Because the week got away from me, again, our regularly scheduled programing will resume next week. But being the end of the year, I thought I would throw together a sort of “Best Of” and like all the best of Best Ofs, this one is essentially completely made up. It’s not based on hits or mentions, or even .. well anything that’s even slightly quantitative. They’re just things I liked, or things you told me you liked.
So without further ado, or any further whatevering….
Also … Happy New Year!
Yellow Pepper Ceviche - June 2022
Ceviche are perfect summer dishes because … well, really because they’re cold. But also because they’re a way for people who’re maybe not completely totally comfortable with raw seafood to enjoy raw seafood. The acid in the marinade partially “cooks” the fish – so if you’re a little squidgy about the raw part you can tell yourself it’s not raw.
It’s raw. Really. The “cooks” is in quotes because it doesn’t cook it. It does break down some portioned in a way similar to cooking, but it’s not really cooking. But don’t be afraid if it for that reason. Be afraid of it because unless you’re making it yourself, or you’re you know – in the Midwest where mayonnaise is considered spicy – a real ceviche can be perfectly wonderfully face numbingly spicy.
Me, I like it that way. I recognize not everyone does. You can choose which sort of chili you want to use, and whether or not to include the seeds and ribs. Seeds and ribs carry most of the heat, so leaving them out will give you a much milder chili.
I use pureed yellow bell pepper as a base here because it’s easier and cheaper than Aji Amarillo (which I am using in one other recipe here this week) but also because it’s mild. That lets you customize the heat level yourself by using other peppers to build the spice profile.
Also, it’s really cool looking. It’s intensely bright yellow. And we all know looking cool matters.
1 lb fresh red snapper filet
1 large yellow bell pepper
1 hot pepper (serrano, red finger, fresno, jalapeno)
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp finely minced red onion
1 tbsp finely minced cilantro
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
green onion, cilantro, edible flowers for garnish
Remove the stem and seeds from the yellow pepper and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Add the pepper and lime juice to the container of a high-speed blender, and process on high until very smooth.
Pour the resulting liquid through a fine strainer to remove any solids and reduce foaming.
Trim, and very finely dice the peppers. You may choose to remove the seeds and ribs (milder) or include them (spicier).
Add the diced chilis, red onion, minced cilantro, salt, and red onion to the pepper and lime mixture.
Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Remove the skin from the fish by placing it skin side down on a cutting board, and gently running a long knife the length of the filet.
Discard the skin (or use to make fish stock for paella!) and cutting on the bias (diagonally) cut the filet into very thin slices.
5 minutes before serving pour a portion of the marinade into a bowl, add the fish, and pour the remaining liquid over the top.
Garnish with fresh herbs and edible flowers.
Fried Plantain Chips with Green Sauce - April 2022
You know those fried plantain chips you see in sandwich shops? The ones that basically look and taste exactly like those dried banana chips you feed kids on long road trips but with all of the flavor and sugar and crunch and anything that makes them taste good removed? The ones that aren’t pretzels but still suck ever bit of moisture out of your mouth, that taste like packing material but somehow for some reason you ate the whole bag?
These aren’t those.
There are a lot of ways to prepare plantains - both sweet and green. The plantains on my counter were - if I’m going to be honest- somewhere in between. Too green for the fried sweet plantains I love, too ripe for other preparations like tostones. So, I made tostones. Yeah, I just said that they were too ripe to make tostones. Usually, those delicious crunchy twice fried plantain chips (that are most certainly not the ones described above) are made with green plantains. These aren’t. They’re sweeter, and texture wise somewhere between crunchy and a little chewy.
I love ‘em. Plus, you get to smash. Smashing is fun.
These can be made in a deep fryer, or shallow fried.
4 semi-ripe plantains (yellow, but not soft)
Crunchy finishing salt
Green Sauce (see Below)
Oil for frying
A smashing thing
Trim, peel, and slice the plantains into ½ inch thick disks.
Bring your oil to 350°F.
Fry the plantains in batches, turning once, until light golden brown.
Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 2-3 (or while frying additional batches)
Using a kitchen mallet, the bottom of a pan, or really anything flat, hard, and food safe, smash the fried plantain disks into ¼ inch thick disks.
Return the freshly smashed disks to the fry oil and cook until crisp and brown.
Serve hot, sprinkled with crunchy salt, with green sauce for dipping.
Green Sauce
½ bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper
½ cup Greek yogurt
½ cup mayonnaise
Combine all ingredients in the container of a blender or food processor.
Process until smooth.
Refrigerate one hour before using for flavors to combine.
Cheese Stuffed Hash Brown Balls - August 2022
This recipe evolved from an attempt a few years ago to make a tater-tot wrapped mozzarella cheese stick. I’m owning up to this because that attempt also originated with a smartassed comment on the very same group chat.
Essentially, these are hashbrowns – more of the comes in a paper sleeve at the drive in variety than the scattered smothered and covered how did we end up here at 2am again variety – in ball form. And filled with cheese. Melty delicious cheese. Because fried balls of melty delicious cheese are delicious, and because they’ve almost become a thing here. Almost two years later, the Sauerkraut Balls recipe from way back in October of 2020 is still one of the most popular and most “what, wait, you’re kidding? WHY?” recipes I’ve published here.
4 large russet potatoes
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
¼ cup shredded fresh mozzarella
Neutral Oil for frying
Wash and peel the potatoes.
Cut the potatoes into a very fine (1/8th inch) dice. I use a mandoline to get thin slices, then julienne and dice from there.
In a large non-reactive bowl, toss the potatoes and the salt to evenly coat the potatoes.
Microwave on high for 8 minutes, stopping to stir every 2 minutes.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Use a fork to mash together the shredded cheddar and the mozzarella until a paste forms.
Prepare a fryer or a large dutch oven full of neutral oil heated to 350° F.
Using wet hands, shape the potato mixture into a ball.
Press a thumb into the ball to form a deep depression (slightly more than halfway through)
Scoop a small marble sized ball of the cheese mixture into the depression in the potato ball, and push the sides of the depression in to once again form an even ball.
Working in batches, fry the balls until golden brown and crisp.
Serve hot.
Turkey Breast Saltimbocca Style - November 2022
I struggled a bit with what to do for a turkey dish this year. I even thought about making some sort of turkey meatloaf monstrosity that basically combined half the turkey day plate into one composite loaf. That seemed a loaf to far, even for me – though I reserve the right to revisit that travesty at some future date.
I settled, in the spirit of this being a somewhat reduced, but no less festive table, with making a roulade from a turkey breast. I thought about stuffing it with herbs, with buts, with bacon … somehow that that got me thinking about saltimbocca – a northern Italian dish where thin strips of veal are wrapped with or around sliced of prosciutto and fresh sage.
So I wrapped up a turkey with aged dry sage and fresh prosciutto. No, wait that’s backwards. Fresh sage, old ham. Works better that way.
This dish isn’t really complex, but assembling this monstrosity of meatiness does take a little trickery, and a bit of deft hand with a knife. Still, the end result is phenomenal, and best of all – you’re left with a perfectly sliceable sandwich ready preparation that makes leftovers even better.
You can cook this in a normal oven – but if you have a sous vide circulator, it makes rolling and keeping the meat rolled a little easier – and requires tying fewer fussy little knots. I’ve included instructions for both.
4-5 lb bone-in turkey breast
4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto
10-12 large fresh sage leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
Cooking twine
Plastic wrap
Starting at the backbone, carefully remove the skin from the breast in one piece- using a very sharp knife if necessary to cut the membrane connecting the skin to the meat.
Working from the breastbone, and slicing along the ribs, remove the breast meat and tenderloins from the bones. Cut away and discard any thick tendons. Reserve the ribs and bones for stock (below.)
Spread three sheets of plastic wrap, overlapping slightly, on a flat surface.
Spread the turkey skin out on the plastic wrap, with the outside down.
Arrange the sage leaves on the skin.
Arrange the prosciutto pieces on the skin.
Add one boneless turkey breast - cut side up - on top of the prosciutto, and season generously with salt.
Add the second breast – this time cut side down, and with the thicker portion aligned with the thin end of the first breast – on top of the first piece of meat.
Using the plastic wrap as a helper, carefully roll the meat, skin, and fillings into a roll, doing your best to tuck the meat in so that the outer layer only exposes skin.
If cooking sous vide, twist the ends of the plastic wrap tight, to create a tight roll, then seal into a vacuum bag and refrigerate for 1 hour before continuing.
If roasting, carefully peel back about two inches at one end of the plastic wrap and tie up the roll using kitchen twine. Peel back another two inches of plastic, and tie again – repeating until the entire roll is tied tightly in two-inch intervals. Place in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a rack, and refrigerate 1 hour uncovered before continuing.
To cook sous-vide:
Prepare a large water bath and set your circulator to 170°F.
Once the bath has reached temp, immerse the sealed roll and cook for 90 mins -2 hours depending on the size.
Preheat your oven to 450°F.
Remove the roast from the bag, remove the plastic wrap and pat dry with a towel.
Arrange the roast in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a rack, and transfer to the oven.
Roast just until lightly browned.
Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.
To Roast in the Oven:
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Transfer the tied up roast to the oven and cook, rotating once, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest in a warm, but not hot, place for 20 minutes. The internal temperature should rise to 170°F.
Lemon Budino - March 2022
It’s pudding. Sure, the word is fancy and Italian, but this is just a lemon pudding. I mean in the American sense of pudding, though also in the commonwealth sense. It’s both a dessert and a dessert that’s sort of a delicious, luscious paste. Pudding pudding. Lemon pudding pudding.
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp corn starch
2 large lemons
pinch of salt
Zest the lemons using a microplane.
Combine the sugar and lemon zest and allow to rest for at least one hour.
Add the lemon sugar, milk, and heavy cream to a thick bottomed pot over medium heat and bring to a bare simmer.
Whisk together the egg yolks and corn starch.
While whisking vigorously, carefully pour abut 1/3 of the milk/cream mixture into the egg/starch mixture – pouring in a thin stream.
Reverse the process and pour the mixture back into the pot while whisking.
Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken.
While still hot, use a silicone spatula to push the mixture through a fine sieve – this will remove any lumps as well as the zest.
Allow the mixture too cool, then juice one of the zested lemons, and stir ~1 tbsp of juice into the mixture.
Transfer to a lidded container, and place a small sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the pudding (this will prevent a skin from forming).
Cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours or until completely chilled.
Spoon into glasses, and garnish with lemon peel.
Serve chilled.