For the Love of Food

Lamb Tagine

2012-01-13T18:49:00.018-05:00

Apparently my cooking is driven lately by food envy. Take my previous post about pancit and lumpit as an example. Food so unique and desirable that it warrants a special delivery and special mention? Well, I'll have what she's having! Tonight's dish is inspired by the occasional evening drop-in on my neighbors across the street who lived in Egypt for several years and quite frequently cook Middle Eastern cuisine. Whenever I come into their house and smell something delicious cooking for dinner and I ask what the wonderful smell is, it seems that at least half of the time the answer is "tagine". Well, I want *my* house to smell delicious, too!

If you want YOUR house to smell delicious, then this is what you do:

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 pounds lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch saffron
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 carrots, peeled, cut into fourths, then sliced lengthwise into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 lemon, zested
1 (14.5 ounce) can homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth
1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
1 tablespoon water (optional)

Directions

Place cubed lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. Combine the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander; mix well. Add to the lamb in the bowl, and toss around to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb in batches, and brown well. Remove to a plate.

Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes.

Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender. If the consistency of the tagine is too thin, you may thicken it with a mixture of cornstarch and water during the last 5 minutes.

Serve over warm couscous.

Pancit and Lumpia

2012-01-13T09:26:00.006-05:00

A while back my stepmother posted on Facebook that she was so excited because a friend was bringing her some pancit and lumpia. Say what? I had never heard those word before, and they sounded so strange to me! Well naturally my curiosity led me to search those words on Google, and I found that they are quite tasty sounding foods traditional to the Philippines. I don't know why it took me so long to actually get around to making them, but it was inevitable as I just kept thinking about them! So, last night I took the plunge and found some recipes online at allrecipes.com.

Quick and Easy Pancit

Ingredients

1 (12 ounce) package dried rice noodles
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups diced cooked chicken breast meat
1 small head cabbage, thinly sliced
4 carrot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 lemons - cut into wedges, for garnish

Directions

Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover with warm water. When soft, drain, and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in chicken cabbage, carrots and soy sauce. Cook until cabbage begins to soften. Toss in noodles, and cook until heated through, stirring constantly. Transfer pancit to a serving dish and garnish with quartered lemons.

Filipino Lumpia

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound ground pork

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup minced carrots

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon soy sauce

30 lumpia wrappers

2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Place a wok or large skillet over high heat, and pour in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Cook pork, stirring frequently, until no pink is showing. Remove pork from pan and set aside. Drain grease from pan, leaving a thin coating. Cook garlic and onion in the same pan for 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked pork, carrots, green onions, and cabbage. Season with pepper, salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Remove from heat, and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Place three heaping tablespoons of the filling diagonally near one corner of each wrapper, leaving a 1 1/2 inch space at both ends. Fold the side along the length of the filling over the filling, tuck in both ends, and roll neatly. Keep the roll tight as you assemble. Moisten the other side of the wrapper with water to seal the edge.

3.	Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat, add oil to 1/2 inch depth, and heat for 5 minutes. Slide 3 or 4 lumpia into the oil. Fry the rolls for 1 to 2 minutes, until all sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

(side note: my interpretation of "3 or 4" is "however many fit in the pan at once without overcrowding.")

ENJOY!

Summer Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes and Arugula

2011-07-30T17:40:00.010-04:00

Something about having an entire heirloom tomato to one's self feels incredibly indulgent, and wonderful!

Heirloom tomatoes, by definition, are open-pollinated cultivars (a plant selected for desirable characteristics that can be maintained by propagation - unlike varieties of GMO produce that have been bred to lack seeds). A true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected, and handed down by family members for many generations.

Typically, I've been enjoying salads with baby arugula as the base, but on this occasion, shortly after returning from my local Farmer's market, I decided to have some fun with this "Cherokee purple" tomato:

First, I sliced it into big, beautiful wedges.

Then, just a sprinkle of organic baby arugula to add texture and a mild peppery flavor, plus a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Next, lemon zest to give it some extra zip!

And, finally, some fresh walnut halves to add texture, crunch and heart-healthy fat; and some freshly ground salt & pepper to taste.

Oh, my, goodness. Num num num num num.

Fettucini with Asparagus and Fresh Goat Cheese

2011-06-26T21:31:00.006-04:00

To make the fresh egg pasta all you need is 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 3 large eggs, beaten. Pulse the flour with a metal blade in a food processor to distribute and aerate; then add the eggs and process until the dough forms into a ball, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough ball out onto a dry work surface and knead until smooth (1-2 minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes up to 2 hours. Then use a pasta machine to roll out the dough and cut (per your pasta machine instructions).

Voila!
To prepare for the sauce, steam 1 pound of 1-inch asparagus pieces until just tender (about 2 min). Set aside. Then place 3 ounces of fresh goat cheese (crumbled), 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 1 clove of minced garlic into a small bowl and combine. Chop about 2 Tbsp of fresh mint leaves. Meanwhile, bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil with a Tbsp of salt and cook your pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and transfer it back to the pot. Stir in the asparagus, goat cheese mixture, and mint; and use the reserved cooking water to moisten as necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict

2011-05-29T12:01:00.004-04:00

The title of this post should really be "How to Make a Hollandaise Sauce Without Mucking It Up".

A month or two ago I decided to whip up some Eggs Benedict for my family for Saturday brunch. It had been awhile since I'd made the dish, and my husband came into the kitchen as I was starting. He asked me, "When's the last time your Hollandaise failed?" I paused and thought about it... "You know, I really don't know, it's been such a long time." Little by little the rest of the family came in, made some number of distractions, and lo and behold, the sauce broke for the first time in as long as I could remember! I was so sad! We ate it anyway, and my younger daughter told me, "This is the best lunch you've ever made!" I felt happier for a minute, until she added, "That's because you never make lunch." OK, admittedly I'm pretty lazy on the weekends when it comes to our midday meal and they eat their weekday lunches at school, so I concede... *sigh* My Hollandaise failure pretty much made me a cranky grump for the rest of the day. I've begun to take myself too seriously!

There are a couple of major ways one can fail at making a Hollandaise sauce. The one that led to my sauce's demise is temperature. It is extremely important that your sauce is not allowed to overheat, EVER! This is important while making the sabayon of egg yolk and water, but much more important while making your emulsion. This is crucial: before adding the butter to the sauce, REMOVE IT FROM THE HEAT!

The second important thing to keep in mind is that the melted butter needs to be added in a small, steady stream, and you cannot stop whisking! Keep that whisk moving, and don't add too much butter at once.

So here we go...

First step:

Clarify enough butter to make 200mL, somewhere between 1.5-2 sticks. Do this by melting it over medium heat in a small saucepan until it bubbles and the solids begin to coagulate on the sides. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a glass measuring cup. Set aside until needed, keeping warm but not hot.

In a double boiler (water in the bottom pan) over medium heat, whisk together 2 egg yolks with 1 fluid ounce of water (= 30 mL for Europeans, 1 shot glass for the rest of us.) Whisk constantly until the heat begins to cook the mixture ever so slightly. It should look like thick, frothy pudding, not like scrambled eggs. This is called a sabayon.

Make your emulsification by whisking the 200 mL of melted clarified butter into your sabayon (OFF the stovetop, please!), pouring the butter in a very small, steady stream. Whisk constantly, making sure that the butter is incorporating well into the sabayon to make a smooth, homogenous mixture.

Season your sauce with a pinch of cayenne pepper and about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, or to taste.

Serve over poached eggs, Canadian bacon, and an English muffin to make a standard Eggs Benedict, or do what I do and serve it atop eggs gently cooked over easy, Canadian bacon, and some toasted rustic sliced bread.

Here's to never breaking your sauce!

Apple Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

2011-04-01T16:15:00.004-04:00

Today I thought that I invented a recipe, which I called Apple Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies. Apparently this is not a new concept. A Google search yields plenty of recipes. At any rate, they are tasty and chewy and a nice change of pace.

Here is how I did it:

Cream together:

2 sticks butter at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Beat in:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Stir in:

6 packets apple cinnamon flavor instant oatmeal (approx. 3 cups)

1 package (11 oz) butterscotch chips

Drop by the spoonful onto baking sheets, and bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes; yields 3-4 dozen.

ENJOY!

Tomato Goat Cheese Tart

2011-03-01T20:44:00.003-05:00

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Line a tart pan with pre-made filo, brush with melted butter
Thinly slice about 4 plum tomatoes, and top the filo crust concentrically with the slices
Beat together 3/4 cup cream, 3/4 cup milk, 3 eggs, 4 ounces goat cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg and chopped parsley
Pour the mixture over the tomatoes
Bake the tart for about 45 minutes

ENJOY!

Veal with Fontina Cream Sauce

2011-02-15T07:49:00.004-05:00

For our Valentine's Day dinner last night, I decided to keep things simple but flavorful. I was pressed for time because of many late afternoon errands, but knew I wanted to do something special. I browsed through a cookbook I own and have not yet cooked from, but which looks really good: Il Viaggio di Vetri. With limited time on my hands I was too overwhelmed to follow a new recipe step by step, since it is less time-consuming for me to just throw something together. I found a really yummy-sounding recipe, took the basic idea of the ingredients list, and put my own personal twist on it. This is what I came up with:

And here is what I did to make it...

First disclaimer, I measured nothing...

First, put a handful of dried porcini mushrooms to soak in hot water.

Next, pour some cream into a saucepan over low heat, add some thin slices of fontina cheese, and add some fresh rosemary. I cleared an entire sprig. Season with ground sea salt freshly ground white pepper. Let the sauce simmer at a very low heat all the while that you are preparing the rest of the ingredients so that the rosemary flavor will become deeply infused.

After at least 20 minutes of soaking, finely chop the porcini mushrooms, then saute them in butter. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Next, coat thick cubes of veal cutlet in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat some vegetable oil over medium heat in a skillet, and cook the veal for about 5 minutes on each side more or less depending on thickness.

Meanwhile wash and trim some broccolini, and barely saute it in some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon a layer of sauce onto each serving plate. Top with a serving of veal. Sprinkle with porcini mushrooms, then drizzle some more sauce over the top. Garnish with freshly chopped Italian parsley. Add some broccolini on the side.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan, but DON'T let that deter you!)

2011-02-13T22:30:00.010-05:00

I was first introduced to this dessert last summer during a wine country picnic. One of my girlfriends at work follows a vegan diet, and she brought these cookies to share with the group. I have had my share of bad vegan cookies, so was pleasantly surprise and amazed when I experienced the well-rounded flavor and the terrific texture. I actually think they are better than most traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes.

Since tomorrow is Valentine's day, and Bill is STILL in Texas, I decided to make these cookies for myself. I MAY share and take them to work.

I would recommend doubling or tripling the recipe, yields about 3 dozen cookies. Note that the cookies spread a lot and come out big and fluffy.

Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 cup unrefined sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
1⁄4 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
1 – 1 1⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1⁄4 cup canola oil (a little generous)
1⁄3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). In a bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the molasses and vanilla, then stir in the oil until well combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry, along with the chocolate chips, and stir through until just well combined (do not over-mix). Place large spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten a little. Bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out). Let cool on the sheet for no more than 1 minute (again, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack.
I just ate a warm one straight out of the oven with a tall glass of cold soy milk :) I hope you enjoy this interesting and yummy recipe as much as I do!

Rhubarb-Strawberry Tart

2011-02-12T14:03:00.009-05:00

It has been a long winter here in the New York Metropolitan Area. After weeks and weeks of the snow piling up, one snowstorm after the other, we are finally getting some days of warmer (above freezing) weather, and the snow is beginning to melt. This week, for the first time all month, I can see some of the grass in the front yard! This can only mean one thing: Spring is coming!

I am celebrating the first signs of the warm weather to come, as well as the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday, with this succulent red tart, brimming with rhubarb and strawberries.

Ingredients:

Tart shell

200 grams flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons ice-cold water

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

(+ 2 teaspoons melted butter and 1 teaspoon sugar to brush and sprinkle over prepared crust)

Filling

3/4 pound rhubarb

3/4 pound strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

Glaze

2 tablespoons strawberry preserves

1 teaspoon water

1/4 cup sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Make your tart crust by combining the flour, sugar and salt, and cutting in the butter, making sure to leave the mixture a little coarse so that the pea-sized chunks of butter can melt during baking, resulting in a flakier crust. Moisten the mixture with the water and almond extract, and gently mix together until the liquid is uniformly incorporated. Pat the dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Next wash the strawberries and rhubarb, and trim the ends and leaves. Slice into thin pieces. Mix with the sugar and flour in a large bowl.
Roll out the dough, place in a tart dish, and fill it with the rhubarb-strawberry mixture. Brush the exposed crust with melted butter, and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar, preserves and water in a small saucepan.
Remove from the oven, brush the top with the glaze to ensure an evenly shiny finish, and let cool.

Happy Valentines Day!

Fresh Berry Cobbler

2011-02-12T02:49:00.008-05:00

Since Valentines Day is this Monday my school friends and I were trying to think of interesting desserts that could be made for the occasion. Not for our relationships in particular, but just in general. Audrey came up with the idea to make a Fresh Berry Cobbler, which comes out amazing. We decided to make it tonight. I apologize for the dorm room photos again, the lighting was very yellow.

I realize that berries aren't in season during the winter. I haven't tried the following fruits, but it's foreseeable that some of these may be good alternatives especially if you only want to use in-season fruits: Pears, Red Bananas and Red Currents. The selection during the winter is limiting, but even with out of season berries the cobbler tastes quite good since all the juices from the fruit mixes into a light all natural sugar syrup and the fruits become flavored by the warmed mixture of that. There is no need to add extra sugar to the fruit since fruit is so naturally sweet to begin with.

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
2/3 cup of sugar
1/2 a cup to 3/4 cup of butter
3 to 4 cups of mixed berries
1/8 cup of water

Before you start to cook take the butter out of the refrigerator so it becomes a bit soft.

When the butter is ready sift the flour into a mixing bowl and slowly add the sugar. Once the flour and the sugar is mixed together well place the first 1/2 cup of butter, sliced into the bowl. With your hands begin to break up the butter and get the ingredients to become one cohesive crumbly mixture. You may or may not need to add the remaining 1/4 cup of butter.

Take the mixed berries, cut any strawberries in halves and then using a medium sized glass dish pour the mixed berries on the bottom and the water, spread evenly. Next take the crumb mixture and sprinkle evenly on the top.

Cook the cobbler for 20-30 minutes or until the crumbs have begun to brown slightly. It can be eaten warm or cold and the end result is all about the texture of the fruit with the sweet crust.

Spanakopita

2011-02-11T12:19:00.007-05:00

Spanakopita (spinach and feta pie)

This dish is really delicious, and great for dinners at home as well as parties. It can be served as an appetizer or as part of a complete meal with a salad and other small dishes on the side.

Ingredients:

1 lb spinach

5-6 finely chopped scallions

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

1 lb feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup milk

4 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper

1/4 cup melted butter + 1/4 cup olive oil

2/3 lb ready-made filo pastry

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Blanch the spinach in boiling water for one minute, then drain and squeeze out as much water as possible.

Chop the spinach, and mix with the scallions, parsley, cheese, milk, eggs, salt and pepper.

Melt oil and butter together, and brush a thin coating of it onto a 14-inch baking pan with a pastry brush. Layer half of the filo sheets into the pan, brushing the oil & butter combo between each layer.

Spread the spinach filling evenly on top, then cover with the remaining filo sheets, again brushing each sheet with oil & butter.

Score into 12 serving pieces, sprinkle with a little water, and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Places to Eat on the Lower East Side, New York City

2011-02-10T23:16:00.019-05:00

I've been so busy with school work that I haven't been able to cook so I figured instead I should post a bit about my favorite restaurants and coffee shops on the Lower East Side (Where I currently am dorming in NYC for school). For those of you who don't live in New York City.... these are the places that you should be visiting when you come down to the touristy Lower East Side. Good luck!

An Choi: 85 Orchard Street, NYC 10002
This Vietnamese restaurant has really great food. Their sandwiches and their noodles are really tasty and much lighter/less greasy than most other Asian style restaurants. The only problem with them is that they don't handle having a busy restaurant well.

88 Orchard: 88 Orchard Street, NYC 10002
By day it's a hip coffee shop with great pastries and sandwiches and by night it becomes a casual, but really nice dinner spot. The food it simple, but really good and their lattes have a lot of flavor.

Essex Street Market: 120 Essex Street, NYC 10002
Okay, so sure I don't exactly eat here, but it's where I do most of my food shopping. It's an indoor market with individual shops for different trades. The bread shop is some of the best bread I've eaten, there is a really great cheese shop, a meat shop, fish stand, chocolate shop, and lots of other shops for fruits, vegetables, and other staples.

Creperie: 135 Ludlow Street, NYC 10002
This Creperie is really good, they have lots and lots crepe options... I usually just get butter and sugar (the classic crepe)... They are open really really late most days are a bit expensive, and most importantly I think I'd eat here most often if I thought I wouldn't gain five hundred pounds for eating there every day.

Mikey's Burger: 134 Ludlow Street, NYC 10002
This place quite possibly has the best burgers downtown. They cook them all in front of you and their meat appears to be hand made since they are all rolled into balls and flattened when they begin to cook it for you. They have a lot of hamburger/vegetarian burgers options and the cute seats around the grill is perfect for the more eclectic lower east side feel.

Bruschetteria: 92 Rivington Street, NYC 10002
This place has a great atmosphere, it's all about drinking good wine with a nice meal. The only problem is that their coffee isn't so great, and that the food is hit or miss. Some of their dishes are absolutely fantastic and then others are horrible... there seems to be no in between. All of their bruschetta is really good, but then all of their pastas are horrible.... I think they may use ragu sauce or something... It's a risk to eat here, but if you pick your food well it's actually a really great restaurant.

Other really great places:
D'espresso: 100 Stanton Street, NYC 10002
Laboratorio Del Gelato: 188 Ludlow Street, NYC 10002
Congee Village: 100 Allen Street, NYC 10002
Teany: 90 Rivington Street, NYC 10002
Himalayan Cafe Inc: 78 East 1st Street, 10009
Bluebird Coffeshop: 72 East 1st street, 10003

My Cuppa Tea

2011-02-09T22:35:00.003-05:00

Tonight after dinner I developed a sweet tooth (as I usually do). Chocolate didn't seem like the answer and ice cream seemed too sweet. Then I spotted the kiwi in my fruit basket. Juicy, light, slightly sweet and mildly tart...crunchy little seeds...that's the ticket! And it was...now for my evening tea with a cinnamon stick and the juice of a Myer lemon picked from my friend's backyard. Yesssssssss....

Pigment Power

2011-02-09T00:48:00.004-05:00

As an add on to my earlier post about vegetable soup...

My work with oncology patients has steered me to take a vested interest in cancer prevention and prevention of cancer recurrence. Lately my interest has been piqued by phytochemicals, which literally means "plant chemicals." Hundreds have been found in plant foods, and have revealed nothing short of miraculous benefits in terms of disease prevention and health promotion.

When choosing my soup ingredients, I try to choose the most vibrant veggies I can find since the greatest number of health compounds are found in the most colorful foods.

Tonight, I decided to use the small cabbages we know as Brussels sprouts. These "cruciferous" vegetables contain sulphoraphane dithiolthiones, indoles, and isothiocyanates (among other health properties) all of which play very specific roles in cancer prevention. So amazing!

The soup was delicious too :)

Pasta with Vodka Sauce

2011-02-08T21:05:00.006-05:00

I wish I could make this recipe here at school, but since we're not allowed to have alcohol in the dorms I think it would be a problem if I took out the very necessary handle of vodka in the community kitchen... until I have my own kitchen I have to settle for jarred vodka sauce.... Even though I can't enjoy it I figured I should still share it with you so here it goes......

I got the structure of this recipe from a friend’s mom and since then I have altered it just a little bit from her original, but needless to say I think it’s a great recipe. It makes enough for about eight people.

2 lbs pasta (penne or rigatoni)

1 ½ sticks of butter unsalted

½ cup of vodka

2 cups of light cream

3 cups of marinara sauce

Small Can of Tomato Paste

3/4 cup ofgrated Locatelli/Ramano/Pecorino cheese

Some black pepper (to taste)

Optional: 1/4lbsProsciutto Chopped, Parsley (to taste), ½ cup of Peas, Shrimp or Chicken

Set a big pot of water aside so it will begin to boil.

If using prosciutto sauté it and the tomato paste in a large skillet with some of the butter once sautéed add the remaining butter until melted. If not using prosciutto simply melt the butter and tomato paste in the large skillet.

Then add the vodka to the butter and let it simmer for at least ten minutes so the alcohol will burn off. You’ll know if it is ready because the air above the skillet won’t smell of vodka anymore. (To burn off the alcohol faster carefully using a match to light the alcohol on fire. The fire will burn off fast and on its own).

Put the pasta into the boiling water and then add the other ingredients to the vodka/butter mixture. Let cook for at least 10 minutes or until the pasta is ready.

Soup for One

2011-02-07T23:49:00.005-05:00

With Bill in Texas, I've had to adjust to cooking for one. Recently, I've gotten into the routine of making a big pot of soup to get me through the week's dinners.

I start by putting 8 ounces of dry beans in my crockpot. High-heat for one hour, then let them cook for about 3 hours on low heat (or until tender...I try to avoid mushy beans).

The base for my soup du jour, is always mirepoix (a simple combination of onions, carrots, and celery) sauteed in a generous dash of good quality Italian olive oil. Next, I prepare about 4 cups of vegetarian broth using good quality bullion. Next, add minced garlic and salt & pepper to taste plus whatever vegetables look good at the market...usually a sweet potato or 1/4 of a butternut squash, a parsnip, some Brussels sprouts, an occasional turnip or two. Peel and cube the vegetables and gently toss them with the mirepoix to mix the flavors. Add some herbs like oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme, and/or sage. Now add the broth and bring to a boil; cover, and simmer on low for 15 minutes.

Throw in your crock pot beans (or canned beans) and add a red, yellow, or orange bell pepper and a chopped tomato if desired; I like to throw in some chopped Swiss chard or kale too. To round out the flavor, add an acid. Depending on what flavor you are going for, you can squeeze a lime or lemon, or a few dashes of quality aged balsamic vinegar. If using citrus, I would also add about 1-2 tsp quality soy sauce, like tamari. Increase the heat to medium for about 5 minutes and serve. I like to add plain Greek-style yogurt and some sunflower seeds to garnish some of my soups. Enjoy!

This is a soup I made recently with Heirloom Christmas lima beans. Yum! Continued Post.

My Favorite Knife

2011-02-07T17:59:00.002-05:00

There are certain kitchen tools that are so great that they truly add profound enjoyment to food preparation. Arguably the very most important tool to have in your kitchen is at least one good quality, really sharp knife. Not only is such a knife more efficient to use than a dull one, it is also much safer to use because the ease of cutting your food with it makes it less likely that you will struggle or put unneeded pressure downward upon it, and hence much less likely to become injured yourself!

One summer I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a number of weeks in the southwest of France with my family. However, the batterie de cuisine in our humble apartment did not include even one acceptable chopping apparatus and this was, well, very unacceptable to me! On a beautiful outing to the Mediterranean beach town of Collioure one day, I stopped in at a general store and picked up this fine chef's knife. Nearly four years later it is still the first one I reach for each time I need to chop an onion.

Not only is it very sharp, and just the right length with a very comfortable handle, but each time I use it, it conjures up this image in my mind:

Now how can you beat that?!

Two important lessons to take away from this anecdote:

1) Make sure that you are cooking with tools that get the job done well.

2) Surround yourself with things that give you pleasure, even in the most mundane of tasks!

In conclusion, I leave you with some advice from Pablo Picasso, who was inspired in his art by the beauty of Collioure, the same town that inspires me in memory just about every day in my kitchen!

"Never permit a dichotomy to rule your life, a dichotomy in which you hate what you do so you can have pleasure in your spare time. Look for a situation in which your work will give you as much happiness as your spare time."

Chicken Parmesan

2011-02-07T00:28:00.009-05:00

This is another family recipe. I figured out to make it based on watching other family members cook it so sorry that there aren’t any quantities listed. It was particularly challenging to cook this in the community kitchen dorm tonight. The community kitchen sink was clogged and it looked as if the kitchen hadn’t been cleaned in about two months. It’d be nice to have my own kitchen, but needless to say my friends and I managed to cook the Chicken Parmesan without having any of our food touch any of the community kitchen surfaces (ie: the table, the stove, the sink, etc.).

Ingredients:

Before it was placed in the oven.

Chicken breast

Breadcrumbs (Progresso Italian style)

Eggs

Flour

Olive oil

Marinara Sauce

Parmesan Cheese Grated

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the chicken breasts by trimming away the fat and cutting them into smaller chicken breast pieces. Set aside and set up three bowls; one filled with some flour, one filled with whisked eggs, and one filled with some breadcrumbs. Also, set aside a skillet with a good amount of olive oil on the stove and a pan to be placed in the oven.

Then cover each chicken breast completely in the bowl of flour then cover them completely with egg in the egg bowl and then cover them completely with bread crumbs in the bread crumb bowl. When the olive oil in the skillet is hot begin to brown the chicken on both sides in the pan adding more olive oil as needed. When the chicken is browned place it in the oven pan you set aside earlier.

Cover each chicken with some marinara sauce. Then sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over the sauce and place slices of mozzarella cheese on each breast of chicken too. Once everything has been covered place it into the oven for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Serve the chicken with pasta with marinara sauce. I also chose to serve it with some salad.... We ate on my dorm room floor... maybe next year I'll have a table.

Marinara Sauce

2011-02-06T15:00:00.001-05:00

This is a family recipe, I used to watch my mother make it and she would watch her mother make it. For the most part we actually add many of the ingredients to taste and not with actual amounts. I approximated the quantities to make it easier to follow. With these quantities it makes enough sauce for about eight people.

2lbs pasta (penne or rigatoni)

1 white onion chopped

2 cans of chopped tomatoes (preferably Luigi Vitelli or Progresso brand) (each 28oz)

2 garlic cloves diced

Basil Leaves (Dried)

2 Whole Bay Leaves (Dried)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Optional: 2 Carrots chopped

In a skillet sauté the onion, salt, garlic, and a good amount of olive oil. Cook until the onions are translucent (just before they begin to brown). Meanwhile put the cans of chopped tomatoes into a big pot with the basil leaves, bay leaves, carrots, and pepper. Make sure to put a generous amount of basil leaves and pour some olive oil directly into the sauce.

Once the tomato mixture is warm add the sautéed things and cook stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes.

Sorry for the lack of pictures…. My camera’s battery wasn’t charged when I made this yesterday, opps. I’ll post pictures next time I make it.

Tortellini

2011-02-06T11:48:00.005-05:00

Inspired by Chinese New Year this week, I read a description of my Chinese Zodiac sign, the horse. The description claimed that those born under the sign of the horse are "good with their hands." My first reaction was one of disbelief, as I don't see myself as one who is terribly crafty or visually artistic, and am not usually enamored with creations born of my own hands. But then I got to thinking, well I *did* make these pretty little tortellini recently!

I was feeling slightly more inspired than usual on that day, and following the instructions in Giuliano Bugialli's book On Pasta, I think I succeeded in making some pretty photo-worthy little packages!

I do confess that these were actually not so hard once I got the hang of it. These little beauties can be filled with any pasta filling you desire. In my case I used a ricotta and freshly chopped herb filling.

Here's how you do it:

First you will need to make sure you have a round cutter for the task so that you can make your pasta into perfect, uniformly sized circles. I use these, very useful for all kinds of kitchen prep, even things so mundanely clever as making donut-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids ;)

For this recipe I chose a cutter 7 centimeters in diameter (that's about 2.75 inches).

Prepare your filling, then mix up a batch of pasta dough. I use 3 eggs per 2 cups of all-purpose flour for 1 lb of pasta. Roll the pasta out to the thinnest setting using your pasta machine.

Cut out as many 7 cm. circles as you can, then place a small dollop of filling in the center of each circle. Moisten the edges using beaten egg whites, then fold the circle *almost* in half, allowing just a small border on one side that sticks out a little past the rest. Then, wrap this half-circle around your finger and press the corners together with your thumb until they stick. Remove the little tortellino, give him a flip so that the top edge curls outward, and presto!

Good luck! It takes just a little practice, but once you get the hang of it you'll see, it's not so hard and really kind of fun!

Madeleines

2011-02-05T01:46:00.007-05:00

Ever since my family and I went and ate at the restaurant, Daniel, in NYC we have all fallen in love with Madeleines. I’m in college and my French roommate and I decided that we had to make them to celebrate her twentieth birthday. We decided to use a recipe her and her sister used when they made them as kids.

Sorry for the approximations of a few of the ingredients they had to be converted from the original French recipe.

.5 Cup and Little Bit, Melted Butter

3 Eggs

2/3 Cup Sugar

1 Heaping Cup Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Lemon

Optional:

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Lemon

2 Cups Nutella or Jelly

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a pot cook butter until fully melted. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, and honey (if using honey) until frothy and creamy. We did not add the honey because of the fact that we were cooking this in a dorm room. Zest the lemon and set aside (if using lemon).

Add half of the flour and baking powder to the egg sugar mixture until smooth. Then slowly add the butter, the remaining flour, and the lemon zest (if using lemon).

Be sure to put the Nutella or Jelly
inside of them and if you can't then cover
it up with some extra batter.

Take the Madeleine pan (Amazingly we have one in our dorm room, but if you don’t have one… try using a cup cake tin, just don’t fill the tin up all the way. I’ve never tried this, but it’s worth a shot) and grease it to make sure that the Madeleine’s don’t stick. We buttered the pan and then sprinkled it with flour. Once the pan is greased fill with some of the dough. They will rise a little bit so don’t overfill them. If you are going to use Nutella/Jelly use a pipette or fill a small plastic bag with some of the Nutella/Jelly and squeeze it into the center of each Madeleine.

Put them in the preheated oven for eight minutes until they are slightly browned on the edges but still golden in the center. Let them cool and eat them warm or cold… they are amazing either way.

Christmas Lima Beans and Quinoa with Beets and Avocado

2010-11-20T17:42:00.004-05:00

Heirloom beans are so flavorful and delicious! This recipe is from the Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans cookbook.

5 small beets
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup quinoa
3 cups well-drained cooked Christmas lima beans (crockpot, stovepot, etc.) warmed slightly
1/2 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado

Dressing: 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 Tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tsp honey, 1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil, salt & freshly ground pepper. (Vegans: Leave out the honey)

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Scrub the beets and dry them. Put in a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the beets in 2 separate aluminum foil packages, putting like-sized beets with like-sized beets. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins with your fingers. Cut the beets into 1/4 inch thick wedges. Put in a large salad bowl.

Rinse the quinoa under cold running water (the quinoa can be soaked for 4 hours prior to this to remove any inherent bitterness). Bring a medium sauce-pan of generously salted water to a boil. Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the quinoa is fluffy but still slightly crunch, 15 to 20 min. Drain and rinse quickly under cool running water. Drain well and add to the beets.

Add the beans and onion to the salad bowl. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit, leaving each half in the skin. Cut each half lengthwise into 1/4 inch-thick-slices. Then cut the slices crosswise into thirds. Using a spoon, scoop the avocado from the skin and add to the bowl. Toss gently.

Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, and honey. Drizzle in the olive oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking continuously until the dressing comes together. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Pour the dressing over the salad, toss, adjust the seasonings, and serve at room temperature within 2 hours. Enjoy!

Italian Nostalgia

2010-09-08T00:14:00.006-04:00

When my beautiful sister, Mary, and I were in Italy, we fell in love with a Siena specialty: thick, glutinous noodles called Pici. We also discovered semifreddo; a wonderful "half-frozen" mousse-like custard.

I recreated Cacio E Pepe (Cheese & Pepper) using a variation of the recipe from the linked website, but used the pici noodles that I brought back with me instead of spaghetti noodles.

To accompany, we enjoyed a salad of organic baby arugula, radicchio, Roma tomatoes, crisp celery, walnut halves, quality olive oil, and aged balsamic vinegar.

A decadent lemon and amaretti semifreddo topped with raspberry coulis was just the ticket for dessert. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

All of the above dishes were quite easy to put together, but tasted extraordinary.

Buonissimo!

Vegetable Pot Pie

2010-09-02T20:50:00.007-04:00

This recipe might intimidate some for 2 reasons: homemade stock and homemade pie crust. But, never fear! I actually taught myself a lesson tonight... I had always thought of making vegetable stock as a huge endeavor because I've always made it in a large quantity, chopping lots and lots of vegetables, ladling it all out in the end to freeze, etc. I actually meant to purchase stock for tonight's vegetable pot pie, and when I came home realized I had forgotten it. But I'm so glad! Because the result was so much tastier as a result, and I learned that making a small pot of basic vegetable stock is a piece of cake. So, first things first:

For the stock: fill a saucepan with water. Add a cut up onion and some thoroughly washed leek tops, plus a bay leaf and a little salt. That's it. Bring to a boil, then let it gently simmer while you tend to the other business... (by the way it smells *really* good!)

Now, for the pie crust... I happened to have mine on hand because I made quiche the other night and the leftover crust was the entire inspiration for this meal... but if you don't have yours on hand, here's how to make it:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 cup cold water

1 tablespoon vinegar

Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter. Mix egg, water and vinegar. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Gently mix, and form into 3-4 balls to chill.

The amount of crust you need for this recipe depends on how big you are making your pot pie, and the dimensions of your dish. I used about 2/3 for an 8" x 14" rectangular glass dish.

With your leftovers, I guess you'll just have to make a quiche. :)

Next step:

Chop up a variety of vegetables.

I used onion, celery, carrot, green beans, peas and red potatoes.

I didn't measure the quantities, but chopped about 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 rib of celery, a big overflowing fistful of green beans and about 7 *small* red potatoes. The peas of course were not chopped, and I think they would have measured to about 3/4 cup.

Saute the vegetables in butter, starting with the onion, celery, and carrot and adding the others after a few minutes. Add some salt and pepper and some Herbes de Provence, and continue to saute for about 10 minutes.

Then add some flour, about 1/3 cup. Cook for a couple of minutes to eliminate raw flour flavor. Then ladle in about 3 cups of the stock. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce.

Now roll out your pie crust.

And lay it over the top of your baking dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serve hot, and enjoy!

Japanese-style Cabbage Salad

2010-05-20T16:20:00.010-04:00

I made this salad for the first time last night to accompany a Japanese-style meal, and I liked it a lot. It will definitely be a regular guest at our table! Sorry, no photo. It was gobbled up too quickly ;)

Ingredients

1/2 large head cabbage, cored and shredded

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
3 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3/4 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix ingredients together, let sit at room temperature for a bit to let flavors mingle, and enjoy!

Yellow Eye Heirloom Beans

2010-05-10T00:38:00.012-04:00

Yellow Eye beans are a variety of the white bean family and are creamy, rich, and delicious. Their flavor is neutral and earthy, and their texture is crumbly, just right for a chowder.

Here are the ingredients that you need for Yellow Eye Chowder...

Mise en place.

The white "eye" of the bean is where it used to be attached to the pod.

Soak for a few hours before cooking for extra tender beans.

In a soup pot over med heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant (~10 minutes). Add the beans and their soaking water, plus additional cold water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, cover partially, and simmer until beans are starting to soften but still fairly firm, ~1 hour.

Add sweet potatoes, chicken, sage, + S&P to taste. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes.

Ladle the chowder into warmed bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Mmmmmmm....
Delicious with a rustic Artisan bread.

Dandelion "Honey"

2010-04-22T10:15:00.006-04:00

When a friend of mine posted a link to a recipe for Dandelion Honey on her Facebook page, I was more than intrigued. The amounts in the recipe sounded almost magical: "365 dandelions, 1 for each day of the year", and the idea of taking a pesky weed and turning it into something delicious was very appealing to me.

So, the other day on our 1 mile walk home from school, my children and I collected dandelions that we found growing in parks and next to the sidewalk on our route home. We weren't keeping track, just picking all the nice looking ones that we saw, and when we arrived home I found we had collected more than 800! So I doubled the recipe.

It turned out to be a real task extracting the petals from the leaves and bases of the flower, so I probably would have been wise to make a single batch... so I will give you the quantities for just one recipe! (Please note: it is important to remove all greenery from the flowers to ensure that your final product will have a pleasing golden color! Also, wash the flowers before removing the petals, then let dry out an hour or two in the sun before proceeding.)

The flower petals from 365 dandelions are mixed together with 1.2 Liters of water, 2 lemons and 2 oranges thinly sliced (preferably organic, so as to avoid the pesticides leaching out into the mixture). Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer, covered for one hour. Leave the covered pot to sit overnight so that the flavors can continue to infuse the liquid.

The next day, strain the liquid, add 1 kilogram of sugar, and reheat to a boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes at moderate heat. Ladle it into small jars, close while hot.

This "honey" may be used in desserts and also as a cough syrup if you like! We used it this morning on pancakes.

Pasta di Carciofi

2010-04-21T21:57:00.006-04:00

To ring in the spring season, I decided to make an artichoke pasta. I found the recipe in Giuliano Bugialli's book On Pasta.

I was so proud of myself for finally cleaning artichokes without hacking them up into unrecognizable bits and pieces... I started with 3 large artichokes, which were cleaned, then soaked in ample cold water with lemon halves squeezed and dropped into the bowl.

30 minutes later, the artichokes were cut into 8ths and sauteed for 5 minutes along with the chopped leaves of 15 large Italian parsley sprigs, 3 cloves of chopped garlic, and 1/4 cup olive oil.

I added 1 cup dry white wine, and cooked the artichokes over high heat until the wine evaporated, then added salt and pepper, covered the casserole, and continued to cook the artichokes until they were tender.

The artichokes were pureed in a food mill, then made into a dough using 5 1/2 cups flour, 3 extra-large eggs, and salt and pepper to taste.

To prepare the pasta, I rolled the dough through a pasta machine to make sheets, then cut the sheets into tagliatelle using an attachment.

To finish, the pasta was boiled for about 3 minutes, then tossed with a butter and sage sauce. It was soooo yummy!

The re-telling of this recipe was somewhat abridged. For the full version I recommend you purchase Bugialli's book. It's a great resource!

Chocolate Tasting

2010-02-19T16:39:00.003-05:00

Some number of years ago, about 6, I guess, my husband and I decided to do a chocolate tasting of various single-origin chocolates from 4 different producers. We discussed our opinions and then agreed on a rating of each chocolate on a scale of 1-10. I've been holding onto the piece of paper upon which we recorded our ratings for all these years, and it gets moved from place to place in our house, never to be discarded lest I forget our ratings and have to start all over again. Wait a minute, that's not a bad idea, is it?!?!

I've decided it's time to stop shuffling this little piece of paper around, and record these ratings somewhere more permanent. Now you can all benefit from our little experiment and perhaps sample some of these goodies for yourself!

Valrhona 2003 Ampamakia (Madagascar) ---- 4

Valrhona 2003 Gran Couva (Trinidad) ---- 5

Valrhona 2003 Chuao (Venezuela) ---- 7

Amadei Ecuador ---- 6

Amadei Grenada ---- 6

Amadei Jamaica ---- 7

Amadei Madagascar ---- 7.5

Amadei Trinidad ---- 8 (tasting note: tabacco flavors)

Amadei Venezuela ---- 8

Amadei Porcelana ---- 8

Michel Cluizel Concepcion (Venezuela) ---- <7

Michel Cluizel Los Ancones (Santa Domingo) ---- 6.5

Michel Cluizel Tamarina (Sao Tome) ---- 6/7 (we agreed to disagree on this one! - I liked it better)

Michel Cluizel Mangaro (Madagascar) ---- 7

Domori Puertofino (Venezuela) ---- 8.5

Domori Puertomar (Venezuela) ---- 9

Domori Porcelana (Venezuela) ---- 9.5

Makes me want to go pick up some bars of Domori!!! :-D

Nostalgic Pumpkin Soup

2009-11-20T19:26:00.004-05:00

In November of 1994, I was an exchange student in the south of France living with a beautiful family of 5 for about 10 days. The mother made us many wonderful meals, including, of course, escargot. I remember her children telling me how when it rained, their mother would send them outside to collect the snails... I also remember her sending me off to our field trips with bagged lunches of supremely delicious bread covered in such tasty cheese... ahhh... :) And the yogurt that they ate for dessert following dinner... well, there's nothing like it here. Anyhow, all that was just a tangent and an excuse to reminisce!!! :-D

What this post is *really* about is that I still have vivid memories of the night she made pumpkin soup for us. It was a cold, damp night, and we were returning from a judo lesson, and we were nourished by this warm, flavorful soup, bread and a salad. It was perfect.

I have no idea how she made her soup, or accomplished the deep flavors that were in it, but I am trying my best here to come close.

I started like this:

I chopped the onion and garlic, and sauteed them in a little bit of olive oil in a large pan. Then I chopped the pumpkin up and added it to the pan, all of it, because I wanted it to be richly "pumpkin". That's what I remember. I put in about 6 cups of my homemade vegetable stock, and cooked the pumpkin until it was soft. Then I pureed it with my immersion blender until it was nice and smooth. I poured in just a bit of whole milk for creaminess, but not too much, because I didn't want to kill the pumpkin flavor. Then I seasoned the soup to taste with salt and pepper, nutmeg, and a little bit of what Thomas Keller calls "squab spice", a mix of cinnamon, coriander, cloves, pepper, and ginger, because I had some in my pantry and it seemed like a good idea :)

I ended up with this:

I'm sure it's not the same. But it's good!

Saumon au Poivre Vert (Salmon With Green Peppercorns)

2009-11-20T00:02:00.010-05:00

"A fashionable discovery of nouvelle cuisine, green peppercorns add piquancy to all kinds of sauces and stews. Available pickled in jars or cans, they are great to keep on hand in your pantry."

Tonight Bill and I decided to frog out. We made a delicious French meal of pan seared salmon with a rich peppercorn cream sauce, accompanied by baked tomatoes topped with garlic. It was tres magnifique!

Buttercup Squash Soup

2009-11-14T12:35:00.004-05:00

I recently made this easy soup on a chilly fall night. It had a great balance of flavors and was very warming to the belly and soul :) Buttercup squash is a variety of winter squash that is sweeter than most and has a creamy, dark orange flesh.

I started by sauteeing one small chopped onion and 2 minced garlic cloves in a bit of vegetable oil.

Then I added the cubed squash, 1 large diced potato, 1/2 cup diced celeriac, 1/2 cup diced carrots, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon chervil and salt and pepper to taste.

I added 6 cups water, brought it to a simmer, and cooked everything for about 10 minutes.

Then I added a bunch of chopped kale, and simmered for about 5 more minutes.

I blended it with an immersion blender, but left some chunks of potato in there for texture.

Add some nice bread and you've got a healthy and satisfying meal!

Golden-Fried Pumpkin Purses

2009-11-06T22:07:00.006-05:00

Here is a seasonal recipe from Alain Ducasse in his Flavors of France cookbook. It is essentially a fried ravioli stuffed with pumpkin, leeks, rice and Parmesan cheese, that apparently comes from Monaco where the locals call them "Uncle Johns", or "barbajuans".

The first step is to roast a pumpkin in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour and a half. Quarter your pumpkin, place the pieces skin-side-down on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil.

Meanwhile, make the pasta:

Mix together:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup ice-cold water

Knead the dough for a minute, form into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Next, begin to make the filling:

Boil 1/2 cup Arborio rice for 10 minutes with 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt in 1 1/2 cups water.

Drain the rice and set aside.

Then mince the white and tender green parts of 4 slim leeks, and saute them in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil for about 4 minutes.

Once the pumpkin has cooked, remove the skin and mash it til smooth in a large bowl.

Mix in:

the cooked rice

the sauteed leeks

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (6 oz) Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

(I forgot to take a photo of the mixture all together, but here is the pumpkin; you'll see the filling below as it is assembled with the pasta.)

Roll the pasta dough out into long sheets.

Spoon 20 walnut-sized scoops of filling along the bottom half of each pasta sheet, then fold the top half over to cover the mounds.

Press the edges together around each mound, then cut into ravioli shapes:

Heat 6 cups of peanut oil to 325-350 degrees F.

Fry the ravioli, about 6 at a time, until golden.

Transfer to paper towels to drain, and salt immediately with a high quality sea salt.

Serve hot as an appetizer.

Pumpkin and Basil Lasagne

2009-11-02T23:18:00.009-05:00

Tis the season for pumpkin! Here's the recipe for the delicious seasonal lasagna that we made tonight...
1.5 lbs pumpkin
2 Tbsp olive oil
16 oz ricotta cheese
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 oz Parmesan, grated
4 oz fresh lasagna sheets
6 oz grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Cut the pumpkin into thin slices and arrange in a single layer on the tray. Brush with oil and cook for 1 hour, or until softened, turning halfway through cooking.

Place the ricotta, pine nuts, basil, garlic, and Parmesan in a bowl and mix with wooden spoon.

Brush a square 8 inch ovenproof dish with oil. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Arrange one third of the pasta sheets over the base of the dish and spread with the ricotta mixture. Top with half of the remaining lasagna sheets.

Arrange the pumpkin evenly over the pasta wtih as few gaps as possible. Season with salt and cracked black pepper and top with the final layer of mozzarella.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is golden. Leave for 10 minutes, then cut into squares.

Braised Rabbit with Fresh Pasta

2009-10-30T20:07:00.006-04:00

I made an impulse purchase of fresh rabbit yesterday and then came home and didn't know what I was going to do with it... so I searched for a recipe and thought this one was appealing (source, Gourmet May 2003). It calls for braising rabbit in a red wine and tomato sauce scented with cinnamon and orange.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Then, using a cleaver, cut the rabbit into about 6 individual serving pieces. Make sure to remove the kidneys, heart and liver. Season the pieces with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in an oven-safe casserole, then brown the pieces of rabbit.

Remove the rabbit and set aside.

Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pot, then stir in 2 sliced onions, 2 minced garlic cloves, a long strip of orange zest, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 bay leaves. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.

Add half a cup of dry red wine, and reduce for about 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups chopped canned tomato and 1/2 cup water.

Add the rabbit back to the casserole and nestle it into the sauce, covering it as well as possible.

Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook at 350 degrees for one hour, turning the rabbit after 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, ask your sous-chef to whip up a batch of homemade egg noodles.

Serve the rabbit and sauce over the boiled noodles with a bit of finishing salt.

(I forgot the parsley :( Next time!)

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Feta Cheese and Pine Nuts

2009-10-27T16:00:00.003-04:00

I really just love eggplant so much! I think I could eat it everyday. But, out of consideration for my lovely family and their opinion that is quite different from mine, I do not! Even though summer has come to an end, eggplant is still growing and going strong in our neck of the woods, and I had a big hankering for it yesterday and so I made this really delicious salad for dinner.

Ingredients (to serve 6)

2 large eggplants, sliced into 1-inch-thick rounds

1 tsp dried marjoram (or 2 tsp fresh, if you can find it)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 oz. mixed salad greens

1/3 lb feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small cubes

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

cherry tomatoes

Dressing:

juice of one small lemon

salt

pepper

First, toss the sliced eggplant with the olive oil and marjoram in a large roasting pan, and roast at 400 degrees until done, about 30 minutes, stirring every so often.

Meanwhile, wash the salad greens.

When the eggplant is done, toss the salad greens with the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Divide the greens among 6 plates, sprinkle some pine nuts and feta cheese on top of the greens, then arrange the slices of roasted eggplant on top with a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Fabulous Food in Portland, ME

2009-10-08T12:20:00.002-04:00

This is a fantastic article. I love the focus on fresh, local ingredients and the collective spirit of local chefs tirelessly striving for the best. Never been there. The article totally makes me want to go.

Vegetable Curry with Sri Lankan Spices

2009-09-23T21:38:00.005-04:00

My eldest daughter declared last week that she will henceforth be a vegetarian. While I am not prepared to convert the entire household, I've been doing my best to cook meals that are mostly meatless. It's forced me to go a bit out of my comfort zone and I've been scouring my cookbooks for new and interesting vegetarian recipes that will satisfy the whole family. This one, a vegetable curry dish, was really yummy. It's a definite keeper. I found it in the cookbook Fields of Greens which contains recipes from the Greens Restaurant in San Francisco.

The recipe makes what is essentially a vegetable stew, and should be served over basmati rice. A recommended accompaniment is a mango and papaya chutney. I made it with only mangoes because frankly I'm still deciding whether or not I truly like papaya...

Begin the chutney first, because it is supposed to sit for 1-3 hours before serving in order for the flavors to blend.

You will need:

1/4 small red onion, finely diced (about 1/3 cup)

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

1/4 cup fresh lime juice, about 4 limes

1/4 cup sugar

3/8 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

3 pinches ground cloves

3 pinches cayenne pepper

1 mango, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (having omitted the papaya, I used 2)

1 papaya, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Bring a small pot of water to boil and drop in the onion for 30 seconds. Drain the onions, then immediately combine with the vinegar in a bowl. Combine the lemon juice, sugar and spices in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes to make a light syrup. Mix the fruit together with the onions, then pour the syrup on top and stir.

Now, to start the curry, mix together the following spices:

1 tsp cumin seed

2 tsp coriander seed

1 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp fenugreek

1/2 tsp black mustard seed

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Toast the spices for 1-2 minutes over low heat in a dry, small skillet, stirring often until they become aromatic. Then grind them together with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 lb fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (or 1 16-oz can tomatoes, chopped) with 1 1/2 cups cold water, 1 tsp salt, 2 tablespoons of giner, and 1 tablespoon of the mixed spices. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add 1/4 tsp salt. Blanch 1/4 lb (about 2 cups) sugar snap peas in the boiling water for 2 minutes, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon, rinse them under cool water, and set aside.

Then use the same pot of boiling water to blanch 1/4 lb (about 1/2 cup) of freshly shelled peas, again for just a couple of minutes, drain, rinse, and set aside.

Chop 1 yellow onion finely, then heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion for about 7-8 minutes, until soft.

Add to the pan:

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 medium-sized carrots, cut in half lengthwise and sliced 1/2 inch thick on a diagonal

1 lb new potatoes, cut into halves, quarters or 1-inch pieces if large

Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Next, add:

1/2 small head of caulifower chopped into florets

1 medium zucchini, cut in half and sliced 1/2 inch thick on a diagonal

And, the remaining toasted spices

Saute for 5 minutes, until just heated through

Add 1 1/2 cups canned coconut milk and the tomato mixture. Simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook some basmati rice. When it is done, add the snap peas and English peas into the stew, and serve it alongside the rice and the mango chutney. The rice may be tossed with toasted cashews if desired, good for some extra protein.

I love stews... this was sooooo yummy. Highly recommended!

Carrot Flan and Wild Rice with Lentils

2009-09-16T21:49:00.007-04:00

The recipes that I am about to post probably will not become standards in our household, however I think they are worthy of a post anyhow. Every one of our 3 children liked this meal which is a success in its own right, plus it was really unique, totally vegetarian and probably not too shabby in terms of total protein content and vitamins.

I combined two recipes from two different sources: one is a "carrot flan" that I got off a French e-mag that I subscribe to, and the other is a wild rice and lentil recipe from Epicurious.com.

If you are making these together, I suggest starting with the wild rice, as it takes the longest to cook. I forgot to take a photo of this step, but first you will boil 2 1/2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan, then add 1 cup wild rice, lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. When the rice is done you will drain it and set it aside.

Meanwhile, insert 2 whole cloves into half an onion, peel 1 carrot and halve it lengthwise, peel two garlic cloves, and halve one celery stalk lengthwise.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the vegetables, and saute for about 10 minutes. At this point you may add 4 ounces of chopped pancetta and saute for another 5 minutes as called for in the recipe, but I omitted it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be vegetarian :)

Add 1/2 cup of French green lentils and stir for a minute. Then add 1 3/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes. I didn't cover the lentils as the recipe says, because all that water needs to go somewhere...

Meanwhile, you may start your carrot flan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel 200 grams (nearly half a pound) of carrots, and chop a bunch of parsley. Define a bunch? ... you know, really as much as you feel like chopping :-D In my case, not much:

Whisk together 2 eggs, 1 ounce grated Emmenthaler (or Swiss, or Gruyere) cheese, 200 centiliters of heavy cream (somewhere between 3/4 cup to 1 cup), and some salt and pepper.

Divide the carrots and parsley evenly between 4 ramekins (or 5 small, if you're stretching this recipe to serve a family of 5 like me...) Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Invert onto a plate, and serve alongside the lentils and rice, which have been combined and gently reheated, and the large aromatic vegetables removed.

Et voila! A thoroughly unique vegetarian meal :)

(P.S. The author of the carrot flan recipe says that you can use this recipe with just about any vegetable, zucchini, for example, or cherry tomatoes rather than the carrots.)

Croquettes Baked in Lemon Juice

2009-09-08T11:34:00.006-04:00

If you read my polenta recipe below and wondered what you could possibly do with a pound of sirloin that you used to make a sauce yet did not eat, here is one possible answer: Crocchette al Limone, also credited to Giuliani Bugialli from The Fine Art of Italian Cooking. The breaded beef croquettes are fried and then briefly baked in lemon juice, and are very tasty and not too difficult to make.

Start with your cooked beef, 10 sprigs of Italian parsley and 2 large cloves of garlic. Using a food processor, grind up the meat, garlic, and leaves of the parsley into a very fine mixture.

Then cut the crusts off of 4 pieces of white bread.

Bring 1 cup of milk to a boil and add the bread to the pan, stirring for about 7 minutes to form a cooked paste.

Combine the meat mixture with 3 large eggs, 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, freshly grated nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

Next add the cooled bread/milk paste and mix very well.

You will need some bread crumbs to coat the croquettes. Bugialli stresses that the quality of bread crumbs is very important here, should be made from "first-class bread, unflavored, and slightly toasted". I made mine from a good baguette and toasted them in a pan on the stovetop.

Heat 1 quart of vegetable oil (2 parts corn oil to 1 part sunflower oil is recomended) to 375 degrees, as well as your oven. Spread your bread crumbs out on a plate and shape about 2 tablespoons of your meat mixture into a ball, flattening it as you press it gently into the bread crumbs.

When all the croquettes are ready, fry them a few at a time until lightly golden all over, about 1 minute.

Drain the croquettes on paper towels.

Squeeze the juice from 4 large lemons.

Arrange the croquettes in a single layer in a glass or crockery baking dish. Pour the lemon juice all over them, sprinkle on a little salt, and bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes.

Serve immediately. We garnished ours with parsley and hard-boiled eggs.

Polenta with Mushroom Meat Sauce

2009-09-08T10:41:00.010-04:00

The school year has begun, and now instead of lazy impromptu meals at the end of a summer's day we are shifting to meals that inspire the family to gather at the table together, to feel the warmth and comfort of reconnecting while we share stories from our day. With this in mind I went searching for a new recipe that would evoke just that kind of sentiment: a comfort food with deep earthy notes, soft and warm textures... This Polenta con Tocco di Funghi alla Genovese (credit to Giuliano Bugialli, Bugialli's Italy) is one such meal.

Start with 1 oz of dried mushrooms (Bugialli calls for porcini only, but I used a mix including porcini as well as black trumpet and some other wild varieties). Soak the mushrooms in lukewarm water for 30 minutes, then strain the soaking liquid very well and reserve it for the sauce. Clean and chop the mushrooms.

While the mushrooms are soaking, you can begin your other prep. You will need 1 lb of canned imported Italian tomatoes. Cut them in half.

Finely chop 1 medium red onion, 1 medium carrot, and the leaves from 15 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley.

Next, tie 1 lb of boneless top sirloin in one piece into a cylinder, like a salami. Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil along with 1/4 cup sweet butter in a deep pan or casserole over medium heat. Add the meat to the hot oil and butter, and lightly brown it all over.

Remove the meat and add the chopped onion, carrot and parsley to the pan along with 1 cup dry red wine. Cook about 10 minutes, or until the wine evaporates.

Next, sprinkle 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour over the vegetables and mix very well.

Add the tomatoes.

Then add the mushrooms, and add the meat back to the pan. Pour in the strained soaking water from the mushrooms as well as enough chicken or meat broth to cover everything, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours has passed, remove the meat and save it for another preparation. The meat in this dish is not actually consumed but lends its essence to the sauce. Pass the contents of the pan through a food mill.

Reduce the sauce in a pan over medium heat until it becomes rather thick.

The sauce will be served over a polenta, which you should begin to prepare anywhere from 20-60 minutes before the sauce is done, depending on which type of polenta you have purchased. The recipe calls for long-cooking coarse stone-ground polenta but I could only find instant polenta at the store.

To make the polenta, first finely chop 4 oz pancetta along with 2 fresh sage leaves. Also chop one more red onion (not shown).

Melt 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and 1/4 cup sweet butter in a saucepan or a sautoir over medium heat.

When the butter is melted, add the onion, pancetta and sage. Saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add 3 cups chicken or meat broth or cold water to the mixture and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add your polenta, mix very well, and keep stirring until the polenta reaches a boil. The instant polenta will be done right away, but the long-cooking polenta will need to be stirred for up to 45 minutes until it is done. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the polenta topped with the sauce, some grated parmesan cheese and some chopped parsley.

Mmmm... so good!

Ravioli

2009-09-02T21:07:00.007-04:00

About 8 years ago or so I started making a chicken ravioli recipe from a Williams-Sonoma cookbook on pasta. It became one of my standards, something I could usually throw together from the ingredients I had on hand if I didn't know what else to make for dinner, and a darn good way to use up all those chicken breasts that I don't really want but have left over from making stock! I never deviated much from the recipe until the other day; I had a little wave of inspiration and decided I wanted to make the chicken ravioli with a bit of an earthy twist, so I added some bacon and black summer truffles and a bit of gruyere cheese along with the usual parmesan. It was a nice little change. The point in all of this is that ravioli is a very flexible dish, perfect for experimentation, and limited only to a cook's imagination!

Below I will show you the steps I took when I made ravioli this past Monday, but I invite you to not just duplicate it, but use it as a springboard for making your own unique creations. Just a month ago I used the filling from the Alain Ducasse stuffed summer vegetables for making a ravioli. You can use anything you desire just as long as it's not too wet I guess!

So, for my most recent creation, I first made a mirepoix as I usually do for my chicken ravioli, mixing equal parts chopped onion, carrot and celery and sauteeing in butter. Once you get this going, fill a big pot with water to get it boiling so it will be all ready for the ravioli.

Then I fried up some bacon

and then drained it on some paper towels to take away the grease.

I mixed the bacon in with the mirepoix, adding some chopped black truffles and chopped leftover roasted chicken, as well as some gruyere and parmesan cheeses.

All of this was chopped even more finely before mixing in a little beaten egg to bind it together.

Then I moved on to making my dough. Three eggs to two cups of all-purpose flour will make roughly one pound of pasta. Make a well in the center of your flour and crack the eggs into the well.

Mix together with a fork until the ingredients are well-blended.

Knead until smooth.

Roll long, thin sheets of dough through a pasta machine, taking the dough to the very last setting. I roll a quarter pound of dough at a time, so before I roll I cut my ball of dough into four equal pieces. Make sure your work surface is well-floured to prevent the dough from sticking. I do it all on a long sheet of parchment paper, which makes the eventual transfer to the pot of boiling water much easier!

Evenly space your filling, maybe a little over a tablespoon per "square", to begin forming your ravioli.

Next I dab a little water or egg white around the exposed dough, and then place a new sheet of dough on top, or sometimes I fill half the sheet and then fold the other half over. The water or egg white helps the top sheet of dough to adhere to the bottom sheet so that the ravioli will not separate during cooking.

Next the ravioli squares are cut using a pastry wheel.

Now they are ready to be boiled, which takes only a few minutes.

Serve topped with olive oil and grated parmesan cheese.

Buon appetito!

Enchiladas Suizas

2009-08-31T12:22:00.015-04:00

When life hands you tomatillos, make...

Normally I'd have completed that sentence with the only answer obvious to me: mole verde. But I wasn't in the mood for mole verde. What to do?

I had received these small, firm, tart green tomatoes as part of a veggie co-op share, and was scratching my head for a few days about what to do with them. Finally I bit the bullet and got out my trusty book on "Authentic Mexican" cooking written by Rick Bayless, and he showed me the light. With his guidance I made enchiladas suizas for the very first time.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

First gather up some tomatillos (about 1 lb), an onion, jalapeno peppers (the recipe calls for 2, but I went mercifully on my spice-averse 8-year-old and used only 1), and a clove of garlic. Cut the jalapenos lengthwise and remove the seeds, husk the tomatillos, and coarsely chop the onion and garlic.

In a saucepan, bring to a boil 5 cups of water along with another 1/2 onion, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. marjoram, 1/2 tsp. thyme, and 2 bay leaves.

Add a small package of chicken breast meat (about 1.5 lbs) to the boiling mixture and reduce to a simmer to poach the chicken for about 13 minutes. Let the chicken cool in the broth.

Meanwhile, poach the husked but whole tomatillos along with the seeded jalapenos in boiling salted water until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Drain the tomatillos and jalapenos and place in a blender or food processor along with the onion and garlic (and 5-6 sprigs cilantro, but we left it out for my cilantro-averse husband... um... we're not normally such a picky family, I swear!).

Process until smooth but still retaining a little texture.

Heat 1 tablespoon lard or vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and pour the sauce in all at once. Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes. Add 2 cups chicken broth, return to a boil, and simmer about 10 minutes or until thick enough to coat a spoon.

Meanwhile, shred the cooled chicken.

Add 1 cup whipping cream to the sauce once it has finished simmering, and keep on a very gentle heat until ready to use.

Prep 12 corn tortillas by quick-frying them in a pan or on a griddle in a little oil for 2-3 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels.

Assemble the enchiladas by pouring a cup of the warm sauce onto a plate, then lay each tortilla in the sauce, flip it over, and lay 2 tablespoons of the filling across the center and roll it up. Transfer to a baking dish, and continue until all the tortillas are filled.

Next pour the sauce over the enchiladas, being careful to cover the ends, and top with 6 oz (1 1/2 cups) of Monterey Jack cheese.

Transfer the dish to the 350 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes. I broiled mine for a couple of minutes at the end to make the cheese nice and golden.

I served the enchiladas with refried beans and rice. To have everything done at the same time, start these while your tomatillos are poaching. I was a little lazy with the refried beans:

but I doctored them up by frying a bit of onion in some olive oil, then adding the beans to the pan along with a bit of chicken broth to heat gently until the other food was ready.

Here they are in the pan:

For the rice (also from Rick Bayless) I added 1 cup rice along with 1 chopped onion to a small bit of heated olive oil in a sauce pan, sauteeing til golden. Then I added a finely diced clove of garlic.

I parboiled some diced carrots, then drained them.

I added 1 ripe, chopped tomato along with 1 1/2 cups broth (stolen from the poached chicken above) and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook 15 minutes over low heat. Let rice stand, covered, for another 5-10 minutes after cooking. Then add the parboiled carrots, and peas and cilantro as well if you so choose.

Here's mine with the tomatoes and carrots only. Peas would have been a nice touch, only we didn't have any.

And, here's our yummy plate of enchiladas suizas, rice, and refried beans!

Stuffed Summer Vegetables

2009-07-27T21:14:00.011-04:00

Tonight I made more good (in fact, delicious) use of the summer vegetables I bought the other day at the farm. The recipe I used is from Alain Ducasse, and the concept is to stuff a variety of vegetables with several meats, mushrooms and cheese, along with a small amount of the vegetable that is being stuffed.

Chef Ducasse suggests that the stuffed vegetables may include: tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and onions. For this meal I used just tomatoes and zucchini. When you are stuffing the eggplant and the tomatoes, the vegetables that go into the filling are supposed to be pre-roasted. I did not have time to do this step, so for the tomatoes I used the filling straight, omitting the tomato confit that was called for in the recipe. Otherwise I followed the instructions more or less as written. The quantity made by the recipe is enough to serve 4-6 people.

First, mince 4 small shallots, 1 clove of garlic, and 1/4 lb mushrooms. Saute the shallots for a minute in a little olive oil and butter over medium heat . Add the garlic, and saute for another minute.

Next add the mushrooms, and saute for an additional minute, then add an extra tablespoonful of olive oil. Optionally, add 2 tablespoons of chopped black truffles to the mixture along with a tablespoonful of truffle oil in place of the olive oil. I added the truffles and they were wonderful!

Set the mushroom and shallot mixture aside.

Next chop 3/4 lb chicken breasts and 2/3 lb boneless leg of lamb into 2-inch chunks, and saute in olive oil over medium-high heat. Season with salt, and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. Alain Ducasse advises to leave the meat a little undercooked to avoid drying it out, as it will finish cooking inside the vegetables later on.

Add 1/2 lb of chopped boiled ham to the mixture, then finely mince the meats.
Add the minced meats to the mushroom/shallot mixture, along with 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

Next scoop out the flesh of the vegetables you want to use, and leave the shell to be stuffed with the filling. You can reserve the flesh of the tomatoes, as I did, for a later use. (I will probably use them in a sauce.)

Stuff the vegetables, topping them with their reserved "caps" if desired, as I did with the zucchini below.

Drizzle the vegetables with a little olive oil, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the edges of the vegetables are browned. I put mine under the broiler for a few minutes at the end for extra browning.

Compose a simple salad by drizzling a mesclun mix with lemon and olive oil and sprinkling with a little salt, then mound the salad on a plate and top with the vegetables.

Bon appetit!

Summer Salads! Courtesy of the NY Times

2009-07-27T20:31:00.004-04:00

101 Simple Summer Salads

Trofie with Zucchini, Pesto and Walnuts

2009-07-24T21:15:00.004-04:00

Tonight I made a meal that felt like a celebration of summer both in its fresh, seasonal ingredients as well as in its simplicity of preparation, important on those days when all you've done is play outside under the beautiful blue sky!

I stopped by a local farm at the end of the day today without a shopping list or any idea at all in my mind of what I would prepare for dinner. Inside, I was met with the sight of so many varieties of wonderful produce - the bounty of summer! - and I filled my cart with all the things that looked best. While in the dry goods section, I noticed a pasta I had never tried before, called trofie. Trofie is a pasta from the Italian region of Liguria, and I learned once I got home that it is most commonly served with a pesto sauce.

I had bought a basket of zucchini while at the market, and as I was flipping through cookbooks for ideas I serendipitously found Alice Waters' recipe that combines zucchini with toasted walnuts and pesto to be served over a pasta, and it seemed all too perfect that I had purchased the trofie to go along with it all.

The first step was making a simple pesto sauce. I combined about a quarter cup of toasted pine nuts with two cloves of garlic and mashed them into a paste with my mortar and pestle.

Next I took a heaping handful of basil leaves from my garden, processed them lightly in my food processor, and mixed them into the pine nuts and garlic along with some salt and pepper, 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Then I julienned one very large zucchini to approximately match the length of the pasta.

Next I put a small amount of olive oil in a pan over medium heat, and toasted some walnuts until they became medium brown.

I immediately added the zucchini at this point to stop further browning of the walnuts, and sauteed it until it became just limp, adding a touch of salt.

I boiled the trofie, then just before draining it I added a ladleful of its cooking water to the zucchini mixture, then mixed in the drained pasta along with the pesto sauce and served immediately.

It was very good! It was light but flavorful and took only about 25 minutes from start to finish.

My Dinner Party, July 17, 2009

2009-07-18T11:35:00.003-04:00

Tomato Gazpacho

Pain a l'Ancienne

Corn Agnolotti with Summer Truffles

Quail stuffed with Chanterelles, Proscuitto and Marjoram

Chocolate Lavender Pot de Creme

Rice Pudding

2009-07-16T23:04:00.006-04:00

Recently our family tried a great rice pudding at an Italian restaurant, which inspired me to look for a better rice pudding recipe than the one I had previously used. I found a recipe online which I adapted a little bit to suit my tastes, and it turned out to be pretty tasty! It was very creamy, not too sweet, and the arborio rice retained a nice texture.

Ingredients:

2 quarts whole milk

1 cup arborio rice

3/4 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

cinnamon, for garnish

Combine milk, rice, sugar, cinnamon stick, butter, vanilla and salt in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 50 minutes. Lightly beat the eggs, then temper them by whisking in some of the hot rice mixture. Add the tempered eggs into the rest of the rice, and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Pour the pudding into a large serving dish, sprinkle with cinnamon, and chill for at least 3 hours before serving.

Potato Leek Soup and Fresh Tomato Salad

2009-07-13T23:07:00.006-04:00

Summertime rocks! We have a new farmer's market in our neighborhood and couldn't resist picking up some huge, wonderful leeks and field-fresh tomatoes.

Tonight I made potato leek soup with a cream and chive garnish. And to accompany, a fresh tomato salad with unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, fresh basil, and cracked salt and pepper.

Chicken Soup

2009-07-06T12:50:00.008-04:00

This is one of the recipes that no one ever taught me how to make, I just did it in my own way from the outset. It is so simple, yet so satisfying, and it even has a special "signature ingredient" without which it would not be "my" chicken soup and would definitely seem to be missing a certain something to me and my family.

My special ingredient is tarragon, a wonderful herb that is reminiscent of anise in its aroma. I use it either dried or fresh, depending on what I have on hand. I always add it toward the end of cooking, so that the flavor is fresh and pronounced.

Another component that always goes into my chicken soup is fresh, homemade egg noodles. Making fresh egg noodles is a key technique in this household, as I have made many an impromptu meal from this simple dough consisting of only flour and eggs. It yields a fresh, classic pasta that can be topped with any number of other ingredients or filled to make a ravioli. When I use it in soup as egg noodles, I roll it out just a little thicker than I would for a pasta.

First I start just as I would for a chicken stock, filling a pot with water, a whole chicken, and aromatics such as celery, leek tops, parsley. onions (skin on for color), a small sprig of thyme, peppercorns and a little salt. This cooks for about 90 minutes.

I remove the chicken and chop it up.

Meanwhile I make the pasta dough by kneading together 3 eggs with 2 cups of flour, and then passing the dough through a pasta machine.

The dough is then cut into strips.

To finish the soup, I strain the broth through a colander into a clean pot to remove all of the stock ingredients, then I add some sliced carrots to the boiling broth. After they have become almost tender enough, I add the noodles to cook for about 2-3 minutes, along with the fresh or dry tarragon and extra salt to taste. The chopped chicken pieces are then added back to the soup and it is ready to serve.

A perfect bowl of nourishment on a rainy night or for a family member who is feeling a little under the weather...

(A little note: if I make this soup in advance I always refrigerate the broth overnight before finishing the soup so that I may skim off the chicken fat that floats to the top; in that case I would make the noodles the following day.)

Goat Cheese Tart with Caramelized Onions

2009-06-21T22:09:00.005-04:00

Back to this month's apparent tart theme...

Here is a recipe I learned about 4 years ago. It is from the Balthazar restaurant cookbook, written by Keith McNally et al.

It works well as an appetizer or as a main course to an informal and light meal.

The cookbook recommend serving it alongside a salad of simply dressed cherry tomatoes and a dollop of olive tapenade, to "add some kick."

The recipe can make six individual (4-inch) tarts, or one large 10-inch tart. I made the large tart, and served it along with a baby bok choy and tomato salad.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces

2 extra-large egg yolks

3 tablespoons ice-cold water

In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt and chilled butter until it looks like coarse meal.

Then, with the machine running, add the egg yolks and ice water.

Continue to process for about 20 seconds to form a ball of dough.

Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

For the caramelized onions:

1/4 cup olive oil

3 large yellow onions, halved through the stem end and thinly sliced into 1/8-inch half-moons

1 sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Over a low flame, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, cooking the onions until soft and golden, reducing their volume by nearly half. This can take up to 1 hour. Remove from the pan, drain any excess oil, and discard the herbs.

Meanwhile, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Place the dough into the tart pan(s), flute the edges, trimming any excess with a sharp knife, and prick the dough several times with the tines of a fork.

Line the dough with aluminum foil and weigh down with rice, beans, or pie weights.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake a few minutes more to brown the crust.

Allow to cool outside of the oven while preparing the filling.

For the filling:

8 ounces fresh goat cheese at room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

2 extra-large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix the cheese, eggs and seasonings in a food processor until smooth.

To assemble the tart, first line the crust with the caramelized onions.

Next pour the cheese mixture into the pan.

Using a wide pastry brush, gently brush the yolk of one extra-large egg over the top of the tart.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, until set. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and serve warm.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

2009-06-10T07:28:00.009-04:00

9 years ago today, my husband and I were married. Two days later we were on a plane to Italy for a week-long honeymoon in Rome. It was a wonderful trip. Much of the food in Rome in general was actually not very impressive, though we found the best Chinese restaurant there we had ever tried!!! However, it was there that I discovered Bucatini all'Amatriciana, a dish that has its roots in a hilltop town named Amatrice, just outside of Rome. I must have had this dish at least three times that week in at least as many different restaurants and every time it was absolutely fantastic. I fell in love.

To prepare this dish at home, serving 4-6 people, you will need:

1 medium-sized red onion, peeled

8 ounces pancetta or prosciutto, in one piece (or if you can get it, guanciale, which is cured pork cheek)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds very ripe, fresh tomatoes; or 1 1/2 pound imported Italian canned tomatoes, drained

1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound dried bucatini, vermicelli, or spaghetti, preferably imported Italian

To cook the pasta:

Coarse-grained salt

To serve:

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano cheese

This recipe comes from Giulliano Bugialli's cookbook Bugialli On Pasta, an absolutely fantastic book that any pasta lover should buy.

As you see above, he gives you some options in case you cannot find certain ingredients. In my opinion, Pecorino Romano works so much better than Parmesan cheese in this dish. Also, I can't see making "bucatini" using spaghetti if you are able to get bucatini, but it can be hard to find. I used to be able to get it at Trader Joe's, but they called it bucati; now they seem to have discontinued it at my location, however I can now find it at my local Italian deli among their many varieties of packaged imported pasta. Also I think the pancetta works better than the prosciutto (I have never been able to get guanciale which is really the authentic choice).

First, coarsely chop the onion. Cut the pancetta into cubes less than 1/2 inch thick. If fresh tomatoes are used, cut them into pieces. Pass the canned or fresh tomatoes through a food mill, using the disc with the smallest holes, into a crockery or glass bowl.

Here is your mise en place:

Place the oil and pancetta in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat and saute for 15 minutes, or until all the fat has been rendered and the meat is very crisp.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to a plate and set it aside until needed.

Add the onion to the saucepan and saute for 5 minutes.

Then add the tomatoes along with the hot red pepper flakes and salt and black pepper to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every so often with a wooden spoon.

Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil, add coarse salt to taste, then add the pasta and cook until al dente - 9 to 12 minutes depending on the brand. Transfer the sauce to a large skillet set over low heat. Drain the pasta, and add it to the skillet. Raise the heat, and add the reserved meat; saute for 30 seconds.

Remove the skillet from the heat, add the cheese, mix very well, and transfer the pasta to a warmed serving platter.

Serve immediately.

Rustic Peach Tart

2009-06-09T21:57:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I bought a basket of Georgia peaches at the store. I am not really familiar enough with the distinctions between peaches to know if Georgia peaches are typically sweeter or more tart than the average peach, and I also don't know the prime season for peaches coming from Georgia, but there they were, and they looked good, and so I bought them. Upon returning home and trying one, I was a bit disappointed. They were quite tart!!! Well, there was only one thing to do...

I found this recipe online, here. It calls for making one large tart that can serve 6 people, but instead I made 6 individual tarts using the same quantity of ingredients.

Crust:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup granulated sugar

4-5 tablespoons ice water

1. Make a mound of flour on a work surface, then make a well in the center of the mound and put the butter, egg yolk, sugar and 3 tablespoons of the cold water into it.

2. Mix the ingredients in the well with your fingertips, then begin incorporating the flour in until the mixture has the consistency of course meal. Add 1 tablespoon water and continue to blend, adding water 1/2 tablespoon at a time as needed to form a workable dough, gathering it into a ball.

3. Add a little flour to the work surface and knead the dough two or three times with the heels of your hands. Take care not to over knead. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Filling:

4 ripe peaches, pitted, halved, and cut into thick slices

3 tablespoons apricot preserves

2 tablespoons brown sugar

To top the crust:

2 tablespoons cream

2 tablespoons coarse sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Roll out the chilled dough to make a circle about 12 inches in diameter (or, if you are making individual tarts as I did, I rolled my dough out and then divided it into 6 equal pieces, cutting them roughly into circular/ovular shapes... I figured that was easier than dividing and then rolling 6 separate crusts!)

Place the dough on a baking sheet and coat evenly with preserves to about 1 inch from the edge. Mound peach slices on dough (I formed mine into a concentric circle), leaving that 1-inch border of dough around the peaches, then sprinkle peaches with brown sugar.

2. Fold up the dough and crimp the edges together to cup the peaches in a nest. There will still be a lot of peach showing in the center.

3. Brush the exposed crust with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, then allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6.

Tart of Young Lettuces and Tomato Confit

2009-06-03T23:56:00.004-04:00

Here is a recipe that I made for my sister last week. It is a savory tart that really showcases the deep, pure flavors of the few main ingredients, in the signature style of Alain Ducasse. This recipe comes from his cookbook, Flavors of France. It is basically a composed salad served atop a rich, buttery crust.

To start you will need to slow-bake 4 1/2 pounds large plum tomatoes for the Tomato Confit. To do this, preheat the oven to the lowest setting, then peel and quarter the tomatoes, removing the seeds and membranes, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet greased with olive oil. Scatter 8 branches of fresh thyme and 6 medium unpeeled garlic cloves over the tomatoes, then drizzle them with 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 teaspoons course sea salt. Bake 2-3 hours, turning once halfway through the baking process. Prepare the tomatoes several hours or up to 3 days ahead of the following instructions. Preserve all of the cooked ingredients in a jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Next, make the pastry. You will need:

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into bits

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash

Combine the flour, butter and salt in a food processor or medium bowl. Mix until the dough resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolks and mix just until the dough comes together. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes between the palms of your hands and form it into a ball. Press into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

When ready, bring the crust to room temperature and roll out into a circle 11 inches across and 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, prick with a fork in several places, and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Then brush the egg wash over the surface of the crust and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Let the crust cool on a wire rack, then transfer very gently to a serving plate, sliding the crust off of the parchment.

For the topping you will need:

1/4 pound mixed arugula, mesclun, and frisee

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Tomato Confit (that you prepared earlier)

1/2 small zucchini, skin sliced off in wide 1/8-inch-thick strips and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths

5 or 6 fresh basil leaves

2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, sliced with a peeler into shavings

Small fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

Toss the lettuces together with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the sea salt. Top the cooled crust with this salad, then arrange the tomatoes, cut side down and slightly overlapping, in concentric circles from the outer edge in.

In a skillet, cook the zucchini strips in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat for about 1 minute. Arrange the zucchini on top of the tart with the basil and cheese, garnishing with thyme and a few pieces of garlic from the confit if desired. Serve immediately. The tart yields 6 servings as a first course, or as a featured component in a light lunch. We had ours for lunch along with a Spanish-style potato salad.

Fava Bean Agnolotti with Curry Emulsion

2009-05-28T17:41:00.021-04:00

Ingredients:

filling:

2-3 lbs fava beans

3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons mascarpone

kosher salt

pasta:

1 3/4 cups (8 oz) all-purpose flour

6 large egg yolks

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 Tbsp milk

sauce:

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 tablespoonse chopped scallions

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup creme fraiche

8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

eighteen 1-inch-long pieces ramps or scallions, blanched, drained and dried

This recipe comes from Thomas Keller's French Laundry cookbook. He has a different agnolotti for every season. After trying these, we can't wait for summer to come, and then fall and winter so we can try each one in season! They are truly delicious.

The first step is shelling the fava beans. Frankly, this is not a task for the impatient cook. I recommend putting in a good movie and settling down on the couch with the bag of fava beans and two bowls - one really big one for waste and a small one for the shelled beans. I shelled these while viewing Casablanca. "Here's looking at you, kid."

Lest you think you are done prepping the beans, not so fast... you must now remove the skins from each individual bean in order to prevent trapped gases from discoloring them while cooking. In addition you will remove the tiny germ from the side of each bean. If you think this is a little too much work, please, let me remind you. The finished product is really, really good.

Next, blanch the beans in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes.

Cool the beans in an ice bath to preserve color and to stop the cooking.

When the beans have cooled down, drain them on a towel.

Next, slice some good bread to make 3/4 cup of fresh bread crumbs.

Process the bread in a food processor to obtain fine crumbs. Measure out 3/4 cup for your filling and save any extra in the fridge for another use.

Add the beans to the bread crumbs and process until they blend together. Add 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tsp mascarpone cheese. Season to taste with salt.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate until cool, up to 2 days.

Next, make the pasta dough. The following recipe makes twice as much as you will need, but if you double your filling then that is a problem solved :) Keep in mind that you can freeze these agnolotti for a future use, and trust me, you'll want them again.

Use an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook to mix together 1 3/4 cups (8 oz) all-purpose flour, 6 large egg yolks, 1 large egg, 1 1/2 tsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp milk. You should mix it for about 10 minutes. The recipe actually asks you to do all of this by hand, but after all that fava bean shelling I'm trying to cut you a break. Double-wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Using a pasta machine, roll the dough into sheets thin enough that you can see your fingers through it, but not thin enough to be translucent. You'll roll about 1/4 - 1/6 of the amount of total dough at a time. I took my dough to the second to last setting to achieve the desired thickness.

Trim the edges of the pasta sheet so that they are straight. Place the agnolotti filling in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch plain tip, then pipe the filling across the sheet leaving a 3/4 inch border on all sides. After you complete this step I recommend refrigerating the bag in between batches, as the filling does not hold its shape well at room temperature.

Pull the top edge of the pasta up and over the filling.

Next seal the edges by pressing down gently with your fingers along the length and sides of the dough.

Well done!

Next, shape the agnolotti by pinching seams in 1-inch increments along the length of the filled and folded dough. Leave enough "pinched" area between each pocket of filling to avoid unsealed agnolotti later on. The recipe recommends 3/4 inch but apparently I didn't read that part (see photo below). Indeed, some of mine did split, so be careful.

Cut along the length of the dough with a crimped pastry wheel, but do not cut too close to the filling.

Separate the individual agnolotti by cutting through the center of each pinched area, rolling the pastry wheel away from yourself. (Again, you can see I didn't allow quite enough space in between...learn from my mistakes!)

Place the agnolotti on a baking sheet dusted with flour or cornmeal. At this point you can boil them fresh in water, or freeze them for up to several weeks before cooking. Whether fresh or frozen they will cook for about 5 minutes. Before cooking them, prepare the sauce below.

In a pan over medium heat, toast 2 teaspoons of curry powder until fragrant.

Stir in the scallions and heat for another minute.

Pour in the 3/4 cup vegetable stock, the cream, and creme fraiche. Simmer and reduce to 1/2 cup.

Gradually whisk in the butter, about a tablespoon at a time.

Transfer the sauce to a blender. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of stock and blend for 30 seconds to emulsify the mixture. Strain through a chinois into a wide pan.

Now, boil the agnolotti for 5 minutes. Drain.

Add to the curry emulsion and toss over low heat to coat with sauce.

Portion the agnolotti into bowls and top with chopped scallions, or blanched ramps or garlic sprouts if available.

Veal Scallopini with Tomato, Oregano, and Capers

2009-05-18T22:25:00.004-04:00

This is a very tasty recipe that I learned from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Having previously eaten veal that was dry and tough in restaurants on more than one occasion, I was pleased to find that I could make quite appealing veal very easily at home. I have been making this recipe for so long now, and so many times that I haven't looked inside the cookbook for years. Hence I am sure I have altered it somewhat to fit my own personal cooking needs and conveniences.

It is one of my old standbys, a recipe that I make when I don't know what else to make and am too pressed for time to look for new recipes.

It doesn't take too long and is very easy.

To serve approx. 4 people, or 2 adults and 3 little ones as in our household, the ingredients are:

1 lb thinly pounded veal slices for scallopini

about 1/2 c. flour

salt and pepper

vegetable oil, enough to coat your frying pan

1/2 c. white wine

1 large can of imported Italian plum tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped

1 T. oregano

1 T. capers, or a lot more if your children adore capers like ours do...

1 T. butter

First, season the veal with salt and pepper.

Then, dredge each slice with a thin coating of flour.

Pour a small amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, just enough to coat the bottom.

Fry the veal slices until browned, turning once to brown both sides, about 4 minutes per side.

They will look something like this:

If you need to brown multiple batches of veal, deglaze the pan with the wine between batches in order to prevent burning leftover particles from the previous batch. Set aside the cooked veal and glazing liquid in a bowl.

Once all the veal is cooked, deglaze the pan once more. Then add the chopped tomatoes. Pour any liquid from the reserved veal into the pan as well, and cook this sauce for about 30 minutes.

Toward the end of the cooking time, add the oregano and the butter. This time I forgot the butter, and didn't even notice until I typed this out. Thus, if you're watching your fat intake, you too can "forget" the butter with no ill consequences.

When it is done cooking, add the capers.

Briefly reheat the veal slices in the sauce.

Serve the veal topped with the sauce.

Enjoy with a green vegetable or salad!

Asparagus Salad with Parmesan Dressing

2009-05-13T00:49:00.011-04:00

I have to share the delicious dinner that Bill and I enjoyed tonight. I found the recipe in this month's bon appetit magazine. Mmmmm...

5 ounces Parmesan cheese, thinly shaved with vegetable peeler
1 1/2 cups water
5 Tbsp minced shallots, divided (from about 2 large)
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 lbs large green asparagus spears, trimmed (may use 1/2 white asparagus if available)
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
12 oz oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced
cracked black peppercorns

Bring cheese and 1 1/2 cups water to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until milky liquid forms, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Strain into small saucepan; discard solids in strainer. Boil over high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Add 2 Tbsp shallots and vinegar. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

Cook all asparagus in large pot of boiling salted water 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl of ice water to cool completely. Drain. DO AHEAD dressing and asparagus can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill dressing. Wrap asparagus in paper towels, the plastic, and chill. Bring dressing to room temp before using.

Preheat oven to 350. Place asparagus on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss; arrange in single layer on sheet. Roast until crisp-tender about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add remaining 3 Tbsp shallots and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms begin to wilt, about 5 min.

Divide asparagus among plates. Spoon mushroom mixture over. Drizzle with Parmesan dressing and sprinkle with cracked black pepper.

I left the mushrooms out since Bill does not like the texture, and substituted pine nuts instead. I also forgot to reduce the dressing. Oops! Good excuse to make this yummy dish again :) We ate this salad with a side of harvest grains cooked simmered with sun-dried tomatoes.

Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Yukon Gold Potatoes

2009-04-22T13:10:00.013-04:00

Truth be told we are not that big on chicken around here. However, I use chicken stock frequently for dishes that don't actually contain chicken meat. Since I buy whole chickens for making the stock, quartering the chickens and reserving the meat, this leaves me with chicken pieces that I then need to find recipes for. I know, what a burden, right?! :-D Until now, I really only knew one excellent way to prepare chicken... more on that later... then this week I found a new chicken recipe which is actually quite good! I found it on Epicurious.com. You can link to the actual recipe, which I have rewritten here to illustrate the steps as I did them, by clicking on the link in the title. The photos are my own.

Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Yukon Gold Potatoes
Bon Appétit | March 2009

by Greg Atkinson

In this simple chicken bake, the skin gets good and crispy, and the juices make the vegetables extra-succulent.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 large chicken thighs with skin and bones (preferably organic; about 2 1/4 pounds total)
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
2 pounds unpeeled medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 2-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick spears
2 pounds medium carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick spears

Preheat oven to 450°F. Place chicken in a single layer in a baking dish. Coat chicken pieces with olive oil and set skin side up.

Mix salt, thyme, 1½ teaspoons pepper, and nutmeg in small bowl.

Sprinkle half of mixture over chicken. Roast until chicken starts to brown and some fat has rendered, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine potatoes, carrots, 2 tablespoons oil, and remaining salt/thyme mixture in large bowl. Transfer thighs to medium bowl; set aside.

Transfer potato-carrot mixture to same baking dish; turn to coat with drippings. Roast until vegetables soften, 30 minutes.

Place thighs on vegetables; pour accumulated juices from chicken over. Return baking dish to oven. Roast until chicken is cooked and vegetables brown, 15 minutes longer.

As you can see we served ours with some green beans. It was really tender and juicy and well-seasoned.

Spicy Lentil Salad

2009-04-15T19:55:00.004-04:00

This recipe has countless health benefits including lots of fiber, heart-healthy fat, turmeric (anti-inflammatory/anti-cancer properties), yogurt (the "good" bacteria); and it's delicious!

From The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook...

1 cup brown rice
1 cup brown lentils
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 cardamom pods
3 star anise
2 bay leaves
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
8 oz broccoli florets
2 carrots, cut into julienne strips
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas, thawed

Mint and Yogurt Dressing
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tsp cumin

1. Put 3 cups water with the rice, lentils, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, and bay leaves in a pan. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce, cover, and simmer gently for about 50 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the whole spices. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk 2 Tbsp of the oil with the lemon juice and fork through the rice mixture.
2. Steam or microwave the broccoli and carrots until tender. Drain and refresh in cold water.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and add the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, the add the garam masala and coriander, and stir-fry further 1-2 minutes. Add the broccoli, carrots, and peas and toss to coat in the spice mixture. Add to the rice and fork through to combine.
4. To make the dressing, mix the yogurt, lemon juice, mint and cumin seeds together, and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 6. Per serving: 380 calories, 20 grams protein, 15 gms fat, 50 gms carbohydrate, 10 gms dietary fiber.

I forgot to add the peas in mine...but, it was still great.

Potato Leek Soup

2009-04-14T15:39:00.005-04:00

I've been away from the blog for a bit... out of town, Easter holidays, Spring Break from school... we've been keeping it simple around the house and I haven't been doing much advance meal planning, not to mention taking the time to photograph my spur-of-the-moment meals... Here is one simple meal that I did take the time to capture.

Potato Leek Soup:

1 large bunch of leeks, bottom parts only, sliced thinly

5 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes

1 large pat of butter for sauteeing the leeks

1 quart of chicken stock

2-3 cups of water

salt

white pepper

First clean the leeks very, very well under running water. They tend to trap a lot of dirt within the many tight layers, so you will need to "unwrap" them before washing.

Then slice the leeks thinly.

Saute them in a heated pan with a large pat of butter. Stir frequently, over medium heat, until the leeks are very soft, about 10-15 minutes.

Peel and wash the potatoes, and slice very thinly. Add to the pot along with the chicken stock and/or water. You can use any combination, all chicken stock, all water, or some of both, but you will need at least 6 cups of liquid to cover the vegetables. Add a pinch of salt and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes.

At the end of 30 minutes, when the potatoes have cooked through, you will need to puree the soup. You can use a blender, immersion blender or a food processor if desired... I used my food mill. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into serving bowls and serve hot. I garnished our soup with a bit of wild green onions that spring up in our backyard; they are kind of like chives.

I bet it would go well with some of that Irish Soda Bread below!

Bon Appetit!