caramelized onion and brie puffs

One of the first things I learned how to make was a baked brie. They're always a crowd-pleaser, and they're relatively easy to put together. This weekend, I made miniature baked brie puffs, which is marginally more difficult by virtue of increased labor. I should've taken pictures. But, just between you and me, I can't find my camera.

Ingredients

1 large white or yellow onion, sliced into thin half-moons
2 tablespoons butter
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
1 wedge of brie, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (triple cream melts the best)
a pinch or two of salt
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water
a handful (or 2) of flour for your countertop


First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then caramelize the onion slices. You want to do this over a medium heat because you do not want the onions to crisp at all. Put the butter in a skillet to melt. Once the bubbling has subsided, add the onion. Add the salt after a couple minutes. Let it cook, with relatively little stirring, until they are soft and brown. This will take some time - maybe 20 minutes. If your onions start to get a little dry, add some chicken stock (or water or vegetable stock if you're avoiding meat) to help the process along. Once the onions are lovely and brown, remove them from the heat and set aside.

Now, the hard part (and remember, hard is a relative term - nothing about this recipe is overwhelming) - the dough. Put some flour down on your work surface, and unfold the pastry dough onto it. If it doesn't unfold pretty easily, it's probably not thawed enough. Grab your rolling pin and roll out the dough from the center to the edges, making a bigger and bigger square. Pick up the dough and flip it over after every 2 - 3 rolls to keep it from sticking to the counter. Put down more flour whenever you need to, also to keep it from sticking.

This process is a little difficult if you've never handled dough before. Just remember, if it gets too sticky you can add flour to it. And if it gets too dry, you can add water to it. You can mash it back up into a ball and re-roll it as many times as you need too. Plus, it will puff up so wonderfully and taste so heavenly, that it won't matter if it wasn't rolled perfectly.

You want the dough to be about 1/8 of an inch thick. This is thin, but not so thin that it looks translucent or fragile. The dough will be about 50% bigger.

Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 2.5 inch squares (just eyeball it - I don't want to hear about anyone breaking out a ruler). Now, fill each individual square. I like to do this using a min-muffin tin.

Place a square of dough in each depression in the tin. Place a piece of brie into each square of dough. Place a spoonful of caramelized onions over each piece of brie. If you can't get all your dough into one muffin-tin, just cover it with a damp towel until the first batch is done.

(You don't need to have a muffin tin for this - you can just fill the dough squares while they're flat, and fold them up into little envelopes of deliciousness. Then bake 'em on a cookie sheet).

Next, whisk the egg yolk and water together. Brush this mixture onto the edges of each dough square. Then seal up the edges - this doesn't need to be perfect - by folding them over each other or pinching them together. The egg yolk will work like a glue. Finally, use any leftover yolk mixture to brush the tops of the newly sealed dough packets.

Stick the puffs in the oven. If they aren't golden brown after 10 minutes, let them cook another 5 minutes. Then check again. It won't take long.

Serve at your next fancy party and pretend you spent the whole day in the kitchen. Or serve to your close friends and give 'em the skinny on how simple they are to make. Either way, enjoy.

thanksgiving

I've been eating mostly salad and baked chicken breast for what feels like weeks now. Therefore, there hasn't been much cooking for me to blog about. I worry that it would be condescending for me to blog about baked chicken breast - sprinkle with salt and pepper. put in 400* oven for 20 minutes - so instead, let's talk about thanksgiving.

This year will be the first thanksgiving I host for my family. I am bursting with excitement. I am also grappling with what dishes to make, and what dishes to ask others to bring with them. Here's the list from which I will make eliminations (or possibly additions if I just can't cut anything).

roast turkey or turducken or fried turkey
yam casserole (non-negotiable)
mashed potatoes
boudin stuffing or herbed stuffing or giblet stuffing
creamed spinach or spinach madeleine
cranberry apple lemon sauce
pecan pie
baked brie
some kind of fig and prosciutto appetizer


So there's my list. I'm sure it will fluctuate mightily in the next 5 weeks. In the meantime, what're your family thanksgiving food traditions?

PS: last night I watched Jaques and Julia cooking a thanksgiving dinner (from which I have happily poached the above-mentioned cranberry, apple, lemon sauce). Anyway, toward the end, Julia says "what wine do we serve with a thanksgiving feast?" To which the wonderful Jaques replies, "a lot."

Happy cooking and bon appetit!

asparagus risotto

I find risotto really hard to pass up. I mean, if it's on a menu, I endure an inner dialogue something along the lines of this,

"Mmmm, risotto."
Yes, but there's also picatta. And lasagna. Ooooh! And manicotti!
"Yes, but risotto is so creamy..."
You think a tube of pasta stuffed full of ricotta cheese isn't creamy? Plus, you can make it at home! You're probably never going to make manicotti. Let's face it, if you tried, you'd just end up eating all the ricotta before you could stuff it into the pasta tubes. We both know that.

Whereupon I forgo my beloved risotto. But on the way home from the restaurant, I buy some arborio rice and plot the next night's dinner.

Ingredients

The amounts in this recipe are for 1 serving. There's instructions in the recipe to increase for more servings.

1/4 an onion, chopped
1/4 c. arborio rice (or other short grain, Italian, risotto-type)
1 c. chicken stock
1/4 bunch asparagus, ends removed, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbs. olive oil
1/4 c. grated or shredded cheese (I like peccorino romano, but any parmesan or romano works)
salt and pepper to taste

Be prepared: once you add the rice to the saucepan, you will be stirring constantly. So put on comfortable shoes, throw some music on the ipod and get ready to work that bicep...or whatever the stirring muscle is.

First, put your chicken broth over medium-low heat in a small saucepan. You should have about at least three times as much broth as you have rice. You want the broth to be hot (but not simmering or boiling), so that when it's added to the rice, it doesn't cool it down (and thereby increase the cooking time).

Over medium-high heat, saute the onion in olive oil, using a larger saucepan. Cook until the onion is soft. You may also add minced garlic to the onion, but I tend to leave garlic out of my risotto dishes. Increase the onion by 1/4 for each additional 1/4 cup of dry rice.

Risotto rice will generally increase in size by about 4 times. So when I cook it just for myself, I make around 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup, dry. This yields about a cup (maybe a little more) which is more than adequate for one person. So, using that, add enough dry rice to feed however many people you like (1 cup dry = 4 cups cooked = feed 4-6 people, depending on appetites).

Now, and this is important, add your dry rice in with the onion and cook it without any liquid for a few minutes. Stir constantly! You want the rice to look a little beat up - it will get opaque white edges. I'd estimate this takes between 3 - 5 minutes. This process will help the starches work properly in the cooking process - yielding that creaminess we're looking for.

Once you've got opaque rice, add about a cup of the hot broth (use a ladle). Again, stir constantly. In total, you'll want to cook the rice for about 18 minutes.

Stir until the rice absorbs the broth. You don't want it looking dry - but no obvious liquid either. Once you get to that point, add another half cup of broth.

Keep repeating this (add 1/2 cup broth, stir until absorbed) until you reach the 12 minute mark. At this point, toss in the cut-up asparagus. It will cook in the broth with the rice. (I like a lot of vegetables in my rice, so when you're increasing the recipe, bear that in mind - just put in what looks right to you).

Continue adding broth and stirring until absorbed until the rice has been cooking a total of 18 minutes. At that point you should have plump and creamy risotto. If you don't, then keep adding more broth and letting it get absorbed until the texture is right.

Add cheese. Lots of it. I put 1/4 cup of cheese in when I make 1/4 cup of dry rice. Trust me, it's essential.

Once you've mastered the basic risotto recipe, you can add any ingredients you like. My favorite additions (besides asparagus) are mushrooms, spinach, tomato, or cooked chicken.

the obligatory "why you should trust my recipes" post

Yes, most people explain themselves in the first post of a blog. But I've almost always done things backwards. Plus, I figured the recipes would speak for themselves.

But last night it occurred to me that if one never gave the recipes a chance because one didn't see any reason to think I know what I'm doing, then perhaps we'd circular logic our way back to needing an introduction.

So here we go:

Born in New Orleans to a Jewish caterer (mom) and a self-taught cook and food-lover (dad), I've certainly had a lot of influences on my palate. Some of my earliest memories are of helping my mom wrap 500 wontons in our home kitchen, rushing to fill the sufganyiot before our Chanukkah guests arrived, and listening to my dad ask Frankie the waiter at his favorite restaurant on the West Side to "just feed me." To this day, I'd rather eat my stepmom's bolognese sauce than any other in the world.

I was lucky enough to spend a few years living in both California and New York, which opened me up to the benefits of fresh produce and local ingredients (CA) and the wonders of culturally diverse cooking (NY and CA). Living in NY also reinforced my Jewish roots (I've been longing for a good bialy since about 1999).

Throughout my childhood and youth, I helped my mom in the kitchen. Her baked brie and dijon chicken recipes were favorites with her clients (and us kids!). One of my favorite activities was (and still is) watching my dad make a gravy from roast chicken or turkey breast drippings.

I started cooking on my own in college, mostly because I found that the best way to get a crowd of friends together was to make them something to eat. Though I worked at first from other people's recipes (mom's, dad's and stepmom's), I eventually figured out what flavors pleased me the most and simply created a repertoire of haphazard trial and error. Most of it ended well.

I don't imagine I'm much better a cook than most home chefs who really care about what they serve and enjoy the process, but I've been told cooking is the business I should really be in, asked how much I'd charge to prepare a thanksgiving dinner, and enjoyed many yummy faces aimed in my general direction - so I must be doing something right.

Also, happy birthday, Dad.

Okay, enough about me. Back to the food.

plantains foster

I had some folks over for a "breakfast for dinner" party this weekend. As if challah french toast with apples and honey wasn't sweet enough, I added to the delicious toothache with a version of bananas foster, a wonderful dessert originated at Brennan's in New Orleans.

I used plantains instead of bananas. I also served it over Kleinpeter Dairy's banana foster ice cream. It was a perfect hot/cold mix of complex and sweet deliciousness, finished with a nice bite of rum - which probably means I didn't burn off the rum completely. Somehow this doesn't bother me.

Plus, it's fun to light it on fire.

Ingredients
2 oz dark rum
3 tbs dark brown sugar
3 tbs butter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 small very ripe (the skin should be black) plantain, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
ice cream

Melt the butter in a skillet.

Add the brown sugar, stir to combine.

Add the plantains. Stir to combine.

Carefully, add the rum. Let it get hot.

Even more carefully, tilt the pan slightly away from you, stand as far back as possible, and light the rum on fire (use a long fire starter for this).

Let the flames die down. Then serve over scoops of ice cream.

I served this to four people, after we'd eaten a pretty hearty meal - if your meal is lighter (or you just have a sweet tooth) you may want to increase the amounts of ingredients to make more. When I do it again, I'll probably use a larger plantain.

basic chicken soup

Soups are some of my favorite things to make, because (see prior post on pasta sauce) you can really just throw stuff in a pot and have it come out steamy, comforting and delicious. And, of course, we all know chicken soup is the way to go when you're not feeling well. My step-mother's version of this "Jewish Penicillin" is my absolute favorite. I don't have the recipe for it, though. She seems to make it almost by rote - like putting it together is entirely muscle memory. Frankly, that's probably what makes it so good.

I have watched her make it enough times to have an idea of the ingredients, and my version with those ingredients is nothing to scoff at, if not quite the soup fantasy that comes from her kitchen. I highly recommend serving it with some crusty bread and a glass of iced tea.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cleaned (about 4-6lbs)
1 large (48 or 49 oz) can or carton of chicken broth (you can certainly make your own and use that)
10 carrots, cleaned and sliced
5 celery stalks, cleaned and sliced (feel free to use more - I don't really like celery that much)
1 large onion, diced
1 package of egg noodles (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons
salt
cayenne pepper
thyme (optional)

Clean the chicken by removing the giblets from the cavity (they're generally wrapped up in a nice pouch) and rinsing it well inside and out. If you have any huge flaps of fat on your chicken, you can trim them - but don't trim off all the fat or your soup will lack depth and flavor. Put the cleaned chicken in a large pot. Pour in the entire can of chicken broth. If the chicken is not completely covered by the broth, add water until it is submerged.

{Aside: I tend to use Swanson's broth because it's readily available and has a great flavor. I've tried many others (I was on a quest to find an organic or free range broth that I liked) and really never chanced on anything that tasted as good. So, if you're not making your own, I recommend Swanson's. Feel free to use the low-sodium kind, but keep in mind that soup is mostly water and will need a good amount of salt to really bring out the flavors. So, add it with high-sodium broth, or add it later from your salt jar, whatever.}

Bring the broth to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low, cover loosely, and simmer about 40 minutes. During the simmering process, check the water fairly frequently for proteins sitting on the top of the water. This stuff is called "scum" and should be skimmed off gently using a large spoon. The first minute of this video shows a scum skimming technique.

To see if the chicken is cooked fully, grab onto it with a pair of tongs and try to lift it. If the meat tears away or the chicken falls apart pretty easily, you're ready to go.

Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside on a plate or cutting board to cool. Remove the liquid from the heat and cover (but don't throw it away!).

When the chicken has cooled (this can take some time), take the meat off the bone. Frankly, the easiest way to do this is with your fingers. Don't be afraid to get messy here! Just throw on an apron and dig right in. Once you'd removed all the meat, shred it up into bite-sized pieces. Toss the bones in the trash (or keep them to make another broth with).

In another large pot saute the vegetables in olive oil, adding a little salt to help the process along. You'll want your vegetables to all be cut about the same size, so they cook evenly. Once softened, pour in the broth you set aside.

Now, if you're adding noodles - bring the broth to a boil, add the noodles and boil for as long as the noodle package says to (generally between 5 - 8 minutes). Once the noodles are boiled, put the shredded and de-boned chicken back in the pot.

If you're not adding noodles - bring the broth to a simmer and add the shredded and de-boned chicken back to the pot.

Squeeze the juice of both lemons into the broth. Add salt and cayenne pepper (and thyme if you like) to taste. Get ready to feel like your mama just stopped by to cook for you. Enjoy.

thrown-together pasta sauce

Sometimes I wish I were the kind of cook that carefully plans out recipes, tweaks them a little bit with each making, settles on the very best version and prepares it that way every time from then on out. But alas, like most things I do, my cooking follows the "throw it all in a pot and see if it works" plan. You might not be surprised to find that this works better in the kitchen than it does in life...but I digress.

Yesterday I put together a wonderful tomato-cream sauce. It began because I thought I had defrosted some ground turkey (to make a chili) only to find that the meat was actually Italian sausage. So much the better.

Ingredients

1/2 lb mild Italian sausage, removed from its casing and broken up into bite-sized pieces
1 24 oz can whole tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
10 baby carrots, sliced (or use 2-3 whole carrots - I had small ones around)
1 tbs dried basil
1/4 c half n half
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs olive oil

Saute the onion, carrots and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add the sausage and saute until cooked. If you'd like, you can pour or spoon out any grease in the pan at this point.

Break the whole tomatoes up with your hands (just give each on a squeeze) and add them and the liquid from the can to the pot. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the half n half and salt and pepper to taste. You're ready to serve, but you can let it simmer up to an hour.

Pair with your favorite pasta. I used rotini, because the little spirals catch a lot of the liquid in the sauce. This made enough for about 4 servings.