Summer Squash Pomodoro á la Green Zebra

Every meal I have had at Green Zebra has been a good one.  When I do a tasting menu - I'm not left hungry, like I am at so many other posh restaurants.  The last time I was at Green Zebra, my entree was a summer squash pomodoro with rice.  Gluten-free.  Tasty.  Satisfying.  I made it at home and everyone loved it.  I'll share it with you today!  (serves 4)

Ingredients

• Summer squash - 4 small, thinly sliced
• Eggplant - 1 medium, cut into pencil-thick strips
• Rice - 1 cup, uncooked
• Garlic - one clove
• Cremini Mushrooms - 1/2 cup chopped
• Pine Nuts - 4 Tbsp
• Fresh Basil - chopped, 8 Tbsp
• Sauce - store bought, previously made and frozen, or from your own tasty recipe
• Butter - 2 Tbsp
• Olive Oil
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1. Prepare the sauce if making from scratch.
2. Cook the rice and set aside.
3. Heat the sauce if using ready-made.
4. Melt one tablespoon of butter with a little olive oil and sauté the summer squash.  Ladle sauce into low-bowls and arrange the squash on top of the sauce.
5. Add a little more olive oil and sauté the eggplant, sprinkled with a little salt.
6. Place a scoop of white rice in the center of each bowl, on top of the squash.  When the eggplant is cooked, add pieces to the side of the squash and rice on each dish.
7. Add the other tablespoon of butter to the sautéing pan and melt with a little olive oil.  Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently.
8. Sprinkle each dish with 1 Tbsp of pine nuts.
9. Grate black pepper onto each dish, top with mushrooms and fresh basil and serve immediately!

Green Zebra used sticky rice, and I used what I had on hand.  With sticky rice, you may be able to wrap the rice in the summer squash as I was unable to do.  If so, it'll be fancier, you can charge more (we're onto you, Chicago restaurants!), and it should look like this:

Pasta with Artichokes

For my birthday, I received a set of low bowls with artichokes printed on them.  At every subsequent meal that week, when I would get to the bottom of my dish, I'd find myself hungry for artichokes.  Enough was finally enough!  This dish is so tasty, and so quick.  The egg really makes the texture complete.

Ingredients:

• 1 can artichoke hearts
• two servings black soba noodles
• two cloves garlic
• 3-4 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 eggs
• Garnish:  black olives, fresh parsley, parmesan cheese

1. Set the eggs to boil (7 min, once the water is at a full boil).
2. Drain and chop the artichoke hearts
3. Mince the garlic cloves
4. While the eggs cool to be peeled, melt the butter and olive oil over low heat.
5. Set water to boil for the noodles
6. Add the garlic and simmer until fragrant (approx. 1 minute)
7. Add artichokes and simmer over low heat in the butter and garlic, tossing to coat, approx 5 minutes.  Peel and chop the eggs.
8. Drain and serve the noodles, topped with chopped hard boiled egg and the artichokes.  Garnish with black olives, parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Spring Mascarpone Risotto a la Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie, Washington

Who doesn't like risotto?  And what better way to celebrate the early days of spring than with a risotto containing all of springs heartily-missed delights?  I recently had a wonderful risotto while on vacation and staying at Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie, Washington.

Tally-ho!  It's Spring!

Asparagus Risotto

ANY time of day

Ingredients:

• Shallot (1 small, chopped)
• Garlic (2 cloves, chopped)
• Olive Oil, 1 1/2 Tbsp
• Butter, 1 1/2 Tbsp
• Risotto, 1 1/2 cups
• Dry White Wine, 2/3 cup
• 4 -5 cups broth (chicken or mushroom, I used both)
• Asparagus, approx 1 lb
• One bunch of ramps
• One handful of frozen peas
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• lemon juice from two lemons
• 1 egg white
• salt
• black pepper

1. Heat a large sauteing pan or wok with medium heat and add olive oil and butter.  Add the shallot and garlic and sauté until aromatic.  Add the rice and stir to cover in the mixture.
2. Add the wine to the pan and stir until the rice has absorbed the wine.
3. Begin to add the broth, one ladle at a time and stir until the broth is absorbed.  This will take about half an hour.
4. In the meanwhile, blanch the asparagus and the ramps in salted water and set aside (chop them to the size that appeals to you).
5. After about 20 minutes of adding and stirring broth to the rice mixture, throw in the asparagus, ramps and frozen peas.  Continue stirring and adding broth.  Add the lemon zest.
6. When all of the broth has been added and absorbed, turn off the heat and add the cheeses and stir well.
7. Let the risotto sit a few minutes before serving.  At this time, add the lemon juice, egg white and a couple of ice cubes to a drink shaker and shake until the mixture is frothy and light.
8. To serve, spoon the risotto in small bowls, top with a bit of the foamy lemon juice mixture and garnish with freshly grated black pepper.

 The original at Salish Lodge

A view of Snoqualmie Falls.  It is nice to have something this gorgeous to look at while you're enjoying your asparagus risotto.

Under-the-weather Eating

So, I have a bit of a neck injury and haven't been able to do much cooking since November.  So, sometimes "cooking" is more a mix of heating things up and throwing things together.  Here are a few tips I've learned this winter when I couldn't do much more than that:

1.  Fried rice is so easy to make at home.  White rice keeps for ages in the fridge and you can cook up a fresh batch of fried rice in minutes if you have cooked white rice on hand.  A bit of soy sauce, some broth, a dash of hot sauce that came with Thai take-out that you threw in the door of your fridge, several eggs, and whatever vegetables you have on hand.

2.  Pan-frying fish is quick and easy and super tasty if you coat it first in eggs, and then in flour..... but add something like curry powder to the rice you're going to use to coat the fish for added flavor.

3.  Chicken soup actually IS good for the soul.  And the neck.  The crock-pot chicken soup recipe from the Winter 2010 volume of Cook's Illustrated is FABULOUS.  You should absolutely wrap the white meat in foil if you are going to cook it in a crock pot to keep it moist and cooking well on the bone.  If you can get someone else to make it for you.... even better!

Saffron and White Wine Poached Pears

If you've had dinner with me recently, I'm SURE you've been treated to this dessert, since I can't seem to get enough of it, and I currently have no other imagination for the pears I've gotten from my produce box!

This wonderful dish is easy, aromatic and adds a little "fancy" to your meal.

A little white wine.....

Cardamom Saffron Poached Pears

Spicy; not too sweet

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbsp cardamom pods
• 2 cups dry white wine (I use Simi Chardonnay.  A little pricey, but drink the rest and you won't notice.)
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads
• pinch of kosher salt
• 4 firm pears, peeled, stems intact (firm doesn't mean hard as rocks though; just not mushy)
• 6 oz creme fraiche (you can buy it at a place like Whole Foods or make it yourself)

1. Crush the cardamom pods at the bottom of a large pot to release the seeds.  Combine the rest of the ingredients BESIDES the pears and the creme fraiche and stir until the sugar dissolves.  
2. Bring to a simmer and add the pears.  Add water to cover the pears and partially cover the pot.  Simmer, turning occasionally until the pears are tender, but not mushy (approx 30 minutes).
3. Remove pears to a plate or serving dishes and raise heat to medium-high.  Reduce the liquid to about a cup and a half (10 - 15 minutes depending on how much water you used).  
4. Spoon the syrup over the pears and top with a dollop of creme fraiche.  

All of this can be made ahead of time, though I find the aromas of the simmering pears wonderful as dinner is being enjoyed and love the heat of the syrup with the chilled cream.

I recommend this as a dessert to follow the crockpot coq au vin or tuna nicoise salad.

Recipe from: Bon Appetit online, January 2012.

Stuffed Trout a la Branch 27

I love when a restaurant really nails a dish.  With local and in-season ingredients and simple yet thoughtful preparation, it is hard to pass up something like the trout from Branch 27 (corner of Noble and Chicago, just off the Blue Line).  This was so good, in fact, that I broke my rule of not turning the oven on in the summer months.  (Just choose a cool day.)

The best local pub

I thought I didn't like trout

This sure convinced me!

Ingredients:

• 1 rainbow trout, deboned
• 1 small head of cabbage
• 1 medium shallot, chopped
• 2 small apples (gala, or the like)
• 2 handfulls pecans, crumbled
• butter
• red peppercorns
• olive oil
• corn from three ears
• 1/3 cup cream
• fresh thyme
• red pepper flakes
• cooking twine

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Saute most of the shallot in butter.  Chop and add the cabbage.  Cube and add the apple.  Crumble and add the pecan.  Toss/stir over medium-high heat until the combination is softened, aromatic, and browned in parts.
2. Rinse fish in water and a little bit of cream.  Place two pieces of cooking twine across a baking dish.  Place fish, open, in the dish and fill with the cabbage mixture (extra mixture can be tucked around the fish).  Close the fish around the mixture and tie.
3. Brush the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with red peppercorns.  Loosely cover and bake 20 minutes.
4. While the fish is baking, saute the rest of the shallot in a little more butter and add the corn.  Throw in a nice sprig of thyme.  Cook until the corn is golden and the thyme is a vibrant green.  Add cream and cook to reduce.
5. After 20 minutes, remove the covering from the fish and cook 5 minutes longer or until fish is flaky.  
6. Remove the fish from the oven and let it sit a minute while you dish up corn to plates.  Portion fish to plates and enjoy!

This dish is especially lovely followed by a dessert of blue cheese, sherry and walnuts.

Pictures taken by April Faith-Slaker

Fish Sandwich a la McDonalds

But WHY?!? - you might ask.  YOU know why.  There is something about smelling McDonalds when you're already hungry that goes straight to your amygdala and makes you WANT it.  You know.  Like crack.

But then, if you try one, you realize that it is only chemicals you're tasting and you're both stuffed and unsatisfied at the same time.  Fear no more!  Below is a tested and approved version of the "filet-o-fish" sandwich that can be made with all organic ingredients.

Bargain-basement food

McDonald's filet-o-fish

Like mom used to buy!

Ingredients:

• Cod filets (1 should be enough for two sandwiches)
• American cheese (2 slices)
• Pancake mix (1 cup, plus a little more)
• 1 egg
• 8 oz sprite
• mayonnaise (approx 1/4 cup)
• dill relish (approx 3 Tbsp)
• onion, finely chopped (approx 1 Tbsp)
• butter
• buns

1.  Cut the cod filet into sandwich-sized pieces.  Coat in a little bit of pancake batter and chill 20 minutes.
2. Mix the tartar sauce and set aside (mayonnaise, dill relish and onion).
3. Mix the batter (pancake mix, egg, sprite).
4. Heat butter in a frying pan.
5. Dip fish into batter to cover and fry over medium-high heat for 5 - 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, turning to cook both sides (poke fish with a fork and rotate to make sure it is done - it should flake).
6. While fish is cooking, heat butter in another frying pan and put buns, face down in the butter, to fry for a bit.
7. When the fish is finished, put each battered filet on a plate, top with the cheese and microwave on medium for 30 seconds.  
8. Put one tablespoon of tartar sauce on each side of the bun, and put the fish on the sandwich.  Close/cover, and eat!

 This has the same consistency, tartness, sweetness and greasiness of the McDonald's fish sandwich.  We couldn't replicate the sponginess of the bun though - the way it makes noise when you touch it and the way it sticks to your teeth.  The panel all agreed though that it was probably preferable that we didn't replicate that.

Enjoy!

(If you're looking for a bottle of wine to pair with your McDonald's, I recommend the Laurent Miquel Pere et Fils Syrah Grenache 2010, at only $10 a bottle, it is a perfect match with the bargain meal!)