Page 35

Feast without Frenzy: Make Ahead

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Lia Huber — No Comments ↓

The big day is drawing near and, if you’re like me, so is family. In this holiday series on feasts without frenzy, we’ve talked about planning ahead, freezing ahead and keeping it light. Our next strategy for enjoying time together instead of toiling endlessly in the kitchen is making certain dishes ahead.

make-ahead-post Some meals—like sautés and roasts and stir-fries—are prepared a la minute, essentially just before sitting down to the table. Others are more adaptable, allowing you to make them ahead, refrigerate, and reheat when the time is right.

Here are three suggestions for delicious do-ahead meals:

Stews, Braises and Ragus – These dishes range from whole cuts of meat (like the Braised and Glazed Five Spice Beef Short Ribs) to smaller chunks or ground meat simmered into a stew, chili or thick sauce. The beauty is, not only can you make these ahead; their flavor actually improves when you do. Just cook, chill (they’ll keep just fine for up to four days in the fridge), and then gently reheat when it’s time for the table.

Stratas – Breakfasts are tough with company. It’s often either the same-old, same-old cereal and toast, or playing short-order cook to the morning parade. Stratas—like savory bread pudding—are an excellent way to break that cycle, especially when you’ve got stale bread and leftover veggies on hand. Bread, fillings and an egg and milk mixture are layered in a roasting pan and left to soak overnight. The next morning, all that’s left to do is tuck it in the oven for a hearty start to the day.

Salads – Salads don’t hold well when dressed ahead. But having the fixings cleaned, cut and bagged in the fridge is a smart strategy for easy meals or to round out a soup or sandwich. Keep a double batch of a simple dressing on hand along with cleaned lettuce, sliced carrots, peppers and green onions for a fresh, mix-and-match salad that can be assembled in less than a minute.

This week, make a few meals ahead to free up time for family and friends. Happy holidays, all!

Feast Without Frenzy: Keep it Light

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Lia Huber — 1 Comment ↓

No doubt, there are a lot of heavy things that crop up during the holidays. Cookies, roasts, various casseroles . . . your sister-in-law’s confession, Grandma’s harping on your bangs. But there’s nothing saying you can’t mount a counter strategy, for the food at least. Keeping your non-crucial meals lighter will lighten your spirit too (ever notice how grumpy and sluggish you feel when you’ve been eating heavy food day after day)?

Here are ten main course meals that won’t weight you down.

keep-light Pumpkin Curry — Gewurztraminer pairs beautifully with this creamy, spicy, aromatic pumpkin curry. If you have a lime tree, crumple up a leaf and throw it into the curry as it simmers (then discard)—it will perfume the dish much as kaffir lime leaves do.

Asian Turkey Salad — After heavy holiday meals, this bright, fresh salad is a nice, light respite. If you don’t have leftover turkey on hand, it would also be great with shredded chicken.

Barramundi with Chile and Shallots — Barramundi’s meaty yet flaky texture makes it a good pair for dishes with an Asian flair. Like this one, with caramelized shallots and chile and a savory splash of fish sauce. You can find barramundi at many fish counters these days, or in the frozen section of several supermarkets.

Simplest Roast Chicken — I’ll admit it: I’m a lazy chicken roaster. There are techniques that have you rotating the bird every few minutes so that it turns an even brown, but I like to pop it in the oven and not think about it again (aside from swooning over the scent) until the timer goes off for good. And good—very good—is what we’ve found this bird to be. You don’t have to use an organic, free-range chicken, but we’ve found that it pays off in both flavor and juiciness.

Fennel Blood Orange Salad with Miso Vinaigrette — I dare you to attach the word “deprivation” to this salad. The bitter blood orange, the earthy miso, the crunchy fennel, the hit of sweet juice and the bite of arugula all come together in a festival of flavors and textures. Top it with a mound of crab meat to make a gorgeous main course salad, or pair it with Simplest Roast Chicken or Crisp Cornish Game Hens.

Chicken and Mushroom Lettuce Cups — I find that finger food naturally slows down a meal and focuses attention. When you’ve got juice dripping down your wrist and have to reach over your neighbor for the lettuce platter, it’s hard not to have the meal take on a different tenor.

Curried Mussels — I first fell in love with mussels years ago in France. Now, more and more, they’re one of my go-to weeknight foods. Mussels cook up super fast, they produce a flavorful broth with very few added calories, they’re at the top of the A-list in terms of sustainable seafood and, as if that’s not enough, they’re economical too.

Farfalle with Sausage and Arugula Pesto — Right about now, I get to craving the aromatic bliss of basil. But it’s tough to find in winter, and tends to be somewhat bland–and expensive–if you do. My seasonal secret? I use arugula, which is abundant right now both in my garden and on market shelves. The fresher the arugula, the more pungent the whole experience will be; for even more punch, pound the pesto in a mortar and pestle.

Classic Blackened Catfish — This dish brings back memories of my college days in New Orleans when I used to make it at least once a week. Little did I know then that I was making a sustainable pick! I’ll warn you from experience; your fire alarm will probably go off, so have a towel handy to fan the smoke away.

Crisp Cornish Game Hens with Pomegranate Honey Glaze — Removing the skin from the hens both decreases calories and increases the impact of this vibrant, spicy glaze. If you’ve never cooked with Cornish hens before, you’re in for a treat.

Feast without Frenzy: Freeze It

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Lia Huber — 1 Comment ↓

One of the easiest ways to free up time once house guests arrive is to have an arsenal of homemade frozen meals already prepared. And I don’t mean Birdseye. I’m talking chili, soups, braises, grains, pulses and even meat like pork carnitas and duck confit. The trick is to choose the best candidates to freeze. Here are three tips for scrumptious freezer meals.

Some foods are just better suited to freezing than others. Here’s a quick guide:

DO freeze these:

Meat (whole cuts and ground), poultry and fish, both raw and cooked (use common sense here . . . things like breaded chicken fingers are great to freeze fully cooked; temperature-sensitive cuts like steaks, on the other hand, not so much)
Grated cheese, milk and butter
Cooked beans, pulses and whole grains
Cooked bread, cakes and cookies
Raw pastry, pizza and cookie dough
Stocks, broths, soups, stews, chili, braises and casseroles
Butter and milk (shake well once thawed)

DON’T freeze these:

Eggs—either raw or hard-boiled
Vegetables and fruit with a high water content like lettuce, cucumber, jicama and melon
Gravies and thickened sauces
Fully-cooked potatoes and pasta
Yogurt and sour cream

Whatever you DO freeze, though, freeze it as fresh as possible. Freezing in essence pauses the process of spoiling, but it doesn’t reverse the process. Foods frozen fresh will taste best when thawed.

Chill Individually and Quickly. Pour liquids into a metal pot or bowl and set in an ice bath (a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water) or place in a wide, shallow container in the fridge (uncovered) until cool, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. I like to store liquids in zip-top bags frozen flat so they can be stacked in the freezer.

Arrange smaller portions of solid cooked foods in a single layer on a cookie sheet and lay (carefully) in the freezer until frozen solid. Then wrap the pieces loosely in parchment paper and seal in a freezer-safe zip-top bag, pressing out air before closing. Chill casseroles uncovered in the fridge and, if keeping whole, seal with a covering of heavy-duty foil before freezing. Or cut them into individual portions and follow the cookie sheet procedure above.

Label, Time and Thaw. Label everything you freeze. You may be absolutely certain you’ll remember it was chicken fingers you froze, but trust me, in a month or two they’ll look suspiciously like the fish sticks you froze a week later. Use a permanent marker to label each container with the name of the dish and the date you froze it. Most foods can keep for quite some time in the freezer, but their quality begins to deteriorate after about three months. So plan accordingly.

Don’t ever thaw food at room temperature—the outside will dwell in the “danger zone” (40 – 140 degrees) while the inside continues to defrost. Instead, either thaw in the fridge (allowing roughly five hours per pound) or the microwave. In general, food frozen raw should be thawed before cooking while most cooked dishes can be reheated from their frozen state; just be sure they’re cooked completely through before serving.

Revelationary Duck Confit

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Lia Huber — 5 Comments ↓

This duck confit recipe, originally inspired by the Revisionist Confit of Duck Leg in Sally Schneider’s A New Way to Cook, is one that has been repeated over and over again in our house. Because the duck legs are cooked in their own fat and juices–rather than being simmered in a layer of duck fat–it is loads lighter than traditional versions, yet still fall-off-the-bone succulent. I normally kick off winter by cooking up a dozen and freezing them. Whole, they’re delicious crisped up in a frying pan or the oven. Or shred their meat into salads, soups, pasta–even dumplings or tacos.

3 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 bay leaves
5 tablespoons salt
12 duck legs

In a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, pound or grind fennel seeds, juniper berries, peppercorns, garlic and bay leaves until a rough paste forms. Mix in the salt so the mixture is the consistency of coarse, wet sand.

Lay the duck legs out in a single layer in two roasting pans and rub on both sides with the spice mixture. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Remove covering from roasting pans and dab spice mixture off duck with a paper towel. Wipe out any liquid in the pan as well. Place a sheet of heavy-duty foil over each roasting pan and press down slightly to it rests closely to the duck. Seal well all around the edges. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before uncovering.

If using immediately, either shred meat or crisp in a frying pan or on a cookie sheet in a 450 degree F oven. If freezing, lay out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place flat in freezer until frozen solid. Then wrap loosely in parchment paper and seal in a freezer-safe zip-top bag.

Serves 12

Child’s Play: A Salad Story

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Lia Huber — 4 Comments ↓

The seeds for this piece were planted when, on a trying evening, I recruited my daughter to help me make a “special” salad and pouts and whines (from both of us) turned to laughter and pensive smiles. Here’s a poem inspired by the spirit of that night . . .

‘Twas a night before Christmas and all through the day, visions of pomegranates and persimmons had played.
I thought to myself, “What a lovely salad this would be,” and was pretty darned sure my husband would agree.

When what to my weary knees should appear, but a wailing toddler in full princess gear.
“My shoes don’t fit, my nose it runs, and I don’t like the look of this one!”

Up to her stool I whisked her, inspired. I gathered my fruits. “Will you help me?” I inquired.
I filled a bowl with water and placed it before her. Then ripped open a pomegranate and gave her a quarter.

“You see?” I teased out the garnet seeds. “They’re beautiful,” I said, and my daughter agreed.
She splashed joyfully and, with surprising speed, managed to get out every last little seed.

By this time, both of our spirits were soaring and suddenly this salad was anything but boring.
A handful of pecans onto parchment I spread, and taught Noemi to crush them without hitting her head.

She patted and shaped each cheese disc just right, while I dressed the greens and the persimmons did slice.
We assembled the salad and then took our places, and I noticed with joy smiles on everyone’s faces.

Our plates were full, our hearts were light. A delicious meal for all, and for all a good night.

Persimmon & Pomegranate Salad with Pecan-Coated Goat Cheese

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Lia Huber — 1 Comment ↓

This colorful fall salad pairs two fall treasures: the persimmon and the pomegranate. If you have wee ones, put them to work seeding the pomegranate. Fill a deep bowl with water, cut the pomegranate in half, and show them how to keep their hands below water while they work. The seeds will drop to the bottom and the peel will float to the top, and you’ll have a neat and happy helper come mealtime.

1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses or honey
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 pecan halves, toasted
4 ounces soft, young goat cheese
6 cups salad greens
1 fuyu persimmon, sliced in half and then into thin wedges
1 pomegranate, seeds removed and reserved

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees F.

Shake together shallot, vinegar, olive oil, molasses, salt and pepper in a tight-sealing jar. Set aside.

Place the pecans in a zip-top plastic bag and gently crush with a rolling pin until they’re the texture of coarse sand. Cut the goat cheese into 8 pieces and shape each into a fat disc. Press into the pecans to coat on both sides and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.

Toss together greens and persimmons in a salad bowl. Give the dressing one more shake and pour it over the top. Toss to mix and portion out onto 4 salad plates. Top each serving with 2 slices goat cheese rounds and sprinkle evenly with pomegranate seeds.

Serves 4

Feast Without Frenzy: Plan Ahead

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Lia Huber — 11 Comments ↓

Mention the phrase “meal plan” and you’ll likely hear a litany of reasons for why there’s no time. Yet even 15 minutes to plan ahead can help you set a simple framework that will make your holiday feast less stressful. Here are three steps to crafting a plan for your holiday meals.

Step 1 — Brainstorm. I always like to start my meals planning with a fun brainstorming session. Pen and paper in hand (and often a glass of wine too), I jot down recipes that have caught my eye and ideas I’ve been wanting to try. Right now, my menus for Christmas week include “awesome potato something,” “duck confit” and “winter salad with persimmons, pomegranate and frisée.” And I’ll continue to add to the general list as my family’s arrival date draws near. Let yourself get creative during this stage; part of its purpose is to get you excited about cooking rather than dreading what’s ahead.

Step 2 — Fit the pieces together. Once you have a list of recipes you’d like to make, it’s time to assign what to when. Make a rough grid—either on a pad of paper or on your computer—with the days of the big gathering on the top and the meals of the day on the left. Fill in the big meals and work backwards, fitting in dishes like pieces of a puzzle. Think about the logistics not just of the big feast, but of each day surrounding it. On a busy day, go with an easy pasta or stir-fry for dinner. If you’ve got a game-night planned, put a pork shoulder in the oven for tomorrow’s lunch. Follow a heavier day with lighter soups and salads. The idea is to strike a balance–of filling and light, of fancy and casual, of complex and super-quick–so your meals complement the dynamics of the days rather than becoming stressful to-dos.

Step 3 — Make an initial list. Once you’ve brainstormed and fit your pieces together (and don’t be shy about crossing out and shifting around . . . this is a work in progress, after all), make a quick list of the major items you’ll need. You can work out specifics as the dates approach, but having a rough idea of what’s ahead can help prevent being stuck without eggs, or ripe pears or avocados, or a special cut of meat come mealtime.

This week, bring a bit of goodness and light to your gathering by taking some time to plan out your holiday meals.

Carnitas de Lia

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Lia Huber — 18 Comments ↓

These carnitas are based on a recipe by Michele Anna Jordan that I’ve been using for years. Because the pork is braised in its own juice, these carnitas are much lighter than the traditional version, which is cooked in ample fat. Serve this Mexican-style pulled pork with guacamole, lime wedges, salsa and a basket of hot tortillas.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:95]

7 Super Sustainable Seafood Picks – 2009

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Lia Huber — 10 Comments ↓

A while ago, I was hired by a company to do extensive research about the sustainable seafood situation and boil it down into an executive summary so they could choose which tack made sense for them to take. During the course of my research I leaned heavily on the outstanding resources available—Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, Environmental Defense Fund’s Seafood Selector and Blue Ocean Institute’s Seafood Search are three of my favorites—to help us choose fish that are both sustainably sound and safe for us to eat. But as I waded through reports and cross-referenced lists, I felt the need for another variable to make it all more usable for the consumer:

Ease of understanding.

sustainable-seafood-picks-2009 If a fish is green across the board, terrific. But if a particular species is green, yellow and red depending on where it’s caught and how it’s caught, then it was docked points in my own ranking system for being hard to grasp. As grateful as I am for the seafood guides out there, I wanted a short list of fish I could memorize** that would both widen my horizons (no more defaulting to the one or two that were top of mind) and provide a safety net, so to speak, so I could choose wisely even if I was caught without my pocket guide (or, God forbid, my iPhone). And I imagined a lot of people would feel the same way.

So here, unveiled for our Contributor Jacqueline Church’s Teach a Man to Fish blog event, are my Seven Super Sustainable Seafood Picks*:

Mussels, Oysters and Clams – Mollusks are terrific sustainable seafood picks and a prime example of healthy aquaculture. Because they filter particulate matter from the water in order to feed, these bivalves actually leave the area cleaner than before they were there.
Barramundi – A common fish in Australia, barramundi is now being farmed sustainably both here in the US and in Southeast Asia. Since they are a fast-growing fish, they’re a great choice for aquaculture.
Wild-caught Alaskan Salmon – As I wrote about in Go Wild, Alaskan Salmon is the poster child of sustainable fishery management (the system within which fish are caught, processed and sold). Although not all salmon is sustainable, there is a clear-cut delineation between what is and what’s not: avoid anything labeled Atlantic salmon or farmed salmon.
Arctic Char – Arctic char is actually a member of the salmon family. In the US and other parts of the world, it’s being raised in sustainable environments. I find it makes a great everyday alternative to salmon.
Sardines – Sardines are fast-growing, low-on-the-food-chain fish that are most commonly known in the US as coming from cans or jars. And while minced sardines are delicious to stir into sauces and dressings for added depth of flavor, fresh sardines are becoming more abundant at the market now too. Try them marinated in olive oil, garlic, oregano and lemon and seared in a skillet or on the grill.
Farmed Striped Bass – Both farmed and wild striped bass are friendly to the environment, but the wild population can be high in contaminants so it’s best to stick to farmed as a rule. That said, striped bass is a great pick when you’re looking for a fish to roast whole (much more eco-friendly than, for instance, red snapper).
Squid – Squid, also known as calamari, is a fast-growing species caught with methods that don’t damage the surrounding habitat. It’s available frozen year-round and makes an excellent substitution for shrimp in salads and stir-fries. Although if you can find it fresh, buy it; it’s both economical and irresistibly tender.

* The criteria for being one of the Seven Super Sustainable Seafood Picks: raised or caught in a manner healthy for the environment; safe and good for us to eat; easy to understand as a consumer

** Note that this list is not static; fishery situations change over time, and so does the status of whether a fish is safe or sustainable or easy to understand. So what you see here now may be different than what you see a year from now. Check back from time to time for an update.

Gifts That Give

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Lia Huber — 4 Comments ↓

It’s the time of year we’re all putting together gift lists—a roasting pan for Aunt Dottie, iTunes bucks for your favorite nephew. But consider, too, gifts that give to others as we give to those we love. Here are some ideas:

gifts-give GIVE A FREE GIFT

Good Search. What a brilliant concept to do good while doing your holiday shopping online. Choose your cause and Good Search makes a donation every time you search. You can even download a Good Search toolbar (powered by Yahoo).

Let’s Say Thanks. An excellent idea by Xerox and absolutely free. Choose a card design, add a greeting and the card will be printed and sent to a member of the US military stationed overseas (you can’t specify who they go to). A great way to brighten a deserving person’s day during the holidays.

FEED SOMEONE

Feeding America. For a donation as low as $35, Feeding America will send you up to five Honor cards to send to family or friends that read “A gift has been made in your honor to FEEDING AMERICA.” Feeding America is the nation’s largest charitable hunger relief organization, rallying action through community both online and off, and advocating on behalf of 49 million hungry Americans.

Share Our Strength. One out of six children worry about when their next meal will come. Buy and send a few e-cards from Share Our Strength and help feed children across the country.

BUY GOOD FOOD

Order Cookies, Fight Cancer for Kids. The organization Cookies for Kids’ Cancer gained momentum raising money through bake sales. Now, they’ve partnered with a 25-year old family bakery in California to offer cute packages of cookies in flavors like Triple Chocolate Chunk and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin (with no preservatives or trans fats) with 100% of the profits go towards funding pediatric cancer research.

Baking For Good. Don’t feel like baking? Shop this online bakery that uses organic, local and seasonal ingredients in concocting goodies like cinnamon blondies and caramel corn, then choose a cause you’d like to support at checkout. Baking for Good will donate 15% of your purchase to the organization you picked.

HELP A FAMILY

Common Hope. This amazing organization is close to our heart for many reasons. Browse their Gift Catalog to purchase a stove, doctor’s visits, textbooks, etc. for Guatemalan families involved in the program.

Save the Children. Choose gifts from their holiday catalog ranging from education to livestock to health care and Save the Children will send a personalized holiday card to your honoree for free.

SHOP FOR A CAUSE

Global Goods Partners. Very cool handmade wares–from jewelry to bags to dolls–from this non-profit organization promoting fair trade, sustainable livelihoods and social justice.

Menu for Hope. Brought to us by Chez Pim and now in its sixth year, Menu for Hope features an array of food and wine related gifts to bid on, with proceeds going towards the Purchase for Progress initiative of the World Food Program.

Do you know of other gifts that give? Let us know here in this Mindful Meals conversation.