Food events of the weekend

Kids in The Kitchen
The weekend started with a trip over to a local event called Kids in the Kitchen. This event run by the Jr. League, aims to increase awareness of health heating habits. I was assigned a group of twenty or so children. Stations were set up around their normal day care facility. It was my job to take a group of children around the building, stopping at a dentist, a sports instructor, a nutritionist, and a station set up by whole foods.

My own children, who were mixed in with the group, got a lot out of the event. At the dentist they were given new toothbrushes, which they used the minute we got home. At the sports station they learned many non- competitive exercises. The nutritionist taught them about eating all the colors of the rainbow (skittles do not count). And all of the children had a great time making veggie pinwheels at the whole foods station. My kids, who do not like eating raw vegetables, decided to save their pinwheels as a breakfast treat for mom and dad the following day, unfortunately for me.

Sur la Table
Saturday I woke. I pleaded and begged, and finally got out of eating the veggie pinwheel for breakfast. After a strong cup of coffee I headed over to Sur La Table. I was to spend the morning in a cooking class called Crepes and Soufflés. All of the students in the class (I am guessing there were about 12) were given a spot/station with a shun knife and a clipboard of recipes. We were to make Stuffed crepes with mushrooms ham and Béchamel sauce, Mint chocolate Soufflé Crepes, Three cheese potato soufflé, and Chocolate Amaretto Soufflé. My group was to be in charge of the mushroom stuffed crepes.

We chopped the ingredients (mis en place) then headed over to the professional range to cook the Béchamel. I’ve made béchamel before. I’ve made many a soufflé. This was different… it was a whole new experience for me. Perhaps a bit like cooking with a large (slightly dysfunctional) family. It was fun. There were a range of skill levels in the class and some of the students could speak English better than others. The instructors helped everyone. We all had our turn to cook chop and stir. When our instructor was helping someone else, a woman from our group suggested it would be fun to go and look through the rest of the kitchen. We did. We snooped. It was beautifully organized. I can’t wait to take another class there. If you take one, go hungry. I was stuffed when I left.

Dinner
After sur la table I came home and made dinner. We had a seared sea bass over Spanish green beans with garlic confit and saffron aioli. Moules Mariniere (French mussels) was the appetizer. I will try to get recipes to you as soon as I can.

Cauliflower puree

I love cauliflower puree because of its versatility. The vegetables are cooked then pureed until creamy, and spices are added to taste. It is a wonderful base for fish dishes, duck, quail, or even a steak. The consistence can be somewhere between mashed potatoes and a heavy sauce depending on how much cream you have decide to add.

1 head of cauliflower (florets only, discard the core and leafy parts)
2 peeled Yukon gold potatoes cut into a small dice
½ cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Teaspoon kosher salt
¼-1/2 Teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or to taste)
Freshly ground pepper
Truffle oil (optional)

Place cauliflower and potatoes into a large pot of boiling water and cook 7-8 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Add the vegetables to a large food processor. You may need to pulse the processor a few times in order to fit everything in. Add heavy cream, butter, kosher salt, nutmeg, pepper. Pulse until creamy (this may take a few minutes). I like to serve this with extra pepper on top and drizzled with truffle oil.

Wine dinner

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending a wine dinner. The setting was a beautiful spa on the Connecticut side of long Island Sound. The chef in charge of the dinner was Shea Gallante from CRU restaurant in NY. Shea Gallantes recipes (about 11 pages of them) had just been featured in Food and Wine magazine. Chef Gallante, who had worked for Lidia Bastianich and David Bouley had also just been featured on Calamecos food show. I couldn’t wait to try everything.

The dinner started with a selection of passed Hors D’Oeuvres. We all gathered in several small, but quaint rooms to sip (Bouvet, Rose Excellence, Cabernet Franc, Loire valley, France) and to sample Pumpernickel Crostini with smoked Trout, Buffalo Mozzarella with Asparagus and Duck Proscuitto, Vitello Tonnato, Cocoa Tuille with Squash Ricotta and Saffron Arancini. Though at first it seemed as though there might not be enough food for all of the 130 guests who were slightly crammed into the small rooms, it turned out the at there was plenty for everyone. I really enjoyed the smoky flavor of the trout Crostini with the sweet flavor of the beverage. Since I often make my own version of Arancini (rice balls) with my children it was nice to try the chefs more refined version. The cocoa Tuille tasted a bit odd, with a bitter flavor, which was too bad because I really wanted to like it.

All guests then moved to the catering room. I must at this point tell you that I was a bit surprised. We have eaten in the hotels main dinning room on prior trips and had assumed dinner was to be served there. We thought that we would be enjoying an intimate table for two, looking out at the ocean, while we savoring our wine and food parings. We were not. Much to our surprise, the hotel has a large room used for big parties and catering. We entered and noticed that all tables were set for about 8-10 people. At this point my heart sank a little because I had intended to concentrate on the food, rather than making small talk with eight strangers. Fortunately, our table was in a far corner of the dinning room and joining us, was only one other couple from the New York area.

Amuse Bouche
The Amuse Bouche was a Peekytoe crab salad with cumber Gellee and Wasabi Caviar. As it was served, a wine expert spoke and began to explain the wine parings. I honestly don’t recall any cumber Gellee but, did note how subtle in flavor the little green beads of Wasabi Caviar tasted.

First Course
Carpaccio Japanese Madai, Spicy Herbs, Yuzu and an oak aged soy Vinaigrette. My hope was that once the wine guy was finished talking the chef might make an appearance and give us a clue about the spicy herbs on top of the Madai. I guess he was too busy cooking and keeping away from annoying foodies.

Second Course
Olive oil poached Halibut Artichokes, Crosnes and Sunchokes Paddle fish Caviar and Horseradish emulsion. During this course I learned something new. The other couple at our table liked to collect wine and suggested we try to taste the wine before and after trying the food. The food will change the taste of the wine. I knew this to a degree, but had never before experienced this transformation course after course. Interesting.

Pasta Course
Tortelloni stuffed with Oxtail braised in Barolo with celery root Soubise and Parmigiano Emulsion.
Boy. I will tell you, this blew me away. It was absolutely fantastic. With one whiff I was back in my childhood eating my grandmothers homemade pasta- but dare I say- this was even better! This version came with lovely airy foam, and it had nutty deep flavors of good aged cheese. You know how people who love food always play the “what would you pick for your last meal on earth” game? I have found it. I want this for my last meal.
This course made the wine dinner. It was paired with a Pinot Noir.

Entrée
Gently cooked veal loin with lavender, roasted spring garlic, white asparagus and Porcini. The Veal was perfectly cooked. Again, I would have liked to ask the chef, or anyone from the kitchen staff, how the veal had been cooked, but the wine guy was up talking again. Had they used a C-Vac?

Dessert
Chocolate tasting of Chocolate Raisin Cake, Black forest Parfait, Baked Ganache.
There was the raisin cake, and a light as air whipped chocolate parfait, but what I could not quite figure was the rather odd egg roll filled with chocolate. It had been deep-fried and was served with a bitter green sauce. I still can’t get my head around that one aspect of dessert but the meal ended nicely with a Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc.
All in all a great experience.

Slow Cooker Rum and Coke Ham

Well, these is not put on your best clothes, and then join us for Easter Sunday Ham. This ham is fun and shamefully easy. Once cooked, I like to have lots of flower tortillas, guacamole, rice, black beans, sour cream or grated cheese at the ready.

1 Smithfield ham about 7 pounds, hardwood smoked, butt
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced thin
½ cup rum
2 bay leaves
5 cups Coke-Cola
Grated zest of 1 lemon

Place ham in the pot of the slow cooker. Trim excess ham off the top, just enough to allow the lid to fit on the snugly on the pot. Add onion, rum, bay leaves, Coke (enough to almost cover the ham but not spill over the pot) and lemon zest. Set on High and cook about 8 hours. To serve remove ham from cooking liquid. Discard liquid. Ham should be falling off the bone in clumps. Shred ham then serve.

Shirred Eggs

A shirred egg is quickly cooked under the broiler until just set. For me that is exactly four minutes. I like the yolk quite runny, luscious and golden. My preference is also for hearty herbs like cilantro to be baked in with the eggs. This is an incredibly simple dish to make and very easy. It is important however, that every ingredient be ready and set out before you begin.

The gratin dishes (a flat dish about 5” available in cookware shops) should be buttered. I also crack the eggs into small Pyrex bowls (2 per bowl) before I begin- make sure not to break the yolk.

1 gratin dish per person, buttered
2-3 eggs per person, cracked into dishes or teacups (2-3 per cup) and ready to be poured into hot gratin dishes
1 ½ teaspoons minced herbs (try basil, cilantro, parsley, or even add in a little freshly minced chili) per person
1 Tablespoon cheese- grated or crumbled Parmesan or goat cheese – per person
½ Teaspoon freshly minced garlic – per person
Course salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Make sure your dishes are buttered. Move your oven rack to about 5-6” below the broiler unit. Place the gratin dishes on a baking sheet then put them under the broiler to melt the butter (1-2 minutes).

Once the butter has melted, remove the baking sheet from the oven and pour the eggs into the gratin dishes. Top the eggs with herbs, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper.

Place back in oven to broil for 4-6 minutes. Serve with toast.

Oven Roasted White Asparagus with Truffle oil

White Asparagus, Which is more common in Europe, is simply asparagus that has been denied light while it grows. Some people claim that the flavor is milder than the green variety.

1 Bunch (1 pound) white asparagus, peeled and trimmed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Drizzle of truffle oil after cooking

Preheat oven to 400
Place the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the asparagus then sprinkle on the salt and pepper.
Roast 20 minutes and serve. Drizzle with truffle oil if you like.

Slow Cooker St. Patrick’s Day corned beef

I can’t think of any reason not to use a slow cooker for this dish. You don’t even have to sear the meat first- Just place everything in the pot when you wake up in the morning, then let it simmer all day long. After the meat is cooked I remove the potatoes and let them cool. Once cooled, peel off the skin then put them through a potato ricer and, while mashing, add in about 1 cup warm heavy cream, salt and pepper. Often I serve this with sautéed Napa Cabbage.

6 Pounds Corned beef Brisket (Cut into two large chunks if necessary to fit into pot)
1 bottle (11.2oz) Guinness Beer
2 Bay leaves
1 Teaspoon Coriander seeds
1 Teaspoon Mixed peppercorns
Water to cover (about1 ½ Quarts)
Optional-
3 scrubbed but unpeeled Idaho potatoes, poked with a fork
1- 1½ cups warm heavy cream

Place the corned beef, beer, and bay leaves into the slow cooker. Into a tea strainer or cheesecloth place coriander seeds and peppercorns. Add the tea strainer to the pot. Cover with water and place on high heat. Simmer for about 7 hours. Add in the potatoes and simmer for 1 hour more. Remove meat and slice to serve. (See Napa Cabbage rec)