More Home Cookin': Risotto Two Ways

by Xani



I am a very lucky girl. I have a great family, an awesome home, a busy social calendar, and a wonderful job. I guess having ANY job in this economy is a wonderful thing, but mine is EXTRA wonderful-- I work with cool people on interesting issues, have a corner office with a view of Camden Yards, travel to fantastic locales, and (jealous yet??) every once in a while, one of my coworkers, knowing my love for all things culinary, brings me a foodie present. And a few weeks ago, I got a very special present indeed...



This represents only a small portion of the total amount of saffron

Saffron! Fragrant, gorgeous, expensive saffron-- and lots of it.
Saffron isn't something I necessarily keep around the house-- I've only ever bought it in those teeny, tiny little containers which cost $8 and hold approximately three strands. But now, thanks to a very generous co-worker with family in the middle east, I am absolutely RICH was saffron. I'm considering storing it in a fireproof safe. And I'm considering lots and lots of recipes which showcase its gorgeous color and aroma.



My first recipe is a classic: Risotto Milanese . It was also the perfect Pantry Raid meal to cook on a weeknight when I had invited my buddy Jason over for dinner, but had no time to hit the store. I had the onion, arborio rice, Parmesan, and homemade chicken stock on hand-- all that was left to do was a little stirring (ok, a LOT of stirring), throw together a little salad, and voila!






The recipe is pretty basic, and I've done risotto before , but the real magic here is how you steep the strands of saffron in the broth while it heats, which infuses it with the flavor and color. Then, as you gradually add it to the rice, you see it turn that gorgeous yellow color right before your eyes!





Jason and I thoroughly enjoyed our dinner (and I especially like his Iron Chef-style commentary while I cooked-- Thanks dude!), but a good portion of the risotto went uneaten. A few days later, feeling too lazy to make arancini , I opted to create a sortof "risotto kugel ." I mixed a beaten egg into the leftover risotto, spread it into a buttered (vintage) le crueset skillet, topped with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and (of course) more butter, and baked in a hot oven until heated through and golden brown on top. Then I served it up in slices alongside a few pieces of The World's Best Broccoli (simply roasted at high heat with garlic, olive oil, and red chili flakes, then topped with lemon juice, zest, and Parmesan while hot out of the oven-- delicious!).






I've hardly made a dent in the saffron, so please send me your favorite ways to use this prized spice. So far I'm pretty happy with these two delicious, hearty meals that were relatively simple to make, but oh-so flavorful and perfectly cozy for a winter that just won't quit. I'm actually writing this post from Chicago (lucky me!) where the weather is still decidedly wintry... all the more reason to indulge in comfort food! Stay tuned for yummy Chicago eats!


X

Selling Ourselves for Charity

by Erin

 

This week is the Maryland Public Interest Law Program's (MPILP) annual Goods and Services Auction, a silent and live auction and annual tradition at the Law Scool.  The money raised from the auction goes to grants for students who want to work for the public interest (usually for non-profit organizations, for the indigent or disabled, etc.), and thus work for free.  These grants allow them to accept these jobs without fear of starving all summer!  Long-time readers will remember that last year, we donated a basket of goodies to the cause and had a blast doing it.

 This year, however, we've had a few requests for something different.  This year, we've donated an evening with us!  Now, get your minds out of the gutter.  We mean that we are offering an evening of eating and drinking in Baltimore for up to three people, where we'll make at least three stops: drinks, dinner, and dessert. The point is to show folks some of the best underground places to eat in our fair city.  We'll provide the transportation and the expertise (and maybe buy you a slice of pie), but otherwise it's Dutch treat.  Then, at the end, the lucky winners will be featured in a blog post!  Fame and fortune, comin' right up!

So, this is a shameless plug to encourage you to attend the auction (such a good cause!) and bid on our donation!  There will be a lot of great items/services at the auction, so please attend if you can.  Here are the details:

When: Thursday, March 5, 2009 from 6:00-9:00

Where: University of Maryland School of Law, Westminster Hall (500 W. Baltimore St.)

Cost: $40 in advance, $50 at the door, $15 for students, $25 for staff

More details here...

 

We hope to see you here!  And stay tuned for a great post about our adventures with the winner(s)!

EP

Kitchen Stadium Challenge: Lobster Pot Pie

by Erin

I know what you're thinking: "Enough with the restaurant reviews! Don't you broads cook??" Well yes, yes we do. And this past weekend we did some serious cooking. We're talking almost 6 hours straight. Lives [of lobsters and oysters] were lost, almost every pot and tool in the kitchen was used (even the chinois!), and we only made one dish!

Last weekend, Xani and I headed out to Blackacre, our parents' wonderful home on Maryland's Eastern Shore, to visit them (and the dog!) and do some serious cooking in honor of Xani's 30th birthday. We decided to attempt a dish that we have been talking about doing, literally, for years: lobster pot pie! We enjoyed this dish at Michael Mena in Vegas, and while it was very good, we felt that it had some weaknesses (soupy sauce, not thick enough for pot pie; the crust was very thin, not fluffy/flaky enough). This encouraged us to attempt it ourselves on the special occasion of Xani's big 3-0.

Xani and I left Baltimore on Saturday morning but we had to pick up a few veggies and of course, the lobsters, before we headed out to the shore. We went to Fresh World International Supermarket, a combination of Asian market and Latin market, and it was GIGANTIC with lots of exotic produce, meats, fish, and snacks. We picked up the items on our short list, including four, 2-3 lb lobsters for the pot pie.

After a quick 2-hour drive east, we arrived at Blackacre and got cooking IMMEDIATELY. The parents were not home - they were in College Park watching the Maryland Terps DEFEAT North Carolina in a fantastic basketball game!! So, Xani and I had free reign over the house and the kitchen (though not the dog - he was roaming free). We were basically following Ina Garten's LPP recipe, though she used pre-cooked lobster and fish stock. We needed to cook our lobsters and then make our own lobster stock from their shells and other yummy ingredients.

So, the game plan was to cook the lobsters, take out the meat, make the stock, make the roux/pot pie filling, cook some veggies for the pot pie, assemble and finally bake. Whew! We started the water to boil so we could cook the lobsters. While the water boiled, we prepped veggies for the lobster stock. Then it was time for the boys and girls to go into the hot tub. It still freaks me out a little to boil lobsters, but I know it's necessary and Xani tells me to just think of them as gigantic bugs so I don't feel so bad?

Anyway, once the lobsters were cooked, we took the meat out and cut up the shells to go into the stock. We used a recipe from this chowhound post as a guideline. We fried up the shells in some oil, then once they were browned up, we added veggies, vermouth, and water, and cooked it at a low heat for about 2 hours. During those two hours, we watched the aforementioned amazing Terps game.

Cutting up the shells for easier frying pre-stock

The beginnings of the stock

OMG...

Xani and Gellie enjoy the game!

After the stock was done, we strained it and set it aside and began the prep on the actual pot pie. We mostly followed Ina's recipe here but made a few changes in ingredients to fit our tastes/pantry (e.g., replacing fennel with garlic, replacing Pernod with Sherry). We started by sauteing some garlic and onions up in -- what else? -- bacon fat (we just happened to have some on hand), and then sprinkled in the flour to start the roux. After that cooked for a while to become a blonde color, we added the stock, sherry, and some salt and pepper. We watched it thicken up and look just like pot pie filling!

The roux begins...

Xani devilishly adding heavy cream

Meanwhile we cooked up some mini-potatoes to put in the pot pie (another change from Ina's recipe), and cut up the lobster meat into bite-size pieces. I had to seriously restrain myself during this part so I would not gobble it all up!

How much meat did we get out of 9 lbs of lobster?

1.5 lbs! That's it! Still delicious though...

Then it was time to put everything together. We put frozen peas and pearl onions, plus the lobster meat into the sauce to heat through. We knew it wouldn't take long for the puff pastry to cook, so we wanted everything to basically be hot when it went into the oven. We placed the potatoes in the bottom of the pan, poured the sauce with the lobster over the top, and then placed the rolled out puff pastry dough over the top of everything. We brushed it with an egg wash and into the oven it went for about 15-20 minutes.

While we were waiting for the LPP to finish, we enjoyed a first course of delicious oysters (I learned how to shuck them!), followed by a second course of Mom's famous caesar salad. Soooo good. Sooo garlicky.

Then, the pot pie was done! And it was awesome!

Plating

It had great lobster flavor from the stock and the lobster meat itself, the meat was not overcooked (a concern of ours), and the sauce inside was creamy and thick -- take that Michael Mena!! The puff pastry worked well and was light and flaky. I'm glad we didn't bother making our own dough - the recipe was complicated enough as it was! The potatoes and peas were great, but we all agreed we could do without the onions.

At the end of dinner we had a little birthday suprise for Xani: cupcakes! Mom and Dad picked them up from Touche Touchet Bakery in Columbia, and we enjoyed red velvet and yellow with chocolate icing, along with some super-strong coffee (the BCD parents use espresso beans for their coffee - yum). We also had coconut cupcakes waiting in the wings, but we were too full and never got to them. They were left in the garage (staging area where Dad put in the candles for the surprise), and the next morning, we discovered that Gellie ATE THEM! Wrappers and all. The box was completely in tact too. I swear he's much smarter than we give him credit for.

Guilty as sin...

What a meal! It was a lot of work but so much fun to make this dish with Xani, and enjoy it with the whole fam. Cooking in that kitchen is the best!! Next up in Kitchen Stadium: sweetbreads!

Happy 30th, Xani! I love you and I have loved celebrating with you! Here's to the next 30 - nay, 60 - years!

xoxo,
EP

ps. Before we headed out to the shore, we headed to Dunkin' Donuts because we had received coupons to try their new Waffle Breakfast Sandwich for free! Hey, sometimes it pays to be a food blogger. The verdict: the sandwich was good! We love waffles (especially Xani) and it was a nice little bite for breakfast. Sort of like a McGriddle but better, although I could do without the cheese. We got a few donuts too, as insurance (credit default swap?) just in case the sandwich was a flop, but they weren't necessary. We enjoyed them later in the day while we watched the Terps...

NYC Birthday Blowout: Part Three (with Dragons!)

by Xani

Our final day in NYC... always so bittersweet! (Mmm... bittersweet.) Um, anyway, our Sunday was jam-packed with eating plans. First stop: gotta have bagels!

Bagels!!

Deep into one of the two gigantic bags of bagels....

We walked down to Ess-a Bagels, just a few blocks from our hotel. Ess-a bagels are a favorite of the BCD family, and for years have been brought to the Podolny patriarch from NY to Connecticut, as a peace offering. This time, we bought two dozen bagels ("to go") with the intention of smuggling most of them home to MD. But we HAD to eat one, right away, straight up, hot out of the oven...

Gah! Bagels as big as your face...

Later that day, after checking out of the hotel (Goodbye Marcel at Gramercy, you are awesome!) and dumping our bags at Ann and Steven's, we cabbed it down to Chinatown for some dim sum, where we found PURE CHAOS.

Apparently that Sunday was one of the final days of the Chinese New Year celebration, meaning Chinatown was overrun with people, dragons, and drums. The roads were all blocked off and confetti and streamers were being shot into the air as the dragons danced in and out of the banks and other businesses to bring prosperity in the coming year. (Cue joke about needing a "dragon provision" in the stimulus package.) Needless to say, the dim-sum places were PACKED.

But, undaunted, we met up with not only Lauren and her friend Sarah, but also cousins Doug and Wayhwa, and their adorable son, Ethan. They were in NYC for a brief visit (after their visit to Vegas for Sheldon's birthday bash) before heading home to Beijing (note: these are the best people to have dim sum with!), and it was pure coincidence that we were in town to celebrate my birthday (again!) with me. After a wait with a crazy MOB at Jing Fong, our number was finally called and we took an escalator up, up, up to a huge dining room exactly like the ones I remember from my trips to Hong Kong. Big tables, brightly lit, and the all-important carts roaming around the restaurant. One of the best things about dim sum is that the food hits the table before you even get your coat off...

I won't even try to recap everything we ate. As you can see, the table was overloaded with food. It just kept coming and coming... and everything was delicious! Dumplings with all kinds of filling, hargow, shumai, little fried savory pastries, chicken feet, chinese broccoli, something resembling gefilte fish, the best sweet and sour pork ever, and more and more until we couldn't eat another bite! While stuffing ourselves, we heard the sound of drums from outside getting louder and louder, until finally the drums (and accompanying dragon) were in the restaurant, dancing and drumming and driving away the evil spirits. It was quite a scene, and it was LOUD... all conversation ceased until the dragons and drums made their exit. We followed shortly after, having enjoyed a wonderful meal and experience with great friends and family!

Dragon blessing the owner of the restaurant

We strolled through Chinatown and into Soho, when Ann realized we were just around the corner from Eileen's Special Cheesecake, an NYC landmark for tasty desserts. We picked up a few coffees and a selection of their cheesecake "minis" and headed back to Ann and Steven's for -- what else -- a mini-cheesecake tasting.

Theme of the weekend :)

We got five flavors: classic plain, oreo, raspberry, chocolate, and espresso. The cake was light and fluffy, not super-dense like some other cheesecakes. It seems like this is one of those culinary fights like soft v. hard matzo balls and NYC v. Chicago-style pizza. Everyone's got a preference and is fiercely loyal to it. I enjoyed the fluffy cheesecake, which had a nice, substantial crust. All of them had lovely flavors. The only criticism was that the espresso one was more chocolate-y than coffee-y. Ah well. It was a nice, sweet treat to end our time in the Big Apple, and a NY classic at that!

I cannot say thank you enough to all my friends and family who made this birthday weekend (and the weeks of celebration before and after) so fun and fabulous. I love you all!

We heart NY, and will be back soon, probably in May after EP's exams and graduation. We've already started compiling the list of places to hit up next time!!


xoxo

X

NYC Birthday Blowout: Part Two

by Erin

After our ridiculously fun Day One in NYC to celebrate the Big 3-0 with Xani, we awoke and headed straight for the best hangover relief: Shake Shack! First great thing of the day: no line at the Shack! Apparently this is HUGE - there's always a line. So, we walked right up to the window and chatted up the friendly order-taker-guy. When we told him we were from Baltimore, his reaction was: "OMG are you on The Wire?!" Honestly, it's not the first time this has happened to us. Whatever, we LOVE The Wire, even if it doesn't paint our fair city in the best light... (Note that from this point on, Lauren called me Bubbles and I called her "McNutty.")

Long-time readers will recall that we first had Shake Shack during our August visit, and like last time, it was so good! We met up with Ann and Steven and enjoyed burgers, dogs, fries, cheese fries, sodas, and a shake. It wasn't too cold out so we enjoyed our goodies outside, watching all the fun puppies and enjoying the sights and sounds of Madison Square Park.

Great, krinkle-cut fries

This time in addition to getting a regular burger, we ordered the Shroomburger, which is, by far, the best portobello burger on the planet! Instead of some boring grilled portobello on a bun, the mushroom is filled with cheese and breaded and deep-fried until crisp - holy cow it's good!

Mushrooms + cheese + deep fried + shack sauce = hangover cure

After our Shackburgers, we went back to Ann and Steven's loft to warm up a bit with some tea and chat. Then we headed back out into the city for some shopping (we heart Anthropologie), and eventually made it back to our hotel to relax a bit before heading out for the evening.Where were we headed? We were headed to Panna II, also known (by us alone) as "Indian Disco"! This was also a repeat for me - we went on my very first NYC visit, back in October 2007. It is crazy in there - there is probably room for 30 people, and there were easily 50+ packed in. PLUS, there was the insanity of the many many Christmas and chile lights hanging from the ceiling. Let's just say, it's a lot to take in. Luckily, the food was great so we were generally content.

Help. Me.

We ordered many delicious dishes, including Shag Paneer (spinach and cheese), Alu Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), butter chicken, chicken vindaloo (so spicy!), poori and naan, eggplant fritters, etc. etc. All were great and came out super-fast to match the pace of the entire experience. At the end Xani got a special birthday treat of mango ice cream!

Lauren and the Creach

Birthday ice cream!

After dinner we saw a show called Fuerza Bruta, which unfortunately, is INDESCRIBABLY AMAZING. It was unlike any show I've ever seen. It was a show with trapeze acts (the slogan of the show is "Look Up"), a treadmill, people bursting through boxes of shredded paper and glitter, choreographed dancing, and a gigantic clear plastic swimming pool of ladies swimming around which is slowly lowered from the ceiling to a point where the audience can reach up and touch the plastic of the pool. The whole thing ends with a gigantic dance party/rave! It was amazing. I must go back!! Here are some pics:

Girl is in a mini-pool, guy is suspended below her and they are spinning

Ladies in the pool!

Finale scene

Okay, so it wasn't the most food-centric day, but wait until Part Three!

Cheers,

EP