Kitchen Kat

A recent night out at Tabla Bread Bar, www.tablany.com, across from Madison Square Park reminded me of everything I love and loathe about juggling city and country life.  In New York I have a wealth of restaurants serving a wide range of cuisines.  At Tabla it is Danny Meyer’s modern take on Indian.  Piquant tamarind margaritas.  Lentil-studded navaratan dal.  Spicy sag paneer pizzas.  Soft, warm naan bread dipped in tamarind-jaggery chutney.  A warm pumpkin bread pudding to top off the meal.  Just divine!

 

Should I wish to recreate my Bread Bar experience at home, I can wander a few blocks north to the specialty food market Kalustyan’s. www.kalustyans.com  Here, I can find the all the exotic spices featured in Tabla’s dishes.  Walk about 20 blocks south of my apartment and I can roam the aisles of Fairway, picking up all the fresh ingredients needed.  Hop the cross town bus to Kitchen Arts and Letters at Lexington and 94th, www.kitchenartsandletters.com, and I can even buy Tabla executive chef Floyd Cardoz’s cookbook, “One Spice, Two Spice.”    

Yet, back at my apartment, ingredients and recipes in hand, I am at a loss at how to proceed.  The reason?  I have a kitchen the size of a closet.  Not a spacious walk-in with ample room for shoe racks, sweater boxes and a full length mirror but a very small, very cramped one stuffed with puffy coats, sweaters and blankets and about to burst at the hinges. 

With just enough counter space to hold a microwave – complete with toaster oven resting on top – coffee maker, one ceramic canister, a bottle of red wine and a roll of paper towels I feel fortunate that I can spread out and make a grilled cheese sandwich.  Whip up chicken tikka masala with cardomom-scented basmati rice and garlic naan bread?  You have got to be kidding. 

In southeastern Pennsylvania it’s a whole different story.  There I am lucky to possess a kitchen with yards and yards of empty counter space.  Spacious and bright, the room contains a 5-burner stove, full-sized dish washer and refrigerator, table and chairs – not my apartment’s tiny, 2-seater kitchenette that doubles as dining and dressing tables, desk and prep station – and a wire shelving unit filled with cookbooks and cooking tools.  It even has an island, one large enough to hold two, maybe three, average-sized people laying head to toe.  Weird but true. 

So, about what could I possibly complain?  How about the paucity of ingredients.

A trip to one of the massive chain grocery stores serves as a perfect example.  Four thousand types of cereals, cookies and chips yet not one jar of roasted chestnuts, preserved lemons or my beloved tamarind paste.  Loads of plastic containers brimming with ground cinnamon, cardamon and nutmeg but not one holding a simple cinnamon stick, cardamon pod or whole nutmeg.  Want 20 different brands of salsa or packaged tortillas?  No problem.  Want the masa harina to make your own tortillas?  Well . . ..   

Let’s consider a few fairly mainstream yet surprisingly hard-to-find goods. Wheat flour.  I drove to three supermarkets just to find one bag of organic wheat flour.  Monkfish.  The man working the counter of one meat-and-fish department had never heard of it.  Figs.  No one was aware that these come in a fresh, non-Fig Newton form.

 

The solution to my no space/lots of ingredients or lots of space/no ingredients dilemma?  A simple, if not slightly tedious, one.   I load up my car with bags from Fairway and Zabar’s, www.zabars.com, then head across the Hudson where, two hours later, I unpack my coveted groceries and start cooking.  Urban dining (and shopping) paired with country cooking.  May seem unusual but, thus far, it has worked.

CHICKEN BIRIYANI
Serves 6 to 8

An Indian dish inspired by a cookbook from Kitchen Arts and featuring spices purchased at Kalustyan’s. 

2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into sticks
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cardamon
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup plain yogurt
1 ½ cups basmati or long-grain rice
8 cardamon pods, slightly bruised with back of knife
¼ cup of almonds, skinned, roughly chopped, and toasted
¼ cup of cashews, toasted

Place the onions, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. 

Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamon, chili powder, cumin, garam masala and salt to the mixture and pulse several times until well combined.

Pour the marinade into a large bowl and add 1 cup of yogurt and the saffron threads.  Stir together then set aside.

Place the chicken in the marinade and toss to coat all the pieces.  Refrigerate and allow the meat to marinate for at least 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 350˚F and butter a 5-quart baking dish.  Set the dish aside. 

Using the flat surface of a spoon or the handle of a knife, press down on each cardamon pod, bruising but not breaking the shells.  Place the pods, along with the 1 ½ cups of rice, in a saucepan.  Following the directions on the rice’s packaging, cook the rice.  Once the rice is finished, remove the cardamon pods then cover the pan until ready to use.

Remove the chicken and marinade from the refrigerator and pour into a large sauté pan on the stove top.  Bring the contents to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

After 15 minutes remove the chicken and place it on a plate.  Continue cooking the sauce for another 5 minutes to reduce it slightly.

Taking the baking dish, layer the rice, chicken and sauce.  There should be two layers of each. 

Place in the baking dish in the pre-heated oven, cover and bake for 25 minutes.  In the interim toast the almonds and cashews in a pan until golden.

After removing the dish from the oven, top the biriyani with the toasted nuts then serve. 

 

        

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Today marked at an all time low on the lunch front.   Having boiled a vegetarian hot dog, I then remembered that I had no bread or buns.  Lacking such entree alternatives as homemade soup, mixed greens, fresh fruit or cereal, I had no choice but to eat this hot dog, with ketchup, on top of a cracker.  (Yes, yes.  I could have eaten just the hot dog but at the time this sounded even less appealing.)

The crunchiness of the rosemary-laced cracker coupled with the squishiness of the ketchup-coated hot dog is not a pairing that I want to experience again.  Not a full-fledged “Yuck!” but certainly far, far from “Yum!” 

Working from home, I often find myself thinking about food. Yet, when lunch rolls around and I can eat guilt-free, food seems to be the very last thing that I have in the pantry.  On days when I don’t have time to run out to a diner, much less to the supermarket, and the delivery options leave me unenthused, I need alternatives to my usual handful of almonds, instant oatmeal (which I had this morning for breakfast), multiple mugs of coffee or, today’s disaster, hot dog on a cracker. 

Since the sodium content of canned soups disturbs me on so many levels, I won’t pop open a can of Campbell’s and heat it on the stove.  Likewise for pouring hot water over ramen or “Oodles of Noodles” and tucking into a bowl of salty noodle soup.  Frozen dinners and pizzas are not an option.  Nor are bags of candy, potato chips and dip or any other junk food.  For lunch I want something healthful yet fast and simple to make. 

With this in mind I have come up with a few recipes that, when I run out of bread, milk, veggies or fruits, will provide me with a quick, decent meal.   Staples of the kitchen, the following ingredients are invariably on hand. 

SESAME SOBA NOODLES
Serves 1

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 individual package of soba noodles (found in Asian section of larger grocery stores)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
4 teaspoons lite soy sauce
 
Boil the soba noodles for about 6 minutes (or according to instructions on package), until they are tender. Drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop from further cooking.
        
In the bowl in which soba noodles will be served, mix vinegar, soy sauce, honey and oil.
        
Drain the noodles. Place the noodles and sesame seeds in the bowl with the sauce and toss to combine.

HUEVOS RANCHEROS
Serves 1

1 egg, fried over easy or hard
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/2 tomato, seeded and chopped OR 1/2 cup of canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons salsa
chopped onion, optional
sour cream, optional

Fry egg to desired specification — over easy, over hard or even sunny-side up — and set aside.
        
Warm the tortilla in a frying pan then place on a plate.
        
Sprinkle the cheese on the center of the tortilla. Place the egg on top of the cheese.
        
Spoon the tomato, followed by salsa, on top of the egg.  Spoon onion and/or sour cream on top of salsa, if desired.
        
Fold tortilla and serve.
*Note:  If you don’t have tortillas or even tomatoes in the house, just top a fried egg with cheese, salsa and the optional onion and sour cream and eat!

GRILLED SALMON STEAK
Serves 1

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 (4 oz.) salmon steak, skin removed
BBQ sauce, optional
1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes, drained, optional
2 tablespoons minced garlic, optional
juice of half a lemon, optional
1 teaspoon dried thyme, optional
freshly ground black pepper, optional

Using 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, grease the surface of the grill pan or, if grilling outside, grill.  Pre-heat grill on medium-high heat.

If salmon steak is frozen, defrost in the microwave or, if time permits, in the refrigerator.  Otherwise, coat both sides of the salmon steak with the remaining olive oil and place on the grill.  Depending on the thickness of the steak, cook on each side for 5 to 10 minutes or until flesh flakes easily when probed with a fork.

If topping with the tomato mixture, stir together the canned, drained tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice, thyme and ground pepper then spread over the top of the salmon steak.  If using BBQ sauce, paint the top of the salmon with the sauce.  Remove steak from heat and serve immediately.

HUMMUS AND PITA
Serves 1

1 (8 ounce) container of hummus
1 package of wheat pitas or pita chips

Open packages of hummus and pita.  Dip corner of pita into hummus and consume.  Repeat steps 2 and 3 until hunger has subsided.
             

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On this bleak and frigid January afternoon I sit in my office, staring out the window at the hard, frost-covered ground.  At times winter in the Northeast can seem endless.  One digit days and sub-zero nights.  Plodding around in an ungainly puffy coat, thick mittens, fuzzy hat and thermal underwear, I feel like an ill-dressed Weeble.  Unfortunately, unlike the toy of my youth, when I slip on a patch of sinister black ice, I wobble as well as fall down.  

While many of winter’s sufferers dream of white beaches and rum drinks, I yearn for the warm, healthful cuisine of the Mediterranean.  For me nothing beats winter’s chill better than a steaming bowl of bouillabaisse or platter of grilled sardines.  While I can’t drop everything and jet off to Marsaille or Sardinia tonight, I can invite some friends over for an evening of Mediterreanean delights.  It’s a wonderful way to bring a little sunshine back into all of our lives.

And what would Mediterranean night be without henna tattoos, shots of ouzo or, for the teetotalers, Turkish coffee?  Not a party that I would be throwing.   That’s the beauty of celebrating this region — I can serve up unique customs alongside delectable foods.

On Moroccan nights I hold my silver teapot high above the dinner table and pour hot, sweet mint tea into delicately filigreed glasses.  Unlike the tea wallahs of Morocco, who can do this without spilling a drop, I usually splash some on the tablecloth, if not on a guest.  Still, the spectacle is worth the stained linens and startled friends.

On Italian-themed evenings I might brew some espresso and make “affogato,” bowls of vanilla ice cream drowning in hot coffee, or just serve the drink in white demitasse cups.  Other times I may cheat and throw together a hodge podge of Mediterranean specialities.  A fragrant Moroccan tagine and vegetable-studded Tunisian couscous salad are preceded by spinach-laden Greek spanikopita and cheesy Spanish bunuelos.  Cap off the feast with cups of French cafe au lait paired with Italian poached pears and I have a menu of global proportions.

To set the tone, I rely not only upon food but also on music, movies and culturally significant activities.  For a French-inspired meal I may flip on the songs of Edith Piaf, Josephine Baker and Serge Gainsborough or the films of Francois Truffaut, Louis Malle and Jean-Luc Godard.  Entertainment in place, I set out wedges of Morbier cheese, crusty baguettes, Picholine olives and bottles of Cotes du Rhone.  Decorate the dinner table with white linens and a blue vase brimming with sunflowers and I am transported to a sidewalk cafe in sunny Nice. 

In milder weather my backyard becomes a Venetian paradise where guests take “gondola” rides on the creek that runs behind our farmhouse.  With my husband Sean and friend Kyle acting as gondoliers, daring party-goers glide along the canals of Collegeville in our two fiberglass canoes.  Granted, it takes some imagination to envision an Italian idyll amidst the oaks but with a little effort and enough Chianti it will do.

Tonight, however, with the creek encrusted with ice and my minutes to shop and decorate few, I may have to settle for an evening of simple food.  A plate of insalata caprese or a Haloumi, tomato and basil sandwich — just a little something to remind me of the sun-drenched shores of the Mediterranean and the warmth they bring.

COUSCOUS SALAD
Serves 6 to 10

Ingredients:
8 ounces Israeli couscous
12 ounce can of chopped tomatoes, drained
2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped into small chunks
3 tablespoons of Moroccan (black) olives, finely chopped
handful of chickpeas
¼ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Cook the couscous per package’s instructions then tumble into a large bowl.
       
Add the tomatoes, peppers, scallions, cucumber, olives and chickpeas to the couscous. Toss to combine.
       
Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, curry and cayenne pepper then pour over the couscous. Stir until dressing is evenly distributed. Refrigerate and allow the salad to absorb the dressing for at least 1 hour. Serve cold or at room temperature.

INSALATA CAPRESE
Serves 4 to 6

2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (about 4 large), sliced ¼ inch thick
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced ¼ inch thick
¼ cup packed fresh basil leaves, washed well and dried
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
fine sea salt to taste
freshly white black pepper to taste

On a large platter arrange tomato, mozzarella slices and basil leaves in an overlapping, alternating pattern. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

HALOUMI, TOMATO AND BASIL SANDWICHES
Serves 2 to 4
My Greek version of insalata caprese on bread

6 to 8 slices of Haloumi cheese, pan-fried
2 tomatoes, washed and sliced
generous amount of fresh basil, washed
loaf of organic bread
splash of balsamic vinegar, optional

Assemble the sandwiches with 2 to 3 slices of Haloumi, 2 to 3 tomato slices, a handful of fresh basil and a splash of balsamic vinegar per sandwich.
      

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I admit it – I own a lot of cookbooks.  Some of my favorites come not from renowned chefs or big publishing houses but from community fundraising committees.  Soft- covered, spiral bound, and with minimal art work, community cookbooks showcase the talent and ingenuity of home cooks while raising money for local churches, hospitals, parks and clubs.       

Since the recipes are donated by a specific community, i.e. the members of the Junior Guild or Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, the offerings are invariably vast and varied.  Some, such as the three-ingredient beer bread, are simple and tasty.  Others, such as the 10-egg “English style cheese strata,” fall into the ‘creative cooking’ category.  A few, such as the apple sauce-cream cheese-lemon jello-Miracle Whip salad, are plain, old gastronomic nightmares.     

Close to half of these books I inherited from my mother.  Although she didn’t particularly enjoy cooking, she did believe in supporting my hometown.  “No Fault Cooking” from the Liberty Mutual Club, “Northminster U.P. Church Cook Book,” “Favorite Recipes of Pennsylvania” courtesy of the Women’s Missionary Society, and “Cook’s Choice” from the Junior Guild of Jameson Memorial Hospital all found their way into her kitchen.

My mother may not have used the books often but, when she did, she filled the margins with ratings – a red “X” for unsuccessful recipes, a “good+” for, obviously, those she found worth making again.  My favorite, the hardbound “Cook’s Choice,” is loaded with these notations.  My first grade teacher Elma Alford’s chicken casserole warranted a “good+.”  Yet, I can’t remember ever eating this well-reviewed meal. 

While Carolyn Farone’s meat loaf only received a “good” rating, I consumed this combination of ground beef, chopped onions and peppers, grated cheese, egg and cracker crumbs on countless occasions.  As for the damning red “X” next to “party chicken,” I must have blocked out all memories of it.  Chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and topped with dried beef, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream didn’t do much for my mother or me, it seems.     

Along with relishing the personal aspects of “Cook’s Choice,” I also love many of the recipes.  The 26-page chapter on appetizers and beverages is packed with great party foods.  From the number of outstanding cocktails listed here, I have no doubt that the ladies of the 1978 Junior Guild knew how to have a good time. Thanks to them, I do, too.  Nancy William’s wassail, Bobbie Forsey’s Swedish glogg, and Mary Clarke’s wholesome, non-alcoholic witches’ brew have kicked off many festive nights. 

What I like best, though, is the book’s simplicity.   Most recipes contain only a few steps.  Dice, mix, pour and bake.  Coat, season and fry.  Boil, simmer and serve.  That covers all the techniques that I’ll need to create these dishes. 

Likewise, the ingredient lists are kept simple.  What I don’t have on hand, I can easily acquire.  No traipsing through four supermarkets or transporting goods across the George Washington Bridge to make shrimp Arnaud or Croatian fish stew.  Makes sense.  If the recipe writers hadn’t found the ingredients at New Castle’s local markets, they wouldn’t have made such meals as chicken paprikash or baked cheese fondue.        

While my mother’s books from the ‘70s and ‘80s are filled with nostalgia and retro appeal, the ones that I have purchased smack of today’s eating trends.  Gone are the coconut and Cool Whip-laced Jell-O salads, chow meins, angel fluff pies, and upside-down cakes.  In their place are steps for making curried artichoke salads, vegetarian entrees, tarts, and tortes.  However different this may be from the days of “surprise meatballs,” these books still contain good foods prepared and presented for good causes. 

Wassail from Cook’s Choice (Junior Guild, 1978) and Nancy Williams

Yields 2 1/2 quarts

“Keep warm with this at the football games — really keeps you toasty warm from the inside out!”

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 1/2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon ginger
2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 quart cider
1 cup white rum

Combine the sugar and water and boil 10 minutes.  Add the cloves, cinnamon sticks and ginger.  Let stand at least 1 hour.  Strain.  Add the orange juice, lemon juice and cider and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add 1 cup white rum.  Easy.  Can do ahead

              

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