Garlic Shrimp Pasta

It is really hard to go wrong with shrimp, garlic, butter and white wine; it is why shrimp scampi always looks so good on ads for places like Red Lobster. Sadly, that instant recognition of flavors that the brain makes is seldom realized at those large chain restaurants; however, it is really easy to recreate them at home. As an added bonus it is super fast (good for those days when just a little procrastination will do), and really easy, but you could never tell by the results. You will fill your kitchen with the wonderful smell of sautéing butter and garlic, and make anyone in the vicinity extremely hungry. If that’s not enough to sell you on the greatness of this meal as a quick choice when you really don’t feel like putting in too much effort, it is highly adaptable to your particular likes.

For me, this pasta is straight forward: shrimp, garlic and red bell peppers (yes they show up a lot in my recipe, I guess that makes it pretty obvious how much I like them), and sometimes cherry or grape tomatoes. Adding white wine and Parmesan (on occasion asiago) cheese to these main ingredients rounds out the dish into a flavor packed, filling fast meal. Basically, if you are all set to go and a quick chopper the meal doesn’t have to take any longer than it takes to bring a pot of water to boil and cook linguine or fettuccine (let’s say 25 minutes). If you want to get fancy and melt the cheese over the top add another three minutes in the oven and then you are done, or as they would say in Italy “basta”!


What you need:
Pasta: I prefer linguine or fettuccine for this dish
3 good sized cloves of garlic
1 large red bell pepper
¼ dry white wine
Shrimp (fresh is of course better, but frozen deveined work just great) I prefer larger shrimp.
Crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ -1/2 cup grated parmesan (asiago) cheese
Olive oil
1-2 tablespoons butter
(optional around 10 grape or cherry tomatoes)
(in this picture I also have a bit of chopped arugula)

For this one you can really play around with the ingredients. Fresh basil (or arugula) thrown in at the very last moment tastes wonderful, some red onion can add a bit of bite, try veggies that you like with a base of butter, wine and garlic it is really hard to stray too far away from something tasty.

Preparation:
Start heating a pot of water for the pasta
Mince the cloves are garlic
Slice the red pepper into thin strips, then cut strips in half if you prefer smaller pieces

If you using frozen shrimp, thaw them in a bowl filled with luke warm water ( don’t go too hot or you will start to cook the shrimp)
Once the shrimp are thawed remove the shells and drain the water (try to get the shrimp as dry as possible. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on the shrimp
Once the water starts to boil, add the pasta (I use a handful for one really large serving or two servings.
For timing purposes most linguines take somewhere from 8 to 12 minutes to cook. Since you don’t want to overcook the shrimp you should start preparing the garlic shrimp about a minute or two after you put the pasta in the water

To make the shrimp sauce, heat a medium skillet over medium heat.
Melt the butter plus ~ 2 teaspoons olive oil.
Once the butter has melted add the minced garlic.
Sautee the garlic for 30 seconds to 1 minute (avoid browning the garlic as it gets bitter)
Add red pepper flakes to taste (depending on how much heat you want) I usually add 1 teaspoon
Sautee for another minute or two

Add the white wine
Let the liquid simmer down to about half its original volume


Add the shrimp making sure that they are lying flat on the pan


Cook for about 2 minutes
Then flip the shrimp to cook the other side (if I am adding the tomatoes this is when I add them)
About this time your pasta should be done – stain the pasta.
Once you have the pasta stained the shrimp should be cooked through (another minute or two on the flipped side)
Add your stained pasta to the pan and mix everything together.

Plate the pasta in either a serving dish or the plate your plates
Cover with grated cheese

If you want to melt the cheese down (if you have a lot a cheese and a bit more time you can even brown the top) place the pasta in a preheated (300) oven for another minute or two.



Serve up a heaping bowl full (this was my night before hockey meal, which would probably be two standard sized portions) and enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

There are few things that I like to cook more than risottos. They take a ton of work, endless stirring and good time management; however, the ability to layer flavors by using different stocks and ingredients makes it so that every time you make one it turns out slightly different and always wonderful. A trip to the farmer’s market inspired a recent creation of roasted red pepper risotto. The market had wonderful, thick fleshed and bright red bell peppers. They looked so good that I instantly knew that they would inspire me to avoid work for an evening choosing to instead spend a ton of time in the kitchen slowly stirring magical dry rice into a wonderfully creamy and one of a kind dish; with the ultimate payoff of savoring the slightly sweet and wonderfully complex flavored result of my labors.

What makes risottos so wonderful is the slow release of the starches in the rice grains, the result in their unique creamy texture that still has the crunch of a rice grain at its heart. Roasted red pepper risotto blends the sweet and slightly smoky goodness of roasted red peppers with the bite of roasted garlic and the warming tones of asiago cheese. It takes work, but the result is a versatile dish; it can stand alone as an appetizer (or if you eat as much as I do as a dinner) or it can serve as a base for any number or proteins (I used my leftovers as a base under pan seared tuna).



What you need:
2 large red peppers (3 if the flesh is on the thin side)
1 small head of roasted garlic
1 cup of Arborio rice
1 onion (cipollini work well, if you want to focus on the sweet flavors walla walla sweets)
1 glove garlic
1/3 to ½ cup white wine (again changing up the wine will result in slightly different flavors, I used a blend that was nearly 70% sauvignon blanc)
3 cups soup stock (so with risottos the key is the stock, it is a huge source of flavor so if you have some time make your own. In the past I have used vegetable stock with strong flavors. On this occasion I used a turkey stock with a lot of fennel).
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Dried basil
~1/3 cup shredded asiago cheese
Butter
A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme.


Prep round 1 (this you can make ahead of time)
First you need to roast the red peppers and the garlic.
To roast peppers I use a stove top roaster, but you can also use a grill or the broiler in an oven.
No matter your heat source, rotate the peppers charring the skin until nearly all the skin is blackened. Once you have blackened the skin place the peppers in a plastic bag and tie it shut. The heated peppers will create steam to help loosen the skins.

After 10 minutes, peel the skin away from the flesh without using water. Water will decrease the flavor of the peppers. Then remove the inner core of the peppers and the seeds. Then slice the peppers into strips.
Place two thirds of the pepper strips into a food processor with half of the roasted garlic and blend into a paste.


Prep part 2: do this just before you are ready to cook
Finely dice the remaining 1/3 of the pepper strips and set aside.
Finely chop the onion and clove of garlic (seriously get the pieces as small as you can).



OK now that the prep is out of the way you are ready to get to work!
Bring your stock just to the point of slow simmer.
The first step is to make the sofritto (this is the set up I like with my small pot of stock on the burner behind my large pot for cooking the risotto)
In a large heavy bottomed pot heat ~4 tablespoons of olive oil (use at least enough to coat the bottom of the pot) over medium to medium high heat.
Once the oil is hot (but not yet to smoking) add the chopped onion and garlic.


Sautee the onions and garlic for 3 to 5 minutes (until the onion is translucent)
Then add about ½ of the wine and
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Let the wine simmer down to about ½ its original amount.
Then add the rest of the wine, as soon as the mixture starts to simmer add the rice.
From this point forward you are going to spend the majority of the next 30 minutes or so stirring.


Stir the rice to make sure it is well coated in mixture and continue to toast the rice for about 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium and add about ½ cup of the hot stock (don’t get greedy and try to add more of the stock at once, it doesn’t work, you have to go slow).
Continue to stir regularly making sure that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom. As the rice absorbs the first round of stock you will have to step up the stirring.
Wait until nearly all of the stock has been absorbed before you add the next ½ cup of stock, it should be thick enough that when you drag a spoon through the rice it takes a moment for the rice to fill back in.

Continue this process for around 20 minutes replenishing the stock as needed. As the rice continues to absorb the stock it will release more of its starches and you will start to get the creamy texture of risotto. Before the rice is fully cooked, add a little bit of stock to the pureed red peppers to heat it up. Then add the red peppers to the rice and continue stirring.
Once the rice has absorbed most of the liquid from the pureed peppers and the finely diced peppers for just a small amount of texture (you can actually leave this out and just puree all the peppers, but I think it adds a little extra to have the diced peppers as well).



Once the risotto is cooked (think al dente pasta), add 1 tablespoon butter and 1/3 cup shredded asiago cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and mixed throughout.
Finally, salt to taste and add the fresh thyme.

There is a quote that states that risotto doesn’t wait for people, people wait for risotto. This is true on every account. Risotto is at its very best when it just finished cooking, you really can’t cover it and wait for people as it loses it perfect texture. (Leftovers will work but they are not as good – fried risotto cakes are a good use). Likewise you can’t rush the cooking process, skipping steps changes textures and flavors. Therefore people must wait, and most are perfectly happy doing so, especially a procrastinator like myself.

Sage brown butter sauce

So this wonderful and simple sauce appears in a huge number of dishes that I cook, but it is worthy of its own short entry because it is so damn good! It goes great with butternut or acorn squash dishes (when the chilled air of winter comes around my squash soup will make an appearance on this blog), I found that it works on top of fish and sage and red meats (lamb) are just a match made in heaven. Add some nutty brown butter goodness and this is staple sauce to keep in mind when you are looking for good rich flavor to spruce up a dish. Plus the crispy sage is indescribably good! A true story about these wonderful little treats: I was helping a friend cook a birthday brunch and she was using a recipe that called for sage brown butter to pour over sweet potatoes. After going through the process of making the butter and pouring it over the potatoes she looked quizzically at the crispy sage and asked me if we just throw it out. After a brief moment of sadness and panic passed through I acted quickly telling her that those are little flavor bombs of pure goodness. I quickly forced her to try a piece, her reaction was instantaneous and the same as anyone who tries these small bits of wonder for the first time. They have such a strong, unique flavor, and the result is that they just make things taste better.

All you need is fresh sage leaves, butter and a good small sauce pan that reacts quickly to changes in temperature (for this I like a copper/stainless steel combo, the copper is great for controlling heat and the stainless steel finish provides a nice background to observe the changing color of the butter, a dark background makes this difficult and if you notice the change too late it is hard to save the dish. This dish is not overly tricky but it does take some timing, as it is a fine line between wonderful brown butter and astringent burnt butter. Like everything that I cook this is all about using your senses rather than relying on a timer, and understanding the progression of the butter though its stages. Making this is quick, but takes some focus.

Start with a couple of tablespoons of butter
Heat sauce pan over medium to medium low heat
Melt butter in the sauce pan
When butter is fully melted at the sage leaves
Stir the sage leaves to make sure that they are fully coated in the melted butter
Now watch the mixture, it will begin to foam up, once the foam decreases stir regularly and watch carefully as the butter starts to brown.
Once the butter starts to brown be ready to move quickly
When the butter starts to changes from a very light brow to having specks of darker brown color (this is actually hard to put into words, and I will work on trying to get picture up, but it happens really quickly) remove from the burn and continue to stir consistently. The pan should cool quick enough to keep the butter from burning while maintaining the nutty flavor that comes from the browned milk solids.

That is really all there is too the sauce. Pour over whatever you happen to be cooking and use the crispy sage as garnish or grind it up to add to another sauce (or you can just eat it right then and there).

Grilled Lamb Chops with poblano cream sauce over pan-fried polenta and grilled sweet onions

So I have been pretty bad about providing new posts recently. In an odd twist I have actually been somewhat diligent with my work, and since it has required reading pdf files and typing up notes by the time I am done I really have had no desire to stare at this little glowing screen any longer. But never fear, I am always thinking of new ideas and my payback for your patience is a dish of epic time killing proportions and serious flavor. It was created on the fly, but the result was so good it really doesn’t need muck tinkering (and I am usually very critical of my own creations).

Putting together this dish is truly a test of your procrastination skills and intuition of timing in cooking. It will take at least two hour to make depending on how much you spread out each step (with help you could do it in less). But that makes it perfect for when you really need to get away from your work. Trust me your mind won’t wonder from the task at hand, you won’t nag yourself to get back to being productive, and if you are making this for someone else I guarantee that they won’t call you out on your procrastination.

The mix of flavors that this dish produces is truly outstanding. The warm creamy texture of the corn polenta makes a wonderful base for the flavors that will pile up on top of it, and it does an excellent job of rounding out the dish. The hearty and slightly smoky flavor of the grilled lamb combined with the sweet pop of the onion mix perfectly with the slightly spicy and layered flavor of the poblano cream sauce. As an added bonus the hidden layer of sage brown butter just adds to the overall richness of the dish. It is a great dish to take outside on a pleasant late summer’s evening and enjoy the rewards of the work it takes to make. I served this dish with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and while I am pretty new to trying to pair wines with my cooking creations, I personally thought it complemented the flavors nicely.

Each step in itself isn’t so difficult, but each one takes some time and working on getting everything to come together at just the right moment is a bit of a challenge (I had the grill going and 3 of my four burners, right up to the moment I was plating the food). So if you have people you trust to watch over one parts of the process, it might be wise to work as a team the first time you make this just to get the timing down, but if not I will do my best to give hints on how to time it well.

What you need for two large servings (2 chops each) or 4 small (1 chop each):
1 head of garlic (to roast)
2 medium poblano peppers (to roast)
4 lamb chops
1 sweet onion
A few tablespoons of whipping cream
A few tablespoons of white wine (I used some left-over Grenache blanc)
Polenta (here I cheated just a bit and used a tube of Trade Joe’s polenta)
4-8 fresh sage leaves
Salt
Pepper
Smoked paprika
Ground cumin
Butter
Olive oil

The first thing you need to do is roast up the garlic and peppers for the sauce.
For the roasted garlic, preheat the oven to 350
Take the head of garlic and cut of the top (non root end) in such a way that you expose most of the cloves)

In a small baking pan (I actually use a pie pan) place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Make a tent out of the foil around the garlic sealing the crease as best you can. (If you have a garlic roaster it makes life a bit easier, but by no means is it a necessary kitchen gadget)
Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 min.
This process will fill your kitchen with the wonder smell of garlic (and if you are anything like me will make you extremely hungry!)

One way to know when your garlic is roasted to sweet perfection is when the garlic smell starts to have sweet undertones. This way you don’t have to unpack your garlic only to find out that you have to repack it and stick it back in the oven a bit longer.

While the garlic is roasting in the oven, I roasted my peppers on the stove top using handy little stove roaster that I own. If you don’t have a roaster, you can do this either on the grill or in the oven under the broiler. (If you are using the broiler, I recommend roasting the garlic first and then doing the peppers).

Basically the goal of roasting the peppers is to char 70 to 90% of the skin. Using my roaster I just rotate sides every minute or so, and then look for the areas than need a bit more charring.
Once the skin in charred, place the peppers in a plastic bag and tie it shut, let the peppers sit for 5 to 10 minutes. (By doing this the steam from the hot peppers loosens the skin to make them easier to peel).

Once the peppers have cooled some, peel the peppers, do you best to avoid using any water in the process as it washes away some of the flavor.
After the peppers are peel, slice them open removing the seeds, core, and ribs.
Then slice the peppers into small strips.
Once you have the garlic and peppers roasted you can turn your attention to making the sauce.

Poblano cream sauce:

In a sauce pan, heat a few teaspoons of olive oil then add the pepper strips and around 5 cloves of the roasted garlic (they should slide out their casing fairly easily).
Sauté for one or two minutes, then add the white wine.
Right after the wine add:
~ 1 teaspoon salt
~ 1 teaspoon black pepper
~ 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Let the wine simmer down to about half its original volume.
Add the cream
Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth. Check the taste, sometimes the peppers can have a bitter aftertaste, if this is the case add a pinch of sugar to counter the bitter (or use a small amount of agave nectar).
Set the sauce aside.


You can broil, or pan-sear your lamb, but for this dish I like the smoky undertones that using a charcoal grill provides (I use natural mesquite charcoal).
While your grill is getting hot, bring your lamb to room temperature and season with salt, pepper and a small amount of smoked paprika (or hot paprika) on both sides.
Also, slice the sweet onion into half-inch thick slices.

Once the grill is hot, things will get pretty hectic as you try to bring everything together.

Place the lamb over the hottest part of the grill (in this case we are not going for a slow cook, but a good quick sear on each side, I like my lamb on the rare side so it doesn’t take too long to cook).
At the same time put a little olive oil and salt on the onion slices (I used two rounds and had some a bit left over) and place them on the grill as well.

Once the lamb has been on the grill for about a minute transfer your pepper cream sauce back to a sauce pan on the stove on low heat to warm.

Then, in a medium sauce pan heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Slice the polenta into ½ inch thick slices and place in pan (cook for about 4 minutes on each side)
While the polenta is cooking and the pepper sauce is warming, check on the lamb. Flip the chops after about 4 minutes.
Once you have flipped the lamb it is time to make the sage brown butter sauce.

By the time you have carefully crisped the sage and browned the butter, your polenta should be ready to plate, and you can start to put together your finished dish. Check the lamb, it should be about four minutes since you flipped the lamb and it should be ready to come off the grill, likewise your onions should be tender and have some char marks.

First plate the polenta (I used four circles of polenta forming a square in the center of the plate).
Then plate the lamb chops on top of the polenta
Place the grilled onions around the lamb chops
Then drizzle the brown butter equally on the top of each lamb chop (this is a subtle step but adds a wonderful rich flavor, normally I would just add some ground sage on the lamb before cooking, but this is a great touch that makes this dish particularly special).
Now drizzle the pepper cream sauce over the top of the lamb and around the plate (for fun I made a design with the sauce on the outer edge of the plate)
For a final touch place the crispy sage on top of the lamb.

This process will dirty a ton of dishes, so I suggest setting up the rule that the one who cooks doesn’t do the dishes (unless of course you are just rewarding yourself, then you are out of luck, in that case just drink a bit more wine and worry about the dishes later). It is rich and filling and highly rewarding. It is one where you can have fun plating it and making it look restaurant quality, or just make a mess of it so that you are sure you get all the flavors in as many bites as possible.



Be creative! Procrastinate to the fullest and take an evening to enjoy life through food!

Key Lime Pie

Of all the dishes that I make the one that is by far and away the most requested by friends is the key lime pie recipe that came from my aunt. People have requested it as rewards for success and comfort during stressful times and pies (key lime in particular) are great for all moods.


However, the absolute best time for key lime pie is during the summer. It is cool, tart and an extremely tasty way to “beat the heat”. Plus it is way easier to make than the people who will enjoy it think. You earn far more bonus points than the work should suggest. So as summer slips away, far too quickly for my tastes, celebrate the sun and summer relaxation as only a homemade key lime pie can.

So the trick to this key lime pie, is that most of the time I make it, I don’t actually use key limes. To the key lime purists out there, this seems like a travesty that deserves a swift kick out of the kitchen. The first time I had it I was skeptical myself, and while there is a slightly different taste, it is really a wonderful pie. Furthermore I have tried the recipe using all key limes, all standard limes and mix of the two. Personally my favorite is a mix of the two, but ONLY when good really fresh key limes are available, if not just stick with normal limes.


What you need:
Graham crackers (one packet from a box of three packets)
5 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
4 large eggs
5-8 limes (enough to make ½ cup of lime juice)
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

For whipped cream topping
Whipping cream
1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sugar to taste

For candied lime zest
Lime zest
1/2 to 1 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 cup water

Preheat oven to 325 and place oven rack to lower middle position.
Zest the limes (you will need ~4 teaspoons of lime zest, but I recommend zesting all of the limes as you can as you can use the leftovers for all sorts of things, including candied lime zest to top the pie).
In medium sized, non-reactive bowl (stainless steel, glass, ceramic) whisk together the yolks of the 4 eggs together with the lime zest for 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture has a light green color (again I recommend setting aside the egg whites due to their versatility, my personal favorite is to make Meringues out of them).
Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk until mixture is smooth
Whisk in the lime juice, making sure that the juice has fully mixed with the thick milk.
Cover and set aside to thicken while you prepare the crust (minimum of 30 minutes).

Break up the graham crackers and mix in a food processor until it is the consistency of sand
Melt the butter.
In medium size bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, and all spice with a fork.
Pour the mixture into a pie plate and press down to make an even thickness across the bottom (I start with a smooth bottomed glass or measuring cup to try to make it level, but move to using my hands when I am refining the process (hands truly are the best tool in a kitchen). For the sides I try to use my two thumbs, one pressing down while the other presses the mixture against the edge of the pie pan until the mixture is compact enough to hold its form.
Bake the crust until it begins to brown and the kitchen is filled with the smell of graham crackers (15-20 minutes.
Remove from the oven
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and fill the crust with the thickened lime mixture (this must be done while the pie crust is still warm for the best results)
Bake until the center is firm but still wiggles when you jiggle the pan (15-20 minutes).
Let cool on the counter top for at least 3 hours. For an extra cool pie wrapped with plastic wrapped or cover with foil, making sure you don’t touch the foil to the pie filling and chill in refrigerator.




Candied lime zest
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan pour in equal parts sugar and water (between 1/2 and 1 cup depending on how much simple syrup you want to make). Heat mixture over medium heat stirring frequently, when the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble add the left over lime zest, lower heat to medium low and slowly simmer the zest in the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes.
Stain out the candied lime zest, saving the liquid as you now have a wonderful lime simple syrup.

Whip together the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract until you have a fairly thick whipped cream.

Once the pie is cooled you can place the whipped cream onto of the pie, shape it as desired and top the whipped cream with the candied lime zest.

The importance of food in life

Recently CNN's eatocracy website had an article about the importance of the shared interest in food for couples.

The article got me thinking a little bit about just how important a trait love and especially true appreciation of food is to me. I understand and respect different tastes and lifestyles and have no problem sharing meals with vegetarians or vegans, or dinning with people who enjoy some of the few foods that I just don't like. To each there own. But I have noticed that I do get very frustrated when I around people who don't see the value and beauty in their food. Eating simply as a means for survival doesn't make any sense to me.
I truly believe that cooking helps solidify a connection with food. Developing an understanding for flavors and the process and time that goes into preparation, cooking and presentation and how all that matters in enjoying the experience of the meal. I'm not saying that every meal, or even the majority of meals need to illicit some sort of deep emotional response or activate the artistic appreciation in our minds (I am as guilty as the next with my turkey and cheese sandwiches for lunch 5 days a week) but I believe that being able to have such a connection from time to time is important. I have been to restaurants with all times and I have shared great meals with all types and truly there are few things more annoying to me that sharing such a meal (whether it is one I made myself or when to to a restaurant to experience) with someone who doesn't value food for its benefits beyond substance.
To this extend I agree with some of what is being said in the article. I have a hard time connecting with people who don't see food in a way similar to myself. I have got myself in trouble with more than a few of my female friends when they talk about avoiding certain foods that they love because they need to diet (which puts me on the edge of a whole other topic that I wish to avoid here). In the past, and even today, I would get frustrated with them, I am not saying that they should indulge every day, but I have never understood total restraint and used to speak my mind, a pointless endeavor as I have discovered. And this comes from people who I generally know appreciate food, so I can only imagine my reaction to those that don't value the process of preparing high quality and beautiful food.
To get back to my main point, I think that cooking, while the best form of procrastination, is also a window into food appreciation and the opposite holds true as well; if you truly want to excel at cooking you have to love food, indulge in guilty pleasures, succumb to the warming power of real butter, pamper your proteins and value fresh vegetables. You have to be willing to commit the time and give the process the full attention it deserves. It is a bit cliché to say but food cooked with love truly does taste better.

Recipes, it’s a love hate thing

If you have read through any of my posts, than you may have been able to pick up on my hesitation to give to precise of directions and hopefully my encouragement for experimentation comes through. Personally when I am cooking I rarely am using a set recipe, and I think they cause a lot of beginning cooks more headaches than help, and can actually hinder any real learning process. One of my housemates has shelves full of recipe books and on occasion I thumb through them and will find some dishes that sound fascinating. Yet, I can count on one hand the number of times that I have kept the book out while I was cooking. I think it is better to see recipe books as idea books; they are great for inspiration and getting a basic understanding for what you need to get a type of flavor. After this point I think they become a hindrance.
Cooking engages all the senses and when we focus on the lists, the timing and the temperatures that many recipes provide we fail to use our senses in the process. Now baking is different, so much of it is chemistry that following recipes becomes important. The pages of my cookbooks that are stained and warped are those of baking recipes because in those cases I have my book out and on the counter as I am cooking. All the other pages tend to be crisp and clean. When you cook listen to your senses and learn to trust them. You can tell when garlic is about to brown by the way it changes smells, you can tell how done meat is by its feel, watching the foam of butter can tell you when it is about to go from having the wonderful nutty flavor of browned butter to the rather unpleasant flavor of burned butter, you can hear when a sear is ready by the change of the sizzle in the pan. Cookbooks try to tell you these things through timing and temperature (occasionally they will talk about sight and how something should look when it is ready) but the problem is that every kitchen is different, every burner is unique, every pan heats differently, every cut of meat has a different thickness or fat content and all of these things will impact timing. And this doesn’t even touch on personal preferences, the author of a cookbook may think that two spices are perfect for broiling a chicken breast, but you may not.
This is the heart of my love hate relationship with recipes they are great for getting the ball rolling, but too much reliance on them is stifling. When I am cooking with others, I frequently have to try to hide my frustration when people measure things unnecessarily and refuse to think outside the confines of the recipe.
Sure there will be setbacks when you strike out on your own; I recall the first time I tried to make a rather simple pasta dish. I was 13 and on my own for dinner, I prepped my pasta and went to work on a simple sautéed onion and garlic sauce, when it came time to add the spices I was just a bit heavy handed and the result was a pretty much uneatable dish, even a mountain of Parmesan could not save it. But I learned, I learned the overpowering nature of some spices, the importance of textures (too much dried spice mixed with olive oil makes a rather unpleasant past like substance), but these are things that recipe books don’t tell you. Sure by following them you may avoid a similar mistake, but you don’t really know why.
This is why I try to leave my posts as open ended as possible, and why I will try to describe the use of all senses in cooking and why so many of my measurements are approximations. The truth is in many cases I have no clue how much of an ingredient I use, and when I have tried to get a more exact measurement of the sake of helping others, the dish has come out tasting different and off.
Break free of the confines of recipes, seem them as idea generators and a guide for the basic steps, from there step out and have fun!

Peach-Blueberry Crisp

Living in Santa Barbara my appreciation of summer is a bit less then when I was living in rainy Seattle, chilly Estonia or temperamental Colorado. Days of rain, hours of darkness and late season snow storms help one appreciate the warming power of the sun and the smile educing wonder of a brilliant blue sky. It means long summer days and relaxed evenings enjoy the late setting sun. It is the season of BBQs and family reunions. Still even in a place where the effects of summer might be less extreme, summer still means fresh fruit and berries! A relatively cool spring here has meant that berries are lasting a bit later into the summer than they normally do that the farmers market. This is very good news, as it means I have a ton of options of trying to cure my enormous sweet tooth. I love sweets of all kinds and normally have some sort of dessert every night, even if it is just a few squares of chocolate. Rich and dense desserts and chocolate are wonderful, but sometimes something with a nice balance between tart and sweet is just what the soul needs. Enter the wonderful world of fruit and berry crisps.

There are so many types of crisps and cobblers that I think way to go is to see what fruit looks best (or what of your fruit you need to use up before it goes bad). Whip up the right dough add in some spices and top the final creation off with ice cream and you have yourself a wonderful treat to end a beautiful summer evening.
This week I picked up some local peaches, blueberries and blackberries. After a loaf of bread fell on my peaches and bruised them up a bit (kitchen chaos at its finest) my hand was forced and the peaches were destined for a crisp. Add in some blueberries and you have a good balance of flavors and something that is pretty simple to make, but will pass some time.

There are a lot of ways to put together a crisp as well as types of dishes you can bake them in, but since I am a big fan of the crisp part, I tend to put crisp on both the top and bottom of the baking dish and I used individual ramekins. As I will go into detail in a later post, I really don’t like measuring things, I tend to adjust as I go, and this includes my crisp mix.

So here is what you need to make two to three servings.
1 large or two medium sized peaches
½ carton of blueberries
Rolled oats
Flour
Brown sugar
Butter (around a ½ stick, cut into pieces)
Sugar
Cinnamon
Allspice
Nutmeg
Ground ginger
Salt
Cornstarch

Peel the peach(es) and slice into thin slices
Place the peaches in a medium sized mixing bowl
Add the blueberries
Add 1 tablespoon sugar
Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Add ½ teaspoon ginger
Add ½ to 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Mix all the ingredients together and set aside

Preheat oven to 325
In food processor add a handful of rolled oats (~3/4 cup)
Add ½ flour
Add 1/3 cup to ½ cup brown sugar
Add ½ teaspoon salt
Add ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Add ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pulse food processor to mix dry ingredients
Add about half of the cut butter
Blend in butter for about 1 minute
Check the mixture, it should stick together in approximately pea sized clumps.
If the mixture is still too dry add additional pieces of butter until mixture is moist.

Press some of the crisp mixture into the bottom of two single serving ramekins. Pour in the berry-peach mixture. Then cover the top of the mixture with the crisp dough (cover completely and gently press down if you want a thicker crisp layer.

Place ramekins in over and bake for 30 minutes. Check to see if top is browned and liquid is bubbling out the sides. If the top needs more time to brown keep in the oven a bit longer.

When the crisps have finished baking take them out of the oven and top with a couple scoops of ice cream. Vanilla is classic, but I find that dolce de leche is a great contrast to the peach blueberry filling.

Fried Squash Blossoms

Squash blossoms are not bursting with flavor; however, like so many other wonderful food ingredients the underlying savory and buttery flavors combined with a unique velvet-like texture make them a great item to dredge in flour and spices, stuff with cheese (if you so desire) and fry. Once you try one I will promise that you will burn your fingers and the roof of your mouth by eating a second before it has cooled enough, they are that good!
In terms of taking you away from work these fried blossoms of goodness take a bit of prep work, and if you don’t have anyone cleaning up for you, they dirty a bunch of dishes that will take a while to clean. The actual cooking is really quick and the process once you get the hang of it is pretty easy. If you are looking for something that really takes your mind away from your work these will do the trick as they are hands on all the way through and really don’t have much down time once you get started. The reward is a very unique dish that sounds impressive when you share it with others and tastes equally impressive.

To make the cooking process easy and as streamlined as process, preparation is key for this one. Normally I am a rather free spirit in the kitchen, doing things at the last minute, changing what I am doing mid process and generally disregarding any sort of organization (amazing how cooking styles can mirror life at time). However, when putting together an assembly line (which is basically what you are doing when building a frying station) it is best to stick to your plan.

So here is what you need to set up for cooking. These are in order from furthers away from your heat toward your burner.
One large bowl or piece of Tupperware filled with water and ice (for the squash blossoms)
Optional: One small plate to place sliced cheese for stuffing
One shallow bowl for your wet mix
One shallow bowl for your dry mix
One wok or deep frying pan for frying.
One plate lined in napkins on the other side of the stove to place the finished blossoms on to cool.
With a good station like this set it makes it easy to do your best to keep one hand “wet” and one hand “dry” which will limit the amount of sticky flour paste that will build up on your hands. While it is great in theory for those of us that that have one really dominate hand chances are all good intentions will go right out the window and instead you will have a roll of paper towels ready to continually clean off your hands.

Ingredients:
Squash Blossoms – these are highly seasonal so be sure to make this when the farmers market has them, or they are on the squash plants you have in your garden (should you be so lucky)
1-2 eggs
½ cup to 1 cup of all purpose flour

~ 2 teaspoons salt (since the flavor the salt is noticeable I try to use a high quality sea salt)
~ 1 teaspoon crack black pepper
~ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
~ ½ - 1 teaspoon paprika
~ ½ teaspoon ground sage
~1/4 – ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Basque shepherds cheese (Manchengo cheese or really any type of cheese that you enjoy, though personally I would stay away from cheddar and swisses for this dish)
Vegetable or canola oil for frying (the amount will depend on the pot/wok you are doing your frying in) Make sure you have enough to create a vat of hot oil deep enough to allow the blossoms to float while frying.
A quick note on spices: What I have listed is just a general mix that I have found particularly pleasing to me. However, playing around with both the amount and the type of spices that you put into this mix is really key to making this dish well. Everyone will have a different set of flavors that they think work. I use different amounts and spices if I am stuffing the squash blossoms with cheese or just frying them up without. Part of my general dislike for cook books is that people too often follow them without question. Trust in yourself to know the flavors that you like best. If they don’t work together, well than you have learned a lesson for next time.

Preparation (part 1):
Place your squash blossoms in the ice water. To this day every time I make this I wonder why the blossoms need to be cold, but for some reason they come out much better when they are really cold heading into the cooking process. I also remove the stamen (as well as the rest of the inner workings of the flowers). This isn’t necessary but they don’t taste quite as pleasant as the rest of the flower so I think it is worth the extra time.
Beat the egg with a few tablespoons of water to make the wet mix
Mix together the flour and spices to make the dry mix.
Cut your cheese into small strips, probably no more than an inch in length unless you have some really big squash blossoms.
Get your frying oil ready to heat.
Now that you have your assembly line all set to go you are ready to get frying.

Preparation (part 2)
While the oil is heating take your first squash blossom and gently squeeze off excess water.
If you are stuffing the blossoms with cheese place the cheese inside the petals and give them a small twist to create an enclosed space
Then dip the flower in the egg mixture.
Once it is well coated, hold the blossom above the bowl and allow excess egg to drip back into the bowl.
Then move the blossom into the flour mixture. Make sure that all sides are well coated.

Gently drop the blossom into the hot oil.
As this point you can start prepping a second blossom
Let the blossom cooking in the oil for around a minute. Then flip it over and let it cook for another minute.
Remove (with slotted or wired spoon to allow oil to drip) and place on paper towel covered plate to cool.

I normally have no more than three blossoms in the oil at any time. You don’t want your oil to cool down too much as you are cooking. If the oil is not hot enough than the flour mixture and the flower itself soaks up too much oil and you get a far less appetizing very oily bite. When done right the blossoms come out slightly crispy on the outside but it is still easy to tell that you are eating the petals of a flower.

Balsamic Green Beans

I like vegetables and pretty much always have, though as I have gotten older I appreciate them a bit more than I did as a kid. However, it was in my childhood that my parents first provided me with a profound wisdom on dealing with vegetables. Basically they demonstrated that there are three things that can help make vegetables more palatable (even for the pickiest of eaters): butter, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. While the first two may seem like common sense it is amazing how often we turn away from them in the name of health or not wanting to deal with the potency of garlic.
Once after buying green beans from the market I thought about how it might turn out to use all three at once. I was rather pleased with the result. So finally I am on to my first post that actually deals with the cooking aspect of this fine art of procrastination through cooking, and it might be the easiest I ever post.

Preparation is extremely easy and it only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish, depending on how fast of a garlic chopper you are.
What you need:
A handful of green beans (per person) with the ends trimmed.
A clove of garlic (per handful of beans) finally chopped.
Butter, about ½ - 1 a tablespoon per handful of beans.
Olive oil – just so you don’t have to use quite as much butter. If you want to ratchet up the flavor, just add more butter instead of the olive oil.
Balsamic vinegar- you only need a small amount. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan (1 to 2 tablespoons)
Salt and Pepper to taste.


Put a small sauce pan on the stove over medium heat.
Put the butter in pan and once melted add the garlic.
Stir the garlic around in the butter for around 30 seconds (be sure that you don’t burn the garlic as it give is a bit of a bitter taste).
Add the olive oil and green beans.
Stir the green beans around until they are coated with butter and the garlic is mixed throughout (always keep an eye on the garlic, if it is all at the bottom of the pan it is going to burn on you. You probably only need to sauté this mixture for around another minute
Add salt and pepper
Add the balsamic vinegar.
Stirring occasionally let the balsamic simmer down and thicken. At the same time the green beans will finish cooking.

Once the balsamic vinegar has reduced to about half the original amount, pour out the green beans onto a plate and let the thickened liquid drizzle over the top.

I really like the sweet and slightly syrupy flavor of the balsamic vinegar in contrast to the bite of the garlic and the fresh pop of green beans that have not been overcooked. This is an easy side to cook up when waiting for other things to finish cooking and is ideal to prepare when waiting to let beef rest after being removed from the heat. What better way to resisted the temptation of slicing into your meat too soon, than by cooking a wonderful side that has a strong enough flavor to complement a good cut of steak.

Wasting time with multiple courses

While I try to cook every, as there are few better ways to spend an hour or two not doing work, once a week I will usually try to put together an actual meal rather than just a dish for dinner. If I am feeling fancy I will not only plan out multiple courses and sides, but I will think about presentation and how to plate the meal. Thinking about these issues does a couple of things. First, it is a good way to work on timing. It can be hard to make sure that all the components of a plated dish are ready at the same time and really the only way to improve timing in the kitchen is to keep trying. Sometimes I have had to deal with cold or over cooked vegetables; I say it is always better to mess up these rather than the protein. I can deal with slightly gray or chilled green beans or broccoli, but killing my meat brings tears to my eyes. Doing it when cooking for myself is bad enough, but doing it when trying to impress others is mortifying. I messed up few times and have thoroughly learned my lessons: 1) no one remembers the veggies, and 2) practice, practice, practice (aka, spent time not working in the name of perfection). Second, it is a way to work on flavor combinations as well as appearance combinations. Some of the dishes I have made come out almost monochromatic; this is not a good thing (as you will see in a later post). Visual appearance is an important part of the meal, and a good thing to tinker with.
The middle of the week is usually a great time for just such an adventure. There is still so much work to be done, books to be read and articles to summarize, yet so much of that has already taken place that the thought of reading another article about radical right wing parties in Europe or the influences on institutional design on party manifestos might be just too much to bare. Plus there are usually fewer people to impress with your food mid week. Thus, it is good practice for the weekend get-togethers.

Welcome mid-week reward! Welcome glorious time killer! Welcome guiltless satisfaction. Welcome the multi-dish dinner.

A trip to the farmer’s market (cooking related procrastination without the heat of the kitchen –title of previous post linked if possible) can and as a foodie I would argue should influence the final components of your dinner.

My trip resulted in the follow menu:
Fried Squash Blossoms – stuffed with a Basque Shepherds cheese:
intermediate time killer
Garlic Balsamic Green Beans: great for when you really don’t have any
time to waste but don’t want to sacrifice taste.
Bone in New York Steak
Peach-Blueberry Crisp: comes out looking pretty fancy, but is really
easy to make.

Individually each one of these dishes are suitable for beginners to intermediates of the wonderful world of procrastination through cooking, but put them together and in a flash a whole evening of not doing any work is before you and the result is more than enough to impress yourself or anyone you might be cooking for.

Cooking procrastination without the heat of the kitchen

I love being in the kitchen, I get pleasure from creating chaos though a collection of bowls and plates strewn across counter tops, piles of chopped vegetables cluttering up cutting boards, jars of spices set out waiting to add a layer of depth to a dish their potent aromas mixing with the steam from boiling pots of water on the stove. I love turning this storm of sights and smells into a calming reward of delicious flavors and the happy haze of the satisfaction of eating a fantastic meal. Yet, this is not the only way to avoid work by cooking. Seeking out the inspiration for a meal can be just as rewarding and waste just as much potential working time.

I can spend hours in a grocery store, seriously, hours. Put me in an “upscale market” and you may as well forget about getting anything else done. I will go up and down every else with careful eye. I will imagine of what I could do with an unlimited budget, I will soak up the savories and dream over the desserts. I am not sure if this is a procrastination skill as much as it is an inherited trait, but the result hours of enjoyment and few if any of those pesky thoughts about the work that I should be doing.
Other great inspirations for cooking are farmer’s markets. There is no substitute for fresh produce and farmer’s markets deliver some of the very best! Building a dinner based on what you can get here can help you create combinations of ingredients that you would not have though over, or easy standbys that are full of flavor (can you say caprese salad with purple Cherokee tomatoes).

My procrastination skills got a quick jump start when I was getting my Masters degree from the University of Washington. Besides being a great city, Seattle is home to Pike Place Market, the ultimate way to waste a day and spend far more money than you planned. From fresh fish to fresh roasted cashews, from jams and honey to eggplant and elephant garlic this market has it all. It is deserving of the tourist Mecca it has become, I never leave there empty handed and when I was living in Seattle it became such a problem (both to progress on my Masters and my wallet) that I had to force myself to settle on the small Sunday farmers market that was just up the street from my apartment. Yet at the same time the masses of people takes away from another great aspect of the farmers market; personalization and communication. Yet Pike Place remains the starting point for my love of wandering from stall to stall, seeing what they have and thinking “what could I make with that?” Later I learned to add “how long will it take to make that?” And “what can I do with that when I come back next week”? All of these questions helped me develop into the cooking procrastinator that I am today.

Here in Santa Barbara, I have the vendor where I buy my tomatoes every week, the one where I buy my strawberries and just recently I have added the one where I by my beef. Here you can have conversations about their products, the weather or various other topics ranging from sports to the economy, all while seeing what is at the peak of its freshness. As I walk around a farmers market I always think about what I can make, what mixes well and something new that I want to try. This past Thursday, I ended up with a beautiful cut of beef, delicious peaches, sweet blueberries and vibrant squash blossoms. From that came the inspiration for Friday dinner. Oh, and the people watching was pretty great too. Basically farmers markets are a heaven for procrastination and fresh food and play an integral role in my balance between being a productive PhD student and holding true to my procrastinating ways.

Cooking and Procrastination: a fine combination

Lets face it, everyone has the desire to put off what needs to be done and everyone has their own way of doing this. Some need to find some other pressing tasks to start, others just need the internet or one of their favorite shows on TV. While this desire to procrastinate is within everyone, some suppress it entirely, others given into reason, and some find a happy balance. But there are a select few that have taken procrastination and turned it into an art form. They leave others shaking their head in bewilderment over their logic for putting of things that must be finished (often times sooner rather than later). These select few always have an excuse on hand as to why they can’t get to work and will argue tooth and nail with those with a higher level of common sense when it comes to getting things done over the validity of their argument. I am one of those select few that can put things of time and time again. Somehow despite my propensity for procrastination I have found myself somewhere closer to completing than starting my PhD in political science. (Just a bit more evidence that procrastination isn’t inhibiting to progress in life). Still, as I have continued to progress I find fewer and fewer people around me with the same desire to procrastinate. Suddenly I find myself surrounded by motivated people who don’t fully tolerate my bullshit answers as to why I can’t get to work. Looks of disapproval and public shaming (though not common) have deeply challenged my dedication to procrastination.

But fear not fellow procrastinators, there is a way to overcome this intense challenge to our way of life. If I don’t start my work and my only excuse is that I was tired and needed to catch up on sleep, or my favorite team was actually being televised I better be prepared for a challenge, but if I am cooking and more specifically cooking for others suddenly people are less willing to call me out. And I will let you in on an additional secret, while procrastination of any for has its own type of satisfaction; procrastination that ends in a great meal is far superior to many of the other methods of procrastination available to us. The key is to use that time when we should be working to treat ourselves and on occasion others as well. And the best part is cooking is truly a magnificent form of procrastination. It is flexible in how long it will take you away from your work, if your deadline is barely visible on the horizon or if there is no deadline at all, you can spend a full day cooking. If you need to get to work as soon as possible, but just can bring yourself to get started there are little dishes that take less than an hour or dishes that take long but give you windows to theoretically start or continue your work. For some those windows will be effectively used and for others (I speak from experience) they will turn into additional moments of putting off work. Yet no matter the situation, the result is good food, more procrastination and yet there is also the benefit of feeling that you have accomplished something.

Now that I have procrastinated my way through the first two steps of my PhD program: finishing the necessary course work, and passing my qualifying exams; I need to restart my dissertation prospects writing and defense preparation. Truly this is a daunting task and one that is ripe with setbacks. I have already had two ideas completely rejected and third questioned so thoroughly that it left me numb to academics for a few days. But these moments are not moments of self-pity, instead in the moments of shock that come with partial to full rejection of ideas are perfect moments to say “even though I need to get this done, I just can’t work right now, so let’s cook!” And that is what I am going to do, I am going to share the art of procrastination through cooking. Some entries/recipes will be for junior procrastinators and/or cooks, these generally don’t take to look to finish and don’t take a ton of skill in the kitchen. Others will be for experts, those willing to spend a full day not doing their work and those willing to possible try no things in the kitchen. And in the end, if my friends are any indication, those around you will end up thanking you for fulfilling your need to procrastinate rather than try to get you to change your ways.