Friday, September 10, 2010
lamb ragu
Lamb Ragu With Pistachios and Mint
When it comes to feeding men — or anyone who knows how to eat — you have to respect the meat-and-potatoes appetite, even when the meal isn't exactly meat. Or potatoes. I put this sauce together out of things I had on hand: part luck, part learning. It's a traditional Bolognese sauce right up to the moment you drop in the orange. Juice alone wouldn't have enough citrus power to cut through the richness of the lamb — it's the essential oils from the rind that create a sweet undercurrent in the sauce. When you have a sauce this rich and complex, you want a flat noodle that provides some surface cling. A round noodle won't grip the sauce, and the best part of the meal will slip away.
Sauce
- ½ lb pancetta, diced small
- 1 yellow onion, diced small
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced small
- 2 stalks celery, diced small
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- >2 lbs ground lamb
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 tbsp fennel seed
- 2 tbsp ground cardamom
- 1 orange, quartered
- coarse salt
- 1 cup roughly chopped mint leaves
- 1 ½ cups roughly chopped unsalted pistachios (about 3 cups in shell)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Pasta
- 2 lbs thin hand-cut fresh pasta, like tagliarini or tagliatelle
Black-Pepper Ricotta
- 1 ½ cups ricotta mixed with 1 tbsp ground black pepper
Instructions
In a large pot over moderate heat, render pancetta slightly with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. (Do not brown.) When pancetta is translucent, about 8 minutes, add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Lower heat and sweat until vegetables are translucent and soft, about 12 minutes. (Do not brown.)
Add lamb and cook, working it with a wooden spoon so all the meat touches the cooking surface, until it loses its pink color, about 12 minutes.
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it turns rust colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Add up to ½ cup water and stir to loosen tomato paste so it doesn't burn. Add wine and simmer 2 minutes, stirring and scraping the pot with the wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of meat. Add milk, fennel seed, cardamom, orange, and 1 tbsp salt. Stir to combine.
Cover and barely simmer over extremely low heat until flavors are well blended, about 1 ½ hours. (Use the lowest possible heat source to avoid scorching and stir frequently to avoid sticking.) Skim off fat and discard, remove orange, and season with salt to taste.
Stir in mint and pistachios and add ½ cup to 1 cup water to thin ragu slightly. Cook pasta according to package directions, but when noodles are about 1 minute from being finished (still a little sticky to the touch), transfer pasta to sauce to finish cooking. Add butter and reduce until sauce clings to pasta. Use tongs to toss noodles in sauce until coated. Salt to taste.
Transfer to serving bowls and top with dollops of black-pepper ricotta.
Serves 6.
Emma Hearst is the chef of Sorella in New York City.
buffalo burgers... that's alliteration

have you seen food.inc? it's heavy. you never want to eat mass made meats ever again. that's why last night we tried buffalo. was told it's sustainable, grass fed, delicious, and it impresses friends.(atin like a Sioux injun!) I believed the first two, and learned the last two for myself. here's how i did it:
grilled buffalo burgers--heirloom tomatoes, Gorgonzola, arugula, grilled onion, pickles, red pepper aoili, on toasted chiabatta.
things you need:
- ground buffalo. 1/3 lbs. per person, shapped into patties with your hands, seasoned with salt and pepper heavily. available at good stores or online.
- tomatoes. sliced. we used heirlooms for this because that's what we grew.
- gorgonzola cheese. sliced.
- arugula. again, because that's what we grew. the peppery flavor is nice. use garden greens maybe.
- onion. sliced. drizzled with olive oil.
- pickles. sliced.
- chiabatta. or some other bread of your choosing. a baguette cut to burger size would be super.
for red pepper aioli:
- red bell peppers. halved, deseeded.
- 1 egg yoke
- 2 clove garlic, smashed
- salt and pepper
- olive oil... sort of a lot
- lemon
first, make your red pepper aioli. drizzle peppers with oil, salt and pepper, and roast (@400) or grill (on high) until they're soft and black and delicious. while those are cooking, beat the egg yoke in a bowl. SLOWLY start to drizzle in oil. slowly add more and more, making sure oil and egg yoke are coming together smoothly. it will look more and more solid and fluffy. when it look/tastes like mayo but better, season with garlic, salt and pepper, and squeeze in half a lemon. taste and adjust. mince up the cooked red pepper and stir in, or whirl it all together in a processor.
Conversely, open a jar of mayo and stir in your red pepper. not as good, but quick.
then grill. light your grill, get it hot, and get onions grilled and soft and nearly black. move to side of grill. grill your bison burgers. DO NOT OVERCOOK. it gets dry easily. so as soon as you flip, put the cheese on and melt it.
toast your chiabatta, make your burgers, top with all the ingredients.
we wont do that any more
Friday, May 21, 2010
chimichurri

the Argentine people put this on steak. but grilled some pizza last night, and we used chimichurri instead of red pizza sauce. pretty nice. ok, blend all this in a processor. or, if you're feeling up to it, make it all by hand by mincing it all, or even grinding it with a mortar. make extra and save the extra for spreads on sandwiches, etc.
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 medium shallots, peeled, quartered
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
- 3 cups (packed) stemmed fresh parsley
- 2 cups (packed) stemmed fresh cilantro
- 1 cup (packed) stemmed fresh mint
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
quick fry of artichoke hearts with buffalo Mozzarella

Marinated Artichokes in a jar... the marinated ones
Fresh Buffalla Mozzarella
2 Shallots, sliced and carmelized
4-5 Cloves of Garlic, chopped.
Olive Oil
Lemon
Chilli Flakes
Parsley
Salt and Pepper
Caramelize some sliced shallots. Pan fry the artichokes with oil, garlic, chilli flakes and parsley just to soften and infuse flavors. Squeeze over a lemon Arrange artichokes on platter and drop on the mozzarella. Spoon the garlic/oil/chilli liquid over the platter and then finish with carmelized shallots and freshly chopped parsley.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
so beet

-wash beets
-shave beets as thin as you can. try a potato peeler.
-skatter about a plate
-sprinkle over some salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and a little white wine vinegar
-sprinkle over parsley and or gratted horseradish and or some dry feta cheese
-maybe splash some vodka on top
-serve with little toasts
Monday, April 19, 2010
egg salad. rather, a salad with egg
this one's like, so money! to the max! especially if you have day-old bread that's crusty. it's a good lunch/brunch/lite thing. like a breakfast salad. maybe after a surf. that would be all time.first off, make yourself a salad. include lettuces, some tomatoes. keep it lite and simple. then, take your crusty bread and rip it up. little rough bite sized pieces. drizzle with olive oil and put in a hot oven for a few until they get a little golden and crispy. as you do that, poach two eggs. if you don't know how, learn how.
ok, that's it. toss your toasty bread chunks and salad and squeeze over some lemon and olive oil. add salt and pepper. maybe layer on some prosciutto. finally slide over the poached eggs and let them sit on top. served.
Friday, April 16, 2010
egss benedict, but not. with green hollandaise and fried green tomatoes

with green goddess and fried green tomatoes
hollandaise can be real gross. especially outside in the sun. so, replace it. we tried green goddess (see recipes below), and left out the anchovies. sort of an herby-creamy thing. and a good eggs Benedict needs tomatoes, so i subbed in fried green tomatoes, mainly because our tomatoes weren't ripe yet and fried stuff tastes good. Layer on a plate, in this order:
- two crustini or toast
- prosciutto
- fried green tomatoes--sliced green tomatoes, breaded (egg wash, breaded with corn meal), fried in oil until golded
- green hollandaise (see recipe, subtract anchovies)
- poached eggs
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
pizza

this is how we get along. i like pizzas without tomato bases a lot.
- trader joes pizza dough, flatten out for pizza and drizzled with olive oil
- mozzarella, torn by hand, scattered about
- mushrooms, torn by hand, scattered about
- thyme, picked out and scattered about
Thursday, April 8, 2010
bloody good
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
peppers, the red bell kind, and shrimp. And flowers.

This is a good app. For this, one needs:
- shrimp... or good big scallops. 2 per person.
- red bell pepper
- sweet onion, sliced, thick so they can be grilled and not fall apart
- a bbq
- garlic
- cayenne pepper
- cream
- arugula flowers--they are in season in spring, when arugula bolts. or, get a few leaves of arugula. or, another eatable flower.
- salt and pepper
rub the red bell pepper and onion slices with olive oil and salt and pepper. Char them on the bbq.
deseed the bell pepper and put in a blender with the garlic clove, pinch of cayenne. whirl that. then, drizzle in a touch of cream and season with salt and pepper. that's your sauce.
rub the shrimp or scallop with olive oil and salt and pepper. grill until opaque, taking care not to overcook or touch too much.
assemble. on a plate, make a pond of your sauce. over that, stack an onion, shrimp. then, sprinkle the flowers over the top and make it pretty. uh huh.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
indo fish

- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup canola or peanut oil, plus extra for brushing on the grill
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup minced or finely chopped ginger root
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 6 (8-ounce, 1-inch thick) swordfish steaks
- Kosher salt
Combine the soy sauce, canola oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger root, garlic, and mustard in a bowl. Pour half the sauce in a low flat dish that's just large enough to hold the swordfish in one layer. Place the swordfish on top of the sauce and spread the remaining sauce on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
Thirty minutes before you're ready to serve, build a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill.
When the coals are medium-hot, brush the cooking grate with oil to prevent the fish from sticking. Remove the fish from the marinade, allowing some of the ginger to cling to the fish, and discard the marinade. Sprinkle the fish generously on both sides with salt and place it over the coals. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, just until it's no longer pink in the middle. Place on a platter, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot or warm.
Monday, February 22, 2010
so meaty

Lamb Ragù
makes 8 servings
2 pounds stew lamb, cut in chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 onions
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons fresh sage
8 cloves garlic
1 big carrot, peeled
Olive oil
2 cups red wine
1 28-ounce can peeled whole plum tomatoes
Pat the lamb chunks dry with a paper towel. Liberally coat the lamb chunks with salt and pepper and set aside. Peel and coarsely chop the onions, and chop the garlic. Chop the carrot into thin rounds.
Place an oven-proof Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium-high heat, and add olive oil to cover the bottom thinly. When oil is hot, add the lamb and brown deeply. Do this in batches if necessary. Don't worry about drying out the meat — you want it browned darkly for good flavor. (brown each batch for at least 10 minutes, taking care not to crowd the pan. You want the meat to brown, not steam-cook.)
When the meat is thoroughly browned, add the onions. Lower the heat, and cook slowly over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the onions are golden. Add the rosemary and sage, garlic, and the carrots. Reduce heat to medium-low and sauté until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
Add wine and continue to simmer until liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Crush the tomatoes in the can with a fork or back of a spoon, then add them and their juices to the pot. Bring to a simmer, then cover and place in a 275-degree oven for 3 total. The longer it cooks the more tender it will be. When ready to serve, go through with two forks and shred any remaining chunks of meat. Taste and season if necessary with additional salt and pepper.
Serve over pasta (like egg noodle) with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
shrooms! of course it's good, there's butter

Orecchiete with Chanterelle, Sage, Walnuts, & Brown Butter
Ingredients
2 cups of orecchiete
1 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, finely minced
2 cups fresh chanterelle mushrooms, chopped in small dices
2 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1 cup raw walnuts, shelled and halved
4 to 6 tbsp brown butter (look up how to make this)
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional: grated parmesan cheese
Cook the pasta according to directions, drain and set aside. In a large, deep skillet, melt the butter and cook the shallots until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned. Add the fresh sage, walnuts, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and add the brown butter, and mix well over medium heat until everything is blended. If it's too dry, add a some cooking water from the pasta.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
crab sans bibs & butter

hooray! crab! nice! by the end of this one, you'll have juice all over your hands and be the happiest little boy in the world.
This is like a Vietnamese crab thing. asia cooking rips as it's so easy, quick, and simple. just put it all together for a few minutes and it's done.
get some asian noodles as well, since they're good to soak up the juices.
1 Dungeness crab, parcooked and cleaned, claws removed, body cut in pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into slivers
1 shallot, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3 tbsp. rice cooking wine (shao hsing) or dry sherry
2 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
A good handful of fresh cilantro leaves
Preparation:
Clean the crab. If you don't know how, look online. It's easy. Messy, but no messier than cleaning a fish.
Heat the oil in a wok. Add the garlic, ginger and shallot and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the salt, sugar, soy sauce, black pepper, and crab and stir-fry until the crab is evenly coated and the meat is opaque. Add the wine and scallions and cook for 3 minutes. Transfer the crab to a bowl, garnish with the cilantro and serve with hot cooked Asian flour-based noodles.
ravioli of eggplant and goat cheese, with a tomato cream sauce

This recipe is stolen, but they pretty much all are. Does anyone care? Probably not.
If you're not feeling dedicated enough to make the ravioli from scratch, just make the sauce and put it on regular store bought pasta. It's rich and creamy and fulfilling and really fuckin' good.
For the filling:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
8 ounces mild soft Napa Valley goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigianno-Reggiano, plus more for serving, optional
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 pound fresh thinly rolled out pasta sheets, or 1 package wonton wrappers, defrosted
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup finely chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 cups peeled, chopped, and seeded tomatoes
1 sprig thyme
Kosher Salt
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Sprigs of fresh basil, for garnishing
Lightly toasted pine nuts, for garnishing, optional
For the filling:
Directions
In a large skillet or saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is tender and lightly golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until the shallots are soft, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer the eggplant mixture to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool before proceeding.
When the eggplant has cooled, add the goat cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, chopped basil, minced chives, and toss gently but thoroughly to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Cut the pasta sheets into 4-inch squares. Place mounds of the eggplant mixture, about 2 tablespoons each, in the center of each square, then brush the edges with water. Top each square with another square of pasta, easing the sides over the mound of filling and trying to seal the filling with as little air as possible. Using a sharp knife or a rolling fluted pasta cutter, trim the ravioli so that the edges are even and, using a fork, press the edges to adhere firmly. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets and repeat with the remaining pasta and filling. (You should be able to make 18 to 20 ravioli using 2 tablespoons filling for each. If you opt to use wonton wrappers, your yield may vary.) Set aside, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated, while you make the sauce. (Alternately, the ravioli may be made in advance and frozen for about 2 months until ready to use. Defrost before proceeding.)
For the sauce:
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and thyme. Season with salt and crushed red pepper, and cook until the tomatoes give up their liquid, about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the chicken broth and tomato paste, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by 1/3 in volume. Add the cream and cook until reduced by 1/3 in volume, or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Add the butter and basil and stir to combine. Remove the thyme sprigs. With an immersion blender, puree the sauce. (Alternatively, the sauce may be pureed, in batches, in a blender - be careful if the sauce is hot as it may splatter.) Taste and adjust the seasoning and consistency if necessary. Return to the saucepan and keep warm while you cook the ravioli.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the ravioli, in batches, until they float, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to shallow serving bowls. Serve the sauce ladled over the cooked ravioli and garnish with fresh basil sprigs, pine nuts, and more Parmigiano-Reggiano if desired..
Thursday, January 21, 2010
chili con carne (y cerveza)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
I like food, food taste good!


I like food, food tastes good!
Juicy burgers, greasy fries,
Turkey legs and raw fish eyes
Teenage girls, with ketchup too!
Get out of my way, or I'll eat you
I like food, food tastes good!
I like food, food tastes good!
I'm going to turn dining
back into eating
I like food, food tastes good!
I like food, food tastes good!
—Descendents
eggs, flour, practice
Friday, January 15, 2010
Them Wangs




Throw your other wings out the f-in door. These are dry rubbed, then baked, then grilled. 1.5 cups mayo
6 tbs white wine vinegar
2 tbs sugar
.25 cups crea
Chives
- Get like 4 pounds of wings, wash them in water, and pat them dry with a towel. Throw towel away.
- Rub them wings with dry season of lots of chile powder and not so much of paprika, brown sugar, cayene, garlic salt, old bay, pepper, salt. Just toss them in a bowl with all this.
- Bake those for 45 minutes at 350, covered with tin foil
- while that's simmering, also put 1 cup water, a grated jalepeno, garlic, thyme on a simmer
Friday, January 8, 2010
onion soup, the french kind

not sure why the french get this fucking delicious soup with their name out front. maybe because, like the french, it smells bad. it's damn good though... it's got a certain, Je ne sais pas.
disclaimer: i do not make soups (unless they have both beer and meat as principal ingredients) or desserts (unless they have liquor as a principal ingredient).
melt 1/3 stick of butter in a big soup pot or freaky deaky dutch oven.
add 2 C onions, 2 cloves garlic, a bay leaf, a few springs of thyme- cook on medium for about 20-25 min.
add ½ C red wine, scrape all the good stuff off the bottom of the pot and into the mix. cook until unions are almost dry. add a big spoonful of flour and cook for 5 more minutes- until the flour taste is gone, but before the flour burns. what you just made with the flour--it's called a rue. it makes it thick.
add in a quart of chicken stock , stir, simmer until you feel hungry.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
tools - part 1
Most tools for the kitchen are bullshit. a waste of money. space. brain power remembering how they work.some are not. with 10 tools, you can do damn near everything. here's the first three.
1. 8" chefs knife. $100. keep it sharp.
2. mortar and pestle. $30. grind garlic, herbs, and pepper like the injuns usta.
3. tongs. $3. don't buy the expensive ones. use them to stir, flip, grab, split, poke, lift, and serve.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
brussel sprout hash

- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, divided
- 1/2 pound shallots, thinly sliced
- Coarse kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup water
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Stir until brown and glazed, about 3 minutes.
Halve brussels sprouts lengthwise. Cut lengthwise into thin (1/8-inch) slices. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sprouts; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until brown at edges, 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and 3 tablespoons butter. Sauté until most of water evaporates and sprouts are tender but still bright green, 3 minutes. Add shallots; season with salt and pepper.
thanks mom.















