Scrumptious Street

"Spring Chicken" with Asparagus and Morels

I know that sometimes we cooks, chefs and bloggers get predictable.  But, every year there are certain foods or ingredients that really get our juices flowing, our kitchens humming, our hearts buzzing. Typically, they are items that are only at their peak a short time each year and we wait all year long for them.  For me, one such example is my penultimate Spring combination of baby asparagus and fresh morel mushrooms.  EVERY YEAR, I feel like Spring hasn't begun until I've successfully hunted them out in the Farmer's Markets, reminisced about my Dad gathering morels in the woods when I was young (he can smell them 1/4 mile away I swear) and cooked up the first batch of the year!  Here's this year's creation, my "Braised Chicken Thighs with Asparagus Tips, Green Garlic and Crispy Morels."

This was wonderful, Spring on a plate.  Healthy, light, earthy and succulent. This dish really exemplifies how cooking with the simplest and freshest ingredients is so fulfilling and delicious.  Pay attention to textures here and it'll be perfect.  You want juicy and tender chicken with soft yet still firm asparagus.  You want peas just the other side of raw, so they pop in your mouth but are still tender.  You want the morels to be like well-seared meat: moist on the inside and crispy on the outside.  Rather than following exact times in my recipe, keep your focus on getting these combination of textures, taste as you go and don't let anything go past done into the land of soft of mushy. (Oven temps and equipment make it vary anyway,)  If you put care and attention into this dish and focus on flavor and texture, you'll be thrilled with the delicious result! Next year, I'm hunting my own morels because even what you get in the Farmer's Market don't compare with what you find in forests!

Ingredients

Serves 2

4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. dry white wine, such as Pinot Gris

1 fresh bay leaf

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. Herbes de Provence

1 small shallot

2 T. fresh green garlic, minced

2 c. fresh baby asparagus tips

1 c. fresh morel mushrooms

1/2 c. fresh English peas, shelled

1/2 lemon, juiced

Method:

1. In a small bowl add 2 T. kosher salt and 2 c. water and stir to dissolve.  Slice the morels in half lengthwise and add to the salt water.  This helps remove any small bugs that may be in the mushrooms.  (Yes, they could be there but this gets them out.) Soak the mushrooms for 20 minutes.  Gently skim the mushrooms off the surface and rinse thoroughly with cold water.  Squeeze dry with paper towels and let the mushrooms continue to dry on a plate.

2. Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with the kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Take out a oven-proof skillet or braising pan with lid and place on medium-high heat on the stove.  Add 1T. of the olive oil.

3. Brown the chicken on all sides, starting skin-side down until a dark golden brown, about 5-8 minutes.  Add the bay leaf, herbes de Provence and shallot and saute until the shallots begin to soften, about 4 minutes more.  Pour in the white wine, add the green garlic and asparagus and toss to combine.  Cover the pan with a lid and place in the oven.  Bake for 35 minutes.

5. At 30 minutes, take out another small skillet and heat the remaining 1 T. olive oil over medium heat.  Add the cleaned and dried morels when the oil is smoking hot.  Fry the morels until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. 

6. When the chicken has baked 35 minutes, quickly remove the pan from the oven and add in the fresh peas and toss.  Return the pan to the oven without the lid and braise another 5 minutes.  Finish frying the morels to crispy brown and set aside.

7. Remove the pan from the oven and spoon the chicken and vegetables onto plates or a large serving platter.  Squeeze half a lemon over the chicken and vegetables.  Lastly, top with the crispy fried morels and serve immediately.

Partying Pork Loin

It's always fun to figure out what to do with any leftover champagne, sparkline wine or prosecco during the days after the New Year.  We had a terrific party but three half-consumed bottles of champagne left in our fridge.  What a tragedy! After making mimosas and little cocktails where the flatness didn't matter so much, I still couldn't pour the little bit of deliciousness down the drain.  So, of course, I improvised.  And, to great result created an excellent sauce for a grilled pork loin. 

Here's the recipe for my "Grilled Pork Loin with Champagne, Ginger and Date Glaze"

Ingredients:
Serves 2

2 pork loin chops boneless, about 6-8 oz. each
1/2 ripe Bosc pear, finely diced
4 Deglet dates, pitted and chopped
1 T. unsalted butter

For the marinade:
1/4 c. champgagne or good sparkline wine
1/2 c. apple juice
1 T. fresh lime juice, squeezed
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. sour cherry preserve
pinch of ground cloves

Method:

1. Trim any extra fat from the edges of the pork so it's as lean as possible.  Mix all the ingredients listed under the marinade together in a bowl and whisk to incorporate the flavors well.  Drizzle half the marinade over the pork loin chops in a zip lock plastic bag and seal.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes to marinate all sides.  Reserve the other half of the marinade.

2. Put the reserved marinade in a sauce pan and bring to a gentle boil.  Turn flame to low and let the sauce simmer very gently, reducing to concentrate flavors by at least half or more.

3. Heat a heavy cast-iron skillet or grill pan and when hot, remove the pork loin chops from the refrigerator and lay on the sizzling grill.  Grill the pork through, about 4-5 minutes on each side.  Remove the pork from the grill when cooked to light pink and at least 160˚F internally.   Set aside to rest.

4. Add the chopped pear and dates to the sauce and stir to incorporate.  Swirl in the butter without using a utensil, until the sauce is shiny and thick.  Remove sauce from heat.

5. Put the pork loin chops on a plate.  Spoon the glaze over the pork, garnish and serve immediately.

Chicken Braised with Red Wine, Tomatoes and Anchovy

No matter what your work-life to home-life ratio, cooking during the week is not always the leisurely and relaxed exercise that it is during the weekend. We all work hard in the modern world and being able to make something scrumptious with less time on your mise en place and more time to “get things done” is tremendously valuable, daresay, often a relief. In this light, braising is such a terrific at-home cooking method because you usually can create a spectacular meal with no more than 15 minutes prep but enough cooking time to allow you to do that laundry, answer emails, write your presentation, book your flights, work on organizing your photos, shop online for gifts or wow…relax with a glass of wine in the bathtub while dinner is cooking itself. Ha!

The most important aspects of braising are to make sure to brown your form of protein on very high heat before it goes in the oven, not to overcrowd the pan but give the meat plenty of room, (otherwise you’re steaming rather than braising) to use flavorful liquids and aromatics, to think like an architect building toward the final result as you go along, to cook it slowly and to keep the lid on the pot as much as possible until you’re ready to concentrate the flavors into finishing with a sauce.

Thus, in the spirit of a weeknight that was crazy-busy but a heart that didn’t want to sacrifice a good home-cooked meal with Mr. Scrumptious, emerged my “Chicken Braised with Red Wine, Tomatoes and Anchovy”.

Please TELL ME this post didn't sound like something Rachael Ray would say...

Ingredients:

Serves 2

2 medium roma tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and quartered

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary

1/4 tsp. anchovy paste

1/2 c. homemade or low-salt chicken stock

2 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

8-10 twists of freshly ground black pepper

2 T. vegetable or peanut oil

1/2 c. dry and spicy red wine

1/2 T. red wine vinegar

Method:

Preheat oven to 350˚Farenheit.

Bring a small saucepan of water to boil on stovetop. Prepare a bowl of icewater for an ice bath. Wash tomatoes, slice off the small top near the stem and discard.  Score the skin very lightly from top to bottom into four sections with a very sharp paring knife, only cutting the skin. Put the tomatoes in boiling water and blanch for about 3-5 minutes until the skin starts to peel off the tomatoes. Remove tomatoes and slide them into the ice bath.  When cooled, you can easily peel the skin off with the back of your paring knife.  Cut the tomatoes into quarters, and squeeze out the seeds and extra juice and reserve for another purpose.  You only use the flesh of the tomatoes in this recipe. Set tomatoes aside.

Mix the minced garlic, rosemary and anchovy paste in a small bixing bowl.  Cream them together into a smooth paste.  Pour in the chicken broth and whisk together until ingredients are evenly combined into the liquid.  Set aside.

Season the chicken thighs with the kosher salt and pepper.  Add the oil to a skillet on high heat and when the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down.  Sear for about 5 minutes, until they show a deep golden brown color.  Turn thighs over and sear another 3-4 minutes on the second side.  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.  Pour the extra fat out of the pan.

Reduce the flame to medium and return the pan to the stovetop.  Add the wine and chicken broth mixture and stir well.  Return the chicken thighs to the pan and add the tomatoes. 

Cover the pan and place it in the oven to braise, for about 45-50 minutes or until the meat begins falling off the bone when you test with a fork.  When the chicken is finished, remove the pan from the oven and take the chicken out of the skillet.  Cover the thighs with foil lightly to retain their heat.

Turn the stovetop to high and reduce the juices in the skillet into a thick and rich sauce by cooking on high, about 5 mintues.  Add the red wine vinegar, season to taste with pepper. 

Put the chicken thighs on your plate and spoon the thick sauce over the thighs.  Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve.

Halibut Poached in Vin Santo with Red Seedless Grapes and Tarragon

Poaching fish is such a fantastic way to infuse it with flavor while ensuring moistness and delicacy.
I often use this technique when I'm looking for a quick meal that doesn't sacrifice flavor or the sense of "dining" as opposed to "eating".  At Scrumptious Street, we definitely like to dine.  A big winner recently was Halibut Poached in Vin Santo with Red Seedless Grapes and Tarragon. 

In this recipe, you can really substitute many ideas or liquids, fruits or herbs.  The idea is really to combine something sweet and tasty with a little tartness and herbs for depth.  I like the way that sweet grapes work with tarragon that is slightly tart and reminiscent of just a hint of licorice (more on the nose than the palate). 

I must thank my dear friend, an Amazing Massage Therapist, for the inspiration of this recipe. I only wished she had been there with us to share it.  She came to visit us in our new home a couple of days before I made the fish.  She brought with her a delicious bottle of Felsina, Vin Santo Del Chianti Classico, 2005.  This is a very special sweet Italian dessert wine, which since the 14th century has been used as a gift of friendship and hospitality.  In bringing a bottle to our new home, she bestowed good wishes and grace upon us with the thoughtful gift.

When I brought home some fresh halibut steaks and plump, juicy red seedless grapes, I knew her wine would be the perfect way to infuse the fish with terrific flavor and sweetness.  Thanks, my friend, for the inspiration to create such a scrumptious meal.  Next time I make this, you will be at the table with us.

The recipe is here.
Ingredients:
Serves 2

3/4 c. vegetable stock or fish stock
1/2 c. sweet dessert wine (Vin Santo in my case)
3 T. fresh clementine juice
2 halibut fillets
1/8 tsp kosher salt
3 grinds black pepper
1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil
12 seedless red grapes, halved
2 T. unsalted butter
1 T. fresh tarragon, finely chopped

Method:
Add the stock, wine and clementine juice to a medium skillet on the stovetop and bring up to a very gentle simmer, so that the bubbles are just barely moving on the liquid.  Season the halibut with salt, pepper and olive oil, rubbing into flesh to distribute evenly.  Gently slide the halibut into the simmering liquid.  We're using a shallow-poach here, so that the liquid only comes about 2/3 the way up the height of the fish fillet.  Cover the pan and let the fish poach about 4 minutes.  Flip and cover again, letting the fish poach another 3 minutes or so.  You can tell it'd done when the fish is white rather than pink and the flesh can be flaked apart with the tines of a fork.  Remove the halibut and set aside, keeping warm.  Increase the heat on the sauce to near-boil and reduce the cooking liquids by at least half, for about 10 minutes.  When the sauce is thickened and intense, add in the grapes, butter, tarragon and swirl to melt and incorporate into the sauce.  Put the halibut on a plate and spoon the sauce over the fish.  Sprinkle with additional tarragon and serve immediately.

Yams with Autumn Ricotta Cream and Mr. Scrumptious Filet Mignon

While I do most of the cooking at Scrumptious Street, it's time to recognize Mr. Scrumptious' own culinary talents.  He is THE sandwich maker in our home, I will surely devote posts to his yummy noshes in the future.  He also is a whiz with the meats.  So, in this post, we have yams by me and filet mignon by Mr. Scrumptious. 

I intended to make this with sweet potatoes instead of yams since both Mr. Scrumptious and I prefer them to yams.  Alas, sometimes we are at the mercy of the local grocer's and the gods of time when shopping on a late Sunday afternoon.

I'll start with Mr. Scrumptious Fabulous Filet Mignon.  Um, there is no recipe, he just threw some Worchestershire sauce, chutney, balsamic vinegar and luscious spices into a dish.  He mixed it up, threw in the filet mignon and pricked it all over with a fork.  Next, he flipped it over a few times in the marinade and covered it.  Refrigerate it for about 8 hours.  When we were ready to cook we heated up the grill pan and grilled it medium rare.  Of course, when the meat is done it had to rest for 10-15 minutes, perfect for my photo shoot.

For the yams, here's my recipe, to serve 4 people.

Ingredients:

4 yams, peeled, quartered
3 T ricotta cheese
1/3 cup cream
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
4 pats unsalted butter
Minced sage for garnish

Method:
Fill a pot with the yams and cold water, covering the yams by at least an inch of water and bring to boil on stovetop.  Reduce heat to medium and boil gently until yams are tender and the tines of a fork slide in easily, about 20 minutes.  While the yams are cooking, combine cream and ricotta in a small saucepan and heat gently.  Add the nutmeg and cloves, whisking gently until yams are ready.  When yams are tender, drain and mash or rice thoroughly, depending on your tool of choice.   Return the yams to a very low heat, add the butter and melt completely.  Slowly add the ricotta and spice cream to the yams and incorporate completely into yams.  Remove from heat, garnish with sage and serve immediately.

This was a lovely autumn meal, so full of flavor and simple delicate beauty.  The filet combined with the spices of the yams quite well, as we were eating Mr. Scrumptious spread the yams onto the beef  to get a combined bite.  That's always a good sign.  We paired it with the bright and fruity Bodegas Palacios Remondo Herencia Remondo Vendimia 2003 Rioja that didn't get lost in the flavors or dominate the palate.