scallop, shrimp, sea bass, pear and tarragon ceviche with grilled white chapatis

scallop, shrimp, sea bass, pear and tarragon ceviche with grilled white chapatis, originally uploaded by aarn! +27th April, 2009+.

marinated 1/2-lb of raw scallops, 1/4-lb of raw shrimp, and 1/4-lb of sea bass, all of which had been sliced into rounds or cubes about 1/3-in thick, in the juice from four lemons and four limes, the zest from one lime, 1/2 of a red bell pepper finely chopped, 1T. of finely chopped habenero pepper, two cloves of crushed garlic, and 1t. of salt. let this stand covered in the refrigerator for one hour, lightly mixing once or twice along the way. strained most of the marinating liquid and added to the seafood and pepper mixture: 1/4c. of extra-virgin olive oil, diced 1/2 of a large pear, finely sliced 1/4 of a red onion, 2 finely sliced scallions, 1 1/2T. of finely chopped fresh tarragon, 1t. sugar, and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

mixed 3/4c. of warm water and 1t. of salt into 1 3/4c. all purpose flour, kneaded and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. took globs of the goo with a floured hand and pushed them into rounds and stretched to shape on a floured work surface, then placed each flattened dough piece on a low temperature grill until slightly charred and still moist on the inside. the best tasting ones were puffed full of air but still a little gummy around the edges.

plated the ceviche in chilled bowls on a larger plate with the chapatis and a sprig of tarragon. a glass of oyster bay sauvignon blanc was paired with this dish.

slow cooked country style ribs over a savory slightly-deconstructed applesauce/chutney with bacon wild rice and poached asparagus

slow cooked country style ribs over a savory slightly-deconstructed applesauce/chutney with bacon wild rice and poached asparagus, originally uploaded by aarn! +21st April, 2009+.

started a braising stock from pureed onion, garlic, shallots, and celery. lightly simmered the pureed mash in 2T. of butter, deglazed with a little sherry and added 1.5c. of water, 3T. of dark brown sugar and a lot of hand ground spices (dried mace, marjoram, caraway seed, a dried tobasco pepper, celery seed, salt and pepper). simmered the liquid for a few minutes then let cool and poured over 1.5lbs of coutry style ribs from stillmans farm, in a deep casserole dish, and let cook, covered, in a 175-degree oven for over two hours. the internal temperature was around 140-degrees when the ribs were pulled and then transferred to a hot grill for some color and texture.

thinly sliced 1/3 of a large yellow spanish onion and placed it in a sauce pan with 2/3 of a braeburn apple which had been julienned into matchsticks, and 1T. of butter. let the apples and onion soften and brown a little, then deglazed with a splash of whiskey and added 1T. of molasses and 1T. of worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. let this cook down until all of the liquid had been absorbed/evaporated and there was a nice light syrup coating the apples and onion, then removed from heat and covered until ready to use.

browned some large chunks of farm bacon (3/8-inch cubes), removing as much of the drippings as possible, then added some diced yellow spanish onion and diced celery ribs, and lightly simmered until the onions were tender (with a little salt and pepper). added 1c. of wild rice and let that crack over the heat and absorb the remaining bacon grease until the wild rice was a little toasted, then added 3c. of boiling water and cooked for 35-minutes. mixed in some paprika, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, and soy sauce, and a splash of seasoned rice vinegar, just before serving.

the ribs were served over the warm applesauce/chutney with some of the wild rice and some asparagus poached with a little butter.

dubliner cheddar, farm bacon, tomato and basil on whole wheat tuscan bread

dubliner cheddar, farm bacon, tomato and basil on whole wheat tuscan bread, originally uploaded by aarn! +20th April, 2009+.

cooked up some 1/4-inch thick slices of some local farm bacon. spread some of the bacon drippings on a few slices of toasted tuscan whole wheat bread. placed on the bread some thin slices of dubliner cheddar, the bacon, whole leaves of fresh basil, and some tomatoes which had been tossed in some olive oil, lemon juice, and black currant jam.

sea salted everything bagels done right

sea salted everything bagels done right, originally uploaded by aarn! +14th April, 2009+.

mixed together 1c. plus 2T. warm water, 2 1/4t. active dry yeast, and 2 1/2t. sugar, and let sit for 5 minutes or so. stirred into the wet mixture 1T. melted vegetable shortening, 1 1/2t. sugar, and 1 3/4t. salt, and then slowly added 4c. of all-purpose flour, one cup at a time as it mixed. kneaded by hand for 10-minutes, then placed in a warm spot to prove for an hour (covered with plastic wrap to avoid crusting). after the dough had doubled in size, it was punched down and formed into a large log, allowed to let sit for a minute, then divided into 8-10 pieces which were rolled into logs and then pinched together at the ends with a smear of water, forming the bagel shape. it just happened that the bagels were allowed to rise for an additional 30-minutes as they waited to be poached, this couldn't have hurt. in a large pot, 4-quarts of water, 1T. sugar, and 1/2t. salt were brought to a boil. four at a time the raw bagels were poached in the bath for about 30-seconds per side, allowed to drip off the excess water for a few seconds with a skimmer spoon, then placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and seasoned while still wet. the seasoning was a dry mixture of spices from christina's in inman square: blue poppy seeds, garlic flakes, onion flakes, sesame seeds, and sea salt. the bagels were then baked in a 425-degree oven for about 18-minutes, rotating the tray at about 10-minutes to allow for a more uniformed color and texture.

the bagels were served warm with fresh churned butter, red onions, capers, smoked salmon, egg salad, and whipped cream cheese.
[modified recipe: joy]

fresh heavy cream butter

fresh heavy cream butter, originally uploaded by aarn! +14th April, 2009+.

using the whisk attachment (in a chilled mixing bowl) on the stand mixer, mixed a pint of heavy cream and a pinch of salt on a high speed until it was thick whipped cream. then switched over to the paddle attachment and churned on one of the slower speed settings, slowly adding about 1c. of cold tap water. let this mix for about 20-minutes until the butter had separated from the liquid, then dumped the mixture through a cheesecloth lined strainer, wrapped and lightly squeezed the remaining water out of the butter with the cloth, and then refrigerated until ready to go onto the table. if water hadn't been used to aid in the separation, the strained liquid would be traditional non-cultured buttermilk...maybe next time. this butter was served with fresh bagels.

san jorge and habenero cheddar quesadillas with spicy black beans, fresh salsa, guacamole, and beansprout 'slaw

san jorge and habenero cheddar quesadillas with spicy black beans, fresh salsa, guacamole, and beansprout 'slaw, originally uploaded by aarn! +13th April, 2009+.

this was a collaborative effort at the house. maddie and nic made some guacamole, spicy black beans, and an interesting bean sprout 'slaw with red cabbage and a nice light dressing. don't have much more info on what went into those. trisha made a similar salsa to some previous posts, laden with fresh cilantro and finely chopped onion.

made some fresh flour tortillas. mixed 1 1/2c. flour, 1/4t. salt, 2T. butter, cutting in the butter until mixed. then added 1/2c. warm water and worked until about the consistency of a wet bread dough. the dough was then rolled into a ball and allowed to sit for a few minutes. it was then cut into rounds and rolled out into six 10-inch tortillas with a french rolling pin. a large frying pan was warmed over medium heat, lightly wiped it with vegetable oil, and the uncooked tortillas were filled with cheese, folded, and then placed in the pan until each side had nice coloring, was crispy, and the cheese was obviously melted.

quesadillas were plated with all of the fixin's and a little sour cream, and washed down with some dos equis lager and amber beahs.
[photo: trisha]

dark roast: fair trade guatemalan huehuetenango

dark roast: fair trade guatemalan huehuetenango, originally uploaded by aarn! +7th April, 2009+.

still working out the details of getting a nice roast. this one turned out pretty well. a nice dark roast. trying to pin down the best way to control the stock transient temperature curve of the equipment. the next step is implementing some hardware and electronics. almost through two pounds of green beans, still no perfect roasts. a few standout successes though, which is nice.

slow churned fresh mint and vanilla bean heavy ice cream

slow churned fresh mint and vanilla bean heavy ice cream, originally uploaded by aarn! +6th April, 2009+.

as close as ice cream can get to pure butter, this first batch of vanilla bean and fresh mint ice cream was made with heavy cream which is 36% milk fat (whipping cream is 30%, light cream is 18%, and half and half is 10%...fyi). it was almost too rich to eat. so good.

lightly simmered 1c. of heavy cream, 3/4c. sugar, 1/8t. salt, and the seeds and pod from one sliced and scraped maddiegascar vanilla bean in a sauce pan until the sugar was dissolved. removed from heat and whisked in 2c. heavy cream, 1c. whole milk, and 2t. of finely chopped fresh mint leaves, then chilled the mixture for 3-4hrs until at approximately 40-degrees. removed the bean pod from the mixture and strained out the fresh mint pieces, using cheese cloth. slowly poured the mixture into the ice cream maker attachment for the kitchen aid mixer, which had been in the freezer for 24-hrs, and let that slowly churn for 25-minutes or so, then transferred to a container and placed in the freezer for an hour to firm up a little, so that it would hold in an ice cream cone.
[creamery: trisha]

cornmeal and flax crusted tilapia with fresh cilantro salsa and cilantro lime dressed salad

cornmeal and flax crusted tilapia with fresh cilantro salsa and cilantro lime dressed salad, originally uploaded by aarn! +6th April, 2009+.

took 1/4 of a large seeded habenero and ground it with some onions and garlic, then added that to some diced sweet red pepper, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, lime juice and fresh chopped cilantro, mixed and let chill.

using a mortar and pestle, ground together one dried arbol chili pepper, a pinch of dried mace, a pinch of dried garlic, pepper and salt. added this spice mixture to a mixing bowl with some all-purpose flour, ground flax seed, fine ground corn meal, and coarse corn meal, did a dry-wet-dry of this mixture and a beaten egg onto two 1/4-lb fillets of tilapia, then slipped them into a hot pan with 2T. of canola oil. let the first side brown, and to ensure crispiness without deep frying, flipped the fillets over and transferred the frying pan to a 375-degree oven for 5-minutes or so, until the bottom side of the fish was brown and the feel was right.

plated the fish with some of the delicious and fresh salsa, some sour cream spiced with chili powder and cumin, and a mixed spring green salad with fresh sweet corn, red onion, cucumbers, and avocado slices, tossed in some lime juice and olive oil, muddled with some cilantro and salt and pepper.
[salsa + salad + photo: trisha]

no-boil everything bagel/bialy with garlic and dill whipped cream cheese

no-boil everything bagel/bialy with garlic and dill whipped cream cheese, originally uploaded by aarn! +1st April, 2009+.

just to start things out, a few days after this meal there was an experiment involving pretzel making and it is clear that it's just not a bagel unless it's boiled. these are more of a bialy, but whatever.

took 1-lb of all-purpose wheat flour and 1/5-lb of dark rye flour and mixed that into 1 3/4c. of room temp water, with 2T. salt, and 1t. dried yeast, and 3-oz. of creamed butter. let the dough prove for an hour in the mixing bowl, then shaped into a large log on a floured work surface, cut into 12 equal segments, patted some of the segments relatively flat and pushed a hole through with the bottom of a floured shot-glass, some of them were rolled and then pinched together (these worked out much better). each bagel shape was placed on parchment paper on a baking sheet, brushed with water, and then sprinkled with some really nice spices (garlic flakes, blue poppy seeds, onion flakes, raw sesame seeds, and coarse sea salt) from christina's in inman square, and then left to prove for an additional 30-40 minutes, then the baking sheets were transferred to a 400-degree oven with a water bath in the bottom, and let to bake for 20-25-minutes.

cream cheese was whipped with a paddle in the mixer until fluffy and then added to it was salt, fresh chopped dill, scallions, red onion, crushed garlic, and finely chopped celery. the bagels were sliced and then toasted under the broiler for a second, and plated with thinly sliced red onion, smoked atlantic salmon, and sliced tomatoes.

[notes: the "everything" flavor was perfect. who likes the other kinds of bagels anyway? the dark rye flour is low in gluten, so that didn't help with the bagels not being
chewy either. they were good for what they were.]

[photo: trisha, photo-ruining: aarn]