Sausage, Brown Rice and Leek Frittata

So the Bald Guy and I like to cook a leisurely brunch-type meal on weekend mornings. This morning, as we discussed the various merits of oatmeal versus pancakes while standing huddled in front of the open refrigerator door, I had a Vision - of using leftover brown rice with sausage, egg and leek to create a Sunday Morning Frittata.

I would have gotten a decent photo, but we ate most of the results.

Serves 2 generously, 4 if you're serving other things with it.

Ingredients

About a third of a package of ground sausage, your choice of flavor. I used Jimmy Dean Hot Flavour Pork Sausage
1 c. brown rice (optional, but I like the way it texturizes the frittata and gives it a little more oomph)
4 eggs
Splash of milk
Half a leek - mostly white part, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, minced/pressed/squished. Or 1 t. jarred minced garlic (Hey. It's a Sunday morning and I'm lazy.)
Three or four white button mushrooms, sliced
About 1/4 c. dry white wine (optional - you could use white wine vinegar or even cider vinegar if you wanted to. I used a splash of the sauvignon blanc that was sitting on the counter)
Seasoning: I used between 1/2 t. and a teaspoon each of garlic powder, Israeli paprika (which is a little sweeter than Hungarian), black pepper, kosher salt, and cumin (go light on the cumin - it's such a powerful taste!). You could add a little more green in with some parsley flakes or basil, but with the leek and spring onions and sausage already competing for flavors, you don't want to add too much extra stuff.
2 spring onions, green part only, sliced thinly

• Get yer skillet and heat it up to medium-hot. Add in the sausage and cook until browned, breaking up the sausage into crumbles as you cook it.
• When the sausage is cooked, use a slotted spoon or spatula to dump it out of the pan and onto a plate lined with a paper towel (to drain the grease) and set aside.
• Leaving the sausage grease in the pan, dump in your leek and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes or so.
• Add the sliced mushrooms and cook another 3-4 minutes, then add the wine and let simmer for 5-6 minutes or until the liquid is mostly absorbed.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the rice, eggs and milk together. Add the seasonings and the sausage and mix until blended.
• When the leek and mushroom is nearly dry (as in, all the moisture from the wine or vinegar has been absorbed), add them to the egg/sausage mixture slowly (you don't want to dump all the hot ingredients in with the eggs at once, because that'll cook your frittata before you're ready)
• Wipe out your pan and add a little more oil to it - I used spray oil.
• Splunk the whole shebang into the pan and cook at medium-LOW heat (you don't want the bottom to get burned) until the top is set.
• Optional: I got tired of waiting for the top to cook while I listened to my stomach growl, so I heated up my broiler and stuck the whole pan under it for about 5 minutes, once the frittata was mostly set. ONLY do this if you're using a skillet that can go from stove top to broiler! Watch it really carefully; I've been known to burn the heck out of a frittata because I got impatient, stuck it under the broiler, and then forgot about it. ALSO (and I know I'm silly with the warnings, but I speak from experience): when you take out the skillet from the broiler, REMEMBER THAT THE HANDLE IS FREAKIN' HOT and use an oven mitt.
• Serve with a little dollop of sour cream and an extra sprinkle of sliced green onion, if you wish. Read the Sunday comics and watch the snow fall. Or frantically write a paper on finance (while procrastinating by writing a foodie blog).

Poached salmon with fennel and orange

This dinner was tastier than I expected. Hindward viewing being what it is, I would make sure the fennel is very finely sliced, separating the little arches as necessary, to create a thinner more uniform effect. If you can get one with a nice bunch of those dill-like leaves still attached, I think they'd make an excellent addition.

I didn't bother to totally de-membrane the orange, a) because I think that's more of a pain in the patoot than a quick Sunday night dinner warrants and b) because I was using a mineola orange, which doesn't lend itself well to de-membraning (which sounds like something you'd do to an alien, but anyhoo).

I poached the salmon. It was good that way. If you insist upon grilling it or broiling it or pan-frying it, more power to ya.

I halved this recipe (mostly because I'd already used half the one fennel bulb I had in another recipe.)

Adapted from the January 2010 edition of Bon Appetit, p. 50.

Ingredients

1/4 c. sugar (I used half of this and it was fine. Just fine. Thank you.)

1/4 c. unseasoned rice vinegar

2 whole star anise*

4 c. cold water (why you need this much is beyond me. I used the amount of two coffee cups, which is considerably less than 4 cups)

1 1-pound salmon fillet with skin (or without skin. Whatever.)

2 navel oranges

1 cup small fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

• Place sugar, vinegar, star anise, and cold water in a large deep skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Admire the pretty star anise spinning in the boiling water.
• Add salmon fillet, skin side up, to skillet (or whatever side you pull out of the package, in the event that your salmon, like mine, has been flayed. What an interesting and kind of gross word, nay?)
• Cover skillet and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, turn salmon over; cover and let stand until salmon is just opaque in center, 5 to 6 minutes longer. Remove salmon from liquid and cool.
• OPTIONAL: Coarsely flake salmon into medium bowl, removing bones and skin; set aside. I didn't do this. I served the fennel stuff on top of my fillets. But then I wanted more of a "this is actually dinner not some frouffy salad-y" feel to the dish. You might like the frouff.
• Cut top and bottom 1/4 inch off each orange. Stand 1 orange on 1 flat end. Using small sharp knife, cut off peel and white pitch. Working over large bowl, cut between membranes, releasing segments into bowl. Repeat with remaining orange.

(OMG you guys I so didn't do that.)

• Add salmon, fennel, mint and olive oil. Gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

*Star-shaped seedpods that make you wonder if they're actually alien. Score two for me for mentioning aliens twice in the same recipe.

I served this with herbed parsnip mash and sauteed spring greens, which officially made the whole thing disgustingly healthy. Also, this is not a good representative photo, since the salmon's buried under the fennel stuff. But you're out of luck, because the subject matter is now being digested.

Fennel and Red Cabbage Slaw

I love how colorful this easy slaw looks on the plate. I served this for dinner as a side dish, but it would be delicious as a lunch with some grilled sliced chicken or something thrown in as well. If you haven't used fennel much, this is a good recipe to try it in - its slightly licorice crunch really complements the tang of the red cabbage.

Ingredients

1 large fennel bulb, sliced very thinly
About 3 cups of red cabbage, shredded
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup Vidalia or other sweet onion, sliced very thinly

1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white balsamic or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon coarse-grain brown mustard or Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (about ½ teaspoon ea.)

• Chop/shred veggies and dump in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
• In a smaller bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Stir into veggies, and toss to combine thoroughly.
• Let sit at least 15 minutes for flavors to mingle. Serve at slightly chilled or at room temperature.

Wino Wednesday

I ain’t no wine snob. I don’t know hardly anything about wine except what I like – and what I don’t like. So if I sing the praises of a white zinfandel or wax eloquent about a Little Penguin merlot, then you’ve been forewarned. But I do like to drink wine and I’m trying to train my taste buds a little bit more to distinguish the good from the nearly-vinegar. ‘Course, if you drink enough wine, it all tastes just fine…

Palo Alto Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2008
Price: $13-14 (It’s on sale at Sainsbury’s for £4.99, for my UK readers)
Red, White, or Pink?: White

Pairs with: lighter seafood dishes, salads
Maggie’s Grade: B-

If there’s one thing I can be certain of in my skimming through reviews of the Palo Alto Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2008 from Chile, it’s that nobody agrees. I’m getting the feeling that this is true with a great many wine connoisseurs – or those who style themselves as such.

This pale white wine hails from the Maule Valley in Chile, is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes and aged 2-3 months in stainless steel tanks, and is 12.5% alcohol. It won the 2009 Wines of Chile Awards Bronze medal and the 2008 International Wine and Spirits Competition Bronze medal. Good on it! Oh – and it’s got a screw-cap. I think we’ve gotten past the point where the type of stopper/topper indicates the quality of the wine, but it’s worth noting.

So the web sites I skimmed with reviews of their own of this wine list words like:
grapefruit
hay
“refreshing acidity”
“almost no acidity”
“lime, lime, lime”
“oily”

I definitely tasted the citrus, but not the hay. (Hay?! Lord, wine people are weird.) It’s a crisp, light wine with not a lot of body – to me, there’s not a lot of there there. There’s just…not much to it. It doesn’t linger on the tongue particularly, nor does it provide any nice flavor burst at the beginning. There’s an almost-floral bright grapefruity citrus note right in the middle of the taste, and then in fades to nothing except a memory of the alcohol content.

My conclusion: it’s maybe slightly above average, but not much. You can probably find a more fun sauvignon blanc for the retail price – roughly $13-14 – but it might be worth getting on sale if you’re having a light salad or seafood dinner or don’t want anything too heavy.

La Couronne des Plantagenets Vouvray 2007
Price: £5-6 ($9-10)
Red, White, or Pink: White
Pairs with: dessert, aperitif, heavier seafood
Maggie’s Grade: A-

I really enjoyed this wine. It’s a little bit sparkly, with some rich honey notes – definitely on the sweeter side (the bottle says “demi-sec” - half-dry). The taste is complex; the honey notes linger on the tongue. For once I agree with the few other reviews I’ve seen – complex, drinkable, reasonably priced, and refreshing.

The packaging notes: “this medium-sweet wine comes from the appellation of Vouvray – situated on the north bank of the Loire…Produced from the Chenin Blanc grape…the resulting wine possesses a honey and apple aroma with mellow fruit flavors, balanced by a refreshing acidity.”

Yeah, I’ll buy that.

Conclusion: Nomnomnom. More please.

Sainsbury’s Corbières
Price: £3-4
Pairs with: anything, if you drink enough of it. Or use it in cooking. It’s certainly cheap enough.
Red, White, or Pink: Red
Maggie’s Grade: C

The Sainsbury’s Corbières is pressed from Grenache, Syrah and Carignan grapes from the limestone hills between Carcassonne, Narbonne and Perpignan in the south of France. Reviews use words like “plummy” and “meaty” to describe it – I didn’t get that at all. What I did get was a big ol’ mouthful of tannins that even leaving the glass to breathe for a couple of hours didn’t fix. To me, this wine was far too tart – to the point of being vinegary. I didn’t care for it at all. I’m even wondering if the particular bottle I got was somehow off. I really enjoy a full-bodied red – this seemed…well, it needed some more meat on its bones to be classified as the kind of Rubenesque that I appreciate in reds. It almost tasted burnt.

My conclusion: I may try it again, because the price was ridiculously right, and other reviewers have such a different opinion of it that I wonder if it’s maybe me.

Crème Fraîche - Ooh La La!

On a recent visit, my friend Kim passed along a recipe for crème fraîche, which I made and got rave reviews for at an Independence Day BBQ.

Despite its complicated diacritical marks and general air of French aloofness, crème fraîche is remarkably easy to make. It's also delicious, versatile, and an excellent bulk-builder for those of you trying to gain weight (seriously - it's 28% butterfat. Which is why it tastes so good!)

Cool things about crème fraîche :

• You can whip it, whip it good (thank you, Devo, for leaping unbidden into my head)
• You can use it in sweet or savory dishes
• It won't curdle in recipes - although you should still add it at the end of cooking, and don't use light crème fraîche for cooking.
• It keeps for 7-10 days in the refrigerator

Crème Fraîche Ingredients:

2 c. heavy (or "double," in the UK) cream - NOT ultra-pasteurized!

3 T. buttermilk

• Heat the heavy cream verrrrry gently over a low flame until just warmed.
• Stir in the buttermilk.
• Transfer to a glass jar; leave for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Stir, then put in the refrigerator for a few more hours, to cool.
• Whip with a bit of sugar and a dash of vanilla; mix in savory ingredients for a delicious chip dip; stir into borscht, asparagus soup, black bean chili, scoop over baked potatoes - basically, anything you'd use whipped cream or sour cream for, you can use Crème fraîche.

*Note: My crème fraîche became increasingly thicker as time went on, so by the time the Bald Guy and I ate the last of it, it was very thick indeed - like softened margarine. Still absolutely delicious!

WokkyWokky Steamed Bok Choy Plus Peanut Saucy Noodles

WokkyWokky!
I just like saying that.
Bokkybokky! bokbokbok. Also fun to say!

Ahem.

I don't actually own a wok, but I have a very wok-like pan. Anyway, this recipe calls for a wok but not for the high temperatures normally associated with the Asian cooking tool staple.
I made pork chops (average. Sigh.), wok-steamed bok choy, and noodles with peanut sauce tonight. I was disappointed with the pork chops, and the method I used to cook it was nothing extraordinary, so we're skippin' the meat and going straight to the sides.

I got the bok choy recipe from this amusing site, with only very minor tweaking - steamykitchen.com. Her photos are much better than mine and document every plot twist and turn in the steaming (steamy?) saga.

Bok Choy Ingredients
1.5 pounds bok choy or baby bok choy (I used baby bok choy)
1.5 T (or a couple of swirls around the pan) of olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced (I used jarred garlic - a teaspoon)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (Hell yes, I used jarred ginger!)
3 T broth, water, or a splash of wine and a tablespoon or so of water
Salt to taste
1/2 t. sesame oil

• Trim the stem off the bok choy - just the end. Separate the leaves but keep the tender center intact. Clean leaves under running water.
• If you use fresh garlic cloves and/or ginger, grate with a microplane grater.
• Add garlic and ginger to the pan with the oil. Turn heat on to medium-high. Cook the ginger and garlic gently until they become fragrant and light golden brown, then add the bok choy leaves.
• Toss very well to coat each leaf with the garlic/oil.
• Pour in broth/water/wine.
• Immediately cover and let cook for 1 minute.
• Take off the heat and put on a plate! Very important - otherwise your veggies will continue cooking by the heat of the pan and you'll end up with bleh-k choy.
• Season with salt and drizzle with a bit of sesame oil on top.

I found the following yummy peanut sauce recipe at another blogspot.com site, cookingwithamy. I'm not sure who Amy is yet, but I'm sure I'll continue checking out her informative site.

Peanut Sauce Ingredients
1/4 c. peanut butter (natural, no sugar added)
2 t. soy sauce
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. fresh lemon or lime juice
1/4 c. coconut milk (can use lite coconut milk or substitute water)
1/4 c. water
red chili flake to taste
chili garlic sauce to taste, or 1 clove crushed garlic

Optional:
sesame oil
curry paste
rice wine vinegar
fish sauce
grated ginger

Dump everything into a saucepan over low-to-medium-ish heat. Stir until sauce begins to bubble and thicken, and peanut butter has smoothed out into the sauce. Toss with your favorite noodles. Or spoon over ice cream. Or eat it on Ryvita toast. Whatever makes your little peanut-sauce-crazed self happy.

Not-Feelin' Guilty Confessions: I used bottled lemon juice, water instead of coconut milk, and added sesame oil, fish sauce (just a LEETLE BIT!), and jarred minced ginger, and tossed it with regular al dente thin spaghetti, and it was delicious.

Butternut Squash Risotto

(Note on the photo: I took this photo after the risotto had been sitting out for a while; it was actually much moister in person. (heh.) (sorry. can't help it.))

This dish is probably more appropriate for winter, rather than the steamingly hot Yorkshire summer day we had yesterday. OMG you guys! It was 85 degrees! That's, like, SUMMER! I haven't had one of those since I lived in South Carolina. Sorry, Alaskans - 70 degrees is not summer, no matter how pretty it is. Talk to me when you need to take another shower the minute you step outside.

The well-written and homey SimplyRecipes.com is my source for this one-dish vegetarian meal. My husband was skeptical - it's vegetarian, it involves...squash...and...did I mention the squash? But he took one bite and made a noise that prompted me to check and make sure there were no Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions lying around.

Risotto is labor-intensive but not particularly time-consuming. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to "finely dice" a butternut squash. I had to microwave the dang thing just to get it soft enough to the point where I could cut it without a Sawzall - and then the bits were too hot to handle well. Also: how does one go about peeling a butternut squash with any success? There are several web sites devoted to this theme (here's one), but unfortunately I'd already grabbed the knife by the...handle...and proceeded apace, so what I got was a bit of a hacked-up mess. My sins admitted and forgiveness requested, I actually think it turns out better to have up to a 1/2 inch dice on your butternut squash, rather than fine-dicing. As my husband pointed out, he likes to be able to identify what he's eating. Also: if you don't get all the peel off, it won't kill you. I promise.

Also a time-saver: I used frozen diced onions. But I don't know if I'd do that again - the onions really should be finely chopped - I can't say the risotto didn't taste great, but I think the idea is to minimize the impact of other textures and flavors. There's not even any garlic in this recipe! The horror!

One thing I did not skimp on is vegetable stock - I actually made my own. Making vegetable stock is ridiculously easy, but it takes about an hour, so if you want to go that route instead of using pre-bought chicken or veggie stock, budget the time for it. There's a great, easy-to-follow recipe on allrecipes.com - but the short answer is:

• cut up a couple of onions, carrots, celery stalks (minus the leaves), peppercorns, and a whole bulb of garlic (with cloves peeled)
• toss, along with maybe some potato scraps or leftover veggie peelings, into a big ol' pot with a bunch of water
• bring to a boil
• turn down the heat to low and let simmer for an hour (not too much longer, or the stock will taste...wilted)
• strain and use.

Risotto Ingredients:

6-8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

5 T. unsalted butter, divided into 4 T. and 1 T.

1 small onion, finely chopped (ha!)

2 cups butternut squash, peeled and finely diced (whatever.)

2 cups arborio rice (can substitute medium-grain white rice, but you should use arborio. It will make you feel chic and sophisticated. Or at least poorer.)

1 cup dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc (I think I used a Pinot Grigio - it was el cheapo)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 T. chopped chives or garlic chives*

Salt to taste

• Heat your stock or broth up on a burner turned way down low, just to keep it warm.
• Melt 4 T. of butter in a large saucepan; add onion and butternut squash. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add rice to onion and squash. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add wine. Cook, stirring constantly until wine has been absorbed by the rice or evaporated. This will make your kitchen smell like the back-end of a bar, but I'm tellin' you, it's worth it.
• Add a few ladles of stock, just enough to barely cover the rice. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed.
• Lather, rinse, repeat - keep adding stock and stirring and waiting 'til the moisture's absorbed, adding a little bit at a time...cook..stir....cook...stir....etc. until the rice is tender but still firm. This should take about 15-20 minutes.
• During the last couple of minutes of cooking, add that remaining tablespoon of butter, about 1/3 cup Parmesan, your chives, and salt to taste (I used about a teaspoon of kosher salt).
• At this point the rice should have a creamy consistency. I'm not even going to bother attempting an off-color joke with that one - it's too easy.
• Serve with remaining grated Parmesan.

*Looking back over this recipe and the results, I think I would add another herb besides or instead of chives - chives kind of get lost in the taste, to me - but maybe that's because I used dried chives (which I don't recommend, btw - they taste like pencil shavings, only less aromatic). Maybe a wee bit of dill? Thyme? If anyone makes this recipe, let me know the herbs you used. It needs something colorful, that's for sure.