Monday, October 18, 2010
Food and Running
I've been running a lot lately - training for my first half marathon on Sunday, November 7th. Now one of the reasons I started running was to improve my health. For the most part this is working. One problem running presents is food. First off I am hungry ALL THE TIME!!! Even after I eat a meal I feel like I need a snack. This is fine on my long run days when I am burning close to 1,000 calories but that is usually only one day a week. Lately I've been reading and learning about fueling before the run, during the run and after the run. Most of these recommended foods are full of sugar and white flour (after all you don't want a lot of "fiber" before you go out for a run). So what did I buy the other day - Pop Tarts, Gummy Bears, Fig Newtons and white bread. These things haven't been in my house in years (okay maybe Gummy Bears for the kids). It just seems so counter intuitive to the idea of being healthy but I'll try anything once. On Sunday I ran 12 miles and fueled every 30 minutes on " Cliff Shot Bloks" which are basically little gel cubes full of carbs and electrolytes. Not bad tasting but I'm not really sure what is in them. A couple of days before a race I try to eat low fiber - white flour bagels, PB&J with white bread, white flour pasta etc. and no nuts. For breakfast before a race I will have either a banana smoothie or a bagel with peanut butter. About 30 minutes before I will eat Fig Newtons or a Pop Tart then fuel with the Shot Bloks during the run. After the race I always crave pizza and beer!!! So in the end I guess I really don't run to be healthy - I run to justify eating junk food!!!
This and That
Haven't "blogged" in a while. Sorry about that. Can't say I've done much cooking lately. Well not anything spectacular anyway. Seems like most of my dishes are what I call "What's in the fridge?" dishes. That means I open the fridge, pull out whatever ingredients are in there that look good and cook with them. For example tonight I found half of a roasted eggplant (roasted that on Saturday to put on homemade pizza), fresh baby spinach, goat cheese, kalamata olives (never be without these in your fridge) and leftover homemade pasta sauce (again used in the Saturday pizza). So I threw some water on to boil for pasta (De Cecco whole wheat penne pasta), heated up some olive oil in a pan and added the chopped eggplant, a couple of handfuls of spinach, a clove of minced garlic, the sauce, goat cheese and olives. When these were heated through I added the cooked pasta and presto - a delicious pasta dish ready in just minutes with very little clean up.
As I mentioned I made homemade pizza on Saturday. I make this a lot (my niece Lindsey LOVES it) but this one turned out the best so far. I start with Rosario's (a Maine company) whole wheat pizza dough (I can make my own but why bother when Rosario does it so well) and add the following:
homemade tomato sauce
sauteed onions and mushrooms
raw baby spinach
chopped roasted eggplant
basil (you can use either whole leaves or use a chiffonade cut)
goat cheese or feta
kalamata olives
salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil over the top
Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 450 degree oven. If you have a pizza stone great - if not a cookie sheet drizzled with olive oil works just as well.
Am inviting some friends over on Sunday to watch football (I actually hate football but am being a good friend here) and am thinking up some good veggie snacks to serve during the game. This could be tough because football seems like such a "meat" lovers sport. I'll let you know how I do.
Ciao for now!
Maura
As I mentioned I made homemade pizza on Saturday. I make this a lot (my niece Lindsey LOVES it) but this one turned out the best so far. I start with Rosario's (a Maine company) whole wheat pizza dough (I can make my own but why bother when Rosario does it so well) and add the following:
homemade tomato sauce
sauteed onions and mushrooms
raw baby spinach
chopped roasted eggplant
basil (you can use either whole leaves or use a chiffonade cut)
goat cheese or feta
kalamata olives
salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil over the top
Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 450 degree oven. If you have a pizza stone great - if not a cookie sheet drizzled with olive oil works just as well.
Am inviting some friends over on Sunday to watch football (I actually hate football but am being a good friend here) and am thinking up some good veggie snacks to serve during the game. This could be tough because football seems like such a "meat" lovers sport. I'll let you know how I do.
Ciao for now!
Maura
Monday, September 13, 2010
Dinner at Pat and Rosie's
A couple of weekends ago we had the great fortune to be invited to dinner at the home of our dear friends Pat and Rosie. It was their 32nd wedding anniversary and Pat cooked a spectacular dinner for his bride. The meal, which was served “Tapas” style, started out with a bottle of Gloria Ferrer sparkling Brut paired with a mint/pistachio pesto and pita chips that I brought (see recipe below). Next we dined on large diver scallops that Pat had gently seared on the gas grill. Divine! My favorite part of the evening came when Pat served marinated tuna seared on the grill with a lovely red center. Pat’s marinade included soy sauce, hot pepper sauce and toasted sesame seeds (among other ingredients). This was accompanied by a white wine whose name I cannot remember (okay so we did have a tad too much to drink). The third course was grilled lamb chops that I must admit smelled heavenly but since I am not a meat eater I skipped this one. As if this wasn’t enough we were then served a fish chowder. Also on the table was a platter of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers fresh out of Pat and Rosie’s garden. Somewhere in all this we opened a bottle of 1998 Chateau Moulin de Lavaud Lalande-de-Pomerol that Tom and I bought on a trip to France in 2003. This wine was soooooo smooth. We took this opportunity to savor the wine and take a break from food before Pat served the final course – pasta with homemade tomato sauce. This sauce was sweet and fragrant and included a secret ingredient – roasted basil buds. Basil buds are what shoots up from the basil plant when it starts to seed. Most people nip this part off and throw them away. If memory serves me right we had yet another bottle of wine during this course but the only thing I remember is that it was red. (Tom reminded me the next day that the wine was from Sterling Vineyards. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to appreciate it). I do remember the Prager Port that Pat brought out at the end but we only had a small glass…. There was a homemade (by Rosie) Peach Pie waiting to be served for dessert but we never got to it. Too much food and too much fun!
Mint Pistachio Pesto
I learned this recipe from Chef Elliott Prag at the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. The Miso and Umeboshi replaces the cheese that is normally found in pesto making this a vegan recipe. The mint and pistachio are a refreshing change from the traditional basil and pine nuts. This was one of my favorite recipes from NGI and I have made it 4 or 5 times in the last couple of months.
1 large bunch of mint or 2 medium bunches (about 5 ounces)
2 cloves of garlic minced
½ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ c. raw pistachios - toasted
2 T. sweet Miso
1 t. Umeboshi Paste
Salt to taste
Using a food processor process the garlic and mint then slowly add the olive oil. Add the pistachios, Umeboshi and Miso and process for another 30-60 seconds. Taste and if needed, add salt. Serve on toasted baguette slices.
Mint Pistachio Pesto
I learned this recipe from Chef Elliott Prag at the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. The Miso and Umeboshi replaces the cheese that is normally found in pesto making this a vegan recipe. The mint and pistachio are a refreshing change from the traditional basil and pine nuts. This was one of my favorite recipes from NGI and I have made it 4 or 5 times in the last couple of months.
1 large bunch of mint or 2 medium bunches (about 5 ounces)
2 cloves of garlic minced
½ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ c. raw pistachios - toasted
2 T. sweet Miso
1 t. Umeboshi Paste
Salt to taste
Using a food processor process the garlic and mint then slowly add the olive oil. Add the pistachios, Umeboshi and Miso and process for another 30-60 seconds. Taste and if needed, add salt. Serve on toasted baguette slices.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Two New Recipes and the End of Summer????
It is September 1st and summer in Maine shows no signs of slowing down. We’ve had record heat the last few days – temps in the 90s – which is unusual for this time of year. As I write it is 6:00 p.m. and the temp is still 85 degrees. There are a few signs of autumn coming though (notice I call it autumn and not fall – my friend Ros in England hates it when I use the term “fall.”) This week the Kids started back to school (well not mine – other people’s), the acorns are falling off the trees all over my yard (some leaves too) and today I purchased my favorite seasonal brew from Shipyard Brewing – Pugsley’s Signature Series Smashed Pumpkin Ale. Haven’t had it in almost a year and am looking forward to a cool crispy evening to enjoy a pint. I also know it is the end of summer because the Red Sox are in third place with no chance of catching up to Tampa Bay or the Yankees. This means I will have lots of extra time for cooking in October when I won’t have to stay up late to watch the American League playoffs or the World Series.
Last week we had guests to dinner two different nights and the dishes I served were a big success so I thought I’d share the recipes with you. The first – Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Tempeh – was my own creation. The second, Vegetarian Moussaka, came from a beautiful cookbook called “The Food of Greece” by Aglaia Kremezi. Aglaia is a Greek journalist who spent years researching the forgotten traditional foods of Greece – the foods that, even in Greece, were pushed aside for Americanized fast food versions such as “souvlaki”, pizza, hamburgers and “Greek Salad.”
Maura’s Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Tempeh
Note: I don’t usually weigh and measure my ingredients so you’ll have to decide how much of each to ingredient to use. I fed four people with my recipe and had leftovers for two more meals.
1 small to medium sweet onion sliced thin
1-2 cloves garlic minced
2 carrots sliced thin on the diagonal or cut matchstick style
1 small to medium red (or orange or green) pepper sliced into thin strips
Shitake mushrooms (cleaned with a damp paper towel), stems removed and sliced thin
Assorted veggies (okay don’t panic – hear me out. What you use in this dish is really up to you. I usually just use what is on hand in my kitchen or what is the freshest at the local farmer’s market or grocer. To tell you the truth I don’t remember what I put in last week but it was probably spinach, diced tomatoes, maybe some diced zucchini or summer squash. You can also use bok choy, broccoli, eggplant, etc.)
Olive oil or peanut oil for cooking
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. package of Buckwheat Soba Noodles or Udon Noodles (I prefer the Soba but they do tend to stick together when cold)
1 package of Tempeh (see my blog post from July 21st)
1 T. Tamari or soy sauce
Water
Peanut Sauce:
¼ to ½ cup peanut butter
1-2 T tamari, shoyu or soy sauce
½ to 1 t. toasted sesame oil (if you have some)
1 t. chili garlic paste
Juice of 1 lime
Hot water (enough to make it a sauce)
First make the sauce. Add all the ingredients together (except the water) then whisk in enough hot water (a little at a time) to make a sauce. If you do this the day before the sauce will probably thicken so go ahead and let the sauce come to room temp and then add more water if needed.
Next prepare the tempeh. Heat some oil (olive or peanut oil is fine) in a pan and brown the tempeh on both sides. Add Tamari and enough water to come half way up the tempeh. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Cut tempeh into cubes and set aside.
Sauté the onion and garlic (add this after the onions so it won’t burn) for a few minutes. Add carrots and peppers and sauté for a few more minutes. Add mushrooms and other assorted veggies and sauté for a few more minutes. Don’t let the veggies get mushy – I tend to like mine on the crunchy side.
While the veggies are cooking bring a pan of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. These don’t take long – 3-5 minutes so be ready with your sauce and veggies. Drain the cooked noodles and rinse with water in a colander.
Add the noodles and sauce to the pan of veggies and stir to combine. Add the tempeh. Serve immediately. Great served with a Sauvignon Blanc or even a Spanish Rose.
Vegetarian Moussaka (Moussaka Nistisimos)
Note: Don’t let this dish scare you. There are lots of ingredients and it takes a little time to put together but it is so worth it. It holds over nicely for a few days so it makes great leftovers.
2-3 medium eggplants
Sea salt
3 large green bell peppers
1/3 c. olive oil
1 very large or two small potatoes, thinly sliced
Tomato Sauce:
2 large onions (2 c.) coarsely chopped
1 large green bell pepper diced
1½ teaspoons minced fresh chili pepper (I left this out)
1/2 c. dry red wine
5 large tomatoes (2 ½ c.) peeled and diced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
Grated nutmeg
Ground cinnamon
½ c. dark raisins (don’t leave this out! I almost did and it turned out to be the best part of the dish)
1 T. Sea salt
1 c. feta cheese, crumbled (please buy imported feta – it is so much better than domestic)
½ c. ground (use a food processor or nut grinder) walnuts
2 ripe tomatoes peeled and sliced
½ c. bread crumbs
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
First prepare the eggplant. Cut off the stems and peel in strips leaving roughly half the skin on the eggplants. Cut across into 1/3 inch slices. Salt well on both sides and let drain in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry before using. Brush each slice with olive oil and grill until both sides are golden. You can also do this in a broiler.
Next prepare the peppers. Cut the peppers in halves or quarters lengthwise to obtain flat pieces. Discard the seeds and stems and roast on a gas burner or a gas grill skin side down until the skins blister (about 10 minutes). Place in a bowl, cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Peel.
Potatoes. Heat remaining oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes for 3-4 minutes until just soft. Remove and arrange on the bottom of a clay or glass baking dish (approx. 15 ½ by 10 ½). Don’t worry if there are gaps between the potatoes.
To make the sauce. In the same pan as you fried the potatoes sauté the onions, bell pepper, chili pepper for about three minutes. Add the wine and cook for two minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon and raisins and simmer for yet another 10 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Arrange the eggplant slice on top of the potatoes. (Now the recipe doesn’t say to use only one layer so I did two as I had plenty of eggplant). Spoon half the sauce over the eggplant then sprinkle with the feta and ground walnuts. Cover with the roasted peppers and spoon the rest of the tomato sauce on top. Spread evenly. Top with the tomato slices and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Bake on the bottom rack of your oven for about an hour. Check after 45 minutes. If the top has browned cover with aluminum foil.
Let cool completely on a rack before serving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you do make either of these recipes let me know how you liked them.
“Eat, Drink and be Merry”
Maura
Last week we had guests to dinner two different nights and the dishes I served were a big success so I thought I’d share the recipes with you. The first – Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Tempeh – was my own creation. The second, Vegetarian Moussaka, came from a beautiful cookbook called “The Food of Greece” by Aglaia Kremezi. Aglaia is a Greek journalist who spent years researching the forgotten traditional foods of Greece – the foods that, even in Greece, were pushed aside for Americanized fast food versions such as “souvlaki”, pizza, hamburgers and “Greek Salad.”
Maura’s Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Tempeh
Note: I don’t usually weigh and measure my ingredients so you’ll have to decide how much of each to ingredient to use. I fed four people with my recipe and had leftovers for two more meals.
1 small to medium sweet onion sliced thin
1-2 cloves garlic minced
2 carrots sliced thin on the diagonal or cut matchstick style
1 small to medium red (or orange or green) pepper sliced into thin strips
Shitake mushrooms (cleaned with a damp paper towel), stems removed and sliced thin
Assorted veggies (okay don’t panic – hear me out. What you use in this dish is really up to you. I usually just use what is on hand in my kitchen or what is the freshest at the local farmer’s market or grocer. To tell you the truth I don’t remember what I put in last week but it was probably spinach, diced tomatoes, maybe some diced zucchini or summer squash. You can also use bok choy, broccoli, eggplant, etc.)
Olive oil or peanut oil for cooking
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. package of Buckwheat Soba Noodles or Udon Noodles (I prefer the Soba but they do tend to stick together when cold)
1 package of Tempeh (see my blog post from July 21st)
1 T. Tamari or soy sauce
Water
Peanut Sauce:
¼ to ½ cup peanut butter
1-2 T tamari, shoyu or soy sauce
½ to 1 t. toasted sesame oil (if you have some)
1 t. chili garlic paste
Juice of 1 lime
Hot water (enough to make it a sauce)
First make the sauce. Add all the ingredients together (except the water) then whisk in enough hot water (a little at a time) to make a sauce. If you do this the day before the sauce will probably thicken so go ahead and let the sauce come to room temp and then add more water if needed.
Next prepare the tempeh. Heat some oil (olive or peanut oil is fine) in a pan and brown the tempeh on both sides. Add Tamari and enough water to come half way up the tempeh. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Cut tempeh into cubes and set aside.
Sauté the onion and garlic (add this after the onions so it won’t burn) for a few minutes. Add carrots and peppers and sauté for a few more minutes. Add mushrooms and other assorted veggies and sauté for a few more minutes. Don’t let the veggies get mushy – I tend to like mine on the crunchy side.
While the veggies are cooking bring a pan of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. These don’t take long – 3-5 minutes so be ready with your sauce and veggies. Drain the cooked noodles and rinse with water in a colander.
Add the noodles and sauce to the pan of veggies and stir to combine. Add the tempeh. Serve immediately. Great served with a Sauvignon Blanc or even a Spanish Rose.
Vegetarian Moussaka (Moussaka Nistisimos)
Note: Don’t let this dish scare you. There are lots of ingredients and it takes a little time to put together but it is so worth it. It holds over nicely for a few days so it makes great leftovers.
2-3 medium eggplants
Sea salt
3 large green bell peppers
1/3 c. olive oil
1 very large or two small potatoes, thinly sliced
Tomato Sauce:
2 large onions (2 c.) coarsely chopped
1 large green bell pepper diced
1½ teaspoons minced fresh chili pepper (I left this out)
1/2 c. dry red wine
5 large tomatoes (2 ½ c.) peeled and diced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
Grated nutmeg
Ground cinnamon
½ c. dark raisins (don’t leave this out! I almost did and it turned out to be the best part of the dish)
1 T. Sea salt
1 c. feta cheese, crumbled (please buy imported feta – it is so much better than domestic)
½ c. ground (use a food processor or nut grinder) walnuts
2 ripe tomatoes peeled and sliced
½ c. bread crumbs
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
First prepare the eggplant. Cut off the stems and peel in strips leaving roughly half the skin on the eggplants. Cut across into 1/3 inch slices. Salt well on both sides and let drain in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry before using. Brush each slice with olive oil and grill until both sides are golden. You can also do this in a broiler.
Next prepare the peppers. Cut the peppers in halves or quarters lengthwise to obtain flat pieces. Discard the seeds and stems and roast on a gas burner or a gas grill skin side down until the skins blister (about 10 minutes). Place in a bowl, cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Peel.
Potatoes. Heat remaining oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes for 3-4 minutes until just soft. Remove and arrange on the bottom of a clay or glass baking dish (approx. 15 ½ by 10 ½). Don’t worry if there are gaps between the potatoes.
To make the sauce. In the same pan as you fried the potatoes sauté the onions, bell pepper, chili pepper for about three minutes. Add the wine and cook for two minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon and raisins and simmer for yet another 10 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Arrange the eggplant slice on top of the potatoes. (Now the recipe doesn’t say to use only one layer so I did two as I had plenty of eggplant). Spoon half the sauce over the eggplant then sprinkle with the feta and ground walnuts. Cover with the roasted peppers and spoon the rest of the tomato sauce on top. Spread evenly. Top with the tomato slices and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Bake on the bottom rack of your oven for about an hour. Check after 45 minutes. If the top has browned cover with aluminum foil.
Let cool completely on a rack before serving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you do make either of these recipes let me know how you liked them.
“Eat, Drink and be Merry”
Maura
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Life in Maine
Well I've been back from the Big Apple for a little over a week now. As much as I love being home and living in Maine I do miss the city. I have kept busy though. First thing I did was organize the kitchen. I realized that I had been keeping all the spices, oils and vinegars in the cabinet right next to the stove where they are exposed to high heat. Not a good idea. So now they are all together in one cabinet which is cooler and not exposed to light (until I open the cabinet of course). This will really help to preserve and extend the life of the dried herbs, spices, oils and vinegars. Once I got organized I practiced some of the recipes I learned at school. Made quite a few quarts of the carrot, onion and celery stock which I am keeping in the freezer for soups and stews. (By the way I have purged my kitchen of "tupperware", "gladware", etc. Am using only glass - mostly Ball jars in several different sizes. I just don't trust the chemicals leaching out of the plastic into my food.) The stock is fairly easy to make but does take some time to prep the veggies. Here is the basic recipe:
Heat 2 T. extra virgin olive oil in a large stockpot. Add 1 head of garlic (smashed and peeled), 6 onions coarsely chopped, 8 medium/large carrots peeled and coarsely chopped, 1 head celery coarsely chopped and 6 shallots peeled and coarsely chopped (I actually used a leek instead). Sweat the vegetables for about 10 minutes then add 7-8 quarts cold water and a bouquet garni (1 thyme sprig, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 bunch parsley and 8 peppercorns wrapped up in cheesecloth and tied with string). Cover and bring to a boil, skim off foam and simmer (partially covered) for 60 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer and use as a soup base or freeze for later use. I used my stock to make a Creamy Carrot Soup. I'll share that recipe with you in another blog post.
Haven't done too much cooking this week. Am training for a Triathlon in less then two weeks (August 15th to be exact) and am working a few days this week at the Town Hall to clean up some year end accounting before the new Finance Director starts. As for my career plans I basically have no idea. As much as I love food and cooking I am not optimistic that I can turn this passion into something that can actually make money. Doors are still open though. We'll just have to wait and see....
Heat 2 T. extra virgin olive oil in a large stockpot. Add 1 head of garlic (smashed and peeled), 6 onions coarsely chopped, 8 medium/large carrots peeled and coarsely chopped, 1 head celery coarsely chopped and 6 shallots peeled and coarsely chopped (I actually used a leek instead). Sweat the vegetables for about 10 minutes then add 7-8 quarts cold water and a bouquet garni (1 thyme sprig, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 bunch parsley and 8 peppercorns wrapped up in cheesecloth and tied with string). Cover and bring to a boil, skim off foam and simmer (partially covered) for 60 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer and use as a soup base or freeze for later use. I used my stock to make a Creamy Carrot Soup. I'll share that recipe with you in another blog post.
Haven't done too much cooking this week. Am training for a Triathlon in less then two weeks (August 15th to be exact) and am working a few days this week at the Town Hall to clean up some year end accounting before the new Finance Director starts. As for my career plans I basically have no idea. As much as I love food and cooking I am not optimistic that I can turn this passion into something that can actually make money. Doors are still open though. We'll just have to wait and see....
Friday, July 23, 2010
Fish, Truffles and Graduation
Just got back from dinner at Hundred Acres in Greenwich Village with Nicola, my “table mate” at school. Had a lovely meal of deep fried squash blossom stuffed with ricotta; dandelion and escarole salad with anchovy dressing; and crispy smashed creamer potatoes accompanied by a couple (okay three) of glasses of Entre Deux Mers Chateaux Turcaud from Bordeaux. It was a wonderful way to debrief from the last two weeks at the Natural Gourmet Institute. Nicola is an amazing young woman from New Zealand who has been traveling for the last year to explore new opportunities and came to the Natural Gourmet Institute because of her passion for healthy eating and natural foods. Ironically Nicola and I discovered just today that we had both worked as auditors for the same international accounting firm – Coopers and Lybrand – and now here we both were at cooking school! The last thing Nicola said to me when we said goodbye was “stay true.” I will keep those words with me as I continue my journey.
Today’s menu – our last day of class – was about fish. Here are Chef Judith’s tips for buying a whole fish:
1. Poke the fish and make sure it is “taut.”
2. Smell the fish to insure that it doesn’t smell “too fishy”
3. Check the fish’s eyes – they should be clear and bright – not cloudy
4. Look at the fish’s gills – they should be red
Chef Judith took us through three recipes – wild salmon en papillote (parchment paper), roasted whole branzino (a Mediterranean fish), and braised Alaskan halibut. I had never done “en papillote” before and it was fun to wrap the fish along with potatoes, carrots and fennel but I have to say this is a challenging way to cook fish. The problem with “en papillote” is you can’t check the fish for doneness so you’ve got to be a pretty good judge as to how long to cook the fish. As it turned out ours was overdone.
The branzino was cooked whole on a bed of sliced onions, tomatoes and limes. We prepared the fish by cutting of the fins and scoring the fish on each side with a cut every inch or so. We then salted the fish, filled the scores or cuts with thinly sliced garlic and filled the cavity with thyme and lemon slices. This was baked in the oven then finished off in the broiler until the skin crisped up. Our third fish was Alaskan halibut. The fish was braised in a mixture of sautéed onions, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings. All these dishes were flavorful but I have to say for me there is nothing like salmon on the grill. Just doesn’t seem worth all the extra work. Unless of course it is my friend Bill Dunn’s famous salmon dish. If I can wrangle the recipe from him I may share it with you on the blog some day.
After lunch we made chocolate chipotle truffles and celebrated our last day with Prosecco and watermelon. Chef Judith presented us each with a certificate of completion as part of our “graduation.” So hard to believe it is all over.
Tomorrow afternoon I leave my home in the city to return to my life in Maine. Many of you may ask (and I ask myself the same question) – what’s next? As Shakespeare once said, “Ay, there’s the rub.” What is next? Anything, everything, nothing at all. I guess that’s up to me. What I’ve learned about myself these past two weeks is that in spite of the wonderful life I have in Maine I don’t want to return to the same exact life. I am somewhere between wearing Dorothy’s ruby slippers that will take me home and Cinderella’s glass slipper that will bring me to a new life. At least I’ve already got Prince Charming so that part of my life I’ll keep. As for the rest, only time will tell. I do plan to keep my blog going but will turn it into a weekly recipe blog hopefully smattered with new and exciting stories about my journey. I hope you will check back from time to time.
Thank you all for sharing this experience with me. I hope you all get to follow your passion some day. My advice to you is to talk about your passion and your dreams with your family and friends because I know one thing for sure. I would NEVER have done this if it weren’t for the positive vibes I received from the people I love. Seems they have a lot more confidence in me than I do! Thank you all.
That’s all for now folks. Eat, drink and be merry and above all stay healthy!
Maura
Today’s menu – our last day of class – was about fish. Here are Chef Judith’s tips for buying a whole fish:
1. Poke the fish and make sure it is “taut.”
2. Smell the fish to insure that it doesn’t smell “too fishy”
3. Check the fish’s eyes – they should be clear and bright – not cloudy
4. Look at the fish’s gills – they should be red
Chef Judith took us through three recipes – wild salmon en papillote (parchment paper), roasted whole branzino (a Mediterranean fish), and braised Alaskan halibut. I had never done “en papillote” before and it was fun to wrap the fish along with potatoes, carrots and fennel but I have to say this is a challenging way to cook fish. The problem with “en papillote” is you can’t check the fish for doneness so you’ve got to be a pretty good judge as to how long to cook the fish. As it turned out ours was overdone.
Salmon en Papillote
The branzino was cooked whole on a bed of sliced onions, tomatoes and limes. We prepared the fish by cutting of the fins and scoring the fish on each side with a cut every inch or so. We then salted the fish, filled the scores or cuts with thinly sliced garlic and filled the cavity with thyme and lemon slices. This was baked in the oven then finished off in the broiler until the skin crisped up. Our third fish was Alaskan halibut. The fish was braised in a mixture of sautéed onions, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings. All these dishes were flavorful but I have to say for me there is nothing like salmon on the grill. Just doesn’t seem worth all the extra work. Unless of course it is my friend Bill Dunn’s famous salmon dish. If I can wrangle the recipe from him I may share it with you on the blog some day.
Whole Branzino
After lunch we made chocolate chipotle truffles and celebrated our last day with Prosecco and watermelon. Chef Judith presented us each with a certificate of completion as part of our “graduation.” So hard to believe it is all over.
Graduation Day
Tomorrow afternoon I leave my home in the city to return to my life in Maine. Many of you may ask (and I ask myself the same question) – what’s next? As Shakespeare once said, “Ay, there’s the rub.” What is next? Anything, everything, nothing at all. I guess that’s up to me. What I’ve learned about myself these past two weeks is that in spite of the wonderful life I have in Maine I don’t want to return to the same exact life. I am somewhere between wearing Dorothy’s ruby slippers that will take me home and Cinderella’s glass slipper that will bring me to a new life. At least I’ve already got Prince Charming so that part of my life I’ll keep. As for the rest, only time will tell. I do plan to keep my blog going but will turn it into a weekly recipe blog hopefully smattered with new and exciting stories about my journey. I hope you will check back from time to time.
Thank you all for sharing this experience with me. I hope you all get to follow your passion some day. My advice to you is to talk about your passion and your dreams with your family and friends because I know one thing for sure. I would NEVER have done this if it weren’t for the positive vibes I received from the people I love. Seems they have a lot more confidence in me than I do! Thank you all.
That’s all for now folks. Eat, drink and be merry and above all stay healthy!
Maura
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Greenwich Village, Sea Vegetables, Soups & Stocks
Today was a gorgeous day in New York City! The humidity has FINALLY subsided (but not for long) and the temps were only in the 80’s rather than the 90’s. Had a great run in Prospect Park this morning before heading off to school for Day 9. Yikes – only one more day left!
Before I tell you about our class day I want to talk about my evening. After school I headed Downtown on foot to Greenwich Village. What a great place! It if full of trendy people, shops and restaurants. A far cry from the days of Beatniks in the 1960s. Wish I could go back in time and see it like it was! Found a sidewalk table at an Italian restaurant where I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio and did some great people watching. Also eavesdropped on a conversation between two women at the table next to me. They were French and one was trying to figure out how she could rent out her house so she could spend more time in New York. Something I would love to figure out myself! After that I headed down MacDougal Street to Mamoud’s for a falafel sandwich. I knew this was the place to go because earlier when I walked by I saw at least ten women standing outside the shop eating falafel – they were all wearing Berkas. A good sign!
So back to school at the Natural Gourmet Institute. This morning we had a fascinating lecture and demonstration about sea vegetables by Chef Jill Gusman. Sea vegetables are near and dear to my heart because it is something that Maine is well known for. Sea vegetables are amazingly healthy. They are packed with minerals – iron, phosphorous, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iodine and niacin. They are more alkaline forming and are anti-inflammatory. They contain Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, D, E and K (in small amounts). Sea vegetables also contain “alginic acids” which can bind with heavy metals in our system and help us to detoxify. You don’t need much to obtain these results – ¼ to ½ cup a couple of times a week plus small amounts daily in soups, etc. is more than enough. Some of the recipes we made this morning included: arame caviar, hijiki snow peas, smoked dulse and basil infusion, kidney bean dip with kombu, crunch ‘n brine seaweed salad and apricot pudding (kanten) made with agar flakes. If all that sounds to exotic for you buy some kombu (this comes dried in packages and can be found in most Asian sections of grocery stores) and add a piece to the cooking water of beans or to soups. You can use kombu in place of a bay leaf in any recipe. This will add flavor as well as minerals.
The afternoon’s session featured stocks and soups. We made a simple carrot, celery and onion stock which is very traditional. This stock can serve as the base for hundreds of different soups. One tip - don’t add salt to your stock. Salt should be added as needed when preparing the final recipe. We used the stock in two different soups – a carrot soup and borscht (made with beets). The carrot soup was fabulous! After cooking we ran it through a blender and it came out oh so creamy! The borscht was really interesting - something I had never had before. This particular recipe was apparently different from traditional borscht and was not blended. As such it had tiny bites of onion, beets and cabbage that gave it a wonderful taste and texture. The third soup we made did not include stock – this was a chilled cantaloupe soup made with white grape juice, cantaloupe and a peach. Great for a dessert soup or for a brunch.
Tomorrow is the last day of class. How sad : ( We will be doing fish in the morning then having a graduation party in the afternoon. After that I am going out to celebrate with a classmate so I may not be back to the blog until Saturday morning. Ciao until then!
Before I tell you about our class day I want to talk about my evening. After school I headed Downtown on foot to Greenwich Village. What a great place! It if full of trendy people, shops and restaurants. A far cry from the days of Beatniks in the 1960s. Wish I could go back in time and see it like it was! Found a sidewalk table at an Italian restaurant where I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio and did some great people watching. Also eavesdropped on a conversation between two women at the table next to me. They were French and one was trying to figure out how she could rent out her house so she could spend more time in New York. Something I would love to figure out myself! After that I headed down MacDougal Street to Mamoud’s for a falafel sandwich. I knew this was the place to go because earlier when I walked by I saw at least ten women standing outside the shop eating falafel – they were all wearing Berkas. A good sign!
So back to school at the Natural Gourmet Institute. This morning we had a fascinating lecture and demonstration about sea vegetables by Chef Jill Gusman. Sea vegetables are near and dear to my heart because it is something that Maine is well known for. Sea vegetables are amazingly healthy. They are packed with minerals – iron, phosphorous, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iodine and niacin. They are more alkaline forming and are anti-inflammatory. They contain Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, D, E and K (in small amounts). Sea vegetables also contain “alginic acids” which can bind with heavy metals in our system and help us to detoxify. You don’t need much to obtain these results – ¼ to ½ cup a couple of times a week plus small amounts daily in soups, etc. is more than enough. Some of the recipes we made this morning included: arame caviar, hijiki snow peas, smoked dulse and basil infusion, kidney bean dip with kombu, crunch ‘n brine seaweed salad and apricot pudding (kanten) made with agar flakes. If all that sounds to exotic for you buy some kombu (this comes dried in packages and can be found in most Asian sections of grocery stores) and add a piece to the cooking water of beans or to soups. You can use kombu in place of a bay leaf in any recipe. This will add flavor as well as minerals.
Arame Caviar
Sea Vegetable Lunch
The afternoon’s session featured stocks and soups. We made a simple carrot, celery and onion stock which is very traditional. This stock can serve as the base for hundreds of different soups. One tip - don’t add salt to your stock. Salt should be added as needed when preparing the final recipe. We used the stock in two different soups – a carrot soup and borscht (made with beets). The carrot soup was fabulous! After cooking we ran it through a blender and it came out oh so creamy! The borscht was really interesting - something I had never had before. This particular recipe was apparently different from traditional borscht and was not blended. As such it had tiny bites of onion, beets and cabbage that gave it a wonderful taste and texture. The third soup we made did not include stock – this was a chilled cantaloupe soup made with white grape juice, cantaloupe and a peach. Great for a dessert soup or for a brunch.
Mis en Place - Carrot Soup
Making Carrot Soup
Carrot Soup - The Final Product
Tomorrow is the last day of class. How sad : ( We will be doing fish in the morning then having a graduation party in the afternoon. After that I am going out to celebrate with a classmate so I may not be back to the blog until Saturday morning. Ciao until then!
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