Ahhh... yet another reason that I love my Silver Spoon cookbook. What other cookbook offers and ENTIRE SECTION dedicated to our little Kermit friends?
Its been quite a while since I had frog legs... the last time being at a French restaurant as an appetizer.. and I really wanted to recapture the lemony garlic flavor that they created, they were so wonderfully light and delicate.
In the end I opted for the Silver Spoons "Frogs in White Wine"... and modified it a tiny bit.
I was in luck, as I wandered into my local fish market as I do... they had them fresh! SCORE!
I will also confess I took some sick pleasure in making the legs dance around a bit in a little froggie chorus line before tossing them in the pan. I couldnt resist.
So on to the serious part!!!!!!!
I lightly floured and fried the legs in some shallow oil until just golden, careful, they dry out quickly. (I season my flour for dredging with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, sometimes cayenne)
frog massacre
For the pasta sauce
about 2T of butter and 2 T flour to make a roux, once that is ready start whisking in your milk til youve got a sauce a thinkness you like. For this sauce I added some sauteed mushrooms, fresh thyme, and a squirt of lemon juice at the end. Salt to taste.
I suppose you could do this with shrimp... but then you'd miss out on the fun of the chorus line now wouldnt you?
I made this today totally on a whim. Someone on Facebook (evil facebook) mentioned cooking potato soup, and for some reason, it just sounded.... right. Considering we currently have a ton of potatoes, and a bunch of bacon in the freezer.... pretty much every ingredient was laying around and needing to be used up.
It's incredibly rich and heavy.... perfect if you're REALLY hungry... which I wasn't... and ended up putting way more in my bowl than I could even remotely handle. But very tasty none the less!
Ingredients
5 baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups milk
1 cup chopped green onions
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
5 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese, and Romano cheese, mixed
6 ounces sour cream
2 chicken bouillon (I use oxo)
valley of ingredients
Method
Bake potatoes 1 hour in a 400 degree F oven. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add garlic and green onions, cook until soft. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually pour in the milk while stirring until all the milk has been added. Bring heat to medium and keep stirring until the soup mixture starts to get thick.Add bouillon cubes.
Add the potatoes, salt, ground black pepper, bacon and cheese. Stir well and continue to heat for about 15 minutes, allowing the flavors to blend. Stirring well, mix in the sour cream until well blended with the soup. Serve immediately.
This is my super easy short cut recipe for a cream sauce. I call it a short cut because I use corn starch as a thickener and fancy-pants people don't like that. But whatever, I'm not making a bechamel every time I want something creamy for dinner. ;)
You can really get creative with this, its totally a base so you can throw in whatever:
Herbs
Sauteed Mushrooms
Capers
Sauteed Onions
Asparagus
Spinach
LOBSTER
Really your only limit is your imagination.
Cream Sauce Base
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1 cup stock (fish, chicken, veg depending on what you are serving it with)
1 cup cream
Salt & Pepper to taste
Mix your corn starch with a bit of the stock in a small bowl to make a slurry. In a pan over medium heat bring your stock to a low simmer. Add cream, and also bring to a low simmer (do not let it boil!!). Whisk constantly and begin adding corn starch slurry. It will start to thicken quickly so keep your eye on it. If it thickens too much you can thin it a little with a bit more cream, just keep whisking!
Once it starts to thicken you can add your flavorings such as mushrooms or herbs and then season to taste.
When possible, Dave and I avoid mass produced meats, opting to eat mostly fish or else obtain or meats from farmers we know such as Deep Roots Meats and Running River Ranch. Also, I just like to try to cut out meat now and then. Yup! Me... Queen Carnivore of the World... reduces meat from her diet. Not because I buy into the evangelical preachings of PETA, or because I believe ZOMG animal fats are POISON (I'm pretty sure the human race would have died out long ago if that were the case). My reasons are simply because the meat "industry" is destroying part of our human culture (farming), and killing off entire species and replacing them with quite unnatural meat producing science projects. Creatures that are treated just like that, a product, an invention. I just want to do my part to help support those farmers who are literally fighting the fight to keep some quite ancient traditions, and breeds, alive. The less I support the habit and buy the cheap stuff regularly at the supermarket, the more of a treat it becomes and I appreciate why it is more expensive to buy the grass fed, pasture raised stuff every now and then.. instead of every day. /soapbox All of this brings us to one of our favorites, which will probably become a staple as Dave is a huge curry fan! So flavorful and so filling. I've decided there is something mentally wrong with people who don't like Indian food!! ;) Masoor Dal 1 cup red lentils 1 half large onion, diced 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon curry powder 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon ginger root, minced 1 (6 ounce) can tomato puree 2 cup peas
Method Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear, put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender - approx 30 minutes. While the lentils are cooking: In a saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in vegetable oil. While the onions are cooking, combine the curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Mix well. When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat, allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready. Drain the lentils and mix them and the peas into curry base and serve immediately.
Cucumber and Tomato Raita This recipe is ridiculous easy... you pretty much don't even need a recipe. I use greek yogurt, about a cup, dice up about a quarter of a cucumber and a quarter of a tomato and blend it into the yogurt, adding a bit of water until its a consistency I like. You can mix all sorts of stuff into a raita for different flavors, cilantro, cumin, even fruit. It is usually served to help soften the blow of the spicy curry. ;)
So... usually on Sundays we roast a whole chicken. Just the two of us usually only finish off half of it, the other half usually going into my salads for lunch.
Dave loves chicken pot pie. I guess its the closest thing to any sort of meat pie (btw, Sweeny Todd... AWESOME movie) that is easily accessible here in the States. Cracker Barrel, apparently, is the Mecca of Pot Pie. I even went so far as making the pie crust from scratch using the "Good for Everything" pie crust recipe from Dorrie Greenspans "Baking" book. Its a damn fine pie crust. As if I needed an excuse to use my new mixer *grins with glee*
Filling 1 half of a cooked chicken, cut into pieces 2 sliced carrots 1 cup frozen green peas 3 stalks sliced celery 1/3 cup butter 1 chopped onion 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon thyme 1 3/4 cups chicken broth 2/3 cup milk Method Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.) In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions, celery and carrots in butter until soft and translucent.
Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and thyme. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Stir in peas and cooked chicken.
Pour hot liquid mixture into oven-proof bowl (we used soup crocks). Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
One reason to love living in Florida...and in this case... befriending a very unique breed of hunter. After our regular outing to the Central Florida Highland Games a while back, and playing at the archery range for a little bit, I decided I'd like to get back into archery. So I hopped in my little car and scooted myself over to an Archery Shop I'd driven past several times. After picking out a bow (and noticing some beautiful hand-made ones)... testing it, and deciding to buy it, I paused and looked at all of the trophies on the walls. Some of you might not know I work with leather, so I thought to myself, they must do something with these hides. So combined with the fact that I had just had a conversation with a Highland Cattle farmer about how he has to waste his beautiful hides because he can't find a tanner in the country to make it worth anything to him... but said he would sell untanned hides to me if I could learn to, or find someone, to tan them for me, I was spurred to ask. And out from the back of the shop came a most unique fellow. Not only does he tan all sorts of hides, from deer to gator.. and even more bizarre, fish and frog, he even collects bark from trees to make his own tannin's as well as builds bows from the horns and bones of the animals his family hunts.
Truly.. nothing of the animals these people hunt go to waste. The way it should be. I love these people. And that's not because he offered to teach me tanning... or hooked me up with some fresh gator.... which is what this post is actually all about! Who'da thunk it right? So yea... after about 2 hours of awesome conversation with this gem of a man.... and we got on the subject of cooking... he rushed off and back again with a frozen chunk of fresh wild Florida gator. Very cool. I had only ever had silly little "gator bites"... made from farmed gator... that probably wasn't even raised in Florida and was god knows how old. Leaving little in the flavor department. This gator was fantastic.... and did not "taste like chicken".... if I could compare it to anything, the texture was more like frog... and had a flavor closer to catfish... which you probably know I adore, since we eat it every single week. I cooked it pretty much like I would fry chicken (or chicken livers... or catfish!)....
Marinated it in 2 beaten eggs with a generous amount of cayenne and garlic powder for about 2 hours. Then, dredged each piece in salted and peppered flour and fried til nice and golden in some oil in my iron pan. I also made the dipping sauce.... about a cup of mayo, squirt of ketchup, spoonful of brown mustard, 2 spoonfuls of horseradish, several shakes of Franks hotsauce, some more cayenne, and a few shakes of garlic powder. Yea... I didnt get too specific, just kept messing with it til I got a flavor I liked. :) Hopefully everyone gets to meet a person as awesome as this guy!
One interesting thing I have noticed with the fall of the economy, is some more unusual bits of meat for the American market, cheap, offal being sold in our regular supermarket. I would have never have imagined finding ox heart, chicken feet, or kidneys outside of ethnic markets this time last year. But now, they are popping up in my little white bread Publix, and it gives me warm fuzzies. So I jumped at the chance to try ox heart, which I'd never had before, and at $2.30 for a whole one.... how can you argue? I chose a very simple recipe, as I really wanted to get a feel for the flavor of heart. And let me tell you, it is fantastic. More like very lean beef than offal, with a very very slight kidney-like flavor and texture. But I am betting if you were feeding it to people with a palate that isn't used to the flavor of kidney (like most of us yanks)... they would have no idea they are not eating plain ol beef. Which I think could be a huge help to families struggling, to cut corners with such a large nutritious piece of meat, at such a bargain price!
Heart Stew Ingredients 1 whole ox heart, cut into cubes 1 onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 2 carrots, diced flour for dredging (can omit if you're going paleo!) salt and pepper 2 TBS each 1 sprig fresh thyme 2 bay leaves olive oil 1 cup oxtail soup 1 pint beer Method Dredge heart in flour mixed with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pot like a french oven, once hot, sautee heart in oil until browned on all sides. Add onions, carrots and celery, stir until onions begin to go transparent, adding oil if necessary.
Add oxtail soup, beer, bay leaves and thyme.Bring to a boil. Cover and cook in oven for 4-6 hours at 250 degrees, or until heart is at desired tenderness. Serve over mashed potatoes. They'll never know what they're eating. But they'll know it tastes wonderful, and warm, and filling. :)
Fried chicken livers always was, and probably always will be, one of my favorite methods of consuming innards.
Crispy and with a little kick on the outside, and meltingly soft and mild on the inside, it really just makes you think that people who claim they don't like offal must have never had it like this!
The house smells sooooo good while these bad boys are frying up! I have to remind myself not to nom them straight out of the pan or else risk molten chicken liver bits burning off my tongue on contact. These guys retain their heat!
Always best consumed with a healthy dollop of mashed potatoes and nice vinegary greens.
Southern Fried Chicken Livers 1/2 lb chicken livers 2 tablespoons kosher salt 2 tablespoons paprika 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper Flour, for dredging Shortening, for frying
Melt shortening in a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan over medium heat.
Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season livers with this mixture. Dredge livers in flour and shake off excess.
Place livers into the pan and fry until cooked through, turning once.... dont overcook them, or they'll turn out chewy and bitter.
Drain livers on a rack over a sheet pan lined with paper towels.
This is a bread I've been baking for years, and it is absolutely epic. Doesnt even need butter, but if you're feeling particularly decadent, go for it and dip a chunk of that bad boy in some seasoned olive oil or slather on that butter. You won't die, I promise... not right now anyways!
So here ya go.... the ULTRA SEKRIT RECIPE!
3 cups bread flour
1tsp salt
1 sachet yeast
2 T olive oil
9 oz warm water
a whole mess of Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
(for topping)
More friggin olives
2 T olive oil
Sea salt
Thyme or rosemary or whatever
Method
Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in salt followed by the yeast. Pour in the olive oil and water and mix it all together to form a dough.
Turn out the dough on a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes.
Place the dough in an olive oil greased bowl and cover for about 1.5 hours until it has doubled in size. Knock back the dough by kneading it again for a minute or 2.
Knead half the olives (the ones you wont be using for topping) into the dough. Drop some in, fold it over, drop some more in, fold it over, rinse, repeat... you get the idea.
Divide the dough into quarters and then shape them into rounds. Place them onto a nonstick or greased cookie sheet and push little dimples into the tops with your fingers. Drizzle oil all over the tops then sprinkle with salt and herbs. Stick the remaining olives wherever you think they look nice, I usually stick'em in those dimples, they seem to stay put there.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden.
Transfer to a wire rack and let them cool.... This step doesnt usually work too well for me and I play hot potato while trying to tear a chunk off to munch down while its still burning hot!
They only last a couple of days so eat'em quick or give them to people you like. :)
Chicken Stock. I make this at least once a week, freezing it into 1 cup portions and using it as needed for soups, sauces, gravies, you name it.
It is true that it is magic... no.... seriously.
The MOST important part of the stock is without a doubt the wondrously healing bones and cartilage. If cooked properly, they release a healthy dose of chondroitin and glucosamine in the form of gelatin. Those with joint problems will recognize those two big fancy words right away, they treat joint pain.... ironic that the source for relief and prevention of such horrible things as arthritis is actually consuming, well, bones and joints!
Gelatin also is magic in and unto itself. It acts as an aid to digestion and has been used successfully in the treatment of many intestinal disorders.
And besides just the magic from the chicken, just look at all the vitmains and minerals those veggies are ready to offer up.
It is so easy, there really is no reason NOT to do this at home. ALL of this is lost when you use boxed, canned, and worst of all, bouillon. At that point it simply becomes a flavoring.
What you see in the picture up there is exactly what I put in the pot. Varying a bit with the parsley, sometimes I'll add cilantro instead for a different flavor, sometimes a sprig of thyme, sometimes nothing at all.
ALWAYS KEEP YOU CHICKEN CARCASS!!
So this is the list- Chicken carcass, cooked or uncooked, this can be just parts like legs and wings, sometimes I'll even go to the butcher and just ask for 4 chicken backs and / or a lb of chicken feet, which are very rich in cartilage.
2 carrots, broken in half
2 celery sticks, broken in half
1 half onion, skin on (dont worry, you're gonna strain everything)
3 cloves garlic, crushed to release the oils, skins removed
2 bay leaves
2 T whole peppercorns
Please note I do not salt my stock. I do that when I am using it for whatever dish I am using it as an ingredient for. :)
So throw all that shit into a big ol' pot, and fill with water until it just covers everything. Set on the stove at low.... THIS IS IMPORTANT! Boiling your stock with break down the gelatin into nothingness.... defeating the entire purpose. So keep it at a nice gentle simmer. And I mean.... hot enough that there is just a bubble coming up every now and then. Let it bubble away for 4-6 hours to properly break down the bones and good bits.
Check this video at about 1:20 to see how the boil should look.
Once the stock is ready, I place a large mesh strainer over a large metal bowl, and just dump all that brothy goodness straight in. I usually let it sit for about 10 minutes to let any remaining liquid to drip into the stock bowl. From there I allow it to sit and cool, sometimes putting it into a sink full of ice, but thats only if I am rushing, and usually, I am not :) Once cooled, divide into individual containers and voila!
This mornings breakfast! I scored big time at the farmers market! Found a local farmer who has pasture raised cattle and sells all sorts of grass fed beef -Deep Roots Meats. I also found someone selling raw dairy and fresh eggs. So for breakfast was bread I baked this morning with raw butter smeared all over, farm fresh eggs, and beef bacon! Who'da thunk! Beef bacon! Nice alternative for folks who can't eat pork! And it was gooood.Beef bacon comes from the belly, or "navel", of the cow, just like pork bacon does. :) It was salt cured... really awesome.. at first you get the salt and fat and it seems like bacon, then you're suddenly hit with this intense beef flavor. Its like steak & eggs meets bacon & eggs! Epic breakfast for sure.
Living in Florida opens up some great adventerous seafood eating opportunities, and we just happen to live very close to an awesome little fish market that specializes in local catches. Every visit there are different offerings from the waters of Florida. From the big prize fish like tuna and swordfish, to less known local river fish and fresh specialties like alligator and frog.
I've seen turtle at this particular market before, but only frozen, and I am hesitant to buy frozen seafood with the sea at my doorstep. However today they had fresh soft shell turtle, and I didn't hesitate to grab some!
Now before anyone freaks out and says, ZOMG cute turtle! Or ONOES they are protected! First, they're not. And trust me, these guys aren't any cuter than an alligator -and living right beside them, they have to hold their own- and are definitely not sweet little gentle slow pokey creatures, they can actually be quite aggressive. Combine that with their great abundance in just about every single pond and river you can find (which is a lot), they are perfectly legal to hunt in Florida, during their season of course.
Turtle isn't as wild and exotic as you might think. The flavor is quite nondescript, and quickly picks up the flavors of what it is being cooked with. Which is probably why the most popular recipe for turtle soup is very robust with ingredients like cayenne, tomato, lemon and Worcestershire Sauce.
Ingredients
For the Stock:
1 lb turtle (soft shell, or snapping turtle), bone in
4 cups water
1 onion, quartered
2 Tablespoons whole peppercorns
For the Soup
Meat separated from the stock, bones removed and cut into small pieces
Stock
1 quarter onion
2 Tablespoons tomato puree
1 half lemon
1 Tablespoon Cayenne
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Flour
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Ground pepper and salt to taste
In a pot bring water to a boil and add cleaned turtle meat, 3/4 onion and peppercorns.
Let simmer slowly until the meat begins falling off the bones, approx 2 hours.
Strain Stock and return it to the pot. Remove turtle meat from the bones and cut into small pieces, then return the meat to the stock, keeping on a low simmer.
Dice remaining quarter onion and sautee in olive oil in a pan until translucent. Add flour and stir until thickened into a roux. Add a ladle of the turtle stock and stir until thickened. Stir in tomato paste. Pour contents of pan into the stock pot and stir until well blended. Add parsley, cilantro, cayenne, juice from the lemon, Worcestershire Sauce, pepper and salt to taste.
Serve and enjoy what was once a delicacy to Presidents and across Victorian England. Now its simply a local pleasure.
This flavor is so sweet and tangy its almost BBQ-y. I've always had an aversion to adding tomato to anything but chili, because I don't know why. I think this recipe has changed my tune on that.
I served this up with some parboiled brussel sprouts, finished in a pan with crispy bacon.
Ingredients 1 lb short ribs 2 carrots, minced 1 stalk celery minced 2 cloves garlic minced 1/4 sweet onion, minced 1 small can tomato paste 2 cups red wine 2 strips bacon, chopped
Method Fry bacon in a deep pot, preferably a French oven. Add veggies and saute until onions become transluscent. Add tomato paste and let it sweat for a few minutes, then fold into the veggies. Add a bit of wine to deglaze, stirring often, then add the rest of the wine. Add the short ribs, coating in the mixture, reduce heat and let simmer gently for approx 4 hours, turning the ribs now and then. Enjoy!
Every now and then our grocery store sells the most GINORMOUS pork chops ever, and I just cant ignore the cavegirl inside me.
And when it comes to grilling one of these bad boys, nothing will do but a mojo marinade. This marinade is equally awesome on pork or chicken.
Just mix up the marinade below, get stab happy with a piece of pork and pierce it thoroughly, and let it marinade for 4+ hours or even overnight.
Throw it on the grill until its cooked through. I served this up with some fresh guac and some cherry tomatoes sauteed with garlic, olive oil and green onions.
Ingredients for Marinade 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped .5 C minced yellow onion 1 C freshly squeezed orange juice .5 C freshly squeezed lime juice .5 t ground cumin 1 t dried oregano flakes .5 t lemon-pepper seasoning .5 t black pepper 1 t kosher salt .25 cup chopped cilantro 1 t hot pepper sauce 1 cup olive oil
Method Throw the garlic and onion in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped. Pour in orange juice, lime juice, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt, cilantro, and hot pepper sauce. Blend until thoroughly incorporated. Pour in the olive oil, and Continue until smooth.
What to do with a whole bunch of trimmings from chicken?
GRIND THAT SHIT UP!!!
yea, nothing you can do to pretty up raw ground chicken.
Having found myself in a position of trimming rib meat and fat from a metric ass-ton of chicken breasts to feed a couple hundred people, I couldn't help but feel that little pit of guilt growing deeper and deeper exponentially as the "waste" pile also grew in size.
"What are we doing with this" - says I, pointing at the sad little tray of chicken bits.
"Tossing it?" - says She Who Was In Charge Of Kitchen
"I can has?" - eyeing the ziplocks and already concocting aforementioned chickenbits destiny.
See this is why I could never work in a professional kitchen, I am sure there are like a zillion health / weird kitchen laws I am breaking here somehow. Plus I think I would get all neurotic over saving bones and bits and become some sort of freak animal part hoarder with one of those mystery "extra freezers" in the garage. Because lets face it, I am already too close to that now.
And now that I have scared you all from wanting to eat at my house, ever. Let us continue.
Ingredients:
1 lb pilfered chicken bits 1/2 red onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic a dozen or so shittake shrooms 2 T sesame oil 1 T Chinese 5 Spice Powder (star anise, cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan pepper, & fennel)
1 T coconut oil (or whatever cooking fat blows yer skirt up)
1 T ground ginger 1/4 C oyster sauce
Some lettuce for serving.
Method: Throw the first 6 items into a food processor and let it go crazy til the chicken looks like something you would find online labeled "mechanically separated chicken"... which technically, I guess it is... but I do it at home... so that makes it ok.
Heat your oil in a skillet or wok and add the ginger, heating briefly. Then add the chicken and stir fry, til its all cooked through, adding the oyster sauce just at the end, blending it together completely.
Serve with lettuce, or use for some other foodventure. (which I will be doing with the other half we didn't eat last night!)
This recipe comes from the 14th century English book, "Fourme of Curye". The original recipe is as follows.
Mounchelet
Take veel other motoun and smyte hit to gobettes, seeth hit in gode broth, cast therto erbes yhewe, gode wyne & a quantite of oynouns y mynced, poudour fort & safroun, & alye it with ayroun & verjous, but lat it not seeth after.
But because I don't hate you all, here is a modern interpretation! :D
Heavily modified from the book Pleyn Delit, to suit my quantity and quality needs and personal flavor.
Ingredients:
1 lb veal, cut into
1 inch pieces
1 C almond flour
1 onion, diced
1 T fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme1 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp fresh cilantro
2 cups good veal stock
1 C white wine
Pinch of saffron strands
1 T raw butter
salt to taste
1 egg
juice from 1 lemon
Method
Dredge veal in almond flour and set aside. Melt butter in a heavy pot, once it begins to bubble (but not burn) place the veal in one piece at a time, allowing it to brown on all sides. Add wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot and stir, adding the onions and all of the herbs and seasonings. Add the stock, stirring everything together, and allow to simmer for about an hour, stirring now and then.
In a small bowl, break and egg into a small bowl and whisk in the lemon juice. Just before serving, remove the stew from the heat and add the egg mixture, stirring quickly. this should thicken the stew a but and add a lucious golden color ( if the saffron hadn't already). Take care not to add it back into a too hot pot, or else the egg will begin to clump into unattractive eggdrop soup looking thingies.
We served this with a delish stinky blue cheese and this totally kickass fig cake that contained ONLY figs, almonds, cinnamon and anise. Also making it not only period but also paleo.
Win win all the way around! :D I'd definitely recommend making this if you want to experiment in historical foods.
One of my favorite combinations is pork and eggplant. And this dish hits the spot. So healthy and so filling.
Eggplant is a beautiful thing, as it is is loaded with vitamins and minerals, but its health benefits extend beyond just adding vital nutrientsl. Eggplant contains other compounds that promote good health, even to the point of helping to prevent cancer and lowering cholesterol. Once you realize how beneficial eggplant is to your health, you may want to give more consideration to it becoming a regular part of your diet. Packed full of chlorogeninc acid, and nasunun. Eggplant is also an excellent source of dietary fiber, which can help protect against colon cancer and keeps the digestive system regular. The vitamins in eggplant consist primarily of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), B vitamins, folate and vitamin C. Eggplant is also rich in minerals, boasting a large quantity of potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous. (see http://www.livestrong.com/article/19046-nutritional-benefits-eggplant/)
So on to the good stuff.
Recipe:
2 Chinese eggplants, cut into rings
1 lb ground pork
2 T organic oyster sauce
2 T chinese 5 spice powder
1 T sesame oil
1 T coconut oil
1 C chicken broth
1 wholoe clove, minced
thumb sized piece ginger, minced
2 green onions, diced
sesame seeds for garnish
Method:
Soak your eggplant in salted water for about 20 minutes, I'm not sure why but this cuts back on the bitterness.
In a wok or iron skillet heat the stock to a rolling boil and cooked the eggplant briefly.
Meanwhile combine pork. 5 spice powder, garlic, ginger and sesame oil to the pork.
Strain liquid from the skillet.
Heat the coconut oil in the skillet and add the pork mixture, stirring to brown evenly. Add eggplant and oyster sauce, and stir until heated through.
Serve with sliced green onions and sesame seeds as garnish.
Gai lan is without a doubt my favorite vegetable. Why it is near impossible to find in American groceries store is a complete enigma to me. The closest thing that it could possibly be compared to is rapini.... which can not even begin to hold a candle to the sweet tenderness that is gai lan.
Highly nutritious with powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. It is also very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, C, lutein, zeaxathin and is reasonably rich in calcium.
I tend to stir fry it on its own with a bit of oyster sauce and chicken stock, but sometimes I will have leftovers from some of my favorite Chinese joints and will bring home loots like peking duck and crispy skin pork.
Tonight was one such night.
Recipe:
1 large bunch gai lan, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional, we just happened to have them)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 nob raw butter
.25 C chicken stock
2 T Oyster Sauce
Leftover cooked meat such as duck or pork
Method:
Quickly cook and soften the gai lan in the stock until the stalks are tender. This shouldnt take long, as gai lan has a pleasant sweet flavor even when still crisp tender.
Add butter, garlic and meat and stir fry until everything is nice and hot and yummy looking, finish with oyster sauce stirring in completely! :D
Contrary to popular belief, sweetbreads are not brains. Though, for some form of strange entertainment, we could pretend they are brains anyways at the coming of the zombie Apocalypse.
Sweetbreads is the thymus gland is located at the throat, gullet or neck. Or the pancreas (heart belly or stomach). And, most famously, "Rocky Mountain Oysters", are also the same gland that in the food world we call sweetbreads.
The etymology of the word "sweetbread", considering it is not a bread, nor is it sweet is attested to the idea that it is sweet in comparison to savory muscle based meats. And "bread" most likely comes from the Old English word "brǣde", meaning roast meat.
Sweetbreads are a significant source of B12 which plays a key role in proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, as well as being a very high quality protein source.
yes, it is fugly
Unfortunately sweetbreads, like most offal, has a bad wrap... and of the offal kingdom, I will even admit it is one of the saddest most ugly bits out of the lot. But its velvety texture and mild sweet flavor more than make up for it. I promise!
Ingredients:
1 lb sweetbreads
1/4 diced red onion
12 button mushrooms, sliced
1 C chopped parsley
knob of raw butter
1 T olive oil
Enough water to submerge the sweetbreads
A splash of white wine
thyme and parsley
Method:
Rinse your sweetbreads thoroughly in cold, gently running water.
Bring your pot of water with the wine, herbs, and spices to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer. Add your sweetbreads into the pot. Poach for 2½ minutes so they firm up slightly.
Remove the sweetbreads from the pot, and scatter the sweetbreads across a cutting board to cool and dry off.
Once the sweetbreads are cool enough to handle,slice them into several uniform pieces.
Heat your pan. Add a splash of oil and a knob of butter. Add your mushrooms and onions and let them cook until they are nice and golden. Remove them and set aside. Add a bit more oil and butter if needed and season the sweetbreads with salt and pepper and then add to the pan. Careful not to let the butter burn, and cook the sweetbreads until they are golden brown, careful not to overcook. At this point they are ready to serve. Plate the sweetbreads and return the mushrooms and onions to the pan as well as the parsley in the last minute to heat, and drizzle the butter and mushroom mixture over the sweetbreads,
Chicken livers, right behind fried chicken, it probably my favorite comfort food. I like them battered and fried, simply pan fried in butter with only a bit of salt and pepper, and even roasted in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil. Lets not forget the multitude of pates from which they can be made, but personally, I like them in their most natural state.
Chicken livers are packed with vitamin B-12, which prevent anemia, vitamin-A in the form of retinol, alpha and beta-carotene including lycopene for your eyes, along with folate, riboflavin, selenium, iron, niacin, and phosphorus. For years they have been used by nutrition wise doctors to aid in the recovery of anemia and iron deficiencies.
For this recipe, I use a paleo friendly Southern fried variant. One of my favorites.
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken livers, cleaned.
1 T cayenne
1T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
1 C coconut flour
2-3 T coconut oil
Salt to taste
Method:
Combine the seasonings, and liberally coat the chicken livers in the mixture. Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours.
Heat the coconut oil in a cast iron skillet until hot enough to fry a tiny piece of bread.
Dredge the livers in the coconut flour one by one and place into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the skillet, it is ok if you must do more than one batch.
Fry on each side until both sides are crisp and golden.
Allow to drain on a paper towel and salt to taste.
Serve with a veg of your choice, we like collard greens. ENJOY!
