Shoot, gotta run....Cornmeal and Pistachio Crusted Trout

So, this is going to be a quick one. Life is going great, writing more and more, on my 4th draft, blah blah blah. Anyways, what I really want to talk about is, how every now and then, you just need a piece of fish. And not just any ol' fish, but the RIGHT fish. For me, that's quite often trout. I don't know why, but I'm crazy about these guys. Maybe it has to do with my first fish memory being my dad frying up a rainbow trout when I was eight for just the two of us. And then my mom yelling at us for making the whole house smell like fried fish. Sweet, right? 

Anyway, this is a classed up version of my dad's recipe. First of all, there is no frying. This puppy is baked in an oven for just about ten minutes, will all sorts of goodies packed on top to form an amazingly delicious crust. I used to be afraid to buy whole fish, because I thought the steps it would take to prep and cook such a thing would NEVER make this a weekday meal. Well, thank goodness fishmongers these days are kind enough people to take care of all the prep work for us. This I made on a Thursday, and took all of a half hour to put together. Thank goodness, because I've got WAY too many pages to proofread. I'll be back soon with more goodies, let me just finish this scene...

I paired this with my ever-present spiced roasted cauliflower and some arugula. 

NOTE: I should warn you, this is probably enough topping for two Trouts. If you're just cooking for one (like I was) you can probably scale back a good amount of the crust ingredients.

Cornmeal and Pistachio Crusted Trout 

2 tbsp cornmeal

2 tbsp flour

2.5 tbsp pistachio nuts, chopped very fine

2 tsp fresh thyme

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

2 tsp salt

2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 trout, butterflied (approx. 1 lb)

1-2 tbsp butter, melted

half a lemon

2 tbsp parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix the first 7 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Pat the trout dry and rub 1-2 tsp of butter on the skin side of fish. Lay on cookie sheet. On the flesh side, rub another 1-2 tsp of butter. Sprinkle cornmeal mixture onto trout and press firmly to completely coat and cover both filets. Brush off excess.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until flesh is firm. Sprinkle on parsley leaves and a few squeezes of lemon juice. Serve with salad or roasted veggies.  

How Grownups Play With Their Food....Sauteed Baby Octopus and THE BEST ROAST CHICKEN

Every now and then I think it's imperative to spoil yourself. For me, that means spending far to much on fancy ingredients and making a luscious meal. (Really, who wasn't expecting that.) I experimented with two different ingredients I've never used before: baby octopi, and sunchokes.  

I was wandering through the Union Square Farmer's market (in search of some perfect bone-in and skin-on chicken breasts) and found over three stands selling sunchokes. Which got me curious: what the hell are sunchokes??? I mean, I've heard of them, but I had no idea what they taste like. And the problem with farmer's markets and I are that, I just can't resist. Local dairy farms selling unbelievable heavy cream (trust me)? Why not? A pound of winesap apples? Yes please. Cider doughnuts? Well, ok I say no to those, because they are always disappointing. But really expensive lamb bacon I don't need? Well, you get the picture.

So, in case I haven't mentioned this to you guys before, roast chicken with root vegetables has apparently become my absolute favorite meal. I've roasted two whole chickens in the last month, and while I loved both of them, something was lacking. But I still craved roast chicken. So finally, on a night with a great horror movie on my Netflix queue ("The Thing", awesome) and several pages of my script waiting to be written, I decided to make my own version of roast chicken with root vegetables, with essentially just half the bird.

I bought these chicken breasts from a local farmer at, of course, the farmer's market. At first I was mentally kicking myself for spending almost 10 bucks on two chicken breasts (they were large, in my defense), but after taking one bite, all my suspicions were gone. This chicken was frigging AMAZING. The crispness of the skin, the juiciness of the meat...it took all my strength to not just eat as much as I could hovering over the roasting pan.

The crispiness of the skin was through a trick I learned from America's Test Kitchen. Strange as it may sound: baking powder. Mixing it with the salt and pepper used to season the meat it helps brown and dry the skin. Also, make sure to loosen the skin from the meat, which stops moisture from being trapped between the meat and skin and making things soggy. I should apologize right now for all my readers in the nyc area, for the life of me I can't remember the name of the farmer I got my chicken from. But don't worry, I'll be scouring Union Square till I find him. Oh, and by the way, the sunchokes were fantastic! Roasted them with carrots, yukon gold potatoes, and red onions. The sunchokes reminded me of yucca, which I love. Another fantastic veggie to add to this mix is fennel. Now on to the octopus...



Not sure if anyone remembers the glorious day of warmth we had on Monday, but I just couldn't stay inside, no matter how much work I had. Wandered around, stopped by the Housing Works bookstore (a lovely place to peruse, by the way, I became a member and everything), and finally couldn't stop myself from walking into Dean & Deluca about a block away from the bookstore. At $10 a pound these baby octopi looked amazing. The very cute fishmonger mentioned they came in just that day. I was pretty much sold at this point, and because of the fish guy's cute smile.  =)

I marinated the octopus first with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper for half an hour. Meanwhile, I set about sauteeing sliced garlic and chopped red onion. When the aromatics are soft and cooked through you should take them out of the pan, as the octopus needs to be cooked on high heat, which will burn the garlic and onions. I, of course in my lazy state, decided to skip this step. Big mistake.

I decided to keep it simple with my cooking strategy. The essential flavoring elements are garlic, onion, lemon and parsley. Even with my several stupid (and obvious) mistakes with this recipe, these little eight legged creatures were still delicious. Which is a shame, as that means I'll just be shopping at Dean & Deluca more, a hobby I simply cannot afford.

If these octopi looks funny, it's because they are covered in flour, which I thought would be nice, and make them crispy while being sauteed. No, do not do this. Only batter and flour octopus if you are going to deep fry them, otherwise your flour becomes a mushy mess in the pan, and you get something that very vaguely resembles a strange, seafood-esque oatmeal. Luckily, when I pushed the breading aside, there was glorious, perfectly cooked octopus underneath. Victory! So those are my two wonderfully indulgent, fairly simple recipes you can whip out whenever you feel like doing something special on a Tuesday or any old weekday night. And please invite me over if you're making roast chicken.

Roasted Chicken w/ Root Vegetables

Note: I’m one of those rare fans of white meat over dark, hence why I use only chicken breasts here. However, you’re more than welcome to try this out with chicken legs and thighs. While the breast is done at 160 degrees, thighs and legs should register at 175 degrees.

Another Note: This is quite the decadent meal with the generous use of butter. I really loved serving this over some raw bitter greens which cut through the richness of the chicken and veggies. Perfect “cold night in” kind of food.

Oh Yeah, One Last Thing: The kind of chicken you use is very important. I generally buy only from my local farmer’s market, which has sustainable free range chicken. Not necessary to get the best of the best, but I’d really recommend staying away from Perdu-esque poultry.

2 large bone-in skin on chicken breasts

1 ½ tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 ½ tbsp. dried tarragon

1 tbsp kosher salt

3 tsp pepper

½ tsp baking powder

6-8 tbsp clarified butter, melted

2-3 carrots, peeled and cubed

3 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 medium red onions, cubed

1 large fennel bulb, cubed

4-5 small sunchokes, peeled and cubed

7-8 cloves garlic, peeled

1 lemon, cut into eighths

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place all vegetables and lemon wedges into roasting pan. Sprinkly 2 tsp of salt and pepper on top, along with 1 tbsp of thyme and dried tarragon. Drizzle about 2-3 tbsp butter on top. Toss with hands to make sure all veggies are coated evenly.

Bring chicken to room temperature. Thoroughly dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix the rest of the salt, pepper, thyme, tarragon and baking soda. Loosen skin from meat with fingers.  Sprinkle seasoning mixture all over chicken and under skin. Drizzle butter onto chicken and rub over breasts (don’t giggle) and under skin. Place chicken pieces on top of vegetables and roast in oven for about 30-35 minutes, until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees at center of breast. Remove chicken from pan and let sit for 10 minutes under foil. Let vegetables continue roasting.

Serve atop raw dark greens (kale, collard, turnip, etc.).

Sauteed Baby Octopus w/ Garlic, Onion and Tomato         

Note: I had my fishmonger take care of any prep work for the octopi, so I didn’t need to remove any skin/beaks. I’d recommend if you’re able to get the people at your fish market to do the same, do so. Unless you like butchering octopi, then have at it.

½ lb baby octopi (about 4-5 whole), rinsed

2 tsp garlic chopped, 4 cloves sliced

1/3 cup red onion, chopped

¼ cup and 3 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup dry white wine

½ cup chopped tomatoes

half a lemon

handful of chopped parsley leaves

salt and pepper

Place the octopi in a shallow bowl. Add ¼ cup olive oil, chopped garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss octopi a few times and let marinate for half an hour.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in sauté pan and gently cook onions till soft. Add garlic and cook till fragrant and soft. About 5 to 7 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. When garlic and onions are properly softened and starting to caramelize, transfer to a plate.

Add remaining tbsp of oil and get to high heat. When pan is good and hot, add octopi, cooking quickly. When the legs are starting to curl up around the body add white wine. Bring heat down just a bit and add back the garlic and onions.

As soon as the legs have curled up tightly turn off the heat. Add chopped tomatoes, juice and all, and stir. Take that half a lemon and squeeze it all over the top. Then add  the parsley. Taste, and add more seasoning if necessary.

Serve atop pea shoots or any other greens.

Brisket Galore and a Guest Post! (Ann's Shredded Chicken Tacos)

Tip for life: if anyone ever asks you to join them to an all-you-can-eat brisket cook-off against several of nyc's finest BBQ joints at one of your favorite bars, you always say yes. Jimmy's No. 43, a great place for well crafted beers and a big supporter of the slow food movement, hosts several food events every weekend.They're having a duck-off next weekend. Mmmm....

And there are two new things about "Mmm...Toast". First of all, we have our very first guest post! Ann Erickson, my old roomie and close friend from Illinois Wesleyan University is a fellow foodie, and was kind enough to share her fabulous recipe for shredded chicken tacos. I have yet to try it myself, but I promise that's something I'm going to rectify soon. 

The second new thing is, everyone can comment on my blog now! Yay! I finally figured out how to change the settings on my blog, so those few followers I have who've been dying to tell me things, now you can. Now let's get to the food.

This is Fatty 'Cue's entry. A delicious brisket sandwich with pickled onions, cilantro, a little coleslaw on a hawaiian roll. I'd like to say that the sandwich entry is a bit of a cheat, because this competition is about the brisket, but damn it was a good sandwich. And I've always wanted to go to Fatty 'Cue. Now I have even more reasons why. This sandwich, and the cute guy doling out the 'cue.  =)

This was an entry by the cutest lady named Emma, who wasn't part of any restaurant whatsoever. She just made her own brisket and offered it up to hungry patrons. I'd love to say it was wonderful, because she was so adorable, but while the meat was incredibly soft, it had almost no flavor. The coleslaw was good, though.

Jon is trying to figure out which three entries he liked the best. He wouldn't let me look at his choices. Party pooper. 

I know this seems like a mish-mash of meat, but there are actually two different kinds of briskets here. One was from a Tennesse joint, Mr. Bobo, nice but a bit stringy, one's the Fatty 'Cue sandwich (delicious, as we already know), and Ribs From Within. One of my favorites, soft, great flavor, but a bit on the too fatty side (I know, that doesn't seem possible).

Here is the entry that won 1st place (The Kitchen NYC), and the brisket that won audience's favorite (Waterfront Ale House). The Kitchen's is a wagyu brisket with pickled radish, yuzu, and some other accoutrement I can't remember. I chose Waterfront's as my top pick. Great straight-forward brisket. They also had a mind blowing pastrami with house-made mustard (on top of their brisket above). 

Such a good time. And the embarrassing thing is: we had brunch before coming here. So essentially, we ate two HUGE full meals within about three hours. I even got seconds of some of the briskets. Yup, we're awesome. And now, without further ado, here are Ann's delectable chicken tacos. (I'll be back soon with a few dishes of my own to share with you guys.)

Shredded Chicken Tacos (By Ann M. Erickson)

So to say I love Mexican food is an understatement. I grew up in a south suburb of Chicago, ensconced in some of the best authentic Mexican food around-- not just in restaurants, but in the homes of some of my dearest friends. I have tried to replicate many of the recipes made by those wonderful mothers who insisted that I eat every time I came over, and I have even tried to make healthy versions, with mixed success. These tacos were inspired by a chicken flauta making session at my best friend's house. I wanted to make something almost as delicious, but less greasy and with my favorite taco toppings--- here you have it, spicy shredded chicken tacos!
 

Ingredients:

Package of boneless chicken breasts (about 1.25 lbs)

1 tbsp of kosher salt

1 tsp Freshly ground black pepper 

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp white onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp olive oil

Package of corn tortillas

Mexican cheese

1 avocado

Other toppings as you choose.

You start out with three large boneless chicken breasts. I like butterfly them just for ease of having well-seasoned meat and quicker cooking, but if I am lazy, I will just season the breasts and throw them in the stove. (Here is a pretty good tutorial on how to butterfly chicken breasts: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/cooking/butterfly-chicken-breast).

Once the meat is ready, rub it in kosher salt, black pepper, and then again in red pepper flakes, white onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper. It sounds like a ton of seasonings, but I promise it balances out. Drop about two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and lay the chicken pieces in the skillet. Cook at medium heat.

Once the chicken is cooked all the way through (no pink when split open!), place pieces of chicken into a metal or pyrex bowl. Then, using two forks, shred the chicken breast. Using one fork to hold the meat down and the other fork to pull the meat away in shredded pieces seems to be the best way to get this done.

Once all the chicken is shredded, put it back in the pan and mix in a small can of tomato paste. Taste here for seasonings-- if it needs more salt or spice for your taste, feel free to add! Cook the mixture together for a couple of minutes on medium heat while warming up tortillas on another pan. 

Top with your favorite taco toppings-- I had avocados and a blend of Mexican cheeses to top them with, but feel free to add salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, or lettuce.

If you wanted to do the flauta version, you could pour vegetable oil into another pan--- about an inch deep-- and roll some of the chicken mixture in the corn tortillas. Drop a few flautas in the oil at a time, and fry them until the outsides are crispy. Delicious with guacamole!

And...I'm back! (a.k.a Argentinian Pizza memories: four cheese and prosciutto)

I know, I know. It's been a while. You probably thought I'd forgotten all about this little venture I've undertaken. Truth be told, I've just needed a bit of a break from...well pretty much everything. This past fall semester at NYU had been tough, and I decided to spend the whole month of winter break in Chicago, resting and writing. (More resting happened than writing, but oh well.)

But I'm back now, and ready to sink my teeth into this new feature I'm writing, as well as some delicious pizza. For those who aren't aware, my sister and I backpacked through Argentina this past summer, and encountered some of the most delicious pizza either of us had ever had. The two that stuck with us the most were prosciutto with fresh mozzarella and arugula, and four cheese with a red wine reduction sauce. 

There's no other way to put it: these pizzas are fantastic. REALLY fantastic. I especially loved the red wine reduction idea. It's simply a normal wine reduction squirted onto the pizza as soon as it's come out of the oven. I've always loved wine reductions, and with the four cheese it works phenomenally. Don't forget to use a pretty kick ass wine for the reduction, as the flavor is really going to stand out. It also works great with a spicy italian sausage pizza with arugula (kind of a mix between the two here).

Really, these are two pretty simple pizzas. And I'll be honest with you from the get go: I did not make this dough. You'll notice a pattern after a while: I love being lazy. If there's an easy route, I'm generally on it. We used Trader Joe's pizza dough, and I personally love it. Plus a pre-made dough makes this a great weekday meal. We really enjoyed it with a bottle of cabernet sauvignon that Ajooni and I smuggled back from Argentina. Mmm...shoot, now I'm craving a glass of that wine right now...and a slice of that pizza. (Oh who am I kidding, I'm craving at least 4 slices of that pizza.)

Argentinian Pizza!
Note: These pizzas were extremely freestyle, so while I do offer measurements here, they are approximations as I don't really measure amounts. It's really however much I think needs to be added. Go ahead and change amounts according to your taste.

Another Note: We made one pizza on a pizza stone, and the other on a baking tray. Since not all kitchens come with a pizza stone, for the purposes of these recipes I explain how to prepare both on baking trays.

Four cheese with Red Wine Reduction

For the pizza:
1 pouch Trader Joe's pizza dough (or any pizza dough you prefer, about 14 to 16 oz)
1.5 Sliced Fresh Mozzarella
1/3 cup Crumbled Gorgonzola
1/3 cup Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/3 cup Sliced/Grated Manchego
Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Take the dough out of the package and toss a bit of flour onto it, molding it into a ball. Let sit for about 20 minutes so it can rise.

While the dough is rising, take a cookie sheet and generously rub olive oil over the surface. When the dough has sat for long enough, set it onto a well floured surface and roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness, into the shape of a long oval. To be honest, I suck a little bit at rolling out pizza dough, so when I transfer the dough to the tray, I generally have to coax it into a rectangular shape with my fingers.

Brush a nice amount of olive oil onto the surface. Add the sliced mozzarella, first, then the other three cheeses. Pull the thyme leaves off the stalk and sprinkle onto the surface. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Toss into the oven for about 25 minutes, until the edges of the crust are golden brown, and the cheese is bubbly. As soon as you take your glorious pizza out of the oven, squirt on the red wine reduction sauce.

For the reduction:
Bottle o' Great Red Wine (I'm a cab fan, but a bordeaux would be good too)
Cinnamon Stick
2-3 Bay Leaves
1-1.5 tbsp Peppercorns
4-5 Cloves
1 Stalk Thyme (don't worry about taking the leaves off the stem)
1 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
2-3 tbsp Butter
2-3 Minced Shallots (or about 1/4 cup minced red onions)

Take half a tablespoon of the butter and melt that into a sauce pot. Toss the minced shallots in and let those soften a bit. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves, thyme, and peppercorns. Let the spices heat up a bit, till you almost faint at how amazing the smell is coming out of that pot.

When the onions have gotten a bit brown, add the wine and stock. Let the sauce reduce till only about a third is left. Constantly taste to see if the flavor is where you want it. You might realize you love the taste and thickness when the sauce has reduced to half instead.  

When the sauce is done reducing take out the cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cloves and thyme stem. Add the rest of the butter in pieces, stirring so every addition is completely mixed in. You should have a velvety sauce at the end that you can put into a squeeze bottle and squeeze onto your pizza. Or right into your mouth.

Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza

15 oz Pizza Dough
6-7 Slices of Prosciutto
1.5 cups Sliced Mozzarella
1 cup Grated Manchego
6-7 Chopped Garlic Cloves
3 Tbsp Tarragon
2-3 Sprigs of Thyme
2-3 Cups Arugula
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Take the dough out of its package, let it rest 20 minutes. Oil a baking tray. Place rested dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/4" and into a long oval. Place onto the tray and push into a rectangular shape.

Brush olive oil onto the dough. Add the slices of mozzarella. Rip the prosciutto into chunks and spread across the dough. Add the manchego, as well as the garlic. Pull the thyme leaves off the stems and scatter across the pizza. Sprinkle tarragon as well, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pop in oven for about 25 to 30 min till crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly. As soon as it comes out of the oven, place the arugula on. Personally, I generally need to add another cup of arugula to my pieces of pizza alone, but that's because I'm an arugula addict.