Fun with Chicken Liver

When I was perusing the chicken section of the local supermarket, I couldn't help but notice that a pound of chicken livers cost a measly $1.89. Because chicken livers are so rich, that $1.89 could go a long way, so I put a tub into the cart. Once I got home, I put them in the fridge and wondered what I could do with them other than making a paté. Then I noticed that I also had a carton of ricotta cheese in there. Doesn't chicken liver and ricotta sound like a good ravioli filling? I thought so, but wasn't about to go through the rigamarole of making ravioli. Instead, I thought I'd make crespelle, or crepes, roll them around a chicken liver filling, and bake them with a coating of cheese.

Don't let the idea of making crepes scare you - they are really pretty foolproof if you use a recipe that calls for enough eggs. The egg makes them elastic, you see, and not all that prone to tearing. And the egginess makes the flavor and texture an awful lot like pasta, but with much less effort.

The combination of chicken livers + ricotta + lemon is delicious - rich, yet somehow light at the same time. Because the livers and crepes are both on the soft side, I added a couple of spoonfuls of toasted walnut pieces to the filling, to add some much-needed crunch. These would make a fantastic appetizer (one per person) or an interesting savory accompaniment to a hearty bowl of curried pumpkin soup. In fact, curry in the liver mixture (minus the lemon) and some thinly sliced apples would be another pretty delicious crepe filling.

Chicken Liver Crepes

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup diced onion
salt
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb chicken livers, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup mirin
2 ounces full- or low-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
3 scallions, finely minced
2 heaping tablespoons of chopped toasted walnuts
salt and pepper to taste
crespelle (recipe follows)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
grated lemon zest for garnish

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter has melted, add onion, and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally. Add spices and garlic and cook an additional minute. Add chicken livers and cook for about 2 minutes per side. Pour in mirin and stir to loosen any brown bits that may be stuck to the pan. Cook an additional minute or two, then remove from heat.

Allow livers to cool for about 10 minutes. Place about 2/3 of the livers in a food processor and purée, if necessary, adding dribbles of heavy cream or half and half to facilitate blending. Chop remaining 1/3 of chicken livers by hand and add to puree along with ricotta cheese, honey, lemon zest, scallions, and walnuts. Mix well, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble:
Schmear a heaping teaspoonful of chicken liver on half of each crepe. Fold in half to cover liver, and then in half again, so the filled crepe is triangular. Fill remaining crepes. (Refrigerate any leftover chicken liver purée. Eat as a snack on fresh crusty bread.)

Preheat broiler. Place crepes on a cookie sheet, overlapping slightly or not at all. Broil crepes for 3-4 minutes, until edges brown. Remove from oven, flip crepes, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and return to oven for another 2-3 minutes.

Garnish with additional lemon zest.

Crespelle (Italian Crepes)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put flour in a large mixing bowl and slowly drizzle with milk, stirring constantly to avoid making lumps. Add eggs one at a time beating with a fork until a thin batter is formed. Add salt and let stand 20 minutes. Spray non-stick skillet or pancake griddle with cooking spray and heat pan over medium heat until hot (but not smoking). Add 3 or so tablespoons of batter to the pan, spreading it quickly with the back of a spoon or ladle to make a round about 6" in diameter. Cook until crespelle is set (top will look dry), about 30 seconds. Remove from pan and place on place. Cover with a sheet of waxed paper. Stack subsequent crespelle in the same manner. Repeat until batter is gone.

Cover plate with plastic wrap and store in fridge until ready to use.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Cooking with Flowers

While it seems a bit late to be posting about this, the peppery and juicy nasturtium leaves and basil gone to flower in my garden say otherwise. A while back I got a review copy of a cute little book called Eat Your Roses: ...Pansies, Lavender, and 49 Other Delicious Edible Flowers, by Denise Schreiber, published by St. Lynn's Press. From it, I learned that there are many more edible flowers out there, from calendula to pansies, and I wish I had planted more varieties this year.

Schreiber, a horticulturist, offers recipes from appetizers to desserts, all using edible flowers such as the nasturtiums in my own container garden. She also helpfully offers a list of flowers that are not edible, just so the reader doesn't go crazy and start grazing on everything that grows. :)

I keep on meaning to try some of the recipes in the book, particularly one of the liqueur recipes, or the rose petal jam, but haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully in the Spring I'll remember to stock up on edible flowers like anise hyssop, chamomile, and borage.

Always nice to know that a garden can be pretty and edible, too.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Cassoulet

When I can find even the slightest coolness in the air, I automatically think to Fall. And when I'm thinking Fall, I automatically start to crave cold-weather food - even if it is still 85F outside. (I'm sure the availability of pumpkin spice lattés at Starbucks in early September has something to do with this.)

Recently I've been feeling like I'm in a food slump, and what better way to get out of it than to try something completely new? Something with a degree of difficulty. Like maybe...cassoulet. I've only eaten the dish once, at B&O American Brasserie, and I was surprised to find how much I liked it. Cassoulet is a hearty and soul-satisfying French peasant dish of fatty meats and white beans topped with crisped bread crumbs. I'm not a huge fan of beans. Well, I like them ok, but they don't like me all that much. Black beans, however, I have no issues with, so I thought why not make a Southwest twist on cassoulet?

More authentic versions of the dish involve confit duck and saucisson à l'ail - two ingredients not found on many local supermarket shelves. If one can find them, they're el mucho expensivo. (Wegman's and Shop Rite both have D'Argtanan duck confit at like $10 per piece.) Since I was already eschewing tradition with the beans, I decided to use el cheapo chicken thighs and relatively inexpensive and available-everywhere chicken sausages.

The results were, if I say so myself, ah-mayz-ing. The chicken was fall-apart tender but the beans still had lots of texture, the sausages added zing, and the crumb topping offered a much-needed crunch. The flavors were subtle, slightly smoky, and perfect on a chilly Summer evening.

Southwest Cassoulet

1 lb black beans, picked over and rinsed
olive oil
6 chicken thighs, bone-in, with skin
6 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground chipotle (or 2 teaspoons smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb fully-cooked chipotle-flavored chicken sausage
salt

Crumb topping:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Place beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. You may also use the quick-soak method: in a large pot, cover beans by 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow beans to soak for one hour. Drain beans well in a colander before using.

In a dutch oven, cook chicken in a bit of olive oil over high heat, turning occasionally, until skin browns and renders its fat. Remove chicken from pot; remove and discard skin. Add sausages to chicken fat/oil in pot and brown on all sides. Remove from heat, cut into 1/2" slices, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Add onions and carrot and a pinch of salt to remaining chicken fat/olive oil in pot and cook over medium heat until onions become translucent. Stir in garlic and spices. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add bay leaf, beans, and chicken stock. Return chicken to pot. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about one hour.

When the beans are done, remove bay leaf and chicken from pot. Discard bones and break meat up into coarse chunks. Stir chicken and reserved sausage pieces into beans. Add salt to taste.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour bean and meat mixture into a 13 x 9 baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Cassoulet before crumb topping

While beans are baking, make crumb topping. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add bread crumbs, salt and chipotle, and cook, stirring, until crumbs are crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in cilantro.

Raise oven temperature to 400°F. Remove casserole from oven. Smash some of the beans with the back of a fork to thicken mixture. Top with crumbs. Return and bake until crust is golden, about 10 minutes.

Cassoulet after crumb topping.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Pasta Blitz

We find ourselves at the Fairgrounds Plaza shopping center on Aylesbury Road on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes we dine at Yamato Sushi, other times, we're grocery shopping. (At the start of the school year it's worth the drive to Timonium in order to bypass the zombie-like Towson University students debating the merits of Skippy over Jif in supermarkets closer to our home.) Just about every time, I'd look at the sign for a restaurant called Pasta Blitz and wonder just how good the food could be at a place that uses such a Mickey Mouse font on their signage. (Literally, the font is based on a stylized version of Walt Disney's handwriting.) Ironically, the word "blitz" doesn't conjure up as warm and fuzzy an image.

But, as it turns out, the food is pretty good.

We read somewhere that they serve "New York-style" pizza, our favorite, so we forced ourselves past the signage. Inside the restaurant, we found warm terra cotta walls festooned with fake grapevines and a second, friendlier, name on the menu, "Il Basilico." Il Basilico serves not only NY style pizza, but also the thicker Sicilian variety, in addition to various pastas and grilled dishes. On our first few visits, we stuck to pizza, trying the "Bijoux," a white pizza with calamari, tomatoes, and mozzarella, and the "Di Pierno's," with mozz, arugula, and grilled shrimp. Both were quite nice, with a thin, foldable crust, tasty toppings, and lots of garlic. While the pizza crust is good, their artisan-style homemade bread is even better - chewy and crusty, with a springy crumb. It's nearly impossible to stop eating the bread, which is a dumb thing to do when waiting for a pizza, but hey - pizza is perfectly doggie-baggable!

On our most recent visit, we tried a more straightforward pie with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. While the crust was a bit paler than we like, it still possessed a crisp-yet-foldable texture. The amount of pepperoni could have been more generous, but otherwise there was a good balance of crust to sauce to cheese.

NY-style pizza with pepperoni

We also tried a plate of linguini with shrimp in a "fra diavolo" sauce. What we received was a visually gorgeous plate that packed a real punch of flavor. "Fra Diavolo" means "brother devil" in Italian, and Satan himself must have been the devil in question this evening, because the sauce was pretty damn hot. While lip-tingling-ly spicy, the sauce was also full of bright tomato flavor and a healthy tinge of the shrimp's brininess along with a refreshing bite of parsley. And tons of garlic. For those of us not afraid of heat, it was pretty glorious.

Linguini with shrimp fra diavolo

We also sampled a side dish of asparagus in a cheesy sauce. The sauce seemed like it would be a much better accompaniment to broccoli, but the asparagus was perfectly cooked and we gobbled it up in between bites of spicy pasta.

Asparagus in a butter and cheese sauce

In addition to being delicious, the food at Pasta Blitz/Il Basilico is pretty reasonably-priced. The bill for our dinner of pizza, pasta, asparagus, and one beverage came to a little over $36 before tip, and we took home enough pizza for another meal, plus a lunch-sized portion of pasta. (Yes, we filled up on the bread.)

It was definitely worth the effort it took to get past the sign. In fact, I'm going to try to forget it's called Pasta Blitz at all.

Pasta Blitz/Il Basilico
49 W Aylesbury Rd
Timonium, MD 21093
(410) 453-6603
www.pastablitztimonium.com



Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.