Braised Rabbit Legs

Wednesday February 15th 2012

 

So this was my first venture into rabbit cooking, and I’ll be honest, I’m hooked. The meat wasn’t too gamey, but had a nice depth of flavor, and it was super tender after the hour long braise.

Plus, rabbit meat is really healthy for you. It’s extremely lean, high in protein and low in fat and calories. I love it when I’m healthy unintentionally.

This recipe is crazy good – I adapted it from a NY Times recipe that involves cornichons, but I’m not super crazy about cornichons (they look like weird little pickles), so I substituted capers and added more garlic. I served this over parmesan polenta because I didn’t want to get too healthy, and the combination is perfect for a cold night.

Braised Rabbit Legs

4 rabbit hind legs
Salt and pepper
2 TBS vegetable oil
4 large shallots, thinly sliced
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 TBS capers
1 TBS caper brine
2 TBS white wine vinegar
3 cups chicken stock, or as needed
4 TBS butter, cut into pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pat the rabbit legs dry, and season with salt and pepper. Place a large Dutch oven over high heat, and heat oil until shimmering. Sear the rabbit legs until browned on both sides. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the shallots and garlic to the pan, and sauté until tender but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the capers, brine and vinegar, raise heat and bring to a simmer. Return the rabbit legs to the pan with any accumulated juices. Add enough chicken stock to come to within about 1/2 inch of covering the legs. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Cover the pan and bake until the rabbit meat is tender and the leg joint bends easily, about 45 minutes.

Transfer legs to a plate and keep warm. Return pan to medium-high heat, and boil until sauce is reduced by about half. Whisk in butter a piece at a time, and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Return rabbit to the pan until just reheated. Serve over polenta or wild rice with sauce from pan.

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Posted by Sarah

Mahimahi Coconut Curry Stew with Carrots and Fennel

Tuesday February 7th 2012

This recipe comes from pretty Padma Lakshmi from Top Chef. I’m hoping I will start to look as fabulous as she does if I start cooking more of her recipes.

This warming curry stew has a relatively mild flavor with nice little kick from the chiles. If you like heat, add more chiles. I substituted a few things as I couldn’t find fresh curry leaves, and I also tried to make it a bit healthier with some other substitutions, so if you want to see her original recipe click here. This meal is a pretty easy, healthy weeknight meal. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’s a nice variation from the same old fish recipe.

Mahimahi Coconut Curry Stew with Carrots and Fennel

Three 6-ounce skinless mahimahi fillets

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt
2 TBS  olive oil
8 garlic cloves, peeled
3 large shallots, thinly sliced (1 cup)
8 small dried red chiles
1 bunch of fresh basil chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
8 kaffir lime leaves (I found these in a bottle in the Asian section at Central Market)
1 large fennel bulb—halved, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups)
4 cups carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1.5 TBS Madras curry powder
Two 15-ounce cans unsweetened  lite coconut milk
1 lime, zested for garnish
Rice or rice noodles (optional)

Put the mahimahi fillets in a large, shallow dish. Pour the lemon juice over the fish and season lightly with salt. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a very large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the oil. Add the garlic cloves and cook over moderately high heat until sizzling, about 2 minutes. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the chiles and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ginger and lime leaves and cook for 2 minutes. Add the fennel, carrots and curry powder and season lightly with salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and basil and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring a few times, until the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes longer.

Add the mahimahi and any accumulated juices to the casserole, nestling the fish into the stew. Cover and simmer over low heat, shifting the fish a few times, until it is just cooked, about 15 minutes. Transfer the fillets to a large, deep platter. Pour the sauce over and around the fish. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.

I served my stew over rice noodles, but rice would work just as well.

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Posted by Sarah

Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

Wednesday February 1st 2012

It’s no secret that I love bacon. Who doesn’t? But I also have an undying affection for macaroni and cheese. If it’s on a menu, I’m ordering it.

So what happens when I combine my two favorite foods on earth? Pure bliss. And weight gain. But we’ll focus on the bliss part.

My favorite mac n cheese recipe is from Miss Martha Stewart, but it’s a bit involved so I decided to test a new recipe out. One that didn’t involve a bechamel sauce or toasting bread cubes. And this recipe includes cream cheese, so really, how can one go wrong?

Proceed with caution and more importantly, a stretchy waistband.

Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

  • 1½ pound macaroni or whatever fancy pasta you choose
  • 2½ cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 cup Shredded Gruyere Cheese
  • 1¼ cup Shredded Parmigiano-reggiano Cheese
  • 2 cups Heavy Cream
  • ½ block Cream Cheese at room temperature
  • 4-5 strips of bacon, cooked and then chopped

Grate all 3 cheeses. Add 2 cups of heavy cream to a large saucepan, followed by cream cheese. Add a small amount of the cheese to the sauce pan, mixing with a whisk. Repeat until all of the cheese is gone. Salt & pepper to taste.

Boil water and cook your pasta and then add pasta and bacon to cheese mixture. Top with extra parmigiano if you have any leftover.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on top.

Devour.

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Posted by Sarah

Southern Fried Chicken

Tuesday January 24th 2012

Not to toot my own horn or anything but – Beep Beep! I just made the best fried chicken EVER last weekend! I mean chicken so good it’ll make you slap your sweet southern grandma from Georgia.

It all started when I received my new issue of Bon Appetit magazine – there’s a beautiful fried chicken drumstick right on the cover, and inside the issue is all about savoring the South. It has been a long time since I’ve made anything fried (getting healthy with the new year and all), but this just sounded too good to pass up.

I deviated from the Bon Ap recipe in a few ways – 1st I brined my bird. I’m a big believer that all dry meats like pork, chicken and turkey can benefit from a good salty brine before cooking. And for this soul food Saturday of course I pulled out my secret weapon- the Pickle Juice Brine. Some like to soak their chicken in buttermilk, but even Bon Ap recommends against this because “the danger of brining in buttermilk is you can never get the skin crispy enough”. My 2nd deviation was that I added a greater amount of seasoning to the flour, so that each crunchy bite was packed with spicy flavor. The Bon Ap recipe also calls for frying in Peanut oil, well I didn’t have any, but like every good southern girl I had some lard in the fridge and vegetable oil to supplement, so I fried my chicken in a blend of the two (which is probably a sin in some grandmothers cookbook, but I just had to use what was on hand). The result was raved about for the rest of the weekend.

Best EVER
Skillet Fried Chicken

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 3–4-lb. chicken (not kosher), cut into 10 pieces, backbone and wing tips removed

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 1/2 – 2 cups dill pickle juice (I prefer Del Dixi)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

(for frying) Per Bon Ap- use Peanut oil, or Per Ang- use equal parts lard & vegetable oil

 

Place chicken in a medium bowl with enough pickle juice to soak, cover and leave at room temperature for at least one hour.

Place all dry ingredients (flour, spices, and starch) in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Whisk buttermilk and egg in a medium bowl.

Pour oil into a 10″–12″ cast-iron skillet to a depth of 3/4″. Prop deep-fry thermometer in oil so bulb is submerged. Heat over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 350°. Meanwhile, set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking sheet to the side.

Working with 1 piece at a time (use 1 hand for wet ingredients and the other for dry ingredients), dip chicken in buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Dredge in flour mixture; tap against bowl to shake off excess. Place 4-5 pieces of chicken in skillet. Fry chicken, turning with tongs every 1–2 minutes and adjusting heat to maintain a steady temperature of 300°–325°, until skin is deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165°, about 10 minutes for wings and 12 minutes for thighs, legs, and breasts.

Using tongs, remove chicken from skillet, allowing excess oil to drip back into skillet; transfer chicken to prepared rack.

Repeat with remaining chicken pieces; let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

 

*******************Important Tips*******************

  • Work with room temperature chicken. It will fry much more evenly
  • Don’t crowd the pan, you’ll bring down the oil heat too quickly
  • It really helps to use a thermometer so you can adjust the heat of the oil accordingly
  • Resist the urge to double coat in flour. You want the flour to season and the skin to get crispy, not soggy skin underneath thick batter, yuck!
  • As you pull each cooked piece out of the oil, gently shake it and let it drain off the excess for about 10-20 seconds. You’ll be amazed at just how much oil comes off, and less oil left on the skin makes a crispier bite for you.

Follow these tips and you’ll be in southern fried heaven in now time!

 

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Posted by Angela

Tender Leek & Potato Soup

Monday January 9th 2012

I received a fabulous cookbook for Christmas this year from the man I love to cook for most. Tender is a stunning guide to growing and cooking vegetables, from British writer Nigel Slater. This heavy book is packed full of recipes and extensive gardening notes, just “A cook & his vegetable patch” he says.

Well the only thing I have left growing in my garden at the moment are some bushy overgrown herbs, and some tiny leeks. My leeks aren’t quite big enough to yield this recipe- but none the less, my mouth began watering when I got to this section of the book.

I was so surprised at how velvety smooth and rich the soup turned out even though the recipe didn’t call for any cream! Having an immersion blender definitely helped get it there, but it would still be just as good if you don’t have that tool. Nigel’s recipe called for the addition of sausage links to be served with the soup, and while his english accent is persuasive, I decided to crisp up some pancetta instead, as well as fry up a few leek leaves for a garnish. The fried leek strips ended up being my favorite part! I kind-of wish I had made more. Another great garnish would be some shredded cheddar cheese and chives.

Leek & Potato Soup (adapted from Tender)

3 large leeks

3-4 medium Russet Potatoes

4 celery stalks

3 tbs butter

6 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Pancetta diced

olive oil for frying

1 tsp fresh thyme

Salt to taste

Slice the tough dark green ends off the leeks and discard. Slice the whites and pale green ends of the leeks down the middle , separate the layers and rinse well to remove any additional grit. Chop the leeks in to 1/4 in rings. Reserve a few short strips off to the side to fry up for a garnish.

In a stock pot or dutch oven melt the butter and add the leeks. Let them cook over low to medium heat for about 15-20 minutes without letting them color, until they are soft enough to crush with your fingers.

Once they have softened, you can add the chopped celery and a bit of salt to taste. While those sweat in the pot, peel and chop your potatoes and add them to the pot as well. Add the thyme, stir and cover with a lid. Let the vegetables sweat and soften for about 5-10 minutes. Then add the stock and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat so that it bubbles lightly and cover partially with a lid. After simmering for about 25 minutes the potatoes should be softened and ready to blend. Using an immersion blender blitz the soup until your desired level of smoothness is achieved.

In a separate skillet saute the pancetta until crisp. Remove the crisp pieces drain on paper towels. Add olive oil to the skillet with the rendered pancetta fat and heat over medium high heat. Toss the remaining raw leek strips in the hot oil and fry until crisp. Drain on paper towels and lightly season with salt.

To plate- ladle the soup in a bowl and garnish with the crispy pancetta and fried leek strips.

 

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Posted by Angela