April, 2013 | Food Fix Kitchen

04.23.13

I love spring. It’s the tentative, yet warm, wet kiss of seasons. Who doesn’t want the weather to warm, the sprouting bulbs to wend their way through the earth to find sunlight, and bare trees lining streets to explode into canopies of green? Yet, for me spring comes with one long melancholy sigh as I realize I will be seeing much less of my slow cooker over the next several months and much less of the comforting fall-apart meat I love that is the result of the low-slow process the utilitarian cooker gives us. While I was browsing around for good spring recipes, I came across one for a lamb stew that starting me thinking about a classic French “navarin printanier” we made in culinary school. Navarin means lamb or mutton stew and when vegetables are added, particularly blushing new spring vegetables like asparagus, baby turnips and English peas, that’s when the “printanier” or spring part comes in.

With a little tweaking of the recipe normally done in the oven or stovetop, and the help of the smart new Cuisinart 6-quart Multi-Cooker I was given by Cuisinart recently to play with, I am happy to report a wonderful spring excuse for slow-cooking!

The absolute stunning thing about this particular cooker, and why I loved working with it, is that it has a “browning” setting. It actually browns and sears, right in the cooker pot, right inside the cooker.

Browning meat for a stew, even a slow cooker stew, is a flavor-building technique that should not be skipped, even though, for convenience sake, a lot of slow cooker recipes do skip it. With this Cusinart cooker, you don’t have to mess up an extra pot, or your stove with the browning process…and all the flavor stays right in the pot you’ll be slow cooking in.

The browning function allows you to set the temperature as high as 400 degrees F which is hot enough to get a nice sear on the meat. It also allows you to bring things to a boil, as in reducing the sauce at the end of the cooking time, without dirtying yet another pot!

Wouldn’t you love to have one of these lovely cookers right now? Even though it’s spring? Just to make this lovely slow-cooked spring lamb? Well, as a memorable way to introduce myself to the readers of the great site KosherEye, and because Cuisinart was generous enough to give me a brand-new, in-the-box one of these to give-away, one lucky reader will give this beauty a home. To enter, go to my post on KosherEye, and leave a comment, answering one of two questions in the comments area below the post: what’s your favorite thing to make in a slow cooker? Or how do you use your slow cooker in the spring or summer?

Now, a final word on this lamb stew. It’s has the depth of a classic boeuf bourguignon, but on day-light savings time! It’s perfect for the still cool nights we are having but gives a wonderful hint of all the green freshness to come. The herby-fresh pistou (fancy-French for pesto) with mint and parsley and basil along with the new potatoes, boiled, lightly smashed and pan-fried to a crispy, creamy perfection make this a meal fit for a spring celebration!

ingredients

Spring Lamb Stew

For the stew:

4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) vegetable spread or extra-virgin olive oil.
1 boneless leg of lamb, about 3 1⁄2 lb., cut into 2-inch pieces/cubes
1 yellow onion, minced
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 cups dry white wine
3 cups chicken or beef stock, reduced to ½ cup
3 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1⁄2 lb. baby carrots, peeled
2 medium turnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cube
1⁄2 lb. shallots, peeled
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
24 asparagus tips, each 3 inches long

For the pistou:

½ cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves (20-25 leaves)
1 cup tightly packed fresh parsley leaves
½ cup tightly packed mint leaves
1 large shallot, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 whole plum tomatoes, grated, or may substitute 2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher or other coarse salt (half as much if using fine table salt)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the potatoes:

16-20 small red potatoes (2-inches in diameter
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

directions

FOR THE STEW: STOVETOP METHOD:

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Working in batches, brown the lamb on all sides, about 3 minutes per side, removing each batch from the pan as you go. When all the meat is browned, hold aside. Reduce heat and add the onion to the same pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir until the flour browns, about 30 seconds. Add the wine, and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze, about 30 seconds, picking up all the “brown bits” on the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, parsley, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Return the meat to the pan. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. (Gentle simmering will result in more tender meat.)
Add the garlic, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and gently simmer for an additional 45 minutes. Add the carrots, turnips and shallots, cover and simmer until the meat is fork-tender, about 40 minutes more. Add the peas and asparagus and cook for 6 to 8 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat and vegetables to a warmed serving dish; keep warm.
Increase the heat to high, bring the liquid to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and pour over the meat and vegetables. Serve immediately.
CUISINART SLOW-COOKER METHOD

Set the Cuisinart cooker for “brown” at a temperature of 400 degrees F. Allow the pan/insert to come to temperature, about 5 minutes. Add the oil/vegetable spread and allow it to melt/heat. Working in batches, brown the lamb on all sides, about 3 minutes per side, removing each batch from the pan to a bowl as you go. When all the meat is browned, hold aside. Add the onion to the same pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir until the flour browns, about 3-5 minutes. Add the wine, and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze, about 30 seconds, picking up all the “brown bits” on the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, parsley, thyme and bay leaf and bring to simmer. Return the meat to the pan. Gently simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Add the garlic, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and change setting to slow cook on HIGH for an additional 3 hours. Add the carrots, turnips and shallots, and continue to cook for 2 hours or until the vegetables are tender. Add the peas and asparagus and cook for 15 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat and vegetables to a warmed serving dish; keep warm.
Change setting to BROWN at 400 degrees F and bring the liquid to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and pour over the meat and vegetables. Serve immediately.
FOR THE PISTOU

Pistou is traditionally pounded by hand in a large mortar, starting with grinding the garlic into the salt to make a paste, then adding the herbs a little at a time, continuing to grind until smooth. Then you add the tomato, shallot and olive oil and incorporate thoroughly. Alternately you put all the ingredients in a blender, or mini chopper to accomplish the same result, using the pulse action to easily chop and combine the ingredients. To retain the rustic, hand grounded quality of the pistou, do not over-process or turn into a puree. Pulsing the ingredients in the processor will give you control over the final texture.
FOR THE POTATOES
Wash the potatoes thoroughly, lightly scrubbing with a sponge or vegetable brush because you will be eating the skin. Place the washed potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover them by an extra two inches. Bring to a boil then turn down to a gentle boil and cook for 10-12 minutes or until they are tender, but not too soft, when pierced with a toothpick. You don’t want to test them with a fork because they may break apart. Use a toothpick, skewer or cake tester. The potato is done when the item inserted goes in easily and slides out easily.
Drain the potatoes. Take one potato at a time, place it on a flat surface and gently smash or crush it down with your palm, not enough to flatten it completely, but enough to crack the skin in several places and create an thick “disk” of a potato. Again, don’t smash it so that it will fall apart, you want it to maintain it’s integrity so you can pick it up whole. Repeat with all the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a cast iron, or other heavy skillet over a medium-high flame. Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or enough of both oils to cover the bottom of the pan with about ¼ inch of oil. When the oil is heated and shimmering, place the potatoes, flattened side down, in the pan. Resist the urge to move them around and let them crisp and brown sufficiently before you do, 1-2 minutes. A good sign that they’ve “seared” is that if you shake the pan, they will slide around. When they are a nice crispy brown, turn them and brown them on the other side.
Remove potatoes from pan, and place them on a plate lined with a paper towel. Season again with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve hot.

Comfort, Comfort Food, Dinner, Easy Recipe, Entertaining, French, Lamb, Meats, Potatoes, Recipe, Seasonal Favorites

04.19.13

Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes

The phone rings on a sunny Sunday morning. The caller ID reads the name of a hospital. You know the moment the woman at the other end of the phone asks “is this Mrs So and So”, that your life is over. The life you knew. Your life as a daughter. You can’t remember a time when you weren’t trying to prepare for this moment, this terrifying moment when your worst nightmare comes true. Mommy. I’m coming. Don’t die. Please don’t die. But she does, even though she was just at my kitchen table celebrating my husband’s birthday an hour before; even though she was strong and healthy and lucid at 86 and swam an hour each morning at the Y, and still worked part-time as a private chef; even though she lived through the Holocaust, managed to escape Hitler—for crying out loud—when someone careless and distracted drove through a red light at 70 miles an hour and killed her. Just like that.

Phones have been ringing in Boston. Lives have been changed forever by tragedy and sorrow whirling out of the blue like a fierce, blinding tornado. Dumbstruck. Heartbroken. Wild with grief. There is no quick way, or perhaps any way, back from sudden, irrevocable loss, and Boston has lost much in the time it takes to explode two bombs. And with such loss, comes something that never leaves you—the undeniable knowledge that you never have been, and never will be able to predict or prevent such loss. Whatever notion of control I thought I had, (through hyper-vigilance, prayer, feng shui, organic eating, exercise, lucky underwear, or dumb luck), over life’s peril, was shattered the day I lost my mother. I was lucky enough to reach my late 40s without ever having suffered such a loss, but it didn’t make it any easier. We have been lucky, as a country, to have had mostly peace on our own soil, mostly great good fortune, but lately the losses are piling up. Sandy. Newtown. Now Boston. As I watch the news in the obsessive way that today’s media allows us to do, I feel the panic and helplessness overwhelming me. That’s when I head to the kitchen and start pulling stuff out of the pantry and fridge. I’m not hungry, but I need to cook.

Baking is a great way to regain control. I don’t do a lot of it because I’m gluten intolerant and everyone in my house is always trying to avoid carbs, but nevertheless it’s what I needed to do today, especially when I thought about doing this confectionary tribute to the city. Baking is precise. You have to measure and as you do, you focus on what’s at hand. Flour, sugar, eggs, butter, chocolate = comfort.

There’s order and purpose and mindless repetition to calm you.

There is normalcy and even hope that springs from taking simple steps that result in something sweet and wonderful.

By the time I have made the pastry creme and the ganache and assembled all the parts into a satisfying whole, I have completed too a kind of sticky-fingered meditation in being present, on acceptance, on taking joy where you can. It’s just a cake, Boston. It’s not superhero stuff, and it won’t banish evil or pain or grief from the world. But…it’s my way of chasing that stuff back into the shadows for a bit, and of saying, my heart is with you.

yield: 26-30 cupcakes

ingredients

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the pastry cream:
4 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 cups milk
1¼ tsp. vanilla extract

For the cupcakes:
9 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
2¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2¼ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup milk
4 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1½ cups sugar
1½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the ganache:
9 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1½ tbsp. light corn syrup

directions

To make the pastry cream, place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually add the milk in a steady stream and cook until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add about a third of the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks to temper. Return the contents of the bowl back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a full boil and is thick enough to hold its shape when lifted with a spoon, 2-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Lightly brush standard size muffin pans with melted butter. Coat the muffin wells with flour and shake out the excess. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
Add the eggs, egg yolk, and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until pale yellow, fluffy, and thick enough to ribbon when the spatula is lifted, about 5 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium-low speed just until incorporated.
Bring the milk mixture just to a boil. With the mixer on low speed, add the hot milk mixture in a slow, steady stream, mixing just until smooth. Blend in the vanilla.
Fill the prepared muffin cups halfway with the batter. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes total.Transfer the pans to a cooling rack and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a small offset spatula or knife around the edges of each cake to loosen. Turn the cakes out onto the cooling rack and let cool completely.
To make the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Combine the cream and corn syrup and bring to a simmer in a saucepan (or with short intervals in the microwave). Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes until the chocolate begins to melt.Gently whisk the mixture until the chocolate is totally melted and a smooth ganache forms.
To assemble the cupcakes, split each cake horizontally with a serrated knife. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the pastry cream on the bottom half of each cupcake. Replace the top halves.Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the chocolate glaze over each cupcake. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. (These can be made and assembled up to 1 day in advance.)

Adapted From Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes, via Annie’s Eats

Cakes, Dessert, Everyday Cakes, Special Occasion Cakes, Sweets

04.04.13

Dahling! Cruise the Continent with Me!

It’s official! I’ll be hosting a group on the Oceania Cruise Lines’ Riviera, a floating country-club-of-a-ship that looks like my life in hazy dreams I’ve had after consuming multiple dry Henckles martinis, shaken, not stirred. Leaving from Lisbon in late September, we’ll cruise through Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, stopping at Seville, and Morocco, Cartegena, Malaga, and Barcelona, then on to Marseilles, Florence, Rome and winding up in Monte Carlo. DAHLING, that last sentence sounds like something I heard in a black and white movie, coming from the mouth of Grace Kelly, or Audrey Hepburn, but not me. Words like opulent, gorgeous, upscale, pinnacle, quality, excellence, shiny, fantastic, spotless, spectacular and magnificent have full-time jobs on this ship, with extra help in the six distinct and stunning onboard restaurants from well-trained words like delicious, elegant, savory, beautiful, succulent, tasteful, scrumptious, and addictive, with a stow-away of finger-licking. I was invited for a quick trip to Miami last week, where the ship was docked for a day, which allowed me to stroll it’s decks, take a peek at the Bon Apetit Culinary Center where I’ll be teaching classes during the trip, and wine and dine onboard with execs from Oceania and Valerie Wilson Travel who are making this trip possible for me…and any of you who decide to join!

The above are not “official photos” of the ship, just mine snapped with my iPad during my tour and lunch, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek from my POV. Here are a few shots of the Bon Apetit Culinary Center. Included in the trip are two cooking classes highlighting food and culinary techniques from ports we’ll be visiting (taught by me, with the help of the top-notch Bon Apetit Culinary Center staff), along with two onshore excursions I’ll lead to explore food, wine and markets along the way. Here are a few short videos that really highlight the essence of Oceania Cruise Lines’ for me: Cuisine, Luxury, Family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s96DM4Nph4&feature=share&list=SP3778E92E1F843366

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10nIWhe5BZg&feature=share&list=SP3778E92E1F843366

For more info on the details, pricing, accommodations or itinerary for the trip, you can visit the Oceania site. Note that there will be no information on my group on the Oceania site, so to book you must call a travel advisor at Valerie Wilson Travel at (212) 592-1211 and ask to speak to someone about this trip, or fill out a contact form via their website. The group is limited in size, so book sooner than later. I’m so excited about this trip and hope to share great meals and memories with some of you this fall. By the way, my birthday falls on the 2nd day of this cruise so we will be having a private dinner and cocktail party on board to celebrate as well! Can’t wait!!

Culinary Travel, Narrative Only/No Recipe, Places I've Taught

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