Mind in the Butter

Food for taste, buds, and family

Recipes

Holiday Edition: Spiced Wine-Poached Pears with Mascarpone

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I’ve been waiting to make these spiced wine-poached pears, literally for months since I first had them on an amazing trip to South Africa. I decided Christmas Eve dinner was the perfect opportunity to serve them.  On top of being simple, elegant and extremely fragrant, I love the idea of serving poached pears to offset all the chocolate and cookie-eating my family does this time of year.  It’s nice to have something on the lighter side.  I also love these because whatever doesn’t get finished during dessert can be used to pour over pancakes or waffles the next morning.

I used Food 52’s  Red Wine Poached Pears recipe. It was a great recipe but too sweet for my taste, so I’ve adjusted it slightly. I also added cloves which really upped the spice factor. And though  I didn’t think of it until after, I could have added some knobs of fresh ginger left over from my holiday cocktail which would have been lovely.

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Serves 6

  • 4 cups red wine ( inexpensive, medium-dry wine)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • Peels from 2 oranges
  • 1 whole orange (without peel)
  • 10 -12 whole cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • A small handful of thyme
  • 6 firm but ripe pears, peeled, stems left intact
  1. After removing the skin from 1 orange, pierce the orange with the cloves, making sure they are well fastened.
  2. Combine everything except for the pears in a large, heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer. Add pears, and bring everything back up to a simmer.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer slowly until pears are tender when pierced with knife, about 25 minutes. (But start checking at 20 minutes! Depending on the ripeness of your pears, this could take slightly less or more time.)
  4. Transfer pears to a plate or platter. Boil liquid in saucepan until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead — just cover and chill pears in the poaching liquid.) Before serving, rewarm over medium-low heat until pears are heated through, or simply serve them at room temperature.
  5. Serve with vanilla ice cream or mascarpone cheese.

Holiday Edition: Evie’s Festive Punch

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cocktailtime

I would be lying if I said I didn’t obsess trying to find THE perfect cocktail for this Christmas season. After many hours of googling and deep, personal reflection (at the liquor store), I landed on a Pear and Ginger Rum Punch, laced with a nutty spank of amaretto.

The drink is strong (hello, it has dark rum in it…), it’s nutty from the amaretto, sweet from the pear juice and spicy from the fresh grated ginger. I test-drove the recipe among friends at a cocktail party the other night and it went over well.  I added a seltzer water floater to ensure it didn’t taste too sweet, and added a cranberry and crystallized ginger skewer as garnish (too cute, I know!)

cocktailtime2

Here’s the approximate recipe for this lil’ festive drank.

Makes 1 crazy strong cocktail:

  • 1.5 oz dark rum (Meyers, Mount gay)
  • 3/4 oz amaretto (go for Luxardo, not Disaronno. It’s cheaper and made with 100% almond)
  • 2 oz pear juice (Ceres brand preferred)
  • 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger (peel away skin and use a micro plane/ fine zester.)
  • Ice
  • Soda/seltzer water
  • Garnish: crystallized ginger and dried cranberry on a toothpick
1. Fill low ball glass with ice
2. Grate fresh ginger directly into glass
3. Pour in rum, amaretto and pear juice
4. Add a splash of soda water on top
5. Stir well and serve!
If you’re going to do a large batch of pre-made punch (recommended) , just make sure  to do 1 part rum, 1.5 parts pear juice and slightly less than 1/2 part amaretto. Grate in a generous amount of ginger and adjust flavors accordingly. For extra credit you can freeze the pear juice in ice cub trays beforehand, then add to the punch bowl so it stays cold.

All Hail the Sandwich King: The Havarti Dill Salmon Melt

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awesomeness

We’ve discussed this before but let me reiterate – Stingray is the supreme sandwich maker as evidenced by this post. No, but actually… he is.   He’s detail oriented and patient enough to make my sandwich just the way I like it. Don’t even get me started on his egg sandwiches…*eyes cross in ecstasy*

Anyway, I called him from work the other night and asked him to make me a delicious dinner (I do all the cooking, therefore I can demand this on the occasion) and this is what the genius came up with: an open-faced salmon melt with Havarti dill and a lemon aioli.  To make it a meal, we heated up some roasted vegetable soup, and I made a refreshing side salad of watercress with lemon juice and a zesty aioli to drizzle on the sandwich. It was heavenly.

amazing mealmoneyshotdelicious aoiliaioli

Salmon Melt with Havarti Dill and Lemon Aioli

Makes 2 

  •  2 fillets of 4-6 oz. salmon (Pacific salmon if you can get it)
  • 1 t Paprika
  • ½ t Cayenne
  • 1 t Italian seasoning
  • 1 t Herbs de Provence or some other hearty spice mix
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 T olive oil
  • S/P
  • 2 slices of fresh chewy bread
  • ¼ cup grated Havarti, or 2 slices from the deli
  • 2 T finely chopped dill

Preheat oven to 375

In a bowl mix paprika, cayenne, Italian seasoning, Herbs de Provence, lemon juice and olive oil until it’s a loose paste.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust flavoring; the mixture should be very salty and intense.

Rinse the salmon, pat dry and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.  If the skin is still on, leave it; the meat will lift away easily from the skin after it bakes.

Drizzle the bottom of a stone or glass dish (oven-proof obviously) with olive oil and place the salmon in the center of the dish, flesh side up.  Pour the herby paste mixture over  the salmon. Tuck the de-juiced lemon half next to the salmon for extra flavor and cover with aluminum foil and bake.  Depending on the thickness of the salmon, it should take about 15-20 minutes. A single, thinner fillet may only take  about 10-12 minutes. Hint: White tear drops will start to form on and around the salmon when it’s ready. Don’t be afraid to under cook the fillets slightly because next up is the broiler once the sandwich is assembled.

After they’re baked, keep the salmon fillets warm under the foil on a plate. Chuck the roasted lemon.

Lightly butter the 2 slices of chewy country bread.  Heat a pan to medium-high and toss on the buttered slices. Heat until golden brown.

On a cookie sheet, assemble the sandwiches by placing the slices of bread in the center of the cookie sheet, then a fillet of salmon on each slice. If the salmon is too thick, or looks awkward and block-ish, fan it out across the bread. The fillet will break apart naturally. Mix the fresh chopped dill with grated Havarti and sprinkle generously over the salmon.

Broil the open face sandwiches for about 3 minutes.  Check on them constantly so they don’t burn! They’re ready when the cheese is golden and bubbly and the oven hasn’t caught fire. #winning

Serve with a lemon aioli (recipe below),  a piping hot soup and a cool, crisp salad and you’re ready to go!

Lemon Aioli 

  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 T mayonnaise
  • 1 T finely chopped dill
  • cracked pepper

No magic here, mix all ingredients together until smooth and yummy. Adjust flavors as needed, serve with your delicious sandwich.

  

Insta(gram) good: Baked stuffed peppers with brown rice and spinach

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smokshow peppers

As my brother would say, this dish is a total smokeshow…OK, I think he uses that in reference to chicks, but let’s diversify its meaning. I wasn’t planning on posting this on the bloggy but one of my friends just asked for the recipe on Instagram and then I realized that I’d like to remember how I made this too! I really hate peppers and I really hate brown rice but for some reason I always crave this dish, especially after the gym. It’s quick, easy, hearty, healthy and vegetarian…oh, and cheap, that’s always a plus. What’s not to love? Here’s what you need to make: Baked Stuffed Peppers with Brown Rice, Spinach and Pepper Jack Cheese.

Makes 2 really huge post-gym servings

  • 3/4 dry cup of brown rice, cooked per instructions (yields about 1.5 cups, cooked)
  • 1.5 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup grated pepper jack cheese
  • 2 medium white onions, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, or if you’re me, 5 cloves
  • 2 packages frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
  • 3 beautiful bell peppers, tops cut off and ribs removed or cut in half with ribs removed
  • smoked paprika
  • cayenne pepper
  • S/P

Pre-heat oven to 350.

In a large, shallow pot, heat 2 T olive oil at medium-high heat. Add diced onions and crushed or pressed garlic cloves. Soften for about 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Take the spinach by hand and break apart into the pot and mix in with the onion-garlic mixture. Fold in the cooked brown rice, sour cream and 1/2 cup of the pepper jack, reserving the rest for the tops of the stuffed peppers.

Sprinkle about 1.5 T of smoked paprika and a few shakes of cayenne depending on your preference over the mixture.  Adjust flavors accordingly, it might need more salt and more garlic at this point.

While the spinach, cheese and sour cream warm, line a cookie sheet or casserole dish with tin foil, placing the bell pepper halves snuggly together, insides facing up. Salt the bell pepper halves lightly; no need for oil as there is enough moisture in the peppers to keep them from sticking or burning.

Spoon the delicious mixture into each of the pepper halves, packing it down as you go. Sprinkle the remaining pepper jack cheese over the stuffed peppers and bake in the oven until golden brown and fragrant, about 30-35 minutes.  Serve as is, or with shrimp, chicken or salmon.

Follow me on Instagram @evalou for more!

Committing food mutiny with bulgur, eggplant, pomegranate and feta

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bulgarsalad

There are some meals I steer away from cooking because Stingray doesn’t like certain ingredients. Since I’m the best girlfriend ever, I almost exclusively cook in line with his tastes, but the other night I threw down my apron and got all HMS Bounty on his ass. He wasn’t happy; here’s what happened:

“Damnit, Stingray, that’s it! Tonight, I’m giving you the triple threat!” I bark.

Stingray gasps in horror and then, with closed eyes he pleads, “Oh, but Evie, what does that mean?! You’re going to feed me something I despise?!”

“Yes, Stingray. The time is now for you to eat your three least favorite foods: eggplant, pomegranate and…”

“Wait… Evie, what?! It’s not…no!” Now on his knees leaning on the fridge to steady himself, Stingray whispers, “It can’t be…”

“Oh yes, yes it is. Feta. Sheep’s milk feta.“

“Nooooooo!” Stingray screams with his fist to the air, camera zooms out,  as Eva walks triumphantly to the grocery store.

Ok, none of that actually happened but Stingray really hates eggplant and feta, but this week I didn’t care because I got this great idea to make a warm bulgur salad with roasted eggplant, garlic, onions served with pomegranate and sheep’s milk feta. It was awesome.

salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 cup bulgur
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 medium/large eggplant
  • 2 small white onions or 1 large one
  • 6-8 cloves of garlic
  • 1 cup pomegrnate seeds
  • sheep’s milk feta
  • juice and zest of 1 one lemon
  • seasoning: salt, pepper, cayenne, italian seasoning, fine herbs

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Chop onions and eggplant into about 1 inch cubes and lay in foil-lined cookie sheet. Whack the 6 cloves of garlic with a knife and add to the onion-eggplant mixture.  Season generously with salt, pepper, cayenne, Italian Seasoning, and Fine Herbs (if you have them) and olive oil.  Toss with your hands to ensure the vegetables are coated with oil and seasonings.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until caramelized.

Heat 2 cups of water and 1 cup Bulgar in medium pot until boiling, reduce heat and simmer, mixing occasionally until cooked, about 10 minutes.

Once cooked, fold the eggplant, onion, garlic mixture as well as the juice of one lemon.  Taste before serving on pretty platter.  Garnish with lemon zest, crumbled feta and pomegranate seeds.

Food mutiny complete!

Lend me your ears!…for some Eva-style Elote

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I don’t really like ears of corn. There’s something so cumbersome about the way they look that turns me off…as in, they look like a real commitment to prepare and eat. You know? No? OK, yea, I forgot that everybody else on the planet freakin’ loves corn…Which means I need to have a few corn recipes in my repertoire. FINE.

Luckily, my Mom decided to buy a million ears of it for our recent trip to British Columbia, so this was the perfect time to practice. I decided to do a riff on elote, Mexican street corn and used our BBQ to char the corn before preparing the dish. Not revolutionary, but it took the dish to a totally stellar level.

Eva-style Elote

Ingredients

  • 3 ears of  corn, husks off, stub on (makes it easier to BBQ)
  • 1/2 medium red onion, diced
  • 1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed
  • 2 heaping dollops of crema (Mexican sour cream), creme fraiche (French sour cream) or just regular sour cream
  • 1 heaping T mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese or grated Parmesan
  • juice of 1 juicey lime
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 ripe avocado

Char the ears of corn for about 8-10 minutes on a seriously hot grill or griddle pan, probably, 375-400 degrees. Let them cool long enough to take a knife to chop off the kernels.  Reserve a small bunch of kernels, cotija, cilantro and avocado for garnish later, then mix corn with all of the other ingredients EXCEPT the avocado.  Careful on the mayo and crema to make sure you don’t add too much. Taste and adjust flavors accordingly. Fold in the diced avocado near the end so it doesn’t squish. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Garnish the mixture with the remaining corn, cotija, cilantro and avocado, then serve!

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Put this in your pipe and smoke it! No, no, please just eat it with some cream cheese

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So you’re probably wondering, Evey, what’d you do with that Coho you slaughtered in your last post? I’ll tell you what we did, we made smoked salmon of course…we’re Jews after all…! Our smoked salmon is insanely delicious, meaty, brine-y and flavorful, not those slimy, thin, hot pink lox you get at the deli.  

accoutrements

All the accompaniments are just as essential as the smoked salmon: cream cheese, capers, red onion, tomatoes and lemons.

Obviously I’ll never make this in my New York apartment, but I would like to have this recipe on file. It’s funny because as I’m typing, I’m looking in the guest book of our Tofino house (we keep a guest book/journal every year so we can remember everything, recipes included) and apparently Dad calls this recipe his “Lil’ Chief Smoked Salmon Deluxe,” so we’ll continue to call it that.

Lil’ Chief Smoked Salmon Deluxe

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The process is quite long (about 13 hours door to door NOT including actually catching the fish) but nice and easy if you have the time and a smoker.  We start with a super intense brine with the ingredients below. Mom and Dad will adjust the recipe depending on what’s in fridge but you get the idea.  We leave the fillets to brine for about 4 hours in the fridge, then leave it to air dry on the counter until it forms the pellicle – that glossy, salty seal on the top of the fish which apparently helps the smoke adhere to the fish more effectively. Then we smoke it in our smoker (looks like a mini-bar fridge) for 6-8 hours at different temperatures (below). I might not be able to smoke the fish back in New York but I sure can eat it back in New York! Going to have to have you all over for brunch soon…

For the Brine

  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup non-iodized salt
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • crushed garlic (knowing my family, a whole bulb)
  • onion powder or chopped onions

Smoke for:

  1. 1-2 hours at 100-120F
  2. 2-4 hours at 140F
  3. 1-2 hours at 175F

Israel Homecoming

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jewish roadview

camels

I’m back from the motherland – the beautiful, complex country of Israel! I was there this past week for 10 days on a Taglit Birthright Trip getting my Jew on. I was carted around the Jersey-sized country, to Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem, to the Golan Heights and to the Negev Desert in a big ol’ tour bus with 39 other Jews. I don’t doubt we barely scratched the surface of Israeli exploration, but I really felt like I experienced a lot of the country…And most importantly, I can say I ate my weight in hummus and shwarma on this trip.

I had high expectations for the food there, and save for a few janky Kibbutz meals, I was seriously impressed.  My three highlights were Shakshuka, Ahi Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips, and of course, ze Shwarma. Seriously, I freaking love shwarma. While there is no way I’d ever attempt making it, I can’t wait to attempt the Shakshuka and Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips!

Photo credit shout out to my amazing new friend Justin Drazin, author of the Pillow Monster Series. (He took the pretty pictures, I took the food pictures.)

Shakshuska

Eggs baked in a scrumptious tomato, onion, pepper, herb mixture served with side salads and crusty bread.

Shakshuka

Kosher Ahi Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips with Curry Mayo

Only the most brilliant riff on fish ‘n’ chips ever in the history of man.

ahifish and chips

Shwarma

Just…yea. Mmmm. Mmm. Mm!

shwarma

Some other amazing images from our adventures:

cave

Inside a water cistern at Masada

The Kotel at Dusk

The Kotel at Dusk

Farm land, Syria in the distance

Syrian farmland, view from Golan Heights

I want them all

I want them all

Grapes almost ready for harvest

Grapes almost ready for harvest

Shalom, Tel Aviv!

Shalom, Tel Aviv!

No Jew trip would be complete with a Jew nose pic

In case there was any doubt…I’m definitely a Jew!!

End of the Heat Wave!: Asparagus Ravioli with Seared Scallops

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scallops and ravioli

We’ve just survived a brutal, swassy heat wave here in New York and  I swear, you couldn’t pay me to cook in my kitchen these days.  Luckily, protein bars and happy hours  have been sustaining me, but man, I’m really fiending some of my own food.

I started flicking through some of the dozens of unposted food photos I have on file and picked this homemade asparagus ravioli with lemon zest and mascarpone with seared scallops to share today. I made this earlier in spring time, at the beginning of asparagus season and cheated by using wonton papers which I’ve used for other recipes as well. (Link to that post here)  I’d love to try this with ramps or garlic scapes (maybe too late in the season??), or some other funky farmers market vegetable. I’ll definitely be trying this dish again.

Asparagus Ravioli with Lemon Zest and Mascarpone 

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  • zest of 1lemon
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 1 small dish of mascarpone cheese (about
  • block of Pecorino or Parmesan
  • 1 bunch chives, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic (optional), smashed or rough chopped
  • S/P to taste
  • wonton papers

Rinse and pat dry the bunch of asparagus and cut each stalk just below the crown.  Set the crowns aside for garnish later*. Cut and discard the dried or discolored bottoms of the stalks. These are normally dry and tough and not tasty. Rough chop the remaining stalks and toss into a food processor.

To the food processor, also add: 2 cloves of rough chopped garlic, a handful of chopped chives (they are so mild I love using a lot), 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 4 – 6 Ts of the mascarpone, 1/4 cup of pecorino, cracked pepper (hold on the salt until you taste the blended mixture). Pulse the mixture in the processor until mostly smooth and incorporated. Taste and adjust flavors accordingly. Salt, more garlic or more cheese might be necessary.  The consistency should be a bit stiff and asparagus-y; you don’t want the creaminess of the cheese to drown out that flavor, or for the filling to be too soggy.

Once the filling is a good consistency, prepare your station and start assembling your raviolis. For this, you need:

  • a big plastic cutting board
  • a drying rack (wipe with oil or spray it with Pam to keep the raviolis from sticking)
  • small ramekin of water

Lay out the wonton papers onto the cutting board and place a small dollop of filling in the middle. Dip your finger in the ramekin of water and wet the edges of the paper.  At this point you can either fold the wonton into a triangle, or place another wonton paper on top (recommended) to keep its square shape.  Make sure the edges are sealed fully and place on the drying rack.

Once all the raviolis are assembled and drying, boil water a shallow pot. Add salt and one layer of raviolis. Cook 2-4 minutes until the wonton paper is tight around the filling. Continue to cook the rest of the raviolis (or freeze the remainder). Use a slotted spoon to place on a pretty platter or on individual plates.

*In a saute pan,  heat a generous splash of olive oil and saute the reserved asparagus crowns with a few pinches of the chives for 2-3 minutes until al dente. Distribute evenly among the plated raviolis. 

Garnish the asparagus ravioli with lemon juice, lemon zest, chives, and pecorino. The pasta water, olive oil and lemon juice will naturally create the sauce for the dish. I served mine with seared scallops, but chicken or salmon would be awesome as well!

Copy Machine Food Muses…and Salmon

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Salmon

I love my co-workers. No but actually… I’m obsessed with them.  We have this unnaturally close bond because we are frequently required to travel internationally together, sometimes making work feel more like camp or high school (except awesomer because I’m not going through puberty and I’m now cool). We bond over champagne at 40,000 feet, over horrific food poisoning, severe colds and broken limbs, in strange and foreign countries. We bond over lost baggage, language barriers, Swiss fondue and too many bottles of wine.  I really love this level of familiarity and comfort because it allows me to do things to my colleagues I’d never do anywhere else, you know, like break into their desk late at night on a regular basis to eat that salted chocolate they keep at the back of their bottom desk drawer, or ask to borrow their socks on my way to the gym.

Travel disasters and desk break-ins aside, I love my coworkers because of their support of my blog.  Mind in the Butter has gained incredible traction in my office and some of my biggest fans and food muses are right here scanning documents at the copy machine. They  “like“, comment, and drool over every blog post or food photo immediately once I click “Publish.” Conversely, they tap their watches, scowl and shun me when I’ve gone too long between postings.  They are a huge motivating factor and source of inspiration for my food blogging and deserve to be celebrated. THANK YOU!

Yesterday in the spirit of home-cooking and coworker love, we hosted a “Coworker Potluck”  to give us an excuse to swap recipes and enjoy each other’s company. With the help of one of my coworkers, I did Roasted Salmon with Lemon, Tarragon, Shallot Butter with Tomatoes Provençal and others brought incredible salads, sides, dips, and desserts. What a treat!

Roasted Salmon with Lemon, Tarragon, Shallot Butter  

  • Filet of Salmon
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 sprigs tarragon (about 3 T), torn up
  • 3 T chives, rough chopped
  • 2-3 pads of butter
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, rough chopped
  • 1/2 medium shallot or one whole, small shallot diced
  • S and P to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350

In food processor mix tarragon, chives, butter, garlic, shallot, olive oil, S/P and the juice of ½ the lemon until smooth.  No food processor? No problem.  Just finely chop everything and blend with olive oil and softened butter.

Rinse and pat dry the salmon and place in a foil-lined baking dish. Spoon the luscious herby mixture generously over the salmon making sure to cover all the sides. Slice the remaining 1/2 lemon into 3-4 thin slices and place on top of salmon. If possible, leave in the refrigerator for at least an hour before baking.

Pull the corners of the foil up around the filet into a loose tent, careful not to smush the herb mixture. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the size. White specks should form around the salmon indicating it’s done.  Use a fork and pull at the corner of filet to ensure it’s ready.

Tomatoes Provençal

  • Small, ripe tomatoes on the vine (campari and cherry tomatoes are ideal)
  • Olive oil
  • Herbs de Provence
  • Italian seasoning

On a plate, drizzle olive oil on whole tomatoes. Shake or pinch herbs and Italian seasoning on around the tomatoes to fully coat.  Sprinkle on salt and pepper for good measure.  To avoid cleaning another dish later, tuck the vined tomatoes into the corner of the same pan as the salmon (not inside the foil tent). Roast at 350 with the salmon.  They should be soft and blistered when done, so they might need a few more minutes than the salmon depending on their size.