Holiday Leftover Meals

We prepared a lot of food for just two people over the holidays, so we ended up with quite a few leftover ingredients. I had half of the salt cod, half of the lump crabmeat, and half of a roast goose in the refrigerator the day after Christmas.

Deviled Crab
The first leftover dish was a lunch of deviled crab. I'm not sure what made it deviled, but that's what the January 2008 Gourmet Magazine recipe called it. In any case, it was a tasty lunch. It was like a deconstructed crabcake. As you can see, I didn't bake it in individual portions, but I like the idea of serving it as an appetizer in a scallop shell.




Deviled Crab

1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3 slices good-quality white bread
1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne
white pepper, freshly ground

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook onion over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Tear bread into very small pieces, then spread in single layer in a shallow dish. Pour onion and butter mixture over torn bread and let stand for 15 minutes.

Add crab, egg, cayenne, salt and pepper and toss gently. Divide mixture among scallop shells or ramekins and bake until crab is starting to brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Notes: I didn't use quite that much butter and I didn't use 1/2 tsp of cayenne; I used a dash of cayenne and 1/2 tsp of Old Bay seasoning. It would have been a spicy dish with that much cayenne. The cayenne that I have in my spice cabinet seems especially hot, so I'm careful with it. If I had used the full amount, it would have been deviled for sure.

Salt Cod Fritters
I had a filet of salt cod, already soaked, that I decided to use in a Spanish tapas dish from Penelope Casas. This dish is somewhat similar to the Jamaican salt cod fritter known as "Stamp and Go" that I once made as an appetizer for a jerk chicken meal.



I was excited to use my little 1950's-era deep fryer that my grandmother gave me 20 years ago. I once used this deep fryer for a sixth-grade class project. My math teacher, Mrs. Ip, who is Chinese, taught us how to make fried won tons.



Bunuelos de Bacalao con Alioli

1 lb. boneless salt cod
2 tsps. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 lb. baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
3/4 cup flour
2 eggs, separated
1/8 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsps. minced parsley
Salt
Oil for frying, preferably mild olive oil
Alioli and/or salsa romesco

Soak cod according to instructions, 12-24 hours. In a small skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of oil and the garlic and sauté slowly until the garlic just begins to color. Reserve.

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Remove the potatoes from the water, bring the water to a boil again, and add the cod. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the code flakes easily. Remove and drain the cod and chop coarsely.

Transfer the cod to a processor and blend until very finely chopped. Add the potatoes, the sautéed garlic (with the oil), the flour, egg yolks, baking powder, and parsley and blend well.
Salt to taste.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add to the cod mixture and pulse to blend.
Pour the oil into the skillet to a depth of at least 1/2 inch (or better still, use a deep fryer) and heat until the oil quickly browns a cube of bread.

Drop by tablespoons into the hot oil, and fry until golden on all sides. Drain on paper towels and serve with alioli and/or romesco sauce.



Notes: We really enjoyed these fritters. I didn't exactly make an alioli sauce, but I did add a little Pimenton de la Vera (smoked Spanish paprika) to some mayonnaise, which worked well as an accompaniment. It was fun to use the deep fryer and the fritters did not turn out at all greasy. Using a deep fryer with a thermostat makes it easy to fry at the correct temperature, which is the key to frying food that doesn't absorb too much oil.

Goose Pot Pie

I have been making the Martha Stewart Chicken Pot Pie for about 5 years now. I think it is an excellent recipe; I love the thyme in the filling and the crust. I use the Martha recipe as a guide, but usually substitute some of the ingredients with what I have on hand. I don't start out with a whole bird for this recipe; I usually make it with leftover chicken. I make a turkey pot pie with my leftover Thanksgiving turkey, so I figured that a goose pot pie ought to work well, too.



This was a true leftover version using things from my fridge and pantry:

• a single sweet potato found in the back of the pantry
• the leftover creamed spinach from Christmas (perfect since both the creamed spinach and pot pie have sort of a bechamel base)
• a few red potatoes
• corn from a single cob of corn
• meat from 1/2 roast goose
• goose stock made from the carcass of roast goose
  

Notes: I added 1/3 cup cornmeal to a standard pastry crust, which made a nice crunchy crust. I saw this idea in a recipe for a duck pot pie, and will definitely use cornmeal again in a crust like this.

Pasta Fagioli

This was a quick weeknight dinner using up more leftovers and pantry staples.

1/2 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 stalk celery
3/4 cup cooked cabbage
1 can cannelini beans
1 qt. frozen chicken stock
fresh parsley
ditalini and riso pasta
salt and pepper

Saute onion and celery. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add pasta and tomatoes and cook until almost al dente. Add beans, cabbage and parsley and cook until pasta is done. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano.



Notes: Making my own chicken stock is one of the biggest improvements to my cooking in recent years. This soup was hearty and nutritious, but it wouldn't have been delicious if it were made with a quart of water or canned stock. I need an entire blog entry on chicken stock -- coming soon. I used some already cooked leftover cabbage, which worked well. I think that adding the cabbage already cooked was a good idea since it added another vegetable component without making the broth taste cabbagey. I used two kinds of pasta because I had small amounts of each and they both had an 11-minute cooking time.

We have been enjoying the frozen rolls from Alexia. They bake up like fresh bread, and the ingredient list is fairly healthy.

Christmas Goose

After the cooking marathon that produced the Feast of the Seven Fishes, roasting a goose for Christmas was a breeze. When I told family and friends of my goose plans, some warned me against it. My mother last attempted a Christmas goose in the '70s, and it was not a success (I was there, but don't remember). My sister made a goose a few years ago, and she said that she barely got enough meat to feed two people. My father-in-law recalled the grease bomb that was his goose experience. I moved forward with my plans, undeterred.



I have roasted 5 or 6 ducks in the last few years, using the
amazing 5-hour duck recipe, and I was pretty sure that this method would translate well to cooking a goose. The bird roasted beautifully. The skin was brown and crispy, most of the fat rendered away while cooking (more than 2 cups of beautiful goose fat!), and the meat was tender and succulent. There's no white meat on a goose; the breast meat had a reddish tint and was delicious with a bit of crispy skin. The kitchen did get a little smoky in the last hour with all that goose fat spattering in the oven (I had to take down the smoke alarm and open the windows).



We kept the side dishes pretty simple. We made a bread stuffing with chestnuts and dried cherries. The potatoes roasted in goose fat were simply outstanding. My mother, the Queen of Roasted Potatoes, always parboils her potatoes before roasting, but I've had success starting with raw russets. I find that you need plenty of fat, and you need to turn the potatoes to prevent sticking. I use my thinnest-edged metal spatula. The potatoes are most likely to stick early on. Once they get a little brown, you should give the pan a shake to keep them free. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside -- outrageously good.



We also made creamed spinach that was good, but a little too wet. I made a bechamel sauce, boiled the spinach in salted water for 3 minutes and then added it to the sauce. I just dumped the spinach into a colander -- I should have squeezed out some of the water before adding the spinach to the bechamel. Minor mishap, but still a tasty side dish. I made a stock with the giblets and neck while the goose was roasting. I used the stock in the stuffing and in a dried cherry port sauce for the goose.

Feast of the Seven Fishes

We decided to stay in Chicago this year for Christmas this year instead of traveling to the East Coast to visit family. I love food-related traditions and holidays, and it seemed time to take on an Italian tradition, The Feast of the Seven Fishes.

There are many takes on this holiday meal, but the tradition is to have a meal made up of seven different fishes on Christmas Eve. There is religious significance to this meal, but I'm just in it for the food. I spent some time thinking up menu ideas and came up with this list:

1. Baccala
2. Sardines
3. Baked Clams
4. Shrimp Bisque
5. Pasta with Crab Sauce
6. Sicilian Swordfish
7. King Crab Legs

Baccala

One of the most traditional dishes is salt cod, or baccala, as the Italians call it. I called my local Whole Foods to order the salt cod as they don't normally keep it on the shelves. The baccala, imported from Canada, came in a small wooden box. I soaked the fish in a bowl of water for 24 hours in the refrigerator, changing the water 6 or 7 times. I broke off a small piece and cooked it in boiling water for a minute and then tasted to see if it was still too salty. If anything, it was not salty enough. The recommended soaking times and the amount of salt in the dried cod seem to vary quite a lot. Next time I'll soak it for 12 hours and then start tasting.

My mother recalled with some horror the baccala that was served at past feasts; baccala was boiled and served topped with tomato sauce. This was not a fond food memory. I think salt cod is best mixed with other ingredients, so I decided to make "Brandade de Morue," a puree of cod and potatoes. There are many opinions about the contents of this recipe, including whether potatoes should be included, but they seemed like a good idea to me. I started with a Craig Claiborne recipe; I used essentially the same ingredients, but a different method of preparation.



Brandade

3/4 lb. de-salted baccala (1 medium fillet)
1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed
1/2 cup olive oil, warmed
2-3 cups whole milk (enough to cover cod while cooking)
2 medium russet potatoes, baked
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots
1 bay leaf
dash cayenne (really only a dash - don't make it spicy!)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, freshly ground
salt, to taste
white pepper

Bake potatoes. Heat milk in saucepan with halved garlic and shallots. Add de-salted baccala and poach for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Remove baccala, garlic and shallots from milk and place in food processor. Add hot cream and olive oil alternately with 1/2 cup of the poaching milk while processor is running.

Remove fish mixture from processor. Run peeled potatoes though a ricer (or mash) and add to fish mixture. Mix well. Add pepper, cayenne and nutmeg. Add salt if necessary. Add more milk if necessary. Spoon into ramekins and bake/broil in oven until browned.

Notes: The original recipe called for putting the potatoes in the food processor, but my only previous experience with potatoes and a food processor resulted in glue-like potatoes, so I mixed in the potatoes by hand. I'm not sure I'd bake the potatoes again next time. I've baked potatoes for gnocchi, because you don't want to add any moisture to the dough, but I'm not sure that it is necessary in a dish that has milk, cream and oil added to it. Next time I'll boil the potatoes. I wasn't happy about having to add salt to a salt cod dish, so I will try not to soak it for too long next time. If you have any interest in the importance of cod in recent human history, check out Cod by Mark Kurlansky. It's Neil recommended.

Sardines



I haven't eaten too many sardines in my days, but my wife and I recently tried a fresh sardine appetizer that we enjoyed, so I thought we could give sardines a try at home. I wasn't able to find any fresh sardines, so we got a tin of lightly smoked sardines imported from Portugal. I roughly chopped them, added fresh parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. We sliced a baguette, brushed on some olive oil, rubbed on a little garlic and broiled them until golden brown. We served the brandade and the sardines together with the crostini.



Baked Clams

I was going to pick up clams at the Costco while I was there to get the crab legs, but they only had five-pound bags of clams. Since this feast was only being served to my wife and myself, and there was already a great danger of over-stuffing ourselves, I decided to pass on the big bag of medium-sized littlenecks. I instead took one more trip to Whole Foods and picked up a dozen of their small clams. They were smaller than what I had in mind for this recipe, but at least I don't have three pounds of clams going bad in the refrigerator. Some of the recipes that I found called for opening the clams before cooking them. In theory, this would preserve the juices inside the clam. In practice, opening live clams isn't something I want to deal with, so I went with the following recipe.



20 medium littleneck clams
5 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1⁄4 cup dry white wine
1⁄2 cup water
1 large lemon
2 3-inch stems parsley
1 cup bread crumbs
1⁄2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

Heat Dutch oven over medium heat. Place the clams in a colander in the sink and wash them one at a time under cold running water with a clean scrub brush. Set them aside in a bowl.

Peel and crush 2 cloves of garlic. Add these with 1 tablespoon of the oil to the Dutch oven. Stir briefly until the garlic is fragrant, and then add the wine and water. With a microplane, zest in half of the lemon, reserving the rest for the topping. Add the parsley stems to the pot and bring to a boil.

Add the clams to the steaming liquid in the Dutch oven, being sure they are all closed (any open ones should be tapped on the counter gently to see if they close on their own). Cover the Dutch oven, and steam the clams for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping. In a large bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the chopped parsley, the remaining ¼ cup olive oil, dried oregano, salt, pepper, and the zest from the other half of the lemon. Crush the remaining garlic clove directly into the bowl. Mix well with a fork and taste for seasoning.

Check on the clams after 5 minutes. Stir them and as they start to open, remove them and place them in a large bowl. Some of the clams may take as long as 10 minutes to open. When the clams have all opened, strain the remaining liquid through a cheesecloth-lined strainer into a measuring cup. Discard any clams that do not open. Remove the top shells of the clams. With a paring knife, try to loosen the clams from their bottom shells (for easier eating). Try not to lose any of the liquid surrounding the clams.

Stir in ½ cup of the strained liquid from steaming the clams into the bread crumb mixture and then, with a spoon, generously top each clam with ½ tablespoon or so of the topping. Try to seal around the clam “meat” with the bread crumbs.

Place the clams under the hot broiler for 4 minutes until the topping is browned and crispy.

Serve the clams with lemon slices (from the zested lemon!)

Shrimp Bisque

I've had lobster bisque, I've had seafood bisque, and I've had crab bisque, but I'd never had shrimp bisque. I saw a recipe in a magazine last year, and I took this opportunity to try it. I looked over a few recipes and was surprised that the majority suggested putting the shrimp shells not only in the cooking soup, but also in the blender. These recipes also suggested a chinois or fine-mesh strainer for straining out the shells. I was hesitant to put the shells in the blender, but it seemed to be the traditional method so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Another recipe suggested that if you didn't have a chinois, then a strainer fitted with cheese cloth would work.



1 tbsp. butter
¼ cup onion, finely diced
¼ cup celery, finely diced
¼ cup carrot, finely diced
1 15-oz. can tomatoes, cut up in pieces (use the juice for another dish)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. shrimp in the shell
4 cups shrimp stock or seafood/fish stock
1 cup dry white wine (dry vermouth is excellent)
4 tbsp. raw rice
2 tbsp. butter, softened
½ cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

In a skillet, sauté the onion, celery, and carrot in the butter for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are soft, not brown. Add the tomato pieces and sauté for another 5 minutes. Set the mixture aside in a bowl.

In the same pan, heat the olive oil then add the whole shrimp. Cook until the shells are red and crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.

While the shrimp are cooling, heat the stock and wine in a large saucepan, add the reserved vegetables and the rice, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered. Peel the shrimp, separating the shells and the meat, and toss the shells into the cooking soup. Simmer for 20 minutes.

When the soup has finished cooking, puree in a blender, solids first (including the shells), then strain back into the pot.

Take half the reserved shrimp, puree them in the blender (slowly adding enough hot stock to completely emulsify them) and pour them into the pot.

Enrich the soup by whisking in the softened butter and the cream, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Let sit, for flavors to blend, until ready to serve.



When ready to serve, sauté thin bread slices in butter until crisp and brown, then drain. Slice the remaining shrimp lengthwise and briefly flambé them over high heat with the Cognac or wine. Mince the tarragon or other herb finely. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the shrimp and minced herb, and pass the croûtons separately.

Notes: The texture was not as smooth as I would have liked; the soup was just a little bit gritty. I strained it with a fine-mesh strainer, but it was not fine enough for those shrimp shells. I tried the strainer with cheese cloth, and that was completely hopeless. I think a chinois is necessary for this dish if you put the shells in the blender. Overall, the soup was still good. It had a very pronounced shrimp flavor and a beautiful color.

Spaghetti with Crab

My grandmother used to love pasta with crab sauce. She always said that the crab made the sweetest sauce. She made it with fresh whole crabs, but that will have to be a project for another day. You can get high-quality canned crabmeat, usually from Thailand, that is pasteurized and has a long refrigerated shelf life. It's blue crab, like what you find in Maryland.



1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. grated lemon zest, chopped
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
salt & pepper
1 lb. fresh or canned jumbo crab meat
1 lb. of spaghetti

Put the pasta water on to boil. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the garlic until sizzling. Add the wine and reduce by half. Add the lemon juice, zest, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Put aside until the pasta is cooked. Once the pasta is cooked al dente, take one small cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the remaining pasta. Return the pasta to the pot and put it back on the heat. Add the sauce, crab, tomatoes and parsley. Stir until well-mixed, being careful not to break up the crab too much. If the dish seems at all dry, add some of the reserved pasta water. Once all the ingredients are heated through, serve.

Notes: This dish was verging on too lemony. I will add the lemon juice more carefully next time. There are no good fresh tomatoes in Chicago in December so I used canned tomatoes. I'll try this dish again next summer with my homegrown tomatoes and herbs.

Sicilian Swordfish

This is the only dish that I've made before, but it is a tasty dish and an Italian preparation. We don't eat swordfish often, so this was a good holiday treat.



3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 jalepeno, seeded and minced
Finely grated zest of 1 small orange
2 tbsps. dry vermouth
1 bay leaf
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. marjoram, chopped
1/3 cup gaeta olives, pitted and halved
4 7-oz. swordfish steaks
salt
sherry vinegar

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook over moderate heat until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add the orange zest, vermouth and bay leaf and boil over moderately high heat until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices and a pinch of salt and simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the marjoram. Season with salt and sherry vinegar.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Season the fish with salt and add to the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Add the sauce, shaking the skillet to distribute it evenly. Cover and simmer the swordfish over low heat, turning once, until the steaks are just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer fish to plate. Stir the olives into the sauce and season with salt and sherry vinegar. Spoon the sauce around the steaks and serve.



Notes: The sauce ended up a little bit thick after adding it to the hot pan. I should have added some water to thin it before serving. Still delicious! I used green picholine olives instead of the black olives that the dish calls for. Marjoram is one of my favorite herbs, and I love dishes that contain this oregano-like herb. I make a marjoram and asiago rissotto that I'll have to add to this blog. Food and Wine recommends a Sicilian Nero d'Avola with this dish. Neil recommends the Cusumano Noa Nero D'Avola blend.

King Crab Legs

We've never made king crab legs at home, but the ones at Costco have been tempting me for a few years. Among the massive piles of crab legs, I saw a few that had claws. I requested one with claws, and the kind gentlemen picked out two with claws for me. The best crabs and lobsters should feel heavy for their size. These felt very dense and were loaded with meat. They were a bit of a challenge to eat after the six previous courses, but we were not about to give up at the last course!



2 king crab legs, precooked

Place crab legs in steamer basket. Steam for 6 minutes, or until crab is heated through. Serve with melted butter and lemon wedges.



Notes: The crab was quite tasty, but just a little bit too salty. I don't know if that is the natural flavor of the crab, or if salt is added. I would have used unsalted butter if I knew they were already so salty. Someone suggested this crab was a repeat of an earlier dish, but this crab is very different from the crab in the pasta sauce.

Our Feast of the Seven Fishes was great fun and good eats! We hope to have future feasts with seafood-loving guests. It was a challenge to coordinate seven dishes, and a challenge to consume seven dishes, but it was well worth the effort. Eel is also one of the most traditional items that the Italians eat at this feast. Maybe next time, I'll be brave enough to try eel.