Spinach and Goat Cheese Tartlets

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My family loves appetizers.  Some of our favorite appetizers that we make year after year for family gathers are: stuffed mushrooms, deviled eggs, cheese and crackers, and crab dip. So, when I heard that my brother was hosting our Christmas dinner and that the large majority of meal planning was already taken care of, I decided to contribute by creating a new appetizer.  A quick search led me to Spinach and Goat Cheese Tartlets, courtesy of the Food Network.

For this recipe you will need:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• Vegetable oil, for brushing
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 1/2 ounces mild goat cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 10-ounce bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• Chopped chives, for garnish (I went without, so I can't say if they added much)
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First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Then, melt  2 tablespoons of butter in a custard cup or microwave safe bowl.  Place your first sheet of phyllo dough on a sheet of wax paper and use a pastry brush to spread the melted butter over the dough.  Be careful not to rush this step because the dough is really delicate and tears easily.  




Once the phyllo sheet is covered in butter, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over it.  Repeat this step with two additional sheets.  The recipe that I was following implied that you only need 3 sheets of dough total to create 24 phyllo shells.  However, my first set of phyllo only yielded 18 phyllo shells, so I repeated the process with another 3 sheets of dough to make 6 additional cups. Then, cut the sheets into 3X3 inch squares, so that you have a total of 24 squares for the mini muffin tin.   

Before

After

Next, brush the muffin tin with oil.  Place the dough squares, butter side down, into each cup, pressing on the center of the square so that the sides stick up above the tin. Bake in the over for about 10 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Keep an eye on them in the over--mine were browned after only 7 minutes and you do not want the shells to burn!  Once finished baking, remove from oven and set aside.

While baking, heat remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan.  Then, add the minced shallot and garlic into the butter and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Next, add the flour, milk nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and stir until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.  Finally, add the goat cheese, lemon zest, and vinegar, stirring until all the cheese has fully melted.

Once the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and add in the spinach and egg yolks only, reserving egg whites.  Stir until well incorporated.  Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites to stiff peaks (think meringue consistency). Fold in the egg whites to the spinach and cheese mixture.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the filling into each pastry cup.  Bake for about 15 minutes, until filling is set.  Allow to cool in pan before removing.  Top with chives if desired.  

These were a huge hit with my family! The tartlets were crunchy on the outside, yet smooth and creamy on the inside.  The light flavor of the goat cheese mixed well with the spinach, and the nutmeg added a necessary bite.  I have to admit, they were a bit more involved to prepare than I expected (read, we were an hour late to our scheduled dinner arrival, oops!). My biggest tip: make sure you defrost the spinach and drain it before making this recipe.  I failed to do that, and it was hectic to take care of that step once the cheese had already melted.  This took me about 1 hour to complete.  I will definitely be making these again for the next event I attend that calls for appetizers!


What's your favorite appetizer?  I'm always looking for new recipes to try out!

Osso Buco For A Crowd

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Being a food blogger around the holidays has its perks. My family not only loves food, but wanted to be a part of the blogging action! They invited me to cook a meal in their newly upgraded kitchen; let's just say this was more than a slight upgrade from my studio apartment. Also, the size of their kitchen matched their generosity in providing some of the best ingredients I've ever used. 

My cousin, Alex, and I decided to prepare an Italian meal centered around osso buco, a braised veal shank that, when finished, should fall off the bone. Alex selected this recipe because it wasn't particularly complicated but still seemed elegant. We followed it with only minor adjustments - mostly related to my poor math skills.

We adjusted the recipe for 6 servings and used:

• 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 6 pieces of center-cut veal osso buco - ours were approx. 4 inches thick
• kosher salt
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour - just enough to coat the osso buco
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 leeks 
• 3 carrots 
• 3 celery stalks 
• 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine. We used a Pinot Grigio. A good rule of thumb: When the recipe calls for less than a full bottle of wine, only cook with a wine you don't mind drinking the rest of. 
• 6 whole fresh sage leaves 
• 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary 
• 2 dried bay leaves 
• 42 oz. of crushed canned tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups of veal stock - you can also use chicken stock 
• 1 tablespoon of flat-leaf parsley
• the zest of one lemon

First, get all of your vegetable prep out of the way. Start by peeling the onion and carrots. Then dice those, along with the celery and leeks, into 1/4-inch pieces, but if you prefer larger chunks of vegetables in your sauce, that will work fine, too. 

Once you are done chopping all of the vegetables, place them all in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. 

Then, unwrap the the veal shanks and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. 

Place 1/2 a cup of flour in a small bowl. Dip each veal shank into the flour to coat on both sides. Then set the meat aside. 

We used a dutch oven to both brown and braise the meat. If you don't own a dutch or french oven, you can still make this recipe using two different pans: a skillet to brown the meat on the stove and then a roasting pan to braise the meat in the oven. 

Whichever pot you are using, the next step is to saute the vegetables. First, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in the dutch oven or skillet. Then place all of the chopped vegetables into the pot and saute for 4 minutes. If you used larger chunks of vegetables, you may want to saute for an extra minute or two until they are soft to the touch. 

Next, push the vegetables over to one side of the pot, and place the veal shanks into the pot. There should be enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot, but if it looks a little dry, add a smidge more. Brown the meat on each side for 4 minutes. Scrape up any brown bits but leave them in for great flavor. 

We only had room for 3 shanks at a time, so we browned in 2 shifts. 

Once that is done, place all of the shanks back in the pot over the chopped vegetables. Or, if you're using a roasting pan, lightly grease the pan and transfer both the vegetables and the meat. Then, scatter the sage, rosemary, and bay leaves across the top. Since the herbs will be removed once the meat is cooked, you could bundle the herbs with twine so they will be easier to remove after braising. Unfortunately, we didn't think of this until afterwards, but we think it will make life easier.

Next, in no particular order add all of the liquids - white wine, veal stock, and crushed tomatoes. Give it a good stir and cover the pot.

If you're using a roasting pan that doesn't come with a lid, use heavy duty foil and be sure to seal it well. Then place the pot into the oven and set your timer for two hours. 

While the meat is braising, you should prepare your side dishes. To start, we served a caprese salad along with an arugula and fennel salad with shaved parmesan and a lemon vinaigrette. With the main dish, we served roasted jewel potatoes with garlic and rosemary and steamed green beans. 

By way of suggestion, we made a lemon-parsley gremolata to serve with the osso buco. This is simply the zest of 1 lemon mixed with 1 tablespoon of chopped flat-leaf parsley. Our family was mixed on whether the gremolata enhanced the flavor of the meat. Personally, I wasn't a fan of the lemony condiment, but another cousin felt it added necessary brightness to the dish.  Since there was a lot left over, Alex and I sprinkled it onto the green beans!

After 2 hours, you should check the osso buco. It should be fork-tender by this point, but if it doesn't fall apart to the touch give it another 20-30 minutes. Once the meat is done, set the pot on the stove, take the meat out, and set it aside on a serving platter. 

Finally, reduce the braising liquid to a thicker sauce by bringing the pot to a boil on the stove top and then reducing to a simmer for 20-30 minutes. Place a small amount of the sauce in a gravy boat to allow your guests to use as much or as little as they want.

If you need suggestions for what to with your leftover shank bones, Billy, my favorite cousin, will always accept donations! 

Izakaya Seki: A Japanese Gem

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Well DC, you have arrived. You have finally arrived. It has taken me 9 years of living in the District, but I have FINALLY found a great Japanese restaurant. Izakaya Seki is easily one of the most delicious Japanese meals I've had anywhere.

Let's set the record straight. Izakaya Seki is not a sushi restaurant. They serve some raw fish, but they also serve a large variety of grilled and fried meats, fish, and vegetables. I highly recommend you sample something from each of the different categories.

I met my friend at Izakaya Seki on a Monday night. The ground floor has a dining counter, which was entirely full, that overlooks the kitchen. There is also an upstairs dining room, but I didn't make it up there this time. We waited about 15 minutes for a seat at the counter, which I highly recommend, because watching the chefs is mesmerizing. I am also told - although did not witness - that the sushi chef sometimes passes samples to diners at the counter!

The menu, if you don't speak Japanese, can be a little intimidating. Many of the listed items were unfamiliar, but the patient waitress was happy to answer all of our questions and made great recommendations. We ordered a number of different small plates, but since the menu changes quite frequently, I'll just share the highlights!

First we ordered an octopus salad. The octopus was sliced very thin and marinated in a sauce that I can only compare to pesto. It was fresh, delicious, and not chewy at all. I'm honestly not always the biggest fan of octopus, but this was one of my favorite dishes.

Next, apologies to my cardiologist father, we ordered the deep-fried pork belly. It came out as a shish kabob - heavily breaded with panko breadcrumbs and served with a tangy sweet sauce to dip. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of breaded and fried items, and I wouldn't order this for myself again. But my friend really enjoyed it.

A moment ago I said I didn't like breaded and fried things. There's an exception - anything served in croquette form. Studying abroad in Spain got me hooked on "croquetas," so now I'll eat any creamy little nugget put in front of me. I was really surprised to see a corn croquette on a Japanese menu, and I had to try it. Crunchy fried outside and creamy corn inside- still not sure how authentic this is, but it was unreal!

To counter all this deep fried goodness, we ordered a trio of different vegetables. None were particularly notable, so I won't waste your time.

What was notable however, were the rice balls. Each rice ball is about the size of a baseball, loosely wrapped in a piece of nori, and stuffed with your choice of fish. I got the salmon rice ball - stuffed with with cooked salmon. Because it was wrapped in sticky rice, it was difficult to determine how the salmon was prepared, but it was delicious and very filling. My friend got the salted cod roe rice ball and found the rice balanced the saltiness of the roe. I liked this item because it was reminiscent of sushi, but I've never seen anything like it before!

Lastly we ordered a sashimi salmon plate, that although delicious, was probably a bit overboard after all the food we had already eaten! Neither one of us could bring ourselves to finish the last few pieces. Next time I'll try to control my eager appetite and pick a few select dishes. Needless to say, it won't be long before I'm back at the counter trying to snag free bites from the sushi chef!

Thanks so much for joining us on our culinary adventure through the District. As of today, fooDCrave is officially on vacation until January 3rd! We can't wait to share more recipes, dinner parties, and restaurant reviews with you in 2013!

Happy Holidays!

Pommes de Terre Braisées

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In case you're just catching up with us this week, this is the third recipe in our first Tiny Dinner Party. These are fooDCrave dinner parties designed to prove you can cook and entertain in tiny kitchens and apartments! 

Earlier this week, we gave you the recipes for the french onion soup we served as the appetizer and the beef bourguignon, which we served as the main course. As a side dish to our French-themed dinner, we made Braised Fingerling Potato Coins. Because the other courses were very time consuming, we wanted a side dish that would require few ingredients and little effort. These potatoes were the perfect compliment! 

At the grocery store we found these beautiful jewel-toned fingerling potatoes. They come in rich hues of purple, red, and gold and just begging to be photographed. Thankfully we had our celeb photographer of the night, Jason Leavy, to help us out!  

To make this dish, you'll need: 

2 pounds of fingerling potatoes 

2 cups of water 

3/4 stick of unsalted butter

Fresh chives 

Salt and Pepper 

First, slice the potatoes into thin coins. If you have a mandoline, this would be a great use for it. Neither of us own a mandoline, and frankly, a knife worked just fine! 

At the same time, cut up the butter into small cubes. 

Next, place the potatoes in a skillet or frying pan. Cover the potatoes with 2 cups of water. Arrange the pieces of butter across the top of the potatoes. 

 

Then cut a piece of parchment paper or alumimum foil to fit over the skillet. Butter one side of the foil. Place the foil over the skillet- butter side down. Then bring the water to a simmer and cook for 30-35 minutes.

Once most of the water has evaporated, remove the foil and add salt and pepper to taste. Depending on the consistency you prefer, you can either serve the potatos as is, or crisp them up in the oven. We wanted a crispier potato, so we used the same piece of foil on a baking sheet, and placed the potato coins in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Sprinkle with finely diced fresh chives and serve! The simplicity of preparation of these potatoes should not underscore their flavor.  They were truly the perfect accompaniment to the rich beef stew.  Light, fluffy, and delicious.  Bon apetit!

Thanks for joining us in our first Tiny Dinner Party. We'd really love some feedback from you all! Did you like following the dinner party menu all week or would you prefer our original and varied approach to recipes? Please leave your feedback in the comments or e-mail us at foodcraveblog@gmail.com.

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