Sopa de Ajo (Garlic Soup)

Sopa de ajo (aka garlic soup) sounds a little weird right?  I thought so.  I know it's a totally traditional Spanish dish, but I have never been inspired to try it or make it at home.  But we had some stale bread in the apartment and Alex wanted to use it, so I found this Mario Batali recipe online at Serious Eats for sopa de ajo with poached eggs.  I have to admit, the poached eggs were what really sold me on this recipe.  Well, that and the fact that we had everything we needed in the apartment (which is a huge plus on a rainy weeknight).  This soup is simple and very satisfying, with a pleasing richness from the poached egg.  It's the perfect type of soup to eat when you are feeling a little under the weather or when the weather outside just isn't so great.  One note - depending on the type of bread you use you might have to play with the ratio of broth to bread a little - ours got really thick, almost oatmeal-like, because we used a fairly hearty bread (and probably because Alex used more than 1/4 pound on accident).  As far as meals go, it was comforting and tasty.  We served it with a nice salad, and it was a perfect meal for a rainy Tuesday night.

Recipe after the jump!

Garlic Knots Two Ways

The problem with making Jim Lahey's No-Knead Pizza Dough is figuring out what to do with the remaining dough.  We used one ball of dough to make our White Pizza with Ramps, but we had 2 more balls of dough left in the fridge.  I knew right away that I wanted to make a batch of garlic knots and I was thinking about making a calzone with the other dough, but we couldn't decide what kind of garlic knots to make so we decided to make two batches of garlic knots and save the calzone for later.  The Emmentaler and Caraway Garlic Knots were inspired by the cheesy garlic knots that John Fraser's temporary restaurant What Happens When.  We were both obsessed with the garlic knots he served the two times that we ate dinner there.  The Gouda and Cumin Garlic Knots were inspired by a cumin-flavored gouda cheese that was part of the cheese platter at Vandaag.  Alex suggested the second flavor combination and preferred that flavor combination, but I think that his preference is mostly due to the fact that he is not a huge fan of caraway seeds.  I really liked them both and I keep trying to pick a favorite, but I can't.   That's not a bad thing.  The garlic knots had a nice crispy exterior and a really fluffy, moist interior.  They were so good that we had garlic knots for dinner last night and then I had another few for breakfast this morning.  They are definitely best fresh out of the oven, but they aren't bad the next day!

Recipes after the jump!

Shrimp with Garlicky Cuban Mojo

I have been thinking recently that I make way too much shrimp.  Sadly shrimp has become my go-to seafood.  We always have it in the freezer and everytime I go to Fairway I find myself buying more.  Part of that is due to the fact that shrimp doesn't suffer as much from being frozen.  With some types of fish I am always convinced that the texture (and flavor) really suffers when you throw it in the freezer.  You lose any freshness the fish once had, it sometimes starts to smell funny, etc.  Maybe it's entirely mental, but that's how I feel.  So we eat a lot of shrimp.  And I mean a whole lot.  If you look at the recipes we have made you will see just how often we eat shrimp.  It's kind of sickening really.  But I can't help it!  We cook it so often at home that I almost never eat shrimp at a restaurant because I'm getting more than enough at home.  So I guess we will have to try to switch it up a little more.  Perhaps try out a few different fish and shellfish recipes.  I have two swordfish recipes that I have been wanting to try, so that will be our first seafood experiment.  And I have been wanting to cook clams or cockles for awhile, so that will be next.  After that who knows?

Anyway, back to this particular recipe.  I liked it, but I didn't love it.  There was nothing about the dish that really blew me away.  I thought the mojo would make an interesting marinade, but it was a little on the sweet side for me.  Alex said he wanted more heat.  I just wanted more... something.  More depth of flavor?  More wow factor?   Crushed red pepper flakes are probably a good place to start.

Recipe after the jump!

Ginger Fried Rice

I have been eying this recipe for Ginger Fried Rice from Jean-Georges Vongerichten for ages.  The picture in his Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges cookbook is simply stunning.  But as with most recipes in his cookbook, the ingredient list for the fried rice was a little intimidating.  Rendered chicken fat is not something I often keep around the apartment.  But then I saw Mark Bittman's adaptation of the recipe on his blog, and I decided I no longer had any excuse for not giving the fried rice a shot at home.  Granted, this is the world's most complicated and precise recipe for fried rice, but both Jean-Georges (a man whose restaurants I have dined at numerous times and loved) and Mark Bittman assure me that the extra steps are "absolutely worth the effort."  Well ok then!

So yes.  I have to jump on the bandwagon and admit that the extra steps are completely and utterly worth the effort.  The crispy ginger and garlic bits are delicious, as is the yolk from the fried egg, which oozes so beautifully all over the rice.  It is so simple, but so very good.  This fried rice was the star of the day.  It doesn't look like much, but looks can be very deceiving because it is absolutely delicious.

Recipe after the jump!