December » 2009 » The Saucy Coq

WEEKENDER BRUNCH: PORTOBELLO EGGS w PANCETTA

Leaving for the holidays tomorrow for a week means we’ve been spending the last couple of days trying to piece together meals and snacks from the food on hand in our kitchen, rather than buying food that will go bad. Knowing I wasn’t going to want to wake up this morning and head out in the snow for food, I needed a plan last night. We had a few eggs, a bit of the homemade Basil Pecan Pesto and some parsley on hand…just needed a medium to serve the eggs on. Typically, I’d pick up a nice fresh baguette from the store, but we weren’t about to eat a loaf of bread in one sitting. So, I headed to the store and bought two huge portobello mushrooms and a few slabs of 1/4 inch thick pancetta.

We have a little indoor grill that I used to cook both the mushrooms and the pancetta, but if you don’t have one, you can use a grill pan or even the oven.

Portobello Eggs

Vegetable Oil
2 large portobello mushroom caps
Glug of olive oil
Pinch of salt
2 slices pancetta, 1/4 inch thick
3 large eggs
2 additional egg whites
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Hot sauce
Fresh cracked pepper
2 tbsp basil pecan pesto
2 tbsp fresh parsley or basil, chopped fine
2 tsp freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Coat a grill or grill pan with a bit of oil. Remove the stem of the portobellos and with a spoon, gently scrape out the gills (dark inside) of each mushroom cap. Brush both sides of caps with oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill mushrooms over medium-high heat until juices begin to release, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer each mushroom to a plate, top side down.

On the same grill or grill pan, cook pancetta over medium-high heat until it begins to get crispy and you get some nice grill marks, about 5-6 minutes per side. I actually placed a big heavy cast iron pan on top of the pancetta for two reasons: it helps the fat render from the meat and it will help to keep the pancetta slices flat, rather than curling up. Place 1 slice bacon onto each mushroom cap (and the other on the plate if you like).

Whisk eggs, egg whites, dijon, hot sauce, a splash of milk and a pinch of pepper until well combined in a bowl. Melt a bit of butter in a medium nonstick skillet and heat over medium-low heat. Add eggs and scramble until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season with S&P.

Divide eggs among mushroom caps. Drizzle 1 tbsp pesto over each; top with parsley and 1 tsp Pecorino.

Good brunching!

TUSCAN WHITE BEAN AND SAUSAGE SOUP: A WINTER CLASSIC

It’s still not officially winter here in NYC as far as I’m concerned. Cold, maybe. Dark early, yes. But winter? No, not if you’re Canadian. I did however have to break out a scarf a couple of days ago, and it signaled the first day that I really felt I needed a good hearty winter meal.

We were at a great wedding a couple of weekends ago at Frankies Spuntino in Brooklyn. Of the many amazing degustations on hand, there was a spicy white bean crostini that kept landing on my napkin. Since then, I’ve been mildly lovesick for white beans. So, in an attempt to quell my affliction, I made a Tuscan White Bean soup. I happened to have Kale on hand and wanted a good spicy sausage in there…the result is a warm, earthy soup that’s perfect for the next 5 months. The spice of the sausage and sweetness of the beans and carrots make this a well rounded meal with a nice chunk of fresh bread.

Tuscan White Bean & Sausage Soup

1 can canellini beans, drained & rinsed
2 quarts unsalted chicken broth
1 bunch fresh kale, stems removed, leaves torn into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1/2 can of diced tomatoes (7 oz), undrained
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh bay leaf
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, cut to half inch slices
3 inch piece of Parmesan rind
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish
Grated Parmesan, for garnish

In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Cook over medium-high heat, giving it a stir, for about one minute. Lower the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until the onions are translucent and just slightly browned.

Add carrots, tomato, celery, Parmesan rind, balsamic and chicken stock to the onion mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 12 minutes or until the carrots are tender and easily pierced with a knife.

Meanwhile, rinse the kale thoroughly. Slice off and discard the center stems on the leaves, leaving 2 leaves on both sides. Slice the leaves crosswise into fine strips. Add the kale and beans to the soup. Return the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pan, and continue simmering for 10 minutes until kale is tender.

In a skillet, heat the remaining a glug olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning often, until browned. Add the cooked sausage to the soup with the sage, salt, and pepper. Re-cover the pot and continue simmering for another 10 minutes to combine flavors.

Serve the soup with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of grated Parmesan cheese. Nothing goes better with this great winter soup than a nice piece of grilled baguette.

Good winters eve!

GINGER FIZZ COQTAIL

Hello to my fellow foodies on this fine December Friday. This week’s Weekender Brunch is cleverly disguised as an alcoholic beverage!

Since I started this website a couple months ago, I’ve begin to uncover a plethora of fascinating and seductive food blogs that have existed under my fingertips for years. One of my favorite new food sites is Tastespotting. I love it for the layout, great photos (they only accept great photos; I’ve been rejected 4 times now) and as a means of discovering other great food blogs. Amongst all of the site surfing I’ve done from Tastespotting, I found a recipe for Fresh Ginger Beer on Coconut Raita‘s website that I borrowed and added to.

Now, there’s something funny about ginger beer that I realized after making a pitcher of it; it has achieved the unlikely distinction of being as refreshing a summer drink as it is a comforting winter drink. The crisp ginger seems to cleanse your palette and cool you down in the summer, yet its earthy-spiciness provides the necessary kick to warm you up 6 months later.

You can omit the Ginger Liqueur here for a non-alcoholic version, but I didn’t tell you that.

Ginger Fizz Coqtail

8 oz fresh ginger (big 7 inch piece)
Peel of 1 lemon; juice of 3 lemons
Handful of Kumquats, sliced thin
4 heaped teaspoons of Muscovado sugar
1 litre sparkling mineral water
Ginger Liqueur (Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur is the only one I know)

Remove the skin of the ginger and grate coarsely into a large bowl with a cheese grater. If you didn’t already know, the easiest way to peel ginger is with a spoon. Was that your mind that was just blown?

Using a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler, shave the peel off of one lemon into large strips taking care to avoid the pith (will add unwanted bitterness). Add the lemon peel and the juice of all three lemons into the bowl.

Add the Muscovado sugar and stir the mixture thoroughly taking care to remove any lumps of sugar. Muscovado sugar is a variety of brown sugar that is unrefined and has a strong molasses flavor/color.

Add the sparkling water to the bowl and stir.

Put the bowl in the fridge and let the flavors infuse for an hour or so (if you can wait that long). Using a fine sieve, to filter the ginger and lemon peel, pour the mixture into a jug filled with ice. Add in the Kumquat slices.

Pour 1 (or 2 if you like) oz of Canton Ginger Liqueur in to a glass and fill with the Ginger Fizz, making sure you get a few slices of Kumquat in the glass.

Brunch in served!!

HOMEMADE BASIL PECAN PESTO

Pesto is a great thing to make yourself for several reasons: 1) it tastes infinitely better, 2) it’s much cheaper than a store bought version, 3) it’s open to a lot of variation. And, if you’ve never made it before, I think you’ll be surprised at how simple it is to make.

If you’ve bought pesto in the grocery store before, it was most likely of the pine nut-basil variety and cost you a month’s rent to fill a cracker. I’ve tried a few different nuts in this pesto and find I like pecans the best, but feel free to use any nuts you have on hand and let me know what you think.

Traditionally, pesto is hand made. The word pesto in fact comes from the same Latin root word as pestle, “to pound”. I actually did make this batch using my mortar and pestle, but have made it before with a food processor. Both work great, but I wanted a bit more texture this time around.

Basil Pecan Pesto

Makes about 1 cup

3 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 small handful pecans (1/2 cup at most), toasted
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of fresh black pepper
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (medium grate)
1/2 cup very high quality extra virgin olive oil

Lightly toast the pecans in a pan or in the oven to bring out the nuttiness. This will only take a couple minutes in a pan on medium heat. All you’re looking for is a bit of browning. As a general rule for toasting nuts and spices, once you can smell the aroma, they’re done!

Once you’ve toasted the pecans, add a splash of olive oil to the pan and add the garlic for about 30 seconds. This will help take some of the sharp, raw garlic taste out so it doesn’t overpower the pesto. Remove the garlic and set aside.

If you’re using a mortar and pestle, give the basil and pecans a rough chop before you pound together with the pestle. It’ll just make things easier. Pound together basil, garlic, pecans and S & P until you’ve got a nice paste. If you’re using a food processor, just pulse the ingredients a few times to keep a bit of texture. Next, add the cheese and lemon juice and mix to combine. Finally, pour in the oil in a slow steady stream while mixing the pesto.

Keep the pesto in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week. But, it HAS TO BE AIR TIGHT or it will oxidize and become bitter. Pouring a layer of olive oil on top will help keeping the air out of the pesto. You can also freeze the pesto for a year or so.

Good eating!

EGG IN THE HOLE: HANGOVER EDITION

Round three of The Saucy Coq’s Weekender Brunch, and for this one I’m going with a good ol’ hangover breakfast. For some reason, which was probably no reason at all, I was extremely hung a couple Saturdays ago. Advil wasn’t working. Water wasn’t working. Another drink didn’t work. All I needed was a good, heavy, buttery, greasy breakfast to do the trick.

I went with a spin on the classic Egg-in-a-hole breakfast. I hadn’t actually had this for years until I made it two weeks ago so it was hard to tell whether it was the actual food or the nostalgia that cured my hangover. I used brioche bread for a nice buttery, fluffy texture and covered it with a grated sharp cheddar and chopped chives for a kick.

To finish the breakfast off with a little dessert and knock the hangover out early in the 3rd round, I whipped some strawberry jam together with some fresh ricotta cheese and topped the brioche round that was cut from the bread. That was a little slice of Narnia right there.

Also, not pictured above: 3 awesome slabs of thick-cut maplewood smoked bacon, potato rosti and a tall latte.

Egg-in-a-hole: Hangover Edition:

2 slices brioche bread, 1.5 inches thick
unsalted butter
2 large eggs
Handful of Swiss cheese, grated
fresh chives, finely chopped

2 heaping tbsp fresh ricotta cheese
1 tbsp jam of your choice

Butter the slices of bread on both sides. Using a ring mold (or just a knife if you don’t have one) cut a hole out of the center of the bread. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and melt a little knob of butter until foamy.

Place the slices of buttered brioche in the pan, along with the center circles you’ve cut out, and gently crack one egg in to each hole in the slices. Allow the egg and bread to cook until golden brown on the bottom; probably about 3-4 minutes, but have a peek at the bottom after a few minutes to be sure you’re not blowing it. Once it’s nicely browned, flip the slices over. As soon as you flip it, drop some shredded Swiss cheese on the egg to melt. Now, if you want the egg medium, which I do, you’ll only want to leave it for for another 30 seconds or so. Just long enough to cook the white and brown the bread. Again, these are just guidelines since every stove and pan is different. Best to just poke the egg with your finger and see what you think.

Take the slice out and plate it. Top with chopped chives.

SESAME-CRUSTED COD w ASIAN VINAIGRETTE

There I was again with some Cod in the fridge and no particular plan for cooking it. Luckily, there are so many options for cod! Other than being very inexpensive, you can cook cod 15 different ways (don’t quote me), you can give it any flavors you can think of and it never takes long to cook. Searing this cod with the sesame coating gives it such a nice crisp, flavorful crust with only one ingredient.

This Asian vinaigrette is easy enough to make with one hand while on the phone, but maybe not without spilling vinegar on the floor and hanging up the phone. Whoops. I mean, that didn’t happen to me. Hey, look over there!

Also, I apologize for the lack of breathtaking photos in this post. I actually didn’t think this was going to be blog-worthy, but it turned out to be absolutely delicious! And again, it only took about 15 minutes, start to finish.

Sesame-Crusted Cod w Asian Vinaigrette

Serves 2

2 tbsps canola oil, divided
2 7 oz pieces cod
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green onion, minced
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsps cilantro leaves, minced
salt & pepper
1/2 c sesame seeds
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp ginger, grated

In a small bowl combine ginger, rice wine vinegar, green onion, sesame oil, garlic, soy, cilantro, 1 tbsp of canola oil and whisk together. Season the cod with salt & pepper and coat liberally with sesame seeds on both sides. In a saute pan, over medium-high heat add in the remaining tbsp oil. When oil is hot, add cod and sear for approximately 4 min, or until sesame seeds brown. Turn & sear on other side for 4 more min. The time will of course depend on how thick your pieces of cod are. I got inch thick pieces and 4 minutes per side was perfect.

Spoon vinaigrette on serving plate and place cod on top.