Archive for May, 2010

I’m not who you think I am

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

We used to have a rhubarb plant in our backyard. The plant actually grew out of an old tree stump in the back corner of the yard. I always thought it was a weed. But one night my mom made a strawberry rhubarb pie and that was no weed my friends. I was shocked that all of that deliciousness came from the “weed-plant.”

For some reason the stump was removed from our backyard and with it went the rhubarb plant. Bummer.

I made some rhubarb preserves last year and made some more a couple of weeks ago to have with our Mother’s Day waffles. But I needed to find some new uses for the ‘weed-plant.’ I decided, why not take the strawberry/rhubarb combo to the savory side?

I love any type of chicken salad–the basic stuff with mayo and celery, but I also love just adding whatever I have in the refrigerator. So the other day, it was strawberries, rhubarb, fennel, and basil. The ‘weed-plant’ did not disappoint. I think the logical next step is to pick out a plot of soil in our condo’s back courtyard and plant some rhubarb of my own. Now the only challenge will be making sure our maintenance crew knows to leave it alone.

Strawberry Rhubarb Chicken Salad
Serves 2

2 bone-in chicken breasts
olive oil
s and p
2 rhubarb stalks – medium dice
1 (small) shallot – medium dice
sugar
10 strawberries – rough chop
1 fennel bulb – small dice
basil – small dice

Dressing

1 part red wine vinegar
2 parts olive oil
agave syrup to taste
s and p

Preheat oven to 425 F. Rinse and dry chicken. Season the chicken with olive oil, generous salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes or until the juices run clear. Let sit until cool. While roasting prepare the other ingredients. Place the rhubarb and shallot on a baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar; roast for 10 minutes or until tender. Let cool. Remove chicken skin and breast from bone. Roughly chop chicken.

To make the dressing combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together or place in a tupperware container and shake until emulsified.

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add desired amount of dressing. Garnish with fresh basil. Serve over greens or on crusty bakery bread.

**If making in advance, do not add strawberries until just before serving.

Posted in Chicken Salad, Rhubarb, Strawberry | 1 Comment »

Ramps on the Rise

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Ramps. I know you’ve heard of them. Or maybe you haven’t? They look like green onions but taste more like garlic. And when grilled, they are soft, sweet, and rich. I love them.

The other day I was at Whole Foods, trying to look inconspicuous, spending way too much time lingering in the the fruits and vegetables section so that I could eat three hearty samples of guacamole. While I was pretending to shop, I came across the little wild leeks (ramps). I had never seen them there before, so I took the cue to cook with them that night. I then wandered around the store trying to decide what to serve with my ramps. I came home with pork chops, lots of vegetables, limes, cilantro, and some black beans.

At home I did some brining (the best way to prepare pork chops), basic seasoning, and threw everything on the grill. With the exception of the beans, of course, those were slow cooked and refried. The dinner results were surprisingly awesome. Ramps were not the focus, but they definitely brought everything to a new level.

Brined Grilled Pork Chops
Serves 4

6 cups water
2 1/2 TBS salt
1 TBS agave syrup
4 bone-in pork chops
2 limes – juiced

Heat the water, salt, and agave syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until dissolved (~5 minutes). Let cool. Add all ingredients to a shallow container. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove pork chops from the brine. Let sit for 10 minutes. Grill over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on either side or until cooked through.

Refried Black Beans
Serves 4

1 1/2 cup black beans
9 1/2 cups water
1 TBS kosher salt (scant)
olive oil
1 cup reserved liquid
1/2 yellow onion – chopped
handful cilantro – chopped
1 lime – juiced
pepper

In a medium/large stock pot combine the beans, water, and salt. Bring to a boil; once boiling turn down heat to low and cook for ~1 hour or until beans are soft. Once soft, reserve 1 cup of the liquid, set aside. Drain beans. Heat a medium/large skillet over medium heat, add a few swirls of olive oil. Add beans, onions, and some of the reserved liquid; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cilantro, lime, pepper; gently mash beans with the back of a spoon. Add more reserved liquid when needed. Serve warm.

Grilled Vegetables
Serves 4

handful of ramps -trimmed
handful of grape tomatoes
2 poblano peppers – rough chop
olive oil
s and p

Toss vegetables with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a medium sized grill basket. Grill over a medium-high heat grill for ~15 minutes (turning often), or until tender. Serve with fresh avocado slices.

Posted in Brine, Grilled Vegetables, Pork Chop, Ramps, Refried Black Beans | 2 Comments »

Bread Winner

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

I’m a little behind on the no-knead bread trend. But I was also late on wearing boot cut jeans in the 90’s and things worked out all right. Mark Bittman (New York Times) first published his article and video on the no-knead phenomenon in November 2008. Bittman visits Jim Lahey at the Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhattan and the two made flawless bakery bread with essentially no effort. After hearing about this supernatural bread, I quickly found the recipe/video and literally ran out to the store to get some yeast. I was set.

Bittman and Lahey talk about how a four-year-old can make this bread. They are not kidding. It is so simple and so basic that you almost feel guilty by the deliciousness of the final product. But you didn’t cheat. It’s just a little kitchen magic. And a four-year-old could make this, but I urge some supervision with the 500-degree oven portion of the experiment.

All you need is a Dutch oven, flour, water, salt, yeast, cornmeal, and a hot-as-heck oven. One of my favorite steps of the typical bread making is kneading, but when you have results like crusty, chewy, purely scrumptious bread, who needs to knead? Don’t be surprised if next time you come to my house, I’m serving this bread. This recipe (and hopefully creative variations) is soon to become a Shields staple, especially when I’m at home on maternity leave—making the dough.

No Knead Bread
adapted from New York Times

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups ++ water
cornmeal for dusting

Mix flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water and mix with hand (dough should be sticky and gooey; more water might be necessary). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Preheat oven with an empty Dutch oven inside-500 F. Meanwhile remove dough from bowl and make two folds, so that one side is smooth and one side has visible fold marks. Dust with cornmeal. Remove Dutch oven and place dough inside, fold side up. Cook for 30 minutes, covered and then another 15-20 uncovered or until golden. Cool.

*If you have a traditional phenolic knob on your dutch oven, you will want to remove it (the knob cannot withstand the high heat). You can replace it with a stainless knob. Like this one.

Posted in No Knead Bread | 7 Comments »