Dunk & Crumble

Appetizers

Grilled Pineapple Salsa

by 3 Comments

Certain events unfolded over the weekend which left me feeling, what’s the word?  Oh, awful.  And by “certain events,” I mean “margaritas,” and by “awful” I mean “terrible.”

So, so terrible.

Naturally, this tequila-induced Awfulness lead to a declaration on my part to, from here on out, subsist on nothing but vegetables and water.  I could do it, too.  I could walk on sharp tacks, bathe in rubbing alcohol (ugh, please don’t say alcohol), watch a horror film with my eyes open — any one of these things might feel better than the Awfulness.  Vegetables and water.  Detox.  I’m doing it.

Saturday morning, this was.  So I drank some water, ate sliced cucumbers, went out for a walk.  Easy.

That’s when I got hungry.

While Ben laughed at my inability to eat only vegetables for one day, I revised my previous declaration to state that I would only eat vegetable-based meals for an entire week.  You know, as opposed to pastry-based ones.

It’s been two whole days, and the declaration remains intact.  I tried to bake a pound cake today and it exploded in the oven.  (What?  Even professionals explode cakes from time to time.)  If that’s not a sign, I’ll eat my foot (covered with cucumbers, obviously).

So, in honor of the Awfulness, I present to you a delicious, veggie- (fine, fruit-) based recipe.  Grilled pineapple salsa.  To be eaten over greens and maybe some black beans or tofu.  Or chicken.  Maybe turkey burgers?  Pita chips.  Whatever.  Just, please, hold the margarita.

…

Read More

Turkey Meatballs

by 16 Comments

What’s this I hear about some fantastic bowl thing happening this weekend?  I don’t know much about it, but I guess it’s supposed to be super?  Some sort of super cup, or maybe it’s a bowl, during which people yell loudly and drink beer and dunk chips and chomp various meat products?  Or something?

Well.  I think it sounds fun.  I mean I’m not really one to watch gigantic humans battling U.S patriots for the skin of pigs, but if this whole thing is really supposed to be so super and inclusive of bowls of meat, then I think I’d like to participate.  I will make meatballs.

No, I kid.  I like, totally know everything about football.  Zone defense.  Extra points.  First and ten.  See?  Totally.  And as it turns out, I’m not really a fan of either Tom Brady (cleft-chinned cad) or Eli Manning (sad-faced man-boy).  Still, I think I’ll take Peyton’s man-boy brother to beat the spread over weirdly cartoonish Brady.  Does anyone else think he looks like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, just with tighter pants and less cool shoes?

I mean, I’ll leave that stuff to the experts.  The point spread and the tight pants.  I’ll stick with the meatballs.

…

Read More

Warm Truffled Mushroom Salad

by 3 Comments

This is a salad.  That is correct.  Sure, it gets drizzled with truffle oil, sprinkled with strong cheese and topped with fried shallots… but!  Technically, salad.  I mean, there are vegetables in this thing and you eat it with a fork.  So, salad!  Perfectly acceptable for consumption in this austere month of January.  Don’t you agree?

Don’t tell my mother, but I almost ripped out the battery from my smoke alarm making this salad.  The thing is exceptional, in that if I accidentally breath on it wrong, it beeps uncontrollably.  Beep!  Beep!  Beeeeeeep!  It loved the “sautée the mushrooms in batches” step of this recipe.  Loved it.  BEEP BEEEEEEP!

But you know.  All’s well that ends well, some people say.  And I think I may have mentioned that this ends with truffle oil and crispy shallots.  So, yes.  Ends well.

 

…

Read More

Roasted Figs with Gorgonzola & Honey

by 4 Comments

Just in case!

You might be hosting some friends on New Year’s, and you might need to feed them some little somethings.  These roasted figs are some somethings to get behind.  They’re easy and elegant, salty and sweet and a little herb-y, too.  Great with champagne.  You know, just in case.

Roasted Figs with Gorgonzola & Honey

This recipe is a snap to make, and the figs are delicious both warm and at room temperature. Be sure to leave out an empty bowl for the discarded fig stems.

Ingredients:

  • 10-12 fresh figs, any color (I used black mission figs), sliced in half lengthwise
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup gorgonzola crumbles
  • 1/4 cup honey

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil (this makes for easy clean up), and lay the figs on the sheet, cut side up.

Drizzle the olive oil over the figs, lightly coating each one, and then sprinkle each with a bit of thyme, salt and pepper.  Place the figs in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until figs look slightly puckery and juice is beginning to leak from the fruit.  Remove from the oven.  While the figs are still warm, place a few crumbles of gorgonzola on top of each fig. Once all of the figs have been gorgonzola-ed, drizzle the honey lightly on top.

Remove figs to a serving platter. Enjoy!

Makes 20-24 pieces.

Squash & Potato Latkes, Homemade Apple Sauce

by 12 Comments

So, um, this is awkward.

A week after my pro-Christmas/Hannukah-bashing post, and here I am with a recipe for latkes.

Jewish guilt at it’s finest.

In truth, I love latkes.  For me, they’re the best part of Hannukah.  Better than the story of Judah Maccabee, better than my aunt Lis’ fancy menorah, better than lighting candles for eight nights running is the golden, crispy latke.  Gently fried and filled with soft potato and, in this case, butternut squash, they’re like hash browns, only Jewier.

And with homemade apple sauce?  Fine.  I’ll admit it.  Hannukah is kind of awesome.

 

…

Read More

Roasted Acorn Squash & Arugula

by 13 Comments

As I sit here on my bed, otherwise known as my office, Sunday light streaming through my window and Sam Cooke bopping from my speakers, I can’t think what to write.  My toes are tapping and I want to go outside.  I suppose I’ll just get straight to the squash.

I know come February I’ll be entirely sick of it, but I can’t help it – I’ve started in on the cool weather squash.  Smooth or nubbly, dark green or deep orange, long-necked or squat – I need the squash.  In my kitchen.  Pretty much now.

 

…

Read More

Homemade Pita Chips with Creamy Garlic Edamame Dip

by 3 Comments

My littlest sister, a Wisconsin resident and Packer fan, wanted me to name this post “GO SIX PACK GO.” She then thought better of the idea, deciding that “few people will get it. But I will, and Dad will. And then Dad will explain it to Mom and she still won’t get it.”

All true.

So, um, Go Packers? Cheese head pride?

To be perfectly honest, I don’t much care about the football being played at this year’s Super Bowl (sorry, Pops). I’m mostly in it for the food. And maybe the occasional E-Trade commercial. Oh, and the prospect of a new (!) episode (!) of GLEE following the game (don’t judge. You know you’re a closet Gleek).

Super Bowl food is just good. It’s salty and tangy and creamy and cheesy and… salty. And it doesn’t apologize for being so. The Super Bowl says, give me some wings. And some blue cheese. And guacamole. And some beer and a pizza and some chips. Chips, dammit! With dip.

Well, fine.


Homemade Wheat Pita Chips with Creamy Garlic Edamame Dip

I know it’s easy to find good pita chips at the grocery store, so if you go with store-bought I’ll understand, but I feel obligated to tell you that making your own is just so much more fun. And your game day friends will really appreciate you going the extra yard. You know, for the first down.

Zing.

*Note: Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice mix made up of dried herbs, sesame seeds, salt and sumac. You can find it in specialty shops or else you can mix up your own.

Ingredients:

For pita chips:

  • 8 small whole wheat pita breads
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons za’atar*
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • big pinch of sea salt
  • big pinch of ground black pepper

For edamame dip:

  • 2 cups cooked edamame, removed from the pod (I like the frozen bags of shelled edamame, plus extra for garnish, if you like)
  • 1 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra for finishing
  • big pinch of salt
  • big pinch of ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil and spices and mix to combine. Cut the pita breads into wedges (1 small pita bread should yield 8 wedges), and dip each wedge into the oil & spice mixture until fully coated. Place pita wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet or two. Bake the pita wedges in a hot oven for about 7 minutes (or until lightly browned), and then use tongs to flip each wedge, and cook for another 7 minutes, until chips are brown and crispy. Remove the chips from the oven and let cool.

To make the edamame dip, toss the edamame beans, mascarpone, garlic, salt and pepper, and a splash or two of olive oil into a food processor or blender. Blitz on high until chunky but starting to combine. Drizzle in more olive oil, a little at a time, as you continue to blend, stopping when the mixture is smooth and creamy. Taste the dip and adjust the seasonings – feel free to add more garlic, salt or pepper as necessary. Serve with homemade pita chips.

Makes about 3 cups of edamame dip and roughly 64 pita chips.

Gramma Inez’s Chopped Chicken Liver

by 7 Comments

I’m feeling overwhelmed. It’s been almost a month since my last post, which is, frankly, unacceptable. I’ve done approximately no writing and no recipe sharing in the past 27 days, and I’m not happy about it. I mean, even if no one actually reads these little posts, it makes me happy to have them here, dotting the internets with pictures of risotto and tales of apple tart.

At any rate, I have almost a month’s worth of news to share, so you may want to settle in.

Firstly – and this is kind of a big one – I, uh… I graduated from the culinary program at FCI last week.

…YAY official chefdom! You’re looking at a real, live chef here, people. It’s true! Okay, so you’re not really looking at me, but trust me, I’m a chef. At least, I have a ridiculously tall hat and a laminated diploma that confirms it. …Laminated, you guys.


Yep, after a month spent in the level six kitchens, churning out stuffed calamari and venison and clam consommé, and then after a day spent completely freaking out/taking the final exam (during which I had to make clam consommé and pear tartlettes, among other things), the powers that be (ahem, the folks down at the French Culinary Institute) declared me worthy of chefness. Yes!
Soooo yeah, I’m kind of excited about that. I’m also kind of sad that it’s over. I mean, it’s not really over – I have another six whole months in the pastry program (a regular chef I may be, but a pastry chef I am not. Yet.), but it’s not the same.

Which brings me to news item number two: yesterday was my first day in the pastry program. So far things are going well – I successfully managed to make a bunch of tarts (banana cream tart, pear & almond tart, fresh fruit tart, yadda yadda yadda tart), but, as I mentioned, it’s not the same. I miss my old classmates. I miss Nadine and Steve and Rodney and Tina and Big Rob and Dave and everyone. Sigh. At least I know I can find consolation in pastry cream.


Next is news item number three, which isn’t really a news item so much as a major national holiday. Yeah that’s right, I am talking about Thanksgiving. Thaaaanksgiviiiiiiing! Ahem, yes. It was on Thursday. I know Thursday was six days ago and you’re probably tired of talking about giving thanks and family and mashed potatoes, but it’s my very favorite holiday (by a landslide. A huge one.) and I’d like to discuss it further. Besides, what kind of food blogger would I be if I wrote nary a word about the most gluttonous holiday of them all?

So yes, Thanksgiving. Mine involved a raucous game of football,

numerous pies,


a video camera, a pan of stuffing that was accidentally dropped on the sidewalk, a delicious batch of macaroni and cheese (to replace said stuffing), a turkey carve-off, a rogue batch of whipped cream, and, of course, a lot of Gramma’s chopped chicken liver. All in all, another wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with much to be thankful for, including:

  • my family
  • electric mixers
  • tall chefs hats
  • old classmates
  • new classmates
  • chicken liver
  • Grandmas


Finally, we come to item number four: this year, six days after Thanksgiving, what are you, invisible reader, thankful for? I, as a chef (!), would like to know.

Gramma Inez’s Chopped Chicken Liver

Remember that time I wrote about offal, and how darn awful it is? Well, this one doesn’t count. This is my Gramma Inez’s Chopped Chicken Liver, a staple at every Thanksgiving since the beginning of time, and a shining beacon in the world of organ meats.

If you’re feeling a little wary of a recipe that involves chicken fat, chopped livers and hard boiled eggs, it’s okay. I’ll admit, it’s not my normal, everyday fare, but, smeared on a crispy cracker, with a glass of wine in hand and my family chattering around me, this stuff is downright delicious. Creamy and salty, with a nice crunch from the cracker… happiness in an appetizer. Still feeling skeptical? Fine, I won’t make you try it. …More for me. Thanks, Gramma!

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 Tbsp chicken fat (schmaltz)
  • 2 lbs chicken livers, rinsed and dried with paper towels
  • 2 large yellow onions, chopped
  • 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 10-12 eggs, hard boiled
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • paprika, to finish

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt the chicken fat. Add the two large onions and cook over medium low heat, until onions are soft and translucent. Add the chicken livers, and cook over medium heat until the livers are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the liver mixture is done, transfer it from the pan to a large mixing bowl. Using two table knives, chop the chicken liver mixture into pea-sized pieces. Add the hard boiled eggs and continue chopping, until the mixture is thoroughly diced. You can use a food processor to chop and mix all of the ingredients, but you’re looking for a grainy, chopped texture, so be careful not to completely purée your livers. Mix in the remaining 1/2 onion (uncooked), and more salt and pepper, to taste.

Grease a bowl or round jello mold with more chicken fat. Pack in the chopped liver, and chill in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can just skip the molding part and pile the chopped chicken liver onto a platter. If you go with the mold method, unmold the liver by running a sharp paring knife around the edges of the mold and turning it out onto a large platter. If the mixture sticks to the mold, don’t worry, it’s easy to patch up. And in all honesty, it’s hard to get chicken liver looking that pretty, anyway, so don’t worry about any unmolding mishaps. Just dust the unmolded chicken liver with a bit of paprika, surround with table crackers, and serve to a room full of hungry Jews (…or non-Jews who are into things like chopped chicken liver. I mean, it’s possible… right?)

Serves about 20, as an appetizer.

Basil Peach Guacamole

by 5 Comments

I have a list. I think a lot of people do, actually. It’s a list of things that, with very little persuasion, I could eat exclusively for the rest of my life and be perfectly content. Cheese, for example. Bread. (Grilled cheese, of course, goes without saying.) Guacamole. Reese’s peanut butter cups.

Once, when I was a kid, I hid all of the peanut butter cups I’d collected from Halloween in a desk drawer in our living room, because, you know, they’d be safe there. I tried to ration them – one peanut butter cup a day… well no more than two, at least – so I’d have enough to be stuffed with chocolate and peanut butter for a full calendar year. I must not have realized that there are 365 days in a year, because I probably only had about 25 peanut butter cups. Which is actually a lot of peanut butter cups, but, as you may have guessed, not quite enough to last you (or me, in this particular case) a whole year. Especially if your dad, who also happens to love peanut butter cups, finds your hiding place. Oh well. At least my mother kept the fridge stocked with cheese.

This week at school we made cheese. Real cheese! And it didn’t even involve live cultures or mold or anything. Apparently with ricotta, all you need is milk, citric acid, and salt;


and, for mozzerella, just some salt and a big hunk of cheese curd. See?


There’s Nadine, working and stretching some curd for mozzerella. Little Miss Muffet would be proud.

We also did a full cheese tasting (complete with pieces of warm baguette from the bread kitchens), during which I discovered my appreciation for sheep’s milk,

and we made pasta (fresh gnocchi and ravioli), which I bet is on lots of people’s “food I’d eat exclusively” list. Probably lots of Italian people, anyway.


All in all, it was a good week at chef school. Cheese? Check. Bread? Check. Peanut butter cups? Working on it. Guacamole? Well, no. I’m not sure that’s covered at the French Culinary Institute. Luckily, I already know how to make it.


Basil Peach Guacamole

I don’t usually mess with the solid foundation of guacamole – avocado, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice – but sometimes I get curious. Like last weekend, when my aunt Marie and uncle Brad made fish tacos. I was put in charge of making guacamole, and when I saw a ripe, red tomato resting against a fuzzy yellow peach, I decided that they looked too nice together to be split up. I chopped the peach right up with the avocado and tomato and, on a whim, threw in a mess of fresh, chopped basil instead of cilantro. The result? Holy fish tacos – unbelievable.

Note: It’s best to make this in the summer months, when peaches, tomatoes and basil are readily available.

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 ripe avocados
  • 1/2 large tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 1 peach, chopped into small pieces
  • large handful of fresh basil, chopped
  • salt
  • fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Cut the avocados in half lengthwise, working around the pit. Remove the large pit carefully, and scoop the avocado flesh out of the skin and into a large bowl (I find it easiest to use a spoon to scrape the flesh from the avocado skin). Mash gently with a fork, until the avocados are good and smashed but not completely smooth in texture.

Add the chopped tomato, onion, and peach, mixing to combine. Add the lime juice and basil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with tacos or chips, or smear on slices of bread to liven up a ho-hum turkey sandwich.

Makes about 3-4 cups of guacamole.

Jane Bursky’s Tumbled Tomatoes with Mediterranean Herbs

by 3 Comments

Um, hi. Is anyone still here? It’s been awhile, I know – let me catch you up.

School-wise, since fish day, we’ve covered shellfish (I ate my first raw oyster! It was slimy. And lemony and fresh tasting. I didn’t not enjoy it. I also ripped apart a live lobster, poached it and ate it with a sauce américaine. I still feel sort of bad about that) as well as roast chicken, duck à l’orange, roast pork, grilled chicken and steak, poached veal, braised lamb shank, and chicken simmered with horseradish cream sauce. I also passed the Level 1 practical exam by chopping a mean macédoine of carrot (among other things) and am now officially in Level 2. So, you know, that’s good.

I’d like to tell you more about chef school, or maybe even give you a recipe, but I’m feeling distracted by tomatoes. You see, everything we’ve been making at school is delicious and fancy and french, but most of it is also very heavy and rich and wintery. And that’s all well and good, you know, when it’s the winter and you’re looking for a hot, bone-sticking meal, but it’s finally starting to feel like summer around here, and I can’t help but shift my focus to cooler, sweeter, juicier pastures. And what’s summer without tomatoes? Those swollen red and yellow skins, firm and fleshy, luscious and bright, with the scent of dirt and sunshine – they’re the consommate beacon of summertime eats. So, I could give you the recipe for a delicious veal stew in cream sauce, but wouldn’t you rather have the recipe for Jane Bursky’s tumbled tomatoes instead? They’re cool and fresh and taste like summertime on the patio. Eat them with some crispy bread and a few slices of sharp cheese, and I’d call that dinner. Yum.

Jane Bursky’s Tumbled Tomatoes with Mediterranean Herbs

I usually balk at the idea of storing tomatoes in the refrigerator – nothing ruins the fresh, juicy taste of a tomato like refrigeration – but with this recipe, the time in the fridge seems to enhance the tomato flavor by giving the herb crust time to do its work. The crust draws out the tomato’s moisture, leaving the little ruby spheres with a concentrated flavor of fresh tomato. Thanks, Chef Jane!

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon herbs de provence
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried or dehydrated garlic (if you can’t find this, use garlic powder)
  • 2 pints cherry tomatoes

Directions:

Use a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder to mix the seasonings together and pulverize them slightly. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, just skip this step.

Wash tomatoes in cold water and drain, but do not dry them. Put the tomatoes in a large bowl and toss them with the herb mixture until they are evenly coated. Refrigerate, tossing and “tumbling” in the bowl occasionally, until all the water is evaporated. The herb and salt mixture will form a crust on the tomatoes. Serve chilled.

Note: the tomatoes keep for 2-3 days, UNCOVERED in the refrigerator. The drier and crustier the salt and herb coating, the better they taste.

Makes about 4 cups of tumbled tomatoes.