Flank steak-arugula salad

This is a simple and delicious arugula salad with just a few other choice elements mixed in and then topped with slices of delicious flank steak. It would probably be even more delicious if you fired up the grill to make the flank steak but I was feeling lazy so I just did it in the broiler instead. It also would be a great use for slices of leftover steak that you've already grilled up.

First off, marinate a piece of flank steak for at least 1 hour. If you have several hours before dinner, marinate it in the fridge. If you are in a hurry, leave it out at room temperature for 45 minutes or so. Believe it or not--it will be just fine and the marinade will absorb faster. Don't let it sit out for too much longer than that though. I had about a 2-pound piece of flank steak, I pricked it all over with a fork and let it sit in a marinade of 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh chopped rosemary, and 1 slivered clove of garlic. While it was marinating, I mixed 3 tablespoons olive oil with salt, pepper, and the juice from 1 lemon to make a vinaigrette for the arugula salad. I had some beautiful, straight-from-Italy sundried tomatoes that Brian somehow snuck through customs and brought back in a vacuum-sealed bag. They are just incredible in flavor--salty yet sweet and full of Mediterranean sunshine. You don't have to have a direct-from-Italy supply--any sundried tomatoes will do fine here, or grilled, fresh tomatoes would be amazing as well. After opening the bag, I re-packed the tomatoes up in a jar and covered them with olive oil. Chopped up about 1/2 cup of them to add to the salad as well as crumbled up about 1/3 cup of goat cheese. When it was time for dinner, I brushed my grill pan with olive oil and stuck it under the broiler to get hot for about 3-5 minutes. Slapped the flank steak on there and let it go for 5 minutes per side under the broiler. As it was cooking, I tossed my arugula (you can't really measure greens, but I imagine it's about 2 cups, loosely packed, per person) in the lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. To assemble the salad, I placed the dressed arugula on a plate
Then topped the greens with the goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. I sliced the flank steak against the grain. And then arranged the salad by laying out slices of steak over the arugula salad.
Also, I'd like to point out that my smashed potatoes (thanks Jocelyn!) are developing nicely--these ones turned out much more attractive and maybe even tastier than those from last week.

Q & A: Knives!

Dear Il Piatto,
I recently bought some knives noted to be "stainless steel". However after several washes in the dishwasher they have spots, or "stains" if you will. Will the "stains" kill me? If not, how can I clean them properly? Was I wise to purchase the $3.00 (17.80 Swedish kronor) set of knives from Ikea? They included a nice wooden knife block which has not developed "stains".
--Byron

Dear Byron,
Thanks for initiating the first-and-possibly-last-ever Il Piatto Blu Q&A Session! Your query seems simple but I assure you that you have many many issues wrapped up inside, like a question piñata. This isn't just about spots, Byron. This is about knife and knife accoutrement quality. A good kitchen knife will make everything surrounding cooking easier. You'll be less frustrated by the prepping inherent to multi-step cooking and you'll get everything done a lot faster. So here's some thoughts:

- Spend some money on a decent knife (or two). You'd be wise to invest your kroner in a sturdy option and stay away from the Ikea stainless set. I have a number of chef's knives, a serrated knife, a boning knife, a cleaver and a paring knife. Out of these, I find that I most often use my mid-size chef's knife, and if you were to only buy one good knife, that would be the one to invest in. Most of my knives are from Wusthof with the exception of a couple Henckels. If you don't want one of those, my all-time favorite magazine/life guide, Cook's Illustrated, has long recommended the Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch chef's knife as an excellent, low-cost option. You can find these knives lots of places--I just linked to Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop for the Wusthof and Henckel because it is informative and because I think Fante's is a great kitchenware store that ships reliably for shut-ins.

- Keep them sharp and safe. Sharp knives cut really well and are much safer than sawing away with a dull edge. Good knives can be sharpened over and over again and should last a lifetime. Ever since Marilyn moved away to Michigan, I have lost my capacity to get my knives sharpened as a social activity, but you can get them done professionally at any kitchen shop (in Atlanta, there's a good service at Cook's Warehouse).

- Don't stick them in the dishwasher. The handles should be OK (after all, a good knife should be well-forged) but the force of the water and the bumping around will dull the blade edge. So I guess this actually falls under the "keep them sharp" category, eh? Also, of interest regarding your hapless stainless-steel knife set, those "stains" that so irk you are probably the result of your knives being in contact with plated flatware, then exposed to the combination of dishwasher detergent chemicals and hot water. It does not affect knife performance, however, and also will not kill you.

- Store them well. I'm glad you aren't storing your knives loose in the cutlery drawer with everything else. It's unsafe for you to do so, as you could reach in and get a nasty cut, but also all the bumping around will dull the blade edges. Which, I guess, would eventually solve your problem of getting cut when you reach in, but it's best to avoid the situation altogether. I myself do not use a wooden block to store my knives; probably originally this was because I didn't buy my knives in a set so I never procured one to begin with. But I don't find them aesthetically pleasing, they take up too much valuable counter space in my small kitchen, and I worry about them mildewing after being repeatedly exposed to liquids and other damp kitchen materials. So here's your chance to get to Ikea again: to pick up their fantastic magnetic wall-mounted knife rack. Spend your Swedish kroner on the Grundtal and leave the Distinkts and Hakes where you found them.

Well, that's pretty much what I know about knives. And if all this talk has made you want to go out and get one for that special someone as a gift, just remember: DON'T DO IT!! It's such bad luck.

Potato crisps

Actually, I'm not really sure what to call these--they're sort of a work in progress. I think of them as potato crisps, although I know that makes them sound like fried chips, which they are not. If you can think of a better name for them after reading this, let me know. These are totally awesome. I made them to go with the pork cutlets and green salad from the other day and I wish I had made about a billion more of them. But like I said, they were sort of an experiment, so I only made a pan's worth for trial purposes. You'll need small, itty-bitty round new potatoes for this. The little teeny red kind would work really well, I suspect. My problem was that my potatoes were a little bit too oblong, so they didn't squish right.

Get as many potatoes as you think your guests will eat. Then get a few more, because these are awesome and will get gobbled up. I had 12 on my baking sheet and about 5 people over for dinner--but like I said, smaller, rounder potatoes would work better for this anyway and you could probably fit more of those on a baking sheet. Get a big pot full of salted water and bring it to a boil. Cook your potatoes whole until they are tender when pressed down on, but are nowhere near falling apart. You'll be cooking them more in the oven and you don't want them to crumble when you smush them, as you'll see. Meanwhile, melt together 2 tablespoons olive oil with 3 tablespoons butter and set aside until your potatoes are ready. When they're softish (mine took about 20 minutes, but the time varies with size), lay them on a baking sheet and lightly press down with the tines of a fork until the potatoes squish and break open under the pressure, but hold their roundish shape. This is why it's important not to over cook them and maybe also to try and get small potatoes that are round in shape. Mine were small but odd-shaped which I think lead to breakage. If they do break, don't fret, just shape them back together as best you can. Through the power of butter, they'll still taste amazing. Anyway, however you can, get your potatoes squished and laid out evenly on a baking sheet.Brush them with the melted olive oil-butter mixture and sprinkle them liberally with salt, pepper, minced parsley and fresh minced chives. Set them to bake in an oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. You'll know they are done when they're golden brown on top and completely irresistible looking.Aren't they cute? They still look like potatoes, except they're delicious.

Pan-fried pork with rosemary and lemon

The other night I made this for an assortment of people. Ali usually (not always, but usually) isn't into pork-based dinners, so I used a few pieces of chicken cutlet along with the thin-cut pork loin cutlets. What it is is a simple marinade for pork and chicken, then a breading for crispiness and a quick pan-fry up. It's actually pretty much similar to the chicken milanese I make often, except with extra flavor from the marinade.

In a really big bowl, lay out a pound or so of thin sliced pork loin cutlets (and a few chicken breast cutlets if Ali is coming for dinner too). Add the zest and juice from at least one lemon, kosher salt, fresh black pepper, a pinch of red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 clove thin sliced garlic and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary.Let these ingredients chill out together for at least 30 minutes prior to dinnertime. They'll get nice and flavorful if you give them enough time.When you're ready to make dinner, bread each cutlet in a mixture of 3/4 cup breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup grated provolone (or other favorite hard cheese) pepper, salt and 1 teaspoon dried rosemary. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and saute the cutlets in two batches over medium-high heat until browned on both sides (about 3-4 minutes per side). Serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over top.

Radishes and summer salad

This is a really quick post in favor of radishes. They're pretty! I bought a beautiful bunch of candy-colored radishes...even though they are not the total spectacle of my all-time favorite (the now-out-of-season springtime watermelon radishes from Morningside Farmers Market), these were pretty lovely in their own right.They can be really dramatic looking.Those white ones are from the same bunch, which is some crazy plant genetics. They're a little more mild in flavor too. There were also some gorgeous light purple ones in this bunch.So what did I do with these radishes anyway? They ended up in a green salad composed of baby lettuce, goat cheese, golden raisins, pistachios and tossed in lemon-olive oil vinaigrette.

Boiled peanuts

Not everybody lives in a peanut state. Wisconsin, for example, is not at all a peanut state. Georgia, on the other hand, clearly is. What this means is that I can find big piles of fresh, green peanuts at my market and boil them up before dinner. Most people just boil them until tender in a really salty pot of water. That briny treatment is what you get at most roadside stands too--a hot, salty, delicious pile of peanuts. Simple but effective. I used to doctor mine up quite a bit--depending on what I felt like doing, sometimes I'd throw pickling spices or bay leaves in with the salt water. But these days I just toss the hot boiled peanuts in red chile oil for spice and call it a day. I can always get the classic kind while on the road somewhere, after all...

Take a pound of Georgia-grown green peanuts and wash the dirt off them. Bring a big pot of super salty water to a boil. How much salt? Taste it--if it tastes salty, you have enough. Add your peanuts and boil them uncovered until they are squishy soft. It usually takes mine about 25 minutes. Sometimes (like this last time, for example) I add cloves of whole garlic because then the cloves become soft and delicious along with the peanuts. It is definitely not traditional but it's good. When the peanuts are soft, drain them and toss with chile oil. Or not. It doesn't matter as long as you eat them hot. They're so irresistible that they (eventually) even got Ali off the internet to come over and eat some. Serve them with an extra bowl for your guests to dump the shells in.

Green bean and potato salad

So my mom always makes something very similar to this in the summer. When I was a kid I hated it. HATED it. I'm not sure why. I think I have unresolved potato issues. I have always found them boring and bland when they are simply boiled, and since this recipe relies on potatoes in their plain boiled state, it is totally yanking my chain. But! It turns out that lovely green beans and potatoes fresh from the summertime farmers market are extraordinary with a simple treatment, and that's all this is.

Take equal amount green beans and small new potatoes. I used probably ½ pound of each. Trim the green beans down to about 1 ½ inch pieces and set aside. Cut the potatoes in half, then lay each half down on the cut side and slice again to cut them into quarter. If your potatoes are teeny to begin with, this should be small enough. Otherwise, just cut your larger potatoes into small chunks whatever way possible. Now get a pot of salted water heated up on the stove. When it is boiling rapidly, toss in your potato chunks. Keep an eye on them--the time to cook will vary depending on how many you have put in and how big the pieces are. Less of either of those factors = less cooking time. My small quarters of potatoes took less than 10 minutes to become tender but not crumbly. You should fish one out and try to stick a fork in it--should have some resistance to it still but definitely not be raw. At that point, dump in the green beans and let them cook for another 3 minutes. Fish one out and bite it to see if it's done to your liking. If so, drain everything and put in a bowl big enough to mix up in. While the veggies are still hot, pour a vinaigrette over them that you made from 2 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar or the juice from one lemon, salt and pepper. I used white wine vinegar the time I made this recently. A small spoonful of dijon mustard is an interesting variation in the dressing too. Anyway you make it is fine--a matter of personal taste. Toss it gently with the still-hot vegetables, making sure to use a light hand so you don't mash your potatoes. Fresh chives snipped in at the very end would also be a great and very summery addition.

And now, a small interlude to point out that Melanie has discovered a really great new way to get drunk. It's wine in a box! Apparently it keeps for 4 weeks or so, not that we've had it around long enough to find out. And believe it or not, but the wine is pretty decent. Anyway, I love the packaging and the fun of the little tap. Just pour yourself another! And another!

Balsamic raspberries

The big theme lately is recipes so easy that they are barely even legit. This one totally fits into that mold--balsamic raspberries are a great summer fruit dessert and have a non-cloyingly sweet, elusive flavor. I asked Ryan what he thought the flavor on the raspberries was and he thought about it for a minute and then guessed "chocolate?" So it's hard to pin down but it is lovely. You can also slice up strawberries and do the same with them.

I tossed about 12 ounces of fresh raspberries with 2 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Let them macerate for 20 minutes.I served the raspberries over small scoops of vanilla yogurt. They'd also be great over ricotta drizzed with honey, or greek-style yogurt.

Kohlrabi

A quick post on one of my favorite vegetables that is now in season and widely available at farmer's markets. Kohlrabi is a weird looking alien vegetable that happens to be delicious. It's pale green and has a wonderful flavor sort of like broccoli stalks. Since the stalks are my favorite part of broccoli and broccoli is my favorite vegetable, it makes sense that I like kohlrabi. You'd think I could just cut out the middle man and make kohlrabi my favorite vegetable instead, but I guess I'm just full of surprises.
I prepare kohlrabi very simply--just trim off any greens, cut them in half, peel the halves, then slice them up into little half-moons. I then steam the pieces in my vegetable steamer over a little bit of water--you can just use a pot with a tight-fitting lid over boiling water if you don't have a steamer handy. When they are steamed tender but not squishy soft (about 5 minutes) drain them well and toss with a pat of butter and salt and pepper. Delicious and simple.

Tomato and mozzarella

This doesn't hardly count as a recipe it is so easy. And actually, I'm almost positive that I've written it down before. But that was before I had my own camera to post pictures with! So you can enjoy the loveliness of this simple appetizer and maybe you'll want to make your own with the gorgeous tomatoes that should be showing up soon in farmer's markets.

Slice one (or two or three...) tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Drizzle them with the best olive oil you can find and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay them out on a plate. Take as many pieces of fresh (packed in water) mozzarella as you like and slice into rounds or halves. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, as you did the tomatoes. Lay them together attractively or rustically with the tomato slices. Tear some basil up by hand and tuck it in and around the tomato and mozzarella pieces. Have Betsy bring some wine over on a hot summer night and eat while gossiping. Only leave a couple pieces for Ryan. He was late.

Pan-fried chicken with lemon

I love fried chicken but I really can't even think about attempting it in my own home. Although it is flavorful and delicious, it's also a very intimidating and work-intensive process, and that is simply not how I roll. But I was craving it and thought it would be the right sort of thing to accompany a bounty of summer vegetable dishes (brought on by an overly indulgent trip to the farmer's market, perhaps?), so I made a version of a crispy chicken dish that gets enlivened by a bunch of fresh lemon to fill in for the punchy flavor of real, southern fried chicken.

You'll need one whole chicken, cut up. Mine was a big one, about 9 pounds. Even though I was at Whole Foods instead of my usual beloved DeKalb market, I just asked the guy behind the counter to cut it up for me--butchers will usually do that for you. Take your chicken pieces and toss them until well-coated in a bag or big bowl in a mixture of the following ingredients: 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1 teaspoon paprika, salt and lots of fresh ground pepper. Heat up 1/3 cup oil in a heavy large pot. I used olive oil and my big cast iron dutch oven, but any oil and any pot will do. Peanut oil would be good too, if you have it. When your oil is good and sizzly hot, place about half your chicken pieces in it, skin side down. I say "half" because that's how many fit in my dutch oven at a time--yours may be bigger or smaller. Don't be crowding your chicken though. When the chicken pieces have a great looking golden brown crust going, flip them over and let the other side get the same--it's probably about 7 minutes per side, over high heat. But keep a good eye on them. When both sides are done, remove to an oven safe baking dish and do it again with the second batch. Slice one lemon into thin slices and cover the golden brown chicken pieces with the slices along with another sprinkle of paprika, salt and a grind of pepper. I also added a large clove of garlic, sliced thinly, over the top. Stick the chicken in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. You want them cooked through but not dried out so cut open a big piece of thigh and check them out at about 25 minutes to see how it looks. When they're done through, haul them out and squeeze more lemon juice over all. Oh, it's pretty damn good, I don't mind telling you.

Quick chard sauté

This is so quick and easy and the usual way that I make greens but Ali liked it the other day, so I guess I should write it down for the record. It's a good thing to do with a big pile of greens from the farmers market that you bought thinking you wanted to be healthy, but now you just don't know what to do. I used rainbow chard, but any other type of chard or kale will work as well. Kale is a little tougher; I find chard is a more mellow flavor. Spinach is good but be forewarned that it contains more water so the sauté ends up more liquidy.

Take a big pile of washed and dried chard and make a stack of about 5-8 leaves at a time. Or you can roll them up into a cigar--that works too. Either way, slice down across your stack/roll and make a chiffonade of the greens. Mince one small Vidalia onion. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion over medium-high heat until soft and lightly golden--about 5-7 minutes. Add your sliced chard and continue to sauté until it is wilted and reduced in size (another 5 or so minutes). Kale or tougher greens will take a little bit longer, so taste-test if you're not sure. Add to this a small handful of golden raisins (or dried cranberries, if you have those around instead). Remove from heat and stir in the juice from 1 lemon, salt and lots of fresh ground pepper. If you have some toasted nuts, that's great on top as well (I usually have pinenuts, but almond, walnut, anything is a good variation).

Whole grilled chicken

You all know how much I love to roast chickens. It's easy and delicious and it seems like I constantly am doing it, doesn't it? In the summer, it's fun to move from roasting a whole chicken indoors in the oven to grilling a whole spatchcocked chicken outside. Beyond the obvious advantages of not heating up your whole apartment and setting off your fire alarm (even if you do have your own personal medical professional to fan the smoke away), a whole chicken on the grill just tastes amazing--juicy, moist and full of smokey delicious flavor. Best of all it is so so easy and still manages to look impressive for dinner. The only even slightly tricky thing you have to do is to spatchcock the bird first. What does that mean? Well, I took a bunch of pictures so I could make the preparation process seem more clear.

Get your whole chicken and a pair of poultry shears. Lay your bird out with the backbone facing up and cut into the back, along both sides of the backbone and remove it. There! That's the hardest part and you'll find it is quite easy. When the backbone is removed, flatten the bird with your hand--it will squish flat quite easily.

Here's what I additionally do to make it easier to flip on the grill: on the other side of the chicken, cut a slit in the skin between the thigh and the chicken's ass And tuck the end of the drumstick in to keep it packed up. Do the same to the other side. Tuck the wings under so they won't burn. Now your chicken is spatchcocked! Drizzle it on both sides with a healthy 3 tablespoons or so of olive oil, and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Now put the chicken on the grill over medium-high coals and let it go for 45 minutes or so. Mostly cover it to keep all your smoke going, especially if you use aromatic hardwood charcoal, which I vastly prefer to the chemical-soaked briquettes. Keep a good eye on it and flip the bird every now and then to keep it evenly browning. If you want to, you can do what I did and brush on a simple glaze in the last 15 minutes of grilling. I mixed a few tablespoons of bottled BBQ sauce with the juice from 1/2 a lime, salt, pepper and a couple of splashes from the glass of chardonnay that I was drinking. If you don't have any BBQ sauce handy, you can use tomato paste or even ketchup. Try adding tamari and brown sugar for a variation (leave out the salt then). Brush the glaze over your chicken, let it grill for 5 minutes, then turn it over and brush the other side, then leave it for 5 minutes. Turn it over again and brush it lightly one more time and 5 minutes later, you are all done. With a glaze-shiny, perfectly juicy, spatchcocked chicken! And you barely did any work at all, hotshot.

Note: One chicken works great for 2 people, with a few leftovers. If you have a bunch of people coming over, just multiply it out with as many more chickens that you'll need and have room on your grill for. It is an easy and delicious grill option for a dinner party that also makes you look like you know how to cook.

Grilled vegetable salad

The keywords for this salad are things like "bounty" and "variety" and "creativity." Go to your farmers market and peruse the vegetables--I found early summer squash, baby zucchini and sweet Vidalia onions. There were also beautiful lettuces of all varieties and gorgeous English cucumbers. Non-farmer's market salad additions included grape tomatoes (although there are some locally grown hot house tomatoes available already), pine nuts, goat cheese and big cremini mushrooms. Assemble whatever your beautiful farmer's market veggies might be, slice them up and grill them after a bath in a simple marinade. Lay out over dressed greens, sprinkle with whatever accoutrements catch your fancy, and enjoy! Here's my version of this improvisational salad...

First prep all your vegetables. I used 1 small zucchini and 2 small yellow crookneck squash. Slice the zucchini in half through the middle and then slice the pieces into half-moon chunks and then into long batons. Or you can just cut them into rounds if you want. Slice the yellow squash into diagonal slices of about 1/2" width each. Place the zucchini and squash slices aside in a large bowl. Get your big sweet onion and slice into thick rounds, then place in the bowl as well. Find some big cremini mushrooms and slice them in half. If they aren't so big, just leave them whole. Put the mushrooms into the large bowl with the other veggies and cover everything with a simple marinade. I used 5 tablespoons olive oil mixed with 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Mix the veggies up well and let them marinate for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Get your grill revved up and lay out your vegetables over medium heat, turning them often and moving them around so they don't burn up. The mushrooms will get all shrively and delicious and the squash/zucchini should get yummy looking grill marks all over. As each vegetable finishes cooking (this is pretty much an eyeballing thing--mine took about 15-20 minutes all together), remove it to a plate and set aside. Meanwhile, in a big salad bowl, mix up your greens with a sliced cucumber, halved grape tomatoes and a simple vinegrette. I made mine with the juice from one lemon shaken together with 3 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. That's it! After all your vegetables are grilled up, toss them very lightly with the dressed green salad and top with crumbled goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. Oh, you will be one happy camper.

Strawberry rhubarb compote

Strawberries are so perfectly in season right now in Georgia, I have been buying them at the Morningside farmer's market every weekend. A springtime delicacy that I really miss down here though is rhubarb. I don't think we have the climate for it, it's really a cool-weather plant. This is shored up by the fact that when I was discussing the possibility of making this compote with Melanie, she kind of thought about it for a minute and then said she'd never had fresh rhubarb. As she is a Georgia girl born and raised, I took this as further evidence of it not occurring in nature in these climes. I was lucky enough to fall in the good graces of a rhubarb connection however, and procured a couple pounds of this wonderful vegetable. They met up with our incredible local strawberries, and everything got stewed together into a really easy compote.
Cut up a pound of rhubarb stalks into 1 inch chunks. Put them in a pot with 3/4 cup each water and sugar. Set it over medium-high heat and let it stew until the rhubrab is falling apart, about 15 minutes. Now here is a cautionary tale for you: Do not become distracted and ignore your pot. All that sugar will totally burn hell out of your nice dutch oven and you will be sorry for days as you try to clean it out.
Drat. I am so foolish. Anyway, when the rhubarb is falling apart, but before you burn your pot, add in a pound or so of fresh, sliced strawberries. Let them get soft along with the rhubarb for about another 5 minutes, stirring often. That's really all you need to do and you will have the delicious, saucy, classic combo of of strawberry-rhubarb. You can jazz it up by cooking it in orange juice or adding some liquor if you like. Mel has been pouring it over plain yogurt for breakfast, or it could be the base for a baked dessert with a crumbly topping. Otherwise, enjoy it as we did, over vanilla ice cream.

Try not to let it get snatched away though.

BBQ pork: I learnt cooking skills in the kitchen of Shaolin Monastary

I'm calling this BBQ pork because that's what it is referred to as in my all-time favorite movie, God of Cookery. In fact, permit me to rhapsodize on the merits of this glorious cinematic achievement for just a minute here, in case you are unfamiliar. It's the story of a Hong Kong celebrity chef named Steven Chow (who is, conveniently enough, played by the actor/director also named Steven Chow) who has risen to power-mad heights but through a series of down-turning events must learn and prove his worth back again. It is completely hilarious, brilliant, romantic, action-packed, hilarious, food porny, features the Eighteen Brassmen of Shaolin Temple, and has musical numbers! Chances are if we've spent much time together, I've made you watch it with me at some point. If not--you really should go rent it, it's great. I have the poster hanging in my kitchen, actually.


So! BBQ pork. In the movie, Karen Mok's character makes this for Steven Chow and he cries. It turns up again later and causes even more crying. Mine is not that good, but it is a really good use for leftover ribs or whatever else you brought home from Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q. If you, sadly, don't have a great barbeque place that often results in leftovers in your fridge you can use roast pork from the grocery store or leftovers from something else you cooked. Whatever it is, cut it into thin strips and set aside. Cook up a bunch of rice--I made brown rice but that isn't traditional, it's just what I generally make at home. I sliced up 3 small heads of bok choy (fantastic-looking and locally grown!) and set aside. Got 2 tablespoons sesame oil heating in a pan and added in 2 thinly sliced cloves of garlic, 4 minced scallions (both green and white parts), plus 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes. When the garlic was lightly golden (about 1 minute over high heat), I added in the bok choy and stirred it around over high heat until wilty, which took about 3 minutes. Turned down the heat to medium, cleared a space in the center of the pan (push all the bok choy around to the edges in a ring) and added in the pork. Since it is already cooked, it just needs to reheat and possibly get a little flavor. For seasoning, I used 2 teaspoons black bean paste and a little soy sauce and kind of mixed it into the pork. While the bok choy and pork are going, get a little pan going with oil over high heat and fry as many eggs as you have people eating. Keep them runny in the center and let the whites become crispy around the edges. When the eggs are perfectly fried, assemble each bowl with a mound of rice, topped with a pile of bok choy, then some pork, then put the fried egg over all. Sprinkle it with sesame seeds, if you like.


I forgot to take a picture of it as it cooked or in its preparatory state, so you'll just have to realize that is was good enough to be totally devoured.

Everybody loves Jones

This is a long awaited (and oft-requested) quick shoutout to a couple of people who are a big part of dinnertime at my house. Melanie and Jeremy are my beloved downstairs neighbors and the people I turn to as guinea pigs for cooking (Mel: "I don't love it..."), as emergency responders for fanning the smoke alarm when it inevitably goes off during chicken roasting, and as my co-conspirators for drinking too much wine on school nights. They're always up for a trip to the farmer's market and always willing to say "eh, screw it, let's just go out for Mexican." I consider myself quite lucky to have my nearest and dearest friends living right downstairs. And this past weekend, Jeremy did something absolutely incredible--he graduated medical school and is now officially our very own Dr. Jones. So, just because they're both awesome, and just because he's now a real doctor, this here's a special post to celebrate Melanie and Jeremy. Thanks, you guys. And way to go.

Braised beef short ribs on horseradish potato purée

This is what I made for the main dish when my mom was visiting in town. It went really well with the spring veggie ragout and I was really impressed with the flavorful-ness of beef short ribs. They're cut along cross-ways, rather than by separating out the long way by each rib section, like you often see with pork ribs. Beef short ribs are cheap and delicious--they require a bit of cooking time but are really easy. Serve these rich cuts of meat over something piquant, such as the horseradish potatoes here, to counterbalance.

I got about 2 1/2 pounds of beef short ribs. Browned them in olive oil over medium-high heat on all sides in my large cast iron dutch oven. You may need to do this in batches--I know I certainly did. They will take about 8 minutes per side. When they've all been browned, remove and set aside. Back in the same pot, sauté 3/4 cup each chopped onion and carrot until soft and lightly browned (about 8 minutes), then add 3 cloves minced garlic and continue to sauté for another minute. Add a 16-ounce can of chopped tomatoes (or tomato puree, whichever you have handy) and bring it all to a boil. Add in 1 ½ cups of a good red wine and boil for 8 minutes (I keep recommending 8 minutes as the optimal time to do things for this recipe, don't know why that is). Now add in 4 cups of stock (I had a good homemade chicken stock in the fridge so I used that, you can use beef or veal stock if you manage it and this will be even more delicious) and bring it to a simmer with a pinch of dried thyme and 2 bay leaves tossed in there too. When it is at a simmer, add back in your beef ribs along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate you removed them to. Cover the pot and stick it in an 250 degree oven to braise for 3 hours. When it emerges you will be so happy.

These beef ribs create an amazing sauce that need a good bed to be served on. I made horseradish potatoes and it was really easy. It's not like you won't have the time, what with the short ribs braising for 3 freaking hours. Peel and cut into chunks about 1 ½ pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes. Boil the chunks in salted water for 20 minutes, or until whenever they are soft. Drain them lightly, return to the pot and mash really well with ½ cup cream, 4 tablespoons butter, salt, pepper and 4 tablespoons prepared horseradish. You can purée this through a food mill for a really creamy texture. To serve, mound some of the potatoes on a dish and swirl it around with a spoon to flatten. Over the potatoes, rest 2 or 3 short ribs and ladle some of the delicious sauce over the top.

Spring vegetable ragout

My mother was here visiting over the weekend...it was fun and exhausting. I think she has more energy than anyone I know. She's like a tiny, Italian perpetual motion machine. We had a great time and made a trip to the Morningside farmers market. There were tomatoes (although they were probably not grown outdoors), and strawberries, fava beans, lettuce, arugula, green garlic and tons of other produce available. I thought these perfect springtime veggies would go well in a fresh ragout with some lemon juice, dill, and and a little cream. We had Betsy, Ryan and Paul over and everyone got to hang out with mom, drink wine, learn to juggle, etc.

Start with 8 tiny baby artichokes. If you can't find them, you can use big ones and cut them up into quarters (or use good quality artichoke hearts for a different style but equally delicious dish). Steam or boil them until tender--about 30 minutes. Fish them out and slice in half lengthwise and set aside. Shell about a pound of fava beans. I know it's tedious as hell (you have to shuck them out of the pod, then skin each one) so if you don't feel like preparing a whole pound, don't worry about it. The amounts here are very flexible. Or you could use frozen shelled edamame instead, if you don't have fresh fava beans. Thinly slice 3 green garlic (or scallions can replace) using a few inches of the pale green part in addition to the white bulb. Saute the green garlic/scallion in 2 tablespoons butter until soft and fragrant. Add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, a pinch of salt, your shelled fava beans and 1/2 cup green peas. Saute everything together in the butter for 1 minute, then add 1/2 cup chicken stock and continue to stir. After 5-7 minutes over medium-high heat, add a teaspoon of dill (use fresh dill if you have it, but add at least twice as much), and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Stir everything gently together and add the baby artichoke halves at the very end, just to heat through. Fresh mint would be wonderful scattered over the top to serve but I didn't have any.