A New Lamb Curry

We had an unseasonably cool summer in Chicago. And so it was that I did a lot more indoor cooking than usual. That I ate more and exercised less is something I'll have to deal with soon enough. But I've got no complaints. The summer of 2013 was, in sum, pretty much awesome. I saw some great concerts, had some fabulous meals, got a VitaMix blender (!), killed my first lobsters (more on that soon), and developed some new favorite meals.

This Burmese Lamb Curry will be with us forever - it's that good. Its origins are with David Lebovitz - he published a recipe for beef curry this spring. The idea to make it was still in my head one day at the market when I saw some gorgeous lamb stew meat. The flavors translated well to the lamb and my recipe is barely different than the original beef version.

Fresh ginger is something I'm always grateful to have on hand. Having a well-stocked pantry is likely a relic of my years in the mountains. My children were small and we lived nearly 2,000 vertical feet, several hairpin turns, and about six miles from the town grocery store. I avoided popping into town just to pick up one or two things at the market. We had a co-op from which I purchased cases of juice, whole peeled tomatoes, sprouted grain pizza crusts (Hey! I miss those!), and assorted sundries. The Walmart (3,000 vertical feet and 65 miles from the Town of Telluride) supplied nearly everything else. And we had Rose's Market, aka Clark's, for anything you might require - plus really wonderful trout from Mark at the fish and meat counter - between trips to Montrose.

Back to ginger. It's versatile and keeps for, like, ever, in the bin in the fridge. I like to buy cactus-shaped pieces, breaking off a nub as needed and just tossing the rest back in the bin. I don't even wrap it - I think it's happier left as is. I use ginger in pad thai, curries, salad dressings, kung pao, marinades, Asian lettuce wraps, and gyoza. It's an easy ingredient to add to your cooking routine - especially if you're in a bit of a rut and need to add some new flavors to your cooking.

You can source lamb stew meat at any butcher (essentially cubed boneless leg of lamb which is super lean), or substitute beef stew like the Lebovitz recipe stipulates. Here's my recipe:

Burmese Lamb Curry
Print recipe only here

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1 pound stewing meat (beef or lamb), cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 T garlic, finely chopped or pressed
2 T canola oil
2 1/2 cups water
1 T fish sauce
2 T fried shallots (see below)
8 small shallots, peeled and left whole
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

METHOD
Mix the beef pieces in a bowl with the salt and turmeric, massaging the salt into the meat. Chill for an hour.

Mash the ginger and garlic together in a mortar and pestle, if you have one, otherwise just chop up as finely as you can. Heat the oil in a large open saute pan or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for a few minutes, stirring, until soft and fragrant.

Turn the heat up to high and add the lamb or beef and cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Add the whole shallots, water, and fish sauce. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. If the water evaporates during the cooking, just add a bit more.

Stir in the fried shallots and chili powder. Cook another 10 minutes or so. Taste for seasoning and serve.

* To make deep-fried shallots, heat some oil and add a generous handful of finely sliced (peeled) shallots – about 1/2 cup, cooking them in a few inches of hot oil until deep golden-brown, then scoop them out and let them cool on a rack or paper towel until crisp. They can be stored in a jar for a few days if you want to do them in advance.

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A New Summer Salad

This fab summer side salad is destined to be on my summer playlist forever. I had at a friend's home in Lake Geneva, WI. I've been looking for some couscous recipes and was delighted to find a summery one. I made mine over the weekend (and enjoyed some today for lunch) with just mint, but next time I'll try a combo of fresh dill and mint. The garbanzos and feta give it some heft as a lunch.

I'd be remiss if I didn't tout the reduced fat feta from Trader Joe's. It's more than does the cheese trick on all sorts of things: atop lamb burgers, in a Greek salad, and here as well. Athenos does a good reduced fat feta, but it's like twice the price. We consume very little cheese and I often throw away about half a brick of feta, so I appreciate the lower price point on the TJ variety.

Anyway, here's that recipe:

Couscous Summer Salad
Print recipe only here

Serves 6-8 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry couscous, cooked according to
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup fresh herbs - parsley, dill, mint, basil in any combination
1/2 Cup crumbled Feta cheese (or more)

Dressing
2-3 T good Olive Oil
2 - 3 limes, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
Follow the directions on the package for cooking the couscous. Allow to cool to room temperature while prepping the veg. Add all other fresh ingredients once the couscous has cooled. Toss with the dressing and serve. Keeps well for a few days.

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Summer lovin: Board Dressings

Board dressings are a newer fascination. The first one I did was with a Brined Pork Loin, something that I make in the fall and winter. Subsequent efforts at board dressings have been even more satisfying, perhaps because of the season, because not much tops grilling and dining out of doors.

Board dressing does absolute wonders for a piece of meat that you didn't have enough time to marinate. Like last night. I had this gorgeous Bison top sirloin filet. I had intended to dry rub the steak, grill it, and serve it with a chunky avocado salsa, a meal served to me many years ago by the generous and talented Lucas (click here for my riff on his dish). But, the avocados at the market yesterday were unripe. Plan B was a necessity.

Bison can be tricky on the grill. It's lean, but can be tough. It needs enough time on the fire to soften but not so much that it seizes back up. I made a quick marinade of soy sauce, Worcestershire, garlic, salt and pepper, and let the steak come to room temp while soaking up the sodium. But I only had about 30 minutes for this, which is why the marinade was so sodium rich. With more time I would have made a red wine-soy-garlic marinade, a/k/a/ Guamba (with credit to Dave B). Guamba, it should be noted, is more than a recipe, more than a noun. It's not so much spoken as it is proclaimed. It's a call to the table (campfire, really), a conjuring of the appetite, a summoning of all that is good: wine, friends, a blazing fire, and steak. I don't always eat steak around a campfire (pity!), but when I do I prefer Guamba.

Anyhoo...I've been staring at this luscious bouquet of mint lately (if you grow mint, you know it proliferates like rabbits and that it can only be kept in check by producing a fount of mojitos) and working it into various dishes. I had a idea for a mint and lemon board dressing for my steak that would brighten up the marinade. It was wonderful. I grilled the steak to medium and made the board dressing right on the platter. When the steak was done, I transferred it to the platter, turning it over a few times to coat it in the dressing. Steak always needs to rest for about 15 minutes off the grill, and in that time, the juices flow into the board dressing, creating a puddle of love. I had a baguette on hand for dipping, and made a big salad, and we dined al fresco in total bliss.

Here's a few recipes for creating your own board dressings. The first one is what I did for the bison. The other two are ideas for another meal. Experiment as you're lead - the critical ingredients are extra virgin olive oil, some fresh herbs and a smidge of fresh garlic. The citrus zest/juice and chili flakes are optional, but highly recommended.

Board Dressing 1
2-3 T fresh mint
pinch chili flakes
Pinch kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
1/2 lemon, zested
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1-2 T extra virgin olive oil

Board Dressing 2
3 T cilantro, finely chopped
2 T fresh oregano, finely chopped
1/2 lime, zested
1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
Pinch chili flakes
Pinch kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

Board Dressing 3 
2 T chopped rosemary
1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
Pinch kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

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On Blackened fish, Kid Rock, and Summer Plans

I'm embarrassed to admit that I first heard about Walleye from Kid Rock in that All Summer Long song that took to the airwaves a few summers ago. Walleye is native to the Midwest, unlike yours truly, and is frequently served panfried. I saw it yesterday at Whole Foods and it looked lovely, so I brought it home and mixed together a quick blackened spice rub (see below), grilled some veggies on the side (just peppers and onions), and made a quick salad from the abundance of greens in my CSA sack.

This is a good time to promote the Chicago Lights Urban Farm, the good folks behind my summer salad share. I'm really pleased with the produce, and the farm itself is a little oasis in the city. This week, my share included Nero radishes, which are big, black, beautiful - and spicy! Whoa baby. If I were French, I'd slather a baguette with unsalted Plugra and top it with Nero slices. Chef Dominique Tougne was serving radish and butter aperitifs at Chez Moi last summer and they were delightful. Click here for Saveur's directions for making your own.

Back to the Walleye...I enjoy panfried fish, though prefer to do the panfrying myself. The last time I ate Walleye was at a restaurant around New Buffalo, MI, the panfrying was too aggressive. To create a good blackened seasoning, I consulted James Peterson's Fish and Shellfish cookbook and ended up following his recipe. Here it is:

JP's Blackened Seasoning
1 T dried thyme
1 T dried oregano
2 t salt
1 1/2 t cayenne
Several turns fresh ground white pepper

To cook the fish, I set my cast iron pan over a medium high flame to heat. Then I mixed the spice rub on a long platter, rubbing it all together and smashing up the dried spices with my fingers. Next I transferred the Walleye (the fishmonger removed the skin for me) to the platter, dousing one side with olive oil and turning to coat both sides of the fish with olive oil and the dry rub. Then I cut the fish into serving size pieces (I made them small-ish, so each person would have 2-3 pieces, but cut as you wish). With the pan now nice and hot, I added a tablespoon or less of canola oil, and tipped the pan around to coat the bottom evenly. I added the fish and cooked it for about 4 minutes on one side and about 2-3 min on the other side. To determine if its done, test one piece to see if it flakes - just cut off a corner and peek. Serve immediately.

What else am I up to this summer? Well, I'm going to pick up where I left off with my winter Algebra class thru Coursera (or retake the course entirely, as might be required). I'm also brushing up on my French via Duolingo. The latter allows for fierce inter-family competition, the likes of which we've not seen since Super Mario came to the Wii. I'm also looking forward to some serious cooking. Here's a taste of what will be coming out of my kitchen this summer:

- Sriracha-glazed chicken skewers (already had these and they were fabulous)
- Singapore chili lobster (this is going to be an adventure)
- This Ciopinno;
- Slate-griddled Porterhouse steaks with Roquefort;
- Miche, my lastest favorite bread. Get yours at La Fournette which produced a Blackhawks Miche, pictured here, upside-down;
- Breakfast Crepes with Peaches, Cinnamon Sugar, and Raspberry Jam;
- Half sour pickles (one of my favorite pickles!)

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Thai Basil Chicken (Gai Pad Krapow)

Oh, this was really good. I think you'll like it a lot. I served it up with rice and called it a day. The recipe is adapted from a site I just love, Rasa Malaysia, which is featured on the ENJOYING sidebar on the right. Her recipes are reliable and I'm always happy with the result. If you haven't dabbled in Asian cuisine in your kitchen but are open to giving it a try, I highly recommend letting her be your guide. Here's that recipe:

Thai Basil Chicken (Gai Pad Krapow)
Print recipe only here

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1 T canola oil
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 T fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 big bunch of basil leaves, cut into very thin strips* (I used regular basil since I had it, but source Thai basil if you can)
6 bird’s eye chilies, chopped and pounded with a mortar and pestle) OR 1-2 fresh jalapeno cut into thin strips
2-3 turns fresh ground white pepper

METHOD
Heat wok or large skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add oil, then chopped garlic and shallots. Stir fry the garlic and shallots until aromatic, for a minute or so, then add the chicken. When the chicken is cooked, toss in the chilies and the seasonings (fish sauce, sugar, and sweet soy sauce) and continue to stir-fry. Add in the basil leaves and do a few quick stirs until the basil leaves are wilted and fragrant. Add the pepper, taste for seasoning, and serve.

* to cut basil into thin strips, a/k/a chiffonade, stack 5-6 leaves on top of one another, roll into a cylinder and then use a sharp knife to make thin slices thru the cylinder. Repeat until you have about 1/3 cup of basil chiffonade.

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Yes, Virginia, Copper River Salmon is All That

Alright, the marketing plan can take some credit. But the Copper River Salmon*, which makes its debut this time of year is fantastic. We had it tonight (from Whole Foods for $24.99/lb) along with roasted cauliflower, early season corn on the cob, Baby Romaine dressed with Champagne vinaigrette and  Tortone, a new loaf from Little Goat that was said to contain garlic and mashed potatoes, tho the garlic was MIA. The crust was crunchier and the crumb was gummier than I expected. It didn't disappoint, per se, but it didn't appoint either. It was, essentially, a forgettable loaf.

If an elephant eats a Tortone in the woods and considers it the most forgettable loaf of bread he's ever eaten but then a tree falls on his head and he experiences post-traumatic amnesia, does it mean he forgot about the Tortone or that he was physically incapable of accessing its memory? Or did the Tortone even exist in the first place?

But back to the salmon. I grilled it**, with just a pinch of my beloved Mendocino Seasoning Sand. I'm not too hawkish around the grill. Dinnertime demands multitasking (which I now understand to mean doing lots of things, poorly), and tonight was no exception. While the salmon grilled I was prepping some pastries for an event tomorrow, giving a lecture on the lesson behind a homework assignment, and brokering a laptop-sharing agreement between two hostile parties. The muffins came out well, nothing else. Anyway, you do want to be hawkish at the grill when Copper River is cooking because 1) it's bloody expensive and you don't want to ruin it, and 2) what makes Copper River Salmon so darned tasty is the fat. Omega 3s will light up your grill and torch your fish. My grill was alight when I checked on it, but the fish was fine. I flipped it and moved it to a cooler part of the grill and left the hood up so I could keep an eye on things.

* If you don't know what Copper River Salmon is, the short story is that it's wild salmon from a super cold river in Alaska. Is it better then other wild salmon from cold rivers in Alaska? I couldn't say.  Want a longer story? Check out:
The Copper River salmon craze: How the race began - The LA Times Fresh Copper River salmon lands in Seattle - King5.com

** Grilling method for salmon: I always grill salmon with the skin on a preheated grill for ten minutes, then grilled skin side up for about 5-6 minutes with grill lid down, then skin down for about 2-3 minutes (in this case with grill lid up, though usually I close it). I like the flesh to have an hombre interior - a little darker in the center. If you must, flake off a corner to observe the interior to determine doneness. Build your poke-test skills by gently pressing on the cooked surface. Proteins will firm up as they cook - the firmer they are the more well-done. Serve on a platter, family style.

Happy Copper River Salmon Season!

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On Bread and Bagged Lunch

I have two new favorite sandwich breads: La Brea Take and Bake Ciabatta Rolls, and the Ancient Grains loaf at Whole Foods, pictured here.

The former was a lucky, but informed, guess. I met Nancy Silverton (of La Brea Bakery) once when she was visiting my boss's restaurant. They worked together years earlier. I was young and awestruck enough to convince myself of a personal connection to Nancy: Melinda and Nancy worked together. I work with Melinda. Ergo, I've worked with Nancy. If it weren't a complete lie it'd be a brilliant way to pad one's resume.

Anyhoo, I stumbled on the rolls at Treasure Island and thought they might work for the Caprese sandwiches my kids like so much. Now, I probably fall in the middle about obsessing over what goes in their neoprene lunchbags. I've got friends who make mid-day trips to school with their kids lunches so that the children will have a freshly prepared lunch. I've got friends (more fall into this category) who make their kids' lunches the night before. I'm capable of neither. Sometime in the window between my morning Americano kicking in and Crap!-It's-Time-to-Go-Or-You'll-Be-Marked-Tardy (on a good morning this is about 20 minutes, but it's usually more like 10-15), I consider what they had yesterday, what they are apt to eat that day (and not give away or toss), and a balance of treats:protein:whole foods.

The caprese sandwich is one they really like, but it's got to be made on baguette or ciabatta, and both are often less than great on Day 2 (Day 1 being the day before, when I bought the bread).  Enter the take and bake bread idea. Since Nancy does wonderful bread, I decided to give her's a go, and I give to two thumbs up. The take and bake baguettes are great, too. And both the baguettes and the rolls freeze well, meaning you can stock up a bit and bake them as directed right from the freezer. I recommend them for anyone who likes fresh bread in their lunch but who has to buy it in advance.

On to the Ancient Grains loaf. I am not a fan of the WF bakery. But this particular loaf has a really great flavor. I would use it as a substitute for our house sandwich bread: Trader Joe's sprouted grain. It would make great French Toast, too. I wouldn't buy it to serve at dinner - it's not crusty or glorious enough.

Caprese Sandwich
Print recipe only here

Makes two sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
Two ciabatta rolls, or equivalent portion of baguette
1 ball fresh mozzarella
Fresh basil - amount varies but I use lots: from 4-8 leaves
1-2 T Extra virgen olive oil
3-4 t Balsamic vinegar (I like Colavita)
1 Roma tomato, sliced (the firmness of the Roma works well in a sandwich that will be eaten later in the day)
Pinch salt

METHOD
Slice open ciabbatta or baguette. Pour the olive oil and balsamic into a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, or a spoon, brush over the both surfaces of the bread. Cover base of sandwich with basil leaves.

Slice the Roma and the mozzarella and sprinkle with salt, then divide between the sandwiches. Top with additional basil, if desired. My kids like extra basil because it prevents the bread from getting soggy.

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