Chicken Liver Pâté

April 27, 2013February 5, 2017

Recently I have discovered my love of liver in pâté form. When I was younger and my parents would eat liver, I would screw up my face and impolitely decline a taste. Now I wonder why I was so against the stuff. It’s rich and creamy and makes a delicious spread for a snack or appetizer.

After seeing a recipe in An Everlasting Meal for chicken liver pâté, I had been wanting to try it. But, like anything I’ve never cooked before, I was a little nervous about it. I didn’t know if it could go wrong, and if it could, how badly. I had been checking the meat counter at my grocery store for a few weeks and hadn’t seen any chicken livers until one day, there they were, slimy and maroon, in all their glory. So I grabbed a pound of them. How much did a pound of chicken livers cost me? $2.73. This stuff is cheap AND delicious? I’m so in.

I got home, pulled out my book, and started cooking.

Chicken Liver Pâté

Ingredients

1 lb chicken livers
salt and pepper
roughly 12 Tbl butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 Tbl white wine (sherry, bourbon, scotch, cognac, or brandy will also do)
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 leek, finely sliced
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 Tbl water
a pinch of cloves
a pinch of cinnamon
1/8 bay leaf, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves, chopped (I didn’t do quite a quarter of a cup)

Instructions

Trim any connective membrane type stuff from the livers and season them with some salt and pepper. Melt 1 Tbl of butter in a nonstick pan. When it’s starting to sizzle, add a batch of livers (depending on how big your pan is, you’ll need to cook the livers in 2-3 batches). Don’t crowd them in the pan; leave some space around each liver. Let each liver brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other side. Put the livers on a plate or in a shallow bowl – they will release some juices. Add 1 Tbl of wine to the pan and scrape the brown bits from the pan. Pour the wine over the cooked livers. Add more butter to the pan, and cook the rest of the livers as you did above, skipping the wine step.

After you’ve cooked all the livers, add the shallot, leek, and garlic to the pan with the remaining 1 Tbl of wine and 2 Tbl of water. This will help the veggies become tender. Cook the veggies over medium heat until they’re tender.

When the veggies are done, add them, the livers and their juice, the cinnamon, clove, thyme, and bay leave to the blender. Don’t blend yet! Cube one stick of butter and add the cubes to the blender too. Blend it up and taste. Season as you see fit (I found myself adding more salt…). When it’s seasoned to your liking, put the pâté in a bowl and allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving. It may seem liquidy, but it will solidify as it cools. If you’ve got leftovers (like we did), melt some butter and spread it over the top of the pate, and allow to cool. You can store it like this (according to Adler) for up to 2 weeks.

We liked our pate with crostini and herbed goat cheese, or nut thins and various cheeses from our grocery store’s scrap bin as well as one from the PSU Farmers Market.

Garden Markers and Springtime

April 25, 2013February 5, 2017

A few weeks ago, Jonah and I ripped up a big bed in our back yard, went to our local farm and garden store, and planted our garden. We planted sugar snap peas, carrots, broccoli, beets, kale, strawberries, sage, chives, and thyme (all this in addition to the arugula, radicchio, fava beans, and garlic that Jonah planted back in the fall). It was really fun to get dirty and plant all these things that, someday, we’ll harvest and make into delicious food. Isn’t that exciting?

Anyway, I’m sharing this with you because we also made these little markers for our garden that I wanted to show you. I know it’s not food or a restaurant, but it is related. There are plenty of cute markers you can buy, but these are so nice and homemade and you can put your own personal touches on them. All you need are some rocks (washed and dried), some acrylic paints, brushes, and then, when you’re done, a waterproof shellac kind of spray so that, if you live in a place like Portland, the paint won’t get demolished in the rain. You can pick this up at any craft shop (think Michael’s or JoAnn Fabrics). Plus, you get to feel like you did an art project that was actually useful and cute.

(P.S. – the link above where it says “plenty of cute markers you can buy” is a link to an article on a blog that I really love called Design*Sponge. They have great recipes and hosting ideas too, be sure to check the whole site out!)

NOLA Trip & Reviews

April 23, 2013February 5, 2017

At the end of March, Jonah and I went on vacation. A while back, Jonah’s cousin Dylan had asked us if we wanted to go to New Orleans (NOLA) with him. He has some lovely friends who live there and were willing to host all of us. How can you turn down an opportunity like that?

Upon our arrival, we learned that not only were these people amazingly friendly and funny, but that they, too, are foodies. Could I have been any happier? Probably not. Emily and Barry (whose house we were staying at) were a wealth of information of where to eat (and where not to eat) and Urooj was just as enthusiastic about eating delicious food as we were. And eat delicious food we did. Here are some pictures and brief statements on what (and where) we ate.

Let’s start with breakfast, shall we? Our first day we ate an amazing brunch at Ruby Slipper, which has two locations in the city, I believe. I had the delicious quiche you see below and Jonah had some amazing crawfish and grits. The shrimp and grits were also delicious, as were the pancakes, which had some combination of spiced rum and pecans, I believe.

Later on in the trip, after hearing Emily and her brother Josh rave about it for days, we went to Gracious Bakery. These pastries were lovely – my particular favorites were the strawberry danish and the cruffin of the day (croissant pastry baked in a muffin tin), which was full of artichoke and cheese. Emily picked up a boule at Gracious (a round loaf of simple bread) and it was perhaps the most wonderful dense, buttery bread I’ve had in a long time. If you’re hunting for pastries in NOLA, I definitely recommend this place.

Now onto snacks: Emily’s brother Josh and his partner Brett took us to Dat Dog, where there are all kinds of creative sausages and toppings, resulting in some delicious and gigantic hot dogs. Below you’ll see my guinness dog with catsup, mustard, and something else, which I can no longer remember…

After walking with the gang through the Garden District (do it, seriously – the place is beautifully breathtaking), we strolled down Magazine Street to a nice little bar called Bouligny Tavern. Sipping kir royales and munching on these gouda beignets and fried gnocchi with truffle oil was not a bad way to spend an afternoon. The decor in this place was very 1960s, and the little food I ate was really REALLY delicious. Next time I’m in NOLA, I hope to go back.

Earlier we had stopped for an afternoon sweet tooth snack at Sucré. Jonah and I kept it simple with 2 flavors of gelato: lemon curd and basil + coconut. Both were incredible and have inspired some ice cream flavor brainstorming for my summer. Emily and Dylan, however, went for it and got a salted caramel chocolate cupcake and a profiterole-type dessert, made with an eclair, 3 scoops of gelato, and as you can see, plenty of chocolate sauce.

Emily, our wonderful hostess, works at a little sweet shop called Brocato’s, so of course we had to visit. Almond macarons and custard gelato were the highlight here. As well as her co-worker Pam.

I won’t talk too much about drinking (I know, I know), but I will say that if you’re going to visit NOLA, I would highly recommend at least walking by Lafitte’s Blacksmith shop, if not going in and having a drink. Reputed as the oldest bar in the U.S. (built in 1730 or something like that…), the building is super cool. When Jonah and I went, we were lucky enough to happen upon a wonderful singer playing the piano in the back of the bar. She knew every cover the audience threw at her, and had this great raspy voice. And the piano was covered in candles, and surrounded by people on stools. The whole scene was pretty neat.

For our big meal out, we decided to go to Root, a new-ish restaurant in the warehouse district. Root’s menu felt like one you could find in Portland, except for very South-influenced. We started with face bacon (it’s exactly what it sounds like) and a ballotine, accompanied by mustards and house pickled onions, strawberries, etc. Next? Grilled duck heart salad, smoked scallops with cauliflower served in an old cigar box, and pork belly served with poached lobster. But my favorite part was probably dessert: The Yorkie. A housemade peppermint pattie and mint chocolate chip ice cream scooped on top of the most delicious homemade coco puffs, with mint infused milk poured over the whole thing. Just like eating cereal for dessert. But really fancy delicious cereal.

And of course, how could we go to NOLA and not go to Cafe Du Monde to eat some beignets (and some beignet mix for our roommate, who was kind enough to recreate the dessert for us about a week after we got back).

Beet Tart

April 18, 2013February 5, 2017

OK people – I know we read a lot of food books and talk about them all the time, but if there is ONE book you are going to read from our suggestions, let it be An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. It is amazing book that changed my life, and is sure to make you think and act differently around food. If you have not read it yet, go read our blog post on her book, and then continue below.

This beet tart is a perfect example of Tamar’s philosophy and grace: if you attacked this beet tart recipe from start to finish in one cooking session alone – it would take most of your day; first you would have to roast the beets (which takes a long time anyway), then make tart dough and chill it for an hour, then bake the tart dough, then put together the filling, bake some more, add the sliced beets, and bake once again. Sounds daunting! I would never have done this recipe if it wasn’t spread out over many days and incorporated in the general meal preparations for the week. However, the manner in which it was made made it feel like I was just throwing leftovers together in a very creative way, rather than a labor intensive ordeal.

Here’s what happened: A few days before, Annie and I roasted a whole bunch of veggies for dinner (or was it lunch?). We filled the whole oven and roasted lots of different veggies with olive oil and salt. I fit the beets in a small pan with a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom, covered them with foil, and let them roast for a long time (probably too long, I may have forgotten about them). We ate the other roasted veggies as part of our dinner that night, but we had no intention of eating the beets that day, so we didn’t have to wait around for them to roast. We let them cool and then peeled them and put them in the fridge before bed. Now we had roasted beets peeled beets in the fridge. We had no plan but we had ideas: beet salad, beet pasta, or beet anything; they were simply a nice starting point.

A few days before roasting the veggies, we had made a different veggie tart using the Olive Oil Tart dough recipe that can be found in Tamar’s book, so we had some leftover in the fridge. A few days later, I looked in the fridge and saw that a perfect storm had brewed for a beet tart. There, sitting in the fridge waiting to be used, were roasted peeled beets, tart dough, and some leftover ricotta cheese.

If you want to make this recipe from start to finish, more power to you. However, I would suggest at least making the tart dough a day ahead, and then looking through your fridge to find any vegetables that would work, roast them, and put them on top of the tart in place of beets.

Beet Tart

Note: You’ll want to roast your beets or other vegetables before you make the tart dough.

Ingredients

Olive Oil Tart Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ice water
1 teaspoon salt

Beet Tart Filling

1 1/2 cups ricotta (fresh)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tb. cream (I think I just used leftover creme fraiche)
1/2 t. salt
2 egg yolks
a pinch of fresh thym or rosemary

Instructions

Olive Oil Tart Dough

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If its too dry, add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Divide the dough in half and roll into balls, then put them in the fridge to chill.

Take out one dough ball (you get to save the rest for another day!) and roll it out on a floured counter until its about 1/4 inch thick. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan and dust with a bit of flour. Lay the crust in the pan and trim the edges. Prick the bottom a few times (this dissuades bubbles from appearing in your tart dough). Cover the crust in aluminum foil and put some dried beans or pie weights in to fill the tart and hold down the dough. Bake for 20 minutes.

Beet Tart Filling

Whisk together filling ingredients. Pour into the pre-baked tart dough (remember to take out the dried beans and aluminum foil!) and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Now lay your beet slices (I cut mine into half-moons) on top of the ricotta filling in a single layer and bake for another 10 minutes. Let it cool and eat at room temperature.

It is very filling and great for lunch the next day and many days after!

Tamar Adler’s “An Everlasting Meal”

April 13, 2013February 5, 2017

I have come across a book that has changed the way I think about food and cooking, and I want to tell you all about it. I’m not sure how I came across it, but somehow I did, and when Jonah and I went to Powell’s with a friend, I made sure to pick it up. It’s called An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler.

Tamar Adler seems to be the perfect combination of writer and cook. She was an editor at Harper’s Bazaar, and still occasionally writes for them. But she also worked at Prune and Chez Panisse, so clearly has some foodie chops. Unlike most of the other food books I’ve written about, Adler’s book isn’t her life story, the tale of the opening of her own restaurant, or even a cookbook. This book is full of tips and ideas on how to use the ingredients you’ve got to your fullest advantage and make delicious food. (One of my favorite tips on roasting vegetables and vegetables in general: “If you need vegetables to share a roasting pan, choose ones that have grown in similar ways. This rule helps when you want to know which vegetables can stand in for which in recipes as well.”)

After having fallen in love with this book, I have read more of Tamar Adler’s articles. I recently read a conversation between her and Kurt Michael Friese. Their philosophies about getting people to stop being afraid of cooking, to realize how simple (and inexpensive) it can be, and how food really brings people together are very aligned with my own. These philosophies are a large part of what led me to create this blog. I want everyone to know that it’s not that hard to roast asparagus with olive oil and salt, or to bake some trout in parchment paper. Anyone can do that.

Heavily inspired by M.F.K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf, An Everlasting Meal is split into chapters with titles like “How to teach an egg to fly,” “How to build a ship,” and “How to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.” (On Adler’s website, you can find cute little videos to accompany some of the chapters, as well as links to more of her writing.) Subjects like how eggs can be a substantial part of any meal, using bread as a central part of the meal instead of as an appetizer, and entertaining are side by side with recipe ideas and recipes themselves, which are peppered throughout. But her recipes aren’t do or die… they’re more like gentle guidelines or suggestions. Some are written in normal recipe format, and some are in paragraph form amongst the text.

My copy of the book is marked up and dog-eared, with ideas circled and recipes starred on many pages. Jonah is reading it now, and I’ve told so many friends about it who have asked if they can borrow the book when he’s done. I am inclined to say yes, but then I think about how much I’ve used this book since owning it. I’ve used specific recipes as well as referencing sections for ideas and finding favorite quotes for inspiration when I’m feeling too tired to make dinner. And it always revives me, reminding me that all I have to do for a good meal is boil some potatoes and whip up some aioli and eat them with sauteed kale.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from An Everlasting Meal:

“All ingredients need salt. The noodle or tender spring pea would be narcissistic to imagine it already contained within its cell walls all the perfection it would ever need. We seem, too, to fear that we are failures at being tender or springy if we need to be seasoned. It’s not so: it doesn’t reflect badly on pea or person that either needs help to be most itself.”

Talking about making an omelette: “Beat two or three eggs in a bowl, adding a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of heavy cream if you want. This is not a trick, but and expresion of the fact that things taste good with cream added.”

And two of my favorites on entertaining:

“We’re anxious about serving, but the simple, blessed fact is that no one ever comes to dinner for what you’re cooking. We are all hungry and thirsty and happy that someone’s predicted we would be and made arrangements for dealing with it. We come for the opportunity to look up from our plates and say ‘thank you.’ It is for recognition of our common hungers that we come when we are asked.”

“I like to serve food family style. It’s pleasurable to spoon a potato onto a fellow diner’s plate. It binds you to her, for the duration of the dinner at least, in a way that makes conversation easy and the atmosphere good.”

She writes a lot about the importance buying locally grown, good ingredients, and most of what she cooks with is good produce. Even though I know it’s a huge part of cooking, I am still in awe of what good fresh ingredients can do. Which is one of the reasons I’m so excited that the farmers market has started again here in Portland. Here are my spoils from today.