Shrimp 'n Beans

This dish doesn't exactly have the most sophisticated name, does it? I suppose you could jazz it up by calling it Gamberetti e Fagioli alla Toscana, since evidently this is a classic Tuscan meal. People dig Tuscany -- it's trendy, you know.

Anyway, it's really important to make this dish with dried beans. You can't just start off with canned beans, even though it would cut the cooking time. The reason is that the fresh sage infuses the water that cooks the beans so that the beans themselves taste like sage. Remember to buy U.S. farmed shrimp, not wild-caught or imported. Bottom trawls used to catch most wild shrimp damage sea floor habitat and unintentionally kill unwanted fish and sea turtles. U.S. fisheries are generally well regulated to prevent this kind of damage.


Tuscan Shrimp and Beans
serves 4

• 2 cups dried white beans (cannellini, navy, pea, Great Northern)
• 20 fresh sage leaves
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 pound shrimp, rinsed, dried, cut into 3-4 pieces each
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Place the beans in a large, deep pot with water to cover. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Skim the foam if necessary. Turn the heat down so the beans simmer. Add the sage and pepper and cover loosely. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans begin to soften, about 30 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and some more pepper. Continue to cook until the beans are very tender, usually at least 1 hour. Add additional water if necessary. Drain the cooking liquid if necessary, then add the garlic, additional salt to taste, and shrimp. Cook over low heat until the shrimp turn pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Drizzle with the olive oil and serve.

Black Beans and Baseball

It's officially autumn, and that for me means two things: baseball playoffs and soup. Tonight, along with some nice crisp weather, I'm getting to enjoy both of those fall classics. (Although to be honest, I'm enjoying the baseball a bit less right now; my Red Sox are losing 2-0 as I write this.)

I've made my fair share of black bean soup in my time, and I've tried a bunch of different recipes. I'm always on the lookout for a new one. Tonight, since I've been going through Mark Bittman's fantastic culinary compendium How to Cook Everything, I tested out his recipe. Pluses: it was fast and easy, it had great flavor (good and spicy), and it was versatile enough that I would feel comfortable using it as a base for some future tinkering. Minuses: it's a little thinner than I was expecting. After it was done, I put a bunch of garnishes on top, and they kept sinking into the soup. Which would have been 100% fine if I hadn't been trying to take a picture of it.

Overall, a delicious, satisfying soup. Now if only the Red Sox would perform as well as this recipe...


Black Bean Soup
Serves 3-4

• 2 Tbsp vegetable/canola oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 3 c. drained cooked black beans
• 4 c. chicken/beef/vegetable stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• sour cream
  
• optional (but recommended) garnishes: cilantro, chopped scallions, grated cheddar cheese, chopped tomato, chopped avocado

Place the oil in a large, deep saucepan or casserole and turn the heat to medium. A minute later, add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chili powder and cook, stirring, another minute. Add the beans and stock and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the soup just to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Puree half the contents of the pot in a food processor or blender (or just mash the contents with a potato masher or large fork). Add the lime juice and stir; taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve, topped with any or all of the optional garnishes.

No Vampires

Have you ever butchered a chicken? You know, taken a whole chicken and hacked at it with a large knife to dismember it? I did yesterday for the first time. It was not pleasant. Actually, that's an understatement - it was kind of awful. It made me want to become a vegetarian immediately. I'll spare you the gory details, but it involved breaking bones. Ugh. I guess it was a good experience, though, because now I know how to do it. If you're ever faced with cutting up a whole chicken, there's a pretty good explanation with diagrams and stuff on p.368 of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, or you can look here.

Anyway, the butchering was worth it because this chicken with 40 cloves of garlic is amazing. This recipe really just screams "autumn" to me. Between the roasting garlic and the cinnamon, the smell it emanates as the chicken is cooking is one of the most delicious aromas ever to grace my olfactory organs. My apartment has never smelled better than it did for an hour last night when I had this chicken on the stove.

Added bonus: all this garlic is a pretty potent vampire repellent.

A glimpse into the pot:

And on the plate:

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Adapted from How to Cook Everything (Mark Bittman)

• 1 whole chicken, cut up, trimmed of fat, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• at least 2 heads garlic, separated into cloves but not peeled
• 1/2 c. minced fresh parsley leaves
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. white wine or chicken stock

Place the chicken, oil, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and cinnamon in the bottom of a large saucepan, casserole, or Dutch oven. Pour the wine/stock over all and mix together. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, for about an hour, until the chicken and garlic are very tender. Eat the softened garlic cloves spread onto good crusty bread.

A Sustainable Seafood Stew

This week is crazy busy for me for some reason. Tons of reading for class, work for my internship, errands to run and events to attend. Somehow (not sure exactly how) I found time to make a pretty delicious meal tonight. Fortunately I have leftovers, so if I'm too busy to cook tomorrow, I won't have to starve.

This Spanish Fish Stew with Peppers, Almonds and Saffron is really quite healthy. I'm on phase 2 of South Beach, so I served it on top of some brown rice to make a really filling and awesome meal. I try to be really conscious about what seafood I eat; this summer I worked for an environmental non-profit organization called Oceana that does a lot of marine conservation, and I learned a lot about unsustainable fisheries and the damage to the oceans that a lot of fishing practices can do. Fortunately there are some kinds of seafood that aren't so terrible to eat, and those are what I put into my stew. Farmed clams are one of those OK seafoods - they don't have to be dredged off the ocean floor to be eaten. (Dredging kills everything that lives on the sea floor, like coral reefs and turtles.) Pacific halibut is also a fish you can eat with a clean conscience, because that's a fishery that's responsibly managed and not in huge danger of overexploitation. For a complete guide to ocean friendly seafood, Oceana publishes a great list and you can find it here.


Spanish Fish Stew with Peppers, Almonds and Saffron
Serves 4

• 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. Spanish smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1-1/2 c. dry white wine
• one 14-oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1-1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. saffron threads, crumbled into 2 Tbsp. hot water
• 1/4 c. salted roasted almonds
• 1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
• 1-1/4 lbs. Pacific halibut, meat cut into 1-inch pieces

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy casserole. Add the onion, bell pepper strips and garlic and season with salt and black pepper. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, paprika, and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water and saffron and bring to a boil. Cover the casserole and cook over medium high for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, finely grind the almonds in a food processor. Stir in the almonds into the stew and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the clams, cover and cook until most of them open, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the fish and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until the fish is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Transfer to bowls; serve over brown rice if desired.

Just Stuff It

Before I get to my featured recipe, two things:
1) A public service announcement. If you bake homemade pita, make sure you put it in the refrigerator. Otherwise it will grow mold and all of your hard work (and burned hands) will be for naught.
2) A recommendation. If you have $400 to burn on dinner for two, go to L'Espalier for their seasonal degustation with the grand vintner's tasting. It is three hours of pure magical delight. You will not be disappointed.

Okay, so this week I made yet another delicious South Beach friendly meal. I'm not really into chicken these days, I don't know why, I just haven't really had a taste for it. But this was pretty good and I didn't mind eating it for dinner two nights in a row, with just a side of salted sliced tomatoes. (When you live alone you have the ability to live off your own leftovers.) That's possibly because I've been obsessed with goat cheese recently and have been using it in everything. I used to think I hated goat cheese, but sometime this summer I had an epiphany and realized that it is actually a little piece of cheesy heaven. So don't be surprised if you see more goat cheese pop up in my recipes in the future.


Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken
Serves 4

• 1/4 c. walnut halves
• 1/4 c. fresh goat cheese
• 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• four 6-ounce boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp. walnut oil
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast for 6 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool, then chop. In a small bowl, mash the goat cheese with the lemon zest, garlic and half of the walnuts; season with salt and pepper. Using a small knife, cut a pocket in the side of each chicken breast; keep the pocket opening as small as possible. Stuff the chicken breasts with the mixture and gently press to flatten them. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the chicken for 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken breasts to a platter and keep warm. Add the lemon juice and stock to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the walnut oil, parsley and the remaining chopped walnuts. Transfer the chicken breasts to plates, spoon the walnut sauce on top and serve.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging #102, hosted this week by Ulrike from Kuchenlatein. WHB is a weekly food blogging event where bloggers post recipes using their favorite herbs, plants, veggies, and flowers. In my goat cheese stuffed chicken, the flat-leaf parsley in the reduction adds a nice herby flavor to the dish that would otherwise be dominated by the rich tastes of the goat cheese and walnuts. Flat-leaf parsley is one of two kinds of parsley (along with curly), and is thought to have the stronger flavor of the two. Flat-leaf parsley is also better adapted to cooking because it can better withstand high heat.

Pita Patter

I almost died in the process (okay fine I just burned my hand in the oven), but I successfully made my own whole-wheat pita! I weighed myself this morning and decided it was time for phase 2 of South Beach, which means I can slowly reintroduce some fruits and whole grains back into my diet. I racked my brain for something I could make myself, and at first I thought about making a loaf of bread, but most recipes call for dry milk (??) and I do not have that. (Seriously, what is dry milk?)

Anyway, I decided on homemade whole-wheat pita bread. The recipe is simple, and even with my crude and unrefined technique, I managed just fine. So basically, that means just about anybody can do it. I also got to use my brand new baking stone that I got for my birthday! The pita got all puffy in the oven just like they were supposed to, and they taste great, just as good as (if not better than) pita that you would buy in the store. And did you know that pita splits naturally? I thought that when you bought store-bought pita, the pita-people split the pita for you so you could make it into a sandwich. Turns out that just happens on its own. Magic!


After my pita were done I decided to stuff them full of delicious goodness, limited only by my imagination. No, actually I was limited by what I had in my refrigerator. Fortunately I dug up some chicken sausage, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. After adding a dash of salt and pepper, I was in heaven.


Whole Wheat Pita
Makes about a dozen little pita

• about 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 package yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups warm water

Stir 2 cups of flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water gradually; beat until smooth. Add 3/4 cup more flour; beat again. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough - about another cup. Beat well. Turn out onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise 1 hour; should be doubled. Punch down; let rise 30 more minutes. Divide into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Roll out into 5- to 6-inch circles. Bake on a baking stone on the bottom rack at 450 degrees for about 2-1/2 to 3 minutes on each side until pitas puff and both sides are brown.

We All Scream for Ice Milk

Yes, I am food blogging on a Friday night. Yes, I am moderately to severely depressed by what a loser I am right now. Just kidding, I'm having a nice relaxing evening at home instead of going out to bars because tomorrow morning I have to wake up at 6:30 to go sailing. Sailing! On a professor's giant boat! I'm excited, so obviously I made ice cream.

Actually this is more of an ice milk. I'm on a diet, and ice cream isn't really allowed (although if you know of a diet in which I'm allowed to eat real ice cream to my heart's content, PLEASE TELL ME), so I used mostly 1% milk and Splenda instead of cream and sugar. The consistency is definitely not the consistency of ice cream -- it's very slushy, and it melts almost instantaneously upon contact with air or any other surface. But the taste is pretty much the taste of normal vanilla ice cream, and I threw in some unsweetened coconut flakes for texture. Basically, if you go into this expecting not ice cream but rather some completely different frozen icy treat, you won't be too disappointed.


Vanilla Ice Milk with Coconut

• 2-1/2 c. one percent milk
• 1/2 c. half-and-half
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 c. Splenda
  
• handful unsweetened coconut flakes

Combine milk, half and half, vanilla, and Splenda well in a mixing bowl. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. About five minutes before it's done, add the coconut. Slurp immediately, or put in a container in the freezer for later.

Back to School (and Good Cookin')

Apologies to all for the unexpected summer hiatus. I was living in Washington, DC for the summer doing my first-summer legal internship, which was a lot of fun but didn't leave a lot of time for cooking. Especially after I met and started dating someone new. But now I'm back at school, in my own kitchen, and I'm looking forward to cooking and baking all kinds of fabulous things this fall. Just yesterday I broke in my new ice cream maker with strawberry creme fraiche ice cream with lemon and coconut. I couldn't eat it because I'm on a diet, so unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to photograph it.

However, I did snap a quick photo of my dinner from two nights ago: curried lentils. I'm doing the South Beach Diet for a few weeks to try to undo the damage I did to myself this summer, so bear with me while I cook some moderately healthy (read: less fun/exciting) meals.


Curried Lentils
From the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook

• 1/2 onion, diced
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Saute the onion in the oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the lentils, curry powder, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (I used black Hawaiian lava salt, as you can see in the picture.)

I <3 Lentils

It's no secret that I love lentils. I dedicated one of my Weekend Herb Blogging entries to the lovely lentil, which is quickly becoming my favorite go-to ingredient on rainy days when I don't want to go to the grocery store. After contemplating making a dal and realizing I didn't have the right ingredients, I settled on this delightful recipe from an old Food & Wine: Curried Lentils with Tomatoes and Yogurt Cucumbers. The name doesn't really do justice to how great this dish is. The "yogurt cucumbers" are in a sauce similar to a raita, and they are so cool and soothing on the palate after the heat of the jalapeno in the lentils. All in all, the flavor profile of the spices in the dish is very nice.

This recipe is very healthy, especially if you use turkey bacon instead of real bacon, as I did. (Make the meal vegetarian by omitting the bacon altogether.) In fact, it's pretty much fine for phase one of the South Beach diet, which I'm trying to follow at the moment. The recipe makes a ton of lentils, so it's plenty to feed a family or to feed a single person (like me!) for several meals.


Curried Lentils with Tomatoes and Yogurt Cucumbers

• 2 oz. lean bacon (or turkey bacon), cut crosswise into 1/3-inch strips
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 3 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 lb. lentils (your favorite variety), rinsed and picked over
• 2 c. water
• 2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

In a large saucepan, cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring often, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels and set aside. If you used real bacon, reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the saucepan and discard the rest. If you used turkey bacon or no bacon at all, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the saucepan.

Add the onion to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the ginger, curry powder, jalapeno and cinnamon and cook until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in the lentils, water and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sprinkle the cucumber slices with a large pinch of salt and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry. In a small skillet, toast the cumin and coriander over moderate heat until fragrant, about 1 minute; transfer to a medium bowl and whisk in the buttermilk, sour cream and lemon zest. Stir in the cucumber slices and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the lentils to a large bowl. With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the cucumber salad over the lentils. Sprinkle the bacon and tomatoes over the cucumbers and serve warm or at room temperature.

The Junk-Food Masquerade

It's official. I'm bored out of my mind. This is my third day in a row free from exams, and I hardly know what to do with myself. I very well could have decided to make an elaborate meal for dinner tonight that would have taken hours and hours to complete, but I was just cooking for myself, and that seemed like a waste of energy. Instead, I decided on quick and healthy fare masquerading as junk food.

These Lettuce Wrap "Tacos" are, believe it or not, South Beach Diet approved. Extra-lean ground beef, reduced-fat sour cream, low-sugar tomato sauce, and lettuce "tortillas" give you all the flavor without the fat and carbs. Great for feeding a crowd, or just yourself (hooray for leftovers!).


Lettuce Wrap "Tacos"

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 c. low-sugar tomato sauce
• 1 head of iceberg lettuce
• Low-fat cheddar cheese, grated
• Reduced fat sour cream

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meat. Add the onions, bell pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, spices (cayenne/cumin/ oregano), salt, and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes or until onions and peppers are starting to soften. Add the tomato sauce. Turn off the heat. Serve the filling in heaping servings on single leaves of lettuce. Top with sour cream and cheese. (I sprinkled a bit of black lava Hawaiian sea salt on top as well for garnish.)

Suggested Wine Pairing:
I like my tacos with a nice big red wine, like a cabernet or a malbec. If you make these tacos really spicy, even though they're made with beef, you might enjoy the sweeter mouth-soothing taste of a California riesling. Of course, don't forget the classic Mexican food pairings: margaritas and cerveza!

sssssspicy!

First, some good news. I'm done with my fall exams! YAY! It's such a relief to not have to spend every waking minute thinking about torts or property or civil procedure. And now I get a week and a half off before classes start again. Lots of time for cooking!!

I got my new issue of Bon Appetit in the mail the day before my last exam and had to set it aside until after I was done with my tests. Today I picked it back up and immediately knew what I wanted to make. As of today, I'm trying to do phase one of South Beach, at least for the next week until I go on vacation with some friends to Vegas. The recipe I picked out for my dinner tonight, Andouille Sausage and Shrimp with Creole Mustard Sauce, isn't technically phase-one friendly because andouille sausage has a fair amount of fat. I made it anyway, though, and just had a smaller portion. Next time, I'm going to substitute hot Italian turkey sausage, which I think would work just fine with the flavors of this dish.

This recipe is great because it's a one-skillet meal. I love food that you can prepare in one dish so that you aren't trying to figure out the timing of finishing different components of a meal at the same time. Oh yeah, and this recipe is terrifically delicious. And it is SPICY! The recipe called for 1 Tbsp of cajun seasoning, and I cut that back to a teaspoon - and I was still crying as I ate. But it was worth it because even Steve, one of my most demanding critics, gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up.

This post is my entry for this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging because of the yummy fresh thyme that lends its unique flavor to this cajun-inspired meal. Thyme is native to the Mediterranean, but it is extensively used in creole cooking. Thyme is one of the few herbs whose flavor is actually enhanced when dried. The flavor of dried thyme and fresh thyme is actually fairly different overall, since fresh thyme has a softer and less smoky taste. Thyme is thought to have some medicinal qualities as well - it may help out with some chest and respiratory problems.

Some fun facts about thyme (courtesy of wikipedia): the ancient Egyptians used it in embalming, and the ancient Greeks burned it as incense in their temples because they believed it was a source of courage. In the Middle Ages, people slept with thyme under their pillows to ward off nightmares. It has even been placed on coffins to assure passage into the next life!

This week, WHB is being hosted by Sue over at Coffee and Cornbread, so make sure to check out the round-up of recipes when she posts it at the end of the weekend!


Andouille Sausage and Shrimp with Creole Mustard Sauce
(serves 2-3 hungry people)

• 1 lb. uncooked peeled deveined large shrimp
• 1 Tbsp (or, if you're a wimp like me, 1 tsp) Creole or Cajun seasoning
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
• 1 lb. andouille sausage, cut crosswise on diagonal into 3/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into half-inch strips
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 c. low-salt chicken broth
• 5 Tbsp Creole (or Dijon, if you can't find Creole) mustard
• 2 tsp red or white wine vinegar

Toss shrimp with Creole seasoning in medium bowl to coat. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add sausage pieces, cut side down. Cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to bowl. Add shrimp to skillet; cook until browned and just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with sausage. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, onion, bell pepper, and thyme to skillet. Saute until vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add broth, mustard, and vinegar. Stir until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Return sausage and shrimp to skillet. Simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.