This recipe isn’t necessarily one of those great recipes, in fact it didn’t even turn out. It should have but of course, those life events sometimes get in the way.

Here’s the story – My husband and I, in efforts to fully become adults, just bought a duplex in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. It’s been intense – first finding tenants to live in the rental half – then organizing the remodel of our half. Because of timing, money, etc, we had to move into our new house weeks before it was finished – new floors, paint, trim, lights, oh, and a totally new kitchen. (Starting to document it at soweboughtaduplex.blogspot.com). We lived like we were in a hotel – just out of our master bedroom and bathroom while the contractor and his team finished up the place. All the eating out was hard not only on our pocketbooks, but also our waistlines and so a lot of our meals were done camping style – on the grill outside, on paper plates, washing any dishes in the spigot outside. We decide to go a little fancy one night – we deserved some sort of dessert treat – so we devised this simple cobbler for the grill. Disposable pan, very little prep, no need for too many tools. However, moving, more grilling then usual, and forgetfulness got in the way. As I went to check the cobbler for its final stage, I found the grill cold and the cobbler un-cobbled.

We, of course, ate it anyway. You won’t have to. This is good for the grill, and probably could work over a campfire.

Stay tuned for next month, when you guys won’t have to stare at the top of my dryer or my green walls – THE NEW KITCHEN WILL BE DONE!

2 bags of frozen berries
1/2 Cup of Flour, divided
nutmeg, cinnamon or other spices if accessible.
Half a box of Graham Crackers
2/3 C Butter
a small foil baking pan
heavy duty grilling foil

Heat up your grill. Toss the berries with 1/4 cup of the flour and spices in the foil pan until coated. Cover tightly with heavy duty foil and put on the grill over indirect heat. I put it on the TOP rack of my gas grill while I cooked the rest of our dinner. Leave it there for half hour or so, let the berries get nice and stewed.



Meanwhile, crush up the graham crackers into crumbs and mash them in with the butter and 1/4 C of flour until you have a nice wet sand. After the berries are gooey, hot and bursting, remove the top foil, sprinkle the top of the cobbler with the graham cracker mixture and return to the grill, UNCOVERED.

If you aren’t like me, the top should get nice and crispy. Leave it there for about another half an hour, or until crispy enough, and enjoy!!

For the shrimp (serves 2):
16 40 count uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (adjust portion size if shrimp is bigger/smaller)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. miso paste
1 tbsp. soy sauce
a splash of mirin


Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl with clean, fresh shrimp (I used to my hands). When ingredients are evenly distributed, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, until ready to grill.


Meanwhile, start the risotto:

3/4 cup arborio rice
Olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1- 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh ginger, chopped
2 qts. chicken or vegetable stock (you won’t use all of it but good to have it handy)
1/4 dry white wine
Greens of two scallions, chopped
1-2 tsp. fresh lemon zest
1/4 cup peas, fresh or frozen
S&P

Dish Danielle has given us some great instructions for preparing risotto. Basically, it needs to be coddled. Heat some olive oil in a large, flat bottomed saucepan and saute onions, garlic and ginger with a pinch of salt to prevent browning. In a separate saucepan, heat a quart of stock and keep a ladle handy. Add risotto rice to the onion mixture and stir to combine, 1-2 minutes. Start ladling warm stock over the rice, a few ladles at a time, and stir frequently, watching the rice expand. Add the white wine and get a little tipsy off the fumes. When the risotto begins to dry, add more stock – if you finish the first quart, you know where to find more. Continue 30-45 minutes until rice is cooked to al dente. Stir in scallions, lemon zest and peas and keep over heat until everything’s warmed through. Season to taste.


Spray a grill pan with cooking spray (if you don’t have a grill pan, but are lucky enough to have access to a real grill, feel free to use it. You can also cook the shrimp in a frying pan, you just won’t get the nice little grill marks.) Arrange shrimp in a single layer and cook, about a minute and half per side, until they’re pink all the way through.


If you’d like to serve this dish with asparagus – or any other green vegetable – steam it while you’re cooking the shrimp. For extra points, use a particularly fat asparagus stalk as a microphone.

Ingredients:

For the cake
3/4 cup beet puree (about 4 small beets)
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 cup sugar
8 T butter
3/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 T cocoa powder

For the frosting
10 oz goat cheese (room temp)
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
2 oz butter (room temp)
2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the beets in a baking dish with about 1/2 inch of water, cover the dish with parchment and then aluminum foil and roast until the beets are tender – about 45 minutes. Once the beets are done and cooled down a bit, peel them with a pairing knife and then give them a whir in the food processor, blending until smooth. Add in the lemon juice and vinegar and set aside.


Lower the heat to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl (or your standing mixer), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add in the vanilla and butter milk and mix until combined. Next, add the eggs and mix again. Fold in the beat puree. Finally, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.


Pour the batter into cupcake tins and bake for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until a just set. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.


To make the frosting combine the ingredients and mix until combined and smooth.

(original recipe for the cupcakes found here)

Ingredients:
- 1 can black beans
- 2 cups corn meal (or dry polenta)
- ½ cup shredded parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 eggs
- a handful of salad greens
- 4 radishes
- 2 scallions
- olive oil
- apple cider vinegar
- salt
- pepper

Directions:
Stew up the beans with some salt and pepper to taste and keep them on warm on the back burner. In a sauce pan, boil 6 cups of salted water, then sprinkle in the polenta while whisking – make sure to whisk thoroughly because otherwise you’ll get lumps. Once the polenta is mixed in, turn the heat down to medium-low and use a spoon and stir until the it thickens. Check the polenta by tasting to see if it’s softened (if it’s grainy and tough you need to add more water and keep stirring until it softens up – this can take about ½ hour).

Grease a square brownie pan or small cookie sheet with butter, then pour out the polenta into it and smooth it over with a rubber spatula to create a flat cake. Cool the polenta in the fridge for an hour so that it firms up, then sprinkle parmesan or Romano cheese evenly across the top and put the pan in the broiler on high to melt and brown the cheese. Once it looks nice and brown take it out and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Slice the cake of polenta into 3 or 4 inch wide squares. (instead of broiling you can also fry polenta cakes! Try it!)



Dice up the radishes and scallions and toss them in a large bowl with the salad greens and a table spoon of olive oil and apple cider vinegar, plus a dash of salt and pepper. Fry two eggs and plate them on top of the dish, with the beans on the bottom, then the polenta cake, then the egg, then the salad mix on top (the plating of this dish is what takes it from random to gourmet). Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top and serve!

1 extremely high quality and cute whole chicken, 3 lbs (organic, free range, local)
1 bunch very skinny asparagus, cut in one inch pieces, at an angle
8 carrots (I like doing 4 normal carrots, and 4 Kyoto carrots. These are sometimes found at the farmers market and they are pink. PINK!)
1 small onion, quartered
1 bunch of celery, base cut off, stalks divided into two piles
half a bag of frozen peas (or 4 oz fresh peas)
1 bunch dill
some sliced mushrooms
a few cloves of garlic
S&P

Get a pot and bowl. With your awesome poultry shears that can cut anything, cut chicken into four pieces.

Pull off any skin you can and throw it out (some will remain). Wash the pieces and put them in the pot. You will divide your vegetables into the “Ugly” and the “Pretty”. The uglies will go directly the pot. The uglies are half of the celery, cut into large 2-3 inch pieces, the 4 regular carrots, cut into big pieces, the quartered onion, a few mushrooms if you want and a couple cloves of garlic. Cover all the chicken and uglies with water and add an inch or two more. Cover and put on medium low heat.

Prep your pretties: Thinly slice the kyoto carrots and remaining celery, and put in the bowl with peas and asparagus segments. Set aside.

Make five other dishes. To finish soup, check chicken by reaching in with tongs and grabbing the drumstick. If the bone slips right out, you are ready to rock and roll. Pull out al the chicken with the tongs and let them cool in a bowl. With a shallow perforated spoon lift out all the ugly vegetables, as they are through doing their beautiful work. Discard them. Lift out as many impurities as you can see.


When the chicken is cooked enough to barely handle, pull the good meat off the bones. I like doing this part and it reminds me of this scene in Amelie when the guy shows his grandson the “oyster” of a roast chicken. I discovered something I didn’t know about chicken anatomy while doing this. When you dissect it this way there is a perfect piece tucked up next to a shaft of cartilage in the breast that looks like a lobster claw or some dang thing. It makes me smile every time.




Put the chicken meat back in the pot, add the pretty vegetables, some dill, and a liberal amount of salt and pepper. Let it simmer a bit more until vegetables are tender but still bright green. If asparagus turns brownish you’ve gone too far. When soup is cool enough, chill in the fridge. Skim off any other fat or impurities you don’t want. Heat as needed. Drink the broth, pick out what you don’t like, add rice, ladle a little bowl or have some with a sandwich.

Whatever you want to do, it will help get you there.

1 yellow onion
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon
2 cloves garlic
Blend of spices: paprika, cumin, ground coriander, a touch of cinnamon and turmeric (optional)
3/4-1 lb top round lamb cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup Greek-style natural yogurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt & freshly ground pepper
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 can of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons water or chicken stock
1 baguette sliced into 1 inch cubes
2 long fresh green chillies

Puree the onion, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of oil and spice mixture in a food processor. In a bowl, pour over lamb and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 2 hours to marinate.


Combine the yogurt and half the garlic, another tablespoon of lemon juice, and a touch of S&P in a small bowl. Cover and place in the fridge.

Heat the remaining oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the remaining garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until soft. Add the paprika and chilli and cook for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Add the tomato sauce and water and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Season with salt & pepper to taste.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place pieces of bread in a bowl and pour a little olive oil over, then season with salt & pepper. Toss to coat. Place on a pan and bake until crispy on outside, but soft in the middle, about 6-7 minutes.

Remove the lamb from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Thread the lamb onto 4 skewers.

Preheat a barbecue or large grill pan on high. Add the lamb and cook, turning occasionally, for 10 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. When the lamb is about halfway done add the 2 large chilis to the pan and roast, turning every few minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.

Divide the bread and chillies evenly among serving plates. Remove lamb from skewers and place on top of bread. Dress with even amounts of yogurt and spicy tomato sauce.

Afiyet olsun! (Bon Appetit!)

From Dish Danielle:

So you may recall a post I wrote last summer — when I was inspired to try my hand at Fried Green Tomatoes after dining at a local supperclub on the southside of Williamsburg. Since then, the duo behind Eat with Neighbor have become much more than their name implies. Last weekend I had the pleasure of not just Eat(ing) With Archie & Emily, (Neighbors), but I got to cook with them, supperclub colla-bo style: Whisk & Ladle met their Neighbors.

The menu we created together was definitely on the high maintenance/time consuming side, with each course composed of many different parts. With a lot of prep work in front of us, Emily & I decided to keep the dessert (somewhat) simple: Meyer Lemon Ricotta Ice Cream paired with Emily’s salty shortbread, drizzled with lavender infused honey.

Then we let the games begin.

(recipe adapted from Pastry Studio)

Ingredients
2½c ricotta cheese
¾-1c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
liberal pinch of kosher salt
zest & juice of 2 meyer lemons
1c heavy cream

Start by plopping the ricotta into a food processor with its metal blade in place. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, lemon zest & lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Add heavy cream and puree some more. Taste to ensure proper balance of sugar/salt/lemon. The recipe I used also called for a tablespoon of rum, which I omitted–so feel free to get crazy!

You are almost done. I know. So easy.

Allow the mixture to cool completely — pop it into the fridge for an hour or two — then run mixture through an ice cream maker to finish.

Pair with something crumbly and salty. YUM.

And if you’re interested, here’s the menu that came before our dessert course:

WHISK & LADLE + NEIGHBOR
4.27.12

SOUP
Cream of Oyster Mushroom, Parsnip, Pea, Basil, Ricotta
/
ENTREÉ
Duck Two Ways, Potato Gratin, Dandelion Greens, Rhubarb
/
SALAD
Strawberries, Fennel,
Mustard Vinaigarette,
Fried Strawberry Croutons
/
DESSERT
Meyer Lemon Ricotta Ice Cream, Shortbreads,
Lavender Honey

This will surely not be the last time I get cookin’ with my Neighbors. Happy Spring!

The next time you see me, I will have a new kitchen – brand new – even all the appliances. Well actually, you will probably see me mid-reno – just using the bathroom sink and the grill outside – but THEN I will have a brand new kitchen!

But this week it’s all about packing our house, supervising the workers putting in new lights, floor, paint and getting the RENTAL UNIT ready to go. Yes, we are crazy and bought a duplex. We’ll live in the back and rent out the three bedroom front unit to help cover our mortgage. (I am starting to document this adventure here: http://soweboughtaduplex.blogspot.com/.  EEPS!

My amazing parents came this week to help us out and it’s been wonderful to have them finishing tasks, being around for deliveries and helping us pack. Last night, my mom and I did a big Fridge Clean Out Dinner – We made a mushroom, onion and broccoli fritatta, Neal made a crisp arugula salad and we decided to use up as much of the random crap in our cupboards for dessert. This turned into a quick bread packed with yummy things that may not have had a home in our new place. This was the combo we used – you can put in any stuff you want – chocolate chips? craisins? Other nuts? Use the dry ingredients, eggs and bananas as your base.


We also found a 4-year-old can of Four Loko we bought to try and have been too scared. It’s probably a collectors item. It’s from before they deemed the mix of caffeeine, alcohol, energy drink and what must be liquid plumber illegal. Why not throw that in too?

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Three old bananas that have been in your freezer for months
2 eggs
4 T butter, melted
One can of contraband Four Loko
One bloop of almond oil because it was in your cupboard and why not
1/2 C of chopped pecans so you can wash that cute glass jar and pack it
1/2 C of toasted coconut from Oliver’s 2nd Birthday Dinosaur cake you made last September
1 C of chopped strawberries that are almost bad after you bought 2 pounds of them on sale this weekend

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. Take a swig of Four Loko. Combine all the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Mash up the banana in a smaller bowl and mix with eggs, butter and oil. Combine wet and dry and mix until just combined.


Rinse that effort down with a big drink of Four Loko. The fold in the nuts, coconut and berries until evenly distributed.

Put in loaf pan and bake for an hour while you pack 10 boxes or until a toothpick poked in the middle comes out dry or your can of Four Loko is more than halfway gone.

Let cool for 15 minutes or so, then turn out and let cool the rest of the way. Keep snagging slices between trips lugging boxes out to the garage. Probably don’t sleep well because you are so hopped up on Four Loko.

1 cups red lentils
2.5 cups water (2 for cooking lentils and additional ½ c reserved for when you add in the bulgur wheat)
1 cup bulgur (cracked wheat)
3 scallions thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
Lemon wedges to garnish
red or green leaf lettuce to wrap up the patties

To start, place the lentils in a saucepan and add the hot water. Bring it to boil, half covered. Then lower the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Turn the heat off. Add the bulgur, tomato paste, salt and cumin, mix well. Let the mixture sit and absorb the water for about 15 minutes until all the moisture is absorbed and the mixture is dry, stirring occasionally.


Next you will want to combine the lentil and bulgur mixture with the parsley and scallions in a large bowl. Let the mixture cool for an additional 10 minutes. Mix in the olive oil and take about a walnut size of the mixture into your hands and with wet hands, shape it as patties.

You can either serve it warm or chilled.

Serve the patties on the lettuce, squeeze on a little lemon juice and eat ‘um up taco style. Deeeeelish.

So, I made it. And it was awesome. Given that this is the first time I’ve used Keller’s recipe, I would do two things differently: I might add an extra anchovy filet, because the flavor here was very, very subtle, and I might cut down on the canola oil just a touch, because I tend to like dressings that are a bit more tangy. That said: I DO NOT THINK I CAN IMPROVE ON THOMAS KELLER! Only that I can improve his recipe for my own particular tastebuds, which is why I am quoting his version as written.

I made fresh croutons from the stale baguette that was sitting on my counter. Clearly I am a person who always has stale bread in the house, because I am convinced that every meal – with the exception of Chinese food – could be improved by the addition of a fresh loaf. But, if you aren’t that kind of person, you could always buy bagged croutons, no biggie.


For the anchovy dressing:
(I halved this because there’s no way the two of us will consume 2 cups of dressing in the next 3 days, which how long Keller says it’ll keep in the fridge. Yes, this meant that I cut a raw egg yolk with a knife.)

1 ½ tblsp. chopped garlic
1 ½ tblsp. chopped shallot
¼ balsamic vinegar (we have two kinds in the house: the good kind and the cheap kind. I used the cheap kind since it was getting mixed with other things)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 salt-packed anchovy fillets, deboned, soaked in milk to cover for 30 minutes, drained and patted dry (My elegant deboning method involved pulling any obvious bones out with my fingernails.)
1 large egg yolk
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup canola oil
Freshly ground (white) pepper (OK, I used black)

Puree the garlic, shallots, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice and anchovies in a blender until smooth. (I used a hand-blender, which worked pretty well, and I didn’t transfer the mixture to “a mixer with a paddle attachment” afterwards because I was being lazy, and didn’t want to do that many dishes, and the hand blender continued to do the trick.) Beat in the egg yolk and slowly drizzle in the oils. Season with pepper, cover and refrigerate.

Chop your lettuce – I used romaine but kale would be good, too. Toss with croutons, dressing, and a fistful of finely grated, good quality parmesan.


I’m glad I have more dressing leftover. I know where I’m getting my Caesars from now on!