30 by 30

Today is my birthday. I am 29 years old. For the last month I have been realizing that there is a list of things I’ve been meaning to get done and it seemed like a good idea to write them down. So here it is, friends. Thirty things to do by thirty. I’ve got a year to get it done.

I’ve organized it into categories, and I’ll blog about things as I accomplish them. Have you ever made a list like this? What do you think of mine? And do you have any book recommendations?

Culinary Projects
Make sausage. Probably turkey breakfast sausage.
Dinner Party 1: gussied up American food. I have a menu in my head that starts with buffalo brussels sprouts and ends with a giant hostess cupcake.
Dinner Party 2: food and wine pairings. Roasted lamb and a big fat red. Oysters and champagne. The classics.
Make croissants. Danish and croissant were both on one day at school and I ended up making danish... and I’ve been making them ever since. I’d like to try croissants, too.
Brew some gingerbeer.
Make duck prosciutto. There’s a wet-cure recipe from Bon Appetit that looks like something I can handle.

Professional
Join IACP
Take the CCP exam (and, you know, hopefully pass)
Read "On Food and Cooking." All the way through
Teach a cooking class.

Personal Projects
Go back to Europe. Kind of a cheat, since I’ve got a trip to Paris planned (with my mom and my sister!) in April.
Complete Project 365. I made it to 270 or something last time, but then I got distracted/married.
Learn to use my camera's manual setting
Find a way to sell or give my wedding dress to someone who needs one. I don’t know how, but I don’t need it anymore.
Watch the Godfather trilogy. Because I’ve never seen it.
Clean up my google reader and delete the dead blogs or the ones I don't read anymore
Read 30 books. Looking for suggestions. What’s your favorite read?
Purge cookbook collection. The ones I don't use are getting donated. It's time to curate instead of collect.
Figure out what to do with the 401(k) I left at my old job almost two years ago. Roll it over into something? I don’t know.
Put together a wedding album. You know, from our wedding a year and a half ago. That we already paid for. Heh.

House Stuff
Get not-ugly hampers for the bedroom so I can take the ugly ones out of the guest room.
Clean out under the guest bed and throw away some crap.
Clean out the giant black trunk in the basement and throw away some crap.
Move DVDs to sleeve books and chuck the cases to make space on book shelves.
Make the switch to using homemade, more natural cleaning supplies
Figure out if my sewing machine is broken or not, and if it is, fix it.
Once sewing machine is fixed, make curtains for the living room.

Fitnessy Type Things
Find a yoga studio I like. There are 2 or 3 within a ten minute walk of my house. Surely one of them will be a fit.
Do two chin-ups in a row. Right now I can do 3/4 of a chin-up, but that's it.
Run a 10k in under an hour. Last year I did it in 1:03 and change, but it was 85 degrees that day. I can do better.

Super Bowl Food

I don't know if you guys have heard, but there's kind of a big game on this weekend. Heh. 

Are you hosting people or going to a friend's house to watch the Superbowl? I've been looking for an excuse to make chili, so we're having people over here. I've also made a batch of pimento cheese and there are buffalo wings in the works. I've got a few other recipes in the archives that might be appropriate, too: 

Vegetarian sportsfan? Make 'em some potato and green chile stew. And everybody loves buttermilk biscuits for dunking. Baked cheddar olives look good on the snack table. Maybe right next to the guacamole? If you're heading to someone else's house, sweet and spicy nuts travel well. 

Have a great weekend, guys, and go Pats!

Cauliflower Steaks

First things first:

1. this steak is not made of cow.
2. Also, I made this a month ago. The sorrel that I used in this recipe is no longer hanging on against the oncoming winter. Winter has come, and the sorrel is dead. Oh, well.

Relevance of thing one: vegetarian food is, like, so hot right now. A couple of my friends recently did a two week vegan challenge, and one of the editors of Serious Eats is doing the same thing.

Relevance of thing two: sorry about that. (And hi, Dad!)

ANYWAY. Even if you're not a vegan or a vegetarian or what have you, I don't think you'll miss the meat here. Plus it's easy! Sear some cauliflower, and while it finishes in the oven, throw together a quick relish. A can of tomatoes and a few cloves of garlic for a sauce and HEYO! dinner.

Cauliflower Steaks with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce
serves 2-3, with some leftovers
adapted from Bon Appetit

1 head cauliflower (you can make it 4 servings if you use a biiiig cauliflower)
1/2 cup pitted black olives
3-4 sun dried tomatoes
3 tablespoons parsley or sorrel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Mince the garlic. Heat a small sauce pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil, sweat the garlic until it smells good. Add the tomatoes and simmer until the rest of dinner is done, then season to taste with salt and pepper. You can puree the sauce with an immersion blender if you want, I did, but I bet it would be good either way.

Trim the leaves off the cauliflower and trim the stem a little bit, if it's icky. Slice it into thick slices, about 3/4" thick. You should be able to get 3 good ones from the center of the head. There will be lots of cauliflower crumbs. Keep them! They go in the relish.

Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and sear two of the "steaks" until golden brown on both sides, a few minutes on each side should do it. You may have to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet. Once they're browned, transfer the steaks to a rimmed baking sheet and stick them in the oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking.

While they're in the oven, chop up the remaining cauliflower so all the crumbs are the same size, or until you have about 3/4 of a cup. Chop up the olives and sun dried tomatoes, then add the parsley, remaining 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice. Season the relish with pepper and a little bit of salt.

When the cauliflower is tender, stick it on a plate with some of the sauce, then put some relish on top and enjoy.

Tilapia with Endive, Pears and Meyer Lemon

Fish with pears? Fish with pears. But more on that in a second - first, let's recap New Year's Day Epic Brunch 2012. Citrus salad, to make you feel virtuous. I put it on the meat table (bacon, corned beef hash, sausage rolls) because I thought it was funny.



Tyler (he of the family smoke house) brought oatmeal, there were two quiches (mushroom and goat cheese, poblano and monterey jack), homemade danishes, Cara's cranberry muffins, spinach and gruyere strata, Glen's famous kugel, and a roasted sweet potato thing I put together with some pecans and pomegranate seeds and mint because of course I thought EEK! There's not going to be enough FOOD! Clearly I am a crazy person.



Also decorating the house this holiday season is my new friend Salty the Snowman, who I think is completely hilarious, so thanks, Santa. Seasonings Greetings to you, too!



But now let's get back to the fish at the top of this post. I didn't really make any resolutions per se this year, but I did decide I should try to cook and eat more fish. So good for you! So tasty! So many different fish to try!

Since this brand new year began just 12 days ago, we've had fish for dinner twice! Already an improvement over last year. I made this salmon last week, and last night we had this oddly delicious thing from the most recent issue of Fine Cooking. I say odd because fish and fruit struck me as bizarre, but not too bizarre to try. As it turns out, pears love salt! And I love pears and salt.

Tilapia with Endive, Pears and Meyer Lemon
Serves 2-3

I usually halve recipes that "serve four" when it seems like it will be too much food, but this time I just bought three small tilapia filets (the extra one is for Adam's lunch the next day) but left the veg amounts the same as the original recipe. I'm glad I did, I don't know if this would have been enough for four people, but then you could always make some rice and call it a day, eh? 

1 meyer lemon (2 if they're very tiny)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 belgian endives, trimmed, quartered lengthwise
3 medium firm (but ripe) pears
1 tablespoon chopped chives plus more for garnish
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 or 3 filets of tilapia or flounder, depending if someone needs lunch for the next day
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper

Zest the Meyer lemon with a microplane; you should end up with almost two teaspoons. Also your hands will smell AWESOME. Slice the lemon in half and juice one half to yield about 1 1/2 tablespoons of juice. Thinly slice the other half, then cut the slices in quarters. You may ned to pick out some seeds.

Heat a medium saute pan (one with a lid) over medium heat. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter, then add the endive, pears, lemon juice and zest, and season the whole thing with a good pinch of salt. Stir to combine, then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until the endive is tender throughout. Remove the cover and continue cooking until there is some browning on the pears and endive, another 5 minutes or so.

While the endive and pears cook, combine the flour and cornmeal in a shallow dish along with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Heat another saute pan over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour mixture. Make sure the pan is pretty hot before you add the fish or it won't brown, but cook the fish about 3 minutes per side until it's just cooked through. Remove the fish from the pan, wipe out any residual cornmeal with a towel and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter melts, add the quartered lemon slices and cook for about a minute, then add the wine and a pinch of salt. Let the wine reduce by half, then spoon it over the fish and endive. Meyer lemons are pretty sweet and if you slice them thinly and cook them through you can eat them. If you used a regular lemon, you may not want to eat the pieces.

Happy 2012!

While I'm currently scrambling to find room in my fridge for everything on the menu tomorrow - it's time for our Third Annual New Year's Day Epic Brunch - I wanted to pop in and say Happy New Year to all of you lovely people. I don't know about you but 2011 has been a banner year for me and I'm raising a glass tonight to 2012 being even better.

May your evening be bubbly and sparkly and your mornings hangover free, and I'll see you all in the new year. Cheers!

Cabbage and Smoked Cheddar Galette

Our friend Tyler has an grandfather in Vermont (and, you know, a mom and a dad and a whole family). But the grandfather is the one with a smokehouse where he smokes, among other things, Vermont cheddar cheese. Cheese so smokey it imbues its woodsy flavor on anything else you keep in near it in the fridge, so you have to keep it double bagged. Cheese that, it turns out, is completely brilliant in a pie with cabbage. Brilliant!

My apologies for a lousy photo, but this is was (I ate it for breakfast!) the last piece of galette. Galette is French for sloppily made pie (or something) and it couldn't be easier - roll out a crust, fill it with stuff, fold up the edges and bake it. Ta-da! No pie tin necessary. I had a couple of ounces of sausage left over from the sausage rolls I was making and freezing for my New Year's brunch, so I threw that in, but don't sweat it if you don't have any. Vegetarian cabbage pie will be equally delicious.

Cabbage and Smoked Cheddar Galette
serves 6-8 depending on how big you slice it

I prefer the Ratio 3-2-1 pie crust for most applications - three parts flour, two parts fat, one part ice water. I also find it very handy to have pie crust in the freezer so I make them four at a time (enough for four single or two double crust pies). Here's how: put 24 ounces of flour, two big pinches of salt, and 16 ounces of chilled, cubed butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and bang it up a bit until the pieces of butter are the size of your thumbnail. Or the size of grapes. You know, not so big. Put some water in a bowl and add a bunch of ice cubes. Cold is key! Stir it up a bit (or do this before you measure the flour) and when you're ready for water, measure out 8 ounces (one cup) of the now-icy-cold water. With the mixer on low speed, add the water in a slow stream, just until the dough clumps together. When you squeeze some in your fist it should stick together well. Divide the clumpy mess into four parts and wrap each in plastic, using the plastic to shape the clumps into a cohesive disk. Rest the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling, or freeze for 3-4 months. 

one pie crust, thawed overnight in the fridge if frozen
flour, if needed for rolling out crust
half a green or savoy cabbage, core removed, thinly sliced
one small onion, diced
a few ounces of sausage, if you have it (totally optional, though)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sour cream
3-4 ounces smoked cheddar or another smoked cheese, shredded
one egg beaten with a splash of water or milk

2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375.

Let the crust sit out on the counter while you cook the onion and cabbage so it'll be easier to roll, but don't let it get actually warm.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and cook the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the cabbage and cook until wilted, tossing regularly. Season with salt and pepper. Taste it and adjust the seasoning if it needs more salt. If you're using sausage, throw it in now, breaking it up with a spoon and let it cook most of the way through. Shut off the heat, then add the sour cream and stir to mix it in.

While the cabbage is wilting, roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured counter and transfer it to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. It doesn't have to be a perfect circle but go for at least an 11 or 12 inch amoeba-shape. Sprinkle the shredded cheese in a circle on the crust, leaving a two inch border all the way around and pile the cabbage over it.

Fold up the edges to contain the filling and brush the crust with the beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pan and bake another 20-25 minutes until the filling is hot and the crust is golden brown.

Lentil Salad with Smoked Bluefish and Quick Pickled Shallots

Saturdays at work are crazy busy this time of year. Usually there's someone representing one of our favorite producers tasting wine or ice cream or something delicious, and this week was no exception. Dave's Cape Cod Smokehouse was there this weekend selling EXTREMELY DELICIOUS smoked fish. I was particularly fond of the smoked bluefish (and the bluefish spread, yum) so I brought home a big fillet. The smoky flavor played well against the peppery bite of arugula and earthiness from the lentils, and the pickled shallots are a great high note. Go find yourself some delicious smoked fish and try it!

Lentil Salad with Smoked Bluefish and Quick Pickled Shallots
serves 3-4

1 cup Le Puy lentils
1/2 pound smoked bluefish, flaked
2-3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
a handful of arugula per person (6 ounces or so)
1 large shallot, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 scant tablespoon dijon mustard
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Bring two cups of water to boil in a medium saucepan, add lentils, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook, covered, 20 minutes or until lentils are tender, then season with salt. If the lentils are tender before all the water is absorbed, drain the excess water out.

While the lentils are cooking, slice the celery and pickle the shallots - just pour the red wine vinegar on them. If you need a little more vinegar to get all the shallots covered, add it. Add a bit of salt and pepper, then let them sit for 20 minutes. Drain the vinegar off, but save it! Add the dijon mustard and whisk in enough extra virgin olive oil to make a tasty vinaigrette. You might need to add a bit of salt and pepper to the vinaigrette - taste it with a leaf of arugula and a slice of celery to make sure it works together, and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Once the lentils are cooked through, drain any extra water, then add the bluefish and let it warm up in the heat of the lentils. Dress the lentils with some of the vinaigrette, then add the celery to the arugula and dress that, too. Divide the arugula among the plates and top with the lentils, then sprinkle the pickled shallots on top.