Kitchen Wench

If I had to rank my flavor preferences, I would say that citrus-based desserts are generally near the bottom of the list.  I’d rather eat chocolate or berries before, say, lemon meringue pie.  Generally, I don’t like lemon-flavored sweets because they are either too tart or remind me of dish soap.  But Meyer lemons are an entirely different story.

Meyer lemons are a cross between regular lemons and mandarin oranges.  They have a thinner skin, are not as tart, and have a wonderful tangerine-y fragrance to them.  They have a very short growing season (which is happening right now) and are usually rather expensive.  So, when I saw them for sale in Whole Foods for $1.99/lb, my locavore guilt and hoarding tendencies combined head-on with the rush of impulse shopping, and I walked out of the store with four lbs of lemons.

So, what to do with all these lemons?  Some Googling got me this list of 100 Things to Do with Meyer Lemons (it was like they wrote this article for me).  I’ll admit, some of the suggestions are a bit of a stretch (for instance, “35. Throw a Meyer lemon for your dog to catch and play with”), but most are pretty mouth-watering.  This post is all about number 14, Meyer lemon curd.

Lemon curd is surprisingly easy to make and calls for ingredients that you probably already have on hand.  If you’re ambitious, you could can it, but that’s a bit out of the scope of a weeknight project.  It also freezes well, thank goodness, because I made four cups of it.  This stuff is fantastic over fresh fruit, skyr, yogurt, cheese, cake, bread… Honestly, Meyer lemon curd would make an old rubber tire taste good.  I could drink it straight out of the tupperware.  It’s that delicious.

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This simple recipe is from the September issue of Saveur magazine, one of my favorite food magazines.  Because it doesn’t have a lot of ingredients, it’s one of those dishes where the quality of produce really makes a difference.  In other words, this soup is all about the late summer sweet corn.  Unfortunately, corn in the Mid Atlantic doesn’t compare to Midwestern sweet corn.  If you’ve ever had it, the kernels are plump, juicy, and sweet as candy.  I think it has something to do with the cooler temperatures helping the sugars in the plant develop?  I hear that’s how it works with maple trees… Point being, corn here is not nearly as flavorful.

So, I tried my best with the recipe.  I bought my corn, bacon, herbs, onions, and garlic at the Mt. Pleasant farmers’ market this weekend.  While everything else was great, the corn was small and a little bland.  I had to add some sugar and a fair bit of salt and pepper to punch it up.  If you have great sweet corn at hand, omit the sugar.  Otherwise, with a little doctoring, this makes some pretty tasty corn chowder.

Corn Chowder

Adapted from Saveur magazine

• 4 ears of fresh corn
• 4 strips of bacon, chopped
• 2 1/2 tbsp salted butter
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 rib of celery, chopped
• 1/2 a medium white onion, chopped
• 1 small bay leaf
• 3 cups milk (I used 2%)
• 3/4 lb of red potatoes, cut into 1/2″ cubes
• kosher salt, sugar, and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp sliced fresh basil for garnish

1.  Shuck corn, removing as much of the silk threads as possible.  Working over a large bowl, slice corn kernels off the cob.  Scrape the knife along the cob to remove all the juices.  Reserve 3 of the cobs and slice in half.  Set aside.

2.  In a large pot or dutch oven, heat bacon over medium heat.  Cook until crisp.  Reserve 1.5 tbsp of bacon for garnish, leaving the rest in the pot.  Add butter, dried basil, garlic, celery, onion, and bay leaf.  Cover and cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add corn, cobs, milk, and potatoes.  Cover and bring chowder to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.  Skim any foam from the surface of the soup with a slotted spoon.  Discard cobs and bay leaf.  Season with salt, sugar, and pepper.

4.  Remove pot from heat.  Using an immersion blender, puree soup to your desired consistency.  (The original recipe calls for pureeing 3/4 cup in the blender.  I got a little enthusiastic with the stick blender and ended up with a thicker chowder.)  Serve with reserved bacon and basil sprinkled on top.

Makes 4 servings.

Photo by Flickr user IRRI Images

Anyone from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area will be familiar with my  favorite childhood grocery store chain, Byerly’s.  Growing up, I loved to eat this soup more than… well, any other soup. But I can’t get anything like it in DC, so I’ve tried to recreate it myself.  Of course, I did all this before Byerly’s so kindly posted their recipe on the internet, so it’s not exactly right, but I came awfully close.  Either way, it’s pretty delicious.

Byerly’s Wild Rice Soup

Wild rice almost an hour to cook, so I buy fully cooked vacuum packs of wild rice from Trader Joe’s.  I don’t taste a difference in flavor or texture; it’s perfectly cooked out of the bag.

If  you can’t get your hands on a aged white cheddar, omit the cheese.  I used an English cheddar aged 2 years and it has a rich, nutty flavor that adds a nice depth to the soup.  Regular supermarket cheddar tastes radically different and won’t work.

• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups cooked wild rice
• 1 cup carrots, chopped into 1″ pieces
• 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped into 1″ pieces
• 1 8 oz ham steak, cut into 1″ cubes
• 1 cup grated aged white cheddar
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp herbs de provence
• Salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a large pot or dutch oven, melt butter over low heat.  Once the bubbles have subsided, sprinkle in flour and whisk to make a roux.  Continue whisking until roux is golden brown.  Slowly add the chicken stock and continue whisking to get out any lumps.  Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.

2.  Lower the heat and bring soup to a simmer.  Add milk, carrots, celery, ham, rice, and herbs.  Simmer 10-15 minutes, until the carrots and celery are tender.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  (The cheese and ham are pretty salty, so you may not need any additional sodium.)

3.  Remove bay leaf and serve with a sprinkling of sliced almonds.  This soup also reheats and freezes well.

Makes about 6 generous servings.

As I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion, I hate the Columbia Heights Giant.  In fact, every time I go in there, I leave either in a state of total rage, utter dejection, or both.  But I can’t seem to stop shopping there because it’s a few blocks from my apartment, right on my walk home from the Metro.

Giant has a section in the meat aisle called “SOMETHING SPECIAL”, which usually amounts to a few packages of free range chicken breasts and some sad-looking organic steaks.  However, last week I actually did find something special: duck legs!  They’re imported from Canada and what really blew my mind was that they cost less than $3 a piece.  I’d never cooked duck before, but for $2.70, I figured I could afford to screw it up.

As it turns out, roasting a duck leg is pretty much idiot-proof, and it’s delicious.  Roasting is also great because it’s easy, it renders out most of the fat, and the meat is falling-off-the-bone tender.  Lee and I actually split one leg along with a salad, butternut squash, and roasted onions.  For a heartier meal, use two legs.

Five Spice Roast Duck Leg

• 1-2 duck legs
• seeds from half a pomegranate (you could also substitute pomegranate juice for some of the wine)
• 1 onion, quartered
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 star anise pods
• dry red wine
• Chinese five spice powder
• salt, pepper, sugar

1.  Score the skin side of the duck legs with a knife.  Rub a pinch each of salt, pepper, sugar, and five spice powder onto the skin.  Be a little generous with the salt.

2.  Place duck in a baking dish along with the onions, garlic, anise, bay leaf, and pomegranate seeds.  [Tip: The best way to seed a pomegranate is in a bowl of water. Here's a video that shows you how to do it.]

3.  Pour enough red wine into the pan to come about half way up the side.  Cover the dish tightly with foil and roast at 375 for 1 hour.

4.  Remove foil from dish and continue roasting for another 30 minutes until the skin is crispy.  Alternatively, you can crisp the skin under the broiler.

5.  When the duck is finished, pour the excess fat out of the pan and reserve from later use.  (I hear it does wonders for potatoes.)  Serve the duck with pan sauce and roasted vegetables.

Serves 2.

I have to confess that I don’t usually make my own pasta sauce. It’s actually not that hard, but the jarred stuff is so convenient. Also, there are so many more brands of tomato sauce being stocked in the grocery store these days, and many of them are worlds away from that Ragu or Prego crap. (I like Rao’s a lot, though it is on the expensive side). However, the DC farmers’ markets are still flooded with heirloom tomatoes, so I thought it would be good to take advantage of ever-shrinking season.

The ingredients for this sauce are very simple, though the process of roasting does add some time. However, I think the result was well worth the effort. I plan to make a huge batch next weekend to freeze for later. This stuff is definitely just as good as the most expensive gourmet jarred sauce, if not better. Plus, it’s going to taste amazing with some meatballs.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

• 2 lbs fresh, ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 280 oz can of whole plum tomatoes
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, cut into ribbons
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (The Romans used it and chefs do too)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
• 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp ground pepper (or to taste)
• olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay fresh tomatoes cut side up on a cookie sheet. Lay the whole canned tomatoes on a second cookie sheet. Save the juice from the can for later. Cut off the top of a head of garlic and place it on the same sheet as the canned tomatoes. Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. I found that the fresh tomatoes took longer to cook, so it is advisable to use two separate pans. Roast until tomatoes begin to brown on the edges and the garlic is very soft, about 30 minutes for the canned tomatoes and garlic and 50 minutes for the fresh tomatoes.

2. Place the roasted tomatoes in a large pot. Peel the skin off the garlic and add the softened cloves to the tomatoes. Add the reserved tomato juice from the can. Using a stick blender, pulse the tomatoes and garlic until the sauce achieves your desired consistency. (I like mine a little chunky.) If you don’t have a stick blender, you can do this step in a food processor or a regular blender.

3. Place the pot of sauce on the stove over medium-low heat. Bring sauce to a gentle simmer and add fish sauce, balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper, and dried herbs. Reduce heat to low and allow it to barely simmer for about an hour or more. If the sauce starts to get too thick, add some water and lower the heat. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as necessary. The flavors will meld and intensify over time. A few minutes before serving, stir in the fresh basil.

Makes enough sauce for 6-8 servings of pasta.

These were inspired by the sweet potatoes from Teaism, which they serve with a miso dressing. However, these are much better, if I may say so myself. Teaism serves their sweet potatoes cold, and the texture gets rather mushy and gloppy. Roasting crisps the potatoes on the outside, but the inside is still soft and creamy. Mixing the dressing in right after they come out of the oven creates a glossy, sticky glaze.

Miso-glazed Sweet Potatoes

• 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 2″ cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons of miso dressing from 101 Cookbooks

Miso Dressing from 101 Cookbooks

• 2 tablespoons miso
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard (or a bit of whatever mustard you have around)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey or agave)
• 1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup mild flavored extra-virgin olive oil (I substituted vegetable oil)
• 1 teaspoon pure toasted sesame oil (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Toss sweet potato cubes in vegetable oil.  Pour into shallow baking dish and roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until tender.

2. Whisk together miso, mustard, brown sugar, and vinegar.  I popped the bowl in the microwave for about 20 seconds to soften up the miso paste and make it easier to blend.  Pour in a thin stream of oil while whisking vigorously to emulsify the dressing.

3.  Toss warm sweet potatoes in 4 tablespoons of dressing (or to taste).

While trying to halve the following macaroni and cheese recipe from Gourmet, I accidentally messed up the proportions of butter, flour and cheese. The resulting dish was incredibly creamy, incredibly yummy, and incredibly bad for you. Now you too can put yourself on the road to heart disease!

Mac “Heart Attack ‘n Cheese

adapted from Gourmet

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 cups freshly grated Swiss cheese (I used Jarlsberg)
• 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 2 quart casserole dish.

2. Boil a large pot of water and cook macaroni until just al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain and return to pot.

3. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking, 2 minutes. Add onions, continue to cook 2 minutes more. Be sure to keep whisking so the roux doesn’t burn. Add milk, whisking well to remove any lumps. Add mustard, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, until very thick, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the Swiss, Cheddar, and half of the Parmesan to the sauce, one handful at a time. Whisk until the cheese is fully melted into the sauce before adding the next handful.

5. Pour cheese sauce over cooked macaroni and stir to coat.

6. In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs and remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and sprinkle evenly over macaroni. For extra beautiful browning, dot the top of the crumb coating with little pea-size bits of butter. (If you want to save a few calories, you can leave it out, but the topping will be drier.)

7. Bake macaroni in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

Serves 4 to 6 as entrée or 6 to 8 as a side dish.

Photo by ulterior epicure

I don’t know what other people do with their long 4th of July holiday weekends, but I apparently thought it would be a good idea to throw a dinner party and a brunch party.  I wish I had some photos to share with you, but if you’ve ever cooked dinner for 15 people in a 5′x7′ kitchen, you’ll understand that taking pictures was the last thing on my mind.

I made corn pudding for the first time this weekend.  I had some leftover corn on the cob from my dinner party and wanted to use it in some sort of brunch appropriate dish.  This corn pudding recipe is incredibly simple and delicious.  I’d happily eat it for breakfast (or lunch or dinner) every day.

Sweet Corn Pudding

Modified slightly from the original recipe in Bon Appetit

• 4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (if using frozen, thaw first)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Process all ingredients together in a food processor (an immersion blender also works well).  Pour into a casserole dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until top is browned and center is just solid.

In American restaurants, the kids menu tends to consist of things that are fried, white in color, or both (see chicken fingers, french fries, mashed potatoes). In Japan and Korea, kids get to eat something called omurice or omu-raisu. I saw this dish for the first time during Tampopo, a bizarre Japanese send up to noodle shops and food fetishes from the 1980s. (If that plot line sounds even remotely intriguing to you, Netflix it now. You won’t be disappointed.) I actually ate omurice for the first time at a tiny Korean restaurant near Dulles airport. My friend explained that this was “kid’s food”, but she had a craving, so we ordered it anyway.

For the uninitiated, omurice is a omelet filled with fried rice and topped with a few artistic squirts of ketchup. I know the ketchup part sounds a little strange, but trust me when I tell you that the ketchup is key; the sweetness of the tomato really brings the whole thing together. There is also something incredibly comforting about eating omurice; even if you didn’t grow up with it, the flavors and textures have a simplicity that practically screams home cooking.

A few weeks ago, I developed my own acute hankering for omurice. I followed this recipe from Just Hungry, substituting as needed (I didn’t have any meat, but I threw in some spinach and scallions). The technique is very simple. Saute your veggies, add pre-cooked meat, a little ketchup, and rice until heated through. Remove from pan, pour in lightly beaten eggs, cook until barely set, then flip over the rice mound. Apply ketchup designs as desired. Technically, you should put the rice back in the pan and fold the egg over, but that’s a little trickier, as the recipe explains. It tastes just as good without making the full omelet fold. Watch the omurice-making scene in Tampopo for some complex omelet folding action.

I love this recipe because it’s really quick, easy, and is a great way to use up leftover rice. It makes a hearty meal for one, or a great late night snack. Next time, I want to try it with some peas, carrots, and ham. However, for a true throwback to my childhood, I think I would have to use Spam. Yes, I used to eat fried rice with Spam as a kid. And, like omurice, it was delicious.

This is a great salad for fall or winter, though you can substitute ingredients to make it perfect for any season. I’ve adapted from this 2002 recipe in Bon Appetit. I served this at my holiday dinner party and brought it to Christmas potluck last month. This is also great with dried fruit or fresh berries.

Mixed greens with apple, pomegranate, and candied walnuts

• 2 bags of store-bought, pre-washed mixed greens
• seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 1 cup Candied Walnuts (recipe follows)
• 2 Granny Smith or other tart apples, thinly sliced
• Maple Lime Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Layer greens and apple slices in a bowl or on a plate. Drizzle with dressing and top with nuts and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 12.

How to seed pomegranates
I think this is the easiest and cleanest way to seed your pomegranate. Fill a bowl half way full with cool water. Slice your pomegranate in half and submerge it in the water. Press your thumb into the skin-side of the fruit until it breaks in half and inverts. Flick the seeds off the skin. The seeds will sink to the bottom and all the skin and white pith will float to the top. Discard the skin and drain the clean seeds in a fine mesh strainer. The strainer will catch any tiny bits of leftover skin. By seeding underwater, you also avoid getting the dark red juice on your clothes and hands. You can store the seeds in the refrigerator for several days.

Candied Walnuts

• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tbsp water
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp dark honey
• 1 cup of raw nuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Whisk together whites and water until slightly frothy. Whisk in sugar, honey, and spices until sugar is dissolved and mixture is syrupy. Stir in nuts.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread nut mixture onto pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes (sugar can burn easily, so time depends on your oven), stirring halfway through cooking. Mixture should be golden brown, tacky, and a little foamy when finished.
4. Allow nuts to cook for half an hour on the baking sheet, then break apart. Nuts will keep in an airtight tupperware for at least a week, though everyone around here eats them up in a few days.

Maple Lime Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1/2 cup real maple syrup (B or C grade)
• juice of 2 limes
• 6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 cup vegetable oil (you could substitute walnut or another nut oil)

Whisk together mayo, syrup, juice, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Slowly pour oil in while whisking to emulsify dressing. Alternatively, you can make the dressing in a jar. Add all ingredients to jar, seal tightly, and shake until oil is incorporated. Dressing will keep refrigerated for 1 week.

Makes 1 3/4 cup of dressing.