-- another one of those "no food in the house" dinners --
You can keep winter squash for months. Frozen vegetables, though they don't hold a candle to fresh ones, keep for years. Onions and garlic and ginger root are keepers -- I'm never without them. Leftovers can make the difference between boring and great. This dinner surprised me!
Cut one butternut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Moisten with a bit of oil and/or butter and put on a baking sheet in a 375 degree oven. It takes about 45 minutes for the squash to cook -- keep testing it with a fork "until done."
Chop an onion and stir fry it in a wok in some olive oil. Add chopped garlic and chopped ginger (I probably would have added chopped peppers if I'd had any). Meanwhile steam a pound of frozen small brussels sprouts until somewhere between thawed and almost cooked. Drain and add them to the wok, and stir them into the onion mixture. I added a bit of chopped lime rind and the juice of about 1/4 lime and 1/2 lemon (the leftovers in the icebox), some hot sesame oil and some regular sesame oil -- I think that was it. Probably would have been good also with some sesame seeds. Keep stirring till the sprouts are cooked.
To serve, spoon the sprouts into the hole in the squash and around the squash (the sprouts won't all fit in the hole). This with a fairly large squash fed three of us with some to spare.
The salad: chop a fennel root and put it in your salad bowl. Add some diced cheese (I had some little bits of very good cheese from Ned's Groceria left over from a few weeks before). Add the vinegar (balsamic was good) and toss. Then chop a head of romaine lettuce, add that to the bowl, add the olive oil and toss it all well. I also added about a quarter cup of shredded cheese (left over from a package one of Duncan's students had given him) and a small handfull of slivered almonds.
I put the leftover third of a baguette in the oven for the last few minutes of squash cooking.
I had planned to serve the leftover lentils from the night before, and to cook up some Italian chicken sausages, but as I got into it this seemed like quite enough and it was.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Maine Shrimp or Pandalus borealis
You can park all day for free at the site of Gloucester's Fiesta, except when there's a Fiesta. Yesterday I noticed a sign at the edge of the lot that read "Native Shrimp" with pictures of the large headed tiny shrimp I know as Maine Shrimp. I went in to ask about them and found InterShell's retail store where you can buy fresh fish and other stuff like Asian sauces, wasabi, sesame seeds...
InterShell's retail store has native shrimp "every day" and you can get them shelled and cleaned ("we dip them in salt brine first. Most of the roe gets washed off.") or you can buy them just as they come out of the water -- head and shell on. The guy I talked to recommended steaming them heads on before cleaning and peeling ("the heads have a lot of flavor") and told me that I should use the broth ("that's a lobster bisque!").
Almost all the shrimp have a lot of roe which is visible on the outside of the shell. What a curious creature! I wondered if their species had figured out that only a few males were actually necessary -- about five per five pounds, by the looks of it.
I googled a site that helped explain a lot. It begins, "These sex-changing crustaceans are also called native shrimp and they’re harvested from the cold waters of the Gulf of Maine. They’re considered to be a delicacy — some people eat them raw – and are only available for several weeks in the dead of winter." The site -- http://foodpluspolitics.com/2008/01/19/about-maine-shrimp/ - also has a nice looking recipe for shrimp seviche and tips about handling and preparation.
InterShell's retail store has native shrimp "every day" and you can get them shelled and cleaned ("we dip them in salt brine first. Most of the roe gets washed off.") or you can buy them just as they come out of the water -- head and shell on. The guy I talked to recommended steaming them heads on before cleaning and peeling ("the heads have a lot of flavor") and told me that I should use the broth ("that's a lobster bisque!").
Almost all the shrimp have a lot of roe which is visible on the outside of the shell. What a curious creature! I wondered if their species had figured out that only a few males were actually necessary -- about five per five pounds, by the looks of it.
I googled a site that helped explain a lot. It begins, "These sex-changing crustaceans are also called native shrimp and they’re harvested from the cold waters of the Gulf of Maine. They’re considered to be a delicacy — some people eat them raw – and are only available for several weeks in the dead of winter." The site -- http://foodpluspolitics.com/2008/01/19/about-maine-shrimp/ - also has a nice looking recipe for shrimp seviche and tips about handling and preparation.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Maine shrimp
Years ago, when we lived in Sudbury, a truck selling Maine shrimp would appear from time to time in the parking lot at the corner convenience store. I used to buy them and I remember liking them, but I hadn't seen them for years. This weekend, we drove to Camden, ME, to visit Peter. I saw several places offering Maine shrimp, including a truck or two. Peter asked me to cook dinner on Saturday in his new house. I walked with grandson Leao to the nearby grocery store and along with haddock I bought some Maine shrimp. They were little and pink and ready to be cooked.
The shrimp, which I used as a garnish or topping for the haddock, reminded me of the flavor and texture of the shrimp I used to buy. I can't quite find the words to describe it, but Maine shrimp has a softer texture, quite unlike the shrimp I usually buy. They are tiny, deserving of the name "shrimp" ("jumbo shrimp" strikes me as an oxymoron!) James Beard, in his encyclopedic Fish Cookery, asserts "as for the tiny shrimp, I think they are much underrated in this country. They are remarkably good in salads and excellent in some cooked dishes. A huge bowl of tiny shrimp, shelled, makes a perfect snack with cocktails."
On the way home I stopped at a truck and bought a five pound bag of uncleaned, fresh Maine shrimp for $7.50. Beard's words were enouraging, but neither Beard nor Child nor any other cookbook on my shelf gave me any hint about how to procede. The shrimp have large heads, and I was pretty sure that the first thing you do is remove the heads. They are also filled with roe -- at least I think it's roe -- and they have many long pink feelers. These shrimp are pink when raw, unlike most other varieties. When Eric and I had removed all the heads and discarded some of the ones that looked a bit under the weather, I rinsed them and then steamed them. I figured that I could have saved the water I'd steamed them in, but I felt better just throwing that water away.
Eric and I peeled the steamed shrimp once it had cooled. We tried to save the roe, but agreed that it would take all night to be really careful about it. So again we lost some of what might have been nutritious and flavorful. Compared to most of the food we buy this is so "in the raw" that I forgive myself for not being scruplous about preserving all of it. Most of the peeled shrimp are now in the refrigerator, tossed in lemon juice and a bit of lemon grass and awaiting some other "treatment" tomorrow or the next day.
For tonight, we had steamed artichokes stuffed with Maine Shrimp Salad.
Steam one artichoke per person. (I tend to undercook them -- it's better to over than undercook. Pull a leaf from the bottom -- if it detaches easily and is tender, the artichokes are ready.)
Let the artichokes cool, and then remove the central small leaves and the choke. Cut the stem away so that the choke will sit upright, and cut the stem into tiny pieces. Place them in a small mixing bowl. Add peeled shrimp, a small bit of chopped lemon grass, a handful of raw kale (if you have any on hand -- the texture and flavor goes really well with the shrimp), and a half of a chopped pepper, and mix with a T or so of mayonaise and the juice of a lemon. Spoon the shrimp salad into each artichoke.
Serve with crakers and cheese. Artichokes tend to fight with wine. I had vino verde, a Portugese white wine, and found it works very well!
Most of the shrimp that we buy comes from all over the world and is raised in farms that disturbe the ecosystem. Maine shrimp grow in their natural habitat and are caught by Maine fishermen. I'm planing to serve them for Christmas if I can get Peter to bring down a couple of bags...
The shrimp, which I used as a garnish or topping for the haddock, reminded me of the flavor and texture of the shrimp I used to buy. I can't quite find the words to describe it, but Maine shrimp has a softer texture, quite unlike the shrimp I usually buy. They are tiny, deserving of the name "shrimp" ("jumbo shrimp" strikes me as an oxymoron!) James Beard, in his encyclopedic Fish Cookery, asserts "as for the tiny shrimp, I think they are much underrated in this country. They are remarkably good in salads and excellent in some cooked dishes. A huge bowl of tiny shrimp, shelled, makes a perfect snack with cocktails."
On the way home I stopped at a truck and bought a five pound bag of uncleaned, fresh Maine shrimp for $7.50. Beard's words were enouraging, but neither Beard nor Child nor any other cookbook on my shelf gave me any hint about how to procede. The shrimp have large heads, and I was pretty sure that the first thing you do is remove the heads. They are also filled with roe -- at least I think it's roe -- and they have many long pink feelers. These shrimp are pink when raw, unlike most other varieties. When Eric and I had removed all the heads and discarded some of the ones that looked a bit under the weather, I rinsed them and then steamed them. I figured that I could have saved the water I'd steamed them in, but I felt better just throwing that water away.
Eric and I peeled the steamed shrimp once it had cooled. We tried to save the roe, but agreed that it would take all night to be really careful about it. So again we lost some of what might have been nutritious and flavorful. Compared to most of the food we buy this is so "in the raw" that I forgive myself for not being scruplous about preserving all of it. Most of the peeled shrimp are now in the refrigerator, tossed in lemon juice and a bit of lemon grass and awaiting some other "treatment" tomorrow or the next day.
For tonight, we had steamed artichokes stuffed with Maine Shrimp Salad.
Steam one artichoke per person. (I tend to undercook them -- it's better to over than undercook. Pull a leaf from the bottom -- if it detaches easily and is tender, the artichokes are ready.)
Let the artichokes cool, and then remove the central small leaves and the choke. Cut the stem away so that the choke will sit upright, and cut the stem into tiny pieces. Place them in a small mixing bowl. Add peeled shrimp, a small bit of chopped lemon grass, a handful of raw kale (if you have any on hand -- the texture and flavor goes really well with the shrimp), and a half of a chopped pepper, and mix with a T or so of mayonaise and the juice of a lemon. Spoon the shrimp salad into each artichoke.
Serve with crakers and cheese. Artichokes tend to fight with wine. I had vino verde, a Portugese white wine, and found it works very well!
Most of the shrimp that we buy comes from all over the world and is raised in farms that disturbe the ecosystem. Maine shrimp grow in their natural habitat and are caught by Maine fishermen. I'm planing to serve them for Christmas if I can get Peter to bring down a couple of bags...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Fall Roasted Vegetables
My friend Patricia Sutherland makes great roasted vegetables. I tried to call her last night to get some advice, but she wasn't home and I was on my own. It turned out GOOD!! I cooked it in my wonderful, decades-old pallea pan from Dansk. It has a sloping bottom so it's almost like cooking in a wok. They don't make it any more, and the ones I've found are all flat bottomed.
Here's what I put in my roasted vegetable dish:
Cut up two medium onions into about 8 pcs each. The onions create the basic size for everything else. (I know, they'll fall apart, but it gives you something to go on.) Add one large or two small fennel roots, 4 or 5 carrots, a parsnip, a handful of peeled garlic cloves (whole), a half a head of cabbage. I think that was it.
I added olive oil (maybe 1/4 cup?), roasted sesame oil (a few tablespoons), hot sesame oil (just a bit), and stirred it all together (with my hands). The dish went into a 375 degree oven (my brother Eric says that you don't have to preheat -- it just wastes energy) for -- I'm not sure how long, maybe half an hour? Test from time to time. When it's just about done, add a good sprinkling of sesame seeds and a handful of cilantro.
I served it with semolina bread from Vergillio's warmed in the oven and a rare ripe cheese from Ned's Groceria.
I used the vegetables that happened to be in my fridge. Could be just about anything on hand, but this is a really nice late fall combination.
Here's what I put in my roasted vegetable dish:
Cut up two medium onions into about 8 pcs each. The onions create the basic size for everything else. (I know, they'll fall apart, but it gives you something to go on.) Add one large or two small fennel roots, 4 or 5 carrots, a parsnip, a handful of peeled garlic cloves (whole), a half a head of cabbage. I think that was it.
I added olive oil (maybe 1/4 cup?), roasted sesame oil (a few tablespoons), hot sesame oil (just a bit), and stirred it all together (with my hands). The dish went into a 375 degree oven (my brother Eric says that you don't have to preheat -- it just wastes energy) for -- I'm not sure how long, maybe half an hour? Test from time to time. When it's just about done, add a good sprinkling of sesame seeds and a handful of cilantro.
I served it with semolina bread from Vergillio's warmed in the oven and a rare ripe cheese from Ned's Groceria.
I used the vegetables that happened to be in my fridge. Could be just about anything on hand, but this is a really nice late fall combination.
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