Green Beans

Cooking green beans, you might think, is to simple to warrant a post, but this post is more than simply cooking instructions.

When I was growing up my mother served green beans often.  I didn’t particularly like them.  They were bland, soft and tasteless.  They came from a can.

Green beans are easy to grow in your yard or even in a container, although a single bush would probably only produce a handful of beans.   There are pole beans (i.e. a vine that needs to be supported by a pole of some kind) and bush beans.   Purple green beans are fun because, well . . . they’re purple.  When you cook them, unfortunately, they turn green. 

The typical green beans found in supermarkets, called string beans, are larger and thicker than the French Haricot vert beans.  They also tend to curl, whereas the French beans are elegantly straight.  The French beans do have a slightly different taste, but it’s a subtle difference. I prefer the haricot verts for aesthetic reasons, although both varieties are good to eat.

There are a dozen ways to cook green beans.  Here’s how I prepare them:  I bring some water to a boil and then place the basket with trimmed beans into the pot and immediately cover it.  I reduce the heat to a moderate heat and steam them for about 6 minutes ; until they are al dente.  It’s good to check tenderness with a fork because there is nothing worse than overcooked green beans.  Once they are cooked, I quickly dump out the water and put the beans into the pot.  I salt them with coarse ground salt and grind some black pepper over them and then  pour a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan and shake it all about.  The oil helps the salt and pepper to stick to the beans.

Note:  I trim the stem end of beans, but leave the other end alone.  Those little tails are too cute to cut.

Grilled Salmon Steaks with Peach and Mustard Glaze

Grilled salmon is simple to cook and is elegant to serve.  It’s a dish that you can prepare for guests quickly, without having to disappear into the kitchen for 30 minutes because the marinade is made earlier in the day or the night before.

1/3 cup peach marmalade
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cream sherry
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 T ginger powder (shaved and chopped fresh ginger would be ideal)
2 T honey
4 to 8 (8-ounce) salmon fillets

1. Combine first 6 ingredients.   Heat in a saucepan and stir well to mix the ingredient.

2.  Cut the salmon filet into individual steaks.

3.  Place the cooled glaze into a large Ziplock bag with the salmon.  If you have time, seal and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Drink some cream sherry while waiting.  If you are really planning ahead, do this the night before and refrigerate overnight.

4. Preheat grill for 10 minutes on high.  Place salmon on grill and cook for about 6-7 minutes (uncovered).  Reserve the marinade.  Using a wide metal spatula, turn the steaks once and cook an additional 4 minutes.

Serve  on hot plates and liberally spoon the marinade over each steak.  Garnish with a slice of lemon and a spring of rosemary to dress it up.  Nicely accompanied by green beans and oven roasted potatoes.  Or rice.  Or couscous.  Or whatever you like. 

Notes

1.   Feel free to substitute orange marmalade.

2.  We generally buy the Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon, boneless & skinless, at Costco. 

3.  There are health benefits to eating salmon, but also risks.  Read the following article to be informed.

Wild vs. Farmed Salmon, The Pros And Cons

By Joseph Schwartz
bjs54@cornell.edu
Cornell University News Service
http://www.news.cornell.edu

On the one hand, farmed salmon has more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than wild salmon. On the other hand, it also tends to have much higher levels of chemical contaminants that are known to cause cancer, memory impairment and neurobehavioral changes in children. What's a consumer to do?

In general, a new study shows that the net benefits of eating wild Pacific salmon outweigh those of eating farmed Atlantic salmon, when the risks of chemical contaminants are considered, although there are important regional differences.

Those are the conclusions of Barbara Knuth, Cornell professor of natural resources who specializes in risk management associated with chemical contaminants in fish, and Steven Schwager, Cornell associate professor of biological statistics and computational biology and an expert in sampling design and statistical analysis of comparative data. The two have co-authored a benefit-risk analysis of eating farmed versus wild salmon in the Journal of Nutrition (November, Vol. 135).

Read the rest of this article here: 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/35370.php

Onion Burger

Rachel stay with us for the first time this weekend and we had a terrific time.  We met Natalie for lunch at Irazu, on Milwaukee Avenue, near Western.  Afterwards we went to Grant Park, planning to visit the Field Museum.  We arrived at 4:10 and learned that the last admittance was at 4:00 (!), so we went to see "The Bean."  Dinner at Mista Pizza.  Sunday morning Rachel help make a surprize breakfast for Carolyn (blueberry pancakes).  After breakfast we embarked on a bike ride through the NU campus.  It was hot!  And humid.  We turned on the lawn sprinkler for Rachel to cool off.  After lunch we went to visit Rachel's great grandmother.  We returned in time to make dinner, which consisted of an onion hamburger.  This was a first try, but everyone gave it a two thumbs up.

1 lb. ground beef, 7% fat
1.3 lb. ground beef, 20% fat
2 large onions, diced
Dubliner Irish cheese, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 12" skillet; spread to cover pan.  Set heat at medium high; add the diced onions and 2 tablespoons water.  Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes.  Stir, add another 2 tablespoons of water, cover and continue to cook.  Repeat for one hour.  Caramelize the onions; don't burn them.

Mix the beef together with the salt and cheese.  Add the caramelized onions and mix thoroughly.  The mixture will be fairly wet; not like a standard hamburger.  Form balls and squash into patty shape.  Grill on high heat; flip when underside is well cooked.  Serve on a toasted bun.

Mediterranean Style Skillet Potatoes

Paul and Tom joined us at Killasonna Lodge last weekend (Memorial Day Weekend).  They really liked the potatoes, which I made to accompany the Frittata B for breakfast.  They also liked the “HomeWare” outfits that we brought for them from Adriana’s atelier in Buenos Aires. 

Potatoes
Olive Oil
Ham (preferably a honey ham), diced (optional)
Salt
Black pepper
Oregano
Thyme
Basil
Paprika
Hot pepper flakes (optional)

Bake or microwave potatoes; cool; slice into 1/4" thick rounds. Dice the (optional) ham.

Arrange the potato rounds on a cutting board and generously sprinkle with salt, pepper and spices (easy on the paprika).
Pour about 1/4 cup of olive oil into a skillet and turn the heat to medium high.
Place the rounds into the skillet, seasoned side facing skillet.  While browning, season the clean side generously with more salt, pepper and spices. Flip occasionaly so everything gets nicely browned.
Once browned, push the potatoes to one side of the skill and add the ham.  Use a spatula to turn the ham so it gets thoroughly coated with the oil and seasonings.

Note 1:  The potatoes soak up the oil, so add a little bit at a time, as needed, but be careful; you don't want the potatoes to be oily.
Note 2:  Be generous with the oregano, thyme and basil. 

Frittata B

Sunday, June 29, 2008. Carolyn and I started the weekend by taking Natalie, Julia, Elliot and Zoe to dinner at Sabor a Café on Friday night. Yesterday we did at a road trip, of shorts, to Madison, WI to attend Tom’s 60^th birthday party (see photo below). We awoke with the alarm clock set to nine. Glorious!  I made breakfast a little after two in the afternoon and it turned out perfect. I had been trying to make a frittata for years without scorching the eggs and always failed. This time it worked; miraculously and perfectly. I think adding water did the trick, combined with cooking over a moderate, somewhat low, heat. –jb

6 large eggs
1/3 teaspoon salt
Generous sprinkling of thyme leaves
¼ teaspoon crush red pepper flakes
¼ cup water
Olives (Provencal, if possible), without pits (about ¼ cup)
2 tablespoon Giardinara
Brie, cut into ten ¾” pieces
Gorogonzola, broken into 10 small pieces
Spray canola oil
10 cherry tomatoes

Spray a 12” skillet with three short bursts of oil.  Heat the skillet on low heat for several minutes.

Mix the eggs, salt and water well and pour into the skillet.  Place olives and small dollops of giardinera into the eggs, followed by the cheese and tomatoes, distributed somewhat evenly.  Sprinkle with thyme.  Cover and cook over slightly less than medium heat for about 8-10 minutes; until done.  Be careful not to scorch the eggs (i.e. the dreaded light brown crust under the frittata). If done correctly, the entire thing will slide out of the skillet in one large piece. Serve with toast and jam.

Note 1:  I have made this with a variety of adjustments.  Sometimes with olive tampenade substituting for the olives and giardinera, sometimes without Brie.  Add or subtract as you like, just be sure to cook slowly.  i.e. just below medium, covered.

Note 2:  What’s the difference between an omelets and a frittata?  On omelets is folded; a frittata’s ingredients are combined with the eggs.

Alfajores de maicena

Sofia (Maria’s daughter) shared this recipe when we visited in Magnolia Hotel in May, 2010.  The cookies are made from cornstarch, not flour. 

150 gr Butter
150 gr powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
500 gr  maicena (cornstarch)
10 gr baking powder
Vanilla
Dulce de leche repostero
Shredded coconut

Mix butter and sugar in processor for 5 minutes until smooth
Add 3 egg yolks, one at a time, and process
Add baking powder; process
Add vanilla; process
Wrap in plastic and allow to chill in refrigerator
Roll out and cut into circles with a shot glass
Bake at 180 deg. C for 10-12 minutes
Smear with dulce de leche
Coat edges with coconut

Mussels Provençal

Last Saturday, May 15, 2010, Carolyn, Julia and I had lunch at El Obrero, a well known and well regarded “bogedone” in the La Boca barrio of Buenos Aires.  The restaurant is well off the beaten path, in a somewhat seedy neighborhood containing many industrial buildings, stray dogs and little street life.  The sidewalks in this area are unusual, abruptly changing elevation that presumably is meant to protect the buildings against flooding from the nearby river (see photo below).  Note that there are no guard rails at the top of the elevated sidewalks.  The restaurant, which dates back to 1954, is popular and crowded. The food and service were excellent.  Here, Carolyn and I introduced Julia to mejillones a la provençal (mussels provencal).  Following is my interpretation, which I developed after a trip to France in 2000.  Extremely simple, but totally satisfying.  -jb

2 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup white wine
¼ teaspoon celery seed
salt and black pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium/large tomato, diced

In a Dutch oven, cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil for 10 minutes over a medium heat.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes.  The heat to boiling and add the mussels, cover and reduce heat to medium.  Cook about 8 minutes or until all the mussels have opened.  Discard any mussels that remain closed.  Serve with bread and white wine.

first prepared June 29, 2000

At El Obrero, located at Augustin R. Caffarena 64