FOOD

From our friend RR in California:
I’m aware that people have interesting relationships with food.  I own a copy of Henry Jaglom’s “Eating”.  The only problems I’ve had with food have been the absence of an education in my youth and an evidently inexplicable aversion to things which are white, such as mayonnaise.  Over the years, both through necessity and having been in the proximity of lovers who had culinary ideas, I picked up a few tricks.

Lately, I’ve begun gravitating to the Food Channel.  I don’t know what the devil it means.  I’m thrilled with Emeril, who to my mind suggests one of the three Stooges, Curly, I think.  I love the throwdowns with Bobby Flay, not to mention the weird, fierce competitions.  This evening I ‘invented’ a chicken dish, nothing astounding but I was nonetheless astonished because it looked and tasted exceptionally good.  Here is my recipe.

Chicken jalapeño

2 chicken legs and thighs
chopped garlic
anaheim or serrano chili pepper, sliced lengthwise, very thin
jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
shitake mushrooms, sliced
8-ounce can tomato sauce, 4 ounces of water
olive oil
ground red chili pepper
salt
papper

preheat oven to 390 degrees
wash chicken, trim excess fat and skin
place chicken into pan and spoon garlic onto the pieces; add salt and pepper
bake for 50-55 minutes

sautée mushrooms and thin chili slices in olive oil until softened
add jalapeño, stir fry one minute, remove from heat
add tomato sauce and water, stir, return to medium heat
add ground chili pepper to taste

remove chicken to plates, cover with sauce

serve with brown rice or fingerling potatoes and vegetables
optional garnishes: black olives, avocado

To commemorate my birthday dinner–we loved this dish at Felidia. Here’s her recipe.

Ravioli “Cacio Pepe e Pere”

Fresh ravioli stuffed with pear and pecorino cheese

Serves 6

3-4 Bartlett pears, peeled and cored (approximately 1 pound)
3 tablespoons mascarpone
1 pound grated fresh Pecorino Romano cheese (for stuffing of ravioli)
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano to finish pasta
Fresh egg pasta (see recipe below)
4 ounces aged grated Pecorino Romano cheese
6 ounces butter
Black peppercorn to taste

On a cutting board grate the pears and the fresh pecorino cheese in two different mounds, using the side of the grater with the larger blades. In a bowl, mix this together with the mascarpone and remaining Pecorino Romano. This is your stuffing for the ravioli.

Prepare the pasta (see below) pulling it very thin and into a form of a rectangle and continue with the ravioli as described.

In a sauté pan, melt the butter with 8 ounces of water. Cook the ravioli in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and then toss the ravioli together with the melted butter in the saute’ pan for a few seconds. Remove from heat and finish with the aged Pecorino cheese and peppercorn flakes.

Fresh egg pasta:

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, or as needed
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Warm water as needed

Spoon 2 2/3 cups of the flour into the work bowl of a large capacity food processor fitted with the metal blade. Beat the eggs, olive oil and salt together in a small bowl until blended. With the motor running, pour the egg mixture into the feed tube. Process until the ingredients form a rough and slightly sticky dough. If the mixture is too dry, drizzle a very small amount of warm water into the feed tube and continue processing. Scrape the dough out of the work bowl onto a lightly floured wood or marble surface.

Knead the dough by gathering it into a compact ball, then pushing the ball away from you with the heels of your hands. Repeat the gathering and pushing motion several times, then press into the dough, first with the knuckles of one hand, then with the other, several times. Alternate between kneading and “knuckling” the dough until it is smooth, silky and elastic—it pulls back into shape when you stretch it. The process will take 5 to 10 minutes of constant kneading, slightly longer if you prepared the dough by hand. (Mixing the dough in a food processor gives the kneading process a little head start). Flour the work surface and your hands lightly any time the dough begins to stick while you are kneading.

Roll the dough into a smooth all and place in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least one hour at room temperature, or up to 1 day in the refrigerator before rolling and shaping the pasta. If the dough has been refrigerated, let it stand at room temperature for about an hour before rolling and shaping.

For Ravioli:

Divide the dough into three equal pieces and cover them with a clean kitchen towel. Working with one piece at a time, roll the pasta out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle approximately 10 x 20 inches. Dust the work surface lightly with flour just often enough to keep the dough from sticking; too much flour will make the dough difficult to roll. If the dough springs back as you try to roll it, recover with the kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Start rolling another piece of dough and come back to the first one once it has had a chance to rest. Let the pasta sheets rest, separated by kitchen towels, at least 15 minutes before cutting them. Roll each piece out to sheets about 30 inches long by 11 inches wide. Keep two of the pasta sheets covered with kitchen towels and place the third on the work surface in front of you with one of the long edges toward you.

Arrange twenty of the filling mounds in two rows of ten over the top half of the dough, starting them about 1 ½ inches in from the sides of the dough rectangle and arranging them about 2 ½ inches from each other. Pat the fillings into rough rectangles that measure about 2 x 1 inch.

Dip the tip of your finger into cool water and moisten the edges of the top half of the dough and in between the mounds of filling. Fold the bottom of the dough over the mounds of filling, lining up dough to the bottom firmly, squeezing out any air pockets as you work. With a pastry wheel or knife, cut between the filling into rectangles approximately 2 ½ x 2 inches. Pat lightly the tops of the ravioli to even out the filling. Pinch the edges of the ravioli to seal in the filling. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of dough.

This week’s ingredients are corn and cilantro.

Will you share your recipes that use these two ingredients?

Corn Chowder with cilantro

serves 6

4 ounces pancetta or bacon (or sometimes a sweet Italian sausage is nice), diced

2-3 T unsalted butter

2 cups Vadalia onion, chopped

2 T flour

32 ounces of chicken or vegetable stock ( I usually use vegetable)

2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced. Keep in a bowl of water to avoid discoloration. Drain well before adding to the chowder.

1 cup half and half ( you can use whole or 2% milk if you want)

6 large ears of fresh corn, stripped of kernels or 4 cups of corn kernels (if frozen, thaw and drain of water)

salt and pepper to taste

4 T chopped cilantro ( no stems)

1. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan or stew pot melt 2T of the butter and add in the diced bacon. Keep heat low and cook for about 7 minutes. Stir occasionally.

2. While that is cooking, remove kernels from corn cobs. Do it in a large bowl so you catch the juices. Make sure all the silk from the ears is out of the kernels.

3. When the bacon is rendered but not browned, add the onions. Cook over low flame for 10 minutes. Then sprinkle the flour over the onion-bacon mixture and stir well. Allow to cook for about 5 more minutes. Keep stirring.

4. Now add the broth and the potatoes. Stir well. Turn up the heat so that it boils very gently until the potatoes are cooked through. Maybe 15 minutes.

5. Lower heat to a low simmer. Add half and half, corn, salt and fresh ground pepper. Cook for about 10-12 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle in half of chopped cilantro. Allow to cook for another 5-8 minutes.

6. Dish up and ad a few sprinkles of fresh chopped cilantro.
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Last night’s dinner: Bought a fresh chicken at the Farmer’s Market at Union Square . When I got it home the lower legs and feet (pale, whitish claws and all) were tucked neatly into the cavity. Should I have kept them? Used them for something? I made a risotto with chicken broth (that I did not make) basil and sage, crème fraîche, a Manchego-like cheese from a local maker and fresh green beans cut into a very small dice and kept a bit crunchy ( in place of fresh peas…too late in season for them). Below the chicken skin I put some chopped up basil and sage and diced garlic and then slathered the skin with Dijon mustard and cooked it for 30 minutes at 450 then another hour almost at 350. Put it on a bed of diced celery in the roasting pan and added some chicken broth to steam it while it cooked. Very good. Oh, I forgot. Some stand at the market had pea sprouts, although no peas, so I bought them, sautéed them with butter and lemon and a bit of broth and put them into the blender with a blob of crème fraîche…whirred them up and used it for a little bed of flavor below the risotto on the plate when I dished it up. Very yummy and a wonderful green color.

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