New England Clam Chowder

Garnished with scallions, sriracha and worcestershire sauce

Someone I know just returned from a trip to Cape Cod. Made me think about what I like about the Cape. Clam Chowder - possibly my favorite soup (although when local corn is in season, corn chowder gives it a serious run for its money...). The weather has been pretty hot, but as soon as I started thinking about 'chowda' I had to make it. To hell with the heat - I want soup! This recipe is from 'On Cooking' by Sarah Labensky and Alan Hause.

I would usually buy fresh clams to make chowder, but this time, cash was a little tight, so I opted for canned clams instead. I was impressed with the results.

Start with about 1 quart of canned clams (I bought three 10 oz cans). Drain the liquid from the cans into a quart measuring cup. Do not discard it! Add water to make it up to a full quart. Reserve the clams.

Peel and dice 10 oz potatoes. Add to your quart of clam liquid in a pan and cook until tender. Drain liquid into a container, reserving it and the potatoes.

Render the fat from 4 oz of pancetta or bacon (I used pancetta, but bacon works just as well). That is to say, cook it in a stockpot on medium heat so that it releases its fat. Once it starts to brown, remove the meat and reserve. Add to the fat in the pan 8 oz diced onion and 4 oz diced celery. Saute until tender (but do not allow them to color much). Add 2 oz flour and stir until it turns light brown (this is called a blond roux). Add your clam liquid, a bay leaf and a small pinch of dried thyme, whisking as you go. Simmer for 20 minutes, whisking occasionally to break up any lumps.

Bring 2 cups milk and 0.5 cups cream to a boil. Add them to the soup. Stir. Add the potatoes, pancetta or bacon and clams and continue to heat gently to warm through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf and discard it.

Serve with freshly ground black pepper, Tabasco sauce (or Sriracha) and Worcestershire sauce on hand for your diners to add to taste. Other good accompaniments include fresh thyme, sliced scallions and oyster crackers. Enjoy!

Makes about 6-8 servings.

Note 1 - The original recipe used salt pork. I have never come across salt pork. If anyone else has, I would welcome their input on it. I used thin-sliced pancetta. I like the consistency of it in the soup.

Note 2 - Metric info: 1 quart = 950 ml; 10 oz = 280g; 4 oz = 115g; 8 oz = 230g; 2 oz = 60g; 2 cups = 470 ml; 0.5 cups = 120 ml.

Home-made Mayonnaise

We used to keep mayonnaise in our refrigerator - purchased mayo, usually Hellman's. But then we started switching over to organic food and we stopped buying it. Not that organic mayo doesn't exist, but we just stopped. Wanted some mayo the other day for a sandwich, so decided to make my own. It's very easy.

Put 1 egg yolk in a smallish bowl. Add a splash of lemon juice, a splash of water and a pinch of salt. Measure out 1 cup canola oil, and slowly drizzle it into the bowl as you whisk the egg mixture. Start very slowly with the oil, until you see it coming together, and then you can stream it in as you whisk. Expect to not use all of the oil - you can stop when you consider the mayo thick enough. Taste for seasoning - add more salt if desired, and use in place of store-bought mayo.

Note 1 - This is of course a raw-egg product. There is some risk of food borne illness, so it is not recommended for the very young, the very old or anyone with a compromised immune system.

Note 2 - As there are none of the stabilizers that you would find in purchased mayo, keep in the refrigerator and enjoy within a few days (opinions differ as to how long it will last, but definitely no more than a week).

Note 3 - You can substitute any other mild-flavored oil for canola.

Note 4 - Metric info: 1 cup = 240 ml.

Buttermilk Pancakes

I made a birthday cake for my significant other earlier this month. It was a banana-bread cake with bananas and custard between the layers and chocolate frosting over the cake. Caused a serious sugar rush. Anyway, the recipe required a small amount of buttermilk. Since I rarely use buttermilk, I decided to use the remainder to make pancakes, and found them to be better than my previous recipe... (Recipe adapted from the 'Joy of Cooking' by Irma S. Rombauer):

Take 2 bowls. In the larger bowl, place the following dry ingredients:
1 cup AP flour, 0.5 cups Whole-wheat flour, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt. Mix well.

In the smaller bowl, place the following wet ingredients:
1.5 cups buttermilk, 3 tbsp butter (melted), 2 eggs (beaten), 0.5 tsp vanilla extract. Stir until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl and mix gently with a fork until everything is just mixed together. Do not over-mix - lumps are fine. Allow the batter to rest for a few minutes and then preheat a large nonstick pan with a little butter. Once hot, ladle portions of batter into the pan. Cook until the tops begin to bubble, then flip and cook until the second side is golden. Remove to a platter and top with Vermont maple syrup!

Note 1 - If you do not have whole wheat flour, you can substitute any other kind of flour, or just use a total of 1.5 cups of all-purpose. I find that a little whole wheat flour gives the pancakes a nice texture.

Note 2 - Metric info: 1 cup = 240 ml; 0.5 cups = 120 ml; 1.5 cups = 360 ml.

Coffee Ice Cream

I'm back! No, I didn't stop cooking; I just stopped blogging. So, now I have some catching up to do...

This is one I made a while back, around the beginning of the month. I was intending to incorporate cardamom into it, a kind of 'Turkish coffee' ice cream, but forgot (I was going to toast the cardamom lightly and add it with the beans), so here's how it went (recipe from 'Second Helpings of Roast Chicken' by Simon Hopkinson):

Take 3.5 oz whole coffee beans (use any kind you like - I used Starbucks Italian Roast), and put in a saucepan with 9 floz milk and 1.5 oz brown sugar. Stir to help dissolve the sugar and bring the milk to a boil, then switch off the heat, cover the pan and allow to sit somewhere warm for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr.

Strain the beans out of the milk and scald it (bring to just below a boil). Meanwhile, whisk 5 egg yolks with 2 oz brown sugar vigorously until pale yellow. Once the milk is ready, set up a metal bowl over ice (or in ice water) and pour a little hot milk into the yolks. Stir with a wooden spoon and quickly pour the egg mixture into the hot milk in the saucepan. Keep the heat on and stir constantly until the mixture coats the back of the wooden spoon (you should be able to draw a line in it with your finger). At this point, remove immediately from the heat and pour into the cold metal bowl, stirring in 7 floz heavy cream. Once cooled a little, chill in the refrigerator, then churn in an ice cream maker.

Enjoy!

Note 1 - This was not the first time I made this ice cream. The first time, I used different beans and the milk curdled as it came to a boil. I had to wash the beans and use fresh milk. This time, it worked fine though.

Note 2 - Metric info: Use 275ml milk, 100g beans, 50g sugar with the milk, 65g sugar with the yolks, and 200ml cream.

Eggs Benedict with Asparagus

OK, so this isn't technically Eggs Benedict, which is served on half an English muffin with ham, but it is very similar. The asparagus is optional, but I think that it goes well with the Canadian bacon and hollandaise. This is my favorite breakfast item, and I have been thinking about making it ever since noticing leftover asparagus in our refrigerator.

Apparently there are at least 2 different types of Canadian bacon. The first is bacon prepared from pork loin (mine was this kind - an uncured, applewood smoked pork loin, that was sold fully cooked). The second is a type of smoked ham. I think either kind would work here, as would regular ham or bacon (cooked to your desired crispiness). I like the thickness of the Canadian bacon myself.

Instead of an English muffin I used a Czech Crescent Roll - from a batch I made following the recipe in 'Local Breads'. You could use an English muffin or similar roll. I would suggest toasting it lightly for texture. On top of the muffin base goes the warm, cooked Canadian bacon, then a poached egg (cooked to your chosen doneness - see below), then some boiled asparagus spears (see below) and some hollandaise sauce over the top. I topped that with the other half of the roll, but I understand that Eggs Benedict are not supposed to have 'lids' (they are served 'open-faced'), so this is optional.

Poached eggs

Bring a fairly deep pot of salted water (to which a small glug of vinegar has been added) to a boil. Crack your eggs separately into small bowls. One at a time, hold the bowl just over the surface of the water and tip the egg in. Adjust the heat to maintain a strong simmer (a rolling boil is a little more than you need), and cook until they are to your liking. I do not time them; I pull one up with a slotted spoon after a few minutes and poke it with my finger. Once cooked, remove, drain and keep warm.

Asparagus

Break off the woody ends and discard. Either cut off the tips now and reserve the stalk for another use, or cook and then cut. Put the spears in a pan of boiling salted water and cook until done. Some people prefer their asparagus a little crunchy; I cook mine until it is tender. Once done, drain and keep warm.

Hollandaise Sauce

Melt 6 oz butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn up the heat slightly so that it bubbles occasionally. Remove the white scum as it forms on the surface (discard). Once you have removed all the scum you should have a yellow liquid with white solids at the bottom. Carefully pour the clarified butter into another container, leaving the (milk) solids in the pan.

Set up a double boiler. You can buy a special double boiler pan or you can use a small pan with some water in the bottom and a metal bowl on top (I used this). Remove the bowl and bring the water to a simmer and then reduce the heat.

In the bowl, put 1.5 tsp cider vinegar and 2 tsp water. Add 1 egg yolk and a pinch of salt. Put the bowl on top of the small pan and whisk until the liquid thickens noticeably (until the whisk starts to leave light trails in it). Then remove from the heat and slowly dribble in 3 oz of your clarified butter, whisking constantly. You will see the hollandaise thicken as you do so. After you have added the butter, add a splash of lemon juice and a dash of cayenne pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, cayenne and/or lemon as necessary.

Pour your hollandaise sauce over your assembled Eggs Benedict. Enjoy!

Note 1 - The hollandaise recipe was adapted from 'Ratio', by Michael Ruhlman - a very useful cookbook. It should be enough for about 4 servings.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 6 oz = 170g; 3 oz = 85g.

Coconut Ice Cream

I don't know if it's been the same where you are, but here it has been hot. Unseasonably hot. We live in a third floor apartment, so it has been really hot. Time for some ice cream...

Empty 1 can (13-14 fl oz) coconut milk into a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup of toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (toast your flakes by putting them on a baking sheet under the broiler, but keep an eye on them or they will burn!) and a few pieces of lime peel (remove with a vegetable peeler - be careful to avoid the white pith) and bring to a boil. Switch off the heat and cover the pan. Let it sit for 30 minutes (this is called steeping), then pour through a strainer into a bowl and then back into a clean pan (leaving the flakes and peel in the strainer).

Beat 4 egg yolks with 2/3 cup of sugar until they lighten in color. Meanwhile, bring the coconut milk mixture to a boil. Pour a little of the mixture onto the yolks and stir vigorously to combine. Then pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining milk mixture. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon while heating. As soon as a line drawn in the back of the spoon with your finger stays (the custard does not run back into the line - this point will be reached quickly), pour the contents of the pan through a clean strainer into a chilled bowl (preferably on ice or in ice water). Stir the mixture in the bowl to help it cool down.

Chill your ice cream base in the refrigerator and churn in an ice cream maker. Freeze.

This recipe is based loosely on one in 'Ice Cream: The Perfect Weekend Treat' by Susanna Tee.

Note 1 - If you cannot find unsweetened coconut flakes you could substitute sweetened flakes or shredded coconut. If you use sweetened product, you may need to cut back slightly on the amount of sugar you use.

Note 2 - The original recipe suggested leaving the soaked flakes back in the ice cream. I didn't like their texture, so I left them out. You can decide if you want to keep them or throw them out. The original also suggested adding a little Malibu or white rum, which might be interesting...

Note 3 - A friend pointed out how much saturated fat there is in a can of coconut milk - 70 g (almost 2.5 oz). If this is a concern for you, consider using half coconut milk and half milk (about 9 fl oz of each), which would cut the fat content down a little...

Note 4 - Metric info: 1 can = about 400 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 1 cup = 240 ml; 2/3 cup = 160 ml.

Strawberries and whipped cream

I picked up some fresh local strawberries from Adams Berry Farm, and decided to serve them for dessert with some homemade whipped cream. This whipped cream is called Creme Chantilly, but is a lot simpler to make than it sounds.

Take 1/2 cup cold heavy cream and pour into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or you can do it by hand, which takes a little longer and requires more effort). Add a splash of vanilla extract and 2 tbsp powdered sugar and whip on high speed until the cream thickens noticeably. Careful though - if you whip for too long, it will turn to butter (if whipping by hand, do not worry - this is unlikely). Serve the cold cream with the strawberries. Enjoy!

Note 1 - If you find that 1/2 cup of cream sits too low in the bowl for the mixer's whisk to reach. just add a little more.

Note 2 - Metric info: 1/2 cup = 120 ml.