Hooray, my first subbing gig for the Flavors blog! Kim asked me to take on Chestnuts for her, which I gladly accepted. I have loved chestnuts since my aunt started putting them into her Thanksgiving stuffing. A few years back I made a Chestnut and Porcini Soup which was delicious, and mushrooms were highlighted as complements for chestnuts in the Flavor Bible. I had dried porcini in the pantry, and chantrelles happened to be on sale that week. Additional ingredients I pulled from the Flavor Bible were cream, shallots, butter, Marsala, and thyme.

Oh, and about those chestnuts. I've tried the usual technique of cutting an x into the bottom, roasting, then attempting to pry the stubborn little things from the shells. Bloodshed, cursing, and a mess was the result. This time I tried another way which was much more successful. Cut the chestnuts in half, then put them in a ziploc bag with a drop or two of water. Seal the bag, and lay it flat in the microwave, so the chestnuts are in one layer. Microwave for 40-60 seconds, until soft. Let sit for a minute to cool, carefully open the bag, and the chestnuts should easily separate from their shells. Worked a treat!

Chestnut and Wild Mushroom Crostini

2 shallots, diced
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms, preferably some of which are wild, such as chantrelles or shitakis
1/4 cup dried porcini, soaked in hot water, then drained and chopped. (strain and save liquid)
1 cup chopped chestnuts
3 Tbs. Marsala wine
pinch fresh chopped thyme
3 Tbs. heavy cream

1 baguette, sliced

Heat a large skillet. Saute the chopped shallots in the butter until translucent, then add the fresh and soaked/ drained dried mushrooms. Cook until liquid emerges then evaporates. Let the mixture brown slightly, then add the thyme, Marsala and a Tablespoon of the mushroom soaking liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chestnuts, and then the cream. Let the cream glaze the mixture, cook down a few minutes. Keep warm while you toast the crostini.

Toast the baguette slices. Top each with a spoonful of the mushroom-chestnut mixture, and serve.

Oh man, this was good. It made quite a lot of topping. I used the leftovers to stuff boneless chicken breasts, which was also delicious.

I love sweet potatoes when the sweetness is balanced by some hot. I've occasionally run into sweet potatoes used in Southeast Asian cooking, and noted that there were several sweet potato pairings in the Flavor Bible that also went in that direction--curry, chile, cilantro, basil, garlic, onion, coconut. Beautiful shrimp were on sale at the market, so they went into the pot as well.

This is spicy!

Thai Sweet Potato Curry with Shrimp

2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. ginger, grated
1 Tbs. Thai Green Curry Paste
2 Tbs. good Curry Powder, preferably Southeast Asian

2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup coconut milk (I used light)
1/4-1/2 cup broth
2 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar, to taste
juice of 2 limes

2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 lb cleaned shrimp

handful chopped cilantro, basil and mint
chili flakes (optional)

In a large skillet or shallow pot, heat the oil. Add the first group of ingredients (onion through curry powder), and let sweat and lightly cook. Stir frequently to let the curry and vegetables mix. Add the next group of ingredients (sweet potatoes through lime juice). Mix gently and let cook until sweet potatoes are almost cooked through.

Add the mushrooms, and when cooked then the snap peas and shrimp. Mix and toss gently. Cook just until shrimp are firm and pink. Toss with the chopped herbs, taste to make sure you have a good balance of hot/sour/sweet (add more sugar, lime or chili flakes to taste) and serve over rice.

We all loved this, it's a do-again.

Burgers seem to be the new thing, at least as reported by the food press and bloggers. From New York to Paris, the humble burger has been tarted up enough to command ridiculous prices.

I used to not like burgers. They were dry, hard, a waste of calories. Seriously, I made a veggie burger when we had beef burgers on the grill.And then my husband Larry was given a subscription to Cooks Illustrated, and because of his engineering background became glued to the obsessive-compulsive search for the perfect techniques in cooking. He went through classic French and Italian recipes involving multiple trips to stores, piles of pots in the sink, and dinner served by 8:30 if we were lucky.

He discovered grinding his own meat for burgers. And Gentle Reader, I am now a convert.

Grinding your own beef results on a tender texture, juices oozing out of a flavorful pile of meat. Home-ground burgers cook quickly on a hot skillet, and you can dress them up or down as you like. For this excursion, we decided to make a tarted up burger, one that if served in a New York restaurant would command an insane price. From the Flavor Bible, I used onions, thyme, red wine, arugula, and a small jar of summer truffles in the pantry sealed the deal. If you don't like or don't have access to truffles, your home-ground burgers will still be amazing.

Fancypants Truffled Burgers
Makes 6 burgers, which freeze well uncooked
2 lbs beef--we like to use 1 lb chuck and 1 lb boneless short rib

3 large onions, sliced
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. thyme
2Tbs. red wine
salt and pepper
1 Tbs. sliced black truffles (jarred Summer truffles are fine. Use the rest of the jar to top buttered fresh pasta, and invite me over)

Cheese--a mild blue cheese; or a nice nutty gruyere, sliced very thinly
arugula

Good quality buns--Whole Foods make a brioche bun with black pepper that is ruinously expensive but worth it

1. Pour yourself a nice drink. I suggest a classic vodka martini.
2. Slice the onions and saute in the oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat for 20-30 minutes until deep golden brown but not burned. Add the thyme and wine, season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Cut the meat into cubes, then put the meat in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until quite firm but not totally frozen.
4. Using the steel blade of a food processor, put small batches of the meat into the bowl and pulse until just chopped. Empty onto a cookie sheet as you go,

5. Very gently form the chopped meat into loose burgers. You just want to tenderly gather the meat together, not press it.

6. Toast the buns. Stir the truffles into the onion mixture and turn off the heat.

7. Heat a thick skillet on high. Place the burgers on the sizzling hot surface, and turn after 1-2 minutes. Add the cheese, and cook another 1-2 minutes until desired doneness. If you want them any more than medium rare, I do not want to hear about it.

8. Place the burgers on a bun half, very lightly sprinkle with good salt, top with the onion/truffle mixture, add arugula. Ketchup if you must. A bit of tomato if desired.
9. Inhale. Roasted potatoes with rosemary on the side are nice, and a little salad to appease your arteries.
10. Fight over who gets to finish the leftover onion-truffle mixture.

I love rabbit, but I've mainly eaten it during trips to France and Italy. Lapin au Moutard at a bistro in Paris; Rabbit Loin stuffed with Fennel in Le Marche; a Rabbit Ragu on Papparadelle in Tuscany. I've always been able to compartmentalize the deliciousness on my plate from the cute, silky Alpaca bunnies I've cuddled at fiber shows. With their long soft ears, trusting eyes....

No, not going there.

OK, first step was finding a bunny, er, rabbit. Struck out at Whole Foods and my fancypants local butcher. I called around, and my new best friend Tony at Tony's Italian Market in Roslindale assured me "sure dear, I have two in the freezer. I'm going on a cruise next week and closing Sunday, otherwise I'd order you a nice fresh one and cut it up for you." I told Tony I'd order fresh some other time, and reserved the frozen rabbit. I picked it up Saturday morning, and since Larry was along for the ride, homemade sausages, prosciutto, and pancetta somehow went home with us as well.

Rabbit defrosted in the fridge for a day, and then I unwrapped it--and panicked, because while the structure was similar to a chicken, the long loin and strangely jointed legs gave me pause. Thank God for Google and Youtube Videos. I think there's a video for everything. Here's the one I used, stopping and starting the laptop several times, knife in the other hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3koU93-2e4

Cue my husband and offspring singing "Kill the Wabbit, Kill the Wabbit..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhQ2BDt4VE&feature=related

I looked at many recipes for rabbit in mustard. Most called for the rabbit to be baked, some for it to be braised. Since I wanted to add smothered fennel and onions to the sauce, I decided to go with a braise. I also hoped that long slow cooking would avoid any of the dryness that some recipes warned about. From the Flavor Bible I used mustard, fennel, onions, thyme, white wine, and stock.

Braised Rabbit in Mustard with Fennel
4 servings

1 rabbit, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup Dijon grainy mustard
1/2 tsp. thyme
Spray oil or Pam
1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 tsp. butter
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
2 tsp. butter
2 tsp. flour
2 Tbs. creme fraiche (or sour cream)

1. Mix mustard with thyme, add salt and pepper. Rub all over the rabbit pieces, lay in a bowl, cover and refrigerate 10-24 hours.

2. In a large deep-sided skillet, spray with oil, then heat 2 tsp. butter. Add the sliced onion and fennel and saute. Add a few spoonfuls of the chicken stock and slowly cook 20 minutes or so, until almost soft. Let the broth evaporate so the vegetables can caramelize a bit. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from pan.

3. Spray pan again generously with oil, then add as many rabbit pieces as will fit comfortably in the pan without crowding. Turn heat to medium high, and quickly sear the rabbit. Turn and repeat; then remove to a dish and finish the remaining rabbit. (spray pan again before second batch of rabbit)

4. Add the last of the butter to the pan and melt, then flour to the drippings in the pan, (if you're not watching your calories feel free to add more butter) and saute for a few minutes. Add the wine and broth, bring to the boil for 2-3 minutes while whisking.

Lower heat, and add the rabbit and vegetables, mixing well. Turn heat to low, cover, (turn the pieces once or twice during cooking) and very gently simmer for 40-50 minutes, or until rabbit is tender.

5. Stir in 2 Tbs. creme fraiche, stir to coat rabbit with the sauce. Add chopped parsley, and serve with potatoes, noodles or rice.

We all loved it, even my picky teen. And since rabbit is so low in fat, and I severely cut back on the butter and creme fraiche in traditional recipes, this can actually be a healthy and very tasty dinner!