Kebab Pizza (or Calzones)

Flashback: Many years ago I was visiting Gothenburg, Sweden (home of Volvo) and a pizza was ordered. This was no ordinary pizza. It was a peculiar regional specialty — the Kebab Pizza. Kebab pizza is a hybrid of the best of everything a pizza has to offer PLUS kebab meat, spices and sauce. This may not seem like it goes together, but does it ever! Every once and awhile I think back to the deliciousness and wonder if it could be recreated.

Flash forward to a recent MN Food Bloggers event featuring the lovely Zoe Francois, co-author of “Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day.” It was a pizza party at Kitchen in the Market and Zoe brought the dough, a copy of her book, some bread flour and yeast. We had a blast and made the most delicious pizzas. Though neither of us was gutsy enough to toss the dough into the air, we did dimple and stretch until we had the perfect pies. We also won a really nice pizza stone, something we didn’t have in our kitchen (believe it or not).

Armed with the ingredients, the recipe in Zoe’s book and a hankering for kebab pizza, we set off to recreate this Scandinavian treat. Early in the day, I made half the recipe for bread flour pizza dough (you’ll have to get the Artisan Pizza book for the recipe — trust me, it’s worth it). When K got home, he stuck the pizza stone into the oven set at 500 degrees. Make note of this, it’s foreshadowing for the rest of this tale.

Pizza Sauce
1 can organic crushed tomatoes
2 TB organic tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 anchovies (or 2 tsp anchovy paste)
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper (or smoked paprika)

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add garlic and saute for one minute. Add crushed tomatoes,  tomato paste, anchovies (or anchovy paste) pepper (or paprika) and oregano. Let simmer until tomatoes are falling apart (about 10-15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.

It was hot in the kitchen. Very hot. I was also working to get rid of the flu and still had a fever, which made it even more hot. I pulled a portion of dough from our dough pile and K wrapped and froze the other two portions. I attempted to dimple and flatten and stretch and make into a circle, but the damn thing just kept springing back in on itself. Then it would rip. After a few frustrating tries, my internal *and* external temperatures at a boiling point, I said, “Screw it. We’ll just have an unevenly shaped pizza.” Sensing my escalating anger, K agreed and we started topping our kebab pizza.

Toppings
1/2 onion
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Emmenthal cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (more of less to taste) fresh basil, torn
1 cup cooked kebab, gyro or al pastor meat (we got a take-out container of al pastor meat from our local taqueria) *Must be the kind roasted on a cone*

Slice the onion and saute in a bit of olive oil until soft and golden brown. Spread sauce on pizza dough, add onions, sprinkle cheese evenly over pizza, add oregano, basil and meat.

It was at this point we realized we had no way to get the pizza from the cutting board onto the extremely hot pizza stone. Numerous attempts were made to transfer the pizza and most just resulted in the dough falling apart or the toppings falling off. No matter what we put under the pizza, it stuck because it was so damn hot in the kitchen that every ingredient was melting (including the cheese before it even got to the oven). Two sweltering, angry and hungry people stared at what was supposed to be dinner and a decision was made. Hack it in half, fold it over on itself and toss it onto the pizza stone. We’d be having Kebab Calzones.

And, as you can see, they were ugly. But looks kind of stop mattering when you’re so hungry you could eat your own arm.

While the calzones were baking, I made the kebab sauce.

Kebab Sauce
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 TB fresh lemon juice

Mix all sauce ingredients together and set aside.

It only took about 10 minutes for the calzones to cook through and the crusts to become golden. We let them cool and used the kebab sauce to dip and, ugly as they were, they were also really tasty!

The crust was crisp and chewy, the flavors had a Middle Eastern hint, the meat was a phenomenally different touch and the sauce was tangy and cool. Not an exact match for that unusual pizza I remembered, but pretty close. Later, via Twitter, Zoe (and our friend Jen) recommended that in the future we use an upside down cookie sheet (or one without sides) in lieu of a pizza peel to transfer our pie to the baking stone. We’ll certainly give that a try, but if I have to endure an ugly, but delicious calzone in the pursuit of pizza perfection, I’m willing to take that one for the team.

Apple, Smoked Blue Cheese, Guanciale and Arugula Phyllo Tart

I have a love/meh relationship with salad. When prepared in a restaurant, salads are often majorly delicious and can sometimes even surpass the main dish. When prepared at home (at least in our home), salads are often boring afterthoughts that result in leftover lettuce dying in the refrigerator and ending up in the compost pile. So, we set about to change that and landed with an epic salad that can be prepared large (in tart form) or small — tart apple, smoked blue cheese, guanciale, walnuts, arugula and phyllo with an apple cider vinaigrette. Check it.

This recipe makes a tart that serves 2-4 or small salads that serve 6-8.

Phyllo pastry base
4 sheets fillo/phyllo dough (you could also use puff pastry)
2 TB melted butter (for small salad) or 4 TB melted butter (for large tart)
Parchment paper

Lay one sheet (layer) of phyllo on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush melted butter lightly across the entire sheet. Lay a second sheet (layer) on top of the first and repeat the butter brushing. Do this two more times until you’ve got four layers of pastry. Be careful when transferring the sheets as they’re delicate and can rip. Lightly prick the pastry with a fork (so it doesn’t bubble up).

* If you’re making a full-size tart: Fold over each edge about 1/4 inch so later you can lay the salad inside the “borders.”
* If you’re making individual salads: Turn a drinking glass over onto the phyllo and use a paring knife around the rim to cut circles into the pastry. Remove circles to parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Discard remaining pastry (or bake up on a separate sheet for delicious, crunchy appetizers to munch on).

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. If bottom starts to get too brown, turn the heat down to 325 degrees halfway through cooking. Remove when pastry is golden brown and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Salad fixins
1/4 lb. guanciale (pork jowl) or 4-6 thick-cut slices of bacon (leave this out if you want a vegetarian-friendly dish)
1/4 cup smoked blue cheese, crumbled (you can also use regular blue cheese)
1/4 cup walnuts or hazelnuts (aka filberts), roasted and rough chopped
4-6 cups arugula, washed and dried
1/2 tart green apple, sliced into “half moons”

Cut guanciale into bite-sized chunks and cook until brown and crisp in a saute pan (or cook bacon and crumble into bite-sized crumbles). Crumble blue cheese. Rough chop your walnuts or hazelnuts. Wash, dry and chop your arugula into 1-inch pieces. Slice half a green apple into “half moons.”

Apple cider vinaigrette
2-3 TB apple cider vinegar
1-2 TB honey
1-2 TB extra virgin olive oil

Heat honey for 10 seconds in the microwave and add to apple cider vinegar, mix well. Drizzle in olive oil while mixing. Set aside until ready to dress salad.

Toss dressing and arugula, add apples, guanciale (or bacon) and nuts. Toss lightly. Pile salad on top of pastry (on the tart or on individual rounds). Sprinkle cheese on top. Enjoy the buttery crunch of the phyllo, the crisp bite of the arugula, the sweet/tart dressing, the fragrant bite of the apples, the toasty nuts, the crackling salt of the guanciale and the funk of the blue cheese. All the flavors meld perfectly together.

With this simple, but elegant salad-as-dinner, I realized that you just need a few really high quality ingredients to turn a pile of greens into a wow dinner. Go forth and eat salad.

Tempura Avocado Tacos with Spicy Fish Slaw

WAY back in January, I made a resolution that we’d create some original recipes once the season of Top Chef ended. Well, Top Chef ended and when I can’t sleep, I try to tire my brain by coming up with crazy food combos. Out of insomnia comes dinner genius sometimes! And so, without further adieu, we present our first Eat.Drink.Life.Love. *original* recipe — tempura avocado tacos with spicy fish slaw. The recipe serves two.

First, gather up all your ingredients.

Fish
1 tilapia filet
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 TB ponzu sauce (we like Kikkoman Lime Ponzu)
1 TB high heat oil (like safflower, canola or vegetable oil)

Sprinkle garlic powder and ginger on both sides of the tilapia. Drizzle 1 TB ponzu on one side of the fish and rub the resulting “paste” into the fish. Do the same on the other side. Let sit in the refrigerator for up to an hour. When slaw is made, cook the fish. Put 1 TB oil in a saute pan and heat over medium high heat. Add fish filet and saute until toasty brown. Flip and saute other side (approximately four minutes per side). Let fish sit in the pan until it cools to just warm. Shred fish with two forks (like pulled pork).

Spicy Slaw
2 TB cilantro, finely chopped
8 brussels sprouts, grated (on a large cheese grater or finely chopped)
1 baby bok choy, finely chopped (chiffonade)
1 carrot, grated
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into match sticks

1 TB rice vinegar
2 TB soy sauce
1 TB lime juice
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp sriracha (or more, to taste, this level is “spice wimp” level)

Grate brussels sprouts and carrots with large cheese grater. Chiffonade (in thin strips or “shreds”) the baby bok choy. Cut the red bell pepper into match sticks. Finely chop the cilantro. Mix all the herbs and veggies together in a medium-sized bowl. Mix the wet dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Add dressing to veggies, mix and let stand.

Tempura avocado
1 c. Pilsner-type beer (we used Kölsch)
1 c. rice flour
1 egg
1 avocado
high heat oil (like safflower, canola or vegetable)
squeeze of lime juice
salt to taste

The key to the tempura is to keep everything very, very cold. Store the beer in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before using and keep egg and avocado in the fridge until the last possible minute. Mix rice flour, beer and egg together. Put the batter into the refrigerator while you slice up the avocado. The smaller you make the avocado slices, the softer and meltier they’ll be. The larger the slices, the more firm they’ll be. Squeeze a bit of lime juice over the avocado slices and sprinkle with a little salt. Heat approximately one to 1.5 cups of oil over medium (to medium high) heat. Oil is ready when you place a drop of batter in and it starts to sizzle, bubble and rises to the top quickly. Dip the avocado slices into the batter and place carefully into oil. Don’t put too many in at a time or they’ll be too crowded and it will affect their frying. When avocados are golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Fry in batches and work quickly. Sprinkle with salt while still hot.

Place six corn tortillas onto a plate, cover with a kitchen towel (or paper towel). Microwave for 20-30 seconds until warm, soft and pliable.

Spoon slaw onto each tortilla, add shredded fish and mix lightly into the slaw, place tempura avocados on top and boom … you’ve got tempura avocado tacos with spicy fish slaw.

These are so delicious! The slaw is crunchy and fresh with a wide variety of veggie and herb tastes. It’s nice and tart due to the rice vinegar and lime juice, a little salty because of the soy and nutty because of the sesame oil. The fish is warm with garlic and cool with ginger. The tempura avocado is crispy and creamy and the proverbial icing on the cake! Looking for a tasty twist on your typical fish taco? Try tempura avocado tacos with spicy fish slaw, you won’t be sorry (and you’ll wonder why you don’t fry avocados all the time).

Can You Cook Like a Top Chef Winner? Yes You Can!

Chef Paul Qui won this season of Top Chef with a multi-course meal filled with gourmet Asian flavors, we were thrilled that he won (go Team Paul!). If you’re like us and regularly watch people cooking on TV, you’ve inevitably seen someone make a dish you covet. Think you can’t cook like a TV chef? You totally can! It’s just a matter of making a recipe work for you! Take, for example, Qui’s second course from his winning meal: sea bass with clam dashi, pickled radishes and mushrooms (click here for original recipe).

There’s already a lot of information missing from the original recipe (such as what to do with the clams once they’ve opened), so take it and make it your own. Those clams with the incomplete instructions? We ditched them altogether. Once that decision was made, K started on the dashi (broth). This recipe serves two.

Dashi
2 cups water
8 pieces kombu (dried seaweed)
1/2 cup bonito flakes (dried smoked bonito fish flakes)
4 TB soy sauce

Bring everything to a boil. When the bonito flakes sink to the bottom of the pot, the broth is ready. Strain and keep warm.

Fun fact: For this dish, I forgot to buy radishes so we didn’t have any pickles. In my opinion, the lack of them did not hurt the dish.

Next, I sautéed the mushrooms.

Mushrooms
1 cup porcini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 TB duck fat (or 1 TB butter and 1 TB extra virgin olive oil)

Melt the duck fat (or butter and olive oil combo) over medium-high heat in a pan. Saute mushrooms until lightly brown. Add salt and pepper. When cooked, remove from heat and let the mushrooms sit in the fat.

We decided that, to really make this a meal, we needed noodles. We picked up a package of ramen (you know, the kind you ate in college), threw away the gross, powdered “flavor” packet and cooked the noodles in boiling water until just tender (not mushy).

The star of this dish is the fish. We got two skin-on sea bass filets (not Chilean sea bass). The preparation is gorgeous and simple.

Sea Bass
2 sea bass filets, skin-on (black cod <aka Alaskan sablefish> or hake are good substitutes)
salt and pepper to taste

Rub both sides of the fish with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 2 TB of high heat oil (like safflower, canola or vegetable) to a saute pan. When the pan is hot, place fish, skin side down, into the pan. The fish kind of seizes up on itself and looks like it’s puffing up — this is normal, don’t panic!  When skin is browned and crispy, turn the fish over and cook *just* until you can’t see an uncooked pink line in the middle of the fish. It should just barely be firm.

Believe it or not, you’re ready to plate. Get a bowl, pile your ramen noodles inside, sprinkle the mushrooms on the noodles and lay the fish (skin side up) on the pile of noodles. We added a few fresh pea shoots on top for some color. Bring your dashi broth to the table in a separate pitcher (or gravy boat) for the final flourish.

Pour the hot dashi broth over the noodles (not over the fish) and you’re ready to eat!

The fish is buttery and succulent and, if you eat it quickly enough, the skin is beautifully crisp (if you let it sit for too long, the skin gets soggy). The noodles are perfectly slurpable and the broth is rich, deep and earthy. What a lovely, warming simple and healthy dish.

And what do you drink with sea bass, ramen and dashi?

Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay in an awesome and unique stoneware bottle (from Costco). It’s bright, fresh and crackling. That’s it! You just cooked like a Top Chef winner. And now that you’ve started, you’ll never want to stop!

What’s the Best Part of a Pancake? Pancake Bits — Top Chef Night

If you don’t love pancakes, there is something seriously wrong with you. A humble pancake can be sweet or savory, it can be  plain or the vehicle for any number of embellishments — variety, thy name is pancake. But when chef Edward Lee reduced pancakes, not to the size of a dinner plate or even a silver dollar, but to pancake bits, we wondered why this wasn’t the gold standard of pancakes. After all, the best part of a pancake is the hot, crispy outer edge. And because everyone loves breakfast for dinner, we decided to shake up Top Chef night with pancake bits, bacon, blueberries, raspberries and bruleed marshmallow (click here for original recipe).

First things first: The original recipe calls for two strips of bacon. Who eats just two strips of bacon?!? We made a few extra pieces.

Make as much bacon as you want. Just be sure to save two pieces for your fruit “salad.”

Pancakes
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 TB butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
High heat oil such as canola or safflower

Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Use a mixer to beat egg whites to soft peaks. Put flour into separate bowl. Add egg yolks, melted butter and  sugar. Add the milk and whisk until batter is smooth. Fold egg whites into batter.

Fruit “salad”
2 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled
As many blueberries as you like
As many raspberries as you like
4 dried apricots, diced
2 tsp maple syrup

Toss everything except bacon in a small bowl. Add bacon at the last minute before serving.

Heat a griddle or cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil to bottom of griddle or pan. Drizzle small amounts of batter to form small bits. When the batter bubbles and the sides begin to brown (2-3 minutes), it’s time to flip the bits and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes. Keep the bits warm in the oven or toaster oven (at about 150 degrees) until ready to serve. The more quickly you can serve them, the more crispy the bits will be.

To finish
Toss the bacon bits into the fruit “salad.” Put a bunch of mini marshmallows onto non-stick aluminum foil and either toast them with a small torch or place them in the oven (or toaster oven) under the broiler. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn!! You want them nice and dark brown, like the perfect campfire marshmallow. Mix 1 TB maple syrup and 1 TB butter and melt together in the microwave (25-30 seconds).

Put fruit “salad” onto plate, add pancake bits, pour maple syrup butter mixture over everything, add marshmallows to plate. Top with whipped cream if you’d like (we skipped it). And…dig in!

Holy yum. Hot, crispy, sweet, fresh and fruity, sticky marshmallow goodness and the unexpected savory pop and crunch of bacon. After you try these, you’ll make bits with every subsequent pancake. It’s the best part of the pancake, hands down.

Would we make this again? Yes! What a fun way to shake up pancakes!
Soundtrack: General Public, Joy Division, The Suburbs and more.

In case you’re wondering, the perfect beverage to accompany pancake bits is:

Chef’s Night Off at Kitchen in the Market

I would (almost) always much rather give a gift than receive one. I think it’s a glorious challenge to pick out the exact perfect present for someone and experience their joy as they unveil the big surprise. That is why it was my absolute pleasure to give K, for his birthday, a night in the kitchen to cook with Mike DeCamp, chef de cuisine at the venerable La Belle Vie in Minneapolis.

Chef’s Night Off is a hands-on, small group class hosted at Kitchen in the Market (KITM) in the Midtown Global Market. Take a class a KITM. It’s the most fun you’ll have in a kitchen … probably ever. You’ll eat fantastically and learn a lot too. As if all of this wasn’t enough, the evening also benefited Renewing the Countryside, a local non-profit organization that champions rural communities through farming, business and other creative initiatives.

Alright, enough with the gushing over how brilliant and hospitable KITM owners Molly Hermann and Tracy Morgan are, here’s the food porn!

The menu:

The hot frozen gin fizz was like a steamy, boozy frozen lemonade slushy. If @YoungChef2 (Mike DeCamp on Twitter) wants to send me the secret recipe for that drink, I’d be eternally grateful (hint, hint). Thanks to lovely celebrity assistant Joy Summers for opening our eyes to this magical cocktail.

Silky, slightly sweet egg custard with chewy, savory bacon jam — Bacon and Egg Custard.

       Tart, sweet and salty Apple, Olive and Feta Salad on crostini.

After taking a few moments to have a cocktail, pour some wine and grab some small bites, it was time to get to work. We broke into four teams and got busy prepping our assigned courses.

Fish “noodles” in action.

Important things first … does everyone have a wine glass? Good. Now let’s saute those brussels sprouts.

Chef DeCamp (and his epic beard) giving instructions before the beef tenderloin gets a quick sous vide.

A siphon, Dixie cups and a microwave oven equal a mean dessert prep.

And after toiling over hot stoves (that’s a vast overstatement), we all sat down to enjoy the delicious fruits of our labor.

Smoked char with dill, potato, mustard seeds and fish “noodle.” Paired with a lovely rosé. If you see her, ask Stephanie Meyer (aka Fresh Tart Steph) what happened to all those crispy little potato chips.

We were on Team Foie with K heading up foie duty (the assignment of his dreams). I was given the task of picking through a pile of organic arugula to find the “coolest looking” pieces for garnish and gently sautéing the rest. You don’t know pressure until you’ve been asked by an amazingly talented, high-caliber chef to find “cool” pieces of arugula.

Seared foie gras with kumquat jam and arugula. Paired with a very sweet moscato.

Sous vide beef tenderloin, beef cheek terrine and Northern Lights blue cheese with sautéed leeks and brussels sprouts. Paired with a red wine neither of us can remember at this point (not because it wasn’t memorable, but because I forgot to record the wine pairings).

Spongy chocolate microwave “mug” cake (made in Dixie cups), strawberry, crushed pistachios and puffed wild rice. Paired with a very strong bourbon that I sipped once then donated to the bourbon-loving Stephanie March (a celebrity assistant).

Chef’s Night Off — heck, ANY experience at Kitchen in the Market is well worth it. This occasion was a special splurge for K’s birthday and we both had an amazing time, got to hang out with some foodie friends, meet some wonderful new people, cook and eat a unique and delectable meal and we’ll likely be talking about it for many birthdays to come. Cheers!

Comfort Food: Seared Scallops Over “Witch’s Stew” With Beans — Top Chef Night

When you hear the words comfort food, what comes to mind?

For me it’s fluffy biscuits, piping hot with melted butter and honey, warm, juicy blueberry muffins, ooey gooey macaroni and cheese, pot roast cooked for hours until it’s fall apart tender, mangoes so ripe that juice drips down your arms as you eat them, Polish sweet bread caked with cold butter and chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Oh yeah, and a honey banana malt from The Malt Shop in Minneapolis. Everyone conjures a different vision when they think of comfort food and we build on our lists of comfort foods as we go through life. After we made Lindsey Autry’s seared scallops over “witch’s stew” with beans (click here for original recipe), both K and I agreed that this is going on our comfort food list.

This is an easily dressed up crock pot (aka slow cooker) dinner. We made it home cook friendly and paired it down to serve two.

“Witch’s Stew”

1/2 lb beef chuck, cubed (or bone-in short ribs)
1 TB cocoa powder
1 TB dried ground espresso
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 whole clove
1 TB brown sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground dried ginger

1 small shallot, quartered
2 cloves garlic
1/2 carrot, peeled and large chop
1/2 can strained peeled tomatoes
1 TB tomato paste
1 cup red wine (not expensive, but good enough to drink)
1 TB orange zest
5-7 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
beef stock, chicken stock or vegetable stock
1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
Safflower oil (or other high heat oil)

Save 1 TB spice mix. Set aside. Combine all dry spices (through ginger above, including salt and sugar) in a mixing bowl. Coat chunks of meat in spice blend. NOTE: If you have time, refrigerate for a few hours. If not, you’ll still have a great dinner.

In a saute pan with high sides or braising pot, coat bottom with oil and heat to medium. Add meat and sear until golden on two sides. Put meat into crock pot.

Add a bit more oil to pan/pot and saute shallots and garlic until just soft. Add carrot and 1 tsp spice mix (save the other half for the beans) and saute until carrots are just getting soft. Add canned tomatoes, breaking them up and simmer until liquid evaporates. Add tomato paste and stir until incorporated. Deglaze the pan with red wine, scraping the bottom to release the delicious bits. Add orange zest, bay leaf, thyme and jalapeno. Reduce by half and add entire pan/pot to crock pot, over meat. Add beef, chicken or veggie stock until the meat is just covered. Simmer in crock pot for four to six (up to eight) hours.

Beans
The original recipe calls for Dragon beans. We couldn’t find those, but fresh green beans are an acceptable substitute for dragon beans.

1/2 lb fresh green beans, washed and dried, ends trimmed off
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Remaining 1 tsp spice mix from meat

Toss the beans with oil and spice blend. Saute in hot, dry pan until slightly charred.

Vinaigrette for scallops
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cumin (can use whole seeds or dried, ground cumin)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp minced fresh jalapeno
lime juice, to taste
small orange or clementine segments
1 TB chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in small saute pan and toast cumin until you can smell it. All garlic and saute until golden. Add jalapeno and saute for one minute. Remove pan from heat, add squeeze of lime, orange segments and cilantro. Set aside until ready to pour over scallops.

To finish the stew
1/2 small shallot, finely diced
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 TB fresh Italian parsley (or cilantro), finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped (or 3/4 tsp dried thyme)
1.5 TB butter
salt, to taste

Saute shallots and carrots until tender. Add herbs and stir in butter. Add to meat and broth in crock pot and stir.

Scallops
4 large fresh scallops

Pat scallops entirely dry on both sides with paper towel. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Coat bottom of saute pan with safflower or canola (high heat) oil and heat on medium-high. When oil is very hot, add scallops and cook until seared and brown (2-3 minutes). Flip and cook two minutes more.

To serve: Spoon stew into bowls. Place scallops on top of stew, spoon vinaigrette over scallops. Place beans on top of stew, alongside scallops.

The scallops were perfectly cooked — seared with a light crust on the outside and tender, barely cooked through on the inside — and sweet. The vinaigrette was fresh, tart and had a bit of heat from the jalapeno. The beans were crisp with a nice smoky char and the stew…oh, that stew. It was so very rich and warming. It was more meat than broth and the meat just fell apart when touched with a spoon. The spices gave the broth a deep complexity and every bite was closed-eyes sigh inducing.

Would we make this again? Yes. It is a perfect slow cooker meal for fall and winter. So very warming and easy to make while still feeling special and a little fancy.
Soundtrack: The Church.

So, what are the comfort foods you crave?!

How Dinner Makes a Difference: A Non-Elitist Tale in Braised Short Ribs, Basil Potato Puree and Apple Slaw

“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.” – Anita Roddick

Note: I rewrote this post no fewer than six times because I feared it sounded “elitist” — a term often thrown around when people talk about slow food, “real” food, organic food, etc. After much deliberation, the best way I can think of to counter this is to explain that I am most definitely not part of an elite anything. I grew up in a solidly middle class household. Both of my parents worked full-time and made extraordinary sacrifices to provide for my younger brother and me. As an adult, I worked for years with local nonprofit organizations (nonprofit translates to “teeny paycheck,” in case you’ve never been employed by one) and for the past six years I have owned my own writing/communications consulting business.

If you look up the phrase “living paycheck to paycheck,” my picture is likely next to the definition. I am still dutifully paying off the debt I accumulated when I started my business. Because I have taken contracts in “corporate America,” I know it’s not the path for me so I charge ahead with the thing that makes me most happy — working for myself, earning clients and (hopefully) pleasing them with my work. I do hope that someday my work will lead to larger financial rewards, but for now, it’s mostly a labor of love. I scrimp and save every penny I can. Once or twice a year, I hit the consignment shops for some “new” (new to me anyway) clothes. I struggle mightily spending money on something that we don’t truly need and, if we want to replace a chair or something like that, secondhand on Craigslist is always my first option. Mostly, I just learn to be good with what we’ve got and use things until they’re run into the ground. In addition to knowing I can’t afford brand new “stuff,” I’m generally good with not buying much or buying secondhand because it extends the life cycle of perfectly good products that aren’t junk, but might otherwise end up in a landfill.

BUT, when it comes to what I put into my body, I do not compromise because what you put inside of you is a very intimate thing. It makes a big difference, not just in your health and well-being, but because it touches the lives of other beings and the world we live in.

Everything we do during nearly every minute of every day has an impact. That is an incredibly overwhelming fact. Some days, it’s too big for me to even think about. Some days, it’s all I can think about. Years ago, I made a choice to do everything in my power to make a difference with the food I choose to eat. For a recent Top Chef Night, we made chef Beverly Kim’s braised short rib over Thai basil potato puree with apple slaw (click here for original recipe). Here’s how we made her dinner home cook friendly and a rundown of how dinner can make a difference.

In our kitchen, we have a pact: If we’re going to eat meat, we’re going to honor the animal it came from by cooking it properly and (to the best of our ability) knowing the source. Often times, this means finding alternate cuts of meat because a humane option didn’t exist at the store we chose to shop at that week. After reading, listening to and watching so many pieces of information on the impact of factory farms and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) I can’t physically bring myself to eat “conventional” meat any longer. I look at the ground pork wrapped in plastic with a $3.99 price tag on it and, while the price is tempting to my wallet, I know it’s artificially low because of a screwed up farm subsidy system and because so often the scale of the farm operation means that so many pigs were crammed into a space and treated so poorly the sheer number of bodies makes up for the low, low prices. More than once, I have stared at these fleshy plastic and styrofoam packages and cried (yes, in a grocery store aisle) in remembrance of videos and photos of horrific animal abuse.

This is a complicated issue and I don’t want to knock farmers or farm workers who also make choices and face their own frustrations and financial situations. K prefers not to be meat-free and catering to two different diets is too costly and complicated to work in our household. But we do observe Meatless Monday and have several meat-free meals throughout the week. Our choice is to keep it local and humane and, if it’s not, I’ll stick with a veggie option.

K has a fondness for bacon, but does not have a fondness for my substitutions. He reluctantly agrees to them most of the time because I’m cute and convincing. This week, however, he wanted real short ribs. The co-op doesn’t carry them right now so he made a special trip, over his lunch hour, to Whole Foods. The recipe calls for 35 lbs of short ribs and, seeing as there are two of us, we went with 2 lbs instead.

Short Ribs
2 lbs short ribs
1 shallot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 organic carrots, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lemongrass stalks
1/2 jalapeno pepper
2 TB organic tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 TB ginger, thinly sliced
1/2 kiwi fruit, peeled
1 box organic beef stock (or vegetable stock, if you prefer)

* K’s workplace participates in a local farm cooperative. We order things each month. They’re small, mostly family farms in Minnesota and, because you buy direct from the
farmer, the prices are VERY affordable. We get much of our meat and veggies through this program.  More companies are participating in these programs, check with your employer to see if the option exists or if you can help set one up!

In the morning or afternoon, season the short ribs with salt and pepper, sear on both sides then pop them into the slow cooker (aka the crock pot). With the back of a knife, whack (or “bruise”) one stalk of lemongrass and toss it in with the meat. With the other stalk, peel off the woody outside and mince the tender white/purplish inside (something I only recently learned you could do). Saute the shallot, celery, carrot, garlic, minced lemongrass and jalapeno until brown and tender. Add tomato paste, deglaze the pan with red wine (cheap, but still good enough to drink with dinner). Save 3 TB for the curry sauce. Dump everything into the crock pot. Add enough organic beef stock to cover the meat then let the whole thing simmer on medium through the day.

Potato Basil Puree

3 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes
6 large basil leaves (we couldn’t find Thai basil, so we used regular organic basil)
1/3 cup organic cream
2 TB butter (Hope Creamery makes THE BEST butter ever)
1 shallot
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut the potatoes into uniform sized pieces and boil in salted water until tender. Mince shallots and cut basil into long, thin strips (chiffonade is the fancy pants word for this). Saute shallots and basil then puree with cream (or milk, if you prefer). When potatoes are done, drain the water, mash them (or use a potato ricer) then stir in basil cream. Season with salt and pepper. Do this at the last minute so your potatoes will be hot when dinner is ready.

Apple Slaw

1/2 tart green organic apple
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp. chili flakes
salt, to taste

Peel apple and cut into match sticks. Toss in chili flakes and lime juice. If it’s too tart, add a bit of honey until it’s perfect to your taste buds.

Curry Sauce

As I mentioned, I’m a big fan of substitutions in order to avoid having to buy hard-to-find (and often expensive) ingredients that we most likely won’t use again. I also hate the taste of coconut. Hence this curry sauce dramatically modified from the original recipe.

1/2 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced (or 1 tsp dried ginger)
1 lemongrass stalk
3 TB fish sauce
1.5 TB lime juice (as a substitute for tamarind paste)
1.5 TB  white wine vinegar (as a substitute for tamarind paste)
two shakes of Worcestershire sauce (as a substitute for tamarind paste)
2 TB red curry paste
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
3 TB red wine mixture from short ribs
1/2 cup cream (as a substitute for coconut milk)

Bruise the lemongrass stalk by whacking it with the back of a knife. Saute shallots, ginger, jalapeno, garlic and lemongrass. Deglaze the pan with the red wine mixture then add curry paste, vinegar, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce and cream (or coconut milk, if you’re using it). Let simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. Strain before serving.

The recipe also included bok choy and spicy chili peanuts, but we skipped both in the interest of time and simplicity. And the end result? The meat was falling apart tender, the potatoes were a tiny bit dry, but the basil flavor was nice and the curry sauce was smooth, warm and full of flavor. The apple slaw was tart and a bit spicy and added the perfect fresh amount of crunch.

Would we make this again? Yes. Despite the enormous length of this post, this is actually a pretty quick crock pot dinner and a nice twist on the traditional roast beef with mashed potatoes.
Soundtrack: The Suburbs.

We don’t eat like this every day. Far from it. But Top Chef Wednesdays are the night we’ve chosen to cook together, build our little “team” and have fun in the kitchen. We do local, grass-fed, humanely raised and organic whenever we possibly can. It may make a difference only to us. I hope it makes a difference to small farmers, to animals with happier lives, with fewer pesticides on the land and in our bodies — but this is the way we’ve chosen to eat and I can give you numerous personal examples of how it has improved my health. I pay attention to the food we eat and where it comes from because it matters to me. Regardless of income, we all DESERVE the advantage of healthy, nourishing, real food. I may not have much money, but I spend it where I think it can make the most impact. Any positive difference, no matter how small, is still a difference.

Epic Valentine’s Day Dinner III

We can *always* find a reason to go out to eat at a restaurant. For us, however, Valentine’s Day has never been one of those reasons. Instead, we’ve made it a tradition to go through our fanciest cookbooks and make an epic Valentine’s dinner that will challenge our skills, delight our taste buds, give us a chance to work as a team and enjoy a quiet, candlelit dinner without the crowds. Here are the highlights of this year’s Epic Valentine’s Day Dinner:

The setting: White tablecloth (really a white sheet from IKEA, don’t judge me), Valentine-red table runner, candlelight flickering off ebony rocks and sparkly glass.

K practiced his new molecular gastronomy skills by making honey “pearls” with agar agar, cold oil and a length of plastic tubing.
Honey pearls:

To begin: Crisp crostini with creamy, tangy goat cheese, a drizzle of farm-fresh honey and honey pearls.

First course: Mixed baby greens and herbs with shrimp, avocado and creamy champagne dressing. Recipe by Jean-Georges in the Harvest to Heat cookbook.

Main course: Pan-roasted scallops with morel mushrooms and asparagus puree. Recipe by Thomas Keller in the French Laundry Cookbook.

The bubbles:

Dessert: “Tofu” cheesecake with candied lime and coffee-infused maple syrup from Morimoto. The cheesecake is made with soy milk, cream and cream cheese with no tofu in sight.

Love ruled the day and, to top it off, we got each other the exact same bizarro card. We must be MFEO.

We hope your Valentine’s Day included a spare moment to recognize the love in your life, in all its many forms.

How to Throw a Party — MN Food Bloggers Style

Step 1: Find a willing restaurateur (in this case, Stewart and Heidi Woodman of Heidi’s).

Step 2: Make sure the fates collide so the party takes place at the same time amazing local hip hop artist Brother Ali is filming a music video at the same restaurant.

Step 3: Mingle with cast, crew and fellow food bloggers and eat delicious food.

Braised beef tongue.

Crab cakes.

Lamb meatballs.

Step 4: Add cocktails and liquor.

Ginseng and deer antler whiskey.

Ginseng vodka. All ginseng courtesy of Hsu Ginseng and Will Hsu (@wphsu)

Step 5: After many cocktails, make sure a festive crowd with cameras and an appetite encourages the chefs to demonstrate mad skillz.

Giant lobe of foie gras.

Step 6: Ravenously eat rich bits of foie with fig compote. Try to save some for event organizer Stephanie Meyer (@FreshTartSteph), fail miserably. Enthusiastically instigate chefs to utilize foie fat by cooking pork in it (genius idea, @MSPFoodie)

Step 7: Get pulled into sitting at a table in front of lights and cameras with “prop cocktails” and the director’s bottle of water while music video films with you in it.

Step 8: Bust out the big guns — deadly good moonshine from @MarkDewes and gecko and seahorse liquor straight from Vietnam.

Step 9: Dance party in the kitchen and the bar. (Those photos stay with me, just in case I need a favor some day!)

Step 10: Raise money for the Sojourner Project (the most important reason for the entire evening).

Step 11:  Go home, very late, shaking head, asking, “Whose life is this?!?” And wake up the next morning asking, “Did that really happen?”

Thanks to the kind, generous hosts Stewart and Heidi Woodman, thanks to the talented and incredibly patient (can’t emphasize that enough) staff at Heidi’s, thanks to Brother Ali for the chat and the opportunity, thanks to Stephanie Meyer for organizing it all and thanks to all the MN Food Bloggers for a truly one-of-a-kind evening.

Wow. Now, *that’s* how you throw a party.