December, Day 16: All Tarted up for the Party

One exciting thing about the little party I hosted on Saturday (and I promise, we can move on to other topics as soon as I've gotten through all the recipes from Saturday!) was that I was trying a LOT of new things.As you all know, following recipes is not my forte and my preferred food is pretty casual. I like foods that come in lumps, and not neat stacks or slices or curls. I like food best that is unchoreographed. So, when I set out to make these two desserts, it was a real departure. Even if they're 'rustic' tarts, a Tart sounds pretty fancy-pants to me. I've only ever made one tart before. For Saturday, I thought desserts with panache would be a nice change.

And so I decided on two different brown-butter tarts. They are both called brown-butter tarts, but these two recipes are very, very different.First, the Orange and brown-butter tart, from Fine Cooking's February/March issue this year. This tart was delicious, top to bottom, crust to cream to topping. The tart shell was straightforward, but delicious, crispy and flaky. The oranges on top were lovely, but in the future, I might make this tart with a different topping (not because the oranges weren't delicious, but because I have an irrational aversion to cream combined with citrus - Dreamsicles away!). But friends, the filling. The Filling! It's fabulous! Make this tart (whether with oranges or with some other topping) at your earliest convenience!
Second, but no less delicious, the Brown Butter-Cranberry Tart, from Food & Wine's December issue. It reminded me a little bit of the Buttermilk Pies of my youth (that's a recipe I'll share with you sometime) and a little bit of the custardy tarts you get in German bakeries. Delicious. I will admit that I didn't love the crust on this one, but that's probably because I had already used my only fluted tart pan on the Orange tart and the pie plate I used made the texture come out all wrong. But, really, I would probably use the orange tart's rather less crumbly crust in combination with this tart's delicious filling. Oh, also, instead of making the suggested cranberry topping, I used some of the lightly spiced cranberry sauce I canned with Christine before Thanksgiving. It was delicious.

Bad mood food

Sometimes it's really hard not to let the little shit get to you. Whether it's a quibble with a spouse or a sibling, creeping dread about much-procrastinated work, or an ongoing battle with various vermin (in my case: mice), it's just really hard sometimes to keep perspective. What do you do to bring yourself back to earth in these situations?

I turn to food in any kind of extreme mood (doesn't matter if it's euphoria, stress, or the depths of depression) - this explains the many, many pounds I gained during college and in the first couple years of grad school. I've been trying to think of something to eat that will refocus my excess energy in a positive direction, but all of my comfort foods are really just too warm to eat in this weather. (The ridiculous humidity and high temperatures of this week are contributing to my mood, no doubt.) So, what's a girl to do?

Looking in my fridge and taking stock of what I have handy, I note: mushrooms, corn, eggs, bacon, and not much else in the way of raw potential. Alas.

Corn chowder sounds delicious, but I don't have the requisite central air to make soup palatable in this weather. Corn fritters would really hit the spot - the thought of the creamy delicious insides and the crispy fried outside makes me weak in the knees, but the last thing I (or my dreadful summer skin - another thing to stress about given my upcoming bridesmaid duties) need is to stand over a pan of hot oil to make them. Succotash? Would be delicious, but no lima beans are handy. One thing's for sure - today is a day for waiting until it's dark to eat and maybe for eating on the roof.

...
What I discovered a few hours after writing the foregoing is that a few things can go a long way toward fixing that kind of pre-semester, late-Summer malaise: roof lounging (as suggested above) as the sun sets and the air begins to cool, corn on the cob, quiet conversation with my lovely husband, cuddle time with the sweet dog, and good, not-too-heavy/not-too-light black beans. Good hearty food and pretty determined relaxation. Oh, and a fan (recently brought back from Spain as a gift from my parents). I highly recommend all these things next time you find yourself in a snit. I'll get you started on the black beans. They're delicious.

Bad mood black beans

• dried black beans (I used about half a pound that I had left over)2 bay leaves
• about a liter of chicken broth (can be combined with water to taste OR veggie broth can be substituted)
• salt and pepper to taste
• spices of your choosing (I used ground cumin and some Ras al-hanout that was a gift from Morocco)
• bacon to taste (can be omitted)
• cheddar cheese to taste

1. Soak the black beans for at least an hour before cooking.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a pot. Add the bacon (chopped up) and cook until crispy. Add the (drained) beans and cover with broth.
3. Throw in whatever seasonings you want to use.
4. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until beans are tender and soup has thickened. You will need to stir often and add more broth/water to keep it from burning and to make sure the beans get sufficiently softened.
5. Once you're happy with the consistency (it can be soupier or thicker depending on your taste), turn off the heat and stir in the cheese (shredded works best).
6. Serve with couscous and with a dollop of sour cream on top.

So, what are your bad mood foods? Oh, and hello, Cape Town!

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.