Post-Irene Beer-Glazed Black Beans

Hello! Wow, it has been a while.

Like many others on the East Coast, I have been cooped up this weekend due to Hurricane Irene. Thankfully, the hurricane was not as severe in Brooklyn as it might have been, and I did not have to break into the bounty of canned goods that I had bought as a precaution. But I figured it was a good opportunity to share this recipe with everyone, since lots of folks affected by Irene may find that they have some extra black beans on hand right about now. And of course, they are a pantry staple for many people regardless.

This recipe is from Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything" Book. I actually don't have the book, but the iphone app! I really like the app - comes in handy when I am bored on the subway - I can just look through recipes and decide what to make for dinner when I get home. OK so here are the cast of characters for the recipe:





Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped (sometimes I am lazy and leave out the onion, it's still good)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup beer
3 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained but moist, liquid reserved
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste


Directions
Put the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for about a minute, then add the beer, beans, chili powder, honey and some salt and pepper.
Bring to a steady bubble and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately. Can also be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Also: dont forget!!! You can always adjust the proportions in the recipe to make less beans. I usually just make it with one can. Bittman also notes that you can add exciting things like bacon, tomatoes, or chipotle paste to the recipe. As you can see in the photo above, sometimes I add a bit of salsa.

I don't have a pic of the finished product (let's face it, black beans are not that photogenic.) But, the end result is rich and creamy and sorta sweet/spicy at the same time. It goes well with eggs, tortillas, avocado, rice, cheese, etc. Anything you would normally eat with black beans - go for it.

Also, it should be mentioned, that if you're in the NYC area and have extra food supplies due to the hurricane, you can always donate them to the Food Bank for New York City. Info HERE.

Hope everyone stayed safe during the hurricane.

We made Bittman's braised artichokes

It's artichoke season, but lately it seems like they've been flying off the racks at grocery stores. I always notice them when I don't need them, but then when I come back, they're gone. Especially after reading Mark Bittman's article on braising artichokes complete with a witty ("it's artiCHOKE not artiSWALLOW!") instructional video, I was intent on finding some artichokes to braise.

When I finally found them, Martha and I decided to make our own witty instructional video, below, as a Bittman homage:





Here's the recipe, copied and pasted. We followed it pretty exactly.

Bittman's Braised Artichokes

Ingredients

4 medium artichokes

4 tablespoons butter ( 1/2 stick)

1 cup chicken stock, or more as needed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Zest and juice of 1 lemon.

1. Cut each of the artichokes in half; remove the toughest outer leaves, use a spoon to remove the choke, and trim the bottom.

2. Put 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When it melts and foam subsides, add artichokes, cut side down. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add stock (it should come about halfway up the sides of the artichokes), bring to a boil, and cover; turn heat to medium-low. Cook for about 20 minutes or until tender, checking every 5 or 10 minutes to make sure there is enough liquid in the pan, adding more stock as necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and transfer artichokes to serving platter.

3. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to a sauce. Stir in lemon zest and juice and remaining tablespoon butter; taste and adjust seasoning. Serve artichokes drizzled with sauce.

Yield: 4 servings.

We made polenta pizza!

(This is a real time conversation between Sarah and Alena, the cooks behind this tasty dish.)

Alena: Hey Sarah. So, do you remember how we came across the recipe for this polenta pizza? I know I do.
Sarah: Hey girl. I think I recall. Wasn't it that Bittman article telling you to "Rethink your Breakfast"? Or something like that? The one that misguided you into making savory oatmeal?
Alena: That's the article. All I know is, I am never putting soy sauce in oatmeal ever again. The polenta pizza however, is something I would definitely make again (and did, in fact, the night after we made this one !) Let's tell 'em all how we began the recipe.
Sarah: This is the Bittman Polenta Method. His version of the pizza had spinach and pancetta, but we changed it up to make it vegetarian. But you can put anything you want on this pizza!

Polenta crust:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup whole milk
salt
1 cup coarse cornmeal (we used instant)

Topping:
Mama Vallese's sauce
smoked mozzarella
4 shallots, sliced thinly
bunch a spinach
couple cloves garlic
parmesan

Here are Bitt's instructions for the crust:

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees; brush a layer of olive oil on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk with 2 1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt. Bring just about to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn heat to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until thick, 10 or 15 minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in a bit more water; you want a consistency approaching thick oatmeal.

2. Stir 1 tablespoon oil into cooked cornmeal (polenta). Spoon it onto prepared pan, working quickly so polenta does not stiffen; spread it evenly to a thickness of about 1/2 inch all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and put it in refrigerator until it is firm, an hour or more (you can refrigerate polenta overnight if you prefer).

3. Put polenta in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to brown and crisp on edges. Here's where we take over.

4. Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Add some garlic and those shallots. Brown em real good. Toss in that spinach. You don't even need to chop it. Just tear off those stems. Cook just for a few minutes.

Now you are ready to assemble.

Spread on that sauce.
Slice up that cheese and put it on.
Distribute those veggies.
Pop that shit in the oven.
Just for like five. Til the cheese melts. That's all you need.

Alena: This is the part I like the best. We got out some plates and put HALF the pie onto mine and HALF onto Sarah's. Actually just kidding, we left like a 1/4 of the pie for Hillary to try, except I think we ended up eating that too. Sorry Hill. We will make another one for all of us soon.
Sarah: This was so good because the polenta crust is spongy but also crispy and is just so delicious in contrast to the smokey mozz and the sweet shallots. Plus it's healthier and feels lighter than regular pizza.
Alena: It's true. In fact, I remember that after we cleaned our plates, we commented that we did not feel as uncomfortably full as we often do when eating regular pizza.
Sarah: That's true. We did make that very comment.
Alena: If only the episode of Gossip Girl that we watched while eating was as good as the dinner itself, you know?
Sarah: I know right. What was up with that Age of Innocence motif. It's like, JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T REALIZE, THIS SHOW IS TRYING TO BE LIKE EDITH WHARTON OR JANE AUSTEN IN ITS IRONIC PORTRAYAL OF NEW YORK HIGH SOCIETY. except it is a show on the cw (i almost said "the wb" LOL).
Alena: Whew, I am so glad you didn't call it the WB, how embarrassing.