December 21, 2013 by Marios

Red Wine Braised Octopus / Χταπόδι κρασάτο

I had been in the U.S. for probably a couple of months. I was a freshman in college and on that particular night, my new American friends and I were sitting around the lounge of our college dorm talking about the kinds of things only freshmen can find interesting. At some point, the discussion turned to food and more specifically, food people found disgusting. Liver, intestines, tongue, brains, anything with a head on it, anything with tentacles, all were things tossed around by everyone in their attempt to out-disgust each other.

Everyone but me, that is. Because, as I explained to my increasingly horrified audience, these were all things I grew up eating. As I described a few occasions when my family sat down for a special Sunday lunch and my sister and I each got a whole, roasted baby lamb’s head in our plates, how we used to spread the soft-like-butter brains on our piece of bread — “to get smarter” our dad told us with a wink while he ate the eyeballs, because even we had limits and wouldn’t eat the squishy orbs — and how we used our forks to scrape the melt-in-your-mouth cheeks off the lamb skull, I realized that a couple of people were ready to pass out.

So I kept going and described the traditional Easter dish of kokoretsi: liver, heart, lung, kidneys, and other organs wrapped in intestines and cooked on a skewer over hot coals.

I soon learned to accept the squeamishness of most Americans when it comes to a lot of food I have no problem eating. But there’s one case I still find baffling: those who don’t like to eat “things with tentacles.” That means octopus (or squid). How could you not love octopus? Nothing compares when it comes to texture and taste. If cooked properly, it’s tender with a tiny bit of chewiness, with the taste of the ocean along with a distinct meaty flavor that pairs so well with red wine or vinegar.

This recipe comes from my mom. It’s the way I always ate octopus growing up. Braised in red wine and vinegar for a long time, until it melts in your mouth. The toughest part about this recipe is cutting the octopus, which can be a little slippery, but once that is done, the rest is a piece of cake. Try it, even if you are not a fan of “things with tentacles.” I bet you’ll change your mind.

Red Wine Braised Octopus

Makes 3-4 servings

Note: I usually buy whole octopus frozen and defrost it in the fridge. It’s preferable to buy frozen octopus. In fact, freezing freshly caught octopus and then defrosting it is a good way to tenderize it. Do not add salt to the octopus when cooking it. It is naturally salty. In fact, most of the octopus is salt water that will evaporate in the first part of the recipe.

Ingredients:

3 lbs octopus, cleaned and cut into 1.5″-2″ pieces
1 cup red wine
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2-3/4 cup water
1 bay leaf
black pepper

Directions:

Place cut octopus in a large pot. Do not add anything else in the pot. Turn the heat on medium and cook octopus until almost all of its water has evaporated (or as my mom always says “until it drinks its water”). The octopus pieces will turn deep pink and shrink considerably.

When only a little bit of liquid remains in the pot, add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer with a lid loosely covering the pot until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened (1.5-2 hours). Taste and season with black pepper if necessary.

Serve with rice or pasta.

December 14, 2013 by Marios

Lemon Cornmeal Pistachio Muffins

Every now and then, I’ll see a recipe title and I will know, instantly, that not only will I make that recipe, but that I will love the end result. That is exactly what happened with these muffins. Their recipe comes from Baked Elements: The Importance of Being Baked in 10 Favorite Ingredients, the amazing cookbook by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. The first time I leafed through the book, as soon as I saw the words “lemon,” “cornmeal,” and “pistachio” together in the title, I immediately bookmarked it.

If I remember correctly, it was the first recipe I tried from that cookbook and I wasn’t mistaken. The end result was indeed as great as I thought it would be. These are not super sweet muffins. They are not giant, moist, cakey muffins, like those you’ll find at your grocery store. They are almost hearty. They are slightly tangy, with a satisfying crunch from the cornmeal and a finishing nuttiness from the pistachios on top. They make a great breakfast but an even better snack in the afternoon with some hot tea.

Lemon Cornmeal Pistachio Muffins – From Baked Elements: The Importance of Being Baked in 10 Favorite Ingredients

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shelled pistachios
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon
3 oz unsalted butter (3/4 stick), melted and cooled
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they are coarsely chopped. Remove 1/4 cup of the chopped pistachios and set aside. Continue to process the remaining pistachios in the food processor until they are almost powdery.

Preheat the oven to 400º F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan (or use paper cups to line it).

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the sour cream, the lemon juice, the zest and the butter and whisk them until they are combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour cornmeal, sugar, salt, the powdery pistachios, and the baking powder. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in it. Fold everything together until just mixed. Don’t overmix them.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full and sprinkle the tops with the coarsely chopped pistachios. Bake for about 12-15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Transfer the pan on a wire rack and let it cool for 10 minutes. Take the muffins out and serve immediately or let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap for 2 days. They also freeze very well.

December 7, 2013 by Marios

The Better With Lemon 2013 Holiday Gift Guide

Are you suffering from gift anxiety? Is the holiday season especially hard on you? Do you wish you could just give everyone a gift card to Amazon.com and be done with it all?

Now there’s hope. For all the people on your list (except those who eat hot pockets for dinner and those who are too young to know how to hold a fork), we present the first annual Better With Lemon Holiday Gift Guide. All of the suggestions listed here have been thoroughly tested by our team of experts (ok, it’s just Steve and I) and they are guaranteed to spread joy to all (at the very least, to you, if you decide to buy all of these gifts for yourself).

So, in no particular order, we present twelve gift suggestions for the 2013 holiday season (click on the title or photo for a link where you can buy them):

1. Hell’s Kitchen Peanut Butter

This is no ordinary peanut butter. It’s sweet and nutty, definitely crunchy, and absolutely irresistible. Spread it on bread and top with some honey and you have breakfast and dessert all rolled into one. Or roll one tablespoon of it at a time into a ball and the dip them in melted chocolate to create the easiest chocolate-peanut butter truffles you’ve ever made. Whoever you give this to will thank you and hate you, because no other peanut butter will ever measure up for them.

2. OXO Good Grips Grill Pan Brush

This is for those on your list whose chores include washing the dishes. Perfect for scrubbing persistent stuck-on food from pots and pans. I use it on my cast iron skillet all the time.

3. OXO Good Grips Solid Stainless Steel Ice Cream Scoop

As you probably guessed by now from reading this blog, Steve and I eat a lot of ice cream. We’ve gone through several ice cream scoops until we discovered this one. It cuts through ice cream better than any other one we’ve ever used. And the stainless steel scoop doesn’t chip or discolor, even after multiple washes in the dishwasher.

4. Absolute Beginner’s Cookbook, Revised 3rd Edition: Or How Long Do I Cook a 3 Minute Egg?

More than two decades ago, when I was a freshman in college, I cooked my first dish: instant ramen noodles. That was enough to get me interested in cooking. But I needed some help. So, off I went to the bookstore (we still had those back then) and this cookbook caught my eye. I used it non-stop and made some of the recipes in it for years to come. So, for those on your list who need an introduction to cooking, this is the perfect gateway drug.

5. The Breakfast Book

Steve and I have given this book as a gift to so many of our friends, that we should really start getting paid as its official marketing team. It is so worth it. Recipe after recipe, we have marveled at the simplicity and brilliance of what Marion Cunningham has put together in this book. It’s worth it just for the raised waffles recipe alone.

6. Slow Cooker Revolution

Do you have someone on your list who has in the past remarked that they have a slow cooker that they never use? Give them this book and be prepared to be served slow cooker meals by them every time they invite you to dinner for the next two years. Not that you will be complaining.

7. Trudeau Aroma Aerating Pourer with Stand

Yeah, sure, the best way to aerate wine is to decant it and let it breathe for a while. But who has time for that on a Wednesday night, when you Must. Have. Wine. Now. This aerator does the job in seconds. And as an added benefit, it serves as a perfect pourer, guaranteeing that you will not end up with drops of red wine on your table or your lap.

8. Jerusalem: A Cookbook

What can I tell you? Just buy the damn thing for yourself and try to not eat a double portion of the stuffed eggplant the minute it comes out of the oven. Then, buy it as a gift for everyone you know.

9. La Tourangelle Toasted Pumpkin Seed Oil, 8.45-Ounce Tins (Pack of 2)

The word “nutty” was invented for this oil. It is the king of seasoning oils (yeah, I went there, olive oil).

10. Minus 8 Vinegar

So, here’s what you do. You buy a bottle of this vinegar for someone who is very special to you. You give it to them and make sure that you are there when they open it. When they look at you with a puzzled look (“are you really giving me vinegar for the holidays?”) tell them to open it and get a spoon. Watch their eyes light up when they taste a spoonful. Then you taste a spoonful. Then they taste a spoonful. Then you taste a spoonful. Then they taste a spoonful.

Yeah, it’s that good.

11. Kyocera Revolution Series 5-1/2-Inch Santoku Knife, Red Handle

Perfectly sharp. Forever. No acid can corrode it. And things don’t stick to it when you slice them. It feels like a toy knife in your hand, but it can slice like crazy. Give it only to those who are careful with knives.

12. Craft Coffee Subscription

Once a month you get three packets of carefully selected coffee. Each coffee is blind taste-tested by the people of Craft Coffee and each one is distinctly different. This one’s for the coffee lovers on your list.

==========

There you have it. Twelve gift suggestions to ease your holiday buying a little bit. You’re welcome 🙂

December 4, 2013 by Marios

Agrumato Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I didn’t have a post for you last weekend. I do have something coming up for next weekend, but for now I wanted to share with you this amazing olive oil. It’s called Agrumato Lemon and it’s an olive oil that is actually pressed with lemons. The result is a classic flavor combination: grassy, smooth olive oil with sharp, zippy lemon.

The first time I got this (Steve gave it to me as a gift), I was skeptical. I thought it would taste artificial or that the lemon would be overpowering. But in fact it’s neither. This isn’t cooking oil. It’s a condiment, as good olive oil is supposed to be used. Drizzle it over roasted veggies or make a simple vinaigrette with it. Our favorite way to use it is to drizzle it over grilled chicken breasts and then top them with some fresh or dried oregano.

You can buy it on Amazon or at Zingerman’s.

November 22, 2013 by Marios

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love that it’s a holiday that celebrates something really positive and universal: being thankful for all the good things in your life. How wonderful is that? Coming from a culture where every holiday is either religious or celebrating a bloody war of some kind, I immediately embraced Thanksgiving when I came to the U.S.

When I was a young college student in the U.S., my new American friends invited me back to their homes to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families. This was such a generous gesture, it made me love this country and want to be a part of it even more. I realized what actual hospitality is, when parents, who hadn’t seen their kids in months, went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and welcome in their homes during a holiday that is so family-centered.

And then there’s the food. Thanksgiving introduced me to many new and amazing delights, like cranberry sauce and pecan pie. It also introduced me to some food traditions I never quite learned to like, like pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie, both of which I find strange (who wants dessert made from a side dish?).

Over the years, I’ve cooked many Thanksgiving meals and have invited friends and strangers to share them with me. For the last several years, Steve and I have had our own tradition. We have our Thanksgiving in Paris, where we cook a traditional meal for all of our friends there. We get the turkey from a neighborhood butcher who cooks it for us on the rotisserie. We make everything else, including a traditional dish from Steve’s family called under-the-sea salad, a concoction of cream cheese, lime jello, and canned pears that only an American could come up with.

I don’t have that recipe for you today, but I do have a recipe that Steve makes for roasted tomatillo salsa. It’s perfect for snacking on while everyone is waiting for the turkey to finish, or while they are playing video games or watching football in the living room. The photos and preparation of this recipe post were all done by Steve.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa – Adapted from Epicurious.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos or 3 (11-ounce) cans tomatillos
3-5 fresh serrano chiles
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of half a lime

Directions:

Preheat broiler.

If using fresh tomatillos, remove husks and rinse under warm water to remove stickiness. If using canned tomatillos, drain and measure out 2 cups. Broil onion, chiles, garlic, and fresh tomatillos (do not broil canned ones) on the top rack of the oven, turning occasionally, until tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 10 minutes. (Smaller items, like the garlic might need to be removed early.)

Peel garlic and pull off tops of chiles. Put all ingredients in a blender, including cilantro, salt, and lime juice and purée. Chill in refrigerator and serve with tortilla chips.

November 16, 2013 by Marios

Baked Doughnuts

The night before I joined the army, the aliens came.

I’m not sure why my parents thought that it was a good idea to spend the eve of my enlistment eating dinner at a restaurant. Perhaps they thought it would be a good distraction. God knows we all needed one. But there we were, sitting al fresco on a hot summer night, eating roast lamb and whatever else my dad had ordered, when I saw them.

“What is that?” I said, pointing at the row of lights that twinkled in the hazy air, hovering high above, somewhere far from where we were sitting. Everyone looked up. We immediately started to guess their nature and it wasn’t long before the UFO possibility came up. This was the 80s and I was a 17-year-old that had grown up with Carl Sagan’s voice describing the “billions and billions of stars out there” and who had read and worshiped Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. It seemed entirely possible to me that what we were seeing was actually a circle of lights viewed from the side, like a great big shiny doughnut resting on the dark canvas of the sky.

The lights became the only topic of conversation for my family and soon other tables at the restaurant noticed them and started to point up at the sky, some laughing nervously. My dad asked the waiter if he knew what they were but he said that he had no idea and that he was sure he had never seen those lights before. This was important. The lights were new. The UFO explanation had gained support.

After dinner, as we were driving back home I kept looking out of the car window at those lights that still hung in the sky, hoping that yes, indeed, they were an alien ship, and that when the morning came, the world would change forever. And maybe this thing that I had feared since I could remember; the menacing rhinoceros that had been charging towards me from the moment I was first told that all boys like me would have to join the army when they finished high school; this experience that, based on the stories I had heard repeatedly from every adult man in my life including my dad, was going to be hard, traumatic, and painful; maybe, just maybe, becoming a soldier simply wouldn’t happen for me.

But when the morning came, there was nothing in the news, nothing in the paper, and as we all got ready for the long drive to the camp, where I would say goodbye to my parents and sister, all of them putting on a brave face for me, saving their tears for the drive back home, we never mentioned the bright lights in the sky.

It wasn’t until weeks later, after basic training was over and I was allowed a day long leave, when I asked my dad if he ever found out what those lights were. “Oh, it turned out to be a new restaurant that opened up on the mountains,” he said. “I guess it was such a clear night, we could see its lights all the way down here.”

By then it didn’t matter. My two-year military adventure had begun and I had discovered that, like just about everything in life, I could learn how to survive it. Without the help of aliens.

Baked Doughnuts – Adapted from The Breakfast Book

Note: These doughnuts are incredibly delicious, even though they are baked and not fried. They are tender and really flavorful. Don’t skimp on the nutmeg. I know it seems like a lot but in the end, you can taste it just enough to give them an unmistakable doughnut-y flavor.

Ingredients:

For doughnuts:
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
3 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water, and shortening until the shortening is melted. Let it cool to look warm (around 105 degrees F).

In a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, the 1/4 cup of sugar, salt, nutmeg, eggs, 2 cups of the flour, and the lukewarm milk mixture. Beat until well blended. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. The dough will be very wet and sticky. Cover the bowl and let it double in volume for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.

When the dough has finished rising, scrape it onto a board or countertop that is very generously dusted with flour. Dust a little flour on top of the dough and flour your hands. Using your fingertips, pat the dough out into a circle or rectangle that is about 1/2 inch thick.

Use a 3 1/2″ round cookie cutter and cut out doughnuts, placing them on the prepared baking sheets. Using a 1 1/2″ round cookie cutter, cut out doughnut holes from the middle of the doughnuts, placing them also on the prepared baking sheets. The donuts rise but they don’t spread so you only need to leave about an inch between them. Continue until you have used up the dough. There will be lots of scraps of dough that remain. I like to gather them and roll them into long flat strips that I twist and place on the baking sheets as well.

Let the doughnuts rest and rise for 20 minutes, uncovered.

Bake the first baking sheet for 10 minutes (you can leave the second sheet to rise for an extra 10 minutes while the first is baking), until the donuts are turning slightly golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and immediately brush them generously with the melted butter. Rolle brushed doughnuts in the cinnamon sugar.

Doughnuts are great served warm but they will keep covered for a couple of days. They also freeze really well.

November 8, 2013 by Marios

Roasted Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup

Sometime in early February, there will come a day when I think “If I have another butternut/acorn/spaghetti/whatever squash soup/gratin/side dish I will barf.” But that day is at least two months away. Right now, it’s the honeymoon period for me and winter squash.

What a perfect food they are. Large and substantial, they keep for long periods of time without the need for refrigeration. They are nutritious and oh so flexible. They can be roasted, boiled, mashed, sliced, blended, you name it. And to top it all, they are sweet, with natural sugars that caramelize under a blast of heat, adding notes of things tropical, far from the cold winters where they reside.

Needless to say, everyone and their mother (literally) has a recipe for butternut squash soup. But I wanted to create my own. I chose to pair butternut squash, roasted at high heat to get some nice caramelization, with coconut, admittedly a classic pairing. I kept things simple and used a selection of mostly Thai flavors. The soup lets the squash shine but it with the unmistakable background of lime and ginger and fish sauce.

The soup is lovely as is, but I’ve found that it really comes alive with a few drops of hot sauce sprinkled on top. I’ve been using Louisiana hot sauce with great success. To make it more substantial, you can add some sautéed shrimp like in the photos here. Or, as I did last weekend, place a small mount of Trader Joe’s Dried Kimchi in the center of each bowl of soup. The combination was phenomenal.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup

Serves 3-4 as appetizer

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs (650 gr) peeled and seeded butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubes (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 red thai chili pepper, roughly chopped (optional)
Hot sauce or chili oil (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place butternut squash cubes in large bowl, add oil, and mix well with your hands. Place on large baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, turning once or twice, until the edges of the squash cubes begging to turn brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Place roasted butternut squash and the remaining ingredients (except the chili oil or hot sauce) in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour in a medium pot and heat over medium heat. If the soup is too thick, add some more stock, one tablespoon at a time to thin it out.

Serve hot with some hot sauce or chili oil if you like.