momofuku ramen

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momofuku ramen

We got the Momofuku Cookbook as a gift and turned to the first recipe. Ramen! We love ramen! Quick noodles in a meaty broth with a soft poached egg? Delicious! Easy! That’s when the nightmare began.

Actually, it was one of those nightmares that ends happily, with a big bowl of steaming ramen. But before you get to the table, you lose your phone and realize you’re naked in the sixth-grade hallway.

“I’ll get the ingredients!” Michael volunteered and then vanished for two hours. He came home with half of what he intended to get—neck bones are hard to find! I went next, hitting H Mart, Whole Foods and Stop & Shop. I started making the broth around 1pm on a Saturday and by 5pm, I had made little headway. I was on step #2 of 40. I’d basically only boiled some water.

David Chang’s recipe for ramen broth is a fool’s errand. Over forty steps and each step has its own steps. Four pounds of chicken wings and a pound of bacon went into the ramen broth, which I didn’t finish until the following weekend (when I finally found the right cheesecloth for the final strain.) And that was only the broth! There was another 15 hours of shopping, prepping and cooking to prepare the ingredients for the soup, including cured and roasted pork belly, sous-vide eggs and marinated bamboo. And I skipped the make-your-own noodles – after that broth, I couldn’t spend another week in the kitchen.

Was it worth it? Hell no. Was it delicious? Better than anything I’ve made in a long time. But next time, I’ll probably made a quicker broth in the Instant Pot (using pork bones and kombu). I did appreciate the cured and roasted pork and I’ll be sous-viding eggs for years to come. But next time, a bowl of ramen won’t take me three weeks to make. In fact, I might just make Momofuku reservations now.

chicken potpie

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I’ve always been curious about chicken potpie. You might even call it a fantasy. That gooey creamy American-midwestern Waspy dish that mom NEVER made. With two sticks (plus) of butter, heavy cream and frozen peas. It had no place in our kitchen when I was growing up. Or to be honest, in my kitchen as an adult. Hence the fantasy I guess.

Scrolling through chicken dishes on the NYT website however—which is yes a pastime these days, sadly—I came across Melissa Clark’s “White Chicken Potpie” recipe and thought—white meat, so it must be healthy. Two and a half sticks of butter later I know otherwise. At the time however it seemed doable, and like a good Sunday project. Michael had given it his casual thumbs up and his enthusiasm got me over the indecision hump.

So I bought the buttermilk (white!) and the chicken (white!) and the leeks (almost white!) and set my sights on Melissa’s recipe.

A couple of hours and too many dishes later, it was too late to turn back, and soon I had chicken potpie, an ultimately foreign dish (to me) which was so so delicious. Yes, it was too much butter and too much cream, and I was already thinking how do I turn this into something healthier next time. I mean, I had trouble lifting the dish out of the oven, it was so heavy.

I called the kids into the kitchen for dinner, and I immediately sensed failure. There were cooked carrots, frozen peas and biscuits—something for everyone to hate. Maybe I should have made those tofu tacos! Did I read enough reviews? My Jew-anxiety was on red alert.

Soon enough Nate had snubbed his nose which triggered Michael to double down on his picky eater issues—”But mom spent two hours making dinner!” which then sent Nate into a tailspin and eventually into his room, punished for not even being willing to try a bite. Mack took one bite and politely asked for a bagel. Michael and I ate our share while Nate was in his room and Mack was solemn. I have to admit though—it was delicious. Decadent, yes, but satisfying, especially the biscuit topping. (I’m a biscuit girl—the highlight of NOLA for me is the biscuits and grits.)

Finally, we let Nate out and gave him a bagel too. There was so much cleanup during which time Michael kindly suggested that we didn’t need to save the leftovers. But of course, I did save them—stashed in the fridge in the garage, ready for me to pull out one day and devour. Perhaps alone. Because no one else deserves to relive the trauma of white chicken potpie. The end.

finally a decent tofu dish

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So we’ve been quarantined for…forever now, and I’ve made every recipe you can imagine. In terms of meatless, I’ve enjoyed The New York Times’ tofu with green beans and chili crisp. And their Indian Butter Tofu is incredible but a lot of work. Last night I found a new recipe for Meatless Monday—it’s a sort of sag with tofu and I added roasted cauliflower to it and it was delicious, and healthy and filling! It’s this recipe but I changed it a bit: I sauteed shallots and ginger for 5 minutes then added all the spices. After about a minute, I added baby spinach until it wilted and then pureed that mixture in a food processor. Then I added in roasted cauliflower and the sauteed tofu. See recipe below!

Saag Tofu and Veggies

1 onion, chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp tumeric
12-16oz baby spinach
1 package firm tofu
1/2 cup greek plain yogurt mixed with 1/4 tsp cornstarch
Optional: roasted vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

  1. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil in large pot over medium high. When hot, saute chopped onion and minced ginger (or used store-bought minced ginger in a jar). Cook until soft, then add all the spices. Cook for 5 minutes until fragrant, stirring often.

  2. Add spinach in bunches. (If pan starts to scorch add a few gulps of chicken broth.) Cook until spinach is all wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  3. In the meantime, heat frying pan over high heat and add 1 tbsp canola oil. When hot, add cubed tofu and cook shaking pan until tofu cubes are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

  4. Puree spinach mixture in food processor until smooth. Add back to pot. Then add yogurt-cornstarch mixture and stir. Add browned tofu cubes and taste for salt/pepper seasoning. Optional: add roasted vegetables.


whole30 inspired

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So I can’t exactly say that I am doing the whole30 diet but Michael is, which has inspired this week’s pretty awesome menu of dinners. For the most part, we are eating salads and protein (though I’ve had some dairy, bread and a little sugar) but the constrictions of the diet have forced me to try a few recipes that may have otherwise been off my radar. For example…

This Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho), made with lemongrass, star anise, ginger. It was a lot of work and cooked for three hours but the results were worth it. Rich, buttery beef with bright distinct and unfamiliar flavors of anise and cinnamon. It would be good with rice but we just had it plain—although I have been making cauliflower rice which is really pretty decent. And this week I had some leftover cauliflower rice which I cooked like fried rice (see above), with bacon and a scrambled egg, plus some frozen mini-veggies. Mack loved it.

I also made another Milk Street Magazine recipe, Moqueca, a Brazilian seafood and coconut stew, which was much easier and excellent—creamy and briny, with shrimp and cod. On a side note: Nate has started eating shrimp if I saute it with Old Bay. Mind-blowing. Trying not to get too excited as to scare him off of it but it’s now two in a row and I think it’s here to stay.

Because we are getting sick of Michael’s very good but very much the same every time vinaigrette, I fudged my way through a new recipe with the rest of the coconut milk from the stew and some vinegar, lime, fish sauce and olive oil. It was good, maybe not something I would make again, but a new twist that fit the diet guidelines.

And finally, and most simply, I sous vide some pork chops then finished them on the grill. Next time I would add some kind of sauce but they were good, especially with the fried cauliflower rice and the leftover veggies from this excellent butterflied chicken recipe (which I randomly found online but will definitely make again.)

Tonight we are going with an Eric Ripert recipe: Cod with potatoes in chorizo mussel broth from the New York Times. It looks complicated but delicious and we bought a beautiful piece of cod at today’s very cold outdoor farmer’s market. It’s not a recipe I would normally turn to so I’m grateful for whole30 for the inspiration and parameters, at least for this week. Next week I’d like to get back to bagels and beer.

weekly recap

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Sunday: Leftover Jewish-style Brisket with onions and carrots from our Chanukah party: This was a really easy and traditional brisket which turned out delicious. I made it several days ahead of time and warmed it up at 325 for about 45 minutes before we ate it. We also had the remains of our dinner of sous-vide turkey breast with crispy skin, (see above), which I made for Thanksgiving and then remade a few weeks later because it was so good and so easy. The first time around I made a gravy from Mark Bittman, but this time I bought a house-made gravy from Whole Foods and the whole meal was super simple to make. There wasn’t enough crispy skin, however, either time I made it. But still a keeper.

Monday: We made a delicious and healthy veggie miso soup (with cabbage and shiitakes) from the Milk Street Cookbook. I just gave their new book to a friend for Chanukah so I decided to go back and check out the earlier book, which I love. The soup was light, nutritious and a perfect lunch dish, even though we had it for dinner, with some homemade yogurt pizza.

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charred sprouts

Tuesday: I returned to the Milk Street cookbook for a Filipino Chicken (marinated and cooked in a vinegar/soy sauce) which was excellent, and I served with (again) the Milk Street Cookbook’s charred brussel sprouts with anchovies and garlic (see above) which were made in a cast iron skillet. White rice on the side to soak up the amazing coconut-milk sauce for the chicken.

Wednesday: I made chicken tacos for the boys and us — which has become quite easy and a good weeknight staple that I can heat up for lunch.

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no-sear beef stew

Thursday: The snow day called for stew so we turned to Milk Street—see a theme here? And made their no-sear lamb or beef stew, opting for beef (see above). Skip the lemon juice at the end—otherwise a straightforward recipe for a hearty and warmly spiced stew served with cold yogurt and cilantro. Perfect for a cold night, and doesn’t require much more than some crusty bread and/or a salad.

Friday: I got my first shipment of Fly by Jing chile crisp so I made this excellent recipe from the NYT for Tofu and Green Beans with Chile Crisp. I’ve made it several times before without the green beans and we threw the tofu on a salad or had it with rice for lunch. But the addition of the beans is smart and with some white rice makes a filling meal.

aunt molly's peanut butter balls

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These were perhaps the yummiest thing I ate as a child. My great aunt Molly made them every year for our Chanukah parties and all the kids gorged on them, stuffing extras in Tupperwares to being home and make the ecstasy last just a little longer. I had never thought to make them until my cousin Bess posted Molly’s original recipe (see below) on Facebook. Despite the curly cursive and relative measurements, I followed her instructions as written—except for one thing: I left out the paraffin wax. Yup, she fed us wax every December. Instead of wax, I added some canola oil to the chocolate chips and microwaved them in 30 second increments, stirring well in between. I think this is close to “tempering chocolate” which is the modern day replacement for wax (according to Google, at least.) They are incredible—rich, sweet and peanut-buttery, just like I remember them. Mack has already asked if they can all be for him—all 38 balls.

easy chicken tacos "recipe"

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Today I needed to flee and drove to Stew Leonard’s for a break from home. Shopped for groceries and then had an ice cream in the freezing cold, and felt somewhat refreshed. That’s what it’s come to.

As we head into our second quarantine, I’m returning to the blog, getting back to writing about all that I’m cooking, and feeling. These days have been rough—stuck at home without much to do, seeing fewer people and now furloughed from work.

Being home has been a lot about cooking, eating, drinking. I’ve covered the world in my food—from Ethiopian Berbere chicken to lasagna to vegetable curry, writing notes in my handy kitchen notebook. Many of the dishes I’ve made have been just for Michael and myself but I’ve also been mastering some family favorites, like chicken tacos—the boys’ new favorites. I’ve got a good go-to recipe for making the chicken filling now, in the Instant Pot. I cook 1-2 pounds of thighs, a packet of taco seasoning, a little salsa and about a cup of chicken broth for 12 minutes (15 if frozen). Then shred the chicken while boiling down the sauce. I return the shredded chicken to the sauce to moisten it but you could also just dump the sauce and keep the chicken as is or add a little bit of the sauce to the shredded chicken.

I keep the chicken in a Tupperware in the fridge for easy lunches: Microwave two tortillas topped with shredded cheese for 30 seconds. Add some chicken and microwave for 30 seconds more. Add whatever toppings you like: guac, sour cream, hot sauce, etc. Then roll it up. It’s a great fast hot lunch for the boys during school days that doesn’t require a lot of cleanup.

Here’s a good video about hot sauces (by Nate)!

dave’s gazpacho

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From Dave Herman: This is one of my summer go-tos. I got the recipe from the wife of an ex-girlfriend's business associate we visited outside of Sevilla on a trip to Spain in the late '90s & she told us in Andalusia everyone always has a pitcher in their refrigerator there to sip from in the heat of the afternoon. It's also about the easiest thing you could make.

Ingredients
2 pounds ripe tomatoes*
8 ounces cucumber, peeled  (1 regular cucumber, or approx. ½ English cucumber)
3 ounces green pepper, seeded (approx. ½ “normal” bell pepper, but size varies widely)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Roughly cut all vegetables (make sure to save all liquid from the tomatoes). In a blender, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic and sherry vinegar and blend until liquefied (putting tomatoes in first helps). Taste for acidity. If it's not balanced enough, add a little more vinegar. Add the olive oil, season with salt, and blend again. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Can be made & refrigerated a day in advance.

It’s most traditional to strain the gazpacho into a pitcher and serve in juice glasses for sipping, but I prefer to leave the pulp even to sip it from a glass. And with the pulp you can serve it in a bowl (great with the addition of croutons & a drizzle of olive oil).

*Because it’s all about the tomatoes, I prefer to use heirlooms & never make it unless I have great tomatoes.

chicken wars

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So yeah we’ve been eating a lot of chicken lately. It might have something to do with the fact that Michael became a vegan and then a pandemic hit. Somehow that meant we couldn’t eat meat…but chicken was okay. And then we just went crazy on chicken.

We made Jerk chicken, Thai chicken, Filipino Chicken Adobo, Vietnamese chicken (fried, grilled and baked on a bed of salt), Japanese fried chicken, chicken tacos, chicken pozole, chicken shawarma chicken schnitzel, chicken curry (from Swati) and chicken tandoori (from Dave) and butter chicken. This one was really good: Turmeric Coconut Curry (but of course we made it with ground chicken instead of pork.) We even made Brooklyn chicken, or rather brick chicken from Marlow & Sons which was amazing. (And courtesy of The New Brooklyn Cookbook.) As well as Jonathan Waxman’s famous roast chicken.

At some point in all this madness, Michael had the idea to formalize these meals into a competitive draw: chicken wars, ala March Madness, in which we would have winners and losers and seatings and whatever else goes with whatever March Madness is. (I’m still learning the terms.)

We haven’t yet gotten around to an actual tournament but we’re still making so much damn chicken that it’s definitely a war—on poultry, but also between dishes. We haven’t yet declared a winner winner chicken dinner, but the dish I made last night came pretty close—it was a riff on lots of recipes that I’ve been reading and cooking. We happened to have a bunch of cilantro stems left over from the pozole, and I’m currently obsessed with fish sauce, so I turned those two into a marinade for chicken thighs that we grilled and served with a sauce I made up. It was so good I had to write it down.

Vaguely Thai Chicken

Marinade:
1 bunch cilantro stems, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp lime juice
2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
1 Serrano pepper roughly chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor. It will take a few minutes to break down the stems but blend until you get a green sauce. Marinade 4-6 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)in sauce for at least 2 hours. Grill on high until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Dipping Sauce
2 tbsp chili-garlic sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp Kewpie mayo (or regular mayo)

Combine all ingredients in small bowl and serve with grilled chicken.

cooking around the world

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Now that we’re trapped at home all day, it’s nice to spice up the home cooking with some food from other countries and cultures. I’ve made Vietnamese chicken (baked over a bed of salt), Japanese boneless fried chicken and today for lunch, soft tofu stew (Kimchi Soondubu Jjigae) adapted from a recipe from this Korean site. It was seriously easy and fast. And delicious.

Here’s my version:

1/2 a package of extra soft/silken tofu
1/3 cup thinly sliced kimchi
3 ounces pork or beef (I used one small pork sausage out of its casing)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 cup broth
2 to 3 tablespoons juice from kimchi
salt to taste and pinch black pepper
1 scallion, finely
1 egg (optional)

Combine the kimchi, sausage, garlic powder and sesame oil in a small pot, and place it over medium heat. Stir-fry until the meat is almost cooked, 3 - 4 minutes. Pour in broth and the juice from the kimchi. Bring it to a boil, and continue to boil for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the soft tofu, salt to taste (start with 1/4 teaspoon) and black pepper. Cook for 4 -5 minutes. Add the chopped scallion just before removing the pot from the heat. If desired, crack an egg into the stew to serve while it’s still boiling hot.

my new air fryer

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So I finally broke down and got the air fryer lid for the Instant Pot which literally turns the IP into an air fryer, though a small one. I figured I’m cooking SO much, it would be a fun tool to play with. And it is. Despite Melissa Clark’s lackluster review, I’ve found it really useful for a few items. One is veggies: brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, shishito peppers— well seasoned with a little olive oil then air fried for about 15 minutes per batch at 400 degrees turns out really yummy little bites of crispy veg. I’ve served them with dinner but also as a pre-dinner snack.

For both the cauliflower and broccoli, I mixed the small florets with 1 tablespoon of olive oil plus a spice mixture (garlic powder, cajun spices, smoked paprika, salt and pepper—but you could use any mixture you like; just use enough to coat). Then air-fried for 15 at 400.

Chickpeas were good too—crunchy and healthy with just a little bit of oil. A good snack to serve with a cocktail. French fries were amazing—similar to a fast food fry—though you have to air-fry them in small batches to get the right about of crisp. I’ve also thrown in small new potatoes cut in half with just a bit of oil, salt and pepper.

I have yet to try any meats or bigger objects, so I’ll have to check back in when that happens. Perhaps fried chicken or a piece of fish? Stay tuned.

save yourself

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You know that feeling right?

It’s a lot. Staying home and cooking ALL THE TIME. But then again, you could have your head crushed by Abomination. That would be worse.

So the latest issue in this busy kitchen is: How do you cook enough not to cook every day but also have variety? We’ve had a leftovers-lunch-rut lately—someone has to finish the lentil soup! And then there’s the kids: I can’t eat pasta for lunch and dinner! I’ve realized (not that this is news to anyone else) that it all comes down to making a big recipe and then portioning it out.

For example I made a batch of tomatoey white beans in the Instant Pot this week. It took me about 10 minutes of active time. We then ate it with grilled chicken one night. The next night I mixed in a little sauteed kale. We finished it for lunch with some canned tuna flaked in. You could also add some sausage or broth and turn it into a soup. I know everyone’s talking about beans these days but this recipe turned out to be very versatile and forgiving, even for my formerly vegan, maybe still vegan when this whole thing is over, husband,

A great big batch recipe to make for the kids is this incredible recipe for Mac and Cheese in the Instant Pot. It’s easier than anything else I’ve made in a few months and it’s delicious, and freezes well. Make the whole recipe (one box of pasta which makes about 10-15 servings) and then freeze meal-size portions in small Tupperwares or plastic bags for when the kids refuse to make what you ate that night.

Another one—humous. I usually just mix two cans chickpeas, 1/4 cup tahini, 1 lemon’s juice, salt/pepper, 1/4 cup Olive Oil and a few ice cubes in the blender and then store the whole thing in a Tupperware in the fridge. It will keep for at last a week or two and everyday when you heave it out for snack time, place a small amount in a bowl and flavor it however you want for the day: chili powder; cajun spice; sesame seeds, hot sauce; EVOO and extra lemon. Each day it becomes a little new.

Of course part of this strategy is making a plan: writing down the exciting meals you will make that week using the 3-5 major big batch dishes you choose to make. (Some other ideas: any bean dishes; grilled or baked chicken (put it into tacos, pasta, soup); slaw; pasta; roasted salmon (eat it cold or turn it into these amazing salmon cakes; ) It takes some time to plan it all out but honestly, what else do you have right now?

Day 93, or something like that

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I’ve lost count. I’ve cooked so many damn meals they would be melting together if I didn’t keep this photo diary of my daily restaurant specials. I’m quite proud of myself for cooking every meal but burnt out at the same time. Last night Michael grilled veggie burgers and hot dogs and it was a relief not to be in charge. So one night a week should be daddy’s night, I think. The problem is we’re making the most of limited supplies so creativity and skill is crucial. Michael did make this lentil soup this week, and made it entirely on his own—super impressive. So we’re both reaching out of our comfort zones.

I actually think this quarantined time has an advantage in that we are spending more quality time together as a family doing things I like to do—being at home, cooking, watching movies, reading. There’s no soccer or baseball or neighbors yelling in our playroom. Today with video games allowed since it is Sunday, I’m feeling a bit lonely—the kids are doing something that doesn’t involve me, nor that I get any pleasure in. But strangely that isn’t normally the situation these days.

I’ve read a lot about how this time befits introverts (Larry David) and even depressives….which is interesting. There are no social plans or run-ins and we’re all supposed to feel a little bad. Plus we’re at home, where some of us like to be, doing quiet activities. So yeah there are some positives. One of them being: bread. We made this bread—which is something we would never ordinarily do. But it was crazy easy and yummy—it makes a ton so you can keep it in the fridge and bake off a loaf when you feel like it.

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day 13: more soup

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Finally Saturday when I don’t have to homeschool! We started the day with cleaning, which was supposed to be a family affair but was mostly me and Michael, plus a little help from the kids. Mack was in charge of Vacuuming his room and he asked: Do I have to Vacuum everything, or just the floor? Clearly these kids don’t do enough chores.

Well, we got plenty of time for that now.

After cleaning I moved on to…cooking! I made an easy broccoli and cauliflower soup but substituted gouda for cheddar. I think it turned out really delicious but Mack said it was “smelly and hot.” My kind of soup. And then I had some leftover broccoli and cauliflower so I decided to make a stiryfry which meant that I basically didn’t leave the kitchen for like 6 hours. On the other hand, not much else to do. Strange times.

Broccoli and Cheese soup

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp butter 

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 medium)

  • 4 cups chicken broth

  • 4 cups broccoli, roughly chopped (about 1/2 lb)

  • 2 cups cauliflower, roughly chopped (about 6 oz)

  • salt & pepper, to taste

  • 1 1/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or gouda)

  • 1 tsp sherry vinegar

  • 1 TBSP heavy cream

Instructions

Instant Pot Directions: 

  1. Turn on the saute function, melt the butter in your pot and cook the onions and carrots in the butter until they start to soften .

  2. Next, add the roughly chopped broccoli, the cauliflower, 1 tsp salt and the broth. Put the lid on and set on manual for 3 minutes, quick release when it's finished.

  3. Blend in batches in a blender and return to pot. Add cheese, salt and pepper to taste, sherry vinegar and cream.

day 7: no rest for the chef

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Photo from the New York Times

Photo from the New York Times

Washing dishes this morning for the nth time in days I realized how much my kitchen feels like a restaurant. I basically don’t leave it for large parts of the day—cooking, eating, cleaning, repeat. So today I wrote some specials on the chalkboard: egg tacos for breakfast, cauliflower soup for lunch (there was actually some left!), and plant-based bolognese with spaghetti squash for dinner. I also badmouthed some recent customers who asked for and then didn’t eat a buttered bagel—and then left a lovey on the table. Unfortunately the same customers are coming back today, and tomorrow, and…

Last night I dug into the forgotten drawer of weird asian noodles and seaweed that I don’t really know what to do with but they never go bad. I found a package of dried shiitake mushrooms and reconstituted them in some water to make a recipe I made years ago and still had in my Paprika app: The New York Times version of vegan MaPo Tofu. I prefer the meaty pork version, I think, but this is way healthier and did I mention that Michael recently became a vegan? (We were trying to eat more plant-based and then he saw the movie Game Changers and boom, he hasn’t had meat or dairy in over a month. It’s a bummer.)

Anyway, I used dried instead of fresh shiitakes and a fermented black bean paste that I had from Hmart, along with a little Gochujang It was tasty and filling, and I served it over quinoa just to hippy-ify it even more. We ate it with wine in front of candles—and a laptop on which six of our friends were having their dinner and wine. A Zoom dinner party! The new normal.

day 5: shrimp & grits

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Okay, I’m ready for this whole thing to be over already. My kids are driving me crazy. I’m bored and depressed and out of shape. So tonight I’m making a fancy dinner, a dinner party recipe, inspired by our trip to New Orleans. A taste of something fine and foreign.

It’s funny how this new reality is forcing us to both be in our extreme comfort zone, and leave it. I’m spending more quality time with my kids than I usually do—going on walks, doing writing projects, seeing films. Today I got out the bike that was my my mother-in-law’s and took a 2 hour bike ride on the path that runs though Westchester. I made it from Ardsley to Hartsdale. I’d never normally do that.

Tonight’s recipe however is not new, I made it a few weeks ago when the world still seemed like a steady place. But I learned a couple tricks so tonight’s version will be simplified. It’s shrimp and grits but I’ve tailored it to be able to be mostly made-ahead.

Quarantine Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients

·       5 3/4 cups chicken broth divided

·       1 pound large shrimp, shelled (shells reserved)

·       3/4 pound mushrooms chopped up

·       1/4 teaspoon baking soda

·       1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

·       1 cup grits, preferably stone-ground

·       1 cup grated cheese

·       4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and divided

·       4 slices bacon, diced

·       1 medium shallot, minced

·       2 medium cloves garlic, minced

·       1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·       1 tablespoon fresh juice from 1 lemon

Directions 

1.    In a large saucepan, combine 5 cups stock with reserved shrimp shells. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Strain and return stock to saucepan. Trash shells.

2.    Whisk grits into stock, set over medium-high heat, and bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Lower heat to a bare simmer and cook, stirring and scraping bottom frequently with a wooden spoon, until grits are fully softened and cooked and have thickened into a spoonable porridge, about 1 hour. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter and cheese until fully melted. Season with salt and pepper and keep grits warm. (A piece of parchment pressed against the surface will help prevent a skin from forming.)

3.    In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp then move bacon to towels to drain. (Bacon is optional; you could just add some oil to a pan). Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in shallot, garlic, and cayenne and cook for 2 minutes. Add baking soda and cornstarch and ¾ cup stock. Cook until thickened. Whisk in butter until emulsified. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. (At this point you can turn it off and reheat it right before serving time.)

4.    Right before you want to serve, quickly salt shrimp and cook in a little oil in a frying pan, then add them to the hot gravy to finish cooking.

5.    Serve grits in a bowl with shrimp and gravy on top. Finish with herbs if you want to get fancy.

 

 

Swati chicken curry

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Here’s a very sloppy recipe for the curry. Seriously going to need to use your instincts as I’m not a recipe person. I’m sure I’m forgetting something or in the very least not estimating accurate amounts. 

By the way, way to go with getting your actual name and nothing else as your gmail address! 

Anyway, hope it comes out awesomely! 

Red Onion Chutney:

Chopped small onion. Any kind that you have. 

A squish of tomato paste. Enough that when all mixed up it, it’s still a light liquid. Not very thick. 

Juice of one lemon. 

An average to small  finger pinch of paprika. 

A petite finger pinch of cumin.

A little agave or honey. I don’t know. Maybe a teaspoon. Maybe less. Maybe more. 

Salt. 

Combine and whisk everything except onions til kind of emulsified and then add onions and stir it up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRyELKGLGag 

Set aside in a glass or ceramic container covered and not in the fridge while you make everything else. After, store any left in fridge. 

For the curry.  ( * means it’s necessary or find an amazing substitute) 

3-6 servings (This is because less is needed to make tacos with the leftovers.)*Less than a can of coconut milk, maybe 5/8*Around a pound but not less, chicken breast (medium bite chunks)*A med sweet potato (Same size as chunks of chix)*2- 4 big clugs of chicken broth (low sodium preferred)*Tomato paste or fresh chopped tomatoes but then add it before the chicken to cook it down*2 minced garlic cloves *2 -3x the garlic amount of finally chopped ginger or some ginger powder.*Curry powderCumin*Berbere (Sub w garam masala or more curry if no berbere. If the sub doesn’t have any heat, a little spicy hot, add cayenne) Ground cardamomPaprika Before prepping the curry stuff unless you take forever to prep like me, chop chicken into medium bite sized chunks. Sprinkle curry powder on chix chunks. Enough to very lightly coat. You should still easily see the chicken. Like a see through dress. If that’s too much curry for your taste, then coat enough that it looks like one of those fishnet disco crop tops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmx1GL1Kyuw&app=desktop  Add a little salt. Mix a little. Set aside. Heat oil and onions and half of the ginger til onions are almost translucent.  Add chicken, an average pinch or 2 of cumin, garlic and rest of ginger and cook til the outside is sealed. Whitish. Add 2 or 3 or 4 medium squishes of tomato paste. Stir it up. Add 2 or 3 big finger pinches of berbere, a big finger pinch of paprika and a medium finger pinch of ground cardamom. Stir it up. After a minute or 3 or 4 but not 2, (2 with this part is useless), add chicken broth and some salt and stir. Let that cook for a few minutes to be truly influenced by the other flavors. Little by little add the coconut milk. Do what it takes for it to not curdle. (Even if it does curdle, it will get better as you stir. It will be fine. Maybe not perfect but fine.) Stir gently at med-low heat. You don’t want big bubbles. Gentle bubbles might be okay. But not a lot. A gentle simmer. I indiscriminately cover and uncover. 10 or 15  mins before you’re ready to eat, add sweet potato chunks. You don’t want very mushy potatoes. You don’t want hard to bite potatoes either.Add salt, extra coconut milk, berbere etc. to taste after the chicken is safely cooked. Hopefully you got that rice cooked in the meantime. I like to add peas to mine. Plate the rice so that there is less rice in the middle so it kind of makes it’s own bowl. Put the curry on the rice, mostly in the bowl part. You should still be able to see some white rice the farther you go from the middle.  Garnish w cilantro and serve w red onion chutney.  Yogurt or even better, raita goes well w it too. 

grilled broccoli

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As summer comes to an end, I’m reflecting on all things grilled and realized I never got around to posting one of my favorite recent grill recipes: Broccoli! You will need one of those grill trays so it doesn’t fall through the grates, but this recipe couldn’t be easier and is insanely delicious. And healthy. Get the recipes here.

Cauliflower Grits

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If I had to pick one outstanding detail about our recent New Orleans jag, it would be GRITS. Michael and I ate and drank our way through that town in three days (including a bloody mary tour; secluded backyard bars; amazing restaurants including Cochon and Commanders Palace) but the lasting taste of that trip is for grits. The question—how to make them a little healthier so I can eat them all the time. A little internet research turned up Cauliflower Grits which is a totally different thing but turned out pretty great—alongside some Cajun shrimp.

Cauliflower Grits

Makes: 2 Cups

Name of image (title of post is fine)

Ingredients:
  • 1 head of cauliflower broken into florets
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup cream
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheddar

Instructions:
  1. Process florets in food processor until course, then steam in pot for 5 minutes to release moisture.
  2. Add butter, half of milk and cream. Stir until liquid gone.
  3. Add cheese and the rest of the milk and cream. Stir while cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper.