The Swing of Things

I've been at home, recuperating from my foot surgery, and I've really missed writing this blog, and most of all, cooking! We were down to a little bit of nothing in the fridge, in the way of proteins, and have been subsisting on take-out. My husband doesn't cook very often, and it's been quite an effort to stand in the kitchen and prep ingredients, so take-out was the solution. I think we exhausted about all of our options by the time I was ready to pull a list together and get some food in the house! Finally, last night, Peapod delivered, and our fridge is again stocked with delicious, fresh ingredients, and there's a menu hanging on the door. Ah, getting back into the swing of things now!

I decided to start off simple, with meals that don't take a ton of time, or prep...and best of all, clean up easily. I still have to take it easy on my foot, although I can walk on it, so short stints in the kitchen are best. For my first trick, Asari Sakamushi (Steamed Clams with Soy, Butter and Garlic) with a side of Thai-Style Brussels Sprouts. This meal took a total of about 20 minutes, with only about 8 minutes of actual cooking time, between the two dishes. It was so simple to pull together, totally delicious, and great for a hot summer's evening.

Between the two recipes, there were a total of 11 ingredients, which is great because I could pull everything out without too many trips to the pantry and fridge from my workspace near the stove. I gathered my bottles of olive oil, fish sauce, sake, and soy sauce, and then grabbed some roasted peanuts, garlic cloves, butter, scallions and a lemon. I had unpacked the groceries and left my Brussels sprouts and clams on the counter already so now I was ready to start! Instead of the Manila clams suggested in the recipe, I purchased about 3 pounds of steamers - they were on sale, and they are my favorite! I washed them in some cold water to remove a lot of the grit and set them aside. I trimmed, groomed, and halved my Brussels sprouts too, placing them in a bowl with the olive oil and fish sauce to marinate for a few minutes. That was the extent of the prep, aside from a little chopped garlic!

At the same time, I heated a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, and also brought the sake and garlic to a boil in a separate deep-walled pan. I definitely had more than 30 clams so I wanted to make sure there was a lot of room for them to open. I placed the Brussels sprouts halved-side down into the cast iron skillet, and left them to caramelize while I tended to my clams. Once the sake was simmering, I poured those clams into the pan and covered them, leaving them to steam for the next 5 minutes. I don't think I've ever steamed clams in a pot with a clear cover before, and I have to stay that it was very cool to actually watch them cooking, and slowly opening. Maybe it's just been too long since I cooked a meal...but I was intrigued!

As the clams finished cooking, it was also time to stir the brussels sprouts and get the other side a bit more browned. I stirred them up, and then removed the clams from the pan with a slotted spoon. In place of the clams, I added some soy sauce, lemon juice, and butter to the pan, allowing it all to meld and get deliciously luxurious and silky, just two or three minutes longer. I poured it all over the clams, sprinkled some sliced scallions on top, and voila...dinner is served!

We ended up baking a loaf of frozen bread towards the end of our dinner, because there was so much delicious broth left over that we couldn't waste! I didn't think we'd need it with all the clams, but, it was too good to just pour down the drain. YUM!!

STOCKin' Up!

I made my own chicken stock this weekend! We're forging ahead in The Professional Chef, to the Stocks, Soups and Sauces section of the book. There are plenty of recipes to try, and many lessons to be learned, but I decided to start simple, with chicken stock. Stock is referred to in French fonds de cuisine, or "the foundations of cooking." I use it every week, and I spend lots of money on cartons of it at the store...but this weekend proved one thing to me - I won't be buying pre-packaged stock anymore!

The recipe called for 8 lbs of chicken bones, but when I went to the store, and asked the meat department for said chicken bones, they said that all of their poultry is packaged already when it is delivered. That's what I get for going to a store without a proper butcher department (next time, I'll try this!). I opted for two packages of bony chicken wings, to substitute as an ingredient for my stock. In the end, I think this made the stock a bit more gelatinous when cooled, but all it needs is a little heat to loosen right back up.

This was going to be a 4-hour process, so I started as soon as my groceries were delivered on Sunday afternoon! (Yes, thank you Peapod!) I put a gallon of water into a nice, big stock pot, and added the chicken wings, which I rinsed before adding them. I salted the mixture and set it to simmer for the next 3 hours.

While the stock simmered, I did a few things around the house, started to make dinner, and then set to prepping my mirepoix (onion, carrot and celery). Because of the time that the veggies would be simmering, I cut them to a medium dice, and also pulled together a Sachet d'Epices, a little bouquet of parsley stems, thyme, peppercorns, a bay leaf and a clove of garlic. 

After the three hours had expired, I turned off my timer and checked out the stock, so far. It had evaporated quite a bit, so even though the recipe didn't call for it, I added some more water. I don't know if I was supposed to do that, but it tastes REALLY good, so we'll just go with it. I added the beautiful mixture you see above to the simmering liquid and chicken wings, and allowed it to cook for another hour.

Once the timer went off a second time, it was time to remove the stock from the heat, and give it a good strain in a fine, mesh sieve. All the impurities are left behind and what you have left is a big bowl of delicious, flavorful, homemade stock. 

I've already used a cup of it in one of my weekly meals, and it's so good. It adds so much authentic flavor to a dish, it's incredible! I will definitely be making stock on weekends for the coming week, according to my needs. 

While there are other recipes for stocks (Brown Veal Stock, Fish Fumet, Vegetable Stock, Court Bouillon, Dashi, and a Poultry and Meat Stock), I'm not going to use these recipes until recipes further on in the book call for them specifically. There's no point in filling my freezer with unneeded stocks. Because the lessons for stocks, soups and sauces come before the recipes, I think I'll do a bit of reading this weekend and try to move ahead to the recipes, where I can share what I've learned while making some delicious recipes at the same time! Now's the perfect time of year for some heartwarming soups, anyway. We're ready for spring, it's not quite here, and we all need something to warm our bellies!