Short Ribs and Molay Molay Molay!

This is technically just short ribs and "mole" (pronounced mol-ay), but my irreverent brain kept cheering "Molay molay molay!" throughout the afternoon, like Austin Powers in that scene where the kid from Wonder Years has a huge mole on his face. The mole in this recipe is a traditional Mexican sauce that has a vast number of variations. Most recipes are way more complicated than what I created today, but I went with what was already in my kitchen and it turned out pretty good, in my opinion.

The idea for the short ribs came from a review for the restaurant I wrote about last weekend, Flour Restaurant in Moreland Hills, Ohio. In this review, the chefs admitted that they simmer their short ribs in chocolate milk. This sounded so odd that I absolutely had to try it. By the way, this recipe could probably be cut in half... we're going to be eating short ribs and mole for months.

Equipment needed:

Food processor or blender

Large skillet (preferably cast iron) - my cast iron skillet is 11 3/4" in diameter and about 2 inches deep. A dutch oven or deep sauce pan would also work.

Metal tongs

Slow cooker

Ingredients:

4 1/2 lbs short ribs

1 T canola oil

1/2 cup red wine (cabernet or a spanish wine is best)

1 quart chocolate milk

Sauce group one:

7 oz. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (1 small can)

2 T unsweetened cocoa

1 T garlic powder

1 t cinnamon

1 t cumin

1 t chili pepper

2 T cilantro

1/4 t ground cloves

Sauce group two:

2 T butter

1/2 yellow onion (diced)

1 T minced garlic

1 28-oz can whole stewed tomatoes
1 t salt

4oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (1/3 bag)

3 T peanut butter (preferably natural/unsweetened)

Mix peppers and spices (sauce group one) in a food processor or blender until smooth. Rub canola oil on inside of cold cast iron skillet until pan is covered. Heat empty skillet on medium-high heat. Using a butter knife or small spatula, smear this mixture on all sides of the short ribs. Sear the short ribs in the hot skillet, only a minute or two on each side so each one is brown on the outside but not cooked through. Metal tongs are handy for this part for easy meat-handling. Set aside on a plate until all ribs have been seared. Searing the meat like this helps keep the juices inside while cooking. Once finished with the meat, turn the skillet down to low and immediately add the wine, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Add the rest of the pepper/spice mixture (whatever you didn't use on the meat) and 1/2 cup of water, stir, and leave on low heat. Stir often so it doesn't burn.

There's just something therapeutic about spending a Sunday afternoon stirring sauce.

While sauce is stewing, pour 1 quart chocolate milk into empty slow cooker. Arrange seared short ribs in the milk so they are mostly submerged. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high heat.

In a separate skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook for a minute or two before adding diced onion. Cook until onion is soft but not turning brown. Remove from heat. In food processor or blender, combine onions, garlic, and can of tomatoes; blend until smooth. Stir this mixture in to the sauce that is already cooking in the large skillet. Add salt. Add chocolate chips, stirring until melted. Add peanut butter, stirring until melted.

Keep this sauce on low heat for the next few hours (until meat is done), stirring often and occasionally adding 1/2 cup of water if sauce is becoming too thick. "Too thick" means thicker than your average store-bought tomato sauce. "Stirring often" means every few minutes. When I make recipes that require this much attention, I use the time between stirs to do dishes, clean the kitchen, and call family, so I'm not really just standing at the stove all afternoon.

After 4 hours, remove short ribs from slow cooker and serve with mole on top. Today I served them with purple mashed potatoes on the side, because Dr. Oz told me to eat purple potatoes and it sounded like a fun idea. Freeze excess mole and use it in the future as a sauce for chicken or enchiladas.

How could anyone not love these?!

References:

http://clevelandmagazine.blogspot.com/2012/01/minnillo-and-mytro-making-magic-at.html

If you want to read more about Dr. Oz and his purple potatoes:

http://www.drozfans.com/dr-oz-diet/dr-oz-shirataki-noodles-pearl-barley-purple-potatoes/

A Mediterranean Morning

It's grocery day in my house, so of course I woke up starving to a mostly empty refrigerator. Trying to come up with something to fill my belly before I head to the store as a ravenous beast (we all know that's a bad idea!), I decided pizza dough, cheese, and the contents of my spice cabinet were enough to throw together a quick meal.


Admission: I did not make this pizza dough. I am engaged in a continuing search for the perfect pizza dough recipe, but in the meantime I decided to try out the frozen pizza dough from my local grocery store, Heinen's. Papa Joe's pizza dough comes in one-pound bags in their freezer section and it tastes fantastic. I hope someday to make pizza dough this good. Today, I cut the dough in half to make two recipes.


My first creation today was the best. A friend of mine with Lebanese heritage recently blessed me with a bag of the Middle Eastern spice mix "za'atar." Za'atar can include many different things depending on the country or family, but always seems to involve oregano, thyme, sesame seeds, and sumac. Upon this friend's advice, I stretched out the dough as if I was making a pizza, covered the dough with olive oil, and sprinkled a pretty heavy coating of za'atar on top. After baking in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, it resulted in this awesomeness:

It may not look like much, but this bread tastes incredible. It is savory and salty and it was so easy to make that I think it may become a standard snack in my house. I ate almost the whole thing before my second creation was out of the oven.

With the other half of the pizza dough I was aiming for a white pizza, mainly because I had no tomatoes or sauce. Again, I stretched the dough to my preferred pizza size/thickness, spread olive oil on top, and covered with spices - this time, half a packet of my favorite cheat, the Knorr pesto spice mix. I rubbed the pesto into the oil/dough with my hand so it evenly covered the dough, and then sprinkled about a cup of grated Romano cheese on top.* I again baked the pizza at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, and ended up with a pretty but somewhat mediocre pizza.

I think the pesto mix was actually why this pizza failed. Don't get me wrong, I still ate it, but it was REALLY salty. I think in the future I will just add individual Italian spices from my cabinet, or buy some fresh basil instead. The cheese and dough have enough salt in it that you do not need the extra salt from the pesto.

*My favorite cheese ever is Romano cheese made by Locatelli. It is so full of flavor that it never lasts long in our house. We put it on almost everything, and have stopped buying those sad green cans of Parmesan cheese.

References:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/07/spice-hunting-what-is-zaatar-how-to-use.html

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/middleeasternspicesherbs/r/zaatar.htm

Mushroom Risotto

This is one of my favorite recipes, adapted from my Italian grandmother's tomato risotto because I LOVE mushrooms.

4T salted butter
2T olive oil
10oz portabella mushrooms (1 package baby bellas)*
3.5 oz oyster mushrooms (you can leave these out if you want to save money)
Juice from 1/2 a small lemon
1/2 white onion, diced
2T parsley
4T pesto (see note below)
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine**
4-6 cups chicken or beef broth
1/2 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese
Pre-cooked chopped or shredded chicken can be added at the very end.


*Please remember to wash your mushrooms, as they are often grown in manure.
**I prefer pinot grigio, but really any wine, red or white, will do. Red wine makes for ugly, gray rice though.


First, put the broth in a saucepan on low heat on a back burner of the stove to make sure it is warm by the time you need it. Don't let it boil.

Slice portabellas into thin slices lengthwise. Cut up oyster mushrooms as little as possible, sparing their pretty shape. Melt 2T salted butter in pan - use a skillet if you are planning on cooking in the slow cooker, or a large saucepan if planning on cooking your risotto using the traditional method. While butter is melting, toss mushrooms in a bowl with juice from half of a small lemon, being very careful to avoid accidentally adding lemon seeds. Sauté mushrooms in butter until soft, brown, and releasing their juices. Remove mushrooms and juices to a separate bowl, and toss with parsley and pesto.


At this point I'll let you in on an secret: I'm awful at making pesto, and I find it to be a time-consuming hassle for something that never tastes right anyhow. I tried for years, and I have given up. It doesn't help that I can't seem to keep indoor plants alive, so my attempts to grow basil at home have also failed miserably. So here's my secret: I use Knorr pesto packets in a lot of my recipes.

My ancestors are rolling over in their graves

I'm highly ashamed of this, but it tastes so much better than any pesto I've ever made, and it's cheaper than ready-made pesto in a jar. If you decide to take my easy way out, just dump in the whole pesto packet at this point. Set the bowl of mushrooms and spices aside for now.


In the same pan (don't bother washing it), melt 2T butter with 2T olive oil. Sauté onions until clear and soft, but not brown. Add rice and stir until coated. Add mushroom mixture and stir. Add wine and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated.

At this point, it's time to officially decide if you are going to be lazy or traditional. If you're feeling lazy, dump the contents of the skillet into your slow-cooker, add 4 to 4 1/2 cups broth all at once, put the slow cooker on high and go relax on the couch for the next 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until all the liquid has absorbed (peek at it after one hour to make sure it doesn't burn).


For the traditional cooking method, keep the broth on low heat on the stove in a separate pan throughout cooking. Add broth to rice mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup of broth. I use a large ladle for this part, adding one ladleful at a time. Stir continuously, being careful not to pause for more than a few seconds or it will burn. Continue this until the rice is at your preferred consistency. Depending on the day, it can take more or less than 6 cups of broth. I always buy extra just in case.


When done cooking, stir in cheese while still hot. Many recipes also say to stir in 2T of butter at the end, but I find it just adds unnecessary calories. Today, I added about 2 cups of shredded Cornish game hen that I had frozen from Christmas dinner leftovers. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Review: Flour Restaurant in Moreland Hills, Ohio

Last night I decided to start including restaurant reviews in this blog, as Feeding My Inner Fat Kid often involves exploring the vast array of restaurants in the Cleveland area. First on the list: Flour Restaurant in Moreland Hills, Ohio.

Flour Restaurant

34205 Chagrin Boulevard

Moreland Hills, OH 44022

216-464-3700

The first think a person notices upon arrival at Flour are the expensive cars in the parking lot - this restaurant is frequented by people with expensive taste. Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Lincoln MKZ - we were already impressed before we entered the building.

The interior decor was very simple and industrial, with polished concrete floors, chain mail curtains and lots of space between table. The hosts were very friendly, and we were seated immediately (*note: we did have reservations, which were very easily made online). Service was prompt and polite throughout the meal, but some of the wait staff sounded as if they were forcing rehearsed lines rather than having a conversation.

Now for the best part - the FOOD. Chefs Paul Minillo and Chris DiLisi formerly headed the Baricelli Inn, a high-class and high-priced restaurant in Cleveland's Little Italy that closed last winter do to waning interest in this tough economy. Having read and heard so much about the Baricelli and their plans for this new restaurant, I had been looking forward to this food since Flour opened in April 2011.

For an appetizer, James and I shared the veal meatballs and roasted pork belly skewer, served with peperonato (similar to capers) and pesto and topped with arugula and pickled turnip slices. My meat-loving taste buds were in heaven, despite James reminding my bleeding heart that I was eating baby cow. The meat melts in your mouth and goes well with the accompanying vegetables.

Luckily the waitress brought out our main courses quickly, because after the small but tasty appetizer, my stomach was yearning for more amazing food. James ordered seared salmon served on carrot puree, with braised leeks, truffle salsa and wild mushrooms on the side. I absolutely love mushrooms, and after tasting this it was very difficult not to steal the rest of them off his plate. The salmon was perfectly cooked (from personal experience, I know it's easy to over cook!) and went well with the sides.

James' salmon was fine, but at an Italian restaurant I always feel like I just have to order pasta. I was not disappointed. My entree was gnudi, which is similar to gnocchi but more of a perfect cylindrical shape. The gnudi was mixed with pancetta, lion mane mushrooms, chopped chives, brussel leaves, and a light parmesan sauce ("grana brodo"). The dish was delicious, and I caught myself trying to piece out the individual flavors so I could try to make it at home. I was especially impressed that the brussel leaves were not bitter at all, as brussel sprouts tend to taste bitter at most family holidays.

The pasta went well with a dry white wine the waitress recommended: Batasiolo Gavi (2009). I must admit, I had never heard of most of the wine on the menu, so I appreciated the recommendation and found the wine so good that I had to be careful not to drink it all before my food arrived. James was happy to see the restaurant had a selection of Ohio beers on tap, and he enjoyed a peanut butter cup porter from Willoughby Brewing company.

At this point, we were both pleasantly full. As I was telling the waitress I probably didn't want dessert, James and I simultaneously burst into "Ooooo!" as we saw the two words neither of us can resist on a dessert menu - "cannoli" for him, "tiramisu" for me.

Dessert and a strong Italian coffee were served quickly. James' two cannoli were presented dusted with powdered sugar and pistachios. He said the cannoli were the best he ever tasted ("better than Heinen's"), but I don't like ricotta cheese and felt like the ricotta flavor and texture were too strong. My first cannoli was at Presti's Bakery in Cleveland's Little Italy, and so far no one has beat it.

I couldn't pass up the limoncello tiramisu. A fun take on the traditional dessert, this was a yellow cake soaked in limoncello with a light, creamy lemon frosting between the layers. I loved it. Next time though, I will be trying the molten nutella cake, which also sounded incredible and is said to be one of their specialties.

The restaurant is also known for their gourmet pizzas that cook in just 90 seconds in the restaurant's wood-fired oven, but I couldn't bring myself to order pizza at a nice restaurant like this. I will definitely be picking up a gourmet pizza for takeout someday soon for lunch. Overall, we both very much enjoyed our dinner at Flour and will definitely be going there again.

References: http://flourrestaurant.com/

http://www.cleveland.com/dining/index.ssf/2011/04/flour_restaurant_blooms_in_mor.html

http://www.wine.com/v6/wineshop/Detail.aspx?product_id=109856&state=OH

Beer Bread

We had a lot of visitors during the holiday season, and it seems everyone brought beer. The bottom shelf of our refrigerator actually cracked recently from the weight of all the extra bottles. Rather than getting drunk every night to use up the excessive amounts of booze in the house, I decided to start making beer bread. This recipe was ridiculously easy and delicious. The original recipe came from Epicurious.com with a few alterations on my part.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 bottle (12 ounces) beer at room temperature

1/4 cup butter (melted)

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add beer all at once and mix as little as possible - batter will be lumpy. Spray or grease a loaf pan (9"x5"x3") and pour batter into pan. Pour melted butter on top of dough, ensuring to completely cover the loaf. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in loaf comes out clean.

I used Yuengling Lager for my first loaf and it worked beautifully. The bread tastes great on its own and is a little bit sweet. The next time I make it, I plan to add roasted garlic and Italian spices to the dough, replace half of the butter with olive oil, and maybe mix a little grated romano cheese in as well. My stomach is growling just thinking about it!