CSA 2012 Week 1

Woo Hoo CSA season is here again. and I cannot be happier. Something about the first batch of fresh local organic veggies just gets me into the summer spirit. 
The first weeks pick up at my CSA included:

• Baby Lettuce
• Mustard Greens
• Broccoli
• Green Onions
• Garlic Scapes
• Sugar Snap Peas 
• Radishes
• Tarragon

I'm pretty sure we have done the same thing on week one every year. Salad. It is just the right way to appreciate all the beautiful stuff we just brought into the house.

Now as much as I love fresh veggies, I do like some extra protein with my veg and in tonight's meal that role was handled by one of my old stand buys, Coffee Crusted Pork Tenederloins. Without a lot of time for a marinade to really sink in I wanted to add some extra flavor in the form of a dry rub and this pork fit right in.

We also made a quick mustard vinaigrette with rice wine vinegar, olive oil, fresh tarragon, fresh parsley (not csa), dijon mustard, salt, pepper and some sugar. it makes for a nice light dressing that complemented to pork and enhanced the veggies. 

I know I know it's tough to get excited about a salad but when it is the first one of CSA season then I'm pretty jazzed about it.

The mustard greens are likely going to be destined for sandwiches or salad.

Hopefully this will be the kick in the butt I need to get back to writing.

Beer Can Chicken

This is another one of those meals that I kick myself for not trying earlier. My brother and parents had been talking about it for a long time before I made it. Now it has become a staple that I make at least once a month.

I always forget to take pictures because we eat it so darn quickly so this is a pretty tasty looking one I found. There are 100s of recipes out there on how to make it, I go as simple as possible. You can make beer can chicken in the oven or on the grill, either charcoal or gas works fine. I have never actually tried it in the oven, as I prefer grilling, but I'm sure it would be excellent. The reason I prefer grilling is you can use indirect heat which I think makes for a much crispier, tastier skin. And this recipe is all about crispy tasty skin. If the thought if 360 degrees of beautifully browned skin doesn't make your mouth water a bit then I don't know what is wrong with you.

Regardless of charcoal or gas, set up your grill with a two zone fire. If you have a three burner grill light only the left and right or top and bottom burners, leaving the center burner off. For charcoal divide the coals equally on the left and right sides of your grill and leave the center open. I use a chimney starter and find that if I put 6-8 unlit coals down on the bottom of the grill and then evenly divide the hot coals between the two halves then I have enough sustained heat that I don't need to add more coals. The high heat at the start of grilling browns the skin immediately and the gradually decreasing heat allows the chicken to cook through without drying out.  The beer will steam your chicken from the inside and help it to cook evenly. It also infuses flavor.

While your grill is heating, prep your chicken. Typically we use chickens that come in about 4 lbs or so. This is the easy part. Rub the chicken all over with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper inside and out. I rarely use anything more than thyme and garlic as additional seasonings. Once your chicken is seasoned all around, open a can of beer. Drink about 1/3 to 1/2 of the can. Invert the chicken onto the beer can and place in the center of your hot grill.  You can certainly purchase one of the many commercial beer can chicken racks on the market, I just use the legs to prop the chicken up a bit. If you are using gas you want to start off on medium high and then reduce to  medium low after 15 minutes or so, cook for another 45 minutes. If you are using charcoal, close the lid and walk away for an hour. Perhaps drink another beer in either case. 

After an hour open the lid and take a look. The skin should be universally golden brown. Use  an instant read thermometer and check the temperature of the thigh you are looking for 165. The trickiest part of this whole dish is extracting the beer can without over-handling the chicken and tearing that tasty skin. The best approach I have found is using a potholder (ove gloves or welding gloves are better) hold the beer can at the base and then insert a meat fork into the other end and pull up on the fork. By sticking the fork inside you can get enough purchase to lift without tearing up the meat. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes then serve and enjoy.

If roasting a chicken is one of those things you feel like you always screw up then I encourage you to try beer can chicken. It is simple to do and hard to screw up.

On a personal note, I apologize for the lack up updates lately. I have this mindset that I only want to post new recipes on the blog so even though I am cooking regularly I have not been experimenting much of late. I am going to work on posting more, smaller updates through the week instead of waiting for that perfect "blogworthy" recipe. 

Braised Pork Country Ribs with Root Vegetables

I have been struggling with what to do with the pork country ribs I got from Farmer Brian and I finally landed on this recipe for soy braised pork country ribs with root vegetables.

I think the soy braised name from the original recipe is a bit misleading, these ribs had an amazing flavor but the soy was really pretty muted. I did rekindle my love affair with star anise, it ads a flavor I just adore. I had never realized how much I loved it until I started using it.

My Ingredients


1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp dry Sherry
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tsp hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek, I used Sriracha)
2 1/2 bone in pork country ribs
2 Tbsp peanut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 green onions; white and pale green parts finely chopped, green parts thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
3 whole star anise
3 long strips orange peel removed from orange with vegetable peeler
1/2 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound turnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces


Whisk chicken broth, Sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar, and hot chili paste in small bowl to blend; set aside. 


Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper. Heat peanut oil in heavy large deep skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook ribs until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer ribs to plate. Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped onion to skillet and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add white parts of green onions, garlic, and ginger; saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth mixture, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Add star anise and orange peel; bring to simmer.


Return ribs to same skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Add carrots,turnips and parsnips to the pan and submerge them int eh sauce as best as you can. Cover and simmer until vegetables and ribs are tender, gently stirring mixture occasionally, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer mixture to platter. 
Serve it over some steamed rice or cous cous. 

Seared Scallops with a Citrus Sake Mignoette

Scallops are delicious. That is all.
OK Perhaps a bit more. As time goes on I tend to do less and less with scallops in order to enjoy their natural flavor. Scallops have become my favorite kind of sushi and when I get good ones at home I tend to eat one or two just by themselves out of the paper. I found this recipe and thought that the bright citrusy flavors would be a wonderful way to enjoy the scallops with a great punch of flavor, but not so overwhelming that you lose the scallop.
I simply pan seared the scallops  and topped with as much of the sauce as I wanted.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sake (dry)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp grapefruit juice (fresh)
1 Tbsp shallot (minced)
1 tsp fresh ginger (minced)
1/8  tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper (cracked)
1 green onion (thinly sliced)


Sauces are rapidly becoming my secret weapon in cooking. Once you start off with a good ingredient and prepare it well, the sauce is what changes it from "hey great scallops" to  "Wow"

Pan Seared Tuna with a Cilantro Ginger Sauce

The picture kind of says it all. Good quality tuna is such a fantastic product to work with that you don't need to do much to it. In this case I coated it with some black and white sesame seeds, seared it on all sides in a screaming hot pan and sliced it thin. I made the sauce up on the fly so measurements are approximate.

For the Sauce
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients except for the salt to a food processor, process until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside

2 Tuna steaks.
2-3 Tbsp each of black and white sesame seeds (all white is just fine)
Canola or Peanut oil for the pan.

You want to use peanut or canola oil for this as they can handle the high temperatures you need to get a good sear. Heat the oil in a non stick pan big enough to hold all of your tuna.

Meanwhile put all the sesame seeds on a plate and coat all sides of the tuna, including the edges.

When the pan is nice and hot add the tuna and sear on one side for 1-2 minutes. Flip and do the same on the other side. I like to quickly sear the edges as well, using tongs to hold it up on its side if need be. I just like the uniform look, you don't have to do so.

Slice it thin and lay flat on a plate so you can see the inside of the tuna and then add your sauce. Start to finish this is a 20-30 minute so it's great for a weeknight dinner.