the definitive chickpea salad

My enthusiasm for a Mediterranean-style chickpea salad continues unabated. This is now its third straight week as lunch staple. So it is time to reflect on the recipe a little and give some more precise measurements.

First, I covered two cups of dried chickpeas with two inches of water in a large mixing bowl and let them sit overnight (about 11 hours). I then simmered the chickpeas for just over two hours. My simmer was not well controlled, sadly, and a few chickpeas did burn. Alas! I had to add water once (also not bad). Also, I did not wash the beans after draining them from their simmer, as I'm still trying to soften the texture without making them mush.

The yield on two cups dry beans is 5 1/2 cups cooked.

I then dress it with the following:

3/4 cup parsley
2 large garlic cloves (pressed)
1/3 cup lemon juice (two small lemons)
1/4 cup olive oil
kosher salt to taste

It is possible I overdid the chickpeas this time, but this is one of those "only time will tell" dishes. It tastes different on day two and day three, etc. It is usually best on day three. The last two times, I had to add salt. I salted a little more heavily this time, including adding a little salt to the simmering water.

UPDATE:

I've found that soaking longer actually works much better than cooking longer. I was soaking about 10-11 hours originally. Now I went to a 13 hour soak and the chickpeas turned out a much better consistency after ONLY 1 1/2 hours of simmering.

dessert wine: Royal Tokaji Tokaji

At H. Harper Station two nights ago we enjoyed, among other things, a glass of Royal Tokaji dessert wine. I make a simple record of it here because it would be worth finding again and actually tasting--as well as an opportunity to learn about Hungarian wines. So--will take the opportunity.

H. Harper Station in Atlanta

Dining at H. Harper Station is not quite an adventure, but it is a ride. And that may be the appropriate metaphor. The bar/restaurant (and one might engage in an all-night argument about which ought to take precedence) is located on the site of an historic railway station. The owner wisely avoided making it into a theme restaurant of the low order, but the details are subtly reinforcing. The restaurant is named after the owner's maternal grandfather, a railroad engineer, and is a self-described "watering stop," giving anyone who enters the immediate sense upon entry that she has an hour to kill before the train whistle blows and the journey continues. The historical space is well appointed, warm without being too bright, and modern without being too ickily hipster. Those who relish atmosphere will take to the place upon entry.

The drinks are fabulous. This is a craft bar with eyebrow-raising liquor selections, thoughtful drafts, and a decent wine list. The bartenders are savvy, hip, friendly, and talented. Our barkeep was Mercedes and we spent much of the night bantering about drinks. But by the end of the night we had conversed with all the hard workers behind the bar about various liquors and other life topics. What was impressive was that they seemed to understand the perfect balance between genuine friendliness and professional distance. I enjoyed talking with them immensely, and they eagerly obliged my questions, and returned them. But they did not hang around or bend my ear, or otherwise make me feel uncomfortable. What a rarity--a bartending corps that understands both personality and boundaries.

The highlight of the evening was a moment of creation. It began with the first round of cocktails we ordered. My wife ordered a tequila drink called the "Calexico." I ordered a classic Manhattan. My wife's drink brought the house down. It began with a jalepeno-infused tequila muddled with fresh pineapple, then sweetened with agave nectar and finished with fee brothers Aztec Chocolate bitters. It was a layered drink, sweet immediately, then followed by smokiness and spice, and finished by the bitterness of the chocolate. It was a real gem. We raved to our bartender, who said that they were looking for other ways to utilize the chocolate bitters. I suggested bourbon, as I think the two an excellent match. Mercedes poured a Woodford Reserve bourbon and made an old fashioned with the chocolate bitters as an experiment, and it turned out brilliantly.

As good as the drinks are, one should not expect H. Harper Station to be anything like the top bars in the country. This is not the Violet Hour of Chicago, with house-made bitters and ice carved to fit the glass. There is a limit to what H. Harper Station does, but what it does do it does very well. In fact, it may be one of the top three bars in Atlanta for craft cocktails. (Pura Vida and Sound Table come to mind as competitors).

The food should not be slighted. Traditional southern food is the cuisine, and the menu is of limited ingredients, but this does not prevent the chef from plating some inspired food. In fact, simplicity is a virtue in this setting. Any good cocktail--like most good food--ought to be about three ingredients, and I appreciate the ways in which the menu seems to reflect this, and still amaze me with a range of tastes. The emphasis on local ingredients is not unique to H. Harper Station (of course) but they are so well executed that this is one of the few places in Atlanta where I have felt at home in every sense of the word. If I lived in Reynoldstown, I would dine there weekly, or more. As it is, I am contemplating heading out for lunch once a week from Georgia State.

some short rib recipes

Doing research on some short rib recipes. Here's one for braised, English-cut ribs in a hoisin sauce. Here's a korean gal-bi recipe (flanken cut). And another (I think--maybe the same one). Here's an english-cut korean recipe. From Food & Wine, an Asian-Spiced Short Ribs recipe. From Real Simple, a slow-cooked english-cut Asian Short Ribs recipe.

From Epicurious, a straight grilling recipe for flanken cut short ribs. And another grilling recipe that has an interesting note about substituting palm sugar for granulated--apparently it brings hints of coconut and vanilla into play.

Much of this will depend on whether the short ribs at the Farmer's Market are Korean cut or not. If the Flanken cut is 1-2 inches thick, you are stuck with braising. If they are cut 1/3 inch thick, you can grill. If memory serves, I can get the Korean-style cut, so I'll be looking for a marinade and grilling recipe.

Praising Braising

I have of late become enamored with braised meat and have long since coveted simple braised dishes to be able to whip up on a slow Sunday that will yield not just one rich meal, but rich leftovers throughout the week. I tried my hand today at one--a pork shoulder braised in a white wine reduction/chicken stock sauce and served with ricotta dumplings. The family was pleased with it. I was not.

I am still trying to wrap my head around what was missing from the dish. The pork tasted lifeless to me. I am used to smoking pork shoulders, and that produces a slightly drier but more flavorful meat. Which I find odd, given that this process is perpetually basting the meat with a powerful liquid. The reserved sauce, once reduced and strained, was fantastic. However, I did feel like the chicken stock to wine ratio was a bit skewed. (8 cups of stock went in after reducing the initial 2 cups of wine to virtually nothing).

So it got me thinking. Perhaps it would be a good idea to smoke a pork shoulder for two hours and then transfer it to the dutch oven for braising in a smaller amount of liquid for two hours (it took four hours of braising in the oven to reduce a four pound boston butt to fork tenderness). This might enable me to produce a sauce with less stock while also imparting more smokiness and character to the meat. It is well worth a try.

One note--it is imperative that the pork be carmelized before serving. It is quite easy. Simply fry in olive oil for five minutes without flipping or otherwise stirring the meat. Just let it cook. Do it in a single layer, and don't crowd the pan (or use a damn big pan).

More thoughts on braising to come.

the gin craze

Oh, Gin. The Cat's Meow. I've been playing around with gin and bitters in various combinations. Gin, aromatic bitters and simple syrup is a good standby--essentially the old fashioned with a simple gin. But the gin disappears in the drink, unlike whiskey. So tonight I tried a variation on the gibson--gin, fee brothers lemon bitters, and dolin vermouth.

It's a start. Will research.

perfecting the tri tip

I used the following formula to produce a good tri-tip roast last night.

Make ahead one batch of kickass garlic-parsley oil. Coat the tri tip with 1/2 of the mixture, liberally salt and pepper the meat, and then grill.

the grill:

550 degrees. 3 minutes per side sear. (6 minutes)
350-400 degrees. 20 minutes. direct heat.

The result: tasty, and everything from Medium at the small end to rare at the big end.

Problems:

First, my grill had too many small charcoal bits in it, and as such the fire did not burn evenly. I have to remember not to fill up the firepit. There's no other way around this--a small number of coals provides good heat. Too many produces compact charcoal that suffocates the fire. The end result is a grill that takes forever to heat up and does not burn evenly.

What this meant was that the sear was not even. Parts were nicely seared, but others were only moderately browned. The fire must be evenly distributed so that the browning is even. The texture of the meat should be there, consistently, or else there will be problems.

Second, this recipe requires a squeeze of lemon at the end, AND I ALWAYS FORGET THIS. The steak gets enormous flavor from the garlic-parsley oil, but it needs a little acid to offset the fat and provide contrast.

Third, the timing could be altered a little. I have avoided using the platesetter because the fire dies down enough so as to turn this into an oven. Moreover, it is quite easy to get the temperature down to 350 degrees. It could stand a few more minutes. Not too many more, however. 25 at most.

chickpea salad

I am currently rehydrating chickpeas. I covered them with 1 1/2 inches water in a bowl this morning and will let them soak for 12 hours before simmering them for 1-2 hours tonight. The goal here is to develop a simple chickpea salad I can make up weekly and take out for lunches, or sides for dinners, etc.

There is a simple recipe at bon appetit which will form a base for making salads. It gives me something to do with my fresh herbs all year round, which is important given that I harbor guilty feelings about wasted herbs. I am currently overproducing cilantro and parsley, both of which would be brilliant in these kinds of salads. (This presumes my parsley survived the recent frosts.)

I will continue to update this post through the first salad.

UPDATE.

I simmered the soaked beans for 1 hour. This produced a nice texture for the beans. Soft, but with enough substance to retain their character. I then pressed two large garlic cloves into 2 tablespoons of oil and let the mixture sit for one hour. Then I squeezed in the juice of two lemons and added 1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley.

UPDATE.

The beans will require more simmering. When cold, they proved a little too crunchy. Also, the salad tastes its best on the third day, when all the flavors meld together.

steel cut oats

I've been making oatmeal with the steel cut oats for some time now, and believe I have settled on a good recipe.

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a pot. Toast 1 cup of oats for 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cook 20 minutes.

Add just under 1 cup of milk (depending on how milky you actually want it), and a tablespoon of half and half. Cook another 10-15 minutes.

Then serve as desired--raisins and walnuts; brown sugar and cinnamon; bananas; etc.

spinach sauteed with garlic

I took this recipe from the food network:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic (6 cloves)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Lemon
• Sea or kosher salt, optional

Directions

Rinse the spinach well in cold water to make sure it's very clean. Spin it dry in a salad spinner, leaving just a little water clinging to the leaves.

In a very large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute, but not until it's browned. Add all the spinach, the salt, and pepper to the pot, toss it with the garlic and oil, cover the pot, and cook it for 2 minutes. Uncover the pot, turn the heat on high, and cook the spinach for another minute, stirring with a wooden spoon, until all the spinach is wilted. Using a slotted spoon, lift the spinach to a serving bowl and top with the butter, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkling of sea or kosher salt. Serve hot.

NOTES: I am not sure how much spinach I had, but it was an organic bunch I picked up from the DeKalb Farmer's Market. Certainly felt like more than a pound and a half. The garlic overpowered the dish, so I will cut it to four cloves in the future. Also, I forgot the squeeze of lemon--alas! a little acid would have a genteel touch on what is otherwise a simple way to prepare spinach.

Pollo de Ancho

Now comes the versatile chicken dish. Easy enough for weekday meetings, although allow thirty minutes for prep and another hour plus for cooking.

Start by chopping an onion. Peel and seed three ancho chilies and rehydrate in hot water while chopping. Peel two garlic cloves, and chop up some fresh oregano. Also chop up cilantro for garnish later. Once the anchos have rehydrated (takes about twenty minutes), chop them into strips.

At this point, the oven should be preheated to 350 degrees.

Next, brown the chicken in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I use eight bone-in thighs, remove the skin, and brown them in my dutch oven. Once they have appropriately browned I add the onion and oregano and the ancho chilies and let the flavors meld over medium high heat. (I do find that I have to keep reducing the heat during this process, lest I sizzle the onions. The onions taste better if their flavor dissolves into the oil. After a few minutes, I press the garlic (unless I've gotten a wild hair and have chopped it) and cook for one minute. Then I add one cup of dry white wine and one cup of chicken stock and bring to a boil. (the liquid should leave part of the chicken exposed). Then it goes into the oven for thirty minutes to an hour.

Which is a good time to start the rice and black beans. Leftovers make great tacos or quesadillas.

The recipe is adapted from the Elote Cafe Cookbook by Jeff Smedstad. His Sedona-area restaurant was a true experience when I visited Sedona this past December. The locals line up an hour before the restaurant opens to get a table. Unsuspecting visitors like myself encounter the hour and a half wait when we arrive at seven thirty. But the blood orange margaritas were flowing and the popcorn with its cinnamon notes was outstanding. The time on the patio flew by, and we settled in at the bar for dinner at about 9:00. The chef's business partner was tending bar, and he led us through the menu, including the excellent tequila list. By the end of the night, the chef was behind the bar pouring tequila to share and telling us of his early experiences in the business. I quite like his cookbook, even when compared with Bayless's peerless "Authentic Mexican." Some of the dishes are overblown and overdone, like the lamb shank recipe that involves braising in an orange juice-based sauce. But the ancho chicken, at least, is an easy and tasty dish.