Like everywhere else in my life, in the kitchen I've had successes and failures. And, while I generally cook tasty meals, the one I made for our friends this past Sunday was out of control with deliciousness and seasonality. You see, last week the very first signs of Fall suddenly blew through New York in the form of gusty rain storms and chilly air. I was in the midst of planning a menu for a small dinner party and my perspective immediately switched from fresh stone fruits, fish and crisp vegetables to stewed beans, a pork roast and, as I wrote about yesterday, Molasses Spice Cake.
Showing posts with label garlic scapes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garlic scapes. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Garlic and Herb Crusted Pork Loin
Like everywhere else in my life, in the kitchen I've had successes and failures. And, while I generally cook tasty meals, the one I made for our friends this past Sunday was out of control with deliciousness and seasonality. You see, last week the very first signs of Fall suddenly blew through New York in the form of gusty rain storms and chilly air. I was in the midst of planning a menu for a small dinner party and my perspective immediately switched from fresh stone fruits, fish and crisp vegetables to stewed beans, a pork roast and, as I wrote about yesterday, Molasses Spice Cake.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Much Ado About Chutney
Just a quick one here, but I've been receiving numerous questions about what to do with the chutney left over from Monday's virtual dinner party. I too asked myself the same question since the paneer cheese ran out way before the chutney did. Here are a couple ideas for what to do with any leftover Apricot-Orange Chutney. To read the original post, click here: A Potluck of Spice & Everything Nice.
Option 1: Tuesday night rolled around and we still had a good two cups of chutney in the fridge. I also had a head of bok choy, about a cup of snow peas, a garlic scape and a bunch of scallions all from our CSA. My husband suggested a stir fry, but I took it one step further and here's how: Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a quarter cup of chutney and a splash of chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and add the bok choy, chopped, and the snow peas. Saute for about 3 minutes and then add the garlic scapes and scallions, all chopped, to the pan. Cook for just a couple more minutes and serve over brown rice. It was amazing!
Option 2: On wednesday night, I turned on the oven to 400, salt and peppered two pork chops, smothered them in chutney and popped them in the oven for about 15 minutes. The result was caramelized and juicy goodness.
Option 3: Finally, for a snack yesterday, I took some triscuit-type organic crackers, topped them with ricotta cheese and a dab of chutney. Such easy perfection.
There you go, three totally different things to do with all that chutney. Enjoy!
Option 1: Tuesday night rolled around and we still had a good two cups of chutney in the fridge. I also had a head of bok choy, about a cup of snow peas, a garlic scape and a bunch of scallions all from our CSA. My husband suggested a stir fry, but I took it one step further and here's how: Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a quarter cup of chutney and a splash of chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and add the bok choy, chopped, and the snow peas. Saute for about 3 minutes and then add the garlic scapes and scallions, all chopped, to the pan. Cook for just a couple more minutes and serve over brown rice. It was amazing!
Option 2: On wednesday night, I turned on the oven to 400, salt and peppered two pork chops, smothered them in chutney and popped them in the oven for about 15 minutes. The result was caramelized and juicy goodness.
Option 3: Finally, for a snack yesterday, I took some triscuit-type organic crackers, topped them with ricotta cheese and a dab of chutney. Such easy perfection.
There you go, three totally different things to do with all that chutney. Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Garlic Scapes
During my childhood, Northern Virginia wasn't the food destination it's now become. Sure, there were lots of restaurants, but the DC area in general was basically a joke when it came to fine cuisine. My father, however, was a foodie through and through before foodie was even a term. Between meetings on "the Hill" and poker games at the Pentagon, he scoured the tri-state area (MD/VA/DC) for tasty food. While there were many awful meals, he often hit paydirt and when he did, he always enthusiastically brought me, my mother and my three brothers to partake in his discovery.
Perhaps the best find of all time occurred when I was about five years old. My father took us to the Peking Gourmet, which, to this day, remains my favorite Chinese restaurant ever. Even after devouring the nooks and crannies of Manhattan's Chinatown, the Peking Gourmet reigns supreme in my heart. Beside the obvious Peking Duck, my other must eat dish at the Peking Gourmet is a unique, but very simple dish called Shrimp with Garlic Sprouts. The restaurant has its own farm out in the countryside where they grow the garlic sprouts just for this dish. Think delicately cooked shrimp sauteed with garlic flavored sprouts. Yum. Yum.
Well, I have yet to find garlic sprouts anywhere, but on Friday I wrote about scoring garlic scapes from my favorite bearded farmers. Garlic scapes are to garlic what scallions are to onions: mild and delicate. Ray Bradley of Bradley Farm in New Paltz, NY suggested I saute them in olive oil and that's when I said, Eureka! These garlic scapes would be my stand in for garlic sprouts and I rushed baby girl home to help me recreate my favorite Chinese dish. Only one thing saddens me: garlic scapes aren't available year-round.
Perhaps the best find of all time occurred when I was about five years old. My father took us to the Peking Gourmet, which, to this day, remains my favorite Chinese restaurant ever. Even after devouring the nooks and crannies of Manhattan's Chinatown, the Peking Gourmet reigns supreme in my heart. Beside the obvious Peking Duck, my other must eat dish at the Peking Gourmet is a unique, but very simple dish called Shrimp with Garlic Sprouts. The restaurant has its own farm out in the countryside where they grow the garlic sprouts just for this dish. Think delicately cooked shrimp sauteed with garlic flavored sprouts. Yum. Yum.
Well, I have yet to find garlic sprouts anywhere, but on Friday I wrote about scoring garlic scapes from my favorite bearded farmers. Garlic scapes are to garlic what scallions are to onions: mild and delicate. Ray Bradley of Bradley Farm in New Paltz, NY suggested I saute them in olive oil and that's when I said, Eureka! These garlic scapes would be my stand in for garlic sprouts and I rushed baby girl home to help me recreate my favorite Chinese dish. Only one thing saddens me: garlic scapes aren't available year-round.
Garlic Scapes with Shrimp and Brown Rice
(One of my readers commented last week that I should look into Slowfood Chinese cuisine. Dear reader, here is what I have for you: a simple, delicious and complete meal that tastes strangely authentic.)
(One of my readers commented last week that I should look into Slowfood Chinese cuisine. Dear reader, here is what I have for you: a simple, delicious and complete meal that tastes strangely authentic.)
45 minutes to an hour before you want to eat, pour two cups of chicken broth and one cup of brown rice into a small pot. Put it over a high heat and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down the heat so that the rice is gently simmering.
15 minutes before the rice is ready, (Or even after it's done. I find rice doesn't mind sitting and plumping up. Just be sure to turn off the heat and keep it covered.) wash about four handfuls of garlic scapes (They are like long wriggly snakes so just dig in there and grab on.) and chop them roughly, leaving some bits long and curly for effect. Set the scapes aside.
Set a pan over a high heat and pour in two or three tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle about a half pound of shelled and deveined shrimp (I used extra large shrimp) with salt and pepper and place evenly in the pan. Squeeze half a lemon over the shrimp. After a minute or two, flip the shrimp and cook on the other side. Remember, shrimp cooks quickly and needs to be just pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
Throw the chopped up scapes into the shrimp pan and saute for about three to four minutes. Then throw in the shrimp and saute together for another four to five minutes or until the scapes are al dente. Don't overcook them as they tend to lose their garlicy goodness.
To serve, spoon the rice onto a platter and heap the scape and shrimp mixture on top. So simple. While I'm not one for heat, my husband enjoyed it with a little Chili Garlic Sauce by Tuong Ot Toi Viet Nam.
15 minutes before the rice is ready, (Or even after it's done. I find rice doesn't mind sitting and plumping up. Just be sure to turn off the heat and keep it covered.) wash about four handfuls of garlic scapes (They are like long wriggly snakes so just dig in there and grab on.) and chop them roughly, leaving some bits long and curly for effect. Set the scapes aside.
Set a pan over a high heat and pour in two or three tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle about a half pound of shelled and deveined shrimp (I used extra large shrimp) with salt and pepper and place evenly in the pan. Squeeze half a lemon over the shrimp. After a minute or two, flip the shrimp and cook on the other side. Remember, shrimp cooks quickly and needs to be just pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
Throw the chopped up scapes into the shrimp pan and saute for about three to four minutes. Then throw in the shrimp and saute together for another four to five minutes or until the scapes are al dente. Don't overcook them as they tend to lose their garlicy goodness.
To serve, spoon the rice onto a platter and heap the scape and shrimp mixture on top. So simple. While I'm not one for heat, my husband enjoyed it with a little Chili Garlic Sauce by Tuong Ot Toi Viet Nam.
Approximate Dinner Cost
• W/Wine - $21.00
• W/o Wine - $9.00
• Leftovers – We ate this for two nights so expect four servings at $2.25 each. Not bad!
• W/Wine - $21.00
• W/o Wine - $9.00
• Leftovers – We ate this for two nights so expect four servings at $2.25 each. Not bad!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Farmers' Market Finds - June 5th
It is pouring yet again, but I have to admit I am a rainy day kinda gal. I love any excuse to wear rain boots, tuck baby girl into her stroller, strap on the rain guard and take off. Rain means Manhattan enters into a dreamy state akin to sleeping in on the weekend. Most people don't leave their homes, instead choosing to wait for the weather to clear. I love taking advantage of those times where baby girl and I own the streets and don't have to fight for our place on the sidewalk. So, today, we, along with our neighbor and her baby girl, walked leisurely to the farmers' market while the cold rain pounded down on us. Just like last week, the market was alive and well with people like us who don't mind a little rain in their hair.
The most exciting find this week was garlic scapes! They are the green stems that come straight out of the ground when garlic is flowering. Scapes have a mild, almost delicate, garlic flavor. I've never cooked with them before, but Ray Bradley of Bradley Farm and former sous chef for David Bouley, says to saute them briefly in a little olive oil or butter with some salt and pepper. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I'll post more on my adventures with garlic scapes next week!
The market was also alive with strawberries. I'm visiting my in laws tomorrow so I made a bit of a joke out of myself, buying one container from Bradley Farm and then returning for four more! One measly pint of sweet, luscious berries for 8 adults and 3 children? Baby girl eats one pint herself if she can get away with it.
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