Kale

a friend of mine recently decided all the news on Kale left her, well a bit cold.
While she believed all of the info out there on it being very healthy, she just could not eat it prepared in a simple manner.
I found some baby kale and prepared it like a Recipe Bobby flay has on the food network website and she said that was great, but complete full grown kale she had an issue with.
She had bought several packages and her compliant specifically was it was bitter, though and she felt she was eating grass.
In come my knowledge of chemistry; bitter is usually the result of a high pH (basic) or iron.
So i took one of her bags and worked it with apple cider vinegar.
Then back to food knowledge.
In the south, there are a number of very healthy, leafy vegetables which are eaten as a staple, but require extra flavor and a long cooking time.
So the kale and apple cider vinegar were reduced to a low heat and cooked for an hour.  I had to add more vinegar because the first half cup was neutralized by what ever was in the kale.  I also added some salt and extra water with 3 teaspoons olive oil and 2 cloves of minced garlic.
After an hour, i drained the liquid (but did not rinse) and let her try it.
Kale is back on her menu - the way i prepared it!

Karidopida

Karidopida

Greek nut cake

The cake ·       8 eggs, separated ·       1 cup sugar ·       1/4 teaspoon cinnamon ·       1/4 teaspoon allspice or nutmeg ·       1 teaspoon fresh orange peel, finely diced ·       1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter ·       2 teaspoons baking powder ·       1/8 teaspoon salt ·       1 teaspoon Hazelnut syrup ·       1 cup cake flour *       i use regular flour with great results ·       2 cups ground hazelnuts (or Walnuts)

Toppings Honey/Orange/wine syrup or powdered syrup. ·       1/2 cup sugar           i use raw sugar ·       1 whole orange, cut in quarters ·       1/4 cup honey ·       1/2 cup sherry ·       1/2 cup water

Syrup

make a flavored syrup with water, orange and sugar at a medium high heat

when the mixture boils add sherry and honey and lower heat to a simmer

reduce by 1/4, strain out the orange and then set aside.

Cake

Use a whisk attachment on a mixer first

beat egg whites with cream of tarter on high and set aside

beat egg yokes until thick and then add spices, sugar and salt and continue to mix

separately, mix baking powder with the flour

Change the paddle from the whisk to a beat bar and reduce the speed of the mixer

slowly add the flour mixture to the egg yoke mixture

When mixed remove from the mixer and fold in the egg whites

Fold in the nuts

Pour into a 9 x 12 greased cake pan

Cook at 350 F for 40 minutes

Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes before adding any topping

When using the syrup, warm the syrup and pour 1 cup over the cake

If using the powdered sugar, cover a plate with powdered sugar and turn the baking dish onto the plate and allow the cake to fall onto the plate.

Serve cool 

a twist on Potato Leek Soup

There are certain spices, that are not part of my regular cooking, that i adore, but must be careful with how i use.
Tarragon is a big one with its strong licorice type flavor and i love it.
So, this year i grew it and had a good crop, but fresh tarragon is strong and can only be used sparingly.
I dried most of it.
I love tarragon with crab, but i was not going to do crab.  There was a great sale on Yukon gold potatoes and i just (before this weeks snow storms, the last of my leeks.
Since a potato leek soup fit my mood (with the cold weather and all) this is where i went!
With cream soups, i like sherry, not wine and i used chicken stock

Potato leek soup

with tarragon

·       6 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced

          * you can use any kind, but these are the best

·       2 cups leeks, diced

          *After cutting, soak in warm water for 20 minutes, rinsing well with cold water several times to get the grit off

·       1/2 teaspoon smoked salt (you notice i love smoke?)

·       1/4 teaspoon tarragon

·       1/8 teaspoon crush red pepper

·       1/2 cup sherry

·       1 cup half and half

·       1 stick butter

·       2 cups chicken broth

          * to make it vegetarian use a vegetable stock, white wine or water

Optional - 1/2 cup sour cream

                - additional Kosher salt to taste

just brown the potatoes in butter and tarragon

remove the potatoes, leaving any butter behind

sauté the leeks with tarragon, crushed pepper and smoked salt till the leeks are just soft

add the potatoes back and add 2 cups broth

Simmer for an hour and then add all the additional ingredients

Simmer for an additional half hour and serve!

Super bowl Sunday spread

No i do not like football, yes i love to provide food.
So my spread included my chili, black beans, Jalapeno poppers and chicken wings.
Lets focus on the unusual - the wings, why because they were bake not fried!

I took hints from Bobby Flay (cooking chicken at 300 F) and Alton Brown (who fries his chicken twice a higher temperature the second time).

Chicken wings were rubbed with a dry rub over night.

Spicy Chicken Wings

Dry rub ratio:

·       1 ginger

·       1/2 cumin

·       1/4 dry chipolte peppers

·       1 raw sugar

·       1/4 cayenne pepper

·       1/4 salt

·       1/4 smoked salt

• 1 paprika (smoked, hot or regular)

Wings are coated and left over night

bring to room temp and bake at 300 F for 1 hour, remove and let cool

Coating:

1 cup plain or panko bread crumbs mixed with paprika or crushed red pepper

create an egg wash (scrambled eggs)

dip each wing in the wash and then coat in bread crumbs

place on a greased cooking rack and baked at 400 F for 45 minutes

Cool and serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping sauces:

Honey barbecue: equal potions of warm Honey and your favorite BBQ sauce

Butter Blue cheese:  mix equal portions of warm butter and blue cheese

because of a question on facebooks

one of my Facebook friend posed a general question about chicken riggies and then i was hungry for it and so i made it tonight!

Chicken rigatoni with escarole

·       5 chicken thighs

·       2 32 oz cans crushed tomatoes

·       10 cloves garlic, minced

·       1 cup long chili peppers, chopped

·       2 cups burgundy wine

·       2 teaspoons salt, plus

·       1/4 cup parsley

·       1 tablespoon oregano

·       1 tablespoon basil

·       2 bunches escarole

·       olive oil

·       1/2 stick butter

heat the tomato sauce with 5 cloves minced garlic on a medium heat

When it begins to simmer, add oregano, basil, chili peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Bring back to a simmer and add the red wine.

Continue at a simmer for 1 hour, adding water to keep the sauce lite.

Brown the thighs in olive oil in a separate pan and remove from heat.

When cool remove bones and add everything to the sauce.

Rinse the pan with 16 oz of water and add to the Tomato sauce.

Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat.

Continue cooking on low for 30 minutes

The escarole must be well washed and diced and allowed to drip dry. 

(i use a lettuce spinner)

to a small amount of water in a large pot add 5 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 stick butter.

When the butter melts add all the escarole and stir till wilted.

Reduce to a warming flame.

drain the water into another pot which the rigatoni will be cooked.

Salt this water to sea water level and bring to a boil.

Cook rigatoni according to the directions., drain and add to the chicken and tomato sauce.

Plate rigatoni with tomatoes sauce and chicken first, escarole on the side and grate fresh parmesan cheese on top.

using things that are not quite right

One came from the garden and one used to be considered a discard, but is now very pricey.

This year my red cabbage did not form heads, but there were a lot of leaves.
Those leaves are considered to be discards normally because they are too tough.
I love my garden red cabbage because it simply has more flavor and color.
So i trimmed all the leaves the other warmish day and proceeded to prepare them.
The first is preparation after washing with warm to hot water.
The leaves are cut extremely thin.  You ask with the problems i have, how do i do this?
I do not know, but they are less than a millimeter in thickness, mostly.
They are then blanched in boiling water with my store bought pickling spice, some butter, an apple, 1 teaspoon of raw sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, a cored and sliced thin also and apple cider vinegar.
The heat is reduced to a simmer and the pot covered.  I let it go for an hour and when i am done - deliciousness!

The other item is sold in the stores as ox tails.  My mother did a preparation, which i do not have the recipe for, but brings back many memories.
Most cultures seem to have some form of use and because they are very flavorful, they are now a pricey product.
I used a single package of Ox tails, more than a pound, a pound of fresh carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch lengths, 2 cups chopped celery, 1/4 cup minced parsley, 5 cloves of garlic, a cup of sliced mushrooms, 1 onion cut into eighths, 2 potatoes cut into eighths, 3 cups burgundy wine, 1 cup of beef broth, salt to taste, 1 teaspoon of thyme and black pepper to taste .
I always brown any meat first, with the onions, with a bit of olive oil .  I add the garlic after the onion is translucent and the "deglaze" with one cup wine.
The thyme and black pepper are added and then the rest of the wine.
When this comes to a boil i add the remainder of the ingredients and reduce the heat to a simmer.
This is then covered and let cook for hours.
The meat falls off the bone, so i remove the bones before serving.
After removing the bones add the salt to taste, i use kosher salt because it dissolves better.
If i add i tablespoon of raw sugar in the last 30 minutes, It thicken up a little bit.
I serve with biscuits or bread.

Avocados with hints

Avocado salad

with options

·       4 ripe Avocados, diced

*an avocado should have just a little give when feeling through the skin and no brown spots when opened, discard any off color spots

i dice them in the skin and scoop out with a spoon.

·       1 small red onion, diced fine

·       1 cup cilantro leaves, diced fine

·       2 cups tomatoes, diced

·       1 Jalapeno, diced

·       2 Chipolte peppers, diced

·       Juice of 2 limes

* i microwave the lime for 30 seconds to get the most juice, i also cut only the top off and run a sharp knife inside the lime to break each segment

·       1/2 teaspoon smoked salt

·       1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Options that i use:

·       crisp bacon pieces - for this meat eater, not an option

·       cicerone - fried pork skin

·       any other fried, crispy meat

·       shredded cheese to taste

·       more diced peppers

Mix all ingredients lightly together as they are prepared, i like the avocado pieces to still have shape, refrigerate until use the same day.