Kathi Roll

Veggie Burger

Shaker Lemon Pie at "Scratch"

This week, we discovered "Scratch" - the famous bakery in Durham which seems to make everything from Scratch. They close at 6, thats what kept us from going there earlier. We made it finally!! And every bite was worth it. Salil took an afternoon off on Thursday, the day before I start my 4 year long Pathology residency program in UNC Hospitals.

We tried to pies at Scratch. The "Shaker Lemon Pie" had thin slices of lemons stacked in the pie and had that absolutely lemony punch packed in a sweet-tarty pie. The crust was the best I have ever eaten - flakey and light and worth a fight with Salil. The next pie we tried was "Buttermilk Sugar Pie" - not the prettiest of the pies but true to its name. Again not very sweet and had a good balance of sweet, tart and salty! They had several other pies on the menu and I am sure they are all worth every single penny.

Unfortunately, they were not serving lunch by the time we reached, will surely visit on a Saturday for that soon.

Highly recommended!!

Link to Scratch Bakery Website

Fennel-Apple Pasta Salad/ Summer pasta salad

We are off to a summer picnic with friends and decided to make a cool summery pasta salad. I have always loved the concept of a good pasta salad but never liked the mayonnaise-filled-mess which seems to be so prevalent. Developed this recipe (obviously after some search on the internet) around the juicy, delicate fennel which I picked up at the Farmer’s market in Carrboro. Fennel and apple are a classic combination. I have added some dried fennel seeds to kick up the fennel flavor and some red chilli flakes for the heat at the end of the bite. I wish I could add something more to make the sald more colorful but the flavor of the fennel is so delicate that I am always worried about overwhelming the mild sweet licorice flavor.

4 cups boiled bow-tie or any short cut pasta

Below ingredients finely chopped –
½ apple
1 medium sized cucumber
1 medium sized tomato (deseeded, seeds make it watery)
1 banana pepper
A handful of Fennel fronds for garnish

Thin slivers of ½ a bulb of fennel

Roughly chopped almonds, a handful (the more the better for me!)
1 ½ teaspoon fennel seeds – lightly crushed to release the flavours
½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
½ teaspoon sugar
Salt

For the dressing –
1 ½ teaspoon mustard
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup good extra virgin olive oil

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside. Let the boiled pasta cool to room temperature before you start building the salad. Mix all the veggies, almonds, fennel etc and toss in the salad dressing. Garnish with the fennel fronds.

Deviled eggs

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Hot sausage sandwich

Primanti brothers sandwich in Pittsburgh - this Pittsburgh establishment is famous for the fries being inside your sandwich, instead of their usual role as a side!

Jambalaya

I was watching Food Network this suday, trying to keep myself occupied while Salil was working and saw this incredible Jambalaya recipe on Ina Garten's show.  I admit that this is the first time I paid complete attention to a cooking show, took notes, bought fresh ingredients and made lunch.

2 links of Andouille sausage, chopped to bite size pieces
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup roasted green peppers (use 1 cup if they are not roasted since roasting concentrates the flavors significantly)
1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper
3 big garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups long grain rice (I used Basmati)
10 big shrimps, peeled and deveined
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped scallions

Heat some olive oil in a deep, heavy bottom pan and saute the sausage on medium high heat.  Once the sausage turns brown on the edges (about 10 minutes) take it out of the pan and set aside.  In the same pan, add a couple teaspoons of olive oil and saute onions and celery untill they are soft.  Add the roasted green peppers and warm them through for a couple of minutes. 

Make a well in the bottom of the bowl by moving the vegetables to a side and add a teasoonful of olive oil.  Add the chopped garlic and jalapeno peppers.  Stir in with the rest of the mixture after 1 minute.

Wash 2 cups of Basmati rice, remove excess water and add it to the pot.  Warm the chicken stock in a separate sauce pan and add 3 cups of stock to the rice.  Cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the sausage and the rest of the stock depending on the consistency and the level of done-ness of the rice.  In my hands, the ratio of rice to liquids at 1:2 works best.  Season with salt and pepper and simmer for another 10 minutes untill the rice is tender.  At this stage, turn the heat off and add the shrimp, cilantro and scallions to the pot.  Bury the shrimp delicately under a layer of hot rice and cover.  The shrimp will steam and turn curvey and pink in about 12 minutes.  Garnish with some scallions and jalapenos!

I loved the results..the cooking time for shrimp turned out to be perfect.  This was my first attempt at the Jambalaya and I can see it becoming my go-to comfort food fairly quickly.

Turkey Chilli

Its a 105F outside and I decided to make a bowl of chilli.  Have a bad bout of cold and desperately need some comfort food.  If it gets too hot, may be I will go get an ice cream to balace it all!

1/2 pound ground white turkey
3 large cloves of garlic
2 serrano peppers
1 medium onion
4 medium tomatoes
kernels from 1 fresh corn
1 8oz can of black beans
1/2 bottle dark beer
2 cups vegetable/ chicken stock
1 cup 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
shredded cheese
olive oil
Salt

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a deep pan and add ground turkey to it.  Break up the meat stirring constantly untill it becomes opaque white and turns slightly brown at the edges.  Add finely chopped garlic and serrano peppers.  I de-seeded one of twon peppers to control the heat.  Saute for 2 minutes and add finely chopped onion.  Saute on medium low heat for 15 minutes till the onions become translucent and then become pinkish-brown. 
Meanwhile, quarter the tomatoes, sprinkle salt, peppers and olive oil and slow roast them in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes.  It will concentrate the tomato flavor without drying them out completely.  I used fresh tomato from the farmers market but canned crushed tomatoes will also work. Once the onions start to turn brown, add the chopped roasted tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes till the tomatoes cook completely.
Add corn, black beans and beer and let it come to a boil for another 10 minutes.  Now, add stock and milk and let it come to a final bubble.
For a thicker chilli, add a small can of tomato sauce with the chopped tomatoes.  I prefer a subtle tomato flavor but this recipe makes a rather soupy chilli.

Enjoy!

Mmmm. Sundae

A Sundae from Maple View Dairy ice cream store in Carrboro downtown.
Had the roasted almond ice cream, with dark chocolate fudge, strawberries, and pecans.  Offcourse topped with whipped cream and a cherry :)

Super Spud

Went to a deli on Franklin Street this friday and got a spud...was a little disappointed with the hugh amount of cheese but lack of other interesting toppings. So, Salil and I decided to come up with our own recipe for an overflowing potato!  You can get as creative with the toppings, but here is what we had last night.

The POTATO:  2 good, uniformly cylinder shaped russet potatoes about half pound each.  Clean the potatoes under running water to get rid of all the dirt. Dry them well, and poke deeply with a fork about 5-6 places so the steam can escape. Coat them with oil and sprinkle salt liberally all over. Pre heat the oven at 350C and set the potatoes in the top rack for 60 minutes. Keep a tray in the bottom rack to collect the drippings if any.
At the end of baking, the skin should be crispy but the flesh inside should remain soft. Cut the potato in half and you can mash/ slash it a little with a dab of butter. Its ready for the toppings now.

TOPPINGS:

Mashed gruyere cheese: This was the first layer and it melted instantly on th soft hot potato. Gruyere has a bold taste - slightly bitter. But I put very little cheese, just enough to make a thin layer on the potato and the bitter taste paired perfectly with the starchy sweetness of the potato.

Sausage: I used 2 chicken andouille sausages but any spicy sausage will work here. Take the sausage out of its casing and chop up real fine. Put a teaspoon of olive oil in a saute pan and once the oil heats up, add the sausage. Let it cook on medium heat untill the sausage browns and you see some oil/fat separateing out into the pan. Should take about 15 minutes.

Mushrooms: I used regular white mushrooms, chopped finely about 2 cups raw. Sauted them in the same pan after the sausage was done to get the yummy flavor of the pan drippings. Seasoned lightly with salt and pepper. Mushrooms will shrink conbsiderably after cooking but the flavor will concentrate, so a little goes a long way.

Chick-peas: This was mainly to bump up the protein content of the meal, but potatoes and chick-peas are a classic combination in the Indian Street food scene (paani-puri), cant go wrong with that! Heat a teaspoon of oil and saute a finely chopped shallot or a very small onion. Once it starts to turn brown, add finely chopped fat big clove of garlic. Let the garlic cook for about 30 seconds (dont let it turn brown, completely changes the flavor profile) and add 1 cup chicke peas (soaked overnight if using fresh or use a can). Once the chickpeas are coated with the onion garlic mixture, add a tablespoon of water and cook for 10 minutes till the water evaporates. For a dash of color, add a small pinch of turmeric to the onion. Season with salt.

Finely chopped jalapeno peppers, deseeded: Dont take off the seeds, if you are brave. Want more heat, use the small and thin Indian chillis or the thai chillis. Want a milder flavor, skip this topping.

Finely chopped green onion.

Assembly: Once the potao comes out of the oven, add a layer of cheese that will melt on the potato and hold all the toppings like a glue. After this, go nuts! Dont forget to add a dollop of sour cream or whipped curds, especially if you have the chillies.

I figure that this is a great dish for entertaining. As long as you have an oven, you can bake any number of potatoes at the same time. Get creative with the toppings and the guests can build their own! Other topping ideas - chopped olives, salsa, italian pickeled vegetables...

Pick a theme and run with it :).

fish in a bag

Woke up on a Saturday with no food plans... hmm what to eat? Wife sent me to Whole foods to buy some ingredients for a party on Sunday, where there I tasted some hummus, and ran into some roasted garlic bread and fresh cod. Idea: middle eastern type fish, with olives, hummus, a good bread, some wine.  Lunch was starting to look good.
Picked up a nice piece of cod, got an assortment of olives, picked up the hummus and a loaf of roasted garlic batard.   Why did middle eastern come to mind?  Am reading Anthony Bourdain's 'Cooks Tour' book and the last chapter was about his travels to Morocco.  Also the hummus was really tasty - local NC made hummus by EPRI foods.

Came home looked on Food Network and came across a recipe for fish baked in parchment by of all people Rachel Ray.  She has good ideas but I find her annoying.  The below is a recipe for Fish in parchment or fish in a bag a'la' Salil.

Accompanying the fish in a bag was a piece of the fresh loaf of roasted garlic bread, hummus, and Jalapeno mashed potatoes (these were made by wife).

Indegredients:
a nice piece of cod - I cut perpendicular to the spine into 2 inch pieces
tsp anise/fennel seeds
pinch of Hungarian smokey paprika
few olives
Some white wine
butter
garlic powder
kosher salt
sugar
fresh ground pepper
Japanese 7 spice powder
Cilantro (I wanted parsley but didn't have any at home)

Procedure:
Cut large piece of parchment paper - enough so you can fold it over and tuck it under itself.
Place few pieces of fish in center, sprinkle them with kosher salt, fresh pepper, garlic powder, few pinches of sugar (yes sugar) and a dash of japanese 7 spice powder, Hungarian smokey paprika, and anise/fennel seeds.
Throw on some chopped cilantro, and plenty of olives (see pic above), and a thin slice of butter on each piece of fish.
Pour on top some good white wine (I used a 2006 Bordeaux - we didn't finish the night before).
fold the parchment from both sides and roll and tuck the opposite sides under and place in a baking pan
Place pan in oven at 400 for 15 min.  (oven was preheated oto 400).
You're done.

Started meal with bread and hummus.  Accompanied the fish with potatoes and a glass of Mondavi private selection wine!  Cheers to a great afternoon of bliss-full eating.

Avani's seafood gratin

Recipe by Avani - she made this during our Christmas holidays, one of the days when we had family over. It turned out great!
The recipe is originally by Ina Garten.

I first saw Ina Garten make this dish on her show and loved it.  This is my version which lacks some of the high-fat ingredients but tastes pretty damn good.  It makes a beautiful entree on any special occasion especially around the holidays if you are in the mood to skip the turkey.  For people who are not very comfortable with cooking seafood, its a great way to start.

The below measurements make about 5 servings.  (Smallish serving size recommended)

1/2 pound shrimp

1/2 pound halibut/ grouper

1/2 pound bay scallops/ lobster

(I used grouper since halibut was out of season and scallops)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups chicken stock or fish stock

1 cup white wine

4-6 sticks of saffron

1/2 coup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

leeks/ fennel

carrots

parsley

breadcrubs

butter

salt & pepper

In a wide saucepan, mix together the chicken stock, wine, tomato paste, heavy cream and milk and put it on low to heat to eventually simmer.  Add the saffron and stir occassionally till it starts to bubble gently at the sides.  Drop the shrimp into the sauce and fish it out after 2 minutes or when the shrimp turn pink and curl up, whichever is earlier.  The timing is important since we dont want to cook the seafood too much.  Repeat the same with the fish and scallops.  If you are using cooked lobster meat, you can skip this step.  Once you have cooked the seafood, let the sauce gently simmer and reduce almost by half.  Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat up some butter in a saute pan and cook long slices of leeks or fennel and carrots lightly for abour 3-4 minutes.  We want the vegetables to retain their crunch.

Next, use 1 stick of butter at room temperature and add about 2 cups of panko bradcrubs, salt, peper and parsley and mix together gently.  This will make the crust of our gratin. 

Spray some olive/oil or use butter to coat a baking dish and add the cooked seafood and vegetables.  Pour the reduced sauce on top and then arrange the breadcrumbs crust.  Since the vegetables and seafood is already cooked, we just need to heat the dish trhough and make a golden brown crust.  Bake in a 350C oven for 10 minutes and broil for about 2 minutes to get a crunchy crust.

I served my gratin with a good french baguette and baby spinach salad.

Recipes by Chef Larry Tollen

Couple of Recipes that Larry sent to us - have not tried these but am posting them here as an archive.  Can't wait to try these - hopefully in the next week :)

GRILLED HALIBUT w/PINEAPPLE & ROASTED RED PEPPER SALSA

Serves 4

4 -(4-5oz) Halibut Fillets skinned, boned and patted dry.
1TBL – Chinese style Chili & Garlic Paste
2TBL – Canola or Safflower Oil
1tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1tsp – Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2tsp Sea Salt
1TBL finely minced fresh Cilantro

Mix all together well. Place in a non-reactive baking dish. Dip Halibut on both sides and leave in marinade for 15-60 minutes before grilling.
While fish is marinating is a good time to mix Salsa together, though Salsa may be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.
Pineapple & Roasted Red Pepper Salsa:
1 –20oz can DOLE Pineapple Chunks in natural juice. Drain chunks in colander for a few minutes before coarsely chopping. Don’t over chop; leave larger pieces. Save pineapple juice for other use if desired.
1 –Large Roasted Red Pepper. To roast pepper: Place pepper on either a very hot grill or directly on top of a gas stove top burner set to high. Carefully char pepper, until 90% or better is completely blackened. This is a relatively short process, if you start with a hot enough fire. I like using tongs to rotate the pepper carefully. Once blackened, remove pepper from fire and under gently running cool water wipe away blackened skin by hand. Pat dry with paper towels cut in half, removing seeds and core. Rough chop and add to bowl. Note, a little blackened skin remaining on the pepper is fine, it adds taste. Don’t make yourself crazy, this is meant to be a fast and easy dish.
2 TBL –Brown sugar.
¼ tsp -Hot Red Pepper Flakes
1tsp -Sea Salt
1tsp – Toasted Sesame Oil
1TBL –Fresh Lime Juice
1/4C Fresh chopped Cilantro
2-3 Scallions, cleaned, and sliced thinly.
Toss all together gently in a non-reactive bowl. Taste to see if more salt is desired. Cover and let sit refrigerated until ready to use.
On a very hot preheated grill, place Halibut fillets. Fish should be 4-5 inches from fire/coals. Cook 2 minutes, and with large spatula, lift fish, turn 90 degrees, and place same side down. (Note: this will give you a nice grill marks). Cook another 3 minutes. Flip fish over and cook 3-5 minutes longer. Fish should just be opaque in center.
To Serve: Place fillet on plate hot from grill, spoon a couple of generous Tablespoons of salsa on top leaving half of the fish showing, Garnish with Cilantro sprig. Accompany with a nice rice pilaf (see suggestion below) and fresh steamed vegetables.

VEGETABEL RICE PILAF

Serves 4

In a small pot heat till simmering
1C – Water mixed with
3/4C – Chicken Stock

Place 1C -Mahatma Jasmine Rice in 1Cup water. Let sit till stock above is simmering. Drain rice and add to Stock. Simmer 15 minutes covered and then add the following:

1 Scallion. Cleaned and finely sliced.
½ Carrot, peeled, and minced very fine.
½ Stalk Celery, cleaned and minced very fine
Sauté all in 6” non-stick pan, over high heat in 1tsp Toasted Sesame Oil. Cook 60 seconds, shaking regularly, add 1tsp Sea Salt to vegetable mix before adding to rice.

Once vegetables are added to rice, cover and simmer 10 minutes longer. Turn off heat and let rice sit for 20 minutes or more before serving. Gently reheat of necessary.

Cashew Nut Brittle with Bacon

How can you go wrong with nuts and bacon! Yummy.
 First course served to us by Larry at his house for supper.

Recipe provided by Chef Larry Tollen:

• CASHEW & BACON BRITTLE
• 
  
• 2/3 cup raw cashews (about 4 ounces)
• 8 ounces bacon
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. While the oven is heating, place cashews on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until deep brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly on a cutting board, then coarsely chop; set aside.
2. When the oven is ready, place bacon on a baking sheet and roast until deep brown and well done, about 15 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to cool; reserve 1 tablespoon of the rendered bacon fat. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, coat the paper with a thin layer of the reserved fat, and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Crumble bacon into bite-sized pieces; set aside.
3. Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat and stir until sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally (do not stir), until mixture is deep amber and registers 350°F on a candy thermometer, about 10 to 15 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from heat.
4. Carefully add cashews, bacon, and salt to the caramel and stir to combine. Immediately pour mixture onto the center of the prepared baking sheet. Let sit at room temperature until hardened, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then break into shards.

Two beet soup

AKA Psychedelic Soup served by Larry as Course 3.
Recipe provided by Chef Larry:

Golden Beet with Melted Fennel
1 Bulb Fennel w/ Stems
2TBL Canola or other light vegetable oil
1Bunch Gold (yellow) beets (approximately 1 lb)
Sea Salt
3 Cups chicken stock or water if preferred.
Clean Fennel, remove core, slice as thin as possible the entire bulb and about 6” worth of the stems.
Clean and peel beets, cut into roughly ½ - ¾” cubes.
Heat oil in bottom of small pot over medium low heat, add fennel and cook 12-15 minutes stirring occasionally until fennel is very wilted (melted) about 10 minutes in add ½ tsp sea salt which will help the wilting process.
When well wilted, add cut beats and chicken stock or water to barely cover. Cover with a lid; reduce heat to low and cook covered for 50-60 minutes until beets are fork tender. Cool for 15 minutes and then place ½ mix in blender and blend until very smooth. Then do remaining half. Run pureed beets through a very fine sieve. Taste and add sea salt and/or finely ground white pepper to taste. Serve either hot or cold and can be refrigerated easily for 3-4 days.
Red Beet soup with Leeks and Apple
1 cup thinly sliced Leek (white part only)
1 large sweet apple (I like Gala or Honeycrisp, but any really good sweet apple will do) 2 TBL Balsamic Vinegar
2TBL Canola or other light vegetable oil
1 bunch Red Beets (approximately 1Lb)
3 Cups Water
Sea Salt

Add oil to small pot, add sliced leeks and cook for 6-8 minutes over medium low heat until well wilted. While cooking, peel and cut apple into approximate ¾” cubes and add to pot with leeks. Add ½ tsp sea salt and Balsamic Vinegar. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Clean and peel beets, cut into roughly ½ - ¾” cubes add to mix, add water. Cover with a lid; reduce heat to low and cook covered for 50-60 minutes until beets are fork tender. Cool for 15 minutes and then place ½ mix in blender and blend until very smooth. Then do remaining half. Run pureed beets through a very fine sieve. Taste and add sea salt and/or finely ground black pepper to taste. Serve either hot or cold and can be refrigerated easily for 3-4 days.
Sixties Psychedelic Soup
Place one ladle of each of the two soups into a shallow bowl, Swirl gently together. Tune in, turn on, drop out and enjoy.

Steak at Mike & Sharon's

Visited Mike & Sharon in early October - had a great time hanging out in their yard and outdoor kitchen.  Cooked some steak - I usually marinate the steak in soy, onion, ginger... an asian marinade.  This time I decided to be adventerous and try Ann Buerelle's steak recipe from Food Network.  The recipe called for a mix of brown sugar, paprika, salt and garlic.  I believe I got the proportions wrong as the steak came out wayyy too pungent... next time I am deciding to make some food for friends I'll decide to hold off on the experiments and go with the tried and true.

Nana's of Durham

Nana's is an excellent restaurant in Durham.  It's not considered to be upto a Magnolia Grill - my opinion differs; I thought it was just as good.  And the  price for a price fixe menu is much more reasonable - $50 for a 5 course meal and $25 for wine pairings that are exqusite!

One very memorable wine that was paired with the Kobe Beef Flank steak was the '2005 Free Mark Abby, Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley'

Pictures (top me eating, next Fois Gras Terraine, next left: Avani's Halibut, next right: poached egg with wild mushrooms and veal bacon, next the kobe beef flank steak, and finally the Vanilla souffle with maple walnut butter)