Mole Rabbit - Happy Easter

From the The New York Times Originally published with FOOD; Rabbit Is Rich By Molly O'Neill, February 7, 1993

FOR THE RABBIT:

• 1  tablespoon bacon fat
• 1  2 1/2-pound rabbit, cut into 7 pieces
• 1  medium onion, minced
• 4  cloves garlic, minced
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1  teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2  teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
• 2  cups chicken broth

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 8  dried ancho chilies, soaked in 2 cups boiling water for 30 minutes
• 1  cup drained, stewed whole tomatoes
• 1/4  cup sesame seeds, toasted
• 1  tablespoon oregano
• 2  whole cloves
• 2  whole allspice
• 1/4  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 9  cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4  cup ripe banana
• 2  tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 1/2  ounce bitter chocolate, melted
• 1  teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

PREPARATION

1.

     In a large heavy casserole, warm the bacon fat. Add the rabbit pieces and brown well. Add the onion, garlic and seasonings. Cook until the onion is soft, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth. Turn heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

2.

     Meanwhile, to make the mole sauce, drain the chilies, reserving 1 tablespoon of the soaking liquid. Stem and seed the chilies. Place the chilies, tomatoes, sesame seeds, oregano, cloves, allspice, cinnamon and garlic in a blender and puree until very smooth. Add the reserved liquid, banana, bread crumbs, chocolate and salt. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.

3.

     Remove the rabbit pieces from the broth. Whisk in the mole sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Return rabbit to pan. Simmer until thick, about 15 minutes. Serve with white rice or warm flour tortilla.

     Produces 4-5 Portions

Best Barbecued Meat and Homemade Barbecue Sauce

By Jamie Oliver

Go get his book, you won't be disappointed.  See page 85.

I made this recipe tonight for a Super B...wait...Football gathering involving some Saints and some Horses...The outcome of which was not to our liking but a good game none the less.

Cook Time 1:15, Total Preparation 3:00

Ingredients used in my rendition:

• 1 Rack Baby Back Pork Ribs
• 1 Whole Young Chicken, Spatchcocked
• 1 Tsp Cumin
• 2 Tbsp Fennel
• 5 Cloves
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper
• Thme Rosemary
• Zest and Juice of One Orange
• 1 Garlic Bulb
• 4 Tsp Sweet Smoked Paprika
• 6 Tbsp Basalmic Vinegar - I missed this one
• 1/4 Cup Organic Ketchup - I used the whole 8oz bottle
• 8 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 10 Bay Leaves - I had 14...it used up the bottle

Jamie does a much better job describing this but in short, grind the fennel, cumin, cloves in a mortar.  Add your Paprika, salt and pepper and set aside.  Zest your orange coarsly with a peeler, add Rosmary and Tyme leaves along with your peeled garlic and coarse chop the whole lot.  Juice the orange into a roasting pan, add ketchup, bay leaves, your previously chopped herbs and the ground spices and stir together.  Coat the ribs and chicken (slash the chicken periodically), in the roasting pan, cover with foil and place them in a 350 F oven for an hour and fifteen minutes.  After cooking, finish the meat on a charcoal grill, about 15 minutes to get a light char.  I used an indoor smokeless grill due to time constraints which gave a nice char but emparted no smoke flavor.  

     I forgot the Basalmic Vinegar, I didn't use a charcoal grill, and further I saved the sauce+drippings, removed the bay leaves and used a hand blender to puree the sauce, then reduced it in a pan, finally pouring the lot over the chicken and ribs.

     I'll definatley be doing this recipe again (properly I hope) in the warmer months.  This yeilds a tangy, sweet sauce and fall apart tender meat. 

Mashed Potatoes with a Beef Stew Gravy

By Jessica Cameron

Serves:  8-12 people

Prep Time: 24-48 hours for marinade, 30 additional minutes on day of prep

Cooking Time: About 2 hours

Ingredients

• 1 to 1 ½ lbs of cubed beef brisket
• Beef Marinade A*
• 2 tablespoon of grape seed oil (or any other preferred vegetable oil
• 1 lb of fresh portabella mushroom or 1 lb of crimini mushrooms  (equates to 4 large portabellas)
• 1 cup of chopped carrots
• 1 cup of chopped celery
• 14-16 ounces of frozen petite whole onions (defrosted)
• Fresh 14-16 ounces or frozen 1 bag (defrosted) French green beans
• 14.5 ounce can of diced organic tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 ½ cups of beef broth
• 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 2 ½ cups of burgundy wine (zinfandel, cabernet, or merlot)
• 4 large cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons of lemon pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• Lots of black pepper (your pallet will guide this measurement)
• Salt as needed

     Marinate 1 to 1 ½ pounds of ½ inch cubed beef brisket for 24-48 hours in my Beef Marinade A.

     Once done marinating remove the beef from the marinade, saving the marinade and setting it aside for now.  Bring your cubed beef to room temperature before browning. In an enameled cast iron Dutch oven on the stove top to a medium heat. 

     Add 1 tablespoons of grape seed oil to the heated pot  and wait a minute for the oil to heat up. Add the beef cubes and brown for 5-710 minutes. Do not crowd the pot, but make sure you watch the meat turning as needed to allow for even browning on all sides.  This is simply to create a crust on the outside of the beef.  Once done, remove the beef and set aside. 

     Leaving the temperature on medium high heat, take your mushrooms (if portabella’s, slice across into ½ inch thick slices, then cube that into ½ wide pieces; if crimini’s, simply cut into quarters) and add to the pot with the oil and bacon fat.  Spread the mushrooms evenly around the bottom of the pot and do not touch them for at least 2 minutes.  This will help them retain their liquids.  After 2 minutes give them one additional stir and let them sit another 2 minutes.

     Once you see the mushrooms have begun to brown, remove them from the pot and set aside.

     Combine your carrot, celery, and pearl onions in the pot to sauté and soften them. In a separate pot, heat to medium, add a tablespoon of oil and let come to temperature.  Add your carrots, celery, and onion.  The carrot and celery will soften, and the onion should caramelize slightly on the outside.

     If you are using fresh green beans, trim them and steam them for approximately 3-4 minutes to soften them up prior to sautéing them.  If you are using frozen beans, simply defrost.  Chop your green beans into 2 inch pieces if not already chopped.

     Add your green beans to the heated pot with your carrots, celery, and onion. Sautee those together until the beans soften a bit.  This should only take 3-5 minutes of browning.

     In your Dutch oven add one 14.5 ounce can of diced organic tomatoes (with their liquids) with 3 tablespoons of tomato paste. Reduce the liquids of the tomatoes down by half.  Add back your marinade and bring it to a boil with the tomato and tomato paste combination.  At this point in time, scrape the bottom of your pot with a wooden spoon to get up all the caramelized bits that the previous steps left behind.  Bring the marinade to a boil and reduce the marinade by a third.  Once reduced, turn the heat down to a medium to medium low, just enough heat to maintain a simmer, and add your browned beef back to the pot along with the carrot, celery, onion, and green bean mixture.  In addition, add your wine, 3 cloves of grated garlic and spices.  Simmer your stew covered for approximately 25 minutes on low to blend the flavors. 

     In the last 6-8 minutes of the simmer, add the mushrooms to heat through.

Spices added: (Repeated from Above)

• 2 tablespoons of dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons of lemon pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• Lots of black pepper (your pallet will guide this measurement)
• Salt as needed

 Suggested serving options: 

• Serve in a bowl with a hunk of crusty bread for dipping
• Prepare a small bowl of eggs noodles and pour the stew over the noodles.
• Place a dollop of mashed potatoes in the bottom of a bowl, make a small bowl within the potatoes and pour the stew over that like a very chunky gravy. 
• Hollow out a single serving round loaf of crusty bread creating a bread bowl, and pour the stew in that

Lemon Thyme Compound Butter

By Jessica Cameron

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• zest of 3 lemons
• 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

     Let a stick of butter sit out on the counter overnight to soften up.  Once softened mash the butter with a fork.  Add your lemon zest, chopped thyme, and lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Once happy with the even distribution of the ingredients within the butter, lay a large square piece of saran wrap down on your counter. Dollop all the butter in the center of the saran wrap and form into a log shape or stick of butter shape.  Once happy with the initial shape, roll the wrap around the butter and form it further, twisting the ends and wrapping them around the butter.  Toss in the fridge to harden and use as desired.

Jessie's Turkey Stock

By Jessica Cameron

• 1 whole roasted, skin on turkey breast (2 cups cubed meat removed from bone but added to pot)
• Four quarts (128oz) low sodium chicken broth
• 12 cups water
• 2 cups roughly chopped carrots
• 2 whole yellow onions roughly chopped (skins and all)
• 8-10 large cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
• 6-8 whole dry bay leaves
• 1 cup sweet cherry peppers (jarred Italian peppers) roughly chopped
• 1 cup Italian parsley, roughly chopped, stems and all
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped rosemary
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/4 mixed pepper corns (black, white, pink, tellicherry, and green)
• 3 Tbsp coarse grey sea salt

     In a large stock pot (about 2 gallons) add turkey meat, bones, chicken stock, and water.  Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for two hours.  While simmering, skim off excess fat at the surface.

     Add carrots, onions, and mixed peppers and return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for thirty minutes.  

     Add parsley, rosemary, thyme, garlic, bay leaves and pepper corns and simmer for an additional hour.

     Add 3 tablespoons (or to taste) of coarse gray sea salt. Then remove from heat and allow to cool.  Strain broth through a fine sieve and secondarily through a cheese cloth. The product should be a nice orange-amber color.  Refrigerate if using within the week or meter it out for freezing (freezer bags or ice cube trays for example).  Use your best judgment here but we've used six and even twelve month frozen stock.

Yields 1 to 1-1/2 gallons (That is 128 oz to 192 oz or 16 cups to 24 cups)