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Posted by William on December 7th, 2011, at 10:24 am
I’m not sure which wurst is the best wurst (or, ahem, würste for those looking for something more authentic), but knockwurst is pretty tasty. Of course you can go with the standard bratwurst, but this is the perfect dish to try a different kind… you have so many to choose from! Bratwurst, rindswurst, knackwurst (or knockwurst), bockwurst, and on and on.
 Bratwurst, knockwust, bockwurst... Use a mixute or whatever you want. Knackwurst is commonly “knockwurst” for some reason here in America, but a simple spelling change doesn’t make it any less tasty. I’ll just keep using the knockwurst because that’s what I see more of in stores here. Anyway, knockwurst is similar to bratwurst but is (usually) a mixture of veal and pork with some garlic and light seasonings mixed in. I say “usually” because different recipes call for different amounts of veal/pork or even sometimes other meats and spices–it depends on how creative the butcher wants to get with their own take on it.
The thing is, no matter what type of sausage you end up getting, you will have a terrific meal to go with some good winter beers. I love some stouts and porters as the weather gets colder. But hey, you don’t even need beer to enjoy this! I’ve been taking leftover to lunch at work (where beer is frowned upon during the work hours… bummer) and it reheats nicely and make everyone envious.
 Sausages, mushrooms, and onions all cooked together. What's not to like? So yeah, get your grub on and make this. It’s not terribly complicated and you’ll dig it. Click through the break to see the recipe and more pictures. Continue reading “Knockwurst, onions, and mushrooms” →
Posted by William on November 17th, 2011, at 9:22 am
I’m not really sure I can call this a salad, but I can probably get away with it more than I can calling this or this a salad. At least this one has spinach in it. But every other name I came up for it was just way too long and cumbersome. Try on “Butternut squash and chicken with farro and wilted spinach in a chipotle-adobo dressing”. Quite a mouthful, but it does sound pretty good, doesn’t it?
 Continuing my current chipotle fascination. This was actually my first time cooking with farro. I’ve been meaning to make it for a while, but my list of things to make seems to grow, not shrink. At this rate, it’ll take the rest of my life to work through it all. Somehow, I’m OK with that. Still, I checked this one off of my list and I’ll probably be going back to it. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but it’s actually a lot like barley.
As I’m still on my chipotle kick, I worked some into this dish as well. Unlike the shrimp tacos the chipotle is content to take a minor role and just add a hint of heat and smokiness to the dish. I kept things simple and basically used it as a salad dressing mixed with a bit of oil.
 A pretty healful combination for a satisfying winter meal. Click through the jump to see the recipe. Continue reading “Hearty, healthful, cold-weather salad” →
Posted by William on November 9th, 2011, at 10:35 am
I’ve been on a chipotle kick recently. I’ve been adding some chipotle peppers and adobo to tons of stuff. It just gives it a good kick of heat and a nice smoky touch. Any kind of good meaty thing can do with a tablespoon or two of the stuff. It’s easy to make too. Just buy a tin of chipotle peppers in adobo and blend the whole thing (or chop it up). You can store it in a small size zip-top bag in the freezer for months (but you’ll use it before then anyway). Try some in your next chili or even use it in part of a marinade to give a little extra something to a cheap cut of meat.
But this time I was in a Mexican mood. I wanted some tasty shrimp tacos. And tasty shrimp tacos is what I got :) I mean, really, take a look.
 Best tacos I've made. I know, right? Right? Oh, well, I guess I know but you’ll just have to take my word for it. Or you could make this too… You should. There is so much great flavor in this. A little smokiness, a bit of heat, and even a little sweetness (not to mention the scallions, onion, and tomato) all work together to make this some of the tastiest tacos that will ever come out of your kitchen.
 I mean, look at that, I bet you wish you could have eaten it. So go get the ingredients and get cooking. Click though for the recipe and more details. If you like this one, maybe I’ll share some more chipotle recipes soon. Continue reading “Chipotle Shrimp Tacos” →
Posted by William on September 14th, 2011, at 12:22 pm
This simple tart is a great way to use up all those summer fruits you have sitting around. If you don’t have any fruits, what’s wrong with you? Summer fruits are the best. Peaches, strawberries, plums, berries, cherries… Go get some. It doesn’t matter what, I’ll wait.
I hope you picked up some puff pasty while you were out, because that’s basically the only other thing we need. Have I mentioned that this was simple? It is.
I’ve made this will all kinda of fruits: blueberries, raspberries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and strawberries–no, not all at ones. Try to keep to to under 4 kinds of fruit. The less “juicy” ones tend to work a bit better because the crust doesn’t get as soggy. So if you want it have blueberries in there, I’d go light on them.
 That's my piece in the background! Who wouldn’t want a slice of this? I mean, really? It’s got some great fruit on there and that awesome flaky, buttery crust. All done with only a minimal amount of effort too. The crust is already made. Cut up some fruits, you don’t even need to peel them. And it goes right on a sheet pan with some foil or parchment paper. If you do it right, you don’t even have much to clean.
 It looks good because it tastes good. So thaw out that puff pastry and click through to get the details… Continue reading “End-of-summer tart” →
Posted by William on September 7th, 2011, at 9:49 am
I couldn’t be content serving just the Cuban-style mini-burgers without a strong supporting side. I wanted something fried and crispy, you know, to keep with the “burger” theme. But potatoes, and hence French fries, aren’t very Cuban. Plantains, though, are. Like potatoes they are starchy, and–like potatoes–they can be fried.
 Crunchy, tasty tostones. Because this specific batch was to substitute the crunchy crispiness of French fries, I squashed the plantains a bit thinner than what is common for tostones. I was going for a version that highlighted a bit more crunchiness, and I got it. Do what feels right for your taste though. I’d recommend squishing and frying a couple at different thicknesses to get a feel for how crispy they get.
I’m not sure why it didn’t dawn on me at the time, but I didn’t even think about cutting them into French fry shapes. I was just hooked on making tostones and really needed to see that through. They were great and I don’t regret not doing plantain-french-fries except maybe for the novelty factor.
I still think I may try to cut some into French fry lengths at some point to see how that works out. Click through for the recipe and to see how I made these. Continue reading “Tostones” →
Posted by William on August 31st, 2011, at 10:00 am
Sometimes an idea weasels itself into you mind and you just can’t shake it. It becomes some crazy fascination that you hope will be just crazy enough to work. The end product is there in your mind and all you have to do is build it. That’s the tricky part though. All this expectation, and you aren’t even sure how to get to that goal. My goal was some cuban style pork sliders. And when you think about it, combining that tasty, slightly tangy marinated pork with some caramelized onions and a bit of pineapple isn’t all that crazy. In fact, it’s downright tasty
 Cuban sliders, black beans, and tostones. So with all that on my mind, I assembled my army of ingredients. Pork chops, lemon juice, OJ, a pineapple, some small buns, and a handful of herbs and spices. I had all the tools I needed. I just had to assemble it correctly. Fortunately, the end result was just as amazing as I could have hoped.
 Cuban sliders, black beans, and tostones. It probably also helped that I served it with tostones and some black beans. I’ll talk about those tostones next time. For now, lets focus on making these delicious sandwiches. Click through for the recipe and a few tips. Continue reading “Cuban style pork sliders” →
Posted by William on July 6th, 2011, at 9:37 am
Admittedly, this dish isn’t common here in the US; I’ve never even seen it outside my parent’s house. Even so, I think it’s worth knowing what this is because it is extraordinarily tasty. If you ever do see it in a restaurant, please consider ordering it. Just so you know, I don’t think it’s likely that you would easily be able to make this at home as the ingredients would be difficult to source unless you knew a good butcher or a specialty shop. Gesiers aren’t expensive or rare, they just don’t seem to be a commonly purchased item. My family brings our own supply back from France when we visit. Our suitcases are always chock full of interesting foods and we always make room for things like gesier, good pâté, wine, mustard, cornichons, etc.
 Let's see... nuts, potatoes, mixed greens, French vinaigrette. Yeah, I'll have that. The salad itself is deceptively simple for something that packs this much flavor. The tender gesiers are basically umami delivery mechanisms that punch up all the flavors. The wonderful savoriness is cut by the earthy mixed greens and the light acidity of the vinaigrette. A handful of fresh nuts goes a long way, rounding out the textures in the salad.
Oh, I guess I haven’t mentioned what a gesier is yet (and that’s not entirely accidental). People enjoy this dish until I spoil it by telling them what they are eating. Don’t worry though, it’s just duck. Well, it’s not just duck, it’s the duck’s gizzard. I know, I know, that might sound a bit odd, but this is actually pretty good. I guess the best way to describe it would be to imagine if the dark meat of a duck (or chicken) was more, uh, just more. It’s very flavorful, so you don’t need much. The amount in the salad is great because it’s not overpowering and well balanced by the other flavors.
Don’t be nervous though, if this isn’t your thing I won’t surprise you with a plate of it if you come over for dinner. But if you want to try it, I think you’ll be quite pleased. (Give me a heads-up and I’ll try to get a hold of some more!)
 My mouth is watering as I type this. This looks so good. Savory, slightly bitter from the salad, a touch of acid from the vinegar offseting everything... I really need to get some more of these. In case you do find a good source and want to make it, here are two ways I suggest serving it. The first (image directly above) is an extremely basic salad that puts the gesier front and center. The second method (see the image at top of page) has more ingredients, including potatoes and nuts, which complement the rest of the flavors.
Simple Gesier Salad
Ingredients
about 2 gesiers per person
mixed baby greens or salad de mâche
basic french vinaigrette (See this post for the recipe)
Directions
Salad de mâche was used here.
1. Heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cut the gesiers into wedges or slices. Add some oil to the skillet and toss in the gesiers. Cook for several minutes until slightly browned.
2. Make the vinaigrette in a large bowl. Add the salad and mix to coat with a thin layer of dressing.
3. Serve on the plate with the gesiers on top of the salad.
If you have any crusty French bread, serve that along side it. You know this looks good. It is. I’d much rather eat a gesier salad than something like this, wouldn’t you?
 Here, my mom is cutting the gesier into wedges. Thanks for dinner! |
 Sear them briefly in a hot skillet before serving. |
Gesier salad with potatoes and nuts
Ingredients
about 2 gesiers per person
mixed baby greens or salad de mâche
basic french vinaigrette (See this post for the recipe)
oven roasted potatoes
Crushed walnuts
Directions
We had some left over roasted potatoes that we used for this dish. If you don’t have any, or want to quickly make some simply cut some potatoes into even, bite sized cubes and toss lightly with olive oil and a touch of salt and pepper. Bake them at 375F for 30-45 minutes, until they become golden brown.
1. Heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cut the gesiers into wedges or slices. Add some oil to the skillet and toss in the gesiers. Cook for several minutes until slightly browned.
2. Make the vinaigrette in a large bowl. Add the salad, most of the nuts, and the potatoes. Mix to coat everything with a thin layer of dressing.
3. But a bed of dressing on a plate, add some of the cooked gesiers and a few more nuts.
 This isn't something you'd find in every home. Enjoy it. As a bonus for reading all the way down to the bottom, here is the can of gesiers from Verdier. He makes pâtés and other ‘canned’ meats that we can easily transport back on the plane. My grandfather actually used to live near him and we always eat some of his products when I go visit my family in France. He runs a small operation that consistently produces quality foods.
 This guy makes terrific pâté's too. I really hesitate to eat the ones I have because I can't easily get more.
Posted by William on June 29th, 2011, at 10:13 am
What do you do when you unexpectedly end up with over two dozen fresh eggs? Well, eggs are pretty versatile in the kitchen, but I didn’t want to have to make dozens of different things just to use them up. I wanted to quickly half the quantity of available eggs on hand so they wouldn’t just sit there. The question now is: What’s a good way to use a dozen eggs at once… and have the eggs be a key player in the dish (not baked into a cake, for example)? Well, you can still do lot’s of things, like make a “pie”. With onions. And a potato. And prosciutto.
 A dozen eggs and tastiness hides below that surface. I wanted to add a few more things to this, but I actually started running out of room in the pie. My idea was originally inspired by a recipe on Epicurious. I ended up ditching most of my planned changes as the recipe came together though. The filling just got too large to allow for the extra stuff I wanted. You are welcome to try my changes though… here is what I would do: use only one onion, add wilted spinach (or kale, or some kind of bitter green), and add a little bit or parm before closing up the pie.
Still I have a few tricks that I did do that I would really recommend. Check below the break the find out. Continue reading “Eggsplosion Pie” →
Posted by William on June 22nd, 2011, at 12:51 pm
I feel like figs have been hiding from me. Maybe I’m eating at the wrong places, but I rarely see them used in restaurants. And apart from their claim to fame in a fig-newton, I’m not sure where else they often show up. (Perhaps in figgy-pudding? But I’m not even sure what that is.) Still, I do know they are tasty, so I got my hands on some dried figs and, between mouthfulls of chomping down on them, I cooked up something interesting.
 Fig and goat cheese stuffed tenderloin Yup, that’s a pork tenderloin stuffed with figs and goat cheese. I somehow got it in my mind that combination would work. And you know what, I’m happy with my decision. The goat cheese helped cut down on the sweetness of the figs and the rosemary gave it an earthy touch. Still, this isn’t a delicate meal. It’s very rich, what with the pork, the figs, the cheese, and the apple glaze. But it’s not like pork doesn’t pair well with a bit of sweetness (think about some take-out style Chinese dishes–like sweet and sour pork).
Of course, if I was making an apple glaze, I had to continue the apple theme and serve it with apple baked brown rice! So click through to see more photos and to see how it’s done. Continue reading “Fig and goat cheese suffed pork tenderloin” →
Posted by William on June 15th, 2011, at 9:48 am
I recently acquired a plethora of fresh, local tomatoes and needed some good, tasty things to do with them. Besides BLTs, obviously.
 Tomato tart! Now with spinach and caramelized onions! I quickly settled on making a tomato tart. It’s not too difficult and the tastiness factor is pretty impressive. Underneath that layer of tomatoes hides wilted spinach, caramelized onions, and feta and ricotta cheeses. A few sprigs of thyme is all you really need to add some extra flavor to it.
You could make your own pie crust for this, but I opted for puff pastry. Roll it out a couple times so it doesn’t have the urge to puff as high and pre-bake it weighted with dry beans. It’s not that pie crust is hard to make, it’s just that it’s one of those things that puff pastry can easily replace will no ill effect. Just don’t use one of those pre-made pie shells in the foil. Those are usually sweet and won’t give the proper effect here.
 What else could I stuff into this? Anyway, back to the tart at hand. There are really only 5 ingredients here, but there is some prep work to do. Fortunately, the prep work can be done ahead of time or while the crust is baking. The onion has to caramelize, not difficult, but takes some time. I like to do several onions at once because it freezes delightfully well. The other prep is wilting spinach, which frankly, is a stretch to call it work. It cooks down quickly and easily. All that is required of you is to stir it. Click through the link for the full recipe and more information. Continue reading “Tomato Tart” →
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