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Happy New Year 2010
Happy New Year 2010! I hope your year has started off well.
Howard and I shared a quiet dinner at home on New Year’s Eve. We had a few lamb shoulder chops from Chestnut Farms. I had never cooked this cut before, only rib chops and loin chops.
Browsing through a few cookbooks indicated shoulder chops needed a slower cook than the chops I was used to. I found a yummy-looking recipe that baked the shoulder chops on a bed of potatoes and onions.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t read the recipe all the way through. Around 6:00, Howard popped open a bottle of champagne, and I opened the cookbook. Uh-oh, the lamb needed to bake for almost 2 hours. I guess I was starting (or ending) the year with rather poor planning.
Howard looked in one of his ever-trusty Cooks Illustrated cookbooks and found that the shoulder chops could be simply broiled. I traded in the bed of potatoes for a pot of lentils and some roasted carrots and celery root. Dinner was ready in the half the time. Redemption!
While dinner cooked, we sipped champagne and nibbled on salmon caviar and crackers and some local oysters (Wianno, Wellfleet and Island Creek, all from the Cape, courtesy of Whole Foods).
After dinner, we watched a movie (Away We Go) and managed to stay up until 11:45 before dropping off to sleep. Seeing midnight no longer seems as important as it did when I was younger.
Our New Year’s Eve dinner was quiet and romantic. On New Year’s Day, we invited our friends Laury, John, and Isabel for dinner. We had a pork roast from Codman Farm. I made a spice rub from garlic, lime juice, cumin, and cilantro to go on the pork plus Cuban Sweet Potatoes and Braised Cabbage to go with the meat. The big hit was the sweet potatoes. It had similar flavors to the pork, and the whole bowl disappeared fast.
The year is off to a great start with two things that are really important to me: spending time and sharing meals with some of my favorite people, and eating food that has been sustainably and humanely produced, from local farms. I’m looking forward to more of the same in the year ahead.
Cuban Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4
2 lbs sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them into ½-inch slices. If the rounds are large, cut in half again (into half moons). Toss the potato slices in a bowl with olive oil. Spread them out on a baking sheet (or two) in one layer. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are nice and tender.
Combine the garlic, cilantro, and lime juice in a big bowl. Add the hot sweet potatoes and toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Brussels Sprouts and Me
Brussels sprouts happen to be one of my favorite vegetables. It wasn’t always that way. I grew up in a house that had banned Brussels sprouts. When my parents got married, they made a pact that they would never have to eat liver or Brussels sprouts. I suppose their parents forced those foods upon them.
I didn’t even know what a Brussels sprout looked like until college. I remember it well. The dorm I lived in had kitchens, so most people cooked their own meals. My friend Rob was cooking a vegetable I’d never seen before. Here’s how the conversation went:
Betsy: What are those?
Rob: Brussels sprouts
B: Yick! Really? You’re going to eat them? They’re disgusting.
R: You didn’t even know what they were. How do you know they’re disgusting? Have you ever had them?
B: No. My parents wouldn’t eat them.
R: Well, you’ll have to try some. If you don’t like them after than, then you can say they’re no good.
B: OK, let me know when they’re ready.
Well, I didn’t hate them after all. I can’t say it was love at first bite, but they were much better than I expected. Your parents aren’t always right.
My next encounter with Brussels sprouts was a few years later. At my first full-time job after college, the boss took our department out for dinner to celebrate the holidays. We went to a fancy restaurant. I don’t remember much about it except one thing. When our meals were served, the woman I sat next to had ordered liver and Brussels sprouts for her dinner. I couldn’t stop laughing at her. After all, my parents did make that pact. I couldn’t wait to call my parents.
I was finally sold on Brussels sprouts in California. I went to the Bay area to visit my friend Paige for Thanksgiving. We picked up some farm-fresh Brussels sprouts, still on the stalk. Have you ever seen how they grow? It’s surreal. Check out this picture. It looks more alien than earthly. We cooked them for Thanksgiving dinner, and I was hooked.
Usually I roast them until they are falling apart, but it takes a long time. I recently discovered a much faster way. This recipe won’t replace the long-roasted one, but it’s a nice alternative on a weeknight.
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Serves 4
From More Fast Food My Way by Jacques Pepin
1 lb trimmed and cleaned Brussels sprouts
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ¼ slices
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Slice the Brussels sprouts in the food processor, using the ¼ inch (6 mm) blade. There should be about 5 cups.
Place the bacon in a large skillet, add the oil, cover, and cook over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and brown, and most of the fat is rendered. Add the sliced Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper, cover, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to soften. Uncover and cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, for about 2 minutes, until tender but a little bit firm.
A Plateful of Happiness 