Kitchen3N

Recipes and food fun from Apt 3N

Lessons in Spatchcocking

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Don’t double check your calendar. It is in fact, March. I cooked a whole turkey in March.

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What else are you going to do when your buddies over at Honest Chops send you a 17 pound bird? Since we didn’t do the whole turkey day shebang last year, I got to try out the spatchcocking technique I read about over at Serious Eats. So you see, it isn’t a word I made up for my kids. It’s a cooking technique that requires removal of the backbone (seriously, this turkey has seen better days), then pushing the bird down flat to encourage even cooking. People go all kinds of crazy to ensure breast meat doesn’t dry out. In past years I’ve tried brining in a brining bag (thanksgifiasco 2011 – brining bag broke and peppercorns were still being found in corners of my apt six months later). I’ve flipped the bird half way through the cooking process – starting breast down, the finishing breast up.

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This time I really wanted to try dry brining. But ain’t nobody got room in their fridge for a 17 lb bird to do its thing for 3 days!! I couldn’t even defrost this thing the “proper” way, according to “US Department of Health guidelines”. I left it out on my counter for 24 hours and am living to see the light of day. Please don’t do the same, then sue me if you get sick. Just do what the Man says and defrost in your fridge for 08765336789 days.

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This is not a technique I’d recommend if you’re petite like me. Unless, of course, your even more petite desi mom is around to help and manages to whack that bird flat without breaking a sweat. I should’ve known – plenty of experience with that backhand.

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Key takeaways:

  • It’s hard removing the backbone with regular ol’ kitchen shears. If this is something you want to try, I’d recommend getting poultry shears.
  • Once I did get it out, I loved having the backbone available, along with the innards, to make turkey stock. It just bubbled away on the stove top while the bird cooked in the oven. Soups, pastas, quinoa and rice pilafs for dayssssssss.
  • The cooking temperature was wayyyy too high. I appreciated how fast the thigh meat cooked through, but at 450 degrees, things were smoking up and my smoke alarm kept ringing. I turned the heat down to 425 and carefully poured in some water into the baking sheet to keep the veggies and juices from scorching. Even then, at 1 hour and 10 minutes, the breast meat had dried out. Why oh why?!

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I have no idea where this beautiful gravy bowl came from. Does this happen to you? If you’re the beautiful soul who gifted this piece to me, please stand up. Thank you! I don’t even care for gravy – this is all beautiful, luxurious, reduced pan drippings. Happy Spatchcocking!

Technique from Serious Eats.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • olive oil (not extra virgin)
  • 2 lemons, halved
  • 2 onions, halved
  • 2 heads garlic, halved

Directions

  1. Combine all the spices in a bowl and smear all over the spatchcocked turkey.
  2. Placed halved vegetables on an aluminum lined baking sheet. Place wire rack over the veggies. Drizzle the turkey liberally with oil and lay on the wire rack. Bake according to directions. I would go with a lower cooking temperature, say 350 degrees F, for 70-90 minutes depending on the size of your bird. The best way to tell is by sticking a meat thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh and getting a reading of 165 degrees.

On Pomegranate

IMG_2876 It’s pomegranate season, y’all! Just kidding. I’ve been watching too much Pioneer Woman.

But seriously, it’s pomegranate season (somewhere in California). Have you noticed them stacked by the entrance at your local grocery store? Have you picked one (or a couple) up and taken them home and painstakingly popped out each seed, only to watch the beautiful mound get depleted in seconds? If you haven’t, then you must. Right now. And don’t give me the excuse that your store doesn’t have them. I would find them at my local Hannaford when I used to live in Nowheresville, NY (aka Poughkeepsie). They seem to come in late September and lasted through the fall. It’s such a refreshing change up in the fall fruit line up from the usual suspects: apples, pears and pumpkins.

I’ve never used them in a recipe – my husband and son usually get to the very last seeds before I could even attempt to put them in anything. They are so delicious – tangy and complex. Usually I’m partial to sweet fruits, but this is an exception. Do you have any favorite recipes? A friend of mine mentioned using pomegranate molasses for a braised lamb or chicken dish (this recipe looks promising). Pomegranate molasses is actually made from reduced pomegranate juice and is apparently more acidic than sweet. I am looking forward to trying it on some of my qurbani meat this weekend. As for the kernels themselves, I’ve seen them used in plenty of salads, over ice cream, and this intriguing recipe I have to try: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/pomegranate-glazed-acorn-squash.html

A word of warning: these babies discolor your cuticles. And not a beautiful ruby stain. An ugly, greenish tint. I don’t know why. So if you’re particular about that stuff, wear gloves.

Fun facts:

  • My grandmother’s helper is a sweet lady named Bedana (a Bengali word for Pomegranate).
  • One of my favorite protagonists of all time is Anarkali (Hindi for Pomegranate), from the movie Mughal E Azam. Based on a true story, Anarkali was a dancer in the Mughal Emperor’s court, who fell in love with the Emperor’s son, Salim. This led to a not-so-great father-son relationship and [SPOILER ALERT] a not-so-favorable outcome for her.
  • The whole beating the pomegranate with a spoon bruises the seeds. I’m not a fan. I am however, a fan of this nifty demo on peeling pomegranate.

 

Food finds in San Juan, PR

After three and a half years, I made it out of the continental US!! My last trip was our babymoon to Istanbul when I was six months pregnant with my daughter. After having two kids back to back, managing getting them through infancy, we finally made it! Now, Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the US (and the influence is apparent in any supermarket, shopping mall or any commercial area dotted with American chains). There are a lot of shared services (US Customs, highways, currency) so you can definitely take a breather if you’re traveling with small kids.  One less thing to worry about, you know? But the flip side to that is that everything is imported! When we drove through the rainforest and some of the mountainous regions near the center of the island, there is no denying the lush, fertile environment. Banana, papaya and tomato just growing randomly here and there. The land is just wringing with potential for agriculture. But as a sector, it is practically non existent (apart from some coffee and rum). It is probably due to its function as a trading post for hundreds of years. But far from indulging in some gorgeous tropical fruits like I anticipated, I was greeted with bananas from Ecuador! Driscoll berries! Pineapples from who knows where!

The first picture above shows some fruits I got from a fruit stand off Rt. 149 some 20 miles from San Juan. After some crowdsourcing, I figured out that the green fruit is soursop or guanabana. After allowing it to ripen for two days as the seller suggested, I could not manage a knife sharp enough to deal with this thing! It reminded me of this Portlandia bit when they attempt to open a dorian. A lot of people aren’t crazy about it – but they add it to their drinks. Go fig.

The second picture is a traditional Mofongo (mashed plantain base) with shrimp (in a garlic, tomato sauce) atop. You can top it with any meat or fish (or bacalao – dried salted cod, but I wasn’t a fan).

The third is a picture from the local grocery store (Dorothy, you’re kind of still in Kansas).

One thing that was great about Puerto Rico, is that good coffee is universal. Everyone from hole in the wall diners to this fancy scene out of Williamsburg offers a good cup o’ joe. This place is Caficultura and it’s right in the middle of old San Juan (a few blocks down from where we stayed). And it is every American tourist’s dream. The owners of this place have figured out that while some tourists may venture to try some bacalao and plátanos, most of them would LOVE some traditional American foods, dressed up in “tropical flavors”. See exhibit F, if you will. The french toast with pineapple marmalade and coconut. Exhibit C, though, is more along the lines of traditional puerto rican food. The mallorca bread with tangy/sweet guava jam. Definitely worth trying but not nearly as good as a quesito (puff pastry with sweetened cream cheese filling).

Finally, we have Jose Enrique. A bit more upscale, without being stuffy. A little bit further out from the more touristy parts of town like Old San Juan and Condado. Our appetizers of crab ceviche on plantains, cheese fritters and fried fish (I forgot what kind of fish!) were amazing. The fritters came with this sweet and spicy sauce that I will have to try to recreate (definitely had honey, orange juice, hot peppers and cilantro). We ordered Caribbean cherry and the house juice (a blend of pineapple and other juices). For the main course, my husband got the whole fried fish (I believe it was yellowtail) and I got the pan seared sea bass in a romesco ragout with artichokes. The creaminess of the vegetables perfectly complimented the texture of the fish. His yellowtail came with some sweet potatoes and papaya that I wasn’t crazy about.

If we had more time (and a sitter for the kids) we would definitely check out the

Rocket Cake

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Photo credit: my dear sister in law, Sabika Mustafa. Ethics Bowl Champ of NJ!!

My daughter wants to be an astronaut…for now. For the sole purpose of being able to board a rocket and go to the mysterious presence in the night sky. I remember wanting to as well. Then I learned you have to pass a swim test. And psych testing. And you  need a PhD in math/science/engineering (the bachelors did me in).

And the job market doesn’t seem to be too promising for astronauts, since they’re outsourcing it to the machines [insert techno slur]. But she doesn’t know all this just yet. So for now, [CLICHÉ ALERT] she will just have her rocket cake and eat it, too. IMG_2071Planet earth(ish) sugar cookies, pop rocks, and little green men all helped make the space party special!IMG_2066For the inside, I used the classic chocolate cake recipe from Ina Garten (Beatty’s Chocolate Cake), baked in an 11×15 pan for 27 min. Except I did the usual substitution for buttermilk (1 tbsp white vinegar + 1 tbsp less than 1 cup of milk). And since the kids were going to be hopped up on sugar, I used decaf coffee. I’ve been doing  A LOT of reading up on cakes. And there’s no wonder why this recipe has over 1700 rave reviews and counting. There’s:

  • vegetable oil, which is a liquid at room temp, which makes it moist
  • coffee, which compliments the cocoa flavor and also adds moisture
  • acidity from the buttermilk: which tenderizes the flour

And yet with all these liquids, the cake holds up well enough to decorate. I used the guide from Spoonful on how to create a rocket cake. Just remember when you are attaching the “thrusters”, you have to flip cut parts down, and then over, so that the curve faces away from the cake. I added a little extra “flair”  with the leftover scraps (I could have eaten all of them myself, but my pants would hate me for it).

IMG_2037I also made two other cakes: banana cake with dark chocolate ganache for my daughter for the day of her birthday and perfect yellow cake with chocolate buttercream for a friend from college on her 30th (can you tell I’m a big smitten kitchen fan?)!IMG_2010

For the frosting, I used a concoction of my own:

Ingredients

  • 12 oz white chocolate (Ghirardelli)
  • 3 sticks (12 oz) butter, room temp
  • 4 tbsp milk (or as needed)

Directions

  1. Break the chocolate up and add to a  bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until melted. Do not overheat! Remaining bits of chocolate will melt with the residual heat of the melted chocolate. Just keep stirring! Mine took 90 seconds. Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes.
  2. Whip butter at medium speed for 1 minute. Add cooled chocolate and continue whipping for 2 minutes. Lower the speed and add milk until it reaches spreadable consistency. Tint TINY dabs of food gels to decorate.

Fishkill Farms

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My little guy munching on a cucumber, enjoyin’ da ambiance.

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seriously, could it get more perfect than this?

I read somewhere once about a 5th grader who didn’t know what a tomato was. This bit of disturbing news consistently motivates me to educate my kids about where their food comes from. I regularly point out fruit and vegetable plants in my neighborhood, show them around my in laws’ garden, and go some sort of fruit picking at least once or twice a year. This past weekend, we headed upstate to our favorite pick your own fruit farm. Now, I’ve been to a lot of farms in the tri state area, but nothing beats the picturesque beauty of Fishkill Farms, nestled in the heart of Hudson Valley, overlooking verdant rolling hills (cheesy? oh, I know). Located just south of Poughkeepsie, this place is really a throwback to my newlywed days. My husband and I started out apple picking there, about 4 years ago. But since then their offerings have grown: strawberries and blackberries in June, cherries in July, delicious stone fruit in August, and of course apples and pumpkins in the fall. They have a CSA and even sell at some farmers markets around the city. They are all about sustainability and minimizing the use of chemical pesticides, though they aren’t certified organic.

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Pickin’ peaches. Only a handful were really ripe for picking, but it was a lovely experience regardless!

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My dad is cracking up because the rooster pecked my son through the fence.

IMG_1337 IMG_1338 They have a great farm stand offering fresh produce, local cheese and dairy, farm fresh eggs, meat, and other goodies. The ice cream just makes the experience complete. Really delicious, locally produced Jane’s ice cream. Benches out back overlook the beautiful landscape. Livestock are great for the kids’ viewing pleasure, though not for petting since they’re not tamed. I’m glad they didn’t sell out that way… keeping it an authentic working farm rather than a cheesy petting zoo.IMG_1340 IMG_1341 IMG_1342 IMG_1343 The grill has been a great addition. They’ve hired a lot of super friendly Jamaicans who play Bob Marley over the speakers. It was so chill! Since we keep halal, I only tried the corn (which was delicious)! Other than that, since my parents were involved, we kept true to desi day trip style and packed our own lunch (you guessed it, nothing other than chicken curry). IMG_1344What a great way to enjoy this glorious summer weather, and get your city kids some exposure to agriculture and the countryside. I hope you are able to get to your own local farms for some fruit picking! Happy picking (and eating)!

Mango Time

For most people, this time of year means cherry blossoms, longer days, warmer weather, or taxes. For me, it’s mango season. They hold a permanent place in my fruit bowl during the warmer months. There has been a steady trickle of the fruit with each and every visit from nana or nanu, since the first day my daughter uttered the word “am” (bengali for mango). And when the season’s first real ones came in, that trickle became a waterfall, with literally boxes of the golden treats coming through the door every week. Not complaining here. In fact, I feel kind of guilty. We have access to an exceptional source: Jackson Heights. Not sure why, even at the specialty grocery store here in Forest Hills, I haven’t found the quality or quantity available in my old hood.

There are three types of mangos available on the market (disclaimer: no scientific nomenclature here):

MangoTime.001The traditional ones most Americans think of when they think of mango. Big, round, partially red, partially green. They have a bright, sometimes tangy flavor accompanying the sweetness. Buy them, let them ripen on the counter for 3 days and wow – deliciously delicious.

MangoTime.002Secondly, these have become more popular in recent years. The smaller, more oval, yellow guys (some places call them champagne, others call them Alfonso). They have a more mellow flavor than the other two. The seed is very small so there’s more flesh to enjoy.

MangoTime.003Finally, these big green guys hail from Haiti. You didn’t see much of them before but due to their bright, unique flavor, people are asking for them. You can find them more and more at your local grocery. They are a bit fibrous for some and like the other mangoes require some ripening on the counter before diving into.

General signs of readiness:

  1. As with most produce, give it a smell taste. If it smells like a mango, dig in.
  2. Slight wrinkles
  3. Black dots all over, sometimes with a little bit of dried sap at the top
  4. Gives slightly when you squeeze it

IMG_0905Ways to enjoy:

  1. The way they do back home: bite off a small piece at the bottom and suck all the pulp and juice through it. It gets messy.
  2. My favorite way: peel it with a knife or vegetable peeler and just go at it over the sink with all the glorious juice running down your arms.
  3. Score it: hold it upright on your cutting board and cut in the same plane as the seed, getting as close to it as you can. You’ll end up with two hemispheres that you can score with a knife (either into cubes or spears) and dig out with a spoon. This way is best if you have small mouths to feed.
  4. In a lassi. This is essentially a South Asian smoothie. I added some milk to thin mine out. Sweeten according to the batch of mangoes you have. Here is a basic recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1 cup plain yogurt (not greek)
  • about 1.5 cups diced mango or mango pulp
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup ice (optional)
  • a dash of salt
  • sugar or simple syrup

Directions

  1. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until ice is crushed and the lassi is smooth. About 2 minutes. IMG_0908

On Butter

IMG_0865I didn’t grow up eating butter. My eggs were fried in vegetable oil. We spread country crock vegetable spread on our toast. The only time I saw butter were in big blocks in the freezer that my mother eventually cooked down to make ghee, which was reserved for bengali mashed potatoes (like yours except with raw onions and green chilis but definitely no milk) and biryani (morog palau in bengali, rice and meat pilaf in english). Why the discrimination against butter? As my sister explained, butter does not do so well in tropical climates. So, by removing the milk solids from it, they are able to preserve it for longer. Which makes sense given what a commodity it is over there.

So when I left the nest, I started buying butter FOR REAL. Not to spite tradition or anything. I made the change simply because it felt more wholesome, less artificial than some of the alternatives. And there is definitely something to be said for consuming moderate amounts of natural fats rather than hydrogenated vegetable fat. Or using a small amount of flavorful fat (eg olive oil) rather than vasts amount of corn oil to make your food taste good. Though, admittedly, I have been tip toeing the line between moderate and excessive only because of this:  IMG_0867

OH MY GOD. You have not lived until you’ve had one of these high fat content european butters (puglia is another one) on your toast, topped with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. I know because I went sky diving. This is better than sky diving. I never cared to spend the extra money on these before, until I read Dorie Greenspan’s take on these french butter cookies. The lady knows what she’s doing, so I picked up a bar of one of these at my local TJ’s. I have not looked back!

So, the next time you are thinking of whipping up a batch of Sunday morning pancakes (I use a combo of whole wheat flour and almond meal in mine) or super easy French toast, try adding a little bit of gourmet to the mix. You won’t regret it! Then perhaps we’ll all ease up a bit on Paula. IMG_0871On a final note: remember to use the salted butter on your pancakes, french toast, etc. The sweet/salty combo takes it over the edge!

Elmo Cake

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For all you novice cake bakers/decorators: know that this cake is within your reach. For I am a terrible decorator. Crumb layer – I never bother. Fondant – what’s that? But for my daughter’s birthday, I wanted to make something special. And the cake part of this at least is pretty foolproof. You can just buy an elmo face shaped cake pan from your local Michael’s or Party City. Then use your favorite two layer cake recipe and bake for the recommended amount of time (maybe a few minutes longer since all the batter goes into a single pan). I used Beatty’s Chocolate Cake. The best. Chocolate. Cake. Recipe. Ever. I do enjoy Gourmet‘s and Smitten Kitchen’s chocolate cake recipe, but there’s just a bit too much coffee for my liking. This is one is just perfect every time, as evidenced by the 1,000+ positive reviews, and is easier (only one type of chocolate, not two).

Wilton walks you through the steps of preparing the frosting and tips for achieving decorating success. I outsourced this once again to my doctor-by-day-cake-decorater-by-night friend Moury. So, there aren’t many words of wisdom for me to impart to you except for the following:

  1. Freeze your cake to minimize crumbage (yes, I just made up a word)
  2. Chill the frosting after filling up your pastry bags. Room temperature stars look completely splayed.
  3. Use corn starch (not corn syrup!) to even out the frosting on the eyes and nose

 

Turkey Tacos

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This meal starts on Thanksgiving. All our usual get togethers were canceled or deferred to a different host’s house. Neither set of parents were up for hosting anything. And my husband doesn’t like turkey. So, that’s that.

Or is it? I bought some turkey thighs on my last halal meat run. I’ve never cooked turkey apart from the usual brine and roast so I thought it would make for an interesting meal. After my initial research (the usual run through of allrecipes and foodnetwork) I found this very casually written, though pretty thorough recipe for turkey tacos on chowhound. I almost didn’t follow the rules…I thought, everything good in life always starts with sautéed onions and garlic AND THEN the rest of the ingredients. Alas, I was a good girl and made the stock (with the addition of salt) and was rewarded handsomely.

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At first taste, when testing the meat for doneness, I wasn’t crazy about it. It had an overwhelming turkey smell, without enough seasoning. But patience, young jedi, pays off. After I took the thighs out and let the stock reduce…I added two ladlefuls to my stir fried shredded meat and it was magical. Like the type of magic you see in restaurant kitchens when the wine hits the mushrooms or the pasta hits the sauce and the chef does this szuszh (sp?) with the pan and you wish it were in your mouth right now.

I didn’t have the usual taco ingredients (tortilla, avocado, etc.) so I just made some roti and cut up whatever salad ingredients I had on hand. The result: my 2 year old actually ate it. Nuff said.IMG_0502

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium onion or 2 small, peeled and quartered
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of your knife
  • 1 heaping tsp cumin
  • 2 bay leaves
  • juice of 2 limes
  • juice of 1 orange
  • 1 packet of dried ancho chillis (4 chillis in total…or use a can of chipotle peppers in their juices for more heat)
  • 2 turkey thighs (about 3 lbs)
  • 1 heaping tsp of salt
  • vegetable oil

Directions

  1. Combine first nine ingredients in a large pot. Pour enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer until meat is tender (this took me about 45-50 min).
  2. Remove the meat and let cool. Meanwhile, discard the bay leaves from the stock and blend the remaining ingredients with an immersion blender (or in a blender). Let reduce while shredding the cooled turkey meat.
  3. In a large skillet pour 2 tbsp vegetable oil over high heat. Stir fry shredded turkey, allowing it to stick to areas. After about a minute or so, add two ladlefuls of the reduced stock. Give it a final stir, getting the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat.
  4. Serve with tortillas (or any flat bread), tomatoes, avocado, red onion…anything you like on your taco!

Hasan’s Aqiqah

This past Sunday was my son’s (Hasan’s) aqiqah, an Islamic tradition wherein a family celebrates the arrival of new progeny with the sacrifice of an animal (one goat for a daughter, two for a son). Unlike birthdays or weddings, there aren’t a ton of customs to follow. The feast following the sacrifice isn’t widely observed, at least not in the Muslim community I grew up in. In fact the first aqiqah that I’d been to was my own daughter’s. This poses the thoroughly enjoyable challenge of creating one’s owns customs.

Menu Planning. First and foremost, who is my audience? Banglus. Don’t try to pass around beautiful, fresh tasting hors d’oeuvres. We are used to having our palates on fire. We even drink spicy lassis for goodness sake, to wash down our biryani. To start, I served my Lima Apa’s chatpati.

Chatpati is one of the great Bengali street foods. Dried white peas (or white vatana) are slow simmered in a spicy broth, then served with fresh diced tomato, onion, thai chili, cucumber, cilantro, hard boiled egg, potato chips and tamarind juice. I don’t know what her secret is…I’ve had many a bland chapati. But hers is perfectly salty, spicy, sweet and tart all at the same time. I have a feeling Shan might have something to do with it =)

On to the main course: salad and balsamic roast chicken got duped in this picture. But, that’s ok. The main attractions were the goat curries, done two ways. One is a spicy, traditional method (thanks to Hasan’s paternal grandmother) the other is a sweeter curry, made with yogurt, raisins and almonds (thanks to his maternal grandma). Then there was the mixed vegetable sauté. And the rice pilaf (palau). Don’t forget the naan and raw onions & thai chilis. Even with this spread, it wasn’t the most abundant I’d seen at some Bengali parties.

Sweet. Since the main courses were generously taken care of by relatives, I got to go all out on dessert (which is great since I really DO NOT care for bengali desserts).  Fleur de sel caramels as party favors. Chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream for the kids (I was less than impressed by the buttercream…the white chocolate did not shine through all the butter and confectioner’s sugar). Paula’s pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting (something seasonal), which were a huge hit! And finally, for the banglus, including my husband, a caramel-less flan (dubbed egg pudding by the banglus).

Despite the near chaos of cramming 30 some odd people into our cozy junior 4 apartment, a good time, and a good meal was had by all.

How to. Here is the recipe for the pudding. Adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12 fl. oz.) can evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a nonstick 9 in round baking dish within a larger oven proof pan (such as a 9x13x2 glass tray).
  2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Beat in condensed milk, evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pour egg mixture into the round 9 in nonstick baking dish.
  3. Pour warm water into the larger dish so that it comes up about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch up the side of the pudding pan. Carefully transfer the whole thing to a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
  4. Bake in preheated oven 60 minutes. Let cool completely.