"Shell House" Clams with Baked Yam Fries

Here is my take on another way to do the traditional  French/Belgian "Moules F rites" better known as mussels and fries" (which I realize I will have to add to my recipes as well).

 

 

I stumbled onto this shell inspired house by artechnic while looking for a building to relate to my clams and yams.  Its sinuous surfaces bend and wrap the shape of the house while standing out from the landscape, quite lovely.

Ingredients,

• 1 large yam
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Cajun seasoning (optional, I like to spice them up a bit)
• package of clams about 12 clams total
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 piece of celery cut into thin 2" strips
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup white wine ( I use chardonnay)
• dash of salt and pepper
• fresh cut Italian parsley

How to make it,

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Scrub yam then chop into thin slices keeping the skins and put onto a baking sheet, sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Cajun spices, then bake for 25 minutes, flipping them every so often.
3. Clean clams under water discard any clams that are open!
4. In a medium pot saute the chopped onion and celery in a bit of olive oil.
5. Add the garlic, the clams, then add the wine.
6. Cover over medium heat for 10-12 minutes until you see they have opened.
7. I use the sauteed onion and celery as a bed for the clams to lay on top of, the add a bit of the juice from the pot. (do not eat any clams that do not open!)
8. Remove the yams from the oven, plate with the clams and enjoy, I ate the whole package of these myself so don't let the photo of  4 clams fool you, these are addictive!

"Dutch Pavillion" Zucchini and Mushroom Lasagna

When I was studying in Bonn, I went back to Hannover where I had lived a few years earlier, to attend the World's Fair 2000, where many different countries build pavilions to represent their country. This amazing pavillion by MVRDV was one of my favorites, so it came to mind when I thought of the layers in this lasagna.

Ingredients,

• lasagna (I use the Barilla flat no boil variety)
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped basil
• 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• mushrooms cut into slices
• zuchinni cut into slices

How to make it,

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Mix together ricotta, eggs, milk, cheese, basil, and a bit of salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. In another bowl mix the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper (you can also just use pasta sauce from your grocery store.
4. In a glass dish spread a bit of the tomato mixture in the dish.
5. Cover that with a layer of lasagna, then a layer of the cheese mixture, then a layer of mushrooms.
6. Repeat layering with one layer of zucchini as well. 
7. When you get to the top put a few zucchini slices coverd in a bit of the cheese mixture.
8. Sprinkle a bit of Parmesan on and bake for 50-60 minutes.

"Vienna Rathaus" Pork Chops with Apple Yams

While studying abroad in Vienna I ate a dish that was quite similar to this one and although it was pork it tasted like a little Thanksgiving. The City Hall or "das Rathaus" was one of my favorite buildings in Vienna which was clad in vibrant red flowers spilling out of the flower boxes.

Ingredients,

• 2 pork chops
• salt and pepper
• 3 slices of bacon
• 1 small red onion
• 2 sweet potatoes, sliced into small pieces
• 1 apple (I use a yellow apple), sliced into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

How to make it,

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Chop the apple, yam, onion with the brown sugar and blend in a blender until blended into small bits, this can take a little while (and try some shaking of the blender) if it is not so great like my blender...
3. Cook the bacon in a pan, then set aside. Save a bit of the grease from the bacon in the pan.
4. Season pork chops with salt and pepper then brown on either side in the same pan that the bacon was cooked in just a few minutes on each side.
5. Layer the yam mixture and then the pork chops in a glass baking dish and cook for 1 hour covered with foil until the yams are tender. 
6. Plate the yams then top with the pork chop, add a few bacon slices on top and enjoy this mini Thanksgiving.   

"Quai Branly" Cream of Broccoli Soup

I have always been a fan of broccoli, it is one vegetable I never get tired of. This tasty soup is one of my favorites but be sure to taste it to see there is enough salt in it otherwise it will taste a bit bland. This lovely green soup made me think of this "Green" project in Paris, the Quai Branly Museum, by the French architect Jean Nouvel, which features an amazing vertical green planted facade.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 8 cups broccoli florets ( about 2 big broccoli bunches)
• 3 tablespoons butter for the cream mixture
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ground black pepper and salt to taste

How to make it, 

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion until tender. 
2. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Pour the soup into a blender.  Use a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a medium pot.
4. In a small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add the cream. Stir until it thickens a bit, and add to soup. Season with salt and pepper, bon appetit!

"Guell" Croquetas de Pollo

When it comes to Spain, there are some things that are just ubiquitous; the architecture of Gaudi and Croquetas or as we know them Croquettes. You cannot go to Spain without seeing some amazing work by the architect Antoni Gaudi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD and you cannot pass up some amazing Spanish tapas like chicken croquettes. For this dish I was reminded of this lovely park by Gaudi, Park Guell, but if you are ever in Barcelona you cannot miss his masterwork, the Sagrada Familia church, it is an amazing sight.

Ingredients,

•  2 large chicken breasts
• a bit of olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• a large pat of butter
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg to taste
• 2 cups of breadcrumbs
• canola oil/ bit of olive oil for frying the Croquetas
• asparagus 
• garlic

How to make them,

1. Cook the breasts in a bit of olive oil on both sides for about 6 minutes. remove from the pan, cut them into smaller slivers and continue cooking until the chicken is done.
2. Chop the chicken into a paste in a blender with 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.
3. Melt the butter in the same pan, stir the flour and cook the rue on low heat until it turns into a yellow paste.
4. Pour on the (room temperature) milk stirring constantly, bring to a boil, then reduce heat for 10 minutes. Them remove from heat.
5. Add the chicken paste into the rue, season with salt pepper and nutmeg, the nutmeg is the secret ingredient, so be sure to taste.
6. Put this mixture in a bowl in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour, then take out and roll into round small cylinder shapes.
7. Dip the croquettes into the remaining whisked egg, then dip into the breadcrumbs.
8. Fry in a 1/4" of oil, drain on paper towel and serve them while they are hot, they will not be there long!
9. For the asparagus I just sauteed them in a bit of olive oil with salt and pepper and a few sliced garlic cloves.

"Malaparte" Pork and Vegetables over Red Quinoa

I was introduced to quinoa by my architect friend Sarah, who also visited this beautiful red villa in Capri, Italy. The house was envisioned in 1937 by architect Adalberto Libera for Curzio Malaparte. Malaparte actually rejected Libera's design and built the home himself with Adolfo Amitrano, a local stone mason.
When making this dish with this deep red quinoa, I thought of this famous red house, which also makes an appearance in Godard's film "Contempt" with Brigitte Bardot. walking on the roof of this house.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa

Ingredients,

• 1 cup of red quinoa and 2 cups of water
• 2 pork chops cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• salt and pepper
• a few handfuls of vegetables, asparagus, red pepper, and garbanzo beans

How to make it,

1. Boil 2 cups of water in a small pot, when the water boils pour in 1 cup of quinoa and turn to low heat for 15 minutes until water boils away.
2. Pat pork chop strips with salt and pepper
3. Pour a bit of sesame oil in a medium sized meatal pan and add the pork chops.
4. Flip the pork over until it browns, adding the honey and balsamic vinegar, then set aside.
5. In another pan, sautee the assorted vegetables in a bit of sesame oil and salt and pepper for a few minutes just to bring out the color and to keep them crispy.
6. Layer the red quinoa, then the vegetables, then the pork chops. I arranged the pork chops in a terraced "stepped" style in the fashion of the Villa Malaparte, which has a staircase that leads to its dramatic view roof.

"Dominus" Red Wine Sauce Steak with Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus

Sometimes you just want really good steak and potatoes. Since it is not yet warm enough to grill outside, this steak recipe is a good indoor meal that is always a crowd pleaser.

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Dominus_Winery.html

The addition of the red wine and onion sauce in this dish made me think of this California winery by Herzog and De Meuron, where the building facade is made of wire boxes filled with rocks... sounds strange, but its construction provides some really amazing lighting effects from the interior and uses the gabion wire basket, which is usually used in terracing, in a subversive way.
I'd love to visit this winery some day and do some wine tasting in this lovely and unusual building, who wants to come?

Ingredients,

• rib steak or any sirloin steak fillet
• 1 red onion
• 2 shallots
• dry red wine about 2 cups
• salt, pepper and tarragon (on the steaks)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• olive oil
• small red creamer potatoes, cut in half
• Herbs de Provence
• green asparagus
• chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish

How to make it,

1. Cut potatoes in half and put into a metal oven pan, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and dust with herbs de Provance, salt and pepper.
2. Put into a 425 degree oven for 25- 35 minutes or until the begin to brown a little.
3. For the steaks, pat with salt pepper and tarragon and set aside.
4. Put the butter into a large metal pan over medium high heat, when the butter melts put the steaks into the pan for about 4 minutes on each side or until the steaks have browned a bit to your desired level of cooking, then set aside and cover to keep warm.
5. In the same pan put the chopped onions and shallots with a little bit of the wine, just a glug.
6. Stir and deglaze the pan, which gets all the brown bits from the cooking of the steaks, this is full of good flavor.
7. Cook the onions and shallots until the become transparent occasionally adding more red wine to them as it cooks down.
8. In a separate pan cook the chopped asparagus in a bit of olive oil with salt and pepper for a few minutes, just to bring that vibrant green color out, very simple.
9. Add the sauce on top of the steak, enjoy!