Ragu of Venison and Pappardelle

Bill's brother, Tom, shot a deer before Christmas and was very nice to share with us different cuts. What to make of them? That's the challenge. I made chili with the grounds one night, and that was delicious. We have a couple of rounds in the reefer, which I will make into stew one of these days. The more challenging cut - the shoulder - I decided to cook this weekend.

I woke up craving Ecco's Chili-braised Pork with Garlic and Pappardelle, so I decided to make my version of it using the venison shoulder.

Ragu of Venison and Pappardelle

2 lbs venison shoulder**
3 T Olive Oil
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 small Spanish Onions, diced
3 pcs carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
5 T Tomato Paste
28 oz can San Marzano crushed tomatoes

1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
bouquet garni- rosemary, thyme & bay leaves
2 pcs dried chipotle, seeded
4 pcs star anise, enclose in a cheesecloth
1 t mixed peppercorns, ground
sea salt
1 cup ripe black olives
1 cup cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 package pappardelle, cooked al dente
parmigiano-reggiano for tossing and serving
chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

**If you do not have venison conveniently sitting in your freezer, use pork shoulders or lamb in place of it.

Heat oven to 300 F.

Heat oil in a dutch oven, brown all sides of the venison, then set aside. In the same pan, saute garlic until fragrant, then add the onion, saute until soft. Saute the carrots and celery next, then add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and wine. Return venison in the pan, bring to boil, add the herbs and spices, then salt to taste. Put in the oven and braise for about an hour and a half.

Remove from oven. Transfer half of the sauce in the blender, making sure you fish out all the chipotle pieces. Puree until smooth, then return in the pan. (I like my sauce just a bit chunky, thus I puree only half. Besides, as much as I love the heat that the chipotle render in this dish, I do not want whole chipotle pieces in my sauce).

Remove the bouquet garni and star anise, then add the olives and mushrooms. Return in the oven and cook for another half an hour to an hour until the meat is 'falling off the bone' tender. Remove from the oven and shred the meat using two forks (throw away the bone).

Toss some of the sauce, cooked pappardelle and shaved parmigiano-reggiano in a pan in very low heat for a minute to coat the pappardelle with the sauce. Serve with more shaved parmigiano-reggiano and garnish with flat leaf parsley.

Braised Beef with Citron Confit and German Beer

I was pretty harsh, mean and nasty to Bill today. I had a deadline for the Iron Cupcake at 1PM and by 12:45, I was palpitating and was taking it out on him since it took him a while to get those gorgeous photos, leaving me so little time to make it for my deadline. Well, we made it on time, and after seeing the final post, an overpowering sense of guilt came over me. The photos are beautiful, and all the while, I am rushing him to finish up. Note to self: Never rush an artist. So, I decided to make it up to him by making him pot roast for dinner. And hey, it's not called bribery, it's called an apology.

Bill loves Pot Roast, but then again, who doesn't? With all honestly, I can say that there is nothing more comforting than pot roast for Sunday family dinner. And on this particular day, what with the rain and winter gloom outside, the aroma of the beef slowly braising in beer, herb and spices makes it more agonizing to wait for dinner to finish cooking.

I still have about 3 lbs of lemon confit in my reefer from when I made them last Summer. I cannot seem to use them fast enough so I have been using them on my recipes lately. I decided to use it in the pot roast, to give it a twist, why not!

Braised Beef with Citron Confit & German Beer

3 lbs Beef Chuck

1 T olive oil
1 bottle (16 oz) German Beer
16 oz water
4 T Beef Dashida
1 bulb of garlic
1 large onion
1 pc lemon confit, washed & pith removed
bouquet garni (rosemary, thyme, bay)
sea salt

freshly ground black pepper
1 lb organic carrots
1 lb red potatoes
1 bunch organic kale
1 T flour dissolved in 4 T of water


Salt all sides of the beef and let it marinate for two hours in the refrigerator. Heat oven to 325 F. In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil then brown all sides of the beef. Add the beer, water, dashida, garlic, onion, lemon confit, bouquet garni, salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil, transfer in the oven and let it braise covered for 2 1/2 hours.

Prepare the vegetables 30 minutes before the beef is ready by parboiling them in boiling water with sea salt.

When cooked, discard the bouquet garni and transfer the beef to a chopping board. Let it rest for 20 minutes before slicing. In the mean time, prepare the gravy. Strain the broth then return to stove top. Bring broth to boil, add the flour mixture, and cook stirring constantly until thickened.

Arrange the vegetables and beef in a plate and pour the gravy over it.

Bill loved it! He said it was the best Pot Roast ever! Great, I hope that means that my apology was accepted.

Iron Cupcake Challenge January 2010: Winter Warm Up

Aztec Chili Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Mascarpone Frosting, Mulled Wine Reduction Glaze, Chocolate Shavings, Chili Flakes and Sea Salt

(an original recipe by Cecille Ericta and photos by Bill Tranmer)

Fire from the fireplace... soft, fuzzy blankets... a good book... classic love songs... chili chocolate bars... Aztec chili hot chocolate... mulled wine... toe socks... flannel jammies... These are the things that warm me up during winter which I intend to integrate into this month's Iron cupcake Challenge.

Clad in my favorite flannel jammies and toe socks, my CD player blasting "Forever More" by one of my favorite bands, Side A, and the fire going in the fireplace, I start the challenge.

The Challenge

Make mulled wine, cool. Set aside. (Recipe below)

Prepare hot chocolate, cool. (Recipe below)

Prepare, bake, and cool the hot chocolate cupcakes. (Recipe below)

Prepare the frosting. (Recipe Below)

Scoop the frosting onto cupcakes. Use a standard ice cream scoop. Smooth the surface of the frosting using an offset spatula. Refrigerate the cupcakes for 15 minutes for easier glazing. Tip - Heat water in a pan, dunk the spatula, dry with towel. The heat makes it easier to smooth the surface.

Prepare glaze by using two cups of the mulled wine and a packet of unflavored gelatin. Follow package instructions using the mulled wine for the liquid requirement. When mixture is cooled and is almost set, dunk the frosted cupcakes in the mixture. Repeat 3 times to get a nice coat. By adding gelatin to the mulled wine reduction, it lends a good coat and does not stain the frosting. I've used red wine reductions before without gelatin on whipped cream frosting, and it seeped through the frosting turning it purple.

Decorate with dark chocolate curls, chili flakes and sea salt.

Recipes

(makes 24 cupcakes)

Aztec Chili Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
10 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 L eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoons vanilla powder
1 recipe of Aztec chili hot chocolate, cooled
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cooled hot chocolate and yogurt. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, vanilla powder and salt. On low speed, add the hot chocolate mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds, beginning with wet mixture and ending with the dry mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to completely blend.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool in a rack.


Mulled Wine
1 lemon or orange
6 sticks cinnamon
12 whole cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1/8 t ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 bottle dry red wine

Combine the spices and citrus in the red wine. Add sugar. Heat this through for at least 15 minutes, but don't boil. Strain with cheese cloth lined strainer.


Aztec Chili Hot Chocolate
1 cup whole milk
1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 habanero pepper, split with seeds removed
1 cinnamon stick
6 oz chocolate (bittersweet)

Simmer milk in a saucepan with vanilla bean, cinnamon and chili. Heat through for about a minute. Whisk in grated chocolate, and continue to simmer until melted. Remove from heat and let 'steep' for another 10 minutes. Strain out the spices.


Vanilla Mascarpone Cream
16 oz heavy cream
3 T confectioner’s sugar
16 oz mascarpone cheese
½ vanilla bean

Beat the cream with the vanilla seeds and sugar until soft peaks form. Add the mascarpone and beat until blended.

"VOTE FOR ME"

Like all chocolate cakes, this is best served after letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight; thus, prepare it a day in advance before serving, or you can prepare the cupcakes a day in advance and you can frost and glaze the following day. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes on room temperature before devouring.

The combination of the components in this cupcake is soo good -- decadent chocolate cupcake, creamy mascarpone frosting, the hint of wine and spices from the glaze, the surprise taste of saltiness and heat from the chili flakes that lingers in my tongue and mouth long after I finish my piece. It truly is a great "winter warm up" treat.

It is exciting to enter the Iron Cupcake Challenge just for the sake of entering. But what's a competition without prizes?! And let's face it, who wouldn't want a nice new Demy sitting alongside their espresso machine? Here are the list of prizes that the organizers of the Iron Cupcake Challenge have made available with the generous support of a few good eggs (aka sponsors):

The Demy(tm) by Key Ingredient

Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson

Bella Cupcake Couture

Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac

The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne

Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House

Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Bakery & Cupcakery Supply

To Vote

Voting begins Thursday, January 28th at 8pm Central time at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER and ends Wednesday, February 3rd at 12pm Central time.

Also, check out all of the competitor's photos and creations on Flickr and leave comments to encourage us to keep on creating these baking masterpieces.

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars

My first TWD for 2010 - Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars, choosen by Lillian of Confectiona's Realm. To Alex, Lillian's son, Happy 18th Birthday and congratulations on being accepted at Duke!

I baked these last Sunday when it was rainy and cold and dreary in Atlanta, the perfect pick me up! I used walnuts instead of peanuts since there are readily available in my pantry. For the recipe, check Lillian's blog, if you do not own Dorie's book yet (I wonder why).

Make sure you visit the other TWDers and see everyone's handiwork this week.

Layering the chocolate mixture on top of the oatmeal crust

Walnuts and raisins go in next...


Scattering more of the oatmeal mixture

Cooling


Cross Section

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's festive yet not as hectic as Christmas; it's predictable, since it always on a Thursday, thus I know I can actually rest after two days of cooking and baking; and it comes during my favorite time of year, autumn.

Every year, I have 6 people over for Thanksgiving, to complete a group of 8, including me and Bill. These are friends who, like myself, have no family in Atlanta and we have each other for family.

Thanksgiving preparation starts on Sunday before. I shop for the ingredients and order in my meat and turkey for pickup Wednesday. Wednesday night is when I make the pies, soak the cornmeal for the cornbread and brine the turkey & crown roast. Some of the Thanksgiving guests spends the night to help make the pies. I usually prepare a light dinner, but this year, Nikita took care of dinner and she prepared an authentic "Chinese Hot Pot" for us, yummy!!

I am notorious in my kitchen, my non-cooking friends calls me the Kitchen Nazi. I've asked friends to leave my kitchen on numerous occasion because they are kitchen disasters (and yes, they are still my friends!) ha ha! But on Thanksgiving, I usually leave them to their own accord, for real! Oh well, not entirely. I supervise and make sure they follow the recipes and read and re-read them before they embark on their tasks. Some, like my poor Biljana and Nikita this year, still got the "beatings". Biljana got confused with the fractions when portioning the butter for the pie crust and Nikita started dumping ingredients for the pumpkin pie in a bowl without reading the recipe.. ha ha!!

Thursday morning is when everything comes to life. I start with the fixins -- cornbread, dressing, green beans, mac & cheese and mashed potato. The turkey then goes in the oven, and while it roast, the blueberry pie get piped with mascarpone cream and the table gets set for place setting. I always put out these party crackers at Thanksgiving ever since Bill brought me some from England 6 years ago. When the Turkey comes out of the oven, the crown roast goes in. I then prepare the gravy by deglazing the roasting pan and use the drippings & some bacon fat. I then clean up and get ready while the crown roast finish cooking.

Dinner was delicious! We all ate with abandon, and everyone sort of took a nap in the living room after, then everyone pitched in cleaning up. After the last guest left, I went to sleep peacefully... Thankful that I am truly blessed in all aspects of my life.

The Stars of the Show -- Roasted Turkey Breast and Crown Roast of Pork

Brine for both Turkey and Crown Roast
1 cup of Williams Sonoma brining salt
4 cups water

Combine brining salt and water and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve sugars and salts. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. In a large container, combine brine solution with 6 cups of ice water & add meat. Cover & refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours. Turn meat once, halfway through brining. Just before roasting, remove meat from the brine and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Roast as directed.

A long soak in a seasoned saltwater brine ensures the turkey and crown roast will emerge juicy and flavorful. The salt penetrates the meat, drawing in moisture and other seasonings.

Roasted Turkey Breast

Stuff the turkey with --
bouquet garni (rosemary,sage,thyme & bay leaves)
a lemon, poked all over
an apple, poked all over
1 red onion, peeled and cut in half

To rub under the skin of the turkey--

4 tbsp of butter, softened
1 tbsp lemon juice

Alternative: Olive Oil

Separate the flesh and the skin and rub down with the butter and lemon mixture. I add lemon to the butter since this helps the butter not to burn.

To rub on the skin of the turkey-- Coarse sea salt

To roast the turkey--

Position the rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 425 F. For best results, roast your turkey on a wire rack in an open roasting pan. Roast the turkey for 25 minutes, breast side down. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F and roast for 45 minutes more, then turn breast up and roast until done. Depending on the weight of the turkey, cook until the breast registers 165 F and the thigh at 175 F. The total roasting time should be about 3 to 3-1/4 hours.

To serve the turkey--

Transfer the turkey to a carving board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Crown Roast of Pork

Have the butcher prepare the crown roast for you. I ordered mine from Harry's market.

Position a large apple in the center of the roast to hold its shape. Bake pork roast at 350 F for two hours. Top the apple with kumquats and bake an hour more or until a a meat thermometer inserted between ribs 2 inches into meat registers 160 F. Let pork roast stand 15 minutes before slicing.

The Fixins --Peter Reinhart's Cornbread, Sage Sausage & Chestnut Dressing, Green Beans with Herbed Butter, Fried Garlic & Almonds and Marja's Mac & Cheese

Corn Bread

Peter Reinhart of The Bread Bakers Apprentice

This cornbread had been the "Corn Bread" in my household every year for Thanksgiving since I got the book. It takes two days to make since the cornmeal needs to soak overnight in buttermilk. Fresh corn kernels are added in the bread and topped with bacon. Need I say more?

Sage Sausage, French Chestnut, Apples and Homemade Croutons Dressing

I found this Sage Sausage the week before and decided to use it for the dressing this year. Sage to me is the star herb for Thanksgiving, it's almost on everything! For the dressing, I browned the sausage and tossed it in a casserole with some chopped onions, diced fuji apples & french chestnuts, about 6 cups of home made french bread croutons, a tbsp of chopped sage, a tsp each of chopped rosemary and thyme, salt, pepper, a drizzling of bacon fat and about a cup of chicken stock. Cook it covered with foil for about 30 minutes in a 350 F oven, removed the foil and browned the top for another 10-15 minutes.

Green Beans with Herbed Butter, Fried Garlic and Almond

Mix some softened butter, chopped sage and thyme and fried garlic in a bowl.

Parboil the green beans (I prefer to cut them into 2" sticks). Boil about 5 cups of water, toss some salt in it. When it gets into a rolling boil, add the green beans. As it begins to boil again, turn off the heat, drain the green beans in a colander and run it under cold water to stop from cooking. Heat a pan, add the butter mixture and toss in the green beans. Saute for about 3 minutes to coat the green beans with the butter. Add the almonds and season with sea salt and freshly cracked white pepper.

Marja's Mac & Cheese

Food and Wine, July 2008

I adapted this recipe from Global Superchef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's wife Marja. Bill prepared the recipe to the tee and it came out perfect!

3/4 lb elbow macaroni

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 t kosher salt

1/4 t freshly ground white pepper

4 oz shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

4 oz shredded monterey jack cheese

4 oz cold cream cheese, cut into 1/2 in cubes

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the macaroni for 3 minutes (it will still be very chewy). Drain the macaroni and return it to the pot. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss well. Butter a 10-by-15-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the half-and-half, milk, eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses and the macaroni. Spread the mac and cheese in the prepared baking dish and scatter the cream cheese cubes on top.

1. 
   Bake the macaroni for 5 minutes. Using the back of a large spoon, spread the melted cream cheese cubes evenly over the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, until bubbling. Remove the baking dish from the oven and preheat the broiler. Broil the mac and cheese about 3 inches from the heat source until richly browned, about 2 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 and up to 20 minutes before serving.
2. 
   

Classic Pumpkin Pie, Blueberry Pie with Mascarpone Cream and Traditional Apple Pie

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Williams Sonoma

1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/ t salt
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t freshly grater nutmeg
1/8 t ground cloves
2 cups pumpkin puree

3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup milk
Prebaked and cooled deep dish pie crust (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients just until combined. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and bake until center is set, 60-065 minutes. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 2 hours. Pipe with the Mascarpone Cream before serving.

Blueberry Pie with Mascarpone Cream

3 bags of frozen organic blueberries

8 T granulated sugar
3 T cornstarch
2 T lemon juice
Prebaked and cooled deep dish pie crust (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook until thickened. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and bake until set, about 40-45 minutes. Cool in a wire rack before frosting.

Mascarpone Cream

Food & Wine, July 2009

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 vanilla beans, split & seeds scraped

2 T light brown sugar

1/2 t finely grated lemon zest

1 oz mascarpone

1 t fresh lemon juice

In a bowl, beat the cream with the vanilla seeds, brown sugar and lemon zest until soft peaks forms. Add the mascarpone and lemon juice and beat until blended.

Traditional Apple Pie

(Sandi Anderson)

Sandi Anderson's recipe for Traditional Apple Pie is very straight forward. It cannot get any better than this. Although, I used Rose Levy Beranbaum's Basic Flaky Pie Crust for all my pies.

Basic Flaky Pie Crust
The Pie and Pastry Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum

This Pie Crust recipe is fool proof. Making the pie crust from scratch is a bit of a pain in the ass, but so worth it.

My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

In the category of "Greatest Chocolate Chip Cookies," these gets my vote for greatest.

-- Dorie Greenspan, Baking from my Home to Yours

I have been craving chocolate chip cookies for a week now, but what with the holiday season and all the gastronomique wantonness that I will be indulging in very soon, I am trying to be good. However, today is the eve of my yet again 28th birthday, so I just have to indulge and do something nice for myself.

I baked two (2) dozens of these cookies (see recipe here), and 30 minutes later, this is what's left of it -- Bill and I devoured them as soon as they came out of the oven. The cookies are thin, crisp caramely and chewy in the middle... the chopped Valrhona chocolate, still warm and oozing... it really is a little piece of greatness in every bite.

I can't remember the last time I used store bought chocolate chips for my baking. Like all people I admire in the baking world, the use of chopped premium chocolate instead lends a much superb texture and taste to the baked goods. I'm not a snob (maybe a little), and don't hate, I'm just saying.

I froze some of the dough, since I intend to make the rest for my birthday dinner tomorrow. My friend Nikita is cooking dinner for me and six (6) other friends. I'm glad I am not cooking for my own birthday dinner. Thanks, Niki!

Shepherd's Pie

My friend Erin is leaving to visit her family for Thanksgiving tomorrow, so I decided to make a simple dinner and have her and our other friends, Yusuke and Biljana joined us for a round of food, wine and men-bashing session before she leaves.

I am an advocate of one-dish meals... they are convenient and healthy for the most part. I usually make this Shepherd's Pie for St. Patrick's Day dinner, easy enough for me to prepare even in my drunkenness.

For the Beef Filling

3 lbs of beef

1 onion, minced

1 bottle dark (Irish) beer

1 tbsp. beef bouillon

salt and pepper

1 bag frozen vegetable medley (the one with carrots and peas and corn and green beans)

For the Mashed Potatoes

2 lb red potatoes, quartered, leave skin on

1 1/2 cups milk (or substitute half of it with cream)

3 cloves garlic

salt

pepper

4 Tbsp of butter

Brown beef, add onions until softened, then add bouillon, salt & pepper to taste. Add beer, bring to boil and simmer until reduced. Stir in the veggies and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer to a casserole dish.

Boil potatoes and garlic in water and a tbsp of salt for 15 minutes (time it 15 minutes when it starts boiling). 10 minutes to boiling the potatoes, heat milk, cream if using and butter in a saucepan. WARM the milk mixture, but do not boil. Drain the potatoes and garlic. Peel the garlic and throw in with the potatoes. Mash them, incorporating the warm milk mixture as you do, adding salt and pepper to taste. Top the beef filling with the mashed potato.

Bake for 40 minutes on 350 F oven, then at 400 F for another 10 minutes to brown it.