Choose leeks with bottoms of lots of white and lime green...
Ahead of time...
• Prep your leeks and make sure they're free of dirt and grit before cooking or eating them... remove roots & dark green, and slice remaining core in half lengthwise. Slice halves into thin half moons. Soak leeks in a colander submerged in a sink full of cold water. Drain and repeat the process again. Rinse well and store in a container of ice water in the fridge until ready to use.
• Remove goat cheese from fridge and let warm to room temperature.
• Toast Ciabatta slices and keep warm
To cook...
Heat a sauté pan on medium and add just enough clarified butter to cover the bottom.
Add the leeks and season them with sea salt.
Sweat the leeks for 5 minutes or until softened to "al dente" and hints of lime green in color. Stir often and don't overcook them.
Add the garlic and stir. Cook for a minute.
Add the goat cheese and cream and stir.
Add the tomatoes and stir.
Remove from heat, add the tarragon and parsley.
Balance seasoning with sea salt and freshly ground white pepper.
To Serve...
Lightly rub the edge of the toasted Ciabatta with the clove of garlic.
Drizzle a hint of olive oil over the Ciabatta.
Top with Leek and Tomato mixture.
Garnish with chopped parsley.
Serve on small plates with forks.
Here's how to make your own...
In a saucepan over low heat add 2 cups heavy pasteurized cream... not ultra pasteurized.
Warm it to the touch... not hot... just take the chill off.
Add 3 Tablespoons of buttermilk.
Stir.
Put in glass jar with a lid. Set aside on a shelf in a warm spot for 24 hours... stirring every 8 hours or so.
Stir and then refrigerate for 24 hours.
Stir again before use.
Keeps 7-10 days in fridge.
Andouille Sausage, Gulf Shrimp and Shaved Tasso
To Prep:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 Wagshal's Fresh Andouille Sausages, casings removed and broken apart
1 Wagshal's Smoked Andouille Sausage, sliced thinly
2 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced thinly
1 fresh sage sprig, stem removed and leaves chopped coarsely
18 Wagshal's extra large fresh, wild Gulf shrimp, peeled, deveined, rinsed and dried.
3 ounces of your favorite beer... you can drink the rest!!!
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 ounces Tasso ham, shaved thinly
Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped finely
To Cook...
Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat.
Add just enough extra virgin olive oil to barely coat the bottom.
Add the fresh Andouille sausage and cook until deeply browned.
Then remove it with a slotted spoon to a platter and keep warm.
Add the garlic and chopped sage to the same sauté pan. Stir.
Add the shrimp and sear it on all sides tossing the mixture with tongs for about 5 minutes or until opaque in color.
Splash with the beer. Cook another minute or so.
Add the sliced smoked Andouille and return the browned fresh Andouille to the sauté pan. Stir and cook until heated through.
Grits
To Prep...
1½ cups Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits Polenta
Extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves of fresh garlic, minced finely
3 cups half and half
1½ cups of water
1 large bay leaf
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup sharp domestic cheddar cheese, grated
More grated cheddar for garnish
To Cook...
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom.
Add garlic and stir.
Add milk, water and bay leaf.
Turn up the heat just enough to bring to a simmer.
Cook for 5 minutes or so.
Remove the bay leaf.
Then...
Bring the milk mixture to a medium boil.
While whisking, pour the corn grits into the boiling liquid in a thin, steady stream.
Cook... stirring constantly, reducing the heat as grits begin to thicken.
Continue to cook until the grits start to pull away from the sides of the pan... about 20 minutes or so. Remove from heat.
Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Add grated cheddar and stir until melted through.
Cover surface of grits with plastic wrap and set aside to keep warm.
To Serve...
Spoon grits into a large, warm serving bowl.
Top with the Andouille Sausage and Gulf Shrimp.
Garnish with Tasso, grated cheddar and flat leaf parsley.
Serves 6.
• Jalapeño Corn Pudding
• Cheddar, Beer, and Spinach Risotto with Slow Roasted Tomatoes
• Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Dates
• Crilley's Almond Cake
Each student was sent home with their menu, a full shopping list with the costs of ingredients, and a bag of Bob's Red Mill almonds or pecans. We can't WAIT for our next Just Cooking...Simply event scheduled for April 15th!!!
]]>What you'll need...
Enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of a medium size heavy saucepan
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped coarsely
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 scant teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 28-ounce cans peeled whole authentic San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand or with a potato masher and juices reserved
Sea salt
White peppercorns, freshly ground
A few fresh thyme sprigs... stems tied together with kitchen twine
End rind of a hunk of Parmesan
To make the sauce...
Place an empty medium-size heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat for a minute or so. We use made in the USA Lodge Cast Iron here at Just Simply... Cuisine!!!
Add the olive oil and heat through for another minute or so.
Add the onion and a pinch of sea salt. Let sweat for a few minutes.
Add the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes.
Stir and cook until onions are soft and translucent... about 5 minutes.
Add the San Marzano tomatoes with their juice and bring to a boil then turn heat down to a simmer.
Add the end rind of a hunk of Parmesan... never throw those away!
Lower the heat and half cover with a lid to avoid splatter.
Let simmer for at least an hour or more. Enjoy!!!
Date: January 22, 2012
Time: 10:14:20 am EST
Place: Just Simply... Cuisine's Teaching Kitchen
Washington, DC
USA
Snapshot: One of Our Winter Favorites...
Slow Roasted Grape Tomatoes
Add slow-roasted grape tomatoes to your favorite sandwich, mix them into risottos, spread them on a pizza or just nosh on them alone... delicious!
Slow Roasted Grape Tomatoes
Grape tomatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt
Vanilla sugar
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F
Slice the tomatoes in 1/2 lengthwise and place them, cut-side up in a roasting pan lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Sprinkle the tomato halves with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil.
Place pan on the middle shelf of your preheated 275 degree oven. About 1 and 1/2 hours in... sprinkle tomatoes with vanilla sugar.
Slow roast for an additional hour or so until the tomatoes are shriveled and caramelized. The excess moisture will have evaporated and the tomatoes will have a delicious concentrated flavor and aroma.
We purchased our lamb shanks from Wagshal's Butcher in Spring Valley DC. The "shank" is the calf section of the leg... lots of tough muscle and fat intertwined with the most flavorful and tastiest of meat.
Wrap your shanks in a "meat undershirt" and refrigerate until you're ready to cook them. A half hour before cooking.. take shanks out of fridge to take the chill off.
Heat a large heavy bottom pot with a tight fitting lid over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom.
A few at a time... brown shanks on all sides until they look like this. Set aside on a platter.
Pour off excess oil from the browning into a container destined to be used for recyclable fuel.
Return pan to stove over medium heat and add a generous handful of sliced onions. Anoint them with sea salt to sweat for a few minutes. Add half a handful of slice garlic and continue to sweat.
After about 5 minutes or so... return your shanks to the pot covering your onions and garlic.
Splash all with a good amount of white wine and cook for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol.
Add a few bay leaves and enough chicken stock to almost cover.
Bring to a boil and cover. Place in a preheated 300 degree oven. Cook low and slow for hours... at least 4 or so. Enjoy!
"I'd love to be an overnight guest in this house and wander down to the kitchen in the middle of the night looking for leftovers or something good to eat!"
Some of Our Building Blocks...
Peeled garlic whole, sliced, and minced in glass storage containers
Fresh flat leaf parsley and cilantro in pitchers of water
Chipotle peppers in Adobe sauce
Meyer lemons
Perfectly ripe avocados and pineapple
Reduced balsamic vinegar
All prepped up onions and peppers
Some of Our Local Mainstays...
Fresh, free range eggs from Cleckner Farm
Wholesome Milk from Homestead Creamery
Wagshal's Amish Farm Chicken and Grassfed Chuck Roast wrapped in our very own "meat undershirts"
Date: January 1, 2012
Time: 21:30:12 pm EST
Place: "Home Away From Home"
Meg and Kev's Montclair, New Jersey
Snapshot: New Year's Day Supper...
Stuffed Filet of Beef Tenderloin, Wilted Romaine, Shaved Parmesan
Heat a Lodge Cast Iron soup pot over medium high heat and coat the bottom with just enough olive oil to cover.
Add...
1 medium onion, diced coarsely
1 large stalk of celery, sliced thinly
2 large cloves of garlic, sliced thinly and...
a generous pinch of red pepper flakes.
Season with sea salt and sweat for 10 minutes or so.
Add a ladle of tomato sauce, stir it into the veggies and cook to caramelize almost to dry.
Add 1 quart+ of chicken stock and 2 large handfuls of fresh kale leaves.
Simmer for 15 minutes or so.
Add leftovers... broccoli rabe cut into bite-size pieces, spinach and chick peas.
Heat through.
Just before serving... add leftover Chipotle Tagliatelle pasta and stir. Adjust seasoning.
Serve with a slice of rustic bread, toasted, smeared with a clove of fresh garlic and drizzled with olive oil.
Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan, olive oil and chopped Italian flat leaf parsley.
So we're STOCK... ing today. A messy but "worth it" endeavor to fuel Just Simply... Cuisine's cold winter menus in the months ahead... soups, pot pies, risottos, stews, sauces... yum!!!
To Make Your Stock...
Thaw your chicken backs and rinse them in cold water.
Wrap them in your "meat undershirts" to dry them well. Anyone who's roasted, seared, grilled, browned or sauteed meats with Just Simply... Cuisine knows what a "meat undershirt" is!!!
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a large roasting pan... arrange your dry chicken backs skin side down in one layer. Do not crowd them.
Roast them in the lower half of your oven for an hour or so or until browned.
Using tongs.. transfer the roasted chicken backs to a large stock pot.
Only add enough cold water to just cover the backs. Then add a large handful of fresh parsley sprigs, a medium whole peeled onion, a couple of celery stalks with leaves, 2 bay leaves and a few peppercorns.
Over medium high heat... bring your stock to a boil. Skim the surface with a long handle spoon or strainer. Then, with your pot uncovered or half covered, lower your heat so that your stock slowly cooks at a gentle simmer. Let it go for a few hours... tasting for richness of flavor along the way. We usually taste test with pieces of stale bread... just don't double dip please!
Adjust seasoning for sea salt and freshly ground white peppercorns. Let cool.
With tongs... remove chicken backs and discard.
Strain your stock into a large stock pot.
Refrigerate overnight.
Skim fat from surface and discard.
Store stock in freezer containers of all sizes for varied use.
Date: December 8, 2011
Time: 13:48:05 pm EST
Place: Just Simply... Cuisine's Teaching Kitchen NW Washington DC
Snapshot: Just picked backyard garden arugula, thyme, chives and parsley for tonight's bloomspot cooking class!!!
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Beets are one of the most underated, underused root vegetables alive. Vibrant in color and highly nutritious... you can find them at your market from August through April. A Just Simply... Cuisine winter staple, delicious beets can be steamed, sauteed, grilled, pureed, caramelized and roasted fast or slow.
Remember... they grow in dirt. Wash them gently so you don't pierce their skins. And wait until after they've been cooked to peel them.
