Warm Potato Salad with Lentils + Poached Egg

David Chang is right when he said there wasn't a dish in the world that couldn't be improved with the addition of a runny egg on top. My poaching game is strong. Subbed some rough diced yukon golds for fingerlings in this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, as well as some homemade pickled tomato relish for the pickles.

Think Kit #12: Nu-Dill

I like to say that I'm a restless wanderer, but aside from new brews (thanks, Twenty Tap) – I don't do a whole lot of "new" week-to-week. I have set habits that may or may not make me some kinda OCD-freak:

• alternating breakfasts (toast one day, egg the next)
• when weather cooperates, running Sun. - Thurs.
• read New Yorker in the AM and before bed
• read NY Times over lunch
• consistently cook-and-refine favorite recipes fairly often
• spin records from 7p - 8p while cooking or cleaning

...I mean, you get the point. Being an adult is some boring shit.

I did try something new this week. It's really cold, and I had some fresh dill to use before it went off, so I decided to make some soup. Or more specifically, dal, an Indian-subcontinental specialty that is always amazing at an Indian joint – the earthy thickness of lentils, fragrant aroma of spice, and bite of fresh herbs create a powerful spell to eyes, ears, and mouth ... but mine are usually lacking. 

What am I missing? Is it ghee? Is it fresh spices? Some kind of hidden secret like tamarind paste or other exotic, unpronounceable powder? Maybe I'm cooking it wrong?

I've also only used fresh dill in one recipe so far a dry Indian curry that's so good...I haven't branched out. The dill cooks down till it's tender like a green – unfortunately, I only see dill in bulk at Asian markets like Saraga. Come on, Kroger, step up your produce game! I don't want those tiny, plastic containers of past-date herb snippets. Weak.

This time I cooked the lentils separate, in liquid (2 to 1 ratio); afterwards you can easily whisk them into sort of a paste. I sauteed onions, garlic, and spices in a separate pot, then added the dill, cooked down a bit – after which I added the lentils and some water, and brought to a boil as a light, spicy soup.

In hindsight, I wish I had added a cup or so less water, in order to thicken things, but this method was closer to what I was hoping for. ...still might need that ghee, though!

buttermilk and/or bringing the funk

This week I've really been ruminating on buttermilk, especially after learning an awesome buttermilk recipe from Megan, the older-bro's girlfriend.

She got it from a bread-recipe collection from baker-extraordinaire, Beth Hensperger. You can get it too, via Google Books, here. Hensperger says,

"This is the breadmaker's 'little black dress,' a beautiful bread to grace any table..."

and it really is. Deeply bronzed on top, with a nice sheen (via the egg wash prior to baking), it's awesome for toast, sandwiches...and if you let it get stale (tough to do, I know), supremely great French toast.

The other day I decided I wanted to make some buttermilk cornmeal pancakes, inspired by this Serious Eats restaurant brief. Some quick searching yielded a Bon appetit recipe.


Piggly Wiggly--I've almost forgiven you for wronging me so.

As a kid, my Tennesseean (by way of California, Indiana, Nevada, & Arizona) grandpa often made buttermilk hotcakes for breakfast; I despised them. They had an almost-creamy texture, very soft, with the pungency that comes from buttermilk evident in each bite. My distaste may have come from a singular event; as a youngster I atypically helped myself to a refill while at the kids' table during a family get-together. I saw the familiar "Piggly-Wiggly" logo, and poured what I assumed was milk into a tall glass. I took a sip before sitting down, and made a face that was referenced for years by older family members, who apparently watched with humorous detachment the entire sequence of events.


Injera--maybe the most unique bread product I've ever eaten.
Currently have a heavy jonesing for Major Restaurant.

But I guess since then my tastes have advanced---some of my favorite flavors in the world are fermented. (Which as it turns out, may be healthier than I knew, according to this article, in which people are only slightly more crazy than college-friends I assisted in consuming plenty of dumpster-salvaged foods.) Sourdough bread, Greek-style yogurt, beer, the fantastic Ethiopian flatbread "injera"---and now, buttermilk. Back to the pancakes at hand, (or maybe Johnnycakes or hoecakes, though the latter is linked to a Paula Deen recipe, a reference I wash my hands of) they were fantastic. A little thinner than typical pancakes, but with the cornmeal they turn out of the pan a burnished gold. Using some blackberries (we froze several gallons picked from Amelia's grandparents' bushes this summer), a couple tablespoons sugar, water, and cornstarch, I made a simple syrup to put on top. Pretty close to perfect...I'm glad I've come around to fermentation.

weekly list, vol. 4

shit has been flying by. or maybe it's all the mexican coffee inside me, post-getting home at 4am following rock-and-roll in muncie. hmm...


this is a dude you should know.

saw:
--in bruges--
an uncomfortably funny buddy-(non)cop movie. made me want to go back to belgium sooner rather than later. colin farrell is supremely sublime at being petty & annoying. i know some people don't like his style, but he's pretty great in this movie. brendan gleeson is a great foil. now all i can think of is karate-choppin' a midget...
--up in the air--
i'll admit it: i'm pretty much a fan of anything george clooney does. (re: michael clayton). does that make it a man-crush? will sean connery be jealous if i say yes? this is a post-modern relationship comedy/drama that hits closer than you think. throw in all the ties to the recession, and this is one of the better movies i've seen lately that didn't have a yurt in it.
--an education--
i didn't realize this was going to be a romantic comedy before i started watching it! that said, i did enjoy...though i felt like i knew what was going to happen for quite awhile before it did. still though, i can dig on all the "oh, i am so bohemian" vibes that get crushed in this movie. it ain't about filling a role, it's about living your life.

read:
--500 pages into dos passos' U.S.A. trilogy--
this keeps getting better. knee-deep in World War I, full of graft, sex, shrapnel, architecture, culture-clash...things don't really change, do they?

heard:
--cast king's saw mill man--
while volunteering at secretly canadian, i came upon, in the stack of damaged discards, an old bluesman's release on the excellent label out of chicago, Locust. the story itself would be great without the existence of the record. man documents the music of the hills, hears about an old songwriter who'd cut a side for Sun Records in the 50s. tracks him down, begins visiting regularly, begins playing music regularly. convinces him to record. saw mill man is about as spare as it gets, usually just 2 guitars, drums enter the record only once. "saw mill man" is a somber, dark account of the workingman, but it's not all doom and gloom. "peggy" is a shambling piece of a love song about a daughter, belted out through past-prime vocal chords. the closer "outlaw" is a fantastic piece of post-apocalyptic blues as i've ever heard or understood. gonna be returning to this record for awhile...


consumed:
--pretty good burgers, supreme garlic/parsley fries, and a nice shake at boogie burger
--korean food for the first time ever at mama's house. probably the most interesting introduction to a cuisine i've ever seen.
--lots of fresh basil & whole milk mozzarella homemade pizza. fantastic!
--homemade mac 'n cheese with my new favorite cheese combo: raw milk white cheddar & fontina. soooooo awesome. leftover it is downright incredible. if only i could not eat some as soon as i make it.
--super great tenderloin at savage's alehouse in muncie. probably my favorite laid-back bar in the state. plus, where else can you listen to Television and sip on great beers?
--had a north coast pranqster for the first time, and really dug it. forgot that north coast is who makes old rasputin....king of motor-oil-brews. yum!

Winter Eats: Red Lentils

Let's be honest: I'm poor. And since I don't qualify for the Earned Income Credit until I'm 25 (OK, so legal adulthood, voting, porn, smoke, & war at 18; booze at 21; rental cars and EIC at 25? Seriously, give it up for inane, arbitrary bureaucracy.), I gotta save that cheese any and every way I can. There aren't too many dishes I can take to work every day of the week and

1. Know it's costing me less than 25¢ a meal.


2. Enjoy it 5 days in a row.


3. Know it's not going to get evil in the fridge, causing uncomfortable (albeit; paid) breaks regularly throughout a given afternoon.

and

4. Get a complete vegetarian protein by combining with rice.

Ingredients:
1 c. red lentils (you can use any color, really, i just prefer the taste/texture of red)
3-4 tbsp. oil/margarine
1 lg. onion (diced)
5 to 10 cloves garlic (minced; depends how much garlic you like, I usually go with 7.)
2 tbsp. Lentil Daal seasoning (you can buy this pre-mixed/packaged for really cheap; or substitute your own mixture of cumin, coriander, garam masala, chili powder, ginger...etc.)
1 can diced tomatoes (or, 3-4 fresh 'uns, diced. but don't buy 'em in winter; who knows how many time zones/continental divides/civil wars they had to travel across.)
5-6 c. water

Preparation:
Rinse and then soak your lentils for 1 hr., picking out any impurities. (You don't have to soak them, but it'll help your digestion if you're not in tune with legumes.) Drain (anal chefs may wish to rinse again).

Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a pot, then cook onions for a few minutes. Next, add the spices and garlic, letting it all cook for another minute or so. Then, add in your tomatoes, lentils, and water. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add final tbsp. of oil at the end to give it that nice sheen.

Finish:
If you like you can mash it a bit, making the texture more more thick-soup like. Some fresh cilantro goes good on top as a contrast, and don't forget rice or naan as a base. Let it cool before you refrigerate, and the next day it'll thicken; should keep for at least a week.

Once again, spring for some cilantro and presentation on this one is almost too easy. With the spices, and the cooking time fading the red lentils, the dish takes on a golden, glossy hue. As for the the Goat's Head Soup deconstruction, expect that soon. Had to go veg for a day. Another day, another daal--er?

Winter Eats: Colcannon

Monday night was cold and blustery--luckily, I'd just been to Saraga, where I procured, among other things, a bag of potatoes and a bundle of kale. Earlier in the day, I'd been perusing a cookbook at my girlfriend's house and jotted down the recipe for a traditional Irish dish, colcannon, the hearty, hairy uncle of bubble 'n squeak (which, unfortunately, I've never tried at my Irish pub of choice--Louisville's Irish Rover).

Whereas bubble 'n squeak is the high-voiced little cousin who'll never stop bothering you to play foosball in the moldy basement, colcannon looked to be every bit the hale, stocky uncle, glasses in the breast pocket of his flannel shirt, who slaps you on the back every time he tells a joke. And admittedly, his material doesn't change much from year-to-year, but that's just part of the charm. Much like colcannon, in fact, whose main ingredients remain much the same, generation after generation. In this case...also not a bad thing. The recipe follows:

Ingredients:
2 lbs potatoes (cut into even pieces)
8 oz. curly kale or green cabbage (shredded)
2 scallions (chopped) [I used a small yellow onion and it worked beautifully.]
Butter (to taste)
Nutmeg, Salt, Pepper (to taste)
4 eggs
3 oz. aged cheese (grated)

Preparation:
Boil potatoes (water level should just cover the 'taters; till tender), drain, and mash well (with a bit of milk and butter). [I suppose you could use instant, if you can justify using instant potatoes in a dish with a name like "Colcannon". I mean, c'mon, potatoes are the dish. Man up and get peelin'.]

Lightly cook kale until tender but crisp (a bit of olive oil will help with this). Heat oven to 375°. Drain the kale, and mix with the potatoes, onions, butter (I used 2 tbsp.), nutmeg (a healthy amount, 2 or 3 tsp.), and salt and pepper.

Spoon into a lightly buttered dish, and make four hollows with the back of a spoon. Crack an egg into each hollow, and season accordingly. Bake 12 min. (eggs will be a bit runny; if you want them set, leave it in for 20 or so).

Finish:
Serve with grated cheese (and if you're feeling decadent, some crumbled bacon or sausage makes it ideal).

This was pretty much perfect, and with minimal effort on my part, even looked rather presentable (for what it is; forest-green kale, golden mashed potatoes, four smiling eggs) in the dish. Leftover it was magnificent for breakfast or lunch, and I strongly suspect it would serve as a healthy cure or base for a bender.

Next time: An extended look at the perenially underrated Stones' record Goat's Head Soup, for better or for worse, always known as "the record after Exile."