CHICKEN THIGHS WITH ARTICHOKES AND CAPERS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

If you are into Paleo recipes, make this dish! If you are not into Paleo recipes, make this dish! Yes, I am a bit bossy today, as a husband and a few graduate students might have noticed. But it’s all with good intentions, as I know what is good for them, for you, and maybe even for myself. The inspiration for this recipe was found in one of my Kindle cookbooks, Make it Paleo II, by Hayley Mason and Bill Staley. They also have a food blog, Primal Palate, with great recipes and youtube videos. I always read the good and the bad reviews of a cookbook before buying it, and one of the reviewers at amazon.com said that this recipe alone was worth getting the book. I made it twice, once exactly as written, but in this post I am sharing my take on it, modified not only in flavor but also in the method itself. In their version, it is all made in a single skillet, but I did not want to turn on the big oven, so after browning the meat I transferred the pieces to a baking dish that fits in our Breville.

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH ARTICHOKES AND CAPERS
(adapted from Make it Paleo II)

6 skin-on chicken thighs, boneless
Sea salt to taste
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp za’tar
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (6-oz) jar artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and drained
2 Tbsp capers
1 lemon, sliced into rounds and quartered

Heat the oven to 425°F. Heat a skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, removing as much moisture as possible. Season the skin with salt and place them skin side down in the hot skillet. Flip the thighs once they develop a nice brown sear on the skin, which should naturally make them easily release from the pan. Cook the chicken skin side up for 1 minute, then transfer to a baking dish, skin side up. Season evenly with the oregano, za’tar, and more black pepper to taste. Add the artichoke hearts, olives, capers, and lemon slices to the skillet. Place the skillet in the oven and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: If you never de-boned a chicken thigh yourself, take a deep breath and try it, because it’s a nice skill to acquire in the kitchen. I don’t know what type of chicken meat your grocery store carries, but where we live I can find bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, and boneless, skinless. The former I use for roasting all the time, but the skinless I reserve for either braises, stir-fries, or grilling (usually after a nice marinade with yogurt or some citric concoction). You absolutely need boneless pieces with the skin on for this recipe, so if you cannot find it, roll your sleeves up and get working. It was a bit of a struggle, but I got better and better as I did it. I watched some videos on youtube to help me with the technique, but most videos available show professional chefs who handle the knife as if they were born with one in their hands. Amazing to watch, but when trying to mimic them, my shortcomings became quite evident. I say take your time, put some soothing music on, and practice. By the way, if you don’t have za’tar, don’t worry. But get some, will you? I must say it’s one of my favorite spice mixtures at the moment. Love it.

Phil is so addicted to my default recipe for chicken thighs, that at first he was disappointed by the different preparation. But, it took him only one bite to say that I should revisit this recipe whenever I feel like it. Two thumbs up! So there you have it, make this dish because I said so, and Sally knows what’s best for everyone. HA!

😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Pea Pancakes with Herbed Yogurt

TWO YEARS AGO: Mushroom Stroganoff

THREE YEARS AGO: Tomato Sourdough

FOUR YEARS AGO: Gamberetti con rucola e pomodori

FIVE YEARS AGO: Flirting with Orzo

8May2015

AS GOOD AS IT GETS… IN SCIENCE

Posted in General by sallybr

Once again our department will be hosting a very special seminar speaker, Dr. Randy Sheckman, from Berkeley, Nobel Laureate of 2013 in Physiology or Medicine, for his work on protein trafficking and secretion in eukaryotic cells.

I am of course delighted that Phil accomplished all the negotiations needed to pull off this type of event. It’s not easy, many hurdles must be dealt with. But his power of negotiation is quite unique and hard to resist. For instance, the first time he hinted at the idea of us hosting a reception in our home in honor of Dr. Sheckman, my answer came quickly: No way we are doing this. Forget it. In your dreams. I don’t want to hear anything about it again.

I inform you that said reception will take place at our home on Monday, and all faculty members interested in meeting Dr. Sheckman were invited to show up.

This weekend, yours truly will be found pacing frantically around the kitchen, preparing for the big event… I have a few things planned, some a bit daring, some inside my comfort zone. I am actually super excited about it, and intend to have a great time getting ready for it! Stay tuned for a full report sometime in the near future… (assuming my mental sanity is not compromised).

6May2015

LAMB SHANKS EN PAPILLOTE WITH CAULIFLOWER-CELERIAC PUREE

Posted in Lamb, Veggies by sallybr

One of Phil’s favorite dishes is a nice, melt-in-your-mouth lamb shank. When we go out for dinner, if the restaurant offers lamb shanks, chances are he will order it. Lamb can be a bit tricky to cook at home. It’s usually not very cheap, so the pressure not to ruin it goes up a couple of notches. Our grocery store sometimes has lamb shanks on sale, but I usually stay away from them. Not this time. The price was too good to resist, and I decided to face the challenge. Brought them home without any specific recipe in mind, which proves I was in full daring mood. A quick search on the net pointed me to this simple and straightforward method from Fine Cooking, that gave me the opportunity to practice the “papillote” thing. It also gave me the opportunity to drive all the way back to the grocery store to get leeks (sigh). To offset the richness of the meat, I served it with a super light side dish, mashed cauliflower and celery root. Honestly, I think the puree might have stolen the show, it was superb!

LAMB SHANK EN PAPILLOTE
(slightly modified from Fine Cooking magazine)
.
4 medium leeks (white and light-green parts only), cut into 1-1/2-inch lengths
4 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-1/2-inch lengths
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 strips orange zest, each about 3 inches long
Crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 lamb shanks (about 1 lb. each)
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
1-1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into 4 slices
.

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 300°F.
.
Arrange four 16×16-inch squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil on a work surface. Put one-quarter of the leeks, one-quarter of the carrots, 1 rosemary sprig, and 1 strip of orange zest on each square. Season each with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
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Pat the lamb shanks dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering hot. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, brown the shanks on all sides, about 10 minutes total per batch. Transfer 1 shank to each foil square, arranging it on top of the vegetables. Draw up the edges of the foil to capture any juice, but don’t seal the packets yet.
.
Return the skillet to medium heat, add the vermouth, and bring to a simmer, scraping the skillet with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat. Portion the vermouth evenly among the 4 packets, pouring it over the lamb. Dot each shank with a slice of the butter. Fold the foil to form rectangular packets, sealing the seams tightly. Arrange the packets on a baking sheet; it’s fine if they touch but they shouldn’t overlap.
.
Bake for 3 hours; then check for doneness by carefully opening one of the packets (watch out for the steam) and testing the meat with a fork—it should be tender and pulling away from the bone. If necessary, continue to bake for another 10 minutes and check again.
.
Transfer the contents of the packets to large plates or pasta bowls, surrounding the shanks with the vegetables and juice. Remove the rosemary and orange zest before serving.
.
to print the Lamb Shank recipe, click here
.

CAULIFLOWER-CELERIAC PUREE
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, inspired by many sources)

.
1 head cauliflower, cut in individual florets

1 head celeriac, peeled and cut in 1 inch chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium shallots, thickly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

coconut milk (about 1/4 cup)

dash of ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 375°F.
.

Steam cauliflower florets until very tender. Coat the celeriac chunks and shallot slices with olive oil in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and with a light browning around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes, moving pieces around.
.
When the celeriac is easily pierced with a fork, transfer the pieces to a pan, add the steamed cauliflower florets, and start mashing it all with a potato masher, or use an immersion blender, depending on the texture you like.Turn the burner to low heat, add a dash of nutmeg, and add enough coconut milk to give it a nice creamy feel. Mix well and cook on low heat for a couple of minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
.

You can also use the food processor to make the puree, if you like a much smoother texture.

ENJOY!

to print the Cauliflower-Celeriac puree recipe, click here

Comments: The most important step in this recipe is taking the time to brown the lamb shanks. I halved the recipe, since it was just for the two of us, but decided to post the recipe as published in the magazine which feeds four. I confess that I forgot to add the butter on top of the shanks when closing the packages, but that did not seem to hurt anything.

Make sure you have a very big aluminum foil because it is important that the package closes well around the meat. Also, the recipe called for a cooking time of 2 to 2.5 hours, but I really like the lamb falling off the bone so I did not even bother checking it before 3 hours. Do what suits your taste best.

The mashed cauliflower & celeriac was simply amazing! If you’ve been following the Bewitching Kitchen for a while, you know I love to play with cauliflower in all sorts of recipes, and you’ll find many versions of mashed cauliflower in the blog. This is a new favorite. If you serve it for guests, it will be pretty hard for them to figure out the components, but even if a little puzzled, they’ll be in love with it. Some recipe sources advise to pass celeriac puree through a fine sieve to improve texture, but I didn’t, and it was still very smooth and pleasant. Of all jobs in the kitchen, passing things through a sieve is the one I despise the most, and always find excuses to skip it. My number one excuse is “I do not want to do it“.

This meal would be great for company, since you can assemble the packages and start roasting the meat 3 hours before you plan to serve dinner. The mashed cauliflower can also be reheated without compromising flavor or texture. One of the wonderful things about papillote cooking is the aroma that is released once you open the package, it will certainly awe any guests!

ONE YEAR AGO: Chestnut Brownies and a Blog Award!

TWO YEARS AGO: Quinoa with Cider-Glazed Carrots

THREE YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday: Heirloom Tomatoes Steal the Show

FOUR YEARS AGO: Pain de Provence

FIVE YEARS AGO: Golspie Loaf, from the Scottish Highlands

5May2015

BLOGGING ISSUES

Posted in General by sallybr

When I started blogging, I published recipes from cookbooks without giving it a second thought. As the months passed, I realized that some bloggers do not do it. This subject is not black and white, actually. A list of ingredients and a method of preparation – basically, a recipe – cannot be copyrighted. For a fun read on the subject, click here. So, in theory, a blogger faces no legal problems by publishing a recipe. But, let’s suppose that someone goes through the hard work of writing a cookbook, and all of a sudden 3/4 of its recipes can be found online because many bloggers cooked from the book and shared the “love”. It may not be illegal, but I don’t think it’s fair. Some authors, one classical example being Dan Lepard, are really adamant about protecting their recipes from spreading out of control. I think one should respect their views. People might reason that in the end they get free publicity. so they should not complain, but since I don’t know how each author feels about it, I rather exercise caution.

For years now I only share recipes from cookbooks if I get the ok from the author. However, it can be frustrating sometimes. The frustration comes in two forms. First, when I get no reply back. Nothing. Silence. And that means I am left with a recipe that cannot be blogged about, at least not the way I like to do it. When I get permission from the author, I often will go the extra mile and write a full review on the cookbook to go along with my post. I do it without any type of compensation, my links to amazon.com do not give me any cash back. Not a criticism to those who monetize their blogs, it is my personal choice not to do it. That brings me to the second type of frustration, which is not getting even a thank you note back. Nothing. Silence. Some authors are amazing, they will contact me by email and be super nice and grateful, but others? Not the case. I swear, it’s annoying. Were they raised by wolves? Are they too full of themselves? Too busy? Heck, I am overly busy too, and in my work I interact with a good share of big egos. Some Nobel laureates are more approachable than certain cookbook authors. Seriously.

So, my point with this post is to inform my readers that I will be starting a new approach, because I now have a long list of recipes from cookbooks waiting to be blogged, and either the authors won’t reply to my attempts to contact them, or in a few isolated cases, their contact info cannot be found anywhere. Yeap, that happens, and I am not a detective, so there is a limit to the time and energy I can spend trying to get to them. In this new approach, you will see the photo of the dish, and my comments. I will include a very general outline of the recipe without precise amounts of ingredients. Once you see this format in a blog post, you’ll understand what is going on “behind the scenes”. But please, don’t assume that an author has been difficult to work with when I post a recipe-less article. It may or may not be the case. I just decided to stop spending time trying to contact authors, and for the most part from now on cookbook recipes will be blogged about in a slightly less traditional way. To be honest, a few things happened in the recent past that left me a bit upset and disappointed at the blogosphere in general. Nothing too serious, but… it was good to share some of my thoughts here, and deal with part of what bothers me.

Note added after publication: I got a few emails of readers in panic that my site is about to change and not include recipes ever again! Not at all the case. Please keep in mind that 90% of my posts for the past 6 years are coming from cooking magazines and websites, so nothing will change dramatically. Every once in a while a post from a cookbook will be published, and in that case the format will be changed accordingly. All cooking magazines I blog from have been contacted and cleared me to publish their recipes, as long as a link is included. Recipes already available online also do not pose a problem. So, don’t worry, the Bewitching will stay pretty much the same. But I needed to get some things out of my mind here. Springtime cleaning, you know…

Now, back to cooking…

🙂

(comments are shutdown for this post)

1May2015

IN MY KITCHEN – MAY 2015

Posted in In My Kitchen by sallybr

It’s been a while, folks, my last participation in Celia’s virtual get together was in February, so before I miss another month, here I am to invite you for a tour of our kitchen.

Starting with a super special gift that Phil gave me for my Birthday…

YESSSSS! A Vitamix Blender, the Rolls Royce of blenders, in a gorgeous burgundy color! This thing is amazing! We make smoothies that are REAL smooth, soups, sauces, no job is too tough for this baby. Plus, I love the way the machine starts at a very low-speed, so even if you are blending hot liquids, that expansion, so common in all other blenders will not happen in a Vitamix. I am totally in love with it!

In our kitchen…

One of the first smoothies I made in my Vitamix. It was delicious, but believe it or not, I did not write down the recipe, kept throwing things in the blender, and of course regretted being so lax about it. It had coconut and almond milk, protein powder, strawberries, a smidgen of agave nectar, and maybe a little orange juice too. Coconut flakes on top are a must, adding that little crunchy note. I highly recommend that you play with these ingredients. But do a better job than I did, and take notes.

In our kitchen….

Gel coloring that shall be put to test in a future batch of macarons…. They are supposed to work much better than regular food coloring, because just a little bit adds a ton of color, so the delicate balance of the macaron formula is not compromised. Now all I need is a quiet weekend to try my luck at macarons again.

In our kitchen…

A bottle of blood orange-infused olive oil… You cannot believe the smell of this product! We got it in a store in Maryland, while visiting a couple of dear friends. Apart from this interesting store (Olivins), we highly recommend a stop by Blackwater Reserve. We saw many Bald Eagles flying in all their magnificent glory, and as we drove away, a couple of birds were feeding in a field by the side of the road. We were far, but our friend Wanda managed to snap these shots. Amazing, don’t you think?

In our kitchen…

A colorful platter I fell in love instantly with… found at our town’s Tuesday Morning. In some past life I was probably a butterfly, as I have this irresistible attraction to colorful stuff…

In our kitchen, a new cookbook!

A friend of mine, having read one of my rants against the Food TV, urged me to tune into PBS and watch Christopher Kimball’s series, America’s Test Kitchen. It turns out that as a member of Amazon Prime, I can watch many of those shows for free. To make a long story short, I am officially addicted. It is all I hoped a cooking show should be. Less “show”, more “teaching”. Because where we live not all shows are available for free, I decided to get their book, which covers the whole 14 years of recipes. The only problem with watching the show, is the temptation to get the stuff they recommend. I already fell for two things that got their top ratings:

First, a gadget to enjoy soft-boiled eggs “comme il faut”… the egg topper is amazing, works like a charm! Fun to use, and does the job it’s designed for.

Second, a vegetable cleaver. I had no idea I needed one, but after watching ATK, I realized life would not be complete without it. The thing is VERY sharp, and I am not yet too comfortable using it, but slowly and surely I’ll get there (hopefully with all my fingers intact).

In our kitchen…

A batch of hamburger buns made on impulse on a Sunday afternoon. Very quick recipe to put together. You can find it here. I still need to work on shaping them a little flatter. Amazing how these babies plumped up during baking.

In our kitchen…

A bag of dried corn. I suspect it will be hard for most people to guess what this ingredient will be used for, UNLESS you own a certain cookbook called Momofuku Milk Bar. My lips are sealed. I just hope to make this particular recipe soon and share here.

In our kitchen….

Achiote Paste. This is a very important ingredient in some authentic Mexican dishes like Pork Pipian. Stay tuned…

In our kitchen…

Sometimes I like to have a smoothie for lunch or as a post-workout small meal. Protein powders can be pretty tough to digest, or leave an unpleasant after-taste. Not this one. I don’t care for vanilla or chocolate-flavored protein powders, rather have pureed fruits or juices as the base of flavor. This is a perfect product for my needs.

In our kitchen….

Isn’t this tea-infuser adorable? You add loose tea to the metal strainer, and close it. It will float on the surface of your tea-cup, then you simply lift it and rest it inside the plastic container to dispose of the tea leaves later. I could not resist bringing it home from our Marshall’s store in town.

In our kitchen….

Special flours from Nuts.com. I made a couple of gluten-free breads from Peter Reinhart’s book, and they often call for nut flours, not easy to find in grocery stores (yes, I do realize I could make my own if I had the inclination for it). I got a bag of walnut flour and a bag of cashew flour (shown in photo). Nuts.com does a great job with their packaging, super cute! I even got a freebie with my order, a small bag of chia seeds… Great customer service!

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As I wrote this last paragraph, three pairs of eyes were glued to me. “Mom, you are NOT considering leaving us out this time, are you? You know that your readers don’t even pay attention to any of this stuff you brag about, all they do is scroll to the end to meet us…” Could they possibly have a point? So, a little reluctantly, here they are. Why reluctantly, you might ask? Two of them have caused us a considerable amount of grievance this month, to the point that we thought about selling them. Cheap. Very cheap. As in Free for a good home. Read on.

Let’s start with the only well-behaved one. Chief has been going through a fantastic phase, he still sleeps quite a long time each day, but goes through bursts of amazing energy, trying to chase his favorite toy, playing tug-of-war with it, and even attempting to run while going for a walk. Amazing resilience in his 16 years and 3 months of life.

Here he is, enjoying the sunny backyard for a few minutes, before starting his opera singing to go back inside…

Buck shows great style and elegance…

May I have the first dance, Mom?

But his brother has other ideas. What he lacks in elegance he compensates in enthusiasm…

There is only ONE first dance, and it will be mine, all mine….

Of course, when the moment calls for it, he can bring his style and poise too…

Notice the paw placement, please… I was a lord in a previous life.
A lord, I tell ya…

Your elegance is debatable. At any rate, you cannot beat me in my awe-inducing control of the ball…

(click to enlarge)

Which does make me a little tired…

Now, it’s time for a little detour, so let’s go out to the backyard, where a lot of emotion is waiting for you…

In our backyard….

A magnificent owl, staring at us very early in the morning…

Maybe she witnessed the horrific scenes that were waiting for me one fateful Saturday afternoon? Maybe she saw the skunk invading our backyard? Attacking Oscar? Attacking Buck? Hard to tell what the owl saw. All I can tell is what I saw, and it wasn’t pretty. A skunk is no match for a Jack Russell, and once Oscar was done vomiting and foaming in the mouth (feeling sorry for me yet?), he joined his fearless brother to help with the kill. A kill that took way too long, and I was unable to prevent, even though I did try my best. Let’s not even talk about the state of my nerves during the development of this saga. Obviously, said saga had to happen while the man I married 15 years, 1 month, and 24 days ago was out hitting a small ball with a long stick. His cell phone set on vibrate so that no sound would interfere with his concentration during a long putt (insert Sally’s eye-roll to the skies above). But then, I am a Drama Queen. Can you wrap your mind around the unfairness of it all? I know, I know… you can hardly stand it.

Oscar guarding his prize.
Please note the small amount of foam still surrounding his mouth.

In all fairness, the golfer arrived home and cleaned up the battle zone, dogs included. No, I did not have to call a lawyer, and yes, I was pampered big time the rest of the weekend. HA!

I hope you enjoyed this walk through the Bewitching Home…
Celia, thanks for hosting this wonderful party!

ONE YEAR AGO: P90X3, a Review of Tony Horton’s Latest Fitness Program

TWO YEARS AGO: Pasta and Mussels in Saffron Broth

THREE YEARS AGO: Triple Chocolate Brownies

FOUR YEARS AGO: Shanghai Soup Dumplings

FIVE YEARS AGO: Bite-sized Chocolate Pleasure