The Spaghetti with Pancetta, Sage, and Mushrooms

This recipe I had saved in my Epicurious recipe box for a while. Since I had fresh sage on hand from my last entry, I figured I could use it in this. As well I have a ton of spaghetti from a big sale the Key Food had a while back, so I'm making a lot of spaghetti. If you don't like spaghetti you can go to hell.

This tasted great and I pretty much followed the recipe to the letter. However, I have to say the colour put me off a little. Not entirely sure why, but probably because I'm not used to reddish-brown pasta. Still, all the mushrooms, the wine and broth reduction, and of course the pancetta were fantastic.

Reducing the wine and beef broth actually took the most time. 

Crimini and baby bellas coupled with some white mushrooms for this one. I used about half the recommended butter. You can see it and the fresh herbs in the background along with the chopped pancetta.

Everything comes together saucewise. 

Finishing up the pasta in the sauce itself. 

The finished product. Tasty and lovely. 

Your soundtrack for this entry: Cathedral - Corpsecycle. 

The Italy-Inspired Spaghetti, Butter, and Sage

First off, apologies for the blur in my last post. I admit, it was a lazy one, but then again I was busy cooking out and having a blast for the 4th of July. Must've had a pig and a half last week!

Secondly, this post contains a recipe inspired by my recent trip to Italy. This one is quite simple, with only a handful of ingredients and not much more than 20 minutes prep time. It's also quite flavour-full!

Ingredients:
- 2.5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 2 - 3 tablespoons of fresh sage, chopped
- 2 sprigs of fresh sage for garnish
- 2 ounces of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- half a pound of spaghetti
- 1/2 cup of spaghetti liquid reserved after draining
- 1/4 cup shaved parmesan

Heat up the water for the spaghetti while you're doing your other prep. You should start cooking the spaghetti before you start the sauce. Cook it about five minutes until not quite done, then drain, reserving a half cup of the liquid.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until bubbling. Add the sage and mushrooms. Cook in butter until tender. Now add your spaghetti and mix thoroughly. Cook another two to three minutes until al dente, adding reserved liquid if it gets dry.

Serve into bowls and garnish with shaved parmesan, fresh pepper, and a sprig of fresh sage.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Alice in Chains - Would?

The Tomahawk Chops

It's no secret that I don't have a grill. There's not even a courtyard in my building I could use. So when I get the opportunity to jump over to someone else's joint and use theirs, I definitely hop to it. My now former boss had a housewarming/going away party (it's complicated) this weekend. To see him off I got a pair of tomahawk chops for the grill.

The grill I had to work with. It was fantastic. There you can see the chops front and centre, with some Argentine-marinated skirt steaks to the left, pork sausage behind, and roasting corn on top. 

These are the wonderful chops. They are HUGE. This was a little over four pounds of meat, rubbed down with olive oil, and then sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper. When I want great meat of all kinds I hit up the International Meat Market in Astoria. My friend Sal always jokes that this is actually a bar down the street whenever I say I shopped at the meat market. The butcher who cut and frenched these chops was nothing if not an artist of the highest caliber.

The final product. 

Your soundtrack for this entry: Michael Jackson - Rock with You.

The Za'atar Lamb Chops and Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts

I came so close to making fish. Then it was almost another pasta. Then I figured just because I love pasta, you dear readers would think that's all I could make. Bah! The lamb caught my eye and the lamb's what I made. My arteries probably hate me now, but who needs them?

So, what's za'atar? Until a few months ago I didn't know either, but the Thrifty Sifter made some of her own and conveniently left it at my place. Essentially it's a Middle Eastern equivalent to salt and pepper in that it's the spice. Serious Eats has a more in-depth za'atar description. It goes great on meat, as I proved to myself last night.

Overall this was an extremely simple dinner to make.

Ingredients for lamb chops:
- lamb chops
- fresh ground pepper
- salt
- za'atar

Ingredients for brussels sprouts:
- brussels sprouts
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- shaved parmesan

To paraphrase Heidi Swanson, whose golden crusted brussels sprouts entry I perused, this isn't much of a recipe. Hell I would barely consider the above a list of ingredients. You can essentially follow her directions for the brussels sprouts. The only change I really made was using shaved parmesan.

Also, you should take her advice about using small sprouts. I'm battling a cold and don't feel so hot, so I rushed through the grocery store produce section instead of hitting up my regular United Bros. Fruit Company across the street. Some of my sprouts were on the large side and, yes, they burned and didn't make it to the final plate.

The lamb chops are a simple affair, too. Sprinkle salt on both sides, grind pepper on both sides, and dust both sides with za'atar. Let sit for 15 minutes or so, then sear them in a skillet over medium heat to desired doneosity. Let them rest a few minutes and serve. 

And yeah, even though I'm sick, I had to have a beer with dinner. That's a Hop Noir from Peak Organic, a black IPA. NOM!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Ghost - Ritual.

The Spaghetti Alle Vongole

Late last month the Thrifty Sifter and I took off to Tuscany for a week of fun in the hills and walking the streets of Florence. We also made a pit stop in Ferrara to see some old family friends. I'll do a feature on some of the food we had there in a future post.

Of course, I brought back about ten pounds of Tuscany near my middle and still had a hankering for pasta. It's also the case that I eat entirely too much pork and beef and wanted something non-chicken. Enter the desire for a clam sauce.

This recipe was adapted from the May 2011 issue of Bon Appetit. About the most difficult part of it is waiting for the clams to open.

Ingredients:
- Kosher salt
- spaghetti
- 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (I used my own dried chilis.)
- 1/4 cup of dry white wine
- 2 pounds of littleneck clams, scrubbed
- 2 tablespoons of flat leaf Italian parsley, roughly chopped

First hint: really scrub those clams under cold running water. I worked in a seafood restaurant for several years and I can tell you this is hugely important. You want to get all the nooks and crannies so you don't end up with grit. Who likes grit? Not me!

Here you can plainly see I went and used way more than two tablespoons of parsley. I like parsley. While you're prepping this, bring about 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a 5 quart saucepan. If you don't know the measures, put enough water in a big one to cover the pasta. The cooking time will vary, but boil the pasta for about six minutes, which is a few minutes from tender. This is your second hint: really do this. Otherwise you'll overcook the pasta. Then drain and keep a half cup of the liquid in reserve. 

These are my temporary scrubbed clam friends hanging out in a coffee mug. No grit. No brains, neither.

While you're boiling up the pasta, you should get started on the clam sauce. Pre-heat a large skillet on medium, add three tablespoons of the olive oil once it's piping. Add the garlic and stir until it's on the golden side of golden brown. Then add the red pepper flakes and stir for another 15 seconds or so. Add the wine, then the clams, and crank the heat up to high. Cover and cook until the clams opens to release their briny juices. That's probably about six minutes. As the clams open and give up the ghost, use some tongs to pull them out and set aside. 

Here are several other things you can do with tongs. 

Hello clams!

Add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta liquid to the skillet, bring it to a boil, and add the pasta and continue to cook on high. Toss the pasta to coat thoroughly while it cooks until the pasta is al dente and absorbs some of the flavour of the liquid. 

Put the clams back in along with any juices and the parsley. Combine thoroughly. If it seems a little dry, add some more reserved pasta liquid. Transfer to bowls and drizzle with remaining olive oil. 

I'm quite pleased with this dish. 

Your soundtrack for this entry: Garbage - Big Bright World. 

The Next Try at Pork Chops

After the first try at pork chops, it's taken some reading to get me on to my next try at pork chops. I got a little recipe. Wanna hear about it? Here we go!

Ingredients:
1 - one teaspoon white pepper
2 - one tablespoon hot paprika
3 - two tablespoons salt
4 - two tablespoons fresh ground pepper
5 - one teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
6 - two boneless center cut pork chops
7 - four tablespoons olive oil
8 - half cup all purpose flour

Mix the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Brush the pork chops with two tablespoons of olive oil total. Coat with the spice mixture. Put the flour in a large plate and dredge the chops.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Also heat the other two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on high. Brown the pork chops two minutes per side. Transfer chops to the oven and cook for ten minutes. Remove from oven and let rest.

Am I going to fry up the chops or my fingers?

Okay, it's just the chops.

I served the chops with some scallion kimchi. In the end the chops were great, though I'm still not ready to make them for other people. I also would use scallion kimchi sparingly. It's very strong.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Ghost Brigade - Clawmaster. 

The Basil Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon

This one was delicious, but unfortunately the photo series is marked incomplete. Jessica and Mike came over, as did the Thrifty Sifter, and eventually upstairs neighbour Michael, everyone got to talking, and I forgot to take pictures. Hey, I can talk with the best of them!

Still, these did come out extremely well, pan fried in the skillet until the bacon was brown, then baked in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I sliced the chicken crosswise for the plates and had trouble not drooling into the food. Served with black quinoa mixed with a dollop of bacon fat and a fantastic romaine salad, this meal was a winner. 

Ingredients:

- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (tender removed and breasts butterflied)

- 20 basil leaves (washed thoroughly, blanched and shocked)

- 12 uncured, hickory smoked slices of bacon

- salt

- fresh ground pepper

I already went over the cooking above. To prepare the breasts first season with the salt and pepper. Next cut off the tender (the strip of meat along the side that attaches to the rib cage). Wrap the tender in basil leaves (5 - 7). 

Some breasts are large enough that you wouldn't need to butterfly them to accomplish the stuffing, but not most of the ones in my local grocery. Once you have the tenders wrapped, place them in the center of the butterflied breast, then wrap the breast in 3 - 4 slices of bacon, taking care to tuck in your loose ends. Spiral patterns help here, but we'll also accept Möbius strips.

You're all set to cook and enjoy!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Van Halen - Jamie's Cryin.

The Spiced Tuna with Fresh Avocado and Mango

For a while now I've had an idea in my head about seared strips of tuna. This isn't that idea, but it's the first experiment toward it. Right up front I'll say the accompaniments were improvised, but in the right direction and the tuna should be of a higher, sushi quality seared at a higher temperature for less time.

Here I trimmed down a tuna steak to the best parts. This definitely requires a higher-grade of tuna, preferably something that wasn't still frozen this morning. That way the strips won't be quite so rough in places.

This is a mixture of extra hot Indian chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt. The chili powder overwhelmed the other spices, so I can cut back on that.

Here's one shot of the final dish. The avocado was perfect, but I really need a better-quality mango as this wasn't the sweetest it could be.

The tuna came out tasty, but not quite how I want. The sear really ended up cooking it through. In itself not bad, but not what I was going for with this dish. As well the coating of sesame seeds didn't stick evenly, though I didn't want to cook them on the tuna as they'd get burnt.

Next time I'm going to try halving the extra hot chili powder, better tuna, and a little more sesame oil. I also think an acid needs to be in this dish to break down and cut through some flavours.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Aesop Rock - Save Yourself.

The Bison Ragu

This entry, like the previous ones and the next three or so, were all off-the-cuff recipes I came up with while standing in the grocery store or riding the subway or into my empty fridge. This one came to me at work while eating lunch.

Ingredients:

- olive oil
- four cloves garlic (minced)
- half a yellow onion (chopped)
- salt
- pepper
- one pound ground bison meat
- 12 ounces diced tomatoes with basil (opened)
- 4 dried chilies with seeds removed and roughly chopped
- spaghetti (enough for however many people decide to show up)

First make sure you set up the water to cook the pasta. I'll assume you can time this right alongside the sauce because you're not a dunderhead.

Heat the olive oil at medium-high. Add garlic and onions and cook about five minutes or until the onions are translucent and the garlic is slightly brown. Then add the ground bison, season with salt and pepper, and brown. If there's a lot of liquid left over when the meat is browned, drain some of it.

Next you're going to add the tomatoes and chilis. Mix thoroughly and simmer for ten minutes.

Add the sauce to the pot with your drained pasta and mix. Whatever you do, do not let the cat get in the pot!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Björk - Play Dead. 

The Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Braised Endive

Something I've been thinking about a lot is how I could eat less bacon. Since I gave up keeping kosher I've probably single-handedly kept Applegate Farms in business some weeks. I've been fairly good about that this week, but have been thinking about these bacon wrapped chicken thighs for quite some time.

Now, presentation-wise I wasn't really thinking here. The final dish was face-punchingly good, but probably could have used some more panache. Maybe a little basting for the thighs and perhaps some creative cutting up of the endive with some garnish.

But I mentioned it was very tasty, right?

For the chicken I simply seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme, then wrapped in bacon. Pre-heat the oven to 400. While it's heating up sear the thighs over medium high heat on both sides for about three minutes each side. Then place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.

The endives I simply braised in butter.

Cooking in my trusty skillet.

Oh laws yes the tasty bacon fat.

As you can see the final product looks bit barren (and poorly shot), but the bacon did not overpower the taste of the thighs and the endive was buttery goodness.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Zedd - The Legend of Zelda (Original Mix).

The Diced Tomato and Chili Marinated Steak with Black Quinoa

This recipe was improvised using ingredients with which I wasn't that familiar. The result was tasty, but not as good as it could be, so my recipe below is adjusted from what I used to create what you see in the photo.

Diced Tomato and Chili Marinated Steak
- 1 12 ounce can of Ro*Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
- 1 8 ounce shell steak
- 1 cup black quinoa
- 1 teaspoon salt

Drain most of the liquid from the diced tomatoes. Put steak in a bowl and cover entirely in diced tomatoes and chilis. Let marinate for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare black quinoa according to instructions on the box. Ensure that the liquid is completely absorbed!

When the steak is done marinating, remove from tomatoes and place in a pre-heated skillet over high heat. Prepare rare or you're an uncouth lowlife.

Sautée the diced tomatoes and chilis in a separate pan until hot.

Serve with a swagger.

Your soundtrack for this entry: The Birthday Massacre - Always. 

The Pomodoro

Sunday is the day to get shit done around the house. In the summer, who wants to spend a long time over a hot stove? Well, I do, but on this particular day I didn't. After all, I spent the whole afternoon doing a deep clean of the apartment and it's heartbreaking to end up having to clean that kitchen twice in one day.

Here I minced three cloves of garlic and diced an onion. Then I cooked them in two tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of salt, and a half a teaspoon of pepper over medium-high for about 5 minutes (until they were translucent, but not brown). Then I added some Pomi Chopped Tomatoes and brought to a simmer. Finally I added four tablespoons of roughly-chopped fresh basil and let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

If you don't know how to cook pasta by now, you probably drool on yourself.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Coheed and Cambria - Ten Speed (Of God's Blood & Burial).

The First Try at Pork Chops

OH EM GEE PORK CHOPS!!!

For a while I've been reticent to make a pork chop. After giving up keeping kosher a few months ago, I've eaten a ton of treif, but haven't embarked on the fabulous pork chop.

And I'll be honest: it showed with this recipe. The chops were almost too dry and not terribly tender. My parmesan and smoked paprika coating was great, as was the baby bok choy and chopped baby carrots steamed side dish, but this wouldn't be one of my ace meals.

That's okay. I don't expect to nail new things the first time. Sometimes I do (as you'll see tomorrow) and sometimes I don't.

Some Samuel Adams made it all better. My personal favourite beer is an IPA, which is increasingly popular here in New York. Because of that I've been making an effort to branch out from time to time to my less-favoured beers. Number two on my list is probably lager.

You can see here the meat's cooked through and it definitely looks yummy, but I'm sure you can tell it's not all that juicy or tender.

Still, I enjoyed eating it with a creepy expression on my face.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Dream Theater - On the Backs of Angels.

The Stewed Chicken and Peppers

This was a somewhat impromptu recipe. I had it in my head all afternoon to make a chicken dish with a rich onion and pepper smother. It came out tender, juice, and delicious.

Ingredients:

two to three boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt

fresh ground pepper

coriander

safflower oil
two bell peppers (green and red), sliced lengthwise into strips
one yellow onion, julienned
a quarter cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
canned diced tomatoes

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and coriander. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides (approximately six minutes per sie).

Meanwhile, add the peppers, onion, tomatoes (with juice), cilantro, and salt and pepper to a saucepan on high heat with shimmering oil in it.

Pause to drink some leftover kosher wine from Passover. Tishbi has quickly become a favoured brand of mine. I love red wines with a bit of a peppery flavour, and this was no disappointment.

When the chicken has done cooking, add to the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for 10 - 15 minutes until desired tenderness is reached.

Get a close up picture of the chicken cooking for your blog.

Serve next to a menorah for light and mixed fingerling potatoes (boiled) for your side dish.

Your soundtrack for this entry: The Epoxies - Molded Plastic.

The Cod Bruschetta

Did you ever look at bruschetta and think, "Gee, that could be three times larger with a cod fillet on it?" Me neither, but we'd both be stupid for not trying it. I don't remember where we got this recipe, but here's how it goes.

Ingredients:

two - eight ounce cod fillets
four ripe plum tomatoes on the vine, diced
half a medium red onion, diced
two cloves of garlic, minced
one clove of garlic, whole
fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
one teaspoon salt
half teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil
two slices of peasant bread

Heat olive oil in a large skillet at medium. Add the garlic and onions. Cook until tender. Add diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook until soft. Keep warm and let stand.

Meanwhile, bake the cod fillets on a lightly-oiled cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

As the cod cooks up, toast the peasant bread. Rub whole garlic clove on each once toasted.

When cod is finished, place an even heap of tomato mixture on either piece of bread. Then lay cod on top.

Serve with a smile or get beaten by your guests.

Flaky!

Nommy!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five.

The Corn Pesto (with Bacon)

Corn pesto? With bacon? Jeremy, you have to be kidding me! No, I assure you Susanna (I assume the interlocutioner is named Susanna), I'm not kidding you. The Thrifty Sifter found us a scrumptatious recipe and I made it. This is also my first pesto, so it's odd for me to have gone outside the traditional bounds. Usually when I do something for the first time, I like to try the classic version first.

But, y'know...bacon.

Epicurious, as they do frequently, provided the fresh corn pesto recipe. My only comment is that I'd cut the amount of corn by 30% or double the amount of pasta. There was a bit too much corn kernelage in there. We also used perciatelli. This is my favourite type of pasta.

Post bacon, pre-corn sautée.

Breaking out the Thrifty Sifter's new food processor. Dropping most of the rest of the ingredients in here was easy.

Zoooooooooooooooooooom!

The final product was familiar, but given a fantastic kick by the addition of bacon and the cooking of the corn in a bit of bacon fat. Bacon, parmesan, and fresh basil definitely go well together, bringing out interesting flavours in each other.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Björk - Crystalline.