Category Archives: Recipes

Spanish-style Brown Rice and Chard

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Spanish-style chard and brown rice in a wok ready to serve

I’ve been on a mission to get more brown rice into my family.

I try to hide it behind great flavor and color.  It’s not that they don’t like the texture, but Americans are so used to white rice that they often consider brown rice “not as good” and look at you like you have five heads when you present it to them.

Both my husband and son have great diets.  They eat a wide variety of things and avoid food that’s not really food – like trans fat and all that processed stuff.  The main problem I have involves rice and bread.  When left to their own defences, they choose white rice and white bread.

Myself – I love brown rice.  Especially Jasmine, which is fragrant and delicate.  It works well in dishes where it gets beaten up, like in a stir-fry, because it holds its shape, and it comes out separate and fluffy.  It’s also fairly easy to disguise, if you have to resort to this tactic.

This recipe is, loosely, a Spanish incarnation of Greek spinach rice, which I love, but which doesn’t work as well with brown rice because of the cooking time.  By the time the rice is done, the spinach is a shadow of its former self.  By replacing the delicate spinach with hale and hearty chard, that problem goes away.

Another crops up, though:  the bitterness of the chard.

By switching to a Spanish-inspired version with bacon, the bitterness issue is remedied, too.

You can buy beautiful chard in the East Bay at Berkeley Bowl (two locations) and Monterey Market (1550 Hopkins Street) – and many other stores and farmers’ markets.  High-end supermarkets often have smoked paprika, and I’ve seen it at Trader Joe’s.  If you stop by The Spanish Table in Berkeley (1814 San Pablo Avenue), they have qute a selection.

Jasmine brown rice can be found at most Asian markets.  I usually get it at 99 Ranch Market in Richmond – 3288 Pierce Street.

This is one dish where a non-stick wok works well.  I use my Wolfgang Puck electric wok for this – I kid you not.  If you have a surface that tends to stick badly and where prying off caramelization is a non-starter, take care with the last step of the recipe.

Spanish-style Brown Rice with Chard
   Serves 3 as a main dish, 6 as a side, depending upon appetites!

4 ounces bacon, cut into medium-small pieces
1/2 large yellow onion, small dice
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
2 cups Jasmine brown rice
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt – dependent upon saltiness of stock used
4 cups chicken stock
1 pound of Swiss chard, leaves cut into fairly large pieces (If your store carries rainbow chard, which Berkeley Bowl does, get this; it’s a mix of colors.  To get it really clean, wash in a sink full of cold water.)

1).  Saute bacon until just under crispy.
2).  Add onion and saute until golden.
3).  Add garlic, shallot and rice and stir-fry for a minute or two.
4).  Add smoked paprika, pepper and salt and make sure all is combined well with the rice.
5).  Saute this mixture for a minute or two.
6).  Add chicken stock and stir well; bring to a boil.
7).  Add chard to the top – do not mix in – and cover.
8).  Simmer for 5 or 6 minutes or until the chard has wilted down enough for you to mix it in to the rice somewhat.
9).  Continue to simmer, covered, stirring in the chard as it continues to shrink down.
10).  When chard is evenly distributed, cook for about 20 minutes, covered, without stirring.
11).  When liquid is absorbed into the rice completely, it should be done.  If not, add a little more stock or water and continue cooking until done.
12).  Allow rice to cook, covered, for an additional few minutes on medium-high heat so that you create a little caramelization on the bottom.  Do not stir, but do not allow to burn!
13).  With a spatula, mix well, pulling up the caramelized rice (this will have stuck to the pan) and distributing it throughout.

Stuffed Savory ‘shrooms

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Large stuffed mushroom

The way I figure it, stuffed mushrooms need a MacGuffin.

If you remember your Hitchcock, a MacGuffin is a device in a fictional work that drives the plot and hooks viewers.

Without a distinctive element, a stuffed ‘shroom is just so much breadcrumbs and cheese, and many of them taste the same because they all have basically the same kind of stuffing.

What I set out to do was create a version that was familiar and comforting, but had a little more impact.

Stuffing for mushrooms on stove

First, I wanted to really bring out the umami* in the mushrooms.  Next, I had to be able to use the stems for frugality’s sake.  Finally, there would have to be an ingredient that would separate my version from the pack. 

Mincing and browning mushroom stems and adding anchovy paste and a nice dose of vermouth resulted in a savory, substantial stuffing with a little kick.  If you think of what vermouth does to risotto, you’re on the right track.

These come out of the oven nicely brown, too.

I suggest you use the large mushrooms called for in the recipe because they’re easy to deal with and work well on a dinner plate in place of a protein.  They look big, meaty and inviting.  Berkeley Bowl almost always has them.

Stuffed mushrooms ready to go into oven 

Savory Stuffed Mushrooms
   Makes enough for 5 as a main dish served with sides, 10 as an appetizer10 extra-large (huge,            really) white mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped shallots
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground marjoram
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (or 1 anchovy fillet that has been mashed to a pulp with a fork)
Scant 1/4 cup dry vermouth
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs, which are coarse and unseasoned)
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Olive oil for brushing

1).  Prepare mushrooms by wiping well or washing and drying.  Make sure they are very dry!  Pull out stems carefully and set aside.  Lightly grease a sheet pan and arrange caps bottom side up.
2).  Mince the stems finely.  Do this with a food processor unless you have the patience to arrive at a very fine mince by hand.  I use a Kuhn-Rikon “Twist & Chop.”  Set aside all but 1/4 cup.
3).  Saute the 1/4 cup minced stems in the olive oil in a small but heavy saucepan until golden brown.
4).  Take the pan off the heat and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes.
5).  Place butter, shallots, garlic, pepper, marjoram and parsley in saucepan with browned stems and saute over low heat until butter is melted.
6).  Cover and cook for about a minute.  You want to sweat this mixture and not brown it.
7).  Mix in anchovy paste and cook for a few seconds.
8).  Mix in remaining stems, cover and cook over low heat until mushrooms are cooked through – about 2 minutes.
9).  Stir in vermouth and cook for about a minute, uncovered.
10). Remove from heat and mix in panko.
11). Transfer mixture to a bowl and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
12). Fold cheese into stuffing until well incorporated.
13). Stuff mushroom caps, pressing filling in well.  Do this with all of them and then distribute the excess evenly to overstuff slightly.
14). Brush olive oil on stuffed mushrooms, being sure to get oil on the mushrooms, not just the stuffing.
15). Bake at 375 deg F. until they are brown on the outside and hot throughout.  Use convection, if you have it, but keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.  Will be something like 20 – 25 minutes.

stuffed mushrooms just out of the oven

*Umami is a fifth taste (savory), occurs naturally in certain foods, and has to do, roughly, with glutamates.  This is complicated, so you should do a little research for the full story

Simple Guacamole with Scallions & Tequila

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scallion & booze guacamole

Hass avocados were on sale at Raley’s this week – 5 for $5.  There’s no way I was not going to make guacamole of some kind.

I often make a version I serve as a side dish at BBQs that doubles as a dip for chips.  It has no red onion, no cilantro and no tomato, and gets its character from scallions and a bit of tequila.  Very simple and works well as a leftover.  Standard guacamole is often unbearably oniony and soggy the next day.  The tomatoes – yuk.  This version is still pretty darn good.

I like it best with some grilled chicken and warm corn tortillas.

Be sure to tell your guests about the tequila, just in case.

Scallion & Tequila Guacamole
   Enough for 6 or so as a side dish or a bowl of dip for tortilla chips

5 small Hass avocados
3 scallions (green onions), green and white parts, chopped into small rings (use nice, fresh ones)
1/4 cup lime juice (squeeze from fresh limes, please!)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more, if you want)
2 tablespoons tequila (gin or vodka is OK in a pinch)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1).  Combine all ingredients except avocados in a porcelain or glass bowl and whisk together
2).  Cube avocados and gently fold into liquid one at a time
3).  Correct seasoning, i.e., salt
4).  Place in fridge for an hour, covered
5).  Serve with whatever you like.  Good with scrambled eggs!

Thai salty limeade

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thai salty limeade

A couple of years ago a friend came back from Thailand with an easy recipe for a cold lime drink that’s a little salty.  She said it was a popular drink there, given the extreme heat.

I’m grilling some chicken this weekend, and it’s supposed to be nice and sunny, so I thought I’d make some of this in place of my usual iced tea.

While sweet-salty-sour combinations are desirable in Thailand, here, well, there’s still a bit of pioneering involved.  Not everyone will like this, and I wasn’t sure I liked it until I raided the fridge for the pitcher a few times.  In addition to the salt, there’s a little bitterness from the rinds. limes in water and sugar 2010

I make the drink as written and then add extra ice and water to my glass.

Give this a try and see what you think.  Set yourself up somewhere under a patio umbrella with a good book and sip away.

Thai Salty Limeade
   makes about 5 cups

1 cup fresh lime juice (squeeze from limes that have been rinsed well)
all the lime halves the juice was squeezed out of
1 quart water
3/4 cup sugar
pinch good sea salt or Kosher salt

1).  Place lime halves in a glass bowl
2).  Boil water, sugar and salt together for 2 or 3 minutes
3).  Pour over lime halves and allow to sit for no more than 5 minutes (longer and the drink will be very bitter)
4).  Strain mixture into a glass pitcher, squeezing lime halves to obtain the liquid they absorbed
5).  Strain lime juice into pitcher and mix
6).  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and serve over lots of ice, adding more water, as desired

The wonders of duck fat

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duck fat potatoes 2010

Being of German extraction, I think you should always have a bag of potatoes in the house.

Whatever else you may or may not have on hand, with potatoes and oil you can make a meal:  roast potatoes.

If you have eggs, you can add a couple on top – over easy.  Throw in toast and you’re living large.

With a container of rendered duck fat, however, you can produce the most fabulous roast potatoes of your life.

Now you know why I serve duck for Easter.  Not only are roast ducks delicious, but I wind up with a couple of cups of fat that I can use over the next 6 months.

While I don’t use a traditional rendering method, it works just fine for me, so I thought I’d pass it along.

It’s easy.  Go to 99 Ranch Market or your supermarket and buy a duck.  You’ll probably get a Pekin, which is the most common meat duck in the US.  When I was growing up they were called “Long Island” ducks.  Apparently a number of them were exported from China in 1873, with several winding up in New York’s Suffolk County.  This part of Long Island then became a major duck farming area.

You might see Musovy ducks – stronger tasting and leaner – or the Pekin-Muscovy hybrid, Moulard.  Since you’re not making confit (in which case the Moulard would be your pick), and you want lots of fat, I’d go with the Pekin.

Rub with salt and roast on a rack at 350 deg. F until the internal temperature reads 165.  A broiling pan works well for this – the kind you get when you buy a range.  Some cookbooks tell you not to rub ducks with salt prior to roasting, but this is crazy to me.  I want crispy skin and don’t care if there is salt in the rendered fat.  If you have convection, use it.  This is not a good time to use wine or apples or any of that other stuff because you don’t want to flavor the fat.  When you move the duck from the rack to a serving dish or board, don’t allow all the juices run out of the opening into the roasting pan.

OK, so now you have a duck for four that you can serve with braised red cabbage and whatever else you want.

You should have a nice amount of fat with some drippings in your roasting pan.  Try to leave drippings in the pan, to the extent possible, in the next step.  When just comfortable to handle, carefully pour fat through a fine-meshed sieve into a large glass measuring cup, or something like it, and leave on your counter until the fat has risen to the top of any drippings.  At that point you can just pour (or almost pour – the melting point of duck fat is 76.5 F) the fat into a food-safe plastic container, being sure not to pour any of the drippings out.  This is very important because they will reduce the shelf-life of the fat considerably!  Wrap the container in plastic and store in the back of your fridge.

Drippings scraped from the pan and those remaining in your measuring cup can be stored in a small container for use in the next few days.  I don’t bother separating out that last little bit of fat, and simply make a big batch of roast potatoes with this mix of fat and gelee, or use the latter in a pan sauce.  I try hard not to waste anything on an animal.

rendered duck fat 2010

If you want to make roast potatoes, just substitute all, or half, of your canola or olive oil with duck fat.

Duck fat tastes so good you’d think it was terrible for you.  On the contrary, it’s high in monounsaturates and has good things going for it in the way olive oil does.

Before I jot down my roast potatoes recipe, I want to give a nod to Pear Street Bistro in Pinole.  A couple of years ago I had an appetizer there that involved crispy roast potatoes covered with melted Gruyere and a side of short rib gravy.  Since that time I’ve stretched many a meal out of leftover braising sauce, melted cheese and roast potatoes!

Crispy Roasted Duck Fat Potatoes

4 extra-large Russet potatoes, washed/scrubbed, dried and cut into large pieces (1-1/2″- 2″)
1/4 cup rendered duck fat, give or take, dep. upon potato size
Kosher salt
Freshly-ground pepper

1).  Place potatoes on a large sheet pan*
2).  Add the duck fat and salt to your liking
3).  With your hands, rub fat, salt and potatoes together so potatoes are coated
4).  Bake at 400 deg. F (convection, if you have it, but keep an eye on things to prevent burning) for about 40 minutes, or until you see some serious browning action
5).  Take out and turn potatoes.  Use a spatula with a sharp edge and scrape/pry under potatoes so you don’t leave crusts on the pan.  Some will stick, some won’t.  If they are too dry, you can add a little olive oil, making sure there is oil where taters make contact with the pan
6).  Continue to roast until very brown on all sides.  I tend to overcook them a bit so they’re very crisp on the outside and buttery soft inside
7).  Remove from pan carefully with said spatula and sprinkle with a little ground pepper

*You should have at least one really big sheet pan!  For most of us this will be 15″ X 21″ – AKA 3/4 sheet pan, based on commercial sizes.