White Beans, Kale, and a Whole Lotta Other Stuff Soup

Sometimes I get these fantastic ideas in my head and they turn out not to be so swell when it comes time to execute them. For example, when I made that "deconstructed" cassoulet the other day, I had two duck legs (one for each of us) but I made way more white beans than necessary. So I plopped the leftovers into a container and put it in the fridge to use when inspiration struck.

Inspiration came pretty quickly. I remembered that we had a partial bag of kale in the freezer, and figured that white beans + kale would make a lovely soup. But when I dumped the leftover beans into a saucepot, there was far less left-over than I thought there was. And there wasn't all that much kale, either. Once I poured in a couple cups of chicken stock, the soup seemed a bit insipid. But that was going to be dinner and I had to do something to beef it up, so to speak.

I went back to the freezer to rummage for more ingredients. I found two partial bags of corn kernels, and a few green beans in another package. I pulled out the chicken andouille sausage we had just purchased from Trader Joe's the day before and hacked off two of the frozen links, popping them in the microwave to thaw enough for me to chop them. The original beans were flavored with andouille, so this was a perfect addition. I also grabbed a can of tomatoes from the cupboard, and used a bit of tomato paste as well.

After a vigorous 20-minute simmer, the beans had broken down considerably, the tomatoes had lost their canned taste, and the sausage lent a spicy meatiness to the soup. A grating of fresh cheese on top gave it just a tiny bit more depth, and a freshly-baked loaf of bread made it dinner.

Leftover White Bean and Kale Soup

1 cup leftover white beans (or 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed)
1 cup frozen kale
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon Bouquet Garni seasoning, or add rosemary and thyme to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes and their juice
1 cup frozen green beans
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 andouille sausages, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
pinch red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese

Add everything except salt and pepper and cheese to a 2 quart sauce pot. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. If you're using the can of beans, stir frequently to break them up a bit. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in wide bowls with a grating of fresh Parm or other hard cheese on top.

Serves 2-4.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Deconstructed Cassoulet

There's a new Asian grocery store in Catonsville called Great Wall. It caters to a largely Chinese clientele, and while I'm not Chinese, I find myself cooking more Chinese-style food than anything from other Asian cultures. That made Great Wall right up my alley, especially when I discovered the selection of duck parts, including whole ducks, duck tongues, and duck legs. On our first exploratory trip to the store, I grabbed a pack of two duck legs to keep in the freezer until inspiration struck.

Inspiration struck pretty quickly.

I had never cooked duck legs on their own before, but after doing some research found that confitting them (cooking them in their own fat) was a pretty simple proposition. Ordinarily, a confit involves extra duck fat in addition to the fat on the legs, but I didn't have that. (I did have a cup or so of bacon grease, left over from making a quadruple batch of bacon jam, but that wasn't going to work. Or maybe it would, but I didn't want bacon-flavored duck. I wanted duck-flavored duck.) Instead, I just went ahead and cooked the legs as is, figuring nothing could go terribly wrong.

Ok, I know you're now expecting me to relate a disaster story. But really--nothing went wrong. As the duck cooked low and slow, its fat was rendered, the meat cooked, and the skin got crisp. Exactly the results I wanted.

While the duck was in the oven, I threw together some white beans seasoned with sausage. In my mind, duck + white beans + sausage = cassoulet, and rather than going through the whole somewhat complicated process of making a real cassoulet, I cooked my components separately. I even toasted some plain bread crumbs in olive oil to mimic cassoulet's customary crusty surface.

The beans were an experiment. I found two lonely links of andouille sausage in the freezer, and added them, with a handful of carrot and onion, to a couple cans of cannellini beans. I didn't have all of the proper fresh herbs to make a bouquet garni for the pot, but I did have a little jar of bouquet garni seasoning that I got from Penzey's as a free gift the last time I placed an order. Their spice mix is a combination of savory, rosemary, thyme, Turkish oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage, and tarragon; it packed the perfect herbal punch for the bland beans. You, of course, can use an actual bouquet garni (fresh parsley, thyme, rosemary, and a bay leaf tied up in a bundle with twine), just make sure to remove it before serving.

Both elements of the dish were highly successful. And the beans were amazing. If you cook beans long enough, stirring regularly, they get dreamily creamy and taste really fattening. While my dish used pork sausages, I'm betting that if one used chicken andouille sausage, the result would be just as delicious but practically a diet delight. 

Deconstructed Cassoulet

For duck confit:

2 duck legs

salt

For the beans:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup carrot, cut into small dice

1/2 medium onion, diced

pinch salt

2 andouille sausage, cut into small dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 - 1 teaspoon Penzey's Bouquet Garni seasoning

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup chicken stock

additional salt and pepper to taste

To serve:

minced parsley

toasted bread crumbs

To make the duck: Prick the skin all over with a needle or tip of a sharp knife. Salt generously on both sides and allow to rest for at least an hour. 

Wipe salt off of duck and place in a pan or baking dish into which they fit somewhat snugly. Place baking dish in a cold oven and turn oven to 285°F. Cook for 90 minutes to 2 hours, until fat has rendered and duck is tender.

Raise oven temperature to 375°F and cook duck for an additional 15 minutes to brown skin. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.

To make the beans: Heat the oil in a 3-quart stock pot. Add the carrots and onion and pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables start to soften. Stir in the sausage and cook an additional 3-4 minutes before adding the garlic and herbs. Add the beans and stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer beans for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until quite soft, stirring frequently.

To serve: Either pull the duck meat from the bones or serve legs whole on top of beans. Garnish with minced parsley and toasted bread crumbs.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off Season 3 Episode 5 Recap

We're coming down to the wire here, folks...there's only one more episode after this one, and I can't be more pleased. Ok, I'd be more pleased if this week's episode were the final episode. I used to like this show, but back when it seemed to be an actual cooking competition between somewhat inept celebrities. Now it seems more like a contest to determine who can best follow Rachael's or Guy's instructions. Bah.

This week, the celebs are in Coney Island. The weather looks magnificent, but there is a surprising dearth of non-Food Network persons wandering around the boardwalk. I can't believe that the network has such clout they can clear a town for their use. Or maybe Coney Island is in a serious, serious slump.

Anyhoo...there are two challenges again this week, one of which involves running a hot dog cart.

Florence Henderson says this has been a dream of hers, and it's hard to tell whether she's telling the truth or if the pain killers that she's taking for her broken foot are a little on the strong side. Perhaps life after the Brady Bunch and Wessonality has been a bit slow. But first, before the celebs get to serve up delectable meaty treats that have been floating in a tank of greasy water, there's a french fry challenge, the winner of which gets an extra ten minutes for hot doggery.

The teams head to their respective big-ass trailers, which seem even more over-sized and unnecessary when one considers that Team Rachael only has two players. Penn Jillette thinks he might make disco fries, which are french fries covered with cheese and gravy. Sounds like a sog-fest to me. Rachael wants Penn to amp up the fries by making French onion gravy. She also gives this sound advice: "don't over-cheese, don't under-cheese."

Perhaps walking cheese-fest Guy Fieri should take that advice to heart.

Florence wants to make "everything bagel" fries, coated with garlic, onion, poppy seeds, etc. Rachael is down with that.

Over to Trailer Guy. Herschel mutters something about "Famous 34 Gravy Fries." Vanilla Ice will make "Buffalo-style Ninja sticks." Apparently Buffalo, New York is rife with ninjas. Who knew? He also does a little rhyme, "gonna open your eyes and give you a surprise." By this, I assume he means that they'll be so spicy, diners will have some painful eliminations afterward.

Tiffany wants to represent Noo York by making Italian fries topped with cold cuts and whatnot. She's calling them "Yo, Yo, Yo" fries. Does that seem somewhat inappropriate to you, too?

The celebs don't have to cut the fries, they only have to cook the Ore-Ida crinkle cuts provided to them and top them with the slop of their choosing. Flo's having a problem getting her topping to stick to her fries, and Rachael makes her start over. Tiffany is having "meat issues," because she wasn't provided with the pro-SHOOT she wanted. Instead, she cooks up some hot Italian sausage, which, personally, I think would work better. Herschel decides to top his fries with a fried egg, but he ends up mangling and overcooking the poor thing.

Amanda Freitag is the Special Guest Celebrity Chef Judge this week. I watch her hug Guy and I think to myself, "he must stink." Cheap cologne or sweat, either or both. They judge the fries. Vanilla Ice's "ninja" fries are too spicy. Herschel's egg should be runny. Penn's has too much Swiss cheese (he over-cheesed). Flo's are clever and delicious, but the toppings are still falling off. This leaves Tiffany, whose fries are tasty enough to get her the win, and an extra 10 minutes in the wienerfest.

She's calling her dog a "Jamaican Hottie," which I suppose is better than her original name, "Ganja Dog." She's wrapping her tube steak in bacon, and making a pineapple and mango salsa to top it. None of that sounds Jamaican, particularly the bacon. But it's got Jerk seasoning, so of course it's authentic! In any case, Tiffany uses her extra ten minutes to make the salsa, while the other celebs champ at the bit to get started.

Flo wants to make a Kosher deli dog in honor of her friend Judy Gold. (The everything bagel fries may well have been in her honor as well). She's rolling her pups in yellow mustard and pastrami before topping them with slaw and home-made Russian dressing. I want one.

Herschel is making an "All-American" dog, topping his with a baseball, apple pies, and a tiny Chevrolet.

Penn is doing what he calls a New England breakfast with a carny trash touch: a bacon-wrapped pancake-battered dog on a stick with a side of maple syrup. Rachael wants him to taste the dog without the syrup, to get an idea of how well his batter is working. She thinks it needs salt, despite the bacon. Penn's not budging; he wants the dog to be dipped into the syrup, not eaten dry. When Rachael tries this, she's happy, and Penn feels vindicated. Carny trash know their corn dogs!

Vanilla Ice is vegetarian, and mercifully he's not going to inflict commercial tofu hot dogs on the unsuspecting crowds. Have you ever tried one of those things? They taste like smoked band-aids. Instead, he's taking logs of tofu, wrapping them in egg roll skins, and giving them a quick deep fry. And they are as bland as shit. As has become customary, Guy makes him throw out his first batch and try again. Despite their blandness, Vanilla is calling them his "crispy kung fu veggie dawgs." What happened to Ninja? or Voodoo?

Amanda Freitag is trotted out again to judge the dogs. Between the judges and the diners on the boardwalk, we hear that Penn's dog is "heavy" and "has too much going on." Everybody loves Flo's dog, and Guy calls her a "gangster," which is one of the more ridiculous things he's ever said. And this is a man who built his career on saying ridiculous things. Herschel's dog is also too busy, and the Chevy's tires are a bit chewy. Tiffany's dog may not be particularly Jamaican, but the salsa is tasty and everyone seems to enjoy it. Finally, Vanilla's flavorless tofu blobs are, well, flavorless.

Freitag has no choice but to name Team Rachael as the winner this week, because she's only got two players and both need to go to the finale. Florence is named the MVP, which earns $2500 for City of Hope. Vanilla Ice is clearly the weak link this week, so he's told to pack his collection of hot sauces and rhymes and leave.

Next week: Finale!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Nutty Bars

A day off work means free time to play in the kitchen! But first, I spent a few moments thumbing through a copy of Fat Witch Brownies: Brownies, Blondies, and Bars from New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery before deciding on the Pecan Bars.

We had about half a pound of pecan pieces in the freezer, but I opted to use half walnuts because they're less-expensive. I also didn't feel like opening the bag of light brown sugar when there was just enough dark brown sugar left to fit the bill. And...the original recipe called for rum. Mr Minx isn't the biggest rum fan in the world, so I used bourbon instead. The results were crunchy, sticky, nutty, and quite fabulous.

Make them. Now. Unless of course you have nut allergies.

Nut Bars adapted from Fat Witch Brownies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon bourbon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9" x 9" baking pan.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Add the 7 tablespoons of butter, a few small pieces at a time, and combine until mixture is sandy. Stir in the nuts. Gently press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

While crust is baking, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and allow to cool. Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, bourbon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the cooled butter. Add the egg and mix well.

Pour the filling over the baked crust. Evenly sprinkle the nuts on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the filling no longer wobbles when you shake the pan gently.

Allow to cool completely before cutting, about 2 hours.

Makes 12 - 16 bars.

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Posted on Minxeats.com.