Arepas de Anis - Fenel Corn cakes

I would like to apologize for not posting much this past week, but I have a really good reason for my lapse. My mother is visiting this week and I have been a little busy showing her around our new neighborhood and around Brooklyn in general because she had not had a chance to do it before. However, this visit of hers will benefit anyone who reads my blog and has been waiting to hear about Colombian food, and arepas in particular.

We made these about two days ago because she remembered that I loved them when I was a child (and because I got the ingredients together before she got here and begged her to show me how to make them). Without further delay here is the recipe:

Arepas de Anis
1 Cup Yellow Corn flour
1 TBSP Sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp Fenel Seeds (Crushed in a mortar, Fennel powder will not give you the same effect as the fennel will loose its flavor over time)
1 Cup Warm Milk
1 Cup Warm Water
1 1/2 Cup of Safflower Oil (for frying - you can use another vegetable oil that can handle high temperatures) 

Put your corn flour, sugar and fennel  in a bowl and and mix until well incorporated.

Mix your milk and water in a measuring cup and add this mixture slowly to the corn flour mixture until you have a smooth dough (almost like a short bread dough). You will know when the dough is at the right consistency because it will not be sticky.

Take your dough and form into balls about 2 inch in diameter.


Place these balls into either a layer of saran wrap or a plastic bag on a firm surface and flatten with a cutting board or other hard surface, making disks about 1/4 inch thick. Make a hole at the center of the disk and get ready to fry.

Heat your oil in a deep medium size pot over medium high heat. Test by adding a small piece of dough into the oil. Once the oil is at the right temperature you will see it start to bubble fast around the piece of dough.

Place your corn flour disk into the oil and cook on one side about 5 minutes or until golden and turn over to the other side allowing it to cook for another 5 minutes or until golden. The disks will fluff up a bit which is absolutely perfect. Remove from the oil allowing for a little draining over the pot.

When you remove your disks from the oil place them on a dish lined with paper towels to allow any excess oil to be drawn out.

Allow them to cool and enjoy with either a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate.

Red Hook Does it Again - Baked = Bakers' Heaven

I don't know if it seems obvious yet, but I love a well made baked good. Today I would like to give some love to a place I have been infatuated with for almost a month. That place is Baked in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. I first became aware of them through Cooking Channel's show Unique Sweets because everyone on the show was talking about their sweet treats, but in particular they were talking about the Brooksters (what you get when you marry one of Baked's brownies and one of their chocolate chip cookies). I thought this place needed to be checked out, so I decided to enlist my husband on the quest to keep an eye out for it since we are already going there to go shopping at the Fairway in Red Hook anyway.

Finding them was super easy, and so was falling in love with the wonderful food that they make. While it is mostly sweet treats that you will find here, there are some savory tidbits to be had and they are beautifully executed. I have tried the Brooksters and they are indeed good, but I think that my weak spot is for their PB Krispy Bar, because it is chocolatey, peanut buttery crispy goodness. Their brownies are what every brownie should seek to be, gooey chocolatey perfection, particularly the salted ones. Their coffee is also great so it is a winner in every sense. I recommend you try them if ever in NYC and, it does not matter what you have to do to get there, YOU MUST GO IF YOU LOVE BAKED GOODS. They will not let you down (unless you go when they are closed).

Baked storefront on Van Brunt Street

 A great array of sweets and drinks

 Salted brownie with a marshmallow on top

The PB Krispy Bar

Pork Chops with Apple, Plum and Date Vinegar Reduction

 

As you may have read in my previous post, my husband and I have learned a little bit about  how to properly butcher meat. One of the perks of taking the class was that you got to take home the meat that you butchered, so our freezer is now full of some great pork cuts, which we need to get through. To help us get started on this task I concocted this recipe using some of the fruits that did not get used from last week's grocery purchases, just an apple and some plums. Here is the recipe.

For the Pork Chops:

4 Large Bone-in Pork Chops

1-2 TBSP Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic (minced or crushed to a paste)

In a large bowl combine the olive oil with the garlic. Place your pork in the bowl and coat it with the olive oil and garlic mixture.Allow the pork to sit in this mixture for at least 10 minutes.

Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot place your pork chops in it and sear about 5 minutes on each side. Lower the heat cover the pan and allow to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes to allow the meat to fully cook through.

Remove the pork chops from the pan and let them rest. 

In the meantime use the fat and juices left in the pan for the reduction. Here is what you will need:

For the reduction:

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock

1 Large Apple (Cored and sliced into thin wedges. Gala preferable because of its sweetness)

2 Plums (Pitted and sliced into thin wedges)

1 1/2 tsp Date Balsamic Vinegar (if not available you can use fig balsamic)

As mentioned above you will use the juices left by the pork chops in your frying pan. Start by de-glazing your pan with the chicken stock over medium heat. 

Add in the apple and plums, cooking until they are soft and tender.

Add in the date balsamic and raise the heat slightly to allow the mixture to simmer. Allow it to reduce by 25 to 40 percent. When it coats the back of a spoon you are good to go.

To serve, simply put the fruit and a little bit of the reduction liquid on the plate. Place your pork chops on the fruit and drizzle the remaining reduction liquid on the pork chops. Accompany it with rice and a steamed vegetable and you are set.

Enjoy.

Nothing Says I Love You More Than The Gift of Butchery

****WARNING: This post contains pictures showing animal carcases. If you are a vegetarian or consider this to be of a sensitive nature it is my suggestion that you do not read further.

A while back during Christmas time my husband came across a Groupon offer that could not be passed up. It was for a beginner level butcher class. Since I have been wanting to learn more about preparing food I could not resist and neither could he, so we bought it for each other as a Christmas present (you know, because nothing says I love you more than giving each other the gift of learning how to butcher meat together). Some of our other friends liked the idea too, so this past Saturday we headed to Hunts Point in the Bronx to the Mosner Family Brands Warehouse to get initiated in the craft of butchery with three of our close friends.

I will not tell you too much about the class just in case this post inspires some of you to go check the class out. I will say this though, if you are looking to start off on this path this place is certainly one you should look into because the family that runs this company truly cares about what they do and how they do it. Not only do they care about the way the livestock they use is raised, but they care about their patrons and really enjoy teaching people about the traits of each animal and how to use it to its full potential. Every single one of us in our group enjoyed the experience and are contemplating going back to gain more skills in some of their more advanced classes. We got a bargain with the Groupon deal, but even without it I would still consider the price worth while. Now here are those pictures you were all forewarned of.

Some of the members of the Mosner family

 

 Seth and Chris teaching us about the anatomy of veal

Getting ready to butcher.

Boning knife and steel ready to go.

Our friend Christine focusing on the perfect cut

My husband frenching some chops

The members of the class

Oven Roasted Chicken with Grape and Thyme Cream Sauce

I found this recipe in one of my Spinney's magazines and thought is sounded delicious so I made it. Here is the recipe:

For the Oven Roasted Chicken
3 or 4 Chicken legs (separated or whole depending on what size portion you would like)
4 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Honey
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees celcius)

Place the chicken legs on a roasting pan, brush them with 2 TBSP of the oil and roast in the oven for about 35 minutes.

In a bowl mix 2 TBSP of the oil with the curry powder, honey, salt and pepper.

Once the chicken has cooked for the 35 minutes remove it from the oven and brush it with the oil, honey and curry mixture and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

For the Grape and Thyme Cream Sauce
2 Shallots (finely diced)
1-2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1 1/4 Cup Cream
2 Fresh Sprigs of Thyme (If you don't have fresh Thyme sub in 1 tsp Dried Thyme leaves)
3/4 Cup Seedless Grapes (halved)

While your chicken is roasting in the oven you can make the sauce.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan oven medium high heat. Saute the shallots in the oil until translucent.

Add the chicken stock and allow it to cook and reduce by half.

 Add the cream and the Thyme and allow it to simmer until the mixture thickens.

Add in the grapes and season the sauce with salt and pepper to your taste. Remove from the heat and reserve until the chicken is ready.


Once your chicken is ready serve it on a plate with a good amount of sauce on top. You can either serve it with some rice or you can do what I did and just make a nice mixed salad with halved seedless grapes and blueberries.

Enjoy.

Lamb and Grape Turnovers

As promised here is a recipe for some delicious lamb turnovers, that will make for an easy and healthy meal. This will really only take about 30 minutes for you to make and it will be very much worth it. Here is the recipe:

Lamb and Grape Turnovers

2-3 TBSP Olive Oil
2 Shallots (thinly sliced)
4 Garlic Cloves (finely minced)
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 TBSP Dried Cilantro/Coriander leaves
1 Lb Ground Lamb
1 1/4 Cup Seedless Grapes (Quartered)
2 Packs of ready made turnover Pastry disks (I recommend Goya for those of you who live in the US, but any other brand will do)
1 Egg (beaten for egg wash)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius)

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large frying pan. Add in the shallots and garlic and saute until the shallots start to look translucent.

Reduce the heat to medium and add in your cumin, cinnamon and cilantro, stirring well to incorporate  into the shallots and garlic. If this starts to get dried out add a tablespoon of water.

Add the lamb and raise the heat to a medium high again to brown the meat. Once the meat has browned add the grapes adding a little water if necessary. Cover the pan and cook for about five minutes then remove from heat.

For the how to on getting your turnovers together you can refer to my post on Empanadas.

Place your assembled turnovers on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and give them a nice egg wash with a silicone brush.

Place your trays one at a time in the oven, and bake for about 20-25 minutes until the crust has turned a nice golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

You can serve this with a nice simple mixed greens salad and some grapes, drizzled with a nice balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy.

Blue Smoke - Smoking Good BBQ

 Today was a great day. The weather was awesome and I went to get together for lunch with some of my favorite girls with my little devil in tow. We agreed to meet at Blue Smoke because my friend Christine mentioned them a while back as a good place to eat that happens to be child friendly.

As soon as you walk in you are enveloped by the most delicious smoky aroma that is the trademark of any great barbecue establishment. If you are a barbecue fan the menu in this place will make you salivate instantly with classics like smoked brisket and pulled pork not to mention their applewood chicken. Their children's menu is pretty decent too since there is not a hot dog in sight of it.

We decided that since all of us have had particularly trying weeks lately we needed a little alcoholic pick me up to get us through the day so we went with my friend Heather's choice, a wonderful drink called The Porch Swing. It is composed of Hendrick's Gin, Pimm's Cup No. 1, lemonade and cucumber, and it was just what we all needed. Thank you very much to Heather for that suggestion.

As far as food I can only show you a picture of mine because we were all so hungry, we just dug right in. I had to go with their Pulled Pork Sandwich with Sesame Slaw and Pickles. It was a huge portion as you can see. The pulled Pork was well seasoned as the flavor did not overwhelm me as is usual when the meat is drenched to death in seasoning when it is done improperly. The slaw and the pickles were likewise tasty yet not over spiced. I loved it although I had to have over half of it wrapped up to take with me because it was just too much goodness to handle in one sitting. I will definitely be back, although it will probably have to wait for a few weeks while I recover from the overdose of awesome that this place hit me with.

I will be back tomorrow with the recipe for some fantastic lamb turnovers I made that have to wait until I can get my camera battery charged so I can show them to you.