Koob Christmas 2013 – Small Plate Fusion

A New Order to things

Since I never seem to get around to doing the postings, my daughter, Elise (a budding gourmet cook herself) has agreed to do the posting if I write the blurbs. Here is a very yummy meal we had for the extended family over the Yule last year. I’m not going to write complete recipes; but If you want to know more about a particular dish, just ask.

Annotated Menu:

Lobster Bisque with Popovers

If you haven’t taken advantage of the lobster prices the last two years, you might want to jump on the bandwagon this year if they are still low (or not). Lobster bisque is a great way to use all parts of the lobster. The key: a good lobster stock and a nicely browned mirepoux.

I’ve discussed popovers several times in this blog: these were “Mini-popovers”: same basic recipe and procedure, smaller baking vehicle.

Shrimp Diavolo
Something I made up once for a dinner party, only I used mussels originally. Now one of my favorite shrimp dishes. Besides the shrimp: tomatoes, bell or mild peppers, green onion, garlic (lots and lots, chopped, not squished or minced!), a bit of spice (hot) if you desire, fresh herbs if available.

Chinese spareribs
My own recipe which hinges on using a rub and glaze (use corn-starch to thicken) made with Chinese five-spice powder. I use St. Louis cut ribs (moister than baby-back) and I cut these in half across the bone. Can’t remember, but I probably started these outside on the grill for a smokey start and then finished them off inside (tough to cook ribs outside all day in December in PA).

Koob’s Caesar Salad

Best thing about this is the simplicity: garlic -minced, olive oil, grated fresh Romano – toss. YUM!

Mahi Mahi with Sauce Lisabeth 
Sauce Lisabeth (named after my wife) varies from dish to dish, but the foundation is shallots. If you haven’t discovered shallots, you’re missing out on a great flavor that is vastly different from other kinds of “onions.” They’re pricey, but you don’t need much for the flavor. Great way to cook a thick fillet of white fish: HOT oven (500 degrees) for only a few minutes – dust the fillets in a bit of floor and cornmeal.

Pear Glace’
See previous blogs for glace’ recipe.  Here’s a couple of hints: liquor/snapps.etc. help with the texture (won’t  freeze hard); and/or lots of sugar. If you want the right texture and less sugar; put in some booze!

Fillet of Beef with Sauce Choron, Frittata Espanol, and Garlic Spinach
Fillets are nice for a big dinner (with lots of people) because you can cook them to each person’s taste. Sauce Choron is a Bearnaise sauce with tomato puree’ added.

Frittata Espanol is a large, thick “pancake” of potatoes: cheese, eggs, herbs. Cook in a skillet until well-browned, flip, cook other side, cut into wedges and serve. Hint: if you want to save time you can par-boil the potato slices just a bit before adding to egg mixture.

Garlic spinach stir-fry: just about how it sounds; use olive oil for a healthier choice than butter; add cheese and heavy cream if you really want to go the other way and be really decadent.

Greek Cheesecake with Quince Topping and Baklava
Can’t take any credit for these: made and brought by my sister-in-law. Thanks Lisa.

And a good time was had by all. For some reason the annual Koob football game did NOT happen after this meal. We settled for a Scrabble tournament.

Best,

Joe Koob

Turkey Chili

Short post! I have been making and eating this chili all winter, it's rather delicious and freezes/reheats really well. Serve with cheese, avocado, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

1 lb ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can kidney beans (red or white), drained

1 c frozen corn

1 package McCormick's chili seasoning

Extra spices, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, etc

Optional: jalapeños or other hot peppers

I know the chili seasoning is semi-cheating, but this is literally the best chili I’ve ever made and it was with that.

Brown turkey in a large, wide-brimmed skillet with minced garlic and ~1 tsp cayenne pepper. When almost fully browned, add carrots, peppers and onion and sauté for 5 minutes with chili seasoning. 

Add all canned ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste test and add more spices if so desired (I generally add an additional 2 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp paprika and 1-2 tsp cayenne, depending on if/how many hot peppers I’ve added).

Add frozen corn and let simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

Now go warm up, it’s a little chili. Bahaha…ha…haaa…

Koober Jr. 

Wontons, Spring Rolls and Fried Rice

Now that I am actually cooking more (i.e. no longer living off of boxed pasta in my good ‘ol college days), I've started making things that I've helped my parents make on multiple occasions. My dad and I used to make wontons quite often, aka every time I visited…they’re delicious. If you think this is difficult, think again. Really the only thing is that it takes a little time to assemble if you are doing it alone. I also made some fried rice - this is based on how my mom makes it. The spring rolls are a recent experiment that has turned out to be a go to staple of mine as of late.

First, you will need to find wonton wrappers. I didn’t bother looking at the ‘regular’ grocery store, I tend to not find less common things at places like Shaws or Hannaford. I went straight to Whole Foods, for the first time ever, and found them almost immediately (FYI, they live by the tofu/veg meat area). Rice spring roll wrappers are in the International aisle of grocery stores.

Pork Won Tons:

Won ton wrappers

½ lb ground pork

1 green onion, chopped (both green & white parts)

2 Tbs soy sauce

Mix all ingredients (except wrappers obviously) in a bowl and begin to form small balls. Lay out won ton wrappers, wet the sides of the wrappers with water and place a ball in the center. 

Fold over to make triangle and seal together (press out air) then wrap ends together at the center. Place in a steamer for 10-15 min (will turn somewhat translucent). 

Heat a little oil in a pan and fry wontons until slightly browned, 1-2 minutes. Pat with a paper towel to remove some excess oil. Serve with soy sauce.

Spring Rolls:

Rice spring roll wrappers

Whatever ingredients you want, here are some I’ve done:

Sliced carrot, celery and bean sprouts

Brussel sprouts, red pepper, carrot

Asparagus, bacon, scallions

Lettuce, cucumber, rice vermicelli

Sesame Ginger Sauce:

2 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs tomato paste

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 garlic clove

1 Tbs sesame seeds

If you have a mortar and pestle, grind ginger and garlic together until well incorporated or paste-like. Alternatively, this can probably be done in a small food processor or by hand. Mix in soy sauce and tomato paste. Taste test and add more of any ingredient you so desire. Add sesame seeds last.

Before you begin to assemble your spring rolls, you will need to soak the rice wrappers in warm water for 15-20 seconds. I do them separately but you may be able to do them all at once. Just be aware that they tend to curl up when you first put them in the water. The best way I have found to soften them is to use a large bowl filled up with lukewarm water, then place a rice wrapper on the surface while holding the sides down. It only takes 15-20 seconds for them to soften. Gently remove from the water, place on a plate and blot with a paper towel. You can then place your ingredients in the center and roll up! I’ve done it where I leave the veggies peeking out one side and put the sauce on top and putting the sauce on the inside and rolling it all up. I recommend the latter for ease of consumption.

Fried Rice:

2 cups cooked rice, I use brown rice

1 green onion, chopped (both green & white parts)

1 medium carrot, chopped

3/4 c frozen peas

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 Tbs sesame oil

2 Tbs soy sauce

Throw onions, carrots and peas into a skillet with some oil and sauté for several minutes on medium heat. Add egg and scramble. Turn heat down slightly and add rice, sesame oil and soy sauce. The latter two ingredients can be added to taste. Cover and let cook together for several minutes.

Everything together!

Nom away!

Koober Jr.

Eggs Benedict

Otherwise known as the greatest breakfast out there. And possibly the worst for you. But really, who cares about that?

I have to admit, I did not get on the ‘bene’ bandwagon until I moved to Portland and now I order it 9 out of 10 times I go out to brunch. SO GOOD. Clearly there comes a point when you need to learn how to make it yourself, not that my waistband particularly needs it, but my wallet does.

So here we are. Let the artery clogging ensue…

Hollandaise Sauce:

3 egg yolks

1 ½ sticks butter, melted

1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice

~1 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne (optional)

You can choose to do this in a blender, I did it by hand as it is a little easier to control and keep track of the consistency. First, lightly beat the egg yolks before adding any of the butter. When you do start adding the butter, do so VERY SLOWLY, a couple drips at a time and whisk vigorously. Doing by hand will also ensure that you burn a few of the calories you are about to consume. Once the butter has been well incorporated, add a couple more drops, etc. After a couple minutes, you can start adding the butter a little more at a time (slow but steady stream). Once you have added about ¾ of the butter, you can start taste testing and decide whether you want to add it all or not. Add the lemon juice, salt and spices at the end. If you are not using immediately, it will set up a little upon standing. If you want it a little more runny, you can whisk in a little warm water. You should use hollandaise within a couple hours of making it.

Eggs Benedict:

The beauty of eggs bene is that you can add whatever you want to them in terms of meats, veggies, cheeses, bread, whatever your heart desires. For this one, I did bacon and spinach on an English muffin.

  

Fry up your bacon! I hope you all know how this is done. Bacon + pan + heat.

Same with the spinach. Only note here in case you haven’t cooked spinach before, it shrinks A LOT, so throw a solid amount into the pan.

Now to poach eggs, which is now my favorite way to take my eggs. Yes, because of eggs benedict (I may be slightly obsessed). Fill a pan with an inch or so of water and heat until it is lightly boiling. You do not want it at a heavy boil. Before it starts to boil, add 1-2 tsp of vinegar (I usually use rice vinegar) or you can use lemon juice. The acidity will help keep the egg whites from spreading out. Now to add the eggs – it helps if you put the eggs in a small bowl or dish (one at a time) and gently dip them into the water slowly. They will not take long to cook (matter of minutes). You can use a spoon to spoon hot water over the yolks if it looks like the tops are peeking out of the water. Once they look done (whites cooked, yolks still smooshy), take them out of the water using a strainer spoon.

Toast your English muffin and layer everything on top! Top with your hollandaise and enjoy.

Other Bene Ideas:

For healthier, but still delicious versions, don't make the hollandaise. 

Avocado with white cheddar!!

Spinach, sweet/regular potato hash browns and brie.

Nom Nom.

Koober Jr. 

Spinach Ravioli with Ricotta Parmesan Filling

Boom. That's what we are making. It's quite fantastic if I do say so myself. Things you will need:

Sauce: (makes A LOT, so halve the recipe if you only want it for this or other pasta dishes)

2-15 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
1 16 oz can tomato sauce
1-6 oz  can of tomato paste
1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium carrot, minced
1 stalk of celery, minced
Spices (generally use tsp of each oregano and basil); salt and pepper as desired

Optional:
1/2 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1/2 lb hot Italian sausage
Artichoke hearts (canned)
Crushed (hot) red peppers
Etc.

For this I used Italian sausage and artichoke hearts. I often make a sauce with turkey, sausage and crushed peppers - it's my favorite.

Pasta: (makes about 1 lb pasta dough)
~2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
8 oz fresh spinach (alternatively 6 oz frozen spinach)

Cheese Filling:
16 oz ricotta
~1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan (or Parmesan/Romano mix)
1 egg
1-2 tsp parsley

Before we begin, I would recommend you have helpers. The only other times I have ever made pasta before, I have had at least one other person. Let me tell you, it makes a world of difference. I tackled this monster on my own, completely doable, but just be wary that you will be cooking for a solid 3 hours. If you are alone, I'd recommend making the sauce the day before.

Start with the sauce, once everything is chopped and ready to go, saute the celery, carrot and onion in some olive oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Then add whatever other vegetable ingredients you would like to add to your sauce (i.e. artichokes in this case). I threw the artichoke hearts in the food processor to chop them up a bit more before adding to the pot. Continue to cook for a few minutes with the spices you would like to use.

Then add all the tomato ingredients and meat and allow to simmer for at least 45 minutes. I had this simmering the remainder of the time it took me to make the pasta and cook it (solid 2 hours or so).

Pasta time! Blanch your spinach for a couple minutes in boiling water. Once cooked, rinse immediately with cold water. Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach - or as much as  you can - and place in food processor. Chop spinach in processor by pulsing a couple times, then add the two eggs and pulse a couple more until well incorporated (don't over-do the pulsing).

While the spinach is cooking you can quickly throw together the ingredients for the cheese filling. Mix ricotta, Parmesan, egg and parsley together in a bowl. That's all.

Place 2 cups of the flour into a large bowl and create a well in the middle. Carefully pour the spinach/egg mixture into the well. With a fork, slowly start to work the flour into the spinach/egg mixture from the sides. Once a dough begins to form, you can dump it out onto a floured surface and begin to knead in more flour. Depending on how wet your spinach was, you may need to add quite a bit more flour - but do it slowly! The dough should be slightly sticky, but not so much that it is sticking to the surface you are kneading on (like leaving behind pieces of itself). [This is really something that you'll just have to get a feel for, but you will find out once you start rolling the dough through the pasta maker if it is too wet or dry.] Once the dough is at the right consistency, continue to knead for another 5 minutes or so. You'll get in that workout you skipped. Once done, place in a bowl covered with a damp paper towel and leave to the side for 15 minutes.

While your spinach pasta ball is resting. Set up all your pasta-making equipment. You will need the pasta roller, a ravioli cutter, a couple cutting boards or flat surfaces dusted with flour, a couple baking sheets also dusted with flour, and a small dish of water with a brush.

When you have gotten all set up, cut the pasta dough ball into smaller pieces that will be more manageable to deal with in the machine (roughly 8 smaller dough balls). You will probably need to add a little flour to each piece of dough and knead it a little bit before beginning the rolling process. Flatten the ball and place between the rollers. Start at the widest setting and work your way thinner (my dials go from 7 being the widest to 1 being the thinnest). And crank away! If your dough is too wet, it will stick to the rollers, if it is too dry, it will start to break apart when rolling. If the former, add more flour little by little. If the latter, add WATER (not oil), again...little by little. And try again. Once you get it to look like below, start moving the rollers closer together on each pass through. I went to a thinness of 3. It will probably be different on different machines (I have no idea about the Kitchen Aid attachments, I haven't graduated to that level yet...). Since this dough is a little more finicky than regular pasta dough, I kept it one dial thicker than I would with regular pasta ravioli so it would not rip as easily.

 Once rolled out, place on a floured surface and continue to roll the other doughs!

Time for cheeeeeese. Place small dollops of the cheese mixture along the pasta. Usually in one or two rows, depending on how wide your rolled out dough comes out to be. There are two ways to overlay the top layer of pasta dough. You can either (1) use two separate rolled out doughs, or (2) use the fold-over method...my preferred method. If you use two separate pieces, you need to make sure that they are of similar width and length. The fold-over method is easier to me. Only dollop the first half of the dough, you will use the remainder to fold-over the tops of those dollops. Whichever way you do choose to do it is fine.

Once you have your cheese placed, brush a little bit of water between the dollops (I really like this word), on all sides, the middle, anywhere you see pasta dough. Then fold-over (or place your second dough on top) the dough and gently press the pieces together, pushing out any air.

Follow along your seals with the ravioli cutter to separate your raviolis. I recommend pressing down all sides of each individual ravioli before you place it aside to be cooked, just to make sure they are all sealed shut. Otherwise you will end up with spinach pasta and cheese water.

Yay raviolis! Since this makes 1 lb of pasta, you get quite a few of these little guys. But luckily they can be frozen! Or at least I think they can, I have some frozen that I intend on throwing in a pot of boiling water the next time I want ravioli. In theory, it should work fine. I'll let you know how it turns out.

If you do choose to freeze them, I would recommend putting them on a baking sheet separated (like above) straight into the freezer for 30 minutes or so. Once they are mostly solid, then put them in a container or a ziplock bag. That way, they wont all stick together as they are beginning to freeze.

And that's all! Throw them in a pot of boiling water and cook until done! Keep in mind it is fresh pasta and will not need to be cooked very long, generally 4-5 minutes.

Enjoy.

Koober Jr.

Salted Dark Chocolate Rolo-Filled Cookies

Yep. These suckers are deadly. There are 5 different sources of chocolate. FIVE. That being said, be ready to open your wallet to buy the chocolate for them.

I came across the recipe here and followed it specifically (except for the espresso powder), so I won't go through all the ingredients and steps here. Instead, I'll just post the photos.

Note: The dough is VERY sticky so when forming a ball of dough around the Rolos, it helps to spray your hands with cooking spray before hand...and repeat often.

Nom nom.

Koober Jr.