Taking my grandma's recipes to the next level
Wise to the word
Food
Prickly pear
wikimedia
Named for its pear-like shape and size, this fruit comes from any of several varieties of cactus. Its prickly skin can range in color from green to purplish-red; its soft, porous flesh is scattered with black seeds and ranges from light yellow-green to deep golden. Also called cactus pear, it has a melon-like aroma and a sweet but rather bland flavor. — Epicurious.com
did you know? Ready-to-eat hams include spiral-cut, boneless or bone-in. These are already cooked, and can be eaten right out of the package. — FoodSafety.gov
Food for thought
Miami vices
FAMILY FEATURES
Tips for roasting bone-in lamb A bone-in leg of lamb cooks faster than a boneless leg of lamb. Use a meat thermometer to determine doneness: • Rare: 135 degrees • Medium rare: 145 degrees • Medium: 160 degrees You can sear the lamb roast first in a 450-degree oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees, and continue roasting for approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 5 to 10 degrees less than your desired temperature. The meat will rise 5 to 10 degrees while resting, about 20 minutes, before serving, which allows meat juices to settle. Carve the roast against the grain so the meat will be tender, and slice about ½ inch thick. – Family Features
Roasted Pepper Hummus • 5 garlic cloves • 1 can garbanzo beans • ¾ cup Tahini sauce • ¾ cup lemon juice • 1 cup fresh roasted red pepper • Kosher salt • Extra-virgin olive oil • Fresh ground black pepper Mix until smooth. – Executive Chef Stephane Caporal, Fisher Island Club, Miami
The food and fun of Miami’s Fisher Island will tempt you
what to drink
Pair wine and lamb for Easter A savory leg of lamb or a dish with succulent lamb loin chops is a great option for enjoying a flavorful Easter this year. Wine brings out lamb’s mild, meaty flavor. Here’s how to choose the right wine. Complement. Similarly flavored foods and wines complement each other. For example, with a citrus-based sauce, buy a lemony, lightly oaked Chardonnay. If you have mushrooms, pair them with the earthy flavors of pinot noir. Contrast. Contrasting flavors balance each other, too. For example, spicy foods and sweet wines balance nicely. Try Thai food and an off-dry Riesling. Or pair salty foods and crisp, high-acid wines, such as sauvignon blanc or champagne. Match the tenor. Match a food’s weight and intensity to similar elements in wine. Delicately flavored foods call for delicate varieties of wine, such as pinot gris. Weighty textures and intense flavors are a better match for more powerful wines. Try matching herb-crusted roast lamb with a robust syrah or merlot. – Family Features
beer nut’s blog
Discovery cancels ‘Brew Masters’ Discovery Channel has announced it has canceled “Brew Masters,” the reality show that followed Sam Calagione and the Dogfish Head brewery. Rumors are swirling about why it is canceled. Anthony Bourdain of “No Reservations” tweeted that big brewers threatened to pull advertising if the show was not canceled. Beer writer Andy Crouch then tweeted that Discovery said they canceled the show because of poor ratings. I’m going to go with Crouch on this one. Do you have a theory about what happened? Was it low ratings or big beer? Read more at http://blogs. townonline.com/beernut/.
Fisher Island is a 10-minute ferry ride from Miami. wikimedia photo
as you dine at the Beach Club, near the pier with yachts owned by movie producers and Saudi princes. Look to the opposite side to gaze f you’re the type who enjoys a at the upscale beach scene. Peoplequiet beach, a game of golf on watching at the Beach Club is a a championship course, tenmust, while you munch on jicama, nis and the ambiance of a few carrots and pita bread in a hummus peacocks, cockatoos, macaws and that is worth mentioning. African parrots, Fisher Island Club After a few hours on the beach, is the place you want to be. be sure to dine at one of the handAlthough it ful of upscale options. seems like you’re In the mood for thousands of miles the best swordfish, from civilization, salmon, lobster mac you know you’re n’ cheese or oysters? not deserted on Head to the Garwood this island, espeLounge, where you cially once you look can order the tastiest across the Biscayne dishes with a side of Bay and view the live piano tunes. magnificent Miami Tropical birds add to the For those who want skyline. exotic feel of Miami. photo to experience the city Dotted with by Charlene Peters/ghns life, head downtown courtyard villas, and stay for a night or two at the Fisher Island, a 10-minute auto EPIC. The boutique waterfront hoferry ride from Miami, is an exclutel offers dining at Zuma, its newest sive residential facility with two contemporary Japanese restaurant, beaches, 18 tennis courts, a chamas well as Area 31, where you can pionship golf course, fitness club dine on the outdoor terrace surand plenty of dining/bar options, indoors and out. Walk or drive with rounded by the Biscayne Bay and Miami River reflections that glisten your resort-allotted golf cart to from the lighted buildings hovering explore the Mediterranean architecture with columns, furniture and in the night sky. Area 31’s Chef E. Michael Reidt walls made from coral reef. recently came onboard with a It’s hard to believe that the ismenu of extraordinary selections, land, once owned by Carl Graham beginning with the goose liver pate, Fisher, was bartered to William a perfect starter when paired with a and Rosamund Vanderbilt in exchange for a boat. Contemplate this glass of Prosecco. By Charlene Peters GateHouse News Service
I
Duck Liver Paté with Fig Jam For the paté:
For the jam:
• 3 shallots
• ¼ lb. butter (cubed)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• ½ onion (sliced thin)
• 1 cups port wine
• ½ bulb fennel (sliced thin)
• ½ lb. A-grade foie gras • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 confit duck legs (meat picked from bone)
• ½ lb. dried figs (cleaned and quartered)
Coat shallots with oil, wrap in aluminum foil and place in 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until browned and tender.
1 cup red wine
Season to taste with Kosher • ½ cup orange juice salt and ground black pepper • ½ cup red wine vinegar
In a medium saucepot, add cream, port, foie gras and thyme with a teaspoon of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Reduce by 3/4 and transfer to shallow container. Add shallot and confit duck and mix together. Place container in refrigerator until cool. Add to a food processor and process until smooth, seasoning to taste. Pass through a Tami or fine mesh strainer.
1 teaspoon chili flakes 1 cinnamon stick In a medium saucepot over medium heat, melt butter, add and saute onion and fennel until slightly browned. Add brown sugar and cook until dissolved. Add figs and coat with onion fennel mixture. Add OJ, vinegar, wine, chili flakes and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a slight simmer. Cook until liquid is reduced to syrup. Cool and store refrigerated in an airtight container. – Executive Chef E. Michael Reidt, Area 31, EPIC, Miami
Taking my grandma’s recipes to the next level
I
hate to admit this, but my grandmother on my father’s side was a terrible cook. She never got over the post-war processed-food revolution. If it didn’t come from a can, she didn’t cook it. This may come as a surprise to you. We enshrine our grandmas as penultimate cooks. They can do no wrong. OK, so they made cookies with pork lard; they were good cookies. In normal families, grandma’s recipe box is a cherished heirloom preserved and passed down to next generations. My grandmother didn’t have one. All of her recipes came from can labels. My experience is an anomaly. Check the cookbook shelf – there are at least 2,000 cookbooks with “Grandma’s” in the title. All are reverent. All are sugary. All have a line in the foreword, something like: “Whether your grandmother lived at the end of a country lane or on a
jim hillibish brick-lined street in town, you’re sure to have memories of Sunday dinner.” “Grandma” deserves her own cooking category. The recipes are always humble. Overall, spices are out, butter is in. The fry pan is stored on the stove top; the saute pan ... well, there isn’t any. Nana’s chili was memorable. I reconstruct it here, adding the spices, of course. Note the emphasis on canned goods. Contact Jim Hillibish at [email protected].
Nana’s Seven-Can Chili
Grandma’s Chicken Soup
• 3 cans tomato soup, condensed • 3 cans kidney or chili beans • 1 can stewed tomatoes • 4 cans water • 1 pound hamburger • 1 pound bulk sausage • 1 large onion, minced • 1 teaspoon cumin or to taste • 3 bay leaves • Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste
•1 boneless chicken breast, boiled • ½ cup ham, chopped • 8 ounces noodles • 1 medium onion, chopped • 1 carrot, sliced into rounds • 1 stalk celery with leaves, chopped • 1 quart chicken broth, canned is OK
Brown and drain meat. Dump everything into a pot, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serve with boxed mashed potatoes. Serves 4-6.
Place ingredients in a pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Serves 3-4.
Food
Prickly pear
wikimedia
Named for its pear-like shape and size, this fruit comes from any of several varieties of cactus. Its prickly skin can range in color from green to purplish-red; its soft, porous flesh is scattered with black seeds and ranges from light yellow-green to deep golden. Also called cactus pear, it has a melon-like aroma and a sweet but rather bland flavor. — Epicurious.com
did you know? Ready-to-eat hams include spiral-cut, boneless or bone-in. These are already cooked, and can be eaten right out of the package. — FoodSafety.gov
Food for thought
Miami vices
FAMILY FEATURES
Tips for roasting bone-in lamb A bone-in leg of lamb cooks faster than a boneless leg of lamb. Use a meat thermometer to determine doneness: • Rare: 135 degrees • Medium rare: 145 degrees • Medium: 160 degrees You can sear the lamb roast first in a 450-degree oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees, and continue roasting for approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 5 to 10 degrees less than your desired temperature. The meat will rise 5 to 10 degrees while resting, about 20 minutes, before serving, which allows meat juices to settle. Carve the roast against the grain so the meat will be tender, and slice about ½ inch thick. – Family Features
Roasted Pepper Hummus • 5 garlic cloves • 1 can garbanzo beans • ¾ cup Tahini sauce • ¾ cup lemon juice • 1 cup fresh roasted red pepper • Kosher salt • Extra-virgin olive oil • Fresh ground black pepper Mix until smooth. – Executive Chef Stephane Caporal, Fisher Island Club, Miami
The food and fun of Miami’s Fisher Island will tempt you
what to drink
Pair wine and lamb for Easter A savory leg of lamb or a dish with succulent lamb loin chops is a great option for enjoying a flavorful Easter this year. Wine brings out lamb’s mild, meaty flavor. Here’s how to choose the right wine. Complement. Similarly flavored foods and wines complement each other. For example, with a citrus-based sauce, buy a lemony, lightly oaked Chardonnay. If you have mushrooms, pair them with the earthy flavors of pinot noir. Contrast. Contrasting flavors balance each other, too. For example, spicy foods and sweet wines balance nicely. Try Thai food and an off-dry Riesling. Or pair salty foods and crisp, high-acid wines, such as sauvignon blanc or champagne. Match the tenor. Match a food’s weight and intensity to similar elements in wine. Delicately flavored foods call for delicate varieties of wine, such as pinot gris. Weighty textures and intense flavors are a better match for more powerful wines. Try matching herb-crusted roast lamb with a robust syrah or merlot. – Family Features
beer nut’s blog
Discovery cancels ‘Brew Masters’ Discovery Channel has announced it has canceled “Brew Masters,” the reality show that followed Sam Calagione and the Dogfish Head brewery. Rumors are swirling about why it is canceled. Anthony Bourdain of “No Reservations” tweeted that big brewers threatened to pull advertising if the show was not canceled. Beer writer Andy Crouch then tweeted that Discovery said they canceled the show because of poor ratings. I’m going to go with Crouch on this one. Do you have a theory about what happened? Was it low ratings or big beer? Read more at http://blogs. townonline.com/beernut/.
Fisher Island is a 10-minute ferry ride from Miami. wikimedia photo
as you dine at the Beach Club, near the pier with yachts owned by movie producers and Saudi princes. Look to the opposite side to gaze f you’re the type who enjoys a at the upscale beach scene. Peoplequiet beach, a game of golf on watching at the Beach Club is a a championship course, tenmust, while you munch on jicama, nis and the ambiance of a few carrots and pita bread in a hummus peacocks, cockatoos, macaws and that is worth mentioning. African parrots, Fisher Island Club After a few hours on the beach, is the place you want to be. be sure to dine at one of the handAlthough it ful of upscale options. seems like you’re In the mood for thousands of miles the best swordfish, from civilization, salmon, lobster mac you know you’re n’ cheese or oysters? not deserted on Head to the Garwood this island, espeLounge, where you cially once you look can order the tastiest across the Biscayne dishes with a side of Bay and view the live piano tunes. magnificent Miami Tropical birds add to the For those who want skyline. exotic feel of Miami. photo to experience the city Dotted with by Charlene Peters/ghns life, head downtown courtyard villas, and stay for a night or two at the Fisher Island, a 10-minute auto EPIC. The boutique waterfront hoferry ride from Miami, is an exclutel offers dining at Zuma, its newest sive residential facility with two contemporary Japanese restaurant, beaches, 18 tennis courts, a chamas well as Area 31, where you can pionship golf course, fitness club dine on the outdoor terrace surand plenty of dining/bar options, indoors and out. Walk or drive with rounded by the Biscayne Bay and Miami River reflections that glisten your resort-allotted golf cart to from the lighted buildings hovering explore the Mediterranean architecture with columns, furniture and in the night sky. Area 31’s Chef E. Michael Reidt walls made from coral reef. recently came onboard with a It’s hard to believe that the ismenu of extraordinary selections, land, once owned by Carl Graham beginning with the goose liver pate, Fisher, was bartered to William a perfect starter when paired with a and Rosamund Vanderbilt in exchange for a boat. Contemplate this glass of Prosecco. By Charlene Peters GateHouse News Service
I
Duck Liver Paté with Fig Jam For the paté:
For the jam:
• 3 shallots
• ¼ lb. butter (cubed)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• ½ onion (sliced thin)
• 1 cups port wine
• ½ bulb fennel (sliced thin)
• ½ lb. A-grade foie gras • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 confit duck legs (meat picked from bone)
• ½ lb. dried figs (cleaned and quartered)
Coat shallots with oil, wrap in aluminum foil and place in 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until browned and tender.
1 cup red wine
Season to taste with Kosher • ½ cup orange juice salt and ground black pepper • ½ cup red wine vinegar
In a medium saucepot, add cream, port, foie gras and thyme with a teaspoon of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Reduce by 3/4 and transfer to shallow container. Add shallot and confit duck and mix together. Place container in refrigerator until cool. Add to a food processor and process until smooth, seasoning to taste. Pass through a Tami or fine mesh strainer.
1 teaspoon chili flakes 1 cinnamon stick In a medium saucepot over medium heat, melt butter, add and saute onion and fennel until slightly browned. Add brown sugar and cook until dissolved. Add figs and coat with onion fennel mixture. Add OJ, vinegar, wine, chili flakes and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a slight simmer. Cook until liquid is reduced to syrup. Cool and store refrigerated in an airtight container. – Executive Chef E. Michael Reidt, Area 31, EPIC, Miami
Taking my grandma’s recipes to the next level
I
hate to admit this, but my grandmother on my father’s side was a terrible cook. She never got over the post-war processed-food revolution. If it didn’t come from a can, she didn’t cook it. This may come as a surprise to you. We enshrine our grandmas as penultimate cooks. They can do no wrong. OK, so they made cookies with pork lard; they were good cookies. In normal families, grandma’s recipe box is a cherished heirloom preserved and passed down to next generations. My grandmother didn’t have one. All of her recipes came from can labels. My experience is an anomaly. Check the cookbook shelf – there are at least 2,000 cookbooks with “Grandma’s” in the title. All are reverent. All are sugary. All have a line in the foreword, something like: “Whether your grandmother lived at the end of a country lane or on a
jim hillibish brick-lined street in town, you’re sure to have memories of Sunday dinner.” “Grandma” deserves her own cooking category. The recipes are always humble. Overall, spices are out, butter is in. The fry pan is stored on the stove top; the saute pan ... well, there isn’t any. Nana’s chili was memorable. I reconstruct it here, adding the spices, of course. Note the emphasis on canned goods. Contact Jim Hillibish at [email protected].
Nana’s Seven-Can Chili
Grandma’s Chicken Soup
• 3 cans tomato soup, condensed • 3 cans kidney or chili beans • 1 can stewed tomatoes • 4 cans water • 1 pound hamburger • 1 pound bulk sausage • 1 large onion, minced • 1 teaspoon cumin or to taste • 3 bay leaves • Tabasco, salt and pepper to taste
•1 boneless chicken breast, boiled • ½ cup ham, chopped • 8 ounces noodles • 1 medium onion, chopped • 1 carrot, sliced into rounds • 1 stalk celery with leaves, chopped • 1 quart chicken broth, canned is OK
Brown and drain meat. Dump everything into a pot, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serve with boxed mashed potatoes. Serves 4-6.
Place ingredients in a pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Serves 3-4.
