Portuguese Pork with Clams: the "wow" factor!

I've been sitting on this recipe for about 2 months now. Hell, I've been sitting on a ton of new stuff to share that is backed up due to Colman's arrival 6 weeks ago and my resulting reduction of mental bandwidth. But motivation and clarity is slowly returning....you give anyone weeks of interrupted sleep and eventually it becomes the norm...so it's time to ramp this here blog back up, because as I said there is much edible delight to share (luckily my lack of motivation has not extended to the kitchen) including this definite "Wow!" dish from the always reliable "The Dean & Deluca Cookbook".

I knew I was serving up a heaping pot of goodness when bro-in-law Dave said, not once but two or three times, "This is so good!" This is meaningful because Dave is not someone prone to superlatives and overuse of exclamation style speaking (of course I have seen & heard him go gaga over his latest beer find, but that's a whole 'nother category of D-love). While a true appreciator of all of life's liquid and edible indulgences, he is also someone who doesn't waste a lot of words (unlike yours truly). So to hear praise like that from him I have to say was quite the coup. So if you have someone in mind who needs to shed their mantle of public propriety, then may I suggest you plop a bowl of this in front of them.....
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Portuguese Pork with Clams
from The Dean & Deluca Cookbook: "This fabulous specialty of the Alentejo region is cooked there in a special hinged copper pot called a cataplana; its beauty is that it can be turned on either side on top of the stove, which enables the cook to shake the clams in the pan so they open evenly. If you can find one, by all means use it to cook this dish. But if you can't, don't fret; proceed with a regular Dutch oven. The dish will be just as delicious. By the way, the Portuguese would use presunto (their cured ham) and chouriço (their spicy sausage) in this dish; you may substitute the more available prosciutto (Italian) and chorizo (Spanish). Serve with Portuguese bread, a green salad, and very cold vinho verde."

bb note: I served this with a spicy Spanish red garnacha (followed of course by another bottle...or two....). Nothing too heavy, and it was perfect. There aren't that many ingredients but a ton of flavor, so a more fruit-forward wine is the ticket. I think with spring/summer coming this would be absolutely stellar with several ice cold bottles of your fave dry rosé!

serves 6

ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 -pound boneless pork butt, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound onions, finely chopped
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and finely minced
1 bay leaf
28-ounce can tomatoes in tomato purée
1 cup dry white wine
2-ounce chunk of fatty prosciutto (top-quality not necessary)
6 ounces chorizo
72 small clams (preferably Manila clams or New Zealand cockles), scrubbed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

method:
1. Place the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven over moderately high heat. Add the pork pieces and sauté until lightly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, green pepper, and bay leaf, and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes more.

2. Add half the tomatoes with all their purée, breaking the tomatoes into small chunks with the back of a wooden spoon. (Save the other half of the tomatoes for another use.) Add 3/4 cup of the wine, and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Cut the prosciutto into tiny dice, and add to the stew. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes more.

4. Add the chorizo to the stew. Cook, covered, until the pork is tender, another 15 to 30 minutes.

5. When almost ready to serve, add the clams to the pot, stir them into the tomato sauce, and sprinkle them with the remaining 1/4 cup of white wine. Increase heat to moderately high, cover the Dutch oven, and cook until the clams open. While the clams are cooking, grasp the Dutch oven with both hands and shake it a few times to move them around.

6. When the clams have opened, reduce heat to low, cover Dutch oven, and cook for 5 minutes more, allowing the clam juices to blend with the stew. While the clams are cooking, remove the chorizo, cut it into thin slices, and return to the Dutch oven. Taste sauce for seasoning. Sprinkle stew with cilantro and serve immediately in a large bowl.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: Eating PDX: 5 Guys Burgers; Spella Coffee; EVOE

The money shot: Spanish Lamb and Chorizo Stew

You know you need that money shot in your repertoire. That one thing you know will work? Like Kobe posting up another hapless Laker's opponent. Like Emeril who used to hold up a piece of f*cking garlic and have his sycophantic audience go berserk like he's splitting atoms. Like any bartender in America looking for a huge tip asking me if I want a free drink. That sort of thing. Such was dinner the other night in the 50th Avenue kitchen.

This is something I've done for a couple of dinner parties to great appreciation. This time it was by accident, as the frost covered package I pulled out of the freezer turned out not to be the expected pork shoulder, but instead had somehow, against all laws of nature, turned into a lamb shoulder. I have no idea how these things happen , but in the whole spirit of lemons to lemonade, when I'm handed a three pound hunk of lamb shoulder I'm become one braisy motherf*cker. Also this wasn't for a dinner party, as it was just wand I and our meager appetites....well, her meager appetite and my overfed one. So needless to say this was also dinner the next night and lunch at work for a couple of days.

In any event, this Spanish inflected braised lamb shoulder from the Dean and DeLuca Cookbook (a money shot of a cookbook if ever there was one!) is something you need to throw into your dutch oven at home....soon! The chorizo and smoked paprika add such intense, smoky, spicy flavor and character and that Iberian something-something that makes me dream of dark cafés and bottles of Rioja in an Andalucian village. In fact the DandD book recommended a Rioja as the perfect beverage accompaniment, and they were absolutely right. This is absolutely The only thing you may need to order ahead is the lamb shoulder, as they are sometimes hard to find. But it's worth the effort, as this is one swoon-worthy dish!
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Spanish Lamb Stew with White Beans and Chorizo
From the Dean and DeLuca Cookbook

serves six....or more

ingredients:
6 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound Spanish chorizo
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2-1/2 to 3 pound lamb shoulder, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 cup rich beef stock (I took 2 cups regular beef broth and boiled it down to 1 cup-bb)
14 ounce can plum tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup chopped fresh marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste
2 15 oz cans white beans

method:
1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over moderately high heat. Add chorizo and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes more. Remove contents of pan and set aside.

The flavoring agents: smoky spanish chorizo and onions working it.

2. Add remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to pan and heat until hot but not smoking. Add lamb cubes and cook until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. (Make sure the pan is not overcrowded; if it is, brown the lamb in batches.)

Browning the lamb to seal in deliciousness.

3. When all the lamb is browned, place chorizo-onion-garlic mixture back in pan. Increase heat to high, and add red wine and sherry vinegar. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any caramelized bits. Then, add beef stock and plum tomatoes with their juice. Stir, breaking up the tomatoes with the wooden spoon. Add bay leaves and paprika. If using marjoram, add half of it now. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ready for the oven, and it already looks so good!

4. Bring the liquid slowly to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and partially cover. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Remove the lid, and simmer another 45 minutes, or until lamb is extremely tender. Remove bay leaves.

Out of the oven, ready for consumption!

5. Add white beans to stew, and stir to combine. Cook over low heat until beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve. If using marjoram, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons just before serving.

Notes from DandD: "The boneless lamb in this delicious cassoulet-like stew makes for polite knife-and-fork eating. This dish tastes best when eaten right after cooking; it will not improve in the refrigerator, as many other stews do. Serve with a green salad and a good bottle of red Rioja."

And I sayeth unto you, eat and be happy!

Have I ever told you, from a fresh food perspective, how smug I am to live where I do? Within 2 hours of Portland, and usually much closer, we have access to incredible fresh, organic produce. Pasture raised chicken (and their attending eggs), pork, and beef. Some of the craziest pinot noirs on the planet. And over on the coast fresh Dungeness crab, the most amazing oysters you'd ever hope to slurp down, and wild caught salmon at ridiculously cheap prices. Do you really need any more reasons to move here? I thought not.

I was thinking about this the other night while I was eating this incredibly good salmon dish out of one of my food bibles, the Dean and DeLuca Cookbook. You know how those of the Christian faith lean on their Holy bibles when they need solace and inspiration? They know when they read it that they will get the guidance they need. And I am all for it. To each his own. Especially since that is exactly how I feel when I read the DandD Cookbook. Its words never fail to provide comfort, and its pages are filled with wonderment that seems as if it was handed down from on high. Or at least from author David Rosengarten's pantry shelves. So it was with this recipe, where a simple fish, the ultimate symbol of Christianity, was led to its higher purpose when mixed with the parts of a cloven hoofed pig and other bits of God's great earth, ending up on my plate and leading me to sing its praises and proselytize to you, oh keepers of the faith, who only desireth to feed your constant hunger. So venture forth to your markets and commune with the shopkeeper, enter your kitchens as you would enter a place of worship, and take hold of your utensils with the two hands God has given you, and do good for yourselves and others! Amen.
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Broiled Salmon with Bacon, Wild Mushrooms, and Oyster Sauce
from David Rosengarten/Dean and DeLuca Cookbook

ingredients:
1-pound wild salmon fillet (you ARE buying wild salmon, not farm raised, right??-bb)
5 thin slices of smoky bacon (I used applewood smoked bacon from our local Zupan's. A bit thick but so good-bb)
1 cup very firmly packed, diced fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat leaf parsley, plus whole parsley for garnish
2 tablespoons Chinese oyster sauce
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

method:
1- Pre-heat broiler. Season the salmon fillet well with salt and pepper. Wrap 3 of the bacon slices, evenly spaced, around the salmon filet. Place fillet on roasting pan, and place under broiler. Cook until just done, about 10 minutes.

2-While the salmon is broiling, prepare the sauce: Cut the remaining two slices of bacon into small squares. Place in a heavy saute pan over high heat. Cook until medium-brown, about 2 minutes. Spill out all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon fat. Lower heat to medium-high. Add the shiitake mushrooms, stir well, and sauté until mushrooms become golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, and stir in garlic and parsley. Cook for one minute. In a bowl, combine the oyster sauce with 1/4 cup of hot water. Blend, and add to sauté pan. Cook one minute and season with the nutmeg.

3- To serve, remove the wrapped bacon from the salmon (you may discard the bacon, or use it as a garnish). Delicately slice the salmon along the natural separations, and divide among 4 plates. Top each with a quarter of the sauce, and with a flat parsley leaf for garnish.

This recipe yields 4 first-course servings.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: meatloaf: tough photo but delicious results!

A craving, simply satisfied.

Cravings are a funny thing. Very personal. Or of you're lucky you share them with someone close to you so you can indulge in them more often. Last night's dinner was particularly w centric, as it focused on one of her favorite recipes that has found its way onto her list of things of "Things I Crave". This recipe I got out of the Dean and Deluca Cookbook and made for the first time a little over a year ago and it killed. I love it when something so simple delivers huge satisfaction. Now that I think about it, it's kind of the opposite of our president, where someone so simple just continues to disappoint. Which is why this chicken leg concoction is so important, to balance out that karmic wheel. And anytime I get the chance to put some gremolata (left) on anything, chicken, fish, whatever, is an opportunity not to be missed. Just smelling that blend of chopped parsley, garlic, and lemon zest....again, so simple....fills your senses with freshness. Very mindful of spring, which is important in our never ending winter we seem to be experiencing here in PDX. On top of these (not to be redundant, but do you get the theme here?) simple to prepare broiled chicken legs, with a side of creamy, coarse grained polenta, it is, simply, perfection!
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Broiled Chicken Legs w/ Gremolata
from The Dean and Deluca Cookbook

ingredients:
8 chicken legs, boned, skin left on (you can do this yourself by cutting through the skin lengthwise to the bone and scraping down the leg until the meat comes free, then removing any attached bone or cartilage. Easier still is having your meat counter person do it, which they will happily do- BB)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For gremolata:
2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
1 medium to large garlic clove, finely minced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

method:
1- Preheat broiler. Brush both sides of chicken legs with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange on broiler pan, and turning once, cook for approximately four minutes per side

2- While chicken is cooking, prepare gremolata, mixing ingredients together in a small bowl.

3- When chicken is done, arrange on platter, sprinkle gremolata lightly on top of legs, saving some gremolata for the table. Serve immediately.

Super Bowl Bolognese

What says love more to your crew than a pot of something simmery that has been on the stovetop for over four hours? NOTHING, that's what! And what is more deliciously simmery that a big 'ol pot of Bolognese sauce? That's right, class, nothing again! So yesterday for some post Super Bowl dinner fun, I rocked an awesome batch of Bolognese sauce all day on the stove. For this version, made twice now with resounding success, I've combined the best of two recipes, making it about 80% Dean and Deluca Cookbook, and 20% Marcella's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. With the predictable 100% satisfaction factor! And man, does the house smell good with this bit of loveliness going all day, plus there's plenty of leftover sauce even after taking care of five hungry appetites. You can freeze it in smaller containers, or if you're Bolognese whore like me, eat it again in a couple of days because it's too fucking good to stay away from!!
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Bolognese Sauce
adapted from "Dean and Deluca Cookbook" and "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"

ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pound ground beef (pref. ground chuck)
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 pound chicken livers, chopped
1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped with juice
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 cup dry white wine
freshly grated nutmeg

method:
1- Heat olive oil and butter over moderate heat, Add onions and sauté u7ntil opaque, about 8 minutes. Add chopped carrot, celery, kosher salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.

2- Add ground beef, veal, and pork and crumble with a wooden spoon. Cook until meat is no longer pink, ad add chicken livers and milk (the milk is Marcella's idea, she says: "cook the meat in milk before adding tomatoes and wine to protect it from the acidic bite of the latter". Makes sense to me. -BB). Simmer for five to ten minutes until milk is mostly evaporated away.

3-Add tomato sauce, 1 cup beef stock, and white wine. Stir well and simmer, uncovered, over very low heat (an occasional bubble should break the surface) for 1-1/2 hours. Add remaining beef stock and simmer for another 1-1/2 or more hours. Add nutmeg and adjust seasonings.

Cooks note: some chefs, myself included, like to add a little cream at the end to finish the sauce. Thickens it up slightly and seems to ad just the right richness. Marcella recommends fresh tagliatelle, which we had. Also good are DeCecco penne and fusilli.

Braised Chicken Thighs with balsamic and porcinis...or "Holy Sh*t, this is good!"

Why do we cook and push our culinary boundaries? I mean besides the obvious fact that we're always hungry....okay, maybe I should say "I'm" always hungry. Well, for me, especially in January when the whole month is all about trying new recipes and finding new food goodness to stuff myself with, it's because every now and then you get that "Holy shit, this is so freaking good!!" moment. There are platefuls of food that I like. New things we make at home that get added to the regular repertoire. Then there are those rare moments when a recipe exceeds every expectation, and from the first bite you're experiencing that all too rare mouthgasm, that aforementioned "oh fuck, this is insane", the dish that makes you immediately check your calendar and schedule the next dinner party, because this is too good not to share.

w and I had that moment the other night, when searching for something new and delicious, I came across the following recipe in what ahs become over the years one of my go-to cooking inspirations, "The Dean and Deluca Cookbook". The recipes in here have been money so many times. An amazing Spanish white bean, lamb & chorizo stew; a great Bolognese; one of w's favorites, a simple dish of boned and broiled drumsticks with a perfect gremolata; and a slew of other hits. All of us who cook at home and explore new recipes have those moments where we go "WTF? Did they even cook this before they printed it?" With the DandD cookbook, it seems they actually did try everything, and nailed it down tight before committing it to print. Plus it is filled with explanations of why they do it that way and why this method works best.

Almost there.....







Ready for plating!









Which is a roundabout, overlong intro to this kick-ass dish of balsamic and porcini braised chicken thighs. This was stunningly good with rich, deep, intense, complex flavors. The sauce could not have been better or more satisfying, the thighs were perfectly moist and slightly crisp from the browning. Oh, and it is also way easy. The recipe calls for six thighs for six people. I would probably bump up the proportions, maybe eight or nine thighs and a corresponding increase in the other ingredients, because I guarantee some of your guests will be coming in for seconds. We made the six thigh dish for the two of us, had three left over with some sauce, and last night used the leftovers for an absolutely killer pasta (see bottom of post for hints). You've got to try this one, because as my friend Andrew says about his favorite ski runs, "This is SO sick"!
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Bone-In Chicken Thighs Braised with Balsamic Vinegar and Porcinis
from The Dean & Deluca Cookbook
serves 6

ingredients:
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
6 large chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on
Salt and pepper to taste
5 garlic cloves, peeled
all-purpose flour for dredging
two 1/4" thick slices of slab bacon (see cooks notes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup fruity red wine
1/2 cup beef broth
3 tablespoons industriale (read: inexpensive) balsamic
1 tablespoon arrowroot dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold water
3/4 cup drained and chopped canned tomatoes (save extra from can for leftover pasta sauce)
1 tablespoon traditional balsamic (read: aged balsamic)
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

method:
1.In a small bowl let the porcini soak in one cup hot water for 10 minutes, or until soft. Drain them well, strain the liquid, and reserve.

2.Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Chop two of the garlic cloves, adding a little salt, until a rough paste is formed. Cut a horizontal slit in each thigh, just above the bone, and divide the garlic-salt paste evenly among the six. Dredge the chicken thighs in the flour, shaking off excess, being careful not to lose the garlic-salt mix. In a large, heavy skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat, stirring, until browned and crisp. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towels. To the skillet add the chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook them, turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until it is golden and crisp. Transfer the chicken with a slotted spoon to a plate, season it with salt, and discard the aft in the skillet.

3.Mince the remaining three cloves of garlic. Add the olive oil to the skillet, and cook the garlic over moderate heat for 1 minute. Add the reserved porcini liquid, wine, broth, and and 3 tablespoons of industriale balsamic. Increase the heat to high, and boil for 5 minutes. Add the arrowroot mixture in a stream, stirring. Stir in the tomatoes and add the chicken, turning it to coat with sauce. With chicken thighs in sauce skin-side up, reduce heat to moderately low and simmer the mixture, covered for 10 minutes. Stir in the porcini and bacon, and simmer, covered, for abut 10 more minutes (do not allow the sauce to become too thick.

4.When ready to serve, stir in the one tablespoon traditional balsamic vinegar, season to taste, and sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley.

*Cooks notes: We used bacon ends from the store, which the meat guy was too happy to give us, for about 99 cents a pound. They worked perfectly, and I'd recommend this money saving tip for any dish that calls for chopped bacon for flavoring. We served the thighs with polenta with some Parmigiano-Reggiano, and they went brilliantly together!

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Leftover Chicken Thigh Pasta

All you need to do (assuming you have some leftovers!) is shred the meat off the thighs, add about five tablespoons of the leftover chopped tomatoes...you did save them, didn't you??...and heat the whole mess over low heat while the pasta water bois and the pasta cooks. Perfect with 1 pound dried fusilli or penne pasta.