Dinner Double Feature, Part 1: Cheap lamb chops made tender

Coarse kosher salt quickly tenderizes cheap cuts of lamb, and oranges and pomegranate molasses combine with roasted golden beets for a lively winter salad.

While I occasionally turn Blue Kitchen over to Marion for a post, in real life, we’re often in the kitchen together making a meal happen. That was the case recently for this quick weeknight dinner. So this week, you’ll find a pair of cooking posts. I’ll start off by telling you about the lamb; then in the second post, Marion will tell you about a beet salad with oranges and blue cheese quickly assembled using beets roasted the night before.

British music hall comedian Max Wall once said, “Show business is like sex. When it’s wonderful, it’s wonderful. But when it isn’t very good, it’s still all right.” That’s pretty much how I feel about lamb. It was love at first bite the first time I had roast leg of lamb. And lamb chops always catch my eye on restaurant menus.

But more modest cuts have their own lamby charm, especially now, with daily economic headlines making us all want to just pull the covers over our heads. One such cut is lamb shoulder arm chops. Cut from the arm portion of shoulder, these inexpensive chops are quite flavorful, but can also be on the chewy side. As Fox Fire Farms’ website puts it, “This does not mean the shoulder chop is not tender or of secondary quality. It simply means you can’t be in a hurry when cooking this delightful lamb chop.” They’re best suited for slow braising, which tenderizes them; but during the week, I have neither the time nor the patience.

Kosher salt to the rescue. Well, and Jaden over at Steamy Kitchen. I first used her technique for tenderizing steaks—by heavily coating them with coarse salt for 15 minutes or so before cooking—when I made Pan Seared Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce back in January. It worked so beautifully that I immediately had to try it on some tough but tasty lamb shoulder chops. What I discovered was a way to enjoy tender lamb without sticker shock or a long wait. Continue reading “Dinner Double Feature, Part 1: Cheap lamb chops made tender” →

Dinner Double Feature, Part 2: Roasted beets create a truly golden salad

In which Marion capitalizes on Terry’s belated revelation that beets are delicious, especially in this Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Blue Cheese. Recipe below.

THE CAULIFLOWER SOUP TERRY POSTED LAST WEEK BEGAN AS A TUNA SANDWICH, and this roasted beet salad began as a trip to New York City. Our friend Laura and I were traipsing around town, a few years back, on a trip that included a lot of food and a lot of conversation about food. In the course of it all, we went into Zabar’s—me to look for various gifts, and Laura to look for pomegranate molasses for a stew she wanted to try. I had never heard of pomegranate molasses before, and I filed it in my head, alongside sumac and boldo, for future reference. That event—learning about something brand new and potentially marvelous in the company of a great friend—became an emblem of that wonderful trip. Continue reading “Dinner Double Feature, Part 2: Roasted beets create a truly golden salad” →

A big, warm bowl of comfort: Roasted cauliflower and dill soup

Roasting the cauliflower mellows its flavor in this hearty, creamy [but dairy-free] Roasted Cauliflower and Dill Soup. Substitute vegetable broth for the chicken stock and you’ve got a satisfying vegan meal. Recipe below.

A quick note: I’ve totally dropped the ball in terms of providing any ideas for Thanksgiving this year. But at the end of the post, I’ll provide a few links for some interesting sides.

As proof that you just never know where inspiration will strike, this soup started out as a tuna sandwich. On a recent Sunday, that’s what sounded good for lunch. But Marion and I wanted our sandwiches on better bread than we had at home, so we walked up to Kurowski Sausage Shop, a Polish deli/grocery/bakery in our neighborhood. By the time we had walked the five or so blocks in the brisk November air, though, some soup was sounding pretty good—and Kurowski serves up delicious homemade soups fresh and cheap in their refrigerator case.

After flirting with bigos and borscht and some other Eastern European delights, we settled on a hearty cauliflower soup flecked with fresh dill. Being no fools, we got two containers—a whopping $1.29 each. Back home, the tuna sandwiches became half-sandwiches, bit players to the soup’s star performance. And as I leaned over my steaming bowl with big chunks of cauliflower and carrots, I knew I would be attempting my own version soon. Continue reading “A big, warm bowl of comfort: Roasted cauliflower and dill soup” →

Pigging out: The week in pork

It seemed pigs were everywhere last week. On the cover of the Chicago Reader, in front of an old favorite grocery store and, most deliciously, in a glorious bowl of Udon noodles and pork broth in a wonderful new restaurant.

Writer Mike Sula is a self-proclaimed unrepentant omnivore. Working with Chicago’s leading weekly, the Chicago Reader, he undertook “The Whole Hog Project”—a year-and-a-half-long series in which he followed the progress of three young American mulefoot pigs from piglet to plate. Mulefoots, so named for their uncloven feet, are a rare breed; they numbered fewer than 200 just two years ago. Ironically, it is the farming of them for food that will ensure the breed’s continued existence. And it is farmers like Valerie Weihman-Rock in Argyle, Wisconsin, who are undertaking the task. As Sula’s article puts it, she reasons that “raising happy, free-ranging heritage mulefoot pigs for meat made up in some way for the millions of confined swine that live short, miserable lives before they’re churned into Smithfield hams and Spam.”

“The Whole Hog Project” isn’t always an easy read. Sula describes transporting the pigs, whose names he knows, to the slaughterhouse—a small, humane operation where the animals are handled gently, but a slaughterhouse nonetheless. He and others in the project witness their demise and butchering. Then they transport them to Blackbird, an elegantly austere restaurant on Chicago’s restaurant row along Randolph Street. Here they are destined to become a six-course dinner prepared by seven of Chicago’s top chefs.

For me, the central point of the article and the issue is that if we choose to eat meat, we should honor it. Sula references a New York Times op-ed by farmer and author Verlyn Klinkenborg about “the moral necessity of watching, if not participating in, the slaughter of animals he raises.” Reading Sula’s thoughtfully written piece has given a face to the idea of humanely raised meat, or three faces, to be more precise.

Before there was Whole Foods, before there was Trader Joe’s, there was Treasure Island. The venerable Chicago chain was opened in 1963 by the brothers Kamberos with the stated mission of providing “a supermarket that would combine the conventional with the best of specialty, imported and domestic products at competitive prices.” Julia Child dubbed their creation “The Most European Supermarket in America.” Sadly for us, Treasure Island had slipped from our radar screens for a while. Well, it’s back. And here are a few reasons why. Continue reading “Pigging out: The week in pork” →

Steaks and blue cheese: Start with good ingredients and get out of the way

Simple preparation lets quality ingredients shine in Steaks with Blue Cheese. Recipe of sorts below.

We had our friends Karin and Dick over for dinner for the first time last weekend. As we started talking about what to serve, my first thought was to mine the Blue Kitchen archives. Then Marion told me that Karin had said they’ve cooked everything we’ve posted on Blue Kitchen. My first reaction probably should have been feeling flattered. Instead it was this: “Dang.”

We got busy looking through cookbooks and back issues of Bon Appétit and Gourmet. We started prowling the Internet. And the more we bandied ideas back and forth, the more complex things seemed to get. And then it hit me. What about some nice little steaks pan seared and topped with really good blue cheese? Done.

Suddenly, everything got simpler in a very good way. For sides, some hand mashed potatoes with buttermilk and a salad of mixed greens and arugula. Some cheese and olives to start and a delicious, rustic apple galette [that will inspire its own post one of these days] for dessert. The conversation flowed like wine. So did the wine. And a simply beautiful evening was had by all [unless Dick and Karin were lying to spare our feelings]. Continue reading “Steaks and blue cheese: Start with good ingredients and get out of the way” →

Fish oil: Not snake oil, just honest good health

Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the essential building blocks of every cell in your body. And fish oil is rich in them. Here’s why you need omega-3 fatty acids and how to add them to your diet, with or without fish.

Every winter morning when I was a kid, my mother would force a soup spoonful of cod liver oil down me. It was ghastly stuff, tasting even worse than the name implies; I credit this dreaded daily ritual with putting me off eating fish for many, many years. But it turns out Mom was on to something.

Fish oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, one of the essential building blocks of all cells. And it seems that every day, we hear more news of the health benefits of these fatty acids, from improved brain function to decreased risk of heart attacks and strokes to alleviating depression. They help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, reduce inflammation and pain from arthritis and have even been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of a number of childhood disorders, including ADD, ADHD and dyslexia. Omega-3 fatty acids are also powerful cancer fighters, helping reduce the risk of colon, breast and prostate cancer. So how do you get these amazing nutrients?

The best and most delicious way to get your omega-3 fatty acids is with a diet rich in fish, particularly fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, lake trout, herring and sardines. At the end of this post, I’ll include a number of seafood recipes that have appeared here at Blue Kitchen.

But with increased warnings about mercury levels in fish, we’re told to limit our intake of certain kinds of seafood. And as a comparatively recent convert to eating fish, I know there are plenty of people who just don’t do fish. So here are a couple of other ideas for adding these vital nutrients to your diet. Continue reading “Fish oil: Not snake oil, just honest good health” →

Romantic name, delicious dessert: Frangipane Pear and Cherry Cake

Pears and tart cherries team up with almond-based frangipane in a flavorful Frangipane Pear and Cherry Cake that gets even better the second day. Recipe below.

A quick editorial note before we get started. This post marks Blue Kitchen’s second anniversary. Part of me feels like I’ve been at this much longer, but mostly I feel like I’m just getting warmed up.

Last week, I used Michigan tart cherries for a heart healthy Roast Pork Tenderloin with Tart Cherries. The week before, I turned to pears for dessert, with my Baked Pears with Currants and Walnuts. So this week, naturally enough, Marion cooks with tart cherries and pears. Marion?

Frangipane for me has always been one of the most romantic of food names, hinting at elegant sensibilities refined over centuries of experiment and attention. I thought it would be something one would eat while discussing Voltaire and BHL, leaning back in a soft chair and wearing pink brocade, lightly picking at your dessert from a gold-rimmed lacy plate, using an ornate handmade utensil—a frangipannière, perhaps.

So imagine my teenaged surprise to find out that frangipane is essentially almond paste, sugar and egg, period—blended together and then used to make some other thing [such as marzipan, my mother’s favorite medium for the tiny adorable fruits that bedecked her cakes]. Hmph.

So I never actually made anything with frangipane until the other day, when I was hunting around for ideas to use some of the tart dried cherries we got last weekend in Michigan. The ancestor of this recipe, which appeared in Bon Appétit a few years back, looked like a good place to start. That original is more austere—olive oil and milk are two of its leading elements. I am usually a bit leery of olive oil in a cake—it may be healthy, but if I’ve decided to have dessert, I’ve already made the choice to indulge, and I am willing to trade off certain things in favor of better taste. Also, the original called for self-rising flour, a product that makes me suspicious. But I liked the foundation—pears, dried cherries and, of course, the frangipane. Continue reading “Romantic name, delicious dessert: Frangipane Pear and Cherry Cake” →

Once again, anything is possible

I really try to keep politics out of Blue Kitchen. At first blush, this post may seem political in nature, but it’s not. It’s about something much bigger.

An extraordinary thing happened yesterday. Americans went to the polls and elected a black man as the next president of the United States. Just as amazingly, earlier in the campaign, it looked as if we were poised to elect our first woman president.

For far too long now, our national politics have been about what divides us as individuals, what makes us different, instead of what brings us together as a people, what we have in common. And if ever there was an opportunity for what divides us to define an election, this was it. Race and racism have a long, sad history in this country. In fact, racism has been called the wound that will not heal. The notion that a majority of us could move beyond that and actually elect a person of color required a cockeyed optimism in our fellow man, a huge leap of faith.

Once the selection of the two candidates was decided, race was the elephant in the room. The thing no one felt comfortable discussing, but that would not be denied. It was couched in terms of demographics, the Bradley effect and even the anti-Bradley effect. There was the expected fair share of hatred and bile, scary stories and incidents. But there were hopeful moments too, even if some were left-handed. Our daughter Claire told us of having breakfast in a pancake house in a traditionally white neighborhood in St. Louis and overhearing a boisterous conversation from a table of old, white-haired white ladies. They were complaining bitterly about being compelled to vote for Obama, but knowing that they must, because they believed in what he stood for. Like it or not, they were overcoming long held beliefs and, albeit reluctantly, fulfilling one of the dreams in Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

As you listened to people talking, watched people’s faces, felt the incredible energy the upcoming election was stirring, you could feel us turning our backs on Us vs. Them thinking and once again becoming “We the people.” A mix of things brought this about, I think. Yes, some extraordinarily difficult times have us heeding Benjamin Franklin’s admonition that “We must hang together, gentlemen… else, we shall most assuredly hang separately.” But just as much, it was the message of unity at the heart of Obama’s campaign: “We aren’t Red States. We aren’t Blue States. We are the United States.”

Whatever your politics, an important thing happened yesterday. We weren’t white Americans. We weren’t African-Americans. We were Americans. Once again, we became “We the people.” And for the first time in a very long time, I once again feel that America can do anything.