We have been trying to reinstate “Vegetarian Saturdays” since the new year began and because we ate a lot of food last year over the holidays. But then, I’ve also made Flank Steak Roll-Ups Pinwheels and Braised Short Ribs, so we’re not all that vegetarian-y lately. Anyway, this was a recent no-meat Saturday meal. I made it without the pancetta listed below and with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Next time, I will use maybe half the pancetta called for and probably the chicken broth (just because it’s what I normally have on hand).

That said, this was a good pasta dish! And I love it whenever you can use the pasta water to help make the sauce. I did want a little more fennel, though, so I adapted the recipe below to use three fennel bulbs instead of the original two. I also caramelized the fennel first to give it even more flavor. I can’t imagine how good it would have been if I did that in the pancetta fat.

Anyway, use meat, don’t use meat, this is still a good, satisfying pasta meal. Below, I listed the recipe with the pancetta and chicken broth but just omit/sub those as you wish. Oh and it really wasn’t that spicy at all.

Spicy Spaghetti with Fennel and Herbs
Adapted from Bon Appétit
1 3-ounce package pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 large red or green jalapeño chiles, seeded, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
3 large fennel bulbs, stalks trimmed, cut into thin wedges with some core attached
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro, divided
2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1.5 tsp crushed fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pound spaghetti
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2+ cups finely grated Pecorino Romano or Pecorino Toscano cheese, divided
2 green onions, chopped

Sauté pancetta in large skillet over medium heat until pancetta is golden. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels. Add 1 tablespoon oil to drippings in skillet. Add fennel; cook until beginning to get golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and chiles; sauté over medium heat about 3-4 more minutes.

Mix in broth, 2 tablespoons parsley and 2 tablespoons of cilantro, lemon juice, oregano, and fennel seeds. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until vegetables are very tender, 10 minutes or so. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

While pasta is cooking, uncover skillet with fennel mixture and return to high heat. Cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Cook pasta until tender; drain. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid.

Add pasta to fennel mixture. Stir in 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 cup cheese, and pancetta. Add cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Toss pasta; transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining parsley and cilantro, as well as the chopped green onions over. Toss. Serve with more cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Completely Unrelated and Frivolous: Recently, I read this Slashfood post: 10 Hottest Men in the Food Industry and was kind of befuddled by a lot of their list. Plus, it got me to thinking that I have a little TV Chef crush on Michael Symon. Seriously, how did he not make the list? With his love of pork, meat-themed tattoos, and the goofy, high-pitched, laugh-giggle thing. And he’s really hot too.

Both jwa and I had short ribs recently at Tabla (New Year’s Eve, I believe) and ever since, I’ve wanted to make some. I finally gave it a try last weekend and was pretty happy with the results. The cooking liquid here is deeeeee-licious! And the meat was pretty good too! The meat just fell off the bones, nom-nom-nom-nom.

The original recipe said to make the ribs the day before you eat them, just re-warming before serving. An advantage to that is that you can pull some of the solid fat off the top. I didn’t do that, but I did cook it in the morning, let it cool, refrigerated for a couple of hours and was able to spoon some of the fat off the top that way.

But really, you’re eating a big pot of red meat, are you really concerned about the extra fat? So, you could probably time this to just be done when you want to eat it and not worry about it at all, or just try to skim some fat off while it’s still hot.

Braised Short Ribs
Recipe adapted from Michael Symon
5-6 Servings
2 tbsp olive oil
3 lbs meaty beef short ribs on the bone
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 tsp anchovy paste (or 1 anchovy)
1 bay leaf
1 head garlic, cloves separated
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry red wine
2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large enameled cast iron casserole or big, heavy pot. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Add half of the short ribs to the casserole and cook over moderately high heat until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a plate or bowl. Repeat with the remaining oil and ribs.

Add the celery, carrot and onion to the casserole and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 7 minutes.

Turn the heat down to low. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until glossy, about 2 minutes.

Add the herb sprigs, anchovy paste, bay leaf and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Next, add the stock, wine and vinegar and bring to a boil.

Return the short ribs to the pot, then cover and braise in the oven at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. Drop heat to 225 degrees F and cook for 3.5 - 4 more hours or until meat is tender.

Let cool and then refrigerate until read to serve. When you are about ready to eat, skim as much fat from the top as you can and rewarm the pot of ribs over medium heat.

This was delicious with some polenta and roasted broccoli!

We got dinner & lunches the next day and one more dinner out of this!

Here is a recipe that certainly will work outdoors on a grill but also worked quite well in the oven. I found these little 6 X 6 inch or so cedar grilling planks at Sur la Table for $10 and impulse-bought them. Then I on-purpose bought some salmon.

I soaked my plank for about an hour and a half. If it was going on a charcoal grill the fish *, I would have soaked it for at least two hours. I let the plank heat up in the oven for about 5 minutes, before placing the salmon on it. I don’t actually know how much flavor the cedar imparted on the salmon, but wow, did it smell good while in the oven. These planks were officially, single serving size but I found I could easily fit the two pieces of salmon on it.

Also, since my plank was not too charred, I rinsed it off with hot water (no soap) and plan on using it again.

Oh and I can not stress enough how good the maple-mustard-rosemary crust on the salmon was…really, I can’t. I just can’t at all. Nope, not even going to try. And, if you didn’t have a cedar plank, I would still recommended making this recipe just on a baking sheet.

Cedar-Plank Salmon
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, via Deerholme Farm, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
1 tbsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp minced rosemary
1/2 tbsp grated lemon zest
3/4 lb salmon fillet, cut into two pieces
Special Equipment: a cedar grilling plank

Soak cedar grilling plank in water to cover 1-2 hours, keeping it immersed.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stir together mustard, honey, rosemary, zest.

Salt and pepper fish first and then spread mixture on flesh side of salmon and let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

Set plank in the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove and put salmon on plank, skin side down (if salmon is too wide for plank, fold in thinner side to fit). I put my plank on a baking sheet to avoid any oven messes.

Cook until salmon is just almost cooked through, 12 - 14 minutes. Turn on the broiler and let the top get a little golden and form a crust, about 1-2 minutes. Let salmon stand on plank 5 minutes before serving.

We had the salmon with some oven roasted sweet potatoes and green beans.

Awesome quick green beans - trim, rinse and saute for a couple of minutes in some olive oil. Salt and pepper lightly and add about a couple of tablespoons chicken broth. Lower heat, cover and cook about 15 minutes. Remove lid, turn up heat and let broth evaporate. So good!

* To cook the salmon on a grill: Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas). Open vents on bottom and lid of charcoal grill.
Grill, covered with lid, 13-15 minutes.

Recently, I found myself with a bag of lentils and a dream. Or something like that. Maybe it was just a bag of lentils, a craving for soup and memories of the awesome chicken tagine of last month. So I kind of combined the two for something I like to call Lentil Soup #22 (or Moroccan-Style Lentil Soup). I’ve posted lentil soups before, but this is way different.

I used Spanish lentils for this (they hold their shape really well) but any brown lentil will work fine. So would red or green, probably.

Lentil Soup #22 (or Moroccan-Style Lentil Soup)
Adapted from a recipe by ME!
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp sun dried tomato paste
1 cinnamon stick
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/4 cups brown lentils
1 handful cilantro, chopped
Optional: 1/2 tsp Rogan Josh seasoning
Garnishes: more cilantro and yogurt

Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and saute over medium, until a little golden and soft, 8-10 minutes.

Next comes the paprika, cumin, tomato paste and Rogan Josh seasoning, if using. Stir and cook about another two minutes.

Add the cinnamon stick, broth, diced tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Combine the lentils into the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, about an hour. Taste and adjust seasonings and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chopped cilantro and serve.

Garnish with more cilantro and yogurt.

***

In bread news, I made the Pecan, Raisin & Anise Baguettes which turned out well and then last weekend I made another French Round. I let the starter go for 16 hours, I used Morton Kosher Salt (saltier!) and spritzed with water. It made all the difference! So good! nom nom nom nom

Ah, a new year. What better time to learn a new skill? And the new skill I have my heart set on is bread making…with yeast and everything. I have flirted a bit before with Parmesan Flatbread and Pizza Dough, but now I am talking full-on loaves of crusty, wonderful bread. I know, so scary!

Here is experiment number one. I’ll give myself about a C+.

I’ve started my bread learnin’ at the King Arthur Flour site because I happen have that brand of flour at home and they also have tons of free recipes online. I’m going to try and bake myself through some of their recipes, starting with French-Style Country Bread. I’ll intersperse the original recipe with my photos. Any notes that are mine will be in italics.

Full disclosure: I am kneading with the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Okay, let’s go!

French-Style Country Bread
From King Arthur Flour Online Recipes

Sponge Starter (Begin 2 to 16 hours ahead)
1 cup (8 ounces) cool to lukewarm water, preferably spring water (90 to 100°F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) King Arthur White Whole Wheat or Traditional Whole Wheat Flour

Dough
All of the sponge starter (above)
1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water, preferably spring water (l00 to 115°F)
3/4 teaspoon active dry or 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
3 3/4 to 4 cups (1 pound to 1 pound 1 ounce) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

To Make The Sponge: Stir all of the sponge ingredients together to make a thick, pudding-like mixture. I think mine was a little dry. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on a counter overnight or for at least 2 to 4 hours.

My sponge…she is not like pudding.

If you’re making this in a bread machine, place the sponge ingredients inside, and turn the machine on for just a few seconds to mix the ingredients together. Turn the machine off and close the cover.

Let the sponge rest for 4 hours or overnight (anywhere between 2 and 16 hours is fine, the longer the better). I let my sponge rest about 3.5 hours.

To Make The Dough: Stir down the sponge with a spoon and add the water, yeast, sugar, most of the flour (hold back about 1/2 cup to use if required) — I used 3 cups of flour here, but I think I also had extra dough in my sponge starter, and salt. Knead the dough, adding more flour as necessary, to make a soft dough, 10 to 12 minutes.

Ready to start rising!

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or plastic container, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and a damp towel, and let it rise until almost doubled (depending on the weather, this could be l to 2 hours). If you’re going out, or if you prefer, let the dough rise slowly in the fridge. If your dough has been refrigerated, allow it to come to room temperature; it’ll warm up and rise at the same time.

It has risen!

After its first rise, deflate the dough gently, but don’t knock out all the air; this will create those “holes” so important to French bread. Form the dough into a round ball. Place two cookie sheets atop one another, and place a semolina- or cornmeal-dusted piece of parchment paper on top. I just used one cookie sheet and I was out of parchment, I had to use foil.

After 2nd rise on the cookie sheet.

Gently place the ball of dough on the cookie sheet, seam-side down. Cover it lightly with a tea towel, and let it rise the second time until it’s puffy and about 40% to 50% larger, anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes (depending on the weather, luck, and magic). Slash or cross-hatch the bread with a sharp knife or lame.

My slashing deflated mine a bit.

Dust it with a little flour. I forgot to dust with flour. Also, mine got a lot bigger in the 45 minutes it rested. It kind of got blob-like. Next time, I may take more care in shaping the original round.

Out of the oven.

For Oven Baking: Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. After slashing the bread, spritz water into the oven with a clean plant mister, and place the bread in the oven. Reduce the heat to 425 degrees F and spritz with water every few minutes for the first 15 minutes of baking. Bake the bread for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until it tests done. Yield: 1 large round bread or two medium breads.

Notes/Results:

1. I baked my bread on a pizza stone, I just slid the foil onto the stone. I will use parchment next time. I think I’ll continue to use the stone.
2. I had no spritzer, so I had a small baking dish of water in the oven while I baked the bread. Not sure if that helped but I did buy a spritzer. I will use that next time.
3. I measured my flour, next time I will weigh it as my starter was more dough-like than pudding-like. I probably had about 1/2 cup too much flour.
4. I used sea salt, next time I will use regular salt.
5. I will let the starter go as long as possible on the next batch, to try to develop more flavor.
6. Hmmmm, glad I am not doing this too seriously — it’s much more enjoyable when I am not putting that much pressure on myself. If the bread turns out — great! If not, hopefully the next loaf will work.

That said, this loaf (round?) was not bad at all. I didn’t think it had a lot of flavor (that might have been a salt issue, plus not letting the starter sponge go that long) and I wanted bigger holes. That said, I was super, super happy with my rising, though. It rose most excellently! I used Alton brown’s trick of filling a baking dish with boiling water, setting that in the oven (turned off) and putting the dough in there to rise in a nice, humid space.

We’ve eaten about 3/4 of the loaf so far, most recently, using the bread for grilled cheese sandwiches (sharp white cheddar, onion, dijon mustard, cherry tomatoes and some balsamic vinegar). Those were really tasty!

Oh and I used some to make croutons for a Caesar Salad. So good! I think this weekend, I’ll attempt another loaf of this French-Style Country Bread.

But next up: Hazelnut Pecan Golden Raisin Baguettes — the starter is going even as I type this!