Braised Rabbit with Leeks and Fennel

We're in Paris! 

I was really looking forward to things like rabbit being commonplace and not too expensive, but tonight's dish was probably the same as it would have cost back in California, and my fellow shoppers looked on with undisguised horror as my butcher hacked the rabbit into pieces. I'll have to do some rabbit shopping around. The past few days we've done a lot of cooking in our new kitchen-- dorade with a wine pan sauce, steaks, minestrone soup (which you'll probably see posted soon). It's small but very well equipped. The only real drawback is the electric stove, which will take some getting used to. In this recipe, I really missed my gas stove when trying to gently render the fat on the bacon, then sear the rabbit on high heat but without burning. It worked-- I just have to get the hang of it. We've also had plenty of non-cooked meals, involving copious amounts of cheese, pates, stuffed petits pains, and, our first night, rotisserie chicken. Expect some tasty things in the future, probably involving lamb.

You'll need (serves 4):

1 rabbit, cut into 6 pieces (mine weighed about 4lbs, or almost 2kg)

1 thick slice of bacon, cut into lardons

2c chicken stock

2 onions, sliced

2 heads of fennel, cored & cut into eighths

3 leeks, sliced

Half a head of garlic, crushed

1t fennel seeds

1/2t dried thyme

1 bay leaf

½ bottle of white wine

A shot of Ricard

Preheat oven to 325F (160C).

Bring the chicken stock to the boil with any trimmings from the rabbit (head, ribs, kidneys, etc).

In an oven-proof saucepan, brown the lardons and set aside; in the bacon fat brown the rabbit and set aside.

Saute onion and leeks in the same saucepan. Add garlic and fennel seeds and stir until fragrant. Add the white wine and reduce by half.

Return rabbit and bacon to pan. Add thyme, bay leaf and fennel. Add pastis and bring to a simmer. Add strained stock to cover rabbit. Cover pot and cook in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until tender.

We served this with mushroom wheat pilaf and caramelized endives; for those of you who can get endives cheaply, they're absolutely delicious seared and then braised with a bit of water. And they count as a vegetable! Yay.

Super BLTs with Watermelon Salad

These BLTs are super not just because of the ingredients-- Fatted Calf bacon, heirloom tomatoes, and wild arugula-- but because the olive bread is fried in bacon fat, and gets all toasty and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. This sandwich was really unspeakably delicious. The watermelon salad is a nice bright counterpart to the rich sandwich. This would make a great brunch-- the salad's easy to make a lot of, and you can just set out the sandwich ingredients for people to make them themselves. We made open-faced sandwiches to get the most stuff-to-bread ratio but you can arrange yours however you want.

Super BLTs

You'll need (4 servings):

1 long loaf olive bread or baguette, cut into four 6-inch pieces, then sliced lengthwise
8-16 slices thick cut bacon
3-4 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
2 handfuls wild arugula (the tiny leafy kind)

for the aioli:
1 egg yolk
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove
1t mustard
1/4c canola oil
salt


Place bacon in a cold cast iron skillet and gently heat to medium. Cook, turning often to cook evenly. You'll probably have to do this in batches. You can drain the bacon grease but don't drain the fat from the last batch, or save the grease in a glass jar.


In the meantime, make the aioli. Beat egg yolk with lemon juice, pressed garlic, salt and mustard. Whisk in oil very slowly until you achieve a mayonnaise-like consistency.


When the bacon's done, drain it on paper towels. Raise the heat and fry the bread in the bacon fat, cut side down, until golden; flip and fry a bit on the other side too.


Stack ingredients on the bread in any way you'd like, but if you're making open-faced sandwiches, don't put the arugula on top or it will fall off.

Katie put her bacon on top

Watermelon Salad

This may sound weird but it's a really good combination. Watermelon and feta is a common pairing in Israel; it's tasty and refreshing. We used a yellow watermelon, which was beautiful and unusual. Just cut up a watermelon into cubes and toss it with crumbled feta and chopped mint. Leftovers will last in the fridge for a day or two.

Figs with Cheese

We were supposed to caramelize them but couldn't handle it after eating all that bacon, so we just ate them halved with a bit of mild, milky cheese.

Spring Garlic Soup with Crispy Bacon

This is a delicious way to take advantage of the delicate flavor of the spring garlic found in the farmers' markets this month. You can make it without the bacon and with veggie stock instead of chicken stock for a vegetarian version.

You'll need:

2 bunches spring garlic, sliced (about 2c)
3 shallots, sliced
4 thick-cut slices of bacon, sliced into 1/2" pieces
8c chicken broth (low sodium)
1/2c white wine or vermouth
1 large yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
(optional: parmesan rind or a piece of irrevocably hardened parmesan)
chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish
lime for garnish, optional

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, render bacon slowly over medium heat, pouring out the fat as it pools. When bacon starts to foam, remove and drain on a paper towel. You should have very crispy bacon bits. Set aside.

(Vegetarian version: Heat 1T oil in a heavy-bottomed pot.)

Pour out any remaining fat and wipe any burned bits with a paper towel. Add shallots, spring garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, over medium heat about 5 minutes, until garlic is fragrant.

Deglaze with wine and add chicken broth, scraping to incorporate fond. Add potatoes, bay leaves, and parmesan rind if using. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 1/2 an hour, or until garlic and potatoes are tender.

Remove parmesan and bay leaves. Puree soup with a hand blender, if you want (or just smash the potatoes with a wooden spoon). If you puree, leave a few green garlic bits for contrast.

Return pureed soup to heat. Taste & adjust with salt & pepper.

Serve with bacon bits and cilantro or parsley
and a squeeze of lime.

Chicken & Veal Burgers

This was a surprisingly delicious combination of meat-- lean ground chicken breast and tasty ground veal. Jesse smothered his (above) in bacon & cheese, and stuffed the sandwich with avocado and hot sauce. I made mine (below) like last month's stuffed turkey burgers, but stuffed them with cheese (firecracker cheddar) and jalapeno slices, which I also put on top.


Into the 1/2lb chicken & 1/2lb veal went minced shallots, jalapeno, and garlic.


We ate these with simple baked sweet potato fries:


and a seriously good version of a basic cabbage salad. The secret ingredient...

kumquats!

Chicken in Smoky Pomegranate Sauce

This sauce is insanely delicious-- spicy and smoky from the chipotles, and tangy and sweet from the pomegranate molasses. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients; it's ok to leave some out, and this is really easy once you have everything chopped and the chicken cleaned.

You'll need:

chicken thighs, bone-in (2 per person; I made 6)-- remove the skin & all visible fat
2 thick slices bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 anchovies, chopped
1/2 head garlic, peeled & sliced
2T tomato paste
1T fresh thyme, chopped (or 1t dried)
1t herbes de provence
2 chipotles in adobo, roughly chopped
2T soy sauce
1c red wine
1/2-1c chicken broth
1/3c pomegranate molasses

Prepare all ingredients first (chop, clean, etc).

Put bacon pieces in a cold pan. Turn the heat to low and slowly render the fat. When the pieces are crispy, remove them with a slotted spatula and set aside.

Salt and pepper chicken thighs. Dust well with flour. Turn up heat so bacon fat is hot; add chicken thighs, former skin side down. Brown well; this will take about 7-10 minutes. Turn them and briefly brown the other side. Don't burn the pan; add more oil if you need. Remove browned thighs and set aside.


Turn down heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, anchovies, salt and pepper. Stir until soft and the bottom of the pan is clean, about 10-15 minutes.

Add wine and cook until you can't smell the alcohol anymore. In the meantime, add tomato paste, thyme, herbes de provence, soy sauce, chipotles with their sauce, and return the bacon to the pan. When the alcohol has burned off, add the chicken, former skin side up, and add enough broth to come halfway up the thighs (their tops should not be covered). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook about 45 minutes, until chicken in tender.

Remove chicken and add pomegranate molasses. Stir and reduce if necessary. Return chicken to sauce; serve over quinoa.

Boeuf Bourguignon with Carrot Crisps and Red Potatoes

NB: These pictures are terrible. I know that. I almost forgot to take pictures at all. I promise to work on my fuzziness...

This recipe is partially my dad's (it was the first thing he cooked for my mom, so it must be pretty good) and partially Julia Child's, because I just got my hands on Mastering the Art of French Cooking. My version has lots of onion and mushroom stewed down to a melty sauce, with the carrots baked on the side (instead of in the stew) for some texture.

You'll need (serves 6):

3lbs beef stewing meat
6 oz bacon (4 thick slices)
5 onions, thinly sliced
1lb button mushrooms, sliced
some flour
some oil
1 bottle red wine
maybe some beef stock, probably not
1T tomato paste
1t fresh thyme
2 crumbled bay leaves (yes, crumbled)
4 cloves garlic, minced to a paste

small red potatoes

This is very easy but a bit time consuming. Prep will take 1-2 hours; unattended cooking, about 3 hours. It's also best to make the night before-- the flavors really develop overnight.

Step One: The bacon

Slice bacon into lardons-- thin (1/4") strips, cut the short way.
Put bacon in 1 1/2 quarts water and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes.
Drain and dry bacon. Heat a Dutch oven (or any heavy, large pot with a close-fitting lid) and saute bacon in 1T oil over medium heat until it browns and fat is rendered.
Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside

Step Two: Brown the meat

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Rinse meat and dry very well. Salt, pepper, and dredge in flour (shake off excess flour).
Heat rendered fat until very hot. Brown meat on all sides in batches (Do not crowd the pot, or the meat will not brown. It will steam and turn a nasty shade of gray and remind you of mystery meat served in a cafeteria you never even had.). If necessary, add more oil.
Set browned meat aside, with the bacon.

Step Three: Brown the veggies

In the fat left in the pot (add more oil if necessary), saute onions with a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to medium-low so that the onions release their moisture and become coated in the fond (browned bits). When there's no more moisture (and the onions are caramel colored), add the mushrooms and saute until dark, about 10 minutes. The mushrooms should release moisture as well, so you shouldn't have to add any oil. Adding salt will coax the water out.

Step Four: The wine

Put the bacon and meat back into the pot and stir. Add salt, pepper, and 2T flour. Mix and place in oven, uncovered, 4 minutes. Mix again and return to oven, 4 minutes. Remove.
Lower oven temp to 325 degrees.
Return pot to stove; pour in 1 bottle wine. If this doesn't cover the meat, add beef stock until meat is almost submerged. Add tomato paste, thyme, garlic, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; simmer until alcohol evaporates, about 5 minutes.

Step Five: Cook

Place covered pot in 325 degree oven. If the lid isn't a good fit, place a sheet of aluminum foil into between pot & lid. Cook (check every so often to make sure it's simmering gently) until meat is fork-tender, about 3 hours. About 30 minutes before it's done, mix in the potatoes (which you've scrubbed and cleaned, of course) and let them cook with the stew. Don't overcook them-- the cool thing here is the textural and visual contrast between the firm potatoes that remain white inside and the gooey unctuous brown meat and sauce.

Step Six: Eat!

This is best done the next day but is fine anytime. Mmmmmm.

Oven Caramelized Carrots

Peel carrots if they're not organic. Quarter lengthwise and toss in a bowl with 2T olive oil, 1t coarse salt, 1T pepper, 1t sugar, 1T fresh chopped thyme to coat. Bake on a baking sheet, in one layer, at 425 degrees until brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes.

Cabbage Salad

Thinly slice (julienne) savoy cabbage, savoy lettuce (the purple stuff), a bell pepper, a carrot, fresh mint, and anything else that's tasty and crunchy and colorful. Dress with a vinaigrette of 3T fresh lemon juice (one large juicy lemon), 2T dijon mustard, and enough olive oil to emulsify. Let sit, dressed, at least 1 hour until cabbage wilts slightly and flavor develops.

Breakfast: Anchovy Egg Delight

Yesterday, I bought 6 cans of anchovies at Costco. This morning I woke up with an anchovy craving. This is what came out of it. Sorry, no picture-- I hate it when my eggs get cold.

Take 2 slices thick, hearty bread (I used Vital Vitals 12 grain) and top with slices of sharp cheddar. Broil until cheese is melted.

Thinly slice 2 slices of turkey pastrami (or use canadian bacon, or real bacon). Fry them in a dry non-stick skillet. Place the slices on top of each slice of bread.

In the same skillet, fry 4 chopped anchovies with a bit of tomato sauce. Pour over toasts. Place toasts in oven to keep warm.

Fry 2 eggs over-easy or sunny-side-up (or you can poach them). Place eggs on top of toasts. Add salt, pepper. Enjoy.