Lessons I learned in Ireland

Figure One. Scones are better in Ireland. So is the butter.
Figure Two. Guinness is good for you.
Figure Three. When asked the question "Would you like a bit of cream with your raspberry crumble," say yes.
Figure Four. When making a sandwich, good bread is obviously a necessity (good Irish brown bread, in this case). Also highly recommended, however, is shredded cheese instead of sliced.
Figure Five. Even if it doesn't look like much, fish and chips is truly a memorable meal when you're near the sea and have lots of salt and vinegar at your disposal.
Figure Six. If you ever find yourself in Kenmare, County Kerry, go to Mulcahy's. Order the pork.

Lasagna and clafoutis and cocktails - oh my!

In other weekend eating news, I tried Sweet Amandine's clafoutis recipe with a few too many berries (again with the moisture issue), but it came out gorgeously. (See the pre-batter photo, as the post-baking result wasn't as pretty as it was delicious.) The clafoutis was dessert for a rather decadent dinner involving lasagna and a newly invented cocktail.

But first, the lasagna. I followed the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook recipe (if you don't have this book, buy it immediately). They handily start with a vegetarian version (Simple Cheese Lasagna) and offers options for other versions (Meat, Mushroom & Spinach, etc.) and clear instructions.

First, the sauce recipe (it is delicious for lasagna or other pasta).

1 T olive oil
1 minced onion
6 cloves minced garlic
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
1 can diced tomatoes (28 oz.)
1/4 t. dried oregano (I used fresh)
1/8 t. red pepper flakes (I used cayenne)

You basically do what you would expect to: cook the onion until it softens, add the garlic until it's fragrant. If you're making it MEATY, add the meat (I used 1 lb. ground turkey and 1/2 c. diced prociutto) now. Then tomatoes (don't drain!) and season with oregano, cayenne pepper (or pepper flakes), and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until it's a little thicker.

And then the process of the lasagna itself. The book (quite rightly) recommends no-boil noodles, but I only had yes-boil noodles on hand. There are four basic layers that you repeat as long as your pan holds out.

1. Sauce. You can make the sauce from the recipe above or use jar sauce.
2. Noodles. Three standard lasagna noodles will cover the bottom of a 9"x13" pan.
3. Happy, rich ricotta mixture. This is comprised of 15 oz. ricotta mixed with 1 c. Parmesan, 1/2 c. minced fresh basil, an egg, and salt and pepper.
4. Mozzarella, grated.

Layer these one over the other until the pan is full. If you've ever seen me packing a suitcase, you understand the method I find useful to employ: pour in more goodies and apply pressure until it all fits. Just be prepared to get a little dirty. Finish this layering process with a layer of noodles, then sauce, then a cup of mozzarella and the final 1/4 c. Parmesan. Then cover the lasagna with oiled aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes at 375. Remove the foil and continue baking for 25 more minutes until bubbling and brown on top.

But, as I mentioned before, there have been a couple of cocktails created in the last week: First, the heady one. I have a little herb garden growing on my balcony, which includes a curious plant called Pineapple Sage. It is primarily decorative and aromatic, but is perfectly safe for culinary use and I had read it recommended for cocktails. So, I got adventurous.

For four generous pours:
Muddle:
8-10 small Pineapple Sage leaves, roughly chopped
2 T. brown sugar

Mix in about 4 oz. gin

Pour about an oz. of this mixture into each glass and top with ginger ale. Garnish with an additional sage leaf.

The other cocktail was a little less aggressively flavored (probably a good thing, as it followed lasagna and clafoutis and we were all practically collapsed with heavy food). It was smooth, citrusy, and herby and went down quite easily.

Muddle:
ca. 5 large basil leaves, roughly chopped
2 T. powdered sugar
1 lime, cut into eighths

Mix in about 4 oz. vodka. Pour about an oz. of this mixture into each glass. Top with club soda. Drink up! Oh, and I haven't named these cocktails yet. Any ideas?

Clip Show - Springtime edition

In the weeks since our last Clip Show, Spring has arrived in Boston (limping and undecided, but at least the snow is almost all gone), grandiose decisions have been made regarding a new abode, and work has been put ever further off. Here are some highlights from the last three months.

Figure One. Daffodils from Russo's and the little red calendar that could.
Figure two. I am not an egg fan, but I have taken a fancy to bagel breakfast sandwiches featuring scrambled egg, sharp cheddar, and rosemary ham. This one had the extra benefit of avocado.

Figure three. The Fraktail. This is a drink I made in honor of the end of a particular television show that I came to adore. Recipe adapted from the "Creole Lady Cocktail" in Old Mr. Boston's De Luxe Official Bartender's Guide (1951 edition).

My recipe:

1 oz. Bourbon Whiskey
1 oz. Madeira Wine
generous splash no sugar added cranberry juice (to remind us of the bittersweet goodbye)
shake over ice and serve in a martini glass with a cherry.

So say we all.

Figure four. Sofra. This is a very surprising little lovely middle-eastern bakery and coffee shop. They serve the most astonishing and delicious things.

Figure five. The delicious Mezze platter I had for breakfast (outside) on the first warm Sunday of 2009. From left to right: Bean plaki - braised with tomato, garlic and green peppers; Moroccan carrot salad (harissa, ground ginger, olive oil, and vinegar); smokey eggplant with pine nuts; Armenian bean and walnut pate (red kidney beans, walnuts, butter, olive oil, and pomegranate molasses); Moroccan style goat cheese with almonds, raisins, and cilantro. Also, flatbread with black sesame seeds.

Figure six. Lucy had a visitor. Gerta came to stay for a long while.

Figure seven. After making a beautiful pork shoulder, I used the leftovers to make a gorgeous pork ragu served over creamy-dreamy polenta. Recipe from Fine Cooking.

First Foray into Fine Cooking

In keeping with my maybe resolution, I'm trying one recipe (at least) from this issue of Fine Cooking. This month I'm trying out Roast Pork Replay. The idea is that you "Cook once, eat twice." This does seem to be a misnomer, as the leftover recipes still require a bit of thought and effort, but still the principle is a good one.

This recipe appeals because 1. I love a roast, 2. I love pork, 3. Pork shoulders are CHEAP and stretch quite far, 4. I'm looking forward to the Pork Ragu and Polenta leftovers.

It is daunting, though, on two fronts: 1. I am very impatient with cooking (as with knitting). 2. This is by far the largest hunk of meat I've ever tackled.

So, last night I wielded my butcher knife ("ChrisSY! Bring me the big knife!" - 5 Points if you can identify the film) and removed the skin from an unsettlingly large hunk of meat (I had the butcher de-bone the sucker). While doing so, I wondered whether my 5 quart saucepan would be big enough - roasting pan (wedding present) hasn't arrived yet, but alas, the meat won't wait. (It turned out that the pan is *just* big enough for the meat and hopefully the veg that gets added to it later on.) After the skinning, and testing of pan size, I massaged the meat with a hefty dose of salt and pepper and put it to bed in the fridge for the night.

This morning (10:30) I pulled it out and according to the recipe, let it sit around for an hour and a half before pre-heating (only 300? Slooooooow roasting...) and popping it in the oven.

Here's a before shot. (Apologies to vegetarians and the squeamish.)

1:57 PM UPDATE: After an hour and a half or so in the oven, the pork is largely unchanged, save the fat beginning to curl up and melt off. Hopefully this process keeps the pork moist? I'm very suspicious of this roasting-without-liquid process, but I trust the Magazine.

3:12 PM UPDATE: There's now a big pool of fat around the bottom of the meat... still a LOT of it on top. I hope that will all melt off in the next, what, hour? It's smelling splendid.

3:46 PM UPDATE: I've just checked the meat again. (See above comment about impatience.) It is progressing. More fat coming off. I did the first fork check and it's tender in some spots, VERY dry and tough in some spots, troublesomely. Also, fat poured out of some spots when I forked them. Lots of fat. Maybe this meal isn't the healthiest?

6:14 PM UPDATE: Well, it's done and looking delicious. Right now it's loosely tented in aluminum foil and "resting" while I cook potatoes for mashing and wait to be able to skim fat off the juices. Can't wait to dig in. Photos to come.

8:24 PM UPDATE: WOW. That was a good meal. Very simple, rustic one might say. But thoroughly satisfying. Lots of good pork fat-ty goodness and the juices became delicious - just water and white wine and lots of garlic and onions and a very few carrots and MAGIC. Pictures below.
Figure 1. The whole platter of goodness.
Figure 2. One full plate. Mashed potatoes, peas, and pork.