Lemony Shrimp and Orzo

Adapted loosely from Giada and absolutely delicious...

Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 pound orzo pasta

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 2 large lemons
1/3 - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dry white wine
10 cloves of roasted garlic, coarsely chopped
10 ounces (2 boxes) fresh baby spinach or baby arugula, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch fresh chives, chopped
Directions

For the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

While the water is coming to a boil and the orzo is cooking, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the prosciutto slices until crisp. Remove the prosciutto slices, leaving the oil in the pan. Drain the prosciutto on paper towels and let cool. Crumble the prosciutto and set aside.

Add the shallots to the oil and cook until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp turn pink and are just barely cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the skillet. Increase the heat to high. Add the wine and spinach. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated and the spinach has wilted. Turn off the flame under the skillet.

Add the roasted garlic, cooked pasta, cooked shrimp, crumbled prosciutto, vinaigrette and butter to the skillet. Toss until all the ingredients are coated, adding a little of the reserve pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Taste for seasoning.

Transfer to a platter and serve, garnished with chopped chives.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Number Ten Swai

Bill has asked me to call this recipe (for Swai in Ginger Sesame Broth with Edamame and Bok Choy)"Number 10" in an oblique reference to the McDonald's Filet-o-fish sandwich (which is essentially the opposite of this clean, delicious, healthy dish.) We ate it with rice.

Black Sesame Otsu

One of my Heidi Swanson favorites

Braised Root Vegetables with Black Lentils and Red Wine Sauce

For special occasion dinners with my vegetarian family. This dish (linked above) takes two days to make but it's totally worth it. Serve over mashed potatoes. (Happy birthday, Mom!)

Cauliflower Alfredo

I roasted the cauliflower and garlic, and added about a cup of chicken stock, and a quarter cup of microplaned parmesan to the sauce. I tossed a few handfuls of frozen peas in with the pasta just before draining it, and more parm on top to serve. Next time, I will crisp up a little pancetta and sear some butterflied shrimp in the pancetta drippings. Nothing like pork, seafood and cheese to improve on a vegan pasta sauce...

Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Kale

I made a few changes to this Grace Parisi recipe linked above:
I chopped the onions into big chunks, threw in a handful of peeled garlic cloves, and seasoned the vegetables liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, smoked paprika, ground sumac and the juice of one lemon. I patted the chicken (thighs, not legs) dry and seasoned them ahead of time for best flavor before adding them on top of the vegetables. I cooked everything uncovered for 50 minutes and didn't bother with all of that covering, uncovering, moving the pan and etc. Next time I'll try skinless thighs, but other than that -- a definite keeper.

Miso Salmon

An awesomely fast and delicious recipe. I heat the pan in the oven before adding the fish, so that it cooks through without having to flip it over.

White Chicken Chili

This was a huge hit on super bowl Sunday - based on a recipe I wrote in the 90s and hadn't thought about too much since then. So glad I gave it a second run!
It is important to make this a day ahead for best flavor.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cans cannellini beans, drained
1 large onion, diced large
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cholula, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
salt, to taste
2 4-ounce cans chopped mild green chilies
Meat of one whole rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed and meat cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups chicken broth 
1/2 cup heavy cream
Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro and chives, grated sharp cheddar, sour cream, garlic bread.

Empty one of the cans of beans into a blender and puree. Set the puree aside.
In a heavy kettle, cook onion in 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat until softened. Stir in half of the garlic, cholula, chili powder, cumin, and chilis and let cook for 2 minutes.
Add whole beans, chicken, and broth and cook mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, 20 minutes or until the mixture is hot.
Stir the remaining minced garlic, bean puree and cream into the chili and cook on low heat for ten minutes more. Adjust seasoning.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to serve, bring up to temperature slowly. Do not let the chili boil. Garnish each bowl of chili with chopped cilantro and chives, sour cream and grated cheese. Serve with garlic bread.

Gnocchi!

A new favorite recipe...

Slow Cooker Meatballs and Marinara

So comforting and just plain good! A terrific make-ahead meal.

Lamb Skewers with Green Olive and Mint Sauce

Great under the broiler, as well as on the grill.

Doro Wat

With hot injera, one of my all-time faves...

Asopao de Camarones

I added achiote oil, pimentos, peas and three times the amount of sofrito (oh, and left out the chopped tomato and swapped chicken stock for clam juice) but otherwise (ahem!) made no major changes to this recipe. This was fantastic. Asopao MUST be served with buttered garlic toasts. I now officially make the best asopao in the world. Anywhere.

Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon with Port-Cherry Reduction

Mu Shu Pork

Serves six.
ingredients
1/2 lb. lean pork, such as loin or tenderloin
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/4 cup dried cloud ears
1/2 cup golden needles (also called dried lily buds)
3 Tbs. canola or vegetable oil
1 slice fresh ginger, about 1 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 lb. Savoy or white cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 scallion (white and green parts), cut lengthwise and then into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, rinsed, drained, and sliced into a 2-inch julienne
1 tsp. salt
Mandarin Pancakes
Mandarin Sauce
how to make

Cut the pork into 1/4-inch slices. Stack the slices and cut them into thin strips. In a medium bowl, mix the soy sauce, cornstarch, and rice wine. Add the sliced pork and toss to coat. In separate small bowls, soak the cloud ears and golden needles in warm water for about 10 min. Drain and rinse well. Cut off the stems from the cloud ears and golden needles. Cut the cloud ears into small pieces and the golden needles in half.

Heat 2 Tbs. of the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the ginger slice, cook it until sizzling and fragrant, and then remove and discard it. Add the eggs and scramble them, breaking them up into small pieces when just set. Remove the eggs from the wok and reserve. Heat another 1 Tbs. oil in the wok until very hot. Add the pork and cook, stirring, until about halfway cooked, about 45 seconds. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, until transparent, about 1 min. Add the scallion, cloud ears, golden needles, bamboo shoots, and salt; cook, stirring constantly, about 3 min. Return the scrambled eggs to the wok to warm them. Mix well.

To serve, spread some sauce on a pancake, add some stir-fry, and then wrap and eat with your hands.

From Fine Cooking 31, pp. 54-57

photo: Sloan Howard

Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's Chicken and Pancakes

Chinese Pancakes: Bok Bang
Recipe adapted from Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, The Chinese Chicken Cookbook, Simon and Schuster, 2004
There is nothing better than eating freshly made pancakes with hot mu shu chicken.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, enriched, bleached (recommended: Pillsbury Best) plus 1/2 cup for dusting
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
Hoisin Sauce, recipe follows
Cantonese Fried Chicken, recipe follows
White parts of 6 scallions, shredded into 2-inch lengths

Put the flour in a mixing bowl. Slowly add the boiling water and stir in 1 direction with a wooden spoon. When the flour absorbs the water and cools, knead the dough into a ball and then place it on a work surface dusted with flour. Knead for about 2 minutes, until the dough is thoroughly smooth. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

On a flour-dusted work surface roll the dough into a 12-inch sausage and divide into 12 (1-inch) pieces. Flatten each piece with your palm, using more flour to dust if the dough is sticky. While working, cover the dough not in use with plastic wrap. Working with 2 pieces of dough at a time, wipe 1 side of each piece gently with sesame oil and place 1 flattened, oiled piece atop another. Roll them together into 7-inch rounds. The result is a 2-layer pancake. Repeat until 6 (2-layer) pancakes are made.

Heat a wok over low to medium heat for 1 minute. Place a double pancake in the dry wok and cook for a minute, until it begins to bubble up. (The heat in the dry wok must be carefully controlled. If it is too high, the pancakes will burn.) Turn the pancake over and cook until a few brown spots appear. Remove from the wok and separate into 2 layers. You will have 2 pancakes, each browned lightly on 1 side and white on the other. Repeat until all the dough is used and you have 12 pancakes.

Before serving, steam the pancakes in a stack for 5 to 7 minutes, until soft and hot. Brush the pancake with hoisin sauce, place the chicken slice in the pancake, add some scallion, and fold up the bottom to create an envelope closed on 3 sides but open at the top. Serve immediately.

Hoisin Sauce:
1/3 cup sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Shao-Hsing wine or sherry

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Cantonese Fried Chicken

Poaching Liquid:
3 whole eight-star anise
1/4 dried tangerine skin (about 2 inches long)
3 cinnamon sticks
1 slice ginger, 1-inch long, lightly smashed
10 cups cold water
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Chinese white rice wine or gin
1 whole nutmeg

1 whole chicken (3 1/2 pounds), cleaned thoroughly and dried

Coating:
1 1/2 tablespoons honey melted with 3 tablespoons boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons Shao-Hsing wine or sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese white rice vinegar
3/4 teaspoons cornstarch

6 cups peanut oil (for frying)

Combine the poaching ingredients in a large pot (preferably an oval Dutch oven) and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Raise the heat to high and return to a boil. Place the chicken in the pot, breast side-up. Cover. When the pot begins to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken over and repeat the process.

Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to sit in the liquid, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a rack that has been set into a platter and allow to drain. Pierce the skin with a fork to help the draining. Discard all the ingredients from the pot. Reserve poaching liquid for later use.

Mix the coating ingredients, and with a pastry brush, coat the chicken thoroughly with the mixture. Allow the chicken to dry completely, about 6 hours. During this time, turn the chicken, taking care not to mar the coating. (An electric fan can reduce the drying time by half.)

Heat a wok over high heat for a minute. Add the peanut oil and heat it to 375 degrees F. Using a large Chinese strainer, lower the chicken into the oil, breast side up, and deep-fry for 3 minutes. Use a ladle to pour oil over the chicken to ensure uniformity in frying. Turn the chicken over by inserting a wooden spoon in its cavity, and deep-fry for another 3 minutes, ladling the oil as before. Repeat until the chicken is golden brown. Turn off the heat. Remove the chicken and allow it to drain. Place the chicken on a chopping board and slice the meat and skin together into pieces 1 by 2 inches.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Lamb Kofte with Yogurt Sauce and Muhammara

So much greater than the sum of its humble parts...

Carnitas

Burmese Red Pork Stew

Lamb Chops with Lemon