Kitchen Conundrum

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Tomatoes Provencal, Guacamole and Skate with Capers, Cornichons and Brown Butter Sauce – FFWD

July 7, 2014 by Renee

This week, I am catching up with my French Fridays with Dorie posts. There were three recipes in all to recreate- Skate with Capers, Cornichons and Brown Butter Sauce, Guacamole with Tomatoes and Bell Peppers and Tomatoes Provencal.

I was almost on time with the skate recipe- it was made just a day late-on that Saturday morning- then it was eaten for breakfast because that’s what happens when you are trying to get several posts completed at once. The cooking, photos taken and edited, and the writing just wound up being too much to get done in those last few weeks of ‘end of school’, graduations and ‘off to camp’ preparations.

The “breakfast” Skate with capers, cornichons and brown butter sauce was reminiscent of Ari’s FCI day’s when he was learning to prepare Classic French dishes, cooking a similar dish for the school’s restaurant, L’ecole, sans the cornichons. Even with the addition of these mini sour French pickles, it was just as delicious now as it was way back then.

The fish’s delicate, sweet, white meat is perfectly suited to the brown butter sauce and zingy capers. It’s one of my favorite ways to dress a light fish. You can also add a few toasted almonds into the butter and make it amandine as well. It’s a great summer dish and if you eat it at the right time of day- any time after breakfast, say, then you could pair it with a nice glass of wine- a white Bordeaux or a Juracon Sec.

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This week we had a BBQ with neighbors and made both the Guacamole with Tomatoes and Bell Peppers and the Tomatoes Provencal.

Well, guacamole is a really a non-recipe. It’s avocado, tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers, onion and cilantro mashed together with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime. It’s never the same twice (unless you actually measure the ingredients) and we always add or leave out different things. It just depends on what’s on hand. Also, since we eat multiple avocados in our house weekly, guacamole is something that we make as a condiment really. It’s great on toast for breakfast, in tacos and burritos, on top of baked potatoes and of course with a bowl of tortilla chips. You may even find us just eating slices of the fruit just because. Love avocados.

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The Tomatoes Provencal was a bit of a disappointment for me. They tasted okay, and everyone else liked them. But for me they were not what I expected. The mixed garlic and herb topping was very tasty, especially with a healthy grating of gruyere and a large drizzle of olive oil I brought back from Puglia, but the tomatoes were not as sweet as I would have liked. I used larger tomatoes when I should have used plum, and I would have preferred slow roasting them to condense the flavors. These tomatoes reminded me of the ones you are served in England at breakfast. I like them at breakfast, but these were just not what I expected. Perhaps they are meant to be this way.

Ah well, next time I make a Full English Breakfast, I’ll add these.

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This week’s recipe is Shrimp Filled Zucchini Blossoms – but since I don’t really like shrimp- stay tuned for an alternative Zucchini Blossom recipe- pending my garden’s cooperation of course!

For details on creating these recipes, check out the FFWD site and see others who are also cooking the book-

You can also buy the book here:

greenspan

frenchfridayswithdorie16

Filed Under: Eat, Kitchen Sink, Fish, French Fridays with Dorie Tagged With: Avocado, FFWD, Fish, French Friday with Dorie, Guacamole, Skate, Tomatoes

Homemade Phyllo, Fig Leaf Wrapped Fish, Sunset at the Beach and Goodbyes

July 3, 2011 by Renee

Greece-430My week at Kea Artisanal was quickly nearing the end but not before learning how to make and roll phyllo dough.  Stamatia, one of Aglaia’s wonderful assistants, is an expert on phyllo dough and patiently helped us each roll out the dough we had prepared.  She made it look so easy!  I think with many years of daily practice we might “get it” and perhaps be able to make the beautiful paper thin sheets as she did, but in reality, I doubt it! The ones she made were perfectly round, paper thin and made a slightly oily, but crisp crust for the greens pie we made to fill the dough.  She was even able to roll three layers at a time by generously oiling each one then stacking and rolling them! That is true talent!

Instead of spinach, as typically seen, the Spanakopita pie we made was filled with various greens that were available and freshly picked. I love that anything you happen to have on hand, Swiss chard, beet greens, dandelion greens or even arugula will make a suitable filling. We also made a cheese and herb pie with an egg custard filling that resembled a flat quiche and some beautiful single serving marinated octopus pies that would be part of our dinner that evening.

While the pies were baking, Costas prepared the fish that we had picked right off of the boat at the port that morning. He wrapped each fish in a fresh fig leaf that had been oiled and placed the entire package on the charcoal grill, cooking it to perfection. The fig leaf provides a crispy, sweet and salty second skin.

After our long, luxurious lunch, we were treated to a tasting of various spoon sweets. We enjoyed the interesting flavors of tomato, walnut, orange, cherry, apple and homemade lemon marmalade served with ice cream and yogurts. Each one was better than the previous one. I especially loved the lemon and the apple sweets.

The afternoon was spent back at the hotel napping by the pool and relaxing before our sunset dinner and drinks at the beach.  The sun sets at around 9pm so we were picked up at 7:30 and rode along the winding dirt roads along the narrow cliffs to the beach where we would dine. It was a bit harrowing as the roads are wide enough for only one vehicle and there is nowhere to pull over if you come across another car heading in your direction. One of you must go in reverse back the way you came to allow the other car to pass! There are also no guard rails to be seen and in some spots the road appears to be crumbling down the sides of the cliff. One wrong tire move and I could see the car tumbling off. But for the stunning beauty of the view, it might be worth it! I don’t think I could ever tire of such gorgeous vistas.

Watching the sunset, sitting on the beach, eating the octopus pies, salads, breads and drinking wine was the perfect ending to the week.  I could think of nothing I would have preferred doing for my last night on Kea.

The next day, we had a cheese making class in the morning. Myzithra, a Greek ricotta like cheese, is made from goat or sheep’s milk or a combination of the two and fresh cream. It’s simple to make at home and it’s soft, creamy texture goes well with honey, fresh fruits or even sliced tomatoes. We were given a selection of honeys to taste. Some of the varieties sampled included a carob honey which has a slightly nutty, but distinctively chocolate flavor; a chestnut honey, dark, thick and nutty; and my personal favorite, a heather honey. It had a rich floral scent and a strong intense flavor, a rung up from thyme honey which is more commonly found, but also flavorful.

Our farewell lunch was held next door to Aglaia and Costas’ home at Ela’s, Aglaia’s other amazing assistant, and her husband Stathi’s home.  Ela served her pickled vegetables, a savory orzo pasta with tomatoes, homemade bread and several salads along with the meal’s highlight, a tender, free-range lamb that Stathi had roasted in a wood fired oven. For dessert, Ela had made a dense, sweet cake filled with walnuts and served it with ice cream. Her adorable children overcame their shyness by the time the ice cream came and joined us.

Soon our taxi’s arrived to take us our hotel to pick up our bags so we could catch the ferry back to the mainland. They say “parting is such sweet sorrow” and I truly felt that way leaving Aglaia’s and Costa’s home. They welcomed us into their lives for the week, and into their home, cooking and sharing meals with them, laughing and telling many stories.  It was the best experience I have ever had and I am forever grateful! I can only look forward to the day when I will be able to return.

Filed Under: Travel, Kitchen Sink, Featured Posts, Classes, Greece Tagged With: Cheese, Culinary Vacation, Cyclades, Fish, Greece, Kea, Kea Artisanal, Travel, cooking, phyllo

Miso Glazed Cod Recipe- An adventure in Miso hunting

August 25, 2010 by Renee

Sarah, from Old Mill Wine & Spirits, sent me a recipe for Miso Glazed Sea Bass. I had been dying to try it but I ended up taking some liberties and made a new version. This happened mostly because I could not find any fresh Sea Bass at any store near my home. I gave up after three stores. I then changed some of the measurements too to suit the Cod, which was the readily available fish of the day.

I have to admit, I have never cooked with Miso before. I really had no idea what it even looked like or how it was packaged. I actually did not research it before I went shopping or I would have had a better idea as to what exactly I was looking for. To be honest, I have never actually made any Japanese cuisine at home. Although, I have eaten plenty of take out and in lots of  Japanese restaurants around the world.  I love sushi. It just never really occurred to me to make any on my own.  It was delicious and I will have to make a more since I have so much Miso left over. I need to investigate additional recipes that call for Miso too. Feel free to share if you have a favorite!

I went to my local grocer. Not only did they not have any Sea Bass, they did not carry Miso. Except in packages of instant soup. Strike out.

I went to two more stores before settling on a huge Asian grocer on Long Island, V&T Supermarket. It was my first time there and I spent hours wandering up and down the aisles. What an incredible store. And a world away, right near my home. They have literally hundreds of sauces, and every different kind of noodle you can imagine, from rice noodles, wheat noodles, egg noodles and even noodles made from shrimp. They have extremely interesting finds like dried cuttlefish and other dried fish made to taste like fruit candy. They had beautiful, albeit strange looking, fruits and vegetables.  These were all very exotic to me and my, apparently, very Western cooking habits. I dared to experiment!

More importantly, they had Miso.  After wandering for a few hours not seeing it, I passed another customer who had been wandering in the opposite direction as I was through the same aisles. I asked if in their wanderings did they happened upon Miso. They very nicely explained that it would be in the refrigerator section in a tub, much like margarine and pointed me to it. I am very grateful he told me this as I never would have found it on my own. And no one who worked there spoke much English.  Or at least they didn’t when I asked.

They had many Miso varieties. I chose the Awase Miso. Which means “Mixed Miso”. It is a blend of two different misos from two different areas of Japan. Each Miso varies by region and each has a distinct flavor and texture and aroma. Yellow miso is sweet and creamy, while red miso is stronger and saltier. The Awase is a perfect combination of salt and not overly pungent.

They also had fresh fish. And they also carried live fish that you could choose from, but the tanks did not look all that cared for and were very overcrowded so I opted for the laid out fish.  But yet again, no Sea Bass. So I settled on Cod instead. This recipe would be good for any thick fish fillet. I also served it with steamed sugar snap peas and udon noodles.

 

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup sake

1/2 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

1/2 cup yellow miso paste

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbsp soy sauce

4 6-oz Cod fillets

2 tbsp green onions, finely sliced

Method

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a shallow glass baking dish.

Lay fish in the marinade and turn gently to coat.

Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.

Preheat broiler. Remove fish from marinade. Place fish on rimmed baking sheet.

With broiler door slightly ajar, broil the fish about 6 inches from heat source until just opaque in center, about 7 minutes.

Transfer to plates. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Enjoy!  Or in Japenese どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare)  which means ‘enjoy your meal’ – said by the cook/chef. Per Omniglot.

Note: Look for Miso in Asian grocery stores or the refrigerator section of your local health food store. It may also be found in the same case where you find packaged Tofu in some larger supermarkets. I have yet to find it in my Stop & Shop though.

 

Filed Under: Eat, Featured Posts, Fish Tagged With: Cod, Fish, Kosher, Miso, Recipe, Sake, Sea Bass, Udon, V&T Supermarket, fish recipe, mirin

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