Recipe: Simple, Fresh Fish Italian Style

An oft-used recipe from Lynne Rossetto-Kasper. Fast, simple, and healthy — it’s pretty much perfect! I served it with the cold couscous salad that also came via The Splendid Table and that you’ll find below.

INGREDIENTS

– 4 cloves garlic, crushed
– 8 branches Italian parsley
– 1 teaspoon salt
– Water
– 1 to 1-1/2 pounds firm-fleshed fish fillets, or thick-cut steaks (tilapia, cod, salmon, etc.), or whole fish weighing 2 to 3 pounds
– Good tasting extra-virgin olive oil
– 2 medium lemons, cut into wedges
– Additional Italian parsley branches for garnish
– Salt and fresh-ground black pepper

RECIPE

1. In a 12-inch skillet or sauté pan combine garlic, parsley, and salt in water about 2-1/2 inches deep. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 5 minutes. Measure fish pieces for thickness. Cooking time is 8 to 10 minutes per inch of thickness.
2. Slip fish into the water, adjusting heat so the liquid shudders but doesn’t bubble. Cook 8 to 10 minutes to the inch, or until all but the very center of each piece of fish is opaque. Check by making a small slit in the thickest part of the fish.
3. As each piece is done, use a pierced spatula to lift it onto a heated platter. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley branches, and serve immediately. At the table, invite everyone to season their fish with salt, pepper, drizzles of olive oil, and fresh squeezed lemon.

Couscous Salad with Spinach, Parsley and Spring Onions

This being my first summer in New Orleans, I’m finding the necessary changes to my lifestyle fascinating. I’ve had to buy practically a whole new wardrobe, and the heat means I have to reschedule all of my activities, from errands to exercise, to make the most of cooler (relatively) mornings and evenings. There are so many great recipes to discover that help alleviate the effects of the heat, as well. Brother O’Mara and I have been eating salads almost every evening we stay home, and since they are usually greens-based, this one was a welcome change a couple of nights ago. Crisp lemon and onion, fresh parsley, spinach for texture– couscous never had it so good!

Couscous Salad with Spinach, Parsley and Spring Onions

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1-1/3 cups hottest possible tap water
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves only (2 cups loosely packed)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 spring onions or 6 scallions, trimmed and cut into very thin rings
5 ounces fresh spinach, rinsed, dried, stems removed, and cut into chiffonade (4 cups loosely packed)
3 tablespoons Creamy Lemon-Chive Dressing (recipe follows)

RECIPE

1. In a large, shallow bowl, combine the couscous and the salt. Toss with a fork to blend. Add the water and fluff until the grains are evenly separated. Set aside and occasionally fluff and toss the grains until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 3 minutes.
2. In a food processor or a blender, combine the lemon juice, parsley leaves, and olive oil and process until the parsley is finely chopped. Toss the parsley mixture and the spring onions with the couscous. (This can be prepared up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerated.)
3. At serving time, toss the spinach chiffonade with just enough dressing to evenly coat the greens. Add the dressed spinach to the couscous mixture and toss gently to blend evenly.

Creamy Lemon-Chive Dressing

Makes 1 1/4 cups

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup light cream
1/3 cup finely minced fresh chives

RECIPE

1. In a small jar, combine the lemon juice and the salt. Cover and shake to dissolve the salt. Add the cream and chives. Shake to blend. Taste for seasoning. Store, covered and refrigerated, for up to one week. Shake to blend again before serving.

Excerpted from Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells. Copyright 2007 by Patricia Wells.

Cocktail Recipe: Tequila-Cucumber Highball

(photo by lafille)

While it’s fun fun fun to try all kinds of different cocktails at bars, when it comes to mixing at home, I tend not to vary a whole lot. This spring and summer, for example, has been mainly Dark and Stormys, Mint Juleps, and Margaritas.

Now I’ve got another refreshing libation to add to my summertime repertoire.

Thanks to Rhiannon at Cure, I’ve been introduced to the deliciosity of cucumber cocktails and now I can’t stop making my version of her version of Dale DeGroff’s Anejo Highball. DeGroff’s original didn’t contain cucumber, but Rhiannon adapted it to include some, and the thing I came up with in the kitchen today, while not exactly what she made me, is utterly delightful. If it didn’t contain a heady dose of Cuervo, I’d be drinking it constantly. As it is, I’ll try to limit it to cocktail hour.

Plus our garden is overrun with cucumbers and I’m delighted to find something to do with all of them!

Tequila-Cucumber Highball à lafille

2-3 inch hunk of cucumber, chopped
Juice from ½ a lime
½ oz. simple syrup
1 ½ oz. tequila
1 oz. soda water

Muddle cucumber, lime juice, and simple syrup in glass. Pack with ice, top with tequila and soda. Drink on the front porch.

Recipe: Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple-Mint Salsa

Pre-salsa

One of my favorite things about warm weather is cooking outside. Growing up, Cap’n Will instilled in me idea that grilling isn’t just for special occasions– it’s super easy and works for weeknight meals as well as Sunday cookouts. Thus, I recently got a small charcoal grill and have been using it to make dinner probably about twice a week.

The other night I wanted something fresh and summery, so I picked up a pork tenderloin and a pineapple with which to dress it. What a nice meal! The pork was super tender and juicy, and the pineapple salsa had just the right balance of sweet, tart, and hot. I will definitely make this concoction again, but next time I want to chop up the pork and put the whole shebang in a flour tortilla, maybe with some white cheese or sour cream…similar to the much-loved burrito al pastor at Juan’s Flying Burrito. Now THAT would be delicious. Actually, I have to go find a snack now because thinking about pork and pineapple tacos has made me ravenously hungry.

Ok, where was I? Right. Pork and pineapple salsa onde grill.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple-Mint Salsa

serves 2 with some leftovers

INGREDIENTS

1 medium-sized pork tenderloin

1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil

salt and freshly-ground black pepper

1 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

half a pineapple, peeled and chopped

1/4 of a medium-sized red onion, diced

1/2 to 1 green chile pepper, depending on your spice tolerance, minced

juice from half a lime

one sprig’s worth of mint leaves, chopped (about 1 1/2 tbsp.)

RECIPE

Note: My grill technique is very, shall we say, organic. I don’t really have any guidelines or hard-and-fast rules I go by– I just cook it ’til it’s done. So I apologize, but you’re on your own as far as grill tips go.

1. Stir together the oil, cumin, salt, and pepper, then rub it on your meat. That’s what she said. I let it sit for an hour or two, but you can season the pork right before you cook it as far as I’m concerned.

2. Stir together pineapple, onion, chile pepper, mint, and lime juice. I muddled it just a little also, to make it a bit juicier.

3. Cook the pork loin until it’s just barely pink in the middle, remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. Slice and serve with the salsa on top.

Birthday Treats

Yesterday Brother O’Mara had a birthday, and for said birthday, I decided to jump on the bandwagon (albeit rather late) and make some cupcakes. They’ve been super-trendy for ages, but until now I’d only eaten and not baked them. I decided on a couple recipes from my favorite magazine, Imbibe: Chocolate Stout (I used Young’s) and Coconut Tequila, both of which turned out so incredibly well that we had to take them all to work this morning so we wouldn’t eat only cupcakes all weekend.

Recipes below the photos.

Chocolate, beer, sugar, and cream cheese. Yes please.

Though they were already cool by the time they hit the windowsill, it’s still pretty idyllic, no?

This is the presentation to which Brother O’Mara came home.

MAKE THEM FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES TODAY!

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

makes 24

INGREDIENTS

12 oz. stout beer (they called for Guinness, I used Young’s)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3/4 c. sour cream

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa, plus more for garnish

2 1/2 c. sugar

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

for the frosting:

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 c. heavy cream

1 1/2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar (I used less and got a more liquidy frosting)

RECIPE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the beer, melted butter and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the sour cream.

2. In another large bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet beer mixture.

3. Divide batter among 24 buttered or papered muffin tins and bake 25 minutes, until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender.

4. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the heavy cream, then slowly mix in the confectioners’ sugar.

5. After cupcakes have cooled, top each one with a heap of frosting and a dusting of cocoa.

from the Nov/Dec 2006 issue

Coco Loco Tequila Cupcakes

makes 24

INGREDIENTS

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

large pinch of salt

1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. unsweetened coconut milk

2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger

1 tsp. coconut extract

1/4 c. tequila (I used what was on hand, Cuervo Gold)

1/2 c. buttermilk (I didn’t have any so substituted 1/2 c. milk mixed with 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar — gross, but it works)

1 c. shredded sweetened coconut

for the frosting

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tbsp. unsweetened coconut milk

2 tbsp. tequila

2 tsp. coconut extract

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

shredded sweetened coconut for garnish

RECIPE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing well after each addition.

2. Add coconut milk, ginger, and coconut extract and beat for one minute at high speed. In a measuring pitcher, stir together tequila and buttermilk. Add dry ingredients in three batches to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture in two batches, beginning and ending with dry ingredients and mixing well after each addition. Fold in the shredded coconut.

3. Fill each cupcake tin (you buttered or papered them, right?) about three-fourths full with batter and bake until a toothpick inserted into center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

4. Meanwhile, to make the frosting, beat cream cheese on high speed until smooth. With mixer on high, slowly add coconut milk, tequila, and coconut extract. Continue beating until thoroughly combined and smooth, about five minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar and continue beating on high speed, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.

5. Frost cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

from the May/June 2009 issue

(all photos by lafille)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER O’MARA!

Heading Uptown for Cure

Cure is a bar that’s recently opened Uptown on the corner of Freret and Upperline. Now, I’m not a big fan of just going to bars, but I heard Cure was a place where they really focus on crafting quality cocktails, not pumping out Hurricanes for drunken tourists, so my Cure-iosity (thank you, I’ll be here all week) was definitely piqued.

We went around 6pm on a Friday evening and sat at the bar. Ricky greeted us and made our first round of drinks– a Sazerac for Brother O’Mara and a Ramos Fizz for myself. I loved watching him construct our cocktails–he clearly takes pride in what he does. Once we had our exquisite libations in hand, we were able to sit back and examine both the menu and the bar itself.

The Bar at Cure

Brother O’Mara’s Sazerac

Ricky told us that the owners had purchased the building in a dilapidated state and redone every inch of the place. They have truly done a beautiful job, from the polished bar to the atmospheric lighting, to the oasis-like patio outside. The place is both decorated and run with loads of style.

The food menu consists of a selection of small plates clearly meant to compliment the cocktails rather than overshadow them. A salad, a couple of panini-style sandwiches, poached pears with Serrano ham. Brother O’Mara and I settled on the cheese plate and the cured meat plate. We got a more than satisfactory spread:

Cheese plate: Chef’s selection of cheeses, we got Manchego, Mimolette, and Maytag Blue, accompanied by dates and tasty spiced almonds.

Meat plate: Sliced Spanish chorizo and Serrano ham with marinated olives and cornichons.

We spoke briefly with either the owner or the manager about the cocktail menu and he told us how they like to rotate it every couple of weeks. Another bartender, Rhiannon, explained that they do a combination of original drinks invented by the staff and classic cocktails with contemporary twists. As far as beer and wine, the selection is very limited, but very interesting and well-chosen at the same time.

Rhiannon was a gracious hostess and extremely patient with our questions. During our conversations with her about different cocktails and liquors, she inspired our choices for the second round of drinks. Brother O’Mara decided on a Dark and Stormy and I couldn’t resist Rhiannon’s description of The Last Word, made with gin, chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice (recipes at the bottom of the page, natch).

Rhiannon hard at work.

Two drinks were enough for each of us–any more and we wouldn’t be able to appreciate them for the works of art that they were. We finished up and bid our adieus to Rhiannon, relaxed and incredibly pleased with our experience at Cure.

Cure is located at 4905 Freret Street, right on the corner of Upperline. Keep your eyes open, as there is not a sign outside.

(all photos by Brother O’Mara)

Today’s cocktail recipes:

The Sazerac
1/2 tsp. absinthe or Herbsaint (Ricky–simply and ingeniously–misted the glass with absinthe)
1 tsp. simple syrup
4 dashes Peychaud Bitters
2 oz. rye whisky
lemon peel

Stir the rye, bitters, and simple syrup with ice and strain into absinthe-coated glass. Garnish with lemon.

Ramos Gin Fizz
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 egg white
1 tsp sugar
2 oz gin
1/2 oz cream
2-3 dashes orange flower water

Shake all ingredients for a good while in a shaker without ice, to get everything nice and frothy. Add ice and shake some more to get it cold. Strain into a glass and top with soda water.

Dark and Stormy
2 oz. dark rum (specifically Gosling’s Black Seal)
3 oz. ginger beer (traditionally Barrit’s, but I think they use Regatta at Cure)

Make as a highball and garnish with a lime wedge.

The Last Word
3/4 oz. gin
3/4 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. green Chartreuse
3/4 oz. maraschino liqueur

Shake well with ice and strain into a glass.

Classic New Orleans: A Brief History of Ojen

Yesterday, Brother O’Mara brought home a Very Special Treat: a bottle of Ojen. He’s been talking about it for a while now, and as he mixed the fiery beverage with water, a la louche, his excitement was palpable.

(photo by Brother O’Mara)

Ojen is an aguardiente from the eponymous village in the province of Malaga, Spain. Aguardiente is a portmanteau of the Spanish words for water (agua) and burning (ardiente), and is the generic reference for an alcoholic drink between 29 and 60 percent alcohol. Aguardiente de Ojen is flavored with anise and thus, like absinthe, creates a louche when mixed with water. When the two combine, the anise oils emulsify and disperse evenly throughout the water, creating the milky-looking liquid pictured above.

Luckily, last weekend’s absinthe tasting was still fresh in my mind, so I recalled enough to be able to roughly compare their flavors. In researching this article, I was surprised to find that Obsello Absinthe actually contains more alcohol than Ojen—100-proof as compared with Ojen’s 80-proof—as the Ojen had much more of that throat-burny quality. I would have put money on it being higher in alcohol. Shows what I know. Both drinks, when prepared a la louche, have that nice powdery mouthfeel, but the Ojen is much sweeter. Maybe it has to do with the fact that unlike absinthe, it contains no wormwood. Overall, I’d say absinthe is much more subtle, while Ojen is pretty in-your-face. I guess that’s why tradition recommends “una copita de Ojen”—who knows what would happen if you drank more than that.

A very famous Malagueño included Ojen in one of his still lives:

(painting by Picasso)

Now you might be thinking, “All of this information is very well and good, chere fille, but why are you spending all this energy writing about Ojen when you’re not even the world’s biggest fan of anise-flavored liquors?”

I thought you’d never ask.

Turns out that New Orleans and Ojen have a Very Special Relationship. And by that I mean that New Orleans (and specifically Martin Wine Cellar) is home to pretty much the only Ojen left in the world.

Here’s the story:

Ojen gained popularity in New Orleans in the early/mid-20th Century and soon became indispensible, especially during Mardi Gras. The Ojen Cocktail became the official drink of the Krewe of Rex, and it was a staple in many a family liquor cabinets. Apparently, denizens of the Crescent City drank more Ojen than anyone else in the entire world.

Back in Spain, the last scion of the Morales family distillery (who had been producing Ojen since around 1830) died, purposely taking the recipe with him. The history of this period is a little sketchy, but at some later point Manuel Fernandez, S.A. began producing a similar product under the same name. This is “White Label” Ojen that we are familiar with now, and what you can buy at Martin.

The story gets better though. Apparently, New Orleanians didn’t drink enough Ojen to keep the producer in business. Sometime in the late 1980’s, Fernandez announced it was shutting down, thus threatening to leave our city bereft of the tasty aguardiente she so loved. Martin Wine Cellar stepped in, and the conversation went something like this (in Brother O’Mara’s words):

Fernandez: “We’re shutting down the distillery.”
Martin Wine Cellar: “We need more Ojen before you shut down.”
Fernandez: “Well we’ll run you a batch, but the smallest batch we can run is 500
cases (6,000 bottles).”
Martin Wine Cellar: “Fine, we’ll take it.”

Twenty or so years later, and there are less than 25 bottles left for retail sale in the Martin stores. There may be some dusty bottles on liquor store shelves somewhere in the world, but for the most part, that’s pretty much it. It retails for thirty bucks.

If you don’t want to buy a whole bottle, I hear that they keep some stocked in places Rex Krewe members hang out. I know for sure you can find the Ojen Frappé at Arnaud’s, Luke Brasserie on St. Charles, and at Brennan’s. You’ll probably have good luck at Antoine’s, Restaurant August, and Galatoire’s, also.

If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, here’s the classic recipe for you:

Ojen Cocktail

2 oz. Ojen
1 dash Peychaud bitters
1 tsp. sugar
½ oz. water

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake well, and strain into a cocktail glass.

(A note on sources for this article: most of my information has come from my connection at Wines Unlimited, the wholesale end of Martin Wine Cellar. I also read Ned Hémard’s 2007 article “Banana Republics and Ojen Cocktails” and a little tourist information about the village of Ojen itself.)

Recipe: Orange and Fennel Salad

Orange and fennel are a classic combo for salads and to me they just taste like spring. Tart, crisp, juicy, green, and a little sweet. Add to that some almonds and thinly-sliced Manchego…honestly I think I could have left out the lettuce altogether and this meal would have been all the better for it.

(photo by lafille)

Orange and Fennel Salad

serves 2

INGREDIENTS

2 oranges, peeled and sliced

1/2 bulb fennel, thinly sliced

3 c greens (lettuce, arugula, etc)

small handful Manchego, shaved

1/4 c orange juice

1/2 c olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

small handful sliced almonds

RECIPE

1. Build the salad in individual bowls–lettuce, fennel, oranges, cheese, and almonds.

2. Make the dressing: whisk oil and OJ together with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad.

Easy peasy!

Recipe: Pork with Strawberry-Herb Sauce

It’s been several days since I made this dish and its memory is still making me salivate. I don’t really think this post needs to be bogged down with lots of words expounding on the tastiness of this meal.

Just make it.

Pork with Strawberry-Herb Sauce

(inspired by the recipe of the same name in Food and Wine‘s 2006 cookbook, but slightly modified)

serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 pork chops, 1-1 1/2 in. thick

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tbsp. butter

1 shallot, very finely chopped

3/4 c. chicken stock

2 tbsp. strawberry jam

scant 1 tsp. chopped thyme

1 tsp. creole mustard (or Dijon)

RECIPE

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Season the pork with s&p and cook over high heat, turning once, until it’s browned and just barely cooked through, maybe 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover with aluminum foil.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the same skillet you used to cook the pork. Add the chopped shallot and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add the chicken stock, strawberry jam, and chopped thyme and cook over high heat, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the mustard, reduce heat to low, and then whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Season sauce with s&p. Return the pork chops and any juices on the plate to the skillet, turn the meat to coat with sauce, and serve immediately.

For the love of all that is good, cook this tonight.

Recipe: Sautéed Zucchini, Onion, and Yellow Squash

This was Brother O’Mara’s suggestion for a side dish to go with the pork chops, so I let him prepare it. It’s funny, he grew up eating these particular veggies cooked in this particular manner, while it never would have occured to me to make something like this. Of course, he says the same about many of the dishes I make, which is one of the reasons it’s so much fun to share a home with someone–we each, literally, bring such different things to the table.

Anyway, here’s how he told me to do it. Simple simple.

Sauteed Zucchini, Onion, and Yellow Squash

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 zucchini, sliced

1 yellow squash, sliced

1/2 purple onion, chopped

olive oil

sugar, salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Toss in the veggies, season with salt, pepper, and sugar, and cook over medium heat until the zucchini is soft (it takes longer to cook than the squash, so he lets it be the indicator).

We served this over a bed of instant couscous from a box and it was scrumptious!

Thanks, Brother O’Mara.

Thomara.