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  • Cumin-Spiced Lamb Burgers

    December 20, 2012

    32 Comments

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    Cumin Spiced Lamb Burger.

    This time of year, with the holidays swirling around us, we sometimes find it hard to make a regular weekday dinner. 5-course extravaganzas? No problem. Cocktail party? Sure thing. Cookie exchange? Bring it on. But we can, and do, plan for the big stuff. Daily dinner for the family with work, sports, parties, exams and constantly shifting schedules is often more tricky. But over the years we built up a few recipes that are very, very good, but don’t take up a lot of time and have a few easy ingredients (and usually don’t involve a ton of cleanup). Cumin-Spiced Lamb Burgers is one of these dishes. Just a few ingredients, one pan, a little time and a lot of flavor.

    lburger2lburger6And flavor really is the big benefit of using lamb. Lamb usually has more flavor than beef, and if you use the right cuts the flavor isn’t too “gamey”. Most lamb used to be imported from New Zealand and Australia, but these days there are many local grass-fed lamb suppliers (all over the USA) and the quality of the lamb is outstanding. With bright, clean flavor and juicy texture, lamb is worth a try. And this burger is a perfect introduction to lamb (our kids love all sorts of lamb, this was the “gateway” dish).

    lburger8lburger9Our recipe is based on the world-famous lamb burger from the Breslin gastropub in New York City. A veritable who’s-who of food writers and celebrity chefs have waxed poetic and “foodgasmed” on TV over April Bloomfield’s burger (clearly all Food Network auditions require the ability to foodgasm on command). But to be fair, this is one fine burger. And just to top it off, the Breslin sources their meat from famous butcher (and self-promoter) Pat LaFreida. Pat has a special blend just for the Breslin. Sadly, Pat doesn’t do California. Happily for us, our local butcher gets a lamb in every week or so, they break it down on site and then freshly grind the trimmings. And their blend will do just fine for us. (We also get great local beef and lamb from Stemple Creek Ranch, so good.)

    lburger12lburger7As for the recipe, it is incredibly easy to make these burgers. The Breslin’s recipe features a char-broiled rare-to-medium rare lamb patty, feta cheese, thinly sliced red onion, olive oil and seasoning on a warm Ciabatta roll. Good stuff. They also serve the lamb with cumin mayo, but we prefer to add salt and cumin directly to the meat. Cumin and lamb play very well together, but cumin is a strong flavor and you can omit if you like. We also use a cast iron skillet or grill pan on the stove (but boy would we like an indoor grill). The only real tricks in this recipe have to do with technique. You must rest the lamb burgers for 5-10 minutes after you cook them to let the juices settle in the meat, rather than running all over the plate. And if you put the slices of feta onto the patties while they rest, the cheese slightly melts on the burger. Yum. You really don’t need any sauce other than the olive oil and juices from the burger, but if you make a quick raita or cumin mayo, it will certainly taste good. And if you add a dash or two of Sriracha on top of the burger, we won’t tell…..

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  • Sweet Potato Cupcakes With Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

    December 11, 2012

    32 Comments

    Sweet Potato Cupcake With Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.

    Sweet Potato Cupcake With Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.

    spcake15If you visit Putney Farm regularly, you may notice an affinity for cupcakes. And this isn’t because cupcakes are all the rage these days (not that there is anything wrong with that), but because we have two boys with lots of friends, birthdays, sports and school events. And everyone knows we cook and are willing to be dragooned “volunteer”…. 😉 So when we want to feed a horde of crazed kids crowd, cake or cupcakes are very good options. (So is barbecue, but that is for another post.) We often make chocolate cake for a crowd, but there is something about the cupcake that is even more special. People from ages one to one hundred just love a cupcake. It’s sweet and tasty, it’s easy to handle and it’s all yours.

    spcake2spcake5spcake6But sadly, many cupcakes really aren’t all that good, the big blob of frosting covers for a dry chunk of cake. The problem, surprisingly, is the overuse of butter in most cupcake recipes. While we love real butter, it has water along with the butterfat and when the water cooks out it makes for a drier, crisper cupcake (the science is pretty solid, btw). This is good for pie crust, bad for cake, and especially bad for small cakes with a lot of surface area vs. mass (that would be the cupcake). The secret to a moist cupcake is to use vegetable oil (no water) and often to add another moistening ingredient. And this recipe not only uses oil but adds mashed sweet potatoes for an extra moist and sweet cake. Yum.

    spcake3spcake4spcake7Sweet potatoes in cupcakes? Well yes. They work famously well in biscuits, so why not cupcakes? You don’t taste sweet potato, but mixed with winter spices and orange zest you get a super-moist, caramel-colored cupcake with deep wintry flavors. Topped with sweet caramel cream cheese frosting, this cupcake is good all the way through. And as the oil and sweet potato keep the cake moist, you can easily adapt the recipe for either large or thimble-sized cupcakes with no loss of quality. A neat trick, and something to keep in mind when the size of the crowd may vary.

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  • Amazing Persimmon Bread

    December 6, 2012

    48 Comments

    bread8While we love cooking with the season, winter can be a bit tough, even in California. Lots of produce is available, but some of it has moderate appeal (we love kale, turnips and broccoli, but not every day) and some is just confounding. We love our pomegranates, but they are hard to eat and you can only sprinkle the seeds on so many salads. The citrus is a bright spot, but somehow tends to end up in desserts and cocktails, and after lemon chicken how many savory dishes are there?. And then we have Persimmons. These bright orange, beautiful fruits light up the farmers market, but what do you do with them?

    bread2bread3For Fuyu persimmons, the round ones, the answer is easy. Treat them like apples and place raw slices into salads or serve with cheese or charcuterie. But what about the heart-shaped Hachiya persimmons, what to do with them? It turns out you need to let them ripen almost to the point of rot over-ripeness and then scoop out the pulp. The pulp will be very sweet with pumpkin and citrus notes. One of the more popular uses of Hachiya pulp is to freeze it and serve it like sorbet, but the other primary use is in baking. And this is where we get to this amazing sweet bread. And we don’t mean “amazing way to get rid of persimmons” we simply mean “amazing”. This bread is one of the best surprises we’ve had here at Putney Farm.

    bread4bread5In some ways, we shouldn’t be surprised. The recipe comes from David Lebovitz, one of the best pasty chefs and food writers in the world, and is adapted from a James Beard recipe. Yep, James Beard. The original recipe comes for his book “Beard on Bread“. So we are working from some very solid source materials. Ironically, the recipe itself is a bit “squishy”. You are encouraged to add or subtract sugar to your taste, add some booze and play with different dried fruit and nut combinations. We even use some white whole wheat flour with good results. But the unifying factor is the Hachiya persimmon pulp. It gives a bright pumpkin note and keeps this bread incredibly sweet and moist. With the fruit, nuts and spice this bread has lovely texture and flavor. You can eat it at breakfast, or as a daytime snack or even dessert.

    bread6bread7And making the bread is a straightforward operation. First you must buy and then ripen some Hachiya persimmons. Leave them out and wait. They are ripe when they feel like overripe tomatoes about to burst (Lebovitz describes it as “water balloon about to burst”). You may also see discoloration on the skin, but that is OK. When the persimmons are ripe, spoon out the pulp and purée in a blender, food processor of food mill. Then you are ready to go. And making the rest of the bread is easy. Chop some nuts and dried fruit, we use pecans and dried cranberries, but walnuts, raisins, apricots or dates will work. Then make a standard sweet bread. Combine the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients, make a batter. Butter some loaf plans, then pour in the batter. Bake for an hour at 350 (the kitchen will smell great), cool and serve. And enjoy, this is the good stuff. So when winter produce gets you down, buy a few Hachiya persimmons, let them ripen and make this bread. It will be a bright spot in winter.

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  • Roasted Dungeness Crab

    December 4, 2012

    18 Comments

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    Roasted Dungeness Crab. Yum.

    Here on the west coast we get a special treat every holiday season, Dungeness crab. Starting in November and running through the winter, good fish markets will have chill cases full of big, bright red, cooked crabs. And they don’t go to waste, people out here love their crabs. And Dungeness crab is a truly lovely dish. The flesh is white, tender and sweet. And while it does take some work to get at all the meat, the cracking and picking is all part of the fun.

    crab7crab8Most folks out here simply serve the crab with some lemon and mayonnaise. But roasting crab with herbs and spices is a popular way to add some flavor and develop a quick “sauce”. There are many good recipes for roasting crab with homemade curry sauce (so good, recipe soon) but that takes a little extra shopping and work. For a quick, but tasty, roast crab we use a marinade of oil, herbs, garlic and red pepper. Combine these flavors with a quick roast and some lemons and you have a very fun, flavorful meal.

    crab9crab10To say the crab in the recipe is “roasted” is a bit of a misnomer. You really marinate the crab in the herb and oil mixture for a few hours and then warm the crab and sauce in the oven for about ten minutes. The marinade and extra heat bring out more flavor from the crab. With the added flavor and rich texture of the oil, this dish feels more like a main dish than appetizer, so it is a perfect family meal. And you do get the bonus of a great smelling kitchen while you roast the crab. This dish smells as good as it tastes.

    crabSo if you have a chance to get your hands on Dungeness crab, we suggest you buy a few. Have them cracked and cleaned and bring ’em home. You can certainly serve the crab by itself, but you can make a true meal of the crabs with a tiny bit of extra work. And the extra work, which really isn’t much, is certainly worth it. Few dishes give you so much flavor for so little effort.

    Roasted Dungeness Crab:

    Notes Before You Start:

    • Cooking and cleaning Dungeness crabs yourself isn’t fun. Most good fish mongers have quality, freshly cooked crabs they will crack and clean for you. We are all for DIY projects, but  this isn’t one of them. Have your fish monger do the work.
    • Dungeness crab is pretty specific to the west coast of the US. But this basic recipe will work with any meaty, cooked crab.

    What You Get: Dungeness crab with some extra flavor. A fun, messy meal.

    What You Need: Assuming you have the fish monger clean and crack the crabs, no special equipment required.

    How Long? About 2 and a half hours, but only 5 minutes of active time, most of the time is spent marinating the crab.

    Ingredients:

    (Serves 4-6)

    • 1 cup Italian parsley, chopped
    • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon tarragon, chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
    • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
    • 1/2 cup good olive oil
    • Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste, but we suggest you season liberally)
    • 2,  2-pound. Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned and cracked
    • 2 lemons, quartered

    Assemble:

    1. Combine parsley, thyme, tarragon, garlic, red pepper flakes and oil and then finely chop using an immersion blender or food processor.

    2. Place the crab pieces in a shallow baking pan, pour marinade over crabs and toss, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

    3. Preheat oven to 400°. Roast crabs, uncovered, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Garnish with lemon quarters (squeeze some lemon over the crab, if you like). Serve

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  • Spiced Nuts With Fresh Herbs

    December 3, 2012

    28 Comments

    Spiced nuts with fresh herbs.

    Spiced nuts with fresh herbs.

    It seems that plenty of food sites, bloggers and magazines are posting spiced nut recipes for the holidays, and we are no exception. And the reason is very simple, spiced nuts are incredibly tasty, easy to make and are very welcome gifts. What’s not to like? Actually, the only thing not to like is your waistline after polishing off a few batches of these. But with so many other temptations this time of year, might as well enjoy the nuts and swear off them later with a New Year’s resolution. Live a little. Or give the nuts away before you eat them all. Your choice.

    nuts1nuts2While everyone likes to share their recipes for spiced nuts, the “formulas” are all over the place. Some recipes are sweet, some salty, some spicy, some with maple, (some with bacon-yum), some olive oil and some with egg whites, and you can use almost any common nuts you can find. We make a few different versions of spiced nuts, but we generally like pecans and almonds with a little spice and the extra kick of finely chopped fresh herbs. The herbs add more aroma, deeper flavor and look very pretty. We also use a touch of egg white to bind the herbs and spices to the nuts. There is no impact on flavor, the herbs and spices simply stick to the nuts better using egg whites.

    nuts3nuts4Making spiced, herbed nuts is one of the more pleasant cooking projects we can think of (probably another reason you see so many posts and recipes online). You simply select a few cups of nuts, chop some herbs, measure some salt and spices and then thoroughly toss the mixture with an egg white. Put the nuts on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, mixing the nuts about halfway through, and you’re done. Your house will smell like the holidays, your family will magically appear in the kitchen, and probably your friends and neighbors, too.

    nuts5nuts6The only real trick to good spiced nuts is to avoid overcooking them. Whether you use an egg white, oil or sugar to bind the spices and herbs to the nuts, the nuts may still feel a but moist and soggy after 15-20 minutes in the oven. This is mostly from the warm oils in the nuts, not the moisture of the coating. If you wait for the coating to totally dry in the oven, the nuts overcook and be chalky and brown on the inside. The best way to test for doneness is take a nut from the oven after 15 minutes, let it cool a minute and eat it. You will find that the cooling hardens the nut and sets the coating. The nut will be crunchy and tasty. If the nuts are ready, pull them from the oven. If not, give the nuts a few more minutes then pull them and let them cool. Then be ready to eat, or share….you will have plenty of friends.

    nuts7nuts8Spiced Nuts With Fresh Herbs:

    Notes Before You Start:

    • The recipe suggests pecans and almonds, but hazelnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, macadamias and even peanuts will work in this recipe.
    • We use raw almonds but roasted almonds will also work and will not dry with a brief cooking time.

    What You Get: Spiced nuts with some extra depth of flavor from the herbs. A great gift.

    What You Need: No special equipment required.

    How Long? About 30 minutes with 5-10 minutes of active time. Anytime dish.

    Ingredients:

    (Makes 2 cups)

    • 2 cups of raw, unsalted pecans and almonds (or other nuts)
    • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
    • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
    • 3/4 tablespoon kosher salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
    • White of 1 egg, lightly beaten
    • Vegetable oil or cooking spray, for baking sheet

    Assemble:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a medium baking sheet with the oil or cooking spray.
    2. Place the nuts, egg white, salt, herbs and spices in a large bowl. Mix until all the nuts are evenly coated.
    3. Place the nuts on the baking sheet and cook in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring the nuts halfway through the cooking. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, allow the nuts to cool completely and then serve.
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  • Weekly Cocktail #38: The Rusty Nail

    November 30, 2012

    20 Comments

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    The Rusty Nail. Up.

    The rain is coming down in sheets, the wind is howling and it’s cold (at least for the Bay Area). Time to light a fire, relax, play some cards or read a good book. But what cocktail to have? This would be a good time for a toddy or old fashioned, maybe a Manhattan. But this is also a perfect time to break out that bottle of Drambuie gathering dust in the back of your bar, grab some blended Scotch and make the almost-forgotten classic, the Rusty Nail.

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    The Rusty Nail. On the rocks.

    The Rusty Nail combines blended Scotch, Drambuie and (sometimes) a lemon twist. It it one of the easiest cocktails to make and is served up or on the rocks. The only issue with the Rusty Nail is getting the Drambuie if you don’t already have some hiding away. Drambuie is one of the few Scotch-based liqueurs and it tastes like sweetened Scotch with notes of honey, heather, citrus and spice. Drambuie doesn’t always play well with other spirits, but it does go well with Scotch. The honey and citrus soften the hard, smokey edges of Scotch and make it sippable. To some degree, in the Rusty Nail the Drambuie modifies the Scotch in a similar way to dry vermouth with gin in the Martini, or sweet vermouth with whiskey in a Manhattan. The base spirit still leads the drink, but no longer punches you in the face. Kinder, gentler booze.

    nail5As noted, the Rusty Nail is very easy to make. The only question is the ratios. Some recipes suggest equal portions of blended Scotch and Drambuie, some 2 to 1 and some 4 to 1. We like a 4 to 1, but it will depend on your tastes and the Scotch you use. The cool thing is that you can just add more Scotch or Drambuie as needed. Some recipes also suggest using a single-malt Scotch for the Rusty Nail, and while it’s very good, we will save our single-malts to serve on their own or in toddies. And finally, some recipes use a lemon twist, some don’t. We like a touch of citrus in most drinks and this is no exception. The aroma of the lemon with the Scotch adds an extra dimension.

    nail2And then you have the history of the Rusty Nail. As Drambuie is only about 100 years old, the Rusty Nail is a somewhat recent creation. Drambuie and Scotch cocktails started showing up in the 1930s with various names. Cocktail historian David Wondrich mentions several names for this drink including the “B.I.F.” and, even better, the “Knucklehead”. We kind of like Knucklehead (having sometimes behaved like one). But, not surprisingly, the marketing folks at Drambuie backed the “Rusty Nail” and the name stuck. And the Rusty Nail was a very popular cocktail from the 1950s to the 1970s, but then its popularity faded as darker spirits lost favor.

    nailNowadays the Rusty Nail is having something of a comeback. Craft and classic cocktail bars are serving the Rusty Nail (or variations) and Drambuie started to market itself, and its classic cocktail, to new audiences. Drambuie still isn’t cheap, but if you like whiskey, particularly Scotch, it is worth finding. And if you are looking for a strong, sweet and boozy (but not too boozy) sip, the Rusty Nail is a very good choice and a welcome diversion from old fashioneds and Manhattans.

    The Rusty Nail:

    Ingredients:

    • 2 oz. blended Scotch (the Famous Grouse)
    • 1/2 oz. Drambuie
    • Lemon twist

    Assemble:

    1. Add the Scotch and Drambuie to a cocktail glass with some ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, or strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupé. Twist the lemon peel over the drink, add the peel to the cocktail and serve.
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