Blogging in the Dark

Today's post is only tangentially food-related. If, like me, you live in a northern climate, you probably find, especially in winter, that a lot of your cooking is done after dark (since dark happens at 4pm). Photographing food is a challenge at the best of times, let alone in unnatural light.

Since I started blogging, I've tried several workarounds. The first was a flash…Don't. Even. Bother. Flashes make food look like it's made of plastic. So then I tried a wide aperture combined with some post processing…great, if your food is two-dimensional, otherwise, only half your pasta bowl will be in focus (a side-effect of wide apertures). Most recently, I had started photographing my food in the bathroom. This did not seem like a very viable option, and in truth, I was tired of having my artistic options limited by the lighting (or lack thereof).

I was just about to shell out for a couple of these when I came upon this most useful post, which explains how to go about building a lightbox using nothing more than a few desklamps, some fabric, and a large cardboard box.

Having just moved, the box was easy to find. For everything else, I visited my two most trustworthy "project" stores: Dollarama (tape and cheap white pillowcases) and Canadian Tire (light bulbs, an extension cord, and 2 clip-on desk lamps at $7.99 each). Overall, the project only took half a day to build (from start to finish), and although I've yet to really test it out, it did seem to work pretty well in the few shots I snapped.

Much, much better than paying $90.00 a pop for studio lighting.




This shot makes me think of Pixar....




Playing around with the lightbox using grapefruits as subjects

More Beans

A couple weeks ago, I made baked beans for the first time. It was quite a revelation. Baked beans (and other related dishes) had previously scared me because of the amount of prep involved, but it seems that (unlike the illusive Thanksgiving turkey), once you get the beans in the oven, they really do cook themselves.

It was a combination of the weather, the need for something leafy and green, and the skilled photographers of the NY Times that persuaded me to revisit baked beans, so soon after my first foray. The ingredients to this recipe bore a striking similarity to one of my favorite soups (which usually turns out to be more of a stew than soup). The beans on the other hand, claimed to have a smooth creamy consistency. A cross between this stick-to-your-ribs-goodness, and this one.

If you're looking for a recipe that's packed with knock-your-socks off flavor, this is not it. On the other hand, if you're looking for some good old fashioned winter-warming food, you're in the right place.

Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto, originally uploaded by CaitKP.

Slow Baked Beans With Kale

(Serves 6)



•1 bunch kale, stemmed and washed in two changes of water
•3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
•1 medium onion, chopped
•1 carrot, chopped
•1 rib celery, chopped
•4 garlic cloves, minced
•1 2/3 cups white beans (3/4 pound) or dried lima beans, picked over and soaked for at least four hours and drained
•1 6-ounce can tomato paste, dissolved in 1 cup water
•3 cups additional water
•A bouquet garni consisting of 4 parsley sprigs, 2 thyme sprigs and a bay leaf
•1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (savory, fennel, basil, thyme)
•Salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper
•1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.

OPTIONAL (my kale was pretty fresh, so I skipped this part): Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the kale. Blanch for two minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain, squeeze out water and cut into ribbons. Set aside.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large ovenproof casserole. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dissolved tomato paste, and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the drained beans, the remaining water, the bouquet garni, herbes de Provence and salt and pepper.. Stir in the kale, bring to a simmer, cover and place in the oven. Bake three hours until the beans are tender and creamy. Taste and adjust salt (I also squeezed in a lemon at this point to brighten the flavors a little).

4. Mix together the remaining olive oil and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the beans, and continue to bake another 30 minutes to an hour until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and serve; or allow to cool slightly and serve with fresh parmesan cheese and a crusty baguette.

Note: Make sure that the beans come to a simmer on top of the stove before placing them in the oven. Do not use old beans, which will not soften no matter how long you simmer them. If the beans do not soften in the oven after a couple of hours, raise the heat to 300 degrees. If you live at a high altitude, raise the oven temperature and let the the beans bake for longer.

Advance preparation: You can make this recipe through Step 3 and store it in the refrigerator up to four days ahead of serving. Top with the bread crumbs, and reheat in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes until the beans are bubbling and the bread crumbs lightly browned.

Marmalade Cake

Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto, originally uploaded by CaitKP.

If you follow this blog, you know that I pretty much can't resist a citrus-themed baked good. But -- pardon the pun--this one takes the cake, not to mention, it used up the last of my slightly runny seville marmalade.

Marmalade Cake

Cake:
·1cup granulated sugar
·1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
·2 large eggs
·2 cups all-purpose flour
·1 1/2 tsp salt
·1 tsp baking soda
·1 cup plain full-fat yogurt
·1/2 cup seville orange marmalade

Syrup:
·2 tbsp marmalade
·3 tbsp orango liqueur (e.g. Cointreau)

Icing:
·2 cups icing sugar (more or less depending on what consistency you want)
·1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
·2 tbsp orange liqueur (Cointreau)
·milk as needed (approx. 2 tbsp) to get the consistency right.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Cut parchment to fit the base of a greased and sugared 9-inch cake pan (or spring form pan).

3. Cream sugar and butter together with beaters until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between.

4. sift together flour, salt, baking soda in a separate bowl. Beat one third of flour mixture into batter, then 1/2 cup of yogurt. Continue, alternating between yogurt and flour, ending with flour. Stir in marmalade.

5. Spoon batter into cake pan. Bake for 55 -60 min. or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 min while making syrup.

6. Combine marmalade and orange liqueur stirring until marmalade dissolves. Bring to a boil, and boil for 30 seconds to burn off alcohol. Strain out any peel.

7. Run the edge of a flexible knife between cake and pan to loosen, if using a cake pan, invert onto a rack and remove parchment. If using a springform pan, just release spring. Place cake right side up on a plate an poke small holes all over the top with a skewer. Brush top and sides generously with syrup. Leave to cool completely (I left mine covered with parchment and a teatowel overnight).

8. Whisk together icing sugar, butter, cointreau, and enough milk to make a slightly runny icing. If it is too runny, add more icing sugar. Spread icing over cake, and allow it to drizzle down sides. I made mine very runny, to the point that it was almost more of a glaze, but you could go for a richer, thicker icing too if you want more of a cakey look.

Caramelized Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto

Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto, originally uploaded by CaitKP.

We got pears in the bin last week. Usually, when I have pears, I either end up eating them for breakfast, chopped up on my cereal, or I make a simple puff-pastry creation with them. However, I've heard good things about pears and blue cheese, and I'd been dying to try it. There was just one issue.

Most pear and blue cheese concoctions take the form of a tart or a salad. I wanted something a bit heartier than a salad, but didn't have the patience (or a tart-pan for that matter) to make a tart. Then I found this. Not only was it a pear and blue cheese risotto, it was a *Jamie Oliver recipe* for a pear and blue cheese risotto. The only tweak I made was to use blue cheese rather than gorgonzola, and not quite as much as the recipe called for (since blue cheese is a bit stronger). This goes well with a good peppery arugula salad with a dijon-ish dressing to cut the richness.

Blue Cheese and Caramelized Pear Risotto

(Serves 4 -6)

• 3 ripe commis pears, trimmed, peeled and cored
• 4 tbsp honey, for drizzling
• 4 cups+ chicken stock, preferably free-range or organic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 40g unsalted butter, plus extra knob for frying
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 400g arborio or other risotto rice
• 325ml dry vermouth or a good dry white wine
• 150g gorgonzola cheese, crumbled, or 100g Danish Blue Cheese
• 50g freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Small bunch of fresh thyme tips and extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Cut the pears in half lengthways and cut each half lengthways into 3 or 4 slices. Place onto a baking tray, drizzle with honey and place into the oven for 15 minutes until softened and coloured around the edges. Remove and set aside to cool.

2 In a saucepan, heat the chicken stock. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and knob of butter, add the onions, garlic and celery, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes or until soft – don’t let the veg colour. When veg are soft, add your rice and turn up the heat. Lightly fry the rice, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick to the pan. After a minute, when it looks slightly translucent, add the alcohol, and keep stirring. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a lovely subtle, slightly floral flavour.

3 Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add a ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so that the rice doesn’t cook too quickly. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring all the while to release the creamy starch out of the rice. Allow each ladleful of stock to be absorbed before adding the next one. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but still has a slight bite. This will take around 15 minutes. (If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, use some boiling water.) Check the seasoning carefully and adjust to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4 Stir in 100g gorgonzola or 75g or the blue cheese and the cooled roasted pear slices until the cheese melts and the pears are warmed through. Remove the pan from the heat, add the butter and parmesan and stir well. Place a lid on the pan and let it rest for 2 minutes. (This is the most important part of making good risotto, as it helps it become really creamy and lets the flavours infuse.) Check seasoning and adjust to taste as required. Pick off a few fresh thyme tips and stir them into the risotto, then spoon onto plates or bowls, making sure that every plate gets a good amount of both sweet roasted pears and the beautiful, salty, melted gorgonzola. Garnish with an extra grating of parmesan, remaining gorgonzola, a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil and a few more thyme tips.

Stick-To-Your-Ribs Goodness

Stick-To-Your-Ribs Goodness, originally uploaded by CaitKP.

There's been a lot of flap lately about magazines and newspapers being rendered obsolete by the internet. I hope this never comes to pass. It's true that for most of my culinary inspiration, I use the web, but to use the web, you have to have at least some inclination as to what you are going to make. It's on days when I have *absolutely no clue* what I want to cook that I hit the books (or magazines). And every once in a while, I discover that I want to make something I had no idea I wanted to make, until I saw that glossy full page picture of it.

This was how the beans and smoked pork chops came to be. Maybe it was the cold weather and the stick-to-your-ribs-ness of the dish that drew me to it, but whatever the reason, I decided I wanted to make good, old fashioned pork and beans. A recipe for which I had absolutely none of the ingredients. The smoked chops were surprisingly easy to find, at none other than PorcMeilleur (a small, local butcher shop at the Jean Talon market), and besides that, it was all pretty basic.

Smoked Pork Chops and Baked Beans

Serves 4-8 (depending on the number of pork chops)

Don't be scared off by the amount of time this recipe takes. Most of that time is not spent doing active prep work, and, if you need to "pause" the whole operation for a few hours, everything is pretty robust.

·1 lb dried white beans such as Great Northern or navy.
· 1 small onion halved
·1 tbsp Olive oil or butter
·1 medium onion finely chopped
·1 can (126 mL) tomato paste
·1/2 cup fancy molasses, or 1/4 cup fancy molasses, and 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
·1 tbsp dijon mustard (or 1 tsp dried mustard)
·1 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika)
·1/2 tsp salt
·4-8 smoked pork chops (at least 1/2 inch thick), preferably bone-in
·1 tbsp olive oil
·1 tbsp cider vinegar
·Black pepper
·fresh thyme

1. Soaking the beans:

In a large pot, boil the beans, one onion (halved) and a few bay leaves in water (enough to cover the beans by 2 in.) for 8 minutes. At this point, you can either let the whole operation sit at room temp for an hour, or in the fridge overnight (I left mine in the fridge overnight).

2. Cook the beans:
Preheat the oven to 300°F and position a rack just below center.

In a large oven-safe pot or dutch oven, over medium heat, heat a 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onion until soft. Then, add tomato paste, molasses, maple syrup (if using), mustard, salt and paprika, and stir until combined. Stir in 4 cups of cold water. Drain the beans, and add them too. Bring the whole lot to a boil, tuck in a couple thyme sprigs, cover, and put in the oven.

Bake, covered, for 3 hrs, stirring occasionally.

After 3 hours time, stir in the vinegar. At this point, you can move directly to cooking the pork, or leave the beans to sit at room temp for a couple hours (this was what I did), or let the beans cool and refrigerate for a few days, or let them cool and freeze them.

3. Cooking the pork.

Preheat the oven to 300°F (if not already on). Rub poke chops with olive oil, and in a heavy pan, over medium-high heat, saute chops until lightly browned on both sides (5-8 min. per side). Place smoked pork chops in beans, partially submerged, overlapping as necessary. Cover, and cook in oven for 1 hr, until beans are infused with smoke from pork chops, and pork chops are heated through.

Remove chops, adjust seasoning on beans (adding splashes of boiling water if sauce is too thick) and serve, garnished with more fresh thyme.

I had never had smoked pork chops before, but wow. These were awesome. If I had to sum it up, I'd say a texture like smoked ham, but a taste like pulled pork, and *gorgeously* smoky. It's possible (and likely) that we just got killer pork, but I like to believe that the way I prepared them had something to do with it.

The recipe, and the pic that started all this, is not up online yet (LCBO is annoying like that) but, I will link to it as soon as it surfaces.


Note: If, as was the case with us, you're cooking this dish for 2 people with leftovers, this is what I recommend: make the full amount of beans. They'll freeze well. When it comes to cooking the chops, I bought 6 but only cooked 4. The remaining 2 I froze, with about 1/3 of the cooked beans, so that all I have to do is thaw the lot and pop it in the oven. To reheat from refrigerated, its a similar process: bring beans and chops to room temp, put it an oven safe pot/dish (submerge chops so they don't dry out) and put the whole lot in the oven until heated through.

Swiss Chard Gratin

I am always looking for new things to do with leafy greens. At this point, I've done the quiche/fritatta, the pasta, the saute, the soup, etc. The only one I hadn't done (until recently) was the casserole. I'd seen several recipes for vegetable casseroles featuring chard or kale, but none had spoken to me. That was, until I heard tell of a swiss chard gratin recipe on AEB which had become "an AEB standard". Now, a good recipe is one thing, a stanard, go-to recipe, now that's a whole different animal. I had to try it.

The ingredient list was remarkably minimal, besides the chard, it was all standard pantry items. I took a cue from Kevin, over at Closet Cooking and roasted up the remaining half of a butternut squash I had in my fridge to add to the mix. Besides that though, I played by AEB's rules

Swiss Chard Gratin

a.k.a. Seafood Mornay's vegetarian cousin

Serves 3 as a main, 6 as a side.

1 (large) bunch Swiss chard
1 bay leaf
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
1/4 cup flour
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups milk
nutmeg
3/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano/ cheddar (I did half and half)
1/2 butternut squash, cut into 1/2" rounds and roasted (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash the chard and separate the stalks from the leaves. Slice the stalks into 1/4" by 3" pieces. Parboil in salted water with a bay leaf for 5 minutes, drain and set aside.

Slice the greens into thin ribbons. Wilt the greens in olive oil and garlic, working in batches if necessary. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Set aside.

In a saucepan, stir the flour into the melted butter and place over medium heat. Stir constantly for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and whisk in the milk, a few tablespoons at a time. When it has turned into a smooth paste, add the salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Cook, whisking constantly, until it has the consistency of a thick milk shake.

Butter a baking dish and spread the greens over the bottom. Add the stalks (and squash if using), then the sauce. Add a bit more nutmeg, then the cheese. Add a few pats of butter on top of the cheese and bake for 25 minutes, until a nice golden crust has formed.

AEB suggests serving with a salad, I agree. I highly recommend a simple green salad with a dijonaise dressing (olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard), as it cuts the richness of the gratin quite nicely.

Now, a few side notes:

1. You could sub in just about any leafy green here, and next time I make it, I might try using a few different types. I'll probably add *more* greens next time too, but that might just be my leafy-green addiction speaking.

2. This recipe makes a rather oozy (albiet delicious) gratin, not unlike seafood mornay. Again, one fix to this is more greens to soak up the sauce, or alternatively, one could add an egg, as is done in the Closet Cooking recipe, to make things stick together a bit better.

3. If you're feeling especially ambitious, this would make a killer crepe filling. Or better yet, make a double batch and use the leftovers in crepes.

A Tale of Two Loaves

It is January in the Northeast, a sad time on the fruit front. The clementines are getting mushy and saccharine, the strawberries are pallid and flavourless, and we are still 3 months away from seeing anything locally grown on our shelves. This is the time of year I fall into the banana-grapefruit rut. Bananas because I can throw them in my bag, grapefruits because they actually taste like something. However, it's also the time of year that the stores are selling grapefruits in huge mesh bags, and lovely green bananas that seem to go from underripe to overripe with little warning, and so, I have enough grapefruits to feed a small army, and a freezer full of brown bananas. So, it must be time to start baking.

The secret behind quick-breads is that the basic components are almost always the same. It's just the details which vary. As such, you can get away with baking multiple loaves (even from different recipes) at the same time. So, I decided to make a banana loaf and a grapefruit loaf, and freeze one (quick breads freeze nicely).

A Tale of Two Loaves, Banana Loaf (front) Grapefruit Loaf (rear) originally uploaded by CaitKP.

A quick note on concurrency here: It really is hard to assemble two different recipes simultaneously. You will likely get mixed up and end up with double the salt in one, and no salt in the other or worse yet, make the same mistake with the baking powder. So, that said, here's what I did: I took out all my ingredients and set them on the counter to come to room temp (eggs, butter etc.). Then, I made the batter for the grapefruit loaf, and let it sit while I made the banana loaf batter (another perk of quick-breads is that they're quite patient: you can let them sit for a while and they will come to no harm). Then I popped them both in the oven to cook for about an hour.

Grapefruit Bread

(makes 1 loaf)

The original recipe calls for much sifting and glazing. I did not sift or glaze. In fact, I think were I to do it over again, I would just bust out the beaters and beat. Also, if, like me, you're partial to pink grapefruits, they are a headache to zest without a zester. I gave up, peeled the whole thing (try to peel zest but not pith), and then finely chopped the resulting peelings. As long as you get small enough pieces, they will disappear when the loaf is baked, leaving only their tangy flavor behind.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3 teaspoons grated grapefruit zest (approximately one large grapefruit)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a loaf pan (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch, or somewhere thereabouts) with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another (larger) bowl, whisk or beat together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, grapefruit zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk or beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup grapefruit juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the grapefruit-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

Banana Bread

(makes one loaf)

Again, the orginal calls for much sifting. I had no sifter, only beaters.

1 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (I used 3)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a loaf pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 or so) with parchement paper.

Combine flour with baking powder and salt (sift if you feel so inclined). Cream butter and sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add flour mixture alternately with bananas, small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Turn into your parchement-lined loaf pan, and bake for about an hour until done.

For me, the grapfruit loaf finished 10 min before the banana loaf (as predicted), but the best bet is to just trust the cake tester.