the constant hunger

Stuffed Whole Branzino with Leeks in Vinaigrette

Recipe inspiration comes to me from various sources. I am inspired by a cooking show or a seasonal ingredient. I could get an idea from a food magazine or one of dozens of recipes that are delivered to my inbox. During these tough economic times, I sometimes get inspiration from an ingredient that happens to be on sale. This particular week Whole Foods had a special on whole branzino. 

Branzino, or European seabass, is a white fish with delicate flavors. The selection at Whole Foods was fresh. My husband and I chose two fish with clear eyes (cloudy eyes means the fish is not fresh) and we watched attentively as the fish monger ripped the guts out of the branzinos. 

To accompany the fish meal, I thought a vegetable recipe would be best. I had just read a post on another food blog, Orangette, and got the idea to make leeks in vinaigrette. To read that post, click here. When cooking with leeks, the dark leafy part is usually cut off and discarded. I hated just throwing the leaves away, so my husband came up with an idea that made clean up after the meal a breeze. Read on to find out.

Stuffed Whole Branzino

Ingredients

2 branzinos cleaned by the fish monger

2 bunches each of flat-leaf parsley and cilantro

1 lemon sliced and 1 for later

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil and more for later

salt and pepper to taste

dark green leaves from the leeks

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Generously salt and pepper the interior of the fish. Stuff each fish with one bunch of parsley and cilantro. Arrange a few slices of lemon. Drizzle the interior and exterior of the fish with olive oil.

On a large baking sheet, arrange the dark green leek leaves and place the fish on top. Cooking times will vary depending on the oven and size of fish. Check the fish after 15 minutes. Our fish took about 25-30 minutes. 

Be sure to carefully remove the bones before eating. My husband is an expert at this. Once the bones have been removed, squeeze some lemon juice over the fish and drizzle with a good olive oil. To read about what olive oil I used, click here. 

Leeks in Vinaigrette from Orangette

Ingredients

3 leeks 

3/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 shallots sliced

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste 

Method

Cut off the dark, leafy section of the leeks. Remove the hairy end, being careful to not cut too much as the leek will fall apart when cooking. 

Cut the leek lengthwise right down the middle, leaving a good section intact so the leek stays together. Wash under cold water.

Boil the leeks in a large pot of salted water till tender. Remove from the water and place them on a clean dish cloth to soak up the excess water.

In a small bowl wisk together the rest of the ingredients. Arrange the leeks on a plate and pour the vinagrette over the leeks. They will absorb more vinaigrette if you dress them while they're still warm. 

This meal was unbelievably easy to pull off and it looked sensational. And to think it all started with some fish on special. 

Happy cooking!

 

Eating Out: Lobster Bake Surprise

A couple of weekends ago, my husband told me he was planning a surprise for me. I LOVE surprises. Quite frankly, I don't know many people who don't. Once he had announced the news that I had a surprise coming, I immediately began grilling him. "What is it? Are we going someplace? Did you buy me something? Does it involve eating and drinking?" I know he always regrets telling me that he's gonna surprise me, but I just can't help myself. Just the word pulls me back into childhood and all I want to do is jump around and guess what it is.

The initial surprise was a weekend getaway to Maine. We would spend a couple of days seaside eating freshly-caught lobsters, but apparently it was too long a drive if we were going just for the weekend. 

Luckily, there was a (surprise) plan B. Instead of driving to Maine we brought Maine to us. We spent our Sunday afternoon at Ditch Plains, a fish shack in the West Village, enjoying a generous lobster meal.

As a side note, I've been voraciously reading The New York Diet section in New York Magazine where the daily eating habits of some famous people is chronicled. They recently posted Ditch Plains' Chef Marc Murphy's food log and, damn, he eats good food. Now where were we? Ah, yes, my lobster bake.

We quickly got down to business and ordered a warm crab dip. We wiped the bowl clean in a matter of two minutes tops. 

The main event was a 1 1/2 pound lobster served with all the delicious sides you come to expect from a traditional bake: corn on the cob, potatoes, sausage and coleslaw. 

The lobster was as delicious as it looked. My husband's favorite part (besides the $4 beers) was the lobster tail. I must say, I tend to drool over the claws. 

All in all, I was happy with my surprise. I wouldn't have traded my lazy afternoon in the city for a seaside weekend. We had a great meal and we even wore the cheesy lobster bibs. (You can see my husband sporting his in the photo above)

And to all my readers, a quick announcement. I am away on holiday all week and will be back posting on the 22nd.

Happy cooking!

My Night Off from the Kitchen

I love winning a good bet, especially when it means the loser has to cook me a gourmet dinner. Recently I had the pleasure of winning a bet against my husband and rubbing his nose in it. He decided that "gourmet dinner" meant steak, mussels and shrimp. Ah, a man after my own heart. I was already starving and we had only just stepped out of the market with our ingredients in tow. 

For the next couple of hours, I was on the couch sipping wine, watching bad TV and occasionally asking him if he needed my help (and secretly hoping he'd say "no"). Here is what my prize gourmet dinner consisted of.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

2 avocados

10 cooked shrimps roughly chopped (he used rock shrimp)

2-3 tablespoons tzatziki (don't knock it till you try it)

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Keep skins for later.

2. Add shrimp, tzatziki and salt and pepper and mix.

3. Spoon mixture into the avocado skins. They make great bowls for the salad.

Next came an absolutely mind-blowing plate of mussels. As tasty as they were, they were a bit on the heavier side and we decided next time we'd make only the mussels and eat them paired with a delicious white wine. 

Grilled Mussels with Herbed Bread Crumbs 

Recipe adapted from Alex Guarnaschelli from "Alex's Day Off"

1/2 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves peeled and pressed

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 sprigs mint chopped

3 dozen mussels scrubbed clean

1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat double-burner grill or grill pan.

2. In a small skillet heat the olive oil on low heat. Add garlic and stir with a wooden spoon. Add some salt and wait a couple of minutes for garlic to soften, but not brown. 

3. Stir in bread crumbs and chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

4. Scatter mussels on the grill in a single layer. As the mussels open quickly remove them with tongs and place on a serving platter. Once they're all done, squeeze the lemon juice over them and spoon over the bread crumb mixture. Serve hot.

As if the mussels weren't amazing enough, my husband also cooked a bistecca tagliata. 

Bistecca Tagliata 

Adapted from Adam Rappaport's recipe in "GQ"

1 thick rib-eye steak

1 bunch arugula

1 bell pepper 

1 lemon

Parmigiano-Reggiano 

Extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and pepper to taste 

1. Season steak with salt and pepper and bring to room temperature. 

2. Grill till your desired doneness, but medium-rare works best with this recipe. Slice bell pepper in half and grill it. Set the steak aside and let it rest for five minutes. Remove bell pepper from grill and slice it.

3. Scatter arugula on a serving dish and layer a few slices of the cheese over it. Cut a few lemon wedges and place on platter.

4. Put the steak on a cutting board and slice it against the grain. Lay over the arugula and pour over any juices. Arrange the bell peppers over the steak. 

5. Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt. 

This dinner was finger-lickin' good. I love it when my husband decides to cook. Can't wait till his next gourmet meal. 

Happy cooking! 

Light and Easy: Salmon & Corn

Here is what I strive for every day. I want to spend the least amount of time in the kitchen and produce the most amount of flavor on my plate. The best way to do that, to my knowledge, is to use the freshest ingredients you can afford. For an easy dinner, that ingredient is usually fish.

Fish is not only a healthy option (if you haven't heard about omega-3 fatty acids and its benefits you're living under a rock) but it's one of those minimum effort-maximum flavor ingredients. And the winner in the category of "my favorite fish" is... Salmon! I could eat it poached, grilled, fried, smoked and, of course, absolutely raw. It has a rich flavor that needs little seasoning. 

In this quick recipe, I've prepared it with basil-infused olive oil (last seen on my halibut). A bunch of fresh basil leaves, 1/3 cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend everything together and spread over 4 perfectly portioned salmon fillets. Wrap each fillet in parchment paper, place on baking sheet and broil in the oven for about 10 minutes. So easy and so tasty.

To accompany my basil salmon, I boiled some corn. I'm trying to stay away from butter (yeah, we'll see how long that lasts) so instead I topped the corn with a touch of salt and pepper, crumbled feta and a fresh squeeze of lime. The only thing that made the corn taste better was a sprinkling of chili powder. 

  

Smoked Oyster Hors d'Oeuvre

I think I have a sentimental attachment to smoked oysters. It reminds me of lazy Saturdays when my sister, my dad and I were starving and dinner wasn't ready yet. My dad would rummage through the pantry and take out a box of smoked oysters and we'd eat them on crackers and polish off a bottle of wine. I recently had some with my sister and it was just as amazing as I remembered. 

Here's how to create this pre-dinner snack. 

1. Spread some cream cheese on crackers.

2. Place a smoked oyster on each cracker.

3. Open a bottle of Prosecco. 

4. Eat and drink with someone you love.