Secret Weapon for Fast Meals

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

March 28, 2011

What is the emergency, go-to, secret weapon that I try to keep in my fridge at all times? And it’s not ketchup, although mustard takes second place. First place goes to:....Veal Stock! If Merlin the Magician waved his wand in your kitchen, he would give you this Secret Weapon. It’s the painter’s white canvas, it’s the keyboard to your computer, it’s butter on your toast.

Michael Ruhlman compares it to turbo charging your Mitsubishi... your kitchen is now faster and more fuel efficient.

It’s a flavor bump, adding depth and intensity to a sauce. It’s the umami bridge that literally blends the components of your dish together.

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What’s in your olive oil?

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

February 24, 2011

Even the most casual wine drinker probably knows the difference between a chardonnay and a white zinfandel. If this is the case, why don’t the most passionate chefs or home cooks know more about their olive oil? Maybe the chefs know a brand name, but do they know what variety of olive is used?

The concept of terroir or terrain or terreno (French-English-Italian) is frequently discussed with grapes and wine; why not with olive oil? If sun, soil and climate affect a grape, it stands to reason it would affect the flavor of an olive and it’s oil.

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Sweet Tart Valentine Dessert: Lemon Creme Brulee

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

January 26, 2011

Lemon Creme Brule`

I’m not a dessert girl, but Valentine’s day is coming up, so you might want to think about a tarted up sweet for your sweetie. And besides, you get to play with a blow torch.

Ingredients
500ml/18fl oz double cream
1/2 vanilla pod
100g/4oz extra fine sugar
6 egg yolks
zest of 2-3 lemons
Additional sugar for top crust

Kitchen Stuff you’ll need
small oven proof ramekins (those little single serving dishes)
a baking pan big enough to hold all of the ramekins
mini blow torch (or you could use the broiler, not as much fun, but effective)
A sauce pan, a stainless steel mixing bowl
A whisk & a pair of tongs

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From Tree to Table: Making our very own olive oil

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

November 12, 2010

From tree to table: Our very own olive oil

First we hand picked 146.1 kilos of olives. It took 3 days of climbing trees, spreading nets and schlepping crates of olives. It was glorious to be out in the sun, sliding olives off the tree, my hands feeling smooth and soft at the end of the day. It felt good and right and pagan to be out there harvesting olives. If we had Etruscan ancestors, we were connecting directly to them as we talked to the trees, gave thanks for the fruit and sang songs. OK, we chose to sing chain gang and railroad hobo ditties, but you get the vibe, right?

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Mussel Soup with Lemon Saffron Aioli

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

September 16, 2010

Fish soups are called ‘brodetto’ in Italy and every Adriatic coastal town has their own version. Brodetto di San Bendetto is flavored with green tomatoes, Brodetto di Porto Recanati with saffron, alla Fanese with tomato puree, and in Ancona with puree AND fresh tomato. I don’t live near the coast, I like the French Provencal style of fish soup and I don’t have to play by the rules, so here is Brodetto di Montone.

Warning: it is messy to make, it takes time, the words slow, fast and easy do not appear anywhere within this recipe. However, the words delicious and worth the effort do appear.

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Fennel & Bay

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

September 6, 2010

Fennel & Bay

There is an unexpected synergy between these two flavors that surprises me. They get along like Nick & Nora Charles of The Thin Man films, feisty, combative but ultimately they very elegantly get the job done.

I’m not talking about fresh fennel, but dry stalks of wild fennel, steeped in liquid, along with bay leaves. We encountered this intriguing flavor combination in the Gargano region of Puglia and I dug through my Puglia reference books to see if this was a classic pairing but there is no mention of putting these two flavors together. There are plenty of recipes that incorporate bay with seafood in Adriatic fish cooking, but nothing about combining bay and fennel. I went to kryros.org where they live and breathe unique flavor combos, but again I came up empty. As a last resort, I went low brow, and checked the ingredients for Old Bay seasoning, but no fennel. Hmmmm......

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Lamb Stuffed Grape Leaves with Lemon Sauce

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

July 1, 2010

On our honeymoon, on the sun bleached Greek Island of Lesbos, I was served the most delicious stuffed grape leaves sitting in a puddle of lemon sauce. So romantic, si? Actually Lesbos is a pretty tatty island, it has that penal colony feel to it, with lots of square concrete buildings with ragged curtains in place of windows. But we did have this amazing lunch there, and if my memory serves me, there was an outrageous talking parrot that entertained us. Flavor memories stick with me, the other stuff, not so much.

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Best Risotto Ever

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

June 23, 2010

How can I write a risotto recipe that starts with “Roast 1 flock of chickens? Reserve juices.”??

I recently had to roast a lot of chickens, a whole flock of them, and as they cooled, there was all this lovely chicken juice in the bottom of the pans. I put it all in a container, not really sure what I would do with it, but certainly not letting it go to waste. As far as I’m concerned, the best part of the chicken is the burny, toasty brown stuff that gets left on the roasting pan. It’s pure essence of concentrated chicken.

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Spring Time is Fava Bean Time

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

May 17, 2010

It’s fava time in Italy, and pretty much everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere. Italians are passionate about fave because it means spring has officially arrived when those giant pods show up in the market.

Fave beans. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee raw.
I love thee in salads.
I love thee paired with soft white cheeses.
I love thee as ‘maro’.

And just to clear up any fava - fave confusion: fava is one fava bean, fave (fav-ay) is more than one fava bean. Italian is pluralized with an “i” or “e”, depending on whether the noun is feminine or masculine. And there is your Italian lesson for today.

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Risi e Bisi Revisited: Farro and Spring Pea Soup

From JudithK — Blog by Judith Klinger

May 8, 2010

Risi e Bisi is an old dish from the Veneto region in Italy, and it means it is springtime if you are eating risi e bisi. It’s made with rice and fresh peas, and depending on whose recipe you are following it can be a soup, a risotto or a kind of warm rice and pea salad. Early May is the heart of fresh pea season, and I like rice, don’t get me wrong, but I really like farro and since I had a delicious load of fresh peas in the house, it seemed like a natural idea to riff off the ol’ risi e bisi.

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