cia – Page 200 – Writing With My Mouth Full

White Anchovies Appetizer

When I’m at Di Palo’s in New York City and they happen to have white anchovies in olive oil, I buy a small container of it and I make a separate trip to Dean and Deluca to pick up a jar of grape leaves. There was another time when I had anchovies but I could not get the grape leaves, so I used the nori, or roasted seaweed I had left in my pantry.

Ingredients:
1 small jar of white anchovies
1 small cucumber, julienned
several grape leaves
olive oil
pepper

1. On a serving plate, arrange one or two anchovies on top of a single grape leaf. Drizzle with a little bit more olive oil and add a dash of pepper.

Rai Rai Ken

214 East 10th Street between First and Second Avenues
212/477.7030
about $30 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

While Rai Rai Ken reminds me of the Japanese movie Tampopo, it is my quick trip to Tokyo a few years ago that always comes flooding back whenever I enter the shop for a simple bowl of ramen. Separating the curtain at the door, I immediately get transported back to winter Japan. Rai Rai Ken’s narrow space and wooden bar remind me of cold cheeks and frozen hands after my usual bike commute through the suburbs of Tokyo. There is a simple menu of three kinds of ramen bowls: shoyu, a soy sauce-based broth, shio, seafood-based and miso, made of soy beans, all served with bamboo shoots, spinach, roast pork, nori or roasted seaweed and scallions, and then topped with the ever-so Japanese pink fish cake. Long strands of ramen noodles complete the package that require pulling, twirling and slurping. You can order fried vegetables and pork gyoza, or dumplings on the side, as well as edamame, or boiled soy beans, and white rice. Sapporo and Kirin beer overflow for those who want to extend their stay.

In New York City, the temperature does not drop as low as it does in Japan during the winter months, but it is nonetheless cold. It is so cold only an imaginary trip back to Japan at Rai Rai Ken can warm me up.

Artichokes with Pork Sausage

This recipe is from the All-Star Thanksgiving 2004 show on FoodTV demonstrated by Tyler Florence. Getting the flesh of the artichoke is a lot of work, so a Filipino father is necessary, but it’s also a wonderful Thanksgiving dish that doesn’t involve any turkey. Your artichokes should look like this after trimming them to expose the light green flesh.

The white hairs and the pink leaves should be scooped out and discarded after simmering in the flavorful broth. They are easier and cleaner to remove cooked than raw. You need 8 artichokes for this recipe to have enough by the time you clean them out.

Ingredients:
8 artichokes, trimmed down and halved
2 large pork sausages
1/2 cup chicken stock
sage leaves
2 shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
the other half of the lemon, thinly sliced
2 tbsps unsalted butter
salt, pepper, olive oil

For the flavorful broth:
1/4 cup of dry white wine
2 quarts of water
a handful of fresh parsley
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
half a lemon
salt, pepper

1. Bring the flavorful broth to a simmer in a large pot. Add the artichokes, cover the pot over medium heat for a little less than 20 minutes, until there is no resistance when a knife is inserted into the base of the artichokes.
2. Spoon out the artichokes carefully and try to leave the halves intact for a better presentation. Carefully scoop out the hairy choke from the center and discard.
3. In a hot, deep skillet, pour some olive oil and brown and cook the sausages for about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Using the same skillet, add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and cook the sage leaves until fragrant. Add shallots, garlic and lemon slices and cook for another 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to a simmer and emulsify with butter and a little bit more oil until reduced and thickened.
4. Return artichokes and sausages in the pan and cook over low heat for a few minutes to warm them up. Spoon out and serve by topping with leftover parsley.

Tortellini with Butter Sage Sauce

Ingredients:
1 package of tortellini
5 sage leaves
half a stick of butter
light cream

1. Add tortellini in salted boiling water. Remove and drain after 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a skillet, sautÃ© the sage leaves in butter until fragrant. Add the cooked tortellini in the pan with enough light cream to coat. Toss and cook for less than two minutes.

Related post/s:
Another pasta I like is ravioli

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkins are everywhere come Halloween time and my mother always takes one home from her kindergarten school trip. Ah, autumn. If you don’t want to spend the extra effort to bake, feel free to use Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Golden mix and follow their instructions on the box instead of using your own flour, baking soda and baking powder.

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh pumpkin, shredded
1 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps nutmeg
half a stick of butter, melted in the microwave
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350Ã© while you shred the pumpkin meat.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, oil and eggs.
3. Combine both mixtures and fold in the pumpkin meat. Pour into a baking pan coated with butter and a little flour. Bake until golden brown. Test the middle section with a toothpick until it comes out clean.
4. While baking, toast pumpkin seeds in a hot skillet with a sprinkle of salt. Sprinkle on top of the pumpkin bread before it completely sets.