Tired of Turkey

Okay, now that another round of holidays is come and gone, and now that I've had more turkey leftovers than I'd care to list. So I had plenty of take-out leftovers from house guests and desperation, so I thawed some fish.

Thank GAWD it's not turkey! Croquettes,

OR

How many times will she wash her hands this recipe?

In a baking dish(or cake pan, or hunk of aluminum foil) take 1-1 ½ lbs salmon filets (any type will do, I used Coho because that's what the heathen likes to eat), rub a bit of oilive oil on both sides and sprinkle it liberally with salt and pepper. Pop the whole thing in a 375 oven for twenty minutes to half an hour. Decide not to eat it that night and go out to Chinese instead.

The next day, take the fish you put in the fridge and chop it up into 1" square pieces. Throw it in a bowl. Wash hands. Dice veg.

      2  stalks celery

3 green onion stalks

and throw into bowl

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 eggs

1/3 c ap flour

1 takeout box of cooked white rice (about 2 cups)

1 Tbs creole seasoning (I use Tony Cacheres, because it was in the pantry, you're welcome to any type you like, or even just some Old Bay)

Mix by hand, or with a spoon, or whatever.

Wash hands. Heat ¼ inch cheaper olive oil (like TJ's or Bertolli, not your good expensive stuff like Moulin Mahjoub) in large skillet and heat it over a medium-high flame. Take palmful of the salmon mess and shape lightly into patty. 

Don't squish them, or manhandle them. 

These are delicate; be careful putting them into pan and use your splatter cover or lid as a shield against the evil back-splash. 

You're doing battle now. You against the oil; and the oil can and will win, if you don't watch that heat. After forming first batch, wash hands. 

Cook until golden brown on each side,

 

form second and third batches, washing hands in between each time. Stick your tongue out when the heathen asks you how many times you've washed your hands during this recipe, and get out some prepared horseradish for a sauce (Dijon mustard is good too) For the record, total: 5 hand washes, and 13 croquettes.

Cheater, cheater, SQUASH eater?

It’s mid-week, and I’m a slacker. I don’t want to make a full meal tonight, and we had take-out Indian last night, so no more take out for us (we have a house rule that only 1 night a week can be take-out). Thankfully, I can toss together a yummy meal using the stuff still sitting in my fridge.

Butternut Pesto Bake

Find your biggest knife (your favorite chef’s knife, a cleaver, saber, whatever…I use a 7 inch Santoku) and

               1 small/medium butternut squash

Manhandle, curse, and otherwise chop the entire thing into cubes that are ½-1” or so. Toss all of these into a bowl and glug on

               3-4 Tbs olive oil (Moulins Mahjoub is wonderful http://www.moulinsmahjoub.com/english/huila.htm)

1-     1 ½ tsp kosher salt

¾ tsp fresh cracker black pepper

Toss to coat the butternut thoroughly. Really get your hands in there, and work it in. On a large baking sheet, dump out the entire contents of the bowl in a single layer and put it in a 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, turning them halfway through. Rub in the salt and olive oil on your hands (it’s a great exfoliator) and rinse off the seasonings from them. Wipe off the excess oil on a towel, but don’t wash it off, it’s a good moisturizer.

While the squash is cooking thank yourself for making pesto last weekend. Oh! You didn’t make any pesto? Well, looks like you have more work—

Awesome Pesto

In your food processor, lightly pulse

               3-4 garlic cloves

               1/2 cup (4 ounces) walnuts (I keep these on hand in the freezer)

These should look chopped up, but not minced. Add

               6 ounces good Parmegiano Reggiano (spring for the good stuff, you’ll thank yourself)

Again, pulse. But don’t puree. You want this to be chunky. Then run outside to get some basil, realize you forgot the kitchen shears. Open the back door, and dodge the two running dogs that have decided that they want to be outside because you’re outside. Grab the kitchen shears and head back out to get your basil. Chop many stems—you’ll need a cup or two of leaves. Call the dogs back inside as you head back in. Yell at the one that is ignoring you, and promise the obedient one a cookie. Promise this loudly enough that the stubborn one hears you. Watch as the stubborn one comes tearing into the house and nearly takes out your knees as they run by.

Reward the dogs with some cookies as you ask your heathen to clean the basil. Toss all the flower stems—only a few varieties of basil have flowers that aren’t bitter. Remember that you need to turn the squash in the oven. Smile as your heathen gives you a drippy colander of basil, sigh. Looks like you need to get out the salad spinner or some paper towels. Oh well. It’ll give you time to pick out the yucky leaves, all of the bruised or holey ones (you do grow your herbs organically, right?)

Toss in the basil (stems and all) into the processor. Pulse again for 20 seconds or so, and check the texture.  It should look minced, not pasty.  Add

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Turn on your food processor and slowly pour in

               ½ c GOOD olive oil (the stuff you want to serve company only)

Stop the processor and check your consistency. 

 

Is it pasty? Slightly saucy? Good. 

You want this a little tight. You can always add more oil later, but you can’t take it out.  Now, the hardest part—taste it. Does it need more salt? More pepper? More garlic? Adjust as necessary to your tastes. Measurements for this recipe is difficult to record, because I always do this by touch and taste. But you’ll get by. You’ll create a gorgeous pesto that can be used tonight, and frozen in a zipper bag for later. It makes a great compound butter, quick sauce, and ingredient for other recipes.

Now, back to tonight’s dinner: get out your favorite pasta. Tonight, I’m using up some leftover ravioli I froze (that’s another blog entry). In a mixing bowl mix in ravioli, roasted squaaaaash (yep, that’s an Ode to Two and A Half Men) and pesto. Dump into a greased baking dish and top with leftover mozzarella (or whatever mild white cheese you’ve on hand) and more shredded parmegiano. Bake the whole concoction at 350-375 for 20 minutes or so.

It should come out hot and bubbly, releasing a perfume of nutty cheese and sweet basil that makes you immediately want to curl in a ball on the couch, with a blanket and a bowl of steamy veggie heaven and maybe a couple of Italian chicken sausages.

That’s where I am now 

Rice, rice baby

The High Holidays have come and gone, and so has another anniversary. My fridge is fairly empty, and we’ve subsisted on take-out food for the past couple of days, rather than attack our very dirty kitchen (don’t judge; you know you do it too).

So we’ve a lot of leftover rice containers. And, strangely enough, milk. Ergo—it’s either rice cereal (ode to Mom) or rice pudding time. My heathen is craving comfort foods, so guess which one?

Apple Rice Pudding Brulee

Dice up a beautiful, unassuming innocent medium apple

 

It was asking for it with those cheeks hangin' out, mwahahahaha

Toss it in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, and combine

3- 3 ½ cups cooked rice (medium grain) or 2 take-out boxes of rice

3 cups milk (my favorite is Snowville Creamery’s skim milk)

2/3- 3/4cup sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)

2-3 Tbs of butter (depends on how much rice you used)

Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat when you notice a funky scum trying to emerge or if the milk is trying to scald. Trot off and play Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook. Remember that you have a steamy pot on the stove, curse that you lost your round, and run back into the kitchen to stir the pot and add

                 

           ½ cup currants (or raisins, if you prefer)

1 tsp GOOD vanilla (I know I sound like Ina Garten here, but it’s important. I like using Caswell-Massey’s)

2 tsp cinnamon

This time, put the burner on it’s lowest setting and cook for another 15 minutes (or until everything is a steamy caldron of tasty soft goo and apples). Shake your head as your heathen tells you he doesn’t like rice pudding, and tell him that his noogies are tough (you like rice pudding). When the pot is done, take it off the burner, cover it and leave it alone for 5 minutes.

 

Thank you, Pantera, for being stuck in my head right now

Serve it up in your favorite bowls or ramekins with a hefty sprinkle of sugar on top. Tell you heathen to add more sugar, and don’t be stingy with it. Try to light your torch (what you don’t have a torch? Ugh, then you can put your ramekins in the broiler. But don’t do the bowls. They’ll shatter)

Curse at the torch as you burn yourself a little while brulee-ing the sugar. Using small circles with the flame on the sugar, working from one side to the other section by section. Move to a new section when the sugar is bubbly and lightly caramel colored.

 

Fire, fire! Hhhuhh, huuuhhh…

Sorry, I was having a moment. Tell you heathen to come back with the sugar he put away, and add more to your bowl, because you want a thicker crunchy crust on your bowl. Promise him that he’ll like this rice pudding. Watch him shrug, and take a bite and proclaim that this is not rice pudding. That rice pudding like this does not exist in the real world and can only taste this good in magic wifey-land. Smile, take the compliment and crack the yummy shell on your own happy, lovely bite.

L'shanah Tovah!

 Have a sweet New Year!

Today, I’m a stress ball.  Rosh Hashanah begins tonight at 7:07. One of my dearest friends is (finally) getting married. And I’m not nearly ready for either. I’ve been going nuts—getting my glasses fixed, picking up my dress for the wedding, obtaining shoes, making a fascinator for my hair, figuring out hair/makeup, baking challah and making pie.

Every Rosh Hashanah, I bake an apple pie. My heathen prefers a traditional pie, but the one below just might be my favorite. I’ve been perfecting this recipe for years; it’s yummy warm, and even better cold for breakfast the next day.

Honey Praline Apple Pie

It ain't pretty, but once you eat it, you won't care :)

 First things first, you do not have to buy a pie crust at the grocery store. Pie crusts are not difficult. Don’t let anyone lie to you and convince you otherwise. Pie crusts are easily made. Here’s how I do it:

In a food processor, dump in

                1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

                1 stick cold salted butter, cut into cubes (or use margarine)

Pulse until it looks kinda like cornmeal.  Then drizzle in 2 tablespoons into the machine. Pulse until it just starts to turn into a ball. It should look a little dry. Take the mess out of the machine, moosh it together with your hands to form a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and sit it in the fridge for ½ hour or so (you can also freeze it, just thaw it overnight before rolling it out)

Meanwhile, mix up a praline topping for the pie. Get out a small bowl, or even better, the clean food processor bowl with the ‘S’ blade. Put into it

1 cup of walnuts

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup brown sugar

2 Tbs butter or margarine

2 tsp cinnamon

Blend until( the sound changes and) the mixture looks crumbly. Set it aside.

While it’s sitting, get out a large bowl (hello, Kitchen Aid Mixer!) and combine in it

                ¼ cup brown sugar

                3 Tbs unbleached all-purpose flour

                1 hefty pinch of kosher salt

Mix a little at a low speed (it spews up and covers the counter otherwise!) and run to the microwave to melt

                ½ stick butter (or margarine)

While it’s cooling slightly, grease a measuring cup and use it for

                ½ cup honey (I use a local raw honey, but it’s choice what you use)

Dump this into the mixing bowl, with the butter and

                1 shot of brandy (any type, apple included)

                4 whole large eggs

Mix away! (and clean up the little splash that missed your shirt but hit the counter. Whew! Close one!) Thinly slice up

                2 medium apples (any type, I use either Golden Delicious, Galas, or Fijis)

And no, I don’t peel them. Peel is good for you! Lots of nutrients and fiber and stuff…Oh yeah, and it’s pretty! While you're slicing, catch the slice that keeps trying to jump on the floor, and dunk it into what honey you have left. (hey, it IS Rosh Hashanah!)Put the apples into the mixing bowl’s slop. 

 

Mmm, tasty slop.

Pour the entire mess into a pie crust (you don’t need a primer to roll that out do you? Do you? Sigh, here ya go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-6RllmZ0wA). 

 

Sprinkle on the praline mix you made earlier, 

 

tell yourself that if your heathen doesn’t like this pie, you’ll finish it yourself. :P

And try not to trip over the dog as you put it into a 350 oven for 45-50 minutes. Let it cool before you cut it, it's great with apple wine or brandy, or tea (you know how I love tea!)

La La La La La La Labneh!

Ok, so the other day, I gave you a Turkish treat, and mentioned that it tastes great with butter, jam, pekmezi, and/or labneh. What’s labneh you say? It’s a soft cheese made from strained yogurt. You can buy it at good grocery stores or specialty markets, though it's a cinch to make. It’s tangy-er than cream cheese or Neufchatel, but still mild, and tastes yummy on baked goods. It’s also killer in sauces, or as a dip for veggies. Oh yeah, and it’s healthy.

Labneh

1 quart plain yogurt (I make my own, but Stoneyfield Farm is a good alternative too)

1-2 sheets of cheese cloth

1 wire mesh strainer

1 bowl

1 chip clip

Salt (optional)

1 plastic container with a lid to store your labneh (not that it will last long anyway)

Take your sheets of cheesecloth and fold them to double the size of your strainer. Make sure the strainer is evenly covered.

 

Place this over your bowl. 

Dump in the yogurt.

 

Leave this alone for about 10 minutes. Go check the mail, play with the dogs, or fold laundry. Come back and take all the corners of the overhanging cheesecloth in your hand and twist them together and tie them, tightening around the center. Clip this, and leave it alone again. 

 

Do the dishes or something, your heathen is getting tired of being the only one cleaning the pots and pans this week.  Oh yeah, and make some tea. Isn’t it tea time? You like tea time…with a couple of crackers or cookies, or maybe fruit…mmmm fruit.

I digress. Come back (again) and figure out a way to hang the drippy ball of cheesecloth and yogurt over the strainer/bowl.  Make sure it’s firmly secured. Last time, you spilled whey all over the floor and counters, much to the dogs’ joy.

Now go watch a movie. Or cook dinner. Or play Gardens of Time on Facebook. Periodically come back and carefully twist the cheesecloth to tighten the ball. Hehehehe, you’re torturing that yogurt. Heck you can even out the whole contraption in the fridge overnight. After a couple of hours, the bowl should have a LOT of whey (it's great to bake with), and the ball should be fairly tight (you didn’t allow the yogurt to goosh {yes, that’s a technical term} through the mini holes, did you?) Slowly and carefully untwist the ball. 

 

You should have a nice lump of cheese, the texture of ricotta or cream cheese. If you don’t, the yogurt gets the rack again. Once everything is strained and lovely, add a pinch of salt to the mess. Or don’t. Your choice. But do put it in the plastic container and refrigerate it. It tastes better cold. 

 

Eat with breads, fruits, well…whatever you please. It should last in the fridge for about a week. If it lives that long, mwahahaha.

It's not a bagel

Semit comes from the Arabic semiz, derived from the Greek word semidalis which translates to semolina, or durum wheat.  Simit was originally baked for Janissaries (Ottoman military elite) in the 14th century, and according to Evliya Çelebi, a famous Ottoman traveler and writer, during the mid-16th century there were seventy bakeries specializing in simit in Istanbul. Simit are part of a continuing festival tradition. The Mevlid-i Nebi Kandili, or Prophet Muhammad's birthday, is a minor Muslim festival is celebrated throughout Istanbul by illuminating candles in mosques and eating special foods, like simit (this year, it will fall on February 26). Simit are also enjoyed as breakfast or afternoon snack, served with butter, jams, syrups, or labneh (yogurt based cream cheese). Simit come in two varities in Istanbul, those bought in bakeries made with leavening (like yeast, lauvain, old dough, or fermented hummus)  and are risen for hours, and those bought from street vendors without leavening which are made quickly. Below is a recipe for leavened simit, which are similar to, but lighter in texture than, a bagel.

Leavened Simit

 Preheat oven to 375. Dissolve 3 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast and a small glop of honey in 1/4 cup warm water and let stand until frothy. Sift 3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon kosher salt onto the work surface

 make a well in the center

 and put in 2 tablespoons sugar,  1 egg, 4 tablespoons melted butter , yeast mixture, and half of 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

 Gradually work in the flour and the remaining water, to make a very soft and sticky dough.

  Or knead on a floured surface 10 or 15 minutes, frequently beating it against the surface, until smooth and springy. Sprinkle the surface with flour as needed. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a towel and let rise 30 minutes. Divide into 12 equal pieces.Coat the work surface and your hands lightly with flour and roll each piece into a worm. Twist the worm around itself and shape into a ring pressing and rolling the overlapping ends on the work surface.

 Brush with pekmezi* (2-3 tbs. Middle Eastern grape molasses mixed with 1-2 tbs. water), 

 

then sprinkle on sesame seeds.

 

Place them on a greased baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes until they are golden brown.

 

 Me, with my tower of simit, at our Baronial Artisan Championship in 2010. These babies are winners!

Resources:

“Islamic Holidays in Turkey” http:// www.turkeytravelplanner.com . Accessed December 29, 2009.

Turquoise: A Chef's Travels in Turkey (2008). Malouf, Greg; Malouf,Lucy; and Cohen, Lisa. Chronicle Books, LLC.

“Middle Eastern Food--Simit” by Chef Saad Fayed. http://mideastfood.about.com/od/breadsrice/r/simitrecipe.htm .Accessed December 29, 2009.