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Restaurant Trick for Cooking Fish

Don't throw away your tin foil pie plates!  They are the secret to perfectly cooked, melt-in-your mouth, moist fish. Okay, another pan probably would work just fine, but this is how they do it at the restaurant I worked at for many years. Richard, who I mentioned in an earlier post, has a magical way with fish.

He runs the broiler station and though he does a nice job with steaks, people have always raved about the way he cooks fish. Broiled Swordfish, haddock, scrod, sole, and scallops. It's a simple recipe, and the key is to use the freshest possible fish.

When an order for swordfish comes in, for instance, Richard reaches above the broiler to a stack of empty aluminum foil pie tins, and grabs one. He slides a piece of fish into it, spreads a thin layer of mayonnaise across the top, and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika. He then pours about an eighth to a quarter inch of water in the bottom of the pie tin, and slides it into the broiler.

Depending on the thickness of the fish, he'll keep an eye on it, and about 15 minutes later, will pull it out, and check for doneness.

And that's it. Same procedure for the other fish, except instead of the mayo, it's a sweep of melted butter across the top, a dusting of crumbs, splash of water, and in the broiler it goes.

Enjoy!

:)

Escarole soup with Cannelini beans and Sweet Italian Sausage

We had our largest group yet for Easter this year. At 11am, 21 of us met for brunch at the Andover Marriot. Cousins, boyfriends, children, grandparents, future in-laws and parents.  My grandfather even joined us for the first time. He really enjoyed himself, and was amazed at the food.  He's not used to eating like this.  The brunch is a tradition that lasted three hours this year, and included breakfast items like eggs benedict and sausages, a waffle station, make-to-order omelets, fresh fruit, salads, salmon, roast chicken, a carving station and of course, a sea of desserts.

But at least this year I was prepared, and ate lightly, because I knew the best food was still to come. Sure enough, after brunch, we made our way to my sister's in-laws, and she immediately started bustling around the kitchen, getting more food ready.  You'd never know that we just came from brunch, by the spread she put together. Her husband even teased her, "You're only half Italian you know, slow down, we just ate." 

She laughed as she put the spinach pie and spiral ham into the oven, along with a roasted vegetable tart. A coldcut tray, and antipasto platter with sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, all kinds of olives, marinated calamari salad, and Italian bread went right out on the table, along with the Italian Lemon cookies I posted about earlier, and some coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate.  I couldn't resist having a cookie the minute I saw them. I love the sweet tart icing.

Glasses of light, bubbly Prosecco were passed around, and an hour or so later, everything came out of the oven, and we sat down to eat. I'd been waiting for the spinach pie all day, dreaming about it, and saving room. Her spinach pie is the big hit every Easter, and actually every holiday too. It's similar to the little spanikopita triangles, but her version is in a big casserole dish, lined with many layers of buttery phyllo dough, and filled with a mix of spinach and feta cheese, then topped with more phyllo. I had thought that was my favorite thing, until she handed out bowls of the escarole soup.

The smell of this soup is heavenly. The anise scent of the fennel from the sweet Italian sausage made me swoon. Rich, creamy cannelini beans swam in a comforting chicken broth with garlic, onions and escarole.  I enjoyed the soup so much, that I passed on the mini cannolis, filled an hour earlier with a pretty pink, chambourd laced ricotta cheese filling.

I went to bed that night dreaming about the soup, and made a batch yesterday afternoon. It's easy, delicious, and healthy. And, she swears it helps you lose weight. "Eat this soup for a few days, and see the pounds disappear." Sounds good to me. 

Only change I made was to use low-fat, sweet Italian turkey sausage instead of regular pork. If you do this, you may want to add a teaspoon of fennel as the turkey sausage doesn't have fennel in it.

Escarole soup with Cannelini beans and Sweet Italian Sausage

1 large head of escarole, washed well

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, sliced

3 sweet Italian sausage links (or turkey)

1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

1tsp fennel (if you use turkey, otherwise, won't need it)

Olive Oil

4 cups chicken broth (I used low fat/low sodium College Inn)

In large soup pan, over medium heat, pour enough oil to cover bottom. Remove casings from sausage and add to pan with garlic. Break sausage up as it cooks. After a few minutes, add the onion and cook about five minutes, until sausage is cooked through and onions are soft. Add the beans, a dash of salt and pepper (and a pinch of red pepper, if you like) stir and cook for about two minutes. Add chicken broth and chopped escarole. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Retro Ravioli, Nana's Easter Tradition

I am a ravioli snob. Those frozen pasta squares filled with watery, flavorless cheese? That is not ravioli, not how I knew it anyway. I am a bit spoiled though in that regard. All I ever knew, growing up, was ravioli the way Nana made it, homemade pasta pillows stuffed with spinach, sausage, and three kinds of cheese. I don't recall Nana making anything else actually. Each time we visited, which was always on Easter, and sometimes Christmas or Thanksgiving, we were served ravioli, and eagerly looked forward to them.

It was a big production, making the ravioli. My Nana's house was messy at best, she was a bit of a clutter nut, but on ravioli making day, it looked ten times worse. Flour, and mountains of handcut ravioli were drying on towels everywhere, on all available surfaces.  My grandfather even had a special door he brought in, no one knows where it came from but it appeared every year. He'd place it on top of two chairs, and make another work area.

And then, we'd sit down to eat. There was always a kids table and the adults table and platters of ravioli smothered in smooth sauce were set on both. The sauce was a simple one, just tomato puree that simmered with a big hunk of beef until the flavor was right. A sprinkle of parmesan cheese and we were ready to dig in.

This past January, my father proudly stated that our cousin Dana is now making the ravioli.

"She made them for Christmas, and did a great job. I bet she'd show you how, if you're interested."

I just smiled, and said I had the recipe, that I'd probably make them soon. I didn't add that I'd had the recipe for over ten years. Nana had been gone for longer than that. Shortly after she passed, I had the urge to make them one day, and had my Aunt Diane, who lives in Atlanta, GA, fax the recipe. But then, I got tired just looking at it, and think I ended up going out to dinner instead. I tucked the recipe away inside one of my oldest cookbooks, The Silver Palate New Basics. Over the years, I pulled it out every now and again when I thought about the ravioli, but always put it back. It's a big recipe, that makes hundreds of ravioli, and always seemed like too much of a project.

Until this year. When I got home from visiting my Dad, I looked at the recipe again. My aunt had actually updated it, by using a food processor, so it really wasn't that daunting. I took a closer look too at the ingredients, and smiled.

What had always seemed like such a mysterious, complicated dish, was really a mix of easy to find ingredients, with a bit of a retro flair. Instead of Italian sausage, my Nana used basic breakfast sausage, and American cheese. American cheeese! She would let it dry out for a few weeks in the refrigerator, and then grate it into a fine powder. This cheese, mixed with cream cheese, and parmesan is what made for such a unique flavor.  I could do this. And I did. Though I must confess, I cheated a little the first time, and used fresh pasta sheets, rather than making my own, but next time, I'll do it all as is, and throw most of it in the freezer.  These ravioli freeze beautifully, as does the sauce.

:) Enjoy!

Nana’s Ravioli

Filling

16 large eggs

3 8oz packages cream cheese—room temperature

36-44 breakfast sausages, she used Sunnyland brand, about 2 lbs—room temperature

3 10oz packages frozen chopped spinach

3 cups grated American cheese

½ pound grated parmesan cheese

Dry American cheese in refrigerator, unwrapped for 3 weeks, until dry and hard enough to grate. Squeeze water out of cooked, cooled spinach.  Using a large food processor, chop the spinach well and set aside. Then process the sausage and set aside.  In small batches, use the processor to mix the eggs, cream cheese, spinach and sausage. Turn each batch into a large mixing bowl, and then add the grated cheeses, cover, and let rest in the refrigerator overnight. The mix will be ‘wet’ but will dry and thicken overnight.

Sauce

2 large cans tomato puree

2 lbs chuck, in large pieces

2 medium onions

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

Saute chopped garlic and onions in olive oil over medium heat. Add chuck pieces and brown on both sides. Add puree and simmer for about two hours, covered, over low heat.

Pasta

2 large bags of all purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

5-6 cups warm water

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and slowly add the water, a cup at a time, and blend in the flour, adding more or less water as necessary. Let the pasta dough rest for at least 30 minutes. Then turn out onto a floured work surface, and in small batches, run through a pasta machine until you have thin sheets of pasta.  Spread the filling over the pasta, about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick layer. Press another sheet on top, and using either a rolling pin with ravioli squares or a ravioli form, press down hard to form, cut and separate the raviolis.  Let dry for at least an hour. Then cook in small batches, in boiling water until raviolis float to the surface, about 5 or 6 minutes.

Serve with sauce and additional grated cheese.

Makes about 8-10 dozen ravioli.

Brazilian Roast Chicken for Easter

Many restaurants serve a free meal to employees before their shift starts. When I worked at The Riverway Lobster House, a million years ago (okay 12), the broiler cook, Richard, was usually in charge of this. Richard was a lovely man, but he was known for his frugal ways. He was well over six feet tall, with wild gray hair, and a tattered brown cardigan that had suspiciously off-colored yarn in spots, indicating perhaps, that it had been repaired more than once.  Even though the employee meal didn't come out of his pocket, Richard carried his cautious ways here as well. We often wondered about the reason behind certain meals, was the strange tasting chicken on its way out? The fishy fried cod a tad too old to serve? The safest bet was usually a house salad, and hot rolls. But then one day Richard was out, and Cicero was in charge.

Cicero was my favorite of all the Brazilian cooks, and there were lots of them in the kitchen. Still are, working in restaurants all over the Cape. Most of them speak little English, and it used to unnerve me a bit to be waiting in line to pick up food, and listing to Portugese flying around the kitchen. But Cicero was friendly, and always had a smile. He was also, we discovered that day, quite a cook. He blushed madly as everyone raved about his sliced steak, which he explained was cooked in a traditional Brazilian manner, marinated with tons of garlic and oil.

So, when the Cape Cod Times food editor suggested an Easter story on Brazilian food, I was excited. A new restaurant that I've been dying to try, The Brazilian Grill, opened a year ago, in Hyannis. It's been a huge hit with all my meat-loving friends and features lots of marinated meat dishes. I went there and asked about their Easter traditions and customs, and one recipe, from Milena, who waitresses and hostesses there, just made my mouth water.

It's a Roast Stuffed Chicken, where the bird is marinated overnight in a mix of lime juice, garlic, wine and chicken broth, and then stuffed with a sauteed mixture of scrambled eggs, bacon, onion, bananas, and manioc flour. This mix is called Farofa and is a staple side dish in Brazil, without the bananas that is. That is a unique variation, and part of what really intrigued me. The other big Easter dish is Bacalhau, a baked salt cod with vegetables. Check out the article and recipes here.

Dark Chocolate Is Good For You

I've always been a chocoholic, the more the better. I like my brownies extra fudgy, with added chocolate chips for that gooey, melty ultimate chocolate experience. Though I'll eat any chocolate, I've grown especially fond of dark chocolate. So, when I stumbled onto this little news item as I logged onto Yahoo to check email, it took just a matter of seconds before I set down my coffee, and went to the freezer for my box of girl scout cookies, thin mints of course, covered in dark chocolate. Who said there's never any good news anymore? Dark chocolate is GOOD for you!

"Investigators from the University of L'Aquila in Italy found that after eating only 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate every day for 15 days, 15 healthy people had lower blood pressures and were more sensitive to insulin, an important factor in metabolizing sugar."

The bad news, for my brother the white chocolate lover, is that the health benefits only come from eating dark chocolate. I'll have to tell him about some of the fun,  interesting chocolates I've tried this year. These cute little bag shaped chocolates taste as good as they look. I had some last Easter, and immediately thought of them when I read this article. They are from Chocochocohouse.

I discovered another dark chocolate favorite when I read an excerpt of Steve Almond's Candyfreak. It was in this years Best Foodwriting 2004, and was on the 5 Star Bars, Lake Champlain chocolates, and especially the dark chocolate, fruit and nut bar, which has dried cherries, raisins, and pecans, around a hazelnut praline center, in creamy, dark chocolate. They are a small, chunky bar, about three inches long and an inch around. I got some of these for stocking stuffers, and fell in love with them.

Recently too, I've learned to appreciate how well chocolate and wine go together. A local wine shop had bars of Dagoba organic chocolate by the register, and I impulsively picked up a few. They were deliciously different. My favorite was dark chocolate with Mexican spices and chili peppers, and my sister liked the milk chocolate with Chai spices. The dark chocolate with lavender and wild blueberries was wonderful too.

And this week, our local Stop and Shop has Duncan Hines Brownie mix on sale for $.99.  Might be a good afternoon to do a little baking...

:) Pam

Monkey Bay, a delicious New Zealand white

This wine was the best part of an otherwise dismal networking event held at Legal Seafood's in Boston. We were actually looking forward to this event, which was billed as a great way to meet other people in the publishing and media industries. But it was really more like a singles meat market, for twenty-somethings.  We were late getting there, and when we finally arrived, a young artsy looking guy seemed annoyed that he had to stop talking to the blonde girl next to him, to try and find us on his sheet of stickers. About two seconds later, he thrust the sheet at us, and told us to find our own names. Then he turned his back to us. Nice welcome.

But, we found our stickers, ripped them off, slapped them on, and sized up the room. It was packed, we couldn't get near the bar to order a drink, and there was no food in sight. There was supposed to be food. We were not happy.  We were hungry and cranky, and feeling old by this point, so we decided to take matters into our own hands. We left the annoying young things in the bar for the much more appealing dining room, where we could order dinner.

We were led downstairs, and into the soothing quiet and rich elegance of the wine cellar. Two small dining rooms are tucked away in the restaurant's wine area, where hundreds of bottles line the walls.

We ordered appetizers and flights of wine, 3 small 20z tastings of a varietal. I got the chardonnay, and Marley got the Sauvignon Blanc. Mine were swill, absolutely horrible, but I was too tired to do anything but drink them. I suspect that there was really nothing wrong with them, except for the fact that they had been open for too long. Marley's were better, especially one that we both swooned over. The smell hit us in the face the minute we picked up the glass, and then the taste was even better.

Monkey Bay, is named for a small bay within New Zealand's renowned Cloudy Bay. It is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough appellation. This is a crisp, wine with tropical fruit flavors of grapefruit, lemon, and pineapple and refreshing, lingering finish. I enjoyed it with one of the best crab cakes I've ever had, bursting with plump pieces of fresh crab, and served with a creamy mustard sauce. This is a wine that will go well with anything, especially seafood, but is also wonderul by itself.

Oh, and it's quite inexpensive, retails for around $8 or $9 a bottle.

:) Pam

Am now craving scrambled eggs for dinner

One of my favorite food blogs is Orangette, and her entry today made my mouth water. This is especially significant because I don't usually get that worked up about scrambled eggs. But hers sound, and look delicious, and I will make these soon. Her variation is softly scrambled, rich with butter and leeks, and served on French bread. And I loved this line,

This is perfect early-spring picnic-on-the-floor fare. It's so delicious that I nearly cried—or maybe it was that oddly touching scene in Sex and the City when Steve calls Miranda to tell her to look out her window at the moon. [Sigh.] As I said, delicious.

Discovered some Great new Wines last night

So, I went to the Traveling Vineyard wine tasting last night. It was so much fun, and I think this is such a cool concept. I buy a lot of wine, and love the chance to taste it first. It's amazing how many times the wines I think I will like, are not the ones I fall in love with.

We tried six wines, three whites, and three reds. Another nice thing about these wines is the price, they are mostly between $10 and $15 a bottle. We tried a Pinot Grigio, a California Chardonnay and an Australian blend of Semillion and Chardonnay, called Convict's Reward. Yes, I admit I love the name, and the label (am a sucker for interesting wine names and labels), but the wine was surprisingly good too. I say surprisingly, because I'm not usually a fan of sweeter wines, and this one was more sweet than I usually drink, but it was light, and smooth, and very sippable. I pictured myself on the beach, sipping this wine, and nibbling on chips and dip. Clam dip. I'll have to post that recipe soon. It's another Andrew special, my chef friend on Nantucket. When he and his wife Keri lived with me for a few months, before their Nantucket place was ready to move into, we used to love to sit in the kitchen, drinking white wine, playing a fierce came of cards, usually pitch, and chowing on Andrews awesome dip. Keri even gave us mini dip dishes, that we'd keep refilling from the main bowl. We really liked our dip!

For the red's, I liked all three, but was also surprised as to which one I liked the most. I'm not usually a big Chianti fan, but this Chianti was outrageously smooth and delicious. I ordered extra of this one, as it was my favorite overall.  It's a 2003 Avanzato chianti, from Italy, and is $11.99 a bottle.

I also really liked the Cabernet, another wine that is not usually my favorite, unless I'm eating steak. But this one was rich, and smooth, and sippable, something that I don't usually do with Cabs. This is a 2003 Bentgate California Cabernet, and sells for $17.99.

The merlot we tried, has about the coolest and most memorable wine label I've seen recently. It is a comic strip, and the wine is a 2001 Rutz Cellars Merlot, and it's one of the boldest merlots I've had. There's a lot going on in this wine, lots of depth of flavor and a chewiness. It sells for $14.99. It's a fun wine.

I'm going to host a party soon, and am looking forward to it. An excuse to have people over, try some new appetizer recipes and drink wine? Sounds good to me.

:)

In Home Wine Tastings, The Traveling Vineyard

I just heard about this, and must admit I'm intrigued. I've never been a huge fan of home parties, but the idea of having a private winetasting at someone's house sounds kind of fun. I'm going to one this Saturday, put on by The Traveling Vineyard. I guess you go, taste and learn about the wines, then order some if you like them, and they also have wine accessories too, like wine charms to mark your glass, so when you set it down at a party, you'll know which glass is yours.  My sister barely even drinks wine, but thought wine charms were the coolest thing. She gave them out at Christmas to everyone. Meanwhile, I've been drinking wine for years, and didn't have any charms. I do now of course, thanks to my sister.

So, my question is, have any of you heard of The Traveling Vineyard? Or gone to a tasting at anyone's home? Considering that they are based in my state, and are backed by Geerlings & Wade, who have been selling wine nationwide for years, I was surprised that I hadn't heard of them until now.  I used to belong to The California Wine Club, and loved it. Every month I'd get a new shipment of two bottles of wine, along with a newsletter and recipe ideas.  So, I'm curious to see what these wines are like. 

:) Pam

Blue Cheese Mushroom Crostini

This appetizer is ideal for a cocktail party, or any get together. It goes wonderfully with wine, and has become my signature, most requested dish. It is a rich, creamy, tangle of flavors that works extremely well. Blue cheese melts into a bit of cream, blends with sauteed mushrooms and chopped proscuitto and then is mounded on thin baquette slices, topped with a sprinkle of parmesan, and baked in the oven until hot.

It is also a dish that comes together very quickly, and can even be made ahead, refrigerated overnight, and then spread on bread and baked the next day.

Blue Cheese Mushroom Crostini, adapted from Epicurious.com

3 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps chopped
4 ounces crimini mushrooms, chopped (I've used regular button too, depending on what's available in the market)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fat free half and half (or regular, but the fat free cuts the richness a bit, and seems to work better overall, but either way is fine)

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped thinly sliced prosciutto (about 4 or 5 slices)

parmesan cheese

18 or so, 1/4-inch-thick diagonal bread slices cut from 1 baguette or if your market sells the tiny toasts, about one inch square, these are ideal too, and a bit lighter than the baguette slices.

Chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add all mushrooms and garlic and sauté until mushrooms are cooked through and brown, about 10 minutes. Add cream and boil until liquid is completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add blue cheese and stir until cheese melts. Mix in prosciutto. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer mushroom topping to bowl. (Mushroom topping can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange bread slices on baking sheet. Bake until just golden, about 5 minutes. Mound 1 generous tablespoon mushroom topping on each slice. Lightly sprinkle parmesan cheese over top. Return to oven; bake until topping is heated through, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Enjoy....oh, and don't be alarmed at the ugliness of this dish. The creamy gray spread may not look like much, but one bite, and you'll be swooning. Appearances can be deceiving.

:) Pam