Pappardelle with Mushroom, Radish, Garlic and Lemon Cream Sauce (Monday, May 30, 2011)

I have about 2 dozen eggs in my fridge.  Erin left a dozen with me when she left town and I already had a dozen in the fridge.  I decided to make another batch of ice cream (requires 8 eggs) and some fresh pasta (requires 5 eggs).  I had some leftover heavy cream from making the ice cream.  I also had a handful of crimini mushrooms and some radishes picked from the garden this morning.  I made my pasta (5 eggs and 3.5 cups flour) and cut it into thick noodles (aka pappardelle).  While my water came to a boil I sauteed garlic in butter and olive oil along with my mushrooms.  After the mushrooms were tender I added my sliced radish to cook them lightly, preserving the crunch and flavor.  I then added about 1/2 cup of heavy cream, a squeeze of lemon, the cooked pasta and some grated Asiago Pepato (this is an asiago with whole peppercorns blended in, also donated from Erin's fridge).  I plated up and topped with more cheese.  A simple nap inducing lunch perfectly fit for a lazy Monday.  Goodnight.

The Garden (Sunday, May 29, 2011)

The entire plot from afar.  I have tried to make good use of space by going vertical.  These are 10 ft plastic rain gutters screwed to 2x3s with nylon netting behind them.  The gutters are about $5 apiece.  Wood of this size is pretty cheap.  The netting was a bit more, but allows for vining plants (beans, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.) to climb up.  

Starting at the east side of the plot I have several varieties of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.  There are also marigolds, and a spinach patch.  I harvest from the spinach patch about every two weeks at the moment by clipping the larger leaves.  It provides a lot of food, but I'm told spinach dies out when the heat arrives.  At that time, I will replace this area with something else, perhaps swiss chard.

Moving westward, we can still see the spinach, up close and blown over due to wind.  The peppers are behind the spinach.  There are also snap peas vining up the back, near the short stick in the ground.  Also, here you can see most of the herb garden which is full of goodies, with Snots the Snake standing guard (yellow).  There is also a prominent onion patch in which I have "Candy Apple Red" and "Spanish Yellow" onions planted.  The gutters above have some chives and scallions.

Here I have a cage that I built to protect small plants from the rabbits and birds.  Underneath is a rubber maid covering in "floating row cover" to keep out insides and maintain humidity.  Inside the rubber maid are several small pots in which I am growing seedlings for corn, edamame (soybean), broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli raab and a few melon varieties.  I will let these grow for awhile and transplant them later after harvesting other crops.  The open space here has not been designated yet.  It may be a good place for melon, which will take over a large area.

This is the western end of the plot where I have all of my Brassicas planted.  Brassicas are things like cabbage, broccoli and all the other things kids don't like.  They require lots of nutrients from the soil and are highly nutritious as a result.  I have one row of broccoli (left most) a row of white cabbage, a row of asian cabbage, a row of kale and 2 rows of brussel sprouts.  Underneath all of this foliage are some radishes which take little space and time to mature.   They can be planted around other plants before they are large.  I have planted radishes and carrots all around the garden surrounding other plants, namely my tomatoes.  The tomatoes grow up, not out like these brassicas and will allow the carrots and radishes to receive a good bit of sun through the summer.  In the back  here there are leeks, beans and cucumbers.  In the gutters are various types of lettuce, bok choi and flowers.

Braised Oxtail (Wednesday, May 25, 2011)

Along with my other spoils from the Asian market I bought some oxtail.  Oxtail is surprisingly expensive.  I got about 4 pieces of oxtail for $8.  Though, I'm not sure of the weight, it wasn't much more than a pound. Considering the high price, I had high expectations.  I decided to braise them with some beef stock and wine.  First I cooked them in some olive oil on med/high heat to give some nice color, turning them every few minutes. Then, I added some chopped garlic, onion, celery and tomato.  When the veggies were softened I poured in some red wine (pictured) and some beef stock.  I spiced with caraway, fennel, sage and rosemary.  I thought those flavors went well with the wine.  I let this simmer on low heat, covered, for about 90 minutes.  I then used some of the liquid to make a pan gravy.  To do this, I mixed some flour with cold water and added it to the cooking liquid, whisking constantly to avoid clumps.  While the oxtail was cooking I also whipped up some classic mashed potatoes and some roasted brussel sprouts. The oxtails were good, not great.  For the most part, it was the same as a pot roast.  There may be a bit more fat included, and I'm sure this lent some nice flavor to my gravy.  There are also small bits of cartilage that offer some different texture, if you can stomach it (I can).  Navigating the bones to get little morsels was not worth the work.  I think I know why all the recipes I saw were for soups.  The fat on the tail would provide lots of flavor and when stewed for long enough the meat should fall right off the bones.  I'm for using all parts of the animal, and if I ever butcher my own animals I'll be sure to use even the tail, but at the price people are asking for oxtail, I think I'll pass from now on.

Baked Oysters (Monday, May 23, 2011)

I've been meaning to go to the Asian market for more than a month to get some things.  If an ingredient is used in Asian cooking, you can probably get it much cheaper at an Asian market.  For instance, ginger is $1 a pound and your slightly more exotic mushrooms (shitake, crimini and oyster) are about a third of the price of a regular grocery store.  Additionally, if you want fresh seafood of any kind, you have much more selection and better prices at an Asian market.  Oh!  And, we can forget about all those extra animal parts!  I bought a handful of snacks that some coworkers introduced me to, including sichuan peanuts and tofu snacks (essentially tofu jerky).  I also bought some spices, vinegars, various noodles and some oxtail (which I will feature later).  In the seafood aisle I did numerous passes by some oysters.  I really wanted to buy them but I was worried about it.  I trust an oyster bar, but not myself.  I attempted to ask the guy working at the seafood counter if I could eat them raw, but he didn't understand.  I tilted my head back making a slurping sound while pantomiming eating a raw oyster.  He shook his head "yes" and repeated my motions.  I still wasn't quite convinced.  I went ahead and bought 8 of them anyway at 80 cents a piece.  These things were huge, and I made sure to pick out the biggest in the bunch, considering the "per piece" pricing.  After some Googling about determining freshness of oysters I was pretty sure mine were fresh.  They didn't smell foul, they were closed and were on ice when I bought them.  Not only were they closed, but they were a bitch to open.  One gave me particular trouble so I hammered it a while to produce an opening for my butter knife shucking tool.  Anyway, I decided not to eat them raw and instead started making a stuffing with the ultimate hope of producing baked oysters.

I began with onion, celery and garlic in a pan with butter.  Along the way I added some chopped shitake and spinach (recently picked from my garden).  When everything was cooked I added some bread crumbs and a handful of romano cheese (Sheep's milk of course, leftover from months ago).  After shucking and separating the oysters, I placed them on a pan, using wads of foil to help them stand when needed.  I added a good helping of my filling to each and topped them with more romano, parmesan, panko bread crumbs and a drizzle of olive oil.  These went into a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes until the tops were golden brown.

I could only manage to eat 5 of them.  These things were seriously monstrous.  I didn't get sick and now I'm more confident of buying oysters, though it would be nice to be able to talk to someone who speaks English and knows exactly how fresh the oysters are.  Maybe I'll make a trip to a nice grocery store to compare prices and ask some questions.  After my belly was full, I was able to settle in for the rest of Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals (Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder) in which the Mavericks overcame a 15 point deficit with 5 minutes left in the game to tie and eventually win in overtime taking a 3-1 series lead.  GO MAVS!

Fish Tacos with Cilantro Mayo (Saturday, May 14, 2011)

It's weird how one little ingredient can take you on a culinary adventure.  I bought some French Breakfast Radish at the Tower Grove Farmer's market in an attempt to force myself to learn more about cooking with radishes.  I have several varieties growing in the garden and they can be grown in small bits of space while other larger plants mature.  So as the season progresses I will be inter-planting radish among all of my other vegetables to make use of all the space.  Considering I rarely eat radishes and never cook with them, some experience was needed.  In my search around the web for ideas, I ran across two recipes by Martha Stewart (known mostly for her excellent investing tactics, but she also cooks).  One recipe was for some fish tacos that had some sort of radish salad on them with a salsa verde.  Another was a recipe for quick pickled radishes.  I opted to make pickled radishes but considering the vast amount of tilapia fillets in the freezer I thought they could be worked into a fish taco that would supersede Martha's.  I was also inspired by the new plethora of "Baja Taco" joints in the Dallas area, two of which I visited when I was there last.  These are small tacos, usually with some purple cabbage rather than lettuce and queso fresco.  But, what makes them addictive is the sauce, which is a garlic cream sauce that gives the tacos supernatural powers.

I began by thinly slicing my radishes along with some onion and pickling them in rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt.  That's as much care as I took with the radishes. Which, might I remind you, "Pickled Radish" was the first domino to fall in the sequence of inspirational thought.  Meanwhile, I marinated my tilapia fillets in olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and chopped garlic.  When these had marinated about 30 minutes I broiled them in the oven for just a few minutes on each side.  For other toppings, I shredded some cucumber for a fresh crunch, coarsely chopped some cilantro, julienned some spicy peppers and crumbled some feta cheese (I would have used queso fresco if it was available at the store).  The key to the addictiveness of these tacos was the "mayonesa de cilantro."  I made a fresh mayo consisting of  one egg, a cup of canola oil, garlic, onion, lime juice, cumin, salt and of course a large handful of cilantro.  First, everything but half of the oil and the lime juice was blended.  Then, while blending, the lime juice and remainder of the oil was added slowly.  To top it all off I went the extra mile and gave the corn tortillas a little extra crunch by brushing one side with olive oil and toasting them in a pan.

This recipe is one that I would add to the menu at my hypothetical future restaurant.  It's a customizable crowd pleaser.  Although there are many components each one only took minimal effort and the total cook time was short.  The fish only takes about 6 minutes under a broiler.  I absolutely loved these tacos.  Erin did too.  She said "I think you just redefined taco night."  I'd have to agree.  The toppings were all non-traditional, but I still think this dish is accessible. Even kids would love these.  The acidic crunch of the radish, coolness of the cucumber and the creamy spice of the mayo made these so full of flavor I can't wait to eat the leftovers.  I was also happy with the feta cheese rather than queso fresco. Feta cheese has that little tartness to it that really went well with the raw garlic flavor and finished off the bite very nicely.  Let me recommend that everyone get a little more creative on taco night and do something a little less normal.  Tacos are a great way to make use of many of the ingredients you have around, you just have to be creative in how you use them.  And that's what's cooking!

Herbs in my Garden (Friday, May 13, 2011)

This is my first year gardening and I've gone all out.  I'll continue to post throughout the year but today I just wanted to brag and give a list of all the herbs I have growing.  I have a 5'x20' plot at Bell Community Garden and about 15 square feet is devoted to herbs including in no particular order:
Texas Tarragon
Sweet Marjoram

Some Basil beginning to flower.  This is either the Spicy
Globe Basil or Lemon Basil.  If only the picture were
Scratch-n-Sniff I could be sure.

Smoky Bronze Fennel
Lemon Basil
Thai Basil
Boxwood Basil
Spicy Globe Basil
Magical Michael Basil
Genovese Basil
Pineapple Sage
Winter Savory
Roman Chamomile
Red-Veined Sorrel
East Indian Lemongrass
Vietnamese Coriander
Cilantro
Curly Parsley
Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
Thyme (2 varieties)
Oregano
Fernleaf Dill
Rosemary
Caraway
Radicchio
Spearmint
Peppermint

Some of the herbs are starting to flower already.  Love them herbs!  I will feature them in many upcoming posts.  In fact, I've already made a few meals with some of the thyme and marjoram.  If only it were right outside my kitchen window.  On that note, if only I had a kitchen window.

Baby Beet Greens and Mushrooms (Sunday, April 24, 2011)

Not only do I have my own plot at a community garden but I've been volunteering as well at Gateway Greening. There they have demonstration beds and seedlings for sale.  This is the organizing firm for most of the community gardens in the area.  Withing their demonstration beds they have all kind of things planted.  On this particular weekend we did and bit of thinning of some of the beds and some formal harvesting of other things.  The volunteers then get to take home the spoils and I walked away with some kale, lettuce, spinach and baby beet greens.  Beet greens are praised as highly nutritious and they're also very pretty with dark green leaves and bright sanguine veins.  I had no idea what to do with them, but most greens are pretty good just sauteed with some garlic and oil.  In this case I halved some mushrooms, cooked them in some butter and garlic and then added the beet greens.  This was surprisingly filling and satisfying.  The greens have no special taste to them.  If you're used to spinach you would like beet greens, though I'm not sure if they are in stores very often.  The better option is to start growing some in your own garden.  I've been having a great time in mine.  Eat your veggies!

Bacon Caramel Ice Cream (Wednesday, May 4, 2011)

I've been hearing about bacon ice cream for the past few years and when I first heard it I, and others, thought it was a pretty ridiculous idea.  Nowadays it seems somewhat commonly accepted as a good idea, not just because it represents the American way of life in all of its gluttony and excess, but because salty bits of bacon hidden in a rich and velvety mound of ice cream is a logical pairing.  Salty and sweet are natural partners.  I recounted a recent visit to the Bleeding Deacon, a pub and grill here in St. Louis, a few months ago.  They allegedly serve up a dessert consisting of Bacon Ice Cream and a Bacon Brownie that they call "The Disgrace."  Well, it lived up to its name, because it was a disgrace.  I tasted no bacon anywhere in the dish, and considering the amount of time we waited for it to come out, I was highly disappointed.  I've since bought a Kitchen-aid mixer and the ice cream attachments to go with it and I have had it in the front of my mind to make bacon ice cream.
I started with Alton Brown's basic vanilla ice cream recipe which calls for 9 oz. sugar, 8 egg yolks, 3 cups half and half, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 cup heavy cream.  This is the 9-8-3-2-1 ratio.  Another one I've learned is the 13-3-3-6 ratio for making bread.  These are great to remember so that you can impress people by cooking on the fly with no recipes in front of you. First, the dairy was brought slowly to a simmer.  Meanwhile, the yolks were beaten and then the sugar was slowly added while mixing to obtain a texture that produced ribbons.  Once the dairy had been scalded, it was removed from heat and used to temper the egg mixture.  A few ladles of the hot dairy were added to the egg and sugar mixture to avoid cooking the eggs.  Once the eggs were tempered with about half of the dairy, everything was mixed together and returned to heat.  The heat was slowly raised to 170 degrees to eliminate any salmonella that may have been in the eggs.  There is quite a bit of science that is not understood about ice cream making but these heating processes seem to be important for the final product.  After reaching the target temperature I added the vanilla and moved the mixture to the fridge for at least 4 hours until the temperature was about 40 degrees.  This simply leaves an easier job for the ice cream maker.  What makes this ice cream extra special is of course the bacon.  I considered many options as a means of delivery of the bacon to the mix.  I decided to simply cook the bacon until crisp, chop it and then attempted to make a sort-of-praline with maple syrup and brown sugar.  I added the chopped crisp bacon with some brown sugar and maple to a pan and let it thicken a while before pouring it onto parchment and cooling it in the freezer.  I hoped for a hard candy like product.  Seeing as I have little experience with candy making this didn't happen, even with the help of the freezer.  Obviously I have no idea how to make a praline and didn't bother to find out before trying.  Instead I had a sticky thick caramel like substance which was a bother to handle.  As my ice cream churned I dropped bits of bacon caramel into the mix.  After the churning I moved the ice cream to another container and let it harden in the freezer overnight.  The next evening, I had my first bowl (see picture) and it was everything I hoped it would be.  My only mistake was not planning the "candied bacon" a little more.  Next time I'll attempt to make a proper praline or a brittle with the bacon.  Everything tasted great and the caramel hardened in the freezer but dealing with it was a mess.  The ice cream is very rich and a perfect creamy consistency.  The maple added a nice touch and of course finding bits of salty bacon is an adventure.  This is one dish I'm not willing to share.  Okay, enough typing.  I'm off to fulfill my American duty to eat bacon.... for dessert!

Kale Garden Omelet (Sunday, May 1, 2011)

I was the lucky recipient of a harvest from the demonstration beds at Bell Garden.  Among my take was a huge pile of various lettuce and salad greens, baby beet greens, mustard greens and some kale.  I don't think I've ever eaten kale and I asked someone at the garden what he normally does with his and he mentioned that he cooks it up with eggs for breakfast.  My inability to sleep in late on weekends had me up somewhat early.  I had kale and half of an orange bell pepper lying around and decided on an omelet.  I started with onions and the pepper in some butter and later added the kale with the veins removed.  The veins are bulky and from what I hear, tough on the tooth.  After the leaves were wilted I added my whipped egg and milk.  In nearly perfect omelet fashion I was able to turn the egg over on itself.  I topped it with a bit of aged white cheddar cheese and served it up with some greek yogurt (instead of the normal sour cream), some grilled bread (which I always have handy now that I bake bread regularly) and some sliced and lightly sugared strawberries.  I also am now a fan of kale.  I don't know how to describe the flavor except to say that it tastes like the type of vegetable small children would fear.  That is to say, it tastes like its probably good for you. There's a hint of bitterness and earthiness.  This is a veggie I will love to have around.  I also hear from multiple sources that you can roast the leaves with olive oil, salt and pepper to make "crisps" that are a great snack.  Looking forward to more kale. 

About kale:  Although kale is a leafy green and treated like collards and mustard greens, it is actually a brassica (related to cabbage, broccoli and the like).  It also prefers cooler weather and will be more bitter during warm summers.  Following a night of frost it is advisable to harvest kale as it will have a sweeter taste.  This is an adaptation that some plants take to prevent freezing, pumping sugars into their extremities to serve as an antifreeze. Kale is also highly nutritious (no wonder I've never eaten it).