the arugula files

Chorizo Tacos with Pickled Onions and Cilantro

Chorizo, Mexico's spicy, fatty, pork sausage, is the perfect filling for fresh flour tortillas.  Add a bit of cilantro, a squeeze of lemon, and some pickled onions, and you have a tasty meal that comes together in ten minutes.  I find that while I may not be able to replicate the pork or beef  tacos at Taqueria Distrito Federal, I can certainly buy some chorizo and come to close their version of chorizo tacos.

Spicy Beef with Peanuts and Chiles

 

Dry.  That's how Marcus described this dish.  Me?  I would have said, bursting with flavor, but could use more sauce, especially if you plan to serve it over rice.  Do you see the difference in those two descriptions?  One is short and, yes, it's to the point, but it doesn't highlight the positive.  The other is a little more complementary, allowing room for critique and thus future improvement. 

Roasted Garlic and Chicken Pizza a la CPK

 

When I was 14 years old I discovered purple eye shadow and the mall.  The  mall had a food court, and that was very important for boy watching and cinnabon.   It also had a California Pizza Kitchen, and that was very important for eating.  Those were old timey days, when I thought Wolfgang Puck was a dead composer and gourmet pizza was a novel invention.   CPK was new, fresh – even fancy. 

Today I wouldn't seek out CPK.  There are far too many delicious gourmet pizza options in the DC area, including 2 Amys, Liberty Tavern, and Coppi's.  Not to mention my very own pizza creations with local ingredients (shameless plug here, here, and here).  Occasionally, though, I food dream about my favorite pizza from the CPK menu: the roasted garlic chicken pizza. 

Here's my try at recreating a childhood favorite.  And since the CPK on Connecticut Ave recently closed, this is my tribute to the restaurant for getting me to eat something beyond pepperoni pizza (not that I don't love you pepperoni, because I do).

These Buns Are Off the Hook

Like most people interested in food, I read the highly influential perfect burger article in the nytimes a few weeks ago.  I took the tips seriously, incorporating them into a 4th of July cookout at my friend Bridget and Joe's house.  Among other things, the article noted the importance of fat content in the meat patty and baking a worthy bun.  Even though ground hamburger with high fat content scares the heck out of me, I bought meat that was 27/73. Yes, you heard that right, 27 percent fat.  And this was no grass-fed meat (Big Food: score 1,843,98,94) because let me tell you, grass-fed isn't available in these fat ratios at your typical supermarket. 

I also suggested that my friend Joe, a terrific cook and host, make the buns featured in the article.  He did, and, oh man, were they were delicious.  The bun definitely made a difference in the overall hamburger experience, and the fatty beef, with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, purposely under handled, and carefully formed into a loose patty, made a difference in taste too. Add some blue cheese and you have a hamburger that is off the hook.  Observe, there's no final photo.  What can I say, I was so enthralled with eating this masterpiece that taking the time to take a photo was the last thing on my mind.

Afghan Raviolis

 

I will never make dumplings, or anything having to do with wonton wrappers again.  I'm just not cut out for it.  Wonton wrappers are a basic concept: you make a filling, stuff them, and then steam them or fry them.  What this doesn't tell you is the arduous process of stuffing those dumplings one by one.  It takes time and patience, two things which I seem to lack.  The thing is, the meat sauce I served with these raviolis was simply delicious.  I simmered lamb with coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, and cayenne pepper and then topped it with mint and yogurt.  The sauce was just as good as my favorite dish at Helmand.  It makes me want to make this dish again, but then I think about making the dumplings.  And the thought makes me want to lie down on the couch.

Lamb Sausage, Spinach, Orzo, and Feta

I'm one of those annoying cooks who makes a dish, serves it, and then watches the person's reaction like a kid watches TV: I stare, without blinking, totally entranced, waiting for something to happen.  Basically, waiting for clues on whether or not they like the dish.  I can hardly let a few seconds pass before I ask - so, what do you think?  Then I want to talk about the dish, like forever.  Having been on the serving end of my dishes, like forever, Marcus has a routine response.  It's good.  That's it?  It's good?  What does that mean, I think.  Then I try to pull information out of him.  Essentially, he's been arrested at the dinner table and I'm the head of the interrogation team, except he has no right to remain silent.  He must answer my questions. What would you change about it if you made it?  Do you think it needs more salt? Do you really think it's good.  How good, is in your top ten? 

I'm sure it's really annoying, but I can't help myself.  So when I made this dish - with lamb sausage, feta, orzo, and spinach - I asked Marcus how he liked it.  His response?

Too much green stuff. 

So there you have it.  I thought it was delicious, and it's easy to make. 

Thai Beef Salad

I love Thai Beef Salad.  Marcus and I order it every time we have Thai. 

I have always wanted to recreate this dish, but until I found a source for the course white pepper that is usually sprinkled on top, it would be incomplete.  In my mind, the white pepper is one of the critical ingredients. We searched for a long time scouring Thai food sites on the internet.  I finally found it at Penzy’s in Rockville, Maryland—my new favorite place.  Penzy’s is the best spice store.  EVER. 

This is my first try at recreating Yum Neua (as it is known by its Thai name).

Ingredients

Salad:

2 cucumbers
1 red pepper
2 jalapeños (or Thai chili peppers)
Handful of cilantro
1 small red onion
1 head of romaine lettuce
3 sirloin steaks

Dressing:

1/4 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
2 limes
2 teaspoons of sugar
Black pepper
1 teaspoon of fish sauce
1 teaspoon of white pepper

Directions:
Season steaks with salt and black pepper.
Heat a stainless steel pan with olive oil until it starts to smoke (light, barely visible, white smoke, not fire alarm smoke).
Sear steaks on both sides.  You will know when the steaks are fully seared when you can pick them up with tongs and they no longer stick to the pan.
Cook steaks at 350 for about 7 minutes.  Monitor your steaks for medium rare.  You do not want to over cook them.  Take them out a little early, wrap in tin foil and let rest.

Mix dressing with a whisk.

Chop up salad ingredients and then put it all together.  Sprinkle the white pepper over the salad. 

Grilling Panic Attack

I usually do not cook a lot of meat, and I have never cooked a rack of lamb, not to mention one from a butcher that costs $60.  So imagine this scenario: it's dark out, the grill is fiery hot, the lamb has been on the grill for about five minutes, my friend Leslie and I keep touching it, trying to give it the "touch test" that seems so easy to everyone on food TV. 

I remembered the helpful tip Elise posted on her site Simply Recipes.  You know the one that helps you figure out how the meat should feel at different stages of doneness by touching the part of your hand at the end of your thumb, while your thumb is touching another finger tip.  For medium rare, your thumb should be touching your middle finger, and the meat will feel like the part of your hand at the end of your thumb.

So I'm all trying to explain this method to Leslie and I'm sure that any one who happened to be watching us were wondering why we were telling each other that we love each other in sign language while excessively fondling the lamb.  In a PANIC, I decided the touch test was not working, grabbed a piece of lamb, and ran inside to look.  It was bloody and rare. I ran back and forth three times, taking the lamb inside, cutting into it, and thinking...this time, we really burnt the lamb. HOLY COW, PEOPLE, WE BURNT THE LAMB. 

It ended up coming out perfectly.  Tasty, tasty, tastyness.  Yet, I am still clueless about how to test meat without running a knife through it.