Butter Makes it Better

Judith, this is for you:

My brother Adam is a frequent visitor at my home for meals, so he has had risotto at my home a lot. The kids love it, and it is super-easy, plus I always get compliments/requests for recipe when I make it and take it to people.

Well, Adam finally decided to buy his own own arborio rice at the g-store a few weeks ago and make it himself. He made it according to the instructions on the back of the package, which calls for butter, and calls for warming the stock, and for adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time. (when I make it, I usually use olive oil because I tend not to have butter on hand, and I add stock straight from the carton, a cup at a time, which makes it faster.)

So my brother makes it, and.. ahem, he thinks his is better. Well, what he actually said is that his turned out creamier (more like risotto, less like rice).

So I gave it a try, and I have to tell you something.

Butter .... makes it better.

Coconut Pots de Creme

So, I have a penchant for all things custard.

I decided to try my hand at making pots de creme, encouraged by the fact that I bought the cutest little glass demitasse cafe cups. I found a whole slew of recipes thanks to the world-wide-web-of-more-information-than-one-could-ever-dream-of, and was intrigued by Emeril's coconut version of the classic pots de creme recipe, which typically is made in chocolate, vanilla, or coffee flavors.

I have never made an Emeril recipe before, but I have eaten at NOLA - one of his restaurants, in New Orleans naturally. It was a delicious dinner with excellent menu offerings that did not disappoint once they arrived at the table. I am also not unaware of the following that Emeril has acquired along the way. BAM!

But, suffice it to say that I was very very disappointed in the Emeril recipe for Coconut Pots de Creme. After making it, and taste-testing it.....I decided that it was lacking in a strong coconut flavor and even worse, the texture was very very firm and a bit gritty. After doing a little homework, I have come to the conclusion that this recipe is cooked for way too long and erroneously calls for the pots de creme in the water bath to be covered with tin foil, therefore preventing the steam from escaping and cooking the tops of the custard too much.

I am still feeling called to the challenge to master the pots de creme concept, and I am in search of a better recipe. This time I plan to make the very classic chocolate pots de creme, and I am going to do more homework before wasting another host of lovely ingredients.

Stay tuned....

What do you eat before going to Africa?

At the end of last week, I started thinking about food to fix that would create a little bit of leftovers, but nothing that we couldn't finish up before heading off to Liberia. For some reason I thought of my Easy Enchilada Sauce recipe. This is fast, cheap, and you can pour it over whatever you want to wrap in a corn tortilla, grate some cheese on top, and call it enchiladas. We've used leftover roasted chicken, blackbeans and rice, and of course taco-meat. I chose to use a mix of beef and black beans as a side dish, or to wrap up with the beef. It was great. We ate a meal from it, I took some to my grandparents, and there is just enough to make 4 more enchiladas for tonight. On Saturday night, we were able to have my younger brother over for dinner while he was in town. Heath said, "let's make burgers," I said "great!" He also suggested we make some black bean and corn salsa. For us, the easy version is using two cans of black beans (organic was on sale!) and one thing of corn. We roasted a yellow and red bell pepper and some garlic, threw in some red onion, cilantro, heirloom tomatoes, and some other seasonings. Done. Easy dinner, had a great time. We even had salsa left over that we are still munching on. Today I had the thought, "We're leaving to go to Liberia where our lunch and dinners will consist of rice with a bean mixture poured over top. Why on earth did we pick now to decide every meal should consist of something with black beans!" Oh well, maybe our stomachs won't have any problems adjusting to the food. Atleast today I thought I'd make some muffins for breakfast for tomorrow and Thursday, and freeze some for the morning after we return.


Easy Enchilada Sauce:
3 Tbl vegetable oil
1 Tbl flour
1/4 C chili powder
2 C chicken stock
10 oz tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan heat oil, flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings. Serve atop your favorite enchiladas.

I have used a little adobo sauce with the tomato paste and that's good. I also pour it over enchiladas, grate my cheese over it, and then bake it in the oven till everything is heated and its bubbly.

I Have No Children

My mom came into town for work last night, and about a hour ago, she took my kids away. As in away. Not at my house.

Now, we have been away from the kids before. And they have been away from the house before. But I can't think of a time where the kids were away from the house, and we were not.

I don't know if I want to go out for a night on the town, or go to sleep at 6pm and wake up at noon.

A peek at some of the offerings from May Supper Club -

May Supper Club - Part 2

And now for the food.....

An Evening of Mini Bites:

Shrimp Cocktail Shooters –
homemade cocktail sauce in the bottom of antique shot glasses, with one jumbo shrimp resting over the side of the glass.

Baby Brioches with BLT Chicken Salad –
parmesan chicken salad in a baby brioche topped with fresh basil, a slice of plum tomato, and garnished with a piece of bacon.

Prosciutto, Melon, Mozzarella Skewers –
delicious doesn’t have to be complicated…here is the classic pairing of prosciutto and cantaloupe with the addition of fresh mozzarella.

Crab and Avocado Verrines –
most Americans know what a parfait is, but take that same idea and make the layers avocado, crabmeat, and cucumber, with a ponzu ginger soy dressing and you get an entirely new dish called a verrine (pronounced vair-EEN) from the French word for glass (verre). Originally from France, a verrine is a confection made by layering ingredients in a small glass – can be either sweet or savory.

Desserts:

Lemon Chess Tassies –
bite size cream cheese pastry tartlets with a lemon chess filling.

Devil’s Mini Cupcakes –
moist and tender chocolate cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting.

May Supper Club

A bit of a belated report, but May Supper Club was an evening of "Mini Bites" enjoyed en plein air.... (more to come on that in just a second)

I would be remiss to leave out that we started the evening with a Black Eyed Susan Cocktail. A triple crown cocktail that is a refreshing blend of pineapple and orange juice mixed with vodka, rum, and Grand Marnier…this is the signature drink of The Preakness, which is the second leg of the triple crown and occurs on the third Saturday of May every year. The cocktail’s name is taken from the flowers used to make the blanket that drapes the winning horse. It is reported that certain members of this club enjoyed this cocktail so much, that they went back for seconds....possibly thirds. Really, you've gotta try this one - and so easy too; just make it ahead of time and serve from a pitcher.

Black Eyed Susan Cocktail -

Yield
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
3 tablespoons vodka
3 tablespoons light rum
2 tablespoons orange liqueur
Crushed ice
Garnishes: lime slices, fresh cherries

Preparation
1. Stir together first 5 ingredients. Fill 2 (12-oz.) glasses with crushed ice. Pour orange juice mixture over ice. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.

Hot and Sour Noodle Bowl with Prawns and Asparagus

tonight's dinner @ the Bursi house (I know, I am off schedule, but work has been crazy).

24 large shrimp
3 quarts chicken stock
2-inch piece ginger, whacked open with a knife
2 stalks lemongrass (white part), whacked open with a knife
6 kaffir lime leaves
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 tsp Sambal
Juice of 1 lime
1 bunch asparagus, bottoms removed, split lengthwise
1/4 pound shitake mushrooms, no stems, sliced
1 package (1 1/2 ounce) cellophane noodles, blanced for 2 min in salted boiling water
Chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, fresh mint, for garnish

1) Peel and devein shrimp. Set aside and put shells in a pot with the stock.
2) Add ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves. Stir in fish sauce, sambal, and lime juice.
3) Let soup simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into another pot to remove solids.
4) Add shrimp, asparagus, and mushrooms. Poach in soup for 5 minutes.
5) Divide cooked noodles among dinner bowls, ladle soup on top, and finish with peanuts, cilantro, and mint.