Faux Coq au Vin

This is a quicker version of the French Classic. I peeked at Alton Brown's version on Food Network, and adapted, throwing out anything that took too long.

2 chicken thighs
flour
salt and pepper

1 small red onion, chopped
1 strip of bacon (I used pancetta)
3 cloves garlic
3 tsp tomato paste
about a cup of chicken broth
about a cup and a half of red wine (traditionally made with pinot noir - i used petite syrah)

pinch marjoram
pinch herbs de provence
small sprig rosemary
1 bay leaf

olive oil
1 tbsp butter
honey (optional)

Cover chicken thighs in salt and black pepper. Dredge in flour.

Heat olive oil in a cast iron. Cook onions until translucent.
Add pancetta.
Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and let brown- 2 minutes on each side.
Add garlic, tomato paste, herbs, and a bit of each of the liquids.

Cook on medium heat until reduced, and add more of the liquids and the butter.
Cover and let braise for about 20 minutes. Add the rest of the liquid after about 10 minutes.
When it was almost done, I added about a tablespoon of honey.

Serve with pasta. (Serves 2)

Thai Garlic Noodles

Melissa and I just made these noodles - I got the recipe from a friend at the chowhound picnic in the fall. The secret ingredient is the tianjin vegetable, which is preserved salted cabbage that comes in a lovely earthenware jar. You can buy it at the Asian market, and it really adds a lot to the dish. So does the entire head of garlic!

Tianjin vegetables

Garlic Noodles, Bamee Haeng (recipe from Kasma Loha-Unchit Clark)

1/2 cup peanut oil
1 head garlic, finely chopped
1 lb chinese thin noodles
1/4 cup tianjin vegetables
6 green onions
4 cups bean sprouts
3 tbs fish sauce
3 tsp sugar
cilantro
15 lettuce leaves
chopped peanuts
1 lb charsiew pork

Cook noodles. Drain and rinse.

Heat oil in wok. Fry the garlic until it starts to turn golden. Turn off heat, and drain off some of the oil. Add in all of the ingredients, and some chili flakes too if desired.

serve warm or at room temp.

Garlic noodles!

This recipe can be altered in many ways - we added some cabbage instead of lettuce, which was great, and we also added some green garlic. The fish sauce/sugar combo is important, so it would be hard to make this strictly vegetarian - but it would be great with some fried tofu instead of the pork.

These noodles taste awesome!

Pine Nut Rosemary Shortbread

from 101 Cookbooks
(I didn't have any lemons, so I left out the zest)

2 cups white whole-wheat flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
scant teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (natural cane) sugar
zest of one lemon
2/3 cup pine nuts, toasted and loosely chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Combine flour and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

In a separate large bowl or stand mixer cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and lemon zest and mix again, then add the flour mixture, nuts, and rosemary and mix until the dough goes just past the crumbly stage, and begins to really clump together (you don't want to over mix, but under mixing will make the dough seem a bit dry, which can make it difficult to handle). Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough just once or twice to bring it together, then divide it into a ball and flatten into a disk 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper of a Silpat mat. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into whatever shapes you desire, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Sometimes I chill the dough in the freezer for another 10 minutes, it seems to help the cookies hold their shape - but you don't have to. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are beginning to brown on the bottom. The baking time will vary depending on the size of the cookies, taking less time for smaller cookies.

Makes about 2 dozen small cookies.

Variation: use chopped raw or toasted walnuts and 1 tablespoon coarsely ground coffee in place of the lemon, pine nuts, and rosemary.

Favorite Winter Salads

I've been chopping together a lot of salads lately— some with greens, some without. Thought I'd share a couple of my favorites:

-chopped snap peas and carrots with feta, currants, and sunflower seeds
-arugula with navel orange, avocado, and spicy candied pecans

I dressed both of these in meyer lemon juice and olive oil.

For the candied pecans, I heated the nuts in a skillet with a splash of balsamic vinegar, a few tablespoons of brown sugar, a dash of cayenne, and a little garlic powder.

When putting together a salad, I like to have some green, some sort of dried or fresh fruit, some crumbly or hard cheese, and some sort of seed or nut. For dressings, I typically do olive oil and whatever vinegar best suits the ingredients (beets=balsamic; carrots=white or apple cider; green beans=red wine), along with a spoonful of mustard and some spices (i'm a ground coriander fan). Lately, though, I've been revisiting the good ol' lemon-juice-olive-oil-salt-and-pepper trick. So easy, and so good! Especially with feta and citrus :)

Fillo Tart with Cauliflower, Leeks, and Gruyere

I made this tonight in Thomas's fancy kitchen, and it was awesome.

2 leeks, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 head romanesco, chopped
1 jalapeño, chopped
frozen puff pastry
butter and egg for brushing
salt and pepper to taste
a good amount of gruyere

preheat oven to 400
saute leeks in butter until soft.
add cauliflower, romanesco, and jalapeño- cook until al dente. season to taste.
spread out fillo- brush each layer with melted butter- I used 6 layers on the bottom.
put cauliflower/leek mixture on fillo dough on a baking sheet.
top with abou6 6 more layers of fillo. brush top with egg wash.

bake for about 30 minutes, until cheese is oozing and fillo is golden brown and crispy!

Helen's Special Raisin Bread

I forgot how much I liked this bread, until I made it just recently for one of my classes. It is a really soft, and sweet crumb.
we made it a few times at leavenworth. it is from my bread bible, 'Home Baking' by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid.
this recipe makes 2 medium sized golden loaves. enjoy!

2 c scalded milk, cooled to lukewarm
1 c warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
6.5 -8 c all purpose flour
1 large egg
1.5-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon salt
1 c moist dark raisins

combine the milk and water in a bowl. sprinkle on the yeast and stir in. add the sugar and 2 cups of flour and stir until smooth. let stand for several minutes. add the egg and butter and stir in, then sprinkle on the salt and stir in. continue to add flour a cup at a time until the dough becomes difficult to stir. flour a work surface generously and turn out the dough. knead for about 5 minutes, incorporating more flour as necessary until the dough is smooth, firm and elastic.

place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 3-4 hours, until not quite doubled.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and cut it in half. lightly butter 2 8x4 inch bread pans. flatten one dough piece to a rough rectangle about 8x10 inches. sprinkle on half the raisins, leaving a 4 inch wide band raisin free at a short edge. roll up the dough from the opposite edge and pinch the seam to seal, and place the seal seam down in one of the pans. repeat with other half. cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hr.

put the rack in the bottom 3rd of the oven and preheat at 425.
just before baking, brush the loaves with a little melted butter and slash twice crosswise. bake until golden, about 30 minutes. brush the tops of the loaves with a little butter and lower the heat to 375 and bake for another 5 minutes. remove from the pans. they should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. place on a rack to cool for 30 minutes.

Orzo with Kale, Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Fennel

about 1.5 cups orzo
1 bunch dino kale, chopped into bits
one handful pine nuts
1/2 medium bulb fennel

butter
olive oil
salt & pepper

-Cook orzo until tender in boiling water or broth.

-Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a dry frying pan. When golden, add olive oil, kale, and raisins. Saute until kale is tender.

-Melt butter in another pan, saute fennel 8-10 minutes until tender, chop finely.

Mix all ingredients together - salt & pepper to taste. yum!