Lamb Tagine

Apparently my cooking is driven lately by food envy. Take my previous post about pancit and lumpit as an example. Food so unique and desirable that it warrants a special delivery and special mention? Well, I'll have what she's having! Tonight's dish is inspired by the occasional evening drop-in on my neighbors across the street who lived in Egypt for several years and quite frequently cook Middle Eastern cuisine. Whenever I come into their house and smell something delicious cooking for dinner and I ask what the wonderful smell is, it seems that at least half of the time the answer is "tagine". Well, I want *my* house to smell delicious, too!

If you want YOUR house to smell delicious, then this is what you do:

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 pounds lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch saffron
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 5 carrots, peeled, cut into fourths, then sliced lengthwise into thin strips
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth
• 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
• 1 tablespoon water (optional)

Directions

Place cubed lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. Combine the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander; mix well. Add to the lamb in the bowl, and toss around to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb in batches, and brown well. Remove to a plate.

Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes.

Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender. If the consistency of the tagine is too thin, you may thicken it with a mixture of cornstarch and water during the last 5 minutes.

Serve over warm couscous.

Pancit and Lumpia

A while back my stepmother posted on Facebook that she was so excited because a friend was bringing her some pancit and lumpia. Say what? I had never heard those word before, and they sounded so strange to me! Well naturally my curiosity led me to search those words on Google, and I found that they are quite tasty sounding foods traditional to the Philippines. I don't know why it took me so long to actually get around to making them, but it was inevitable as I just kept thinking about them! So, last night I took the plunge and found some recipes online at allrecipes.com.

Quick and Easy Pancit

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) package dried rice noodles
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken breast meat
• 1 small head cabbage, thinly sliced
• 4 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 lemons - cut into wedges, for garnish

Directions

Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover with warm water. When soft, drain, and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in chicken cabbage, carrots and soy sauce. Cook until cabbage begins to soften. Toss in noodles, and cook until heated through, stirring constantly. Transfer pancit to a serving dish and garnish with quartered lemons.

Filipino Lumpia

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 pound ground pork 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup minced carrots 1/2 cup chopped green onions 1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage

1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon soy sauce 30 lumpia wrappers 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

1.

Place a wok or large skillet over high heat, and pour in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Cook pork, stirring frequently, until no pink is showing. Remove pork from pan and set aside. Drain grease from pan, leaving a thin coating. Cook garlic and onion in the same pan for 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked pork, carrots, green onions, and cabbage. Season with pepper, salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Remove from heat, and set aside until cool enough to handle.

2.

Place three heaping tablespoons of the filling diagonally near one corner of each wrapper, leaving a 1 1/2 inch space at both ends. Fold the side along the length of the filling over the filling, tuck in both ends, and roll neatly. Keep the roll tight as you assemble. Moisten the other side of the wrapper with water to seal the edge.

3.	Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat, add oil to 1/2 inch depth, and heat for 5 minutes. Slide 3 or 4 lumpia into the oil. Fry the rolls for 1 to 2 minutes, until all sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

(side note: my interpretation of "3 or 4" is "however many fit in the pan at once without overcrowding.")

ENJOY!

Summer Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes and Arugula

Something about having an entire heirloom tomato to one's self feels incredibly indulgent, and wonderful!

Heirloom tomatoes, by definition, are open-pollinated cultivars (a plant selected for desirable characteristics that can be maintained by propagation - unlike varieties of GMO produce that have been bred to lack seeds). A true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected, and handed down by family members for many generations.

Typically, I've been enjoying salads with baby arugula as the base, but on this occasion, shortly after returning from my local Farmer's market, I decided to have some fun with this "Cherokee purple" tomato:

First, I sliced it into big, beautiful wedges.

Then, just a sprinkle of organic baby arugula to add texture and a mild peppery flavor, plus a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Next, lemon zest to give it some extra zip!

And, finally, some fresh walnut halves to add texture, crunch and heart-healthy fat; and some freshly ground salt & pepper to taste.

Oh, my, goodness. Num num num num num.

Fettucini with Asparagus and Fresh Goat Cheese

To make the fresh egg pasta all you need is 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 3 large eggs, beaten. Pulse the flour with a metal blade in a food processor to distribute and aerate; then add the eggs and process until the dough forms into a ball, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough ball out onto a dry work surface and knead until smooth (1-2 minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes up to 2 hours. Then use a pasta machine to roll out the dough and cut (per your pasta machine instructions).

Voila!
To prepare for the sauce, steam 1 pound of 1-inch asparagus pieces until just tender (about 2 min). Set aside. Then place 3 ounces of fresh goat cheese (crumbled), 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 1 clove of minced garlic into a small bowl and combine. Chop about 2 Tbsp of fresh mint leaves. Meanwhile, bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil with a Tbsp of salt and cook your pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and transfer it back to the pot. Stir in the asparagus, goat cheese mixture, and mint; and use the reserved cooking water to moisten as necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict

The title of this post should really be "How to Make a Hollandaise Sauce Without Mucking It Up".

A month or two ago I decided to whip up some Eggs Benedict for my family for Saturday brunch. It had been awhile since I'd made the dish, and my husband came into the kitchen as I was starting. He asked me, "When's the last time your Hollandaise failed?" I paused and thought about it... "You know, I really don't know, it's been such a long time." Little by little the rest of the family came in, made some number of distractions, and lo and behold, the sauce broke for the first time in as long as I could remember! I was so sad! We ate it anyway, and my younger daughter told me, "This is the best lunch you've ever made!" I felt happier for a minute, until she added, "That's because you never make lunch." OK, admittedly I'm pretty lazy on the weekends when it comes to our midday meal and they eat their weekday lunches at school, so I concede... *sigh* My Hollandaise failure pretty much made me a cranky grump for the rest of the day. I've begun to take myself too seriously!

There are a couple of major ways one can fail at making a Hollandaise sauce. The one that led to my sauce's demise is temperature. It is extremely important that your sauce is not allowed to overheat, EVER! This is important while making the sabayon of egg yolk and water, but much more important while making your emulsion. This is crucial: before adding the butter to the sauce, REMOVE IT FROM THE HEAT!

The second important thing to keep in mind is that the melted butter needs to be added in a small, steady stream, and you cannot stop whisking! Keep that whisk moving, and don't add too much butter at once.

So here we go...

First step:

Clarify enough butter to make 200mL, somewhere between 1.5-2 sticks. Do this by melting it over medium heat in a small saucepan until it bubbles and the solids begin to coagulate on the sides. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a glass measuring cup. Set aside until needed, keeping warm but not hot.

In a double boiler (water in the bottom pan) over medium heat, whisk together 2 egg yolks with 1 fluid ounce of water (= 30 mL for Europeans, 1 shot glass for the rest of us.) Whisk constantly until the heat begins to cook the mixture ever so slightly. It should look like thick, frothy pudding, not like scrambled eggs. This is called a sabayon.

Make your emulsification by whisking the 200 mL of melted clarified butter into your sabayon (OFF the stovetop, please!), pouring the butter in a very small, steady stream. Whisk constantly, making sure that the butter is incorporating well into the sabayon to make a smooth, homogenous mixture.

Season your sauce with a pinch of cayenne pepper and about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, or to taste.

Serve over poached eggs, Canadian bacon, and an English muffin to make a standard Eggs Benedict, or do what I do and serve it atop eggs gently cooked over easy, Canadian bacon, and some toasted rustic sliced bread.

Here's to never breaking your sauce!

Apple Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

Today I thought that I invented a recipe, which I called Apple Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies. Apparently this is not a new concept. A Google search yields plenty of recipes. At any rate, they are tasty and chewy and a nice change of pace.

Here is how I did it:

Cream together:

2 sticks butter at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Beat in:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Stir in:

6 packets apple cinnamon flavor instant oatmeal (approx. 3 cups)

1 package (11 oz) butterscotch chips

Drop by the spoonful onto baking sheets, and bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes; yields 3-4 dozen.

ENJOY!

Tomato Goat Cheese Tart

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
• Line a tart pan with pre-made filo, brush with melted butter
• Thinly slice about 4 plum tomatoes, and top the filo crust concentrically with the slices
• Beat together 3/4 cup cream, 3/4 cup milk, 3 eggs, 4 ounces goat cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg and chopped parsley
• Pour the mixture over the tomatoes
• Bake the tart for about 45 minutes

ENJOY!