Paprika Peppers or Lesco (HCEV)

I don't typically cook pasta these days, but I've cooked two new pasta dishes that I'll totally make again the future. Given the Mark Bittman variations I used the dish should be called Smoked-Paprika Peppers with Sour Cream.

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika [I use Pimenton Picante, which is probably the opposite of sweet paprika]
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 medium bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into strips
• 4 roma tomatoes (drained canned are fine), cored and chopped
• 1 cup sour cream [I just used what was left over in the tub from Beef Stroganoff]

Mise en place


Cook onions and garlic until soft for only a couple minutes.


Adding the paprika and salt and pepper. You cook this over low heat without disturbing it for five minutes. And cover it but I forgot that part at this stage.


Added the peppers and went through the same procedure but remembering the lid.


Ditto with the tomatoes.


Really tasty, but probably too short in protein to be considered a whole meal. From the first few bites, I knew I would make this again.

Tagliatelle Carbonara

Ferran Adria is probably the king of Modernist Cooking even though his restaurant elBulli closed on July 30, 2011. Last fall Phaidon published his book on the elBulli family meal, which is the meal that the staff prep and serve themselves. Not a lot of modernist cooking in this though there are a few foams.

from The Family Meal by Ferran Adria

• Smoked bacon, 4 ounces
• Olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoon (Now I realize I forgot this but perhaps next time)
• Whipping cream, 35% fat, 1 cup
• Water, 2 1/2 cups
• Salt, 1 teaspoon
• Egg tagliatelle, 7 oz (I had an open box of ziti on hand)
• Parmesan cheese, finely grated, 1/2 cup
• Eggs yolks, 2
  

Mise en place. Except for I guess the olive oil. Does this dish really need olive oil?


Slowly frying up the bacon over low heat.


Pour in most of the cream and simmer for 20 minutes.


Whisk 1/8 of the cream and the egg yolks. Add in to the pasta after the bacon cream sauce.


Almost seems like a gratuitous amount of cheese but it works. Surely not the best dish for my health, but I think it'll stick in my rotation as long as I have house- cured and smoked bacon in the house. And particularly another cup of heavy cream in the fridge.
I haven't made too many pasta dishes since I guess they don't make it onto my planning list since I should already have all the ingredients on hand but maybe I should be more in the habit of doing so. Ferran Adria made it easy here since each recipe is for 2, 6, 20, or 75 people (the number of the elBulli staff).

Pipian Verde de Pollo (Chicken and Green Pumpkin Seed Sauce)

So I've worshiped Rick Bayless ever since I had his food for the first time when I visited Chicago in April. It was going to be a long time before I finally start reading Authentic Mexican, but lo and behold, I discover he's released an iPad app and those take much less commitment to absorb.
Anyway, here is my first go at his cuisine. Even though it has none of what I probably loved so dearly in Illinois: smoke.

from the Rick Bayless iPad app

• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram [Immediately I know that I haven't bought marjoram yet out of the forty something other things I own already]
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt (divided use)
• 6 (about 3 3/4 pounds total) bone-in chicken breast halves
• 1 1/4 cup (about 6 ounces) hulled untoasted pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 small white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 8 ounces (5 to 6 medium) tomatillos, husked rinsed and roughly chopped
• 2 large romaine lettuce leaves, torn into large pieces
• Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 2 serranos or 1 jalapeno), stemmed, seeded [You pussy] if you wish and roughly chopped
• Leaves from a small sprig of fresh epazote, plus an additional sprig for garnish [Can anyone tell me where to find fresh epazote in Boston?]
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few sprigs for garnish
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
• 12 ounces (about 2 medium chayotes, peeled if you wish, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 10 ounces (about 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  

Mise en place.


Raw pepitas.


The directions led me to believe that the seeds would all pop like popcorn and turn round in shape. I stopped when they totally looked toasted.


Marjoram, thyme, gray salt (thanks Michael Chiarello), and bay leaves. All and all the essence used to poach:


The bone-in, skin-on chicken breast for 10 minutes. They should also rest in the broth off-heat for ten more minutes... Or however long it takes me to get the endless amount of prep done.


Poached chicken.


Vegetables and sauce mised.


A 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro is no light task. I used half of a bunch of this herb.


Before. A truly rather complex sauce


After.


Cook sauce until darkened and then add 2 cups of broth.
One cup had already been used in the blender since blenders don't work without some liquid.


I steamed both the chayote and zucchini squashes.


Everything goes back in the sauce to reheat for 5 minutes.


The finished dish was quite good, but it didn't send me to heaven like the presumably chipotle-infused dishes at the Frontera Grill and the airport.
I plan on cooking through all the dishes appropriate to my situation (all main courses and can kick around the fridge for a little while) until I get sick of Mexican food or more likely just wind up cooking all five of them. There'll be an entry on Slow-Cooked Achiote Pork shortly.

Maple Bacon Sticky Buns

from the Better Bacon Book iPad app
courtesy of Heather Carlucci of Print in New York

• 1 3/4 cup whole milk
• 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound thickly sliced bacon

Mise en place.


Heat milk very slowly to 105 degrees F. I think I was at least ten degrees above this, but I manage to proof (not kill the yeast) for the directed 10 minutes.


Yeast, milk, and eggs.


Add the butter and the flour and mix until the dough pulls away from the bowl.


Dough on my "clean" work space.


I think either Carlucci or the editor neglected to note that the recipe would make at least 2 rectangles 12 by 6 by 1/4 inch.


Here's the other half with brown sugar patted down and cinnamon sprinkled onto its surface.


Tried to pinch it up as well as I could. It became easier after I chilled it in the fridge.


I had to proof the dough in a warm space until doubled for 20 minutes. I decided to heat the oven for a few minutes and then turn it off and used that.


Cutting the rolls would've been such a pain in the ass if I hadn't read ATK's technique of cutting the sticky buns with floss. It was mint-flavored, but there was no aftertaste to the sticky buns.


An awful lot of maple syrup. Dark Grade A from Trader Joe's.


Ready for the oven. The buns are sitting on a glaze of maple syrup and butter.

Frying the bacon.


Fried bacon.


Cutting the bacon into a small dice while the rolls baked.


Maple syrup, bacon, and butter.


Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F.


Everyone loved them. New roomie Marc H had two.

Recipe as requested by Brittney G.:

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan over very low heat until it reaches 105 degrees F (use an instant-read thermometer to measure), then add the yeast and let it proof for 10 minutes.  our into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a  dough hook, add the eggs and salt, and stir until combined.  Add the flour and the stick of softened butter and continue mixing until the dough is silky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
2. Transfer to a clean work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle 12 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon, then roll up like a jelly roll and frigerate.
3. In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the maple syrup and remaining butter to a boil.  Pour a layer of glaze 1/8 thick into the bottom of a 10-inch baking pan.
4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and slice crosswise into 2-inch rounds.  Arrange the piece 1/2 inch apart on the glaze-covered baking pan, then set in a warm place to proof for 20 minutes.
5. Heat the over to 350 degrees F.  Bake the buns for 25 minutes.  While the buns are baking, cook the bacon, in a skillet over medium heat until lightly browned but not crispy.  Drain on paper towels, cut into small dice, and add to the saucepan with the rest of the maple glaze.  Return the pan to a boil, then remove from the heat and keep warm.
6. When the buns are finished baking, immediately turn them onto a plate so that the glazed sides are facing up.  Top each bun with a liberal amount of additional glaze, and serve warm.

Beef Stroganoff (ATK)

from Cooks Illustrated, March & April 2010

• 1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak tips, trimmed of excess fat and cut lengthwise (with grain) into 4 equal pieces
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 pound white mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
• Table salt
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon white wine or dry vermouth [Failed to notice that the vermouth we had on hand was sweet]
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth [Tried an ATK-approved stock concentrate Better than Bouillon here]
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves or dill

Mise en place.


I made an error in cutting the tips. I think I followed the directions the first time I made this dish back when I was beginning to cook.
I remember making Mark Bittman's take on it and thinking that ATK did the better job. But their job is to do the best rendition of a dish anyway.


Browned steak tips. They probably would've been more tender if I hadn't cut them. Perhaps this is where I realized my mistake.


Twenty raw ounces of white mushrooms.


Microwaved until their volume has increased in half. This makes them much easier to brown later on since their moisture has already been released.


Otherwise this step would take about 20 minutes.


Adding in everything but the sour cream and extra tablespoon of vermouth. Simmer until reduced slightly.


Yum. Much has happened between the first time I made this dish and today. And I hope I'll have as much to say for myself the next time.

I'm spending increasingly more time thinking about a career in cooking. I finally sent my resume and cover letter to ATK. They promptly sent me a form letter the next morning to say that they are currently between open positions but will keep my resume on file. (Karen M says she didn't even get that much of a response when she applied)
Although I've been briefly in touch with both East Coast Grill's Jay Heard and Beacon Hill Bistro's Josh Lewin, nothing has materialized in the way of accepting my offer to do menial work for free in the kitchen. Starting with Russell House Tavern, I've begun leaving business cards at high-end restaurants near Harvard. With my work schedule, it'd be hard to get into any kitchen early enough to do something meaningful.
I'm scared nothing will come of this. I'm not sure what to do if this doesn't work.