The Kinfolk Table

Let's get this out of the way. There are two kinds of people: The people that will LOVE this cookbook and the people that will HATE this cookbook. It is easy to be polarized.

 

Nathan Williams is the editor of the widely popular magazine, Kinfolk.

LOVERS: The magazine's goal is to "offer an alternative idea of entertaining -- casual, intentional, and meaningful."

HATERS: Kinfolk entertaining is tortured, pretentious and devoid of people.

LOVERS: Nathan Williams is a world traveler, collecting recipes.

HATERS: If your world is Portland, Brooklyn, Copenhagen, and the English countryside.

 

LOVERS: The recipes are simple and elegant.

HATERS: The recipes are tedious and don't work.

 

We read dozens of reviews of this book. The glowing reviews all said the book was gorgeous and published a slew of pictures. They waxed poetic about the food, but no one had actually made any of the recipes. The only actual review of the book we could find came from Felicia Sullivan in Medium. She was not a fan.

What do we think?

LOVE IT: If you have ever picked up or for that matter, seen a copy of Kinfolk, you cannot miss it. It is visually arresting. There are few publication out there that one can spot at 100 feet. They love white walls and wooden tables and roasted chicken and so do we. They don't care about immersion circulators or stick blenders or matched china. It is beautiful and we want it for that reason, alone!

 

HATE IT: We love our white walls and wooden table, but we would spend an entire day setting up these photos. They are not just thrown together, they are highly curated. For all the talk of "gatherings" and "community" the photos are hauntingly devoid of people. Most people are alone. The "simple" food is reminiscent of hippie cookbooks from the 1970's. So, in bringing "entertaining" to a new generation, they seemed to have brought mama's old commune coobooks with them.

 

Here's a lentil salad.

Citrus Lentil Salad

1 cup dried green lentils, picked over

6 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine or apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Grated zest of 1 lemon or orange

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Rinse the lentils under cold running water in a fine-mesh sieve until the water runs clear. Place the lentils in a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Drain the lentils and return them to the pot. Add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Remove and discard any lentil shells that rise to the top, then drain once again.

Place the lentils in a large bowl and add the scallions, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, zest, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Let the salad rest for at least 20 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Serve. The salad can be stored,refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to two days.

The Kinfolk Table is an aspirational cookbook. You aspire to lovely blonde and African children. You aspire to copper pots and a house filled with books. You aspire to poached salmon and steamed cod. You aspire to tattoos and bearded boyfriends in Portland or Brooklyn.

Right now I am sitting at my reclaimed wood table, staring at my stark white wall, drinking coffee, alone. I aspire to the pages of Kinfolk, but I am not going to get dressed or clean off the table for the photo shoot!

 

 

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MELT IN YOUR MOUTH SHORTBREAD COOKIES

'Tis the season for Christmas cookies, and this is one of our favorites. Simple ingredients, simple instructions; you can make them as festive (or simple) as you want and they are still "melt in your mouth" delicious. Try these classic shortbread cookies for the holidays.

 

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

 

1 cup room temperature butter (no substitutions)

1/2  cup brown sugar (packed tight into measuring cup)

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

 

In a large stand mixer (using paddle beater), beat the butter, vanilla and brown sugar (on high) for five minutes (scrape down the bowl sides half way through).

 

After 5 minutes, add the flour (one cup at a time) and beat until very well mixed and the cookie dough comes away from the sides of

the bowl.

 

Roll the dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least a couple hours (I like to chill overnight).

 

When you are ready to bake these cookies, roll the log in sprinkles or finely chopped nuts, pressing them in with your hands just a little.

 

Using a thin bladed knife, slice the cookie log into 1/4" slices and place on an UNGREASED cookie sheet.  Bake in a pre-heated 325° oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges of the cookies JUST START to change color. My electric oven takes 23 minutes.

 

Remove from cookie sheet and cool on bakers rack.  These cookies do NOT spread out when you bake them, so you can really place them close together on the baking sheet.

 

 

SPRINKLES?

 

NO SPRINKLES?

 

Just make sure you have a

tall glass of milk!!

 

 





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The Little Book of Home Preserving

Preserving books are another of our weaknesses. Really, if you know how to make jam, you really don't need a cookbook. If you don't know how to make jam the vast number of books explaining how to make jam can be daunting. What's a cook to do?

Here's an idea. Grab a copy of The Little Book of Home Preserving by Rebecca Gagnon. It has everything one needs to know about canning a some interesting spins for those of you who can every week. It is the best of both worlds. Yes, it is a little book, but don't let its size fool you. Just because you can slip it into your pocket, might just be a good thing. Ever gone away for the summer and needed to find a reicpe? This book is perfect to toss into your hamper and take on the road.

The recipes are fresh; familiar with a zippy spin. Try the Kumquat-Habanero Marmelade. How about Jicama Apple Cumin Kraut? Or the Citrus Chai Ground Cherry Preserves. She calmly explains that preserving is not always a precise endeavor and she wallks the reader through the vexing variations that occur while canning.

We just love a good shrub, and this one will definitely be on our list.

Elderberry Drinking Vinegar

2 pounds ripe elderberries

1 quart raw apple cider vinegar (such as Braggs)

4 to 6 cups granulated sugar

1. Separate the tiny elderberries from their stems. (An easy way to do this is to place them in the freezer for a half hour and then comb through them with a sterilized, wide-toothed comb.)

2. Place the elderberries in a large glass bowl, crush them gently with a masher, and cover them with the vinegar. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store somewhere at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 1 week.

3. Strain the vinegar out of the elderberries into a large bowl, using a fine mesh sieve. Press gently on the berries to help them release all of their remaining juices. The vinegar will be a beautiful purple color.

4. Measure the vinegar and pour into a preserving pot. For every 1 cup of vinegar, add 3/4 to 1 cup of granulated sugar. Over very low heat, stir the vinegar until the sugar melts. (Keeping the vinegar well below the boiling point helps it to remain "raw" and healthful.) Once the sugar is fully dissolved, turn off the heat and remove the pot.

5. Sterilize the jars.

6. Let the drinking vinegar cool completely before storing in sterilized airtight glass bottles or canning jars at room temperature, where it will remain good for one year. To enjoy, pour 2 tablespoons in the bottom of a glass, and top with seltzer or still water.

If you are looking for a niftly stocking stuffer this Christmas,The Little Book of Home Preserving is just the ticket. You can read more from Rebecca Gagnon at her popular blog, CakeWalk.

 

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Mast Brothers Cookbook

When you look up "hipster" in the dictionary you will find a picture of the Mast Brothers.  They may be the original hipsters, though I am sure there is someone else ready to claim the title.

So here's the story:  Two young boys from Iowa leave to find fortune in the big city.  Tired of working for other people, they look for a creative outlet. They ask a simple question. Where does chocolate come from?  In their spare time they roasted chocolate in there tiny apartment.  They crack the beans by hand and wrapped them in fine papers. The rest is history.

OK, maybe not "history" but surly a moment in hipster history.  The Mast Brothers become obsessed. They immerse themselves in all things chocolate.  The ask more questions.  Why is there no bean-to-bar chocolate available?  How do we get from bean to bar?  Where do we find the folks that grow cacao beans?  After answering these questions, they began selling bars at farmer's markets.

Then one day, while visiting New York, pastry chefs at the French Laundry bought Mast Brothers chocolate.  They were ecstatic and raved to Thomas Keller but it takes more than that to impress Keller.

Keller thought the chefs had found another pair of artisans working at home.  Yes it was good, but could they sustain it.  By the time Keller paid the boys a visit, they had a small factory.  The Midwestern farm boys were strapping, over six feet tall, bearded, looking more like lumberjacks than chocolatiers.
They were no dilettantes, they were the real deal.

And now, they have a cookbook.  Clearly, if you make tons of chocolate, you eat tons of chocolate.  If you eat tons of chocolate, you have good  ideas about how to use that chocolate. The Mast Brothers know how to use their chocolate.

I confess, I adore chocolate.  I also admit that I am not a fan overly sweet chocolate.  I adore chocolate in savory dishes.  I make a winter spice rub with cocoa that makes wonderful chicken and baked squash.  I make squab with a stuffing infused with bits of chocolate.  My favorite bread is made with a chocolate stout and studded with chunks of chocolate.

The average chocolate cookbook has tons to cakes and cookies but few savory elements.   The Mast Brothers Cookbook has the requisite brownies and cakes, but there is a section of savory recipes that make this cookbook special.  Try this vinaigrette.

Cocoa Balsamic Vinaigrette

fresh rosemary                 1/2 sprig
cacao nibs                        1 tablespoon
cocoa powder                   2 teaspoons
sea salt                             2 teaspoons
black pepper                    1 teaspoon
balsamic vinegar              1/4 cup
honey                               2 teaspoons
extra virgin olive oil          1 cup

1. remove rosemary leaves from stem and roughly chop.
2. combine rosemary leaves,nibs, cocoa powder,salt,and pepper and grind in a mortar and pestle.
3. place  ground ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Add balsamic vinegar and honey and whiskey.
5. Slowly add olive oil while whisking quickly to emulsify.
6. Store in a mason jar in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Who says you can't have your salad and eat chocolate, too?   If there is choco-holic in your house, this is the perfect gift.

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BRANDY SNAPS

If you want to impress your guests, make some of these Brandy Snaps for them. They look so elegant and they are definitely not something you see on every dessert tray.

A hard candy shell filled with sweetened whipped cream...do I have your attention yet?  Pretty fool proof if you follow my extra tips below printed in RED, AND you can make them days in advance and fill them just before your guests arrive. 

BRANDY SNAPS

 

 

 

 

Brandy Snaps are basically a crisp, sweet, lacy, candy shell that you can fill with sweetened whipped cream or your favorite mousse.

They look very hard to make, but it is an illusion; they are pretty easy if you pay attention to the tips below in RED.

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white corn syrup
1/4 cup butter  (I used only 3 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons brandy (or) 1 teaspoon vanilla (I used rum extract)
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Since this whole process goes VERY fast, it is best to have everything ready before you start cooking the above ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 350° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (important). These candy shells REALLY spread as they cook, so only plan on making six of them on each cookie sheet.

Mix the sugar, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. STIR over medium heat until the mixture is good and bubbling, then remove from heat and stir in the flour and flavoring.

Drop one measuring teaspoon (per candy shell) of the cooked mixture onto the parchment paper. This will spread out into a circle about 4" in diameter as it bakes for about 6 to 7 minutes, but watch them very carefully after six minutes, as they can go from caramel colored to DARK very fast. It sounds tricky, but it isn't.

My candy circles were fairly pale in color until they hit the 6 minute mark in my electric oven, but they were a beautiful light caramel color at 6 1/2 minutes.

When they have turned a nice light caramel color, remove from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 30 seconds. If they look a little oily, LIGHTLY dab them with a paper towel.

Use a pointed knife and lift the edge of the candy circle up a little so that you can grab it with your fingers (be careful, this is VERY  hot). One at a time, quickly roll the candy circle around the handle of a wooden spoon (they will cool almost immediately and hold their shape).

Once you form it around the spoon handle, it will instantly be cool enough to slide the candy tube off of the handle, and it's done!! 

If the other candies get too "hard" to roll, put them back in the oven for 30 seconds or so (but that shouldn't be a problem, as they stay fairly pliable as long as they are on the hot cookie sheet), they only become rigid once they cool off.

 

I didn't use a spoon handle, I used some metal cannoli tubes I have and they worked perfectly (no need to grease the spoon handle).

Keep the cooled candy tubes in an air tight container until you are ready to serve them. Fill them with sweetened whipped cream (the candy tubes can be filled up to about an hour before serving).

Don't be scared off by any of my "warnings' about this recipe, it may sound complicated, but it really is pretty easy and I hope you try it.

NOTE: I substituted rum extract for the vanilla, the candy tasted like butterscotch. I think ANY extract would work.

NOTE: You don't have to fill these with whipped cream. Almost any mousse like whipped filling would work wonderfully.

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BACON EGG and CHEESE TOAST CUPS

This is a very EASY recipe because most of it can be made ahead of time.  It is a FUN breakfast to serve company or a bunch of rowdy teenagers or a breakfast buffet crowd because it can be finished off last minute!!

There are no real measurements for this recipe; just one circle of toast, a pinch of cheese, one egg and one slice of precooked bacon for each serving (use the regular thickness bacon  because thick bacon won't work for this recipe).

These little beauties are quite filling and two of them make a hearty breakfast.

The "do ahead part" is to spray the cupcake pan generously with vegetable spray, then put a "toast circle" (un-buttered) in the bottom of each cupcake well.

Next, pre-fry the bacon. I do mine in the oven (the day ahead) because it comes out perfectly flat and easy to work with.  Click HERE for my post on cooking bacon in the oven.

Bake the bacon at 375 (no need to preheat) for about 20 minutes, or if you are frying it, cook it about 2/3 done (you want it almost done, but still pliable).  Drain the bacon but don't let it cool down much (it tends to get stiff as it cools down). Quickly wrap each cupcake well, like this:

Add a healthy pinch of shredded cheddar ( I also like pepper jack cheese) on top of the toast, like this:

At this point, you can put them in the fridge and bring them out the next morning.

When it's time to eat, preheat your oven to 400 and carefully break an egg into each "nest"

Sprinkle with kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper. Put them into the oven for for 15-18 minutes or until the eggs are done to your liking. Let the finished eggs sit in the pan for a minute or two (don't worry, they stay very hot).

Scoop the baked egg cups out of the pan with a spoon (they come out easily). If you like your eggs done fairly well (like we do), you can pick these up and eat them out of hand, but if you like a soft set egg, you'll need a plate and fork.

I am definitely making these for Christmas morning,
along with fruit cups

and cinnamon rolls!!

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Wild Raspberries

A touch of whimsy during this holiday season.   In 1959, before he would become the Godfather of Pop Art, Andy Warhol made a living drawing for advertising agencies.  It was at the agency, Young and Rubicam,  that he met Suzie Frankfurt, who was married to one of the art directors.

Warhol and Frankfurt decided to collaborate on a cookbook.  Warhol was fascinated with the elaborate presamment featured in the old cookbooks.  He drew recreations of these elaborate cakes, decorated joints of meat, and huge displays of fruits. 

 
The faux recipes were tongue in cheek and the title was overt reference to Ingmar Bergman's wildly successful, Wild Strawberries.  Warhol's drawings were hand colored by friends who gathered at coloring parties.   There is no firm count on the number of copies of the self-published edition of Wild Raspberries.  In 2012, a good copy of the booklet brought $30,000 at auction.

 In 1997, Bulfinch published a lovey reproduction.

Piglet

Contact Trader Vic's and order a 40 pound suckling pig to serve 15. Have Hanley take the Carey Cadillac to the side entrance and receive the pig at exactly 6:45. Rush home immediately and place on the open spit for 50 minutes. Remove and garnish with fresh crab apples.

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Eggs

It is one of our favorite cookbook subjects: the incredible, edible egg.  Now this little book is a rare and cool treat.   We must digress....

Once upon a time a guy named Nick Fauchald decided to do a series of magazine/cookbooks and he headed to Kickstarter.  The idea was to create small, hand made cookbooks.   The idea was a big hit.

Volume One featured eggs; you had us at eggs....

Enter the writer of Eggs, one Ian Knauer.   Yes, you might look at Mr. Knauer and think:  hipster poser dude.   You would be wrong.  Knauer has serious food chops.  He was also raised on a farm.  An actual farm!  He wrote a fine cookbook about food from that farm entitled, The Farm, and we liked it very much.

Moving on... The Farm is now a PBS show.  (PBS is this really weird entity where each individual station picks and chooses what they air and, where I live, never really shows the programing that is getting the buzz which is a huge pain, but I digress again...) Do check your listing and best of luck.

Since the Holidays are upon us, we thought we would give a shout out to an eggy drink that is not a nog, but a fizz.

Strawberry Rhubarb Rum Fizz

2 fresh strawberries, hulled
2 ounces white or amber rum
1 ounce Aperol
1 ounce cream sherry
Angostura bitters
1 large egg white

Muddle the strawberries in a cocktail shaker.  Add enough ice to fill the shaker halfway, then add the rum, Aperol, sherry, bitters and egg white.  Shake until your hands are very cold, about 45 seconds.  Strain the fizz into a chilled coupe and serve.

Each little Short Stack has a witty cover and brightly colored pages.  Each booklet is hand stitched by folks with developmental disabilities, giving them a job.  Yes, there is a "but" coming on.
The bright and zippy paper often makes for lousy contrast.  Eggs is on a nice yolky colored paper, so the contrast is OK, but be forewarned, you may need a good light to read the recipes.

Grab up a set of Short Stack Editions here.

Follow Ian Knauer's The Farm here and you just might find a PBS channel to watch his show.

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Cool Cooking

 

Today's Famous Food Friday features rock stars of old...some of them still rocking today. Cool Cooking by Roberta Ashley was published in 1972 by the Scholastic Book Service. It was a draw for YA rocker who liked to cook as well as rock.

How old is this book?

So old that The Honey Cone was giving the Supremes a run for their money.

So old that Elton John was straight.

So old that that Michael Jackson was black, not to mention alive.

So old that Paul McCartney was a carnivore.

You will find:

Aretha Franklin's Chitlins.

Glen Campbell's Scrambled Eggs and Lamb

David Cassidy's On-the-Set Salad

and this winner from George Harrison.

Banana Sandwich

ripe banana

bread

peanut butter (optional)

Slice a ripe banana lengthwise and lay it on a piece of bread. If you like, you can spread the bread with peanut butter.

We just love these old cookbooks that are compilations of famous folk making their own food! Grab some peanut butter, flip on "oldies" channel, and rock on to Cool Cooking.

 

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The Meringue Girls Cookbook

We bought this cookbook for the cover. Really, we did. It is a book about meringues. Who among us hasn't made meringues. My Mother loved them. She, unfortunately, never made the clear connection between the humidity outside and the outcome of the meringues. There meringues are not my mother's meringues.

Here's the back story. Two young cooking school grads decide to team up and go on a cooking show to take a product from the kitchen to the marketplace, but, alas they have no product. Cupcakes have been done...and done and done anddoneanddoneanddone. Then there were cake pops and cookie pops and pie pops and well, pie. Then Alex Hoffler and Stacey O'Gorman thought of the simple meringue.

They perfected a meringue. Made it bite-sized, gave it exceptional flavors, and then made it beautiful and The Meringue Girls were born. Soon after, The Meringue Girls Cookbook was born. The biggest complaint about the book is about the book. That is, its a book about meringues. There are people out there who complain that it is a book about meringues. Basically a two ingredient one-trick pony.

Seriously, if you made meringues like this

you would not be complaining.

Meringue Girls Mixture

150g free-range egg whites (5 medium eggs)

300g caster sugar

Start by lining a large baking sheet with baking paperLine a deep tray with baking paper and heat 300g caster sugar at 200C until the edges are just beginning to melt. Heating the sugar helps it to dissolve in the egg white more quickly, creating a glossy and more stable mixture.Now, turn the oven down to 100C.

Add egg whites to clean bowl of a stand mixer. At first whisk slowly allowing small stabilizing bubbles to form, then increase the speed until the egg whites form medium peaks.Using a large spoon, add the sugar spoon by spoon while continuing to whisk. It is ready once you have a full bodied, stiff and glossy mixture (about 5 minutes).

Turn a disposable piping bag inside out, and use a paintbrush to paint stripes of natural food colouring on the inside. Fill the piping bag ensuring there are no air bubbles, and cut the tip off to the size of a 20p piece.

Pipe small kisses onto a lined baking tray. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Its good to keep our meringues mallowy and soft in the middle, so take them out of the oven as soon as they lift off the baking paper with the base intact.

 

The Meringue Girls offer up a detailed, three page version for their meringue, so you will need the book. Remember my Mother? This is my Mother's recipe in grams. She use a cup of egg whites and two cups of sugar. She made them for years; every Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. One in every four batches screwed up. Yes, there are only 2 ingredients, but it is trickier than one might think. My Mother made vanilla meringues. Sometimes she added pecans. That was it. But the world of meringuey goodness is as vast one one's imagination. So grab a copy and get creative. Remember, one only needs two ingredients!

*Update. Had a formatting problem! hope we worked it out.

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THANKSGIVING MINI DESSERT

We just love mini desserts, don't you? No extra plates and forks (we use napkins), no "commitment" to a big slice of something; instead two or three different mini-desserts is more to our liking.

Todays recipe is a combination of two of my favorite holiday treats. It has a bottom layer of moist, spicy pumpkin CAKE and a top layer of rich and creamy CHEESECAKE; what could be better for your holiday buffet table?

 

CAKE LAYER

 

1/2  cup Libby pumpkin puree (NOT the pre-spiced kind)

3/4  cup all purpose flour

1 1/2  teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 large egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Mix the flour, spice, salt and baking soda and set aside.  In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, egg, sugar, oil and vanilla until smooth, then add the dry ingredients from the first bowl. Whisk just until well mixed and set aside.

 

CHEESECAKE LAYER

 

(2) 8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)

2   large egg

4 teaspoons all purpose flour

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

 



Beat the cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth, then add the egg, flour, sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth, but don't over beat.

ASSEMBLY

Super simple: place cupcake papers in cupcake pan and very lightly mist them with cooking spray.

Put a small amount of cake batter into each paper and make sure it covers the bottom. Top with cheesecake filling(dividing evenly between the 24 desserts).

Bake in pre-heated 350° oven for 25 minutes or until set (my electric oven takes exactly 25 minutes).

Cool to room temperature then chill for at least a couple hours.

NOTE:  These little gems can be made two or three days ahead of time which is a huge help during the holidays. As a matter of fact, they taste even more moist after a couple days in the fridge.  Just make sure that you store them chilled in an airtight container.

NOTE: This cake batter raises nicely, so don't put too much in the bottom of each one...sort of spread it around but not too terribly thick or you will get all cake and less cheesecake.

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Le Pigeon: Cooking At The Dirty Bird

We have been waiting to get a copy of Le Pigeon: Cooking At The Dirty Bird by Gabriel Rucker.   It did not disappoint.  We spent so much time looking at it, that the cat became jealous and finally planted a paw on each page, successfully stopping any more perusing for the evening.

Rucker will quickly point out that he grew up in Napa -- not the wealthy, winey Napa, but the working class Napa.  That juxtaposition of fantastic ingredients, world-class dining, and making do with what one has clearly influenced the chef.

His drink pairings apologetically lists Bud Light Lime with a "don't know it till you try it" admonition.
Where else will you find a cookbook with an entire chapter on tongue.

Then there is the luxe treatment of foie gras, served with Eggo waffles.  A recipe that will have you saying, "Letgo my Eggo!"  

Rucker is also adamant that this is a restaurant cookbook.  He refused to dumb-down the more complicated recipes, which he argues are not so much complicated as a bit time consuming.  Stick with him and you will find a memory on the plate.  Like this one.  Not so much a dish as a meal.  Think of it as three components: a salad, a fish protein, a vegetable and there you have dinner.

Carrot Butter–Poached Halibut, Anchovy-Roasted Carrots, Fennel

2 pounds (900 g) small carrots, with tops
3 1/2 cups (875 g) unsalted butter
3 anchovy fillets, minced
3 lemons
Kosher salt
2 cups (500 ml) fresh carrot juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed, plus 1 whole clove garlic
1 bay leaf
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
4 halibut fillets, each about 6 ounces (185 g)
Maldon flake salt

Fennel Salad
1 fennel bulb, sliced 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick using a mandoline
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped white anchovies (boquerones)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black
Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Remove the carrot tops, wash, and set aside. Peel the carrots and halve them lengthwise. In a sauté pan over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup (125 g) of the butter with the anchovies and the grated zest from two of the lemons. Add the carrots and season with kosher salt. Transfer to a baking sheet, spread in a single layer, and roast in the oven until slightly softened but still a little crunchy, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and toss with the juice of one lemon.
3. In a shallow saute pan over medium heat, combine the carrot juice, the crushed garlic, bay leaf, and orange zest. Cook until reduced by three quarters, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining 3 cups (750 g) butter and stir until melted, then reduce the heat to very low and keep warm.
4. Next we’re going to buzz our carrot top pesto. Simply combine the carrot tops, the whole clove garlic, the olive oil, the juice of one lemon, and a pinch of kosher salt in a blender and blend until you have a fine pesto consistency. Set aside.
5.To make the fennel salad, in a bowl combine the fennel, olive oil, chives, and anchovies and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
 6. Now, to poach the fish. Heat the carrot butter to 130°F (55°C) over low heat. Season the halibut with kosher salt and add the fish to the butter. Keeping the butter at 130°F (55°C), poach the halibut until you can press down on the fish with a fork and don’t feel a pop (that pop is connective tissue that hasn’t yet broken down), about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the halibut to a plate lined with paper towels. Squeeze the juice of the third lemon over the fish and sprinkle with Maldon salt.
7. To serve, place roasted carrots in the center of four shallow bowls and top each with a halibut fillet. Top each halibut fillet with the fennel salad. Drizzle the pesto around the fish, spoon a tablespoon of carrot butter over each plate, and serve.

Face it, there are some things in the cookbook you will never cook and there are some you will want to cook.  There a glorious photos and practical drawings.   There are recipes and an ode to the Plymouth Valiant and it will make your cat jealous.  What more do you want?

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Duck, Duck, Goose

How To Spot  An Only Child

To spot an only child, yell "duck" in a crowded room.  People raised with sibling will intuitively cover their head and crouch.  An only child will raise its head and ask, "Where is the duck?  What kind of duck is it?"

Hank Shaw offers up a lot of answers to the only child and others in his book Duck, Duck, Goose.   Duck, Duck, Goose is Shaw's second book.  Hunt, Gather, Cook is one of our favorites.  (And, as we have said before, we were absolutely sure, we had written about that book and it seems we have not!  Shame on us.)

So, you always order duck in a restaurant, but rarely cook it.  You have hear all those scary stories of how duck is soooooo fatty, and it will be greasy and tough and gamy and on and on.  Not true.  Not if you follow Shaw's hints and tips.  Just take a breath, read the recipes and you will be on your way to making a perfect, succulent fowl.   Not to mention that Shaw has always been a great defender of our favorite fowl part, the gizzard.  We are definitely making a big batch of corned gizzards. 

The adventurous among us can grab a gun and shoot your own duck, which Shaw often does.  Not the shooting type?  Well, just pick up a duck at the grocery store. It will be easier than you think.  Either way, you will quickly learn that duck does not taste like chicken, but it might just be that easy to cook.

Who doesn't love a good duck confit.  If it seems another of those "too much trouble" recipes, Shaw's Crock Pot recipe will have you whipping up confit this Saturday.  From a personal standpoint, we feel that any meat braised to the point of falling off the bone perfection is the best sauce for a pasta.  Duck Confit is no exception.

Duck Confit with Pasta and Lemon

Make sure you have all of the ingredients prepped before you start cooking, as this dish comes together quickly. Have the water boiling, and give it plenty of salt; you want it to taste of the sea. 

 

2 confit duck legs

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon duck fat, or as needed

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 pound fresh tagliatelle

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Grated lemon zest, for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.

Meanwhile, pick all of the meat off the duck legs and reserve the skin. Tear the meat and skin into small pieces. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon duck fat, and the duck meat and skin. Turn the heat down to medium.

Generously salt the boiling water, then add the pasta and stir well. 

Add the garlic to the sauté pan and mix well. Watch the garlic: the moment it begins to brown, turn off the heat. When the pasta is al dente, drain it into a colander, then

add it to the sauté pan. Alternatively, use tongs to transfer it from the boiling water to the sauté pan. Turn on the heat to medium and toss the pasta to coat well with all of the ingredients, adding more duck fat if the mixture seems too dry. Season with pepper, add 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, and toss again. Taste and add the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice if you want. Serve immediately, garnished with the lemon zest.

On a personal note:   On three separate occasions we have missed meeting Hank Shaw.  It seems we are always a day early for one his readings and frankly we are getting sick of it.   We were very happy to actually see Hank Shaw hunting with Andrew Zimmern.  We watch a lot of cooking shows and would like to say that Hank Shaw should have his own show.   He has a different point of view, he has won a James Beard Award, he has a cool website. so come on, give him a show.

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COOKBOOKS Of The Day...

A while back, my friend Deanna, who is facing a move, asked if I might like some cookbooks. Quick, guess the answer. I didn't hear much about it after the initial question and she has been in the middle of gigantic move, so one doesn't ask. The she mentioned on Facebook that a friend had done a post office run and my name was one one of the packages.

 

Sure enough, a lovely box of cookbooks arrived. So, I will be posting soon.

 

In the meantime, thank you, thank you, thank you, Deanna.

 

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CHEESECAKE BROWNIE CUPCAKES

This recipe is a delightful combination of a brownie layer baked under a vanilla cheesecake layer; do I have your attention yet? 

They are delicious and seriously going onto my holiday dessert tray this year. If you like chocolate (duh!!) AND you like cheesecake (double duh!!) you will love these quick and simple treats.

 

Brownie Layer
1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup flour

Heat chocolate, cocoa and butter (I use my microwave) just until melted, then stir well and set aside to cool while you do the next step.

In another medium size bowl mix sugar, egg and vanilla till smooth; add melted chocolate/butter and flour and stir just until it looks well mixed (I do this by hand - no mixer); set aside.

Cheesecake Layer
8 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Using electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is very smooth. Add the sugar, egg and vanilla and continue mixing until creamy smooth.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pan with 12 foil liners. If you don't have foil liners, you can use paper liners, but you will have to mist them with a little vegetable spray.

Put a very lightly rounded tablespoon of brownie batter in each cupcake foil and roughly spread it around a little.

Top the brownie layer with the cheesecake mixture, dividing it equally between the 12 cupcakes.
 
Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven but do not remove from the cupcake pan. Let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then chill in fridge (still in pan) for several hours.

I topped these little gems with a ganache (but you don't have to).  To make that, I just mixed a large handful of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup very hot (but not boiling) heavy cream, stirring until thick and smooth.

These are also very pretty at holiday time, topped with cherry pie filling and a swirl of whipped cream; it's sort of an individual black forest cake idea.

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