Sweet and Savory: Pear and Brie Risotto with Prosciutto Chips

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and we too are serving up leftovers.

"There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat," Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying, and right about now is your best chance to savor those ten minutes. Anna served up this comforting risotto blending pear and brie for Valentine's Day, but it would be a lovely light meal to share with your family this holiday weekend.

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Originally posted Feb. 13, 2009, by Anna 

When in a very famous restaurant, my choice always will be a risotto.

It requires patience, art and talent from the chef. I recalled one that I could never ever forget: pear and brie risotto from one of the finest restaurants in Leblon, a kind of Gourmet Ghetto of Rio de Janeiro. This was a long time ago, but not long enough for me to forget its perfect texture and taste. After some research, I found out very similar recipes but not any that would fit my crave for a perfect choice for a girls in lunch. For dessert, a classic shortcake cookie was cut with the help of little hands. How romantic!

Pear and Brie Risotto with Prosciutto Chips

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
3 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine, the one to drink afterward
6 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 ripe but not soft Bosc pear
2 tbsp Parmesan Gran Pardano, freshly grated
3 oz. sliced prosciutto di Parma
1/2 to 1 pound French brie cheese, chopped in cubes

In a heavy pot melt butter and the olive oil over high heat. Add shallots. When shallots begin to brown, stir in rice. Pour in wine and wait for the alcohol to evaporate. Lower heat and start dropping in the stock to gradually moisten the rice. Keep dropping the stock every time you see that the water is drying. Add the pears and go to a simmer. Carry on dropping in the stock and add Parmesan cheese.

Meanwhile, in a hot skillet, grill the slices of prosciutto di Parma until they are crunchy.

When the rice achieves a pearly appearance with an al dente texture, turn off the heat and fold the brie into the rice and integrate it slowly with a wooden spoon.

Serve the risotto in soup plates and garnish with the crunchy prosciutto broken into tiny pieces.

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Playdate Special: Wonton Noodle Soup

The antidote to a blustery autumn day is a bowl of steaming goodness. Homemade wonton noodle soup is a favorite among my arsenal to combat the chill. In traditional Chinese cuisine, wontons are similar to dumplings in that they are both made with fillings and flour wraps. Made with square flour wraps, meat, and less substantial, wontons are charming as an appetizer when dressed with sauces, a perfect accompaniement to a light broth, or savory addition to a noodle soup.

This quick meal entices participation from our little chefs, since wontons are easier than dumplings to manipulate for small hands. Part of the fun is watching the kids' imagination take flight and see the various shapes they create. In written Chinese, a popular variant of this wrapped food literally means "swallowing clouds". In a steaming bowl of soup and noodles, the wontons do indeed resemble puffs of clouds and taste just delightful.

Wonton Noodle Soup

Wonton wraps are readily available in all Asian supermarkets. I prefer the Hong Kong brand, after some trials and errors - these are the right thickness and retain their shape in boiling water. Allowing the wraps to come to room temperature makes them more malleable and less susceptible to tears.

2 32-ounce chicken broth
1 package, 16 ounces thin egg noodles, cooked
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
4 bunches baby bok choi
1 1-inch ginger root
1 bunch scallions (spring onion), chopped
1 package wonton wraps (makes about 90)
1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 cup grated baby carrots
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup fish sauce (optional)
additional salt (to season broth to taste)
1 small bowl water

Pour chicken broth in large stock pot and bring to boil. Bring water in a separate pot to boil. In a glass bowl, combine pork with the dry sesasonings (salt, garlic powder, ginger powder), 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/4 cup of chopped scallion. When broth comes to a boil, add in sliced ginger root, 1/2 of the remaining scallion, fish sauce, and reduce heat to simmer.

Holding one piece of the wrap in palm of hand, place a teaspoon-sized meat mixture in the middle of the wrap. Dip index finger in the small bowl of water and moisten the edges of the wrap. Shape the wonton into desired shape by pressing the edges together.

To make a triangular wonton: Fold the square (with the meat mixture in the center) in half to make a triangle. Moisten the edges and bring the two lower tips to meet the top of the triangle.

To make a round wonton: Gather the edges of the square (with the meat mixture in the center) together so that it looks like a sack.

Put about 15 to 20 wontons in the boiling water and reduce to medium heat so that it's a gentle boil. Scoop out the wontons and drain after 10 minutes and set aside. Repeat until the desired number of wontons are cooked. Unboiled wontons may be frozen kept in the freezer for a few weeks.

Season broth with additional salt, if desired. Blanch the bok choi in the broth and set aside. Place about 1/4 cup egg noodles in a serving bowl. Top with 4 to 6 wontons, 2 to 3 bok choi leaves, and pour broth to cover the wontons and noodles. Drizzle sesame oil and garnish with the chopped cilantro and scallions.

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Second Helping: Pumpkin Pudding with Cranberry Sauce

Just because I was planning to think out of the pie, I adapted one of my favorite desserts for a last-minute Thanksgiving delight. Easy, quick and really flavorful, this is a velvety and refreshing addition to a dinner table or potluck. And forget about the crust. The texture and color will speak for themselves. And you can be creative with the sauce.

Pumpkin Pudding

Ideally it should be prepared one day before dinner party. But a good 6 hours in the fridge will do the trick if you are in a hurry.

Pudding

1 can organic pumpkin or 15 oz (425 g) cooked sugar pumpkin
1 14 oz. can condensed milk
2 cups Almond Milk or Soy Milk
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon lime or lemon zest
2 envelopes unflavored Knox gelatin

Sauce

1/2 pound fresh cranberries
2 cups apple juice

In one bowl mix condensed milk, pumpkin and spice. In a saucer pan warm almond milk and dissolve gelatin in it. When dissolved and mix is warm integrate it to the bowl and mix for a homogeneous mix. Pour liquid in a plastic mold or bundt cake mold and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

For the sauce, simmer cranberries with apple juice up to when smooth. When cold, take pudding out of the mold and cover it with sauce. Fill the middle of the pudding with cooked cranberries.

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Tips & Gadgets: The Cook's Thesaurus

A few Thanksgivings ago, I set out to try a Sunset recipe for a dry-cured turkey. It calls for a heady blend of herbs and spices: thyme, marjoram, anise, rosemary, pepper, salt -- and dried juniper berries. I dragged my worn-out toddler to market after market, convinced that the turkey absolutely needed those three tablespoons of juniper berries, whatever those were.

I finally found the berries at an overpriced shop. But even as I swiped the debit card to take my little bag of berries home, I knew the quest had been a ridiculous waste of time and effort.



The next year, I skipped the search and consulted the Cook's Thesaurus, an amazing online resource for learning about swapping ingredients. Juniper berries, I found out, are used to make gin. I might have known that if I liked gin. The suggested substitution -- bay leaves and caraway seeds -- made for a turkey just as fabulous as the year before.

The Cook's Thesaurus has bailed me out more times than I can count. It's been there for me when it was too late to call my mom to find out how she'd fix whatever mess I just made. It helped me get through the year when anything containing eggs gave my older son hives, and the year when dairy, wheat, and corn products made my younger son throw up. It has saved me countless trips to the grocery store and salvaged more than a few batches of muffins.

If you haven't used it before, check it out -- and bookmark it!

The Cook's Thesaurus

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Playdate Special: Ricotta and Butternut Squash Pie with Turkey Bacon Chips

Our adorable Juju, the black cat, was not to be found early on that cold morning of Friday, November the 13th. Yes, that could be the beginning of a laughable mystery short story. Or better, just the gloomy start of an eventful time before a lunch playdate. I spent more than half an hour looking for our capricious feline, instead of using those precious moments on the mental preparation of our lunch, cleaning the house and developing even more my original recipe.

The house was uncommonly (more) messed up than ever. Plumbers were working outside, fixing irrigation pipes. No water for two hours. I thought that the food would overshadow that ongoing chaos. I prepared the filling for the quiche and also our unforgettable dessert on the night before. I just needed to do the crust and test a good recipe of polenta, which would be served as an appetizer for the main dish. That "just" was an irony.

The whole playdate was running smoothly. Some graffiti on the walls and on a side table were entertaining enough. My older son had hidden some Crayola with clothes, and on that morning he decided to share them with his dearest friends while I was trying to figure what the heck was going on with the quiche in the oven. In the meantime, broccoli was burnt at the Le Creuset and polenta got too cold in the fridge, and the clock was just running so fast! Things were not looking good at all.

But...The result was, after all, remarkable. Although kids mostly declined to eat the beautiful pie filling, just trying to get as much crust as they could grab, the flavor was extremely elegant. Homemade polenta was also great, even not being grilled, as it should be. But dessert called myself back to the senses. Yvonne brought a pomegranate that was added to my persimmon apple emulsion to accompany the pumpkin pudding at the last minute. But that is a story for the next posting, before Thanksgiving, of course.

In the meantime, black little miss Juju, the cat, was sleeping quietly on her basket. She was finally found before I began to cook on that cold autumn morning hiding under the new kid's bed, in a very improbable place. If I just had followed that clue my menu would be different. I would have started earlier, have easy food to prepare, aware that this was a Friday 13th!

Butternut Squash and Ricotta Pie

I used canned organic butternut squash and canned organic pumpkin. That is just a shame: I had pumpkins all over the place on Halloween, but they all got spoiled before I noticed! So probably the recipe will work fine for the cooked fresh produce too.

Filling

1 pound part skim ricotta cheese
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 can organic butternut squash
Kosher salt to taste
1 beaten egg (optional for vegan)
1/2 cup turkey bacon or Tofurkey , finely chopped and grilled on a skillet
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

On the night before mix ricotta and butternut squash. Season it with shallots, parsley and salt. Add egg just before baking.If using bacon, sprinkle it over bottom of pie. Some pieces of bacon and Parmesan Cheese may be sprinkled over filling. Fill the pie with ricotta and bake at 375 F for 30 minutes.

Crust

1 cup unbleached flour
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup butter or vegetarian spread
Sal to taste

Mix flour, water and butter and knead with hands for an even dough. Make a ball with the dough and take it to the fridge for at least 1 hour. Stretch it on a 9 inches round cheesecake pan, making sure that a fine layer is going on all edges of the pan.

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Second Helping: Lazy Chicken Stock

I use broth shortcuts all the time: granules, cubes, cans, boxes. But when chicken broth has a starring role, as in the Chicken Tortilla Soup we posted last week, it's well worth the minimal effort to make your own stock.

Making chicken stock is one of those things I didn't do for a long, long time. Because making it takes a long, long time. Which I figured meant it took a lot of work.

To the contrary, I realized, chicken stock makes itself. All you really need to do is hang around the house for hours and let the stock do its thing.

Use leftovers from a roast chicken. Or throw in chicken pieces (with bones), remove the meat once it's cooked, and return the bones and scraps to the pot. Or stockpile leftover chicken bits -- bones and skin -- in a large bag in the freezer. Keep adding to it, and when it's full, make stock. Be sure to set aside a bit of leftover cooked chicken to go into the finished soup.

Lazy Chicken Stock

Put chicken in a large stock pot. Make sure you have lots of bones in there. Bones are important.

Add vegetables, chopped into large pieces: onions, carrots, leek, and celery are all good options. I usually just toss in an onion.

Pour in some white wine if you'd like -- I use half a cup.

Add a tablespoon or two of vinegar. The acid dissolves the calcium in the bones, enriching your stock. Cool, eh? Don't worry, you won't taste the vinegar.

Tuck in some herbs -- sprigs of fresh thyme or oregano, a bay leaf. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. (Save the strong seasoning for when you reheat the finished stock to make your final soup.)

Fill your pot with water and set it on the stove. Bring it to a strong simmer, reduce the heat, leave uncovered, and simmer 5 to 6 hours (or more). Add a little water if chicken bones start sticking out above the surface, but not too much -- you want it to reduce. Stir when you feel like it. Don't bother skimming the foamy fat that rises to the surface. You'll do that later.

When it's done, strain out the solids and set the broth in the refrigerator. Leave it there a few hours or overnight. When you check on it, you'll find the fat has conveniently congealed on the surface. See! It does the work for you! Scoop off it off with a shallow spoon or spatula to reveal ... chicken jelly?!

Do not panic. Be proud: You've done well. The bones add gelatin, and that's what makes the stock taste so good. (Gelatin is protein, too.) The gelatin will melt as you heat your stock, leaving you with a deep, rich, silky stock.

Use the stock soon, or freeze it for quick, tasty soup another day. Use ice cube trays or muffin tins to freeze small amounts. You might want to add water to the stock when making soup.

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Second Helping: Boeuf Bourguignon and More

After reading Julia Child’s “My Life in France” for my book club, I was inspired to learn a few French dishes. My absolute favorite cuisines would be Italian and Chinese, and I often rely on the ingredients and techniques from these two traditions for my everyday cooking. Since Chef Gary, a.k.a. my dear brother who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, was in town for a brief visit, I explored the possibility of having him teach me a few classics. Learning from the comfort of my home appealed to me as I thought it would be more cost-effective and time-efficient than taking a course at the local park and rec. Another bonus would be that the kids could watch and perhaps participate in the process before we'd all partake of the feast.

This was the menu we devised: boeuf bourguignon, endive salad, baguette, and pate a choux.

Before we began, Chef Gary asked an important question: “Are you going to trust me?” Long story short, but basically he was relishing the role of a younger brother being in charge, and of course, he was professionally trained. I diligently followed his lead and chopped, hacked, whisked, stirred, and tasted. The only two points of contention were about the amount of fat and salt.

Boeuf bourguignon is essentially a beef stew with wine, stock, pearl onions, and mushrooms galore. But, before you do anything, you crisp some bacon and reserve the fat, with which you then sear the lightly floured, salted and peppered meat. Omit the bacon fat, and you "might as well forget it," declared Chef Gary.

I have always been somewhat health conscious in my relation to food, especially now that I am a mother of two and the primary cook in our family. I mentally winced at the prospect of browning the meat in all that bacon fat and attempted to refrain from over-salting the stew, while my brother sighed repeatedly in exasperation. The compromise was that I would drain the fat after browning each batch of meat and skim off the excess. As for salting, we agreed to season the meat for the browning step but hold off additional salt until stew was cooked.

My mini crash course in French cooking took approximately seven hours, including grocery shopping. My sister-in-law, Monica, who attended the same program as my brother, took on the role of pastry chef and worked with me on the baguette and puff pastries. The hours flew by and the kitchen was filled with whiffs of savory and sweet aromas.

How did everything turn out? The dinner was AMAZING! Bacon fat did add an extra depth to the stew. Using just enough to brown the meat made it rich without being excessive. I had to concede that a bit more salt at the browning stage would improve it just slightly so. The Endive Salad was simple yet elegant. Although we'd forgotten to score and eggwash the dough, all agreed that the baguettes were good for a first attempt. Puff pastries? They were so easy to make that I vowed to include them on my menu for future soirees. Arwen stated that it was "the best dinner ever" and was proud to have helped with the puff pastries. As we sat in post-dinner stupor, we began planning the next meal. And, voila! I learned to make crepes the next morning. But, that’s another culinary adventure and a future blog post….

Adapted from Le Cordon Bleu Professional Cooking

1 pound bacon
5 pounds beef chuck, boneless and trimmed, cut into 1-inch chunks
salt and pepper, to season stew meat for browning
1/2 cup flour
2 cups yellow onions, diced
10 cloves garlic, chopped
16 ounces beef stock
2 cups red wine
1 pound mushroom, white and/or crimini, quartered
1 cup pearl onions, peeled
cornstarch and water, approximately 2 tablespoons each, as needed
cooked egg noodles
parsley, for garnish

Crisp the bacon in a cast-iron pot, drain, and reserve the fat. Roughly chop the bacon and set aside. Season meat with salt and pepper and lightly flour all sides. Heat about two tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pot and brown the meat cubes on all sides. Meat should be browned in batches. If pot begins to burn, deglaze with a tablespoon or two of wine, reserve the liquid. Continue browning meat with oil.

Caramelize the yellow onions until translucent. Toss in the garlic and cook until softened. Put meat back in pot, along with the beef stock and red wine, and bring to boil. Transfer mixture to crockpot and select the four-hour setting. About an hour before cooking is done, add in the bacon (reserving some for garnish), mushrooms and pearl onions. Thicken stew with cornstarch, if necessary. Serve over egg noodles and garnish with parsley and a few bacon bits.

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Playdate Special: Chicken Tortilla Soup

The domestic front has been a scene of chaos, with sweeping and dish washing and laundry and tidying all ignored as I plow through an intimidating pile of work. In the background, there's been the low buzz of disgruntled parents trying to figure out if, when, and where they can get flu vaccine to their kids, and fretting over the slightest colds.

This calls for soup. Chicken soup, specifically.

A deep, flavorful stock is essential for this soup. If you've never made your own stock, this is the time to try it. (It's easy, honest. Here's how to do it.) Orange peel adds a lovely bright note, and this particular dish included the very last of the cheerful persimmon tomatoes from the garden. The fact that it looked like a bowl of sunshine almost made up for the last-minute discovery that I had no cilantro to finish the soup. Phooey. But with stock this flavorful, it didn't matter. Much.

Soup satisfied the moms. The kids were offered quesadillas on the side, just in case they turned up their noses at the sight of vegetables. But most of them enjoyed the soup, and one even asked for seconds. Success!

Dessert was a simple apple pie, studded with raisins and currants and baked in a disappointing but serviceable refrigerated crust. It looked much better once it was dished out onto adorable Curious George tea set plates.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Good broth is essential to making this soup sing. Use homemade stock, if you can. To bake your own tortilla strips, lightly brush corn tortillas with vegetable oil, cut into strips, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 can diced tomatoes, drained, or about 1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes peeled, seeded, and chopped
4 strips of orange peel, each about 1/2 inch by 3 inches
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans
juice from 1/2 a lime
fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste
salt and pepper
1/4 cup queso fresco cheese, crumbled (this Mexican cheese can be found in your grocery or at Latino markets)
baked tortilla strips or chips (see note)

Heat oil in stockpot over medium heat. Add onion and carrots and saute until onions begin to soften. Add stock, tomatoes, and orange peel. Simmer for 25 minutes.
Remove orange peel. Add chicken and black beans, and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in lime, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon soup into serving bowls. Encourage the kids to top their soup with a sprinkle of queso fresco and tortilla strips, with a generous handful of tortilla strips to enjoy on the side.

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Salt to taste? Kosher, please.

About two years ago I started cooking mainly with Kosher salt. Just because I saw most of my favorite chefs talking and advertising about its unique qualities. No religious thoughts or traditions came into my mind when I chose to buy my first box of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, approved by the American Culinary Foundation. By the way, kosher salt might be kosher, but most importantly it has this name because it is used to process all meat to become kosher. And my old time love for coarse salt helped me to absorb its goodness and incorporate it on my recipes.

At that time, savory staples at my home were the family adored French roast beef, Curry-mustard chicken and turkey meatloaf. For beef I always tended to use coarse sea salt, as I learned on the best churrasco's houses of Brazil. With all of my recipes I had a short period to adjust to the measure of Kosher salt. First because you need more kosher salt in volume to achieve the same result of table salt. So, no danger to get a too salty meal. After tasting all purity of Kosher salt, I adopted it as a rule for my savory dishes. I don't bake too often, but many times I remember Ina Garten using it in her pastry.

The lingering question was always if my kids were missing something called Iodine in their diet. But after much reading I realized that currently we don't need to worry about that if we have some other sources and are using table salt too on a daily basis. And actually, some people even think that we don't need salt at all! I still think I love its taste and probably wouldn't be able to live without some salt in my food. That's the main reason for my recipe writing I don't give exact measurements for salt. I suggest that salt is to be added "to taste". Certainly this is a good way to go - salt is a personal , or may I say palatesonal, choice. But I really think you should try a pinch of Kosher - and please let me know how was your experience!

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Playdate Special: Pumpkin Chipotle Chili

Calvin planned most of the food for his Halloween party this weekend: mummies (hot dogs wrapped in breadsticks), magic potion punch, a pumpkin patch cake, molded candies, cut-out cookies, pomegranate, mozzarella eyeballs, and raisins and pretzels. An eclectic menu, certainly, and skewed to youthful tastes. There was a lot of cuteness to create, from the fondant ghosts haunting the cake to painting candy molds (oh, how I regret saying yes to that request).

For those averse to mummified pigs-in-a-blanket, I decided to make monster stew (inspired by Monster Mischief, a favorite in our house). But what, exactly, should go into a real monster stew?

Pumpkin. Definitely pumpkin. Maybe beans. Yes, pumpkin chili! And the rest of it came together instantly: smoky chipotle for the heat, and a bit of earthy sage because I'm obsessed with it. (I keep chipotle in adobo sauce in plastic bag in the freezer; it's easy to take out just the right amount.)

I don't know why so many people find the idea of roasting a pumpkin intimidating, exotic, or laborious. It's ridiculously easy, and it's worth the minimal effort for this recipe. You could use canned pumpkin, which is often a wonderful shortcut, but the texture would be very different. You also could substitute other winter squash.

This made a large, satisfying pot full of chili, though I was the only one who thought of it as monster stew. My grand plans for elegantly creepy menus devolved to a scrawled yellow sticky-note slapped on the Dutch oven midway through the party. If you want to get all Martha Stewarty about it, you could serve this in a large hollowed-out pumpkin.

Pumpkin Chipotle Chili

To roast a pumpkin, simply cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, and pierce the shell a few times with a fork; set halves on a baking sheet, cut side down, and roast at 350 degrees for 45 to 90 minutes. The pumpkin's ready when you can easily pierce to the center with a fork. To keep this child-friendly, go easy on the chile—but offer chipotle chile powder for those who want to turn up the heat.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
cooked flesh from 1 small Sugar Pie pumpkin, chopped (see note)
1 1/2 tablespoons chipotle chile in adobo sauce (more or less according to taste; see note)
1 28-ounce can of tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups cooked black beans
2 cups cooked white beans (cannelini, navy, etc.)
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish (optional)

Heat oil in Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until softened. Add pumpkin and chile and sauté 2 minutes more. Add tomatoes, vegetable broth, beans, sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, covered, 45 minutes. Serve topped with toasted pumpkin seeds.

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