Fresh Tart

This recipe is a total cheat.  It's the same base as the Beef Braised in Coconut Milk I posted awhile back, with a whole chicken in the pot instead of a beef roast.  I've been meaning to do this for ages - even last week I picked up a chicken and coconut milk.  The store put the chicken in a small brown bag to protect against leakage...and also put a big bottle of olive oil in a similar brown bag to protect the glass...perhaps you can see where this is going.  Yeah, I put the olive oil in the fridge and left the chicken on the counter.

Overnight.

Beyond disgusting.

We had salmon instead (thank you freezer).  I've since tried to screw my head back on straight, which has been seriously tough for me since returning from Costa Rica.  My thoughts are still on the beach...

Anyhow, back at it today.  I bought a chicken this morning, came home, and immediately browned it in coconut oil - no messing around.  In 15 minutes the whole thing was in the oven, and two hours later (perhaps even longer given a ridiculously long bath on my part), oh my goodness.  I don't want to sound obscene...but this chicken is obscene.  The skin continued to brown, but everything else sort of collapsed and fell apart.  I have never, ever, ever had chicken this tender.  Silky.  The sauce is as thick and sexy as a hot summer evening, intensely chicken-y, perfectly melded with the coconut milk and subtle heat of Thai curry paste.

Beach?  What beach?

My plan was to simmer vegetables in the coconut sauce while I pulled the chicken apart (as I wrote it below).  Uh, we never got that far.  In the name of instant gratification, we kind of attacked the chicken straight away.  I put together a quick bowlful for a pic, with zero effort (other than a scattering of scallions), which was supremely lazy but also gives you a sense of how pretty it is on its own.

A pretty girl without makeup, as it were.

Chicken Braised in Coconut Milk
Serves 6

1 Tbsp. coconut oil (or other oil)
1 4-5 lb. roasting chicken
1 small onion, sliced into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
zest of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. green or red Thai curry paste (available in the Asian foods section of most grocery stores)
1 can coconut milk (do not use the carton-version of coconut milk, which is actually quite watery; go for a can of rich, thick coconut milk)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar (or more to taste)
2 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce (or more to taste)
1 bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp.)
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 c. thinly sliced fresh basil

hot rice

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.  Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add oil to the pan and when it is hot, brown the chicken thoroughly, on all sides.  Set on a plate.

When the chicken is browned, lower heat to medium, and add onion, garlic, ginger, lime zest, and curry paste and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in coconut milk, brown sugar, and fish sauce.  Settle chicken into the pan (and any accumulated juices from the plate), baste the chicken with the coconut milk, and cover tightly.  Bring to a simmer, then transfer pot to the oven.

Bake for 2-3 hours, or until chicken is browned and very tender.  Remove chicken to a cutting board.  Set pan over medium heat and when it simmers, stir in bell pepper and simmer uncovered for a few minutes until pepper is tender.  Stir in lime juice and taste sauce for seasoning - add more fish sauce for saltiness, more sugar for sweetness, more lime for sourness.  Stir in scallions and basil.  Meanwhile, pull chicken into bite-sized pieces, discard bones, and add back to the pan.  (Note: I love chicken skin, so I included it with the chicken meat.  Your choice.)  Serve with hot rice, if desired.

Recipe for Chimichurri at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

When it snows, I make soup.  And complain.  And take ridiculously long baths.  And pretend like I'm still on vacation.

John and I were in Costa Rica last week and it was...heavenly.  Too heavenly.  I have been in a massive funk ever since we returned.

The lovely view out of our home bedroom window that I normally love?  Hideous to me.  Who wants to see colorless snow after a week of blue-green ocean views?  I was blessedly, easily warm the whole time we were there.  I basked (too much) in the sun, swam in the ocean, listened to music, read two great books, and messed around on Twitter (the hotel had perfect wifi and ATT service, even on the beach) with my foodie friends while John surfed.

I had a blast.

It does make me wonder if I'm the type that should just grind through the winter and save the escape for the end of the season?  Apparently I'm not very good at changing gears.  It if were late March instead of February, I might be handling it all better...

A first-day-home dinner with Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams at Corner Table Restaurant in Minneapolis helped.  A double course of fresh eggs (poached over polenta, softly scrambled, rarrr) helped.  As did the pork three-ways entree I inhaled (braised shoulder, belly, & sausage).  Plenty of wine, serious laughs, a reason to go out with my minor tan - all good.

This soup helped too.  It's got a bit of wild rice, plus is quick to pull together while pleasantly smoky from ham.  A splash of cream at the end makes it all snowstorm worthy (we're receiving 8-10 inches as I write, sigh) without adding too much richness.

On a completely separate note, I did this short interview with Twin Cities Spark a few weeks ago.  Fun!

Vegetable Soup with Wild Rice, Ham & Cream
Serves 6

1 Tbsp. butter
1 c. diced ham
1/2 c. each of sliced leeks, diced carrots, diced celery, diced parsnips, diced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. raw wild rice
6 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. whipping cream
salt & freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in ham and saute until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Stir in leeks, carrot, celery, parsnips, mushrooms, garlic, and thyme and saute for another 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are softening.  Stir in rice, then broth, and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until rice is tender, 45-50 minutes.

Stir in cream and season with salt & pepper.

Recipe for Crispy Fried Tofu with Cabbage Salad at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

It's no secret that Corner Table Restaurant is one of my favorite spots in town - I wouldn't have chosen to spend my birthday dinner there several weeks ago if it weren't.  So when I received an invitation for a promotional cooking demonstration and dinner at Corner Table, for the Muir Glen Tomato Vine Dining Tour, I was happy to accept.

I suspect that local foods advocate and chef/owner Scott Pampuch was well aware that he'd raise a few eyebrows when he signed on for the tour.  Even though Muir Glen - a division of General Mills - is locally owned, the tomatoes are grown in California.

For those of you who pay attention to where your food comes from, buy the highest quality food you can afford, shop farmers markets and local co-ops when you can, and happily eat canned organic California tomatoes in the middle of a Minnesota winter - I'm with you.  I received a few cans of tomatoes as a parting gift after the dinner, but it's not like I don't have a cupboard full of - as it turns out - Muir Glen tomatoes anyhow.

I do not have, however, the Muir Glen Reserve tomatoes, a limited-edition variety available only online, which The Vine Dining Tour specifically promotes.  Pampuch and four other national chefs toured the 3-acre field where the tomatoes are grown, picked at peak ripeness, and canned within hours.

Impressed with the operation as well as with the quality of the Reserve tomatoes, he returned to Minnesota, dug his can opener out of the basement, and developed recipes for Muir Glen to distribute with the tomatoes (one of which is the Fire-Roasted Tomato Burger with Aioli recipe I posted a few days ago at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine), as well as for the promotional dinner at Corner Table.

As the restaurant filled with guests, happy bread-eaters (of which I am no longer, sigh) dunked golden little grilled cheese sandwiches into cups of creamy tomato soup.  I enjoyed watching everyone angle for seconds...and perhaps thirds?

Perhaps.

The silky-rich Amatriciana sauce, however, was all mine.  CT kindly served the sauce (recipe below) over fried polenta, while the gluten-eating majority enjoyed theirs over pillows of sofrito-stuffed fresh pasta. (Honestly, I've always preferred polenta over pasta anyhow, so major score for me.)

And so began the collective raving and sighing.  Man, there are few things as truly fun as sharing a meal with a room full of food lovers.  We all enjoyed the same courses, at the same time, in effect a big, cozy, dinner party.  The wine flowed, the room grew loud, there was happiness.

Good food with friends new and old: Do that, as often as you can.

The main course lamb terrine - served alongside fried potato crisps, a smear of tomato gastrique (homemade ketchup!), a dash of pretty-in-pink tomato salt, and a crunchy, housemade pickle relish - came off as a fabulously deconstructed, sophisticated burger-n-fries.  I briefly considered a wine-enhanced request for a wax-paper lined basket of the potatoes with a squeeze bottle of gastrique and a shaker of tomato salt...but I successfully resisted.

I had to skip the olive oil cake and fennel tuille cookie (both so pretty), but I dug the nod-to-summer tomato and strawberry-basil sorbets together, especially with the bacon granola - bacon granola! - that I was kindly offered in lieu of the cake.

Pre-dinner, Joy Summers from CityPages Hot Dish blog, James Norton and Katie Cannon from The Heavy Table, and I chatted with Pampuch (and snapped pics) while he talked about his decision to participate in the Vine Dining Tour and demonstrated the preparation of the sofrito and Amatriciana sauce featured in the first-course pasta.  (Check out both of their posts for their takes on the dinner and to admire Katie Cannon's lovely photos.)

Pampuch kindly shared the recipes for the sofrito and Amatriciana sauce (the pasta pics up top and directly above are those I snapped at home after prepping the sauces).

Sofrito
Recipe by Scott Pampuch, Corner Table Restaurant
Makes 2 cups

2 medium carrots
1 medium onion
1 medium parsnip
1 1/2 c. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Muir Glen Fire Roasted organic tomatoes, slow simmered to a chunky paste consistency
2 cloves garlic, minced

Peel and grate the onions, carrots, and parsnips.  In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Stir in grated vegetables, tomatoes, and garlic, and simmer gently for 45-60 minutes.  Note: At first, olive oil will appear cloudy, the result of water evaporating from the vegetables.  When the olive oil appears to be clear again (vegetables will be very tender) the sofrito is done.  Be patient: "Good things come to those who wait."

Remove from heat and strain vegetables from oil.  Stir tomatoes into vegetables.  Reserve oil for garnish or to roast garlic.

Use a teaspoon or two of sofrito when making pasta dishes, as a base for a simple pan sauce with a steak or chop, in soup, or as a topping for bruschetta.  Store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Pasta Amatriciana
Recipe by Scott Pampuch, Corner Table Restaurant
Serves 4

Note: Corner Table sells housemade pancetta - and bacon, lardo, pork rilletes - from their meatcase during regular restaurant hours.  In addition, you can order fresh pork belly to make your own (do it!).  Tel: 612.823.0011

1 lb. dry spaghetti
6 oz. thinly sliced pancetta (cut on bias so when rendered, the pieces will curl up; do not use smoked bacon)
1 clove garlic, sliced paper thin to melt
1 14.5-oz. can Muir Glen Meridian Ruby tomatoes
salt & pepper
dry-aged cheese for grating
2 oz. toasted, seasoned breadcrumbs (toasted in a dry pan, whirred in processor with fresh herbs and salt to taste)

Set a large pot of cold water on to boil.  When the water boils, add enough salt for the water to taste salty.  Add the pasta and cook over medium heat, stirring once or twice.

While the water boils and pasta cooks, puree tomatoes in a blender until smooth.  Heat a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the pancetta to the pan.  Once a little bit of the fat has rendered from the pancetta, add the garlic.  Stir in 1 teaspoon of the sofrito, then the pureed tomatoes.  Simmer over low heat until sauce begins to coat the back of a spoon.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

When the pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce, gently stirring until coated.

Serve pasta with grated cheese and a small pinch of bread crumbs.

Are you still with me?  It's been a lot of beans this last week, I know, but keep in mind that any of these dishes can be frozen for a future warm dinner.

This version is sort of dal meets chana masala - two of my two favorite bean dishes.  I've had the chana masala recipe - via the always awesome Smitten Kitchen - on my mind for quite awhile.  I substituted my black lentils for the garbanzos for a ridiculously delicious result.

Just try to save yourself enough for lunch the next day (when it will taste even better).  I predict failure.

The whole comes together quickly (most of the ingredients are easily measured out spices) and delivers Indian take-out heaven without the take-out hassle.  When it's 5 degrees outside, that's worth something.  Pair with basmati rice or warm naan and finish with a dollop of thick yogurt.

(Also see Using a Pot of Beans Part I: Poached Egg Over Lentils, Bacon & Cabbage; Using a Pot of Beans Part II: Almost-Instant Vegetable Bean Soup; and Using a Pot of Beans Part III: Lentil Hummus.  Click here for the whole series.)

Curried Lentils (or Any Beans!)
Adapted from Chana Masala recipe by Smitten Kitchen
Serves 2

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
pinch ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 c. tomatoes, chopped small (fresh or canned)
1/3 c. water
2 c. cooked beans (lentils or chickpeas)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 lemon (juiced)

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, paprika, and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spices for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.

Eat up or put a lid on it and reheat it when needed. Curries such as this reheat very well, later or or in the days that follow, should it last that long.

Did you feel the earth shake around 7 pm last night? Your tummy rumble? Both at the same time? Blame Minnesota Food Bloggers, who gathered for the first time at lovely 128 Cafe in St. Paul to sip wine and say hello face-to-face.

Bloggers chatted with farmers. Social media experts chatted with podcasters. Chefs chatted with food producers. Foodies chatted with PR reps. Restauranteurs chatted with home cooks. Journalists chatted with interns.

We all basked in the glow of proprietress Jill Wilson's gracious hospitality while inhaling Chef Ian Pierce's famously addictive, sticky-tender pork ribs. Alongside frittatas with creme fraiche, vegetable samosas, almond-crusted manchego-stuffed peppers, and mole sirloin skewers...yeah, we enjoyed a serious, impressive feast.

It may have been cold outside, but baby it was cozy delicious fun inside 128 Cafe. When I looked around the room, my heart sang, lalalaa! - so many talented, wonderful people all in the same room. Incredible.

For more pics and other recaps, check out:

FoodStoned
Green Your Plate, Parts I (food) and II (people)
Joel E. Carlson
Eating the Minneapple

Let me know if you write about the event and I'll add your link! Thank you Jill, Ian, 128 Cafe, Dania Miwa (for taking most of these pics - huge!), and all who attended the first-but-not-last gathering of Minnesota Food Bloggers!

Corner Table Restaurant Chef Scott Pampuch's recipe for Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomato Burgers with Aioli Sauce at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

This is the same Creamy, Fluffy Hummus - The Way It's Supposed To Be recipe I posted a few months ago, except substituting black lentils for the garbanzos.  That's the thing with hummus - you can make it with whatever bean you have on hand and it will always be lovely.

As true as it was when I first posted it, the secret to fluffy hummus is to emulsify the tahini with the lemon juice before you start whipping in the beans.  I give a basic outline for the seasoning, but you can adjust it to you suit your own favorite flavors.

Make a meal of it by serving with warm pita bread and a big salad.  Spread the hummus on the pita, pile some salad on top of that, take huge bites - serious yum.  For those of you avoiding grains, the creamy garlicky goodness that is a properly prepared hummus makes a delicious dip for radishes, cauliflower, and peppers.

You could even saute the vegetables in a bit of olive oil first until tender-crisp, pile the warm vegetables on top of a simple green salad, finish with hummus.  You'll get an incredibly satisfying warm/cool, crunchy/creamy, sweet/salty thing going on.

(Also see Using a Pot of Beans Part I: Poached Egg Over Lentils, Bacon & Cabbage and Using a Pot of Beans Part II: Almost-Instant Vegetable Bean Soup.)

Creamy, Fluffy Lentil (or Any Bean!) Hummus
Makes about 2 cups

1/4 c. tahini
juice of one lemon, about 1/4 c.
1/4 c. water or more
1/2 of a whole preserved lemon, seeds discarded (I find jars of whole preserved lemons at Whole Foods), minced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2/3 c. cooked lentils (or other beans)
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. ground chipotle chili powder (optional, if you like spiciness; if not, skip it)
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Add tahini, lemon juice, and water to the bowl of a blender.  Blend on high until the tahini becomes very fluffy and pale colored.  Add the minced preserved lemon (if using) and garlic and blend until pureed.  Add some of the the olive oil and lentils, a little bit at a time of each, blending until completely pureed before adding more.  Add a little bit more water at any point if hummus seems too thick.  You want it to be creamy and the consistency of mayonnaise.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat.  Add cumin and toast for a minute or two, just until fragrant and toasty smelling.  Do not burn it.  Remove from heat and immediately scrape it into the hummus.  Add smoked paprika and chili powder (if using).  Blend to incorporate.  Taste and adjust seasonings and salt (you'll need less salt if you used the preserved lemon).  Grind in some pepper.  Blend again.

Scrape hummus into a serving bowl.  Drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.  (Can be made ahead; cover and chill, bring to room temperature before serving.)

This is a variation on a recipe from Jacques Pepin's fabulous cookbook Fast Food My Way.  If you like the idea of easy, fast, flavor-packed, healthy dinner ideas - yes, it delivers all of those things - I can't recommend the book highly enough.

As the name implies, this light-yet-filling soup is on the table in less than 10 minutes.  Jacques refers to it as "fridge soup."  I think of it as "a bowlful of health."  It is delicious.

Though the ingredients are few, the flavor is big.  Punch it up even more with a generous grating of cheese to finish.  If you happen to have anchovy or herb butter on hand, float a teaspoon or so on top (or drizzle with seriously fruity olive oil), grind plenty of black pepper over the whole, and be glad for fast, hot soup on a cold Minnesota day.

Riff on this basic concept to your heart and stomach's content: Add neatly diced leftover roast, a shower of fresh herbs, a fried egg, cubes of firm tofu, a spoonful of kimchi, leftover rice, a squirt of sriracha, toasted croutons...if you can imagine it, it can be yours in mere minutes.

(Also see Using a Pot of Beans Part I: Poached Egg over Lentils, Bacon & Cabbage.)

Almost-Instant Vegetable Bean Soup
Serves 2 (double or more as you like)

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. grated vegetables (any combination of cauliflower, cabbage, shallot, carrot, fennel, broccoli, celery, radishes - whatever you have/like)
1/2 c. cooked beans
2 c. water
1 tsp. salt
freshly grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese (or another that you have/like)
anchovy butter, herb butter, or extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir in grated vegetables to coat with oil, then add water and salt.  Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and simmer for 2-3 minutes until vegetables are tender-crisp.  Ladle into bowls and top with plenty of grated cheese, a pat of butter or drizzle of oil, and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper.