Stuck-Pot Rice with Potato Crust and Broiled Shrimp

STUCK-POT RICE WITH POTATO CRUST AND SHRIMP
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s “The Minimalist” column, N.Y.Times, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006

Salt
1 cup basmati rice, well rinsed
Freshly ground black pepper
1/8 cup melted butter
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp. ground fennel (not seeds)
1 medium waxy potato (thin-skinned variety like Yukon Gold)
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced. Chop and reserve
The feathery leaves for garnish.
3 scallions, sliced crosswise in ¼ inch slices.
1 tsp. finely chopped garlic
18 large shrimp
1 tsp. finely chopped garlic
½ cup flour for dredging, seasoned with salt, pepper, Old Bay seasoning and paprika
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1. Fill a medium pot with lightly salted water, and bring to boil. Stir in rice, return to boil and reduce heat so water is at a lively simmer. Cook undisturbed about 5 minutes; drain, and set aside. Rice will be only partly done. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil with the ground fennel. Add the chopped garlic.
3. Peel potatoes, and cut crosswise into thin slices. Put remaining butter and oil in large heavy-bottom pot. Add fennel, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Transfer fennel to a plate, and set aside.
4. Add ¼ cup water and butter-oil-ground fennel-garlic mixture to pot. Sprinkle the sliced scallions on bottom of pot and then carefully cover the scallions with a layer of potato slices. Add half the rice, then fennel, then remaining rice. Wrap a clean kitchen towel around lid of pot so it completely covers inside of lid; gather corners on top so they do not fall anywhere near stove. Place lid on pot, sealing tightly.
5. Turn heat to medium-high. When you hear water spattering – in about 5 minutes – turn heat down very low. Cook undisturbed about 45 minutes. If the potatoes do not smell toasty turn the heat to high for about 4 or 5 minutes and let it sizzle and brown. Don’t let it burn. Remove from heat, and let sit 5 minutes more.
6. Carefully remove lid and cloth, and turn pot upside down over a platter. If potatoes come out in a single crust, terrific. If not, use a spatula to scrape pieces out of pan and onto rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with the reserved feathery fennel leaves and serve with broiled shrimp. (recipe follows)

PREPARE BROILED SHRIMP

Pre-heat broiler.
Clean and remove shells of shrimp. Place in bowl with 1 tsp. finely chopped garlic and 1 tsp. e-v olive oil. Set aside while preparing the flour.
Mix ½ cup flour with ¼ tsp. salt, some freshly ground pepper, ½ tsp. Old Bay seasoning and 1 tsp. paprika.
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in baking pan.
Dredge shrimp in flour mixture and place in baking pan.
Place under broiler and broil for 3 minutes. Turn shrimp and broil for 3 more minutes. Take out and pour over the rice.

Serves 4.When I read Mark Bittman's column on Jan. 11th in the New York Times Wednesday Food Section I got really excited. Here was the story of how to prepare a wonderful rice dish I'd eaten many times at one of my favorite restaurants, The Persian Grille, in Lafayette Hills, PA (just outside of Philadelphia). This is a Middle Eastern preparation for their delicious rice that is cooked with a wonderful crust on the bottom. When they serve the rice they make sure each portion comes with a little of this crust (never enough). I'd tried to duplicate it at home after talking to the lovely Iranian family who own the restaurant and they even gave me a small pamphlet describing the process, but I was never able to meet with much success. Neither can I remember the name of this crust. I guess it's an Iranian word that sounds like "tadik", but I'm not sure of the spelling. So here comes Mark Bittman's column in which he describes three different ways of preparing what he calls Stuck-Pot Rice. One is with lentils and pita crust; another with yogurt and spices; and the third with a potato crust and fennel. So tonight I tried the latter. But I wanted something to go with it and thought simple broiled shrimp and a nice green salad would be perfect. And it was. The dinner was ready. I called my husband to the table and no sooner did I serve him his platter than the telephone rang. Because he's the president of our Co-op he frequently gets calls at all hours of the day and night. And of course dinner time is a favorite time for problems to arise. Well, of course he had to run out to check on the emergency and it was 15 minutes before he came back to his slightly cooled down epicurian delight. However, we both declared it a huge success. Now this is not the plain basmati rice that the Persian Grill serves sprinkled with a little ground sumac, but it did have a wonderful browned potato crust which makes it easier than trying to brown the rice itself. And that, I think, is the secret of success - putting either potato or pita under the rice to give the crispness that you want. I will say one thing about the recipe - I usually make some changes to others' recipes, tailored to my taste. In this recipe I changed the proportion of rice to the rest of the ingredients. I used a cup of rice instead of 1 1/2 cups. I substituted ground fennel for the saffron that Bittman suggests. I added scallions to the potato layer and I added some garlic. But I did follow his process and found it very rewarding and most delicious.

Glazed Meat Loaf

I wanted to make an easy meat loaf, but one with a firmer texture than I'm used to. I didn't want the crumbly kind. I found an interesting sounding recipe in "Cook's Illustrated", January- February, 2006. However, it called for crushed saltines (which I didn't have in the house). And it called for Monterey Jack cheese which I also didn't have in the house. So I substituted some fresh breadcrumbs seasoned with sun-dried tomatoes and garlic which I keep in the freezer. And I skipped the cheese which was to have been grated and frozen before adding to the meat loaf. The only other change was to add more salt. I was interested to see what the gelatin would do to the over all result. I'm not sure but I thought the meat loaf with its glaze was excellent with just the texture I was looking for.GLAZED MEAT LOAF

This recipe was adapted from a more elaborate one in Cook’s Illustrated of January-February 2006.

1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
1 medium celery rib, chopped fine (about ½ cup)
1 garlic clove, minced fine
2 tsps. Fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp. dried
1 tsp. paprika
¼ cup tomato juice
½ cup chicken broth
2 large eggs
½ tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs, prepared as follows:
I make a larger quantity of these bread crumbs and keep them In freezer for future use:
Make coarse crumbs from 4 cups cubed French bread in food
Processor. Add ½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
And sliced. Add 4 large garlic cloves, peeled. Pulse several times
Until garlic and tomatoes are finely chopped and incorporated
Into crumbs.
2 tbsps. fresh parsley, minced
1 ½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs. ground meat. (beef, veal, or pork) Any or all. I usually use equal parts beef and veal if I can’t find ground pork.

GLAZE

½ cup ketchup
2 tsps. Hot pepper sauce (or to taste)
½ tsp. ground coriander
¼ cup cider vinegar
3 tbsps. packed light brown sugar

1. Heat butter in 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat until foaming; add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and paprika and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and add tomato juice. Cook, stirring until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside to cool. Add bread crumb mixture.
2. Whisk broth and eggs in large bowl until combined. Sprinkle gelatin over liquid and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, mustard, parsley, salt, pepper, and onion/bread crumb mixture.
3. Add ground meat, mix gently with hands until thoroughly combined.
4. Transfer meat to a 9” by 13” baking pan and shape into a loaf measuring 10 by 6 inch oval and about 2 inches high.
5. Bake in a 375 degree oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf reads 135 to 140 degrees, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and turn heat up to 500 degrees.
6. While meat loaf cooks, combine ingredients for glaze in a small saucepan; bring to simmer over mediium heat and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Spread half of glaze evenly over cooked meat loaf and return to oven and cook until glaze bubbles and begins to brown at edges, about 5 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and spread evenly with remaining glaze; return to oven and cook another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and place on serving platter. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
7. While meat loaf is resting, deglaze the roasting pan with some boiling water and heat gently, scraping up all the browned bits until a slightly thickened sauce is achieved. Serve separately from the meat loaf.
8. Serves 6 to 8

Second Night of Hanukkah with Paul, Peggy, Emily and Natalie

T'was the second night of Hanukkah and the kids were coming for dinner and gifts for the girls for the holiday.

The menu had to have some tradition as well as enough food for Emily, our vegetarian granddaughter. So here is our traditional/non-traditional dinner menu.

MUSHROOM BISQUE
MUSSELS in RED SAUCE
GARLIC CROSTINI
POT ROAST with CARROTS
POTATO LATKES
CUCUMBER SALAD
RUGELACH
TEA

This was not an easy meal to assemble only because the latkes and mussels had to both be last minute preparation. But everything else could be done ahead of time. Especially the pot roast which I like to do a day ahead so that it can be refrigerated and the excess fat can be removed.
I also made the tomato sauce the day ahead as well as the mushroom bisque. I had to shop for the mussels at my local Asian Market on the morning of our dinner so that they would be very fresh. They sat in the refrigerator all day 'til ready for use. Earlier in the day I had plenty of time to make the cucumber salad, the rugelach and the garlic toasts.

An hour before dinner I placed the pot roast along with chunks of fresh carrots back in the oven to slowly reheat.

I decided to make the latkes first and keep them warm in a low oven. As long as you don't pile them on top of each other they will stay crisp.

As soon as I served the soup, I excused myself so that I could prepare the mussels. Having prepared the shallots, garlic and red pepper I had everything ready for the mussels. The mussels were placed in a collander and thoroughly rinsed to remove any sand or grit as well as any beards. With the olive oil heated, the shallots, garlic and fresh red pepper along with the hot pepper flakes and 1/4 tsp. salt were quickly sauteed. Then the mussels were added to the pot, quickly stirred and the 1/2 cup of wine and the 1/2 cup of clam broth were added and brought to a boil. With the lid on, the timer was set to 4 minutes and another scoop of finely minced garlic was added to the hot mussels before they were placed in the large serving bowl. Then a few ladles of the tomato sauce were poured on top as well as some chopped parsley. And they were ready for the table just as the meat and latkes were taken from the oven. There were lots of oohs and aahs. Natalie ate cucumbers and latkes with ketchup, a little soup, and meat. Emily
ate everything except the meat. And the rest of us ate everything.

POT ROASTED BRISKET OR TOP RIB

4 oz. pancetta or bacon, cut in half inch cubes or 3 tbsps. olive oil
3 tbsps. Flour, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 ½ lbs brisket or top rib
2 medium onions, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup fruity red wine, like Beaujolais
3 tbsps. Tomato paste
2 tbsps. Fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 ½ cups veal or beef stock or canned beef broth
5 carrots, cleaned and scraped and cut into 2 inch chunks

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Place pancetta or bacon in a 5 or 6 quart oven-proof casserole dish, and saute over medium heat until it is browned. Remove pancetta, leaving fat in pan. Set pancetta aside. If you don’t want to use bacon fat substitute 3 tbsps. of olive oil.
3. Season flour with salt and pepper, dust beef roast with flour and brown it in casserole over medium high heat. Remove it from casserole, and set aside. Drain all but a film of fat from pan. (You can brown the meat without the dusting of flour)
4. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic, and cook, stirring, over medium heat until they have softened. Add red wine, and cook over medium-high heat for several minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Return beef to pan, and add thyme, bay leaf and stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and place in oven for 3 hours, or until meat is tender. The top rib takes less time-1 to 1 1 ½ hours.
5. Remove meat from casserole, cool and wrap in aluminum foil. Refrigerate overnight before slicing. Store gravy separately, overnight also, and remove fat when it solidifies.
6. Slice meat and reheat in gravy. Add chunks of fresh carrots when reheating.

MUSSELS

2 lb. bag mussels, place in colander and run under cold water to remove any sand and grit. Remove beards if any. Discard any with broken shells.
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
¼ red bell pepper, chopped
¼ tsp. hot pepper flakes
½ cup white wine
½ cup clam broth
¼ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
More minced garlic, tomato sauce and chopped parsley.

Heat oil in large soup pot. Add shallots, garlic, red bell pepper and hot pepper flakes. Saute a few minutes until softened. Drain mussels and add to pot. Add wine and broth, salt and pepper. Cover with lid and steam mussels on medium high fire for 4 minutes. Mussels should be open by then. Add more finely minced garlic. Place mussels and broth in large bowl. Ladle some tomato sauce over them. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

TOMATO SAUCE

1 large can (28 oz) peeled Italian tomatoes with juice
2 tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried basil
2 tbsps. fresh parsley

1. Chop tomatoes. Place in saucepan with the juice and add all ingredients except the parsley.
2. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes without a lid, to thicken.
3. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

POTATO LATKES

8 to 10 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut in ¼’s
2 medium onions, quartered
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup matzo meal
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Using the grating disk on food processor grate the potatoes and onions.
2. Pour into large bowl and add the beaten eggs, matzo meal and salt and pepper. Stir well.
3. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in large skillet. When oil is very hot add spoonfuls of potato batter to the pan. Do not overcrowd pan. As each latke browns well on bottom, turn to brown other side. When both sides are brown remove to drain on paper toweling. Add more oil if necessary and continue making latkes until all the batter is used.
4. Place finished latkes on baking sheet lined with paper toweling and place in 250 degree oven until ready to serve.
5. Makes 17 large latkes.

RUGELACH

I started with this recipe from epicurious, and made my own modifications.

RUGELACH

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup plus 2 tsps. Sugar mixed with ½ tsp. cinnamon
½ cup apricot or raspberry preserves or fig filling (recipe follows)
½ cup loosely packed golden raisins
½ cup finely chopped mixed nuts. I use almonds, pecans, pistachios, and hazelnuts (or any other combination you like)
½ cup finely ground semi-sweet chocolate ( I use chocolate chips)
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp. water
Confectioners sugar

1. Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl.
2. In a larger bowl, using a hand mixer beat together the butter and cream cheese.
3. Add flour mixture to cream cheese-butter mixture and stir together until a soft dough forms.
4. Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and flatten slightly. Chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
5. When ready to roll, fill and bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
6. On a lightly floured board cut dough in half.
7. Working with ½ at a time roll out to a 12 by 8-inch rectangle.
8. Spread with ¼ cup preserves, sprinkle with ¼ cup chopped nuts, ¼ cup ground chocolate and ¼ cup raisins, then sprinkle with 2 tbsps. cinnamon sugar.
9. With the long side facing you roll dough tightly into a log. Tuck in ends.
10. Place log, seam side down on a baking sheet.
11. Repeat with other half of dough and place on same baking sheet.
12. Paint tops of logs with egg wash an sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar.
13. Place in freezer or refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up dough before using a large sharp knife to make ¾ -inch-deep cuts crosswise in dough (not all the way through) at 1 inch intervals.
14. Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to warm in pan on rack, about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board and slice cookies all the way through.
15. When completely cool sprinkle tops liberally with confectioners sugar.
16. Makes about 20 cookies.

FIG FILLING
This filling was printed in Gourmet, December 2005 for their Fig Swirl Cookies.

1 cup packed soft dried Mission figs (8 oz.), hard tips removed
¾ cup mild honey
2 tbsps. fresh orange juice
2 tsps. Grated fresh orange zest
½ tsp. cinnamon

Puree figs, honey, juice, zest, and cinnamon in food processor until almost smooth.

Pad Thai

PAD THAI

This is my own variation on several recipes I found on epicurious.com. I live very close to a wonderful Asian Market where I can shop for the ingredients I need.

3 tbsps. vegetable oil
½ lb. chip steak
¾ c. firm tofu, cut in ½ in. cubes (about 6 ounces)
2 cups very finely sliced savoy cabbage
¾ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 tsps. Paprika (separated)
1 large egg, mixed to blend
2 cups bean sprouts
2 cups scallions, cut diagonally in 1 in. pieces
3 tsps. Finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp. thinly sliced fresh ginger
2 tbsps. soy sauce (separated)
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. nam pla (fish sauce or oyster sauce) (Asian market)
4 tbsps. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar
Salt and pepper
Juice of ½ lime
Lime wedges
¼ cup finely chopped roasted peanuts
1 tsp. chili garlic sauce (separated) (Asian market)
½ lb. stir fried noodles (Asian Market) pre-cooked
2 tbsps. fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Slice the chip steak lengthwise in 1 in. slices. Place in bowl and add 1 tbsp. soy sauce and 1 tbsp. sesame oil. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in wok or large skillet. When oil is hot add 1 tsp. garlic, 1 tsp. ginger and ½ tsp. chili garlic sauce. Stir fry for 1 minute. Then add the tofu, cabbage, red bell pepper, 1 tsp. of the paprika and ¼ tsp. salt. Stir fry until tofu browns and the vegetables begin to wilt, about 2 minutes. Add egg, stir until set. Place vegetable mixture in serving dish.
3. Return wok to heat and add 1 tbsp. oil. When oil is hot add 1 tsp. garlic and 1 tsp. ginger and another ½ tsp. of chili garlic sauce. Stir fry for 1 minute and add the reserved meat mixture. Stir fry until meat loses its redness. Add ¼ tsp. salt. Take out and add to vegetable mixture in serving dish.
4. Return wok to heat and add 1 tbsp. oil. When oil is hot add 1 tsp. garlic and 1 tsp. ginger and another ½ tsp. of chili garlic sauce. Stir fry for 1 minute and add the noodles and ½ tsp. salt and 1 tsp. paprika, the bean sprouts, scallions, nam pla (fish sauce), rice vinegar, 1 tbsp. soy sauce, and sugar. Toss well until the noodles are heated and mixed with the vegetables and seasonings. Add ½ cup boiling water to moisten. Do not overcook. Take out and add to the vegetables and meat in the serving bowl. Add juice of ½ lime and mix well.
5. Sprinkle with cilantro and chopped peanuts.
6. Serve with lime wedges (optional)
½ lb. peeled shrimp, cut in ½ inch dice may be substituted for the me

AUTUMN BISQUE

AUTUMN BISQUE


1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsps. butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced
3 apples, peeled and diced
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup apple cider (apple juice or white grape juice may be substituted)
¼ cup heavy cream


Saute onion and garlic in butter until onion is translucent.
Add squash, apples, chicken stock and cider.
Simmer until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
Transfer soup to food processor in batches and process until smooth. If there are any lumps press thru a food mill until a fine puree is obtained.
Add cream and mix well.
Add salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold. Add more salt if it is to be served cold.
6 to 8 servings