Carmelized Spiced Carrots; What Went Wrong?

I tried this recipe last night. Maybe it was the brand of pomegranate molasses that I used, but the carrots tasted really sour until I added about 1/3 cup of maple syrup.

From Epicurious:
CARAMELIZED SPICED CARROTS

1 cup pomegranate molasses*
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 pounds medium carrots, peeled, stems trimmed to 1/2 inch
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves

Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk 1/4 cup water, pomegranate molasses, and next 7 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add carrots to pomegranate mixture and toss to coat. Divide carrots between 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Roast until carrots are tender and liquids are reduced to glaze, stirring twice and mixing in water by tablespoonfuls if needed to prevent burning, about 55 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in 375°F oven 10 minutes before serving.)
Transfer carrots to platter. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, basil, and mint over carrots and serve.

Makes 16 servings.
Bon Appétit/Menus/November 2004

Catching up on Tragedy

My misadventures in Chile pale in comparison to the horrors and misery in my favorite city New Orleans. I've been eating a comfort food, trying to fill up a void that can't be filled. Pepperidge farm cookies, Starbucks Low-fat Latte ice cream, braised short ribs, and a pasta dish destined to become a new favorite (retrieved from the September issue of Bon Appetit, page 44.

Penne with Mushrooms, Spinach, Rosemary and Tomatoes
(original recipe, my modifications follow)
6 servings

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound portobello mushrooms, stemmed, gills scraped, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
1 2/3 cups beef broth, divided
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 ounce porcini mushrooms
1/3 cup white wine
3 large plum tomatoes, chopped
1 pound penne pasta
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach leaves
1 1/4 cup asiago cheese plus additional for sprinkling


Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add portobello mushrooms, garlic and 1 teaspoon rosemary. Saute until mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer mushroom mixture to medium bowl. Add 1 cup beef broth and chicken broth to same skillet. Add dried porcini mushrooms. Cover: simmer over medium-low heat until mushrooms are tender, about 12 minutes. Add reserved portobello mushroom mixture and wine to skillet; simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Add remaining rosemary and tomatoes. Simmer until tomatoes are tender and sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until tender but firm to bite. Drain; return pasta to same pot over medium heat. Add spinach and remaining 2/3 cup of beef broth; toss to wilt spinach. Stir in mushroom sauce and cheese. Season pasta with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls; serve with cheese.

My Version

I diced 1/4 cup of pancetta and cooked it in olive oil for 5 minutes before adding a tablespoon of butter. Instead of beef broth I used just chicken broth and white wine to restore the mushrooms. I didn't have porcini mushrooms on hand, so I used the dried chanterelles we already had. Porcini would have been really good, but any dried mushroom would work. I also added a small package of shiitake mushrooms to the portobellos, just for variety. I didn't have spinach, but I did have kale, so I chopped that up and added it 5-10 minutes earlier than called for in the recipe, since it takes a little longer to cook than the baby spinach, which is instant. I used Parmesan cheese instead of Asiago, big deal.

I think adding the pancetta deepens the flavor and I'd use it in this recipe again. I'd like to try it with the dried porcini mushrooms next time, though the chanterelles, chopped fine, were great. Dried mushrooms are a really important component in this recipe and should not be replaced with fresh, because the flavor isn't as concentrated. You have to like BIG mushroom flavor to enjoy this dish.

Here are the rest of my Chile pictures: I'll post more about it when I have recovered from my post-blizzard stress disorder.

spaetzle spaetzle spaetzle

I've made spaetzle a few times since we ate at The Bavarian at Taos. I've had mixed results, and this time I think I can blame it on the equipment.

First I have to figure out what kind of spaetzle maker to get, and the decision is NOT easy:

Spaetzle-Hex for junkies who need a quick fix
Spaetzle.de for purists - brush up on your German
Sliding or rotary spaetzle makers, one of which looks suspiciously like a Foley food mill
Nana's Spaetzle Maker - I can't quite figure out how it works

Then I have to decide which recipe works the best. There are more recipes for spaetzle than there are for Canadian butter tarts.

1.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose Flour (375ml)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt (2.5ml)
2/3 cup water (157ml)

2.
2-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk

3.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch freshly ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

4. (from Tyler Florence)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk

5. (from Wolfgang Puck, who should know)
4 egg yolks
1 egg
1 3/4 cups milk
1 pound (about 3 cups) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Everyone seems to agree that eggs and flour are present, and most recipes have nutmeg. I have made them with water - I used the Joy of Cooking recipe:

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup water
small grating of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder (I don't bother with it)

Just in time, I got The Swiss Cookbook by Nika Standen Hazelton (Atheneum NY: 1967) for $2.50 at Jeanne's Attic in Laconia; this spatzli version has:

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup water

But now I'm wondering about what milk would do. I'll just have to make them again, and again and again.....

inevitable unagi

sooner or later eel had to be mentioned, right?

this is another idea from geoff's family - all the good taste of sushi with only half the work.

first make sushi rice, which is some effort but worth the time. I took this recipe from a very handy book the asian grocery store demystified








make the rice and spread it across a shallow serving dish; grill the eel according to the directions on the package (this is new hampshire, the only eel is a frozen eel); usually it comes sauced, but if you want extra sauce you can whip up a batch using
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 sake
2 T mirin




place the grilled eel on top of the sushi rice and serve with a nice seaweed salad that was also pulled out of the freezer, and a bottle of sake.

chive vinegar

geoff's brother-in-law taught me this wonderful way to use chive blossoms.

open a bottle of white wine in a clear glass bottle and save the cork. drink all but about 1-2 cups of wine, putting it aside so that you can rinse out the bottle and remove the label (especially if it's a gift). fetch enough chive flowers to fill the bottle. pour in white vinegar to about 2/3 full, then add the wine up to 2 inches from the top. cork it and let it sit for 1-2 weeks, until the vinegar turns vivid pink.

excellent for salad dressing or gazpacho.

getting primal with pork ribs and tomatillo salsa

i don't have any pictures of this meal, since the evening was so beautiful and i didn't want to ruin the moment by saying "don't eat that until i've photographed it," to geoff. so you'll just have to endure the view from our deck instead.


several pounds of pork ribs with or without bones. i prefer the savagery of bones, but geoff disagrees.

2-3 cans of cheap beer. schaefer is the brew of choice at the moment.

coat ribs with salt and pepper and steam them in the beer until the meat is very tender, at least an hour.

generously coat with barbecue sauce (see previous post) and sear them on the grill.

snarling, eat them quickly, before someone else does.


serve with salsa:


shot june 4

place in a bowl:
8-12 tomatillos, diced
6-8 of the best tomatoes you can find; no small feat in New England this time of year, but possible, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 each red and yellow peppers,chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 serrano chile, finely chopped (optional heat)

in a separate bowl combine:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of honey - more if you like the dressing sweet, less if you prefer it tart (or you found some decent tomatoes)
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning if you can find it - or make your own combining black pepper, cayenne, mexican oregano, and cumin. taste it before you combine it with the chopped vegetables to make sure that it's not too sweet or tart.

mix ingredients together and serve with or without chips

fiddlehead tempura

fiddleheads were never better.

i'd rather cheat and get tempura batter mix at the asian grocery store, but this should do if you don't have any on hand.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 3/4 cups cold water
1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

blend ingredients together in a bowl and dip the fiddleheads in the batter. deep fry in oil until golden, around 2 minutes - make sure they don't get mushy.

serve with tempura sauce. combine:
1 cup dashi
1/4 cup mirin
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

barbecue sauce that speaks with authority

this recipe is taken from the barefoot contessa cookbook with one modification. geoff says it "rocks."

1 1/2 cups chopped onion (1 large onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup tomato paste
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup honey (i used dark maple syrup instead)
1 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

in a large saucepan on low heat, saute the onions and garlic with the vegetable oil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not browned. add the tomato paste, vinegar and maple syrup (or honey) worcestershire sauce, mustard, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes. simmer uncovered on low heat for 30 minutes. use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

the barefoot contessa cookbook by ina garten ny 1999; page 121.