Manhattan Clam Chowder

This is another one of those lovely times when my passions and my job coincide: I'm cooking up Manhattan Clam Chowder over at the pageturn today, inspired by Leslie Connor's middle-grade novel CRUNCH.

Eat, drink, and say hi to me over there!

Comfort Food: Risotto

Major changes going on in the Lutz household lately. Here are a few:

• Hell, just a busy week. We rarely ate en famille this past week. Which definitely wears on all of us.
• Bug is starting a new school this Wednesday: The Neighborhood School in the East Village. It's all been somewhat sudden and, while fabulous, still stressful. She'll be starting 4th grade in a new environment and we're hoping it'll be a change for the better. The bad news? Until our lease is up in March 2011, we'll be commuting an hour each way to get her to school. Wow.
• Planning a vacation. I told Adam that I have one goal - and one goal only, really - in 2010: Leave this country. I went to France in 1993, Mexico in 1996...and then haven't left the country since. And I must. The world is calling me. The three of us have passports so what the hell are we waiting for? So Thanksgiving this year. We initially thought Europe (Dublin or London, perhaps) but, post-Hawaii, we're thinking Costa Rica or Turks and Caicos. Readers, weigh in.
• Recommitting ourselves to Frenchness. Thanks to the excellent Wafels and Dinges, Schnitzel and Things, Joyride Truck, and my lack of self-discipline, I'm failing the zipper test. Trés unsexy.

The good news is that we are on the cusp of autumn. And tonight I was finally able to bring some heat into the kitchen: I made risotto. Lemon risotto, specifically. A montage:

As with any recipe, I always recommend getting all ingredients ready ahead of time. (Ignore the oranges in the glass - that was my Lillet on ice)

The thing I love most about risotto is that I can stand there, stirring and stirring, and read. It must've been something unconscious because I "accidentally" left my e-reader full of manuscripts at work on Friday. Which left me free to read David Lebovitz's The Sweet Life in Paris all weekend which, suffice to say, did not quell my wanderlust. It's lovely in every way (the book, that is. Not my wanderlust, which is rather annoying and expensive).

Reference the recipe I linked to above, which I followed almost exactly. However, I didn't have a full two tablespoons of parsley or basil left on my balcony garden. I did have a bunch of sage in my fridge that was about to go bad. So I used 1 tbsp. chopped parsley and 1 tbsp. chopped sage. Then I fried whole sage leaves in 2 tbsp. of butter for garnish:

Lest you think my tastes are too rich (or fattening) for your blood, I didn't add the the butter at the end that the recipe recommended: I figured the butter I used for the fried sage sufficed.

Adam came into the kitchen while I was stirring and reading. He put his arms around me (as all significant others should while someone is cooking an amazing dinner from which they will benefit) and he said, "I could tell you needed this." "Needed what?" I asked. "Needed to just sit in the kitchen with your music playing, stirring. Reading. Glass of wine." And he was right.

Eat, drink, and feel grounded in the kitchen.

Note: In the great Beer vs. Wine battle that goes on in our house, we decided that tonight was a draw. We agreed that the Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 Dry Riesling was exceptional, as was Adam's Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA.

Bacon Fest 2009

So awhile ago, Amateur Gourmet posted a recipe for Crispy Salted White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies and I wanted them.  But you know about me and baking.  So I told my friend Josh, a fellow gourmand and a passionate fan of all things pork-related, that if he made me the cookies I would make him a meal consisting of all bacon-themed dishes.  He made me the cookies - they were sooooo goood! - and thus was born Bacon Fest 2009.

Josh and Lori came over at 4 p.m., which was a little early for the actual appetizer I had planned so I started with a quick and easy hors d'oeuvre recommended by Tyler Florence in Food & Wine : bacon strips with mustard.  Bake bacon strips at 375° for about 20 minutes, until crispy.  Drain, then serve them with Dijon mustard for dipping (warm or at room temp).  I used a kicky Dijon honey mustard.

For the appetizer, I made Reblochon Tarts with Bacon and Fingerling Potatoes from Food & Wine.  I couldn't find Reblochon at my nearby cheese store so I substituted Taleggio; the recipe also says you can use Saint-André.  The recipe also calls for "cold all-butter puff pastry."  I don't know if the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry is all-butter, but I used it and it turned out great so I wouldn't worry about trying to find something fancier.  The tarts were good and Adam thought they shouldn't be changed, but Josh and I thought it tasted too much like breakfast - we wanted some acid, some bite.  In the future, I might try lemon zest...a sharp Cheddar...or even Gorgonzola.  The recipe recommended a Pinot Noir so we drank it with A to Z Pinot Noir from Oregon; it paired perfectly.

For the main dish, I made Pan-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Fennel and Pancetta-Molasses Dressing accompanied by Roasted Bacon-Wrapped Lady Apples.  The pork recipe comes from Michael Chiarello's book, At Home with Michael Chiarello , but I did some adapting (Chiarello wants you to sauté the spinach - I didn't).  Since there's no link, here's a rough recipe: 

Dressing --

1 lb. pancetta, sliced 1/4 in. thick

2 shallots, thinly sliced

2 tbsp. thinly sliced garlic

1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh sage

1/4 c. light molasses (Chiarello calls for light, but I could only find dark.  Worked great so don't sweat finding the light stuff.)

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar (the vinegar really stands out so don't use really crappy stuff)

3 pork tenderloins, 1 to 1 1/4 lbs. each (I only used 2 for the 4 of us.  We ate it all but, good god, it nearly killed us)

1/4 c. Fennel Spice Rub

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

8 oz. baby spinach

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Make the dressing:  Cut the pancetta slices into julienne strips 3/4 inch long and 1/4 inch wide and thick (these are Chiarello's measurements, but I assure you that I didn't have a ruler out and you shouldn't either).

In a large skillet, cook the pancetta over med heat, stirring occasionally, until it is almost crisp, about 5 minutes.  Raise the heat to med-high.  Add the shallots and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until it turns golden-brown, about 3 minutes.  Add the sage and cook for 10 seconds to release its fragrance (believe me, you'll smell it!).  Stir in the molasses and vinegar.  Cook until half the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  I made the dressing about 3 hours ahead and just reheated it on the stove before serving.

Preheat the oven to 425° F.  Evenly coat the tenderloins with the fennel mixture.  In a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat.  When the oil is hot but not smoking, sear the tenderloins on all sides, about 5 minutes total.  Move the skillet to the oven and cook the tenderloins until an instant-read thermometer registers 155°F for medium, 6-8 minutes (I don't have a thermometer.  I took it out after 6 minutes and it was med-rare, which is what I wanted.  Add another minute, if desired.)

Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the tenderloins to a cutting board to rest for 3-5 minutes.  Reheat dressing, if needed.  Slice the pork tenderloins across the grain on the diagonal.  Lay spinach on a platter and lay pork on top.  Spoon dressing over the top.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

For the apples, I went to Epicurious and entered in "apples" and "bacon".  And here is the resulting recipe .  I adjusted it: 1 slice of bacon and 1 apple per guest.  Preheat oven to 400°F.  Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning over once, until edges are lightly browned but bacon is still flexible, 6-8 minutes total.  Transfer to paper towels to drain.  While bacon cooks, core apples, if desired (I did), from bottom, with pointed end of a vegetable peeler or a paring knife, leaving stems intact (this is dangerous work, people - watch those fingers!).  Wrap a slice of bacon around each apple, securing ends with a toothpick.  Brush a shallow baking dish with some bacon fat (YUM!), then add apples to dish and bake, uncovered, 10 minutes (this left our apples with some crunch still...add more time if you want a more cooked result).

Per Chiarello's recommendation, I bought a dolcetta to drink with this: Gianni Voerzio dolcetto d'alba 2003.  Again, it was a lovely pairing.  Here is the party on a platter:

For dessert, I couldn't bake, obviously.  That would defeat the reason for having Bacon Fest for Josh!  So I made "Bacon Candy":

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 lb. sliced bacon

Combine sugar and cinnamon.  Cut each bacon slice in half, crosswise and coat each slice with the brown sugar mixture.  Twist bacon slices and place in a 13" x 9" baking pan.  Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until bacon is crisp and sugar is bubbly.  Place cooked bacon on foil to cool.  Serve at room temperature.

I served it with vanilla ice cream dusted with freshly grated cinnamon:

One more wine note: awhile ago, I blogged about meeting Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page at Pour on the Upper West Side.  I also blogged about a wine - Corte Rugolin Valpolicella Classico - that was described as having "salty, fresh bacon on the nose."  Naturally, I saved it for this occasion.  I didn't get the bacon on the nose, frankly, but it was a bright and juicy wine, nevertheless.  I would absolutely plop down $21 for another bottle of this - worth the price.

With every ounce of food consumed, it was time to call it a night.  Bacon Fest was over for this year with promises to repeat the tradition annually...until Josh suggested doing it every 3 months.  Lord help us.

Eat, drink, and toast to the pig!

Shortbread and sun-dried tomato pesto

I chair a children’s book selection committee – I won’t go into too much depth about what we do (because this is a food-related post) but, ultimately, the committee helps me review un-reviewed books so that we can decide if we want them to be part of Queens Library’s collections. When I started my job 18 months ago, I decided to bring breakfast to the meetings, mostly as a bribe so that they’d be nice to the new gal. As you know, I don’t like to bake. So I’ve always bought bagels at my local kosher place, or croissants and muffins from the local bakery. Not this past week, though. I wanted to actually make something for the committee, but I didn’t want to do a cloying sweet treat. Nope, like any dictatorial leader, I decided I’d make something savory and make them eat it out of fear of insulting me or hurting my feelings.

I needed something easy to transport and something that could be served at room temperature. And I also thought that, given the few Jewish and vegetarian members of our committee, it was best to avoid any meat products (I found some deelish-sounding proscuitto recipes). Epicurious came through for me again and I discovered Parmesan, Rosemary, and Walnut Shortbread. Per the recipe, it was recommended to top it with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, which I also found a recipe for. I won’t put the whole recipes here because I don’t want this to the The Longest Post Ever – follow the links. Here’s how it all turned out:

The shortbread dough

Rolled in "logs"

In the oven (because I forgot to take one before I put them in there!)

The pesto

The finished product

It turned out delectable. The shortbread was buttery with a melt-in-your-mouth quality, and the pesto was the perfect foil, giving the shortbread zing and pizzazz. Not as many people ate them as normally wolf down the breakfast bakery goods I usually bring in, but I was very pleased with the praise from those who did give it a try. The pesto is super versatile: the recipe actually includes mixing it with linguine. It worked on the shortbread well, and it would also make a fab sandwich spread. The salty shortbread would be great with tomato soup (or any soup, I suppose).

I won’t do this every month when the committee meets, but I still had fun shaking it up a bit by combining my two favorite things: children’s books and food.

Eat, drink, and do something unexpected.

Let's hear it for Epicurious! Woop! Woop!

So remember I bought pork shoulder from Flying Pigs Farms at Union Square a couple weeks ago? About a week ago, I used it for dinner - and, oh, what a dinner it was!

When I bought the pork shoulder, Flying Pigs Farms gave me a slip of paper with some pre-printed recipes but, when it came time to actually make something, I wasn't feeling either of the recipes. So I went to my trusty old friend, Epicurious. There were a couple options, but they all called for a bone-in shoulder, which I foolishly did not get because I can't seem to choose anything under pressure and the Flying Pigs Farms guy was standing there, waiting for my decision. Anyhoo, it was too late to do anything about the bone-in issue so I looked through the recipes as if I had a bone. So I landed on Michael Chiarello's recipe for Cocoa and Spice Slow-Roasted Pork with Onions. Mostly because I had made Chiarello's cocoa spice recipe before so I already had the ingredients and knew how simple it was. Here's how it went:


And 5 1/2 hours later, I had this...


It was super easy and nothing short of delectable. I halved the recipe since Michael's recipe is for 8 servings. And since it was just us, we still had twice as much as we needed. Don't worry about that, though - a piece of the pork with some of the onions, a little honey mustard, two pieces of bread and you have one of the best sandwiches ever. The onions were amazing - I've never cooked onions before to the level where they just turn into a sauce. They're sweet and rich and they melt on your tongue. I served the asparagus with just a tad bit of butter, salt, and pepper - you really don't need a rich side dish with this one. Steamed vegetables work just fine. Michael's recipe also calls for a Sangiovese but, unfortunately, I didn't plan that far ahead so I served it with a Rioja, which paired very well with the pork.

The recipe also called for a roasting pan with a rack but my Mario Batali Le Creuset knock-off worked just swell.

I made it for "just us", but next time my parents come for a cold-weather visit I'm definitely making this. What did I do while this was cooking? Blogged...emailed...watched "Dancing with the Stars"...read a book...drank wine. I mean, once I had the pork in the oven, all I had to do was steam asparagus! SO easy!

The sad news is that this will be the last slow-roasted pork of the season because there's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'll be able to have my oven on for 6 hours at a time now that the weather has reached over 50 degrees on a regular basis. My kitchen becomes a furnace in and of itself during the summer. Come next autumn and winter, though, this will my go-to recipe. Without the asparagus, of course.