Trout with Very Confused Pasta

I recently went to the doctor and found out that my cholesterol is on the high side. He recommended I get rid of fatty foods and improve my overall diet. Always up for a challenge, I wanted to come up with a way to make an extremely healthy meal that was both visually and gustatorily pleasing. I chose trout for the protein as it is very high in healthy fats that increase your HDL cholesterol. For the “pasta”, I wanted something that looked like pasta but was anything but. I decided to use red chard and cut it into strips. Chard is one of my favorite greens, and it’s hearty enough to stand up to tomato sauce. For my “meatballs” I decided to try something totally new and made barley balls.
For the tomato sauce, I sauteed cherry tomatoes with some garlic, parsley, lemon, onion, tomato paste and red wine. I let it simmer until the tomatoes were falling apart and then set it aside.
To make the barley balls, I cooked barley in advance and let it cool. I then mixed it with egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and some sauteed onion and garlic. I made sure the mix was thick enough to adhere during the cooking process, and constructed my barley balls. Once I had the balls, I put them in the freezer for 15 minutes to let them set. Once they were cold and solid, I heated canola oil (also very good for you) and browned the outsides of the barley balls. The result was a crispy on the outside, soft on the inside ball that had a heartiness similar to meatballs.
For the trout, I floured it with a little salt and pepper and then pan seared each side until golden. I used the crispy trout as the base, places a pile of chard “pasta” on top of that, added 2 barley “meatballs” and topped with the tomato sauce and some parm.
All together, the meal was reminiscent of a fine Italian pasta dish with a very healthy and unexpected twist. The barley balls turned out perfectly and were delicious to eat even on their own. Now that I’m being more conscious about what I’m eating, I’m looking forward to having more meals that are as fun and inventive as this one.

A Fittingly Colored Valentine's Day Meal

I’m not a big fan of going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day because most restaurants jack up the price of their prix fixe menu and I just don’t have that much money to toss around. This year I decided to come up with the most festive menu I could think of and the first thing that popped into my head: BEETS. I love beets on their own, but my girlfriend isn’t a huge fan of them, so I thought of a way to incorporate their beautiful color without featuring beets alone on the menu: pink mashed potatoes! To go along with the Valentine spuds, I made sautéed red chard (sensing a theme?), and featured some sizable veal chops with balsamic apples. The meal turned out really well and was good to look at and even better to eat.

Ingredients:

2 ½ lb Veal Chops on the bone
2 Fuji or Pink Lady apples
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp grated jalapeno flesh
1 lemon
1 tsp agave or honey
2 tbsp balsamic
.5 lb red potatoes
1 large beet
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup milk
1 large bunch red chard
3 garlic cloves (chopped)
2 tbsp olive oil

To cook!

Pink Potatoes:
1) Boil the beet in a large enough pot to hold the beet and the potatoes

2) After 20 minutes, add the potatoes and boil for another 15 until the beet and potatoes are fork tender

3) Melt the butter in a small pan and slowly cook half of the chopped garlic until browned

4) Drain the pot (reserving a little bit of the water) and take out the beet to remove skin

5) Mash the potatoes with the reserved water, the milk, and the garlic butter

6) Cut the beet into small pieces, add to the potatoes, and mash (I had small chunks of beet in the mash, but feel free to use a hand blender to make the mash smoother)

7) Add salt and pepper to taste

Red Chard

1) Coarsely chop the chard into 1 inch strips

2) Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and sautée the remaining chopped garlic

3) Once garlic starts to brown add the chard and toss in the oil and garlic

4) Add ½ lemon juice and cook until chard is fully wilted

Balsamic Apples:

1) Chop the apples into small rectangles and sautée in a saucepan in olive oil

2) Mix the grated ginger and jalapeno with juice of ½ a lemon and the honey/agave

3) Pour the dressing and half of the balsamic over the apples and simmer until the apples are very soft

Veal Chops:

1) Preheat the oven to 375

2) Sear the veal on both sides in an oven proof pan or cast iron

3) Finish in the oven for 15 minutes

4) Serve apples on the veal and finish with the remaining balsamic

Miso Cod for Ray

My girlfriend’s father, Ray, was in town last week for a concert, and he stayed in the city an extra night to see me and our friends for a dinner. As usual, I offered up my cooking services for the evening. Ray doesn’t eat any meat or shellfish, so I wanted to make an interesting and delicious fish dish that was outside of the usual types of seafood dishes I put together. I’m a huge fan of Asian food. I love the mix of salty, spicy, and sweet flavors that are often featured in Asian dishes and create that great sense of umami (or savoriness). I decided to do a play on miso soup. I made a dashi broth (fish stock) and marinated cod in a miso glaze along with sauteed bok choi greens and shitake mushrooms. When all three components were eaten in one bite, you got the sensation of eating miso soup with the strong saltiness of the dashi mixing with the sweetness of the miso glaze on the fish (which took the place of the tofu) and the warmth of the greens and mushrooms. I also made some vegetable fried rice on the side to add some heartiness of the meal. The rice actually worked well with the dashi and fish, so a few people at the table actually mixed the rice in with everything else. Everyone was so excited to eat that I forgot to take a picture of the complete dish, but fortunately I had one extra portion (which I ate once I got my pic…) The meal ended up being a great setting for Ray’s endlessly entertaining stories, and we all had a great time.
Miso Cod in a Dashi Broth with Bok Choi and Shitake

Ingredients:
1/3-1/2 lb of Cod per person
1 head of bok choi
5-6 shitake mushrooms
sesame seeds
3/4 cup white miso
3/4 cup sake
3/4 cup mirin
1/2 cup sugar
2 pieces dried kelp
1/2 cup bonito flakes
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 cups water

To Cook!

Dashi:
Bring water to a boil and add kelp. Reduce to a simmer and add bonito flakes, let simmer for 20-30 minuted until broth is very fragrant, taste to make sure it is strong enough for your liking. Strain the broth over cheesecloth or paper towel, add the soy sauce and stir. Add more soy if the broth isn’t salty enough.

Bok choi and shitake mushrooms:
Slice the mushrooms and the greens of the bok choi into very thin strips (reserve the bok choi stalks for another use, perhaps a stir fry or fried rice). Heat oil in a wok or frying pan on medium high and add the mushrooms when hot. When the mushrooms start to brown, add the greens and sautee until wilted. Add the sesame seeds, a little of the extra miso glaze and toss until coated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Miso Glazed Cod:
Bring sake and mirin to a boil and boil for 1 minute to burn off alcohol. Reduce to a simmer and add miso and stir until fully incorporated and smooth. Add sugar and stir until fully dissolved, set aside and let cool. Once cooled, pour the glaze over the fish and marinate overnight in a plastic bag. When ready to cook, remove the fish and wipe away the glaze with a paper towel (don’t wash off). Broil the fish until golden on top and finish in the oven until flaky.

To serve use wide bowls, place the fish in the bowl, pour enough dashi to cover the bottom of the bowl over the fish and place the mushrooms and greens on top. Serve with fried rice or udon noodles to add heartiness.

Family Style Dinner!

Sunday nights are generally pretty lazy, but on the night before President’s day, there’s nothing better than spending time with friends and sharing laughs and a good comforting meal. All of my friends are always busy, always all over the place, so it’s great when we can all get together and spend some quality time. I invited everyone over for dinner and wanted to make a delicious family style meal. I decided on tangy tomato crispy chicken legs and thighs with mac and cheese and red chard (my favorite green du jour). I spend much of the weekend browsing cookbooks, and came across a mouthwatering recipe for mac and cheese in an awesome cookbook my lovely girlfriend gave me for my birthday: The New Brooklyn Cookbook. I recommend this cookbook for anyone who loves Brooklyn restaurants (or delectable pictures of food and restaurants…) While I was cooking everything, my back started KILLING me. I wanted to make sure the meal turned out well, so I ended up cooking the whole thing half hunched over and in some pretty bad pain, but THE SHOW MUST GO ON!! It probably wasn’t the best idea because I spent all of Monday lying down, but in the end it was worth it for a delicious meal with great friends. The mac and cheese ended up being the best I ever made, and the chicken came out great. We had a lot of laughs and enjoyed spending time together.

Tangy Tomato Crispy Chicken with Mac and Cheese and Red Chard

Ingredients:
Chicken thighs and legs (I estimated 2-3 pieces per person)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
onion
celery
carrot
jalapeno
5 garlic cloves (3 for the sauce and 2 for the chard)
3/4 cup of bourbon
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar or agave
1 tbsp dijon
1 orange
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 lb or cheddar and 1/2 lb of gruyere shredded
3 pieces of thick slab bacon
1 lb elbow pasta
1/2 cup flour
1 stick butter
bread crumbs
3 bunches of red chard
lemon
olive oil

To Cook!

Tangy Tomato Sauce (It was a cross between a tomato sauce and a bbq sauce):
Chop the onion, carrot, celery, jalapeno and garlic. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot and sautee the first 4 veggies, once they start to become translucent, add the garlic. Zest the orange and add to the pot along with the bourbon and juice from the orange. let the bourbon boil for a minute so the alcohol burns off, then add the can of tomatoes, molasses, mustard and vinegar. Once the mixture is simmering, add the sugar, salt and pepper and stir through. Use a hand blender to puree the sauce and let simmer, covered, for about 20-30 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Crispy Chicken:
Brine the chicken in a salt solution and pat dry with paper towel, cutting off any extra skin from the thighs. Using a spoon, put a spoonful of sauce under the skin of the chicken and pat down to spread around. Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken and heat oil or bacon fat in a cast iron skillet. In batched, sear the chicken skin side down (about 4 minutes) then flip for one minute and move to a pan. Once all of the chicken is browned, cook in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes to cook through.

Mac and Cheese:
Boil water in a pot and cook the elbows until al dente. Drain, toss with olive oil and set aside to cool. Slice the bacon into thin pieces and cook in a cast iron (I did this before cooking the chicken and used the fat to brown the chicken). Remove when the bacon is browned and move to a plate with paper towel. In a saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer. In a heavy bottom pot, melt the butter and add the flour, stirring constantly to make a golden roux (about 4 minutes). Slowly add the milk.cream and stir constantly to incorporate while scraping the bottom to make sure the flour doesn’t burn. Once the mixture is smooth, add half of the cheese and stir frequently until cheese is melted. In a large glass dish, put the elbows and cover with the sauce, mixing so that the sauce gets on all of the elbows and throughout the dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the pasta and then the bread crumb. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, until bubbling and finish in a broiler for 3 minutes to brown the top.

Red Chard:
Coarsely chop the chard into 1 inch strips. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and sautée the remaining chopped garlic. Once garlic starts to brown add the chard and toss in the oil and garlic. Add ½ lemon juice and cook until chard is fully wilted.