Made in Spain

Media-related debates at our house generally pit those who want to watch Jose Andres (Keira) against those who would prefer to see anything else (everyone except Keira), but who eventually end up watching Jose for the umpteenth time. These sorts of things happen in a house whose youngest member thinks she is on a first-name basis with Mario Batali.

Which brings us to churros, those not-quite-doughnut little goodies scarfed down at Spanish cafes with mugs of thick Spanish chocolate. I am hardly a fan of sweets, but with the two women of the house swooning every time Jose Andres dunks a hot churro into a steaming cup of chocolate, duty was calling. Please note that, the first time I made these, the chocolate was just an after-thought, and I just whipped up some Swiss Miss. Bad Daddy: make the real thing. The critics know how Jose does it, and they expect nothing less.


Churros

1 c water
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1/3 c butter (we used home-made, since that's all we had)
1 c white flour
2 eggs
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/4 c sugar
1/2 to 1 t ground cinnamon

Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10-12 inch Dutch oven or fryer.  Shoot for a temperature of 360, and be assured that VBT (Very Bad Things) will happen when you stray too far above or below that mark.

Mix the 1/4 c sugar and cinnamon together on a large plate and set aside.  This is for dusting the finished churros, although you may prefer to dispense with this and use powdered sugar instead.

In a sauce-pan, bring the water, brown sugar, salt and butter to a good boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the flour until well blended.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.

The next step is important.  The internets--which never lie--will tell you it is possible to make churros using one of those frosting applicator tools that look like a caulk-gun.  My experience was that I could not keep the dough streaming long enough with one of those to really do the job right.  So when your oil is up to temp, load your dough into a pastry-bag with the biggest star-tip you can find.  Hold it as low as you dare over the oil, and push 4 inches of dough into the oil at a time.  The rate at which the cooking churros have to be turned precludes doing more than a few at a time.  When you see gold appear on top, gently flip them, and be prepared to remove them to newspapers or a stack of paper towels.  As soon as they are cool enough to handle, dust with cinnamon-sugar mix or powdered sugar and make available for munchers.


Spanish Chocolate

2 c whole milk
4 oz Abuelita (or equivalent) chocolate, available at your favorite Mexican grocery
1/2 t cornstarch

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the cornstarch, whisking in to dissolve thoroughly. Heat on medium just until boiling, then remove pan from heat. Add the chocolate and stir until it is completely melted. Dunk and enjoy!

Citrus Tea-Rubbed Pork Loin- Happy Birthday, Margaret!

To many of your siblings, a walk through the orange groves was one of most exotic experiences of visiting the Goodwards.  So as winter breaks for the large Midwestern portion of the clan, some citrus tea seemed like it would be a welcome.  

For your Christmas baskets, I got some citrus herbal tea from Etsy, and supplemented it with some other herbal teas.  Then I found a recipe which uses it as a rub for pork loin.  

For those who prefer shrimp, you could also just mix the tea with some lime juice, olive oil and perhaps some curry powder, then marinade the shrimp for 20 minutes.  Then skewer it and grill it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Citrus Tea
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 3-4 lbs. pork loin

Instructions:

1. Combine tea and salt and grind in a spice grinder until well combined.


2. In bowl, mix oil and tea to form a paste.


3. Rub paste over pork loin, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.


4. Remove pork from fridge, unwrap and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes per pound.

Mushroom Mac- Happy Birthday, Sam!

We celebrated Sam's birthday last Thursday by eating pizza at Donna and Sam's new house.  Kayte even brought a delicious fruit tart from a French bakery in St. Louis.


Here's a recipe using the mushroom powder we gave at Christmas.  Or you can dip a steak in it, then pan fry it and serve it with an herb butter.









Ingredients

• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 3 oz grated/dry cotija or parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons mushroom powder
• 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 pound of elbow macaroni noodles

Instructions
1.  Dice the celery, garlic, and onion; measure your milk, cheese, fat, and flour.  Slice the mushrooms.
2.  Start heating the pasta water.
3.  Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan and cook the celery, garlic, and onion until soft, 5-7 minutes.  Add in the flour and mix into a paste over medium heat, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes.
4.  Add the milk a little at a time, and stir vigorously but not extravagantly, until all traces of roux-lumps are gone.  Continue to stir and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes, until the mixture is pleasantly thickened.  Reduce heat to low.
5.  Add in the mushroom powder, stir, and taste.  Don’t add any salt, because the cheese is plenty salty.
6.  Yeah!  Add the cotija or parmesan cheese.  High-five the person nearest you.  Kill the heat, stir to combine.
7.  Cook the sliced mushrooms in oil over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until they’ve lost most of their liquid, shrunk, and browned.  Cook in a single layer.
8.  Cook the macaroni in the boiling, salted water, and cook until al dente – then drain and incorporate into the cheese sauce.  Add the mushrooms, stir to combine, and serve.

Quote for the Day

I don't need Prozac--I just need olive oil.

--Claudia Bassols

Superbowl Apple Pie (By Request)

Except that it was served at Kayte's Superbowl party, this pie has nothing to do with football and everything to do with a book Keira and I like called How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. I thought actually making the recipe that ends the book would be a good weekend activity, and it was--up to the point where the dough was mixed and rolled out. After that, I was on my own.

Having no particular expertise in the art of pie-making, I was operating under the Mom Doctrine, which requires strict adherence to the directions of an unfamiliar recipe.  That dovetailed neatly with my interest in trying to making a crust the way we've all seen Mom and Gran Goodin do countless times in the past: with ice at the ready.

Crust

• 2 c flour
• 1 t salt
• 1 c butter
• 1/2 c ice water (I thought Gran used ice chips--maybe someone can clarify)
• 1 egg yok 

Sift flour and salt together in a bowl. Quickly rub small pieced of cold butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until the bits are the size of peas. Add ice water, starting with a few tablespoons and adding more as needed to moisten all the dough. Stir with a fork until mixture forms a loose ball. Divide dough in half and make two equal patties. Place on patty between two pieces of wax paper. With a rolling pin or bottle, roll into a 12-inch circle. Peel off the top piece of wax paper and turn into pie pan. Remove wax paper. Trim around edge. Roll out the top crust in the same way. Refrigerate both until ready to use.

Filling

• 5 Granny Smith apples 
• 3/4 c sugar 
• 1 t cinnamon 
• 1/4 t salt 
• 2 T butter 

Preheat oven to 425. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, cinnamon and salt. Peel, core and cut apples into 3/8-inch slices. Toss the apples into the sugar mixture, coating them well. Arrange apple slices in the pie pan, piling them higher in the center. Dot with pats of butter. Moisten the edge of the bottom crust with water. Cover the pie with the top crust, trim the edge, then pinch the top and bottom edges together. Cut some vents in the top crust. To glaze the crust, mix an egg yolk with 1 T of water. Brush the mixture over the surface of the top crust. Bake 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Remove pie and allow to cool before serving.

Carrot Soup with Lemon Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas

From Smitten Kitchen, via Jenna

Jenna's note: [This] was really good. I didn't make the crisped chickpeas but its plenty exciting with just the tahini sauce and pita chips. XO!

My soup vice is because I’ve already confessed to finding it a little dull, that I overcompensate with add-ins. Here, there’s a dollop (lemon-tahini), a crouton (cumin-crisped chickpeas, which might sound familiar as they’re also here), wedges of toasted pitas (brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with za’atar) and a garnish (parsley). If you’re not me, this might seem like overkill, in which case you should definitely just use the ones you find the most interesting.

Serves 4, generously or 6, petitely

Ingredients:
For the soup:
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
2 pounds (905 grams) carrots, peeled, diced or thinly sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 regular or 6 small garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon table salt, plus more if needed
Pinch of Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
4 cups (945 ml) vegetable broth

For the crisped chickpeas:
1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 15-ounce (425-gram) can, drained, patted dry on paper towels
1 generous tablespoon (15 ml or so) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

For the lemon-tahini dollop:
3 tablespoons (25 grams) tahini paste
2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice
Pinch or two of salt
2 tablespoons (30 ml) water

For pita wedges:
A few large pitas, cut into 8 wedges
Olive oil, to brush pitas
Za’atar (a Middle Eastern spice-herb blend) or sesame seeds and sea salt to sprinkle
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

1. Heat two tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper flakes and sauté until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas with one tablespoon olive oil, salt and cumin until they’re all coated. Spread them on a baking sheet or pan and roast them in the oven until they’re browned and crisp. This can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size and firmness of your chickpeas. Toss them occasionally to make sure they’re toasting evenly.
3. Once vegetables have begun to brown, add broth, using it to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cover pot with lid and simmer until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a small dish, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, salt and water until smooth with a yogurt-like consistency. If more liquid is needed to thin it, you can add more lemon juice or water, a spoonful at a time, until you get your desired consistency.
5. Spread pita wedges on a second baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with za’atar or a combination of sea salt and sesame seeds and toast in oven with chickpeas until brown at edges, about 5 minutes.
6. Puree soup in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth. Ladle into bowls. Dollop each with lemon-tahini, sprinkle with crisped chickpeas and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with pita wedges. Forget January, you’d eat this anytime. Right?

 Tags: 
Vegetarian

Stracotto Meat Sauce

Adapted from Nika Hazelton’s Pasta Cookbook, a favorite cookbook of the Makanda clan

Ingredients:

• 2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 lb thin round steak
• 1/2 c butter
• 1 med. onion, minced
• 1 med. carrot, minced
• 1/2 celery rib, minced
• 1/2 c minced parsley
• 1 c dry Marsala
• 1 c beef bullion
• Salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1/3 c cream or half and half
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
• pasta

Instructions:

1. Crumble the porcinis into a bowl and soak in lukewarm water for about 20 minutes.
2. Cut meat into smallest possible dice; do NOT grind it because this would alter both the flavor and texture of the sauce.
3. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven.  Add onion, carrot, celery and parsley and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes. Add meat and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add mushrooms and their strained liquid, along with the Marsala and bouillon. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Cover tightly and simmer over lowest possible heat for about 3 hours or until the meat has almost dissolved; stir occasionally. If the sauce is still too liquid, remove cover and simmer for another 20 to 25 minutes until reduced further. 
5. Stir in the 2 tablespoons butter or cream. Cook for 5 more minutes, and then remove from heat. 
6. Stir in lemon peel
7. Serve over freshly cooked pasta or freeze.