Shrimp Chowder on a cold day

Yum! As I've said before, I'll take chowder anytime of the year, regardless of the season or temperature. The latest edition of Saveur has a whole spread on the glory of shrimp, and a nice simple recipe for Maine Shrimp Chowder. We had it for dinner last night, and I'm sitting here eating the even better leftovers for lunch today. It was good and simple, though I'm not listing it under Quick because it just takes some time to peel the shrimp. By the way, wasn't able to get Maine shrimp, so got what I could. Also, I love bacon, way way too much, and I wish the bacon flavor had come through a little more. Maybe next time I'll just have another piece that I cook and can crumble on top of each bowl. Otherwise, it was very nice. Moe and Bean, our cats, approved of the shrimp as well.

Unfortunately, I don't see the recipe on their website yet, so I have written it out below:

Maine Shrimp Chowder
Serve 4

Maine chowder differs from other New England chowders in that it's often not thickened with flour. This results is (sic) a light soup perfectly suited to delicate Maine shrimp. This dish comes from Sam Hayward, the chef of Fore Street in Portland, Maine, and an all-around champion of Maine's foodways.

3 lbs shell-on, head-on Maine shrimp
1/4 oz. slab bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
3 medium russet potatoes (about 1 lb), quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large leek, white part only, cut into 1/4" pieces
3 tbsp butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 tspn snipped chives

1. Peel the heads and shells off the shrimp, reserving both for the shrimp broth. (If the shrimp are in the middle of their spawn, says Hayward, clusters of gray eggs may be present that will not adversely affect the broth.) Transfer the shrimp to a bowl, cover and refrigerate them until the chowder base is completed. Place the shrimp shells and heads in a large pot and add 10 cups cold water. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce to low and gently simmer for 5 minutes, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and set aside.

2. Now made the chowder base. Cook the bacon in a small pot of simmering water for 1 minute. Drain. Heat a medium pot over medium heat, add the bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it releases some of its fat. Add potatoes and leeks, stir well, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of the reserved shrimp broth (freeze remainder for another use) and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 8-10 minutes. Remove the chowder base from the heat and cover to keep warm.

3. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Raise the heat to high, add the chilled shrimp and cream, stir well, and bring to a boil. Let boil for 30 seconds. Add the shrimp mixture to the chowder base and stir gently to combine. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Season with salt, a generous amount of black pepper and the cayenne. Ladle into warm soup bowls and sprinkle the chives on top of each.

Cauliflower Risotto

Right up there in my cooking nirvana with cooking a masterpiece that takes several hours and looks AND tastes spectacular is cooking something really good with no menu based on ingredients solely from the kitchen, where I didn't go out and get a single thing. That may sound like nothing to those who keep a better stocked kitchen than myself, but to me its pretty special. The other night we had some chicken with cauliflower risotto. Why make risotto (such a fabulous rich creamy warm dish) with boring odd cauliflower? Because it's what we had in the house. And it was delicious!

I'll start with the chicken. I used the method I usually use when I'm in a hurry. First I browned two chicken breasts in just a little olive oil over medium high heat. Once browned, I set them on a plate to the side, turned the pan heat down to medium and added 2 strips of bacon to the pan. When they were just starting to release their fat, I added two crushed garlic cloves. I cooked these for two minutes, stirring, then added about a cup of white wine, a sprig of fresh thyme, a rib of celery chopped and the chicken breasts. I put the lid on the pan and let cook for about another 20 minutes. This may seem a little weird, but about 3 minutes before the chicken was done, I added a handful of cherry tomatoes. One, I did it for color, two, I was concerned that with the cauliflower risotto and the chicken and the bacon that the dish needed some acidity and something to lighten it up a bit.

OK. While the chicken was cooking I cooked a large head of cauliflower (cut into florets) in a medium pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. I drained the cauliflower in a strainer, and added the cauliflower to another medium pot with a tablespoon of olive oil and, over medium high heat, cooked the cauliflower a few minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the cauliflower to get browned in a few places. Then I added 1 cup of arborio rice and stirred for one minute. Next, I turned down the heat to medium, and added 1 cup of white wine. If you've made risotto before, you know its just a process of adding liquid and constant stirring until its at the consistency you want it at. So, I alternated between white wine and vegetable stock until it was where I wanted it. Then I added 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a tbsp of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and serve! I thought it showed off the cauliflower well, with its mellow sweetness contrasting nicely with the cheese and wine flavor. By the way, the risotto would be a perfect veggie main dish also, and we had enough risotto to serve about 4 people.

Vidalia Onion Fig Chicken and Zucchini Fritters

There are some fabulous pre-made sauces out there, and for Christmas we received a bottle of Stonewall Kitchen's Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce. I served it over some chicken breasts and made some zucchini fritters (recipe from Epicurious) on the side. The chicken was very flavorful and I will definitely make again. The fritters were tasty, but just too greasy, even for me. I put them on paper towels after frying, but when I bit into them it felt like a pool of grease was exploding in my mouth. Not good. And I felt a little queasy as I tried to sleep later that night. So, I'll be making the chicken again, but staying away from those fritters.

For the chicken, I took 4 chicken breasts, browned them in a tbsp of olive oil over high heat. Then I put them in a casserole dish, poured about a cup of the sauce over them, tossed to coat, and stuck them in an oven that had been preheated to 350F. They cooked for about a half an hour and were perfect.

PS - those are my favorite gougeres also on the plate.

Linguine with Crab

Do you want to hear about the failures? Or things that just aren't that good? I'm not sure if I should write about them, but this one falls in that category. I started with a Nigella Lawson recipe and tweaked it based on what I had in my fridge, but I honestly don't think my minor change was the reason this dish was fairly unsatisfying. Her recipe is Linguine with Chilli, Crab and Watercress from her Forever Summer cookbook. I replaced the watercress with steamed asparagus pieces (I understand they are completely different) because we had some and I wanted more veggies. I thought it would be light and flavorful, but it was extremely bland. Drew said it was, hmm, ok, but I won't be making it again. I tried to think what would have made it better, and made the flavors come together better. I considered a white wine/butter/lemon sort of reduction, but I just think that would have overpowered the delicate crab. Her original recipe is below. Let me know what you think, if you've tried it, how I might have improved it, etc.

Thanks!

Linguine with Chilli, Crab and Watercress

2 cloves garlic
1 scant tbsp Maldon or other sea salt
1 large red chilli
2 lbs 11 ounces undressed crab, to give you 7 ounces white meat and 4 ounces darker meat
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 lb linguine
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
handful of watercress leaves, roughly torn

Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta.

In a large pestle and mortar pulverize the peeled garlic cloves with the salt, so that it make a smooth paste. Then add the chopped and seeded chilli and crush again until you have a gloriously red-tinged mixture. Tip in the crabmeat, breaking it up gently with a fork, and pour in the oil. Zest the lemon into the mortar and then add the juice.

Using a fork, beat well to mix, and then you are ready to cook your pasta. So do so, and then drain the pasta and tip into a warmed serving bowl. Immediately pour over the crab sauce and toss the pasta about in it, then throw in the parsley and watercress and toss again.

Serves 6 as a starter; 4 as a main course.