There’s no way to tune out the troubles in the world, nor should we. It’s challenging to know what is appropriate to share during times of extreme world distress, when you are acutely aware that whole civilizations are in a state of terror that no human should ever experience. That no human could possibly deserve.
In my life, I’ve always found solace in food, not necessarily the consumption of food but also the preparation, the sharing, the wholesome fortification of a nourishing, lovingly prepared meal. A troubled soul is soothed in the kitchen. It’s the place where I always retreat when the world feels too hard, when life is overwhelming. As we watch the news and see the unspeakable violation and distress, spending an hour or 10 in the kitchen might just be the best expression of self care.
This issue of Hi Gang is dedicated to foods of the season, those slow-cooked, braised dishes, that are hopefully comforting, warming and provide a bit of relief from all the scary.
I recognized long ago that food is my love language. So I offer all of you love and comfort and hopes for a glimmer of peace.
XO,
Valerie
ALL THE RECIPES
I’ve pulled together some of my favorite slow-cooked, soothing recipes.
BEEF STEW
Serves 8
Note: I used Wagyu chuck from Hall Farmstead in Kentucky, and it was delicious in the stew.
INGREDIENTS:
⅓ cup AP Flour
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 pounds chuck roast, cubed
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 cups red wine
4 cups beef broth
4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
2 onions, peeled and diced
4 parsnips, peeled and diced
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 potatoes peeled and cubed
Chopped Italian parsley, for garnish
In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, salt, and pepper.
Add the beef and coat well.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot.
Add the coated beef, don’t overcrowd! Cook, turning often until browned on all sides. (You might need to do this in batches.)
Remove the par-cooked beef and set aside.
Pour the wine and vinegar into pot, stirring and scraping all the flavor bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add the beef and broth, then bring to a boil and reduce to a slow simmer for about an hour.
Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and parsnips, cover and cook for another hour.
Add the potatoes and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning to your palate. Garnish with parsley and serve.
MOROCCAN CHICKEN
This is one of my favorite year-round braising recipes, but because of the colors and the flavor notes, it’s particularly enjoyable during the fall. It also freezes beautifully.
INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup minced garlic
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cup kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup minced ginger
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup honey
5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
6 ounces butter
2 pounds sliced shallots
1 pound dried apricots, sliced
1 cup sliced green olives
Massive amounts of cilantro
Couscous or rice, for serving
Combine the ingredients from the garlic through the chicken thighs together, then spread onto a large baking sheet and roast at 350 for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, while the chicken cooks, in a large, heavy bottomed pot, add the butter and the shallots, and sauté until the shallots are translucent.
Soak the dried apricots in hot water until they are plump.
Pull the roasted chicken from the oven, pour into the pot with buttery shallots, and stir to combine.
Add the swollen apricots, stir again.
Add the green olives and cilantro, and serve with couscous or rice.
CONGEE
A true family favorite. I love making a pot of congee for my family and setting up all the sides, so everyone can finish their bowls to their liking.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
¼ cup finely diced ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup short-grain rice
8 cups chicken broth
In a heavy bottomed pot, heat the oils together.
Add the ginger, garlic, onion, and salt and cook until softened.
Add the rice, then stir and coat completely. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the chicken broth one cup at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the broth with each addition.
When all the broth is absorbed, continue cooking over low heat and stirring until congee has a very soft texture and rice has lost its structure.
Top with fun bites you like best! See suggestions below.
Top with any and all of the following:
Scallions
Shredded chicken
Pulled pork
Soft-boiled eggs
Soft tofu
Chopped peanuts
Cilantro
Soy sauce
HARISSA CHICKPEA STEW
A hearty stew for vegetarians and vegans! This recipe works with most beans, so feel free to swap out the garbanzo beans.
2 ounces olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pint shredded carrots
Sauté over medium heat until soft and yielding, then add:
½ teaspoon Ras Al Hanout spice
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon za’taar
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
Cook for additional 5 minutes, then add:
3 cans garbanzo beans
3 tablespoons harissa paste
Serve either at room temperature or warm. Top with cilantro, sliced onion, and feta cheese.
JULIA CHILD’S COQ AU VIN
Why mess with perfection? Julia Child really did master this recipe, so there’s no need to look further. Find it here.
THE JOINT’S BRAISED PORK WITH WHOLE SOY SAUCE EGGS & FIVE-STAR ANISE
A lot of braising recipes are instinctual, easy recipes that are passed down from one generation to the next. This “recipe” comes from Liwei Liao, who’s known in LA as the Dry Aged Fish Guy because of his seafood shop The Joint. He makes the best braised pork belly I’ve ever had, so I asked him to share the recipe. Here’s what it is!
Cut pork belly in rectangular cubes.
Braise with garlic cloves in a cast-iron pot until all sides are browned.
Deglaze with rice wine or shaoshing wine.
Add brown sugar, dark soy sauce, and beer to cover one-third of the pork.
Add whole garlic, white stem of green onion, bamboo, and five spice.
Simmer and turn often, and reduce until tender. Add more beer if necessary.
Serve with chopped green onion.
Enjoy!
BRULEÉD RICE PUDDING
If you have a larger group, this recipe doubles and triples with ease.
Makes 2-4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
¼ cup short grain rice
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon vanilla paste
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
2 cups whole milk, room temperature
¼ cup dried apricots, diced
¼ cup golden brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tablespoons white sugar
Melt butter into a mini oval 7-inch cast iron gratin dish over a low flame.
Stir in the rice, salt, vanilla paste, and cardamom and continue cooking until the rice darkens to a golden hue and is completely coated with spice and butter.
Increase the heat to medium low and stream in the milk in ½ cup increments, allowing the rice to absorb about half the volume of milk with each addition.
After the last milk addition, incorporate the apricots and brown sugar and continue cooking until the rice is soft and swollen.
Remove from heat and cover the surface tightly with plastic wrap.
Chill when the pudding is room temperature.
When ready to serve, sprinkle the remaining sugar over the pudding and brulée with a kitchen torch or under a broiler on high setting.
SALTED CARAMEL BREAD PUDDING
Serving suggestion: Eat the pudding hot with whipped cream or ice cream. Deeply satisfying.
Makes 8-10 servings
2 loaves of store-bought brioche (3 pounds total), crusts removed and cubed.
Liquid Caramel
2 cups sugar (14 oz)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (9 oz) heavy cream
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 oz) light corn syrup
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (chilled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
Put the sugar into a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Pour the cream and corn syrup into a small saucepan and set over a low flame.
Using a heatproof spatula, push the sugar into a mound towards the back of the pot. As the sugar melts, you will see the edge transform into a golden brown liquid. Gently incorporate small amounts of sugar into the liquid and continue moving the growing pool of caramel. If the caramel starts to smoke, immediately remove it from the heat and return to heat when the smoke subsides.
As you are cooking the sugar into caramel, keep an eye on the heating cream. Slowly raise the heat to medium as the caramel process is almost complete. You want the caramel to be a liquid amber just as the cream starts to boil.
Turn off both flames and slowly pour the cream into the caramel- it will bubble up aggressively. When the boil reduces a bit, stir in one Tablespoon of chilled butter at a time. Incorporate the fleur de sel and pour the caramel into a heatproof vessel, store covered at room temperature.
Custard
1 pint (16 ounces) heavy cream
1 cup (8 ounces) whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs
5.25 oz or ¾ cup sugar
In a medium sauce pan, heat the heavy cream, milk, and vanilla extract over a medium flame.
While the cream is heating, whisk together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl.
Place the bowl in a shallow ice bath.
When the cream comes to a boil, transfer the hot cream into a heatproof container with a spout.
Whisking the eggs with one hand, slowly stream the hot cream into the egg mixture creating a smooth custard. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place the cubed brioche into an extra large mixing bowl. Pour the custard over the brioche, press the custard into the brioche using your hands. Squeeze the brioche cubes until they are uniformly saturated with custard.
Place six individual mini loaf pans on a baking sheet. Fill each pan with bread pudding (approximately 10 ounces) and cover with caramel sauce and a sprinkle of fleur de sel.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the bread pudding puffs up like a soufflé with a golden crown.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then top with softly whipped cream to serve.
Note: The bread puddings can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat at 350 F for 10-15 minutes before serving.
WHAT TO DRINK
Go Mega Pints on all of the below. I know….but I really miss that trial. Point being, comfort drinks are rarely diminutive.
**Stout: Very dark and stormy and totally appropriate.
**Cocktails: Go brown and bold, I say! Manhattans, Negronis, and Boulevardiers.
**Red Wine: It’s time for those big Italian reds. Try a Barolo or a Brunello.
**Singe Malt Scotch: My lifetime favorite is Lagavulin, so layered and smoky…you feel it all the way to your toes.
**Spiked Apple Cider: Heat it up and pour in a shot of whiskey or MEZCAL.
BEST BRAISERS
You’ve gotta get the right tool for the job, and in this case, it’s a heavy-bottomed pan that can brown on the stovetop, then simmer in the oven.
Our Place - The Perfect Pot’s pretty perfect. It can go from stove to oven and has a nonstick coating so cleanup is easy.
Toiro - I’m obsessed with Naoko Takei’s Los Angeles store Toiro, where she stocks all sorts of donabe, or traditional Japanese earthenware. The lidded pots are perfect for braising.
Le Creuset - You can’t go wrong with a classic like Le Creuset. Their enamel Dutch ovens, which come in so many fab colors, have thick bases to get braises nice and browned.
ENTER TO WIN A STAUB COCOTTE
Hello! Thank you Staub for gifting a stunning black and gold cocotte to one of you fabulous subscribers!!!! How do you enter?
Subscribe to Hi Gang.
Message me that you want to enter the Giveaway! @valerieconfctns
I’ll choose one winner at random by October 31st.
FALL COOKBOOKS
For me, fall is always a time to get back into the kitchen and make cozy, comforting things. I’ve rounded up some of my favorite fall cookbooks, both new and classic, for your cooking inspiration.
World Central Kitchen Cookbook by Jose Andrés
Especially with everything that’s going on in the world, let’s all draw a little inspiration from chef José Andrés’s humanitarian efforts.
Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking by Naoko Takei Moore
Once you’ve stocked up on a donabe (see above), you’re going to want to make all the delicious things in Naoko’s book.
The Pho Cookbook by Andrea Nguyen
Inspiration to make the slurpy soup in ways both classic and modern.
Shabbat by Adeena Sussman
Adeena Sussman’s new book is a celebration of the shabbat dinner — and bringing people together at the table is just what we all need right now.
The Chicken Soup Manifesto by Jenn Louis
Recipes for the world’s most comforting dish from all over the world.
The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton
What’s more homey than sausage and kraut? Mimi’s book is one of the standard-bearers.
Cold-Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase
This classic, which was published in 1990, is hard to find in print, but it’s chock-full of excellent recipes.
And, some online recipes for your perusal: