What a terrible mistake I’d made.  It burned, as if I had just consumed a massive amount of wasabi.  The pain wasn’t instant.  It was subtle at first, but then the damn thing attacked.  I frantically looked around the kitchen, opening all the drawers and cabinets to see what I could put in my mouth to cure myself of the agony.  I needed something… anything, really.  But as soon as the burning reached its pinnacle, it began to subside.

This was my first experience with black radish.

The black radish is the bad big brother to the red radish we are all familiar with.  In size and in punch, this is so much bolder than what I’ve ever had.  There’s that bite that hits you, a combo of black pepper and horseradish, but the effect is tenfold to what you get with the little guys.

My original concept of a raw salad was out.  I’m sure there’s a way to mellow the suckers, but I wasn’t ready to head in that direction… not in my first go around, at least.  But a salad was what I was in the mood for and, by golly, I wasn’t going to let the radish stop me from having what I wanted!

The pan came out, a drizzle of oil and a light seasoning of salt (no pepper, just to be safe).  They browned so beautifully around the edges and, after just a few minutes, I had my salad composed. Segmented grapefruit, caramelized shallots, a handful of pinenuts… and my slices of cooked black radishes, no longer the bad boys they once were.  My new friends.

A quick update: I wanted to congratulate Maja of Mulipuli and Heather of Farm Girl Gourmet for winning the copies of the La Tartine Gourmande cookbook!  Congrats!

Note: I did not peel the radishes, though some places I’ve seen it recommended (I am not sure why, exactly).  You should, of course, clean them properly, as I make mention to in the recipe.

Black Radish and Grapefruit Salad

serves 2

Ingredients

1 black radish, scrubbed with a vegetable brush and washed under cold water

1 red grapefruit, segmented

1 shallot, sliced thinly

1/4 cup pine nuts

6-8 lettuce leaves, washed and dried

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Directions

1. Slice the black radish into 1/4 inch rounds using a mandoline (or very carefully with a knife).

2. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan and set over medium heat.  When the oil has heated, add the slices of black radish in a single layer (you may need to cook them in batches depending on the size of the pan) and season with a sprinkle of salt.  Cook for a few minutes on either side, or until each side has browned around the edges.  Transfer the slices to a plate that has been layered with paper towel.

3. Sauté the shallots in the same pan for a minute or so, just so they start to caramelize.  Remove from heat.

4. Assemble your salad by placing the lettuce in one layer on a large round platter. Place the black radish on top of the lettuce, then the grapefruit segments.  At this point, sprinkle with the cooked shallot and then the pine nuts.  Season with another pinch of salt and a few cracks of fresh black pepper.

Between you and me, I’ve never been a huge fan of quinoa.  Please, oh please, don’t report me to the food blogger authorities!  Just hear me out!

I know it’s something I should like, especially since my diet consists of vegetarian and pescatarian fare, but it hasn’t fully grown on me. On a night when I’m deciding between quinoa or couscous, the former very often gets passed aside.  Couscous is easier to prepare and always makes for a satisfying side to broiled fish or vegetable stew.  And it absorbs all of the spices and juices in these dishes beautifully.

Quinoa, on the other hand, takes twice as long to cook and, while it does have a subtle nutty flavor, I find that it takes a lot more finesse to season it.  A sprinkle of salt and pepper won’t do the trick.  It needs bright, bold flavors.

When deciding what to make from blogger and fellow New England resident, Béatrice Peltre’s, new cookbook, La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life (which is based on her blog of the same name), I was a bit skeptical to dive into a quinoa dish.  Quinoa has been all over the internet recently and I couldn’t imagine there would be something worthy of yet another blog post.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was wrong… completely, undeniably WRONG.

This is a recipe that needs to be made immediately… tonight, in fact.  The ingredients aren’t hard to find, the preparation takes less than an hour.  Eat it as a side or on its own.  Serve it to family members or consume the whole bowl yourself.  I promise, I won’t judge… and no one else should either.

Béa also suggests bringing this on a picnic, which I absolutely agree with.  It’s rustic, yet elegant.  Plus, I can’t imagine anything more satisfying than this dish served with a couple glasses of crisp white wine.  I’m already counting down the days before I can pack up a lunch and take it to one of the beaches on Cape Cod.  This will be the dish I make. Mark my words.

Now that I’ve fallen hard for this quinoa tabouli, I can’t wait to try out another recipe from Bea’s beautifully constructed book.  It’s impossible to believe there isn’t a blogger out there who is not familiar with her site but for those of you who aren’t a part of this crazy community, let me introduce you.

I should start by saying that there are blogs that I read for a variety of reasons: captivating writing or vivid photography or their ability to come up with drool-inducing recipes.  But you know you’ve found a true gem when it embodies all of these.  There are times I come across a blog and, with the very first glance, my breath is taken away.  Such is the case with Bea’s work, which is both ethereal and majestic.  Take a peek at her blog, buy her book.  You’ll see what I’m talking about.

I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with Bea these last few months and she is just as delightful in person as she appears on her blog.  She’s not only an eloquent speaker, but a thoughtful listener.  And the woman is darn charming too!  Her gorgeous French accent… I wish I could record her voice on my iPhone so I could wake up to it every morning! (Sorry if I’ve embarrassed you, Bea.  I just couldn’t help myself.)

And now here’s the big announcement you’ve all been waiting for: Bea is giving away a copy of her book to two lucky A Thought For Food readers.  That’s right!  There will be TWO WINNERS!  Not only that, but she’ll include a note in each book. I told you she was charming!

So, here are the giveaway details:

To enter, you must leave a comment on this post between now and Sunday, February 19th.  

That’s it!  Just one entry per person. This giveaway is open to everyone (the book can be shipped worldwide). Good luck!

If you don’t feel like waiting to find out if you’ve won, you can purchase La Tartine Gourmande from Amazon.

Beet and Quinoa Tabouli

from Beatrice Peltre’s La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life

serves 4-6

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1 cup cooked white quinoa

2 cups water or vegetable broth

Sea salt

1 large cooked beet, peeled and diced (see below)

1 cup mixed cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

for the vinaigrette:

Sea salt and pepperJuice of 1 lemon or lime

6 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 tablespoon chopped mint

To cook the beet (unpeeled), you have two options: Add to a pot of water, bring to a boil, and cook until it’s easy to insert a knife in the middle.  Or you can wrap it in aluminum foil and bake it in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).  The cooking time depends on the size of the beet – it can take between 40 minutes and 1 hour – check regularly.  Once cooked through, let cool before peeling it.

Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until lightly colored and fragrantl remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Rinse the quinoa under cold water and drain it in a colander.  Add it to a pot and cover with the water or broth and a pinch of sea salt.  Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 12 to 14 minutes, or until all of the water or broth is absorbed.  Re move from the heat and keep covered for 5 more minutes.  Transer the quinoa to a bowl and fluff it with a fork; let cool.  Add the beet and toss gently.  The quinoa will take on a nice pink color.  Add the tomatoes, onion and cheese.

To prepare the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine the sea salt and pepper with the lemon juice and oil, and whisk to emulsify.  Stir in the herbs.  Dress the salad with this vinaigrette and adjust the seasoning to your taste.  Add more dressing if you like and serve with the pine nuts.

Baking has grown on me over the last couple of years. I remember how scared I used to be to try a recipe and then how disappointed I’d be when I failed.  Time has changed me, though, and I am no longer afraid of screwing up.  There’s a reason why this is.  You want to know why?

Because I’ve learned that when you’re working with such fine ingredients as butter, sugar and chocolate… well, it’s really hard to completely mess it up.  I’m not saying that it’s impossible. Surely, one could mistake salt for sugar and that wouldn’t be especially pleasant, would it?  But if all of the ingredients are correct, and the portions are right, then you really have nothing to worry about.

So, just remember: butter, sugar, chocolate.  You can do no wrong.

For the upcoming celebration of love, I wanted to bake something.  Something that embodied passion and romance.  Something dark and seductive.  Brownies.  Irresistible brownies.

And while decadence is never a bad thing, I thought it might be nice to bring life to each little bite by tossing in hunks of strawberry (these vibrantly colored beauties came from Colorful Harvest).  With this addition, there’s no longer that feeling that after one, you’re finished.  Oh no… quite to the contrary, in fact.  After one, you want another… just to experience the tartness that pokes through at the very end.

So make a plate of them and share these treats with someone you care about.  A friend, a significant other, or just pop in a movie and bring them to the couch (something with George Clooney or Ryan Gosling wouldn’t be a bad idea).

In other news: I was recently hired by the Improper Bostonian, one of our local lifestyle magazines, to do a shoot for an article they did on Guchi’s Midnight Ramen, a ramen pop-up that has made a huge splash in the Boston/Cambridge area.  I had a great time working with the folks at Guchi’s and, as you can see, their food is quite beautiful.  It didn’t take much for me to get some nice snaps of it.  If you are in the Boston-area, the photo is on page nine of the current issue.

Some additional shots from the photo shoot can be viewed on the homepage of my portfolio site. And be sure to follow Guchi’s Midnight Ramen on Twitter and Facebook.

Most of my days are spent on my computer or iPhone and it takes a toll on the brain.  I find it hard to shut down after excessive amounts of exposure to technology.  Mix that with the bizarre winter weather we’ve been experiencing (a combination of unseasonable warmth and gloomy, often rainy, days) and sometimes I feel like I’m about to jump out of my skin.  When I get this way, there’s little that can soothe me… nothing that anyone can say or do to make me feel better.

Cooking is cathartic for me and whenever I’m feeling a bit off, it’s the only way I can center myself.  Each day, as five o’clock rolls around, I pour a glass of wine, pull Jack Johnson up on my iPod, and I hunker down at the kitchen counter.  The ingredients sit before me.  I pick up a knife and begin to chop, all the while humming to the music.  My nerves calm, my worries dissipate.  Magic.

There are few things that make me happier than working with fresh ingredients.   I’ll take all the produce and dairy products I can get, but what really excites me is seafood… caught that morning and now it’s your dinner (we are quite lucky here in New England). Whether grilled or baked, fish is so special because it embodies the natural flavors of the ocean: seaweed, salt.  There’s not a whole lot you need to do to it before it hits the table.

While I’ve poached fish before, it had never really occurred to me to prepare it en papillote (in parchment).  That is until I was given these wonderful bags from PaperChef, a company that promotes cooking with parchment paper .  There’s no crazy cutting or folding necessary.  All you have to do is stuff the bag with the ingredients you are cooking with, close and crimp the opening, and pop it in the oven.  And let me tell you, the fish I prepared with these bags came out perfectly cooked, with the flavors from the marinade infused into the fillet.

In addition to using these parchment bags, I played around with some pouches (or, as the company calls them “pyramids”) of herbal tea from Teatulia.  I’ve been enjoying these teas not just as a nightcap (with a splash of rum, of course), but in various dishes as well.  The idea for tea marinated fish came to me rather naturally. I knew I wanted to do something savory with it and it just felt like a pairing that might work.  I let the tea brew, cool, and then added some additional seasoning.  Letting the fish sit in the marinade for at least an hour helps.  If you take the fillet out before then, it won’t embody as much flavor.

Giveaway Details:

To help you get started, both companies were generous enough to provide you with a chance to win some goodies!  We’re giving away a set of the whole PaperChef line (which includes multipurpose paper, the parchment bags, and three different sizes of baking cups) as well as an assortment of all of the Teatulia tea flavors!

To enter, you must leave a comment here telling us how you like to use parchment paper and/or tea in cooking/baking.

Additional entries:

1. Follow @PaperChef and @Teatulia and, once you have done that, tweet the following (then come back here and let us know that you’ve done so):

Enter to win @Teatulia tea and @PaperChef parchment paper from @myfoodthoughts  http://tinyurl.com/7jupm6v #giveaway

2. Like the A Thought For Food Facebook page (then come back here and let us know that you’ve done so).

The contest will end at 12PM (noon) EST on Sunday, February 5th.  A winner will be drawn at random and will be contacted via e-mail. Only open to individuals in the US or Canada.

Tea-Marinated Cod with Bok Choy and Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 lb cod fillet

4 Teatulia Lemongrass Herbal Infusion Tea pyramids

2 cups boiling water

2 carrots, peeled and sliced at a diagonal

1 head of bok choy, cleaned and sliced into 1 inch strips

10 oz container of sliced shiitake mushrooms

1 bunch scallion

Olive oil

Ground cumin

Kosher salt

Black pepper

2 cups of cooked rice

Additional tools: parchment paper or one of these bags from PaperChef

Directions

In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over the tea bags and let sit for at least 30 minutes, or until the water has cooled to room temperature.  Once this has occurred, whisk in a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of black pepper, and a teaspoon of cumin.  Add the fish to the bowl with the marinade and let sit for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the parchment bag on a large baking pan.

Drain the marinade from the bowl with the fish and season the fish with a little more salt and black pepper.  Transfer the fish and carrot slices to the parchment bag.  Top the fish fillet with one or two whole scallion.  Close up the bag by folding the open edge twice and crimp well. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the fish flakes with the touch of a fork.

While the fish is cooking, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a sauté pan and set to medium heat. Add the bok choy and season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Add a 1/4 cup of water to the pan and let cook for 3 minutes.  Transfer bok choy and any liquid that’s in the pan to a bowl.

Cook the the mushrooms in the same pan, over high heat.  Season with a dash of salt and let brown, but make sure not to burn them.  Once they are cooked, take the mushrooms off the heat and set aside.

Spoon the rice into two bowls.  Top each with fish, carrots, bok choy, and mushrooms. Serve with some sliced scallion on top.

]]> http://www.athoughtforfood.net/2012/01/back-to-basics-how-to-peel-and-cut-an-onion/feed/ 36 http://www.athoughtforfood.net/2012/01/recipe-homemade-granola/ http://www.athoughtforfood.net/2012/01/recipe-homemade-granola/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:01:58 +0000 Brian @ A Thought For Food http://www.athoughtforfood.net/?p=4733

I’ve been nibbling on homemade granola all week.  Funnily enough, I didn’t make it for myself.  I’m not much of a breakfast person, but Eric has been on a granola and yogurt kick the last few weeks.  On our trips to the grocery store, I’d meander through the aisles as he intensely searched the ingredient list of every box of granola. To be honest, I have no idea what he was looking for.  But it got me thinking, “Why the heck are we buying this stuff when it’s so easy to make at home?”

There are few foods that I just don’t get.  Very few foods, in fact.  But cold cereal, something most of my family enjoys, is one of them.  As a child, I would shovel down those bland Os and some milk, just to get some food in my body before school.  In my teenage years, however, I switched to yogurt or a piece of fruit or I wouldn’t have anything.  Cereal just doesn’t make a meal, in my view.  And I pretty much stopped eating breakfast since then (with the exception of weekend scones)

But thanks to my granola-loving husband, I am hooked.  There are delicate flavors and textures.  Crunches and chews. Toasted nuts and sweetened cranberries.  And coconut.  I can get behind anything that has shredded coconut and having it in my breakfast makes each morning all the more pleasant.

Homemade Granola 

(adapted from the recipe by Ina Garten)

Note: I was surprised by how much this makes.  Would be great to serve to guests at brunch.

Ingredients

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cups vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup good honey

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, and chopped walnuts together in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil, vanilla, and honey in a small bowl. Pour the liquids over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Pour onto a 13 by 18 by 1-inch sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even, golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Add the cranberries and sunflower seeds. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.

It’s so refreshing to walk into a cafe and immediately be greeted not just by the cashier, but the baker and owners.  That’s because the wife and husband team behind 3 Little Figs, Katie and Andy (with help from Katie’s mom and sister), do everything.  And they obviously do it with a lot of love.  The menu, while limited, has been crafted with a tremendous amount of thought. From the scones to the spinach pie to the chocolate ginger bombs… it feels as if it’s made by your own mother or father.  And I am so happy to have found them.

3 Little Figs

278 Highland Ave

Somerville, MA

Here’s an assignment for you: the next time you’re at the dinner table, take a look at your plate.  Now, how many colors do you see?  Points if it’s more than green and beige.  Believe me, I know it’s not easy.  I am constantly looking at that big pile of mush in my pan, wondering how to brighten it up.  Especially now, in the dead of winter, it seems like it’s harder than ever to get some color in our dishes.

But why is it so difficult?  Aren’t there fresh ingredients out there that can jazz up these vapid meals?

As a matter of fact, there are.  Case in point, cauliflower.  Now, I know some of you out there aren’t fans (I’ve seen the “I Hate Cauliflower” Facebook groups), but I think it’s time to give it another shot (I have to wonder if the naysayers out there have only had it boiled or steamed).  A big bowl of roasted cauliflower, particularly cauliflower that is bright green, purple, and orange, is one of those simple treats that should not be missed.

Not only is the stuff full of nutrients (high in Vitamin C) and is a great source of fiber (because we could all use more of that in our diet), but you get a wonderful nutty flavor when it is lightly roasted in the oven.  Texturally, the florets remain crunchy on the inside, but the outside is a bit tender, which is exactly how all vegetables should come out when they’re cooked.

Oh, yes… and the colors!  If you are looking for a way to liven up your plate, this will do the trick.  The folks at Colorful Harvest (as well as Paper Chef, the company that created the parchment paper used here), who were sweet enough to provide a massive quantity of cauliflower, are big proponents of chromatic diversity, and I think it’s something we should all strive for.

Roasted Tri-Colored Cauliflower with Preserved Lemon

Ingredients

1 small head of purple cauliflower

1 small head of orange cauliflower

1 small head of green cauliflower

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

Kosher salt

Black pepper

1/2 preserved lemon, peel only, cut into thin slices

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a large baking pan with parchment paper.

Cut the cauliflower into florets and transfer to a large bowl.  Drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil and toss to combine.  Spread the cauliflower out on the baking pan and sprinkle the smoked paprika, salt and pepper on top.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, checking after 15 minutes and giving the cauliflower a stir and seasoning it with an additional sprinkle of salt and pepper, if necessary.   The cauliflower will be done when it is golden brown in color and tender on the outside, but it should remain crunchy on the inside. Remove from oven.

Transfer the cauliflower back to the large bowl and add the preserved lemon peel.  Toss with a spoon to distribute the lemon peel throughout the dish.