Christy and Kai Cook http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com (well mostly Christy) posterous.com Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:22:00 -0800 Vietnamese-Style Spicy Dungeness Crab with Garlic Noodles http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/vietnamese-style-spicy-dungeness-crab-with-ga http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/vietnamese-style-spicy-dungeness-crab-with-ga

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons plus 1 tbsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 
  • Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned, quartered, and cracked 
  •  Vegetable oil for frying, plus 3 tbsp. 
  • 10 cloves garlic, chopped 
  • 1/2 pound spaghettini (thin spaghetti)-- I used udon noodles 
  • 3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 
  • small dried red chiles 
  • 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 
  • green onions, chopped 
  • serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped 
  • 1/3 cup sake or other rice wine 
  • 1 cup basil leaves, chopped 
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped 
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Preparation
  1. Heat 1/2 C of vegetable oil, fry garlic until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set garlic aside; cool and discard oil. 
  2. Remove dungeness meat from shells.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tbsp. of the salt and the spaghettini. Cook until tender to the bite, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain, transfer to a serving bowl, and toss with butter and half of the fried garlic. Cover and put in a warm place.
  4. Heat a wok or pot large enough to hold all the crab over high heat (If you've removed crab from shells, pot need not be very large). Add remaining 3 tbsp. oil, dried chiles, and ginger. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add green onions, serrano chiles, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring, until onions wilt, about 1 minute. Add sake and cook, stirring, until sake is reduced by about half. Stir in crab and cover. Cook until crab is heated through, about 3 minutes.
  5. Remove lid and cook, stirring, until any liquid evaporates. Stir in basil, mint, cilantro, and remaining 1/2 tsp. pepper. Cook, stirring, until herbs have wilted. Stir in remaining fried garlic. Transfer crab to a warm platter and serve hot, with garlic noodles.
Note:

Frying the crab first is optional and the recipe claims it adds superb flavor and makes the crabmeat more tender. If you choose to fry these are your first two steps.

  1. Combine flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, and the cayenne in a large bowl. Pat crab pieces dry with paper towels and toss (in batches) with flour mixture. Remove crab and shake off excess flour. Set aside.
  2. In a wok or large pot, heat 3 in. oil to 375°. Lay out paper towels for draining crab and garlic. Fry crab in batches (do not crowd wok) until golden, about 5 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels.
  3. The results will be even more transcendent if you start with raw crab (get it from a fishmonger, and fry it a minute or two longer than cooked crab).

Sunset 

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Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:41:25 -0800 Butternut Squash Soup http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/butternut-squash-soup http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/butternut-squash-soup
Img_0394

Published 

September 1, 2011.   From Cook's Illustrated.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

For soup with intense squash flavor, many recipes will roast the squash to rid it of excess moisture and concentrate its flavor. But what if you don’t want to turn the oven on? For our soup, we start by microwaving large chunks of squash to hasten the cooking process. We then slowly caramelized the parcooked squash in a Dutch oven, much as we do with onion for French Onion Soup, until a thick brown fond developed. Deglazing the pot and scraping up the fond gave the soup the deep flavor of roasted squash soup in a fraction of the time. To further enhance the soup’s vegetable flavor, we chose vegetable broth over chicken broth and used an aromatic base of leeks, fresh thyme, and bay leaf.

SERVES 6 TO 8

Do not use prepeeled squash in this recipe. Our favorite vegetable broth is Swanson Vegetable broth. Low-sodium chicken broth can be substituted for the vegetable broth. If you use a blender to puree the soup, fill the jar two-thirds full-not more-and process in batches. Alternatively, use an immersion blender to puree the soup right in the pot. In addition to sour cream, serve the soup with Fried Leeks (related), which provide nice textural contrast.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/2
pounds butternut squash , peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch chunks (about 7 cups)
  • 2tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1leek , white and green parts only, quartered lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4cups vegetable broth
  • 1 - 2cups water
  • 2sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1bay leaf
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • Sour cream
  • INSTRUCTIONS

    1. 1. Place squash in bowl, cover, and microwave until paring knife glides easily through flesh, 14 to 18 minutes, stirring halfway through. Carefully transfer squash to colander set in bowl (squash will be very hot) and drain for 5 minutes; reserve liquid.
    2. 2. Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add squash, leek, and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until squash pieces begin to break down and brown fond forms in bottom of pot, 10 to 13 minutes.
    3. 3. Add 2 cups broth and scrape bottom of pot to loosen and dissolve fond. Add remaining 2 cups broth, reserved squash liquid, 1 cup water, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and cayenne. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until leeks are fully tender, 6 to 7 minutes.
    4. 4. Remove and discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Working in batches, process soup in blender until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return soup to clean pot and bring to simmer, thinning with up to 1 cup water to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve with dollop of sour cream. (Soup can be made up to 2 days in advance.)

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    Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:05:00 -0800 Wild Boar Sausage and Wild Hedgehog Mushroom Pizza http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/wild-boar-hedgehog-mushroom-pizza http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/wild-boar-hedgehog-mushroom-pizza

    Brown the wild boar sasauge

    Carmelize diced onion (red or yellow)

    Cook the hedgehog mushrooms

    Spread olive oil and redpepper flakes on the dough

    Spread onions and mushrooms and boar sasauge on dough and sprinkle with grated mozzerella cheese

    Cook at 500 degrees for 8-10minutes

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    Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:14:18 -0800 Juan's brisket http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/juans-brisket http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/juans-brisket
    Do not change a thing, make it this way: http://zambranoworld.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/briske/.  Juan's recipe, but our photo on his blog ;)

    Yoakim Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon pairs nicely, by the way.

    Photo

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    Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:15:00 -0800 Blackberry Sorbet http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/blackberry-sorbet http://christy-kai-cook.posterous.com/blackberry-sorbet

    This delicious sorbet is super easy to make and just begs to be enjoyed on a summer evening. Or, substitute raspberry, strawberry, etc and adjust sugar accordingly.

     

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups fresh blackberries, pureed with 1/2 cup cold water, then strained to remove seeds
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 large lemon
    • 1 tablespoon vodka (don't skip the vodka, it helps keeps the sorbet from getting icy)

    Preparation

    1. Make an ice bath for the mixture by placing a smaller bowl inside a larger bowl and filling the larger bowl with ice and water.
    2. Combine berry puree, sugar, lemon juice, and alcohol in ice bath bowl. Stir on and off for several minutes until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is cold (ideally under 40 degrees).
    3. Pour chilled mixture into container of an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.
    4. Scoop frozen sorbet into a container and pack down to get rid of any air bubbles. Place wax paper or similar on top of sorbet to keep away air. Seal and transfer container to freezer for several hours to allow sorbet to firm up.

    Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

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