I Love You More Than Food

Category: Recipes

Tutto Mare – mixed seafood pasta

A New Year’s Day dinner recipe while we hosted Y’s brother & wife from HKG.

Pasta ingredients
semolina flour, ground finely (0 or 00 size)
wheat flour, ground finely (0 or 00 size)
2 eggs
salt

Make pasta for four – recipe (double it), cut the noodles 1/3 inch wide, lay flat to wait to be cooked at end.

Sauce ingredients
1/3 yellow onion, diced finely
1-2 T fresh thyme or lemon-thyme
Parsley, washed & chopped fine
1 package ground saffron, or pinch infused into warm clam juice or fish stock
1/2 bottle clam juice or clam bouillion
8-10oz fish stock (can buy frozen in stores)
1/2 lb shrimp
1/2 lb bay diver scallops
1/3 lb fresh crab meat
10-12 small clams (smaller = more tender)
1/2 stick butter
champagne or dry white wine, 1 cup
olive oil
salt & pepper
vanilla salt (infuse salt with vanilla pod that has been cut/used and shake, reserve for future use)

Set water to heat on high in a very large pot while you heat a large skillet with high sides & with a fitting lid to medium heat.

Add half of the butter to the skillet and let melt, allowing water to sizzle off. Add the onion, and let cook until soft, but not colored. Add the thyme, and cook for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, heat to high a non-stick skillet and add the remaining butter. Once hot, add the scallops and some vanilla salt. Cook 1-2 minutes and add shrimp. When nearly done cooking, add 1/2 to 1 cup champagne or dry white wine, reduce until shrimps are cooked, remove shrimps & scallops and reserve, while continuing to reduce fluid.

To the high-sided skillet, once thyme is cooked 1 minute, add fish stock, clam juice, vanilla salt (use reason) & saffron, reducing by 1/4 to 1/2, and add clams to cook & cover it until they open. Once opened, add the liquid from the nonstick skillet and allow all to reduce.

Your water should be boiling now. Add a heaping table spoon of salt, and add the noodles to cook for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, add crab meat to saffron-clam mixture, to warm. When cooked, strain noodles and add to broth mixture, coating. Add the shrimp & scallops and cook 1 min on high heat. Adjust seasoning. Distribute into heated bowls and top with parsley.

Wine: we just ate it with leftover new years eve champagne.

January 2, 2010
Fresh Sugarpie Pumpkin Walnut Bread

This is one of those things you call “bread” instead of “cake” just to make yourself feel better about it. Feel free to fool yourself. I won’t judge you, and your true friends won’t either.

This uses fresh pumpkin, you can use canned as a substitute but please don’t tell me about it. That was me judging you.

Make ahead in an ideal world:

Fresh Pumpkin Puree for baking
1 2lb sugarpie pumpkin
olive, canola, or other oil

Halve the pumpkin, remove the seeds, reserve them to clean & roast if you like. Lightly coat the exposed flesh of the pumpkin with oil, put into a close fitting pan with sides, add a cup or so of water and roast at 375 until the skin has puffed up from the pumpkin and it looks cooked, at least 45 minutes but probably more like 1.5 hours. If the water dries up consider adding a bit more as you check on it.

Remove the skin once it’s cooled enough to touch, and puree in a food processor or blender, cutting into chunks that your machine can process. If its excessively watery, put it in a cheesecloth and press, let it drain. Mine didn’t require this so I just used it like that.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread (Adapted from Joy the Baker) – Makes two loaves
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Buckwheat flour (sub whole wheat or all purpose if you must)
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice or baking spice mix
1/2 tsp cloves
2 cups pumpkin puree (15 oz or so)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1 cup walnuts in any state you like

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour your 2 loaf pans or wait to grease if you’re using a spray oil like I did. Terrible for the environment, good for baking.

In large bowl, whisk flours, sugars, baking soda, powder, salt, spices.

In medium bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup, egg, water. Start with the egg to whisk it well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold in some of the walnuts, but reserve some for top.

Put into the batter in the pans equally (I made do with one pan, for those of you who have seen my kitchen you probably understand why I only have one pan), top with walnut pieces. Bake for 1hr-1.25 hours, or until a skewer put into the center of the loaf comes out non-gooey.

Let it rest in the pan a bit before removing it, or you’ll lose some of the bottom of the cake.

This is best warm but you can freeze it for future eating and then toast it and serve with cream cheese or creme fraiche.

Wine: This is great with a young, inexpensive Sauternes. Yes, such a thing exists.

November 16, 2009
dim sum for “white people” – Turkey & Pork Pyramid Dumplings

1 pack of 50 or more wonton wrappers (square)
1/3 lb ground turkey thigh meat
1/3 lb ground pork
1 green onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced & mushed into a paste
1 T ginger, ground into a paste
1 carrot, grated finely
1/4 head fresh cabbage, sliced thinly, tossed in salt, let to sit for 15 min, rinsed & drained/squeezed dry
1/2 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 T sake
2 T soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Mix all ingredients, adding the liquids last. To assemble the pyramids, place 1 T of filling in the center of the wrapper. Spray the wrapper with water using a spray bottle, then lift up two corners next to each other and begin assembling the pyramid. Pinch to close, try not to include too much air.

Cook the same way as the pork & shrimp gyoza. OK to freeze as well.

Use the same dipping sauce as the shrimp & pork gyoza too.

October 6, 2009
dim sum for “white people” – Seafood Dumpling

1 pack gyoza wrappers (round, about 50 per pack)
1/3 lb crab meat
1/3 lb large scallops, diced
1/3 lb deveined/peeled shrimp, chopped
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1/2 carrot, shredded finely
1/4 head napa cabbage fresh, sliced finely, salted, left aside to wilt, rinsed, and drained/squeezed dry
3-4 cloves garlic, minced and mushed into a paste
1 generous T of ginger, grated into a paste
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 T minced cilantro
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 T sake
1 1/2 T soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt

Mix everything together, adding the liquids last. Using a small spoon, put about 1 heaping/rounded tsp onto each gyoza wrapper. Using a spray bottle, dampen the open face of the wrapper, and gently fold in half, sealing the filling and not air. Gently pull the sides/lobes of the half moon together to create the shape you see in the photos above.

Cook the same way as the shrimp & pork gyoza, or steam above simmering water until cooked through (you can fill your colander with a layer of lettuce, cabbage, or some other similar item in order to create a steamer if you do not own one).

For the Dipping Sauce

2 parts soy sauce
1 part seasoned rice vinegar
3/4 part yuzu juice
1/4 part chili oil

October 6, 2009
dim sum for “white people” – Shrimp & Pork Gyoza

It’s one of the things that white people like…and I had a lot of fun making three kinds of dumplings over the weekend, freezing them, and having them last my boyfriend until.. yeah, lunch on Tuesday. 200 pieces. The man is a machine.

I’d recommend a finely misting spray bottle for these, folks–I converted an old hair product bottle by washing it in vinegar a few times.

Shrimp & Pork Gyoza

50+ pack of gyoza wrappers (yeah, I’m lazy, when you fold 50 peices of these you don’t want to make 50 wrappers too)
1/3 lb shrimp (deveined, peeled, chopped)
1/3 lb pork
1 green onion, sliced thin
4 cloves garlic, minced and then mushed into a paste
1 full T of fresh ginger, grated into a paste
1/2 carrot, grated finely
1/4 head napa cabbage, finely chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
2 T soy sauce
1 T sake
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Prep your ingredients by first chopping the cabbage and putting it in a bowl, mixing with 1/2 tsp salt. Let it sit for a good 15 minutes and wilt. When you’re ready to use it, rinse it and squeeze excess water out until reasonably dry.

Mix everything together, adding the liquids last. Use a small spoon to put 1 rounded tsp or so onto the center of each gyoza. Spray with your handy water spray bottle, and gently fold the wrapper in half, keeping the back half flat and folding the front half–sealing in the filling and not so much air. Check out this handy guide on how to shape the gyoza, except that I make 4-6 of them on my cutting board at a time and go through to fold them up all at once.

To cook, heat a nonstick to medium high heat, and spray with canola oil. Arrange the gyoza once the pan is hot in a circle to fit the most in (see picture). Cook for about 2 minutes, until golden on the bottom.

Add about 1/2 a coffee cup of water, or enough to coat the whole bottom of the pan but not make the dumplings “boil”. Cover immediately and reduce heat to medium; let them steam for about 5 minutes until cooked through. Remove the lid and if you desire them more crispy, flip them over to cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve!

Also, you can absolutely freeze these while on a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper or a silpat, for about 30 min, and then put them into a freezer bag. They last beautifully even when frozen raw, uncooked. You can then pull them out and cook them just like they were fresh, but with a tiny bit longer steaming time.

For the dipping sauce

2 parts soy sauce
1 part seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 part chili oil

October 6, 2009
Herb Fromage Blanc Ravioli in Heiloom Tomato Sauce

Fromage Blanc with herbs from Cowgirl Creamery (well actually, from somewhere else, but they carry it?), heirloom cherry/grape tomatoes from capay organics, olive oil, chili flakes, homemade pasta dough with yolks.

FAIL on recipe supply, I’m simply not in the mood and this one is overdue.

October 6, 2009
Five-Spice & Salted Pimento Pork with Rum Peaches & Chard

At a dinner party for six, I made a few quick courses that ended up with a fabulous “bang” on an easy, warm weeknight in the backyard.

– Pluot slices with seasoned Sheep’s ricotta and Prosciutto

– Grilled pork tenderloin with “5 spices” & rum braised peaches + rainbow chard

– Dark chocolate ice cream with bergamont olive oil & sea salt

The first and the last were partially stolen from a previous dinner and a local creamery, so aside from giving you a brief hint* on the first I’ll leave you to your own devices.

*mix your sheep’s milk ricotta with some orange or lemon zest, some bergamont olive oil, and vanilla salt, then drizzle the whole combo, once wrapped and held together by prosciutto, with balsamico.

1 pork tenderloin, rubbed generously with mixture of dried pepper & salt, and five spice powder. Allow to marinate as such for 30-1hr, then drizzle with high heat oil such as macadamia, and throw it on a medium grill, turning a little frequently to prevent charring.

1 bunch rainbow chard, stems removed and chopped 1 inch, cooked at medium heat in olive oil, with salt and pepper, the leaves added to wilt at the end.

Peaches into the chard pan once the chard is removed, brought to high heat with butter, get them golden on one side and douse in bacardi 151 or another rum (or calvados). Flip them, get them golden on the other side, add more rum. Cook it off and serve it all together!

September 3, 2009
Tuscan Crepes – Crespelle (from Osteria del Circo in NY)

I first learned about these Tuscan-style crepes while living in Florence, studying food and wine (both formally and inevitably informally) at Apicius. I rediscovered them when a pleasant little article popped up in the NY Times recently about them.

I made a pilgimage to Rainbow to get chestnut flour and good quality pine nuts (often rancid in my corner store). i went to work. I followed the recipe quite closely, save for the filling which I used a bit less boursoin and more sheep’s milk cheese. The rest was delightful. I wilted some spinich, squeezed half a lemon over it and we had a wonderful dinner. I’d recommend it and it’s a great one for a dinner party as you can assemble, and then pop in the oven for 10 minutes just before serving.

August 13, 2009
Spicy Tuna Salad alla copycat The Sentinel SF

Well, it’s not the first time I’ve taken a hint from something I enjoyed at The Sentinel in San Francisco. It’s probably not the last.

This serves 3-4 people.

1/2 lb ahi tuna, fresh
1/4 lb green beans, chopped evenly and blanched in salted water
1 gypsy pepper, sliced very, very thinly (this is a green mini bell pepper type thing)
1 T tomato paste (I use san marzano)
2 T Lemonaise (mayonaise with seasoning and lemon flavor)
1 T dijon mustard
1 tsp tumeric powder
1-2 T cajun seasoning (I made my own–chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, thyme, nutmeg/mace, etc)
juice of 1/2 lemon
handful cilantro, minced
3 T homemade bread n butter pickles, small dice (use your imagination to sub)

Cook the tuna in olive oil after seasoning with salt and pepper. Flake apart and chop. Mix the sauce using the lemonaise, dijon, lemon juice, tumeric, cajun powder (use more as necessary, feel free to add chili powder), tomato paste. Mix the tuna into it, then start adding green beans, gypsy pepper, cilantro, pickles. Adjust as needed. Enjoy.

I really enjoyed this, especially since these damn pickles have been sitting in my fridge almost as long as the homemade preserved lemons I made last year.

August 10, 2009
Orange Dayboat Scallops, Golden Chard, Scalloped potatoes

Orange Scallops for two:
6 dayboat (nitrate free) scallops
1-2 tsp thyme
1 orange
4 cloves garlic (don’t go overboard)
4-6 T butter
Cointreau or brandy

Melt the butter at medium low heat, zest the orange. When butter melted and water evaporated, add the garlic, minced. Reduce heat to not color the garlic, cook until softening. Add half the orange zest, the thyme (rub between fingers on the way into the pan, or use fresh thyme minced–triple the amount) and the juice of the orange. Turn up heat to medium high. Cook down until thickened, add the booze (use judgement), cook off the fun part and then set the sauce aside into a small bowl.

Put the pan back on the burner and add another T or two of butter. Add the orange zest with it, let it melt and get hot on medium high heat. Turn the heat up once it’s stopped bubbling, and add the scallops almost immediately. Let them brown quickly on each side, flipping only once. Plate the scallops when cooked (DO NOT overcook. Get the dayboat scallops so they are OK to eat raw and eat them rare).

Put the sauce back in the pan and cook more, heat it up, soak up the scallop leftovers. Serve on top the scallops.

For golden chard side:
small bunch golden chard
olive oil
salt & pepper

Simply clean the chard, seperate the stems from the leaves. Chiffonade the leaves, chop the stems in even pieces. Heat a pan to medium, add some olive oil. Cook the stems until nearly tender. Add salt and pepper. Add the leaves and reduce heat to low, cook until bright and tender.

Scalloped Potatoes (serves 4)
8 small yellow creamer potatoes, washed
3 oz cheddar, or other cheese that doesn’t become stringy
1 small/medium spring onion
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
salt & pepper
2-5 T butter

Preheat oven to 350. Slice the potatoes using the side of a cheese grater or a mandolin, ideally. Grate coarsely the cheese. Slice very thin the onions in half circles. In a 8×8 baking pan or something similar, put a few pats of butter on the bottom, very thin, or grease the pan. Add alternating single layers of potatoes and the onion broken into single pieces, add salt every other layer, a little cheese on the alternate. Add pats of butter again on top. End in onions.

Heat the milk and cream until just hot. Pour over the layered poatoes. Cook for 40-50 minutes, covered for the first 35 minutes, uncovered for the rest. I turned the heat up for the last part, to 400.

August 10, 2009