the home bistro

Food Adventure: El Rey Jamon

2006-10-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

En España, Juan Carlos wears the crown, but jamon, or ham, is the real king. By now most of us have had serrano, a Spanish delicacy served raw in thin slices and air-cured for at least a year high in the rafters of country mountain curing houses. Far harder to find, and far, far more expensive, is jamon iberico. Iberico, made from a black-haired iberico pig found in Southwest Spain whose diet is strictly controlled from weaning until the moment leading up to slaughter (right before the end they are exclusively fed acorns), is softer and darker than serrano, with more marbling of fat; it literally melts in your mouth like a fine piece of toro sushi. Like serrano, it's carved to order, and in Spanish tapas bars the bartender will cut you some thin slices from a foreleg mounted on a wood carving clamp, or jamonera. The Spanish government rigorously regulates the production and exportation of jamon, and only pigs who are reared and fed according to exacting standards can be the source of ham carrying the iberico grade. Getting iberico in the U.S., has been literally impossible until recently, but because of the bureaucrats on our end rather than theirs: any meat brought into the U.S. has to be killed in a slaughterhouse that passes USDA muster. But here in DC, restaurateur Jose Andres has teamed up with associates at the Rogers Collection to import through a recently certified producer in Salamanca, and those of you with no plans to visit Spain any time soon can taste jamon iberico at Jaleo starting in 2008.

For jamon pilgrims, a must-stop, pictured above, is Madrid's famous Museo del Jamon, literally the "Museum of Ham." At the Museo, or at most places in Spain, you can take your jamon in one of three ways: while standing at the bar drinking a caña, or tap beer (usually either Cruzcampo or San Miguel, but sometimes you can find an Amstel that's crisper, fuller and more refreshing than the more watery Light version available here); upstairs, seated at a table in the salon, or at a take-away window in the back, where you can buy a bocadillo, or sandwich, and eat it while you walk down the street like a true Madrileño. There are also chorizos, salchicones, and many other cured meats, to eat in or to take home.

Since Caroline cranked her blog back up with a Stockholm story, I thought I'd share a trip story too. The following recipe recreates a terrific appetizer we had at Rock Fort, a small, sophisticated yet informal bistro in Bruges, Belgium on our last night in Europe. The menu called it a "Nice Combination Salad"; I thought at first the name referred to Italy, but when I ordered I realized "Nice" meant the adjective, not the city. I'd agree with that description, even if it's a bit understated. The version at Rock Fort featured jamon iberico, but I've substituted prosciutto here. The meal was the perfect finish to a perfect trip.

Nice Salad a la Rock Fort

4 pieces prosciutto ham
1 large ball fresh mozzarella
1 tomato, diced small
1 tablespoon red onion, diced small
1 tablespoon green pepper, diced small
olive oil and balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

toss diced tomato, red onion and green pepper in small bowl. Add balsamic, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

place two prosciutto slices side by side, lengthwise across each plate. Cut four discs off ball of mozzarella and place one each in middle of ham.

using a spoon, place a large spoonful of the tomato salad on top of the mozzarella. Top each with remaining slices of mozzarella. Add a dash of salt and pepper to each, drizzle olive oil on top, and serve.

Article: The Taco Joint in Your Kitchen

2006-07-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Home Bistro readers will enjoy this article on home-cooked tacos by Mark Bittman. I second Mark's recommendation of tacos al pastor. For the real deal, stop next time you see a taco truck parked near a construction site.

Photo illustration from the New York Times by John Lei.

Tostadas de pollo

2006-06-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

Before we get to the recipe, a brief glossary for your convenience:
Burrito: A filling, usually meat cooked in some kind of chile sauce, wrapped in a large flour tortilla.
Enchilada: Same as a burrito, but using a corn tortilla dipped in red chile sauce, usually baked and covered in cheese and more red sauce.

Chimichanga: A deep-fried burrito. As good as it sounds, the story behind its invention is even better.
Chalupa: A tortilla, usually flour, bent in a boat-shape and filled with beans, cheese, and filling. Literally means "canoe."
Flauta: filling tightly wrapped around a corn tortilla, then deep fried. Literally, "flute." In America, we're more likely to call them taquitos.
Gordita: A flour tortilla 2-3 inches thick, topped with filling, cheese and salsa. Literally means "little fatso." Also called a sope (more typically a Salvadorean term than a Mexican one).
Quesadilla: Flour or corn tortilla filled with cheese and a small amount of filling, then grilled until cheese melts.
Tamale: Masa, or tortilla dough, wrapped around a filling, usually pork, which is wrapped in a wet corn husk and steamed for several hours.
Torta: Mexican sandwich. A hard roll filled with a spread of refried beans, your meat of choice, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and avocado.
Tostada: A corn tortilla, fried flat, topped with beans, choice of meat, lettuce, tomato, avocado, cheese and salsa.

The tostada is among the least-known of the classic Mexican antojitos, or corn and flour tortilla-based dishes. But now that tostada shells are available in most markets, it's one of the easiest to prepare. Just fix your meat of choice, top with lettuce, tomato, salsa and avocado, and eat it either with a fork or like a Mexican pizza.

Chicken in chile sauce, the meat used here, works best in enchiladas or burritos, but it's just as good here. A true chile sauce is made with fresh chiles, roasted, pureed, and then simmered for hours. This one uses a bit of a cheat: chili powder. By cooking the powder and allowing it to simmer, you'll get a rich and complicated chile flavor. The black bean recipe here should look familiar for those who have tried the Huevos Rancheros or Nachos Fantasticos recipes. They're quite versatile. I also use spinach and add it first here so it'll wilt slightly, but you can just as easily shred some romaine and add it just before the tomatoes.

Tostadas de pollo
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch strips
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup chicken stock
1 can black beans
1 cup of spinach leaves
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2 cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
1 avocado, diced
2-4 tostadas
salt and pepper to taste
salsa or hot sauce (optional)

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add about 3/4 of the onion and cook, 2-4 minutes or until onion is barely translucent. Add about 3/4 of the diced garlic, chili powder, cumin, half the oregano, and a dash of salt. Cook about 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir until chicken is fully covered with spices and is lightly browned, 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce and chicken stock, stir well and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 6-8 minutes until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add remaining onion and cook 2-4 minutes. Add remaining garlic and cook 1 minute. Add beans and remaining oregano and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 6-8 minutes.

3. Top tostada shells with spinach leaves. Add thin layer of black beans. Top with pieces of chicken, cheese, tomatoes and avocado. Add salsa or hot sauce if desired. Serve.

Eggplant Parmigiana

2006-05-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

Bake or fry? A tough question, to be sure, whether you're talking about chicken or potatoes. When making this recipe, an Eggplant Parmigiana consisting of layers of eggplant slices dipped in an egg wash and fresh homemade breadcrumbs, a few dollops of marinara, and a mozzarella/parmesan blend, baking is the way to go. Leave the frying pan in the cupboard and preheat the oven instead; you'll have an eggplant that's crisp on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. Here, texture is everything. You want to taste the eggplant, not the oil.

While Parmigiana in Italian literally means "from Parma," it's far more likely that the recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana originated in Sicily, where eggplant is particularly prolific and can be purchased at outdoor markets all across the island between June and September. Excellent eggplants can be found on these shores as well; just look for a medium-size eggplant that seems heavy for its size, has an even-colored, taut, shiny skin (tan splotches are a sign that the eggplant is going bad), and is firm to the touch. Also make sure the stem is free of fuzz.

A word about sauce. You'll notice that the recipe is light on marinara; there's a reason for it. Most Italian chefs (or Italians for that matter) believe that we Americans, forgetting that sauce is properly treated as a condiment rather than a course, oversauce our pastas and other meals. (As the Amateur Gourmet recalls Mario Batali saying, if I were eating a hot dog, I wouldn't want more mustard than hot dog, so why would I want more sauce than spaghetti?) In this case, there's another (better?) reason than authenticity to sauce with a light hand: you want the texture of the eggplant to remain crisp. If you oversauce, the eggplant will absorb the moisture in the sauce, resulting in a soggier dish. Far better to serve the remaining sauce on the side once the eggplant comes out of the oven.

The secret to this recipe, though, isn't in the sauce, vegetable or cheese, but in the breadcrumbs. If you own a food processor or blender, there is absolutely no reason to buy pre-made breadcrumbs. Just plan ahead - set aside a large tupperware bin with a good seal, and whenever your Italian or French bread gets hard, put the bread in the tupperware. When you have about half a loaf's worth, then break it into smaller pieces and put it in the blender or processor and pulse until you have breadcrumbs about the consistency of sugar. Place your breadcrumbs in a bowl, then add salt, pepper, oregano, and parmesan cheese, then mix. If you have some breadcrumbs left over after making this dish, save them in the refrigerator; you can add them to ground beef before you roll up your meatballs, make a meatloaf, or even patty out some hamburgers. They also make a great topping for baked pastas like mac and cheese.

Eggplant Parmigiana

1 eggplant, cut width-wise into slices 1/4 in. thick
4 cups breadcrumbs (see recipe below)
4 eggs
4 cups marinara sauce (see recipe below)
2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella
salt, pepper, and oregano to taste

1. breadcrumbs. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor or blender, pulse torn 1-in. in diameter pieces of bread into crumbs. Work in batches, filling the processor or blender halfway with bread pieces. Pour crumbs into large bowl. When finished, add two large pinches of salt, fresh ground pepper, 2 tablespoons of oregano, and 3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Mix well and set aside.
2. marinara. In a large saucepan, sautee 2 cloves of garlic and 1 large onion over medium heat until onion is translucent, 4-6 min. Add 1 large can diced tomatoes, 1 pinch salt, ground black pepper to taste, and 1 small pinch sugar. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low simmer. Continue cooking for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off heat and add 1 tablespoon of fresh shredded basil or 1/2 tablespoon of pesto. Coat a baking dish with a very thin layer of marinara sauce.
3. construction. Slice eggplant, discarding stem and end piece. Beat eggs in small bowl. Place breadcrumb bowl to the right of eggs on counter. Place baking dish in front of both. Dip slices of eggplant into egg wash, then into breadcrumbs, making sure to dip both sides. Place in baking dish, starting with upper right corner and continue until bottom of baking dish is covered. See fig. 1.

After first layer is complete, add a small tablespoon of marinara on each slice and spread with back of spoon. Cover with thin layer of mozzarella, then sprinkle parmesan on top. Repeat, adding another layer until eggplant is finished. Add a thin sprinkle of breadcrumbs over top if desired.

4. Cooking. Cover baking dish loosely with foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until top layer of cheese is crisp and lightly browned, removing foil after 8 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Cut out slices and serve with marinara on side.

Nachos Fantasticos

2006-05-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

Perhaps because of their ubiquity, nachos have become something of a culinary crutch, something we eat when we don't know what we want to eat; we order it when our attention is on other things, either beer, a game, or both. At a bar it's the Steady Eddie (or maybe "Eduardo" is more appropriate) of the appetizer menu: everyone at the table can agree on them, and they are always reliably o.k. At a minor-league baseball game or at Costco, they come in their own specially made container: a square of clear plastic filled with round chips kept crisp under a heat lamp, with a smaller interior square in one corner reserved for a strange, thick, yellowish, Elmer's glue-type liquid I presume is supposed to be cheese. Nachos don't have to be an afterthought, though. Using the recipe below you can make some nachos that will wow your guests at a party and can even work as a main course for up to six people. I also think you'll find this version to be a bit healthier than the classic sports bar version, without sacrificing any of that comfort-food vibe; it's a bit lighter on the cheese and uses fresh fixings like crisp romaine and ripe avocado.

The term you want to keep in mind when putting these nachos together: lasagna. Like the Italian classic, this is a stacked dish, starting with an empty casserole pan, adding a layer of corn tortilla chips, then the filling (here black beans and grilled chicken marinated in garlic, lime, and cayenne pepper), a layer of salsa, and a layer of cheese, then repeat. The preparation is actually similar to some versions of sopa seca, a Mexican dish that is a lot like lasagna (and sometimes even made with pasta instead of tortillas). If you are ever in Chapel Hill, I strongly recommend stopping in at Margaret's Cantina for Margaret's sopa seca and a mango margarita or Negra Modelo with a lime - it's a real treat.

Chicken and Black Bean Nachos
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can black beans, partly drained
tortilla chips
2 limes
salsa
white onion
3 cloves garlic
monterrey jack cheese
1 avocado
red onion, diced
romaine lettuce, shredded
1 tomato, diced
olive oil
sour cream
cayenne pepper
oregano
salt and pepper
hot sauce (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts in ziploc bag. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, dash each of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, juice from 1/2 lime and 1 garlic clove. Using meat tenderizer or back of skillet, smack chicken breasts to flatten, making sure to break garlic clove. Seal bag, removing all air. Mix with hands and place in refrigerator for 1/2 hr.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet. Add diced garlic clove and 1 cup of diced white onion and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add black beans, salt, pepper, and oregano to taste. Cook 6-8 minutes.
3. Heat grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from bag and cook, 4-5 minutes on each side, until chicken is brown with dark brown grill marks. Let rest 3 minutes, then carve into 1/2 in. cubes. If interior of thickest part of chicken is still slightly pink, reheat grill pan and cook for 1-2 more minutes on each side.
4. Layer bottom of casserole pan with tortilla chips (1 chip thick). Spread 1/2 of black beans across chips. Spread 1/2 of chicken pieces. Add a few spoonfuls of your favorite salsa. Grate monterrey jack cheese directly over casserole pan. Repeat, starting with another layer of chips atop cheese.
5. After layer of cheese, place pan in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until top layer of cheese melts. Cut squares of nachos out of dish using a spatula and place on plate. Top with lettuce, diced avocado, diced red onion, tomato, and sour cream and hot sauce if desired. Turn on basketball game and serve.

partito della pasta

2006-05-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

We all, at some point, have cracked open a can of Ragu and poured it over a nest of sticky spaghetti for a Tuesday night meal. But trust me, you have not eaten pasta until you have eaten fresh pasta. Tonight, with the help of the Imperia Pasta Maker, we and a few of our closest friends, to celebrate Roberto Donna's rousing victory in his rematch with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, rolled out and cut several sheets of dough in what can only be described as a partito della pasta. We started with two kinds of ravioli, first red pepper pasta stuffed with sausage bought the day before from A Literri in Northeast, simmered with a little cream and stock, and a bit of mozzarella and topped with a tomato marinara and parmesan (pictured below). Next was a mushroom, ricotta and spinach ravioli in butter dill sauce.

Then came the main courses: spaghetti puttanesca and fettucine carbonara. A Litteri had a lovely pancetta ham, so we substituted that for bacon in the carbonara recipe, for fantastic results. Most guests agreed this was the best pasta of the bunch.

After all this pasta, eaten over the course of several hours, frankly, no one is in the mood for dessert. But on our shopping trip on Saturday, we were lucky enough to find a bottle of limoncello, the refreshing Italian lemon liqueur. With some limoncello, lemon sorbet, vanilla ice cream and lemon zest, we found the perfect finish for an evening of pasta, wine, and amicizia.

Limoncello sorbetto
1 scoop lemon sorbet
1 scoop ice cream
1 jigger limoncello
lemon zest

Add scoop of sorbet and scoop of ice cream to teacup. Pour over jigger of limoncello. Grate lemon zest over top. Serve immediately.

The novelist Christopher Morley once said that "no man is lonely when eating spaghetti; it requires too much attention." We've all eaten Italian food family style, but cooking family style truly makes for the best-tasting dishes. Molto grazie to Ike and Chad for their assistenza en la cucina, to Kate for bringing the rolling pin, and to Shannon for the eggs.

Classic Chicken Caesar Salad

2006-05-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

Summer will be here before you know it, if it hasn't already arrived here in the low-lying seat of the republic. The best summer dinner is a hearty salad, and there's none better than a chicken caesar salad with freshly-made dressing, crisp croutons and a shaving of parmesan on top. Try this recipe and soon that dressing with the gray silty stuff sinking to the bottom of the bottle and the smirking bust of Cool Hand Luke wearing a laurel wreath crown on the label will go from the refrigerator door to the recycling bin.

Many of us think of the caesar as an archetypically Californian dish. Others consider it Italian, perhaps because we assume it was named after the Pontifex Maximus of the Roman Empire, victim of Brutus and muse of Shakespeare. As a great article in the Washington Post recently revealed, however, the caesar salad was most likely named after a far more humble soul: Caesar Cardini, who invented the dish at his Tijuana restaurant which hosted Americans thirsty for wine during the Prohibition era. The original recipe was made with whole romaine leaves so patrons could eat it with their fingers. (Many top-rank steakhouses still serve caesars featuring whole romaine leaves, although not for silverware-free dining, but for ease in grilling the leaves for a warm version of the salad. This is a method of preparation I do not endorse, as I personally find grilling a salad green makes about as much culinary sense as baking a watermelon. If you like your salads wilted, add a warm ingredient like a bacon vinegarette or, in the case of caesars, warm chicken.) Julia Child, who interviewed Cardini's daughter, wrote that Caesar's original dressing contained a coddled egg cooked exactly a minute long, olive oil, lemon, garlic, worsterchire sauce, and parmesan. In a practice continued to this day in more upscale restaurants, Cardini and his waiters usually prepared the salad tableside. You'll find the dressing recipe below to be quite loyal to Caesar's original.

By the mid-1980s the caesar salad was being served at American dining establishments of all types, from posh hotel restaurants to diners. Caesar became the dressing most likely to appear on restaurant menus. The Cheesecake Factory began serving caesar salads the size of spare tires. At Wendy's you can substitute a caesar salad with bacon bits, goopy dressing, and a tiny bag of sugarcube-sized croutons for your biggie fries. The caesar also began appearing on the dinner table at home. In 1993 Dole Foods introduced the first bagged caesar salad kit, which now represents more than 80 percent of all bagged salads it sells.

As with most dishes, the chicken caesar is far more about timing than skill. Start with the croutons, and don't start to prepare the dressing until after the chicken is about to come out from under the broiler so that the chicken has time to cool a little. If the chicken is still too hot don't hesitate to put it in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes.

Classic Chicken Caesar Salad
1 egg yolk
worsterchire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 anchovy fillets
parmesan cheese
kosher salt
1 heart of romaine
fresh ground black pepper
french baguette bread, ripped into quarter-size pieces
olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1. croutons. Take half of the minced garlic and combine with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Brush pieces of bread and toast in oven at 350 degrees until golden brown, tossing occasionally, about 12 minutes. If you don't have a brush, toss the bread with the olive oil in a small bowl. (Croutons can be made in advance.)
2. chicken. Pat dry chicken breasts; add salt and pepper. Set oven to broil. Spray broiling pan with nonstick spray and place chicken under broiler until chicken is brown and spotty in places, turning once, for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. When cooled enough to touch, carve breasts at 45 degree angle into 1/2 inch slices.
3. dressing. Add 1 spoonful of mustard, egg yolk, garlic, anchovies, 1 pinch kosher salt, ground pepper, and 1 large pinch parmesan cheese to large bowl. Add lemon juice and several drops of worsterchire and, using the back of a fork, mash into a creamy paste. Slowly add olive oil, whisking to emulsify, until dressing about doubles in thickness.
4. construction. Rip romaine hearts by hand into bite-size pieces. Add to bowl and toss thorougly with tongs. Add croutons. Add chicken. Toss thoroughly again. Add another large pinch of parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Pasta Sauces

2006-02-24T17:56:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like a fast pasta sauce, finished in the time it takes for the pasta to boil. Don't get me wrong; a slow-cooked marinara or bolongese is the richest, best-tasting sauce most of us have ever had. But there is only one Sunday a week, and a quick pasta in a fresh sauce, along with a glass of red wine and some crusty bread, is a perfect low-maintenance weeknight meal.

The two sauces below come together in less than ten minutes; as soon as the pasta comes out of the water, you can take it straight into the pan of sauce for a quick toss. Much ink and paper has been spent on finger-wagging cookbook lectures about cooking pasta al dente, and I won't add too much to that here. Just remember to salt the water and take at least a minute off the cooking time on the box because the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce. (You want to avoid the sticky, overcooked texture you remember from the school cafeteria.) Toss the cooked pasta in the pan with the sauce with a pair of tongs, and serve from the saucepan to the plate. The sauce will stick to the pasta perfectly. (Stay tuned for an entry on fresh pasta, which as far as I'm concerned is about the best food ever invented. Galileo here in DC has terriffic fresh pastas; if my birthday goes the way I hope, soon I'll be writing about fresh pasta here on the blog. (reading, Caroline?)) As far as what pasta to pick, one good rule is to go with thin pastas for light sauces (angel hairs, vermicelli or spaghettini for olive oil sauces), thicker pastas for thicker sauces (fettucine for cream sauces), and shapes for chunky sauces, so that each piece of pasta can grab and hold bits of meat (rigatoni for meat sauces, orchiette for sausage sauces). These two sauces are a little above average in terms of thickness, so a regular spaghetti will work perfectly.

Pasta Puttanesca (pictured above)

Puttanesca is a full-flavored sauce said to have been created by ladies of the evening in Naples, who allegedly would cook the pasta near a window so its vibrant smell would attract male customers. Its flavor base consists of minced garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes, olives and capers. Most puttanesca recipes err by placing the last two ingredients in the pan before the tomatoes cook, which really minimizes their impact. In this version, they are added at the very end, preserving their characteristics, shape, and texture while complementing the sauce.

Don't be scared off by the anchovies. They'll cook down in the sauce, leaving just their flavor. The secret to this sauce, along with fra diavolos and other spicy Italian sauces, is to add the red pepper flakes before adding the tomatoes. Their flavor will blossom while they cook in the saucepan with the dry ingredients.

Everyone loves sauce made with fresh tomatoes, but we can't all live in Italy in the summer. Canned tomatoes are perfectly fine here and will save you some time. After all, the less time cooking, the more time eating, right? Del Monte makes a great canned diced tomato with basil, garlic and oregano already added. They are ideal for this sauce.

Pasta Puttanesca
1 pound spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4-6 fillets anchovies, minced
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, drained of all but about 1/2 cup of juice
3 tablespoons capers
1 small handful black olives (Kalamata are best), pitted and coarsely chopped

Bring salted water to boil in a large pot. When water is at a rolling boil, add pasta. Meanwhile, add olive oil to saucepan over medium heat.
Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and anchovies to saucepan, stirring frequently until garlic is fragrant but not brown (2 min). Stir in tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened (7 min).
Cook pasta until al dente, then drain and add to saucepan. Toss to combine.
Stir in capers and olives. Combine, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

For those who like their sauce a little less spicy, do what Caroline does: add a few pieces of fresh mozarella to your pasta puttanesca after it's plated. The melted cheese will cool off the sauce.

Pasta Carbonara

Carbonara is probably my favorite pasta sauce. It's robust, full-flavored, and sticks really well to the pasta. And it's made with eggs, which as you might know from the blog is one of my favorite ingredients. According to Mimi Sheraton of the New York Times, some believe that carbonara was invented in Rome after World War II to please American GIs posted there who craved bacon and eggs; more likely, Sheraton says, it originated in the Apennines, where lumber men cooked the dish over fires of wood charcoal, or carbona. I add peas to mine for a fresh-tasting crunch.

The eggs in a carbonara are raw, and cook when they hit the hot pasta. For that reason you have to work pretty fast. But it will result in a rich and delicious sauce. (Just make sure your serving platter is warm; a few seconds in the microwave would work, or you could place the serving platter underneath the colender when you drain the pasta. The boiling water will warm the plate.) I recommend hitting the pasta with more fresh-ground black pepper than you would a marinara or even a puttanesca; it's the perfect seasoning for this sauce.

Pasta Carbonara
1 pound spaghetti
6 slices bacon, diced into 1/4 in pieces
3 eggs
1 large handful frozen peas
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Bring salted water to boil in a large pot. When water is at a rolling boil, add pasta. Meanwhile, add bacon to a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until crisp, 8-10 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper-towel lined plate. Add a small tab of butter to pan and cook frozen peas until finished, 2-3 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and parmesan. Set aside.

Drain pasta when finished, about 9 minutes. Reserve a couple tablespoons of pasta water. Place pasta on a large serving platter, and, working quickly, add egg and parmesan mixture. Toss well to combine and add reserved pasta water. Add bacon and peas from skillet. Add salt and pepper, toss again, sprinkle additional parmesan on top, and serve immediately.

Pantry Cooking: Tuna Tomatoes and Tuna and White Bean Salad

2006-02-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

Living in downtown DC provides a host of conveniences: being just a few blocks from work; bike rides along the Tidal Basin; morning walks on the Mall. But it isn’t all easy; for example, we have had a bit of trouble figuring out our strategy for groceries.

We tried riding to the Pentagon City Harris Teeter, but it took too long to walk back across the parking lot, through the mall and to the Metro. The Dupont Circle Safeway worked one day, but I have to remember to bring my biggest bag if we are on our bikes. I think we’ve settled on groceries by delivery; we have tried Peapod and Safeway. Some people say one is better than the other, but we haven’t noticed much difference. Peapod has a slight edge price-wise and tends to offer more specials on delivery.

With the grocery store so hard to get to, I have been forced to develop my pantry cooking skills. We’ve been trying out lots of new dishes and relying on old favorites: chickpea salads, black bean quesadillas, pesto and roasted red pepper sandwiches, and garlic soup. Also helpful has been my new favorite cooking show: Jacques Pepin Fast Food My Way. (Click on the link to visit his virtual kitchen.) Jacques is one of our most famous TV chefs; he began his life in the kitchen almost as soon as he was born in France in 1935; he weighed only two and a half pounds, and the midwife brought him home in a box lined with dish towels and a makeshift incubator made of two bricks that were warmed on the stove. Jacques left school at thirteen to become a chef, and went on to great success in restaurants like Le Meurice in Paris and the soup restaurant La Potagerie in New York before going on to write cookbooks and star in shows such as Cooking at Home with Jacques and Julia. The soft scrambled eggs recipe I learned from that show is still one of my favorite meals, especially on a late Sunday morning with coffee, a newspaper, and Caroline.

Here are two pantry recipes, one from Jacques and one from Martha Stewart’s excellent magazine for weeknight cooking, Everyday Food. They both involve canned tuna. I very much recommend buying the tuna packed in olive oil instead of water — the texture is much better, and the oil works well in salads like the recipes below. I have also used kosher salt in the kitchen for the past few years – I find it much easier to control my seasoning that way.

Tuna Tomatoes
1 large, very ripe tomato
1/2 can of tuna
capers
scallions
black kalamata olives
anchovies
fresh mozzarella cheese, cut up into small chunks
extra virgin olive oil (remember that the tuna is packed in olive oil, so be light; Cook’s Illustrated recommends DaVinci for an excellent, reasonably priced supermarket olive oil)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut off the top of the tomato. Scoop out the inside of the tomato with a large spoon. Place it in a bowl, then mash the insides with a potato masher, adding salt, pepper, and a dash of olive oil to create a sauce. Mix up the tuna, capers, scallions, black olives, anchovies, and mozzarella in a small bowl and pile the mixture into the hollowed-out tomato. Put on a plate, then pour the sauce around the tomato and serve. (You can watch Jacques make a tuna tomato here.)

White bean and tuna salad (pictured)
1 can tuna
1 can cannelini beans
2 roma tomatoes
fresh parsley
capers
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
crusty bread, cut into slices

Mix the first six ingredients together in a small bowl. Add a dash of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Toast bread and serve with salad to serve bruschetta style.

(entry originally appeared at www.fortunehearts.com/myblog)

Guest Blogger/Chef: Baked Brie

2006-02-24T17:50:00.000-08:00

by Caroline Armijo

I am pretty lucky to be married to such a fabulous chef. My mother likes to remind me of this. She, along with Henry and several other friends and family, think that I don't know how to cook. I do - I just have a hard time deciding what to make. Plus cooking is Henry's creative outlet. He doesn't stand between and my craft products. So I usually serve as the sous chef, waiting for my next task in the kitchen.

When I have a potluck event that Henry is not attending, I have to think of something quick and easy, yet delicious. I can't just bring chips or drinks. Baked Brie is the perfect solution. Besides I always hear people asking about it as they stand around the buffet. When this dish made it back to the kitchen before Henry's entrees at several of our parties, I knew that I had a hit. The picture above features a heart-shaped brie I bought from Marvelous Market for a last minute meeting.

Ingredients:
1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 triangle of brie
brown sugar
slivered almonds or crushed pistachios

Preheat the oven according to the instructions on the can.
Open the can of crescent rolls and unroll the pastry.
Press together the perforations for the triangles.
Depending on the size of your brie, you may want to save half of the pastry to lay on top of the cheese.
Lay the brie on top of the pastry.
Liberally cover the brie with brown sugar and nuts.
Wrap the pastry around the brie and make sure that there are no open seams or holes.
Bake in the oven according to the directions.
Serve after 5 minutes of removing from the oven.

I like to serve the baked brie with slices of one Fuji apple - my favorite apples. Based on my experience, you only need one apple. I always have slices left over by the end of the evening.

One warning - Once I put the pastry together the night before and planned to bake it the next day. The brown sugar leaked out and I was disappointed with the results. Fortunately the prep time is less than 10 minutes plus 11-13 for baking.

Enjoy!

Update: Huevos Rancheros

2006-02-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

If you have a crusty roll handy, serve your huevos rancheros on it instead of a tortilla for a great lunch.

BLT Update: Le McBLT

2006-01-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

Adding to the BLT: Sandwich of Kings post, here is another version inspired by a recent breakfast at McDonalds. I won't be eating there for a while after seeing Super Size Me again, so this will have to do for a while. It also takes inspiration from the classic French sandwich the Croque Madame; hence the bilingual name.

See the original post for tips on cooking bacon and BLT construction. This recipe uses egg frying rings so as to keep the egg the same size as the muffin. They aren't necessary but they do make for a neater sandwich.

Le McBLT
1 egg
1 English muffin, toasted
2 strips bacon
Gruyere cheese
2-3 slices tomato
1/2 cup red leaf or romaine lettuce
Bechamel sauce (see below)

Place lettuce, tomato, and cheese on bottom half of muffin. Spray egg ring with cooking spray. Place a nonstick skillet over high heat. Place egg ring in skillet. Let egg ring heat for a minute, then crack egg into ring and cook until yolk is set, 2-3 minutes. Place spatula under ring, remove egg, and place it on top of bottom half of sandwich. Spread bechamel sauce on top half of bun. Add bacon to sandwich and serve.

Bechamel Sauce
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp paprika
1 bay leaf
2 cups milk, heated, or 1 cup each milk and chicken stock, heated
salt and freshly ground white pepper

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring until blended (1 min). Add paprika and bay leaf.

Gradually add milk, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and continue to whisk until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, 4-5 min. Season with salt and pepper.

Increase heat to medium; simmer 2-3 min. Discard bay leaf. Makes 2 cups.

Italian Grilled Cheese with Pumpkin Soup

2006-01-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

Grilled cheese with soup is a terriffic lunch or light dinner. These two recipes are a twist on the usual.

The saying about sandwiches is, great bread and OK fillings will beat OK bread and great fillings every time. While I like to think that both the outside and inside of this sandwich are fantastic, finding a good loaf of bread will really take your grilled cheeses to the next level. I recommend skipping the bread aisle altogether and going straight to the bakery. Harris Teeter's La Brea brand breads are pretty good if there is no local baker nearby and you have to settle (La Brea breads use a process called parkbaking, where the bread is baked at the point of production until almost finished, then flash frozen and sent to the grocery store, where the local store finishes the baking process in its own ovens), but if you have a shop with a full onsite bakery such as a Marvelous Market or Whole Foods on the way home I recommend picking up a good ciabatta or rosemary olive oil loaf. And, the baker will always slice a loaf for you if you ask.

While I love panini pressed sandwiches, our limited counter space simply won't allow having a panini press. But as you'll see from the photos below, it's pretty easy to improvise with a cast-iron skillet and a granite mortar or other heavy appliance. As long as you put enough weight on the sandwich while it's in the grill pan, you'll get a grilled cheese with golden grill marks that look as if they came from the finest panini press. Pesto is easy to make, but since basil is not in season in the winter you can use store-bought.

The best advice about soups: don't be intimidated by them! With just a little effort, you can make a soup that is better than anything you can find in a can. This soup, for example, uses a canned pumpkin base, then lets store-bought chicken stock, along with some scallions, onions and garlic sauteed in butter, to add the flavor. It gets even better after a couple of days.

Italian Grilled Cheese
4 slices good rustic bread
fresh mozarella cheese
roasted red peppers
pesto
1 ripe tomato, sliced
olive oil

heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush each slice of bread on one side with olive oil. On non-brushed side of two slices, add a layer of cheese. Then add slices of tomato, roasted red peppers, and about two to three teaspoons of pesto. Add another layer of cheese, then place other slice of bread, brushed side up, on top to close sandwich.
Place sandwiches in grill pan. Put a cast-iron skillet on top of the sandwiches, and add weight to the cast-iron pan. (You can use a small pot, ceramic pitcher, or, if you have one, a granite mortar.)

After about four minutes, remove weight, flip sandwiches, and repeat. Cut in half on diagonal and serve.

Pumpkin Soup
2 cans of pumpkin
1/2 can chicken stock
1/2 scallion

1 clove garlic
1/2 large onion
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup half-and-half
salt and pepper to taste.

Heat butter in dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add scallion and onion and cook, 2-3 minutes or until translucent but not brown. Add pumpkin and chicken stock, stirring to combine. Reduce heat to low and add half-and-half. Simmer slowly for 20 minutes. Ladle into tea cups. Garnish with a dash of cinnamon, toasted nuts, a dollop of sour cream, or a drop of maple syrup if desired.

Brunch Time II: Huevos Rancheros

2006-01-24T18:09:00.000-08:00

If you keep following the blog, you'll soon learn that Mexican cooking is one of my favorite cuisines. (Stay tuned for recipes for Chicken Enchiladas and Mexican Tortaburgers in the coming weeks.) While Huevos Rancheros is ideally a brunchtime meal, it is so easy and quick to prepare that it can be made and enjoyed any time.

If you order Huevos Rancheros in non-Mexican restaurants, you'll find that some of the time the eggs are scrambled. While this is fine, nothing beats a sunny-side up egg - the yolk mixes with the black beans and tortilla perfectly. Avocados and eggs are an underused, but excellent, combination. They taste great together. This recipe uses Queso Fresco, a white crumbling cheese similar in texture to block feta, available at any good Mexican tienda. If you can't find it, go with Monterrey Jack, shredded over the tortillas at the last minute.

The recipe below serves two, but can be easily multiplied. Just make an extra can of black beans and heat up a few more tortillas, then fry the eggs in a small pan one at a time. I find store-bought salsas to be, overall, quite terrible - overly sweet, too thick, uncomplicated in flavor. One notable exception is Green Mountain Gringo salsa. I pick that up whenever it's available, and you should too. (Their tortilla chips are also teriffic.) Salsa Casera, literally "home-made salsa," by the Mexican company Herdez, is also excellent and fresh-tasting; it's a simple combination of diced tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, garlic, and cilantro. It's becoming increasingly more available as more tiendas open in our neighborhoods and as mainstream grocery stores begin carrying ethnic products to attract the fast-growing Mexican community.

As an aside, I encourage you to visit a tienda; even in North Carolina you'll find one a short ride or walk away. You'll get to sample imported products you won't be able to find anywhere else, like fruit-flavored sodas from Jarritos or imported Cokes in glass bottles. You'll also find incredible deals on produce; at the tienda in Mt. Pleasant, you'll find perfectly ripe avocados for 79 cents-less than half of the $1.99 you'll pay on Peapod or at Harris Teeter. Plus, if you're lucky, your local tienda will have a taqueria counter in the back, where you can get a great order of Tacos al Pastor.

Huevos Rancheros (serves 2)
2 eggs
1 can black beans
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup Queso Fresco
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 ripe avocado, diced
2 corn or flour tortillas
salsa
vegetable oil

Heat vegetable oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Add black beans and oregano, and reduce heat to medium-low, bringing to simmer. Cook beans 8-10 minutes.
Toast tortillas. Spread beans over tortillas; add a thin layer of salsa. Heat small nonstick pan over high heat. Break egg into pan and cook until yolk is set, 2-3 min. Place egg on top of beans. Add diced cilantro and crumble cheese over egg. Add more salsa and serve immediately.

Brunch Time: Eggs Benedict with Home Fries

2006-01-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

DC is a big brunch town. Don't ask anyone about their favorite brunch place unless you have some time to spare to listen to the answer. On any Saturday or especially Sunday, you'll see crowds of people waiting up to an hour or more for a table at Bread and Chocolate or Afterwords Cafe. Some folks are willing to wait more than twice that long for a pancake at Eastern Market. Brunch is almost as much about not having to cook and clean up as it is about the food. But with a good sous chef, a pot of boiling water, and a half-hour, you can make an Eggs Benedict with Home Fries brunch that's as good as any you'll find at a cafe or restaurant.

Most people are worried that making hollandaise sauce is too hard. It's true that it's labor-intensive; it requires constant stirring with a whisk for at least three minutes while the sauce is thickening. But it's not at all difficult, as long as you have someone who can help with the other dishes while you whisk the sauce. The conventional wisdom is that it takes some skill to keep it from breaking ("Breaking" is the term used when overheating causes the hollandaise to change in consistency from a sauce to something like soft-scrambled eggs. It's called breaking because the emulsion process breaks down, and the sauce then breaks into its component parts of egg yolks and butter). Well, my hollandaise breaks one out of every two or three times I make it. But a couple of drops of cool water whisked into the broken sauce will bring it back every time. Also, don't worry if you don't have a double boiler; a mixing bowl on top of a pot with an inch full of simmering water will work fine. Hollandaise is also excellent on asparagus, poached salmon and grilled strip steaks.

Like most multicourse meals, this brunch is more about planning than cooking. I recommend starting with the home fries, then once those are covered and cooking you can start on the hollandaise. Once you finish the sauce add more water to the pot and bring it to a boil to use for poaching the eggs. Since this is a pretty heavy brunch, I like to serve it with a salad. The one pictured above is Caroline's favorite; it's made of avocado, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and takes minutes to prepare. It can be put together while the eggs poach.

Eggs Benedict (serves two)
two eggs
two single egg poachers (if you don't have poachers, you'll need a few drops of white vinegar to keep your yolks from spreading)
one english muffin, halved
cooked bacon or sliced ham (any ham will work; you can use regular deli ham, or if you want to be fancy you can use a pancetta or prosciutto)
two to four leaves of spinach
hollandaise sauce (see below)

Boil water in a medium-size pot and put in egg poachers. While water comes to boil toast english muffins. Place english muffins on plate, and put one or two leaves of spinach on top. Next, place bacon or ham on top of spinach. When water comes to boil, break eggs carefully into poachers. After 3-4 minutes, egg yolk will set. Remove egg from poacher with a spoon and place on top of english muffin. Spoon hollandaise sauce on each egg.

Easy home fries
2-3 scrubbed potatoes, cut into 3/4 in cubes
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, stir to coat, and cover, cooking for fifteen minutes and stirring occasionally. Add onion and reduce heat, cook covered for another 5 minutes. Remove cover and cook until home fries are golden brown.

Hollandaise Sauce
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 dash cayenne or Old Bay
1 dash salt

Whisk egg yolks and lemon juice vigorously in a mixing bowl until mixture has doubled in thickness. Add 1 inch of water to medium pot and bring to a simmer. Place bowl on top of pot (water should not touch bottom of bowl). Whisk in melted butter and continue whisking rapidly for 3-5 minutes until sauce has doubled in thickness. Don't let eggs get too hot or they will begin to scramble. Be careful; bowl will get very hot. Using dish cloth or potholders, remove bowl. Keep covered in warm place until ready to serve. If sauce breaks, whisk in a few drops of cold water.

ATM (avocado-tomato-mozzarella) Salad

1 diced avocado, ripe
1 diced tomato, ripe
2-3 balls of fresh mozzarella
1 tablespoon red onion, sliced thin
olive oil
red wine vinegar

Mix avocado, tomato and mozzarella in bowl. Add onion. Add olive oil, then vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

The BLT: Sandwich of Kings

2006-01-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

Since that late evening in 1762 when, during an all-night gambling binge, John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, invented the snack we all know so well by ordering a waiter to place a piece of roast beef between two slices of bread so he could hold his cards with the other hand, has there been an interpretation in the genre more regal, more versatile, more perfectly constituted, than the BLT? Some of us like it in the morning, with a cup of coffee and the paper. Others prefer it at Sunday brunch, a remedy from having overperformed at the bars the night before, with a cup of tomato soup and a side of fries. Still others, like me, consider it their favorite light dinner, cut on the diagonal and served along with some apple slices and tortilla chips.

Whenever you take your BLT, try the variations on the classic recipe below. The BLT Caprese, pictured above, takes its inspiration from the famous insalata tricolore from Italian cuisine, where the red of the tomatoes, green of the basil, and white of the fresh mozarella each represent a color of the Italian flag. The sandwich pictured below, the Salmon BLT, is the perfect use for that leftover salmon fillet from dinner. Instead of wrapping it up and putting it in the freezer, throw it on the grill to cook while you eat dinner, let it cool, and flake it into pieces with a fork and use it in a sandwich the next day.

As far as cooking bacon, methods abound. For microwaves, there is the slanted tray, which I use, as well as the bacon tree, where the raw bacon is draped over the arms of a contraption that looks like a miniature towel rack. Both allow the grease to slide off the bacon while it cooks. Both methods will take longer, since bacon cooks best in its own fat. Many cookbooks also recommend cooking bacon in the oven on a baking sheet. While I use the microwave tray for cleanliness and convenience, especially given the size of our apartment, I find that for taste, nothing beats the old-fashioned way--cooked on a burner over medium-high heat in a cast-iron or nonstick skillet. If you have a window in your kitchen, or if you don't mind smelling bacon all day (and I can't imagine why you would), then go for the stovetop version. Just be sure to pat the bacon dry with paper towels as soon as it comes out of the skillet, and keep in mind that the second side will cook much faster since the bacon fat is already hot. In terms of BLT construction, I would recommend making the entire sandwich while the bacon cooks, layering lettuce, tomato, red onion and then cheese, leaving the top piece of bread off, then placing the bacon on top of the cheese. The hot bacon will soften the cheese perfectly, giving it the slightest melt.

BLT Caprese (makes 2)
4 slices whole grain bread, toasted
fresh mozarella
1/2 handful romaine lettuce hearts, ripped by hand into bite-size pieces
1 ripe tomato
5-6 leaves of fresh basil
4 strips bacon
1 teaspoon red onion, sliced as thinly as possible
1 teaspoon store-bought pesto
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Cook bacon. While bacon cooks, construct sandwich, placing romaine lettuce on bottom piece of toasted bread, then tomatoes. Salt and pepper vegetables to taste, then add slices of red onion and basil leaves. Add slices of fresh mozarella. Mix 1 teaspoon pesto with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise. Spread onto top piece of bread. (Add olive oil to thin if desired.) When bacon is crisp, remove from skillet or tray and place on top of cheese. Close sandwich, cut in half, and serve.

Salmon BLT
4 slices wheat bread, toasted
1 1/2 cups grilled salmon, flaked with fork into small pieces
2 slices swiss cheese
1/2 handful red leaf or other lettuce, ripped by hand into bite-size pieces
1 ripe tomato
4 strips bacon
1 teaspoon red onion, sliced as thinly as possible
1 teaspoon chives
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teapoon lemon juice

Cook bacon. While bacon cooks, construct sandwich according to directions above, starting with salmon on bottom. In a small bowl, combine chives, lemon juice, and mayonnaise. Spread on top piece of bread. Add bacon, close sandwich, cut in half, and serve.

Caroline's Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Aioli

2006-01-02T16:07:00.001-08:00

Tonight we decided to make some quick crab cakes for dinner. I cut my thumb chopping cliantro, so Caroline had to make the cakes while I prepared the sauce. Even with only one and a half cooks, the dish turned out quite well.

We've all been disappointed by crab cakes that were more filler than crab. A good rule of thumb is to use no more than one cup of breadcrumbs per pound of crab. The mixture will look too dry at first, but once you add the second egg you'll get a mixture that you will be able to form into small cakes. There's no rule on size, but this amount of mixture will yield about ten cakes about two inches across and an inch thick. You'll have plenty the next day for crab cake sandwiches on kaiser rolls or english muffins, made with the leftover aioli, a slice of tomato, and a crisp piece of romaine lettuce.

The sauce is a simple one. Don't use too much, though, as the crab cakes are the star. You could take a spoon and spread a small layer of the aioli on each plate wide enough for two cakes, place the crab cakes on top of the aioli, then serve the rest of it on the side.

Caroline's Crab Cakes (serves four)
1 pound crabmeat (Phillips is the best; jumbo lump is the "top shelf" of crabmeat, but it's more expensive and not necessary here. Backfin works almost as well. Phillips' crab cake recipe actually uses Ritz crackers instead of breadcrumbs)
1 cup homemade breadcrumbs, fine (or, if using Ritz crackers, 27 crushed crackers will yield about a cup of crumbs)
1 tablespoon cliantro
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 eggs
worsterchire sauce (2-3 dashes to taste)
tabasco sauce (2-3 dashes to taste)
Old Bay seasoning to taste (my advice: don't be shy)
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable oil

Red Pepper Aioli
2 tablespoons diced roasted red pepper
1 teaspoon garlic
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Beat one egg and set second egg aside. Place crabmeat, breadcrumbs, cilantro, mustard, one egg, and mayonnaise in a large bowl. Add worsterchire sauce, tabasco sauce, Old Bay, and salt and pepper. Mix lightly and add second beaten egg. Form into cakes, about two inches across and an inch thick. Should yield about ten cakes.
Place cakes in skillet and cook, 3-4 minutes or until brown. Carefully flip cakes and cook for another 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, place red pepper, garlic, mayonnaise, and ketchup in a small food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add lime juice and pulse until fully mixed. (You may need to stop halfway through and pull the sauce down from the sides of the processor bowl with a small plastic spatula.)
Spoon sauce on plate. Place two crab cakes on sauce and serve immediately.

Southern Spanish Tortilla

2005-12-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

This is a variation on the classic potato and egg Tortilla Espanola. Along with paella, the classic version is as close to a national dish as there is in Spain. It is eaten in kitchens and at tapas bars throughout the country at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The omelette, on which the Tortilla Espanola is based, was invented by Spanish Benedictine monks in the village of Alcantara centuries ago and later taken back to France by Napoelon's troops. This version was invented for a birthday party for Caroline's friend Shannon, who grew up in the same part of North Carolina as Caroline. The ham and sweet potatoes add a Southern twist to this classic dish.

The hardest part is flipping the tortilla. Follow the instructions below, take your time, use a nonstick pan, and you should be fine. Although you may want to flip your first tortilla while standing over the sink. You can see step-by-step pictures here.

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup diced white onion
6 eggs
2 slices of cooked ham
5-6 stalks of cooked asparagus, cut into 1 in. pieces
2/3 cup olive oil
salt to taste

1. Heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil in nonstick pan until hot. Add sweet potatoes and onion and cook over low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are very soft but not yet browned. Once potatoes begin to soften, take metal spatula and break up potatoes. When potatoes are soft, drain excess oil and pour potatoes and onions into a large bowl.
2. While potatoes cook, beat eggs vigorously in another bowl. Add salt. Once potatoes are poured into large bowl, add eggs. Fold eggs into potatoes, continuing to break up potatoes with spatula. Slice ham into small 1/2 in. diameter cubes. Add ham and sliced asparagus to potato and egg mixture, continuing to mix. Add salt to taste.
3. Add rest of oil to pan. Pour mixture back into nonstick pan. Smooth out mixture and cook on low-medium heat. After pan-down side of tortilla is finished, take a large plate and place it over pan. Turn pan over; tortilla will come out on plate. Slide tortilla back into pan, cook for a few minutes more until cooked. (You can tell if the cooking side is finished by giving the pan a very small shake. If the cooking side slides in the bottom of the pan, then it is finished cooking.)
4. Place plate back on top of pan to remove tortilla. Let sit at least 1/2 hour. Cut into slices. Serve hot or cold.

Welcome to The Home Bistro

2005-12-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks for visiting The Home Bistro. Here at this blog I'll be posting recipes, kitchen tips, reviews, podcasts, and all kinds of other material related to the world of food.

In French cuisine, a bistro is a small, unpretentious neighborhood restaurant, where the specials are often written on a chalkboard and drawn from what looked best to the chef in the market earlier that day. The food is as unassuming as the atmosphere: full flavors, prepared simply and with care. With this site, I hope to help you bring that same feeling into your home.

We'll start with some of my favorite recipes. Come on in; there is always room for one more in the kitchen.