birthday dinners

I recently invited a friend to dinner for his birthday (well more for dinner, considering he brought the dessert).

I decided on carnitas--Patrick, my friend, likes Mexican food, I like Mexican food, and because I've made this recipe a number of times, I figured it was a sure bet.

I started with a recipe from The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy, and after reading recipe reviews, have made a few adaptations.  The result is quite tasty.

I start with a 3 pound lump of pork butt.

Trim the fat and cut in to similar sized cubes. Add meat to dutch oven or cast iron pot, with a tablespoon of oil. Brown meat.

Once meat is brown, add enough water to cover meat (about 3 cups), along with the following:

- one orange, cut into 8 pieces

- one onion, sliced

- 4 sprigs fresh marjoram

- 4 sprigs fresh thyme

- 3 bay leaves

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tsp pepper

Bring to boil, turn down heat and simmer for 2 hours.  At this point I let the pot cool and refrigerated overnight. 

After a night in the frig, i skimmed the fat off the top, removed sprigs of thyme and marjoram, oranges, and bay leaves.  Heat pot and cook down liquid--about 20 minutes. 

Once liquid is cooked off, turn up heat, add a tablespoon of oil if necessary, shred pork and allow it to crisp up just a bit.

Serve on corn tortillas, with your favorite topping--i like salsa verde, corn salsa, or pico de gallo.

strawberry bonanza extravaganza

phil and i went strawberry picking today at Littlewood Farm in Plainfield, Vermont.  Littlewood is a sweet little organic vegetable and strawberry farm in the Winooski River Valley. It's about 10 miles from our house, but today was the first time i had ever been there. PYO strawberries is in full swing at the farm--$4/lb.

the rain had been threatening all morning but phil's weather radar said it would hold off til noon.  the minute we got to the patch, it started raining. we however came prepared--raincoats and boots!

every time i pick berries, i am reminded of why they are so expensive at the grocery.  hand-picking delicate little pieces of fruit, slumped over, digging around for the most aesthetically pleasing. lucky for me, i didn’t care what my berries looked like--just that they tasted ripe and sweet!

in about an hour we had a heaping tray full of perfect-for-us berries. Nearly 9 pounds!

and then began the task of deciding what to do with them. shortcake, bread, tarts, smoothies, cupcakes, jam, ice cream, cheesecake, daiquiris, chocolate covered strawberries---can you say predicable?   every website has a scrolling carousel with the same strawberry recipes--recipes that most of us have tried and loved, but tried a million times. i really wanted something new, different.  not that strawberries aren't perfect as is, right off the stem...but i was ready for an experiment.

in all my searching i only found two recipes that caught my attention:

1. Wheat Berries with Strawberries and Goat Cheese: not much of an experiment, but i do love wheat berries and it was the first savory dish i found. Below is my adaptation of the recipe by giada de laurentiis. this recipe will definitely serves 4-6 people, easily.

Ingredients

2 cups soft white wheat berries, rinsed and drained

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Dressing:

1/3 cup oj

juice and zest of one lemon 

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil  

2 tablespoons honey

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, packed, finely chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

10 medium strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/3 cup (4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (see note)

Directions

For the wheat berries: In a large pan, combine the wheat berries, chicken broth, water, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook until the wheat berries are tender, 60 to 70 minutes. Drain the wheat berries in a colander (the berries will not absorb all the liquid) and set aside to cool, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a salad bowl.

For the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange and lemon juice, olive oil, lemon zest, honey, mint leaves, salt, and pepper until smooth. Pour the dressing over the wheat berries and add the strawberries, goat cheese, and walnuts. Toss until all the ingredients are coated.

Note: To toast the walnuts, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly toasted. Cool completely before using.

i forgot to mention, that before all this cooking started we did breakdown and make strawberry mint margaritas! Tequila, strawberries, ice, mint, lime--and blend.










2. Strawberry Jalapeno Poppers: the clear standout, from the California Strawberry Festival, Berry Blast Off Recipe Contest.  The following an adaptation from Berry Blast Recipe Contest finalist Allan Oerlemans of Ventura, CA.

wanton wrappers
jalapenos
cream cheese
fresh strawberries
Oil for frying
Remove tops from jalapenos, slice long way. Remove the stem and chop strawberries. Spread small amount of cream cheese on wanton paper. Place jalapeno slice across wrapper. Spoon heaping teaspoon of strawberries on top of cheese and jalapeno.

Fold sides of the wrapper in, then roll.

Use a small amount of water to help hold the wrapper closed.

Fry in oil until golden brown.









Remove from oil onto a bed of paper towels. eat them hot--so tasty. the recipe suggests serving these treats with strawberry jam. i ate them plain. might try them with a salsa fresca next time, but i really like that they aren't super sweet.  I love the bite of the jalapeno...so good!
    

celebrating the sun, season

yesterday we had a wonderful solstice celebration. good food and drink, great company, perfect weather and a few heart felt games of cornhole.

the menu included roasted dill potatoes with garlic mayo, cold soba noodle salad, caprese salad, mango shrimp, grilled veggie/chicken kabobs (no recipe here--be creative: lots of veggies. marinate everything overnight with your favorite spices and quality olive oil and vinegar), veggie pot stickers with spicy soy dipping sauce, quinoa salad with mint, feta and cucumbers, build your own berry shortcakes, and pimm's cup.

DILL POTATOES
1 pound new red potatoes, bite size dicing
1/3 cup fresh dill
quality olive oil
salt, pepper, cayenne---to taste

Dice potatoes toss with dill, oil, and spices.  Roast at 400 until tender. About 20 minutes. Serve with garlic mayo (made with 1 clove garlic, diced and 1/3 cup mayo).






SOBA NOODLE SALAD
15 ounces soba noodles
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 carrots, grated
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup smoked tofu, diced



Cook soba noodles--add to boiling water and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). While noodles are cooking, mix all other ingredients together. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water. Toss noodles in with veggie/sauce mixture. Refrigerate minimum of 1 hour--I made the salad the night before. Serve cold.

CAPRESE SALAD
1 cup baby mozzarella balls, drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

mix ingredients, drizzle with oil and vinegar and season to taste. so fresh, so simple, so good.

MANGO SHRIMP
1 ripe mango
8 ounces fully-cooked shrimp, i used salad shrimp
1/4 cup finely-diced red onion
1 large avocado, diced
1/4 cup finely-chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper to taste



Peel and dice the mango. Mix the mango and the shrimp together in a bowl. Add the avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cover and chill until time to serve.

VEGGIE POT STICKERS

1 red onion, diced

2 tablespoon minced ginger

1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

1 cup white cabbage, shredded

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 cup chopped chives

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 package wanton wrappers

Canola oil

In a wok, add a little oil and saute onions and ginger. Add the mushrooms and stir. Add the cabbage, carrots and chives. Season. Cook until mixture is soft. Add the sesame oil and cilantro when mixture is cooled. Check for seasoning. Assemble wanton wrappers with mixture. In a hot non-stick pan, coat with oil and place dumplings. When bottom gets brown, add 1/4 cup of water and immediately cover. This will steam the dumplings. Carefully watch the dumplings and completely evaporate the water so that the bottom gets crispy again and sticks to the pot. Makes about 25.

SPICY SOY DIPPING SAUCE

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup sliced scallions

1 teaspoon sesame oil

QUINOA SALAD

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 cucumber

4 oz feta

juice of one lemon

1/3 cup fresh mint

1 tomato, diced

2 cloves garlic

quality olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa and let cool (one cup quinoa, two cups water--takes about 20 minutes to cook). Let cool.  Add diced cucumber, mint, feta and tomato to quinoa and mix. dress with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  

BERRY SHORTBREAD STATION

1 pint blueberries

1 carton strawberries

1/2 pint blackberries

Country Style biscuits

whipped cream

homemade strawberry rhubarb compote (my first attempt at cooking with rhubarb--rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, lemon, cooked until tender and delicious!)

Bake biscuits, wash and mix berries together.  assemble as you please, top with plenty of whipped cream....YUM!

PIMM'S CUP

1 part Pimm's No. 1 (gin based liqueur)

1 part lemonade

1 part cucumber water

spash of ginger beer (reed's is a great option)

dress class with lemon wedge and cucumber slice

We had this version while on vacation in Asheville.  The cucumber water (64 oz warm water, 1 cucumber, juice of 1 lemon--mix and refrigerate) gives this drink a refreshing, clean taste.

Happy summertime!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr0tTbTbmVA&feature=related 

He calls it "dinner duty"

Phil has been cooking a few nights a week. And as much as I love to cook and have what some might call "control issues" in the kitchen, it has been so nice to have a few days a week where I don't wake up thinking about how I am going to turn nothing into something called dinner.

Monday Phil decided to try a few recipes from the Burlington Free Press, our local daily. The menu looked like this...

First, a "tex-mex" spice rub for chicken thighs.  Next, coleslaw. And finally, potato chips. 

The Rub:

1/4 cup kosher salt

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

rub meat (in our case chicken) with rub.  Phil fired up the charcoal grill.  cooked thighs over direct heat for 3 minutes on each side and then moved the chicken to indirect heat for another 15 minutes.  keep the top on grill for better cooking, says grill master Phil.

The Slaw:
1 green onion (all of it, diced)
1 shredded carrot
1 small head broccoli, broken into small pieces
1/2 small head of purple cabbage, shredded

4 tbsp red vinegar

2 tbsp course ground mustard

2 tbsp tamari

chop, dice, shred veggies. mix wet ingredients in a small jar with tight lid.  combine. letting it sit out of the frig for a bit will allow for veggies to tenderize a bit.

The Chips:

4 potatoes (we used Idaho)

2 tbsp salt

4 cups peanut or canola oil

using a mandolin, slice potatoes thin. rinse with running water, then soak in cold water and 2 tbsp salt for 30 minutes. use towel to dry slices before frying.  Add oil to pan, heat to 325.  add slices in batches. cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.  remove slices with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  We added salt and pepper at this point, but you could add any spice. 

And put it all together and what a treat!  A great summer meal to enjoy while watching the Bruins win game 5! Thanks Phil!!

an occasion to celebrate

I spend the weekend with friends, both old and new, to celebrate my soon -to-be married friend, Sarah.  Nine of us gathered at her family's beach house for a weekend retreat, complete with swimming in the ocean, beach yoga, home grown karaoke and a few delicious meals to remember.

On Saturday night, the group headed out to Chive Blossom.  Great atmosphere, friendly service, and an open kitchen, which I love. 

The menu is packed with salads, seafood, and pasta. It took us all some time to decided. I finally settled for the chive blossom chop salad made with romaine hearts, candied pecans, dried cranberries, red onion, egg, applewood smoked bacon, hearts of palm and citrus vinaigrette.

And one of the evening's specials, jumbo lump crabcake with lobster and corn smashed potatoes, sugar snap peas, and a dill cream sauce (shown here almost completely eaten because I took one bite and forgot myself).

 

I am a firm believer that food is only as good as the company it is shared with, and perhaps that is why this meal was so good. Sarah is an amazing woman I met while working in DC and the friends that gathered this weekend are people from every walk of her special life.  Friends from grade school, from college, from work, from places she has lived, from grad school, family, etc.  And while the reasons they are drawn to her are many, so too are the reasons she is drawn to them.

Keep an eye out for these women. They are all certain to change the world. And i was lucky enough to share a meal with them!

Congratulations, Sarah and Gabriel.  Cheers to you both!