Coconut Curried Goat With Rice and Red Lentils

One of my favorite treats as a child growing up in diverse Washington D.C was when my father brought home takeout of curried goat and Roti from some hole in the wall. That was good eating. He was a man that didn’t stray from his staples of Nigerian food, but he did like good Caribbean food. Lately I have been hankering for goat meat. In the Bahamas I was disappointed with their Americanized fare and didn’t see any. I must have been asleep at the the foodie radar to realize goat meat has gone mainstream and is now served in many a restaurant and featured in magazines. Last time I had some goat was at a dumpy Indian restaurant and it was good but had more bone than meat for my tastes. But the sauce was spicy and thick. I purchased my goat at Pete’s Fresh Market a great chain that has a large Mexican and Asian clientele. Any sort of exotic produce or meat is available and they have it at pretty fair prices. I eyed a goat leg in the butcher case. To big for just me, but I need to get one one day for a BBQ. The goat on display looked like rib cages and me not knowing cuts was perplexed. But the butcher told me he could cut it down into pieces for me, I was hoping for a boneless type of cut to cook down, but started off with 6 pounds of pieces. expertly cut up for me. The pieces he gave thankfully had a lot of meat.
6 pounds is a lot and my aim was to cook it down in the pressure cooker and eat of it all this over the weekend. It gets even better the next day.Here is my ‘recipe’. Its not formal, just what I did.

Clean goat meat and pat dry. In an uncovered pressure cooker brown 2 large onions, some tablespoons of curry powder to your taste, cumin, salt, pepper,turmeric ,chili powder, and the meat with a bit of oil. Note the goat has fat, and I didn’t want it to greasy. Cut up and seed about 3 jalapenos or a lesser amount of Scotch bonnet peppers if you can get them( depends on your heat tolerance). Add some cilantro and a cleaned sliced leek , and some leftover chopped tomato to the mix. Mix up . Add about 2 cups of water ( next time I would add less as it creates more liquid). Cover , seal, and cook at a pressure of 15 lbs for 45-50 minutes. Cool down with cold water method or naturally until lid releases. Drain off any excessive liquids and fat( I had about 4 cups I drained off , so next time add less liquid. But I left enough in). Stir in one can of coconut milk to finish. Serve with rice boiled with red lentils and garnish with more fresh cilantro and maybe a some jalapeno if you desire it more spicy.

You can cook this a normal stove top method but the cooking time will be between 2-3 hours. Pressure cooking cuts the time down and yields really tender and succulent meat.

Kochen Sie Deutsch? Ham hocks and Spaetzle.

I have been seeing a lot of ham hocks around the blogosphere lately.Its funny because ham hocks are widely used in the black culture in soul food. I have seen first hand a love hate relationship with this cut of swine. Its been widely substituted by smoked turkey to season greens and such.And most of us wouldn’t be caught dead eating it in polite company . But its cheap and tasty and I’m happy to see a foodie resurgence. In Germany I loved the Eisbein which is the lower more meatier part of the ham hock. A typical ham hock has to much bone, fat, gristle , and skin, to eat alone. But the chunks of meat you get are out of this world. The Eisbein I had in Germany was meat fall of the bone succulent with crispy skin. I tried to recreate this with the lowlier ham hocks. I didn’t get a lot of meat, but I got. The rest went in the trash bin. But it was enough to enhance my homemade spaetzle. I didn’t have a fancy Spaetzle maker, but used a colander with large holes. This dish is for my Certain Someone. You know how some people talk dirty when their loved one is away? Me I cook this German style meal I know he would love to entice him to finish his business abroad and come home quick.

The ham hocks were cooked in a pressure cooker with about 3 cups of water, peppercorns, and 3 cloves of garlic for 45 minutes at a pressure of 15 lbs. I have had a pressure cooker for years and am just starting to discover the joys of it. I cooled it down quickly to release the pressure with the cold water method( running water over the pot and waiting till it cools down enough to release safely). I then roasted them on high to get the skin crispy. The skin is gelatinous but with patience you will get some crispy parts.

Certain Someone would be so proud of me. I made Spaetzle from a cookbook written in German! Maggi Kochstudio. Easy and straightforward. I converted the weights and measures.

Spatzletig for 2

1 3/4 cups flour ( 250 grams)

3 eggs beaten

2/3 cup water ( 1/8 liter)

salt

nutmeg

Water for boiling( approx 2 liters)

Boil your water in a pot.In a bowl place your flour. Add beaten egg,water, salt, and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly ( I used a whisk). Take a large holed colander and place a little mixture in at at time. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon run the mixture back and forth across the hole until it drops in the boiling water. The spaetzle dumplings will rise to the top of the water when done. Remove with a slotted spoon. Season to taste.

I seasoned and tossed mine with a leek sauteed in butter and the garlic from the pressure cooker.Salt , fresh ground pepper and a grating of Parmesan cheese.

Next time when Certain Someone comes home I will got to the butcher and get the Eisbein cut to ensure we have more meat. But this was a tasty trial run.

BYOB: Buttermilk Bread to Cinnamon – Raisin Bread

This weekend I was looking for a bread I could make with Buttermilk . I always have left over Buttermilk from a recipe and wanted to find a practical use for it while keeping my commitment to BYOB. I chose a pretty easy recipe from Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day, which most of you know is a great book and the talk of the blogosphere.Jeff Hertzerg and Zoe Francois have revolutionized home bread baking in a simple , time friendly method that allows the busy home cook /baker to always have fresh bread for their family. If you don’t have this book, I suggest you get it. For those of you who are scared of yeast, this is the perfect foray into Bread Baking for you.

I selected the Buttermilk Bread from the Enriched Bread and Pastry section. If you like a chewy , spongy, white bread, with a soft crust,then try this. The Buttermilk bread made plain is a great sandwich bread. As with all the Basic recipes in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, you can then use the basic for other recipes. Judy’s Board of Directors Cinnamon- Raisin Bread called out to me. This is fantastic Cinnamon bread that’s easy to make once you make the basic dough.
Judy’s Board Of Directors’ Cinnamon- Raisin Bread adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois


2 cups lukewarm water
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
6 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Butter or vegetable oil for greasing the pan

For Swirl:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup raisins
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

To mix Buttermilk Bread Dough:
Mix the yeast , salt, and sugar with liquids( water and buttermilk) in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Add in flour gradually with the dough hook attachment. Do not knead, but mix until all is incorporated.
Cover loosely( the authors advise that it not be airtight) and allow let it rest at Room Temperature until dough rises and collapses ( approx 2 hours) .
Dough can used immediately or put , covered in anon airtight container in the refrigerator. The dough can be stored for up to 7 days and easier to handle when cold.

To Bake:
Grease your loaf pan. On a lightly floured surface roll out a piece of dough into a 8x 16 inch rectangle. I used half of the dough for my baking pan. Brush the dough with egg wash. Sprinkle sugar, cinnamon, and raisins evenly . From the short side up roll in jelly roll fashion and place in greased pan seam side down. Allow to rise/rest in pan 40 minutes ( if dough is used unrefrigerated) or 1 hour and 40 minutes if used refrigerated.
Preheat oven to 375F and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden Brown. * I used some of the remaining egg wash on top of the dough to give the crust a gloss.A lame was used to slash the bread. I also placed my pan on a baking stone to aid in baking.
Remove from pan and allow to cool on wire rack for a few hours before slicing.

Here is the Authors of Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day Pictorial and recipe for Cinnamon Raisin Bread and toast

Meringue Topped Spiced Apple Conserve

I created this dessert while shut in by the weather. Its -17F here in Chicago and my car just wont start. So while waiting for Roadside Assistance from my insurance company to come and give this old girl a jump start,I played in my kitchen. Having apples on hand I came up with this recipe. Spicy apple conserves laced with Ginger Wine, Star Anise, Ground Ginger, and Walnuts topped with a sweetened meringue and baked. Its doesn’t take long to whip this together and it would make a stunning dessert that can be made partially in advance. Relatively low in fat with the exception of the walnuts, it rich in flavor and texture, while being satisfying. Just the dessert you need to get you through Arctic weather , but not leaving you to guilty by indulging.* I used Stones Original Green Ginger Wine which I found in the Bahamas. It’s a product from the UK.
Meringue Topped Spiced Apple Conserve (serves 4)

For the Spiced Apple Conserves
6 apples
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup Ginger Wine
2 Star Anise pods
1tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup sugar
Peel apples, core and chop coarsely into larger chunks.Add to a heavy bottomed sauce pan with the remaining ingredients and slowly simmer until apples are soft. Remove Star Anise and discard.
For the Meringue
2 egg whites
6 tsp sugar
1 tsp cream
Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat egg whites with sugar and Cream of Tarter until stiff peaks form. Fill a piping bag with beaten egg whites.
Assembly
Arrange the conserve into 4 ramekins. Pipe egg whites on top and bake at 350F until golden brown.. Remove from heat . * You can sprinkle with thinly sliced candied ginger(optional).Serve warm.

I.O Organic Sicilian Blood Orange Juice, A Chicken Dish,and a Cocktail

I stuck up a Twitter correspondence with the owner of I.O Organics ,Organic Blood Orange Juice. He kindly sent me two bottles for review. I love Blood oranges and to see a product like this naturally intrigued me. Produced on his families farm in Mineo, Sicily, the juice provides 40% more than the FDA recommended amounts of vitamin C. That’s more than the average orange. Potassium, fiber, iron,calcium, and Vitamin A round out the health benefits.

I was worried this would be a sugary drink. Absolutely not! The flavor was crisp and tart, while naturally sweet. One can drink this alone, or make a wonderful cocktail.
Of course my unoriginal self immediately used some of the juice for a healthy orange chicken.This chicken is not fried and cooks slow to produce a slow reduction of Blood Orange Juice , molasses, and brown sugar, Toss in some fresh Broccoli to roast and you have a healthy version of Orange Chicken.
Glamah’s Not Your Food Court Orange Chicken
1 cup I.O ORGANICS Blood Orange Juice
4 chicken thighs ( bone in)
1 head of fresh broccoli
1.3 cup molasses
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp ground Ginger
In a heavy duty enameled cast iron pan toss all ingredients and add chicken. It will be liquidy. Slowly roast uncovered at 350 degrees F until liquid starts to reduce and thicken. It will take approx 45 depending on your oven. At the 30 minute stage you can add Fresh Broccoli to the pan to roast in the liquids and with the chicken. When the chicken looks about done, you can turn up the oven temp to 475 to help the juices/liquid caramelize and glaze the chicken. Remove from oven and enjoy. Serve with rice.
I also made a cocktail. Its sub zero here in Chicago and the Blood Orange Juice evoked feelings of sunshine for me.
Banana Blood Orangetini
2 parts I.O Blood Orange Juice
1 part vodka
1 part Banana Rum
Combine all ingredients in a martin shaker with ice and serve in a frosted glass.
You can find more information of I.O Organics Blood Orange Juice here.