Author: arielleclementine

Ginger Fried Rice

arielleclementine3 Comments
                                      Photo by Evan Sung for The New York Times
Mark Bittman wrote about this recipe last week for the New York Times, and I made it for dinner last night.  Oh man! It is mighty, mighty fine. And it’s actually pretty easy- you mix cooked rice with softened leeks and top it with a fried egg, crispy garlic and ginger, and a drizzle of sesame oil. I devoured it. I’m not kidding.  Andy, who loved it too, looked up from his fifth-or-so bite to see me scraping together the last errant grains of rice from my plate.  
A couple notes for you:  this recipe calls for day-old rice, but I wanted my fried rice immediately, so I just cooked the rice as soon as I got home, spread it on plate and put it in the fridge until I needed it.  Also! Bittman notes that the original recipe calls for rendered chicken fat instead of the peanut oil he calls for. I didn’t have peanut oil at home, and I am all about chicken fat, so when I was at the store I asked the butcher if he had any.  He very thoughtfully pulled the lumps of fat from several whole chickens and gave it to me for free! When I got home, I put the solid fat in a skillet over medium heat and cooked it until it was almost completely liquified.  Then I put the rendered fat in a ramekin to use in place of the oil in the recipe and gave the tiny crunchy gribenes to the dogs.  Everyone was happy : ) 
Ginger Fried Rice
  • 1/2 cup peanut oil (or chicken fat)
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger
  • Salt
  • 2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried
  • 4 cups day-old cooked rice, preferably jasmine, at room temperature
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 4 teaspoons soy sauce


1. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil or rendered chicken fat over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly.

2. Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons oil and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.

3. Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through. Season to taste with salt.

4. In a nonstick skillet, fry eggs in remaining oil, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.

5. Divide rice among four dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve.
 

Apple Crunch Pie

arielleclementine7 Comments

My dear and darling sister Josie just gave me a rather lovely compliment about my pie-baking abilities. While I will happily accept the praise, the real credit should go to my mum.  When we were growing up, she spent several glorious months baking an apple pie a week, experimenting with different recipes and apple types until we unanimously declared that this was THE pie.  The pie for all of your apple-iest desires.  It is really quite wonderful. I think she found it in a Woman’s Day or Family Circle or other such magazine circa 1992.  Whatever the source, I still have not encountered an apple pie that I like better, and so I wanted to share it with you!

Apple Crunch Pie

1 pie crust (my favorite recipe follows)

For the Crumb Topping

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced small

For the Filling

  • 7 medium sized granny smith apples (you can mix in other varieties if you like)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. To make the crumb topping, mix together the flour, sugars, and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl.  Use a pastry knife to cut in the butter until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.

3. To make the filling, peel, halve, and core the apples.  Cut in 1/4 inch thick slices (I know that seems thin, but it works!) and place in a large bowl.  Toss with the lemon juice.  Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl, sprinkle over the apples and toss to coat.

4. Layer the apples in the pie shell, trying to make most of the slices lie flat, and mounding them higher in the center.  Gently drop the crumble topping over the apples.

5. Bake the pie for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes longer. I usually have to cover the pie with foil at some point after the first 15 minutes to keep the crumble for burning, so keep an eye on it.

6.  Remove the pie from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.  Enjoy!

My Favorite Pie Crust
(from The New Best Recipe)

  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
  • 4-5 tablespoons ice water

1. Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl.  Add the shortening and cut in with a pastry knife until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture and cut in with a pastry knife until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with butter bits no larger than small peas.

2. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture.  With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix.  Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if the dough will not come together. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days before rolling.

3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if refrigerated more than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable).  Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle.  Transfer the dough to a nine-inch pie plate and crimp the edges.   Refrigerate while you assemble the rest of the pie components.

Roasted Broccoli

arielleclementine4 Comments
                                                                              Photo by Sarah Shatz
My Roasted Broccoli with Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette and Marcona Almonds is a finalist for the broccoli contest on Food52.  Please stop by and vote for me if you have a minute!
If you haven’t roasted broccoli before, hold onto your hat.  It is wild and delicious fun.  Honestly, I really wasn’t that into broccoli until trying the roasted broccoli recipe in Ina Garten’s newest cookbook. The roasting makes the broccoli intensely flavorful and yet much lighter, because it’s not water-logged from boiling or steaming.  So fun!
My recipe roasts the broccoli according to Ina’s method, and then douses it in a Spanish vinaigrette.  If you’re in Central Texas, you can buy smoked paprika (get the sweet kind, not the hot kind!) in bulk at Central Market for about 20 cents.  Also, you really must try Marcona almonds if you haven’t before.  They are fattier, and therefore more delicious versions of the almonds you know and love. This dish would be wonderful served as a small bite along with a few other tapas.
Roasted Broccoli with Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette and Marcona Almonds
  • 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
  • extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • kosher salt, for sprinkling
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup marcona almonds
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the broccoli florets on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and a hefty sprinkling of kosher salt. Roast for 20 minutes.
  2. While the broccoli is roasting, prepare the vinaigrette. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat until quite warm (about 2 minutes). Stir in the minced garlic and the smoked paprika and remove the pan from the heat. Let stand 10 minutes.
  3. Put the sherry vinegar and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the paprika oil. Try to leave most of the solids (paprika and garlic) in the skillet, if possible.
  4. After 20 minutes, remove the broccoli from the oven and toss the marcona almonds on top. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette, toss, and serve immediately.