(no subject)
Feb. 24th, 2005 11:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivka(cross-posted to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
food_porn, with minor modifications)
The February issue of Food & Wine magazine focused on Spanish cooking. As soon as I saw the issue, I knew that when![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
therealjae visited me a few weeks later, we would have to make tapas.
Our menu:
Garlicky wild mushroom saute
Lamb meatballs with basil
Shrimp and clams in broth
Manchego cheese
Mixed olives
Rosemary sourdough bread
We went a little crazy in the mushroom section at Whole Foods, and bought seven different kinds to make up the pound and a half we needed for the wild mushroom saute. I had never even heard of half these mushrooms. Here's a picture. Clockwise from the top, we have: enoki, portobello, hedgehog, oyster, blue foot, black trumpet, more portobello, and shiitake.
The blue foots were probably the most interesting mushrooms in the mix - they had a firm, meaty texture and a strong, slightly sharp flavor. The hedgehogs were the cutest, and added a nice touch of light color to what was otherwise a uniformly medium-to-dark brown dish.
Preparation was simple. We sauteed the mushrooms in a little extra virgin olive oil, removed them to a plate, sauteed several cloves of thinly sliced garlic and some crushed red pepper in a little more extra virgin olive oil, added a few tablespoons of sherry, let it boil for a minute, and poured the resulting sauce over the mushrooms. It was fabulous - the best dish on the table.
Next up: lamb meatballs. They were supposed to be seasoned with fresh mint, but Whole Foods was fresh out - so we used fresh basil instead. The meatballs themselves were very simple: ground lamb, egg, and bread crumbs, with a tablespoon or so of shredded basil. We browned them in even yet still more extra virgin olive oil, set them aside, and made a sauce from pureed cooked onion, crushed tomatoes, garlic, more fresh basil, beef broth, and white wine. (Pinot grigio.) This dish also turned out very, very well. The meatballs were mild and velvety, the perfect vehicle for the assertive, tangy sauce.
We steamed littleneck clams and medium-sized peeled shrimp very simply: in white wine, scallions, and half a hot red chile, diced. This was waaay tastier than it had any reason to be. The clam liquor, wine, and seasonings mingled to make the perfect broth for soaking piece after piece of crusty rosemary sourdough bread. The shrimp were okay - maybe a trifle overcooked - but the clams were perfectly luscious. Sadly, there are no close-ups of the cooking process. We were too hungry by then.
We rounded out this trio of cooked tapas with a large wedge of manchego cheese (of which I ate a full third before realizing that it was a raw milk cheese, which I shouldn't have been eating - oh well) and a generous pint of mixed olives - black and green, fresh and cured. And the bread. We wanted to make a fourth cooked tapa - it was going to be phyllo wrapped around gorgonzola cheese and leeks, and fried, with a sherry dipping sauce - but our eyes turned out to be bigger than our stomachs.
This was enough. More: this was perfect.
food_porn, with minor modifications)The February issue of Food & Wine magazine focused on Spanish cooking. As soon as I saw the issue, I knew that when
therealjae visited me a few weeks later, we would have to make tapas.Our menu:
Garlicky wild mushroom saute
Lamb meatballs with basil
Shrimp and clams in broth
Manchego cheese
Mixed olives
Rosemary sourdough bread
We went a little crazy in the mushroom section at Whole Foods, and bought seven different kinds to make up the pound and a half we needed for the wild mushroom saute. I had never even heard of half these mushrooms. Here's a picture. Clockwise from the top, we have: enoki, portobello, hedgehog, oyster, blue foot, black trumpet, more portobello, and shiitake.
The blue foots were probably the most interesting mushrooms in the mix - they had a firm, meaty texture and a strong, slightly sharp flavor. The hedgehogs were the cutest, and added a nice touch of light color to what was otherwise a uniformly medium-to-dark brown dish.
Preparation was simple. We sauteed the mushrooms in a little extra virgin olive oil, removed them to a plate, sauteed several cloves of thinly sliced garlic and some crushed red pepper in a little more extra virgin olive oil, added a few tablespoons of sherry, let it boil for a minute, and poured the resulting sauce over the mushrooms. It was fabulous - the best dish on the table.
Next up: lamb meatballs. They were supposed to be seasoned with fresh mint, but Whole Foods was fresh out - so we used fresh basil instead. The meatballs themselves were very simple: ground lamb, egg, and bread crumbs, with a tablespoon or so of shredded basil. We browned them in even yet still more extra virgin olive oil, set them aside, and made a sauce from pureed cooked onion, crushed tomatoes, garlic, more fresh basil, beef broth, and white wine. (Pinot grigio.) This dish also turned out very, very well. The meatballs were mild and velvety, the perfect vehicle for the assertive, tangy sauce.
We steamed littleneck clams and medium-sized peeled shrimp very simply: in white wine, scallions, and half a hot red chile, diced. This was waaay tastier than it had any reason to be. The clam liquor, wine, and seasonings mingled to make the perfect broth for soaking piece after piece of crusty rosemary sourdough bread. The shrimp were okay - maybe a trifle overcooked - but the clams were perfectly luscious. Sadly, there are no close-ups of the cooking process. We were too hungry by then.
We rounded out this trio of cooked tapas with a large wedge of manchego cheese (of which I ate a full third before realizing that it was a raw milk cheese, which I shouldn't have been eating - oh well) and a generous pint of mixed olives - black and green, fresh and cured. And the bread. We wanted to make a fourth cooked tapa - it was going to be phyllo wrapped around gorgonzola cheese and leeks, and fried, with a sherry dipping sauce - but our eyes turned out to be bigger than our stomachs.
This was enough. More: this was perfect.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 06:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 12:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 03:22 pm (UTC)(Where can I find the meatball recipe?)
no subject
Date: 2005-02-26 04:40 am (UTC)1/2 pound ground lamb
half of one beaten egg
2 Tbsp dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup beef broth
1/2 cup fire-roasted tomato puree
Mix the lamb, egg, and breadcrumbs with half the basil and form it into one-inch meatballs. Brown them in the olive oil, over moderately high heat. Move them to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Add the onion and garlic to the skillet (which should now have a mixture of olive oil and lamb fat) and cook over medium heat until the onions are soft. Add the wine and cook until it is reduced by half. Pour it all into a blender, add the rest of the basil, and puree.
Return the onion puree to the skillet. Add the beef broth, tomato puree, and meatballs, and simmer for about ten minutes over low heat. Mmmm.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 07:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 09:17 am (UTC)Lamb meatballs... check :)
Shrimp in broth... check :)
Manchego... check:) (lots and lots, but where's the jamon?)
Rosemary bread... once
Olives frequently
Mushroom saute... not seen over there, but if I had my allergy to fungi would have probably blanked it...
overall... yum.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 11:40 am (UTC)-J
no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 12:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 02:03 pm (UTC)B
no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 08:48 pm (UTC)And yes, France is a wonderful place. There's better food in French gas stations than there is in most American restaurants.
B
no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 08:01 pm (UTC)I am making chili right now. I'm experimenting with marinating the meat.
One bottle Negra Modela, two anco chiles, one California (both dried, the ancho smells like raisins). Simmered until the beer is reduced by about half, in a covered pot.
Drained off the beer, added it to the meat (about a pound and a half of ribeye) and whirled one more ancho in the spice grinder.
I'll brown with some cumin and add to the tomato and beans.
I also have half a dozen tomatoes roasting in the oven, with olive oil, kosher salt, cumin and a dash of dried oregano. When theyhave shrunken and dried, but not to the point of being little lumps of leather, they'll get chopped coarse and added too.
TK
no subject
Date: 2005-02-26 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-26 05:45 am (UTC)I was worried when I first added the meat, because the taste test was a tad hot.
But it mellowed out very well. The meat was tender (partly the cut) and the extra hour put it all together.
With cornbread it was great. Took all day, but mostly that was simmering on the back burner.
And I have roasted garlic butter.
TK
no subject
Date: 2005-02-28 06:52 am (UTC)boy do the tapas sound like they were yummy.