Little Em Travels to Big M

Oh loyal fans how you must have thought I poisoned myself with the chestnut soup that has been the feature recipe for almost two months on I Fagioli. Alas, I am alive and well, I am still enjoying the soup (not the same batch, of course), and the holidays proved to be busier than I ever imagined. And what does one do after a busy season, one takes a vacation as Shane and I did from December 26 to January 3 of this New Year.

Manistee, Michigan was our destination – from thin, tall buildings with their fire escapes to thin, tall trees with their branches broken in their imitation of rungs of a ladder. I bought snow shoes and trekked into the quiet woods that were only disturbed by rushes of wind that made me close my eyes and imagine the EL was still so near and to my delight, upon opening my eyes instead hills of snow sporting the tracks of tiny birds and the impressions of shy dear greeted my greedy urban eyes. For the first time in a mere eleven years, Shane hopped onto a pair of cross-country skis before tackling the groomed tracks and hills of the Big M National Forrest.

Many hours of sweat, tears, (in my case and only occasionally) and cold air make a gal and her husband think about nothing but food – lumberjack-worthy food of beans and grilled cheese sandwiches, sizzling spicy chili and Cokes. Yes, Emilie who hasn’t had a pop in years suddenly yearned for a Diet Coke after a three hour snow hike. What better to wash down the chipotle-laced beefy chili and smooth grilled cheese sandwich than sweet fizz?

We had many a momentous occasion. Our daily habit of napping after lunch was rudely interrupted one afternoon by a mouse’s scampering across the hook rug. Actually it was more his getting his claws caught in the rug than a scamper, and his struggle is what awakened Shane to wake me up to ask “What is that?” and for me to reply “uhdon’tknow.” We never saw the mouse as it was too dark in the cabin and to turn on a lamp meant walking across the floor risking stepping on the phantom creature. After a few noises that resembled giant constrictors swinging from Amazon trees, Shane managed to scare the mouse far enough away for us to comfortably turn on a light and never actually see it. However, the next morning we did see in the snow animal prints that we deduced were made by the phantom mouse.

Monday afternoon Shane and I were kidnapped by Deb and Sandy, and taken not completely against our will, to Debie’s cottage where we were force fed ribs and had numerous glasses of wine poured down our throats. At one point Deb did hold a gun to me (although she kept the gun, which, suspiciously, had the shape of a diamond ring around the barrel, in her pocket) and shouted “BAKE woman, BAKE!” It shook me so, the resulting walnut cookies were a little crispier on the bottom than I like and the freshly baked beer bread was whisked away too fast by Shane and me as we fled the warm and cozy torture causing the texture of the bread to be a bit soggy. Darn those tormentors that loaded us with locally made peanut butter, extra bottles of wine, amazingly aged cheddar cheese and a Bloody Mary mix that empties the vodka bottle a tad faster than usual.

Heavens to Betsy as we crossed our fingers upon backing from the drive every morning – as its steep slope gave way to slush, ice, snow, slush and snow, our Camry had to work even harder than the norm to shuttle us safely over the driveway line and onto Madison Road, which was fortunate to not a be busy road. And I mustn’t forget our cozy evenings of Scrabble games, roasted peanuts and whisky. Shane, the Peanut Roaster, taught me how to roast raw peanuts, still in their shells, and we both learned how to roast peanuts without an oven (the Peanut Roaster’s usual roasting instrument). On an electric cook top, roast the raw peanuts, still in their shells, in a large, deep pot on the lower side of medium-low setting (around the 3 mark) stirring and shaking often so the peanuts brown evenly before blackening to an un-edible state. When peanuts are to a desired roast, pour into a large bowl and allow to cool a bit. Peanuts will still crisp as they cool. Serve with extra bowls for the shells and a few shots of whiskey. The whiskey is especially important if achieving a high score in Scrabble is desired. Just yourself and your opponent a shot or two and just slowly sip as your opponent chugs and falls prey to meager words such as “hen,” “take,” and “zip” (none of which land upon premium squares although “zip” will bring in as little as 14 ferocious points).

Saturday dawned a crisp, sunny day with highs peaking around 34 degrees – our warmest day and sadly, our last day of snow-sporting and complete resting. I served Shane a home-style breakfast of one thick slice of bacon, two fried eggs, buttered and grilled bread and piping hot coffee boiled on the stove as the coffee pot had a crack in the bottom. As for me, I finished the beer bread by grilling it on the stove and slapping each slice with almond butter and sliced bananas. A hearty meal in each of our bellies sent us to play in the snow one more time before heading back to Chicago.

Our travels home were uneventful as we delightedly recapped our week. I confessed that I’d most miss the excuse to down rich grilled cheese sandwiches, Cokes and chili, as I won’t be burning that many calories here in the city, even after hitting the gym on a frequent basis. Shane, well, he should have been born with skis attached to each foot as much as he loves the sport. He was sorry to leave such great skiing conditions, but as we approached the tall, tall buildings of home and with the background of sirens ringing in our ears, we agreed it would not take much to travel back to Michigan over the upcoming winter weekends. That made me happy.

Oh yes, and so this is a food blog, and I do like to share my creations with the egotistical hope that one of my readers will actually try one of my recipes, even if it’s only a simple salad dressing recipe. One of the dishes I made ahead and brought with us to the cabin is a wonder Italian bean stew thickened with bread. I will also share a recipe of the meal I made the day after our return, a hearty yet light mushroom risotto made with barley instead of Arborio rice. Enjoy!

Ribolitta
Meaning “reboiled” or “re-cooked” in Italian, Ribolitta is best served the next day as the flavors will mingle with one another as the pot sits in the fridge overnight.

Makes 6-8 hearty servings

Adapted from Italian Food About.com

1 pound dried white beans, washed and soaked for three hours (I used Rancho Gordo’s Yellow Eye Beans)
A small onion, a small carrot, a six inch stick of celery, and a small bunch of parsley, minced together
¼ cup olive oil plus more to serve
1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
1 big bunch of Swiss chard, chopped, stems and all
½ pound potatoes, diced
Salt, pepper, and a sprig of thyme
Thinly sliced day old Italian or French white bread, tough crusts removed

Add about 1 tablespoon water to the soaked beans (it does not toughen them, scout’s honor) and simmer in their soaking water until the beans are starting to soften.

When beans are nearing this stage, in a large, heavy pot, sauté the onion mixture in the oil. As the onion softens, add the tomato paste and let it caramelize for about 2 minutes stirring often. Add the Swiss chard and the potatoes and stir until Swiss chard is wilted. Stir in the beans and their liquid, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and a sprig of thyme. Simmer soup until the potatoes are cooked, and remove the thyme. If serving the next day, remove soup from heat and allow to cool before refrigerating overnight.

When ready to serve the soup, start with a clean, large pot (yes, this means you may have to dirty another dish) and ladle soup to cover the bottom. Line this layer with about 2-4 slices of bread (depending on their size), ladle more soup over this layer and repeat until all the bread and soup are used. Bring soup to a simmer, cover pot, and let the bread absorb the liquid from the beans. Uncovering the pot and stirring quite often is necessary as the bread may stick to the bottom of the pot. As the bread breaks down, the soup will thicken. Give the soup a good 20 minutes or so to thicken. Serve soup garnished with a drizzle of olive oil and a grinding of black pepper.



Hearty Mushroom Barley Risotto

Makes 3 servings

Give yourself an hour or so to soak the mushrooms. You can even do it overnight in the fridge.

6 or so dried Shitake Mushrooms
½ cup dry white wine
3 medium shallots, diced
2 tablespoons butter
½ pound Crimini Mushrooms (or any other wild mushrooms you come across at the grocery store), chopped
¾ cup pearl barley
2 cups water
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more to sprinkle
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Soak the dried mushrooms in the wine. Set aside for an hour or two or soak overnight in the fridge.

Once dried mushrooms are no longer dry, remove them from the wine and reserve the liquid. Chop mushrooms and set aside. Over moderate heat, warm the butter in a medium-sized pot. Sauté the shallots until they’re soften, stirring often. Add all the mushrooms and sauté until they’re soft and start giving up their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the barley and the reserved soaking wine. Stir barley until it absorbs both the wine and the flavors of the shallots and mushrooms. Stir in water, cover pot, and allow barley to simmer until it absorbs the water, about 30 minutes. Do uncover the pot and stir the barely, especially the more it absorbs the water. When barley is soft yet chewy, add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and ground pepper. Adjust seasonings and serve the risotto with a bit more Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled over the top.

I served this with a crisp Romaine salad dressed with a lemony and garlicky dressing:

Several head of Romaine lettuce, rinsed and dried well
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 fat garlic clove, green germ removed, minced
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a medium bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Chop the lettuce, add to the dressing and toss until the dressing is well incorporated. A little more freshly ground pepper on top is a welcome addition.