Thought you all might be interested in Charcutepalooza. They are using the Ruhlman book, so probably covering some things many of us have already done. Still, could be fun to follow along and/or participate occasionally. I posted our website to the comments.

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Basic Homemade Granola

makes 4-5 cups

3 cups of rolled oats (Not quick cook or instant)

1 cup slivered almonds, sesame seeds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews, and/or toasted pumpkin seeds (one, none, or any combination of these)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup maple syrup or honey

1/2 cup raisins, currants, dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried & chopped figs, and/or dried and chopped apricots (one, none, or any combination of these)

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 300F.

Toast oats in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring or tossing regularly. Add nuts and continue to toast for 2 additional minutes. 

Remove from heat and add cinnamon, syrup or honey, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and spread the mixture on a cookie sheet. 

Cook for 10 minutes. Stir. Cook for 10 minutes more. 

Remove from oven. Stir in fruit. Allow to cool to room temperature. Keep in a sealed container. 

Some good combinations would be vanilla & almond, cranberry orange with nuts, super nutty, cherry (coconut) pecan, apricot and currants with sesame and sunflower seeds. 

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I decided to make the duck sausage with lentils tonight. I also made a simple fresh spinach salad and some melitzanasalata to serve alongside the sausages and lentils.

The lentil recipe is one of my very favorites. I use it all the time. Here is my quick adaptation of Anne Willan's recipe in her gorgeous and wonderful The Country Cooking of France: Sort through 1-1/2 cups green french lentils (the beautiful little greenish-bluish speckely ones) and add them to a small stockpot. Also add to the pot 1/2 a large yellow onion, cut in half and studded with two whole cloves, two large smashed garlic cloves, the top leafy bit of a celery stalk, a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs of thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover all generously with water. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Meanwhile mince a couple of shallots. Measure roughly 1/4 red wine vinegar into a small bowl, add a couple of teaspoons of dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and the shallots. Slowly whisk 1/3 cup hazelnut or walnut oil into the vinegar/shallot/mustard mix. This is your dressing. When the lentils are done, drain them and remove the bay leaf, onion, garlic, celery sprig, and thyme branches. Dress the lentils. Garnish with chopped parsley if you can be bothered. 

Personally, I just stand over the bowl and eat this. Why dirty a plate?

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A great many things have been cooked in my kitchen over the past few days. I bought three ducks last week and spent about three days getting them broken down, prepped, and cooked in various ways. I rendered fat, made stock, made duck proscuitto, confited the gizzards and four legs, and--a first for me--made duck sausage (I also made merguez and short rib ravioli last week! phew!). 

I have wanted to try making duck sausage for a long time. I looked through my cookbooks for a recipe, hoping that Paul Bertolli or Judy Rodgers would have something fabulous I could steal. I was out of luck. What I ended up finding were a couple of recipes in Home Sausage Making that were not particularly inspiring. Consequently, I made something up. We were delighted with the results (if I do say so...). 

Here's the rough recipe (I wasn't particularly exact during the process, so some measurements are approximations):

Homemade Duck Sausage with Orange and Shallot

4 lbs. duck meat and skin (approx. 1 1/2 large ducks, boned with skin on the breast and legs/thighs), cut into roughly 1" pieces

4 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp per lb)

1-1/2 to 2 tsp pepper

pinch of ground clove 

1 TBS fresh thyme, stemmed and coarsely chopped

grated zest of one large navel orange

3 TBS shallot, minced

1-2 tsp minced fresh ginger

1/4 cup pinot noir, chilled

sheep casing (I'm not sure how much I actually used--8ft+?)

Season the duck meat and skin with the salt, pepper, clove, and thyme. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. 

Add the minced shallot, ginger, and orange zest to the seasoned meat. Mix to distribute the seasonings.

Using chilled implements, grind the chilled, seasoned meat through a small dye (Kitchen Aid small dye--I can't find the exact measurement at this moment of course!) and into a bowl set in ice water. (It's helpful to grind into the Kitchen Aid mixing bowl, if you are using a Kitchen Aid grinder. Then you can use it for the mixing step as well.) 

Add the chilled wine and mix in a stand mixer on a low setting for 1-2 minutes, or until the wine is distributed and the meat mixture just becomes sticky.  

Make a test patty and taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.

Stuff meat into casings and twist off at desired length, or form into patties. 

Gently sauté or grill to an internal temperature of 165F. 

NOTE: Duck fat melts pretty quickly so keep everything as cold as possible while you are working. 

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Last night we enjoyed a vegetarian feast. The centerpiece was my take on Deborah Madison's New Potato Gratin with Tomatoes and Olives. I had made a similar dish from the Greens cookbook years ago and have always wanted to try it again. This preparation seems a little less fussy than the original Greens recipe. It is fantastic and relatively simple. We made a grilled summer squash, herb, and feta salad and some wonderful grilled bok choi as sides. 

Potato Gratin with Tomatoes and Olives

--adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

2-1/2 lbs fingerling potatoes (or any small thin-skinned potato)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup olive oil plus some for the bottom of the dish

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1/2 cup olives (whatever you have on hand: nicoise, kalamata, picholine, assorted), pitted and roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 lemon, sliced and halved

1 TBS capers, rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil a gratin dish and preheat the oven to 400F. 

Thinly slice the potatoes and plunge them into boiling, well salted water for approx 4 minutes. Remove the potato slices and rinse them immediately in cold water and set aside. 

Warm 2 TBS of the olive oil in a small skillet over high heat and add the onion slices, 1/4 tsp dried thyme, the crushed fennel, a pinch of salt and a grinding of pepper. Cook until the onions are lightly browned and wilted. Put them in the bottom of the oiled gratin dish.

Cover with foil and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to cook for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. 

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Pre-caffeinated Mommy wants just leeetle more sleep. Please.

"NO! We're starving! Listen to our bellies rumbling." 

Grumble. grumble.

This scene gets played out at our house, oh, every weekend morning. Yesterday I just growled, "You're getting toast with jam and some fruit and you're gonna like it." Something like that. Then they danced around me like savages wildly chanting, "Puffy pancake! Puffy pancake! Chocolate Chip Pancakes! Puffy Pancake! Puffy Pancake! Blueberry Pancakes!!!!"

"Toast." 

I felt a little guilty today when the breakfast cry rang out. So I threw some blueberries in the pan and boiled up a little blueberry syrup to go with fluffy little lemon ricotta pancakes. The breakfast beasts were appeased and happy.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

--adapted from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham

3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup ricotta 

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 TBS sugar

pinch of salt

1TBS grated lemon zest

3/4 cup fresh blueberries

2-3 TBS sugar

1/2 cup water

squeeze of lemon juice

Put the blueberries, 2-3 TBS sugar, water and lemon juice in a small pan over medium-high heat. Let this cook and get syrupy while you make the pancakes. Make sure the liquid doesn't boil away. Add more water if you need to. 

Put the egg white in a large bowl.

With a hand mixer (or a rotary egg beater or a whisk) beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Then use your mixer in the other bowl, mixing the egg yolks, etc. until well combined.

Heat your skillet over medium heat. Use roughly 2 TBS of batter per pancake. Be sure not to make them too big because they are heavier than regular pancakes and can be difficult to flip if you make them too large. Cook the pancakes for about 2 minutes or so on the first side and about a minute on the second side. Top with blueberry syrup. 

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Basically, I decided I wasn't up for braving the supermarket, so I had leftovers and pantry staples to work with.  I ended up with a lentil, spinach, and roasted potato salad. I'm happy to say that it turned out to be a "keeper." It was, in fact, all gone before I had a chance to have more than the compulsory "cook's taste." 

Lentil, Spinach, and Roasted Potato Salad

About a dozen small (new or fingerling) roasted potatoes, quartered

1 cup uncooked french green lentils, sorted through and rinsed

1 small yellow onion, cut in 1/4" slices

1-1/2 TBS butter

1/2 bunch fresh spinach, cleaned and torn into bit sized pieces

1 hard-cooked egg, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 lemon

1/4 olive oil

1 TBS red wine vinegar

fresh rosemary, thyme and parsley

salt & pepper

Boil the lentils in water to cover with salt & pepper, a couple of springs of fresh rosemary, and 1/2 a lemon. Cook for about 30 minutes. Drain, remove lemon and rosemary, and set aside. 

Meanwhile, caramelize the onion in the butter with a pinch of salt and a couple of small sprigs of fresh rosemary. When the onion is fairly well caramelized, add the potatoes so they are just heated through. 

Mix the lentils, onion, potatoes, spinach, and egg together. The spinach will wilt a little bit. Add the olive oil, vinegar, chopped fresh herbs along with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well & serve slightly warm or at room temperature. 

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Before I get started, I just wanted to note that this is my 100th post! Thanks to all of you who read JustPigs and keep up with what is going on in my kitchen!

A simple pasta salad should be in everyone's repertoire. I made this one the other day when the weather was in the 90s and I couldn't face working over a hot stove for an hour. You can, of course, use any fresh veggies that are in season. This time of year is my favorite for veggies. I used corn (boiled on the cob in salted water for 7 minutes, then cut off the cob), cherry tomatoes, basil, thyme, and scallions. I added a little bit of goat's cheese and tossed everything in olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a healthy dose of salt and pepper. Voilà! 

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I haven't cured any meats in a while, but I'm going to start ramping back up again. I am hoping to get 1/2 a pig soon, and I have a lot planned for the porker. In the meantime, I'm taking a shot at Bresaola (Northern Italian air-dried beef). It's my first time making it so I'm sticking to the basic recipe in Charcuterie, the Ruhlman and Polcyn book. 

Today, I trimmed the eye of round and applied half the spice mixture. The meat will cure in a bag in the fridge for about 7 days. Then I will take it out, empty the liquid from the bag, apply the second half of the spice mixture, and let it cure in the refrigerator for an additional 7 days. Finally, I will air dry it in my "curing chamber" for 3 weeks.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

PS If you very interested in charcuterie, check out our Meat Club blog at www.meatclub.org. There's a whole lot of fun stuff going on over there.  

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"Let's have a dinner party."

"Oh! I'll get the tongues out."

"...and the liver..."

"...and the pig's foot."

This is how conversations go at our house on the weekend. We pull a bunch of crazy stuff out of the fridge and get cooking. The pigs foot was boiled in a vegetable & white been soup, then rubbed with spices and barbequed, and finally dropped back into the soup pot for a later meal. But we ended up using the other things we pulled out of the freezer for a fantastic, fun, impromptu dinner party that lasted about four hours and fed sixteen people.

 

Labor Day Feast

A selection of cheeses, olives, cornichon, and sweet pickled peppers

Bread and breadsticks

 

Melitzanasalata with pita bread

Lamb's tongue and potato salad with salsa verde

BBQ'd larded lamb's liver

 

Tim's Homemade Pizzas

Margherita

Olive and Basil

Salami

 

Leg of Lamb marinated in Anchovies, Garlic, Rosemary and Olive Oil

Roasted potatoes

Israeli Couscous with Grilled Vegetables, Preserved Lemon, and Feta

 

Brownie Sundaes with Fresh Berries

 

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Today was one of THOSE days. With one car already in the shop, I was bringing the kids home at 5 o'clock in our second car when the stick shift broke and there I was, stuck in front of a line of cars at a stop sign on a hot day. (Which actually reminds me of the time a similar thing happened to my mom on hot day when we lived in Portland. We were on our way home from the grocery store. "Eat the ice cream!" she commanded.)

I spent an hour in a stuffy auto repair shop with two tired and hungry kids and needed to get dinner together fast once we finally made it home. Luckily, Rob had defrosted a tri-tip steak so I sliced it up and made simple, quick tacos. 

I made them fajita style with sauteed red & yellow peppers and onions. I cooked the onion and red pepper first in just a splash of canola oil over medium high heat for about 10 minutes. I removed them from the pan, and very quickly seared the seasoned meat (salt, pepper, ground cumin) to medium rare (which only takes a couple of short minutes). When the meat was cooked I threw the onions & peppers back in and mixed them together with the meat, a little mexican oregano, and a squeeze of lime. I warmed a couple of tortillas over the gas flame, topped them with the meat mixture, a small grating of cheese, fresh cherry tomatoes, avocado, and scallions. I served them with some plain white rice with the extra scallions thrown in. 

The kids gobbled it right down and were happy, full, and ready to bed before bedtime. Thank goodness.

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This is what happens when you go on vacation with me: I bring lamb hearts. I keep them in the fridge. I cook them and subject you to trying them. The brave and noble Valentines endured my culinary extremism about a week ago at Stinson Beach. Lucky for me, the hearts were very tasty and my friends didn't feed ME to the sharks. 

I've never cooked heart before, but I wanted to try it after finding a recipe that looked great in How to Roast a Lamb. I picked up my whole lamb box plus six tongues and two hearts from Mel at Sierra Farms the day before we left for our vacation. 

The hearts were easy to prepare, they were nicely cleaned by the butcher and very fresh, obviously. I simply trimmed the small amount of fat off the outside, trimmed off the very top, butterflied the hearts, and cut out a couple little internal veins. Each heart yields one small piece and two larger pieces. The meat is a beautiful dark red, like lean but tender steak. 

Grilled Lamb Hearts with Crispy Fennel and Red Onion

--adapted from How to Roast a Lamb by Michael Psilakis

Serves 4 as an appetizer

2 lamb hearts, trimmed and butterflied

Salt & Pepper

1/2 large fennel bulb, very thinly sliced

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 TBS chopped chives

1/2 dozen mint leaves, chopped

1 TBS chopped dill

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

2 TBS olive oil

Season the butterflied lamb hearts with salt and pepper and drizzle a bit of olive oil over them. Preheat your gas or charcoal grill.

Mix together the fennel, red onion, chives, mint, and dill with a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Refrigerate. 

Put the lamb hearts on the grill and cook only for about a minute on each side. Just until you get a char-mark on the outside. Let the meat rest off the grill for 2-3 minutes. They will be medium rare.

Mix the meat together with the cold fennel salad and add 2 TBS lemon juice, and roughly 2 TBS olive oil. Toss and season to taste. 

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I've been told by friends that I need to make it official. I'm taking a hiatus from the blog for the summer (But I reserve the right to post here and there should inspiration strike). We've been eating lots and lots of veggies and grilled meats and that's probably just what you're eating too!  Lamb kebabs, riblets, salads, and caprese, caprese, caprese is all I can say.

In any case, I'm catching up on my other interests including gardening (the edible part of my garden includes herbs, grapes, lemons, limes, figs, apples, and a little pot of lettuces), reading, swimming, and generally feeling the relaxing vibes of summer. So forgive me. I'll be back. 

In the meantime, you may want to pick up my new favorite cookbook. It is perfect for summer. Michael Psilakis's How to Roast a Lamb. I've made the lamb's tongue stew with Oregon morels picked by the amazing and wonderful Leann;

See the full gallery on Posterous

tzaziki; the incredible recipe for potatoes, olives & capers with anchovy vinaigrette; and stewed english peas with mushrooms.

I'm getting a lamb heart in this month's lamb delivery so I can try grilled lamb heart with crispy & shaved fennel and I really can't wait to try grilled watermelon and grilled manouri (greek cheese)! The photos in the book are so so beautiful and Psilakis's story with his emphasis on family gives the book real human substance--not something frequently found in cookbooks.

I have photographed a few things with the intention of blogging about them, so I'll include a couple of extra pictures of oatmeal current cookies; bass cooked in parchment with new potatoes, fennel fronds, caramelized fennel, and bacon salt; and the homemade chocolate birthday cake with cream cheese frosting that I helped Gwennie make for her daddy's birthday!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Happy summer everyone!!

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Strawberry season is one of my favorite times of year. I have lots of fond food memories of strawberry season from my childhood. We went strawberry picking every summer and I would sit in the rows eating one berry for every one I put in my bucket. My mom always made homemade strawberry jam, which was my favorite for many, many years. And my birthday cakes as a very little girl always included fresh strawberries on top. 

This is definitely the best time to get good, ripe strawberries. The kind that are red all the way through and taste sweetly of summer. It's worth going a little out of your way to get them from a good source: u-pick, farmer's market, or csa. 

So far this season, I have tried my hand at jam and tried David Lebovitz's wonderful, extremely easy recipe for strawberry frozen yogurt. 

I encourage you to try it too! It's been a big hit here!

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A few years ago I decided to come up with my own version of macaroni and cheese and stopped using the boxed stuff. I came up with something that is just as easy to make as the processed version, but much tastier. We eat this fairly regularly. You can make it with just the two cheeses and some salt and pepper or you can add all--or some--of the extras. We had fresh peas and scallions this week and we love both so I used them. We also love bacon, but you knew that already.

Mac & Cheese with Peas & Bacon

4 servings

1 lb of tubular pasta

2 TBS unsalted butter

3 striped of bacon, diced

1 lb fresh peas, shelled

2 scallions, including green tops, chopped

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

salt & pepper to taste

Set a pot of salted water to boil. Put 1 TBS of butter in the water. Boil pasta according to package instructions. 

Put the diced bacon into a sautee pan and cook over medium heat until some of the fat has rendered. Add the peas and scallions and cook for about 5 minutes. 

Drain pasta, then return it to the warm pot. Toss the pasta with the other TBS of butter. Add the bacon, pea, and scallion mixture. Add the ricotta and the parmesan. Sprinkle in a small amount of salt and a bit more pepper. Mix well. Serve. 

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I'm feeling a little like Popeye lately. We're enjoying loads of green veggies from our Two Small Farms csa. All those veggies do make one feel quite healthy and somewhat invincible. We've added favas to one of our favorite leftovers--lamb hash--and had sauteed greens for lunch, we've had soups with kale and, of course, salad, salad, salad. All of it has been terrific. 

With new veggies (and lots of them) one has a good excuse to search the internet and cookbooks for new recipes. I'm *lucky* to have a backlog of recipes I want to try and was excited to use one of them last night.

A week or so ago the cook-tastic Smitten Kitchen posted a recipe for Leek Bread Pudding. Most of you know about my love of bread-y things, so you know I had to try it.  Of course, we had some glorious thin fresh leeks in a recent veggie box. 

The recipe is perfect as it is so I will just direct you Smitten Kitchen. I did make a couple of small changes in my version. I used challah (no brioche at the store that day). I used green shallots from my veggie box instead of chives, as my chives aren't quite ready yet. I cooked the shallots with the leeks. They need a little heat to mellow their flavor. I also used Australian white cheddar instead of gruyere or emmanthal, simply because I forgot to buy the right cheese when I was at the market and I always have the cheddar on hand. It was delightful. Finally, I used a little bit more bread and leek (but not more egg or milk) in order to cook it in an 8"x8" baking dish.

We loved that this bread pudding is not heavy--like the panades we often make in the winter--but still filling. I served it with a chopped salad of romaine, tomato, golden carrots, scallions, and an anchovy vinaigrette. 

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If you're having pancakes at my house, you're having buttermilk pancakes from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. I always keep a quart of buttermilk in the fridge, just so I can make them whenever we want. If you don't happen to have buttermilk, squeeze a little lemon juice into regular milk and let it sit for a minute or two, then proceed with the recipe. 

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

adapted from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham

Makes 10-12 pancakes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

3 TBS unsalted butter, melted

1 egg at room temperature

1/2 pint fresh blueberries

Heat your skillet over medium heat.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, mix well. In glass liquid measuring cup, measure the butter milk, add the melted butter and then the egg and beat together with a fork. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a fork until just combined. It will still be a little lumpy. Use a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter onto your skillet.

Drop a small handful of blueberries into each pancake.

Cook until the edges of the pancake begin to set (or if you peek at the underside using a spatula and see that it is golden brown). Flip and cook another minute or two. Serve with maple syrup.  

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Enjoy!

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