Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Creole Lamb Shanks

Recipe Source: Fitzmorris, Tom.  Tom Fitzmorris' New Orleans Food.  Stewart Tabori & Chang, New York, 2010 pp. 190 - 1.

The first time I went to New York City I dined with my now-husband at a restaurant called Molyvos.  It's probably still there - it's been ages since I've been for anything but Thanksgiving dinner.  Anyway, I had a dish called youvetsi, which involved slow-cooked marinated lamb shanks.  I fell in love with it.  I still get cravings for it.  That's not important right now.  The only reason I'm mentioning it right now is because that was the first time I'd ever encountered lamb shanks.  To this day they are my favorite cut of lamb.  Yes, yes, I like lamb roasted, and grilled.  I like lamb chops.  I like ground lamb.  I like leg of lamb, I like lamb steaks.  I like all sorts of lamb.  But there is no cut of lamb that I like better than or even as much as lamb shanks.  As lamb goes, they're some of the more affordable cuts.  This may be because lamb shanks are mostly connective tissue and require long, slow cooking in order to reach their full potential.  Whatever, I don't care, I love them and I'm always happy to find a new and different use for them.

This is one of those new and different uses.  It's a low-and-slow recipe like youvetsi, but it is flavored very differently from my Greek favorite.  According to the source it's a popular daily special in New Orleans restaurants.  I've never been to New Orleans and the chances that I'll ever make it down there are minimal so maybe someone with more direct experience can confirm that statement.  I can't find my notes from this cook, which dates to the day the Patriots made it into the Super Bowl.  I think I can remember most of the changes I made though.  I reduced the olive oil on general principles.  I omitted the salt because my guests that day were very sensitive to salt.  I replaced it with chili powder because, well, just because.  I substituted parsnips for carrots because carrots are the Devil's food and not in a good chocolate way.  I increased the celery mostly to use it up and get it out of my fridge.  I increased the garlic because garlic is good for you.  I increased the marjoram, which I used fresh, and I increased the rosemary as well.  The orange was a blood orange.  The wine was not Gewurztraminer, but it was white.

This recipe was very well-received by my guests, my husband and by me.  I could have wished that it was less well-received by the guests.  Then I could have sneaked into the kitchen late at night and finished off the leftovers when no one could see me.  (I'm not in the habit of doing that, the recipe was just that good.)  It also made the kitchen very inviting on a cold, dreary, soggy day.

Creole Lamb Shanks (serves 4; approx. cost per serving not available.)

4 lamb shanks

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 onions, chunked

2 massive parsnips, cut into thick coins

8 celery stalks, cut into pieces

15 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bay leaves

4 sprigs fresh marjoram, leaves only, finely chopped

3 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 blood orange, cut into eighths

1 1/2 cups white wine, plus more for the cook if desired

Equipment:

• Large oven safe skillet or roasting pan
• Large, deep skillet

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. Heat the oil in the skillet.
3. Season the lamb shanks and brown on all sides.  Remove the pan from heat and reserve.
4. Transfer the shanks to the roasting pan.  Add all the other ingredients except for the wine.
5. Add the wine to the skillet in which you browned the shanks.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Whisk constantly to dissolve the pan bits - these have a fancy culinary term and are very important.
6. Boil 2 minutes, then pour over the lamb shanks.
7. Add water, if necessary, to bring the liquid about 1/3 of the way up the sides of the shanks.  Cover and roast 90 minutes.
8. Turn the shanks every 30 minutes.
9. After 90 minutes remove the cover.  Turn the shanks and roast, uncovered, another 30 minutes.
10. Continue to cook uncovered until the meat is falling off the bone when lightly touched with a fork.
11. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe: Turkey and Bean Chili

Recipe Source: Bonom, David.  "Food: Recipes."  Better Homes and Gardens October 2011 p. 180

Okay, I cannot think for the life of me where this photo might be.  I guess that's what I get for waiting so long to write up the recipes!  I knew I wanted to make this recipe as soon as I read through this issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Unfortunately for me, it kept being put off.  Then I did make it and at the last minute we decided to go out instead, so I froze it.  Whatever.  We did eat it.... eventually.  And we took a picture of it because I remember talking about taking its picture.  The picture is not on my phone and it is not on my computer.  I'm sorry but I just can't find it.  I'm not going to let it go to waste just because I can't dig up the recipe though.  This was a great chili and you deserve to know about it, even if you can't see what it's supposed to look like.  That's okay.  Chili isn't really very pretty anyway.

I made some changes to this recipe.  I used ground turkey instead of ground beef as part of my attempt to lighten my recipes.  I added 6 serranos to the 4 jalapenos called for in the original - we were only supposed to be eating this amongst ourselves so I felt free to go to town.  Then we brought it over to a friend's house.  I had run out of cumin - shocking but true - so I substituted ground coriander.  I also added one teaspoon of ground turmeric because I really, really like it.  I increased the beans because they'd been taking up a lot of space in my freezer and they just had to go - this meant using frozen white kidney beans instead of canned beans, but that's not a big deal.  In fact it's probably healthier because I froze the beans myself so they had nothing but beans going in with them - no salt or whatever.  I increased the garlic.  While the original called for jarred tomato sauce I just can't stomach that stuff, so I used some tomato juice I had on hand instead.  We omitted the corn chips on general principles.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this dish and I think my guests did too.  Sorry you can't see it, but your imagination can probably make up the difference.  Some of my Texan friends may object to the use of beans in chili (or turmeric, for that matter.)  I'm sorry.  The beans add fiber and flavor while the turmeric adds turmeric.  All of these things felt necessary, but if it's any consolation at least I'm not presenting it as authentic Texas chili.

Turkey and Bean Chili (serves 8; approx. cost per serving not available)

2 pounds ground turkey

2 onions, chopped

10 garlic cloves, minced

4 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

6 serrano chiles, finely chopped

2 tablespoons hot chili powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

32 ounces tomato juice

45 ounces frozen cooked white kidney beans, thawed

1 ounce dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Equipment:

• Dutch oven

1. Brown the turkey in the Dutch oven.
2. Add the onions, garlic and peppers.  There should be enough fat to cook them without burning but turkey can be pretty lean.  If you need to you can add about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Either way, cook until almost tender.
3. Add the spices.  Cook until fragrant.
4. Add the juice.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
5. Add the beans and return to a simmer.  If you want to mash some of the beans as called for in the original go ahead; I didn't bother.
6. Cook 5 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and add chocolate.  Stir until melted.
8. Add the cilantro and serve.

Recipe: Duck with Olives

Recipe Source: Clements, Carole & Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen.  French.  Anness Publishing, 2006 p. 141

So I've been trying for some time to lose weight and that has meant restricting certain parts of my diet.  I've been trying to reduce the amount of meat in my life, for one thing.  When I do eat meat I try to make sure that it's a lean protein - fish or turkey or something along those lines.  Even red meat, such as beef or lamb, can be lean if you play your cards right.  Of course, I've had absolutely no success whatsoever, and this is frustrating to me.  Every once in a while, I admit it, I lose patience, let my frustration boil over and eat something that is firmly on the no list.  I don't do this very often because frankly my system can't handle it all that often, but sometimes you just have to let go and indulge a little.  It makes it easier to be good the rest of the time.  One food that is very firmly on the "no" list is duck.

Duck just isn't healthy.  I've never found a duck that hasn't been just full of fat.  In fact, that's been an ongoing problem in our attempts to cook duck.  Still, if I'm going to indulge I might as well go all the way, right?  I decided a few weeks ago that we were going to enjoy some duck and that was all there was to it.  I found a recipe that worked for me and I went with it.  This one looked simple enough, but it needed a few additions.  I added two small zucchini because I had them left over from some other adventure and I didn't want them to go to waste.  Besides, adding vegetables to a dish is always good, right?  I added some garlic.  Rather, I added quite a lot of garlic.  My bouquet garni was sage, rosemary and thyme.  I'm very much aware that that is not a traditional bouquet garni but that's what I had on hand.  I had it on hand because that's what I like.  I also used vegetable broth because that's what I had on hand.  Finally, I only used one duck.  There are only three of us, and duck is plenty rich without overindulging.

The end result was a pretty tasty dish if I do say so myself.  I certainly enjoyed it.  My husband ate quite a bit of it and the daughter declined to share it with the dog, which is about as much as you can ask of a kid that age.

Duck with Olives (serves 6; approx. $6.02/serving)

1 very large duck, cut into pieces

1/2 pound pearl onions

14 garlic cloves, whole

2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups red wine, plus extra for the cook if so desired

2 cups vegetable broth

2 small zucchini, sliced

about a handful of a combination of sage, rosemary and thyme, tied together with kitchen twine

1 cup green olives with pits

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Large Dutch oven

1. Put the duck pieces, skin side down, in the saute pan.  Cook over medium heat until well browned, turning frequently.  Work in batches if you need to - I did.
2. Pour the fat off the pan and reserve.
3. Return 1 tablespoon of the duck fat to the pan and reserve the rest for another use.  (You'll see what I did with it tomorrow.)
4. Add the onions and garlic.  Cook over medium-low heat until browned.  You should cook this in a covered pan but still stir frequently to prevent burning.  I know it sounds fussy and it probably is but it is definitely worth it in the end.
5. Sprinkle with the flour and cook uncovered another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Add the wine.  Bring to a boil.  (Be careful here!)
7. Add the duck pieces, broth and your little bundle of herbs to the pot.  Return to a boil.
8. Reduce heat, cover and simmer VERY gently about 40 minutes.  Stir from time to time.
9. Add the olives and zucchini to the pot.  Continue cooking another 20 minutes.  The duck should be very tender.
10. Transfer the duck pieces, olives, garlic, onions and zucchini to a plate.
11. Discard the bouquet garni, strain the cooking liquid and skim off as much fat as possible.
12. Return the liquid to the pan.  Bring to a boil and reduce by 1/3.
13. Return the duck and accompaniments to the pot and heat through.
14. Serve.

Recipe: Pasta with Mushrooms and Sausage

A good while ago - maybe the end of November, maybe early December - I found myself needing to cook.  I didn't want to.  If I remember correctly I was feeling very poorly, and I had a lot to do and less time to do it in, and I was in a truly foul mood, and I didn't want to dirty the kitchen, and so on and so forth.  This happens from time to time and that's okay, I think everyone feels that way sometimes.  For whatever reason - I think that by the time we got done discussing going out to eat all the local restaurants were closed - I found myself forced to cook despite my inclinations.  I grabbed some ingredients - whatever I had on hand - and threw some pasta on the stove.  I literally just threw it together in a very angry fashion.  I didn't even take a picture of it, because I had no intention of posting it.

I loved it.  I loved it so much I wanted to make it again.  Again and again and again.  It was an incredibly simple dish to make, but it was so delicious that it actually cured my mood.  Well, the next time I had mushrooms on hand I did make it again.  And it was just as good as it was the first time.

Soujouk is a kind of dried sausage made from beef.  It is commonly found in Islamic countries, or in Middle Eastern (or Turkish) markets here.  The nearest common American equivalent would probably be pepperoni.  If you cannot find soujouk and you are able/willing to eat pork pepperoni is probably an adequate substitute, although the seasonings will be different.

Pasta with Mushrooms and Sausage (serves 4; approx. $2.96/serving)

1 box whole grain pasta, cooked according to package instructions

1/3 soujouk, sliced very thin

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ounce grated pecorino pepato

2 1/2 10-oz containers mixed mushrooms - I used a mix of cremini and white button mushrooms - chopped

Equipment:

• Pasta pot
• Slotted spoon or spatula
• Colander
• Frying pan

1. While the pasta is cooking, heat the frying pan over medium heat.  A non-stick skillet is probably your safest bet here.
2. Add the soujouk pieces and fry until crisp.  They will release a small amount of fat.  This is fine.
3. Use the slotted spatula to evacuate the pieces of soujouk to the serving vessel and try not to snack on it while you proceed with the rest of the recipe.
4. Add the olive oil to the frying pan.  Use more or less depending on how much fat the soujouk has given up.
5. Add the mushrooms.  Reduce the heat a bit and cook until the mushrooms are tender.
6. Transfer them to the serving vessel.
7. By this point the pasta should be done but still hot.  Drain it, put it into the serving vessel and add the cheese.
8. Toss well and serve.

Recipe: Medieval Quince "Pie"

Recipe Source: Welserin, Sabina.  Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin.  Germany, 16th Century.  Find the original here.

So you already know that I've been playing with quinces a lot lately.  I truly love them, and I get a bushel of them in the fall and just go to town.  I try to find new and different uses for them, although my quince and rosemary jelly is a perennial favorite with my friends.  I love quinces in savory recipes.  In my head they're mostly a Greek or Middle Eastern fruit, although I'm not sure why I should think that.  They certainly grow in cooler climates such as New England.  I decided to force myself to move outside my usual sources and find a non-Middle Eastern recipe calling for quince.  I also wanted to make a medieval recipe for one of our Sunday dinners, so this one seemed to make sense.  After all, I thought, I've made other recipes from this cookbook and I've been delighted with the results.

I was differently enthusiastic about this one, and by "differently enthusiastic" I mean "frustrated and angered by."  I used my traditional family crust but in a whole-wheat version - I'd made several ahead of time for some other reason, so I had them just sitting in the fridge waiting to be used up.  Otherwise I just kind of went to town.  Unfortunately the crust failed miserably.  I did wind up serving it, but scooped onto plates and treated like poached fruit.  I think that the liquid in the filling was just too much for the poor little crust to handle.

My guests loved this.  If I stopped trying to think of it as a pie I loved it too.

Medieval Quince "Pie" (serves 8; approx. cost per serving not available)

1 single-crust pie crust - store bought is fine

4 nice quinces, peeled, halved and cored

1/2 cup currants

1/4 cup raw sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Beef fat - however much you can get, rendered from a package of beef bacon should be sufficient

1/2 cup dessert wine

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Equipment:

• Pie plate
• Bowl
• Large deep skillet

1. Preheat your oven to 425°.
2. Render out your beef fat to the best of your ability.
3. Fry the quince halves in the fat until they are fragrant.
4. Line your pie plate with your pie crust.
5. Arrange your quince halves in the pie plate.
6. Combine the currants, first 1/4 cup raw sugar, first 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.  Stuff the quince cavities with this mixture.
7. In the skillet, combine the remaining ingredients.  Cook until the sugar is dissolved, then add to the pie plate.
8. Bake until the quinces are tender, about 40 minutes.
9. Serve.

Recipe: Lamb Stew with Turnips and Parsnips

I tend to think of myself as a fairly organized person, especially when it comes to mealtimes.  I hate to shop, so I try to plan my meals for the week so I only have to suffer through the grocery store once per week.  By Wednesday night my menu is usually all planned.  I shop Thursday and cook as much as I can as soon as I can so that I can minimize waste and not have to spend my whole week in the kitchen besides.  Life, of course, doesn't always work out the way we want it to.  Sometimes life intervenes.  When we decorated our Christmas tree I initially thought that we were getting one couple.  I planned to make little lamb-and-vegetable pies for the main course.  I bought the stuff to make the little pies.  Then I found out that we were getting three additional adults.  One of those adults had a food allergy - she couldn't eat mushrooms, which were a key component in the lamb-and-vegetable pies.  Oh, the angst!  Just kidding.  It was easy enough for me to make the change, the guest with the allergy is a much-loved member of the extended family and I'd have been incredibly upset if I hadn't been able to accommodate her.  And the stew was actually pretty good, if I do say so myself.  It didn't taste like an "accommodation," it tasted like this was what was intended all along.

My notes from this particular adventure are long since missing, the result of a harried holiday season and an extremely helpful toddler.  You're going to have to rely on my memory and for that I'm sorry.

Lamb Stew with Turnips and Parsnips (serves 6; approx. cost per serving not available)

1 1/2 pounds lamb stew meat, on the bone

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 Macomber turnip, peeled and diced

1 extra large parsnip, peeled and diced

2 onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bay leaf

14 ounces canned diced tomatoes

1 bottle ale

Equipment:

• Plates
• Dutch oven

1. Combine the flour, turmeric and pepper on a plate.
2. Dredge the meat in the flour mixture and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven.
4. Brown the meat in the oil, evacuating to a plate when browned.
5. Add the onions, garlic and bay leaf to the Dutch oven.  Saute until the onions are softened.
6. Add the parsnips and turnip.  Saute a few minutes until browned.
7. Add the tomatoes and ale.  Bring to a boil and cook a few minutes.
8. Return the lamb to the pot with any accumulated juices from the plate.
9. Reduce heat and simmer very gently until the lamb is very tender.
10. Serve.

Recipe: Quince Stew

Recipe Source: Saberi, Helen.  Afghan Food & Cookery.  Hippocrene Books, New York, 2000 p. 182

You already know that I'm obsessed with quinces.  I'm especially happy to find quince recipes that are savory.  I love quinces, but sugar does not love me.  I was exceptionally excited therefore to make this recipe.  I've loved just about everything I've made from this cookbook and this was QUINCE!  Unfortunately, this dish did not turn out to be the joyful wonder I wanted.  It wasn't bad, don't get me wrong.  It just wasn't very exciting at all.  I substituted rabbit for the lamb because the store I went to that week didn't have the right cuts of lamb.  I don't think that this was the problem.  I love rabbit, so it shouldn't have had a negative effect on the dish.  I used more quinces than called for in the recipe.  The quinces I got this year have been flavorful and delicious, so I don't think that was the problem.  I reduced the amount of sugar to accommodate my stunted sweet tooth, and while honey is strongly flavored it is not more strongly flavored than molasses, which the original required.  I used more ginger than the original required, and maybe a little more spice.  That wasn't the problem either.

The problem was that none of the flavors stood out.  I love the flavor of quince, but this could have been apple or even banana for all the quince flavor the final product had.  I love the flavor of rabbit, but this could have been chicken or tofu for all the rabbit flavor I got.  I couldn't tell that there was ginger in this at all, regardless of what the proportions were.  Even the honey flavor was muted and indistinguishable.  So sad!

I'm not sure why this dish turned out so bland, but it was certainly nourishing and filling.  Maybe I was coming down with a cold or something so my taste buds were asleep.  I don't know.  Try it for yourself and let me know how it comes out.

Quince Stew (serves 4; approx. $6.45/serving)

5 quinces, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 red onions, finely chopped

2 regular onions, finely chopped

1 rabbit on the bone, cut up

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 cup honey

Kosher salt to taste

Equipment:

• Large saucepan

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan.
2. Add the onion with kosher salt to taste.  Fry until golden brown.
3. Add the meat.  Fry until brown.
4. Add the quince.  Cook for about a minute.
5. Add the spices.  Cook for about a minute.
6. Add water to just cover the meat and quinces along with the honey.
7. Cook gently until the meat is tender and the quinces soft, about an hour.

Recipe: Turkey Stew (Stifado)

Recipe Source: Harris, Andy.  Modern Greek.  Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2002 p. 82

The last time I went down to New Jersey to visit my in-laws was the week before Thanksgiving.  It was a kind of harried trip - we were down there for a specific meeting, and squeezed in a bunch of other visits and meetings and errands just to take advantage of the fact that we were down there.  I didn't really get such a chance to chat with my in-laws, which in a lot of ways is too bad.  I really like my father-in-law.  I know my husband has listened to his stories a thousand times or more, but they're mostly new to me.  My father-in-law grew up in rural Greece during the Depression and World War II.  It's interesting to hear his perspectives on historical events.  He loves to talk about his mother's cooking.  He tells me his sister Zenovia's cooking is most like his mother's.  I'd love to get over there and meet her someday.  Anyway, the last time I was down there he told me he found a Greek cookbook that he loves.  "Reading this book," he told me, "I was struck by how much like my mother's cooking it was."  This was surprising to him since the author was not, in fact, Greek.  He produced the cookbook.  It is the book listed above.  He was surprised and delighted to find out that I already have this book on my shelves.

I was thinking of my father-in-law when I was making up my menu a few weeks ago, and so I pulled this book off the shelf and decided to find something from it to cook.  I found myself wondering about his mother, the first Sophia.  (Not the first Sophia, but the Sophia for whom Fearless Baby is named.)  I never knew her.  Neither did my husband, or even my mother-in-law.  She passed away when my father-in-law was quite young.  I've been assured I would love her.  I'm sure I would have.  She reared six children in a time of great deprivation - six children who lived through challenging times to become successful, vibrant, intelligent people.

I'm sure this recipe bears no resemblance whatsoever to Yaya Sophia's cooking.  I made a few changes because I always do, and they might not be the same kinds of changes she would have made.  The biggest change is turkey.  The original recipe called for chicken, although I think stifado is traditionally made with rabbit.  I'm learning to enjoy or at least tolerate chicken, but I have to be careful of my source.  Chicken from certain mega-producers has a certain very unpleasant effect on me, I'm not sure why.  My grocery store of choice that week only stocked chicken from that mega-producer, so I decided to go with turkey instead.  I bought a big old turkey breast and used it instead.  I didn't have enough shallots or pearl onions to use just one of them, so I combined them.  Then I got frustrated with peeling the pearl onions and just chopped up a couple of large onions to make up the remaining quantity.  Maybe it was wrong of me but I was pretty busy at that point.  I increased the garlic and I added some dried basil and cayenne pepper.  The basil just seemed natural to me, showing my Italian roots I guess, and the cayenne seemed necessary given the weather.

The results were okay.  They weren't spectacular but they were okay.  I kind of felt like the turkey lacked flavor so that was kind of disappointing, but this also turned out to be a very filling dish.  With the right turkey I think this could be a real treat.

Turkey Stifado (serves 4; approx. $3.59/serving)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound onions, chunked

10 oz pearl onions, peeled

6 oz shallots, peeled

1 turkey breast, cut into 4 - 6 pieces

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

7 garlic cloves, crushed

1 1/2 pounds canned plum tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 1/4 cups red wine, plus more for the cook if desired

Equipment:

• Large saucepan or large deep skillet
• Slotted spoon
• Plate

1. heat the oil in the saucepan.
2. Add the shallots, onions and pearl onions.  Saute until softened.
3. Evacuate the onions to a plate using the slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Combine the flour, turmeric, salt and pepper.
5. Dredge the turkey pieces in the flour mixture.
6. Brown the turkey pieces in the oil, then set aside.
7. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, spices and bay leaves to the pot.  Saute 10 minutes.
8. Add the wine and cook 5 minutes.
9. Return the chicken pieces and onion mixture to the pan. Bring to a boil.
10. Reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour or until the sauce thickens.
11. Serve hot.

Recipe: Beef Soup (Soto Daging)

Recipe Source: Mowe, Rosalind.  Culinaria Southeast Asia.  H. F. Ullmann, 2008 p. 268

It's a little harder to write about this recipe than the last one.  I made this not long after Thanksgiving and my notes have long since wandered away.  This is the hazard of a) entertaining just about every weekend and b) living with a toddler.  You're going to have to rely on my memory for this, and my memory is not always reliable.  Fortunately the soup was pretty memorable, so I have that going for me.  The cut of beef used was brisket.  Now, we never had brisket growing up.  I'm not sure why that is.  My parents never made Southern-style barbeque at home but neither did most of my friends' parents.  Brisket for them was generally some kind of braised dish.  I guess I didn't miss out on much, because most folks' reaction when I say I'm going to do anything but barbeque brisket is one of disgust .  My husband's reaction when I told him I'd purchased such a small piece of brisket (it needs to be very large to work in the smoker) was one of horror.  At the end of the day, though, he was very pleased with this soup.  So was I.  My only regret was that there was not more of it.

I made a few changes to the original and I hope that I can remember what they were.  I increased the garlic, I remember that much.  I used olive oil to fry the paste and my recollection is that I reduced the quantity.  I added some turmeric because I really like turmeric.  I added some chili powder because we both had colds coming on and we needed to fight them off.  I forgot the soy sauce.  I'm sorry - I had other things going on and it just slipped my mind.  I think that's it.  The changes were relatively minor, I suppose, but they really made a substantial difference in this dish.  I'm sure I'll make it again sometime soon, because it really was a delight.

Beef Soup (Soto Daging) (Serves 4; approx. $1.88/serving)

1 1/4 pound beef brisket

8 cups water

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cinnamon stick

3 cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon extra-hot chili powder

6 shallots, peeled and chopped

8 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

Lime juice to taste

Chopped fresh cilantro to taste

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Mini food processor
• Frying pan

1. Combine the beef, water and spices in the saucepan.  Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer until tender.  This will take quite a bit of time, so get settled in for the long haul.  (I made some jam.)
3. When the meat is tender, take it out of the broth and cut into bite-sized chunks.  Return the meat to the broth and keep warm.
4. Combine the garlic and shallots in the mini food processor.  Process to a paste.
5. Heat the oil in the frying pan.
6. Add the garlic and shallot paste.  Fry about 2 minutes.
7. Transfer the contents of the frying pan to the saucepan.  Return to a boil.
8. Boil about 3 minutes and transfer to a serving vessel.
9. Squeeze the lime juice over the soup.  Scatter the cilantro over the soup and serve.

Recipe: Turkey and Winter Vegetable Stew

Recipe Source: Lawson, Jane.  The Spice Bible.  Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2008 p. 122

This was not intended to be a stew.  It was intended to be a savory pie.  I guess that this type of pie is very much like a stew, in the fine medieval tradition of pie, but at the end of the day this was intended to be consumed with a crust and it wasn't.  It was consumed as is thanks to a catastrophic pastry failure.  The pastry had been resting in my refrigerator for quite some time - days upon days.  Ordinarily this would result in a pastry disc so hard and immutable that it would bring tears to the eyes.  The rest of the discs in this batch certainly turned out this way, let me tell you.  This time they didn't.  They remained soft and fragile, a cross between the lather on a fine sink full of dishes and delicate blown glass.  They would not be put into the pie plate.  They only fell apart under my clumsy fingers.

I probably could have salvaged something of the pastry.  I didn't.  It was late, we'd gotten quite a few less takers for our Sunday dinner than expected and I was cranky.  I poured it into a pan, heated it up and called it stew instead.  It qualifies as a fail because it didn't come out the way I wanted, but it was still a tasty stew and people even took seconds so I guess that's okay.

I made a few other changes to the original recipe.  The original called for chicken thighs but I prefer turkey so that's what I went with.  I reduced the amount of olive oil.  I increased the amount of garlic, which you already knew.  I didn't have mace blades and was forced to use ground mace and thanks to an ill-timed sneeze I probably used a little more than was called for in the original.  I hate carrots so I substituted a parsnip.  The parsnips I was able to get were roughly the size of the Golden Gate Bridge, so I only used one.  I didn't have chicken stock so I used vegetable stock.  I don't care for parsley, so I replaced one bunch of the parsley in the original with tarragon.

Turkey and Winter Vegetable Stew (serves 8; approx. $2.12/serving)

2 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4" cubes

1 tablespoon whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon ground turmeric

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 leek, finely sliced

2 celery stalks, chopped

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 very large parsnip, chopped

1/2 Golden Nugget squash, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon ground mace

2 cups vegetable stock

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

1 bunch tarragon, finely chopped

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Slotted spoon
• Plate
• Mixing bowl

1. Put the turkey pieces in the mixing bowl.
2. Sprinkle the flour and turmeric on top and mix well to distribute.
3. Heat the oil in the saucepan.
4. Add the turkey and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes or so.
5. Evacuate the turkey to a plate.  Meanwhile, cook the leek, celery and garlic in the saucepan until the leek is tender.  This should be about 4 minutes.
6. Return the turkey to the pan.
7. Add the parsnips, mace, squash and stock.  Bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered 30 minutes.
9. Stir in the cream and the herbs.
10. Serve.