Game Hens Mariam. Stuffed with spiced rice and an apricot, mint sauce.

 I have some very strong interests besides food and wine. One of them is a fascination with ancient history and cultures. The reason I mention this is that I have a very old pal from grade school that was lucky enough to marry a terrific lady, let me introduce you to Mariam. She is the first Assyrian I have ever met. Very thrilling. These people have been around FOREVER. Seriously, they invented the city, math, irrigation and astronomy. They no longer have a country but they have occupied their homelands in Iraq since the time of Babylon and Uruk. Unfortunately and at a great loss to world culture there aren't many of them left.
 So of course the first thing I asked Mariam was "please please tell me about your people's FOOD." No better way to understand another culture then to look at the cuisine. Like most peoples of the middle-east they use exotic spices and herbs very differently than Europeans. After some research I came up with this dish based on what I read. This one's for you Mari. Shlomo, Shlama.

I did have to bow to what was available here in Phoenix, I wanted to use pigeon or squab but I couldn't find anything under $15.00 a pound so I went with Game Hen. This man's blog is called "COOKING POOR, EATING RICH." Game Hens are cheap as heck, about 3ish per.

MISE EN PLACE:

STUFFING


1/2 cup rice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
scant pinch ground clove. A little goes a long way
1 cup some kind of cooking liquid like chicken stock, vegetable stock or if it's all you have, water
salt and pepper
1 TB fresh orange peel, grated  (half for stuffing, half for sauce)
large clove garlic, minced (ditto)
1 large yellow onion, minced (ditto ditto)
bunch fresh mint, finely chopped (ditto ditto ditto)
splash olive oil

 For the poaching liquid
1 stick cinnamon
4-6 whole cloves
2-3 bay leaves
1 TB black pepper corns, barely crushed
handful kosher salt
enough water to cover


SAUCE
6 ripe apricots, concasse, I'll explain later.
splash cider vinegar
about 2 cups of the poaching liquid.
half the onion from above
half the garlic from above
fresh mint, finely chopped...geesh really do I have to say this again?
salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
splash olive oil


I like a challenge. I do.

For the stuffing, heat up your saute pan, add a splash of olive oil. Throw in some of your onion, garlic. Season. Sweat this through and add your orange peel and spices.

WOW does this smell like heaven. Add your half cup of rice and gently toss around to coat until it turns slightly opaque. Add the raisins. Slowly add small amounts of whatever cooking liquid you chose. We don't want to cook this through but we need to give it a head start. Remove from heat and put aside for now.

Clean out your birds carefully. Dry with paper towels. Stuff your birds. Don't pack it tight, the par-cooked rice will expand and we need to leave some room. I used some small skewers to close up the end. Ok leave all this in the fridge while we get the poaching stuff together.

In a large pot put all your poaching ingredients with about 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil.

 Gently lower your hens into the pot and return to a simmer, poach for 30 minutes. 

Now for the sauce. Let's talk about concasse. We need to remove those peels without destroying the integrity of the fruit. Grab a good sized pot and bring some water to a boil. Along side that we need a small bowl of ice-water. Wash your fruit and cut a small X on the bottom. Carefully drop your fruit maybe 2 at time into the hot water. Count to 45. Remove and throw into the ice water. Those skins should just peel right off. If they seem tight then just put them back in the hot water for a few more seconds.

  

See? Cool right? Works for tomatoes too. 

OK chop the fruit large dice and gather together the rest of your ingredients. Heat up a large saute pan, add a splash of olive oil. Toss in the rest of your onions and garlic, lightly brown off and add your orange peel. Season with S+P. Once smelling really great add your apricots.   

Toss those around until sticky, add your splash of cider vinegar. Once the sharp smell whiffs off, add your remaining poaching liquid until you feel the sauce is loose enough, you won't use all 2 cups. To finish turn off heat and add your mint, check your seasoning and remove to sauce boat. 

Your hens should be done by now. Remove carefully from the poaching liquid. Please don't throw away that precious fluid. Save by freezing. You just never know when you might need it. Dry your hens thoroughly. 

To finish you will need about a cup of vegetable oil. Heat it up in a large pot. Once hot, brown off your birds one at a time on all sides. For some reason Assyrians seem to cook everything twice. Ask them, I don't know why. 

So that's it. Plate up, serve with a little of the sauce. Get your grub on. Ciao. 

Sour milk is our friend. Chef Nick's Irish Soda Bread.

Here's how it plays out. I love dairy. Ice-cream, cheese, cream, milk and cookies. Alas, as I've grown somewhat older I have become increasingly lactose intolerant. I buy milk to use in some recipe and it just sits there and turns. I know this happens at your house, I've been there. Please don't throw it out if it smells a little funny, sour milk is really useful.

 What's happening is that the lactose is turning into lactase, an acid that we can use with another common kitchen item to make a powerful leavening agent. Use sour milk as a substitute for anything that calls for buttermilk. Screw the stores. Reuse. 

 One of my favorite recipes (yes I bake ok?) I make one for myself and I always give one away, either a neighbor, coworker or friend. Spread the love. The family has to wait until Christmas for theirs.
Crusty, crumbly and absolutely delicious.

Irish Soda Bread:

Mise en place:

4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
pinch Cardamom
1/4 cup butter (half a stick) No you may not use margarine, holy shit I can't believe it tastes like the bottom of my foot.
1 3/4 cup sour milk*
1 egg*
1/2 cup raisins, dried currants, dried cranberries. You decide.
A clean level surface, either a counter top or large cutting board.
a small amount of flour for dusting
a large mixing bowl and a baking sheet, or cake pan or silmat..whatever
* room temperature. Just leave them out for a few hours, it's ok I promise.

Put all the dry items in a large bowl. Flour first ok? Combine.

Plop the butter right into the center and using your hands rub it into the flour stuff until it looks like cornmeal. I SAID USE YOUR HANDS !! I can see you trying to use your big fancy mixer, I will end you now.

What we're doing is dispersing the fat all through your finished product and the best way to do that is by feel.

   see it really does look like cornmeal

OK time for the wet stuff. The reason the milk and egg need to be at room temp is so that we don't shock the dough. Now, empty the contents of the eggshell into the milk and beat together slightly. Dump this all at once into the bowl and start mixing. 

Once all combined add your dried fruit. Mix again and turn out onto kneading surface. 

  hey Nick, is that the Swedish Chef from the muppets? Why yes, yes it is. Are we going to have a problem?

Keep some flour between the board and the dough as well as on your hands, the dough is sticky. Don't worry about adding too much flour during kneading. The recipe is very forgiving. Knead for a few minutes just until it smoothes out a little. Divide into two rounds and shape.  Using a very sharp knife cut the traditional cross on the top. Brush with melted butter if you like. I do but it's not crucial. 

Pre-heat your oven to 375. Place on baking surface, whichever you prefer. I use a 10" cake pan. You won't need to grease or flour. There's plenty in the dough itself. 

Bake for 40 minutes, test by thumping the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it's done. Cool on rack completely before slicing. I had mine today with some fantastic Peach and Raspberry preserves one of my friends sent me all the way from Utah. Thanks Becky-boo !!!

That's it. Remember to share. Go get your grub on. Ciao

  My baking shirt. Why, what do you wear?

How's your Momma an dem? Jambalaya.

One of my favorite dishes. Easy, spicy and so very satisfying.  Jambalaya is a true American mutt. Some French a little Spanish a touch of African and a whole lot of necessity caused this dish to be. So easy to make it's almost foolproof. If you don't have all the ingredients, don't worry. You can add or subtract at will. 

I have Cajun blackening powder listed. I usually have it pre-made and store it in a small container and refill as needed. It's not really measured out just go with what feels right to you. 

MISE EN PLACE

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 pound chopped andouille sausage
1 cup chopped leftover ham
3-4 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless cut into 2 inch pieces 
2 TB cajun blackening powder (paprika, fine salt, cayenne, dry thyme, black pepper, cumin, dry oregano,chili powder, ground black pepper)
1 large onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 cup long-grain rice
2 cups tomato puree
2 cups chicken stock
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

* I also included about 6 IQF shelled shrimp (20-30), I had some in the freezer

Now the basis of Cajun cooking is the use of "the holy trinity" which includes green pepper, celery and onion. The ratio is typically 2 parts onion to one part each of celery and pepper.
If you want to adjust this go right ahead.
Once all of your ingredients are gathered together and prepped it's time to start cooking. Ready? I timed this and from beginning of prep to removal from the oven was about 1 hour, 10 minutes. Doesn't get much easier than that.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Heat up your pot with the butter and oil in it. Add your sausage and chicken, lightly brown off.

Add your holy trinity and a big pinch of salt and pepper, sweat for a minute, add your blackening powder and one bay leaf. Sweat for another minute. Add rice and stir gently to coat. 

Add your tomato puree and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Do not stir aggressively at this point. The rice now is very brittle and if you stir roughly you will end up with something that looks like red oatmeal.

Once simmering, put your pot in the oven covered until rice is completely cooked, about 20 minutes or so. Again, do not stir.
Once rice is tender, remove from oven and let sit on top of stove for about 5 minutes. At this point I added my IQF shrimp which had already been cooked off. 

Serve with a hunk of good crusty bread and some Tobasco Sauce if you want to turn the heat up.
That's it, easy right? 
 Go get your grub on. Ciao.

What's in the garden

Sorry everyone for the big delay in posting but I scored a bitchin' new pad complete with garden space. Expect dinner invites soon.

I have some wonderful friends. For the last 6 months I have been living without a garden. "So?" you might say. For me it's like you living without electricity. I love soil, rocks, green things and even bugs.
 Through the generosity of friends I received some wonderful herbs, vegetables and whatnots. Nothing beats food grown yourself. Thank you Lisa and James, Elsie and Sharon.
 Minestrone is for Italians what Chicken Soup is to everyone else. Love from Mom, love from home, cure-all and a hug for the heart and tummy. Simple but filling and nothing to feel guilty about. Here we go.

CHEF NICK'S MINESTRONE


First, a cooking term you might not know. Italian soups and sauces are often started with something called a "battuto". It's similar to the French mire poix but is chopped much much finer. How finely chopped? Wait for it.

MISE EN PLACE:

Battuto:
one large carrot or two medium
two stalks of celery
one large onion
garlic clove
3 strips salted pork (I used bacon, why not?) If you are going vegan, just omit and use olive oil.
pinch of dried chili flakes
salt/pepper. Do I have to say Kosher and fresh cracked again?
one red bell pepper, seeded and minced
one zucchini squash minced
one yellow squash minced
*no big chunks in Minestrone
fresh green peas
one can white beans, drained
2 cups tomato juice
 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
handful of dried lentils
one cup of small pasta
one bay leaf
some fresh chopped parsley
some fresh chopped oregano
chiffonade of basil, save some for plating.
some good bread. ok I baked my own but you don't have to. Just toast it up, drizzle with olive oil and rub with a raw clove of garlic.

Grab a really sharp knife. Get the first five ingredients and start chopping.

We need to get this to a paste. Why? the more cut edges we start with, the better the flavor of the finished product. It's way past small dice, beyond even a brunoise. Need a picture?

I know, crazy right? Sure you can use your fancy shmancy food processor but it spins so fast and tends to grind rather than chop and renders way too much liquid out. 

Heat up your soup pot and splash some olive oil on the bottom. Add the buttuto, salt and pepper, bay leaf and chili flakes. We just need to sweat this through, no browning here. 

Add the rest of your vegetables and herbs. I said minced right? Yes I did. We need our garden in every spoon. 

Knife skills. 

Sweating through again. Add all the tomato juice and stock. Bring to a boil and add your beans. bring to a simmer again and add your pasta and lentils. Simmer until cooked through, about 30 minutes or so. Check your seasonings, last chance. That's it, you're done. 

Plate by spooning into a bowl, sprinkle with extra basil and parmesan cheese. The crap in the green can is evil and wrong. If you use anything other than real parmesan I will summon my ancestors to kick your ass. Serve with a slice of bread as discussed above. 

Now go get your grub on. Ciao.

ps. If you want the recipe for a quick and easy bread, let me know.

Just for fun, here's some pictures of the new pad.

My Mom rules. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

My Mom really does rule. I know most chefs credit Mom for being their first food influences and I am no different. She's no chef but can bake me under the table. Nobody, but NOBODY makes better Christmas cookies than her. Apple pie? Mince meat pie? Still none better. Solid.

Mom showed me at age 10 how to scramble eggs. She let me buy my first cookbook (Julia's) at age 15. Tolerated my insufferable attitude when I started INSISTING I knew more about cooking than her. Patiently letting me fail and then rescuing my first Baked Alaska. Still laughs when I say things like "this didn't suck" and "really Mom? BOILED zucchini"?

When we were little pains in her butt she would make these cookies that are still my absolute favorite. So easy and full of the stuff kids love. Chocolate, peanut butter, sugar and sticky things to lick. I still have the original pan she used and no you may not borrow it, it's going to the grave with me.

So today's bonus edition is what Mom always called her "rice crispy bars" but I call..........

CHEF NICK'S SWEET MOMMY'S DIABOLICALLY EVIL RICE CRISPY BARS. be afraid.

ok really very easy. No baking involved, let the kids help, they'll love you for it.

6-8 cups rice crispy cereal. If you want them crispier use more, if you want them chewier use less

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup corn syrup (the only reason to keep this stuff in your pantry)

1 cup peanut butter. Chunky or smooth, you decide

scant pinch salt

1 package butterscotch chips

half as many semi-sweet chocolate chips

one largish baking pan

1 small bowl

small sauce pan

one big bowl

In your biggest bowl measure out your cereal. HAH' right "measure"

Put all the sugar, pinch of salt and syrup in the pan. Heat gently over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Do not do not do not boil.

Immediately take off heat and stir in peanut butter. Pour mixture onto the rice cereal and gently fold together.
Dump it all into your baking pan and spread out. Off-set palette knives are our friends.

Here's the somewhat tricky part. Chocolate is a funky little monster. Make sure your bowl is really dry and put in both kinds of chips. Heat in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between. Once mostly melted just keep stirring until it melts together. The big fancy chef term for this is "carry-over heat". Don't just pop it in and walk away for a few minutes or it will melt too fast and burn. If you taste or smell burnt chocolate you won't forget about it for years. OK stop worrying. Now dump all that melted chip stuff onto the bars and spread it out.

Put the whole thing in the 'fridge for 5 minutes to set. Cut it all up into squares. That's it.

A word of caution. These things have ZERO nutritional value. I think they actually remove nutrients from your body. The good thing is your kids won't ever try Meth' they won't need to.

RIB-A-PALOOZA !!!

I love that all my bestest friends cook. Once a year we get together and make a big mess of a RIB-A-PALOOZA. Yay us. This year I made my blackberry-ginger sauced baby-back ribs. It's not about winning, it's about chest hair and saliva and sweat plus big stupid silly fun. Deal.

Chef Nick's Blackberry-Ginger BBQ sauce on baby back ribs

Mise en place

12 oz frozen blackberries, thawed. (one bag)

1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled, minced (seriously if you have no idea what this is, please unfriend me)

splash white vinegar

splash Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 shallot, peeled, minced

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/4 cup honey

some hot pepper sauce. Today I used some rocket Habenero sauce. *optional (shhh'yeah right)

big pinch salt (Kosher)

big pinch black pepper (fresh cracked)

Now, use a peeler to remove the brown part from the ginger. Need a picture? Here's one.

Put all this into a blender or food-processor. Let it whirl around until it's one big liquid mass. Remove to a small pot. Bring to boil, let simmer and reduce by one third.

OK let's talk ribs. My butcher buddy Carlos got me a great price on mine. I used two racks. We need to score these bad boys so they don't split and crack. Drag a sharp knife across the back. Don't be shy.

Rub in kosher salt and black pepper on all sides. Put on your first coat of sauce.

Knowing that I wasn't going to finish the ribs until the next day what I did was pull a catering trick and par-cooked them slowly in a 250 degree oven. Total time was about 3.5 hours. 1 hour back side up first, then flip. Time for the second coat. Back in the oven for remaining time.

After the regular cooking time remove from oven and give one last good thick coat of the sauce

then put the racks under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get some caramelization going. Keeping in mind again I wasn't actually going to throw these on a grill until the next day and I wanted to enjoy the party rather than stand over a grill for very long.