LouieNep Food

The Radical Chef has a great new look to it- check it out.

Also: my mother-in-law-to-be advised me to check out HomeFoodSafety.org: a great resource on eating safely.

StellaBites features a wonderful article on the late Julia Child.

Julia was definitely one of the greatest. I love teasing Lorraine about her Julia-esque love of using her bare hands to mix everything, but the truth is that Julia was a genius.

Don’t miss eGullet’s fascinating interview with Julia.

It’s always like this: I buy a box of filo pastry, stick it in the chiller, and forget about it. We rediscovered it last night, while Raine was cleaning out the chiller. And this is what we had for lunch (recipe from Delia):
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One of the things Lorraine loves nearly as much as coffee is chutney. She would have it with everything if she could, and adores all varieties of it- sweet, spicy, sour, hot. When I use the stuff in cooking, she is ecstatic.

This recipe for chutney-encrusted lamb chops is one of her favorites, is bursting with flavor, and is unbelievably easy to make:

Lamb Chops with Chutney Crust

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary
4 thick lamb loin chops
4 tablespoons chutney of your choice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Butter a small baking sheet. Combine breadcrumbs and rosemary on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Season lamb chops with salt and pepper.

Spread each side of chops with 1/2 tablespoon chutney. Dip each chop into breadcrumb mixture to coat; transfer to prepared baking sheet.
Bake in oven until crumbs are golden brown, and lamb is cooked to desired doneness (about 15 minutes for medium-rare).

Serve, and enjoy!

Moving this site to a new server was not as easy as I expected. There were some brief flirtations with TextPattern and WordPress. Now I’m back using Moveable Type- which has everything I need and, perhaps more importantly, is the one tool I’ve already learned to use- I can breathe a sigh of relief.

I’ll have a new design up in a few days- and all the goodies will be back as well. Sincere apologies to all of you who’ve written to me, demanding where all the mouthwatering goodness went.

As a peace offering, I’m posting one of our favorite recipes from that other great chef, Jamie Oliver (yes, the naked one):
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Jamaican jerk chicken or pork is not an everyday dish for us. It’s always (my version of it anyway) incredibly flavorful: spicy, sweet and sour all at the same time, the sort of dish that explodes in your mouth.

The best way to make jerk is on the grill, but I’ve done it countless times in a pan, even in an oven, with excellent results.

This is what we’re having for dinner tonight:

Jerk Pork
First, the marinade- which you will marinate your pork in for at least 2-3 hours, preferably overnight:
1/2 cup chopped white onion or leeks
4 serrano or jalapeno chiles, chopped with seeds
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

After pork is well marinated, brush pan lightly with some oil and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Grill pork, seasoned with salt, in batches over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 9 minutes on each side.

Serve with a side of fresh salsa and lots of steamy white rice.

My fiance Lorraine drinks coffee all day. She would breathe the stuff if she could. I’ve been at her to guestblog on here more often, but she replied by starting her own blog, mrs.louienep/coffee. It’s powered by Blogger, mostly because she loves her Google toolbar (and all things Google).

Through her, I’ve discovered a few new recipes for coffee, including some very tasty happy-making alcoholic ones. Here’s a great one:

Scotch Coffee

Ingredients
A mug
A shot of espresso
A shot of your favourite single malt Scotch whisky (e.g., Highland Park)
Sugar (if desired)
Milk - to steam and froth

Method

1. Take your favourite mug and pour the shot of espresso and the shot of single malt Scotch whisky into the mug.
2. Steam and froth the milk and pour over the coffee/whisky.
3. Dust with your favourite topping.
4. Enjoy.

There were deadlines to meet, projects to finish, work that had piled up- so last week we took a break from cooking for a few days, and ate takeout. A couple of pizzas, fast-food sandwiches, and a lot of fries- and Lorraine, who apparently doesn’t possess the iron stomach I do, was sick. Deathly pale, unable to eat anything, and running to the bathroom every five minutes. Whether it was the result of too much sodium, or an overload of trans-fats, I knew what I had to do: get back in the kitchen!

Today Lorraine is thankfully completely recovered, and I’m pleased to be featuring what we had for dinner last night:

Sausage and Apple Torta
Ingredients:
Half a 15-ounce package of folded refrigerated unbaked piecrust (one crust)
2 large tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons butter
12 oz. sweet italian sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups shredded italian-style cheese
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat your oven to 450F. Unfold piecrust, and line a 9-inch pie plate with it. Bake according to package directions. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
In a large pan, cook apples, onion and sugar in hot butter over medium heat, for about five minutes- or until tender. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. In the same pan, cook sausage and garlic until meat is no longer pink; drain in colander. Pat sausage dry with paper towels. Spoon sausage into prebaked crust; top with cooked apple mixture. Combine cheeses and eggs; spoon evenly over apple mixture.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I couldn’t find anything else, so used crunchy Fuji apples. The pie was a success, served with a side of spinach and tomato salad. Delicious! And so not fast-food.

I’m one of those people who buys all types of tortellini- ham and cheese, smoked bacon and garlic, etc., etc.- and ends up just letting it sit in the pantry because I can’t think of anything creative to do with it.

Thanks to email, I now have this deliciously quick recipe:

Dear Jay,
One of my favorite pasta dishes is tortellini & it always gives me a feeling of nostalgia (I grew up with Italians). It’s also very easy to make, especially if you are stuck with a dinner party to prepare for. This is a variant on the traditional “ricotta and spinach” recipe- adding some wild mushrooms, green garlic & wine.
2 x 8 ounce packets of fresh tortellini
1 pound wild mushrooms (fresh preferred)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
1/4 cup green garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup of white wine
Prepare tortellini according to packet instructions. Clean and chop wild mushrooms. Heat butter and oil to very hot and saute mushrooms very quickly. Add green garlic and wine & simmer for several minutes to make the sauce. Add pasta to pan, toss and cook a minute longer. Serve in warmed soup plates garnished with several bits of sauteed mushroom and a curl of fresh parmesan.
Take care and thanks for making Daily Chef such fun.
Beatrix

Thank you, Beatrix.

Since starting this site my email inbox has been absolutely flooded with submitted recipes, almost all of them wonderful and mouthwatering. Today I’m featuring a recipe we tried last night, very kindly sent in by Eleanor M.:

Lemon Basil Potatoes
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. small potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves

Wash and quarter potatoes. In a nonstick skillet, melt butter in olive oil over medium heat. Add potato slices, and cook 6 to 7 minutes or until browned. Stir in green onions, grated lemon rind, and salt and pepper. Cover and cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in basil.

Sound easy? It is. We had it as our side for dinner with roasted chicken, and it was just perfect. The potatoes absorb the tartness of the lemon, and the basil gives it just the right touch of herb. Amazing. Thank you so much, Eleanor!