ABT

Anything but turkey.

I’ve been doing a lot of recipe testing this week (for that book I’m collaborating on) so it’s been a bit like Thanksgiving around here. Translated, that means a lot of poultry, as in a great big roasted turkey. Now this would be great if I still had a houseful of kids but since it’s only Henry and me …. well not so much. As good as this recipe (with its accompanying gravy) was, I’m pretty sick of the stuff. Suffice it to say, I will not be making turkey on Christmas Day.

Yesterday I decided that I couldn’t face it once again for dinner. I hit the gym, then stopped at Whole Paycheck Foods on the way home to pick up something for dinner. It was cold, the streets were supposed to ice up later and something braised and comforting was on my radar screen. I was also feeling virtuous (since I had worked out), so I figured red meat or an extra fat gram or two wouldn’t kill me.

I ended up with lamb shanks. They didn’t break the bank and I knew they would fill the house with a lovely smell and a savory aroma. It was early enough in the day that I could set them on the stove and slowly cook them for a few hours until they were meltingly tender and infused with flavor.

Once home, I thought about unearthing a recipe, but I was too lazy. I just winged it. Here is the result, and it was delicious.  I served it on a lovely bed of cannellini beans, lightly tossed with good extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice and chopped rosemary, then seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

LIZ'S LAMB SHANKS

4 lamb shanks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, cut into small dice
1 stalk celery, cut into small dice
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes (San Marzanos preferred)
¼ cup red wine vinegar
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 fresh bay leaf
2 cups beef stock
½ cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Pat lamb shanks dry. Heat oil in a large sauté pan or dutch oven and add shanks. Brown on both sides until golden. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-high, add diced onion to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes. Add garlic, carrot and celery and continue to cook until vegetables are just tender, another five minutes or so.

Pour wine into pan and deglaze over high heat. Stir in tomato paste and diced tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a boil then add vinegar and herbs. Add stock and browned lamb shanks. Season with salt and pepper. Once mixture boils, reduce heat, cover and simmer over very low heat for about three hours, or until meat is very tender and almost falling off the bones.

Just before serving, remove herb stems and stir in the Kalamata olives. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve the lamb shanks over a bed of white beans, mashed potatoes or polenta, topped with plenty of the sauce and a sprinkling of chopped Italian parsley. A bottle of good red wine served with this wouldn’t be a bad thing either!

Serves 4

Note: I hate it when I look at a cookbook and the photos don't match the description of the recipe.  Like maybe they have added a garnish or something to make it look really good and there is no mention of it in the directions.  It really pisses me off.  So in the interest of full disclosure, I made this with only two lamb shanks as pictured (I mean, only two of us live in this house these days, right?)  Nonetheless, the proportions I gave you in this recipe are enough for four shanks. 

Henry, I hope you like leftovers, because you get to eat this again tonight. At least it isn’t turkey!

Triple Crown

We were recently invited to celebrate a dear friend’s 40th birthday. Since the guest list was small, we were honored to be included and I did exactly what you would expect of me – offered to make her birthday cake. Well, why not? After all, I did the same thing for her husband’s birthday last year.

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2009/11/trainwreck.html

Of course, I made THREE cakes (plus cupcakes) for his birthday. That presented a bit of a dilemma as I didn’t want to insult her by providing any less, even though there was a significant difference in the anticipated number of attendees. “Oh well,” I thought. “I’ll make three cakes anyway and dispense with the cupcakes.”

Now that meant I was making three triple layer cakes for a total of eighteen people. More is better though, right?

I emailed my friend’s husband to ask what she might like. His response?

“Can't remember if I already emailed this to you.... A sign of aging, perhaps?

After all, my 40th was so last year.

Her only preference for cakes is that she prefers white cake and buttery frostings, typically. That said, she would scrap all of that for your Very Good Chocolate cake. So, that's as clear as mud, isn't it?”

Clear as mud indeed. So much for my idea of one of my famous German chocolate cakes. White cake and buttery frosting, huh? The thought didn’t do much for me, but l aim to please!

Remember those Sweet and Salty Brownies from Baked  that I posted about recently?  The reason I bought both of their books is because one had that brownie recipe and the other had a cake recipe with my name on it. (You’ll understand why when I tell you what it is).  As I perused it for ideas, I came across their recipe for Whiteout Cake. Perfect! They suggested pairing it with their Sweet and Salty Cake. Even more perfect, since that was the recipe I bought the book for in the first place. Add the Very Good Chocolate Cake (posted here on 11/2/10, see labels) and I had a plan!

Since the party was on Saturday, I made the frostings and cake layers on Thursday and assembled everything on Friday. Then prayed to the heavens that the layers wouldn’t slide around overnight or turn into another “crater cake.” They didn’t, probably because I placed them in the coldest room here and refused to turn on the heat in the house. Bear in mind the high was 27-degrees that day. Henry has yet to recover.

Here’s the recipe for the Whiteout Cake. It has a tender crumb and the frosting is sumptuous. I couldn’t resist tinkering with it though – I wanted to add a little more taste and pizazz. I brushed the cake with raspberry syrup and sandwiched seedless raspberry jam as well as the white buttercream between the layers. Fantastic!

WHITEOUT CAKE (adapted from Baked)

For the cake layers:
2 ½ cups cake flour
¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup vegetable shortening
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg (I used extra-large)
1 ½ cups ice water
3 egg whites, room temperature (I used extra-large)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper and butter the parchment. Dust with flour and knock out excess.

Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl then add sugar and beat for an additional 5 minutes. Add vanilla and the egg and beat until just combined. Turn the mixer to low, then add the flour mixture alternately with the ice water. Scrape down the bowl, then mix until just combined.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Divide the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.

For the frosting:
6 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped (do not use white chocolate chips)
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole milk (do not use reduced fat)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool and diced into small pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Use a double boiler or microwave to melt the white chocolate. Set aside to cool.

In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. You can test this by feeling the bottom of the bowl. If it is cool, then proceed with the recipe. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla and white chocolate and continue mixing until smooth and well-combined. If frosting is too soft, put in refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it reaches proper consistency. If too firm, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until spreadable.

For the raspberry filling:
12 oz. frozen raspberries
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup liqueur, such as Chambord, Cassis or Scandinavian Berry
1 cup seedless raspberry preserves
White nonpareils

Place raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until raspberries start to soften then reduce heat to medium low and cook until mixture is liquid and raspberries break down. Add liqueur, increase heat to medium-high and reduce until mixture is syrupy and alcohol is burned off. Strain.

To assemble the cake:
Place a dollop of the frosting on a serving plate to serve as “glue” to anchor the cake. Place a cake layer over and poke holes in it with a skewer or toothpick. Brush some of the raspberry syrup over, allowing it to soak into the layer. Place a few tablespoons of the raspberry jam over and spread to coat thinly. Cover with a layer of the buttercream frosting. Repeat this for the next layers.

Spread a thin layer of frosting over the top and sides to crumb coat the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up, then frost generously with remaining frosting, smoothing sides. Coat sides with nonpareils and swirl top.

Serves 8 – 12

As usual, I have a few comments. No, actually I have only one comment and that is beware of those nonpareils. They are like little, tiny cannonballs and they will hurl themselves all over your kitchen floor and various other parts of your house as you attempt to apply them to the sides of your cake. THEY BOUNCE!!!!! I dragged out the vacuum cleaner at the onset, but I am still encountering these lethal little balls scattered about on my kitchen floor five days out.

I'm my own tough critic, but I thought this was pretty good.  I'd even make it again ... nonpareils and all!

The Cat's Away

That means Henry is out of town for a couple of days. Woohoo! Freedom to hang out in bars, party it up and ditch the usual boring routine!

Yeah, right.

In truth, it’s 8pm and I am hanging out in my sweats, hunkering down in my warm, cozy kitchen because it’s freakin’ cold outside. Even for Atlanta. I just finished some leftover chicken and am nursing a glass of red wine that remained from last night’s dinner. Liz, you party animal!

I know that many of you live in much more frigid climates than I do. How in the heck do you do that, anyway? Down here, when the temp dips below 50-degrees, we can barely stand it. All we can think about is soup, wonderful and warming soup.

Lest you think I am going to give you a recipe for a hearty, healthy, soul-warming and savory soup, forget about it. Nope, I’m giving you the recipe for something much, much better. You can whip it up in an instant and this is the best time of the year to make it because you can easily find panettone in your local market. Huh? What does panettone have to do with soup?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panettone

Well, everything. That’s because we are talking about CHOCOLATE SOUP. Yep, you heard me right.

This was originally on the menu at Sotto Sotto, a wonderful Italian restaurant here in the ATL.

http://www.sottosottorestaurant.com/

Our local paper published the recipe for it a thousand years ago. Ridiculous person that I am, I clipped it and filed it in my ever-expanding quantity of recipe notebooks. Just be happy I did that so I can now share the recipe with you.

CHOCOLATE SOUP  (adapted from Sotto Sotto)

1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons espresso powder
11 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon dark rum
Pinch of salt
One 3.5 oz. loaf panettone, sliced
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Whipped cream, for serving
Cocoa nibs and ground cinnamon, for serving

In a heavy pot, heat cream, sugar and espresso powder over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat to low and add chocolate. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Add rum and salt, then stir to blend and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350-degrees. Cut panettone into circles which will fit into four small 4-inch ramekins or dessert bowls. Sprinkle them with granulated sugar, place on a baking sheet and bake until just lightly toasted, about 5 minutes.

To serve, place a slice of toasted panettone in each ramekin. Pour equal amounts of reserved chocolate mixture over each one then top with freshly whipped cream. Garnish each one with a few cocoa nibs and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Serves 4

We folks here in the south don't mess around with our soup.  Now you know.

Dinner by Default

You know the drill. You leave town for a couple of days and before you depart, you maniacally clean out the refrigerator and the produce bin. Heaven forbid a lemon should be left out to rot while you are absent! (Well, maybe I’m justified here – remember those fruit flies?)

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2009/09/windex-and-amaretto.html

So you leave the house and head to the airport, secure in the knowledge that your house has been left in good order, the timers are set to turn lights on and off and you won’t come home to the smell of decaying citrus or the sight of blackened cottage cheese. All is well and off you go on your trip with nary a thought about what on earth you are going to do about dinner on the evening you return.

But then, of course, you come home to NOTHING IN THE HOUSE. You’ve been traveling all day and the last thing you want to do is head out to the grocery store. Maybe a pizza delivery is in order. Well, maybe not. You’ve probably consumed enough junk on your trip to last for the next three months, so the last thing you can justify is a pizza, loaded with carbs and oozing with fat. Scratch that idea.

The answer to this conundrum is Penne alla Vodka. If you are like me, you have everything you need to make it in your pantry (okay, maybe not the vodka but if you are like me, you will have it somewhere in the house). It’s easy, it comes together in minutes and it’s really, really good. So good, in fact, that you will never miss that pizza!  Besides, it has vodka in it.  How bad could it be?

PENNE ALLA VODKA

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes (San Marzanos, if possible)
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
16 oz. whole wheat penne*
2 tablespoons vodka
½ cup heavy cream

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a very large sauté pan. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until it just starts to give off a wonderful aroma. (Do not let it burn). Add the tomatoes with their juice and season with the red pepper flakes, kosher salt and black pepper. Bring mixture to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to marry.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring often, until pasta is just done, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well and add to the simmering sauce in the pan. Stir in the vodka and the cream. Season again if needed and cook for another 5 minutes or so until vodka evaporates slightly.

It’s nice to serve this with a little chopped parsley, but you probably don’t have any since you cleaned out your refrigerator. No worries, it’s good enough without it!

Serves 4 - 6

*I would urge you not to turn up your nose at whole wheat pasta.  It's delicious and it's good for you.  In truth, I prefer it to the "white bread" variety of pasta.  It has more of a bite and a rustic quality that I think adds a lot to the dish.  It does take a little longer to cook, so factor that in, but don't be afraid to serve it to your family or friends.  If they are like mine, they won't know the difference.  Trust me!

*Regular old canned tomatoes will do, but if possible, try to get your hands on some San Marzanos.  Most grocery stores carry them these days and it's worth seeking them out.

*I have been known to serve this to company. They never knew it was a desperation dinner!

Deeper Dish

Ouch.  I made a visit to the grocery store today (Kroger) to buy all the stuff you can't find at Whole Foods Paycheck, like affordable paper towels, glass cleaner and dog treats.  Along the way, several bottles of wine also found their way into my shopping cart.  When I checked out, I was asked for my ID (how ridiculous).  The cashier looked at it, looked at me and said, "it's Senior Citizen's Day; you're eligible for a senior citizen's discount." 

WTF?????  Seriously????? 

Tragically, yes.  Turns out you have to be 55 to qualify and unfortunately that applies to me.  Guess that means I am officially "old."  Who knew?  It sure ruined my day!

I will, however, admit to a habit that is now attributed to older folks and that's sitting at the kitchen table every morning with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.  Especially if it's the Dining Section of the New York Times.

I was especially intrigued by a recent article by Julia Moskin entitled "Pie to Cupcake:  Time's Up."  The gist of the piece was about how pies are being transformed by young, innovative bakers (based on the above story, that does not apply to me) and how cupcakes are being replaced by some of these creations.  The one that really caught my eye was the Rye Pecan Pie from the folks at Diner in Brooklyn.  Not because it was a unique recipe for pecan pie but BECAUSE IT WAS BAKED IN A SPRINGFORM PAN.  Of course, I had to try it.

Now, you already have my recipe for Pecan Tarts from Watershed.  As far as I'm concerned, you never need another recipe for pecan pie other than this.

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-nasty-little-pie-crust-secret.html

Nonetheless, I'm posting this one anyway, as much for the technique as the filling.  It gives a whole new meaning to deep dish pie.  It was stunning in its presentation and I can't wait to adapt it to other variations.  Lemon meringue and coconut cream versions, here I come!

BOURBON PECAN PIE (adapted from Diner)

For the crust:
2 ½ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
½ pound cold, unsalted butter, diced
½ cup ice water (more as needed)
About 5 cups dried beans (for blind-baking)

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, salt and sugar at low speed until just blended. Add butter and mix until pea-sized lumps form. Increase speed to medium-low and add ½ cup ice water in a slow, steady stream, mixing until dough just comes together. If dough seems crumbly, add more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time until dough sticks together when pinched. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to three days. Dough can also be frozen for up to a month.

Open a 10-inch springform pan, flip the bottom over so the outside surface faces in, then close. This will make removing the pie easier, by preventing the dough from sinking into the pan’s crease. Spray pan with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll chilled dough into a 16-inch circle. Ease it into the prepared pan and fit dough down into the edges. Press the sides firmly against pan and pinch around the top rim. Trim dough so it hangs over the rim by one inch. Freeze until very cold, for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Lay a piece of parchment or waxed paper in pan, then a piece of aluminum foil. Fill with dried beans to top of pan. Bake 15 to 25 minutes, until the sides of the crust have set and turned a light golden brown. Remove from oven and carefully lift out foil, parchment and beans. Return to oven and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until just golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the pie filling:
5 extra-large eggs
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla paste (or extract)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons bourbon
2 cups finely chopped pecans
2 ½ cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, melted butter, molasses, corn syrup, vanilla, salt and bourbon. Pour into the prebaked pie shell in springform. Sprinkle chopped pecans over surface then arrange pecan halves on top in concentric circles until entire surface is covered. Do not overlap.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes until filling is just set in center. Let cool completely, then use a serrated knife to saw off overhanging pie crust. Carefully remove outer ring of pan. Slice with a very large, sharp knife and serve with a dollop or two of freshly whipped cream.

Serves 12

Here are a few pictures of the process.  I hope you try it and adapt it to your own taste in pies.  Let me know how it turns out!