Couscous! (the food so nice they named it twice)

Couscous

(the food so nice they named it twice)

this will feed quite a few people. please send me to Morocco so I can tell if this is even remotely authentic. Either way it’s delicious.

You will need a 5 quart dutch oven to cook and a large deep platter to serve.

Adjust meat, vegetables and spices according to what’s in season, what you have and what you like.

For this I used/recommend:

Olive oil as needed

Butter as needed

4-6 thick bone in rib or loin lamb chops

2-4 boneless chicken breasts

4 cups chicken stock

1 onion sliced

4-6 cloves of garlic sliced

2 red jalapeño seeded and sliced

1 Hungarian wax pepper seeded and sliced

1 small green pepper sliced

a few carrots sliced

a small piece of ginger grated

1 stalk celery sliced

an ounce or two of orange juice

1 small butternut squash, peeled seeded and sliced

a potato, peeled and sliced

a few tomatoes, sliced

1 apple, peeled cored and sliced

1 summer squash sliced

1 zucchini sliced

3 small asian eggplants sliced

1 t cumin

1/2 t turmeric

1/4-1/2 t thyme

1/4 t coriander

1/2 t paprika

1/4 t cinnamon

dash allspice

pinch of saffron

salt and pepper

1-2 T honey

1/4-1/2 cup raisins

1 cup canned chickpeas

3 cups couscous

parsley, scallions, mint and sesame seeds for garnish

season meat with salt and pepper. heat oil on medium high heat, add a tablespoon of butter, when foam subsides sear lamb for 2 minutes a side and remove to a plate. Sear chicken for 3 minutes a side and remove to a plate. Sweat onion, garlic, peppers, carrot, celery and a good pinch of salt for a few minutes, add half the spices and cook another minute, deglaze with orange juice. Add the rest of the spices, potato, tomatoes, eggplant, squashes, and let fry for a minute, add stock and honey, bring to a simmer, cook 10 minutes. Add meat back to pot with chickpeas and raisins and simmer on low, covered, until meat is cooked, about 20 minutes or up to 30 it you like your lamb well done.

Remove meat to a plate to rest, turn off heat and cover vegetables. Ladle off 3 cups of broth to another small pot with a tight fitting lid and add about a tablespoon butter, bring to a rapid boil, stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat for 5 minutes.

Dump couscous into a mound on your platter, fluff and spread out in a pile with a well in the middle (like a volcano) Pour vegetables into the well, slice chicken breasts and pile on top, arrange lamb around that. Garnish with scallions, parsley, mint and sesame seeds.

- Adam

Clafoutis

(pronounced kla-foo-TEE)

Clafoutis is a traditional French dessert made with unpitted cherries, but I pit them when I make it with cherries. I’ve also made this with blueberries, clementines, pears, apples, there are lots of options, my favorite, however , is raspberries. Make the batter with more or less sugar depending on your taste. You can also add flavoring to the batter such as vanilla, almond, cinnamon, rosewater, etc. it’s up to you, I like half a scraped vanilla bean with raspberries. You can cook it until it’s well brown and cakey or light and custardy depending on your taste, I like it somewhere in the middle.

Butter as needed

1/2 cup flour, more for dusting pan

3 eggs

1/2 – 3/4 cup granulated sugar

Pinch salt

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup milk

3 cups fruit (raspberries in this case)

Powdered sugar

Flavoring (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 10 inch round deep pie plate or porcelain dish, by smearing it with butter, just a teaspoon or so. Dust it with flour, rotating pan so flour sticks to all the butter; invert dish to get rid of excess.

In a large measuring bowl with a spout (or just a bowl, but the spout makes things easier), whisk eggs until frothy. Add granulated sugar, salt and flavoring if using, and whisk until combined. Add cream and milk and whisk until smooth. Add 1/2 cup flour and stir just to combine.

Place fruit in dish, it should come just about to the top. Pour batter over fruit to as close to top of dish as you dare; you may have a little leftover batter, depending on size of your dish. Bake for about 40-60 minutes, or until clafoutis is nicely browned on top and a knife inserted into it comes out clean. Sift some powdered sugar over it before serving. Traditionally a clafoutis is served warm or at room temperature and not to be kept longer, but I think it’s great fridge cold the next day too.

- Adam

Grilled Shrimp and Eggplant with Nuoc Cham

You could use other vegetables - broccoli, bok choy, etc. Black rice or rice vermicelli, squid or scallops instead of shrimp… what’s fresh and in season? Use that.

Chop eggplant on a bias into small pieces and toss with a little oil and salt, grill outdoors on a grill basket or indoors on a grill pan until very soft and browned. Toss shrimp with some oil and salt and grill until cooked through (skewers might help)

Pile eggplant in a bowl, top with shrimp, garnish with one (or preferably all) of the following: cucumber, mint, avocado, scallion, basil (Thai basil if you’ve got it)

serve with a bowl of nuoc cham to drizzle over before eating.

nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce):

nuoc cham keeps very well in the refrigerator and is wonderful on all types of things, doubling or tripling the recipe to have on hand might be a good idea.

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

2 fresh birdeye or other red chilies minced, seeded or not depending on how much heat you want (you might be able to use jalapeño or serrrano try to get red ones)

about a 1 1/2 inch piece peeled fresh ginger, finely minced or grated (use a spoon to scrape the peel off the ginger, it’s easier and more efficient than a knife or peeler)

4 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)

4 tablespoons water (or fresh young coconut water if you happen to have it)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon finely julienned or grated carrot (optional)

To make, mix all the ingredients together. That was easy.

Some people like it more sour, others prefer it more sweet or spicy. You can add rice vinegar, more lime juice, more sugar, etc. to suit your taste.

- Adam

A Fall Cocktail (Suggestions for a proper name are welcome)

Ingredients:

- Spiced rum

- Apple cider

- Lemon

- Angostura bitters

Have a dear friend clandestinely distill a fine spiced rum in his basement.

In lieu of that use a good aged rum or whiskey.

Fill a glass with ice. According to taste mix spirits, fresh local apple cider, a twist of lemon and a few dashes angostura bitters.

Drink.

- Adam

Costillas de Cochinos (or Cuba Libribs)

Courtesy of Adam

Ingredients:

2 racks of baby back ribs

1 small white onion, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 limes, juiced, with rinds reserved

2 ounces white rum*

4 ounces spiced rum*

2 cans Coca Cola

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce

Hot sauce (we use the Chipotle Pepper Tabasco)

salt and pepper

Rub:

5 parts brown sugar

3 parts chili powder

1 part garlic powder

1/2 part ground thyme

1/4 part cayenne

1/4 part allspice

* As this is a Vincentz family recipe, it is assumed that there is a variety of liquor on hand. If you have no rum and must go to the store, just get a small bottle of Captain Morgan and call it a day.

- Generously season ribs with salt, pepper and lots of rub.

- Top with sliced onion, garlic and lime rinds.

- Individually seal each rack in an aluminum foil packet.

- Leave in the refrigerator overnight or let stand at room temperature for 2-4 hours. (Yes, we realize the second option isn't necessarily "healthy".)

- Preheat the oven to 300^OF.

- Open an edge of each foil packet and add 1 ounce lime juice, 2 ounces white rum, 2 ounces spiced rum, and 1/2 a can of Coca Cola. 

- Seal packets, shake around to cover ribs, and stick in the oven at 300^OF for 1 hour.

- Reduce heat to 200^OF for 2 hours.

- Take packets out of the oven and let cool.

- Slice open one end of each packet and drain the liquid into a sauce pan.

- Add ketchup, brown sugar, 1 - 2 shots of rum, Worchestershire sauce, hot sauce to taste, salt, pepper and 9 ounces of Coke. Give it a taste and add more of whatever you think it might need (i.e. pepper, hot sauce)

- Reduce liquid by half (until it's good and saucy).

- Cut ribs into chunks (3 - 4 ribs per chunk), and dunk the chunks individually into the sauce.

- Grill for about 4 minutes a side (they're already cooked, you just want to carmelize the sauce).

- Serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.