Audrey and Jon

Trinidadian Macaroni Pie

Audrey — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:28:00 +0000

Throughout college, I had several Trinidadian friends (including a great freshman year roommate). One of the easiest (and most delicious and most fattening) dishes we would eat was macaroni pie. I stole this recipe from CaribbeanPot.com and it was quite tasty.

14 oz "macaroni" (we used bucattini pasta - round like spaghetti but wider with a hole in the middle)
1/2 medium onion diced very small
1 habanero or scotch bonnet diced fine (optional)
2 large eggs
1 can evaporated milk (~12.5 oz)

Citrus-glazed Ribs

Jon — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:49:13 +0000

A great recipe for glazed ribs, perfect for the summer or winter with citrus. Adapted from Bon Appetit.

3 1/2 lbs baby back pork ribs, cut between bones into individual ribs
1 cup soy sauce, divided
9 garlic cloves, minced, divided
5 teaspoons cumin seeds, divided
3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, divided
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 scallions (white and light-green parts separated from dark-green parts), finely chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice plus zest from 1 orange
3 tablespoons honey
Zest from 1 lemon and 1 lime

Shakshuka - tomato/chickpea with egg

Jon — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:33:03 +0000

From Bon Appetit, halved and with some modifications:

Ingredients
3 T olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeños, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup coarsely crumbled feta
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Wheat Berry, Fennel, and Pomegranate Salad

Audrey — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:34:41 +0000

I modified a Bon Appetit recipe, and it was delicious. The original recipe called for quinoa, but only having wheat berries in the pantry, I substituted. And frankly, I think the wheat berries were better because they provided more texture and toothsome-ness that quinoa would have. The only other change I made was dropping the dill. I don't particularly like it, and even though Jon does, I made it when he wasn't home!

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side

Posole

Jon — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:51:51 +0000

We modified a recipe from Bon Appetit to spice it up and re-balance this posole. Next time, we may add a hot pepper to the posole as it cooks to add some heat.

INGREDIENTS

Pork
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Dash smoked salt
1 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red onion, sliced

Posole
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 plum tomatoes, diced

Cranberry Sauces

Jon — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:32:51 +0000

Basic Cranberry Sauce

1 bag (12 oz, 3 cups) fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water

Horseradish Cranberry Sauce

Modified from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Horseradish-Sauce...

1 (12-oz) bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup firmly packed finely grated peeled fresh horseradish (perhaps more?)
1/3 heaping cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Simmer all ingredients together, stirring often to break down the berries, 10 minutes.

Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce

Martini Olives

Jon — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:31:14 +0000

I took this recipe from Bon Apetit: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/12/boozy-olives and merged it with a guideline from a bartending book - dropping the lime juice, adding some fresh rosemary twigs, slightly muddled, and some herbs de provence and some red pepper flakes for color.

A dash of olive brine, and 2 parts gin to 1 part vermouth to cover the olives.

Food Hacking Link roundup

Jon — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:31:04 +0000

Making flavored (smoked, sweetened) salts: http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/holiday-handbook/2011/12/3-delici...

Dry-age your steak at home: http://lifehacker.com/5865849/dry+age-steak-at-home-for-steakhouse+quali...

Ice cube trays and nigiri: http://lifehacker.com/5859069/make-nigiri-sushi-quickly-in-an-ice-cube-tray

Shuck Local - the business behind a good Rappahannock Oyster: http://www.welovedc.com/2011/12/15/we-love-food-rappahannock-river-oyste...

Thailand Theasers

Jon — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:51:12 +0000

Some photos from our Thailand trip!

Jose's Basque Tuna Stew

Audrey — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:05:16 +0000

WoW...

One of our favorite recipes from our signed copy of Jose Andres' Made in Spain cookbook. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients
1 pounds fresh bonito or yellowfin tuna
2 medium green bell peppers, roasted, skinned and roughly chopped
1/2 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 slices day-old bread, preferably country-style
1 pound plum tomatoes (5 to 6) or 2-3 medium tomatoes
3 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2 large onions)
2 tbs minced garlic

Baked Oysters with Bacon and Leeks

Audrey — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:37:17 +0000

We had some leftover pre-shucked oysters and used them to make this Bon Appetit recipe. The recipe here uses an entire 16-oz jar of pre-shucked oysters, but you could easily halve it to serve two!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup whipping cream
8 ounces bacon (preferably applewood-smoked), chopped
4 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; from 4 large)
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

MV Spices Chai Recipe

Audrey — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:05:07 +0000

When we were in India, we visited MV Spices and bought a lot of Indian spices (probably at tourist prices), including a spice mix for Indian Chai (tea). The ingredients listed on the tea bag are:

Cardamom
Cinnamon
Ginger
Nutmeg
Black Pepper
Clove

The recipe, copied from the back of the bag, is as follows:

2 cups water
1 spoon tea (black tea)
Little tea spice
2 spoons sugar

Boil 5 minutes
Add hot milk (or dry milk)
Boil 3 minutes
Filter and serve.

Four Cheese Quiche

Jon — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:10:57 +0000

1 pastry shell (use pie crust recipe or pastry crust from the tomato tart recipe.

3.5oz st nectaire (soft, ripened cheese) without the rind
3.5oz chevre
1oz blue d'Auvergne or Roquefort
2oz of grated emmental cheese
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

Audrey — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:28:51 +0000

We merged a Bon Appetit recipe with a (strikingly) similar recipe from my canning book (which recommends topping the finished product with pickled red onions). We don't (yet) have a dutch oven, so we did this entirely on the stovetop. For those home chefs with a dutch oven (one day that will be us), I've left in the oven directions as optional.

Makes about 4 servings.

Ingredients

Caesar Salad Dressing

Jon — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:33:38 +0000

1 clove garlic, chopped
3 anchovy fillets
1 egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 lemons, juiced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper

Blend together garlic, anchovies, egg yolks, dijon and lemon juice until smooth. Slowly add in the olive oil and emulsify. Stir in pepper and parmesan.

Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

Audrey — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:50:41 +0000

I tweaked a Bon Appetit recipe and it was pretty good!

Ingredients
3/4 cup dried chickpeas
5 garlic cloves (2 whole, 3 chopped)
1 large cinnamon stick, broken in half

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds 1" cubes lamb shoulder (maybe try another cut next time)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, diced
5 teaspoons Ras-el-Hanout spice blend (click for recipe)

Pimiento Mac and Cheese

Audrey — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:07:49 +0000

I made a tweaked version of this Bon Appetit recipe. It was good, especially from a mac and cheese perspective - gooey and all the rest of that. I'm not sure how I actually felt about the pimento cheese aspect of it. Perhaps next time I will downplay the pimento and just use the basic recipe as a base for a more traditional mac and cheese dish.

Ingredients
1 7- to 8-ounce red bell pepper, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, halved, divided

Corn Soup

Jon — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:31:09 +0000

With a hat-tip to Bon Appetit

butter
2 medium leeks, white and light-green parts only, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
5 ears shucked corn, kernels cut from cobs, cobs reserved
1 cup coarsely chopped peeled potato (about 1 medium)
4 cups good-quality vegetable stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Food Links: Bacon Hacking, Beer Politics, More Politics

Jon — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:17:24 +0000

Eight bacon "hacks" : http://lifehacker.com/5837068/8-essential-bacon-hacks (best hack: bacon cups). OK, one more bacon hack: homemade bacon salt: http://lifehacker.com/5838933/make-your-own-bacon-salt . OK, last bacon hack, a Cooks Illustrated method for using bacon paste (their term, not mine) to help chicken kabobs: http://www.101cookingfortwo.com/2011/04/bacon-coated-chicken-kabobs.html

Another fun hack (or a disaster) - sous-vide cooking salmon in your sink: http://lifehacker.com/5830856/cook-salmon-sous+vide-in-your-kitchen-sink...

Lacquered Chicken (Pollo Asado en Mole Rojo Clasico)

Audrey — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:00:09 +0000

This is an adapted Rick Bayless recipe that we use with our mole.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Classic Red Mole
1/8 cup agave syrup (preferably organic raw) or dark corn syrup
Bone-in chicken pieces
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Sesame seeds (toasted, if you like)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

4-day Cabin Plan

Audrey — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:23:13 +0000

Jon and I have found a great rental "cabin" about 1.5 hours outside of DC (not giving our secret away!). We go there about once or twice a year to unplug and relax. We invariably have a great time.

Each time we go, we plan a menu and bring everything we need to execute it. To help with future planning, here's the menu and basic shopping list we used this time.

Lunch D1 (optional): Stop at Ashby Inn

Dinner D1: Grilled fish with grilled sides and salad

Bernice's Fried Eggplant

Audrey — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:57:58 +0000

Slice the eggplant (the round way) into 1/2" rounds.

Sprinkle flour on both sides.

Dip into the egg batter which has a little milk, and any spices you want. I usually use garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, basil, oregano. Depending on the size of the eggplant, one large egg with enough milk should do it.

Then put your breadcrumbs in a plastic bag (or bowl) and shake. Don't put too much bread crumbs at one time because it gets too wet and then doesn't adhere to the eggplant. Just keep adding more bread crumbs.

Lamb Chops with Mint Something

Audrey — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:49:12 +0000

Made delicious and easy lamb chops tonight. Basically combined these two recipes and served it with this mint jelly (modified slightly, see my adaptation).

Jalapeño Mint Jelly

Audrey — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:48:21 +0000

Adapted from epicurious.

Yield: 3 half-pints

ingredients

7/8 cups finely chopped fresh mint, divided
3/4 cups water
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/8 cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp (25 mL) strained fresh lemon juice
2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
1 pouch liquid fruit pectin

preparation

Quick Tomato Olive "Salsa"

Audrey — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:28:59 +0000

I whipped this up to go with grilled salmon. It was easy and delicious!

2 parts cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size)
1 part chopped kalamata olives
1 part diced red onions
1 part feta, crumbled
lemon juice
olive oil (if possible, from a jar of sundried tomatoes)

Combine and enjoy!