour. Create a big well in the middle - you should have circle of bare counter top about 4 inches across - surrounded by a levy of flour. Into this circle add 2 eggs, 1 tsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp sea salt. Using a fork beat the eggs together and gradually add flour from the edges until you have a cohesive dough. Knead until smooth and not sticky - about three minutes. Let set covered on your counter for 30 minutes. Divide in half. Roll out 1/2 to the second to last setting on your pasta roller.

Filling: Mix together: 1 cup ricotta, 1 egg, 3 T chopped tarragon, 1/4 cup chopped chives, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup grated parmesan.

Fill your ravioli's and boil for about three minutes.

Melt 3T butter and add 2T chopped parsley, 1T chopped chives and 1 T chopped tarragon. Pour over cooked ravioli and garnish with chive blossoms.

Monday, May 25

Rhubarb Crumble Cake

Beyond Nose to Tail More Omnivorous Recipes for the Adventurous Cook, by Fergus Henderson & Justin Piers Gellatly
Cookbook 21, Recipe 2, (Total 45)

I have rhubarb to use up in the garden and I like cake. Since I gave you a scale for Christmas I decided not to translate the grams.

Did I like it? It was ok. The flavor was good but the cake a little tough. 1.5 hour baking time for an eight inch cake is just too long.

Recipe:
Rhubarb: Add 1.5 cups chopped rhubarb to the grated zest of one orange, 50g white sugar and 50g brown sugar. Set aside while you make the other two cake sections.

Crumble: Cut 95g butter into 125g flour, add 60g of brown sugar, 30g silvered almonds, 30g slivered ground almonds (crush slivered in a mortar), and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Cake: Beat 125g butter with 125g white sugar until fluffy. Add 3 eggs one at a time. Add 160g flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and a pinch of salt alternately with 50ml milk.

Assemble: In an 8x3 pan place the cake mixture on the bottom, cover with rhubarb mixture, followed by the crumble. Bake at 350 for 1.5 hours.

Saturday, May 23

Confit Pig's Cheek and Dandelion

Beyond Nose to Tail More Omnivorous Recipes for the Adventurous Cook, by Fergus Henderson & Justin Piers Gellatly
Cookbook 21, Recipe 1, (Total 44)

I've been meaning to cook from the nose to tail cookbooks for a while. Pa gave me both of them and I thought pigs cheeks, aka pork cutlets, sounded less scary than their feet.

Did I like it? Absolutely, it was delicious. The recipe itself is pretty basic but involves much more lenghtly cooking times than I'm used to.

Recipe:
First - render duck fat from previous weeks trimmed duck skin to equal about 1.5 cups. Take duck skin - chop it up with a little water - place on lowest heat for 1 hour. Strain and cool over night.

Second - find a farmer willing to let you purchase pig cheeks. Try to find one who will sell you a smaller quantity than 5 lbs! I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of mine...

Third - Completely cover 4 pig cheeks with duck fat and bake at 340 for 3 hours. Cool completely in fat over night (in my case for two days.) You want to make sure the cheeks are completely covered - I used my small ikea 5x5 pan.

Fourth - Remove pig cheeks from fat and place each on a piece of bread - cook at 350 for 1.5 hours. Also cover 12 peeled cloves of garlic and 12 small sections of shallots with duck fat and bake along side cheeks for the first 45 minutes. Move garlic and shallots to a mixing bowl.

Fifth - To the garlic and shallots add 1Tsp of capers, 1 bunch of chopped parsley, and one bunch of dandelion leaves from your (non-chem-lawn) yard.

Sixth - Make a vinaigrette with 2 tsp Dijon mustard, 150ml olive oil, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of lime (i didn't have a lemon) and a pinch of salt.

Seventh - When the pig cheese are crispy - chop the them and the bread into hunks and add to the greens mixture. Dress with about about a 1/2 cup vinaigrette.

Serve on the lawn.

Tuesday, May 12

Duck a la Mode

The Successful Housekeeper Manual of Universal Application, Especially Adapted to the Every Day Wants of American Housewives; Embracing Several Thousand Thoroughly Tested and Approved Recipes, Care and Culture of Children, Birds and House Plans; Flower and Window Gardening etc,; With Many Valuable hints on Home Decoration by M.W. Wllsworth & F. B. Dickerson 1882
Cookbook 20, Recipe 2, (Total 43)

I chose two duck recipes in order to use up the duck I purchased at the farmers market.

Did I like it?
Absolutely, it was delicious. I was surprised at how well the port fit this dish. The duck completely overpowers any sense of the ports sweetness. I'm now looking forward to a couple of days without meat. These two dishes were excellent and Sunday's was pretty good - three dinners in a row with meat and I'm ready for a week off.

(Soon I will have hot bread from the oven - I made bread today from yesterday's boiled potato water! YUM)

Original Recipe: Take a couple of ducks, divide them into quarters and lay them in a stewpan with a sprinkling of flour, pepper and salt. Put a large lump of butter divided into pieces at the bottom of the stewpan and fry the ducks until they are a nice light-brown color. Remove the frying-pan and put in half a pint of gravy and a glass of port; sprinkle more flour and add a bunch of sweet herbs, two or three shallots minced fine, an anchovy, and a little Cayenne when the ducks have stewed in the gravy till tender, put them on a dish, take out the herbs, clear off any fat, and serve with the sauce thrown over them.

My interpretation:
Take half a duck and cut the wing and drumstick off. Split the remaining portion in half length wise (this enables you to keep the breast in one piece). Place duck pieces in a pan with 1T butter, add 2 large pinches of kosher salt, 2 small pinches of pepper and sprinkle 2T of flour over the meat. Turn heat to medium and cook until nice and brown. Remove from pan and drain fat into a small jar. Return meat to pan and add 1 cup of gravy (made from stock created from last nights leftover bones and the neck and giblets), 1 cup of stock, 1/3 cup port, 1 minced anchovy and 2 chopped shallots. Bring to a boil and add a large amount of parsley and thyme tied together. Simmer over medium low heat for 35-40 minutes until the breast meat reaches 160 degrees. Thicken sauce if needed and serve with mashed potatoes.

Monday, May 11

Fricasseed Duck

The Successful Housekeeper Manual of Universal Application, Especially Adapted to the Every Day Wants of American Housewives; Embracing Several Thousand Thoroughly Tested and Approved Recipes, Care and Culture of Children, Birds and House Plans; Flower and Window Gardening etc,; With Many Valuable hints on Home Decoration by M.W. Wllsworth & F. B. Dickerson 1882

While I was employed by the Minnesota Historical Society I started reading through the entire cookbook collection there - I believe I made it through about 250 before I left. This was my favorite old cookbook. I wrote down the name but became convinced I would never find it for a reasonable price. I consistently found it for $75 - eventually I found it for $30 and snatched it up.

I found duck for sale at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Unfortunately he had run out but promised to butcher us one if we came back on Sunday - which we did.

I will first type the recipe as it is in the book - followed by my interpretation. I decided to cut the duck in half and cook two separate recipes with it.

Did I like it? Yes - I would describe it as simple, homey and plain old good food.

Original Recipe: Most people think a duck must be roasted, but try this once instead: Cut a mallard or red duck into four quarters; chop an onion fine, and put all into a pot; cover with water, and add more as it boils away. Stir a little celery seed, or celery chopped up fine, three or four strips of salt pork, and when nearly done add a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Build a mound of mashed potatoes around your dish and carefully lay the contents of the fricassee in the center. Season with salt and pepper. This makes a juicy and Delicious dish.

My Interpretation: Cut a duck in half. Reserve one half for another recipe. Cut the remaining duck in half again. Place in a sauce pan with 1 chopped onion and cover with water. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 25 minutes. Add 2 ribs of chopped celery, 1/4 tsp celery seed, and 2 strips of bacon chopped and two pinches of kosher salt. Lightly boil for 20 more minutes. Remove duck and strain the liquid in to a large bowl - skim off as much fat as you can. Return everything but the reserved fat back into the pan and add 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

Meanwhile boil up as many potatoes as you would like. Mash and form into a mote* on a plate. Strain liquid. Place duck and strained material inside mote add liquid to taste. Serve.

*Stephen informed me "mote" is an incorrect term - it should be an "earthen levy".

Sunday, May 10

Aromatic Beef Broth Noodles (Bun Pho)

The Noodle Shop Cookbook 150 Favorite Noodle Dishes from Seven Asian Cuisines, by Jacki Passmore

Cookbook 19, Recipe 2 (Total 41)

I wanted to use up the final batch of beef bones we purchased last fall. This cookbook has two beef stock recipes - one "aromatic" and one "good". I chose to add some elements from the aromatic to the good.

Did I like it? Yes - it was a very simple soup after eating too many scones today.

Recipe:
Stock:
Bring to a boil: 3 lbs beef bones, 6 green tops of scallions, 2 inches of peeled ginger, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1/2 orange peel, 2 star anise, 2 inch piece of cinnamon. Skim and reduce heat to a very low simmer for 3.5 hours - strain. Refrigerate. Discard fat.

Heat stock to a boil and add 3 T fish sauce (Nuoc Mam).

Boil Rice Vermicelli for 3 minutes - divide between two bowls.

Heat a wok on high heat with 1 T oil. Add very thinly sliced 6 oz sirloin and cook for about 1 minute. Remove to a bowl and cook 1 thinly sliced onion in wok.

Top noodles with beef and onion, add broth.

Serve with mint and sliced scallions.

Tuesday, May 5

Teriyaki Soba

The Noodle Shop Cookbook 150 Favorite Noodle Dishes from Seven Asian Cuisines, by Jacki Passmore

We purchased this cookbook on vacation in Vancouver quite a few years ago.

Did I like it? It was OK. A little too salty for my taste. That said, I was looking for something really yummy - I didn't have such a great day - I should have known that anything with soy sauce wouldn't really have fit the bill tonight.

Recipe
Cook 6 oz soba - Add soba to boiling water, bring back to a boil and then add 1 cup of cold water, return to a boil again and then simmer for aprox 2 minutes, cook until just tender. Drain and set aside in the colander.

Cut 1/2 a chicken breast into matchstick pieces, set aside. Cut 6 scallions into 2 in pieces, set aside. Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2.5 T sake, 1.5 tsp mirin and 1 T sugar, set aside.

Heat 1 T oil in a pan, add chicken and cook until done, set aside. Add scallions to the pan and cook for one minute. Add the soy sauce mixture and cook until scallions are tender and the sauce has reduced a little. Add the chicken.

Pour boiling water over the noodles in the strainer - divide between to plates and top with the sauce. Serve with Shichimi (japanese pepper condiment)