steak tartare with beets

Tonight I made a classic steak tartare — except that I used flat iron steaks and served the tartare with roasted beets. I roasted whole red and yellow beets on a bed of thyme with olive oil for an hour at 300º (F) and then at 375º (F) for 40 minutes. Late October beets and slow roasting led to a rich, sweet flavor that was incredible with tartare — far superior to fries, if you ask me. The tartare was chopped — not ground — and mixed with Dijon mustard, anchovies, capers, red onion, parsley, very good olive oil (some olive oil from Impruneta that is quite fruity), Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and an egg yolk. One guest did not eat meat and this mix (minus the egg yolk) was great with sashimi-grade tuna. Garnish the tartare with parsely and the beets with olive oil; season to taste with salt, pepper, Tabasco and chopped cornichons.

finally, asparagus

Finally found fresh, local(ish) asparagus -- not being in Western Massachusetts this spring has been tough. All it needed was sautéeing with an anchovy, garlic, capers and some white wine. Toss with pasta, top with parsley and parmesan.

chicken, stewed with tomatoes and capers

Finally setting into a new apartment (a studio with a decent kitchen and dining area) in Chicago. Here's one of my first real meals made, which is chicken legs (leftover from a whole bird bought for the breasts) stewed with "fire-roasted" tomatoes, onions, capers and an anchovy. I started by sautéing an onion, then adding a whole anchovy and two whole garlic cloves (the break up during cooking and won't burn this way). The legs were added, whole, and then the tomatoes with jalapenos were added and this was covered and cooked on low for about two hours. Then the meat and skin was pulled off the bone and coarsely shredded. I ate this with a whole boiled golden potato that soaked up the broth. So delicious.

Stock made with the rest of the carcass, leeks, onions, etc...

simplicity

Needing inspiration in the face of limited produce and a pantry of dry goods that require time and care, I opened Mastering the Art of French Cooking (vol. I) and browsed the potato section. I came across the "Gratin de pommes de terre aux anchois." I had potatoes (some local Kennebecs), anchovies, eggs and cream. A friend brought over a some cheese for finishing. Julia Child dices the potatoes and minced the onions, I sliced them both thin and used more onions. I parboiled the potatoes, layered them with onions and a few anchovies, poured a ½ pint of cream with a yolk, salt and pepper over everything. Garnish with shredded hard cheese and some of the oil from the anchovies. Bake until boiling around the edges and browning on top.

This was a great dinner with some local greens & vinaigrette and lentils braised with red onion.

kimchi jjigae

Kimchi jjigae is the ultimate comfort food. It's richly flavorful, easy to make, can be made with all sorts of ingredients (initially, when looking into making it, I was amazed at the variety of recipes) as long as you have kimchi. For this jjigae — which tasted better on the second day and even better on the third — I sauteed 3 anchovies in some oil (from the jar, since I was finishing them off), added a good amount of kimchi (my very successful gobō-carrot-cabbage-dried shrip attempt), sautéed that and then added water, some kombu (kombu stock could have replaced water/kombu), cubes of tofu and some wonderful fresh shiitake that I picked up at my CSA. (Had I had pork belly on hand, I'd have added it before the kimchi.) I let that stew very slowly while I made rice. Towards the end I added coarsely chopped snap peas.

The snap peas stayed bright, green and crunchy. The anchovies disappeared — as they should — for that je ne sais quoi that anchovies add to everything (same effect that dried baby shrimp has on kimchi). Fresh (local!) shiitake are a real treat and they and the cubes of tofu take on the kimchi's tang (and this is best made with old kimchi). Very very satisfying, and the acidity of the kimchi us refreshing despite the heat from the chili flakes.

Garnish with dulse for the ultimate effect.