Smoked Eel Satisfaction

After reading this article in the May issue of Saveur, I found myself with both a fascination and an appetite for eel. Our fish vendor, Blue Moon, had recently returned to the greenmarket and the very next Saturday I made a point of buying some smoked eel.

My first instinct after reading the article was to make an eel dish similar to what I’ve eaten in Japanese restaurants, something to top with a sweet sauce and serve with rice. But once I had some smoked eel in my hands (this stuff has a pungent smokey scent that makes you think of bacon, not sushi) I was on a wild internet goose chase for a recipe or some inspiration for a dish I might prepare. After much digging, I discovered a few British recipes suggesting the smoked eel be paired with potato pancakes and sour cream, I decided to take a shot a pairing the eel with some pierogies (from the “Saugerties pierogi lady”, recently gifted to me by the wonderful Ray Bradley) and creme fraiche with fresh grated horseradish.

You should have seen Brad’s face when I told him what we’d be eating for dinner – I admit it sounded like an odd combo – and I thought he’d never even try it after he watched me separate the eel flesh from the spine. But he couldn’t resist when the plates with pierogies came out, and the eel? It was out of this world. The smokey flavor was an awesome complement to the creamy potato pierogi filling and the horseradish, the perfect spicy accent to the whole dish (after all, you eat your eel sushi with wasabi, don’t you?). Since then we’ve simplified and eat the smoked eel and horseradish cream on toasts.

Smoked Eel and Chives with Horseradish Creme on Toast

You’re welcome internets, here is an approachable (and delicious) recipe for smoked eel.

Smoked Eel and Chives with Horseradish Creme on Toast

  • ½ pound smoked eel, skin and spine removed, shredded or finely chopped
  • handful of chives, chopped
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • A few tablespoons creme fraiche
  • grated fresh horseradish*
  • toasts for serving

Combine eel, chives, lemon zest and juice. Allow to rest, salt to taste before serving. You might be tempted to add oil to this, but remember the eel is a oily fish – it won’t be dry.

Mix creme fraiche (you could also use sour cream) with finely grated (I use my microplane) fresh horseradish – you can determine the ratio depending on how much of the horseradish spiciness you prefer.

Make some toasts from a good baguette.

Top the toasts with a light “schmear” of the horseradish cream and pile on a bit of the smoked eel. Serve and watch your guests become ravenous for more.

*As fresh horseradish becomes unavailable this summer, I’ll try using prepared instead. 10 points for other ideas or suggestions.

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Strawberry Shortcut

Strawberry Shortcut

I’m not much of a dessert maker. By the time I plan and cook the courses that make up a dinner, I usually opt to finish with some good chocolate, ice cream, or maybe cheese with honey and fruit. When we get together to eat with our food-loving friends, I usually ask a guest to bring dessert (I know several fine ladies who can turn out quite the pie). But recently I took it upon myself to make semifreddo – a favorite Italian “dolce” of mine that literally means half cold, but I’d translate it to mean semi-frozen. It is essentially custard and/or cream with delicious things folded into it, frozen and typically served in slices.

I was please with my semifreddo, which I based off of this recipe and served with sliced strawberries and a bit of mint syrup. But all of this took way too much effort and planning, the kind of time I’d rather put into making something like homemade ravioli. So the next week when I was planning to cook for some friends and found myself with a ton of strawberries and a craving for that tasty dessert, but without 8 hours for making and freezing, I improvised. The result was described by one of our friends as Strawberry Shortcake meets Tiramisu, I’m calling it Strawberry Shortcut.

Strawberries and Lady Fingers, so refined!

Strawberry Shortcut

  • About 2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • Dash of vanilla
  • Lady fingers (the good crispy kind if you can find them)
  • More sliced strawberries for serving

In a small saucepan, cook the strawberries and sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they break apart and the mixture gets a little syrupy – about 7-10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Whip the cream and vanilla into, well, whipped cream. Gently fold in the strawberries (they shouldn’t be too warm) and then break about 8-10 lady fingers into pieces and fold into the strawberry cream. Cover and chill until it’s time for dessert (at least 2 hours, but you can let it go overnight).

To serve, spoon mounds of the strawberry cream mixture (the lady fingers should be nice and soft) into serving dishes. Scatter a handful of strawberry slices over and around it. Top with a crumbled, crisp lady finger. Serve to your guests’ delight.

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Sunday Supper, Italia Style

Brad and I went to Italy last month and wow, did we eat well. There was a period of time when we used to travel and take cooking classes. It’s a great way to truly discover the region’s cuisine and if you’re lucky, be taken to the local market like we were in Merida, Mexico. But in Italy, I always feel our time is too short and have no desire to spend it in kitchens. Instead, I want to taste everything I can!

True Ragu, enjoyed in Parma

The thing I love about Italian cooking is it’s purity and loyalty to the simple combinations of the best ingredients. Seasonal and local are just a way of life. During our travels I find myself cataloging the dishes and noticing approaches that I might try to imitate at home with what we have on hand. This time I had a revelation about fish ragu. We were served this everywhere along the Liguraian coast (and the fish of choice was often Red Mullet) and I will definitely spend this summer trying to replicate my memory of these dishes.

During an afternoon in Alba I stocked up on some jars of truffle items (white truffle cream, black truffle honey and some shaved black truffles) and we also packed some incredible wines from the Rovero vineyard, where we stayed in Asti, into our suitcases for the trip home. Once the return jet lag wore off, I was eager to start cooking again and to begin to add to my repertoire with all my new inspirations, so we decided what better way to enjoy our Italian culinary booty than with some of our other food loving friends.

After much thought and a bit of research, here is the menu I cooked and served:

Asparagus with Poached Egg and Piemontese Fonduta Brad and I worked together to replicate this dish that we ate at a beautiful little restaurant outside of Asti. I found the recipe for the Fonduta in my copy of The Silver Spoon cookbook.

Prosciutto and Melon A tribute to our lunch pilgrimage to Parma – We’re lucky to have some great sources for true Prosciutto di Parma, but there is none better than what you taste at the source.

White Truffle Risotto with Piemontese Hazelnuts This was the best thing I could think to make in order to showcase these two precious ingredients. We ate wonderful risotto in Milano and it reassured me that it is a dish I indeed make well. After a day of incredible food and wine, each of our friends left saying, “oh, that risotto!”

Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Fennel Seeds, served with a side of Cannellini Beans A tribute to Toscana, where not only did we eat wonderful raost meats, but the beans! I simply soaked, slowly cooked and then stirred in some good olive oil and a bit of fresh rosemary. They were so simple and yet sublime.

*How could I forget?! A pause for some sweet gorgonzola and a bit of truffle honey…

Strawberry Semifreddo with Fresh Strawberries and Mint Sauce We ate a strawberry mouse with mint sauce in Asti and it blew my mind. Is there a better combination of ingredients with flavors like candy? I haven’t got a clue how to make a mouse like we had, and couldn’t find a recipe, but I love semifreddo and had much success with following this one.

Along with all of this our good friend Steve (who works for the importer, David Bowler, and never fails to complement my efforts in the kitchen with incredible wines), brought over some interesting Italian wines, including a great Lambrusco – which we of course enjoyed with the prosciutto. We also enjoyed a Barbera d’Asti and a Nebbiaia that we purchased from the lovely Rovero family during our stay. What a day, and night…

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Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Fennel Seeds

Good Friends, Good Food: Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Fennel Seeds

Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Fennel Seeds

  • 3 lbs. pork loin roast (mine was a bit under, about 2.6 lbs.)
  • About 6 cloves garlic
  • Handful fresh rosemary, chopped
  • Tablespoon fennel seeds
  • Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
  • Salt
  • Olive oil

Butterfly the pork loin and pound it to about ⅔ of it’s original thickness.

In a mortar and pestle grind the fennel and peppercorns. Add the salt and garlic and work into a paste. Stir in the rosemary and combine with about ¼ cup olive oil. Spread the mixture across the open pork loin and roll with the fatty portion ending up on the outside. Tie with string and generously salt and pepper.

Roast the pork loin on a rack in a roasting pan, fat side up, at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 250 and continue roasting for about 45 minutes. The internal temperature should be about 135 when it’d done, it may take 15-20 minutes longer depending on the size of your roast. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for about 15 minutes, remove the strings and slice the roast*. Serve with the beans on the side.

*My one regret: The roast was beautiful when it was finished and I went ahead and sliced it before I paraded it out to our friends at the dinner table (or took a picture). They were all asking me afterwards how I cooked it and I realized they didn’t realize it had been a lovely, whole roast. ALWAYS parade your efforts through the dining room before carving, dishing or deconstruction them to serve!

Buon Appetito!

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The Asparagus Have Sprung!

It was a particularly long and brutal winter in Brooklyn this year. And while the appearance of wintered over spinach, followed by early green things like chives and scallions, signal the first signs of Spring, you always know it has Sprung when the asparagus arrive.

I first spotted asparagus at our farmers market on April 30th. I brought home bunches and haven’t stopped since. During the month of May, asparagus highlights included the following dishes:

What have you been doing with your asparagus?

Asparagus with Poached Egg and Fonduta

ps. Ask me for recipes in the comments section and I’ll be happy to point you to them.

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Winter Brisket

This is it. For real, it’s a March night and the temperature is 38 and windy. Winter in Brooklyn is cold and long.

  • 2.5 lbs* Brisket (I got mine from the Wilklow Orchards who actually sell incredible beef at the Grand Army Plaze Greenmarket) *I often make as much as 4 lbs. – more brisket will just need more time and maybe a bit more liquid
  • Salt, pepper and your favorite paprika (Ray Bradley makes mine)
  • 2-3 tbls olive oil
  • 1 lg or 2 small onions, sliced
  • 1 cup dark beer
  • 2 frozen heirloom tomatoes (I know, it’s good to have a farmer friend) or 1 tbls of tomato paste
  • 4 cups broth or stock of some kind (I always have lots of turkey stock in my freezer and you can also make a quick veggie stock with onions, carrots, celery if you got it, 1 crushed garlic clove and a bay leaf)
  • 1 dried hot chili
  • 1 garlic clove smashed with a knife
  • love

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously season the brisket with salt, pepper and paprika. Heat the oil over med-high heat in you favorite dutch oven (~4qt if you have a choice) and sear the meat on both sides (about 4-5 min). Remove the meat to a plate.

Sauté the onions for about 3-4 min, add smash garlic and one crumpled dried chili. Stir until fragrant (1 min) and add beer then continue to stir to unleash the browned goodness from the bottom of the pan. Allow to bubble and reduce for a few minutes. Stir in tomato and add broth, slide the brisket in and cover and put in the oven for 2-2.5 hours – it will be very tender when done. Remove to plate.

Strain the pan juices, discarding the solids, and cook over high heat and cook until thickened. Slice the brisket on the diagonal, cross grain and return to pot. Toss gently and serve.

This goes really well with celery root and potato mashers.

And at this time of the year everything goes with a good old kale salad.

It also taste good the next day, add a few spoonfuls of H20 and heat slowly over medium heat. Add a fried egg and call it breakfast.

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Sweet Mint Iced Tea

It’s been an unusually hot summer and I cannot get enough of this tea. Make it and pour some over a glass of ice any time you need to cool off and enjoy the little things:

  • 1/4 cup of your favorite black tea (I’ve been really digging on this black currant tea from our local food coop)
  • 1/4 cup honey (the honey will influence the flavor, at the moment I’ve been making batches with wild flower honey from Bradley Farm)
  • 1 bunch mint or hyssop

Boil four cups of water and remove from heat. Stir in the above ingredients, cover and allow to steep for 10-15 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh sieve and press the mint with the back of a wooden spoon to release as much liquid as possible. Pour filtered tea into an 8 cup (preferably glass) jug, add 4 cups cold water, cool and refrigerate.

This is fantastic with spearmint, peppermint or hyssop which has an anise like flavor. You’ll be wanting a jug of this in the fridge for the rest of the summer.

A mid-summer market weekend

This has been one of those wonderful weekends in the heart of summer where we feast on the best our farmers and gardens have to offer for several meals straight. After receiving tomatoes and jalapeños from my mom’s garden, my pal Ray Bradley – the tomato master – finally had tons of heirloom tomatoes in full swing and was practically pushing the things on us at the greenmarket (to which I of course did not object). Other market highlights included a some beautiful eggplants, mussels and albacore tuna steaks from the fish monger, a crusty loaf of multigrain bread and some sweet, sweet fruit…

Aside: When we bit into the purple heart plums, Brad said, “these are the kind of plums that belong in a plum chocolate cake”. We might need to craft such a thing!

The kitchen garden out back is full of great herbs and I have trove of garlic, shallots and pearl onions from a recent trip to Bradley Farm. So stir it all together with a little olive oil and lemon and the weekend looked like this:

Friday Dinner: Grilled Bradley Farm Pork Chops with a side of roasted red pepper and caper orzo with feta and oregano.

Saturday Lunch (picnic at the beach): The roasted red peper and caper orzo as a salad. Heirloom tomato Caprese with fresh mozzarella, whole basil leaves and a drizzle of rich, sweet balsamic vinaigrette. Peaches, plums and blueberries.

Saturday Dinner: Mussels cooked in a tomato broth with shallots, fennel, and chili, served with crusty bread and a simple arugula salad.

Sunday Brunch: Goat cheese and chive scrambled eggs with sliced heirloom tomatoes, whole grain toast and cantaloupe.

Sunday Dinner: Grilled Albacore Tuna steaks with grilled eggplant “caponata” and a spoonful of basil pesto, grilled lemons squeezed over it all and a side of crusty bread.

The occasional apricot, plum, fists full of blueberries, nectarines plus one croissant from the bakery around the corner and several good coffees were had. It’s hot these days but life is good.

Filed Under: Summer

Blueberry Whole-Grain Pancakes

In my house we believe this recipe makes the perfect pancake (I should say Brad makes the perfect pancake, as I am not the pancake lady). We also freeze the uneaten pancakes and warm them up in the toaster oven for a quick breakfast in the future. Use fresh blueberries in the summer but frozen ones will do the trick in winter. Of course you should use real (NY) maple syrup – I got for the Grade B.

(makes 20 small pancakes, serves 4-5)

  • 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, separated*
  • 1 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cup blueberries
  • butter and good maple syrup for serving

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together milk, egg yolks and oil. Stir in flour mixture and allow to stand for 5 minutes so flour can absorb liquid and batter will thicken.

Meanwhile in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until they hold peaks. Gently fold egg whites and blueberries into batter.

Brush a non-stick skillet with vegetable oil and heat over moderately high heat until hot. Reduce heat to medium and cook the pancakes in batches, brushing skillet with oil in between and using 2 tablespoons batter per pancake, for about 1 1/2 minutes per side until fluffy and golden.

*If you want you can skip separating and add entire egg to milk and oil, but the fluffy pancakes are worth the added effort.

Recipe adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook: More than 1000 recipes

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Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus with Parmesan

Simple and soooo good. I really can’t say more. If you have leftovers, try stirring them into scrambled eggs for breakfast!

(Makes 4 (side dish) servings)

  • 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in upper third. Toss together asparagus, potatoes, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large shallow baking pan, spreading evenly. Roast, stirring once, 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and roast until cheese is melted and golden in spots, about 3 minutes more.

Recipe originally spotted in Gourmet Magazine, April 2008

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