CELEBRATE WEDNESDAY: CRISPY HERB-CRUSTED HALIBUT

Posted in Celebrate Wednesday, Seafood by sallybr

Most people are preoccupied and busy during the week, so weeknight dinners lean towards the quick and simple. But, every once in a while it’s nice to create a special meal, and Wednesday’s my favorite day to do it, because it’s right in the middle of the exhausting road to the weekend. It’s HUMP DAY! After reading a comment from Lisa, I decided to include such special dinners in a category called “Celebrate Wednesday.” They will focus on recipes that are easy to prepare and sure to bring festivities to the table. Today it’s a delicious recipe from Anne Burrell, that turned a cloudy, chilly Wednesday this past week into a warm, relaxing evening.

CRISPY HERB-CRUSTED HALIBUT WITH CURLY CELERY
(adapted from Chef Anne Burrell, recipe available online here)

6 celery ribs
Kosher salt
1 lemon, halved, divided
1/2 pound green beans, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
Pinch of red pepper flakes
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets, skin removed
1/2 bunch thyme, leaves chopped
1/2 bunch chives, minced
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped
1 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
olive oil

Using a sharp veggie peeler, shave the celery to get long, thin shavings. Put the celery shavings in ice water with half a lemon and its juice and let sit for at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator. The celery will get very crunchy, and all curly. Before you start preparing the rest of the meal, drain the celery and dry it well (preferably using a salad spinner). Reserve.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and set up a bowl of ice water. Toss the green beans in the boiling water and cook until they beans are tender but still firm. Remove the beans from the boiling water and plunge immediately into the ice water and let them cool. When they are cold and still vibrantly green, remove them from the ice water and reserve (can be prepared the day before).

Heat your oven to 375 F.

Season the fish fillets with salt. Combine the herbs and the potato flakes in a shallow dish. Place the egg wash in another bowl. Dip the flesh side of each fillet into the egg wash and then press them into the herb/potato flake mixture. Put on a sheet tray with the crusted side up.

Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and heat it over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the fish, crusted side down. When the crust has become golden and crispy, flip them over, then transfer the fish to a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack and put in the preheated oven for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the filet is flaky and cooked through.

Remove the oil in the saute pan and add new oil. Toss in the garlic and crushed red pepper. When the garlic becomes golden and aromatic remove it and discard. Toss in the reserved green beans, and toss them around the pan to heat them through, without overcooking. Turn off the heat, and add the crispy celery on top. Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon all over the veggies, divide them between 4 serving plates and top with the fish.

ENJOY! (I know you will… 😉 )

to print the recipe, click here

I don’t normally buy instant mashed potatoes, but when Anne Burrell asked me to, I complied. It took me a while to even find them at the grocery store. They come in a box and they hang around their buddies like boxed mac and cheese, and hamburger helpers. Now I must find some other uses, because the box is huge! (sigh)

The celery deserves a paragraph for itself. The ribbons, after a few hours in the icy, lemony water, turn into crispy creatures, absolutely delicious! They were a pain to shave, but that’s probably due to my poor skills with the veggie peeler. I halved the recipe (used two fish filets only), but still went through 6 celery stalks to have enough good looking ribbons. At any rate, I advise you to make more than you think you need. Add it to a salad next day, or munch on them straight from the fridge. It’s addictive stuff!

This was a superb meal, one that I would make for company anytime. And had the desired effect on my beloved, who was expecting leftovers from the evening before for his dinner. 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Almond Butter Cake

TWO YEARS AGO: Bonjour! (makes me miss Paris!)

14Mar2012

A PEARFECT DRINK

Posted in Drinks by sallybr

In almost three years of blogging, I have shared one recipe for a drink. One. Check the index, and you will see caipirinha, the Brazilian national drink, sitting all alone in that category. This disturbing situation changes today, with a nice drink Phil made for us this past weekend, inspired by a recent show from Giada de Laurentiis: the peartini. We modified the recipe making it a lot less sweet, and a tad less alcoholic.

PEARTINI FOR TWO
(inspired by Giada de Laurentiis)

for simple syrup (you won’t use it all)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
for drink
4 shots of pear juice (homemade, of course!)
2 shots of Vodka (we like Stolichnaya)
2 shots of lime juice
1 shot of simple syrup
shaker full of ice
two gorgeous strawberries

Make the simple syrup by heating the water and the sugar in a small sauce pan, until completely dissolved. Allow it to cool to room temperature, and store in the fridge for future uses.

Place ice cubes in your shaker until half full. Add all other ingredients for the drink, shake well and pour on martini glasses.

Garnish with a strawberry sliced halfway, not all the way through (obviously).

Sip slowly, it will match perfectly your favorite type of sushi and sashimi.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

When juicing the pears, be careful because they oxidize very quickly. Mix the juice with some lime juice to slow down the process, or the drink will have a bit of a brownish hint. No harm in flavor, only in looks.

You may ask why the strawberry decoration when we could have added a slice of pear? Two reasons:

1. We passed all pears through our Juiceman Jr., and forgot to put aside a couple of slices for garnish.

2. Strawberries are a lot sexier. So, there! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Ming Tsai Under Pressure

TWO YEARS AGO: Paris, je t’aime!

11Mar2012

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

Posted in General by sallybr

When we worked in Los Angeles last year, on one of our many walks through the city with Phil’s son Casey and his partner Carly, we found a cool poster for sale at a store, and bought it to send to our students while we were away. The message seemed quite appropriate, not only because we were far from our own lab at the time, but also because research can have many downs and not too many ups… 😉

Carly just sent me a link with the story behind our poster. It’s amazing that it struck a nerve for us; we had no idea of its historical relevance. Now we are overjoyed with the purchase, and we will cherish the message forever. A simple message for life. Keep calm, and carry on!

Thank you, Carly!

10Mar2012

AWARD-WINNING SOURDOUGH BAGUETTES

Posted in Breads by sallybr

It was bound to happen. Once I felt comfortable shaping baguettes, I went on the pursue of a recipe for a sourdough version. My number one source of inspiration for all things related to bread is Susan’s Wild Yeast, and this recipe charmed me right away. Award-winning sourdough baguette version? I am sold! First thing I did was to drop an email to Samuel Fromartz, the writer-turned-baker behind the recipe, asking for permission to publish his very detailed method. To my delight, he replied within a few minutes, and we exchanged a few messages, in which I got great tips to improve steaming during baking (I will test his method this weekend). Sam Fromartz is currently working on a book about grains, bakers and bread for Viking/Penguin. So, if you are like me, and cannot have enough info on the subject, check his website for the development of his project. I know I will… 😉

FROMARTZ BAGUETTE TRADITIONAL
(recipe published with permission from Samuel Fromartz)
(read original article at Chewswise blog)

Makes four baguettes

90 grams sourdough starter (at 100% hydration)
420 grams water
590 grams flour (I used King Arthur Organic All Purpose Flour)
10 grams whole wheat flour
13 grams sea salt
2 teaspoons instant dry yeast (I used SAF Instant Yeast)
Olive oil to grease bowl
cornmeal to dust cutting board

FIRST DAY
Pour starter and yeast into bowl and add water, mixing until the starter breaks up a bit. Add flours and salt and mix for a couple of minutes. The dough will be heavy and shaggy. Let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes, covered with plastic.

Rub the surface where you will knead the dough with a tiny amount of olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking (great tip originally from Dan Lepard). Use a scraper to move dough onto the counter and begin to knead by stretching and folding dough, trying to use your finger tips.

After kneading for 5 minutes, scrape mass into a clean bowl or plastic bin. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Oil the counter again if necessary and remove dough to counter. Stretch it until 1-inch thick then fold top and bottom in thirds like a letter. Do the same type of folding, coming from left to right. Put dough back in the bowl, cover, let it rest for 20 minutes.

Remove from bin, fold again, and put back in a covered bowl for 20 minutes.

Remove from bin, fold again for the third and final time. Clean the bowl, oil lightly (with 2 tsp olive oil), and put dough back inside. Cover and place in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

SECOND DAY
Place baking stone or quarry tiles in middle of oven. Place a thick rimmed cookie sheet or cast iron pan on oven floor or lower shelf. Heat oven to 470F (245 C).

Put a little olive oil in your palm and oil a 20-by-20 inch (50 x 50 cm) section of the counter. Remove dough from container. Cut dough in half. Put half back in container and into refrigerator. Cut dough into two rectangular pieces (about 250 grams each) and gently stretch into rectangles 5-by-7 inches (13-by-18 cm) with the long edge facing you. Cover with light towel and let rest for 5 minutes.

While dough is resting, cut parchment paper large enough to fit your baking stone. Dust paper with flour. Dust a couche (or kitchen towels) lightly with flour.

Shape dough into a log by folding top and bottom of rectangle toward middle and gently sealing the seam with thumb. Then fold top to meet the bottom and seal seam. You should have a log about 1.5 to 2 inches thick (4 to 5 cm). Gently roll and stretch into a 14-inch loaf (36 cm) or just under the size of your baking stone.

Place each loaf on parchment paper about six inches apart, seam side down. Place one rolled up towel underneath the paper between the loaves and one under each other edge, supporting their shape. Cover with light kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Put 2/3 cup water in measuring cup and bring to a boil in the microwave.

Carefully move the paper with the loaves onto a flour-dusted overturned cookie sheet or cutting board. Dust top of loaves very lightly with flour. Use a bench scraper to gently adjust the loaves and straighten them out.

Make four cuts on the top of the loaf with a razor blade, 1/4-inch deep, running lengthwise on the dough. A swift slash at a sharp 20-degree angle works best. Take cutting board and slide parchment paper with baguettes onto hot baking stone. Shut oven door. Open door, and carefully pour 2/3 cup water onto cookie sheet or cast iron pan. Be very careful if using boiling water. Shut door. Do not open the oven again while baking.

Check baguettes after 18 to 20 minutes. They should be dark brown and crusty. If pale, continue baking for 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes on rack before eating. They are best eaten within 6 hours.

While baguettes are baking, form the remaining dough into loaves or leave for up to 24 hours and make fresh loaves the following day.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

for a streamlined version, click here

Comments: To read the fascinating story behind perfecting this recipe, check Sam’s write up about it here.

If you are a novice in baking bread, baguettes can be tricky, but you can find very detailed discussions about this particular recipe in his blog about it. Don’t forget to read the comments, because they contain a lot of useful, additional information. Sometimes little details we read en passant might mean the difference between failure and success.

I absolutely loved this recipe! Handling a dough from the fridge is quite a bit easier than at room temperature (about 78 F), I had no problems shaping the loaves and going for their final stretch. I will be playing with this recipe for a while, using it to practice my slashing technique (just got a new blade, per my friend Gary’s recommendation), and baking with steam. The baguettes had a complex “feel”, with very delicate sourdough flavor, open crumb, and a hearty crust. I know that when I overcome the steaming problem they will be even better… stay tuned, friends… stay tuned…

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I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting event….

ONE YEAR AGO: Meet our Lab (Lab = laboratory, not Labrador Dog… ;-))

TWO YEARS AGO: My New Favorite Tomato Sauce

7Mar2012

IT ALL STARTED WITH A ROOF

Posted in General by sallybr

Back in 1999, when Phil and I were dating, his house was in desperate need of a new roof. While in college, he worked as a roofer to make some cash, so he was set on doing it all himself and asked if I’d be interested in helping “a little”. Of course, that meant I had to overcome my intense fear of heights, which was not easy. The first time I managed to go all the way up the ladder, I froze. I could not bring myself to take the final step up on the roof, and I could not come down either! The impasse seemed to last for an eternity, much to the amusement of a couple of neighbors watching the scene. I vaguely remember some screaming on my part. But, as you can see from the photos, I came, saw, and conquered! 😉

My job was to pull the old shingles and remove the tar paper underneath. Each shingle revealed an army of spiders running away in panic. A panic at first closely matched by my own, but within a couple of hours I barely even noticed them. A considerable amount of Aleve and sunscreen were consumed during those summer months, in which me, Phil, and his twin sons worked very very hard under the intense Oklahoman sun.

Phil installed the new, gorgeous roof, and I helped him roll out the new tar paper, and nail it in place. The evening after we finished the job, as we crashed on the sofa, absolutely exhausted, he popped the question “Will you marry me”?

March 07th, 2012.

Twelve extremely happy years married to my best friend, co-worker, running buddy, golf instructor… I look forward to the next twelve, and many more! 😉

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