Pot au Feu

Japanese Turnips

Serves 4

The once-upon-a-time French state of mind known as of pot-au-feu, boiled meat and vegetables, seems so simple. Perhaps the iron cauldron, probably the original stockpot, or pot au feu, originally provided a perpetual broth fortified every day with whatever happened to be available – rarely cleaned out except for the meatless weeks of Lent.  

So it was that an 18th century cook started her day by mettre le pot au feu, putting a big stockpot over the fire.  The "King of Chefs” Marie Antoine Carême (1784–1833) suggested that the dish originated about the time of the French Revolution in 1789. Whatever its roots, today precious few cooks make the time to prepare it – as time is now measured in tweets, sound bites, and airport departures. There is no time for the consistency of pot au feu.

Pot au feu is all about the broth and it is not uncommon for a French recipe to call for the leftover broth as an ingredient in a totally separate dish. Carême said that by cooking the pot-au-feu slowly, “la ménagère a obtenu un bouillon savoureux et nutritive, et un bouilli tender et de bon goût,”— the [family] cook can obtain a tasty and nutritional soup and a piece of boiled beef that is tender and tasty.

To make a pot-au-feu at home you’ll need a large stockpot with a heavy bottom to evenly distribute the heat. Your stove must be capable of being regulated to very low levels. On some gas stoves, a heat deflector may be required.

Other required equipment includes a large spoon for skimming the surface of the liquid, a large slotted spoon for removing meat and vegetables from the pot, a strainer for straining the liquid, and a towel or piece of unbleached muslin for lining the strainer. Depending on the cut of meat, it may need to be trussed with string to hold it together. The usual assortment of knives, bowls, and measuring devices found around the kitchen will come into use.

Pot-au-feu is beef stew – choose cuts of meat that benefit from long cooking over low heat. This would include rump roast, top or bottom round, beef short ribs and shanks. There should be, by weight, about one part bones for each five parts meat. Your butcher will cut a couple of two-inch pieces of beef marrow bone for the pot.

The beautiful clear broth is achieved by a long slow simmer of the meat set on a bed of root vegetables. The process is to bring the stockpot of cold water slowly to a boil, carefully skimming the scum and fat that floats to the surface. As the pot au feu slowly reduces, add a little more cold water, bring to a simmer, skimming the surface again at least three times in three hours until the liquid is quite clear.

Once the liquid is clear, remove the meat and reserve. Discard the vegetables.  Wet the towel or muslin with cold water and line the bowl of the strainer. Place the strainer over a large bowl and pour the broth through the strainer. Return the broth and meat to a clean pot and add your choice of young tender spring root vegetables along with an onion studded with cloves.

Maintain the heat at a bare simmer. Test the vegetables for tenderness, and as they become cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon and set them aside. The time it takes to cook the vegetables will vary – I prefer tender spring root vegetables such as Japanese turnips. For a beautifully colored broth use one sliced Golden Beet or a Spanish onion with the skin left on.

Cook the meat until tender. The meat should cook a total of about three to five hours depending on the cuts. The meat should be very tender but still intact when it is cooked. It will shrink substantially during the cooking. When done, remove it from the stockpot with the slotted spoon and set it aside with the vegetables.

Once all the solid ingredients are removed from the broth, skim any remaining fat from the surface with the large spoon. Strain the broth a second time. The broth should now be very clear and any pieces of meat or vegetables that were in the broth, along with the cloves and peppercorns, should now be captured in the strainer. Season the broth with a pinch of sea salt to your taste. Less is more.

The broth from the pot-au-feu is customarily served as a first course before the meat and vegetables.  Toast a slice of banquette and spread with garlic. Put it in the bottom of a shallow soup bowl. Spoon the broth on top and serve. For the main course, use the hot broth to re-warm the thinly sliced meat and vegetables. I serve pot-au-feu with a few Cornichons and course brown mustard or horseradish.  Choose a bright Chablis. Enjoy the your pot-au-feu – the very essence of time well spent.

Ingredients – Initial simmer

2              medium leeks, trimmed, cleaned and halved

2              carrots, peeled and halved crosswise

2              stalks celery, halved crosswise

1              bulb fennel, sliced thickly

1              large Spanish onion, skin, studded with 4 cloves

2              pounds boneless rump roast or top or bottom round, trussed with string

2              beef shanks, about two-inches thick

4              beef short ribs

2              beef marrow bone sections, two-inches thick

1              bouquet garni (rosemary, thyme, oregano, lavender or as you prefer)

1              tablespoon coarse sea salt

1                     teaspoon black peppercorns

Ingredients – Second simmer

2              bay leaves

6              small turnips, peeled and halved

2              new carrots, sliced on the bias

2              medium turnips, peeled and cut into eighths

1              Golden beet, sliced

1 ½          pounds small new potatoes, halved

Accoutrements

8              slices French banquette, plus additional for passing with marrow bones

2              cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

 Coarse sea salt

 Cornichons

 Pickled onions

 Grated horseradish

 Dijon mustard

 Whole grain mustard

Preparation:

In a large stockpot make a bed of the leeks, carrot, celery, fennel and onion studded with cloves. Tie each piece of meat individually to hold its shape during the long cooking time, and place on top of the vegetables. Add 2 marrowbones to the pot, tucking them between the meat, and the bouquet garni, salt and peppercorns. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for 3 hours, adding water as required and skimming any foam which forms on the top.

Wet a towel or muslin with cold water and line the bowl of the strainer. Place the strainer over a large bowl and pour the broth through the strainer. Return the broth and meat to a clean pot and add your choice of young tender spring root vegetables. Add the bay leaves. Bring the broth to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for another hour or as required. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon as they are cooked.

Remove the meat from the broth and discard the trussing strings. Carefully remove the remaining vegetables from the broth, place them on a large serving platter, and moisten with some broth. Cover and keep warm.

Strain the broth and discard any remaining vegetables. Carve the meat and place on the serving platter with the vegetables. Cover and keep warm.

Rub the toasted banquette  with garlic and place in the bottom of four shallow soup bowls. Pour equal amounts of broth over the banquette and serve as a first course. Pass the marrowbones at the table and serve with additional toast for spreading the marrow. Serve the meat and vegetables as a main course with desired condiments. Spoon additional hot broth on the meat and vegetables just prior to serving.

Flank Steak au Poivre with Mustard Caper Sauce

Serves 4

             The classic French bistro Filet of Beef au Poivre is an expensive luxury calling for filet mignon. For my money a good flank steak cuts the cost in half and doubles the flavor. The “au poivre” simply means to bring the steak “to the pepper.” The classic bistro sauce is coarsely ground black pepper, butter, olive oil, shallots, beef broth or beef demi-glace and a splash of Cognac or brandy deglazed in the pan the steak was cooked in. You need this classic sauce as the flavor enhancer for a cut of beef without much marbling.

             A great flank steak however is best prepared on a super hot grill. I run my gas grill up to 650 degrees and then sear the steak at 5 minutes a side, letting it rest for 10 minutes (medium rare depending upon thickness) while I prepare this au poivre mustard caper sauce.

            

                                          1.5             pound flank steak

                                          Marinade                   

                                          4                 cups of water

                                          2                 tablespoons of soy sauce

                                          2                 tablespoons of red wine

                                          2                 slices of lemon                                        

                                          3                 sprigs of fresh rosemary

                                          3                 bay leaves

                                          1                 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

                                                             Salt and ground pepper

                                          au poivre mustard caper sauce

                                          1                 tablespoon unsalted butter

                                          1                 tablespoon olive oil

                                          1                 tablespoon Dijon mustard

                                          2                 medium shallots, peeled and minced

                                          1                 cup beef stock

                                          1                 teaspoon corn starch

                                          ½                cup red wine

                                          2                 tablespoons drained capers

                                          1                 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

                                          2                 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

                                          1                 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

                                                             juice from resting flank steak

Preparation:  1. Put the water, soy sauce, red wine, lemon, rosemary, bay leaves, pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and submerge the flank steak. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours.  2. Heat your broiler or outside grill to its highest possible temperature.  3. Remove the steak and pat dry. Spray the steak with Pam or evenly coat it with olive oil. (If the steak is thicker than ½-inch, make shallow cuts against the grain every one inch to stop curling when cooking.)   Coat liberally with salt and coarsely ground black pepper.  4. Grill at high heat for five minutes a side, or until just red to pink inside. Let the steak rest in a shallow dinner plate while you make the sauce, to collect its run off juices.

Sauce:  au poivre mustard caper sauce

1. In a medium pan on high heat sauté the shallots in the butter and olive until translucent – about five minutes. 2.  Add the mustard and whisk smooth.  3. In a small bowl whisk the corn starch into the beef stock. Pour the mixture into the pan and whisk smooth.  4. Add the capers, lemon juice, black pepper, salt to taste and minced parsley.  5. Whisk the sauce and as it thickens pour in the accumulated juice from the resting steak and add the red wine until the desired consistency is achieved.

Presentation: Slice the flank steak very thinly on a slant against the grain. Serve with the sauce as you wish. 

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt

Flat out, hands down, pedal to the metal - the best chocolate bar I have ever tasted in my life!


The Caramel & Black Hawaiian Sea Salt bar is filled with a buttery, burnt sugar caramel & Hiwa Kai, a blend of sea salt and volcanic charcoal harvested from pristine Hawaiian tide pools. The exterior of the bar is garnished with Maldon sea salt harvested from estuaries in Great Britain. The combination of luscious dark chocolate, rich caramel and crunchy salt crystals is simply sublime.


Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt

Joan Wottrich's Lamb, Golden Raisins and Rice

Sheep Herd, Col du Bonhomme, Tour du Mont Blanc

             In the 1950s my mom used to take leftover lamb and make this almost Moroccan-like raisin and rice dish. I remember liking it at the time, unless I got a piece of lamb fat that my dad insisted not be wasted. So I decided to modernize the recipe and try to recapture my mom’s frugality and ingenuity.

             The premise is that you have roasted a boneless leg of lamb previously and have leftovers:

                                          2                 cups brown rice                      

                                          1                 pound of cooked lamb, trimmed of fat and sliced into bite-sized strips

                                          2                 cups golden raisins

                                          3                 tablespoons olive oil

                                          1                 medium onion, peeled and chopped coarsely

                                          2                 cups lamb gravy from your roast

                                          1                 cup chopped parsley

                                          1                 teaspoon ground cinnamon

                                          ½                teaspoon ground allspice

                                          ½                teaspoon ground cloves

                                          ½                teaspoon orange zest

                                          1                 juice from one orange

                                          1                 cup of the white wine you are drinking, or chicken stock, as needed

                                                             Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:  1. Cook the brown rice according to directions, or cook it in a rice cooker and hold for serving.  2. In a large fry pan heat the olive oil and sauté the onions until they just start caramelizing.  3. Add the lamb and lamb gravy and sauté for five minutes to heat the meat through.  4. Add the spices, parsley, orange zest, orange juice and salt and pepper and stir until well mixed. Add a splash of white wine or chicken stock if the sauce is too thick.

Presentation:  Put a couple of spoonfuls of the brown rice in the center of the plate and ladle the lamb onto the rice. Serve with fresh toasted bread, a glass of wine and a crisp side salad.

Variations:  If you did not make lamb gravy, use a package of gravy starter, or a packet of Lipton’s Onion soup to start the gravy. Soak the golden raisins in port, Madeira, or red wine for 10 minutes to add a little depth to the flavor.

Enjoy!

Richard Wottrich

Steamed Golden Beet Composed Salad

Pa Pa's Herb Garden

Serves 4

                The golden beet is a plant in the Chenopodiaceae family, which includes spinach, chard, and quinoa. Beets (Beta vulgaris) are highly nutritious and bolster “cardiovascular health.” Beets’ unique pigment antioxidants in the root as well as in its top greens provide protection against coronary artery disease and stroke, lower cholesterol levels, and have anti-aging effects. Beets of all types are best if roasted or steamed. This recipe steams the golden beet to highlight its subtle earthy taste.

                1              head pristine Boston lettuce

                2              medium Golden beets

                4              radishes

                ½             white onion

                8              white button mushrooms

                Dressing

                ½             orange, juiced

                1              tablespoon beet greens water

                2              tablespoons red wine vinegar

                2              tablespoons olive oil

                2              tablespoons Greek yogurt

                3              tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

                                Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

Preparation: 

1.  Peel and very thinly slice the golden beets with a mandoline slicer. Place the slices in a steamer and put a handful of washed beet greens into the water. Steam the slices until fork tender. Reserve one tablespoon of the beet greens water. Immediately submerge the beet slices in cold water with a slice of lemon and splash of rice vinegar.  2. Select pristine radishes, red or otherwise. I like Chinese black radishes. Thinly slice with the mandolin. Submerge in water with lemon and vinegar.   3. Thinly slice the onion and submerge in water with lemon and vinegar.  4. Clean, wash and dry the Boston lettuce. Make a long whole leaf bed on four oblong salad plates. Press down to make the arrangement somewhat flat.  5. Drain the vegetables – Place an overlapping line of beet slices down the center of the lettuce; place an overlapping line of smaller radish slices on top of the beets; scatter the onion slices on top of the radishes; thinly slice the button mushrooms and place an overlapping  line of raw slices as the final layer.

Dressing:

Put the orange juice, beet water, red wine vinegar, Greek yogurt and crumbled blue cheese in a bowl and mix well with a whisk until creamy. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while briskly whisking, until emulsified.  Add kosher salt to your taste.

Presentation:

Drizzle the dressing along the line of vegetables. Grind a generous portion of pepper on top. Serve with entrée, fresh toasted bread and a crisp white wine. 

The Impossible Cheeseburger

By Richard L. Wottrich, richard.wottrich@gmail.com

Scientific American recently opined about the “impracticality” of a cheeseburger, referring to the “industrialized” global food industry making something that is seemingly natural into a factory-produced commodity.

I remember a time when you could visit your small neighborhood butcher and buy ground beef from a single animal. A local dairy provided cheese made from milk bought from a local dairy farm. The farmers market would have onions, lettuce and vine ripened tomatoes in season. The local bakery would have some hamburger buns hot from the oven. At just the right time of the summer these local ingredients came together and you could grill a cheeseburger. It was a special treat.

Today fast food outlets and globalized commodities have turned the cheeseburger into an advertising platform for empty calories. Ground beef comes from massive factory farms that floor plan over 70% of the meat in supermarkets nationally.  One burger can contain meat from over 50 animals. Cheese is overproduced and held in storage for years by the Dairy Industry, the most heavily subsidized food product in America. The onion, lettuce and tomatoes are produced out of season and shipped thousands of miles to be turned into toppings.

The price tags for the industrialized cheeseburger include:

Genetically modified crops that can stand shipping

Incredible overuse of water sources

Concentrated farming techniques that strain local environments

Fertilizer run off and resulting ocean “dead zones”

Carbon footprint of global overnight shipping of commodities

Deforestation

Nitrogen loading of water sources

This might be an acceptable price if it were improving the health and welfare of humanity. It is true that the explosion in food production has helped mitigate starvation worldwide, but malnutrition remains rampant. In wealthy countries obesity is at epidemic levels due to these “cheap” subsidized food stuffs. So we are left with an America that has over 45 million people receiving food stamps, while 100 million more are obese. Is this what we want?

Some estimates suggest that global food demand will double by 2050. The pressure to bring food to market will accelerate the industrialization of food commodities, subsidized for political reasons by various governments. Profit margins will be ever thinner and incentives to produce nutritionally valuable foods will lesson. This system will not be able to meet demand.

Local food sources supported by local buyers are part of the answer. Educating consumers about the nutritional value of foods will help them eat smarter and avoid empty calories. Removing tax subsidies for factory farms and commodities and replacing them with incentives for nutritionally valuable food sources would realign priorities and produce choices at market.

In short, think about what you are buying and feeding to your child or grandchild – act accordingly.

The Goose, the Whole Goose, and Nothing But the Goose

Wiehnachtsgans (Viennese Christmas Goose)

SchiltzFoods, Inc. is America's largest goose farm. Established in 1944, Schiltz geese are raised free range in the natural rhythm of the geese. If you have never experienced a roasted goose you are in for a treat.

Weihnachtsgans (Viennese Christmas Goose)

The Goose:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Trim off goose wing tips, put into a small pot, and set aside. Prick skin all over with the tip of a paring knife. Rub bird, inside and out, with marjoram, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Stud apples and onions with cloves, and then stuff into cavity of bird. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Heat oil in a large heavy roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add goose and cook until browned all over, about 15 minutes. Set goose aside. Drain off fat from pan into a medium bowl and set aside. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add wine and 1 cup water and cook, scraping browned its stuck to bottom of pan with a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes. Transfer goose, breast side up, to pan and roast until skin begins to get crisp, 35-45 minutes. Siphon off fat in pan with a bulb baster (add it to bowl with fat), leaving any pan juices in pan. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting goose until juices run clear when pricked and skin is brown and crisp, 35-50 minutes more, siphoning off fat from pan once or twice as it roasts. Meanwhile, add stock to pot with wing tips and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes. Strain stock, discarding solids, and set aside.

The Apples:

Soak raisins in rum in a small bowl until plump, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Core apples, leaving bottoms intact, and put into a medium baking dish, hole side up. Drain raisins, then stuff into apple cavities and top each with a piece of butter. Add 1 cup water to dish, cover with foil, and bake until apples are soft but still intact, 45-50 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees and keep apples warm in oven.

The Dumplings:

Put potatoes into a large pot of salted water and boil over medium-high heat until soft, 25-30 minutes. Drain and set aside to let rest until just cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil over high heat. Peel potatoes, then press through a potato ricer onto a clean surface. Gather potatoes while still warm into a mound and make a well in the center. Add 2 cups of the flour, eggs, butter, and 1 tbsp salt to well and gently knead bread dough until smooth, adding up to 4 tbsp more flour if dough is too tacky. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Lightly flour your hands and roll each piece of dough into a ball. Working in 2 batches, add dough balls to pot of water, reduce heat to medium, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until dumplings float and are cooked through 20-25 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a warm plate, cover with foil, and keep warm in oven with apples.

The Cabbage:

Heat 3 tbsp of the reserved goose fat (save remaining fat for another use) in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft 4-5 minutes. Add cabbage and apples and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in wine, orange juice, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally until cabbage is very soft, 35-45 minutes. Keep warm over lowest heat.

The Chestnuts

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chestnuts and cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick and chestnuts are glazed, 4-5 minutes. Cover skillet and keep warm over lowest heat.

To Complete

Discard kitchen twine and apples and onions from cavity of goose. Put goose on a large serving platter and allow to rest 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, drain fat from pan, then set pan on top of stove and heat over medium-high heat. Add reserved stock, scraping browned bits stuck to bottom of pan, and boil until reduced by one-quarter, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then strain gravy into a warm gravy boat.

To serve:

Fill goose cavity with warm chestnuts. Put cabbage next to goose on platter. Arrange apples and dumplings around goose. Moisten goose and cabbage with some of the gravy. Garnish dumplings with parsley. Serve gravy on the side.

Graupensuppe (German Barley Soup)

Graupensuppe (German Barley Soup)

Fall is soup time and nothing quite hits the spot like a hardy barley soup. In Germany barley soup is an "Eintopf" - a one-pot meal. It uses the classic "Suppengrün" mixture (mirepoix) of leek, celery root and carrot, plus potatoes and bacon for substance. This recipe is adapted from Klaus Weiler, the chef at Weinhaus Weiler in Oberwesel, Germany. It appeared in the Saveur November 2011 issue on The Art of Soup.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup pearl barley
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
½ cup white wine

½ cup finely chopped peeled russet potato
½ cup finely chopped carrot
½ cup finely chopped celery root
½ cup finely chopped leek
2 cups chopped Swiss chard
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried marjoram
2 German sausages, like bockwurst or bratwurst
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup thinly sliced flat-leaf parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat butter in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add barley, and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Add stock, potato, carrot, celery root, leek, marjoram, Swiss chard, button mushrooms, bay leaf, whole sausages, and bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sausages are tender, about 35 minutes. Remove sausages and bacon from saucepan, thinly slice sausages, and discard bacon. Season soup with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. To serve, ladle soup into 8 serving bowls, and garnish with parsley and sliced sausage.

Try to find ‘real’ German sausages – bockwurst or bratwurst – freshly made. The 100-year-entombed, cryrovac-packed silicon casing tubes offered in supermarkets just don’t make the cut. You should be able to easily ‘tear’ the sausage into chunks.

Kids should know where real food comes from

Basque Roasted Pepper Soup

piment d’Espelette

Basque Roasted Pepper Soup

This sweet, smoky pepper soup was adapted from “The Basque Kitchen” by Gerald Hirigoyen. His restaurant in San Francisco is a rustic joy. The inspiration came from our Backroads.com, Pays Basque, Rustic Inns hiking trip to Spain and France in 2005. In my considered opinion this beautiful hike through the provinces of Pays Basque in the Pyrenees Mountains is one of the great culinary experiences in the world.

The Basques would use their famous piment d’Espelette (peppers) for this soup - the entire town of Espelette turns red with garlands of these smoky red peppers when hung out to dry each summer. I have found that pimento peppers, New Mexico peppers or any pungent small red pepper works just as well. The Basques grind their dried peppers into a sweet powder that you can order on line. In this recipe I used Aleppo ground chili pepper. The wonderful result is a soup that can be served either hot or cold.

4      pimento peppers (medium size), roasted, peeled, deseeded and chopped

1      jalapeño pepper, roasted, seeded, skinned and chopped

2      banana peppers, roasted, peeled, deseeded and chopped

½     Vidalia onion, chopped

1      carrot, chopped

2      stalks of celery, chopped

2      cloves of garlic, minced

½     cup of olive oil

2      medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1      tablespoon crushed Aleppo chili pepper (or any crushed red pepper)

1      28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)

1      32-ounce container of organic chicken stock

1      tablespoon Kosher salt

        ground black pepper to taste

        assorted fresh herbs, chopped finely

        sour cream or Greek yogurt, garnish

        chives, chopped for garnish

Preparation:   Roast the peppers in a 375-degree oven for 30 minutes or until just charred – reserve to cool. In a stockpot sauté in olive oil the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until soft. Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes and potatoes and bring to a simmer. When the peppers are cool, remove their skins and deseed – chop and add to the soup. Add the pepper flakes, salt, ground black pepper and chopped herbs. Bring to a quick boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. When the soup has cooled use a blender to puree the soup in batches.

Presentation:  If serving the soup hot, return the soup to the burner and heat for serving. Garnish with a tablespoon of sour cream or Greek yogurt and chopped chives. If serving cold put the soup in the refrigerator for at least three hours and present the same way.

Eating Well Inexpensively

One of the myths of healthy whole foods is that they are expensive. I take issue with this and present this recipe as a case in point.

Constructed Chicken & Baby Potato Salad – Two servings

Ingredients.

½               Cooked chicken breast, cut into quarter-inch slices [Buy an organic roasting chicken two-pack at Costco for $9.99 – ½ chicken breast equals $2.50]

2                Fresh farm eggs, hard boiled, shelled and split in two [I buy a dozen farmers eggs a week at the Farmers Market for $6.00 a dozen - $1.00 for two eggs]

1                Bunch farmers market red lettuce [$  .50].

10              Baby organic potatoes, boiled [$1.50]

½               Vidalia onion, sliced thin [$  .50]

                  Herbs to taste.

                  Salt and pepper to taste.

2                Tablespoons butter [$  .25].

Total entrée cost - $3.12 per person.

Preparation.

Roast your chicken as you prefer and bring to room temperature or reserve in the refrigerator. Boil the baby potatoes until tender, bring to room temperature and toss with half the butter, herbs and salt and pepper. Sauté the sliced onion in half the butter until just lightly browned. Add to the potatoes and toss.

Presentation.

On two salad dishes arrange the lettuce on half of each plate. Display the sliced chicken across the lettuce. Spoon the potatoes and onions on the other side of each dish. Place the egg haves in between. Sprinkle chopped herbs on top. Salt and pepper to your taste. Lightly splash with a simple vinaigrette and serve.

The Government Knew About Bacteria in Turkey


Find a butcher you trust and grind your own meat. Factory meat contains flesh from hundreds of animal or birds, increasing the odds of contamination.

Golden Corn Cakes

These light and succulent fresh corn cakes are adapted from the recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, a chef with four cafés in London, and Nopi in Soho NYC - http://www.nopi-restaurant.com/ - Yotam celebrates Middle Eastern flavors and vegetarian virtues. These corn cakes are light, crunchy and flavorful and accent the best of fresh summer corn from your roadside stand.

                                Corn Cakes

½             cup quick-cook polenta or fine-ground cornmeal

1 ¾          cups corn kernels, cut from 1-2 ears of corn, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute

1              small shallot, diced fine – about 3 tablespoons

½             cup chopped red pepper

½             jalapeño, seeds and membrane removed (more if you like heat)

½             teaspoon cumin seeds, roughly smashed

¾             teaspoon salt, plus extra for seasoning at the end

¼             teaspoon black pepper, plus extra for seasoning at the end

¾             cup Greek yogurt

3              tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for frying

3              eggs, separated

Cilantro Salad

4              cups arugula

1              tablespoon lemon juice

½ - 1        cup cilantro leaves
                     olive oil to taste

Garnish

                Sour cream

Preparation:  (1) In a large bowl mix the corn meal, corn, shallots, jalapeño, cumin, salt and pepper. Add yogurt, 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil and one egg yolk (reserve the other two yolks for another use). Mix well with a fork. It will form a fairly thick paste.  (2) In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Carefully fold the whites into the corn paste in two stages. This will change the consistency to a batter. Let rest for 5 minutes.  (3) Make the dressing by whisking 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.  (4) Set a large nonstick frying pan on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Pour in 1 teaspoon olive oil. When hot, spoon 2 tablespoons of batter per cake until the pan is full. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until they are golden. Flip and cook 1 minute. Transfer to a paper-lined tray.  (5) Toss the cilantro and arugula. Add the dressing and toss again and season.

Presentation:  Serve the corn cakes with a dollop of sour cream and the salad on the side. We served this with an heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad with basil vinaigrette, along with a crisp Italian white wine - Italian Gavi, Mosby Cortese.