I hope everyone's enjoying Sphere! I am not very far through it, but it is a fast read - classic Crichton page-turner.
Be thinking of any recipes that might go along with this book. I'm stumped so far...
If you have any you can add below.
Talk to you all soon!
I hope you all are enjoying Sphere! It will definitely be an interesting discussion - probably one of the least-picked book club books. :) But I always enjoy reading Michael Crichton. I am including a couple of recipes below in case you would like to make them for our discussion next Tuesday, 7 p.m. If you have any that are themed to go along with Sphere please post them! Talk to you all next week!
ReplyDelete------------------------------------------------------
Beth’s Grilled Calamari on a Bed of Shaved Fennel
(Courtesy Giada De Laurentiis, my personal favorite Food Network star ☺ )
Ingredients
• 4 pounds baby squid, cleaned, bodies scored lightly in a crisscross fashion
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Vegetable oil, for brushing grill
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 to 2 fresh red chiles, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 recipe Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette, recipe follows
• 1/3 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
• 1/3 cup capers, rinsed and drained
• 3 scallions, trimmed and sliced paper thin on the bias
• 5 heads fennel, trimmed and sliced paper thin
• 1 cup green olives, preferably cerignola, pitted, and thinly sliced
• 2 bunches baby arugula, trimmed, washed, and spun dry
Directions
Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan to high heat.
In a large bowl, toss the squid with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Brush grill with vegetable oil. Place calamari on grill and cook each side until lightly charred, about 1 minute per side. Remove from heat and place in clean large bowl. Add garlic, lemon zest, chiles, 1/4 of the Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette, the minced parsley, capers, and scallions. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice, to taste. Set aside until ready to use.
In another bowl toss the fennel with the olives and 3/4 cup of Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette until just coated. Arrange a bed of fennel on a serving platter and set aside.
Into the fennel bowl, lightly toss the baby arugula with remaining vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Arrange a "wreath" of arugula around the fennel. Top the fennel with the grilled calamari. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette:
6 garlic bulbs
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Lay each garlic head root side down. Carefully halve each garlic bulb horizontally, revealing the garlic cloves. Lay each garlic head, cut side up, on a small piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle tops with about 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and fold up sides of foil, completely enclosing garlic. Repeat with remaining garlic.
Place garlic bundles on baking sheet and bake until cloves are soft, about 1 hour.
Remove garlic from oven and let cool about 10 minutes still sealed.
Carefully squeeze the soft garlic out of the skins into the bowl of a medium sized food processor. Puree the garlic until smooth, adding a little olive oil if necessary.
Leave about 5 tablespoons of the garlic puree in the food processor and store the remaining amount in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To the food processor, add the mustard, vinegar, remaining olive oil, and water and puree until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-calamari-on-a-bed-of-shaved-fennel-recipe/index.html
--------------------------------------------------------
Norman’s Strawberry Shortcake
ReplyDelete• 1 1/2 pounds strawberries, stemmed and quartered
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Whipped Cream, recipe follows
Directions
Mix strawberries with 3 tablespoons sugar and refrigerate while juices develop, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add heavy cream and mix until just combined. Place mixture in an ungreased 8-inch square pan and bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
Remove shortcake from pan and place on a rack to cool slightly. Cut into 6 pieces and split each piece in half horizontally.
Spoon some of the strawberries with their juice onto each shortcake bottom. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then the shortcake top. Spoon more strawberries over the top and serve.
Whipped Cream:
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
Using a mixer, beat the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
I thought I would suggest a turkey receipe I am trying out this Christmas.
ReplyDeleteTorrisi Turkey
Adapted from Torrisi Italian Specialties, Manhattan
Time: About 4 hours, plus 24 hours’ marinating.
FOR BRINING THE TURKEY:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 boneless turkey breasts, 3
to 4 1/2 pounds each
FOR THE GLAZE:
8 heads garlic, lightly smashed but intact
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon thyme leaves.
1. To brine the turkey: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil with the salt and sugar. Pour into a large pot, and add 2 quarts cold water. Once the brine is cool, submerge the turkey breasts and refrigerate overnight, or up to 24 hours.
2. To make the glaze: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss the garlic heads with the olive oil in a small casserole dish, cover and roast until the garlic is soft, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Leave covered until cool enough to handle, then squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into a food processor and purée. Add the honey, salt and pepper. Cover until ready to use.
3. To cook the turkey: Heat oven to 250 degrees. Remove the breasts from the brine and wrap each one four times in plastic wrap and once in aluminum foil. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the center of one breast and place both on a wire rack in a roasting pan. Add water to reach to just below the rack. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees, 2 to 3 hours. Near the end of cooking time, fill a large bowl halfway with ice water.
4. Remove the turkey from oven and raise temperature to 425 degrees. Without removing thermometer or wrapping, submerge the turkey in the ice bath for 5 minutes. Remove foil, plastic wrap and turkey skin. Pat dry and brush glaze liberally on all sides of the breasts. Roast until glaze is golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and serve thinly sliced, hot or cold.
Yield: 12 servings.