Pine Nut Caution

The risotto from a few days ago seems to have given me a mild case of Pine Mouth, where everything I eat has a slightly bitter aftertaste. Looking around at some blog comments, it seems like there's been a spate of complaints recently about the pine nuts from Trader Joe's, which is where I bought mine.

The cause hasn't been determined yet, but it doesn't appear to be related to pesticides or contaminants, and the effect seems to disappear after a few days. Not everyone is affected, either -- my wife ate the risotto and is doing fine. It seems to stem from certain strains of nuts that come from China or Korea, so I'm definitely sticking with nuts with European origins in the future.

Ancho chili and Fennel

So this post might seem lame because I'm not going to really say anything new. But last night I had the same "drunken french-lentil soup" as mentioned previously. It was so hearty, rich and delicious that I would probably now label it as my favorite soup of all time. I think the ancho chili powder and the sauteed fennel and carrot are really what make the flavor so complex and satisfying. They now sell ancho pepper in most supermarkets, you should go out and buy some, it will make everything you make taste better. Its not very hot at all, rather, it has a rich, deep sweet, slightly smokey flavor. You can use it anywhere you would you use paprika or chili-powder.

So this time I added garlic and 1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds to the sautéing process, and added 2 diced potatoes with the lentils. All very good additions, the potato was good with the lentils. We had fresh Ciabatta and good olive oil and pepper with the soup. It may seem strange to say this about soup, but it was one of the best meals I've had this year.

Two Posts in a Day!?

That's like... totally tubular, man!

Anyway, risotto. I had made a simplified version of it once before, but Andrew's post certainly piqued my interest in giving it another try. I enjoy very much savory grain-based dishes, particularly when they include some form of fat: macaroni and cheese, fried rice, pad thai, couscous, etc. Risotto seemed a logical choice.

Andrew covered the preparation pretty well, so I won't go into that too much. For the stock I used 1 can of chicken broth combined with a prepared cube of vegetable bullion. I also added a couple tablespoons of mirin -- sweetened Japanese cooking sake to give it a bit of a sweet flavor. After sauteing the onions for a couple of minutes, I added chopped portobello mushrooms as the main veggie, plus some julienned carrots (OK, baby carrots) to add a little color, some raw pine nuts, and a clove of minced garlic. Then, in turn, the risotto, the white wine, and finally some dried dill and savory. The final ingredient before adding the stock was to throw a few chopped scallions in there -- again, mainly for color as the flavor had cooked out of them by the time it was finished.

Andrew didn't specify which part of the lemon should be used, so I added the juice and zest of about 1/4 of one, as well as some fresh ground lemon-pepper (available at Trader Joe's for $2!). I admit I was a bit skeptical as to how the lemon flavor would fit in with the rest of the dish, but it was actually quite good! I shall never doubt you again, Andrew! For the dairy, I split the difference between the cheese and cream by adding about 1/2 cup each of parmesan and cream cheese, with a little milk to loosen the consistency up a bit.

Overall, I'd deem it a success! While chowing down, it struck me that some water chestnuts would have fit in quite well with their crispiness, so perhaps I will try that next time, see how it goes.

Simplicity In Eating, or What to do with Smoked Salmon When You Were Raised 2000 Miles From The Ocean

In retrospect, maybe it wasn't the best idea to start blogging a couple of weeks before a conference. Not only was I away in Oregon for a week, I spent the week or two prior to the conference trying to run those last experiments and prepare my presentation, so I didn't have time to cook anything that required more than a milligram of thought.

I always try to bring my wife something unique from the place I go when I have to travel without her, which usually ends up being food. Among the items brought back from Oregon was a package of smoked Pacific salmon -- something I haven't had the opportunity to really try before, at least as far as I can recall. I was a bit unsure what to do with it, and although I have a little bit of experience cooking with fish, I'm still not as adventurous with them as I am with most things, since the flavor is more likely to clash with anything I might try to concoct than say, beef or chicken.

So I decided to keep things simple. The salmon was pulled into little bits with a fork and sprinkled onto a toasted sesame bagel with a layer of cream cheese, along with some chopped scallions and some freshly-ground black pepper.

Man, was that a good idea!

The salmon had a strong but rich smoky-fishy flavor that was perfectly underlaid by the smoothness of the cream cheese, with the scallions offering *just* enough contrast with their clean, sharp taste.

There are times when I love to just throw all sorts of flavors together and see what comes out, but it's easy to forget that most foods have a whole assortment of flavors just on their own, like the salmon in this case. Sometimes it's great to go the route of simplicity, pairing the ingredient with a couple of complementary flavors or textures, but letting the complexity of the food do the flavoring for you. I expect to be doing more simple eating as we move into summer with its abundance of fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies.

2 More Tasty Dinners

Hey all,
Here's a couple more tasty recipes that I've come up with in the past few days. The first comes with rave reviews from my girlfriend. It's a bit similar to the first recipe I posted, but it tasted quite a bit different. Well, without any further ado, lets get started:

Pasta in a Fire roasted tomato, red wine sauce

• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 1 small can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• Olive oil
  
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 medium onion
  
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic (~6-7 cloves)
  
• 2 small hot peppers (1 jalapeno and 1 red fresno)
  
• Several Handfuls frozen green beans
• Several Handfuls frozen peas
• a Handful of frozen chopped peppers
  
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  
• 3-4 Tablespoons Oregano
• 3-4 Tablespoons Basil
• 1-2 Tablespoons Fennel
  
• 1-2 Tablespoons Rosemary
• 3 frozen breaded eggplant cutlets
  
• 1 Splash liquid smoke
  
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese
• Mozzarella cheese
  
• Pasta

Sauce
1) In a large pot, brown the garlic (save a little for the eggplant), onions, hot peppers, and spices.
2) Once browned add in the frozen veggies, and let cook several minutes.
3) Add in the tomatoes, wine and vinegar, and liquid smoke. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4) Let simmer on low heat while the eggplant and pasta cook.

Eggplant
1) In a frying pan, brown some garlic and the eggplant cutlets.
2) Once browned, spoon some of the sauce into the pan, and let simmer for several minutes until the eggplant is done (We like eggplant nice and soft, so if you like it firm, let simmer for a shorter amount of time.

Serving
Stir some of the sauce into the pasta to prevent it from sticking.
Layer the eggplant over the pasta and cover with the sauce.
Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the top and Enjoy!

Note: The sauce came out really spicy, so be warned! If you don't want spice, you can cut down on the hot peppers.


Tuna in a Lemon White Wine Sauce

• Olive oil
• 1/2 Large garlic clove minced
• 2 Tbs. Basil
• 2 Tbs. Oregano
• 2 Tbs. Onion Powder
• 1 Tbs. Hot pepper flakes
  
• 2 cans Tuna in water
• 1 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
• 1 Handful frozen chopped peppers
• 1 Handful frozen broccoli
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper
• 3-4 Tbs. toasted pine nuts
  

1) In a medium frying pan, brown the garlic, hot pepper, and spices.
2) Add the white wine, lemon juice, vinegar, frozen veggies, and tuna and simmer for several minutes.
3) As the mixture is simmering, add in the pine nuts, Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.
4) Serve over pasta and enjoy.

The pine nuts could be omitted, as the sauce turned out very flavorful, slightly overwhelming the pine nuts' flavor.

That's all for now folks! See you next time.
-Chris

Alchemy and Spices

Some parts of cooking are largely chemistry: baking for instance, is helped by quite precise quantities of ingredients which cause vital reactions to occur: browning/caremelization, rising, are all wonderful pieces of precise microbiology.

Spices... are not really like that at all. Their character varies wildly based on how they grown, what variety they are, how finely they are ground, how fresh they are, not to mention what they are mixed with! Brown mustard seeds, toasted whole, are pleasantly nutty and mild and are often used in curries. Lightly crushed they impart a similar but more robust flavor to whole grain mustard, perfect for vinaigrettes. Finely grind those suckers, and add just the smallest bit of water to make a paste, and you've got seriously delicious fire at your fingertips!

For this reason, you should only ever take the spices given in recipes as a rough guide. Instead, smell your spices and know their flavor, taste them, and taste your dishes. This is not just chemistry, this is art. I divide spices (and herbs) roughly into two categories: those that easily blend with other flavors, and the misfits, that are delicious, but can fight for dominance with some other flavors, and must be used more carefully. Here are a few of my favorites (a limited list for now).

Friendly spices

• Coriander: My absolute favorite, this has a delicate, lemony floral aroma, a bit of nuttiness but none of the bitterness of its frequent partner in crime: cumin. It is delicious in EVERYTHING. I'm serious. A bit of oregano, coriander and chili pepper, are great for a tomato sauce. Creamed soups: coriander. Savory baked goods? Coriander. Really. Everything.
• Black Pepper: Fresh ground pepper has a lovely flavor of pine and earth (grind some into olive oil to taste its flavor at its most vivid).
• Sweet Pepprika: Doesn't go in everything, but has a nice sweetness that goes with tomato sauces well.
• Chili Peppers: Not true for all chilis (particularly not smoked ones), but used with a light touch, a bit of spice can lift a dish without being obtrusive to the other flavors.
• Others: parsley, dill, celery seed

Assertive Spices

• Cumin: With peppers or onions, this gives a rich bitter sweet flavor that is one of my favorates, but is not subtile.
• Sage: Delicious and dangerous, very good with winter squash, but too much can easily ruin a dish, and it clashes with other strong flavors (like cumin or chipotle, for example)
• Others: Cardomom, mint, actually most spices are in this category. I'd recommend focusing on one at a time when playing around.

Middling: Mustard, cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme. These spices have a lot of friends that they work well with, but fight with some others.

By the way, I have been cooking, but I thought it would be more fun to just think about spices tonight. So I indulged myself. I had fun, I hope you did too. Let me know if you liked it, and how you think about food! Goodnight.

Sorry for the delay!

Hey all,
Rest assured I haven't forgotten you. Sorry for the delay in posting new stuff. Life has been crazy the last few weeks, as I'm getting ready for a research conference, and I haven't really been cooking much. Things should improve in two weeks and I'll be back to tastiness! I may be able to share a couple of things before then.
Until then, the ideas are percolating!
-Chris

Man up... and Risotto

I've always thought that phrase was a bit sexist and stereotypical. But it does describe what Derek and Chris should do with this bog, since I'm sure they are producing lots of tasty things that they are not sharing with us.... just saying...

I made the same risotto as last weekend for a few of my Boston area friends, and it was quite tasty, so I figured this was a good time to talk about risotto:

Gruyere and Fennel Risotto

butter and olive oil (~2.5 T. combined)

1-2 cups diced carrots (about 3 small carrots)

1-2 cups diced fennel (about 1 medium bulb)

1-2 cups onions (1 large or 2 medium onions)

1-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (optional)

1.5 cups risotto rice (arborio is easiest to find in the US)

1+ quart vegetable stock (water and a bit of soy sauce works in a pinch)

1/8 - 1/4 cup dried mushrooms (optional, but Porchini are by far the best)

1/2 -1 cup dry white wine, or sherry or vermouth

1/2 T. dried thyme

3/4 cup parmesan, or 1 1/4 cup gruyere

1 T. fresh dill, or chives.

a bit of lemon

salt and fresh ground pepper

Risotto is very easy once you learn the basic formula, and very amiable to experimentation.

Have the stock (or water) simmering on a burner next to the risotto.

Saute the onion in the oil/butter, and after a minute or two, add any other vegetables, and the garlic. When they are lightly browned, add the rice. Sauté the rice for a minute or two, this is important. Add the wine and stir till it is absorbed. Add any dried herbs (or pungent fresh herbs such as thyme or sage) now.

For the rest of the process, you will add the stock to the rice, several ladles at a time, but then allowing the liquid to be absorbed/evaporated before adding more. Cook on medium high heat, there should be a pleasant sizzle happening. The first time you do this, it is recommended that you use a non-stick pan, and stir frequently. This process encourages the rice to release starch, which gives the risotto its creamy texture. The way to tell if risotto is done is very similar to pasta. It should not be hard, but still have some bite to it, creamy yet still firm.

Stir in the cheese, lemon, salt and pepper. Some recipes finish with cream as well, I think this is unnecessary, but of course its up to you. You will likely not need much salt because of the salt in the cheese and stock, possibly none if you are using bouillon. It is vital to taste your risotto before serving. It may need salt, or citrus, or even sugar.

The easiest way to use dried mushrooms is to simmer them together with the stock.

I love risotto, it is so creamy and fulfilling. It is one of those things that takes a bit of time, but is pure love in edible form...

Other risotto ideas: saffron and seafood; porchini+fresh mushrooms; sausage + fennel; ale, aged cheddar and leeks. A plain white-wine / parmesan risotto is also an excellent side dish to meat or fish (saffron is delightful especially with fish).

I wish you all delicious meals, and lovely cooking companions. Goodnight.

Chicken, Risotto, and the Wonder of Onions

I had a lovely dinner last night with some friends, and I experimented with cooking meat (recently switched from vegetarianism to occasional omnivorism). I made a vegetable-Porchini risotto, and chicken and green beans with a light white-wine dill sauce. My love of risottos is too expansive to be held in this post, and will be saved for another day. The chicken was easy and delicious, so I thought I'd share (serves 3-4):

Chicken and Green Beans with White Wine and Dill

• 2 T. butter
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 lb. chicken breast, cubed (other forms of chicken would work t00)
• 1/2 - 3/4 lb green beens, trimmed and halved
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1.5 cups dry white wine (or 1 cup and 1/2 a lemon added at the end)
• fresh dill or other herbs, salt or soy sauce and pepper to taste.
• 1 T. flour

Brown the chicken on medium or medium high heat in a wok or large saute pan. When lightly browned, add the green beans and garlic. Cook for ~4 more minutes, until the vegetables are a bit browned but still crisp. Add the white wine and let steam off for a few more minutes. Add the flour to the liquid in the pan, making sure to stir this in quickly. Add the herbs and other seasoning to taste. Simmer for one more minute then serve with rice or pasta.

I've had some other cooking stuff on my mind too, so I present:

Entropic Cooking Primer #1

I made pasta with browned onions and tomatoes two nights ago. At first I wasn't going to write about it, because it seemed to be just too simple, but it was just delicious. I decided the dish illustrated a parallel between science and cooking.

Entropic cooking principles:

• If there are multiple ways to do the same thing, the simplest is often best.
• If you are going to test a phenomenon, its best to only change only one thing at a time.

So lets talk about a simple way to make pasta that can be varied easily and simply. Browned onions... Really..... Thats all.

Take 2-3 medium onions with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and fry them on high heat (maybe medium high if you have a serious gas burner). They should really be sizzling, but not so much that oil is splattering around. Only stir every few minutes, the key is to let them get nice and browned. This is important, because they will end up with a delicious, slightly smoky caramel flavor if you do it right. Any pan works, cast iron or aluminum will require more stirring, but are easier to get the onions to brown, non-stick you need to let the onions sit longer to get a bit of a crust. This process takes about 10 minutes, but the time isn't so important.

Bam! You can has pasta. Try these variations:

• Parmesan Cheese and fresh ground pepper. Adding a bitter green vegitable at the end of cooking the onions can be particularly delicious, such as broccoli rabe or arugula.
• Red peppers. Cook these with the onions, added a minute or two later. Add 1/2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the pan and let it cook off. This is good with browned chicken too.
• As a pizza topping. Up the balsamic content of the last suggestion, and cook 5-10 minutes longer, adding a little water if necessary. Good in crepes or sandwiches too, particularly with goat cheese.
• A first step to soup/stew. For example, the lentil soup from my last posting.

I think I use browned onions in about 50% of everything I cook. You can puree them and put them in a sauce (barbecue, or some spicy asian style sauce). Its important to note the lack of garlic here. I love garlic, but its hard to perfectly cook both at the same time, as garlic really likes lower heat and a bit more oil, which isn't ideal for the onions. Its also nice to sometimes highlight one flavor in a reciepe, as garlic and onions each have such a lovely character. Bon appetit!

A tasty Dinner and some great comfort food.

Hello everyone. This is Chris here, another member of the Entropic kitchen team, with a couple of tasty recipes to share. The first is something I concocted a little while ago, while the second is an old family recipe (All Italian families have a few) for a great comfort food!

So, without further ado, let's get started:

Pasta in a Fire roasted tomato, red wine sauce

• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 1 small can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• Olive oil
  
• 2 cups red wine
• 1/2 large onion
  
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic (~6-7 cloves) <- I love garlic, so this could be cut down to personal taste
• 1/2 Roasted Jalapeno pepper
  
• 1 zucchini
• 1 cup fire roasted corn (we used frozen stuff from Trader Joe's)
• Several Handfuls frozen green beans
• 2 Hot Italian Sausage Links - removed from their casings and crumbled
  
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  
• 3-4 Tablespoons Oregano
• 3-4 Tablespoons Basil
• 1-2 Tablespoons Fennel
  
• 1-2 Tablespoons Rosemary
• 1-2 Tablespoons Parsley
• 1 Splash liquid smoke
  
• Salt and pepper

1) Dice the onion and roasted jalapeno. Saute these in olive oil with the garlic, oregano, basil, rosemary, and parsley (hold a bit of the garlic and onion back for use with the sausage). After a few minutes, slice and add the zucchini. Let cook for several minutes until the garlic browns and the onion becomes translucent.

2) Add the two cans of diced tomatoes, the red wine, and the vinegar to the mixture followed by the frozen vegetables, fennel, liquid smoke and salt and pepper (add to taste). Let simmer for ~10 minutes stirring occasionally.

3) In a separate pan, brown the sausage in olive oil with the remaining onion and garlic. Once browned, drain off most of the fat and add some of the sauce from step 2. Let simmer for ~5 minutes.

Serve over your favorite pasta with Parmesan cheese!
Note: If you're not cooking for vegetarians, the sausage could be browned along with the zucchini in the first step. For us, we used some of the vegetarian sauce to coat the pasta and served the sausage containing sauce on the side.

Not too hard, right?

Alright, so maybe you had a bad day, or just don't feel like getting too fancy. No problem, here's a bonus recipe for a dish that always cheers me up. It's great for a cold winter day too.

Pastina and Eggs

• 1/3 - 1/2 pound Pastina
• 3 eggs
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper

1) Boil the Pastina until tender.
2) Strain the pastina, return to pot and add the eggs. Cook, with stirring, on low heat until the eggs have cooked.
3) Add Parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.
4) Enjoy!

Absolutely delicious, and very simple, what more can you ask for?
Enjoy.

Drunken French Lentil Soup

Hello, this is Andrew, the contingent of the Entropic Kitchen that happens to be living in France for the moment. Being in France has been very conducive to cooking, because there are some great ingredients around here, and well... because I'm poor and the French don't believe in the concept of a cheap restaurant.

Anyhow, I love trying to cook french food, although the french do not appreciate whim and the entropic principle of cooking adequately... I had some good beer, and thought, this would taste really good in a lentil soup with tasty vegatables. And I really love an excuse to drink while cooking.

Herbed Fennel-Pilsner Lentil Soup (Drunken French Lentils)

2 small fennel bulbs, chopped (one VERY large one)
2 cups diced carrot (about 2 carrots)
3 medium onions, chopped

2 cups dried lentils (preferable little french green lentils
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 bottle of pilsner (I used a german pilsner, pilsner urquell would be good, or a mild ale)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

4 cups water? - I didn't measure

1 t. thyme
1 t. dill
1 1/2 T. ground coriander
1/2 t. ancho pepper (or chili powder)
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 cup soy sauce (delicious sacrilege)

2 tablespoons pesto
salt + pepper + balsamic vinegar to taste

Saute onions in oil over high heat in a large pot. As they are translucent (just about to brown) add the fennel. Stir only every few minutes to let the veggies brown. When the onions are browned add the carrot and sauté for a minute more. Then add the beer and the vinegar. Stir and let steam a minute, then add the water, soy sauce, lentils, herbs and spices (except the pesto), and some pepper. Boil, then simmer covered on medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Add the pesto, and season to taste, its good to a dash of vinegar/lemon at the end too.

This was such a success, so tasty with good bread. Fennel is an under appreciated vegetable, and I think its subtle richness is what goes so well with the tang of the beer. Good night!

Slow-cooked BBQ-ish chicken

Ah, the joys of having a slow-cooker! Just throw some stuff in the pot, wait a few hours, and voila! Dinner!

Here was the plan: chicken slow-cooked in BBQ sauce with some vegetables.

Here was the problem: no BBQ sauce handy. I know, I know... I should lose my guy badge for being caught without some sweet smoky BBQ goodness, and I really have no defense.

So, I decided to whip up something approximating BBQ, using roughly:

1/4 cup ketchup
4 Tbsp "pizza sauce" (canned tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic powder, herbs)
3 Tbsp red wine
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp truffle oil
a few shakes of liquid smoke
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard seeds

It turned out a little liquidy, but flavorful. Not exactly something you'd find in Memphis, but a half-cousin perhaps.

Anyway, this went into the slow-cooker with:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed (still frozen, yay procrastination!)
3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium white onion, chopped

4 hours on high and BAM!

Adequacy.

It wasn't bad, but not a result I'd aim for in the future. The sauce ended up tasting more like Sloppy Joe sauce than BBQ, and it actually went quite well with the sweet potatoes and onions, but the chicken sort of blanded everything out. A marinade was probably called for here, or "pulling" the chicken so that the sauce could permeate every fiber -- but both of those would have taken more time.