Sprout Doubt

Last spring, I attempted to sprout seeds at home.  Caught up in the romance of nutrition-rich home-grown vegetables, I imagined myself like some pioneerswoman, supplementing our winter diet with a steady rotation of different sprouts.

For my first attempt, I tried mustard seed, brown rice, and black-eyed peas.  The mustard seed never did anything but sit sadly in its jar.  The rice and peas both sprouted - the beans quite nicely.  

In order to sprout seeds, they need to be soaked for several hours.  Then, they need to be kept moist but clean for several days.  This requires rinsing them a couple times a day to prevent spoilage.  It was the required regular rinsing that spurred disaster.  Running late one morning, I didn't have time to rinse my sprouts before school... and really, I thought they'd be fine.  By the time I got home, however, they had gone bad.  Ugh, the smell.

Seeds vary in how long they take to sprout as well as how often they need to be rinsed.  I used the Rodale's Basic Natural Foods Cookbook as a reference.  This cookbook is one of my favorite procedural books for handling raw foods.  It also has a lot of excellent recipes (although for my tastes many of them are under-salted).  This was also the book that taught me how to can foods as a teenager and so my copy is tie-dyed with various berry, tomato, and vegetable juices.  

Creme Brulee

When my father spent a few days visiting, we discovered that he LOVES crème brulee. It turns out that the dish is not very difficult to make, so Ken gave us a couple cooking lessons. It was certainly a chore to make and eat those delicious delicate desserts, but we all make sacrifices for family. I believe that my dad recently tried the recipe on his own. Maybe he will post a comment to let us know how it went.

Ingredients:
1 qt. heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1 C sugar
1 vanilla bean, split (scrape out the bean if you don't want a speckled brulee)


Heat the cream and vanilla bean over-medium high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove vanilla bean.

In a non-reactive bowl, whisk 1/2 C sugar with the egg yolks until creamy and the egg yolks start to lighten in color.

Slowly pour a little of the cooled cream into the egg mixture while stirring. Continue until the cream and eggs are well mixed.


Pour the liquid evenly into small dishes (ramekins) and place them in a baking pan. Fill the baking pan with enough water to come up about half way around the dishes.

Bake the crème brulee at 325 degrees until the brulee is set but still trembles when agitated (about 45 minutes). Then, cool the brulee in the refrigerator for several hours.


Dust the brulee with a thin layer of sugar and then use a blow torch to caramelize the sugar and form a crispy top layer.




Enjoy!

Camarones en Salsa de Serrano

Apologies all around for the long hiatus. However, I do have some good news. We are now officially moved and unpacked. I have lots of food pictures and news to catch up on, so we should be posting more regularly again from now on.

Below is a recipe that Ken made on a summer's night while my younger sister was visiting. It is a very fresh, bright, and beautiful dish that is perfect for serving on an oppressively hot day. This recipe is based on a recipe from Rick Bayless. Ken tweaked the recipe slightly but it remains similar to the original.

Salsa Preperation:
In a non-reactive bowl, combine the following ingredients:
4-5 medium sized ripe tomatoes, finely diced
1 finely diced & rinsed medium onion
3 serano chilis, very finely diced (quantity to taste)
2 T fresh cilantro,
fresh lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Taste and adjust ingredient quantity as necessary. Put the bowl in the refrigerator to rest for at least an hour (could be made the day before).

Shrimp Preparation:
You will need 1 lb (18-20 ct.) shrimp. Here we used tiger shrimp.
Peel and de-vein the shrimp. In a non-reactive bowl, combine the shrimp with the juice of 2 limes, 1/2 T salt, 1 tsp cracked black pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste. Marinate shrimp in fridge for about 1/2 hour.

Cooking the Shrimp:
You will need to use two different skillets to cook this dish, a heavy regular, or cast iron pan (it should NOT be non-stick) and a regular non-stick/stainless steel pan. Coat the cast iron pan with a thin layer of olive oil and heat it to medium high heat. Pour about 1/2 inch layer of the salsa mixture into the non-stick pan and heat it over low heat (the salsa should reach a low simmer).

Once the pans are heated, put one layer of shrimp in the cast iron pan and let them cook for 15-30 seconds. After that, move the shrimp into the second non-stick pan with the uncooked side down. Put another layer of raw shrimp into the cast iron skillet. While the shrimp in the cast iron skillet cooks, remove the shrimp from the salsa pan and set it aside. Then, move the shrimp from the cast iron skillet into the salsa, and so on. Repeat this process until all of the shrimp are cooked. Be sure to add more salsa and olive oil to their respective pans as necessary.

Once all of the shrimp are cooked and set aside, pour all of the remaining salsa into the non-stick pan and heat through. Pour the salsa over the cooked shrimp.

Garnish with cilantro. Serve with fresh warm tortillas and rice.

Seared Sea Scallops

Ken and I were thinking that for every large several course meal that we photograph and post on the blog, we would also write a more specific post with recipes and prep instruction for one portion of the meal. Here is the recipe and some cooking suggests for the seared sea scallops from the Feast on the Fourth meal.

Ingredients:
-10 fresh jumbo sea scallops
-1/2 - 1 lbs. blanched green beans (smaller beans are better)
-8 oz. fresh shitake mushroom caps
-1/2 T fresh thyme leaves
-blanched spinach, rapini, or dandelion greens (or any other green you like-- mostly for decoration, so choose something with large leaves)
-olive oil
-vegetable oil
-beef stock reduced to nappe (should be thick enough to coat a spoon very well)
-shallot
-1 1/2 C port
-salt and pepper

Port Shallot Sauce (can be done in advance):
-Take beef stock, and reduce it until it has thickened considerably, and is approaching the texture of demi-glace.
-Heat the reduced beef stock in a pot over medium heat.
-In a separate skillet, over high heat, lightly brown the shallot, with very little oil.
-When the shallot is softened and starting to brown, add about 1 1/2 cups of nice, sweet port wine, and reduce to a very heavy syrup (au sec).
-Strain, and add the reduced port to the stock reduction, and reserve for service.

Prep for the Meal:
-Blanch the green beans for 3-5 minutes (depending on the size), until they are mostly tender, but still have some firmness, then chill them in an ice bath.
-While the beans are cooling, slice the mushroom caps into thin 1/4" pieces.
-Once the beans are cool, slice them each into roughly three pieces on a bias (try to get them to be the roughly the same size and shape as the mushroom slices).

Cooking the Vegetables:
-In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over high heat.
-Add the mushrooms to the pan, and saute, adding some oil if necessary, as well as salt.
-When the mushrooms have completely softened, add the thyme, and allow it to bloom in the heat for a few seconds.
-Next, add the green bean pieces to the pan. Add salt and pepper and fresh thyme to taste. Toss to mix, cover, and then leave the pan on the stove over low heat until you're ready to plate the scallops.

Cooking the Scallops:
-Preheat your oven to 500.
-Get a nice, decently heavy frying pan hot over high heat, then add enough veg. oil to coat it well. Allow the oil to come up to heat for a minute or two (do not use a non-stick pan for this, or you will not get a nice sear.)
-Season the scallops with a small amount of salt
-Once the oil is hot, sear the scallops on one side in batches. Make sure to not crowd the pan, as putting too many scallops in at once will cool off the pan, and you won't get a good sear. Once your batch of scallops is nice and brown on one side (takes one to one and a half minutes), remove it from heat while you finish the rest.
-Once all the scallops are seared place them all, together, back in the pan, and place it in the oven for about 1-2 minutes (seriously, do not overcook these, or they will suck).

Finishing the Sauce and Plating:
-Arrange the veggies on the plate, use the leaves to make a bed/canvas, and make a nice pile of the mushroom/g.b. mixture on top.
-Take your scallops out of the pan, and set them on a rack for the moment, to cool.
-Take the pan from the scallops, add red-wine to deglaze, then reduce au sec (til it's dry), add a little (1/4 cup) of water, and add this juice to your sauce
-Arrange the scallops on the plate, pour the sauce, and serve!















Thanks, Ken, for writing this recipe out!

Seared Poppy and Sesame Encrusted Tuna

As promised, here are some prep photos of the Seared Poppy and Sesame Encrusted Tuna. In the interest of honesty, however, I have to confess that these pictures are not from Thursday but from Monday. I was surprised last Monday with impromptu date plans which involved a new tuna recipe. Little did I know, this romantic gesture served the dual purpose of being a practice meal for Thursday's dinner. Oh well. Really, who can complain about eating fantastic tuna twice in one week.

Below you will find prep pictures and an outline of the cooking procedure. If anyone is reading this and would like a recipe or more specific details. Please feel free to post a comment.


Rub the tuna with salt on both sides and let sit (for 1-1 1/2 inch thick steaks approximately 10 minutes).








Cut and prep mushrooms, green beans, and thyme.
Prep shallots and ginger for the sauce.






Prepare the mushrooms and green beans and then keep warm in the oven until they are to be served.






Sear the tuna on all sides. If you prefer your tuna rare (like me!), make sure not to overcook it.






Set the tuna aside on a rack to rest and prepare the sauce.

Cut the tuna carefully.








Arrange everything on the plate and eat.
Yum. That looks tasty.