On Cooking Octopus and Making Beet Salad

Ever since we moved to Minnesota ten years ago, I thought the advent of spring deserved a celebration. It comes upon us so quickly here that I never get around to actually planning a welcoming spring party. However, this year, I was a bit more proactive.

I have realized recently that as I am not working in a kitchen, or taking culinary classes (rather I give them) and watch no food tv, that the only source of inspiration I have is from my cookbooks and friends.


So why not cook some recipes from these famed coffee table culinary authors? I assembled a daunting menu that I was sure would challenge and perplex myself as well as some of my guests. Octopus Terrine, Carrot Terrine, French Baguettes, Crackers, Smoked Trout Spread, Roasted Beet Salad, Chicken Liver Mousse, Ceviche, Candied Citrus Peels and Fruit Tart.

All of these were completely brand new recipes except the mousse. I tried new cooking methods, used new ingredients and combined foods in ways I hadn’t tried before. Most of my inspiration began with chefs such as Keller and Aureole, but I quickly realized that many of their ideas on paper didn’t really translate well in the kitchen.



The most fun I had was with the octopus terrine, which absolutely would not have worked out if I had followed the recipe. I did however, manage to cook it in simmering chicken stock for about 20 minutes watching as it turned from a gray jellyfish consistency to a firm purplish-red bobbing creature.


I think the biggest hit was the beet salad. I am not a beet lover, in fact I loathe them, or did. Which is why I decided to make them. I will share my recipe here with you:



Beets Micro greens (or baby spinach)
Walnuts
Goat cheese
Bacon crumbles
Truffle Oil
Olive Oil
Salad Dressing
S&P

Cut root end off of beet and place on top of kosher salt in a square of tin foil. Pack three beets at a time (or two if they are large) in the tin foil and bake in 350 degree oven for 2 hours or until a knife inserted into the tin foil feels like it is cutting through butter.

Let cool, peel and slice thinly (wearing gloves). Layer on a plate. Toss greens with salad dressing (below is one option) and top beet salad artfully. For a full salad, place greens underneath beets. Garnish with toasted walnuts, pieces of goat cheese, bacon crumbles or lardons and finally drizzle with truffle oil and olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper for good measure.

Dressing: In saucepan reduce 1 cup of port and 1 cup of wine with 2 chopped shallots by two-thirds. Slowly stir in one cup of olive oil, juice from ½ lemon, and 2 tablespoons of balsamic (more to taste). Season with salt and pepper.

Spring Cleaning

Most of the time when spring rolls around, I get spring cleaning fever. I feel the insatiable urge to clean and scour every bit of my house. That lasts until it wears off. I make a decent dent in my to-do list and leave the rest for when the next bug strikes.

Joel sent me an article from the New York Times today on how to get your dishwasher to be more effective. The gist of it is to let your dishwasher do more of the work....leaving me more time to dust the blinds I never seem to get to. The idea of the article is that with rinsing and scrubbing beforehand we aren't leaving a lot for our dishwasher to do...and thereby propagating the ugly cloudy spots on our glasses known as etching.

Last night I had a particularly beastly set of dishes to wash. They were a day old...remnants from a dinner party the night before (shout out here to the lovely Forsbergs). After reading this article, I decided to give not scrubbing a try. I threw away large pieces of food and for the most part loaded a helter skelter.

The result?

Tonight upon unloading, nary a bit of food or a cloudy dish. Hmnmm. I think my favorite part of the article was the last little bit suggesting that we open our dishwasher door during the last five minutes of the cycle to allow the hot air to evaporate rather than sit on the dishes to prevent streaking and/or spotting. But how to time those last five minutes...my dishwasher doesn't exactly come with a count down. Ah well.

What is your latest kitchen cleaning tip?

My Bookshelf

Over the years I have talked to many foodies and chefs and one thing many of us have in common is a love of cookbooks. I think my collection is somewhat smaller than most avid foodies, but you may be a better judge. I keep most of my cookbooks in my kitchen, and I undoubtedly have a dozen or so floating around the house or lent out.

On the right hand bar I have a link to my Amazon bookshelf where I have created a list of all the cookbooks I own as well as a wish list of books I would like to buy some day. I will try to keep this updated as I grow my collection (and my wish list).

Any I am missing from my collection...what are your favorite cookbooks?

Joel's Favorite Lunch

For those of you who hate beans, this blog is not for you...and I know you are out there. This blog is devoted to disgustingly healthy eaters who love fresh veggies for lunch. At least once a week I make Joel a salad we fondly refer to as "Bean Salad". Should you have a better recipe title, I am all ears.

Basically the salad consists of the following ingredients and is delighfully yummy:

- Black beans
- Cilantro
- Tomato
- Minced Garlic
- Avocado if you have it
- Protein optional (canned tuna, seared raw tuna, or cooked and cooled beef or chicken...)

Dressing:
- Olive oil
- Dash of red wine vinegar
- A bit more of balsamic vinegar
- Squeeze of lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste

What is your favorite lunch?

Swine Flu

While the flu and other maladies rarely see the light of day on this blog (here we try to focus on the pleasanter side of life...chocolates, baked goodies, all things yummy), the name of this new pandemic has caught my eye.

In recent news the deputy health minister, Yakov Litzman, of United Torah Judaism is protesting the name "swine flu" as it refers to a forbidden and unkosher animal in the Jewish faith. He suggested we change the name to "Mexican flu" which met with equal resistance. As of last week Israel's stance was to ignore Litzman and continue to call the flu by its orignal name.

(This picture was taken on a recent trip to the zoo. Joel and I visited the farmyard exhibit to see the baby animals. It was also a chance to take a peek at our tasty animal the pig. I think the guy in the middle drew the short straw.)

Lucky Girl

One of my favorite things is Saturday morning breakfast. Most days of the week I consider a large cup of Joe a sufficient morning meal. However, I make an exception on Saturdays, as it is the one morning where Joel puts on the chef hat. As you can see in the picture I am spoiled with French Toast, Eggs, Bacon, and any number of yummy treats. And should I have the good fortune to sleep in past the magic breakfast bewitching hour, I am served in bed. Ahhh!

Tip for today: Lately we have been freezing our French Toast bread, 2 slices to a bag so we always have bread ready to go. Joel his gluten-free and mine from a baguette or Ciabatta.

Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide

While this blog has been silent over the last few months, I have been very active. My culinary adventures range from teaching classes to catering, and dining at new restaurants to eating up new cookbooks. I have even resolved to cook my way through one of the Mayo Clinic Cookbooks in the next year and to finish reading Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking by the end of the summer. With obviously lots to say, I am going to dig right in and try to get caught up.

Last week I enjoyed my 31st birthday and with it some lovely culinary gifts. This years' tributes were Thomas Keller’s Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide from my husband and a really cool Microplane Cut Resistant Glove from my mother-in-law. Both are items I have been wanting to play around with for a while now. I have used the glove three times already over the past week: shucking oysters, slicing with a mandolin and zesting. As far as the cookbook, I have been fascinated with sous vide cooking (which I will explain more in detail below) since I first heard about it over a year ago.

So, what is sous vide, and what should you really know about it? Sous vide involves vacu-sealing food (sometimes with other ingredients such as a marinade) and then slowly cooking the items for long periods of time. A sous vide machine is used to help regulate the temperature of the water. One recipe locks a marinade and pork tenderloin together before slowly cooking them for 12 hours. Yes, 12 hours. As you can imagine cooking at a low temperature for an extended period of time results in very flavorful, perfectly cooked delicacies.

My first very rough attempt at sous vide (a year and a half ago) took the shape of marinating salmon in a ziploc bag that I then pulled the air out of (a straw works nicely for this). I placed the bag in a simmering pot of water for over an hour and monitored the temperature closely. The salmon was incredibly tender and has become one of my favorite dishes. Keller's book takes this style of cooking to a whole new level. And in the style of his previous books, will be a better addition to my coffee table collection than a practical addition to my kitchen's bookshelf.

As I dig into this new culinary tome, I am excited to share with you any recipes I do try or new techniques I learn. And, should you find yourself in my neighborhood, I am happy to peruse the pages with you over a cup of Joe.

While I am on the topic of fabulous foodie gifts, do you have any to share? What is the best foodie gift you have received or one on your list?