Month: May 2016

BBQ Short Rib Sliders

, Valentina Rice

 

At the launch party for Many Kitchens, we tried to have food from each of our producers. Michael offered to bring short rib sliders to showcase his incredible barbecue sauce. They flew off the plates in a matter of minutes and I’ve been begging for the recipe ever since. I’m so excited that he has agreed to share it here.

 

Michael Steifman has proved that Barbecuing is no longer exclusive to the South. His expanding selection of rubs and sauces have saved me on multiple occasions when I find myself with some chicken legs and not much inspiration. Michael recently expanded his family too and became the proud father of a daughter. His obsession with all things barbecue is forever confirmed in his nickname for her; Smoky!

 

BBQ Short Rib Sliders

Makes about 24 sliders

By Stuart & Co. From Recipes from Many Kitchens

 

Ingredients:

2 pounds (907g) boneless short ribs (you can use bone in if that’s all you can find just buy extra to match bone volume & remove before shredding)

2 cups (470ml) BBQ sauce

2 cups(470ml) beef or chicken broth

¼ cup (25g) beef rub

2 tablespoons (30g) kosher salt

Grapeseed or vegetable oil

24 Martins Potato Buns Slider Rolls (any two bite size roll will do such as a brioche or mini potato roll)

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180ºC). Season short ribs with beef rub and the kosher salt.

2. Heat a pan or grill to medium high. If using a pan to sear the beef, drizzle the oil in the pan. If using the grill drizzle the oil on the beef and coat it lightly.

3. Sear the beef on all sides in the pan or on the grill for a bout 1 minute per side then set aside.

4. Place the short ribs in a Dutch oven or roasting pan large enough for all the ribs to be in one layer. Mix BBQ sauce with 2 cups (470ml) of broth. Pour the mixture over the short ribs until they are just covered. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 3 hours.

5. Once the ribs are tender and falling apart remove them from the pan and let them cool.

6. Pour the leftover braising liquid into a smaller sauce pot to heat the shredded beef back up in. Once the ribs are cool enough to handle, shred them and place them in the sauce. Warm over low heat then spoon onto potato buns and serve.

Raspberry Fool

, Valentina Rice

 

When I think of summer desserts, the fruit fool is always top of my list. Whether made with gooseberries, rhubarb or in this case raspberry, just 3 ingredients make up this classic English dessert. We weren’t given a lot of sweets growing up, but I always remember getting a Fool as a special treat. Decadent and delicious, it can be made by mashing any soft fruit with sugar and blending with whipped cream. Its name comes from the French ‘foulè’ meaning crushed. Add some broken meringues and you instantly have another English classic, Eton Mess. 

 

Raspberry Fool

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 cups raspberries, divided

1/2 cup of sugar, divided

1 cup heavy cream

 

Method:

1. Purée half the raspberries with half the sugar in a blender. Then pass the purée through a sieve to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds and keep the purée to the side.

2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks form.  

3. In another bowl, mix the remaining sugar with the remaining raspberries.

4. To finish the dessert you have several options. For completely mixed dessert, you can fold both the remaining raspberries with the purée into the whipped cream and watch as it turns into a soft pink color. Alternately, you can layer your dessert as pictured by starting with the purée, then adding a dollop of whipped cream and a scoop of mashed raspberries. To make patterns you can just run a spoon up the side of the glass, allowing the whipped cream to swirl with the purée.

Saffron and Seafood Chowder

, Valentina Rice

 

In a couple of weeks I’ve got my first beach weekend of 2016. In typical fashion, I’ve already started planning the meals. A chowder with a twist seemed like an ideal lunch after a potentially blustery morning walk on the beach. The test run was a hit and an astoundingly easy but unique chowder was born! The saffron and cream made the hearty soup seem decadent and all you need is a freshly baked baguette to complete the meal.

 

Saffron and Seafood Chowder

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 Leek, fully cleaned and finely chopped (1 ¾ cup)

1 cup finely diced yellow Onion (about 1 onion)

Sea salt and white pepper

24 oz. Clam juice

Pinch of saffron (1/2 g)

¼ cup minced chives, plus extra for garnish

1 cup frozen sweet corn

1 lb new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup heavy cream

1 lb white snapper, cut into bite sized pieces

½ lb small shrimp, peeled and deveined

 

Method:

1. In a large soup pot or cast iron, sauté leeks and onions in butter on medium-high, stirring several times, until translucent, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper.
2. Add in clam juice, 1 cup water, saffron, chives, corn and potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer covered on medium-low, 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. If you want a thicker consistency, puree the soup briefly with an emersion blender. 
3. Stir in cream.
4. Season seafood with salt and white pepper and add to chowder. Simmer for 8 minutes on low until just cooked through. The fish should flake and the shrimp be a nice pink color.
5. Garnish with chives and serve warm.

Hats Off to the Mothers and Fathers of Many Kitchens

, Valentina Rice

 

(Top Left: Toan Huynh of The Saucey Sauce Company, Top Right: Nicole Ebbitt of The Caramel Jar, Bottom Left: Melissa Vitelli of Jar Goods and Bottom Right: Michael Steifman of Stuart & Co.)

 

Having a new puppy and running Many Kitchens has given me a minuscule insight into what it means to be a working parent. As I try to write this, my arm is being gnawed and paws are typing unintelligible streams of letters on my laptop. At Many Kitchens we are fortunate enough to showcase many incredible producers who somehow muster the insane energy and passion to not only work to grow their brands but also raise small children. This Mother’s Day we wanted to honor the members of our community who don’t have an off switch. We are so proud to work with such hardworking and insanely talented Mothers, Fathers and Artisans. This week goes out to you!

Black Bean, Hatch Chile and Cheddar Flautas with Avocado Cream

, Valentina Rice

 

There are so many great Mexican dishes, so choosing a menu for a Cinco de Mayo party is always fun. We have posted a lot of great recipes over the years and even included A Mexican Fiesta and Tex-Mex Brunch chapters in our cookbook, Recipes from Many Kitchens.

 

It’s easy to create when we have producers like Rancho Gordo who supports small farmers to grow their indigenous beans in Mexico as well as Zukali Mexican Gourmet and Zia Green Chile Company who source small batch pepper to make their delicious products ranging from hatch chiles like we used in these flautas to fire roasted poblanos which we used in our chicken tortilla soup.

 

So to kick-off your own fiesta, we wanted to do a lineup of some of our favorites. We hope you enjoy.

 

Starters:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chile Rellenos

Mole Beef Nachos

 

Tacos:

Baja Style Fish Tacos

Mexican Pulled Beef Tacos

Red Chicken Tacos

Skirt Steak Tacos

 

Drinks:

Agua Frescas

Hot Cilantro Margarita

 

Black Bean, Hatch Chile and Cheddar Flautas with Avocado Cream

Serves 4-6 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

15.5 oz can black beans, drained

½ cup roasted green hatch chiles

½ cup diced yellow onion (about ½ onion)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

2 tablespoons green salsa

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon lime juice

Canola/veg oil to fill a pot 2 inches high with oil

1 cup grated cheddar

1/2 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese

5, 6 inch flour tortillas (the small size makes for better frying so if you can’t find 6″ flour try corn or cut your tortillas down so they just overlap when rolling)

 

Avocado Cream:

1 Hass avocado

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons milk

1 lime, juiced

Sea salt, to taste

Tomato, as a garnish

 

Method:

1. In a food processor or blender, puree your black beans and Zia Green Chile until smooth.

2. Next, in a sauté pan on med-high, add your olive oil and onion and cook until onion begins to turn translucent, about 5 min. Season the onion with salt and pepper.

3. Then add in your garlic, spinach, green salsa and cumin. Cook for 2 minutes or until the spinach is soft and cooked through.

4. Combine your with bean puree with onion mixture and season to taste with salt.

5. Then mix in lime juice, cheddar and jack cheese and set aside.

6. Fill a thick bottomed pot with oil to reach 2 inches up the sides of the pot. Heat to frying temp (360F).

7. Fill each tortilla with ½ cup of the black bean mixture and roll tightly. Secure each rolled tortilla with 3 toothpicks.

8. Fry in batches to avoid overcrowding. The oil is just right when it ripples as small little bubbles around the tortilla as it cooks. Each flauta should cook about 1 minute. They have a tendency to bob, so make sure you turn with tongs to make sure all sides cook fully and brown to golden. Once cooked, remove toothpicks and set flautas on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

9. Mix the ingredients of your avocado cream in a food processor and season to taste with salt.

10. Cut flautas in half and serve with avocado cream and chopped tomatoes as a garnish.