Recipe: Irish Oats & Whole Wheat Pancakes

1/2 cup Irish (aka steel-cut) oats
3/4 cup boiling water
1/3 - 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar (or Stevia sugar substitute)
1 egg
1 Tbsp melted butter
dried fruit or fresh berries (optional)

First, combine the oats and the boiling water in a bowl, then go have a cup of coffee.  It needs to soak for at least 10 minutes (20 wouldn't hurt anything).   As this cools, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) in another bowl.  After the oats have cooled, add the egg and butter to them, and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix by hand for about 15 seconds -- only until everything is incorporated.

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat until a drop of water dances on the surface when put onto it.  You may need to lightly oil the cooking surface, depending on what you're using.  One the cooking surface is hot, add about 1/3 cup of the batter onto the center of the pan.  If adding dried fruit or berries, sprinkle lightly onto the top of the batter at this time.  Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the edges of the pancake start to dry and are set.  Bubbles that pop near the edges should stay "open" and not be immediately filled with batter.  Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side.  Repeat until you run out of batter.

Serve hot, preferably with real maple syrup.

Recipe: Simple Steak Fajitas

SIMPLE STEAK FAJITAS

1 piece skirt steak (approx 1.5 lbs)
2 limes
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic or 1 clove elephant garlic
1 onion
2 bell peppers (any color)
tortillas
salsa or taco sauce
shredded cheese

Trim any excess fat off of the skirt steak.  Cut it into 2-4 pieces -- you'll be putting the meat into a zip-top bag to marinade.

To make the marinade, juice the limes.  Mince the garlic, and then, using the side of the knife, grind the salt into the minced garlic.  This will make a rough garlic paste.  Add this to the lime juice.

Put the steak and the marinade into a zip-top bag, and leave for 30 minutes-1 hour.

Heat your heaviest skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat.  Remove the steak, and dab dry with paper towels.  Add the meat to the pan and sear the meat for 2-3 minutes per side.  You may have to work in 2 batches.  Move the cooked meat to some foil and cover tightly.

Turn the heat on the skillet down to medium to medium-low.  Cut the onion in half and slice thinly.  Similarly, remove the seeds from the bell peppers and cut into thin strips.  Add the veggies to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until they are limp.  They may char slightly on the edges, but that's perfectly fine.  Remove the vegetables from the heat.

Take the meat and slice thinly against the grain.  Heat the tortillas to make them flexible.  Add some meat and vegetables to one side of the tortilla.  Add cheese, salsa, and/or taco sauce as you like, then roll the tortilla around the filling.  I usually fold one side of the tortilla over before rolling it so that there is a "pouch" in the bottom that will catch any juices that may come out of meat or veggies.

Recipe: Smoked Turkey Breast

There is only one ingredient:  turkey breast.    This is all about the cooking.

Most turkey breasts you see in the grocery stores have been brined.  This is soaking it in a salt water solution, usually with some sugar and other flavorings added.  This makes it VERY forgiving to long cooking preparations, like smoking.

Before you do anything, you need hardwood chips.  I'd recommend hickory, mesquite, or apple, but any hardwood will do.  (Never use pine, cedar, or any other softwood.  The smoke will have way too much soot in it, among other things.)  Get a big pot of water, and put several big handfuls of the wood chips in it. Let the wood soak for an hour or more to saturate it.  This is to make sure that the wood will smolder and smoke as opposed to catch fire.

And now, on to the food.  First, rinse off your turkey breast under cold water.  Lift up the flaps of skin, and -- using your fingers as much as possible and no knife if you can help it -- remove as much of the fat under the skin as you can.  Dry the turkey with paper towels.

Now it's time to set up your grill for indirect heating.  If you have a charcoal grill, you'll pile the coals as far to one side of the grill as you can.  If you use a gas grill, turn on only the burner all the way to either the left or the right.

Next, to start the smoke.  If using charcoal, you'll be able to just throw the wood chips on the coals.  However, you'll likely have to do this more often, which means opening the grill and releasing heat, which will increase the cooking time.

A fas grill is a little more complicated, but it will also give you more control and probably give you a quicker cooking time.  If you have a "smokebox," you'll use this.   A smoke box is more or less a metal box with some holes in it.  I don't have one of these, but I do have a little pan from an old (no longer functioning) toaster oven.  You can also use disposable aluminum pie pans or even just a  pouch made of heavy-duty aluminum foil -- but I would not recommend using thin aluminum foil to make a pouch.

Drain about 2 cups of the wood chips, and put them in the pan/pouch and cover it with heavy duty foil tightly.  (This will help keep the wood from catching fire, since it reduces the amount of oxygen near the wood.)  Poke 6-8 SMALL holes in the foil on the top.  Place the smokebox near the fire on the gas grill.   Within a couple of minutes, you should see some wisps of smoke coming out of the holes.  (If charcoal, put the wood directly on top of the coals).

Put the turkey breast on the grill as far away from the heat as you can.  If you have a stand roaster (it's a device that looks sort of like the middle of a Bundt cake pan or a tube pan -- you stick the vertical part into the cavity, and it stands the bird up for roasting), use it.  Put a meat or instant-read thermometer in into the center of the biggest part of the turkey breast.  Close the grill and keep an eye on the temperature.  You do not want the interior of the grill to get lower than 200 degrees F or much higher than 250 degrees F.  225F-250F is perfect.  On my grill, this is one burner at about "medium low," but your grill will likely be different.  WARNING:  Having the temperature too low can increase your risk for food poisoning.  Nobody wants that.

Check your grill every 15 minutes just to make sure that smoke is still coming out from around the edges.  When this stops, you'll replace the wood chips.  You want to open the lid of the grill as little as possible.

Generally, the breast will need to cook at least 30-45 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15-30 minutes for every time you open the grill.   Cook it until the internal temperature of the turkey is 156-160 degrees.  Remove the turkey and wrap it tightly in foil without removing the thermometer.  Let it set for 30 minutes or longer, and then carve and serve.

Recipe: Duck Leg-Quarters

I love duck.  It's maybe my favorite protein to eat.  Don't fear the duck.  If you find it in your grocery store, buy it.  Then have me over for dinner.  Or, as Wimpy famously said in the Popeye cartoons...."You bring the duck....I'll bring the dinner."

DUCK LEG QUARTERS

2 duck leg-thigh quarters
salt

That's right....all you need for a delicious main dish is 2 ingredients.

Put the duck on a work surface.  Using a very sharp knife (or a utility knife, like I did), make VERY shallow cuts across the skin about 1/2 of an inch apart.  You only want to break the skin -- you don't want to cut so deep it gets into the flesh.  The knife MUST be sharp, or you will not be able to make it through the skin.  Then turn the duck 90 degrees, and make more shallow cuts exactly the same way and depth.  Sprinkle with salt.

Repeat on the other duck quarter.

Heat a good heavy skillet over medium heat until very hot.  I strongly recommend a cast iron skillet if you have it.  A drop of water should sizzle and evaporate almost immediately.  Put the duck in the skillet, skin-side down.  If you have a splatter-guard (this is a fine screen on a round frame), put it over the pan, or else you may get to clean a mess off of your stove top.  Cook for approximately 6-8 minutes for medium doneness.  If you prefer your duck "well done," then you should really reconsider.  Also, turn the heat on the pan down to medium low after 6 minutes and cook for a total of 10 minutes.

Flip the duck and cook for the same amount of time you cooked the "skin" side (6 minutes for medium, 10 minutes for well done).  Put on a plate and cover tightly with foil for 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

BONUS:  Pour off the excess duck fat from the pan.  Add 1/2 cup of your favorite juice to the pan (orange is traditional, but white grape or cranberry works well, too) while the pan is hot.  Scrape the bottom of the pan to get any tasty browned bits off the bottom of the pan.  Boil on hot until it thickens (only a couple of minutes).  Serve this pan sauce over the duck.

Finally, in the words of Beldar Conehead, "Consume mass quantities."

Recipe: Greek Yogurt coffee cake

This is an adaptation of a sour cream coffee cake.  I had picked up some Greek yogurt at the grocery store and decided to see what it was like and what I could do with it.  Substitute sour cream or regular unflavored yogurt, if you wish.  Also, you can substitute all-purpose flour for the cake flour, but take out 1 tablespoon per cup.

GREEK YOGURT COFFEE CAKE

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 large apple, sliced thin

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Put the first four ingredients in a food processor, and process on a low setting until it is smooth.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl, and mix with a whisk to incorporate.

Add 1/2 of the flour and 1/2 cup of the yogurt into the food processor, and process on low until incorporated.  Add the rest of the flour and yogurt, and process until smooth.   The batter will be thick, so you'll likely have to turn up the speed a bit.

Liberally lubricate a springform pan, and put the batter into it.   Smooth the batter, and arrange the apple slices on the top.  Put into the oven and back for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes before removing the side of the pan, then cool another 30 minutes until serving.

Recipe: Scallion-Parmesean Bread

This is a variation of a recipe initially found at www.injennieskitchen.com.  It's largely similar, but I've included instructions on using a bread machine as well as a couple of other adjustments.

Scallion-Parmesean Bread

4 large scallions (aka "green onions"), chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup shredded Parmesean cheese (or 3/4 cup grated) -- USE REAL CHEESE, NOT THE STUFF IN THE CARDBOARD TUBES.
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup warm (roughly 85-90 degrees F) water
olive oil
cornmeal

Put the oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the scallions, and cook through (about 5 minutes).  Remove from heat.

There are 2 ways of proceeding from here.  If you have a bread machine, use Option 1.  If you don't, use Option 2:

• Option 1:  Put the water and scallions in the bread machine.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Using the "dough" setting, mix and knead for about 10 minutes, or until a firm -- but sticky -- dough ball has formed.

• Option 2:  Mix 2 1/2 cups of flour, cheese, salt, and yeast in a large bowl.  Add the water and the scallions, and mix with a spoon until the dough forms.  (It will be very sticky).  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup flower onto a work surface, and turn the dough out onto it.  Using your hands, knead the dough, working in the additional flour, for 10 minutes.

Lightly oil (or spray with non-stick spray) a large bowl.  Put the dough in it and cover with plastic wrap so that it won't dry out.  Allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size (usually 1 1/2-2 hours, though this will depend on the ambient temperature.

Turn out the dough, and knead it for 1 minute on a lightly floured work surface.  Roll it around a bit, stretching the "skin" on the dough, until it forms a ball.  With a sharp knife, mark an "X" on the top of the dough.

Sprinkle the cornmeal onto a wooden peel (if you have one) or a cookie sheet (if you don't), and put the dough directly on it.  Lightly brush the dough with olive oil.  Allow to rise until doubled in size again (about 45 minutes to 1 hour -- the second rise should take less time than the first),

If you have a pizza stone, move it to the center of the oven.  If you don't, you really should get one.  A large clean terra cotta drip pan from a planter will work, if you have one.  If using a cookie sheet, turn the drip pan over so there's a big flat surface pointing up.  (This is not 100% necessary, but it helps the bread cook a bit more evenly and form a good crust on the bottom.)  Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F. 

When the dough has finished it's second rise, place the dough (or the cookie sheet with the dough on it) directly onto the pizza stone (or overturned planter).  Close the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 450.  Cook for 25-30 minutes.  Remove to a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it.

Restaurant review: The "Merry Table" Crêperie, Portland, ME

The food I had for lunch today is disturbingly good at The "Merry Table" Crêperie at 43 Wharf Street in Portland, Maine.

Wharf Street is more of an alley than an actual street and is in the "Old Port" part of the city.  The area is more famous for the heavy drinking that goes on at the bars than anything else, but Wharf Street is a hidden gem.  There are several well-regarded restaurants on it's 2 block length, and I'm happy to say that The "Merry Table" Crêperie has joined their ranks.

My companion and I arrived early on a Sunday afternoon, and there was both indoor and outdoor seating available.  We were immediately greeted by our waitress (who hailed from the Bordeaux region of France).  She was pleasantly chatty with us but did not impose.  She apologized for taking what she thought was too long to bring us our menus and glasses of ice water, but we had been sitting only a couple of minutes, and a menu was posted right beside our table.  (We sat at the table in the left of the picture above.)  The music was initially French pop music (not the annoying club music or anything like that), which was mixed in with some older US pop music, and the volume was low enough that it was not distracting.

The lunch menu included of some sandwiches, but this is a crêperie -- a crêpe restaurant.  There are a large selection of both savory and sweet crêpes on the menu, but my eye was immediately drawn to the Cuban panini.

I first had a Cuban sandwich when living in South Florida for a brief period in the late 1980s, and I still cannot understand why this has not become a nation-wide phenomenon.  The traditional Cuban consists of thinly sliced ham, roast pork, sour pickles, mild cheese and mustard, served on a bread similar to a Hoagie roll.  The entire thing is heated and pressed just until the cheese becomes gooey.

The Cuban panini here is a delicious variation on the theme, using Black Forest ham, Swiss cheese, Dijon mustard, and a type of pickle called a cornichon.  The bread was nicely toasted, and there was just enough cheese to help hold everything together.  The mustard was used sparingly, so it did not overpower the other flavors in the sandwich.  The pickles were heavenly; my only complaint would be that a few more of the pickles would have been nice.

My companion had the Texane crêpe, which was filled with chicken, cheese, and mild chilis, served with sliced black olives, sour cream, and guacamole on the side.  The crêpe was fantastic, with no perceptible heat from the chilis and a nicely mild Southwestern US flavor.

Both meals came with a small salad of mixed greens with some thin carrot strips.  The dressing on the salad was a simple vinaigrette, and it was mercifully used sparingly.  I'm not saying that the dressing tasted bad -- on the contrary, it was lightly sour and tasted wonderful.  However, a pet peeve of mine regarding salads at restaurants is that the dressing is often used too heavily.  You end up with some greens swimming in a veritable ocean of oil and vinegar.  You usually can not taste the vegetables because there is so much dressing.  That was not the case here.  The salad was a delightfully refreshing side.

I decided to splurge a little and have dessert, from the list of sweet crêpes.  The list included Banana and Nutella and Chocolat (filled with chocolate ganache), but I decided on the Crêpe Suzette (sugar, butter, orange, and orange liqueur).  While there was a slightly longer wait than expected for dessert to come, it was well worth the wait.  It was serves simply, with just the orange sauce.  The sauce was not overly sweet, but was also slightly bitter from the orange liqueur.  Dishes such as this are why everyone has heard of a Crêpe Suzette.  It was a wonderful light dessert to finish the meal.

I had coffee with my lunch, and it was one the best cups of coffee I've had in years.  My companion started with orange juice (which was not fresh squeezed and had no pulp), but switched to coffee also after tasting mine.  The coffee was not too strong, and nicely robust -- a wonderful "sipping" coffee.

The total cost of the meal (2 main dishes, 2 coffees, 1 juice, and 1 dessert) was a reasonable $35.  The prices of the crêpes is slightly higher, in general, than the sandwiches but are well worth the extra couple of dollars if you want to try something a little "out of the ordinary" for lunch.

In addition, for the adventurous, there is a twice-monthly "French Host Table," where you are only allowed to speak French.  There is no set price, and everything is á la carte.  There is also French live music.  This struck me as a wonderful adventure for the linguistically inclined, and a great "lab" exercise for the numerous French students in the local high schools and universities.

In summary, the food is outstanding, and the coffee is fantastic, though the orange juice was a little of a let down in comparison.  The service was very good, though the delay after ordering dessert was a little long.   This is a wonderful find in an "out of the way" place that tourists are likely to miss (unfortunately).

Overall Rating:  8.5 out of 10.