Pan Roasted Baby Artichokes

Baby artichokes were on sale, so I figured I'd give them a shot. Ever since The New York Times ran this article, I've been trying to eat more unusual vegetables more often. Artichokes are actually fun and pretty tasty to eat, but I have a problem figuring out how many of the outer leaves I should remove. In this case, I didn't remove enough so some pieces were a little tough. Oh well, you cook and you learn.

HOW TO:

Wash the artichokes. Remove as many layers of tough exterior leaves as necessary. Trim the top and stem off. Quarter and let the pieces soak in a mix of lemon juice and water. Mince garlic and parsley separately, and set aside. When ready, dry the artichoke pieces and place cut side down in a large pan preheated with olive oil. Let brown before turning the pieces. Toss in the minced garlic and season well with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and garnish with parsley and lemon juice.

Wild Salmon with Fresh Corn Salsa

Salmon, although delicious, is not my favorite to cook at home. It's probably my technique, but it usually starts to feel very one-note after a few bites. Wild Alaskan salmon is in season though, and it looked too gorgeous to pass up. I thought I'd try something different and serve it with a fresh salsa as a garnish/side dish. The combination ended up being perfect. The salsa was refreshing and sweet, a great balance to the fatty fish.


HOW TO:

Broil corn until tender. When cool, cut the kernels off the cob. Dice equal parts red onion and tomato. Finely chop garlic, cilantro, and jalapeño. Toss together with lime juice, salt, and pepper. For the fish, rinse and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Add oil to a very hot pan. Sear, about 3 to 4 minutes a side, until just under cooked.

Pork and King Crab Dumplings

Dumplings are one of my family's specialties. They've always been a regular part of my diet when I was growing up. Now that I'm on my own and in a different city than my parents, it's much more of a treat. It's a challenge making them without the help of seasoned family members, and it usually takes all evening. In the end, all the hard work is worth it because nothing compares to homemade dumplings. 

A few years ago, my parents and I came up with the outstanding filling combo of pork and king crab. There's also some Taiwanese cabbage, scallion, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in there. The dough is made and rolled by hand, and each dumpling is individually folded. They're cooked in boiling water for a few quick minutes, but they can also be pan fried for potstickers. 

HOW TO:

First the dough. Work a minimal amount of water into 4 or 5 cups of flour. Seriously minimal. It should just come together and be malleable. That's it. Put the dough in a pot with a fitted lid and let rest for an hour or two. Knead well midway.

For the filling, finely mince 3 or 4 scallions and 3 thin slices of ginger. Add those, a decent amount of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and salt to the pork. Mix in and set aside to marinate. Finely chop half a head of Taiwanese cabbage. (Taiwanese cabbage looks like flattened cabbage. It's sweeter in flavor and has a crisper texture.) Mix in with the pork. Stir continuously in one direction until the meat has a sticky and firm consistency. This is really important and could take a while. Water or broth may be added if necessary. When the meat is well mixed, gently work in roughly chopped crab meat.

Roll out the dough into long snakes, and pinch off small balls. Each ball needs to be smoothed, flattened, and rolled into a thin, circular disk. A helpful boyfriend makes for a great assistant in this case.

Fill each dough disk with the filling and crimp the edges in a pleated pattern. (Next time I'll take a picture of this.) To cook, toss no more than 20 into a large pot half filled with water that is at a rolling boil. Stir gently throughout the process, adding cool water if necessary. The dumplings are done when they are puffy and float. 

Lamb Chops with Garlic and Mint "Pesto" and Pan Roasted Potatoes

Chops or steaks are great for when I'm short on time and feeling a little indulgent. The lamb chops at Eataly are some of the best I've ever gotten in a store. (I know I rave about Eataly often, but they really have excellent meat and seafood and really good service.) One of the butchers told me that the lamb they sell is from American farms that raise their animals beyond the typical age for slaughter. The majority of lambs are killed at too young an age which traumatizes the ewe. So not only is the meat delicious, it's more conscientious too.

Anyway, dinner was seared lamb chops with pan roasted potatoes. I'm going through a phase where I'm cooking potatoes on the stovetop rather than in the oven for whatever reason. It's great for the summer though, when the thought of having a hot oven on during a 90º day sounds like torture. It's incredibly easy. Just toss halved small potatoes in with some butter and olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and turn occasionally until browned. 

I also felt like making a little garnish/sauce/whatever for the lamb. I thought mint would be a good herb to use. The "pesto" was really just very finely chopped mint and garlic, olive oil, and a little salt and pepper. It was a great accompaniment. 

HOW TO:

Halve small golden potatoes. Heat butter and olive oil in a large non-stick pan, and toss the potatoes in. Season with salt and pepper. Turn very occasionally until well browned. Season the lamb chops well with salt and pepper. Be sure to let the meat come to room temperature or close to room temperature before seasoning. Preheat a stainless or grill pan until very hot. Toss those babies on. Sear about 3 to 4 minutes a side for medium rare. Meanwhile, finely mince and mash together mint, a clove or two of raw garlic, and some coarse sea salt. Finish the mixture with olive oil for a nice pesto-like consistency. Plate it all together and spread the mint mixture liberally onto the chops. 

Pasta with Clams

Restaurants may trick you into thinking that this is difficult, but it's not. One of the many perks about living in New York is the fresh, local seafood. Littleneck clams are really easy to get here, and are usually very very fresh. In this dish, they're tossed with sautéed pancetta,  tons of garlic, a little shallot, and regular fettuccine for a simple, delicious pasta dish. 

HOW TO:

Rinse the clams well. Ina Garten says a tablespoon of flour in the water helps release some of the sand - couldn't hurt. Mince about 1 head of garlic and chop 1 medium shallot finely and 1 finger thick slice of pancetta into small cubes. Sauté the pancetta until crisped. Add the garlic and shallot until slightly caramelized. Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze with a quarter to half a cup of dry white wine. Toss in the clams and stir until well coated. Cover the pan until the clams start opening, about 4-8 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta per directions (most Italian noodles work well with this dish). When the clams are all opened, throw in the cooked pasta along with some pasta water if the sauce is dry. Toss together well. Garnish garnish with red pepper flakes, parmesan, and parsley. 

Raw Kale and Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

My latest go-to salad. I know kale can be intimidating and texturally tough-looking, but after a brief marinade in some kind of acid (fresh lemon juice, or pomegranate vinegar in this case), it's just as crisp and tender as butter lettuce. Roasted beets are a great sweet balance to the tart kale leaves, and fresh chèvre rounds it all out.


HOW TO:

Wash beets well. Try to use fresh ones, i.e. not loose, tennis ball sized or smaller. Dry, cut off the tops, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place them in a foil packet and bake for about 45 minutes at 375-400ºF. Remove beets from the foil, fork-test to make sure they are tender, and set aside to cool. Wash and soak kale, removing the tough main stem in the process. Dry the leaves well (hellooo handy salad spinner that I finally caved and bought) and chop into bite-ish sized pieces.

For the marinade, whisk together the juice of half to one lemon, a slightly greater amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. Add a little honey if the dressing tastes too tart. Throw in the chopped kale and toss to make sure all the leaves are coated. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the cooled beets - the skin should come off easily just by rubbing. Cut them small chunks, and toss with a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Bring the salad together by plating the kale and beets, and crumbling some fresh goat cheese on top.

Lobster Soup

I had an indulgent lobster dinner the night before, but sadly (and shockingly) I couldn't finish it all. As I was brainstorming about what to do with the pile of shells and claws that were left, soup popped into my head. I'd never made a seafood soup before, but I figured it couldn't be that difficult. The soup stock consisted of the basics - onion, celery, carrot, peppercorns, and a bay leaf - as well as the leftover lobster shells and bodies with the gills and most of the tomalley and roe removed. The stock was excellent, not fishy at all, and the perfect base for my "leftover" meal. I threw in some seafood, potatoes, and saffron and served it with some crusty bread and butter. I'm definitely making this again, especially when I go to Maine and there are more lobster shells and bodies than I could possibly ever use.


HOW TO:

Boil the above stock ingredients for a few hours, until the broth is richly flavored.

Soak a pinch of saffron threads for 20 minutes. Strain stock into a separate pot, add the saffron water, and boil halved yukon gold potatoes until just tender. Add the lobster claw and any additional seafood (I used scallops, rock shrimp, and cod). Cook until everything is just done, in this case 3 minutes or so. Garnish with parsley and serve hot with bread for dipping.