Rack of Lamb with Mushroom Risotto #2

I briefly mentioned a rack of lamb (here) at the end of last year but I realized that I didn’t take pictures of the Christmas dinner. Since I really enjoyed it, I splurged a bit a few weeks later for a birthday dinner and took that opportunity to update on pictures.

The recipe for the rack of lamb can be found here and the wonderful mint salsa verde that we love can be found here. I can’t say enough about the mint salsa verde, it is fantastic! I drizzle it over the chops as well as serve a little extra on the side.

As far as the rack of lamb recipe, I modified the roasting to coincide with cooking of the risotto. I preheat the oven to 400 degrees, then followed Step 1 and 2 up to the roasting instructions. I then placed the rack into the oven and turned the heat off and let sit, with the oven door closed, for 30 minutes.  The residual heat will roast the rack to medium rare while I prepared the mushroom risotto. After 30 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reads 130 degrees F (for medium rare), remove the rack of lamb, tent foil to keep warm and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

For the mushroom risotto, I used a variety of mushrooms, typically portobello (with the gills scraped), oyster, shiitake, and button/cremini mushrooms. I use mushroom stock to cook the risotto since it really enhances the mushroom flavor. You can buy the mushroom stock, which I get from Henry’s when I don’t make my own.

Mushroom Risotto Rice:
8 oz mixed mushrooms, finely chopped (more if you like lots of mushrooms)
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion or shallots
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine (I like to use a good Chardonnay)
3 cups mushroom stock
alt and pepper (optional) 

In a sauce pan, bring mushroom stock to a boil. Keep on simmer until ready to use.

In a large saucepan on medium heat, sauté onion in oil and butter for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add rice, cook while stirring for 5 minutes.

Add wine and cook until absorbed, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mushroom and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup of stock, continue cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed. Gradually stir in remaining broth about 3/4 to 1 cup at a time, cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed before adding more stock.

It usually takes about 25 minutes to cook the risotto to the tenderness that we like. I don’t like any hint of crunch to my rice but it should be tender but firm to the bite and mixture is creamy but not soupy. I taste test when there’s about a cup left of broth. Season with salt and pepper if needed and to taste. Once done, serve immediately.

If you want to take it up a notch (sorry, Emeril), shave some parmesan cheese or maybe even a little truffle on top.

Spinach Prosciutto Cheese Swirls

I love using Pepperidge Farm puff pastry for appetizers and dessert. These wonderful sheets are especially handy for special occasions or say, maybe a Super Bowl weekend. You can find all sorts of recipes here.

I don’t often look on/inside boxes of prepared food for recipes. But I  had 2 boxes of these in my freezer and wanted to make something other than palmiers. One box had a recipe for spinach cheese swirls that looked really good (recipe here). Since the Mister has been offsite all week, working hard, I thought I’d surprise him with a little appetizer when he got home.

As a matter of fact, my MIL stopped by shortly after the Mister got home (did she know I was making appetizers??) and had a chance to try these out. Winner, winner!! Cheese swirl…ah, never mind. Bottom line, both of them gave two shakas and hearty “mmmmm!” Well, MIL didn’t do the shaka but she was still “mmmmmm” all the way to her car when she left.

I used the recipe as a guide and used what I had on hand. Here’s my adaptation of the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed according to package instructions
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 pieces of sun-dried tomato (packed in oil), chopped finely
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
4 slices of prosciutto
1 package (about 10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400°F. 

Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.

In a medium bowl, combine thoroughly the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomato, onion and garlic powders.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Brush the pastry sheet with the egg mixture.  Have the pastry sheet with a short edge closest to you. Top with the cheese mixture, leaving the 1/4 inch top short edge clean. Layer the prosciutto on top of the cheese mixture, and finally topped with spinach.  You may not need all the spinach.

Note: make sure as much of the water is squeezed out of the spinach or else it’ll make the puff pastry soggy. Use those muscles and squeeze!! Then break up the clumps of spinach before layering on the puff pastry.

Starting with a short side closest to you, roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into 20 slices, about 1/2 inch each.  Place the slices, cut-side down, onto baking sheets.  I lined my baking sheets with Expat (similar to Silpats). You can also use parchment paper, if you wish. Brush the slices with the egg mixture.

Bake for 16 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. I prefer these slightly warm.

These can be reheated in a warm oven. Extras can be stored in airtight containers for a day.

The Mister said these were *very* addictive. I had quite a few myself. I really liked the flavor that the prosciutto gave it. Of course it can be left out and it would still be very good since the sun-dried tomatoes also added a great savory element to it. The exposed pieces of the spinach got a little toasty, which I thought was nice and reminded me a bit of toasted nori (in texture, not so much taste). Wait, toasted nori…maybe with some thin slices of Spam in puff pastry?? Hmm, that might have to be explored!

So if you’re looking for an appetizer that’s easy and very tasty for your Super Bowl get-together, here you go.

Eggplant Timbale

Is eggplant one of those fruits (often thought of as a vegetable) where people either like or don’t like? I certainly don’t come across a lot of recipes for it. But it is very versatile and has healthy benefits (low cal, no fat, source for potassium/iron/protein/fiber). Not much flavor on its own IMO but it absorbs other flavors from a dish, kind of like tofu. From what I understand, some eggplants shouldn’t be eaten raw (especially young ones) since it’s part of the Nightshade family.  My mom used to make a couple of awesome Chinese dishes using Chinese/Japanese variety (the narrow ones) so I pretty much grew up loving eggplant. The Mister really only have had eggplant in eggplant parmesan (using the oval gord-shaped ones), which he loves.

I recently watched Giada make her version of Eggplant Timbale. I believe an Italian timbale is any layered dish cooked in a mold then turned out. Timbale basically means mold. The way it was made was really interesting and since I knew we would love the pasta filling, I decided to try it.

I followed the recipe with the following exception: had to use almost 3 eggplants, used all Italian sausage, used only regular mozzarella since the store I went to didn’t have smoked mozzarella).

After reading some of the reviews, I was a little nervous as to how it would flip out since some people had the whole thing fall apart. But I decided to let it sit for 15 minutes after I removed it from the oven (as one reviewer suggested) and the whole thing came out perfectly. Oh yeah, one thing that they don’t tell you in the recipe and I didn’t read it on any of the reviews but if you are using a springform pan, make sure you wrap the bottom with aluminum foil or put the pan on a baking sheet in case there’s liquid seepage.

Here’s a shot of the cut timbale.

It turned out well and reminded us a bit of an inside-out eggplant parmesan as far as flavor. Grilling the eggplant gave it a very nice flavor. I could definitely taste the EVOO that was brushed on it so note here to use a brand that you would use for uncooked dishes. I used Barilla’s jarred marinara sauce, which was a little sweet for my taste but still good.  The one thing that I would do differently next time if I’m using all Italian sausage is to cook that up separately (made first) and then drain most of the excess fat out.

The dish was pretty straightforward, where grilling the eggplant took the longest. It certainly would be a nice dish to dazzle company and can easily serve up to 6 people with a side dish. It heated up just fine the next day as leftovers.

Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles

Hong Kong style pan fried noodles is a favorite of mine. Love ordering this at restaurants. Even bad versions are tolerable, well, most of the time. My mom used to say that this dish is very easy to make but I just never got around to making it. Until now.

I didn’t have a recipe for HK style but have seen Joyce’s’ version here. What I really liked about her recipe is that she also provides a step-by-step photo instructions. How wonderful is that? Just a note that the recipe and the photo instructions vary slightly. I followed the recipe directions exactly and used shrimp, beef, king oyster mushrooms and bok choy. What’s great with this dish is you can pretty much use whatever you have on hand.

Yes, mom was right. It was easy to make. I added a little too much oyster sauce, which made the sauce a little too salty. But overall, it was really good and I’ll definitely be making this again! Next time, I’m going to make the noodles according to the package instructions (calls for a 10 second dunk in boiling water) and see if there’s a difference in the crunch. The noodles had quite a bit of flour on it and although I shook off most of it, there was still a bit of flour taste to final product. These were the noodles that I used.

Adapted from sugarlens.com

Ingredients:
1 pkg of Hong Kong Style noodles (I used about 4 oz per person)
 6 0z flank steak, sliced thinly against the grain
15-20 shrimps, peeled and deveined
1 king oyster mushroom, sliced thinly
2 stalk bok choy, cleaned and cut
2 cloves garlic, minced
Canola oil (vegetable or peanut oil can be substituted)

Marinade A:
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
Salt and white pepper to taste

Marinade B:
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp sesame oil
Salt and white pepper to taste

Sauce:
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 cup water
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of xiao-shing (Chinese) cooking wine

Thickener:
1 tbsp of corn starch
2 tbsp of water

I separated each person’s noodles and shook out as much of the flour as possible. I also fluffed it up like Joyce recommended.

Marinate beef with Marinade A. Set aside. 

Marinate shrimps with Marinade B. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for Sauce. Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, combine corn starch and water for Thickener. Set aside.

I used a 14″ wok but you can use any large pan. Heat the wok on high heat for about 30 seconds and then added oil. Swirl the oil in the wok. Once the oil just reaches smoking, I added the noodles and turned down the heat to medium-high. If the noodles start burning, remove pan from heat for a few seconds and turn the heat down a bit. Press down lightly with chopsticks or a spatula to help brown the noodles evenly. Add more cooking oil as needed to make suremost of the noodles brown. Plate the noodles on individual plates and set aside. I ended up flipping the noodles and browning on both sides since I like a lot of crunchy noodles.

Add more oil to wok and swirl it around. Add garlic and saute for about a minute. Add shrimp and cook until just done. Don’t overcook since the shrimp will continue to cook when removed from heat. Dish out.

Add oil to wok and cook beef until done. Dish out.

Add oil to wok and cook bok choy and oyster mushroom. Add salt to taste. Cook until done. Add shrimps and beef back to the pan. Stir well. Add the Sauce mixture. Bring it to a boil.

Add thickener and give a quick stir. Bring it to a boil.

Pour gravy on top of the noodles. Serve immediately.

The Mister requested more beef and shrimp next time. I might even add some chicken and make it a Three Treasure noodle dish!

Cioppino (with Sourdough Crouton and Anchovy Butter)

It’s been a few years since we’ve had cioppino, the last time during a short trip to San Francisco in 2005. With Dennis’ cioppino adventures (here) and Mike & Sherry’s Feast of the 7 Fishes, how could anyone not be in the mood for seafood? I mentioned to the Mister about all the seafood posts lately and he said, “mmm, cioppino!”

I went with what looked good at the markets that day but avoided crab. I’m mildly allergic to shellfish with the exception of crab, highly allergic. Too bad since I love King Crab and there were some really good looking legs. I got some mussels, squid (pre-cleaned), cod, giant white tiger shrimp and clams. I wanted littlenecks or even countnecks but the stores I went to only had cherrystones. Although they are quite large and not really suited for the cioppino I had in mind, I still wanted clams so I shucked sucked it up and went with cherrystones. I was also hoping for some red snapper but that didn’t happen either.

I didn’t have fish stock on hand but had some frozen shrimp that was starting to get freezer burn. So I used those to make shrimp stock instead (15 shrimps with shell on, celery, carrots, onions, garlic and 3 quarts of water — simmered for 45 minutes). I made a bit of extra stock to put in the freezer.

Adapted from Sam’s Anchor Cafe,  (Serves 2-3 people)

For Ciopppino:

Ingredients:

1/4 C olive oil
8 prawns, shelled and deveined
8-10 littleneck clams, scrubbed
8-10 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
6 oz fresh fish fillets (salmon, halibut, red snapper or cod)
5 clean squid, cut into rings
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced (or 1 16-oz diced tomatoes, drained)
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp chopped basil (or 2 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp chopped oregano (or 2 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp chopped thyme (or 2 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
4 cups seafood stock (fish, lobster, shrimp, etc.)
1 C dry white wine
Salt and pepper

Directions:

In large pot, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil using medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add wine and reduce wine by half. Add seafood stock, tomatoes, red bell peppers, thyme, basil and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the broth cooks, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat in a large sauté pan. Season fish with salt and pepper. Cook fish until brown on both sides. Remove from heat to a plate. Add another 2 tablespoon of oil to the same pan and add shrimp. Saute shrimp on each side until half-way cooked, depending on size could take anywhere from 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes. Removed from heat to a plate. It’s better err on side of undercook at this point since it will finish cooking in the broth. Don’t want to cook the shrimp all the way through or else it may become tough and chewy while finishing off in the broth.

Once the broth has reduced down a bit and thickened slightly, add the clams and mussels. Cook until the clams (see note below) and mussels open. Toss out any unopened shells after 3 minutes. Add the squid, fish and shrimp, cook for another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, add salt and fresh ground pepper as needed.

Note on the clams: Since I used cherrystones, the cooking time doubled. So rather than risk having the other seafood overcook, I took the larger clams out as soon as they started to open, shucked out the meat and put it back into the broth with the rest of the seafood to finish cooking.

For the Sourdough Bread and Anchovy Butter, I used Fulton Fish Market’s crouton recipe here. This is a must with the cioppino!

Postscript:  I was flipping through Mastering the Art of French Cooking the other day and came across Anchovy Butter in the cookbook. It can be made in a large batch, rolled and then frozen until needed. Simple yet wonderfully delicious!