Cara, Cara

The season for Cara Cara or blood oranges will be ending soon, and because we love both their color and flavor, we chose this dish that pairs them with scallops. To gild the lily we stayed on the citrus train and made lemon soufflés – woo hoo!

Of note in this recipe is the use of fennel pollen, which has a more intense licorice flavor and aroma than fennel seeds.  The pollen is a powder, but not a fine one.

Although Amazon sells fennel pollen, Sue’s was hand carried by her from Italy.  It was a deliberate search and a special “find”.

Fennel Pollen

As we discussed the menu, we decided an appetizer was in order. Meg suggested the Parmesan Crisps, and Sue readily agreed. It is, after all, cheese.  Why did we wait so long for something this simple and this good?? Ok, we are dim.

Parmesan Crisps

Ina Garten

Total Time:  16 min
Prep:  10 min
Cook:  6 min
Yield:  makes 30 crisps
Level:  Easy

Ingredients
4 ounces Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

Grate 2 ounces of the Parmesan using the side of the box grater that finely grinds the cheese and then grate 2 ounces of the Parmesan using the side of the box grater that makes long shreds of cheese, and then mix them together. Drop rounded tablespoons of the grated Parmesan on the parchment paper to make neat mounds. Bake in the oven for 6 minutes until golden.

Cool slightly and loosen with a metal spatula. Serve at room temperature.

Raw fennel, cleaned and cored

Scallops with Blood Orange, Fennel and Pistachios

Contributed by Michael Tusk
Food & Wine email
TOTAL TIME: 45 MIN
SERVINGS: 10

2 small fennel bulbs—halved, cored and very thinly shaved on a mandoline
2 blood oranges
6 tablespoons fresh blood orange juice
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
10 large sea scallops
1 teaspoon fennel pollen
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brined capers, drained and patted dry
1/4 cup sliced green olives
1/4 cup unsalted roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped

In a large bowl, soak the fennel in ice water. Peel the blood oranges with a sharp knife, being sure to remove all of the bitter white pith. Working over a bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the sections.

In a medium bowl, whisk the 6 tablespoons of blood orange juice with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Drain the fennel and pat dry. Add it to the dressing and toss to coat. Mound the salad on 10 plates.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1/2 cup of oil until shimmering. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and rub with the fennel pollen. Add the scallops to the skillet and cook over high heat until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Add the butter and capers to the skillet. Turn the scallops over and cook just until white throughout, 2 minutes longer. Set the scallops on the fennel salad.
Cook the capers, basting them with the fat in the pan, until browned and crisp, 2 minutes. Scatter the capers, olives, pistachios and orange sections all around and serve.

Doesn't this just make your mouth water?

Ta  Da! 

We thought this meal merited a bit of bubbly, so to speak, and chose this Cava on the recommendation of Rebecca at our Total Wines store. It was the perfect complement to the richness of the scallops.

Berberana Cava Brut, Sparkling wine, Spain $10.79

Lemon Souffles

Source: “Great Desserts of the American West”, Frances Towner Giedt, Lone Star Books, 1999
Serves: 8

Ingredients

powdered sugar
1 c whole milk
1/3 c plus 1 T granulated sugar
1 T grated lemon peel
3 large egg yolks
¼ c fresh lemon juice
3 T unbleached all-purpose flour
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch salt
2 T brandy

Preheat oven to 400’.  Generously butter eight 2/3 c souffle dishes or custard cups.  Dust with powdered sugar and set on a large baking sheet.

In a heavy medium saucepan, bring milk, 1/3 c granulated sugar, and lemon peel to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and let stand 15 – 20 minutes to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice.  Gradually add flour, whisking until smooth.  Whisk in milk mixture.  Return egg-milk mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, cover surface with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.  Gradually add remaining 1 T sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Stir brandy into chilled egg mixture.  Stir in half of the beaten egg whites.  Gently fold in remaining whites and div ide evenly between the pr3epared soufflé dishes.  Bake until puffed and browned, about 10 – 15 minutes.  Sift powdered sugar over each soufflé and serve immediately.

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

We cannot emphasize enough the ease and what we see as the limitless possibilities for the cheese crisps. They would be perfect on a party tray, with soup, or on top of a salad. We only made a portion of this recipe (maybe we are dim). Just grate some cheese and make as many as you want, but make more than you think you will need, because they are irresistible.

The recipe for the scallop salad was written as an appetizer for ten people, one per person. We didn’t go that route. Really, one scallop per person?! We decided to serve it as an entrée and have a generous 4 scallops each. What a good idea.

What we loved most were all of the different flavor and texture elements of the salad; the crispness of the fennel, the tangy capers and olives against the sweetness of the blood oranges, a sprinkle of pistachios and the pure indulgence of the scallops. Perfection! We loved every bite!

The only thing we would do differently is cook the capers in the butter separately, because they didn’t get crisp.

Raw fennel was new to both of us, and we were surprised by the mild flavor. The addition of the fennel pollen was a nice layer of stronger flavor without overwhelming the scallops.

You could easily prepare everything for the soufflés except beating the egg whites ahead of time, making this an impressive dessert to wow guests. They were warm, beautiful,  fluffy and lemony. The amount of lemon zest and juice were nicely balanced with the small amount of sugar. We savored each bite with a sip of Cava. 

We are so grateful to be enjoying spring-like weather lately.  If you are digging your way out from a blizzard or just hunkering down, the bright, fresh flavors of citrus, scallops and fennel will remind you that sunshine is only a bite or two away.  Enjoy!

Another Chance To Celebrate The New Year!

Sue came across the recipe for the lemongrass chicken following an e-mail from “Food and Wine” magazine, and was intrigued by the concept of cooking with lemongrass.  (New experience for both of us…)

Lemon grass is an aromatic citrus-flavored herb used in Asian cooking. It is our “elusive” ingredient for this meal, and presented the opportunity to visit just about every store in our area.  We finally found lemongrass locally in two grocery stores and our favorite Asian market, Manila Hong Kong market in Sparks.

In addition to the “lemongrass expedition” we did some research on the internet to see how to prepare it.  Here is some of what we found:

• Purchase lemongrass with stalks that are full and firm with a pale green color.  The lemongrass should be moist to the touch with a fragrant aroma.  The bottom of the stalk shouldn’t be woody and tough.
• Wash the lemongrass under cool, running water.  Trim the ends of the lemongrass and peel off the outer leaves.  Use a sharp knife.   Lemongrass is fibrous and can be difficult to cut. 
• Use only the bottom 4 to 6 inches of the stalk and discard the grass, as it is too tough to use in cooking.
• Place the lemongrass stalk on a cutting board and crush it with a kitchen mallet or blade of a large (weapon sized) knife. 
• Add the crushed lemongrass to your dish, and then remove it just before serving, as the lemongrass stalk is tough and difficult to chew.

The method in this recipe differs in that the lemongrass is made into a paste and remains a part of the dish when served.

If you can't find lemongrass with the fresh produce, check the freezer section. Because lemongrass freezes well, it is often sold in frozen packets of about 6-8 stalks.

Oh, by the way, the lemongrass plant is believed to bring about a calming effect in relieving insomnia and stress. We usually rely on a couple of glasses of wine while cooking.

Once we started down the Asian road for this meal, Sue also found the recipe for the Chinese Sticky Cake, (Nian Gao), on the internet.  This steamed fruitcake is a tradition for Chinese New Year. We know, it was celebrated last week, but once we decide on a theme, there is no stopping us.

Meg pulled the broccoli recipe from the bulging binder she uses to store recipes she fully intends to cook someday. 

Forbidden rice is available in many grocery stores now, but we get ours in the bulk department of Winco.  Check around.  It’s worth trying if you have never had it -- the texture and flavor will surprise you.  We also love the color.

 

Marinade ingredients

Garlicky Lemongrass Chicken
Contributed by Grace Parisi
Food & Wine email

ACTIVE: 10 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
SERVINGS: 6 to 8

5 plump lemongrass stalks, inner bulb only, coarsely chopped
3 scallions, white and light green parts only, coarsely chopped
1 large garlic clove, smashed
1 large jalapeño, chopped
Pinch of sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs and breasts

In a food processor, pulse the lemongrass until finely chopped. Add the scallions, garlic, jalapeño and sugar and pulse until finely chopped. With the machine on, add the 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a steady stream and process to a fine paste. Season the paste with salt and pepper.

Using a small, sharp knife, make 1/2-inch-deep slashes into the chicken and rub the paste all over, working it into the slashes. Marinate the chicken for 15 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate overnight.

 

Light a grill. Brush the chicken with oil, season with salt and pepper and grill over a medium-hot fire, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

 

Lemongrass marinade paste on chicken thighs

Stir-Fried Broccoli With Chili-Garlic Sauce
(Source of recipe is unknown -- some magazine)
Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Tbsp low-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp soy sauce
1 ½ tsp dry sherry
1   tsp Asian chili-garlic sauce
½  tsp toasted sesame oil
½  tsp cornstarch
3 ½ tsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
12 oz broccoli florets (about 5 cups) cut into ¾ pieces 
1/8 tsp sugar

In a small bowl, whisk broth, soy sauce, sherry, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch together until well combined. In second small bowl, combine ½ teaspoon vegetable oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add broccoli and sugar and cook, stirring frequently until broccoli is well browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in garlic-oil mixture and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add broth-soy sauce mixture and toss until broccoli is evenly coated.

We thought a Chardonnay would compliment the lemongrass and not overwhelm the ingredients.

Kendall-Jackson Avant Chardonnay, California 2010 $8.99 on sale at Raley’s.

Chinese Sticky Cake (Nian Gao)
Number of Servings: 16
Prep Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
 3/4 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups glutinous rice flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup chopped dates (preseved plums, jujubes or candied orange peel can be used instead)
Instructions:

1. In a small pan, boil water.
2. In a mixing bowl, add brown sugar and stir in boiling water to make a syrup. Let cool.
3. Add flour, egg and milk and stir to blend.
4. Knead the dough until smooth, then mix in chopped sweets.
5. Pour batter into a lightly greased 7″ shallow cake pan.
6. Steam for about 45 minutes, or until edges move away from the pan.
7. Let cool before unmolding. Serve in thin slices.

Chinese Sticky Cake - cut in half to show the dates

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

We recommend cutting the lemongrass into very small pieces before processing it with the other ingredients. We chopped ours into ½ to ¾ inch pieces and practically burned up the motor on Meg’s food processor. It never did reach a true paste consistency; so we removed most of it before grilling the chicken. It had a wonderful flavor and aroma, but was a bit too fibrous.

We marinated it for about an hour and a half in a zip lock bag. As usual, we only used chicken thighs. The chicken was moist and it had a distinctive lemon grass flavor. We added an extra garlic clove, and it was not spicy from the jalapeno. We are excited to have left overs.

Next time we will combine the two sauces for the broccoli and add them at the same time. This would prevent the garlic from overcooking. We think the overall cooking time in this recipe was too long. We only cooked the broccoli for about 3 minutes total. We had a screaming hot pan, and we like our vegetables crisp tender.  The chili garlic sauce is wonderful!

We cooked the cake in a make shift steamer (metal cookie cutters on the bottom of the pan to hold the basket above the water) and a small bowl, instead of a cake pan. Meg did not have a 7 inch cake pan, and you can bet if Meg, the baker, didn’t have it, Sue certainly didn’t. We lost track of how much longer we cooked the cake. But altitude and the thickness, from the bowl instead of a flat pan, required a much, much longer cooking time.

This was not a cake in the traditional sense of the word.  You could  taste the rice from the flour and the dates but the texture was gelatinous and dense. It was good to try something different, but next time we will make fortune cookies – an opportunity to write our preferred fortunes!

So this is our nod to Chinese New Year, the year of the horse.

Chinese New Year is fascinating and there is a wealth of information on the internet:

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in horse years are cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, witty, talented and good with their hands. Rembrandt, Harrison Ford, Aretha Franklin, Chopin, Sandra Day O'Connor, and President Theodore Roosevelt were born in the year of the horse.

Neither of us is a horse.  Meg is a rat, and Sue is a dragon… luckily the signs are compatible which we are sure is one of the reasons we have been such good friends for all these years.

We want to share these traditional Chinese wishes for your new year. The most common greetings and sayings consist of four characters, such as the following:

  金玉滿堂 Jīnyùmǎntáng - "May your wealth [gold and jade] come to fill a hall"
  大展鴻圖 Dàzhǎnhóngtú - "May you realize your ambitions"
  迎春接福 Yíngchúnjiēfú - "Greet the New Year and encounter happiness"
  萬事如意 Wànshìrúyì - "May all your wishes be fulfilled"
  吉慶有餘 Jíqìngyǒuyú - "May your happiness be without limit"
  竹報平安 Zhúbàopíng'ān - "May you hear [in a letter] that all is well"
  一本萬利 Yīběnwànlì - "May a small investment bring ten-thousandfold profits"
  福壽雙全 Fúshòushuāngquán - "May your happiness and longevity be complete"
  招財進寶 Zhāocáijìnbǎo - "When wealth is acquired, precious objects follow"
Pick your favorite and Happy New Year again.