Getting by with a little help from The Flavor Bible

My favorite reference for week night recipes is not a cookbook at all, but rather a book containing lists of ingredients. That book is Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's The Flavor Bible, a guide every ingredient imaginable and the flavors and foods that pair well with those ingredients. With limited time and energy to shop or flip through cookbooks during the week, The Flavor Bible has helped inspire many of my week night meals.

The Flavor Bible came through for me once again this week. On a whim, I went to the store bought Spanish mackerel, a fish I had never prepared before. My only existing knowledge of Spanish mackerel was that it was an incredibly oily fish. Having no idea how to prepare my mackerel or what to serve it with, I turned to The Flavor Bible, which suggested, among many other ingredient combinations, a pairing of mackerel with arugula, chickpeas, and lemon, all of which were ingredients that I had on hand.

Going with The Flavor Bible's suggestion, I drained my can of chickpeas and placed them in a small pan where I had heated a few spoonfuls of olive oil over low heat. I seasoned the chickpeas with salt and pepper. Then, I heated some more olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and seasoned the mackerel with salt and pepper. I cooked the mackerel for two minutes per side. Moving back to the chickpeas, I added a few handfuls of arugula and let them wilt. I then finished the chickpeas with a splash of sherry vinegar, another recommendation from The Flavor Bible. I sprinkled lemon juice over both the mackerel and the chickpeas and enjoyed every bit of each. All thanks to The Flavor Bible.

Cinnamon Rolls

I have always considered my hands too heavy and too clumsy to prepare even the simplest of breads and pastries. Nonetheless, with some free time on my hands and a raging sweet tooth, I decided to try my hand at cinnamon rolls. I used a simple recipe from Bittman's How to Cook Everything to make the rolls and topped them with a cream cheese icing. Aside from keeping the rolls in the oven for a minute too long, my foray into pastry was surprisingly delicious. Coming up next, croissants?


Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packet instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.
   
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, yeast, salt, and 1/3 cup of sugar. Pulse a few times to mix.
3. Add butter and egg to food processor and process until well blended.
4. With the food processor running, gradually pour 1/2 cup of milk. Process until the dough forms a ball.
5. Remove dough from processor and place on a floured surface. Knead for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too sticky, add flour. If it is too dry, add milk.
6. Place the dough in a buttered bowl and cover it. Allow it to to rise for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
   
8. Brush the dough generously with melted butter and top it with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the dough into a log, then cut the log into 1 inch pieces. Place the pieces on a greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the unbaked rolls rise for another hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 400F.
10. Uncover the rolls and brush them with melted butter. Sprinkle the tops with sugar and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm, topped with cream cheese icing (see below for recipe).
11. To make the icing, combine cream cheese and 3 tbsp milk in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. While continuing to whisk, gradually add the powdered sugar, and whisk until the icing is smooth. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
    

Sunday Morning in the Studio: Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled Knoll Crest eggs with Niman Ranch bacon and Eli's bread:

What to do this Sunday: The New Amsterdam Market

Join me in visiting the Fulton Street Stalls near Fulton Street Seaport this Sunday, October 25, for the second monthly New Amsterdam Market. I attended this event last month and it is a great way to support local farmers, artisans, and markets. There will be plenty of snacks from the regions top restaurants and bakeries-- a sandwich from Porchetta was my favorite from September's market-- so you can easily make a filling lunch of it and purchase meats, vegetables, and cheeses for a delicious Sunday dinner. The theme for the October market is "Butchers, Beer, & Bicycles," with a pig butchering demonstration by some of the City's top butchers at 3:30, a $25 regional beer tasting from the folks at Beer Table from 3 to 5pm, and free bicycle parking courtesy of Bowery Lane Bicylcles. It is an event not to be missed.

What: New Amsterdam Market
When: Sunday, October 25, 11am to 4pm
Where: South Street, between Beekman Street and Peck Slip

Squid Ink Risotto with Squid and Shrimp

For most guys, when their girlfriends' birthdays roll around, they agonize about what to give. I agonize about what to cook. When the Significant Eater's birthday came up this week, I wanted to cook a meal that would wow both her and me yet would not be time consuming to make, so that I could minimize the time I spent in my kitchen preparing and cleaning up the meal.

The dish I decided upon was squid ink risotto, a dish that I had enjoyed many times at Bobby Flay's dearly departed Spanish restaurant Bolo. The combination of intensely briny squid ink and comforting, soft risotto is a beautiful contrast. Plus, the jet black risotto set on a white plate makes a very sexy and modern aesthetic.

My only concern about the dish is that it might be too complicated. I have cooked risotto several times before, and aside from the constant stirring, I find it to be a relatively simple preparation. However, cooking with squid ink just sounds disastrous, especially with my none-too-dexterous hands. I could not help but think of my apartment becoming a rendering of the Cream song "White Room," all from a squid ink risotto gone awry. Sixties psychedelia was definitely not the type of sexy I was going for with this meal.

Fortunately, squid ink is not anymore difficult than any other risotto. First, simmer some shrimp stock mixed with a few spoonfuls of squid ink. Then, saute some aromatics (minced onion and garlic are the best) in a sauce pan. Add the rice, and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Add a glass of white wine to the pan and let it cook off. Then, add a ladle of the stock to just barely cover the rice and start stirring. Once the rice has absorbed all of the stock, add another ladle of stock and let the rice soak it up once again. Continue the process until the rice is perfectly soft, just slightly beyond al dente. Add the squid and cook for another few minutes. Stir in salt, pepper and parsley, to taste, and you have a wonderful dish of squid ink risotto.

Squid Ink Risotto
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 cups shrimp stock
• 2 tbsp squid ink
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 3/4 lb squid, cut into 1/4 inch rings (full tentacles are okay, too)
• 1/4 cup parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix stock and squid ink in a large sauce pan. Heat over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent the squid ink from congealing (just stir vigorously if it does).
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add the rice to the onion and garlic and stir to coat the rice with oil. Let the rice cook until it begins to pop, about two minutes.
4. Ladle in enough shrimp stock to barely cover the rice. Adjust the heat to keep the stock at a simmer. Stirring constantly, let the rice absorb the stock. Once the rice has absorbed the stock, ladle in more stock to cover the rice again and continue to stir until the rice has absorbed the stock. Repeat the process until the rice is soft and creamy.
5. Stir the squid into the rice and cook until the squid is cooked through, approximately 2 minutes.
6. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, topped with grilled, steamed, or sauteed seafood of your choosing.

Chocolate Mousse

This chocolate mousse recipe, adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, is delectably rich. It's worth it to splurge on good chocolate to make this dish (Scharffen Berger is my go to brand). For presentation, spoon the mousse into homemade or store-bought pastry shells and top it with chocolate shavings. As an added treat, you can make a delicious semifreddo by simply freezing the mousse.

Chocolate Mousse
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Using a double broiler set over gently simmering water, met the butter and chocolate together and mix well. Let cool.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks. Once the chocolate has cooled enough to touch, add it to the eggs and mix well. Refrigerate until mixture is chilled.
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites with 1/8 cup sugar until they hold stiff peaks. Do not over mix.
4. In another small bowl, beat the cream with the remaining sugar and the vanilla until it holds soft peaks.
5. Add a few spoonfuls of the egg whites to the chilled chocolate mixture. Gently mix with a spoon, being careful to keep the egg whites light in texture. Gently, fold in the remaining egg whites. Finally, fold in the cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.
6. Serve the mousse in bowls or pastry shells, topped with shaved chocolate and/or freshly whipped cream.

Bo Kho Vietnamese Beef Stew

Bo kho, a traditional Vietnamese beef stew made with tomato, star anise, and lemongrass, from Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: