Perfect dishes for Memorial Day weekend pot luck celebrations

My son and his family usually visit on Memorial Day weekend but this year they went to Mexico, leaving me to my own devices.  Luckily various of my friends put together pot luck dinners on all three nights of the long weekend so I got to cook (but not too much) and enjoy convivial gatherings.

On Saturday I made what has quickly become a classic, "Momofuko Bo Ssam," from the cookbook by super chef David Chang.  It's a pork butt roasted all day until it falls off the bone, served with a variety of condiments redolent of Korean cooking.  It's not only simple beyond simple, but after the first bite, everyone in the room is demanding the recipe.  It's become my friend Eric's go-to dish for groups over 4 or 5, and now it's mine, too.  You gotta try it soonest.  Perhaps July 4 weekend will work for you.

Momofuko Bo Ssam

Pork Butt
1 whole bone-in pork butt or picnic ham (8-10 lbs)
1 c white sugar
1 c plus 1 T kosher salt
7 T brown sugar

Ginger-Scallion Sauce
2 1/2 c thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts
1/2 c peeled, minced fresh ginger
1/4 c neutral oil (like grapeseed)
1 1/2 t light soy sauce
1 scant t sherry vinegar
1/2 t kosher salt, or to taste

Ssam Sauce
2 T fermented bean-and-chili paste (ssamjang, available in many Asian markets and online) (I got something similar at Guido's)
1 T chili paste (kochujang, ditto above)
1/2 c sherry vinegar
1/2 neutral oil (like grapeseed)

Accompaniments
2 c plain white rice, cooked
3 heads bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
1 dozen or more fresh oysters (optional and I skipped them)
Kimchi (if you can't find kimchi, try sauerkraut)

Place pork in large, shallow bowl.  Mix white sugar and 1 c of salt together in another bowl, then rub mixture all over the meat.  Cover it with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

When you're ready to cook, heat oven to 300.  Remove pork from refrigerator and discard any juices.  Place pork in roasting pan and set in overn.  Cook for approximately 6 hours, or until it collapses, yielding easily to the tines of a fork.  (After the first hour, baste hourly with pan juices).  At this point, you may reove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for up to an hour.  (mine rested a bit longer than that with no ill effects)

Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion sauce.  In a large bowl, combine scallions with the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well and taste, adding salt if needed.

Make the ssam sauce.  In a medium bowl, combine chili pastes with the vinegar nad oil, mix well.

Prepare rice, wash lettuce, and if using, shuck oysters.  Put kimchi and sauces into serving bowls.

When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn oven to 500.  In a small bowl, stir together the remaining T of salt with the brown sugar.  Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork.  Place in oven for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat.  Serve hot, with accompaniments.

NB:  You'll notice that the bottom of your pan is burnt.  A lot.  But have no fear.  Just soak it overnight, and scrub like hell the next day.

Okay, like I said, this dish evokes squeals of delight.  Not only is it a real crowd pleaser, but if you're lucky the crowd isn't too big so you get some serious leftovers to enjoy the next day.

So the Bo Ssam was Saturday night.  Sunday night a friend had a pot luck party where she grilled lamb and chicken.  She coated the lamb with a mixture of Dijon mustard, chopped anchovies, olive oil, chopped garlic, and rosemary (well, she was supposed to use rosemary but her brother hates it so she used something else but it was still delish). 

Years ago when I was taking cooking classes at was then the Peter Kump cooking school, a friend I'd met in class told me about a recipe she'd learned from the first woman to be appointed the chef to the French president.  Th chef coated the lamb with Dijon mustard, mixed with olive oil, chopped garlic, and rosemary.  Then she laid anchovies across the top on the lamb, so the anchovies melted, making the sauce a heavenly aromatic and taste sensation.  I tweaked the recipe a bit by chopping the anchovies and including them in the mixture I rubbed on the lamb. 

Okay.  So the hostess grilled the lamb and chicken, and made a delicious watermelon and feta salad (such a great combination!), along with a fresh green salad.  One of the guests brought phenomenally wonderful peach/strawberry pies.  And I made a potato salad I'd just read about on the long-running blog Smitten Kitchen.  OMG, it's divine! 

Tzaziki Potato Salad

4 lb potatoes (preferably Yukon golds)
1 3/4 c Greek yogurt
1/4 c sour cream
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T white wine vinegar
1 T minced fresh dill
1 medium garlic clove, minced
2 t kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 hothouse or English cucumber (1 lb), unpeeled but quartered lengthwise, seeds removed

More ideas for additions:  crumbled feta (yes!), chopped green olives (yes!), chopped fresh mint leaves or a minced hot chile

In a medium pot, cover your potatoes with cold water and bring them to boil over high heat.  Once boiling, reduce heat to med-high and let potatoes simmer until tender enough that they can be pierced easily with a skewer or thin knife.  That's roughly 30 minutes, but might be shorter, depending on the size of your potatoes.  Drain potatoes and let them cool completely. 

Once potatoes are cool, cut tiny ones into quarters or large ones into generous chunks.

In bottom of a large bowl, stir together yogurt, sour cream, lemon juie, vinegar, dill, garlic, salt and pepper.  Add potatoes.

Grate cucumber on a box grater, and try to remove some of the excess by putting it in a lint-free dish towel.  Add to yogurt mixture.

Add any additional ingredients.  Adjust seasonings (mine needed more salt).  Either eat immediately (yes!) or keep in fridge for up to 3 days.

For the party on the third night of the holiday weekend, I brought a large green salad picked entirely from my garden, and several pounds of the first bing cherries of the season.  Yes, folks, summer is here!

Welcome spring! Asparagus and soft shell crabs

Thursday I cut about a pound of beautiful asparagus growing in my garden.  I chopped tthem up coarsely and boiled them in salted water (to cover) until they were tender, about 5-7 minutes.  When tender, I removed them from the pot and placed them in a blender, along with some of the water to thin it out.  I like salt so I added some, and then about a tablespoon of good olive oil.  That's it.  Three ingredients, four if you count the water, about 12-13 minutes and voila--you have a bowl of the essence of spring.  Inhaling asparagus is invigorating.  And eating the soup is a leisurely delight.  I heartily recommend it.

By the way, the recipe, such as it is, comes from "The Art of Eating," a splendid newsletter that's been published for 25 years by Ed Behr.  It's featured in his new cookbook, "The Best of The Art of Eating." 

Then yesterday I picked up some soft shell crabs at Rubiner's and headed to friends' house where we sauteed them.  Luckily Matt's crew executes the crabs and cleans them, so fixing them couldn't be easier.  I checked out a few cookbooks to see what the pros do, and mostly it's just dipping them into a plate of milk, and then dipping them into some seasoned flour (salt and pepper), and then sauteeing them in a large cast-iron skillet with the right amount of butter and a bit of olive oil.  They need about 4-5 minutes per side.  And that's it.  I mean, what could be easier?  And more delicious! 

Neither the asparagus nor the soft shell crabs will be around after a few more weeks, so I intend to keep making these dishes frequently to get my fill before they disappear again until next year.

Happily....Laury

Chocolate Espresso Snowflakes

Now that I'm finally over my winter ailments, I'm back to cooking and entertaining.  The other night a few friends came to dinner, where I treated them to the delish Braised Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Green Olives (see Dec 4 2011 post for recipe).  This goes sensationally over Israeli couscous, and that pretty much covers the entree (well, except for some roasted asparagus).

Dessert featured some of my honeyed peaches I put up last summer.  But the star was Amy Rudnick's unbelievably delicious Chocolate Espresso cookies.  The espresso flavor is splendid.  I insisted on getting the recipe, and plan to make them for this week's festivities.  Thank you Amy!


Chocolate Espresso Cookies

 

½	c flour
¼	c unsweetened cocoa powder
4	t instant espresso
1	t baking powder
⅛	t salt
4	T unsalted butter (softened)
⅔	c packed light brown sugar
1	egg
4	oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1	T milk
	confectioners sugar, about ½ cup

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

In electric mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Mix in chocolate.

With mixer on low, gradually add in flour mixture. Beat in milk.

Remove dough and flatter into a disk. Wrap in plastic and freeze about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pour confectioners sugar into a medium bowl. Shape dough into 1” balls and roll in confectioners sugar, making sure they are entirely coated

Place on baking sheet about 2” apart.

Bake 12 inutes. Cookies will have spread and sugar coating will appear cracked. Cookies will be soft to the touch.

Cool on wire rack.

Who knew how fast time flies??

This blog has been empty for far too long.  Chalk it up to a nasty flu, infection and extraordinarily long recuperation.  For weeks I couldn't eat, let alone cook.  But life is better, so it's time to share two recipes, one new to me, the other a longstanding favorite.

When I'm at a loss as to what to serve, I always find that Ina Garten always has delicious suggestions.  The other night I made her Cape Cod Chopped Salad, which was even better than I thought it would be.  See what you think.

Cape Cod Chopped Salad

Salad
8 oz thick-cut bacon, such as Niman Ranch
8 oz baby arugula
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1/2 c toasted walnut halves, coarsely chopped
1/2 c dried cranberries
6 oz bleu cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled

Dressing
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 t grated orange zest
2 T freshly squeezed orange juice
2 1/2 t Dijon mustard
2 T maple syrup
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
2/3 c good olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. 

Place baking rack on sheet pan and lay bacon slices on the rack.  Roast bacon for about 20 minutes, until nicely browned.  Allow to cool.

In large bowl, toss together arugula, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and bleu cheese.

For dressing, whisk together vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup, 1 1/2 t salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Slowly whisk in olive oil.

Chop bacon in large pieces and add to salad.  Toss salad with just enough dressing to moisten.  Sprinkle with 1/2 t more salt and toss well. 

Serve immediately.

P.S.  This makes a lot more dressing than you're going to use on this salad.  My latest treat is chopped grape tomatoes with chopped Armenian cucumbers, so I'm now using the rest of this dressing on them.  Delicious!

At a recent dinner party, I had a craving to serve creamed mushrooms, a "recipe" I made up years ago.  I suspect it's a variation on some recipe I'd found somewhere, but now I consider it my own.  The trick is to get good soy sauce.

Creamed Mushrooms

1 lb shitake and cremini mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
2 T butter
1-2 T olive oil
1 T flour (give or take)
Milk as needed
S&P
Soy sauce
A bit of Worcestshire sauce

Saute mushrooms in butter and olive oil.  When mushrooms are tender, add flour and toss with mushrooms.  Then add milk, enough that it makes a good sauce but not so much that you drown the mushrooms.  As they're finishing, add soy sauce (start with 1 T and add more to taste), a bit of Worcestshire sauce (again to taste), polish off with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.  Marvelously delicious and can accompany almost any meal.

Delicious dishes from the holidays

Although I've been making brisket for almost 50 years, I found a new recipe that may be the best of the bunch.  I made it for the first night that all of my family was here for the holidays, and everyone loved it.  It was delicious hot at dinner, and delicious cold on sandwiches the next day.  That it was mindlessly simple made it all the better.

And although one would think I have enough chicken recipes to feed the world, I found yet another one that hits the spot.  It's in a wonderful book by Marion Burros.  Actually it's a re-issue of her "Elegant but Easy" cookbook from 1960, the one I used constantly as a young bride.  She and her co-author updated it, eliminating the Cheez Whiz, canned onion rings, cream of mushroom soup and other staples of mid-century cookery.  But the recipes are still wildly simple and tasty to boot.

So here goes.

Chicken Gloriosa from Marion Burros's "The New Elegant but Easy Cookbook"

2 lbs skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
3 T lime juice
s&p
2 T canola oil
2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 slices very ripe fresh pineapple,, cut into bite-size wedges (save the juices if you can)
1/2 c coarse bread crumbs
1/4 t or more hot red pepper flakes
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/4 c tomato paste
1/2 c dry sherry
1 c orange juice
2 large or 3 small seedless tangerines, peeled and segmented

Wash and dry chicken; cut breasts into quarters.  Sprinkle chicken with 2 T lime juicem s&p, and allow sit sit in refrigerator for 2 hours or more

Drain and reserve the juices.  Saute chicken pieces in nonstick pan in hot oil, browning well on both sides.  About 30 seconds before removing chicken from pan, add garlic and saute.  In a 9 x 11" pan, arrange chicken and garlic.

Stir pineapple wedges and bread crumbs into pan in which chicken was cooked; add remaining 1 T lime juice, any pineapple juice from the cut-up pineapple, hot pepper flakes, cranberries, tomato paste, sherry, and oj.  Spoon this mixture over the chicken pieces.  Strew tangerine segments around chicken, and cover with aluminum foil.  Refrigerate, if desired.

To serve, preheat oven to 350 and bake chicken for about 1 hour.  Serve with saffron rice.

As a side note, I didn't have "coarse" bread crumbs, just the usual ones from a can.  They thickened the sauce nicely, almost as if I'd added cornstarch.  I served this over my new fave, pearl couscous, instead of saffron rice.  For what it's worth, this reheats really well when you can't finish all you made.

Brisket Texas Style (from who knows where)

2	large yellow onions, sliced and peeled
2.5	pound brisket
¼	cup apple cider vinegar
¼	cup soy sauce
¼	cup Worcestershire sauce
¼	cup strong black coffee
¼	cup liquid smoke
¼	cup A1 steak sauce
	salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Scatter the onions on the bottom of a roasting pan that is just large enough to hold the brisket. Place the brisket on top of the onions with the fat side up. Salt and pepper the brisket.

Place in a roasting pan and roast tightly covered, for 2-½ hours to 3-½ hours depending on the size of the brisket you choose.  You want it to come out fork-tender.

Remove roasting pan from oven and transfer brisket to a cutting board. Tent with foil.

Make a gravy by blending the cooked onions and a little of the liquid from the roasting pan. Blend until smooth. Leaving it a little chunky would be tasty too. Set aside.

Slice meat across the grain. Serve with the onion gravy.  It's delish.

I made it the day before, mostly to get the fat off easily, and because I've come to believe that you need to cook brisket and pulled pork the day before serving.

Happy and healthy new year!

Yet another fabu Moroccan chicken recipe, this one roasted with vegetables

A little trendlet is in the making, what with two Moroccan chicken recipes in a row.  Despite their place names, the dishes themselves are quite different.  The Braised Moroccan chicken with preserved lemons and green olives is prettier, but the curried Moroccan chicken and vegetable roast includes vegetables, thereby eliminating the necessity for a separate side dish.  So here's what I did.

First off, I shamelessly borrowed Amy Rudnick's recipe for the curried Moroccan chicken and vegetable roast.  Could it have been simpler?  A big fat NO.  Could it have been more delicious?  Another big fat NO.  Could it have been healtheir  Yet another big fat NO.  Kind of your all-round go-to easy recipe when you're in a hurry but still want to impress.

So here goes.

1	lb butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
1	lb brussels sprouts, halved
1	large red onion, cut into thin wedges
½	cup canola or olive oil, divided
½	cup plain Greek yogurt
1	T minced fresh ginger
1	large garlic clove, minced
1	+ ½ tsp Madras curry powder
6	skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Preheat oven to 450.
Toss the squash, brussels sprouts, onions in ¼ cup of oil. Season with S & P.
Spread the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet.
In a bowl, combine the yogurt with the ginger, garlic, curry powder and remaining ¼ cup of oil. Season with
S & P. Add the chicken and toss until thoroughly coated. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables.
Roast for 40 minutes. Pour off any accumulated liquid and continue roasting for another 10 to 20 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is browned.
Serve with rice or Israeli couscous, which worked brilliantly for me.

For what it's worth, the pan looks pretty with squash offering an orange element, the Brussels Sprouts a green contribution, the red onion thrown in for fun and games, and the chicken getting nice the brown so set off everything appealingly,

People say the dish begs to be served with rice,  Heartlessly I ignored the rice and went with Israeli couscous instead.  I prefer the couscous.  Others may prefer the couscous,  Whatever.  Won't make a difference so don't worry.

Along with the chicken and vegetables, I served a sweet salad with sliced cherry tomatoes, slicedArenian cukes, and diced celery.  A nice vinaigrette perked the veggies up, making the guests smile.  Dessert was a mint panna cotta with fruit on top.  Pretty darned wonderful, they all said, although I retain a preferece for the basil, which had made the its panna cotta so outstanding.  Lesson learned.  Don't use mint when basil's so much better.

So now we're fixed for Moroccan chicken recipes for a while.  Upward and onward to different menus.  Let us hear from you. 

widowinthewoods

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• Published on December 02, 2011.

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Braised Moroccan chicken with preserved lemon and green olives

Oh dear.  I've been absent from this blog for far too long.  A tip-off that I haven't spent much time in the kitchen.  I was invited out for Thanksgiving, so didn't even have a chance to cook then.

But tonight I attended a winsome potluck dinner party hosted by the parents of Sarah Shatz, the photographer for the wonderful new cookbook from the Food52.com folks.   If you haven't already found that website, go to it right now.  The premise of the first two years was that each week the authors invited readers to submit a recipe on a particular food--your favorite artichoke dish, or chicken thighs, or chocolate chip cookies, or...well, you get my drift, right?

So this new book, Food52 Cookbook, is a compilation of the weekly winners of the first year.  Cleverly organized by season.   Sarah's parents put together a menu and then offered about a dozen dishes that guests signed up to bring.  As tonight's entry indicates, I chose braised Moroccan chicken and olives.

Like many people, the first time I make a recipe I follow it, well, more or less follow it, omitting ingredients that are not to my taste.  But today I followed the recipe slavishly to maintain the spirit of the evening.  And I'm very glad I did so because the result was delicious, not to mention very beautiful.

Tonight it was served on couscous prepared by Annette Grant, and they were flavorful.  Perfect accompaniment.

So here's the recipe should you be so inclined to go Moroccan some night.  And if you get the book, the recipe start on p. 125.  Enjoy!

Serves 4

• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 2.5 pounds chicken legs and thighs
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1 1/2 cup small diced onion
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2-3 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron
• 1/2 cup green olives, rinsed
• 2 preserved lemons, pulp removed; rind cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven or large, deep skillet or over medium high heat. Dry the chicken pieces and season them with salt and pepper. Place them in the skillet in batches and brown on all sides. Remove the chicken and place on a plate.
2. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until slightly softened. Add the ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric and cayenne pepper and stir together. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat with the spice mixture. Pour the chicken stock into the skillet so that 2/3 of the chicken is submerged. Add the saffron and stir to combine. Bring liquid to a simmer, cover the skillet and simmer on medium low heat 20-25 minutes. Add the olives and preserved lemons. Cover and cook another 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and turn the heat to high. Cook for another 6-8 minutes until sauce reduces slightly. Stir in the cilantro. Adjust seasoning to taste.
3. Serve chicken on a bed of couscous. Spoon sauce over the top. Garnish with cilantro.