“The French cook; we open tins.”

John Galsworthy's quote belies the beauty that can exist in tins.

Sometimes I  fall for the pure esthetic of objects. And sometimes the beauty foreshadows a tasty treasure. Such is the case with these various types of powdered paprikas. Some are sweet, others smokey. Add them with abandon to chicken, fajitas, eggs, or chili. Experiment, play, taste, and taste again. But, before you do, take a moment to gaze at the lovely tins and imbibe the artwork.

Skirt Weather

Perhaps the weather gods are taunting me, but who cares? Today was a no-socks, no-worries kind of day.

Skirt steak is an inexpensive, tasty, easy to cook cut of beef. I made a rub of cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, pepper and ancho powder (Penzey's Spices has a great selection), added a couple of tablespoons of oil to make a thick paste,  and smeared the spice-oil mix on both sides of the meat.

There was a most satisfying sizzle when cool meat met fiery metallic slats. As the smokey scent of searing spices and succulent meat wafted across the road, spandex-clad bikers and joggers passing by slowed their pace, nostrils flaring.

Skirt steak needs no more than a few minutes on each side. Remove from the heat and let it rest on a plate, tented with foil, for 15 minutes. Slice it against the grain.
With it we had broccoli, quickly sauteed in garlic and oil. Sweet potatoes are a perfect compliment too. If, by chance, there are any left overs skirt steak makes awesome fajitas...but that will be a recipe for another day.

Beer Days Ahead

Awoke to a chilly early March morning, but the Sun and Earth had other plans. By day's end we are close to 70 degrees making me long for dinners outside at the garden table, and a cold beer.

I must have sensed it as I wandered the aisles of Linwood Liquors a few days ago, inexorably drawn from wines to the twinkling cache of emeralds and ambers in the beer cooler.

In my mind, I was picturing something dark and seriously hoppy, with a nice bite and deep, rich flavor. My last brew sampler came with fantastic names like "Old Scratchy" and "Raging Bitch". Brewers have a warped sense of humor, and I play right along.  Scanning from left-to-right and top-to-bottom, there, disguised behind a rather nondescript label, I spotted "Dirty Bastard" from Founders. How could I possibly resist?

This is not one for the faint of heart, at 8.5% it has a kick.  Now all I have to do is figure out what to pair it with...crab cakes would be fabulous.

Interesting article about this very beer in today's paper.

Not so darling clementines

Clementine creation courtesy of Gustaf Olsen

In the early winter months I anxiously await the arrival of the first wooden boxes of this citrus gem. Underneath optically tricky orange netting little easy-to-peel orbs of sweetness nestle. Each wedge waiting to be separated from the next, the best ones even having individual tear-drop purses of juice inside every segment.


I adore them. But now, alas, as clementine season draws to its close they drop in size and sweetness.  Maybe it's a good thing, having them slowly fade away rather than abruptly stop at their juiciest best. Enjoying food at its seasonal apex brings so much more delight than a constant dull flow of substandard hard-forced items. Until next winter, darlings.....

Shrimp with spinach and garlic

This dish contains less than 5 main ingredients and takes under 15 minutes to go from fridge to tabletop.

There are some leafy greens that never cease to amaze me, spinach being one of them. In minutes,  seemingly enormous piles of this delicate green wilt down to a mere nothing. Tonight I'm using tender adult leaves, somewhere in between baby spinach and the full-grown version. If you choose baby spinach you will have to increase the amount even further.  Estimate one full bunch per person (see quarter for scale in the picture above). Spinach adores growing in sandy soil, so make sure to rinse well. Eating sand doesn't feel good. Frozen spinach works fine too.

Here is what you will need:

• Spinach
• Shrimp
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Carbohydrate (that's Israeli Couscous in the little blue bowl)

A  nice deep frying pan comes in handy, allowing the spinach to be smushed down all at one, otherwise work in batches. Sometimes spinach releases a large amount of water, if this happens just drain off the excess before adding the shrimp.


Peel shrimp as needed (save peels, see below). Heat a few tablespoons of oil in the pan, add thinly sliced garlic, then the spinach and let it wilt for a few minutes. Add shrimp, and as soon as you see the edges turning opaquely pink flip shrimp over, turn off the flame and add a lid. The shrimp will continue to cook in the residual heat. Check after 3-4 minutes, season with salt and pepper, add a fresh drizzle of olive oil and it is done!

Serve with a starch of your choice: Israeli or regular cous-cous; pasta; polenta; cornbread; or even a crusty French bread.

If you want to be naughty, sprinkle with  crispy, salty cubes of fried pancetta or bacon. A sprinkling of hot pepper flakes and/or lemon zest adds more zip.

And, now for the peels: resist the temptation to just toss them. Instead, place them in a small pot, add just enough water to cover, and boil under a lid for about 10-20 minutes. The yield will be a pale pink liquid, delicately perfused with shrimp aroma and flavor. I pour it into a plastic container, labeled with the date it was made and keep it frozen until I need some stock for any seafood dish.

The simple things...

Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

 

Yesterday, the sweetest people took me to to Enzo's Market in Fort Lee (a post dedicated to Enzo's will come in the future). Tucked away in a totally non-descript strip mall atop the Palisades Cliffs  lies a hidden gem. Behind Enzo's counters magic happens in the form of handmade, silken white balls of mozarella and the best chicken parmesan I've ever had. Coming back home this afternoon from the gym, with a stomach begging to be fed after a  particularly grueling workout, there was the cheese gently resting in its brine, handfuls of tender aromatic basil leaves, gem-colored cherry tomatoes and crusty bread. A quick drizzle of balsamic, extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt and there was the best lunch! I had to remind myself to slow down and take a picture before it was all gone.

Roasting Peppers 101

One of the final days of February and the sun was warming the ground, releasing all kinds of wonderful earthy smells and inspiring me to wander out to my grill and revive it after its winter rest.
Roasted peppers are so versatile: add to salads, soups, sandwiches or in this case...I had a hankering for lasagna.
Set the grill to medium-high to high and put the peppers straight on (no oil or seasoning!) and let them really char and blister for about 5 minutes on each side. Keep turning until all sides are seriously blackened. 
Then, unceremoniously plop them into a paper-plastic grocery bag combo, roll the bag shut and ignore for about 30 minutes or so  until cool enough to touch.

When you open the bag, a heavenly smell will waft out, and...the char is easily slipped off right into the messy bag.  No need to be picky, not every piece has to be removed. Pull off the stem top, open the pepper, scrape out the seeds, you can even rinse them off with water if you like.
Note: if you don't have a grill but do have a gas stove you can char peppers straight on the gas flame.