Selective Palate

Like every other “foodie” in the world I enjoy watching, you guessed it cooking shows. So it should come as no surprise that the other day while working I had the TV set to the Food Network for background noise. Now I have to say that I am not a huge Rachel Ray fan, she tends to get on my nerves a bit. However, I find her mostly genuine and I tend to like some of her ideas; though enough with the freakin’ burgers will ya! Anyhow her show came on and she was making a Puttanesca with Tuna “Polpettes” (otherwise known to everyone else as meatballs!) It sounded very good to me so I stole it! Well not really I mean her point is to take her ideas and run with them right? So that is what I did.

Recipe:

Sauce:
1 lg. can whole tomatoes
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/2 – 1/3 cup chicken stock
Olive Oil
5 (or more whole anchovies)
1 tsp. (or more) crushed red pepper flakes
4-5 cloves garlic minced
small jar capers – drained
3/4 cup of chopped olive cured or kalamata olives
1/2 cup fresh basil shredded
couple good dash of hot sauce – to taste
salt & pepper to taste

Tuna Meatballs:
1 med – large tuna steak
1 egg
handful of parsley
2 handfuls of breadcrumbs
salt & pepper

For the sauce heat a saute pan on med high the add enough olive oil to coat the pan. Once hot add your crushed red pepper flakes anchovies. Break up the fillets with a wooden spoon until they are almost resolved then turn down your heat to medium and add your garlic and give a good swirl. Add your crushed tomatoes, stir to combine. While that cooks a bit open your whole tomatoes and reach in gently squeeze them. I know this is messy and there are other ways to do this but I usually use my hands, I like the feel of the tomatoes bursting! When you’re done (take your time I know its fun to play with your food) add them to your pan sauce ‘n all. Give another good stir to combine all the ingredients. Now you can add your chopped olives and capers. Once combined taste for seasoning. Add the hot sauce if you like and since we are using so many salty, briny things it may only need pepper but depending on how you like it you can add a pinch of salt as well. You can add the chicken stock at this point too to thin down your sauce. Since it is not only a sauce but a poaching liquid for the meatballs I tend to like this a little thinner than a traditional ragu so I used about 1/2 of stock but you be the judge of how thin you want your sauce. I also think the stock gives it a little added richness. Also this is the point you would want to add 1/2 of your basil.

Tuna Meatballs:
These couldn’t be easier! Chunk up your tuna steak and throw in a food processor. Pulse a few times to get it going then add the rest of your ingredients. Pulse until well combines and resembles, well meatball mix! Remove to a bowl and with your hands mix in a small amount of good olive oil. Roll meatballs into about the size of golf balls. Once you have rolled them all place delicately in the sauce. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes! You don’t want to over cook these so I plop them in once the pasta is done. They take no time at all.

Top pasta with sauce and meatballs and garnish with the leftover shredded basil! This will surpise you I promise. The meatballs come out so light and fluffy and you would never guess that is was tuna. They absorb the flavor of the sauce nicely but not too much. Great when you feel like a pasta dish but without the bloated feeling afterword!

As promised my wine buddy is at it again. Since he was such a hit last time I asked if he would write up another great wine for us to try. He happily obliged with a great sounding wine that is a must try. I have never heard of this wine before so you know I have already walked over to my wine guy and asked him to please please please order me a bottle. I should have it in a few weeks I can’t wait! So as not to keep you all waiting here is Eric’s pick of the week!

Ever heard of Dolcetto? Not just a pretty name, this is the wine that the majority of North-western Italians pair with nearly every meal and with good reason. Understand that in Italy, traditional wine is made with the intention of pairing it with the local cuisine. In the region of Piedmont (the same Piedmont that’s famous for Barolo and Barbaresco) the food is mountain fair, rich dishes of game meats, sausage, potato and (my favorite) risotto. So what does it take to pair a wine against this hearty fair? The answer… Balanced acidity.

So Dolcetto may not be the wine to pour at a party or to sip on the couch while watching a movie with your sweetie, but I guarantee you that Dolcetto is the wine to pour at your next dinner party or with a cheese plate. A good Dolcetto shows ripe blackberry fruit with lively acidity and a bit of bitterness on the finish that screams for another bite of food. It compliments the food instead of overwhelming it.

Aldo Conterno
Dolcetto Massante 2006

My Notes:
A medium bodied, dark purple hue Dolcetto. Initially the nose is a little closed with chalk dust and faded fruit but with a little time an explosion of Blackberries, chestnuts and toast… Wow. Juicy blackberries jam on the palate with spicy clove. The finish is long and chewy with a bit of burn from the teaming acidity that also makes this a great wine to pair with food.

Lastly, I scored this bottle for $26 dollars and although that’s not cheap, this is one of the better examples of Dolcetto that I’ve seen in quite a while. Also, check out other producers, such as Pecchenino, Bruno Giacosa and Domenico Clerico.

~Eric

Ok now where was I before I was so rudely interupted by work? Ah yes dessert. Last we chatted I was going over the birthday lunch I prepared for a friend. Which as an update, to say she was very pleased is an understatement! I told you that I finished off her meal with a lovely desert of Coconut Lime Frozen Yogurt. Incidently I am enjoying some as we speak . So without further delay the yummy concoction that is a small spoonful of heaven.

Recipe:

3 cups greek style plain yogurt (I used full fat but I suppose you could use 2%)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. coconut extract or flavoring
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 Tbsp. lime juice
the zest of 1 lime
pink peppercorns and lime zest to garnish

Mix all ingredient except garnish thoroughly in your mixer or whisk by hand and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour. Transfer to your ice cream maker and follow your models instructions. When it has reached a soft-serve like consistancy tranfer to a freezer safe container and chill overnight. Serve topped with a little of the zest and some crushed pink pepper corns!

~Enjoy

Later my favorite wine guy has another recomendation he wanted to share! See you soon!

Well I had this other post all planned out and even written about my new mortar and pestal I bought over the weekend. However something better came up that I I wanted to share.

This weekend is a dear friend of mine’s birthday and unfortunately I will not be around to celebrate with her. So I asked her what her favorite meal was and promised I would make it for her no matter what it was, even if I never heard of it before in my life! We live in a very small town with not a whole lot of ethnic food options and she asked for a favorite thai dish of Panang Curry. I love Thai and make green curries all the time but I must confess this was the first time I ventured to make panang. For her I decided to go all out and make my curry paste from scratch and after some research I came up with a version I believe to be pretty authentic. To make this meal extra special I made a side green papaya salad and for dessert coconut lime frozen yogurt inspired by the Goddess of all things Asian.

First up the Green Papaya Salad!

Recipe:

1 green papaya, jullianed in long thin strips.
2-4 thai bird chilies (depending on how much heat you like you can add more or less)
1 whole clove of garlic
4-5 green beans (if you can find long beans use 1 of those) cut into 1.5″ pieces
1 Tomato cut in medium size chunks
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. dried shrimp
garnish with roasted peanuts if you like

Start by shredding your papaya, through my research the traditional way of shredding the papaya was a little dangerous for my first time, it involved randomly and rapidly hacking away at the papaya so instead I used a jullian peeler and it worked out great. Next in a mortar and pestal (if your using a stone one be careful, traditionally a ceramic version is used because it is gentler on the ingredients) combine garlic and chilies and mash a few times. Then add your beans and mash a few more times. Add a small amount of the papaya and pound again but don’t go crazy you don’t want a paste. Next add in the sugar and fish sauce and pound a few more times. Now add your tomatoes and pound lightly. Lastly add your lime juice, dried shrimp and the rest of the papaya. Pound a few more times to gentaly bruise the fruit. I like to break up the shrimp a little more, I have found most people don’t care for a big chunk of dried shrimp. T o serve garnish with the roasted peanuts if you like.Now on to the star of the meal, Panag Curry!

Recipe:
For the Curry Paste

10 (or so) dried red chilies, if you like it hot use the smaller a Thai bird chili (I did)
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. galangal
2 Tbsp. lemongrace sliced
1 Tbsp. cilantro stems and leaves (more stems than leave but I like the brightness the leaves bring)
1 tsp. coriander seeds (toasted)
1 tsp. cumin seeds (toasted)
2-3 cloves garlic
1- 2 shallots (about 2 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. peanuts (roasted)
1 tsp. shrimp paste or anchovy paste (or 102 anchovy filets)

Soak your chilies until soft for anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. When soft remove seeds. Toast your cumin seeds and coriander sees until fragrant and add to your mortar and pestal (heavey duty stone one works the best for this) with the roasted peanuts. Grind to a smooth powder. Remove from mortar and set aside. Next add the chilies and salt and grind to a smooth paste; this may take some time to break up the skins but it is worth it. Next add the lemongrass, pound to combine, then the galangal, cilantro, garlic and shallots. Grinding after the addition of each one. Now add the peanut, cumin, coriander mixure and the shrimp/anchovy paste and mix well into a thick paste.

For the Panang:

Up to 2 cups coconut milk (use the full fat kind, you want the thick creamy part for this dish)
Curry paste from above (if you are not making your own-you totally should-you can use about 3 Tbsp. of red curry mixed with the ground peanuts)
1 Tbsp. lime leaves, shredded (if you can’t find them in your area fresh you can usually find a jar already shredded. In my small town I had to go that route and it works just fine if not you can use the zest of a lime and thai basil but it will not be the same)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 cups “meat” sliced thin. Taditionally beef is used but you can use beef, pork, chicken or tofu. If using Tofu press and fry first then add to your curry. I used a combination of sliced assorted mushrooms, beef, and tofu. I have never been good at making up my mind!

Start by preheating your wok or large saute pan on med high heat. Once hot add about 1/2 cup of your coc0nut milk. You want it to sizzle as it hits the pan. Add all of the curry paste you made and stir to combine. As the pan dries up you want to add more coconut milk, a little at a time to keep it most but not soupy. Make sure you keep stirring as not to burn your curry. Keep cooking until very fragrant about 5 minutes. Add your meat at this point (don’t stop stirring!) Cook for another 2 minutes then add the remaining ingredients of lime leaves, fish sauce, and sugar. If your curry looks too dry you can add some more coconut milk. The texture should be creamy/thick sauce but not soupy at all.

Serve with steamed jasmine rice and garnish with more lime leaves and/or thai basil.

I think this is a lot to absorb for now. But don’t you worry I will follow up with the Coconut Lime Frozen Yogurt later today but right now I must run, work calls!!

After a busy day of shopping were happen to find ourselves on Church Street in downtown Burlington. I decided I wanted chinese food so we walked ourselves over to a nice restaurant called A Single Pebble. Now I had been there once before with a large group of women and I remember the food being good. I also remember not paying a lot, but I will get to that later.

We had been running around all day and had worked up a bit of an appetite so lets just say we enjoyed ourselves and I fell into a food coma on the ride home!

A Single Pebble is a nice sit down chinese restaurant that serves up everything family style. I love family style places that way I get to try a little of everything!

To share we ordered 4 small plates and 1 large entree. It was PLENTY of food for M and I. I thought we would have leftovers but no such luck this time around.

A Single Pebble is great for speed. Once you order within a few minutes the food starts coming out. They do not wait for everything to be done at one time instead they just bring each dish out as soon as it flies out of the wok and is served to you piping hot.

First out was the Imperial Spring Rolls. Every asian restaurant I visit I have to order spring rolls. I tend to measure the quality of the place by how good the spring rolls are. These came out piping hot filled with shrimp, scallops, and squid and served with a sweet soy dipping sauce. They were very tasty and not greasy. M who is not a seafood fan even liked them. My only complaint was for the price, $7.50 I thought we would get more than 2 spring rolls!

Next to the table a simple yet delicious salad of shredded nappa cabbage and cilantro dressed with a sweet rice wine vinaigrette. Again very good and refreshing but for $7.50 I felt ripped off.

Scallion Pancakes were the next to make an appearance. We got quite a few of these and they were crispier than I have had them before but that is not to say they were not good. They were very good. M commented that he would love to stuff them with something, I think he said something creamy would be great. Yes you could fill them but I really liked them plain with the sweet soy dipping sauce. They had a really good, fresh scallion taste that I really enjoyed not to mention a satisfying crunch. These were I believe $7.00 and they did give us a lot so I didn’t feel they were TOO expensive comparatively speaking.

For the last small plate we got the special of the night which was called Momofuko. A shredded pork covered in a spicy version of a korean BBQ sauce topped with a giant fried oyster and rolled in a lettuce cup. These were a big portion but if we were getting them for a larger table they would not have been able to share. I liked these quite a bit though the BBQ sauce was not like any Korean BBQ sauce I have ever tasted and I love Korean BBQ! At first bite I thought the oyster itself was lost but its crunch was welcome. However, I tried it with and with out the oyster and the creaminess of the oyster really cut through the BBQ sauce nicely. These too were expensive, some where around $9.00 for 3 wraps.

The main course of the night was Empress Beef. Thinly sliced beef cooked in a Cantonese “gravy” with assorted mushrooms set atop braised baby bok choy. I am a sucker for bock choy and between that and the mushrooms I was sold. Unfortunately, we only got 6 leaves, yes leaves of bok choy. The entree itself was nice and again another tasty dish but I felt it was missing something, maybe a little spice. M really enjoyed it and he polished off the majority of. I must say the vegetables, including the bok choy where cooked perfect. But as in all the previous dished the $19.00 price tag was a bit much to take for what we received.

Over all the meal was very good. We could not find much to complain about with the food. They did offer a full bar, wine list and sake menu which was nice though we were not in the mood to imbide much that night. The atmosphere is also very welcoming. Most tables have a lazy susan in the center for easy sharing and the tables are not extremely smashed together. The decor is very typical asian restaurant with a bit less tackiness and due to the structure the noise is kept at a minimum. So we enjoyed ourselves and the food but we did not enjoy the $100 price tag at the end!