Fish and Veggies: April 2009

Wine: Tilia Chardonnay

Life has gotten busy, and I haven't had much time to cook. But there is always time for a nice glass of wine. My brother brought over a bottle of Tilia Chardonnay, and I've been hooked ever since. Here's a fancy shmancy description from a wine connesouir who named it the Wine of the Week: "The mouth is sweet, clean and juicy on entry. The fruit profile is tropical citrus with a silky mid-pallet richness. Lengthy and eminently satisfying, it will be perfect with this summer's salmon." You can get it at Whole Food for under $10. Cheers!

Roasted Potato Leek Soup

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It's starting to warm up here in Texas. Before we all start melting in the summer heat, I wanted to make one last hot soup. As previously mentioned, I love potatoes in all forms, and I am a recent convert to delicious leeks. I saw a Barefoot Contessa recipe for roasted potato leek soup, and it sounded perfect. I've taken a few liberties, but the basic recipe is the same. I added quite a bit of spinach to the roasting veggies. Although it added a deepness of flavor, it also added a deep green color. Be warned, if you add spinach, the soup resembles mashed-pea-baby-food, but it sure tastes good. Roasted Potato Leek Soup 5 Yukon Potatoes 3 large leeks (white and light green parts only) 2 large handfuls of spinach leaves (optional, and be warned of resulting green color) 1 cup white wine 5 cups chicken stock 1/2 cup creme fraiche 1/2 cup heavy cream Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1. Peel and chop potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Cut dark green part off leek, and thoroughly wash white/light green part, before slicing into 1 inch pieces. Please in sheet tray, and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Salt and pepper generously. Stir together with hands. Place in preheated oven at 475 degrees for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes to make sure veggies aren't sticking or burning. Add spinach to the top of veggies, and return to oven until the spinach is wilted. 2. Remove veggies from oven, and place over two stove burners on medium heat. Add white wine, and scrape up any burned sections of the veggies. 3. Add mixture to food processor and pulse until thick but still chunky. 4. Pour until large pot over medium heat. Add heavy cream, cream fraiche, and chicken stock to desired thickness. (You want it to have a soup consistency, not creamed veggies.) Add salt and pepper to taste. 5. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. And of course a crunchy bread on the side.

Cooks Illustrated: Maple-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

I love Cooks Illustrated. I find myself letting out an audible "Huh? Really?" when I read this magazine. Their test kitchen will make one dish up to 130 times, slightly modifying small details to figure out, "What makes a pork tenderloin too dry? What is the best way to make a glaze stick?" While I do miss beautifully styled food photographs, I love reaping the benefits of their tedious testing. An article from the May issue breaks down the perfect Pork Tenderloin. This is my third pork post in 1 week. I'm not sure what that means, but here's a basic summary of the article: dusting a tenderloin in cornstarch and sugar give it enough texture to keep the glaze from slipping off. Then searing it on a stove top, gives it nice color and crisp texture. It can't be baked on this skillet (which is what I always do), or the surface will be destroyed, and the poor guy is all dried out. It needs to be transferred to a roasting pan with rack and baked at low temperature. Finally, they determined that four coats of glaze need to be administered for best taste. I have my menu for tomorrow night!

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Maple-Glazed Pork Tenderloin originally featured in Cooks Illustrated 3/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup light or mild molasses 2 tablespoons bourbon or brandy 1/4 teason ground cinnamon pinch ground cloves pinch cayenne pepper 1/4 cup cornstarch 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons gound black pepper 2 pork tenderloins 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir 1/2 cup maple syrup, molasses, bourbon, cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne together in 2-cup liquid measure; set aside. Whisk cornstarch, sugar, salt, and black pepper in small bowl until combined. Transfer cornstarch mixture to rimmed baking sheet. Pat tenderloins dry with paper towels, then roll in cornstarch mixture until evenly coated on all sides. Thoroughly pat off excess cornstarch mixture. 2. Heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Reduce heat to medium and place both tenderloins in skillet, leaving at least 1 inch in between. Cook until well browned on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer tenderloins to wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. 3. Pour off excess fat from skillet and return to medium heat. Add syrup mixture to skillet, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes. Transfer 2 tablespoons glaze to small bowl and set aside. Using remaining glaze, brush each tenderloin with approximately 1 tablespoon glaze. Roast until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of tenderloins registers 130 degress, 12 to 20 minutes. Brush each tenderloin with another tablespoon glaze and continue to roast until instant-read themometer insterted in thickest part of tenderloins registers 135 to 140, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Remove tenderloins from oven and brush each with remaining glaze; let rest, uncovered, 10 minutes. 4. While tenderloins rest, stir remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup and mustard into reserved 2 tablespoons glaze. Brush each tenderloin with 1 tablespoon mustard glaze. Transfer meat to cutting board and slice into 3/4-inch-thick pieces. Serve, passing extra mustard glaze at table.

Brined Pork Loin

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Nothing says "Easter" like pork and whiskey. I'm going to try this Brined Pork Loin this weekend for our family Easter lunch. The list of ingredients is long, but one of them is Jack Daniels. How bad can it be? What is everyone else eating for Passover/Easter? **Post mortem note: This pork loin turned out well, but it was the most expensive, time consuming dish I have made to date. Consider yourself warned. Brined Pork Loin with Molasses-Mustard Glazed, Sour Mash Sauce and Apple Butter recipe by Bobby Flay Ingredients Apple Butter:

2 tablespoons canola oil 1/2 small Spanish onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped 1/4 cup water 3 tablespoons light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened Molasses-Mustard Glaze (for pork): 1/4 cup Dijon 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard 1/4 cup molasses Salt and freshly ground black pepper Pork: 5 cups water 1 container apple juice concentrate, thawed 1/2 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 Spanish onion, peeled and quartered 10 black peppercorns 10 mustard seeds 8 sprigs fresh thyme 2 bay leaves 1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 shallots, finely chopped 2 cups whiskey (recommended: Jack Daniels) 5 cups homemade chicken stock 1/4 cup light brown sugar 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus parsley sprigs for garnish Directions: For the apple butter: Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the apple, water and brown sugar and cook until the apples are very soft. Stir in the cinnamon and salt and cook for 1 minute. Remove the mixture from the heat and let cool.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor along with the butter and process until slightly chunky. Scrape into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld. Let come to room temperature before serving.

For the glaze:

Whisk all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.

For the pork:

Bring the water, apple juice, salt, sugar, onion, peppercorns, mustard seeds, thyme and bay leaves to a simmer in a large stock pot and cook until the sugar and salt is dissolved. Let cool completely. Submerge the roast in the brine by placing a plate on top, cover with plastic and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the pork from the brine, rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Season the pork on both sides with salt and pepper and cook on both sides until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a baking sheet, brush with some of the glaze and finish cooking in the oven until cooked to an internal temperature of 150 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 to 40 minutes, brushing with the glaze every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let rest loosely tented with foil for 10 minutes.

Add the shallots to the saute pan (that the pork was browned in) and cook until soft. Add the whiskey, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken broth and brown sugar and bring to a boil and cook until reduced to a sauce consistency. Whisk in the butter, season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley.

Slice the rack into chops and place on a large plate, drizzle a little of the sauce around the pork chop and top with some of the butter. Garnish with parsley sprigs.

Roasted Broccoli

My sister's diet can be shocking sometimes. I got home from work tonight, and she voluntarily told me what she ate today: Two Sonic hamburgers and two vanilla cokes. The girl drove to Sonic two separate times to get her daily nutrition. Really? Since I would like my sister to be alive in 10 years, I forced her to eat some broccoli with dinner. She even admitted that she liked it.

I like to roast veggies with extra virgin olive oil. The oil makes them taste like butter, and roasting them caramelizes the surface and brings out natural sweetness. Roasted Broccoli Cut broccoli in bite size pieces, and put on baking sheet. Generously drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix together with hands, and roast in oven at 425 for about 10 minutes.

Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce

I love pork, and I love Tyler Florence's recipes. His food is straight forward and turns out great every time. This pork tenderloin with chimichurri sauce is no exception. The house smells good. The pork was full of spicy/citrusy flavor. And I had an excuse to make cilantro-lime rice again. Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce 4 to 8 servings 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced 1/4 cup red wine vinegar About 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley About 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh oregano leaves 3 limes, juiced 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 2 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each), trimmed of excess fat, patted dry Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper Extra-virgin olive oil Lime juice for drizzling Parsley sprigs, for garnish

Combine the garlic, jalapeno, vinegar, parsley, oregano and lime juice in a food processor. Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pulse until smooth and set aside at room temperature to allow the flavors to marry.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the chimichurri to serve and marinate the pork in the rest. Put the pork and marinade in a sealable plastic bag and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Outdoor grill cooking:

Preheat an outdoor charcoal grill.

Remove the pork from the marinade, wiping off any excess. Season both sides with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and place on the grill. Grill the pork on the hottest part of the barbecue for 4 minutes per side, until well charred. Allow the tenderloin to rest for about 5 minutes prior to slicing. Spoon some chimichurri over the meat, drizzle with lime juice, garnish with parsley, and serve with the remaining sauce at the table.

Oven cooking:

Remove pork from marinade, and pat dry with paper towel. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Heat oil in cast iron pan. Once hot, brown each side of pork for 1 minute. Place pan in oven at 400 for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and tent with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes, before slicing. Serve with chimicurri sauce on top.

Hash Browns

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All that talk about hash browns and no recipe? That's just silly. Here's my own spin on Tyler Florence's hash brown recipe. Hash Browns 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes 1 cup bacon, chopped 1 medium shallot, sliced 1 egg white 4 green onions salt and pepper 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper extra virgin olive oil 1. Peel potatoes and finely shred them any way you want (food processor with shredder attachment, a box grater, potato ricer or with a knife) 2. Place the potatoes in a bowl of cold water to rinse, then place in kitchen towel and thoroughly squeeze out all the moisture. They won't get crisp if they still have moisture in them. 3. In a large pan over low heat (preferably a cast iron) place chopped bacon and shallots. Let cook for 10-15 minutes until shallots have caramelized and bacon is almost cooked through. 4. In a large bowl mix potato shreds, bacon, caramelized shallots, egg white, green onions and cheddar cheese. Mix with hands. 5. Spoon in potato mixture to the same pan used for the bacon. Pat the potatoes into place, and top with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Let it cook on medium heat until you can tell the potato has started to separate from the bottom (don't force it.) Once you can shake the potato cake loose, flip to the other side and cook for 7ish more minutes. 6. Serve with ketchup. mmmmm.

Restaurant Spotlight - Garden Cafe

Saturday mornings call for two things: coffee and hash browns. Both in large quantities. When my friends suggested we have brunch at a place called Garden Cafe, I asked, "Do they have hash browns?" I got an affirmative, so off we went. Little did I know we would walk through a door and enter heaven.

Not only were there coffee and hash browns, Garden Cafe has a full garden in the backyard with rows and rows of of kale, sweet onions, tomatoes, radicchio. We sat outside and watched the staff pull up fresh veggies for dishes we were about to eat. The building used to be a delapidated tiny strip mall that has been completely renovated to a be a quaint, diner-y, organic haven. And their hashbrowns were pretty good too. Looking for a good brunch in Dallas? May I suggest Garden Cafe: 5310 Junius St. Dallas, TX 75214

Mustard Roasted Fish

The Barefoot Contessa is wonderful in so many ways. Her recipes are delicious. She publishes beautiful cookbooks. But what gets me is her calm, soothing TV show. If you're feeling stressed out, just watch her show. She takes her time, smiles once in while, talks about her wonderful friends and husband, and cooks with lots of butter. It's heaven.

The mustard-roasted red snapper featured in her newest book (pictured above) didn't disappoint. It's quick and tasty. Next time I will broil it for 2 minutes at the very end to crisp it slightly. Enjoy!

MUSTARD-ROASTED FISH

From Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Serves 4

Nothing's easier than this roasted fish! It only takes ten minutes to make and it's good enough to serve to the fanciest company. This recipe comes from my friend Myriam Richard-Delorme in Paris, who's a wonderful cook. She serves it simply with steamed new potatoes and sautéed French haricots verts. How chic is that?

4 (8-ounce) fish fillets such as red snapper Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 ounces crème fraîche 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons minced shallots 2 teaspoons drained capers

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

3. Combine the crème fraîche, two mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.

April Fool's - Whole Food's Style

Whole Foods is funny. They turned the homepage of their website into one big April Fool's joke. A few highlights: Blog posts: 1. Whole milk goes bad: 12 daring recipes 2. Change a tire the organic way Featured dishes: 1. Indian Amazonian Guatamalan Honduran Balinese Rice 2. Chianti Gorgonzola Popsicles 3. Toast Featured Local Grower: Peter Parker of Tulsa, OK raises Huntsman spiders, often mistaken for deadly Brazilian Wandering Spiders. Whole Foods Market is proud to offer one free spider with every 50-lb. purchase of organic bananas.