Shopping List Merlin

Tuesday: Thai
Wednesday:Baked butternut spaetzle (p. 100, simple to spec)
Thursday: Red Bean Stew
Friday: Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon
Saturday: Tikka Massala (p. 44)

MEAT
1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 1/4 lbs ground beef, well-marbled and not too finely ground
4 fillets 6oz salmon

SPICES
2 whole cloves
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 ground coriander
2 ancho chilies

PRODUCE
1tsp Fresh ginger
2 tb flat-leaf parsley
Boston Lettuce
1 ripe tomato
1 sm onion
thyme
garlic
pinch of cinnamon
2 zucchini
1 yellow squash
12 mushrooms
1 red bell pepper
parsnips
celery


MISC
Vegetable oil
Sourdough bread or Kaiser rolls
Gruyere or Emmenthal cheese
Butter
2tbsp Dijion mustard
1/2 cup walnuts
flour
ricotta
1/2 cup cream
1 cup parmesan
rice?
red beans

Sweet Potato Flan

Ingredients

(Serves 12-16)

• 1 large orange fleshed sweet potato/yam (about 1lb)
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 6 tbsp fine sugar
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 5 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks 

For the Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Method

Make Caramel sauce - Add 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer till the water evaporates. Sugar crystallizes first and then starts melting. Keep stirring till it becomes an amber brown liquid. Remove from stove and add some table spoons of boiling hot water, so that it doesn't thicken too much and turn into sugar candy sheets. This whole process will take about 15-20 minutes. Pour the caramel sauce into one large 10 cup souffle dish or in individual ramekins.  I used two smaller spring foam pans since I didn't have a large enough dish. Tilt the dishes to coat the bottom and a little bit of the sides with the caramel sauce.

Prepare sweet potato puree - Preheat oven to 450F. Scrub the yam and place it on an oven rack and bake for 35-45 minutes until tender. Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely. Remove the skin and cut into chunks and place in a food processor. Add 1 cup of half-and-half while the machine is running and process to form a smooth paste.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, 1-cup of half-and-half, condensed milk, water, vanilla extract and maple syrup and mix well. In another bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolks until frothy. Strain the eggs into the ingredients in the first bowl.

Add the sweet potato puree and whisk well and pour into the prepared pan with the caramel sauce.

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Place the dish in a large baking pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 1hr 45 minutes at 300F or until the flan is set but still soft. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Before serving, run a knife through the edges and invert into a serving dish. Cut into wedges and serve with the caramel sauce spooned over.

Note: You can replace the sweet potato puree with pumpkin puree to make a pumpkin flan.

Shopping Menu Pillow

Monday: MCL
Tuesday: Sweet Potato Soup (p. 35, sunrise) [SPS]
Wednesday: Mexican Fiesta?
Thursday: Christmas steak
Friday: Trout Saltimbocca [TS]
Saturday: Lentil Soup, p161 Simple [LS]

(Lunch: egg salad, p. 29, sunrise)

PRODUCE
Carrots
Fresh Dill
1 red onion (Egg saad)
2 lg sweet onions (SPS)
1 onion [LS]
4 celery stalks (SPS, LS)
thyme (SPS)
Chives or green onions [LS]
2lbs sweet potatoes (SPS)
2 bunches flat leaf parsley (SPS, TS)
3 Fuji apples (SPS)
bay leaf (SPS)
5 parsnips [TS]
Sage [TS]
lemons
carrots
1 leek [LS]

FISH
Trout

HAM
8 slices bacon [TS]
4oz prosciutto [LS]

DAIRY
2c heavy cream (SPS, TS)

8oz green lentils
Bread
Milk

Cipaille from Lac St. Jean

Cipaille from Lac St. Jean (layered meat pie) Recipe
 
Flavors of Quebec
Total time: more than 2 hours
Preparation time: Under 30 minutes
Cooking time: About 2 hours 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Chef's Note

Cipâte or Cipaille, a layered meat pie from Quebec

Each region of Quebec claims origin of this dish, but it seems the original "six-pâtes" came from Gaspésie. The name is actually a corruption of the English "sea pie," a recipe made with fish and potatoes.

Others claim that the word comes from the English "six pies," referring to a dish made with 6 layers of pastry encasing 4 kinds of game: duck, moose or elk, hare and partridge.

In any case, this is a very old recipe, found at Lac St. Jean until the beginning of the 20th century. In the larger towns, the custom gave way to the beef-pork-veal tourtière, with each cook choosing her own proportions. Cipâte or cipaille is still popular, however, in households where there's a hunter, a good reminder of Quebec's ancient culinary roots.
Ingredients
Ingredients
For the filling
- 250 g (8 oz.) hare (Rabbit)
- 250 g (8 oz.) elk
- 250 g (8 oz.) partridge
- 250 g (8 oz.) moose
- 250 g (8 oz.) chopped salt pork
- 2 kg (4 1/2 lb.) peeled potato, cubed or sliced
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
Marinade
- 1 liter (4 cups) dry red wine
- A handful of coarse sea salt
- 6 large onions, sliced
- Thyme, cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- Cinnamon, juniper berries
Broth
- 2 liters (8 cups) water
- Bones from the game, with some meat left on
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk of celery
- Salt and pepper
Method

Preparation

   1. marinate the boned cubed meat for 24 hours in the marinade;
   2. line a tourtière pan or large cast iron pot with the first layer of pastry;
   3. add a layer of potatoes and some sliced onion; cover with a layer of game and one-quarter of the salt pork;
   4. repeat the process with the second kind of game;
   5. cover with the top crust; seal the edges using milk or water;
   6. cut a circle in the center of the top crust and pour in the broth to reach almost to the top;
   7. cover and bake, covered, at 300°F (160° C) for 3 hours; remove the lid and let the crust brown.

Preparing the broth

   1. place all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 2 hours;
   2. strain; add the strained liquid from the marinade in a proportion of 1 part marinade to 3 parts broth;
   3. correct the seasoning.

Cipaille (Sea Pie)

Art. V. Fur Fort Food - Sea Pie, or Cipaille, by A. Gottfred.

A sturdy meat pie with a historic flavor.

The history of this dish goes back to at least 1747, when Hannah Glasse's cookbook gave the recipe for a 'Cheshire Pork Pie for Sea' consisting of layers of salt pork, meat, and potatoes. The recipe, with a myriad of variations, shows up in American cookbooks from 1796 and 1824 as well.

There is a traditional Quebec layered meat pie called cipaille (pronounced 'sea pie'). The similarity between the two meat pies probably is no coincidence! There are also very similar pies are called cipâtes and six-pâtes.

The recipe below takes a lot of preparation and baking time (two days in total, including six hours of baking), but if you use pre-cubed pork & beef stew meat and boneless chicken breasts, and instant biscuit mix for the pastry, you can really cut down on the time you spend in the kitchen. If you have game, then by all means substitute duck, goose, moose, deer, elk, &c. for the other meats. This recipe is quite large, so I have included ingredient lists for two versions, one to serve six or seven, the other to serve twelve to fourteen. Be warned : you will need one or two very large casseroles to cook this dish, even if you're doing the smaller recipe.

If you'd rather not spend time at a rendezvous doing the cooking, you can make cipaille in advance and take it with you to serve at room temperature. I understand that some Dutch ovens can be used as a casserole dish inside your home oven. Pre-baked meat pies are also handy if you have the bad luck to be under a ban on outdoor campfires, which was the situation in many parts of the country at various times this year.

Six-Pâtes

To serve 6-7 :

1 lb. (454g) pork, cubed

1 lb. (454g) beef, cubed

1 rabbit or 1 turkey drumstick

1 chicken leg

2 chicken breasts

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. summer savoury

2-3 slices salt pork

 

To serve 12-14 :

2 lb. (900g) pork, cubed

2 lb. (900g) beef, cubed

2 rabbits or 2 turkey drumsticks

2-3 chicken legs

4 chicken breasts

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 lg. onions, chopped

1/2 tsp. summer savoury

4-5 slices salt pork

The day before : Remove bones from chicken, rabbits, turkey. Reserve bones, and cube meat. Mix meat, onions, salt, pepper, and savoury; cover, & refrigerate for 12 hours. Place bones in small pot; add 1 chopped onion, salt, pepper, & cold water to cover. Simmer for two hours. Strain stock, and refrigerate until needed.

The same day : Make pastry. Combine 3 cups flour, 2-3 1 tbsp. baking powder, & 1/2 tsp. salt. Cut in 2-3 tbsp. butter, margarine, shortening, or lard. Stir in 1/2 cup milk; mix thoroughly. Divide pastry dough in half. Roll out half of pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into 1-inch squares. Roll out remaining pastry for top crust.

At last, you're ready to make the pie. Fry salt pork slices in oven-proof casserole dish (or put dish in 400°F oven for 5-10 minutes, to cook salt pork). Remove pork slices; put a layer of meat in the hot fat, and pour in half the stock. Cover with a layer of pastry squares, leaving a little space between the squares. Add remaining meat, pour in the rest of the stock. Cover completely with top crust; cut one or two 1" wide circles in the center of the top crust to let steam out. (If you have any leftover crust, put it in the fridge until the final half hour of baking; roll it out, cut in squares & bake with cipaille for the last 10-20 minutes). Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for five more hours. Keep a close eye on the level of liquid in the casserole ; if it seems to be drying out (no steam coming through the top crust), add water, beef broth, or chicken broth through the hole in the top of the pastry.

Greek Chicken Tortilla Burger

Greek Chicken Tortilla Burger
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By Greg Engelhardt

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 large hot house cucumber, diced
• ½ small red onion, diced
• 1 cup halved and pitted calamata olives
• ½ cup Greek vinaigrette
• 4 8-ounce boneless and skinless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise into 3 pieces
• Coarse sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 cups Panko Japanese bread crumbs
• 2 cups Canola oil
• 6 12-inch round flour tortillas, cut 2 into 6 triangles

METHOD:

In a bowl, combine the feta, tomato, cucumber, onion, olives and vinaigrette.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and coat with the bread crumbs. Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Fry the triangle tortillas until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Season with salt. Fry the 4 remaining whole tortilla shells until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Discard most of the oil. Add the chicken to the same skillet and cook until golden and cooked through.

To serve, place a tortilla shell on each plate. Top with the chicken, salad, and tortilla chips.

Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 4 Servings

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Round Out the Meal:
With Greek pasta salad.

Kid Friendly:
This is kid friendly!

Wine Pairing:
A Chardonnay.

Curried Caribbean Grouper

Curried Caribbean Grouper
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By Allen Susser

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon chopped thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon minced scotch bonnet pepper
• Juice of 2 limes
• 4 6-ounce grouper steaks
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

METHOD:

In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, combine the scallions, thyme, garlic, pepper and lime juice. Add the fish, and marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat to smoking. Add the onions and cook until caramelized. Add the curry powder and cook for another 2 minutes. Push the mixture to one side of the pan. Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons oil and the fish. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Add the remaining marinade liquid, coconut milk, salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Cook until fish is cooked through. Serve fish with sauce, and sprinkled with cilantro.

Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 4 Servings

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Round Out the Meal:
With Cinnamon Spiced Rice (recipe below).

Kid Friendly:
Omit the Scotch Bonnet pepper.

Wine Pairing:
A Sauvignon Blanc.

Cinnamon Spiced Basmati Rice

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 5 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 16 whole black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice, rinsed under cold water
• 3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 Tablespoons raisins
• 3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

Heat oil in a sauce pot. Add the cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns, and cook about a minute. Add the rice, water and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and add the raisins and cilantro. Cover and let rest 5 minutes before serving.