March 23 - PHILADELPHIA - More fun with Wonton Wrappers plus Zucchini Muffins

So as many of you have been re-directed from my Mom's blog, I report here to post the recipes from Monday night's dinner with the fam.

First up:

Arugula Salad with Marinated Artichokes, Curried Olives, and Toasted Walnuts in a Lemon-Agave Vinaigrette

serves 6 plus leftover artichoke hearts

1/4 cup olive oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and halved

Pinch (or 2 or 3) of red pepper flakes

A hearty pinch of dried oregano, rubbed between fingers to release essential oils

A few strips of lemon zest, removed with a vegetable peeler

Salt and pepper, to taste

Purchased curried olives (from your favorite olive bar)

8-9 oz Arugula (or other crisp-tender lettuce, such as spinach)

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-5 minutes

Lemon agave vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Heat a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat, and add olive oil.  When the oil starts to shimmer and slide around the pan easily, add the garlic and red pepper flakes.  When the garlic starts to turn pale brown, turn off the heat and add the lemon zest, oregano, salt, and pepper. 

Place the artichoke hearts in a mason jar or medium sized bowl and pour pan-roasted garlic mixture over.  Toss to combine.  Bring to room temperature and refrigerate a few hours (and up to a couple days) to blend flavors.

When ready to serve, in a salad bowl add 1/2 - 3/4 batch of the marinated artichokes to the dressing, followed by olives and arugula.  Sprinkle walnuts over the top and toss to combine.  Serve immediately.

Lemon-Agave Vinaigrette

1 medium shallot, minced

Juice of one lemon (or more if it's stingy)

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons (or more) agave syrup, to taste*

4-6 tablespoons high quality extra virgin olive oil

Combine shallot, lemon, and vinegar in your salad serving bowl and let stand 5-10 minutes.  This "cooks" the shallot perfumes the acidic components.  Add salt, pepper, mustard and agave, stirring to combine.  Making sure that your bowl is stable and won't slide around, slowly drizzle olive oil into the mixture and whisk rapidly with your other hand.  Stop adding the oil once the dressing has thickened and reached your desired consistency.  Adjust seasoning as necessary.

*If agave syrup is not easily attained, honey may be substituted, but keep in my mind that you'll have to use more (as agave is intrinsically sweeter).

Next: 

Roasted Corn, Shallot, Mascarpone, and Cashew Agnolotti

with Blood Orange-Parmesan Broth and Shaved Beemster

serves 8-10 as a light main course

4 tablespoons butter

1 lb shallots, peeled and halved

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8-10 oz frozen corn kernels, defrosted

4-6 oz mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup parmesan, grated

2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves

1/2 cup toasted cashews

48 wonton wrappers

Blood-Orange Parmesan Broth (recipe follows)

roasted, lightly salted cashews (optional; for garnish)

1/2 cup shaved Beemster (or other aged Gouda - Parmesan can also be used)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a large, straight-sided, oven proof skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the shallots, and sugar, stirring to coat.  After 5 minutes, add the corn.  Cook 5 minutes longer, then add the vinegar, salt and pepper, again stirring to coat the veggies.  Throw the pan into the oven and cook for about 20-30 minutes, until the shallots are tender.

Place 3/4 of this mixture into the food processor and add cheeses, herbs and cashews.  Reserve the rest for the sauce.  Pulse until well combined.  *Note that the recipe doesn't call for it, but I threw in some arugula that I feared would go bad before I had the time to eat it. 

Place 1 teaspoon mixture into each wonton wrapper and shape as I did in my previous ravioli/agnolotti recipe.

Refrigerate at least one hour and boil 2-4 minutes in pot of salted water or freeze until ready to cook.

Serve with Blood-Orange Parmesan Broth and top with a sprinkling of cashews and shaved Beemster.  *I highly recommend using Beemster, a 2-year aged Gouda with notes of caramel which I find reflects the sweetness of the Agnolotti beautifully.

Blood Orange-Parmesan Broth

*Truth be told, I had some leftover blood orange compound butter from some Cod en Papilotte I made the week prior, so really, you could use regular butter and avoid making what would result in a terribly fussy recipe.  I should note, however, that the blood orange zest really brightened the dish, elevating to something really special.

2x3 inch piece of rind from a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup Riesling, or other white wine

2 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole 

Reserved roasted corn shallot mixture, or 1/4 cup carmelized onions + 1/4 cup corn kernels

1 recipe Blood orange compound butter, diced and chilled

Bring rind, vegetable broth, wine, and garlic to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Turn back heat and a simmer on medium-low, uncovered, until reduced by half  (about 2 cups).  Set aside until ready to serve.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Heat reserved corn/shallot mixture in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat.  Add strained parmesan broth and bring to a gentle boil.  Add the agnolotti and a large pinch of salt to the large pot of boiling water.  Meanwhile, slowly add the diced compound butter to the sauce, whisking with the other hand to emulsify.  After all of the butter is added, keep warm over a low heat and pour sauce over cooked agnolotti.  Garnish with cashews and Beemster, as Agnolotti recipe dictates.

Blood Orange Compound Butter

*This recipe can easily be doubled for use in other dishes or even just to smear on some good bread.

4 tablespoons room-temperature butter

1 tsp blood orange zest

1/2 tsp lemon zest

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/4 tsp salt

a couple turns of freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp fresh tarragon or basil (or really, whatever herbs you have on hand), chopped

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Healthier Zucchini Bread Muffins

far from diet food, but made a little more guilt-free, this recipe makes 12-14 muffins

3 cups grated zucchini

1 stick butter, melted

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup agave syrup

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

3 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup toasted walnuts

raw sugar for sprinkling over the top, optional

Adjust rack to middle of oven and preheat to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, agave, eggs, and vanilla.

Mix in the zucchini, butter, and applesauce.

In a separate bowl, combine salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and 3 cups flour.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Toss walnuts with 1/4 cup flour and stir into batter. 

*This prevents them from sinking to the bottom of each muffin.

Add the batter into buttered muffin pans and top each with a sprinkling of raw sugar.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

February 15 - NASHVILLE - Victor-e Dinner

That's the photo I snapped after we burned a CD of our first rough mix (which is comprised just of the basic tracks - mostly live - recorded over the six-day period). Notice the blacked out Max-ll and the celebratory beer.

After the photo op, I pivoted on my heels 180 degrees (to the stove) and immediately started making a triumphant curry - Chicken Tikka Masala and Vegan Vegetable Masala accompanied by Basmati Rice and...

Apple Walnut Chutney:





The Vegetable Curry:

In a dry pot or pan, toast the Spice Blend (mine is a super secret mix of Coriander, Cumin, Cardamom, and other spices):



Make a paste with this and minced aromatics (Garlic, Ginger, Chiles, and Tomato Paste):



In the same large pot heat oil over medium high heat. Add 2 cups each diced onions and potatoes:



After 10 minutes (or nicely browned), add the paste. Saute for about a minute - your nostrils should be filled with the lovely smells of your favorite curry house. Add 1/2 head of chopped cauliflower and toss to coat. Cook 2 minutes further, then add 2 cups pureed tomatoes, salt and 1 1/2 cups water.:



Scrape the bottom of pan to release the frond (all of the delectable browned bits). Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.

Add 8 oz frozen peas, a 15 oz can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) and 1/4 -1/2 cup coconut milk (as needed to create desired consistency). Taste and add salt if necessary. Squeeze over some lime juice, add some chopped cilantro, and voila: Vegan Vegetable Curry:



Now for the carnivores: Chicken Tikka Masala (recipe developed from Cook's Illustrated, so I'm not posting exact measurements or all of the ingredients):

Marinate some chicken breast in the seasoned yogurt mixture for 30-60 minutes:



Meanwhile make (or in my case, re-heat masala sauce - I made it the night before to give the flavors a chance to marry). Place on a broiler pan, broil on high for 5-9 minutes, flip and broil another 5-9 minutes, or until spotted borwn and cooked through:





Let rest 5 minutes, and chop into bite sized pieces:



Add to sauce, and serve immediately. Here you see it plated family style: The Chicken's on the left, veggies on the right, some steamed basmati rice in the middle:



Topped with Apple Chutney, washed down with ice cold beer and strawberry-cardamom lassis - it was enjoyed immensely!









I even caught Ade going back for thirds:



Adrian is left now to record any overdubs, and mix with Saul sans us Slicks.

Namaste.

February 20-23 - PHILADELPHIA - Intermission with Ravioli

Ok, I'm gonna go a bit out of order here - but I'm just too excited not to post about my awesome weekend back in Philly.

FRIDAY

On Friday, I had the pleasure of witnessing two of my most favorite acts (Cheers Elephant and Saul Zonana) share the stage of John and Peter's in New Hope. We had just followed Saul up from Nashville - he has been the one engineering our new album, "e."

Here's Cheers:







And some Saul:







As the pictures show, a fun time was had by all, though Eric and I really need to stop unintentionally wearing the same outfits...




SATURDAY

On Saturday, I finished my painting of a young Igor Stravinsky. I'm pretty happy with it, but I can't wait to start another - like any skill, practice is always the best way to make improvements.



SUNDAY

On Sunday night, I was greeted by Cheers Elephant upon my return home from work. They came over to practice/record some rough demos of new songs. Man, are they good - I can't wait to start tracking for their next CD!


And yes, Kingston is playing the drums with his cell phone...

After rehearsing, they came downstairs for a game of Wii. I must admit, I think I'm pretty good at making Mii characters...



MONDAY

Encouraged by my success in Adrian's kitchen, I invited some friends over for dinner last night:

I put out spiced, fried almonds and truffled honey pretzel sticks for nibbling on while I prepped the dessert.

Next came the first course:

Arugula Salad with Apples and Walnuts topped with Warm Panko Encrusted Goat Cheese Rounds in a Mustard-Port-Raisin Vinaigrette

serves 6

1 8 oz log goat cheese, sliced into 3/4" thick rounds

2 eggs, beaten

1/2-3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tbsp fresh parsely, chopped

1/2 cup port

1/4 cup golden raisins

2 tbsp Sherry Vinegar

1 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, grated or minced

1 tbsp mustard

1-2 tbsp honey

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 tbsp butter

7-8oz Arugula

1 apple (I used Honey Crisp)

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

First, make the goat cheese patties. Prepapring them ahead of time ensures that they won't fall upon when you fry them, plus it makes for less work once the guests arrive.

Arrange a breading station: first the goat cheese slices, then the eggs, then a bowl full of panko and parsley. Sprinkle each station with salt and pepper to guarantee even seasoning.

Dip each round of goat cheese into eggs and then into breadcrumbs.

Cover with plastic wrap, and put in fridge until you're ready to fry up and serve.
Meanwhile, you can make the dressing:
Bring port wine to a boil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add raisins, and cook until there's about 1/4 cup of liquid left and the raisins are plump. In the mean time, place vinegar, shallot and garlic in a large bowl (I put it right in my salad serving piece). This allows the shallot and garlic to bloom (release their flavors) in the vinegar. Add the reduced port/raisin mixture to the bowl, along with the mustard and honey. Slowly drizzle in 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, and whisk constantly with your other hand (make sure your vessel isn't going to slip away from you first - put a damp towel underneath of it). Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge until ready to use.

When ready to serve, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large (preferably nonstick) frying pan over medium high heat.
Dice the apple. and toss it into the dressing with the arugula and walnuts.
Add goat cheese rounds to the pan and fry 2-4 minutes per side, or until uniformly golden brown.
Divide salad among six plates, and top each with a goat cheese patty and some fresh cracked pepper.
Serve immediately.



For the main course I decided to prepare a dish that I knew would please everyone (and again, I knew I could make it all in advance with enough for leftovers).

Edamame, Mascarpone, Porcini, and Walnut Ravioli in Truffled Piave Broth

serves 8

1/2 lb frozen shelled edamame

Water

Handful of Dried Porcini Mushrooms (about 2/3 cup)

Sweet, grassy white wine, such as Muscat or Gewürztraminer

Olive Oil

8 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic

Salt

1 tsp oregano

3 cups vegetable broth

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4 oz piece Piave Vecchio (or other hard cow's milk cheese, like Parmegiano Reggiano or Grana Padano), rind cut away but reserved

8 oz mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I made my own by toasting a slice of bread and grinding them in the food processor)

1/4 cup toasted walnuts

small bunch fresh parsley, leaves chopped and stems reserved

2 tbsp fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

Truffle Oil

48 Wonton Wrappers (I used Nasoya brand)

2-4 tbsp cold butter, cubed

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove about one cup of water and place in a bowl with a splash of wine.
Add mushrooms and let them sit for 30 minutes, covered with a plate or some plastic wrap.
Meanwhile, cook the edamame and shallots.
For the edamame: add to pot of boiling water and cook according to the package instructions. Turn the heat off, remove beans from the pot with a slotted spoon and add to your food processor. Don't dump the water! Why waste a big pot of it when you have to blanch ravioli anyway?
For the shallots: heat the oil over in a large skillet over medium heat and add the sliced shallots, a pinch of salt, and oregano. (*Rub the herb between your fingers as you add it to the pan to release all of its essential oils). 

Cook for 10-15 mintues, or until shallots are translucent. Add a few splashes of wine, turn the heat to high, and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.
Rinse reconstituted Porcinis in a sieve and pat dry. Add to food processor.
Place half of shallot-mixture to a saucepan and add the reconstituted mushroom broth, vegetable broth, cheese rind, red pepper flakes, and parsley stems. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and reduce by half.
Meanwhile, prepare the raviolis: take the remaining shallot-mixture from the skillet and add it to the food processor, along with 1/4 cup grated Piave Vecchio, mascarpone, breadcrumbs, walnuts, 4 tbsp parsley, tarragon, and a drizzle of truffle oil.


Blend it up until smooth. To the right you can see my broth reducing.

Assemble ravioli: Set up a cup of water, the filling, and the wonton wrappers.
Dollop a teaspoon of filling into the center of each wrapper.

Dip hands into water, and fold each one into a triangle, leaving a 1/2' border around the filling.
Bring up two ends and pinch together. Repeat with remaining wrappers, and place finished raviolis on a large baking sheet.
Refrigerate until ready to cook.

When ready to serve, bring the big pot of water to a boil (aren't you glad you didn't waste it?). When it's almost there, bring the broth to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Add ravioli to the water and cook about 3-5 minutes (I put in 6 ravioli per person). Meanwhile, whisk cold butter, one cube at a time, into broth. Stop adding the butter when it reaches your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly - remember that if it's ever too salty, you can always add milk or cream to dull it down.

To serve: with a spider or slotted spoon, divide ravioli among plates. Pour sauce over each dish, and top with grated piave vecchio, chopped parsley leaves, and a drizzle of truffle oil.

Of course we had dessert too: a sampler from Termini's (Tiramisu, Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Covered Banana, and Vanilla Poundcake). Low light and alcohol make it difficult to snap photos...

I also whipped up a Pumpkin Souffle:
Combine: 1 15oz can pumpkin pie filling+1/3 cup milk+1 egg yolk
Beat 3 egg whites until soft peaks form, fold into above mixture.
Butter 5-6 small coffee cups or ramekins. Pour filling into each, leaving at least 1/2" for the souffle to rise.
Refrigerate until ready to bake.

While eating dinner, I preheated the oven to 380°. After we finished licking our plates, I threw the souffles on a rimmed baking sheet (you could also use a 9x13 baking dish), and poured some hot water around (please, not in) the cups. Place in the oven, and wait patiently for 30-45 minutes. Don't even think about opening the oven until you get that sixth sense, deep down feeling that they're ready. Top it with some cookies and cream ice cream, a little real maple syrup... and you have an awesome ending to an awesome weekend... and yes, I consider Monday part of my weekend.