great dinner, even better dessert

No, seriously.

Menu

• roasted salmon with mustard and maple syrup glaze
• mashed potatoes with ramps
• blanched asparagus with butter, lemon juice and shaved parmiggiano reggiano
• roasted mushrooms, carrots, and onions

What are those yellow things on that plate on the far right, you ask? Well, that's sliced pineapple. But what is the pineapple for? Why, it's for THE BEST DESSERT OF ALL TIME.

• grilled pineapple with molasses, mint, lime zest and mascarpone

This was actually surprisingly easy to prepare in a short amount of time because 1) madison helped me with the prep work 2) the prep work wasn't difficult 3) cooking these things simultaneously and/or in quick succession is neither confusing nor overwhelming.

First I boiled water to blanch the asparagus, because I like my asparagus at room temperature so I wanted to give it time to cool down after cooking. While that was boiling, I preheated the oven to 375 and tossed some mushrooms, chopped onion, and carrots with olive oil, salt and pepper. I threw those in the oven, and by that time the water was boiling and madison had rinsed the asparagus and trimmed the ends so I threw those in the pot and removed them after they had turned bright green and were flexible but would still snap if stressed. I drained them, put them on a plate, and spread some unsalted butter over the hot asparagus, then sprinkled some lemon juice, salt and pepper on top. I shaved parmiggiano over that and set it aside-- done.

Madison had rinsed, partly peeled, and cubed the potatoes at this point so I threw them in a deep saucepan, covered them with water, and brought that to a boil. In the meantime I trimmed the roots off the ramps and chopped the stems, setting the leaves aside. Madison seasoned the salmon with salt and pepper and spread spicy grain mustard and maple syrup over it. By this time the vegetables were done roasting so I put them on a plate-- done.

We kept the oven at 375 and started to roast the salmon. I then sauteed the chopped ramp stems in a bit of olive oil and salted them as they cooked. The potatoes had been boiling for a few minutes at this point, so I drained them, put them back in the hot pot, and added milk, butter, a bit of sour cream, the sauteed ramp stemps, and the ramp leaves (uncooked, roughly chopped). I even shaved a bit of Jasper Hill cheddar in there. Good god were these some delicious mashed potatoes!!! The smell of the ramps was intoxicating. I had the pot over low heat while I mashed the potatoes so that it would thicken and the ramp flavor could permeate. I then put the potatoes in a big bowl and drank a bit of beer while waiting for the salmon to finish (it was a big piece of salmon--it took nearly 20 minutes to cook).

We enjoyed our meal and then set to work on dessert. Madison had already peeled, sliced, and cored the pineapple, so I just put my grill pan over medium-high heat until it was really hot, then grilled the slices until they were softened and had nice grill marks. I grated some lime zest, made a quick lil' chiffonade of fresh mint, and sprinkled those over the grilled pineapple. I drizzled a bit of molasses over this and added a dollop of mascarpone. We literally FREAKED OUT at how good it tasted. Just imagine it: sweet and warm pineapple, with the intense flavor of molasses, softened with rich mascarpone and brightened by lime and mint. Make this NOW. Just do it. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life. And did you know molasses is actually pretty good for you? It has tons of calcium, iron, and potassium! It is not good for you, however, when it spills out of a giant storage facility.

the great outdoors

The weather has been so nice recently that we've started grilling outdoors here at 28 Lawton. The other night we made fantastic tilapia tacos with pickled red cabbage and jalapenos, grilled onions, and sour cream (we also had delicious refried beans made by the lovely and vegan Veronica, as well as guacamole prepared jointly by Fiona and Brett). I was, however, too hungry and it was too dark to get a good photo, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Oh, my dog Phyllis has been enjoying her outdoor time as well...
But I mean really---wouldn't you want to hang out in this backyard all day, too? The grass is coming in, the rose bush is leafy and green, we've got daffodils.....

Yesterday we grilled again in the afternoon, and I grilled a Bavette steak. I was introduced to the Bavette cut by a butcher at Marlow and Daughters a few weeks ago when buying meat for a BBQ at Dead Herring. On that day, my friend Edan cooked it to a perfect medium rare. Unfortunately, due to a charcoal-shortage induced snafu, yesterday's steak was overdone. It was still really tasty, but texturally off.

I also grilled poblano peppers, onions, and a baguette and assembled open-faced steak sandwiches with some Jasper Hill Cheddar. Jacob brought hot dogs, and we all had one of each, except for Gabi, who had like a hundred steak sandwiches, because he was "really hungry."

buy this cheese now!

moringhello di bufala

aged hard buffalo milk cheese from italy. my new favorite cheese!

roasted marrow bones with parsley salad, sea salt, toast

Bone marrow, as you may or may not know, was likely the first animal protein our distant ancestors had access to. You see, early proto-humans were scavengers, not hunters, and would obtain animal protein by hiding in the brush waiting for the vicious, threatening carnivores to abandon an animal carcass near the waterhole before venturing out, carefully, and using a crudely chipped river cobblestone to crack open the animal's longbones and scrape away the abandoned proteins inside.

We've come a long way and, for this hominid at least, I consider it a special treat when marrow bones are for sale at Marlow and Daughters. So I went all out.

Parsley salad:

about 1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley (really roughly, I actually just tore it with my hands)

2 or 3 tbsp capers

1 tsp lemon zest

black pepper

For the bones, I just roasted them at 400 for maybe 20 minutes, maybe a little more. They should be the consistency of jello, browned at the top, not pink on the inside anymore.

I toasted some sliced bread with olive oil, spread a bit of bone marrow on the toast, topped it with parsley salad, and sprinkled some fleur de sel over that (sel gris would have been ideal, but whatevs). This was so decadent and delicious!

Oh and when the bones were scraped clean, another species of carnivore in the house reaped the fruits of my labor.....

weekend lunch

I try to be as frugal with the contents of my refrigerator as possible, and at the end of the week I always end up with some odds and ends that I cobble together to make something moderately good. Today it was especially good! But I think the reason this effort usually succeeds is my basic Grocery Shopping Strategy. Here goes:

1) Keep a pantry with grains, beans, garlic, spices, and canned tomatoes; keep stock in the freezer. This way, you can make a soup, pasta, bean or grain salad with whatever you bring home from the store.

2) Buy lots of onions--I usually use upwards of 5 every week. Not only should you include onions in most things you cook for the health benefits, but caramelized onions are a great way to make a quick, I dunno...sandwich? salad? pasta?

3) Have meals in mind when shopping for produce and protein.

4) Buy ingredients that can be used in multiple meals. A fun way to get creative with this is to buy different fresh herbs each week. Also hard cheeses like parmiggiano, pecorino, and english-style aged cheddar keep for a long time and can add complexity of flavor to dishes which are otherwise simple. Having ingredients on hand that can work together in a myriad of ways also allows for more flexibility...because you never know when three extra dinner guests are coming over (this happened to me the other night...I thought: "better add those white beans to this cauliflower casserole, after all")

5) If you like to cook extravagant meals all the time, go ahead and buy the veal shanks. If you're like most of us, keep it simple, and keep the leftovers. I usually buy sausage, chicken, 6 eggs, and a small amount of bacon for a week, and then a ton of vegetables. Plan on eating meat once a day, or less. It will save you money, you won't have to worry about it spoiling, and it makes you do things like experiment with celery root.

Anyways, today I made this--a mushroom frittata with onion, sage, bacon, and aged cheddar:

I had all these cute little cremini mushrooms, a few sage leaves, a small yellow onion, and one slice of bacon in my fridge along with 5 eggs, milk, and some Jasper Hill clothbound cheddar. I think my thought process was something like "duh, I'll make a frittata."

So I cooked the bacon in a pan and in the meanwhile, sliced the onion and mushrooms and chopped the sage roughly. When the bacon was done I put it on a paper towel and drained the fat, then added some olive oil and the onions to the same hot pan and cooked them for a few minutes. I added the mushrooms, and as they started to brown I sprinkled the sage over top. While this was cooking I whisked together the eggs with some milk, salt, and pepper, and grated some of the cheddar into the egg mixture. I broke the bacon into small pieces and scattered it around the pan, then poured the egg mixture over top and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

It turned out wonderfully, and I just wished I hadn't had to use all of my spinach on those three extra dinner guests, because a spinach salad would have really rounded this out, but whatevs. I used up all my groceries! Let's see what next week has in store...

healthy celery root soup!

Why does every recipe for celery root soup you come across call for tons of butter and heavy cream and stuff? I dunno, I kinda like the taste of celery root....I don't really need it to be bogged down by dairy. It has so much flavor on its own, and is so good for you, that it's really a shame celery root isn't getting the treatment I think it deserves. With this in mind, I made a light celery root soup with a couple flavorful garnishes to complement, not distort, the flavor of one of my all time fave foods.

Ingredients:

1 celery root, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch-ish cubes

1 leek, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped and 1 clove, thinly sliced

3-4 cups vegetable stock (chicken would be fine, I just happened to have veggie stock)

1/2 cup whole milk (I used whole because I had it, use whatever--or don't use it at all!)

Parmiggiano reggiano

I sauteed the garlic and leeks in a tbsp of butter, then added the chopped celery root. I let this cook together in the pot, stirring occasionally, until it got really fragrant and the celery root began to soften. I added between 3 and 4 cups of vegetable stock and let that simmer away for a bit. I then pureed everything in a blender, tasted it and adjusted the seasoning, transfered it back to the pot, stirred in the milk, and let it cool.

Meanwhile, I heated some olive oil in a skillet until hot but not smoking, and placed the sliced garlic in the hot oil. I watched very carefully, occasionally turning the slices, and removed them from the oil when they were brown and crisp but had not yet burned. I placed them on a paper towel to drain and seasoned with salt.

I grated parmiggiano over the top of the soup when serving it and sprinkled garlic chips over that. This soup was incredibly filling and delicious, a great dinner. It was even better the next day, not hot but just above room temperature.

orecchiette with pork sausage, mustard greens, and parmiggiano

I did my week's worth of local grocery shopping at Marlow and Daughters on Monday, and Fiona and Brett happened to be having lunch at Miss Favela nearby, so they picked me up in the Brettmobile and we went to Cafe Grumpy to get a Flat White. This was my first Flat White, and the reason I am being so meticulous about capitalizing it is that it was wonderful.

Apparently, this is just how coffee is in New Zealand. And New Zealand, as far as I can tell, is a magical land where ponies run wild in the mountains, wine flows freely and delectably, they play good music on the radio, eating local foods is common, healthcare is nationalized and effective, and coffee is made with a big foamy layer of milk on top that is so rich and thick that when you put sugar in it you really have to stir it in cuz that shit's not sinking to the bottom.Later we picked Madison up and headed back to 28 Lawton where we wrote 2 new songs, making that 7 SONGS IN 7 DAYS. I also used some of my newly acquired local fare to cook dinner for the band, and was thereby appointed lead singer AND chef of Cybelle Blood. I browned some pork sausage, finished cooking it in my homemade chicken stock, and added it to some handmade orecchiette (sold in bulk! i'm in love) and stirred in a bunch of parmiggiano and some mustard greens left over from vegan brunch. A little bit of black pepper to finish was the only seasoning.

totally vegan #4

Whoa, vegan feast at the house last weekend! In what is now and hopefully will remain a weekly tradition, my friend Veronica and I are teaming up in the kitchen to make vegan food basically with the intention of it being all real food with no weird food-substitutes or fake-meatless-versions-of-meat-food. No BBQ seitan sandwiches here!This weekend we perfected a recipe (basically by being concerned about presentation even the slightest bit--as opposed to last weekend, where we baked flatbreads and kinda just spread some stuff on them) for a savory vegan tart with olive oil crust, spiced lentil puree and a minted cashew creme. Here's how to make it:

for the crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder (totally optional, season it however you like)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup soy/almond milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice

Sift together dry ingredients, stir in oil, combine soy or almond milk + lemon juice (to curdle), mix in enough milk to form a slightly wet dough ball, shape into a ball with your hands, let it rest for 20 minutes, cut into 8 pieces, roll each piece out and press into a small fluted tart pan, bake at 350 for 10 minutes, let cool before removing from pan.

for the filling:

1 1/2 cups (approximately? leftovers are good!) lentils

vegetable stock

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint

1 tbsp whole coriander seeds

1 leek, roughly chopped

salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

basically you simmer all of these things together until the lentils are done, then puree with an immersion blender or food processor. I think a good ratio of lentils:stock is 1:2, and it takes 20 or 30 minutes for the lentils to be finished cooking. Seasoning with salt/pepper/red pepper is best done after cooking the lentils, and adjusted after pureeing.

for the creme:

1 cup raw cashews soaked in water 20 minutes

1/3-1/2 medium onion

1-2 garlic cloves

fresh mint

This is something that is done completely in a blender, and the proportions of onion/garlic/mint:cashew is totally up to you. Just puree it all together in a blender with water until a creamy consistency, like thick yogurt, is achieved.

We also made white gazpacho, with cucumber, garlic, green onion, lemon juice, veggie stock, and almond milk, as well as a mustard greens salad with sliced pickled beets. Veronica baked vegan chocolate doughnut-cakes and we made this crazy glaze using an obscure citrus fruit, agave nectar, ginger powder, and powdered sugar.

Later that night I played my first show withmy new band, which at that point had only existed for 5 days. And I came home to find that Josie and Sharp had done all the dishes! Incredible.

pizza, pizza

I went to see my friend Ariel's show on Bedford ave last week and it was wonderful as usual. As I did not have any ID on me, I was denied a beer at Rosemary's Greenpoint Tavern and just said "screw it, I'm going home to make pizza." I went across the street to Fornino and bought 2 large balls of uncooked dough, then walked a few blocks to the nearest grocery store and bought dandelion greens (finally in season again!), an onion, goat cheese, mozzarella, and some aged balsamic. Oh, also a sixer of Peroni....

I returned home to 28 Lawton to find two hungry-ish roommates about to watch Lost, so I figured I'd better get to cooking so we could have a fancy TV dinner. I made pizza with caramelized onions, dandelion greens, and goat cheese with a balsamic reduction. Here's a photo...

It was really good. The only problem was that, even though I put the dandelion greens on the top just at the very end of baking, some of them got a little too dried out and crispy in the heat. They still tasted good, but not as good as I knew they could have tasted. But I'm not one to be super hard on myself about cooking--there's no point! It's too fun! And there are infinite do-overs! Anyways, when I make pizza at home I like to bake it at 400 on an oiled cookie sheet. I also like to brush a bit of oil over the crust and salt it because....salt = yummy.

You know what else was yummy? The pizza I made a few days later! It was a white pizza with caramelized onions, mozzarella, and dandelion greens. Holy crap! I'm just sayin'....it was sorta insane. Pretty decadent, kinda perfect for a Friday night dinner kinda thing.

I made a bechamel sauce (equal parts flour + melted butter, whisk together over lowish heat in a saucepan, add scalded milk, whisk til it thickens) and put a bunch of parmiggiano reggiano in it, then spread that over the rolled-out dough, topped it with mozzarella, then added the onions. After the pizza was nearly cooked, I put the dandelion greens (tossed, this time, with a bit of oil to avoid the aforementioned crispiness problem) over top and let them wilt in the oven as the pizza finished baking. This photo doesn't really do it justice, but it evidences how great the pizza turned out since I didn't even have the wherewithal to, say, put it on a plate before photographing it.