Oui, Chef

Curried Cod with Kale-Cannon and Tomato Olive Sauce

Every year around this time I am sure to find my wife standing before our open refrigerator slowly shaking her head side to side, shoulders slumped forward, already wearied by the enormity of the task ahead.  You see, my wife is big on advance planning, and about three weeks before Thanksgiving she starts to concern herself over the ability of our fridge to handle the seasonal onslaught of cooking that accompanies our holiday entertaining.  

Cod with Roasted Tomatoes, Beans and Green Olive Broth

This meal came together on the fly the other night in an effort to rid our fridge of some produce before we left town for a week.  We had some purple romano beans (did you know they turn green when you cook them?...neither did I), some baby potatoes, half a box of organic chicken stock, and a green olive pesto that had been in residence so long that it was practically part of the family.

Sweet Potato Chips!

 

Making this gorgeous treat hardly requires a recipe at all.  In fact, crafting homemade potato chips is so easy, and the results so delicious, that once you give 'em a try, I bet you'll think twice before buying store bought chips again.  Really..... still warm from the fryer, and seasoned with a generous sprinkle of salt, they are very hard to beat.

I first pursued making sweet potato fries and chips as a means of getting the kids to take more of a liking to them....um....that would be the sweet potatoes, not the chips and fries.  It's funny, but while they all love potatoes, and adore all things sweet, when you put the two together, not one of them would eat them.  I've baked them, steamed them, and smashed them, and always the answer was the same....no thanks.  

Merguez Frites - Charcutepalooza #5

"THE POWER AND THE GLORY: ANIMAL FAT, SALT, AND THE PIG COME TOGETHER IN ONE OF THE OLDEST, DIVINE-YET-HUMBLE CULINARY CREATIONS KNOWN TO HUMANKIND".........

So begins Chapter 4 of Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's fabulous book, "Charcuterie", and to this, all I can say is.....amen, brothers.  Never before has the beauty that is sausage been described more accurately and succinctly than Michael does here......I get goosebumps every time I read these words.

As you may have already guessed, the challenge this month laid down by the High-Mistresses of Charcutepalooza, Mrs. Wheelbarrow (Cathy), and The Yummy Mummy (Kim), was to craft homemade sausage.  In doing so, we were to add to our growing list of experiences in all things charcuterie. So far we've hot smoked, brined, and salt cured, and for this month (at least for me), we're breaking out the power tools for a little "grinding and stuffing".....hallelujah!

New England - Corned Beef "Boiled Dinner"

When I was a kid, my Mom made "New England Boiled Dinner" fairly frequently, though she generally made it with a picnic ham, as corned beef was a little trickier to come by.  Almost everyone I know cooks this dish on St. Patrick's Day, so I've always assumed that it is a traditional Irish dish.  It turns out that's not quite the case, and most folks living in Ireland wouldn't recognize this bugger at all.  Our associating this dish with the Irish has more to do with its adoption into their culture by Irish-Americans, many of whom landed here in New England and have made this dish a staple of their cuisine.

Corned Beef and Root Vegetable Hash with Poached Eggs

This post marks my first foray into the world of homemade charcuterie, and if the success of this dish is any indication, we are in for a fun and delicious few months of experimenting with this rather ancient culinary tradition.  You see, I've joined a group of adventurous food bloggers in what has been named "Charcutepalooza - A Year of Charcuterie".  The purpose of the group, which was founded and is being managed by the amazing bloggers Mrs. Wheelbarrow, and the The Yummy Mummy, is to encourage all of us participating to delve into the mystical world of charcuterie with a little help from cookbook author and food writer extrordinaire, Michael Ruhlman.

Curried Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Maple-Ginger Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Jessica Goldman, the lovely food writer who brings us the delicious and informative blog, Sodium Girl, tweeted me last week and asked me to join her, and a number of other bloggers in what she is calling her "Love Your Heart Recipe Rally".  For the event, she is asking participating bloggers to rework a favorite "sodium heavy" recipe into one that would be considered "sodium-free" (or at least "sodium-light"), then blog about the dish, posting on Friday, February 18th....yes, that would be today.  

The rules of engagement were pretty straight forward, we had to identify our original recipe's salty ingredients, eliminate them, and recreate the recipe with as little sodium as possible – i.e. no salt (duh), no salted butter (ouch), and no products that contain sodium content higher than 40mg per serving – or “very low sodium” according to the American Heart Association.  

A very cool idea, I thought.

That was, until I told my wife about the invitation, then had to endure the humiliation of watching her double-over in laughter at the mere thought of my cooking a low-sodium meal.

Ming Tsai's Pork Tenderloin with Five Spice Apples

This is the first Ming Tsai recipe I ever cooked, and it remains my favorite.

Why?  Three reasons.

First, it is absolutely delicious and requires no hard-to-come-by ingredients.  Second, with the exception of the brining which takes a little advance planning, the meal is very quick to put together.  Third, with just a little extra effort it can be quite gorgeous on the plate.  For a weeknight family meal, a dollop of the pureed potatoes, a couple of slices of pork, and a spoonful of apples and you are good to go (don't feel like making the apples, put a little Chinese Five Spice Powder into your favorite applesauce, and you'll have an easy substitute).  For a dinner party or special occasion, plate it as I have in the photo above, and its a real stunner.

Savory Buckwheat Crêpes - Galettes de Sarrasin

 

While traveling to Paris this past Summer, our young Muppet fell in love.  Awww...I can hear you all sighing at the news.....how sweet.  

Yeah, the poor little thing fell fast and hard, and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that her Mom and I were a bit concerned, it all happened so quickly.  One day she's a sweet and innocent 5th grader on her first trip to Europe, the next she's on her knees begging that we take her back to the little restaurant on the Ile St-Louis where she lost her heart to a........savory crêpe.  Zut alors!

That's right, it wasn't a handsome young frenchman that stole young Muppet's heart (though Pierre Hermè came close), it was a delicate egg and bacon (oeuf-lardon) galette that brought her to her knees.  She was, in fact, so smitten with the thing that we returned to the scene of her infatuation (the charming "Au Lys D'Argent" at 90 Rue St-Louis-en-I'lle) two more times during our time in Paris.....such are the demands of a girl in love in the "City of Light".

Vichyssoise

This dish is the first I ever remember cooking with one of the kids.  Arthas and I whipped up a batch of Vichyssoise back when he was a little tyke attending the local Montessori Elementary School, and needed to bring a French dish to a year end multi-cultural celebration.  I still have the framed pictures of the presentation he made to his class, all smiles and pride as his class devoured this tasty treat.